Rising Shards

I sat feeling very content after the nice meal. I wished I could just sit for hours before going home. If the trip was just this, it would have been great.

“OK, don’t be mad,” Aira said. “But I just found the minivan in a can in my bag. It was under the sandwiches.”

She held up the minivan in a can.

“Why didn’t you check before?” Lillia asked.

“I said don’t be mad!” Aira said. “Besides, we only got our stuff back right before we got on the train, did you want me checking while we were on the wobbly train?”

“That’s true,” Oka said. “And I guess we didn’t really have a use for it at the water village.”

After the rest finished their food, we headed through the brief cave. There wasn’t much of note in there, just rock walls and glowing crystals lighting the way. It got colder the longer we went, so our adaptive gear changed for us into more of a wintry style, so the shift in temperature didn’t feel as sharp. It also didn’t feel restricting, which was good if we had to fight anything ahead.

“I definitely see the ice, but the jury’s still out on thunder,” Aira said when she rushed out of the tunnel before the rest of us.

The Ice Thunder Canyon was beautiful, like something out of a nature documentary about an arctic tundra. It didn’t feel as cold there as the documentary Stella made me watch once, but I wasn’t sure if that was a void thing or an adaptive gear thing.

Laenie got the minivan in a can opened (I still flinched at the “BWOMP” sound) and set up. We all rushed to see our bloodsabers safely inside. I gave my girl Minty a hug, not liking the time I spent without her. I hoped she wasn’t mad that I used another bloodsaber.

“Minty, here’s the Kathron sword, I hope you two get along,” I said, tapping the two sheathed bloodsabers together. I held the Kathron sword up to the others. “What are we gonna do with this then?”

“Keep it as back up, I guess?” Oka suggested. “We all have our bloodsabers again, but who knows if we’ll need another.”

“Zeta, just dual wield. It’d be badass.” Kalei said. “Or let me do it.”

“I like Oka’s idea better.” I said, placing the Kathron sword in the minivan in a can where the other bloodsabers were held.

Kiki looked on curiously as we took our seats on the minivan in a can. I worried it wouldn’t be able to hold her, given her weight as an Exumi with her robotic parts, but it barely shifted when she climbed on, making me feel bad for speculating on her weight.

“Everyone ready?” Laenie asked, snapping me out of my self-inflicted guilt spiral. She had taken the wheel, with Aira next to her. Oka and I were behind her, and Lillia, Kalei, and Kiki took spots behind us. “I plan on hauling ass, so make sure you’re buckled up before you say go.”

“I always forget Laenie swears,” Kalei said. “Zeta, Oka, you two should swear more, it’d be cool.”

“We have a lot bigger things to worry about,” I said. “Kiki?”

Kiki stepped off to the side of the minivan in a can.

“Are you coming with us?” I asked.

“I…will make my own way through.” Kiki said. “I won’t fall behind.”

“Alright,” I said, not liking the idea of making this part of the journey without her.

Kiki whistled, and after a few moments a big robotic cat leapt from the top of the canyon in front of her. She petted the cat gently before hopping on.

“Igu’s faster than your vehicle,”

“How can you know that?” Kalei asked just as Kiki almost instantaneously sped off on her cat steed. “Ah.”

“Shall we get going then?” Laenie asked.

“Atrians!” A booming voice called from above.

“Oh, come on,” I said, recognizing the horrid voice immediately.

Lophor Hothon stood on one of the sides of the canyon, flanked by his legion of crabs, as well as the lava drones I escaped from earlier. “You seek the totem of the Order of Terina, but the Order has showered me, the mighty Lophor Hothon, in great gifts, so I will gladly aid them in stopping your quest!”

More drones marched forward from ahead of us.

“Terrific,” Lillia said.

“I think it’s bad actually,” Aira said. “They look like they want to fight us."

“Oh, my god I was being—” Lillia started.

“Hey!” Kalei yelled up to Lophor.

“You dare interrupt the mighty Lophor—" The giant boomed.

“Did Zeta seriously cut your leg off?” Kalei said.

Lophor shook his head, apparently not used to anyone speaking to him like that.

“It’s repaired now,” Lophor said, shaking the leg I had previously sliced. “Her simple strike only temporarily stopped me!”

“Oh my god, she seriously did it!” Kalei said in disbelief. “That is such BS, how come Zeta gets to do the coolest thing today?”

“Because Zeta’s the coolest thing in general,” Oka said.

“Aw,” I said.

“I’m gonna do something cooler.” Kalei said.

“Kalei, focus on the mission! Not trying to outdo Zeta!” Lillia snapped.

“Is he still talking?” Laenie asked.

“Something about sending his own legion of whatevers in addition to the drones, nothing really interesting,” Aira said. “You can go whenever. You ready?”

“Yep,” Laenie said, slamming on the pedal and rocketing us towards the legion of drones ahead of us.