Bomb got himself up and shook his head. He looked to the water and saw Karen and Lukis stumbling out of there hacking up water. They were soaked.
Bomb:(Man, that was one hell of a blast, wonder why it didn’t tear us to shreds….)
Bomb: Guys!
The two continued coughing up water so Bomb ran up to them. They stopped and looked at him.
Karen: Bomb!
Lukis: Dude, what the hell happened to you?!
Bomb: What? Oh….
Bomb was covered with scratches and bruises and a little blood on his arms and legs.
Bomb: I sort of landed on the roof of a house…
Karen: We have to get you to a hospital!
Bomb: Nah, a night’s rest will revitalize me.
Lukis: Well we all better rest so we can depart for the Kingdom of Lawren tomorrow. I’ll have to talk to the mayor about that first and I still have to tell him what happened, you two get a room and I’ll be there soon.
Lukis stumbled off into the town leaving a water trail.
Bomb: Let’s go.
Karen followed Bomb into the town. He walked down the cobble-stoned road and to an inn. They walked inside, it had red carpet, a dining hall entrance, some couches and chairs, and a check-in and out desk. Bomb walked up to it.
Bomb: Hey, I need a room for the night, enough for 3.
The clerk looked at him.
Clerk: Ok, we have an opening there, it will be 300 silver sir.
Bomb: Man, I don’t have money, you have anything Karen?
Karen: No, we have to wait for Lukis I guess…
Clerk: Lukis? Oh, well you guys can get in for free if you’re with Lukis!
Bomb: Really?
Clerk: Yeah, he’s a hero around here! I heard he was gonna rob from the mayor in Delban to get us a desert road! He got us these cobble-stoned roads a long time ago by tricking some road cobblers. They were arriving to cobble Delban but Lukis told them that they were at Saltis and showed them to our town saying it was Delban. The mayor and everyone played along but when they were done we told them it was Saltis and they got pretty mad but we kicked them out.
Karen: …….
The Clerk gave Bomb the key.
Clerk: 5th floor room 534.
Bomb: Thanks.
Bomb led Karen up the stairs to the 5th floor and to room 534. He popped the key in and they walked in. It had 3 beds, a refrigerator, a bathroom, and a couch. Bomb laid on the bed and Karen laid on the one next to it.
Karen: So that was the Agile guy?
Bomb: Yup…
Karen: Why is he after you?
Bomb: I dunno, just some sort of Legend thing I’m still confused on. I mean, well, I guess the only reason I have to fight him now is to avenge my friend’s death.
Karen: You’re friend died?
Bomb: Yeah, his name was Kyle. Usually in these types of things I would expect this Agile guy to be trying to destroy the world or something….
Just then the door swung open and Lukis hobbled in.
Lukis: The mayor will meet us tomorrow so you can give him the money, you still have it right?
Bomb stuck his hands in his pockets. He pulled out 10 Goldens.
Bomb: (Oh yeah, I still got those extra 3….)
Bomb: There.
Lukis: K….
Lukis set himself down on the last bed.
Bomb: Lukis, someone at this town said you were a hero?
Lukis: Well, the mayor just puts me on crazy missions that benefit the town and the people like that.
Bomb: Ohh….. Well, I guess we better get some shut-eye, we have to go through some forest to get to the Kingdom, right?
Lukis: Yeah, it called Middle Grove forest or something.
Bomb: K, well, goodnight.
Karen: Wait, there’s something I just want to say just in case.
Lukis: What?
Karen: Well, I wouldn’t be surprised if Delban were to attack Saltis….
Lukis: Cmon, their military is horrible and we’ve done this so many times before.
Karen: Hey, you stole from my hometown you know! Our people really wanted those cobble-stoned streets and we could have really used those Goldens you stole from us!
Lukis: Oh….
Karen: Your town is just a town of thieves, you steal from people smaller than you. I hope the Delban Navy blows this town up.
Lukis: Navy? They have a dopey Navy too?!
Karen: God I hope they tear your town up, it and it’s damn cobble-stoned roads and everything!
Bomb: Karen….
Karen: Don’t you talk to me either, you stole from us too……
Bomb: ……. Sorry….
Karen: ……..
Bomb turned out the lamp and everyone fell asleep.
Bomb….. I am waiting……….
Lukis shook Bomb and he woke up quickly in a daze.
Lukis: Cmon buddy, time to go.
Bomb: Ahh, wah?
Bomb got up and tried getting his head back together. All his wounds were clearing up. He looked to his side to see Karen still asleep.
Lukis: Kinda makes you feel sorry for what you did to her, but not too much.
Bomb: Yeah, but I only did it once and I didn’t know it would hurt someone like her.
Lukis shook Karen.
Karen: Ah! Get off of me!
Karen jumped out of her bed.
Lukis: Hey, watch out, she might bite you.
Karen: Rrr!
Bomb: Cmon you two, quit horsing around, we got to get going.
Lukis: The mayor was at our door and he asked for the money but he’s a little mad.
Bomb: Mad, you just gave him 10 Goldens, he should be pretty happy….
Lukis: I didn’t give them to him. I told him I didn’t want him to build a road there.
Bomb: But Lukis, Agile cut the tree down?
Lukis: Still, only the strong deserve to see even it’s ruins…..
Bomb: ……… Let’s go……
The 3 got out of the room and locked it. They walked down the stairs to the lobby and gave the clerk the key.
Clerk: Thank you for staying at Saltis Inn.
They walked outside and onto the road. Bomb remembered the bandage on his wing and took it off.
Karen: Hey!
Bomb: Well it isn’t windy anymore….
Karen: Still, it’s not safe but do what you want.
Bomb unraveled it and the papery wing fell out, it was wrinkled up. Bomb put the bandage in his pocket in case he ever needed it again. Lukis pointed down the street to a big house.
Lukis: That’s the only entrance to the Middle Grove forest. We didn’t want any kids to get in or something so we installed that.
Karen: Yeah, with your stolen money…
Lukis: ……..
Lukis walked off to the entrance and Bomb looked at Karen.
Bomb: Karen, I only did it once, I didn’t-
Karen walked off to Lukis.
Bomb: (Man, ah who cares anyways, right?)
Bomb started walking off but he heard a noise behind him. And a scream.
Bomb turned around quickly and so did Lukis and Karen. The dock’s end crumbled over and a fisherman was running from it.
Karen: The Delban navy!
Bomb: It’s just a dock falling over.
Karen: The Crab……
Lukis: What are you talking about?
Karen ran over to the dock and Bomb ran after her.
Bomb: Hey, where are you going?!
SPLASH!
Something huge shot out of the water. The water rushed onto the roads and when it all cleared a huge submarine could be seen. It was big and silver with a periscope on the top and two torpedo cannons on each side.
Karen: Just the sub?
It was as high as a house and it stopped halfway on the land.
Lukis: No! Get the mayor!
Some kid heard Lukis and ran to the city hall. A hatch on the left of the submarine opened and troops jumped out. They all had musket looking guns and jungle colored clothing. Karen ran up to the guy in front. He was the general or commander or something.
Karen: Commander Nelson!
He was a tall man with a military uniform and hat on. He had a mustache and that's all Bomb could put together from where he was standing.
Commander Nelson: Karen?! I thought you quit?
The troops stopped behind the commander and waited for a signal to go in. There were about 30 of them.
Karen: I thought you had the Crab out when I saw that dock cave in….
Commander Nelson: It’s almost finished, we just had some technical problems but in a week or so it would be fully functional…
Karen: So all we have is the sub?!
Commander Nelson: No, we also have a Water Tank coming in. And we have the torpedo cannons filled with some flash torpedos to confuse them. Plus they cause a small explosion. They will never steal from us again! Karen, would you mind taking the machine gun on the tank?
Karen: All right, it’s about time we had some action!
Bomb: Karen! What are you doing!?
SPLASH!
Karen ran over to the right of the dock as something spurted out of the water. It was like a tank with no cannon but some sort of gun on the top. It was tan and had wheels similiar to a tank and a hard covering. It was as big as a regular tank. Karen jumped up to the top of it as the hatch opened.
Karen: I’m taking the gun.
Guy: Commander said so? Ok, I will maneuver her.
The guy popped back down into the tank as Karen took the gun controls. It was a machine gun on some sort of rotating platform, so she could maneuver the top around and shoot anything from any angle. Then she watched the Commander for some sort of signal. Just then the mayor burst out of the city hall and then out of a building next to him came out soldier after soldier. They all wore blue and carried musket looking guns too.
Mayor: Commander Nelson! What are you doing?! What is all this?!
Commander Nelson: We have had enough of you stealing from us! You did not know how big of a naval military we had, now did you?! We have here a submarine of thirty men, a machine gun tank, and we could have had even more deadly treats but we don’t need them today.
Mayor: 30?! My….
The mayor looked around. It looked as if he only had 20 men.
Mayor: My men are stronger than your men!
Commander Nelson: Let us see! Attackkkkk!
The commander retreated back as the men scrambled forwards and the Saltis soldiers dashed forwards as the mayor ran back into City Hall. Everyone in town was hiding their house with their door locked and watching through the windows. Lukis grabbed Bomb and pulled him to the side of a building to shield them both from the gunfire awaiting.
Bomb: What is going on?! And what is Karen doing?!
Lukis: They’ve had it with us man, they finally are fighting back…. But… Why would Karen do a thing like joining their side?
Bomb: Well, it is her hometown and we don’t really even know her…
They could hear the crashing and the shots from in the streets starting. They looked in and saw soldier after soldier shooting each other. More blue were going down, probably from the machine gun, that thing could kill so many so fast…
Bomb: Karen…..
Lukis: Let’s help them! There are around 20 soldiers left…. I got some dynamite sticks from the general store this morning so I can use those….
Bomb: This is very bad….
Bomb and Lukis got ready, then bolted out of the street. Bullets from the machine gun hit around them and Bomb rolled right into the front of the tank. Lukis kept going and lit a dynamite stick with a match. He tossed it at a group of the soldiers and tumbled in between buildings again to hide. Bomb sneaked around to the back of the machine gun tank.
BOOOOM!
A huge explosion came from the soldiers and Bomb could see the light from the explosion from behind the tank. Some soldiers who were close flew though the air unconscious. Bomb stuck his head out and saw that there were about 10 soldiers left. Bomb looked up the tank and saw Karen atop it. He crawled up behind her and thought he could catch her off guard. He looked at her on the machine gun, she was looking around to find Lukis or Bomb or any other soldiers. He planned to grab her and pull her off but suddenly the machine gun swung right around. It pointed right to his face.
Bomb: Ah!
Karen: Bomb……….
Bomb: Karen, wait….
Karen: Well why shouldn’t I?! You robbed from my town!
Bomb: I only did it once……..
Karen: You’ve done it more than once, it was you’re job! I know you were with the Winged Lyrians! I heard about you! You robbed from everyone! You robbed from people that didn’t even deserve it!
Bomb: I know, I know…. But….
BOOOOM!
Another explosion came and dust spread. More soldiers flew through the air.
Lukis: I got them all I think!
Bomb and Karen turned to where Lukis was. He was hiding in between two buildings and no soldiers could be seen, except for the ones that were in the explosion. Just Commander Nelson by the dock.
Commander Nelson: Damn! There’s only one thing I can do….
The commander dived into the submarine and closed the door behind him.
Bomb: Chicken….
Karen: You shouldn’t say that when I can blow you to smitherenes right now!
Lukis ran over to Bomb and Karen but she turned her gun and fired at him. The bullets just missed and Bomb tackled Karen off the tank. They flew off onto the stone road.
Karen: Gahhh!
Bomb: Blow the tank up!
Lukis lit a stick and tossed it under the tank. Bomb pulled Karen over to the other side of the road and Lukis hid between the buildings by the tank.
Karen: Rrrrrrr……
Bomb: I thought you and us were friends…..
Karen: I thought you two were good people until I pieced together who you really were….
Bomb: Look, I had no intention of hurting you or-
Karen: Yeah, but you did of hurting my town!
Bomb: ………
BOOOOM!
The dynamite under the tank went off and blew the whole thing up. It’s parts landed all over but it luckily didn’t hit Karen, Bomb, or Lukis. By now all that was left were the 3 and the submarine, both armies were annihilated.
Bomb: Well, I’m glad that’s all over with.
Karen jumped up from Bomb.
Karen: I’m going back to Delban.
Bomb: Cmon Karen, I won’t ever steal again, we need you to help us.
Karen: I don’t even know if I can trust you…..
SHOOOP!
Lukis: Waah!
Suddenly a torpedo shot straight out of a torpedo cannon on the submarine. Commander Nelson must have shot it from the control deck on the submarine.
Bomb: Oh n-!
The flash torpedo hit the cobbled street just about a house’s length from Karen and Bomb.
BOOOOM!
A great flash of light came from it. The flash torpedo's blast blew Karen and Bomb straight into the general store behind them. It also tore the ground away around it and the earthquake effect from it’s explosion had shook some buildings violently. They smashed against the wooden wall and the explosion knocked Karen and Bomb into a daze.
Lukis: Bomb!
Lukis darted out from the building sides and looked at everything. The flash torpedo's explosion wasn't that big. It blew lots of the cobblestone away and knocked Karen and Bomb into the general store, they were still conscious but pretty dizzy.
Lukis: Uh oh…..
Lukis’s eyes turned to the Inn, which was slanting right in the direction of the general store. It slowly slanted little by little. The explosion must have shook it too much.
Lukis: Bomb!
Lukis sprinted over to Bomb and picked him up. He dragged him over a few houses away.
Bomb: Wait! What are you doing!
Lukis: The Inn’s gonna crash!
Bomb: Get Karen!
Lukis: She isn’t on our side anymore!
Bomb threw Lukis off him and dashed over to Karen.
Lukis: Bomb, you’re gonna get yourself killed……..
The Inn began tipping over now and the submarine began dipping back into the water.
Karen: What?
Karen’s eyes started to focus and she then began starting to realize what was happening. Bomb grabbed her and the whole Inn structure began rushing to the ground. He didn’t have enough time to jump to either side of the Inn.
Bomb: Noo…
Bomb looked around fast and held Karen and closed his eyes.
BOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The Inn smashed to the ground and the road around it shook. The shaking was like a gargantuan earthquake and it shook the whole town. The sound was so loud Luksi almost fell over. The Inn crumbled down to the ground until it was nothing more than wood debris.
Lukis: Bomb….
The dust rushed at Lukis and all around. It came slower and slower, then it stopped and began to clear away. Lukis walked through the dust to the debris in search for their bodies. The dust cleared away and Lukis saw them in the crumbled remains of the smashed Inn. They were holding eachother on the ground right by the general store covered in the debris and dust. He walked up to them.
Lukis: Hahahaha!
Bomb got up and pulled Karen up.
Lukis: It just missed you! If they’d added one more floor to that Inn you’d been a dead man!
Karen: Oh man……
Bomb stepped away from Karen.
Bomb: I thought that had us...
Karen: Yeah... Well….. You were trying to save me?
Bomb: Yeah, that's what friends do for friends..
Karen: I guess I had to wrong idea about you two for awhile. I guess I can trust you..
Bomb: Look, I know stealings wrong and Ill try not to do it. And if I do it will be from a bad guy.
Karen: Sorry, I guess I kind of went crazy earlier but I know you two have learned your lesson… And I guess you two aren’t all that bad…. I just lost it....
Bomb: It’s ok… We’re both sorry for stealing from your town and stealing in general…
Lukis: What?! They like destroyed our town?!
Bomb: Hey, your town deserved it.
Bomb looked to the dock to see the submarine had now left.
Bomb: Cmon, we’re off schedule, we have to get to the Kingdom of Lawren, we can’t lose anymore time. Don’t worry about the town, Saltis will be fine.
And so finally, Bomb and the others gathered themselves together and began to trudge over to the Middle Grove forest entrance. A lot had happened but they had no time to lose. Karen decided to stay with Bomb and Lukis and hopefully she trusted them now, but they could only hope.