been too long XP
___________________________
Search and Destroy
Chapter 16
"Just shock them..." Taj whispered to Kaira in the back seat of the Camarian patrol truck.
"But won’t that make them search for us even more?" Kaira whispered back. Ryo the Dragon squirmed in her pocket, and she quickly shushed him.
"They're searching for us and everyone else anyway! We can either be their captives, or, get out and look for the others," Taj said quietly. The Ice User looked back at them. Kaira quickly gave him a smile, hoping they didn't suspect too much.
"Wasn't there a notice out about two people from Hollow...?" The Ice User said. "A boy and girl...matching their descriptions?"
"I don't remember...?" The Water User glanced back at them too. Kaira took a deep breath.
"Thanks for the ride...I'm sorry for having to do this..." she said. She placed both of her hands on each of their shoulders. Electric shocks erupted from her hands, sending both Camarian Users into shock. Both slumped over, twitching slightly, and the truck grinded to a halt.
"You didn't kill them did you?!" Taj asked, trying to figure out how the truck door opened.
"No! I was careful not to use lethal force!" Kaira kicked her door until her foot hit the lever, swinging the door open. Kaira climbed out of the truck carefully followed by Taj.
"Where are we now?" Taj asked, looking at their surrounding buildings. "This whole city looks the same wherever you go!"
"We can't be too far away..." Kaira said. "We didn't ride with them for too long...didn't you try and memorize which way they took us so we could leave the same way?"
"I didn't think of it!" Taj said, waving his arms.
"Well...then let's go this way then," Kaira pointed in the direction the truck had been coming from before they stopped.
"Might as well..." Taj mumbled. "Get back to Ken and Kyo, those bastards..."
Kaira reached into her pocket and held Ryo the Dragon. He took in his surroundings, snarling at Taj when he tried petting him.
"Do you think Kyo and Ken will come in looking for us?" Kaira asked softly.
"I know Kyo will!" Taj said, annoyed. "He can't pass up an opportunity to one up me!"
Kaira decided it was just best to not mention Kyo around him. They walked in silence, both trying their best to remember which way led out. At long last, Kaira stopped and sighed.
"We're not getting anywhere, are we?" she said. "I think we might have actually gotten more lost..."
"Kaira, what are you doing here?" Davis' voice came from behind them. Kaira turned to her cousin.
"Davis! Why are you here?"
"Where's everyone else?" Taj asked.
"After we all met at that plaza, we were ambushed, and had to split up..." Davis said looking down. "I dunno where everyone else is, I ended up alone. But still, why are you two here? Shouldn't you be outside of town by now?"
Taj broke eye contact and looked away. "Well...that's where shit hit the fan...? Taj mumbled almost inaudibly.
"What?" Davis cocked his head. "Where's Ken? And Kyo? What happened?"
"Taj kinda...got us caught again...once we left the city" Kaira said, hoping she didn't hurt Taj too much, but Davis needed to know. "Then they brought us in here, and we haven't been able to find our way out again..."
"They're patrolling the areas around the city?" Davis looked thoughtful. "If that's the case, don't you think you should also avoid leaving the city? You have no cover out there."
"That's what I thought..." Kaira said. "But we were separated from Ken and Kyo too. We still have to find them."
In the distance, more explosions and thunder were heard. Kaira held her dragon closer and looked worried.
"I'm sure everyone's doing okay!" Davis said quickly, glaring at Taj to help him.
"Hmm...? Oh, yeah!" Taj stumbled on his words. Davis stopped, listening. Kaira then heard it too. The sound of people approaching, many of them.
"Quick! Come on!" Davis motioned for them to follow him into a very small, dark, narrow ally. Davis shoved some cans of trash aside and pressed himself against a wall, still watching into the street. Kaira and Taj waited silently, watching with Davis.
A minute later, Camarian soldiers shuffled past the narrow ally in file. None of them bothered to look to their left into the narrow walkway, and that was a stroke of luck for them. Lines and lines of the soldiers passed Davis, Taj, and Kaira by, until the last row left, and their footsteps faded away.
"What was that?" Taj asked when he thought it was safe to talk again.
"Camarian soldiers, Users," Davis answered, looking into the street to see if it was clear again. "They're all over the city, looking for us. I've managed to avoid them so far..."
"But where do we go now?" Taj said, almost whining.
"Let's just try and avoid any confrontations for now..." Davis said. "We'll think of something until we find the others...I think we're somewhere near the Cathedral of Ice…"
"Where the hell did they go?!" Kyo's yells echoed slightly off the brick buildings around him and Ken.
Ken looked around him for some sign that could help them. The buildings did look all similar, and he found it slightly difficult to remember where they had been.
"What was the idiot thinking?" Ken said under his breath. "We can't trust him with anything, I swear..."
"We went too far into the city..." Kyo said. "They're probably still somewhere near the edge of the city!"
Ken raised a hand, motioning for Kyo to be quiet and listen. Kyo listened, then heard the same thing. They could hear someone whining, it sounded like Dimi.
"Is that Dimi?" Ken said in disbelief. "What is everyone else doing?!"
"Hey look!" Dimi said loudly, pointing Ken and Kyo out to Kalon. "It's your kid and that other kid!"
"Splendid..." Ken said sarcastically, seeing Dimi and Kalon. "What are you doing here?"
"Me?!" Kalon said, sounding accused. "What the hell are you two doing here?! What are any of us doing here?!"
"Hi Kyo!" Dimi said happily. Kyo looked surprised, but said a weak hello.
"That idiot's son lost himself and Kaira!" Ken said, pointing to Dimi. Dimi just grinned.
"Yeah, I realized he has a tendency to do that..." Dimi said, laughing slightly.
"Did either of you see Kaira or Taj?" Kyo interrupted Dimi. Kalon shook his head.
"I haven't seen anyone other than this idiot I'm taking to the Gate of Water," Kalon referred to Dimi. "We were all split up."
"I can see that," Ken said dully to his father.
"I didn't ask to get stuck with this dumbass!" Kalon yelled. "He's the one who ran into me! And how did you two manage to lose Kaira and Taj anyway?!"
"We didn't lose anyone!" Ken argued. "Taj was the one who got them lost like this! This is all his fault!"
"I'm gonna go ahead if you're just gonna stand here and yell at each other," Kyo said. He turned to leave.
"I'm not yelling at anyone!" Kalon argued, clearly yelling.
"Just go to your Gate, Kalon," Ken said, leaving with Kyo.
"Your kid just called you by your name," Dimi stated the obvious as Kyo and Ken walked away.
"I know he did!" Kalon began stalking off in the direction of the nearby Water Gate.
"We're near the Water Gate..." Ken determined, glancing back to see if Kalon and Dimi were both gone.
"That idiot..." Kyo said under his breath. "He's the only person I know who can get himself lost like this..."
"Do you think you can drive one of these if we get one working?" Roxanne asked Jim. Her, Jim, and Caza had found a street full of parked cars and trucks. Jim was going around to the vehicles, looking for one that still had a key in it.
"It can't be too hard, I've watched Ken and Kalon learn to drive..." Jim said, looking in the window of one truck.
Caza was standing silently and emotionlessly nearby, looking around for anyone who might have been following them. His chakrams were tied to his belt and his hands were in his pockets.
"This one has a key!" Roxanne yelled to Jim. She pointed through the window of the car, to the ignition and the bronze key. Jim pulled on the door handle, but it didn't open.
"It's locked..." Jim said. Roxanne sighed in disappointment.
"Well, let's look for another one..." Jim turned to see Caza standing behind him.
"Move," Caza said dully. Jim and Roxanne quickly moved out of his way. Caza smashed the window out with his elbow. Glass shattered and fell around the car. Roxanne and Jim stood in utter silence as Caza reached in the window and unlocked the door.
"It's open," he said. His face was still expressionless. Jim carefully brushed pieces of glass off of the driver's seat and got in. Roxanne hesitantly got in the passenger seat while Caza remained standing outside of the car.
"Aren't you coming?" Jim asked.
"Not until you prove you can drive this thing."
Jim took a deep breath and turned the key. The engine started without any problems. He gave a nervous laugh, trying to remember how to make it move. He gripped the steering wheel and put his foot in the pedal. He pressed his foot down. The engine made a louder buzzing sound, but didn't move. Caza was not impressed.
"Why won't it move?" Roxanne asked, leaning over.
"I don't know!" Jim said. He looked at all the knobs and buttons on the dashboard. "Radio...volume...air conditioner...it doesn't say anything about moving!"
"Can't we just fly there?" Roxanne asked.
"They have air squadrons flying around the city..." Jim said, still reading buttons. "They fired at me and Dad earlier with these things, they shoot these metal things that follow you..."
"Man, you guys are scattered everywhere," Ken's voice came from among the cars. Kyo and Ken came into the street from between the cars parked there.
"Ken! Kyo!" Roxanne said happily, "You guys are all right!" She looked for Kaira and Taj.
"What are you guys doing here?" Jim asked.
"Why is everyone asking us that?" Ken said, annoyed.
"Everyone? Who else have you seen?" Roxanne said.
"We just ran into Kalon and Dimi, they were going to the Gate of Water..." Kyo said.
"We were just trying to find Taj and Kaira, the dumbass got them caught again..." Ken said, clenching his fists.
"I hope they're okay..." Roxanne said, sounding worried.
"We were just trying to drive to the Lightning Gate..." Jim said, laughing nervously at the car he was sitting in with the shattered window. "But it wouldn't move..."
Ken glanced inside the cab. "It's still in park, you gotta shift gears if you want to move."
Jim moved the stick off park, then pressed his foot on the pedal. The car reversed into another truck behind it. Caza smiled, amused. Ken sighed and rolled his head back.
"I can drive you..." he said, rolling his head back. "We're somewhere between the Water and Wind Gates, so it's still a ways away to the Southwest..."
"You go ahead..." Kyo said. "I'm gonna keep looking for Kaira."
"Won't you come with us?" Roxanne said. "We can look for her on the way."
"No, I'll be better off looking around here, the Gate of Lightning's too far away..." Kyo said. Jim got in the back with Caza while Ken took his place in the driver's seat.
"What's important is that we close these Gates and get out..." Ken said. "We'll meet at the Seventh Gate when we're done."
Kyo nodded. He turned to leave, making the tailcoats of his trenchcoat fly behind him. "I'll see you there once I find them..."
"Hey Kalon?" Dimi asked, dragging out his words.
"Don't say it..." Kalon muttered, inhaling a cigarette. He was looking about, looking for something resembling a cathedral dedicated to Water.
"I just wanna ask a question!" Dimi whined. "Please?"
"No," Kalon said without consideration. Dimi decided to ask anyway.
"Why did you save me back there?"
"What?!" Kalon threw his cigarette on the ground and stepped on it. "I didn't save you!"
"Yes, you did!" Dimi yelled. "I was in trouble! Then, in my darkest hour you came and helped me with that Lightning User! I don't know about you, but to me, that's saving!"
"The guy was in my way! I took care of him for my own benefit!"
"Are you suuuuuure?" Dimi grinned. "Are you sure it wasn't my charm that made you help me?"
Kalon swung a punch at Dimi, but he dodged it.
"What is your malfunction?!" Kalon yelled at Dimi. Dimi cocked his head in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"I hit you! I insult you! I tell you I hate you, and you're still always here!" Kalon motioned to Dimi standing next to him. "Why do you always keep coming back?! Why won't you just leave me alone?!"
Dimi stared at Kalon blankly and blinked a few times. After a second, Dimi started smiling again.
"Because that's what friends do! They forgive each other!"
"You're delirious..." Kalon sighed, giving up. "We're not friends, we're hardly acquaintances!"
"Say whatever you want! You still saved me!" Dimi said, running next to Kalon then walking with him. "I won't tell anyone you secretly like me as a friend!"
"Shut up!"
They came upon a city square that surrounded the Cathedral of Water. The plaza was a maze of walkways. Below the walkways and bridges there were small streams of clear water flowing around and beneath the plaza. The Cathedral was enormous, and made from some sort of blue rock. The Cathedral looked older than the Cathedral of Wind they had seen earlier. It didn't have spiked towers or chapels. It had fountains of Water atop its tallest peaks. The Water from the fountains ran down along the walls of the Cathedral, then back into the moat and fountains surrounding the Cathedral.
"I like it!" Dimi said. He ran openly across the bridges and walkways leading to the Cathedral's entrance. Kalon muttered under his breath, looking around the plaza. There was no one around. No Camarian soldiers guarding the Gate, no Users, no one.
"Dimi you idiot! Get you ass back here!" Kalon yelled, pointing at the ground where he wanted Dimi's ass. Dimi stopped and looked back at Kalon.
"No one's here!" Dimi said happily, waving his arm around the entire plaza.
"But why isn't there anyone here?!" Kalon tried making his point. "Don't you find it strange there's no one here to stop us?"
Dimi looked up at the full moon, and how its light glistened on the water surrounding them.
"It is weird..." Dimi said. "But it's also fortunate for us!"
Dimi led Kalon to the front doors of the Cathedral. Kalon followed more cautiously, glancing around for any Camarians. For such a big city it seemed so empty all the time. The there were no citizens out this time of night, only the Camarian soldiers.
"Look at this door!" Dimi exclaimed. The doors were large, with no handles or anything of any leverage. "How do we open them?"
"We push," Kalon said flatly. Kalon pressed his shoulder against the door and began pushing while Dimi pushed with his back. The door of blue stone shifted slightly at their efforts, then slowly began swinging open. Together they opened the door. Kalon was the first to lift his head.
The inside of the Cathedral was dark except for the slight moonlight seeping in through the stained glass windows. The stained glass windows all had depictions of the past. The windows nearest to the doors told stories of the world before the Great War. They showed mankind in their skyscrapers and their large homes. But all the people looked angry. The windows in the middle showed the Great War itself. People dying from the poisons released in the dropped bombs, towns destroyed in the explosions. The windows on either side of the altar on the far side of the room showed destruction, and mankind praying to the Heavens. The largest stained glass window was above the altar. It showed a magnificent Angel in blue garb, surrounded in a spiral of fierce water that fed and replenished the earth. The Angel of Water's window looked down upon its Cathedral.
Past the rows of pews, near the altar stood a group of men, all wearing the dark gray uniforms of Camaria. Each of them had large metal objects that resembled guns, only with larger packs of bullets. Kalon swore under his breath, and Dimi took a step back.
"They're here!" yelled one of the Camarian soldiers. "The Angel of Water is here to close his Gate!"
All of the men aimed their machine guns at Kalon and Dimi.
"Ready!" cried one Camarian.
"Shit!" Kalon cursed. He dropped to one knee and put a fist against the floor.
"Fire!" screamed the Camarian. Instantly, rattles erupted from the machine guns, and a barrage of bullets was fired. Kalon summoned another wall of Earth between him, Dimi, and the Camarian soldiers. The bullets assaulted the wall of Earth, creating a cloud of dirt in the room. Kalon was leaning against the wall, with one palm still pressed against his shield. The Camarians did not stop their fire, and their bullets began eating away at the Wall of Earth. Kalon summoned more Earth to replace the wall where the bullets shattered the rock. Dimi crouched next to Kalon, covering his head and screaming.
"Kalon, what am I supposed to do?! I can't close my gate if they keep this up!"
"Shut up! I'm working on it!" Kalon yelled above the machine gun's rattle. "Hit them with Water or something!"
Dimi hesitated, trying to think of something to do. He clapped his hands together, getting an idea. He put both hands to the ground, and focused on summoning Water.
The Camarian's stopped for a brief moment to reload. Kalon took this moment and dashed out from behind his wall. He slammed both of his fists into the ground. Long earth spiked were forged, and traveled along the ground to the Camarians. Several of the Camarians got out of the way, while several others were impaled.
Dimi focused harder, and a riptide of water appeared around the remaining Camarians. The Water instantly tightened, until each of them was caught in the whirlpool of Water. Dimi swirled the Water faster, compressing the water closer. Two Camarians caught in the whirlpool fired their machine guns. The bullets hit their other comrades, killing them and staining the Water with blood.
Dimi made a face. He moved the red whirlpool outside of the Cathedral, then let the water dissipate into the pools around the Cathedral.
"Gross," Dimi said, looking at the blood.
"Get used to it," Kalon said, massaging his hands.
Water covered the floor and made a splashing sound when Kalon walked.
"Could you have gotten rid of them without getting my boots wet?!" Kalon yelled, kicking water at Dimi.
"No!" Dimi joked. He made his way to the altar and looked around blankly.
"Now what?"
"I don't know! You're the Water User! Figure it out!"
Dimi looked down at the floor. It still had water. He remembered what Caza had done with his whirlwind, and focused. The Water from the floor collected around Dimi, forming a circle. The Water slowly circled, then grew in height. It became another whirlpool that completely encased Dimi. He closed his eyes and tilted his head up. The Water activated the floor patterns he was standing on. They whirred and became illuminated, closing the Gate from the Heavens. The Water slowly disappeared and left Dimi standing where he had been.
Dimi turned to Kalon and gave him the peace sign.
"I did it!"
"How come this place isn't falling apart?" Kalon asked. The words had left his mouth when all of the stained glass windows shattered. The window depicting the Angel of Water shattered, and rained its glass around Dimi. Dimi screamed and ran towards the exit after Kalon.
Outside, they saw as the blue stone Cathedral slowly cracked and shook before crumbling to the ground. The fountains of water from the Cathedral stopped producing water and crumbled as well. The Water that had been on the moat and steams around the Cathedral dried up suddenly.
Kalon and Dimi stood staring at the completely collapsed building in silence.
"That...was....so cool!" Dimi said at last. "I have now completed one thing I had to do before I die! Flatten a large, important building!"
"Great," Kalon said sarcastically. "Now let's get going, it's already after midnight..."
"Where to?" Dimi said.
"Where else? The Cathedral of Earth!"
"Where's that?"
"North, far north..." Kalon led Dimi out of the plaza that was the Cathedral of Water and they headed north.
Kaira, Taj and Davis wandered about, not really knowing where they were going. Kaira rubbed her eyes to ward off sleep.
"I told you that you should have lied down..." Taj said.
"I'm fine..." Kaira said. "Even if I wanted too, I doubt I could sleep..."
A noise pierced the air. Screeching came from all directions, followed by a beeping noise. Davis and Taj looked around for their unseen enemies. They did not know the noise was being heard throughout the whole capital of Camaria.
"Attention people of our beloved Camaria," a voice came from every direction. It was a loud male voice that echoed throughout the whole city.
Kyo stopped and looked up, listening to the voice.
Ken stopped the car near the Ice Cathedral, and he, Caza, Roxanne and Jim all listened to the voice.
Just leaving the remains of the Water Cathedral, Dimi and Kalon stopped, hearing the announcer.
Ryo, Leo and Steel all stopped as well, on their way to the Fire Gate.
"What is that?" Ryo asked when the screeching began.
"It's coming from everywhere!" Leo yelled over the screeching.
"Intercoms..." Steel said, when the announcer said his first line. "They let one voice be heard all over...they're making a public service announcement to the city..."
"People of the grand Camarian Empire," the voice went on announcing. "We have been betrayed! By the very Angels themselves. As I speak, there are Descendants of Angels walking among our midst, closing the Elemental Gates! The Cathedrals of Ice and Wind have already been desecrated, and we have unconfirmed reports of the Water Gate has now fallen!"
"Shit..." Steel said. "They're calling the entire city on us now..."
"These Angels have betrayed us!" the male announcer on the intercom went on. His voice was heard throughout the city.
"These Angels no longer protect us! The Razada House, the Descenders of Fire are the only Angels with us now! The Angel of Ice was found murdered in cold blood at his very Cathedral! These sinners kill even their own kind! We, as people of the strongest nation in the known world, need to act against these Fallen Angels! These Demons!"
Ryo flinched at being called a Demon along with everyone else who had set out to cripple Camaria.
"We must assume these Angels plan on closing the remaining Gates! We must not allow our powers to remain in the hands of these sinners! People of Camaria! We have been struggling these past years to put an end to the weak country called Hollow. Now, it is Hollow who attacks us! Will we be crippled by a weak nation such as them? For the Angels are not here to defeat us, but they are here as representatives from Hollow!"
"We gotta keep moving..." Ken said, starting up the car again, and driving.
"There's gonna be more Camarian soldiers coming after us from now on..." Caza said. He sounded as serious as ever.
"We must stop these Angels!" the intercom voice repeated. The voice had become more enthusiastic, and encouraging, but not for the Angels themselves. "Our very way of life depends on our strength! Now we must protect our Cathedrals! The Cathedrals of Lightning, Fire, Earth, and most importantly, the Seventh Gate to the Heavens! Do everything in your power, Camaria, to stop these Holy Invaders, and protect our homes. Find them, and when you do, kill them on sight! Take none of them prisoners! There are two that were seen earlier. One was a young boy, in his late teens, with blonde hair and blue eyes..."
"He's talking about Taj!" Dimi said. Kalon heard sincere worry in Dimi's words.
"The other is a girl, also in her teenage years, with brown hair and blue eyes. Both are wanted by Camaria. Go fourth, citizens of Camaria, and help take down these Angels of the Apocalypse!"
The voice disappeared and the static died out, returning to the city to its previous silence.
