The large crab, Jazu as well as Tim's strange friend continued to rush over the sand with its ten legs. Tim, Tomomi, Kou, Nina, and Ayuka's body sat on its back. Nina shrieked in terror at the prospect of moving quickly and discovering how it feels to get closer to a goal. Tim and Tomomi appeared to be having a good time, in contrast to Kou and Nina, who showed no signs of happiness.
"You've got to be joking! You have to! How can the two of enjoy this ride so much?! It's killing me, I feel like I'll puke!"
Riding on Jazu's back, Tim raised his arms and called out with excitement. "Because the heat is not as forceful as it was when standing still!" He realized that they were approaching the Wasakona Capital. The weather quickly damaged his mood, despite the excitement he exuded from his physique. The heat was oppressive, and going over the same sand and arid landscape continued to irritate him. Kou sat motionless, his chin resting on his palm.
"Who gets excited over riding an oversized crab? May as well hop on top of an elephant and ride its back instead or a horse to match the speed..."
A large town appeared suddenly in the distance of their straight road. Due to a massive temple built on top of a hill to which long stairs led and large walls around its perimeter, it was simple to identify the town was the kingdom and the capital. Thousands of buildings stood beneath the temple, each of varying sizes and styles. Hundreds of structures were aligned together from one point of the town to the temple, separated into four different positions: north, south, east, and west. Due to the dry biomes, a small source of water was built in the midst of town with minimal restrictions involving grassy terrain.
As they spotted the massive town, Tim's excitement began to rise more and more. It pushed him as far as to stand up on top of Jazu's shell and scream out loud. He laughed before doing so and then prepared himself for an adventure through a beautiful desert kingdom.
"Woohoo! We're finally here! We made it to the Wasakona's capital! Can't wait to see what it has in store for us!"
Despite his joy and excitement, he was confronted with a challenge. Tim's feet bounced off the shell while Jazu's feet accidentally crashed into an excavated rock in an inconvenient location, causing the crab to stop in an instant and nearly flip over. Due to the severity of his flight, it threw Tim across the sky, causing him to scream and feel the wind around him. The others stared at him from afar, seeing him dart over the ground and rapidly close in on his journey to Wasakona's capital.
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While everything that was happening on the side of Tim's group; Group 'A', Karisa's group; Group 'B' reached Wasakona's capital a few minutes earlier and arrived at Wasakona's and was already being brought by Ireene to the temple's prison, where King Artemis was imprisoned. They wore hoods over their heads to hide their faces and followed Ireene's movements, while Karisa pondered about the others.
"Do you think Tim's group and Codey's group already entered this kingdom?" Ireene had little information of the other two parties, and she had found no evidence of them reaching Wasakona's city, which she disputed.
"I have no knowledge about that. But based on the silence, perhaps either group reached it. I'm sure there would be some hints of-" She was cut short of words after spotting Tim rolling through the air, screaming. She noticed him descend toward the ground and in the next few moments *BAM* a massive explosion of dust covered the Eastern side of the town.
"That answers your question..."
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The people of Wasakona's capital watched silently as Tim ascended from the dirt to his feet. He rubbed his head and coughed because of the dust. When he turned to look around, he was met by puzzled and worrisome expressions. He quickly wondered. "What the heck happened?" He looked around the same part of town several times, shook off the dust, and then began casually walking down the street. People were waiting to hear or see what he'd do, and he has messed everything up. "I gotta find Byron and kick his ass."
People started talking to each other right once, and some even spoke out loud enough for Tim to hear. He glanced at them puzzled and scratched his head till a tremendous bustle erupted and swamped him. A number of soldiers drew their guns or spears and leveled them at him, recognizing him as an intruder.
"Surrender right away! We have you cornered! We're going to take you into custody! We propose that you avoid unnecessary arguments and that no assaults or force be used. If you follow our commands, we won't have to fire at you!"
Tim adjusted his hood in the middle of the soldier's speech. He tried to shield his face from their gaze in order to avoid being caught. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes in disappointment, sighing warmly through the air toward the bottom. "Here I go again, getting chased around by some soldiers. Time to make fireworks." He smiled confidently and excitedly and took his hands off his hood. While surrounded by soldiers, he gazed at each one, then raised his palm to the sky, exposing orange flames that were burning out and sparking. "Ascending Fireworks!"
He launched a devastating fire prism into the air. It zipped up into the sky at breakneck speed and exploded into a fusillade that spread into a bombardment of flames that began raining down like meteors at the gathering point. Tim's opponents hesitated in their positions and were promptly pounded by the fireworks, which ignited many soldiers upon impact. They began to scream and wave their arms, only to be pinned to the ground.
"This kid's got some strange powers! Fire at once!" The troops who were still standing moved their weapons and pointed them at Tim, who was wedged in the middle. They all fired the trigger at the same time, raining bullets down on Tim. He smirked and leapt into the air, blasting spurts of fire from his hands, allowing the troops to shoot each other one by one until they were defeated.
In the middle of the air Tim swiped his right arm to the side and engulfed it with flames. "Flaming Fist!" He struck the air in front of him, causing a fist-shaped flame to fly toward the earth. It impacted with the ground and spread as a result of the contact, forcing some soldiers to run while the rest were burned. With barely a few soldiers left, Tim sank to the ground and rushed forward.
He knocked a soldier back with a blow to the center of his nose. He swiftly regained his footing, whirled around by sidestepping both feet, and dove to avoid a bullet that whizzed between his hair. He leapt forward by raising his left arm and propelling himself forward with his left palm. He swung forward and slammed his sole into the face of another soldier, then moved into a front roll to squat over the falling soldier and escape a close-range strike from another soldier.
He rotated his body around by opening his free left palm. He sprang forward, palming the soldier in the bottom of the jaw with enough force to launch him into the air. He swiftly shifted his weight and observed a bullet heading straight towards his face. He squatted once more and swung his left arm to the side, launching a barrage of fire that soon engulfed the soldier and pushed him back.
Tim straightened himself, grasped his head, and maintained his big smile by the end. Even if his mission was to get Ayuka to a doctor with the help of Kou, Nina, and Tomomi, his first impression of the city was negative. He'd already created a ruckus around town, providing enough fodder for more men to mount an attack, possibly even bringing Byron out of his temple.
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Karisa's group was already frozen in place, their jaws almost touching the ground. They were taken aback and realized that disaster was on the way. While they stayed there, a line of soldiers began to run past them, shouting instructions to attack and imprison the intruder. Karisa gripped the top of her head and whispered out a breath of sadness as their feet kicked up dust into the air.
"I should've known he'd raise a commotion the moment he stepped into town. Our plan has already been thrown off, and there's nothing we can do to stop him now. The general public is aware of his attack and the chaos he has already wreaked."
Ireene appeared to be unconcerned about it, but her eyes betrayed her dissatisfaction. She sighed as she lowered her head to look at the ground. "Your friend sure has a knack for getting himself into trouble quickly..."
"Just great. This is the worst thing that could've possibly happened. We're doomed..."
The journey continues...