Returning to Darcie and her team, Mikado sat on the platform above the engine thrusters in the ship's rear, near the thrusters that provided the shuttle with energy. She was overcome with tears and sorrow as she gazed down towards the earth. Drake then calmly approached her, intending to offer comfort to her in her distress. However, Mikado was too deep down in her distress to even hear him approaching her. He then sat down next to her closely and spoke, "I've never really lost anyone in my life except my dad and grandmother; I know it's not an easy feeling, and it only feels like terrible events will unfold. Mikado, I want you to know I'm willing to be the shoulder to lean on, the ears that listen, and the heart that cares." Mikado looked over in his eyes but said nothing in response and only continued to weep.
Drake scotched closer to her, but Mikado finally answered, "Drake, I understand what you're trying to do, and I greatly appreciate your concern; however, I just want to be alone for a while. I'm sorry to inform you of this, but I can't do any talking to anyone currently, not even Taski. If you don't mind, I want to be alone for now." She then hid her face into her knees. Drake granted her request and left her presence instantly. He thought to himself as he walked out away from her. "(I wish that I could do something, ... oh who am I kidding, me and my messed up character and all my nonsense wouldn't help a single soul. I wouldn't do anything but make the situation worse; she isn't doing the greatest, and neither is the rest of the crew. I'll have to think about the war we're in on my own.)" Drake's mind was ruined, corrupted, and destroyed from its original self; his mind buried itself in depression and couldn't find peace.
While aware that the situation was urgently terrible due to the death of Aaron. Drake locked himself up in his room with the lights off, and his head laid against his pillows as he wondered what he felt was wrong in his heart. Now, in the main resting room of the shuttle, Taski and Darice sat on the resting couch and could only express their sorrow for Aaron. Taski felt too busy thinking about other things, making him feel bad about himself. He experienced a strong sense of guilt and anxiety but was unable to express himself and remained silent. Darcie caught notice of his energy and felt it was disturbed, "Little bro, are you okay? You seem like something is disturbing your ability force." Taski responded with an agreement head gesture and said to her, "These Solar Pyramid Whoresons, they're... going to pay for what they've done. They got Aaron Killed!" He expresses his wrath while balling up his fist heavily.
Darcie became stunned at his anger, and her force could even sense his deep anger boiling; she then stopped him and said, "NO! Brother, don't let these Solar Pyramid members strip you of who you are. Don't let them change you; I've never heard you use such language like this, and it somewhat... terrifies me to hear." However, Taski only continued spilling his anger out before Darcie; he proceeded to say many terrible, unholy words and swear them under his lips, "Brother, STOP! Before your anger controls you again, like the last time. Do you want to be kicked out of the Knights? Do you want to disappoint Emerald in your promise to her?" Darcie attempted to cool his heat but continued swearing and saying unrighteous words. She begged him to resist his anger and repent from his wrath building up, but he eventually came through to her words and refrained from his temper.
He left the room and returned to his bedroom to rest from frustration; Ariah's room was on the other end of his bedroom wall. Once he sat down, she immediately felt his anger force slipping through into her room, which intrigued her interest in his emotions. "Taski? What's happening? He seems stressed out, but over what? He seemed more saddened earlier than he is currently." Ariah thought out loud to herself while moving toward her wall. She then felt Eden push her toward her door, hoping to ease his fury. However, Ariah refused, fearing speaking to him at such a time would be awkward. "No, Eden. I can't, not right now. He is dealing with something crushing him and needs time to be himself." She expressed her ability to force with concern. Then, the urge to walk into his room became too great for her and thus gave into her ability to force concern; she appeared in his room afterward and shocked him. "Ariah? What's wrong? Is everything okay? Can't sleep, is it about Aaron?"
He asked her, but she then expressed her deep concern about him and offered him some words of positivity to his soul. Taski welcomed her with a hug and closed her in his grip; he expressed his situation to her and exposed some thoughts he had kept inside. He expressed his feelings about Aaron and the entire status of the world to her, and she could feel his heart cooling from the wrathful heat it was surrounded by. "Taski, it's okay to feel this way sporadically. I know you care about Aaron and this entire moment we are all in, and he knows that, too. It is upsetting to know that he has gone up there to God and isn't with us anymore, but at least he isn't suffering any of this pain on Earth any longer. However, I heard what you said in the other room with Darcie, and I never thought I'd hear you swear like that. I was somewhat frightened, but I comprehended that you were feeling frustrated. We all share the same sentiment, my beloved. I love you, Taski; I don't want you to go down that dark path you're feeling. Never seek revenge on anyone; remember that revenge belongs to the Lord."
She spoke kind-heartedly to his heart; her words spoke powerfully and awoke him from his hateful path, "Ariah, I didn't realize what I was saying; it just all came out from my anger at the Solar Pyramids and their boss. Thank you dearly; I needed your words to slither into my heart; without you, I would've slipped away from who I am meant to be." He thanked her tender-heartedly and gripped her tightly with a warm hug. Eden then reunited with Thorn and calmed his anger inside, which, in the end, gave Taski the reassurance he needed before it was too late. Ariah reached in and gave him a loving kiss on his forehead, hugged him tightly, and said, "I love you and have learned to trust you even more since the past adventure you and I have had together. You have taught me to observe and analyze everything about you; I have watched you and have only seen a strong, brave, courageous, and amazing man. I don't want to lose you. I have grown a little attached to you, and I know we're both still in the infant stage of our relationship, but I still don't want to lose you. The darkness can't consume you or take away the light you possess.
Furthermore, I have noticed that every time I'm away from you, I can sense your heart rate beating normally; however, every time you see me, your heart beats fast. I find that adorable about you, to know that you like me, that you think about me, that you... really... love me."
Ariah blushed after she had spoken to him; she even smiled with her head facing down. Taski's cheeks turned red from her words, and his heart felt comforted by her voice and loving statements. Eden draped her arms over Thorn's body as his embers began to consume her slightly. Subsequently, she embraced Thorn with a kiss, igniting his flames even more intensely and calming his rage. Taski's heart burst with emotion as he embraced her love for him and hugged her goodnight, rubbing his nose against hers and kissing her. The two filled their passion into each other's hearts and parted ways for the night. Afterward, around 12:47 midnight, Taski was incredibly deep asleep in the room in complete silence. A fan was brushing against him as he slept. Just before the first hour of the morning had begun, he awoke from his slumber. Nonetheless, his physical appearance appeared frozen in his bed, and he couldn't move even slightly.
His hand was positioned flat on the bed, and his chest began to exhibit signs of anxiety. He looked around his room out of panic, and then in the corner of his closet appeared to be a tall and muscular figure in shadow form; the figure also felt to have a demonic presence with it. It glared at Taski and smiled disturbingly at him. The figure then called his name clearly and in a demon-like tone. This slightly frightened him, but as the figure got up and walked over to Taski's bed, his anxiety only intensified like a countdown getting faster and faster. "(What? What in the world is going on, no..., It can only be... sleep paralysis. Why now? this man is giving me the creepiest smile I've ever seen.)" Taski thought to himself in fear. Then the figure opened its mouth widely, and its horrifying mouth with saliva-drenched, crusty, and disgusting teeth was visible. Taski's heart panicked, which led him to scream in fear; however, he could barely move, and it felt as though his body was fighting against its shutdown.
Ariah sensed the intensity of his heartbeat in the room adjacent to hers, which jolted her from her slumber. The shadow figure vanished as she rushed into his room and slammed the door, allowing Taski to awaken fully. She placed her hand on his chest and instantly released her seed intoxication into his chest to soothe his anxiety. She asked numerous questions and became worried about his health, but he told her that his health was fine and that he was only having sleep paralysis. Subsequently, she acknowledged his response and proceeded to her bedroom, where she resumed her slumber. However, approximately two hours after the incident, he experienced a dream. He awoke from his bed and heard loud noises from the shuttle window; he stood up and looked outside, admiring the dark skies of the night; then suddenly, an explosion erupted and knocked the ship off course, sending it into a tall hotel building.
Upon awakening from the explosion's impact and crash, Taski looked forward and saw a dark red sky with dark storm clouds, demon-like flying creatures, a ginormous dark tornado, and lightning strikes. What stood out the most in his view was a tall skyscraper resembling a skyscraper in Treesape, but it was nearly on the verge of collapsing. Unfortunately, it would soon do so as the building began to crumble toward our hero. Then, immediately, he awoke to reality from his nightmare, although his dream was abrupt from a picture frame of Darice's team in a group photo that fell on top of his nose, thus causing him to awake. He was shocked by the reality that the dream had brought upon him and made him think to himself, (That dream, it's a dream very similar to the one I had at the Knight's Training Grounds. Except this time, the building collapsed on me. Is this a clue, a warning, or a glimpse into the future?)."
Now as hours passed through the day, Darcie, and her team then arrived in the state of Tennessee after a long and painful flight, Darcie then commands her squad to report to the control deck for an important meeting. "Everyone, listen up to me. This is it, and we are approaching the last stone. We are not here to screw around or sightsee; we're retrieving this stone and getting the heck out of here. Let's do this for our fallen soldier, Aaron. He gave his life for Akaio and lost his life for the stone. We will return to Asalikith and save the world from these Solar Pyramid terrorists." Darcie announces to them pridefully. They then give the formal salute, done with their palm facing sideways on their chest, their index and middle fingers pointed, and their other fingers curled up in their palm. Their thumbs are flat on the line of their index finger. With their salutes demonstrating their power, pride, and respect, they report to the shuttle's rear and prepare to land in the forest, where the fourth and final Heartlin Stone remains. The shuttle then finds a perfect open land visible on the radar, and the door opens into the forest, and our heroes set off into the deep and vast forest. It was 9:28 in the morning, and the humidity was only beginning to diminish; the heat burdened Mikado and Darcie due to their clothing decision.
"Ugh, it's too hot out here, and it feels like we're cooking near the sun. I wish I wouldn't have worn these tight jeans, and I wish I would've just stuck to the shorts, *sigh*. Perhaps you could cool the heat back there, sexy." Mikado expresses her feelings as she glances behind her, flirtatiously looking in Taski's direction. Taski chuckled at it, knowing her way of communicating. Darcie looked down at the radar and searched for the signal of the stone but experienced technical difficulties tracking down the signal. She luckily lined down a good spot on her radar and thus led the rest of them behind her leadership. Our heroes spend nearly an hour searching for their prize in the large and vast forest; unluckily, they suffer specific trials with the wireless radar device running into issues. Darcie then finds herself stressed out from the radar glitching and losing signal constantly, "Taski, I know you are more experienced in technology than I am; why don't you figure out this device's problem before I drive it into this tree nearby." Darcie offers over to Taski for help. He then takes the radar from her and tinkers around with the settings built in.
On the other hand, Mikado decides to walk around and admire the beautiful scenery of the forest, trees, large river streams, ginormous waterfalls, birds, squirrels, and other animals. She then pulls out her Nebula 24+ and takes some snapshots to add to her library. Killian finds this troublesome and says to her, "Hey, I don't think we have the time to be out here taking a billion photos of the same thing. We need to focus better and stop messing around." Mikado glared at him and said, "Killian, I understand that we are currently engaged in a significant task, but I know we are at a standstill. It isn't like we're losing the stone, as I only intended to capture a few photographs. Take the time to research your situation and think before you speak." She responded to him aggressively. He then pointed out to her that Taski had figured out the problem and proceeded forward. She crossed her arms together and walked behind Taski, aggravated.
Darcie pleaded with them to end their argument and move on. Later on, our heroes had approached the Heartlin Stone that was nearing them, Taski led them down a massive dirt hill, as it was the only way down toward their destination. After they made their way downward past the dirt hill, they stumbled into another issue with the radar. "That's strange; the radar indicated that the stone was right below us, but here we are, and there isn't anything in sight that looks like a sign to me," Taski mentioned to them all in concern. Darcie then brought up the probability of the stone being held underground, "Maybe the stone is underground; perhaps there is some tunnel under us or some underground lab. We'll have to keep searching around for clues, and I hate searching for clues in an end-of-the-world scenario like this;* ugh*." Darcie uttered in disappointment. Drake surveyed his surroundings and discovered a spacious area containing a massive white structure. He called his comrades, "Hey everyone, look! Over here, I see something that might help us in our little scavenge hunt."
The rest then looked towards the giant building that Drake had mentioned. Our heroes made way toward the large building that had suspicion all over it, Mikado began to shrink from the appearance of the building. The building had strange and faded text running across its structure, and a lot of moss was devouring it; there were also pieces of broken glass in almost all the windows. The building appeared like an abandoned lab facility from dozens of decades ago, and it frightened some of them as they continued to walk toward the big entrance of the facility. "Well, good call, Drake; you led us toward an abandoned building that looks like it belongs in some horror movie; you scored one for us here," Taski explains sarcastically. Taski then pulls out the radar to search for their next set of trails to follow; he then looks at the top right of the screen and notices that the battery is already nearly drained completely. This startled him, and he thought to himself, "(What?! I swear the batteries were excellent just a few minutes ago, strange. I'll just replace the batteries; better safe than sorry.)"
While he took the radar apart, Mikado, Drake, Ariah, and Killian walked around the premises to observe the building; Mikado took off and floated around the structures for closer details. Killian searched ground level and went off independently, while Drake stayed around Darice and Taski. Mikado then discovers something that pumps fear and confusion into her mind: "HEY, EVERYONE! Look Over Here! This is Something Urgent to see." Mikado announces to everyone in the field in panic. Darcie then zaps over to her location and is presented with a confusing and yet exciting discovery. "It says Treesape Facility Inc.," Darcie said aloud to herself. Drake then caught the eye of this and was dumbfounded by the Asalikian language being imprinted on the building. Darcie then wonders to herself, "(I wonder, what are David's true intentions of sending us out here? After all, he clarified that he scattered the stones into these specific places. Is there something David isn't telling us? Is he truly who he proclaims himself to be?)" Taski then announces to them, "The Radar is Fresh and New!" Taski and Killian noticed that the doors were locked shut and that the chains holding the doors closed were thick and robust. The two approach the doors and mutually agree to blast them down. Darcie jumps out of goosebumps from the impact of the blast and yells, "BOYS! You Could've, oh, I don't know, WARNED US!"
When Mikado expressed her fear of the dark building they began to enter, Taski comforted her and guided her through while looking at the radar for the location of the stone. As our heroes traverse into the dark and frightening abandoned lab facility, Taski notices that his radar has consumed a single battery log, which worries him. However, he continued strong while holding her and Ariah close to him and looking down at the radar. As the five of them continued walking and searching, they came across a distressful hallway that stretched long and wide. It had many patient rooms that seemed unusual to some of them as the smell of blood began swarming around them. "Eww! I can smell blood around in this hallway. But what could it be coming from?" Mikado complained while questioning the stench she smelled. Ariah then covered her nose, as did Taski and the rest; however, Drake avoided the smell and stumbled upon a particular room.
He then investigated the room where the smell came from, and Drake could only stop and admire his terrifying discovery. "Hey guys, I think I may have found where the smell is coming from; take a look at this," Drake announced with a confused and stunned tone. They then peaked into the room in which Drake informed them, all frightened and disgusted deeply. Mikado even puked from seeing the awful and disgusting scene. Ariah backed away instantly, fearful of the horrible, terrible, and foul creation. The room was covered in a hideous, monstrous, mutated, and rotten flesh-like experiment that covered almost everything. Drake heard a small, distant voice say, "Check the Desk before you." The voice whispered persistently to him over and over. Drake moved closer into the room, and Darcie shouted, "DRAKE! Get Out of There. What Are You Doing!?" Drake ignored her command and examined the desk in front of him. He then found an old document in a folder with the code name Farcel stamped on it; he picked it up and looked through the pages. Darcie commanded him once more to leave the room immediately; however, Drake just continued flipping through the pages and heard strange sounds in his head, along with unexplainable voices speaking to him. Killian then shouted aggressively, "Instead of flipping through those pages, why don't you get out of that flesh-infested room, STUPID MORON!"
Drake then spoke to them calmly, "Guys, I think this is more important than any of you think. There is some vital looking information here, as well as names of people that seem special. Plus, I'm hearing voices in my head that tell me that someone named Dr. Farcel is the leader of this experiment, and his name is meant for something important." Killian then grabbed him and pulled him out of the room with frustration. "Do I need to honestly break your back and learn to listen to simple instructions? You frustrate me sometimes, you know." Drake then looked him in the eyes without a word to respond, and he felt much heat rising in him after Killian shouted. Taski then searched on his radar for the next path to take, but then he noticed the battery had consumed another half of the battery life. "(What? This is absurd, my battery is already close to dying. Even though I just refueled this radar, something is strange with this place.)" Taski wondered about himself while escorting Mikado, Ariah, and the rest of his team. The team subsequently proceeded through the abandoned building and ultimately discovered their elevator leading towards the Heartlin Stone; however, it dawned on them all about the power situation of the entire facility.
"Well, Darcie, I think this is where you step up and shine. Whaddya say?" Taski mentioned to his sister that she disagreed and thought the idea would be futile. Taski persuaded her to try it and generate electrical power within the palm of her hand. Nevertheless, Darcie persisted in devising an alternative solution to powering the elevator. Eventually, Darcie agreed and rubbed her hands at super speed to make an electricity spark off her hands; she then reached in and charged the power unit near the elevator. Unfortunately, she was blown back towards the wall, failing her intentions. "See, I told you it wouldn't work, bro." She murmured to her brother in dissatisfaction. Then Killian stepped forward and offered an answer to the problem blocking them, "I'll just burn it with my magma, easy and simple. Now, step back, everyone." Killian warned them with his straightforward action. He then burned down the door and the floor inside. The lava continued to burn down the mold slowly, and nothing stood in its way. Taski then stuck his head inside the elevator entrance and was greeted by a black widow spider hanging from its web, he pulled back immediately out of panic; as spiders were one of Taski's biggest fears. He then ignited his flame bright enough to burn the spider webs and any insect that stood in his way. Mikado warned him to be mindful and to go slowly down the elevator, to which Taski responds, "Nothing to worry about, just a regular guy out doing some crazy and dangerous stunts, I think I'm getting closer to the floor, or maybe not."
As he slowly climbs down, it crosses Mikado's mind to grant him flight with her gravity. He then receives her gift and floats down faster and safer, along with the rest of the team. Our heroes then reached the bottom floor, to which the stone remained. Killian melted down the doors and busted down the remains of the door that stood. Darcie and her team were consequently sucked into the utter darkness of the bottom floor, and a sense of apprehension engulfed the majority of them. The room in which they stood was massively huge, leaving them with a harsh obstacle in their path. Darcie then turned her flashlight on to propel extra light; unfortunately, her flashlight immediately drained and emptied. "What? That's impossible, and these are long-lasting flashlights. 24 hours, whatever. Bunch of lies they advertise." Darcie uttered from her frustration.
Drake then powered his light on, which had not yet been turned on or opened from the package. He then powered it and lost its energy instantly. This shocked Darice and the others and shot fear into their hearts. Mikado, Killian, then Ariah, and even Taski lost their flashlight power instantly upon turning them on. Mikado panicked and screamed to the top of her lungs, shouting, "Taski, Taski babe, anyone!?" When Taski illuminated his flame aura, everyone could see clearly. Mikado rushes over to him and holds him tightly. Likewise, everyone gathers around him. It was disturbing enough to cause Mikado to breathe heavily. Taski could even feel her heartbeat, and Ariah became uneasy from the feeling of her heartbeat.
"Everyone, stay calm. I can use my ability to give us light in the room. We'll have to move forward like this. Now, let's see where this stone is at." Taski mentioned to them all, but then Darcie commanded him to refrain from using the radar, but he had already powered on the radar device. "Taski, NO! Don't Turn on the Radar!" Darcie shouted to her brother. Then, the stone radar died instantly upon activation, "No, please tell me you... We needed that badly." Darcie complained to him as her frustration grew tremendously. Killian then steps forward and memorized the map's coordinates on the radar, "Everyone, I remember seeing where the stone is on the radar, if you all are too nervous to step forward, then allow me to retrieve it. I'm not scared to get my hands dirty." Killian bravely announces to them as he proceeds forward toward the hallway. His arrogance and pride irritated Mikado and Darcie, but they allowed him to continue down the hall. Taski tries to reason with him that the hallways appear too dangerous and sketchy to attempt alone and offers to go down with him. Killian then realizes the hallway's darkness and agrees to keep his company with him going forward, "You have a point; it is pretty dark down here, and your light could give me a hand."
Killian spoke to Taski in response. Mikado told Taski, "You should let him go alone since he thinks he's all that. I wouldn't go; besides, I need a nice and cuddly bear to cling to." Ignoring Mikado's comment, Killian pushed toward the Heartlin Stone. Taski marched forward with him, illuminating the pathway as the two entered the long, dark, and disturbing hallway. Taski heard many disturbing sounds through some of the doors that led into lab rooms, he even had spotted many rooms with what seemed to be blood splattered on the floors, guts left on tables, and shattered test tubes. This made him nervous, but the two continued walking toward the end of the hall; then suddenly, "Hey, look down the hall; it looks like a bright shining light. We may have found it, Taski. Let's hurry and get moving." Killian shouted to him and pushed forward at full speed. Then suddenly, the floor disappeared in front of them, and Taski nearly fell into a massive hole and stopped Killian from rushing. The sound of Taski's gasp of air echoed throughout the hallway and was heard by the others who stayed behind, and concern built up in Ariah's heart, as did the others.
"Well, it seems like we have another obstacle in our path. I wonder what we can do, and it looks like this hole stretches pretty far out. Any suggestions?" Taski spoke out of confusion and asked Killian. The two thought to themselves while stuck near the hole that found them; it then crossed Killian's mind, "(I know, I'll just claw my way to the other side and call it a journey; it'll be simple. Plus, I don't need Taski's light anymore since the stone is giving off enough light to help me out.)" Killian thought to himself. He unleashed his burning claws and began clinging to the wall near him, "Woah?! Wait, what about me?" Taski asked him quickly as he remained stunned at his idea. "I don't need you anymore, and I got it from here," Killian told him as he climbed toward the other side. As Killian neared the end of his climbing, he noticed many uneasy sounds coming from the other side of the hallway, noises that sounded like aggressive chewing, like slobbery saliva. He then reaches over the other side and appeared on the other end of the hallway, the sounds became louder and more noticeable. "(Who's eating, sounds like someone hasn't eaten in ages. What the?)" Killian thought to himself as he approached the blue light. He then realized that the light was indeed the Heartlin Stone. However, he looked directly toward the stone and found the same abominable flesh-like creature devouring another human body slowly, as the body appeared distressed. "(What?! Am I really seeing this right now? It's consuming... A... human?)"
Killian thought as he stood, shocked at what was before his eyes. He watched as the flesh-like monster consumed the human remains; the sound of the monster chewing down on the human bone only cringed Killian. "(Is this..., fear that I'm feeling inside? No, it can't be.)" He asked himself in his mind. When Killian approached the stone, he heard a loud grunt, which caused him to even back away for a second. But he stood against his fears, quickly grabbed the stone like lightning, and rushed out. The flesh then sparked from the reaction of Killian's movement and groaned in anger, it then chased after Killian, as well as Taski. The instant reaction caught Taski off guard, and he immediately rushed off. Darcie and the others heard the loud and terrified screams coming from the hallway, causing Mikado to jump with anxiety, "LET'S GET OUT OF HERE, NOW!" Both Taski and Killian screamed aloud as they escaped from the flesh abomination. Darcie stands with her jaw dropped, confused and paralyzed at the sight. The flesh rushes out like lightning and without delay, covers the elevator entrance, as well as the available exits, it traps our heroes and leaves no room for escape, our knights remain surrounded by disgusting, and a revolting failed experiment. Our knights are left with little to zero options, "(This is not how I wanted our story to end; we have no escape. We can't fight something like this.)" Taski thought to himself with confusion attached to his thoughts.