AND
IN
MOLE MONEY, MOLE PROBLEMS
PART DEUX
The cavern began to rumble once again, but unlike the worms this series of shaking wasn’t as violent, or loud, and footsteps could be heard, much like a marching band.
”Or an army.” David had mumbled out as he was thinking, trying to narrow in on the sound.
From the far side of the room he could see several moloids in some kind of formation. Their armor was decorated in gems in certain places, like an honor guard of some kind. Several others accompanied this forward guard on the sides, hoisting several large gold statues on their backs. If one had to guess, they’d be around the ten foot range, the statues themselves depicted a moloid standing with one foot above a pile of skull and bones, and the other stepping over another far smaller moloid, it wasn’t as armored as the other soldier creatures. Because it didn’t need to be perhaps.
Shortly after the ‘honor guard’ appeared, another contingent of worker moloids appeared, hoisting some large monument of some kind, it was decorated in gems.
”A bit tacky, maybe?”David had again spoke his mind without meaning to.
Uskriss scratched his beard.
”I dunno, it has its’ appeal. Post...moledernism.” A smaller group of moloids emerged from behind the honor guards, moving faster, a perk of being unarmored perhaps. The new moloids took a position near the statues and began playing their odd bone instruments, the instruments were all in sync, clearly practiced. As the song played on the moloids holding up the monument began to turn it sideways, it took almost a minute for them to completely turn it, revealing it to actually be a throne of some kind.
The figure seated looked like the one depicted on the statues, obviously supposed to be the same creature. Except it barely rose past the throne’s armrest, at a distance it seemed to be barely half a normal moloid’s height.
”He’s a….midget?” Uskriss, managing to keep a straight face, slapped Terra Firma’s flaming arm gently.
”C’mon, man, they prefer to be called ‘height-challenged mole-freaks. Be more sensiti- pffffffffft. Yeah, looks like it. At least, a midget as much as these midgets can get.” David had every intention of being serious, after all it’s his life on the line, but he couldn’t keep it in either. Uskriss was saying what he was thinking after all, so David allowed himself to laugh, and laugh he did. Their chuckling filled the chamber, it echoed back and forth between the walls, the figure on the throne seem to vibrate in anger as their laughing only increased.
The figure tried to get their attention, but it came out as a squeak and went unnoticed by the two heroes. It bounced into a standing position on it’s throne, it spoke again, but this time in english. Albeit, a squeaky, almost hard to hear, english.
“Behold, I am, Titanus Maximus the Giant. Cower in fear before me!”
”Fear you? When we can barely hear you? If your soldiers are anything to go by you’re chump change.” David said as he pointed at Titanus with his finger mockingly.
Uskriss had similar views on the “dread overlord” before them.
”I mean no offense, great lord,” he struggled to keep a straight face as he said this,
” but, well… your soldiers are pushovers, and you don’t seem to be a…. bigger threat than they were.” David couldn’t help it as he snickered at Uskriss’s last comment.
I can’t believe I took this guy seriously. “Thou shalt pay for thine insults! Face ultimate retribution!” Titanus squeaked loudly at them, and in but a moment he closed the distance between him and the heroes. Titan then slammed both of his tiny hands down onto the ground, and a shockwave of sound began to ring out.
”What the h-”David was cut off as he was blown back several meters by the unexpected attack.
Soundwaves, again? I barely got over that headache from that Berenice lady. Aaagghhh. David groaned to himself.
Uskriss, however, managed to hold his ground by sinking into the earth up to his knees, and bracing for the impact. It still almost bowled him over,though, causing him to lean back, as if he were doing the limbo.
After the shock wave passed, he climbed out of the holes, and, once he stood up, looked up at the midget king.
[color-Tan]”Neat trick, tiny-”[/color] But suddenly his face was full of midget moloid foot, and he was flying back to where Terra lay. Landing hard, he rubbed his neck, which was now sore.
”....Ow. Terra, my friend, I believe we may have underestimated our enemy here.” ”You’re tellin me.”David replied, his headache would be here to stay.
Titan was faster than he was, but he had some semblance of a plan. Much like earlier inside the worm, David drew upon his lightning powers, his body began to crackle with energy all over, like the beginnings of a storm cloud.
Come on, just try and touch me. Midget.David taunted, his arms played out, ready to catch him.
“Fool Titanus has downed you once, Titanus shall and can, do it again!” The moloid ruler rushed David again, but this time he crashed against his body, and bounced back, leaving a trail of smoke to mark his fall.
“I-I was the fool, I did not yet recognize that sound, I shall not fall for such trickery again! Your friend can move the Earth, but can you!” Titanus taunted back to David, with a wave of his hand the ground suck beneath him, and collapsed around his neck.
Uskriss reached out to free Terra Firma, only to be interrupted by Titanus sending a shockwave at him, from behind a column of Moloid soldiers. Flying through the air, screaming wildly, the Moloids came upon him, like a cloud of death. Uskriss had barely enough time to curse before he was dogpiled by tiny mole people, each trying, (and failing,) to harm him with their tiny spears.
David grunted as the floor collapsed around him, and he had the sneaking suspicion it was continuing to swallow him. He tried to give it a budge with his strength, but he found that with the rocks choking his body so tightly, he couldn’t find any leverage, couldn’t break out, and by now he had sunk to his eyes. Even some of the weaker moloids had come over to rub it in, kicking dirt in his face.
This is so lame. Wait, my powers come from the Earth, this should be in my abilities, shouldn’t it? It has to. David felt out, like trying to stretch another limb, no, rather it was another feeling. Something that had been repressed this whole time, the Earth. He could feel nearby movements in the ground, the moloid soldiers, Uskriss, and Titan.
”Yes, time to live up to my namesake!”David shouted as the Earth around him burst open, allowing him to jump up, and as he landed the ground reformed under him. The moloids that had surrounded him earlier were blown away, across in the room in various directions.
Uskriss, as quickly as he was trapped, he was freed. Standing up, and dusting his jacket off, he looked at Terra, and grinned, nodding his thanks.
”C’mon, let’s finish this!” Pulling deeper on the earth than he had ever done before, Uskriss’ power grabbed onto a thread, and he
tugged. Half of the room jerked violently in the air, tossing up the Moloid army, wrecking the statues, and hopefully unbalancing Titan.
”Hell yeah, let’s end this!”David shouted back, he was in it, the moment. When people talk about things they’d remember, when adrenaline enhances perception, this was it. He was feeling a type of synergy he’d never felt before, other feelings surfaced in this moment but he ignored them, he’d only need a few.
Drawing on the power of the Earth, in a very literal way now, David thrust at the room, and his half jumped as with an intensity one could only hope to see in an earthquake. Almost like shaking out a new rug, his half joined Uskriss’ and the Moloid army juggled upwards, it was almost comical to see them waving their limbs mid air.
”Teamwork!” ”Makes dreamwork!”
As if in sync both Terra Firma and Uskriss jutted their hands out, and slammed them into the ground. The air around every moloid, especially Titanus, ionized and electrified in an instant. Lightning cracked and shot out at each and everyone of the creatures, slamming them down into the ground with a fury they had never felt before. Each collision left a crater under their still smoking bodies, none of them were left standing. Both Uskriss and Terra Firma stood back up, side by side, and lightly tapped their fists against each other.
”I think I speak for the both of us when I say that was pretty damn awesome.” ”Oh hell yes.” David nodded approvingly.
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Dusting off his leather jacket, Uskriss cracked his back, as he flew up the tunnel, next to Terra Firma.
Making small talk, Uskriss asked,
”So, Terra, how’d you find yourself down here, my man? I felt something that tweaked my astral nose, so to speak. I’m a shaman, and all that jazz.” ”Heh,would you believe, I fell in?.....About earlier, when you asked if I was a fire spirit. I’m not going to lie and say I know what that is, but maybe it’s not so far from the truth. I’m the vessel for the Earth’s power, an avatar, no, Guardian of the Earth.” Both Uskriss and Terra Firma gently landed back on the surface, the edge of one of the tunnels that the pet moloid worms had opened. Together they closed it off, hiding that it ever happened, and the street was mostly restored. The people would thank them for removing those potholes.
Seeing that nobody was around David took in a breath.
”You showed me your face, and you probably gave me your real name, I’ll do the same to you.” Light exploded softly off his body, and the surroundings grew dark again in a moment. David had shrunk from his seven foot form, back down to his six feet sized human body, and he held out his hand towards Uskriss.
“My name is David Jones, call on me, if you ever need my help.”
Taking David’s hand, Uskri let out a loud, booming laugh.
”Alright! I suppose I’ll see you around, then! It’s a small city for people such as us, after all!” Giving it a firm shake, Uskriss began walking down the city streets, back to where Day was waiting in Little Chinatown.
He saved part of the city from a major threat, and made a new friend as well. Uskriss would count this as a good day.
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David smiled back as they shook hands, and parted a moment after that. His second hero, not counting the harpy lady, he was still confused on that, had gone very well. A friend made, and a new power unlocked, today was a good time. But now it was time to check local hospitals.
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