~Chapter 3~
Jirro shook his head. What got into Aero there? Out of nowhere he sprinted further into the cavern, and then the ceiling started to crack. What odd timing.
Temp run his hands through the lava spewing from above. "Want me to go after him?"
Jirro shook his head, "Nah. Aero can take care of himself. We'll run into him eventually. Let’s keep looking."
The ground began to rumble, Jirro looked around at the ceiling in case there was another crack forming in the ceiling. But the rumbling came from something approaching. Several bearded dragons’ scurried towards the three to investigate the noise.
Several bearded dragons belched fire at the three. Temp jumped in front of the inbound and fire and took the brunt of it. The heat did him no harm.
Jirro ran towards the creatures, hopping over the bearded dragons to their tails. He gripped one of their tails hard, twisted his waist, and proceeded to toss the creature against the walls of the caverns.
One of the beasts flicked their tails at Jirro, but he simply caught it mid swing. He gripped it and with a mighty throw over his shoulder, he flipped the creature onto its back.
A bearded dragon lunged at Temp, pinning him to the ground. It went to devour the Mecarne, but he grabbed the beast’s jaws and held it at bay. Ruben would've helped if one of the beasts didn't attack him as well.
Temp torqued on the beast’s mouth and twisted it to the side, relieving enough of its body weight off of him that he could slip out from under it and stand. When it tried to lunge again, he kicked it in the snout.
Soon enough the bearded dragons realized the three were not to be trifled with and turned tail, scurrying away through the caves.
"Maybe we should go?" Ruben said. Ruben couldn't help but think the beasts were simply protecting their home from invaders.
Temp sneered at the thought, "Not until we find that gem. I don't get paid until we do."
Jirro narrowed his eyes at Temp, "Maybe Ruben's right, this place is dangerous. But we should at least find Aero before we leave. This gem might not be worth it."
Temp scowled, "I didn't come here for nothing!"
"I'll pay you for your trouble... Don't worry."
The three began to backtrack through the caverns, briefly checking out areas they hadn't investigated yet as they went. They came upon a particularly large pool of lava in an open area, with bearded dragons circled around it. When the creatures saw the three, they hissed at them, but didn't dare approach. The dragons were scared of them.
"I really think we should out of here." Ruben pressed as they walked.
Temp chuckled, "What's wrong kid? Are they making you nervous? Worried one might try to eat you again?" Ruben furrowed his rock-brow. Temp looked back and saw the young Densius's irritation, "Sorry kid. I guess its become a force of habit to talk like that to friends. It's just how everyone was in Ekor's crew. Try not to take anything I say to heart." Temp explained, sounding surprisingly sincere.
Jirro clicked his tongue and smiled at Temp, "Did you just apologize?"
Temp rolled his eyes, "Don't get used to it."
The center of the pool of lava began to rupture, forming a ripple effect through it. The lava violently began to morph, something was moving within it. A shape was starting to become evident within the magma. A massive figure drew near to the end of the lava pool, and the three stepped back quickly, as did the bearded dragons.
Two curved blades colored orange from the surrounding magma emerged from the pool of lava followed by a round head with antennae atop it. The head alone was larger than the children or any of the bearded dragons. An oval like thorax followed the head with several thin appendages attached to it serving as legs. At the end was a large bulbous abdomen. The bizarre creature was completely covered in lava and magma.
It shook its whole body, and the lava which covered it was shaken off. Temp stood in front of the others to protect them from an incoming chunk of lava. Two solid black eyes were revealed on the creature's head.
It snapped its pincers and charged after the three. Ruben and Temp ran out of instinct, but Jirro clenched his fist. A blue light surrounded his fist and with a punch through the air a beam of light rocketed towards the creature. The Focus Burst struck the creature... and did nothing. As it drew close Jirro could feel intense heat emanating off it, and he turned tail to run.
The three managed to run out of sight of the creature and hid, unfortunately it chased them into a dead end of the caverns. It was a largely empty area with only a single small pool of lava to illuminate it. They hid behind a pillar of rock for cover.
"What is that thing?" Jirro said from behind cover. He watched the creature linger around the passage they had come through. It was blocking their only way out.
Temp stared, "I think its an insect."
"What's that?" Jirro and Ruben asked in unison.
"A massive creature that used to populate the world a long time ago. I heard they were hunted to extinction." Temp explained, "This one must've adapted to the heat of Weld Mountain and hid here. I think this one is a Fire Ant."
Jirro clicked his tongue, "I can't fight this thing. Its body is too hot to get close to, and my Focus Burst didn't seem to harm it at all."
"You can't fight an insect! They're practically mythical creatures. No one person can kill them."
"Even if we could kill it, I don't think we should." Ruben said softly, "I think it's just defending its home. If we didn't stir things up, it probably would've left us alone."
Jirro stared at the Fire Ant blocking their escape, and recalled the bearded dragons sitting around the lava pool before. Were they calling on the fire ant for help?
"So, what do we do?" Temp looked to the young Densius with bated breath.
"We need to find to run away somehow." Jirro looked around the area, "Which is difficult since it seems to be blocking the only way out."
The Fire Ant snapped its large pincers loudly, and the sound reverberated through the caverns. Ruben's eyes were fixed on the pool of lava. "Temp, you can swim through lava right?"
Temp nodded and followed Ruben's eye line to a pool of lava. "You want me to go in there?"
"Yeah. See if you can find another way out. Maybe there’s a wall we can break through or something."
Temp nodded and deftly ran to the pool of lava with the intent of making as little noise as possible. He disappeared into the small pool of lava. Ruben and Jirro were alone. 351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ27DwXBRmsJ
