The Fall of RaDos

4

The first few days across RaDos were largely uneventful, much to the benefit of the group. The sky was calm as they rode through the last of the Yothma Woods and approached the deteriorated banks of the Ban-Gafi Rift.

The group, in order to reach Bagor, would have to travel east, and then north, circling the Spell Zone– the remnants of Altamor. However, large rifts originating from the Spell Zone acted as natural barriers. Ones which made it especially difficult for the group to get to Ogama-Gor quickly, and which blocked their path now.

Seth stepped off his bike first, taking a moment to examine the fissure. The path they'd taken so far was lightly traveled, but it should have led to a bridge. One which was clearly missing.

"How're we gonna cross with our bikes in tow? Wasn't there supposed to be some kind of crossing here," Rion complained, "or has Seth's map reading skills gotten worse?"

"There was," Mel spoke, a shocked tone emanating from her voice, "look."

She pointed to two burnt posts. After walking up to them, she realized they'd been cooked to the very core. A soft, red glow snuck its way between the blackened wood, suggesting its destruction wasn't too long ago.

"Maybe it was destroyed by a slayer?" Rion suggested.

"No," Erik was now by the posts, sorting through the buttons on the keyboard on his gauntlet. "This was deliberate, the sigil slayers simply don't have that kind of mental capability."

He aimed his gauntlet at the wood, scanning it, "A sigil slayer wouldn't even be able to fit on this bridge without its weight crushing it. The scanner is picking up trace amounts of heat. It could be that the Zads are back, trying to sabotage our route. Though I don't know if–"

"--Well that means we're headed in the right direction," Seth interjected. "In the meantime, it'll take too long to go around. Mel, merge with Draykor and create an ice bridge for the stormers."

"Got it,"

Seth nodded, as Mel brought forth Draykor and combined with the white draconic guardian. He then turned towards the other two defenders,

"Erik, will the ice be enough?"

"Maybe, but not all at once. I'd recommend reinforcing it, otherwise the bikes may push through it."

"Easy enough. Rion, cast silver membrane on the makeshift bridge," Seth commanded.

"Yessir. Silver Membrane!" Rion gave a sort of salute, before casting out the henge. Mel barely finished spewing ice by the time the metallic substance coated the frigid ridge.

After the group finished, Mel landed back down, folding in her white wings and calling Draykor back to the confines of her amulet. Rion and the rest mounted their bikes again, and slowly, the group crossed the Rift one by one.

All the while, not one noticed as a figure emerged from the forest, glaring as they disappeared beyond the horizon. 

>-------------------------------------------------------------------------<

Later that evening the group set up camp. They were about half way to Arboth– where they'd resupply before continuing. Mel began preparing a meal, while Seth and Rion went to gather firewood. Erik stayed, keeping her company while tinkering with his gauntlet.

"What're you working on, Erik?"

"A subsonic propulsion tether."

Mel raised an eyebrow.

"Oh right," He responded sheepishly. "You could call it a grappler. I thought about it a while ago, but the missing bridge was a good excuse for me to bring it up. If I could get it right on a small scale, I might be able to implement it to the sigil stormers; then we could go basically anywhere without relying so much on our guardians or stones. I just needed to tighten this last one..." He twisted his screwdriver, and shut the opening he'd been messing with.

"And done!" Right as he threw his arms up in celebration, he accidentally hit the tree he'd been leaning on. Suddenly, the grappling hook shot out, piercing a branch higher up the trunk.

Mel watched as Erik was dragged 3 feet off the ground, and smiled. He stood there dangling, "Oops..."

"You ought to be more careful with your inventions, Erik. One of these days someone's gonna get hurt." She said, waving her cooking utensil as she spoke.

"Just help me down before the others get back. Please. Rion will never let me live this down."

"Too late!" Rion burst onto the scene, laughing at the carver's plight. "Awh man, I am so not. They'll have to call you Erik the Dako Worm."

Seth walked in right behind, smirking, "It's got a ring to it. What do you think, Mel?"

"I think you two need to put the firewood down and help him. And, personally," she added with a smile, "I think Erik the Hanging-Damsel-In-Distress is more accurate."

>-------------------------------------------------------------------------<

Dinner finished cooking not long after, and the defenders sat enjoying the meal. It was tranquil, as the surrounding brush swayed gently in the wind. Cricket-like insects played their tunes, while the fire sang along. Seth was the first to fall asleep-- well, more of a food coma-- followed shortly by Rion and, eventually, Mel.

Erik remained awake determined to fix his grappler. Still, he took a moment to look around. The wind brushed against his face, reminding him of the first time they'd been outside the dojo.

They were all so excited back then. They were free to go out on their adventure. To save RaDos, and get to know her along the way. They still wore the same outfits from back then– Mel in her azul, non-traditional Gi, Seth with his tactical, black shirt and cargo pants, and Rion with a sort of white bandit outfit. They hadn't really changed.

All of them, except Erik.

He sighed, putting his screwdriver down, and looked at his free hand. There was so much to be done.

Erik glanced around for a moment, making sure the others were asleep. They were still, only stirring to get more comfortable on the hard ground.

With that assurance, he turned back to his gauntlet. The level was a small, stationed within the joint connector, which he flicked, opening the compartment. Erik pulled out a stone, its faces scratched and the carvings unrecognizable. Slowly, carefully, he began whittling away at the secret cube.

>-------------------------------------------------------------------------<

A/N: For those who don't know, Erik is a stone carver now-- a select group of individuals who carve sigil stones; even more so, he's a master stone carver. Sadly this was all shoehorned into the show near the end of its run, so it was never properly elaborated on. 

Q/A: The first interactive bonus! I'll ask the first question, and you all are free to follow suit.

New Readers: Who is your favorite character so far?

Veteran Fans: Who is your favorite character in the show?