Project: IRREGULAR (Phase 1)

Chapter 7: Dungeon and... Mantis? (Part 1)

"The Berothan Deserts..? Already...?"

Ars, who had just heard new information about the whereabouts of Sabre's Team through a spy, appears alerted by the location. His eyes twitched with concern, but nonetheless acted as calm as possible.

"Yes," said the spy, "and, as you already know for being Lord Deroplat's son, it's his residing place, and where the Witches gather. The heroes have left Neohi Village and been traversing there since. "

Emojack then walked into the throne room and sat on the staircase. "No need to worry, my liege. This whole place is all about trials made by the very Mantis himself, so much for a security system that no intruders have ever lived to tell the tale. Besides, I made a scan on Sabre back at the Neohi Village. Their waterproof coating is damaged, they won't survive the first trial: an oasis."

"Lovely..." Ars said delightfully. "Father's doing our work for us. But, just to make sure, you two go and follow them when they've reached the chamber, and bring me the Miracle Gems."

He then tossed a pair of teleporter devices to Emojack, one of which was to be given to the spy at Neohi Village.

"As you wish, my liege." The jester bowed as he headed out, before cutting off a leash.

-------

Team Heroes have been walking through the deserts, feeling extremely drained as they go.

"I can't walk any further..." Sabre moaned, being the first to fall down.

"Neither could I..." Nyaia was the next, even she had been using her staff to hold herself.

Luna also felt the same and almost fell off her moon orb until Cyclops held both, but he too have been feeling the intense heat. "Need... water..."

"You're all weaklings." Snipe sighed, but still quickly succumbed to the heat and he knelt down.

"Say Nyaia... is it like that when you traveled far to find me?? You said you lived here, don't you?" Sabre asked.

"Well.... I swear it's not as hot as it is right now... The Mantis' fragments that scattered across this desert, like this limb you see over there, was supposed to cool the desert down for easy travel, but it also has a lot of sneaky traps to prevent intruders from entering his vicinity..."

"Such as...?"

Just as Sabre was about to question what traps it might have, they suddenly fell into the sand as if something dragged them down there, and it tried to escape with its prey

"SABRE?!" Nyaia screamed as she chased through the trails only to look in shock that it's leading to an oasis.

Remembering how Sabre had to use an umbrella - unusual for an Irregular - during their first encounter , she quickly casted a spell.

"Shine bright, Aradia's Staff! Uhhhh TOOTHPASTE AD!!"

For an instance, as she spoke, whatever was under the sand bumped into an invisible wall, letting go of Sabre as it flinged them towards the air, before retreating.

"...what kind of spell is that? Toothpaste ad??" Snipe was instead dumbfounded by the weird spell Nyaia used.

"I have seen human cartoons!" She responded to a confused Snipe. "... at meme archives!"

Sabre brushed off the sand on them and plucked out a tooth stuck on their chassis.

"Man.. that thing sure got the strength to bite." They shrugged before giving the tooth to Cyclops for a scan.

"Huh, The Mantis sure got some really dangerous trials for intruders." He said, "that one just now was a Megalodon Irregular that has been placed in the oasis since the Great War and has been damaged from the rust, both his shell and his internal programming."