Whoosh!
Zane's eyes widened at the sudden force field surrounding him. He blinked a few times, processing the escalated situation. He opened his mouth to speak--
"Move!" the warrior exclaimed before shoving Zane away. The two nearly stumbled to the ground. They dashed behind one of the only trees that remained within the miniature barrier. It was just large enough to hide a single body, so the ice master stood in front of his new ally. Zane looked past them to see his ice shield had shattered against the crustacean's tentacles. The creature tried to crush the warrior's contraption. It remained intact with each blow, but the slightest bit of cracks began to surface. "I told you to leave..." Zane turned back to the warrior. Their blue and yellow armor resembled a technological samurai.
"I couldn't leave you alone with a Cala-Pod..." Zane answered before diving out of the monster's view. Its tentacles swayed in the air now while its crab-like legs moved in circles, seeking its prey.
"If you know that it's a Cala-Pod, then you also know that it preys on elemental powers..." the warrior trailed off, causing Zane to make direct eye contact with them. The two stared for a moment in complete silence.
"How did a Cala-Pod even get so far from the ocean---"
ROAR!!!
Zane and the samurai jumped while their hiding tree was torn from the earth. The Cala-Pod chucked it away with its tentacle. The tree smacked against the force field before dropping back to the ground. Samurai then ripped back out their swords.
"Your presence is causing the Cala-Pod to grow more unstable. You need to stay back," they said before dashing towards the creature. Zane joined the warrior, trapping tentacles in blocks of ice. The two continued to dodge swift blows from the crustacean. Zane slid underneath the creature before blasting its legs with more freezing water.
"Then why create the force field!?" Zane exclaimed over the roaring Cala-Pod.
"Because the college can't know this creature's presence. It's soundproof to everyone outside of it!" Samurai exclaimed after getting flung into their own force field.
"We need more assistance. We can't--AH!" Zane spat before a tentacle wrapped around him, keeping his arms to his sides. It lifted the ice master into the air. Zane could have sworn the creature was smiling with its jagged teeth. It opened its mouth. A vaccum-like vortex then began sucking the power out of the ice master, showing a pale light leaving his body. The android's body went limp. His gaze grew dull as he could feel himself growing weaker. The second android sprinted into action. They tossed a throwing star directing onto the monster's exposed tongue.
The beast then let out a loud screech in pain before releasing the ice master. Zane nearly landed face first into the dirt until the Samurai caught him. The two tumbled before sitting up to stare at the crying beast. Despite his pounding headache, Zane could hear sizzling from within the monster's mouth as the Samurai raced to him.
"It seems to not find your throwing star edible..."
"It's because of the metal," Samurai replied. Zane raised an eyebrow towards the warrior, but he didn't reply. Instead, the two allies jolted at another realization. They turned towards each other simultaneously.
"I have a plan!"
...
After their dinner, Kai and Skylor waltzed back to their apartment building. Their chatter carried throughout the night air.
"Okay, okay, wait, you said what to him?"
"I told the dude, hey! Only I can call my sister a snob! And then I punched him and scared him off," Kai bragged as they walked side-by-side down the sidewalk. Skylor raised an eyebrow. The fire master noticed her look before letting out a sigh."Okay! The two of us got in a fist fight until a teacher ripped us apart." A laugh escaped his girlfriend's lips.
"You know you can't pull that whole hero act on me," Skylor stated with a smirk.
"I can hardly do it with that stare you give me. You sure that isn't you're actual elemental power?" Kai asked.
"What element would that even be?" Skylor questioned while wrapping her arm around her boyfriend's.
"I don't know! But it's powerful as heck..." Skylor smirked before kissing his cheek.
"You're sweet."
"You're sweeter~"
"Shut up!" Skylor exclaimed before laughing out loud.
...
Meanwhile, Cole and Seliel were busily at work. They returned to the earth master's apartment and practically destroyed the kitchen with all their baking.
"No don't--"
Poof!
A cloud of powder consumed the air, turning the two as white as snow.
A dry cough escaped Cole's mouth before giving a ghost of a smile towards the pink haired girl.
"Too much flour?" he asked his scowling friend. Seliel rolled her eyes in response.
"Got any towels?" The earth master nodded before walking away. As she watched him go, though, Seliel couldn't help but grow a smile. She let out a small sigh while leaning forward over the counter.
Ding!
The warrior glanced over to the phone at the end of the messy counter.
Cole's phone.
She ignored the sound, but the dinging continued.
Ding!
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Seliel glanced over at it finally, seeing the name stretched across the caller ID.
Dad
Heavy foot steps grew, causing the young woman to look up.
"Hey, I think your dad's calling you," Seliel remarked. She noticed the sudden frown replacing Cole's smile. He handed her a towel before picking up his phone. The ringing stopped, and the sound of tapping keys scattered underneath his fingers. "You good?"
"Yeah, I'll just call him back later," Cole answered, but Seliel couldn't help but hear the shift in his tone. She wanted to press. Her mouth, though, seemed to be glued shut.
"Hey, how about--"
Roar...
The two turned towards the faint sound.
"You hear that?" Seliel asked while heading over to window.
"Yeah..." Cole answered as he followed closely behind. After pulling back the curtains, the two noticed a shadowy figure in the far distance. They could tell that it was enormous due to its body sticking over the trees.
"What the heck is that..." Seliel trailed off. The two friends glanced between themselves before heading for the door.
They rushed out so fast that Cole forgot his phone.
The latest text from his father read:
Hey son, how's Marty Oppenheimer?
Cole's reply hung loosely underneath:
Great! Can't wait to see you next week.
...
Lloyd picked up the pace. He couldn't find any students wandering around the woods, but the ear-splitting roar just now definitely grabbed his attention.
"Wait! Wait up!" Lloyd snapped his attention towards the sight of--
"Jay?!" the blonde rushed over to the lightning master who was doubled over, gasping for air. Jay's head shot up at the sound of the teen professor.
"Crud..." he muttered. Jay straightened himself and cracked a wide grin. "Hey Lloyd!"
"What are you doing--"
"Caw! Caw!" The two looked up to see falcon spinning around their heads. It dove towards Jay and started yanking his sleeve.
"Okay, okay! I'm coming," Jay whined before following the black bird.
"Hey! Hold on!" Lloyd called out, but the lightning master was already gone.
ROAR!!!
Lloyd jumped once more. He shook his head before following the sound.
...
Luckily, both Lloyd and Jay arrived at the same scene. A humongous crustacean, Zane, and a technological samurai filled their vision, causing a lost for words.
"What the HECK IS THAT!?" Jay cried. Lloyd didn't respond. All he managed to focus on was the samurai using violet glowing ropes. They had wrapped them around the creature's legs while Zane tossed tiny metal pieces into its mouth. The crustacean roared in agony, but it refused to back down.
The ice master turned at the sound of Jay's voice.
"We could use some assistance!" Zane called out. His eyes landed somewhere else. Lloyd followed his gaze to see a smashed tiny contraption on the ground, sparking every which way.
The two young men finally snapped out of their shock and rushed towards the fight. Jay grabbed a hold of the ropes while Lloyd created bursts of energy, aiming it at the beast.
"No! Don't--"
Blast!
The Cala-Pod opened its mouth wide and ate the energy ball whole. It licked its lips in delight before growing in size. Samurai and Jay held the ropes as tight as they could, but they were practically dragged as the crustacean charged for Lloyd. Zane dashed towards the two and joined in the pulling. The creature growled as Lloyd jumped out of the way. Zane lifted one hand and blasted ice at the ground. The Cala-Pod slipped and skidded backwards. Its crab legs grew more tangled by the ropes, taking all the students with it. Lloyd raced to save them, but a tentacle latched around his stomach, dragging him down with them. The whole group flew back until they fazed through the college's force field, leaving nothing behind but silence...
A/n: I just looove cliff hangers don't I? See you all next time 😁😎👍