"WHAT'RE YOU BLOODY WELL DOING!?" I scream in question at Ioike. She's been fighting me every step of the way so far. She will not stop until she's found something and she won't even let me help.
"Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where?" she repeats ad nauseam, throwing aside everything she lays her hands on. Tablets break against the floor while others chip and metal bits rattle and roll.
"IOIKE!" I roar against her ear and she covers it, clearly able to hear me.
"I need to find it..." she mutters, fidgeting but keeping her fear in check. I glance up when something cracks and whistles.
"WE GOT TO-" I start to roar, stopping when it explodes above the roof. A pair of feet land and dent the thing inwards. Better them than how many tons of rock this mountain can drop down. Heading outside, I spot Nin just as he hops down.
"We're going, now!" he orders, grabbing me and my magic flares up in his face.
"Ioike's still in there!" I snap and he nods, letting me go so he can go drag her out. He suddenly launches back into the wall, his front glowing with the remnants of a spell.
"We're leaving..." Nin growls, getting up and Ioike's wide eyes snap to me, then back to the box.
"NO! I NEED TO FIND IT!" Ioike screams, her hands thrashing a box about before she starts to do her recollection habits.
"We don't have time for this!" Nin snaps, grabbing her and ignoring the next spell and I follow along while she screams like a stroppy child.
"DON'T YOU DARE TAKE ME! WE NEED TO FIND IT! OTHERWI-" she tries to explain at the top of her lungs. A giant's hand reaches out through the hole in the glass. Everything it touches turns to dust.
"GOING UP!" Nin snaps, grabbing onto me and leaping with all his might. He finds further footing and leaps until we are outside, wind in our hair. His magic fires off and our drop is halted so we can come down slower.
"NO! NOOOOOOO!" Ioike screams hysterically, breaking free the moment she can. She rushes back towards the mountain and I leap for her, tackling her to the ground. She tries to claw me off and I force her still.
"LOOK AT ME, WHATEVER IT IS, IT'S NOT WORTH DYING OVER!" I roar in her face and she spits up at me.
"ATARIFUGE IS BREAKING FREE! WE NEED THE TABLET DETAILING HIM! IT'S OUR ONLY CHANCE!" she snaps, her hands lighting up with her magic. Hissing with clenched teeth, I let the winds shred up my skin worse than any skid along a road could.
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"Whatever it is, it will be back at Suhurlodst, it will be backed up there, right!?" I remind her, just in case. Of all the times for her to be forgetful!
"I don't know..." she mutters, tears taking over any behaviour she has left.
"THE SPIRAL-TRAIN IS ON A TIMER, GO NOW!" the man in the control booth roars, a dark object heading his way. A boulder crashes through the building and a red splatter covers the glass.
"Go, I will handle it, I saw the lever his hand was on." Nin tells me and I drag Ioike up to her feet. Fighting against her still, we get onto the back end car and the train's engine comes to life. Nin rushes out of the control booth just as the rest of the mountain is starting to come down.
A red figure steps out.
"Come on, good shot..." I mutter under my breath, tightly holding my friend still while Liadanann fills the sky with shields. Nin leaps and smashes what he can and the two rush to not miss the train as it begins its departure.
"GUYS!" I roar with all I can, watching as the dark figure grabs the red one. They become a blur and something smashes against the train's roof just before it can fully get started spinning.
The on-board alarm goes off.
"WARNING! WARNING! SPIRAL-TRAIN LINE COMPROMISED!" the machine goes and my mouth stutters.
"COMPROMISED!?" I repeat, not noticing any panic further up the train. I turn back to the mounta-
Where's the mountain?
Where is it!?
"What's going on back there?" one of the other dig site students asks as the mountain blows away in the wind. Blue fire erupts at the edges of the growing desert. An almost pitch-black skeleton draped in ruined cloth of a bluish hue rises. A great, long sword rising with it like a cane.
"Atarifuge..." I repeat, swallowing and choking on my words. The giant rears its head back and howls with all it can, the desert's growth accelerates.
"EVERYONE TO THE NEXT CAR! MOVE! MOVE!" someone roars with all they can and panic erupts. Holding my friend tight, we find ourselves at the back of the congestion.
"Come on, up, up!" I insist, forcing her to her feet and pushing her along into the crowd as best as I can. The back of the car starts to blow away. The screaming grows and a punch strikes my jaw.
"GET BACK! GET BACK!" one student screams, his boot already bloody. I let go of my friend and strike him back, pulling the thug out of the squeezing group. I keep up the blows, forcing him back towards the end of the car. One final full-body barge sends him flying and I hit the floor. Looking up, I watch as the student just vanishes.
The dust creeps too quickly. I can't get back up quick enough!
A hand takes my collar and throws me up. I watch Ioike keep her eyes set and she shoves me onto the door to the next car. She smiles at me and starts to wave as the car decouples, claw marks on its roof.. She slips and vanishes with it all.
"I... Eee... IOIKE!" I scream, scrambling to my feet with the help of the others on the car. Staring out as the desert continues to grow, my eyes lock onto the giant. It stands tall, taller than any mountain left standing around it and a hand reaches for a nearby peak. The entire mountain collapses in on itself, becoming a massive dune.
Nin and Liadanann slip in finally, pushing the crowd up further.
"ALRIGHT EVERYONE, FURTHER ALONG! FUR-" someone calls out above the tears and hyperventilating. Going quiet, the noise becomes a blur and I keep staring out at the endless sand.
Atarifuge's attention settles squarely on us and the desert stops. But, with one step ahead, it lurches forward with him. For so impossibly wide around him...