The will to ‘get up’ and resume their lives returned to Jiehong and he with the speed of a turtle tiptoeing through mud.

Standing upright once more after seemingly an hour or longer of pure pa--… he couldn’t even finish the thought. He stood upright again. That was all that mattered.

“How do I look?” he asked, though his words came out a muddle.

Jiehong replied half-heartedly. He said, “Ugh. You look like me after Sandy rejected my advance.”

Ouch! He had to laugh at that, he knew.

Wait, did I laugh? He asked himself. Yes. I actually laughed and didn’t think searing pain would rip my lungs out and step on my soul as my bones explode. Cool…

“How do I look?” Jiehong asked.

Zan looked his friend over. He said, “Like me after a Mud Tournament.”

Ugh. Not what he wanted to hear, but what could his brother expect?

On their feet again, he looked at Jiehong and asked how he felt. “Surprisingly good,” was the answer, and it, surprisingly, matched Zan’s own feeling.

“I could do with some sleep, though. Or something to eat,” he replied. “I can wait. But… sorry, now what do we do?”

“Defend the light,” Sigma-Prime said. “Until the day you die, defend the light.”

“We have to make it back to the villagers,” he said.

“They’re safe for now… or they were before I left,” Jiehong said.

“Key word, right? ‘When’ you left… when…” Zan said.

“I see your point. It has been a while, hasn’t it?” Jiehong replied, looking at the two command center guardians.

“It has been approximately one hour since both of your arrived. You are free to leave and check in on your families, but you must return soon. As Ranger-Knights, you will find new responsibilities as you uphold the Ranger-Knight code.”

“And what is the code?” he asked.

“The code is simple. Uphold Truth, Individuation, and Goodness. Both of you are already upholding the code. Go and check on your families. The Screen-Master and I will be here getting the command center up and running. When your families are safe, return to us, and we will arm you with the tools of the Ranger-Core.”

Not fully understanding what Sigma-Prime told them, but leaving anyway, he and his brother rushed out of the command center.

Leaving the building, they noticed a lot more of its submerged form had surfaced. What had been little more than an oddly jutted cave jutting out of the ground was now as tall as any holy building in a bustling city. ‘Whoa,’ he stuttered, seeing the tall parapet towers and sparking field of electricity which surrounded the structure; he saw how the way stones shone more brightly than before and singed anything which either got too close or had an evil intent. Of course, he only knew of the field's deadlier qualities because of the many insects which burst into tiny lumps of meat upon wandering too close to a way stone turret.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Looking outside, he saw the meadow cleared of enemies. All around the command center’s perimeter were small fires which marked where a foe once stood tall. In other places, black splotches scorched the meadow, marking where a burned foe had long since disintegrated. Zan breathed deeply. As he exhaled, he felt victorious.

“We… did you do this? I entered the center once it popped up. Did you have to cut a path through all of them?” he asked, referring to the many black places throughout the meadow which were as good as gravesites.

“No… what could have? There must be hundreds of destroyed automotrons here.”

Making their way up the road where the villagers had to flee for the woods, Jiehong called out for them. He did as well. Though too long passed before he and Jie discovered where the villagers had run off to, the time to find them merely meant how seriously they took to evasion, he was happy to see everyone was healthy. Not exactly unhurt, as many had issues with bones and muscles, but far from dead.

He and Jiehong had no time for small talk as much as they wished for it. “We should return to the command center, Jiehong,” he told. “The townsfolk are safe. They can continue on their way to—”

“The way is blocked! The road — thousands of them!” a voice screamed out.

Turning to see who came with the bad news, it was a villager. Running toward them, the figure was a hysterical woman. “We’re doomed! We’re dooooomed!”

The elders attempted to calm her and fed her soothing tea. Despite the beverage’s relaxing properties, though, nothing but the slow passage of time brought her ease enough to talk.

“I scouted the area… nothing else to do… I found my way to the central highway. I saw legions of the wooden monsters! Thousands — minimum!”

He and Jiehong each turned to one another. He had no answer for their current predicament, though he did motion for Jiehong to follow him. Once distance put privacy between them and the villagers, he said, “What will we do now?”

“I do not know,” Jiehong spoke with a pang to his voice. He could tell Jie was telling the truth -- he did not know.

“We can’t fight them all ourselves… I am so tired, Jiehong,” he said, choking back tears, his hands covered in either sweat, dried sweat, vomit, or an off-liquid byproduct which bled from the golems under certain conditions. He understood very little about the ‘golem oil,’ just that it smelled bad, like a fungal infection on a skin infection.

“I’m with you… I can barely keep my eyes open. Let alone fight through thousands of golems. Plus… so many splinters,” Jie replied.

The friends talked for a while about possibilities, but none of their conjured imaginings were realistic in the slightest. On their way back to the elders, he, thankfully, had an idea. Approaching the elders, Zan said, “We have no choice. Gather everyone and retreat inside the domain of the center.”

At first, the elders were confused, but he told them, “We should be safe there. Those way stone things? Those are like magical baristas. They are like cannons that shoot power spells,” he explained of the command center's defenses.

“What is that building? Zan, what happened?” an elder asked.

He and Jiehong explained what little they knew about the building and the caretakers within. “A situation like this is far from normal, Zan. Jiehong. Caution is what I recommend. But you have already taken the fast path. I fear where it will lead you.”

“We understand your concern. We are concerned, too. But it seemed like the only ray of hope…” he argued.

The head elder nodded. He only said, “Strange tidings this war brings, boys... Do not lose yourselves.”

With nothing more to be said, but their audience of elders still present, Jiehong filled the silence. He sighed and said, “What other options do we have?” Of course, no one spoke up. Jiehong continued and shouted, “Everyone pack up! Let’s go! We gotta get inside the perimeter!”

In a hurry, everyone packed up their scant belongings and roved into the command center's immediacy.

He had done it! He had given people an option, and they had taken his suggestion. Highly unusual, as most people, including Jiehong, thought little of his plans.

Now… he had to hope his plan wouldn’t get any of them killed.