The Great Eight (Temporary Hiatus)

Chaos 101 II

In the raging river a young boy was experiencing his first flashes of near-death. His arms waving around frantically above the powerful surf to try and beat back waves that were quickly suffocating him. And it didn't help that his legs nor his feet could not find any grips or ledges to help anchor him somewhere safe. But by some miracle, as maybe the Gods were watching after them like they promised they would, Odie was saved. His body had found itself pushed into a smoother patch of water that was far shallower and less aggressively inclined to drown him. Where there was also the convenience of a shore for him to get the hell out of that raging river, though it took some effort to force his body up and onto the solid ground that rose a foot or two above the water level.

"Hello?! Jay?! Anybody!" The boy used his water-logged PMR to try and contact any of his friends the moment he caught his breath after what felt like a lifetime of swimming to stay alive. And it was also another small miracle that he still had his much-needed glasses on his face still rather than them being adrift in the water.

"Odie?!" Jay's voice practically perfumed the air around Odie. "Are you okay? Where are you?" Now in a calmer state of mind, knowing that he wasn't alone and that his friends were with him, took the time to fidget with his clothes and hair as he began to incrementally relax. He could pretend he was with his friends still, of which were all cheering in Herry's car because Odie was alive!

"I'm okay. I'm on the other side of the river. And I'm lookin' up at Cronus." Well, so much for relaxing.

"Are you serious?!" Jay screeched into the PMR.

"You tell me!" Odie almost laughed in disbelief as he pressed a button on his PMR and turned the video feature on. Swiveling it around after a brief shot of his face towards a higher ledge that showcased Cronus standing majestically on the edge with his racecar red laser ominously behind him. "Is that him?"

"That's him!" Jay affirmed the God's identity. Encouraging the others to tune into their PMR's as well to see what Odie was showing them. All except for Herry though, they all didn't need to die because of distracted driving when they were trying to save the world from a God who would bring them back from the dead just to kill them himself because he was that petty. And let's not forget murderous, that too.

"What is that thing? It looks like a laser." Atlanta observed from her tiny screen, sharing it with the others in the back who couldn't work their PMR's correctly quite yet.

"That's exactly what it is," Odie paced nervously, "And it's the biggest one I've ever seen! Cronus must be diverting all the power to it."

"Odie! Stay where you are, we'll get you. After we stop Cronus." Jay promised their wayward teammate before turning off his PMR and turning back to his teammates in the car, who all looked rather fearful.

"Jay, there's only one way across the dam from here!" Theresa pointed out to Jay, as if by some chance their leader had all but forgotten about the pepper-breath, flying Godzilla that was out for their heads. And speaking of the devil

"There's a little something in our way." Herry warned everyone as his body stiffened up in his seat, as if he could melt away from the creature's view.

"You're right, we should run away" Jay smirked over to their resident driver. Seeming to have a silent conversation with their resident driver, who smiled back innocently all the while putting the pedal to the metal. The engine roared to battle as the two boys sitting up front sported boyish, but determined grins as their posturing turned fierce instead of the previously fearful.

"Did I miss something?!" Theresa squeaked as in turn she instinctively leaned back as far as she could in her seat, her wide eyes set on the goliath before them that was on the ground inspecting some of its previous wreckage for snacks. The others in the back seat we're similarly shouting or scrunching their eyes shut for imminent impact.

In quick succession, the Typhus saw them and spewed a torrent of flame once more across the dam. But Herry's driving velocity left no room for stopping and so they blue truck charged through the flames and zipped in between the two snake-headed legs of the monster to continue forwards.

"So, are you coming with me?" Archie asked out of the blue as he smiled at Atlanta next to him in a challenge.

"What?" The two girls in the back chimed in together, Mel and Atlanta looking at Archie like he was crazy.

"We can't fight Cronus and that thing at the same time. We need to distract it." Archie pointed out, to which Atlanta demanded that Herry stop the truck. And once they came to a screeching halt, the two were out of the truck faster than Jay could turn around to try and stop them. Leaving Mel sitting alone in the back for the first time with wide eyes and shrugged shoulders.

No sooner had the two fist-inclined heroes shut the truck door, that a fireball had cascaded down from the sky and launched them on either side of the dam. Archie almost slid off the cliff but caught himself, and Atlanta ended up rolling into one of the gigantic cables being used to power Cronus's laser. As for the truck, which was thankfully was already in motion due to Herry's quick reflexes, when the fireball touched down it merely gave them an explosive tailwind to launch forwards and away from the scene all the quicker.

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Moments before the fight would begin however, Cronus and his animalistic lackeys were all gathered around the focal point of the cables. Where a complex console filled to the brim with blinking lights and keypads was being fondled by Cronus. The laser, in turn, responded to the console and began illuminating itself as at the same time was rotating and lifting to a particular position as directed by Cronus.

"Time to start the count down."