Varian's Tangled Trials

Harvest Havoc

AN: Do you ever accidentally take a four-month hiatus?

Hello. It's been a long time. A very very very long time. I feel really terrible. I had so many plans to have this story done long ago and yet here I am almost a year out and only a little over halfway done. For any of you who are still out there and still care about this fanfic, thank you for your love and support. I do not blame anyone who has lost interest but I certainly appreciate anyone who has been checking back for updates.

This story is not dead! I promise it won't be until it is fully complete! We have done a lot of work polishing the outlines for the rest of the chapters and I do feel prepared to release the rest at my former pace!

I hope you enjoy this new chapter! It's a nice shift in tone from previous chapters and was a lot of fun to write.

Thank you again to everyone. Thank you to the ones who have been encouraging me all along. Thank you to the ones checking back. Thank you to the ones who leave all your super kind reviews. Thank you to the ones who reread. And thank you to the ones returning to this after months or even years. I can only hope this can live up to expectations! Happy reading!

Stone collided with stone in a thunderous impact that sent vibrations throughout the cavernous chamber and shook the bones of the four teens standing aloft on their separate platforms. The giant stone entity, laced with red runes, was sent stumbling, its massive feet sending more reverberations through the air. The giant covered in blue runes pulled back its fist and settled back into a more defensive stance.

"Yes! Take that!" shouted Nuru.

"Not bad for a princess," said Hugo.

"Why, thank you," replied Nuru primly.

"We did it!" exclaimed Yong, jumping with joy and inadvertently pressing down on the runes of his platform. The blue giant wobbled and Yong quickly moved to put his feet back into place.

"Hey, hey, woah there, Firecracker, too early for the party," said Hugo, as he worked his own runes to help keep the blue giant standing straight.

"Uh, hey guys? It's coming back! Get ready!" warned Varian.

Varian and Nuru tapped the runes on their platforms, moving the giant's left and right arms into a defensive stance as Hugo and Yong hurriedly pressed theirs to move out of the way of the oncoming enemy. The red runed giant nearly landed its hit but with Varian and Nuru ready, it was deflected to the side.

"Faster," urged Hugo.

"If we go faster, we'll fall!" shouted Yong.

"Stay focused, you two," said Nuru.

"It's fine. We're fine. We can do this," said Varian.

They all manipulated the controls on their platforms once more, twisting their giant back and forth as swing after swing was aimed at them until one finally landed. The blue giant went crashing to the unyielding floor. Its limbs flailed as each person scrambled to get back up.

"I told you! Too slow! You're going to get us kicked out!" shouted Hugo.

"No, he's not. Yong, just get up. Quickly, now. It's coming!" said Nuru in frustration.

"I'm trying," cried Yong.

"Get up!" growled Hugo.

"Back off, Hugo," Varian snapped back.