aliquis

0

It all started with a portal.

Then, the obvious.

"Guys... I don't think we're in TAPOPS anymore."

As they groaned on the floor and collected themselves, the group rose to face the light beyond the dark alleyway they had appeared in. They shielded their eyes, rising to their feet as they stepped out into the open—

A concrete forest and congested traffic greeted them. Pedestrians here and across the street passed them by, minding their own business and hardly sparing them a second glance. Angry horns blared in the road as the heavy scent of smoke lingered in the air.

Boboiboy's eyes widened in a mixture of recognition of shock and recognition.

"Is this... Kuala Lumpur?"

Fang turned to him, skeptical. His mouth was ajar, looking as if he had many questions, and rightfully so. However, before he can voice them, a large overhanging shadow took over the city, covering them in a blanket of darkness.

They arched their chins, coming face-to-face with a massive silhouette hovering above them. The shape looked familiar, but not enough that they could put a name to its existence.

All sound around them died down. Curious drivers had left their vehicles, scratching their heads as they wondered what was happening. Pedestrians conversed one another, pointing at the descending ship and making speculations.

The hairs on the back of Boboiboy's neck rose in alarm, his body stiffening in unease. Around him, his friends felt the same, as Ying's watch glowed a faint yellow in the shadows, her afterimages playing tricks on the human eye and creating multiples of herself.

The ship's descent came to a stop. Instead, a projector beam rained down from the ship's hull onto the top of a skyscraper, a large silhouette appearing within the light.

Yaya's eyes narrowed. "Hey, isn't that..."

The figure stepped out of the beam, revealing red skin and bulky obsidian armor. Behind him, two alien warriors revealed themselves, stepping out of the projector to join his side as his personal guard.

Gopal's jaw hung wide open. "Bora Ra?!" he yelped.

From Boboiboy's arms, Ochobot sighed as he covered his visors with his robotic hands. "Not this guy again."

Before they could do anything, dark clouds gathered around the ship, the roar of thunder following the ominous weather. Scarlet lightning cackled in the sky, raining down onto the three aliens and the civilians below. As screams of horror and realization echoed through the city, the ground shook and quaked, a dome of earth and metal rising to envelope them whole.

The last they saw of the outside world were twin shooting stars—one from the North and the other from the South—leaving trails of pure white and red as they collided directly with the villains.

What came after was a shockwave that resonated in the earth itself, and an explosion that would shake the city and shatter every glass pane in range.

* * *

"This way!" Yaya yelled, directing the panicking civilians away from the fight. "Keep calm, everybody! Head to the exit!"

Whoever had made the dome was with intention of evacuation, leaving just enough space out the protective layer to create a tunnel towards safety. They had questions and not enough answers – but lives were at stake, and they did what they had to.

"Careful!" Ying scooped up a pair of siblings from the far end, pulling them away just before collapsing debris could crush them whole. "Run, run and don't stop!"