A giant building impeded their progress. SSundee stopped and opened a door, revealing a dark interior. "The station is right through here," SSundee stated, pointing to another door on the far side.
Biffle hesitated. "Hey, Sigils?"
"What?" Sigils replied.
"I read about this place in the manual. We shouldn't go in there," Biffle warned.
"But Ian says it's the quickest way to Headquarters," Sigils countered.
"No, but Sigils, this is Elemental Thoughts," Biffle insisted.
SSundee reassured them, "What're you talking about? I go in here all the time. It's a shortcut, see?" He pointed to a 'Danger' sign above the door. "It's a D-A-N-G-E-R shortcut. I'll prove it to you." He climbed in. "Look at me! I'm closer to the station 'cause I'm taking the shortcut!"
Biffle was still hesitant. "Let's go around. This way." He pointed to the long way around the huge building.
"Almost there...!" SSundee called again.
Sigils glanced back at SSundee. The station was indeed visible.
"If you want to walk the long way, go for it. But the weather needs to be sunny. I'm not missing that train. Ian knows what he's doing. I mean, he works and lives here! He knows everything about the Weather Factory!"
Biffle reluctantly gave in. "Well, I guess..."
As they continued, SSundee talked about the Weather Factory and his love for the job. They neared the end.
"What did I tell ya? You'll be in Headquarters in no time! Hey, look at that!" SSundee exclaimed. Suddenly, the room turned bright, and Biffle panicked while SSundee and Sigils looked confused.
"Woah! What's happening?" Sigils asked.
"Oh no, they turned it on!" Biffle panicked.
"I've never seen this in my life!" SSundee exclaimed, his head transforming into a fire-like form.
"Ian, why do you look so—" Sigils started but stopped as he began changing too. "AAAAHHH!!!"
"My face! My beautiful face! Why is it so hot?!" SSundee cried.
"That was a joke, right?" Sigils groaned.
"Firstly, I didn't know I made a joke. Second, I'm serious! Touch your face! It's like you just scalded yourself!" SSundee said.
Suddenly, his body changed too. "What is going on?!" Sigils asked.
"We're elements! There are four stages. This is the first: fire fragmentation!" Biffle explained from the manuals.
"Alright, don't panic! What's important is that we all stay together—" SSundee began, but his arm fell off.
"What the—?! Agh!"
Sigils's head fell off and shattered, followed by Biffle who toppled and shattered too.
"We're in the second stage, deconstructing ice!" Biffle exclaimed.
"Run!" SSundee yelled. He shattered into pieces. "Ah, I can't feel my legs!"
"Come here, me!" Sigils said, trying to reconstruct himself despite being shattered. They gathered their pieces and rushed to the exit.
"We gotta get outta here, OW! Before we're nothing but shapes and colors! OW! We'll get stuck here forever!"
"'Stuck?!' Why did we come in here, Ian?!" Sigils exclaimed.
"I told you, it's a shortcut!" SSundee insisted.
They saw the train slowly moving, signaling its departure.
"Oh no! The train!" Sigils exclaimed.
The view squeezed to black; when it returned, they had become liquid.
"Oh no, we're liquid! That's stage three!" Biffle exclaimed.
"We're getting nowhere!" Sigils yelled.
"Come on! We can't fit!" Biffle exclaimed. He then turned into a wind spiral; Sigils became a windburst, SSundee a tornado, and Biffle a hurricane.
"Oh no, we're windy objects! This is the last stage!" Biffle stated.
"We're not gonna make it!" SSundee despaired.
Biffle flopped on the ground; suddenly, his shape revealed a cylinder.
"Wait, we're wind. We can turn into any shape we want!" Biffle hinted.
They landed outside just as the train pulled out. They got up, now as gusts of wind, barely able to move.
"No! Stop! STOP!" Sigils yelled, trying to catch the train, still in wind form.
Sigils fell flat as the train sped off. The three then transformed back to normal.
"Come on! You said that was a shortcut," Sigils accused.
"I did, but wow, we should NOT have gone in there. That was dangerous! They really should put up a sign," SSundee admitted.
Biffle smacked his head. "Really...?"
"How long till the next train?" Biffle asked.
"Who knows? But don't worry. There's another station. That way! The train always stops there before Headquarters. If we hurry, we can catch it!" SSundee reassured.
"This isn't another one of your shortcuts, is it?" Sigils asked, unimpressed.
SSundee laughed exuberantly. "Yeah!" Sigils skeptically watched him head off.
"Is there really another station?" Sigils asked Biffle.
"Uh-huh. Through there," Biffle confirmed. SSundee led them towards the impressive gates of...
"Welcome to Temperature Controller!"
YOU ARE READING
Tempest Tangle
Narrativa generale(Cover by me!) The Regulars. They were in charge of controlling the weather and are also blessed with elemental bending abilities. They have their own islands as well, just in case they weren't well so that the islands can control the weather for th...
