New Terra: The Second Season (Volume 2 of the New Terra Trilogy)

Chapter VIII: Rising Action

The New Terrans are being toyed with by Fink de Luca. He's been able to manipulate them for far too long now, and this whole 'he got away again' bullshit is getting old.
Luckily, though, the New Terrans seem to be tired of it too. What will happen to them when they chase after him? Will they forge a stronger bond as a team and once again run their planet without a problem? Or will they mess up once more and lose all that once was? Heir perspective will determine their outcome.
I'll keep in touch.
---
"The spirits seem to be of an infinite number!" Robin told Jerrybot and Angus. "Do either of you have any ideas as to how to dispose of them?"
"Just keep hitting them!" Jerrybot told Robin. "Show these asswipes that they should stay dead!"
Toni teleported onto the battlefield with a flash of light. Shortly after, Avi shot his way towards the group. "You guys doing okay?" Avi asked.
"Yeah, we're fine," Robin answered. "Apparently, we require sources of electricity to rid ourselves of these spirits. Your shotgun's electric bullets should do the trick."
"Got it." Avi continued shooting as he talked to Robin. "Before I got here, I found some electric rounds for Aváli's sniper rifle. Her regular rounds, along with Harbinger's regular rounds, didn't seem to destroy the ghosts- only hurt them."
"That sounds accurate," Robin told Avi. "You see, these spirits are made up of atoms, nothing else. I believe that this is the cause behind the effectiveness of electrical weapons upon spirits."
"Care to elaborate?" Avi asked.
"When electricity collides with atoms, it creates a heating effect, like in a conductor. The heat that's generated must be why the spirits explode when in contact with electricity."
"And what about you and Toni?" Avi asked. "What the hell are those things on your arms?"
"They're called Proto-Reversers," Robin answered. "Fink damages the time-space continuum every time a spirit enters this dimension. The Proto-Reversers simultaneously sends the spirits back to their home dimension and fixes the damage done to this dimension."
"I'm gonna pretend that I understood that." Avi reloaded his shotgun. "Harbinger's running low on ammo. What do we do when I'm all out?"
"Go get the others," Robin said. "I have an idea."
Avi ran off as Jerrybot, Angus, and the Romero Twins held off the horde of ghosts. He ran into the New Terran Castle and met up with the rest of the New Terrans.
"The ghosts are still coming!" Avi told the group. "Robin needs us, now!"
"We're heading towards Mount Rainer immediately after this," Queen Radcliffe told Avi. "Let's go defeat these ghosts, quick."
Avi led the New Terrans out towards the androids and the Romero Twins. He blasted a path through the wave of ghosts heading towards the castle. "Robin!" Avi called. "What's the plan?"
"Hold hands and from a circle," Robin told the New Terrans. "If Toni and I both use our Proto-Reversers at the same moment, the power emitted could be magnified through all of us. This could create a much bigger blast that has a chance of eliminating all of these spirits for good."
Aváli shot a bullet connected to a zipline at Robin's feet. She slid down the zipline and landed in the middle of the New Terrans. "What did I miss?" She asked.
"No time to explain- just grab my hand!" Toni told Aváli.
The New Terrans formed a circle and clutched each other's hands. "This might hurt," Robin called. "When I say 'now', Toni!"
The ghosts slowly made their way towards the New Terrans. "One!" Robin called. "Two! Three! NOW!"
Energy surged through the New Terrans. Robin, Toni, and Aváli all screamed in pain while the others remained still. A bright flash blinded the New Terrans for a few seconds before everything went back to normal.
Mai looked around at the landscape. "They're gone," she observed. "The ghosts are gone."
"...My Queens?" Eleanor asked. "Where are the Romero Twins?"
"Aváli's gone, too," Lafayette pointed out.
"Oh God," Huntress murmured. "Are they... you know?"
A flash of light interrupted the conversation. Robin and Toni emerged from the light, falling to their knees as it dimmed down. Fresh blood streamed from Robin's nose, and Toni's eyes were bloodshot beyond comparison.
Avi and Huntress kneeled down next to the Romero Twins as the other New Terrans circled around. "Stay with us, guys," Avi told the Romero Twins, propping Robin up at an angle against his chest. "What happened?"
Toni coughed and leaned against Huntress. "We weren't thinking straight," she said, holding back tears. "The power we expelled was meant to send back the ghosts back to their dimension. What Robin and I failed to think about was that we would be affected, too."
"Why would you two be affected?" Mai asked. "You two are from this dimension."
"We've ruined the time-space continuum," Robin answered woozily. "Every dimension is trying to set itself back to normal. I believe this dimension wanted to erase us from existence in an attempt to lower the chance of the time-space continuum's destruction."
"So- are you saying that dimensions are living things?" Mai continued.
Robin sighed. "I haven't the slightest idea," he murmured. "For once in our lives, Toni and I can't solve a quantum physics-related question."
Basileus squatted next to Toni. "...What about Aváli?" He asked cautiously.
Toni looked Basileus in the eye before breaking down, sobbing into Huntress' shoulder.
"Similarly to the ghosts, Aváli is from another dimension," Robin explained. "We tried our best to anchor her to this dimension, but she was... eaten up, in a way."
"What do you mean?" Avi asked.
"Aváli no longer exists," Robin told Avi in a shaky, air-filled tone.
Lafayette shook her head and walked off. She sat down a few hundred yards away from the group and rubbed her eyes.
Basileus sat down next to Lafayette. "How are you feeling?" He asked.
"Why do you even care?" Lafayette asked. "You hated Aváli. And if you hated her, you're gonna have to hate me too."
"And why is that?" Basileus continued.
"We're the same person, dumbass," Lafayette spat. "You should've seen Aváli's death coming a mile away. She could still be alive if you had warned the Romero Twins."
"Listen, Lafayette, Aváli was simply a necessary-"
"Don't even dare call her a sacrifice!" Lafayette yelled, rushing to her feet. "She was so much more than a sacrifice. I'm gonna make Fink suffer for her death." Lafayette stormed away, leaving Basileus alone in his thoughts.
---
Queen Radcliffe pulled Jerrybot aside. "When we attack Mount Rainer, I need you to lead the New Terran Army into battle," she told him. "Avi and Eleanor will drop us off at the top of Mount Rainer. Meanwhile, if the New Terran Army raids Mount Rainer from all sides, Fink will have no chance of escape."
"Good thinking," Jerrybot commended. "I'll rally them up now."
"Be careful out there, Jerrybot," Queen Radcliffe warned. "This is your first time leading an army into battle."
"What could go wrong?" Jerrybot asked. "Oh, wait- I just jinxed it, didn't I?"
"Probably."
"That's what you get for putting a sarcastic android at the head of your Army," Jerrybot sighed, shrugging as he walked off.
"You're an android?" Queen Radcliffe sarcastically asked.
"Touché." Jerrybot stopped in his tracks and walked back towards Queen Radcliffe. "Are you feeling alright?" He asked.
"Yeah. Why?"
"Aváli," Jerrybot answered. "I didn't really know her much. Plus, it goes unsaid that as a robot I am incapable of feeling emotion. But, I can recognize emotion, and I try to mirror them. I also know what events provoke what emotions. Aren't you even the slightest bit sad about Aváli?"
"I am," Queen Radcliffe admitted. "I'm just... still processing things, is all. Plus, you, me, Avi, and Mai are the tip of the spear. We need to be strong for the others."
"I guess you're right," Jerrybot told Queen Radcliffe. "I'll get the New Terran Army ready now. Don't get yourself killed out in the field, okay? We both know what happened against the Primal Terror."
"I won't," Queen Radcliffe chuckled. "Wait- didn't you die, too? You got your head ripped off of your body, along with your spine."
"Androids don't die. I'm just a little A.I. chip driving a broken-down body, remember?" Jerrybot nodded before walking off towards the castle for good.
---
"I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch," Mai muttered.
"No," Lafayette disagreed. "I am."
"At least let me riddle him with bullets," Mai asked. "You can deliver the final blow."
"Let me handle the violence," Lafayette told Mai. "You're a Queen. It'll look bad if you beat a man nearly to death."
"Depends on the man," Mai countered. "When Honey first brought me into this whole 'escapade', we had been estranged for a long while. Four years, exactly. When her parents were assassinated, she took the throne and I became an arms dealer. I loved how guns worked. I loved the smell of them after you fired a bullet.
"Back then, I was a punk. When Honey stepped foot into my store in Shanghai, I was wearing all leather. I had Angus hold her by the throat and Jerrybot hold Avi and Jane at gunpoint."
"Jane was there?" Lafayette interrupted. "At a weapons store?"
"As much as she hated violence, Jane was always at Honey's side," Mai told Lafayette. "After she died, Honey changed. She went from a carefree, sassy, spunky queen to a serious, demanding, impactful one. And me? Even back then, I'd been ready to kill at a moment's notice if it were for a noble cause."
"So you think the New Terran people will like if you kill a man?" Lafayette asked.
"Like I said before, depends on the man," Mai answered. "Fink is a dangerous psychopath who always seems to be one step ahead of us. We never should've trusted him in this first place."
---
Avi approached Eleanor and pulled her closer to him. "I need to talk to you alone," he whispered into her ear. Eleanor nodded and followed Avi away from the group.
"What do you need?" Eleanor asked.
"Aváli was the way to predicting what Fink would do here," Avi told Eleanor. "And, sure, Basileus can see into the future, but..."
"But what?" Eleanor prodded. "Do you not trust him?"
"I don't," Avi answered. "Have you noticed that he hated Aváli? She was the only other way to know about Fink. And now that Lafayette knows about him too, Basileus is trying to warm up to her. Do you not find that shady?"
"I'm afraid I don't understand," Eleanor admitted. "If two people have the same experience, why would Basileus hate one and like the other?"
"Maybe because Aváli killed her dimension's Fink," Avi predicted. "Meanwhile, our Fink is still alive. What if... what if Basileus is on Fink's side? What if Basileus is trying to lure us into a trap, and needs Lafayette's trust the most in order for all of us to be blind to his backstabbing?"
Eleanor sighed in disgust and turned to walk away. "Avi, we don't have time for conspiracy theories."
"Wait, Eleanor, listen," Avi called, grabbing Eleanor by the arm.
"Distrusting Basileus is Aváli and Lafayette's job," Eleanor spat, getting into Avi's face. "So focus on taking down Fink de Luca."
"Until a week ago, I was your commanding officer," Avi told Eleanor. "So watch your tone, or else my shotgun will make a hole in your chest."
"Harbinger doesn't scare me, and neither do you," Eleanor stated. "I'm doing my damn job, Avi. It's best that you do, too."
---
Robin clutched onto Toni as she cried into his chest. "We could have saved Aváli!" She sobbed. "We could have saved her!"
"I know that," Robin truthfully answered. "I'm going to miss her. But- as morbid as it may be- everyone is destined to die at some point and time."
"But Aváli didn't die!" Toni told Robin. "She ceased to exist! Every trace of her has been erased from her home dimension, undoubtedly."
"If that were the case, then traces of her would be erased from this dimension as well," Robin countered. "So would memories of her. Aváli is still out there somewhere. It's only a matter of time before she finds her way back home."
"There's no proof of that being the case, either!" Toni cried. "We need evidence! Evidence and data are what prove or disprove a hypothesis. Right now, we don't have evidence or data!"
"I'll make a deal with you," Robin said after a brief pause. "We will help the New Terrans hunt down Fink, and then we will shift our focus towards finding Aváli. Deal?"
"Deal," Toni agreed, wiping her nose. "But you'd better follow through with the deal, damnit."
---
Huntress lied down on the ground and stared up at the sky. She lost herself in the clouds before a figure interrupted her view.
"Hello, Angus," Huntress greeted.
"You look very sad," Angus observed, sitting down next to Huntress.
Huntress rested her head against Angus. "I heard the stories about what happened to Aváli while Fink had her. Those- and her death- remind me of my mother."
"Did your mother die painfully?" Angus lightly asked.
"She did," Huntress answered. "Because of me. She was gunned down by soldiers because I wasn't strong enough to protect her."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Angus apologized, brushing Huntress' hair with his hand. "How old were you at the time?"
"I was eleven then," Huntress answered. "If I'm being completely honest, my father and I forgot how old I am now. We lost track of time after my mother's death."
"Well, that's easy. Take the year in which you were eleven and subtract it from this year."
"...I'm twenty-one," Huntress answered. "Hm. My father and I both thought I was nineteen."
"You're smiling," Angus told Huntress. "Good. You have a pretty smile."
"Thank you, Angus."
"I hope I get to see that smile again," Angus said to himself. He continued to play with Huntress' hair until she fell asleep.