The Ultimate Rescue

Chapter V

AVERY

Music: Melty Monster Galaxy from Super Mario Galaxy 2

"It seems as though our town has been invaded by some otherworldly force. Just a couple of hours ago, this wormhole opened up in the sky, and all of these demon-like creatures came flooding in here. We can only pray that someone will get us out of this apocalypse before it gets worse." The story has already made almost all of the local news stations. Even TV channels that don't cover news have warning messages scrolling across the top or bottom of the screen, and some have even interrupted their regular programming to talk about the apocalypse. Of course, nobody (except us) knows how the apocalypse really started, so there's tons of speculation going on the news channels and all over social media.

"Well, this is just fucking fantastic," Mia snorts, talking over the interviews being played on the news. "Of all the shit we've been through, now we have to go through a fucking apocalypse."

"It's also kinda an Armageddon," Heath mentions.

"You guys, this is all my fault," Mackenzie says quietly. She's expressed nothing but guilt ever since we ran back inside. "I was naive, and I got tricked into letting this happen. I'm so sorry."

"Mackenzie, don't be too hard on yourself," Luke tells her.

"Yeah, that could've been any one of us," Shanna adds, taking her arm and offering her a smile. Mackenzie gives her a small smile in return.

"This just in: Locals have spotted a white beam of energy extending up into the sky coming from an unknown source. What this beam is, and where it's coming from are currently being investigated," the reporter says. The camera is now focused on a yellow beam protruding into the sky from a group of trees.

"That must be where they're keeping the energy," Skylar theorizes.

"Is that where we need to go?" I ask Luke. By now, we already know that in some form, we're going to be involved with the fight against Mrs. Smith and the illuminati. Nobody even had to establish it.

"Right now, our best chance to stop the illuminati and get rid of all the homunculi demons is to find wherever that energy source is coming from and eradicate the energy, which I can do using the Rock of Doom," Luke answers. "That will close the portal, remove the homunculi, and will eventually lead to Mrs. Smith running out of the energy herself."

"The illuminati's dealt with us several times before, though," Elle points out. "They'll most certainly expect our arrival, and will be prepared for it."

"Then there's no time to lose," Mackenzie declares, standing up and turning around to face the rest of the team. "The illuminati's getting stronger with every second we waste just sitting around and doing nothing. If we take action now, we might be able to prevent them from spreading."

"This isn't like all the other times we've dealt with them, though," Sam frowns. "Or anybody else we've dealt with, for that matter. We're actually going up against an all-powerful being, and aside from Luke, none of us are capable of fighting off demons."

"Well, the least we can do is try," Mackenzie replies. "Besides, I got us into this mess, and I want to get us out of it. Will you all come with me to stop the illuminati?"

Mia', who, up until this point, has looked the most worried about this out of anybody here, stands up, grabs both of Mackenzie's wrists, and tells her, "To the ends of the Earth, Mackenzie." The rest of us nod along with her.

"Good. Because that's where we're heading." Sam's HoverBoard-8500 flies beside Mackenzie and lets out two short beeps, as if to say, "You gonna need me?"