As Ethan, barely a foot tall, unlocked the cell door, the key's weight strained his tiny hands. The door creaked open, his heart pounding with adrenaline. "I will find you, my friends," he vowed, stepping into the dim corridor, his small frame dwarfed by its vastness.
"He's escaping! Ring the alarm!" an armored man bellowed. Ethan sprinted, his tiny legs a blur, weaving past the giant's boots. More armored men joined the chase, their footsteps thundering through wooden corridors. At the final one, massive and steel, Ethan turned and grinned. "Think I'm easy prey? You'll regret that," he shouted, voice sharp despite his size.
As the men closed in, towering over him, Ethan whispered, "Intoxication Fog." Black steam erupted from his tiny body, atom-swarm tendrils swirling. Some guards collapsed, choking; others screamed, "What the h-hell is that!" hallucinating horrors.
"That buys me time," Ethan murmured, eyeing the steel door.
"I heed your call, goddess, and clear this dark fog!" a voice rang out. The fog thinned, but Ethan, unfazed, mumbled, "This'll strain me, but…" He yelled, "Corruption Arrow!" A massive arrow of rust and black ooze shot from his small hands, shattering the steel corridor. He stumbled, pain searing his mark, and hit an invisible wall, its hum matching his atom-swarm mark, shocking his tiny fists.
"Emma, is that you?!" Ethan yelled, seeing blue and green lights clashing beyond. The wall held firm.
"Having problems?" a robed woman purred, stepping from the shadows.
"Let me out, now!" Ethan shouted, rage burning.
"I don't take orders from a prisoner," she said calmly.
"Then I'll make you!" Ethan roared, his tiny frame trembling. "Let's try something new," he smirked.
She vanished, taunting, "Catch me first!" Reappearing, she kicked his gut, slamming his small body against the bunker wall. "Damn you, witch!" Ethan gasped. "Intoxication Fog!" She sneered, "That trick won't touch me."
"Maybe, but I've faced worse," Ethan laughed, whispering,
"Someone who broke me," Jake's face flashing before he died.
"How dare you!" the woman shrieked, charging.
"Cracking like he did?" Ethan taunted, firing an Intoxication Fog arrow. She dodged, too late. Tendrils seeped into her mind; she clawed toward him, runes flaring. "This can't be happening!"
she screamed, voice a strained, horrid cry. "You'll see what I faced," Ethan whispered. Her hateful face calmed into slumber, seeing a figure with a cold grin. "Get rid of him," the man said, a chamber welcoming another round, hungry for purpose. A loud bang rang out, fading to black. She shrieked in her sleep.
Ethan's vision blurred, the fog taxing his tiny body, each step agony. The wall shattered into a million pieces. "Finally, I'm free," he mumbled, stumbling toward the lights, hearing the rustle of the trees, the summer air filling his nostrils. Then before Ethan could process, the pale man ran at him with supernatural speed, BAM, He hit Ethan in the face, with incredible force. Ethan's small form shot straight into the ground, skin cutting on impact on the razor sharp grass, gray blood stung his shallow cuts, but he moved, when BAM another punch,.
" Unit 03 shouldn't be free!" the pale man snaps, his elongated joints cracking and shaking, with anger, "I will ask again, HOW DID YOU ESCAPE" the pale man roars, with his veins popping out of his forehead.
Ethan barely breathing, shakily murmurs "None of your damn business, sir"
"What was that" the pale man shouting with anger in every strain of his voice, veins now clearly visible
"NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS" Ethan shouts with anger taking what little strength he has left. Right before Ethan was about to get hit again the sound of galloping interrupted the silence,
And then the unmasticable sound of a horses nigh "I am here to investigate the illegal use of magical beasts and other human races" A man in royal suited armor yells
Ethan looks up at the voice, the sun blocking his vision.
"I recognize that voice, from the castle, and the king" Ethan Thinks
"Who do you think you are" The pale man hisses like a snake ready to strike
"I am Thom The Hawk, The general of Ruseid's army" Thom says
"Now I remember he is the one who raided the dwarfs' Carriage and the one who brought me and Huray together." Ethan murmured.
"Quiet, unit 03, I didn't give you permission to speak" The pale man says
Hooves tore through razor-sharp grass, Thom The Hawk reining in, his rune-lit blade flaring as it sensed Ethan's gray blood. 'Stand down, abomination!' Thom roared, his voice echoing through the trees rustles, clashing with the pale man's glowing fists. The sun hid his face, but Ethan, tiny and bloodied, crawled through the grass toward the distant lights, heart racing at Thom's familiar growl.
"Emma?Emma!!!" Ethan Shouts through the bladed grass
The blue flash stops for a moment, "Ethan" Emma murmurs.
"What are you looking at" The Jester's neutral face snaps into place, as he turns his head to see Ethan "How did unit 03 get out of his prison" The Jesters neutral face, started flickering to each face, "Damn it, Imod Let's get out of here " The Jester screeched The pale man looked back "I am sorta Busy, Rocko" The pale man yells, blocking a strike from Thom
"I told you, not to call me that, but we need to leave" The Jester/Rocko screeches, as his mask starts to disorient his faces.
"Okay give me a second" The pale man/Imod shouts back, Then he takes hold of Thom's sword and picks it up with Thom at the end, as he starts to spin with incredible force, all before Thom could react. Then before Ethan and Emma could process. The pale man/Imod let's go throwing Thom into the ruin walls, where Ethan just escaped. The alien-like trees rustled their leaves, and the grass followed their lead as the wind passed by.
"Alright, let's go, Rocko!" Imod yelled as he threw Thom.
Thom slammed into the bunker's brick wall and slumped to the ground. "Damn, Imod," he coughed, barely able to move.
"Already ahead of you!" Rocko shouted back, his mask flickering between expressions—the happy face spreading wider across it.
The air clung to Ethan's skin like wet clothes. "Emma… who is this Jester?" he whispered, suspicion dripping from his voice as a bead of sweat traced his forehead.
"He's Rocko," Emma corrected, her orbital body pulsating with light. "He's the one who kidnapped you."
Ethan winced as the mark on his skin burned, but he didn't care. "Really… has he hurt you or Huray?" he asked, his voice weakening.
"No, he hasn't hurt Huray. He's on a separate mission," Emma replied.
Another drop of sweat slid down Ethan's face. "Did he hurt you?"
Emma stayed silent.
Ethan charged his intoxicating arrow.
"Ethan, don't! He's too strong!" Emma said, clenching her teeth and squeezing her eyes shut.
"I know he hurt you. When you didn't answer me, I assumed you didn't want to talk about it," Ethan said softly, his tone almost soothing.
Ethan steadied himself.
"But if you miss… he'll likely take your life," Emma warned, opening her eyes again.
Ethan fired the intoxicating fog arrow at Rocko. It shot forward, the air cracking with energy. Ethan's wounds stung with anticipation as Emma panicked—her small circular body flickering uncontrollably. Suddenly, she vanished.
"My attack… where did it go?" Ethan asked, eyes darting.
Emma slowed her movements, her flickering fading. "I… don't know," she said, voice trembling with awe.
Then, the arrow reappeared in front of Rocko, grazing his mask and chipping it before slamming into the ground. The impact froze the grass into a dull gray metal, the trees turning as white as bone.
"What… happened?" Ethan whispered, fear seeping into his raw voice, worn from Imod's punches and his earlier fight with the robed woman.
Rocko's mask switched to neutral. "Who did that?!" he roared, fury twisting through his tone—then the mask flickered back to a happy face.
"Oh, it was Unit 03. We'll meet again soon." His laugh warped into something demonic as he vanished into the forest.
From the crater of his fall, Thom rose—not like a phoenix, but like a man too stubborn to stay buried. Dust clung to him like regret, his breath ragged, his steps uneven.
"Damn it," he coughed. "They got away."
He stumbled toward Ethan and Emma, eyes scanning the frostbitten earth and bone-white trees. "You two still breathing?" he asked, voice cracked but steady.
Ethan lay back against the frozen ground, eyes half-lidded. "Yeah… barely," he muttered.
Thom reached into his coat and pulled out a small vial that shimmered like liquid starlight. "The name's Thom," he said, offering the vial. "I've got healing potions. Anyone need one?"
Ethan raised a weak hand. "We'll take a few… if you don't mind."
He gestured toward Emma, whose light had dimmed but not vanished. "And I'm Ethan," he added calmly. "This is Emma."
Far from the bunker's breath, Huray's adventure didn't begin.
It awakened.