The Fallen Ascending 01 -- Rebirth
Playing with Marbles

Not knowing how long they had with Zippy blockading the intersection, everyone sat and ate in silence to rest and recover their stamina as quickly and efficiently as possible. Sensing the flows of earth, Michael could tell that they weren’t far from whatever the barrier was that his magic couldn’t penetrate. Back down the dead end, follow the tunnel opposite them, and then the second right and a left, and they’d be at the edge of the barrier.

The whole distance couldn’t be much further than a walk around the school’s walls back in West Gondor, and yet it was a daunting distance. The number of skeletons he sensed was shocking, but easily dealt with, with Heartblade. They wouldn’t be a problem. Zombies, Mongo had proven time and time again that he could stand resolute against any number of them. The only real issue was the three leapers which seemed to be staying close to the edge of the barrier and not coming forward.

One, he was certain Zippy could stop with his spears. A second one, he could deal with, with his magic. The third leaper though… It was a wild card. Michael really wasn’t certain how to deal with it. The creature was too fast and too powerful. Nothing seemed like it was guaranteed to work. Mongo couldn’t stand toe to toe with it. Crystal definitely wasn’t properly armored to take on a massive beast like that. Every idea he came up with seemed worse than the one before.

And, then he burst out laughing. “RAH-HaHahaha! I got it you big bastards! I’m gonna Indiana Jones your asses!” Eyes twinkling, Michael hopped up and danced a little jog on the spot. “When you guys are ready to go, just let me know. We’re going all the way into the heart of the darkness with the next push forward!”

Everyone stared at him oddly, uncertain why he was suddenly looking so exuberantly energetic and optimistic. Mongo stared at the girls, they shrugged back, and then he finally just nodded. “We’re ready,” he sighed, wearily. Stoically, he slowly placed his helmet on his head and adjusted it in readiness.

Grinning, Michael pulled out a small white marble from his pocket. “A marble of marble!” Laughing, he held it up so everyone could see it. “The doom of darkness,” he boldly declared as it shook it a few times in his fist.

“Zippy! You’d best get your ass out of the way. We’re coming through! Move it or lose it!” Cackling like a madman, Michael charged forward and hurled the marble as hard as he could. A wildly erratic rainbow glow enveloped the marble, and as it arced towards Zippy, it began to grow. First the size of a gold ball, then a soft ball. Then it was as large as a beach ball – and still it grew! Hitting the ground with a resounding crash, stone chips splintered and sprayed in random directions.

Using the magic of wind to push against the ever enlarging ball, it continued to build up speed and momentum, rolling forward in a relentless thunderous rumble. By the time it reached Zippy, it was already large enough to take up over half the size of the tunnel. Lightning ricocheted, stone shards got knocked in all directions, and Zippy got rolled over and flattened as the massive boulder was now hurdling forward relentlessly.

Not even pausing to stop and check on him, Michael jumped over the flattened light that was Zippy, and unleashed Nature’s Wrath to the left and right, forcing the dead there back. “I told you to get the hell out of the way or else!” Whether Zippy was alive, or a pancake, it was too late now to worry over it. Whether the others could keep up or not, Michael wasn’t concerned with that either currently. He was too busy chasing and empowering the boulder forward with ever more speed and force.

By the time he’d passed the first tunnel on the right, the boulder was so large it filled the tunnel from side to side; scraping sparks as the edge constantly ground against both of the walls to the left and right. Skeletons were powdered, regardless of being white or black boned. Zombies were flattened and left a greasy stain across the stone.

Trying to do some mental math, Michael couldn’t run and get an exact figure for the weight of the massive boulder now hurtling ever faster and further ahead of him. His best guess would be that with a diameter a little larger than a man, the boulder would weigh close to twenty or thirty tons. Half the weight of a fully loaded Semi, packed into a density about a fourth the size, and barreling along at an ever increasing rate of speed.

He may have gotten the idea from Temple of Doom, but even Indy would be nothing more than a greasy spot if this would’ve been the boulder chasing him!

Trying to stop, and sliding and tripping in the goo on the ground, it took all Michael’s strength and willpower to force the boulder to go down the tunnel to the right. Glancing back, he could tell that everyone was having the same troubles navigating the slick surface that he was, so he simple sat and concentrated on pushing and trying to guide the boulder forward.

Making it turn down the next left passage was easier than it had been to force it along the right – the tunnel did more of a Y-turn than a pure angle – and there Michael gave it one last hard shove of earth and air magic and let it loose on its own. Echoing sounds of thunderous crashes and sickening howls mingled together, followed by an explosion that shook the tunnels mercilessly.

Crystal held out a hand and helped pull him to his feet. “What the hell was that?!” A cloud of dust was drifting up the tunnel from the direction the ball had traveled.

“I think my marble hit the barrier.” Laughing, Michael hugged her tightly, paying no attention to the goo that he was smearing all over her from where he’d fallen in it. “I think my marble broke the barrier!” Another loud, resounding crash echoed up from the tunnel ahead. “I think my marble is still breaking things!” Cackling wildly, he let go and rushed forward. “Come on guys! We got to see this!” Michael’s enthusiasm, was infectious and everyone rushed to try and keep up.

“How’s Zip, anyway?” Michael’s curiosity compelled him to ask, as he rushed to try and see the destruction his marble had created.

“He’s mad. You broke his spears!” Tiffany sounded almost pouty herself, and that made Michael laugh even harder. In his current mood, almost anything would make him laugh even harder. Bone dust and zombie goo were mingled together and covered all the walls – even the ceiling – a slick disgusting mess as they slid and rushed ahead.

When they got to the tunnel where the leapers had been lying in wait, Michael was disappointed. If his boulder had hit them, he couldn’t tell. Everything was just goo, goo, and more goo – the same as what the zombies had left behind. If leaper goo was any different from zombie goo, he couldn’t tell it apart.

Rushing on forward, he could tell the point of impact where the boulder had hit something. He had no idea what it had actually hit, as there wasn’t any sign of debris around, except for several fine chipped pieces of pure white marble. Apparently his marble had hit some sort of magical barrier, cracked and chipped, but burst on through destroying the magic completely. Hurrying on forward, there was a set of stone stairs descending down into a deep cavern below.

Well… Part of a set of stone steps. Apparently his marble had catapulted out of the end of the tunnel, shot about half way down, and vaporized the steps where it finally made impact.

The dead were behind them. They were standing on viscously slick flooring, covered in the vile remnants of what used to be leapers and zombies. A gaping hole was in front of them, with a drop that was hundreds of feet deep. And, more dead were coming to push them down it!

“Damn! It feels good to be alive!” Yelling and whooping, Michael leapt off the edge, dragging Crystal over with him. “Yahoooo hoo hoo hoo hoo!!”

Mongo and the healers were left staring over the edge, listening to Crystal’s scream and Michael’s cackling laugh as they careened out of sight into the darkness below.

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