Swamp and Forest

Story
A giant air bubble pops, and Charmcaster wakes up, floating in muddy water. She looks around frantically, and sees Animo’s frog heading up to the surface, and Sunder riding his glider up. She swims up to the surface, and gasping for breath.

Charmcaster: Ah! Yuck! It’s a swamp!

Sunder: Ugh. Where are we?

Animo: Phantom must’ve separated us to attempt to weaken us. We need to rejoin the others.

Charmcaster: First I need to get out of this water. Ah! (Charmcaster suddenly sinks back down into the swamp.)

Sunder: Charmcaster? You alright? (Sunder starts flying towards Charmcaster’s spot, when he’s hit by lightning, and he falls and crashes into the water. Animo looks and sees AmpFibian in the air.)

Animo: The Warmatrix! Phantom is attacking us with John Smith’s aliens! (Then, Animo’s frog is lifted out of the water by Ripjaws, then thrown a good distance, hitting shallow water.)

Underwater, Charmcaster is in the hands of Wildvine, holding her down. Charmcaster struggles, then sees Wildvine. Charmcaster’s eyes glow with mana, and she releases a mana burst from her body, destroying Wildvine’s hand. Charmcaster then swims back up to the surface. Charmcaster breaks the surface and floats in the air, and Wildvine stretches out of the water, seemingly bigger than usual.

Charmcaster: You don’t scare me. Tempestus! (Charmcaster swings her arms, and the swamp water rises, and hits Wildvine like a wave, knocking it over.)

Wildvine recovers quickly and stretches and punches Charmcaster. Charmcaster recovers quickly, floating again. Sunder takes to the air on his glider, dodging AmpFibian’s lightning attacks. Animo recovers from being thrown, as he sees the others battle.

Animo: Charmcaster! Get it out of the water!

Charmcaster: Don’t order me around, old man!

The frog croaks, and extends its tongue, going to hit Ripjaws. Ripjaws dodges, and bites into the tongue. The frog croaks in pain, and Ripjaws starts to pull on the tongue. The frog hops into the air, causing Ripjaws to let go. Animo’s frog accidentally rams Sunder in the air.

Sunder: Whoa! Watch it! (Sunder regains his balance, as he’s hit by another blast of lightning. Sunder shakes it off, and fires a laser at AmpFibian, which is hit and falls back.)

Wildvine had re-grabbed Charmcaster, and she struggles again. Then, Animo and his frog hit the water, creating a wave that hits Wildvine, causing it to lose its grip. Charmcaster slips free. Wildvine then spins and fires seed bombs at Charmcaster, who raises her hand and stops the attack. She launches the bombs back at Wildvine. Sunder chases AmpFibian, and is hit by the seed bombs, exploding and causing him to lose altitude.

Sunder: Watch where you’re throwing your attacks, witch.

Charmcaster: Want to go a round with me, white hair? (The two have a stare down.)

Animo: Enough of this! (Charmcaster and Sunder face Animo.) If we are going to win, then we have to work together. (Charmcaster and Sunder look back at each other, and nod their heads.)

AmpFibian fires lightning at Sunder, and Charmcaster fires a mana blast to counter it. Animo’s frog then hops and creates a big splash, hitting AmpFibian. Becoming wet causes it to electrocute itself. Sunder then flies in and slices through it with his axe. AmpFibian turns into a purple light, and flies away. Ripjaws was thrown into the air by Animo’s splash, and Charmcaster raises her arms, causing it to levitate. Sunder then flies by and strikes it with his axe, turning it into a purple light. Wildvine comes at Sunder, and Charmcaster raises her arm, causing Wildvine to come out of the water.

Charmcaster: '''Tempestus! '''(Charmcaster drains all the water out of Wildvine, causing it to shrivel up. Animo’s frog extends its tongue, grabbing it and swinging it around. Sunder strikes it with his axe, turning it to a purple light.)

The room becomes a plain, white room, just like the room they were in earlier.

Animo: So, it was a virtual simulation. In order to end the program, you have to win the battle. (A door then appears.)

Charmcaster: Just so you guys know, I’m not listening to either of you.

Sunder: I don’t expect you to. However, we still need to work together. I suggest that none of us be the leader, and all of us be equal. John treats us as equals, as should we.

Animo: Very well.

Charmcaster: Agreed. (The three then head towards the door.) End Scene

Ship: Ship! Ship! (Ship is nudging at Julie, trying to get her to wake. Julie stirs, and wakes up.)

Julie: Ugh. What happened? (Julie looks around, and sees that they are in a forest. She sees Tack and Eddy lying down unconscious.) Guys, wake up! (Julie goes over, shaking both of them. They both wake up.)

Tack: Ugh. That was weird. Where are we?

Eddy: (Looks around) We’re still inside the castle. This is a virtual world, though everything here is real.

Julie: You can see that?

Eddy: Yeah. Anything that’s based off technology, I can see it.

Ship: Ship! Ship!

Eddy: I agree. We need to move.

Julie: You understand what Ship says as well?

Eddy: Yep.

Tack: Okay, enough of this. Eddy, can you find the way out of the room?

Eddy: Yes.

Tack: Then lead us there. We need to rejoin the other.

Ship: (Anxiously) Ship! Ship!

Tack: What’s that mean?

Julie: Duck! (Julie and Eddy dive down, as Tack turns. He sees a fireball, and he jumps out of the way in time, as the fireball tears through and hits a tree, setting it on fire.)

The entire forest starts to catch on fire, and Ship forms around Julie. The three stand up, and they see NRG, Heatblast and Swampfire in front of them.

Julie: John’s aliens. This isn’t good.

Eddy: It’s from that Omnitrix device that Phantom has. (Eddy activates his Toltech armor, which forms around him.)

Tack: Either way, we have to fight through them. (Tack pulls out his blaster, and shifts it to its laser sword mode.)

Julie raises her hand, and fires a laser blast at NRG. NRG is pushed back from the attack, but isn’t injured. NRG then fires a radiation beam, though this doesn’t hurt Julie at all. Julie charges at NRG, who channels heat through the ground, firing a lava stream at Julie. Julie rolls towards the side, dodging as the lava burns through the forest.

Eddy goes in to punch Heatblast, who channels heat into the ground, dodging by flying on a rock. Heatblast throws several fireballs at Eddy, all exploding on contact. Eddy fires a laser at Heatblast, destroying the rock Heatblast was on. Heatblast falls and punches Eddy, causing him to stumble back. Heatblast surrounds himself with fire, setting the forest more on fire. Eddy charges through, but is hit by a series of fireballs.

Swampfire fires flames at Tack, who dodges with ease. Everything around him burns, and the smoke is becoming thick. Tack activates his helmet, and he breathes a sigh of relief. He then charges in and slashes through Swampfire with his laser sword. Swampfire regenerates, and throws seeds. Tack is trapped in plant vines. Then, a spark from the fire hits the vines, catching them on fire. Tack is able to break free. The entire forest is on fire at this point.

Tack: Eddy! Have you found the exit?!

Eddy: (Blocking a fist from Heatblast) Not yet!

Ship: Ship! Ship!

Julie: Ship has!

Tack: We need to get out of the forest. Take to the air.

Julie flies over, and grabs Tack, then takes off into the air. Eddy’s suit reverts to his backpack, except for the head helmet, and his jetpack activates, following them. Heatblast channels heat into the ground, flying after them on a rock. Swampfire uses his vine hands to get inside NRG’s faceplate, and tears it off. NRG flies out of his suit, following Heatblast. Swampfire shoots fire at the ground, launching himself into the air.

Julie, Ship, Tack and Eddy are flying towards a point in the forest, and Tack looks behind them.

Tack: Guys! We’ve got company!

NRG throws energy balls at them, and Julie turns and fires missiles to counter them. They explode, creating powerful radiation waves. Heatblast throws fireballs after them, and Tack fires his blaster, causing them to explode.

Ship: Ship! Ship! (Julie and Eddy then fly down towards the ground, and land.)

Tack: Why are we landing?! (Eddy then raises his hand in front of him, and touches the space in front of him. It glows, and opens a door.) Oh. Hurry! (The group runs through the door, and Eddy then closes the door. Heatblast, Swampfire and NRG lands at the spot, looking at each other. They all turn into purple light, and disappear.)

Characters

 * Charmcaster
 * Sunder
 * Dr. Animo
 * Dr. Animo's Frog
 * Julie Yamamoto
 * Ship
 * Tack
 * Eddy

Drones by Phantom

 * AmpFibian
 * Ripjaws
 * Wildvine (first re-appearance)
 * NRG (normal and true form)
 * Heatblast
 * Swampfire

Trivia

 * It's revealed that the group has been split into several small teams.
 * Phantom is using the Warmatrix to attack the heroes.