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The Clones Return (Chapter 5)
By Vader
The stolen pteranadons from JPDatabase glided through the blue clouds, allowing themselves to be carried by the sweeping wind. They carried River, Para, JohnArnold, Jon, Majestic-1, and Rexoraptor across the span between sites and towards Gondolend.
"Oh, I look forward to seeing Enella again. It seems like its been a month, not a day, since we last saw her," Para smiled at her husband.
"I told you that you should have stayed," River said with an equal smile.
"I just miss her. I'm sure Vader and Raptor-Rex are taking good care of her. Besides, like I said, I'm not going to abandon you in a situation that has the highest degree of danger. After all, I did hold off those troops after we crashed so you two could rescue John's friends. Plus, I saved you even after that-"
"Okay, I know. I'm glad you came," River admitted with a bit of a smirk. "And I'm looking forward to seeing Enella too," he continued, his thoughts drifting to dwell on his newly- born, beautiful baby.
Meanwhile, JohnArnold was having his own conversation with his pals. "It really is great to see you again, John. What took you so long to come back to JPDatabase?" Jon asked. JohnArnold just shrugged, being careful where to place his words. His past and what he did while he was away from his home site was an extremely sensitive subject to talk about when with his old friends.
"I've just been really busy. It seemed that almost right after I worked to establish the fleet on Dan's Page, the Flooder's grew in power. Ever since they started that feud to draw the Admins into war, I've been working really hard," he replied.
"Really?" Rexoraptor said without looking at John. "I think you were never planning on coming back to JPDatabase. I think you came back just so that you could recruit us for fighting against the Flooders. Isn't that right?"
JohnArnold was shocked. He was a bit intimidated, but when noticing this about himself, he began to become a little annoyed. "Look, Rexo. I came back because I knew the Flooders had taken over and I wanted to rescue you. I would hope that you could help the Admins to fight against them, but even if you would refuse, that wouldn't make me not want to save you lives. It seems to me you aren't showing very much gratitude."
"I agree with him, Rexo. If John hadn't come back, we would've had our executions and we'd have been . We owe him big time," Majestic-1 chimed in. "Besides, I've been hankering for a good Flooder skull-bashing ever since they put us in the torture chamber." Majestic curled his fists and slammed them together. "I'd be honored to fight with you, JohnArnold."
"So would I," Jon said next. He then turned to look at Rexoraptor expectantly, who sighed a moment later.
"I still can't help but feel a little pain from the past, Arnold. But as long as there's a war too fight, you guys are right - the Flooders should be stood up to," Rexo declared hesitently. With another sigh, he finally said, "I'm in."
"Thank you so much for your help. It'll be the dynamic foursome all over again once we take to the skies, eh?" JohnArnold exhaled, patting his buddies on the back as they revived old memories in their heads. "Remember when we used to bulls eye those compies when I first began experimenting with early stages of the mini-chopper, ridin' through that-"
"There it is!" River pointed from his pteranadon to the webpage that was fast approaching below them. "Gondolend. I remember when Rancor still ran this place, before the Flooders invaded. Used to have really nice, lush green, marshy forests, teaming with life. But thanks to the Leader's pollution, everything's a dark, gloomy swamp. All the herbivore dinosaurs were ed off as he bred carnivores who would hunt each other. If we beat the Flooders, I look forward to getting some people over here to revive everything," River said with determination in his voice. He just d seeing the aftereffects of the Flooders taking over.
"Sure would have been a site to see back then," Para exclaimed.
Everyone grabbed their reigns to the beasts they rode, and pulled them gently back and to the side. The graceful birds of JPDatabase carried them downward with ease. As they drew nearer to the dark green site, they saw that it was shrouded in a thick blanket of mist, barely allowing them to see the swamps below. Nevertheless, the animals, although a bit hesitant of what would be behind the cloak of fog, carried the Admins downward.
The large birds entered the mist. It was entirely and completely thick as soon as they entered. They could not even see as far as the hands in front of their faces. The pteranadons let out a worried shriek as branches slapped against their bodies. Para gave a short scream as a spiky vine hit her forehead. River was jolted forward as he hit the side of a tree. He looked around him, unable to see his comrades, only able to hear their quick yells from the pains. Below he could turn around to look forward, a branch tore straight into the wing of the pteranadon he rode. He went spiraling downward as blood splashed his face.
They escaped the fog the fraction of second later, able to see around them. Immediately after they exited the thick mist, the pteranadons had no time to veer away from hitting the massive swamp directly below them as they flew out of control, panicking. The animals slammed into the water, flapping their wings in a fury. Everyone jumped off their saddles, swimming while leading the pteranadons to the muddy shore of the body of water while holding the reigns. The frightened birds flapped out of the water, beginning to calm down once away from any chance of drowning. They flowed their wings back, panting, as their rider plopped down into the mud, exhausted from the intense experience. They lay, staring upward as the dark surrounding them reached up into the blanket of cloud above them. "Well," Jon sighed. "That was interesting."
River pulled himself up, reminded on his one intention for even coming to this place. "I'm going to have a look around. I want you all to stay here. I'll be back soon," he said. Para jumped up just as fast, grabbing his shoulder.
"How can you go alone? Let me go-" she was cut off.
"Don't worry. I won't be hurt by him, he knows me. It is better if I go alone. I won't be gone long." And then River left, trudging through the thick, moist dirt that clung to his boots as he sloshed through the ground. The others watched him leave as he disappeared into the darkness.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Para sighed.
River made his way across the mud into the thick, marshy forests. The trees were so densely huddled together with vines stripped across them that it was the most difficult terrain he had ever had the displeasure to travel across. Growing frustrated and tired of the situation, River whipped out his sword and hacked at anything and everything around him to clear a path. He worked hard, and as he did so, more light began to shine from ahead, no longer as encumbered by thickness as it had been before.
At that point, ahead, River saw a large metallic outpost, consisting of several bunkers. It belonged to the Flooders. On the side wall, the marking B-9 has been inscribed. It was the outpost his long-time friend served as a ranger at. He remembered so long ago, before he met the Admins, that his friend had been scheduled to come here. He's been so excited to see the beautiful Gondolend, yet little did he know what the Leader of the Flooders would eventually do to it.
He began to race forward, looking forward to seeing his friend again, to tell him the truth about the past of the Admins and how things had been better and one time, and how he had been fighting to restore peace and justice, and-
River was smacked to the ground as he fell into a stump, having the wind knocked out of him. He felt a large maw grip the back of his outfit, pulling him upward, into the air, past the trees and flipping him across the forest below. He landed in another lake, swimming as hard as possible to stay afloat. He turned to look behind him, seeing massive land predator stepping into the lake - a Giganotosaurus. The beast leaned down to finish River off them suddenly, bullets exploded upon the beast, expertly aimed as its head. The carnivore spun in another direction towards where the bullets came from. It began to head for the shooter, but the rapid stream of open fire was too much. The incredibly wounded beast turned to collapse into the bed of trees beside it with a loud rumble.
Shocked and panting, River lay still, staring at the dinosaur. "Don't move!" a voice shouted. He craned his head back to see a hunter standing before him, aiming a . "Don't you dare reach for your sword, Admin. You can die now, or you can be executed at the concentration camp. Your choice."
Rage flamed through River's insides as he ground his teeth together. He looked at the hunter with loathing. He reached for his sword anyway, rolling to the left. The hunter fired, grazing his shoulder. "Ah!" River snarled, jumping forward and slicing off the hunter's , kicking him to the ground. The startled Flooder looked up at the Admin who brought his sword back for the . "Wait! River, It's you! Hold on-" the Flooder never finished his sentence after recognizing River. The loathing Admin pierced the heart. Just a millisecond after doing so, River realized that the person he had just ed, had cried out his name for him to wait.
Dread. Horror. Pain. The feelings streaked through River and abandoned the hilt of his sword, bending low to take the helmet of the man. The familiar face was revealed under it. His old friend - BrianW14. The friend he had grown up with, who'd been blinded to the Leader of the Flooder's true intentions just as he had been, the friend he had come to inform him of the truth of the site wars, the man he came to be reunited with, the man he had ed.
"No!" River yelled, tears streamed down his face. "I'm sorry, Brian!" he tearfully cried as he fell to the ground. "I'm so sorry!" His rage had taken over him, resulting in the loss of his friend. His time for mourning didn't last long. He heard bullets and footsteps coming his way. With a sob, and a last regretful look at the Brian, he grabbed his sword and ran back through the forest. He didn't care of the trees and branches that he repeatedly fell over and was wounded. Tears streamed from his face. He was stuck in a single moment of memory, the memory of him ing his friend.
It seemed that he reached the others he'd arrived with in just a minute. He ran through the lake toward them, jumping upon his pteranadon, which he readied for flight, trying to hide his tears. "What happened?" Para asked quickly as the others followed River's motion to get on their steeds.
"We have to leave, and quick," River stated as his wife backed up to get into her saddle. As bullets came their way, the birds took off, sweeping back into the clouds, bracing themselves against the slamming branches. Finally, they sped up and out, back into the stars and across the sky, leaving Gondolend. It was time to go home, where yet another mission would await them. The most important and difficult mission of their lives - returning to Dan's JP3 Page.
2/14/2002 6:54:14 PM
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