[b]CHAPTER 1: FISSURE[/b]

Sir Malcolm Swallow has, meanwhile, not found the road he was supposed to go to yet. It's not like it was hard to miss, though- the road in question was a dirt road, one that would lead to the paved streets. He had issues with this problem before, especially after a storm, when leaves and branches and sometimes even trees cover up the path. In fact, often it would be ruined due to heavy rain. This was not the time for the path to be gone though- Malcolm was on a mission.

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind, ripping out trees in its wake, comes from ahead. Bits of bark and trunk flew everywhere, entire logs thrown away by the force.

"By Jove-"

Malcolm barely avoided getting whacked in his partially chrome face by a log, quickly jumping behind a particularly thick tree withstanding the storm. As soon as the hurricane lies down, he leaves his shelter.

"By Jove, what was that? Such a powerful storm, coming out of nowhere, seems particularly anomalous-"

Then, he saw it. In the distance, floating in the middle of the clearing it created, was a rip.

"That is-"

His aftermarket phone rang. The Knights were equipped with these after a certain incident where three Knights- namely Sir Goddard the Land Rover, Sir Neale the Interceptor and Lady Chapman the Lotus Europa- could not communicate with each other during a chase. They ended up losing the criminal they were chasing.

"Who is this?", Malcolm asks.

"Sir Swallow? This is Sir Spectre. Are you alright? We witnessed a massive, almost bomb-like explosion off in the distance. We wanted to make sure you were safe. Are you heading to London yet?", responded a voice belonging to, obviously, Sir Spectre.

Malcolm sighed as he slowly approaches the fissure. "I am completely fine aside from a few scratches. And no, I digress, I am not heading to London just yet. The dirt road may be gone again, which is troublesome. I may also have found the source of the storm, which is... Tough to describe."

Vague discussions could be heard through the phone. Sir Spectre then spoke again. "What is it like, Sir Swallow?"

Malcolm walked around the fissure, but it weirdly stayed in place as if he couldn't see the back of it. "It is... similar to a rip in the air. Its interior is completely black. It is closing, altough it is slow."

More discussions on the other end of the line. They calmed down after a bit, and Sir Spectre responded again. "Sir Swallow? King Argent demands that you investigate this 'rip'. It may be too dangerous to just leave it there. Someone else will go to London?"

"Understood", Malcolm responded. They aborted the phone call.

"Hmm. It is similar to some sort of portal. Jumping in recklessly seems like a bad idea, but I see no other way to investigate this."

He stuck his left front leg in it, but pulled it out safely.

"Good. I will not immediately die, at least."

He braced himself, and jumped in.

"Long live the King!"