The cat bus propelled itself forward at what must have been the speed of light, and the humans that hadn't fastened their seat belts were tossed around the bus. Harper was one of these unlucky humans and the boy rolled down the center aisle screaming. Thankfully, the cat saliva was a little sticky and he managed to grab onto one of the chair's legs. "This is crazy!" The boy yelled as he clung to the seat and pulled himself onto wobbly legs.
Riley who was seated near the front laughed. "This is Nowhere, what did you expect?"
Harper had to admit, she had a point. The bus took a sharp left and Harper crashed into the seat. He clung on tightly then stared at Leon and Jasper. "Guys! Grab a seat before it turns again." The bus did a barrel roll and the world turned upside down. This was worse than the SSF and worse than the beanstalk! He watched as Leon and Jasper rolled down the aisle and winced sympathetically at the duo. "Come on," he reached out a hand and offered for the both of them to take it. His seat had just enough room for the three of them.
Unlike the despairing Harper, Riley was laughing her lungs out. This was the most extreme ride she had even been on! The cat bus zipped forward and suddenly, she felt someone fall into her lap. The girl looked down to see a dazed Inadi and snickered before giving him a cheeky grin. "This sure is a wild ride, aye? The roller coasters on earth can't compare." The bus leaped forward and she reached out to adjust the frightened man's glasses. However before she could give him a helping hand he shot up and began apologizing. The bus took another sharp turn, really, it would have been impossible to not fall over. She gave him a dismissive wave but couldn't help but laugh at the way he was reacting. He was being silly. "It must have been fun working for Mr. Cuddles." She stated in an attempt to break the awkward silence he had created. "Nowhere sure is weird, huh? If I wrote about this...if I took a picture." Her eyes had shone with determination. "There'd be no way the newspapers would say no." The girl shrugged when she realized she was rambling then laughed as the bus picked up speed.
"Zephy! H-How far is Sol!" Harper yelled. If this kept up for much longer he'd puke. He clung to his seat then looked at the people all around him. Some were just as distressed as he was but the girl with pink hair, the other new girl and Haku were just sitting there looking happy.
The cat bust continued traveling at ridiculous speeds before the cat let out a sharp yowl. They didn't have enough gas.
Riley turned to look at Inadi then Lesley. "Uh...I don't think I like the sound of this."
Harper's eyes grew the size of dinner plates. "Z-Z-Zephy?" When, no,
if they got home. It'd be a miracle if he wouldn't need a therapist.
The cat began screeching like crazy, it's tail flapping up and down in vain. It was out of gas! It needed Tuna oil and quick. The cat stretched out it's feet and screeched as it felt through the air even faster than it had flown. Everything was a blur and bus erupted into an orchestra of screams. There was a crash and suddenly they were rolling down a dusty hill and inching closer towards Sol's border. Riley wasn't screaming in joy but was instead clinging to her seat for dear life and Harper, he had both Jasper and Leon in a death grip. It would be a miracle if they survived this. It would be a miracle if they got out with all their limbs and it'd be a miracle if they actually reached Sol in one piece.
The lost souls were given a miracle. The hill was made of jelly and the dust had been sugar all along. The cat purred and licked at the jelly as it rolled down hill. Eventually they reached the border and crashed into a tree. Unlike the candy land behind them, Sol looked like a place in fantasy novel with mountains in the distance and sturdy trees as far as the eye could see.
"I...I can't believe we're alive." Harper wheezed as he pushed himself off the floor. So much had happened since January 1, 2014.
It was crazy but Harper felt a little braver. Had this happened to him during the beginning he would have died of a heart attack, but now he was willing to soldier on. He looked at the others before a wave of panic shot through him. "Is everyone alright?" He asked in what was supposed to be a soothing voice. He called their names one by one then sucked in a breath of air. Now wasn't the time to panic. "We can climb out through the windows."
"I-I'm good, but let's not do this again." Riley made a face before jumping to her feet and dusting herself off. She grabbed the nearest people Inadi and Haku and pulled them to their feet. "You guys okay?" She then offered another one of the lost souls a hand.
Harper waited for the others to exit through the window and once the coast was clear exited as well. The cat bus was napping and they were in the middle of the forest, caught between the border of Sol and the Candy Kingdom. "Zephy? Do you know the way to the cast--" Before Harper could finish his sentence several green slimes began crawling out of the bushes and appearing out of Nowhere. "What?"
More and more slimes arrived at the scene and the amulets on their necks began to glow. "Zephy? Should we run?"
The messenger didn't look phased. Instead she kicked on the slimes to the side and gave them a smile. The girl stated that she was a non-combatant then stepped to the side and told them this would be practice.
Harper stared at the small critters. They couldn't be so bad, right?
Riley laughed. "Have you played any MMO's. Slimes aren't so bad." She grinned deviously, her amulet glowing a darker shade of red. She could feel the power coursing through her veins but how exactly did one utilize it? It had been an accident when she used it in the castle.
Riley snapped her fingers and a small flame flikered to life on her palm. Her eyes widened in amazement and a pang of joy shot towards her. Apparently emotions affected ones powers and the flame grew thrice its size, nearly burning her hair. Riley let out a yelp as she staggered back and tripped on one of the slimes. She didn't notice but the liquid-ish light in her amulet went down.
The ground rumbled and from within the forest appeared a slime monster half the cat bus' size.
It let out a growl and suddenly all the baby slimes began to pounce. One clung to Harper's face and the boy crashed into the ground. They had crashed into slime territory and the creatures were very territorial. Their first fight had begun.
