Behind the Walls part 5

Xephos had been struggling with his restraints since they were put on. He was shaking with rage and constantly fighting, and Honeydew had to struggle to keep him walking. However, he knew they still weren't moving fast enough.

By the time the storm above them began to intensify, Xephos was wild with rage. He was shaking and thrashing and screaming, his eyes deranged and bloodshot. Honeydew couldn't get too close to him, so he had to put a collar and chain around Xephos' neck and drag him along. It was like trying to keep a wild animal under control.

Honeydew couldn't help but be reminded of a bedrock zombie when he looked at his best friend.

They were getting closer to the coordinates and the cure when it all went wrong.

Xephos suddenly dropped to his knees. He started shaking so hard Honeydew thought he was convulsing. Then suddenly, there was a blinding flash of light. Honeydew stumbled backwards, shielding his eyes. A moment later, the light was gone, and he dared a peek.

The straightjacket had disintegrated, the mask was shredded, and the collar and chain had melted, the molten hot metal dripping to the ground and singeing his clothes, but not his skin.

Honeydew didn't move for a moment. Then, cautiously, he spoke.

“Xeph...?” he squeaked out.

Xephos was still. And then he opened his eyes and looked up at Honeydew.

His eyes were glowing gold.

Slowly, he stood up, and Honeydew stumbled back, clutching his sword and knowing fully well that he wouldn't use it against his best friend.

Xephos tilted his head to the side, his face now emotionless, his hands completely steady.

He had triggered God Mode.

His hands began to glow gold, and before Honeydew could react, Xephos flicked his wrist and sent Honeydew flying. He landed hard, cracking his head against the ground. Luckily, his helmet saved him from a concussion.

He quickly clambered to his feet, dizzy from the impact, but Xephos had lost interest in him. He watched with horror as Xephos' feet left the ground, and he slowly rose up into the air like a puppet on strings.

In a calm, almost trance-like manner, he raised his hand and shot a blast of magic into the clouds. The magic spread like golden lightning, and a second after it disappeared, the clouds turned black and green, and the wind picked up, so strong that it actually knocked Honeydew over. Lightning ripped through the sky and the thunder was so loud it shook the ground. Clouds began to swirl around Xephos, causing a cyclone that prevented Honeydew from getting anywhere near him. In fact, the cyclone was so strong that Honeydew was forced to run.

He quickly took cover in a small cave, watching in fear as Xephos, at the center of the cyclone, began to launch blasts of magic, which morphed into fireballs and struck the ground with devastating force. The cyclone itself began to tear up the ground and throw blocks everywhere.

Suddenly, something landed hard outside the cave. At first Honeydew thought it was another block or an unfortunate animal, but then the thing stood up, and he saw that it was Ridge.

Quickly clambering up, he grabbed Ridge by the back of his coat and pulled him into the cave.

Ridge yelped, but when he saw that it was Honeydew, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“You're still alive,” he said, more of a reassurance to himself than a question. ''

“Won't be much longer if he keeps fucking shit up like that,” said Honeydew, gesturing out the cave where the sounds of explosions and wind and the tornado ripping up the ground blocked out all other noises.

Ridge shook his head. “This is my fault...” he muttered, looking out at the storm. He quickly turned back to Honeydew. “Look, I want you to ignore the little voice in your head that tells you to do stupid stuff and just stay put. Got it? Nobody else is going to get hurt because of me...”

As much as Honeydew knew he was right, he still wanted to help. But this time, logic won out. Logic, and the fear of what Xephos was capable of.

“Okay,” said Honeydew quietly. “Just... please don't hurt him...”

Ridge sighed a bit. “I don't plan to.”

Then he turned and crawled out of the cave, struggling to stay upright in the strong wind. Debris flew past him, coming dangerously close to him. A stray tree branch nearly impaled his shoulder, but he managed to duck out of the way in time.

He had to get close enough to Xephos to extract the poison. It was the only way to stop him before the destruction spread.

Either that or kill him.

“No one will die this time...” he muttered to himself as he fought his way closer. He couldn't let anyone else die. It was his job to protect this world, and so far he hadn't done his job.

No one was going to die... No one was going to die...

It was becoming too dangerous on the ground. Debris was flying everywhere, fireballs were flying dangerously close to him, and lightning was exploding on the ground around him.

He quickly took to the air, his eyes flashing gold as he triggered God Mode. Using his magic, he created a shield in front of him to hopefully prevent the debris from hitting him. However, the shield was shattered a second later when a lightning bolt shot from the glowing center of the cyclone and hit it dead on.

Ridge was knocked backwards through the air, his ears ringing from the deafening crack. Xephos had definitely noticed him now.

An enormous fireball shot through the swirling clouds, and for a moment, Ridge was paralyzed as his fear of fire was literally hurdled at his face. At the last second, however, he snapped out of it and crossed his arms in front of his face, creating a shield at the last second.

The fireball enveloped him and swirled around him for a moment before dissipating and leaving Ridge unharmed.

Taking a deep breath, Ridge braced himself and flew straight towards the vortex. Glowing bolts of magic shot past him, and he skillfully dodged them all.

The hardest for him to dodge was the lightning. It had a life of it's own, coming after him and attempting to knock him out of the sky. It shattered every bit of magical protection he surrounded himself with.

And then he made it to the wall of the cyclone.

The attacks stopped, and the golden glow within the swirling clouds intensified. Ridge cautiously pushed his way through the clouds, fighting to stay airborne.

When he saw Xephos, his hearts nearly stopped.

Xephos had become deathly pale, and there was blood dripping out of his nose, eyes, and mouth. His eyes were still glowing gold, and his face was contorted with pain.

He had never triggered God Mode before. Ridge realized he was using too much power. He was killing himself.

Suddenly, Xephos lunged forward and grabbed Ridge around the throat. Before Ridge could pry himself away, Xephos sent bolts of electricity through his arms and into Ridge's throat and chest.

Ridge seized up and convulsed, the electricity quickly draining his magic. He was slipping out of God Mode, and as soon as he did, Xephos would kill him.

He felt one of his hearts stop beating already.

Using every ounce of willpower, he placed his hands on Xephos' chest. A second later, he drew out the poison.

The electricity stopped. The lightning around them faded away, as did the wind. Ridge felt himself start to go limp, but right after he closed his eyes, he felt someone grab him under the arms and hold him close as if in an embrace.

A few seconds later, thanks to his accelerated healing, the heart that had stopped restarted, and he opened his eyes. They had reached the ground, and Xephos, whose hands were no longer glowing and whose eyes had mostly returned to normal, gently lowered him down.

Almost instantly, Honeydew came running over and helped Ridge sit up, while Xephos dropped to his knees, breathing hard. He looked even paler than before, and the whites of his eyes were red from burst veins.

Ignoring the pain he was feeling, Ridge sat up and looked at Xephos, who realized something was wrong a second before it all went downhill.

Xephos suddenly gasped and clutched his chest. His eyes completely stopped glowing gold, and he fell to the side, curling up in the fetal position.

He had used too much of his own life energy in God Mode, and now that he had slipped out of it, he was dying.

Ridge quickly moved over to Xephos, even though he couldn't do anything to help him. He too had used more energy than he should have, and it would only be minutes before the physical symptoms began to appear.

“What's going on?!” exclaimed Honeydew in a panic. “What's happening to him?”

Ridge didn't answer. Instead he sat and watched, feeling beyond useless that he couldn't do anything to help Xephos, who was shaking and struggling to breathe. Ridge reached out and put his hand on his chest, keeping track of his racing heartbeat.

Xephos clutched his throat and opened his mouth like he was trying to speak. “H-... Hon-...” He couldn't speak. But he still shakily reached towards Honeydew, who grasped his hand and kept talking to him, telling him it was all going to be okay.

It took nearly five minutes for it to end. Xephos was in excruciating pain, and he had become so pale he looked albino.

Finally, he stopped shaking. It also looked like he stopped breathing, but Ridge assured Honeydew that Xephos was still alive. He had slipped into a coma.

With a sigh, Ridge sat back and looked at his hands. The symptoms of overuse were starting to appear – his hands began to turn an ashy black, and he was certain his eyes had begun to glow red by now.

“Honeydew...” he said after a minute. “Lomadia and Nilesy have a base nearby. Do you think you can get Xephos there by yourself?”

He nodded. “Yeah, but... where are you going?”

Ridge dizzily stood up, clutching his chest and pulling his hand away to see it covered in blood. “I'm going after Lalnable,” he said, strapping on his jet pack. “Get Xephos somewhere safe; he's still in danger of burning out, and you need to get him stable. Lomadia's smart, she'll know what to do.”

Honeydew nodded, and Ridge turned and left, flying much easier now that the wind had died down and the storm seemed to be dissipating.

He wasn't in the air for two minutes before he suddenly screeched to a stop, blinded by a sharp pain in his head. He closed his eyes and saw in his mind's eye what was happening.

He could have sworn that all three of his hearts stopped working for a second when he realized what had happened.

He realized he was too late.