Crash Landing 2:

EXILES

Pyrus opened his eyes slowly. "Oh man... where ARE we?!" He groaned as he sat up.

Jade was sitting in a corner, watching him. "Sleep well?" she asked dryly.

"Oh yeah. Just greaaaaat.." Pyrus replied. He looked towards Zera, but she was still out. He quickly stood up and took in his surroundings. They were in a room of some sort. The walls, however, were strange. They seemed to be made of bits and pieces of metal, welded together. "What the...?"

"Strange place, isn't it?" Jade said.

"No kidding!" Pyrus answered.

"Pyrus?" Zera finally awoke.

"Yeah! You ok?!" he asked as she stood up.

Zera nodded. "Where are we?"

Pyrus shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine..."

The door to the room suddenly opened. "You are in Arnia. Our city."

It was the strange girl they had met earlier. Alana. "Why have you taken us prisoner here?!" Pyrus demanded.

"My dad says you're a threat to us..." Alana replied.

"We're no threat!!" Pyrus explained.

"Why would Fire and Ice be working together if they didn't mean to destroy us?!" a man asked as he entered the room behind the girl.

Pyrus looked up at him. It was a Fire creature. He was surprised at first, then relieved. He would ask questions later. "It's our alliance, sir..." Pyrus replied politely.

"Alliance?!" the man asked. He shook his head. "You lie! The originals would never ally themselves with one another!"

"The originals?!" Zera asked. "What are the originals?!"

"YOU are. You are purely an Ice creature. He is purely a Fire creature. She, " he pointed to Jade, "is purely a Rock creature. MY people are, for the most part, combined."

"What are you talking about, crazy man?" Jade asked. "You'd better let us out of here before I..." She reached for her gun, only to find that it was gone.

The fire creature looked at her, and held up her gun. "Do you think we're foolish enough to let you keep this?!"

Jade narrowed her eyes. "You are talking about originals and being combined! It sounds VERY foolish to me!!"

The man glared at her. "Our ancestry is a mix of bone, fire, ice, and rock!" he explained.

"Are you telling us that many of the inhabitants of this planet are a mixture of our planets?!" Pyrus asked, awed at such a prospect.

"Yes!" he sighed, "a few originals did come here some years ago. They tried to destroy us because of the mix..." He glared at Pyrus, Zera, and Jade. "...So you can see why we're not very trusting of you!"

"Dad! I don't think these guys are going to do anything to us..." the young girl spoke.

"Sorry, my daughter..." he began, "but I don't want to take any chances!"

The girl sighed, "yeah, yeah, I know!" and went up to the trio. "My dad is sort've the leader here," she explained. "I'm really sorry about this. He's a little defensive when strangers come to our planet."

"Planet?? I thought this was a moon!" Pyrus said.

Alana shrugged. "Actually, it's a planetoid."

"So, does this planetoid have a name?" Jade asked.

Alana smiled. "Welcome to Planet Scrap!"

"Planet Scrap?!!" Pyrus asked.

"Yes. Everything here is made from bits and pieces of different things! What's a more fitting name then 'scrap'?"

"So... um... how did your ancestors all end up HERE?!" Pyrus asked the fire creature.

He answered, "To make a long story short - four generations ago, large groups from each planet tried to talk their leaders into allying with one other. The leaders took exception to that. Keep in mind, this was before your current leaders took rule, though I'm sure they're descendants of those who exiled our ancestors."

"And what happened?" Zera asked.

The leader shook his head. "Each planet agreed on one thing -- the troublemakers had to be exiled. This is where they were exiled to."

"Such a desolate place though..." Zera began.

Alana spoke up. "No it's not! I know it kind've doesn't look like much now, but in a few months, things will begin to grow. You see, each planet gave their exiles supplies. There are mineral deposits here from Rock, Water from Ice, Food from Bone, and heat from Fire! Our ancestors combined their talents, and we were able to get the best of all four worlds."

"Really?! That's sort've... neat!" Pyrus replied.

Alana nodded. "Yes... it is," she said, then smiled at him.

"Now that you know all about our planet, may I ask about YOU?" the man said. "I'll introduce myself first. My name is Flare."

Pyrus smiled. "And I'm Prince Pyrus, ruler of Planet Fire!" He stopped as a twinge of sadness filled him. "At least... there USED to be a Planet Fire..."

"You're a descendant of the one who banished our ancestors?!!" Flare asked.

"Yes. As am I!" Zera spoke up. "I am Lady Zera, daughter of King Cryos -- the ruler of Planet Ice!!"

"And I am Commander Jade from planet Rock. If you wish, I could introduce you to MY king, Lord Mantle."

"Flare, sir, " Pyrus began, "We're no threat to you or your people! We just came here to warn you about the Beast!!" Pyrus explained.

"The Beast?!" Flare asked.

"Long story," Jade replied. "But the Beast is the reason our four planets allied in the first place."

"You'll have to tell us about this Beast...." Flare started, somewhat suspicious. "That is, if such a thing exists!"

"Believe me, sir, it DOES exist!" Pyrus said.

Zera nodded. "If you let us go, you can return with us to my ship and speak to Princess Tekla. Tekla knows more about the Beast then any of us..."

"And how do I know you will not kill me once I enter your ship!" Flare asked.

"Why would we DO that?" Zera asked. "You will have to TRUST us!"

"I do not trust originals... save for those on this planet!" Flare said.

"Then we're at a standstill," Jade said. "What are you going to do? Kill us when we came here to HELP?"

Flare shook his head. "I don't think that will be necessary. Now, tell me about this BEAST you claim you are trying to save us from?"

Pyrus spoke up, trying to hide his emotion. "I said I was ruler of Planet fire. The truth is, I am ruler of it's PEOPLE. Planet Fire was...." He stopped and took a deep breath. "...Planet Fire is no more."

Zera put a sympathetic hand on Pyrus's shoulder. He looked at her for a moment, and she quickly removed her hand and turned back to Flare. "Yes. Planet Fire is gone," she said. "Destroyed by the Beast."

"Planet Fire?? Gone?!?" Flare hung his head. "My ancestral planet," he sighed. "I never even had the chance to see it... and yet I will miss it as if I had lived there all my life." He was silent for a moment, then looked at Zera. "Very well... you will take us to your ship!" he said, and held Jade's gun in their direction. "But if you try anything, I will not hesitate to pull this trigger!"