Barlishmire Citadel

The air was thick with sand blowing in their faces speeding past in the dunes the desert sands as they rode past fast on their motorcyle.

The sun beat down heavily against Walker's skin. Sweat poured from him and he had to wipe the perspiration away constantly trying not get any onto himself or the bike as it flew over the dune's, and onto the road before him. The heat stung in his eyes even more making the sun blinding.

In the distance, it was hardly able to be made out; a strange, floating orb that loomed over them, sinking in and out of the veil of dense fog. From what could be seen, there were windows embedded into the structure, though they were obscured by the mist.

The entire area gave off an eerie vibe that was unsettling, yet somehow comforting at the same time, as if something was waiting for them.

It was just then that they felt the sudden urge to stop. The wind whipping through their hair made it hard for him to concentrate on what he was doing. The motorbike wobbled dangerously and it seemed like it couldn't go further.

"We should head toward the building!" Walker yelled.

It didn't seem like he could hear him anymore. The fog grew thicker as they drove closer to the building. They continued on towards it on foot. The path they had taken earlier wasn't safe now either. Rocks were protruding out of the ground and it would make for an interesting place to fall if one got too close.

A dark-cloaked figure could be seen hobbling left and right. The shadows beneath the hood were dancing around him in the wind. His arms stretched up towards the sky as a beam of light shot forth piercing through the fog, and illuminating the landscape around him for only seconds before disappearing.

"What the fuck!" Walker shouted.

[Bionic arm activated]

Kash jumped back holding sudden protective stance as the figure turned their way. The light was gone again before anyone could react.

Something from above smashed into the sand below, creating a crater. Another light shone through the clouds and illuminated the ground beneath. As soon as it disappeared, the figure was gone.

A moment passed as they stood stunned in silence staring blankly at where the figure once stood before turning their attention back towards the structure in front of them.

"Are all these sand dwellers sky moles?" Walker shouted.

"Just leave them be..." Kase whispered.

You can hear the people digging and drilling under their feet deep into the dunes tunneling away in all directions. The sounds of men running back and forth echoing throughout the facility.

"You can imagine it must be really hot down there and the air seems heavy with sweat. You can easily feel sorry for those poor workers who are stuck underneath all this shit. But there's nothing you can do." Walker noted.

The sound of water running in pipes. The hum of the ventilation system as it moved around them, and the constant clicking of machinery as it powered the entire place. It was deafeningly loud.

The sound of a muffling cry could be heard in the badlands the closer they got to the floating sphere building floating about in the ocean of sand.

"This place feels...off," Kase said.

"No shit." Walker replied looking up at the building.

The large structure loomed overhead. It was impossible to tell exactly how tall it was, but judging by its shape it probably looked bigger than everything they'd been seeing for months and months.

Walker looked out across the expanse of sand. There was nothing here other than a bunch of old machines that had no doubt been used for years ago to build this facility.

Figures could be seen moving inside the structure. Shadows flickered and danced among the pillars of light coming from a few of the windows. The building looked old. Very old as kids inside cluttered around each other as they saw the two strangers enter the building from afar.

they pointed with laughed. They waved at the stranger who waved back as he and Kash outside the entrance of the building.

"I'm going to go check it out." The boy muttered quietly

The children watched curiously holding toy guns in hands. He walked around them and towards the doors.

"And what do you think you are doing?" A voice scolded.

The little boy turned. He had never expected to see anyone there, let alone see someone with such long black robes.

"Oh, big sister!"

He exclaimed waving excitedly. She stared down at him, unamused by his greeting as the boy pointed below to the visitors.

"Look!"

"Oh! visitors I had no idea as no one come to visit for decades!" She yelled.

"Can you let us in?!" Walker shouted.

She shook her head disappointedly. "I suppose we are going to have to take care of those intruders then huh? We'll have to make sure that none of them come anywhere near the children…the children," she said with slight disdain in her tone.

"Hey, wait!" Walker agued.

[Bionic arm activated]

"They aren't going to listen to reason!" Kash stated.

The woman jumped down as she crashed into the sand below, landing gracefully. She brushed away the dust that stuck to her clothes before standing straight and facing the two men.

Pulling a wand a long golden wand out of her sleeve she held the wand in one hand and pointed the other at the intruders, who were still outside and watching her with amusement.

[Enchantress activated]

She began chanting words quickly under her breath causing small white orbs to appear in front of the two travelers. Their feet began to move on their own until they had stopped. They tried to fight but were unable to. They looked terrified as they stared up at her.

"Gravity balls!" She spouted.

White balls of light smashed into the ground near Walker and Kase sending rocks flying every which way. They landed hard against the dirt.

"Wait! Hold the fuck up lady!" Walker insisted.

"Nothing, but slime trying to take our treasures!" She howled.

"Look lady! We ain't trying to steal shit!" Walker yelled.

"Lies! Downward Spiral!"

She invoked her magic, and slowly raised her wand, directing it towards the two travellers, whose legs moved on their own accord without any direction. Her wand flashed bright green light and the orb of light exploded into pieces flying around them. The man screamed and ran behind Walker who also fell to the ground.

The bodies held down by invisible gravity pushing down on them from above and surrounding them tightly with a force field. The orbs of light surrounded the three. She took a step forward and they dropped to the ground. She picked up a stone throwing it at Walker.

"Stupid…bitch!" Walker huffed.

"Princess...Utte!" The male voice pleaded.

They were being crushed together as the orb started crushing against their bodies with the weight of hundreds of tons. She could feel the pressure getting to her and she had enough.

"Take them…" she murmured to herself.

One last look at the two of them. Their faces are distorted from pain. Eyes wide with fear as kash tried to move forward and attempt to save them, the pressure was so great.

His mouth opened and his body became paralyzed. The weight was crushing him. He tried to speak but her throat had constricted. He reached out to pull the boy away, but as soon as his fingers attempted to touch him her.

"Now! Take them both!" She demanded.

As if in slow motion a huge explosion lit up the horizon as a giant ball of flames burst through the surface of the desert. A strong gust blew the sand around them backwards. The force pushed all three of them back as they struggled to regain control over their limbs.

"Princess Utte! Princess Utte!" A man shouted.

The ball of fire had already dissipated and a small group of figures gathered around her. The man ran towards her. His body bent over as he grabbed hold of her shoulders. He pulled her towards him and wrapped his arms around her shaking violently.

"General Kyler?" She questioned.

"Those two men have a meeting with me! Please stop!" He begged.

Walker glared at the princess as she helped him and Kase get back on their feet. She didn't bother responding to him though.

"Please! Sir, Kase! Sir, Walker! Please follow us to Barlishmire Citadel!" He shouted happily.

The giant orb of a building in front of them revealed a long staircase curling down below allowing them to ascend the stairs.

The staircase was made of metal and wood and the staircase itself glistened reflecting light of the setting sun. The stairs led up to a door on the second floor. There was something different about the door however It didn't seem completely natural as it folded while everyone made it inside, it was more like there was energy flowing within it. The lights inside the room seemed to flash as it changed colors occasionally.

They were in a large metal corridor that ran in a circle with an open doorway directly opposite them. They entered and found themselves standing in an enormous glass dome. The sunlight cast down from a ceiling covered with crystal clear glass. The light illuminated an expansive circular room. It stretched out beyond the walls of the dome as far as the eye could see. Large mirrors lined the walls of the hall.

"Welcome gentlemen! Let us begin!" General Kyler smiled.