Chapter 39: Down In A Hole

Deep in the recesses of the mine, Eiham instructed his team of workers with ether drills o carv out a section of the giant safe they were trying to crack open. The hous sized safe, had multiple grooves running through its sides that looked like electrical panels that the men were drilling into.

After a few moment of drilling EIham watched as the Grooves gradually became loose, peeling back a layer of the safe.

"Eihammm!" A blond haired shifter groaned. "Do we really all need to be here!"

" Kira, Guilles orders were to stand by the mine at all times, we cannot afford to have any intruders."

"Ughhhfff! So I'm stuck with the monkeybrain twins, the super emo and the stone blob who no one has ever seen face to face?" She asked.

"Hey we who are you calling Monkeybrained!" The two twins boomed. They were two teenagers maybe 19 years old each scratching their heads with their monkey tails.

"What's the point of this whole thing anyway..." A depressed man said. Sittin gunder an umbrella in the shade, a man with a hoody dressed in all black moped in silence.

"The point is to make money!" Musa said. "Why else would we be in this business!"

"No I meant... life? Like... what is the point of it?"

"HERE WE GO AGAIN!" Kira sobbed.

"Listen... everyone" Eiham said.

"This is no laughing matter, for years we were stepped on laughed at and bullied all across the badlands and now we have gained power!"

"When disaster hit our homeland who cared? Who tried to save us? Who stopped our parents from being killed? No one! No one but the sands of the badlands heard our cries! But now we are the power! We decide who lives and dies... it is fate! Fate has guided us into these roles that we have now and we must do everything in our power to hold onto them!"

"Even if that means torturing children?" Kira asked.

"What difference does it make? Without our help, what chance does the child have for survival? THey should be greatful we feed them! Greatful we allow their elderly and sick to live with them instead of just killing them off before the sandstorms do!"

"But what is the point?" The depressed man asked. "Where does this all lead?"

"Listen and Listen good Jonah!" Eiham said. "Inside of that safe is a pandora! According to Guille we will each get a really big cut if everything goes through! Just a few weeks and we will have it!

"Hmmm why don't we just bash it open!" The monky twins asked.

"You fools! Pandoras are like puzzles in a way! You have to take them apart layer by layer!" Eiham said. "If you just muscle your way through you will risk destroying what is inside!"

"THen why don't the humans just open it themselves? Why are we opening it in the first place!" THe Monkey twins asked.

"That's actually a good question" Kira said. "Why is it we always open the Pandoras?"

"Because if we handed them over before we opened them... we would never know what we are handing over to the humans" Eiham said. "There could be something of value to us that we don't want to give up."

"Valuable..." Kira said thinking "Something like the Matryoshka Pandora?"

Eihams eyes flashed as Kira spoke the words. He gave her an evil and discerning scowl.

"Do not ever speak those words again." Eiham said. "If anyone were to find out what that is... it would be the end of all of us!"

(Back to Lars)

Surrounded on all sides by Terramoles Lars felt moisture on the back wall his hand was pressing against.

"There's water here!" Lars thought

BOOOM!

Tearing a hole in the wall, Lars let out a huge cone of water blasting the Terramoles back.

"Where are Reggie and the others?" Lars thought. "Why haven't they fallen down here yet?"

(Back on top)

"Good job" Vicnent said clapping his hands. "You have all managed to cross the sand pit, except 6 was it? YOu are forgoing this training?"

6 nodded his head and shyly turned away.

"Welp..." Vincent sighed. "I gues that leaves Axel by himself with a bunch of Terramoles""What!!!"

As another Terramole swiped its claws at him Lars narrowly avoided until he was pinned against another wall.

With nowhere to turn, a Terramole dropped its head, headbutting Lars intot he stomach. He belched out air as his belly caved in from the force.

"Damnit!" Lars thought. "I'm surrounded on all sides... and I'm nearly out of ether... if this goes on I'm going to die!"

"Vincent!" 6 pleaded. "How can you leave Lars down there all alone! Those Terramoles have viscios claws! THey will tear him apart!"

"THat may be" Vincent said. "But Other than being known for their sharp claws, Terramoles are also non carnivorous"

"They will generally stop attacking when there opponent is unable to strike back... If Lars is able to-"

Before Vincent could finish, Reggie, B, 6 and even Lanced dove into the sandpit to save Lars.

"Axel!" B screamed.

beaten and alone in a corner, Lars breathed heavily as he fought to remain concious.

"What happend!"

"They swung at me one by one... and when I was too weak to fight back... they laugghed.. they actually pittied me... and then they left.

"Lars! THis training is too-"

"No, this training has opened my eyes" Lars said. "Every single one of you was able to cross that sandpit but I fell, evry single one of you was able to maintain composure, but I went and attacked Guille, this traiining, no this missoin has shown me how weak I am, and how big a difference is just between me and my friends.

"Lars!!!" Reggie said getting teary eyed.

"Next time I'm not going to swim through that pit" Lars said. "Next time I'm going to come down here, and day after day I'm going to fight these terramoles until I win!"

"With those wounds you'll be lucky if you can walk tomorrow!"

"Don't worry" Lars said I will be fine. "Tomorrow I will be stronger than I am today!"