The Attack of the Rubeki (1)

--January 5th, 2447--

---Carl's Perspective---

As soon as Sky left Alicas, he demanded that Shike, Belle, Alexia, Boo, Alex, Asoh, Lia, Lily, Ruby, Troy, Yonoa, myself, and Kire all bolstered the defenses of Alicas. He told me that if anybody would attack or plot something vicious, it would be when he was gone.

"Shike! Going good up there?" I yelled out to a stone-brick tower. He stuck a thumb out to symbolize that he was performing whatever task okay, and I checked off the list.

I visited Belle and Alexia to affirm the same thing, and then everybody else in one fell swoop. With everything settled, I adjusted the weapon on my back and peered to the front gate. Nothing had happened yet... but it's possible something could when I was least expecting it.

"Who would be the one attacking us? You know how many people they're going to need to fight Sky off?" Shike asked. He wiped beads of sweat off of his brow, laughing at Belle. 

"That might be true, but I'm still skeptical about it. There's always Eirikr, isn't there?" Belle asked. She hammered in a plank onto another stone platform above the tower, attempting to piece it together with Shike's contraption I couldn't see.

Then, while we were lost in the friendly banter we usually had, the bells near the front gate began to ring loudly. The alert was loud, not silent like I was used to for tests. It was banging, repeatedly, causing everybody to mobilize. They grabbed their weapons and waited for the bad news to follow on the alerts above.

The houses all began to float in the sky, moving out of reach of whatever incoming danger. Alexia cupped her hands together and pushed a dome onto the exterior of the city. If the attacker was in the city, they were stuck for good.

"We need everybody mobilized and scanning every corner of the city. Once we find the danger, we'll corner it and give the call that it's safe. Alexia, what do you sense?" I asked her.

With her new powers filtering into her old ones, Alexia was able to perceive everything within the dome after a few seconds have passed. She watched closely, squinting her eyes, before widening them and turning to Shike and Belle.

"The Rubeki!" She screamed. "It's the Rubeki, we have to go now!" Alexia said. Shike, Belle, Alexia, and Boo all shot off of the ground, moving toward her triangulated position.

I followed behind as close as possible, using the blast of gunpowder from my gun to launch and propel me forward at the same pace. Spotting the Rubekis looming against the gate was easiest for me, and I was able to use the gun in my hands to snipe at least six of them before landing on the ground a good distance away. 

Belle launched shards of ice down to the Rubeki, and Shike slashed through with a golden saber as I searched for the source. Alexia immediately pointed underground and Shike launched another attack, clearing the ground around the area, only to reveal a weird structure.

It was shaped in rings, with three prominent ones on the top, middle, and bottom. It was shaped like an extended beehive, and from the middle of the source came thousands of Rubeki, flooding into the city. 

"Come on, these guys just never give up, do they? Where do they even keep coming from? Does Providia have something to do with this?" Shike asked out loud. I continued to shoot my gun back and forth, flipping and warping it to turn into an ax to stay mobile. 

"I'm not sure! But, a thousand is nothing, right? What happens if we destroy the source?" I asked Belle specifically. She seemed to know why I asked her, throwing shards of ice into other Rubeki that resembled boars and rhinos.

"When Sky was fighting Providence, all of the Rubeki seemed to stop. Even if the Rubeki were just a distraction at first, attacking the leader of the Rubeki seemed to halt them. So, we need to find the leader," Belle stated, slashing through a few more Rubeki with ease.

"Shike, you said that Sky was talking with Providia once more. Is this her doing? Why is she mobilizing the Rubeki again?!" I asked Shike. He shrugged, not knowing the answer to that question.

"It can't be Providia, it has to be somebody else. But... who could it be?" Alexia asked out loud.

The Rubeki looked up toward the floating houses and began to amass, creating a climbable structure to attack the homes with. After watching them move, I was convinced that they were being controlled. Nothing that didn't have a hive mind would be selfless enough to boost themselves up like that.

"Somebody is definitely controlling them... do you think we could--" I was cut off by the sheer presence of something around me.

It felt like the sun was setting in the distance, and the world froze around me.

"Twilight Domain." I heard from behind me. The Rubeki were frozen in the air, and I was left with confusion as I looked around to see the voice that arose.

"Direct Message." It mumbled once more.

"Who is that?!" I shouted out. My voice echoed around the solidified world around me.

"Twilight Autumn, Mother of Carl Eternia. Who are you?" She asked me.

I practically dropped my ax listening to her speak, tilting my head in confusion.

"M-Mom...?" I asked her.

"Oh? You're Carl Eternia?" She asked me.

I wasn't convinced that she was real. There was no chance that my mom was somebody of such power. She froze the world around me... or, placed me in a Domain, or whatever she called it. I didn't know what to think.

"Will you help me, son?" She asked.