The Rise of the Sand Golem - Part 1

As Daichi trapped Molecule's leg, the three dune buggies screeched to a stop on the golden sands.

Haruto, Moriya, Ikazuchi, Reito, and Daichi all leapt out, their boots crunching into the dunes as they sprinted toward the giant mutant.

Haruto turned sharply to Ikazuchi.

"Ikazuchi! Now!"

Ikazuchi smirked, sparks already dancing at his fingertips.

He slammed his hand down onto the sand.

"ELECTRIC TERRAIN!"

A pulse of lightning surged from his palm, snaking across the golden grains like a living thing. The charged current raced toward Molecule–

ZAP!

"AAAHHHH!" Molecule howled in agony as arcs of electricity danced up his legs, jolting through his entire titanic body.

Then–

Haruto turned to Daichi.

"Your turn, Daichi!"

Daichi nodded with fierce resolve and slammed his palm into the ground.

WHUMPF!

"SAND PILLAR!"

The sand rumbled violently. Then–

BOOM!

A massive pillar of compacted sand erupted skyward beneath Molecule's chin, like a geyser of the desert itself.

BAM!

The column crashed into Molecule's jaw with full force. He reeled back, his entire body thrown off balance.

FWOOOSH!

In a flash, Molecule shrank back to his regular size–

–and released Hikaru from his grip.

"W-WOAAAAAHHH!" Hikaru yelled as he tumbled through the air.

WHUDD!

He crashed hard into the golden sand.

"HIKARU!" Moriya shouted, rushing over to him.

"Are you okay?"

Hikaru coughed, wincing.

"Y-Yeah… I'm okay."

Moriya extended his hand. Hikaru took it, and Moriya pulled him up from the sand.

Brushing himself off, Hikaru narrowed his eyes.

His voice hardened with determination.

"Okay… let's take Molecule out this time!"

Hikaru and Moriya sprinted toward the other Elements.

"Hikaru… are you okay?" Daichi asked.

"Yeah," Hikaru nodded.

"Sorry about earlier," Daichi said.

Hikaru smiled.

"Don't worry about it, Daichi."

Then–

Molecule slowly stood up, glaring at the Elements, gritting his teeth.

"You damn B@%STARDS!"

"Look at him now!" Ikazuchi smirked. "No longer a giant!"

Molecule growled through clenched teeth.

And–

FWOOOSH!

He shrunk into the golden sands.

"Oh come on! Stop shrinking! And fight me like a man!" Ikazuchi shouted.

Then–

FWOOOSH!

Molecule enlarged in front of Ikazuchi and–

BAM!

–punched him square in the stomach.

"Gaaahh!" Ikazuchi gasped for air.

FWOOOSH!

Molecule shrunk again, vanishing into the sand.

"Damn it!" Ikazuchi growled, clutching his gut.

Haruto turned to Reito.

"Reito!"

Reito gave a sharp nod.

He raised his arms, gathering frost at his fingertips.

"FROST BEAM!

ZRAKK!

A concentrated beam of pure ice shot forward, streaking across the sand. Pale blue energy shimmered in its wake, snowflakes trailing like sparks.

The golden dunes froze solid in its path.

Molecule, in his shrunken form, narrowed his eyes.

Ice?

What's that going to do? It'll just melt in this desert!

ZRAKK!

Another blast of ice energy.

ZRAKK!

And another.

Again.

And again.

Within seconds, everything around them was a sheet of shimmering ice.

Haruto turned to Hikaru.

"Hikaru, use your light to melt the ice further."

Hikaru blinked in confusion.

"Y-Yeah…"

Haruto… what are you planning?

Light began to glow around Hikaru's body. He took off running across the ice, beams of golden radiance pouring from him, mixing with the sun's heat. The ice shimmered – then began to melt.

Haruto turned his head to Daichi.

Daichi nodded. He already understood what Haruto was asking.

He turned toward the Sea of Japan and raised his hand.

The earth rumbled beneath their feet–

–and something massive broke the surface of the water.

A boulder.

Molecule's eyes widened in his miniature form.

Damn it! I must return to human size and shrink it!

Daichi swiped his hand toward Molecule, and the massive boulder charged straight at him.

Molecule's eyes widened and–

FWOOOSH!

–he enlarged back to his human size, raising his hand toward the oncoming boulder.

Haruto smirked.

Got ya!

Haruto raised his hand, and the water from the melted ice rose under his command.

Molecule touched the charging boulder and shrunk it into a pebble. But then–

"TSUNAMI WAVE!"

KRA-SHHHH!

The massive surge of water, formed from the melted ice, roared toward Molecule like a beast unleashed, crashing down on him and sweeping him off his feet.

"WHAT THE–?!" Molecule shouted as his body was dragged and tossed around like a leaf in a storm.

When the wave finally receded, he was left sprawled across the sand – gasping, soaked, bruised and barely conscious.

Haruto smiled confidently.

"I knew it!"

Moriya raised an eyebrow.

"Knew what?"

"Molecule's weakness," Haruto said.

"His weakness?" Reito tilted his head.

Haruto nodded at Reito.

"Well… STOP NODDING AND EXPLAIN!" Ikazuchi snapped.

Haruto exhaled and launched into his explanation.

"Molecule's ability to change the size of himself and objects he touches is powerful, sure. And yeah, he can change his own size without delay. But… when it comes to the objects he touches, he has to be in human size to shrink or enlarge them."

Daichi narrowed his gaze.

"No wonder… he never tried to change the size of anything while tiny or massive."

Haruto nodded again.

"Also… it looks like he can only change the size of one thing at a time."

Hikaru's eyes widened.

"What?! What makes you say that?"

Haruto turned to him.

"Remember earlier, Hikaru? When he shrunk the boulder that Daichi send?

Hikaru nodded.

"Yeah…"

"He didn't shrink the wave that followed it." Haruto finished.

"Maybe… maybe he didn't have enough time to react?" Hikaru suggested.

Haruto shook his head.

"No, he had plenty of time to shrink both – but he didn't. That tells me he can only focus on resizing one thing at a time."

"I see…" Hikaru murmured thoughtfully.

Ikazuchi crossed his arms.

"That's nothing."

Haruto blinked.

"Huh?!"

"If Teshii were here," Ikazuchi said, "he would've figured that out the moment he laid eyes on Molecule."

"Hey! Don't take my moment away, hot head!" Haruto barked back.

"What did you call me, water boy?!" Ikazuchi snapped.

Reito tilted his head in confusion.

"Hot head? Water boy?"

Then–

Daichi stepped between them before things escalated further.

"Guys, relax! Right now, we still have someone to stop."

Haruto and Ikazuchi glared at each other for a moment, then both nodded.

"Fine," they muttered in unison.

"Though…" Ikazuchi said, "ever if we know his weakness now, how the hell are we supposed to stop him once he enlarges again? Earlier was just luck. And that boulder? If he'd seen it coming, I bet he could've smashed it."

Silence fell over the group.

Then–

Molecule slowly rose, dripping wet, sand stuck to every inch of his bruised skin. He ruffled his hair, shaking off grains of sand, and wiped the rest from his face.

He looked up at the Elements, his eyes burning with rage.

"You persistent f@#ks..."

FWOOOSH!

Molecule enlarged once more into a towering giant.

His shadow stretched across the golden dunes, completely engulfing the team.

Hikaru gritted his teeth, staring up at him.

Damn it… Ikazuchi's right. How the hell are we supposed to beat him when he's like this?

Molecule raised his foot high above the Elements.

And then–

He slammed it down toward them with the force of a collapsing building, like he intended to crush them beneath his massive sole.

Hikaru's eyes widened.

"Guys! Dodge it!"

Hikaru, Daichi, and Reito jumped to the right, while Ikazuchi, Moriya, and Haruto leapt to the left.

THOOOM!

The impact of Molecule's foot shook the entire desert. Sand erupted into the air like an explosion, and the shockwave echoed through the dunes.

"Sh*t! What are we gonna do now?" Ikazuchi said, panting. "We have no chance of beating him!"

Moriya glanced at Haruto, panic flickering in his eyes.

"Haruto… do you have any ideas?"

Haruto clenched his jaw, staring at the monstrous version of Molecule towering above them.

"I… don't know. My plan earlier was only to get Hikaru back."

Then–

Their eyes widened in horror as Molecule's gigantic foot came crashing toward them.

BAM!

The sheer force of Molecule's kick sent Haruto, Moriya, and Ikazuchi flying like ragdolls.

Hikaru's heart dropped.

"HARUTO! MORIYA! IKAZUCHI!"

WHUDD!

The three slammed into the sand with devastating force, their bodies limp – completely knocked out.

Daichi growled, throwing his arm forward.

Ssshhh…

The sand beneath Molecule began to rise and twist upward, snaking toward his leg in a desperate attempt to restrain him.

Molecule looked down, irritation flaring in his eyes.

"No! Not this time."

FWOOOOM!

With a powerful kick, he shattered the rising sand and sent it flying like a tidal wave of earth.

Daichi's eyes widened as he watched the wave of sand hurtling toward him, Hikaru, and Reito.

Without hesitation, he turned to them, placing a hand on each of their backs–

–and shoved them aside.

Then–

BLRFF!

The sand crashed down on top of Daichi, burying him beneath a mountain of sand.

Hikaru's eyes widened.

"DAICHI!"

But no response…

Daichi was completely buried beneath the sand.

Hikaru turned his head to Reito.

"Reito! We need to get Daichi out of the sand. Otherwise… he'll suffocate!"

Reito nodded without hesitation.

The two of them sprinted toward the massive mound of sand where Daichi had been swallowed.

Then–

BAM!

Hikaru glanced over his shoulder.

"Huh?"

Reito was suddenly sent flying, his body flung through the air like a ragdoll. Molecule had kicked him with a swift motion.

WHUDD!

Reito hit the ground hard, skidding across the sand before coming to a complete stop – unmoving.

Just like Haruto, Ikazuchi, and Moriya before him, he was now unconscious.

Hikaru's mouth fell open in stunned silence.

He was the only one left standing.

"Well…"

Hikaru slowly turned his gaze upward.

Molecule loomed over him in his colossal form, casting a massive shadow across the golden dunes.

He extended one enormous hand toward Hikaru, fingers spread wide, ready to capture him again.

"…shall we continue our run?" Molecule said mockingly.

Sweat trickled down Hikaru's face. His legs were trembling. His breath caught.

Suddenly–

RRRRMMMMMM!

The ground began to tremble violently.

Both Hikaru and Molecule froze.

"Huh?" Hikaru muttered.

"What is happening now?" Molecule growled.

Then–

Hikaru's eyes snapped toward the mound of sand that had buried Daichi.

It was rising.

And not just rising – shaping.

The sand beneath Molecule's towering feet surged upward like a geyser, lifting him off balance.

"What?!" Molecule cried out, stumbling backward.

THUDD!

He crashed into the sand, dazed.

Hikaru could only watch, his mouth slightly open in confusion.

The sand continued to rise – gathering, swirling, merging together.

It formed two massive legs.

Then a torso.

Two powerful arms.

And finally – a head.

A golem.

A giant golem.

It stood tall. Its silhouette nearly matching Molecule's enormous form in height and bulk.

Molecule, still sitting upright, stared up at the sand beast, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"What… what is that?"

Then–

Something emerged from the golem's head.

Hikaru squinted upward.

"Is that…"

It was Daichi.

He stood calmly atop the golem's head, hands clapped tightly together in a focused stance. His hair was damp, sand streaked across his cheeks, but his eyes were burning with power.

And then – he spoke.

"Sand Golem…"

TO BE CONTINUED!!!