Xyleth, Zairon, and Gorgon: Battle of the Titans

Chapter 3: Departure Day

The next day, Jim woke up after he heard a loud banging noise outside his window. He looked and saw Nick and Martha waiting outside. He opened his window and asked them, "What are you guys doing down there?" Then Martha replied, "You're late!", "Late for what?" Jim asked. "Our flight!", Nick answered. That's when Jim realized that he slept in! He quickly grabbed his stuff and rushed downstairs. He handed it to his friends, then he returned to his bedroom to grab his luggage, eventually, he dragged it downstairs and accidentally bumped into Dr. Maxwell.
He was in big trouble.
Or at least he thought he was.
Dr. Maxwell glared at him for what he did and greeted, "Good morning." Then he asked, "What were you doing last night, why were you in my room?" Jim felt tense, but when he was about to answer, Martha entered the living room, "What are you guys doing?", she asked. Martha intervened just in time. After noticing Martha, Dr. Maxwell retreats, "We'll talk later okay?", Jim nods in agreement as he left. Worried about Jim, Martha tries to calm him down, "Hey, are you okay?", Jim nods while Martha gives him some space, "I'll give you some time to think about it okay?", she said. "Okay", Jim answered, while Martha and Nick place his luggage on the jeep. Dr. Maxwell comes out and asked, "Are you guys sure we didn't leave anything behind?" The three of them nodded then Jim bid goodbye to his father as he went off to work while Dr. Maxwell drove them to the airport.

As they arrived, Dr. Maxwell ordered them to be on the lookout for a plane with an 'I'-shaped logo. The four spread out and looks for the aircraft. After a while of tracking down, they eventually managed to pinpoint the plane's location while Dr. Maxwell ordered everyone to get on the plane as soon as possible. As they got close, the hangar doors slowly opened to let them in. Dr. Maxwell carefully drove the jeep through the opening, afterwards, he 'locks' it in place. Soon, they boarded the plane while everyone took advantage of the window seats. Then an automated voice greeted them, "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to 'Institute' Airlines, hope you're having a great day, we'll reach our destination in a few hours, in the meantime get plenty of rest..." Then Dr. Maxwell intervened, "Get plenty of rest, it's a long flight." Jim nodded, "...thank you for listening to this announcement, goodbye." The automated announcement ended while Jim eventually falls asleep.

A little while later Jim woke up when he heard a high-pitched whining sound, something is being dropped from the sky. In a short while, the object revealed to be a bomb, exploded. Jim witnessed the explosion, afterwards, he heard a loud chirping roar. From the mushroom cloud, a silhouette of a gigantic dragonfly appears. The dragonfly slammed head-on into the aircraft, causing it to break apart mid-flight. Jim fell through the sky as he caught a glimpse of the dragonfly flying overhead. Then a loud whistling can be heard, the plane was taking a nosedive! Jim heard everyone screaming around him...then he suddenly woke up.

"Hey, are you okay?", Dr. Maxwell asked him as he woke up, Jim answered, "I'm fine but..." Dr. Maxwell intervened, "But what?", he asked. "Oh, Uhm... it's nothing", Jim answered. But he's still bothered by his 'nightmare'. Soon after, Martha woke up beside them, shivering, Jim decided to ask her, "Martha, what's wrong?", she answered, "It was horrible!!!" Jim wondered, "What's horrible?", she answered, "MY DREAM! IT WAS A NIGHTMARE. I dreamt about being on this plane and seeing an enormous dragonfly emerge from an explosion and...", "Destroyed this plane while you were falling from the sky? Yes, I had the same dream." Jim continued, Martha was shocked, her jaw dropped. Nick also woke up behind her, and mumbled something, "What did you dream about Nick?", Jim asked, "A giant dragonfly!!!", he yelled. The four of them were shocked, "It could be a coincidence...right?", Jim said, "How could it be a coincidence Jim, we all had the SAME dream.", Martha replied. "Not all of us.", Dr. Maxwell answered, "I wasn't asleep, so I wasn't affected. Though I can hear your screams, you were acting like idiots.", Dr. Maxwell chuckled. The three of them stared at each other in bewilderment, "Then what prompted us into having the same dream?", Martha anxiously said, "I have no idea.", Dr. Maxwell answered. Then the pilot made an announcement, "Ladies and gentlemen, we'll be experiencing mild turbulent winds as we slowly approach our destination. Please wear your seatbelts to promote safety among our passengers, thank you!" After the announcement ended, the trio panicked, they feared that the giant dragonfly in their dreams was a premonition. "It's coming!!!", Nick screamed. Then they heard a roar behind them, but they were relieved to find out that they were merely fighter jets, escorting their plane onto a different route. "They wondered, "Why are these jets following us?", Jim asked, "Oh, it's just for precautions.", Dr. Maxwell answered. "They're just following a protocol that's all." "Protocol for what?", Jim asked, "Well if by any chance we're being attacked by a giant monster, we'll be safeguarded by the military en route to our destination." The trio was assured that they'll be safe from any kaiju attacks so they eventually settled down. After a while, the jets distanced themselves from us, Martha wondered, "Why are they moving farther away from us?", she asked. Dr. Maxwell answered but his voice trailed off, "Well it's because we're...", then the pilot made an announcement, "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is 'Institute' Airlines, please remain seated and tighten your seatbelts as we approach our final destination...thank you." The three of them were excited, "We're landing, and my ears hurt!!!", Nick proudly remarked. They laughed as the plane closed in on the runway.

After landing safely, everyone got off. "Alright, you gather your things, I'll unload the jeep first then we can proceed.", Dr. Maxwell ordered. They did what he said and proceeded. As they were moving their luggage from the plane onto the jeep, Jim couldn't help but feel as if someone is watching him from afar. Since he couldn't take it anymore he reminded someone, "I better use the bathroom", since it was the easiest excuse he could think of at that moment. "Alright, but come back soon okay?", Dr. Maxwell replied, Jim, nodded and left. As he ran off, he ventured into the jungle surrounding the airport. As he passed through the dense foliage, he could feel that someone's watching him. Then suddenly out of nowhere, an arrow was shot into the tree where Jim was standing. He became nervous and ran away. As he darted through the forest floor, he could make out a faint figure following him from behind when suddenly, it caught up to him while Jim tripped on a tree root. He cried out in pain as he tried to stand up, as he struggled to get up, someone lends him a hand, as he looked up he saw a young woman about fourteen years of age, wearing tribal clothing. She helped him get up as Jim was trying to compensate for what is going on. "Thank you, whoever you are.", he gratefully said. The young girl did not understand what he said so she replied with a calm, "Hmm?" "My name is James Maxwell, but you can call me Jim", he introduced. But the girl remained silent, "Where did you come from, where are your parents?", he asked. The girl wouldn't reply. Then Jim thought it would be cool to show her to his friends, "Come with me", he reached out his hand, the girl backed off, "It's gonna be okay, I better show you to my folks, they're pretty nice once you get to know them." The girl nodded as they ventured out of the jungle. As they got out, Jim told her to hide in the foliage as he returns to Dr. Maxwell, "Hey Dr. Maxwell, I found something, or should I say...someone.", he said as he rushed towards his uncle. Then Dr. Maxwell replied, "Oh, did you now? Alright, who is it?" Jim answered, "I don't know, she wouldn't say a word." Upon hearing this, Martha gasped, "Who is this girl?!", "You'll see," Jim said. Then he started calling out to her, "It's alright, you can come out now.", but no one came out of the foliage. He tried calling her again but to no avail. Then Jim rushed towards the bushes only to find out that the 'mystery woman' wasn't there. "I don't get it, she was there a while ago.", Jim said, disappointed. "Heh, good thing this girl's invisible, or else I would've slapped her already", Martha said, Jim was shocked, "Not that I meant to do anything wrong about it.", she continued. Then Dr. Maxwell ordered everyone to get on the jeep, "Alright, we better hurry so you guys can have a tour of the 'Institute' after the briefing.", Dr. Maxwell said. "Then what are you waiting for?", Nick impatiently said. "Off we go then", Dr. Maxwell sighed. As they left, the tribal girl stared helplessly as Jim left. Determined to learn more about him, she returned to an old temple a short distance from the deserted airport, and along with her fellow tribespeople, planned to stop the jeep from reaching the institute.

Then as Dr. Maxwell's jeep drove through the dense jungle, he stopped as an arrow was shot through the glass window, narrowly missing him. Then in one swift moment, a group of tribespeople advanced towards their vehicle and bared their weaponry. The four of them were frightened as the people forced them away from the vehicle. Then the tribespeople gave way to the young woman who encountered Jim, she communicated with her people as a high-pitched whining sound is heard. The people lowered their spears and escorted them towards a massive megalithic temple filled with dragonfly-shaped engravings. This surprised the four of them as they entered the temple doors.