Episode 10: (Fight)

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P.I.X.A.L. scanned the vehicle, and looked at its metallic capacity. Hypothetically, the two should be able to make it, as the vehicle had a higher and lower melting/freezing point.

She then thought of her own melting and freezing point. She had never gave much thought about her own schmatics, but she decided to look into it anyways. Surprisingly, when she scanned herself, she learned she had around the same capabilities of the vehicle.

"Master Wu, I've finished all the preparations. We should be able to make it, but we will hit the harsh temperatures Jack talked about. If anything goes wrong, there's a special suit built for a situation like this." She announced over intercom.

"And what about you?" Wu replied.

"I think I would be able to make it in the harsh climate." P.I.X.A.L. replied. P.I.X.A.L. activated the controls, and the machine began scaling the hill using rocket propelled boosters.

The two headed towards Briar's Edge, ascending in altitude and passing the cloud barrier. As they ascended in altitude, they noticed a hazy red fog blocking the entrance of the mountain trail. Warning signs packed in snow littered the entrance, some signs melted off.

"Prepare yourself!" P.I.X.A.L. warned. She gave the engines a boost, and it propelled into the red haze.

Warning. Temperature outside climbing above 500 degrees Celsius. Cockpit department ill-advised.

Wu looked around the trail to find nothing. The snow on the mountain had now vanished, and dust remained. In fact, the ground itself constantly broke apart and reformed; the temperature hot enough to reshape the entire passage.

But with the vehicle running smoothly, Wu saw it to himself to brewing a cup of tea. He began pouring the tea into his cup when the vehicle bounced. 

"Is everything alright in there?" Wu asked over the intercom.

"It seems there was a boulder outside. Otherwise, everything seems fine." She replied.

Wu returned to making his tea, when it hit him.

"P.I.X.A.L., are you sure that was a boulder?" He asked again.

"What do you mean?" P.I.X.A.L. replied

"P.I.X.A.L., if the very earth melts in this climate, then how did a boulder not melt?" Wu responded with concern. P.I.X.A.L. considered this, and began speeding up in an attempt to pass into the colder climate.

The amount of boulders began accumulating as they drove on, and out of concern, Wu put on the suit P.I.X.A.L. had advised.

"P.I.X.A.L., I think it would be smart if we go a bit faster." He announced over intercom, looking back at the boulders. All of the boulders began rolling after him, some spewing out fire. Noticing the calamity, P.I.X.A.L. brought the vehicle to max power, but failed to notice the boulder in their path.

"P.I.X.A.L.!" Wu shouted. P.I.X.A.L. hit the brakes, but the momentum carried through and she accidently opened the cockpits. P.I.X.A.L. flew straight out the window, along with Wu.

Wu got up, and dusted the dirt on his suit. While the suit protected him from the elements, it did not provide a cooling system; so he had to bear the heat inside. Fortunately, the suit did provide water to stave off dehydration, though the water tasted warm.

"P.I.X.A.L.!" He shouted. The red haze made it hard to see, but Wu stumbled back and found the vehicle. The ride remained mostly intact, but the seating, tea cup, and his bamboo stick were gone. Luckily, the control panel and system remained intact, and Wu took the opportunity to turn on the system. He then started driving in an attempt to find P.I.X.A.L.

A large thud hit the vehicle, and Wu stopped. He looked around to find a boulder, but none remained in sight. Sighing, he jumped out the vehicle and searched the area. 

"Do you....ugh....mind...rolling off of me?" Wu turned to find P.I.X.A.L. stuck under the vehicle's wheel. He offered her a hand, and began pulling her from underneath the wheel. Eventually, Wu managed to pull her from under the vehicle, and she stood up.

"Well, I'm glad the analysis went well, as well as the suit I built. I guess both can withstand this high heat. Though my processing system functions much slower." P.I.X.A.L. said.

"Perhaps you could also improve on the suit? It fends off heat well, but fails to cool off the person inside. Right now, I'm ready to go back inside; it feels like a furnace inside here." Wu noted.

P.I.X.A.L. nodded. "I'll have to record that for later."

The two returned to the vehicle, and P.I.X.A.L. started the engines. This time, P.I.X.A.L. used the vehicle's ability to temporarily take flight, and the engines propelled themselves over the boulders.

"What do you think those boulders are?" P.I.X.A.L. asked over the intercom.

"I think they're Aspheera's prototypes. You see, before Aspheera took over, she had experimented multiple times over the bigger snakes to help her people. They must've found a home here." Wu replied.

"This might be useful information for explorers later." P.I.X.A.L. said, logging the information gained on the prototypes into the computer log.

They continued in the fire area, and soon hit the ice section of the trail. Curious, P.I.X.A.L. hopped out and took out a thermometer. She watched the red dial lower, and lower, then hit zero. The thermometer soon shattered, and P.I.X.A.L. jumped back startled.

"I guess Jack's story was true." P.I.X.A.L. said to Wu as she booted up the engines.

Unlike the last section of the trail, the ice section lacked boulders, and the duo drove along in peace, making it to the giant hole. The ice region stopped when they approached the ledge, and a huge gaping hole remained. 

"I'm guessing this is the precipice Jack was talking about?" Wu asked.

"Yes. I'm going to engage the glider mechanic on the vehicle, and use the thrusters. I think that will be enough for us to make it." P.I.X.A.L. said.

Slowly, the vehicle came off from the ground and lowered itself into the cavern. The further they went in, the lesser the light, and they found themselves in pitch black darkness. Wu turned the lights on, but the lights showed nothing.

The descent continued on for a half an hour, and right when Wu was ready to ask if the bottom existed, the vehicle bumped against the ground. The engines began cooling down, and Wu and P.I.X.A.L. sat in silence for a moment.

"I'm going to assume we made it?" Wu asked, breaking the silence.

"I'm going to go outside first to see if the land is viable." P.I.X.A.L. replied. The cockpit opened up, and P.I.X.A.L. used her eyes as a flashlight.

"The temperature is normal. Master Wu, you can come out now." Wu jumped out of his cockpit, and looked around. The area remained in the darkness, but there was a tree in the center emitting a faint light. Wu and P.I.X.A.L. moved towards it.

"I think this is the tree Aspheera mentioned. And it looks like there's enough berries for the vehicle, but I don't know if there's enough for a way back." P.I.X.A.L. said.

"We still need to give it a try. How about we start with one berry?"  Wu responded, taking a berry off the tree.

"How does it even work? Aspheera never mentioned the amount, or the process, or..." P.I.X.A.L. stopped talking as Wu tossed a berry, opening up a portal large enough for all of them. The portal soon halved in size, then became smaller and smaller until darkness remained.

Wu grabbed three more berries, then him and P.I.X.A.L. returned to the cockpits. Wu quickly threw a berry, then the two of them launched themselves into the Never realm.

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