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Excerpts

So there Louis was, fl ying through the Midlandian sky nowhere near his mom, dad, home, the JunkYard JunkLot, or his beloved radio-controlled cars. Blue and white light radiated from his body, making him look like a human comet. He felt limitless, as if he were being reborn as a god.

The night sky streaking by was like none he had ever seen. Electric shades of violet, deep blues, and rich purples wove together around him. Way off in the distance there was a massive, glistening mountain range and beyond that a large city with shiny buildings blanketed in light. Everything felt vibrant, as if it were all somehow alive.

This had to be a dream. And now he was sure he would wake up, because he was heading straight for a mountain. The collision would kill him and he had never before died in a dream.

Okay, wake up! Louis thought. But nothing changed. Panic set in. Louis screamed and crossed his forearms in front of his face as if that would ease the impact. Yeah right! Blam! He blasted straight into the mountain with such force that his twelve-year-old body tore a twenty-foot-wide, sixty-yard-deep hole through it. Surprisingly, slamming through rock reminded him of the cool, wet, and exhilarating sensation of traveling down the water slide that led to the JunkYard JunkLot, but this time it was much more intense and all over his body. He was still screaming, but it was amazing!

Then he crashed hard on his right shoulder, hitting the lush, grassy Midlandian ground and tearing a chasm six feet wide and hundreds of feet long. He lay still and silent but not unconscious. Finally, he pressed his palms to the earth and rested on his knees. He slowly stood, unharmed. There was a quiet power growing inside him.

Louis Proof's Celestial Infection Rate = 8%

Louis looked up at the sturdy mountain hundreds of feet away. It seemed like nothing would be able to shake it, but there it was: a twenty-foot hole that he had made. He could see the night sky on the other side.

The mountain...didn't hurt me?! This is a dream? It doesn't feel like a dream, Louis thought. He didn't have a scratch. Plus, he couldn't recall ever being more alert. Everything was so vivid.

There was no moon, yet light radiated from the odd violet, star-kissed sky. Louis began to walk. In the last five minutes, he'd collapsed in front of his uncle's store in frantic pain, stood before a bluish light with two other children, and blown through a mountain, and now here he was wandering in this strangely bright night. Where was he?

Suddenly, a voice grabbed Louis's attention. It had a vibration that he'd never heard before but he could understand it clearly. "Perilynn, it tore through the sky; it must be one of the children. You have to hurry. Reign is on his way to destroy this child -- and you, if you get in his way. Why are you so eager to reach this child alone anyway?" the voice said.

Louis looked everywhere but saw no one. He couldn't even tell what direction the voice was coming from. It was like it was being transmitted directly into his head, as if he was meant to hear it. Louis figured the city he had seen was the best place to go for help. Destroy this child. He had to be the child, so he began to run, but there was no place to hide from whoever was speaking.

"aZRon, when I find all three children, Olivion's Gate will reappear to welcome them. And if I cross the Gate with them, Olivion will make me a Favorite," a second voice said.

Where are they? Where am I? Louis thought as he ran, frantically looking around.

"You fool! You're going to battle all of Midlandia, fighting both eNoli and iLone to become a Favorite? Of course, I can't wait to see such an exciting show. Things have been boring even with Galonious, Trife, and Arminion escaping. But you do know there's no way you can win, right?" aZRon said before barging right on with hardly a pause. "I'm not taking any falls for you, though! And when you're caught, I want to be the one to cast you into the Infinite Abyss. I've always wanted to do that to someone."

"Fine, if I get caught, you can be the one to throw me into the Infinite Abyss, but I won't lose. Thanks for telling me about the child," Perilynn said.

"The next time we meet, we may not be on the same side, my friend. Don't take it personally." aZRon laughed, and the laugh slowly faded, as if aZRon was flying away.

The sound was swift, compact, and deafening. It came right before the three spheres of red and yellow light hit the ground in front of and to the sides of Louis. He could feel heat and was blasted off his feet and onto his back. Quickly, he rose to see the spheres of light turn into imposing figures. At first they were electric outlines, then solid beings of light, and finally three people who seemed human but were unlike anyone Louis had ever seen before. They moved with an air of superiority and flawless perfection. Their blue-gray eyes seemed otherworldly. They wore slick, fitted clothing and each clutched dual glowing blades as if they intended to slice Louis in half.

"You need to be more careful. You created such a sight when you got here. It was not hard to find you at all," said the one in front of Louis. Red light briefly rose from his body like mist.

This was not one of the voices Louis had been hearing.

"Know me as the eNoli Reign, and we are here to...well, you'll soon find out." He nodded to the others. Their blades hummed as they moved through the air toward Louis.

Louis knew he had no answer for the oncoming attack. He was ready to run when he felt a tug at his center that pulled him back into a wave of radiant golden energy. The energy moved toward his attackers. It was now solidifying in the spot where Louis had been less than a fraction of a second ago. It became a man with a silver mask that radiated a fluorescent blue light from its eyes and carved patterns.

This masked man moved faster than Louis could follow. His hands held two glowing blades that caught the attackers off guard. He sliced through the one on the left while flipping backward, evading the attack of the one on the right. In midair, behind his enemy, he delivered a well-targeted blow. Two beings had turned into energy bursts that violently faded away before Louis could twitch. No blade had met this young masked man as he landed.

Only Reign was left, and Louis and the masked man both knew he would not be beaten as quickly as the others.

"Stay behind me. Don't run! I'm the only one who will keep you safe," the masked man said. This was one of the voices Louis had heard earlier.

Reign charged the masked man. They exchanged a few blows, but everything stopped when Reign's fist shattered the man's mask, revealing his identity. In a second, the mask had rebuilt itself as if it had never been broken.

"Perilynn, I should have known. Why do you fight for this iLone child? You and your brother are traitors," Reign said as he grabbed Perilynn by the throat. Perilynn released a shock of energy from his body that forced Reign to free him.

However, Reign was no longer the problem. Hundreds of beams of light rocketed to the ground like meteors. Hot white sparks flew wildly from each impact before the lights turned into figures like Perilynn and Reign. Perilynn grabbed Louis by the wrist and ran, guiding him through the falling lights.

"You have to trust me; I'll lead you out of here," Perilynn said.

"Fine!" Louis said.

"Fine?" Perilynn was surprised he didn't have to do more persuading. "Okay, stay close!"

In front of them.

In back of them.

To the left of them.

To the right them.

The vicious lights hit everywhere.

Perilynn stopped all of a sudden in the midst of this.

"Come on, let's go!" Louis yelled, trying to pull Perilynn forward.

"We can escape here," Perilynn said as he stomped twice at the ground. The land was bending under his foot.

"Are you crazy?" Louis asked.

"All things considered, I guess I am! We're going to break through, and there's only one way we can do that." Perilynn answered. He had a plan.

"Do something!" Louis yelled as Perilynn started his plan.

Step One!

Perilynn kneeled and punched the ground. The punch created a circle; written symbols spiraled from it and a ripple of jagged red light traveled outward along the ground, forcing back everyone near them. But it wouldn't take the fallen long to regroup, and more were coming from the sky.

Step Two!

Perilynn threw Louis hundreds of feet straight up into the air. Louis looked like a perfect target. But Perilynn jumped right after him, turning to pure energy and traveling almost instantly to meet each Celestial Entity (CE) that was closing in. When he reached one, he would take on his human form with sword in hand, strike, then turn into energy again, twisting to rush to the next target. Every movement left a trail of streaking light. He struck the first in its chest, the second in its abdomen, the third in its head, the fourth in its neck. He was in human form again as he darted toward Louis, who was still flying up. Perilynn grabbed Louis by his hand and threw him even farther into the sky. He could see Reign speeding after them. It was time to go.

Step Three!

Perilynn caught up to Louis, snatched his arm, and pulled him close. He flipped backward so they were aimed headfirst toward the ground. They began to spin as they plummeted.

Louis could see the many following them, but he and Perilynn were moving too fast; there was no way they could be caught. It didn't matter, though, because the ground was about to make a quick mess of them both. Screaming was not going to help. Louis didn't think he even had the air to scream. So he closed his eyes.

There was no impact. They pushed right through the surface. A clean exit!

They were gone with no telling where they would appear next. That was the way of Midlandia; if you knew where to look and how to access it, just about anything could be an entrance or exit. It was up to Midlandia, though, where you would turn up.