Flipside

Part 7, Part 1

PART 7: DANCE OF DEATH

"This is your vehicle?" Eric examined the van.

"No. We stole it." Mallory announced.

"It sucks anyways." He pulled open the hood of the car and started ripping out parts.

"Hey! We need that to get around!" Dante scowled.

"Are we anywhere near Silkspinner Cave?" He turned to the others.

"Yes, actually." Charles said.

"Oh! There's the bridge." Aaron pointed. They approached the bridge and the arachnae appeared again.

"State your purpose." She said, boredom stopping from her words.

"I am Mina Williams, saviour of spiderkind, and I need access to the Silkspinner Caverns." Mina announced.

"Sorry, Meaner William, the Aquians took over." The arachnae sighed.

"Mina Williams. Not Meaner William. And can you grant me access anyways? It's my problem if the Aquians kill me." She narrowed her eyes. The arachnae shrugged.

"Alright. But Queen Webster won't like it." Mina lead the group down under the bridge and into a cavern.

"This feels familiar." Charles rolled his eyes as they walked down the long hall.

"Why are you here, human?" An arachnae turned around. She had a long, trailing dress of silk crocheted into a spiderweb pattern. She had eight bulging eyes and a crown made of mandibles.

"Queen Webster." Mina bowed her head. "I would like passage to the Silkspinner Caverns. I heard that the Aquian Empire took over, but that's my problem for me going in there." The queen walked forwards and blinked her eyes in an arch.

"Only if you can defeat me." She narrowed her eyes. All eight of them.

"Alright! Me and my party have been looking forward to this callback!" She grinned.

"My party and I," Genevieve corrected, pulling out a set of throwing knives. Jaden pulled out a pair of pistols. Mina revealed shurikens. Eric, a slingshot. And Aaron... a flute.

"Can I go first?" Aaron asked. Mina nodded and he blew into the flute, creating a horrendous noise. He approached the Spider Queen and hit her on the head with the instrument. Then she fell over.

"Easy victory." Commented Eric.

"Go on." Queen Webster said, her face in the floor. The newcomers lead the group into a cave. They reached a large one, with vines hanging over the open roof. But most notably, there was an airship.

"There you are!" Mina ran up and rubbed the side. "This is my baby. The Sky Warrior." She turned to the others. "Hop in."

"This has been unused for a hundred years. What if it crashes?" Marsha asked.

"It won't." Mina started it up. Everyone got on and it floated upwards, tearing through the vines. She started soaring through the sky, and she looked down. "This place has changed." She commented.

"Is that an ice cream store?" Jaden pointed at a building. Everybody gave Mina puppy dog eyes.

"Fine."

It must have been a sight, a century-old airship landing in the middle of the street. She bought everybody ice cream and had to deal with energetic teenagers on sugar rush. She sighed and turned to the others.

"Where you wanna go?"

"There." Mallory pointed at her camp. Mina landed in a clearing. Everyone got off and Charles clambered up a tree wildly. Then he got sugar low and hung off of a branch like a sloth. Everyone was strewn around the camp tiredly. Except Mallory. She was allergic to an ingredient in the ice cream, and didn't get any.

"Is this normal?" Mine asked.

"Pretty much." Mallory replied. "So, how did you know the airship would be working?"

"I'll show you." Mina lead her into the underbelly of the ship. There was a few large, dirty windows that let in light, though you couldn't see outside. The warm sunlight revealed dust particles floating through the air. There was some brassy ship parts. Mina flicked a lever and the floor became transparent. She pointed down at a small robot that was checking on the equipment.

"Oh." Mallory nodded. "So, where'd you get the ship?"

"The Sky Warrior was revolutionary. I made her myself, with the help of Aaron, Jaden, and Eric. Genevieve wasn't there yet." Mina answered. "Then Gen just popped out of nowhere and told us that we had to save the world."

"I know the feeling." Mallory commented.

"And then Jaden got some sort of huge grudge with me. I only killed him in one universe!"

"I also know that feeling." Mallory nodded. "If it's not too much to ask, how do you fly this thing?"

***

"This first lever is direction. Forwards for-well- forwards, and backwards to reverse. The wheel controls the left and right directions. This lever controls altitude. If you push it forwards, we'll let more hot air into the balloon, making it go higher. Backwards lets some out. If you let go it shifts to the middle. The crank controls landing gear. It's fairly simple." Mallory nodded, not understanding a bit of it. They then went back to the camp, where people seemed to have recovered from their sugar crashes.

"It would seem we still need a library." Marsha said.

"Don't make me go back there!" Gregory pleaded.

"I have an idea." Genevieve said.

Soon, they were airborne, looking down at the lush fields of green grass.

"Nevin told me the time. The Royal Ball should be occurring tonight, letting the castle out into the public. It's out best shot at getting in." Genevieve explained.

"So we sneak past a ton of dancing people? This sounds easy." Charles snorted.

"Not exactly. The only people allowed in are aristocrats and their partners. We'll have to partner up with that in mind." Genevieve answered.

"Do you really think this'll work?" Asked Gemma.

"No. But it's our best chance." They landed in Gemma's backyard.

"Why are we at my house?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Make us some party clothes, Gem! We've got a party to attend!" Nevin announced.