Chapter Four : War of the Worlds

*The Quasars flew over Central Park , resting the Heart Of Darkness in an empty fountain nearby . Instantly , several Cassiopites beamed down from the mothership and looked about in their surroundings , the sounds of people screaming and shouting . Running away from the scene as fast as they could . Brandon and Spica , along with Misty and Dahlia , began to advance towards the park , several miles away , careful to not be detected by the aliens above ..*

*Nighttime fell as several hundred more Quasars began to fly over New York , dropping small bombs and such over the masses , with the screams of the dying ringing through the air like a bell . The invasion had begun . The loud footsteps of massive Tripods had began to sound , along with the booming and clicking of gunfire . New York was a war zone .*

*Along with the booming , a Tripod was spotted , walking incredibly close to the group , vaporizing humans like bugs . The weaponry shot at them were no use , being deflected by the shields these war machines carried . Screaming was prevalent . A nearby building collapsed as the team ran even faster to their intended focus point .*

*After finally reaching the park , it was empty and quiet . The Cassiopites had started their work , too preoccupied to notice as they came closer , quietly .*

*Spica and Brandon stopped and hid behind one of the many benches near the Cassiopites' stationing . As Misty and Dahlia hid with them , the Cassiopites began to work on the Heart Of Darkness , beginning a long task of installing its triggering timer . The machine glowed with red energy as they worked on it . Spica and Misty were visibly worried , exchanging glances .*

*" Dahlia , " Brandon asked . " What are they doing ? "*

*Dahlia glanced at the workers as more Cassiopites beamed down .from the mothership . The situation was becoming gravely difficult to deal with . The air was filled with Quasars passing by every few minutes .*

*" Those Cassiopites are Mortaxans , a sub race of intelligent beings . They are tasked with the job of arming the Heart Of Darkness . " Dahlia said .*

*Many more Cassiopites beamed down nearby , these ones near Spica's height , carrying heavy guns and weaponry . They were dressed in white spacesuits , with a collar exerting pure nitrogen for optimal breathing .*

*" Right , and I suppose that those are the soldiers ? " Brandon asked again .*

*" Yes , " Dahlia responded . " They are here to deal with anyone that may tamper with their plans . "*

*All was silent for a bit . Then the mood lightened a bit when Windy and Rigel , although covered with dust , was seen running towards them , hiding behind a bench near their own .*

*" Are you two okay ? " Spica asked . Rigel shook his head , breathing heavily .*

*" The Tripods , " Windy said . " They caught up with us . Killing everyone . Blasting them into bloody dust . It was gruesome . "*

*A horn of one of the war machines sounded loudly , prompting a few Cassiopites to look in its direction . One of them gave a thumbs up before returning to work .*

*" Alright guys , this may be our last chance to save Earth , so we can't screw this up . " Misty exclaimed . " Are you ready ? "*

*Everyone said yes . They agreed . Fight and save Earth , or die trying to .*

*The group began to disperse , running around the forces that surrounded the Earth-shattering weapon , generally without a plan but to stop its timer installation . Brandon had hid behind a tree near one of the tall soldiers while Spica had moved closer to a section of the Heart Of Darkness no one was working on , hiding by it . Its red glow was painful to look at .*

*Misty had moved behind one of the soldiers , holding a katana and jabbed the soldier in its back , killing him silently . His body was then moved by Dahlia and Windy behind a bench .*

*Rigel was in a tight spot as he hid behind a soldier , whilst one was in front of him as well . Being sandwiched between them , Rigel accidentally brushed against one of them , alarming him . Their cover was blown . Again .*

*" Earth creatures !!! ' The soldier shouted . He aimed his gun at Rigel and shot as he ran off to the side , dodging them . " Attack !!!! "*

*Misty and Dahlia ran parallel to each other , swerving past the white hot lasers being shot at them . Dahlia wasn't recognized , and it left her a bit disturbed , as she was hoping that her authority would override the invasion . But no matter . She had another one .*

*" Take out their weapons ! ' She said . Misty complied , dashing forward and slicing at one of their guns , knocking it to the side before being punched to the ground hard . She moved out of the way of what would've been a killing blow to the skull before Dahlia knocked him down , crushing his head brutally with a stomp to the face . His ' innards' were splattered explosively on the concrete pathway , bloody and trama-inducing .*

*Misty lunged at the other one , slicing at his arm . It left a gash as Rigel ran towards him , shooting at the soldiers with one of their guns . Misty was thrown at Rigel , causing them to slam onto the pavement .*

*" Misty ! " Dahlia shouted as she ran towards the soldier . He was a good fourteen feet tall , so he had a height advantage . He pushed Dahlia over and grabbed her by the leg , thrashing her about before throwing her onto a nearby bench . The puny metal structure crumbled under the force of it .*

*Spica was holding a nitrogen shield as she began to throwdown , fighting and slugging the soldiers in the face , stabbing one of them with a spear to the arm before knocking him out . Brandon was shooting massive swaths of lava and fire , holding a flaming sword , slicing at the massive opponents . His wings were out and broadly displayed for all to see , the tips each having a small tongue of fire on them . Many of them shot at him , only to be incinerated with the fire . Those that proved to hold their own against him was locked in a bitter fight as the Mortaxans continued their work .*

*Several Tripods were seen stomping their way near the park , abducting and killing the innocent people that were running away . Entire skyscrapers collapsed as the titanic machines waltzed around the city . Cars could be seen overturned , entire swaths of people incinerated . Their bodies burnt and melted . The air began to fill with a putrid odor of blood and burning flesh . Children , women and men all screamed as the invaders advanced towards New Jersey . Suddenly , a Tripod began spraying a red substance onto the running mob , several of them falling over and convulsing terribly . Their bodies were disfigured as the liquid took on their acidic properties , completely melting the skin off of them .*

*As more and more soldiers came , a Tripod turned away and began to walk towards the park , the ground shaking under its massive steps . The war machine was gaining a lot of ground , as the group were in a desperate situation .*

*Misty and Dahlia had retreated a little , resorting to the guns of deceased soldiers while they healed a bit . The shootout had been overly massive as many soldiers were targeting them .*

*Several had died , but for the most part , some were just knocked out . The two were interlocked , crammed into a spot . Dahlia had shot several before knocking them out and throwing their deceased bodies across the park . Misty was on a killing spree of her own as many others beamed down . Four Starbeam ships decended as night came , their hulls glowing brightly .*

*" There's too many of them !! " Brandon shouted . Over the charred land , Spica had sliced, diced , chopped and minced the bodies of many unfortunate soldiers , trying to get to the Heart Of Darkness , which was heavily guarded now .*

*Dahlia was overpowered as nine soldiers began to attack her , with Misty being unconcious , sprawled onto the grass . Spica and Rigel had came to help her whilst Windy began to pick the enemy off one by one . The Tripod entered the park , its massive feet crushing many of the trees underneath it , preparing to fire its heat ray .*

*" Guys ! " Spica shouted . " Run !! "*

*The machine began to blast the land as the team retreated , the heat ray nearly catching them . More soldiers beamed down and cheered , fist bumping and celebrating . The park lit up with devastatingly large fires as their work continued . Dahlia was trapped , screaming out . Calling for help . The fire was getting too close . It was too hot . No one answered . The fire began to lap at her face as she screamed in pain , not being able to move . Her screams melded with the others' . Suddenly , the Tripod noticed her and aimed . A flash as she closed her eyes . It was all over .*

*As Misty ran , a car was seen being thrown up into the sky , landing on and killing a soldier as everyone else looked back . A massive ship in the shape of an arm hovered high above the park as a yellow ball fell from it .*

*" No way - " Brandon said . " They actually came . "*

*" Thought that you all might need some assistance ! " A voice said from the bubble as Adalene , Yellow , Blue and White Diamond were all revealed . A fair-skinned boy with thick , dark , curly hair also revealed himself .*

*" Steven ?! " Brandon and Spica asked . The others were a bit...preoccupied to say the least .*

*" How's it going - wait , sorry , that was silly of me to ask ." he said . " I know its going awful ."*

*" You can say that again . " Yellow beamed in .*

*" We were almost shattered by those Cassiopites ." said Blue . White nodded .*

*" Whatever do they want ? " Adalene asked .*

*" They want to destroy Earth . " Spica said . " I'll explain later ,--"*

*The Tripod advanced as Misty , Rigel and Windy ran towards them . The team , now five members stronger charged into battle , as the Tripod left the park to cause more havoc elsewhere . Yellow was a few feet taller than the soldiers as they locked into a massive fight , with Yellow throwing hard punches . The soldier rammed into her , knocking her onto the rim of the Black Hole Generator . White held a few back as she and two mind-controlled soldiers began to fight the others , the mindless puppets mimicking every move she made . As Adalene ran in , with the help of Steven , the two wielded gracefully as Adalene caught the barrel of one of the soldiers guns as Steven knocked him out with his shield , skin glowing pink and vibrant . He was dealing with something awful at home , but the entire world is at stake . The other gems were left at Beach City as several Tripods marched into the tiny town . He hoped they were okay . The two other soldiers were impaled by Misty and Brandon , falling limp onto the ground .*

*Adalene surveyed the situation as an opening in the guarding left a chance to stop all of this carnage once and for all .*

*" We must stop the black hole weapon from being triggered ! " she said as she went into another scuffle . Brandon ran in as he was stopped by two soldiers . He was once again in another fistfight .*

*" Blue ! Rigel ! " he called out ." Take that machine down ! Now !!! "*

*Blue Diamond and Rigel ran to the Heart Of Darkness , but Blue had locked " horns " with a Mortaxan , his brute strength matching hers .*

*" Go quickly human ! Destroy the weapon !!! " she called out . The opening came to him as he shot at the weapon , only for the bullet to ricochet off into the bushes . He tried again . Nothing . Misty came to and helped him .*

*" Wait , try this spot here !! " she said . There was a circular object applied onto the weapon . The timer . But it was not activated as yet .*

*Rigel and Misty shot and sliced at the timer , cutting and placing large holes into it . A soldier ran up from behind them , but was stopped as Yellow electrocuted him , then another .*

*Many more soldiers beamed down as even now , it was becoming too much to handle .*

*" Its too much ! " Spica shouted as she was overwhelmed .*

*Suddenly , a beam , much larger than all the other ones came down . It was brighter . Broader . Much more spectacular . Then it disappated . The person that came down was no one other than Andromeda Vexan . She , herself was tired of sending down soldiers , ready to cull the threat of her plans . Misty , White and Blue came up to her , but was all trapped in bubbles . The bubbles restrained Misty and poofed the other two gems . Yellow and Brandon were up to their knees in fighting .*

*" This battle is over . You have all lost . " Andromeda said . Spica spotted her and charged at her , flinging spears of nitrogen at her . Andromeda smiled brightly as she dodged them . She was much faster , missing her punches as she swiped at her back with a taser , causing her to scream out in pain .*

*" Foolish . Just plain foolish . " Andromeda said . " I think that I need to teach you a lesson . "*

*Trapping her under one arm , Brandon , Rigel , Windy , Yellow , Adalene and Steven ran at Andromeda , but were too slow .*

*" You're coming with me . "*

*She had beamed away .*

*" SPICA !!! " Brandon shouted . He watched wide-eyed as many more soldiers had beamed down in her place . Outnumber would be a severe understatement . But Brandon was no longer interested in this fight . H*e *just wanted Spica back.*