Chapter 6: Escape Through Dimensions

"Uh, guys, what do we need to do?" I asked frantically.

"This is exactly why I never wanted to work with you, Luna. You're so careless," Llyn snapped.

"What? Me, careless? Sure, maybe, but if you would just—"

"This is no time to argue!" I shouted. "Llyn, is there any secret exit or hidden door?"

Then Luna's face lit up like she'd had an epiphany.

"Oh! We can use that, right?"

"That? Oh no, that's way too dangerous. Besides, we haven't practiced it recently."

"Trust me, okay? Rissete, try to block the door with the desk. Meanwhile, Llyn and I will attempt a travel spell."

"Got it!"

I quickly moved the desk to barricade the door, but then another explosion shook the building.

"Uh, guys, are you done yet?"

"Just a few more seconds!"

Suddenly, we could see a shimmering door of light materialize before us.

"You created a door? Are you serious? How is that supposed to help us?"

I could hear the soldiers preparing to breach our makeshift barricade.

"Just trust us! I'll go first. See you later, Llyn and Rissete!"

Luna opened the glowing door and vanished into it.

"Uh, is that supposed to happen, Llyn?"

"Yeah, it's fine. Follow me."

Llyn stepped through the door, leaving me behind.

"Alright, Rissete, you can do this," I muttered to myself.

I could hear the door being knocked down by the soldiers.

"Hey, don't move! You're under—"

Before the soldier could finish his sentence, I had already jumped through the portal.

Then... nothing. All I could see were shining stars around me. I felt my body floating as if I were flying through space itself.

"Luna! Llyn! Where are you?" I called out.

"Oh, Rissete! Is that you? It's me, Luna!"

"Where are you, Luna? I can't see you!"

I looked around desperately for any sign of my companions.

"Ah yeah, sorry! I haven't cast the visibility spell yet."

I heard Luna chanting something, and suddenly I fell, landing right on top of Llyn.

"Ah! Hey, get off me! You're so heavy I feel like an ogre just landed on me!"

"Sorry!" I scrambled off Llyn's body.

"Hmph. This is why I prefer working alone," Llyn grumbled.

"Hehe, really? You're not going to miss me?" Luna teased.

Llyn blushed slightly. "Shut up. Maybe... a little."

"I don't want to interrupt, but HOW DO WE GET OUT OF HERE?" I shouted.

"Oh yeah, hehe, we have to wait," Luna replied casually.

"Wait? What do you mean?"

Llyn interjected, "Basically, we're moving at a very slow pace. We've essentially shrunk ourselves and we're traveling in what you could call a dimensional bubble."

"Wait, shrunk?"

Luna waved dismissively. "Just don't think about it too much."

"Yeah, of course you don't want me to think about it."

"Anyway, I'm going to sleep now. It's been exhausting." Luna summoned a small tree to lie on and immediately dozed off.

"Uh, Llyn, why can't Luna use that travel spell she used to bring me here? Isn't that faster?"

"Yeah, that's what confuses me too. Why doesn't she use her signature travel spell?"

"Well, I'm going to sleep as well. Wake me up when Luna wakes up—I'm afraid she might do something to me while I'm unconscious."

Llyn summoned a smooth rock and settled down for a nap.

I tried to rest too. It had been quite a day. I closed my eyes, but sleep wouldn't come. I kept thinking about Mimic.

Meanwhile, in the Green Iron Maw prison...

"Wake up, Mimic! They're doing morning roll call."

"Huh? Five more minutes..."

"We don't have five more minutes!"

Argon rudely awakened Mimic by dragging his small body to the floor.

"Whoa! Oh yeah, sorry, Argon. Mimic forgot we're in prison."

"Yeah, well, it doesn't matter. Let's just go to the courtyard for roll call."

"Lead the way."

Mimic and Argon walked to the courtyard. Along the way, they saw other prisoners—some who deserved to be there, others who didn't. But they all had one thing in common: they had been imprisoned by the king.

"Wait, please don't hurt me!" a reptilian prisoner begged.

"Aha! Trying to escape using magic, huh?" one guard sneered.

"Yeah, let's teach this heretic a lesson!"

The two guards began beating the reptilian with the backs of their swords.

"Edoplxe!" the reptilian suddenly shouted.

BOOM!

An explosion sent the two guards flying.

"Hehe... Hail the Great Mother..." the reptilian whispered before collapsing lifeless on the floor.

"Just keep moving, Mimic. If they see us—"

"Hey! What's going on here?"

Another warden saw the bodies of his fellow guards.

"You two did this, didn't you? Unforgivable!"

The warden drew his sword. "I'm going to end you right here!"

"Help me, Argon!" Mimic cried.

The warden charged at them, but suddenly Argon darted around him.

"What the—"

Before the warden could react, Argon kicked him in the back.

"Whoa, amazing, Argon!"

Argon then proceeded to snap the guard's neck.

"Wait, Argon! What are you doing?"

"Making sure there are no witnesses."

"But that's wrong!"

"It's either him or us, Mimic."

"Now let's go. We're late."

A few minutes later, Argon and Mimic arrived at the courtyard.

"Ah, finally! You're both here. I would punish you, but we don't have time," the head warden announced.

"Alright! Prisoner 1, Prisoner 2, Prisoner 3..."

The head warden proceeded with roll call. Afterward, all prisoners headed to the cafeteria for breakfast.

Mimic and Argon got in line for food when a human prisoner cut in front of them.

"Move away, ugly green thing."

"Hey! But Mimic was here first!"

"Well, what are you going to do about it, ugly green thing?"

Mimic thought about punching the human, but Argon grabbed his fist.

"No. Be patient, Mimic. We shouldn't draw attention to ourselves."

"Okay, Argon."

"Hehe, that's more like it. Ugly green things like you belong at the bottom of the food chain."

A few minutes later, Argon and Mimic got their food.

"Where should we sit, Argon?"

"On the floor."

"Huh? But why?"

"Just trust me."

They sat on the dirty floor.

"The floor is filthy," Mimic complained.

"Don't complain, Mimic. Just accept it. This is going to be our new life."

"Mimic won't complain, but the food is—"

"Mimic, remember what I said."

Mimic sighed. "Yeah, Argon."

The food was barely edible—a gel-like paste designed for efficiency rather than taste.

As they ate, a fight broke out nearby.

"Hey, lizard! Get away from my table!"

"No! I was here first!"

"Hehe, oh really? Well, humans are at the top of the hierarchy, so—"

The human punched the reptilian, who punched back. Soon, their respective groups joined in, and a full riot erupted.

"Everyone at the tables, put your hands up!" the guards shouted.

All prisoners at tables raised their hands, except Mimic and Argon.

The wardens arrested the instigators, hitting them with sword hilts before dragging them away.

"See? Now you're all equal," one guard announced sarcastically.

"Argon, why didn't the guards ask us to raise our hands?" Mimic whispered.

"Remember what they said—'everyone at the tables.'"

"But don't we—"

"Are we sitting at a table?"

"Uh, no."

"Then we weren't doing anything wrong, right?"

"Yeah..."

A bell rang, and the head warden appeared.

"Alright, prisoners! Head to the courtyard. You can exercise or beat each other up to pass the time. Dismissed!"

All prisoners headed to the courtyard, including Mimic and Argon.

At the courtyard, Argon said he was going to find someone, leaving Mimic alone in the dangerous space filled with scary-looking and some innocent-looking creatures.

"I hope I can get out of here," Mimic muttered.

A gang of humans spotted him.

"Hey, look at that pathetic green thing sitting on the ground!"

"Yeah, we should teach it who's most dominant here!"

They approached Mimic menacingly.

"What do you all want? Mimic hasn't hurt any of you!" he pleaded.

"Hmm, pathetic. Look how it begs for mercy."

The gang leader grabbed Mimic.

"Listen here—in this place, there's no mercy, and everyone is equal when it comes to getting PUNCHED!"

The leader hit Mimic in the face while holding him.

"Please, no! Have mercy!"

The other gang members cheered as their leader continued beating Mimic.

"Please, stop..." Mimic coughed up blood.

"Rissete... please help me..."

Mimic fell unconscious.

Back in the dimensional bubble...

"How long are we going to be in here?" I asked impatiently.

"Calm down, Rissete."

"Calm down? Listen, Luna, my friend is being held captive somewhere. How can I stay calm?"

Luna interjected gently, "It's not like I don't understand how you feel, Rissete, but Luna's right. Thinking about it too much will just make you more upset."

"Yeah, I'm sorry, guys."

"Hehe, well, how about we lighten the mood by talking?"

"Talk? But about what?" Luna asked.

"How about you tell me about your past?"

"Uh, hehe, well, we're disciples of a famous witch."

"Yeah, and as you can see, I'm the best disciple," Llyn boasted.

"Hey, that's quite rude! I'm better than you at practical stuff. Isn't the only reason you opened a beauty shop because you can barely cast spells?"

"Why, you—"

Watching Luna and Llyn argue reminded me of my kindergarten students debating who could run faster or whose turn it was for the slide.

"Alright, you two, let's break it—"

Suddenly, the ground began shaking.

"Wait, why is the ground shaking?"

"Oh, looks like we're nearing our destination!" Luna announced cheerfully.

"Where exactly is this bubble going to—"

Before I could finish, we were suddenly back in the abandoned village.

"Wait, we're already back? But how?"

Luna answered playfully, "Well, magic! Hehe."

"So this is where you live, Rissete? Looks pretty desolate. And wait, is that a—"

Llyn pointed at a blue slime.

"Yeah, that's the slime I found at the cave."

"Aw, aren't you the cutest! Here, let me give you a warm hug! Hehe."

Llyn charged at the slime, which tried to escape but failed as she grabbed its body.

"Hehe, so fluffy!"

"I forgot to tell you—Llyn is a bit of a creature enthusiast. She has a big interest in anything like monsters or magical creatures."

"Uh, yeah, I can see that."

"Anyway, can we stay here with you?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, help yourselves! You can use any of the empty buildings."

"Yay! Our own house! See, Llyn? We get to own a house!"

"Hmm, yeah. You go ahead first. I'm going to play with the slime a bit more. Hehe."

"How about you leave the slime alone for now?"

"Fine..." Llyn reluctantly let go of the slime and followed Luna.

"Are you alright, Slime?" I asked.

The slime seemed to indicate 'no.'

"Hehe, just bear with it for now, okay?" I patted the slime gently.

Then I headed into the house to check on the baby dragon.

"Baby dragon, are you here?"

As I opened the door, I saw the baby dragon... flying?!

"Wait, what?!"

To be continued... 

See you on Saturday!