Misplaced: Chapter 2 Part 2

Unreal

The giant that stood before them looked down on the two frightened people at his feet from on high, in the most literal sense. Towering over all the trees around, with gigantic wings similar to the other giant, he gave Jonah the impression of an avenging angel, except being somewhere around the size of the Statue of Liberty off her pedestal. He looked a bit older than Jonah, probably around his early to mid twenties, with cold, icy blue eyes, pupils also narrowed into vertical slits. He had short dark-brown hair, with a parted fringe that was tussled a bit from coming down from the sky. He wore a navy blue, military-esque overcoat with silver trimmings and coat tails that flapped against the wind, with even darker blue gloves that seemed to have a buckle around the wrist. His pants went into his nearly knee high boots, which were higher than his own two-story home. 

The giant regarded them briefly before turning completely around, walking towards where the blond giant had fallen. Countless birds squawked in surprise and agitation of the enormous presences that had landed in their home, flying away from them in every direction. The giant seemed to have paid them no mind as he slowly made his way towards the younger-looking giant. 

From a distance, Jonah could make out the giant that had captured them slowing leaning up, having literally been hit out of the sky. His golden eyes now glowed bright with rage. So brightly, that Jonah expected lasers to shoot from them. He hissed as he struggled to get to his feet, glaring at the other giant with a look of anger so intense, he wondered if it would grave itself on his face permanently. 

The blond giant yelled something to the one in blue in a language he had never heard before. Something so alien, there wasn't anything to compare it to. By his tone and terseness, Jonah assumed he was calling the giant that interfered a short string of obscenities. The giant in blue didn't seem to have been phased as he stared back at the other, eyes bold and determined. The giant responded to the blond in a cool, collected voice. However, to Jonah's ears, he could make out the subtle hint of what seemed like mockery from the infliction of the giant's tone.

With a booming shout, the blond giant lunged forward, wings splayed on his back like an angry bat, a fist going straight for the other's face. The giant in blue seemed to have foreseen his action; however, and pivoted slightly to the left, the fist hitting nothing but air. In a flash, he grabbed the blond giant's arm, and with a small grunt, swung it, as well as the giant itself, high into the air.  

The giant bolted into the sky, wings flapping as he charged towards the blond giant, who was struggling to steady himself in the air to get his wings working. Just as he managed to gain purchase in a somewhat vertical position, the blue giant landed a powerful kick into his chest. Even though they were so high in the air, Jonah could hear the sheer impact of the foot slamming into him. The blond giant coughed as he once again found himself on the ground, skidding on his back and splintering numerous trees that he collided with before slowing to a stop. Woodland creatures desperately ran away from the giant that inadvertently demolished the foliage all around. 

The blond giant quickly pushed himself up just in time to dodge a punch directed to the side of his head. The giant in blue growled just as the other giant tried to deliver a swift roundhouse kick to his neck. The giant in blue reacted quickly, and blocked it with his arms, not without grunting and being sent back a few feet. From Jonah's vantage point, he could make out the blonde giant, who seemed to be half a head taller than the other, reach for the other giant's arm. 

The giant in blue was swung around, right before he was slammed onto his back. The blond titan smirked as he stood over the other, giving him an appearance of a devil as he knelt down to go straight for the other's throat. 

But the giant in blue thought quickly, and used both his feet to deliver a powerful kick to the other's chest, sending him flying backwards. The blue giant stood up, and caught the blond in an one-armed, headlock as he was falling midair, before twisting around and smashing his face into a cluster of shrubbery. 

From what Jonah could tell, the giant in blue, despite being a bit smaller than the blonde, seemed more experienced in combat; his movements were more poised and tactical, which made the blond giant almost seem clumsy. However, seeing the two beings that were taller than everything around them duke it out sent a wave of unease going down his spine.  

He was beginning to wonder if he and Rachel were safe from the battlefield the giants had created. 

From what he could tell, the giant in blue seemed to be hitting the blond giant further and further away from the two, as if trying to get them further from harm as he possibly could. Jonah felt Rachel shudder under his arm and he looked back at his friend, who was trembling so heavily, he wondered how she was able to maintain balance while helping him keep his. 

Rachel had always seem confident. Never could he imagine her vulnerable. Granted, in this situation, both of them had every right to be. 

What was happening around them was no movie. Everything that had been happening was happening right in front of them, completely tangible. The impossible breaching their reality. 

And, somehow, he had become a part of it. 

His head throbbed as he began to feel his legs go numb from under him. Rachel gasped at the sudden increase in weight from over her shoulders as she turned to look at the dazed Jonah. "Jonah! Oh my god, are you alright!?" 

Jonah used the very little strength he had to wipe his brow, sucking in a swear as his shoulder stung. "Y-yeah...I...I..." 

A veering sound whisked over them as the two looked forward to see the giant in blue dropkick the blond giant in the stomach. The blonde giant's eyes went wide as he gagged, coughing up blood. However, he recovered quickly enough to grab his opponent's leg. With a strong yank, he pulled the other giant to the ground. The giant in blue looked slightly startled right before his face collided against the ground, just barely managing to avoid flattening a fleeing deer. 

The giant in blue got to his hands and knees, shaking off the the pain and dirt before rolling away from the pale, gasping, angry behemoth that was ever so slowly pushing himself off the ground. The brunette was much quicker to his feet and immediately elbowed the side of the blond giant's head. The blonde giant looked dazed, his glowing eyes dimming. 

It was then that giant in blue grabbed hold of the front of the blond's jacket before rocketing into the sky so fast, that it caused a riptide of dust, dirt and foliage. They were forced to shield their eyes as the dust cloud enveloped the two before dissipating. Jonah and Rachel watched the two jettison into the sky, soaring so high that they were merely specks, and they soon disappeared beyond the brightness of the sun's rays.

A few seconds of calm passed, but the heavy dread hadn't left him yet. 

A sound not unlike a jet sounded as the he saw the black speck become visible once again, growing larger and larger as it came closer to the ground so quick, that neither of the students had time to brace themselves. 

It was as if the very forest had erupted. Even from a distance, the shockwave was strong enough to send the both of them almost flying off of their feet. Jonah and Rachel cried out as another wave of dust, dirt, leaves and pebbles flew all around them, obscuring their entire view of what was in front of them. However, another gust of wind blew them all away, allowing the two to be able to see once more around them. 

Through bleary eyes, Jonah could see the giant in blue flapping his wings, hovering above the prone form of the blonde giant that was lying in a massive crater. The blond's wings began to disintegrate, particles evaporating into the sky. No movement or sound came from him as he lay completely still, unconscious.  

The victorious, winged being examined him before slowly landing. His own wings began to shine brightly before beginning to dissipate. After a moment, he turned away from the other giant and walked towards the two humans who had witnessed the entire battle from below.

Jonah's heart fell out of his body as he watched the new giant make his way towards them with ease, the majority of unharmed trees around barely coming up to the cusps of his knees. His desire to run was incapacitated from the extreme fatigue he was feeling. Rachel, on the other hand, was more than willing to help drag him to the best of her ability in an attempt to escape. However, the giant's steps that shook the very ground beneath them covered significantly more ground than their own, and in moments, he was upon them. 

In his shadow, Jonah felt like an insect, soon to be squashed as the giant towered over them. His eyes peered down at the two of them as though searching through their very souls. Suddenly, the giant shifted, lowering himself onto one knee with a loud thud, leaving the two trapped between the trees and him. 

Jonah could only look at the giant in a mix of awe and fear as Rachel began to whimper next to him, before openly sobbing. A wave of helplessness came over him as he began to shudder himself under those strong, blue eyes. 

To his amazement, the giant's eyes softened, as if sensing the terror of the two individuals. With a sigh, he backed away a bit, giving the two more breathing space. He could have been mistaken, but for some odd reason, Jonah could make out a sense of...remorse coming from him. 

"Relax," The giant in blue said, in very clear English, "I mean neither of you any harm. Honest." He turned his head to Jonah, who flinched, giving him a small smile. "Especially to you, Arum." 

Jonah tried to speak, but his voice was hoarse, his throat sore from the all of his screaming. He swallowed and tried once again, but no sound came to him.

The giant raised an eyebrow as he noticed the smaller being struggle for words. "Are you alright, Arum? What's the matter? More importantly..." The giant tilted his head, "How'd you get like that? And why in the world are you still like that?"

The nineteen-year-old gulped a bit, his throat regretting the action, as he once again tried to speak. "I...I th-think...mistake...there's b-been some sort of m-mistake." 

The giant's face seemed to have drooped, as if he misheard something. "Mistake? What do you mean?" 

Jonah, now feeling terrible that he opened his mouth in the first place, took in a shuddering sigh. "I-I...M-my name is J-Jonah. I...I'm n-n-not Arum. I-I'm Jonah."

The giant's expression changed from soft to unreadable. Not for the first time today, Jonah began to panic. While he didn't really appear angry, he most certainly seemed far from happy. 

The giant's eyes began to glow, basking the two in their light. Both of the two humans yelped and hugged each other tightly as they expected the giant to suddenly go berserk and crush them. Instead of anything of the sort, his eyes immediately dimmed down, his face becoming stoic. 

"...I'm not mistaken." The giant answered simply, "You are Arum." 

Jonah calmed down when he realized that whatever the giant had did with his eyes seemed to lack any malevolent intent. Not enough to not remain afraid of course. "N-no...really...I-I'm Jonah. I d-don't know any A-Arum. I...I d-don't."

Rachel was still crying, wiping her eyes with her free arm. "G-go away...just go away. I want to l-leave...I want to go...I want t-t-to go back." 

At that moment, it seemed that the weight of the world had fallen onto his shoulders, as it took everything he had to not fall onto his knees. "J-just...pl-please...I..." 

The giant's mouth parted a bit, as if shocked by the display of the emotion coming from the human. 

There was a long silence between them. No one spoke, as the only sound that came were from the forest around them, the wind blowing around them, leaving them in their own circle. 

How did he become involved in this? Who was this? Who was the other giant? Who is Arum? Was all this caused by a misunderstanding? His name wasn't Arum. He was Jonah. Jonah Michaels. He was... 

"The Grand Centurion Key..." 

Jonah's thoughts were interrupted when he heard the giant say something. A moment passed before he asked, "Wh-what?" 

"The Grand Centurion Key," the giant repeated, "Does that mean anything to you?" 

Jonah could only stare up at the giant before slowly shaking his head. 

The giant's eyes narrowed slightly. "Let me rephrase it a little. The Grand Centurion Key of Traxia. The World Stabilizer. The Last Key to Control All Worlds. Does that seem to ring any bells?" 

Jonah became even more confused, and with some hesitation, shook his head once more. 

The giant's eyes met Jonah's, as if searching for something that didn't exist. After a minute of silence, a subtle hint of sorrow seemed to show on his face. "I see." 

The giant gave a short sigh, looking at the sky for a moment before looking back to the two humans. "My name is Seron. I am the lieutenant general of the Vira Deltra Batallion, and have been for the past century." He said, before his mouth pitched downward into a frown. "Something...is wrong here. And I'm unsure exactly why you're like this. However, let me assure you...this...isn't the first time we've met."

Jonah was only able to register the giant's name in his head. The giant spoke as though he believed Jonah to be familiar with such terminology. Then again, the giant, for some odd reason, also believed that they had met sometime in the past. Jonah tried to think back on all the familiar faces he met in his life, all the friends he had made, but nothing came to mind. 

Suddenly, the giant lifted his hand and began to reach for them. Rachel covered her mouth to muffle her cry just as Jonah took in a wheezy gasp.

However, instead of being grabbed, like what had happened earlier with the blonde giant, the giant carefully laid down his gloved hand, palm up, right next to them. They blinked before looking back up to the giant, whose somewhat sorrowful face now beheld compassion. "It's alright. I will not hurt either of you. I promise." The giant flattened his hand more, leaving it as still as he possible.

Jonah stared at the palm, large enough to encompass both he and Rachel with plenty of room to spare. Memories of what the blond giant tearing through Wessinger Hall like cardboard immediately came to mind. The feeling was still all too fresh in his head.

The giant let out a long-suffering sigh before speaking. "I understand your fright. Especially for you, young human..." the giant said, eyes falling on the blonde girl who was the only reason Jonah was still standing. She took a step back, as if preparing to run, but the giant didn't make any attempt to stop her. "You've gotten mixed up into something you really shouldn't have. But please..." the giant said, as if pleading, "I'm the only one who can take you guys out of here. And I will explain everything once we're in a less compromised position."

The giant, all too aware of how close he was to the two frightened teens, gingerly brought his hand closer to them, beckoning them to get on. "Trust me..."

Rachel, who looked as though she was sick, brought a hand to her mouth. Jonah, on the other hand, only continued to stare at the blue eyes above them. The pupils had returned to a more normal, round form. In contrast to the giant who wrecked mayhem on his small college campus, his eyes, despite looking icy and stoic, seemed genuine and kind. It lacked the darkness that was seeping through the other giant's eyes.

Then it occurred to him: this giant could have easily taken the both of them by force, or at least have left Rachel stranded in this forest while taking him without any effort. This giant was giving him the decision to come with him. An act of respect that seemed unnecessary for someone so big.

And he was right about one thing: who knows how long it would take for someone to find them there? And Jonah felt that he was in a more immediate need of medical help with the pain shooting up from his chest.

Jonah, feeling minutely more confident than he had in a while, wet his clammy lips before saying, "Alright."

Rachel looked at him as though he had sprouted another head. For a moment, it seemed like Rachel was going to let him drop to the ground. "Wh-what!? Are you insane? He could...he could k-kill us!"  

"I know..." Jonah answered, looking at the ground for the moment, "But don't you think he would have done it already?" 

Rachel didn't immediately say anything, but her eyes became angry. He didn't know if it was anger born of worry or of itself, but she was no longer whimpering as she whispered harshly to him, "And who's to say he isn't just baiting us? Besides..." Her eyes narrowed, "how do we know if he isn't just as bad as that other guy?" 

Jonah's voice rose. "Do you honestly think we'd still be standing here if he was as bad as that other guy? He..." Jonah started, shifting his gaze from Rachel's face to the gian-Seron's eyes. "He did save us." 

The edges if Seron's mouth crooked up, giving the faintest smile back down to Jonah. Jonah couldn't smile back, but did nod his head in the affirmative. "Besides...look at where we are. Please, Rachel. I know this is kind of arbitrary but there is no way out of here anyway." 

Rachel looked absolutely flabbergasted, unable to comprehend what was coming from her friend's mouth. 

Jonah winced as he slowly took his arm away from Rachel's shoulders, stumbling a bit when he lost his only support. Rachel was quick to help grab him, but he was stubborn and stepped away from her. He cautiously walked towards the hand, his chest aching with each step he took. He began to wonder if the blonde giant had broken one of his ribs after all. He peeked up, seeing the huge concerned eyes hover above him. 

With more effort than he though it would take, he stepped into the giant's palm. Even with the gloves, it was as if stepping onto a somewhat sturdier version of a mattress. The fingers curled a bit, his giant's index finger coming next to him. Jonah cringed at first, expecting the finger to push him down, but instead, they hung there, like a railing of some sort. He grabbed the fingertip to help him steady himself as he took a few more steps into the hand before he was forced to kneel lest he completely collapse, wrapping an arm around his chest that gave no gentle reminder that he would probably need to see a doctor. 

Rachel, greatly alarmed upon watching her friend struggle to even walk, reached a hand towards him. When his knees hit the gloved hand below him, she sucked in a sharp breath of air and, her eyes carefully focused on the giant's arm, climbed onto the massive hand, helping the hurting boy onto his back to lie down in a more comfortable position. 

"We'll have to tend to you first, Jonah. Before anything else," Seron told them, "This shouldn't have happened." 

The hand below them shuddered before slowly rising into the air. Unlike the blonde giant's, his movements were slow and deliberate. Much more careful of the precious passengers, Seron stood up slow enough to not jostle the two in his hand. The fingers, large and imposing, hung around them like a shield. 

Once at full height, Jonah, head tilted to the side, could make out the devastation of a portion of the forest the two giants had caused during their fight. 

Well, a fight wasn't the right word, as the Seron completely dominated it seemed. 

From above, the two could see the prone form of the blonde giant, lying in a crater that seemed to look like it was caused by a speeding comet. He recalled seeing Seron piledrive the blonde into the ground, it wiped out most of the foliage in its radius.

Seron glanced back the other giant before looking back at the two teens in his palm. "He's not done yet. That's Terez. If anything, he'll be unconscious for a while. But we can't stick around for long. More than likely, more of him will be here soon." 

Rachel actually spoke out, voice fleeting. "M-more of him?" 

Seron nodded, before peeking behind him once more. "Like I said, this really shouldn't have happened. Not here."

Seron did something with his free hand before reaching in front of him. A light flowed through his hand, the light that was exactly like the one that came after the earthquake at school. Jonah closed his eyes right before the light dimmed down.

After blinking a bit, he opened his eyes wider.

There was a completely white portal, suspended in air as large as a skyscraper. It stood out from the colorful scenery surrounding it like a blot of white paint in a Monet painting. 

Jonah began to wonder if he was indeed dreaming. Far too many improbable events were happening far too quickly, as if right out of a science fiction movie. Too surreal to be fake though. And his sore body also begged to differ. He looked up to the enormous face of Seron, whose attention was fully focused on the portal he had just opened. 

Seron took a step forward towards the portal, his eyes beginning to glow once more. "Hang on, we'll be where we need to shortly." 

And with one more step, they all entered the world of white. 

Just as Jonah's world became bright, a rather inane thought came to mind.

'Well, if this is a dream, it'll be a nice story to tell in the future.'