Silence was the word used to describe John and Lolly’s reaction to Napalmic’s tale. Their faces had a mix of somber understanding and sadness. Lolly leaned up to Napalmic, and patted his shoulder.
“Therr, therr, Napalmic. Aah’m real sorry ya’ had to go through that.” She said, comforting Napalmic.
“Yeah,” John added on. “I didn’t know you went through something like that…” The more John thought about it, Napalmic and him went through a similar experience. They both had someone they cared about had perished by the hands of a Balandian. While John still felt uncomfortable sharing his trauma, he at least better understood Napalmic.
“It’s aalright. You two remind me o’ Sigrún a lot.” Napalmic said, smiling slightly.
“Hm? How so?” Asked John, one of his eyes widened with intrigue.
“Ye’ got her green eyes, lad. And the lass acts plenty similar to her.”
Lolly grinned. She couldn’t help but feel flattered at Napalmic’s words.
“Aww, dat’ musta’ mean she was a purty lady, huh? Aah wish Aah coulda’ met her…”
“Aye, but we can’t change tat’. And tat’s why…”
Napalmic drew his sword, and slammed it into the ground, holding onto its grip with a fierce strength.
“No matter what happens, Aal protect you two! Aal be yer protector. Especially to John.” He exclaimed, his fire stoking into a blaze.
“Huh? Why me specifically?” Asked John.
“Yer’ our leader, right? What good is a band o’ laddies and lassies if there’s no one around to take charge? Tat’s why I won’t allow you to die, John. Yer’ in charge of our band.”
Napalmic’s words struck John in a strange way. No one ever mentioned John being the leader, except for a one-off line he said in Chapter Seven. So to see Napalmic refer to him as the boss with no hesitation? He felt responsible. He knew he needed to step up and guide his companions to defeating the Balandians and triumph over their quest. It was at this moment that John realized he would need to rely on his friends the same way they would rely on him.
“I see,” John smirked. “I’m not sure if I ever actually did something leader-like… But I won’t let you people down!”
Napalmic put on a toothy grin, he grabbed his sword and placed it back into his sheathe.
“Just don’t go and be a numpty, o’ else Aal cut ye’ down! Ye’ got tat’, lad?”
“Of course, Napalmic. I won’t let any of you down.”
“Wow, boys arr so quick to become best friends…” Mumbled Lolly to herself.
“Aahlright then! John, we’re goin’ to dat’ town down therr, right?”
“Yup. Let’s g- Wait, wait, wait…”
“Eh? What is it, lad?”
John scratched his chin, while all of Napalmic’s story was believable and all, there was just one part that irked him slightly. Like a mild, yet very frustrating first-world problem. The sort of feeling when you walk outside and step on some grass burrs.
“If you were arrested by Sopreen, what the heck were those rumors I heard about you fighting off 15 watchmen?”
“Ah, tat’. After I got birded for the first time, Sopreen revealed to the police that it was not me who committed the massacre o’the camp, but rather someone else. Tat’ blasted Balandian. After tat, I went ahead and made some lousy numpty half the man he was for trying to rob an innocent little lass. Tat’s… Where the rumor came from.”
“Oh, makes sense. Cough, alright. Now we can go!”
And so they marched on. John and company felt a new sense of inspiration and adventure as they took their brave steps towards a new location. The three comrades quickly developed a friendship, conversing and sharing secrets and stories.
“What?! Ya’ caught a fish dat’ huge?!”
“Yeah. My dad said in his whole life, he had never seen, let alone caught, a fish the size of two grown men.”
“Didja’ eat it? Musta’ had a hankerin’.”
“Oh, believe me, I wanted to. But my dad said it was bad to eat it because of all the mercury in it.”
“Oh? Yer’ da’s a fish expert?”
“Mhm, he said it was something called a lake marlin. Sucks, but I had to release it back into the water.”
Yup. They were talking about fish… Good ol’, (Sl)american values.
Hmm, looks like they’ll be conversing for a while. We could listen to their blah blah blah’ing. Orrrr…. We could do a quick perspective change. What do you say? Just kidding, I’m changing perspectives anyway.
Wait… But the writer is letting someone else write Chapter 10… I feel like he needs these conversations to understand my cast a bit better… Oh well! Sucks to be him!
----------------------------------------
OMEGUM HIDEOUT
“I know this is a fancy crime club and all, but dear Bio, these corridors are like a maze!”
Proxus was following the halls and passages of the hidden base of Omegum. Despite Kreffica guiding her through the place, he constantly felt lost and dizzy at how many turns he needed to make around the place.
“Why is this place so elaborate, anyway? Assuming the theme of this crew is the English alphabet, why don’t we have just 26 rooms that lead to the main meeting one?” Asked Proxus. Kreffica turned her head at Proxus, hearing his complaints.
“Oh? Why is this place so big? Well, for starters, this is our main hideout. We house our 27 leaders along with the majority of our lower crooks.”
“I thought there were 26 letters…”
“Nope! There’s a 27th.”
“Really? What’s it called?”
“The letter Þ, ding-dong.”
We’re not making this up, that’s a real letter of the English alphabet.
“Huh? Since when was that a letter?”
“Since the old world. People used it in all sorts of sentences.”
“How am I supposed to know? How do you know? I thought Oni didn’t come around until the New World.”
“When I’m not busting heads, I’m reading up on history. You should give it a try, real great time-killer.”
Kreffica stopped walking, causing Proxus to suddenly bump into her. He grunted in pain, not expecting her body to be as solid as a rock.
“Hey, why did we stop?”
“We’re here, it’s the meeting.”
Kreffica stepped through the door, Proxus soon following. In the space was a spacious, yet empty room. In fact, there was only one thing that was placed in the center of the area: A long roundtable, with exactly 13 seats on each side. At the head of the table, was an even bigger chair. Oooh, creative. The room had 27 entrances from every side. Every one of the chairs had their corresponding letter engraved into the front of the seat.
“Get yourself seated, Proxus. It’s the one with the big R.”
Proxus nodded, shuffling towards the R seat. Kreffica sat herself down on the J seat. Soon after, people from every entrance began walking into the room. They all were wearing white of some kind, possibly to signify their affiliation. Every one of these Omegum members planted themselves in the seats, without saying a word. Strangely, the only seat left open was seat A.
The tension began to rise. They all looked at each other with dirty glares. However, their eyes were most focused on Proxus, their latest member.
“Look at the rookie. I bet he thinks he’s so tough because he’s a Balandian.” Said an odd, layered voice that came from a bowl-shaped mask.
“A new guy? This is getting interesting…” Said a man with round glasses and an unimpressive physique.
“Hey, Juliet, you and him gotten into any action yet~?”
“Huh? I’m not from the Red-Light district, idiot!”
“Hehe, it suits you.”
“You witch! Didn’t you go to Windralem and-”
“Oh, I did. And I’d gladly do it again~”
“That’s what I thought. Stupid slut…”
“Will you two shut up? Damn.” Groaned a bald, bearded man wearing a trench coat with a black skull painted etched on the back.
“All of you should pipe down. I’m tired and I just want this meeting over with…” Said a tired-sounding huge man covered head-to-toe in scaly armor.
Proxus felt like a child watching his older siblings argue. He wanted to add on to the conversation, but he felt like he’d be barked at with a barrage of insults. How in the world could a Balandian feel fear to a group of Elementals? Did Proxus grow soft? Proxus shook his head, clearing these intrusive thoughts.
Then, someone approached the A seat. As soon as he sat down, everyone stopped leering at each other, and paid attention to the one at the head of the roundtable: Mister A.
“Alright, busters! Looks like we’re all gathered here! Let’s begins this party, shall we?”
Everyone in the room nodded. Proxus turned his attention to Mister A, as well. Despite his initial concerns, he now felt stoked to be in this conference.
“So, first things first: Let’s give a big welcome back to Alcy!”
They all looked at Aleckrine and gave their signs of friendliness, he scoffed and snapped his head back. He leaned back and planted his feet on the table.
“Yeah, yeah. I would’ve gone out eventually, anyways.” He snarked. Proxus took note of his new look; A white, long trench coat with a hood. A handcuff was hanging off his hand. He still wore the white mask that covered his mouth.
“With that outta the way. We’re here today to officially introduce Proxy into Omegum. I know he’s got a kid-scaring mug, but I trust ya’, he ain’t biting.”
Proxus took a deep breath. He looked at Kreffica, who gave him a thumbs-up, then to Aleckrine, who simply eyed him with a fox-like leer.
“Ahem, hello, Ellies.” Started Proxus. “I’m sure you’re all wondering what a Balandian is doing in Krobus, but that’s not important. I’m one of you guys now.”
“You are the replacement for the original Omegum Romeo, correct?” Said the member seated at the U seat, he had a strange getup. He wore a black mask with eyes akin to that of a fly, along with a black pointed hat. He had the white coat the other Omegum members wore. He spoke his words slowly and deliberately. Proxus felt creeped out by his appearance.
“Yeah, I am. Now, just because I’m new doesn’t mean you guys gotta take it easy with me. I’m a lot tougher than you think.”
“Is that so? Because I just peeped into your memories, and you got your breech kicked by a kid who barely obtained his Element.” Sneered the member who had been sitting at the Þ chair. His face had a smug expression. A smug expression that made Proxus felt an insatiable need to punch him square in the nose. He wore a colorful, blue and yellow outfit. His tattered cape had streaks of white in it, and his eyes were as blue as ice.
“You shut your mouth. How do you see my memories, anyways?”
“A good magician never reveals his tricks! Find out for yourself.” He grinned, twirling a strand of his black hair with his finger.
“Hmph. Anyways, I’m not asking for much. All I want is for you guys to acknowledge me as one of your teammates. Simple. Though, if you get in my way, I may have to play rough.”
“Oooh? You like it rough, huh?” One of the Omegum leaders leaned forward. Wearing a purple camisole and a distinct white armband on her left arm, she had long and wavy black hair paired with pink eyes with pupils in the shape of hearts. She gazed at Proxus with a face that creeped him out. While many would look at her and be quickly allured, Proxus couldn’t shake off the feeling that there was a darker, more sinister side to her. A darkness that was covered up with a pretty mask.
“That’s not what I meant.” Proxus uttered, grinding his teeth.
“Too bad, boy. My name is Aramai Aramebachi. Though, everyone calls me Ara-Ara.” She introduced herself in a sultry voice, one that made Proxus even more uncomfortable with how obvious it was that she was trying to hide a coarse, husky voice.
“You just stay away from me. I don’t like your vibe.”
“Your choice. My room’s always open~♡”
“Someone kill me already…”
“Now that we’ve gotten that outta the way,” Said Mister A. “I thinks it’s about time we talks about other, important matters. Namely: The Acreages.” Mister A took a quick glance at the colorful young man who took a sneak into Proxus’ memories. He smirked, and the man with the title of Þ took a low bow.
“Right, I know the drill, boss.”
Omegum Þ proceeded to close his eyes. He grabbed his blue and yellow top hat and placed it on the table, laying it upside down.
SHEEEN
A bright, clear beam sprung forth from the bottom of the hat. Proxus was astonished by the pillar of light. It reminded him of the Októ beam, with its similar shape and structure. He leered at the magician, who glanced back with a smug wink.
“How do you do that?”
“Magician’s secret!”
Proxus grumbled, before he saw a slip of paper that Kreffica slided to him. Scribbled hastily in ink, it read:
“He’s using our memories and projecting it for everyone here to see.”
To which Proxus looked back at Kreffica and mouthed “Out of the hat?”. Kreffica rolled her eyes and shrugged. Must be a style thing.
Proxus didn’t know what was worse, the fact that he peeked into Proxus’ private memories, or the fact that he was about to present said private memories to everyone in the meeting, including that unnerving woman with the heart shaped pupils.
“Alright, Billy! Show us what happened at Rubiyang!”
“Huh?” Thought Proxus. “There weren’t any Acreages back at that jail. What does that have to do with them?”
The beam came to life, creating what could be described as a diorama of light, showing a bird’s eye view of what happened during that time. Proxus was amazed by how every minute detail was captured to perfection. They were truly getting a play-by-play experience.
“Good, now, if ya’ don’t mind, I’d likes to focus on Kreffy’s tussle with the Fire Elemental.”
“Right away, big boss.”
The projection warped, and a view of the fight between Kreffica and Napalmic was presented to the Omegum members. They all watched with close attention. Kreffica’s eyes narrowed as everyone watched her defeat.
“Ah, a human standing on equal ground with an oni’s strength, how interesting.” Said a man wearing a bug mask. His outfit was weirdly depressing. He traded out the usual white trench coat for a black one that covered his lanky body along with a white cuff on one wrist. He wore a black top hat with insect antennae sticking out of the top. He leaned in closer to the projection, like a moth to a flame.
“Hmph,” Said Kreffica. “Would’ve beaten him if I took off my coat…”
“Yet, you did not. Is there a reason why?” The bug-masked man tilted his head quizzically.
“I dunno, I guess the thought just never occurred to me… Anyway, what does this have to do with the acreages?”
“Pause it, Billy!”
Snap!
With a swift snap of the fingers, the diorama stopped moving. Mister A pointed to the sword of Napalmic - The pommel - To be specific.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“I wants you busters to take a good look-see at that part of his cold steel.”
Everyone, except for Aleckrine and someone else, shifted their eyes to the rear of Napalmic’s blade. As soon as everyone noticed what was being kept in the pommel, their eyes widened in a mix of shock, surprise, and glee.
“That’s right, busters! Flamey over here has gots an Acreage!”
Before you say this is a dumb, out of nowhere moment… Please, re-read Volume #1… Don’t you remember what they said in Chapter 5? Or did you skip the description of Ghrian like a bum?
Kreffica’s face turned to bewilderment. She had been so caught up in her duel with Napalmic, she never even noticed the hidden Acreage kept in the pommel of her enemy’s blade. She became flustered, covering her face in embarrassment.
“Kreffica, why didn’t you take this kid’s sword? We could’ve gotten another Acreage!” Said the man in the G seat.
“What? Why the heck would I do that?! You don’t just take a warrior’s weapon!!” Kreffica rebutted. Despite being a criminal, she had a code of honor. She respected the weapons used by fighters, knowing how significant they are to one’s identity. She herself felt connected to her kanabō. Her eyes turned spiteful as she glared at the Golf Omegum leader.
“You termagant,” Snapped Aleckrine. “We’re criminals, not knights. You shouldn’t be afraid to break the rules of combat.”
Kreffica scratched her hair, feeling annoyed by the amount of backlash she was receiving. Proxus wanted to say something, but considering how his initial ‘welcoming’ greetings went, he hesitated on that thought.
“Ya’ busters! We didn’t come here to make fun of Kreffy!” Mister A took out his cigar, smoked it and rubbed it on the face of the goon beside him. He yelped in pain and retreated out of the room. “What matters is that guy has an Acreage on im’. And that means he’s a high priority target! And it’s our lucky day too, because…”
Mister A took out an Acreage from his pocket. The very same Acreage Proxus found in the cave not so long ago, and it was pulsating, going left. Proxus zoned out on Mister A’s explanation, only paying attention to his beloved gem.
“This Acreage is pointing to another one! I thinks it’s the one our flamey boy has got on him, too.”
Billy lifted his hat off the table, placing it back on his head.
“Any idea where that Acreage is going, boss?” He said.
“Why, I believe it’s going to Windralem. I’m gonna let Ara-Ara and Alvvy head to that town, considering their goons already gots themselves a foothold in there.”
“We know that already, boss.” Said Aleckrine flatly.
“That was for the rookie, Alccy. Speaking of which: Proxy! I know you’re probably craving for another mission, but I’m going to need you to sit back for this one. We can’t let a Balandian run around in such a big, urban area.”
Proxus nodded in understanding. While he couldn’t resist the idea of being able to hunt down John one more time, he had to think smarter than that. His target was John, not the world.
“Got it, Mister A. As long as that witch stays away from me, I’m alright.”
Mister A chuckled, putting the Acreage back in his pocket. The Uniform and Sierra Omegum leaders got up from their chairs, and nodded to Mister A.
“Aw, thank you a bunch! Oooh, will you give me extra spending money after this is over-”
“No.” Stated Mister A with absolutely no hesitation and doubt in his mind.
“This will not take very long, Mister A.” Said the U Omegum. His bug mask startled A, but he smiled, nonetheless.
“That’s the spirit, Alvvy. Go get those suckers!” Mister A retrived his Acreage, and tossed it over to the tall, lanky bug-faced man.
“You’ll need this.”
And so, they left the meeting room, ready to embark on a journey to Windralem.
“Hey, Kreffica,” Said Proxus. “You think that bug guy will be alright with… Her?”
“Heh, I’m sure he’ll be fine. He’ll probably scare her straight… But that’s just a dream.”
“Speaking of scary. Aramai said she’d ‘gladly do it again’. What happened?”
Kreffica’s cheerful demeanor went into the complete opposite. Her face was now a serious frown. She sighed, leaving her seat and walking over to Proxus, ready to whisper to him.
“We don’t like talking about it around here, but…”
She explained. She explained the incident she mentioned during her squabble with Aramai. Proxus was appalled. Not appalled at the acts themselves, as there were plenty of Balandians who did the same thing she did, but rather disgusted at her shameless repeats.
“That witch! She did that eight times?! Tch… So much for the honorable and modest Elementals.”
“I feel you. I don’t know why and how she gets the mindset that doing all that is alright.”
Kreffica turned to Aleckrine, gesturing to him to come closer.
“Alc! Let’s go do some training.” She said, a smile emerging on her person.
“Why in the Badlands should I? Not like I’ll get any stronger…” Aleckrine muttered. Proxus frowned at the Foxtrot Omegum. He wondered how someone so lazy could possibly be worthy of being at the roundtable.
“You’re thinking it wrong, Alc. If I train with you, then I can get stronger! Something’s bound to improve if I challenge the best Stone Elemental out there.”
Aleckrine groaned, reluctantly getting out of his seat.
“Fine, fine. Let’s just get this over with.”
----------------------------------------
“John, can we staahp? Aah’m taard.”
“Quit yer bleedin’ yappin’, lass. We’re almost there.”
“No no, she has a point, my feet are killing me. Let’s stop here.”
John, Lolly, and Napalmic were only a few paces away from their next destination. It seemed almost taunting how close it was, but their energy just couldn’t keep up with the distance. John sat down, creating a hard chair of stone to sit on. Napalmic reluctancy sat along, with Lolly happily sitting and relaxing her feet.
“Aye, John, what’s the plan once we get there?”
“We’re going to find Dalauan, what kind of question is that?”
“What I mean to say was: How are we goin’ to find the lad?”
John sat silently, pondering his question. He quickly realized that they had no real plan to actually locate The Sky Leopard. He felt dumb as he looked at Napalmic with a blank expression and shrug.
“Ye’ got to be joking! How are we supposed to find that lad without a plan?!”
“Look, I haven’t thought out-”
“Have ye’ even thought out what we will do when we find him?!”
“Napalmic, get off John’s back! Aah’m sure we’ll figure out once we find him.” Exclaimed Lolly, glaring at Napalmic. She looked angry.
“What do ye’ know, lass? I can’t trust a leader who can’t think things through!”
“Ya’ think he’s a professional? Sorry, Napalmic. Not aahll of us are military like you.”
“What’re you trying to say, lass?.”
As if synchronized, Napalmic and Lolly took out their weapons, pointing them at each other with ill-intent. John was furious, both at his allies and at himself. He stood up and blocked the two from each other with his gauntlets of stone, glancing back and forth with a face that screamed lambastation.
“Will you two pipe down? We’re supposed to kill the Balandians, not each other!” He barked, this was the loudest he ever put up his voice. This feeling was unfamiliar to him. But he was too caught up in the heat of the moment to care. “Look, I know it’s dumb of me to not have a full plan, but if we’re going to do this, we need to stop having bad blood and work together, like a team. Do you understand?”
Napalmic and Lolly looked at John in continued fury, then quickly calmed as they realized how childish it was of them to draw weapons over a meager dispute. They shook their heads and backed off.
“Sorry, John, Aah guess Aah got a liddle feisty, hehe…”
“Aye, let’s just try to get to this place-”
GRRRRRAAAAAHHHHH
The sudden roar had the trio shaking. The bellowing was akin to an earthquake, trembling and destroying whatever it was in their wake.
“What was dat?” Asked Lolly.
“Whatever it is, it sounds close to us… We gotta go!”
With a quick gesture, John, Lolly, and Napalmic quickly made their dash towards the city. The nerve-racking roars persisted, never getting any louder or quieter the further they ran away from what they thought was the source.
Then, it revealed itself.
CRUMBLE, CRUMBLE…
BRRRRAAAAAHHHHH
A monster erupted from beneath the ground. As its entire body drilled out into the surface, John and Lolly felt fear. Napalmic simply gazed at the beast with stunned eyes. When it finally got out, they got a good look at its figure; It was at least eighty two feet in height, effortlessly dwarfing John, Lolly, and Napalmic. Its body was monstrous and wide, standing on two rugged, thick, study legs with spikes of rocks.
To it’s upper body, was a broad brown torso with dirt and large, sharp looking rocks sticking out from its body, its arms had eight, yes, eight fingers on each humongous arm. The way they looked, closed together with their claws sticking forward, gave it the appearance of claws. Its pointed, triangular head with a thick neck had one huge horn between its two house sized eyes. Both eyes blinked consecutively, adjusting to the sudden lighting of the surface.
John took out the Know-It-Tron in a panic, and pointed it at the stone beast.
Beep… Beep…
This is known as a caragrice. Caragrices live deep underground, using their claws like drills to burrow. They are known for their aggressive nature, attacking anything that disturbs them during slumber. If you woke one up, you should probably start running.
“Waaht do we do, John?!” Asked Lolly, she looked up at the behemoth in horror.
“I think I’ve got a plan! Lolly! Try using your Candy to support me and Napalmic. Napalmic, I’ll guard you so you can make a big hit on that caragrice.”
“Ye’ bleedin’ idiot! You expect us three to take on tat’?!”
“Yes. If we’re going to defeat King Bio, there’s no way we’ll lose to some big mole!”
Napalmic grumbled, before drawing his sword.
“I trust ye’. Let’s go!”
Lolly followed in suit, creating her bow. John generated his gauntlets, taking a stance against the caragrice.
“We can take him.” John said bravely, or stupidly, depending on how badly he gets injured by the gargantuan creature right now.
Napalmic began the attack, charging straight at the beast. He leapt up, to which Lolly aided him by creating multiple, elevating platforms of peppermint for him to jump off of. As he jumped off the final platform and over the caragrice, he gripped Ghrian with ferocity.
GREEHHHH
The caragrice started to wind up a powerful looking swing, with the intention of swatting away Napalmic. John took notice and leapt up too, holding his gauntlets in front of him to guard.
“I don’t think yer fists are going to protect us, lad!”
“Hold on! I got something!”
John thought of an idea within an instant. Obviously, his gauntlets were too small to properly block against a massive claw, so what could he do to stop the claws from hurting Napalmic? Simple. Enlarge his gauntlets further.
BA-DOOMP
John started to generate more stone to his stone gauntlets, but alas, he was too slow.
CRASH
“Tch…!”
The claw drove itself into John, knocking him and Napalmic out of the air. Surprisingly, their bodies held up. John hardened up his body the same way he did against Kreffica, and Napalmic’s armor was effectively blocking from the weight of the caragrice. Either way, they still felt a great deal of pain as they spiraled in the air.
Tmp tmp…
“Huh?”
Suddenly, they stopped falling. John looked down to see a relieving surprise: A large platform made of a massive peppermint candy. Lolly was able to stop John and Napalmic’s fall in the nick of time.
“Thanks, Lolly! Do you think you can make more of these?!” Called out John from below.
“Ya’ betcha! Aah think Aah know what ya’ll aahre gonna do!”
VEEM VEEM VEEM VEEM
Four more candy platforms, each one above the other and tilted in a way that made it easy to kick off of. Napalmic stood up, and drew his sword. Ready to jump again.
“John, let’s jump off o’ those things and get on the caragrice. He won’t know what hit him!”
“On it, Napalmic.”
With a mighty boost, John and Napalmic jumped off the platform, leaping back and forth between the platforms. The caragrice looked at the two pests in annoyance, ready to swing again. This time, however, they were prepared.
“Napalmic, throw me to his claw!”
“What?! Ye’ better have a good plan, lad!”
Napalmic grabbed onto John with his free hand, and launched his body to the claw with hysterical strength. John was taken aback by the force behind the throw, but he quickly regained himself. He positioned himself above the claws, lifting up his gauntlets into the air.
“Alright, what do I call this?” Thought John. “Lolly has a name for her moves, and I’m pretty sure I heard Napalmic yell something out back at Rubiyang… Oh! I think I got it!”
KRUSHHHH
Like a pair of devastating hammers, John brought them down, annihilating the claws of the caragrice and shattering its terrible blades into several small pieces.
“CRAG SMASH!!”
GRRRROOOOHHHHH
The caragrice was staggered. It looked at John with a face of pure rage as it began to attack with its other claw. However, by the time he started to wind up, Napalmic was close enough to swing at the beast.
“GEARRADAIR STÀILINN!!”
SLASH
An amazing cut to the shoulder of the caragrice. It reached in deep, only stopping due to what Napalmic assumed was the collarbone blocking his blade from cutting any deeper. The beast roared out in pain, falling on its back and screaming as if throwing a tantrum.
“Lolly! Get us down!”
Nodding, Lolly aimed her bow and arrow up into the air.
TWANG
Two projectiles were launched from her bow. They split off into the directions of John and Napalmic. John looked closer at the projectiles, then he realized what she shot. A large, pink hand of bubblegum. The hand grabbed onto John and Napalmic, pulling them down to the ground. The arms let go, disappearing into nothing.
“Aye, T’anks for tat’, lass!”
“Phew! Do you boys need any healing?”
“No, you can only use Heal Drop 3 times a day, right? I think it’s better if we save it for big injuries.”
Lolly nodded, putting away her bow. Then, something caught her eye. She looked at the fallen caragrice, initially not making much note of it until she saw the twitching leg of the beast.
“Hey, guys, ya’ll might need to step back.”
“What is it, Lolly.”
Grr…
“BOYS! MOVE OUTTA THE WAY!”
GRAAAHHHHHH
The beast propped up, standing on its two legs. John and Napalmic were frozen in place, gazing up at the caragrice.
“But… I thought you almost cut him in half, Napalmic!”
“And I tot’ ye’ smashed his hand, lad!”
The monster roared once more, the mere pressure of the abrasive noise knocking down the trio. Lolly stood up against the caragrice’s roaring, drawing her bow, even under the intense pressure.
“Quince Sweet!”
TWANG TWANG TWANG
Three arrows shot from her bow. Two of them stuck themselves to the caragrice, exploding into crystal candy that severely hindered its movement. This left its stomach wide open for the third arrow.
ZLICE
The third arrow transformed, turning into a bright pink candy cane. The cane sharpened into a lethal blade, and slashed across the stomach of the caragrice, causing an orange, gooey fluid to spill out.
GRAHHHHHHHH
The monster seemed initially worried about the cut, but shrugged it off. The bleeding eventually stopped, and he was right back to roaring back at John, Napalmic, and Lolly.
“What is this guy made of?!” John yelled, strained. He tried to generate stone, but the amount of force that was being pressed down on his legs and arms made it impossible to create rock.
The caragrice finally stopped yelling, making a snorting sound as if it were giving a gibe to the foolish Elementals that tried to bring it down. It lifted up its leg, ready to stomp them under its feet.
“Darn it…”
WOOOOOOOSHHH
“Keep your big ass off these kids!”
A powerful wind seemingly out of nowhere. The coiling winds struck the caragrice right in the stomach, launching it with enough force to knock it down within a singular hit. The monster recognized who the wind belonged to, and scrambled away, burrowing away as best as it could with its sole claw.
John was about to slip into unconsciousness, before he felt a hand slap his face, waking him up.
“I swear, how can a caragrice lose to three kids? They gotta be sorry…”
John looked up to see their savior. He was a tall man with a large, muscular physique and dark skin. He was wearing a white, buttoned shirt and a yellow scarf around his neck, covering his chin. Around his waist was a large, brown belt with a yellow badge on it. He was wearing black baggy pants with yellow shoes. His short hair was as brown as chocolate and tied into dreadlocks. In sharp contrast, his eyes were as yellow as gold, and just as glowing, too.
“Thank you, man, we would’ve died.” Said John, struggling to stand. He felt relieved to have been saved at the very last moment by someone. Although, according to one of the writer’s friends (you know who you are), this is actually a poor writing decision.
“Don’t sweat it, little man, I’m just doing my job.” The man helped John get to his feet, then moved to Napalmic and Lolly to assist them as well. Lolly smiled and patted the man’s shoulder, while Napalmic nudged him as gratitude.
“You three aren’t from around here. Could I get some names?”
“John Bayani.”
“Lolly Mitchell!”
“Aye, Napalmic Fehíonas.”
“Nice to meet all of you. I’m officer Rayegro. But formalities are goofy, it’s Dalauan Rayegro to you.”
John’s mind began to spark. That name sounded familiar. He looked back at Lolly and Napalmic, who shared a similar expression. Perhaps it was just chance, but he could have been the one they were looking for.
“What’s wrong? You look shook.”
“You wouldn’t happen to be known as ‘The Sky Leopard’, would you?”
“Yeah, people around here call me that. What about it?”
John looked back at his crew, then smiled.
“Dalauan, could you teach us how to fight?”
Dalauan looked a little confused, he tilted his head, raising an eyebrow. The three looked quite serious about their request.
“Are you sure you kids aren’t tryna’ punk me?”
“No! Not at all! We just want to learn how to fight. And if we’re going to learn how, we’re gonna learn from the Sky Leopard himself.”
Dalauan patted John’s head, smiling. He looked up to the blue skies, he didn’t exactly know what was going on, but deep within him, he felt as though this was destined to happen. He folded his arms, looking back at John and his team.
“So, it seems my rep has reached other places! Do I got opps?” He asked, whispering and leaning in on John’s face.
“Opps…?” John responded, perplexed by his choice of words.
“Enemies, opposition, yadda yadda.”
“Uh, not any that I’m aware of.”
“Ah, good. In any case, welcome to Windralem! The hotpot of culture! Let’s have a little chat over some tacos, shall we? I know a real good spot down the block.”