RIMNI
“When did you learn to use auram like that?” Rimni asked as they ran down the halls of the base together. “Did you have a Regalia and not tell anybody?”
“I don't know!” Aurina said. “I've never done anything like that before!”
“Well whatever,” Rimni said. “Right now we have to get out. They brought us in this way, but I sense a lot of people down there. If they're just normal bandits they can't even hurt me, but I don't know if any of them got Regalia...”
“Why do so many of the bandits have Regalia anyway?” Aurina asked. “I thought it was only the most powerful fighters who had them.”
“There's a lot of old ones scattered around after the ruin war,” Rimni said. “And they're more common than you think. Most people have at least a little bit of one in them, the super basic start of it. There's a whole bunch of levels after that before you get a real Regalia, but you're most likely to get one when you're in danger. It kinda makes that mind-body-soul stuff just suddenly...click. And then even if you weren't close, your body makes one because it's scared. Hey, maybe that's what happened to you!”
“Maybe,” Aurina said. “Are we going or not? Jalgoz is still behind us and he's angry.”
“Yeah,” Rimni said. “Even if they don't have Regalia, they'll slow me down too much and Jalgoz will catch up. And that Sloth Regalia is scary strong. I wish I knew who that old guy he was on the comm with was, I feel like that's important.”
The crept quietly down a passage until a sudden burst of rattling and screeching from a doorway made their hearts jump out of their chests.
“What's that?” Aurina asked.
“I'll check,” Rimni said, peering around the door. “It looks like...like they've got a rabbit in a cage in there, and there's a demon torturing it.”
“A what?” Aurina peered around him.
Zgratch and his favorite victim have not been especially important to the story so far because until this point very little about them changed. The horrible beak-faced monkey imp was still torturing the fluffy, feathery purple rabbit thing in the cage. Their relationship had remained completely unchanged and, since Jalgoz had been too busy to spend much time with his pet, hadn't been interfered with much by recent activities until now.
“That's not a demon,” Aurina said. “It's a Vard Imp.”
“An imp is a kind of demon,” Rimni pointed out.
“It's just called that,” Aurina shook her head. “They're known for bad attitude and playing pranks. I forget what the planet they're from is named. I don't know what the thing in the cage is.”
“Me either,” Rimni said. “Alright, let's try and creep back the way we came...”
The thing in the cage let out another desperate trilling whistle.
“I can't!” Aurina said. “We have to help that poor thing! It doesn't look like they're taking very good care of it, whatever it is.”
“Well...” Rimni hesitated. He was not on very firm ground here. Rescuing the damsel, absolutely. Rescuing the adorable little creature...well, the stories were split on that one. Sometimes it was a big help, maybe even secretly some wise ancient being or something that gave them extra powers. And sometimes it was secretly an evil little creature that got somebody killed. But now he thought about it the knights always did rescue it. So it seemed like the thing to do.
Rimni shot in and slashed for the Vard Imp, but it dodged. In his defense Rimni would never have thought ridiculous stubby-fleshy little wings could actually let it fly. So he only nicked its foot, and it opened its mouth to scream. His mind was scrambling for a way to keep it from drawing the alarm when a thick wave of light blasted it across the room, slamming the Vard Imp into the far wall and knocking over the cage, the door popping open.
“Hey!” Aurina said, looking down at her palms. “I can do it on purpose! I...aww hey little guy were you scared? It's alright.”
The purple feathered rabbit-creature had jumped into her arms and was nuzzling her cheek like a cat.
“We'd better get going,” Rimni said, trying to keep the frustration out of his voice. It wasn't fair, he was the knight. The damsel wasn't supposed to keep rescuing him. They backtracked until they reached the same heavily guarded room that had stymied them before.
“You'd think they'd have left to come look for us by now,” Aurina complained.
“Maybe Jalgoz thinks we went the other way,” Rimni suggested. “But we still need to get past them.”
“Alright,” Aurina said definitely. “Let's do it. I almost forgot, we've got one more Regalia on our side. Though this isn't a quiet plan...”
“Quiet isn't working,” Rimni said. “Can we do fast?”
“We can do fast, “ Aurina said, pulling Booky out of her pocket.
The room turned out to be a barracks, the bandits inside it not even on guard duty merely asleep in the bunk beds that lined the room. They scattered in panic as the giant two headed snail charged through their naps, awakening to screaming and the sound of splintering beds and foot lockers. Booky fired his cannons a couple of times, just for show, but it was entirely unnecessary garnish to the panic he had caused merely by barreling through the room full of groggy, confused enemies.
They faced no effective opposition until they reached the exit. Jalgoz, flanked by nine armed men, had installed himself in the doorway to freedom apparently preferring to wait for them at their likely destination rather than chase them all over the base. He spread his arms wide as if to embrace the fleeing captives as the came into his arms.
“Fire!” Rimni suggested, and Booky was happy to oblige, blasting away with his cannons. The blast scattered Jalgoz's backup but the two that hit him squarely in the chest merely forced him to take a few steps backwards.
“Alright,” Jalgoz growled. “All three of you had a shot at me now and couldn't cut it. Get off the snail—that was my brother's anyway, it belongs with me—give me back the bunny, and maybe you get to live.”
“Don't stop!” Aurina said, slapping Booky on the shell. The snail accelerated again, firing. Each shot pushed Jalgoz a few inches back, and they forced him backwards out of the base and into the daylight.
“That's....enough!”Jalgoz roared, slashing with his claws. His blades knocked the next volley blasts aside. “Give me the Churmegoedon!”
“Churmegoedon?” Aurina said, looking at the terrified creature curled up in her arms, ears and long tail trembling as it nervously ruffled it's wings. “Is that what this thing is called? What is it? What do you want with it?”
“Do you think I'm stupid!?” Jalgoz took a step forward. “As if anybody would bother with a little rat like that if they didn't know what it was worth! I got big plans for that thing, and if you don't hand it over I'll....”
Tyram flew from behind a nearby rock, his punch catching Jalgoz across the jaw and sending the enormous bandit reeling. Booky immediately accelerated, blasting away from the fallen bandit leader. Tyram caught a shell spike as the snail sped past and climbed up behind Aurina and Rimni.
“Where were you?” Rimni asked.
“Looking for a way in,” Tyram said. “Come on, let's get back to town fast.Jalgoz isn't going to be happy when he hears what we did to his raiding parties. And for some reason he's obsessed with that thing, which sounds to me like a great reason not to let him have it.”
TYRAM
“Where are we going?” Aurina asked. “I was asleep when they brought me here!”
“I know,” Tyram said. “I'm sorry.”
“What even happened?” Rimni asked. “Is the village okay? What about the other knights?”
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Tyram gave them the short version of what had happened at the village. Then they asked him questions, none of which he could actually answer,.
“The enforcers are siding with the Bandits?” Aurina finally said. “I don't get it!”
“They must be crooked,” Rimni said confidently.
“I don't know if it's that simple,” Tyram said. “It felt like that Fadden woman was terrified of something. I wish she'd decided to explain what was going on”
“Doesn't matter,” Rimni said. “If they protect bad guys, they're bad guys.”
“I get where you're coming from,” Aurina said. “But it's not always that sim—AAAHHH!”
All of a sudden the ground beneath them rose at an angle, creating a ramp that sent them flying into the air. Booky turned over, spilling his riders off, and landed on his side.
“What happened?” Rimni said, jumping to his feet.
“I don't know,” Tyram said, looking at where they had just been riding. A perfect square of ground had lifted up and stood on one side. “But I think we're under attack.”
“I feel somebody coming,” Rimni said. “Up above!”
They jumped aside moments before an armored man dropped from the sky, a pair of golden scimitars slicing into the ground where they'd been standing. As he recovered from his attack they saw he was only wearing a normal suit of armor from the waist up. From the waist down his legs were encased in a metallic cone that split at the bottom to fit one enormous tire.
“Hehehehehehe that's right!” the man laughed. “Me and Raddo were sent to kill you and bring back what you stole because we're the fastest in the whole gang!”
“Raddo?” Tyram asked, sliding into a stance while his eyes darted side to side looking for another enemy.
“He's around,” the bandit said, readying his swords. “Too bad he won't get to kill one of you, I plan on killing all three of you myself! Hehehehehe....”
The bandit's torso began to spin, faster and faster, the swords in his hands slashing wildly until he looked like a tornado of blades hovering on a wheel. He started racing straight towards Tyram.
“That's an interesting Regalia,” Tyram said. “But one low kick and...hey!”
Tyram couldn't move his legs. Looking down he saw another bandit had popped up out of a new perfect square cut in the ground and grabbed his ankles. Tyram tried to pull free, but the bandit's grip was like iron. The original bandit's wirling blades approached and Tyram was just reaching for his sword when a furious roar split the air and sent the wheel riding bandit flying.
“Andry!” Aurina said. Andry stood on top of the square of earth that had tossed the snail aside. There was a jeep parked a few feet away. In the chaos of the fight no one had heard it come up.
“We'll talk later,” Andry said, walking up to Tyram. “I suppose it's lucky I got here in time to keep you from getting your throat cut.”
“Listening to you might just be worse,” Tyram shot back.
“Aurina!” Andry said. “Take the kid and get out of here on Booky. We'll make sure these two can't follow you before you make it back to town.”
“You don't get to give me orders!” Rimni said. “Besides, I can fight!”
“We know,” Tyram said. “That's why we need you to guard Aurina on the way back to the village, in case these two aren't the only ones.”
“Well, alright,” Rimni said. “But are you sure want him to stay? He's a coward!”
“Just get going you little twerp!” Andry snapped. “We don't have time to sit around arguing!”
“You don't have time to escape either!” the bandit with the scimitars shouted, rushing towards the group slashing his blades. “We'll tear you apart! Rado!”
The ground right under the bandit's wheel lifted up into a ramp, pushed from underneath by his partner. The scimitar wielder flew through the air and landed slashing, cutting a line across Andry's cheek. Andry countered with a punch that threw a sonic blast that blew the bandit back. Tyram ran at the underground bandit and slid into a low kick, catching him in the face and sending him flying back in his own hole that slammed shut over him.
By then, Rimni and Aurina were already vanishing into the distance on Booky. The spinning bandit came to a stop, balancing on his wheel. Beside him the ground opened up in another perfect square and the other bandit leaped out. He wore a puffy green shirt and black pants, with bronze shoulderpads and a circlet on his head placed over shiny, slicked back black hair.
“Hey Gazin,” the one who came out of the ground, apparently Rado, said, “they're tougher than I thought,”
“I know,” Gazin, apparently the one with the scimitars, responded. “Kill'em quick, catch up with the rabbit later?”
“Seems like the best idea,” Rado shrugged.
“What a coincidence,” Tyram said. “I think we had the same plan.”
Andry fired another sonic blast at Gazim, but the bandit spiraled away from his attack. Andry moved to chase him, leaving Rado for Tyram to deal with.
“I heard about you,” Rado said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Dragon regalia right? Oooh, scary. Real impressive. All I've got is this Trapdoor Regalia. It wasn't even a warrior's, it formed in the body of a famous magician. But I'll let you in on a little secret...”
Rado stomped his foot and the ground underneath Tyram's feat opened up. Tyram had been ready for it—he was getting a handle on the bandit's trick even before he named his Regalia—but the bandit had expected it. He leaped when Tyram did, catching the dragon knight in the gut with his elbow.
“The Regalia with big fancy names are usually just trash!” Rado laughed. Tyram hit the ground hard and it opened underneath him, dropping him into a dark pit and closing. He found himself inside a lightless cube just big enough for him to stand up in. On the surface above him Rado landed and started punching the dirt, his fists and arms disappearing into small trapdoors that opened wherever they touched the ground.
They reappeared from trapdoors that opened inside the cube with Tyram. He found himself locked in a cage where blows could come from any angle at any moment. Fists slammed into him everywhere, across the face and the back of the calf, the stomach and the shoulder, his arms and legs and the back of his head. In the dark and close it was impossible to defend, so he didn't. He took the blows, filled his limbs with auram, and leaped. His head crashed through the dirt and he flew back out into the light. The ground where he was about to land opened up, but he split his legs wide as he fell and caught the sides of the pit.
“That won't work on me again!” he told Rado.
“Sure it will,” Rado charged him. “I just have to shove you in!”
He brought his hand down at Tyram's head in a chop but Tyram caught the bandit's wrist with crossed forearms. When Rado pulled back his hand Tyram gave him two quick punches in the gut. The bandit grunted, momentarily stunned, and Tyram took the time to leap out of his split and spin his legs, catching Rado across the face with his shin and sending the bandit sprawling on the dirt.
“No,” Tyram said. “It won't work even if you try and shove me in.”
“Alright,” Rado spat, wiping blood off his chin. “Alright fine then. Hand to hand is fine with me.”
As they closed in on each other Rado's arms just...disappeared. It was as if they'd been sucked up into his shoulders like pasta. Tyram was wary of whatever technique the bandit was using, but he'd never finish the fight if he wasn't willing to attack so he aimed a blow at Rado's apparently unprotected face.
His blow did not land, and as he stumbled back he tried to work out what happened. He'd been hit, that much was clear. One across the jaw, one to the gut. But the punches had been.'.weird. Strange. They'd felt crossed somehow, backwards and upside down. Rado smirked as blood trickled down the knight's chin, still standing there with....well, no arms. Tyram tried a swing, a little more cautiously this time, and Rado decided to block it. The arm that turned the blow aside came from a trap door that opened in his torso.
Well that's different, Tyram thought, staring at the bizarre demonstration of the enemy Regalia's power. Rado moved in to attack, arms popping in and out of his body like gofers, coming from every angle. Tyram did his best to block the onslaught, only managed to block about half the blows, and the other half were more then enough to send him bruised and bloody to the ground on his hands and knees.
“See what I mean?” Rado laughed. “You're a big strong dragon getting your ass kicked by a magic trick!”
Tyram picked himself up off the dirt, running extra auram into his limbs.
“Okay,” Tyram said, spitting out grass and mud. “Let's try that again.”
The clashed again, a furious storm of strikes and blocks. Tyram took the punishment, protecting his head to keep his mind clear. He wasn't worried about winning, not right now, he was worried about staying in the clash. The longer the exchange lasted the more he got a feel for Rado's fighting style, and as he learned the rhythm he blocked more blows, and more and more until he finally saw a real opportunity and threw a strike at Rado's head.
Except the bandit's head wasn't there anymore.
In one smooth motion his arms popped back in their proper places and his head dropped down into a trapdoor that had opened in his neck. Tyram roared in frustration. A few seconds later Rado's head appeared again, popping out of his belly.
“You can't even hit me!” Rado laughed at him. “What are you gonna...hey! Hey! Let go!”
Tyram grabbed Rado's head and pulled. The bandit tried to get away, to pull the head back into his body, but Tyram wouldn't let go. The knight put his foot on the bandit's shoulder and pushed, putting all his weight into the struggle. The tug of war lasted until Rado got away, disappearing with a hideous wet ripping sound. Still feeling something warm and wet in his hands Tyram looked down to see he was still holding onto the bandit's torn off ears.
Rado's head popped up in its proper place, blood spraying from where his ears had been. His scream defied description. No drawn out collection of vowels could do that inhuman howl justice. Tears poured down his face in a waterfall, as he clutched the bleeding sides of his head.
“KILL YOU!” Rado shrieked. “I'LL KILL YOU!”
His threats turned into an inarticulate battle cry as he charged the knight, arms disappearing inside of him again. When his arms reappeared Tyram was ready. He had a handle on Rado's fighting style now. He caught the bandit's wrists as soon as they emerged, sticking out from the bandit's torso at odd angles. Rado struggled to break free so Tyram simply straightened out his arms. What on a normally arranged body would have been a harmless movement was, to Rado's contorted anatomy, a vicious wrench that made the bones on his arms pop and crack and splinter until they dangled uselessly from his chest and stomach.
Rado fell to his knees, screaming in agony. Tyram raised a fist to end the fight with a knockout blow, but a thought made him hesitate.
I should kill him.
But he's completely helpless.
But if I let him live, and he heals, he'll attack the village again. I can't tie him up for the enforcers because I still don't know what they're up to.
But he's helpless.
That's not why you don't want to.
No, Tyram remembered the feeling of Rado's bloody ears in his fingers. No, no it isn't.
He hesitated a second too long and the ground opened up beneath the bandit's feet, swallowing him up. Tyram whirled, looking for any sign of Rado's reemergence, but the field was still and calm until the bandit exploded from the ground at Tyram's feet. Rather than open another door he'd headbutted up through the dirt. He breached like a shark and sank his teeth into the meat of Tyram's calf. The knight shouted in pain and instinctively kicked at the bandit's skull.
There was a loud crack and Rado went limp, his neck broken into splinters, and his head and shoulders slumped to the ground in death only a few inches out of the hole.