Titan trees - Dusk

“Discuss what?” I question Richard as he heals me.

“Discuss all of this, the reason you’re acting so hardheaded, and about what happened when I got poisoned.”

“Why, don’t you see that we’re in the middle of some shit?”

“Marie’s keeping him distracted while Nunnalé helps her traverse tree-top-to-tree-top.”

“So that’s who’s shooting.” Marie probably read the letter before I got it, so it makes sense how she knows where I went. “Still, why did you come here? If you get caught up in the crossfire, you’ll--”

“Please, you don’t have to tell me that. I know what could happen.”

“You idiot, then you should get the hell out of here!”

“I’m the idiot? Look at yourself!”

“What for!?”

“You’re the one who came here by himself, even when it was an obvious trap!”

“That’s because--”

“. . .Cause you to want to prove yourself, or something as moronic as that!”

My throat tightens up, he nailed what I was about to say.

“How did you. . .”

“Let me ask you something: why are you fighting?”

“H-huh? That’s obvious, so I can beat this guy!”

“I mean in general, why do you go out and fight?”

“Easy, because I want to.”

“I don’t think so. . .is it because you want to grow stronger? Is it because you think you’re weak?” How the hell does he know this stuff? “Wanna know how I know how you feel?”

“How?”

“Because that’s how I felt when I saw you and Nunnlé fighting to protect me. Cause that’s how I felt after I heard what you and Nunnalé did to save me.”

“That’s. . .”

“I felt as if I was just a burden onto you guys. As if me being here is just causing all of you trouble. So that's why I want to learn to control my abilities, so I can aid you all in battle if I need to. And I can’t do that if I slow down, so that’s why I keep going.”

I never knew he felt like that. He's never been a burden to me, I never thought of him as such and never will. But still. . .

“But that’s different.”

“Why is it?”

“Because I’m supposed to be able to protect us, I’m supposed to be strong! I promised that I would get us home, and protect you while doing so. Yet, you had to save me from getting hit by that giant ass spider! I should’ve been able to take care of myself, yet you pushed me out of the way of it. Don’t you get that, I nearly got you killed; the guy who was supposed to keep that from happening. And I only keep losing to opponents that I needed to beat, like Cade, the guy who was controlling that spider, and Willy. I thought if I could just beat Willy on my own I’d be able to prove that I’m not weak. But in the end, I was outdone again. If I can’t beat any of these guys, then what’s even the point? It’s just like Nunnalé said: I’m not strong enough.”

The truth finally comes to light, and everything is clear. I tried to run away from the fact for far too long, but no matter how far I got it wouldn’t matter; I’m just weak. My pride, ego, self-worth. . .All of it is worth a damn.

“Proxy, I don’t think you’re weak!” Richard crashes my pity party with an encouraging tone.

“What?”

“I don’t think you’re weak at all.”

“But. . .”

“Just let me finish!” His voice takes on an aggressive tone. Shocked isn’t serviceable to tell you how it feels. “Proxy, I don’t know what it’s like being strong, and I probably never will. Yet, I don’t care to be. But when I look at you, your courage is always admirable, even if it’s misplaced at times. But I don’t think that’s the best thing you have. It’s the kindness and bravery inside you.”

“My kindness and bravery?”

“When we first came to this world, I was freaking out and I even had a breakdown. But you calmed me down. Because of you, I was able to keep going, and because of that, I didn’t want to let you down. But that wasn’t the only reason. Back in the Hell Mine, Nunnalé took a blow for me. It was bad, her stomach got torn open. Luckily, her healing ability prevented her from dying. Yet, I have nightmares about it, it always comes back to me, flashing itself in my mind as I’m helpless to do anything about it. It was awful, and I never want anything like that to happen again. So do you get it, I understand how you feel, but even so, I know I can’t do it alone, so that’s why I want to fight by your side, cause if we have each other’s back, then we can accomplish anything. But that can only happen if you’re willing to let me help you, so what do you say?”

"But I’m not that strong.”

“Then stop complaining and get stronger, and we’ll all be by your side while you do so!”

There’s a brimming determination in his voice that sounds stronger than I have ever heard it before in him. It's almost humiliating.

Damn man, I’m kind of on the verge of tears on that one. I lost against only one person in NewPort before, so it’s not like I never lost. But, I never had to suffer heavy consequences for it before. I wanted more strength to protect Richard and to never feel the sense of despair that I felt when he got poisoned ever again. But I felt it again when Cade was going to kill Marie, and today when I was going to die. It’s a disgusting feeling that I can never shake, no matter what I did. When Willy was about to put a hole in my forehead I just gave up. However, here comes Richard, telling me to get my shit into gear. . .Damn, how the tables turn.

“Man, I probably look really pathetic, huh?”

“Kind of, but I'm not one to judge.” An explosion goes off without warning. Did Willy do something!? “The girls might be in trouble! Proxy, we need to--”

“I know, you don’t have to tell me. Let’s go kick this dude’s ass!”

“Right!”

Without any more delays, we rush off to the girls.

“Proxy, there’s something else I wanted to tell you.”

“Yeah?”

“I wanted to say I’m sorry, for never asking how you were feeling. I was caught up in my stuff and Nunnalé."

"It's good, I did the same thing, and that kind of wasn't cool."

"I guess we just gotta do better."

"I guess so. But first, we have to handle Willy."

"Right!"

We arrive back at the part of the forest where we left Willy and the girls. Up ahead, we can see black smoke.

"Can you sense them?" I ask Richard.

"No, I can't do that."

"Then stick with me."

"Not gonna tell me to stand back."

"You kidding, you'd tell me you'd want to help. Besides, I need someone to heal me if I get injured."

"Of course."

We move in towards the area where the black smoke is coming from. Finally making it, there are pieces from a tree splintered all over the place. The upper part of the tree is laying on the ground.

"Where are they?"

As I'm about to call their names, I remember that's how Willy was able to track me. I need to keep my mouth shut if we want to stand a chance against him. Another explosion goes off, west from here this time, and not too far.

"Richard!"

"Let's go."

We run faster to catch up to them, we're able to make it before Willy and the girls can change locations. Willy notices the both of us approaching him. He points duel bow gauntlets at us.

"Move around!"

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On my command, Richard breaks off from me and moves to the left, I go right. He's shooting arrows at me but I dodge them without any problem. Not this time asshole, I'm paying attention, with or without my senses! Nunnalé jumps from the tree to attack from above, but he sees her attempt and evades the attack. Now he's surrounded on three sides.

"Master Richard, are you okay!?"

"I am, what about you and Marie!?"

"We did not sustain any injuries."

"Good."

"Looks like you're trapped, Willy! Whatcha gonna do now?"

Marie aims an arrow for his back. "Don't even think about moving, Willy the hunter!"

"Damn, guess I got myself in a sticky situation."

"We're not gonna let you get away," I tell him.

"Come on, boy, don'tcha know how dis ended last time?"

Last time. . .Oh shit!

"Guys, he's gonna throw a smoke!"

Right when I said it, he did just that. Like last time, white smoke surrounds the area. I'm not letting him get away. Moving past the smoke, I can see him running away. I run after him, I'm not letting him get away this time. He got a head start, but I can close the gap if I push it. He throws down another smoke. I immediately catch up to where he threw it. I circle it just to make sure he didn't run out of it. That means he's still inside. But then I would play right into his hands, so I'll wait for it to disappear. Unless that's what he wants. He knows I'll be able to stop any ambush he makes on me, so why would he wait inside. . .Unless he's not in there! There, I sense something coming from above. I roll out of the way.

"Looks like ya ain't as dumb as I thought. I thought ya go in there."

"I'm not gonna play into your traps, you rat bastard!"

"Then I guess I'll have to gut ya quick then."

Willy's coming at me with a knife in his hand. His left hand is in his cape. I move towards him with the intent to dodge his first attack. The hand in cape juts out with a knife. I evade the attack by moving around his right side. I guessed right to keep an eye on his left hand. Still, that must be where some - if not - most of his gadgets come from. I need to get rid of it. I doubt I can just rip it off, he's probably got that thing on tight. Just then, I see Nunnalé and Marie arrive on a tree. I quickly give them a subtle hand signal to wait, we need to coordinate a plan. I rush Willy, he's got something I need and I know where it is on his body. He's going for a sideways kick but that's just gonna play to my advantage. Before it hits, I jump over it. I place my left hand on his shoulder and reach for what I need from his cape. Got it! As I push off his shoulders, I throw what I just took from him; a smoke grenade. White smoke obscures both of us from each other. Now I can talk to the others real quick.

"Proxy, how are you holding up?" Marie asks me as she helps me up the tree. Richard is on Nunnalé's back.

"I'm fine. Listen, we need to deal with his cape, that's where most of his gear might be."

"Seems plausible, do you have a way to do that?" Richard presses me for more details.

"Simple. . ."

…

The smoke is dispersing, Willy is still in the middle of the area. He's facing me down with his gauntlet.

"Nice lil trick ya pulled there, but dis ends now," Willy says, his voice a bit more gruff than usual.

"What's the matter, not having fun anymore."

"Nah, dis just startin' to get old, so I think we oughta end it."

"I agree, we should end this. Though, you're not the one who's winning. We are."

"We?"

Richard, who snuck behind him while we were talking, pulls on Willy's cape. I make my move before Willy is able. I grab his arms, then I plant my feet on his chest, stretching his arms out. The cape is stretched out enough to be cut. A couple of arrows find their mark in his cape. They're to act as a mark for where our last player is to strike.

"Now Nunnalé!" Richard's signal has Nunnalé descend from the tree we're under. She cuts at the cape where the arrows are, tearing them and the cape apart. Willy's gear plops on the ground. The shock on his face is glorious. Now, it's time for the finale. I take my feet off his chest and I kick his face in. He stumbles backward from it, towards Richard. He delivers a punch to Willy's face. Marie comes from the tree to kick his chest. Then Nunnalé delivers the final punch that sends him rolling towards the tree in front of her and behind Marie, who takes a knife out and points it at him.

"You're defeated, Willy the hunter."

"Whatcha gonna do now, partner," I mock him as I imitate his accent.

"Congrats, boy, ya got me," he says with a smug look, but I can hear the irritation in his voice. "Ya gonna kill me?"

"Depends, did you encounter your other bounty," Marie interrogates him, her voice cold as ice and sharp as a knife.

"The blondie? Nah, was gonna kill him after the kid."

"Blondie? Wait, does he mean. . .?"

"Alexander is the other bounty, not Richard," Marie clears up.

"So dat's his name?"

"Silence! Next: how much do you know about us?"

"'Bout your lil army? I know what I've heard from villages and people you helped. Told me lots about ya, but most importantly, 'bout the boy there, and Alexander."

"Does anyone else know about us?"

"Nah, they're too brain dead to put the pieces together. But with da way y'all goin', The Fire Wraiths are bound to come down hard on ya."

"Thanks for the advice. Since you were so kind to answer. all my questions, I'll leave you with a light tap."

"Don't think so, lil lady. My partner over there says otherwise."

He points behind us. We turn our attention towards that direction. Nobody is there. Marie suddenly lets out a pain-filled grunt. Marie is on the ground while Willy is holding another smoke bomb.

"See ya."

"Don't let him get away!"

Nunnalé immediately makes her move right when Willy throws the bomb to the ground. White smoke covers the area once again.

"ARGGG!"

A monstrous scream emanates from within the smoke, sending a shiver down my spine. It sounded like Willy. Did Nunnalé get him? In any case, I move through the fog, so I can find Marie. I spot her sitting upon the ground.

"You okay," I ask her.

"I'm good. That bastard got the jump on me when I wasn't paying attention."

"One clever guy, I'll give him that."

Even when it seems like he's cornered he's got a trick up his sleeve. Guess if you're still alive, then you should do what you can to keep going.

"Master Richard, he got away."

Nunnalé approaches us from chasing Willy.

"How did he get away?"

"He deployed a smokescreen. He must have hidden out of sight of me. He's quite adept at retreating."

"I see."

"However, I did injure him."

"In what way."

"I blinded him in one eye," she taps her right eye.

"Damn, hard-freaking-core!"

"Well, at least he's heavily injured, so he might back off for a while," Richard states.

"So, we did it. . .We fended off Willy the hunter," Marie cheers.

"We did," I cheered along with her.

"We've beaten Willy the hunter!"

"Yeah!"

Marie and I put our arms on the other's shoulders and we begin to dance.

"We did it, we did it, we did it!"

Hell yeah, I got to kick his smug ass face in! Feeling really freaking good! Though, I can't just praise myself.

"Yo, you guys," I call their attention, my voice lowered.

"Yeah," Marie responds

"I. . .uh, I just want to say. . .thanks, for helping me. I couldn't have done it without you guys."

A feeling is surging inside of me. My face is on fire. What the hell is going on with me?

"Ha, look, Proxy is blushing," Marie calls out.

"H-huh!?"

"Oh my, he is."

"Master Richard, Proxy's face is red."

"What the hell, why would I be blushing!? You guys are just seeing. . ."

Nunnalé pokes my cheek. I jump back from the surprise contact.

"What the hell are you doing," I demand an answer, my voice just happens to crack, making this even more embarrassing.

"What a cute voice," Marie mockingly compliments me.

Richard turns his face away to hide the fact he's laughing.

"Your cheeks were warm," Nunnalé says.

"What!?"

"Really, I wanna feel em'."

Marie and Nunnalé slowly approach me.

"Stay away from me!"

"Nunnalé, get him!"

"Yes!"

"Nooo! Richard, buddy, save me!"

"Sorry, but this is too funny."

"You traitor!"

Thus, begins a chase that would become a struggle for survival for me. Today taught me that it's not a bad thing to rely on others when the going gets tough. But I also realize something else: I need to keep going, even if I lose, I'll just keep going. I'm gonna learn from how Willy outdid me today, and when I meet Cade, and that fur coat weirdo again, I'll be ready. Until then, I have to survive these cheek-poking addicts.

Kingdom of humanity - bounty hunter bar - evening

Willy, who has taken quite the loss, stumbles into the hunter's bar. All eyes are on him, everyone gazing at his permanent injury. His right-eye has been sliced upward by Nunnalé's sword before he could make his escape. He has it wrapped in a white cloth, blood staining the cloth. Naturally, he's having a bit of trouble with his new-found disability. As for everyone in the bar, they share whispers about Willy's eye; some speculate that the battle was hard-fought, others are saying he's getting sloppy. But everyone in the bar has come to the same conclusion: he didn't fulfill the request yet.

"So, Willy the hunter has been majorly injured?" The arrogant swordsman from last time shows himself in front of Willy, who takes a seat on one of the empty tables. "It appears you are having a difficult time with this bounty. Say, since you're having trouble, I'll lend you my aid. Naturally, I'll take a percentage of your earnings. Perhaps 60-40. I believe that's a fair enough deal because you attacked me before. But, when you are as strong as I am, petty things are beyond you. So, does this not sound. . .lucrative for both parties?"

Willy does not respond to the swordsman's nonsense. He simply gets up and leaves him in the seat alone. This triggers a nerve in the swordsman. Willy's cold shoulder tells the swordsman that his deals and self-proclamations of greatness are trivial to Willy. And after the last time, he couldn't stand it, he must act.

"You fool, how dare you ignore me!? I am offering you aid and you dare walk away from me?"

". . .Cause it's worthless," Willy responds, his patience for the swordsman has run dry.

"What?"

"I said your help, and even yourself is worthless to me, so shut your trap."

That did it, that's it for the Swordsman's patience. He takes out his greatsword to slice Willy's head open. However, he easily moves out of the and gets behind his opponent. He takes out a knife and slices at his legs. One cut for each leg is all it takes for him to fall to his knees. Willy shuts up his enemy before he can scream. He points his knife to his throat.

"Words are worthless, ya hear? Ya rank as a hunter, ya big sword, who ya are means nothin' to me. I can end it all for ya with a simple swipe. . .But what would dat prove?" Willy holds his head up, squeezing it as he holds it. "Now listen up, I want y'all to hear me now: Those jobs from the king, are mine! If any of ya try to go for it, I'll just kill ya, okay?" Willy ends his sentence as he lets out a small giggle.

Everyone in the bar freezes up from Willy's declaration. The people who were beginning to think less of him are now realizing that their early assumptions are beyond wrong.

Some of the bounty hunters in the bar used to be knights before Relius' rule, while the war between the kingdom and the outside raged on, a troupe was sent to destroy the main base where the kingdom's enemies converged from. 150 men were composed of this troupe. Only 40 of them came back. However, in this troupe were 8 soldiers, each of them being the best of the best, elite among the knights. If they were not in that group of knights, the kingdom would have lost the war. Willy was a part of this troupe, and during his time with them, he was known as "the savage hunter". And right now, those who know that name are seeing the savage hunter that preyed on his foes making a return.