Path To Divinity
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Holy Crap
- Posts: 15930
- Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2008 7:54 am
- Location: I AM OMNIPRESENT! (Just like God, only better, because I exist)
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Re: Path To Divinity
zay, you're bugging me. everytime you post here i think "please be an update please be an update please be an update please be an update"...and then it's not. also, there is no excuse for your low self esteem. you and also bray seriously need to be more optimistic.
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Termonaptir
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Re: Path To Divinity
Heheh... I guess we're all looking forward to Zay's update... 
And I've just had some damaged memories of my past. Of course - I'll eventually get over it.
Zay, you're pretty good at hiding your low self-esteem... Honest. I should seriously work harder.
I can't believe how short of a time I've known you, and you've already given me so much inspiration for my daily duties in life. Thank you so much...
And I've just had some damaged memories of my past. Of course - I'll eventually get over it. Zay, you're pretty good at hiding your low self-esteem... Honest. I should seriously work harder.
I can't believe how short of a time I've known you, and you've already given me so much inspiration for my daily duties in life. Thank you so much...-
Zay-el
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- Location: Coming to a cinema near you! XD
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Re: Path To Divinity
Here's the promised update finally! 8D I overdid myself a bit again, so expect a LOOOONG reading. For everyone's comfort, I'm gonna split it into two...which will make Chapter 6 have 6 parts altogether...rather ironic. XP
Anyway, without further ado, here's the next part. 83
WARNING: As I mentioned earlier, this chapter gets pretty violent at some points. Read with care. I guarantee though that you'll have to pick your chins up from the floor by the end. XD
Part 5
“You have no true idea what an abomination you are.”
“...I don't understand...” he shook his head lightly, confusion apparent on his strained face.
“So many things you don't know about yourself...you were raised like a fairy, but in reality, you're something much worse than them.”
“What are you talking about? I'm the son of a fairy, what would I be if not one myself?” he muttered, not understanding what he had meant. Worse than fairies? Why would he be worse than his own kin?
“You will be the death of everyone...and the beginning that has yet to come, even less waited.”
“Y-you can't be serious...what do you mean by death and beginning? And what does this have to do with me?”
“I can't fight against what must come to pass...your future is already set, what must happen is inevitable. Thus, I will have to suffice...with your past.”
“...my past?” he repeated, his eyes widening slightly. He suddenly understood what he had meant by that.
His eyes sprung open, only to be closed again a moment later, stinging from the sudden light. He felt strangely numb and hurt all over, his last conscious memory about a huge tail...and the pain following it. He was still alive however, thus he guessed he might not be in such a big trouble as he first expected.
Opening his eyes again, he rose a tiny bit, only to fall back with a both frightened and pained cry. His chest suddenly began to ache terribly, making him reconsider his earlier thought about feeling all right. I'm lucky if I didn't break a rib... But what unsettled him even more than the pain, was the fact that he finally realized his surroundings.
About a dozen spiders were around him in a circle, some of them awakening to his cry and glaring at him with a hungry expression, but not making a single move towards him. That didn't much calm the boy though. As he glanced aside however, he saw something that truly made his blood freeze.
On a large, clear spot, surrounded by hundreds of glinting crystals of all shape and form, was a creature so large Salian had never encountered before. It surpassed even Clark, though the giant wasn't a small one either, but this one was just plain huge! To his momentary luck however, the creature was asleep, snoring loudly.
He carefully examined the monster from a distance, trying to relate it to something he had heard of. The beast was an enormous scorpion, his large head resting on two scissors that were about sharp enough to cut him in half with ease. Even the yellow ridges on top of his head added to this rather violent look.
His two cruel, black eyes were luckily closed, saving the boy from having to see them. In his sleep, he almost looked peaceful, unlike the horrendous predator he really was. However, Salian's mind clicked, and he already related the skeletons he had found to this creature...he was only a few yards away from a true killer.
The thick shell that covered him seemed to glint in the bright light the crystals were giving. Its strange purple-red colour looked rather strange to Salian, but he had to admit, amongst the caverns and crystals, he blended in perfectly. His large tail was curled up around him, the deadliest of weapons showing off at its end; a huge spike, which the boy guessed could break through any solid object.
Concerning the tail's length and already apparent power, the boy was surprised of the fact that he was still alive. What he could remember, assured him that the scorpion had probably held himself back...if it had been a full-powered strike, he wouldn't had woken up. Knowing he had to think of something fast, he tried to get up to his feet.
If it hadn't been for the sleeping scorpion, he would have screamed endlessly for Rayman, hoping the limbless was alive and searching for him. In reality though...he was starting to exchange glances with the fact that his dearest friend might not be amongst the living any more.
“NO!” he growled audibly to himself, only realizing a moment later that he was talking to himself, mainly because a spider let out a sharp hiss, its saliva bursting out in small droplets.
Salian only had a moment to acknowledge that as the next moment, a searing pain went off in his leg, as single drop of the beast's spit hit his ankle. He quickly pulled back his leg, literally stuffing his knuckle into his mouth to prevent himself from crying out, tears running down his face as the liquid practically charred his left foot.
The spider snickered a bit and lied back on the ground, satisfied with its work. Salian dropped on the ground, his hands lightly hovering over the wound now, trying to keep at least the air from further burning it. He watched through flowing eyes as the creature's saliva ate itself through the rocky-dusty ground, like pure acid.
Setting his teeth, he quickly examined his ankle. To his luck, the droplet only streamed a little, before dripping on the ground, leaving about an inch long burn. He knew well he was lucky...if the droplet had went through his foot, instead of just running along the surface, he doubted he could have suppressed screaming.
He panted heavily from the pain, his tears drying up slowly. He hissed sharply as the air just barely touched the burn, renewing the agony. The boy could barely hold back a cry, only letting out a quiet whimper, not wanting for the rest of the spiders to commence a similar attack on him.
In a few minutes, the pain eased enough so he could once again think straight. He couldn't really get up to his feet, thus he was left to a sitting-crawl. It became apparent to him that the spiders were not...allowed to directly harm him. The boy guessed that might have been the work of the scorpion, which he could even name now. After thinking back, he realized this creature had to be Skops, the monster Rayman faced all those years ago.
As to why he was spared...he had no idea. He could only guess the beast wanted him for himself, which wasn't a too flattering thought, since that meant his minutes were numbered. Still, he acknowledged that he basically had a two-yard diameter circle where he could freely move around. If he got too close to the edge, the closest spiders began to growl and hiss, a little of their saliva dripping down, instantly making him retreat.
His situation truly seemed without any chance of survival...he couldn't get away, he couldn't fight and it was only a matter of time, before Skops would awaken to finish the job he started. He got back into the middle of the circle and sighed, pulling his knees up a bit. He knew he was hopeless now...he only thought about how he missed his mother and his friends.
He slowly remembered all the tender moments he had with his mother, all the games they've played, all the stories she told, all the times she comforted him. He'd miss her a lot...the way she always smiled at him, cared for him, even if it was just so much as a kiss on his forehead, or nurturing him when he was sick.
Once, when he was only about seven, he caught some kind of nasty illness and was in bed for nearly a week already. His fever was high all the time, his body sore and numb all over, rendering him unable to walk. A Teensie doctor, whom he only remembered because of the strange way he pronounced the 'r's, put him quarantine, so Ly couldn't even visit him.
He knew from Betilla that his playmate kept asking every single hour as to how he was doing. Shya tended to him non-stop, never leaving him alone for more than half an hour. Despite her best tries though, his fever just didn't want to go down. She was beginning to seriously fear for his life, even more since though fairy magic was effective against injuries, they couldn't battle illnesses too well.
One night, when he awoke from yet another feverish nightmare, she was once again comforting him gently; sad over the way he was tormented by the sickness. Finally, going against the doctor's advice, she lied down next to the boy and embraced him as he tried to fall back asleep. She didn't care about the illness, only for his son's welfare. She kept on singing lullabies and telling him stories until very late into the night, finally both of them dozing off.
Her caring did the job though...by the dawn of morning; he was once again as healthy as one could be. He missed her terribly, knowing she had to be dead worried about him. He was almost sure he'd never see her again and the feeling itself was hard to swallow. He was still so young...a whole life would have been ahead of him and instead, he was going to die at the scissors of a huge scorpion, far from his friends and family.
He suddenly felt something cool drop on his head, making him flinch. At first, he thought it was a spider yet again and promptly panicked, awaiting the agony as it would burn right through his head. He covered himself quickly only to feel even more droplets. I was wrong...I'm going to die NOW!
However, the drops didn't burn...not even after a few moments. Salian blinked in confusion, loosening his cover a bit. The droplets ran down from the top of his head onto his face, travelling downwards to his chin. As it briefly ran along his mouth, he decided to take a chance and put out his tongue, tasting it.
His eyes widened to a double as he realized this wasn't acidic or anything...it was just plain water. It can't be... He glanced upward, but only managed to catch a glimpse of a dispersing cloud. Nevertheless, that was more than enough to raise his hopes. He looked around, and could see a slight trail left by the tiny little cloud, luckily avoiding awakening the spiders.
As Salian raised his sight to see where it came from, he was met with a gaze he didn't dare expect to see so soon again. The short, but determined form of a person, who lacked limbs, but not brain and brawns...the one who he truly considered a brother...Rayman. The limbless was alive before his eyes and somehow at this moment, it seemed to the boy as though his friend was equal or even superior to Skops, like a giant compared to a bug.
“Ra-” the boy barely realized himself, and quickly covered his mouth, muffling his sudden exclamation.
The spider closest to him slowly opened its eyes, stirred from its sleep. Salian's eyes widened from the fear as the creature slowly shook its head and glared at him. For a moment, the boy thought the beast would spit towards him, but it seemed like it was too tired for that. After a few moments of growling, it lied down again, falling asleep once more.
The second it was asleep again, Sal glanced up quickly...only to see nothing but the dark. But...he was...I saw him! He felt his eyes watering, desperation overflowing in his heart. Before it would suddenly burst out of him though, a form once again stepped into sight in the distance, accompanied by another one!
A broad smile appeared on the boy's stained face as he recognised Globox next to Rayman, though the smile instantly weakened as he saw the glute was holding Ly in his arms. Oh, please no... His greatest fear was not confirmed however, as the fairy raised her hand slightly; a sign she was alive...if not fully well.
Salian was tempted to ask somehow as to what happened, but Rayman started gesturing something, diverting his thoughts immediately. He didn't catch the beginning, thus he waved his arms a bit to show he didn't get it. The limbless seemed to nod and started over. Though it wasn't easy, the boy watched closely, trying to understand what his friend wanted to tell him.
The limbless seemed to point at himself, then showing a thumbs-up...obviously informing him he was okay. He pointed next at Salian, asking for his condition. Though the boy wanted to say he was all right, the pulsing pain in his ankle was an effective method to keep him from lying. Thinking over the manoeuvre first, he pointed at his injured leg and waved with both arms.
Rayman seemed to nod in the distance, and looked around, probably devising a plan as fast as he could. It took a good five minutes until he finally came up with something, and got into quick discussion with Globox. Salian watched with trepidations as they talked, both nodding finally.
He literally had to force himself to suppress a cry as the suddenly turned and left. For a single moment, a horrible thought crept over him...the doubt that they just left him to his death. His hands clenched involuntarily, the feeling of total desperation governing over him again. No! They'd never leave me, I know they wouldn't!
“...something that should have never been found, instead, destroyed upon discovered.”
Maybe this is what's happening now? They...they're abandoning me...what if Mister Dark told them something? Do...do they truly think I'm a monster...someone who should be left to die? He closed his eyes shut, holding back the tears that wanted to escape the confinement of his eyes. They couldn't...they wouldn't...no...
...of course they wouldn't. We've been friends for nearly a decade...and nothing, NOTHING that Dark lied would convince them to leave me! He opened his eyes again, not a spark, but a whole inferno of belief and trust burning in his eyes. He didn't just hope to be rescued by them...he knew they would.
And he wasn't wrong at all. In the distance, he could see a fog slowly growing, getting larger and thicker by the moment. Globox... He was definite this was the glute's work. A smile formed on his face once again. They're coming...
A rock suddenly flew through the cavern, landing on top of a sleeping spider's head. The creature hissed loudly, groggily getting on its suckers. It glared into the direction where the fog was still thickening, letting out a sharp hiss. For a moment, Sal got scared that Skops might awaken as well, but the age-old scorpion didn't even flinch.
The rest of the spiders however awakened from the hiss, slowly pulling themselves together, not one of them smacked on the head by the first. Just then, even the boy could clearly make out Globox's form for a moment through the fog, before it disappeared...but it didn't go unnoticed to the spiders either.
At this point, Salian was worried whether Rayman's plan was already failing. The dozen spiders seemed to talk amongst each other with strange screeching sounds, before finally coming to an agreement. He suddenly felt a large push on his back as one of them knocked him to the ground, jumping on his back. He shivered as the creature hissed close to his ear, and thought it would let its acidic saliva burn the life out of him, but that didn't happen. It just kept its place, guarding him so he wouldn't escape.
The remaining ones got in a row and headed towards the glute as one. Salian's heart continued to sink as they closed to the fog, where Globox was hiding, probably with Ly as well. The boy involuntarily whispered for both of them, fearing what would happen if their plan wasn't well developed. Rayman couldn't possibly hope to fight against so many spiders without endangering Globox or Ly, fog or not.
He watched helplessly as the spiders got enveloped slowly in the fog. He closed his eyes, not wanting to hear or see what would happen now. A low shriek tore through the air suddenly, dying away fast...and it belonged to neither the glute nor the fairy. Salian's eyes sprung open, only to see only three spider-like silhouettes, which began to back away from the fog.
However, it suddenly started raining, and it didn't take long before the rest of those forms vanished. Both Salian and the spider watched dumbfounded as the fog began to clear, revealing Globox and Ly, perfectly untouched. The stillness only lasted for a single moment though as suddenly a large thump echoed, and Salian could move once again.
His gaze quickly turned to see what happened, though he had only caught the finishing move as Rayman crunched the spider's skull. The blow made the boy wince slightly, even though he knew the beast wouldn't have given them a chance either. The limbless didn't seem too proud of his work either, kicking the lifeless carcass away with a disgusted look.
As he turned to Salian however, his expression instantly changed. The boy couldn't even read all of the emotions his face was showing: relief, pride, hope, happiness, joy...and on top of all those, a smile that Salian doubted he'd ever see again. The two moved at the same time, enveloping each other in a brotherly hug. The limbless patted his back, a little harder than he probably wanted, but the boy didn't mind it at all. After going through all hell, he could easily stand a sore back from his best friend.
“I've asked myself about a million times whether it was the right choice to leave you like that...” Rayman sighed tiredly, a large amount of relief in his voice.
“I thought you sacrificed yourself...I didn't know what to do at first.” Salian patted the limbless' back too, smiling. He suddenly remembered something that made his heart sink a bit. “What happened to Ly?” he asked, his voice lowering to nearly a whimper.
Rayman awaited this question, ever since he saw the boy. He wasn't even tempted to lie about it...if anyone, Sal deserved the truth. “She got hit by a splinter...” he explained. “I had to take it out. The wound is pretty bad, but she'll pull through...if she won't try to move it again that is...” he scowled a bit at the last part. As he reached upwards, he briefly passed over the makeshift bandage the boy had wrapped around his neck. “What's this?” he asked, eyes widening with surprise.
“This?” Salian let go of Rayman, tying out the knot of his torn sleeve. The limbless' looked even more startled to see blood on the cloth, and fell completely silent as the boy showed the claw-mark. His friend reached out, hovering over the wound. “Mister Dark somehow found a way to actually hurt me through those...visions.” he explained before the limbless could ask.
His friend examined the cut without a word, though the fury burning in his eyes spoke more than anything. Finished, the limbless gently tied it back around his neck. “I'm getting you out of here, right now.” he stated, not intending to stop until he was true to these words.
Then it all blurred into chaos suddenly. The two heard Globox crying them a warning, alerting them both. They glanced up, only to see a huge bolt of energy going down towards them. Ray acted at once and injured leg or no, tossed Salian away, along with himself. The blast exploded only a few feet from them, sending the duo tumbling the next couple of yards.
Sal managed to raise his head lightly off the ground after landing, only for a horrific scream to burst out him. Skops, the monster who had seemed to have slept through the reunification...was not as asleep as they thought he was. He slowly rose from his crystal-infested nest, even his shadow covering a huge ground around them. As the scorpion glared at them with his huge eyes, Salian's blood nearly froze.
The creature was enormous; even bigger than the boy first thought. He suddenly moved, digging his scissors into the ground a bit and letting out a loud roar, which shattered some of the smaller rock around, nearly deafening the duo in front of him. Salian was shaking all over, while Skops towered over them, the noise of low rustling sounding from behind him.
Rayman had only got up from the ground just then, but he already recognised that noise. Without wasting the time to alert Salian, he merely lunged at him, sending them tumbling away again. Only a moment later, the ground shook a bit under them as Skops buried his humongous tail into the ground, right where they were a second ago.
“Come on, quick!” the limbless didn't waste any time, quickly helping Salian up. He glanced towards Globox and Ly, suddenly finding himself in a losing situation. He didn't want to lure Skops to them, but he couldn't stay either. “There!” he cried, pointing towards he scorpion's crystalline nest.
Skops let out another roar, trying to pull his tail out of the ground while the two runaway preys scurried towards his den. They took refuge behind a large crystal, waiting quietly as the king of predators struggled. The limbless instructed Salian to keep silent and raised his clenched fist a bit, a faint light already gathering in it.
Rayman was highly troubled by the scorpion. He couldn't pinpoint what the core of his bad feelings were, but he was definite something was wrong about Skops. He caught his gaze for a few moments already and the look of the monster downright horrified him. The Skops he knew had feelings, desires, dreams, fears even if very primitive ones...this had only hatred and hunger.
Both flinched as they heard their hunter finally freeing himself. The boy closed his eyes as the loud thumps of the beast echoed around, coming closer and closer. Rayman kept waiting, pooling every bit of power he had left, into his fists. He had to realize he was becoming weak, their long roaming taking its toll on him too.
They could feel it on their skin as the scorpion's gaze travelled at them, melting their skin off even through their shallow defence. Skops' shadow gave away his plan as he raised one of his scissors, ready to slam down at them, shattering both the crystal and squishing the two friends to an unidentifiable pulp.
Suddenly, Rayman sprung out from behind their crude barrier, his form emitting the kind of raw power he was known for. Without a word or anything, he extended his hands, palms towards Skops. The scorpion didn't seem fazed by the tiny light his hands were giving off and just began to growl, ready to strike with his scissor.
Just as he would have made the killing move, Rayman's hands flared up with twice the intensity as before. The light centred in the middle of his open palms, a bright shine covering the air around it, before the whole bundle of energy finally formed one of his well-known power spheres. Not wasting even a tiny moment, he let the sphere leave the comfort of his open hands, shooting towards Skops.
The monster only had time for his eyes to widen before the sphere impacted, right into his face. Skops let out a roar of pain, stumbling backwards, making the ground shake again. He covered his burning face with his scissors, howling in huge agony. Rayman only let himself smirk a tiny bit, before pulling on Salian to get moving. The boy was limp at first, but he finally complied, going after his friend.
Skops roared in both pain and hatred, his voice echoing off the cavern walls, going through every hole and tunnel, reaching into the far ends of the cave-system. The two scurried towards Globox, hoping he wouldn't riposte after a blast like that. They were very wrong to think such a shot could immobile a creature of such age and power.
Ignoring the stinging pain of his charred face, Skops lunged towards the two, landing just behind them. The duo flew into the air for a moment from the impact, landing on the ground once again. He raised one of his scissors, and only Rayman's infamous reflexes saved the limbless' life. By the time it hit the ground, he was already helping up Salian so they could make a run for it.
“Quick!” he hissed, using himself as leverage for the thoroughly sore boy.
He was suddenly alerted by a sharp cry, quickly followed by one from the opposite gender. Ray whipped his head to the side and felt his heart hit an all time low. Using Globox's powers to their advantage, they managed to get rid of the spiders that held Salian captive...but not those that to had just appeared behind the glute.
The newcomers slowly pushed Globox and Ly into the cavern, blocking any escape routes. There were at least twice as Sal's captors, each of them glaring at them with a bloodthirsty look. The fairy grasped the retreating glute tightly, trembling all over. Despite knowing they'd be trapped if he continued to fall back, he had no choice. Even if he would try to break through them, he certainly couldn't do it with Ly without seriously jeopardizing her life.
A moment's distraction was all Skops needed on the other hand. He counted well...his roar stirred up the cave-system, attracting the spiders who all hoped to get a little of whatever the predator was preying for. Not intending to waste the opportunity, Skops made his move. Utilizing his tail as Rayman wasn't paying full attention to him; he quickly launched it towards the limbless. Once he flinched and gazed at the scorpion, it was already too late to make a move.
“Ray!!” Salian cried as the tail coiled around the limbless' torso and tore him away from his side.
The limbless wasn't a revered hero for nothing though, and he quickly made his own move. Collecting his strength, he struck down at the tail holding him, only to recoil with a sharp hiss. Hitting the scorpion's thick shell was like trying to knock down the Fairy Council bare-handed. His fists ached from the failed hit, while Skops didn't even flinch, his gaze diverted to Salian.
“Sal, get away from here! Run!” Rayman roared; his voice twisting into a pained cry as Skops began to coil tighter around him.
The boy had half of his mind to try and help his friend, but he knew he couldn't do anything against a creature of this power. Nevertheless, he finally obeyed his friend and got up from the ground, preparing to make a run for it. He spotted a tunnel not far, and was about to call Globox and Ly to follow him, when Skops once again intervened.
Just as the boy stood up, he felt a huge punch into his back and something sharp scratching his back. He screamed and fell forward from the hit, ending up back on the ground. He could feel it shake slightly around him as the scorpion continued to thrust with his scissor, burying it into the ground, with a loud crash.
Salian felt a few small rocks fall on him, but he didn't dare to look what had happened. When he finally mustered the courage to open his eyes, he had to realize he was trapped in the middle of Skops' scissor, not giving him more than a few inches to move without risking to be cut by the razor-sharp edge.
Seeing this Rayman let out another roar; his tone a mixture of anger and agony. Despite the exponentially growing pressure as the tail slowly squished him to death, he closed his eyes, thinking hard of something. He was known to come up with useful tactics, even in stressed situations, such as this. He couldn't go reckless now...for the sake of his friends, he had to think over what to do now.
Even though the increasing pressure around his torso was affecting his logical thinking as well, he kept reasonably calm and devised an idea. He opened one eye for a moment and saw Skops leaning towards Salian, horrifying the boy with just his gaze. Rayman quickly put his plan into motion and concentrated, once again messing with his energy circulation, along with summoning energy into his hands. Once they began to glint, he glanced at Skops again, waiting for him to be in the right position.
Salian trembled as the monster slowly took up everything in his sight, not allowing him so much as close his eyes. He felt similar like in the visions Dark induced, but this time the threat was fully physical. The scorpion was right above him, glaring hungrily with his huge eyes. The boy' could see the bloodlust in the creature's eyes, adding even more to his horror. This was surely the end for him.
Suddenly, a loud roar from Ray made both of them flinch, especially Skops, since he wasn't applying more pressure at the moment. Just as he was about to look at the struggling limbless, he was met with two orbs of light. Instead of exploding like energy spheres though these merely punched into his face with great force, making the scorpion recoil in blunt pain, his hold on the limbless gone.
Rayman's fists obediently reconnected to him in mid-fall, thus he was able to suppress his landing with them. He briefly allowed himself a smirk while the light began to fade around his hands. Without waiting for the stumbling scorpion to regain his senses, he ran over to help Salian to his feet once more. His friend was still shaking all over; for which Ray didn't blame him. Skops was more than terrifying enough to scare the living daylights out of anyone.
“S-stay back!” Globox tried to shout, but it came out more like a whimper.
The glute was still in the midst of retreating from the newly arrived spiders, slowly but steadily moving into a corner, having no other choice. Ly clung tightly to the Globox, trembling from the fear, along with the glute. Regardless though, he did his best to keep her safe from any attacks, which was exactly why he was backing up, instead of trying a head-on approach. He knew he was physically strong, but even the slightest try would had made Ly an open target.
A few of the spiders cornering him from the side decided it was time to take the first bite, and began to advance on the glute. He took another few steps back, but they just kept coming. The next moment, a large flashing ball impacted before the spiders, sending the majority a few feet back, while the ones closest met with a quick, vaporising death.
“No one hurts my friends...” Rayman growled in a voice that was quite a few octaves lower than his usual.
The air around him seemed to vibrate with power, fuelled by his brightly shining fists. Without giving the creatures a chance to understand him, he summoned another sphere of energy, throwing it into the biggest pile. Quite a few of them got severely burned from the attack; some fell on the ground and never stood up again, but the majority was still alive.
Collectively, they gave off one of their all-too-known shriek-snickers, alerting the rest of their kind, as well as Skops. There was even a rather unwilling one who had joined into their cry. Ly screamed loudly, her hands set to cover her ears, nearly bleeding. Before, these cries just unsettled her a bit, but so close and so powerful, they were nearly enough to make her ears bleed.
The others seemed unsettled as well, though not nearly as much as she was, not having the same kind of senses. Fairies were blessed with very keen hearing, their sight and even sense of smell superior to other species, except the ones that were specialized in specific fields. This heightened sense however, often proved to be not only a blessing, but sometimes a curse as well.
Globox grasped her a little tighter, letting her plant her head into his tummy. Hearing only the glute's heartbeats, were much better than listening to this cacophonous catastrophe. She could feel someone help cover her other ear and she didn't need her eyes to know it was Salian. The touch of his hand was a familiar feeling, even if she hadn't felt it on her ears before; they always had that reassuring friendly feeling she adored.
The following growl though, alerted each and every creature in the cavern. Everyone glanced at Skops, only to see as the scorpion has risen once again. The spiders seemed to greet this with a cheering of their own, while Ray already began to think of a plan that could disable him for a few moments again.
He didn't get past the beginning of the plan though, as the predator raised his deadly scissors into the air, slamming down at the ground. A violent quake erupted from the impact, nearly making all of the collapse. Globox was able to stand still, even supporting Salian as he nearly fell over, while Rayman managed to quickly regain his balance after a little stumbling.
However, this was far from the end. The ground cracked at quite a few points, some of it downright collapsing. As a few holes opened, so did the temperature suddenly rise in the cavern, filling Ray with horror of realization. He knew now what was under then, the memory of trying to escape from the volcanic deathbed resurfacing.
The caves in fact, reached deep into the planet itself, partially because it gave the creatures a chance to live without being bothered, but also because the climate sometimes served especially good, mostly in the lower parts. Those were close to the very core of the planet; lava boiling underneath the ground.
And now, with Skops purposely unsettling the delicate balance again, the lava began to rise, threatening to burn everyone alive. He snapped a few times with his scissors in anger, and moved towards them again slowly, careful not to step near the cracks. The spiders had already left the group, leaving them to face Skops' wrath alone. Ray speeded up his thinking, desperately trying to find a way for them to so much as survive the next assault.
Suddenly, Ly felt something tickle her skin. It started out as just a tiny touch, but soon she as though it was pooling close around her, almost teasingly. She opened her eyes and looked around confused, fear striking into her heart as she saw Skops approaching. Both Salian and Globox seemed confused of her sudden interest, but she ignored them for the moment.
She kept on trying, but couldn't identify the feeling, when all of a sudden; it hit her like a lightning bolt. Magic... What she was feeling at the moment was pure, untapped magic, streaming around the chamber, centring around something. A little concentration and her senses did the job and she quickly decided to give it a try.
“Ray!” she shouted, grabbing the limbless' attention. “Shoot one of the crystals!” she ordered.
He seemed quite confused of her request, but didn't waste the time to ask about it. Without a second though, he aimed at Skops' makeshift bed, firing an energy sphere at it. It exploded into the crystal-bed a moment later, blowing some of them into tiny shards. Ly gasped for a moment, feeling magic course in her veins once again, feeding from the sudden overflow as the sealed magic inside the crystal washed over the whole cave.
She understood now why she hadn't felt it earlier. This place was one of Skops' favourites, where he probably played around with his soon-to-be victims. If they had any magic in them, the crystals siphoned them from their corpses, storing them to provide their light. By destroying it, Rayman released this energy, ready for her to tap into it. Instead of trying to heal her wound, or attack, she just closed her eyes, extending her spirit.
Anyway, without further ado, here's the next part. 83
WARNING: As I mentioned earlier, this chapter gets pretty violent at some points. Read with care. I guarantee though that you'll have to pick your chins up from the floor by the end. XD
Part 5
“You have no true idea what an abomination you are.”
“...I don't understand...” he shook his head lightly, confusion apparent on his strained face.
“So many things you don't know about yourself...you were raised like a fairy, but in reality, you're something much worse than them.”
“What are you talking about? I'm the son of a fairy, what would I be if not one myself?” he muttered, not understanding what he had meant. Worse than fairies? Why would he be worse than his own kin?
“You will be the death of everyone...and the beginning that has yet to come, even less waited.”
“Y-you can't be serious...what do you mean by death and beginning? And what does this have to do with me?”
“I can't fight against what must come to pass...your future is already set, what must happen is inevitable. Thus, I will have to suffice...with your past.”
“...my past?” he repeated, his eyes widening slightly. He suddenly understood what he had meant by that.
His eyes sprung open, only to be closed again a moment later, stinging from the sudden light. He felt strangely numb and hurt all over, his last conscious memory about a huge tail...and the pain following it. He was still alive however, thus he guessed he might not be in such a big trouble as he first expected.
Opening his eyes again, he rose a tiny bit, only to fall back with a both frightened and pained cry. His chest suddenly began to ache terribly, making him reconsider his earlier thought about feeling all right. I'm lucky if I didn't break a rib... But what unsettled him even more than the pain, was the fact that he finally realized his surroundings.
About a dozen spiders were around him in a circle, some of them awakening to his cry and glaring at him with a hungry expression, but not making a single move towards him. That didn't much calm the boy though. As he glanced aside however, he saw something that truly made his blood freeze.
On a large, clear spot, surrounded by hundreds of glinting crystals of all shape and form, was a creature so large Salian had never encountered before. It surpassed even Clark, though the giant wasn't a small one either, but this one was just plain huge! To his momentary luck however, the creature was asleep, snoring loudly.
He carefully examined the monster from a distance, trying to relate it to something he had heard of. The beast was an enormous scorpion, his large head resting on two scissors that were about sharp enough to cut him in half with ease. Even the yellow ridges on top of his head added to this rather violent look.
His two cruel, black eyes were luckily closed, saving the boy from having to see them. In his sleep, he almost looked peaceful, unlike the horrendous predator he really was. However, Salian's mind clicked, and he already related the skeletons he had found to this creature...he was only a few yards away from a true killer.
The thick shell that covered him seemed to glint in the bright light the crystals were giving. Its strange purple-red colour looked rather strange to Salian, but he had to admit, amongst the caverns and crystals, he blended in perfectly. His large tail was curled up around him, the deadliest of weapons showing off at its end; a huge spike, which the boy guessed could break through any solid object.
Concerning the tail's length and already apparent power, the boy was surprised of the fact that he was still alive. What he could remember, assured him that the scorpion had probably held himself back...if it had been a full-powered strike, he wouldn't had woken up. Knowing he had to think of something fast, he tried to get up to his feet.
If it hadn't been for the sleeping scorpion, he would have screamed endlessly for Rayman, hoping the limbless was alive and searching for him. In reality though...he was starting to exchange glances with the fact that his dearest friend might not be amongst the living any more.
“NO!” he growled audibly to himself, only realizing a moment later that he was talking to himself, mainly because a spider let out a sharp hiss, its saliva bursting out in small droplets.
Salian only had a moment to acknowledge that as the next moment, a searing pain went off in his leg, as single drop of the beast's spit hit his ankle. He quickly pulled back his leg, literally stuffing his knuckle into his mouth to prevent himself from crying out, tears running down his face as the liquid practically charred his left foot.
The spider snickered a bit and lied back on the ground, satisfied with its work. Salian dropped on the ground, his hands lightly hovering over the wound now, trying to keep at least the air from further burning it. He watched through flowing eyes as the creature's saliva ate itself through the rocky-dusty ground, like pure acid.
Setting his teeth, he quickly examined his ankle. To his luck, the droplet only streamed a little, before dripping on the ground, leaving about an inch long burn. He knew well he was lucky...if the droplet had went through his foot, instead of just running along the surface, he doubted he could have suppressed screaming.
He panted heavily from the pain, his tears drying up slowly. He hissed sharply as the air just barely touched the burn, renewing the agony. The boy could barely hold back a cry, only letting out a quiet whimper, not wanting for the rest of the spiders to commence a similar attack on him.
In a few minutes, the pain eased enough so he could once again think straight. He couldn't really get up to his feet, thus he was left to a sitting-crawl. It became apparent to him that the spiders were not...allowed to directly harm him. The boy guessed that might have been the work of the scorpion, which he could even name now. After thinking back, he realized this creature had to be Skops, the monster Rayman faced all those years ago.
As to why he was spared...he had no idea. He could only guess the beast wanted him for himself, which wasn't a too flattering thought, since that meant his minutes were numbered. Still, he acknowledged that he basically had a two-yard diameter circle where he could freely move around. If he got too close to the edge, the closest spiders began to growl and hiss, a little of their saliva dripping down, instantly making him retreat.
His situation truly seemed without any chance of survival...he couldn't get away, he couldn't fight and it was only a matter of time, before Skops would awaken to finish the job he started. He got back into the middle of the circle and sighed, pulling his knees up a bit. He knew he was hopeless now...he only thought about how he missed his mother and his friends.
He slowly remembered all the tender moments he had with his mother, all the games they've played, all the stories she told, all the times she comforted him. He'd miss her a lot...the way she always smiled at him, cared for him, even if it was just so much as a kiss on his forehead, or nurturing him when he was sick.
Once, when he was only about seven, he caught some kind of nasty illness and was in bed for nearly a week already. His fever was high all the time, his body sore and numb all over, rendering him unable to walk. A Teensie doctor, whom he only remembered because of the strange way he pronounced the 'r's, put him quarantine, so Ly couldn't even visit him.
He knew from Betilla that his playmate kept asking every single hour as to how he was doing. Shya tended to him non-stop, never leaving him alone for more than half an hour. Despite her best tries though, his fever just didn't want to go down. She was beginning to seriously fear for his life, even more since though fairy magic was effective against injuries, they couldn't battle illnesses too well.
One night, when he awoke from yet another feverish nightmare, she was once again comforting him gently; sad over the way he was tormented by the sickness. Finally, going against the doctor's advice, she lied down next to the boy and embraced him as he tried to fall back asleep. She didn't care about the illness, only for his son's welfare. She kept on singing lullabies and telling him stories until very late into the night, finally both of them dozing off.
Her caring did the job though...by the dawn of morning; he was once again as healthy as one could be. He missed her terribly, knowing she had to be dead worried about him. He was almost sure he'd never see her again and the feeling itself was hard to swallow. He was still so young...a whole life would have been ahead of him and instead, he was going to die at the scissors of a huge scorpion, far from his friends and family.
He suddenly felt something cool drop on his head, making him flinch. At first, he thought it was a spider yet again and promptly panicked, awaiting the agony as it would burn right through his head. He covered himself quickly only to feel even more droplets. I was wrong...I'm going to die NOW!
However, the drops didn't burn...not even after a few moments. Salian blinked in confusion, loosening his cover a bit. The droplets ran down from the top of his head onto his face, travelling downwards to his chin. As it briefly ran along his mouth, he decided to take a chance and put out his tongue, tasting it.
His eyes widened to a double as he realized this wasn't acidic or anything...it was just plain water. It can't be... He glanced upward, but only managed to catch a glimpse of a dispersing cloud. Nevertheless, that was more than enough to raise his hopes. He looked around, and could see a slight trail left by the tiny little cloud, luckily avoiding awakening the spiders.
As Salian raised his sight to see where it came from, he was met with a gaze he didn't dare expect to see so soon again. The short, but determined form of a person, who lacked limbs, but not brain and brawns...the one who he truly considered a brother...Rayman. The limbless was alive before his eyes and somehow at this moment, it seemed to the boy as though his friend was equal or even superior to Skops, like a giant compared to a bug.
“Ra-” the boy barely realized himself, and quickly covered his mouth, muffling his sudden exclamation.
The spider closest to him slowly opened its eyes, stirred from its sleep. Salian's eyes widened from the fear as the creature slowly shook its head and glared at him. For a moment, the boy thought the beast would spit towards him, but it seemed like it was too tired for that. After a few moments of growling, it lied down again, falling asleep once more.
The second it was asleep again, Sal glanced up quickly...only to see nothing but the dark. But...he was...I saw him! He felt his eyes watering, desperation overflowing in his heart. Before it would suddenly burst out of him though, a form once again stepped into sight in the distance, accompanied by another one!
A broad smile appeared on the boy's stained face as he recognised Globox next to Rayman, though the smile instantly weakened as he saw the glute was holding Ly in his arms. Oh, please no... His greatest fear was not confirmed however, as the fairy raised her hand slightly; a sign she was alive...if not fully well.
Salian was tempted to ask somehow as to what happened, but Rayman started gesturing something, diverting his thoughts immediately. He didn't catch the beginning, thus he waved his arms a bit to show he didn't get it. The limbless seemed to nod and started over. Though it wasn't easy, the boy watched closely, trying to understand what his friend wanted to tell him.
The limbless seemed to point at himself, then showing a thumbs-up...obviously informing him he was okay. He pointed next at Salian, asking for his condition. Though the boy wanted to say he was all right, the pulsing pain in his ankle was an effective method to keep him from lying. Thinking over the manoeuvre first, he pointed at his injured leg and waved with both arms.
Rayman seemed to nod in the distance, and looked around, probably devising a plan as fast as he could. It took a good five minutes until he finally came up with something, and got into quick discussion with Globox. Salian watched with trepidations as they talked, both nodding finally.
He literally had to force himself to suppress a cry as the suddenly turned and left. For a single moment, a horrible thought crept over him...the doubt that they just left him to his death. His hands clenched involuntarily, the feeling of total desperation governing over him again. No! They'd never leave me, I know they wouldn't!
“...something that should have never been found, instead, destroyed upon discovered.”
Maybe this is what's happening now? They...they're abandoning me...what if Mister Dark told them something? Do...do they truly think I'm a monster...someone who should be left to die? He closed his eyes shut, holding back the tears that wanted to escape the confinement of his eyes. They couldn't...they wouldn't...no...
...of course they wouldn't. We've been friends for nearly a decade...and nothing, NOTHING that Dark lied would convince them to leave me! He opened his eyes again, not a spark, but a whole inferno of belief and trust burning in his eyes. He didn't just hope to be rescued by them...he knew they would.
And he wasn't wrong at all. In the distance, he could see a fog slowly growing, getting larger and thicker by the moment. Globox... He was definite this was the glute's work. A smile formed on his face once again. They're coming...
A rock suddenly flew through the cavern, landing on top of a sleeping spider's head. The creature hissed loudly, groggily getting on its suckers. It glared into the direction where the fog was still thickening, letting out a sharp hiss. For a moment, Sal got scared that Skops might awaken as well, but the age-old scorpion didn't even flinch.
The rest of the spiders however awakened from the hiss, slowly pulling themselves together, not one of them smacked on the head by the first. Just then, even the boy could clearly make out Globox's form for a moment through the fog, before it disappeared...but it didn't go unnoticed to the spiders either.
At this point, Salian was worried whether Rayman's plan was already failing. The dozen spiders seemed to talk amongst each other with strange screeching sounds, before finally coming to an agreement. He suddenly felt a large push on his back as one of them knocked him to the ground, jumping on his back. He shivered as the creature hissed close to his ear, and thought it would let its acidic saliva burn the life out of him, but that didn't happen. It just kept its place, guarding him so he wouldn't escape.
The remaining ones got in a row and headed towards the glute as one. Salian's heart continued to sink as they closed to the fog, where Globox was hiding, probably with Ly as well. The boy involuntarily whispered for both of them, fearing what would happen if their plan wasn't well developed. Rayman couldn't possibly hope to fight against so many spiders without endangering Globox or Ly, fog or not.
He watched helplessly as the spiders got enveloped slowly in the fog. He closed his eyes, not wanting to hear or see what would happen now. A low shriek tore through the air suddenly, dying away fast...and it belonged to neither the glute nor the fairy. Salian's eyes sprung open, only to see only three spider-like silhouettes, which began to back away from the fog.
However, it suddenly started raining, and it didn't take long before the rest of those forms vanished. Both Salian and the spider watched dumbfounded as the fog began to clear, revealing Globox and Ly, perfectly untouched. The stillness only lasted for a single moment though as suddenly a large thump echoed, and Salian could move once again.
His gaze quickly turned to see what happened, though he had only caught the finishing move as Rayman crunched the spider's skull. The blow made the boy wince slightly, even though he knew the beast wouldn't have given them a chance either. The limbless didn't seem too proud of his work either, kicking the lifeless carcass away with a disgusted look.
As he turned to Salian however, his expression instantly changed. The boy couldn't even read all of the emotions his face was showing: relief, pride, hope, happiness, joy...and on top of all those, a smile that Salian doubted he'd ever see again. The two moved at the same time, enveloping each other in a brotherly hug. The limbless patted his back, a little harder than he probably wanted, but the boy didn't mind it at all. After going through all hell, he could easily stand a sore back from his best friend.
“I've asked myself about a million times whether it was the right choice to leave you like that...” Rayman sighed tiredly, a large amount of relief in his voice.
“I thought you sacrificed yourself...I didn't know what to do at first.” Salian patted the limbless' back too, smiling. He suddenly remembered something that made his heart sink a bit. “What happened to Ly?” he asked, his voice lowering to nearly a whimper.
Rayman awaited this question, ever since he saw the boy. He wasn't even tempted to lie about it...if anyone, Sal deserved the truth. “She got hit by a splinter...” he explained. “I had to take it out. The wound is pretty bad, but she'll pull through...if she won't try to move it again that is...” he scowled a bit at the last part. As he reached upwards, he briefly passed over the makeshift bandage the boy had wrapped around his neck. “What's this?” he asked, eyes widening with surprise.
“This?” Salian let go of Rayman, tying out the knot of his torn sleeve. The limbless' looked even more startled to see blood on the cloth, and fell completely silent as the boy showed the claw-mark. His friend reached out, hovering over the wound. “Mister Dark somehow found a way to actually hurt me through those...visions.” he explained before the limbless could ask.
His friend examined the cut without a word, though the fury burning in his eyes spoke more than anything. Finished, the limbless gently tied it back around his neck. “I'm getting you out of here, right now.” he stated, not intending to stop until he was true to these words.
Then it all blurred into chaos suddenly. The two heard Globox crying them a warning, alerting them both. They glanced up, only to see a huge bolt of energy going down towards them. Ray acted at once and injured leg or no, tossed Salian away, along with himself. The blast exploded only a few feet from them, sending the duo tumbling the next couple of yards.
Sal managed to raise his head lightly off the ground after landing, only for a horrific scream to burst out him. Skops, the monster who had seemed to have slept through the reunification...was not as asleep as they thought he was. He slowly rose from his crystal-infested nest, even his shadow covering a huge ground around them. As the scorpion glared at them with his huge eyes, Salian's blood nearly froze.
The creature was enormous; even bigger than the boy first thought. He suddenly moved, digging his scissors into the ground a bit and letting out a loud roar, which shattered some of the smaller rock around, nearly deafening the duo in front of him. Salian was shaking all over, while Skops towered over them, the noise of low rustling sounding from behind him.
Rayman had only got up from the ground just then, but he already recognised that noise. Without wasting the time to alert Salian, he merely lunged at him, sending them tumbling away again. Only a moment later, the ground shook a bit under them as Skops buried his humongous tail into the ground, right where they were a second ago.
“Come on, quick!” the limbless didn't waste any time, quickly helping Salian up. He glanced towards Globox and Ly, suddenly finding himself in a losing situation. He didn't want to lure Skops to them, but he couldn't stay either. “There!” he cried, pointing towards he scorpion's crystalline nest.
Skops let out another roar, trying to pull his tail out of the ground while the two runaway preys scurried towards his den. They took refuge behind a large crystal, waiting quietly as the king of predators struggled. The limbless instructed Salian to keep silent and raised his clenched fist a bit, a faint light already gathering in it.
Rayman was highly troubled by the scorpion. He couldn't pinpoint what the core of his bad feelings were, but he was definite something was wrong about Skops. He caught his gaze for a few moments already and the look of the monster downright horrified him. The Skops he knew had feelings, desires, dreams, fears even if very primitive ones...this had only hatred and hunger.
Both flinched as they heard their hunter finally freeing himself. The boy closed his eyes as the loud thumps of the beast echoed around, coming closer and closer. Rayman kept waiting, pooling every bit of power he had left, into his fists. He had to realize he was becoming weak, their long roaming taking its toll on him too.
They could feel it on their skin as the scorpion's gaze travelled at them, melting their skin off even through their shallow defence. Skops' shadow gave away his plan as he raised one of his scissors, ready to slam down at them, shattering both the crystal and squishing the two friends to an unidentifiable pulp.
Suddenly, Rayman sprung out from behind their crude barrier, his form emitting the kind of raw power he was known for. Without a word or anything, he extended his hands, palms towards Skops. The scorpion didn't seem fazed by the tiny light his hands were giving off and just began to growl, ready to strike with his scissor.
Just as he would have made the killing move, Rayman's hands flared up with twice the intensity as before. The light centred in the middle of his open palms, a bright shine covering the air around it, before the whole bundle of energy finally formed one of his well-known power spheres. Not wasting even a tiny moment, he let the sphere leave the comfort of his open hands, shooting towards Skops.
The monster only had time for his eyes to widen before the sphere impacted, right into his face. Skops let out a roar of pain, stumbling backwards, making the ground shake again. He covered his burning face with his scissors, howling in huge agony. Rayman only let himself smirk a tiny bit, before pulling on Salian to get moving. The boy was limp at first, but he finally complied, going after his friend.
Skops roared in both pain and hatred, his voice echoing off the cavern walls, going through every hole and tunnel, reaching into the far ends of the cave-system. The two scurried towards Globox, hoping he wouldn't riposte after a blast like that. They were very wrong to think such a shot could immobile a creature of such age and power.
Ignoring the stinging pain of his charred face, Skops lunged towards the two, landing just behind them. The duo flew into the air for a moment from the impact, landing on the ground once again. He raised one of his scissors, and only Rayman's infamous reflexes saved the limbless' life. By the time it hit the ground, he was already helping up Salian so they could make a run for it.
“Quick!” he hissed, using himself as leverage for the thoroughly sore boy.
He was suddenly alerted by a sharp cry, quickly followed by one from the opposite gender. Ray whipped his head to the side and felt his heart hit an all time low. Using Globox's powers to their advantage, they managed to get rid of the spiders that held Salian captive...but not those that to had just appeared behind the glute.
The newcomers slowly pushed Globox and Ly into the cavern, blocking any escape routes. There were at least twice as Sal's captors, each of them glaring at them with a bloodthirsty look. The fairy grasped the retreating glute tightly, trembling all over. Despite knowing they'd be trapped if he continued to fall back, he had no choice. Even if he would try to break through them, he certainly couldn't do it with Ly without seriously jeopardizing her life.
A moment's distraction was all Skops needed on the other hand. He counted well...his roar stirred up the cave-system, attracting the spiders who all hoped to get a little of whatever the predator was preying for. Not intending to waste the opportunity, Skops made his move. Utilizing his tail as Rayman wasn't paying full attention to him; he quickly launched it towards the limbless. Once he flinched and gazed at the scorpion, it was already too late to make a move.
“Ray!!” Salian cried as the tail coiled around the limbless' torso and tore him away from his side.
The limbless wasn't a revered hero for nothing though, and he quickly made his own move. Collecting his strength, he struck down at the tail holding him, only to recoil with a sharp hiss. Hitting the scorpion's thick shell was like trying to knock down the Fairy Council bare-handed. His fists ached from the failed hit, while Skops didn't even flinch, his gaze diverted to Salian.
“Sal, get away from here! Run!” Rayman roared; his voice twisting into a pained cry as Skops began to coil tighter around him.
The boy had half of his mind to try and help his friend, but he knew he couldn't do anything against a creature of this power. Nevertheless, he finally obeyed his friend and got up from the ground, preparing to make a run for it. He spotted a tunnel not far, and was about to call Globox and Ly to follow him, when Skops once again intervened.
Just as the boy stood up, he felt a huge punch into his back and something sharp scratching his back. He screamed and fell forward from the hit, ending up back on the ground. He could feel it shake slightly around him as the scorpion continued to thrust with his scissor, burying it into the ground, with a loud crash.
Salian felt a few small rocks fall on him, but he didn't dare to look what had happened. When he finally mustered the courage to open his eyes, he had to realize he was trapped in the middle of Skops' scissor, not giving him more than a few inches to move without risking to be cut by the razor-sharp edge.
Seeing this Rayman let out another roar; his tone a mixture of anger and agony. Despite the exponentially growing pressure as the tail slowly squished him to death, he closed his eyes, thinking hard of something. He was known to come up with useful tactics, even in stressed situations, such as this. He couldn't go reckless now...for the sake of his friends, he had to think over what to do now.
Even though the increasing pressure around his torso was affecting his logical thinking as well, he kept reasonably calm and devised an idea. He opened one eye for a moment and saw Skops leaning towards Salian, horrifying the boy with just his gaze. Rayman quickly put his plan into motion and concentrated, once again messing with his energy circulation, along with summoning energy into his hands. Once they began to glint, he glanced at Skops again, waiting for him to be in the right position.
Salian trembled as the monster slowly took up everything in his sight, not allowing him so much as close his eyes. He felt similar like in the visions Dark induced, but this time the threat was fully physical. The scorpion was right above him, glaring hungrily with his huge eyes. The boy' could see the bloodlust in the creature's eyes, adding even more to his horror. This was surely the end for him.
Suddenly, a loud roar from Ray made both of them flinch, especially Skops, since he wasn't applying more pressure at the moment. Just as he was about to look at the struggling limbless, he was met with two orbs of light. Instead of exploding like energy spheres though these merely punched into his face with great force, making the scorpion recoil in blunt pain, his hold on the limbless gone.
Rayman's fists obediently reconnected to him in mid-fall, thus he was able to suppress his landing with them. He briefly allowed himself a smirk while the light began to fade around his hands. Without waiting for the stumbling scorpion to regain his senses, he ran over to help Salian to his feet once more. His friend was still shaking all over; for which Ray didn't blame him. Skops was more than terrifying enough to scare the living daylights out of anyone.
“S-stay back!” Globox tried to shout, but it came out more like a whimper.
The glute was still in the midst of retreating from the newly arrived spiders, slowly but steadily moving into a corner, having no other choice. Ly clung tightly to the Globox, trembling from the fear, along with the glute. Regardless though, he did his best to keep her safe from any attacks, which was exactly why he was backing up, instead of trying a head-on approach. He knew he was physically strong, but even the slightest try would had made Ly an open target.
A few of the spiders cornering him from the side decided it was time to take the first bite, and began to advance on the glute. He took another few steps back, but they just kept coming. The next moment, a large flashing ball impacted before the spiders, sending the majority a few feet back, while the ones closest met with a quick, vaporising death.
“No one hurts my friends...” Rayman growled in a voice that was quite a few octaves lower than his usual.
The air around him seemed to vibrate with power, fuelled by his brightly shining fists. Without giving the creatures a chance to understand him, he summoned another sphere of energy, throwing it into the biggest pile. Quite a few of them got severely burned from the attack; some fell on the ground and never stood up again, but the majority was still alive.
Collectively, they gave off one of their all-too-known shriek-snickers, alerting the rest of their kind, as well as Skops. There was even a rather unwilling one who had joined into their cry. Ly screamed loudly, her hands set to cover her ears, nearly bleeding. Before, these cries just unsettled her a bit, but so close and so powerful, they were nearly enough to make her ears bleed.
The others seemed unsettled as well, though not nearly as much as she was, not having the same kind of senses. Fairies were blessed with very keen hearing, their sight and even sense of smell superior to other species, except the ones that were specialized in specific fields. This heightened sense however, often proved to be not only a blessing, but sometimes a curse as well.
Globox grasped her a little tighter, letting her plant her head into his tummy. Hearing only the glute's heartbeats, were much better than listening to this cacophonous catastrophe. She could feel someone help cover her other ear and she didn't need her eyes to know it was Salian. The touch of his hand was a familiar feeling, even if she hadn't felt it on her ears before; they always had that reassuring friendly feeling she adored.
The following growl though, alerted each and every creature in the cavern. Everyone glanced at Skops, only to see as the scorpion has risen once again. The spiders seemed to greet this with a cheering of their own, while Ray already began to think of a plan that could disable him for a few moments again.
He didn't get past the beginning of the plan though, as the predator raised his deadly scissors into the air, slamming down at the ground. A violent quake erupted from the impact, nearly making all of the collapse. Globox was able to stand still, even supporting Salian as he nearly fell over, while Rayman managed to quickly regain his balance after a little stumbling.
However, this was far from the end. The ground cracked at quite a few points, some of it downright collapsing. As a few holes opened, so did the temperature suddenly rise in the cavern, filling Ray with horror of realization. He knew now what was under then, the memory of trying to escape from the volcanic deathbed resurfacing.
The caves in fact, reached deep into the planet itself, partially because it gave the creatures a chance to live without being bothered, but also because the climate sometimes served especially good, mostly in the lower parts. Those were close to the very core of the planet; lava boiling underneath the ground.
And now, with Skops purposely unsettling the delicate balance again, the lava began to rise, threatening to burn everyone alive. He snapped a few times with his scissors in anger, and moved towards them again slowly, careful not to step near the cracks. The spiders had already left the group, leaving them to face Skops' wrath alone. Ray speeded up his thinking, desperately trying to find a way for them to so much as survive the next assault.
Suddenly, Ly felt something tickle her skin. It started out as just a tiny touch, but soon she as though it was pooling close around her, almost teasingly. She opened her eyes and looked around confused, fear striking into her heart as she saw Skops approaching. Both Salian and Globox seemed confused of her sudden interest, but she ignored them for the moment.
She kept on trying, but couldn't identify the feeling, when all of a sudden; it hit her like a lightning bolt. Magic... What she was feeling at the moment was pure, untapped magic, streaming around the chamber, centring around something. A little concentration and her senses did the job and she quickly decided to give it a try.
“Ray!” she shouted, grabbing the limbless' attention. “Shoot one of the crystals!” she ordered.
He seemed quite confused of her request, but didn't waste the time to ask about it. Without a second though, he aimed at Skops' makeshift bed, firing an energy sphere at it. It exploded into the crystal-bed a moment later, blowing some of them into tiny shards. Ly gasped for a moment, feeling magic course in her veins once again, feeding from the sudden overflow as the sealed magic inside the crystal washed over the whole cave.
She understood now why she hadn't felt it earlier. This place was one of Skops' favourites, where he probably played around with his soon-to-be victims. If they had any magic in them, the crystals siphoned them from their corpses, storing them to provide their light. By destroying it, Rayman released this energy, ready for her to tap into it. Instead of trying to heal her wound, or attack, she just closed her eyes, extending her spirit.
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Zay-el
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Re: Path To Divinity
Part 6
“Do you think the Teensies know where they are now?” Shya muttered, her worry continuously growing, despite every attempt to soothe it. There was no surprise in it though; maternal worry was a force to be reckoned with, as she had already proven not long ago.
“I'm quite hopeful. Teensies aren't known to finish things in an instant; concerning their unaffected by ageing, but even they know when they have to hurry.” Betilla assured, patting the younger fairy’s shoulder. She really needed to keep Shya as calm as possible in this situation...not just for everyone’s safety, but her own as well.
In earnest though, she was growing highly worried herself. With all their knowledge, even if most of it was covered a bit by layers of dust, having been there for quite a few centuries, they should have been able to come up with at least a more precise localization. With every passing moment, the chance of never seeing them again incre-
All of a sudden, the entire scenery changed around Betilla, much to her surprise. A moment ago she was sitting next to Shya, calming the fairy and now, she was in a seemingly barely habited place. Tunnels appeared before her eyes, while she began to flow in the air, heading along the tunnel. Her initial discomfort faded a bit as she recognised this spell...someone was trying to show her a place.
She went faster and faster into the depths of the cave-system, before ending up in an enormous cavern. Just by taking a few glances around, she could guess this place was very far from the Glade, probably almost on the other side of the world. She could see a few crystals that seemed to shine, though it was hard for her to judge, as the vision was purely black and white.
A tiny blue light suddenly caught her attention. Looking aside, she saw a figure standing not far from her, it's body shining in ghostly blue. Her eyes widened slightly as she realized she was actually seeing a spirit…the projection of a person's soul, who was too far away to appear physically. The form belonged to a young fairy, her pointy ears standing slightly down at the moment, her tail crawling around her feet. She seemed to be gazing at the ground, but Betilla didn’t need to see her face to know who she was.
She suddenly seemed to wince and nearly collapsed, shaking all over. Betilla couldn’t hear her voice, but knew full-well that had this been real, she’d be screaming in agony. The light she was made of quivered as well, but remained intact. The Elder fairy had only seen this spell a few times before; it needed quite a lot of power to unleash, not to mention it required a certain initial potential to boot with.
Under normal conditions, the spirit was supposed to be barely visible, making it hard to actually know who was sending it. The fairy only knew a couple of her kin who could commence this spell successfully, and even less who could show such a perfectly detailed projection. And now…she was about to add another name to that list.
“Ly...” Betilla found herself gasping the young fairy's name. She was downright stunned to see her like this.
She had always known Ly had great potential, especially since she had proved able to create Silver Lums, but this surprised even her. Just by seeing her spirit-projection made her rethink a few things about how she planned to teach her. She made a mental note that once they’d be back safely and heal from any injuries, she’d make sure to educate her in the higher arts of fairy magic...she was undoubtedly ready for them.
The younger fairy seemed to smile slightly, though Betilla could see the suppressed pain in it. Spirit-Ly waved her hand, silently telling her to focus on whatever she was trying to show. She extended her hands, as if embracing the entire cavern, then pointed to her head, signifying that the Elder fairy should remember this place well. Quickly etching the place into her memory, she nod, earning another smile. Ly seemed to let out a pained sigh and suddenly, Betilla was rushing out of the cavern, the same way she arrived.
The next moment, she was gazing into a pair of violet eyes as she was being slightly shaken. Her vision cleared after a few moments, allowing her to realize Shya was before her, worry beaming from her orbs.
“Betilla...are you all right?” she gently asked, seeing the fairy was still quite pale, stirred by the sudden vision.
“...I know where they are.” Betilla muttered, quickly standing up.
Without another word, she headed towards the chamber where the Teensies were. A moment later a confused, but immensely hopeful Shya followed her as she stormed through the chambers. All the way, she kept the sight vivid in her memory, careful not to forget even the slightest detail.
The chamber was soon before them, the sounds coming from inside now much more calm since the commotion not long ago. Betilla quickly entered along with Shya, earning everyone’s gaze. They could all see something was troubling the fairy.
“I need your help.” she stated, aiming it at both fairies and Teensies.
They froze for a moment, before some of them stood up, already coming close to know what was going on. Betilla hastily began to explain everything, though Shya couldn't hear it perfectly, her attention drifting off. The Elder fairy said she knew where they were now. Maybe...she'd finally be able to see her son again.
- - -
“He's even faster than before!” Ray growled, narrowly avoiding getting squished by Skops' scissor. He quickly rolled aside, jumping to his feet just a moment later. If he wanted to stay alive, he had to be on the move constantly.
The others were watching the fight from the corner of the cavern where he sent them to. All of them, including Ly seemed to want nothing more than to help him, but they all knew they had no chance against a creature like Skops. He was faster, more agile and a lot more ferocious than they could fight against.
Out of all of them though, Ly was the most hopeful. She prayed to Polokus the spell she used was powerful enough to help them. She had never used it before, but didn't have the time to prepare properly. Their only chance was if she used it at once. From the results she got though, she really hoped something would happen soon now. She trusted Betilla the most out of her kin...she was like a mother to her.
She was suddenly alerted by a sharp cry as Rayman was knocked aside by Skops' tail. Despite his agility, the scorpion was overwhelming him, his brute strength and size proving more than the limbless could handle. He quickly stood up again, and the tail only hit the ground the second time.
Sweat was nearly falling into his eyes by now, his whole body covered by dirt from all the rolls and dashes he had to do to avoid immediate death. He continuously looked for an opening; a point he could damage on the scorpion, but could find any. Skops even protected his face now, so another facial shot was out of the question. Thus, he had to resort to randomly throwing a few spheres off, hoping to at least throw him off balance.
It wasn't nearly as easy though as it sounded. Skops was old, but not even close to stupid. Either evading Ray's blasts or taking them without a wince, he always kept on attacking, not giving the limbless a moment to breathe. A whip coming from the side and Ray would have had his torso shot into the other end of the cavern, if he hadn't commenced a lightning-fast back-flip.
The scorpion was much smarter than last time, attacking whenever Ray had an opening only he noticed. Learning from his earlier mistake, he try to shoot him at all, instead relying purely on brute force. He quickly bashed into the ground just before Rayman, the impact more than enough to set him off balance.
Skops' next attack made Ray's friends gasp in horror. The scorpion gave the limbless a taste of just how hard his body was, by punching him with his other scissor. He flew a good deal, before crashing into the cavern wall. He slowly sunk back to the bottom, not moving at all. He seemed good as dead.
“Ray!!” Salian promptly screamed, pale just like the others. He was about to run towards him, when Globox stepped before him, looking quite serious. “Globox, please, he needs our help!” the boy cried, nearly ready to tackle over him.
“I know!” the glute replied, his voice nearly rivalling with the boy's. “But if you run there, you'll only get yourself killed! Have faith in Ray...please Sal, you have to keep believing in him. He has more to him than others see at first...just give him a chance.” his voice sounded more hopeful than definite though. He was obviously very worried for the limbless as well.
They both turned to see what would happen, immense worry in their hearts. Rayman, the guardian of the Fairy Glade...he couldn't fall; not like this. He seemed to be out cold though, unable to defend himself as Skops slowly came for the finishing blow, a victorious look beaming from his eyes.
Rayman! Please, wake up! Skops is coming for you! Ly looked the most worried, hoping more than anything that her mental urging reached him. She still had the link she accidentally forged with him years ago; an accident she praised Polokus it happened. Ray...please, I beg you. We need you...maybe even more than ever. Please, wake up!!
There was no motion from the limbless though. He was still slumped on the ground as Skops came closer, towering over Rayman. This was it finally. His victory and vengeance over the limbless hero, who defeated him all those years ago. Finally, after enduring the humiliation, he was here and ready to exact his revenge. He pulled his tail up, pointing the sharp needle on the end of it at the 'O' on Rayman's body. Ly closed her eyes, unable to watch what would happen next...the demise of one of her most dearest friend.
The next thing the scorpion could see, was a sudden movement from the unconscious limbless and the burning agony that followed. Rayman was alive as ever, standing still, his hands still in the pose from which he threw his energy sphere he had been building since Skops had tossed him there. A relieved sigh came from all of his friends...their hope wasn't in vain.
“I'm not that easy to beat...” he growled, keeping himself on his feet while the scorpion stumbled around, his face burning from the ball Ray had thrown into his face.
Everything seemed to shake to his anger, the ground once again cracking. He's tearing the whole place apart! Rayman decided he wasted enough time on the scorpion and headed towards his friends, carefully avoiding the fissures along the way. The others were lucky, the ground was fully intact there, but Ray could see the lava rising under them already. They needed to get out here, fast!
“Celebration later, we gotta leave immediately!” he stated upon reaching the others.
They nod, though their smile showed the limbless wouldn't escape it. Not that he wanted to though. There was a moment where he thought his consciousness would fade, which would had cost him his life. The only thing that kept him awake, was that his friends were still in danger, and that only he could help them. His sense of duty was stronger than any shock or pain.
The peace only lasted a few moments though. Ly's sudden scream alerted all three of them, making them look in the direction she was pointing into. A huge rock was flying towards them, hurled by the wounded, but all-too-alive scorpion. Only having a moment, they all attempted to lunge away, while the rocks crashed into the cavern-wall. The entire place shook once again, long cracks appearing on the top as well.
Rayman and Salian were able to jump aside so that only a couple of smaller rocks reached them from the blast, but Globox wasn't so lucky. He only realized a moment after acting that Ly was still in his hands, making such a lunge a quite painful move for the already wounded fairy. Having no alternative and only a split second to act, he released her into a different direction.
The glute managed to avoid getting squished and stopped rolling after a few moments. Ly on the other hand tumbled quite a few yards, ending up near the edge of the ground. She felt like screaming as her wound pulsed with renewed vigour, making her set her teeth just so she could suppress it. Glancing to her side, her eyes widened as she realized she was practically on the edge of the ground itself, lava bubbling right under her.
She could hear Globox and the others call out for her as they tried to reach her, only to be halted by the vengeful scorpion. Not caring much about dignity or anything, the monster began to attack in a random pattern, trying to hit anyone he could see. The three friends were pushed back against the wall again, despite Ray's counter-attacks. Skops seemed to be ignorant to any pain now.
The fairy managed to push herself on her back with a pained cry, her leg feeling like it would be torn off at any moment. Through the waves of pain, she remembered the crystal Rayman shattered. She still had quite a lot of energy from that, even though the rest of those crystalline traps were already syphoning her power-reserve.
Though she seriously doubted she could unleash anything that could save them at this moment, the fairy decided it was high-time to end her passive role. She wanted to fight; to help her friends. Forcing herself into sitting, which again put unwanted pressure in her wound, she prepared to make her move, putting her hands together. She prayed her gash wouldn't start bleeding again while she collected the magic that nearly smouldered inside of her by now.
Her try was not without result as a faint light ignited in the middle of her hand, pure energy beginning to gather around it. In contrast to her earlier one, which used everything she had, this time it formed much quicker, and seemed much more powerful as well. The core of it exploded shortly to form the well-known sphere shape; the mostly traditional weapon of her kin.
She had to close her eyes from the moment as the purifying light the ball emanated nearly blinded her. Slowly opening it again, she was marvelled to see that her little weapon seemed to resemble the sun itself as raw energy ruffled on it. Even her jade eyes seemed to glimmer now from the brightness of the sphere, finally giving back a healthy colour to her face.
Glaring at the scorpion as he attempted yet another attack on her friends, she let out a sharp cry and threw the sphere, supporting the throw with even more power as she knew she wasn't strong enough to throw it all the way. She recoiled a bit from the throw, though luckily weren't thrown off the edge by it. Her expectations were perfectly met however, as Skops diverted his attention to her, only to be met by the young fairy's sphere.
The ball of energy didn't explode on impact this time though...at least, not nearly as powerfully as she expected from its form. There was a bit of explosion that sent Skops stumbling backwards a bit, but the majority of it seemed to be downright absorbed by the scorpion!
All four of them watched in awe and a slight fear as Skops continued stumbling, looking actually much less in pain than from Rayman's sphere. Instead, he seemed to be struggling with something. Ly gasped as suddenly a black mass sept out from the predator, slowly dispersing in the air.
Rayman watched the cloud for the longest time, before memories flooded his mind, one especially vivid. A tiny limbless battling a giant saxophone, notes blowing all around until the wrong note set the whole thing right. The same cloud came out Mr. Sax as well, all those years ago...the sign that he had his free will once again.
The limbless slowly approached the scorpion without fear now. He first seemed aggressive still, but soon eased up, his tail curling up on the ground. He towered over Rayman with all of his pride, missing the primal hunger or hatred altogether, instead seeming rather like a king attending to an ambassador...the ruler of the caves listening to what the surface dweller had to say.
Before the limbless could speak however, the scorpion lunged away, landing not far from Ly. The ground shook from the impact a bit, bringing her dangerously close to the edge. While Globox and Salian looked ready to attack Skops if necessary, Ray gestured to them to stay put. He knew already from their earlier encounter that under normal conditions, the scorpion never attacked wounded ones.
Ly didn't know this however and gazed at Skops with bright fear, trembling all over. She wanted to back up to something, but right now it was either the scorpion or the lava...and neither seemed like a good choice. Her fear turned worse as he raised his tail, reaching out for her with it. The fairy closed her eyes shut, not wanting to face death like this.
Her eyes sprung open though as she felt the tail gently push her back from the edge, so carefully even her wound didn't act up again. She involuntarily let out a cry as it curled around her waist, raising her into the air slightly. A moment later she came to rest on one of is scissors, carefully closed so she wouldn't accidentally cut herself.
The fairy gazed at the scorpion with complete and utter confusion. She thought he would kill her right on spot, and here he was, escorting her back to the others. Skops, the dreaded lord of the caves, the mighty predator who could easily kill anyone in the blink of an eye...was letting her rest on one of his main weapons, while taking her back to her friends. A faint sparkle of realization appeared in her eyes a moment later, though the idea seemed obscure, at best.
“Y-you're...thankful?” she blurted out, covering her mouth right after. She cursed herself for being so stupid to ask such a question...what if he'd suddenly reconsider? The scorpion didn't seem mad though, he just continued to carry her. The pieces finally clicked together in Ly's head, making her gasp a tiny bit. Now she understood why Dark took them here. “He was controlling you...wasn't he?” she asked, her voice still a bit shaky from the fear.
The only thing resembling an answer was a slight grunt from Skops. Despite obviously an intelligent being, he couldn't talk. Ly was even surprised she expected him to talk. Maybe it was because she didn't expect him to show an emotion like gratitude either. She was about ask another question, when a loud crack alerted all of them.
The top of the cavern began to crumbled, signifying the whole place would be levelled in mere minutes. Skops scurried up towards Rayman, while Ly grasped into his scissor a bit. She only realized now how fast the scorpion was, being probably the first person who could enjoy such a ride. Despite the fact that he was no longer their enemy, the group was still in mortal danger. With death approaching from above and below...it was only a matter of time before they'd fall.
- - -
Betilla calmly kept still as two Teensies kept their hands at her forehead, their other palms facing a point not far from them. Shya watched silently, not wanting to disrupt the obviously powerful spell that had begun to work. The points where the hands touched the Elder fairy's forehead glinted slightly, as did the other hands of the two blue ones.
Shya had never seen a portal magic like this one and stood quite confused, even though another Teensie had already explained the method. They had Betilla concentrating on the place Ly's spirit projection showed, while the two touching her forehead focused their portal magic.
If all went right, a portal would soon open, leading right into the place where the little group was stuck. Shya prayed their plan would work. She somehow knew that their lives were hanging on a string at this point...and sadly, her premonitions have become reality lately. A sudden flash made her flinch though, and pay attention to the spell once again.
The Teensie begin to chant, first as low as a whisper, then increasing in volume every moment. Bluish light emanated from their free hands and Shya could feel ancient magic vibrating nearby. She rubbed the cask that held her broken hand, frustrated over how much longer it would take. She couldn't help her worry at this point.
Betilla seemed to be strained from the magic by now, but kept concentrating, knowing how important this was. For the sake of Ly and the others, she had to keep going. As soon as the image would have faded, she strengthened her resolve, the cavern once again vivid before her eyes. Hold on Ly...hold on just a bit more!
Shya hadn't even noticed yet, that a small number of Glade inhabitants had gathered around silently, eyeing the spell carefully. She could see Uglette with some of her children, looking very worried. The fairy could understand it perfectly...he had a wife and hundreds of kids waiting for him back home.
A sound suddenly alerted Shya again, making her gaze at the upcoming spell once again. It sounded like paper shredding, and she was awe to see as the air itself seemed to twist a bit, before a hole was torn into it. The newly-opened portal shone in a bright light and only two of her kin were able to hold her back as she wanted to enter it.
Betilla gasped slightly as the Teensies let go of her forehead, allowing her thoughts to flow freely again. She gazed at the portal with bright hope, knowing if Ly and the others were still there, they'd be coming in a few moments. She wanted to enter it at once, but knew this portal could only be accessed from the opposite side. She helped as much as she could...they'd have to do the rest themselves.
- - -
“Look!” Salian cried, noticing a bright flash close-by.
Both Rayman and Globox watched with awe as a portal slowly opened, shining brightly in the barely illuminated cavern. They could barely believe that after so many fights, luck finally winked at them. This tiny fragment of ancient magic was their salvation, their freedom...their road back home.
Skops seemed to notice that as well and speeded towards the portal, instead of the others. Ly held on tightly, her heart sky-high from the sight of the portal. She succeeded after all; Betilla got her message, and acted probably as fast as she could. It only took a few minutes to reach the swirling light that meant life for her.
The two reached the portal just in time as Ray and the others did. Skops came up close to Globox, who still looked horrified by the beast, but didn't run away. The scorpion extended his claw and bended it a bit, letting Ly promptly slide into the glute's hold once more. He took a few steps back and nod at the portal signifying they should leave immediately.
Salian and Ray were already before the portal and were now waiting for Globox to bring Ly along. The cavern was dangerously shaking at this point, but the limbless was sure they had at least a minute left. Skops slowly bowed a bit before the fairy, making her blush a bit. The scorpion was actually thanking her!
“I'm happy you're back to your old self.” she smiled, guessing what he was trying to tell her. She remembered a little glimmer she had spotted on the scorpion's scissor, and spoke up once more. “Those statues were really beautiful.”
The boys glanced at each other, understanding it only now. Skops seemed almost amused from her remark and bowed again, in a manner an artist did to someone who praised his works. Hearing another crack though, he nod towards the portal again. They had to leave fast, if they wanted to get out here.
“Ly, it's time to go!” Ray called, looking slightly worried by now.
The fairy knew he was right, but one this still bugged her....a question which had become very much valid since the scorpion showed his true colours. “What will happen to you?” she asked gently.
Again, the scorpion seemed rather amused. He extended his scissors a bit, as if embracing the cavern altogether and gave off a loud growl. He was still the ruler of this place; such a lowly collapse would never be able to take him down. The fairy seemed to accept this as an answer and nod at Globox.
“Ready?” Ray asked with a grin, once all of them were before the portal. Without waiting for a collective answer, they all stepped forward as once...their home awaited them.
- - -
The first sound that reached Salian's ears were a loud cheering, that seemed to come from hundreds at the same time. The stones and darkness were gone, and the magnificent green of the Fairy Glade was before his eyes once again. They were in his beloved forests again. He was finally home.
He glanced around, but couldn't see his mother at first sight. His heart sunk a bit from that...out of everyone he wished to be with her the most. There wasn't a moment when he hadn't thought about her back in the caves, and he really wanted to be with her now, more than anything.
And then, it reached his ears. A female voice calling his name, urging him to look. As he glanced aside, tears appeared in the corners of his eyes. Without thinking any further, he ran forward until he bumped into a familiar form and flung his arms around her. He grasped her tightly, nuzzling against her shoulders.
“Mother...” he whispered, almost sobbing.
“I'm here...I'm here with you Sal...” Shya purred softly, embracing the boy tightly.
Finally, after all trials, she got her son back. Salian clung to her for dear life, fearing she'd suddenly disappear and he'd find himself in those unforgiving caves again. Words couldn't describe the relief they both felt, the joined mother-son affection that burned between them. Sal didn't care about Dark, the caves or anything else anymore, only the fact that he was safe with his mother once again...and they'd never part again.
The rest of the group joined their own families as well. Ly's kin gently took her from Globox's arms and showered her with hugs and kisses, overjoyed to see their sister in once piece. They were all worried for her; worried for their little sister. The fairy couldn't even count how many of her kind had already greeted her, when her eyes got stuck on one in particular.
That fairy came up close and grasped her tightly, allowing her to release her stocked up tears. Ly nearly sunk into the green-yellow robe, making it quickly damp with her tears. She could feel as Betilla softly stroked her blue hair, purring to her. Out of all of her kind, she had missed the Elder fairy the most.
“I'm proud of you, Ly...” Betilla purred, her green eyes reflecting the same.
She was immensely proud at Ly for enduring all the horrors the caves had in store, and was now here, safe and sound. Some of her kin had already noticed the wound she had and called for healers at once. Ly just continued to snuggled into Betilla's arms, sobbing a tiny bit in happiness. The Elder fairy could swear she heard her say 'mother', though she didn't ask about it. She already knew how much the young fairy loved her.
“Okay Uglette, you can let go of him already.” Globox chuckled, petting his kids as they squeaked all around him, nearly dancing in happiness that their father was back with them.
His mate had been hugging Rayman for the past few minutes, showering him with kisses for keeping her darling Globox alive. The limbless laughed in the glute's embrace, slightly red from all the kisses. The glutes were the closest to his family, so he especially enjoyed the praise. When Uglette finally placed him back on the ground, he was immediately assaulted by the little ones, which quickly piled up on the limbless.
Globox embraced her love tightly, silently letting her know just how much he had missed her, and his entire family. They shared a little kiss, before glancing at their kids, while still in an embrace. They couldn't help but laugh as Rayman was barely visible from under the large pile of baby glutes, though his laughter could be heard easily.
“I thought I'd never see you again.” Salian muttered, still in a tight embrace with his mother. Now that they were together once again, he never wanted to let go of her, ever again.
“You'll never lose me Sal...I promise you won't...” Shya purred, running her hands through his dirty hair, softly stroking his back. Her worry finally faded away with him in her arms. She finally felt at peace once again
The fairies close-by nearly melted at the sight of the two. Not all fairies agreed with Shya's decision of adopting Salian on her own, but after seeing them like this, they even scolded themselves for ever doubting in it. They were perfect together, such pure love between mother and son that sometimes even real ones couldn't achieve.
Salian didn't care about anything, but his mother. No matter the pain he endured, the words that wanted to break him, this moment was a proof he had a place. He had a mother who loved him with all her heart and a home which was always welcoming, always forgiving. He belonged here...in the Glade, with his friends, in his mother's embrace...this was his home.
Nobody actually saw where it came from, the only sound following it a hiss of energy. Salian could only feel Shya violently twitch in his embrace, a pained gasp escaping her. He could feel something warm flood his hands, making his eyes go wide with horror. A sinister voice echoed over and over in his mind. ...I'll have to suffice with your past.
The first light of the morning sun had just began to illuminate the forest after the long night. It was almost dawn.
“Do you think the Teensies know where they are now?” Shya muttered, her worry continuously growing, despite every attempt to soothe it. There was no surprise in it though; maternal worry was a force to be reckoned with, as she had already proven not long ago.
“I'm quite hopeful. Teensies aren't known to finish things in an instant; concerning their unaffected by ageing, but even they know when they have to hurry.” Betilla assured, patting the younger fairy’s shoulder. She really needed to keep Shya as calm as possible in this situation...not just for everyone’s safety, but her own as well.
In earnest though, she was growing highly worried herself. With all their knowledge, even if most of it was covered a bit by layers of dust, having been there for quite a few centuries, they should have been able to come up with at least a more precise localization. With every passing moment, the chance of never seeing them again incre-
All of a sudden, the entire scenery changed around Betilla, much to her surprise. A moment ago she was sitting next to Shya, calming the fairy and now, she was in a seemingly barely habited place. Tunnels appeared before her eyes, while she began to flow in the air, heading along the tunnel. Her initial discomfort faded a bit as she recognised this spell...someone was trying to show her a place.
She went faster and faster into the depths of the cave-system, before ending up in an enormous cavern. Just by taking a few glances around, she could guess this place was very far from the Glade, probably almost on the other side of the world. She could see a few crystals that seemed to shine, though it was hard for her to judge, as the vision was purely black and white.
A tiny blue light suddenly caught her attention. Looking aside, she saw a figure standing not far from her, it's body shining in ghostly blue. Her eyes widened slightly as she realized she was actually seeing a spirit…the projection of a person's soul, who was too far away to appear physically. The form belonged to a young fairy, her pointy ears standing slightly down at the moment, her tail crawling around her feet. She seemed to be gazing at the ground, but Betilla didn’t need to see her face to know who she was.
She suddenly seemed to wince and nearly collapsed, shaking all over. Betilla couldn’t hear her voice, but knew full-well that had this been real, she’d be screaming in agony. The light she was made of quivered as well, but remained intact. The Elder fairy had only seen this spell a few times before; it needed quite a lot of power to unleash, not to mention it required a certain initial potential to boot with.
Under normal conditions, the spirit was supposed to be barely visible, making it hard to actually know who was sending it. The fairy only knew a couple of her kin who could commence this spell successfully, and even less who could show such a perfectly detailed projection. And now…she was about to add another name to that list.
“Ly...” Betilla found herself gasping the young fairy's name. She was downright stunned to see her like this.
She had always known Ly had great potential, especially since she had proved able to create Silver Lums, but this surprised even her. Just by seeing her spirit-projection made her rethink a few things about how she planned to teach her. She made a mental note that once they’d be back safely and heal from any injuries, she’d make sure to educate her in the higher arts of fairy magic...she was undoubtedly ready for them.
The younger fairy seemed to smile slightly, though Betilla could see the suppressed pain in it. Spirit-Ly waved her hand, silently telling her to focus on whatever she was trying to show. She extended her hands, as if embracing the entire cavern, then pointed to her head, signifying that the Elder fairy should remember this place well. Quickly etching the place into her memory, she nod, earning another smile. Ly seemed to let out a pained sigh and suddenly, Betilla was rushing out of the cavern, the same way she arrived.
The next moment, she was gazing into a pair of violet eyes as she was being slightly shaken. Her vision cleared after a few moments, allowing her to realize Shya was before her, worry beaming from her orbs.
“Betilla...are you all right?” she gently asked, seeing the fairy was still quite pale, stirred by the sudden vision.
“...I know where they are.” Betilla muttered, quickly standing up.
Without another word, she headed towards the chamber where the Teensies were. A moment later a confused, but immensely hopeful Shya followed her as she stormed through the chambers. All the way, she kept the sight vivid in her memory, careful not to forget even the slightest detail.
The chamber was soon before them, the sounds coming from inside now much more calm since the commotion not long ago. Betilla quickly entered along with Shya, earning everyone’s gaze. They could all see something was troubling the fairy.
“I need your help.” she stated, aiming it at both fairies and Teensies.
They froze for a moment, before some of them stood up, already coming close to know what was going on. Betilla hastily began to explain everything, though Shya couldn't hear it perfectly, her attention drifting off. The Elder fairy said she knew where they were now. Maybe...she'd finally be able to see her son again.
- - -
“He's even faster than before!” Ray growled, narrowly avoiding getting squished by Skops' scissor. He quickly rolled aside, jumping to his feet just a moment later. If he wanted to stay alive, he had to be on the move constantly.
The others were watching the fight from the corner of the cavern where he sent them to. All of them, including Ly seemed to want nothing more than to help him, but they all knew they had no chance against a creature like Skops. He was faster, more agile and a lot more ferocious than they could fight against.
Out of all of them though, Ly was the most hopeful. She prayed to Polokus the spell she used was powerful enough to help them. She had never used it before, but didn't have the time to prepare properly. Their only chance was if she used it at once. From the results she got though, she really hoped something would happen soon now. She trusted Betilla the most out of her kin...she was like a mother to her.
She was suddenly alerted by a sharp cry as Rayman was knocked aside by Skops' tail. Despite his agility, the scorpion was overwhelming him, his brute strength and size proving more than the limbless could handle. He quickly stood up again, and the tail only hit the ground the second time.
Sweat was nearly falling into his eyes by now, his whole body covered by dirt from all the rolls and dashes he had to do to avoid immediate death. He continuously looked for an opening; a point he could damage on the scorpion, but could find any. Skops even protected his face now, so another facial shot was out of the question. Thus, he had to resort to randomly throwing a few spheres off, hoping to at least throw him off balance.
It wasn't nearly as easy though as it sounded. Skops was old, but not even close to stupid. Either evading Ray's blasts or taking them without a wince, he always kept on attacking, not giving the limbless a moment to breathe. A whip coming from the side and Ray would have had his torso shot into the other end of the cavern, if he hadn't commenced a lightning-fast back-flip.
The scorpion was much smarter than last time, attacking whenever Ray had an opening only he noticed. Learning from his earlier mistake, he try to shoot him at all, instead relying purely on brute force. He quickly bashed into the ground just before Rayman, the impact more than enough to set him off balance.
Skops' next attack made Ray's friends gasp in horror. The scorpion gave the limbless a taste of just how hard his body was, by punching him with his other scissor. He flew a good deal, before crashing into the cavern wall. He slowly sunk back to the bottom, not moving at all. He seemed good as dead.
“Ray!!” Salian promptly screamed, pale just like the others. He was about to run towards him, when Globox stepped before him, looking quite serious. “Globox, please, he needs our help!” the boy cried, nearly ready to tackle over him.
“I know!” the glute replied, his voice nearly rivalling with the boy's. “But if you run there, you'll only get yourself killed! Have faith in Ray...please Sal, you have to keep believing in him. He has more to him than others see at first...just give him a chance.” his voice sounded more hopeful than definite though. He was obviously very worried for the limbless as well.
They both turned to see what would happen, immense worry in their hearts. Rayman, the guardian of the Fairy Glade...he couldn't fall; not like this. He seemed to be out cold though, unable to defend himself as Skops slowly came for the finishing blow, a victorious look beaming from his eyes.
Rayman! Please, wake up! Skops is coming for you! Ly looked the most worried, hoping more than anything that her mental urging reached him. She still had the link she accidentally forged with him years ago; an accident she praised Polokus it happened. Ray...please, I beg you. We need you...maybe even more than ever. Please, wake up!!
There was no motion from the limbless though. He was still slumped on the ground as Skops came closer, towering over Rayman. This was it finally. His victory and vengeance over the limbless hero, who defeated him all those years ago. Finally, after enduring the humiliation, he was here and ready to exact his revenge. He pulled his tail up, pointing the sharp needle on the end of it at the 'O' on Rayman's body. Ly closed her eyes, unable to watch what would happen next...the demise of one of her most dearest friend.
The next thing the scorpion could see, was a sudden movement from the unconscious limbless and the burning agony that followed. Rayman was alive as ever, standing still, his hands still in the pose from which he threw his energy sphere he had been building since Skops had tossed him there. A relieved sigh came from all of his friends...their hope wasn't in vain.
“I'm not that easy to beat...” he growled, keeping himself on his feet while the scorpion stumbled around, his face burning from the ball Ray had thrown into his face.
Everything seemed to shake to his anger, the ground once again cracking. He's tearing the whole place apart! Rayman decided he wasted enough time on the scorpion and headed towards his friends, carefully avoiding the fissures along the way. The others were lucky, the ground was fully intact there, but Ray could see the lava rising under them already. They needed to get out here, fast!
“Celebration later, we gotta leave immediately!” he stated upon reaching the others.
They nod, though their smile showed the limbless wouldn't escape it. Not that he wanted to though. There was a moment where he thought his consciousness would fade, which would had cost him his life. The only thing that kept him awake, was that his friends were still in danger, and that only he could help them. His sense of duty was stronger than any shock or pain.
The peace only lasted a few moments though. Ly's sudden scream alerted all three of them, making them look in the direction she was pointing into. A huge rock was flying towards them, hurled by the wounded, but all-too-alive scorpion. Only having a moment, they all attempted to lunge away, while the rocks crashed into the cavern-wall. The entire place shook once again, long cracks appearing on the top as well.
Rayman and Salian were able to jump aside so that only a couple of smaller rocks reached them from the blast, but Globox wasn't so lucky. He only realized a moment after acting that Ly was still in his hands, making such a lunge a quite painful move for the already wounded fairy. Having no alternative and only a split second to act, he released her into a different direction.
The glute managed to avoid getting squished and stopped rolling after a few moments. Ly on the other hand tumbled quite a few yards, ending up near the edge of the ground. She felt like screaming as her wound pulsed with renewed vigour, making her set her teeth just so she could suppress it. Glancing to her side, her eyes widened as she realized she was practically on the edge of the ground itself, lava bubbling right under her.
She could hear Globox and the others call out for her as they tried to reach her, only to be halted by the vengeful scorpion. Not caring much about dignity or anything, the monster began to attack in a random pattern, trying to hit anyone he could see. The three friends were pushed back against the wall again, despite Ray's counter-attacks. Skops seemed to be ignorant to any pain now.
The fairy managed to push herself on her back with a pained cry, her leg feeling like it would be torn off at any moment. Through the waves of pain, she remembered the crystal Rayman shattered. She still had quite a lot of energy from that, even though the rest of those crystalline traps were already syphoning her power-reserve.
Though she seriously doubted she could unleash anything that could save them at this moment, the fairy decided it was high-time to end her passive role. She wanted to fight; to help her friends. Forcing herself into sitting, which again put unwanted pressure in her wound, she prepared to make her move, putting her hands together. She prayed her gash wouldn't start bleeding again while she collected the magic that nearly smouldered inside of her by now.
Her try was not without result as a faint light ignited in the middle of her hand, pure energy beginning to gather around it. In contrast to her earlier one, which used everything she had, this time it formed much quicker, and seemed much more powerful as well. The core of it exploded shortly to form the well-known sphere shape; the mostly traditional weapon of her kin.
She had to close her eyes from the moment as the purifying light the ball emanated nearly blinded her. Slowly opening it again, she was marvelled to see that her little weapon seemed to resemble the sun itself as raw energy ruffled on it. Even her jade eyes seemed to glimmer now from the brightness of the sphere, finally giving back a healthy colour to her face.
Glaring at the scorpion as he attempted yet another attack on her friends, she let out a sharp cry and threw the sphere, supporting the throw with even more power as she knew she wasn't strong enough to throw it all the way. She recoiled a bit from the throw, though luckily weren't thrown off the edge by it. Her expectations were perfectly met however, as Skops diverted his attention to her, only to be met by the young fairy's sphere.
The ball of energy didn't explode on impact this time though...at least, not nearly as powerfully as she expected from its form. There was a bit of explosion that sent Skops stumbling backwards a bit, but the majority of it seemed to be downright absorbed by the scorpion!
All four of them watched in awe and a slight fear as Skops continued stumbling, looking actually much less in pain than from Rayman's sphere. Instead, he seemed to be struggling with something. Ly gasped as suddenly a black mass sept out from the predator, slowly dispersing in the air.
Rayman watched the cloud for the longest time, before memories flooded his mind, one especially vivid. A tiny limbless battling a giant saxophone, notes blowing all around until the wrong note set the whole thing right. The same cloud came out Mr. Sax as well, all those years ago...the sign that he had his free will once again.
The limbless slowly approached the scorpion without fear now. He first seemed aggressive still, but soon eased up, his tail curling up on the ground. He towered over Rayman with all of his pride, missing the primal hunger or hatred altogether, instead seeming rather like a king attending to an ambassador...the ruler of the caves listening to what the surface dweller had to say.
Before the limbless could speak however, the scorpion lunged away, landing not far from Ly. The ground shook from the impact a bit, bringing her dangerously close to the edge. While Globox and Salian looked ready to attack Skops if necessary, Ray gestured to them to stay put. He knew already from their earlier encounter that under normal conditions, the scorpion never attacked wounded ones.
Ly didn't know this however and gazed at Skops with bright fear, trembling all over. She wanted to back up to something, but right now it was either the scorpion or the lava...and neither seemed like a good choice. Her fear turned worse as he raised his tail, reaching out for her with it. The fairy closed her eyes shut, not wanting to face death like this.
Her eyes sprung open though as she felt the tail gently push her back from the edge, so carefully even her wound didn't act up again. She involuntarily let out a cry as it curled around her waist, raising her into the air slightly. A moment later she came to rest on one of is scissors, carefully closed so she wouldn't accidentally cut herself.
The fairy gazed at the scorpion with complete and utter confusion. She thought he would kill her right on spot, and here he was, escorting her back to the others. Skops, the dreaded lord of the caves, the mighty predator who could easily kill anyone in the blink of an eye...was letting her rest on one of his main weapons, while taking her back to her friends. A faint sparkle of realization appeared in her eyes a moment later, though the idea seemed obscure, at best.
“Y-you're...thankful?” she blurted out, covering her mouth right after. She cursed herself for being so stupid to ask such a question...what if he'd suddenly reconsider? The scorpion didn't seem mad though, he just continued to carry her. The pieces finally clicked together in Ly's head, making her gasp a tiny bit. Now she understood why Dark took them here. “He was controlling you...wasn't he?” she asked, her voice still a bit shaky from the fear.
The only thing resembling an answer was a slight grunt from Skops. Despite obviously an intelligent being, he couldn't talk. Ly was even surprised she expected him to talk. Maybe it was because she didn't expect him to show an emotion like gratitude either. She was about ask another question, when a loud crack alerted all of them.
The top of the cavern began to crumbled, signifying the whole place would be levelled in mere minutes. Skops scurried up towards Rayman, while Ly grasped into his scissor a bit. She only realized now how fast the scorpion was, being probably the first person who could enjoy such a ride. Despite the fact that he was no longer their enemy, the group was still in mortal danger. With death approaching from above and below...it was only a matter of time before they'd fall.
- - -
Betilla calmly kept still as two Teensies kept their hands at her forehead, their other palms facing a point not far from them. Shya watched silently, not wanting to disrupt the obviously powerful spell that had begun to work. The points where the hands touched the Elder fairy's forehead glinted slightly, as did the other hands of the two blue ones.
Shya had never seen a portal magic like this one and stood quite confused, even though another Teensie had already explained the method. They had Betilla concentrating on the place Ly's spirit projection showed, while the two touching her forehead focused their portal magic.
If all went right, a portal would soon open, leading right into the place where the little group was stuck. Shya prayed their plan would work. She somehow knew that their lives were hanging on a string at this point...and sadly, her premonitions have become reality lately. A sudden flash made her flinch though, and pay attention to the spell once again.
The Teensie begin to chant, first as low as a whisper, then increasing in volume every moment. Bluish light emanated from their free hands and Shya could feel ancient magic vibrating nearby. She rubbed the cask that held her broken hand, frustrated over how much longer it would take. She couldn't help her worry at this point.
Betilla seemed to be strained from the magic by now, but kept concentrating, knowing how important this was. For the sake of Ly and the others, she had to keep going. As soon as the image would have faded, she strengthened her resolve, the cavern once again vivid before her eyes. Hold on Ly...hold on just a bit more!
Shya hadn't even noticed yet, that a small number of Glade inhabitants had gathered around silently, eyeing the spell carefully. She could see Uglette with some of her children, looking very worried. The fairy could understand it perfectly...he had a wife and hundreds of kids waiting for him back home.
A sound suddenly alerted Shya again, making her gaze at the upcoming spell once again. It sounded like paper shredding, and she was awe to see as the air itself seemed to twist a bit, before a hole was torn into it. The newly-opened portal shone in a bright light and only two of her kin were able to hold her back as she wanted to enter it.
Betilla gasped slightly as the Teensies let go of her forehead, allowing her thoughts to flow freely again. She gazed at the portal with bright hope, knowing if Ly and the others were still there, they'd be coming in a few moments. She wanted to enter it at once, but knew this portal could only be accessed from the opposite side. She helped as much as she could...they'd have to do the rest themselves.
- - -
“Look!” Salian cried, noticing a bright flash close-by.
Both Rayman and Globox watched with awe as a portal slowly opened, shining brightly in the barely illuminated cavern. They could barely believe that after so many fights, luck finally winked at them. This tiny fragment of ancient magic was their salvation, their freedom...their road back home.
Skops seemed to notice that as well and speeded towards the portal, instead of the others. Ly held on tightly, her heart sky-high from the sight of the portal. She succeeded after all; Betilla got her message, and acted probably as fast as she could. It only took a few minutes to reach the swirling light that meant life for her.
The two reached the portal just in time as Ray and the others did. Skops came up close to Globox, who still looked horrified by the beast, but didn't run away. The scorpion extended his claw and bended it a bit, letting Ly promptly slide into the glute's hold once more. He took a few steps back and nod at the portal signifying they should leave immediately.
Salian and Ray were already before the portal and were now waiting for Globox to bring Ly along. The cavern was dangerously shaking at this point, but the limbless was sure they had at least a minute left. Skops slowly bowed a bit before the fairy, making her blush a bit. The scorpion was actually thanking her!
“I'm happy you're back to your old self.” she smiled, guessing what he was trying to tell her. She remembered a little glimmer she had spotted on the scorpion's scissor, and spoke up once more. “Those statues were really beautiful.”
The boys glanced at each other, understanding it only now. Skops seemed almost amused from her remark and bowed again, in a manner an artist did to someone who praised his works. Hearing another crack though, he nod towards the portal again. They had to leave fast, if they wanted to get out here.
“Ly, it's time to go!” Ray called, looking slightly worried by now.
The fairy knew he was right, but one this still bugged her....a question which had become very much valid since the scorpion showed his true colours. “What will happen to you?” she asked gently.
Again, the scorpion seemed rather amused. He extended his scissors a bit, as if embracing the cavern altogether and gave off a loud growl. He was still the ruler of this place; such a lowly collapse would never be able to take him down. The fairy seemed to accept this as an answer and nod at Globox.
“Ready?” Ray asked with a grin, once all of them were before the portal. Without waiting for a collective answer, they all stepped forward as once...their home awaited them.
- - -
The first sound that reached Salian's ears were a loud cheering, that seemed to come from hundreds at the same time. The stones and darkness were gone, and the magnificent green of the Fairy Glade was before his eyes once again. They were in his beloved forests again. He was finally home.
He glanced around, but couldn't see his mother at first sight. His heart sunk a bit from that...out of everyone he wished to be with her the most. There wasn't a moment when he hadn't thought about her back in the caves, and he really wanted to be with her now, more than anything.
And then, it reached his ears. A female voice calling his name, urging him to look. As he glanced aside, tears appeared in the corners of his eyes. Without thinking any further, he ran forward until he bumped into a familiar form and flung his arms around her. He grasped her tightly, nuzzling against her shoulders.
“Mother...” he whispered, almost sobbing.
“I'm here...I'm here with you Sal...” Shya purred softly, embracing the boy tightly.
Finally, after all trials, she got her son back. Salian clung to her for dear life, fearing she'd suddenly disappear and he'd find himself in those unforgiving caves again. Words couldn't describe the relief they both felt, the joined mother-son affection that burned between them. Sal didn't care about Dark, the caves or anything else anymore, only the fact that he was safe with his mother once again...and they'd never part again.
The rest of the group joined their own families as well. Ly's kin gently took her from Globox's arms and showered her with hugs and kisses, overjoyed to see their sister in once piece. They were all worried for her; worried for their little sister. The fairy couldn't even count how many of her kind had already greeted her, when her eyes got stuck on one in particular.
That fairy came up close and grasped her tightly, allowing her to release her stocked up tears. Ly nearly sunk into the green-yellow robe, making it quickly damp with her tears. She could feel as Betilla softly stroked her blue hair, purring to her. Out of all of her kind, she had missed the Elder fairy the most.
“I'm proud of you, Ly...” Betilla purred, her green eyes reflecting the same.
She was immensely proud at Ly for enduring all the horrors the caves had in store, and was now here, safe and sound. Some of her kin had already noticed the wound she had and called for healers at once. Ly just continued to snuggled into Betilla's arms, sobbing a tiny bit in happiness. The Elder fairy could swear she heard her say 'mother', though she didn't ask about it. She already knew how much the young fairy loved her.
“Okay Uglette, you can let go of him already.” Globox chuckled, petting his kids as they squeaked all around him, nearly dancing in happiness that their father was back with them.
His mate had been hugging Rayman for the past few minutes, showering him with kisses for keeping her darling Globox alive. The limbless laughed in the glute's embrace, slightly red from all the kisses. The glutes were the closest to his family, so he especially enjoyed the praise. When Uglette finally placed him back on the ground, he was immediately assaulted by the little ones, which quickly piled up on the limbless.
Globox embraced her love tightly, silently letting her know just how much he had missed her, and his entire family. They shared a little kiss, before glancing at their kids, while still in an embrace. They couldn't help but laugh as Rayman was barely visible from under the large pile of baby glutes, though his laughter could be heard easily.
“I thought I'd never see you again.” Salian muttered, still in a tight embrace with his mother. Now that they were together once again, he never wanted to let go of her, ever again.
“You'll never lose me Sal...I promise you won't...” Shya purred, running her hands through his dirty hair, softly stroking his back. Her worry finally faded away with him in her arms. She finally felt at peace once again
The fairies close-by nearly melted at the sight of the two. Not all fairies agreed with Shya's decision of adopting Salian on her own, but after seeing them like this, they even scolded themselves for ever doubting in it. They were perfect together, such pure love between mother and son that sometimes even real ones couldn't achieve.
Salian didn't care about anything, but his mother. No matter the pain he endured, the words that wanted to break him, this moment was a proof he had a place. He had a mother who loved him with all her heart and a home which was always welcoming, always forgiving. He belonged here...in the Glade, with his friends, in his mother's embrace...this was his home.
Nobody actually saw where it came from, the only sound following it a hiss of energy. Salian could only feel Shya violently twitch in his embrace, a pained gasp escaping her. He could feel something warm flood his hands, making his eyes go wide with horror. A sinister voice echoed over and over in his mind. ...I'll have to suffice with your past.
The first light of the morning sun had just began to illuminate the forest after the long night. It was almost dawn.
Re: Path To Divinity
D: Gawd, I was just going to check up on PC before going to bed, and then here's this! Now I'm going to sit awake late and sleep in tomorrow.
You're evil, Zay-el. Evil. <_<
But it'll probably be worth it. :0 *starts to read*
Edit: Read it now. It was grand. Loved the fight with skops, and how it ended. I was so happy at the end.
And omg, cliffhanger of doom! D: *spazz*
You're evil, Zay-el. Evil. <_<
But it'll probably be worth it. :0 *starts to read*
Edit: Read it now. It was grand. Loved the fight with skops, and how it ended. I was so happy at the end.
And omg, cliffhanger of doom! D: *spazz*
Last edited by Limely on Mon Mar 31, 2008 5:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Holy Crap
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Re: Path To Divinity
ooh! an update! MUST READ LATER!!! although i read lime;y's post while i was waiting, and it kinda gave it away.
Re: Path To Divinity
Oh, crud! Sorry, I'm editing it right away. I didn't think of that. 
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Holy Crap
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Re: Path To Divinity
i don't think that's really necessary, i should have just waited.
although: patience is not a virtue; it's a waste of time.
don't ask me where that's from, i simply don't know...someone in my class said it, but i don't know if they made it up or not.
EDIT: whoa, i'm a knaaren now, awesome!!!
Edit: thank god, they're finally out of the cave! very good as always, i can't wait for the 82 parts of chapter 7!
although: patience is not a virtue; it's a waste of time.
don't ask me where that's from, i simply don't know...someone in my class said it, but i don't know if they made it up or not.
EDIT: whoa, i'm a knaaren now, awesome!!!
Edit: thank god, they're finally out of the cave! very good as always, i can't wait for the 82 parts of chapter 7!
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Zay-el
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Re: Path To Divinity
Thankies to both of you ^^ The next part will probably only come later, since I need a little cooldown(I've written an INSANE amount of this story lately); I'll most probably do another oneshot before continuing. 83
I think now you can see why I was reluctant to write this. I feel sorry for doing this to Shya...not to mention poor Sal. D8
I think now you can see why I was reluctant to write this. I feel sorry for doing this to Shya...not to mention poor Sal. D8
Re: Path To Divinity
Do it in the pace that fits you the best, that way it'll be best. : D It'll be worth waiting for it.
Also, oneshots are love. :3
Poor Sal and Shya. I hope she's not hurt too bad or something like that... ;A; Knowing you, though, she probably is. :<
Also, oneshots are love. :3
Poor Sal and Shya. I hope she's not hurt too bad or something like that... ;A; Knowing you, though, she probably is. :<
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Zay-el
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Re: Path To Divinity
I'll take that as a compliment.Limely wrote:Poor Sal and Shya. I hope she's not hurt too bad or something like that... ;A; Knowing you, though, she probably is. :<
EDIT: Since I don't wanna reveal it altogether: if you look a little closely at the chapter's name, the final sentences, and the words in Sal's head, you'll know what happened to her. (just so you'll have to THINK about it, instead of me spoiling it. X3)
Thank you, I will. ^^ I've already devised the next pairing...and to be honest, this'll be more like Tainted Soul, than Spellbound.Limely wrote:Do it in the pace that fits you the best, that way it'll be best. : D It'll be worth waiting for it.
Also, oneshots are love. :3
Re: Path To Divinity
I suppose you can. xD;
If my hunch is right, I'm just gonna be in-denial until it's confirmed. :<
Anyways, excited about the oneshot, too. :3
If my hunch is right, I'm just gonna be in-denial until it's confirmed. :<
Anyways, excited about the oneshot, too. :3
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Zay-el
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Re: Path To Divinity
If you wanna, send me a PM about your hunch...I'm curious to see how close you are to the truth.
Re: Path To Divinity
*stuffs socks into ears* I'm in denial hereeeee~ D:
Naw, okay, I'll send you a guess. I need some time to write it out though. x3
Naw, okay, I'll send you a guess. I need some time to write it out though. x3
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Zay-el
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Re: Path To Divinity
I've sent you a reply.
Oh, and this stands for everyone else. If you have any hunch about what exactly happens here, send me a note about it. I'm curious on what all of you have in that clever mind of yours. ^__^
Oh, and this stands for everyone else. If you have any hunch about what exactly happens here, send me a note about it. I'm curious on what all of you have in that clever mind of yours. ^__^
Re: Path To Divinity
*spams reply back*
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Zay-el
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Re: Path To Divinity
*passes another reply*
Ball's in your court! XD
Ball's in your court! XD
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Termonaptir
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Re: Path To Divinity
Yayz, ya updated! Well, I'm gonna read it once I relax a bit... ^^
Well, I'm gonna read it once I relax a bit... ^^
Re: Path To Divinity
it is long
i'm starting to read it now
i'm starting to read it now
Re: Path To Divinity
i don't understand witch one salian is
but 84/100 good fanfic
in my opinion
but 84/100 good fanfic
in my opinion