A Word from the Author: How about a bit of background. While I was busy writing away at Chapter 3 of my RR satire Rayman 2: How Things Should Have Twice Been, I realized how hard it was to stop myself from writing a serious chapter. So I decided to write a novelization of Rayman 2: Revolution to coincide with the satire of the same game. This is that novelization. I hope nobody minds that I tweaked stuff here and there to make it compatible with the original Rayman. It also has some stuff that I made up entirely, such as theories, names, etc.
Chapter 1: The Stormy Night
A crash of lightning lit the way. Waves hit the side of many a rocky iceburg. The gleam of the lightning reflected off the water but not the waves. Raindrops pounded from the heavens, streaming from dark, ominous clouds. Now we approach an island out in the gloom. An island or a continent, nobody is really sure. The Looming Sea is vast, but its mountainous archipelago of rocks are hardly comparable to the large plateau of an island we are approaching. The island had no name other than the Glade of Dreams--really, that was the name of the planet, but because nobody truly knew what lay beyond the Looming Sea we call the island the glade as well.
For a time, the Glade was a land of harmony. Glowing entities known as Lums created a short, stubby man named Polokus. This man was the spirit of the world, the spirit of the Glade of Dreams, a land created by his dreams. He dreamt up the giant Clark, who shaped the land with his brute strength. He magicked up a council of Fairies and Ludivs to keep an eye on the Heart of the World. To keep a watch on the paths, passages, and secrets of his world he fantasized about small gnomes with long heads, the Teensies. There certainly had to be a smart aleck, so Polokus whipped up the all-knowing Greenbottles, such as Murfy. Finally, Polokus smiled as he dreamt about the Glutes, a humorous tribe with members such as Globox and his children. Many other creatures Polokus dreamt up, such as Eig, his assistant. Eig headed the Glades' polar opposite, the Cave of Bad Dreams.
But one day, Polokus left. The wicked Leptys, patron spirit of the accursed Knaaren, tricked Polokus into leaving his world. Where Polokus went is uncertain, but before Leptys could unleash the Knaaren the bird god was called there too. In fact, all the gods mingled with each other at some spiritual convention center. The time after Polokus' departure was a Golden Age. People learned to write and read, and they built up civilizations. A wizard by the name of Mister Dark attempted to break the peace by stealing the Grand Protoon, a sphere which Polokus left to keep things in balance. His plans were thwarted by the heroic Rayman, and peace quickly returned to the world. But that all changed just a few days ago, when evil from outer space visited the glade.
The glade though beautiful and harmonious was technologically weak. There were no factories, no machines, no nothing. It could only be expected that they'd be taken over. With Polokus and Leptys absent and Eig trapped in the Cave of Bad Dreams, there was no diety to protect the glade should evil arrive. Admiral Razorbeard was no fool. He picked the Glade of Dreams because it was so weak, so unprotected. The perfect place to take over.
Of course, there were some rebels. Rayman and his friends Globox, Clark, and the two fairies Ly and Betilla tried to stop Admiral Razorbeard's army of Robo-Pirates from invading. After the death of Betilla the Fairy at the hook of Razorbeard's hand, however, the rebellion began to crumble. It wasn't long before Rayman found himself cornered while attempting to single-handedly avenge the death of Betilla. This was a mistake.
Rayman had been fighting valiantly. He had powers that could keep the Robo-Pirates at bay, he could win. Yet suddenly his powers vanished mid-battle. "Rayman," Ly had echoed in the Raymanian's mind. "The Pirates! They, they've destroyed the Heart of the World! The Lums have been released, run!" Rayman had nowhere to run--he had not told his friends of his mission, and now he was trapped. Helpless now, he was no match for the Robo-Pirates.
Let us return to that rainy night, however. The night when the tides turned for the good. Let us gaze upon that foreboding ship, the Buccaneer. More than 18,000 prisoners lay locked up within Admiral Razorbeard's flagship. Rayman was there, locked away and helpless. Already he had witnessed the execution of his friends Tarayzan and Joe the Alien. How fondly he remembered swinging through the trees with Tarayzan. How much he enjoyed Joe's restaurant. Now he'd never experience those memories again. The beautiful songs would never play in the mountains, for Rayman's favorite guitarist, the esteemed Blue Mountain Man, had been executed yesterday. What a tragic time this was.
Ly the Fairy, in a desperate attempt to rescue Rayman, created a magical silver sphere--a Silver Lum. The Lum's purpose was to return to Rayman at least some of his powers. Ly ran into a bit of trouble, though, and entrusted the Lum to Rayman's best friend, Globox. Globox was now on his way to save Rayman by becoming an undercover prisoner.
And so it was that this rainy night Rayman heard iron clanging from beyond his electric prison bars. Rayman was a Raymanian, one of the last to not be executed by the Robo-Pirates. Like most Raymanians, Rayman had no neck, no arms, no legs, no tail. His torso, hands, and head flew limblessly above his feet. Rayman's torso was purple with a single white "0" insignia on the front. At the top was a scarf, wrapped around nothing. His hands were more like white gloves--nobody really knew if these were his hands or if they really were gloves because there was no visible way of getting them off. The same went for his feet; true, they were shoes, but was there any foot inside of them? They were yellow with intricate orange spirals. Rayman had a remarkably large nose, another characteristic of Raymanians. Beyond his snout-like nose were two large, connected eyes, and above them was orange hair split into two fronds. He had a small mouth whose upper jaw was a part of his snout. The mouth was awfully elastic, though, and if need be could be stretched into an enormous grimace.
"Unhand me you ruffians!" a large, frog-like being ordered the Robo-Pirates that dragged him. Globox was a Glute. Glutes are odd creatures, of which I can't really relate to any other animal other than a frog. He had webbed feet, webbed hands, no legs and scrawny, long arms. His neck was very thick, and his belly was plump and ovular. Globox's head was like two cymbols at a horizontal rest position. Two eyes rose from his upper jaw. Globox's skin was blue, almost turquoise, though his webbing and underside were a cyan-like white. Globox had been Rayman's best friend for a long time, and though most teased Globox and called him dumb, Rayman knew Globox to truly be a wise and respectable figure. Though Globox had been made from Polokus' creativity, he was probably one of the smartest rebels there was. To see Globox being dragged on the floor was a sad sight; had Rayman only known that Globox was doing this on purpose. A tear dropped from Rayman's eyes. "Oh Globox," Rayman sighed. "What have they done?"
But to Rayman's surprise the Glute was tossed right into his cell! "Curse you, Robo-Pirates!" Globox yelled in his deep, slightly whiny voice. "Every one of you!" The Glute then turned to Rayman and smiled. With a wink he admitted, "Well I had to get to you somehow."
"Globox!" Rayman cried. He ran to his friend and gave him a big hug. Globox hugged Rayman back. "I missed you, friend."
"What are they going to do to us?" Rayman asked. "I always hear of these 'executions,' where they take people away. You never see them again."
"Have they taken away anybody we know?"
"The Magician, Joe, Tarayzan... The Blue Mountain Man. I don't think they've taken Cookie away yet. Globox, how are we going to get out of here?"
Globox smiled and patted Rayman on the head. Rayman sobbed for a short while. "Rayman, I have come on purpose," he explained.
"Really?" Rayman asked with a sniffle. He rubbed his eyes. "What for?"
"Ly the Fairy sent me with a gift. I'm here to bust you out, Rayman. Look!" Globox opened his mouth wide and reached his hand into his throat. From his bowels he revealed a shining light. So encouraging it was, to see the light come from his stomach unscathed. Rayman knew what the light was. Betilla had used them long ago when Mister Dark had threatened the peace. Betilla... She was like a mother to Rayman. He couldn't help but shed a few tears when the light reminded him of her death. Razorbeard had done it personally, stabbing her in the heart with his hook. Perhaps this light, this Silver Lum, would give him the powers he needed to avenge her. "Take it," Globox urged. "Let's get out of here!"
Rayman nodded. He took the Silver Lum. It shone even brighter and Rayman had to shield his eyes with his other hand. The Lum launched itself into Rayman's torso and soon he was the one shining brighter. Light returned to Rayman's eyes, the light of hope and courage. He felt strength returning to him. Soon he could easily stand without straining himself. The paleness in his skin saturated itself. Rayman felt partly bad for the other Raymanians. Without the Heart of the World, the Raymanians were helpless and weak. Rayman was now returning to health, but the rest were still dying. "Well Globox," Rayman said with a smile. "Let's get out of here." Finally he could move his hands again. He could move his hands before, but a unique ability to the Raymanians was the ability to send their hands out away from their bodies, an action called "throwing" one's fist.
With newfound strength Rayman pounded a ventilation grate. It crumbled away, old and rusted. "Come on, Globox!" Rayman called excitedly. He jumped into the vent, not waiting for his friend. The dark ventilation shaft would have been pitch-black if it weren't for the lights that were here and there. To add to the lighting were red, winged lights. They were parts of the Heart of the World, Red Lums. Long ago, the Red Lums had given energy to the newly formed world. Now thanks to the Robo-Pirates they were scattered. Rayman knew, though, that they would help him. On the slippery shaft he slid right through them. They sparkled as he did and launched themselves into his chest. Soon he felt prime and healthy, full of energy.
It wasn't long before the limbless creature arrived at an exhaust port. The rainy night sky was spread out above him. The Buccaneer was not the conventional sort of ship; no, it was a spaceship made to look like a giant galleon. So he was high in the sky. So small was the land beneath him; he'd have to use some sort of parachute to get down. A shame that he forgot about Globox. If he hadn't, I don't know how the story would have unfolded. Unfortunately, he did forget about Globox, whose weight gave him little control on his slide down the shaft. Globox slammed right into Rayman and sent the two of them careening off the ship and into the sky. Rayman screamed as gravity took hold of him and he and Globox plummeted towards the earth.
The air whistled as Rayman sliced through the atmosphere at an increasing speed. Rayman could see the Buccaneer rapidly shrinking as he fell farther and farther away from it. He wondered when the Robo-Pirates would notice he was gone, and what they'd do to find him. But would they find him alive? Rayman wasn't certain, and he had the sinking feeling that this would be the death of him. He was going too fast to use his helicopter hair to save him, and there was no way of slowing his descent because he didn't have a lot of mass. The last thing Rayman saw before he crashed into the world below was the twinkling of a few stars; the storm was clearing up.
A Word from the Author: As a little trivia fact, that last paragraph was originally the first paragraph of Chapter 2!