The Vagabond Defenders of Shokahn
Long ago, in land called Shokahn1, there lived two individuals whose soul purpose in life was to preserve the tranquility of the land they lived in. These individuals were a pair of extremely unique twins, Finx and Brawn. Nobody, not even they themselves, knew their true names. However, the little that was known about them is considered to be disheartening by all that hear tales of their exploits. They were born normal and healthy, however, very soon after their births, they mutated extraordinarily quickly. Brawn's mutation caused him to become deformed by normal standards, while Finx's changed him very little. Five short years after their birth, their parents were killed in a terrible war that struck Shokahn.
After their parents' deaths, the two lost their memories of their true names, since everyone around them dubbed them based on their mutated appearance. They were called by these dubbed names so much that they themselves began calling each other by those names. Eventually, the two felt that they had limited options in the world, and began to wander the land, searching for someone to take them in and give them food, shelter, and the other necessary things they required to survive. However, even when the two of them would find such a place, usually only Finx would be taken in; Brawn's outer appearance was anything but human. Out of loyalty, Finx would decline the shelter, and the two would continue has they had. This chain of events continued for thirteen long years.
The two grew into strong, relatively intelligent adults. Finx grew to be five feet, five inches tall. He wore a black tunic and had incredibly long, black hair that flowed down to his middle back. Once the twins began their heroic acts, everybody around Finx re-dubbed him "Were-Finx" because, although he appeared human, he had several very wolf-like traits from his mutation. All four of his canine teeth were longer than normal, and appeared to be the fangs of an animal. The irises of his eyes were yellowish in color and he had heightened senses of smell, sight, and hearing. His sense of sight was so great that he could see clearly in almost total darkness. In addition, Finx was incredibly fast on his feet, exceeding the speed of a horse. This speed also enhanced his reflexes; Finx had been known to dodge multiple arrows fired at close range with no effort at all.
In nature, he was helpful, but tended to be insensitive to other people, besides his brother. Finx also had a streak of greed in his past; this was usually the cause for the pair of brothers being thrown out of a village, once they were accepted into it. On several occasions, Finx would sneak into the homes of the rich and steal rupees, the currency in Shokahn. More often than not, he would get caught, and the twins were put out into the world to fend for themselves once again. However, taking pity on the twosome, the people that were stolen from would often let them keep at least some of the money that was stolen.
Brawn was just the opposite of his twin brother. Brawn stood at a towering seven feet tall. He also wore black, but there was a white stripe running up the middle of his top, on both the front and back. Brawn had no hair, and his skin was pitch black. His most distinguishing features were his extra set of arms, his solid, bright green eyes, and the gold glow that surrounded his entire body. The glow emitted a large amount of light, consequently allowing Brawn to travel in total darkness without any problems.
He was originally dubbed "Brawn" because of his immense physical strength; he was easily capable of lifting fifty tons over his head and throw it more than one hundred feet. Eventually, after he'd gained some recognition as Finx's partner, he was re-dubbed "Brawn, the Eternal Guardian". The reason for this dubbing was Brawn's power to heal at incomprehensible speeds; to people looking on, he healed so quickly that it seemed as if he wasn't injured at all! This ability spread to his skeletal structure as well, causing his bones to become harder than steel. Unfortunately, Brawn's surplus muscle mass made him exceedingly heavy; he weighed in at about 1100 pounds. Consequently, this also caused him to be rather slow on his feet.
Brawn's nature was also the polar opposite of his brother's. Though he appeared to be a gigantic, four-armed, inhuman brute, Brawn was so gentle that he wouldn't harm a fly. This trait would change in an instant, however, should something threaten his brother. His huge heart would extend to others around him, even when others were less than kind to him. He had a stern code of ethics that he stood by, which often prompted him to dissuade Finx from stealing from people. When Finx would get caught, though, Brawn was the first in line to defend him.
Sometime around September, the pair of drifters came to the capital city of Shokahn, Shokahna2. The city had a reputation as the "city of benevolence." Once they reached the city gates, Brawn said, "Alright, Finx. I know if I go in, I'm only going to scare people. You look normal, so you go into town and see if you can dig up anything involving 'work'." "Alright," Finx returned. "Oh," Brawn added, "and don't even think about stealing so much as a single rupee! I'm getting sick of having to come to your rescue all the time!" "Come on, Bro, what would ever give you that idea?" Finx asked. "I'm your twin brother, Finx," Brawn replied. "I know you." "Relax, Brawn," Finx asserted, "they can't catch me!" "That's what you said every other time," Brawn shouted back. "Look! If you don't want to listen to me, that's fine. But if you get caught, so help me, I'm not going to help you this time!" "Yeah, yeah..." Finx muttered.
So, as Brawn leaned up against the town gates and waited patiently, Finx went into town. The town had much more hustle and bustle than any that the brothers were used to, not to mention the massive size of the city. Doing as Brawn requested, Finx asked around town about any recent troubles in the area. Pretty soon, he hit the jackpot, in more ways than one, in the central square.
The king of Shokahn was in central square trying to get the people to rise. "My very dear people," the king began, "our neighbors in the village of Shuka3 have been threatened by vile creatures, called Gigavores, over the past few days. These creatures are ravaging their crops, destroying their homes, and even going as far as abducting children from the village!" The crowd that had gathered murmured amongst themselves as the king continued his speech; "The village is rather destitute, but they have offered a reward for the extermination of these creatures, as well as the return of their children," the king concluded.
A few brave men in the crowd seemed ready to come to the Shukans'4 aid. One man asked, "My liege, what exactly are the Gigavores?" The king replied, "Well, from what I've heard about them, they are ordinary animals, only they are ten or twelve times their normal size." With this comment, the once proud "champion of the people" lost his nerve and stepped down. Distraught, the king shouted into the crowd, "Will no one be brave and help our neighbors? The military is concentrating on fortifying our own defenses, should the Gigavores come to our city! We can't spare any soldiers!" At long last, somebody else in the crowd asked the all-important question: "What's the reward?" With mild disgust, the king answered, "An enormous wallet dubbed 'The Titan's Pouch', which can hold up to 20,000 rupees, with 15,000 rupees included!"
Suddenly, every man in the crowd started to give off displays of bravado and wild cheers surged through the crowd! During all of this, Finx had been pickpocketing everybody he could, accumulating a large sum of 300 rupees. Finx then made his way to the front of the crowd, and asked the king for a map to the Shukan village. At the question, the king shouted into the crowd, "Indeed! Any man who is brave enough to attempt this difficult task will receive a map of the Shukan area." "Then, I will be the first to volunteer!" Finx declared.
Finx suddenly realized that he had no weapon to speak of, and he couldn't allow himself to make Brawn to all the work, so he added, "Your majesty, I have no weapon to speak of, and I wish to not make my brother do everything, so..." The king seemed to understand Finx's plight, so he gave him a letter. "Go to the blacksmith's shop and present this letter to the blacksmith," the king instructed. "This letter states that I will pay for any sword you wish to buy, provided the first thing you do with it is defend the Shukans." The generous king extended this offer to everyone else in the crowd, however, all the men in the crowd were former members of the military, and thus, owned a sword. Finx thanked the king humbly, then went on his way in search of the blacksmith.
Finx soon found what he was looking for and went inside the shop. The blacksmith was a large man who made Finx look puny in comparison. "What is it you're looking for, young man?" the blacksmith asked. Finx handed the blacksmith the letter from the king. Upon receiving the letter, the blacksmith said, "Very well. Look around until you find something that suits your fancy." Finx didn't have to look for very long; he soon discovered a sword with an orangish-colored blade. The blacksmith looked at it and stated, "We just imported that today. It's supposed to be one of kind. It was called the Fire Sword for a reason; the magic blade is made of fire and can cut through weaker armor and steel with ease. Normally, I wouldn't sell it for less than 100,000 rupees, but since you're taking advantage of the king's generosity, I'll just give it to you, and include the heat-resistant sheath for free!"
Finx left the blacksmith shop with a large smile on his face. But, that smile soon turned upside down; very soon he was spotted by a man that was in the crowd with him. The man shouted at the top of his lungs, "Guards! That's him! That's the bloke that robbed me!" "Uh-oh," Finx whimpered to himself, and ran as fast as he was able toward the front gates. In mere seconds, he was at the front gate and saw Brawn a short distance away.
"Who are you running from in such a hurry?" Brawn greeted Finx. Finx looked back and saw that everybody else that he'd pickpocketed in the crowd had joined in the chase! "A lot of people," Finx reluctantly replied. "I knew I shouldn't have let you go into town! All you ever do is steal from people!" Brawn yelled in disgust. The crowd had caught up to Finx while he and Brawn were arguing. At the display in front of them, they all wondered aloud, "What in heaven's name is he arguing with?" "Aw, come on, Brawn! You know I only do that so we can pay for our next meal!" Finx argued. "That doesn't make it right!" Brawn countered. "Uh...excuse me," a man from the crowd interrupted. "STAY OUT OF THIS!" Brawn bellowed toward the crowd. Once they got a look at what he was, the crowd ran for their lives in the opposite direction, fearing that they'd invoked a demon's fury!
After the crowd ran away, Brawn calmed down. "How did you know I'd help you, even after I said I wouldn't?" Brawn inquired. Finx sarcastically replied, "I'm your twin brother, Brawn. I know you." "You're lucky we have the same mother," Brawn laughed. "So, did you do anything in town besides steal rupees?" "As matter of fact, yes," Finx proudly stated. "I found out that the village of Shuka has been attacked repeatedly by creatures called Gigavores." "What..." Brawn started to ask. "They are animals that are between ten and twelve times their normal size," Finx interrupted. "The king here is rather generous. He let me buy any sword I wanted to from the blacksmith, on his tab, provided that the first thing I did with it was defend Shuka. I even got us a map to the Shukan village." "Is that right?" said Brawn. "For a minute, I though you stole that sword, too." "Very funny," Finx grumbled. "We should probably bring a Gigavore carcass back here with us when we're done." "Why?" Brawn questioned. "Because if we don't, the king is going to send the entire army after us! The sword I 'bought' was 100,000 rupees!" Finx shouted hysterically. "What?" Brawn stammered. "Well, you know what they say, 'When it rains, it pours'! Alright, lets go help the Shukans and get your name cleared. I have no desire to lose the only family I've got." The two brothers gave each other a loving smile, then started their journey toward western Shokahn.
After the pair of brothers had walked for several hours, Brawn asked, "Finx, how far away is this place anyway? We've been walking for almost six hours now." Finx took out the map and looked at it carefully. After a little bit, Finx replied, "Well, judging from our surroundings, I'd say we're about here on the map..." Finx pointed to an area toward the left-hand side of the map, about an inch from the village of Shuka. "...and the scale on the map is about 20 miles per inch, so we're probably at least another half day's walk from the village." Finx finished. "Alright. Then let's walk until nightfall and continue in the morning," Brawn suggested. "That sounds like a plan to me," Finx said. "I'm getting hungry, anyway. You don't suppose that there's a restaurant anywhere near by, do you?" "I kinda doubt it," Brawn stated. "Are there any spots marked as such on the map?" "Unfortunately," Finx remarked, "no such markings were made on the map. We'll have to find a place on our own." Brawn gave a light sigh, then said, "Oh well. That's what we've been doing for the past thirteen years, what else is new?"
After this conversation, the two brothers continued their long walk to the village of Shuka. Eventually, night fell. The moon light was very limited, as storm clouds were forming overhead. However, the glow from Brawn's body gave off plenty of light, enough that the two were able to find a large cave for shelter. For the rest of the evening, the rain came down in floods, but other than that, the night was uneventful. The next morning the brothers woke up and looked outside of their cave. The sun was shining brightly, without a cloud in the sky, contrasting the previous night. Finx yawned, "It's a good day to travel, eh Brawn?" Brawn answered, "Well, at least the rain stopped. But, odds are that more people are coming, probably on horseback. They'll beat us to the village if we don't hurry, so we should really get a move on." "Agreed," Finx concluded.
With the additional walking from the previous night, the brothers were only eight hours away from the far-off village. Soon after they continued walking, they heard the sounds of horses' hooves approaching rapidly. "So, Brawn, why do you suppose everyone else left about a day after we did?" Finx asked. "I suppose everyone else was gathering supplies for the long trip, and weapons to use against the Gigavores," Brawn guessed. "We didn't have anything to gather up, so we got about half a day head start on the greedy punks looking for that reward." Finx queried, "Why do you think we're going, then?" "Well, I suppose for the same reason, but at least we aren't motivated solely by the profit of rupees," Brawn shot back. "Yeah, I suppose that is what separates us from the competition," Finx agreed.
Soon, a knight on horseback caught up the brothers. "That must be one of the Gigavores that has been attacking the village! Kill him!" the knight shouted to the men following him. To make matters worse, he was pointing at Brawn when he said it! Brawn sighed, "You've got to be freaking kidding me! Do I even look like an animal, you idiot!" The knight sat back in shock; "It...it spoke!" he stuttered in surprise. Finx unsheathed his sword and shouted, "Hey! Leave my brother alone and keep right on going, you lowlifes!" "You are related to this...this monstrosity?" the knight questioned with disgust. "Yeah, and I'm quite proud of it! Now, get lost!" Finx thundered. The knight eventually left, reluctantly. However, before he and his men went on their way, the knight warned Finx, "Very well. We shall withdraw for now, but soon, you will pay for this humiliation!"
Finx was seething with fury toward the cold-hearted knight when Brawn said, "Finx, thanks." Finx looked at his gargantuan twin, saying, "Hey, don't worry about it. I already owe you a million for all the times you defended me after I was caught stealing. Anyway, Shuka isn't too far now, only another couple of hours. Besides, assuming that the other wannabe heroes started out today with those creeps, they'll probably be stopping for a rest soon. We'll walk right past 'em!" The remaining three hours of the journey were quiet, until Finx and Brawn reached a large rock overhanging. The rock extended all the way across a large gorge, like a bridge. Across the bridge, they could see a hill, which at long last, lead to the Shukan village! Behind them they suddenly heard, "There is a lesson you need to learn, fool!" The brothers looked behind them to see the same knight from before! He was holding a medieval bomb and threw it towards them! The two ran in the opposite direction, only to find that another knight had done the same to that side of the bridge as well!
The two chunks of bridge blew apart, leaving the middle, along with the brothers, to plummet into the deep gorge below! Once he watched the brothers disappear from sight, the knight laughed sadistically, "That's the last time we'll be mocked by those two brothers. The village is up ahead, let's go." Unbeknownst to the greedy knights, during the fall, Brawn got his brother into a bear hug and landed on his back, taking the full force of the fall. Finx climbed up from the 10x10x10 crater, saying, "Oh, jezz, I think I'm gonna be sick. Hey, Brawn, you alright!" "Well, I'll be feeling that tomorrow, and I've never been more thankful that I can heal so quickly, but other than that, yeah, I'm 100 percent." "Well, that's great, but how are we going to get out of this gorge?" Finx whined. "You just leave that to me, Finx," Brawn said, as he cracked his knuckles. Finx climbed up onto Brawn's back, and Brawn started to use is amazing strength to climb up the virtually flat wall in front of them! By punching holes in the wall, Brawn was able to us his upper set of arms to make a new set of holes, while his lower set held him and his brother in place. After about an hour, the two brothers were back at the top of the cliff and headed in the right direction.
"Remind me to give that greedy punk a piece of my mind the next time we see him, Finx," Brawn said, with a hint of rage. Finx felt the same way, but said nothing, instead instructing Brawn to follow him, as they continued towards the village. After another fifteen minutes, they were in the village, just as the sun began its descent in the sky. Meanwhile, the head knight was meeting with the village chief, about receiving the reward in advance. The chief tried explaining to the knight that he couldn't give him the reward, for several reasons. One being that he wasn't sure that the knight would be the only one coming, and second the Gigavores had to be defeated before the chief would give the reward to anyone. With rage, the knight stormed out of the chief's hut. Upon his exit, he saw a glow in the distance; a glow he didn't want to see.
Just as the evil knight exited the hut, Finx and Brawn reached the village. They were heading straight toward the chief's hut. The knight unsheathed his sword, shouting, "Everyone run for safety! A demon has entered the village!" A few villagers heard the knight and fled, others just stayed inside their homes. Brawn and Finx continued to approach the chief's hut, completely ignoring the knight, that is, until they were close to him. With no emotion, Brawn used his lower left arm and cold-clocked the knight, laying him out in a daze. "I think he got the message, Finx. Let's see the village chief." Brawn said calmly.
A minute later, they were knocking on the chief's door. Soon, the brothers were granted an invitation inside. Finx went in first, followed closely by Brawn. The chief seemed to show little surprise at Brawn's unworldly appearance, asking only, "So, are you two here to come to our aid?" Finx replied, "Yes, my brother and I are." "Oh, so this massive creature is your brother, young one? Hmm...well, after seeing the Gigavores, nothing surprises me. Have you, too, come to seek the reward in advance?" the chief asked with disdain. "No, sir," Brawn replied, "my brother and I came here to request a meal and some lodging for the night." "Hmm...well, it is apparent that your souls aren't ruled by greed, as that foolish knight's is. Certainly, go to the inn near the main gate. It will cost about 300 rupees for the night, but you will get a dinner to go along with the room," stated the chief. "Thank you for your generosity, sir," Finx said with a bow. Following their meeting, the two left and headed towards the inn.
When Finx entered the inn, in front of Brawn, the innkeeper introduced herself as Eliza. "A room and a meal for one this evening?" asked Eliza. Just then Brawn entered, and the innkeeper started shaking with terror. "Well, make that room and the meal for two. He's with me." Finx said in reply. "A...alright. One room and a meal for two coming right up," Eliza stated with a shaky voice. After a few minutes, two large portions of fish and pasta were served and the two brothers sat down to eat. Brawn stayed off of the furniture, knowing that his massive weight would easily break it. Despite visible fear, Eliza came over and asked Brawn, "Good sir, why don't you sit at the table, instead of on the floor?" Brawn replied, "Well, Eliza, I weigh 1100 pounds. I don't suppose your furniture can take that kind of weight?" Eliza seemed less afraid of Brawn now, given the gentle manner in which he answered her question. "I'm sorry to say, but no," Eliza said. "Don't worry about it. I'll just sleep down here by the fire place, and Finx can have the room all to himself, that is, if it's alright with you, Mam," Brawn articulated. With a new expression on her face, Eliza responded, "That's perfectly fine with me. You two enjoy your meals now." Soon after their meals were finished, the two brothers retired for the night, in preparation for the trying day ahead of them. Tomorrow, they were going to exterminate the Gigavores and return the children to Shuka.
At last, morning came. Unfortunately, a sly Gigavore wolf came during the night and abducted a child, while it was returning to the village with a group of friends. Worse still, it was Eliza's son! She was, undeniably, devastated by the news. Brawn and Finx tried to comfort Eliza, saying that they'd return him to her. "Please, save my son, Jack, before it's too late!" Eliza cried. "Do you have anything that belongs to him?" Finx asked. "We can show it to him once we find him, so he won't be afraid of us." Drying her tears somewhat, Eliza handed Finx a straw hat. "Jack would almost always wear that hat when we would go anywhere. This is probably his most prized possession," Eliza mumbled. "Don't worry. We'll find Jack and bring him back safely. Who knows? He might be with the rest of the children that were abducted, so we'll kill several birds with one stone!" Brawn said hopefully. Tearfully, Eliza wished the two brothers luck as they left the inn.
Soon, the brothers were in the Shukan Woods, ready to start their search. "Finx, use your senses to find the boy and the other children. I'll go ahead and start searching for the Gigavores," Brawn ordered. "Right. Remember, the chief said that there are five Gigavores: a wolf, two bears, and two monkeys. The villagers said that all of the abductions were done by the wolf, so it is most likely guarding the children. You go after the other four; I'll be alright," Finx assured Brawn. "Alright, let's get to work," Brawn said as the two separated.
Finx took a sniff of the hat, and immediately started running in a northwestern direction, following the scent trail he'd just picked up. With his amazing speed and senses, it wasn't long before Finx had located a clearing in the woods, which lead to a cave. From outside the cave, Finx could smell several other scents flowing from the innards of the cave, meaning that the rest of the children were still alive, or at least in the cave with Jack! So, Finx entered the cave just as fast as he'd come to it. It was dark inside the cave, but Finx's enhanced sight enabled him to see in the dark. As he went deeper into the cave, Finx caught a whiff of the Gigavore wolf's scent as well, prompting him to unsheathe his sword. As a result, the magic blade lit up the cave like a torch! With the additional light, Finx no longer had to rely on his enhanced sight. So, he pressed on even further into the cave.
Eventually, he came to a fork in the cave, but his sense of smell told him to continue down the left path, so Finx headed in that direction. Soon, he found a relatively well lit room, with a large cage inside! "How does an animal light a torch and build a cage?" Finx thought to himself. Finx walked up to the cage and looked inside. He found six children inside, the exact number who had gone missing over the past few days! Finx used his sword on the bars of the cage, and, since it was made of weak metal, cut the bars with ease. The children had been asleep and the noise woke them in a state of fear. As Finx looked over the children, he saw that despite their current situation, they were quite fit. "Which one of you is Jack?" Finx asked. A fearful little boy raised his hand. Finx handed the boy his hat, saying, "Your mother sent me to find you, Jack. Alright! Let's get you guys back home where you belong!" The children immediately shouted for joy and followed Finx. "Shhh! I think the wolf that kidnaped you guys is still in the cave, so you have to be quiet!" Finx warned.
The children immediately shut their mouths, and followed Finx. After he cautiously led the way out of the cave, he looked around outside. Everything seemed calm; the only sounds were of birds overhead and the breeze blowing through the trees and brush. Finx still felt uneasy about bring the children out in the open; he could still faintly smell the Gigavore wolf. Suddenly, from behind him, he heard a low growl. When Finx looked behind him, he saw the wolf leaping toward him!
The wolf was twenty feet long and ten feet tall! The massive wolf pounced on Finx and tried to munch his head off, but his phenomenal reflexes prevented such an event. While dodging the wolf's bites, Finx shouted, "Get back to the village! You'll be much safer there!" The children complied and ran straight toward their home. As for Finx, he was desperately trying to figure out how to get this bizarre monster off of him. Finx winced with pain as he felt the wolf's large claws digging into his arms. Suddenly, he remembered that he still had his sword in his left hand! By moving his arms as much as he could, Finx was able to slice into the wolf's stomach. This caused the wolf to leap back in pain, freeing Finx from its grasp.
Now the wolf, who was previously just defending its territory, was extremely angry. The wolf leaped at Finx again, however, the wolf no longer had the element of surprise on its side; Finx was easily able to dodge. Finx slashed the creature's hind legs at the joint, thus hindering the monster's movement. Finx was shedding none of the creature's blood because the heat from his magic sword was so great, it instantly caused the wounds it gave to blister over. When the wolf again tried to pounce on its enemy, Finx moved to the side and leaped up towards the wolf's head. Finx then brought his sword down on the back of its neck. The sword's magical properties easily sliced through the flesh and bone of the creature, and decapitated it. Finx looked on with a slight amount of horror at what he had done, then ran off to see if the children had made it back to the village.
Meanwhile, Brawn had been trudging through the woods, searching for the bear and monkey Gigavores. After a few minutes, Brawn discovered that the evil knight had gone in ahead of him and Finx, determined to get the reward. Brawn thought, "Even with his weapons, he doesn't stand a change against these things, if they're as big as the chief said they are! My only option is to find them before he does. That way, he won't get himself killed." So, Brawn took off in an eastern direction, away from the greedy knight and his men.
Brawn had been looking in this direction for a few minutes, when suddenly he heard the loud screams of agony coming from the opposite direction! "Oh no! That fool found the Gigavores before I could!" Brawn thought, as he ran as fast as he could in the direction of the screams. When Brawn was finally able to locate the knight and his men, he found that the knight had been successful in killing one of the bears. However, all four of the knight's men were killed in the process, leaving a gruesome sight behind. The second bear was fighting with the evil knight, who was already badly injured by the beast. The knight leaned up against a tree, breathing laboriously. He looked up and saw the bear about to bring its gigantic paw down upon his head. The knight tensed up and shut his eyes, ready to meet his demise.
When nothing happened, he opened his eyes to see Brawn holding the bear's paw at bay! Despite the bear's abnormal size and increased strength, Brawn was still stronger than the bear! "Get out of here before you get yourself killed!" Brawn ordered the knight. The knight didn't do as Brawn asked, instead, he stabbed Brawn in the back with his sword. As Brawn grunted with pain, the knight exclaimed, "No one shall have that reward but me!" Brawn used a burst of strength and threw the bear backwards, causing it to land on its back several feet away. The knight watched with horror as the wound he inflicted on Brawn began to heal itself. "Perhaps I didn't make myself clear last time. Go back to the village before you get yourself killed!" Brawn yelled at the knight. The knight still stood his ground, but, unfortunately for the knight, Brawn's problem soon solved itself; a large boulder suddenly came crashing down, smashing the knight into a pancake!
Brawn looked on in horror as the blood oozed out from underneath of the large rock. He looked up to see that the two monkey Gigavores had followed the scent of blood on the ground, from the four other knights. They smashed the final knight, and "laughed" with glee at their accomplishment! "Oh, great. I'm in trouble now," Brawn thought to himself. Brawn waited for the monkeys to come down to him, but instead they waited for the bear to return. Brawn noticed too late, and the fifty-foot bear slashed him across his face, spraying blood all over the vegetation.
Brawn shouted with pain, but countered the bear's attack with one of his own. The bear was on all fours at that point, so Brawn was able to give the bear a right hook with his upper right arm. This was followed by an upper left hook and a double uppercut from his lower arms. Brawn finished the bear off by using his right arms to punch the bear into a cliff that was nearby. The impact caused a mountain of rocks to come crashing down upon the stunned beast, ending its life quickly. During the attack, Brawn's face healed up completely.
Brawn's fight didn't end with the bear, however. The monkeys jumped down from the tree, one landing upon Brawn's back. The two-ton beast laid him out, but was easily thrown off. "Like my back didn't hurt enough already!" Brawn said as he stood back up. Back in the village, Finx was successful in escorting the children to safety, reuniting them with their parents. Finx suddenly caught a sniff of blood, and tore off in the direction of the scent trail.
Brawn was still brawling with the monkeys, holding his own thanks to his second set of arms. Eventually, with the two monkeys ganging up on him, Brawn was knocked backwards and laid out by a massive fist. "Unh! You are going down, Banana-breath!" Brawn growled, as he rose from the twenty foot monkey's attack. Suddenly, Brawn saw Finx, with his sword in hand, appear from the brush. "It's about time!" Brawn complained. "Hey, give me a break! I had to take the kids back to the village!" Finx countered, as he slashed at a Gigavore monkey.
Now that both brothers were in the fight, the Gigavores stood no chance. With his amazing speed, Finx was dodging all of one monkey's attacks, finally ending up slashing its arm clean off! The poor creature roared with pain, so Finx ran up its body. Once he reached its head, he sliced along the monkey's neck, decapitating it and finishing its unfortunate existence. Brawn finished his monkey with equal ease; while they were fighting, Brawn leaped up to get a shot in on its face. Brawn made "two-handed fists" with both sets of his arms, and when he hit the monkey with all four of his arms at once, he hit it with enough force to send its head spinning backwards! The body of the monkey collapsed to the ground, with its head facing the opposite way it should've been.
Both brothers panted with fatigue. "We...we did it!" Finx exclaimed triumphantly. On the way back to the village, Brawn picked up the bear that the knights had killed during their last stand. "I still feel guilty for killing those poor, pathetic creatures," Brawn sighed. "Yeah, I know how you feel. But, you saw how much they were suffering. We didn't kill them out of malice, we did what we did because putting them out of their misery was the best thing we could've done for them," Finx said. "The same could be said for us. We've only suffered while we've been on this planet," Brawn responded. "I don't know about that," Finx replied. "We've had each other. At least that's something to be thankful for." "Yeah, you're right! Life's thrown us a lot of curves, but we've conquered them all together. That is something to be thankful for!" Brawn said jubilantly.
Soon, Brawn and Finx returned to the village, felling a little better from their conversation. They laid the Gigavore bear's carcass down by the chief's hut, then went back into the woods. They headed to the cave Finx had found the children in, to investigate it further. Several hours later, the two returned to the village to see a large bon fire roasting the bear for a celebration feast! At the feast, the chief asked the brothers, "So, what caused those creatures to suddenly ravage our village and kidnap our children?" "Well, we looked in the cave where I found the kids in the first place," Finx began. "When we looked deeper into the cave, we found a partially decayed body. Apparently, he was a friend of our 'competition'. He was really the one that kidnaped the children." "Then, what created the Gigavores?" a villager asked. "Well, from the looks of things, that particular knight was skilled at magic; we found elixirs and potions strewn throughout the cave," Brawn explained. "His deceased friend had him use his magic on those animals to enhance them and bring them under their control, would be our guess. But, it seems that while they were enhanced, the Gigavores became incredibly aggressive instead. The knight was most likely killed by the Gigavores. To make a long story short, our 'friend' wanted the sorcerer-knight to cause a 'reward worthy' problem, so he could fix it and get rich."
"Hmm...I see," the chief exhaled. "What became of that greedy knight?" "He's...a broken man," Finx retorted with a cringe. The chief nodded, needing no further explanation. Suddenly, Eliza approached the two brothers, with Jack by her side. "I...I can't thank you enough for saving my dear son. How can I ever repay you?" "No payment is needed, Mam. The sight of you two reunited is all the payment we need," Brawn stated nobly.
"It seems that you two were sent to us by the heavens," the chief said suddenly. "To help us through this most dangerous of troubles, without asking for anything in return; that is truly noble." After thanking him for the complement, the twins went back to their supper and soon retired for the night.
After several hours, morning came again. The village was thriving again, now that the threat of the Gigavores had been eliminated. The two brothers looked at each other with a smile, then back at the Shukans, and prepared to leave. When they started to leave, however, they heard off in the distance, "Wait!" They turned to see the chief and the rest of the villagers approaching. "Where are you off to?" Jack inquired of the two brothers. "Well, Shokahn has gone from a land of benevolence to a land of greed and corruption. Even the knights of Shokahna Castle have been affected, as we've all seen. Finx and I are going to do all we can to fix that," Brawn answered. "I see..." the chief said as he moved through the crowd. "That will be a most difficult journey. You, who have been chosen by the heavens to defend Shokahn, may good luck be with you." "Thank you," Finx acknowledged with a bow.
"Here..." the chief said, "this will be of use to you on your journeys." The chief handed the brothers the promised reward, the Titan's Pouch filled with 15,000 rupees! "I realize that you don't require a reward for your deeds, so just consider that a gift between friends." The brothers humbly bowed and gave their thanks. With that, they began to leave the village. The Shukans followed them out of the gates. Finx and Brawn waved goodbye, saying, "We'll miss you all!" "As we will you," the chief replied. "Regardless of how long it takes, just remember, whenever your mission for peace is done, you shall have a home here in Shuka!" Armed with this knowledge, Finx and Brawn headed back towards Shokahna to gather new information on the troubles in Shokahn!
1Pronounced "Show-con".
2Pronounced "Show-con-na".
3Pronounced "Shoe-ka".
4Pronounced "Shoe-cans".