Chapter 7
"When we get out of here, you are in for a world of hurt buddy!" Nila growled from under a power-neutralizing chain net trapping her from giving a good beat down to the Rogue that captured her and her brother, Remington Smisse.
"You're not getting out unless I say so," Remington said, "And I don't say so." He put the net gun in one of his many holsters on his belt.
"Remi, it's time to go. The crowds walking this way," Granny warned.
"Fine," Remi snapped his fingers and the nets folded under the twins, making sacks that grew spider-like legs and eyes like Shushus. "Let's go then.
"The chains are made of demons?!" Alin gawked.
"I don't care what they're made of, we need to get out!" Nila tried in vain to punch the eyes of her cage. She only bloodied her knuckles in the process.
…
"Where did those two run off to now?" Phyllis Sloth stood carrying her personal haven bag, now full of supplies for the coming journey. She couldn't see her adopted twins anywhere.
"Probably off exploring," Alibert assured, "If they don't get out much, this is their chance."
The Eniripsa sighed, "Let's just follow the crowd of fans. They'll show up soon."
They stopped in their tracks as a scream escaped from the fan group and it scattered, making it impossible to see anything without getting confused. The adults pushed their way through the crowd, eventually finding the Brotherhood of the Tofu, looking rather winded and shocked, staring at a rooftop.
"What…?" Ms. Sloth followed their gaze. On the said rooftop stood an arrogant looking Rogue and –was that a Bow-Meow? – standing with two sacks that bore spider-like legs and Shushu eyes. The Rogue seemed to have his fair share of the demon weapons himself.
"Remington!" Evangelyne shouted angrily, "What are you doing here?" She stood poised to draw her bow and fire an arrow.
"Looking for you, of course!" Remington laughed, and the Bow-meow snickered as well.
"And you might want to hear us out," the animal said.
Just then, the cages opened from the top, dumping two Eliotropes, both dazed and one bloody. Their hoods had fallen down, but their hats remained intact. Remington aimed two Shushu pistols them.
"No!" Ms. Sloth rushed to the front, arming herself with her Eniripsa wand, "Let them go this instant!"
"They do recognize these freaks! I knew it!" the Bow-Meow purred triumphantly.
"You want these monstrosities? Only if you fess up for what you did here long ago and come with us quietly. The Order of the Dark will make you pay for your actions!"
Evangelyne gasped, completely dropping her guard, and she got a faraway look in her eyes. Percedal stood next to her, determined to protect her.
"That won't be happening," Ms. Sloth said, "We'll find a different way."
"How about a time limit? That'll make things interesting!" Remington laughed psychotically, "Five minutes sounds fine!"
"Five minutes is not fine! You are sick!" Amalia barked, clenching her fists. Small sprouts grew from the ground around her bare feet in reaction to her anger, "Leave them alone, you pathetic bounty hunter!" A long string of un-princess-like curses followed, though only her friends looked fazed.
"Anyway," Remington said, annoyed, "Your friend, the Cra who you could always trust? She killed someone when she was eight years old, right here in this town. Rather evil, huh? And it was a respected council member from the Order of the Dark."
Eva cringed. "I did what I had to do," she said regretfully.
Yugo looked at his two friends on the rooftop, and noticed the dazed look had faded from their eyes. Nila looked directly to him, catching his gaze. Her strange blue eyes seemed to reassure him, telling him to focus on Evanelyne and not worry about them. He nodded.
Nila glanced at her brother who looked like he was about to puke. She reached over and got his attention and, with their twin senses, came up with a plan.
"Three minute warning!" Remington burst into maniacal laughter. He was so busy gloating he didn't notice the twins' movement. "You really are slow!"
"Stop being a coward and fight!" Percedal shouted, tapping Rubilax against the ground, changing him into a large sword with a green vine encircling it.
"Why fight when you can take hostages?" Granny sniggered, looking toward the captives. Unfortunatly, the Bow-Meow saw them move, "Remi, they're still awake!"
Before the Rogue could look at them, the Eliotropes leapt into action. Nila swept her leg, knocking Remi to the floor, dropping his guns. Alin summoned a portal underneath Granny and dropped him into one of the open Shushu chain sacks. They each grabbed a pistol and aimed it at the Rogue.
"Time's up," Alin said.
"That's the best you can come up with?" Nila smirked, "That is possibly the worst remark in a fight I have ever heard."
Alin shrugged, "Seemed relevant."
Yugo and Adamai took a portal to the roof and the dragon held up the Rogue by his shirt collar. "You have a lot of explaining to do," he growled.
…
Nila ripped the one remaining sleeve from her shirt and wrapped it around her bloody knuckles. She clenched and unclenched her fist as the bandage folded and creased with the bends of her hand.
Alin watched as his sister had her hand magically healed with their mother's Eniripsa wand. Though it did little, as Ms. Sloth was out of practice, it healed the multiple scratches. The Eliotropes had no further injuries but if Nila was as angry as she let on, she was going to keep her promise for a world of hurt for the Rogue that tried to use them as hostages.
After a rough knock on the head with an Enutrof shovel, Remington hadn't woken up for the whole move to the forest and for a while after that, giving Eva some time to emotionally prepare herself for anything the Rogue might say. The Bow-Meow refused to say a word if his brother was out of commission, so he only spat insults and profanity at the group. And it was getting of Alin's nerves.
"You freaks should know better than to mess with us! You were the problem in the first place. The Grand Master said so," the animal mocked at the Eliotropes. He was still trapped in a chain cage that seemed to follow Remi around.
That was the last straw for Alin. He reached in the bag and pulled the cat out by the scruff of his neck. "Say anything bad about my sister and I, and I'll throw you in the White Dimension," he snarled.
"Oh dang," Yugo laughed. Adamai snickered.
Alin dropped the cat back into the bag, and sat next Nila, arms crossed. He looked completely serious.
The cat, on the other hand, couldn't seem to take a hint. "You are just pathetic! You wouldn't follow through on any threats!"
Alin tried to stand up again but Nila held him down. "Save your energy for destroying the Rogue. Then we'll take care of the Bow-Meow."
Alin slumped and stared daggers at Granny. "Fine."
Amalia rolled her eyes. She wasn't happy either, but she could channel it much better. Mainly because her job was to maintain a cage made of brambles to keep Remington locked up. She was all too prepared for when he woke up and discovered a prison full of spikes.
"Can we wake him and speed this up?" Percedal tapped Rubilax against the dirt impatiently, clearly bored.
Amalia smirked, "Gladly." The thorns in the cage grew and the cage itself shrunk.
Remington yelped awake as a particularly sharp thorn poked him. After assessing the wound, he looked at the people surrounding him, and his confidence seemed to melt away.
"I was hired! Granny told me to! I didn't do it!" the Rogue said immediately.
"Well, we know that last one was a lie." Alibert said.
"After we get the information we need, I'm gonna knock him into next week," Nila muttered to her brother. He nodded.
"I'll cut straight to the point," Ms. Sloth decided to speak, "Where can we find the Puppet Master, and who is the Grand Master?"
"Don't tell them!" Granny shouted. He received a murderous look from Alin.
The Eniripsa sighed. "Let me rephrase that. Tell us where to find the Puppet Master and who the Grand Master is and we'll let you go without a scratch." The twins looked at her in surprise.
"You can tell them now," Granny said nervously. One thing everyone in the World of Twelve should know is that Eniripsas will protect their families almost as fiercely as a Feca.
"How about you let us go first?" Remington suggested halfheartedly.
"Yeah, right. We weren't born yesterday. But we don't have all day, so spill before we have to take drastic measures," Ms. Sloth said seriously. This also received an odd look from Nila and Alin.
"The Puppet Master can be found at the Order of the Dark's headquarters and I don't know who the Grand Master is, but he leads the Order. Can we go now?" Granny decided he couldn't keep his mouth shut, and Remington glared at his brother.
Nila couldn't keep her mouth shut anymore, though, "Yeah, we get that! Where's the actual place? I really need to punch something right now!"
"Please don't punch me," Remington cringed.
"Brakmar! It's in Brakmar! Now let us go!" Granny clawed at the chain links, trying to climb out. Yugo looked at Adamai.
The dragon crossed his arms. "I know that look. I get it, but we need more information. We can't let them go."
"You won't have to," the Rogue suddenly smiled evilly. A purple and black orb rolled out of the cage. A string on the end was being burned down.
"Bomb!" Ruel cried, just as it exploded. Smoke filled the clearing. The sound of running footsteps grew quieter as they drew farther away.
The smoke cleared, and the Rogue, his brother, and the Shushu chain things were gone. Footprints led in one direction. Alin and Nila jumped to their feet.
"Hey!" Nila shouted, "I promised to beat him up!"
"Me too!" Alin began to run across the clearing.
"Wait!" Eva spoke and the twins froze. "We don't need them anymore. We have the area and I have some idea where to go."
Ms. Sloth tucked her wand into her pocket. "Eva, sweetheart, I don't mean to pry, but what that disgusting criminal said about you, you need to at least explain that to your friends. It's not our business, so we'll leave if you choose to do so." The Cra hung her head. "I'm just going to say, I didn't blame you when it happened. You had no choice."
Evangelyne sighed and looked at the Eniripsa gratefully. "You don't have to leave. I suppose if you're Yugo and Adamai's family, you should all hear this, too."
"Oh, right. Aren't you guys, like, brothers and sister?" Ruel pointed out.
Nila brightened. "That's right!"
"If all the Dofuses came from the same place, and we were one of them, that makes sense," Alin grinned.
"I'm good with that. You two are pretty cool," Adamai shrugged and smiled slightly.
Yugo began counting on his fingers, "Well, that makes you guys and us and Balthazar and… There are a lot of people in our family!"
"Honestly, can't you guys shut up?" Amalia cast a withering glare at the four siblings. They quieted immediately.
"Please continue," Ms. Sloth said to Evangelyne. The Cra took a deep breath, gripped Percedal's hand, and told her story.
"A long time ago, my sister, Cleophee, and I had lived in Prisima. We had gotten lost and ended up there, separated from our party by the forest. We were forced to find a job or steal to eat. We were too well raised to pilfer and we were much too young to find a profession, and at the time, we thought that we would never get back home.
"One night we were in one of the many alleyways about town when a strange Omasadas walked towards us, snatched Cleo, and said something I couldn't hear. Cleo was flailing and shouting, but no one heard us, as the streets were bustling. I had no choice but to try and shoot his hand and make him release Cleo. I aimed at him, shouting for him to release her, but he replied with something I still didn't understand. His tail lashed out at me, and I lost control of the arrow. It went straight at his chest.
"Later, Cleo and I ran into our party in the forest, and after a brief talk, we decided that it was never to be brought up again. Of course, news travels fast, and we had to lay low for a while."
No one said anything for a full minute.
"I would've punched him in the face first," Nila declared bluntly. Alin elbowed her in the side.
"Oh. I thought was going to be worse," Percedal responded to Eva's story with total nonchalance. Ruel nodded in agreement.
"If you thought we were going to hate you after that, you're wrong. Plus, I don't blame you. That guy was a creep," Amalia stated.
Eva smiled timidly.
"Can we chase after the other creep-o Rogue now? I really think he deserves a punch in the face," Nila asked.
"You have no sense of tact," Alin rolled his eyes, "But I totally agree."
Ms. Sloth sighed, looking resigned. "Sure. Don't go too far and get lost, okay?"
Both Eliotropes jumped up excitedly, dashing into the trees. The rest of the group settled into a peaceful silence, simply enjoying the quiet until the real threat was upon them.
