"Settling"
6 days after Heart detonation
The Pinnacle
Deep inside, Rayman new that it was only the light inside of him, Ly, and Frank, that was keeping them alive and sane, but he couldn't help but admiring just how far they'd come with so little help. While absentmindedly dodging Dark Leptys' attacks and countering with ones of his own, Rayman reflected on when he'd first met Frank, only six days ago, and everything that had happened; how they'd chased down Ly, set up a temporary base in Razoff's mansion (Rayman would have to ask Frank what the Hoodlum's connection to that place was when this was over), freed the late Razorbeard, as well as his ship...so much had happened in so little time. Looking back at it now, Rayman was amazed that they were even able to keep up with it all, let alone have a hand in setting things right.
Briefly pondering how calm he was, Rayman finally turned his full attention on Dark Leptys. The sight beast that constantly attacked him and his friends was enough to drive an ordinary person mad. Dark Leptys may have originally looked like a great, black eagle, but it had altered itself and the artificial landscape of the top of the Tower of Ruin. Red eyes grew out of shadowy stalks, vibrating and pulsing, as if trying to blink, but only straining themselves instead. The Leptys itself had grown extra heads; the visages Teensies, Knaaren, and other creatures swirled in and out of the large bird, writhing in agony. It seemed as if Mr. Dark himself had been eaten away by his insanity; the only sound he uttered was a constant cackle, endlessly changing in pitch and volume. Rays of shadow shot out from the great wings of Dark Leptys as hideous mutations of hoodlums, robo-pirates, antitoons, and other, still uglier creatures took form from the black legs, staggering out a few steps, as if attempting to lunge at the heroes, and finally melting into the shadow from whence they came.
Ly and Frank would sometimes appear out of the corners of Rayman's vision, sometimes attacking, sometimes evading. He could see Ly's now-white fireballs burning away the black feathers and flesh of Dark Leptys, as well as Frank's light bullets, piercing little holes through the large, evil bird. However, nothing seemed to be working.
"Light or no light, Rayman," Ly called, "we can't keep this up forever! We need to beat this thing soon!"
"How can we?" Frank asked from Rayman's other side. "Nothing we throw at him has enough of an effect! If it's hurting him, I certainly can't tell!" Rayman thought long and hard about the situation at hand. However, in every scenario he could imagine, he could think of nothing that would have any more of an effect than his regular attacks.
"What if Mr. Dark is the weak point?" Ly asked. Pausing briefly, she pointed to the familiar silhouette in the left eye of Dark Leptys. "He might be the mind of Dark Leptys, so attacking him would hurt it more than just hitting the body." Frank shrugged in between jumps.
"Better than anything I have," Rayman replied. "Alright! Frank, see if you can jump into Dark Leptys' body! Ly and I will cover you!" Frank nodded, hopped back, and started running at one of the legs, easily dodging the shadow rays and creatures surrounding him. Ly and Rayman busily swatted away anything that came to close. Frank made a final leap at the leg of Dark Leptys when one of the rays swerved, aiming for Ly. Rayman curved his fist and batted the ray aside, but then heard the unusual sound of fabric being split open. Looking in front of him, he saw Frank, frozen in midair, a second ray coming out of his lower back.
"Frank!" Rayman shouted. "No!" Angrily shoving the ray out of his friend, he made a grab for the ex-hoodlum but missed. Frank passed through the floor, vanishing. The attacks from all sides stopped. Rayman and Ly stared in shock, as Mr. Dark's laughter grew louder than ever, filling Rayman up inside.
"I can't believe it," Ly muttered. "Frank...he's gone." Rayman felt sadness and guilt welling up inside his body. He'd let Frank down. At the last minute, Rayman had switched to deflecting a ray Ly was about to dodge, and it'd cost his other friend his life.
"We..." Rayman fought back his tears, and instead focused on the matter at hand. "We need to finish this. If for nothing else, than for him." Ly nodded. Rayman new what to do. Trying to keep his eyes open, Rayman sprinted forward and jumped into the leg before Dark Leptys noticed.
Rayman felt himself being pulled upward, as if he was in a big, black river with a current too strong to even try fighting. Suddenly, Rayman flew out of a hole in the floor of a strange room. In the center of the room was Mr. Dark, fused solid to the ground.
"How does it feel, Rayman, to lose such a good friend of yours?" Mr. Dark giggled, as if he were some kind of evil schoolgirl. "I hope it hurts. People in pain are so much more fun to kill. It almost becomes a game: 'How can I make them feel even worse?' It's so much fun." Rayman simply threw his fist out bitterly, punching Mr. Dark so hard it literally spun his head around.
"Want to play that game, hmm?" Mr. Dark laughed. Instantly, Rayman was pushed back to the wall and fused to it. Five black blades formed upon the wall, ceiling, and floor, all at the point to where if any one of them were extended just a little more, it go straight through a vital organ.
"You've lost Rayman," Mr. Dark said, struggling to hold in twisted laughs. "You've lost your friends, you've lost your world, and you've lost mind. No wait—the last one's me. Oh well. Game over, Rayman." Rayman closed his eyes, waiting for the end. Instead he heard a familiar voice.
"And he said, 'Let there be light!'"
Suddenly, a flash light came up from the ground, so bright and powerful it blinded Rayman. All he could hear were the screams of Mr. Dark, and then—nothing.
Epilogue
"The Two Moons Above"
7 days after Heart detonation
Fairy Council
Rayman awoke some time later in the Chamber of the Heart in the Fairy Council. Ly was next to him, clutching his shoulder. Mr. Dark, meanwhile, was on the floor, panting. His form was lighter; Rayman could, for the first time, make out the features of his face. Also, his eyes had gone from yellow to white. Evidently, this transformation was causing the villain great pain.
And to the right of Rayman, standing where the Heart of the World once was, was Frank, warm, light energy swirling around his (oddly blurry) form.
"Frank!" Rayman couldn't help but laugh. Ly opened her eyes and gasped, a large smile spreading across her face. Mr. Dark looked up.
"It's...not possible," he muttered. "If the ray didn't kill you, the fall would've..." he coughed, spitting black blood onto the blue stone floor.
"It should've been impossible," Frank replied. "I took a risk—knowing that I was going to die anyway, I used the light we supposedly have in all of us to become the new Heart, like what it showed in that cave in the Summit. Then, because the Heart once again existed, your Tower, along with Dark Leptys, had to...end."
"So that was you," Rayman replied. "I owe you one. Does that mean that Globox and the others are back?"
"Everything's restored to how it was before," Frank answered calmly. Mr. Dark cringed in the background, fell to the ground, and dissolved. "He's even dead, like he's supposed to be."
"So, you survived then?" Ly asked hopefully. Frank looked away.
"You know how it goes," he rubbed his arm a little. "'One must sacrifice himself to become the Heart,' right? I'm getting worn out just by keeping my original form and talking to you." Rayman and Ly turned away. They both knew this was true, but it seemed to them like Frank had just come back. A childish part of Rayman didn't think it was fair, but he dismissed it.
"Hey," Frank consoled the two of them. "I may not be able to keep my form and talk to you guys, but I'll always be there—watching over you guys both." He pointed up at the still-open ceiling, where Rayman and Ly could see the two moons, back to normal along with the rest of the sky, peering down at them both. Rayman wiped his eyes, and he could see that Ly was crying beside him.
"Well I'm completely drained," Frank grinned, and Rayman couldn't tell if he was feigning happiness or not. "I'll be seeing you two...all the time. Good luck out there, Rayman. You too, Ly. Goodbye." Frank's form began to grow brighter, until it was entirely white. Then, it exploded into little stars, which gathered on the ground. The Heart of the World sprang to life, looking the same as ever (if, perhaps, a bit more orange). Instantly, the ceiling of the Fairy Council reformed, and Rayman and Ly heard the exuberant cheers of the Teensies and other folk below them. Looking at Ly, Rayman wiped a tear from his eye and smiled hopefully, offering his hand. Ly took it, and together, the two walked down to rejoin the Fairies, Teensies, and, of course, Globox, as well as tell them the story about a certain hoodlum, who one day decided to search for a missing hero...
THE END