Chapter 28
Faires rushed out of the Arluq, wide eyed and pale, running through the arch and the farmers' plots. He stopped at the Sir Maximeld-the-whateverth, panting, shaking the poor kid four times before rushing back through the tilled land towards the Man, practically in tears. Ah, but the look on his face when that hulk of a man pointed up, pointed at me, more than made up for the lack of waterworks. He strolled under, his jaw slack, lowering more as it sank in.
"Morning, Faires," I said, chuckling, tittering... grinding my teeth. "Woud you do me a favor and get me down?"
"H-h-ho-" He stammered, waving his arms, making some type of picutre with his fingers between the ribbon around my feet, to the long arches around, and back to the three balloons keeping me there.
"This is less of a how or a why, Vi. This is more a what and when, with a slight sprinkling of where."
"W-what do you mean?"
"Wrong what. It's more, 'What am I going to do to those Wyverian bastards WHEN I GET DOWN, AND WHERE AM I GOING TO HAVE THE ENJOYMENT OF SCATTERING THEIR REMAINS?'"
"They did this? Why?"
"Again with the why. Does it matter?"
"K-kinda. H-how-"
"No. No how, either. Get me down and out to Heaven's Mount before anyone else wakes up, or else."
… Out of questions? Shame. I was really hoping you'd ask. Then again, I guess the answer is clear enough. What isn't clear is how they thought that was a 'cure' for a temper. Were they hoping the blood would boil enough to simply kill me? Were they trying to? If so, then I may need to return the favor –favors. The drink they gave me was downright awful, but it did what they needed it to do. Got me up there after all, and I was none the wiser for... an hour.
Faires got me down, but kept the ribbon, tying my hands behind my back. He rushed me to the ship, grabbed the Immane Blade and slapped it on my back before pushing us towards Marm's, knocking, pounding. She answered -or at least her arm did-, handed the stamp, and closed the door, and Faires threw me over his shoulder as he ran up the hill, grabbing the contract, stamping it, throwing the stamp down, the arch beside the Streetcat the last I saw before cloudy skies.
…
…
…
Heaven's Mount: if ever a place was mislabeled... Rocks floated in the sky, crashing into one another, only drowned out by the thunder off to the west, bounding between black rock with lightning, crashing beyond the thicket that shrouded the camp. Faires had placed me on the rickety cot under the tent, and untied the ribbon at last... ended up with it around his neck after, too. I showed mercy when he turned purple, but I made sure it wasn't coming off for a long, long time, and kept him on a short leash. Inside the chest was the basic stuff, and a map –which they still had the drunk cartographer... Why?
Didn't matter. It was already spelled out in the contract. The Zinogre was in the thunder plains, Area... 6 on the map. Good to know; thrown into the abyss. I dropped Faires's goods in his pack while I munched on a few rations, quelling the storm for a bit longer, long enough for me to drag him into Areas one and five-
How were there Aptonoth here? Just... H... How? How! Seriously. I do not see a single bit of green they can eat- and there was a young one, too! What were they eating? I know the Iopray had the Aptonoth to eat, but... Don't... Don't question. Like the cartographer, the gods were drunk when they populated this place... probably off the same stuff the Wyverians gave me. Those red-coated Genpray blotted the path ahead with poison, but I made sure to pay their generosity –the Immane Blade was always good on its debts, after all. By the time it was done paying, the poison cleared, and we were allowed through the twisted vines to the Lightning Plains.
Aptly named.
Lightning scorched, scoured the dark stone, blanketing the area in darkness save for those flashes, those brief shots of life, of Rhenoplos- and why are they here! Yes, their plated hide would keep them insulated but... stop. Don't question. Don't... where's the Zinogre, though. Was it the lightning itself? Was that why Marm called it the Lightning Monarch? Why did she call it the Wolf of the St-
A pair of blue eyes glazed through the murk, growing with a rumbling growl, muffling the thunder itself. Hot air washed down my nape, panting, and those blues twinkled, surging with the lightning above before it came crashing down on its blue and yellow hide, its teeth and horns a breath away. He reared its head, and howled at the darkness, the area blanketed in lightning, slithering towards it and the bugs buzzing on its back.
It closed its jowls, and the area was dark again, the blue eyes gone.
I let Faires go, and he gasped and sputtered, prodding my shoulder.
"Y-you," He croaked, coughing again. "Get this off me. Now."
The darkness lifted again, a shadow fell, and looks like I didn't need to remove it. Made a nice sparkler, though; might have to tie another around him later. He flew ahead, twitching in the dirt, his Zammy armor glowing, pulsing with the thunder that roared and bound, and the Zinogre stopped above him, its back spiked, sparking against my sword, pushing him to the side.
It barked a few times, and faded into the dark, though it was becoming harder. The lightning swirled towards those tufts of jagged hair, making them glow. It hunched, and lunged, its right arm leading the way, sending up more when it crashed on my blade, as did its left. It reared, its horns closing, but they were smashed to bits on Faires's dual blades, ripping into its legs next. It yelped and leaped back, more lightning swirling towards it as it howled, but flinched and yelped more under Faires's rage, his roaring softening the thunder.
It reared, and Faires leaped b-
Was knocked up again, his armor snapping and cracking against its tail. A bug flew from it, and a stray bolt hit it, making it into a living bolt of energy, crashing against the rocky tower behind. The Zinogre shook, and three more bugs flew by. One squished against my sword, and the bolts went towards the gem, shimmering behind as I leaped at the beast, howling to the sky again, lightning sinking into its f-
The world shook.
The sky cleared.
The storm was in its fur, the bugs creating thunderclaps whenever they buzzed their wings.
The Zinogre leaned close, its eyes a solid sheet of yellow, and roared, sending lightning racing across the plain... and me under the tower. It scratched and smashed against it, its growls echoing, returning, crumbling the stone around as I clawed my way to the other side, panting. Dust billowed from that tower, lightning sprawling up and over, stopping just short of my feet, backing aw-
It stopped... Okay. I don't hear Faires screaming, so unless it was eating him while down- wait. No. Bad Zinogre. You can't eat my friend. Only I can make his life a living he- oh, hi Faires- bye, Faires... Why was he runnin-
That's why.
I hit a rock, crumbling against my back. My teeth buzzed, and everything tasted... purple. Definitely purple, with a hint of blue and a touch of green –not too much, though. The Zinogre leaped off the tower and sauntered forth, placing its right foot on my legs, panting. It arched its neck, lowered its head to my level, and cocked it, whimpering... OH MY G-
"You're just playing, aren't you," I croaked, sparks popping off my tongue.
It rose its paw and leaped back, pawing at the ground, wagging its tail –until Faires returned. It arched its back and snarled at him, bugs rising off its back and resting on the tip of its tail, swiped his way. He rolled under it, them, and sheered its tail's tip clean off, making it roll. It whimpered and struggled on its side, but Faires simply kept slicing, a flurry of blades, a demon in its dance. He looked back at me, his eyes glowing red through the visor, and pointed one my way.
"Get your ass up and get over here with that cleaver," He boomed, continuing his dance... faltering. "I can't keep this up forever, you know."
"R-right."
I stood and ran over, cleaving into its paw as it tried to stand, and it yelped and fell. The light was lost from its fur, the sky dark again, filled with its lightning, restored. Faires plopped back, panting, wheezing, the red lost from his eyes BUT was still alive in his blades, ringing, hungering. I got another cleave on it, breaking the other horn as he stood, slicing into its back. It tried to right itself again, but I got another good swing on its brow, crumbling it to the ground...
… Any minute now... I know you're out there... I don't know how, but I can feel those beady, black-
And there he is.
The Jho leaped through the darkness and landed on the Zinogre, yelping under its talons. The Jho snapped at us, pushing us back before it turned its attention back on its meal, licking its chops-
The Zinogre swept out from under it, howling, and bashed against its ankles.
The Jho cried out and fell, still snapping at it, but it kept towards its tail, barking at the sky, the storm circling towards its fur once more. The Jho tried to stand, and my blade sunk through its neck, pinning it down. Faires was on its back, slashing against the green hide, adding more scars to the pulsing flesh, dimming beside the Zinogre, its blue eyes almost yellow again. Just a bit m-
The Deviljho roared, red lightning leaping free of its lips, and pulled me along when it rose, snapping at me. Faires slashed at its legs, but its tail whipped him into the stone wall, embedding, crunching him into it. It jerked its neck, and It turned at him, aiming me into that crevice, my armor shrieking against his again and again. Its throat swelled, and red lightning seeped down the blade as it spun, and I flew off at long last, my sword reduced to the gem and hilt once more.
I tried to stand, but it pushed its foot against my chest, licking its chops... boy, isn't this familiar. This time, though, it won't be the Felynes that save me. Oh no...
It'll be mister Zappy.
The Jho exploded with blue lightning, reeling away as the Zinogre leaped on its back, tearing into its hide, sending more of that lovely light along its form. The Jho slammed against the tower beside, and the Zinogre yelped but held, more bugs flying off, circling it. It finally leaped off, and laded in front of me, panting, dripping with blood. Its legs trembled, but they held true when it howled, and those orbs of lights closed on the Devil, washing the area in white.
The Zinogre's head fell, and the rest of him with it. Its breath was weak, threaded, the yellow in its eyes fading with the light in its fur, with the light around. The Jho was on its side, twitching, but not much. Its tail was gone, dust on the wind. Its legs were twisted and limp, as were its arms-
Which one twisted around and back in place, raising to its feet.
It looked at us, at the Zinogre, and huffed, limping away. Faires pulled himself free of the wall and lumbered over, helping me up, leaning on one another as we looked down on the Zinogre. It whined and panted, licked at our feets, its chest rising less, less often...
I placed a trap under it, and popped a few tranqs before tossing on a Max Potion, watching as the Felynes hauled it away. Faires simply patted my shoulder, patted the Zinogre's arm as it wheeled passed, chuckling. A note, a commendation, hung from its toe, a red ribbon wrapped its neck.
"Are we sure that was right?" Faires said, leaning on me as we trudged back to camp, back across the bridge.
"Does it matter? Are they actually going to listen to us?"
"Probably not, but this is a first."
"What?"
"I actually agree with you on this."
"An ally against the Devil on Heaven is an ally indeed. Now, let's see if any Wyverians are up."
"Kind of wondering who the real devil is up here."
"Oh, Faires. I was always a demon. I just never had my horns... or a reason."
