Author Comment: I want to thank my Beta-reader FollowerOfAnhamirak for his time on this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.
Peyton was psyched for his scan quest. Everything had been taken care of and all he had to do now was wait for Sarah to get here so they could go and explore the desert. Still, something bothered him. Peyton gazed at the creatures present today. He still counted eight of them, "Will it really happen?" Peyton thought to himself as he crossed his arms. He wondered if the M'arrillians would come or not. Peyton sighed quietly. He tapped his fingers on his scanner, "You're taking your time Sarah," Peyton pouted.
A few minutes laters Sarah finally showed up, scanner in hand. Catching sight of Peyton sighed and said, "Hey. Sorry to be late, it took longer to finish my match."
"And you won Sarah bro?" Peyton asked, curious.
"Yeah," Sarah replied, frowning slightly when she heard the word bro. She chuckled and went on, "He knew so many tricks with his Danians. It wasn't the best battlegear or the beast creature who won this match. It was the one who knew the most of Mount Pillar. It's one of the few matches that I can say was awesome," Sarah shook her head as she remembered the match and added seriously, "My brother is that good."
"Okay and- W-w-w-w-w-What?" Peyton waved his arms quickly, "It was your big brother who challenged you!"
"Yup. He's that great. He's always kind of on the side so no one really knows him. His favourite creature is Odu-Bathax the Diver." Sarah replied.
"I am not!" the creature in question yelled as he chewed something.
It was obvious he was enjoying the human food. Two arms were crossed while he continued to eat.
"Yes, you are!" Sarah yelled right back.
"Okay Sarah. No time to get him angry. You have to come with me for a scan quest." Peyton said quickly, hoping to lead her away before she started a fight.
The Danian was close to them and grumbled, "Not so fast!" Odu-Bathax frowned as he pointed at Sarah, as if remembering something unpleasant, "There is a message for you. Danians have spotted M'arrillians wandering near Mount Pillar and elsewhere around Perim. They seem to be getting impatient and might chase after you two." His message delivered Odu-Bathax returned to eating and shoved some cookies in his mouth, "Sho Ghood."
"He's going to turn into Wamma if he keeps that up," Peyton commented as they were ready to port.
"I am not a fat, lazy Danian!" Odu-Bathax shouted, making many people chuckle. The other creatures laughed loudly as well, including Wamma who was talking with Tom and Kaz.
"Gogogo!" Peyton quickly ported to his destination with Sarah following close behind him.
Meanwhile, Odu-Bathax turned slowly towards the big red portly Danian who stopped laughing as soon as he saw him.
Wamma raised his hands in defense, "S-sorry. Gotta run!" He turned around and ran away, the other Danian running after him.
Chapter 61: Hunt In The Desert
The two appeared in the desert of Al-Mipedim.
"Close one Peyton," Sarah commented with a smile, "You really got on his nerves."
"Yeah. Didn't really want to get that much on his nerves. Anyway, we need to find Ario. I heard he got some new battlegear." Peyton said as he walked forward.
"Do you even know where he is?" Sarah asked.
"Yes. I asked Siado and he told me that he's patrolling around the oasis. It's a big and important one and it seemed like something might be going on. He's with a squad and not alone as usual," Peyton let out a smile, "Got their-" he used his finger to open his left eye more than usual, "-eye open for something."
"Think it's about the M'arrillians?"
"Probably," Peyton sighed.
"I guess so too. If Odu-Bathax told me about it, then it's more dangerous to wander around again," Sarah became pensive as they began to march forward, "You think we should wait for a while before going on with the scan quest?"
"No way! It's the best chance I have to get that new battlegear! I cannot let M'arrillians just come all toughy and think they can get away like this!" Peyton exclaimed.
"What do you mean by that?"
"They're acting like bullies," Peyton explained, " They try to capture us. I ain't gonna let that. Go. I'll be swift like the wind Sarah."
They soon approached an oasis, "We can get a little bit of water before we move on," Sarah said, feeling a little thirsty
"Good thing it's not the dry season," Peyton said as they got closer to it.
Reaching the oasis, they heard something suspicious and took a step back.
The Danian Player looked around and asked, "W-who's there? Is it a Mipedian?"
Peyton looked around and his gaze went a little lower, "I don't think so. I don't see footsteps appearing out of the blue like that on the stands."
Something jumped out of the oasis, startling the both of them. At sight of the creature the two scrambled away.
It was a large green M'arrillian with six tentacles wearing a blue breastplate, and he was swiftly floating towards them. He had two of his tentacles acting like arms pointed at them. His mouth was opened with a big black eye with purple iris shining in that black face.
"M'arrillian!" The two Chaotic Players yelled.
"We have to port out now!" Sarah shouted.
The two quickly took out their scanners, stopping at the sight of an incoming attack. They both dodged at the last second, hearing the explosion blast the area behind and creating a plume of smoke that covered them.
Peyton coughed as he inhaled the smoke and reached for his scanner again, only to realize he didn't have it anymore. He wanted to call out for Sarah, but right now, it was a bad idea to tell the M'arrillian where he was. Peyton searched the ground around him for his scanner, but he couldn't see anything. Feeling around a bit more his hand grabbed something solid, but the sensation felt wrong. It was all squishy and a little wet. Peyton paled when he realized what he had grabbed and immediately let it go, rushing to put some distance behind it and him.
Peyton reached some distance before he dared to look back. He noticed the creature was after him, but couldn't catch sight of Sarah. Desperately searching for her he missed the tentacle coming at him
Feeling it catch his wrist, Peyton fell to the ground painfully. Being dragged across the sand Peyton struggled to get free. Acting on instinct he grabbed the first thing he had and threw it.
Ihun'kalin stumbled as he felt the rock hit his eye. Reacting, he reached to touch his eye, dropping the Chaotic Player.
Taking advantage Peyton twisted to stand up and run, but was caught once again, "Damn!"
"You won't escape me this time!" The M'arrillian growled, his voice furious.
Behind the M'arrillian Peyton saw Sarah, dirty and scratched with singed torn clothing, hurrying towards him. "Peyton!" She yelled, pulling something out of her pocket.
As she got closer Peyton was able to make out what she had. A pocket knife. Fearlessly, Sarah threw herself and pierced the tentacle holding him.
Ihun'kalin let out a scream of pain and released the boy as he bled transparent green liquid.
Grunting, Sarah immediately lifted herself and went over to help Peyton.
"We have to port out!" Sarah shouted, pulling out her scanner.
"I lost my scanner Sarah!" Peyton said, shaking his head.
"Goddammit! We have to escape him first," Sarah cursed, and quickly pulled him to follow her. Together, the ran as fast as they could from the M'arrillian.
"Hey! You have a pocket knife?" Peyton gasped, running as fast as he could.
"Think I would go around unharmed with them around?" Sarah replied, making sure not to trip on the soft surface of the sand.
"Oh… Yeah," Peyton panted nervously, scratching the back of his head. An explosion near them made them yell.
Ihun'kalin was closing on them and was getting ready to capture the boy. Seeing the girl beside him Ihun'kalin couldn't wait to eliminate her. She was useless to him, "There is no escape for you Peyton!"
"Look out!" Sarah shoved her friend away as she a blast heading towards him. Thankfully the attack missed, hitting the sand instead.
"You're ok-," Peyton began before he realized that the creature stood in front of him with his tendrils stretching out to snatch him.
"You two were resourceful, but against the M'arrillians, useless," Ihun'kalin snarled as he tried to grab the boy, but missed as the boy jumped back.
Getting out the way Peyton raised his foot and stomped the tentacle painfully.
Ihun'kalin let out a snarl before he grabbed the boy by the neck and raised him. He saw the girl coming with her pocket knife, but slapped her away, throwing her unconscious body into the sand.
"Sarah!" Peyton yelled as her body lying still on the ground. Turning around Peyton glared at the M'arrillian and tried to kick the creature. Unfortunately, he was too far away and missed. Unwilling to just give up he fought with everything he had, but it was to no avail. A human was inferior in raw power compared to most creatures.
"You are lucky we need you, unlike your friend. However, I'm feeling generous and will spare this Sarah," the M'arrillian said.
A voice suddenly came from behind the creature, "I was wondering what those explosions were. Accursed M'arrillian!" Ario shouted, suddenly appearing the moment the creature turned towards him.
Ario smashed his Dragon Pulse shield on the side of the creature's face with all his might, making him drop Peyton on the ground.
"Ario! Thanks dude!" Peyton exclaimed grateful as he picked himself up.
"Get out of here," Ario ordered.
"Can't. Sarah is out and I lost my scanner," Peyton said helplessly as he looked for his scanner.
"D- go away! I'll deal with him!" Ario charged forward, dodging an attack as he did so.
Peyton immediately turned around and searched for his scanner. It wasn't helping that the color of his scanner looked a little like the desert. He groaned as he realized he was in the same situation as Tom had said. Fortunately, out of the corner of his eye managed to see a bit of the black screen sticking out from the sand. Unfortunately, however, it was a little too close to the two fighting creatures. Wondering if he should risk going for, he saw another glint of something near Sarah. Hoping they wouldn't spot him Peyton began quietly inching towards it.
The Mipedian spun around himself and jumped, "Windslash!"
Ihun'kalin let out a pained grunt as it hit his chest and made him lose his balance.
The Mipedian charged and punched the eye of the M'arrillian. He followed with a kick and sent him away, then ducked as he a barrage of ice shards coming at him. Letting out a snarl Ario followed with a Flash Kick.
Ihun'kalin blocked it and pointed his tentacles forward, sending a blast of energy that exploded against the Mipedian.
Ario rolled on the ground, gritting his teeth against the pain. Looking up saw a water attack coming towards him. With great effort he blocked it with his shield. Upon impact the flame of the shield went away, but it still protected him from the brunt of the attack. Reacting quickly, he rolled on the ground as another attack came at him. Hurrying to stand back up he lunged forward and turned towards the enemy as he got back on his feet. Wasting no time Ihun'kalin sent more ice shards his way. Lifting his shield again, Ario managed to block the attack once more, but a few shards made their way through the shield and struck him, making him wince from the pain.
Ario knew the battle wasn't going well for him. He was hurt and his opponent wouldn't just care to beat him up if his target escaped. At least, he had saved their guide to the Cothica. His red eyes and yellow iris suddenly shrunk as he saw a shadow flicker in the distance, "What?"
Peyton had jumped on the back of the and managed to stab the unprotected part of the M'arillian's shoulder with some sort of knife, "That's for Sarah!" Peyton shouted furiously, clinging to creature.
Ihun'kalin screamed in pain and tried to grab the boy, but Peyton had already jumped away from him.
Taking advantage of Ihun'Kalin's distraction Ario turned invisible. He quickly charged and focused on his most powerful wind attack at close range. The M'arrillian tried to turn around to face him but it was too late. Ario grinned and shouted, "Tornado Tackle!"
Blown away by the tornado, Ihun'kalin was flying across the sand and landed on the ground with a loud thud. Disoriented by the attack he tried to get up but didn't have time to do anything as he was hit by a wind slash that sent him sprawling back onto the ground.
The Mipedian waited for the creature to try anything but he launched no attack. Instead Ario saw the M'arrillian stand up and retreat. Not willing to risk it, Ario sent a few attacks and made sure he wouldn't come back. Once he was sure the M'arrillian was gone Ario slumped forward and panted in exhaustion. Shaking his head Ario searched for Peyton and found the boy by the side of the human girl.
"Sarah. You're okay? Wakey Wakey Sarah!" The boy was riddled with anxiety, gripping his friend's body and shaking it slightly.
Thankfully, the girl grumbled an incomprehensive thing, and gingerly put her hand on her forehead, "W-what?"
"Come on bro," Peyton said, encouraging her with a relieved smile on his face.
It took a minute, but she eventually came back.
Meanwhile, Ario had been searching for the missing scanner, just in case the intruder came back again. Spotting the screen, he grabbed and turned towards the humans.
"That's what happened when I was out," Sarah said, her hand resting on the place she'd been hit, "Going to leave a mark if I don't leave."
"Here. You should port out immediately. There might be other M'arrillians hanging around," Ario warned them.
Seeing his friend in bad shape Peyton agreed. It wouldn't be a good idea to continue the scan quest, "Yeah. It's better that we leave soon." Peyton sighed, "Sorry Sarah. You were right."
"I don't care about that." Sarah grunted as she grabbed her scanner, "Damn it! They must be getting really desperate."
"More like their plans are going forward," Peyton replied, frowning at the thought.
Ario crossed his arms and told them once again, "Port out now. You can finish your talk later."
"Yes," the two humans replied. Grateful for his help the two gave him their thanks and they ported out a few seconds later.
The Mipedian sighed, waiting for the rest of the squadron he was with, "We definitely need more patrols." Unsettled by how close the M'arrillians had come to abducting Peyton Ario tapped his shield, igniting the flame. He deactivated it and turned around, "And to end the M'arrillians once and for all."
AC: This is the end of this chapter.
Next: Ghost Town.
Tom and his friends went all together on a scan quest when they reached a ghost town in the Overworld. They realized that something sinister was at play.
