25

It Begins

Leyati was just mooring his boat, had just tied it to the dock, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. The old Nai turned around, a mildly curious expression on his face, but that expression turned to shocked fear when he saw who had a hold of his shoulder. "What in the - " he began, when a large fist connected with the side of his face, sending him sprawling off the pier. He would have fallen, dazed, into the icy-cold waters, had he not been grabbed by the collar of his jumpsuit by an abnormally strong hand.

Facing the old fisherman were five Lunattacks; the fat round one having the grip on his collar, and judging by the balled fists, the blue colored one had just decked him. Earthquake dropped him on the deck, and the purple-hued Nai scrambled to his feet, looking at the beings in alarm. "Wh-what is this?" Even thinking as Saber did, that they had submitted far long enough, he was still frightened by the demonic people.

Chilldon growled and stepped forward to grab the old man's jumpsuit collar. "Don't play around with us, old man. Where is he?"

"Who?" he asked, although he had a pretty good idea. The kid was in trouble.

Chilldon shook him hard. "I am NOT tolerant of lowlifes, Nai!" he snarled. "Tell us where the human brat is, NOW!"

"L-l-look, I don't know what y're talking about! Let me be!"

Chilldon looked as if he were about to rip the old man apart, but was stopped by a hand on his own shoulder. "He is mine to mangle." Psychren removed Chilldon's hands and hoisted the Nai into the air. He put a hand around his throat. "Now," he growled, his eyes nearly blazing. This was an expression that instilled fear in many stout hearts. It did no less now. "We will find the miserable little human filth, Nai. And we know you had contact with him. Now. You can either tell us where he went, and who he had contact with or we will simply rip you from limb to limb and feed the fish with your body." The powerful psychic Lunattack could easily have made the old man tell them what they wanted, but he much preferred the physical method at first.

Leyati made a choked sound, and started fighting the Lunattack. Chilldon laughed and froze the old man's legs so he could not move them, which frightened him more. "I-I-I don't know for sure where he is!" he choked out. "Only what direction he took!"

Psychren dropped him, where he landed on the deck, falling with his legs frozen stiff out. "Then tell us, wretch!" he demanded, kicking him in the side.

Earthquake laughed and bounced the old man back when he rolled away from the psychic Lunattack. "H he went north!" he cried. "I don't know where he went from there!" Saber had gone east.

"That's better," Chilldon sneered, and fired a thawing blast at the old man's legs, freeing them of the ice. He grinned at Psychren as the other Lunattacks watched. Skytomb loomed threateningly overhead, keeping away any that might interfere, and Mumm-Ra hovered just out of notice.

Psychren returned the grin and looked back to the cowering man. "You know, it is well known that you lowlifes lie, old man... So we are going to test you a bit." As Leyati watched, fascinated and terrified, Psychren took his Psyche Club from his belt. made in the fashion of his clan for thousands of years, it was a luminescent, nearly weightless orb a little smaller than a man's head, set in an attractive wooden staff.

The sadistic Lunattack cast the staff Leyati's way, and he flinched, thinking he would be struck with it. But all that happened was that the orb separated from the wood and floated by itself! Leyati gaped at it in shock.

The others snickered as Psychren narrowed his eyes, smiling unpleasantly at the Nai. "Give in to me, you pathetic wretch. I want you to tell me what I want to know, and you will not lie to me. You have no choice. Tell me now!"

Leyati blinked confusedly, as he felt something he had never felt in his life before. He felt as if fingers of fog were making their way into his mind, blocking him off from it. He felt dizzy, woozy, as if he were about to pass out. But at the point where he would have passed out, he kind of hovered there, half conscious. "I-I can't...I can't tell...." Leyati shook his head. It was getting difficult for him to think. "He...he went...he went east..." he mumbled, as if sleep talking.

Psychren laughed and retracted the orb. "Oh, you have made a mistake, you sniveling Nai scum!" As Leyati shook his head, his mind slowly coming back to the realization of what had just happened, Psychren looked upwards. "Mumm-Ra!" he called gleefully. "This mortal just lied to us, your servants!" Normally he would not have called himself a servant of anyone, but this was for the Nai's benefit.

To Leyati's horror, there came from the sky what he at first thought to be a giant bat, but in truth was a massive warrior, with the ability to fly through the air like one. He was taller than anyone he had ever seen, even more than the mind controlling being that had just questioned him or the reptiles that were their allies. Muscles rippled on every inch of his body visible, and his eyes were red. Red Not like the albino animals he had seen before in his life, but a lurid, glowing, unnatural red with no iris or pupil that he could see. Leyati shrank back. This must be him. This must be the immortal he had told Saber about a month ago.

"So," the demon growled, glaring down at him with his hateful red eyes. "You dare to defy my servants? you dare to rise up, to refuse me what I demand?!" His eyes glowed a bright red, like a blacksmith's forge, and he raised his hands out in front of him.

"N-n-now, he-he's only a boy!" the old man protested fearfully. "What harm could he do you?"

"Silence!" Mumm-Ra growled, sending out a brief shock of red electricity, lightning from his very fingertips. Leyati yelped in pained shock. "You will regret defying Mumm-Ra the Ever-Living!" The demon let loose with a barrage of lightning, the raw electricity coursing through the old man's body. He screamed in pain, his mind overloaded with it, his eyes seeing nothing but flashes of light too bright to bear.

After what seemed an eternity to the Nai fisherman, and while the Lunattacks laughed at him and the few people on the dock cowered in horror, Mumm-Ra stopped. Leyati was unconscious. "East," the demon rumbled, turning to the Lunattacks.

"Yeah!" Infra said, raising a fist. "Let's get that little piece of dung!"

Sounder nodded his silent agreement, and the Lunattacks dispersed to reenter Skytomb, which slowly landed to admit them.

When all had left the village, leaving the people shaken...but angry, which was important...Leyati groaned and opened his eyes. Every move he made was agonizing; he had never felt such pain before. But now what he felt was concern.

His neighbor and fellow fisherman ran over as soon as the Lunattacks and Mumm-Ra were out of sight, and helped him up. "We've got t' get y' t' a doctor, Leyati!" he exclaimed, his accent even thicker than his friend's.

Leyati shook his head, slowly standing. The pain was beginning to subside, thankfully. "N-no...no, I'm all right, Helkin. We've...we can't let that demon kill that child. He's hardly started his life.

Helkin nodded. "Y're right, m' friend. Y're right. An' it goes f'rther 'n that too. The villagers don't want t' take this anymore. Y'r young friend is right., It's time to stand, m' friend. It's time t' stand."

The two Nai looked after the way the Lunattacks had left for a moment, before Leyati got a hold of himself. "All right. We need to get to him before that horrible demon does." He sighed. "We only have carts and pack animals. I only hope he's able to avoid them long enough." He looked to his neighbor. "Round up all that can leave. Tell everyone you can what's going on. I've got people I know can look after my place while I'm gone. I've sold most my catches, the rest can be payment to whoever I get to look after the place. The Hetchi boy c'n do it. Get everyone you can, and all the supplies y' can. Warriors if y' can so long's there's enough here to defend the place. I am going to talk to a few people in the neighboring towns."

Helkin nodded and ran off, and Leyati began to the next village, the large one, less than an hour away. The next day they started off, a vast party of Nai and reptiles, numbering more than two hundred, from the seven villages around Leyati's own. Most of them had at least heard of the human boy, and all knew about the resistance that had been rising. Those that had met the human boy that had started all of this had managed to get together a rescue party as it was, and they set out.

Part 26: Final Leg

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