Strengthening Threats
Disclaimers: Nothing new here. The two character that Rayman and Sssam saved are owned by Ryoko D., my characters are owned by me *smiles*, soul- binding is owned by the many different legends scattered across the globe, and Rayman is owned by Ubi Soft.
Notes: Due to holiday vacation, this chapter was delayed for a short while. (Hey, even computer nerds like me need a rest.) For Christmas, I got Rayman Arena, and it rocks! The only problem is that there is no Ly (*sniff*), Sssam (*double sniff*), Clark (eh...), Jano (Not many people like him.), Bad-Rayman (He could've been an alternative costume for Rayman, but the creators didn't allow Rayman any extra costumes.), or Polokus (*shrugs*). Instead, they had new characters like Dark Golbox (an evil more- insane version of Golbox), Tily (a watered-down pixie version of Ly.), and Mrs. Razorbeard. (O_O;) However, the funny cutscenes of Murphy being beat up by the contestants outweigh the cons. This chapter is shorter than the last chapter. (Thank goodness.) Expect some bizarre twists and turns coming your way this time.
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Don't re-arrange - No need to change
Stay like you are - Keep it all the same
But as you move along in your life
Keep an open mind and don't forget
------Cosmic Eternity----
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"Are they even alive, Rayman?" Rayman didn't answer his friend as he poured fresh cold water on one of the humans that he and his friend had saved earlier. They were now under the tree canopy that hid the entrance to the Cave of Bad Dreams. Luckily, Jano owned a protected freshwater spring nearby, one the few that were scattered throughout the polluted swamps. Rayman had filled two whole buckets of water, one for each unconscious being. He was pouring water from one bucket at a steady pace onto one of them, washing off the mud and blood from it. Sssam, seeing Rayman clear the dirt away from the person he saved, repeated the progress on the other person they had saved by tipping the bucket near the other fallen person with his tail. Underneath the dirt, Rayman and Sssam saw what they really were.
The two humans that they saved was a male and a female. The male was tall and muscular, with lavender hair that was spiked and clumped with dirt clogs. His clothes were torn and ripped to shreds, but what was left was the fabulous blood red tunic that Morphina had given him when she upgrading him to Commander. Judging from the tears in the clothing, he and his partner must've battled with some kind of strong sharp-clawed monster. Rayman decided to question them later on their wounds. The female that lay beside the boy had glorious turquoise hair with neon orange bangs. She was well-bodied like her partner, but instead of wearing a blood red tunic she wore a tattered midnight blue, with a long sharp sword sheathed to her right side. Both of their breathing was ragged and slow. Rayman shook his head in frustration.
"We won't get any questions from them now. Let's let them rest, and later we can wake them up and ask them..." Rayman replied to Sssam. Sssam nodded. "I hope Jano doesssn't mind the new visssitors. After all, one of them did know sssomething about an attack tomorrow morning. I wonder what he means by that..." Suddenly, the female human started to stir from her short coma. Sssam and Rayman immediately rushed to her side for any needed aid. Her eyelids fluttered open, revealing a pair of dark bluish purple eyes. She coughed slightly, then rose herself until she was in a sitting position. When she first saw Sssam, she made a quick motion to unsheathe her sword, but when she saw Rayman she stopped it at mid-action.
"Rayman...Everyone is in danger..." her voice cracked and was hoarse from using too many magic attacks. Rayman nodded. "I know. Your friend told me all about it." Rayman indicated the still-lying form next to her. The female noticed her friend and gasped. "Nooo...They got Drac...." Her eyes started to water with unborn tears. Sssam shook his head. "Don't worry, lady. He's ssstill alive, but not by much." His comment lightened the girl's mood, but not by much. Rayman, seeing the conversation going nowhere, decided to question her.
"Where did you two come from? Judging from your state, it wasn't a walk in the park." Rayman stated. The girl smiled warmly, her eyes sparkling like jewels. Strangely, her strength seemed to return quite fast for someone who was just in a coma. "Sorry..." her voice was still hoarse, but it was a little better. Rayman could sense the magic that she possessed, giving her healing abilities that outmatched any normal humans.
"I forgot to introduce myself. My name's Donnia Starhunter, but it's best if you can call me Nia." She burst into a fit of dry coughing. When she cleared her voice, she continued. "Lying next to me is Rex Skyler, but I like to call him Drac." Nia turned her head to Rayman, her dark eyes sparkling. "Thanks for rescuing us. We almost thought that Morphina had us."
"Morphina? You know about her too?" Sssam asked. Nia nodded. "I'll tell you the details after Drac wakes up and I feel better." She lay back down on the ground and shut her eyes. Her breathing was still wounded and unsteady. "Can you get me some fresh water? My throat is dry and sore beyond belief." The two heroes traveled to the spring to fetch some water in a small canteen, but when they returned to give it to Nia, she had returned to the coma that Rex Skyler was still in. They both knew that she had not completely healed, so they laid the canteen full of fresh water next to her. After they were finished with their trival task, Sssam was instructed to watch the two fallen ones while Rayman went back to guard the entrance.
"I wonder if these two are friends or foes. I sure hope that they aren't hiding anything from us, Sssam." Rayman questioned to his friend. Sssam nodded, but said no more as he watched the two fallen ones with the attention of a vigil watch. Rayman scanned the horizon for foes. As much as Rayman trusted the two sorcerers, something about them seemed fishy. He felt that these two will either help them greatly in their new journey against Morphina, or hinder them so that they stand no chance against the dangers of Morphina and her Commanders. Rayman inwardly hoped that they were friends, or else Ivy probably won't stand a chance.
Little did he know, he was going to find out the answer too soon for comfort....
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"My liege, we caught some new prisoners!" A group of human slaves, lead by the black frog commander that met Freya and Agent B.R. earlier, walked into Morphina room dragging a trio of miserable captives. Morphina didn't bother to turn around, Davis still standing spell-bound and motionless next to her. "What else is new?" Morphina replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She was still peeved that her two best Commanders went charging into the marshes without any commands, and some captives weren't enough to change her mood. Davis watched the visitors with dark eyes void of emotion. The spell's bondage had grown stronger as time passed, and even Davis's slightest resist was quickly blocked off. He felt like a robot.
"These prisoners are different. They're friends of Rayman!" The frog commander insisted. His slaves behind his back agreed dully in unison. Morphina turned to face her Commander. Her delicate mouth turned into a fanged smile when she saw the Commander and his slaves holding two struggling Teensies and a wounded Globox at hand. She approached the group, Davis tagging along like a leashed dog.
"You've really outdone yourself, Pondscum. (Yes, that's his name! =p) These prisoners could actually be worth as much as Davis here if spell-bound. I bet they could tell us everything we wanted to know." The Teensies began to yell loudly in protest; they knew of Morphina's powers as much as Jano and Polokus did. Globox, too wounded to argue, merely glanced at her with weary eyes that said 'I hope she's not as bad as Razorbeard'. He wanted to spare his energy for when the enemies let their guard down. Morphina ordered Pondscum to keep the Teensies quiet at once.
"Morphina, the Globox frog holds a Silver Lum..." Davis replied in dull monotone. Morphina nodded. "I knew that, Davis. Silver Lums hold tons of compressed fairy magic. If used correctly, they can be as powerful as the strongest spell. If I possessed one, Jano can be as good as dead within seconds." Morphina held out her hand in front of the injured frog. Globox looked a bit surprised at this motion. He glared at her with untrusting eyes, his friend's muffled pleas right behind him. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. If you hand me the Silver Lum now, I'll forget about spell-binding you and you can live in the prison with your own free will. If you refuse, I'll spell-bind you and force you to clean out the chamber pots my army uses!" Globox cringed at these choices. The Teensies fell silent, for they didn't know which choice was worse.
"Globox never give Silver Lum to evil witch lady. Silver Lum for Rayman, not you!" Globox retorted. Morphina looked like she was slapped in the face. Her face became a mask of pure vemon. To everyones' surprise, Morphina left hand morphed into a replica of the claws that a dragon possesses. She placed the claws underneath Globox's throat. "If you don't give it to me now, I'll be forced to create some nasty looking scars across that bloated stomach of yours! Is that clear?" Globox still kept his froggy glare on Morphina, but he soon gave up. He vomited the Silver Lum from his mouth and onto his one free hand....
"Catch!" Globox tossed the Silver Lum across the room. Pondscum and his slaves ducked as a reflex. The Silver Lum, being full of magical energy, bounced off the walls like a bouncy ball. Growling at her Commander's ignorance, Morphina ordered them to catch the Lum. The slaves and Commander, now with a new order, dropped the disgruntled Teensies and dove for the Lum like a cat dives at a fly. The Teensies and Globox, seeing this as a distraction, ran out the room as Morphina and her cronies dove for the Lum. Davis, without an order, stood like a still statue. At Fate would have it, in the confusion of the room, the Silver Lum bounced off at the right angles and collided right into Davis. The magic power forced Davis to land onto his bottom. Everyone stood in shock, not knowing what was going to happen to Davis. When the silver light and magic faded, Davis got up to his feet and glanced around like he had woken up from a dream.
"Where am I?" Davis asked. He saw the advancing slaves and immediately remembered Morphina. When he saw her, she looked very angry, her face turning a hot red. Without warning, she grabbed the nearest person at her reach, which happened to be Pondscum, and hissed into his face. "Grab him, you fool! He's been freed from my spell!" The slaves dove at him at once, but Davis sidestepped the mindless drones with the skill of a master hunter. He ran out the room and traveled down the stairs. It wasn't long before he heard the clamor of Morphina's cronies running down the stairs after him. "If you grab him, keep him alive you mindless worms! I still want him for myself!" Davis heard that voice a little too close for comfort. He ran until his sides hurt, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. Suddenly, he was knocked off his feet and onto his back.
"Keep quiet!" Davis was surprised to see a Teensie standing on his stomach. It was heavier than what Davis expected Teensies to be, but it didn't press him down hard enough to make him unable to breathe. The Teensie hopped off his stomach quickly. "Follow me. We won't escape them by running down the stairs. There's a different route. Come on!" The Teensie led Davis down the stairs several steps and then stopped to push upon a place near the stairs. To Davis' surprise, it opened into a small storage room full of animal skins and zombie chickens not yet spell-bound by anybody. The Teensie quickly shut the door away as soon as Davis entered. Davis waited to catch his breath before he could question the Teensie.
"How'd you know that this hollow was here?" The Teensie smiled. "Those captives had to stop here to grab some fox skins before talking to Morphina. It's always best to be observant in these kinds of environments." Another Teensie and Globox appeared from out of the shadows that covered most of the room. "We can't give Rayman the Silver Lum now. But, Silver Lum somehow freed the young boy from Morphina's spell. Globox hope that the boy knows what's going on, because Globox sure don't." Davis sighed at this comment.
"I don't know much either. My Dad sent Ivy on her way, and mere hours later he gets killed by some mysterious yahoo in a cloak and his pet puppy-thing. Then, those two dragged me to ol' Morphy-girl and then she put me under a spell." The Teensies nodded at this information. "You're very lucky, boy." "Please call me Davis." "Okay. Davis, very few people are put under her spell and live to ever see their free will again. Those that do are sacrificed later for food for the more cannibalistic creatures like those things." The Teensie talking pointed his thumb at the chained zombie chickens watching them with vacant eyes.
"How do we get out of here?" Davis asked. Globox smiled. "Globox know how! Watch and learn, Davis!" Globox backed up slightly until he was facing the outer wall. Then, like Clark, he charged until he burst through the wooden wall, leaving a humorous Globox-shape in the wall. Davis cringed, wondering if Globox accidentally killed himself, while the Teensies cheered him on. Golden sunshine shone out of the hole, showing that it was indeed a new route outside Morphina's fortress. Moments later, the group could hear Globox call out for him. The trio ran towards the hole and peered downwards through it. They were three stories off the ground, but they could make out a blue shape calling for them from the swamp water below. "How does he do it?" Davis questioned to himself.
Without warning, the Teensies hopped through the hole and landed three stories below. Davis gasped, but then he saw Globox catch the two Teensies with great accuracy. Davis, knowing that going back wasn't an option, jumped through the hole. He landed softly on top of the pudgy frog like someone would land on an air mattress, knocking the frog off his feet, but Globox didn't seem to mind. "Seems like you're stuck with us, kid. Once the cronies find out about Globox's little doorway, we'll have to run for our lives." a Teensie said plainly.
"Speak of the devil!" Davis cursed, pointing an index finger upwards to the hole they exited out of. He saw a human peering through the Globox-hole and shouting something unclear and foggy to something behind him. Davis couldn't guess twice who the person was shouting to. "We'll have to make a run for it if we don't want to enter spell-bondage again by that evil witch. The best place to go is probably the Cave of Bad Dreams, since Ivy went there and Morphina seems to hate the Guardian there."
The Teensies knew of this place well. "We know where Cave of Bad Dreams is! Rayman showed it to us once, and he said that Jano could help us in any situation. We need to hurry, unless if cleaning chamber pots sounds like a good idea!" With the Teensies leading, the four new friends ran for their lives. The party of four ran through the swamp waters and poisonous land of the Bayou that Morphina resided at this point of time, just as Morphina's horde descended down either their escape route or the main entrance to cut them off. They had to make it to the Swamps of Awakening and its Cave of Bad Dreams that it shielded within. Behind them, a group of mismatched creatures were chasing them down, Pondscum and a human Commander leading the way. Morphina, despite the importance of the catch the slaves were chasing, had more important things to attend to at the moment and didn't join the chase. Now, Davis was involved in a race against time to see who could make it to the Cave of Bad Dreams first.
Sadly, Davis didn't know that two contenders had started the race early.
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Ivy never saw a place like the place that Jano took her. After dragging hr through a land of nightmarish traps, puzzles, and monsters, she stood in a cavern full of gold, jewels, and riches. A whole cauldron of Elixir of Life bubbled in the corner. Cups made from human skulls sat near the cauldron. Ivy forced himself to keep from picking any riches and putting them in her jean pockets as she watched Jano seat himself on the largest pile of jewels. He waved his skull-adorned wand in front of her face. "Here you will learn how to put your powers to good use. Good skills don't come easily." Ivy watched as the Guardian summoned something from the pile of riches. It turned out to be a Cyclops monster, which looked like the small version of him. "You're first task is to spell-bind this creature." Ivy had to urge to ask Jano how, but he already knew what she was thinking.
"I know that you have no idea how to soul-bind, so I'll demonstrate." He placed a hefty claw on top of the creature's head. "You must place your hand, or any part of your body but the hand is easiest, above the creature's eyes. Then, you must focus on forcing all of its thoughts away from its head. This process can only be performed by magic creatures like us, so don't worry about your friends forcing any thoughts out of your head. If the creature has no thoughts, then the process will be easier. After the brain is void of all thought, you must give the creature orders or else it'll just sit there like an unused toy. I know it sounds weird, Ivy but you'll get the hang of it." The creature Jano held became still, and its single eye blanked out. Ivy shuddered under the glare of the thoughtless eye of the monster. Then, Jano ordered the creature to come towards Ivy, which responded in a dull hop towards the frightened teenager.
"If you can get soul-binding correct, then breaking the spell will be a snap. All you have to do is repeat the progress of soul-binding, only instead you force the magical orders away. If done correctly, the monster is free to do whatever it pleases." Jano ordered the monster to hop within his reach, and with the same repeated steps, the spirit returned to the monster's body. Now free, the monster began to roam around aimlessly in the large treasured cavern. Ivy looked at her trainer for some advice, but all she got was a plain 'go ahead, try it' sort of look from the Guardian. Swallowing the bile that had risen in her throat, Ivy stepped towards the roaming monster.
To her surprise, the monster nearly bit her hand with its sharp teeth. Ivy pulled her hand back and backed away from the monster. She could hear Jano's voice behind her. "Show no fear. Once you get a hold of its mind, then it'll become as docile as a kitten." Ivy nodded.
"Okay. Here goes nothing." Then, to Jano's surprise, the teenager tackled the Cyclops creature to the ground and pinned it face down in the dirt to avoid snapping jaws. Jano nearly burst out laughing as he saw Ivy curse and growl as she got on top of the creature, placed a hand above the struggling monster's eye, and began to focus. The struggling ceased as Ivy forced the thoughts away like someone would make someone move under the glare of their eyes. To test it out, Ivy got off from the creature and poked it. The creature got up from the ground and stared emotionlessly at her. Ivy, without any other command, ordered the monster to come towards Jano. The creature stumbled across the ground until it was a few feet next to Jano. Jano was impressed.
"You got spunk, kid. Your mother didn't tackle the monster like you did. She just threw a piece of jerky at it so she could approach it peacefully. Now, release it from your hold." Ivy did so by placing her hand on top of the monster's hand and forcing the magic away. Suddenly, the monster came alive with growling and snarling and bit her hand with one clamp of its jaws. Ivy screamed bloody murder as she felt razor-sharp teeth dig into her skin, close to drawing blood. The pain ceased when Jano whacked the creature with his wand, making the monster disappear in a puff of smoke. "I think we need to train more. Morphina's monsters do more than just bite, you know."
And so, the rest of Ivy's day was filled with various training courses like spell-binding different creatures, lifting heavy weights, dodging spiked traps, and even racing against Jano to see if she was ready. Throughout the long tiring day that extended into night, Ivy was bruised, battered, bitten, and scratched at by different things. Her steel will wore on as she proved her worth to the Guardian of the Cave of Bad Dreams. As she trained, her power grew quickly with experience. Jano was impressed, seeing the girl go through two days of training in one day. But, he did knew that he indeed was training the savior of the Cave of Bad Dreams, and maybe the entire world.
Ivy's first real test will come soon, but she will be ready. Ivy vowed to make her family proud of her, and to destroy Morphina once and for all...
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"How much longer? This swamp is driving me nuts!" Freya whined. She was slapping at mosquitoes like crazy, developing a crazy bug rash in the progress. Her partner rolled his eyes as the struggling wolf-furry bit and scratched at bugs. "That's why they invented bug spray, Freya. You should use it sometime. Besides, the Cave of Bad Dreams is only a skip and a hop from here." The two were now wading knee-deep in swamp muck. As always, the two of them dragged their three spell-bound zombie chickens in case they needed more brute force than they already possessed. The sun had already set down, perfect timing for the two Commanders. However, the darkness attracted bugs.
"That's what you said five minutes ago. I hate this stupid swamp!" She crushed a bug the size of a baseball between her paws, covering herself with greenish bug blood. She gagged and tried to wipe it off, only succeeding in smearing dark stripes across her tangled white fur. Her species always resided in mountainous areas, and swamps were like living nightmares to them. Wading through ice-cold swamp water that lapped at their knees was even worse for her. Finally, possibly out of hidden pity, Freya's partner led them up a large fallen tree, pulling themselves out of the mud with a sickening suck. Freya shivered as freezing cold wind bit at her knees. "Why are we here anyways? Morphina instructed us to wait at the fortress."
"'You snooze, you lose' is the quote in mind. If we travel at this pace, we'll not only run into Jano, but Rayman, his friends, and that will probably lead us to the two runaways. It's like killing three birds with one stone." It was Freya's turn to roll her eyes. "Please. You said that the two runaways are dead. Why are we running after them all of a sudden?" Bad-Rayman shrugged as he pulled the hood down on his cloak and scanned the surroundings. "I didn't want Pondscum to worry. He's fierce and uncontrollable when he thinks that he's in danger. If Morphina sees us with the two runaways' bodies, she'll probably promote us to second-in-command!" Freya liked that idea of being Morphina's right-hand wolf, but still she doubted that the two runaways will be near Rayman's party. Still, her partner had a strange sense of knowing things.
They walked through the marshes, sneaking at a quiet pace in the underbrush. It wasn't long until a wooden pier appeared before them for swamp water boats to dock; Sssam's official home. Only a few yards away, the large tree root that led into the Cave of bad Dreams trailed in the marsh's poisonous waters like an amber rope. Freya and Bad-Rayman kept hidden, for they knew that the Entrance was never left unguarded. If they were to catch anybody by surprise, they had to keep hidden until the guardian least expected it. Little did they know, their sneaking wasn't left unseen. Rayman and Sssam saw them sneaking around in the underbrush way before they expected it. Rayman's mind thought like his evil counterpart, so he pretended to not notice them. Soon, the battle of Rayman and his shadow will begin once again after Rayman's win in Mr. Dark's lair so long ago.
Little did they know, that the battle between good and evil was going to be a tag team match, for both Donnia Starhunter and Rex Skyler were now fully healed and wide awake.
....The War of the Souls has begun....
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End of Chapter 4
Everything is beginning to tie together and make more sense. The fifth chapter will include the first battle of the unofficial War of the Souls, a short cameo by Ly, and close-to-death experience on our hero's part.
Sneak peak of 'War of the Souls', Chapter 5:
Rayman thought that his shadow had died long ago, but now Bad-Rayman's back with both a partner and a thirst for blood. While Rayman's dealing with his long-lost evil side, Davis and Ivy meet once again but Davis brings news of bad omen and the start of the War of the Souls. Ivy feels that she is not ready, but she must join the battle at the state she's in or else the world has no chance at all. Meanwhile, Morphina has a few plans up her sleeves, and it'll involve the souls of both Ly and Rosemary Thorn! Will Morphina succeed, or will Rayman and Ivy prevail? Expect some major twists, turns, near-death experiences, and even a little love.
Someone e-mailed me asking why I chose the story to take place in a swamp of all places and it was stupid without the Fairy Glade or anything like that. I told him that 1/3 of all the levels in Rayman 2 have a swamp, bayou, or a marsh of some form. I had four major choices of background; swamp, glade, lava and rock (Think Sanctuary of Stone and Fire), or beach (Sanctuary of Water and Ice). I chose the marsh setting because its dangerous, yet it's not so hazardous that living in it would be nigh impossible. Seeing as most of the stories don't involve Jano, but they always involve some peaceful glade, I decided to be original. Hooray for me!
Only two chapters to go! ^^ I'm still wondering if I should kill off Freya or not. Please tell me in either e-mail form or in your review.
Remember to review!
Disclaimers: Nothing new here. The two character that Rayman and Sssam saved are owned by Ryoko D., my characters are owned by me *smiles*, soul- binding is owned by the many different legends scattered across the globe, and Rayman is owned by Ubi Soft.
Notes: Due to holiday vacation, this chapter was delayed for a short while. (Hey, even computer nerds like me need a rest.) For Christmas, I got Rayman Arena, and it rocks! The only problem is that there is no Ly (*sniff*), Sssam (*double sniff*), Clark (eh...), Jano (Not many people like him.), Bad-Rayman (He could've been an alternative costume for Rayman, but the creators didn't allow Rayman any extra costumes.), or Polokus (*shrugs*). Instead, they had new characters like Dark Golbox (an evil more- insane version of Golbox), Tily (a watered-down pixie version of Ly.), and Mrs. Razorbeard. (O_O;) However, the funny cutscenes of Murphy being beat up by the contestants outweigh the cons. This chapter is shorter than the last chapter. (Thank goodness.) Expect some bizarre twists and turns coming your way this time.
-------------------------------------------
Don't re-arrange - No need to change
Stay like you are - Keep it all the same
But as you move along in your life
Keep an open mind and don't forget
------Cosmic Eternity----
-----------------------------------------
"Are they even alive, Rayman?" Rayman didn't answer his friend as he poured fresh cold water on one of the humans that he and his friend had saved earlier. They were now under the tree canopy that hid the entrance to the Cave of Bad Dreams. Luckily, Jano owned a protected freshwater spring nearby, one the few that were scattered throughout the polluted swamps. Rayman had filled two whole buckets of water, one for each unconscious being. He was pouring water from one bucket at a steady pace onto one of them, washing off the mud and blood from it. Sssam, seeing Rayman clear the dirt away from the person he saved, repeated the progress on the other person they had saved by tipping the bucket near the other fallen person with his tail. Underneath the dirt, Rayman and Sssam saw what they really were.
The two humans that they saved was a male and a female. The male was tall and muscular, with lavender hair that was spiked and clumped with dirt clogs. His clothes were torn and ripped to shreds, but what was left was the fabulous blood red tunic that Morphina had given him when she upgrading him to Commander. Judging from the tears in the clothing, he and his partner must've battled with some kind of strong sharp-clawed monster. Rayman decided to question them later on their wounds. The female that lay beside the boy had glorious turquoise hair with neon orange bangs. She was well-bodied like her partner, but instead of wearing a blood red tunic she wore a tattered midnight blue, with a long sharp sword sheathed to her right side. Both of their breathing was ragged and slow. Rayman shook his head in frustration.
"We won't get any questions from them now. Let's let them rest, and later we can wake them up and ask them..." Rayman replied to Sssam. Sssam nodded. "I hope Jano doesssn't mind the new visssitors. After all, one of them did know sssomething about an attack tomorrow morning. I wonder what he means by that..." Suddenly, the female human started to stir from her short coma. Sssam and Rayman immediately rushed to her side for any needed aid. Her eyelids fluttered open, revealing a pair of dark bluish purple eyes. She coughed slightly, then rose herself until she was in a sitting position. When she first saw Sssam, she made a quick motion to unsheathe her sword, but when she saw Rayman she stopped it at mid-action.
"Rayman...Everyone is in danger..." her voice cracked and was hoarse from using too many magic attacks. Rayman nodded. "I know. Your friend told me all about it." Rayman indicated the still-lying form next to her. The female noticed her friend and gasped. "Nooo...They got Drac...." Her eyes started to water with unborn tears. Sssam shook his head. "Don't worry, lady. He's ssstill alive, but not by much." His comment lightened the girl's mood, but not by much. Rayman, seeing the conversation going nowhere, decided to question her.
"Where did you two come from? Judging from your state, it wasn't a walk in the park." Rayman stated. The girl smiled warmly, her eyes sparkling like jewels. Strangely, her strength seemed to return quite fast for someone who was just in a coma. "Sorry..." her voice was still hoarse, but it was a little better. Rayman could sense the magic that she possessed, giving her healing abilities that outmatched any normal humans.
"I forgot to introduce myself. My name's Donnia Starhunter, but it's best if you can call me Nia." She burst into a fit of dry coughing. When she cleared her voice, she continued. "Lying next to me is Rex Skyler, but I like to call him Drac." Nia turned her head to Rayman, her dark eyes sparkling. "Thanks for rescuing us. We almost thought that Morphina had us."
"Morphina? You know about her too?" Sssam asked. Nia nodded. "I'll tell you the details after Drac wakes up and I feel better." She lay back down on the ground and shut her eyes. Her breathing was still wounded and unsteady. "Can you get me some fresh water? My throat is dry and sore beyond belief." The two heroes traveled to the spring to fetch some water in a small canteen, but when they returned to give it to Nia, she had returned to the coma that Rex Skyler was still in. They both knew that she had not completely healed, so they laid the canteen full of fresh water next to her. After they were finished with their trival task, Sssam was instructed to watch the two fallen ones while Rayman went back to guard the entrance.
"I wonder if these two are friends or foes. I sure hope that they aren't hiding anything from us, Sssam." Rayman questioned to his friend. Sssam nodded, but said no more as he watched the two fallen ones with the attention of a vigil watch. Rayman scanned the horizon for foes. As much as Rayman trusted the two sorcerers, something about them seemed fishy. He felt that these two will either help them greatly in their new journey against Morphina, or hinder them so that they stand no chance against the dangers of Morphina and her Commanders. Rayman inwardly hoped that they were friends, or else Ivy probably won't stand a chance.
Little did he know, he was going to find out the answer too soon for comfort....
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"My liege, we caught some new prisoners!" A group of human slaves, lead by the black frog commander that met Freya and Agent B.R. earlier, walked into Morphina room dragging a trio of miserable captives. Morphina didn't bother to turn around, Davis still standing spell-bound and motionless next to her. "What else is new?" Morphina replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She was still peeved that her two best Commanders went charging into the marshes without any commands, and some captives weren't enough to change her mood. Davis watched the visitors with dark eyes void of emotion. The spell's bondage had grown stronger as time passed, and even Davis's slightest resist was quickly blocked off. He felt like a robot.
"These prisoners are different. They're friends of Rayman!" The frog commander insisted. His slaves behind his back agreed dully in unison. Morphina turned to face her Commander. Her delicate mouth turned into a fanged smile when she saw the Commander and his slaves holding two struggling Teensies and a wounded Globox at hand. She approached the group, Davis tagging along like a leashed dog.
"You've really outdone yourself, Pondscum. (Yes, that's his name! =p) These prisoners could actually be worth as much as Davis here if spell-bound. I bet they could tell us everything we wanted to know." The Teensies began to yell loudly in protest; they knew of Morphina's powers as much as Jano and Polokus did. Globox, too wounded to argue, merely glanced at her with weary eyes that said 'I hope she's not as bad as Razorbeard'. He wanted to spare his energy for when the enemies let their guard down. Morphina ordered Pondscum to keep the Teensies quiet at once.
"Morphina, the Globox frog holds a Silver Lum..." Davis replied in dull monotone. Morphina nodded. "I knew that, Davis. Silver Lums hold tons of compressed fairy magic. If used correctly, they can be as powerful as the strongest spell. If I possessed one, Jano can be as good as dead within seconds." Morphina held out her hand in front of the injured frog. Globox looked a bit surprised at this motion. He glared at her with untrusting eyes, his friend's muffled pleas right behind him. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. If you hand me the Silver Lum now, I'll forget about spell-binding you and you can live in the prison with your own free will. If you refuse, I'll spell-bind you and force you to clean out the chamber pots my army uses!" Globox cringed at these choices. The Teensies fell silent, for they didn't know which choice was worse.
"Globox never give Silver Lum to evil witch lady. Silver Lum for Rayman, not you!" Globox retorted. Morphina looked like she was slapped in the face. Her face became a mask of pure vemon. To everyones' surprise, Morphina left hand morphed into a replica of the claws that a dragon possesses. She placed the claws underneath Globox's throat. "If you don't give it to me now, I'll be forced to create some nasty looking scars across that bloated stomach of yours! Is that clear?" Globox still kept his froggy glare on Morphina, but he soon gave up. He vomited the Silver Lum from his mouth and onto his one free hand....
"Catch!" Globox tossed the Silver Lum across the room. Pondscum and his slaves ducked as a reflex. The Silver Lum, being full of magical energy, bounced off the walls like a bouncy ball. Growling at her Commander's ignorance, Morphina ordered them to catch the Lum. The slaves and Commander, now with a new order, dropped the disgruntled Teensies and dove for the Lum like a cat dives at a fly. The Teensies and Globox, seeing this as a distraction, ran out the room as Morphina and her cronies dove for the Lum. Davis, without an order, stood like a still statue. At Fate would have it, in the confusion of the room, the Silver Lum bounced off at the right angles and collided right into Davis. The magic power forced Davis to land onto his bottom. Everyone stood in shock, not knowing what was going to happen to Davis. When the silver light and magic faded, Davis got up to his feet and glanced around like he had woken up from a dream.
"Where am I?" Davis asked. He saw the advancing slaves and immediately remembered Morphina. When he saw her, she looked very angry, her face turning a hot red. Without warning, she grabbed the nearest person at her reach, which happened to be Pondscum, and hissed into his face. "Grab him, you fool! He's been freed from my spell!" The slaves dove at him at once, but Davis sidestepped the mindless drones with the skill of a master hunter. He ran out the room and traveled down the stairs. It wasn't long before he heard the clamor of Morphina's cronies running down the stairs after him. "If you grab him, keep him alive you mindless worms! I still want him for myself!" Davis heard that voice a little too close for comfort. He ran until his sides hurt, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. Suddenly, he was knocked off his feet and onto his back.
"Keep quiet!" Davis was surprised to see a Teensie standing on his stomach. It was heavier than what Davis expected Teensies to be, but it didn't press him down hard enough to make him unable to breathe. The Teensie hopped off his stomach quickly. "Follow me. We won't escape them by running down the stairs. There's a different route. Come on!" The Teensie led Davis down the stairs several steps and then stopped to push upon a place near the stairs. To Davis' surprise, it opened into a small storage room full of animal skins and zombie chickens not yet spell-bound by anybody. The Teensie quickly shut the door away as soon as Davis entered. Davis waited to catch his breath before he could question the Teensie.
"How'd you know that this hollow was here?" The Teensie smiled. "Those captives had to stop here to grab some fox skins before talking to Morphina. It's always best to be observant in these kinds of environments." Another Teensie and Globox appeared from out of the shadows that covered most of the room. "We can't give Rayman the Silver Lum now. But, Silver Lum somehow freed the young boy from Morphina's spell. Globox hope that the boy knows what's going on, because Globox sure don't." Davis sighed at this comment.
"I don't know much either. My Dad sent Ivy on her way, and mere hours later he gets killed by some mysterious yahoo in a cloak and his pet puppy-thing. Then, those two dragged me to ol' Morphy-girl and then she put me under a spell." The Teensies nodded at this information. "You're very lucky, boy." "Please call me Davis." "Okay. Davis, very few people are put under her spell and live to ever see their free will again. Those that do are sacrificed later for food for the more cannibalistic creatures like those things." The Teensie talking pointed his thumb at the chained zombie chickens watching them with vacant eyes.
"How do we get out of here?" Davis asked. Globox smiled. "Globox know how! Watch and learn, Davis!" Globox backed up slightly until he was facing the outer wall. Then, like Clark, he charged until he burst through the wooden wall, leaving a humorous Globox-shape in the wall. Davis cringed, wondering if Globox accidentally killed himself, while the Teensies cheered him on. Golden sunshine shone out of the hole, showing that it was indeed a new route outside Morphina's fortress. Moments later, the group could hear Globox call out for him. The trio ran towards the hole and peered downwards through it. They were three stories off the ground, but they could make out a blue shape calling for them from the swamp water below. "How does he do it?" Davis questioned to himself.
Without warning, the Teensies hopped through the hole and landed three stories below. Davis gasped, but then he saw Globox catch the two Teensies with great accuracy. Davis, knowing that going back wasn't an option, jumped through the hole. He landed softly on top of the pudgy frog like someone would land on an air mattress, knocking the frog off his feet, but Globox didn't seem to mind. "Seems like you're stuck with us, kid. Once the cronies find out about Globox's little doorway, we'll have to run for our lives." a Teensie said plainly.
"Speak of the devil!" Davis cursed, pointing an index finger upwards to the hole they exited out of. He saw a human peering through the Globox-hole and shouting something unclear and foggy to something behind him. Davis couldn't guess twice who the person was shouting to. "We'll have to make a run for it if we don't want to enter spell-bondage again by that evil witch. The best place to go is probably the Cave of Bad Dreams, since Ivy went there and Morphina seems to hate the Guardian there."
The Teensies knew of this place well. "We know where Cave of Bad Dreams is! Rayman showed it to us once, and he said that Jano could help us in any situation. We need to hurry, unless if cleaning chamber pots sounds like a good idea!" With the Teensies leading, the four new friends ran for their lives. The party of four ran through the swamp waters and poisonous land of the Bayou that Morphina resided at this point of time, just as Morphina's horde descended down either their escape route or the main entrance to cut them off. They had to make it to the Swamps of Awakening and its Cave of Bad Dreams that it shielded within. Behind them, a group of mismatched creatures were chasing them down, Pondscum and a human Commander leading the way. Morphina, despite the importance of the catch the slaves were chasing, had more important things to attend to at the moment and didn't join the chase. Now, Davis was involved in a race against time to see who could make it to the Cave of Bad Dreams first.
Sadly, Davis didn't know that two contenders had started the race early.
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Ivy never saw a place like the place that Jano took her. After dragging hr through a land of nightmarish traps, puzzles, and monsters, she stood in a cavern full of gold, jewels, and riches. A whole cauldron of Elixir of Life bubbled in the corner. Cups made from human skulls sat near the cauldron. Ivy forced himself to keep from picking any riches and putting them in her jean pockets as she watched Jano seat himself on the largest pile of jewels. He waved his skull-adorned wand in front of her face. "Here you will learn how to put your powers to good use. Good skills don't come easily." Ivy watched as the Guardian summoned something from the pile of riches. It turned out to be a Cyclops monster, which looked like the small version of him. "You're first task is to spell-bind this creature." Ivy had to urge to ask Jano how, but he already knew what she was thinking.
"I know that you have no idea how to soul-bind, so I'll demonstrate." He placed a hefty claw on top of the creature's head. "You must place your hand, or any part of your body but the hand is easiest, above the creature's eyes. Then, you must focus on forcing all of its thoughts away from its head. This process can only be performed by magic creatures like us, so don't worry about your friends forcing any thoughts out of your head. If the creature has no thoughts, then the process will be easier. After the brain is void of all thought, you must give the creature orders or else it'll just sit there like an unused toy. I know it sounds weird, Ivy but you'll get the hang of it." The creature Jano held became still, and its single eye blanked out. Ivy shuddered under the glare of the thoughtless eye of the monster. Then, Jano ordered the creature to come towards Ivy, which responded in a dull hop towards the frightened teenager.
"If you can get soul-binding correct, then breaking the spell will be a snap. All you have to do is repeat the progress of soul-binding, only instead you force the magical orders away. If done correctly, the monster is free to do whatever it pleases." Jano ordered the monster to hop within his reach, and with the same repeated steps, the spirit returned to the monster's body. Now free, the monster began to roam around aimlessly in the large treasured cavern. Ivy looked at her trainer for some advice, but all she got was a plain 'go ahead, try it' sort of look from the Guardian. Swallowing the bile that had risen in her throat, Ivy stepped towards the roaming monster.
To her surprise, the monster nearly bit her hand with its sharp teeth. Ivy pulled her hand back and backed away from the monster. She could hear Jano's voice behind her. "Show no fear. Once you get a hold of its mind, then it'll become as docile as a kitten." Ivy nodded.
"Okay. Here goes nothing." Then, to Jano's surprise, the teenager tackled the Cyclops creature to the ground and pinned it face down in the dirt to avoid snapping jaws. Jano nearly burst out laughing as he saw Ivy curse and growl as she got on top of the creature, placed a hand above the struggling monster's eye, and began to focus. The struggling ceased as Ivy forced the thoughts away like someone would make someone move under the glare of their eyes. To test it out, Ivy got off from the creature and poked it. The creature got up from the ground and stared emotionlessly at her. Ivy, without any other command, ordered the monster to come towards Jano. The creature stumbled across the ground until it was a few feet next to Jano. Jano was impressed.
"You got spunk, kid. Your mother didn't tackle the monster like you did. She just threw a piece of jerky at it so she could approach it peacefully. Now, release it from your hold." Ivy did so by placing her hand on top of the monster's hand and forcing the magic away. Suddenly, the monster came alive with growling and snarling and bit her hand with one clamp of its jaws. Ivy screamed bloody murder as she felt razor-sharp teeth dig into her skin, close to drawing blood. The pain ceased when Jano whacked the creature with his wand, making the monster disappear in a puff of smoke. "I think we need to train more. Morphina's monsters do more than just bite, you know."
And so, the rest of Ivy's day was filled with various training courses like spell-binding different creatures, lifting heavy weights, dodging spiked traps, and even racing against Jano to see if she was ready. Throughout the long tiring day that extended into night, Ivy was bruised, battered, bitten, and scratched at by different things. Her steel will wore on as she proved her worth to the Guardian of the Cave of Bad Dreams. As she trained, her power grew quickly with experience. Jano was impressed, seeing the girl go through two days of training in one day. But, he did knew that he indeed was training the savior of the Cave of Bad Dreams, and maybe the entire world.
Ivy's first real test will come soon, but she will be ready. Ivy vowed to make her family proud of her, and to destroy Morphina once and for all...
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"How much longer? This swamp is driving me nuts!" Freya whined. She was slapping at mosquitoes like crazy, developing a crazy bug rash in the progress. Her partner rolled his eyes as the struggling wolf-furry bit and scratched at bugs. "That's why they invented bug spray, Freya. You should use it sometime. Besides, the Cave of Bad Dreams is only a skip and a hop from here." The two were now wading knee-deep in swamp muck. As always, the two of them dragged their three spell-bound zombie chickens in case they needed more brute force than they already possessed. The sun had already set down, perfect timing for the two Commanders. However, the darkness attracted bugs.
"That's what you said five minutes ago. I hate this stupid swamp!" She crushed a bug the size of a baseball between her paws, covering herself with greenish bug blood. She gagged and tried to wipe it off, only succeeding in smearing dark stripes across her tangled white fur. Her species always resided in mountainous areas, and swamps were like living nightmares to them. Wading through ice-cold swamp water that lapped at their knees was even worse for her. Finally, possibly out of hidden pity, Freya's partner led them up a large fallen tree, pulling themselves out of the mud with a sickening suck. Freya shivered as freezing cold wind bit at her knees. "Why are we here anyways? Morphina instructed us to wait at the fortress."
"'You snooze, you lose' is the quote in mind. If we travel at this pace, we'll not only run into Jano, but Rayman, his friends, and that will probably lead us to the two runaways. It's like killing three birds with one stone." It was Freya's turn to roll her eyes. "Please. You said that the two runaways are dead. Why are we running after them all of a sudden?" Bad-Rayman shrugged as he pulled the hood down on his cloak and scanned the surroundings. "I didn't want Pondscum to worry. He's fierce and uncontrollable when he thinks that he's in danger. If Morphina sees us with the two runaways' bodies, she'll probably promote us to second-in-command!" Freya liked that idea of being Morphina's right-hand wolf, but still she doubted that the two runaways will be near Rayman's party. Still, her partner had a strange sense of knowing things.
They walked through the marshes, sneaking at a quiet pace in the underbrush. It wasn't long until a wooden pier appeared before them for swamp water boats to dock; Sssam's official home. Only a few yards away, the large tree root that led into the Cave of bad Dreams trailed in the marsh's poisonous waters like an amber rope. Freya and Bad-Rayman kept hidden, for they knew that the Entrance was never left unguarded. If they were to catch anybody by surprise, they had to keep hidden until the guardian least expected it. Little did they know, their sneaking wasn't left unseen. Rayman and Sssam saw them sneaking around in the underbrush way before they expected it. Rayman's mind thought like his evil counterpart, so he pretended to not notice them. Soon, the battle of Rayman and his shadow will begin once again after Rayman's win in Mr. Dark's lair so long ago.
Little did they know, that the battle between good and evil was going to be a tag team match, for both Donnia Starhunter and Rex Skyler were now fully healed and wide awake.
....The War of the Souls has begun....
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End of Chapter 4
Everything is beginning to tie together and make more sense. The fifth chapter will include the first battle of the unofficial War of the Souls, a short cameo by Ly, and close-to-death experience on our hero's part.
Sneak peak of 'War of the Souls', Chapter 5:
Rayman thought that his shadow had died long ago, but now Bad-Rayman's back with both a partner and a thirst for blood. While Rayman's dealing with his long-lost evil side, Davis and Ivy meet once again but Davis brings news of bad omen and the start of the War of the Souls. Ivy feels that she is not ready, but she must join the battle at the state she's in or else the world has no chance at all. Meanwhile, Morphina has a few plans up her sleeves, and it'll involve the souls of both Ly and Rosemary Thorn! Will Morphina succeed, or will Rayman and Ivy prevail? Expect some major twists, turns, near-death experiences, and even a little love.
Someone e-mailed me asking why I chose the story to take place in a swamp of all places and it was stupid without the Fairy Glade or anything like that. I told him that 1/3 of all the levels in Rayman 2 have a swamp, bayou, or a marsh of some form. I had four major choices of background; swamp, glade, lava and rock (Think Sanctuary of Stone and Fire), or beach (Sanctuary of Water and Ice). I chose the marsh setting because its dangerous, yet it's not so hazardous that living in it would be nigh impossible. Seeing as most of the stories don't involve Jano, but they always involve some peaceful glade, I decided to be original. Hooray for me!
Only two chapters to go! ^^ I'm still wondering if I should kill off Freya or not. Please tell me in either e-mail form or in your review.
Remember to review!