AN- I only own Janus and Orchid.

Chapter 5: Jano's Weapon


It was a beautiful day in the valley. Rayman took in the beautiful sights. Several violets and sunflowers had bloomed up from the ground, providing a home for numerous butterflies that buzzed around. There were no clouds out, so the sun could bestow its brightest light on the friends. Rayman savored all of this as he questioned Murfy.
"So where was the river?" He asked the Greenbottle.

"Oh, right around there." Murfy said, pointing to a far off speck.

They all walked closer to the river, noticing several strange mounds of earth in the distance.

"Hey Murfy," Rayman asked, "what are those?

"I don't know, Rayman." Murfy said, scratching his head. "I'm gonna go take a look." Murfy flew closer to the mounds. He saw that the mounds were made of mud, rock, clay and rusted iron. He knew that they were not there before. As he went to take an even closer look, however, a hand emerged from the mound. The Greenbottle struggled to escape as it and the rest of the mounds rose from the earth.

Rayman stared at the creatures in horror. They were tall creatures, made entirely of minerals from the earth. They had long arms that hung down from their sides as they walked. Their bright red eyes glared at Rayman. The Shamblers had them surrounded and were advancing. Suddenly, Rayman had an idea.

"Follow me as I run!" He yelled to his friends. Saying this, he fired a barrage of fists at the creature that held Murfy. It fell apart after, freeing Murfy. They all ran away from the creatures through the gap left by the destroyed Shambler.

"Into the forest!" Rayman yelled, pointing towards a think forest in the distance. As they ran, the Shamblers ran towards them at a surprising speed. Suddenly, they all came to a dead end. A layer of rock barred their escape as the Shamblers trod forward. Suddenly, one of them let out a harsh, gravely laugh.

"So, Rai' Muana," it sneered at them, "we meet for the last time!"

Rayman realized the voice instantly. "Janus!"

"Yes!" Janus laughed, speaking from the Shambler. "I have created these Shamblers for one purpose. Your destruction!"

"Never!" Rayman yelled, pummeling the Shambler with fists. But although it broke apart, it almost immediately regenerated. Rayman felt a cold fear grip his chest as they advanced forward. He closed his eyes, ready to except his inevitable end.

But death never came. Instead, Rayman heard a strange song. Simon was strumming his guitar to a haunting melody, and Orchid sang along. The gentle refrain of a lullaby reached Rayman's ears, tiring him. The sweet notes of Orchid's song lulled him to sleep.

"Rayman? Are you alright?" Orchid asked, standing over him.

Rayman woke up with a start. He saw that the Shamblers were all sound asleep, under the spell of the lullaby. Orchid laughed.

"Father sang that lullaby to me when I was a baby!" She told him. "It always put me to sleep, no matter how I felt at the time."

Their conversation was interrupted by Murfy's voice. "Hey Rayman, look! A cave!"

Rayman turned to see what appeared to be a dark hole torn into the mountain. The insides were lined with black rocks, and very little light emerged from the mouth. A cold, damp wind blew from inside. Rayman shuddered. He didn't like the look of the cave, but he had a feeling he needed to go there. Summoning up all of his courage, he took a few cautious steps inside the cave.

******

The cave was as dark on the inside as it looked like from outside. Rayman lit the way for Orchid with his fists like he had done long ago in Skops' Stalactites, and Murfy lit the way into the dark for Simon. As Rayman went deeper inside the cave, he noticed that several images were painted on the walls. He could barely make them out, but he could see that they described a terrible battle.

In an attempt to dispel the gloomy atmosphere of the cave, Rayman talked to Orchid for a bit. "That was an amazing song, Orchid! How did you learn to sing so well?"

From farther ahead in the cave, Simon, who knew that Rayman and Orchid were quite friendly, decided to give them some room to talk alone. "Come on, Murfy!" He called out. "Let's go look at this cave painting!"

Murfy looked at it for a few minutes. "Okay! Now lets go back to talk to Rayman!" Simon whispered a few words to Murfy, causing the Greenbottle to chuckle. "Oh, err… let's look at some more cave paintings!"

Back where Orchid and Rayman where, she thought a while before answering her friend's question. "Father told me that I inherited my voice from my mother."

"Your mother?" Rayman asked. "What was she like?"

Orchid sighed, wiping a strand of light brown hair away for her eyes. "She died when I was very young."

Rayman didn't like seeing his pretty, kind friend so upset. "Well, you at least knew your mother. I never knew my parents."

"Your parents died when you were young too?" She asked him.

"I don't know what happened to them." Rayman said. "I never found out what happened to them.

"Do you need help with that, Rayman?"

Rayman turned to see a medium sized creature sitting on a rock. He was a spherical creature with a top hat on who Rayman had met a while back. He kept one eye on Rayman and one on the Zombie Chickens behind him.

"Good day, Jano!" Rayman said.

"Ahh, good day my friend!" Jano told him. "It's good to see you again. I have terrible news for you; Janus, a terrible creature, has escaped!"

Rayman sighed. "You're too late, Jano. He already found me…"

Jano sighed. "Yes, Janus is even more powerful than three of you, Rayman. But I have something that can even the odds." Saying this, the Guardian pulled a staff out of his hat. Rayman stared at it. It was a light brown hardwood staff with a yellow Lum Crystal at the end. Several images of what appeared to be Rayman were carved on the staff. Although Rayman wasn't used to holding weapons, this one felt comfortable in his hands.

"It's like it was made for me." Rayman said, awed with the staff.

"It was." Jano replied. "Now, there is something I must show you. Something for your eyes alone." Saying this, he bowed to Orchid. "My apologies, madam, but you cannot enter here." Jano waved his hands in the air, mumbling a strange incantation. When he was finished, Rayman felt a slight tremor in the rock wall behind Jano. He gasped as it opened slid apart.

"Go ahead, Rayman." Jano said.

Rayman went behind Jano quickly, curious about what was in the chamber. When he got there, he gasped. What Rayman saw took his breath away.