AN: And many of you never thought that I'd finish this… I'm back, with Chapter 9 of AoJ! Remember, Rayman and all related characters are owned by Ubi Soft, except for Janus, Orion, Orchid and Diego. Now, enjoy the story!
Chapter 9: The Boneyard
With the strange old man in front of them, Rayman and his friends trod along the dank swamp ground, their path illuminated by the lantern of their guide. Diego limped behind the rest, still exhausted from his encounter with the spirits. But after a few hours of walking, the old man suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?" Rayman asked his guide.
"Death fog up ahead." The old man said. "I'm not going any further. No, no!" At that, the half-crazed old Phantom scampered away from the friends as fast as his legs could carry him.
Before anyone could ask what the "Death Fog" was, Rayman noticed a strange, green mist rolling over the air above them. Although he was safely away from the mist itself, the fumes still burned his lungs and made it hard for him to breathe. Coughing, he motioned for his friends to drop to the ground.
"I guess this is the Death Fog the old man was talking about." He gasped. "Does anyone know how we can get through here alive?"
"I do." Ly said, clasping her hands to her chest. As she began to mumble some incoherent words, a shimmering aura began to envelop the friends.
"This," the fairy said, proud of her handiwork, "is a shield that can protect us against the toxic gasses that the Keep produces. Now we can go the rest of the way without worrying about asphyxiation."
"Ly, I don't know what we would do without you." Rayman said, smiling. "Now, let's go!"
At that, the friends began to trudge through the swamp again, with Rayman and Ly in front and Simon in the back supporting Diego. After a while, the friends began to notice a change in the scenery. They gradually passed up the damp ground and quicksand sludge of the bog, instead entering a charred, ashen area filled with lumps of magma. The sun was completely obscured by the poisonous gasses, leaving the area in darkness as the friends trudged along. Numerous bones lay scattered along the ground, perhaps native creatures killed by volcanic eruptions or adventurers unprepared for the poison fog.
"Well, it looks like we have a long trek ahead of us." Rayman said. "Diego, do you know where the Keep is from here?"
"I know the general location," the Phantom muttered, "but nothing more than that. Neither I or any other Phantoms have been this far into the continent before."
"I see." Rayman nodded gravely. "Well, we'll just keep on going forward. I'm sure we'll find the Keep soon enough if we keep up a good pace."
At that, the friends kept on walking forward as usual, with Ly keeping up the barrier. Surprisingly, their journey was uneventful for a good while after they entered the boneyard. That's why the friends were unprepared when the dead began to rise.
*******
Grimspire Keep was quite a large volcano. Orion had dragged his prisoner up hundreds of flights of seemingly natural stairs while Janus told him a strange tale.
"You see, Orion, there is a reason I have ordered you to come to this place. Long ago, during the beginning of life on this planet, the dreamer Polokus was plagued by a string of recurring nightmares. For days the god was in terrible agony, paralyzed with the pain of the evil welling up inside of him. Finally, he used every ounce of his will to expel the growing darkness from his soul, driving it into the world below. The energies in his nightmares all gathered together to form one being… myself. The spot of my creation was distorted by powerful dark energy, turning it into the very volcano you walk in right now.
"However, after years of ruling the world, I became overconfident. That was when the Rai' Muana decided to strike. It was a long battle, and we were both greatly injured. Finally, he managed to trap me in a cave, guarded by Jano the Ancient.
"And now, after my second defeat by his hands, I return here for rebirth. For here alone can the dark energies from the Dreamer's nightmares rejuvenate my battered spirit, here alone can I regain my strength. And here will be the tombstone of the Rai' Muana and all of his friends. The fools will not live to regret defying me!"
As the Dark One finished speaking, Orion found himself at the end of the stairs. A large obsidian entranceway stood in front of him, leading into a platform in the center of the volcano. On instinct, Orion stepped into the chamber and took the amulet of Janus out of his garment.
"We have arrived, my lord." He said, setting the amulet down gently.
"Finally…" Janus hissed in delight. "Finally, I shall be complete again!"
*******
Rayman didn't know what was happening at first. The boneyard was completely empty one minute, but the moment he turned around he was greated with a horrifying sight. A large mass of skeletons was trudging towards the friends, their eyes burning with unnatural red flames. Some carried weapons made of bone, while others were simply armed with powerful claws and teeth. Rayman's heart began to beat rapidly as he realized that they were surrounded by overwhelming numbers of undead.
"Rayman, what are we going to do?" Ly asked. "There are too many of them for us to fight at once, even with our powers combined."
"I know," Rayman said gravely, "but I don't intend to go down fighting them all. We're going to break through their lines. Ly, use your magic to help me against these undead. Simon and Diego, attack any skeletons that get close to us. As for myself…." At this, he raised his hardwood staff and yelled defiantly at the skeletal masses in front of them and charged into their ranks, scattering them with magical bursts. Ly also helped by firing magical bursts at the undead while keeping enough energy to support the barrier. Diego, wounded as he was, also jumped into the fray, reaping undead like a whirlwind and slicing at any who came near with his blades. Even Simon helped by hammering at their foes with his hands and feet.
Despite the valiance of their actions, however, the friends knew that they were hopelessly outnumbered. For every skeleton they destroyed, two seemed to sprout up in its place. In addition, Rayman, Simon and Diego suffered heavy wounds from the skeletons' retaliation, and Ly, in the middle of the warriors, was also struck by the skeletons.
But when all hope was lost, Diego suddenly sighted a large peak over to their left. "Grimspire Keep!" He yelled as loud as he could. "The Keep is to the left of us!"
Renewed by this information, the friends began to batter at the undead with fresh vigor. Rayman's eyes shone with a burning zeal. He had found his target at long last.
"You should have brought more undead, Janus," he yelled, "because it will take more than this to keep me from you! Onward!"
*******
"You have done well, Orion." Janus told his servant. "I shall be whole, and you shall have your revenge on the Rai' Muana."
"Yes, my lord." Orion said again.
"But tell me, Orion," Janus asked slyly, "how much would you be willing to give to see the Rai' Muana fall?"
"Everything!" The giant warrior roared. "I would give everything to see him suffer for what he did to me!"
"Since you would give everything," Janus said, sending waves of Dark Energy into Orion's soul, "you shall lose… everything!"
Orion yelled as his body was wracked with pain. "Why, Janus?" He gasped. But the only answer the warrior received was mocking laughter as he slipped into darkness.