A/N: Hey, guys! In the previous chapter, Rayman found the third mask, the Mask of Fire, and managed to appease the Guardian, Foutch. However, the Teensies told him to go to Globox's House to reach the Grand Minimus. What happened? Let's find out! Before I started, I apologize for the longer than usual posting, but I was confused about the count of the Yellow Lums because I had accidentally skipped five of them in the Minisaurus Plain: two on the beach where Bzzit takes the player to the Lost Island, and three in the East Plain. Now, however, everything is fixed. End premise, let's start!

Chapter 16: Where's Clark?

Rayman reached Globox's House, and found the Grand Minimus, who seemed very agitated.

''Rayman! It's horrible!'' he shouted.

''What happened?'' asked the hero without limbs.

''Clark is missing. The pirates have managed to capture Clark!'' replied the King of the Teensies.

''What?! No, this isn't happening! Tell me you're kidding!'' Rayman was shocked. Had Clark really been kidnapped?

''I'm serious. The pirates kidnapped Clark for information on the fourth mask, the Air Mask. The Teensies told me they had threatened to experiment with him if he didn't tell them where the mask is.''

''Those damn heaps of scrap metal!'' snapped Murfy.

''The pirates won't get away with this!'' exclaimed Rayman. ''Where I have to go?''

''The pirates brought Clark to their laboratory located in the depths of the Tomb of the Ancients. To reach it, go down to the well and go right to reach the Skull's Cave. Here, you will find lava, but you can go over it with your helicopter.'' said the Grand Minimus.

Rayman went down into the well and went in the direction of the Skull Cave, taking thirteen Yellow Lums, and then entered an opening.

Yellow Lums found: 30/30, total 810/1000

Meanwhile, somewhere in the sky, the number of slaves showed no sign of ceasing to rise, and was now at 45,263. Spyglass went back to Razorbeard's Personal Cabin. ''Rayman found the third mask.'' he said hesitantly.

As expected, Razorbeard got so mad that he stepped on his chair and almost fell, hanging. ''WHAT?! THIS ISN'T POSSIBLE! IF HE FINDS THE FOURTH ONE TOO, YOU HAVE NO IDEA OF WHAT I WILL DO YOU!'' threatened the Admiral.

(''Ghostly Galaxy- Super Mario Galaxy OST'')

''This place is full of monsters that proliferate due to the destruction of the Heart of the World, such as zombie chickens, piranhas and caterpillars. Clark must be somewhere around here. You must also find fifty Yellow Lums and save five spirits.'' said Murfy.

Rayman began to explore what appeared to be a creepy cave as he called Clark in hopes of finding him. ''Clark! Clark, can you hear me?! Clark, where are you?!'' he shouted. No reply. Then he read a sign that read: ''Clark was captured here before being brought to the Technical Check-up Lab.'' The idea that the pirates were doing who knows what terrible things Clark made Rayman angry to the point thay he punched the ground in frustration.

''If I find Razorbeard, I'll destroy him like the rest of the pirates!'' he snapped.

''Rayman, calm down. Getting angry like that won't bring Clark back.'' Murfy said. The limbless hero sighed and calmed down.

''Sorry, Murfy. As the Guardian of the Glade of Dreams, it is my responsibility to protect it. However, since I have yet to find the fourth mask and get rid of the pirates, I have all the weight of the world on my shoulders. Besides, it's night now and I haven't gone to sleep yet, and my mood is ruined when I'm tired or i get disturbed while I sleep.'' he said, regretting his outburst.

''It doesn't matter, blondie. You are not alone. We'll save Clark, I'm sure.'' the greenbottle reassured him.

Rayman smiled. ''Thanks, Murfy. I feel better now.'' he said.

Shortly thereafter, he saved the first Familiar spirit and opened a gate by shooting a switch, but was attacked by a spider, which he defeated, then took eleven Yellow Lums and hit a switch on a coffin, making a platform appear on the acid from a the other part, he found three more Lums and two more switches, which allowed him to reach that area. However, the red pirates occasionally appeared and attacked him, complicating the situation. After taking two Yellow Lums, the hero reached a hidden area and defeated two red pirates, took five Lums and entered the eye of a skull using a spider web.

Yellow Lums found: 21/50, total 831/1000

Saved Familiar spirits: 1/5, total 72/80

(''Ghostly Galaxy- Super Mario Galaxy OST-s'')

(''The Tomb of Ancients- Rayman 2 OST'')

Rayman fell to another deeper part of the bat-infested Tomb of the Ancients and opened a gate by shooting gears, then climbed on a platform to cross the toxic river, used a barrel to take eleven Yellow Lums and saved a Familiar spirit. Avoiding the onslaught of many zombie chickens, he took eleven more Lums and saved the third Familiar spirit, and then dropped into a hole after climbing a spider web. After saving the fourth Familiar spirit by returning to the previous room, he went somewhere else and went up on a platform to cross the toxic river, and he had to hit switches to disable laser barriers and at the same time take six Yellow Lums. This was difficult, since he fell a couple of times in the acid, but since he had taken a Green Lum, it was not a problem, then he crossed a last river of acid, defeated pirates and entered a fortress, where he faced a Ninja Henchman which made things complicated, but defeated him and saved the fifth and final Familiar spirit, to then reach a secret passage.

(''The Tomb of Ancients- Rayman 2 OST-s'')

Yellow Lums found: 48/50, total 858/1000

Saved Familiar spirits: 5/5, total 76/80

The passage led Rayman to the Technical Check-up Lab, and shot a switch with his Magic Fist to open a door.

''Look, Rayman! It's Clark!'' said Murfy, who saw a yellow and muscular figure. It was him, Clark, and Rayman entered the room.

''RAYMAN!'' cried the giant.

''CLARK! I finally found you!'' shouted Rayman, full of joy. Clark ran towards him, but suddenly felt an electric shock in his body and fell to the ground in a prone position. ''Clark, are you okay?'' asked the hero, concerned.

(''Middle Boss Battle- The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time OST'')

Suddenly, the giant began to move in a trance, as if he had no control of his body, grabbed Rayman with one hand, slammed him to the ground and threw him against the wall. The limbless hero couldn't understand what happened. ''What are you doing, Clark? Snap out of it!'' he shouted.

Murfy suddenly understood what was going on. ''Rayman! Clark is not himself! He has a control device on his back!'' he shouted.

Rayman looked up and saw Spyglass with a remote control, intent on giving directions to Clark. The pirates had brainwashed him, which made him very angry, but at the same time, he didn't want to hurt Clark, who began to attack him wildly with his powerful physique, lunging at him with his whole body, knocking him to the ground, throwing him against the wall and punching him, and the hero, in addition to having difficulty going behind the giant, found himself injured, bruised and with a little blood coming out of his chest.

''Rayman, you have to hit that device and try to get it off of Clark! Hit these three switches to create a barrier and stumble him!'' Murfy shouted. Rayman followed the fly's advice and fired at the three switches to trip Clark with the barrier, then climbed onto his back and fired a fully charged Magic Fist against the device and he tried to detach it, but the giant reacted and grabbed him by the tufts of his strawberry blonde hair.

''Please, stop it! Clark, wake up! Don't you recognise me? It's me, Rayman! You gotta snap out of it, Clark!'' yelled the hero. Clark seemed to hesitate for a moment, but slammed him to the ground anyway. Rayman fired the switches again and tripped the giant, then managed to detach the mind control device, which exploded in his face due to the energy of the Magic Fist, and Clark came to his senses.(1)

(''Middle Boss Battle- The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time OST-s'')

''Oh, God! Rayman, look at you!'' cried Murfy, who was horrified to see Rayman's condition. Not even the ambush at the Canopy or the huge number of pirates he had faced with Clark before reaching the Rainbow Creek had hurt him like this. The limbless hero fell to the ground, exhausted and injured.

''Rayman!'' shouted Clark, worried. When he looked at his hands, he was horrified: they were stained with Rayman's blood. He had lost control of his body, and in the process, he had almost killed his friend. ''What have I done?'' he murmured, very sad and regretful of what he had done.

''Clark, you're back!'' said Murfy.

Murfy, is Rayman dead? Did I kill him?'' murmured the giant.

''No, he is not dead. He is still alive, but he fainted from exhaustion. Also, he was injured while trying to detach a mind control device off of you.'' explained the greenbottle.

Clark suddenly had flashbacks.

(Flashback)

(''Caves of Winter- EarthBound OST'')

Clark was tied and chained in the Tomb of the Ancients, with several pirates in front of him, who then moved to make room for Spyglass.

''Tell me where the fourth mask is.'' he ordered.

''I would never give this information to someone like you! Rayman will come to save me, and he will destroy you all!'' shouted the giant, refusing to answer.

''Activate the lasers.'' Razorbeard's right-hand man ordered, and electric beams struck Clark, making him scream in pain.

''RAYMAN! HELP ME! HEEELP!'' he yelled, and after a minute of agony, the lasers were deactivated. But it wasn't over yet: a pirate then approached Spyglass and handed him a strange device. With a series of tools, the pirates began to stick it on his back, causing him even more pain. This was the last thing he remembered.

(''Caves of Winter- EarthBound OST-s'')

(End flashback)

(''AZ Theme- Pokémon X & Y OST'')

While holding Rayman in his arms, Clark sat on the ground and began to tremble. He had never felt so weak and helpess in his entire life. He absolutely couldn't free himself from those pirates, and they had forced him to fight against one of his friends. At that moment, Rayman woke up. ''Clark?'' he murmured.

The giant felt great joy within himself. ''Rayman! You're alive!'' he shouted.

''Of course I'm alive. I see you snapped out of it.'' said the hero. But he noticed that his friend was trembling, and he had tears in his eyes. ''Clark, are you crying?'' he asked.

''No, I'm not crying. I only have something in my eye.'' the giant lied.

''Those are tears, Clark. What happened?'' asked Murfy.

''Rayman, now I remember everything that happened. While you were in the Rainbow Creek to search for the third mask, the pirates captured me and brought me here. They wanted to know where the fourth mask was, and Spyglass, Razorbeard's right-hand man, threatened to torture me if I didn't give the pirates information. I refused to give them information, and so they tortured me with lasers and put that device on my back. During this torture, I screamed and called your name in the hope that you would come, and this is the last thing I remember before I lost control of my body. It's a feeling of helplessness and agony that gives you goosebumps.'' explained Clark.

''Oh my goodness!'' murmured Rayman, horrified by what he heard.

''When I finally regained control of my body, I saw you on the ground, unconscious, and your blood in my hands. I'm sorry, Rayman. I'm so sorry...'' murmured Clark, full of guilt. He began to sob as tears came out of his eyes.

''It's not your fault, Clark. As you said, you weren't in control of your body.'' said the limbless hero.

''But I almost killed you. I can't believe I did such a thing. Because of me, the Glade of Dreams has almost lost its protector.'' said Clark, as he continued to cry.

''Clark is really shaken. Being tortured or forced to kill someone you care about is a traumatic experience, after all.(2)'' Murfy said to Rayman.

''I know.'' said the hero.

''Why did you come here?'' asked the giant.

''I came here to save you. I haven't seen you since I arrived at the Rainbow Creek, and the Grand Minimus told me that the pirates had captured you. I couldn't leave you like this.'' said Rayman.

''First I almost died because I had ingested a mechanical component of a pirate and I was fatally ill until you brought me the Elixir of Life, and now you almost died because of me. What will the Teensies think of me after what I did to you? And how do I know I won't end up killing some of my friends with my strength?'' asked Clark.

''Because we know you, Clark. Under normal circumstances, you would never do it. The Teensies will understand.'' Murfy replied.

''Murfy is right, Clark, don't cry. You are free now, and the rest doesn't count.'' said Rayman, in an attempt to comfort his friend.

''Do you really mean that?'' asked the giant.

''Of course. Do you think I'm lying?'' replied the limbless hero.

Clark stopped crying and hugged him, minding his injuries, as Rayman hugged him back. ''Thank you, Rayman. What a great kid you are. You're the best.'' he said, grateful to have a friend like Rayman. ''You know, you should take a look at that room. That's where pirates store their inventions.''

Rayman went into the room and opened a chest, finding two Yellow Lums inside, then went back and climbed on Clark's shoulders to break a cage on the ceiling and save a trapped Teensie, who created a spiral door. ''Come on, let's go in.'' he said, and everyone went in.

Yellow Lums found: 50/50, total 860/1000

Saved Familiar spirits: 5/5, total 76/80

(''AZ Theme- Pokémon X & Y OST-s'')

A/N: Clark appears to have been kidnapped and tortured by pirates, who also brainwashed him, but now he's safe. But where is the fourth mask? Find out in the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and see you next time!

(1): If you are a fan of the Resident Evil series, you will notice similarities with the boss battle against Jill Valentine in Resident Evil 5, in which Chris and Sheva must free Jill from Albert Wesker's mind control by detaching a device from her chest while trying not to kill her in the process.

(2): Being tortured or forced to hurt or kill loved ones against one's will is a real trauma. I expanded the battle and the following scene to emphasize it.