Chapter 3

It was well into the afternoon by the time Rayman reached the end of that cave. He never did find that woman again, but her words never left his mind. How could someone steal memories? And if, indeed, they were stolen, how could he get them back?

The sun shone through the trees and onto his face as he stepped out of the shadow of the cave. It took his eyes a moment to adjust to the bright light, but it was far better than the dimly glowing crystals.

He had just taken in a peaceful sigh of relief when something slammed into him from the right, ruining the peaceful moment. The impact knocked him to the ground, his attacker on top of him.

He was about to say something like "Watch where the hell you're going!" but the words stopped before they came out when he saw the face of his attacker.

The first thing he noticed was her nose, big and round like his. Her head in general was similar to his except for her hair and eyes. Her hair hung as long as Ly's and was black. Her eyes were orange like a pumpkin and seemed alive like a jack o lantern on Halloween night. Her shirt was green and, unlike his, without a symbol. She had black tennis shoes on her feet. Other than that, she was limbless like him.

The girl stared at him in the same shock. But then an unearthly roar sounded in the forest, making birds fly from the branches above.

That snapped them out of their trance. Without warning, the girl got off of him, took his hand, and pulled him to his feet and in the direction she was running in before. Normally, he wouldn't just run, but he was still in shock and his feet seemed to just go with it.

Rayman glanced behind him and saw what had made the roar. Humanoid-like in appearance, it stood three times his size. Its skin was brown and its large hands and feet had thick claws. Rayman recognized the creature as a knaaren.

He looked back at the girl. "What is a knaaren doing here? Don't they live in a desert?"

The girl glanced at him. "I have no idea. I woke up and it was there. I was running from it when I ran into you."

Something was wrong. Dark Rayman attacking, knaaren near the Fairy Counsel. What was next?

Rayman couldn't think about that right now. They had to outrun the creature. Fighting was useless for knaaren were invincible. The one exception was when Reflux's magic backfired, turned him to ice, and shattered him.

Another knaaren stepped out in front of them. They skidded to a stop and changed direction. This time, Rayman was pulling along the girl. The second knaaren followed the first, chasing after the fleeing prey.

Rayman turned sharply to the left. "This way!" In response, the girl was jerked in his direction. That was when Rayman realized that they were still holding hands. It was the girl, however, that let go.

"Just tell me when you're changing direction." she said.

Rayman nodded. "Hey, you got a name?"

The girl hesitated for a moment. "Call me D."

"D?" Rayman asked. "Why D? What does it stand for?"

"I don't know."

Before Rayman could ask her why, he saw what would help them to outrun the knaaren. It was a small chasm in the ground. A stream ran under it, miles below. And going over it was a log. Mosses and several other different kinds of plant life grew on its surface. An insect or two could be seen crawling on the leaves.

"Come on." Rayman said. "Over the log."

D obeyed and followed Rayman as he ran across the log. He had no problem going across, but D apparently did not have as good balance as he did. She took a little longer, having to slow to a walk to get across.

Once she made it, Rayman pushed on the end of the log. D saw what he was doing and helped. Together, they pushed down the knaarens' only bridge across to them. The knaaren stopped on the other side, then turned to leave and find something else to eat.

"Now that we're safe," Rayman asked, "Why don't you know what the D stands for?"

D sighed. She began a tale about how she had woken up earlier that day inside the Fairy Counsel. She had no memory because she had fallen into the heart of the world, it changed her form, and spat her out against the wall, bumping her head. One teensie had actually seen her fall and he said that she had limbs before.

Then her tale got more interesting. The teensies told her about a magical item that they had sensed. It was probably hers and had fallen in the Desert of the Knaaren. They had no idea what it was, but it might help her to change back. They had also told her of an evil that was going after it as well. She had to beat him to it or who knows what would happen.

"Didn't the teensies give you a way to get there?" Rayman asked. "They have a portal that--"

D cut him off. "They said it was under construction. Now I've told you my story. What's your name?"

"Rayman. I don't know how to get to the desert without the portal, but I can help you find another way. This magic thing you're talking about could help me with my problem too."

Then Rayman began telling her about Dark Rayman's attack that morning and explained who Dark Rayman was and who Mr. Dark was.

"Sounds bad." D said. "I just wish we knew how to get there first."

Then a voice spoke in Rayman's head. Judging by the surprised _expression on D's face, it was in her head too. It was the voice of the mystery woman he'd met in the cave earlier that day.

"To the desert you must go

And find the treasure before the snow

When snow falls it will be too late

The evil shall fill the world with hate

Find the witch in the fairy realm

In the shadow of the helm

Those who jump shall never land

Those who climb will never stand

Those who call into the night

Must say the word that is right

If thou art worthy you will not stay

For you will have found the way."

The woman's voice faded away like it was never there, but they had both learned the poem by heart. They looked at each other. D's face full of awe.

"Did you hear that too?" she asked.

"Yeah. Someone's trying to help us out." Rayman said.

"'Find the witch in the fairy realm...' Does that mean we have to go back to the Fairy Counsel?" D asked.

Rayman shook his head. "No. This forest is ruled by the fairies. We're in the fairy realm. The place we need to look for is the 'shadow of the helm.' There's a rock a few miles north of here that's known by a tribe of humans as Helm Mountain. It's not really a mountain, but they treat it as such because a great hero was buried there. That's the only thing I can think of."

"Well, let's go." D said.

Rayman started walking north. D followed. "I don't know where it is. I just know the village is north from here. I've never been there." Rayman said. "When we find the village, we'll have to find a guide to take us to Helm."

---

It was into the evening. Dark clouds hung in the sky, threatening rain. They would have to find either the village or some kind of shelter soon. A cool breeze blew roughly through the trees, almost a sure sign of rain. The two limbless people could faintly smell the water in the air.

They heard a noise behind them. Rayman was the first to turn around, for D was dazed and seeming to be in her own little world for a few hours. When she saw him turn around, she followed his example.

Dark Rayman walked behind them. He was a good distance away, but that was close enough. Rayman winced, annoyed that Dark Rayman was going to follow them the whole adventure.

"Who's that?" D asked.

"That would be Dark Rayman." Rayman said. "He's the evil twin I told you about."

"Well, can we fight this one?" D asked.

"Wish we could." Rayman said and turned to run. "But if he's defeated, he just comes back to life even more powerful." D ran after him. "Best thing is to just loose him."

Dark Rayman ran after them. He was faster now, gaining on them with every step. If they were going to loose him, they had to do it fast.

Up ahead, another chasm appeared. A rope bridge ran across it.

"Boy, this chasm thing has been popular today." Rayman joked.

D smiled. "We beat him across, then cut the ropes?"

"Sounds good." Rayman glanced over his shoulder. Dark Rayman was a lot faster than he seemed earlier. At this rate, they wouldn't make it to the bridge, much less beat him across. "Unfortunately, that isn't going to happen."

"If he touches you, you die, right?" D asked.

"That's right."

"Go ahead. Get something to cut the ropes. I'll try to slow him down." D stopped running. Rayman stopped, not wanting to leave her behind. "Go on. He can't kill me with a touch. I'll meet you over there." When Rayman hesitated, she shouted "GO!"

Her eyes lit up like fire. Although Rayman didn't like the idea, he trusted she knew what she was doing. But halfway to the bridge he stopped.

What am I doing? He thought. She doesn't know how to fight. She doesn't remember anything.

He turned to go back and help D any way he could. But he was too late.

Dark Rayman wound up a punch and was about to take D out. Rayman shouted for her, but she didn't even seem to hear him. Fire suddenly covered her body. Rayman stood horrified at the sight. What had Dark Rayman done to her? Why hadn't he stayed to help her?

But D didn't act like she was in any pain. She held out her hands and the fire shot from her fingers. In seconds, the fire moved from around her body and in a straight line across the grass, creating a wall.

Rayman caught up with D, who was looking at her hands in shock.

"How did I do that?" she asked.

Dark Rayman stepped into the fire and fell over. Once again, his body turned into orbs of light. Rayman didn't need to see the rest. He pulled D's hand and together, they ran across the bridge.

By the time Dark Rayman fully materialized and got to his feet, Rayman and D both found sharp rocks and were cutting the ropes of the bridge. The ropes snapped and the bridge fell before he even got to it.

"Yahoo!" Rayman and D both shouted. They gave each other high fives. Even the sight of Dark Rayman jumping off the chasm into darkness below to get stronger and come out on their side couldn't ruin their mood.

"Let's get out of here." D said, still smiling.

Rayman nodded and they resumed their quest to find the one village of humans that existed in this area of his world.