Chapter 12
La Selva Tropical Part 2
Narrator
--
Sytik hid his excitement for fear of the Chain Chomps. Fajor had been looking around the area, and spotted a door into the fortress. He motioned for Sytik to follow, and the two yoshis cautiously approached the door. Neither made a peep.
Fajor looked through the iron bar door. He saw one guard at the end of the hallway, his back turned to the Chain Chomp Pit. Fajor began to open the door, but it was locked. He stuck the tip of his sword into the lock, and picked until he felt the door unlock. One of the Chain Chomps had twitched when he made the sound, but the Hashashin didn't seem to notice.
"Arrff?"
Both Sytik and Fajor had stopped breathing as the Chain Chomp looked at them. It eyed them as if to investigate from afar, then nuzzled itself onto the ground again, closing it's eyes.
It wasn't dinner time yet. Relief for Sytika and Fajor was overwhelming. Fajor began silently opening the door.
Please don't squeak, please don't squeak....
The door opened without a squeak, and Fajor snuck up behind the guard. He made a faint sound, and the guard spoke without turning.
"You aren't supposed to be here. Go back to your post."
Fajor continued walking, and finally the guard began to turn.
"What's wrong with you? I said-"
Fajor did not let him finish. He stabbed him with his sword, and jerked upward until the Hashashin crumbled to the ground.
"Sorry, I'm not a very good listener," said Fajor. He searched the pile of bones for valuables and found a key. He looked at the door the Hashashin was guarding, then back at the key. He unlocked the door, and spotted one more Hashashin outside. He snuck up behind it, and swiftly knocked the weapon from it's hand, and wrapped his arm around the neck. He pulled the Hashashin back a little, and began questioning.
"Let's tell each other secrets. You first," said Fajor.
The Hashashin struggled.
"Let me go!"
Fajor tightened his grip and began pressuring the Hashashin's bones.
"I won't talk!"
Fajor squeezed even tighter, and heard a satisfying "snap". The Hashashin grunted.
"Feeling talkative?"
"What do you want? Your egg?"
"Yes. How do I get it without alerting too many Hashashins?"
"Climb the staircase at the end of this hall, go right, and straight through the door. You'll encounter little resistance that way."
Sytik smiled.
"Okay, now one more thing. Where is your Master? I have a bone to tear from him... I mean, pick from him... pick with him."
"At the end of the dungeon's hallway, there is another staircase. Take it to the top floor of our fortress, open the door, and go straight. He's in the main hall... but don't expect to harm him. He'll have you hanged from a tree. Now kill me. I will tell you no more."
Fajor pulled the Hashashin back more. "I thought you'd never ask." He stabbed the Hashashin and jerked upward like he did to the one before, and the bones littered the ground. Fajor turned to face Sytik. "Let's go."
Both yoshis ran up the staircase, with Fajor tossing one Hashashin down three flights where he crumbled, unconscious. Sytik opened the door after seeing it was almost clear of all Hashashins, and started walking, sword drawn, next to Fajor. One Hashashin sat absorbed in a book. Fajor snuck up, but the Hashashin chuckled.
"Do not try to fight me. I don't care what you do in here... just as long as you don't try anything with me."
Fajor was suprised, Sytik even more suprised. The one yoshi that was the most astounded of them all was Makal, who sat in a cell with an egg on a bale of hay.
"Ikla?"
"Yes, Makal. You heard what I said."
Makal smiled a warm smile.
"Thank you, friend."
"Don't mention it."
Makal smiled even more, but Ikla looked at him from his book.
"I mean it. Don't mention it, or I'll probably get killed."
Makal laughed a little bit, and Ikla tossed Sytik a key.
"Do it quickly, but Makal stays."
Fajor turned to protest, but Makal reached out and poked him.
"Just let him take the egg. I'll be okay."
Fajor turned back to Sytik, nodded, and ran through the doors.
He was on his way to see Master. He climbed up the stairs and ran, but it did not take long to be grabbed and dragged to the Master. His back was turned, and Fajor was disarmed quickly.
"Did you really think I didn't know you were here?"
Fajor was silent. Master turned, speaking. A crowd had formed.
"I know you're here for your egg-"
Master fell silent. "You're not the father of the egg. Why are you here?"
"Do you want an honest answer or for me to make something up right now?" asked Fajor. Master approached.
"What are you here for? Answer me now!"
Fajor smiled. "I'm here to kill you."
Master was silent for a moment, and began laughing a loud laugh, inviting the other Hashashins to do the same.
He continued laughing, and stopped suddenly.
"SILENCE!"
The crowd stopped laughing, too.
"You've certainly gone about your plans in a strange matter!"
Fajor glared, and Master laughed harder. A door opened and shut, and another Hashashin walked in the room. His armor was black, and Fajor recognized him.
"You're..."
"Ah, Dareyl! You have impeccable timing!"
Dareyl was emotionless, and Master looked back at Fajor.
"Alright, then. I'm going to make you a deal, yoshi."
Fajor remained silent.
"I will give you your weapon back, and you will fight Dareyl. See if you cannot cleanse his soul. If you succeed, I will fight you. If you fail... you will go to the Chain Chomp pit."
Fajor grinned a dark grin.
"You've got a deal."
Master clapped.
"Delicious! Release him now, and give him his weapon."
The Hashashins that held Fajor stared. "Master?"
"Now!" shouted Master. The Hashashins jumped, and released the yoshi, giving him his weapon. Dareyl drew his weapon. It was a sword, but as dark as coal and heavy looking, too. Dareyl wasted no time waiting for Fajor to start; he ran in, and stabbed at the yoshi, but Fajor leapt backward. After the stab failed, Dareyl spun around and slashed at him, but again hit nothing but air. He leapt back, and began circling the yoshi.
Fajor began circling, too. He had an idea of what to do.
Slowly the yoshi closed the gap
Between he and the swordfighting chap.
His crystal sword cut through the air
And Dareyl's dark blade met it there
Creating a clang that echoed through the room
That could have sent either to their doom.
Fajor and Dareyl each stepped backward. "You're not bad," said Dareyl. Fajor nodded. "But you're not great, either," he said.
Dareyl lunged faster than the yoshi could react
And slashed Fajor's torso in a powerful attack.
Blood stained the floor a deep shade of red
As Fajor stumbled back after an attack from the dead.
Before Fajor could recover, Dareyl struck again,
Tackling the yoshi to the floor and knocking him out then.
He wasn't done, he was far from it.
But it was too late; Fajor was to go to the Chain Chomp pit.
Fajor was lifted by the Hashashins, and Dareyl put his weapon away.
"The blue yoshi is in the dungeon area. Send him to the pit, too."
"What about Ikla? He could've-"
"I know he could've done something, but he hasn't. He's either dead, or I sent him on some errand and forgot about it. Now, go!"
--
Ikla looked up the staircase when the clanging had gone silent. He heard a roar of approval, and knew that Fajor had fallen to a Hashashin. He turned to Sytik, who was hugging his egg, crying.
"Put the egg back, quickly!" called Ikla. Sytik turned to eye him, and heard the loud footsteps coming close. He frantically placed the egg on the hay, shut the door and approached the beckoning Ikla.
"I..."
"Let them take you, you have a chance!"
Sytik stared at Ikla. The Hashashin produced his bomb and a match.
"Take these, you may be able to escape the pit with it!"
Sytik shook his head. "Not without my daughter!"
Ikla smacked his forehead. "Listen! If you are caught trying to escape with the egg, you'll be killed, and your egg will be destroyed! At least this way we know it will be safe! I assure you I'll get it back to your village, and if you don't believe me, you can try again! Now, quickly! Take the bomb!"
Sytik reluctantly took the bomb and match, and placed them in a pouch on his saddle. Ikla dissassembled onto the ground, playing dead, and the Hashashins flooded the room. Sytik was dragged to the pit, and found Fajor unconscious on the ground. His wound had coagulated and he was awakening.
"Fajor, are you alright?" asked a shocked Sytik. Fajor nodded.
"I'm fine, help me up."
Sytik helped the injured yoshi to stand, and both yoshis looked across the pit at the Chain Chomps. They were all still asleep, but the black armored Hashashin was near them. He brought his sword down in a powerful slice on the Chain Chomp's back, and quickly climbed up a ladder to a balcony. The ladder then fell to the floor.
There looked to be no escape. One by one, the other Chain Chomps woke, and began glaring at the yoshis. One let out a powerful bark, and the three Chain Chomps headed toward the two yoshis.
Fajor glared back, but he was drawing a blank. He didn't even know where they were. His mind was too clouded. Sytik, however, was smiling. He took the bomb and match out of the pouch on his saddle.
"Closer..."
The Chain Chomps were now less than 20 feet away. Sytik lit the fuse.
"Closer..."
15 feet. Sytik dropped the bomb next to a support beam for the fortress.
"Dive out of the way! Now!" shouted Sytik. Both he and Fajor dove to the sides as one of the Chain Chomps lunged. Fajor, still using momentum from his dive, grabbed the side of a crate, and pulled himself behind it for cover. Sytik had no cover, and could only get as far away from the explosion as possible.
The bomb detonated as the Chain Chomp collided with the beam, sending splinters in every direction. The entire fortress shook violently. The support beam was able to withstand damage from a Chain Chomp, but the force combined with a bomb was too much. Sytik got lucky and escaped any splinters. Fajor's cover shielded him from the blast, too. Dareyl, however, wasn't as lucky. He was still observing from a balcony, and splinters tore through his eyes, but not his armor. He stumbled around, clutching the eye sockets, and fell down into the Chain Chomp pit where the bomb had gone off and the fortress lost stability. The Chain Chomp that lunged was suprisingly unharmed. It shook off the blow, and looked at the blue yoshi. It whined, and turned to look for Fajor, who was still hidden behind the crates. It looked at Dareyl, and it's eyes flashed anger.
"ARF!"
The Chain Chomp lunged at Dareyl, and quickly swallowed him up; a suitable end for a talented and evil swordsman. The Chain Chomp then turned and looked at the other two Chain Chomps. Both were cowering on the other side of the pit. It obviously didn't take a genius to think that if they attacked the yoshis, they'd be hurt, too.
*CRACK!*
The support beam finally gave out, and one side of the fortress collapsed. The walls began falling. Fajor and Sytik cleared out of the way quickly, and watched. The Chain Chomps, seeing the yoshis advance, retreated to the other side of the pit. It wasn't until the wall had collapsed and the cells were exposed that Sytik remembered his egg and Makal. Frozen in fear, the two yoshis watched the scene unfold.
--
Makal held onto the iron bars next to the cell door with one hand, and the egg with the other. Ikla had already opened the door and held his hand out.
"Grab my hand!"
Makal looked up; he was losing his grip on the bars.
"Makal, come on! Grab my hand!"
The yoshi did not respond. He looked at the egg in his other hand, then back at Ikla. It was now or never.
He swung his arm up and placed the egg in Ikla's hand. The Hashashin instinctively took it back and placed it in a safe spot away from the fall. He turned back to help Makal, but the yoshi finally lost his grip. He fell into the Chain Chomp pit, immediately attracting the attention of the three Chain Chomps. One lunged at him, but he rolled out of the way. Another tried again, but he leapt back. It was the third Chain Chomp that succeeded. It lunged at Makal and gobbled him up as he tried to kick and get away. Eventually, the kicking in the Chain Chomp's stomach stopped.
Sytik and Fajor stared in shock, and for the first time in quite a while, tears threatened to leak from Fajor's eyes.
There was a deafening explosion, and the Chain Chomp that ate poor Makal shut it's eyes and rolled to the side.
Ikla landed on the ground, pointing his arm at another Chain Chomp. He pressed down on one part of his arm, and another explosion cut through the air. Another Chain Chomp shut it's eyes and rolled to the side. Ikla repeated the process one more time, succeeding in ending the life of the third Chain Chomp in the pit. Ikla approached the fallen Chain Chomp that ate his friend, and began kicking at him, slashing at him with his sword, and swearing at him in another language. His fit continued for another several minutes before he finally turned to Sytik. He slowly approached, and took an egg out from a knapsack he was carrying.
Sytik's egg.
"Take this, and return home."
Sytik stared at the egg in his arms, unable to believe it was real once more. He turned his head and looked at Fajor.
"Fajor... Let's go."
Fajor only shook his head. "No."
"Yoshi, you must leave now. Master is furious. I can sense it."
Fajor shook his head again. "I'm not leaving without your Master's life."
End of Chapter 12
My cousin wrote all of this one, and I don't like how it appeared rushed, but I LOOVED the poetry thing he did ^^.
Aww, poor Makal!!! =( =( =( I was crying when I read what happened... but it fits.
At least Sytik can return to Kai with Lila, right?
And yes, next chapter will be a final battle, and then another, and another, and I think that's it.
But, I promise there will be a sequel. ^^