Chapter 26: Bringer of Night
Top Floor of the Tower of the Leptys, 2 years BDR
"How are we supposed to know what's going on?" Raylina protested as the sounds of battle above drifted down to them. "We can't see a Polokus-damned thing!"
Just as she finished her sentence, a soft, blue glow enveloped the five of them. Ly and Raylina looked down at their bodies in wonder, as Shadow and Rayden, immediately distrustful, attempted to shake it off.
"It's the Leptys," said Raylex Dark, as he looked at his hand with a look of interest on his face.
Without warning, the six of them, Metal Rayman included, lifted into the air. Rayden yelled in surprise as they floated involuntarily out from their ledge and into the open air. Carried by an unseen force, they rose above the flat arena where Reflux and Rayman were locked in combat. Neither of them seemed to notice, and Raylina wondered if they had become invisible to the two of them. Their motion ceased well above Reflux and Rayman, giving them a wonderful view of the action below.
"It seems the Leptys heard you," Ly observed to Raylina.
"As long as it doesn't drop us," muttered Shadow.
It was fairly disconcerting not being able to feel any ground beneath their feet. It would almost feel better to actually be falling, Raylina thought. More natural, at least.
As they watched , Reflux, frustrated by his inability to crush his opponent, broke his staff in two. Then, earning a gasp of shock from Raylina, he jammed the jagged end of the piece containing the Sceptre orb straight into his back. Trying desperately to draw more power from it, but receiving only a trickle of the flood he expected, he began to swell. Reflux grew to enormous proportions, towering dozens of feet above Rayman. The arena changed as well, somehow, a ring of stone platforms raising themselves a metre or so upwards around the outside.
Reflux immediately slammed both fists into the ground, sending Rayman high in the air. He swiped at him as the hapless Ray fell back to the ground.
Eventually, after a few minutes of dodging and circling, Rayman managed to climb onto Reflux's back, using his own arm as a ramp. Using a Heavy Metal Fist upgrade, conveniently floating in the air, he punched the glowing Sceptre sticking out of Reflux several times. Reflux tossed him off, but it was clear it had had an impact. Having decided that rinse and repeat was the path to success, Rayman achieved this numerous times.
Clearly in pain, Reflux rose into the air, floating above the arena, as pieces of the tower rose in a seemingly random pattern around him. Thinking quickly, Rayman employed yet another conveniently placed power-up to fly directly upwards. Dodging circular beams hurled from Reflux's mouth, he flew from piece to piece of detached Tower masonry, until he reached the top. There, waiting for him, miracle of miracles, was the most beautiful object he had ever seen; an orange can of Hoodlum-brand laser washing powder.
Shock Rocket variety.
As the missile thudded home, Reflux's newfound power of levitation deserted him. He fell, seemingly defeated. Rayman began a celebratory, mocking grimace, only to let it trail off in astonishment. The enhanced behemoth rose again, until he was well above Rayman, and then, outstretching his arms, sprouted a pair of broad, batlike wings.
Wow, thought Raylina, he just won't die.
Reflux flew straight upwards, disappearing into the suspiciously crystalline clouds.
As Rayman began to despond, a small, two-man Leptys shuttle glided in from behind, piloted by a particularly loyal Glute.
"Rayman, it's me! Come on, hop on, we're headed for the Tetris! Andre's gotta be there."
Globox and Rayman took off after Reflux, and before Raylina could say "now what?", they were following, floating invisibly behind the shuttle. They climbed into the sky, gaining so much altitude that Raylina worried the air would grow too thin or too cold. But apparently the Leptys had thought ahead, and neither of these environmental considerations took any effect on the six time travellers, nor Globox and Rayman.
The Leptys was certainly going to great lengths to stage this battle; and, it seemed, to ensure Reflux lost. Perhaps even rogue Gods picked sides. Maybe the Leptys felt resentment towards the Knaaren attempting to command it, a member of a race it had created in the first place; or maybe it knew how important this battle was. Either way, the God appeared sympathetic with Rayman's, and, indeed, Raylina's, cause.
The shuttle broke through a layer of cloud, the six invisible followers in its wake, and emerged into an alien world.
"What the..."
Silver-violet flowers larger than city buildings dotted the surreal landscape, with what looked like enormous, quivering eyeballs at the hearts of their petals. Waterfalls teemed like tears from several of them, and oddly-shaped rocks of similar colouration crowded the ground. It seemed like a bizarre concoction midway between uneasy dream and childlike imagination.
Guided by the Leptys' power, the six of them broke away from the shuttle and were placed gently beneath one of the fantastic formations. They watched as an enormous, winged Reflux swooped up behind the insignificant-seeming vehicle and vented his fury into a ground-shaking roar. Like a dragonfly pursuing a mosquito, the two engaged in a rather circular dogfight. Only this mosquito possessed a rear-facing plasma turret.
Reflux would toss red energy at his prey, to be countered by Rayman's green plasma. Every chance he got, Rayman targeted the Knaaren shield protecting the Sceptre on Reflux's back. Apparently, the unstably ionic nature of the plasma allowed a discharge of electricity onto the shield, and it began to shrink as it had before against the onset of Metal Rayman's taser and Rayman's Lockjaw. Gradually, he wore it down, until a bolt of plasma penetrated and scored a direct hit. Recoiling from the pain, he reproduced his shield but at an obvious expense of power. Easily evading the Knaaren's clumsy assault, Rayman simply wore the shield down again, and Reflux was forced to land to recharge his power. A luminous barrier sprung up, shaping itself to his body, and a fountain of Black Lums sprang from his back, gaining Hoodmonger outfits as they bounced against the ground. Rayman and Globox proceeded to drop bombs on them as they marched inwards, replenishing portions of Reflux's power through an ostensibly illogical cycle of energy.
Then the grossly swollen Knaaren launched himself once again into the air, and the dogfight began again.
It took several repetitions of this sequence before a slightly noticeable change took place. "That thing's coming loose," observed Rayden, keeping an eye on the Sceptre through the scope of his rifle. And indeed it was. Under the continuing barrage of Heavy Metal Fists, Shock Rockets, and green plasma, the Sceptre of the Leptys was being knocked loose.
"Now is the time," Dark nodded to Shadow. Gripping the Fire Mask, the black Hedgehog concentrated and embraced the throbbing power within him.
"Chaos...Control!"
Time slowed to a crawl. Colours inverted, Reflux's enormous wings moved as though through year-old honey. That's when Raylina made her move. Bringing her own Water Mask to bear, and extending her power to envelope Metal Rayman, she also uttered the two powerful words. Telported along the streams of space and time, the two of them were instantly transplaced to the mountainous Knaaren's bubbling back. Raylina got a grip on the thick, brown skin, as Metal Rayman revealed a laser cutter in his hand. Swiftly, the machine sliced through the base of what remained of the Sceptre, and lifted the orb out of its fitting. Just as quickly as they had arrived, Raylina whisked them away, and Shadow relinquished his grip on time's flow.
The last few shots from Rayman'scannon landed upon Reflux's back, and he writhed with the sudden agony of the Sceptre's absence. No! It can't end like this!
Desperately clutching a air, the once-mighty warrior felt stiffness spread through his body, no longer able to support itself in divinity's dearth. Roaring as he caught sight of his hand, which looked as though it was turned to glass, he had time for one final realisation.
The Leptys betrayed me.
My god betrayed me.
And then he shattered. His glassy remains scattered across the surface the Leptys had woven from the clouds, leaving a single, black speck floating groggily downwards. Globox landed his shuttle beside the Lum, and Rayman swung himself out, As Andre babbled in terror, knowing what was coming, with one final, triumphant Grimace, Rayman ended the Hoodlum plague.
And with that, the Leptys allowed its various creations to dissolve, returning the various players to their places. The six time travellers found themselves on the slopes of the Summit Beyond the Clouds, in possession of a God's remote control. Meanwhile, Rayman and Globox reappeared in the Fairy Glade, the Leptys dropping them from well over a hundred metres in the air to land on a fat, green Squab caterpillar. Possibly for dramatic effect.
The six of them were just beginning to shiver when the Leptys swooped down from the sky above, causing the orb in Metal Rayman's hands to shine. Taking physical form, or at least appearing to, the rogue God inhabited the shape of a vast eagle, wings outstretched as it soared over them. The Leptys was like a broad, bird-shaped window unto a night sky, with the shining pinpoints of stars gleaming against a backdrop of darkest blue.
"Woah."
The Leptys remained silent as it alighted on a crest above them, radiating purpose. With eyes like half-moons set above its fearsome beak, it seemed to stare intently right into Raylina's heart. She was almost overwhelmed by the sheer power the God seemed to emit, yet she held her ground, remaining on her feet as the others bowed around her. She and the Leptys locked eyes, and she could sense that it approved.
"The Knaaren call their God the Bringer of Night," whispered Mr. Dark appreciatively. "They also call it the Father of the Knaaren, which is technically incorrect as the Leptys is neither male nor female."
Raylina could have sworn she detected a flicker of amusement in the God's aura.
"So if you're going to address it, those two titles will suffice."
She nodded, and placed her hand on the Sceptre, held by Metal Rayman. "Leptys," she began. "Bringer of Night. I thank you sincerely for your aid this day, and I beseech you for one last favour." She had seen the consequences of attempting to harness a God, from both Reflux and Eggman, and had decided that the Leptys could only help them if that was what it wanted.
"We visit across the span of years to ask your help. In our time, another God threatens our whole world, and potentially every world." She suspected the Leptys already knew this, but she continued anyway.
"To defeat Veurtoya, we need you to fight him and bind him once again.
"We will return to our own time, with your Sceptre. When we summon you, nineteen years from now, will you answer?"
Silence. Without words, the Leptys conveyed a desire to the time travellers, transmitting its wish to them.
"I... don't understand," said Raylina, puzzled.
"If I'm not mistaken, the Leptys wishes to... test you," Mr. Dark said. "It is curious about your prowess as Chosen One."
"O...kay..."
That's when the Four Masks of Polokus appeared floating around her. She smiled. "Now I get it." As she willed it, the Four Masks rapidly orbited her torso, suddenly disappearing in a flash of light.
Sonic had used the Masks to become Super Sonic, but that had been before he had realised the elemental attributes they possessed. So now Raylina, in complete awareness of these attributes, was able to use them to become something much different.
With fire burning at her fists and eyes, a cloak of water streaming around her, and a halo of stones encircling her head, she rose into the air. "Ready, oh mighty one?"
The Leptys launched itself into the sky, and they soared away together.
17 ADR, Land of the Livid Dead
A time portal re-opened onto the lake shore ejecting six figures. The sphere, which was all that was left of the Sceptre of the Leptys, was still in the android's metallic grip. Above them, blackness had crept like a many-tentacled infection across the sky. And at the heart of the darkness, above the lake, Veurtoya himself throbbed as he drew in his power.
Determined anger filling her, Raylina reached out and placed her open palm on the Sceptre, and it began to glow blue. The instant it did, as though sensing something was afoot, Veurtoya began to seethe.
"Leptys. Bringer of Night, Father of the Knaaren. This world needs you now. We need you now. I, Raylina, Chosen One of the Ancients, offspring of two races, call upon you to bind Veurtoya once more. We offer you these artefacts of power to aid you in the battle." The Four Masks appeared above her other hand.
"Please, help us."
Having waited nineteen years (a blink of an eye a being as ancient as the Leptys), the rogue God of the Desert answered her call.
Sparkling with stars against the pitch-blackness of Veurtoya's mass, the Leptys soared across the sky like a titanic champion. Claws outstretched, it raked at the black clot which marked the centre of the other God's energy, digging right into its core. With a fiercely hooked beak, it tore the jade Master Emerald from its socket within and tossed it into the vast body of water below. There sounded an ear-splitting roar as Veurtoya realised the full extent of his new predicament, and the black tendrils withdrew from the air into the God's draconian form. The Leptys answered with a piercing eagle-cry, and plunged into battle with its dragon-formed counterpart. With a flurry of wings and claws, the two Gods entered combat.
Looking desperately for some sign of the seven Heroes, Ly spotted them tumbling downwards from the clash above. Concentrating, she conjured silver-white cushions to catch them, plus Eggman and the Master Emerald, and carry them hastily to the bank. As they drew closer, she cast out with her mind, trying to make some sort of contact with Rayman's mind. For a sickening second she found only emptiness, but then her heart flooded with joyful relief as their minds connected.
His intellect seemed different, somehow, warped. The memory of phenomenal pain still lingered in his nerves. Pain he had undergone, but not quite endured. Nonetheless, at the touch of her mind he almost immediately brightened.
Remember the first time you caught me like that?
Of course. No lava here, though.
Or psychotic robots.
No, just psychotic Gods.
The seven Heroes collapsed on the beach, wobbling as they struggled to stand. Ly and Raylina embraced Rayman, and Mr. Dark and Rayden helped the others to their feet, ignoring Eggman. Shadow, meanwhile, went straight to the Master Emerald. A rumble shook the ground, as the overwhelming energies from the divine conflict above began to take their hold on the earth. "We need to get out of here," Shadow said, a statement punctuated by the din in the sky. "I can use Chaos Control the most proficiently out of all of us. I'll use the Master Emerald to warp us away."
A tiredly grinning Sonic gave Shadow the thumbs up.
Placing both hands on the tip-balanced Emerald, he extended his concentration to the fourteen beings (of no less than five separate species, plus two robots).
"Chaos Control."
Raylina closed her eyes, expecting to feel the rush of translocation. She didn't. Puzzled, she reopened them, to find the beach empty, except for herself, Rayden, Raylex, and Rayman. The others had gone, evidently successfully teleported Worried, she looked at her father. His brow was also creased as he looked at her. "Dark?"
Another roar came from the clashing titans overhead, accompanied by another, more violent rumble from below. Veurtoya seemed almost to be gloating.
"The Dark God is holding us here!" he said, appalled. "We're the descendants of his oldest enemies, it seems only natural that he wants revenge. But Shadow can't come back and get us."
"We're trapped," finished Rayman.
As he said this, Veurtoya dived towards the four of them, but the Leptys gripped him by the tail and swung him in the opposite direction.
"No we're not," said Rayden. "We're getting outta here."
Another rumble, louder and longer this time, almost shaking them to the ground.
He nodded at the motionless Dark Hog, parked at the sand's edge. Apparently Gripnos and Sharkin had been unable to find a way to load it onto the Egg Carrier.
"We're driving."
The four Rays sprinted to the all-terrain vehicle, swinging themselves into it. Rayman vaulted into the turret seat, while Mr. Dark ushered Raylina into the passenger seat, standing on the slight ledge next to the door himself. Rayden, as the only capable, if not officially licensed, driver, took the wheel. He handed Tybalt to Raylina and tossed an RPG from the rear compartment to Dark. Igniting the engine with a growl, he threw the vehicle into gear and put his foot down, just as a crack opened up in the ground beneath them.
Leptys and Veurtoya, eagle and dragon, fought ferociously above the Land of the Livid Dead, contending as only two Gods can. The Leptys had the Four Masks on its side; Veurtoya, the Chaos Emeralds. The entire valley was their battleground, the sheer power from their clash literally crumbling it.
The Land of the Livid Dead, home of the ancient Griskin tribe, and later the overambitious Teensie Empire, was falling apart.