Somewhere in the lush Sadida forest, Yugo walked back and forth, fidgeting with his hands as his head spun. In the trees above him, a hoot-hoot looked down at him curiously and ruffled its feathers.
Yugo stopped in frustration. "That makes no sense!"
On one hand, he had caught up with Chibi easily before his would-be kidnapper could get away. On the other, Chibi wasn't there. Yugo could sense Chibi's Wakfu, but he couldn't see him, so unless someone had found a way to mess with his Wakfu abilities, or used an especially powerful invisibility veil, it made no sense at all.
Unless...
"The tunnels..." Yugo whispered. Amalia had told him about them, tunnels that her people sometimes used as a shelter. They were held up by the forest roots and spanned most of the Kingdom. Perfect to move around unseen.
Yugo had found Chibi. He was literally right on top of him.
The Eliatrope closed his eyes and focused. He needed to have a mental image of the tunnels before he opened a portal, or he could land right on top of the kidnapper. Two bright auras shone below him, a tiny one that had to be Chibi, and a much bigger one the size of a grown man. He could also make out the outlines of the tunnel, faint but visible enough to pick a safe landing place.
Yugo smiled. He was going to regain the initiative.
Adamaï knew that Yugo was gone, long before he reached Alibert. He cursed himself, realizing too late that teaching Yugo how to communicate over their mind link should have been a priority. Now he needed to waste a lot of time for Alibert to tell him what had happened and where he'd find Yugo. And in their situation, time was a luxury.
Alibert was a mess. As a stark contrast, the room was surprisingly tidy. An Eniripsa healer was already tending to a rather nasty cut on the man's brow, but his face was still covered in half-dried blood. The whole Brotherhood of the Tofu gasped as one man at the sight, except Adamaï. In fact, from the horror the he had felt through his mind link, the Dragon was surprised it wasn't a lot worse.
Alibert laughed when he saw the faces they were making. "I'll live, don't worry. But you must go help Yugo."
"Let me guess," Amalia started with audible exasperation in her voice. "He rushed head first into danger again?"
Alibert shook his head. "You could say that, but he's chasing after Chibi. Someone has taken him away. And I'm sure Yugo will catch up in no time, but we don't know who the kidnapper is or what he's capable of. I'd feel better knowing you are helping him."
"Where to?" Adamaï asked urgently.
"No idea. He left through a portal."
Adamaï hissed a plume of fire in frustration. He always had a sense of where his brother was, but all he could feel was that Yugo was somewhere outside, in the forest. And the Sadida forest was gigantic.
"It will have to do," the Dragon said firmly. "Follow me. Or if you can't fly, well, quickly find something to make up for it."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Evangelyne asked, puzzled. She got her answer when Adamaï jumped from the balcony.
Yugo realised a bit late that the tunnel was pitch black, and his portal would light it up with a bright blue glow. Fortunately, the man was holding an equally bright torch, and he didn't notice anything.
The boy had zaapped behind the cover of a pile of rubble, and he found himself ankle-deep in cold water, in the middle of a dark, damp, murky cavern. Large boulders littered the floor and wild vines clung to the walls. If it was the kind of passage the Sadida used frequently, it didn't look that way the least.
Satisfied with his own security, Yugo took a glimpse around the corner to assess the situation. And it left him baffled.
Chibi was lying on a flat rock, laughing like he was having the time of his life. Right next to him a man ―his arms covered in black tattoos, the obvious mark of a Sacrier― was performing various stupid tricks of the "I stole your nose" kind, and Chibi was obviously a great public.
Well, better that than terrified wails, Yugo thought. The young Eliatrope took all his time to detail the would-be kidnapper, preparing the best he could for their likely fight.
The Sacrier was tall and lanky, his long, fiery-red hair attached in a ponytail, wearing loose pants and a sleeveless tunic made of some dark rough material. The intricate patterns of his black tattoos covered all of his exposed skin, and Yugo realised he'd never seen a Sacrier with that many markings. He hoped it wasn't indicative of their actual strength.
All Yugo had to do was knock him out from behind, grab Chibi, and portal out. A fairly simple plan. The boy was getting ready to pounce when the Sacrier straightened up and looked in his overall direction.
"Took you long enough."
Yugo froze, wondering how he could have been detected. Then he realised the Sacrier was not looking exactly at his dark hiding place when someone else passed a mere foot away from the boy. Someone Yugo didn't feel coming, despite his Wakfu attuned senses. Fortunately, the newcomer completely missed him too.
"Easy Farkas," he said. "It was quite the walk, getting out of that mess without bumping into anyone. I see you've done your part for once."
"And still I don't know why I'm helping you out Lucien," the Sacrier named Farkas said angrily. "Tell me since when it's okay to target little kids? And use diversions that could kill a good bunch of innocent bystanders?"
The newcomer named Lucien shrugged. "Master's orders. I don't know more about it than you do. But that's strange for sure. I'll make sure to file a complaint when we get back home."
Yugo could only see the back of that Lucien, but he was definitely shorter than his partner, with a more relaxed gait. Nothing about him or his elegant clothes gave any indication about his class, not even the two sabres Yugo could see in his back.
Great, now there's two of them! Yugo thought. He could take one out by surprise, but two? No, it would be safer to wait for backup now. Draconic backup, if possible. Yugo retreated into the shadows, ready to tail the two thugs as long as needed.
"Are we moving out then?" Farkas asked.
"I'm afraid not. Unfortunately, we have a surprise guest to take care of."
Yugo's heart missed a beat.
"Come on Yugo, don't be shy. And before you think about doing anything stupid, remember we have a valuable bargaining chip with us."
Blasting both of them away in sheer rage crossed Yugo's mind indeed, but the man was right. He would not put Chibi in harm's way if he could help it. And there was no point pretending he wasn't there either.
Yugo stood up and stepped out of the dark corner, into the light of the Sacrier's torch, his wet footsteps echoing across the cave. He noticed Farkas held a confused Chibi in the crook of his arm, his torch now stuck into the mud. When Chibi noticed Yugo his face lit up and he babbled happily, oblivious to the danger.
Lucien drew one of his swords and put the tip of the blade close enough to the baby to make Yugo's insides churn. The boy raised his arms to show his open palms in earnest.
"I'm not armed, no need to threaten him," Yugo said hastily.
Lucien laughed. "We're not that stupid you know, not enough to ignore that you don't need anything else than your bare hands to be dangerous."
Yugo suddenly felt a bit ridiculous with his arms in the air uselessly, so he put them at his sides. Both men were looking at him intently, and he didn't like the confidence he could feel in them. He swallowed nervously. They obviously knew what they were doing much more than he did. It seemed his presence was even part of their plan. But at that point, all he needed was to keep them talking, trying to buy all the time he could to allow his friends to catch up.
"Why are you doing that?" Yugo asked as calmly as he could. "Why are you trying to kidnap my little brother?"
"We're not trying," Lucien corrected. "We're succeeding. Besides... we're just following orders. If there is some sort of grand scheme involving an Eliatrope baby, I'm afraid we know nothing about its details."
Farkas threw his partner a dirty, untrusting look, but he didn't say anything.
Eliatrope baby, Yugo remarked. They also knew his own name. They were not targeting his family randomly. He realised he had to keep his head level if he wanted to get out of this mess unscathed. And most of all, he needed to keep talking.
"If you told me what you want, maybe we could try to find another solution," Yugo said. "Maybe I could even help you. I've seen many people do all the wrong things for all the good reasons, you know."
Lucien raised an eyebrow and looked at Farkas before answering. "What do we want? Well, if you could just drop dead on your own, that would be most welcome. But we all know you'll need a little help for that."
The man was talking with such a detached tone that it made Yugo shudder. He had met a lot of different people who absolutely wanted him dead and would have been utterly joyful if they'd succeeded. This man didn't. The way Yugo felt it, Lucien only considered him like a mere obstacle in their mission.
"Take me instead," Yugo proposed. "Leave Chibi out of your business."
The two men exchanged a glance before Lucien answered. "We must retrieve an Eliatrope, no matter which. Given the choice between the small inoffensive baby and the one who can actually defend himself, we'd be pretty damn stupid to bother with you, don't you think?"
"You're right. It won't be that easy to deal with me you know," Yugo said with the most confident tone he could muster. "I've been through a lot already, and always came out on top."
The bluff fell short. Lucien had a little laugh while Farkas squinted his eyes at Yugo, like a bow-meow ready to pounce.
"We're well aware, thank you for your consideration," Lucien said. "We know everything you can do, especially when you didn't spend the entire day training until exhaustion."
Yugo raised an eyebrow. "You've been spying on us?"
"Ha, no need to," Lucien answered with a shrug. "We only peeked through the files the Sadida are keeping on you and your brother. They've been doing all the spying for us. It seems you're putting a lot more trust in them than they deserve..."
Yugo made a mental note to confront either Amalia or the King about that. That is, if he survived long enough to see them again.
"Anyway," Lucien continued. "Enough talking. You've already bought more than enough time for your friends to catch up, but I'm afraid this will be for naught. Please be assured I will take no pleasure in what's going to happen, Yugo. You're only part of the job."
Yugo raised his fists, ready to enter the dance and give these thugs a good run for their money. But strangely enough, neither of them moved. They just kept staring at him for a long, awkward moment, long enough that Yugo started to wonder if they really expected him to make the first move.
Chibi was looking at him, too, and suddenly his eyes grew large with fear.
"Gugo!"
Yugo turned around just in time to see the tip of a blade materialize from the shadows, aiming straight at his neck. No conscious thinking took place as the boy opened a portal under his feet, doing the one thing that could put him out of harm. The blade slashed inches above his head, slicing through the fabric of his hat, but fortunately missing his skin.
As Yugo disappeared through the ground, he could see the rest of the blade appear, then an arm, then a perfect copy of Lucien which did have a Wakfu signature this time.
Illusions and invisibility. A Sram.
But this vital piece of information didn't help at all, as Yugo had never fought one anyway.
He wasn't entirely through his portal yet when something wet and yucky grabbed his ankles. The Sacrier had shot bloody tendrils at him from across the cavern, and hit his mark. Next thing Yugo knew, he was being hurled through the air like a puppet.
The Eliatrope did what always worked the best in such a situation. He let his survival instincts take over. He opened a portal in front of him, and another one close to the Sacrier. Then he curled into a ball to hit the man square in the back in full force, hard enough to make him slacken his grip both on Yugo's ankles and Chibi.
Yugo freed himself quickly, then he used the opportunity to extend his arms and snatch the now wailing baby out of the Sacrier's grasp. Immediately a slashing sword came to intercept right into his forearms. Yugo retreated hastily through another portal, landing a dozen meters away.
That put Yugo in the perfect firing position, both his targets side by side. The boy didn't hesitate. He drew a portal over another, and the whole cavern shook as his Wakfu beam tore right through the Sram... who dissolved into the shadows. Another illusion. Farkas was already back to his feet, holding Chibi tightly, and Lucien was nowhere to be seen.
With Chibi in the Sacrier's arms, there was no way Yugo would take the risk to open fire on him. On the other hand, Farkas didn't hesitate. He extended his free arm towards the boy and his tattoos morphed into another set of blood tendrils, aimed straight at Yugo's head. The Eliatrope opened two new portals to reflect the attack right at the Sacrier's face, when he felt a presence right behind him.
He'd been static for a just bit too long, and with his hands already full, he couldn't escape before it was too late.
"Adamaï!"
Adamaï had fallen to his knees in the lush grass, holding his left side, his face contorted in a ugly grimace. The searing pain in his left side was not his own, but it felt just the same. The rest of the Brotherhood gathered around him.
"Adamaï are you all right?" Evangelyne asked him, putting her hand on his shoulder.
No, he was not all right. Not because he was hurting, but because his brother was somewhere out there fighting for his dear life and Adamaï wasn't there to protect him. Again.
"Yugo..." Adamaï tried to articulate through gritted teeth. The pain seemed to recede somewhat.
"Yugo is running out of time. We need to be quicker."
The others exchanged a puzzled look as Adamaï got to his feet and took off in earnest. There was no time to explain, but Adamaï hoped there was still time to save Yugo.
Or he would never forgive himself.
"He tastes delicious!" a feminine voice said excitedly. Was there three of them now?
"I'm not sure our young friend appreciates the compliment, Akula."
"I swear, you two are the most creepy beings I've ever met," Farkas said.
"Coming from someone who uses his own blood to attack, I'll gladly take that as a compliment," Akula retorted with a chuckle.
Yugo had retreated further into the cave, out of view. He was using the faint blue light from his glowing hand to inspect the damage, trying to keep thinking straight despite the pain and the unnerving sobs and Chibi was crying and he couldn't protect him!
He never should have fought a Sram in such a dark place.
An instant later and the blade would have pierced right through his chest. Instead he had managed to roll on his side and escape at the last second, but the wound, a long cut all across his left side, looked rather bad. Not deep enough to be an immediate concern, but his tunic stuck to his side with a large, dark stain spreading around the sliced fabric.
More importantly, the burning pain made his left arm difficult to use. Yugo was already barely holding his ground, he really didn't need that. Whatever he did next had better be decisive.
"Did he leave?" Farkas asked, his voice echoing around the damp tunnel.
"I'm sure not," Akula answered. "I can easily smell his blood."
"Besides, he wouldn't have left his little brother behind," Lucien noted. "The Master said we wouldn't be safe until he's dead."
"And he's damn right," Yugo concluded.
The boy stepped right into their line of sight, about thirty meters further down the cavern. With no hesitation, ignoring the pain, he aimed his palms at them and opened two portals on top of each other.
The Wakfu beam completely missed its mark, streaking meters away from the thugs. Then the illusion of Lucien disappeared as the real Lucien suddenly flew out of nowhere with a howl of pain. He crashed helplessly against a rock, the burning mark from Yugo's beam right in the middle of his shirt.
Illusions and invisibility couldn't hide Wakfu signatures after all.
Farkas turned towards his partner, then back at Yugo, just in time to receive the boy's knee right into the jaw, fresh out of a portal. The woman he had heard was nowhere in sight, and Yugo didn't have time to care about her anyway. He opened a portal under Chibi before the baby touched down, then another portal to escape, just as the Sacrier struck the ground with his foot in full force.
Pillars of stone shot from the earth, one of them just under Yugo's feet. The pillar slammed him into the cavern's roof, then dropped him face first into the mud with a wet splat. Farkas casually caught Chibi on the fly.
"You can never beat a Sacrier by hitting him, kiddo."
Yugo's head was spinning from the impact. He reached out to open a portal with his valid arm, but he was much too slow. Another tendril from Farkas caught his wrist before he could do anything. Then the Sacrier pulled Yugo next to him and pressed on the boy's head with his foot, holding him firmly into place, his cheek pressing into the mud.
From there Yugo could see Lucien was already back on his feet. He approached with apparent tranquillity, limping only slightly.
"Good catch, Farkas," Lucien said as he knelt next to the boy, a short blade protruding from his gauntlet. A possessed gauntlet, Yugo remarked as he finally understood where the female voice came from. Her single eye was looking at him the way a starving boowolf looked at his next prey.
"You put up a good fight Yugo," Lucien said. "But in the end we had a better plan. If you don't struggle too much I promise to make it quick and painless just for you."
"My brother will find you..." Yugo said hoarsely. "He will make you pay for that."
"I look forward to it," Lucien retorted casually.
As the Shushu blade came closer to Yugo's head, Farkas moved to stand in the way. He pushed Yugo slightly aside with his heel, although he didn't release his crushing grip on the boy's wrist.
"Farkas, what are you doing?" Lucien asked angrily.
Yugo was wondering about the exact same thing.
"We don't need to kill him," Farkas said. "We can just leave him be. We have the Eliatrope we needed, now we just have to go."
Lucien sighed. "The Master's orders are clear," he said patiently. "If you let this one live you will never see the end of it."
"I'm willing to take the chance."
"Yeah me too..." Yugo inserted weakly.
Lucien stood up slowly to face the Sacrier. "You really want to go against a direct order from the Master? And see what the consequences are for disobedience?"
"We have principles Lucien," Farkas said firmly. "Our orders are supposed to be in line with them. It's against the rules to kill children. Unarmed children, even more so. What we're doing here... it can't be right. I'm willing to stand by our principles, no matter the cost."
Yugo discreetly tried to crawl away, but the Sacrier tugged on the tendrils and brought him back at his feet. From there Yugo could see Lucien's face, staring at Farkas in the eyes, his jaw set.
"Looks like we have a problem," Akula stated flatly.
"Something's fishy about this whole business Lucien," Farkas insisted. "Sure we don't like each other but I know you can see it, too."
"My loyalty lies with our Master," Lucien retorted flatly.
"And mine, too. That's the issue. He doesn't seem himself these days. And ordering the killing of innocent kids isn't like him. There's something―"
Farkas was interrupted as small crumbs of dirt fell from the cavern's ceiling. Then a rather large clump of clay landed right between them. On top of it, there was a cute little gerbil.
A white and blue gerbil.
"Oh, don't mind me," the little creature said in a high-pitched, squeaky voice. "That is, if you really want to die!"
Yugo could only put his free arm in front of his face as a maelstrom of Stasis rippled through the cavern, mud, water, splinters from broken rocks flying everywhere. The tendril on his right arm lost its grip. He sat up and barely noticed Chibi being thrown his way, right at his lap.
Adamaï had become... something different. Somewhat like a boowolf, but twice as huge with knife-like claws as long as Yugo's arm slashing at the fleeing thugs. It was a miracle both of them were still in one piece.
Adamaï breathed in, and Yugo knew he was going to incinerate everything in front of him. In any other situation Yugo would have convinced his brother to spare their enemies, but the Dragon was in such a rage that it was no use to even try.
Then through the fray Yugo glimpsed Lucien throwing something small and spherical at Adamaï and retreating hastily. It caused a fiery explosion that shook the entire cavern. Massive chunks of clay started falling from the roof, and Yugo realised the tunnel was caving in on them.
"Adamaï!"
Yugo didn't have the strength nor the focus to portal out of the tunnel in time. Fortunately, an enormous furry white thing suddenly sprang on top of him, sheltering him and Chibi from the falling debris.
There was a loud rumble as the cavern collapsed all around them, everything turning pitch black, then only an eerie silence. A faint blue glow lit up their tiny alcove. Yugo looked at Chibi's face fondly, cradling the baby's frail body with his valid arm, soothing his small whimpers.
"Don't worry little bro. You're safe now."
Chibi made the kind of face that meant he didn't understand much of what was happening, but was rather happy about it nevertheless. Yugo could hear a beastly breathing all around them, and he remarked the ceiling of their small hideout was rather... furry. He located Adamaï's head, more from the noise than the appearance. It was covered in matted fur and... well, beastly. His brother was looking at him with a guilty look.
"What's wrong bro?" Yugo asked curiously.
"I'm... sorry I was so late, Yugo. You nearly got killed in there."
The young Eliatrope grinned widely.
"Are you kidding me? Your timing was perfect. Absolutely. Perfect."
"Well, yeah. I was pretty proud of my punch line, too. Although the squeaky voice nearly ruined it."
They both started giggling, then laughing, uncontrollably. They were just happy to be together. Happy to be alive.
A/N
By now we all know whatever I say about schedule will turn out to be wrong, so instead I'll merely promise to deliver as often as possible. The Wakfu OVAs did give me a nice morale boost, though. I even provided fansubs for them! If you haven't seen them yet, feel free to head over to 4chan /co/ and search for the Wakfu thread.
So there goes the first real combat scene in the story. I hope it's up to your expectations, but feel free to tell me everything you don't like. That's the best way to improve!
Another chapter where I can warmly thank my friend Slavok for being such an awesome beta-reader. Although I do feel like "sterilize" could have worked when we're talking about Adamaï breathing fire at living things. Oh well.