Ch. 4 The Forest of Betrayal
Tree limbs fell and crashed, branches snapped and cracked under the weight of the beings falling through them. Axia grunted as he felt himself change direction, thrown about by gravity's whims; though, stuck as he was trying not to get knocked out by the plant life, he couldn't pay it much mind. He used his staff to great effect, cutting down stray branches and clearing a path straight down for him to fall through.
The fall seemed longer than it should've been, given the size of the trees he was falling through, but he soon found the ground approaching him fast. Axia stabbed a tree with his staff to slow his descent, before bracing his feet on the trunk and kicking off. He landed on the next tree and repeated the process, embedding the end of his staff into the bark to gain purchase, controlling the rate of his decent until he reached the ground. He tucked and rolled, absorbing what momentum had carried over, and landed in a kneeling position.
The dragowizard panted as the adrenaline wore off, grumbling slightly as he brushed off his robes, before looking around, trying to discern any signs of his friends. The area around him was peculiarly silent, though. It unnerved him, but a noise behind him caught his attention. He turned to see Drum step out from behind a few trees, looking irritated.
"Drum-kins! You're safe!" Axia cooed, rushing to the other dragon's side.
"Axia, there you are," Drum said flatly. "Thought you'd be a lot more beat up after that fall."
Axia paused for a moment, going over Drum's statement in his head again. It was a bit harsh, but he decided to take it as a compliment, too content with seeing the other dragon in one piece. "Yup, I managed to save myself a tumble with a few well timed jumps!" He looked over to Drum, expecting an off-handed compliment, but was surprised when he scoffed.
"Better than you managed against that big bruiser. You can run away well, I'll give you that."
Axia blinked his eyes, not believing what he had just heard. "I…excuse me…?"
"Don't play dumb," Drum snarled. "That display was pathetic! I was counting on you to back me up, and that spell of yours fizzled out without doing so much as a scratch to that thing!" He rounded on Axia, looming over the teal dragon, eyes full of fury and anger. "Then I have to save your sorry hide from being catapulted off a cliff! You were useless! Literally nothing but dead weight"
Axia shrunk under Drum's anger, almost beginning to cry. "Drum you…you don't really mean that, do you?" He could hear his voice cracking, serving only to deepen the disdain held in the red dragon's glare.
"What do you think?! We're both stuck here in this forsaken forest, and we got that monstrous behemoth after us!" Drums snorted and turned away. "You were supposed to be our support, you could've freed Shosetsu, or at least tried to do something useful. But instead you just stood there, like a coward." He turned his head, barely glancing back at Axia, his eyes practically glowing with anger. "What kind of Buddy are you?"
Axia fought back his tears and reached out to grasp the other dragon's shoulder. He couldn't believe that Drum would ever say something like that, even if he was fuming mad. Though he knew the red dragon was still a little reserved when receiving affection, he couldn't help but gasp when Drum recoiled at the slight contact.
But it wasn't the only reason he gasped. Drum's body felt ice cold to the touch.
Axia's gaze hardened, his mind focused on one certainty. That's not the real Drum! His eyes, still clouded by tears, held a resolute fire in them. No monster should feel that cold, not unless they were dead or an illusion! His staff glowed with a bright light which spread through his body. He could feel his counter spell take effect and concentrated on how he felt the last time Drum had held him; how warm and gentle he had been; how he said more with those actions than he could ever say out loud.
"How dare you take my Drum-kin's form like that!" Axia yelled, bringing the staff down at the illusionary dragon. The tip phased through the figure, and it burst into a cloud of smoke, leaving nothing afterwords. The dragowizard panted slowly, feeling slightly satisfied for himself for dealing with the impostor. Then he giggled giddily to himself for a moment, happy to discover his source of comfort wasn't as one sided as it had once been.
He turned to face the forest again and scanned the underbrush for any signs of the real Drum, or Shosetsu. They're both still out there somewhere. I've got to get to them before the forest does. Trusting his instincts, he took off towards where he thought Drum had fallen, cutting through the foliage with his staff. Don't worry guys. I'm on my way!
Shosetsu groaned as his senses returned to him. The fall had not been kind to him, and his entire body ached from hitting so many ragged branches on the way down. Dimly, he was aware that his limbs were free from their bindings, and he quickly stumbled to his feet, only to reel back as the blood rushed up to his head. He braced himself against a tree until his head stopped spinning.
An ambush. He groused to himself. Of all the rotten things. Lancelot must've known we were coming. But to think he could've snuck something so monstrous up on us so easily…
He looked around the small clearing and saw Durandal out of the corner of his eye. His buddy lay in the dirt, most likely jostled from the fall. He jogged towards his sword, gingerly picking it up. The blade looked no worse for the wear, but was unusually silent.
"Durandal, I-" He started, but the sound of a branch snapping behind him interrupted him. Deftly, he leapt to the side, avoiding a large club that was being swung at him. The swordsman rolled into a kneel, raising Durandal and readying a counter attack. "Durandal, we need to-"
His sentence was cut off as he saw the shadow of a monster creep up behind him. Again, he flipped to the side, this time seeing the battle axe of his assailant as it embedded itself into the ground. Two enormous warriors lumbered out from behind the trees, one wielding the club that had almost crushed him. The two looked at the young swordsman with malice in their eyes, and after a moment's pause, they charged.
Shosetsu turned and ran, his agile form and prior training letting him easily outmaneuver the giants. The two were in hot pursuit though, and as the young swordsman ducked and weaved through the dense underbrush, he would constantly hear their rampaging footsteps destroying the trees behind him. He stopped for a moment to prepare a spell, but immediately side-stepped, his acute eyesight catching a movement in the trees. Sure enough, a silver arrow slammed into the tree he had just been standing in front of. Shosetsu didn't bother trying to locate the attacker in the thick underbrush, instead turning to head ever deeper into forest, hoping to use the trees as cover.
After a few minutes of constant running, he risked a glance behind him and was relieved to see he had lost sight of his pursuers. He paused to look around for anything to use as cover. Luck seemed to favor him, and he smiled as he spotted a partially upturned tree. He threw himself into a roll that landed him underneath the exposed roots and stilled himself, waiting to hear any signs of his pursuers.
No doubt about it. Those were monsters sent by Lancelot to curtail my efforts. He calmed his breathing and held the silent Durandal to his chest, doing his best to recover his strength. I wish I could seek your council, my Buddy. But every time I try to talk to you, we end up beset by more beasts. Still, having you by my side is more than enough.
He gripped his sword tight as he heard his pursuers pass by, the ground vibrating thunderously with the monsters' steps. He waited until the ground stopped shaking before peeking around the corner of the tree. For the first time since he arrived, the area was empty; a small miracle for which he was grateful. He would've liked to share his gratitude with his Buddy, but he somehow felt the time wasn't right.
After surveying the area to check no-one was lying in wait, Shosetsu started walking back the way he came - the opposite direction of his pursuers - until he heard a cry of distress from a very familiar voice.
Drum!
The thought raced through his mind and he took off like a bullet, adrenaline kicking in and helping him pass through the foliage with ease. He kept Durandal drawn, ready to strike at a moment's notice. It wasn't long before he came to another clearing where he found the two warriors he had encountered before, along with a slew of other monsters, engaged in combat against an unseen opponent in the center of the clearing. A flash of crimson skin and blue armor told Shosetsu exactly who they were fighting.
"Drum!" He yelled, throwing himself into the fray. The swordsman jumped high over the crowd, using several monsters' heads as stepping stones, until he reached the battling dragon, kicking back a smaller creature that was attempting to skewer Drum in the back.
"It's about time you showed up!" The red dragon called, as he dodged a crushing swing from the club-wielding warrior. "We were wondering what happened to you!" Drum grunted and grabbed his attacker's arm, hoisting the demon up and slamming him into the ground, knocking several other smaller monsters back in the process. "These guys have been relentless!"
A crash of thunder interrupted their conversation, its caster back-flipping into place before spinning and slashing upwards with his staff, cutting down the demon that was charging after him. "He's not kidding. We're glad to see you with us, Sho-sho." Axia grinned brightly at the knight. "You got any spells that could help us out a little?"
Shosetsu shook his head but took his place in-between the two dragons, raising his sword towards the monster horde. "My deck can't help monsters outside of Legend World, but I will not be a mere spectator to this fight. Equip!" He raised a card in his left hand, and a flash of light coalesced into a golden shield, held alongside Durandal. "Divine Protection, Prydwen!"
"Two weapons at once? Playing a bit dirty, aren't cha kid?" Drum chuckled, his drills spinning wildly and tearing through one of his assailants.
"Only in a Buddyfight. These creatures have no honor to call their own. Besides," he smiled and set his fighting stance, Prydwen drawn close to his body while Durandal was held outstretched before him. "This isn't my first time dealing with combat like this. Get ready!"
The two dragons nodded, and the group braced themselves as the next volley of monsters charged.
Pain.
That was the first thing that registered in Drum's head. A lot of pain.
The fallen armordragon groaned as he returned to the waking world, greeted by dense foliage and a light mist that clouded his vision. Around him, a mass of broken branches showed the wreckage wrought from his descent through the canopy. He thanked his scales that his fall was broken by those trees, but all the padding in the world hadn't stopped him from acquiring some new bruises. His body ached all over, and it was with more effort than he would've liked to admit that he stumbled shakily to his feet.
Once he steadied himself, he tried to regather his bearings, but with the light mist permeating the area, there was little to differentiate one part of the forest from the other. Drum shook his head and went over what he last remembered. The last few events slowly came back to him and he looked around, but saw no sign of Axia or Shosetsu. He was glad he couldn't see any sign of the creature that had attacked, though. That was something he could gladly do without.
"Axia! Shosetsu!" he yelled, in the hope that his friends hadn't landed too far away. He was met with absolute silence; even the forest itself made no noise whatsoever. Worse yet, the mist had begun to thicken, becoming an imperceptibly dense fog. Aimlessly, the armordragon began to wander the forest, calling to his missing companions.
After a while, he saw a figure emerge from the mists. At first, he thought it was Shosetsu; the swordsman just about matched the height of the distant figure, but as it drew closer, he soon made out the all too familiar hairstyle, and soon enough, he could put a name to the figure.
"Gao!" Drum called out to his Buddy, brightening up considerably upon seeing him. He jogged towards the boy, but stopped when he could finally see his face through the dense mist.
Gao Mikado was not happy. More than that; he looked furious, his face contorted into a scowl that seemed unnatural to the normally upbeat boy. Very rarely had Drum seen Gao genuinely angry, and never had he seen it directed at him. Yet he couldn't deny that it was Gao standing there, his arms crossed over his chest and with a glare that could pierce even the strongest dragon's constitution.
"Do you have any idea how long you've kept us waiting?" The boy's voice was thick with barely restrained anger, and distinctly reminded Drum of when he was chewed out by his father. "Tasuku and Jack have been searching everywhere for you! What are you doing out here?"
An uneasy tingle crept up Drum's spine. Ahh, jeez, no wonder he's ticked. I never got to tell Jack I was in Legend World. Our connection got cut before I could finish. They must've come running when the signal got cut. Drum held his arms up to try and calm the irate fighter down. "Look, I'm sorry I worried you, but I was attacked before I could tell Jack where I was."
"Attacked?" Gao asked, his tone losing some of the ire it held. "By what?"
Drum paused as he considered what he knew about his attacker. Truth be told, he couldn't recall much. The creature's form had been veiled in an odd energy that masked its appearance, but he at least had a description to go on. "Some really giant monster!" Drum threw out his arms to emphasize its size. "It took out me, Axia and Shosetsu like it was nothing!"
Gao looked around the area, before leering at the red dragon. "Okay, so where is this giant monster?" He asked, his tone hard once more.
"It…" Drum paused and glanced around. He would've thought the monster would be hot on his heels, but Gao was right. There was nothing around them but the silence of the forest. "It was up on the cliff. It knocked us down and…"
"Okay, stop," Gao held up a hand, shaking his head. "This is a weak excuse, even from you. You should be able to handle yourself against some rogue monster! What's all our training been for if you get knocked out that easily?"
"I'm telling you, kid, it's out there!" Drum tried express his urgency, but found his voice shaky. "If we don't find it soon, there's no telling what could happen!"
"Well I haven't seen it," Gao yelled. "I've searched just about every inch of this place, and there aren't any 'giant monsters' anywhere!"
"But…but that's impossible! That thing was as big as a house!" The human's glare returned in full force, and Drum found himself scrambling for a reason. "It must be hiding itself, with some kind of magic veil, or…or…"
"Save it," muttered Gao, turning his back to the dragon. "Let's just get out of this forest. I have to find Tasuku and Jack. Tell them they can stop wasting their time."
He continued muttering as he walked deeper into the forest, not bothering to activate his Buddy skill. Drum looked on in bewilderment at his retreating buddy, his body sagging in defeat as Gao's words fully registered with him. He hesitantly followed the boy, silently dreading the conversation with Jack and Tasuku. He cringed as he imagined the two of them reprimanding him as well.
Even with those thoughts filling his head, one thought brought itself to the forefront of his mind. Drum stifled a groan as he remembered his two traveling partners. He knew he was in hot water, but he still needed to make sure Axia and Shosetsu were okay. He'd never forgive himself if he let anybody else down.
"Gao, I know you're mad," he said in a soft, almost pleading, voice to try and appeal to the boy, "but I still gotta find Axia and Shosetsu. They were lost in this forest too, and I can't leave them by themselves."
"Really? The same as how you just left me?" Gao snarled back, causing the armordragon to step back in shock. "This isn't the first time either! Last time you left because you felt sorry for yourself! You left without even asking me to try and help you become stronger! Is this the same too? This whole thing has just been another quest for you to get tougher without me, hasn't it?"
"Gao…" Maybe it was because Gao himself was saying it, but the comments felt like they physically hurt him. I never knew he still held that against me… We never did get to talk about it. He was just happy that I came back. Was all this just bubbling beneath the surface, right in plain sight? Have I really been that blind?
"Gao, it isn't like that!" Drum fought to keep his voice even as he stumbled after the smaller fighter. He was still in shock from seeing how much faith his Buddy had lost in him, but he still did his best to defend himself. "I would never abandon you! You have to believe me!"
"Yeah, I'm sure," Gao scoffed again and continued walking into the dense fog and foliage, not once looking back to his companion. "Maybe I should just let you train by yourself from now on. You seem to be doing alright on your own."
Drum was left speechless, frozen in place as he watched the young Buddyfighter walk away from him. Was Gao really abandoning him? Throwing away all they trained for and went through together, just like that? Drum shook his head and forced his body to move. He couldn't, wouldn't, let their partnership end. Not like this. He broke into a run, desperate to catch up with his Buddy, to try and explain the situation or at least talk with him. Anything was better than the cold silence he had been given.
His run was cut short when he heard a scream echo through the forest.
Panic filled the armordragon, and he once again charged through the forest, heedless of the obstructing branches barring his path. It was a few minutes before he entered a clearing, a break in the canopy letting light through and making the fog less dense. It all went unnoticed to the red dragon, whose attention was focused solely on the unmoving boy laying against a tree, a sharp piece of iron piercing through his stomach.
Drum's blood ran cold. He couldn't believe what he saw. Gao, the Mighty Sunfighter, the boy who had risen through adversity and who had befriended everyone he came in contact with…
Dead?
Surprisingly, a laugh made its way from the dragon's mouth. His mind, desperately seeking an explanation, remembered Shosetsu's words.
"It was enchanted by Oberon, the King of the Fairy Folk and a well renowned master of illusions."
That's it! Drum thought confidently, pushing the sinking feeling in his gut down. This is all just an illusion, made by this forest to screw with my head!
He closed his eyes and slapped his face a few times, trying to jostle himself from the trap. His training in Magic World had taught him harsh physical sensation could dispel mind magic, and he was confident that when he opened his eyes-
Gao's body still lay motionless by the tree. Nothing had changed.
"Alright, I get it," reasoned Drum desperately, "This is all a touch based illusion. All I gotta do is feel that it isn't real and it'll disappear!"
He slowly walked over to the fallen human, determined to erase the image from his mind. His arm trembled in apprehension, but still he reached out. He was sure his hand would phase through. This wouldn't be Gao, it'd be an empty spot by a tree. It would-
Not fade away. it would feel solid and whole.
And wet.
Drum recoiled, his breath caught in his throat as he held a claw up and felt the red liquid that had dripped on it. He stumbled and fell to the ground, his legs pushing him back to avoid looking at the boy. It still didn't change what he knew now to be fact.
That truly was Gao laying there. His last moments were spent worrying and putting himself in danger. All because of him. Because he had decided to go on his own and try to be the hero again. He wanted to help a friend and instead he had lost his Buddy.
Worse than that. He betrayed his trust.
Drum clutched the ground, looking anywhere but at the fallen boy. He couldn't look at him, couldn't bear to think of what the Mikado family would think of him when they heard what happened to their son. They had trusted him with his protection, had counted on him to be there for him. They had already lost one son, and now he was responsible for the loss of the other.
"So, this is what your training has amounted to?" A gruff and too familiar voice called out behind him.
Drum lifted his head, his eyes widening as he saw a large, imposing armordragon step out from the underbrush. One he recognized instantly.
"Father…"
"Do not call me that!" the elder dragon snarled. "No son of mine would dare let this happen to their buddy!"
Once more Drum could barely keep himself together, his mind unable to comprehend how this was happening. A few tears leaked from his eyes as he turned to face his father. He tried to stand, but his legs wouldn't obey him, leaving him on his knees. "I didn't mean to… I-I couldn't…"
"Couldn't what? Protect him? Or become stronger with him instead of charging off on your own? Has nothing I ever taught you made it through that thick skull of yours?!" Drum winced but still looked at his father, desperate to try and say anything now.
Words would not come to him, but the elder dragon had no such loss. "Never return to Dragon World again." He sneered and turned away from the distraught dragon. "From this point on, I denounce you as my son, and of being worthy of the Fang Slade Terrestial Legacy."
Broken. His father's words left him truly broken. Drum lost his breath and hunched over, desperately reaching out to his retreating father, and sobbing when his form disappeared into the darkened woods.
He's right… I've failed Gao… I've failed Axia and Shosetsu… What kind of Buddy am I?
An anguished cry echoed throughout the forest. Drum mourned the loss of his friend, but could not bare to face him. He couldn't find the strength to move at all. He just lay there. Cold and alone.
Shosetsu winced as he was backhanded, but managed to bounce off the ground and land on his feet. Prydwen had managed to deflect the blow, saving him from a nasty gash, but even so, it couldn't stop the force behind it. Drum charged from the side and tackled a larger monster - one of the ones that had attacked him earlier, he recognized - into several other smaller demons, knocking them all to the ground.
"C'mon kid, look alive!" He yelled as he jumped back into the fray. "We need your head to be fully in this!"
Shosetsu nodded numbly, and threw out another card from his deck. "Cast!" Whichever spell it was, not even he knew, but it seemed to work well enough, knocking back a burly-looking warrior that had been charging at him. The human got back into position, dodging and parrying the smaller, swifter demons while Drum and Axia took out the big bruisers. For a while it seemed like they could outlast the horde of monsters, but then a pained grunt came to his ears.
Drum was tackled to the ground by three huge demons, his arms and body pinned by two of them as another took potshots at his face. Another scream told a similar tale for the dragowizard; Axia's spear was lying on the ground, out of reach, and the teal dragon found himself in the clutches of another burly swordsman, trapped in a grapple that was clearly sapping his air supply.
"Drum! Axia!" His eyes widened as he saw the situation the two dragons were in. He grimaced and tore another card from his deck, hoping for something to help the pair, but his eyes widened when he saw which card it was.
It was an Impact Card - one of Legend World's few - that he had recently come across. King's Wave, Caliburn Grief; an impact card of considerable power, which would clear the field of both monsters and residual spells. He never liked the phrasing of it; its destruction was indiscriminate, and it would herald the end of all his monsters just as it did his opponent's. He considered discarding the card in favor of another, but as he looked over the battlefield, he realized his options were limited.
With a cry, Drum burst free from his attackers, but while he had been restrained the others had regrouped, and he was quickly overwhelmed once more, his bright armor disappearing beneath the black of the enemy's. Axia met with a similar fate, the dragowizard now completely blocked from sight as a new group of monsters joined the fray. In the blink of an eye, they'd been completely overrun. And he would be next.
"No choice left now…" muttered Shosetsu, and with a grim look, he threw up his card. "Cast! King's Wave, Caliburn Grief!"
Then, he slammed Durandal into the ground, and an immense shockwave resonated from it. Each and every monster was engulfed in its energy in an instant; a cacophony of screams hit him as they were consumed by the bright flash of light that was pouring out of his blade. Shosetsu shut his eyes, focused solely on maintaining the power that his sword was emanating.
There was a loud crack, and the ground shook beneath him, broken from the stress of the overwhelming power, and he was thrown back as well, engulfed in the all-consuming light…
The forest was deathly quiet, a silence broken only by the sobbing dragon in the clearing. The mist around him thickened with his anguish, the shadows from the trees creeping along the ground towards him, as if the very darkness itself would consume him. But before they could reach Drum's prone form, a familiar voice called out, and they pulled back as swiftly as they came.
"Drum!" Axia's voice called. "Drum!"
"Axia…?" whispered the armordragon cautiously, his eyes snapping open. After all that he had witnessed, he was almost too forlorn to expect to see his partner returned to him.
"Drum! There you are!" Axia ran over and kneeled down next to the armordragon, hooking an arm under the bigger dragon's own to help him up. "Come on, we have to find Shosetsu and get out of this forest. The enchantment is trying to mess with our heads, just like he said it would."
Drum didn't hear him. There was a distortion to the dragowizard's voice, making it sound coarse and uncaring. Drum, what have you done to Gao? How could you abandon him and let this happen to him?
Axia stepped back when he heard Drum's cry, and the other jerked his arm back before crumpling over as if in pain. "Drum-kins!" he cried, moving back to the distraught dragon. "You have to fight it! The spell is affecting your mind!"
Again, what Drum heard was very different. Drum, look at what you've done. You've disgraced yourself by letting this happen to your Buddy. What kind of Buddy are you to let this happen?
Drum could feel fresh tears leak out of the corner of his eyes, but his mind began to focus once more upon the possibility that this was an illusion. Axia's words had a sharp barb that was unlike the dragowizard; he'd never been one to speak so callously to a friend, even in such a situation as this.
Gao had every right to be ticked with me. Especially if he thought I'd bail on him again. But…Axia? He shook his head, gritting his teeth as he thought back to the time they spent together. He wouldn't say things like that. That's just not like him! Drum shut his eyes and concentrated on the time Axia had traveled with them. Sengoku, the cruise, even their brief time together in Magic World… Any small memory that would block out the pain he felt, and hopefully, the illusion.
Axia's mind was similarly racing, fighting down the rising panic as he tried to think of a way to help. The only thing that came to mind was his illusion dispelling magic, but still he wasn't quite sure if it'd work for Drum. A choked sob brought his attention back on Drum, and one look at the shaking armordragon drove away any doubts he had. Without further hesitation, Axia latched onto Drum's body, holding him tightly, and focused his energy into the spell.
Drum almost jerked back when he felt a warm body surround him, but stilled himself when he recognized Axia's presence. A calming sensation flowed over his mind, dulling the voices that still echoed in his head. He felt his shaking begin to subside, and began to relax in the other dragon's embrace.
"Please come back to me, Drum…" Axia pleaded.
The forest's spell took effect once more, distorting the words into another accusation, shattering the calming aura that had been surrounding Drum. He almost gasped when he felt small pricks of pain on his shoulders, recognizing the feeling of claws on his skin. His mind raced once more as he tried to block out the pain.
"The forest was designed to inflict an intruder's worst fears upon them…" More of Shosetsu's words echoed in his head. "They say that whatever Lancelot saw in there drove him to madness. He was so overcome with grief that he lost faith in himself and all those around him…"
This is what Lancelot must've gone through… Drum thought, clutching the dragowizard tightly. While the contact helped, any time Axia tried to talk to him, it came out as nothing but another barb, and the illusion began to take hold once more. After being presented with these terrible images, seeing his comrades distrust him, he lost faith in what he believed in. The enchantment overtook his mind…
He sighed quietly, and pulled back from the hug, before looking directly at the dragowizard. If a symbol of comfort couldn't help him, then there was only one other way he could think of to dispel the illusion.
"Axia…" He murmured, shakily reaching and pressed a hand against the dragowizard's cheek.
"Yes, Drum?" replied Axia, blushing at the contact, and grasping Drum's wrist for support. "I'm here for you. What do you need?"
"I need you to hit me."
The dragowizard hesitated, and stared wide eyed at his friend. It took several moments before he could find his voice again.
"I couldn't do that to you Drum-kins!" he finally said. "I had a hard enough time doing that to Gao-wow, and that was in an actual fight! I couldn't hurt you!"
Again those words were twisted, but Drum pressed on, ignoring them as best he could.
"You have to trust me! Please, Axia!" He shouted, yelling over the dragowizard's distorted voice. "I'm not good with magic like you are. I can't stop the spell's effects. Right now I can't even tell if you're real or not! But if you are the real Axia, then I know you aren't saying what I think you're saying! You can't be… you just can't…!"
Axia wilted as he watched his strong friend break down into sobs. He felt a tightening in his chest as he wondered what the armordragon could have heard him say.
"I can't tell what's real or fake anymore! I saw Gao…" He choked, unable to bring himself to say it, and let go of the hope that he was barely holding onto, that perhaps it really was all fake. "It felt real, Axia. It felt real! Illusions aren't supposed to feel real! Please!"
The teal dragon felt tears of his own trickling down his cheeks. It tore at him to see the dragon he admired fall into grief like this. He looked at Drum's reddened eyes and gasped as he saw them dulled, with none of the pride or passion he so admired in the other dragon.
"Please Axia, I need to know that you're real!" Drum shouted out, his voice breaking. "I need you to help me, Axia!"
A loud slap echoed out through the forest, and all was silent once more.
Axia panted softly as he fell to his knees, his arm outstretched and shaking from where he'd slapped Drum. It really had taken a lot to get him to act, but he couldn't bear to see Drum suffer any more than he already had. He shook his head and turned his sights to face the red dragon, hoping to see him in better spirits.
He didn't.
The large armordragon lay on the ground. Unmoving.
Axia scrambled over to the red dragon, shaking him, desperate to rouse him.
"Drum? Drum!? Are you okay? Speak to me, please, Drum!"
There was no response from the fallen dragon, and fearing the worst, he began to hold back tears. Trembling in fear, he brought his head down to the dragon's chest and placed his ear fin against it. At first, all he could hear was his own heartbeat, pounding furiously in his ears, and he had to take several deep breaths in order to calm his racing pulse. Finally, he was able to discern his own heartbeat from Drum's and-
He heard nothing. There was no sound to indicate that the armordragon still lived.
Axia immediately pushed himself away from the prone dragon, clutching his staff close to his chest in some small form of security. It did nothing to block out the fact that his partner was well and truly gone.
Then, with a horrified gasp, the distraught dragowizard stared at his hand. He had done this to Drum. The one who he swore he would follow and protect, the one who had saved him from a terrible fate. And he had struck him down. Around him, the forest responded to his anguish, the shadows growing thicker and advancing towards him. It all went unnoticed to the teal dragon, who merely bowed his head, praying that Drum to forgive him.
"Axia…"
He picked his head up, his mouth gaping with shock, slowly transforming into hope, when he saw the armordragon rouse, and sit up shakily. He didn't care that it was an impossible feat, or that he had known for certain that Drum's body didn't have a pulse only moments before. All that mattered was that his Buddy was alive and-
That smile fell when Drum's eyes opened, revealing crimson eyes with golden pupils that stared at him with a terrible fury. "Axia," he repeated, his voice empty and hollow. "How could you do this to me…?" The armordragon slowly rose and began to advance towards him, a twisted snarl on his face.
"Drum! I'm sorry! You asked me to… I just wanted to be a good Buddy! Please Drum!" He edged away from the revived dragon, holding his staff up as a last line of defense. The spell! His mind screamed at him. He must still be controlled! I can still reach him! His voice trembled and his arms shook as he tried to reason with the dragon. "Please wake up Drum! I know this isn't you, you'd never do anything to hurt those that cared about you!"
Drum paused, and glared down at him coldly.
"You would really raise your staff towards your Buddy?" The dragon growled, voice practically dripping with hate. "Even in death, you would continue to hurt me?"
Axia cringed at the malevolence in those words, and he gripped his staff tighter, almost hyperventilating as they echoed in his ears. Finally, his trembling hands went slack and lost their grip on his spear. I can't… I can't hurt him… not anymore…
The resurrected armordragon spoke no more and instead charged at him, his arms outstretched and the drills on his gauntlets spiraling loudly.
He's right… I only wanted to support him and instead I let this happen… Axia closed his eyes, tears trailing down his cheeks as he braced for the impact… What kind of Buddy am I…?
And screamed.
Drum grunted wearily as reality slowly came back to him again. Beneath him, he could feel the earthy texture of the forest floor, and hear the quiet sound of his own breathing, but one sound broke through the others - the sound of sobbing coming from behind him.
It took him a moment to realize, but Drum was sprawled out on the forest floor. He slowly picked himself up and looked around, surprised to see his companion on his knees, covering his eyes as he sobbed.
"Axia?" He mumbled, catching the attention of the other dragon. He smirked as he saw Axia brighten up considerably, his grin reaching both sides of his mouth. Crazy dragowizard. Leave it to him to get so emotional over a slap. "Axia relax, I'm fine."
He expected another charging hug from the dragowizard, or even an unhappy retort to not joke about something like that. What he did not expect was for the teal dragon to back away, cowering in terror.
Drum stood up slowly, concerned for the shaking dragon and half-wondering if there was something terrible was behind him. He was about to turn around when he heard Axia's plea.
"Drum! I'm sorry!" wailed Axia, trying to crawl away from him. "You asked me to… I just wanted to be a good buddy! Please, Drum!" His sobbing continued, and he clutched his staff tightly, staring tearfully at Drum. The armordragon moved towards him, intent on soothing the dragon's frayed nerves, but Axia spoke up again, this time with his staff pointed at him. "Please wake up, Drum! I know this isn't you. You'd never do anything to hurt those that cared about you!"
Wake up? thought Drum, But I'm already- He paused as his scrambled memories came back to him; Shosetsu's warnings, the terrible visions he had witnessed, and his request to Axia to knock him out. Another look at the trembling dragon told him that Axia was experiencing the same thing he had been barely moments ago.
"Axia, you've gotta listen to me!" He stopped his advance, and Axia seemed to quiet down for a moment. "This is all the forest's fault, it…"
Drum stopped short when he saw the effect his words had on the other dragon, though it wasn't one he had hoped for. Axia's eyes widened and his body went slack, losing his grip on his staff and letting it fall to the ground with a soft thud.
Ahh, that's right! Drum could have slapped himself for forgetting. He can't hear what I'm saying. It's all getting distorted!
Briefly, Drum contemplated slapping his fellow dragon, and hoping for a similar result, but he threw that notion out immediately. More pain wouldn't help Axia at this point. What he needed now was reaffirmation that whatever nightmare he was experiencing was false. Luckily, there was one sure fire way Drum knew to reach him.
Drum ran towards Axia and embraced him, holding him tightly pressed to his body. He cringed as the dragowizard screamed out in terror, as if he was being torn apart by the illusions that haunted him, and despite holding his grip, his efforts only seemed to make the teal dragon more afraid. Drum grunted as he struggled to maintain his hold on the flailing dragon, his mind racing as he tried to think of another plan.
I was sure hugging would help snap him out of it. Didn't he say he practiced with a branch of magic that focused on emotions? A hug should be full of emotion! What else can I do that has more emotion than a hug!? The answer popped into Drum's head as soon as he finished his thought, and he felt his face heat up at the realization. Yeah… yeah, that'd do it.
He took a deep breath and pulled back, grasping onto Axia's shoulders to hold him steady. Drum held back a gasp as he saw the teal dragon's face. His tear stricken eyes stared back into his, but they were clouded and dull; the life and energy he admired from the dragowizard were being lost as he watched on.
Drum did his best to smile reassuringly. He had no idea how thorough the forest's power was, but it didn't seem to affect small movement like a smile. It seemed to help; the dragowizard's shaking weakened to a light tremble. Reassured, he lifted Axia's head with a claw and leaned forward, so that the tip of his snout was pressed to Axia's own. The dragowizard stared uncertainly back at him, but the sheer terror from earlier was gone, replaced with hopeful confusion.
Drum shut his eyes, and pressed his lips softly against Axia's. It was a soft, tender affair, unlike the heated one they shared before. It was much longer too, and through it all Drum could sense all the affection he felt toward the dragowizard flowing through their united lips, penetrating through the illusions Axia was experiencing.
Axia whimpered into the kiss, his arms reaching out to hold onto the bigger dragon, desperately clinging to him. Drum held his position, keeping the embrace tame but insistent, not letting the dragowizard out of the lip lock. Gradually, the teal dragon calmed down, and began to return the affection. He began to softly hum and turned his head sideways to deepen the kiss, as his fears - and the illusions - were slowly replaced by his affection for Drum.
Finally, their lips separated, and the dragons gazed at one another. Drum smiled wide, glad to see his partner's eyes regaining their life. Axia lifted a hand to his face and pressed two fingers to his lips, his mind gradually comprehending what had just happened.
"You…you kissed me." Axia said with a blush that did nothing to hide his smile.
"Yeah, well…" replied Drum bashfully, and grinned. "I knew it'd be the best way to help you."
"You know me so well!" Axia cooed, pressing himself to Drum's chest. Drum was content to hold his partner close, enjoying the feeling of being together again, and not trapped within the forest's illusions. He sighed as he embraced Axia, seeing the shadows disappear from the corner of his eye, but ignoring them. He was far too busy enjoying the peaceful moment.
That peace was disturbed by a soft whisper. "I'm sorry…"
Drum looked down, seeing Axia trembling against him. "Sorry? For what?"
"I…I hurt you. I hit you hard enough to knock you out. I promised I would do my best to help, and instead I hurt you like that…" He sniffled quietly, wiping away a few leftover tears. "It's no wonder I could never get any better on my own."
"Hey, hey, no more waterworks," Drum insisted, giving Axia another quick kiss on his snout. Axia blushed again, but remained attentive as Drum continued. "You did exactly what I asked you to, even though it hurt. Not many other monsters would follow through with their buddy's orders like that. It took a lot of courage to do what you did." He smiled tenderly, nothing but honesty in his tone. "I'm proud of you."
Axia found his eyes watering again in spite of the request, but this time from joy. He nuzzled himself against Drum, who was content to hold onto him. "Thank you, Drum."
As much as he was enjoying his return to sanity, Drum knew there was still one other member of their party left unaccounted for. Though he parted the hug, Drum found himself reluctant to completely lose all contact from Axia after what happened, so he kept a hand on the dragowizard's arm. There were countless questions he wanted to ask, so he started with the first thing to come to mind.
"How did you manage to avoid getting deceived by the forest at first?"
Axia blushed, and beamed, "Your hugs gave me all the strength I needed!" he exclaimed exuberantly.
"Dude…" replied Drum incredulously.
"I'm serious!" Axia insisted, too happy to be put down. "I told you, I'm trained in empathy magic! I can sense emotions, as well as use them as an anchor, so as long as I could remember how you felt about me before, I could drive away those awful visions."
"So that's why you broke down after…" started Drum, but trailed off when Axia nodded.
"Yes, but that's also why I got back up when you kissed me." A blush came over his face once more, hearing it said out loud. "No illusion could hide how strongly you felt about me. Though, being hugged by you lets me feel that strength as well!"
"Heh, so hug power saves the day. Who would've thought?" Drum frowned as he remembered their human companion. "Still, we're down one member."
"That's right!" Axia gasped, grasping Drum's hand. "Sho-sho's still in the forest! We have to find him before he succumbs to its illusions!"
Drum squeezed Axia's hand reassuringly. "Well I wouldn't worry about that happening. I mean, he has Durandal with him. There's no way he's in too much trouble."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that," interrupted a familiar voice.
The pair jerked around at the voice, their senses on high alert. It had sounded close, but neither were sure if it was the genuine article, or another one of the forest's tricks. They stood up slowly and glanced around the area, looking for anything suspicious.
"Over here," continued the voice, and the pair carefully followed it into the forest, holding on tightly to each other.
It was Axia who spotted something first, the teal dragon pointing to an unsuspecting tree, barely a dozen steps away. "Drum, look, over there!"
Drum frowned when he saw what was embedded in the tree's trunk. "Durandal!"
The two dragons ran over to the sword, Drum gripping the handle and heaving it out, freeing Durandal. Axia stared at it for a moment, his eyes flashing with his perception spell, before gasping out.
"It's no illusion!" he exclaimed. "That's the real Durandal!"
"But if he's here…" muttered Drum, looking back into the depths of the forest, "then that means…"
Axia's eyes widened. "Sho-sho's all by himself!"
"Hurry, you two!" Yelled Durandal. "We must find my charge, before it is too late. I cannot imagine what demons he's facing as we speak…"
Shosetsu groaned as he awoke. Lying on the ground, he simply gazed up at the forest canopy for a moment, noting that it was more expansive than he remembered - not that this stopped the fog from drifting between the branches that remained.
This must be the power of that Impact card, he mused. It's no wonder the Buddypolice has such a tight reign on card powers like that. Had that gone off in a populated area, I can't imagine the chaos it would cause.
He put the thought behind him and began to sit up, expecting to see a forest cleared of monsters - save, of course, his two companions.
What he saw instead chilled him to the bone.
The forest area looked like a bomb had gone off. The massive trees that had surrounded the clearing had been all but destroyed, their charred remains all that remained of the foliage. The ground around him had been flattened, every blade of grass, every stray rock, obliterated by the impact of the blast. However, it was not the collateral damage that caught his attention.
Dozens upon dozens of bodies littered the ground, their armor warped beyond recognition. The sharp reminder returned to him that this wasn't like a Buddyfight, where a destroyed monster disappeared in a flash of light. The charred bodies of the monsters destroyed by his Impact card lay on the ground, clear as day.
Then, inexorably, his attention was drawn to the horrible vision right before him. The two bodies on his left and right were where they would be had they been having a true Buddyfight, but once more he was reminded that this wasn't a game. They were beyond identifying; merely black, scorched flesh and metal.
"No…" He whispered. "Please no…"
Shosetsu fell to his knees, his breath ragged as he both tried and refused to comprehend what he was seeing.
"This isn't… this can't…Durandal!" Hands shaking, he brought the sword to eye level. "Speak to me Durandal! All the monsters… Drum and Axia are…" He shuddered and found that he couldn't bring himself to say the word. Not with the dragons' bodies so near. "We can talk now, Durandal. Please, say something! Anything!"
For a moment, the forest was silent, the only sound being the swordsman's breathing. Then, there was a crack. At first, Shosetsu looked around, thinking the sound might've come from a monster that hasn't been killed by his impact, one that he hadn't noticed. Then another crack echoed out, and he could tell exactly where it came from. His eyes fell to his Buddy, and widened in horror.
Durandal was cracked - a jagged scar running down its edge and splitting in two. Shosetsu stared at it intently, as if to repel the vision through sheer force of will. He was stunned speechless, his mind unable to fathom how the immortal sword could crack. On any other sword, he would've attributed it to the massive power output of his Impact card. Its power would certainly be more than enough to shatter a lesser blade. But Durandal, the sword that was said to never rust or break? Such a thing couldn't possibly happen, and Shosetsu almost found himself calmed by the sheer ridiculousness of the assumption.
That was when it cracked again.
Shosetsu's eyes widened as he watched cracks run through the blade, covering every inch of its surface up to the hilt. His grip on his sword tightened, and he felt the hilt crunch under his hand.
Before his eyes, Durandal shattered into bits, the blade falling into tiny shimmering pieces at his feet.
"What a pitiful sight," spat a cold voice.
The knight sprang to his feet, his senses on high alert from panic. His eyes combed the area, searching for the voice's owner. There was nowhere for anyone to hide after what had happened. Slowly turning, he moved to check his back, but flinched when he saw the remains of his companions.
"So, this is the fabled fighter of the Round Table?" The voice was back, and definitely behind him. "Afraid of facing the truth, even when it's staring you right in the face?"
Anger flooded through the swordsman's veins, enough to override his fear, and he turned around to face the speaker. When he saw saw who it was though, his blood froze.
Shosetsu Kirisame, face half-concealed by the white mask of the Dark Core granted to him long ago, stared back, smirking triumphantly.
"You… you're me?" he muttered.
"I am indeed," his copy replied cooly. "This forest has given me new life and freedom from your mind."
"The forest did this…?" Shosetsu narrowed his eyes at his duplicate, raising what remained of Durandal's hilt at him. "Now I understand," he growled. "You're nothing but one of the forest's illusions."
The other Shosetsu grinned at the deduction. "Nothing gets past you, does it, sir knight?" he mocked. "The image of when you were at your lowest comes before you and that tips you off that you're under a spell?"
Shosetsu glared indignantly at his double, but refused to respond.
"Oh, but this is a sight." The double continued on. "Seeing you return to the person you once were." He slowly advanced towards the swordsman, and only then did Shosetsu realize that his double didn't have a copy of Durandal in his sheath. He was completely unarmed.
"What are you saying?" The real knight asked, frowning. "I've not fallen for any dark power."
"Are you sure?" wondered the copy, glancing back to the carnage that Caliburn Grief had wrought. "Seems to me like you've done more than simply indulge in it. Even back when you were me, you could only cause a tiny amount of collateral damage before you were stopped. And look at you now…"
"Enough!" shouted Shosetsu, interrupting him. "Now I see. The forest is responsible for all of this destruction. All of this is nothing more than an illusion." He blinked, and turned around, expecting to see his surroundings fade away, but nothing changed.
"Thought you figured it out, didn't you?" teased the false Shosetsu. "Sorry to disappoint, but the only thing fake about this is me. But that's the beauty of it, really." He smiled widely; so widely that Shosetsu swore he could see the masked half of his face smile too. "I was supposed to tempt you to use that card, to make it seem like there was no other choice but to use it. And yet, you cast it all on your own." He crossed his arms, eyes proud and smile manic. "There might be hope for you yet!"
"Don't give me that!" yelled Shosetsu, pointing, Durandal's hilt towards him. "You caused those monsters to attack us. They were nothing more than petty tricks!"
"Even if you are right, what does it matter?" replied the copy calmly. Confusion bled into the real swordsman's expression, while his double's wide smile grew wider still. "Still don't understand? You cast that spell, knowing full well that it would destroy Axia and Drum."
A cold chill ran through his body as he realized the meaning of the illusion's words. "I…"
"Yes, you," continued the copy. "With barely any hesitation, you unleashed that tremendous power! Even though you knew that power was too strong for you to control." He narrowed his exposed eye, the red lens on the mask gleaming with dark energy. "It was all your decision. In a pinch, you chose to go with power, rather than trying to jump in to save either of the two. You would rather win at the cost of your friends' lives than lose at the cost of your own. That's who you really are."
"Shut up! Hrunting!" With a flash, the black blade appeared in his hands to replace Durandal's shards, and Shosetsu charged at his double with it. The copy began to sidestep, but Shosetsu turned on his heel and swung before he could evade. With a fierce yell, the swordsman's strike struck through his double, cleaving him in two.
"Cutting down an unarmed opponent…" muttered the illusion as its halves fell to the forest floor. "How far you have fallen. And you call yourself a knight…" With those parting words, the double's form dissipated into an inky black mist, leaving only its mask behind.
Shosetsu panted hard, sinking to his knees as he tried to recover his senses. Part of him was relieved that he had encountered his double. It gave him hope that the attack and Caliburn Grief's devastation were illusions, too. Though he had no formal magic training, Durandal had taught him how to dispel illusion magic once before. The swordsman brought up what remained of his cracked Buddy and stared at it, focusing every thought he had into dispelling the forest's enchantment, reassuring himself that what he saw was fake, and that his double's words held no influence over-
His breath left him when the ugly cracking sound from earlier returned.
Shosetsu's hands shook as the cracks returned, spreading across Durandal's ruined hilt now. He could feel it weakening in his grasp, but still held tight to it, chanting in his mind that it was all fake, that it was all an illusion, that-!
It was not enough, and the last of the sword shattered before his eyes. He picked up the ruined fragments, of hilt and blade alike, clutching them through the singed dirt. Sharp pricks of pain pierced through his hands, confirming the worst.
"What is a knight without his companions…" he murmured softly, letting the shards slip through his hands, cutting through his fingers as they fell. "What is a Buddyfighter… without his Buddy…"
For the third time that day, a scream echoed throughout the forest, but there was no one around to console the weeping human, surrounded as he was by devastation and tragedy. And around him, the shadows closed in…