Chapter 11: A Century of Failure

This chapter is fully dedicated to the subplot of Byrne. Link and Niko don't physically appear in this chapter.

Byrne slept peacefully in his uncomfortably lumpy and abnormally shaped bed. Just the way he liked it. Although, bitter dreams of his past defeats by Anjean buzzed around his mind like bees. He wished he came out victorious, just ONCE! Was that too much to ask?! His sudden thoughts of anger effectively woke him up. With his sleep tarnished, Byrne decided to take a walk through the desert. He slowly crept out of Rael's cottage like a thief in the night, leaving no trace of sound. The incensed Lokomo stormed through the desert, a hiss of anger escaping his Bandana. Maybe I'll find a random Bigblin or Moblin for me to kill. Out of nowhere, he sensed someone's unwanted, let alone unexpected presence. He instantly entered his battle pose and awaited his opponent as their presence grew bigger and Bigger and BIGGER and BIGGER…

BANG!

Byrne swiftly turned around and delivered a powerful punch to the unsuspecting figure, knocking them about ten feet away. The opponent however, landed neatly on the ground. As Byrne's vision adjusted to the dark, the figure looked much more familiar. It was Anjean! "Nice counter attack, Byrne!" complemented Anjean with an impressed smile.

"What are YOU, doing out here? " demanded Byrne.

"I thought you remembered that I will continually fight you due to that fantastic counter attack." replied Anjean. "I could ask you the same thing, what are you doing out here in the desert?" Byrne quickly pondered an excuse, however his eyes quickly caught another potential attack from Anjean and he responded with a swift kick to the gut.

"I… I decided to take a walk through the desert to clear my mind." Byrne quickly lied after countering Anjean's attack.

"Well since we're out here, how about we practice a little bit before sunrise?" suggested Anjean with her trademark wink.

"Ok, but could we practice somewhere else? I don't want to wake Rael up." The truth is he was trying to delay his future defeat and suffering by the hand of his stupid teacher Anjean.

"Whatever you want Byrne. Just lead the way." Her smile widened as if she KNEW the truth.

"Nah, since you wanted to practice, I insist YOU lead us to a more fitting area to practice." suggested Byrne who was desperately trying to mask the fear in his voice. Anjean quickly caught on to this and shrugged her shoulders.

"Whatever floats your boat, sonny." replied Anjean trying to hide a mischievous grin. The two Lokomos began searching for an appropriate setting to claim as their battlefield. Byrne slowly crept behind his suspicious looking leader, almost at a snail's pace. He knew that she was most likely planning to strike him once again, so he carefully eyed the aged figure .He could already feel the streak of agonizing pain…but he didn't know where. He quickly prepared his guard for one of Anjean's tricks. Now all he needed to figure out where, when and how Anjean was going to strike. However, that proved to be a difficult task as his head became flooded with fear, stress and anxiousness. His mind was going numb from the unresolved fear of Anjean's agonizing attacks. But this was not going to stop him! Anjean likes to be unpredictable? Well two can play at that game! Cleansing himself of his timid emotions, Byrne decided to attack Anjean from behind, considering he was a few steps behind her. Yeah! That's what he'll do! Byrne prepared to raid the purple haired women, already savoring the sweet taste of reve…

Bang

Byrne witnessed the brief sight of Anjean performing a lightning-fast back flip into his face before feeling the dreaded impact of said attack. Byrne skyrocketed through the air and finally found his body jammed into a lifeless tree. His legs faced a rather amused Anjean whiles his pain-stricken head stuck out the other end of the tree. "Bet you didn't see THAT coming!" hollered a now laughing Anjean. Byrne growled as a vulcher landed on top of his face.

After what seemed like an eternity of stumbling through the desert, the two Lokomos settled on a small sight where the sun was about to rise. "Are you ready Byrne?" inquired Anjean. A smug smile stretched behind Byrne's bandanna.

"Do you even have to ask? I've countered most of your crusty attacks along the way. I'm pretty sure I'm rea…" Byrne quickly cut himself off as he spotted another potential kick to the face by Anjean. Byrne dodged the attack and immediately responded with a powerful punch to the back of Anjean's head. Quickly recovered, Anjean darted towards the tall figure and prepared an onslaught of rapid punches. Byrne swiftly dodged every hit, only feeling the air particles push at his face. He quickly ended Anjean's onslaught with a powerful kick, knocking them both back. Whilst Anjean landed neatly on her feet, Byrne stumbled towards the ground and groaned in pain of his agonized foot.

"Come on Byrne! Don't tell me you're giving up because of a sore foot!" Abruptly, Byrne forced himself of the sand, his eyes throbbing with rage. He dashed towards Anjean like a bullet, but his purple haired mentor had plans. Anjean swiftly performed a slide kick, effectively tripping Byrne over causing him to fall face first into the sand. Byrne's buried face went red with anger and frustration. He pulled himself out of the sand, quickly enough to spot his elderly rival about to strike again. Without hesitation, Byrne back handed her before she could reach him. He then followed up with a head butt before she could even reach the ground. Now this time she was the one jammed into the sand. Byrne smiled with glee and pleasure. He was about to finally defeat his pathetic mentor! Not wasting anytime, he bolted towards the buried Lokomo to deal the final blow. Clenching his metallic arm into a fist he readied his aim and leaped towards Anjean, about to deal a fierce punch.

Bang!

Byrne felt an enormous kick to the chin sending him vertically flying into the air and plummeted to the ground like a rock. Anjean had been secretly waiting for Byrne to attack and leaped out of the sand to counter Byrne's potential punch. The tall Lokomo picked himself of the ground, his hair releasing tons of sand, pouring like rain. Byrne glared daggers towards Anjean who just smile sweetly.

"Good try. But you got to do better than that if you want to defeat me, Byrne." Suddenly, the purple haired Lokomo leaped towards Byrne to deal some heavy damage. Byrne hopelessly found himself in the same position as before, dodging Anjean's rapid blows without obtaining any damage. Drat, how was he going to get out of this? Byrne then thought of another attempt to kick her, only this time he would try to aim for her head. Waiting for the right moment, Byrne pretended to trip over which seemed to trick Anjean. She hopped in the air about to perform a powerful punch, Byrne however hand-springed himself of the floor, performing a front foot kick into Anjean's face. Anjean landed neatly on the ground looking rather impressed. "Fantastic Byrne. You have improved over time! If you keep this up, the Spirits will definitely accept you."

Byrne's jaw dropped behind his bandanna. Did he just hear her correctly? After a whole century of failed attempts, he's finally going to… wait could this be another trick? "O…K? Should we head back to the tower?" asked Byrne. Anjean nodded in agreement and they searched for the Tower of Spirits. Byrne distanced himself from Anjean to avoid another attack. He KNEW she had something up her sleeve, but what?

"Are you ok Byrne? You don't seem to be picking up the pace very well." Byrne's throat went dry with fear. He quickly pondered an excuse as to wh…

"Anjean! I've got some very important news to share!" hollered a distant figure. Both Lokomos turned their heads to the sound of a familiar voice. It was Rael! Thank the spirits he's here. Byrne thought to himself.

"Greetings Rael. What is the urgent news you're dying to tell me?" asked Anjean.

"It's from the Spirits, Anjean. Andre has just passed away last night!" Anjean's eyes widened with shock.

"Really?"

"Yes! We must head back to the Tower of Spirits." The three Lokomos rushed towards their destination.

"Wait. What were you doing at the tower?" asked a confused Byrne.

"Searching for you Byrne." Said Lokomo frowned in annoyance as they travelled back to the Tower of Spirits.

Eventually, they reached the tower and confronted the Spirits. The main Spirit greeted the trio, or at least just Anjean. "Anjean, it appears that one of our biggest threats has been killed in combat last night by the great Alfonzo himself." Anjean gave a small smile.

"Well I'm glad to know that Andre's been taken care of. But could you go into details of what exactly happened?" The main Spirit spoke up.

"Before that, Andre had two hostages under his custody. Niko and the Hero reborn." Anjean and Rael's jaws dropped. The Hero Reborn? The reincarnation of the Hero of Winds? Byrne just shrugged it off. I knew that 'reincarnation' was just a dud. In fact, ALL humans are weaklings. Anjean quickly recovered from her shocked state.

"What's become of Niko and the new hero?" inquired Anjean.

"Currently, the two hylians are residing in Aboda Village. Alfonzo had brought them there after their brutal battle with Andre. Andre tried to attack them but Alfonzo bested him, with the help of Link might I add." All the Lokomos gaped in amazement.

"But master," Rael intervened. "This reborn version of Link is a child about 4 or 5 years. How was he able to take on Andre? I know Alfonzo helped and all but…" The Spirit quickly cut Rael off.

"It was an act of heroism. Link would help anybody in danger. Andre and Alfonzo were fighting on a severely wrecked train and Andre managed to catch Alfonzo of guard, Link saw Alfonzo's predicament and rushed to the control panel. He pulled the lever causing the train to move and threw Andre of guard." Since when do kids drive? Byrne thought to himself. "Much like the previous Link, this destined hero would do anything to rescue someone in peril."

"So he is the reincarnation we're looking for." whispered Rael. Byrne just began to chuckle and soon burst into laughter.

"Alfonzo, the great swordsman was saved by a child? How pathetic!" As Byrne recovered from his fit of laughter, Anjean and Rael scowled at him. Anjean turned her attention back to the Spirits.

"Ok, where did Andre's death take place?"

"It took place in the Ocean Realm where Link and Niko used to live." replied the Spirits.

"I think it's safe we checked the area in case of any further threats." suggested Rael. The other Lokomos nodded in agreement and headed off to investigate the scene.

As soon as they reached the Ocean Realm, the three Lokomos witnessed an enormous herd of miniblins sailing away from their former destination. What used to be Andre's reluctant army of pirates were now homeless little creatures aimlessly searching for their latest destination. The Lokomos couldn't believe their eyes. Andre had that many miniblins in his army? Even Byrne was taken aback by how humongous Andre's army was. How did he even get this much miniblins in the first place? Byrne thought to himself. Anjean had seen enough. "Rael, can you and Carben take care of this mess?"

"Of course Anjean. I'll inform him about this right away." Replied Rael. They then spotted the demolished building which used to be the Pirate Hideout. The miniblins must have destroyed the building in great disrespect towards their former leader.

"I'm going to inform the Spirits about this immediately. I'm going to ask them to remove the spirit tracks for this island. I don't want anybody finding about this crisis." Rael nodded as he began searching for Carben. Anjean and Byrne traveled back to the Spirit Tower to deliver the news of miniblins roaming the Ocean Realm.

Several hours later, the tracks to the reborn hero's home were gone for good. The island was no longer reachable by train and the loose herd of miniblins subdued. Byrne was sent back to Rael's house for the day because of the 'important matters' that Anjean had to discuss with the 'mighty' Spirits of Good. Because of that nonsense, his training was postponed. Dang it, this isn't getting me anywhere! I defeated Anjean today and I could have easily impressed the Spirits! But that small fry of a demon Andre had to be defeated TODAY! He then remembered that TODAY was supposed to be his final performance to obtain ultimate power, to truly become a Lokomo… which was probably the reason why… Anjean had searched for him in the desert realm this morning. "SPIRITS DANG IT!" Byrne punched his metallic fist through the wall, his fury filling him up to the brim. He was beside himself with anger. His patience fighting its way out. His eyes bearing a look screaming murder. His bandanna covered up his teeth grinding with ra… Oh snap! He then realized that he damaged ONE OF HIS MASTERS PROPETIES! "Great Scott! How am I going to get out of this mess?!" Byrne quickly rummaged Rael's house, desperate to find an object to cover up the hole. It was no use! The objects were either to small, too big or to suspicious looking. Even the pictures were useless! Byrne eventually gave up his search. "What am I going to do? What am I going to do?! WHAT am I going TO DO?!"

"How about covering up the hole with this picture?"

"Wow! This is perfect. Thanks Rea-re-re-re-re-RAEL!" Byrne quickly dropped the picture in fright of one of his many mentors. Rael looked at the damaged picture on the floor and shook his head.

"You really need to learn how to keep your emotions in check. Did Anjean send you back here?" Byrne nodded and calmed down. "Now tell me, why you are upset." inquired Rael.

"Today, was supposed to be my big performance in front of the Spirits. This, was supposed to be the day where I prove myself worthy of leaving my status as a Lokomo apprentice and become part of the tribe. However, the events of last night has Anjean and the Spirits busy." Rael came and patted Byrne on the back.

"Byrne, if you're going to be a part of us, you've got to know that being a Lokomo takes great responsibility. But I strongly believe you are ready to take that position." Byrne looked at his mentor with shock in his eyes.

"You really think so?"

"I know so. During the century of practice, you have shown massive improvement and skill. Sure, there may be a few screw-ups here and there but nobody's perfect. You've come so far Byrne, I'm sure you'll do great." Byrne smiled warmly behind his bandanna. "Now, shall we get some rest before your grand finale tomorrow?" An electric pulse ran down Byrne's spine.

"It's tomorrow?"

"Yeah, the spirits decided to post phone the challenge for tomorrow due to the bunch of miniblins roaming the ocean. I'm just glad that nobody was up to see that horrific sight. I wonder what those little pests would do now without their leader." Byrne was determine to show those annoying spirits that he truly is ready to gain tremendous loafs of POWER, that he CAN assist the other Lokomos in protecting this stupid land. He had now bested EVERY member of the Lokomos. Tomorrow, they shall open up to him and finally give him the position he rightfully disserves. "Oh, and Byrne, you owe me about 160 rupees for the damage on my wall." Byrne growled, stuffing his fists into his pockets to avoid causing any more damage before his big day.

That night, Byrne was overloaded with confidence, and determination. For the first time in almost 50 years, the tall Lokomo slept peacefully on his extremely uncomfortable bed. A dream of success and triumph filled his mind, he was almost completely sure it was real.

Byrne had finally won the respect and recognition from the Spirits that he always craved. After that extraordinary performance, the Lokomo's were beyond impressed. "Congratulations Byrne, you are now truly part of the Lokomos. After decades of practice, you have proven yourself worthy of taking the position as one of the protectors of New Hyrule." Those words filled Byrne with absolute glee. He always knew this day would come.

"I accept your offer, all mighty Spirits!" All the Lokomos cheered him on as he stepped out of the shadows and rose to great power and responsibility. Rael and Anjean greeted him and applauded him.

"Byrne, words can't describe how proud I am. You have come such a long way." sobbed Anjean, with tears of joy streaming down her face. Byrne had never seen Anjean cry before. It was just too good to be true!

"Byrne you've really out done yourself." complimented Rael with a smile on his face. "You transformed from a tiny little seed to an enormous beautiful tree." Rael was always Byrne's favorite mentor and nothing could be better than pleasing him in such away. "And just for that one performance, you don't have to pay me back for the damage you did to my wall." Boy was he wrong! It just keeps getting better and better!

"So comrades, what should be my first act as a new member of the Lokomo tribe?" asked Byrne with pride in his voice.

"Well," the Spirits began. "The first thing you should do is wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up…" The background immediately vanished and the only ones present was Byrne and the Spirits. The Spirits repeated the words 'wake up' over and over again as Byrne quickly came to a realization. IT WAS JUST A STINKING DREAM!

Byrne woke up with great disappointment. "Curses! It was all in my head!" Immediately, he came to another realization… today is his big break! Byrne forced himself out of his bed and tidied it up. "Well, it's time to make that dream a reality." He then heard a knock at the door.

"Byrne, it's your grand finale! It's the day you truly become part of the tribe!" called Rael.

"I know! Just give me a moment, I'm tidying my bed!" Byrne quickly finished and opened the door to chat with his mentor. "Good morning." greeted Byrne.

"Good morning, Byrne. It's time to wipe the sleep out of your eyes, you're going to perform in front of the Spirits! Now come on, let's head over to the Tower!" Rael quickly rushed into his small vehicle and drove outside. Byrne quickly rushed outside to catch up. But something was really bothering him.

"Wait, hold up Rael! There's something I need to ask you before we leave."

"Oh?" Rael quickly paused and reversed back to his apprentice. "And what's that Byrne?"

"Why did you guys keep comparing me to the Hero of Winds?" Rael turned himself around to face Byrne.

"You know I asked Anjean the same thing last night. It was because Link… the Hero of Winds had did a great service for New Hyrule while you were training with me. He never lost his patience and always made up for his mistakes. He also helped us protect New Hyrule as if he was an actual Lokomo. He was brave, loyal, caring and extremely selfless. I mean we were righteous before now, but the Hero of Winds helped us hit our stride. Alas, he died at such a young age. So we've been following his example ever since." Byrne frowned at his mentor.

"So you expect me to follow the example of a human?" asked Byrne with quite the disappointment in his voice.

"You say that like it's a bad thing. Anyway, we've got to hurry to the tower. We can't keep the others waiting any longer." They quickly rushed towards their destination. Byrne was ready to set those Spirits straight.

At the Tower, Carben was shaking with fear, with the memory of miniblins roaming the Ocean Realm cooped up inside his head. "Pirates! Pirates! EVERYWHERE! They're out to get me! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!"Embrose slapped Carben on the back.

"Calm down Carben. That was yesterday, get over it! We have more important matters to attend to."

"Yeah! Our apprentice Byrne is going to take his final test today, and you're stressing over something that was already dealt with!" yelled Steem.

"I'M SORRY! But if you were there, you'd definitely see why I'm so petrified!" screeched Carben. The conversation was abruptly cut short as the doors to the Tower of Spirits opened. Byrne and Rael entered the building. Byrne looked like he was able to take on the world.

"Byrne, step forward." commanded one of the Spirits. "Today, you will prove yourself worthy of taking on the responsibility of true power. Byrne gave a huge look of determination.

"I am ready master. Just instruct me with what you have in mind." The Spirits proceeded to round up the other Lokomos.

"All Lokomo's except Byrne, line up." All the Lokomos entered a horizontal line facing Byrne. "Byrne, for your final exam you will fight all your masters' head on." Byrne was taken aback. Fighting all his mentors all at once. He barely won a match against Anjean yesterday! And it took him just as, if not longer to defeat Embrose than Anjean! "If you succeed, you will become part of the tribe. If you fail however, you will have to start the task again in a few weeks' time." Byrne's heart hammered in his chest. It's bad enough it took him a WHOLE century to best all of his mentors one by one. Now to take on all of them at the same time, it would take him MORE than a few weeks to fight take out all of them in one match.

"…ok. Shall we begin?" asked a very intimidated Byrne.

"Of course. Gage, you're up first." Thank goodness Byrne though with relief. He initially believed that he was going to fight his mentors all at the same time. Gage stepped towards Byrne and shook his hand.

"Good luck Byrne. I'm looking forward to working with you." Gage said with an encouraging smile. Good to know that my mentors are being nice to me. "Are you ready?"

"You don't have to ask me twice." replied the now calm Byrne.

The two Lokomo's readied their battle stances. The Spirits counted down to the battle. "3, 2, 1, GO!" Byrne and Gage streaked towards each other and entered a vicious brawl. Byrne jumped in the air attempting to perform a helicopter kick but Gage leaped in the air, dodged it and threw a projectile of energy at him. Before he landed, Byrne destroyed the projectile with his trusty claw hand and launched it towards Gage to punch him. Gage performed a front flip kick on the claw hand, deflecting it and forcing it down like a rock. Byrne quickly recovered his hand before a now grounded Gage's projectiles hit him. Byrne hopped over the last projectile to lash out and perform a brutal punch, but Gage rolled underneath and quickly dealt a painful kick to Byrnes back. Byrne forced himself of the floor, determination and concentration flooding his eyes. So he likes to use projectiles? Well two can play at that game. Byrne shot an enormous ball of energy at Gage. Gage quickly reflected it with a spin kick only to receive a blow to the face by Byrne. Byrne had dashed towards Gage and hopped over the reflected projectile to attack Gage. The other Lokomos cheered at Byrne's excellence. As soon as Gage recovered, the two opponents began leaping into the air to attack each other. They continued to hop in the air performing Ariel attacks. While Gage was beneath him in midair, Byrne attempted a front flip kick of his own. Gage saw this and released an extremely large energy ball above him, knocking Byrne vertically into the air. No, I will not let this guy beat me! Byrne quickly tossed and turned in the air to put himself back into motion. His razor sharp sight spotted yet another energy ball inching towards him. Byrne deflected it with a back hand sending it horizontal. He then quickly performed a diving kick towards the grounded Gage. Gage quickly sprung out of the way as Byrne landed on the ground. Byrne tried throwing another projectile, but Gage performed a back flip towards Byrne to avoid it and attempted a back kick. Byrne quickly crouched, narrowly avoiding the attack and swept his leg around knocking Gage a few feet back. Gage attempted to leap in the air to attack him again but Byrne countered it by jumping backwards and kicked behind him sending his rival soaring to a wall. Gage quickly wall jumped towards Byrne throwing several projectiles towards him. Byrne quickly deflected them with his claw hand as Gage flew towards him. Byrne tried punching Gage with his other hand, but the green Lokomo smashed his own hand down on Byrne's. The tall Lokomo's hand hurt like fire. Gage immediately landed into Byrne as they tumbled towards the ground. They quickly hurdled away from each other and continued their battle. Byrne jogged towards his opponent and performed a double kick forward. Gage quickly dived behind Byrne and attempted to hit him with another energy ball. Byrne however back flipped high into the air to avoid to the attack. As Byrne leapt over Gage, the green Lokomo launched a swipe of energy above him, hitting Byrne and throwing him of his control in the air. Byrne plunged towards the ground landing directly on his back. I thought he wanted me to work with him, not kill me! As Byrne raised his head, Gage charged towards him. Byrne swiftly swept himself of the floor and hot footed towards his rival. Gage hopped in the air to dish out a forward punch. But Byrne jumped towards him and head butted his rival square in the face. As Gage was forced back, Byrne quickly winded up and slid forward with his metal claw hitting Gage into another wall. Only this time, Gage only hit the wall and fell face first to the floor. The Spirits counted down the time for Gage to recover. "5, 4,3,2,1, Gage has been defeated." The other Lokomos clapped and cheered for Byrne. Carben walked towards the knocked out Lokomo and threw a bucket of water on top of him.

"Ouch! That water is hot!" yelled Gage. Carben quickly gave an apologetic look.

"Oops! I'm Sorry! I was meant to put cold water in the bucket but I accidentally turned the tap the other way! PLEASE DON'T BE MAD AT ME!" cried Carben.

"Alright I forgive you, what just happened?"

"Byrne sort of kicked your butt, however it's ok. He's on the verge of becoming one us!" Gage quickly forgot the hot water and smiled.

"Well, I'm glad to know that Byrne is succeeding. Time to cheer him on!"

Byrne was beyond satisfied. But he wasn't finished. He had the other Lokomos to defeat and he wasn't going to let them bring him down.

"Carben, you're next." Carben stepped over towards Byrne.

"That was quite the effort there Byrne. I sincerely hope you succeed." Carben complemented with a cool voice.

"Let's just make this quick." Replied Byrne.

"Yeah, and also promise me that you'll go easy on me. I get anxious while fighting." Byrne just rolled his eyes.

"Whatever you want." Replied Byrne.

Both Lokomos shook hands and readied their battle poses. "3, 2, 1, GO!" The Spirit's approval for battle was Carben's alarm. He panicked and immediately performed a lightning fast kick into Byrne's face sending him face first onto the ground. All the other Lokomos groaned at the brutal sight. Byrne raised his head, fiery rage and intensity filled him up as he rushed towards Carben at the speed of sound. His face bulging red. Byrne, threw out an onslaught of rapid punches which Carben flawlessly evaded. Byrne dished out all the projectiles he learnt in hopes of hitting Carben. The two hopped on the pillars as Byrne shot his projectiles. Carben rapidly deflected the projectiles while preventing himself from getting any closer to Byrne. The one-sided battle was like a deadly game of cat and mouse. Byrne the cat fiercely pursuing his prey, Carben the mouse.

"Carben ol chum! You're supposed to be fighting back! Not cowering like a cuckoo!" yelled Steem. As soon as Carben heard Steem, he quickly built up his courage. Ok, I got this. Do it, for Byrne! Carben then leaped towards Byrne and performed a hectic punch into Byrne's chin knocking him to the ground.

Byrne growled with absolute anger. NOW YOU'RE GONNA GET IT YOU LITTLE PUNK!

Byrne soared back on top of the pillars and glared savagely at Carben. Both Lokomo's raced towards each other for battle. Byrne threw out his claw hand and grabbed Carben with it. As Byrne reeled him in, Carben waited for the right moment and punched Byrne sending them both falling to the ground. Byrne tried again and grabbed Carben with his claw hand. This time by the head. Byrne reeled in Carben and kicked him directly into his sorry face. Carben landed onto the ground and hand-springed himself up just in time to say a furious Byrne sprinting towards him. Byrne attempted a double kick, however Carben dodged it and imitated him only to fail as badly as his apprentice did. They both leaped into air and Byrne performed a meteor punch on top of Carben's head. Carben fell to the floor and spotted Byrne about to jump on him. He quickly moved the way and threw a ball of energy towards his tall opponent. Byrne dodged it and punched Carben with his claw hand. Seeing his helpless prey on the floor, Byrne rushed towards him to perform a downward punch with both his fists. However, he felt an uppercut by Carben sending him vertically in the air. But before Carben could attack him, Byrne kicked his feet downwards hitting Carben on top of his head. Byrne then used his claw hand to grab Carben and slam him on the ground. Carben laid on the ground, almost motionless and heavily breathing. "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Carben has been defeated."

"Finally, I put that whiny little moron in his place." Byrne muttered to himself. As Embrose carried the unconscious Lokomo away, The Spirits called on the next opponent. The other Lokomo's cheered once again for the victorious Lokomo.

"Steel, it's your turn." Steel slowly inched towards Byrne.

"Sorry lad, it's been a long time since I've walked out of my vehicle."

"Then this should be a piece of cake." mocked Byrne. Steel just chuckled to himself.

"I wouldn't count on it". Steel stretched his limbs and prepared to fight who could be a new member of the tribe. The opponents awaited the Spirits signal.

"3, 2, 1, GO!" Both Lokomo's engaged in combat. Byrne attempted a flying kick, but Steel quickly grabbed him by the leg and slammed him on the floor numerous times before throwing him a couple feet away. Byrne quickly shook of the pain and continued to battle. Byrne attempted to ensnare his target with his metallic claw, but Steel mustered up all his strength to grab the loose claw shot and yanked at it to pull Byrne towards him and head butt him. An enormous headache ventured through Byrne's brain as he tried to get up. It took some effort but Byrne shoved himself of the floor and glared at his opponent. The two continued to brawl as Byrne attempted to punch Steel, much to his frustration the elderly Lokomo was able to block each and every attack. Byrne quickly head butted Steel on the forehead, while this further increased his migraine it did knock Steel of guard. Byrne followed up with a karate chop to the forehead, leaving the aged Lokomo staggering to the ground. Steel quickly recovered and dished out several projectiles which Byrne successfully blocked, with the help of his claw. Steel quickly dashed towards Byrne with a mighty head-butt, knocking him behind and quickly grabbed him. Steel kicked at Byrne while he held him in his grasp and finally punched him in the face knocking him back. Steel then attempt to punch at him again, but Byrne back handed him and followed up with a forward punch. Before Steel could plummet to the ground, he launched a powerful energy ball towards Byrne. However, Byrne reflected it back at a grounded Steel, damaging him some more. Byrne quickly rushed over to attack him again only to receive a huge head butt to the face. Byrne was sent sliding on the ground as Steel leaped in to the air to fly above the sliding figure. Byrne fired several projectiles at the gliding Lokomo, but Steel effectively deflected every attack and readied a diving kick. Byrne quickly got off the floor and slammed Steel down with both of his fists. Steel looked worn and tired. Byrne stood over his opponent victorious as the Spirits counted down. "5, 4, 3, 2…"

BANG

Two legs pressed hard against Byrne's chest. The other Lokomo's gasped in shock. Steel had been pretending to be tired! Byrne stumbled to the ground and quickly hand-springed up. Byrne's temper shrank to miniature size as he darted towards his elderly target. He dished out several punches, but to no avail. Steel blocked all the moves and tripped him over with his feet. Steel quickly followed up with a grab and slammed him to the ground. He then prepared an onslaught of punches and kicks. Byrne quickly dodged the attacks as Steel chased him down. He quickly got an idea, Byrne hopped onto the pillar with Steel hot on his tail and quickly jumped off it to perform a powerful backflip onto his opponent. Now this time, Steel was knocked out for real. Byrne quickly wiped the sweat of his forehead. "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Steel is defeated!" The other Lokomos, including a recovered Carben, cheered. While he broke more than a sweat, Byrne was sure that he can take on the next Lok…

"Embrose, you're up."

Did that Spirit say… Embrose?

The red Lokomo stepped onto the battle arena of the Tower. "Ok Byrne, give me everything you got. Don't hold back." Byrne hesitantly nodded as he entered his battle stance. Embrose imitated the same impressive battle stance. Byrne knew this battle would come sooner or later, but still he couldn't help but worry. Sure he had beaten him before, but it took him the majority of his training to do so. Not to mention, Embrose was the cause of his missing arm.

"3, 2, 1, GO!" Byrne immediately fired himself towards Embrose and sliced both his hands in front him. Embrose quickly sidestepped away and swiped several projectiles at Byrne. Byrne took note of it and battered them away. He then immediately threw himself towards his opponent and attempted to punch him. But Embrose quickly booted the incoming fist with his foot and charged an energy ball into Byrne's stomach. Byrne groaned in pain as he hit the floor. Embrose dashed towards him, but Byrne quickly kicked at his opponent. Byrne pulled himself together and tried to slam his metallic fist down on Embrose's head. Embrose quickly swiped at Byrne with a rotating kick, sending Byrne straight to the ground once again. The tall figure then tried going all-out offensive. Byrne kept punching at Embrose, only to feel the rock solid feel of Embrose's blocks. Embrose fought back in order to deflect Byrnes punches. Byrne immediately felt both of his hands held type in Embrose's grip. Byrne pulled and pulled in order to release himself of Embrose's grip. Dang it, I'm not going to lose another limb! Out of desperation, Byrne flipped himself over Embrose with his limbs still held tight and quickly lifted Embrose of the ground, finally he slammed Embrose on the ground releasing himself of Embrose's grip. Embrose quickly bounced off the ground like a grasshopper and booted his rival with an aerial kick. As he bounced of his rival, Embrose landed feet first on the ground. Byrne quickly got up and dished out 3 punches in which Embrose dodged. Embrose then jumped towards Byrne and grabbed him, using all his strength, Embrose launched Byrne in the air and lashed him with an upward kick. Byrne skyrocketed into the air uncontrollably. Why am I being battered like this? I should be winning for crying out lo… Byrne felt a projectile sending him to an even greater height… finally he hit the ceiling and crashed to the ground. All the other Lokomos gasped. Byrne could barely move, he laid motionless on the ground. "5, 4…" NO! This isn't over! Byrne quickly shoved himself of the floor. He was not spending any more time waiting for his triumph! He WILL succeed! The other Lokomo's cheered as he forced himself to stand up. He quickly caught the glimpse of Embrose and punched him in the face with excessive force. Embrose quickly recovered only to feel several more punches coming his way. Byrne was not holding back. He had been battered for too long now. Embrose tried to lash out, but Byrne was quickly overtaking him. Byrne dished several more projectiles, Embrose quickly destroyed them with his own but was not quick enough to avoid the sudden jabs Byrne was giving. He quickly grabbed Byrne again, but the tall figure wasn't having it! He ripped himself out of Embrose's tight grip and kicked him in the chin, sending Embrose vertical towards the ceiling. Now the tables were officially turned. He fired every projectile within him sending his opponent directly towards ceiling and…

Bang

Embrose hit the ceiling and fell unconsciously towards the floor. Embrose landed, not one sign of any movement was found from the motionless Lokomo. "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Embrose is defeated." The other Lokomo's cheered as Carben rushed over to Embrose and splashed a bucket of water on top of him.

"Good heavens! That water is extremely cold!" moaned Embrose.

"Well, at least I got it right this time." remarked Carben.

"Rael, you're up next." Although Byrne was wrecked, tired and overheated from battle, he still obtained the energy to battle against his upcoming rival.

"Fantastic job Byrne, now you're up against me. Good luck." Byrne smiled at his favorite mentor.

"Thanks for the motivation and encouragement Rael. You were always my favorite." Rael's eyes practically glowed with happiness before he entered his battle pose. Byrne followed suit before they heard the countdown of the Spirits.

"3, 2, 1m GO!" Both Lokomo's merged into yet another furious melee. Byrne jabbed at Rael only to feel a nimble kick from Rael. Byrne yelped in pain as he blocked Rael's on coming moves with his metallic claw. He then quickly punched Rael's unprotected face with his claw and kicked him into the air. With Rael vulnerable and airborne, Byrne launched himself into the air to attack. Much to his surprise, Rael performed a downward head butt oh Byrne, sending him plunging to the ground. Byrne recovered and swooped back into action. The now grounded Rael was up against a cloud of powerful attacks. He miraculously dodged every move before booting his tall apprentice across the face. Byrne's cheek was practically screaming at him in pain but he restrained himself from losing his temper. Suddenly, an idea bounced into Byrne's mind like a jumping bean. Byrne leaped towards his opponent to attack him. Rael blocking the attacks and fighting back as Byrne expected. The tall Lokomo slowly lowered his offense game and began blocking Rael's attacks. Rael was now fully focused on attacking Byrne. As Rael chased his moving target, Byrne quickly hand-springed and kicked at Rael's face. Seeing his short mentor stumbling to the ground, Byrne reeled in his prey with his claw shot hand and gave him an uppercut. While Rael soared into the air once again, Byrne hopped into the air to perform a somersault kick. But Rael quickly gained motion, grabbed Byrne by the leg and threw him onto the floor. Rael began firing projectiles at Byrne, while said rival quickly pushed himself of the floor to avoid the attacks. Before he landed, Rael fired a gigantic energy ball at Byrne. With the energy ball just in chest away from him, Byrne reflected the energy ball with his claw… but before it could hit Rael, the blue sphere raced back at blinding speed and directly hit Byrne's chest. The other Lokomo's gasped as they watched the huge projectile knock Byrne of guard. Byrne landed on the floor, his chest was aching like mad. Rael had reflected the projectile back at Byrne with the audition of greatly enhanced speed! Byrne's elderly mentor came rushing in without warning and prepared a front flip kick. Byrne barely avoided the attack before he found himself chased down by Rael. The calm and peaceful Lokomo was an extremely deadly threat in battle. Byrne tried to land any attacks he could Rael… but it was no use, Rael was just too fast and nimble obtain even one percent of damage. Desperately, Byrne formed an energy ball in his fist and attempted to shove it in Rael's face. Surprisingly, it worked! Watching Rael drop to the ground like a rock, Byrne aimed more projectiles towards Rael. As the recovered Lokomo raised his head, his eyes pin pointed the blue sparks of light charging towards him. Rael quickly dashed out the way, in time to spot an oncoming blow by Byrne. He ducked underneath the fist before grabbing Byrne by the arm and tossed him in the air. Rael fired an energy at the launched Lokomo. Byrne was helpless to the moving projectile and took the hit. Byrne growled in pain and landed with a thump. Byrne laid on the ground, tired and exhausted… but then he remembered that the Spirits were watching. Before the Spirits had the chance to count down, Byrne pushed himself of the floor and entered his Battle pose. The small crowd of Lokomo's cheered as Byrne continued to fight. Byrne aimed his claw shot at Rael… only to pull back. A confused Rael paused in his tracks before noticing the now up close Byrne about to strike. Byrne jammed his metallic fist into Rael's face and sliced several projectiles at the motionless Rael. The dazed Lokomo was slammed to the floor as the dangerous projectiles damaged him. Rael raised his head to see an energy ball travel towards him. He got off the floor and kicked at it, again reflecting it at a hurried pace. Byrne didn't even think, he immediately smashed his metallic fist into his reflected projectile, sending it back to its original target. The huge energy ball traveled as fast as lightning, Rael tried to reflect it but by then it was too late. Menacingly, the huge energy ball came in contact with Rael, leaving him completely unconscious. "5, 4, 3, 2 1, Rael is defeated." The other Lokomo's cheered was Byrne once again claimed victory. Rael woke up to the other Lokomo's chants and praise for Byrne, he rose from his defeated position and walked towards the tall successful figure. "You did great Byrne, just like I predicted." complimented the good sport. The two Lokomo's shook hands before getting interrupted the Spirits of Good.

"Anjean, you're next." This was the moment of truth. The fight that would seal the deal. The final battle that would determine his fate. Will he rise from his apprentice status? Will he become part of the Lokomos? Will he obtain ultimate power? He had defeated the other Lokomos, he had also been able to handle Anjean yesterday. He was beyond confident. Anjean left her vehicle and approached her long time apprentice.

"It's been a long time coming. Are you ready for your final test?" inquired Anjean.

"My body is ready!" thundered Byrne. He entered his battle pose for this last battle. He may have been drained from his previous battles, but at the same time he was fired up and ready for his ULTIMATE POWER… and to become part of the tribe of course.

"3, 2, 1, GO." As soon as he heard those words, Byrne rushed towards his opponent as if an electric shock had attacked him from behind. Anjean followed suit and attempted to punch him in the gut. But Byrne somersaulted above her and kicked her in the head as soon as he landed. He immediately sprinted towards her to round up another attack. But Anjean swiftly hopped of the floor and kicked at the dashing figure. Byrne quickly caught himself and adjusted his jaw. Anjean quickly swiped several projectiles at Byrne while inching towards him. Byrne's clawshot arm was practically invisible as he deflected all the projectiles that his purple haired mentor was firing at him. As Anjean was closing up on him ready to pounce, Byrne flung his metallic hand into Anjean's chin knocking her in the air. Oh no! You're not getting away from me that easy! Byrne grinned as he aimed at his elderly rival. Watching her in the same position as he had Embrose. He aimed an energy ball at Anjean…

Crash

Only to have it shot back down vertically into his face. Byrne landed on the ground and receive a frontal kick on his stomach by Anjean. Infuriated, Byrne leaned his feet and kicked her off. The two rival recovered and darted towards each other. Byrne readied a powerful jab with his claw… or as it seemed. Byrne quickly jumped in the air and hammered his claw down. While Anjean was shocked at Byrne's sudden transition, she continued to battle. As Byrne's fist came crashing down, Anjean quickly grabbed it and slammed him onto the floor. Byrne's side growled at him as he slowly rose from the floor…

Bang

Byrne felt two feet harshly press against his chest. He was sent flying horizontally against his will, towards the wall. The other Lokomo's eyes stretched as Byrne flew head first towards the wall. The launched Lokomo sensed the rock-hard wall behind him. His skull just a few feet away… to unbearable, unholy pain! NO!...

Bump

Byrne landed safely on his two feet, safe and unharmed. Anjean and the other Lokomo's stood in Awe for Byrne's miraculous recovery. To prevent himself from hitting the wall, Byrne quickly pressed against the wall with his hands to avoid what could have been a fatal injury. Byrne smiled threw his bandana. "Are we going to fight, or are you just going to keep staring in awe until your jaw drops?" mocked Byrne. Anjean quickly got over her amazement and beamed towards her taller rival. Byrne attempted to punch at Anjean, however she blocked all of them with her own attacks. She then quickly grabbed Byrne's arm and twisted him vertically. Byrne span uncontrollably as Anjean continued to twist his gripped arm. He quickly mustered up the strength to lift her using his gripped arm and stopping her from spinning him. Byrne then proceeded to slam her against the wall, but Anjean pushed her feet against the wall preventing him from doing so. Frustrated, Byrne tried to shove her into the wall. Anjean's bent her legs and like a spring, she pushed him away. Byrne quickly balanced himself as Anjean came lunging towards him. As she raced towards him, Byrne swatted her face his claw hook once she was close enough. He then quickly dashed towards her in a daft attempt to head-butt her…

BANG!
A fiery sensation appeared on Byrne's forehead as he flung back uncontrollably. Anjean had kicked at his forehead, ruining Byrne's chance to strike. The purple haired Lokomo landed on the pillars, whilst the raging apprentice hopped after her. The two began propelling their most powerful projectiles at each other. Byrne's energy was running short on him so he deflected Anjean's energy beam and immediately dished his own projectile afterwards. Anjean managed to deflect her own projectile while being hit by her opponent's swipe of energy. She slipped of the pillars and descended to the ground with a loud thud. From above, Byrne spotted an opportunity. While Anjean was slowly recovering, he quickly dived down with a lightning fast kick. The plunging Lokomo was practically locked onto his target like a heat seeking missile. Anjean looked up and saw Byrne about to overtake her. Hastily, she sidestepped away from Byrne's dangerous attack. Curses, I almost had her! Thought Byrne. The tall Lokomo sensed Anjean's presence so he tried to jab at her, but Anjean deflected it with a powerful punch of her own. Soon, Byrne found himself engulfed in Anjean's attempts to punch him. The crowd of Lokomos remained silent as the Byrne desperately evaded his rival's onslaught of punches. He attempted to punch her with his claw shot but ended up colliding his fist with Anjean's. Immediately, they began shoving at each other's fist to knock the other of guard. Byrne pushed with all his might to try and subdue his elderly opponent. Suddenly, he felt Anjean struggle against him. Delight and relief was written all over his face as he took advantage of the situation and pushed hard at her fist. Anjean's nearly tripped, almost losing her balance as she continued to shove at Byrne's metallic claw. Byrne's victory was written all over the scene as the Lokomo's and the Spirits watched in complete awe. Byrne was going to win. He was going to earn the position he disserved. He was going to achieved great power untouched by any puny mortal. His triumph was secure. Byrne finally decided to end the battle had he pushed and pushed while Anjean inched backwards to keep her balance. Come on. Give up you old fool. You're only tiring yourself! Using up all his strength, the almost victorious Lokomo shoved one more ti… Byrne felt a hard force at his metallic claw. His arm was being shoved backwards against his will. Anjean had recovered her strength to turn the tides around. The audience gasped as Anjean slowly gained control of the situation. Byrne's eyes widened with great disbelief. NO! What's happening! Byrne quickly shoved at Anjean fist to no avail. Like a spring, Anjean pushed Byrne at full force sending him flying horizontally. THIS CAN'T BE! THIS JUST CAN'T B…

BANG!

Byrne' felt a HUGE ache on top of his skull, as his vision turned black. This time, he did hit the wall. The distraught Lokomo's thoughts of horror and shock subdued as his body gave in to unconscious. The sound of the Spirit's announcing his sudden defeat echoed in his mind.

Splash!

Byrne felt the impact of freezing cold water spilled on top of his face. He winced as he slowly opened his gloomy eyes. The first thing he saw was grade A number 1 annoyance… Carben, holding a now empty bucket. "You did an amazing job Byrne." commended Carben with his calm voice. "Although you didn't succeed in defeating Anjean, you can take the task again sometime in the future." Byrne frowned at the bitter memory of his sudden failure. "Until then, we got to get you patched up and ready for battle." Great. More training! Just what he needed! More training! This whole century of patience and practice had done NOTHING BUT BUILD UP TO THE HORRIFIC DEFEAT BY THE HAND OF HIS ANNOYING MENTOR, ANJEAN! The ignited Byrne snatched the bucket out of Carben's hands and slammed it on top his sorry excuse for a master's head. A startled Carben panicked and ran around in circles screaming. "Byrne! Help! It's dark in here! HELP!" Byrne stormed into the main room of the tower, leaving Carben in his predicament. Most of the Lokomos had left tower and the Spirits were nowhere in sight. Anjean's was also absent from the room.

"What happened there Byrne?" asked Steel. "You were doing great."

"YOU! I thought you were looking forward to having me as part of the tribe!" roared Byrne. "It looked like you were starving cannibals trying to kill me for your latest meal!"

"You misunderstand Byrne," Rael intervened. "It was all part of the test. While we all want you to join us, we had to fight back under the Spirit's command."

"I served a WHOLE CENTURY fighting for them and I STILL failed! Looks like your methods to teach me aren't as good as you thought!"

"Byrne, I understand you're upset but you have to calm down. You can take the test again…"

"But before that I got to go through more and more training just to impress those dog-gone idiotic Spirits!" thundered the enraged Byrne. Steel then snapped.

"Don't you DARE insult the Spirits like that! So what if you failed this time? For most of the century you have done exceptionally well! Don't get angry over ONE failure!" Byrne face palmed with his metallic claw.

"One failure? ONE FAILURE?! What about the other failures I had during this whole century! Yeah, I've done well in some of my tests but the majority of my training was failed attempts to defeat Embrose AND Anjean! Not to mention that EMBROSE was the CAUSE OF ME LOSING MY HAND!"

"YOU brought that on yourself! You wanted to take on Embrose as your first task despite the warnings we gave you! You deliberately ignored our advice to try the easier challenges first!"

"But still, old fancy hair should have gone easier on me due to the fact I wasn't as skilled as I am now!"

"What were you expecting? A handshake? Plus you were STILL an adult back then. YOU should have known better to try the easier tasks first than to fight Embrose!" Byrne just scoffed at his infuriated mentor.

"I had completed many 'easy' tasks back then to build up my strength, so I would have thought that I had a chance!"

"You just said that you weren't as skilled as you are now! You also should have been mature enough to take our word for it instead of recklessly losing your arm! Also, the reason why we fought so hard against you because you ARE more skilled than before!" The tall Lokomo's eyes darkened and he looked like he was about to bust a vein.

"Fine! Just let me talk to Anjean about this. I want to discuss my frustrations with her!"

"If we lead you to her, will you calm down?" inquired Rael. The raging Byrne forcefully swallowed his visible rage, saving up his hidden temper for his putrid purple haired 'master'.

"Yes, but I don't want you two getting involved. I just want talk things out with her like a 'mature' adult." The two elderly beings looked at each other with uncertainty, and looked back at their now calm-looking apprentice.

"Right this way," ordered Steel. "Rael, I think it would be easier if I lead the way and you travel behind Byrne in case he gets any ideas." It was taking Byrne a lot of willpower not to lash out, but if he did they wouldn't let see Anjean at all. The 3 Lokomos roamed the tower until they came across the room where Anjean was. "Here we are."

"Thanks," whispered Byrne. "But please leave us to talk. I think both of you have helped me enough for one century." Both the elders frowned as Byrne entered the room. He instantly spotted Anjean.

"Byrne? You're ok! Listen, I'm sorry for the incident." Byrne cut in shortly.

"Anjean," He started. "After all the past failures and disappointments including this one, I've two words to say to you, I quit." At this point, Anjean was completely shocked.

"Quit? Are you really so petty to give up after all the progress you've made? After what you've achieved? Just because of one failure?" Byrne's inner anger was starting to escape.

"What I've 'achieved' was several failures that I don't even disserve, losing my arm, being shot done by the Spirits because of this 'one failure' and speaking of which, after all the crud that I've been through during my decades of training I STILL failed to defeat you in front of the Spirits!" screamed the tall figure.

"The point of failing is that you LEARN from your mistakes!" retaliated Anjean. "Also, losing your arm was your fault to begi…"

"I know, I know! I've heard it all already. But that does not excuse the epic fail that cost me my position as part of the tribe and my responsibility of power! My training didn't amount to that blasted test! Now to take that task again, I have to train for an extra period of time!"

"Then practice! That is the only way you're going to get better…"

"NO!" growled Byrne. "I'm not training with you or the other Lokomos again. I'm not spending another minute in this SPIRIT FORSAKEN TOWER! I practiced a whole dang century just to fail miserably and I SURE AS HECK AIN'T PRACTICING FOR YOU AND THOSE WRETCHED SPIRITS, AGAIN!" Anjean just glared at her former apprentice.

"Well," she began. I must say after all the progress you've made, I'm very disappointed with your decision."

"Yeah, well deal with it." The irritated Lokomo stomped out of room, basked in his immature and twisted mind.

Rael hopped out the way just in time to avoid being hit by the door, flung open by Byrne. Both the Lokomo's eyes watched Byrne as their former student disappeared. "What a waste of time he was. A spoilt man-child. I can't believe we ever took him in, could you, Rael?" Rael didn't respond whatsoever. All he could do was sadly stare at the exit.

That night, Byrne was seated on top of a rock somewhere in the Forest Realm. He was wolfing down a wholesome of fish he had caught and roasted. The one thing glued into his mind was the failed challenge and the feud he caused afterwards. It was not fair. He SHOULD have been able to succeed and fulfill his destiny of becoming part of the tribe. He had bested all the Lokomos before that, including Anjean! Yesterday, he managed to defeat her while they were practicing in the desert… however, she decided to end the fight after he dealt one of his attacks… and if the fight continued on he could have los… DOG GONE IT! Byrne swallowed his meal and booted the remaining fish into the lake. "Grrrr… looks like I didn't truly defeat Anjean in the first place." he grumbled to himself. Looking back, his initial and only goal was to become as powerful as the spirits, but later on, he began to warm up to the idea of becoming part of the tribe and even wanted to join them. But that was all in the past now. He hadn't accomplished any of the goals and never will. He then looked at his claw-shot. The more he thought about it, the Lokomos were right. It was his own fault that he lost his arm. He threw himself into battle without any second thought, let alone the power. Even if he had passed several challenges at the time, he still had yet to learn. He then remembered how the other Lokomos wanted him to succeed and cheered him on, despite having to fight him. They only battled him like that due to his improvements over the decades. It was part of the test. How stupid was he? A tear streamed down his cheek as he regretted the childish behavior he displayed. He could never go back now after that. He through a huge fit just because he wanted to become more powerful, that most likely would have never happened in the first pl… He suddenly burst into tears. He was such a selfish and pitiful Lokomo. No, he will not dare call himself a Lokomo. He was did not deserve it. He was laughable and pathetic. Byrne covered his eyes and sobbed uncontrollably.

Crunch

Byrne's head lit up like a candle as he heard a faint sound in the distance. Byrne's tears stopped flowing as he heard footsteps growing bigger and bigger. "Who's there?!" demanded Byrne. No answer. Byrne readied his battle stance just in case another brawl was in order. Could it be Anjean about to take him back? The steps rapidly sped up and Byrne's heart imitated the speed. Unexpectedly, demons leaped out of the woods and closed in on their much smaller target, Byrne! The frightened Lokomo launched all of his projectiles at them, but it was no use. His projectiles didn't seem to have any effect on them at all. A huge demonic fist came soaring towards Byrne, he hopped top of it and plunged his own metallic fist into the demons face. The damaged demon tripped over as another one grabbed Byrne in its fist, slammed him to the ground and performed a belly flop on him. Byrne felt the horrid impact of the large demon flatten him. Miraculously, the crushed Lokomo managed to lift the giant creature of him before the other creatures could dog pile on top of him. Now he was angry. Byrne hurdled towards one of the demons and threw a fit of rapid punches at the demons but they managed to block the attacks and batter him. Byrne quickly escaped the onslaught and kneed one of the demons in the jaw. However, the aftermath was disastrous, Byrne's knee hurt like fire. He was so preoccupied with the dire pain that the demons took the opportunity to dog-pile on top of him. Byrne struggled underneath the immense weight squishing him like a bug. He could snap like a twig any minute now. The tall Lokomo was helpless. How could he get out of this? Just then, he saw an projectile travel towards his face at rapid speed. Surprisingly, it lest no impact whatsoever… in fact… he felt… stronger? Byrne managed to force all the demons of him with one great push. He felt a powerful force inside him, one he had never experienced. The demons came back at full force, only to fell the wrath of the strengthened Lokomo. Byrne smashed his fist into one of the demons sending them flying 30 feet away! A demon tried to attack him from behind, but he swiftly turned around with a powerful kick knocking it into many other large demons. He then pummeled another one of the demons and sent that sorry overstuffed meat sack into several trees. Two monsters raced towards him at opposing directions, so he performed a split kick on them damaging their shins. It didn't even hurt to do the split! The remaining demons ran straight towards him. "Haven't had enough, huh?" Byrne mocked as he sent a huge energy ball, knocking them over like huge bowling pins. Yes! THIS is the power he always craved. THIS is the strength he desired. This is the mobility he always dreamed of having! Suddenly, a bright light surrounded him. Immediately, it disappeared and Byrne's new found strength vanished. "NO NO NO! WHAT HAPPENED?!" An annoying chuckle filled the air as two eyes appeared out of the darkness.

"I see you liked the power I had granted you." chuckled the mysterious person.

"Wh-who are you?" stuttered Byrne.

"Who am I you ask?" The figure revealed himself from the shadows. In an instant, Byrne recognized those horns sprouting out of the figures head. "I'm Master Cole." Byrne quickly fired his projectile at Cole, but the short demon deflected it at full speed, knocking Byrne over. Cole summoned his demons with a whistle and the recovered monsters surrounded him and Byrne.

"What do you want from me?" cried Byrne.

"Just a simple favor. I see you're familiar with my new and improved army of demons. You desire ultimate power am I right?"

"What's your point, demon?!"

"All I need from you is to help me resurrect Malladus." explained Cole.

"Why the heck would I help you of all people?! Especially since your goal is to RESURRECT MALLADUS!" snapped Byrne. He wasn't about to help this two horned, lowly excuse of a dem…

"I could grant you all the power you want." Oh great! Now he's taunting him! Byrne stood up with rage in his eyes, yet his posture was calm and powerful.

"Look, I rather die fighting you and your demon army all at once than assisting you in your twisted fantasy of reviving your king. No matter HOW much power you can grant me." Byrne once again entered his battle stance. Sheer bravery was written over him like a grave. Cole just smirked.

"Even if you became more powerful than the Spirits of Good themselves?" More powerful than the Spirits? Is that even possible?

"W-what are you saying?" Byrne questioned still in his battle pose. Cole shook his head in disappointment.

"You're not all that bright for someone so confident, are you?" Byrne raised his eyebrow at Cole. A good indicator that he was insulted. Cole tossed another energy ball into Byrne, leaving no damage. Byrne felt the wonderful feeling of power run through his veins again. While not as powerful as the first burst power he felt, it still felt amazing regardless. "Right now, the power you currently have is just as strong as the Spirits themselves. The power I gave you before however, was only half of Malladus power." NO WAY! Byrne thought to himself. Unfortunately, he felt the discomforting feeling of the wonderful power being taken away from him. "If you assist me to accomplish my goal, I'll convince Malladus to grant magic that would make just as powerful as him." Ultimate Power. Stronger than the Spirits. As powerful as Malladus. The prize of power instantly won him over. It was a deal. If he can't live up to the expectations of the Spirits, he might as well exceed their limits. An evil grin appeared behind his bandanna.

"Count me in." Cole laughed with absolute glee as they left the Forest Realm and travelled towards their destination. The Dark World. Byrne was more ready than ever to obtain the power he rightfully disserved. After all, it took him a whole century of failure to do so.

Longest. Chapter. Ever. Sadly, this is the last time we see Byrne and the other Lokomos in this Fanfiction. As for the Miniblins, they ventured away from Andre's Pirate Hideout and built a new one for themselves. I really hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for the feedback Shadowmaster. Anyway, review me and tell me what you think.