xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Boundary Forest, 9:06 a.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"I said it before and I'll say it again, stop looking at me like that!" Corvus shouted in a frustrated tone towards Vulp as the crow flew above the fox, both currently heading back in the direction of the campsite. "I get it, you don't want to be separated from the kid for too long, but he deserved it for starting that fight with the monkey boy last night. We have a job to do, and I don't think the deer, the rock lizard or those freaky crocodile-looking golems are getting very far without us searching with them." The crow continued, defending his decision from earlier.
Stopping for a brief moment, Vulp turned his head in the direction of Corvus with eyes of aggravation, causing Corvus to glare in annoyance at the ever-quiet fox Celestial Spirit.
"Will you knock it off with the sour attitude!?" Corvus exclaimed. "We were only gone for two hours. You can give the kid some space." The crow said.
In response to his statement, Vulp lifted up his tail and proceeded to use his powers to change its shape, turning it into a monstrous looking face and then using additional hairs on his tail to change into small arrows, pointing in various directions.
"I understand this is a monster filled forest! But the kid is with the monkey boy and that stupid cat pretending to be a tiger! He's completely fine! He doesn't need you sitting on his lap twenty-four seven!" Corvus shouted in response as Vulp showed his teeth, snarling at the crow Celestial Spirit. "Don't growl at me either!" The crow muttered in dissatisfaction.
Shifting his tail into another shape, Vulp used his fur manipulation powers to create a large arrow pointing back towards the campsite before turning his tail back to normal. With Corvus' eye twitching, Vulp turned away from his fellow Celestial Spirit and proceeded to continue walking in the direction of where Bernard and Anatoli were.
"You're even clingier with him than his busty brunette girlfriend!" Corvus thought as he trailed behind Vulp, the both of them now heading for the campsite. "What's going to happen when the day comes the kid gets other dogs?" The crow said in a casual manner as Vulp's eyes widened.
Turning around with an even angrier glare on his face than before, Vulp gritted his teeth with an immense fury, upset as the mental image of another dog sitting on Bernards lap appeared in his mind. Looking at the foxes raging state, Corvus rolled his eyes before flying ahead towards the camp, leaving Vulp behind to stew.
"Surprised the thought never crossed your- huh?" Corvus thought until noticing the empty camp, landing on one of the logs. "Oh, come on!" The crow exclaimed in annoyance as Vulp ran towards the camp upon hearing Corvus' loud voice. "Those two dickheads! I told them to stay put!" Corvus complained.
With a frantic look in his eyes, Vulp started to sniff around along the ground to begin searching for Bernard, Corvus turning his head in multiple directions to get an idea for where he and Anatoli were as well.
"Can't believe those two..." Corvus said as he folded his wings until Vulp shifted his attention in a specific direction. "Got an idea where the kid is?" The crow asked as Vulp ran off without him. "Hey!" Corvus exclaimed as he flew into the air to chase after his fellow Celestial Spirit.
Emerging from the trees was a small group of odd-looking dark green creatures the size of monkeys with T-rex-like bodies, large white eyes, pearly white teeth and twin antennas on their heads. With the creatures turning upon hearing something approaching, Vulp rushed past them with his tail in the shape of an axe blade through the woods, decapitating them as they were in his way with their headless bodies slumping to the ground.
"Jeez Vulp, settle down..." Corvus said quietly to himself as Vulp continued to search for Bernard. "Searching for some dumb treasure has now become a search for the kid... And Vulp seems like he's going to try and rack up a body count higher than the deer until we find him..." The crow thought with frustration.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Boundary Forest, 9:13 a.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In the cave with the knight armored red, white and mint green Vulcan was Bernard and Anatoli, standing next to the makeshift bed that had another Vulcan of a yellow, dark blue and black color scheme on it, stirring with sweat dripping down its face. Curious, Bernard reached into his back pocket and pulled out the small yet incomplete book he had of creatures in Fiore.
"Vulcans... Vulcans... Vulcans..." Bernard said aloud to himself.
"Try the "V" section." Anatoli muttered as the knight armored Vulcan looked at Bernard.
"I know already- ahhh, here." Bernard said until finally reaching the section on Vulcans. "Let's just hope the information in here isn't half-written like some of the other chapters." He thought. "Okay..." Bernard said as he turned in the direction of the knight armored Vulcan.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh, prince need something?" The knight armored Vulcan said with a raised eyebrow.
"The fact this thing thinks I am a prince might help me here." Bernard thought with a troubled expression. '"Mountain Vulcans consist of white, grey and dark grey colors in their bodies. Forest Vulcans, also known as "Gorians," consist of purple, green and dark green colors. In a location known as Rose Mountain, an all-female variant of Vulcans exist- damn it, none of this is useful." He said in frustration.
"Scary to think an all-female version of the Vulcan exists..." Anatoli commented.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh, knight not woman. Knight man." The knight armored Vulcan said.
"Aren't these things mostly male?" Anatoli questioned.
"Book says they're ninety percent male and ten percent female." Bernard said as he continued to look for information. "Oh, think I found it. "Vulcannon."' He said. '"The Vulcannon is a subspecies of the Vulcan race. Considered a slightly more magically inclined variant, the Vulcannon are able to perform the Take Over technique like its Mountain Vulcan sister species but contain more intelligence than its Forest Vulcan sister species as well."' Bernard said, reading from the book.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh, Vulcannon." The knight armored Vulcan said with a nod as he pointed at himself.
"What about this one?" Anatoli said as he looked at the sweating Vulcan on the makeshift bed.
"Hmmmmm... Color scheme matches a description of a Vulcan subspecies called a "Vulcanus."' Bernard said, looking at the information book once more. "Description is the same as the Vulcannon." He said before putting the book away.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh, Vulcanus." The knight armored Vulcan said with a nod.
"So... Who is this one?" Bernard asked.
"This one your mate or something?" Anatoli said as the knight armored Vulcan shook his head.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh, not mate. Fellow knight. Brother." The knight armored Vulcan said as he pointed at the other Vulcan and then at the armor and equipment on the other side of the room.
'"Knights?"' Bernard said with a raised eyebrow.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh, knight. Knight." The knight armored Vulcan said as he pointed at himself and then at his fellow Vulcan subspecies on the bed, Anatoli approaching Bernard and whispering into his ear.
"What the heck is going on here? They some cosplayers or something?" Anatoli questioned.
"Why would some ape monsters be cosplaying as knights?" Bernard replied in equal confusion. "And the "healing" thing he mentioned is still on my mind." He continued.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh!" The knight armored Vulcan muttered to get the wizard duos attention, prompting them to look up at him. "Heal! Heal!" He said, once again requesting the pair help his fellow Vulcan.
"Yeah, we got it. Just give us a moment." Anatoli said as he motioned for Bernard to talk with him away from the Vulcans. "...Got any ideas in your head? This is a bit of an unusual situation here." He asked with a quiet tone.
"Where do we start?" Bernard replied. "Only pet I got with me is Tavio. Best he's going to do is scream loud enough to cause everyone's ears to bleed." He said.
"Well, I can't do much, my ball is somewhere out there- oh!" Anatoli said until he came to a realization. "Those guys! The weirdos who hired us!" He exclaimed.
"Yeah?" Bernard said with a raised eyebrow.
"They were chasing the Vulcan after it took you. They're after the treasure and when I was knocked out of the air, they took my ball!" Anatoli explained as Bernard looked at him.
"...You know, I was getting a bit of an untrustworthy vibe from them." Bernard said, giving his opinion. "...You think Corvus and the others are going to be alright?" He asked.
"I don't know..." Anatoli replied. "First things first, how are we going to go about this?" He said as he turned in the direction of the Vulcans.
"Right... Gotta figure out what to do about this first..." Bernard replied as he and Anatoli walked back over. "Hey uhhhh... You got a name?" He asked towards the knight armored Vulcan.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh, knight." The knight armored Vulcan said as he pointed at himself.
"...Your name is "knight," incredible..." Bernard replied with sarcasm. "...And your friend?" He said as he pointed at the other Vulcan who opened one of his eyes, looking at Bernard and Anatoli. "Well, it's not dead..." Bernard thought, making an observation.
"...Knight, ooh-ooh-ooh." The sickly-looking Vulcan said.
"Also named "knight," classy." Bernard thought.
"Why is this one like this?" Anatoli asked towards the knight armored Vulcan.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh, days ago. Knight get attacked." The knight armored Vulcan said as he reached down towards his fellow Vulcan.
Grabbing the left wrist of the dark blue, black and yellow Vulcan, the knight armored Vulcan lifted up his arm to reveal leaves sticking to a large cut that was from the wrist to the forearm on the sickly-looking Vulcan, the leaves being used as bandages and falling off his arm. With expressions of disgust at the sight of the wound, Bernard and Anatoli looked at each other for a brief moment before Bernard quickly walked over and made the Vulcan place his sick companion's arm back down.
"Okay, that looked really bad." Bernard thought as he looked at the gorilla-like monster in armor.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh, arrow and daggers." The knight armored Vulcan said as Anatoli kneeled down to get an angle of the wound and winced at the cut.
"Ergh... That's not good to look at..." Anatoli commented. '"Arrows and daggers..."' He thought, reiterating what the knight armored Vulcan just told him.
"I wish Marlene was here, she'd be able to do more than either of us could." Bernard said as he took his beanie off and scratched his head. "Rate things look, we'd have to amputate his arm." He said after putting his beanie back on as the Vulcan on the makeshift bed opened his eyes wide.
"No, ooh-ooh-ooh!" The sickly-looking Vulcan exclaimed as he turned his head towards Bernard, startling him and Anatoli. "Need arms!" He continued.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh, other way." The knight armored Vulcan said towards the duo of Psycho Circus wizards. "Possess." He said as Bernard and Anatoli looked at the gorilla-like monster with confusion.
'"Possess?"' Bernard reiterated.
"...Wait, you mean Take Over?" Anatoli said as Bernard turned to look at him.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh!" The knight armored Vulcan said as he pointed at Anatoli. "Power. Heal." He said as shifted towards Bernard.
"I don't really know much about how Take Over works..." Bernard whispered towards Anatoli.
"Actually, I know a little about it." Anatoli said.
"Wow really...?" Bernard thought, mildly impressed by his friend knowing something he knew very little about.
"Basically, Take Over is a kind of like a combination between Possession Magic and Transformation Magic." Anatoli said. "There's a bit of weird way to describe it; picture someone with a strong amount of willpower being possessed by an animal or a monster and the person with the strong willpower gaining control of the form they're in." He explained. "But in the case of a monster like a Vulcan using Take Over, it's like the monster gains control of the person's body and started sapping energy from the person they've possessed, helps with survival and whatever." Anatoli continued.
"So, while I was in the void of this thing's Take Over, it was absorbing some of my energy." Bernard commented as he pointed at the knight armored Vulcan.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh, too much." The knight armored Vulcan said as he looked at Bernard.
"Hmmm?" Bernard muttered.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh, prince has large amount of magic. Very potent. Started hurting knight." The knight armored Vulcan said as Bernard bit his lip.
"I am actually getting annoyed by the fact you are just calling yourself "knight."' Bernard thought.
"Well, he makes a point, Bernie." Anatoli said as Bernard shifted his eyes towards him. "You have disturbing high amounts of magical energy." He said as Bernard made a bothered expression.
"Doesn't help I have this in my chest counting as an additional "magic container."' Bernard said as he lifted his shirt to reveal his Lacrima pacemaker.
As Bernard showed off the Lacrima sticking out of the area where his heart was, the sickly-looking Vulcan stared at Bernard's chest with intrigue as he lifted his head slightly. In similar interest, the knight armored Vulcan bent forward and stuck its large head towards Bernards chest.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh, treasure in prince body?" The knight Vulcan said as the sickly-looking Vulcan raised an eyebrow.
"Huh?" Bernard muttered in confusion until he turned his head in the direction of the treasure chest with the elemental Lacrima. "Oh, no. This is my pacemaker. It keeps me from suffering issues with my heart." He explained as he put his shirt down.
"Bernie has a nice collection of "bodyguards" because of that thing." Anatoli said while making air quotes with both of his hands.
"I wouldn't call them "bodyguards." Bernard said while squinting. "I'm more like Zaphkiel's handler and Tavio's jailer." He said towards Anatoli, the knight armored Vulcan opening his eyes in Bernard's direction. "Corvus, Vulp and Baurs? I don't know." Bernard said with a shrug as the sickly-looking Vulcan started staring at Bernard.
"What about the slime- uh..." Anatoli said until realizing he mentioned Formosa, Bernard's eyes twitching violently and becoming upset by the painful reminder of one of his dead pets.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh, prince... Has servants?" The knight armored Vulcan said towards Bernard.
"Eh, I wouldn't call them that either- wah?!" Bernard said to argue until he noticed the sickly-looking Vulcan was reaching towards him to try and grab him with its cut arm. "Whoa! Whoa!" He said as he backed up.
"Arguh! Guh!" The sickly-looking Vulcan grunted as he reached out to grab Bernard, falling out of the bed onto the ground. "Take Over, ooh-ooh-ooh!" He said with pain in his voice.
"Hey! Hey!" Anatoli exclaimed as he quickly rushed towards the sickly-looking Vulcan and wrapped his arms around the massive arm of the dark blue, black and yellow Vulcan, being careful as to not touch the cut.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh, knight! Stop! No hurt!" The knight armored Vulcan said as he put his hands on his fellow Vulcans shoulders. "Prince choice." He said as Bernard looked on, a thought forming in his head.
"Take-... Okay, I think I'm starting to get it."' Bernard said.
'"Get" what?" Anatoli questioned as the knight armored Vulcan put his companion's arm over his shoulder to help him to his feet.
"I think I might be able to "heal" this Vulcan by letting it use Take Over on me." Bernard said with an unsure tone.
"Huh?" Anatoli replied. "How'd you figure that one out?" He asked.
"Well, Take Over absorbs energy for the creature when its possessing something... If the Vulcan uses it on me, and gets access to my energy, I'm assuming that would speed up its healing process? That "survival" thing you mentioned?" Bernard said with a troubled face. "I'm just speculating though..." He thought.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh! Smart! Prince very smart!" The knight armored Vulcan said, nodding his head repeatedly.
"Urgh... Ooh-ooh-ooh..." The sickly-looking Vulcan muttered in pain as Anatoli and Bernard looked at the cut on his arm again, blood dripping from it.
"Uh... Hold on. Bernie, do you really think you should be doing that? If they need someone to possess to get energy from to heal this thing... I could do it." Anatoli said, making a suggestion. "I'm the more in shape too." He thought.
"True... Doesn't necessarily have to be me being the one to be possessed but..." Bernard thought as he scratched his face. "Well... It's not a competition but... Between you and me, who has more magical power to spare?" He said as he pointed at his chest.
"Hmmmm..." Anatoli grumbled as he locked eyes with Bernard.
"Formosa used to leech magic off my pacemaker when it lived in me. It was doing that every day. Now, I'm probably overcharged or something..." Bernard said, making assumptions. "If anything, if the Vulcan leeches off me, it will probably heal in a much shorter amount of time than if he did it to you." He continued while poking against his pacemaker as Anatoli scratched his neck.
"...Yeah... You have more magical power than I do..." Anatoli said while looking towards the ground as the knight armored Vulcan placed his fellow Vulcan down on the makeshift bed, the sickly-looking gorilla monster sitting down with his back arched forward slightly with sweat continuing to drip off his body.
"Oh no, he's down again..." Bernard thought as he noticed Anatoli's upset demeanor. "Whatever conversations we had earlier has become completely-... Wait a minute... Round..." He thought while pressing his finger against his pacemaker until an idea was beginning to form in his head, turning around in the direction of the open chest with the elemental Lacrima orbs inside it. "Hey. You." Bernard said.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh?" The knight armored Vulcan said while pointing at himself.
"You said you'd trade the treasure- I mean, these Lacrima if I healed your fellow Vulcan, correct?" Bernard said as he looked at the gorilla-like monster.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh, knight. Knight." The knight armored Vulcan said as he pointed at himself and then at his fellow Vulcan.
"So... Okay then, sure. I'll let him use Take Over on me to heal in exchange for the Lacrima for my friend here." Bernard said, negotiating terms.
"Dude..." Anatoli said as he approached his fellow Psycho Circus wizard. "What are you thinking?" He asked.
In response to Anatoli's question, Bernard walked over to the treasure chest and began to look at the Lacrima. Reaching down, Bernard grabbed the Lacrima that had a fireball symbol on it and lightly tossed it to Anatoli, the chimp-like man catching it.
"Anatoli, try using that." Bernard said, making a suggestion.
"For what?" Anatoli questioned.
"Channel your magical energy. You need something round like a ball typically, right? See what happens." Bernard said as Anatoli raised an eyebrow.
Giving it a shot, Anatoli closed his eyes and begun to charge up his power, transferring it into the Lacrima in the palm of his hand as a grey colored wind enveloped the orb, floating into the air at eye level. Opening his eyes, the Lacrima began to glow with a hot energy as the wind around the Lacrima turned from grey to red.
"Who-whoa." Anatoli said as he looked at the floating Lacrima, walking in a circle around it. "He-hey Bernie, throw me another one. I just had an idea." He asked as he grabbed the Lacrima out of the air.
"Great minds think alike... Here." Bernard said with a smile as he grabbed two more of the orbs, one with a symbol for raindrops and the other with the symbol of a melting letter "R."
Channeling his magic once again, the three Lacrima in his hands begun to float with the melting "R" orb glowing with a green wind around it, the raindrop one glowing with a blue wind and the fireball one glowing with a red wind again. Cracking his knuckles, Anatoli grabbed the three Lacrima out of the air and begun to juggle them as they continued to glow with the same color scheme, moving them back and forth between his hands.
"Ha! Ho! Ha!" Anatoli muttered with a jovial tone. "I've practiced juggling as a hobby before, but I never thought about adding more balls to what I can already do! This is awesome!" He thought, feeling like he has gained some insight that could help improve his skills.
"Now! Let them back into the air and then throw!" Bernard said as he clapped his hands and pointed at a wall.
Stopping his juggling and letting them float back into the air, Anatoli used his control over the wind around the Lacrima to send the burning orb flying towards the wall, a small firebomb-like explosion happening on impact as Bernard, Anatoli and the Vulcan's put their arms up to shield themselves from the blast.
"Wahaha!" Anatoli exclaimed as the orb floated back over to him, grabbing it with his hand.
"Awesome!" Bernard said with a hand raised for a high five. "I don't think the issue was him being weak, I just think he need more to try out. These Lacrima might just be what he needed." He thought.
"Yeah!" Anatoli said as he walked over with the Lacrima floating around him, high fiving Bernard in celebration. "Dude, how'd you come up with this idea?" He said with a delighted tone as he dispelled the colored wind around the Lacrima, holding the three orbs in his hands.
"Back when we were at the camp, you probably noticed I started writing down an idea." Bernard said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his small idea book. "For once, I wasn't writing down circus acts. I was trying to come up with a way for you to gain more strength since you said that you were feeling less confident about that." He said as Anatoli's eyes widened.
"...Was this the idea?" Anatoli questioned.
"Sorta. I thought about the deal those treasure hunters gave us with splitting the Lacrima. Figured you keeping the Lacrima might be what you needed..." Bernard said, voicing his opinion. "Wasn't expected being kidnapped by gorilla monsters and you getting all six of the Lacrima, but I digress..." He thought, noting that things didn't go exactly as he pictured mentally.
"Let me try the other-" Anatoli said with interest before overhearing the sickly-looking Vulcan make a noise.
"Orugh!" The sickly-looking Vulcan groaned in pain as Bernard and Anatoli looked at the gorilla-like creature.
"Oh crap, sorry!" Bernard muttered. "We got distracted..." He thought with embarrassment.
"Uh, Bernie. Time to help them." Anatoli said. "Though, thanks for the Lacrima..." He thought as he placed the Lacrima back in the treasure chest.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh, prince help knight fix knight, now?" The knight armored Vulcan muttered.
"Yes, but... Okay first, major pet peeve I want to fix." Bernard said as Anatoli and the Vulcan's made confused and surprised faces. "You both need names. I am not going to be mentally okay if you guys keep referring to yourselves as "Knight One" and "Knight Two."' He said, complaining about something rather frivolous.
"...Is this really where you want to put the angry energy?" Anatoli thought, exasperated by his friend's specific concern.
"Name, ooh-ooh-ooh?" The sickly-looking Vulcan muttered with an interested tone.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh, name not "knight" no more?" The armor wearing Vulcan said with a raised eyebrow.
"They're both somewhat similar to apes or gorillas so... I should give them something relative. But I shouldn't pick a name for them that's not something they'd be against..." Bernard thought as he placed his hand on his chin, scanning the small cave space for creativity until an idea formed in his head upon looking at the helmets.
"This should be good..." Anatoli thought while folding his arms.
"How about... You can be "Sir... Simian."' Bernard said with a confident tone as he pointed at the red, white and mint green Vulcan. "And you can be called "Sir Simious."' He said, pointing at the dark blue, yellow and black fur. "Man, I am on a roll today with the creativity!" Bernard thought, patting himself on the back as he looked away.
"...He looks like he's gloating internally." Anatoli thought with a slightly judgmental face.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh, Simian..." Sir Simian said as he looked at Bernard.
"Simious, ooh-ooh- urgh..." Sir Simious said until grunting in pain once more.
Seeing this, Bernard stepped forward and placed his hand on the shoulder of the sickly Vulcanus. Using the strength it had left, Sir Simious used the possession spell Take Over to cause Bernard to turn into particles, disappearing.
"Hey, just remember to let him out when you're healed." Anatoli said with a glare as he pointed at Sir Simious.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh, Sir Simian will help knight." Sir Simian said as he put his arm on Sir Simious and helped him lay down on the makeshift bed, the injured Vulcanus lifting his arm with the gruesome cut.
Channeling the energy from Bernard within him, Sir Simious begun to absorb magic from him with the gorilla-like monster's body glowing with a white aura. Suddenly, the Vulcanus winced in a sudden jolt as the power he was gaining from the beanie sporting Psycho Circus wizard he was possessing was overwhelming his body before raising his sliced open arm even higher into the air. Looking on, Anatoli and Sir Simian watched as the cut on the Vulcanus' body was sealing up and Sir Simious was beginning to breathe slowly.
"Haaa... Haaaa..." Sir Simious muttered as he sat up, shifting his legs off the makeshift bed and then looking at the others in the cave. "I'm... Good... Ooh-ooh-ooh." He said as Sir Simian smiled.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh! Brother fine!" Sir Simian said with both of his fists raised.
"Whoa..." Anatoli said. "Vulcans are insane if they can heal this quickly while possessing someone..." He thought, mildly impressed as the yellow, dark blue and black Vulcanus stood up and started to stretch.
"...Better knight, ooh-ooh-ooh." Sir Simious said about himself.
"Strong, ooh-ooh-ooh." Sir Simian said, the red, white and mint green Vulcannon smiling at his brother's improved state.
"Ahem..." Anatoli coughed, catching the two Vulcan's attention. '"Free prince now, ooh-ooh-ooh?"' He said, mimicking the Vulcans broken speech patterns.
"Prince saying to be let out, ooh-ooh-ooh." Sir Simious said, hearing Bernards consciousness within him as he put his hand on his abdomen.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh, do it." Sir Simian said with a serious look in his eyes towards Sir Simious who nodded in response.
Reaching out his hand, Sir Simious' body glowed with a white aura as Bernard materialized from particles from the palm of his hand. Concerned, Bernard placed his hands on his own body to make sure all of his body parts were there and then checking if his beanie was still on his head before sighing with relief.
"Sweet relief..." Bernard said with a content tone.
"How you feel?" Anatoli questioned. "You were getting drained by a Vulcan, can't be something to just walk away from..." He thought with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm... Alright actually..." Bernard said, not feeling as tired as he expected as the Vulcans looked down at Bernard. "You okay too?" He asked towards Sir Simious.
"Better, thanks to generosity of prince, ooh-ooh-ooh." Sir Simious replied, bowing his head at Bernard towards him.
"Guess I should be grateful they both didn't need energy. Probably would end up worse than I am now. All I gave was from my own magic, nothing from the pacemaker... Also, the knight routine is getting kinda weird for me..." Bernard thought.
"Lucky one of us has a crapload of power saved up within them." Anatoli thought as he walked over to the rest of the elemental Lacrima. "Guess we're done here. Bernie, let's get moving." He said, catching Bernards attention.
"Yeah, we got to get your ball and find my pets... And maybe run into some treasure hunters." Bernard said as he and Anatoli moved towards the sealed entrance to the cave, the pair of Vulcans still staring at Bernard. "Excuse me but, you think you could move this?" He asked as Sir Simian nodded.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh, yes." Sir Simian said as he walked over, answering Bernards request by pushing the boulder in the front of the cave entrance slightly to allow the Psycho Circus duo to slip through.
"Thanks for not killing us like regular Vulcan's would!" Anatoli muttered as he generated wind around the Lacrima orbs, each now floating around him with a different colored wind floating them.
"Yeah, what he said!" Bernard said as he and Anatoli ran into the woods, leaving behind the pair of Vulcans in the cave as Sir Simian fully moved the boulder.
"...Prince give names. Knighted, ooh-ooh-ooh." Sir Simian said as he turned towards his Vulcanus brother, who had walked over to the leftover armor in the cave.
Putting on a metal armor skirt, a brown belt-like harness diagonally across his massive body with a shoulder guard on his right shoulder, leather arm guards and a helmet, Sir Simious picked up the large blue and yellow shield and put it on his right arm. Reaching downward, the Vulcanus picked up the long single sided axe with a mint green blade, as well as Sir Simian's helmet, and walked over to his Vulcannon companion, handing them both to him.
"Sir Simious want revenge. Prince mention "bodyguards," ooh-ooh-ooh." Sir Simious said with serious eyes.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh, after attackers? Also, prince?" Sir Simian replied.
"After attackers, owe prince, ooh-ooh-ooh." Sir Simious said towards his fellow knight Vulcan. "Prince need knights. Serve." He said as he walked past Sir Simian and out of the cave.
"...Ooh-ooh-ooh, prince need knights." Sir Simian said as he placed his helmet on, smiling underneath. "Serve prince after attackers." He said as he caught up with Sir Simious, the pair of Vulcans walking in the direction of where Bernard and Anatoli went.
I need to get some bodyguards; this gig is keeping me up at night over whether or not I'm really safe in the booth. I have a very important job recapping this story at the very end and being responsible for everyone getting a bit of- hold on, there's a knock at the door... Huh, what's this? A large green pinecone? Who left this- whoa! AAAHHHHH! *explosion*
Author's Note: (If that last bit went over your head, I'll say it more plainly... After the next chapter of Menagerie II, we'll be taking a break for a bit... Because I think there's a little blind psychic girl that's wandering around a fossil festival needing to be addressed.)