Author's note 1:

So, after the first fight of our protagonist, it's time for another introductory chapter!

There's also a surprise here.

San! You like surprises?

Author-San: Only good surprises. And this chapter's short length qualifies as one.

Sheesh! Someone's grumpy.

We'll be borrowing a concept from another story I've cited multiple times (duh).

"D" for days, "M" for months, "Y" for years.

Also, the SJ in the title means "Samuel's Journey", for multiple characters, aye?

Enjoy!

"You think he'll wake up eventually?"

"I'm sure of it. He's still breathing."

"Give him some space, you two! Skar King has requested a personal audience with the human. Yarath curse me if I fail a direct order from his majesty!"

Samuel's eyes snapped open.

Adrenaline surging through the Homo Sapiens, he leapt into a mad sprint to his feet, his clenched fists facing outwards in an offensive stance. Samuel's eyes frantically darted left and right, searching for additional ape soldiers to confront.

"Samuel! Samuel, calm down!"

Shimo?

The she-ape had raised the palms of her furred hands in an attempt to pacify the agitated human. A soft whine accompanied her efforts, which was released by no one other than Samuel's mutt himself, standing beside the female.

Bullet padded towards his master at a leisurely pace, inclining his head down and licking his chops multiple times.

The human extended an open palm and let the animal lick it. He then noticed he wasn't wearing the hood of his poncho, and that freed the rest of his face for all to see. In fact, it wasn't a surprise when all of Kodak's primates began a throughrouly investigation of his exposed visage.

Samuel felt... naked.

He raised his hood again and approached the she-ape. "Sorry, sorry..." He mumbled, quickly glancing at the mutt rubbing against his leg. "What the fuck happened? Where are the Followers?"

"You did it." She answered. "You bought enough time for Boris to reach us. The Followers did not expect our ambush and suffered great losses."

"Where's... where's Zieros?"

Shimo's shoulders slumped. "They brought him into Kodak. I chose to stay here to monitor you once you awakened. We figured finding familiar faces would aid you in your recovery."

Faces... as in plural.

Analyzing Kodak's troops, Samuel spotted Kalop and Omaib amongst the armoured guards. They stood out the most with their lighter gear. The rest of the city's forces, which consisted of properly trained professionals, wore heavy armour and brandished the best instruments of death any blacksmith could ever hope to craft. And they were taller too! They towered over the majority of the expedition.

These were true warriors, hardened by years of conflict. Their eyes followed Samuel's every move, bodies tensed but relaxed, ready to take action if needed. Most likely, they had been given a brief history over Samuel's origins and tasked with monitoring him.

He found their metal helmets to be cute...

"Where's Boris?"

Kalop stepped forward, coughing. "By the shack, overseeing our new prisoners and getting acquainted with a lost brethren."

A lost brethren?

He followed the primates, thoughts mulling over the implications behind Kalop's words. Samuel looked down at his hands, squeezing them. He had fought against those savages and almost came up on top, although he was aware of luck playing an important role in the encounter.

He was aware of how easily Kahlua threw him into the lake.

"You imbecile! How much blood will we have to spill before you recognize your mad conquest?!"

"It's not madness, Boris. We were forced in this position. Dragons must die, all of them."

The hell?

About fifteen prisoners lay onto their knees, arms tied behind their backs, lined up horizontally, glaring at their captors. Boris was confronting none other than Kahlua himself, baring his teeth at the grinning primate.

"Forced? FORCED?!" The Chieftain thundered. "We have a choice, all of us do! We are trying to end this conflict while you continue spurring it with your barbaric endeavours! I am tired of facing Dragons, don't you want this suffering to cease?"

Kahlua innocently cocked his head. "Of course I do. The complete destruction of the scalies is - and always has been - our ultimate goal. It is the will of both Yarath, our creator, and our master, Male-"

The brute didn't have time to finish his sentence, for Boris had struck him with a powerful fist. "Don't you dare defile this place with that wretched name." He hissed. "We're not servants, not anymore." Unrest from Boris' men confirmed his words, screeching or growling at Kahlua's preposterous claim.

Such frustration rippled throughout the entire crowd, uniting so many primates under one, single wish.

"Heresy!"

"Genocide an entire race? By Yarath!"

"Rip his tongue out! Our soil cannot be grazed by such filtness!"

"No, gauge his eyes out! He cannot walk the earth with his twisted vision of Yarath's plans!"

"My brother died fighting his troops! I want justice!"

"Death!"

"Death!"

"DEATH!"

Boris slammed his hammer onto the ground, letting the discharging fire engulf his proximities. "SILENCE!" He bellowed, eyes frantically darting between each primate under his command, daring anyone to compromise a direct order. Slowly, the flames returned inside of his weapon, making it glint with malicious intent.

Kahlua's shoulders inched up and down, before a proper laugh reverberated from his throat. "Oh! Is that what your 'civilized' city has in mind for our kind? Sentiment seems to not have changed since the Great Schism. I can see it in you..."

Boris merely stared at him, blinking every once in a while.

"That inner desire to cause destruction, to satisfy the thirst of your buried, true self, whose influence can easily breach into your heart." The Chieftain of the Followers hummed. "How long can you suppress your desire, Boris? We are apes. You'd do well to remember that."

"Boris?" Samuel finally asked, stepping forward.

The Chieftain of Kodak turned to address whoever had spoken his name, his gaze turning soft as soon as he realized who his interlocutor was.

"Samuel..." He began. "I see you are recuperating. Come, a warrior should always celebrate his victories." He glanced at Kahlua for a moment. "It's tradition."

Samuel trekked towards the brute, as requested. He frowned at the curious look sent his way that plastered Kahlua's entire face. Stopping between the two apes, the security guard's attention shifted between them, not knowing how to proceed.

"I see you are still alive." Kahlua finally commented, analyzing him from head to toe. "Mmmh, for a seemingly weak species, you certainly fought well against my soldiers. Where does your strength come from? Is it sorcery? Or extensive training? Your bone structure is pathetic."

"There's more than meets the eye from my species." The human hesitantly responded. "However, we have a saying: 'A magician never reveals their secrets.'"

"Ah, a peculiar statement. I'll make sure to remember it."

The security guard turned to address Boris. "Why do I feel you two share a close history?"

Kahlua snorted, while Boris looked away.

"He's my brother..."

He almost threw up on the spot.

"Y-you're kidding, right?" Samuel belched, bringing a fist to his mouth as nausea sent his world spinning. Kalop and Omaib let their weapons fall and rushed to his sides, stabilizing him by positioning themselves under his shoulders.

The honourable Chieftain of Kodak couldn't be the brother of the monster that had attempted to incinerate an entire colony of innocent dragonflies, right?

Kahlua beat Boris by half a second.

"As much as it pains me to witness what has become of the brother I once respected, the Followers have precise criteria to meet under Lord Ulfric's rule. If Boris' death is a requirement for the total victory of our species, so be it."

"You're crazy!" Samuel exclaimed.

"I never said I was innocent. Contrary to what the traitors of Kodak have chosen, we indulge in our instincts. It is our nature, why should we change it?"

"My species has also fought one another in countless wars since our creation." The human countered, making his stand. "It took what we call a 'World War' to decrease their numbers."

Technically, it had taken two of them, but Samuel wanted to simplify his argument.

"Whatever conflict plagued your lands is meaningless to me, human. Although, I'm curious about your contraption. How does it work? It's a marvelous technological achievement."

His gun...

His gun!

The human was started to hyperventilate. Sensing his master's discomfort and emotions, Bullet barked both at him and Boris, spinning in circles. The threat of monkeys discovering modern technology in a medieval period had completely left his mind, and now it was re-surfacing in full strength.

"Calm down, Samuel."

He felt a comforting, furred hand posing itself onto his shoulder. Samuel looked to his right and found the bulking primate holding something in his other appendage. The human snapped out of his daze and snatched the P-90 from the ape's clutches.

"We have also collected the rest of your supplies into this satchel."

He accepted the offered object and buried his hand into its insides. Everything seems to be here. After one last check, Samuel transferred the supplies into his own pockets.

"That look on your face..."

Kahlua had watched how intensively Samuel handled the objects.

"You were so afraid of us stealing your boom-stick, almost as if it's just one powerful weapon amongst many. Your species is more advanced than what your little presence demonstrates, right?"

The apes were all staring at him, now. Samuel pinched his eyes shut and inhaled.

"Fuck you."

The Chieftain cocked his head. "What does that even mean? For the sake of our interactions, I'll consider it an insult. So, fak you too."

He had to admit, he almost laughed at the way Kahlua raped the pronunciation. He turned to Boris and nudged his chin at the savage ape. "So, is he your prisoner of war, now? By the way, where the hell is Flash? I don't see dragonflies around here."

"Flash has reached Kodak's entrance to order materials. It was rather unfortunate that the small fire destroyed a portion of his colony. Still, our engineers have kept the designs and should be able to fix what damage has been dealt. No casualties have been registered. We got to them in time."

Samuel nodded, showing he was following.

"As for your original question? Yes, they are. We cannot just let them go, or they would point Kodak's location on their maps and recruit men for an all-out assault. The best course of action is to detain them until further notice."

Kahlua snorted. "Make sure to select the proper instruments for our torture sessions. It must hurt." He sent a toothy grin Boris' way. "You know we would extend the courtesy to you, were the roles reversed."

Ignoring the comment, Boris' lips twitched up. "I had hoped this invite would be delivered under better circumstances. Nonetheless, it's my pleasure to extend a personal invite from our King, Skar, to you, human. He craves an audience... and hopes to establish a friendly relationship with your kind."

Well, at least one objective was out of the way. Once he gained Skar King's trust, he could cooperate with the apes to locate the survivors of the experiment and get home. If he was lucky, a few scientists would indeed be included among their ranks, and he'll help them in any way he can. Whatever material or resource they'd require, he'd acquire.

He was going home, whatever the cost.

Boris lifted his hammer high in the air. "Make haste! It is time for us to return home. So, gather your weapons, my warriors! Skar King is calling us back."

They created an Indian-like line, trekking forward into the forest. The prisoners were shoved a few times to convince them to follow the group, while Kahlua wordlessly obeyed. Perhaps he complied because of the four pretorian guards circling him, or simply because of his strategic plan.

Samuel leaned closer to Boris, lowering his volume onto a whisper. "Hey, uh, I wanted to ask something. Why does Kahlua have more brain cells than the rest of the Followers?"

The Chieftain blinked, not taking his gaze off the path. "What are brain cells?"

Oh, fuuuuck.

"Uhm, forget that. So, why does Kahlua seem more intelligent than his men?"

"The simplest of answers? Hypocrisy. My brother has forsaken his sanity in favour of letting his barbaric instincts take the reins." He paused. "Do you know why we seem more cultured than the Followers? Why we rationalize the world instead of being led by instincts?"

"No."

"Skar has built institutions to promote literacy. We are taught history, art, our own language, and maths. In just three years, our King has raised the rate of prosperity in this particular group by sixty-five per cent. Overall, Skar's plan was to teach our troops and the younglings. The adults are still attending to classes, so you may witness a disparity between the older and the younger generations."

Ah, the process of teaching the population the importance of reading and writing! Everyone had the right to gain access to these notorious abilities in his society, with discerned results around the world. Knowledge was power, no matter the circumstances; that's how Samuel's species rose to the top of the food chain.

He recalled weekends spent with Katherine, listening to a certain subject for an exam she was diligently preparing. She had faced a block when it came to statistics regarding the growth of alphabetism.

Samuel had never seen how beautiful she was 'till then...

"Y-you were saying about Kahlua?"

"Mmmh? Oh, right." Boris rested his sledgehammer against his shoulder, stroking the protruded fur onto his chin as if it was human beard. "He studied. He studied a lot. The Followers are pretty conservative about their idea of ape society. It surprises me how long they allowed him to serve in their ranks." The brute's head hung low, disappointment radiating from his hardened features. "Kahlua is so far gone he doesn't realize that Ulfric might cast him out in any given moment. I... I hope Skar will give him a chance."

"You think he can change?" The human asked.

"Possibly. I imagine direct exposure to our philosophy will aid him in surviving the truth."

They hopped over a hole in the ground.

"I'm not sure if giving a chance to that psycho would be the right move. He almost killed me two times."

Boris looked at the man, smirking lightly.

"Your concern is noted, human."

That was the most I-don't-give-a-shit expression the animal could ever show.

Yeah, yeah. Fuck off, Boris.

"The wood will require lots of ropes..."

That was Flash's voice.

"...and metal! Brom's house was a mix. All that remains now is hot metal. Not exactly comfortable."

"Anything else?" A new voice added, carrying a French accent.

"That should be all."

"Très bien! I'll notify our chief engineer and come back in two days. For now, house the displaced into the surviving dwellings."

Samuel's jaw comically hung open, almost resembling the funny results of cartoonish intervention. He couldn't comprehend the scenario unfolding before him, not matter how much he processed it.

Flash's eyes snapped to him, accompanied by Nina's as well. "Samuel!" The dragonfly basically threw himself at him. "How are you? Is everything alright?"

Those tiny hands roamed onto his cheeks, searching for wounds or, in general, for any form of bodily harm. This display of affection from Flash had been unpredictable, especially as Samuel was a total stranger and an alien species to the Dragon Realms.

Nonetheless, the human let the dragonfly end his inspection before answering, swallowing saliva.

"I'm fine. I've almost drowned, but I'm otherwise unharmed."

"I guess the rumors about your abilities were true, mmmh?"

"Yeah..." The security guard exhaled. "Increased strength and stronger bones. I can withstand enormous amounts of damage." He was muttering by then, but he couldn't help it.

All these features, coupled with his Extra-Sensory Perception.

Samuel O'Connell was, for the lack of a better term, unbreakable.

However, it wasn't just his body that retained its functionalities, since his clothes had also survived the encounter. In fact, not a single hole adorned the fabric of his raincoat, while a few red-ish stains cemented his fight as factual, and not a product of his imagination.

"Ah, so this is the human you've been praising, oui?" The new character stepped forward, lifting his tiny paw. "A pleasure to meet you! I'm Grimlock. Et vous êtes?"

It was an exponent of that unpronounceable species prospering beneath the vulcano and resembling moles from Samuel's universe. The human clutched onto the appendage and carefully nudged it up and down. He was so fucking confused at the hat with candles on it.

"Uhm, you must be a..."

"A Manweersmall, yes! I know we are far from Munitions Forge, but your confusion shall be cleared when Skar explains our relationship." The cute mole-like creature grabbed a sheet of paper from his pockets and waved it. "I have a lot of paperwork to do, materials to order, and apes to coordinate as we repair the damage inflicted onto Flash's colony. Ta-ta!"

With that, the Manweersmall reared his small legs down, calibrated his weight, and jumped, burying himself into the dirt. Grime and dust flew about as the animal burrowed away.

The human lifted a hand, palm facing out. "W-wait!"

Boris cackled at the human's expense. "Oh, Grimlock has never been the chattiest of Manweersmalls. The guy's focus is work, work, and again, work. A few voices theorize he doesn't even sleep at night. Personally? A bunch of crap. He's one of the main Manweersmalls vouching for the continuation of our alliance."

Temporarily ignoring the spoken curse, Samuel scratched the back of his head.

"You're... allied with them too?"

"Yes. There is great respect between Skar and Mole-Yair. The old Manweersmall formulated the conditions for our union to shape. We happily divide the mountain between our two species."

Behind them, Kahlua growled. "How far have you fallen? They are insects, only capable of serving us as cheap labour. They should bow before us."

One of the pretorians hit him on the stomach with the handle of his sword, making the brute tumble down his knees. "Silence, you traitor!" He had hissed, grinding his teeth together.

"Samuel? I think you are searching for this."

The human turned to address Nina, and his eyes widened at the sight of the dragon egg being carried by her. He immediately holstered his gun and wrapped his arms around the object, sighing in relief as he took the emanated warmth in.

"Thanks." He said to the female dragonfly, who reciprocated his smile.

"Nina and I need to head back to our village." Flash offered one last nod, full of respect for the human before him. "I think you'll appreciate Kodak's layout. Also, good luck with Skar! He may be wise, but he's still a young ape." The dragonfly flew to his shoulder, placing a hand on it. "Thanks, for everything you did for us."

"I'm a guard. I was just doing my duty."

The group watched the dragonflies retreat into the forest, the light produced by their bodies dissipating as the ever-growing distance separated them. Samuel knew they would fine...

...because the vision he received by Flash's touch deemed so.

He looked down at the egg and back up at Boris. "So, where is Kodak's entrance?" He asked, shifting his weight from one foot to another as he balanced himself. Did the egg get heavier?

"Follow me."

Not to say that he was expecting the entrance to be located in plain sight. But why did Boris stop in front of a giant rock? The brute was basically ogling the barrier with great interest.

Unless... it's a visual trick.

He ambled to the Chieftain's side. "It's behind this rock, isn't it?"

"Indeed." Boris gestured at the barrier, speaking to his troops. "You know what to do!"

Five pretorians switched their weapons from sharp, glinting swords and spears to clubs, approaching the rock. They raised them in unison and...

BANG! BANG! BANG!

They pounded three times onto its surface, with an interval of one second between each attempt.

At first, once they had finished, nothing happened. The human was about to question the Chieftain, wondering what the objective behind his succinct instructions was.

However, the rock began moving, rolling to their left. Samuel stared in shock at the two massive apes pushing the barrier out of the way, sporting muscles every body builder in his world would absolutely envy. A small primate accompanied the two, standing aside to let his compatriots finish the manual work.

"That's Heimdall." Boris supplied, sensing the human's burning inquiry. "His ears have been trained all this time. He can detect our strikes and analyze the time frame. That's our password."

Samuel frowned. "You use the vibrations induced by your clubs to mark your presence... and you calculate an appropriate interval to craft an audible password. Three strikes for three seconds of delay, one between each individual strike. Heimdall puts his ear onto the surface to hear them."

"Correct!" The Chieftain praised the human. "It is... an archaic solution. Certainly not as advanced as what the Dragons can accomplish through the usage of their magic. Nonetheless, it's effective and safe."

The motion reminded Samuel too much of Jesus' resurrection. Which was ironic, considering his arrival and role in saving Flash's colony from certain destruction.

But a man like Samuel would never be a hero...

He didn't deserve it.

Another push to Kahlua's back guided the traitorous brute and his troops into the tunnel. Samuel took a moment to stare at Heimdall, noticing his young age and disproportion in comparison to his massive guards. The human would consider the ape to be around fifteen years old in human years, which meant Kodak was risking the life of a kid for a task of immense importance.

Heimdall bobbed his head as Samuel passed, and the human reciprocated the kind gesture.

Bullet whined in uncertainty, eyes scanning the dark tunnel before them.

"It's okay." Samuel said, nudging the dog's leg with a foot. "I'll be with you. You deserve a reward after saving my ass, after all. Don't you?"

That seemed to placate the mutt, who kept his stance low and crept beside his master into the unknown.

Thankfully, the path wasn't entirely concealed by a suffocating darkness. A few torches parched into sconces illuminated their surroundings, casting the shadows of the group onto the walls. Samuel recognized the design, automatically associating it with the Medieval period.

It seemed that the Dragon Realms he was thrown in were a mix of Medieval and Modern periods. He still hadn't encountered the machinations built by the apes, but he recollected all too well the train tracks and the monstrosity that had fought Spyro in Munitions Forge.

Why the Dragons hadn't assimilated such technology yet was an unresolved mystery to this day...

The group arrived at the end of the road, facing what appeared to be a primitive version of an elevator. It was made entirely of wood, with ropes stabilizing both the weight and tension. Boris approached the front and opened the tiny gate separating the outside from the main platform.

"Uhm..." Samuel drawled. "I don't see levers or specific mechanisms to manually lower the platform, Boris. How are we going to descend?"

The Chieftain's lips twitched up. "Another trick we've learned." He turned to one of the pretorians. "You. Allow the flux to fall."

What the hell?

There was indeed a metallic lever in the right side of the room, but it was not connected to the mechanism of the platform. Instead, by pushing it down, water flowed down a funnel installed into the floor. The source of the waterfall had been a hidden, metallic barrier on the ceiling.

"That's our signal." Boris explained. "Since our way of traversing the distance does not allow us to communicate with the bottom, we've built a flux of water which is collected and dispersed into the canal of the mountain. Once three minutes have passed, we are sure the guards below have received our message and are ready to guide us down."

Samuel just got the confirmation of Kodak's obsession with the number three. They basically decided to revolve their passwords and signals around it. Dante would be proud. He thought.

"To counter the pressure of the flux you'd require specific materials and a planned layout."

"We did not build this on our own, if that's what you're wondering. The Manweersmalls' aid was determinant in stabilizing this structure." A smirk grew on the ape's lips. "They took a page or two from their Warfang cousins."

Ah, he was referring to the 'Moles'.

The Moles.

"Are there any other species I'm going to encounter? Just so I don't receive anymore surprises."

"Other than Dragonflies and Manweersmalls? No one else."

So, he was effectively dealing with a triumvirate.

"That's enough." The ape ordered, properly standing on the platform as the entire group waited for the pretorian.

Said soldier turned the lever the other way and quickly scrambled to join them.

An awkward silence followed, but welcomed by the human, who could finally ponder the transpired events. He closed his eyes and inhaled.

"Man..."

They snapped right open again.

Or, at least, he had planned to do so.

"Why doez dis take zo long? Bein' a prizoner ain't fun!"

"Silence! It is an insidious process. The whole platform could tumble down if the guards aren't careful!"

"Oh, iz dat zo? Maybe ye should aire better zoldiers. Yer i-in-incompetent!"

"How dare you?"

The human sighed, bringing a hand up to rub his face. He looked at the egg he was carrying before leaning to whisper to Omaib.

"I'm going to kill someone."

The old ape grunted. "Patience is a great virtue. I've dealt with young apes both during the War and the construction of Kodak's society. Their meaningless banter do not faze me anymore."

"Really?" Kalop asked. "When are you going to teach me lessons about patience?"

"This is a lesson. I'm surprised you haven't realized it."

"Ohhh..."

KRRRRRRRRR!

"Woah!"

He had to spread his legs to maintain his equilibrium. Doing so, however, was ten times harder with the current cargo under his care. Thankfully, Boris took it upon himself to place a hand on the human's back, effectively trapping him.

The platform vibrated and swung from left to right. Slowly, it began its descend. Most of the journey was completed in silence, with only a few, unpleasant comments from the Followers, minus Kahlua himself, disrupting the peace.

Finally, they were down enough to reveal their destination.

"Well, my dear human."

For the second time that day, Samuel's jaw fell open.

"Welcome to Kodak."

Author's note 2:

You know, I did not intend to finish this chapter with a cliffhanger at first.

However, by almost reaching 5k words, I just thought about keeping it as it is.

Also, Manweersmalls are back!

WOOOOOOH!

Since Mole-Yair possesses a French accent, I've basically decided that ALL of them will suddenly speak with said accent, while also adding direct French words into their phrases. It's a consistency thing, since if Mole-Yair has that accent (and France doesn't exist), why shouldn't the rest also have it!

Hey, San, I've got an idea! How about we make the Manweersmalls launch baguettes as weapons? It'd be cool!

Author-san: I think their main weapon should be raising the white flag, but that's just me. :)

Anyway, if anyone is interested, I've uploaded some art in my Deviantart profile (Fiamma05379), inspired by the story.

Maybe in the future more will be made, who knows?

Until next time!

Gino out!