The Requiem Trinity Part 1 Final Light Chapter 9 Wandering Heros

Chapter 9

Wandering Heros
1/22/2116

A wolf howled to the night moon. After a long moment, it stopped howling then jumped down from the cliff it was on and onto a Satyr. It pinned the demon to the ground, snarled, and proceeded to rip it’s neck out.
A crimson eagle flew down from above and scratched the eyes out of another Satyr. It howled in pain, only to be put out of it’s misery by a well-placed shot to the head.
The shooter sensed a powerful threat behind him and flipped into the air to avoid it. He spun around and fired a fire Mana Bolt at the Bael. It hit the giant spider in the large butt and burst it into flames. The Bael shrieked as it burned to death.
The cowboy landed on a boulder just as another Bael lunged at him. He slid off the boulder, landing on his back, aimed up, and shot at the spiders downside. The shot went though the body, taking out the monster’s internal organs. The lifeless body slid into a nearby river, inadvertadly taking out a emerging Merman; a half-fish, half-human monster with a heavy emphasis on the fish aspect. The Bael’s body crushed the Merman instantly.
The last of the demons taken out, the cowboy spun his pistols around once then put them into their holsters. “whew. That was… that was fun.” Ash panted.
Fenrir panted with a whine then laid-down. Cobalt landed on a tree branch to take a rest. The attack came from out of nowhere. They were just walking along, minding their own business, when the Demons suddenly appeared to turn them into lunch. It was nothing they couldn’t handle but it was still tiring.
Ash sat down on a rock and let his feet rest. He felt a pain coming from his left foot. He took off the boot and saw a thorn from a pricker bush. “where’d that come from?” he took it out then flicked it away. Wondering what time it is, he looked up to the sky and saw that the moon was starting to rise and the sky turn dark. He got up and put his boot back on. “Time to set up camp.”

Ash quickly got a fire going and found some rodents to cook for food. He set up camp near the site of the battle, knowing from experience that the stench of the rotting corpses of the Demons will keep predators away from them, other Demons included. In all his years of travel, he and his companions got used to the smell. Fenrir and Cobalt were already fast asleep, snuggled up next to each other to keep warm during the cold winter night.
Ash pulled a blanket out of his knapsack and cuddled up under it, watching the fire crackle and burn. “(I’ve been though this region before and there wasn’t this big a Demon presence. The occasional Bonewalker and Revenant, sure; people die everyday…)” he looked to the dead monsters. Wisps of green leaked out of the corpses and their bodies half-faded. “(but there were never any Baels, and certainly never any Satyrs. I’m not even anywhere near Greece. So where…)”
Ash yawned and felt his eyes get heavy. “no use talking about it now. Need to get some…” he yawned again. “some shuteye.” he closed his eyes and fell asleep, clutching the locket tightly.
“Myra… where are you?”

“YAAAAAH!!!”
That yell woke Ash up. It was already midnight when the yell came but he was still well-rested enough. “Who…?”
“HEEEEEEEEEEELP!!!”
That was the clincher. Ash removed the blanket as he got up and ran in the direction of the scream, pulling out his pistols in the process. The blanket fell on top of the still snoozing Fenrir and Cobalt.

A young male yelled as he dodged a massive paw. Another paw came from the opposite direction and sent him right into a tree at the other end of a valley. He hit with enough force to crack the tree and make it fall.
“Ow… my back…” he groaned.
A Manticore, a massive lion with a scorpion tail and Demon wings, approached the stunned human and roared at him. The man yelled and covered his face. The Manticore readied it’s tail to kill him.
BANG!
A shot rang out, piercing and cutting though the tail. The Manticore roared in pain as it’s tail slipped off and fell onto the ground. The monster snarled as it looked to find who took it’s tail off.
BANG!
That shot hit the monster in it’s front-left paw, causing it to freeze to the ground. The Manticore snarled and tried to pull it out. Another one followed and froze the back-right paw.
The pistol that fired the shots spun in it’s owners finger as he raised his hand in front of the moon. “This is almost too easy.” Ash jumped off the top of the valley wall and high into the air. He flipped backwards twice, aimed down, and fired a ’neutral’ Mana Bolt.
The bolt sliced though the Manticore’s head, cutting it’s brain in two. Now a clinical vegetable, the monster fell to the ground and ceased to move.
The traveler opened his eyes to see the monster on the ground, unable to do anything. Ash landed beside him with relative ease then walked over to the Manticore. It may be unable to move but it was still alive, if you can call it that. Ash stopped in front of the head and aimed his pistols at it. He cut it’s suffering short.
Ash sighed and put his pistols away. That was surprisingly easy, considering the opponent. He went back to the traveler who got himself in this situation. “You okay?” he asked as he approached.
“Yeah.” the traveler replied with a groan, rubbing his back. “in pain, though.”
Ash offered his hand to him, which confused the guy a bit. The traveler blinked in confusion then looked up at him. “Well, just be glad you just got a bruised back. With a Manticore, it could’ve gone a lot worse.”
The traveler chuckled. “I know. I saw worse.” He took Ash’s arm and was helped up. “way, way worse back home.”
“Sure.” Ash left and started back to the camp. The traveler, who was busy looking at the surroundings, saw him leave and went after him, wanting to be close to him as possible. He’s not going to be caught in the middle of another sneak attack, not on his watch.
“I never caught your name.” he asked.
Ash looked back on him. He didn’t mind that he followed but if he was going to ask a ton of questions, he’s gonna have to bean him. “It’s Ash. Just Ash.”
“Ash? Hey, that’s my name.” Ash looked at the traveler with a raised eyebrow. Same name? what does he mean by that? “Well, in Japanese. The name’s Satoshi. Satoshi Tanaka.”
Satoshi… Ash isn’t sure if that is the Japanese name for Ash but he’s not complaining. He doesn’t really care about the name. “Right. Nice to meet you, Satoshi.”
The two of them arrived at Ash’s campsite. Satoshi saw the rotting corpses and exclaimed in disgust. They smell terrible. Fenrir and Cobalt were still fast asleep and practically snoring. Ash took his blanket from them and headed to his spot. “What were you doing out here, anyway?” He asked before sitting down.
“I got separated from my group.” Satoshi explained as he pulled a blanket out of his backpack. “We were riding down a road when we were attacked by Demons. I ran to hide but that Manticore followed me. I ran as fast and as far as I could then… then you saved my life.”
Traveling at night: foolish and dangerous. Whoever was in charge of that group probably wasn’t the smartest person. Well, he’s probably dead now, along with the rest of his group. “Well, be thankful I came along. Your friends are probably dead.” that didn’t fill Satoshi with confidence. “But… if they had good mercenaries and if any of the travelers were fighters themselves, they might’ve stood a chance.”
“I hope. I became friends with a cute little girl. Hate to see her die.”
“I’m sure she survived.” Ash yawned. “Well, best to get some sleep.”
“Sleep!? With a whole ton of monsters around?”
“The corpses give off a nasty scent that drives away all creatures, including Demons. Trust me, we’ll be fine.” Ash reached into his knapsack, pulled out a clothespin, and tossed it to Satoshi. “I’m used to it but if the smell gets bad for you, just put that on and breath though your mouth.” he rolled over onto his side and went to sleep. Satoshi looked at him for a few moments.
“Yeah. Fine.” he rested his head on a rock and looked up at the midnight moon. He could’ve died tonight and would’ve had nothing to show for it. He closed his eyes a moment later.
“Myra… Please be safe…”
That was the last thing Satoshi heard before he went to sleep. “(Myra?)”

“Run! RUN!”
Two feminine figures ran though the woods, running as fast as they could. Behind them, trees cracked and fell over as something massive ran though them. One of the figures spun and tossed a large yellow ring at the thing that chased them while the other spun around and fired a arrow out of her bow. The Chakram bounced off but the arrow hit something. A roar followed when the arrow hit. Whatever this thing is, he’s angry.
“We made him mad!” Sora yelled, running as fast as she could.
The older sister of the two by 6 years, Sora is the more mature one. With brown hair that spent too much time in the wind and a master archer, she’s not as frail as her appearance suggests. Despite her confidence and her maturity, she’s still dressed in meager travelers clothes. Not something she’s used too. Her weapon is a simple bow with a full quiver of arrows. She also has a short sword between her back and the quiver but that’s just for backup. She hardly ever uses it.
“WE DID?!” Jax raised her hand up and caught her ring. “You made him mad! Think you hit him in the eye!”
Don’t like her VERY cute appearance fool you, Jax send you to the moon 3 ways to Sunday. With bright Pink hair and a tight body, she’s one of those girls who looks cute but is really mean on the inside. She knows she’s hot and is showing herself off whenever she can. Wearing only a tight leather top, a short skirt with bicycle shorts inside, and always showing off her legs and abdomen, she’s gonna try to seduce ya. Just don’t fall for it; she’s only 14. She’s also a very powerful Mage, capable of pulling off even the most complicated of magic spells with ease. She channels most of her magic though her Chakrams, large rings that can be thrown.
“ME!?” Sora exclaimed. “You’re the one who--” the monster roared, cutting their conversation short. “How about less yelling and more running?”
“Agreed!”
The sisters stopped their squabbling and ran as fast as they could. Their invisible pursuer crashed though the trees, uprooting them with unimaginable force. It’s foot crashed into a puddle, leaving behind a large 3-towed birdlike imprint, followed by a 65-million year old roar.

The first thing Ash experienced when he woke up was the smell of smoke and ash, almost like theirs a… “Fire!” he snapped awake, pulled out his pistols, and aimed out to the woods. The only fire near them was the fire Satoshi made to make eggs.
“Morning.” the traveler said.
Ash put his pistol away and sighed with a groan. “I didn’t ask for a wake up call.” he mumbled.
“Sorry. I wanted to surprise you. Hope you like eggs.”
Satoshi is lucky. Ash likes eggs. the cowboy yawned and looked up to the sky. It was early morning; the sky a egg-shell blue and it was surprising warm for winter. Thanks to the morning light, Ash was able to get a good look at his new companion.
True to his name and his word, Satoshi was of Asian descent. He is surprisingly thin for a man of 21. Whatever his personality is, it’s hidden behind those yellow eyes of his but, from what he’s seeing, Satoshi isn’t one to be taken down so easily in battles of the mind. Actual battles, on the other hand, are another story.
Ash brushed the snow off his blanket and put it in his knapsack. Fenrir blinked his eyes opened and yawned with a whine, stretching it’s legs. Cobalt woke up and stretched it’s wings.
“Nice animals.” Satoshi commented. “Yours?”
“My sisters. She raised Fenrir when he was a pup and Cobalt when she was a chick.”
His sister… he may have muttered his name last night. “What happened to Myra?”
Ash was surprised to hear a stranger he just met say her name. “How do you know her name?”
“You said it in your sleep last night. I assume that she is your sister, am I right?”
Ash looked down at his locket and sighed. “Yeah. She is my sister. Or was…”
“Was?”
“She was kidnapped by them, along with a sizeable number of people from my hometown. I went out to search for them with Fenrir and Cobalt. I found the villagers, or what remained of them, but I found no trace of my sister.”
“Hence the or…” Satoshi muttered.
“eventually, I charted a boat and wound here on Europa. I came across a girl who resembled her, except Myra didn’t have the hair color or the big chest this Requiem had.”
Requiem? That’s a odd name, Satoshi thought. Who would name their daughter after a mourning song? Europa is weird.
“Well, that’s enough about me. What are you doing here, Satoshi?”
The Asian reached into his knapsack and pulled out a blueprint. “I came here to obtain machine designs.”
“Machine designs?” Satoshi handed Ash the blueprints. He opened them up and looked them over. They were for propellers; large ones.
“I’m working on something back on my home island of Okinawa. I have the blueprints for the body, but I needed the propellers. I heard from a passing trader that these blueprints were in a city called Madrid. I came, I saw, and I bought the blueprints. I was on my way home when that mess with the Manticore happened.”
“Ah.”
“So… where are we going?”
“We?!”
“Yeah. My group is probably dead and I’m not a fighter. Better to go with a fighter, right?”
“I guess…” Ash sat back on a boulder and opened his knapsack. “But… it’s gonna be a long journey to the neatest city.”
Satoshi scoffed. “I crossed 3 continents. Think I can manage a trip to a city.”
Ash delightfully chuckled. Satoshi may look weak but he’s got moxy. That could be enough. “Well…” he pulled out a map of the continent and opened it up. “We’re here, near the ruins of the city once known as Vienna, Austria. As it’s nothing but ruins, we won’t find anything useful there.” Satoshi frowned. “BUT… there is a train line down in Graz and I know there’s a train line there. We get there and you can catch a train to Istanbul then another train to Singapore then a boat to.. what did you say, Okinawa?”
Satoshi nodded. “Wait, for me to catch a ride to Istanbul? You’re not coming?”
Ash sighed. “I received a clue that my sister may be in Moscow. That’s in the completely other direction.”
“Oh.”
Ash rolled up the map and put it away. “I’ll go with you to Graz but that’s it. You’re on your own from there.”
Satoshi shrugged. “Works for me.”
Cobalt shrieked like a mad-eagle, getting their attention. “What is it?” Ash asked.
A burning smell filled the air, making Satoshi wince. He looked down at the eggs and exclaimed. “My Eggs! They’re burnt!” the eggs were char-boiled; something none of them expected to happen.
Ash could see that Satoshi felt really bad they burnt and tried to lighten the mood. “We have hot sauce?”

“WIND BLADE!!!”
A green crescent sliced along the ground, crashing into the invisible rampaging monster. It just splashed over it, giving the fleeing sisters a glimpse at the 20-foot long reptilian figure.
“Great! It is him!” Jax exclaimed.
“What?!! Points for perseverance but this is getting annoying!”
Jax agreed but they didn’t have time to chat. That thing was getting close and was just about to have them for lunch. Sora spun back and fired a well-aimed arrow. It hit and caused it to roar in pain.
Sora cheered. “Yes! Must’ve hit something vital!”
“And good, too, cause I see a gorge!”
True to Jax’s word, there was a gorge up ahead, and it wasn’t big enough for their big friend to jump over. Jax powered up her rings and chuckled. “Gust Front!” she threw her ring to the gorge, or rather the edge. The ring hovered in place and created a large gust that stretched the entire way across.
Jax hopped in first and was sent flying by the powerful gust all the way to the other side. She landed and looked back. “Sora, Jump!”
Sora ran as fast as she could and jumped into the chakrams gust. She heard a closing chomp behind her and the sound of the tip of her cape getting ripped. “Yeow, that’s close!” Once Sora was on the other side, Jax’s ring stopped casting it’s magic and returned to it’s owners hands.
The invisible monster assessed it’s situation and snarled in anger. It won’t be able to make that jump. It snarled to the duo and roared in anger.
“Yeah, and what are you going to do about it, ugly?” Jax stuck her tongue out at the beast. The invisible monster snarled and turned back to find another way across.
“How long do you think we have?” Sora panted, chest hurting from all that running.
“Considering how long this crack in the earth is, I don’t know. But we should be safe as long as we get to Moscow.” Jax looked to the land they had to cover and whined. “which I hope is close by.”
Once her chest stopped hurting, Sora got up and started off. “I’m more keen on putting some distance between us and that fossil.” Jax shrugged in agreement then followed. Better to have hurting feet then be a Rex’s next meal.

After that botched breakfast, Satoshi, Ash, Fenrir, and Cobalt packed up camp and headed south to Graz. According to Ash, it should take a couple of days, maybe less if they walk though the night. Long as they don’t run into danger, that’s fine by him.
A loud roar echoed though the air, making Satoshi squeal in fear. Ash looked to the air and tried to pinpoint it. He’s having trouble trying to place where he heard it. “What is that?” Satoshi worriedly asked.
“I… I don’t know. I never heard it before.”
Satoshi groaned and leaned forward. “great. With my luck, we’ll likely run into that thing.”
Ash started off. “Not if we keep moving.”
Satoshi raised his head and moaned. “Fine. But something tells me we’re gonna run into that thing on the way there.”
Ash didn’t want to say it but he agreed with him. This new monster could be any number of things. No telling how dangerous this thing could be- if they ever ran into it.

A whining groan came from the 14-year old mage. “We have to cross this rickety old thing?” Jax whined, looking at the large canyon looming ahead of them and they only thing they have to cross with is a old bridge- a really old bridge.
“Well, we know Rex won’t be able to.” Sora smugly said, heading for it.
Jax gave her a mean scowl then pulled out one of her rings. “Can’t we just fly over? We have the necessary knowhow.”
Sora reached the edge of the bridge and looked down. She saw several pairs of red eyes looking up at them. “Can’t.” she pointed down. “Bats.”
Jax moaned again, lowering her head in agony. Bats… it had to be Bats. These aren’t ordinary bats- these are demon bats, and they are sensitive to magic. Jax just being there is likely ticking them off. If she used a spell, they’re gonna swarm and turn the two of them into mince meat.
Sora slowly put a foot on the first board on the bridge and pressed down. It creaked but it didn’t break. She breathed a sigh of relief and pulled herself on. “It’s good, Jax. Let’s just get going. Rex is still looking for us, remember?”
Jax did and she was getting annoyed by it. She doesn’t even remember how it happened. One day, they were having the time of their lives. The next, some Invisible Demon came out of nowhere and wrecked their lives- completely unprovoked too.
Jax grumbled as she climbed onto the bridge. All this trouble to get to Moscow, and for what? The Monster will still find them regardless- he’s that tenacious. Someone else must have worst luck then her.

“Wwwwwwhaaaaaa….”
Satoshi’s mouth dropped as he looked at the big mountain they have to climb over. The thing must be at least 300 feet tall. He’s not gonna survive the climb, or the descent. “Do we have to climb this massive thing?”
“Faster then going around the entire range.” Ash commented, heading for the oversized hill.
Satoshi whined. “Times like this that I wish I had wings.” he begrudgingly headed for the mountain, not really eager to climb it.

“This is bordering on the crazy.” Jax whined, looking down into the abyss below. The bridge creaked under her’s and Sora’s weight, making the mage nervous. She hates heights, especially over bottomless chasms.
“Better then going around with ugly on our tails.” Sora commented, looking down as well. Jax didn’t argue with that, but those bats are making this crossing much more nerve-wracking.

Satoshi grunted as he rest on a outcropping. He, Ash, and the animals are halfway up the mountain and he was the only one who was tired as hell. He’s not cut out to climb. Being at home with rocky mountains, Fenrir had no trouble climbing, and Cobalt is a bird so that’s easily rectified.
Ash pulled out of one his pistols and fired at a loose boulder. The rock cracked and fell down the oversized hill. “There you go. One good foothold.”
“Great. Just…” Satoshi wheezed as he got back up. “just give me a second.”
Ash rolled his eyes and grumbled angrily. He is turning into a nuisance. “Just hurry it up.” He exclaimed as he climbed up. Satoshi mocked him and followed.
Ash reached the top of the mountain and took a breather. It was a long climb. Still shorter then going all the way around the mountain range. The wheezing foreigner came up behind him, hamming up his weak body.
“Next time… let’s go around…” He wheezed, having trouble breathing.
“Are you that weak?” Ash asked as he hauled Satoshi up and placing him on a boulder.
“well… I’m not exactly the most ambidextrous of people.”
No argument there. This was a 300 foot hill; not even a challenge. Well, not to Ash. He’s been around the world. So has Satoshi. Course, he was in a travel group but still, a few thousand miles should’ve helped with his weak body.
Ash walked to the other side of the top and looked down. “well, you’ll like going downhill. Just let gravity do the work.”
Satoshi got off the rock and headed for the side of the hill. The rock he was on shuttered and a pair of cracks appeared on the side, glowing yellow.
Satoshi reached the edge and looked down. Unlike the rocky face they just crawled up, the other side was a completely smooth descent. “Lucky us.” he muttered. Both of them are completely unaware that the boulder Satoshi was on began to shift and lift off the ground. “So, how we gonna get down? Slide? Roll?” the rocks from the side they climbed shifted and floated over to the hovering boulder.
Ash assessed the situation. “I suppose we can just slowly walk down. If we roll or fall, we’re liable to break our necks.” the rocks crashed together and merged, taking form.
Fenrir sensed something was wrong and looked behind them. It saw the rocks and growled. “Not now, Fenrir.” Ash said. Fenrir growled and tugged at Ash’s shirt. “Fenrir, stop!” the wolf angrily scowled. He bit down on Ash’s sleeve and pulled him back. “Fenrir!”
A hand made out of the earthly minerals slammed into Ash and Fenrir, sending the both of them falling down the side. “Ash!” Satoshi exclaimed. The same rockly hand hit Satoshi from behind, sending him down the hill.
Both humans and wolf yelled in pain as they rolled down the hill, bouncing off indentations on the way down. The thing that knocked them down jumped off the top of the hill after them.
Ash and Fenrir reached the bottom and rolled into a tree. Satoshi rolled after them and slammed into them, making the wolf howl in pain.
“What hit us?” Ash asked, left eye half closed in pain.
“I don’t know but I think I broke a rip.” Satoshi tried to get up but his chest hurt badly. “Or all of them.”
The monstrous thing that smacked them down landed with a loud boom, kicking up a cloud of dust that obscured their vision of it.
“That’s a big problem, isn’t it?” Ash grunted.
The dust cleared and the Rock-Monster with the shape of a humanoid lizard roared. It pounded it’s chest then roared again.
“yep.” Satoshi calmly replied.
Ash groaned and lowered his head. “Well, that‘s just great.”

The sisters reached the other side of the gorge and breathed sighs of relief. A bottomless canyon with Bats that react to magic is more then they wanted today.
“I… have had it with monsters.” Jax groaned with a whine. She fell onto her back and whined. “if I see another Demon, it’ll be the hour I die.”
Always so melodramatic. And Sora has to put up with it. “oh, brother.” Sora sighed, rolling her eyes. She grabbed Jax by the collar and pulled her up. “Well, lucky for you, we’re almost at Moscow. Just a couple dozen miles to go.” Jax groaned and fell backwards. “It’s not that far.”
“My feet are crying out for remorse! This trek will destroy them.” the monster’s roar echoed. The sisters freaked out as they nearly jumped out of their skin. “Of course, a few dozen miles beats becoming chow.”
Jax comically got up and bolted for the city, legs spinning under her. Sora rolled her eyes and chuckled before running after her. She always overdoes things.
Hopefully someone is in less of a situation then they are.

The Rock-Lizard Monster roared and slammed it’s fist down onto Satoshi and Ash. The two jumped to the sides and the fist left a sizeable crater.
The Rock-Monster roared and swung it’s tail at Satoshi. It hit him and sent him flying into a tree that cracked and fell with him.
“Argh! Trees just don’t like me.” he groaned. The Monster turned Satoshi and went to him, intent on turning him into a stain on the ground.
“Satoshi! Move!” a Mana Bolt hit the monster’s back, destroying some of the smaller pebbles. The monster looked back and snarled. It turned and charged at Ash. The Cowboy snickered and jumped away from it’s swipe.
Fenrir and Cobalt ducked inside a outcropping, knowing full well they won’t do anything but get squashed by a monster they can’t harm.
The Rock Monster snarled and swung it’s tail, slamming down onto the ground. Ash dodged all of the attempts on his life and fired. The bolts bounced off the rocks, not doing any damage.
“Damn! It’s not working!” the monster slammed it’s tail down again. It missed.
Satoshi moaned as he got up from the tree with his eyes closed. “Yeah. They hate me.” he opened them to see the shots from Ash’s pistols bouncing off. “he’s not doing any damage. This must be one tough monster.” he backed up in fear. “There must be something I can do.” he stepped onto a tree branch. The branch moved up and smacked him in the butt, getting his attention. It was a long branch with a part on the end that looks like a small curved blade. Almost like it’s… “a wooden scythe.” he looked at the monster, then at the branch. If nothing, it’ll make a good distraction.
The monster roared and head butted into a off-guard Ash, who was imputing a combination into the jewels on his pistols handles. The force sent him back into the mountain, leaving a big mark in the earth.
His insides hurt as he struggled to move. That attack must’ve bruised everything inside him. He couldn’t even move his arms. The ground shook and pebbles bounced as the Lizard made out of rock thundered it’s way towards him.
Ash struggled to get up but it was cut short when the beast put it’s foot down over him. Ash yelled out in pain as the monster put on the pressure. “heh heh heh heh. And I was told to be careful?” the rock-monster clearly said. “What a joke.”
That thing can talk? “W-what are you talking about?” Ash grunted, trying to keep the foot from crushing him further.
“I was told to expect a expert gunslinger. I never expected such a weakling.” the monster’s face moved close to his. “You are a joke, Ashlin.”
Ash was shocked to hear that name. Where did he learn that? “Who did you call me?”
The rock monster evilly chuckled. “I know everything about you, Ashlin Geroma Arapaho Silverton. Lady Lyra has been… very forthcoming.” Lyra? Who the hell is Lyra, and how does she know about his name? He didn’t get a chance to ask as the monster put down more weight. “Too bad Lyra’s not here. She would’ve enjoyed this.”
Ash struggled to breath and tried to push the foot off but he was in too much pain. The rock monster evilly smiled, or as close as a rock monster modeled after a anthropomorphic lizard could get to a smile.
A tree branch spun though the air and hit the monster on the head. Upon impact, it turned into splinters. It was enough to get the beasty’s attention as it turned to where it was thrown.
“Deal with someone your own size, you oversized boulder!” Satoshi exclaimed, holding the scythe-like branch in his right hand.
The rock monster laughed. This human must be insane. “I’m in a good mood today so I suggest you run along now, little human.”
“Not a chance.” Satoshi said. He was scared for his life but he’s not going to let some evil monster kill his friend.
The monster scoffed at the human’s bravado. They are well known among Demons for their stupidity. “Fine.” he slammed his foot down one last time on Ash, making sure he stayed there. “but don’t say I didn’t warn you, you dumb monkey.” the monster roared then charged at Satoshi.
Being highly nimble thanks to all his time dodging thrown items back home, Satoshi jumped to the side, avoiding the monsters attack. The rock-monster didn’t stop and slammed into a couple of trees.
Glad that that plan actually worked, Satoshi ran to Ash. The cowboy was struggling to move but his insides are so messed up, he’s finding it difficult to breath. “Ash! You okay?”
“Do I look okay?” Ash snapped.
The monster turned back to them and roared. Ash’s pistols couldn’t leave a dent in it and wood isn’t going to do anything against rocks. What chance do they have against something as tough as this?

“Great. Didn’t expect this.” Jax muttered, looking at the road which had a giant boulder in it’s way.
“This is a bit of a problem.” Sora said. She looked back to the gorge they crossed, which was a few miles away. Demon Bats have a high range on sensing magic. Hopefully, they’re far enough. “Okay, Jax. Have fun. Do what you need to do to get rid of… Tom here.”
Tom? Really? That was the face Jax made at her odd sister. Whatever. Doesn’t matter to her. It’s Magic Time. She walked up to the boulder and stopped a dozen feet away. She closed her eyes and spread her arms wide.
The chakrams that were connected to her belt came off by themselves and floated a few inches away from her body. They glowed blue then began to spin around. A Pentagram Glyph appeared underneath her and began to glow ocean-blue. Her voice echoed as the said the incantation.
“Oh, Mighty Waters that flow freely…
I call upon your devastating powers…”
Sora’s keen ears picked up flapping coming from behind. OH, that’s not good. She looked back and saw black figures coming out of the gorge. Crap, the bats must be reacting to her magic. “Un… Jax?” the mage didn’t hear her.
“Wash away this visage of evil and bring us closer to the Shore that is Bliss…”
Sora bit her finger. The bats are getting closer. “Jax…”
Jax snapped her eyes open and grabbed her Chakrams. “Tidal… Wa--”
The Bat’s shrieked and barreled towards them. That’s it. Sora grabbed Jax by her scarf and pulled her down. Jax choked as she was forced down. Her spell fired, but not to the boulder. It instead shot far, far away.
“Agg!” Jax loosed her scarf and breathed again. “What was that for?”
“Them!” Sora yelled, nocking a arrow in her bow and firing up at the horde.

The Rock-Monster pounded his way to Ash and Satoshi, ready to turn them into stains on his body. “This is your end!” he proclaimed, charging at them. Satoshi stood his ground, not moving a inch.
Suddenly, a blue orb shot down from above. All of them didn’t see it coming, nor did they know how far it traveled, but when the orb hit, it exploded into a torrent of water.
The rock-monster roared in pain as the water swirled into a aboveground whirlpool.
“You do this, Satoshi?” Ash asked.
Satoshi scoffed. “if I could use magic, I would‘ve used it a long time ago.”
The whirlpool swirled around at intense speeds, stripping the Rock Monster away painfully. Ash had forgotten his Geology and remembered that rocks can erode away by water and wind over time. With this, it’s taking a few minutes. The rocks that composed the beasts body are slowly but surely stripping away.
The monster stopped roaring in pain long enough to impart a warning to the wounded Ash. “This… isn’t over! Lyra… won’t stop… until you’re…” his little speech was cut short when the whirlpool stripped his mouth away.
“Until she what?” Ash painfully asked. “Who the hell is Lyra?” The monster didn’t reply as it’s head was washed away.
After a few more intense minutes, the whirlpool stopped and splashed down. The rocks that weren’t completely eroded fell to the ground. The biggest one, which was the monster’s chest, is now the size as a baseball.
Satoshi sighed and fell down on his butt. “That… was an ordeal.”
Ash’s mind was on the last words the monster said. Just who the hell is Lyra and what’s her beef with him? He lost the only way to find out so he won’t get any answers now. He put a pin in that thought and put it in the recesses of his mind for now.
“Where do you think that magic spell came from?” Satoshi asked as Fenrir and Cobalt approached them.
“Don’t know.” Ash grunted. “Just be thankful it did come.” he struggled to get up again but he was in too much pain. Satoshi stopped him and put him back down. “If we meet the mage who cast it, I’m going to thank him.”

Jax panted heavily, tired from all the fighting she and Sora did. All the bats are dead; half from arrows, half from electrocution.
“That… was too close…” Sora panted.
“I thought you said… we were far enough away…”
“so I was wrong for once. Sue me.”
Jax grumbled at her sister before heading back to the giant boulder. She was angry and she needed to take her anger out on something. “Tornado!” a green tornado shot up from beneath the boulder and quickly sliced it up into paper weights. Sora covered her head as the boulder was sliced and diced.
“There! Let’s get going before I vent onto a innocent creature.” Jax coldly said.
Sora groaned and walked after her. Yeesh. Scary is as scary does. Hate to be the one on her kill list. But she wasn’t always like this. She was once happy and vibrant.
What the heck changed?

After the confrontation with the rock monster, Satoshi, Fenrir, and Cobalt carried the heavily wounded Ash to the nearest village, which lies just outside Graz, and found the village shaman to heal him up. The feeling process took a few days but, in the end, Ash was able to move again. He still hurt, but he can move, and that‘s a good thing.
But, what happened during the battle troubled him. The monster knew his real name and said that he learned it from someone named Lyra. Ash never met a Lyra in his entire life. Yet, she seems to know everything about him, right down to his name. How?
But he won’t figure that out just by lying around and thinking about it. The only chance he had to find out who this Lyra is went when the rock monster was destroyed. And something tells him that this Lyra person will be coming after him soon. Until that happens, he’s gonna keep going on with his original plan.
And one part he can deal with now is getting Satoshi on that train.
Ash, Satoshi, Fenrir, and Cobalt walked onto the train platform of the surprisingly empty station. There was hardly anyone there; just a couple of kids playing with toy trains on the other side of the station and a few people waiting for a train.
Ash limped to the ticket teller as Satoshi looked at the schedules. A train to Istanbul would be leaving in just 10 minutes from platform 3. Once there, he can find a train to Bangkok or Singapore and find a boat to Okinawa from there. Ash’s train to Moscow won’t leave until 3 hours after Satoshi is gone.
“Got the tickets.” Ash said as he limped back. “one to Istanbul, one to Moscow.” he handed Satoshi his ticket to Istanbul and put his own away.
“Yeah.” Satoshi stretched and headed to his platform. Ash and the animals followed him. “just a few minutes then I’m on my way home to Okinawa.”
“and I’ll be going to Moscow pretty soon as well.”
They reached a bench and sat down. To Ash, this was needed. He may be healed enough to move but some bones were still broken and some of his internal organs are still a bit crushed.
“Are you sure you should be moving?” Satoshi asked, voice filled with concern.
“I’m fine. I’m fine. Just a bit rattled with pain, is all.” his chest hurt and he scratched it. That made it hurt even more.
Satoshi looked at him with concern. He may act tough but Ash is only human. He’s going to break sooner or later. But that wasn’t the only thing Satoshi was concerned about. “Listen Ash…” Ash looked at him with curiosity. “You… you were the first friend I ever had. Everyone back home treats me like a outcast. A freak. And all because…” Satoshi stopped there. It was hard to say.
“Because… what?”
“It’s… it’s complicated. You wouldn’t understand.” Ash isn’t so sure about that but he didn’t pursue it further. He can tell that this is tough on Satoshi so he didn’t bother.
“Okay. I understand.”
Satoshi sighed. “maybe… if we meet again, I can tell you.”
“I’ll hold you to that.”
The train to Istanbul rolled into the station and hissed and screeched to a halt. It was just a single engine with two passenger cars. The passengers from the recent stop walked off and headed into the city. Satoshi and Ash got up and headed for the train.
Satoshi sighed. “Well, I guess this is go-”
“Don’t say it.” Ash interrupted. Satoshi blinked in a mix of surprise and confusion. “My dad taught me that if you don’t say… That phrase, we’re going to meet again in the future.”
“Meet again in the future?” Satoshi thought about it and smiled. A chance to see Ash again? “Yeah. That would be nice.”
Ash nodded. “Maybe my search will bring me to Okinawa. Maybe not. Only time will tell.”
Satoshi nodded back. “right. See you soon, Ash.” He walked to the train and climbed into the first passenger car. He walked to the nearest window in the car, opened it, and waved good-bye.
Ash waved back. Satoshi’s a good egg and Ash really does hope he meets him again in the future. He’s curious to see what he’s building and what he wasn’t able to say.
Little did the two of them know that Fate would bring them back together, and much sooner then they thought and in a scenario nobody would‘ve seen coming.

Comments

[Chuckward]