The reaper's absence from Talokov is felt, but the city itself has enough to worry about without him. Even before his arrival, a stagnant economy brewed it into the nigh-uninhabitable stew some saw it as. Still, as always, some people found their own way through the grime.
Two young avaxians chase out the back of the easiest bank to rob in their vicinity. They're on the upswing, halfway into shoving their bags of spoils into a run-down getaway truck before one of them asks the other something.
"Why do ya think the boss needs all of this moolah? Sure as hell isn't showing up on our pay grade."
"Dunno. Hard to say shit like that to his face without him getting all up in arms about it."
"It's because he's greedy." A third voice echoes down the alley, the two kids looking over to see a bird, dawned in a long green coat. He advances menacingly down the alleyway, a soft teal eye peering at the both of them.
"C-Cross?" The unwelcome sight of the detective's return gets the two's blood pumping again. "The hell did you get here so fast?"
"That boss of yours isn't exactly subtle, fellas." The raven shrugs, hands resting in his pockets like an overconfident hall monitor. "Moral choice, boys. Either you walk your sorry asses back into that place and deposit the money back where it belongs, and I'll take you down to the station- court won't go easy on you, you'll do the time for theft- or do this the hard way, and after I'm done with you I'll tell my old work buddies just how many leads point to you two and exactly how many people you've had to knock off while playing your little schoolyard games."
"Knocked off more than you know. Stop acting like you're a psychic before you become the next."
"Twenty-one. That's just you alone, bangs." He crooked his neck at this first boy, making himself the disappointed father he never had. The violence in his eyes makes it clear he's lucky not to live in that world.
"W-wh-"
"Collin Everlen, that was your first. You three worked together, had to strangle him to death when he tried to split from the team. Sad story. Then who was it? Bensie, right? Berren Bensie. You drowned the poor sucker, all over some petty insults. Then you shot Fiona Kage in the head- no time for theatrics with that one, huh? I believe it was with a nine millimeter…" The avian enters his own world, seemingly no end to how many facts he'll rattle off. The second of the kids has had enough, and he draws on the ex-cop.
"REAL BLIMIN' IMPRESSIVE FOR AN UNDEAD BIRDIE! LET'S SEE YOU DIE TWICE!"
The boy hesitates. The corvid does not. The shooter finds a hollow point in his shoulder, and doesn't even get to start screaming before he finds himself pinned to the wall in about as sadistically uncomfortable a position as possible.
"Thing about undead birdies, punk- doesn't matter how much we rot, the hysterical strength from my death is still going strong to this day." He smiles at the teen's wailing as the other breaks off into a sprint. In one swift motion, he cuffs the restrained one and flicks his wrist, the hood of their getaway vehicle coming flying off to trap the fleeing suspect. He makes it hurt, but the escapee's lucky to have not come across his partner instead of him.
He shuffles his way to the scrawny mafia lackey using his Ferrokinesis on nearby piping to pin him to the wall, his forehead facing the barrel of his wheelgun.
"Y-you can't kill me! Y-you follow the law!" The raven croaks laughter at such a remark.
"Go tell the law, then." His beak opens and closes, the words falling out with not the slightest bit of sympathy. "I'm sure they'll listen to someone like you." He mocks, before seizing the newly-restrained boy's hands with incredible strength, now pining the other under a ruthless talon.
The feathers tear his wrists from his arms in a single motion. The city hears a second of screaming before the bird covers his whimpering mouth and gives him a few parting words.
"Now you'd better stay in place, because the cops are gonna be the only ones capable of stopping you from bleeding out at this rate." He lets the boys go with a smug grin. "Better hope they show up fast."
He leaves the two crying on the ground, no longer able to escape. He calls the cops to his location, departing the scene before they arrive.
The walk home is uneventful in his eyes. He gets back to his office, his home, but what he usually calls his office to feel professional. He unlocks the door, walking in to smell a sweet, familiar scent of cherry. The door's creak alerts someone else within the household, the source of the sickeningly sweet scent.
"Crossie!!~ How was work??" She flutters down the stairs, her large black eyes gleaming at the raven.
"Boring, Vilos. Very. boring." He says tiredly, taking off his bloodstained coat, showing a spotless green turtleneck underneath before he gives it to her. The moth hangs it up. He falls onto the couch, his lover crawling onto him, snuggling up to him. The moth sniffs him. Weirdo.
"What did you do? How did you do it? Don't spare any details." If it wasn't obvious, she likes to hear him talk.
"Stopped a robbery." He spares the details. "That mafia gang's still running somehow. It was a whole mess, punk was like, "You can't kill me! That's against the law!" Like I wasn't a law enforcer."
"I mean, you technically aren't part of the police force anymore."
"Yeah, because the idiots overworked me! Izanagi, I cracked cases in days that took the rest of 'em months. They gave all the jobs to me. Gifted child syndrome or some shit. I do enforce the law, now don't I!"
"And that is a valid reason to quit! Any new leads on the reaper case?" The moth looks at him with her big round shiny eyes, never failing to validate her man, who smelled of metal in more ways than one. His eyes light up, or at least the one without bandages over it. He stands up, rushing to grab his bulletin board about the reaper case, his current hyperfixation.
"Now, nothing entirely concrete- but I've finally figured out that the reaper USUALLY goes after those with criminal records, or those who they deem as bad people! While there are some exceptions, like the baby, the majority of his victims fit the criteria."
"Huh. I didn't notice that."
"Furthermore! I actually figured out his species!"
"Noooooo shot!"
"In one of the photos I found on security cameras, I was able to get a glimpse of his tail. HE'S A WOLF! Clear as day! Maybe not a surprise."
"YAYY!!!" Both of them are far too excited about this.
"I just don't know why they've just disappeared all of a sudden. It's been a couple days and there hasn't been anyone missing…"
"I may have an answer to that."
"What do you mean?" He raises his only visible eyebrow.
"While I was on a walk yesterday, I took some time to pass the docks near the end of town, that's when I SAW HIM."
"You WHAT?!"
"HE WAS WITH A FOX, A CHAMELEON, A SHORT WHITE DOG, AND… something else that I don't know how to describe… BUT! Him and that band of misfits got onto a boat and headed north."
"...Where are they going?" He says quietly, with the force of a supernova. He salivates.
"I asked myself that too, so I decided to head over to the library, since I saw the chameleon with a book, and asked what book they rented. Turns out it was a history book about the Catalyst Isles."
"OH THANK ALL THAT IS GOOD AND RIGHT IN THIS GODFORSAKEN WORLD!!! THANK YOU, VILO!!!" HE pulls the moth over to him, kissing her rapidly in excitement. The moth enjoys this a lot more than she realistically should.
"Find someone that'll rent me a boat, I'm going on vacation!"
Sant's vessel arrives at its destination, one of the Catalyst isles. A dark forest of dead, black trees cover the landmass, save for the beach that surrounds it. He goes to check on his passengers, seeing Famiko and Shrai playing video games whilst Nehken watches. The fox and chameleon but heads as the wolf merely sips on a bottle of soda.
"Hey guys! We're here!"
"Oh! Sweet." The chameleon drops his controller, letting Famiko close the game and turn off the console. The three meet the dog out on the deck, where he gestures towards the landmass ahead.
"Good luck out there."
"You aren't coming with us?"
"Look, I agreed to bring you here, but being part of your glorified D&D party here is above my paygrade. I can move you from place to place, but not accompany you on any of the islands. I'm generous, not stupid." The overgrown pup gives a wry smile.
"What about MAN?" Sant peers to MAN phasing in and out of the floor like a collision glitch in a video game. It's making rapid impact sounds, it's actually getting really annoying.
"The less exposure you have to it, the better." He puts it very bluntly. The three step off the boat, onto the sandy shore.
The waves calmly crash against the beach. They venture away from the salty smell and forward into the cold, dead forest, but before they can reach the edge of said woods, Nehken speaks up.
"Now what is this for?" He says, seemingly gesturing to nothing, at least to the fox and chameleon. He places his hand onto something.
"What's wrong?"
"Don't feel it? There's some sort of magical field around this forest. It's ancient magic, similar to what I use, just… a lot more pure." He stares at the field, invisible to the others. Davanak, having followed his incompetent accomplice, knows what it's for. He doesn't state what its purpose is, though. It's more fun to let the mortals figure it out for themselves.
They trek into the sea of wilted trees, the landscape giving a depressing vibe. What could've happened here to make this place so barren? The akuma follows the group, much to the reaper's dismay. Even if Nehken has hope to change his fate, he'll find a way to relish in the struggle and pray for his downfall. Shrai looks at one of the trees, analysing it with his vizor.
"Odd. The dying plantlife isn't due to any sort of pollution. The readings I'm getting here suggest life was sucked out of it."
"Maybe any society that lived here could've used the life within it as fuel?"
"I highly doubt it. That's not exactly a viable power-source, especially for one of the smaller islands. What I find even weirder is that it looks to have been naturally caused, not artificial. It's almost like the tree's energy is being redirected elsewhere."
"...Where is it being redirected to?"
"Beats me." The cyborg shrugs. Nehken hears a cackle from behind him. Davanak sits there, giggling to himself like a little girl. The wolf veers his head, staring at the spectre.
"Why are you laughing? What do you know?"
"Hehehe! Nothing! I promise!"
"The hell you do. That's a lie and you know it."
"Maybe it is, but why would I want to spoil such an inevitable surprise?"
As the akuma says that, the trees next to the four start to glow, brighter and brighter as faint footsteps get louder and louder. It appears that the answer to their dilemma is heading straight towards them at frighteningly fast speeds. Almost out of instinct, Nehken throws himself in front of his friends, holding the staff of his scythe in front of himself to block the incoming attack.
It becomes apparent to the wolf that the forcefield outside of the forest wasn't to keep something out, it was to keep something in. He fights against the force of a large beastly figure, large, root-like horns bashing against his scythe. A mossy coat over its upper body, mimicking the mane of a lion. It doesn't look like any single avaxian race, more of a hodgepodge of many aspects. It screeches at the reaper with its skeletal jaw wide open.
"RUN!!!!"
They all start to run from the plant-like horror. It sinks into the ground, erupting from the dirt beneath their feet. The primal tree creature wraps its hand around Famiko's arm, only for Nehken to cleave it off like the branch of a tree. They make a decent distance between them and it, they look back to see its limb slowly grow back, as it continues to pursue them.
It feels as if the very terrain is fighting against them, the very dirt trying to drag them to a halt, roots trying to wrap themselves around their ankles, branches growing off the now supernaturally living trees to impede their progression. Whatever this thing is, it has full control over the land it inhabits.
Throughout all of this, Davanak grins ear to ear, enjoying the fear that the wolf and his allies are deep within. The despair, the horror, the stress and anxiety, it's intoxicating. As much distance as the group can make away from the wooden creature, they cannot seem to exit the forest. It's almost as if the forest itself is infinite. What is this place?
They're running out of stamina, they can't keep running from it. It'll eventually catch up no matter what with it seemingly having endless strength to carry on. Just as the three have thought they've lost, a voice catches their attention.
"OVER HERE! QUICK!"
Without hesitation, the wolf grabs the fox and chameleon by their wrists, following the voice to a manhole within the forest, a hand waves at them, gesturing to come in. The three jump down without a second thought. Just as the manhole is closed, the beast catches up to them. It claws at the manhole cover, unable to open it. They've escaped, if by just the skin of their teeth.
The intrepid trio look at the person that helped them evade their pursuer, someone dawned in purple robes. Nehken doesn't hesitate.
"WHAT WAS THAT THING?!"
"All will be explained shortly. For now, just… follow me."
The group follows the man down through caverns, all riddled with large purple and blue crystals. Through the twisting caverns, they find a rather large village filled with people. The place is lightened with purple and blue floating lanterns. The residents of the village look at the newcomers, Nehken draping his hood over his head.
The society that lives here uses all kinds of arcane magic, some use it to entertain, others use it to cure illness, all is just as impressive as the last. The man continues to lead them to the large building roughly within the middle of the village, the home of their leader.
"Lady Silas! I've found new people that have come to the island." He takes a knee.
A regal grey hedgehog sits there, dawned in the same purple robes, a large gear construct behind her. She speaks, her voice soft and calming.
"Have they encountered it?"
"Yes m'lady. The beast is ever vigilant as it always is."
She sighs, dissatisfied, but not surprised by this answer.
"I apologize for anything that has happened to you three. What has brought you here if I may ask?"
Nehken, also taking a knee, explains their situation.
"We are in search of the six blades of desire, your highness. I wish to vanquish a curse that has been inflicted upon myself."
"If you are looking for the blade of this isle, you're out of luck, traveler."
"May we ask why?"
She grips the fabric of her cloak, looking down to her side.
"Long ago, this isle was a lush rainforest, filled with life. Our society thrived, building houses within the trees, living with the plantlife in harmony. That was, until the blades of desire were smelted. We were given the axe of obsession, tasked to watch over it. After centuries of guarding it, one of my great grandfathers decided to try and use the axe to cut down trees for resources. He abused its power, becoming infatuated with its strength. One day, while he was getting arrogant, the axe was logged into one of the trees. As if the very forest itself was angered, the tree fused the axe within itself, creating that very beast you faced. The roots of hatred slaughtered many people that day, thus, we had to retreat underground. To stop it from reaching the other tiles, we conjured a forcefield that'll keep it within the confines of the forest."
"I'm… sorry to hear that."
"It was deserved. Our people abused its power, and we faced the ultimate price for it. If you can somehow find a way to obtain the axe, it's as good as yours."
"Can we reason with it?"
"Hard to say. It seems to understand what we say to it, but it doesn't seem able to respond. In all honesty… I would be very surprised if you could."
"I can't fight it on my own. The thing has the entire battlefield as its weapon."
"We've lost all hope that things will change." Those words ring deep within the wolf's core, walks over to the hedgehog queen, placing his hand on her shoulder, giving a reassuring smile.
"We can lend you some hope. We'll find a way, somehow. Mark my words."
She smiles, Nehken's words making her feel better, even just by a little margin. "Very well. Feel free to rest here for as long as you need. You will need all the help you can get."
Throughout the next few days, the three stay at the village, Shrai and Nehken constantly strategizing to see how they could possibly subdue the beast at the very least, if not defeat it. The village is kind, giving them ample time to do so, as well as free meals, making sure they're fed well and given the nicest stay. Despite the danger, this island beats the city by a long shot. Through all of this Famiko still has something else on her mind, however. Davanak, to be specific.
She is prodded by those recent memories, from when he took over Nehken's body, to when he tried to torture her during her sleep paralysis. Everything points to him being pure evil, yet she can't shake the feeling that there could be something more to him. There's something more to everybody, isn't there? Maybe he and Nehken aren't too different. If she could just see him- if she could just feel him- maybe she could help him the same way she's helping the reaper.
"Hey Nehken, could you ask Davanak to follow me?"
During one of their brainstorming sessions, the fox walks into their room, asking the tortured wolf for something.
"...Why?" Davanak shoots to attention, spiralling around Nehken as he actually gives this request the time of day.
"No reason, I just feel you'd probably need a break from him. He's probably been trying to make you lose your focus from our goal, right?" She suggests. "Since it runs… counter to his and all."
"Like I would stoop to such… petty means of obstruction! …Well, I guess that would be pretty in-character." He taps a claw to his chin.
"Alright. You heard the girl. Go with her."
"Wha—- no?? Why should I?"
"You wanna keep watching me and Shrai instead?"
He only pouts because Nehken has a point.
"...OKAY FINE. But ONLY because what you're doing here is less eventful than watching paint dry while it's still in the bucket."
"He'd love to."
"I didn't word it like that."
"Yes! Thank you!" She hugs the wolf, who more so just takes it than anything, as per the usual.
The akuma follows the fox. Davanak doesn't understand why she wants him to actively shadow her. His presence isn't exactly a blessing.
"Now. I know I can't see you, nor am I willing to give myself sleep paralysis just so I can hear that horrid voice of yours, but…"
"Thank you! I try to put as much rasp behind it as possible!" He spits, more so just liking to pretend to heckle people, even if they can't hear. She strides onward.
"I don't know what your deal is exactly, and I… kind of want to? Nehken has told me again and again you're rotten to the core, but I just… can't help but want to see if there's something more to you."
"You're stupid to think that." The demon's confusion quickly matures into disappointment.
"Maybe, just- maybe, if I could… I don't know… give you a reason to live that isn't murder and destruction. Then… you might not have to be so mean."
"First off, I don't "live." I'm kind of a spirit, if you didn't notice, you should really be more inclusive with your lang- wait wait hold on where are we going?"
Famiko speeds into the tower of the village's sage. She's heard from people here that he's the most experienced with all kinds of ancient magic. She knocks on his door. On the other side sits a man with a long, white beard, his cloak a deep blue with yellow stars lining the fabric's rims.
"Why! You must be one of the new faces I've heard about!"
"Hiya!" She stands modestly in the doorway. "Sorry to intrude, but, can I ask you for a favor?"
"For a group so gracious to help our predicament? Of course! Follow me inside!" The warlock brings her inside his tower, climbing the spiral staircase up to his study. He sits down, pulling out a book filled with arcane spells. "Now what would you like me to do for you? Do you want healing potions? Maybe… increased strength, or stamina?"
"Um… all of those sound good, but... I was actually just wondering if you could give a friend of mine a body to inhabit?" The guest rubs her arm sheepishly, hoping it isn't too stupid of a question, or too difficult a request.
"We're not frie- INHABIT A WHAT?!" His eyes bulge out of his head in shock over the insane request.
"Oh! A supernatural ally, I see."
"Okay maybe friend was the wrong word-."
"What type of spirit are they?"
"They're… demonic."
Upon hearing her answer, the wizard's enthusiasm wavers. He leans back, stroking his beard… but he still meets Miko's gaze.
"You… want me to give a demon a body?"
"I mean- yes- I- uhm… I mean he's- like- he is the reason my friend has his curse, b-but I think he could be a lot more than just a demon!"
His eyes closed with a sigh.
"I'm sorry, little one. But I don't think I can do that for you. A demon's redemption… isn't at all common."
"If possible."
"Please? I have safety precautions all thought out. I won't tell the village you did this for me! Just please! I can even pay you if you want!"
"Now, now. I never asked for pay. I simply… wanted to know if you were aware of the risk. And you truly believe you can handle such a burden? I wouldn't wish it upon you, myself."
"Please. I have to try."
"Alright. No need for pleading. I trust you know what you're doing."
"She doesn't. I can testify."
The sage walks over to his caldron, flipping through his book. "You said he's the reason for a curse? If he's connected to another mortal being, I'd need a piece of his host's essence."
"Oh! Um…" she looks around, noticing she has one of his hairs on her sweater from hugging him earlier. She gives that to the sage. It'll do. She smiles.
"This is so stupid." The aggro akuma can only watch out of morbid curiosity. Something like this couldn't possibly work, right? Surely this'll all be a waste of time. He just knows. Definitely.
Imbuing his staff with ancient magic, the village sage conjures a body for Davanak to presumably inhabit. It rises from the liquid of the cauldron, the skin of a black furred goat, holes where his horns should be, a mere husk waiting to be possessed. Famiko whispers into the warlock's ear, telling him what he needs to do. He nods sagely, raising his staff, chanting ancient text. As much as the spectre tries to convince himself it wont work, reality hits him as his form is being sucked into the body, tailor made for him.
He tries to grab onto anything to keep him from going inside the body, only for him to realize that within this form he cannot touch anything.
"NO!! NO!! NOOOOOO!!!"
He is sucked within the lifeless goat husk. The body twitches, horns grow where they are designed to, his claws grow where they are supposed to. Everything fits like a glove. The fur fades from black to red. He opens his eyes, his blood red eyes with putrid yellow sclera darting around the room. He sees his tethered clothing, brown with gold accents. No matter, he can just leave the body after all…
Why can't he leave it?
No matter how much he tries to force himself out, he can't. That wretched wizard put a binding spell in place. Now he's practically mortal. He gets up, Famiko looking at him with a soft smile. Sickly sweet.
"So… how do you like it?" Without a second's notice he rears his newfound head back, letting out a belch of fire. To his surprise and annoyance, it doesn't do anything to them.
"I knew you would probably do something like that, so I made sure that you can only hurt people that I deem as a threat." She giggles. "Isn't that handy?"
Ridiculous. Who does she think he is? Some sort of pet? No. Of course he can still hurt people, just watch. He leaps onto her, trying to strangle her, but his body won't allow him to put enough pressure to harm her. The sage watches knowingly as he tries to slam her head against the floor, yet it's as if his very own body is working against him. The only thing he can do is softly bump her head against the floor as he screams the same word over and over again.
"WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY!WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY!
WHY!!!"
Inky black, tar-like tears dip down from his eyes. This is not the response she expected from him. He can cry? He can cry. She wraps her arms around him in an attempt to comfort the demonic goat. He doesn't know how to react to this. She feels warm, comforting, like a pool of fresh blood- no. He pushes her away.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!"
"I can see there's tension between you two. However, I would like to kindly ask you to get the hell out of my tower before he causes more damage like this." The warlock says, pointing to the bookshelf that had been reduced to ash.
"Oh! I'm so sorry!"
"I'm not. That's funny as hell." Famiko slaps him over this statement.
"Ow! Good Izanami. I am not happy about having nerves. How's it fair YOU get to hurt me but not the other way around?"
Her friendly smile seems more evil to him than anything he's ever imagined in his own wicked brain. This is going to be a long stay in this wretched body.
Nehken and Shrai sit in front of a whiteboard, having been devolved into a mess of scribbles. They rack their brains over how to beat this monster, it showing to be rather tricky.
"We're back!!" The returning fox says excitedly, halting the two's brainstorming.
"Welcome back. I hope Davanak didn't try to pointlessly strangle you agai-..." He locks eyes with Davanak in his new body. The goat nervously smiles at his accomplice.
"Heyyyyy buddyyyyyyy… How ya doooooooin? Happy to seeeeee ya…" He, in fact, is not happy to see him. Neither of them are happy to see each other.
"Miko. What did you do?" he cuts right to the chase, looking at the fox, eyes wide open.
"Okay before you freak out, he can't hurt anybody."
"I am giving you a good thirty seconds to explain this."
"kay so i talked with the village sage to give him a body because i felt if i could talk to him i maybe could reach out to him but all he has done has tried to strangle me but since the body is designed in a way to where he cant hurt anyone i deem as a threat he can't hurt anything—- she gasps, having not breathed throughout that entire explanation.
"TL;DR SHE MADE ME A GLORIFIED POKEMON AND I HATE IT!"
"Serves you right."
"Still haven't forgiven you for bashing my head into drywall."
"And I still haven't forgiven you for cutting my door in half."
The wolf walks over to the demon goat, extending a hand. Confused, Davanak returns what he can only guess is a handshake. Nehken then proceeds to punch him in the gut, elbow him in the chin, pin him to the wall, and punches him repeatedly in the face. Afterwards, he knees him in the crotch, and slams him into the ground.
"Do we stop him?"
"Nono. Let him have this."
The reaper slaps the goat silly, grabbing his scythe and hitting him over the head with the flat side of the blade. He stands there, panting, having exuded roughly two decades of pent up rage.
The goat coughs. "Ya done?"
"...For now." The normally calm man threatens.
Nehken turns to Shrai, both of them nodding at one another. The cybernetic chameleon doesn't draw attention to the demonic goat's justified beating, he starts explaining their plan to Famiko.
"Now. The gameplan here. This thing can grow back its limbs and body, however, our working theory is if something impedes it from regenerating, we might have enough time to rip the axe of obsession out of it. So basically, you freeze it with your frost fire when one of us does enough damage to it… who does the damage we have not figured out yet."
"I… I can do that… just give me… a couple hours… to heal… oh I HATE being able to feel pain…" the akuma can barely stand.
"Sounds good! I'll go eat and we'll head out." The fox walks out of the room cheerfully, leaving the chameleon and Davanak in the room. Shrai's smile fades as he turns his head to him, crouching down to meet his gaze.
"Look, buddy. I don't know what she sees in you, and for all intents and purposes, I trust Miko's judgement. However, if you somehow find a way to hurt her… I'll make what I did to you when you possessed nehken look like a slapstick gag." He stands up, his hands in his pockets, walking away.
The forest is dead as always where the rooted abomination isn't. The four climb out from one of the many manholes across the isle, Nehken scouting the area out. His hunting skills, while not perfect, allows him to understand the mind of a predator at least decently. He studies the land around him, the trees are positioned in a way where the forest becomes a maze, a better way to corner its prey.
He thinks back to what Lady Silas had told him, how the beast came about due to the axe being used to hurt the forest.
"Davanak. Break a few branches off the trees. That should draw it out."
"Tch. Why, I'll do you one better." He cockily smirks, morphing one of his arms into a large axe-like shape and slashing a handful of trees. The wolf is glad he's not using his body to do that. They all fall down onto their side, the damage creating a shockwave of fluorescent light. Surely it had been alerted.
Soon enough the trees start to glow around them, the fox, chameleon and the wolf hiding within wilted bushes as Davanak stays out in the open. As much as he despises being the cheese of this mousetrap, a part of him is eager to finally use violence against something in a meaningful way.
"COME ON YOU BIG SACK OF FUNGUS AND MAGGOTS! FACE ME!" The footsteps get louder and faster, just like last time. Yet, they slow to a halt. Does it know it's a trap? Surely not, it's not that intelligent. However, it is intelligent enough to change its strategies.
It erupts from the ground, its beak-like mouth, a pale white glow emanating from it, gaping wide open, trying to engulf the goat. He smiles sadistically, holding its mouth open.
He leaps over the beast, grinding down its spine, clawing its back on the way down. It heals almost instantly. He needs to make a better opening than that. No matter. Davanak can at least have some fun with it in the meantime.
It swipes at him with its long arms, the akuma ducking and weaving, that smile still unnaturally wide on his face. The glee he feels is straining the vessel's face's muscles in a way that looks uncanny to the average avaxian. He retrains the moss-covered behemoth's arms, growing his horns to bash its chest like a ram. Still not enough to break through. This thing is sturdy.
Extra appendages form out of the monster's forearms, catching Davanak off guard. It pins him to the ground, opening its mouth with the intent to chomp his head off. Before the jaw closes, something hits it back. The goat gets up, seeing that it's a black and red construct of a sword. Aid from his former puppet, using the magic of which he had graciously gifted him. It almost feels like an act of pity.
Nonetheless, he ceases the opportunity of an opening. He zips around the beast like a fiery comet, the extreme heat disorienting it. Davanak is done playing with his food. It's time he fulfills his purpose, as much as he despises the idea.
"YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY WHERE I COME FROM?" He asks, jumping high above the mutated tree. "AS ABOVE, SO BELOW!!!"
The akuma raises his leg high in the air, barreling down towards it, spinning vertically to gain as much momentum as possible. He strikes the beast, a large crack can be heard across the entire isle. The beast breaks open like an egg, its top half leaning back, barely connected to its lower region. It tries to quickly rebuild itself, only for the plan to be put into motion.
Famiko freezes its body, making sure the frostfire spreads to each one of its appendages. nehken rushes towards the thing as he sees it, a large battle axe with ancient markings, held in place with vines. He reaches his hands in, trying to pull it out. It doesn't budge, the vines are too tight. That doesn't stop him from trying harder, pulling with all his might. Some of the vines move, but before the reaper can get the axe out, the beast screeches out, yelling out the words it has probably ever spoken.
"PAAAAAAAIN! PAAAAAAIN! HUUUURT!!!" It's in pain, agony even. Nehken's grip wavers, this thing doesn't deserve to be put through this. It was shown violence, so it retaliated in the only way it knew. The wolf is overcome with guilt.
"NEHKEN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! PULL IT OUT ALREADY!"
"I CAN'T! T-THE THING'S IN PAIN. I DON'T WANT TO KILL AN INNOCENT."
"NOW'S NOT A GOOD TIME FOR YOUR DUMBASS MORAL COMPASS TO KICK IN!"
Nehken is caught off guard by the beast breaking out of its frosted restraints, it reforms its chest, speeding towards the one who restrained it. The fox is overcome with fear as the wooden threat towers over her. it screams at her.
"HUUUUURT! HURT ONLY! ONLY PAIN! ONLY WAY SAFE!" The creature can only repeat these same haunted phrases over and over again. Nehken tries to run over to her, Shrai following close behind.
"Welp. She's dead."
The stress that Famiko is under is immeasurable, such a grotesque beast standing over her. She can't just sit there, she has to do something. Anything. So, she does something. She slowly reaches her hand out to it. It screeches at her again. This scares her, but she keeps reaching out to it. She closes her eyes, fully expecting her arm to be chopped off by its barkmade beak. Nehken makes it to the scene, raising his scythe with the intent to stop it from harming his friend.
He stops, seeing something unexpected. The fox's hand rests softly on the beast's forehead. She is still scared, but she has to say something to it. She forces the words out of her mouth, despite her fear.
"I-its ok-k-kay. N-nobody's going to h-hurt you. Th-the person that hurt y-you-"
"HUUURT!"
"Its o-okay! That person is g-gone. Y-you can r-rest now. N-no more h-hurt."
Her compassion shines through.
"...No more… no more hurt… rest… no more… pain…" The fox's words seem to resonate with the nature-beast. It leans back, resting on its knees, a faint, creaky chuckle coming from its mouth. Its chest cavity opens, revealing the axe of obsession. She reaches towards it, pulling it out gently. Slowly, the forest around them returns to life, the trees and bushes growing their leaves back, all while a lone flower blooms on the beast's now lifeless face.
"You guys should go to a casino, 'cause with luck like this you'd be rich in no time." The chameleon elbows Davanak for that statement. "That's a weird way of saying thank you, but okay."
"Thank the gods you're okay!" The wolf wraps his arms around the fox, holding her tightly. He thought he had lost her, and it would've all been his fault if so. "I'm so sorry! I should've just ripped the thing out! "Nehken!" I should've thought the plan through more! "Nehken!" I should not have put you in harm's way like that! "Nehken!" I am such a stupid, idiotic-"
"NEHKEN! It's okay! I'm okay." She gives him a reassuring smile. The only thing the wolf can do is hug his friend, glad that she's still alive.
The shores of the now healing isle stays unchanged, the waves calmly clash against the beach. As the four venture back to Sant's ship, they are stopped by Silas and her guards. She curtseys towards the four.
"We cannot thank you enough for vanquishing that beast. Now we can finally rebuild upon the land."
"I wouldn't use vanquish to describe it."
"I beg your pardon."
"It was fighting a battle that it had already won. All it really needed was someone to tell it the war was over."
"Nonetheless. I wish you safe travels."
"Thank you, mad'am!"
"Oh, and could you turn the place where its body is stationed into a shrine of some sort? It should be respected just as everyone else!"
"I'll… see about it."
With that, the four step onto the vessel with the axe in hand as Silas walks off to rebuild. Sant greets them, along with MAN, who had gotten his head stuck in the wall… again. They hand the axe to Sant, him barely being able to carry it.
"Woah. I've heard so much about these things… it's surreal actually seeing and holding one of them."
"What's surreal is the fact that it was inside a living tree monster."
"Yeah thats… wait- who are you?" The pooch looks at Davanak puzzled. The goat turns his head to the others.
"I'm getting real sick of you guys having to explain shit to one another so often."
Silas walks back to their throneroom, her guards take their usual position, that is until she tells them to leave. She pulls out a crystal ball with ancient, yet also high tech markings on it. She speaks to someone using it.
"They've got the axe, and The Rootborn has been killed."
A voice comes from the other side, their voice somewhat muffled, as if they were wearing some sort of gas mask.
"First the water dragon, now this. What a shame, really. The worst part is that phenomena was one of my favorite test-subjects. How could you waste company resources so carelessly, Silas?"
"I didn't know they were able to kill it. I thought they would die trying like everyone else! turns out all it needed was a bedtime story to rest."
"I hope you know that incompetence like that will not be tolerated, Silas. You know what's on the line… right?"
"Yes, headmaster."
"No. I don't think you do. With one press of a button, all of your civilization and its history will be reduced to a sunken island. Nothing but a bunch of files within my countless databases."
"Headmaster… You need us for our magic. You can't give that up… you'd be a fool to!"
"Hm… yes. Very observative of you, Silas. However, if this merry band of misfits so continue to complicate our opperations… I'll know exactly who to blame. You better get the axe back… or there WILL be repercussions for your insolence."
The man hangs up, staring at a screen showing the traveling ship. He chuckles, gripping the arm of his chair.
"How about we run a few more field tests… my new subjects."