by Jared Bellis
“I wonder…”
He took some of the metal he’d pulled up and formed it into a roughly man-shaped object. He then focused his power, and the object started moving. First it raised and lowered its arms, then it took a few tentative steps, falling over on the second one. “Hmmm, I need to work on balance,” Joe said to himself. He quickly raised it back up and sat it on its feet. After rearranging the metal a bit, he was able to give his creation a lower center of gravity. It did better walking on the second attempt, and after a bit more practice, he had it running and jumping.
“Okay, this is awesome!” he shouted to no one. “I wonder if I can make it so Andrew and Ray can control it.” He gave it some thought and made a few magnetic bands, which he tried to match to spots on the automaton’s wrists, elbows, knees, and ankles. He put them on himself and started moving around. Sure enough, it started copying his every move.
This could be really useful, he thought. After this discovery, he, along with the automaton, trudged back to where he left Andrew.
Andrew wasn’t having the same success as his friends. He sat and meditated for a while, trying to calm his mind and focus on different spells. Nothing really came to him. After a while, he got tired of sitting there and stood. Sitting never was a great way for him to clear his head. Instead he started running through a few katas. As he went through the familiar movements, his focus improved and he felt a new energy running through his veins. He sped up his exercises, just flowing with the energy. Suddenly, he felt a strange sensation on a particularly strong movement. Along with this feeling, the sound of an explosion filled the area, and he opened his eyes. To his amazement, Andrew saw that a tree forty feet in front of him had been blown to smithereens and was lying in a smoking ruin.
“Holy shit!” he exclaimed. He repeated the movement and felt a powerful bolt of energy leave his hand and blow up another tree. Eager to hone this new skill, he spent the next little bit shooting energy bolts at random targets, until he was too exhausted to continue.
Joe and Ray both arrived back at approximately the same time. All three men were exhausted by their efforts.
“What the hell happened here?” wondered Ray. He looked over at Joe. “And what the hell is that?” he asked, looking up at Joe’s automaton.
“Dude!” Andrew exclaimed. “I’m freaking amazing! I can shoot energy out of my hands! Magic Missile bitches!” His two friends looked at him in amazement.
“That’s great! Congratulations!” said Joe. He knew how useless his brother had been feeling and how much this would help him.
“So…what’s that?” asked Andrew, pointing up at the metal man.
“Find out for yourself.” Joe took the metal bands from his arms and legs and showed Andrew how to put them on. He stood there, feeling ridiculous.
“Ummm, nothing’s happening,” he pointed out. Joe grinned.
“Move,” he commanded. Andrew did as he was told and was shocked to see the metal man copy his movements.
“Holy Pacific Rim! This is fantastic!” Andrew said as he flipped off Ray. The metal man did not repeat the gesture.
“I haven’t done fine skills like that. Guess I’ll have to make a ring for each finger,” stated Joe.
“Might be a good idea,” agreed Ray, clearly awestruck by Joe’s creation. “That way it can lift and carry as well as punch.”
Joe nodded thoughtfully. “Good idea. Did you have any luck?” he asked Ray. Ray nodded and explained what he’d accomplished.
It was getting dark by the time they’d finished sharing their stories. Instead of heading towards the meeting site like they’d planned, they decided to wait on Balzac through the night. Nobody said it, but they were all getting worried about the little guy.
CHAPTER 20
A brutal storm blew up overnight, but the boys never noticed. At least, not until a massive bolt of lightning blasted through their shelter and blew them up against the walls. They woke up with bands of electricity shooting everywhere. And shouting. Lots of shouting.
“WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK, YOU DIPSHITS? HOW HAVE YOU SURVIVED THIS LONG?? I HAD ENOUGH THUNDER, LIGHTNING, AND EARTH SHAKING GOING ON TO CONVINCE EVEN THE DUMBEST ASSHOLE ALIVE THAT IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD! YOU THREE DON’T EVEN WAKE UP!”
The guys slowly managed to focus their bleary eyes on an enraged bunny, its fur all standing straight up, screaming profanities at them.
“What the hell, Clarence?” asked Andrew. Clarence zapped him for his troubles.
“Get your shit together, assholes! Balzac is hurt bad! You’ve got to help him!”
“What happened? Where is he?” asked Ray, immediately awake.
“He’s at the meeting site where you were supposed to be waiting!” he accused.
“We waited here! We figured he’d come here first and we wanted to be around when he showed up. Anyway, that can wait until we help him. Let’s go!” exclaimed Joe.
“He doesn’t have time for you to fly! Hold on!”
POOF!
All of the sudden they were somewhere else. Andrew heard Ray throwing up in the weeds, and Joe was face down on the ground. Then, Andrew looked up to see a horrible sight.
Balzac was staked to a tree, bloody and torn. His front right paw was missing, cut off at the wrist. The right side of his head was bloody, his fur and his eye both gone. His body’s bottom half had been skinned and his fluffy tail was nothing but a stub. And worst of all, the poor rodent seemed to be conscious.
“What happened to you?” Andrew whispered.
“There’s no time for that!” admonished Clarence. “He’s suffering! Help him!” Andrew nodded and stuck out his hand. Golden light spread to the squirrel; the bleeding stopped and the fur started growing back before their eyes. Andrew held the healing as long as he could, but it wasn’t quite enough. While the tail came back, it didn’t fill out completely. Likewise, his eye and paw were only healed partially. The moaning stopped and Balzac looked up at Andrew.
“I’m sorry, I’ll try again. I just don’t have enough energy to finish the job right now. What happened to you?”
Clarence had already rushed to his brother and was checking him over.
“Are you okay little brother?” he asked quietly. Balzac nodded slowly.
“I think so. Thank you. And thank you too, Andrew. I’ve never been in so much pain,” replied the squirrel.
“We thought you were gonna die,” said Ray miserably. Joe nodded.
“I can’t die, not as long as you three live. No amount of damage will kill me. It will sure as hell hurt me though…”
“Why did you send him to that camp alone?” demanded an extremely angry Clarence.
“We thought he was the best way to get information on the Raiders,” answered Joe. “We figured they couldn’t possibly pick him out from all the other squirrels. If we knew he’d be in danger, there’s no way we would have let him go!”
“Easy, Clarence. It’s not their fault,” Balzac said gently. “They somehow recognized my energy or something. One minute I was scurrying around with no problem, the next the douche cyborg had me. Guys, they killed almost all the Plantlings, burned them alive!” All of them looked shocked by the news.
“Mo’s gonna be pissed,” stated Ray.
“Mo IS pissed,” shouted a deep booming voice. All five of them nearly jumped out of their skins as the great creature stepped into the light.
“Holy shit, Mo! You scared the shit out of us!” exclaimed Ray.
“Sorry, but those fuck sticks have to pay!”
“So are you going to help us fight?” asked Joe hopefully. Mo shook his head.
“I’m not a fighter, but I’ll help in another way. I assume those fiends are coming after you now?” They all nodded. “Good. I will free the prisoners and lead them to safety. The forest will help.”
“Sounds good,” replied Joe. He was a little disappointed, though. He’d been looking forward to seeing the legendary monster tear through people.
“
We have another, bigger problem,” stated Balzac. “Their leader, the Bandit Queen? She’s a Lich.”
Clarence looked horrified, as did Mo and Ray.
“No shit she’s a bitch! Look what they did to you! Plus, they enslave kids! Why is this a bigger problem?” asked Andrew. Ray facepalmed. Balzac tried again.
“A LICH! Not a bitch! Although she is that, too.”
“A lick? She licks things, or things lick her?” asked Joe, clearly confused.
Ray decided to try. It looked like Balzac and Clarence were going to kill someone if his friends kept talking.
“A LICH! Undead sorcerer or necromancer. The soul is stored in a phylactery, and you can’t kill the lich without it!”
“Oh,” said Andrew and Joe in unison. “That could be a problem.”
“So, what now? We need to coordinate things. Are they still coming here?” Ray asked. Balzac nodded.
“Did you get any information before they caught you? Numbers, creatures? That sort of thing?” asked Ray.
“I didn’t get much before they caught me. But she gave me all the information while she tortured me. She didn’t ask me a single question, just explained what exactly she was going to bring to the assault. In detail. She said it didn’t matter what we knew, and that there was no way we could stop her. She’s even giving you extra time to prepare. She will show up in four days, when the full moon is at its peak in the sky.” Balzac shivered as he finished.
“That also gives her more time to prepare,” pointed out Clarence.
“And tells me when I need to rescue the slaves,” said Mo. He disappeared into the night.
“What forces is she bringing?” asked Joe.
“She doesn’t have a lot of troops, actually. She contracts out quite a bit of the racketeering to locals in various towns in return for her protection and pay. Her camp is full of vampires and zombies, and she also has the one cyborg and half-ogre. The prisoners are there to sell as slaves, feed the vampires, and create zombies. She’s going to bring a horde!” Balzac said. He was clearly terrified.
“How many vampires?” asked Andrew.
“A couple dozen,” Balzac answered. Ray, Andrew, and Joe sat back and started talking amongst themselves. After a bit, Ray looked up.
“We’re going to need more information about vampires in this world. Clarence, are you going to be able to help at all?”
Clarence shook his head.
“As much as I’d love to smite that bitch lich and her crew, I can’t get directly involved. Poofing you all to help Balzac was pushing it,” he replied. Ray stuck his head back into the group huddle. Andrew popped his out.
“Are vampires bothered by running water? What about holy water?”
The fuzzy forest creatures looked at each other.
“Running water gets them wet, but doesn’t stop them. However, holy symbols and water can turn them or destroy them,” stated Clarence. Andrew nodded his head and smiled.
“Fire, stake through the heart, and decapitation all work on them, right?” added Joe. The furry brothers nodded.
“And zombies can be destroyed by fire or by destroying the brain?”
Balzac nodded.
“Is Andrew a priest? Can he bless water to make it holy?” asked Ray. Balzac and Clarence both shrugged.
“Maybe?” they answered.
“Is there any way to test it?”
“Find a vampire or demon that enjoys a little pain,” replied Clarence. Ray nodded and the guys went back to planning.
“How long are they going to do that?” whispered Clarence.
“I don’t know, I’ve never seen them actually think before. It’s a miracle!” Balzac said happily.
“Do you think they have a chance?” asked Clarence.
“You know, I think they do. The structure of this group is especially suited to fighting the undead. It lines up with their morals as well. They don’t want to kill people, but vampires and zombies are not a problem. I’m just curious about this plan of theirs.”
“Clarence, does you making it rain count as direct interference?” asked Andrew. Clarence thought about it for a moment.
“I don’t think so. I can’t shoot lightning at your enemies or anything like that, but rain should be fine.” Andrew nodded and went back to plotting. This went on for what seemed like hours. Balzac and Clarence were getting bored watching them. Finally, the guys broke up their huddle and faced the critters.
“Okay, we’ve got a plan! We’ll show you some of the details in the morning. We’ve got a few new tricks up our sleeves, but for now, we’re exhausted,” explained Ray. With that, the three guys laid down and were immediately asleep. Balzac and Clarence just stood there, mystified.
“Well, this should be interesting,” said Clarence as he disappeared. Balzac could only nod as he curled up beside Ray and drifted off to sleep.
CHAPTER 21
“WOO-HOOO!” shouted Balzac, “This is the greatest thing ever!” Balzac had been amazed and pleased to see what the guys were capable of. His favorite though, was Joe’s metal automatons. His little jaw dropped when he saw the guys take turns controlling it with the arm and leg bands, and he misted up a little when Joe made a giant squirrel for him to run. He was currently having a phenomenal time stomping around in the huge contraption. After a while, he decided he’d had enough and stopped.
“These could be fantastic for the upcoming battle,” he commented with glee.
“That’s what I thought, too,” said Joe with a grin. Balzac rubbed his right paw with his left. Andrew had finished healing him first thing in the morning, and everything itched.
“When do I get to hear this plan of yours?” asked Balzac.
“Soon, dude. We need to practice a few things and get a grasp on some of our powers first,” said Ray. “For everything to work, I need to figure out how to control earth and water. Can you help with that?”
Balzac considered for a few minutes before nodding. “I think so,” he said. “Let’s work on it.”
“You know how you use air and fire?” Balzac asked. Ray nodded.
“Okay, do the same thing with the earth,” said the squirrel.
“Really? That’s your great advice?” Ray said incredulously. Balzac nodded and grinned.
“That’s helpful,” muttered Ray. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Because you’re an idiot?” answered Balzac with another grin. Ray concentrated on the ground and nothing happened… until a small rocket smacked him in the head.
“Ow! What was that for?” he asked.
“I thought you could use some incentive,” said Balzac as he chucked another rock at Ray’s head.
“Dammit! Stop that!”
“You stop it! No cheating with air or fire either!” retorted Balzac as he threw another rock.
Ray put his hands up to try to block the assault, but to no avail. Balzac kept pegging him with stones, and Ray started to get angry.
“For fuck’s sake! I’m tired of getting hit by rocks!” He kept getting hit by rocks.
But what he didn’t notice was that all of the stones around him had started to shake and shudder. Balzac managed to pop him right between the eyes before the world turned upside down. All of the stones Balzac had thrown at Ray suddenly shot through the air and started pummeling the squirrel.
“GAH! STOP!” screamed Balzac as the rain of stones took him from his feet and hammered him into the ground. Ray smiled and started to move larger and larger rocks, even causing a pillar of stone to push his fuzzy friend into the air. Balzac fell back to the earth with a scream. Ray raised a wall around him, and Balzac’s screams were quickly muted as Ray enclosed him.
“This is awesome!” he shouted. He created a wave in the earth just for the joy of doing it. After a few more minutes of play, he stopped and released Balzac.
“Looks like my methods worked just fine,” he said smugly.
“Yeah, you’re a real fuzzy Mr. Miyagi, aren’t you?” Ray grumbled.<
br />
“What is a Mr. Miyagi? I feel I should know this…” responded Balzac.
“You know, the Karate Kid? Wax on, wax off?” Ray prompted.
“Maybe if you spent less time whacking off, you’d make more sense,” muttered the squirrel.
“Dude! Be nice!” said Ray. “You wanna see what else I learned to do?” Balzac nodded. Ray showed him his compressed air orbs and the impressive explosions he could make.
“Nice! That could come in handy against large groups. Have you tried mixing fire in? That could make it even better,” said Balzac after watching the demonstration.
“No, I’ve not tried mixing elements yet. Do you think it will work?”
Balzac nodded.
“I guess I can try.” It took some time, but he was finally able to make a few small orbs of air with a bit of fire, making a small explosion that spread flames everywhere.
“That could be really helpful, especially against zombies. Good idea Balzac!”
Balzac nodded his appreciation of the compliment.
“Let’s get back to the others,” Ray added. “This new ability with earth gives me another idea for fighting the bandits.” Balzac looked at him.
“Are you ever telling me this plan?”
“Yeah, we’re still working out the details. We’ll let you know when we’ve got it all figured out. It’ll be fun!” Balzac shook his head.
“How’s it going guys?” Ray asked as he approached. “I have another idea to add to our plan. Come here real quick.” The three guys huddled together, leaving Balzac to watch and wonder.
They spent the next few days training and preparing for the upcoming battle. The day of the battle, they decided to call Clarence down to go over the plan.
Clarence arrived with his customary POOF.
“What’s up guys? Finally ready to reveal your big plan?”
The guys nodded. Balzac and Clarence sat back to listen to them speak.
“Okay, so here’s what we know,” started Ray. “The Raiders are led by a Lich Queen Necromancer—”
