Blade Saga
Part One: Arachnid Arises
By Kat Warrior
A/N: I'm using almost all characters I can think of here (well good guys, anyway), including those from a game that had no part in the Rayman storyline, Rayman Rush. Yes, I'm going to use Tily and possibly Uglette (Whose name was changed to Globette in RR for some reason.). Anyway, I don't know if Tily the fairy is related to Ly, but I would assume so since they look alike. Like I said, I don't know, so don't go around with the belief that Ubisoft has declared them sisters, OK? Most characters in this chapter are © to Ubisoft.
***
Rayman moaned in sleepy irritation when he felt something nudging at him. He had planned on sleeping rather late that morning, but it didn't seem his plans would work. But he was determined, so he would make those plans work. He continued to pretend to sleep and refused to open his eyes. Sleep. that was all he wanted.
Whoever was trying to wake him certainly was persistent. They had started rolling him and he guessed that he was no nowhere near the tree he'd fallen asleep under. Especially since the terrain had gone from grassy to sandy. Sand. they were pushing him into the water!
He jumped up and landed on his feet, panting and scanning the area for whoever had been trying to get him up. His sharp eyes found Tily, Ly's kid sister.
"Sleepy head!" she accused, pointing a short finger at him, "You can't sleep all day!"
"I could have if you didn't wake me up!" he informed her, putting his hands indignantly on his hips. "Why'd you do that, anyway?"
"Because, Ly says that the early bird gets the worm! And anyway, you need to protect the forest. It's your job, remember?"
"If worms are all those birds have to look forward to, why do they get up so early?" Rayman mumbled, and then he spoke to Tily directly. "Alright then, Tily, I'm awake and watching the forest. Happy?" Even though he argued with her like he would a sibling, Rayman was rather fond of Tily. She had a lot of spunk, and was tough competition in a race.
"Sure I'm happy!" she declared, smiling broadly, and then fluttered off, more than likely to find her sister and learn something from her.
Rayman sighed and scanned the beautiful scenery around the pond, his favorite place. Judging by the position of the sun, it was about nine in the morning, Things could have been worse; Tily could have tried waking him up three hours earlier. It was a pleasant morning anyway, so at least he could enjoy what was left of it.
"Nothing dampens your spirits, eh Rayman?" a high, male voice asked as Murphy fluttered into view. "Not even being woken up by some obnoxious fairy-kid?"
"I guess not," Rayman replied with a smile as he started looking for his shoes. Nothing dampened his spirits except maybe Murphy's mouth. The little green guy irritated him to no end, but he always tried his hardest not to be rude about it.
Rayman found his shoes and slipped them on, wondering what he would do that day. Ever since the forest fire, he had spend a great deal of time helping re-plant some things and hauling wood off to be stored and used to make fires in the winter. But just as Ly had predicted, the forest was recovering nicely, and so had Rayman from the nasty bump he'd gotten on the head. The teensies hadn't been as mad with him about the whole incident as he would have thought, which was good. When the teensies were angry practically the whole world felt it.
"Rayman!" Globox's voice called out as the pudgy blue frog-like creature came rushing into the pond clearing, "Ly wants us to come help her trans- plant some saplings."
"Alright," Rayman replied, finally having his shoes on, "What are we waiting for, then?"
Globox hurried off in the direction he had come from, trailed closely by Rayman and Murphy. In a very short time, they found Ly and Tily, working hard in an ash-covered clearing as they helped tiny trees adapt to their new surroundings.
"Welcome," Ly said as she looked up at the newly arrived helpers, "One of my cousins from another forest was kind enough to donate all of these young trees to us. If we work quickly we should have them all planted by supper time."
Rayman, Globox, and even Murphy set to work immediately. Rayman would dig the holes, move the tiny tree into it, and cover its roots with the dirt. Globox would water them and dig some holes as well. Murphy supervised.
"Ya know, you could actually help out here, Murphy," Globox informed him after he finished watering another sapling.
"I'm helping!" he declared, "Where would you be without me here to tell you what to do?"
"They would be enjoying themselves more!" Tily replied sharply, "You should stop being so lazy and help!"
"That's enough, now," Ly interjected, "The trees won't grow well if they sense anger while they're being planted. We're almost done now, and this clearing is already looking beautiful!"
The clearing did, indeed, look beautiful. Sunlight was pouring in through the large over-head gap that had once been covered by tree branches. The natural lighting might have been hot, but it added cheer to the soot and ashes remaining from the fire, and offered hope that the saplings would do well replacing their predecessors.
"This place is so pretty!" Tily chimed, as she looked over their hard work. "Maybe the fire was a good thing!"
"Yes, in a way it was," Ly agreed, "Many of the trees here were old and dying. These new ones may take quite a while to grow, but they will do well in replacing the others. Fires always open doors for new life, and this one provided us with wood to burn in the winter"
A soft, summer breeze brought the smell of rain to the air, refreshing those who were hot and sweaty from actually working. All it did for Murphy was send him flying into the woods.
"Let's go down to the pond for a swim," Rayman suggested, wiping his damp hair out of his eyes, "That cold water sounds mighty refreshing right now!"
Before he could say another word, Globox whizzed past him and down to the pond, trailed closely by Tily.
"Race you!" she called over her shoulder.
***
The pond was, indeed, refreshing. Even when the light rain did come in, no one got out of the water. If anything, it made for a wonderful, peaceful setting. The look of the millions of tiny rain drops on the water's surface accompanied by the soft mist rising from it gave it a ghostly but secure feeling. This made a perfect set-up for a game of Marco-polo.
But, during Rayman's turn, something went wrong.
"Marco!" he called out, and was answered by several voices shouting "Polo!" Strangely, he didn't hear Tily's voice respond.
"Marco!" he called again, swimming clumsily in the direction Ly's voice had come from.
"Polo!" the voices replied, Ly's being surprisingly far away. Again, he didn't hear Tily. He formed the time-out signal with his hands and opened his eyes.
"Where's Tily?" he asked, "Did she get out of the water?"
Everyone else looked about in confusion. Where had she gone to? It was likely that she was simply playing a trick on them, but still.
"Tily!" Ly called out, "Stop joking around, now! Please, show yourself if you can hear me!"
Nothing. Then, something.
A faint "Help me!" seemed to be coming from somewhere. Under the water? Rayman dove down, scanning the world beneath the surface. He spotted an odd, large air bubble, being pulled away by some strange current. He almost opened his mouth in shock when he realized Tily was trapped in the bubble. He surfaced quickly to get some air before diving again.
Ly noticed his stress and followed him. Not wanting to sit idly while there was trouble, Globox swallowed his terror and dove after them. Maybe this would bring him one step closer to being the hero he dreamed of becoming. Murphy was left alone on the surface, since he wasn't a very good swimmer.
Rayman followed the bubble as quickly as he possibly could, which was quite fast thanks to his propeller-like hair. He zoomed through the current, leaving Ly and Globox far behind. He could see Tily clearly, and see how terrified she looked. At least she could breathe. If Rayman didn't hurry, he'd have to surface and then he'd lose her.
"Rayman!" he heard her call, "Please save me! It's the man Ly told me about. Please save me!"
Rayman didn't have time to let her information sink in, he just kept going, unaware of how deep he was, not caring that he had long ago entered and under-water cavern and might never emerge again. Even though he was sincerely focused on saving Tily, something caught his attention.
They were coming upon an oddly-formed shadow that seemed to be the source of the odd current that was sucking Tily's air-bubble in. The shadow moved as they approached, and Rayman felt a horrible chill run down his back. But he brushed it off. Tily needed him and he was almost to her. He reached his hand out to her, and at the instant was struck by something. The last thing he saw the shadow vanishing, and taking Tily with it.
***
When he opened his eyes and saw bright daylight, he almost broke into sobs. Tily hadn't woken him that morning. What he'd seen wasn't just a dream; she really was gone. He hadn't been able to save her. But someone had saved him.
He had doubted that he would ever see daylight again, but he hadn't cared if had meant getting Tily free. But now he was seeing daylight and he hadn't succeeded. This was an odd sort of daylight, too. Stifled by a curtain. He was in a hut somewhere.
"You gave us a scare," Ly's soft voice told him. "When Globox and I caught up to you, you were floating in an unconscious state." Tily had been nowhere in sight, but she left that detail out. He was probably well aware of that fact. "Did you pass out from lack of oxygen or was it something else?"
"S-something else," he stuttered, "A shadow. something struck me. Tily said it was the man you told her about."
He sat up and looked at Ly who was perched daintily on the edge of his bed. She was quietly looking at her lap, thinking and reflecting. The man she had told Tily about...
"I think I know," she whispered suddenly, "I told her once about an odd man. Arachnid was his name. It was said that he once invaded the Fairy Council and captured nearly all of those living in it. He took their powers to help the beautiful, good things grow and turned it into something twisted, something to make strangling vines, thorns, and weeds grow. He turned almost the whole world into a poisoned, empty wasteland before one of the few fairies he had missed created a special sword and used it to wound him and trap in the heart of a mountain.
"I didn't think Tily would remember the story, but it seems that she did, and that has helped us greatly. If it really was Arachnid, then we might not be too late. But I don't see why he captured her. She's only one, young fairy, and her powers aren't fully developed."
Rayman felt the spark of hope within him grow into a flame. If they knew what they were up against and knew how to stop it, then Tily could be rescued. That sword Ly had mentioned. he had to find it.
"Where can I find that sword, Ly?" he asked eagerly, hopping out of the bed and beginning to search for his shoes.
"It's hard to get to," she informed him, "After it was used to defeat Arachnid it was taken by some young philosopher. He messed around with it for a bit for some reasons unknown, but he wasn't ever seen again. He brought it up into some mountains that were very far from where Arachnid was trapped. The fairy that made it didn't worry about him taking it too much since he knew where it was and figured the philosopher would bring it back some time. There was a cave-in at the mountain he was in, however, and that's why he hasn't been heard from. A few treasure hunters have tried getting the sword for their collections, but they all gave up."
"But were they trying to get it to save someone with?" he asked, cramming a shoe onto his foot. "Those treasure-hunters might be quitters, but I'm not. Especially when someone like Tily is in trouble."
Ly smiled for the first time since her sister had been taken away. That was one of many things she really admired about him; his ability to hope, to change from despair into eager readiness in the blink of an eye. And then there was his persistency. Some might call him stubborn, but she didn't. She called him determined. That determination was obvious in his large, dark eyes now.
"I'll come with you," she volunteered, standing. "This is a journey you can't face alone. After all, it's my sister that we're fighting for.
He looked up at her and smiled; another one of his features that she rather liked. "Thanks."
***
Globox was beyond excited. He was going on an adventure with Rayman. Unlike before when he had swallowed André, he was going of his own accord and to be helpful, not because he needed help. Or at least he hoped to be helpful. He couldn't stand the thought of getting in his best friend's way.
"Do be careful!" Uglette pleaded as she threw her wiry arms around him, "And don't go swallowing anything dangerous, now!"
"Daddy's going on an adventure!" a few of their children piped, their little voices barely audible squeaks. They seemed as excited as Globox himself. They could hardly wait to tell others that their father was going on an adventure.
"Come on, Globox!" Rayman called, "We've got a sword to find and a little fairy to save!"
Globox said good-bye to the small part of his large family and hurried after Ly and Rayman. The threesome turned and gave a final parting wave to their farewell party before disappearing into the foliage.
END PART ONE
Well, am I off to a good start? I hope so! Now, not all of the chapters will be this length, but probably not much shorter or longer. Arachnid and the events concerning him belong to me. Please inform me of any typos and I'll fix them eventually.
Part One: Arachnid Arises
By Kat Warrior
A/N: I'm using almost all characters I can think of here (well good guys, anyway), including those from a game that had no part in the Rayman storyline, Rayman Rush. Yes, I'm going to use Tily and possibly Uglette (Whose name was changed to Globette in RR for some reason.). Anyway, I don't know if Tily the fairy is related to Ly, but I would assume so since they look alike. Like I said, I don't know, so don't go around with the belief that Ubisoft has declared them sisters, OK? Most characters in this chapter are © to Ubisoft.
***
Rayman moaned in sleepy irritation when he felt something nudging at him. He had planned on sleeping rather late that morning, but it didn't seem his plans would work. But he was determined, so he would make those plans work. He continued to pretend to sleep and refused to open his eyes. Sleep. that was all he wanted.
Whoever was trying to wake him certainly was persistent. They had started rolling him and he guessed that he was no nowhere near the tree he'd fallen asleep under. Especially since the terrain had gone from grassy to sandy. Sand. they were pushing him into the water!
He jumped up and landed on his feet, panting and scanning the area for whoever had been trying to get him up. His sharp eyes found Tily, Ly's kid sister.
"Sleepy head!" she accused, pointing a short finger at him, "You can't sleep all day!"
"I could have if you didn't wake me up!" he informed her, putting his hands indignantly on his hips. "Why'd you do that, anyway?"
"Because, Ly says that the early bird gets the worm! And anyway, you need to protect the forest. It's your job, remember?"
"If worms are all those birds have to look forward to, why do they get up so early?" Rayman mumbled, and then he spoke to Tily directly. "Alright then, Tily, I'm awake and watching the forest. Happy?" Even though he argued with her like he would a sibling, Rayman was rather fond of Tily. She had a lot of spunk, and was tough competition in a race.
"Sure I'm happy!" she declared, smiling broadly, and then fluttered off, more than likely to find her sister and learn something from her.
Rayman sighed and scanned the beautiful scenery around the pond, his favorite place. Judging by the position of the sun, it was about nine in the morning, Things could have been worse; Tily could have tried waking him up three hours earlier. It was a pleasant morning anyway, so at least he could enjoy what was left of it.
"Nothing dampens your spirits, eh Rayman?" a high, male voice asked as Murphy fluttered into view. "Not even being woken up by some obnoxious fairy-kid?"
"I guess not," Rayman replied with a smile as he started looking for his shoes. Nothing dampened his spirits except maybe Murphy's mouth. The little green guy irritated him to no end, but he always tried his hardest not to be rude about it.
Rayman found his shoes and slipped them on, wondering what he would do that day. Ever since the forest fire, he had spend a great deal of time helping re-plant some things and hauling wood off to be stored and used to make fires in the winter. But just as Ly had predicted, the forest was recovering nicely, and so had Rayman from the nasty bump he'd gotten on the head. The teensies hadn't been as mad with him about the whole incident as he would have thought, which was good. When the teensies were angry practically the whole world felt it.
"Rayman!" Globox's voice called out as the pudgy blue frog-like creature came rushing into the pond clearing, "Ly wants us to come help her trans- plant some saplings."
"Alright," Rayman replied, finally having his shoes on, "What are we waiting for, then?"
Globox hurried off in the direction he had come from, trailed closely by Rayman and Murphy. In a very short time, they found Ly and Tily, working hard in an ash-covered clearing as they helped tiny trees adapt to their new surroundings.
"Welcome," Ly said as she looked up at the newly arrived helpers, "One of my cousins from another forest was kind enough to donate all of these young trees to us. If we work quickly we should have them all planted by supper time."
Rayman, Globox, and even Murphy set to work immediately. Rayman would dig the holes, move the tiny tree into it, and cover its roots with the dirt. Globox would water them and dig some holes as well. Murphy supervised.
"Ya know, you could actually help out here, Murphy," Globox informed him after he finished watering another sapling.
"I'm helping!" he declared, "Where would you be without me here to tell you what to do?"
"They would be enjoying themselves more!" Tily replied sharply, "You should stop being so lazy and help!"
"That's enough, now," Ly interjected, "The trees won't grow well if they sense anger while they're being planted. We're almost done now, and this clearing is already looking beautiful!"
The clearing did, indeed, look beautiful. Sunlight was pouring in through the large over-head gap that had once been covered by tree branches. The natural lighting might have been hot, but it added cheer to the soot and ashes remaining from the fire, and offered hope that the saplings would do well replacing their predecessors.
"This place is so pretty!" Tily chimed, as she looked over their hard work. "Maybe the fire was a good thing!"
"Yes, in a way it was," Ly agreed, "Many of the trees here were old and dying. These new ones may take quite a while to grow, but they will do well in replacing the others. Fires always open doors for new life, and this one provided us with wood to burn in the winter"
A soft, summer breeze brought the smell of rain to the air, refreshing those who were hot and sweaty from actually working. All it did for Murphy was send him flying into the woods.
"Let's go down to the pond for a swim," Rayman suggested, wiping his damp hair out of his eyes, "That cold water sounds mighty refreshing right now!"
Before he could say another word, Globox whizzed past him and down to the pond, trailed closely by Tily.
"Race you!" she called over her shoulder.
***
The pond was, indeed, refreshing. Even when the light rain did come in, no one got out of the water. If anything, it made for a wonderful, peaceful setting. The look of the millions of tiny rain drops on the water's surface accompanied by the soft mist rising from it gave it a ghostly but secure feeling. This made a perfect set-up for a game of Marco-polo.
But, during Rayman's turn, something went wrong.
"Marco!" he called out, and was answered by several voices shouting "Polo!" Strangely, he didn't hear Tily's voice respond.
"Marco!" he called again, swimming clumsily in the direction Ly's voice had come from.
"Polo!" the voices replied, Ly's being surprisingly far away. Again, he didn't hear Tily. He formed the time-out signal with his hands and opened his eyes.
"Where's Tily?" he asked, "Did she get out of the water?"
Everyone else looked about in confusion. Where had she gone to? It was likely that she was simply playing a trick on them, but still.
"Tily!" Ly called out, "Stop joking around, now! Please, show yourself if you can hear me!"
Nothing. Then, something.
A faint "Help me!" seemed to be coming from somewhere. Under the water? Rayman dove down, scanning the world beneath the surface. He spotted an odd, large air bubble, being pulled away by some strange current. He almost opened his mouth in shock when he realized Tily was trapped in the bubble. He surfaced quickly to get some air before diving again.
Ly noticed his stress and followed him. Not wanting to sit idly while there was trouble, Globox swallowed his terror and dove after them. Maybe this would bring him one step closer to being the hero he dreamed of becoming. Murphy was left alone on the surface, since he wasn't a very good swimmer.
Rayman followed the bubble as quickly as he possibly could, which was quite fast thanks to his propeller-like hair. He zoomed through the current, leaving Ly and Globox far behind. He could see Tily clearly, and see how terrified she looked. At least she could breathe. If Rayman didn't hurry, he'd have to surface and then he'd lose her.
"Rayman!" he heard her call, "Please save me! It's the man Ly told me about. Please save me!"
Rayman didn't have time to let her information sink in, he just kept going, unaware of how deep he was, not caring that he had long ago entered and under-water cavern and might never emerge again. Even though he was sincerely focused on saving Tily, something caught his attention.
They were coming upon an oddly-formed shadow that seemed to be the source of the odd current that was sucking Tily's air-bubble in. The shadow moved as they approached, and Rayman felt a horrible chill run down his back. But he brushed it off. Tily needed him and he was almost to her. He reached his hand out to her, and at the instant was struck by something. The last thing he saw the shadow vanishing, and taking Tily with it.
***
When he opened his eyes and saw bright daylight, he almost broke into sobs. Tily hadn't woken him that morning. What he'd seen wasn't just a dream; she really was gone. He hadn't been able to save her. But someone had saved him.
He had doubted that he would ever see daylight again, but he hadn't cared if had meant getting Tily free. But now he was seeing daylight and he hadn't succeeded. This was an odd sort of daylight, too. Stifled by a curtain. He was in a hut somewhere.
"You gave us a scare," Ly's soft voice told him. "When Globox and I caught up to you, you were floating in an unconscious state." Tily had been nowhere in sight, but she left that detail out. He was probably well aware of that fact. "Did you pass out from lack of oxygen or was it something else?"
"S-something else," he stuttered, "A shadow. something struck me. Tily said it was the man you told her about."
He sat up and looked at Ly who was perched daintily on the edge of his bed. She was quietly looking at her lap, thinking and reflecting. The man she had told Tily about...
"I think I know," she whispered suddenly, "I told her once about an odd man. Arachnid was his name. It was said that he once invaded the Fairy Council and captured nearly all of those living in it. He took their powers to help the beautiful, good things grow and turned it into something twisted, something to make strangling vines, thorns, and weeds grow. He turned almost the whole world into a poisoned, empty wasteland before one of the few fairies he had missed created a special sword and used it to wound him and trap in the heart of a mountain.
"I didn't think Tily would remember the story, but it seems that she did, and that has helped us greatly. If it really was Arachnid, then we might not be too late. But I don't see why he captured her. She's only one, young fairy, and her powers aren't fully developed."
Rayman felt the spark of hope within him grow into a flame. If they knew what they were up against and knew how to stop it, then Tily could be rescued. That sword Ly had mentioned. he had to find it.
"Where can I find that sword, Ly?" he asked eagerly, hopping out of the bed and beginning to search for his shoes.
"It's hard to get to," she informed him, "After it was used to defeat Arachnid it was taken by some young philosopher. He messed around with it for a bit for some reasons unknown, but he wasn't ever seen again. He brought it up into some mountains that were very far from where Arachnid was trapped. The fairy that made it didn't worry about him taking it too much since he knew where it was and figured the philosopher would bring it back some time. There was a cave-in at the mountain he was in, however, and that's why he hasn't been heard from. A few treasure hunters have tried getting the sword for their collections, but they all gave up."
"But were they trying to get it to save someone with?" he asked, cramming a shoe onto his foot. "Those treasure-hunters might be quitters, but I'm not. Especially when someone like Tily is in trouble."
Ly smiled for the first time since her sister had been taken away. That was one of many things she really admired about him; his ability to hope, to change from despair into eager readiness in the blink of an eye. And then there was his persistency. Some might call him stubborn, but she didn't. She called him determined. That determination was obvious in his large, dark eyes now.
"I'll come with you," she volunteered, standing. "This is a journey you can't face alone. After all, it's my sister that we're fighting for.
He looked up at her and smiled; another one of his features that she rather liked. "Thanks."
***
Globox was beyond excited. He was going on an adventure with Rayman. Unlike before when he had swallowed André, he was going of his own accord and to be helpful, not because he needed help. Or at least he hoped to be helpful. He couldn't stand the thought of getting in his best friend's way.
"Do be careful!" Uglette pleaded as she threw her wiry arms around him, "And don't go swallowing anything dangerous, now!"
"Daddy's going on an adventure!" a few of their children piped, their little voices barely audible squeaks. They seemed as excited as Globox himself. They could hardly wait to tell others that their father was going on an adventure.
"Come on, Globox!" Rayman called, "We've got a sword to find and a little fairy to save!"
Globox said good-bye to the small part of his large family and hurried after Ly and Rayman. The threesome turned and gave a final parting wave to their farewell party before disappearing into the foliage.
END PART ONE
Well, am I off to a good start? I hope so! Now, not all of the chapters will be this length, but probably not much shorter or longer. Arachnid and the events concerning him belong to me. Please inform me of any typos and I'll fix them eventually.