Rak!!
Damnit! My friends… How am I supposed to protect them when the empire is always two steps ahead! Paralyzers? Body Manipulators? Stone Bodies?! Goddess, I could really use your guidance… How is what I’m capable of doing suited for this?
I can’t move!!!
Ugh.
I couldn't save poor Rak from being beaten in by Tokar and the paralyzer guy. I tried with every bit of energy in my body, using whatever I could muster to move, but that only seemed to make my situation worse.
Fucked! We’re so screwed.
Tokar and his little friend laughed as they continued to wail on him. I felt the tears well up in my unblinking eyes and spill down my cheeks. Would he even survive much longer?
What was that that he’d just managed to do, anyways? He was so powerful one moment, and in the next, it all disappeared. From what I could see, his markings on his chest had sprawled out even more.
Aku laid a ways in front of me, much in the same situation that I was, staring with a rage that could burn a hole in Tokar’s back.
Goddess, where are you?! Are you truly even on our side?! Why must we face these obstacles alone, when you have the power to save us?
Suddenly, a large mysterious cloaked figure flew over me and into the fray. I watched as the person grabbed Tokar and flew off with him towards the lake, dropping him dead center with a massive splash. Tokar, thanks to his stone-encased body, sank like a rock.
You could hear the bastard's screams from the beach. It was almost humorous.
Whoever this was then flew over to the shore and grabbed a rather large rock, chucking it as hard as they could at the small Pouli and knocking him out of commission.
Finally, as the cloaked figure stood over the body of that paralyzing creep I got a good look at them.
He was a male Pouli, with white wings and dark-skin, silky black hair cascading down his back, wearing a tattered cloak made from animal hide. He looked back at us with a solemn expression, looked me in the eye and gave a small wave before flying off faster than we could blink.
Suddenly able to talk, I blurted out, “WHAT JUST HAPPENED?”
Aku looked at me, mouth agape but clearly at a loss himself. He immediately turned to run to Rak. I followed quickly in tow.
Rak was in pretty rough shape, with what seemed to be most of his limbs broken.
I… I honestly couldn't say for sure what we even could do for him. This… this could very well be his last moments.
His eyes flashed open and he gargled out, …”throw..me…i-in.. The wat-t-ter.”
Aku nodded, with a nervous but determined look on his face, lifted Rak up who responded with the most agonized, contorted facial expression and many screams of pain. Aku’s feet dragged and he winced in his own pain as he tried to move quickly without dropping him, falling onto one knee multiple times before I jumped in to help. Together we got him in the ocean.
There was a moment in the shallow water when Rak had gone completely quiet, and the only sound came from the bubbles of Tokar’s breath bellowing from the center of the lake. Then, Rak’s markings glowed more brilliantly then I’d ever seen them do so before.
His body began to heal, limbs snapping back into place and the color coming back to his already pale blue skin. He then passed out again, but much calmer now. No longer in pain.
The breath I didn’t realize I was holding released all at once, and I put my arms out in front of me to keep me from falling face first into the shallow water. I looked up at Aku who was similarly relieved, and for a second I thought he might cry. But the tears never came.
For a moment, though messed up and broken. I sat calmly, just glad that we survived this day. Thanks to our mystery savior, we could finally take in the beauty of the lake.