"You think maybe it's a new type of parasite?" Gravixor asked, her hand resting on the hilt of her axe.
"Maybe," Grinex replied. "Who knows in this neck of the woods."
Suddenly, Grinex's ears shot up. The two of them leaped to the side, a fraction of a second before a wave of shimmering Abi energy scorched the earth where they had just been standing. From the trees, a boy named Levy emerged, an Artimancer. He held a staff in his hand, its tip still glowing. "Alright, you ugly parasites," he shouted, his voice high and shrill, "I'm gonna kill all of you!"
"It's a human child," Grinex said, his massive body tensing.
"He looks Braxill's age," Gravixor noted.
Levy didn't wait for a response. He summoned several Abi Mancer spears, and from them, ethereal arms shot out, chasing after Grinex and Gravixor.
Levy, with a roar of pure strength, sliced through the first few arms, but his axe shattered as it collided with the fourth. The hand slammed him into the ground, temporarily immobilizing him. The arm moved to attack Gravixor, who, with her slim build, dodged it easily. Levy chuckled. "You're pretty quick for a disgusting abomination."
He then fired a concentrated Abi blast from his staff, shocking Gravixor and sending her falling to the ground.
Just as Levy raised his staff for a final blow, footsteps approached from the woods. The boy turned to see Braxill, his face serious and his eyes locked on the fallen bears. "Why are you hurting my friends?"
Levy's laughter echoed through the trees. "A human who's friends with parasites? Ha ha ha, traitor!"
"They are not parasites, they're animals called bears." Braxill corrected, his voice calm but firm.
"Oh, now that I think about it, they do kinda look different off compared to parasites." Levy said, his tone still condescending. "My bad. Filthy Zoner."
"What did you say?" Braxill's eyes narrowed.
"You heard me," Levy sneered. "Filthy Zoner. You're not Royal, that's for sure, I don't see a single cybernetic part on you." He held up his left hand, which appeared normal until it suddenly lit up, revealing its mechanical core.
"I don't know what you're on about," Braxill said, "but you shouldn't use your Art to hurt people!"
"Art, lol, don't insult me," Levy scoffed. "I'm an Artimancer, not some dreamy, delusional artist. My power comes from hard work. In layman's terms, I'm a craftsman, and yeah, I said man, because women are mostly artists and they're the most delusional hahahaha."
"What are you talking about?" Braxill retorted. "Plenty of artists in the past were men!" Grinex and Gravixor, now recovering, watched the exchange with confused expressions.
"Not true," Levy insisted. "Father says women were artists. Men were Artimancers who built the world. Women destroyed it. Fathers the greatest artimancer and police chief of the Artimancer police force."
Levy's grin fades "He hates artists and so do I.'
"Well then, do something about it," Braxill challenged, his left eye lighting up with a vibrant green glow.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Levy's face contorted in fury. "You're an artist! You're trash!" He pointed his staff, releasing a massive beam of Abi. Braxill simply walked forward, and in front of him, a large, creeping wooden door with blinking eyes materialized, absorbing the entire blast. The boy's eyes widened in fear at the sight of the moving door.
"I don't know what an Artimancer is and I don't care," Braxill said, his voice flat. "You don't get to just show up here and hurt my friends."
"I can do what I want because I am Royal, and you're nothing but a stupid artist!" Levy screamed.
Suddenly, a woman's voice echoed in Braxill's mind. "You're nothing but a stupid artist, you're stupid, stupid ninja boy."
Braxill's face twisted in pain. "No, stop saying that."
The woman's voice persisted. "But you're stupid."
Braxill's joy and innocence were completely eclipsed by a cold, searing rage.
He reaches his hand out but his eye only flickers green, He grunted "I sitll haven't regained all my Abi." He forces his eye to glow green "Redd Jack!" The ground shook as the colossal Robot appeared, its appearance frightening and with glittering glow. The robot let out a smooth vocal note "Shamone".
Levy shrieked and fell to the ground, crawling away in terror. He pointed his releasing an etherla Abi hand but Reddjack moved like a smooth cirminal and kicked the hand out of existence.
"Finish him off, Braxill!" Grinex roared, his own rage at the boy still burning.
"Braxill, noooo, don't do it!" Gravixor screamed, trying to reason with him.
Just then, Peekol rushed in. "Braxill, wait!"
Braxill's focus broke, his eye began to flicker, ReddJack withered away and Braxill turned to Peekol, his rage still simmering beneath the surface. "Peekol?"
"Please, don't harm the child," Peekol pleaded, his chest heaving from the run. "He's the son of the Zoner Knight, Naggi. He fled from his territory. He's a troubled kid."
"The kid just tried to kill us!" Grinex protested.
"I understand that," Peekol said. "But Grax sent me on behalf of the knight Naggi. She requested that we bring the boy back to her land."
Mid-sentence, Braxill's eyes lit up again, his expression unreadable. A small, pixelated cobra materialized and sneakily crawled behind Levy. "I ain't going anywhere and I damn sure ain't going back home, I hate it there!" Levy shouted, his bravado returning. "You trash artists don't get to decide how I live my—"
He suddenly stopped, looking down at his leg. The cobra was sinking its fangs into him. His vision blurred instantly, and he collapsed, passing out.
"Braxill, you killed him!" Gravixor screamed, her eyes wide with horror.
Braxill slightly irritated by Gravixor's screechy voice, looking completely unbothered, simply put his hands in his pockets. "I didn't kill him. He's just knocked out." He then turned and walked away.
"Oh, I was worried for a second," Gravixor said, relieved. Grinex's eyes followed Braxill's retreating form, a flicker of concern in their depths.
They returned to the tribe base, where Grax and Grixie were waiting. Grinex held the unconscious boy by his collar and dropped him unceremoniously on the ground. Grax pressed a device he held in his hand, and a holographic screen popped up. On the screen was Naggi, the Zoner Knight, his face etched with worry. "My son Levy, is he alive?" she asked, her voice full of concern.
"Yeah, he's just taking a nap," Grinex said gruffly.
"Thank you for not harming him," Naggi said.
"He tried to kill us," Grinex said, not letting it go.
"Please forgive him. I take full responsibility for this," Naggi said, her face falling. "The boy is troubled. He's been brainwashed by his father to hate artists and animals and even women. It's my fault because I was not present in his early life until now."
"We'll have the child delivered to you today," Grax said, his tone sympathetic.
"Thank you, Grax." Naggi's eyes then shifted to Braxill. "Is that the child who defeated a Sedmo?"
"Yes, that's Braxill, one of the bears' greatest assets," Grax said proudly.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Braxill."
Braxill, still brooding, simply scoffed and walked off. Gravixor followed him, leaving a perplexed Naggi on the screen.
"Grinex," Grax said, turning to him, "take Gravixor and Braxill with you. Escort the boy back to the Zoner Knights' territory."
"I will leave as soon as Grutix makes another axe for me," Grinex replied.
Gravixor "Braxill," she said softly.
"What do you want?" Braxill grumbled.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing," he lied. "I'm just not feeling too good, ive been losing a lot of sleep." He sat against a tree alone, lost in thought.
Grax walked up to him and sat beside him on the ground. "Sleep is important, without it you won't be able to perform at your best, What's bothering you, little cub?"
"I don't know," Braxill said, his voice quiet. "That kid said a lot of hurtful things. Some of it got under my skin, I honestly don't even know why."
"You lost your memory, so it's possible something in your subconcious was triggered ," Grax said, his deep voice soothing. "People will always say things that will upset you. If you cling to every word then you will never be at peace Braxill. Never lose your joy, son, because that is the lifeline of your imagination."
Braxill sighed and smiled, the words washing over him. "Thanks, Papa Bear."
Grax smiled back. "I'll need you to accompany Grinex and Gravixor to escort the boy back to the Zoner Knights. Can you do that for me?"
Braxill nodded, the anger gone from his eyes.