by Andy Nadir
Chapter Sixteen
Laxus slowly dragged himself into a sitting position. He glanced around himself. “How did I get back to my room?” He wondered.
“I carried you here after you collapsed.” Tabitha told him.
“Did we win?” He asked.
Tabitha nodded. “Yes, not that I did much to help.” She said.
Laxus grinned. “Next time.”
“When is our next fight?” He asked.
“We have an hour.” She answered.
He rolled out of bed, and picked up the Rainbow Flail. He felt a flash of warmth, and instantly felt a little better.
“We should head there, so we get first choice of sides.” He said.
Tabitha nodded, and they headed to the arena. When they reached it, there was already a massive man in the center. Laxus craned his neck to see his head, and single eye.
“A Cyclops?” He muttered.
The Cyclops laughed heartily. “You look for this, do you not?” He asked.
Laxus looked to the club he was pointing at. At the bottom, there was a black ball, with hooks coming out of it. “That’s part of the…” Laxus trailed off.
The Cyclops nodded. “Quite so! I hope you have fun getting it from me!” He called.
The announcer said something to the Cyclops, and he charged them.
The two rolled out of the way, and Laxus dragged the Flail across the Cyclops’ feet.
The giant didn’t even respond. He just slammed the head of his staff down where Laxus was standing. Laxus barely managed to jump out of the way.
Laxus whipped his blade around, and it dug into the Cyclops’ staff.
Laxus jumped up, and hugged the staff. “Tabitha, his eye is his weak point! Try to hit it!” He called.
The Cyclops growled, and punched the staff where Laxus was. Laxus swung down using his flail as a rope. He then wrapped it around the massive staff again, and continued to keep the Cyclops from using it.
Tabitha carefully pointed her dagger at the giant’s eye, and launched a beam of light. He moved at the last second, and it only grazed his eye.
He howled in pain, and slammed his staff on the floor, nearly shaking Laxus off.
Laxus unwrapped his flail from the staff, and snapped it around the Cyclops’ legs.
The Cyclops slammed his hand down near Tabitha, but she easily dodged it. She launched another beam of light at the Cyclops’ head, but he just closed his eye, and it sizzled away. “Laxus, this isn’t getting us anywhere!” She screamed.
“Just hold on, I have an idea!” He called back.
Tabitha shot another beam towards the giants eye, and he closed it again. The second he closed it, Laxus slashed the blades of his flail across the bottom part of the staff, and the hooked ball rolled off. Laxus jumped next to it, And attached it to the top blade of the flail.
Laxus drew the flail back, but stopped when it tried to lift the massive ball. Laxus cursed. “It probably weighs over a ton! I can’t lift it!” He yelled.
The Cyclops laughed. “Only I can wield it, puny human! I has big strength!” He roared.
Suddenly, Laxus had an idea. He let go of the Rainbow Flail, and ran at the Cyclops. When he reached its shadow, he put the Hellstone on it.
There was a wrenching sensation in his arm. It felt as though arcs of electricity were running up his arm. Laxus’s arm began vibrating with power.
Laxus’s arm jolted again, but he kept the ring on the shadow. Suddenly, the shadow was sucked up in to the ring, and Laxus was sent flying backwards.
The Cyclops roared in agony. “What did puny human do? I no feel strong!” He screamed in a surprisingly girly voice.
Laxus grinned darkly. He walked over to the Rainbow Flail, and picked it up without problem. “Tabitha, stop blasting his eye.” He said.
Tabitha let up her barrage thankfully. Laxus pulled his arm back, and swung the massive flail. The spiked ball crashed into the ground, and spikes of black matter shot from it like a shockwave, and it blasted through the Cyclops.
The Cyclops was left hanging from several spikes. The monster slowly melted into an oil like substance, and sank into the ground. Laxus swung the Flail over his back, and noted that the bladed chain didn’t cut into his back.
There was a massive cheer, and the entire arena shook. “Release! Release! Release!”
Laxus frowned at Tabitha. “What are they talking about?” He whispered.
She just shrugged.
“Surely you don’t want to release our two best…” The announcer started.
“Release! Release!”
“All right, fine! I will release Tabitha and Laxus to the world, and they shall never be brought here again!” He yelled.
Laxus gaped at Tabitha. “Did you just hear that?” He asked.
She nodded excitedly. “I did!” She said.
Suddenly, the ground seemed to melt, and everything went black.
Laxus woke up to find Tabitha in his arms. He reddened, and gently nudged her.
Her eyes snapped open. She immediately jumped up. “Ahh… that was awkward.” She said.
Laxus grinned. “Where are we?” He asked, looking around.
They stood in a small village, with several wooden huts around them. There was a small crowd around them, and they were all muttering excitedly.
“Ah, can we speak with whoever is in charge?” Tabitha asked loudly.
A small plump man waddled up to them. “Welcome to the town of Hallbrook!” He exclaimed.
Laxus nodded slowly. “Yeah. Think we could have something to eat?” He asked.
The man nodded vigorously. “Of course, of course!” He said.
He yelled something to a man near them, and the man scurried away. He turned back to them. “I am the mayor of this town. I must assume you were sent here from Hell’s Gate?” He asked.
Laxus nodded. “Yes, we killed a Cyclops and the crowd demanded for us to be released.”
“Oh, yes. That happens sometimes. When some champions keep loosing, the crowd feels sorry for them and demands them to be released. Wait, what?! You killed the Cyclops?” The mayor screamed.
Laxus slowly nodded. “Didn’t I just say that?” He asked.
The mayor staggered backwards. “The beast with the strength of a thousand men, and you beat it?” He asked quietly.
Laxus nodded. “And I stole his shadow too!”
The mayor shook his head. “How can you steal a shadow?” He asked.
Laxus held up his hellstone ring.
The mayor shrugged. “Anyone can have that. You must have immense power to be able to steal a grand champion’s shadow.” He said.
He saw Laxus’s frown. “The Cyclops beat every champion the arena had to offer.” The mayor explained.
Laxus nodded. “Was he a bad man?” He asked.
The mayor nodded sadly. “He worked for Gryphon house. He was the tax collector before he became a champion. He murdered my five year old son when he didn’t hand over the tax on his food.” He said.
Laxus was shocked. “You have a tax on eating?” He asked.
The mayor nodded. “And my son didn’t even have any money!” He sobbed.
Laxus looked outraged. “I want to speak with this Gryphon house guy.” He muttered.
The mayor shook his head quickly. “There is no way you could! He has several grand champions in his service, not to mention he is hundreds of miles away from here!” He said.
Laxus frowned. “I’ll find a way. Maybe later. Do you think we could sleep for a little?” He asked.
The mayor nodded. “Of course! I will have your food brought to your rooms. Please follow me.”
The mayor led the two into a small cabin near the edge of the village. He opened the door, and waved them in. Laxus didn’t even look at the room. He launched himself onto the bed, and moaned contentedly. The door shut behind him, and Tabitha walked in. She looked around the room. “This is rather strange.” She muttered.
Laxus frowned, and go
t out of bed. He looked around the cabin. There was a small fireplace, with a desk next to it. Next to him was a large bed, large enough to fit several people into.
Laxus shrugged. “What’s wrong?” He asked.
Tabitha raised her eyebrows. “Look a little closer.” She said.
Laxus eyed the room. “What?” He asked.
Tabitha sighed. “How many of us are there?” She asked.
“Two”
“And how many beds?”
Laxus reddened. “Oh, I didn’t really think about that.”
Tabitha snickered. “Didn’t, or didn’t want to?” She teased.
“Oh, shut up.” He said.
Laxus laid back down in bed, and pulled the blankets over himself. “Well, I’m not getting out. You can sleep on the floor if you want.”
“No way! You can sleep on the floor!” She returned.
“I’m not moving.” Laxus said stubbornly.
“Well, if you’re not moving, then I have an idea.” She said.
“What?” Laxus asked.
Tabitha shoved Laxus to the side of the bed near the wall, and sat down on the other side.
“Oi, what do you think you’re doing? I’m not sharing my bed!” He said.
“Just shut up.” She said. She pointed her hand at the bed, and a wall of light sprang up between the two sides.
Laxus prodded the wall of light. “Seems sturdy. Fine, but if this goes down, you’re sleeping on the floor.” He said.
He turned over, and fell asleep.
Laxus woke to sunlight steaming in through a small window in the back of the cottage. He rolled over, and bumped into Tabitha. “What the heck?” He hissed.
He moved backwards as quietly as he could. “What happened to the wall?” He wondered.
“Of course! She can’t keep up magic while she’s sleeping! Bah, that idea was half baked.” He muttered.
He gently pushed the bed away from the wall, and slipped to the ground. He sushi rolled under the bed, and stood up on the other side of the bed. He left a note saying he had gone to explore the village, and headed out of the cabin.