Rising Shards

I nearly puked it up immediately. The cinnamon aroma smelled nice, but one burp and I realized the overall taste of the drink was closer to mouthwash mixed with nasty medicine. But something told me that if I hurled it up, things would get even worse.

"Alright," I said once I was relatively sure it would stay down.

I grunted as I got back on my feet. Aira and Syval were still getting crushed by the giant crab turtle monster and probably had seconds before they were knocked out or worse.

The pain started to fade. I barely noticed that though, because I was running again, running back to the fight.

I wished I brought my bloodsaber, or that I had a beam chasers staff with me. Moments later, I felt something heavy in my hand. Like with the pile of snow I accidentally made, I now had conjured up a near perfectly carved beam chasers staff made of ice. It didn't feel at all cold in my hand. Well, it wasn't exactly perfect to a regular staff, it had a blade on one end. It would be horrible in a game and would puncture the ball immediately, but it was great for fighting void monsters.

With two quick slashes, the turtle-crab's arms were easily sliced, along with a few of its tentacles, dropping Aira and Syval safely to the ground. It was still firing lasers everywhere, so I couldn't leave it there. I leapt as high as I could, throwing my staff at the center of the crab's back, easily puncturing its shell. Then conjured up another staff, and another, stabbing them all downward. I reached out to the icy spikes I'd embedded into the monster, focusing on expanding them. Moments later, the beast exploded into a mix of void ooze and snow. Pretty good for a single jump.

Aira and Syval each groaned as I landed, as the claws that held them also melted into void goop that was all over them now.

"You guys alright?" I asked.

They didn't answer me. I repeated myself, but they just stared at me like I was a ghost.

"...Kalei?" Aira said. "Is that you?"

"What do you mean, is that me? Of course it's me!" I said.

Their silence was really weird. I looked to my right, where I could see myself in a window's reflection.

I was all shadow. My eyes glowed a deep crimson red. I would have freaked out Zeta-style, but for some reason I felt completely calm at the sight, like I was in a pleasant dream. The energy I felt crackled in me started to dissipate, the shadows fading away like water down a drain as my regular self came back into view.

"It really is you," Syval said. "What the hell was that?"

"I...I dunno," I said. "I maybe...drank that vial."

"And it powered you up that much right away?" Syval asked. "You took that thing out in like three seconds!"

"I guess I did..." I said, still feeling a bit dazed. Did I really do that?

“Is there any left for us?” Syval asked eagerly.

"Of what, the monster?" I asked.

"The vial!"

“I think I downed it all,” I said.

“Downsided it all,” Aira said.

“Heh, that’s pretty good,” Syval said. “And it’s alright, I'm sure our power boost will kick in any second."

“...what do you mean?” I asked.

Aira and Syval looked a bit sheepish.

“I know I probably don’t have the right to ask anything of you right now for rescuing me, and for the whole kidnapping deal," Aira said. "But..."

“Aira, it’s cool, I forgive you for that,” I said. "And you don't owe me just because I saved your ass from that crab."

“Can you be honest with me, then?" Aira asked. "Because I have this thing where I think something’s a good idea and dive in and then realize later that I made a huge mistake. So I'm wondering..."

"Well, we were wondering," Syval said.

What the hell was this now? Did they get knocked loopy?

"Remember those crystals we found?" Aira asked.

"From five minutes ago? Yeah?" I said.

“I was thinking if I ate one and Syval ate the other, we'd gain some big powers and really be able to do some good with Tokickaman.”

“Yes, I think eating those crystals would be an incredibly bad idea.” I said.

The two were quiet again.

"Dude, do not tell me you ate them," I said.

Aira winced as Syval scratched his head.

"You did not eat those crystals, they were like gumball sized!" I said.

"You told us not to tell you!" Aira said.

"Oh my god," I said. "When did you even have time to do that?"

“You’re gonna tell me, after drinking a mysterious substance we stole from a lab that turned you into a freaky shadow being with big ass claws and whatever else, that Aira and I were wrong for eating the crystals?" Syval asked. "You’re really going to do that?"

“Yes! Because mine was like a drink! What the hell were those, didn’t they say there were people in them?" I asked.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Syval said. "They didn't work right away, clearly."

"They probably won't work at all," I said.

"Then we'll just...digest them!" Syval said.

"I can always rely on my 'special trick' if I need it to not be in the tummy region," Aira winked.

"I hate that phrasing," I said, also hating any reminder of Aira's throw up on command trick.

The ground rumbled, and another round of random crap fell from the sky, this time a series of food carts filled with polka dotted eels. They didn't land directly on top of us, but they were close.

"We can chew each other out for being dumbasses later," I said. “We have to get back, this storm is crazy!” I yelled.

"No way," Syval said. "We just got here!"

I tried to tap into that power again, but nothing happened. Maybe it only worked for short bursts?

"If another giant crab monster shows up, I don't think I can stop it." I said. I didn't know how my new power worked, or if it was just a one off. I did know that if we stayed out here any longer, we'd risk this situation getting even stupider. After a brief argument too stupid to repeat, I somehow convinced Aira and Syval to head back to the school.

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