Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Heat surrounded him, clogging the air with smoke and burning everything it touched. He was lying on the ground for some odd reason. He tried to move, call out for help, anything, but nothing worked. Why wasn't it working why couldn't he SEE why did it HURT SO MUCH PLEASE SOMEONE WHY WASN’T ANYONE ANSWERING.

It was ok-everyone was fine, he was fine. He just needed to get home, that was it. He couldn't remember what happened but that was ok too; and the place his brother’s Wakfu usually rested comfortably against his was empty but he was sure Adamai was ok, everything was fine.

He gritted his teeth and clawed his way up to standing, using something unnaturally metal to hold himself up. He could feel something wet dripping down his face, and his torso was burning, but it was ok because Adamai could help; he just needed his brother.

His Wakfu sight was working, not very well, he could barely see the string of Wakfu leading him home, but it was enough. He started stumbling along, following the strand that would surely lead him home and to safety. The metal he was leaning against and using to keep himself upright was hot underneath his hands, but he wouldn't give up, his people needed him.

Time passed by him, hazy and distorted. Eventually the metal ended and he was forced to use his fingers to pull himself forward. When his bloodied hands finally hit the cool surface of the entrance to the sanctuary, he almost cried. He was finally home, now he just had to find his siblings.

As he used the walls to stagger along the endless halls of the sanctuary, he tried to call out again, scream for help, but nobody was answering. Why wasn't anybody answering? Why wasn't anyone home?

He was stumbling his way to the medical area when his Wakfu sight gave up, leaving him blind once again. Thankfully, he was close enough to use his hands to grope at the walls and feel his way there. After a while, his hand eventually hit the open entrance and he was able to stagger in, greeted by the vague smell of medicinal herbs.

He cried out once again, and was finally answered.

“M-my king?” A wavery voice called out from the back of the room, sounding shocked.

His head shot up, and he warbled a desperate noise of distress. His legs gave out and he collapsed to the floor, spent from the long trek home.

A gasp was accompanied by a hurried rush of steps, and he felt a presence kneel beside him.

Warm, soft hands gently reached out and lifted his head onto their lap, cradling his wings in their hands.

“Oh, my king, how are you still alive? I thought you had perished alongside the rest of the council.”

What? No, no they-they couldn't be dead. No, no, no he needs them they can't be dead what happened? Where was everyone? Where was his brother?

Blood choked in his throat and felt himself gasping. Why was everything so fuzzy and disjointed? He heard the other person talk again but he couldn't understand. Why couldn't he remember?

Those warm hands moved to the sides of his face and he felt the other’s mind reach out to his, laying a comforting blanket of calm over his thoughts and quickly flitting through his recent memories and feelings before pulling back out and running their hands through his hair comfortingly.

“Please stay calm my king, you're in shock. You have barely enough Wakfu to stay alive and you used most of it to keep your body together long enough to make it here. You might not be dead but I fear if you don't get a big enough boost immediately, your life force will go out.” He could hear the despair and grief in their voice but his head was too fuzzy to understand why.

He tried to choke out a question about where the rest of his people were, but coughed weakly instead, spitting a substantial amount of blood onto the cold stone floor.

They seemed to take this as a sign to move along, gently sliding their arms under him and lifting him up; carrying him close to their chest and making their way somewhere.

After a little bit of walking, he was gently laid on a soft surface, surrounded by blankets. Through the haze of his mind, he recognized the scent and realized he was placed in his bed.

The person seemed to bring out something from somewhere and he felt as they began winding soft bandages around his eyes and torso.

“These will keep you from bleeding out as you sleep and heal.” They murmured gently, making sure to also bandage his damaged forearms and hands.

As they finished, he pulled enough strength together to ask a single question.

“Where are they?” He slurred.

The eliatrope paused and sighed. “Gone. I'm sorry, King Yugo, you are the last.”

“Me?” His tongue felt heavy and all he wanted to do was sleep.

“Yes.” he heard the sad smile in their words, “you need that boost of Wakfu from somewhere, don't you?”

It took far too long for him to understand their words, but it was already too late when he finally did. Their hands were once again on the sides of his head, and the last thing he heard was a gentle whisper.

“Sleep.”

And he did.

Chapter Text

It was a beautiful day in Bonta. The sun was warming the air, the wind was gently blowing through the marketplace, and an Ecaflip was running full tilt through the dense crowds, shoving past anyone unfortunate enough to get in his way. 

The frantic man dashed around a corner, barely dodging the powerful swing of a shovel. The split second evasion made him lose his footing; sliding across the smooth stone of the pathway and sending him into a stall. He tried to get up once again, but stopped when he felt a shovel under his chin. He slowly glanced up, meeting the eyes of his assailant. 

Holding onto the other end of the weapon was a broad shouldered man, adorned in loose clothes with a few colorful beads threaded through his chestnut beard. His face was set in a determined frown.

“You’ve lost, Sige,” he said, “no use trying anything funny now.”

The Ecaflip reluctantly raised his hands in surrender, scowling as the other man snapped cuffs on his wrists. He was forced to stand and the man set a firm hand on his bicep, but instead of leaving, the man simply stood there, seemingly waiting for something. 

His attention was drawn by a set of steps running in from the side. From an alley nearby emerged another man, albeit much older. His hair was a pale white, and was pulled up into a ponytail. The man perked up when he saw them, trotting up to the pair cheerfully. 

“Finally caught! You were a real slippery one weren’t you?” He glanced at the man holding him. “That plan of yours didn’t hold up well ey Alibert?” He prodded cheekily. 

Alibert sighed, shaking his head. “It never does Ruel.” 

Ruel nodded and shrugged. “Eh, no use moaning about it now. We caught him anyway, so time to collect that sweet sweet reward and celebrate!”

“As long as I’m not the one paying this time.”

“Oh my dear friend, you make me laugh.” 

-

The first rays of the next morning’s light found the pair sitting at the base of a statue, munching on a large breakfast, courtesy of the funds gained from their bounty. The city was just beginning to wake up, the first vendors of the day already setting up and the occasional straggler making their way to an unknown destination. 

Alibert paused his eating and sighed, causing Ruel to look up from his sandwich questioningly. 

“What’s the matter my friend?” The man questioned, setting down his food to look at his partner.

“Well,” Alibert started, “this is a great job, and it pays well, but don’t you feel like there's something bigger we should be a part of? Like something is missing?”

Ruel looked at him in bewilderment. “Why are you asking?”

Alibert looked down at his food “I guess, I don't know… it feels like there's something out there, something big that I need to be a part of.”

Ruel opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a screech from nearby.

Both men shot up, looking for where it came from and landing on a small crowd forming a couple blocks away. They took off, rushing over to the crowd and shoving through the wall of people to the center. 

Alibert was expecting a lot of things. What he was not expecting was the source of the noise to be from a young, angry looking Sadida girl. She was faced off with an annoyed street vendor, a similarly young Cra holding the other girl back probably being the only reason the two angry people weren’t rolling on the ground throwing punches. 

The Sadida was struggling against the Cra in order to get closer to the vendor, shrieking. “YOU TAKE THAT BACK YOU TWO FACED B-”

She was interrupted when Alibert stepped in between the two. 

“Hey, hey let’s break it up okay? Let’s all just step back and take a breath,” He gently wrapped his arm around the seething Sadida and led her away from the stall and crowd around it. He led the two girls to a fountain nearby, and sat them down, the Cra looking relieved. 

“Okay, let’s talk. What happened? Why were you trying to maul the vendor?” He asked, pointedly looking down at the girl, who to her credit was now looking a tiny bit ashamed. 

Her gaze hardened and she scowled indignantly, crossing her arms. “WE didn’t do ANYTHING! That… WOMAN wouldn’t sell us a map, and then she-”

“-said some very bad things, because you offered to pay through credit.” The Cra interrupted, rolling her eyes.

“Well!...It’s not like I had time to grab that much money when we snuck out! The fate of the world is at stake and you expect me to pay for things?!...Hmph!” The other girl huffed and glared at the stone beneath their feet. 

Alibert raised his eyebrow, but turned when Ruel finally caught up. 

“You couldn’t wait for me could you? Leave old Ruel behind with these old bones.” He moaned, hunching over to prove his point. 

Alibert rolled his eyes but turned back to the girls. “Now what were you saying about the “end of the world”?”

The Sadida’s eyes lit up at his words and she stood up. “The WORLD is at stake, and we need to get to wherever Mount Anbraxas is! But we can’t find it on any maps so we came here, but no one either knows where it is or won’t sell us a map!” She declared.

The two men shared a look. 

“And… How is the world at stake, may I ask?” Inquired Ruel.

“I… well… I don’t really know,” she muttered, looking at the ground, “But I do know that it has to do with what’s happening to the Sadida tree! Please, you have to help!”

“How do you know that the world is in trouble?” Alibert questioned, raising an eyebrow.

The girl blushed and shuffled, staring a hole into the side of the fountain. “It… came to me in a dream,” She looked up at them, “But I promise you, it’s true! I have prophetic visions, and the tree told me itself so it has to be!”

He sighed, rubbing his eyebrows. “And what are your names? Do you need any help getting home?”

The Sadida straightened, tilting her chin up proudly. “I am Princess Amalia Sheram Sharm, and I order you to help me find Anbraxas! Also, this is my bodyguard, Evangeline.” She pointed to the Cra still sitting on the fountain, looking exasperated. 

Alibert and Ruel shared yet another look, before he turned to the girls. “If it’s that important to you, we will help. I believe I know what mountain you are talking about,” the her eyes lit up, “But,” he added, raising his hand “we are going to take you there, and then we are taking you right back to your kingdom. I would try to take you back right now, but I’m guessing you won’t go without a fight.”

The girls shared a look. Evangeline wrapped her arm around Amalia and led them a little away, beginning a whispered conversation. As they whispered, Ruel turned to him. “Do you believe them? That’s a pretty big claim to make.” 

Alibert spared the girls a glance before shaking his head softly. “I’m not sure what to believe. All I do know is that Amalia claimed they “snuck out” which means the kingdom is going to be looking for them, and I’d rather make sure they don’t get hurt. Besides, I know where the mountain is and the faster they complete their “quest”, the faster we can get them home.” 

Ruel’s eyes twinkled. “And, bringing their missing princess home will probably get us a pretty big reward, right?” Alibert glared at him and his grin fell.

The two girls seemed to finish their conversation, and made their way back over. 

“We will take you up on that offer, Sir…” 

“Aliberts’ fine, and that’s Ruel.” He answered.

“Well

,” she grinned, “welcome to the journey!”

She stretched out her hand and he shook it.