Lo-Nine

Baxter

He was a sad, lost little dog in a land of darkness.

Baxter scampered around, searching for Gideon and the others.

“Gid!” he barked, echoing off into the abyss. He let out a yip, spooked by his own voice.

“Gid!” he whispered, ears perking up and listening for any reply.

He mentally accessed his QSD, spending some time typing out a message.

“Gid.”

Error - Gid command unknown

say ‘help’ for more options

It was only a matter of finding the correct way of sending messages.

“Gid- Gid- Gid!”

Error - Gid Gid Gid command unknown

Say ‘help’ for options

Were you meaning to use a message application?

Y/N

Or being tech literate.

His nose twitched as he sniffed the air, trying to decipher the strange message.

“But what does ‘Why’-‘En’ mean?”

Technology was needlessly complex. If only Steak or Pat were here. He gave up with a chuff, shaking his hide and continuing his journey. He trotted on, scanning through the darkness. He let out a low whine, unable to sniff out Gideon and the others. He was well and truly lost. The fear of abandonment ran through him. They wouldn’t just leave him, would they?

“No! Gid and Shin would never leave me!” he barked at the accusation into the dark.

Wouldn’t they?

His trotting became a scamper, which turned into a full sprint.

“Saddiffer! Where are you?”

He couldn’t hear from his pet, but he could feel him still alive.

That meant they were relatively safe. But why did they suddenly vanish? The ship and Propplesnop were also gone, too. As soon as he turned around, they had disappeared. He continued to sprint, scanning the darkness. He halted at the silhouette as it turned to greet him. It was a small person in a green robe with green skin. It squeaked at him in surprise, brandishing his knife.

Baxter growled and raised his hackles at the bad guy.

The green robed guy widened his eyes, backing away as he gripped the knife in both hands. Baxter softened his aggression upon seeing the fear radiate from it. It spoke in a raspy tone.

“Oh mighty spirit- forgive this fool’s trespass!”

The fight he had expected had not come. He licked his chops, ears straight and alert at the potential bad guy.

“Where is Gid?”

The green person who might have been a bad guy looked confused.

“Who is Gid?”

Who wouldn’t know who Gideon was? Was he new?

“I am looking for my best friend Gideon. He is the very best person. We must look together!”

The green person’s eyes darted as he put his knife away. He gave a hurried nod as he followed behind him.

Baxter click-clacked on the warm stoney surface. It reminded him of Gid’s room when they were on that space base thing for the ship test thing in the galaxy of… Thingy. If it had nothing to do with food or play or family, then it was difficult enough to remember things. Planets should be named after delicious steaks, not whatever they were normally named them after. He sniffed the air, catching the scent of many different things, including the strange green guy behind him. He spun quickly, looking back to see two of them.

How were there two?

He gruffed a low growl at the second one. It too was green, sporting emerald robes. It ducked its head, looking away from him. Baxter sniffed back at him, satisfied that these strange guys were pacified. Now he had two people looking for Gid.

He trotted on, searching for anyone he knew.

"Gid? Ooooh Giiiid?"

He looked behind, seeing more green robed guys. Where were they coming from? Had they always been there? Oh well, more people to help. They did seem more confident, which was good because that meant they knew they'd find Gid here soon. The soft footfalls became a clatter as he glanced back, spotting more and more green robed guys. And one of them was big and grey. Baxter sniffed at them, detecting more and more bad guy from the group. He turned to face them, ears alert.

"Hey, you're not helping me find Gid!"

The large one spoke.

"Oi, little spirit pup, we'ze doing the best we canz, eh? Its dark down here!" His large bat ears twitch and scanned like radar dishes.

Well, that seemed like a reasonable explanation. He walked along, sniffing and listening for Gideon and Shindow. They had to be somewhere around here. They couldn’t just disappear. Although with those Dusk bad guys, anything was possible. He always wanted to meet one.

And beat one. Now he could, although that Aoife watcher was scary… Rump squishies were no fun! And the dreaded sticky notes…

He felt a sudden smack in the rump and spun with a yip. The grey skin guy with the big gut and green robes had swung his big stick at him. He was surrounded by dozens of green guys, all brandishing their knives, sporting wicked grins.

That was completely unfair! They were going to help him find Gid!

“Hey, you all be good boys right now and help me find Gid!”

He growled at them as they advanced, seeking to surround him.

“Little spirit pup is going to taste good!” one squawked. The others all laughed with him, brandishing their knives.

There were a lot of them. He could probably beat them all up, but that’d take forever! Gid could be anywhere. So he breathed in deep, feeling the power from before.

Black miasma flowed from his mouth and nostrils forming a large cloud. It caught the closest who gagged and retched instantly. The fat grey one keeled over, rolling and gripping at his throat.

The rest on the outer edges screamed and fled into the dark. The ones he caught had gone still apart from the twitching of their limbs. He marched over to the grey one and began smacking his head with his paw. The fat one let out a stymied grunt with each tap.

“You be good boys from now on- OK? No more being bad- that is not OK! You’re all bad boys!”

He turned and kicked his hind legs, letting out a snort as he trotted away out of the miasma cloud. At least they were easy to deal with, unlike the bug-eyed-guy or the clicky-guys or the pale-guys. Or the Breath guy. He didn’t like those guys at all- not one bit. Now he added the sneaky green guys to the list. They were like the sneaky black robe guys, but less sneaky. Still sneaky, but not as sneaky. Green robes bad.

He made his way to a solid wall, far too tall to leap up. He scampered over, standing and leaning his front paws against it, staring up into the darkness. He let out a low whine. Gid and the others could fly, but he could not. If he had his Hind, he still couldn’t fly, but it would still be nice. He regretted breaking it before the mission. He was still getting used to his considerable strength and abilities. He trotted along the wall, wandering around. He spotted an opening, just wide enough for him. It was a thin canyon, smooth as the floor.

“Gid?”

He listened to his voice bounce off the rocks. He sniffed briskly, cautiously meandering towards the entrance.

“Hello?”

“Hello....”

“Hellooo…”

“Helloooo…”

His words echoed back at him. He creeped along, body low and tense as his ears twitched and swiveled. He could hear noise up ahead. There was a light. It got brighter the closer he came. As did the volume of sound.

He scampered ahead, entering a large half-arena. There in the middle he spotted a tall armored green guy. It was like Deb, but it was taller than her, who he thought was already big. But this one was bigger. It had wings made of blades and fought in the same style, using them as weapons.

“It is a green angel guy,” he sniffed.

It stood at nine feet tall, armored head to toe in platemail. It was thin and lithe, dancing with impossible agility as it cut down a foe wearing all black with a gold visor. The man screamed as he was practically bisected down the torso before dropping to the ground. The angel kicked out, sending the ruined man flying into the arena wall. There he settled with the others. Baxter noticed the arena was littered with the bodies of green bad guys and black guys who also appeared to be bad. The angel let out a hollow cackling laugh that sent a chill down his spine. They planted their bloodied and bent claymore into the ground, sitting atop a large rock in the center. Baxter crept up to the edge, looking down into the arena. The angel’s visored face stared back at him with baleful eyes. He began to speak, his voice softer than he expected of something so scary.

“Demons show me grace,”

“Redemption of past sin,”

“Twice now I betray,”

He didn’t understand what was said, but it did sound nice. He glanced about, seeing other green robed and black armored guys all standing or sitting around.

“A dog? Where did he come from?” one of the golden visored men asked.

He trotted up to him, feeling the intense power of the person. He was far stronger than Gideon and perhaps even Deborah. Saddiffer was still a good match for him, though. Saddiffer never lost- except to him. He was cautious, waiting for the inevitable attack.

“Oh. Yes Hello. I am Baxter. I am a good boy.”

“He talks- Greetings, little pup. I take it you’re here to fight Barthin- the one in the middle,” the man who spoke was about six feet tall, stocky and wide, shoulder a pulse rifle. His face was hidden behind a gridded golden visor.

“I do not know- is Gideon behind him? Why are there so many bad guys?” he asked, glancing towards the small entrance at the angel’s back.

“Him? That traitor? He’s decided to set himself up as a guard of sorts. Thought he was slain in the Underrealm skirmishes… Didn’t know he was driven mad by a demon,” the man’s hands clenched enough for Baxter to hear. He could see others slumped against the wall, defeated in spirit.

“Gideon? Haven’t seen anyone by that name. We’re ordered to take you and everyone here, but whatever this strange room is- it prevents any combat until one sets foot in the arena… With him. As far as we know, that’s the only way forward.”

The only way forward? He just needed to go backwards then. He turned, seeing the crevice he came from had vanished- in its place was solid black rock. He let out a low whine.

“What I find strange about you- dog- is that your presence is massive. What are you?”

That was an odd question.

“I am Baxter,” he replied. That should solve any confusion.

“What? No- I can tell, how are you so strong?”

Oh. The gem. And his pet Saddiffer. He took in a deep breath and spoke in one long train of a sentence.

“We crashed on a planet and fought the black bad guys and also demon bad guys, but I had stolen Eggs-er-stuck and we let them out and they didn’t kill us because I signed their paper thingy and then we got attacked by an angel whose name was Deb and also another big stinky demon bad guy who was scary and so we fought them all and also some floating bad guys and then Gid got hurt and I ate the demon paper thingy and made him sign my paper thingy and named him Saddiffer and then we found out it was Probblsnop running the giant Rumblers the whole time and we won!”

“What?” the man replied.

But he was far from done. He breathed in and began again.

“And then we flew and had christmas and one time I got lost on the ship and then we met another ship and we decided to help and we met a girl and her animal friends and we fought demons which I call Begs and then I got lost and helped animal friends but they got eaten by demons which is sad and I found Gideon and Shindow and Shindow got taken by a bad slime guy and we fought a breather guy who was bad and Deb beat him and then we found Shindow and fought ink girl and crow robe and then I got lost and then I fought more demons and then strange things happened and I got pats and steak then we won!”

The man glanced at the others. Everyone within earshot shrugged, including the green guys who listened intently.

Baxter breathed in again, implying a third long tirade.

“That is it.”

Or he had no more to say.

“That is… A story of sorts. Not sure it explains anything… But if you intend to fight Barthin, just know he’s tough, hits hard, and can sing weapons into existence.”

Now it was Baxter’s turn to be confused. He didn’t have time for this.

“Oh. Well. I need to go bye!” he scampered away before the man could stop him. Others perked up at the newcomer, eyeing him suspiciously.

“The emerald champion attacks his own… One after our god’s own heart…” a green guy mumbled as he sat along the arena rails.

He trotted down the ramp, spotting the entrance to the arena. He felt a tinge of nervousness as he approached the sandy area, getting closer to the angel. Gid had to be this way. He smelled the air, finding no scent of Gid, or anyone else he recognized for that matter. He could hear the crying and groans from the piles of bodies along the inner wall. He began to pant with stress.

But he had to go this way.

“Are you my next opponent? A pup? Is there no one left but dogs?” the green angel spoke, turning his full gaze to him. He could hear the shisking and scraping of plate armor as it moved.

“I am Baxter! You need to be a good boy right now and let me pass! I need to find Gid!”

“Pass? None who challenge leave unscathed. If you can defeat me, then I’ll honor your request.

“Why?” Baxter asked.

The green angel cocked his head, standing to his full height.

“Why? Because when one has power, nothing is more just and pure than to use it against those who are frail. The weak should fear the strong. It is the answer in this universe. Power. Show me yours, pup.”

He let out a low thrumming tune as the sand to his right began to pile up. Out sprouted a ten foot long steel poleaxe. Baxter gulped, tucking in his rump as he began panting harder. For the first time since his contract signing, he was going to fight by himself against a really really scary bad guy.

The green bad guy shrieked as it branched out its wings and lept high into the sky, poleaxe swinging in a downward cleave. Baxter’s adrenaline kicked in and the bad guy appeared to slow down. He was so entranced by the display he almost forgot to dodge. He side stepped in time as the axe-head got within inches of him. It slammed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. Baxter zipped in, clamping down hard on the pole with the force of what Shindow had said was forty-thousand tons. That sounded like a lot. He snipped right through the weapon and scampered away as the angel brought back a ruined stump. He discarded it, letting out a cackling laugh.

“A dog that is far more capable than anyone here. Now I'm curious. What are you?”

“I am Baxter and I am a good boy!” he barked as he charged the angel at full sprint.

The bad guy lept and flowed into the air, faster than before, dodging his headbutt in time. He dropped down further away, singing his song as he pulled an eight foot claymore from the sand. He wielded it blade downward, wings branching and scissoring behind him.

He didn’t want to fight, but if this is what it took to find Gideon.

He rushed ahead, kicking up sand as he closed the distance fast. The green bad guy blurred jabbing with the point of the claymore. It was going so slow. Was he doing it on purpose?

I am fast! he concluded.

He chomped down on the blade and pulled, the bad guy appeared surprised and pulled off balance as it cackled. They let go of his sword, striking out with a kick, catching him in the side. Baxter braced, using all of his power on instinct. He closed his eyes, awaiting the pain. He’d been kicked before, sometimes on accident, sometimes on purpose. Never by his family, though. Bad guys came in all shapes and sizes. But this time, he was ready for it.

The kick rang out like a gong, deafening all that heard it. He remembered Saddiffer talking about how they were a mountain. And so, to be like a mountain, he had to think like a mountain. Although the question was- how did one think like a mountain? They never appeared to be thinking of anything except being tall and rocks. It was never clear on that. The green angel pulled back in a flurry of bladed wings, eyeing him. The kick had hurt, but he wasn’t going to let that stop him from finding Gideon.

“Where is Gid?” he barked, hackles raised.

The green bad guy stood tall, drawing another blade from the sand.

“I know not of who you speak. But you had at least earned my respect. You’ve lasted longer than the rest-”

“That is so many words! Where is Gid?”

The green angel twitched at his interruption. He unsheathed the wavy bladed sword, far larger than the others. They rushed in just as he snapped his jaws on their ankle. Except he snapped at empty air. The sword came rushing down seeking to cleave him in two. He hopped to the side, catching a shin in the side, lifting him high off the ground with a yelp. A flurry of punches, kicks, and wing blades kept him aloft as they struck with thunderous blows. With a final blow that rung his head, he was sent sailing to the edge of the arena as he howled. He struck the ground hard. Spot and lights danced in his vision as he rolled to his feet, shaking his head. He looked for the angel, seeing no one. His doggy instincts kicked in and he scampered to the side as they plunged the sword into the ground, missing him. They had attacked from up above.

He lunged again for his ankle and again they had lept away.

“Stay still!” he barked.

This was a difficult fight. The green bad guy was very fast and agile, more so than he thought. He kept rushing at the bad guy, brunting through the blade that struck him, warping and shattering the sword from the impact. A plate boot struck him in the nose, sending him reeling back before he could ‘mountain’. It was hard trying to do that while also wanting to chase the bad guy.

This was taking too much time! Gideon needed help. He rushed for the entrance, only to be grabbed on his flank and tossed skyward. The green bad guy was rushing up to meet him and he dropped, becoming a ‘mountain’. The angel feinted, spinning away from him.

How did he know? That was unfair!

He impacted against the arena floor, kicking up dust and sand in a cloud. He remembered what Steak had said about tactics.

“Blah-blah-blah the enemy’s strength blah-blah-blah.”

If only they hadn’t used so many words, he would have really remembered what they meant. This angel bad guy was frustrating! Why wouldn’t he sit still?

He sniffed and sneezed from the dust, shaking it free from his coat. The angel was back on his stone, blocking him from the exit.

“All of that power, wasted on someone like you,” the angel mocked with a laugh.

That was it! He had enough of this teasing bad guy. He sprinted full speed, building up his power inside.

“Well… You are bad!”

That was a good comeback. He was bad and he was going to show him!

The green bad guy flowed away as if on strings, bladed wings swinging in a strike. And then Baxter blew out his miasma, fogging out a massive plume. He heard the blades swish by his ears. He ducked low, crawling towards where he thought the entrance was. He bonked his nose into the large sitting rock.

“Ow.”

But that meant he was near. He sprinted towards the exit. He rushed down the hall, pausing in time to hear the sudden roaring of green flames consume his miasma.

“That is bad. Oh no.”

He turned with a howl and ran as a column of fire began to catch up. He bayed as he felt the heat of it on his rump, blindly leaping from a ledge as a burst of emerald flames roared from the cavern. He dropped with a yip, wailing all the way down before impacting the hard stone floor. He simply laid there for a while, breathing heavily. He was in a large expanse of black stone and darkness. The fight had tuckered him out. But in a way, he had won. The green bad guy was pretty tough and scary. Now to find Gid.

But first, a nap.

He let out a low whine, sighing as he rolled on his side.

“Oh Gid…”

He didn’t want to be alone. He just wanted his friends and family and steak and naps. He had one of those, at least- the naps part. He accessed his QSD to grab his bed.

Nothing.

He accessed his QSD and materialized his bed.

Still nothing.

He rolled his shoulders as he raised his head, realizing his vest and QSD were gone. He had lost it somewhere in the fight. He let out another whine. Now he really was alone. He sat on his haunches, unable to rest or sleep at the idea of being abandoned. He let out a mournful howl into the dark. Sadness reigned. He needed a hug, ear scritches, steak, and a nap.

What was he going to do?

He did not know. But for now, sitting and howling and being sad was all he could think of.

Something warbled off in the dark. He stopped, ears alert at the new noise. Seconds passed as his ears swiveled. Was he hearing things? It was nothing.

He let out a mournful howl.

Another warbling noise added to it.

He stopped and listened again. More time passed as he waited for that odd sound. It was quiet.

Baxter continued his mournful howl, cutting it short to listen as something else warbled with a throaty noise in response. He stood up, attention directed at the someone in the dark. He was determined to stand his ground, but his heart was filled with fear. The green angel guy was scary.

“Who is there?”

Another strange cry responded.

He was feeling nervous at the strange noise. What was it?

He spotted the large mass in the shadows, slowly squirming towards him. He let out a low grow, hackles raised as it slowly came into view. It was a very large worm grum thing with pointed teeth.

It was some sort of worm bad guy!

But…

He sensed it. It was different then the others that tried to attack him. A strange type of energy was emanating from it. He stopped growling as it scooted fully into view. It was really big. He enjoyed eating the occasional bug as much as the next dog, but this was too big for anyone to eat! And it probably wouldn’t like that.

It stopped within feet of him, its strange eyeless head moving back and forth. It was very strange and he didn’t know what to think about that.

“Uh. Hello?”

It warbled a strange grunting noise back at him before scooting to face its side to him.

He took two clacking steps forward. Was it friendly? Or trying to trick him like the others? He sniffed the air. It smelled different too. He took a few more, getting within a couple of feet. It let out a barking grunt at him, its pointed teeth clacking together. He felt his rump begin to wiggle. That usually meant it was a good guy. He stooped in closer, touching his nose to its hide.

“Hello.”

He backed away suddenly with a yip, looking in all directions.

“Uh. Hello?”

Nothing.

Who said that?

Nobody? He moved in closer again, giving the worm a good sniff. He touched their hide and heard the voice again.

“Hello. It’s me. The worm.”

He backed away again, blinking hurriedly before touching a paw to their side.

“Hello, I am Baxter. Who are you? Do you know where Gideon is?”

“Baxter… I’m Maw. I’m looking for others, too. I haven’t seen anyone with that name. Do you know Ruth? Soltana?”

Ruth? Soltana?

“No. But Gid is looking for others, too and then we got lost and now I’m sad.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. We should look together then.”

This was just great. He had someone to help look for Gid, too. And now he wasn’t alone which was also just great.

“OK! Let us go find Gid- I will be a good boy and help you find Ruth as well! And Soltana!”

“Good. We should go.”

Baxter now had a new friend. They searched off into the darkness for the rest.