Differing opinions

You should never assume you’re friends will act as you want them to, just because they’re you’re friends. Everyone has their own outlook and they may not agree with what you want to do. Otherwise, they’re not really friends. More like… sycophants.

. . . . .

White lightning flashed in his mind and he screamed, pushing himself up with his good arm. He leaned back against the wall, shaking from the pain. “Fuck! Did I roll over on my arm?” That was the only thing he could think of. It was definitely the source of his pain and there wasn’t anything else around to cause it.

He grimaced. “God damn it. I’m gonna get that mutt back for this.” It wasn’t the first time he’d broken a bone, but it was the first time he hadn’t had access to painkillers afterward. He also didn’t have a cast or even a splint. “Ahhh… If I don’t do anything, it’ll heal wrong…” If that happened, his arm might be rendered useless. Or, at least, not as useful as before. If he ever made it back to civilization, they might be able to fix it. They’d have to re-break it, though.

He blinked. “Actually, I might’ve been asleep for a while… why don’t I try circulating?” Maybe that would fix it? It could close up wounds pretty quickly, so it was worth a try.

He grit his teeth and positioned the arm properly. If circulating did heal it, it needed to do so properly. He’d have to hold it like that while he drew the energy in.

He slowed his breathing, opening himself to the energy. It rushed in, dulling his pain and filling him with power. There was some discomfort in his arm as if the energy were blocked by the break. He tried to push it a little to move past it. There was an audible click and Graham nearly bit his tongue. “Damn, that was strange!” It was like the bone had clicked back together.

Still, he felt better now. He opened his eyes and stretched out his arm with great care. It felt tender, but there were no problems with movement. “Hahaha! It actually healed the break! I didn’t think it actually would!”

He hopped to his feet, moving the arm around a little more. “It seems like it went back together right… Can I fight with it, though?” That was the important question. He’d have to find out. He lowered his stance and pulled his arm back. He fired a punch.

He screamed as the bone broke again, falling to his knees and cradling his arm. “Dammit! I guess it won’t be that easy. Maybe if I had the fruit.” There was only one more, but Robin had it. He’d given it to her before she faced her challenge in the tower, but he never asked for it back.

He fell back against the wall, wiping sweat from his brow. “What a fucking waste. Maybe if I circulate a few times, It’ll heal properly?” Unfortunately, that would take hours, at least. Maybe even a day. The wolf would probably find him before then.

He sighed. “I’m thirsty. Maybe I’ll be able to use Thinwell, this time?” He held out his good arm, palm up, and tried to block the pain from his mind. “I was able to modify it for the burst maneuver, so maybe it’ll be easier this time?” Energy gathered in his hand and began to swirl. White mist gathered between his fingers, like low clouds moving through a mountain range. The mist began to condense and drip into his hand.

“Shit! I’m gonna lose most of it!” It’d probably work a lot better if he could cup two hands, as he’d be better able to contain the water, but as he was… well, that wasn’t possible. He raised his hand above his head, letting the water drip into his mouth. A lot of it dripped down his arm, instead, but it was enough to quench his thirst. “I’m just glad it actually worked.”

A thunderclap echoed through the tunnel, making him wince, but he noticed something afterward. “Footsteps?” Had the wolf finally caught up? Fuck, he’d just circulated! He wasn’t in any condition to be fighting, now! He used up the last of his energy to hop up to a high pillar, pressing himself into a crevice in the wall.

Down the tunnel to his left, he saw something climb over a fallen crystal and hop to the ground. His jaw fell. “Robin?” he whispered.

Just as she climbed over one of the strange crystals, she saw something drop down from the wall in the distance. “What was that?” She jumped back to the ground on the other side, looking at the spot she’d seen it.

Orion hopped down next to her. She looked up at him. “I saw something over there. Can you see it?” He was taller, so maybe he’d get a better view? He brought a hand to his forehead, searching.

“It’s Graham.”

“Eh?!” She scrambled up a boulder to get a better view. It was true. Graham was heading toward them, cradling an arm. Her heart sped up. “He’s alive!” A smile lit up her face. “Graham!” She waved at him.

She hopped down and ran to meet him. Her eyes fell on his arm. “Did he get hurt? What happened to him after we got separated?” She stopped in front of him.

He grinned. “You guys are alright. I was worried.”

“I-I was way more worried!” she thought. She shook her head. Graham was okay, so she could be mad again. It wasn’t possible when she was worried if he was alive or not, but it wouldn’t be right to forgive him so easily now that she knew he was fine.

She gripped her chest and took a few breaths. “What happened to your arm?”

Graham grimaced. “I kinda broke it?” He tried to shrug and winced.

Orion arrived next to her. “What happened?” he asked.

Graham explained about finding the room with the skeleton, the new scripture, and the Lycris Hound. He laughed and scratched the back of his head. “I went to fight the thing, but it was stronger than I thought it’d be. Or, rather, way faster. It ended up breaking my arm.” He grinned. “But now you guys are here, so it should be a piece of cake!”

Robin’s jaw fell. “What are you talking about!? We’re not going to fight that thing!” she shouted. Graham stared at her, his eyes wide. She blushed and slapped her hands over her mouth. “I didn’t mean to yell like that! It’s just that it’s so stupid!” Why on earth did Graham have to fight that thing? Why should they have to help? Wouldn’t it be better to just avoid it and search for an exit?

“I agree with Robin,” Orion said. “I’m not interested in unnecessary fights. And what’s wrong with Standard scripture? It’s worked well for you so far, right?”

Graham furrowed his brow. “That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t switch to something better when I come across it. I have to kill the wolf to practice Breathing Livewire. It’s not a useless fight, it’s a battle that will help me become stronger.” He clenched his good fist. “In fact, I already feel stronger from fighting it. I feel like I’m discovering my fighting style.”

He looked down at his other arm. “But with my arm like this, I can’t win. I need your guys’ help!”

Robin bit her lip, her hands trembling. “No way. I don’t want to fight. I just want to get out of here.” She glared at him. “Why are you so set on getting stronger? You’ll just end up hurting someone again!”

He blanched. Robin nodded internally. “That’s right. You regret what you did, right? It was a lesson that this power is too dangerous. Rather than wasting time with finding new items and techniques and growing stronger, we should be focusing on getting home. That’s the only goal worth pursuing!”

Graham would have to understand. Robin knew she was right about this. And she had Orion on her side. He’d have to give in since they had the majority.

“That’s exactly why I have to fight,” Graham said, his eyes on the ground. “I have to learn to control it, right? And, it’s not like we can just get out of here, can we? The only exit was behind that enormous lizard. If we don’t get stronger, how are we supposed to make it past that thing?”

No, that’s not how it was supposed to go. Everything was twisting. Why did his words make sense? Couldn’t they just sneak around? The thought made her body feel heavy. “I’m too scared to even approach it… and we don’t really know anything about it. Maybe it has really good senses?” If that were the case, sneaking past would be hard. So, they might have no choice but to defeat it, but she couldn’t even imagine that happening as they were.

She shook her head. “No. Don’t get swayed. You can’t let him talk you into this. That wolf thing sounds dangerous, and if it could break Graham’s arm…” She’d already acknowledged that Graham was stronger than her. If only because he was infinitely more willing to fight. She and Orion still couldn’t even circulate without the scripture.

“Don’t you think you're being a bit selfish?” Orion asked, his eyes narrow. “You’re asking us to put our lives in danger so you can have a new toy. What do we gain from this?”

Graham’s jaw fell. “I—You’ll have a stronger companion. Isn’t that a good thing? If I’m more capable we can better deal with any new challenges we face.” His eyes flicked back and forth between them. “You’ve gotta understand how that’s good, right?”

Robin averted her eyes. She didn’t want anything to do with this.

Graham was silent for a while. She could picture him drooping in her head, disappointment dragging him down until he was hunched over. “Fine, then. I’ll kill the thing myself. Robin,” He addressed her. She looked up, blinking. “Can I have that fruit I lent you?”

Her hand went to her—Graham’s—jacket pocket. She hadn’t used it. She hadn’t really gotten any injuries that would justify eating it, even though Graham had told her she could. Her hand closed around the fruit. It felt colder than it should. “If I give this to him… he’ll go fight again. He might die.” She’d only just learned he was alive and he wanted to go risk his life again? For some lightning powers? How could he think it was worth it? What was going through his head?

But… the fruit didn’t belong to her. She couldn’t keep it from him, just because she disagreed with what he was going to do. That’d be stealing. It would make her a hypocrite. Hadn’t she gotten angry at him for stealing? She had to give it to him.

She closed her eyes and placed the miraculous fruit into his outstretched hand.

Graham sighed. “You guys might want to go back the way you came,” he said. “If you continue this way, you’ll run into the wolf. If I defeat it, I’ll try to catch up with you.” He turned and left.

Robin’s eyes grew hot. “I don’t understand! Why doesn’t he even value his own life?” she thought, wiping her face with a sleeve. She took a deep breath. “Graham! Be careful!” Her yell echoed down the tunnel.

Graham wound his arm in a circle a few times, smiling when he felt no pain. “It seems like the fruit worked better than a single circulation. I’m in good enough condition to fight, now.”

Robin flashed into his mind and he frowned. “I don’t know what her problem is. If we worked together, we could definitely defeat the wolf. Orion could stop its charge, Robin could bind its feet with her vine, then I’d go in for the finish. It’d be simple.” And yet, they’d both refused to fight. It didn’t make any sense. Any chance to grow stronger should be seized with both hands! That much should be obvious! It was the whole point of this game!

He sighed, then focused himself, throwing a few test punches at the air. “Yep, it’ll work. Now, I just need to find the wolf and finish it off.” Finding the wolf was just a matter of retracing his steps. There were only two directions to go in the tunnel, after all.

“It might be a little harder without their help, but I was planning to kill it on my own in the first place. That just means that nothing’s changed,” he thought.

He found the wolf licking its wounds not far from where he’d dropped that giant crystal on it. He didn’t have a chance for a sneak attack, as the wolf noticed him instantly. It raised its hackles, regarding him with a wary eye.

Graham crouched low and drew in Qi, prepared to move at a moment’s notice. “It’s still alive. Alright. But it’s hurt a bit. And I’m in good condition. As long as I stay out of the air, this should be doable.” he sidled up to a man-sized crystal growing up from the ground and smashed a fist on it, shattering it into pieces. The wolf growled and took a step back.

Graham moved! He swiftly picked up the shards and threw them at the wolf. They flew like arrows, cutting the air at high speed. The wolf danced side-to-side, narrowly avoiding them. It was still fast.

Graham ran out of shards and moved to another crystalline stalagmite, but the wolf closed in before he could break it. Graham grit his teeth and readied his bone spike. The Wolf lunged with razor teeth and Graham stabbed out, slicing its face. The wolf yelped and flinched back, its tongue flicking out to lick the cut on its maw.

Graham clicked his tongue. “I was going for an eye.” He pursed his lips. “Still, this could be good. I want it to be hesitant to come near me. I don’t want to get shocked by that fur again.” That still left the problem of how he was going to attack. He needed to destroy those crystal growths, but that would be difficult since the wolf was faster than him.

The wolf barked, a thunderous noise, and Graham flinched back. It lunged again, sharp teeth seeking his arm. Graham’s first instinct was to jump out of the way, but he had to stop himself. “That’s what it wants!” Using the momentum from flinching back, he spun and kicked the wolf’s shoulder with his heel, knocking the beast away.

“Gah!” Pain ran through him, muscles spasming from the wolf’s electricity. “Damn, that hurts!” The wolf began to stand and Graham pulled a large crystal from the ground to toss at the wolf, whole.

The beast dodged and it shattered on the ground. It charged Graham and he spun to the side to dodge it, running past to gain access to the pile of crystal shards he’d created. He’d only just picked a shard up when the wolf was upon him again. He spun and stabbed with the crystal, blocking the creature’s maw with a forearm to prevent it from ripping his face off.

His eyes widened. “It’s not electrifying me?” The crystal hadn’t penetrated very far, on account of the wolf’s thick hide, but somehow it seemed to be attracting all the electricity, like some kind of hand-held lightning rod. The wolf snapped at him and he gathered his strength to throw it off. The crystal in his hand had turned slightly blue.

Graham grinned. “Alright. This can help.” The wolf charged again and Graham dropped his spike to pick up a second shard, long as a dagger and jagged. They clashed time and again, Graham putting more and more cuts into the beast’s body. Now that he didn’t have to worry about being shocked, he could attack more freely.

The wolf panted, bloody red patches marring its silver fur. “It’s on its last legs!” Graham thought. He might actually do this. He could feel the blood and Qi pumping through him, the way it sent power to every fraction of his body, enhancing his strength and healing the damage the electricity had caused. He’d been fighting for at least a minute, yet he felt great.

Up above, a crystal growing from the wall began to glow blue. Graham tensed, eyes flicking between the wolf and the crystal. “No, I don’t think the wolf is doing it. There’s another one a bit further down.” It must’ve been a natural occurrence. When he looked back to the wolf, it was gone, bounding up until it landed on the crystal. A storm of lightning surged around the crystal and the wolf sucked it all into its maw. Its fur turned black, great snakes of lightning twining around the beast.

Graham felt his blood run cold. “Is that allowed? You can just power up? Just like that?” Foam dripped from the beast’s mouth and its body shook. “Maybe it’s not so easy, then?”

The wolf howled and charged down, still wreathed in lightning. Graham grimaced. “I can’t let it hit me.” He leapt back, dodging between purple stalagmites. The wolf followed, its speed incredible. He could barely follow it with his eyes. Graham’s eyes widened. “I can’t get away!” Against his better judgment, he jumped. The wolf jumped, too, and they collided in the air.

Rending pain, like his body had birthed a new sun within and it was incinerating him from the inside. He couldn’t think or even yell, as the lightning co-opted his nervous system and sent it into wild throes. Like a bullet, they slammed into the wall, sending spidery cracks out in a large radius.

Grahams’ consciousness flickered in and out, his body still twitching. However, the stone had pinched around him, holding him in place on the wall several meters up. Vaguely, he saw the wolf land on the ground and run to the other side of the tunnel to turn around for a second go.

“Well, shit,” he thought. His mouth tasted like blood and it felt like everything was broken. Though, he didn’t entirely trust his senses, fried as they’d been by the lightning. If he didn’t do something, now, the wolf would slam into him again and he didn’t think he could survive a second time. But he couldn’t move. That electricity had been too potent. “Which is exactly why I wanted to use that new scripture…”

He shut his eyes. The only thing he could think to do was try to draw in more Qi. He wasn’t even sure it was possible when he was already circulating, but he’d try anything at this point. “I wonder if Robin would be sad if I die? She seemed pretty happy to see me, despite our disagreement.”

Heavy thuds rang out as the wolf barreled toward him. Graham grit his teeth and focused. “It’s now or nothing.”