CHAPTER 21: A HELPING HAND (ZOMBATO AND MAFISTO)

AT DEATH’S DOOR, DOWNTOWN, NEXERIA

“I can’t believe someone would be dumb enough to out the ****cle; Saurk! Even when revealed, I can’t say it. Anyways, I can’t believe some would out the real name of the Circle like that. I dunno how they got past the spell, but The Circle won’t take this lying down.” Mafisto says, his hands shaking from the video.

“Heh heh, don’t fright. The masses aren’t so fickle to believe a video such as that.” Zombato replies with a big smile on his face and confidence in his words.

Loud screams from the drunks behind them about the Saurcle being real, leading to fighting in the bar. Zombato looks at his mug with his eyebrows raised.

“Okay, perchance I was erroneous about this libation not influencing me, or perchance I was erroneous about the masses.”

“Can you please focus? We need a plan. The Circle will strike back at this. I can’t imagine Don Dimetro being happy about this.” Mafisto continues shaking as he talks. He grips the counter to calm himself.

“Plans are just carefully put together disasters waiting to happen. However! I may have an ingenious cogitation that could help us.” Zombato smirks at his anxious friend.

“What does that mean? I have literally only got like half the things you’ve said since you’ve been drinking. Anyways; The Circle will send my old group to eradicate the leak, so we need to find them first.” Mafisto says, tapping his fingers on the bar.

“Well, pardon me, some of us have a verbose vocabulary they relish; that perhaps gets amplified when they imbibe. I’ll endeavor to tone it down in the future. Now tell me everything you can about the Saurcle’s whereabouts and your old group. Then we can prepare a counteroffensive.” Zombato places his drink on the bar table.

“Also, let us tread and converse; I figure time is a factor too.”

Mafisto stood up and took a deep breath.

“Alright, thank you; I appreciate the effort. That sounds like a good cogitation, was it? Also, I’m sorry I completely lost it with anxiety there. I’m just not used to this, but I’ll do my best. Follow me; I have a good idea where the base is.”

Zombato stood up and looked his friend in the eyes.

“Throw your anxieties away; there is nothing we cannot handle.” He looks at the giant mob in front of them.

“Okay, perchance that might be a bit much for us to handle.”

OUTSIDE AT DEATH’S DOOR, DOWNTOWN, NEXERIA

The two of them barely make it out of the brawling bar of patrons in one piece. Mafisto kicks the crazy, drunk people off of them and back into the bar.

“Back, you fiends, back I say!” He says fiercely, pushing them back with all his might.

“Alright, I hope getting to the Saurcle is more elementary than getting out of that establishment.” Zombato says, reconnecting his arm into its socket. He shakes his reconnected arm and moves his digits to make sure they all still work.

“Slight problem...” Mafisto says nervously, looking at Zombato. “I don’t know how to get back to the Circle’s base exactly. My sense of direction isn’t that great, and the base kinda moves.”

Zombato stares at Mafisto with a look that burns through his soul; then switches to a smile.

“Haha! That’s… a trivial predicament!" He then turns away and points his fingers at Mafisto.

“One...of my...all...ies shold be able... to as...sist wi...th that. Skr...uk, wh...at the he…ll was in th...at li...ba...tion?” Zombato collapses during the inquisition of his drink.

“ZOMBATO!” Mafisto exclaims, heading down to his fallen comrade’s side. He checks his pulse.

“What am I doing? He’s already dead.” He shakes his head; that becomes increasingly wrought with thoughts of anxiety: That he’ll be destroyed by his former friends and boss without Zombato’s help; he’s not strong enough to escape from the world he’s been trapped in most of his life; he won’t be able to live the life he’s wanted to. The thoughts continue on and on till he is struck hard in the face. The pain breaks him from his anxiety trance and he then looks at who struck him. He sees a familiar face he didn’t want to see again.

“You...What are you doing here, Terynox?!” Mafisto says with anger flowing from his lips just from uttering the name.

The dark-clothed assassin, with an elongated mouth, stares fiercely at Mafisto.

“That’s Terynox, the Magnificent, and unlike someone else I know, I’m doing my job.” He unsheathes his curved, spikey sword in an elegant motion. The Sinocalliopteryx Saurcillian does his job exceptionally; so exceptionally that mostly everyone among the Saurcle is afraid of him. He thrusts forward with his sword straight at Mafisto’s head. Mafisto quickly blocked the sword with his right gauntlet.

“How did you find me? I didn’t leave any traces of where I was going! You shouldn’t be here!” Mafisto yells at his foe ferociously; veins in his head throb while his eyes twitch. He pulls his fist back, then releases it with a tremendous amount of force at the assassin in front of him. Terynox spins to the left of Mafisto’s attack; he thrusts his sword into Mafisto’s arm, piercing the skin while blood drips out of the arm.

“No one can disappear without a trace. I’ve been following you since you left. Baalade didn’t like you leaving without notice; so he went beyond his own pride to ask me for help to bring you back.” He says, stabbing the blade further into Mafisto’s arm.

Mafisto grabs the sword by the blade and pushes it out of him. He grits his teeth in pain while his arm and hands bleed profusely from the wounds.

“GRRRR...Saurk your stupid blade’s ability to pierce any of our scales. I have my reasons for leaving, but not like a psychopath like you would even care about them.”

“Your words are the only thing wounding me here and, lucky me, my pride isn’t a vital organ. I happen to be a proud sociopath my good soon-to-be corpse. Now, if you would kindly finish dying, I can go back to my binge watching.” Terynox spoke his words with a wit as sharp as his sword.

He follows up these sharp words with more sharp slashes at Mafisto.

Mafisto tries to block the slashes with his gauntlets but has a hard time keeping up with Terynox’s speed.

“Errgh...I always hated hearing about you or from you. You only care about yourself or your saurkin’ work. Well, I was one of the bashasaurus bros for a reason. So, why not I show you how it’s done!” Mafisto shouts with his built-up rage for the sick dungsicle in front of him. His gauntlets and leg armor light up brightly. He charges quickly at Terynox, punching him in the gut and slamming him against the bar’s wall behind them. He quickly sends rapid follow-up punches to his gut; each punch feels like being hit by an 18-wheeler. Terynox spits up blood from the flurry of fists being sent at him. Mafisto lifts Terynox above his head and throws him hard, straight through the wall of the building across from the bar.

“Heh heh...I’ve been waiting to do that for years. You pretentious nutcase.” Mafisto catches his breath after unleashing all hellasaurus on Terynox.

“It is just exquisite — the passion you exuded in that vicious attack that you thought hurt me.” Terynox spoke in a mocking tone from behind Mafisto. Mafisto turns around, shocked to see his opponent unharmed.

“That doesn’t make any sense?! I beat the crap out of you!” The frustrated saurcillian says, clenching his fists.

“You never did understand my arcanus abilities, did you? You did pummel somebody, just not this malevolent masterpiece.” Terynox says, waving his hands with arcanus revealing who lies in the wreckage Mafisto caused.

“ZOMBATO! Ah crap, that’s not what I wanted! He was unconscious!” Mafisto spoke with concern, looking at Zombato.

“You really shouldn’t turn your back against someone like me.” Terynox says full of excitement. He takes his curved sword and impales Mafisto in the back.

“Because that just makes my job that much easier.”

Mafisto spits out a lot of blood from the blade being straight through him.

“I will...not...die...here...” Mafisto says weakly.

“Please, for the hellasaurus of it, explain to me how you won’t?” Terynox says mockingly. Before anything more could be said, he feels a finger tap on his back. He looks behind himself, seeing nothing but a floating arm punching him in the face. Terynox gets sent flying into the street in front of Mafisto.

“In response to your question, he has a helping hand.” Zombato says with a smirk.

“Apologies; I was getting back up the first time and barely realized what happened. He must have made the illusion mid skirmish with you. Then it took me a second to get back up after the beating you gave, but have no concerns; I restore rapidly. Now, just don’t move the sword.” Zombato says, holding onto Mafisto.

Terynox rubs his face, seeing the zombie warrior in front of him.

“Well, this is unexpected. I thought you were out cold from the knockout drugs I put in your drink.”

“Heh, there aren’t many drugs that work on zombies. If they do, they don’t work long.” Zombato tells him, reconnecting his arm.

“Now I little on time because of what you did to my ally. So do you want to depart quietly, or get trounced as expeditiously as possible?”

Terynox laughs hysterically at Zombato’s words.

“Oh man, you are delightful. You have a certain flair about you. I can’t run away; so please just try to trounce me.”

“Suit yourself.” Zombato shrugs his shoulders, goes over to Mafisto, and snaps his fingers. Before Terynox could blink, bones erupted from the ground and ensnared him in a skeletal prison.

“This isn’t a trouncing, but this is certainly an inconvenience.” Terynox says.

Zombato creates a giant hand of bones that lifts Mafisto off the ground.

“I’m getting away with your quarry. So call it a trouncing to your pride.” Zombato walks away with Mafisto.

“Thanks...Zombato…” Mafisto barely can get the words out from the sharp pain and blood loss.

“Save your breath; we need to get you to my friends posthaste.” Zombato says, picking up with running speed out of concern.

Terynox slashes at the bones, struggling to get out of the skeletal prison while watching the two get away from him.

“Ooooh, Zombie, you’re a fun one. Binge-watching is going to wait, because a new game has just started for me.” He says with a twisted grin on his face.