Chapter XC: So Close, Yet So Far ~Lich

"Well, here's another problem," Lich sighed, staring at the now seemingly insane Vector Sprint, walking briskly through the desert to the east. After he had been revisited by a recurring nightmare, as Lich had his own, and told him about it, the Yoshi from the future went through one of his past experiences.
"I think we should go after him," Lich said in Pandoran so Theutes could understand.
"Don't worry about it, the city guard will find him and deliver him to me," he replied as he wiped his bleeding lip, still shaken from being both punched and strangled by Vector. He turned from the gate and said as he started walking, "I think my lip might have given away that something was up."
Lich stood where he was, still gazing out of the city gates towards freedom. Tob, at his side, told him sternly, "Don't think of it."
"D'krim, Tob, blarkum," Theutes commanded, looking back.
"Well, I'm going to go out there after him. Alone. And pick up the Boomerang on the way."
"Alone?"
"If you come too and get captured…" he said, and made a gesture with head and hand of being hanged.
"D'krim, Tob, blarkum!"
Lich turned around and folded his arms.
"Theutes, I speak to the Guardian of the Fire Palace as the Guardian of the Cyan Arc," he said in Rhenzin, the language of Mana: it was the Guardian Proclamation, used for talking formally between Guardians.
"I am him no more," Theutes replied in Pandoran. "I am now your master. Stop begging. Blarkum."
Theutes turned around and started walking again.
"Don't you remember the Third Oath of a Fa'Diel Guardian, Theutes? In your case, it would have been, 'I am the Guardian of the Fire Palace wherever my feet may take me'. Wherever my feet will take me, or have Tullabanariga and successions of slaves killed the Theutes I once knew?"
Theutes stopped mid-step and turned on his heel.
"Dyluck Thanatos, I receive the words of the Guardian of the Cyan Arc."
Lich gave a firm nod.
"That is good, Theutes. If, for once, you help me without any practical jokes or cruel tricks, then I shall not seek my revenge upon you."
"What is it you want?" Theutes asked, a half-smile on his face.
"To get Vector back to normal, and the Boomerang again in my hand. Now, I hope you haven't forgotten that Guardians help other Guardians in guarding what they guard."
"No I have not, Dyluck. We shall go."
He walked back to the gate and said something in Tullabanarigan to the guard, then the three of them set off into the night desert after Vector.

Vector definitely earned the last name of Sprint, for he was swift. He was always ahead on the next sand dune, and as the lone Zolott moon arced through the sky, they had still not caught up with him. Often they had called out to him, but he was deeply immersed in a private world of his own to respond, continually walking east. After about two kilometres, Tob said, "It's no use, he's too fast."
"Well, let's walk faster, then," Lich replied.
"If we walked any faster, we would be flying," Theutes said, who stopped walking and panted.
"That's probably the only way we could catch up to him," Lich said, releasing a sigh. "If only I had wings…"
Lich's gaze fell onto Tob, then he suddenly broke out into a smile.
"Oh no, you're not thinking of that, are you?" the blue-shelled Koopa said, recoiling in terror, hands waving in front of him.
"Well, unless you want us to keep walking for miles and miles on end like this, then I won't do it," Lich replied.
"That is better than that, Lich. Do you know how many Koopas, on average, have that as their worst nightmare? I'm one of them."
"Well, your dreams are about to come true, Telg. Get inside that shell."
"Uh-uh."
"If you don't get in that shell, Mister B'Ralku, I guess I won't let the KBT agent have a juicy piece of information about the Imperial Army," he lied. "Now, that would be a shame, wouldn't it?"
Lich clicked his tongue a number of times and shook his head.
Tob's eyes suddenly sparkled.
"Tell me."
"After you do it."
"Alright," he groaned, then muttered as he contracted, "It's amazing the lengths I'll go to sometimes."
"Ready?" Lich asked.
"Get on with it, Yoshi," was the muffled response. "The sooner it's over the better."
Lich unfurled his tongue, wrapped it around the Koopa, and retracted it. As soon as he was in his mouth, the blue toxins in the shell entered his bloodstream. His back grew itchy for a moment then two feathery wings, complete with muscles, nerves and blood vessels, sprouted from his back.
He gave them an experimental flap, and was lifted an inch above the ground for a moment. He then flapped them a number of times and shot up into the air. He then started to fall rapidly, and remembered to use the wings to slow him down, and landed heavily on his feet. He then went back up in the air, and tried a turn. Deciding that he was on course towards Vector and that he had better keep doing what he was doing because it was working at the moment, he glided over towards him, travelling thankfully much faster than he was.
As he flew his throat started to quiver. It was Yoshi instinct to swallow something after it had been in his mouth for some period of time. He definitely did not want to swallow Tob, for the effects of the toxins would cease, and he would crash and Tob would be killed. It was deadly for the Koopa, and Lich would get hurt in the process.
He grew closer to Vector, and swooped down below the sand dune he was walking across. As he rose, he flapped his wings. This brought upon a seemingly instinctive response from the blue Yoshi, who turned around holding a gun, and fired. But the gun was nothing more than a figment of his imagination, and he was startled to realise he was without his blaster. He stared at his hands in awed puzzlement, while Lich flew around and landed behind him.
By this stage, Lich's throat was starting to gulp. He was aware of this, and with panic in his eyes, he spat out the Koopa, causing his wings to collapse and be sucked into his back, with a few white feathers floating down to his heels. Tob was sent hurtling through the air. He contained a fair amount of momentum, and as he landed, he continued sliding across the dune and rammed into Vector's feet creating a hollow "cluck-cluck" sound. Vector was knocked over backwards and he landed on his backside, watching the shell dig into the sand and skid to a halt. He glared at this threat to the mission inside his mind, and his eyes gleamed as he saw the ex-agent clamber out of his shell and turn around.
Suddenly, a shadow blocked the moonlight across his face, and he looked up to see Lich, arms crossed, the moon creating a halo of light around his face which was frowning down at him.
"What is the meaning of this insanity, Vector?" he asked.
"I must save them…" Vector said firmly. "They are east of here. I received their SOS call."
Lich's expression turned to one of confusion, then alarm as Vector's hands gripped his throat.
"Get out of my way," he growled.
Lich's normally white cheeks started to turn a sky blue as he tried to push Vector's arms aside, however, the Yoshi's arms were too strong for him.
Tob noticed Lich's trouble, and ran over as Vector's thumbs pushed deeper into Lich's larynx. He then pulled one hand inside his shell, retrieved a small hammer, no larger than his feet, then swung it onto Vector's foot.
He yelped and let go of Lich, hopping backwards on one foot while he held the other in his hands.
"Thanks," Lich said hoarsely, then coughed. "You a Hammer Brother, Tob?"
"No, just that us members are trained in many weapons," came his reply, followed by a smirk.
Vector was not going to concede defeat to a turtle with a carpentry tool, so he jumped and kicked Tob in the back of his head, the tread of his boots digging into his flesh. The two of them fell into a tangle and rolled around, trying to force one another off themselves. Vector, on one roll, scooped up some sand and threw it on the Koopa's face. He yelled as he tried to wipe the sand out of his eyes with his fingers.
Vector got up and came face to face with Lich again.
"Vector, to tulimo-- are you out of your frickin' mind?!" Lich yelled, correcting himself. If he got reasonably angry, he would often slip into Pandoran.
"Get out of my way!" Vector yelled, and walked closer towards him, as if trying to walk through him.
Lich grabbed Vector's shoulders and was pushed backwards as he tried to stop him from moving, his feet flailing the sand as he tried to get a decent foothold.
"Listen to me, Vector!" Lich snarled. "There is no-one out there to save, you got no SOS call. You are Vector Sprint, slave of Theutes of the city of Tullabanariga, and you are in the desert outside of it! Now stop this insanity at once and let's let life continue normally!"
Lich slapped him across the face to make his point clear. Vector stopped as his head was turned, then he let forth a primeval growl and threw himself onto Lich. Lich fell backwards and was subjected to Vector's punches in rapid succession. A right hook slammed into the left side of his head, followed by a reply from Vector's left fist into the right. His nose was subjected to an uppercut as he was kneed in the stomach, then a left hook slammed into the side of his mouth. Three of Lich's teeth lost large chunks, and blood poured into the recess beneath his tongue.
Then Vector's hands grasped his neck again, squeezing the life out of the helpless Lich. His thumbs pressed into his throat, his fingers pushed in his nape.
"Mercy," Lich gasped, airless. "Mercy!"
His arms and legs beat the air; any connecting blows nothing more than pats against the side of Vector's head and torso. He looked into his eyes and was met with the primordial, bloodthirsty gaze of a tyrannosaurus, the evolutionary ancestor of the Yoshi race. But deeper in Vector's eyes - was that a look of someone scared by their own actions?
Suddenly, the Sprit of Mana detached itself from his Force and his id, and permeated his consciousness. Without thinking, Lich started to cast a spell; he started to gather Mana around himself. A ring of green light appeared momentarily on the ground beneath him, before he raised his fist to the sky and opened it with a sudden jerk, his fingers performing an action that well suited the name of this spell: Burst.
Pure Mana exploded around them in green mushroom clouds, the force of them projected at Vector. His grip loosened, and he was thrown backwards through the air, colliding with Theutes who had now arrived en scene. The proud figure of the Guardian of the Fire Palace toppled like a skittle, and on the ground was Theutes of Tullabanariga, his slave Lex on top of him.
"Lex! How you your master treat in this manner dare, you punished shall be!" Theutes yelled in Tullabanarigan, his use of Pandoran syntax evident.
He pushed him aside, got up, and started to repeatedly kick Vector, who yelled each time he was struck.
"Leave him alone, Theutes, he has been through enough already," Lich told him hoarsely, coughing occasionally.
"Yeah, leave him alone," Tob chimed in.
"I am his and your master, D'krim and Tob," Theutes said, stopping. "You do not know what it is like to be a master."
He started beating him again, Vector crying out for mercy, obviously having regained his sanity.
Lich looked down his snout at Theutes and wiped some dripping blood from the side of his mouth. He then said through clenched teeth, "If I wasn't in my current incapacitated state, I would have six Pokémon at my beck and call seated around my belt, doing what I said, filling my will for me. And I also have one hundred and twenty more Pokémon stored away as computer data, ready to become flesh and bone - or metal in some cases - as soon as I press a key, to do exactly the same thing. Don't say that I don't know what it's like to be a master. If it wasn't for League regulations, Theutes, I could have every single one of them, at once, doing whatever I wanted. I only am allowed six on my person at one time, and I could have my Dragonite chop wood that my Flareon has burnt to a crisp for no other reason than my entertainment if I wanted to. But I don't do that, because they are living intelligent beings with emotions, Theutes. I respect my Pokémon, and treat them as friends, even though, to effect: they are my own slaves. Tullabanariga definitely suits you: it is a cruel place for cruel people like yourself. Everyone there is heartless, and it is contagious, for there are many heartless slaves."
He wiped some more blood and was met in reply by Theutes' stony glare.
"Do not speak to me like that, D'krim!" he commanded in Pandoran. He then continually stared at Lich for some time. Lich's vision blurred, and his head started to spin. He fell forward, and after some time, all went dark.

Lich surfaced from the black, water-like depths of unconsciousness and discovered himself again in the basement room of Theutes' house. Moonlight poured in through the grille at the top of the wall, the shadow of the bars forming zebra stripes across his snout.
He sighed and then reached into his Mana storage, retrieving his custom-made potosa, one of many musical instruments unique to Fa'diel. It was like a recorder, however, it was made of three consecutive wooden barrels joined together with one hole on the back of the first for a thumb, three on the middle, and four on the bottom. Because it was designed for human hands, Lich required a special valve to open and close the last hole, operated by his spare thumb on the back of the bottom barrel. The top barrel was split inside into two smaller tubes, one containing a reed and the other a narrow opening, which produced a sound like a mix of recorder and oboe. The potosa's distinctive appearance was created by its three wooden openings at the bottom. Each was shaped like the bell of a trumpet with the main one following the straight line of the barrels, and the other two curving outwards to either side.
Lich brought the recorder-like mouthpiece to his lips, and started to play a sad, traditional Pandoran song titled Phantom and a Rose. The plaintive music brought memories flooding back to his head: the peaceful Kippo Village of his youth; his parents, Reuben and Kara, who he hoped had not been told of his death; Ark.
He fell silent, turning, half-expecting to see Ark playing along on his wagalbo, Fa'diel's version of a violin, performing his main solo part. A tear welled up in one eye, and he played Ark's part in his absence, as he had grown accustomed to.
He felt the straw beneath him shift as a weight sat down beside him. He turned, still playing, and saw Tob looking into his eyes. He stopped mid-phrase.
"Please…continue," Tob murmured. "It's nice."
"It makes me sad, this song," Lich replied. "It reminds me of all I've left behind, and all that's been taken from me."
"The same goes for me," Tob nodded. "When you started playing, my memories of my wife came to me."
"You're married?" Lich asked, surprised to see a softer side to the Koopa.
"Yes. Her name's Vatari, and she is the most wonderful She-koopa that anyone would meet. When I disappeared, we were married for seven years. I've also got two Koopalings, Garat and Kroko. They're used to their papa being away for long periods of time, but for this length, without a trace…I don't like to think it, but sometimes I can't stop worrying about them, especially Vatari."
"I…have a love too," Lich said, his eyes appearing star-crossed, gazing vacantly into the world of lovers when they tell of their partner. "She's called Riu, and she's not a Yoshi, but Darikuri. She also goes by the name of Dragon, and with her little friend, DraStar, are the last of their race. Their DNA is extremely similar to Yoshi DNA, so there isn't anything sordid in that. Her skin is coloured a magnificent ultramarine, as blue as the ocean. She has wings which stretch about this wide…" Lich opened his arms nearly fully, and adjusted them until he thought they were right, "…yeah, about here, and her eyes…oh…"
Lich broke out into a dreamy smile, and said, "We're engaged. We haven't set a date yet, but we trust soon. I just hope I can get back to her."
Tob nodded, and said, "You were unconscious for all of today. Vector's recovered, but I notice an occasional limp. Anyway, play some more. I haven't heard music since I was sucked into this accursed place."
Lich picked up his potosa and played many Pandoran songs, and a few ones well known to both Yoshies and Koopas alike, well into the small hours of the morning.