Chapter 25 The Picture
Fire crackles while the meat of a dragon is being cooked. The three surrounded the fire with somber looks in there faces. The black void ground had blood traced towards Rift and Peppy.
Jacko looked at the two, then he placed a summoned water slime on his lap, before drinking it himself. He then summoned one for Peppy and Rift. Watching them both drink. Peppy smiled, then wiped the blood that flowed out of her nose. Rift grunted. "We're so fucked." Rift laughed, taking some of the meat from the previous dragon they....no, Jacko had slain.
"If Jacko weren't here right now..." He then chews the meat, savoring every bit of it. "We'd be dead." He finished. Jacko himself didn't feel too proud at all. He had calmed down for now, yet his anger still lingered. "If not for that...woman." Jacko said. "If only we could have killed her sooner." Jacko told. "Fuck her!" Rift yelled out. "Now's not the time to think about that, we're just chilling in the 11th fucking floor right now and that Void Dragon almost sucked the blood out of all of us! Sure, You literally killed it in one fucking swipe with that...Atlantis you called it!? Oh god, you own a fucking dragon...that's crayyyy!" Rift ranted. "Rift, I don't feel like fighting right now." Jacko told. Peppy looked at Rift. "Wait, I thought you were Reeves, what's with him calling you Rift?" Peppy asked. "It's a fake name, I'm really Rift." He sighed. Peppy then ate some meat, her body kept shaking, from excitement and fear. "Do you think you can beat the 20th floor?" Peppy asked Jacko. He looked at her, then to Rift. "I don't know. I just told you, I don't even feel like fighting anymore. I'm just...tired." Jacko says, he then lied down, summoning a slime to be his pillow.
"Hey!" Peppy called, trying to smile. "We could be the next Forest Fighters if we do win right?" She forced a laugh. "Peppy..." He held her hand. Peppy fidgets, laying her head down.. "You know what I really wanted?" She looked up to him. "I want to dig my face into some tits before I die." She yelled. Rift laughed, then nodded. "You're probably the first wacko I met who likes girls." Rift said. "Penny Petal, it's her fault and I love her for it." She places her hands on her cheeks. "Imagine, just imagine..." Her head then reaches the clouds. He nodded, just accepting her like this.
The floor below them suddenly began to glow, shaking then soon followed. The group was suddenly startled. "What the?" Rift widened his eyes. "It's moving!" He quips his blades, standing up. Peppy nodded, readying her crossbow. She quickly returned and packed the remaining food that she cooked. Jacko then groaned, standing up and then walking right in front of them.
As the floor rises multiple screeches are hears above them. There are sudden dashes of green rushing above them. They all then slow down, looking down at the three humans under them. They're all the size of a large dog each, though their wings were as long as blades and shaped like leaves, with a long tail curling up to its belly. Its eyes showed crosses as it's pupils. It then opens its mouth, showing it's tongue shaped like a blow dart, then a bunch of them starts shooting sharp spits at them.
The two then gets behind Jacko, based on their experience...His robe managed to create a green barrier made out of thin slime, somehow resisting powerful magics like the short battle from the Void Dragon.
"Is everyone alright?" Jacko asked, shaping the slime shield to form a dome around them as more of these small dragons appeared and started shooting from all sides. "This is bad..." Rift said, seeing multiple spits layering all over the shield. Peppy shoots a bolt through the transparent slime shield, but it immediately gets shot down by the spits. "Can't you summon your dragon or anything!?" Rift asked, then he noticed Jacko sweating and breathing heavily.
This is bad, there was no way to counter attack at all! Is this how dirty these trials are!?
The floor beneath them suddenly came to a stop. The drawings however don't. The slime dome became a done full of green venomous spit dome, the three were nowhere in sight.
Suddenly, the very spit dome explodes before the dragons' very eyes. Flames hindering their sight upon the dome. One by one, the dragons began to slowly fall to the ground. The dragons began shooting each other in confusion, spit covering up the sky and themselves.
Jacko created another slime dome as he turned the first slime dome into fire slimes, while shooting out Blizz as well. "Let's go!" Jacko yelled, moving the dome with him and the three following.
Looking around, they saw a door with light coming out of it, without hesitation, they all immediately jump into the door of light, as Blizz then dashes right under the door before it was closed.
They all see a room of pure white marble around them. There was also a chest in the middle of the room, but noone dared to share interest, they all lie down on the ground. Rift groaned, not from being tired, but how he was about to throw up his lunch because of the terrible smell of all the spit. "Shit...Peppy, got a syringe for something like this?" Rift asked, turning to Peppy.
She had a blank stare in her eyes, focusing only at her leg. She began to cry, looking at Rift. "Reeves...no, Rift...right?" She said. He tilted his head, looking to her leg. "Jacko..." He said, the slime boy then looked as well.
A spit managed to pierce through her leg, her veins began to turn green slowly. "Jacko...Rift...You guys...." She sniffled, laughing. "I honestly thought this was just gonna be a normal adventure, you guys were great...and..." She kept thinking of words to say, then gripping her stomach tight. Rift gritted his teeth, holding her hand. "I'm so sorry..." Jacko told. "Oh don't..." She said, then she felt a piece of paper slip from Rift's hand.
She looked at the paper, smiling. "She's so hot...god I want those tits.." she praised happily, the sacred picture of the nurse. Rift nodded, her smiles felt bittersweet. "I want her to step on me." She gasps, feeling her throuat staring to get affected.
Rift stood up, his body stiffening. Watching her arms then also turn green. "What would she have said?" She whispered, her voice becoming dryer. "She would have said you were a great healer." Rift told. Jacko then stepped up as well. "No." He said, with a stern face.
"She would have told you to fuck off." Jacko told, watching her body slowly wither.
"Hell yeah..." She smiled, dropping the picture with her dried up hand, her skin then being slowly melted away.
Rift turned to Jacko, with a very concerned look. "Jacko, what the fuck?" Rift scolded. "Nurse Petal.... doesn't give compliments." Jacko said. Rift wiped his face from held back tears. "Would you still hold that face?" Rift asked. Jacko turned to him, his frown starting to show. "Jacko." Rift touched his shoulder firmly. "You gave us the power to beat that dragon back at Dust, you protected us through the past floors, you solo'd a fucking dragon. What the fuck did I do?" Rift asked. "I didn't want it to be this way, I didn't think..." Jacko then gasps.
If it weren't for him, an Elder Magekeeps like Ebony wouldn't have joined. Was it his fault? Was he unlucky?
Rift sighed. "You're the only one who can beat this shit hole. I have no idea how the fucking Forest Fighters get through this shit. I'm starting to believe I can't get through this too. We lost...we lost Peppy man." He looked at the empty skeleton, with the wears of a nurse.
"Rift, I won't let you die. You're...too cool to die?" Jacko said, his heart was aching. He didn't cry when he watched Broff die, why can't he cry? Why can't he believes that Rift would be next?
A door then suddenly opened to their left. "Huh? We didn't even do anything." Rift said, then he looked at the chest.
The white marble chest then opened on its own, teeth growing out of its lid and letting out a roar.
Jacko immediately grabbed Rift's hand and pulled him to the next room.
The man then shook of Jacko's hand,
quipping his blades. Jacko kept his guard up this time.
The cold breeze then touched both their faces. Before them was an ice field with beautiful ice sculptures, complete with a blizzard ruthlessly crashing down.