Post by ArtyJayWolf on Nov 24, 2015 16:45:47 GMT -5
Eh, I uploaded this to deviantART, but to heck with it it, I'm uploading it here, too. Gonna tag babclayman , Flowgli , Nuke , Belchic and Stirfry because Clayton, Kendra, Priscilla, Nuke, Belchic, and Sandy are in this. (I love you guys, you guys are awesome. )
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Chapter 8: The Dalmatian Plantation
Léonidas’ POV
The previous night, Archelaus mortified the living daylights out of our new friends, Pongo and Perdita by demonstrating his Light magic. Our new Dalmatian friends believed the stories that Archelaus told them, and they were now convinced that he is the same Archelaus Kazimierz from the Dalmatians’ folklore. The thing is, Archelaus is the same dog from the legends, except Archelaus was in a tomb for two hundred millennia. After Pongo and Perdita returned home, we slept in a back alley near Regent’s Park. Not how I pictured my first night in London playing out… That morning, we stood on Primrose Hill, overlooking the park… It was around seven o’ clock. That means it’s about two AM back home in New York…
New York. The thought of home brought a subtle tear to my eye. I thought, One of my parents is a Fate-Bane… Question is which one, and which of my grandparents are Fate-Bane as well? If it’s my mother’s side, then none of my cousins are Fate-Bane. If it was my dad’s side, then all my cousins are Fate-Bane. Oh, dear God… Most of the Heroes of the Citadels are back in the US. A sudden realization sparked into my brain. Christian was immune to Master Eon’s memory-sealing spell! Of all of us, Christian has the most powerful mind. He’s immune to many, if not all mental-hindrance magics.
Kolesun was complaining about the aching back he had, since he slept on a trash bag… “Why did we sleep in the back alley?” He groaned.
“Because we can’t go spending the night in a bush in some public park!” Aranelya snapped. “Honestly, Kolesun, use that brain of yours!”
“Quiet!” Archelaus said. “Our friends are approaching.” We looked to the other side of the hill, and there stood Pongo and Perdita, walking towards us. There were three Dalmatian pups with them… They brought their children with them?! Why?
“Archelaus…” I whispered. “Can I point out something before they come into earshot?”
“What is it, Léonidas?” Archelaus asked.
“Have you noticed? Your friend’s surname is Radocalff-Dealus, and Pongo and Perdita’s last name is Radcliff-Dearly. Think about it for a moment…”
Archelaus looked towards the ground with a solemn stare. “Yes, I’ve realized…” He replied. “We need them to trust us before I start going about those questions.”
“Alright, I was just checkin’.” I muttered. With that, Pongo and Perdita halted in front of our little group here with their three Dalmatian pups at their sides.
“Good morning, Archelaus.” Pongo greeted with a nice smile. He looked awkwardly at the Aduialdorians and dragons. Pongo cleared his throat, then continued to speak. “Mind introducing us to your friends here?”
Archelaus smirked at the Radcliff-Dearly’s. “Remember those Realms I told you about? Yeah, the wolves, tigers, and foxes here are from a Realm called the Land of Beasts. The green dragon here is the Heir of Arinokhthelion, Léonidas. The pink dragoness is Kaitlyn, and the black dragon is John.”
“It’s an honor to make your acquaintance, Mr. Pongo.” I placed my hand out in front of Pongo, and with a gentle smile, we shook.
“Sup.” John said as he nodded his head towards the Dalmatians.
“Nice to meet you!” Kaitlyn smiled.
“And these are just a few of our many puppies…” Perdita gestured to the three young Dalmatians standing in front of them. One is male, with a collection of spots across the mid-section of his face. Another is female, with solid black ears and very few spots, though the spots are large and elongated, and they form very dragon-esque shapes. The third is a normal male with no unusual spot orientation, other than that both his white ears have spots that look like the radioactive symbol.
“My name’s Freckles!” said the freckled pup. No surprise there…
The one female pup stepped forward. “I’m Kendra.” She said.
The third pup just stood there with a smirk on his face and his arms crossed. “The name’s Nuke, not to be confused with Nike… That, and you say my name with a long ‘u’, and Nike’s pronounced with a long ‘e’ and the ‘i’ is pronounced like the ‘i’ in night.” The nuclear-spotted pup explained.
“Thanks for the explanation, Nuke…” Freckles commented. “Quick! Explain the difference between Shadowface and Arcane so they don’t get confused later!”
“The names aren’t similar at all!” Nuke snapped back. “And they’re the same guy!”
“Exactly!” Freckles replied.
“Now kids, stop arguing and make a good first impression on the legendary Dalmatian and the creatures from other Realms, shall we?” Perdita ordered. She and her pups went back and forth with stupid questions and quick-thinking responses like something out of a ‘Saturday Night Live’ skit.
Pongo leaned closer to Archelaus and muttered, “You see what I live with? One hundred and One Dalmatians, my friend…” Archelaus complimented him with a few laughs of agreement. And sympathy… Pongo interrupted the argument of his mate and three kids. “Perdy, why don’t we bring our friends to the farm and show them around?”
Perdita looked to her right at Pongo, and their kids abruptly stopped speaking as well. After clearing her throat, Perdita replied, “Yes, I guess we can bring them to the farm…”
It was a bit of a long trek from Regent’s Park to the Dearly estate in the countryside… Why did we walk? Would it not have been easier to fly? Oh wait… Only three of the multitude of us can fly. d**n! We were walking on a dirt road in the countryside with a picket fence on either side and lush green fields expanding as far as the eye can see… Wow, cliché much? It’s only nine o’clock, I shouldn’t be making lines like that!
“Alright, everyone.” Pongo said. “Here we are. Welcome to the Dalmatian Plantation!” We all stopped dead in our tracks and stared in awe at a whole farm with a large red barn, a big house, a lake, a running track, a freakin’ armory, and a whole ton of rich, fertile crop fields with who knows what kinds of crops. This place was awesome! In the middle of a large field between the small lake and the barn, there was a whole formation of pups with unique weapons, outfits, armour, and a pug standing in front of them, yelling relentlessly at the pups.
“What’s going on over there?” I asked.
“Oh, that’s a Bark Brigade class…” Perdita answered. “Lt. Pug trains the pups in military strategy, the art of combat, reconnaissance, and other similar things…”
“And you’re okay with that?” John protested. “These are your children, and that short-stuff bustah is lashing out at them!” I looked around our group, and I saw Freckles, Kendra, and Nuke in said formation, sweating their glands out… Were they late? Jeez, if they’re this afraid of Lt. Pug, how will they face the Forces of Darkness?
“I want to get a closer look…” Kolesun said. “I’m willing to bet that I could teach these pups better than him.” He, Tigress, Arrodan, Aranelya, and Archelaus walked a bit closer to the Bark Brigade session.
“W-With all due respect, sir…” A rather wider-than-average pup with a blue collar and average spots with two white ears stuttered. “I’m not exactly the best fit for this type of- OOWWW!!!” Lt. Pug sent his fist rocketing across the pup’s face… What the hell is wrong with him?! This guy’s like a drill sergeant! How do Pongo and Perdita not know about this?!
“I don’t care what you say you can’t do, Rolly!" hollered Lt. Pug. “I say you’re going to be on the assault team and not with the vanguard, GOT IT?!”
“What the hell?!” Rolly screeched. “Sir, I’m a High-Defender! Heavy offense isn’t my strongest point!”
“Then you need to work on that, Cadet! A bunch of weak, pathetic pups, the lot of you!” Lt. Pug turned towards Kolesun and Tigress, then shrieked, “CAAAATSSSS!!!” and lunged at Kolesun. The tiger blocked the pug’s axe and sword with his own two-handed broadsword.
“The hell are you doing?!” Kolesun questioned. “What is wrong with you?!”
“You’re a cat!” Lt. Pug replied. The two were frozen in a stalemate, their blades locked together with the occasional spark flying out from the point of contact. “An enemy of all canines… I know your plans, you feline foes want to take over the world in your Great Cat Invasion!!”
“You’re insane!” I intervened. “Where the hell do you get your information from?!”
“That’s classified, dragon!” Lt. Pug yelled at me. He and Kolesun continued to clash steels.
“Hey, Leo…” Kaitlyn said to me. “This guy’s insane.” As if from out of the shadows, a pup with half his face completely black appeared out of nowhere, and drove his curved daggers into the shoulders of Lt. Pug, forcing him to the ground.
“He’s unconscious for now…” The pup grinned. “I’m sick of him, too, believe me. I'm Arcane.”
“Thanks…” Kolesun gasped for air… That fight didn’t last long, and the Tigreon King was nearly exhausted and out of breath… Exactly how powerful are the Radcliff-Dearlys?!
“Léonidas…” Archelaus said as he placed his hand on my shoulder. “Do you sense it?”
There was an uneasiness about the air… I took a few steps closer to the barn, and the magical presence became stronger. I feel it in my gut… Every Realm is connected somehow, and I sense something very dangerous on this farm… A Multi-Dimensional Rift, and a natural one, too. Unlike normal Dimensional Rifts that take you from one specific Realm to another specific Realm, Multi-Dimensional Rifts take you to whatever Realm you want.
“There’s a strange magical presence here…” I muttered. “Have you guys every experienced any unusual, other-worldly anomalies?”
There was a silence for a while, then one pup stepped forward. He had an asterisk-shaped spot on his right arm. “Well, yes.” Said the pup. “Sometimes, some of our belongings would disappear, like my growth ray for example. Hours later, they would reappear from a small shockwave of blue and green energy. Not any type of magic I’ve ever seen.”
“What’s your name, kid?” I asked.
“Clayton Dearly.” He replied. “May I ask yours?”
“Léonidas, Heir of Arinokhthelion.” The pups stared at me with widened eyes and large glowing smiles. Apparently, they’ve already hear stories of the Fate-Bane. “Where do these anomalies keep happening?” I questioned.
Clayton beckoned to us as he ran towards the barn doors. We followed him inside, and within an igloo of hay bales was the rift… It was outlined with purple, softly radiating the color while the fill of the rhombus-esque shape was green and blue.
“Things just got so weird for me…” Johnny said. “This rift can take you to any Realm you want, right?”
“Yes…” Archelaus replied. “What are you thinking?”
“Screw this, I’m going back to Aduialdor!” Johnny yelled as he ran through the rift, while he quickly followed by his mate, Blossom. There was an unnerving silence in the barn for a few moments, all of us unsure of whether or not the two Foxiriand-nobilities survived.
“Is he dead?” Pongo asked.
“No, I’m not.” A voice resonated angrily. “But we’re smack in the middle of Tigreon Territory…”
A thought occurred to me… The Dalmatian Plantation just became more imperative than ever… Normally, to get to all the Realms from one Realm, you’d have to utilize the Core of Light in the Skylands… But this changes a lot of things.
The Dalmatian Plantation became as important to both the Forces of Light and Dark as much as Warfang means to the dragons. As much as Canterlot means to the Equestrians, and as much as the Core of Light means to the Skylanders...
“Arrodan, do you have a battalion or two to spare?” I asked.
“Why?” He replied. “We have enough problems in Aduialdor, and all our soldiers are needed!”
“Remember how natural dimensional rifts instantly decay when a large force of Dark creatures use them? Yeah, Multi-Dimensional Rifts don’t… They stay open, and they can be controlled.” I explained. “Arrodan, Aranelya, go back to Aduialdor for now. If the Forces of Darkness find this place, we’re gonna get screwed.” The two humanoid wolves, with their bows and arrows, stepped through the rift and back to their own Realm. They were followed by Kolesun and Tigress.
“So that’s that for now…” Archelaus commented.
Pongo was stuttering on words of gibberish trying to figure out what just happened. “Wh-What?!” He exclaimed. “Can someone explain what’s going on?!”
“Look, Dimensional Rifts are the passageways between Realms…” Archelaus explained. “The Armies of the Light, AKA us, can create them with our magic. The Forces of Darkness, AKA the Enemy, can’t. They have to find naturally occurring rifts. All Realms are connected somehow, remember that, Pongo.”
John shrugged his shoulders and stepped forward to speak. The other pups began to rebuild the igloo of hay bales around the rift. “Dimensional rifts decay as more and more monsters use them. Eventually, they become unstable and implode. Then the Forces of Darkness are scattered throughout two Realms… Bad because they have a reduced force in the other Realm they wanted to go to, but good because they’re there anyway.”
John was going to continue explaining all this complicated mumbo-jumbo, but Pongo interrupted him. “I think I get it… Forces of Darkness, Armies of the Light, multiple Realms at stake…” He gestured to his mate. “Perdy, can I have a moment? I think we need to go have a talk with your brother…”
“Beamer?” Perdita gasped. “Why?”
“Just… Come on…” Pongo and Perdita slowly backed away from the remnants of my little fellowship and walked towards the house next to the barn.
The pups promptly encircled our little group.
“I want to fight the Forces of Darkness!” Freckles exclaimed.
“Nobody messes with the Radcliff-Dearlys!” Another pup cheered. “The enemies will have to face the might of Patch, the Lightning Spartan!” The other Dalmatian pups laughed a bit. Kendra was practically clinging onto Kaitlyn.
“You’re pretty. And strong!” Kendra said to my friend. “I like you!”
I grinned deviously at Kaitlyn, who then showed me what her face looks like in an annoyed scowl. She looked back at Kendra, and she said, “I don’t whether to pet you, hug you, or just stand here right now…” Kaitlyn giggled a bit. Our moment of rare joy was cut short when a pup treaded towards the barn dragging a corpse with him. The pup wielded a massive cruciform-shaped shield, with an elongated crucifix sword. He wore a crucifix amulet around his neck and one of his ears was had a formation of spots in the shape of a crucifix, while the other ear was solid black. Was it stereotypical of me to expect this pup to be carrying a Bible?
“Hyperion?” Patch said. “What the hell?”
“Who’s that he’s dragging?” Asked the Dalmatian girl with blue bows on her ears standing next to Patch.
“I don’t know, Priscilla…”
“This can’t be good…” Clayton commented.
Hyperion tossed the corpse in front of the Bark Brigade class. “This monster tried to knife me… I couldn’t believe how strong he was, and I used my shield the entire time! From the looks of it, whatever army this monster was in, he was low-ranking scout.”
One glance at the body, and I knew exactly which army it was from. Kaos’ Outlanders. The corpse’s scales were a black color with red and white gashes, long white hair, dark clothing and a pair of now-shredded wings. An Outlander dragon, and it was indeed a low-ranking scout…
“Is anyone here an engineer or someone who knows how to handle technology?” I asked in a frightened state. A larger force would be approaching if a scout is here, and that means the enemy knows of the farm, and the invaluable magic here.
“I am!” Answered a pup with a few black spots and brown paws. “Name’s Sandy Wilco!”
“Sandy, I need you to contain the dimensional rift, no one goes in or out!”
“Will do!”
Archelaus was completely distraught with fear. I don’t think this is how he envisioned meeting the descendants of his best friend. “Agamemnon Radocalff-Dealus… I hope you’re watching over your family from up there…” He muttered. Don't get confused with the Trojan general, Agamemnon. The Dalmatian Archelaus is referring to came long before him. He turned to the rest of the pups. “Start preparing! Reinforce all farm entrances! Set up a watch! Get your weapons! Go, go, go!”
"Rolly, Hyperion, follow me!" Patch said. Rolly stepped out next to Patch, while nursing his bruised face. He and Hyperion went over to the rift and formed a three-man phalanx while Sandy worked with a bunch of high-technology to contain the rift.
"What's the plan?" A Rolly-look-alike asked me. "My name’s Belchic, by the way." He had one black ear and a purple collar. He, like Rolly, is a High-Defender... Whatever that is...
"Form a watch around the farm. Let no one in or out, and report suspicious activity!" I responded.
"Yes, sir, Mister Fate-Bane sir!" Belchic saluted. He turned to the group and shouted, "Guardians, Wardens, and the likewise! Encircle the farm, and stand firm!" A group of other shield-bearing pups followed Belchic in forming a watch around the farm.
The other pups scrambled about, a few of them dragging Lt. Pug’s unconscious body into the barn. Archelaus took of sprinting towards the house to inform Pongo and Perdita. Kaitlyn, John, and I were going to help the pups with protecting the farm. The Radcliff-Dearly Farm became a control point in the War of the Realms… Wherever I go, trouble follows! The Realms are a complete hell hole… The Skylands is the most important, though… I wonder if they’re doing better than we are. Regardless, the Dalmatians must now prepare for war…
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Hope you liked it!