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Salt-crusted shells and dried corals litter each of her steps - so Ly's caution is at its peak. The same, sadly, can't be said for the gaggle of Teensies that follow in her wake or Rayman securing the tail-end of their expedition. When Carmen brought news of a new island surfacing, Ly had been ecstatic! What secrets did this place hold? She looked forward to combing through it and maybe - if they're lucky - discovering traces of an older civilization. She had after all heard the tales of sunken temples before! One of the Teensies scurries ahead with a sketchbook and begins scribbling down the fauna and taking impressions of the flora. It's not exactly lush with plants, the aquatic nature still very, very persistently prevalent. It feels both unnatural, yet incredibly fitting.They're far off from the shore by now and still, everything appears to be coated with a thick layer of salt and limescale. Rayman nudges a crab with his foot and gets pinched for it. His yelp draws Ly's attention and he shakes his foot out with a growing blush on his face, avoiding to meet her gaze and pretending like nothing had happened. “Did you say something?” She indulges him with a knowing smile. “No,” he says, “Yes,” and changes his mind as he skids over a seashell deeply embedded in the ground to catch up with the rest of the group.“Why do you think this place rose up to begin with? Now of all times?”“I don't know,” Ly admits playfully, “Not yet. But I'm planning to find out!”She boops Rayman's nose when he comes within reach.“Why? Do you have a hypothesis?” “Nah,” Rayman says, “That's your thing. I'm just-”He comes to a halt suddenly. Rigid. His fists ball as he examines the area, his eyes pinning on the Teensies a couple of feet away.“Stick together!” he calls. The Teensies' heads rise to look for Rayman before they hunker down and slot together. Ly doesn't question Rayman but readies herself for whatever has upset him so suddenly. The Limbless sneaks forward and hides behind a giant dried-up coral tree, his head floating up to peer through the open space of the flat ‘branches’. There's the sound he heard, but the fear had been unwarranted. A spindly little creature is nomming at a stranded tentacle claw, the Nightmare flapping uselessly on dry land. It's harmless. The little sea urchin feeding on it might be a concern though, it doesn't look like something he could easily punch away if it were to get too close to their expedition party. “Ly,” he waves her over, “Come look at this.”She might take an interest in how… topsy-turvy the hunting grounds here are. “There's an awful lot of spiky critters,” Rayman mutters, “But at least we don't have to worry about the flora.”Ly gives him a look. “Are you worried?” she asks.“I'm… concerned,” Rayman admits hesitantly before offering an almost mischievous grin.“After all it's my job to take care of you.” Ly coos at him before giving the Limbless a clap on the back.“Try again.”“Really?” Rayman tilts his head before he follows in Ly's wake as she leaves. “It was that bad?”“It was… corny,” Ly amends.“Ey!” Something calls from up ahead and the fairy's ears flick to attention.“If you two can stop flirting for one minute, then maybe I'll be able to decipher this rune!” That catches Ly's attention in an instant, and with an encouraging “Come on!” she's gone to join up with the Teensies.Rayman should be lucky she didn't catch his pout.“ ‘Corny.’ Pah,” he huffs and kicks a stone before he drudges on to meet with the others. The stone clicks against an empty seashell and bounces off to roll down a hill of dried-up corals. It's speedy enough to crack off the little branch of one and bounce away from something soft in the ground as it continues its descent into the sea. The ground where it touched down to bounce rumbles ominously… With his hands cupped behind his back, Rayman leans down to be on eye-level with the Teensies and peers into their notebooks as Ly is gushing over their new find. She delicately traces the runes in what used to be a gateway, except whatever it previously led to has caved in.“And you're sure you don't want my help?” Rayman offers again for good measure. “I'm sure I could punch us a way through.”“And bring down the entire relic on us?” Ly admonishes him, “No, we're good. We can jot down the location now and come back with proper equipment later.” She has a point, of course, but Rayman wishes he could contribute more to their little escapade. Sure he gets to spend time with Ly - but they're not alone and the fairy in question is wholly preoccupied. At least she's having fun though. That's worth a lot! As Ly excitedly jots down a handful of runes, in an avid discussion with their Teensy entourage, a bad feeling overcomes the Limbless. It’s like they're being watched. “You guys be careful,” he excuses himself before he splits from the group to examine what has him so on edge. The scrawny landscape looks as it did before - innocuously pale and dry. The little urchin from before finished gnawing on its meal and left no trace of the nightmarish plant behind. Maybe that's what caught his attention? That the spiky critter moved? But then the earth quakes under him. The sudden roil draws the attention of the entire expedition.“Rayman?” Ly calls to him as the very ground beneath his feet begins to shift. Rayman moves away from the group without his feet to blame and before the heap of rubble he's standing on claims him on its descent into the sea Rayman leaps off with a timed hop onto equally uneven ground. As his gaze follows the larger rock he'd previously occupied, he spots it sliding past a pair of beady eyes glaring at him. …Oh. The moment it realizes it has been found out a monstrous crab… spider… creature pulls up from beneath the ground. Rayman has seen the likes of which before, their stark red coloring usually vibrant even in the depths of the sea. But this one - as the land itself - is chalked up in a pale coat of limescale.The Limbless needs to take a step back just to take in the entire size of the thing. “What is that thing?!” One of the Teensies cries out in panic and the shrill noise makes the giant creature wobble on the spot, its expression becoming more grouchy by the minute.With its face drawn into an aggravated frown, it begins to lash out, Rayman avoiding its spindly leg just narrowly by leaping over it. From the corner of his eyes, he sees Ly beginning to herd the Teensies to a safe spot and balls his fist in turn, to distract the monstrous creature and buy them the time they need to evacuate. From the coast, he hears whalesong calling to them, Carmen likely having drawn wise to the commotion. In the distance, he can see the whale pulling their boat to a quieter anchorage. The crab is clacking its scissors angrily and Rayman faints a couple of punches to draw its attention into the opposite direction from where Ly and the Teensies are heading. Evading the creature is easy, its movements are clumsy and slow, but on the flipside Rayman doubts he can even put a scratch into the massive hide - so for now he puts his attention into not getting hit. After all, those pinchers are huge, and if they were to pound him, Rayman is sure he's going to feel it. It drags on for a couple of minutes until he hears his name getting called out. From behind the horizon line he sees Ly returning for him behind a cluster of corals. “The Teensies are with Carmen,” she tells him, her voice ringing clear in his mind in favor of having to shout across the plane and upsetting the crab more. Rayman gives her a nod of affirmation and moves to disengage when a giant leg cuts off his route. The menacing stomp is enough to rattle the ruins they found precariously.Rayman is too busy avoiding to be crushed that he's too late to dodge the incoming swing of the giant pincher. The surprise attack sends him flying - straight into Ly who leaped up to catch him with a precision as though this was a regular occurrence. “Who's watching out for who now?” she ribs him playfully and Rayman - despite the angry crab monster - finds it in himself to laugh.“We make a good team!” he says.“Always,” Ly smiles and after landing back on her own two feet drops him back on solid ground. Rayman's attention returns to the crab just as Ly pulls him out of reach of a dangerous swing. Upon missing again the crab raises both of his scissors to rage against the sky in a tantrum. It's in that moment that lodged under its arms, Rayman notices a familiar growth. “Ly, did you see that?” he tries to call her attention to what he's seen. His hand points at the spot and Ly gasps out in surprise. “There's an urchin lodged in its shell!” “I don't wanna know how that got there, but that probably shouldn't be there,” Rayman deduces, “Can you give me a lift so I can get rid of it?” The fairy regards the gigantic crab before approving Rayman's plan with a nod and picking the Limbless up. Using the ruins as a stepping stone Ly leaps atop the gate they'd examined earlier and tosses Rayman up in the air, high enough for him to be able to helicopter onto the crab's shell. The new angle reveals a horrifying sight to Rayman that makes him stumble for a safe spot to stand.“By Polokus. Ly!” He calls down to her, “This thing is infected!” The shell protecting its hide is littered with cracks, even more urchins latching on to Nightmare ooze seeping from the cracks. But at least now it's clear what Rayman has to do! He starts winding his fist before taking the quills into consideration again… and stopping. With a pondering hum, Rayman lets his gaze stray across the shell and finds… nothing. Carefully, he examines one of the larger Nightmare cysts and - avoiding getting close to the urchin's spikes - attacks it straight on. The bubble bursts and with a loud ‘pang’ the small critter gets catapulted off the crab's back from the blast.“Alright!” Rayman cheers. Time to get to work! The change itself doesn't stay unnoticed though and Rayman has to balance his feet for a sudden violent shake as the crab begins to throw a tantrum. From his spot, the Limbless witnesses the crab's arms rise up again and the environment pass by as it turns around its own axis. “Rayman,” he hears Ly's voice in his head, “What are you doing?”Clambering over to the edge of the shell he eventually spots Ly on the ground holding up a protection spell to shield the ruins from the crab's angry legs as it turns - and threatens to level the entire site to the ground. One of its legs bounces off the shield and makes the crab stumble back, nearly flinging Rayman off in the process. He's too focused on Ly's strained grimace to care for the wobbling ride beneath his feet. Rayman flops over, crouching down to cling to the creature's back until its tantrum is resolved. “Ly!” He cups his hands around his mouth to call down at her. Getting her messages is peachy as ever, he just hopes she can hear his answer in return.“There's at least five more cysts up here!” … Rayman gives pause enough for Ly to reply, but the response never rings in his mind. The protective shield doesn't waver, but at least the fairy's expression returned to something serene, lost to the trance of her spell. With that worry off his mind Rayman nods to himself and with a crack of his knuckle and a nod of his own he gets back to work. With flying fists, Rayman dances across the cracked shell, avoiding bouncing quills and unsteady ground. The sooner he takes out the cysts, the sooner Ly can rest - and if he puts his mind to it, maybe Rayman can do it in one fell swoop. Five - Four - Three - Rayman finds that he can work better if he's not thinking about it too much.The ground beneath him rumbles again and the Limbless nearly stumbles forward into one of the spikey creatures. “Rayman!” Ly's voice rings in his mind and brings his fleeting feet to a halt.“Can you steer it south?”South, south, south… Rayman's gaze draws up to the sky, and shielding his eyes he squints at the twin suns. “I'm on it!” he calls back to Ly once he's got the direction down and sprints towards the crab's head. A flying fists shoots forth to grab at the eye stalk and tugs before the other eye can turn to glare at him. With an angry howl, the creature lurches back and away from the ruins, mighty claws trying to smack Rayman underneath him. Rayman dodges the first slam and lets go of the beady eyestalk to run from the other. There are only two cysts left- He takes out the one closest to him, but the richotting urchin bounces off the incoming claw and springs back into Rayman's direction. “Oh no…” The urchin forces him to stop in his tracks but gets smacked by the crab's mighty pincers that send him flying. He can see the last cyst just beneath him, all he needs is the right angle, and with a quick plea for luck sends his fist down mid-flight- “Rayman!” Ly calls as she sees him getting flung towards the coast. Abandoning the ruins the fairy tries to catch up with him. The crab steps in her patch squirming in pain as Ly weaves around its legs, but the large torso blocks her sight of Rayman's trajectory. By the time her path gets cut off by a steep cliff, she has already lost sight of him.His name is on her lips with a wistful sigh when a tiny crab drops from the sky into her arms and happily clacks its pinchers at the fairy. It's already begun to dusk and they still haven't found him. Not far from her a pair of Teensies dig in the rubble of old shells while Carmen scouts the shorelines with half of their party. The crab Rayman defeated has been following her around incessantly, clicking and clacking in a strange rhythm with its claws. Ly can't decide whether to find it annoying or strangely endearing. It's like it's trying to communicate with her. If she tries to listen, it's almost as though the sound resonates. If only she could understand what it's trying to tell her. “Whoa!” One of the digging Teensies exclaims suddenly. “Check this out!” It pushes some rubble away to reveal a deep cavern beneath the isle - likely what the gate they found up above was meant to lead to. It's a shame she cannot enjoy what they found as long as Rayman is still missing. From up here Ly can spot intricate runes decorating the walls and masterfully crafted beams holding the place intact. Most prominent of all is the echoing sound of a familiar rhythm. The little crab who'd been tailing her eagerly rushes past her into the dome, clicking and clacking the same tune with its little nippers- And suddenly the entire cavern falls deathly silent. The Teensies clamor around Ly to watch with bated breath as the little crustacean starts a new tune… and it echoes back in the cacophony of a giant choir.
It's like a language of its own that Ly doesn't speak but she feels the walls sing along and the earth breathe. If only Rayman could be here to see it. Like that her demeanor withers and with a dejected sigh, Ly pulls away from the cavern to keep looking for her friend. As she asks the Teensies whether or not they found anything new the crab with them turns to glance at her with concern before clicking his pincers and hopping down the travertines to look for his own companions. When Carmen draws up on the coast to ask about their progress the party's spirits are low. The whale couldn't find him by the shore either. …and with dusk setting in it's unlikely they still will; but Ly is refusing to leave. Some of the Teensies are packing up and choose to return to the mainland and fetch means to set up a connection to the hall of doors, while a small handful sticks with Ly to keep looking for Rayman. Carmen promises that they'll be back by dawn tomorrow. Ly and the Teensies have set up camp at the mouth of a cave by the coast. I'll be perfect for Carmen and their ship to doc and seems like a good entry point to the inner sanctum were it not caved in and chalked up. In this grotto, Ly has found a larger deposit of red crystals buried beneath the seashells, but still no trace of Rayman; her fingers are long since raw from digging. When the first rays of the twin suns touch upon the isle, it's like nature comes alive. Her ears flick to the Teensies stirring awake by the camp and… the sound of rhythmic clicking from the jungle. The decision to examine is made quick and Ly nearly stumbles over a little crab by her feet when she wants to tell the sleepy Teensies about her plan. It's only at second glance that Ly recognizes the particular cracks in the shell as belonging to the crab whose monstrous form Rayman had battled just the other day and for a moment her heart sings with hope. “You came back,” she breathes and kneels down to the little creature. It clicks its pinchers at her… and the same sound resonates from around the corner of their shelter. Forgetting about the Teensies, Ly lets the crab board her palms and rushes to the beach to examine the sound. What she finds is a sea of crustaceans carpeting the sand, playfully dancing across the beach and collectively swaying like the waves of the nearby ocean. And drifting on those is a familiar figure. “Rayman!” Ly cries out as she rushes to his form, the crabs parting in front of her to not be stepped on.
“Lyyyyy,” Rayman whines dramatically on his bed of tiny crabs, “I have been hurt! I need you to kiss it better!”It brings a smile of relief to her face.“You big baby,” she dotes as she picks him up, the mighty hero completely limp in her grasp with his hands and feet dangling listlessly. Despite his claims, he doesn't look worse for wear, except for some superficial bruises. The fairy playfully pecks his nose with a noisy ‘Mwha’ and Rayman cheekily hums in return. How's that for being cheesy, Ly? “I've been cured!” the Limbless cheers and flings his hands around Ly in an excited hug. The fairy responds to his hug before putting Rayman back down and kneeling in the sand to face the crabs.“Thank you for bringing him back.” They all click their pincers at her in sync like it's a single resounding clap. Rayman meanwhile has taken note of the crab that is perched on Ly's shoulder and mirrors the fairy's gesture with a small bow.“It's good to see you're doing better too, your majesty.” That seems to catch Ly off guard and her attention returns to the crab in question, excitedly tapping its legs on her shoulder. “I didn't know we were in royal company,” she says, “my apologies.” “He was caught by a Nightmare infection. The crabs found me after he tossed me off. Oh!” Rayman exclaims like he just remembered something. He snaps his fingers and grabs Ly's hands, “You should see the inner sanctum! They know a way in!” “I've… caught a glimpse,” Ly admits, “From above.”The memory brings with it a reminder of her frantic panic as she was looking for her friend, but looking at Rayman's excited grin now makes those worries clear away like a sunbeam breaking through an overcast sky. She feels a smile tug at her lips and pulls Rayman back into another, squishy hug.“I'm just glad to have you back!” The Limbless chuckles and Ly pulls away with a confused “What?”“Look who’s being corny now,” Rayman ribs her and with a feigned scoff, Ly shoves him back into the sea of crabs to catch him. “I will never worry about you, ever again,” the fairy spouts theatrically. The silence lingers… then, both she and Rayman burst into laughter. She reaches out a hand for him and with a push from the crabs, Rayman catches it easily to pull himself up again. “Wanna go and tell the Teensies the good news? Carmen will be back later with a pathfinder party.” “Sure!” Rayman agrees, “And then we'll go and make history!”“Almost,” Ly chuckles and pats his head, “You'll get there.” “Noooo,” Rayman reprimands with a lecturing finger raised, “I know what I said.”The fairy, about to head back to camp, stops in her tracks so she can turn to him with a hand resting at her hip.“Do you? Humor me then.” Rayman makes sure to put extra pazazz into his nod and splays his hand on his chest.“I know you'd rather uncover history, but I prefer making it!” he explains, “Do not forget that working in the present towards the future is just as important as learning from the past.” “Hear, hear! Wise words, coming from you,” Ly jests. "What I mean to say is,” Rayman adds, “the crabs are gonna have a rave all day to celebrate my curing their king and we should definitely join!”Ah, there it is. Ly can't help but break out into laughter. Clear and vibrant, like the ringing of a bell. "Making history and making friends," she chuckles with approval."It's just what I'm good at!" Rayman beams at her. He locks his hands behind his back and puffs his chest out with pride."I'm sure they'll give us a tour through the ruins after!"It catches Ly off guard. It's true that the crab folk are locals and probably know a lot more about this place than they'd ever be able to figure out on their own. Her prior amusement shifts into a fond smile."I stand corrected," she surrenders, with a bow of her head to Rayman, "You do know what to say."Rayman pumps his fist with a jubilant "Yes.""If we join their party, we should tell the Teensies. I'm sure they'd be bummed to miss out on that.""Yes! Of course!" Rayman agrees - and with a smile that could outshine the suns, he jogs up to take his place by Ly's side to head back to camp and reunite with the rest of their party.