The Carnival of Party

Rose indicated, her little finger quivering. "See? There are some lights; perhaps people are there!" Between the thick, shining leaves of the new island, a bright, throbbing light seeped into the darkness, and a muffled, pulsating thudding.

"Yes, let's go there!" Auren encouraged, his eyes contracting, hope blended with a watchful preparedness.

"Okay, go, Cyber!" Sunny ordered, and the Cyber Lion charged ahead, its radiant paws silent on the mossy earth, speeding toward the source of the light.

When they emerged from the cover of the trees, they were at the edge of what looked like a tiny, sprawling village. But this was no typical settlement. It was a mad whirl of color and sound, an area of unbridled excess. The whole village was aglow with swinging lanterns, throbbing arcane glow lamps, and spitting bonfires. Music, raw and thundering, echoed through the streets, a deafening bombardment of pipes and drums that consumed all else. Humans, most in some state of undress, some virtually naked but for body paint and garlands, danced madly through the streets. Beer, rich and strong, flew through the air from foaming tankards, its acrid smell mixing with sweat and flames.

"Sounds like it's a carnival or something," Auren grumbled, drawing Rose closer. "Let's go." Then he recalled their mission. "Sunny, you should vanish Cyber now."

"You're right," agreed Sunny, and with a dazzling fade, the Cyber Lion melted into specks of light that drank back into Sunny's body, leaving them on foot. The street was so noisy, so pervasive, that nobody seemed to register their sudden arrival or the disappearance of the shining beast.

Auren nodded towards a darkened, solid stone building where they could hear a more subdued clinking of glasses. It was a cafe, a respite from the raucous street party. He waved for them to head that way, anticipating a less noisy venue in which to pick up information.

Through the sea of writhing bodies, the raw, untethered abandon of the crowd was staggering. Rose clung instinctively to Auren, eyes wide with a combination of terror and pure confusion at half-naked partygoers. Auren's thoughts recoiled. I don't like this, he thought, a chill constricting him.

"It's revolting," Rose whispered, her tiny voice nearly drowned out in the cacophony, repeating his own thoughts.

Sunny, though, appeared to have an altogether different response. His eyes, while still cautious after the previous escape, swept round, focusing on the dancing women. A smile, broad and untroubled, crossed his face. "Wow, there are so many naked girls! Wow, wow, wow! It's heavennnnn!"

They were able to slide into the cafe at last, emerging from the mad revelry outside into a thick, smoky interior. It was really full of men—old men, middle-aged men, their faces flushed with alcohol. The atmosphere was thick with the reek of stale ale and the low rumble of slurred talk. They discovered a small, vacant table close to the back.

As Rose sat down tentatively, trying to shrink into herself, a red-faced, burly man at another table, his eyes bloodshot, leered over in their direction. "Look at that girl!" he slurred, elbowing his similarly intoxicated friend. "Damn, in this day she's got good curves! Wow, look at her skirt. I hope I can—" He stopped with a braying, boisterous laugh, joined by his friends. "Hey, sweety! Sit on my lap!"

Auren's jaw slammed shut, his knuckles bunching against the edge of the table. "Disgusting," he snarled, venom dripping from the word. He swiftly removed Sunny's white coat, which Sunny had been wearing. "Sunny, take your white coat off and give it to Rose."

"That's what I was thinking about," Sunny grunted, handing over the coat hastily. Rose yanked it around her, attempting to hide within its folds.

In spite of the temporary concealment, Auren caught a shiver of fear. Rose, shaking at his side, whispered, "Auren, I'm scared here. Let's move somewhere else."

Auren was desperate to leave, but he knew they had to find out something. "Just let me question the bartender," he growled between clenched teeth, his gaze sweeping the room, attempting to convey a composure he didn't possess.

He shoved off the table and walked over to the long, battle-scarred wooden bar, where a scowling bartender was wiping glasses. "Excuse me," Auren started, trying to make his voice civil. "Where is the Scholar's Plateau?"

As soon as he spoke, a shadow fell across Rose's table. The big man who had originally spoken to her, now accompanied by his friends, had drifted over. He stretched out, his hand trembling over the collar of the white coat Rose held tightly. His voice was a low, rasping growl, heavy with drink and foul intention. "This white coat is too long. Take it off. Uncover your soft body completely." His eyes seethed with an unnerving, wild glint.

Auren heard the words and saw the foul movement of the man, and a wave of cold fury, unlike anything he had ever experienced, swept over him. His mind relived the helplessness he had felt as Sia had fallen. He had never been in a real fight, never actually experienced such blinding rage. I can't stand it anymore, his inner voice shrieked. That's enough. That's enough!

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Auren bellowed, his voice rising over the acrid haze of the cafe, with a raw, uncontrolled authority that made even the bartender jump. He turned about, his eyes burning with a deadly, feral intensity, glued on the man.

The man, briefly halted by Auren's outburst of rage, snarled. "Hey, boy, lower your eyes."

Auren did not drop his gaze. He rushed, fueled by sheer, unbridled rage. With a repulsive BOOM, his fist met the man's jaw with a solid thud, power behind it that seemed to shake the floor. The man reeled, blood streaming from his mouth, gagging on a harsh cough as he retreated.

"Is that all?" Auren growled, not even pausing, his fury now a cold, crystal clarity.

The man, having found his balance again, rushed forward with a wild blow. "Hey, you don't know me!"

"You don't know me either," Auren retorted, dodging the awkward blow, then shooting his own fists out in a flurry of frenzied attack. He spotted the man's face with a series of swift, bone-bruising blows. The man couldn't keep his balance, his head whipping back with every blow until his legs buckled and he fell to the ground.

Auren did not relent. He mounted the prone man, delivering a ferocious shower of blows to his face, blood flying across his knuckles as his head leaked hard. 

Rose is shocked to witness this, Auren. STOP! AUREN, STOP!" Rose's horrified shriek finally cut through the crimson fog of his fury.

Her voice snapped him back to reality. He came to a stop, his fists inches from the man's bruised face, his chest rising and falling. He pushed himself away from the groaning figure, slowly getting up. Everywhere else in the cafe, chaos had broken out. Other men, who had been sitting there in a daze, were rising, stools crashing, scowls of fury and defiance on their faces as they braced to get involved.

"Cyber Arise!"

Sunny's voice, unexpectedly powerful, cut through the tension. In a blinding flash, the Cyber Lion appeared, much larger and more menacing than its subdued state a moment before, its eyes burning with intense protective energy. It issued a low, animal growl, vibrating the tables and sending off the angry men who ventured near, its sheer presence "shattering peoples" (driving them back).

Auren, still gasping, disregarded the growing tumult. His still cold, dangerous-sounding eyes locked on to the frightened bartender, huddled behind the bar. He nodded, his footsteps slow and deliberate, towards the counter.

"Where is the Scholar's Plateau?" Auren barked, his voice low, cold, and utterly merciless.