"There you are, you brat!" Ghinorf shouted with his funny voice. He recognized Baruk and felt his broken nose go numb with anger. Ghinorf let go of the blonde boy and turned to Baruk with his fists raised.
To Ghinorf's surprise, the blonde boy grabbed his pants like a leech.
"Let him go, you big fatty!" Baruk shouted. He attacked with his wooden club, making little Arthurn scream. Ghinorf quickly moved into a defensive position. Baruk swung his club like a pendulum, landing three quick hits. Ghinorf blocked them all with his arms, roaring in pain. Before the fourth hit, the fat man grabbed a chair and used it as a shield, blocking the attack and sending the club flying back.
"What in the world…?" Tidi watched from a distance, shocked. There really were children awake, and this one was furious.
"Are you stupid? Help me!" Ghinorf yelled at Tidi, still blocking Baruk with the chair. "And you, let go of me!" he roared at Arthurn, who was clinging to his pants as if his life depended on it.
"Ugly monster! The ugly monster wants to eat me!" Arthurn screamed every time he looked at the angry Baruk.
Elara and Ness watched from behind the cabinet, breathing hard. The dining room was a total mess: Baruk didn't care about the furniture. Tables were flipped, and plates and forks were everywhere. Ghinorf tried to defend himself while shaking his leg to get Arthurn off.
"Come on, Ness! We have to do something!" Elara exclaimed, feeling the rush of adrenaline.
Tidi finally decided to help. He grabbed a tablecloth and rolled it up like a rope.
"I'll… I'll try to catch him," Tidi said clumsily, holding the ends of the cloth like a lasso.
As he got close to Baruk and Ghinorf, a white flash crossed his eyes. A plate flew across the room, almost hitting his big mustache. Tidi widened his eyes and looked toward the back of the hall.
A cup hit him right on the red bump on his forehead.
"Ow!" the man protested.
In the corner, the two little elves, Ness and Elara, were throwing plates and cups with all their strength.
"Leave our friend alone!" Ness shouted, her voice a mix of fear and courage.
A glass hit Tidi's shoulder. It didn't hurt him, but it made him very angry.
"You little pests!" Tidi grumbled. "There are more kids here!" he yelled to his partner.
"I know!" the fat man huffed, still blocking Baruk's wild swings. "Get the girls! I'll handle this one!"
With a sudden move, Ghinorf threw the chair-shield to the side. It hit Baruk's arm, and his wooden club flew away. But instead of backing down, Baruk smiled, filled with fury. He jumped at Ghinorf with his fists ready, aiming for the nose again.
Ghinorf quickly pulled a chair in front of him—but Baruk's punch smashed the wood and hit Ghinorf right on the chin. The man stumbled back, dizzy.
"Aargh…" he groaned.
"Help me…" Arthurn whined as he was thrown back along with the fat man.
"Feel the fury of Baruk!!" the boy shouted, full of energy.
Tidi, still under a rain of plates, moved toward the girls. But the sound of the chair breaking on Ghinorf's face distracted him.
"You little jerk!" Tidi shouted. He threw the tablecloth like a lasso, wrapping it around Baruk's arms and squeezing tight.
Baruk felt the cloth tighten around his arms. He couldn't move.
"I got him! I got him!" Tidi shouted, trying to call his fallen friend.
"He hit me, that rotten kid!" Ghinorf recovered from the punch. Thanks to the chair, the damage wasn't too bad, but his nose was bleeding a lot again.
"Quick!" Tidi struggled to hold Baruk. His face was turning bright red from the effort.
"Help meeee! Please, help me!" Arthurn screamed, watching them from the floor.
"Get off me, kid!" Ghinorf growled, finally pushing Arthurn away.
In the other corner, the girls didn't know what to do. Ness tried to shout to the blonde boy, but she was too nervous. Elara tried to focus on her fingertips. She could see magic flowing through her body, but only a little white smoke came out.
"It's not working!" Elara said to her friend. Ness put her hands on her head in panic.
Ghinorf was breathing hard with rage. Baruk was trapped, but he was still trying to kick. Ghinorf grabbed the cloth holding Baruk and, with Tidi's help, they tossed him through the air. Baruk crashed onto a table.
The table smashed into pieces. Baruk's mouth was bleeding, and he let out a roar of pain. The blonde boy screamed in terror as he watched the boy with tusks land so hard.
Ghinorf jumped on top of Baruk, grabbing him by the neck.
Baruk gnashed his teeth in anger. His arms were free now, and he grabbed the fat man's hands to keep from being choked.
"You jerk, I'm going to bite you!" Baruk growled, struggling to breathe.
The threat made Arthurn even more terrified. He closed his eyes and squeezed the old piece of cloth he carried like a lucky charm.
"Hey, kid! Come here!" Elara shouted, trying to call Arthurn. But he was frozen with fear.
"He can't hear you…" Nessaldom said, throwing more plates at the two men.
Leaving Ghinorf with Baruk, Tidi turned toward the girls with a mean smile.
"You little brats… come here!" Tidi said nervously. The bump on his forehead looked redder than ever. He ran toward Elara and Ness with his short legs.
"We need more power, Ness!" Elara shouted, but her friend hesitated, looking for a place to hide.
"Come on, Elara… think…" the white-haired elf whispered to herself. She focused as Tidi got closer.
Suddenly, that strange feeling from the courtyard came back. Elara didn't know how she did it before, but she tried to find that energy again. She felt heat move from her heart to her arm. Orange and red flames danced on her palm and reached her fingertips.
A blast of fire exploded from her hands and shot toward Tidi like a bolt of lightning!
"Eiiii!" Tidi screamed. He ducked just in time, and the fire missed him, hitting a cabinet in the back of the room.
"What was that?!" he roared, angry and surprised.
Behind them, Baruk was still fighting. Ghinorf held him down on the broken table and raised his elbow to punch Baruk's head.
But just then, a second blast of fire hit Ghinorf right in the back! Elara had fired again. It wasn't a direct hit, but it burned a hole in his clothes and scorched his skin.
"Aaargh!" Ghinorf roared, letting go of Baruk's neck.
Baruk took the chance. He kicked up with his knee, hitting the man's big belly and pushing him off.
"Elara, look out!" Ness shouted.
Tidi lunged at Elara and grabbed her arm.
"I got you, you little pest!" Tidi said. He was much stronger than her and held her in a tight bear hug.
"Let me go, you bully!" Elara cried, struggling against his strength.
Ness bravely jumped onto Tidi's back. She grabbed the man's huge mustache with both hands and pulled as hard as she could.
"Let her go!" she shouted with determination.
"Aaah!" Tidi screamed in pain. "You little demons! Stay still!"
"That's it!" Baruk cheered, standing up and raising his arms as he watched the girls fight.
"Aaah! Ugly monster, stay away!" Arthurn screamed, seeing Baruk on his feet again. He started crawling away, clutching his cloth.
Baruk looked at the blonde boy. His eyes were back to their normal amber color. He smiled and said:
"Calm down, big-head… we are here to hel—"
Baruk didn't finish. A powerful punch hit him in the face. It was Ghinorf, and he was furious.
Baruk tasted blood and wiped his mouth with a smirk. Both were standing on the broken table. Ghinorf was out of breath, ready to fight, but Baruk did something unexpected.
He reached down and grabbed a broken table leg from the floor. He held the wooden "weapon" with both hands and smiled at Ghinorf.
"Goodnight!" Baruk growled. He swung the piece of wood with all his might.
The wood hit the man right in the face. The impact was so hard the table leg snapped. It hit the side of Ghinorf's face and his already broken nose. Blood sprayed everywhere, and Ghinorf finally passed out.
But something worse happened…
The blood splashed onto Arthurn's face. The boy froze, his eyes wide.
Elara, still trying to get away from Tidi, noticed something strange: a huge amount of energy was gathering around the blonde boy.
Intense white light started bubbling around Arthurn. It looked like little balls of light popping in the air. Then, the energy grew out of control, like steam escaping a pressure cooker.
"Watch out…" Elara started to say, but it was too late.
Suddenly, a huge cloud of mist exploded from the boy's body! It filled the entire dining room. Baruk, Ness, and Elara couldn't see anything.
Everything went silent.
Pruffff!
A loud bang followed by an explosion shook the room. Something huge appeared, throwing furniture and paintings everywhere. There was a strange, animal-like sound.
Ness was hit by something big and heavy. She was thrown across the room and landed near the piano door. Her back hit the floor hard.
"Elara… Baruk!" she shouted, looking for her friends.
The mist was so thick she couldn't see her own hand. Ness looked down and saw her knees were bleeding. She stood up slowly.
"Guys?!" she cried.
"Over here!" a muffled voice answered, but Ness couldn't tell where it was coming from.
Elara stood up carefully. It was a miracle she wasn't badly hurt. Her arms were sore from Tidi's grip. She closed her eyes and tried to see the magic instead of the room.
Through the mist, she saw a green glow. It was Ness.
"Over here, Ness!" Elara shouted. "Can you see me?!"
"Nooo!" Ness replied with a shaky voice.
"Stay there! I'm coming to you," Elara said, walking carefully through the wreckage.
The room was destroyed. Something was watching her. A dark shadow passed by her side. Elara felt a chill down her spine.
"Baruk, where are you?!" she shouted. Unlike Ness, Baruk didn't have a magical glow to help her find him.
Then, Elara heard a sound she had never heard before. Through the mist, she saw a bright orange glow. It was powerful and wild.
"Here, Elara!" Ness finally appeared.
The two girls hugged quickly. Ness looked at Elara's cuts.
"Does it hurt?" Ness asked.
Elara shook her head, lying. "Are you okay?" she asked, looking at Ness's bloody knees.
"Don't worry. We have to find Baruk," Ness said.
"Can you see that?" Elara asked, pointing to the glowing orange energy in the middle of the room.
"I can't see it… but someone is crying!" Ness said, making Elara confused.
"Crying?! I only hear a strange noise!" Elara said.
"He needs our help, Elara!" Ness insisted.
"Who? Baruk?"
"No… the other boy!" Ness exclaimed.
Nearby, Tidi was groaning in the wreckage. He was dizzy and his wrist was bent in a way that wasn't natural.
"Big guy, are you okay?!" he shouted, looking for Ghinorf. He stood up with difficulty.
The mist started to clear, and something was occupying the space. A strange presence was in the air. Tidi's heart raced. He heard a deep, wet growl, like something moving at the bottom of the ocean. He looked up—and saw a giant shadow moving above the mist.
"WH… WHAT IS THAT?!" he screamed in terror.
Two shadows appeared, then a third, then a fourth. They were huge, like living tree trunks dancing in the air. When the mist cleared, Tidi's blood ran cold: they weren't trunks, but giant orange tentacles with huge suckers moving wildly.
"AAAAH!" he screamed, trying to run.
But he didn't have a chance. A tentacle came down fast, hitting him right on the head and smashing him against the floor.
Then, silence.
Ness and Elara stood with their mouths open. They saw the colossal creature in front of them.
"AAAAH!" they screamed together.
Behind the eight massive tentacles was a giant, glowing orange octopus. It was six meters tall, reaching the ceiling.
"Ness, look!" Elara pointed.
One of the tentacles was holding something.
"It has Baruk!" Ness exclaimed.
"We have to help him!" Elara shouted. She raised her hand and focused.
"Cindora!" she yelled. The word came clearly to her mind.
A blast of fire shot from her fingers, hitting one of the tentacles. The creature roared, shaking its arms even more.
"He's crying. Can't you hear it?!" Ness asked, even though the creature was roaring.
"What are you talking about?!" Elara yelled. A tentacle swung at them.
They jumped out of the way just in time. The tentacle smashed the floor where they had been standing.
"He's scared! We have to calm him down!" Ness shouted.
"What?!" Elara couldn't believe it. But she didn't have time to argue. She had to focus on not being smashed.
Two more tentacles came at them. Elara hid under a broken table. Ness, instead of running away, walked toward the creature.
"Elara, it's the boy!" Ness shouted from the other side. "The blonde boy is the octopus!"
"What?! That thing is the blonde kid?!" Elara was in shock. "Are you sure, Ness?!"
"I'm sure!" Ness yelled back.
"Okay… what do we do?!" Elara asked.
Before they could make a plan, another voice boomed:
"LET GO OF ME!" Baruk shouted, suddenly waking up. He was being squeezed by the tentacle, and his face was turning red. "LET ME GO, OR I'LL HAVE YOU FOR DINNER!"
"Baruk, don't move!" Ness shouted.
"DON'T MOVE?!" Baruk yelled. "I'M NOT GOING TO BECOME FISH FOOD!"
"Stay calm!" Elara shouted from her hiding place. "Ness has a plan!"
"HURRY UP, POINTY-EARS, OR I'M DONE FOR!" Baruk gasped as the octopus squeezed tighter.
Ness ran between the angry tentacles. She ducked and dove until she found it: a dirty piece of cloth—a pillowcase. It was the thing Arthurn had been carrying.
She picked it up and held it high, shouting:
"I FOUND IT, ELARA!"
"Found what?!"
"The thing the boy was carrying!" Ness replied.
Ness raised the pillowcase and shouted to the giant orange octopus:
"HEY, KID! OVER HERE!" Ness, who was usually quiet, shouted louder than ever.
At first, nothing happened. Baruk was getting redder and redder. The tentacles were wild.
"We won't hurt you!" Elara shouted, stepping out from her hiding spot.
Slowly, the eight arms stopped attacking. They started to move in a confused way.
"Hi, little friend… it's okay. No one here wants to hurt you," Ness said in a soft voice.
Two large eyes turned toward Ness. The octopus focused on the dirty cloth she was holding. Surprisingly, it stopped moving. It rested its arms on the floor, only keeping Baruk suspended in the air.
Slowly, the giant orange body started to shrink. The tentacles pulled back. The orange monster dissolved, turning back into blonde hair and oversized clothes.
Baruk fell to the floor with a thud, gasping for air.
Where the giant octopus had been, there was only a small blonde boy with a very large head. He wiped his tears and grabbed the cloth Ness gave him. He smiled shyly and said in a sweet voice:
"Hi! My name is Arthurn… do you want to be my friend?"