FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Two days later, having been fed and regularly examined by the inn's unofficial nurse, James was soon on his feet again, standing slowly up within the confines of the inn's room. He tenderly walk back and forth like a toddler for a few seconds before he was comfortable enough to try his ankle, which to his relief was now fully healed. Even his shoulder seemed to have its stiffness gone completely as Lizbeth gave her final report. "Well James, you're fully recovered now, ankle's all better and your shoulder....well it's mostly better but you might feel stiffness now and again." "Alright doctor, no worries." He was flexing himself slightly, testing all of his limbs out, making a little dance out of it like a boxer upon entering the ring. He even started to do a few practice jabs, much to his doctor's delight to see him so eager. "Well I'm happy to see you're all better now and hardly sore anywhere, so I hope you take care in the future." "Ohhh don't you worry, I'm raring to go!" "Good! Oh, I have a guest for you." Walking up the steps from out of sight was a familiar-looking amphibian, whom James was very happy to see. "Hey Glenn!" "Thou art well, James?" "Much better, thanks to you and Lizbeth. I mean, I really...well I really owe ya one for saving me and-" "Thy praise is much appreciated but unnecessary to such an extent, my lad. I am only happy to see thee fully recovered." "Yeah...th-thanks again. And thank you too Lizbeth, I feel better than ever!" "All in a day's work, or half a week, hehee!" "Well uh...I guess I...better go?" "Well you're not wounded anymore so I suppose so. We can finally stop getting money from our froggy friend here!" "Hah, thou sayeth this with a slight pang of disappointment methinks!" "Awww I'm just pullin' yer leg Glenn." "Haha, indeed." "Well, uh thanks again for everything guys."

James took his scissors from nearby and was about to leave when he realised something important was missing. "Uh...where's my pants?" "Your...OH, those, they were torn and ruined so I...well I couldn't be able to fix them." "Awwww don't tell me you got rid of them!" Lizbeth nervously looked down, but the raptor just shrugged. "Well I hated those things anyway, orange just isn't my colour. But I can't really walk out of here with nothing yanno." "Which is why I found you a replacement!" She brought out from a nearby cupboard a neatly folded pair of slacks coloured dark green, handing them to James. "...green?" "I couldn't find any others that fitted your size here, and they're hand-me-downs so you can have them for free!" "Hah, awesome, already worn, my favourite brand." He put them on carefully despite his slight misgivings about the colour, finding them to actually fit quite snugly upon him, if a little too long which he amended by pulling them up stiffly. "Hnngh...ah...well these'll do not too badly thanks!" "My pleasure! So...what are you gonna do now James?" "Well I'm actually trying to get home, which is real far away from here and I'd like to head off soon as I can." "Well, our door is always open to you whenever you need us." "I'll remember that, thanks. Welp, bye then!" Waving to Lizbeth as well as her father the innkeeper, James left the inn for the first time in three days, sighing at the wondrously fresh morning air. He gazed at the town and all of its inhabitants milling aimlessly around, noting that all of them were human, which intrigued him considering the only anthro he had seen was Glenn. Maybe he was a real minority. As he neared the town gates, thinking of finding a place to try and teleport without arousing suspicion, he began to think on something. Glenn mentioned magic previously in their first encounter. Perhaps there was a powerful magician who could send him home? At this point he was desperate to try anything, and he didn't care how he got home, just so long as he did. A voice interrupted his thoughts. "Thou appeareth to be quite confident to leave town so soon after recovery." He turned to see the frog knight striding up to go past him. "Huh? Oh, hey Glenn. You need something?" "I was curious upon thee, seeing as thou art of a species not of this land." "Well, it'd be difficult to explain." "I agree, so I shan't ask. What I will ask is how long will thy travels be?" "Well...I kinda don't know. I've been trying to get home for a long time, but I can't seem to get there myself, so...I'm looking for someone who can help me." "Help thee?" "Yeah...I really can't explain it, I mean I can try but-" "Would this require some form of powerfully arcane magic that can warp the fabric of reality?" "..........uhhhh maybe?"

James was disturbed at such a prediction, and he tried desperately to mask his disbelief. "I see." "Hey hey hey look, I'm not a witch or something okay!?" "Hahaha, what an absurd notion, my lad! Besides I can clearly feel no magical powers from thee whatsoever. So I understand thy quest to find a sorcerer capable of sending thee across time." "Wait, time?!? What's this all of a sudden, you seem to be pretty up on this magic for a knight!" "I can see thou art suspicious of my knowledge. Perhaps I should introduce thee to a friend of mine who may shed more light upon the situation. Firstly, thy homeland, does it resemble this land at all?" "Uhhhh no." "It is an advanced land?" "Oh, it's waaaaay more advanced." "Then that is all I need to hear. Come with me James." With nowhere else to go, and feeling safe within the frog's company, the raptor walked north with him across the plains to find a desert that had encroached upon the land. He didn't know deserts could be found in such places, considering they were more like their own habitat. Then again, he knew very little about geography, other than that book about coffee from Crossville. The desert was largely harmless now, seemingly devoid of monsters, and while it was barren, it was not a large desert, for the grass and mountains could be seen to the east and west of it respectively. As they walked further north amidst the not too hot sands that warmed his bare feet, noticing that Glenn actually wore metal greaves, he noticed a small house on the horizon. A small thatched cottage surrounded by plants, right in the middle of the desert. It was stunningly beautiful, and yet appeared almost surreal to be standing in the midst of this wasteland, like some kind of fantasy painting, or even worse a mirage. Then again this desert seemed to make no sense either and James was curious as to how it came into existence. He almost suspected that it was a mirage until he got close enough to smell the enchanting breeze of the flowers. Herbs as well seemed to flow to his nostrils, one in particular that made him bite his lip in fondness. The smell of mint. He almost welled up in tears at the scent, for it had been years since he last tasted a good cup of mint tea. Or mint chocolate. His mind flitted back to Sarah, and her small kitchen where she would make it when he wasn't well.

"I do not blame thee for weeping at the sight of this," spoke Glenn as they walked forwards, "The lady here is on a quest to revive this desert into a forest." "Wh-...this place? Into a forest!?" "Indeed! Beforehand, this would hath been impossible, but now she has a new ally who has been working for her for the past nine years. That is the friend I want thee to meet." "So...you're taking me to some kind of legendary gardener?" "Not legendary...yet." Glenn winked strangely at James as they walked up to see yet another surprise to the raptor, another out-of-place thing amongst this medieval world of swords and herbs. A brass robot. Toiling nonstop in planting seeds and watering plants, ensuring with absolute precision that they would grow, its body rather rotund and bell-like. The frog greeted him happily. "Ahhh Robo!" The robot turned only its head towards the voice, like the top of an egg timer, its circular green eyes like pressure gauges. Thin pneumatic arms stopped in mid-planting as it spoke with an autonomous voice. Even though it was devoid of animation, James could sense a kindly joy from it by the way its eyes lit up. "Sir Frog. How are you today?" "I am well, dear friend." The two patted each other warmly as the robot ceased his work, turning towards them fully. "And how art thee?" "I am functioning at 100% capacity. The weather is wonderful today, with precipitation chances at an approximate 24%. The planting operation has gone as planned, uninterrupted by any major events." "Marvellous! Thou remember the plan still?" "I have made a personal countdown in my memory that continuously reminds me of such. It is now 390 years, 8 months, 5 days and 2 hours......precisely from now, until I am to be discovered by our friends." "Thou hath always been a most reliable friend, and fear not, the world has already been saved with thine own steel hand involved, from this moment." "I am filled with pride and joy at your trustworthy estimate. I must inquire, who is that?" "Ahhh, the nature of my visit I am afraid to say. This is James. I was hoping that thou wouldst examine him upon his possible origins. The lad has lost his way to his own home." "Examination. Very well, Sir Frog." Robo walked forwards, striding towards James who backed off a little scared. "Wh-what are you gonna do?" "Do not be alarmed James. I am about to scan your body. I assure you that it is quite harmless." "Uhhhh okay."

A wide-scanning beam emanated from the robot's eyes covering the raptor's entire body, who tried not to flinch at being scanned by such a bright green light. Though it was more the fact that he didn't expect to be given such a thorough scientific examination in what appeared to be the middle ages. The beam went up and down his body several times, covering every inch of him before it stopped, as data began to compile noisily within Robo. Whirring static came from within. "........scanning complete. Most unusual. There are signature traces of abnormal energy emanating from James." "Abnormal energy?" asked Glenn curiously. "What is that, pray tell?" "It is difficult to determine precisely, but it is similar in purpose to our dimensional experiences from when we travelled through time, Sir Frog." "...so...he has travelled as lengthly as ourselves?" "Possibly, perhaps even further, his residue differs in quality to the residue we emitted during our travels. From my analysis of his residue, the energy is of a different velocity, a wavelength that does not equate with that of our time portals. It is possible that he has travelled across dimensions, space rather than time." "I see. Is this true, James?" James was just wide-eyed in shock at the fact the robot had managed to accurately guess what he could do. Was he seriously this predictable? He was getting a little frustrated at losing this mystery from other people, for the third time now. "Y-yeah, he's right." "Scans also indicate the presence of nanomachines within his body. Highly advanced reparational mechanics that allow a 95% increase to his healing capacity beyond normal limits, as well as an increase in strength and speed to at least 40%." "Really!?!" Glenn was surprised to hear that, not that the frog knew what nanomachines were, but he was more surprised about the healing rate than anything else. James however was surprised to hear about the nanomachines, inquiring: "Hey, uhh robot dude! You managed to scan my nano things as well!? Can you tell me what these nanos do other than...make me heal faster and be more...faster and stronger?" ".......design origin unknown. It is difficult to indicate what capabilities the nanomachines have without further analysis and knowledge of its origins." He frowned at this, but Glenn was intrigued all the more, rubbing his chin with a gloved finger. "This is most fascinating. I thank thee for such assistance, Robo." "The honour is mine, Sir Frog. Now if you will excuse me, I must continue my maintenance." "Of course. I shall see thee soon." "You are always welcome to visit again and converse with me, my friend. Goodbye." The warm but terse reply let the frog and raptor leave Robo to his mission.

Walking away enough out of earshot, James put up his hands to both sides of his head, trying to sort out the jumbled mess in his head from what had just occurred. "Okay, I have a LOT of questions for you-" "And mine for thee hath been answered, so please ask away." "Firstly, WHY is there a robot trying to plant flowers in a desert?" "Well...since thou possesseth a mind able to comprehend it, I shall tell thee. I hath travelled through time, at least 400 years into the future, or rather 390 from now, when a lad who would be the saviour of our world came to the past by a chance mishap of an experimental portal. He arrived in my time and aided me in my rescuing of the princess of Guardia. "As such, I was indebted to him in order to save our entire world from an evil far greater than any I could comprehend. An evil that would exist far into the future, and endangered the lives of all upon this land when it would consume it in an all-encompassing apocalypse." "So...you travelled through time, to save this world from armageddon?" "Indeed." ".......that...wow...you are the most awesome guy ever." Glenn couldn't help but smirk at the praise from a new fan. "I would not place such a phrase upon myself, but I am glad thou appreciates such and believeth my words." "So...just...travelling through TIME!?" "Is that such a difficult concept to comprehend, from one who travels across dimensions from entirely different worlds?" "Well, YEAH, that's...that's AWESOME!" "Try not to overuse the word lad." "W-well uhm...anyways, glad that I can tell you about what I wanna do a li'l easier...though..." "Hmm?" "Why did that robot call you Frog? Actually who IS he, why is there a robot in...well, here?" "My friends from other ages call me Frog as...something of a charming nickname." "Not exactly Ace or The Duke, is it?" "And what sort of fool hath such names?" "Uhh I dunno." "Regardless, to answer thy second question, or rather third, Robo comes from 2300 AD. Almost two thousand years in the future, after the apocalypse, where nothing survives but the very scrapings of humanity." "Damn...sounds like hell." "It was. To witness such a land haunted me for the rest of my days, until I and my friends defeated the evil that caused it, the hellspawn that was Lavos, and sent it back to where it rightfully came. No doubt remains in my mind now, that his world is now a bountiful paradise offering the greatest of mankind's righteous qualities."

James couldn't think of anything to reply back with, just in pure awe for a while at the enigmatic amphibian, before he shook it off when Glenn asked him his own question. "Now that thy questions hath been answered, it is time for me to ask thee. Where dost thou truly call home?" "My home...is a city called Chicago, on a planet called Earth." "A city?" "Biiig city. Cars flying all over the place, skyscrapers like...like castle towers made of metal and glass, the roads all black and smooth." "It sounds an impressive city." "Actually it's...kind of a shit hole. But it's my home, so I wanna get back to it...I need to know if my friends are okay." James felt slightly saddened in remembering the purpose of his quest. Normally with this kind of opportunity in being able to live in any fantastical wonderful world, he could forget Chicago and stay elsewhere. But Sarah clung to his mind, and guilt would rise up within him. "Thy spirit is admirable...but how exactly dost thou plan on returning?" "Well...you know magic right? Isn't there like some kind of really powerful sorcerer who can open portals?" "Alas, not in this time. I learnt them in a world outside of time's boundaries, and the only sorcerer who could even possess such power that thou speaketh of, has departed to his own home many years ago." "Damnit...can't you send a message to your friends in the future or something?" "And alter the timeline for thy personal favour?! Surely not!" "I'm not asking you to kill an emperor or something, I just wanna find a guy who can open a portal and take me home!" "James, thou must understand that this world has become rather sensitive to even the smallest changes in its history. My friends and I swore only to alter that which could affect the world for the better. Once we had defeated the dark spawn that was Lavos, we each returned to our own times never to interfere with its current again."

James rubbed his neck awkwardly at realising how selfish he must have sounded, looking down at the ground. "Nnnngh...alright, that did kinda sound bad, fine." "I am sorry, thou must understand-" "No no no, it's fine, it's fine. Well...if nobody here can help me, then I'll just leave." "Leave? Where to?" "Well...I can go to other worlds myself you know. I've been looking for someone who can help me get back to my own world cuz I can't do it myself somehow. It's as if I...I don't have the right coordinates or something." "Ahhhh...were Lucca here, she could make sense of thee...so thou shalt leave soon?" "Yyyyyeah. OH, damnit I gotta pay you back right?" "I am less concerned for that than I am for thee." "Thee? You mean...me?" "Indeed. How long hast thou been travelling?" "About...maybe two years?" "And in that time, how hast thou faired in battle?" "...faired? Uhhh...you mean how well I've been fighting?" "Aye." "....well, I can kick ass sure, but-" "Because from the looks of thy battle against those ogres, I would say that did not go well." "They just jumped me is all, I had a new weapon to try out, I was just...u-unlucky." "Unlucky or unskilled?" "What are you implying anyway!?" James started to feel patronised for some reason. "That I can't fight?!" "It would seem that way." "Oh sure it SEEMS that way cuz I got unlucky, like I said. I can fight, I can handle myself. Why you asking me this kind of stuff?!" "Because surely thou shalt be facing many more battles ahead of thee in thy quest. And with that thou must learn to become better if thou wisheth to survive." "Hey I can hold my own in a fight!" "Really? Dost thou wish to show me?" "What?" Glenn reached for his sword, tenderly touching the pommelled hilt. James was astonished, and also frustrated at seeing this shit happen again. "...seriously?" "I am nothing but serious in the matters of the blade." "You...what is with you fucking knights!? You always wanna challenge me to a duel over the stupidest bullshit!" "Ahh, am I not the first?" "No, this...this other guy, he...he got confused about something and fought me...I mean it was a mistake sure but....bastard took me down." "And thy only further strengthens my point." "Oh come on he was SKILLED, he'd been doing this shit for years, like you! I can't fight you!" "I am not asking thee to win over me. I am asking thee to show thy skill, against thy Masamune." "...fine."

James held up his scissors at the ready, feeling a little unconfident as he remembered how this happened with Meta Knight. The only problem was the sword he had then was easier to wield compared to the beastly scissors. Glenn's blade was impressive, a true hero's weapon of golden hilt and a most perfect blade of unwavering straightness. Despite his stocky figure, he was still able to wield the two-handed blade easily. When they were both ready, James charged forwards with a running slash. The frog countered it without even flinching, sidestepping to one side and whacking James across the head with the flat of the blade. "OW goddamnit!" "Is that still thy luck punishing thee?" "SHUT UP!" Angered easily at being patronised, he started to swing wildly at Glenn, his blows deflecte, but the weight of the scissors made it more difficult for the frog to counter back. Instead he would occasionally hop to the side and smack James again and again in the sides and back with the blade's side, having no intention to cut him. The raptor couldn't hit the amphibious warrior at all, no matter how hard he swung or how quickly he countered. Again and again the blows came, as punishment for swinging too strongly. At one point he swung so hard he fell down onto his ass, but quickly getting back up with a snarling rage. Soon however, he was turning too weak from exhaustion to swing anymore, the scissors turning heavier. "UGH...nnnngh...huuuh..." "Tired already?" "You...tryin' to fucking humiliate me!?" "I am only teaching thee the error of thy ways." "WHAT ERRORS!?!?" "That thou art unprepared for what lies ahead of thee." Glenn kept his sword aimed at James, the tip pointing directly at the raptor's head from a few feet away. With one last boost the raptor roared with a furious swing that unbalanced him easily. All the frog had to do was sweep the scaly leg and bash the snout with the hilt of his sword, leaving James to lie on the ground with a slightly bruised snout. "DAH...FUCKIT! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?!" "Dost thou see my point now?" "IF THAT'S A PUN I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" "I am serious James. If thou cannot stand up against me, then how can thy possibly complete thy journey alive?" "Wh-what are you talking about!?" "I speak of enemies ahead of thee who, while they may not be as skilled as I, shall certainly be far more skilled than thee." "You...wha?" "Thou wisheth to see thy friends again, correct?" "O-of course!" "Dost thou truly believe that thou can find someone able to take thee home, before some disreputable rogue or monster cuts thee down to shreds?" "Y-yeah! Sure I can!" "Then thou art already dead."

Glenn sank his sword into the ground, hands upon the hilt like a knight's grave. James slowly got up, rubbing his snout sorely. "Wh-what are you talking about?" "In any journey, thou shalt face against many a foe who wish nothing more than to kill thee. And if thou art unskilled in the ways of the warrior, then it will be very likely that thou shalt die." "Unlikely, but not impossible right?" "Do not be so arrogant James. Thou cannot survive everything, surely thou hath felt the touch of Death upon thy shoulder." He pointed to James' wounded shoulder, a clear indicator of a close scrape with death, which made the raptor snarl. "So? I still lived didn't I?" "Luck is but a whimsical mistress. She might hath smiled upon thee then, but will she offer thee the same grace to survive every time?" "...w-welll I...nnngh..." As much as he liked and admired Glenn, he was getting sick of what he felt to be a rather condescending talk, and getting bad memories of Meta Knight in the process. "Alright look, cut the bullshit, what do you want?" "I wish to teach thee to fight." "...t-teach me?" "Indeed." "Why?" "Because thy nature intrigues me. A traveller from another dimension, so young and unskilled, yet somehow blessed with enough luck or tenacity to have survived this long. I would consider it a challenge and a duty to myself as a knight to teach thee. To allow thee to walk away without guidance would feel as if I had slain thee by mine own blade." "Oh come on, I don't need training and this guilt crap! I can handle it!" "Really?" "Yes dammit, I got skills, they've been keeping me alive!" Glenn sighed with some resignation and shook his head, before he spoke again. "Thy 'skills' are far from skilled, my boy." "BOY!? I got a shit ton more life experience than you, just so I can stand here in this place!" "HAH! Thou should not underestimate how far I hath traversed these lands in more shades than thou shalt ever see." "You know what, fuck it, I don't need you talking down to me, I'm gone." He tried to turn away and begin walking, but Glenn kept talking. "With so little experience in your weaponry? Unless thou art searching for death, you will find nothing but that."

James turned around angrily, snarling as he pointed out a stiffened claw finger. "I grew up on the streets, I can handle anything!" "As I saw from when I encountered thee upon those ogres. I suspect that without mine own assistance they would have seen it fit to turn thy head into a fine stew." "You don't know that!" "And neither doth thee. Let me tell thee about a boy I knew." "Oh god..." Not the "I knew a boy once" bullshit, thought James. "He was a handsome young lad by the name of Gary, who came from the Stuart family. For all of his life, he was spoonfed flights of fancy and the belief that he could accomplish even the most fantastical and improbable things, even in his adult years, without the slightest touch of humility. His family, arrogant as they were at becoming the best in the world at everything, allowed him to take on the most suicidal of missions, believing to have the fates themselves at their whim. He didn't even train for a week before he decided to depart. "Travelling the lands he went, searching for danger and fame, to become the best in all the land, greater than the greatest before. A fine ambition, yes, but merely an ambition and nothing more. With barely a week in training and the whimsy of both himself and his wife Mary, all that awaited him was a most pathetic end." "What happened to him?" "He cut his neck open, with his own sword, while fighting an imp." "...pffffhahahaa, okay uh...kinda retarded, so what?" "If thou doth not take such training and patience, thou will become like the Stuarts. Both skill and destiny only await thee who earn it! What sort of world would it be if everyone had what they wanted, merely handed unto them the moment they emerged from the womb? I would hardly call it a good life, and even less would I call it a good story!" "Okay okay, jesus fine! I'll...I'll train for a bit okay?" "Good. We shall start tomorrow. It shall be a great undertaking for thee." "Yeah I mean what, a few weeks or something? I can do that." "A few weeks!? My boy, sword training takes FAR longer than that!" "W-wait, seriously?! Okay okay, how long will the training take?" "Normally to be a true swordsman at my level would take thee a very long time. I myself was taught for ten years, like every other lad who becomes a knight." "Ten years!?!? People I know'll be dead by then! From OLD AGE!" "However...to at least train thee to the skill of competence, even at a novice level, that should take two to three years." "...you're serious." "I am nothing but, at least concerning swordsmanship." "...dammit...everytime shit like this happens, I think the way home is over the next goddamn hill, and YOU want me to train for AT LEAST two years!?" "Nothing in this world or the other shall be handed to thee on a silver platter James. If thou must survive for the good of oneself and others, thou must learn how to become strong and skilled." "GUH...NNNNRRRRAAAAA-A-A-A-AAAGH!"

James couldn't help his fury as he pounded his fists into the soft soil. All he wanted to do was to go home, nothing else, he half contemplated just turning away and walking from Glenn, and the frog could sense this. But James merely challenged him. "Why the hell do you care about training me so much anyway?!?! I'm not even from here, I've done NOTHING for you!" "Because too many times have I seen those young as thee waste their lives and potential in place of arrogance, to become insulting footnotes in the history of fools." "Oh sure, like that's a good excuse, you wanna keep me around for the next three years like some kinda pet project!? Think about it, I'm gonna be stuck here, with you, for that long!" "The problem lies not with me, but within thee. Dost thou wish to remain here?" "No! I wanna go home!" "I understand thy eagerness to leave so soon, for the sake of thy friends. But consider this. Is it not better for them to wait a few years whilst thou trains to become a better warrior, than for them to wait forever whilst thy body rots in death upon a distant shore?" The frog's words stung James at that instant. The image of his friends waiting for a hero who'd never come struck him deeper than he expected. He wasn't even thinking about saving them from anything. He just wanted to be with them to the end, to stand beside them for whatever happened. And yet, he suddenly realised how selfish that sounded. He started to realise that now. What good would it do for his friends if he was beside them when the Army would come to take them down one by one? Doubt began to grow enough within James to make him not leave so hastily. Debates raged inside him back and forth between his own selfish desire and an awakening sense of responsibility, before he eventually resigned himself to staying. But not without displeasure. "Fine. Fine, I'll...I'll stay here and train with you. Teach me to be a better fighter...please. I...I can't use my claws all the time, I need a weapon, I wanna protect my friends, and if I can use something like these things," he gently held up his scissors, "then...I want you to teach me." "Art thou prepared to undertake the ways of a swordsman?" "Y-yeah." "Art thou prepared to obey my every instruction? To only question them in order to understand, and not to disobey me?" "Yeah, I am!" He forced himself to cheer up at the prospect. "Then tomorrow, we begin!"