Chapter 4: Undine’s Lake Revisited

A river ran through the middle of a thick forest. The water flowed along smoothly, quite a contrast to the rapids several miles upstream. The river came to a slight drop, only a couple feet, and there it joined with a small, serene lake. It was a peaceful place, the calm, cool water was soothing, and every so often a small fish leaped clear of the surface. The lake was home to a solitary monster.

Undine turned her bright eyes to the beautiful sky, where hardly a cloud could be seen in the soft dawn light. She moved her fingers in a circular motion in the water, sighing sadly. Now that she had been revived, she was free to leave the lake and go anywhere, yet still she stayed. If she left, how would Golem, the only one to have ever shown her kindness, find her and keep his promise?

She thought quietly to herself as she thought about the rebels she had been ordered to kill, and how she had betrayed them yet still, Golem had helped her. He was a true friend…but what if something happened and he can’t come back? No, he must be fine. There are no more baddies, and he isn’t the type who would break a promise. He will come and…

Her thinking was interrupted by a small splash from the river. Undine snapped up, it certainly wasn’t a fish. She glided across the lake’s smooth surface to the mouth of the river, and saw two bodies, one human, the other monster. She immediately rushed over, wanting to see if they were alive, but stopped short and hesitated as she recognized them. It was her old master, Gray Wolf…what was he doing here? And with one of the rebels… she shook her head. Gray Wolf wasn’t a baddie anymore, and she had to help them.

To start, she checked them for pulses…yes! But both were very weak, and she quickly brought them to the bank at the waterside. Undine bit her lip anxiously; she was not sure what she could do. Then it occurred to her that neither appeared to be breathing, and she racked her brain for something, anything that could help. Then she remembered.

Turning Holly on her back, Undine gently resuscitated the girl. Holly spluttered, coughing up water and gasping for air. Her eyelids fluttered weakly a few times then stopped, as her breathing calmed down, though she continued coughing up water. After noting the many bruises and cuts she seemed to have, Undine then proceeded to Gray Wolf and did the same. The silver monster’s eyes snapped open and he rolled away from Undine, getting to his feet as he brought up tons of water. He then collapsed, breathing heavily. The two seemed to be doing alright now, and Undine decided to let them be, though she couldn’t help but wonder why there were only these two, and where the other rebels were, and what had happened to them.

A series of more splashes from the river caught Undine’s attention, and she whirled around, expecting to see the rest of the Courageous Seven, but instead about ten Arrow Heads. Undine eyed them coldly. They were not Moo’s soldiers, she was certain of that. Their crests were strange: black in colour, circular, with a red stone in the middle surrounded by deep blue, green, and gray flames (oddly enough).

One Arrow Head, obviously the Captain, swam closer and stopped a few feet away from Undine. He spoke in a smug tone of voice that suggested he considered himself very important, and Undine was nothing but trash to him.

“You there! By the order of my master, you are to step aside and give up those two escaped prisoners. Also, you must come with us as well.”

Undine glared at him in disgust, and her voice became low and cold.

“You have no right to order me to do anything, and you will leave this place, without them!” She replied, nodding at the weak forms of Gray Wolf and Holly who were still half-unconscious.

The Captain appeared stunned, as though he had expected her to give him respect and no trouble. He quickly regained his composure, though it was clear he was furious.

“Why you insolent little fool!! How dare you speak to me like that?!” He clamped his huge pincers together menacingly. “You will do as I say willingly, or we will force you!!” His eyes bored into Undine, hoping to intimidate her.

Undine matched his gaze coolly, and crossed her arms in front of her. This had gone on long enough, and she wanted to end the conversation, in hopes they would leave.

“Well, sorry to disappoint you, but you won’t get anything from here, so I suggest you take your little friends and go back, Captain Blockhead.”

At Undine’s remarks, the Captain’s eyes widened to the point where they looked as though they would pop out his head any instant, and clacked his pincers open and closed in rage and shrieked at her.

HOW DARE YOU….YOU…ARRGGGGHHH!!!! ARROW HEADS ATTACK!! GET THEM!!! KNOCK HER OUT!!! NOW!!!”

The Captain rushed forward at the head of the group towards Undine. She sidestepped the enraged baddie and, forming her arm into a long whip, she batted him away like a fly. He flew through the air and hit the water with a loud splash. Undine then focused her attention on the others and concentrated. The water suddenly formed into a whirlpool underneath the baddies, and all nine of them were sucked into the center. Next they were all blasted out of the whirlpool by a rushing cascade of water, and scattered around the lake. Their Captain broke the surface and glared daggers at Undine before calling to his defeated group.

“ARROW HEADS RETREAT! REGROUP NOW!” The baddies turned tail and fled, but not before the Captain had a few more parting words with Undine. “YOU THINK YOU WERE SO TOUGH!! WELL, YOU WON’T THINK SO ANY MORE WHEN WE COME BACK! YOU AIN’T SEEN THE LAST OF US!!”

And then they all disappeared, back up the river. The lake was peaceful again. But Undine knew this would not last. The Arrow Heads would be back with reinforcements. She sighed, and wondered when it would stop, but did the baddies ever stop? No. Because defeat simply makes them angrier and more vengeful, and that usually just makes matters worse.

“Thanks…f-for…standing…up….ag-….uahh…” the quiet groans coming from Gray Wolf brought Undine’s attention back to them as the silver wolf tried to speak.

“Be careful, you must be out of energy. Just lie there for now and rest.” Undine said soothingly.

Gray Wolf grinned weakly and laid his head back down, glancing at Holly who was still out cold.

“I…I’m sorry…for what I did…and…I hope you..can forgive…me…for being so…cruel…” He shut his eyes as he felt tears well up inside them. Undine nodded sympathetically, and spoke in a quiet voice.

“Of course, it is not your fault. And…I have sought forgiveness as well. You need not worry about that.”

Gray Wolf felt happiness swell inside him, something he had not felt for years until now, and he smiled as he let himself drift off to sleep.

***

Nightmare sat idly on a special throne of black diamond made for him, as he pondered the events of the last few days. He had quite easily defeated Gooji, and all the baddies carried out his every orders without question; 1. because he was too powerful for them to disagree with, and 2. because he was much more intelligent and the monsters were sure he would lead them to certain victory. Of course, only a few knew he served a higher authority, and that he too carried out the orders he received with no hesitation.

But there was a problem. During the time when he had been distracted with Gooji, the prisoners had escaped. Well, at least the ones that weren’t dead. The Emerald had slipped right through his grasp, and now the escapers were likely to try and find a way to defeat him. Still, it wasn’t as if he really needed the girl’s stone right now, he had his own, and it would suit his purpose perfectly.

Nightmare tapped his claws on the black stone, wondering if the rebels would really become that much of a problem. He shook his head, of course they wouldn’t. He had sent out many squadrons to roam the area; surely one would find them. Plus there was the fact they had jumped off a cliff and had fallen at least 75 feet, and from what he heard, the river at the bottom had quite severe rapids. If they made it out, they would certainly be exhausted. He stopped tapping his claws as he reconsidered…Moo had underestimated the rebels, even let them go twice, and that had cost him everything. Nightmare would not leave anything to chance…or else he would be the one to pay for his foolishness. It would be best to get rid of any trouble-makers immediately.

He sprang up and trotted through the doors, until he came to a guard. The Zuum came swiftly to attention.

“You there, get some scouting parties together and have them brought to me, as well as any monster here who knows anything about Moo’s old armies.”

The Zuum saluted with a loud ‘Yes Sir’ and hurried off. It was time to make some plans…

***

It was nightfall, and a small fire crackled merrily at the lake’s edge. Holly and Gray Wolf, both wide awake, huddled close to it, while Undine stayed a bit further away. They had had quite a satisfying meal of fish from the lake as well.

Gray Wolf didn’t know why Undine wouldn’t go near the small flame, but Holly did. She remembered how her and the others had discovered Undine’s weakness to be fire, but Undine became a lost disk even though Golem had brought her out of the huge blaze that had spread around their campsite.

At present, Holly didn’t really feel like explaining the situation, and she was thinking about Falcon and his troops. They hadn’t deserved an ending like that, and she remembered all the things the good Dragons had done for them as a few tears flowed down her cheeks. Gray Wolf told Undine everything that had happened recently, started with when his lost disk had been revived.

Apparently, while some lost disks turned back into mystery disks, others were completely revived back into living monsters, just like both Undine and Gray Wolf. Gray Wolf had found himself buried in snow, and when he dug out, discovered he was right next to the camp of some monsters. They all appeared to be various Tiger breeds, so he slipped in unnoticed, and saw their crests. Not that of Moo, but Gooji’s crest (which Undine pointed out had been changed again to suit Nightmare). He had overheard some conversations about what was going on, and decided to find the palace where Gooji was. Thankfully, it had not been underwater like his former abode. Gray Wolf had scouted the place out, and learned about the Dragons who had been captured, and wanted to help them escape.

Undine thought it all over carefully. She knew what she wanted to do-no, what she felt she had to do.

“I would like to assist you if I can. Will you allow me to come with you?”

Holly looked up in surprise.

“I’d be glad to have you along, but it’ll be dangerous…are you sure?”

Undine nodded, her face planted in determination.

“Yes, of course. I-I’d like to make up for my past mistakes, and fight for what’s right this time!”

Gray Wolf grinned at her.

“We both do, so it looks like we’ll all be traveling together!”

Undine beamed and stepped forward, holding out her hand. Gray Wolf put his paw on her hand and they looked at Holly, who smiled and put her hand on top of theirs.

“Thank you both. I’m sure we’ll put a stop to them!”

“Great!” Undine exclaimed. Then she thought for a moment. “So…where are we going, anyways?”

Holly blinked in confusion.

“Err…what?”

A sweatdrop appeared on Undine’s head.

“You do know how to stop them don’t you?”

“Umm….err….actually, we don’t really know what we’re going to do yet!”

“I know what you can do!!” A voice shouted out from the forest as the three looked around wildly for the source. Then the speaker broke cover, and they saw it was the Arrow Head captain back again, this time with a rather large contingent of Arrow Heads.

“YOU CAN DIE! ARROW HEADS ATTACK! RIP THEM APART!!” The baddies sprang at them, huge claws bared, aiming to kill this time in their fury.

To be…uhh…oh yeah, continued!

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Space Cadet: Woot! Cliffhanger end! Gotta love ‘em! I hope you enjoy this, and I also hope you’ll enjoy the later parts even better…school’s giving me lots of times to come up with ideas……..ideas I thought of in school…almost a scary thought! Well, I have an extra-long science period…this could have interesting results. And of course I hardly ever pay attention in school! There is a specific reason why my favourite nickname is Space Cadet!

Okay…shutting up. I’ll get writing the next chapters. *Grumbles and opens a new document.*


Chapter 5: Baddies Brought Back

The mass of Arrow Heads surged forwards, claws outstretched. Holly was too shocked to move, though Gray Wolf prepared to attack, even though the odds were against them.

Without thinking, Undine grabbed them both and sprang backwards into the lake just in the nick of time as the Captain’s pincers barely missed Gray Wolf’s paw. Undine ducked as more Arrow Heads jumped at them, and she quickly backed up more. Then Gray Wolf had an idea.

“Undine, can you try and get them all into the water and then get us back onto shore quickly?”

Undine nodded, though she was slightly mystified. She drew back some more, and the baddies splashed into the water, led by the roaring Captain. Undine moved around some more, making sure they were all in, and then swiftly headed to the bank where she deposited Gray Wolf and Holly, and stood beside them.

Gray Wolf grinned mischievously as his horns lit up. The Arrow Heads, realizing their deadly situation, shrieked aloud as the attack was launched.

“Lightning!!” The waters of the lake sizzled, hissed, and sparked, mingling with the sound of the baddies’ screams. Holly shut her eyes and looked away as the whole troop turned into lost disks and sank into the blue depths.

Undine looked around at the lake, which was quiet once more.

“Wow…..that was quite a powerful attack…”

Gray Wolf nodded, yet seemed somewhat regretful at what he had done. Holly sighed quietly, more lives had been lost needlessly. Gray Wolf looked around, thinking he may have heard shouts in the distance, and then it came to him just how much of a racket they had made.

“We should probably leave, I imagine there’s others out scouting the area who heard something. Let’s get what supplies we can.” The trio hurried to pack up what few things they had, and Undine bottled some water from the lake for them. Then they hurried off into the gloom of the forest.

***

It was two days later, and Nightmare growled at the scout who had burst into the room.

“What do you think you’re doing?! This had better be important!” The Jaggernaut saluted and gasped, out of breath from his haste.

“Master Nightmare, sir! The river that the girl and the Tiger went into, it came out to a lake several miles away, and there they met some other monster who saved them! The Tiger breed decimated a whole squadron of Arrow Heads with one blow, by getting them all into the lake and using a lightning attack. They plan on defeating you, but don’t know how!”

Nightmare could have kicked himself…the rebels could become more trouble than he thought.

“And what of the Stone Dragons, have they caught any of the prisoners?” Hopefully something had been done right.

“I’m afraid not sir, it seems the Dragons have hidden allies nearby who came and helped them. We aren’t sure where they came from or where they went.”

The Terror Dog growled lightly, trying to keep his anger under control. Something would have to be done. Then he noticed the exhausted state of the scout, and sighed. Might as well get someone fresh on this.

“You are dismissed, send me some of the Black Dinos who are off shift.” The Jaggernaut saluted again.

“Yes sir!” Then he was gone.

A few minutes later, five Black Dinos and their Captain marched in and saluted smartly.

“What orders today, Master Nightmare?”

“Captain, I want you to get some small scouting parties of Cabalos out by the lake to track the rebels, and get them to bring a few Pixie types with them as messengers. And on your way out, send Grupp and his group in here. You are dismissed, go now.”

“Yes sir! Move out!”

Another brief wait, and a fairly large group with assorted monsters walked in, led by a Scaled Jell. They all saluted nervously; they had been waiting to be summoned for about 3 hours. Nightmare did not waste time on making idle conversation, and got right to the point.

“Grupp, you and these others were all part of Moo’s army, correct?” The Jell nodded shakily.

“Yes sir, we were all stationed in different areas.” Nightmare paused a moment, then continued.

“And you know as much as there is to know about the baddies that were sent out to destroy the rebels, whether they perished or not, and such?”

“Yes sir. We know everything there was to know.” Nightmare nodded his approval and called to a Zuum guard standing just outside the door.

“Have food and drink brought for these monsters right away.” Nightmare turned back to Grupp’s gathering. “Now, we have some things to talk about.”

[A few days later]

More monsters were being brought to Nightmare all the time. Some recently unlocked from previous lost disks, others tracked down because they had already been revived.

So far, most had turned out pretty useless in Nightmare’s eyes. No wonder the rebels had defeated them. Then, he found one he liked. A Joker who had served under Gali of the Big Bad Four; the Joker was cruel with no morals, and desperately wanted revenge. This pleased Nightmare, so he gave Joker a commanding position as a General, as well as new powers. That made 2 Generals in Nightmare’s army.

The other was Rotun, a very vicious Hare Hound, who had certainly proven his worth with his power and loyalty, as well as cunning. It had been interesting explaining everything to Joker; clearly, the monster had been truly impressed by it all and was willing enough.

The majority of the baddies didn’t know Nightmare’s true intentions; only a select few did, and those included the Generals. Of course the higher authorities needed to know what was really being planned so they could be on the lookout for what was required.

Now, Nightmare had sent Joker north to where a General’s fortress waited to be occupied. Joker had taken vast armies with him; there were no shortages of baddies at the dark palace. Nightmare closed his eyes as he stood at a small window (which was of course disguised), and looked over the lands. Soon, everything will be prepared, and we shall see…

***

Joker was extremely pleased. At first he had been ready to destroy whomever it was who had unlocked his mystery disk, and would have proceeded to track down the rebels. But he was glad he had not done that, for now he was even better off than before. A General…even Gali had not really had that kind of power.

The new General pondered what to do for a moment, then laughed wickedly. Oh yes, he would have his revenge, and it would be ever so sweet. He would have the rebels captured and brought here to be tortured…yes…

Joker gave another wicked laugh, then twirled around and floated out the door. The sooner he had the ‘Courageous Seven’ here, the better.

***

It was almost amazing how the group had almost gone back to normal so quickly with Genki back. Tiger and Hare had already argued at least 5 times that day, Suezo had been grumbling complaints the moment he woke up, and Mocchi frequently stated his hunger to the others. Even Pixie had gotten into a bit of a brawl with Suezo, while Golem was his usual quiet self and Genki, though he was practically bouncing off the walls with energy, was a little sad.

Pixie had definitely been nervous about Big Blue, but she was trying not to let it show too much. Though it was obvious Genki missed Holly.

At times they trudged along in silence, each lost in their own thoughts as they pondered the fates of their friends. The area they were in was no longer mountainous; instead it was mostly dry grasslands with some hills here and there, and an occasional breeze bringing relief from the dry heat.

Tiger paused as the winds shifted, bringing with it a new scent… Genki noted the familiar warning look on Tiger’s face and stopped, along with the others. Tiger sniffed the air intently.

“There’s baddies around here somewhere, and they’re real close…but I can’t see them…” Genki thought for a moment, looking around wildly.

“They must blend in well with the grass, otherwise we would’ve spotted them by now.” He squinted at the stretches of brown-yellow grasses, which was all that could be seen for miles.

Suezo hopped forward and peered intently around them. Then a tiny movement caught his attention; the others, not having Suezo’s superb vision, didn’t see it. Keeping his eye pinpointed on the spot, he pointed with his tongue.

“There!”

“Lightning!” Tiger’s and Pixie’s voices both rang out at once, blasting bolts at the point. As the attacks sped forward, they all saw several golden shapes scurry out of the way as they connected. Genki stared hard before discerning the monsters’ species.

“Guys, they’re Four-Eyed Hares!” Mocchi looked a little confused at the name.

“Chi? Four-Eyed Hares chi? Mocchi…” Genki nodded grimly as he explained.

“Yeah, they’re Hare sub-breeds, part Suezo.” He then strapped on his roller blades as they all caught fleeting glimpses of the golden Hares closing in on them. Then, the baddies leaped into the attack, and it was seen that they had covered up their crests with yellowish fabric, so that the colour would not give them away in the long grass.

Genki dodged some punches and sent a few of his own at the baddies, Mocchi right beside him, as Hare went into what appeared to be an imitation of a champion boxer match with the other Hares. Tiger snapped and clawed at any that came near, while Pixie shot lightning bolts left and right. Golem tried to swat them as they came close, with Suezo hopping around him and slapping them with his tongue.

The Four-Eyed Hares were fast, and some were able to dodge Tiger’s attacks. Tiger roared and leaped at one, but it sidestepped and clipped him smartly on the back as he sailed by. As Hare exchanged punches and jabs with the Captain, another came up behind him and sent him sprawling with a swift kick, as Mocchi head-butted one only to be caught by a powerful uppercut.

Genki bladed forward and did his flying kick at the one that hurt Mocchi, and it connected with a thud as Golem and Suezo freed Hare from several of the baddies that had piled on top of him. Pixie swiped at some who were ganging up on Tiger, and Tiger fired a blizzard at a Hare that pinned her down.

Now the majority of the golden Hares were unconscious; a couple were lost disks though. The Captain glared at the rebels angrily, then backed off a little as they glared right back.

“Grr….Hares retreat!! Let’s get outta here quick!!”

The golden dashed off, sped on their way by some lightning from Tiger. They quickly disappeared, once again hidden in the grass. Suezo kept his eye on them to make sure they were truly gone, then grumbled something about things never changing. Genki peered around at the group; they were all relatively unhurt.

“But who were they? And why did they attack us?” Pixie stepped towards him and responded.

“Obviously they were baddies. I guess someone else has decided to continue where Moo left off, and they want to get us out of the way before we cause trouble.” At the surprise of the others, this seemed to brighten Hare up considerably.

“Hahahaha!! That’s ‘cause they know we’re tough and can defeat them!! So that’s what we’ll do!!” The others cheered with him, except for Suezo, Tiger, and Pixie, who shook their heads and sighed.

“Okay…”

To be continued…

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Space Cadet: Well, I think that turned out nicely! And I got back to Genki and the others, so no worries about that! Ooh! The plot thickens! Return of Joker! It’s all moving along perfectly! Mwahaha!


Chapter 6: Little Speamint

Joker was certainly proving to be more useful than Nightmare had hoped. The new General sent messengers to the dark palace often, and recently, he had sent word about the other original six rebels and the supposedly dead Pixie, and that they were on a mission to take the baddies down.

“Well, this could get very interesting…” the black Tiger whispered to himself.

He then looked up as a soft knock sounded on the door. Nightmare grinned to himself; there was only one baddie in his army who knocked like that.

“Come in General Rotun!” The doors opened, revealing a Hare Hound.

Rotun was Nightmare’s first General, and the Hare Hound was much taller and stronger than most other Tiger breeds. The General bowed before Nightmare.

“Greetings, Master Nightmare.”

“Why is it you have come today, hmm?” The Terror Dog asked almost playfully, knowing that Rotun more often than not brought good news.

“I received word you have been searching for new Generals for your army, and I happen to know someone who may please you.” Nightmare listened intently; this was a pleasant surprise, one he had not been expecting.

“Oh? Go on.” Rotun nodded and continued.

“She is a Tiger breed and goes by the name of Fox. She leads a group of assassins, and is a very skilled one herself. She also has ties with some odd, yet powerful characters. Ones that could be of use to your cause, sir.”

“I like the sounds of this…” he closed his eyes thoughtfully. “Where can this assassin be found?”

“My Lord, she is already here. She is waiting just outside for your decision.” Nightmare cocked an eyebrow.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Send her in immediately.”

“Yes my Lord.” Rotun turned and padded back out. A couple seconds later, he returned with a very vicious-looking Hazel Fur (Tiger/Momo). She bowed to him elegantly, which somewhat surprised Nightmare, as well as her manners when she spoke to him.

“My Lord, Master Nightmare; I have come here and wish to serve under you, and am truly honoured to be able to side with such a powerful and skilled leader. Do you wish to accept me?” Nightmare smirked, laughing inwardly. He was very pleased indeed. This Fox would make an excellent General.

***

Undine gasped for breath as she ran (I know she doesn’t have legs, but bear with me here!) alongside Holly and Gray Wolf from a pack of Zuums. She was not used to running for so long; heck she wasn’t even used to the traveling!

The Zuums shouted curses and threats, furious that the trio had stolen a mystery disk from them. They ran on desperately, knowing the Zuums would probably tear them apart if they were caught.

Holly gripped the disk tightly, and wondered how long they would be able to keep running. She glanced at Undine, seeing how exhausted she was, and wondered if it had been such a good idea to steal the disk from the baddies. But it was too late now; they had done it and now they had to get out of this mess, but now, Holly was also beginning to tire.

As he ran, Gray Wolf let his eyes roam everywhere, trying to find a place where they might be able to hide and wait for the baddies to pass them by. Then he sighed, it was no good if they were out in the open on the path, they would have to head into the deeper parts of the forest.

He waited until they rounded a bend in the path and could not be seen by the Zuums for a moment. He slowed down, and motioned the other two to follow him as they scrambled off the path and into the underbrush, and laid down under some thick bushes, watching and waiting silently.

The Zuums came around the trees and thundered by, the sounds of their many footfalls pounding through the air as they disappeared through the trees with a cloud of dust rising behind them.

The three rebels released the breath they had been holding in relief. Undine was lying sprawled on the forest floor with her tongue lolling out the side of her mouth, Holly leaning on a tree right beside her, breathing heavily with the mystery disk at her feet. Gray Wolf was not too tired from the running, it was the fact they had been traveling steadily up a mountain that had sapped his stamina.

When she had sufficiently recovered, Undine passed around a canteen of water she had been carrying. Gray Wolf drank a little, and gave it to Holly who accepted it gratefully, then handed it back to Undine.

“I wonder if there’s a shrine nearby where we can unlock the disk?” asked Holly looking around. “You know this area well, Gray Wolf, right?” he nodded.

“Yes…I think there was one about halfway up the mountain, on the east side, I’m pretty sure.” He paused as he looked around at the silent forest. “Hmmm……this is where Ebony and his Mocks were stationed…”

Holly closed her eyes, remembering when they had all been captured and Mocchi’s new friend Ducken had come to their rescue.

“My friends were able to defeat them, and they retreated. At least…I’m just glad we didn’t have to kill them.” Undine looked at Holly for a moment, then got up and steadied herself.

“Let’s hurry then. The Zuums won’t be fooled forever, and will probably search the woods.” Gray Wolf led the way, with the others right behind him.

[About an hour later]

“*Gasp*….that…took…*gasp*…a while…” Undine panted from the steep climb as she leaned against the wall of the shrine. “You…two…*gasp*…go in…I’ll wait…*gasp* here…” Holly looked at her in concern.

“Are you sure you’ll be alright Undine?” Undine nodded, her eyes spiraling. Gray Wolf shrugged.

“Okay, just wait here.” He and Holly walked into the interior, and the torches in the corners lit up as the mystery disk was placed in the middle and began to float. Holly jogged over to the pedestal and concentrated, Gray Wolf watching in interest. The disk spun, bright lights began forming around it, and it went faster and faster. Then Holly pushed the button.

“Unlock!!” the disk formed into a red light and settled on the ground, revealing a baby Hare. They weren’t sure what type of Hare it was though; the little thing had aqua-blue fur. Gray Wolf sighed and was about to say something about a waste of time when he jumped up, startled, as the little Hare ran up and gave him a tight hug, shouting out sentences in one long rush and laughing.

“Wahahahaha!!! IthoughtIwasgonnabedeadforeverandthenIwentandgotintroubleandIwassoscaredcauseIcouldn’t getawayandthenyougotmeoutandI’mbackandthankyouthankyouthankyou!!!” The little thing paused and puffed in air after not breathing through the whole thing, and then went and gave Holly a big hug as well.

Gray Wolf stood stock-still. He couldn’t remember when he had last been hugged, if he had ever been hugged at all. He finally got over it and smiled a little; Holly seemed to be quite enjoying the Hare’s attitude. The silver Tiger came over to them.

“Err…hi…” he began, not quite sure how to start a conversation with the new monster.

“Hello!!” She said cheerfully, perching on Holly’s shoulders with a huge grin as Holly laughed. Gray Wolf couldn’t help but emit a small chuckle.

“Hehe…so, umm, uhh…do you have a name?” The baby Hare giggled.

“Mm-hmm! I’m Sarica!! And I’m a little Speamint!!” she giggled again and offered her small paw to Holly who shook it gently. (A Speamint is a Hare/Lesione)

“Nice to meet you Sarica, I’m Holly, and this is Gray Wolf.” Sarica gave a loud whoop and beamed happily.

“Hiya Holly an’ Gray Wolf!” Their moods lightened, Holly and Gray Wolf headed back to the entrance where Undine was waiting for them. Undine smiled gently at the little monster, still seated atop Holly’s shoulders. Undine cocked an eyebrow at them.

“What was all that racket you guys were making? I was going to go in and look!” Holly answered with a wry grin.

“That was little Sarica here, I guess she was excited to be unlocked. Sarica, meet our friend Undine.” Sarica once again gave a loud ‘hi’ and waved energetically. Undine gave a small wave in reply and yawned tiredly.

Gray Wolf glanced at the setting sun, which was turning the sky into a beautiful fiery glow.

“It’s getting late, so why don’t we just stay here for the night? We could use the rest.” Holly said to them, and they nodded. Gray Wolf found some dead wood nearby and they made a small campfire.

Undine gazed into the sky…the stars were beginning to appear as the last orange-red rays of the sun vanished. She smiled happily to herself, because for the first time, she felt truly happy. She looked at her new friends. Holly was making some soup with the help of Sarica, who seemed very willing to learn; Gray Wolf sat a little ways away, either keeping watch, or simply thinking like she was, or maybe both. Undine moved her eyes back to the twinkling stars, which to her were signs of hope to come. Then again, maybe the hope has already come… she thought as she listened to Sarica’s and Holly’s laughter in the background.

Gray Wolf let the wind blow his silver-gray mane around his head as he too stared at the stars. He thought of the brother he had lost, and would never see again. If only things had been different…if only I had been different. He closed his eyes sadly. If only I could change what happened.

He started slightly as a tiny paw touched his shoulder. He turned to see Sarica looking at him with a bowl of soup balanced precariously in her other paw.

“Want some dinner Gray Wolfy?” Gray Wolf’s face turned bright red. Gray Wolfy?!

“Err…thanks.” He took the soup before she accidentally dropped it. The little Speamint got another bowl from Holly, and came back to sit with Gray Wolf.

“Watcha thinkin’ about?” She asked him curiously. He turned to the side and looked out over the cliff as he answered.

“My-my brother.” He sighed and sat down as she came and plopped down next to him. “Well…some time ago…I was turned into a baddie by Moo” Sarica’s eyes went wide.

“Moo?” Gray Wolf nodded slowly.

“Yes. He…well, he changed me. I became evil, and I turned against my brother Tiger and his friends. Holly was one of them. Later, Tiger was forced to turn me into a lost disk…but just before he did, he was able to change me back. So, I was able to die good…and free. Tiger and the others were trying to stop Moo, and they found the Phoenix…but Tiger was one of the five monsters with the Phoenix’s soul, so he and his other monster friends all had to fuse their souls together…and so…they disappeared and now…I won’t be able to see him…I’ve lost him now…”

Sarica snuggled up to the silver wolf who hung his head.

“It’s okay to be sad. I understand. I lost my daddy and my mommy to Moo. But I’m sure wherever your brother is, he’s happy, and watching over you.” She finished slurping up her soup, and then gave him a big hug to comfort him. Gray Wolf felt a tear sting his eye.

“Thank you, that makes me feel a lot better. You’re sweet Sarica…very sweet.”

“…….zzz….”

[The next morning]

Holly was dreaming…an image flashed through her head of herself as a little girl and a young monster…Sarica? Holly blinked. The baby rabbit did seem a little familiar somehow. But from where? Then a shadow appeared…and there was screaming…and then…

Suddenly she was jerked into wakefulness as someone kicked her roughly in the side. She groaned groggily and in pain.

“Ouch…wha-hey!” she saw the Zuum troops from the day before standing over her.

“Wakey wakey, sleepyhead!” They jeered. One grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and hauled her to her feet, none too gently. She spotted Gray Wolf a few feet away, his paws trussed together so he couldn’t attack. Undine was next to him, her arms tied securely behind her back and pinned to her sides.

Panic suddenly filled Holly…where was Sarica? The baby Hare was nowhere to be seen. The Zuum captain marched smugly up to Holly and stopped in front of her as she struggled against the two Zuums holding her from behind. The Captain kicked her in the stomach and she gasped.

“Don’t resist, you’ll only make things harder and more painful for yourself.” He said evilly. “Mind telling me what you did with our mystery disk?” Holly didn’t answer. So, the baddies didn’t know about Sarica…maybe she had escaped.

The Captain glared at her as she made no response, and slashed her across the face with his claws. Gray Wolf kicked and struggled wildly, growling and cursing at the Captain, while Undine shrieked for the baddies to stop.

Holly gritted her teeth as she tried to fight the pain, but it was becoming too much as the baddies clawed and kicked at her, her friends cries seeming distant. Then, the Zuums stopped, and Holly looked up in time to see the Captain spin around, smashes his tail full force against her head…everything blurred as a couple tears spilled from her eyes, and everything went dark.

To be continued…

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Space Cadet: Ooh, another cliffhanger…and you probably won’t find out what’ll happen in the next chapter ‘cause I’ll be going to Genki and co. Sorry! Guess you’ll just have to wait! Hmm…don’t you think Sarica and Gray Wolf make such a cute couple! Aww…too bad she’s too young for him! ^_^. Enjoy! Next chapter will come very soon!


Chapter 7: Dragons to the Rescue

As the skies darkened, taking on a dull appearance from the thunderclouds looming high overhead, Joker sat upon his new throne, and waited. Finally, the doors opened and a Rocky Mew entered, followed by several Mews. The troops saluted to their General.

“You called for us, Master Joker?” the Rocky Mew inquired. Joker floated forwards and some of the Mews shifted nervously.

“Yes I did. Go now, and bring that rebel group to me. Take your full squad. And remember, I want the six alive. Kill the Pixie if you want.” The Rocky Mew grinned maliciously, and extended its long claws.

“It will be a pleasure, Master Joker. We will not fail you.”

“You had better not fail, otherwise I’m sure you can guess what will happen.” The Mews all gulped and saluted, marching back out the door. Joker returned to the window, and watched the rain as it began its descent.

“How my heart longs to see your faces twisted in pain and anguish…fear not rebels, your time will come soon!”

***

Tiger peered at the gathering clouds on the horizon, and Hare stopped with him as he heard a distant boom of thunder. Suezo looked at the dark clouds hopefully.

“Does this mean we can finally stop? My foot is killing me!” he grumbled angrily. Hare smiled slyly and patted him on the back.

“Sorry Suezo, ol’ buddy, but you’ll just have to deal with it. See, the rest of us aren’t tired, and because you don’t really matter, then you’re gonna have to keep going with us important monsters.”

Suezo turned on Hare and began shouting at him, as the others debated on what to do. Golem was all for finding shelter, while Tiger suggested they keep going.

“But Tiger, we might as well stop. Some of us are all a little tired, and we don’t really know where we’re going anyway.” Genki said as he skated in circles around them. Pixie snorted.

“Yeah kid, we can plainly see how exhausted you are.” She rolled her eyes as he continued around them, Mocchi beginning to get dizzy from watching him.

“Chi…all spinning chi…” Mocchi stumbled to the side, right into Genki’s skating circle, and fell over. Genki came skating up, and as usual, wasn’t watching where he was going.

“Hey guys, so what are-GAAAH!” He went flying head first as he tripped over Mocchi, who squeaked in surprise as he flew overhead and crashed to the ground. “Ow…”

Suezo burst into laughter, having stopped chasing after Hare, who also laughed uproariously. Tiger smirked and so did Pixie, while Golem asked Genki if he was okay. Genki, of course, bounded right up as if nothing happened and was starting to skate around to prove it, but only succeeded in tripping over the pink monster yet again.

This time, Pixie couldn’t take it anymore and erupted into fits of laughter.

“HAHAHAHA!! WAHAHAHA!!” Suezo and Hare joined in, and soon, they were all laughing, including Genki and Mocchi.

Their spirits were still light even as it began to rain, bringing in the promised downpour. Eventually they came across a large cave, big enough for them to all fit into comfortably. The group lounged around the campfire, eating, talking, and discovering that Hare was one of the worst singers they had ever heard, but other than that, everyone was happy and relaxed. Until-

“ATTACK!! CAPTURE THEM ALIVE!” A rather high-pitched voice screeched from the rain, and the rebels shot up to see a Rocky Mew (looking very soaked and not happy about it) leading a troop of Mews (all equally wet, though some seemed more upset about the rain than others).

Pixie jumped to her feet angrily, calling out “You baddies will just never get it will you? Lightning!!” her blue bolts hit the leader, and she discovered, to her amusement, that they were electrocuted quite easily. They must be awfully drenched for it to hurt like that…heh…

The others came at them, extending their sword-like claws and slashing at the rebels, who fought back with just as much ferocity. It was a bit of a bloodier battle than usual, the Mews’ claws wreaking havoc when they hit their marks.

Genki bladed through the ranks and attempted to jump-kick the leader (who was looking a little burnt from Pixie’s attack), but he dodged and swiped at the boy’s back with his claws. Genki yelled as the claws cut through his skin, and he whipped around and tackled the Rocky Mew to the ground. The two rolled over and over on the cave floor, each trying to gain the upper hand.

Mocchi jumped off the head of one Mew into the air. “BLOSSOM BLIZZARD!!” The petals swirled around him, then blew around some Mews, knocking them into each other. Then one grabbed Mocchi’s foot and brought the little monster crashing to the ground, and the baddies piled on top of him.

Tiger and Hare were having some troubles as well. More Mews had arrived in the cave, and were pressing in on the two. The other rebels had been backed out of the cave into the pouring rain, and Mocchi and Genki were both held down outside as well. Tiger snarled furiously, and dove at the Rocky Mew, but some more Mews tackled him in mid-jump.

Then, a roaring was heard, and the Mews shrieked and screamed in fright and pain as bright beams cut into them, turning the majority of the troop into lost disks. The remaining Mews squealed and ran, and the rebels looked up to see the Dragon Rayce, and his brother Shilten, descending from the sky. Genki, his back bleeding lightly, skated forward.

“Thanks for the hand…are…are you part of Falcon’s group?!” he asked, hoping it was true. Rayce looked at him curiously, and then his eyes widened in understanding as he looked at the six monsters.

“Brother, look…it’s the rebels! Ah…and here’s Pixie! We’ve been looking for you.” The rebels gave him confused looks, and Shilten chuckled and lumbered up next to his brother.

“Why don’t we sit down and talk about this? For it seems we both have a story to tell…

Rayce sat beside the campfire and gazed at the group solemnly. “Young Thor then volunteered to look for your friend Holly. But before he left, he asked us to come here and find Miss Pixie to make sure you were all right.”

The rebels were speechless, the Dragons had just related the whole tale, including the legend Korus had told them. Shilten sighed.

“It’s unfortunate we do not know what else we can do, but I’m confident you’ll find a way. I’m afraid we have to be going now, we have quite the news for the others! I hope everything goes well for you. Oh, and Big Blue insisted on coming with us, so I’m sure he’ll get here around noon tomorrow.” Pixie looked up quickly.

“Blue…” Rayce glanced at her a moment, then said goodbye with his brother, and then they were gone into the night. Genki went over the new information in his head. Hare, as always, spoke up first.

“Wow…well this changes a lot! How are we gonna defeat these guys?” It was a question they had no answer to.

To be continued…

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Space Cadet: Yeah, I know it wasn’t that long or anything. Sorry, but I don’t think I’ll be able to do this alternating thing…I just can’t come up with any ideas for this group, while I have so much I want to do with the other group. I’ll try to join them together sometime soon.


Read on!

More chapters!: Read on!