Disclaimer: I legally don't own Monster Rancher apart from the characters I create and once again, give credit to the Gar'en, (he gave me some suggestions for this story)

Monol: But despite their technology, they were not able to foresee the greatdisasters that attacked the land.

* * * * *

"Look, here it is" the brown-haired girl pulled this white-edged mystery disc out of the hole.

"Great, let's go unlock it" the boy kneeling next to her said Then they were in an unlocking shrine.

"Unlock" the girl ordered.

A winged shadow burst from the disc, then the girl screamed as the boy was tore from her side and thrown against a pillar, the shrine collapsed and a fire raced across the land, until there was nothing left but a black void.

* * * * *

"No" Myst sat up in bed, the pixie/tiger hybrid rubbed her arms. As the Prophet's Crystal sparkled in the morning sun, Myst sighed, got up and walked to the ledge outside the cave, then she closed her eyes.

Her parents had died when she was a baby and her grandmother had raised her, lovingly teaching Myst all about the crystal, slowly opening tear-filled eyes.

Myst stood on the ledge, her grandmother had died last year and passed guardianship of the Crystal over to her.

"Milady guardian, are you alright, I heard you scream" a full-grown male dragon landed besides her.

"Rime, I just had a vision.of the end of this world"

"Can we stop it?"

"I don't know"

* * * * *

"Get them, get them" Captain Evil Hare cried as he bounced up and down behind his troops.

"Yahh" as Genki, Moochi on his back, plunged at one Evil Hare, he glanced back at the cave where Browny stood in between Golem's legs, hackles raised and a snarl on his face.

Suezo stood beside the Hare Hound, guarding the cave where Holly and Minette were sheltering.

"Do you want some?" Kaz jumped to one foot to the other, excitedly, before he charged head-first into the enemy.

Blue high-kicked an Evil Hare, Hare and Nancy were standing back to back, using their Machine Gun Punch Technique.

Then Tiger and Tigress smiled at each other and they ran towards the enemy, plunging into them, suddenly in an eruption of black fur and a roar, Rialto burst from under the Evil Hares trying to hold him down.

"Swarm them" the Captain ordered.

Two black-furred Hares grabbed Genki's arms as he kicked furiously. "Let go" he cried.

In a flash, Tiger and Tigress were dealing with the boy's captors, getting up, Genki saw Kaz disappearing under a sea of black fur as the Evil Hares swarmed forwards, the Spot Saurian scrabbled out from under them.

"Fall back" Genki cried.

"Run" Tiger snarled.

"There's too many, ever for us" Tigress stared at him.

Backing into the cave, but never taking their gaze from the Evil Hares, the rebels saw their enemy run forward and line up each side of the cave.

"Now" the Captain yelled.

They started punching the cliff face and then a shower of small pebbles trickled down in front of the cave.

"They're trying to trap us in here" Hare realized.

"No" Genki started to skate forwards, but suddenly there was a loud rumble and he was thrown backwards, then he slipped into darkness.

* * * * *

"Gen...ki" Holly's worried face loomed into his vision as he opened his eyes.

"What, what happened?" he asked.

"Those blasted Evil Hares trapped us here by causing a landslide" Tiger growled from where he lay next to Tigress.

"What?" Genki headed for the sealed entrance.

"Let me" Golem started clearing the rocks from the cave entrance. Then a small flicker of light caught Genki's eye, at the back of the cave, a passage had been revealed, there were little glows which resembled a string of Christmas lights hanging from the walls.

"What's that?" he said.

"Only one way to find out" Tiger was suddenly beside him.

"Right, who's with me?"

He looked round the cave, Moochi and Minette had both curled up against Browny, using the Hare Hound as a pillow.

Kaz had also nodded off, everyone could tell because of his snores, lying on his back with his arms curled out in front of him, the Spot Saurian's leg kicked once as he muttered "Come on, I'll take you all on" in his sleep.

Rialto opened one eye, then closed it again as he turned his head away, that meant Holly, Suezo, Blue, Hare, Tiger, Tigress, Nancy were left.

"Coming?" Genki called.

They looked on each other, then

"Hey, wait for us" Holly replied.

"Wait a min, look at this" Nancy held a chunk of the cave wall.

"Bricks, but that means" Holly started.

"The wall was fake" Hare finished.

"But why?" Genki asked.

"Let's find out" Holly replied.

As they walked along the dimly-lit passage with Tiger and Tigress leading the way and the three Hares bringing up the rear.

Genki glanced at Holly, Suezo hopping besides her and then they emerged into a large chamber which looked like a temple, the walls were thick with dust and light poured through holes in the ceiling.

"Whoa" Genki whispered.

Then he put one hand on the nearest wall.

"Hey, there's something under the dust" he cried.

"What?" Holly asked. Genki blew on the wall, coughing as he inhaled some of the dust cloud.

"Hey, look, it's us and is that the Phoenix" he exclaimed. The carved image showed the rebels, but rising behing them was the image of a firebird.

"Look at this one" Nancy exclamined.

Holly and Genki walked over to take a look, they couldn't believe their eyes.

"That's me and, and I'm shaking hands with Moo?" Genki cried.

"These symbols are ancient, do they have some meaning?" Holly asked.

"Nah, why I be shaking hands with Moo" Genki replied.

"You're right, that does sound silly" she smiled.

Then she wiped dust from another picture, revealing a young female Mint who stood by a large crystal.

"She looks lonely" a deep voice rumbled.

Golem stood behind Holly, staring at the carved image.

"The entrance is cleared" he said.

"Holly, look" Blue knelt in the center of the chamber, brushing dust from something.

A black mystery disc with a white edge lay in a hole, but there was a series of pictures surrounding it.

In one, this machine reliant civilization lay in ruins as a small group of men and women in lab coats and dark glasses sealed a winged figure up in a mystery disc. Opposite it, the rebels helped each other up a mountain where the Mint and the crystal from the wall mural seemed to be waiting for them.

The next one showed a woman with pale yellow hair standing with an costumed Evil Hare and a female Lepus while a white circle with a silver S in it was behind them, then there was another picture of Moo shaking hands with a human and above the clasped hands, the Phoenix did battle with an angel.

"Could these pictures be telling a story?" Holly wondered.

"Who cares, this could contain the Phoenix" Suezo said.

"Yeah" Genki agreed.

Holly smiled, pulled the disc from the hole and tucked it under one arm.

"Let's go" she said.

* * * * *

"See one yet?"

Suezo was secretly pleased Minette had joined the rebels. She could carry him while in flight and it meant that he didn't need to thrown sky high by Golem anymore.

"No, turn me south"

Then the eyeball beamed.

"There's one half a mile south" he yelled down at the others. Minutes later, in the shrine, Genki placed the disc in the center of the chamber, then stood up.

"All ready" he flashed a thumbs up at Holly.

"Here goes" she smiled at Genki, then she placed her hands on the control panel.

"Unlock"

A black ball of light emerged from the mystery disc, it bounced for a second or two, then started morphing into a monster. It grew bigger and bigger, smashing through the ceiling.

"Whoa" Genki managed to say.

Suezo and Kaz stared up, the creature was as big as Moo's original body, but it was human and a pair of black-feathered wings tipped with white were folded against its back.

"Foolish creatures, by freeing me, you have sealed this world's fate" the angelic figure boomed, looking down and it spread its wings and took to the sky.

"What in the?" Tiger exclaimed, looking up through the hole.

Holly looked up and then gasped, the sky had turned blood-red with yellow flashes running through in it.

"Child" Holly felt a voice echoing in her head.

"Who are you" she thought.

"You wish to see me, very well"

Holly stared in the direction of the voice, standing a little way off was a ghostly figure of an old female Mint, but somehow, the girl knew not to fear this apparition.

"Can you help us? That has be a way to stop this"

"Go to Dragon's Peak, child, you and your friends will find what you need there"

Then the ghostly figure was gone.

"Holly" Genki's voice cut through her trance.

"We have to reach Dragon's Peak" she said, turning to look at him.

"Right, let's go" Genki was off like a shot.

* * * * *

"We're been walking for hours" Suezo moaned as the rebels trudged along the bottom of a canyon heading north and for once Holly was leading, her instincts were telling her this was the right way to go. Everyone turned to glare at him and the eyeball wisely shut up.

"Honestly, Suezo, we're trying to save the world here" Hare replied.

"He's not changed one bit" Blue whispered to Browny, glancing over at Suezo.

The Hare Hound just smiled and shook his head.

"Hey, look, what's that?" Genki pointed, in the distance and heading straight for them was a dust cloud.

Suezo blinked and zoomed in on the approaching cloud of dust. "It's some of the Evil Hares we ran into yesterday" the eyeball cried. The rebels tensed to do battle, but Moo's Evil Hares obviously had other things in mind, they ploughed right through the Searchers and just kept running.

"It' s coming, it's coming" they shrieked.

"What's coming? Genki asked.

"Uhh, that is" Hare pointed.

A tidal wave of brown muddy water was heading straight towards them.

"Move it" Tiger yelled, swooping Genki up on his back and racing up path on the side of the canyon.

Then Browny, Holly riding on his back suddenly appeared beside the blue wolf.

Minette and Rialto flew overhead while Golem, carrying Hare, Blue, Moochi and Suezo pounded past them, his footsteps making the earth shake.

Nancy tripped on a rock, Kaz, who was right behind her, stopped "Come on" the Spot Saurian pulled her upright and together they ran for the slope.

As the two monsters reached the top, he pushed Nancy up in front of him for willing hands to pull her up, but as Kaz was about to haul himself up, the water hit and the last they ever saw of him was his hand reaching from the water for one brief second before it sunk.

"No" Nancy realised it was her screaming.

"Nancy, come on" Blue gently placed one hand on her shoulder as he also stared at where Kaz had disappeared.

She got to her feet and joined the others, casting a sad look back behind her.

"Whoa" Genki whispered, suddenly stopping.

Moochi and Suezo both crashed into the boy's back, sending him stumbling forwards.

"What's the big idea?" Suezo demanded.

"Look" Genki replied, pointing.

The ground in front of them was a bog, the rebels looked round at the pools of mud and quicksand.

"Look, a path" Tigress's sharp eyes had picked it among the muddy ground.

"If we do go in, be careful, one wrong step and it's all over" Hare warned.

Genki was just about to lead the way, when suddenly the earth exploded, sending the rebels flying in all directions.

"Is everyone ok?" Genki looked up.

The explosion had been the result of the creation of a really tiny volcano.

"I'm sinking" Holly cried, she had landed in a pool of quicksand.

"Holly" Genki ran forward.

"Stop" Golem put one huge hand in front of the boy "You can't save her if you die too"

"Quick, take the bag off my back" Suezo yelled.

Genki untied it and spread it on the ground.

"Here, but who?" Suezo stood up, a coiled up rope in his mouth.

"I'll go" a quiet voice replied and all eyes turned to Browny.

"Right" Genki nodded agreement.

Then he and Hare quickly tied one end round his chest, then the boy picked up the other end and skated around this tree, bracing himself against the trunk, the rope in his hands.

"All ready" he called.

Browny nodded, then he plunged into the quicksand, striking out towards Holly, when he reached her, she grabbed the rope and looked at the others.

"Holly, pull yourself along the rope" Hare yelled.

The girl obeyed, as she reached the bank, Golem extended one finger to her, she grabbed it and he pulled her out, then gently set Holly back on solid ground.

No-one noticed the rope was splitting because the pressure put on it, then as Browny was swimming back, it suddenly snapped, sending Genki flying backwards.

"No" Holly gasped.

Browny's eyes were fixed on her as he continued to sink, then Holly screamed as the Hare Hound disappeared under the quick sand.

"Holly" Suezo started forward.

But she continued screaming, rocking back and forth.

"Holly, we're got to find a way to save this world" Genki gently took her by the shoulders.

She stared into his eyes and nodded, slowly calming down.

* * * * *

"The Dark Angel, are you sure?" Moo spun round

Captain Evil Hare groveled in front of him "Yes, Majesty" he replied. "If it has been released, then"

Moo turned his back on Captain Evil Hare and stared through the window at the unnatural storm raging outside his floating castle and continued speaking "We need to find the rebels"

To Be Continued

Browny" Holly whispered, tears flowing down her face

"Hey, can you hear that?" Hare's ears shot up The sound of heavy feet could be heard drawing closer and closer

"Look" Genki pointed

In the distance, another cloud of dust was heading straight for them

"What now?" Suezo asked, squinting

"What is it?" Tiger growled

"It's an Evil Hare.riding a Hound Saurian, do Moo's men use steeds?" Suezo replied

Then the dinosaur monster and its rider suddenly came into view, reaching the rebels, it stopped when the black-furred Hare pulled on the reins it was wearing.

The Searchers stared at the Evil Hare, it was wearing a dark blue tunic with a V shaped neckline and short sleeves, while an indigo cloak was positioned over its shoulder, this helmet with a bit of metal running down its nose and this long plume running from the front to the back rested on its head, while a short sword stuck from a simple rope belt around its waist and it was also wearing a white medallion with a raised silver S on it round its neck

"Hail to you, enemies of Moo" the Evil Hare suddenly said

"WHAT!" Genki couldn't believe it

"The Sorceress, my mistress wishes for an audience with the bearer of the Magic Stone"

Then the Hound Saurian moved in front of Holly and the black furred Hare leaned over and offered her its hand

"Holly, I'm not sure about this" Suezo piped up

"Who are you?" Genki asked

The Evil Hare turned its gaze to him "So, you are the Outsider" "Never mind who I am, I asked who you are"

"I'm just a messager, now are you prepared to trust me, girl?" Staring into the Evil Hare's eyes, Holly nodded, then felt herself take his hand and climbing onto the Hound Saurian's back, then putting her arms round the black-furred Hare's waist, she turned to face the others

"Holly" Genki stared up at her

"Don't worry, I'll be back soon" she whispered

"Ha" the Evil Hare flicked the reins and they were off

Staring after the disappearing dinosaur monster, the remaining Searchers were unaware of a winged shadow falling across the clearing behind them

* * * * *

"Here we are" after half a hour on the Hound Saurian, the black furred Hare pulled on the reins

Holly gasped, she was standing in front of a white marble tower with patches of silver running through it, it was one of the most beautiful things that she had ever seen.

Inside, a extremely beautiful woman sat on a white marble throne, she was wearing a white medieval dress and her pale yellow hair was surrounded by this long white veil with silver strands running though it and on top of her head was a tiara clearly made out of the same metal as the Evil Hare's medallion, Holly fiddled with her stone nervously

"Bobbi, more wine" the seated woman ordered

A female Lepus wearing another S pendant and holding a wine jug stepped forward and refilled the goblet thw Sorceress was holding, then she calmly took a sip

"So you are the daughter of Moo's host body, a pretty thing for a village girl" the Sorceress said

Holly stared at her

"Who are you to judge me like that?" the girl exploded

"So you possess an inner fire, but I didn't summon you for a display of spirit"

"Then why?"

"An ancient evil has fallen upon this land, Commander Coal"

The Evil Hare suddenly stepped forward and handed Holly a scroll, she opened it, then gasped, she was on it, facing the Dark Angel, the Magic Stone was hanging in midair, glowing and the pale green light seemed to hurting the giant angel

"What?" Holly slowly lowered the scroll

"Isn't it obvious, your stone appears to be the only thing that can destroy him"

Holly grabbed her stone protectively

"Don't worry, child, I'm not going to take it from you"

Holly stared, confused "Then why.?"

"I hold an old prophecy, that the destroyer of worlds rises for the second time, only pure-hearted bearer of the stone will have the ability to stop him"

"You, you mean me" Holly stammered

The Sorceress lent back in her throne and nodded

"But, but I"

"You possess an inner strength, girl, but it need help to surface" "Here" Bobbi stepped forward, holding a cushion and on it lay this medallion exactly like the one Commander Coal and Bobbi wore "This is my gift to you, child, it will help and guide you"

Holly picked it, then taking the stone off, she put the medallion on and placed the stone back on top of it

"That is all, Commander Coal, remove the girl"

The Evil Hare bowed, then gently led Holly from the tower

* * * * *

Holly turned round, but the Hound Saurian was already out of sight, walking back to the clearing where her friends were, she gasped in horror.

The camp lay in ruins, Rialto was dusting himself off, while Golem pulled Hare and Nancy from the bushes where both their legs were waving

"Genki" she cried, running over to the stunned boy as Tiger pulled him out of the undergrowth

Tigress lay licking Moochi's wounds

"Can I get down now?" Minette's face peered from a tree

Golem raised on hand and the young pixie gently stepped into it "Thanks, big guy" she smiled

Holly tipped some of their water supply into a bowl and found a rag, then she sat down next the boy

"I'm sorry, we tried to stop him"

"What happened?" Holly asked, gently bathing Genki's forehead

"It was the creature we unlocked, he attacked us after you left, saying something about you being the key and he's determined to stop you and that's not the worse of it" the boy replied Looking into the boy's eyes, the medallion the Sorceress had given her begun to glow and Holly found herself floating in the sky, flying besides the huge angel, then she saw this yellow tail poking out of one of its hand, while a limp blue-furred figure was in the other

"No" Holly let the bowl of water fall to the ground.

The medallion round her neck flashed, suddenly she stood up, determination in her eyes

"Come on, we've got to get to Dragon's Peak, we have friends to save"

The others all nodded, shocked, she had just sounded like Genki. One hour later The Searchers plodded along, then suddenly they stopped, the ruins of a village lay in front of them and there was a little figure trying to dig in a fallen house "It's a child"

"Momma" the little girl screamed

"Look"

A stream of hot lava was flowing out of a nearby canyon towards the ruined village

"We won't have time to help" Genki cried

Suddenly with a solemn look on his face, Golem strode past them and sat in front of the lava

"You can now" he said

"Let's go"

The little girl looked round as one by one, the rebels came up and started to help her dig

"Oh god, is someone up there, where's my husband" a voice called from under all the rubble

"Hold on" Genki cried as he joined the others in digging As they started to clear the rubble in the area where the voice had come from, a kitchen table slowly came into view, then as they dug it free, a woman could be seen cowering under the table, cradling a baby in her arms

"Here" Holly offered the woman her hand, she took it and emerged

"Thank you"

"Momma"

"My, my village"

"You better get out of here" Holly suggested

The woman just nodded dumbly, then taking her children she headed up a slope and slowly disappeared over the top

"Let's get out of here" Genki cried, running over to Golem, who just picked the boy, then placed him and Moochi on top of the canyon Hare, Nancy, Tiger and Tigress soon joined him, Golem's chest was glowing red and steam was rising from his back as he bent over to gently grab Holly

"Join the others" he said

"But"

"Go" Golem lifted Holly up to the others and gave her a gentle push Walking a little distance as if in a trance, Holly just fell to her knees, her body shaking with her sobbing, Genki knelt down to comfort her and she buried her face into his chest

"Browny, Suezo, Blue, Golem" she wept

* * * * *

Suezo sat, chained to one arm of the Dark Angel's throne, he was slightly impressed with that, the giant monster had carved it out of an entire mountain, he could see Blue chained to the opposite arm "Are you bored, my yellow friend?"

"Don't call me your friend" the eyeball yelled

"Hmm, a little display of my powers is in order" the giant angel smiled

Suezo gasped as a pair of bat-like wings sprouted from Blue's back and there were short, sharp claws on the end of each of his fingers

"No" Suezo gasped

"And now the finishing touch, a collar of servitude"

A metal collar suddenly appeared from nowhere and fastened itself around Blue's neck and he fell to his knees, his hands resting on the collar like he was trying to tear it off, then his eyes slowly turned red, Suezo thought that he could see a plea for help in them "You monster" the eyeball screamed

* * * * *

"We've got company" Rialto yelled from his aerial position

A black spiky rock was floating towards the rebels, as it grew closer and closer, Genki saw Tiger start bristling and snarling

"Is that what I think it is? Nancy asked

"No, not again" Holly breathed

All the able fighters gathered protectively round Holly and Minette, then the floating castle was right in front of them, a beam of white light poured down from the fortress, then a familiar golden-armored titan was slowly lowered in it

"Moo" Genki cried

"So, we meet again" the evil monster raised one eyebrow

"Charge" Genki yelled, leaping forward, Moochi clinging to his back Moo sent them flying, temporarily stunned.

Genki looked up a minute later to see the evil monster holding both Hare and Nancy upside down by their legs as they tried to swing at him, then he threw the Hares away from him, they both skidded to a halt several feet away while Tigress continued guarding Holly and Minette, then Tiger leapt to attack

"Enough" Moo just extended one arm and caught the blue wolf by the throat

"Tiger" Genki and Tigress cried in unison

"I have not come to fight, I suggest a temporary alliance" Moo said, dropping Tiger

"Why should we trust you, Moo?"

"For my own reasons, I no more wish to see this world destroyed than you do, boy"

Genki gritted his teeth, then the boy placed his hand in Moo's outstretched one, remembering the picture in the temple

"You're got yourself a deal, but remember IT's just temporary" Genki said

"We need a lift to Dragon's Peak"

Moo nodded "Is that all"

"Yes"

Holly shivered and grasped the magic stone, Genki noticed this

"You don't have to go" he said, concerned

She turned her soft brown eyes to him, they were full of worry

"We'll go with him" Tiger replied, seeing this, Tigress nodding in agreement

"Yeah, and us" Hare and Nancy piped up

"Chi" Moochi jumped into Genki's arms

"I'll go too if you're going to Dragon's Peak"

"You" Genk turned to stare at Rialto

"I have 'business' to settle there, nothing more" the dragon said Minette had moved behind Holly, just staring up at the huge black rock like palace, fear in her eyes

"Minette, you stay with Holly"

The young pixie nodded

"Are you coming" Moo stood, waiting

Holly leant over and gently kissed Genki on the cheek

"Be careful" she whispered

Then they disappeared in a beam of white light, heading straight up to Moo's castle, Holly and Minette both watched as it turned and slowly moved away, as soon as it had gone, Holly turned and headed down the cliff

"Where are you going?" Minette ran after her

"To face my destiny, I'm going to defeat the Dark Angel"

"Should you wait till daybreak"

Holly looked round, it was getting dark

"Ok, we'll stop for the night" she said

"Listen" Minette was facing the forest in front of them

Holly stood, a faint rustling noise could be heard, quickly drawing her dagger, she just waited, the rustling grew louder

"Who's there?" Holly demanded, her dagger held out in front of her

A shadowy figure staggered from the bushes, then it collapsed on the ground, Holly ran over and turned the figure, it was an Evil Hare wearing the rags of a familiar set of clothes

"Commander Coal, what happened?"

The black-furred hare opened his eyes and looked up at Holly "He came, destroyed the tower, I, I don't know what happened to the Sorceress or Bobbi"

"Shush, just sleep" she replied, knowing who 'he' was Holly stared up at the stars, the Sorceress, gone, who would help her defeat the Dark Angel now, suddenly she felt a cold, hard circle buried in her tunic, she pulled it out, the Sorceress's medallion still hung round her neck, then Holly smiled

* * * * *

"Dragon's Peak" Moo pointed at a tall mountain which was drawing closer and closer

"Drop us at the foot" Genki said

"Are you sure?"

"Yes" the boy stared at him

A few minutes later, the small group of rebels stood at the base of the mountain

"Well, we better start climbing" Nancy moved towards the peak

Genki frowned as the ground started to tremble

"What?" he cried

"It's an earthquake"

A mass of rocks slid slowly down the mountainside, while Hare ran after Nancy, as the other rebels braced against the tremors, Tiger thought that he saw the two rabbits disappear into a cave, then the landslide cut off any further sightings of them, Genki looked up

"Hare" he shrieked

"They're alive" Tigress said

"How do you know?" Genki replied

"I can sense their thoughts" the lilac she-wolf replied

"There was a cave" Tiger added

Inside, Nancy slowly raised her head and then saw a familiar brown figure lying trapped under some rocks

"Huh, Hare"

Dragging him free of the rocks, Nancy spread-eagled Hare on the ground and started patting his face

"Come on, Hare, wake up"

Then she got this wild idea, leaning over, she kissed Hare on the mouth, his eyes flew open

"What in the world are you doing?" he spluttered, scrabbling away from Nancy

She turned and moved to sit on a nearby rock, her back to him before replying "All my life I wanted someone special, guess I was kinda hoping it would be you"

"Why not chase after Blue? You've known him longer than me"

"Are you crazy? He gets all shy and tongue-tied if any female so much as looks at him, besides you're kinda cute" she still didn't look at him

"Me" Hare scowled, he had buried the feelings Nancy stirred inside him, he thought with his head, not his heart, yet Nancy sat, her back to Hare and sighed, guessing she'd just blown it, then suddenly Hare was standing behind her, then he stretched out a hand and gently rested it on her shoulder, she turned to look to him

"Let's give it a go" he gently said Nancy smiled

* * * * *

"Hare, can you hear me?" Genki yelled as the rebels tried to clear the rocks away from the cave entrance

Suddenly Tiger's ears pricked up

"What's that?" he asked, looking up

An adult male dragon landed in front of them

"Father" Rialto breathed

"I am Rime of Dragon's Peak, the guardian of the crystal wishes your company"

"Our friends were trapped in a cave by that landslide" Genki cried The new dragon snorted and then turned to the pile of rocks and started clearing the rocks away, Genki stared, marveling at the strange dragon's strength and speed

"Hare, Nancy" Genki called as the last rocks were cleared away The two rabbits stood in the cave entrance, holding hands, Genki smiled at the sight

"Now, what's the quickest way up the mountain?" Tiger asked

"Flying" Rime said

"Flying?" Genki asked

"With my son here, we can take three of you apiece"

"But" Rialto started to protest

"The guardian wishes to see them, will you disobey her?"

"No, father"

A minute later, Genki, Moochi and Tiger were being carried up to the top of the mountain, while Tigress, Hare and Nancy were on Rime's back, then they were dropped off on a ledge in front of a cave

"I have to go, I need see that my clan's alright after that earth quake" with that Rime was gone

The group walked into the cave, a crystal stood in the middle of the floor, while a wooden bed lay beyond it, but there no sign of anyone in the cave

"So what's the story, Rialto?" Genki asked

"The legends say that a long, long time ago, before the civilization that created a race of monsters existed, the world was a place of magic, then one day a seer who loved his homeland more than life itself received this vision of a great and terrible disaster, but didn't know when it would happen so he gathered spells and deciding he would be here when it happened, turned himself to crystal, waiting and watching for the disaster. Days, months, years, centuries passed until one day the ancient civilization which created Moo lived on this land, the seer sought guardianship and his mind called out to a group of dragons and a pair of Mints, one male and one female, they answered the call and"

"And their descendants live here to this day" Tiger realized Rialto nodded

"Wow" Genki ran one hand down the crystal, it started pulsating gently, then glowed white

* * * * *

"No, they must not activate the crystal" the Dark Angel's eyes flicked open and he smiled "A little wind ought to stop them" Back on Dragon's Peak, a tornado roared into the cave and spun round the cave, the pull was strong and threatened to blow them all out of the cave

"Moochi, here, grab hold" Genki pulled the little pink monster to the pillar of rock he was holding on to, but losing his own grip on it in doing so and the boy was blown straight towards the mouth of the cave

"Genki" Tiger yelled, bracing himself against the pull of the wind Then the boy crashed into something, turning, he looked straight into the face of a young female Mint about Holly's age

"Going somewhere" she smiled down at him

Flying into the cave, she dropped Genki, then landed in front of him

"Who are you"

"I'm Myst, listen, did the crystal glow when you touched it?"

"Yes" Genki replied, how did she know

"I need your help then, the land needs healing, we must make physical contact with the crystal together"

Genki stared into her ice blue eyes and slowly nodded Then the tornado swooped down at them, plucking Myst from the ground

"Milady, I have you" Rialto cried, grabbing her in mid-air The tornado soared up to the roof and started dislodging the spikes of rock that hung there, Rialto quickly dodged them one by one and while he was concentrating on this, a large piece of pointed rock fell and impaled the dragon in the chest.

Rialto threw Myst away from him as he fell, the spear of rock sticking from his chest, Genki watched as the dragon hit the cave floor and disappear in a familiar white light, the Mint rolled along the floor and stopped in front of the crystal, she slowly got to her feet, placing her hands on the smooth surface.

"Ready" Myst looked at Genki

He nodded and positioned himself on the other side of the crystal, his own hands, then Myst started muttering strange ancient words under her breath, then Genki found himself saying the same words, suddenly she threw her head back

"Help us" she cried

The crystal started humming and glowing white and suddenly in a bright flash of white light, it exploded, Genki gritted his teeth and braced against the force of the blast, the air shifted round him, then through it all, he heard a cry of pain

"Myst" the boy shrieked

There was no answer

Genki felt tears running down his face as he let the darkness claim him

* * * * *

"I'm going to find the Dark Angel" Holly said

"But?" Minette said

"Stay with Coal, he needs your healing abilities"

Minette nodded

Grasping the medallion, she whispered "Take me to the Dark Angel", then Holly closed her eyes as she was engulfed in a silver light

"So, you are the girl prophesied to defeat me"

Opening her eyes, Holly found herself standing in front of a mountain shaped like a throne, the Dark Angel was sitting in it

"To get to me, you have defeat my servant first"

A blue-furred figure swooped down from one arm of the throne

"Blue, what have you done to him?" Holly cried

"What, don't you like it?"

Blue advanced on her, raising a hand and striking her to the ground, then the Blue Hare lifted Holly up by the neck and pushed her up against the side of the mountain, his grip tightening

"Blue, I know you're not doing this out of your own free will" Holly managed to get the words out

The Blue Hare's eyes reddened eyes seemed to lighten slightly and Holly stared at him, was her name he was mouthing, suddenly she fell to the ground, rubbing throat, then the Magic Stone flashed once and the metal collar around his neck dropped to the ground

"Holly, my god, I'm sorry" Blue whispered, staring down at his hands "It wasn't your fault"

Blue put his hand up behind his back and felt the wings on his back, then lifted his hands to look at the claws, he sunk to his knees

"Look at me, I'm a freak"

"No" Holly knelt besides him

"And a treacherous freak at that" the Dark Angel raised one finger and a black lightning bolt shot from his finger and hit the Blue Hare in the back, Blue just collapsed, his fur smoking, Holly stared at him, shocked, then

"I won't let you hurt my friends anymore" Holly stood, a determined look in her eyes as the magic stone glowed under her top "Girl, let your anger guide the stone's power" the Sorceress' voice seemed to echo in her head Holly gritted her teeth as she stared at Blue's still form, then the Magic Stone lifted free of her tunic and started glowing, the green light grew and grew

"No, the light, it hurts" the Dark Angel shrieked

The green glow exploded, Holly blinked to clear her vision, where the Dark Angel had been, a lost disc stood, Holly picked a small rock, thinking of all he had done to her friends

"Yahh" she raised the rock and brought it down on the Dark Angel's disc, shattering it into a million pieces

"Holly" Blue slowly got to his feet, his wings and claws gone

"Up here" Suezo was looking down at them

Holly smiled up at him

"Be right up" she called

* * * * *

"Boy"

"What? Myst? Rialto?" Genki slowly opened his eyes

Rime's face loomed across the boy's vision

"My son is gone, the crystal has been destroyed and the Guardian is no better off"

"Let us take her with us" Genki said

"Why?" Rime's eyes burned into him

"We have a pixie with us" was the reply

"With the healer's touch?" the dragon asked

"Yes" Genki said

"Hmm, wait here, I'll fetch some of my clan, we can give you a lift"

* * * * *

Holly shaded her eyes from the setting sun, in the distance, she could see three winged figures heading straight for their position

"Suezo, what are those?" she asked

The eyeball squinted

"Dragons" he answered

She continued staring up at them, then

"Hey, Holly" a familiar voice was calling her name

"Genki" she cried, waving

The trio of dragons circled the hill, Genki and Moochi were riding the lead one, while Hare, Nancy, Tiger and Tigress were on the two flying behind the biggest dragon, then in formation, they all landed on the grass, where the lead one gently placed a still form on the ground, one by one, Holly's friends slid off the dragons' backs "Till we meet again, boy" Rime said, spreading his wings and taking to the skies again, his clan members following his example, the Searchers waved till the dragons were out of sight, then Genki suddenly spotted the Evil Hare

"Hey, isn't that the?"

"Genki, meet Coal" Holly smiled "Now who's that?" she asked, spotting Myst

"This is Myst, we befriended her up on Dragon's Peak"

"She's in bad shape, what happened?" Holly bent down to examine the Mint

"It's a long story, sit down and we'll tell you what happened" By the time Genki and Holly had exchanged stories, it was evening and a fire had been lit

"Genki, your friend is waking up" Suezo suddenly called

He hurried over, Myst's eyes were open, then her lips moved, Genki could just hear her faint whisper

"The crystal?"

"Gone" he replied

"Then what do I do now?"

"How about joining us?" the boy smiled "Really"

"Yeah" Genki said

Myst smiled weakly and closed her eyes again

"And now what?" Suezo said

"We continue our quest as soon as Myst's able to travel, our team may changed, but our goal is the same" Genki replied, looking at the sleeping forms of Coal and Myst

The End