"Power Unleashed" by Fireblazing



sequel to Fireblazing's two other stories



Part 1

Within a palace in the shape of a white flame, many Cabalos (Tiger/Naga) had gathered. Their leader had called them when he learned that the rebels had defeated Moo's newest general. The Tiger emerged from the corridor, his eyes where the first to be seen. They were cold blues to match his unfriendly demeanor.

"Show me the monsters who survived the rebels attack!" ordered the Gray Wolf.

The Cabalos divided to reveal three badly wounded monsters. They were a pixie, joker, and durahan. The durahan was the most damaged but the fire in his eyes seemed more intense. The joker and pixie have very few wounds and looked enraged because of what had happened to their leader. A mere girl had killed the general Magma, which infuriated them. They wanted revenge for what had happened but durahan wanted revenge the most.

"If you want revenge on the rebels then you will follow my orders," barked the Wolf. "Or you will perish at my feet."

"As you wish Master Gray Wolf," they said in unison.

[I do not need your help to kill the rebels, but for now I will do as you wish. That is until I get to the girl. She will pay for what she has done to my blood brother and to me,] thought Vesuvius. He followed the other monsters toward the rebels' camp. They would not survive the attack Gray Wolf had planned.

A dying campfire can be seen with seven shadowed figures sitting around it. The shadows disappear and the seven rebels can be seen eating dinner.

"So when are you going to show us what you can do Holly," asked Genki.

"Don't be silly Genki, Holly still is not strong enough to use her powers," replied Hare. "It has only been a week since Holly found that she had powers."

"Besides, I do not think it wise for Holly to use her powers when we are in enemy territory," stated Tiger while thinking of his brother. [I know you are near brother, I can feel you,] thought Tiger.

"It's alright guys, I feel strong enough to try to use a little of the power," said Holly.

After saying this, Holly began to concentrate. After a few minutes the dying fire burst with life and Holly felt very dizzy from the effort.

"Wow, chi," said Moochi.

"We could make a lot of money on your power Holly," voiced Hare. "Image, no one will have to get firewood with you around, ha ha."

"All you think about is money," shouted Tiger face to face with Hare.

"Oh yeah, well at less I don't have a brother who is a member of the Big Bad Four," yelled Hare back.

"Why you," snarled Tiger as he attacked Hare.

"Both of you stop," shouted Holly. "We don't need you two fighting loud enough for the baddies to hear."

They both stopped instantly but continued to glare at each other. After finishing dinner, the group went to sleep. Tiger and Hare were separated by Golem who thought it wise to keep them apart. Genki and Moochi quickly fell asleep not worrying about anything. Holly was the only one who had difficulty sleeping. Her dreams had been plagued with death each night. She decided that the longer she stayed awake, the more exhausted she would become and be able to sleep without dreams. However, after the third night of insufficient sleep, Holly succumbed to the dreams.

Part 2

Her dream began with the women of the past. She saw the horrors that each one dealt with before their deaths. Although they did not face Moo, they each faced worst demons. Demons that would frighten Holly so much that she awoke in a cold sweat. [At least I did not scream and wake everyone up this time. There must be a way to block these dreadful nightmares. Maybe the book will hold the answer,] thought Holly. She removed the book from her satchel and concentrated on opening the lock. In a few minutes, she was searching through the information looking for a way to stop the dreams. Finally, she found an entry that described an herb that would prevent the dreams from coming. Holly remembered seeing this herb near the camp and left quietly to retrieve it. After a mile she found the herb and removed a batch of them. While returning to the camp, Holly could she red eyes in the shadows of the trees. She quickened her pace but was soon surrounded by a pack of Cabalos.

"Look who couldn't sleep," snarled one of the Tiger sub-breeds.

"Leave now or you will be sorry," replied Holly.

"So the girl does have a backbone," snapped another.

"Let's see what hers looks like," said another while attacking Holly.

Holly was thrown back by the attack but quickly recovered. She charged her power and the yellow aura surrounded her. This did not frighten the Cabalos who charged their horns. As Holly released her energy ball, the Cabalos released their lightning attack. Holly's aura protected her for must of the attack but she was too drained and the attack hit her with too much force. She was knock unconscious however the Cabalos were all changed into lost disks. Meanwhile, Tiger heard the attack and ran to help Holly. What he found when he reached her was too much for him to handle. A ring of lost disks surrounded Holly and a durahan was walking toward her. Tiger recognized the durahan as the one who fought with Magma. It had to be the same one because his mask was cracked down the middle. As the durahan reached Holly's body, Tiger charged his torpedo.

"Leave her alone Vesuvius, or I will finish what she started," snarled Tiger.

"Go ahead and try mutt," yelled the durahan.

Tiger released his attack but the durahan simply blocked it sending the attack back at Tiger. Tiger dodged but was still hit by his attack. As Tiger recovered the durahan used his thunderbolt and shot Tiger. Tiger was knock unconscious and his breathing was shallow. Two Jells and a pixie appeared behind the durahan from the forest.

"Another time mutt, Gray Wolf wants you alive," said Vesuvius. "Allure, take the Tiger and come with me. As for the plan, Jells take their forms and infiltrate the rebels. Led them to the trap and wait for the signal to change form.

The pixie picked up the wounded tiger while the durahan grabbed Holly and went to Gray Wolf's palace. The two Jells transformed into the shapes of Tiger and Holly while walking towards the campsite. Meanwhile the pixie and durahan arrived at the palace to find an angered Gray Wolf. He was furious that this weak child had killed his Cabalos. However, when he saw his brother's unconscious body, his angered was quelled.

"Good work Vesuvius," said Gray Wolf. "Chain my brother to the wall with the girl."

"Sir, I captured the girl and she must pay for what she did by my hand," yelled Vesuvius.

"She will pay for her deeds against Moo, but they will both suffer waiting the other in pain," replied Gray Wolf. "I will even be generous enough to allow you the honor of torturing her when my brother awakens."

Back at the campsite the Jells had arrived and infiltrated the rebels. No one in the group was awake to notice that the real Tiger and Holly had left to be replaced by Jells. When Genki finally awoke, he began jumping up and down waking everyone up except Suezo.

"Come on Suezo, it's time to get going," yelled Genki in Suezo's eye. "My heart is a pounding, pounding, pounding."

"Holly, which direction must we go today," asked the Tiger impersonator.

"We go north," said the Holly impersonator after consulting a fake magic stone.

"Well then, let's have breakfast then get moving," said Hare as his stomach growled.

The impersonator of Holly made breakfast but it was not as good as the real Holly would make. The rebels noticed but did not ask about it. As the group continued north, there could be seen glowing eyes following them. Hare could fell the hairs on his back stand up and knew that something bad was going to happen.

Part 3

Meanwhile, at the palace, Tiger had begun to regain consciousness. Tiger remained silent as he allowed his senses to adjust to the lighting. He could smell something familiar nearby. When Gray Wolf noticed his brother moving, he jumped into the open.

"Morning brother!" snarled Gray Wolf. "Glad you could come."

"Brother, why have you done this?" asked Tiger.

"Because dear brother, it is what Moo wants," replied Gray Wolf.

"Please, you don't have to do this," pleaded Tiger.

"You will regret ever defining Moo," said Gray Wolf as the Joker appeared. "Flame Death, show my brother why he should not have defied Moo."

Flame Death approached Holly and punched her in the chest. The sound of cracking bones could be heard. Holly opened her pain filled eyes at her attacker. Before she could say anything, the Joker struck her again. This time there was no cracking sound but it caused Holly to gasp in pain.

"Leave her alone, it's me you want!" yelled Tiger.

"The more you fight us the more painful it is for her, brother," spat Gray Wolf.

"What do you want from me!" shouted Tiger.

"We want you to suffer as we have suffered," said Gray Wolf as the Joker punched Holly again.

Holly could not stand the pain anymore and succumbed to the darkness again. With it came a message. [Use the power to save your friends. You know what to do, do not fear the pain. The pain will unleash the power you hold.] Then there was nothing but the darkness.

Elsewhere the rebels had reached a large sandpit within the forest when the eyes had surrounded them. Genki was the first to notice and quickly but on his roller blades. A loud roar could be heard from the undergrowth and the Blue Katos (Kato/Tiger) emerged. At this same moment, the impersonators began to melt.

"What the heck have you done to them monsters," yelled Genki at the Katos.

"Fools, we have done nothing," said one of the Katos. "Your friends have not been with you all night and day."

"Where have you taken them," screamed Hare.

"You will see them soon rebels," replied the Jell who impersonated Tiger.

The Jells completely transformed to their original forms. One was an Icy Jell (Jell/Tiger) the other was a Pink Jam (Jell/Pixie). The Pink Jam began the attack by fighting Moochi. The Blue Katos divided and attacked Hare, Golem, and Suezo. Genki was left to fight the Icy Jell.

"Cherry Blossom Blizzard, chi," shouted Moochi as his attack hit the Pink Jam.

The attack went right through the Jell. Then Pink Jam attacked with his two-whip attack. Moochi was hit by both attacks and knock into Suezo. Who in the meantime was trying to escape the Blue Kato that had attacked him. Hare used his one-two punch and was able to hit one of the Katos. However, Golem was having difficulty hitting the other Katos because they moved too swiftly. Whereas, Genki was fighting the Icy Jell and had used his flying kick. His attack was reflected and Genki went flying into a tree.

"Give up rebels, you don't stand a chance against us," ordered the Kato general.

"We won't give up to the likes of you," said Genki getting to his feet.

Part 4

At the same moment in the palace, Holly was regaining consciousness after beginning unconscious for three hours. Holly's vision swam as her mind tried to remain conscious. Beside her, Tiger was being tortured by Flame Death. Holly remembered the pain that he had caused her and her anger grew. The yellow aura flared to life around her and her chains began to glow. Soon the locks on the chains where opened and Holly attack the Joker with her remaining strength. The Joker had not been prepared and was turned into a lost disk by Holly's energy blast. With the last of her strength, Holly unlocked Tiger's chains and past out on the ground.

"Holly, wake up," cried Tiger.

"So brother, you have escaped," said Gray Wolf as he entered the room. "It is time for a brotherly talk."

"Enough talk brother, you will pay for what you did to Holly," snarled Tiger as he leapt at Gray Wolf.

Their battle began with Gray Wolf dodging Tiger and charging his Lightning attack. Tiger dodged the attack and used his Torpedo. Gray Wolf was not fast enough and was hit. He quickly recovered and used his Cold Bullet. Tiger dodged but was hit in the leg. At the smell of blood, the two monsters went berserk. They leapt at each other and tried to rip each other's throats out. Tiger was dealt a fatal blow by his brother but used his Blizzard and knocked his brother unconscious. The battle had taken its toll on Tiger and he pasted out. However, Holly began to regain consciousness and crawled over to Tiger and his brother. Through much pain, Holly used her power to heal their wounds and was able to change Gray Wolf. The yellow aura surrounded his body and the symbol of Moo disappeared. Her energy being completely gone, Holly returned to the darkness. Tiger awoke a few minutes latter to find Holly next to him. When he got up her noticed that all his wounds had healed. He also noticed that his brother was alive and the symbol of his loyalty had vanished. Gray Wolf also regained consciousness and just started at Tiger.

"Are you okay brother," asked Tiger.

"What happened, what have I done," said Gray Wolf as he looked at Holly.

The realization of his actions took hold and Gray Wolf ran out of the palace. Before he could escape, Tiger called him to stop.

"Stay brother, together we can stop Moo," yelled Tiger.

"I don't know if I have anything good still in me," replied Gray Wolf. "I need sometime alone to find out where I belong. Maybe someday, we will be together again. Until then, goodbye brother."

As Gray Wolf left, Tiger gently lifted Holly onto his back as he had done a week ago. He then ran as fast as he could to find the others. He realized as he ran that Holly's breathing was forced and that he could hear the sound of water as she breathed in. Within ten minutes, Tiger had found the others locked in battle. When he reached them, Golem instantly ran toward him to protect both him and Holly.

"What has happened Tiger," Golem asked slowly.

"No time for that Golem, take Holly so I can help the others," ordered Tiger.

After Golem had carefully removed Holly from Tiger's back, Tiger ran into the battle. With his Lightning attack, he easily stopped the Blue Katos. He then used the attack on the Jells but it had little effect. Suddenly Tiger knew what to do.

"Ice Bomb!" Tiger called.

The attack hit both Jells and instantly turned them into lost disks. The others grouped around Golem to check on Holly.

"We must get her to a doctor. From the sound of it, one of her lungs is punctured," said Hare his examination of Holly.

"The last town we saw was four days journey from here," said Suezo. "There is no way we can get there in time to save Holly."

"Yes there is chi," said Moochi. "Suezo can use his teleport chi."

"Moochi, you know that Suezo has no control over his teleportation," stated Genki.

"He has to try for Holly's sake," said Tiger.

"For Holly," replied Suezo as he closed his eye and concentrated.

Soon a glow surrounded the group and Suezo yelled Teleport. Nothing happened except that they moved a few feet.

"Try again Suezo, only this time concentrate harder!" said Hare.

[Concentrate for the sake of Holly. Come on you can do this Suezo. Even if it is just once,] thought Suezo. The glow surrounded the group again and Suezo screamed Teleport. The group disappeared only to reappear in front of the town.

"It worked!" cried Suezo with joy.

"Let's move gang, we don't have much time. Holly's breathing has gotten worse," said Hare on Golem's shoulder.

Part 5

The group ran to the doctor who quickly took Holly into his care. Like before, it took a few hours before the doctor re-emerged to tell them how Holly was.

"Your friend is not well," he said. "She has lapsed into a coma. Even if she wakes up, she will be very weak. Her energy level is dangerously low. What did she do to get this bad?"

Tiger explained to everyone what had happened at Gray Wolf's palace. How he was healed and how his brother was changed into a goodie, he did not understand. After he finished the story, the others told what had happened to them. By nightfall, the group went to an Inn for the night, all except Tiger. Tiger stayed with Holly the entire time. [Hang in their Holly. I won't let you die because of me. You have to wake up and when you do, I will be right here,] though Tiger. It took two weeks for Holly to awaken from the coma. The darkness began to fade but the pain quickly replaced it. When Holly opened her eyes, she noticed that Tiger was next to the bed. She also noticed that she was in another hospital. Tiger realized that Holly was finally awake and called for the doctor. Holly was still disoriented and could only answer that she was very tired. It was not until a few days later that Holly was allowed to leave with the others on the condition that she was to rest and not to used too much energy. The group rested for the night in the meadow a few hours from town.

"Glad you are okay Holly, chi," said Moochi.

"You gave us a scare when you did not wake up for two weeks," added Hare.

"How do you fell Holly," asked Genki.

"I feel better Genki, but my chest still hurts," replied Holly.

"So long as you are okay," said Tiger.

"We should let her rest," said Golem in his usual slow tone.

The rebels sleep for the night safe in the knowledge that there was only one of the Big Bad Four remaining. Tiger slept beside Holly every night since the battle. He had made an unspoken promise to her that he would never allow her get hurt if he could help it. Holly slept soundly and the dreams had completely stopped for the time being. She had realized that the power would help her to save her friends and to stop Moo. With this realization, the demons vanished from her dreams without the help of herbs. In the morning, they would continue the journey to find the phoenix and stop Moo. However, for now, they were happy to be together again. As they slept, the last of the Big Bad Four prepared for their arrive. He would not stop until they were dead. Then he would be Moo's partner for his good work in stopping those pests.