Chapter 6
The Calm before the Storm

A storm had been brewing around the mountains as of late.  Lightning, thunder, and torrential downpours of rain nearly blinded from sight the monster monument that stood at the base of Mt. Kyrus.  A small shelter inside of a cave provided the latest viewers of the monument protection from the elements.  In this small structure were a total of four beings.  One was a human who wore a cape and carried a staff.  His reddish-brown hair was soaked, matted to his head by the rain.  Beside him stood a Night Flyer, who also happened to be wearing a cloak.  She was also soaked, but at least her body was somewhat dry, thanks to the cloak that she wore.  On the human's other side was a Black Saurian.  Being somewhat near-sighted, it lay down in the small, cramped space of the shelter.  On its back, however, was a Pink Eye.  It watched the monument intently.  Suddenly, a flash of lightning blinded those who were looking outside.

As the human and the monsters beside him opened their eyes, they gazed in amazement as they saw the results of what had happened.  Five of the six monuments had been shattered into pieces.  The sixth, the one of the Golem known as Big Blue, stood as if it hadn't been affected by the lightning at all.  The human nodded slowly, and then smiled a little.  He knew that this was an omen.  Someone, somewhere, must be feeling the effects of the torment that the world had been thrown into once more.  This time, however, there were no Moo or Phoenix to battle for supremacy.  No, their entire beings- mind, body, and soul had been burnt out and destroyed in that momentous clash that took place three years ago. 

"This time... this time, this evil must be dealt with by humans and monsters against other humans and monsters." The human said quietly. The fact that he had been here for about 3 and a half years, on this continent, had given him some time to study legends and prophecies.  Other than that of the Phoenix battling against Moo, there were no other major events that were prophesized of.  With that knowledge, it was simple to determine just what was to happen next.  This war was not of the ultimate evil against the ultimate good... but, that of evil versus good.  No god-like monsters, simply those that had been born and released from mystery disks were the ones that would battle this out.  Humans from all walks of life, evil or good, neutral or selfish, would be joining in this battle as well if not in physical means, then in wars of wit or in battle of their spirits. 

With a soft sigh, he looked to Pink Eye and smiled a little to her.  "Pink Eye, can you take us to a town near the sea?" he asked, knowing that Genki had too much of a head start on them for them to be able to reach him in time of being any help.  Pink Eye shook its head and replied, "I'm sorry, but I can't teleport everyone that far.  I can probably get us to Shinoku village, though."  The human nodded a bit, and then looked to the Black Saurian, and then to Night Flyer.  "That would be fine, Pan.  As long as we can possibly catch up with the boy with clear eyes, we can probably be of help to him as he searches for Holly.  If I am right, this entire event will revolve around him and his friends once more..."

With a nod, Pink Eye closed its eyelid and began to concentrate.  A pink aura surrounded her body, and then it extended to encompass the human and the other two monsters as well.  As the aura fed off of a little of each being's energy, Pan's eye opened quickly as she yelled out.  "Teleport!" the air around the four shimmered, and a second or two later, they disappeared into thin air.

****

Genki, Lepus, and Undine were sitting at the lake's edge.  All three were having a snack of a fish as Genki told Undine about what happened after the Searchers had left her, and since he had returned to this world.  Undine listened carefully, and had cried softly as she heard that Golem had turned out to be 1/5 of the Phoenix's mind.  However, she continued to listen, her sadness turning to hope as he mentioned the Baku that had been turned into a Mystery Disk, then was revived and helped to save Genki.  It was unfortunate that the Baku had been turned into a lost disk again, but the fact was that lost disks are not lost forever.  Just for a while.  And since Genki had not been around for the aftermath of the Phoenix vs. Moo battle, there was the small chance that Golem might have been returned to the world as a mystery disk, or even as his own self again.

"That was an amazing story, Genki..." Undine said after he was done talking.  Genki nodded a little bit and smiled at her, and then looked over to where Lepus was now sleeping.  She shook every so often... not from cold, for it was still warm out.  He didn't know why she was shaking, but shrugged it off as he looked back to Undine.  "What do you plan to do now, Undine?  Look for Golem?" he asked, smiling at the mention of their friend.  Undine shook her head carefully and sighed.  "Unfortunately, Genki, if he is anywhere, he is across the sea.  And even if I found him, would I be able to forgive myself of what I had done?  Would Golem forgive me for what I did?  And what about the others?" she replied, closing her eyes as she tilted her head so that she was facing downwards.

"I know Golem would forgive you, Undine, and I'm sure the others would too" Genki replied, grinning a bit.  "Remember, you were turned evil by Moo.  We won't hold that against you."  Undine simply nodded a little before looking up to the young man.  "True...  But still, I caused you and your friends to fight against Golem, because of my dirty trick."  Genki laughed that one off and smiled.  "Don't worry about it, Undine.  Besides, that's old news.  Tell me why you were with those Hares that high-tailed it outta here after we took care of their friends."

"Well, Genki, when I was unlocked again, I couldn't leave here.  Those two hares were the first people to come to this lake, and we became good friends.  At the time, it was nice to have friends.  However, after one of their tournaments that they had entered, they both were forced into an army of monsters.  I've heard the name of the person in charge- a human boy named Gary." She took a deep breath before continuing.  "They persuaded me to join them in helping to capture you two.  I didn't know, at the time, that you were one of the two that they needed to capture.  But when I saw it was you, one of Golem's friends, I knew that I couldn't help them.  That's why I turned on the Jells and Worms.  I didn't want to hurt my friends..."

Undine smiled a little, and saw Genki begin to speak before she shook her head to him.  "No, Genki, they aren't baddies.  I don't think there any baddies left from three years ago.  Fae and Evan- the two hares- are simply young.  I'm sure that, within time, they will leave that army on their own."  Genki sighed in relief and shook his head slowly.  "Well, that is good to hear, Undine.  Still, I have to ask... have you heard anything about Holly, or Golem?  I'm trying to find them." He asked.  He was looking for Holly more than he was searching for Golem, simply because he didn't know if the monsters were in Mystery Disk form, actual monsters, or even gone...

"No Genki, I haven't.  I have, however, met someone that you met about 3 years ago.  She was very nice to talk to, and I even managed to help her with some ancient texts that I had found at the bottom of the lake a while back.  I think that her name was... Colt."  Undine replied, looking up toward the sky slowly.  "She used an Iron Bird to get around, and she had a painting of some sort of bird on it.  I think it had been a pet of hers, but when she visited me, I never saw it."

Genki chuckled a little bit as he remembered her.  Remembering her brought back another memory- that of the Metal Jell and the Knight Mocchis.  He shivered a little at the memory of the Knight Mocchis.  How was he supposed to attack a monster, even a group of monsters that were so much like his good friend?  It would be like attacking Mocchi at the same time!  Looking to Undine, he saw a bit of concern in her eyes, and he shook his head, still smiling.  "I remember her.  We met her in the desert to the north three years ago.  We barely escaped the trap that had been set there, with her help." Genki replied, chuckling a little.  It really had been too bad that the Monster Factory had been destroyed.  The technology there could have come in helpful in re-tracing the full human and monster history of the world.  Of course, it was for the best, as no monster would want to know that it was created artificially.  Very few know of the true history of the world, in even a vague sense.  Sure, the stories about Moo and the Phoenix were on target, but what of the rest?  Where had humans and monsters come from?  These questions were extremely hard to answer, and no one knew the correct answer to them.

"Yes... she told me about meeting your group once, a while back.  She told me about the Pendant Empire, and about how the beginnings of the wars began, and then ended with the separation of Moo's and the Phoenix's minds from their bodies." Undine supplied, to which Genki sighed in relief.  At least he wouldn't have to try and explain what had happened to her.  "I still don't understand a few things, but that's normal.  Everything's a mystery, right?" Undine said again, and she laughed softly.  Genki, however, was feeling very tired.  The day had gone by quickly, and the fight against the Worms and Jells earlier hadn't helped at all.  Closing his eyes, Genki lay back on the ground and went to sleep, leaving Undine with her thoughts.  Undine's eyes also closed, and some tears escaped them as she cried softly and quietly, mourning the possible loss of Golem.

****

"There.  Now, move the troops into position just west of Shinoku Village.  There, we will take over the village, and wait in ambush for that boy and his friend.  With our strategy, we cannot fail this time." The form of Gara took place in the torch-lit tent.  The human boy, Gary, sat beside him as the monster spoke.  There were a total of 8 monsters in the same large tent.  One was Allure, two more were the Twin Hares known as Evan and Fae, another was a Terror Dog called Thunder.  A Durahan stood to the side, silent as a statue, and beside it was a Salamander.  Two Omega-type Hengers stood close as well, and were flanked by the largest monster in attendance: a Tecno Dragon.  These eight nodded their heads, and went to gather their troops.

Special significance had been given to the Durahan and Hengers in this meeting, Fae noted, as she walked alongside her brother.  Stopping in midstride, she motioned for Evan to come close before talking.  "Evan... I don't think they will be capturing the boy and the Lepus.  I mean, Gara's chosen a plan that should be able to eradicate them both with little effort!"  Evan nodded in agreement to that.  Though not quite as intelligent as his sister, he had figured that out as well.  "Good point.  Fast and tough will be able to defeat them both this time.  But, what do you suggest we do about it, Fae?" he questioned his sister, who simply smiled widely before adopting the 'thinking stance' that many hares enjoyed using.  "Give me time, Evan... I'll come up with something."

****

 Unknown to those two, a large figure loomed in the shadows, and had heard all of their talking.  It sighed gently as soon as the two hares walked out of sight, to gather their troops for the midnight march that was to come.  They were right, he thought.  'I have no wish to kill anyone, human or monster.  I do not want to attack them... They only fight out of necessity.  I have fought because I was told to.' He thought to himself, and he closed his eyes for a moment.  "If only there was a way to stop fighting, and to have peace for a change." He said aloud, but as quietly as his deep voice would allow.  It was unusual that he would say anything, except when it was important.  Hearing a call from the Allure that was in charge of the troop he was in, he opened his eyes and walked toward them- heavy footsteps resounded off the ground with each step he took.

 A familiar presence found itself perched on his shoulder, and the monster smiled.  This young one was like a little sister- a very small sister, granted, but a sister nonetheless.  Would he be able to leave her behind when the time came?  Or... could he somehow bring her with him?  It was a good idea, and it soon became one that he thought about as the troop began its march toward the village to the south.  Once there, he would have to make his decision... and since he moved slower than the others in the group, perhaps he could talk the young monster on his shoulder into joining him in his quest for peace.  Time would tell...

****

 The four beings arrived in Shinoku just as the sun began to set.  Pink Eye was visibly tired by the effort of teleporting three others, along with itself, such a long distance.  The Black Saurian smiled a bit and stood up, being sure to allow the Pink Eye to settle on its back.  A spread of wings was audible, and Night Flyer took to the air to take a look around the small town.  "Now, Sara, don't be gone too long... we need to get some sleep, you know." The human said, even as he looked up to the darkened figure of the Pixie overhead.  "Oh, alright.  I'll be back soon.  I just want to take a look around." She replied, and then flapped her wings a few times to gain altitude and speed.  The human nodded back to her, and smiled as he walked down the street with the Black Saurian at his side.  Concentrating on looking for an inn to stop at for the night, he ignored the sensation in his mind that something was overly wrong about this...

Chapter 7
The Storm Hits

 The next morning, Genki and Lepus were on their way.  With them was Undine, who had decided to go with them in order to find Golem.  On a slightly worn trail, they followed the directions Undine gave them to head toward a village not too far away.  What they didn't notice yet, because of the forest ahead, was the black smoke that rose from somewhere.  The hike went by uneventfully, with the occasional stop to relieve themselves or to have something to eat and drink.  By the middle of the day, however, the forest abruptly ended, and all three stepped past the last of the trees to find themselves on top of a hill outside the village.  The village, however, was smoking.  There were a few buildings standing, but most others had been burnt down.  Genki, Lepus, and Undine gasped at the carnage that had swept through the village.  A dozen or so lost disks littered the road that led to the town, and quite a few bodies remained there as well.  Human bodies, that is.

 "Wha... what in the world?  Why would anyone do this?" Genki asked, his voice subdued by the scene before them.  Neither monster had an answer for him, as they simply stared at destruction below.  "Nevermind.  Come on, we gotta go see if anyone down there needs help!" Genki exclaimed, and he raced down the hill toward the village.  Undine and Lepus nodded, and they took off after him.  Lepus took to the air, even as Undine sped down quickly, hovering over the ground as she skimmed quickly after them. 

 After a few moments, Genki stood at the 'entrance' to the village and he just looked around carefully.  There didn't seem to be many around the place.  Other than the crackling and the heat of fire, the place looked to be lifeless.  No monsters, no humans, not even the sound of running water anywhere.  A moment later, there was the sound of life, but it was from behind him.  Lepus and Undine had finally caught up with him, and both monsters were looking around the place.  Lepus cried a little, having never seen anything like this before.  Genki, however, had been around during the time of Moo but three years ago, and he could remember villages and towns that looked worse than this one.  "This... is horrible..." Genki said to himself, and he clenched his hands into fists before raising them to the sky.  It was a futile gesture, he knew, but it was better than doing nothing.

 "Who would do such a thing... and why?  Could Moo possibly be back?" Genki asked himself, and then he looked over his shoulder to the other two monsters.  "Genki!" Undine exclaimed, as she helped to set Lepus down on the ground.  She was shivering wildly, and it almost seemed as if she had been attacked, except there had been no attack against them.  "Lepus!  Are you all right?  What's wrong?" he asked fearfully, stepping closer to put his hands on her shoulders.  Lepus screamed at the sudden contact, and lightning flared from her hands, prompting Undine and Genki to step away quickly.

****

 I felt myself step back, my body jarred by the impact from multiple attacks.  The monster was too fast, even for me!  I watched and gritted my teeth as the monster ahead of me end its attack, letting off some steam.  At that time, someone to me left shouted a command at me, as well as encouragement.  The voice was somehow familiar, I knew, but I acted instantly on that voice's command. Flapping my wings a little, I felt a familiar tremble enter my body as power was summoned from within and directed to my hands.  Letting the power flow within me for about half a second, I then unleashed a devastating attack.  "Mega Ray!" I exclaimed, and suddenly the energy poured from my outstretched hands and toward the Color Pandora ahead of me.  Hitting full on, the monster just landed on its belly, and lay still.  I smiled, and did a little dance of victory as an announcer declared- "Color Pandora cannot fight.  Janne is the winner!"

 Janne?  I'm not a Janne... I'm Lepus.    How could the announcer have gotten two monsters mixed up like that?  What is wrong with me?  Why do I have these memories?  Where are they from?  Suddenly, I saw something else.  A group of monsters... large, fast monsters.  What were they?  The 5 of them were in the sky... and heading directly toward a town.  A human beside me kneeled, out of breath and trying to breath deeply.  Some sort of hare was further along the path.  I glanced behind us, as I tried to help the human to stand.  There was a village burning in the distance.  My eyes were watering as I struggled to keep going with the human in tow, but he pushed me away.  "Run!" he cried out, at which point there was a rumbling from overhead.  I looked up and at the mountainside.  The snow above had begun shaking, and I could tell that something was bound to happen, and quickly.  "Come with us!" I cried out to the human, my tears flowing freely now.  He shook his head, and turned to face one of those monsters which had spotted us.  At the least, it had spotted my human friend.  It sped toward him, energy gathering in its gaping mouth.  It was a dragon, and it was preparing for one of its attacks.

 I screamed, and then I panicked.  Taking to the air, I flew a little ways away before looking back to him.  I saw his body gain a bluish-white aura, and it just gained in intensity quickly.  My eyes went wide.  I could actually feel the energy he was drawing upon to use this power!  The rumbling became much louder, and I looked over to the mountainside above the human.  I could see trees and rocks mixed in with what seemed like a river of snow, as it rushed downwards.  "Watch out!" I yelled, but it was too late.  He could never get out of the way in time, and if he stopped what he was doing, the Dragon would have him as a snack, then it would have me and the Hare as the main course.  The Dragon didn't seem too bothered by the human's gathering power.  It did have the strength, size, and speed advantage.  What could one lonely human possibly do?

 "Energy... Assault!" the human cried, and the aura around him grew.  That aura, blasted outwards with its own energy, creating an attack in which a dozen energy blasts were fired toward the dragon.  The Dragon, its eyes wide in surprise and confusion, attempted to fly out of the way.  However, at least seven of the energy bolts hit it, knocking it out of the sky.  I smiled softly, thinking that he might be safe after all.  But then the rumbling was deafening.  I looked in horror as my friend fell to his knees, and then to the ground as waves of snow, rocks, and trees fell from the mountainside and over the human, crushing him beneath it.  I screamed again, and the rumbling became even louder as even more snow and debris sailed down the path of the previous avalanche.  I heard another yell, and I flew away, along the path, to try and catch up with the other person I had seen.  "Wait up!"

****

 "Uh-oh...  This isn't good..." Genki said aloud, as he looked up from his friend.  She was still unconscious, and seemingly in the depths of a nightmare.  What he saw surrounding him definitely had him surprised.  There were a few Durahans, a group of green Hengers (which he recognized as Omegas), and a rather large group of various Tigers.  Then, there was that Allure among them, with several somewhat familiar faces behind her.  The Allure then spoke.  "Child of the clear eyes!  Come with us peacefully, and we will let your friends go.  If not, we will destroy all of you!"

 Genki simply shook his head a little, and then looked back to Lepus and Undine.  Undine was obviously ready for a battle, he saw, as he watched her fluid movements bring her up alongside him.  Lepus, however, showed no signs of waking anytime soon.  With a turn of his head back to the Allure, he sighed, and then closed his eyes.  He couldn't protect all of them like this.  There were too many there to try and deal with, and too few on his side.  Not even Undine could survive this battle if they fought.  Standing up slowly, he closed his eyes and breathed deeply.  Opening his eyes once more, he glared directly at the Allure.  "Did you do this to the village?  Just to get at me?" he asked coldly, to which the Allure simply laughed and nodded.

"Yes, these troops did this, boy.  Not that there was anyone here who could have stopped us from doing so.  Now, what is your answer?" the Allure responded, grinning in self-proclaimed victory.  Oh, how sweet this would be... The destruction of the boy of hope itself!  To drain that boy of all his energy, until his eyes turned from clear to cloudy!  There was nothing more to do than to simply go after this human, take his energy, and destroy him!  Break him down into a slave like humans would do with themselves or even monsters.  To have the child with the clear eyes to wait on her every beck and call- that would be divine!  Allure was basking her own success that she didn't notice what was happening until it was too late.

****

"No one here to stop you?  Well now, I think you're misinformed, Allure.  Prepare to be defeated!" a voice rang out, and from behind a nearby building came four figures.  Led by a human in a cape, a Black Saurian, a Pink Eye, and a Night Flyer came to stand close to Genki.  "Nice to see you again, Genki... Remember me?" the human said, drawing the staff from where he had it against his back.  His other hand drew the hood on his head back, uncovering the red hair, the hazel eyes, and the face of a 17-year-old.  The boy grinned slightly, and then looked toward the Allure, pointing an end of the staff at the pixie sub-breed.  "Now... shall we dance?" he asked, and the new team against the ambush readied themselves.  Genki began to gather power, slowly, so that it wouldn't be detected or otherwise known by any of the enemy. 

Suddenly, one of the Omegas and a purebred Tiger fell down, and were turned into Lost Disks.  The sound of padded paws pushing against the ground bought the two monsters that emerged quite a large amount of air-time, and their jump brought them all the way to Genki's group.  Undine grinned as she saw who they were.  "Fae!  Evan!  Glad you could join us!" she exclaimed, to which the Fairy Hare and the Evil Hare simply grinned and nodded to her in greeting.  "Glad to be of help... and sorry for the attack yesterday, kid." Evan responded, and both Hares turned to face the slightly depleted number before them.

"Now, Allure, do you think you can win?  How many friends or troops will you sacrifice to get to Genki?" the older boy asked, before spinning the staff in hand to draw behind his back carefully.  The boy continued to grin, until finally the purple-skinned pixie sub-breed gathered enough courage to speak.  "Attack!  Destroy them all!" she screamed, and she took to the air.  The Tigers, Hengers, and the Durahans ran along the ground at the team before them, each one charging their powers in various attacks to make it impossible to block or defeat all of them in a counterattack.  The powerful and loud sound of a large Golem brought their attention to it as it raced along the ground as well.  Another, smaller pixie sped in the air, going after the same target she had nearly hit a few days ago.  The Mia continued on her way, intent on destroying the Lepus who had nearly blasted her, but was now either asleep or catatonic.

Suddenly, Genki's flared out, and then he smiled as the energy he had been gathering visibly was unleashed against the Tigers that were heading his way.  "Energy Cannon!" he exlcaimed, using the same attack he had unleashed against the Allure during their first fight.  The two Tigers in the front, two Datonares, were vaporized by the shot, turned into lost disks immediately.  All the others, however, managed to avoid the blast.  However, the Twin Hares lashed out just afterwards, along with Undine between them, and those three battled against the Tigers that were battling back.

The Black Saurian and the Pink Eye on its back began attacking as well.  Facing off with the three remaining Omegas, the Black Saurian charged at them, even as the Pink Eye sent off a Telepathy attack.  In order to dodge the attack, the Omegas moved to the side, which brought them into range for a jumping Bite attack on one of them done by the Pink Eye. With Pink Eye off of his back, the Black Saurian pressed forward toward one of the Omegas, who was still recovering from the dodge move it had made.  The Black Saurian immediately opened up with a Million Claws attack, using its short arms and long claws to scratch and pound away at the armor of the artificial monster until it began to give way to the attack.  Suddenly, the Black Saurian was knocked away by a Rocket Fist attack done by the third Omega.  Pink Eye let go of the Omega she was biting, and hopped back a bit, to where the Zuum sub-breed was recovering.

The other human was faring well with his diversionary tactic against the Allure and 'Captain Clay', as they stalked after him.  Cabalos soon joined them, and the three grinned, sensing an easy end to this pathetic human.  Though the boy wielded a staff, which he spun every so often, he waited patiently for the first move by any of the three.  Turning in a slow circle, he kept an eye on all three, even as they circled him.  A flash of lightning, and the Clay and Cabalos were knocked away and into the wall of one of the still standing buildings.  The Night Flyer landed at the Human's side, and smiled a bit before taking off again, to provide additional help against the others.  Allure smiled still, as she watched the human.  She began to gather energy now, quickly.  The human, having learned of his ability to sense the shifting of energies around him, smiled back, and then darted forward.  A Pixie on the ground, gathering energy for her attacks, was vulnerable, after all.  They could not fly when gathering too much energy- it interfered with the energy required to fly.  This he knew, thanks to his training sessions with the Night Flyer.  So, with a spin of the staff, he swung horizontally at the Allure, and grinned as it struck the now stunned monster.  He slid to the side at the same time, getting out of the way of the energy burst that was left after Allure's attempt for an attack.

Then, the human was flying through the air, and landed about 20 feet away.  He lay there dazed, as well as hurt, as he attempted to see just what it had been that hit him.  His eyes went wide, and he just rested there for a moment.  The staff had flown from his grasp after the Battle Rocks had flicked him aside with a Brow Hit.  He was fortunate to be alive after such a hit.  He had noticed the look of sorrow on the Battle Rocks' face, and he couldn't help but to wonder if it was because it didn't like what it had done.  Slowly, and very painfully, he got to his knees, and then to his feet, to see if he could even rejoin the battle.

The Tigers were having fun with their game of Cat and Mouse.  Firing Torpedo attacks whenever they could, they were exhausting the Hares and Undine as they continually dodged their attacks.  The black Tiger, the Terror Hound, blasted at Undine with a Lightning attack as soon as she had dodged, and she screamed as she fell away from the Hares she had been following with.  Fae and Evan, however, suddenly got very serious.  Their bodies began to glow, and they both jumped in the air synchronously.  The lower portion of their bodies burst into flames, and they stuck one foot out as they went after the Tigers in earnest.  "Dragon Kick!" they both exclaimed, and then there were two more Lost Disks.  Again they jumped, and again the flames grew in strength as both twisted, turned, and leapt down upon the Terror Hound.  "Dragon Kick!" they yelled again, and the Terror Hound barely managed to dodge them both.  The Tigers regrouped, now only 4 strong including their leader.

Then, a beam of light passed over the young boy who had not been touched.  Each monster on his side glowed, as did the other human behind him.  His aura turned into a dark blue color, and it grew.  Each monster felt itself drained of some energy.  For that matter, two of the enemy monsters also glowed.  The Battle Rocks and the Mia, for some reason, glowed and stopped moving.  Finally, Genki unleashed the energy, causing a shock wave of psychic energy wash against all the baddies around.  Allure, the Tigers, the Omegas, Captain Clay and Cabalos were all hit once again by the attack, and the ones that were standing were knocked back.

Allure was the first to stand after the attack, and she looked around unsteadily.  She had seen the reaction that had happened with Mia and Battle Rocks.  With the possible loss of those two, how was she to win?  Allure grinned, and raised a hand to point into the air.  A beam of light shone forth, and went into the air for about 200ft.  "Reinforcements!" she exclaimed, and was soon met by just that.  A dozen Monol and half a dozen Suezos of different sorts appeared, and were flanked by a total of 4 pure-bred Hares.  With a grin, she looked to the Searchers as they gasped for breath.  They were tired, and she had fresh troops.  And these troops would likely be able to flatten the opposition that the Searchers would be able to give.  Genki sighed as he realized their new situation.  "Just great..." he muttered.  The older boy walked up beside Genki, and yelled.  "Re-group!"

All the monsters on their side, save Lepus, who was still lying as if she was dead, and the Mia and Battle Rocks, set themselves up along side either him or Genki.  The Hares and Undine stood on Genki's left, while the Night Flyer, Pink Eye, and Black Saurian set themselves on the older boy's right side.  Stepping forward, the older teenager smiled a little, even as he clutched his side.  "Are you two on our side?" he asked the Mia and Battle Rocks.  Mia had landed beside the Battle Rocks now, and she looked up to the being she considered to be her bigger, older brother.  The Battle Rocks looked back and gave the young Pixie a gentle smile before looking back to Genki's team.  "Yes." He said simply, and walked over to their line of defense.  As both monsters walked over, Allure's screeching voice could easily be heard.

"Battle Rocks!  Mia!  Get back here!  You are under my command!" she yelled at the two monsters who were slowly walking away.  The Mia she had unlocked herself, and the Battle Rocks had been under her command for years.  Why do they leave her now?  Right at her moment of victory, they might turn the tide.  When she heard no answer to her command, nor action to confirm that they had even heard her, she became enraged.  "Alright, fine then!  Attack, everyone!" she exclaimed, and every monster under her command rushed at Genki's line.  Allure herself took to the air and went after Battle Rocks.

****

"Everyone, get ready..." Genki said, and even as he said that, the older teenager's form began to glow.  It was a red aura which washed over his body, one that was such a brilliant red that it looked like fire.  The young man stood there, and then kneeled.  The aura lashed outwards, covering the area around him and Genki's group.  Suddenly, Strange Lights flashed out from the bodies of the Monols, and Telepathy attacks slashed out and toward the Searchers.  Battle Rocks and Mia, who had just barely turned around to see the barrage of attacks coming at them, managed get inside the shield just in time.  The Night Flyer stood directly behind the young man now, and she placed her hands on his shoulders.  Her power flowed from her body and to her friend, causing the shield to burn brighter and into coherence.  Both the Pixie sub-breed and the Human's power had invoked the Flame Shield, a much more powerful version of the Wall of Fire.

Lightning attacks, Telepathy attacks, Strange Lights, and Gas Attacks, followed by a single Flame attack by Allure, all slammed into the Flame shield.  The Gas attacks and Flame attacks were completely negated by the shield.  The Strange Light attacks, products of the Monols, burst into the shield and nearly demolished it, but were deflected away.  The Telepathy attacks, however, destroyed the shield and sent the Night Flyer and the human to the ground.  Still conscious, but barely, the young man managed to gasp for air as he winced at the pain in mind and body.  Sara, the Night Flyer, stood up easily.  The Telepathy attacks had little affect on her, and she was ready to go.  "Genki... go!" the young man said, and then curled up as the pain overwhelmed him.

"You heard the man... Get 'em!" Genki exclaimed, and all of the monsters on his side other than Lepus went into action.  Suddenly, out of nowhere, another blast of Strange Lights lashed out from the Monols, and hit Undine in dead center.  Fae and Evan attempted to try and knock Undine out of the way, but were hit as well.  A flash of light, and Undine was gone- a stalk and a lost disk commemorating her part in this battle.  Fae and Evan were knocked away, and both slid to a halt beside the prone form of Lepus.  With three monsters gone, and the other human out of commission for the moment, Genki gathered his own energy again.  The Pink Eye and stood in place, using their longer ranged attacks to lash out at their opponents.  Two of the Omegas were hit dead center by fireballs sent out by the Black Saurian, and the other suffered a powerful Eye Beam attack from Pink Eye.  All three were Lost Disks almost instantly.

Battle Rocks and Mia had split apart.  Mia and Sara were in the sky, and both began to duel with Allure.  Ray attacks and the occasional Flame attack lit the sky, but none of the three could manage to hit their intended target.  Battle Rocks, on the other hand, was facing a large amount of Monols and a few tigers.  His reaction?  "Twister attack!" he yelled, and his body split apart into different fragments, and they began to circle around faster and faster as his body became a rocky tornado.  Darting forward, he crushed the three lackey Tigers, as well as the Monols, within two strikes.  At the end, when Battle Rocks put himself back together, there were only 4 survivors of that attack- three Monols out of the original twelve, and the Terror Dog.  At that display, the Terror Dog realized the main part of the situation, and fled.

With only a few Monols, Suezos, and herself all of a sudden, Allure knew she was outmatched.  "You have won again, boy... but I will have the last laugh!" Allure screamed, and she flew straight through a gap that had formed in between Sara and Mia, all while readying her most powerful attack.  "Big Bang!" she exclaimed, and she threw the attack directly toward the prone forms of Fae, Evan, and Lepus.  A flash of light blinded everyone, and if that hadn't done it, then the cloud of dust that rose up after the sphere of energy hit the ground did.  When the dust settled, and everyone could see, Allure and the Monols were gone.  Then, all of Genki's remaining team slowly looked back to gaze upon the handiwork of that pixie sub-breed.  What they all saw there made them gasp in astonishment.

Chapter 8
After the Battle

The young man had gotten up again, and was battling with the sphere of energy for supremacy.  His lip was bleeding, and he was breathing hard as he strained to contain the energy that Allure had sent to destroy the three monsters just behind him.  Evan was the first to slowly come awake, his eyes opening carefully.  Then they went wide open as he realized what was happening before him.  There was a human with a huge sphere of light right ahead of him, and somehow the human was deflecting it!  Energy crackled in the air between the human and the sphere- it was an invisible barrier, some kind of shield like a Wall of Fire that the human was capable of using.  Energy crackled like lightning, swaying from white to blue to yellow, and back again.  Sweat poured from the human's brow as he continued the struggle.  He had no idea that even one of the Hares had woken.

"Fae!  Come on, we gotta go!" Evan exclaimed, and he rushed over to the prone Pixie, picking the Lepus up easily.  Fae woke up as Evan said that, and her eyes went wide as she too realized the situation.  "Right!" she said, jumping out of the way at the same time that Evan did.  With themselves out of the blast radius, they all looked back to the human who had saved them.

"Come on, get outta there!" Genki cried, watching the older boy battle with the energy sphere.  But even he saw that it was hopeless.  The energy sphere was still powerful, even though it had begun to weaken.  However, so had the teenager holding it back.  Suddenly, a fireball shot past and into the Big Bang attack, knocking it away to cause it to explode in the air harmlessly.  The teenager collapsed immediately, shivering a little as the strain of catching and deflecting the Big Bang took its toll.  "Thanks, Black..." he managed to say, before fainting.  Sara, the Night Flyer, was at his side quickly, checking on him and then sighed.  "He's sleeping.  Stopping all those attacks was too draining for him." She said, looking back to everyone else.

Without a word, Battle Rocks stepped forward and easily picked the boy up and carried him over to the Black Saurian, who had been the one to fire the Fireball that saved the boy's life.  Pan, the Pink Eye, got off the Zuum's back to make room for their friend.  Gently, Battle Rocks set the human down on the Black Saurian's back, making sure that the boy was there safely before taking his huge hand away.  Then, Battle Rocks turned to Mia, who was standing apart from the rest of the group. "Mia?" he asked in his gravelly, deep, yet gentle, voice.

"I... I can't.  It doesn't work on humans.  I don't want to try!" she said, shaking her head a little while crossing her arms.  Genki looked over to Lepus, who was laying down beside Pan, who had attempted to revive her by waving cool air onto her form, using her tongue as the wave.  The two Hares were over at Undine's lost disk, crying for their fallen friend.  Genki's eyes began to tear up as well as he saw them, and then he looked back to the Mia.  "Mia, what are you talking about?  If you can do something to help him, then please do so.  We have to get going as soon as possible."

"I... I'm sorry.  But, my healing touch works on monsters... I don't know if it will on humans.  I don't want to hurt him on accident.  But..." she trailed off, looking over to the lost disk.  "I may be able to do something to help the Undine." She says, causing the Hares to look up and over to the Mia.  "Say what?" they exclaim at the same time, even as Genki and the other monsters looked at her in disbelief.  "You... can you bring lost disks back?  Like the phoenix?" Genki asked, to which Mia shook her head.

"No.  But, I can heal the disk, and it will turn into a Mystery Disk.  When we find a shrine, we can unlock her there.  I can only do it when the monster has been a lost disk for less than 10 minutes, though." She replied, walking over to the lost disk.  Taking the stalk that had taken root in the flame-touched soil, she closes her eyes and begin to concentrate.  Her form takes on a reddish aura, which then extends over her hands and along the entire stalk and disk of the Lost Disk formation.  A dull red light flashed, and the stalk shrunk back into the disk.  The disk itself glowed with a white light as the stalks disappeared, and left the disk floating in midair.  The disk dimmed, and then glowed again as it became whole once again.  Mia caught the disk in her hands and fell to her knees after the aura disappeared from around her body.  She gasped for air softly, clutching the Disk to her carefully as she kneeled there for a moment.

"Mia..." the Battle Rocks said softly, as he walked over to pick up the young pixie.  He set her on his shoulder, where she swung her legs gently automatically.  "I'm okay, Rocksey.  I'll be fine... just need a little rest, that's all." She said, before tossing the mystery disk to Genki and curling up on the giant's shoulder.  Genki caught the disk, and smiled.  "Don't worry Undine... You will be reunited with Golem again.  I promise that."

****

"So... you have failed again, and not only that, but lost four warriors from our forces.  Allure, this is becoming a habit for you.  Now, leave!" the voice of the Gali/Golem ordered.  The purple-skinned Allure left immediately, as fast as her legs could take her.  Lightning had been but one of the few to return.  As this was his first failure, Gara could forgive the Terror Dog, but he had been disappointed.  He was their finest warrior, and yet he had been beaten as well!  "Lightning... You will be in charge of this next operation.  We control the southern villages, and that is the direction the boy and his group are heading in.  I want you to meet them in between... let's see, Quarrytown and the Port.  Once there, we will ambush them, using forces from the east, south, and the north.  With the ocean at their backs, those fools will be helpless!" Gara exclaimed, and mentally grinned.  This was a much better plan than the last one, he thought.  The last one required that they take over a town.  In doing so, they tired most of their own forces, and only got about 8 hours to rest before that boy, Genki, and his friends had arrived.

"And this time... Make sure that there are no more rebels in those towns.  I am fully aware of the small group of Rebels who annoyed your group when you went to conquer Shinoku village.  I have managed to unlock a large number of Clay troops in the last week, and they are now fully trained and ready to do my bidding.  They, along with several Sorboros and many Datonares will be under your command.  Take any other monster you wish, but leave Allure and her group here.  They must retrain before fighting again."

 Lightning bowed his head before taking his leave, heading out to gather his troops.  The Gali was not, however, aware of the spy who had listened to every word.  The spy crept away quickly as it could, to warn the villages that were in danger.  Gara, however, had not released the full number of the troops who were going to be deployed, so the spy could only tell the villagers what it knew- which wasn't much, unfortunately.

 Gara summoned his own servant, a monster he had befriended long ago.  The monster appeared in a flash, and Gara turned to it.  "Have the Salamanders and Naga Saurians get ready.  They will be used to divert the boy's group toward the ambush area.  You will go with them, my old friend." Gara ordered, and the being simply nodded its head before disappearing again, not saying a word. Gali turned, and once again considered the young human boy who slept on the bed close by.  Why did he keep this human around?  Sure, Gary had unlocked him, but other than that, he owed the young man nothing.  It was a mystery, and was something that continued to bother him well into the night.

****

 "Okay... Time to get going!" Genki exclaimed.  They had remained at the village for the better part of the day to rest up.  The older boy had woken up, as had Lepus, who was now playing around with Mia.  Genki smiled as he looked over the group: A fellow human, three pixies, two hares, a Battle Rocks-type Golem, a Pink Eye Suezo, and a Black Saurian.  "Hey Allen, you ready to go?" he called out, to the other human of the group, who was sitting on the Black Saurian's back along with Pan, the Pink Eye.  "Yeah Genki!  We'd better get going, it'll be dark soon, and we will want to get started before then." Allen called back, sliding off the Black Saurian's back.  The Zuum didn't have quite the musculature that a Dino did, and it seemed to have been straining under the weight of both Allen and Pan.

 Genki grinned, and then looked over to the two hares, who were in turn watching the Pixies, along with the Battle Rocks, who appeared to be smiling for the first time since they had met.  "Hey guys, time to go!" he yelled, and the Pixies looked at each other, grinned, and spread their wings, taking to the air to fly to Battle Rocks, where they both perched on the Golem's shoulders.  Evan and Fae walked toward the young boy slowly, and then the ground resounded with a deep thud as Battle Rocks turned and walked along with them.  Genki took one last look at the object in his hands, and he smiled softly before tucking it into the straps of his hiking pack.  He kneeled down to tie his rollerblades on firmly once again, and he stood up a moment later with a grin.  "Well, is everyone ready?" he asked, to which the other monsters said nothing but they did group together before heading away.  Behind them, the villagers of Shinoku village had begun to try and salvage what was left of their homes.  The Night Flyer flew ahead of them, giving the group the ability to be warned ahead of time of any would-be ambushers.

 Genki was having fun, travelling in a group again- it sure beat travelling on his own.  With a grin, his legs pumped back and forth faster as he sped along the dirt road.  Leaving his friends in the dust (almost literally), he laughed as he took control of the dirt road, weaving all over it as he skated along.  Soon, he was past even Sara as she flew above them.  Of course, everyone behind him was soon coughing at all the dust that the boy had kicked up.  "I'd heard he was fast and full of energy," Allen began.  "But I never expected him to be that fast or to have that much energy!"

****

 "Sir, we are ready.  The scout says that they will be getting here within the next few days, given the speed at which they are travelling.  What shall we do in the meantime?" the voice of a Salamander asked.  The monster it was speaking to was short, and said nothing.  The Salamander nodded it's head slightly, as if able to tell what the commanding monster was saying without speaking.  "Yes Sir.  I will spread the order."

 The commanding monster just stood there, and looked to the north.  This time, there would be no escape.  There were well over 20 monsters here, all trained in battle and fighting skills.  There was not way a rag-tag band of youngsters could stand up to them.  Behind the large boulders of the area, a desert spread out behind them.  Sun baked and drought-ridden, there were no human villages in the desert anymore.  There were, however, the ruined remains of an old fortress visible in the distance.  Few monsters roamed the desert sands, thanks to the lack of water of any kind.  Even monsters required it to drink and survive, and the few who lived in the desert had learned where all the oasis areas were.  This monster was from the desert, and knew them all.

It thought of the old days, three years ago, when the monster named Moo had taken over most of the known world.  But, one by one, his generals had been defeated.  The one known as Pixie had escaped Moo's control along with an Ice Rock named Big Blue.  Gali had been the next, and possibly the most successful against the searchers.  The trap in his palace, he heard from the few remaining Gold Bar-type Monols who had survived, had proven to trap most of the Searchers.  How Gali had been defeated was anyone's guess, as none of the Gold Bars knew how.  Gray Wolf had been next, defeated by his own brother, according to the Cabalos that was part of Allure's group.  Then there was Naga.  The Searchers had invaded the Naga's castle itself.  It was unknown, just how they had defeated him either.

The monster shook its head, clearing his thoughts.  For now, he needed to keep his mind on the mission at hand.  Rounding up that pesky group without destroying them outright would be hard to do, especially since he hadn't been given the most intelligent of monsters to work with.  However, the Salamanders seemed smart enough to realize what was needed, and they would tell the others in order they could understand.  That was enough for him, he realized, as it settled on the ground to sleep.

****

A fire lit the night sky as Genki's group rested beside the road.  Each monster was having their small rations... Save for Battle Rocks, who was eating as many rocks as he wanted.  There were plenty around, and no one minded.  Luckily for them all, Fae and Sara knew how to cook fairly well, and even Mia and Lepus had managed to find some edible mushrooms and roots for them to eat as well, so everyone managed to get at least a mostly full stomach by the end of the meal.  What was not eaten was stored away, and then most of the monsters went to sleep.  Allen and Night Flyer, however, stayed awake with a blanket wrapped around them, as they took the first night watch.  Allen looked to Sara and smiled a little before actually speaking to her.  "Sara... what happened earlier?  How did I manage to deflect that Allure's Big Bang?" he asked to which Sara simply shrugged.  "Allen... I don't even know how you got up in the first place.  Your part of the Fire Shield was the one that took most of the damage, after all.  I simply enabled it to absorb some of the attacks with my portion.  I guess we're just lucky."

The night went on, with Genki taking the next shift after a few hours, and then Evan after that, and then finally Battle Rocks (Evan had to give him a good punch or two to wake him up).  Other than that, night was uneventful.  All in all, everyone had a goodnight's sleep, except for Battle Rocks, as he wasn't used to getting up so early.  Eventually, after the leftovers of last night were passed out, they began walking southward again.