Author's note.
Dude: Whassup, my peeps? I'm back, with chapter 11. Mood: Psyched.
Hunter: He had coffee again...
Defenders of Neopia, chapter 11. Truth and danger.
Jeffory watched Neopia soar by through the Air Slasher's window. He had been thinking about what would happen when he saved Sam. Would he go back to Meridell, or would he stay at the Academy? If I save Sam... Jeffory corrected himself. "Ya know something," a voice said behind him. Jeffory nearly jumped out of his skin, as he turned around. There was Jack in his face.
"I was saying, what do you think about going to the Space Station? When Kass is gone, I mean?" Jack asked. Jeffory felt hatred well up inside of him at the mention of that name. His fists clenched, and his eyes narrowed. "Jeff, what DO you have against that name!" Hunter asked, Jeffory from the pilot's seat. It was true: a couple days ago, Hunter had asked Jeffory about that tyrant, and Jeffory lost it.
Jeffory then knew, a leader shouldn't keep secrets. He took a deep breath, and finally told them the truth.
D.O.N. D.O.N. D.O.N.
Jeffory finished his story, looking depressed. His team was stunned. Jack looked like he was confused, Hunter looked sympathetic, and Kendra looked like she wanted to comfort him, but she didn't know how. "Why...why didn't you tell us?" Hunter asked. Jeffory told them. "It was my problem, I shouldn't drag you guys, or anyone else, into it," he explained.
Kendra rolled her eyes. "Jeffory, you shouldn't push away your friends. Friends help each other, right?" She elbowed Jack, to get him to say something, "Ow, yeah, yeah. We'll do what we can to help," he reassured him, rubbing his ribs where Kendra hit him. Hunter nodded. "Yeah, when we get back to the academy, we'll try to get a mission to the space station." Jeffory looked at them. "Guys, I appreciate this, but we can't get to the station, anyway, remember?" Hunter shook his head, "We WILL get to the station, I promise." Jeffory felt happy when they told him that. "Thank you..." they all nodded, smiling at their leader.
D.O.N. D.O.N. D.O.N.
The Air Slasher docked, at the hangar. When they climbed out, they saw Jake come running toward them. "You guys, where HAVE you BEEN?" he asked them frantically. Jack opened his mouth to respond, but Jake cut him off. "WHERE'S MY BABY!" Jake screamed, just noticing the Nora wasn't there. The team all looked at eachother, before attempting to explain. "Well, it's like this... Um... The Nora blew... up," Jeffory told Jake, taking a step backwards, in case he went nuts. Jake made a series of faces, each odder than the rest. First, he was angry, then he was sad, then he was confused, then... he appeared to be constipated. Jake, right before their eyes, fell down on his knees and sobbed. Jeffory took another step back, almost bumping into Kendra. "What should we do?" he asked. Jack shrugged, looking at the Grarrl, who had now made a large puddle of tears.
Hunter looked at Jeffory, "Maybe you should go report to the Commander, tell him we're back," he told him. Jeffory nodded. Kendra spoke up, "We'll stay and comfort Jake." Jeffory nodded at her before walking out of the room.
As he walked down the hall, Jeffory thought about the mysterious figure who rescued Jack. Who was it...? What kind of Neopian could turn a monster to CRYSTAL? It didn't make sense. As he was lost in thought, he bumped into Scott, the Scorchio who hit on Kendra, knocking him over. "Ow," groaned the fallen Scorchio. "Sorry, let me help..." Jeffory helped the young fire breather to his feet. "Thanks. OH, YOU'RE BACK!" Scott said excitedly, jumping up and down. Jeffory scratched his head. "It took you this long to notice that?" he asked increduluosly. Scott chuckled, "I've always been slow. Anyway, Grey wants to see you," he explained.
Jeffory was about to open his mouth, when Scott cut him off. "He saw your Airship pull in. By the way, that's a nice ship." Scott then waved goodbye, and walked off, leaving a confused Kyrii. "That guy is something else..."
D.O.N. D.O.N. D.O.N.
"...And then our Airship crashed, and we went to Market Town, and we went to the mountain, and-" Jeffory was cut off, by Grey speaking calmly. "Yes, I understand. I'm proud of your team Jeffory, tell them that," Grey told him. Jeffory smiled, nodding, "I will, sir." Jeffory stood up to leave, when Grey stopped him. "Jeffory, You're team made a good choice. Picking you to be leader, I mean," Grey told him, smiling. "Thanks, sir." Jeffory told him. "Jeffory, I believe it's time I told you something," Grey said softly. Jeffory slowly, sat back down. "I feel horrible, I never told you this... I know about your father..." Jeffory eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "A-A-are you...s-s-serious? You know that Kass came, and killed him, and put Meridell in ruins?" he asked frantically. Grey nodded.
"Your father and I were very good friends, when we were your age and onward. Kyle was at the Academy; he planned on being the best Defender there ever was! I was with him. Then he met your mother, Maria. She was so sweet to us. She treated me like family after she and Kyle married. Kyle dropped out of the Academy before he married Maria. I don't resent him at all, but it was lonely without him... I became Commander after that. You and...You were born... and I came to visit you then. You wouldn't have remembered me, though. You were too young. I came to find you, but Meridell was in ruins. I looked everywhere for you, but... I just couldn't find you..." As Grey told the story, Jeffory just listened. He couldn't believe it: there was someone who knew about his father and mother's deaths, but he never told him...?
Jeffory began to feel angry. WHY hadn't he searched harder? Why hadn't he gotten more help! Why hadn't he come back later, and gotten him! Jeffory felt angry tears well up in his eyes, but he closed his electric blue irises, to force back the tears. He stood up, his rage coming out like a bullet. "WHY! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME WHEN WE MET? WHY DIDN'T YOU TRY HARDER TO FIND ME!" he shouted. Grey let him shout, merely staying silent. "Why didn't... Dad tell me...?" Jeffory had quieted to a whisper.
"Your father... your father didn't want that life for you. He didn't want to lose his son..." "So I Iost my family instead," snapped Jeffory. Grey looked a bit taken aback at this. "He didn't know this would happen, Jeffory, honest," Grey tried. Jeffory shook his head. "I... I have to be alone..." Without another word, Jeffory stood up, and walked out of the office.
D.O.N. D.O.N. D.O.N.
Jeffory walked quickly down the halls toward his dorm. On the way, he saw his friends, but he walked past them, leaving them confused and worried. Once he got to his room, he closed the door behind him and sighed. He stumbled over to his bed, and plopped down on it. He didn't bother to turn on the light, but buried his face in his pillow. He didn't cry. He chuckled, beside his sadness. Maybe I used them all up, ten years ago... he thought, amusedly. He heard the whirring of VIM, behind him, but didn't bother to turn around. "Are you alright, sir? Is there anything I can do to help you, Mr. Knights? Maybe some tea, some coffee, hot chocolate maybe...?" Jeffory felt glad that the moniter cared enough to try to help him, but he needed alone time.
"I'm fine, VIM. Could I have some time to myself, please?" he asked softly. VIM said, "Of course, sir," before retracting into the bedside.
Jeffory soon drifted off to sleep.
D.O.N. D.O.N. D.O.N.
Jeffory awoke to see his friends watching him with worried expressions. He absentmindedly noticed that it was now nighttime. "Hey... guys," he murmured sleepily. Jack got straight to the point. "What happened? What did Grey tell you?" he asked quickly. Kendra swatted Jack's arm, making him yelp: "What was that for!" Kendra scolded him. "First off, it's COMMANDER Grey, and if Jeffory wants to tell us, he will," she told him.
Jack lowered his head, but nodded. It was obvious he felt bad for intruding on his best friend's personal problems, so Jeffory reassured him. "It's okay, Jack. I was gonna tell you all anyway..." Hunter jumped in. "So... when you went to the office what did he say?" Jeffory's eyes narrowed. "He... he knew my dad. And mom, too! But he didn't tell me. He said he came to find me in the ruins of Meridell, but he couldn't! So he just gave up! He didn't try a year later, two years later, nothing!" he snarled, his voice rising to a shout. His team looked a little taken aback at his rage, but they weren 't TOO obvious, minus Hunter, who was shaking.
"Jeff-" Jack attempted, but Jeffory cut him off snapping, "Forget it! It doesn't matter, anymore! They're dead, and there's NOTHING I can do, but MURDER Kass at the station..." he growled, vicious thoughts of tearing Kass apart, flashing through his mind. Kendra jumped, looking at him, stunned. "Jeffory... Your eyes... T-t-they're..." she stuttered. Jeffory arched a brow, and noticed his other friends staring at him, too. "What?"
Jack pointed to the mirror on the wall. "Go l-l-look," he stuttered, like Kendra. Jeffory gave them a weird look, but walked over to the mirror. He gasped. His normally electric blue eyes, had turned black, and pupiless. They suddenly flashed back to normal as a loud explosion reached his ears. "What the h***...?" he muttered, running to his balcony, his friends behind him. Jeffory's eyes widened.
Outside, there was a HUGE invasion. Soldiers were grappling down from plain grey helicopters, adorned with the same mark that was on Kass' armour. The soldiers were clad in black bodysuits, with the pulsing blue lines that were on most things these days. They were holding guns. Lots and lots of guns. The male soldiers were wearing the bodysuits, with helmets that covered their heads, though they were shaped to fit the heads of different species.
The females, however, had the armour that was more form fitting than the males. Jeffory saw where the explosion came from. A large Grarrl was stomping along, wielding a huge missile launcher. The big guy caught sight of Jeffory and co. and hefted the launcher up. "Oh, sh-" Jack was cut off, by his team slamming into him, taking them all to the ground. The missile flew over their heads, exploding in the room behind them.
The force of the explosion made Hunter hit his head on the balcony rail. "Ow!" he cried, rubbing his head. Jeffory picked himself off the ground, Jack helping Kendra to her... floating? Jeffory, thinking fast, snatched Jack's gun out of his pocket, and aimed it at the brute. "Checkmate..." he muttered, shooting at the Grarrl's head. He was dead in an instant.
Jeffory tossed the gun back to Jack. "We've got work to do," he told them. They nodded, except Kendra. "Guys..." She pointed to the room. They turned around and pulled out their weapons. There were... fire people, in the room. "Kendra-" Jack started. "I know," Kendra cut him off. Her fins glowed blue, as did Jeffory sword and Jack's gun.
Jeffory ran first into the on-fire room, growling at the heated menaces. They looked like zombies, almost, that were covered in flames. They moaned, stalking towards him. Jeffory pointed his water-infused sword. "Bring it, uglies!" He ran at the first, who, somehow, did a dodge, swatting Jeffory's arm and burning it. "OW!" He clutched his pained arm, and used his good hand to swing his sword, killing the intruder. He looked around, to see that his team had finished the rest.
"What the crap were those things?" Hunter asked frantically. Kendra quickly noticed Jeffory's arm, and healed it. "Thanks..." He hardly noticed the sprinklers coming on and putting out the flames. "Now, what were those things, Kendra?" he asked. Kendra shook her head. "I don't... know... Those things, it would have HAD to be a Magic User to use a spell like that..." she told them quietly. Jeffory nodded. He didn't see a Magic User, and he doubted that the Grarrl knew how to use it... "Come on, we have to get down to the bottom floor," he ordered. The team nodded.
As they exited the room, Jeffory knew Kass was behind this, and that he would show up here eventually. And when he did, Jeffory would get his revenge...
D.O.N. D.O.N. D.O.N.
Jeffory ran ahead to the elevator, eager to find Kass. "Jeffory, wait!" called Kendra. Jeffory ignored her, pushing bottom floor on the elevator. "Jeffory, will ya just... stop for a second!" Jack asked angrily, shaking Jeffory's shoulder. The Kyrii brushed off his hand. "I know what you're thinkin'... you want to fight Kass... but YOU KNOW he will kick your a**!"
The elevator door opened. Jeffory stomped inside, his friends at his heels. The doors closed, leaving the elevator to decend... slowly. "I'm just saying that we don't want you to go gettin' yourself hurt! I mean-" Jeffory cut him off, with an angry snarl. "You don't get it! YOU have a family! YOUR family wasn't murdered by a madman! You're not ALONE!" he shouted, making Jack back up, and hang his head. Kendra looked ready to slap Jeffory for treating Jack like that, but stopped when she saw the look in his eyes. Jeffory's tone had dropped to barely a whisper. "You don't know what it feels like, having your friend - practically your brother - at the mercy of a psychopath... it's... almost unbearable," he told them softly.
"I have to avenge my family, I HAVE to save Sam." The team stayed quiet the rest of the ride down.
D.O.N. D.O.N. D.O.N.
The doors opened, and Jeffory and co. ran out into the main hall. It was h*** out there. There were soldiers' dead bodies strewn all around, along with some wounded students. There were gun shots, and students tried desperately to fend off the oncoming wave of soldiers. Jeffory noticed Scott, who was using his wings to stay in the air, and breathing deadly streams of fire at a burning up soldier. Once the Blumaroo was dead, Jeffory called over to the cocky Scorchio. "Scott!" Scott turned upon hearing his name and jogged over to him, smiling.
"Thank God, you're all here! We've got fighters comin' in!" he explained frantically. Jeffory cursed. Jack spoke up, "Fighters? As in planes...?" he asked. Hunter sighed, "No. He means Santa's elves got deadly candy canes, and are attacking- OF COURSE, fighters!" Jeffory swatted Hunter over the head. "Knock it off, you two. Jack!" he addressed the Mynci, who looked ready to pounce on the Kougra. "I need you to go with Hunter to the Air Slasher, and gun down those fighters. And Kendra, heal the wounded," he ordered. The group nodded, running off.
Scott looked expectantly at the young man. "Scott-" "I know! Josh, Tom! Get over here!" An excited-looking Shoyru ran over to him; it was Scott's friend Josh. He was wearing a grey hoodie with the hood down; he had light blue biker shorts, black sneakers, and brown eyes. He was a red-colored Shoyru. "Yeah, I'm ready for action!" he cried excitedly, jumping up and down. The second, Tom, was a shadow Techo, who looked like he thought too highly of himself. He wore a black leather jacket, with very baggy ripped up jeans, and combat boots; he had a katana on his back. He also had pale blue eyes. "Don't get in my way, loser," he growled pushing Jeffory aside. Jeffory muttered "Jack***" under his breath.
Scott pushed the two apart. "Cool off, guys. We're going to take out the tank, got it?" They all nodded. They all ran outside, weapons drawn, to face their enemy.
Once outside, the tank seemed VERY intimidating. It was grey, with the same sign as on the helicoptors and soldiers. It had a HUGE nozzle to fire out missiles. It had very big wheels. In the cockpit, there was a Meerca, clad in his armour. "Come and play, little ones! Heeheeheeheee!" At that, the nozzle changed shape and began firing bullets. Jeffory hit the dirt, Tom rolled away, and Josh and Scott flew out of range. Jeffory got to his feet, and ran towards the tank, a bullet hit his arm, injuring him, but he pressed on. He slid under the tank and slashed its bottom half with the sword; he was really ticked when the attack bounced off.
Tom laughed as the tank attempted to gun him down, failing epically. "You're nothing but trash," he muttred before running at the tank, katana drawn, and growling maniacally. He jumped onto the cockpit and pulled the sword above his head. "I don't think so!" giggled the Meerca (we'll call him Giggles). The cockpit sprung, knocking Tom off, and Giggles laughed.
Scott flew in and breathed a breath of fire at the cockpit; the fire spread off it, though. "HAHAHAHAHAHA!" cackled Giggles. Jeffory had enough "Josh!" Jeffory called. "Up we go!" Josh responded, picking Jeffory up by the underarms and flying off. Once they were high in the air, Josh allowed Jeffory to ride on his back, and they charged fast towards the cockpit.
Jeffory pointed his sword towards the cockpit. BAM! The sword made contact with the glass, and it shattered. "Oh, no..." Giggles squealed. Jeffory raised his sword, and stabbed. Blood splashed his face, as his eyes widended in horror... "I just..." It was the first time he killed an enemy- a Neopian, not a monster - and it felt different from when he shot the brute.
This time he stabbed him... felt the blood... He jumped off the tank and dropped to his knees, oblivious to the fighting and commotion around him. "No..." "Get up!" snapped Tom, pulling him to his feet. "Grow up, YOU joined the academy," he snapped. Jeffory lowered his head. Is this what it would feel like to kill Kass? Was it even worth it? Jeffory felt crushed.
He felt dirty and evil, and he was disgusted by himself. "We have to get back inside and rendezvous with your team," Scott said. Jeffory simply nodded.
D.O.N. D.O.N. D.O.N.
From inside the barricaded academy, Jeffory watched out the window. More battles were taking place outside. There were a lot of scared students around him, but he paid them no mind. He still felt disgusting. "Murderer..." he muttered bitterly, his eyes dimming slightly. He was sitting in the lounge; it was where the students stayed to rest after their parts in the battle. He looked and sighed, watching the soldiers circle the building.
He hoped Jack and Hunter were okay...
D.O.N. D.O.N. D.O.N.
Hunter forced the airship into a barrel roll, dodging enemy fighters' shots. "Jack, gun it!" he called over his shoulder to the gunner. "BIG BANG!" the immature Mynci shouted loudly, opening fire. "Of ALL the morons I could get stuck with..." Huntermuttered amusedly, taking the ship to a dive. Hunter cursed as a fighter made a u-turn and flew towards them, opening fire. One of the shots hit the wing, lighting it ablaze.
"CRAP! MY BABY!" wailed Hunter loudly. "Jack, I need you off the turrett!" Jack gave him an odd look, and climbed out of his "zone", as he called it. Jack quickly jogged over to the Kougra. "I'm about to open a hatch. There's an escape pod down there. I need to make a few adjustments, take the wheel, and keep us out of range, got it?" Jack nodded, grinning confidently. Hunter pressed the big red SHINY button, and a hatch opened on the floor. Hunter passed the wheel off, and ran to the escape pod.
Jack suddenly forced the ship to a barell roll, making Hunter hit his poor head. "OW! WHAT THE TURD ARE YOU DOING!" After righting himself, he returned to work, singing a little tune in his head. "Doo- dah- doo-deed-doo, red goes in the blue, it's so very cool, don't mess up like a fool. Green goes with his kin..."
From Jack's angle, things were looking bad. "I DON'T WANNA DIE!" he shrieked, making the ship dive.
Back with Hunter, "Then when he's done, you're in like Flynn!" Hunter then pulled a mallet out, and began hammering some screws in. "Swing the hammer like a mace, Jack, if you do that again, I'll break your face!" He added improv to his stupid song. "Voila!" he cried, making Jack jump. "You're done?" Jack called.
"Yes, get in!" shouted Hunter. The Mynci obliged, climbing into the cramped pod. "Okay, now..." muttered Hunter, getting his face out of Jack's armpit, and closing the door. The pod launched out of the ship, towards the roof of the academy. The Air Slasher flew off into the distance, probably never to be seen again.
Hunter sighed; at least they were alive...
D.O.N. D.O.N. D.O.N.
Jeffory's thoughts were interrupted as a large explosion sounded outside. Jeffory and Kendra were on their feet in an instant, while some other students looked a bit nervous. Jeffory approached the window, and Jeffory could smell smoke... it seemed to come from the roof. Kendra looked at Jeffory expectantly. "Kendra, come with me," he told her; she nodded.
They left the lounge, and ran to the elevator. Then something came to Jeffory's mind. Where was Commander Grey? Shouldn't he be on the front lines? He shook these thoughts out of his head. Right now, finding the source of that explosion was more important.
DING! was the sound the elevator doors made as they opened. Jeffory stepped out, with Kendra at his heels. Jeffory sighed, "How do we get up on the roof?" Kendra pointed at the fire escape. "Right..." he muttered, heading for it.
D.O.N. D.O.N. D.O.N.
Once they reached the roof, Jeffory saw an escape pod that was on fire.
Jeffory's eyes widened when he heard two familiar voices. "Ow, you're on my paw!" cried one angrily. "I wouldn't be on your paw if you didn't get in front of me! You and your big head are in front of the door!" snapped the other in response.
"You KNOW Kougras have... larger heads, what's your excuse?" Hunter replied, stepping out of the tarnished pod. Jack came out, grumbling something about smart people, and their good comebacks. Jeffory was extremely relieved to see his friends were unharmed... Well, Jack's ego was harmed from that head comment. Kendra bolted over to Jack and hugged him tightly. Jack hesitantly returned it, smiling awkwardly.
Hunter rolled his eyes, at the two. Jeffory walked over to Hunter and gave him a one-armed hug, smiling widely.
After hugs and whatnot had passed, Jeffory noticed something. "Hey, where's the Air Slasher?" He immediately wished he hadn't asked as he saw the look on Hunter's face. "She- she- MY BABY'S GONE!" Hunter wailed. Kendra patting him comfortingly on the back. Jeffory rubbed the back of his neck, giving Jack a what-the-heck-is-his-problem look. Jack rolled his eyes, mouthing "I'll tell ya later."
Jeffory appraoached Jack, looking awkward. "Jack... I-I'm sorry, for treating you like crap back there... I was... angry and distraught" - Why the heck am I saying words like that? he thought to himself as he spoke - "but that's not an excuse. You guys have all been so good to me, and I spat in your faces. I'm sorry," he told them softly, feeling cruddier than he had in a while.
Jack grinned, patting Jeffory on the shoulder. "I know, man, and I'm sorry, too. I wasn't understanding how you must have felt, losing your family... I forgive you, Jeff," he told him, looking awkward as well. They gave each other a "man hug" and pulled back, giving each other a fist bump. Kendra rolled her eyes, at their "must be macho" facade.
Jeffory and co. made to return to the academy, when a voice interupted them. "How very touching, dear boy, I must say. But, I'm afraid... your time has come," said the voice, chuckling hatefully. Jeffory's eyes narrowed, and he muttered "Kass" as he pulled out his sword. I'm going to rip him apart, he thought, tightening his grip, on the blade.
Slowly, a figure stepped out of the shadows, holding his large sword, smiling wickedly. Kass stood in front of the party, his eyes narrowing. "Jeffory, how's mommy and daddy?" he taunted.
"A LOT better now. I'm about to avenge them!" In an instant, Jeffory charged at Kass, with a battle cry; his team following without hesitation. Jeffory swung his sword horizontally, almost slashing his enemy. Kass laughed hatefully, slamming a fist into Jeffory's jaw.
Crunch! Jeffory hollered in pain, clutching his broken jaw with one hand, and continuing his attack with his free one. Kass nimbly dodged the blows, smiling tauntingly the entire time. Jeffory felt the pain leave his body. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kendra finishing a cure spell and beginning to charge a thunder. Jeffory was knocked backwards by a kick to the gut, and sliding across the ground.
Jack ran by him, firing blasts rapidly. Kass merely spun his sword, deflecting each shot. Jack, decided to get up close and personal, easily whacking Kass' beak with his blaster. The Eyrie grunted in pain, as a piece of his beak broke off. "REALLY!" cried Jack in rage, as Kass hardly flinched after losing his some of his nose/mouth. Kass seized Jack's arm and twisted it sharply, making Jack scream in agony at his broken arm. Kass wasn't done there, though. He proceeded to punch Jack in the face, gut, side, and nose. At the last hit, Jack slumped forward, barely conscious.
Kass stepped back, letting the battered Mynci fall to the ground. He then slammed the top of hilt of the sword into his face, knocking him out.
Jeffory was slowly getting to his feet when Hunter ran by, shouting, "Bring it, Birdbrain!"
Hunter took a swipe at the Eyrie, only to miss as Kass landed a well-aimed kick in Hunter's face. Hunter staggered backwards, but regained his balance and did a 360 spin, catching Kass' leg with his tail in the process.
With a great tug, Kass was pulled to the ground, knocking the air out of him. Jeffory ran in, to help, absently wondering where Kendra was... He raised his sword, and attempted to stab Kass, but then...
FLASHBACK
Jeffory pointed his sword towards the cockpit. BAM! The sword made contact with the glass, and it shattered. "Oh, no..." Giggles squealed, and Jeffory raised his sword, and stabbed. Blood splashed his face, as his eyes widended in horror... "I just..." It was the first time he killed an enemy - a Neopian not a monster - and it felt different from when he shot the brute.
END FLASHBACK
Jeffory felt those terrible memories return, and he dropped the sword. It clattered loudly. Jeffory held his head in his hands, shaking. Hunter stared at him, stunned. "What the he** are you DOING!" he asked. Jeffory suddenly remembered his promise. His promise to avenge his parents, to save Sam, and to protect his new friends. He realized he couldn't do that if he didn't kill Kass. "Too late, kid!" shouted Kass, getting to his feet.
Jeffory's eyes widened when, in one swift motion, Kass had driven his sword through Hunter's chest. Said Kougra slowly looked down to the sword as Kass, in an agonizingly slow way, withdrew the blade. When he was done, Hunter slid to the ground, losing consiousness.
Suddenly, a cry of "LIGHTNING!" reached the remaining warriors' ears. Jeffory recognized the voice in an instant. He dared to take his eyes off of Kass, to see Kendra glowing a magnificent color of gold. Then, an insane amount of electricity shot out of her hands and horn. Jeffory did a dive roll out of the way, as the lightning collided with Kass.
So, that's what she was waiting for! She was waiting for her determination to grow, so she could harness her true potential! Jeffory thought excitedly. It was true, Kendra had told him, that if a Magic User is in danger, or emotionaly distressed their power will grow stronger until that problem was resolved. The former will also empower a Magic User if someone they care about is in that situation.
Kass roared in agony, as the electricity flowed through his body. He somehow slowly drew up his sword, and he began glowing like he did in Jeffory's first fight with him. His now-glowing gray sword began to reflect the electricity. Kendra seemed to be trying to break through his defense, but was failing. She stopped the electricity shooting from her hands, and she placed them on her horn. Jeffory realized that she was focusing her energy into one part of her body.
Then, it all stopped. Kass broke the connection with a sickening crunch, and Kendra's horn snapped in half. The girl screamed in agony, falling to the ground, her horn's other half clattering next to her. The reamains of lightning, shot off into the sky, lighting it up.
"What the he**!" asked Jeffory, turning to glare at Kass. "What did you do to her?" he snapped. Kass merely chuckled. "Boy, the girl overexerted herself. If a magic user's power is increased such as hers, and the force connects with another Magic User, a connection will be made. If the rival user wins in the connection duel, the loser's source of magic will be destroyed. I'm surprised that she only got it broken in half, she's stronger than she looks. Easily fixable, but she'll die of fatigue before anyone finds her," he explained, a sadistic smile appearing on his face, at the last part.
Jeffory had taken in every word. ESPECIALLY the connection duel part. "That means... you're a magic user, too!" Jeffory growled his thoughts aloud. Kass smiled clapping sarcastically. "Well done, brat. You figured out my secret... Now we end it!" he shouted charging at the Kyrii.
Jeffory rolled out of the way of a slash and sweep-kicked his opponent's feet out from under him. Jeffory rolled across the ground yet again, and picked up his sword fast enough to parry a blow from the glowing sword of Kass'. So they went like this; parrying each other's blows, and getting in some lucky shots. Jeffory's vision was slightly impaired, because, he guessed, the lightning being shot into the sky triggered something and made it rain.
Kass was obviously getting angry that the boy wouldn't die, as his strikes grew more careless and violent. Jeffory easily side-stepped one, ducked under another, even jumping over the last one, kicking Kass in the beak for good measure. It all counted on this battle; if Jeffory lost, it was all over. Jeffory did a backflip and jumped forward in an attempt at a jumping slash. But Kass had other plans, snapping his fingers; Jeffory froze in midair. He frantically wondered what happened when he noticed his shadow was gone.
Suddenly, Jeffory slugged himself in the face. "What the-" he started, only to slam his fist into the side of his face again. Kass laughed, "You see, I have control over shadows, so your shadow is against you now! Isn't that hilarious?" Jeffory responded to this, by spitting a loose tooth in Kass' face. The Eyrie ignored this. "Now, we'll have some REAL fun!" Jeffory lowered to the ground; since Kass controlled his shadow, Jeffory was forced into a stiff position.
"Now, what to do with you... OH, I know! can you... teach me how to dougie?(1)"
Jeffory was forced into doing the dougie, with a very sour face. After a little bit of goofing around with Jeffory's shadow, Kass decided to end it. Jeffory rose into the air again, and Kass slashed a large X across Jeffory's chest, finishing with a horizontal slash. Jeffory realized that he felt nothing... yet. Kass snapped his fingers, and blood poured out of Jeffory's wounds. The Kyrii hollered in pain as he flew backwards, colliding hard with the ground and almost rolling off the ledge. Jeffory's vision was failing him; he knew he was dying. His breaths were ragged, his body numb...
Kass approached him, and knelt down. "Does it hurt?" he asked, in a voice that would make a baby vomit. Jeffory managed a weak glower. Kass placed his hands on Jeffory's left leg and twisted violently.
CRUNCH!
Jeffory cried out in pain. Kass broke into evil cackles, when a voice interupted him. "Now, Kass... is that a way to treat children?" Jeffory recognised the voice as Grey. Kass withdrew from punishing the dying Kyrii to face the Draik. "Old man, your students are pathetic! This one barely survived... the other three are as good as dead, now," he told the Commander. Grey eyed the battered future defenders' scattered bodies before approaching Kass.
"I will end your madness now," he said simply, drawing his sword, gripping it with two hands. At they were at each other. Like a blur, they leapt around the rooftop, swiping at each other. Jeffory thought they fought for hours; indeed, that's how long it felt. Grey backflipped over a vicious swipe. "You've gotten weak, old friend; you're practically an old slug!" the Draik taunted. Old friend?
Kass growled, parrying a blow. "I can say the same about you, Adam," snapped Kass back. They locked blades, glaring daggars st the other. "I must admit, I have a couple new tricks up my sleeve..." Grey said, smiling. Kass growled, "Such as?" Grey broke the lock. "Such as... THIS!" Grey knocked Kass into the air, jumping up after him, throwing the sword up above him. "Ancient art!" His eyes glowed grey, and he made several hand motions. "HOLY BLADE OF SEVEN!" At that, his blade split into seven swords of the same look. He kicked Kass in the face, and six of the swords flew into Kass, who roared angrily.
Grey snatched the seventh sword and flew through the rain at Kass, stabbing the sword through him. Lightning lit up the sky and thunder boomed. Kass slammed into the ground, while Grey landed gracefully. He approached the bloody Eyrie, sighing sadly.
"Have you givin up, now, Billius?" he asked. Kass smiled wickedly. "I-I-I'm... not done yet..." Suddenly, he hurled his sword at the defenseless Jeffory. Grey's eyes widened. There was no way he could stop the sword in time. Not unless... Grey threw his sword after his enemy's. For a few agonizing seconds, he was afraid he was too late, but his sword collided with Kass', knocking it off course and saving Jeffory's life.
Grey sighed in relief, but then he felt cold hands around his neck. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Kass had gripped him. "Game over, Adam..." he said, wrenching his neck. Grey fell to the ground, paralyzed. His eyes glazed over. Kass' small chuckles turned into a truly evil cackle. (Anyone who has heard Dan Green's Mephiles the Dark laugh, you'll know what I mean.) Kass began to pound on the paralyzed Draik, laughing maniacally. When he was done, Grey looked almost as bad as Jack did after his battle with the Silver Wing.
Grey groaned slightly, but could do nothing else. "Like I said, you've gotten slow," said Kass, smiling cruelly. It was as if he wanted nothing more then to rip the beaten commander apart.
Kass began to sink into the shadows as thunder boomed and it began to pour. Jeffory somehow managed to painfully drag himself over to the commander. When he got to him, he was on all fours, trying to ignore the pain in his leg.
"Commander...?" he asked softly, he realized his voice was rasping. Grey coughed violently. When he was done, his eyes, which seemed very dim, locked with the Kyrii's. "J-J-Jeffory..." he started, his voice was no more than a whisper. Jeffory nodded, confirming he was listening.
"I'm so-sorry that I-I-I-I could never r-reach you... I'm sorry that I never told you." he said, looking so much older than he was. Jeffory shook his head, "No, I'm sorry. I over-reacted-" Grey cut him off. "You h-h-had every right to b-b- be angry." More coughing. "You have grown so much, Jeffory. I'm proud of-of-of you. Your father and mother would be, too," he spoke softly.
Jeffory could only nod. He knew what was coming, and he knew he couldn't prevent it. "Jeffory, I know you can stop Kass... but don't do anything too reckless." More coughing. "And Jeffory, keep you-y-your friends close..." The Draik's breathing grew rapid, as his eyes lost even more light. Finally, he took his last breath.
Jeffory couldn't believe it. He lost someone else... he could've done something! His vision began to fade him, and he collapsed. Darkness took him, but somehow, he knew he would survive...
Okay, done. Longest chapter, yet! God, I feel horrible killing my OCs, but this had to be done to progress the plot. One more warning, there will be one more character death, but it is NOT a major character. Peace, LaDude out!
(1) At my church, about a month ago, they had us do that dance. I couldn't resist!
