Hey, hey, HEEEEY! I'm back, it's almost time for the grand finale! Enjoy.
Defenders of Neopia chapter 25: Mission: almost-impossible.
They sat in their ship for at least ten minutes in total silence, steeling themselves.
When Hunter sat down in the pilot's seat, a piece of paper taped to the yoke caught his attention. He leaned in closer and began reading it.
"Dear Hunter,
I know you can probably never forgive me for the way I treated you growing up. I never gave you the opportunity to be what you were and still are: a kid. I am writing this to say that I am, and always will be, proud of you. I know I cannot stop you, but forgive me if I try.
After you ran way from home, the only thing your mother and I had of you were your inventions. I will admit, I had never seen anything like them, and I was impressed. The only reason I was able to get everything installed on your airship correctly was because of those inventions. When you were gone, I tried to take interest in the things you enjoyed, for once in my entire time as your father, and thanks to that, this ship will get you where you need to go.
I will always love you, son."
Hunter read over the letter several more times, his eyes welling up with tears. After the last read, he allowed them to flow for a moment. He couldn't believe it. His dad had actually cared about what he did. He actually paid attention to how he put things together... he was actually proud of him. He sniffled one last time before giving the letter one last read. "I'll make you proud, Mom... Dad," he whispered, folding the letter up and placing it in his pocket.
After composing himself, he took in a deep breath.
"Air Slasher Mark 2: LAUNCH!" Hunter shouted, at long last as he sent the ship off into the reaches of Space. Their target? The Space Station.
Jeffory clutched his armrests tightly as the ship's speed increased. He couldn't believe it. After all this time, he was finally on his way to the Station. Things might not have gone according to plan, but none of that mattered now. His objective was in plain sight. He pulled his head out of the clouds when the radar showed several enemies moving towards their position.
He turned to Jack, who was uncharacteristically quiet. "Enemies at twelve 'o clock!" he shouted. Jack nodded, shooting one down. "I see 'em!" he responded, fixing the crosshairs on an approaching ship.
Hunter pulled the ship into a dive, avoiding the incoming lazers from the Space Station, as they drew ever-closer.
"Hold on, guys!" he shouted over his shoulder. Two enemy ships were closing in fast, one from behind the ASM2 and another from the front.
"Hunter, they're gonna hit us!" Jeffory shouted. Hunter shook his head and went into a barrel roll, causing the enemies to collide with eac hother, exploding into measly scrap metal.
"Haha!" Jack taunted at the now-destroyed fighters. "Ya can't get us!"
"Focus, monkey brain!" Hunter shouted at the Mynci, who was now blowing raspberries.
Jack deflated, returning to silently shooting suckers out of the sky.
Hunter's eyes were filled with determintaion as he drew ever closer to the Station. Only a little farther...!
BANG!
"Ahh!" the three teens shouted as the ship lurched violently. "Damn!" Jeffory cursed, looking at the monitor. "The left wing has been damaged! We have to land. NOW!" he shouted to Hunter. "I know, I know!" he snapped in response, remaining fixated on the Station.
Jeffory looked out the window and cursed. They were descending! "We're losing altitude!" he shouted over Jack's terrified screams. "This is a minor setback!" Hunter responded, more to himself than Jeffory. "Hold on, guys... we can just make it..." Hunter muttered.
The ship approached the hangar at alarming speed. But at the last second, Hunter pulled a sharp turn, the left wing almost scraping the Station. "Wha-?" Jack shouted, bewildered. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, HUNTER?" he roared, shooting another ship that got way too close. "We need to take out the cannons, so they don't shoot us down when we leave later!" he responded.
"But we're losing altitude!" Jeffory cried, his eyes widening as the ship descended farther.
Hunter ignored him. "Jack, when I give the signal, fire like crazy!" he shouted. "Wha?" Jack shouted back. "Wait for the signal!" Hunter told him.
Barrel-rolling out of the way of a fighter, Hunter began counting down from ten under his breath. 10...
Jeffory winced as they took another hit.
9...
Jack shot another fighter down, cheering as he did so.
8.
More barrel rolls.
7.
Descending lower...!
6.
"HUNTER!" Jeffory shouted.
5.
"SHUT UP!" Hunter responded, shocking Jeffory into silence with the fury in his voice.
4.
"Jack, get ready!"
3.
"Okay..."
2.
They were an inch from the main cannon, now.
1!
"JACK, NOW!" Hunter ordered.
"Okay!" Jack responded, opening fire, destroying cannons as they flew by.
Blinding explosions and deafening booms filled the area around them. Hunter's lightning-fast reflexes were what saved them from being blown out of the air as he barrel rolled away from the explosions and quickly changed to a loop, flying into the hanger. The hangar door slammed shut behind them.
The ASM2 skidded across the metal floor, stopping right before crashing into a wall.
The three teens sat completely still, stunned by their success. After several moments, Jack let out an ear-shattering cheer. "F**K YEAH! WE DID IT!" he roared, making Jeffory and Hunter jump out of their skins. "We did do it..." Hunter whispered. "I did it!" he cheered, his voice raising as he jumped out of the pilot's seat and began dancing around the ship.
Jeffory, after recovering from his initial shock, got to his feet and joined Hunter in his victory dance. He stopped, however, when he hit his head on the ceiling.
After regaining their wits, the three young men exited the ship. Jeffory looked around, his hand on Arrow of Life's handle. "Something's not right..." he muttered. "Where's the 'welcome party'?" he asked. Honestly, he was expecting endless troops to ambush them...
Jack looked around as well. "Yeah..." he muttered, shrinking his Shock Pistol and placing it back in his pocket. "I thought ol' Kass woulda been expecting us, y'know?" he stated, glancing around again.
Hunter, meanwhile, was examining the ASM2 with a rueful look on his face. "This could be a problem..." he muttered.
Jeffory turned around to look at the ship and groaned. The right wing was ripped off. They must've lost the wing when they sped into the hangar at the last minute. Getting back to Earth might be a problem. Ha! "Might." Try "will definitely."
"We can't worry about it now," Jeffory sighed, wincing when Hunter gave him a death glare. "She'll hold together for our ride back to Earth, but we can't afford to wait any longer! Kass is gonna attack Meridell again, if we don't hurry," Jeffory stated, sending Hunter an apologetic look.
After a moment, the Kougra sighed loudly but nodded. "Yeah..." he muttered.
"Be on guard, though. Kass might have an ambush waiting for us up ahead, understood?" ordered Jeffory. His friends saluted, Jack added a sarcastic "Yes, commander, sir!" for good measure. Jeffory jokingly made a rude hand gesture before leading them through a large steel door. It opened with a loud hiss and they proceeded through.
Billius Drake Kass chuckled wickedly. He was impressed with the Knights boy's ability to thwart every effort of his to destroy him. However, Knights didn't do all this by himself. Those other boys with him helped him get this far, after all. Conveniantly, Kass had taken down that Mage Girl on the Academy.
He chuckled again, a little louder this time. It had been fun to torment those children. Oh, how he loved the crunching of those little, weak bones as he snapped them in half-no-CRUSHED them. The screams of pain, the dark red blood splattering on the rooftop, the horror in their eyes as they witnessed TRUE pain...
"Hahahaha..." he rumbled, his shoulder plates clanging as his body shook with cruel, dark mirth.
And of course, that wretched Adam Grey had to make an appearance. It had been all too easy ending his existence. Unfortunately, he had gotten in the way of his triumph over Jeffory Knights but still, a kill was a kill. Even though it had been one of his best friends.
Oh, well. To have power, you have to make sacrifices... he thought to himself.
"And what a fine kill it was..." he hissed, unsheathing his dark sword and examining the blood-stained blade. His pupils shrunk as he breathed in the foul smell. He had learned to love that smell, unlike most who were revolted by it, he couldn't get enough. He took in another whiff before sheathing it again.
"Little Jeffory... Your end is near. But not before you give me what I desire... Your blood will stain my blade for all of eternity," he whispered.
He was brought out of his reverie as weak groan reached his ears. He slowly turned around and peered into the dark corner of the room. "You'll be able to watch your dear friend die before you," Kass addressed the scared fgure.
"In fact, you get a front row seat!"
He then began to full-out roar with laughter, the maniacal sound bouncing off the walls and ringing through the Station.
Deep within the Station, Jeffory stopped walking as a shiver went down his back. Jack, who had been following closely behind, walked right into Jeffory. "Hey, hey, hey! I'm walkin' here!" he joked, smacking Jeffory on the back.
The Kyrii said nothing, simply frozen in place. "Hey, you okay?" asked Hunter, catching up to his friends. Once again, Jeffory said nothing. Hunter tilted his head to the side, like a confused puppy and rotated around Jeffory, standing in front of his leader.
Jeffory's face was... terrified. He just stood there staring at the ground, like he feared something would jump up and eat his face. "Hey! Jeff!" Hunter called. Jeffory blinked, looking around drunkenly. After a moment, he regained himself, looking at his friends. "Something's wrong... I dunno why, but I feel a presence here. Like there's something..." he trailed off, staring at the hallway ahead of him.
Jack chuckled. "What, gettin' the pre-showdown jitters?" he asked, trying to lighten up his friend.
"Yeah..." Jeffory muttered. He hoped that was all it was. "Let's keep going," he told them, before walking down the hall.
"Hey, y'know something that bothers me?" asked Jack as they walked down the long, seemingly endless hall.
"What?" asked Hunter.
"Why would Kass leave the inside of the Station unguarded? I mean, in the movies, there would be all kinds of traps to slow us down or kill us!" Jack explained, baffled.
Jeffory spoke up. "I think... he's going to try and bargain with me..." he told them.
Hunter and Jack stopped, and gave each other confused looks. Jeffory didn't notice them stop and kept walking.
"What are you talkin' about?" inquired Jack.
"When I came here the first time, Kass tried to get me to give him some 'power'," he told them. "I didn't know what he meant at the time, so I refused. I think I know what it is now. And I'm 90% sure he's going to try and take it again. If I died before then, he would've lost a chance to get it from me," Jeffory explained as best as he could. But he didn't talk to them at all after his brief story and kept walking.
As they came to the area of the Station Jeffory remembered from his first visit, Jeffory began to jog forward. His friends followed as best they could, trusting that their leader knew what he was doing.
Further in, Jeffory broke into a sprint, tearing down the hallway. The door that led to the bridge was just ahead, and Jeffory was growing eager to face Kass and free his friend.
He stopped to catch his breath when he got to the door, turning around to face his teammates. "Kass is in there," he warned. "Are... you guys ready?" he asked.
They nodded. "Don't try and turn us back now, Jeff. We won't leave you - not now, not ever. We're a team! We do this together," Hunter said.
Jack nodded. "Hunter's right. You didn't give up on me, and I won't give up on you," he told Jeffory firmly.
The Kyrii stared at the ground before nodding. He gave them a small smile. "Thanks, guys. I appreciate you guys," he said, feeling his eyes grow watery. He shook it off, and smiled widely. "Let's do this!" he told them, getting enthusiastic nods from the other two. He nodded back and opened the large, steel door.
Jeffory ran into the room, sword at the ready. "Alright, Kass! Come out!" he called. Jack and Hunter ran in after him, looking around wearily. No response, so Jeffory tried again.
"KASS!" he shouted. Still no response. Thinking Kass may be in the shadows, Jeffory began swinging his sword. Arrow of Life swished through the air as Jeffory swung over and over again. His anger grew when he came up with nothing.
Jack stepped back from his angry leader and looked around the room. He spied something, or someone, in the far right corner of the Bridge. "Hey! Jeff!" he called.
Jeffory stopped his mindless show of aggression, panting heavily. "Damn it! Where is that-"
"JEFFORY!" Hunter shouted, getting his friend's attention. "Look!" he said, motioning to the corner with his head.
Jeffory squinted, trying to see who it was. "Is that...?" he muttered, running over to the figure.
He dropped to his knees in front of the form. Jeffory gasped, he couldn't believe his eyes! It was...
"Sam!" Jeffory shouted, upon recognizing the battered Kacheek. Jeffory felt his heart clench once he got a good look at his friend. He looked, if possible, worse than Jack had after his encounter with the SilverWing. His clothes were ripped, stained with blood and they smelt horrible, his arm was mangled, one eye was swollen shut and his entire face was covered with dry blood.
"Sam, Sam! Wake up, please!" he begged, feeling around for a pulse. To Jeffory's pleasure, the Kacheek began to cough-a very hoarse cough. "J-Jeff-o-ry...?" he rasped. Jeffory nodded. "Yeah! It's me! I came back for you," he told his friend. Sam began hacking again, coughing up blood that splashed on the ground.
"Don't worry, Sam... I'll get you out of here, I promise!" Jeffory said, gently helping Sam to his feet. He slung the Kacheek's good arm over his shoulder and began, slowly walking towards the exit.
Jack, who was about to open the door, gasped. "Jeffory!" he called.
Jeffory looked over his shoulder and cursed. In the center of the room, Kass appeared from the shadows. "Well, hello, Jeffory... You came back to take up my offer after all?" he asked, mockingly.
Jeffory, still holding Sam up, glared at the Eyrie. "No. No, I haven't. I came to free Sam and avenge my parents! You won't get anything from me!" Jeffory shouted defiantly.
"J-Jeffory's right...!" Sam rasped, weakly glaring at the Eyrie through his good eye.
Jack and Hunter ran to either side of Jeffory, pulling out their weapons.
Kass just laughed. "You are all just... children! That's all you are! One of you can barely stand!" he taunted. "You are fools to stand against me!" he shouted.
Jeffory growled, pointing his sword at him. "I don't get it! Why didn't you kill me on the Academy? All you did was break my leg! Tell me!" he demanded.
Kass sighed. "I wanted to determine if what my men said was true..." Kass explained.
At Jeffory's confused look, Kass continued. "I've had people watching you... I know ALL about what you REALLY are," he told him.
Jeffory's eyes widened. "Wha-?" he gasped.
"Oh, I know. The fits of rage that you can't even remember? Those are becuase of your inner demon! It has been there all along!" Kass explained, grinning wickedly at Jeffory's horrified face.
"But, unfortunately, you weren't angry enough for me to witness your mass power...
"I can't imagine why, as you had almost gotten your friends killed becuase of your foolish ambitions, isn't that right?" Kass asked him mockingly. Jeffory's defiant look disappeared and he hung his head, ashamed.
"Don't let him get to you, Jeff!" Jack called from next to him, snapping Jeffory from his guilty thoughts.
"For once, Jack's right! Who cares what Kass says? We were willing to follow you all this way, regardless of the consequences!" Hunter agreed. Jeffory nodded, will power restored.
Kass scoffed. "Enough of this garbage! I just might vomit!" he snarled.
"I will give you one more chance. You can surrender your powers to me, or you can have them ripped from your very body. What will it be?" he asked, extending his hand for Jeffory to take.
"I won't! You may think I'm going to lie down and die, but you're wrong! I won't surrender to you! I will never give up!" Jeffory roared in response.
Kass growled, his eyes flaring a deeper red. "Then... you will SUFFER!" he roared. He began to glow once again.
Kass shot out a dark purple beam of energy directly at the Kyrii. Jeffory gasped as something inside of him began to stir. The evil... What was...?
THIS... POWER!
The voice was... reacting? It was as if the massive evil in front of him spurred it on!
Jeffory clutched his chest and dropped to the ground, accidentally dropping Sam in the process.
"JEFFORY!" his friends cried, only to get no response. He couldn't handle the pain. His eyes began to turn black again, and his body twitched rapidly. "N-not... now!" Jeffory groaned. He didn't dare to look up at the beam coming towards him.
In his desperate attempt to keep the monster in, he didn't notice Sam get to his feet...
BOOM!
The pain stopped in an instant and Jeffory's head shot up to witness a horrible sight. Sam had shielded him from the blow!
"No...!" Jeffory whispered.
Sam stayed in the air as electricity flowed through him and black flames engulfed him.
"NOOO!" Jeffory cried, as he watched his friend scream in pain.
Jeffory got to his feet and tried to pull Sam down, but instead, he was knocked backwards by a powerful force.
Then, it was over. Sam dropped to the ground, twitching. Jeffory shook the cobwebs out of his head and scrambled back to his friend, dropping to his knees at his friend's side, not believing what was happening. This couldn't be happening...
Sam's fur had been burned away, revealing charred flesh. His good eye was slowly losing its light and his breathing was slow and ragged.
Jeffory slowly took his friend's hand. "I'm going to get you out of here! I promise! We- we-"
Sam cut him off, hacking. "J-j-Jeffory..." he gasped. "Yo-you... w-e-re my... best... friend... A-nd yo-u a-a-always... wi-w-will be..." he wheezed. Giving Jeffory's hand a weak squeeze.
"T-thanks f-for a- every...thing..." he whispered as his eye began to close.
"No-No! I'm go-gonna get you out of h-here... I'll get you...!" Jeffory wailed, trying to fight the tears.
"C-can y-you... do m-me... a favor...?" wheezed Sam.
"Anything..." Jeffory responded, softly.
"T-te-ll... M-Mom I'm... so-s-sor-ry... and t-ell he-r I... lo-ve her..." he asked, coughing.
"I will..." Jeffory told him. Sam gave him one last smile, before taking in one last gulp of air. His arm went limp and fell to the ground. Jeffory's eyes widened. No... this couldn't be...!
Everything they had been through together! No! Sam couldn't!
"NO!" Jeffory wailed, weeping over his friend's dead body.
Why...? Why did this have to happen? he cried in his head.
"I-I failed you, S-Sam... I b-broke my p-promise..." he whispered.
Jack and Hunter stayed silent. Their hearts ached for their friend, but they didn't know what they could do for him.
It felt like hours that Jeffory wept, until Kass finally spoke. "Pathetic!" he taunted.
Jeffory, still crying, slowly raised his head to look at the monsterous man before him.
"Only a fool weeps over a fallen man. Only a stupid child!" Kass continued.
Jeffory let out an in-human snarl and got to his feet, tears still streaming down his face.
"You... you! YOU BASTARD!" he roared. "You murderer!" he screamed, reaching for his sword.
He wiped his eyes of tears, before pointing the sword at Kass."I won't let you kill anyone else..." he whispered.
"For the dreams you've crushed, for the futures you've destroyed and the lives you have ended - I will destroy you!" Jeffory roared charging forward at the Eyrie. Jack and Hunter followed.
Kass just laughed. "You will regret challenging me!" he responded, charging as well.
This would decide the world's fate. This would end it. The final showdown... had begun.
And there you have it. The showdown will be next chapter. Read and review and I'll see you all next week!
LaDude out.