Phoenix Arisen
By: Jumper Prime
Author's Note: This story is a sequel to my previous work, Captured. You don't need to have read Captured to understand this story, but I think it would help as it helps bridge the gap between the canon universe and my little world.
Chapter 1: Unlock!
Genki, Holly, Moochi, Suezo, Tiger, Hare, and Golem were walking amongst a collection of rock formations that towered into the sky.
"Holly, you're sure the Magic Stone said the Phoenix is this way?" Tiger asked
"Yup." Holly answered "It pointed in this direction last time I checked it."
"Then perhaps you should check it again." Hare suggested "Because we seem to have reached a dead end."
Indeed, up ahead the rock formations gave way to a sheer cliff that towered above the group. Holly gestured with her hands and a green stone with a cord attached floated out of the top of her shirt and hovered above her cupped hands.
"Magic Stone," Holly intoned "Show us where the Phoenix lies asleep."
An image of a glowing golden bird appeared in the stone, flapping its wings a few times before becoming an arrow that pointed to a part of the cliff off to the left.
"Hey, maybe the Phoenix's Mystery Disc is at the foot of the cliff." Genki said cheerfully "Let's go!"
"Chi!" Moochi chirped in agreement
The group hiked towards the rock wall, hopeful of what they would find. As they reached it, they saw a large cave entrance. The Magic Stone pointed right at the cave entrance.
"Maybe we should think about this." Suezo said as Hare got out a torch and a tinderbox "Remember what happened last time we went into a cave."
"Don't be a worrywart, Suezo." Genki teased "We'll be fine."
"We'll be fine, chi." Moochi echoed
"What is that?" Golem asked as he peered back the way they had come, where a large cloud of dust could be seen. Suezo turned and focused his single large eye on the dust cloud
"It's a bunch of Metalners." The eyeball announced, then his eye narrowed as he focused in more "And they're Baddies!"
"Let's get into the cave," Hare suggested as he lit the torch "Maybe they haven't seen us yet."
"I say we fight them right here." Tiger countered
"We can't let the Baddies slow us down when we're so close to the Phoenix!" Holly responded
"And there's a ton of Metalners coming," Suezo added "I dunno if we can take on that many at once. Metalners are supposed to be tough."
"Alright, alright." Tiger sighed "Let's go."
The group quickly entered the cave, walking down the tunnel before them. There were several forks in the passageway, but each time, the Magic Stone pointed the way. Eventually, the cave widened out into a large cavern. As the group exited the passageway, it was suddenly sealed behind them and the cavern was filled with bright light. Standing all around was a mass of Metalners, all bearing the crest of the Baddies.
"Master Grey Wolf always says to let your prey come to you." A Metalner with black spikes sticking out of its body spoke "How nice of you to walk into our trap."
"How'd you get ahead of us?" Genki asked as he pulled on his skates
"Simplicity itself, boy. My built-in radar allowed me to get a decent map of the caverns and track your progress so we could get ahead of you. That reminds me, after we take care of you, I gotta remember to check out that energy anomaly I picked up."
"You're getting ahead of yourself, pal." Tiger snarled "You gotta beat us first."
"Then let's get this over with. Metalners, attack!"
The Metalners charged as Holly drew her dagger. Genki and the others ran at the approaching Baddies, meeting them head on.
"TORNADO ATTACK!" Golem shouted as his body broke apart into a number of pieces which whirled around and bashed several Metalners
"TORPEDO!" Tiger called out as electricity shot from his horns, stunning a couple of his opponents
"CHERRY BLOSSOM BLIZZARD, CHI!" Moochi sent a storm of pink flower petals at some Metalners, forcing them to slow their advance
"Feet first!" Genki shouted as his skate-clad feet impacted the metal face of a Metalner
"DRAGON PUNCH!" Hare knocked another Metalner for a loop with a flaming fist
"TAIL ATTACK!" Suezo spun through the air to strike a Metalner with his tail, which did little more than daze it for a few seconds before it struck him with its fist, slamming him into a nearby wall
Holly slashed Metalners with her dagger and hit others with a flying kicks. Genki skated through the ranks of Metalners at high speed, weaving around them and scoring hits with his fists and feet. Golem sent Metalners flying left and right with his huge fists. Hare punched and kicked as Moochi punched and headbutted the Baddies. Suezo quickly recovered from his encounter with the wall and was using his Tongue Slap and Slobbery Kiss to distract and disorient the Metalners. Tiger cut loose with his Lightning, Torpedo, Blizzard, and Roar attacks, striking down many enemies. The heroes were holding their own, but there were just too many Metalners. Eventually they would tire and the Metalners would bring them down by sheer weight of numbers. Hare saw this and knew what needed to be done.
"Holly!" the rabbit-like monster called out "Follow the Stone, we'll hold them here!"
"I won't abandon you guys!" Holly responded angrily as she slashed another Metalner
"There are too many of them! Follow the Stone to what it's pointing to then get back to us and we'll break out!"
"Alright. I'll be back as soon as I can! Golem, I need you to throw me to the other passage!"
"Are you sure Holly?" Golem asked as he batted aside some Metalners that were between him and Holly "You might get hurt."
"I can handle it, now hurry!"
"Golem will do it." Golem picked up Holly in his hand and reared back to throw her "Good luck!"
Golem threw Holly towards the passageway that was now the only way out of the cavern, the one Genki and the others had entered through having been blocked by the Metalners to trap her and the others, and the girl soared over the heads of the Baddies. She did a tuck and roll in midair and landed on her feet next to the passageway. Without hesitation, Holly dashed into the passageway as Genki, Moochi, Suezo, Tiger, Golem, and Hare moved to block the Baddies from following her. They were mostly successful, keeping the Metalners away from the passageway, but suddenly, the spike-studded form of Captain Metalner flew over their heads, propelled by rocket exhaust from his feet. Tiger and Moochi tried to stop him with Torpedo and Cherry Blossom Blizzard attacks respectively, but the wily robot managed to avoid the attacks and dashed down the passageway.
"Oh no!" Genki grimaced "The Captain got through! We gotta go help Holly!"
"We're already helping her by keeping the rest of them back!" Tiger growled "Holly isn't the wimp we used to think she was. She can handle one Metalner on her own." then, in a voice too soft to be heard, he muttered "Don't make me a liar Holly, come back in one piece."
As the guys fought back the horde of Metalners, Holly was following the directions of the Magic Stone through the maze of tunnels, hoping that it was leading her straight to the Phoenix. She turned a corner and stopped short, dazzled by the sight before her. A glowing golden light filled the tunnel ahead, the very center of the light seemed to be alive, moving to and fro like a living thing. Holly watched in awe as the light coalesced into a shiny Mystery Disc which floated before her.
*This must be the Phoenix's Mystery Disc.* she thought *It's exactly like the one Moo was in before he took over my father's body, except that instead of darkness, it's light.*
Holly stepped forward to take hold of the Mystery Disc, but as her hands closed around the artifact, from behind her she heard the sound of a rock being crushed by a metal foot. Holly spun around to see Captain Metalner before her, arm extended and fist glowing as he prepared to fire an attack.
"Thanks for the Mystery Disc, girl." Captain Metalner said calmly "Now hand it over real easy and I'll let you live. I hear Master Moo is very interested in getting his hands on you alive, which should net me a bonus when I bring you all in, I might even let your friends live so Master Grey Wolf can have the pleasure of killing them himself."
"You won't hurt me." Holly said defiantly as she clutched the Mystery Disc to her chest "You just said Moo wants me alive."
"Unfortunately for you, recent intelligence says you've taken to fighting monsters, lately. Whether or not that's true, I can't be blamed if you resist and end up getting killed as I try to subdue you."
As Holly's eyes widened, blinding light started pouring from the Mystery Disc she held. Back in the cavern, the battle had turned against Genki, Moochi, Suezo, Hare, Tiger, and Golem. They were getting tired and were losing ground fast when they heard a scream echo out of the passageway.
"Holly!" Suezo cried out in anguish as he recognized the voice "One of us shoulda gone with her! Hare, Tiger, this is your fault! Hare, you sent her in there alone and Tiger, you said she could handle a Metalner on her own! Now who knows what he's done to her!"
As Suezo finished voicing his accusation, a plume of fire billowed out of the passageway, almost singing the beleaguered defenders.
"Holly, no!" Genki wailed "If she was caught in that, there's no way she coulda survived!"
With Genki and the others momentarily distracted by the plight of their friend, the Metalners took the opportunity to redouble their attack, scattering the team and sending them reeling to the ground. All the Baddies leveled their glowing fists at the fallen members of the team, preparing to release their blasts at full power, but just as they were about to fire, an armored figure as big as Golem charged out of the passageway, drawing the attention of the Metalners away from their fallen enemies.
The giant was covered in silver armor with a white cloak, the armor looked much like that which Moo wore, except for the color, and the fact that the shape of the chest armor suggested the wearer was female, but the most awe inspiring part was the helmet. The helmet was shiny silver with a silver bird's beak extending out from the front. Glowing blue eyes could be seen through the eyeholes and a mane of golden hair cascaded down the giant's back.
"Is that... the Phoenix?" Genki said in awe
The Metalners immediately turned to face this new threat and unleashed their blasts on her. The Phoenix raised her right arm and a massive wave of fire billowed from her open hand, swallowing up the Metalners' attacks before engulfing the Metalners themselves. Genki, Moochi, Tiger, Hare, Suezo, and Golem futilely tried to shield themselves from the fire, but were surprised to find that the flames flowed around them, each in their own pocket of safety. The Baddies were not so lucky. Engulfed by the flames, the Metalners screamed as their bodies started to melt, the Phoenix's flame attack petering out as the Metalners' bodies all started to glow and then changed shape before solidifying into Lost Discs. Genki and the others stood up, moving to stand before the Phoenix, the object of their quest found at last.
"I assume you are the Phoenix?" Hare asked and the Phoenix slowly nodded her head
"Wh-what happened to Holly?" Suezo asked, afraid of what the answer might be
The Phoenix did not answer, but instead fell to her knees hard, cracking the rock beneath, and then fell forward, her hands crunching more rock as Genki and the others scrambled out of the way.
"What's wrong with her?" Tiger wondered aloud "The Phoenix is supposed to be at least as powerful as Moo. That attack shouldn't have taken that much out of her."
"Perhaps, she has been asleep a long time?" Golem theorized
"That sounds like a reasonable explanation." Hare agreed "If she hasn't used her powers in a long time, they might tire her more than they should."
"Forget the Phoenix for a minute!" Suezo snarled "What happened to Holly!?"
The Phoenix's body started to glow brightly, bringing astonished looks to the faces of those present. Her body started to shrink, making them fear that she was turning into a Lost Disc, but her basic shape stayed the same, the shrinkage stopping when she reached human size and the glow disappeared. Holly fell to the ground unconscious.
"Holly!?" The same utterance came from everyone's lips as they rushed to help their friend.
"She's out like a light." Hare declared as he examined her "Her breathing is shallow, her pulse is barely there, and she's running a fever, but she's alive."
"We should get her out of this cave and make camp." Genki decided
"Golem will carry Holly." Golem announced as he gently took Holly's limp body in his massive hand, Hare riding beside her to monitor her condition.
Tiger destroyed the barricade over the tunnel entrance with a Torpedo attack, and the group started back towards the surface. As they walked through the cave, one thought was on everyone's mind: What the heck happened?
End of Chapter 1
Welcome to my Monster Rancher epic "Phoenix Arisen" and I hope you stick around for more. I had the idea for this story for quite a while but was too busy with other things until recently. The world of Phoenix Arisen follows the anime storyline perfectly until you get to the Grey Wolf arc. "Captured" marks the point where things diverge, but things get really radical when you hit Phoenix Arisen, yet they will stay the same. I'll be retelling the rest of MR with the changes that have resulted. To those purists who don't like how I'm completely changing how and when the Phoenix was found(as told in the final episode of season 2) DEAL WITH IT! This is my story, I can do things however I want. Chapter 2 will explain exactly what happened in the cave, so please be patient and all will be revealed. Oh, and don't worry about the Phoenix mowing down everything in our heroes' way, there's a bit of a problem that will be part of the explanation in chapter 2.