By: Jumper Prime
For Disclaimers see chapter 1
Chapter 2: Phoenix Found
Holly slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she noted was the campfire, then she noted that they were no longer in the cave, but outside, night had fallen.
"What happened?" she asked as she started to sit up
"Holly! You're awake, chi!" Moochi smiled
"We were gonna ask you the same question." Genki said "What happened to you down there?"
"What do you mean?" Holly blinked
"We were fighting the Metalners, and losing," Hare explained "We heard you scream, and just when they were about to kill us, a giant in silver armor ran in and wiped out all the Metalners in one shot. When asked if she was the Phoenix, the giant nodded in the affirmative and then collapsed before turning into you."
"Well, I had just found the Phoenix's Mystery Disc when Captain Metalner showed up and threatened to kill me if I didn't hand it over to him. There was a bright light, and I felt pain. I guess I screamed while it was happening."
"Captain Metalner blasted you?" Tiger guessed
"No, he hadn't fired yet. What I felt... It hurt, but it felt good at the same time. I think the Phoenix was possessing my body like Moo possessed... my father."
"YOUR FATHER?!" Everyone was shocked
"What're you talking about, Holly?" Suezo asked
"When I was his prisoner in the floating castle, Moo told me that he was my father, that he had found Moo's Mystery Disc and Moo had unlocked into him."
"He had to be lying!" Genki declared "He was just trying to turn you against us!"
"I don't know about that. Remember my dagger? The one I got while in the floating castle."
"What about it?" Tiger asked
"My dagger is the same one my father had when I was a kid, and he took it with him when he left our village. Moo gave it to me himself."
"Why didn't you ever tell us about this?" Hare frowned
"At first, I didn't want to believe that Moo had been telling me the truth, but after I had a chance to think about it, I was afraid of how you'd react if it was true and you knew."
"Secrets are not good." Golem said sagely "True friends can forgive, and what Moo has done is not your fault."
"Golem's right." Genki declared "We're your friends Holly, even if Moo was your father, he obviously doesn't have any control over you."
"Chi!" Moochi chimed in
"Thanks guys." Holly smiled
"Go on with your story." Tiger grumbled
"Now where was I? Oh yeah, the Phoenix was possessing my body. It felt really weird, and things get a little fuzzy about then. I think the Phoenix blasted Captain Metalner into a Lost Disc, then ran to help you guys."
"You mean you did." Hare said
"No. I felt like I was a passenger, with the Phoenix doing all the work. After she took out the Metalners in the cavern, when you mentioned my name, she felt horrified about something and then everything went black. Next thing I know, I'm waking up here."
"What could the Phoenix have been horrified about?" Tiger wondered
[The fact that my power was killing Holly.] The voice came from Holly's lips, but it had a strange tonal quality to it and her eyes were glowing with golden light
"Uh, Holly..." Suezo blinked his large eye "Are you feeling OK?"
"What are you!?" Tiger demanded as he got into a battle stance
[I am the Phoenix.] Holly answered in the strange voice, her eyes continuing to glow
"What've you done to Holly!?" Genki asked angrily
[I have done nothing to her. She is safe. We coexist in her body.]
"Let us talk to Holly!"
"It's OK, guys." Holly answered in her normal voice, her eyes no longer glowing "It's a little weird having someone else inside my head with me, but I know the Phoenix doesn't mean us any harm."
"Are you Holly, or the Phoenix?" Golem asked in a calm voice
"I think I'm both. I'm still me, but the Phoenix is inside me."
"Yippie!" Moochi cheered "We found the Phoenix! Now we can beat Moo! Chi!"
"I'm not sure if it will be as easy as that, Moochi." Hare said cautiously then turned to Holly "What did the Phoenix mean when she said her power was killing you?"
[Holly's body could handle neither the intensity of my power, nor the strain of maintaining my giant form.] Holly's eyes again began to glow again and her voice took on the same tonal quality as before as the Phoenix answered Hare's question [Had I not withdrawn my power when I did, she would have died.]
"Hmm, if Moo possessed Holly's father as you now possess her, this could point to a weakness of his. He would have to withdraw his power every so often to avoid killing his host."
[An incorrect assumption, Hare. Had I not withdrawn my power and instead allowed Holly to die, I would have continued on in her body, in the giant form you witnessed. Moo likely did not care that he was killing his host and allowed Holly's father to die, devouring his soul and stealing his body.]
"Wait a minute!" Holly said in her own voice, the glow again fading from her eyes "You mean... my father's dead? But can't we save him by driving Moo out of his body, somehow?"
[No Holly.] Holly's eyes lit up again as the Phoenix responded [Were we somehow able to drive Moo's soul from the body he now inhabits, all that would be left behind would be a corpse.]
"My father's really gone..." The glow left Holly's eyes and she started to weep, mourning her father
"It's alright Holly," Genki touched her shoulder soothingly "We're all here with you. Just let it all out."
"Phoenix, you said you couldn't use your power without killing Holly?" Hare asked
[That is correct.] Holly's eyes lit up again, but her tears continued to flow [When I unfurl my power, it puts too much strain on Holly's body. If I manifested again, her body would burn itself out in a matter of minutes.]
"Then how the hell are you supposed to defeat Moo?!" Tiger snarled "You're supposed to be some legendary monster but in order to fulfill that legend, you have to kill an innocent or else let Moo stay in power!"
"Tiger, be calm." Golem cautioned
[I cannot use my own power, but perhaps my power can still defeat Moo.]
"Huh?" Moochi scratched his head "Moochi doesn't understand."
"Would you mind explaining that statement?" Hare blinked
[I cannot draw upon my power without killing Holly, but perhaps Holly can defeat Moo, using my power.]
"But you just said your power would kill Holly." Suezo noted
[I am accustomed to drawing on the sum total of my power when I use it, which would result in Holly's death. But since I share her body, Holly can learn to use my powers, not much at first, but her body would slowly grow used to channeling ever greater amounts until she could safely handle sufficient power to defeat Moo.]
"Who knows how long that would take!" Tiger snarled "And what're we supposed to do in the meantime? Sit around waiting for the Baddies to take us out? No thanks."
[While Holly grows used to my power, the most constructive activity we all could do would be what you have been doing: Chipping away at Moo's power base. You have already neutralized two of the Big Bad Four, which leaves two to go.]
"I get it," Hare smiled "By eliminating the remainder of the Big Bad Four, we reduce the effectiveness of Moo's troops and will leave him more vulnerable to attack when Holly is ready to fight him."
[Correct.]
"I guess the first order of business is-" Genki started to speak, but then yawned "To get some sleep."
Everyone said goodnight and lay down to sleep, rest that they all needed after their grueling day. Holly lay awake for a few minutes, reflecting on the changes in her life before finally falling asleep herself. The next day, Holly was the first one to wake up and did her usual morning kata. As she performed the kata, she felt an unfamiliar warmth in her body which puzzled her. Holly was putting more wood on the fire in preparation for cooking breakfast when a stick burst into flame while she was still holding it. Holly dropped it with a shriek, instantly waking up the others who sprang to their feet, expecting an attack.
"What's wrong, Holly?" Genki asked as he looked around cautiously
"I- I was putting more wood on the fire..." Holly stammered "And a stick caught fire while I was still holding it. It just burst into flame."
"A spark from the fire ignited it" Tiger deduced as he settled back down to get a little more sleep "Nothing to worry about."
"It wasn't anywhere near the fire Tiger. And it didn't slowly burn like if a spark landed on it, the stick was just suddenly burning."
"Hmmmm." Hare rubbed his chin in thought "I have a theory."
"What theory?"
"Perhaps you did it, Holly."
"What do you mean? I did it?"
"Yes. The Phoenix is a fiery monster, perhaps the stick bursting into flame while you were holding it was an uncontrolled manifestation of the Phoenix's power. What were you thinking when the stick ignited?"
"I was... thinking about the weird feeling I was having while I was doing my kata earlier."
"What sort of feeling?"
"A warm feeling, all through my body."
"Interesting." Hare picked up a stick and handed it to Holly "Here, try thinking the same thing and see if you can ignite the stick again."
"OK." Holly concentrated on the feeling of warmth and felt it suffuse her body again. She focused on the stick, and suddenly the stick was burning. "Wow! I did it!" Holly smiled as she tossed the burning stick into the fire.
"That's great Holly," Suezo said "But I'm getting a little hungry here."
Everyone laughed and Holly set to work making breakfast, being careful not to set the food on fire with her new power. After everyone had eaten their fill, they got to the business of helping Holly access her new powers.
"Try focusing on the feeling of warmth you felt before." Hare suggested "Gather it together in one place, like your hand." Holly did as instructed and a small fireball appeared in Holly's hand. "Good, now throw it."
Holly drew back her arm and threw the fireball at a large rock nearby. The fireball went wide and fizzled on the ground.
"I guess my throwing arm needs some work." Holly sighed
"Don't worry Holly, back home I was the pitcher on my baseball team." Genki said and proceeded to demonstrate proper throwing technique
"Genki, what's baseball?" Moochi asked
"Huh? Oh, baseball is a game we play back in my world. The pitcher throws a ball at a guy called the batter who has to use his bat, a semi-long rod made of wood or metal, to hit the ball."
"I don't think I'm gonna get this!" Holly groaned in frustration as yet another fireball missed the target
"Looks like you've got it about right. I guess you just need to get used to how your fireball behaves in the air."
"Practice makes perfect." Golem nodded
"Don't give up, chi!" Moochi cheered Holly on
Holly threw several more fireballs before she finally hit the rock, to the cheers of her friends. She then bent over in exhaustion, feeling very tired.
"Man," she groaned "I feel as tired as I was after my fight with Janne." Genki helped Holly get over to a rock big enough to sit on as the others looked on in concern.
"Why's she so tired?" Tiger wondered "She wasn't doing it for that long."
"Most likely, her body needs to get used to the power expenditure." Hare theorized "The Phoenix said as much last night."
*If I get so tired just throwing a few little fireballs,* Holly thought to herself *How am I ever gonna beat Moo?*
[Do not doubt yourself, Holly.] The Phoenix's voice echoed in her head [Your body is already starting to adjust to my power. Recall that this is the first time you have actually used it. Soon, throwing fireballs will be no more tiring than any other fighting technique which you know.]
*I hope you're right.*
[Patience is key. You should be careful not to push yourself too far, too fast. For now, concentrate on making my power flow smoothly, not on attacks as large as the one which I used to destroy those Metalners in the cave.]
*Alright, you know best how to get your powers to work.*
[Do not forget that they are now your powers as well.]
A short time later, Holly had rested enough for them to start the day's travel, but there was one question before them.
"So which way do we go?" Suezo wondered "We've found the Phoenix so the Magic Stone can't help us much."
[On the contrary, Suezo,] Holly's eyes glowed as the Phoenix spoke [The Magic Stone can still guide us. We need only ask it which direction we must travel.]
"Alright, here goes." Holly spoke as her eyes stopped glowing and she brought out the Magic Stone "Magic Stone, show us the way to go."
The image of a golden bird appeared within the Magic Stone and flapped its wings before turning into an arrow.
"Alright, lets go!" Genki said with his usual exuberance
"Chi!" Moochi chimed in with equal enthusiasm
The group started walking in the indicated direction. A little while later they began hearing a strange buzzing sound, distant but growing closer.
"What's that sound?" Holly asked
"Sounds like insect wings." Hare answered
"It's insects alright!" Suezo said, his eye focusing ahead "Centurions, coming fast, and they're most definitely Baddies!"
Suezo had just announced their approach when a swarm of giant armored beetles buzzed the group and then hovered above them.
"Surrender!" ordered a Centurion(Beaclon/Durahan) wearing spiked shoulder guards
"OK, we accept your surrender." Genki joked "Go away and we won't hurt you."
"Why you impertinent little human!" Captain Centurion was livid "You'll learn in a moment not to make fun of Centurions who serve Master Grey Wolf! Centurions, attack!"
The Centurions flew at Genki and the others and a fierce melee broke out. Holly quickly lost track of how her friends were doing because she had to totally focus on the Centurion attacking her, thankfully not the Captain. She quickly discovered that she couldn't seem to hurt it, her punches and kicks bounced off its armor and her dagger could barely make the tiniest of scratches. Holly refused to give up, however, and kept attacking. Then she failed to dodge a swing of its horn and was sent tumbling. As she got back to her feet, Holly realized the Centurion was laughing at her, this brought an angry look to her face. Holly's body started to glow with a pink aura, causing the Centurion to stop laughing.
"FLAME SLASH!" she shouted and swung her dagger horizontally in front of her
As the dagger traveled in its arc, it left behind a trail of fire from the blade. As Holly completed her swing, the ribbon of flame she had formed was already traveling through the air towards the Centurion, several feet away. The Centurion screamed in pain as the flame hit it, the heat melting part of its armor. Holly immediately followed up by jumping high into the air, both hands holding her dagger over her head, blade towards the ground. Holly's dagger was glowing white hot as she came down on top of the Centurion and plunged the blade clean through its armor and into its head. The Baddie barely had time to scream before its body glowed with energy and transformed into a Lost Disc.
Holly looked around for the others and saw that Genki, Moochi, Hare, Tiger, Suezo, and Golem had managed to herd the remaining Centurions, including the Captain, who was in the process of organizing a counterattack, in one place, the Beaclon/Durahans with varying degrees of damage to their armor. Moochi was facing the Centurions and glowing brightly with pink energy. Holly had a pretty good idea what was coming next.
"MOOCHI CANNON!" the young monster shouted and a stream of pink energy shout out of his mouth, enveloping the gathered Baddies
The Centurions had just enough time to scream before the attack which had defeated Gali of the Big Bad Four shattered their armor and turned them into Lost Discs. The Baddies wiped out, the group could now relax.
"Nice shooting, Moochi," Genki praised his friend "Got em all with that shot. Seven with one blow!"
"Wait a minute!" Hare spoke up anxiously "Genki, did you say seven?"
"Yeah, Moochi blasted all seven of them with his attack."
"But there were eight when they first attacked!"
"Are you sure Hare?" Tiger asked
"Completely. My brain retains everything."
"Where's Holly?" Golem wondered
"I'm over here, guys!" Holly called over to them and the group bounded over to her
"Holly, watch yourself, there's still one Centurion left!" Suezo warned
"Don't worry Suezo. I got the last one." Holly smiled and indicated the lone Lost Disc nearby
"How'd you manage that?" Tiger asked "The others gave us a lot of trouble. I don't see how you could have defeated one, their armor's hard as steel."
"I was having a lot of trouble even scratching it, but then I felt this heat inside me, and I channeled it through my dagger. I sent a ribbon of flame through the air to hurt the Centurion, then I drove my dagger through its head."
"The power you got from the Phoenix!" Genki deduced "Are you feeling OK?"
"Yeah, I think I'm getting used to the Phoenix's power. I think I could do that attack a few more times without getting exhausted."
"Could you show us, chi?" Moochi asked hopefully
"Sure. Moochi."
Holly turned away from the others and faced a small tree not far from the Lost Disc that had once been her opponent. She drew her dagger and concentrated, summoning up her power, doing her best to make it flow smoothly as the Phoenix had said.
"FLAME SLASH!" Holly shouted and swung her dagger horizontally.
The ribbon of flame flashed into existence as Holly's dagger traveled its arc, just as before. The flame shot forward and sliced the tree in half before dissipating as the top half of the tree thudded to the ground.
"Wow! That was awesome Holly!" Genki grinned widely
"This is gonna take some getting used to." Tiger commented to no one in particular
"Now, whatever do you mean by that, Tiger?" Hare asked
"It wasn't all that long ago when Holly was letting us all think she was completely helpless. Then it turns out that she's a decent fighter, for a human. Now she's merged with the Phoenix itself and firing off attacks of the sort only monsters like us should be able to do."
"Holly, if you're already getting used to the Phoenix's power, how long do you think it'll be before you can take on Moo?" Genki asked hopefully
[It will be some time yet, young Genki.] Holly's eyes glowed as the Phoenix answered Genki's question [Holly's body is growing used to channeling a small amount of my power, but it will be quite some time before she will be able to safely use my full power, and my full power is what will be required to defeat Moo.]
"Great things, cannot be rushed." Golem said in his usual calm manner
"You're right, Golem." Genki agreed "And Moo's defeat is a very good thing, indeed."
"Very good, chi!" Moochi echoed Genki's statement
"So for now, our targets are the remaining half of the Big Bad Four. Let's go!"
"Chi!"
Genki and Moochi jumped into the air energetically before they and the others resumed walking in the direction they had been going before being attacked by the Centurions. The road of their adventures is still long, but now there is a light of true hope at the end, in the form of the Phoenix's power contained within Holly. But what else lies down the road? What adventures lie down the road for our heroes between here and the end? What will Moo do when he eventually finds out that the soul of his mortal enemy now resides within the daughter of the man whose body he took over?
End of Chapter 2
Here's chapter 2 all done, written completely during the time when fanfiction.net has been down. From chapter 3 on, I'm gonna be mostly following the Monster Rancher anime plotline, but with some rather interesting changes to reflect the changes in Holly. There will also be some stuff completely from my imagination, so it won't all be rewrites of existing material. As I said in the author's notes of chapter 1: If you don't like how I changed how and when the Phoenix was found, DEAL WITH IT. No one's forcing you to read this fic. If you enjoy what I've written, please review. If you don't like it, please also review but please include constructive criticism so I can make it better in future chapters