Here it is, part 11. I know I took forever to update and you have my
sincerest apologizes for that. Enjoy this one; Genki gets some action,
which you've been begging for since the beginning.
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The next morning, bright and early, Lili and her group set out, heading south for Allen's village. They rested little and traveled rapidly, some strange foreboding telling them they did not what to be separated from their friends for long.
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Tiger ran swiftly through the woods, hurrying to reach the caves before those who were behind him did. He had stumbled upon them while scouting the area and they had been planning their attack on the caves. Some how they knew where they were.
"Genki!" cried Tiger as soon as he was in the clearing. "Stormy! Holly! Get the young ones in the cave! Baddies are coming!"
They quickly assembled themselves and were halfway prepared when the baddies came bursting out the woods, charging full speed at the cave that they stood in front of.
"Don't let any of them get past you!" Genki commanded Golem and Frost, leaving them to guard the caves with Holly, the pups and Slip in them as he, Hare, Tiger, Storm, and Claws went to do battle with the baddies.
Genki was faster than ever on his roller blades and with the short sword Lili had given him he was twice as deadly. Weaving in and out of the baddies he used the flat of the blade to knock the monsters out as he went by.
Claws was having the time of her life. Boldly she skipped from head to head of the enemies and ripped their eyes out with her lovely long claws or left horrible scratches that ran the length of their head. Her paws were soaked, and her claws crimson as she went on, striking foe after foe with amazing skill and precision.
Tiger and Storm were an awesome team, using the others strengths to counteract their weaknesses. "Twisted Storm Winds!" They cried as one, letting their attacks combine and decimate those in their way.
"Go ma! That's the way to get 'em pa!" cried Temi and Ice from the cave, really getting into the fight.
"Fall back and run south!" cried the leader when he realized they weren't going to get anything out of this fight. "Our prey has fled south!"
They fled, those defending the cave hanging back and hoping they wouldn't return. "What did he mean by 'our prey has fled south'?" asked Holly from the mouth of the cave, looking at a nasty cut Genki got on his arm.
"What ever they were expecting to find here they didn't," replied Tiger slowly, the pieces slowly falling into place. "Lili!" he cried at the same time with Genki.
"I've got to go warn her!" he exclaimed, getting up only to be pulled back down by Holly as she finished wrapping his arm up.
"You are going nowhere," she said firmly.
"I'll go," said Tiger, running off before Genki could stop him.
"Good luck!" cried Storm as she watched her mate sprint away. To herself she added, "You may need it..."
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Lili stood inside the Shrine, watching Pixie unlock the disks to make sure nothing evil popped out and tried to destroy them. So far they had a full troop of jells (9 in all) and four black dinos, all from Pixie's old squadrons.
"How many more do you have?" asked Lili, getting rather anxious. Allen was with the village council right now, trying to get them to agree to a move, however somewhere convinced that he was wrong and negotiations were going slowly.
"Just two, Blue's putting the next one now." Lili watched as the disk began to spin, glowing like they always did before the power reached its max and Pixie hit the button.
"Unlock!" she yelled, watched as a shape took form. It was a stone dragon, bigger than most with red eyes and Moo's symbol on its front. "Hello, Granitefire," said Pixie dully, recognizing him immediately.
"Oh! Master! You're alright!" cried Granitefire in a high-pitched voice.
"Oh lord," muttered Pixie, trying not to show her impatience with this rather dim-witted creature. "Granitefire, I'm no longer your Master, and Moo's dead so take off that crest and go join the others outside."
"Master?" asked Lili in an amused voice once the stone dragon had been convinced the Pixie wasn't going to kill her for failing. "I've heard the others call you General, but Master?
"He was convinced that his sole purpose in life was to obey my every whim, so I gave him a legion just to get rid of him," explained Pixie, rubbing her temples slowly. "I hoped to never see him again when we had a report that he was dead, obviously it was in vain."
"Well then, Master Pixie," said Lili teasingly, "Best be unlocking that last disk so we can get going." She did and revealed another black dino from the troop that had perished. From what they could gather from the collective stories, they had been attacked by some odd group of rebels and all but a few had died.
Lili waited impatiently outside the council house doors, pacing nervously as she waited. Many families including Allen's had already packed and were waiting for the signal to move out, but the council was still debating and precious time was being eaten up by the minute. She decided to take her chances and stormed into the building, marching straight to the platform and pushing the man who had been speaking out the way.
"We leave in 15 minutes whether you have reached a decision or not," she said firmly. "I will not wait any longer. Those who come have my guarantee of protection; those who do not will not have that promise. Understand?"
An elderly man in the front row stood up, walking towards the door. "Where are you going, Theo?" asked one of the councilmen, standing as well.
"To go pack. I'm not being left here without any defense." That settled it, and fifteen minutes later the group was outside the city, walking towards Lili's valley and their new future.
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Tiger panted from exhaustion, he had not stopped running since he had left, and that had been a day ago. Looking up, he spotted the tops of the village through the trees, beckoning him on faster.
"Lilianne!" he cried as soon as he was with in hearing distance. "Allen! Pixie! Where are you?!"
"Tiger?" called Lili, who was flying at the back of the group. She landed in front of him and gave him a minute to catch his breath before he went on.
"Baddies," he panted, tongue lolling out to the side. "Coming...this way...had to run...they fought us...but ran away..."
"Did they hurt anyone?" asked Lili, the alarm evident in her voice.
"No... but they...were looking...for someone..." He lay down, trying to calm his racing heart as Lili poured some of her healing powers into him.
"Sleep," she mumbled slightly. "Sleep long and hard..." When she looked up, Allen Zephyr and Pixie were beside her, looking at the sleeping Tiger curiously.
"What's the scoop?" asked Allen, having heard his cries.
"Baddies. From the General," she replied softly, picking Tiger up and carrying him to Allen's family's cart. Putting him there, she added, "And you're all going on without me and Zephyr."
"No," replied Pixie quickly, meeting her eyes with Lili's. "We stay together. As a group. Send them ahead with directions and we'll take them on together."
"Pixie, don't make me knock you out because you won't listen to reason," growled Lili. "He and Genki may've been able to drive back the foot soldiers, but I guarantee that he'll have back ups with him when he gets here and they'll be tougher than the ones he faced. I won't risk all of you dying trying to play hero."
"Who said anything about playing?!" demanded Pixie. "I just want to kick some halfsie butt! They're all lowlifes who have nothing better to do than kill those weaker than them, excluding you two that is. I have every intention of not sitting this one out!"
"Pixie, we go with the group," said Allen softly, meeting Lili's eyes and knowing it would be useless to argue. "If they decided to attack the caravan that is my village and the village itself, they'll need our help more than Lili will."
Pixie grumbled loudly, but let it drop and went to sit on Big Blue's shoulder as the group set out. Allen turned back one last time to wave, watching the pair vanish in the distance as they grew farther apart.
"You think we can take them?" Lili asked Zephyr as she took out a blade and polished it lightly.
"When have we ever been beaten just the two of us."
"We'll have to use the hit-and-run if they're too large..."
"It won't be the first or the last time."
"That's for sure. Who do thinks leading this charge?"
"I'd say Magic Shadow, but we killed him."
"I know, that's what bothers me..."
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Nathan looked over his small army, grinning evilly. "What is our mission?" he asked loudly.
"To seek and destroy the traitors Lilianne and Zephyr, sir!" his troops replied as one.
"Who shall be spared?"
"None who stand in our way, sir!"
"What do you do if someone attacks you?"
"Kill them and keep moving towards the target, sir."
"Shall we be victorious?"
"It is the only choices, sir!"
"I can't hear you!"
"IT IS THE ONLY CHOICE, SIR!"
"Very good," replied Nathan, his reptilian eyes flicking back and forth, "Very good indeed..."
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"We had our first fight today, Holly," muttered Genki as he looked at the lost disks that littered the grass. "Do you feel any different?"
"Just sad that this sort of violence has to happen."
Genki glanced at the blade Lili had given him, covered in blood and lying abandoned in a corner. He felt as if part of his heart had died that day. "I know what you mean," he whispered, fighting the tears that welled up inside him. "I know exactly what you mean..."
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Lili stood at the front of the town, Zephyr by her side as a small army massed before them. There looked to be close to forty or more foot soldiers, or monsters with only one or two others fused into them; and about ten of the high-class fighters, monsters with three or more fused into them. At their head was a man, obviously having some Golem in him by his size and rock-lick muscles and some Dragon by his scales. His dark skin betrayed him monol part and the fact that he was floating only added to their suspicion.
"Hello there, Lilianne," he sneered, "Miss me much?"
"If anything I'm sorry to see you again, Nathan," she growled, the hair rising on the back of her neck. This was not going to be easy. She and Nathan had both worked with Tigers when she had had a job at the ranch, and he had been rather jealous of her high-rated success with making them champion fighters.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," he replied mockingly, trying to act thoughtful for a moment. "That's too bad, because I have orders to kill you and to return without you head on a silver platter is to ask to be killed."
"Then why don't I save you the trouble of going back and end it right here?" asked Lili, flicking a disk as he head. He stopped it telepathically and let it hit the tri-breed behind him, turning it into a lost disk.
"Tsk, tsk, Lilianne, such bad manners. I'll have to see if we can do something about that. Attack!"
Lili and Zephyr dropped back behind some buildings, waiting for some of the monsters to run past them before they attacked. They easily took out the entire force of foot soldiers that way, and soon only had part of the high- class fighters and Nathan left to handle.
"Watch out!" cried Zephyr, pulling her behind a wall as a blast of fire flew by, singing their fur as it went.
"Thanks," grunted Lili, quickly getting back up into the air and turning the monster that had fired at them into a lost disk with a few well-placed darts.
"I see you haven't lost your touch with metal, dear friend," mocked Nathan as he came around a corner. "But how do you do with actual attacks? Dragon's blast!"
Lili whipped out her sword, slicing the attack down the middle with ease. "I may not have any attack of my own, but I'm certainly not defenseless," she snarled, watching as Zephyr took care of the rest of his followers.
"I guess if I want something done I must do it myself," said Nathan dryly, "But as long as I'm going to kill you, here's some information you might find interesting as you look death in the face. You two and Zelda are supposedly the most powerful monsters my Master has created other than himself. And yes, that means he has refined his system enough that he can now chose which qualities monster or human will gain from the transformation. He himself has already become one of his creations, with ten different monsters implanted in him."
"Wonderful," said Lili, acting rather bored, "Now die." She threw her sword at him, watching coldly as the full four feet of steel alloy went through the monster/human, piercing his belly and spine mercilessly.
"Then it is true," he gasped, turning white under his rather dark tan. "You are more powerful than even those who are under his command."
"That's right," said Lili crisply. "To bad you won't be around long enough for us to prove it even more."
With blood pouring out of his mouth, Nathan fell to the ground with a 'Thud!' "Lovely," muttered Zephyr looked at the destruction around him.
"It would've been a lot worse if those villagers had stuck around," countered Lili, looking at her own wounds. Small scratches and a few burns plus many bruises, including a lovely one that would cover her back from a close call, where all she had. Zephyr was about the same, his bruises not showing because of his thick fur.
"Let's go," he sighed, frowning at the devastation around them. "The others may need our help, and I'd like to put as much space between me and this place as I can at the moment."
"I know what you mean..."
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Pixie sat in one of the trees, watching for any halfsies that may appear and for the two returning from the village. She heard someone coming through the trees and dropped silently above them, a fireball ready if they proved to be trouble.
"Put away that attack, Pixie," said a voice below her. "It's just me and Z."
"Lili?" called Pixie. "I can't see you."
A light flared up, radiating from the pair's horns as they looked up at her. "Is that better?" asked Lili wryly, crossing her arms as she looked at the flying Pixie.
"Much." Pixie looked them over and whistled. "Looks like you two have been in some trouble," she commented, landing in front of them. "Let me help you back to camp."
"No," replied Lili shortly, waving her away with her hand. "It makes people nervous when they see I've been hurt. If they think that I can't feel all these cuts, they feel safe and know that nothing is going to happen."
"I see," murmured Pixie, knowing the look on Lili's face was one of pride. "Did you get all the halfsies for me?"
"Every last one. We can sleep safe tonight."
"That's always nice to know," said Allen as he walked up through the trees.
Pixie looked at him oddly. "But how did you..."
"I just seem to know when she's around," he replied, looking worriedly at their cuts and bruises. "Let's get you some food and mum's salve for those cuts."
"We can heal them ourselves," replied Lili shortly, pushing past the pair. "We'll be near the main fire, just bring us some food there. Come one Zephyr." He obeyed and walked with her through the trees, answering others greetings with a grin or a nod as he went.
"How'd the fight go?" asked Jack as he sat by fire on the outskirts of the camp. His wife and children sat with him, all waiting anxiously to hear what had happened.
"We won, Jack. Thanks to your metal work, that is," replied Lili, saluting him smartly.
"My metal work just helped along, you would've won anyways," replied Jack humbly.
"Say what you will, Jack, but this sword of mine has saved my life and other's lives because of its unique properties. Only a true craftsman like you could come up with metal that absorbs other monster's attacks," said Lili, walking on as she did. "I'm not one to embellish, I just tell the truth."
"That's what they all say," called Jack as she disappeared among the crowd.
"She's a real fighter, that one is," said Jon, his twin agreeing with him as she watched her go.
"Yep, but she cares about others too. That's what makes her so special."
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Tiger woke up the next morning, Lili's power having finally worn off. "Want something to eat?" asked Lili as she put a bowl under his nose. He practically inhaled it as she watched, putting another in its place when it was empty. She then gave him some water and waited for him to finish.
"Think you can make the trip back to the cave on your own or do you want to stay with us and go when we do?" asked Lili when he could speak again.
"I need to go make sure they're ok," replied Tiger, rising to his feet as he tested his legs. He noticed Lili had acquired some new scars, but didn't say anything about them.
"You might want to wait another day, but by that time we'd reach them by that same time you did," she suggested, toying with a knife absently.
"I'll leave now. Could you give me a bag of food for the road?" Lili pulled out an already prepared bag and attached it to his neck.
"Come right back if something happened, you can't take on a squad of those guys by yourself," ordered Lili, letting him out of the cart he had been in and watching as he walked the opposite way down the road. "Good luck, Tiger."
"Good luck, Lili."
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Zephyr and Lili stood at the entrance of their valley, waiting for the sentry who was supposed to be on duty notice them. "Who goes there?" called a voice at long last.
"Can it, Jumper," said Lili, "It's just me and Z with some friends of ours."
"Lili!" cried Jumper, running out of his hole and coming to give her a hug. "We've missed you so much!" He looked at the crowd behind her with awe. "Who are all these peoples?"
"The villagers from the town just north and east of here," replied Lili, motioning for them to follow her to the valley. "Go get Theo, tell him I'm back and I've got some company for him." Jumper obeyed and Theo was waiting for her when she came through the arch that marked the beginning of her valley.
"Hey, Theo," she laughed, giving the Baku a hug. "How goes the project?"
"Everyone's under ground and waiting for the signal to advance while training as much as possible," he replied, glancing behind her at the crowd of people and villagers.
"These are the villagers who lived near here," answered Lili to his unasked question. "They will be staying here with you. I must go at once with some of them to join those we left behind."
"Must you leave again?" asked Theo sadly. "It gets quite lonely without you around."
"Find a few friends among those who are joining you here," advised Lili, walking to the entrance of the underground facility. The villagers were quickly secured and she went back to those at Pixie's caves; Allen, Zephyr, Pixie, and Big Blue in tow. They had managed to get those monsters they had unlocked to stay behind {even Granitefire, he found a female stone dragon and his affections for 'Master Pixie' suddenly stopped}.
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Holly looked at the sky with concern, watching as the thunderheads gathered overhead. "We should take shelter before it starts to pour, guys," she said, spotting a cave up ahead. "Let's just go right there."
The inside was warm and dry, the floor covered in moss and the ceiling high enough for Golem to stand upright. "You made a good choice, Holly," commented Tiger as they settled down. He had caught up to them just two days ago and since then they had been traveling north at a slow rate.
Genki sat in a corner near the entrance, staring the sword on his belt absently. "Are you ok?" asked Holly as she sat next to him. "You haven't been yourself lately."
"I'm worried about Lili, that's all," he said softly. "I know Tiger said she and the others were alright, but she's the only family I got left."
"That may be true, Genki, but I don't think that's the whole truth," replied Holly softly. "I'm your friend, remember? We've been though lots of stuff, you can tell me anything." Genki just shifted his gaze out to the rain and remain silent, proving her correct by doing that.
'I never thought it would hurt so much to see him suffer,' thought Holly as she leaned against him in hopes that he'd speak eventually. 'But I wish more than anything I could make it go away.'
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Zephyr and Lili flew through the air, the other three right behind them as they hurried on through the rain. "Blasted stuff, I can barely see," they could hear Pixie grumble over the lighting and thunder.
"Is there any caves ahead?" Lili asked Zephyr. "We can't go on much longer like this."
"Yep, just another few minutes walk and we should be there," he replied, taking the lead. He proved to be correct, and through the rain they couldn't the light that came from the entrance. Coming closer, they were almost inside when a shout cam from inside the cave.
"Lili? Zephyr? Is that you?"
"Aye, kid. Do you have a fire and some food for us?" she replied, recognizing Slip's voice.
"They're back! They're back!" they could hear him cry and the whole place seemed to spring to life. Everyone greeted the others, saying they had missed them and they wished they didn't have to split up like that.
"Did you have any trouble with that patrol after it caught up to you?" asked Genki, his worry and sad face gone.
"Just a bit. Me and Z took care of them, though. Right old boy?"
"That's right."
Holly sat at the edge, feeling gladness creep inside her as she watched even Pixie get excited about seeing Claws ad Frost again, though you had to look close to see it. All in all, it was good to be back together.
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There it is, folks, the 11th part. Now I'm afraid I have some bad news. Due to some events that can't be changed this will be the last time I post until April or May. If you want a preview of one of the next chapters, email me at 'baritone_gurl@msn.com.'
My deepest apologizes, I'd rather keep updating sooner than that but the situation can't be helped, so try not to be too nasty when you review or email me, please?? Thanks.
~crosseyedbutterfly~
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The next morning, bright and early, Lili and her group set out, heading south for Allen's village. They rested little and traveled rapidly, some strange foreboding telling them they did not what to be separated from their friends for long.
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Tiger ran swiftly through the woods, hurrying to reach the caves before those who were behind him did. He had stumbled upon them while scouting the area and they had been planning their attack on the caves. Some how they knew where they were.
"Genki!" cried Tiger as soon as he was in the clearing. "Stormy! Holly! Get the young ones in the cave! Baddies are coming!"
They quickly assembled themselves and were halfway prepared when the baddies came bursting out the woods, charging full speed at the cave that they stood in front of.
"Don't let any of them get past you!" Genki commanded Golem and Frost, leaving them to guard the caves with Holly, the pups and Slip in them as he, Hare, Tiger, Storm, and Claws went to do battle with the baddies.
Genki was faster than ever on his roller blades and with the short sword Lili had given him he was twice as deadly. Weaving in and out of the baddies he used the flat of the blade to knock the monsters out as he went by.
Claws was having the time of her life. Boldly she skipped from head to head of the enemies and ripped their eyes out with her lovely long claws or left horrible scratches that ran the length of their head. Her paws were soaked, and her claws crimson as she went on, striking foe after foe with amazing skill and precision.
Tiger and Storm were an awesome team, using the others strengths to counteract their weaknesses. "Twisted Storm Winds!" They cried as one, letting their attacks combine and decimate those in their way.
"Go ma! That's the way to get 'em pa!" cried Temi and Ice from the cave, really getting into the fight.
"Fall back and run south!" cried the leader when he realized they weren't going to get anything out of this fight. "Our prey has fled south!"
They fled, those defending the cave hanging back and hoping they wouldn't return. "What did he mean by 'our prey has fled south'?" asked Holly from the mouth of the cave, looking at a nasty cut Genki got on his arm.
"What ever they were expecting to find here they didn't," replied Tiger slowly, the pieces slowly falling into place. "Lili!" he cried at the same time with Genki.
"I've got to go warn her!" he exclaimed, getting up only to be pulled back down by Holly as she finished wrapping his arm up.
"You are going nowhere," she said firmly.
"I'll go," said Tiger, running off before Genki could stop him.
"Good luck!" cried Storm as she watched her mate sprint away. To herself she added, "You may need it..."
*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
Lili stood inside the Shrine, watching Pixie unlock the disks to make sure nothing evil popped out and tried to destroy them. So far they had a full troop of jells (9 in all) and four black dinos, all from Pixie's old squadrons.
"How many more do you have?" asked Lili, getting rather anxious. Allen was with the village council right now, trying to get them to agree to a move, however somewhere convinced that he was wrong and negotiations were going slowly.
"Just two, Blue's putting the next one now." Lili watched as the disk began to spin, glowing like they always did before the power reached its max and Pixie hit the button.
"Unlock!" she yelled, watched as a shape took form. It was a stone dragon, bigger than most with red eyes and Moo's symbol on its front. "Hello, Granitefire," said Pixie dully, recognizing him immediately.
"Oh! Master! You're alright!" cried Granitefire in a high-pitched voice.
"Oh lord," muttered Pixie, trying not to show her impatience with this rather dim-witted creature. "Granitefire, I'm no longer your Master, and Moo's dead so take off that crest and go join the others outside."
"Master?" asked Lili in an amused voice once the stone dragon had been convinced the Pixie wasn't going to kill her for failing. "I've heard the others call you General, but Master?
"He was convinced that his sole purpose in life was to obey my every whim, so I gave him a legion just to get rid of him," explained Pixie, rubbing her temples slowly. "I hoped to never see him again when we had a report that he was dead, obviously it was in vain."
"Well then, Master Pixie," said Lili teasingly, "Best be unlocking that last disk so we can get going." She did and revealed another black dino from the troop that had perished. From what they could gather from the collective stories, they had been attacked by some odd group of rebels and all but a few had died.
Lili waited impatiently outside the council house doors, pacing nervously as she waited. Many families including Allen's had already packed and were waiting for the signal to move out, but the council was still debating and precious time was being eaten up by the minute. She decided to take her chances and stormed into the building, marching straight to the platform and pushing the man who had been speaking out the way.
"We leave in 15 minutes whether you have reached a decision or not," she said firmly. "I will not wait any longer. Those who come have my guarantee of protection; those who do not will not have that promise. Understand?"
An elderly man in the front row stood up, walking towards the door. "Where are you going, Theo?" asked one of the councilmen, standing as well.
"To go pack. I'm not being left here without any defense." That settled it, and fifteen minutes later the group was outside the city, walking towards Lili's valley and their new future.
*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
Tiger panted from exhaustion, he had not stopped running since he had left, and that had been a day ago. Looking up, he spotted the tops of the village through the trees, beckoning him on faster.
"Lilianne!" he cried as soon as he was with in hearing distance. "Allen! Pixie! Where are you?!"
"Tiger?" called Lili, who was flying at the back of the group. She landed in front of him and gave him a minute to catch his breath before he went on.
"Baddies," he panted, tongue lolling out to the side. "Coming...this way...had to run...they fought us...but ran away..."
"Did they hurt anyone?" asked Lili, the alarm evident in her voice.
"No... but they...were looking...for someone..." He lay down, trying to calm his racing heart as Lili poured some of her healing powers into him.
"Sleep," she mumbled slightly. "Sleep long and hard..." When she looked up, Allen Zephyr and Pixie were beside her, looking at the sleeping Tiger curiously.
"What's the scoop?" asked Allen, having heard his cries.
"Baddies. From the General," she replied softly, picking Tiger up and carrying him to Allen's family's cart. Putting him there, she added, "And you're all going on without me and Zephyr."
"No," replied Pixie quickly, meeting her eyes with Lili's. "We stay together. As a group. Send them ahead with directions and we'll take them on together."
"Pixie, don't make me knock you out because you won't listen to reason," growled Lili. "He and Genki may've been able to drive back the foot soldiers, but I guarantee that he'll have back ups with him when he gets here and they'll be tougher than the ones he faced. I won't risk all of you dying trying to play hero."
"Who said anything about playing?!" demanded Pixie. "I just want to kick some halfsie butt! They're all lowlifes who have nothing better to do than kill those weaker than them, excluding you two that is. I have every intention of not sitting this one out!"
"Pixie, we go with the group," said Allen softly, meeting Lili's eyes and knowing it would be useless to argue. "If they decided to attack the caravan that is my village and the village itself, they'll need our help more than Lili will."
Pixie grumbled loudly, but let it drop and went to sit on Big Blue's shoulder as the group set out. Allen turned back one last time to wave, watching the pair vanish in the distance as they grew farther apart.
"You think we can take them?" Lili asked Zephyr as she took out a blade and polished it lightly.
"When have we ever been beaten just the two of us."
"We'll have to use the hit-and-run if they're too large..."
"It won't be the first or the last time."
"That's for sure. Who do thinks leading this charge?"
"I'd say Magic Shadow, but we killed him."
"I know, that's what bothers me..."
*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
Nathan looked over his small army, grinning evilly. "What is our mission?" he asked loudly.
"To seek and destroy the traitors Lilianne and Zephyr, sir!" his troops replied as one.
"Who shall be spared?"
"None who stand in our way, sir!"
"What do you do if someone attacks you?"
"Kill them and keep moving towards the target, sir."
"Shall we be victorious?"
"It is the only choices, sir!"
"I can't hear you!"
"IT IS THE ONLY CHOICE, SIR!"
"Very good," replied Nathan, his reptilian eyes flicking back and forth, "Very good indeed..."
*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
"We had our first fight today, Holly," muttered Genki as he looked at the lost disks that littered the grass. "Do you feel any different?"
"Just sad that this sort of violence has to happen."
Genki glanced at the blade Lili had given him, covered in blood and lying abandoned in a corner. He felt as if part of his heart had died that day. "I know what you mean," he whispered, fighting the tears that welled up inside him. "I know exactly what you mean..."
*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
Lili stood at the front of the town, Zephyr by her side as a small army massed before them. There looked to be close to forty or more foot soldiers, or monsters with only one or two others fused into them; and about ten of the high-class fighters, monsters with three or more fused into them. At their head was a man, obviously having some Golem in him by his size and rock-lick muscles and some Dragon by his scales. His dark skin betrayed him monol part and the fact that he was floating only added to their suspicion.
"Hello there, Lilianne," he sneered, "Miss me much?"
"If anything I'm sorry to see you again, Nathan," she growled, the hair rising on the back of her neck. This was not going to be easy. She and Nathan had both worked with Tigers when she had had a job at the ranch, and he had been rather jealous of her high-rated success with making them champion fighters.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," he replied mockingly, trying to act thoughtful for a moment. "That's too bad, because I have orders to kill you and to return without you head on a silver platter is to ask to be killed."
"Then why don't I save you the trouble of going back and end it right here?" asked Lili, flicking a disk as he head. He stopped it telepathically and let it hit the tri-breed behind him, turning it into a lost disk.
"Tsk, tsk, Lilianne, such bad manners. I'll have to see if we can do something about that. Attack!"
Lili and Zephyr dropped back behind some buildings, waiting for some of the monsters to run past them before they attacked. They easily took out the entire force of foot soldiers that way, and soon only had part of the high- class fighters and Nathan left to handle.
"Watch out!" cried Zephyr, pulling her behind a wall as a blast of fire flew by, singing their fur as it went.
"Thanks," grunted Lili, quickly getting back up into the air and turning the monster that had fired at them into a lost disk with a few well-placed darts.
"I see you haven't lost your touch with metal, dear friend," mocked Nathan as he came around a corner. "But how do you do with actual attacks? Dragon's blast!"
Lili whipped out her sword, slicing the attack down the middle with ease. "I may not have any attack of my own, but I'm certainly not defenseless," she snarled, watching as Zephyr took care of the rest of his followers.
"I guess if I want something done I must do it myself," said Nathan dryly, "But as long as I'm going to kill you, here's some information you might find interesting as you look death in the face. You two and Zelda are supposedly the most powerful monsters my Master has created other than himself. And yes, that means he has refined his system enough that he can now chose which qualities monster or human will gain from the transformation. He himself has already become one of his creations, with ten different monsters implanted in him."
"Wonderful," said Lili, acting rather bored, "Now die." She threw her sword at him, watching coldly as the full four feet of steel alloy went through the monster/human, piercing his belly and spine mercilessly.
"Then it is true," he gasped, turning white under his rather dark tan. "You are more powerful than even those who are under his command."
"That's right," said Lili crisply. "To bad you won't be around long enough for us to prove it even more."
With blood pouring out of his mouth, Nathan fell to the ground with a 'Thud!' "Lovely," muttered Zephyr looked at the destruction around him.
"It would've been a lot worse if those villagers had stuck around," countered Lili, looking at her own wounds. Small scratches and a few burns plus many bruises, including a lovely one that would cover her back from a close call, where all she had. Zephyr was about the same, his bruises not showing because of his thick fur.
"Let's go," he sighed, frowning at the devastation around them. "The others may need our help, and I'd like to put as much space between me and this place as I can at the moment."
"I know what you mean..."
*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
Pixie sat in one of the trees, watching for any halfsies that may appear and for the two returning from the village. She heard someone coming through the trees and dropped silently above them, a fireball ready if they proved to be trouble.
"Put away that attack, Pixie," said a voice below her. "It's just me and Z."
"Lili?" called Pixie. "I can't see you."
A light flared up, radiating from the pair's horns as they looked up at her. "Is that better?" asked Lili wryly, crossing her arms as she looked at the flying Pixie.
"Much." Pixie looked them over and whistled. "Looks like you two have been in some trouble," she commented, landing in front of them. "Let me help you back to camp."
"No," replied Lili shortly, waving her away with her hand. "It makes people nervous when they see I've been hurt. If they think that I can't feel all these cuts, they feel safe and know that nothing is going to happen."
"I see," murmured Pixie, knowing the look on Lili's face was one of pride. "Did you get all the halfsies for me?"
"Every last one. We can sleep safe tonight."
"That's always nice to know," said Allen as he walked up through the trees.
Pixie looked at him oddly. "But how did you..."
"I just seem to know when she's around," he replied, looking worriedly at their cuts and bruises. "Let's get you some food and mum's salve for those cuts."
"We can heal them ourselves," replied Lili shortly, pushing past the pair. "We'll be near the main fire, just bring us some food there. Come one Zephyr." He obeyed and walked with her through the trees, answering others greetings with a grin or a nod as he went.
"How'd the fight go?" asked Jack as he sat by fire on the outskirts of the camp. His wife and children sat with him, all waiting anxiously to hear what had happened.
"We won, Jack. Thanks to your metal work, that is," replied Lili, saluting him smartly.
"My metal work just helped along, you would've won anyways," replied Jack humbly.
"Say what you will, Jack, but this sword of mine has saved my life and other's lives because of its unique properties. Only a true craftsman like you could come up with metal that absorbs other monster's attacks," said Lili, walking on as she did. "I'm not one to embellish, I just tell the truth."
"That's what they all say," called Jack as she disappeared among the crowd.
"She's a real fighter, that one is," said Jon, his twin agreeing with him as she watched her go.
"Yep, but she cares about others too. That's what makes her so special."
*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
Tiger woke up the next morning, Lili's power having finally worn off. "Want something to eat?" asked Lili as she put a bowl under his nose. He practically inhaled it as she watched, putting another in its place when it was empty. She then gave him some water and waited for him to finish.
"Think you can make the trip back to the cave on your own or do you want to stay with us and go when we do?" asked Lili when he could speak again.
"I need to go make sure they're ok," replied Tiger, rising to his feet as he tested his legs. He noticed Lili had acquired some new scars, but didn't say anything about them.
"You might want to wait another day, but by that time we'd reach them by that same time you did," she suggested, toying with a knife absently.
"I'll leave now. Could you give me a bag of food for the road?" Lili pulled out an already prepared bag and attached it to his neck.
"Come right back if something happened, you can't take on a squad of those guys by yourself," ordered Lili, letting him out of the cart he had been in and watching as he walked the opposite way down the road. "Good luck, Tiger."
"Good luck, Lili."
*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
Zephyr and Lili stood at the entrance of their valley, waiting for the sentry who was supposed to be on duty notice them. "Who goes there?" called a voice at long last.
"Can it, Jumper," said Lili, "It's just me and Z with some friends of ours."
"Lili!" cried Jumper, running out of his hole and coming to give her a hug. "We've missed you so much!" He looked at the crowd behind her with awe. "Who are all these peoples?"
"The villagers from the town just north and east of here," replied Lili, motioning for them to follow her to the valley. "Go get Theo, tell him I'm back and I've got some company for him." Jumper obeyed and Theo was waiting for her when she came through the arch that marked the beginning of her valley.
"Hey, Theo," she laughed, giving the Baku a hug. "How goes the project?"
"Everyone's under ground and waiting for the signal to advance while training as much as possible," he replied, glancing behind her at the crowd of people and villagers.
"These are the villagers who lived near here," answered Lili to his unasked question. "They will be staying here with you. I must go at once with some of them to join those we left behind."
"Must you leave again?" asked Theo sadly. "It gets quite lonely without you around."
"Find a few friends among those who are joining you here," advised Lili, walking to the entrance of the underground facility. The villagers were quickly secured and she went back to those at Pixie's caves; Allen, Zephyr, Pixie, and Big Blue in tow. They had managed to get those monsters they had unlocked to stay behind {even Granitefire, he found a female stone dragon and his affections for 'Master Pixie' suddenly stopped}.
*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
Holly looked at the sky with concern, watching as the thunderheads gathered overhead. "We should take shelter before it starts to pour, guys," she said, spotting a cave up ahead. "Let's just go right there."
The inside was warm and dry, the floor covered in moss and the ceiling high enough for Golem to stand upright. "You made a good choice, Holly," commented Tiger as they settled down. He had caught up to them just two days ago and since then they had been traveling north at a slow rate.
Genki sat in a corner near the entrance, staring the sword on his belt absently. "Are you ok?" asked Holly as she sat next to him. "You haven't been yourself lately."
"I'm worried about Lili, that's all," he said softly. "I know Tiger said she and the others were alright, but she's the only family I got left."
"That may be true, Genki, but I don't think that's the whole truth," replied Holly softly. "I'm your friend, remember? We've been though lots of stuff, you can tell me anything." Genki just shifted his gaze out to the rain and remain silent, proving her correct by doing that.
'I never thought it would hurt so much to see him suffer,' thought Holly as she leaned against him in hopes that he'd speak eventually. 'But I wish more than anything I could make it go away.'
*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
Zephyr and Lili flew through the air, the other three right behind them as they hurried on through the rain. "Blasted stuff, I can barely see," they could hear Pixie grumble over the lighting and thunder.
"Is there any caves ahead?" Lili asked Zephyr. "We can't go on much longer like this."
"Yep, just another few minutes walk and we should be there," he replied, taking the lead. He proved to be correct, and through the rain they couldn't the light that came from the entrance. Coming closer, they were almost inside when a shout cam from inside the cave.
"Lili? Zephyr? Is that you?"
"Aye, kid. Do you have a fire and some food for us?" she replied, recognizing Slip's voice.
"They're back! They're back!" they could hear him cry and the whole place seemed to spring to life. Everyone greeted the others, saying they had missed them and they wished they didn't have to split up like that.
"Did you have any trouble with that patrol after it caught up to you?" asked Genki, his worry and sad face gone.
"Just a bit. Me and Z took care of them, though. Right old boy?"
"That's right."
Holly sat at the edge, feeling gladness creep inside her as she watched even Pixie get excited about seeing Claws ad Frost again, though you had to look close to see it. All in all, it was good to be back together.
*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
There it is, folks, the 11th part. Now I'm afraid I have some bad news. Due to some events that can't be changed this will be the last time I post until April or May. If you want a preview of one of the next chapters, email me at 'baritone_gurl@msn.com.'
My deepest apologizes, I'd rather keep updating sooner than that but the situation can't be helped, so try not to be too nasty when you review or email me, please?? Thanks.
~crosseyedbutterfly~