Yeah! Chapter 16! That number is the greatest in the world other than 18. Although...21 is good too...0.o;; Anyways, go on and read!

*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*

Hare wiped his paws on his legs as the last of the masked attackers were decimated by Zephyr's attack. It was the third time this week, and if this kept up none of them knew how long they may last.

"Is everyone alright?" asked Lili as she always did, casting an eye about the woods. "Anyone missing from the group?"

"All here," said Tiger, sitting with his family.

"We're good," called Pixie, sitting on Blue's shoulder as always.

"I'm fine," replied Hare with a shrug.

"Genki?"

"We're fine," he said quickly, helping Holly to her feet.

"Golem? Slip?"

"We are fine."

"Me too," said Allen, coiling up his whip and placing it on his belt.

"Good." Lili glanced around and hurriedly started back down the path, everyone else following her as always.

'This isn't good,' said Zephyr in her head. 'Much more of this and the group will fall apart. We can't afford to keep letting ourselves be trapped like that.'

'What can we do?!' demanded Lili angrily, rollerblading beside him. 'It's not like we have a choice at times. We didn't even sense those last ones coming until it was too late to hide!'

'I know,' he replied shamefully. 'They've learned to block them from my view.'

'So like I said, what can we do?'

'I don't know, really, I don't know.'

*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*

Maniac stood on the top wall of his fort, awaiting the news of his last attack on the rebels. He knew where they were, Lili and Zephyr weren't trying to hide their signals at all, that or they had forgotten how to.

"How did it go?" he asked as a Suezo who had been alerted by Pixie and Dino DNA appeared beside him.

"The soldiers were all killed as expected, sir."

"Was anyone on their side seriously wounded?"

"No really, sir. Nothing the traitors can't heal themselves with ease."

"I see. Good work, Shady. Go get the next squad ready to leave in an hour. I wish to wear them down to nothing before the moon turns full again."

"Sir, that's in four days."

"I know. Now go."

"Yes, sir."

"I swear, I'll kill every last one of them for what they did to my brother..." Maniac vowed grimly, scowling in the direction the rebels were. "That, or die myself. This I, General Maniac under the Master and the Creator, swear upon the remains of my beloved brother."

*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*

"I swear, I'm going to kill all of them the most painful way possible when I find out who's behind all this," sighed Lili, pulling out her sword as more hybrids appeared out of nowhere. "Did you even sense them coming at the last second, Z?"

"I still can't sense them period," admitted Zephyr, sounding somewhat worried.

"You WHAT?!" Lili sighed and jumped on his back, guiding Zephyr with her knees as she held on with one hand and fought with the other.

"TWISTED STORM WINDS!!!" cried Stormy and Tiger as one, standing side by side with their pups in between them.

"Dragon Kick!" yelled Hare, taking out a small hybrid with is flaming foot.

"Brow Hit," said Golem in a low voice, knocking them back from him and Slip.

Genki and Holly fought together in the middle, standing almost back to back as they used the other's strengths to compensate for their weaknesses. Allen stood near by, doing what he could with his whip and sword, wishing dearly he had brought his worms along.

"Die," growled Pixie, sitting on Big Blue's shoulder as they fought together. "Giga Ray!"

"Ice fist!" said Big Blue angrily, smashing the hybrids back.

"Blue Lighting!" yelled Zephyr, using Lili's guidance to take out some hybrids.

"That's it!" cried Lili, seeing one of them almost get through to the pups. "I've had enough of this!" She leapt off Zephyr, her eyes glowing a bright blue as she picked up a second sword from the ground and went to work.

"RRRRRRRAHHHHHHH!!!!!!! Everyone from the group quickly dashed to the edges of the clearing, unsure that she wouldn't strike out at them instead of the hybrids. "DIE!!!!!!!! KILL!!!!!!!!! DESTROY!!!!!!!!!"

Holly turned her head away from the massive destruction happening before them.

"Stop!" cried Allen when all the hybrids were dead, her eyes still glowing that eerie bright blue. "Lili, they're all dead! Stop it right now!"

"Step aside," said Zephyr, nudging him out of the way. He leapt at her, quickly knocking the sword away and pinning her to the ground. 'Lili... Lili...wake up Lili....Lilianne!'

'What?!'

'I think you scared the others.'

'They should get used to it.'

'You shouldn't let you anger take control like that. Coming back, now?'

'Yes, Z. Get off me, it's hard to breath like this.'

'I'm going, I'm going...'

"Are you alright?" asked Genki hesitantly, seeing Zephyr move away and Lili sit up slowly. "You weren't yourself for a moment, Lili...

"It's called Blood Lust," she said quickly, rocking up on her heels. "It's where hybrids lose control and attack until they're brought out of it. A Blood Lust can turn any ordinary foot soldier into a General if they learn to control it. I can, at times, I willed it to come this time."

"Why?" he asked, frowning as he did. "You could've missed and killed one of us, Lili."

"You underestimate me," she whispered, keeping her head down. "I'm so sick of these attacks, you have no idea. I'm going to go find this guy and kill him, regardless of the cost."

"I don't understand," said Holly, kneeling beside her. "You mean you wanted to go insane so you could kill them faster?"

"Yes, that is correct."

"Killing is never good..."

"I never said it was," replied Lili grimly. "But we will lose if these things keep up. Someone's going to slip up, or one attack will get through and BAM, we're down one and no one's up to fighting anymore. We can't keep this up, it has to end here."

"Then what do we do?" challenged Allen, we don't know who it is, and we have no way of finding out."

"Yes, you do," said a voice above them, coming from the branches of the trees. Holly checked her magic stone and saw it glow slightly, wavering some in the light.

"Phoenix?" she asked softly, hope apparent in her voice.

"Yes, Daughter of  Pure-hearts. Hello again, Son of Clear-eyes, Lilianne, Zephyr, and the rest."

"That's the Phoenix?" asked Slip, looking at the small bird in surprise.

"Yes, Son of Innocent-souls," said the Phoenix, ruffling his feather.

"Huh?" asked Slip, looking confused.

"Just smile and nod," said Genki, although he was a bit confused himself. What was with the title Slip had? It made sense with his personality, but then at the same time it didn't...

"You said you wanted to know who was attacking you and how to find them," said the Phoenix, getting right down to business. "His name Maniac, he's the third General under The Master or The Creator, as they call him. He has been charged to kill and destroy you, and is especially adamant about it since you killed his younger brother recently."

"You mean that this Maniac fellow is related to Psycho?" asked Lili with a smirk. "This will be too easy..."

"He is a better General than his younger sibling, so watch out," warned the Phoenix. "He's got a fort twice as big as Psycho's, so you won't be able to pull the same stunt you did last time, understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"How do we get to the fort?" asked Genki, coming forward some.

"Go two days to the east," said the Phoenix, closing his eyes halfway. "I will shield you from his sight until you are there. You must travel with all haste, understand?"

"Yes, Phoenix. And thank you, once again."

"You're quiet welcome, Son of Clear-eyes. Until next time."

"Until next time."

"Is it just me," asked Pixie out of the blue. "Or did he shrink or something, because I remember him being a whole lot bigger..."

*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*

The rebels found the edge of the camp and stopped, feeling the spirit of the Phoenix leave them, as it had been protecting them for the last few days.

"Ready?" asked Lili, about to make herself and Pixie invisible. "Do you remember what you're supposed to do?"

"Attack the east gate with fire so it burns down while you slip in the West one," said Genki, holding up some unlit torches and flints to light them with. "Then, set fire to the main building when I get your signal, correct?"

"Correct. Zephyr, you know what your job is, right?"

"To shield them until we're safely out of here."

"Good. Pixie?"

"I'm ready."

"Then lets move." She held onto Pixie's wrist and blinked them both from sight, slipping away around the other side of the fort. She had agreed to take Pixie with her because Zephyr was needed to take care of the others in the front and wouldn't get squeamish about all the guards she killed along the way.

'How easy will it be to find this guy?' asked Pixie through the connection they shared since they were touching.

'Easy enough,' replied Lili, searching for Maniac's signal. 'There, take the next left. He's surrounded by guards, so it could get tough....'

'Blood never hurt me.'

'Good, because we'll be seeing a lot of it in a minute.'

The two of them crashed through the defenses, going in sporadic directions to confuse the guards and using weapons and attacks to take them down.

"Looks like that's all of them," leaving her invisibility on to scare Maniac wherever he was.

"I know who that is," said Maniac calmly, standing in the middle of the room with his scythe ready for battle. "I never took you for one to be a coward, traitor.

"I'm not," replied Lili, making her voice echo so he couldn't tell where she was. "Just cautious."

"I see. Show your self, none the less, it would make things more interesting."

'I'm going to let go of you,' Lili warned Pixie. 'Take my sword, just block his attacks until I can secure him in place, alright?'

'Fine. Just don't wait too long.'

'I won't.'

"Is this want you wanted to see?" asked Pixie as she became visible.

"You don't look like the reports described you," said Maniac suspiciously.

"Does anyone?" asked Pixie with a shrug, showing her fangs. "You want me? Come get me."

"With pleasure." Maniac backed up a step, spreading his hands out as he twirled his scythe in one of them. Lili saw her opening and let the disks fly, catching in the fabric and pulling him to the wall. She then let lose her darts hidden in her buckle and trapped his shoes to the floor.

"Comfortable?" she asked, causing herself to appear as well.

"You're the traitor," he spat, "Low-life, dirty, cheating coward. Mother of a-"

*SMACK*

"That will be enough out of you," said Lili calmly, looking at the red print she had left on his face. "I have questions, you have answers."

"What do I get out of it?"

"A non-tortured death."

"Never." Lili pulled out one of her sais and stuck it through his hand, taking the other and doing the same on the other hand.

"You're sure?" asked Lili, pulling the needles that had almost killed her earlier in the adventure from a bag and sticking them in his ears one by one.

"You win," gasped Maniac, trying to flex his hands as blood flowed from them like water. "What do you want to know?"

"Has your Master already altered himself?"

"Yes."

"With what?"

"No one knows for sure, but you can tell he is part Tiger, Dragon, and Pixie among others."

"Have you been with him since the very beginning?"

"Yes."

"What Tigress did they use to create me?"

"The same one that was pregnant with the twins?"

Lili cursed under her breath. "And the Pixie part?"

"The one who was thought to have run away. They purified it of Durahan."

More cursing. Lili stopped for a moment, considering her options. "Who are the other Generals?"

"General Zelda and General Darkblade."

Lili removed one of the needles. "Who is this Darkblade?"

"A new member of the army. None of have seen his face since his alterations, but he used to be a Durahan."

"I see." Lili removed one of the sais. "Where are their forts?"

"Northwest and Northeast of here."

She removed the other sais. "Which is which?"

"I don't know."

"Wrong answer." Pixie plunged Lili's sword up to the hilt through his chest, quickly pulling it back out after she did.

"Do you think he really knew?" asked Lili, quickly cleaning off her weapons as Pixie set fire to the lost disk he left behind.

"I don't know," she replied with a shrug. "But I was going to kill him anyways, so..."

"Set fire to this room," said Lili, heading for the door. "We're getting out of here now."

"Yes, ma'am."

*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*

"Where are they?" asked Genki in a worried voice, shooting another burning arrow onto the gate, starting another small fire that was quickly doused. "They should've been done by now and out of there..."

"Stop worrying," said Slip, shooting a burning arrow as well. His hit the bottom near a pile of dead brush a quickly started a large blaze, starting to make its way up the door.

"Good shot," admitted Genki, picking up one of the torches and lighting it real quick. He threw it into the other pile of brush on the other side.

"Here comes some more return fire," said Zephyr, "Get close, guys, I can only cover an area of fifteen feet with a down pour like this." Everyone gathered close, watching as the arrows, stones, and spears glanced off the invisible shield over head. They had been it before, but it was still an odd feeling when an arrow can right at you, then stopped as if it had hit something hard but you couldn't see anything at all.

'Throw the torches and run,' said Lili in Genki's mind, 'We've already left and have our side in a good roaring fire.'

"Golem, Big Blue," said Genki, quickly handing them the burning sticks when it was clear. "Toss these unto that roof right there."

"It's time?" asked Tiger, rounding up everyone.

"It's time," replied Zephyr, feeling Lili draw closer from behind. "Rain Of Fire!!!" The entire fort was soon going up in smoke, literally, as the Rebels ran the other way, heading for the relative safety of the forest.

"Did you guys get him?" asked Genki, seeing the blood on their clothes.

"Of course," replied Lili with a wry grin. "No one can ever escape me when I wish to kill them." Pixie cleared her throat. "And I had a little help..."

"Let's keep moving," said Genki, hearing the sounds of hybrid soldiers escaping from the raging inferno. "Did you find out where the other two General's are?"

"We should meet up with one of them if we continue North," replied Lili with a nod.

"Then let's go!"

*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*

Zelda and Darkblade stood above the smoldering remains of Maniac's fort from a ledge high above, seeing the rebels escape through the forest.

"Like brother like brother," muttered Zelda in disgust, starting to walk away.

"Wait," said Darkblade dully, his eyes still the only thing visible on him. "The rebels are scattered through the woods. Should we not go hunt them down while they're weak and vulnerable?"

"I will not fight them until I'm ready," replied Zelda huffily, stalking away.

"But our orders..."

"Screw the orders," said Zelda angrily, turning around and knocking him to the ground. She stood over him menacingly, resisting the urge to rip his throat out. "We do as we please and make excuses to that pathetic moron who thinks he's in charge. If you don't learn anything from me at all, at least remember this: we who were monsters first are ALWAYS above humans. Even hybrids and halfsies."

"As you wish, General Zelda." With that, he disappeared.

*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*

Everyone sat quietly around a small fire with a pot of stew boiling over it. Pixie and Lili had managed to grab a few things from their stores on the way out and were now making some soup from it. Unfortunately, it would only last for two meals at the most and they were once again almost out of supplies.

'Hey, Z,' said Lili softly, laying against him a little ways from the others.

'Yes, Lili?'

'I found out something....about your mother....'

'What?'

'....they used her to make me.'

Zephyr could feel a wave of sadness come from his friend and rushed to assure her things were alright. 'They didn't kill her specifically for the task of making you. She was dying already. If not for what they did, I would've died.'

'You almost did anyways. What's worse is that I know they killed Janel specifically for making me.'

'Who was she?'

'A janne who I worked with at the ranch.'

'Then they purified her of the durahan?'

'Apparently.'

'I'm sorry, Lili.'

'Me too.'

Holly watched from the corner of her eye as a single tear slid down Lili cheek unchecked and wondered what she had learned in that dreadful fort that was enough to make her cry...

*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*

There you go, chapter number 16! Thanks for reading, and once again I ask: Which would you rather see after this is finished, a prequel involving Lili's adventures before Genki showed up once more in her life or a sequel that could include some characters we have now as older folks, and some younger ones that would appear as children of certain couples (Aw!!!).

So far the vote stands~

Prequel:1

Sequel:4

Thanks again, as always! Be kind and review.

~crosseyedbutterfly~