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Holly groaned a little bit as she woke up in her camp. She wriggled out of the sleeping bag, and went to gather sticks. When she came back with some rocks and sticks for the fire, everyone was still asleep. What a lazy bunch in the morning! Well, better start cooking. They'll wake up then. Holly placed the rocks in a circle, and put the sticks in a teepee fashion. She set up her pot over the sticks and filled it with water, then lit the fire. She added whatever she usually added, and started to cook, the great aroma rising, and drifting under the nosed of the other Courageous 7. Genki's eyes snapped open, and he practically leapt out of the sleeping bag. He crept up behind Holly, and tried to look over her shoulder to see what it was she was cooking. He had to stand on a log to see. Holly continued to stir the soup, adding things along the way. Finally, she looked over her shoulder, and nearly jumped out of her skin at the sight of 2 eyes peering over her shoulder. Genki smiled, and got of the log. Holly rolled her eyes.
" You scared me there. Well, the soup is almost done, so you just have to wait a few minutes. Could you please wake everyone up while you're waiting? And could you get me some more rocks for Golem? If you don't mind." Genki smirked wide.
" Sure, Holly, no problem. " Genki walked over to the other monsters, and smirked.
" UP AND AT EM'!" He shouted. All the monsters sprung awake, tore out of where they slept, and stood up. Genki then dashed off to get rocks for Golem. Holly started to pour the bowls of soup when Genki came back. His arms were filled with rocks. Holly smiled.
" Thanks Genki. Just put those down there, and here is your soup." Genki dropped the rocks in front of Holly, and took the bowl of steaming soup. Holly served the soup while cooking the rocks somehow. She then served Golem, and started to eat as well. She finished her bowl before they did, somehow. She cleaned up everything after it was all done, and put everything away.
" Okay, now we can go and kick some butt!" Genki exclaimed, shoving on his rolled blades. Holly nodded a bit solemnly, running a hand over the sheath of her dagger, but then she smiled a little.
" Yeah, let's go." Mocchi walked over to Holly, tugging at her sleeve.
" What's wrong, chi?" He asked cutely. Holly smiled brightly at the little monster.
" Oh, nothing Mocchi, nothing at all. Now, let's get going before we all fall asleep!" She exclaimed, starting to walk off with Mocchi. Genki led the pack, marching. Golem stomped along, and they all tried to ignore Tiger and Hare's bickering. Suddenly, a cloaked figure leapt out in front of them, making Holly jump back a bit.
" You are becoming a nuisance to Naga, young ones. It's time to go back to where you can't hide from truth....... TELEPORTATION FLARE!" The searchers were hit straight on from behind. Holly was thrown to the ground, and they all were tumbling through the air.......
Holly landed on her head a bit, but managed to tuck in a bit, so she wasn't hurt. She rolled over onto her stomach, and looked around. Her eyes went dark, and she nearly screamed, but couldn't because of the lump in her throat. She looked in front of her, and then jumped to her feet and back, gasping and slapping a hand over her mouth. Genki landed right beside her with Mocchi, and Suezo landed on the other side. Tiger and Hare landed on Golem. Suezo looked around, and had the same reaction as Holly. Genki stared.
" Holly, Suezo, what's wrong? Wait, are those...... Graves?" He asked, staring at the small headstones. Holly collapsed onto her hands and knees, pain bearing down. She refused to cry.
" Holly and I...... This is our village. After Naga attacked, everyone but us were dead. Holly....... Buried them all with her own two hands. This is the remainder of a village that Naga went through...." Suezo whimpered, staring at one grave, the one that Holly was crying near. " That's Grandfather. He gave Holly the magic stone....... When the attack was on, he told her to take it and hide in the cellar. She would have fought, but he forced her to stay with me in the cellar. When we came back out, the village was destroyed....... Bodies of humans everywhere, lost disks lining the village all around. We found Grandfather locked in a closet, and he told Holly about the stone then. He died in her arms. We buried the whole village, not one alive. Just for the magic stone....." Holly was now shaking, but wasn't listening. She was intent on one thing. It was the village...... How peacefully quiet, how saddening, how sunny it all was. The grave stones shone brightly.
" So many graves........ Very sad...." Golem stated, looking around. The graves must have gone the whole length of the village. Tiger sniffed the air.
" It....... There is something else here, more humans, I don't know who though....... But, other then that, it smells only of death here...." Tiger looked around. So much death in one place. Hare's ears twitched.
" Is that....... A whispering echo I hear? Everyone, listen carefully....." Holly stopped shaking, and listened with the others. They could faintly hear something....
Daddy!!! Don't leave!
Holly gasped. That was here voice. She sighed.
" That was me..... When I was younger. I was 5 when Father had to go..... And now he's Moo......" Holly whispered, remembering the awful truth. She slowly stood up. Holly looked around, eyes still dark.
" I remember the sounds. The blood. It was terrible. I still can't rid myself of the memory...... Tiger, you said humans were here? Let's see if we can find the humans." Tiger sniffed the air once more.
" This way. I think the one I'm tracking is female." Holly followed Tiger faithfully, along with others, all avoiding stepping on the graves. They came to a fairly maintained building. Holly frowned.
" That's my old house. I wonder who could be inside...." Hare opened the door, and Holly stepped into the home. It was pretty clean, must have just been fixed up. She looked into the kitchen. It looked like when she last saw it before the battle. She narrowed her eyes. Someone was in her old room. Holly drew her dagger, and slowly pushed open the door past the kitchen. The paint of a red door was all chipped off, except for a few pieces. In an old bed, was a girl. She was wearing a dirty white shirt, a pair of brown pants like Holly's, a red belt, and wrist guards. She had a dagger at her side, only it was unsheathed, and looked old and used, maybe dull. The girl had obviously kicked off her shoes onto the wood floor, but kept it neat. She had black hair, tied back with a white ribbon. She looked a bit like Holly, but more like another person. Holly sheathed her dagger, and lightly tapped the girl on the shoulder. The girls eyes snapped open. She had one blue eye, one green. The girl acted on instinct, and grabbed the dagger skill-fully, pressing it close to Holly's neck. Holly gasped, but then the girl gasped, and retreated the dagger to her belt, sitting up, and putting on her shoes.
" Oh, sorry, I thought you might have been a baddy." The girl explained, standing up. She was about Holly's height. Holly rubbed her neck a little.
" That's okay. My name is Holly. I just got transported here from another place somehow. Man, and we made it all the way to Server! This is my old home." Holly explained. The girl nodded.
" Oh, okay then. I'm Falen, but my friends call me Flynn. I'm here with 4 others. You'll like them, really! Come on, I'll see if I can wake them up." Holly nodded, and the 2 girls ran out of the building. Flynn smiled at everyone.
" Hi! Hey, wait, you guys are the searchers? Cool! Anyway, the others should all be in different buildings. Now, the question is, if I were a little short kid, where would I hide? Hmm..." Flynn and Holly looked around, while the others stared. They had yet to be introduced. Holly then pointed out a tree.
" Maybe in a tree?" Flynn looked where Holly was pointing, and smirked.
" That might be it. Let us see!" Flynn and Holly ran over to the tree, not stepping on any graves. They had all gone untouched. Flynn looked up with Holly at the tree. Flynn narrowed her eyes, and started to shake the tree. Some apples came down, along with a blonde haired blue eyed kid. Flynn caught him, and placed him on the ground. He was about and inch shorted the Genki, but to Holly and Flynn, he was a little kid. He had a slight overbite, and was wearing the same thing Genki was, only with the same pants as Flynn, with a pale face, and a backpack and roller blades. He was wearing almost the same shoes as Genki, only they were black. He pulled some leaves out of his hair, slightly annoyed.
" Well that wasn't very nice. And who are they, if you don't mind me asking. " The kid had manners, that was for sure. Holly smiled a bit.
" I'm Holly. I guess we should do the introduction after you get everyone." Flynn nodded.
" Yeah. Come on, Holly, Andrew, let's go wake up Bronson. " Flynn, Andrew and Holly crossed to another building. Flynn walked in, and came out, dragging a boy about 3 inches shorted then herself. He had short black hair, a medium dark face and body, with big brown eyes, and big ears. He had a black T-shirt on, with a black version of Flynn's pants. He was wearing black shoes. He was very surprised. He got to his feet.
" What's the trouble, Flynn?" He asked. Flynn smiled.
" We have guests, Bronson. Holly, this girl, apparently lived in this village before. Now, let's see if we can get John awake. He's in the house beside yours." The 4 people ran to another building, and swung open the door. A boy with blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale skin was sleeping upside down, with his eyes open, hanging from a pole. He was wearing a white T-Shirt, a black vest, a studded black collar, a wristband, black Flynn pants, and brown shoes. Flynn shook her head, and lifted John's head up, and they all watched as he landed on his feet, and turned around. He smiled at his friend.
" Hi Flynn. What tis' the dilemma?" He asked, bowing a little.
" Nothing, really, except we have the searchers in the village! This is Holly, she lived in my post before. Let's see if we can wake Brittany up. She sleeps like a log......." They all began the trek across the graves, right to a door. It was locked. Flynn puffed, and roughly kicked the door open. It swung open to reveal a girl with really blonde hair and big blue eyes sitting on a couch, writing things down and sketching furiously. She looked up, and smiled. She was wearing an orange vest with a white T-shirt, blue pants, and blue shoes.
" Hey Flynn! What's up?" She was very perky and cheerful. Flynn shook her head.
" Please, next time don't lock the door. Anyway, this is Holly, and the other searchers are with her, outside. We would like you to come and meet them." Brittany nodded, leapt up, and ran out the door, leaving her sketch pad and pencil behind. They all walked back to the others, who were obviously bored. They all jumped up and smiled when Holly came back.
" Okay, I'm Flynn, this little guy is Andrew, the guy in the collar is John, that's Bronson, and this is Brittany." Flynn explained, smiling. Genki smirked.
" Well, I'm Genki, that's Tiger, this is Mocchi, that's Golem, the blue one is Tiger, Hare is the rabbit, and Suezo is the eyeball. Nice to meet you!" Flynn sweat dropped a bit. Geez, talk about a kid on a sugar high...... They all shook hands or paws, and smiled.
" Hey, you guys are looking for the Phoenix, right? We could help! We can fight off some enemies for you!" Brittany exclaimed, clenching her hands into fists. Genki smiled wide.
" Okay! Holly, should we?" Holly nodded, and smiled a bit.
" Of course! The more the merrier! But....... How do we get back to Server?" She asked. A gust of wind answered that. The cloaked figure appeared again, with a large Grim Reaper sickle. It was floating, and when the cloak blew off...... It was nothing but a little metal ball, with spikes, and a mouth and 2 eyes. It also had one arm for the sickle, and one arm for a little shield.
" I am Mini-Mecho-Ball! You shall not get past me! But, let us fight in my environment! Server! Teleport!" With a flash of light, they were all back in Server, plus the 4 new people. Mini-Mecho-Ball laughed, and started the attack. At first, the Courageous 6 laughed, minus Holly, but the others didn't. The 6 people who laughed were blown away by a fiery beam, and barely got to their feet. Tiger growled.
" Why that little......." He stopped when he saw the 5 new friends attack. Andrew kicked the ball high into the air, Bronson smashed it down onto Flynn's dagger, and she tossed it off the dagger to Brittany. She started to kick it around, using it as a soccer ball. She slammed a kick in the air, sending it crashing into the ground in front of Holly. She though fast, and whipped out her dagger, and slammed it down like she had learned from her Grandfather. It pierced, and Holly pulled the dagger back, and kicked it away. Flynn picked it up, and chucked it to John, who slammed a perfect power punch into it's face, sending it flying. It crashed into a tree, and slowly rose to it's feet. Bronson rushed it, threw it over his shoulder, Brittany kicked it, Flynn caught it and threw it to Andrew, and he slammed it into the ground. The Mini-Mecho-Ball slowly turned into a lost disk. Flynn threw her hand in the air, and let out a winning victory cry. The other 4 people also celebrated the victory. Brittany was jumping up and down, cheering like a cheerleader. Andrew kicked the dirt.
" And I didn't even have time to put on my roller blades...... Oh well, I have time now." Andrew slumped down in the path, and slipped on his roller blades. He got up again, and obviously liked roller blades better then shoes. Bronson smirked.
" Yeah, and I didn't even have a chance to pull out my stake knife..... Well, now they won't jump us again!" He exclaimed, fingering the parry knife in his pocket. Flynn sighed with Brittany and John.
" You crazy lunatics. John, get your pocket blade ready, Britt, slap on your metal soccer gear. And I'll just pull out my dagger when the time comes. This is the big stuff! We have to beat that loser, or else we don't go home. Let's go!" Flynn stated, running a fore finger along the blade of her dagger. The other 7 came running to the new friends.
" What exactly just happened?" Tiger asked, sitting down. Hare shook his head.
" It's really simple, Tiger. They've shown us up."
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ELP: First chapter. Not too long, but it works.
Sammy: R&R!