Part Four

The two Lupes and the Harris clustered round a hole in the roots of a tree. It was just big enough for Eden to squeeze through, but what lay behind was completely in shadow. Eden nodded. "That's it."

Moonshadow shivered slightly. "How can you be so sure?"

The yellow Lupe shrugged. "Call it a hunch." In her mind's eye, she could see a little Lupe puppy, trying to break free. Trapped behind roots. Roots that belonged to this very tree, she knew. Kyla moved forward. "Me goin' in first. Smally, no 'ttention."

Moonshadow nodded. "You're right, I suppose. Little petpets don't normally attract as much attention as two hulking great Lupes crawling in." The Harris smiled, took a deep breath, then dived down the hole. Moonshadow followed more slowly, then Eden came after them, wondering all the time what was going to happen.

She was amazed at what she found as she crawled along the tunnel. Along both sides were engraved pictures, scenes from history. The dim light from behind her illuminated some. She was not extremely surprised, but still quite dismayed to find that they were mostly depicting the ferocious battles between the Creator and the Destroyer. Scratched below one with stunning detail on the two clashing figures, she read the words, "The Ultimate of Good and Evil". She looked back to the way she was going and crawled on. The tunnel grew larger until she was able to walk on all four paws. She muffled a startled shriek when she brushed into a large cobweb, and shuddered. She was anticipating the next shock when it came. Her cynical side had been expecting a skeleton or two, but when she passed through a large cavern with a lake in it and glanced at the water, she had not expected five different grins from a pile of flooded skulls. She shivered as she realised that there were more, and hurried on. The tunnel suddenly sloped more steeply downward, and she slowed down to stop her self from slipping. The darkness increased, and she didn't see the sharp drop. Before she knew it, she was flat on her back and sliding wildly down.

Eden landed with a bump that snatched her breath away from her. She looked up into the blank, emotionless eyes of a purple Zafara holding a spear. It lowered it and prodded Eden until she got up. The Lupe glanced around her and saw a red Skeith and a green Buzz keeping a close eye on Kyla, and no less than five Neopets surrounding a growling Moonshadow. This, at least, made Eden smile slightly. At least until a green Chomby marched over and waved his spear, indicating that the three of them should be dealt with. The Zafara switched grip on the spear and raised it as if to stab Eden. The others copied her example, but Eden threw caution to the winds and yelled. "Halt!" The shock of it more than anything else made the Zafara pause, and Eden took that chance to snatch the spear from her grasp and snap it over one knee. The Zafara blinked, and her eyes narrowed before Eden started speaking. "What do you mean by this insubordination? Were you given no orders concerning us?"

The Zafara nodded and spoke flatly and expressionlessly. "If two Lupes, one yellow and one silver, enter, slay them."

Eden raised an eyebrow. "But your master said nothing about a yellow Lupe, a silver Lupe and a Harris petpet?" The Zafara shook its head. Eden nodded, keeping up the pretence. "Then he made an error. We are to be taken straight to him, no matter what he is doing. It is vital that we are shown where he is." Moonshadow gulped quietly, and her eyes widened slightly. The Zafara paused for a moment, then, almost reluctantly, saluted. The spears were removed and Moonshadow and Kyla stepped forward to Eden as the Zafara wheeled about and marched away. The trio paused only momentarily before following.

The purple Zafara led the group past ranks of armed Neopets, practising manoeuvres. Eden and Moonshadow looked about with a horrified fascination, but Kyla only glanced at each face in frustration. She shook her head. The Zafara stopped and saluted at a cave entrance. Eden spoke quietly. "He is expecting us. We need no introduction."

The Zafara nodded, then frowned slightly before marching away. Eden paused a moment, took a deep breath, and entered the cave. Moonshadow and Kyla followed into the darkness. The Lupe led the way through the cave, straining her eyes to see the next corner. They followed the path around an extremely sharp bend and bright green light assailed their eyes while a sudden mist rose up and masked their view anyway. A quiet chuckle began in front of them, and rose up to an almost insane laughter. Eden fought hard against every instinct in her to back away, and stepped forwards through the fog instead. All of a sudden, the going grew harder, and she had to push her way forward, as though she were trying to walk with a heavy weight tied to her legs. She pushed forward still, and fell to her knees. She refused to stop and crawled on. Moonshadow and Kyla had to stop crawling and tried ineffectually to move forward. They called out to Eden, but she kept moving. Moonshadow yelped in surprise as she started sliding backwards, and Eden moved forwards faster at the sound. She burst into the cavern where the Destroyer stood, and surprise and dismay passed through its mind, though quickly banished as Eden got to her feet. The Lupe looked up at him. "So. I was expecting you to arrive in my humble abode soon, Opifex-eversor."

Eden smiled slightly. "But we got past your minions."

The Destroyer laughed. "I control them! Their minds are mine! They will only ever do as I order them to!"

Eden blinked. "Do you mean… You let us in?" The cloaked figure nodded slowly. Eden narrowed her eyes. "So why the fog? Why make it so hard to get to you if you'd already paved the way for us?"

The Destroyer answered quite civilly. "I wanted to know something. I can see everything, past or present, but I cannot see the future. The other, my age old foe, can see present and future, but not past."

Eden nodded. "No doubt you won't tell me what you wanted to know, so I just have one more question. Why don't I just kill you now and be done with it all?"

The Dark Lord chuckled. "Because you would fail. You would be destroyed, and Rick Rick would be all alone in the world, and soon turned to my will."

Eden took a step backwards in surprise. "But… you… Rick's…"

The Dark Lord raised one of his cloaked arms and pointed behind the Lupe. "Dead?" Eden turned slowly and the wall behind her shimmered before turning transparent. She saw a pale green bubble floating in mid air, and Rick curled up inside. He looked pale, despite being coloured in fire. Eden frowned at the sight of another Lupe in another bubble, only this one was older, and was a light blue. "Who…?" She murmured, a faint memory nagging at the back of her mind. Perhaps from a picture, of maybe even just a description…

"Don't you remember?" Asked the Destroyer, with a mocking hint in his voice.

Eden frowned, then her eyes widened slightly. "Is that… my father?"

The Dark Lord waved his hand slightly and the wall turned opaque again. "Now you know the full extent of your annoyance. With you still alive, both of these, the only immunes left, refused to give up and give in to me."

Eden turned back to him. "Why bother about them? You boast so much about your power, anyone would think you didn't need two more creatures so much. Unless of course you're weaker than you seem."

The unexpected insult made the Dark Lord straighten up slightly. His voice was laden with menace. "I am never weak. Those two have more power than you can possibly imagine. With them on my side, the "Creator" would not stand a chance! It was a shame you could not be turned to realise your full potential! But instead, you chose to defy me, me, and try and stop me! And now you will have to be destroyed." Eden backed away from the cloaked figure and found herself up against the wall as the Dark Lord raised his arm and gathered his energy for the fatal, magical, blow…

To be continued…