CHAPTER 24:
THE FINAL SHOWDOWN
Justin tried in vain to hold back his tears, but it was no use. Feena, the only girl who he ever loved, and the only girl who ever loved him, was gone. He knew that it was useless to deny it. He had seen her death with his own eyes, and now he kept seeing it in his mind over and over again. It was sheer torture. He felt as if he couldn't go on without her. In fact, he really couldn't go on without her. Without Feena, their revolt against Gaia would be completely worthless. But then, something very unpredictable happened. He heard voice.
"J...Justin?" said the weak voice from behind him.
Justin stopped in his tracks and spun around. "No way," he breathed in disbelief. The voice belonged to Feena! Justin ran up to her body at full speed. He looked down at Feena to see her alive. Her pale, icy skin was becoming tan and warm again. He looked down at the impalement within her torso. Right before his eyes, it was slowly shrinking and shrinking until it was gone. Justin bent down and scooped her upper body up into his arms.
"Do...you...believe...in...miracles...Justin?" she asked, smiling warmly.
"But...how...is...this...possible?!" Justin stammered. Then, he remembered something Agron had told him. They hadn't defeated Gaia yet. Feena came back from the dead because her work wasn't done yet, just like Leen.
"I guess this means that I really am one of the Chosen Ones," Feena remarked, regaining strength.
After Mullen and Leen regained consciousness, all four, plus dragon, headed towards the center of Gaia. Finally, almost eight hours later, they reached the Core, the very nucleus, brain, and control center of Gaia itself.
"I guess we just let the dragon torch it," Justin announced.
Almost immediately after he said this, the dragon charged towards the ugly mass of neurons, leaped, and clung to it with its claws. It began to rip at it with its ox horn-sized claws, and sword-like fangs. Leaping back onto the ground, it then spread out all four of its legs, took in a deep breath, and blasted the monstrosity with its enormous, blue-and-white- colored flame. Finally closing its mouth, the panting dragon surveyed the damage it had done. There wasn't any.
"Stubborn little bastard, eh?" Justin remarked angrily, and he charged towards the Core and flung his sword at it. The blade just bounced off of it.
Then, the Core began to vibrate, and out of a valve in its base came a yellowish, steaming liquid.
To see what this strange liquid actually did, Feena hurled her knife into it. Almost immediately, the knife began to melt as if it were a stick of butter on a hotplate.
"Acid!" Leen exclaimed. "It's some sort of defense mechanism!"
Then, the dragon began to flame the Core once again.
"Why is that dragon still doing that?" Justin asked. "It doesn't work!"
"Justin," Feena spoke up, obviously getting an idea. "Why don't we try the Power of the Heroes and Icarians while the dragon breathes fire."
"I'm about to try anything now that acid is beginning to flood the room!" he replied.
And with that, the Icarians unfolded their wings, the Heroes charged with their swords raised, and the dragon continued to breathe fire, all at the same time. There was a blindingly bright light, and the Heroes, Icarians, and the dragon, found themselves back in the grassy meadow, facing Gaia.
Gaia began to shake and moan continuously. There was a flash of light, a sound like an explosion, and the tower of Gaia began to shrink down and down back into the crater at the top of J-Base.
The chosen ones ran up to the crater and peered inside as Gaia began to shrink faster and faster, like an enormous sinking ship. There was a final burst of light, and then, all was quiet. Looking down into the crater, they saw the horned egg-like capsule that Gaia started out as.
"It...it's...over," Feena stammered. "It's finally over!!" she exclaimed happily, and wrapped her arms around Justin's neck. Leen, also filled with joy, did the same to Mullen.
"Oh, really," a cold voice said from behind them. It was Baal. "You four worms may have defeated Gaia. But...you still haven't...defeated...ME!!! All I have to do is obtain that egg and resurrect Gaia once again! But, first...I think...I'll...kill you all! Taste my wrath!!" And he charged at full speed with a maniacal grin.
The Heroes and Icarians readied their weapons, and the dragon's spines bristled. All four, plus dragon, attacked at the same time, but none of them did any lasting damage, for Baal just kept regenerating and healing himself.
"You invertebrates are no match for me!" Baal boasted. "I am invincible!!!"
Just then, at least a hundred lights came down from the clouds. They danced around like fireflies, illuminating the night sky. They came down and danced among the Heroes and Icarians, filling the air with a warm feeling. They were Spirits. They then danced around the Spirit Dragon, and it made a soft gurgling noise, as if the Spirits and the dragon knew each other. Then the Spirits flew down and surrounded Baal, but they weren't dancing this time.
"What's this?" Baal asked himself, confused. "A bunch of mindless lights think that they can stop me?! That's just hilarious. What are you all planning to do, blink me to death?" Baal laughed coldly into the night. "Well, come on then! Give me your worst!"
The Spirits then seemed to become angry. They all grew in size and changed to a reddish-orange in color, and they began to vibrate rapidly, as if hopping up and down.
Baal's smile faded from his face. None of the humans had ever seen Spirits behave like this.
Once seeming playful and harmless, the Spirits now seemed scary and chilling. Then, one at a time, they each shot straight towards Baal, and when they did, they each went through him.
Baal began screaming as if in pain, and then, his body started smoking. Then, to everyone's surprise, Baal then caught fire. His body was now completely in flames.
The Spirit Dragon then moved towards him, and opened its jaws.
Baal looked up, only to see the dragon's gaping jaws coming down upon him. He screamed louder than ever as the dragon wrapped its jaws around his body and tossed him into the air.
Snapping him up again in midair, the dragon then opened its mouth wider and tipped its head back, allowing Baal to slip down its throat. Good had conquered, and consumed, evil.
The Spirits then seemed to become happy again. They shrank in size, became white again, and resumed dancing once more.
Just then, the Spirit Dragon began to illuminate, and the Spirits danced around it. The dragon then materialized into a beam of light, and flew into the blade of Justin's Spirit Sword.
The Heroes and Icarians then heard a voice as the light that was once the Spirit Dragon flew into the sword. It was a deep, but soothing voice, which they each heard within their own heads. The voice must have belonged to the dragon, and it said these words: "Remember, Chosen Ones. The true Power of the Heroes and the Icarians lies not within the wings or the swords. The true Power lies...within your very hearts.
TO BE CONTINUED
THE FINAL SHOWDOWN
Justin tried in vain to hold back his tears, but it was no use. Feena, the only girl who he ever loved, and the only girl who ever loved him, was gone. He knew that it was useless to deny it. He had seen her death with his own eyes, and now he kept seeing it in his mind over and over again. It was sheer torture. He felt as if he couldn't go on without her. In fact, he really couldn't go on without her. Without Feena, their revolt against Gaia would be completely worthless. But then, something very unpredictable happened. He heard voice.
"J...Justin?" said the weak voice from behind him.
Justin stopped in his tracks and spun around. "No way," he breathed in disbelief. The voice belonged to Feena! Justin ran up to her body at full speed. He looked down at Feena to see her alive. Her pale, icy skin was becoming tan and warm again. He looked down at the impalement within her torso. Right before his eyes, it was slowly shrinking and shrinking until it was gone. Justin bent down and scooped her upper body up into his arms.
"Do...you...believe...in...miracles...Justin?" she asked, smiling warmly.
"But...how...is...this...possible?!" Justin stammered. Then, he remembered something Agron had told him. They hadn't defeated Gaia yet. Feena came back from the dead because her work wasn't done yet, just like Leen.
"I guess this means that I really am one of the Chosen Ones," Feena remarked, regaining strength.
After Mullen and Leen regained consciousness, all four, plus dragon, headed towards the center of Gaia. Finally, almost eight hours later, they reached the Core, the very nucleus, brain, and control center of Gaia itself.
"I guess we just let the dragon torch it," Justin announced.
Almost immediately after he said this, the dragon charged towards the ugly mass of neurons, leaped, and clung to it with its claws. It began to rip at it with its ox horn-sized claws, and sword-like fangs. Leaping back onto the ground, it then spread out all four of its legs, took in a deep breath, and blasted the monstrosity with its enormous, blue-and-white- colored flame. Finally closing its mouth, the panting dragon surveyed the damage it had done. There wasn't any.
"Stubborn little bastard, eh?" Justin remarked angrily, and he charged towards the Core and flung his sword at it. The blade just bounced off of it.
Then, the Core began to vibrate, and out of a valve in its base came a yellowish, steaming liquid.
To see what this strange liquid actually did, Feena hurled her knife into it. Almost immediately, the knife began to melt as if it were a stick of butter on a hotplate.
"Acid!" Leen exclaimed. "It's some sort of defense mechanism!"
Then, the dragon began to flame the Core once again.
"Why is that dragon still doing that?" Justin asked. "It doesn't work!"
"Justin," Feena spoke up, obviously getting an idea. "Why don't we try the Power of the Heroes and Icarians while the dragon breathes fire."
"I'm about to try anything now that acid is beginning to flood the room!" he replied.
And with that, the Icarians unfolded their wings, the Heroes charged with their swords raised, and the dragon continued to breathe fire, all at the same time. There was a blindingly bright light, and the Heroes, Icarians, and the dragon, found themselves back in the grassy meadow, facing Gaia.
Gaia began to shake and moan continuously. There was a flash of light, a sound like an explosion, and the tower of Gaia began to shrink down and down back into the crater at the top of J-Base.
The chosen ones ran up to the crater and peered inside as Gaia began to shrink faster and faster, like an enormous sinking ship. There was a final burst of light, and then, all was quiet. Looking down into the crater, they saw the horned egg-like capsule that Gaia started out as.
"It...it's...over," Feena stammered. "It's finally over!!" she exclaimed happily, and wrapped her arms around Justin's neck. Leen, also filled with joy, did the same to Mullen.
"Oh, really," a cold voice said from behind them. It was Baal. "You four worms may have defeated Gaia. But...you still haven't...defeated...ME!!! All I have to do is obtain that egg and resurrect Gaia once again! But, first...I think...I'll...kill you all! Taste my wrath!!" And he charged at full speed with a maniacal grin.
The Heroes and Icarians readied their weapons, and the dragon's spines bristled. All four, plus dragon, attacked at the same time, but none of them did any lasting damage, for Baal just kept regenerating and healing himself.
"You invertebrates are no match for me!" Baal boasted. "I am invincible!!!"
Just then, at least a hundred lights came down from the clouds. They danced around like fireflies, illuminating the night sky. They came down and danced among the Heroes and Icarians, filling the air with a warm feeling. They were Spirits. They then danced around the Spirit Dragon, and it made a soft gurgling noise, as if the Spirits and the dragon knew each other. Then the Spirits flew down and surrounded Baal, but they weren't dancing this time.
"What's this?" Baal asked himself, confused. "A bunch of mindless lights think that they can stop me?! That's just hilarious. What are you all planning to do, blink me to death?" Baal laughed coldly into the night. "Well, come on then! Give me your worst!"
The Spirits then seemed to become angry. They all grew in size and changed to a reddish-orange in color, and they began to vibrate rapidly, as if hopping up and down.
Baal's smile faded from his face. None of the humans had ever seen Spirits behave like this.
Once seeming playful and harmless, the Spirits now seemed scary and chilling. Then, one at a time, they each shot straight towards Baal, and when they did, they each went through him.
Baal began screaming as if in pain, and then, his body started smoking. Then, to everyone's surprise, Baal then caught fire. His body was now completely in flames.
The Spirit Dragon then moved towards him, and opened its jaws.
Baal looked up, only to see the dragon's gaping jaws coming down upon him. He screamed louder than ever as the dragon wrapped its jaws around his body and tossed him into the air.
Snapping him up again in midair, the dragon then opened its mouth wider and tipped its head back, allowing Baal to slip down its throat. Good had conquered, and consumed, evil.
The Spirits then seemed to become happy again. They shrank in size, became white again, and resumed dancing once more.
Just then, the Spirit Dragon began to illuminate, and the Spirits danced around it. The dragon then materialized into a beam of light, and flew into the blade of Justin's Spirit Sword.
The Heroes and Icarians then heard a voice as the light that was once the Spirit Dragon flew into the sword. It was a deep, but soothing voice, which they each heard within their own heads. The voice must have belonged to the dragon, and it said these words: "Remember, Chosen Ones. The true Power of the Heroes and the Icarians lies not within the wings or the swords. The true Power lies...within your very hearts.
TO BE CONTINUED
