Part Fifteen:
The eight trained with Tizora for two months, learning to control and effectively harness the powers given to them by Fyora and the Sorceress, Sun's future self. Now, finally, the day comes to use those powers for real...
The group, plus Tizora, had just finished breakfast one morning when Fyora approached them.
"It is time," she announced, "Time for you to confront the first faction of the Tri-Union, the Monoceraptor and his Grarrl warriors."
"What!" cried out Spritzie, "That's impossible!"
"Eight of us, against an entire army and the Monoceraptor?" despaired Sun, "But how?"
"It won't be just the eight of you," replied Fyora, "You will have your powers, and Tizora will be going with you. Though she has no powers, she does know the strengths and weaknesses of yours, and knows many techniques for physical battle. And two days ago I sent messengers out to summon any rebel camps -- Neopians who actively rebel against the Tri-Union whenever possible -- and they should already be on their way there as we speak."
"Do you really think we can do this?" questioned Lil nervously.
"I have no doubt," replied the Faerie Queen, "I am afraid I can no longer help you on your mission, for now. This war is your destiny, the reason you were brought to the future. But when the time comes, you will see me again. Goodbye, and good luck!"
With a wave of the Faerie Queen's hand, the nine were no longer in the Palace, but on Tyrannia.
"Well, this place hasn't changed much," sulked Chibi. All around them, the land was mostly bare of vegetation. Volcanoes dotted the land in various places.
"Why is that volcano guarded?" Lil asked, looking at an especially large volcano. It was guarded by a large group of Grarrl warriors.
"Well, if it's guarded, that must be where we need to go," commented Luna.
"Ok, I think I have a plan," Spritzie began, "Sun, make it dark so it's hard for the guards to see. Then Koorite can go invisible and use his speed to attack, and Gryffin can go up and use the weather."
"Ok," answered Sun. She looked up at the sky and concentrated. Soon, the sky grew dark. "Can you guys still see to do your parts?" she added.
"I can," answered Gryffin, as he flew into the sky.
"No problem here," replied Koorite.With that, he went invisible and sped off to the Grarrl warriors at the volcano. With his lightning speed and invisibility, several guards were baffled as painful slashes suddenly appeared on them.
Gryffin concentrated, and massive clouds appeared in the sky. Suddenly, lightning bolts appeared, and struck some of the Grarrl guards. They collapsed, unconscious.
"Ok, Sun, make it light again, so we can see," commanded Spritzie. As Sun obeyed, the sky grew only slightly lighter, as it was still covered by Gryffin's clouds. The group saw as a Grarrl warrior struggled inside the mouth of the volcano. Within minutes, three very large Grarrl Battlemasters appeared at the rim. One roared loudly. With that, they ran down the volcano, an army of Grarrls behind them.
As the Grarrls approached, the Neopians fought, clawing, using their powers, everything they could. Then, a group of Pteris joined the battle. Chibi, Spritzie and Tizora flew into the air, and with Gryffin, they fought the Pteris. Using her powers, Lil lowered the temperature slightly, to slow down the reptiles.
"Where did the Pteris come from!" exclaimed Spritzie.
"They must have heard the battle, and come to help!" answered Gryffin.
"It's no use!" cried out Luna, on the ground, as she took down another Grarrl. "We're too outnumbered!" Suddenly, an incredibly large rock fell from the air and landed on one of the three Battlemasters, a few feet from Luna. Luna looked in the direction the rock had come from. There, approaching in the horizon, pulling homemade canons and other weapons, was a large group of Neopians of all kinds, led by three Battle faeries. One of the Battle faeries approached her.
"Warriors!" exclaimed the Battle faerie, "I, and my Battle faerie sisters, bring to you the rebel factions of Neopia, at your service!"
"Help is here!" cried out Luna to the others. Before long, the battle began to turn in their favor.
"Sun, behind you!" Chibi cried out from the air, as a second Battlemaster reared back, preparing to swallow the Ixi whole. Chibi concentrated. His horn glowed, and then suddenly, the Battlemaster burst into flames. It stumbled around, roaring in defeat, before collapsing.
"Emerald, watch it!" called out Luna, as he was taking down another Grarrl. Emerald turned behind him, and before he could react, the third Grarrl Battlemaster had knocked him down, and had placed his foot firmly, but loosely, on the Kougra, holding him in place. The Kougra roared angrily. The Battlemaster roared triumphantly.
"Hold on, Emerald!" cried out Luna. She started to run toward the Battlemaster, but three warriors appeared and blocked her path.
"Luna!" cried out Emerald.
"I'm coming!" answered Luna, fighting to try to get past the Grarrls. Every time she defeated one, another would replace it. It was almost as though they were trying to keep her away from the Battlemaster and Emerald.
"No!" Emerald cried out to her, "Don't try to take on a Battlemaster by yourself! I've got to be the one to stop him, I can do it!"
"Don't be an idiot!" cried out Luna, "You can't stop him alone any better than I can!"
"Yes I can, I have to!" answered Emerald. He paused for just a second.
"I just want you to know that I'm sorry..." he said to Luna sadly, "I'm sorry you and I couldn't have... had more time... more time to... to become closer than what we did..." his voice trailed off.
"What?" questioned Luna, swiping again at another Grarrl. "What are you saying, Emerald?"
"Goodbye, Luna!" Emerald shouted to Luna. He looked at the Battlemaster.
"If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me!" cried out Emerald. He concentrated. Suddenly, from all around them, towers of rock shot up around them, forming a rock circle. The rocks then slid together, forming a many-layered tomb, trapping Emerald and the Battlemaster inside. There was a roar from within the tomb. Then another. Then silence.
"No! Emerald!" cried out Luna, as she took down the last of the Grarrls in her way. She ran up to the rock casing and tried to claw her way through, without success. A small, white light appeared at the top of the rock case, then floated up and entered Tizora's body.
"Emerald? Gone?" she questioned, a tear forming in her eye.
"What was that?" asked Spritzie, who was nearby, as she saw the light come up from the rock and into the blue Uni.
"Emerald. I think somehow his life force was absorbed into me," answered Tizora. "I think... I think he's..."
"No!" cried out Spritzie. She flew down to Luna, followed by Tizora. She stood there for a moment, then flew off, attacking every Grarrl she could find. "You freaks are gonna pay for killing my brother!" she cried out angrily. Luna, with renewed determination, followed Spritzie's example.
"Nobody takes someone I care about from me and gets away with it! This is for Emerald!" Luna cried with a roar, each time she defeated an opponent. "Ugh!"
Suddenly, there was a rumble. There was a loud roar. All the Grarrls and Pteris immediately began to retreat. All of the Neopets, Battle faeries and rebel factions included, assembled together. Chibi and Gryffin flew down to the group, and Spritzie rejoined them.
"What's going on?" questioned Lil, walking up to the rest of the group, "Where's Emerald? And why are the Grarrls and Pteris leaving? Did we win?"
"Emerald is dead," Luna said, tears in her eyes.
"And he's the reason the Grarrls and Pteris are moving out," answered Chibi, looking at the volcano. Out of the mouth of the volcano, a monstrous creature had appeared. Almost as tall as the volcano itself. Thick, reptilian skin. Razor-sharp spikes along his back. Long, powerful teeth. Around his neck he wore a large golden, triangle-shaped pendant.
"The Monoceraptor!" exclaimed Lil.
"There's no way..." Tizora whispered in despair, "It's impossible..."
"I think I have an idea," said Gryffin, "I'll shapeshift into something his size. Make the fight more fair. While I'm fighting him physically, you guys throw your powers at him all you can, to try to weaken him."
"Ok," Spritzie said, "Be careful, though! We don't need to lose anyone else!"
After a moment, Gryffin began to change. His wings shrank into his back. His feathers and fur hardened with his skin into scales, and darkened to a midnight black color. Long claws erupted from his hind feet. His front feet became ten-fingered hands, each with a long claw protruding from it. His tail split in half, then split in half again, until he had three long tails, each with lacerating spikes on the ends. Long, sharp teeth grew in his mouth. He began to grow, and grow, until he was equal in height with the Monoceraptor. He stood erect.
The Monoceraptor saw his new opponent. "Hmm? A new creature in Neopia comes to fight me?" he questioned with a deep, booming voice, "Faerie work, perhaps? Is it possible that the Faerie Defense League has somehow reunited and become stronger?"
"That's right," said Gryffin, "New and Improved Heroes, at your service!"
"Hahaha..." laughed Monoceraptor, "Well, better get it over with. Hope you said a proper goodbye to your friends." Saliva dripping from his mouth, he prepared to charge.
As Monoceraptor charged, Gryffin sidestepped and swiped him with one of his tails. Bright red marks appeared on the place where the tail had connected with the Monoceraptor. Then, to Gryffin's amazement, the pendant around the monster's neck began to glow, and the wound almost immediately healed itself.
"What?" questioned a stunned Gryffin. The Monoceraptor, taking advantage of the confusion, used the claws on his tiny fingers to strike his opponent. Spritzie quickly sent some of the gaseous shield to heal Gryffin's wounds. Chibi sent a fireball at the Monoceraptor, but it simply bounced off of him and flew into the air.
"Argh, I don't believe this!" cried out Sun, "He seems to have some kind of power, to deflect our magic and heals him from physical injuries!"
"There's nothing we can do then," sulked Tizora, "There's no way to beat him." The group stood watching helplessly, both militia and Faerie Defense League, as Gryffin fought the Monoceraptor, with no success. As the battle wore on, Gryffin grew weaker and weaker, from fatigue and injury. The Monoceraptor, however, showed no signs of either. Everytime Gryffin injured the Monoceraptor, his pendant would glow, and the wounds would heal. Suddenly, the Monoceraptor attacked with such force that Gryffin was knocked to the ground.
"Now, it is over!" exclaimed a triumphant Monoceraptor as he stood over the fallen Gryffin, "The Tri-Union will never be threatened again!"
"No!" called out Luna. She sent out a thick blast of water at the Monoceraptor. Like Chibi's fireball, it reflected easily. Gryffin noticed the glowing pendant, and got an idea. With one of his ten-fingered hands, he reached up and grabbed the pendant around the Monoceraptor's neck.
"Argh!" Gryffin cried out in pain, as the power of the pendant, still glowing, sent massive jolts of electricity through his body. Combined with that, the Monoceraptor was swinging around like mad trying to pull Gryffin away.
"As soon as I get the pendant off, someone throw it into the volcano, or something!" cried out Gryffin, "The rest of you be ready to blast him with everything you can!"
Finally, after what seemed like ages, Gryffin managed to pull the necklace off of the Monoceraptor. Immediately, he threw it up into the air. Chibi caught it in his mouth, and started making his way to the nearest volcano. Gryffin fell to the ground, exhausted. The rest of the League and the rebels hit Monoceraptor with everything they could. This time, Monoceraptor felt the pain, and sustained the injuries. Struggling, Gryffin stood back up. With one last swipe of his tails and slash of his claws, Gryffin struck the Monoceraptor down. The battle was over, Monoceraptor defeated, laying lifelessly on the ground. Suddenly, Gryffin collapsed.
"Gryffin!" Sun cried out, as she and the others ran up to him.
"Hold on, Gryffin, I'm gonna use my power to heal you!" assured Spritzie.
"No," whispered a weak Gryffin, "Save your strength, you'll need it." With that, his eyes dulled, and his breathing stopped.
"Gryffin?" Sun questioned, tapping his still large body with her hoof, "Gryffin, wake up!"
Chibi returned, just as a small, white light left Gryffin's body and entered Tizora.
"Gryffin!" cried out Chibi, tears in his eyes. Luna walked up to him and hugged him.
"I am sorry for your friends who fell in the battle," one of the Battle Faeries said gently, "But now, you must go to the next faction, Dr. Sloth, in the space station."
"How do we get there?" questioned Spritzie, "Even Space Faeries couldn't get inside. " Suddenly, the ground started shaking. Lava and smoke burst out of the volcano that Chibi had thrown the pendant into.
"An eruption!" exclaimed the Battle Faerie, "But this is no ordinary volcanic eruption! It must have been set off by the power of the pendant! This one will wipe out the entire region. You must get out of here, and get to Dr. Sloth's, quick!" she pointed in the direction of the volcano from which Monoceraptor had emerged. Out of it came a small spaceship. It was plain, metallic in color. It was oval-shaped, with a diamond-shaped object on the top. It flew on its own until it was directly above them, high in the sky. A hole appeared in the bottom.
"The ship is very easy to learn how to work," one of the other Battle Faeries said, "On it is a device which can disable Sloth's defense systems and allow you to board his space station. It will be dangerous, but have faith! Good luck! Now, go!"
At that, Spritzie grabbed Luna, Lil got on Tizora's back, and Sun got on Chibi's back, and they flew up, towards the spaceship.
"Wait!" Lil said, "I have to stop that volcano!"
"How?" questioned Tizora.
"If I can lower the temperature enough, maybe I can cool the lava enough to harden it," Lil answered. "If I don't try, it'll kill everyone alive."
"That's crazy!" Spritzie argued.
"I have to at least try!" Lil argued, "Tizora, will you take me to just above the volcano?"
Reluctantly, Tizora flew Lil to the volcano, as the others went inside the ship and waited. Lil and Tizora hovered just above, in an area where the smoke was not as thick. Lil closed her eyes and concentrated. Soon, the lava cooled and hardened very rapidly, but at the same time, more lava was still coming out.
"This isn't working," Lil said, "There's only one way I can think of. I'm going to jump into the volcano and cool it from within."
"No!" Tizora protested, "You'll be incinerated before you get the chance!"
"I'm already approaching my peak amount of power, I can feel it," Lil answered, "By the time I hit the inside, I will have built up enough strength to cool it almost immediately. That much power, should release not only in the area of lava I land in, but it should stretch the power out throughout the volcano, making it dormant again."
Lil looked up at the hovering spaceship, tears forming in her eyes.
"Tell everyone goodbye for me!" she said quickly. Before Tizora could react, Lil jumped off her back and into the active volcano.
"Lil, no!" Tizora cried out, too late, as she saw Lil enter the volcano. A few minutes later, even as the lava was coming out, it was cooling and solidifying. Within a matter of minutes, the volcano was dormant again.
"Goodbye, Lil," whispered Tizora, as a small, white light came out of the volcano and into Tizora. As Tizora felt Lil's life force enter her, she flew up and into the spaceship with the rest of the group.
The group has defeated the first division of the Tri-Union, but at a horrible cost. Will they be strong enough to defeat Sloth? Who will be next?