They saw that the hill had a huge crater in the middle, they slid on down into the carter, only to see a statue of a giant bird made out of hardened lava. "What the heck is that?" Alex asked. "Your demise" A voice said. They all turned to see Maleficent. "MALEFICENT! It's time to pay for your evil crimes!" Alex yelled as he charged at her. But was blasted backwards by a gust of wind. "Actually it's time to put an end to your annoyance!" Maleficent said as she held her staff in the air. The forest Sprite cowered behind Alex. "Lord of air and flame! Death by thy name!" Maleficent chanted. Suddenly it began to get hotter. "Is it me, or is it getting hotter?" Jack asked. "Fiery demon unleash thy wrath! Destroy all good within thy path!" Maleficent continued. A rumble was heard. "Guy's I got a bad feeling about this…" Alex said. Stitch began to point at the Statue; it was moving, and two red eyes appeared on it. "Come forth and unleash thy might! Firebird take flight!" Maleficent finished as she disappeared. A loud screeching noise was heard and the Statue shattered, revealing a giant flaming bird, its skin was molten lava, its wings pure fire and its eyes, was the incarnate of evil itself. The Forest Sprite fled the area, but left Alex and his friends behind! And for a brief second, Alex's heart stopped, in both Awe, and fear.
Chapter 27: Wrath of the Firebird
Eyes went wide as they stared at the beast. The Firebird screeched again, snapping them out of their trance. "RUN FOR IT!" Alex screamed as they all ran out of the crater and into the depth of the forest. The Firebird flapped its mighty wings, and took off after them. As it soared thru the air, flames from its wings ignited trees, setting them ablaze. It didn't take long for the entire forest to be on fire, now our hero's were trying to escape the Firebird, and the once beautiful forest. They weaved their way thru the flaming forest, desperate to get out. But they came to a halt at a cliff side; it was a long way down. The firebird stopped and floated there, staring at Alex and his friends. "It's no good, we can't escape!" Ariel cried. Stitch growled. "Then we'll fight!" Stitch said picking up a boulder. He heaved at the firebird, only to have it melt when it came in contact with its skin. But this gave Alex an idea. "Stitch quickly! Grab another boulder and place it on the edge of the cliff!" Alex said. Wasting no time, Stitch grabbed another huge rock and placed it at the edge. "EVERYBODY GET ON!" Alex cried. Everyone jumped on, and their weight caused the boulder slide off the edge, they were riding the rock down the cliff.
The Firebird yelled as it swooped down and followed them. It opened its massive beak and fired a stream of magma after them. The boulder came to a stop in another crater, only to have the magma follow it, and form a pool around it, meaning they were trapped in the middle of a pool of magma! Stitch got a running start and jumped off the boulder and onto a nearby ledge. Ariel and Jack followed his lead. "ALEX! COME ON!" Ariel yelled to Alex who was still trapped on the slowly melting boulder, he was too scared to move. The Firebird eyed the boy and inhaled deeply. Alex closed his eyes and braced himself.
But as fate would have it. Something grabbed him and pulled him out of harms way just as the Firebird blasted a stream of Lava where Alex once stood. Alex felt wind blowing in his face; he opened his eye, to see the Forest Sprite was holding him as she flew thru the air. "YOU CAME BACK!" Alex cried in happiness. The Forest Sprite smiled as they soared thru the sky. The Firebird was not amused though, it flapped its flaming wings and went after them. "ALEX!" Ariel cried from below. Alex looked behind them and saw the Firebird. It fired and other stream of lava at the two. The Forest Sprite quickly did a U-turn and whizzed past the fiery demon back to Alex's friends. The Forest sprite let go of Alex, and beckoned them to follow her. The group followed her to the center of the flaming forest, only to see a massive tree which reached high into the sky. The Forest Sprite raised her hand in the air and created a shield around them all.
The Forest Sprite closed her eyes and began telepathically communicating to Alex, Jack, Stitch and Ariel. "Quickly Alex, The cave under the great tree, that's the only place his evil cannot touch!" Her voice was that of a small girl, child like. 'Well then, are we waiting for? A written invitation? Let's go!" Jack said running into the cave, but Alex stayed with the Forest Sprite. "COME ON!" Alex called. The Forest Sprite sighed. "I cannot dear Alex, if I drop the barrier now, he'll destroy us! If you and your friends get in the cave, at least you'll be safe" Alex thought for a moment before it hit him. "No. NO! THAT THING WILL KILL YOU!" Alex screamed. "It does not matter Alex, what happens to me is irrelevant, only you can make a difference, only you can bring back the peace and harmony our world once had..." Stitch poked his head out of the cave. "Alex! Come on!" Stitch called. "I'm not gonna leave you to die!" Alex said.
"Heh, you truly are like Xela, I'll miss you Alex…" Jack and Stitch had to drag Alex into the cave. 'LEMME GO!" Alex screamed.
When the Forest Sprite saw that Alex was inside, it dropped the barrier, just as the Firebird found them. The Forest Sprite fired a beam of energy into the air. The Firebird glared at the sprite and inhaled deeply. The Forest Sprite turned to Alex and smiled. And before his eyes, Alex watched the beautiful Forest Sprite disappear under the magma."NOOOOO!" Alex screamed. Alex wanted to rush out and kill the bird, But Jack, Stitch, and Ariel, held him back.
A pile of lava stood where there Forest Sprite once was. The Firebird then landed and gazed into the cave. Suddenly, thunder was heard, and the Firebird had a look of fear on its face. Before it could fly away, the rain poured on down. The Forest Sprite's energy beam caused it to rain. The Firebird screeched in pain as it began to melt into the ground. And in an instant it had disappeared. The Fire began to subside in the forest, but the damage was done, the trees were stripped of its color and leaves, the animals had fled, and poor Alex was left weeping. Stitch nudged him on the side, but Alex smacked him a way. "Lemme alone…" Alex sniffed. Tears ran down his face. "It's all my fault!" Alex thought.