Chapter 25
Violet arrived at the top of the highest peak in Mt. Hood. What were supposed to be white clouds full of snow were dark purple clouds with thunder and a powerful wind that had ice particles flying around like a tornado. Also floating in the air, slowly but surely were coffins. The coffins of the missing children. Every single one of them, floating along with the dark clouds and the ice. The highest peak didn't have snow. Instead, it was covered by a large platform, with glowing purple cracks and smoke coming out of it.
"Mt. Hood is a volcano. Did you know that boy?" asked Violet to Tyrone, who was chained to the ground by Violet's powers. Tyrone tried to break free, but the chains were much too strong. They were connected by stone pillars where Tyrone was.
"Mt. Hood appeals to me because it's a sleepy volcano with little power. Just the perfect place to harvest the youths of the children." said Violet.
"You can't do this. You can't." said Tyrone.
"I must. If I were to win the fight against Viscount Brion, I will have the power to destroy him and Rood Bridge Park." said Violet.
"Rood Bridge Park? Why do you hate it?" asked Tyrone.
"I have my reasons." replied Violet. She floated to the ground and stood in front of Tyrone. He tried not to look at her nakedness. Everything was exposed, to her breasts to her bottom, everything.
"You're shy. You are a respectable young man. I know I appear very seductive, but in order for me to get young, I need to be like this to absorb the youth of these poor children. Yours included I'm afraid." said Violet.
Tyrone felt hopelessly powerless. There was nothing for him to use. Nothing to fight this woman. He was powerless, and chained! There was absolutely nothing for him to use.
Violet turned around and summoned one of the coffins towards her. She opened it and inside was a sleeping little girl, wearing her unicorn PJs, and she was still hugging her teddy bear.
"What are you…" Tyrone was about to say.
"She will go first. Her youth is so pure. So innocent. She looks like she's the youngest in her family." said Violet as she caressed the sleeping girl's hair.
"Leave her alone!" cried Tyrone.
Violet laughed and she opened her mouth wide open. To Tyrone's horror, there was nothing there. She looked like a serpent ready to swallow her prey whole!
"No! Wake up kid! WAKE UP!" cried Tyrone.
Just then, a bolt of ice appeared out of nowhere and struck Violet away from the coffin. The Groke appeared out of nowhere and placed her large furry hands on the ground, putting everything on ice.
"No no no! What are you doing?!" cried Tyrone, as he was frozen in place, freezing him into a statute made of ice.
"Oops. My bad." said the Groke.
"We'll free him later. First, we got to take this bitch down." said Destiny, holding a sword, one that Morso gave her. Behind her were Morso himself and the bunny army.
Violet stood up and smiled. "You think an army of rabbits is enough to stop me? What a joke!" she floated into the air and screamed a high pitch scream. The Groke shot ice shards at her, but Violet protected herself with a force field.
Destiny ran up to the open coffin of the sleeping girl and closed it. She then tried to move it out of the way, close to Tyrone.
"I don't know if you can hear in there, but watch over the girl will you?" she asked the frozen Tyrone, who was able to move only his eyes.
Destiny then quickly ran across the platform and threw the sword at Violet, who's attention was still at the Groke. She didn't even see the sword fly towards her until it hit her by the side of her ribs, making a surprisingly large cut.
Destiny ran quickly to grab the sword and used it to defend herself. Violet looked at her in surprise. "A sword warrior? You?" she asked in fear.
"A what?" asked Destiny.
"No. You don't know what you are even wielding! Only Sword Warriors of Rood Bridge Park can hold a sword! Not a mere human with no power whatsoever! I refuse to be beaten by an insignificant human!" declared Violet.
The Groke kept on firing ice crystals at Violet and one of them managed to hit her, slamming her against a rocky wall.
"Yes!" cried the Groke. She then quickly aimed more ice at Violet, who was on the ground. Violet protected herself with her power and she quickly pushed whatever invisible wall she created against the Groke.
Destiny got up and ran up to her. She then pushed Violet to the ground and then she punched her really good. The enraged Violet then grabbed Destiny's fists and tried to push her away, but Destiny wouldn't budge. She kept on punching Violet's face and the witch angrily scratched Destiny's arms. Although her arms were protected by a coat, Destiny could feel the sharp edges of her nails like knives. Violet then headbutt's Destiny's nose and she stands up, pushing Destiny against the rocky wall.
Destiny then kicks her under the belt, but of course Violet didn't budge. Instead, she scratched Destiny's face with her long nails and then she pulled Destiny's hair. Violet then screamed and threw Destiny against the rocky wall, hitting her head. But miraculously, Destiny was not knocked out. She got back to her feet and kept on punching Violet very hard, hitting her chin, then at her cheek. She even punched one of her breasts.
The Groke didn't know what else to do, other than wait for Violet to be alone and Destiny to get out of the way. If she fired one of her ice shards, she could hit Destiny, or worse. Morso and the bunny soldiers were cheering for Destiny as she was fighting and Tyrone simply watched from his frozen state.
Violet and Destiny were still ducking it out while the sky got darker and the clouds became much more fierce. Violet realized time was running out. This fight was taking forever. And she was practically losing to a human. A human girl! Violet was processing everything in her brain until Destiny punched her against the rocky wall. Violet then bit her lips very hard and spat out blood. In fact, she realized she had cuts on her head and on some parts of her naked body, bleeding out small lines of blood.
A human made her bleed from cuts and bruises. And that infuriated Violet. She screamed angrily, and her scream made Destiny stop for a second. With that happening, Violet punched Destiny across the face and Destiny fell to the ground. Violet then kicked her on the stomach with her foot and floated up into the air.
The Groke shot ice particles at Violet, but she stopped them short with her powers. She looked up at the sky and already it was about to be midnight.
"I won't lose. I will have power! I will have my strength!" cried Violet.
Just then, out of nowhere, Bubbles the Hermit Crab appeared out of nowhere. He was actually at the top of the peak with them, and at a higher ground than Violet! He jumped high into the air and fell on the witch.
"NO!" cried Violet as Bubbles fell on top of her.
"Bubbles?!" cried Destiny, standing up.
"And Matt! He's on top of Bubbles!" cried Morso.
Matt quickly got off Bubbles, who was pinning Violet to the ground.
Violet cursed out loud, saying hateful words until the sky became darker. She realized she was too late.
"YOU FOOLS! DON'T YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU HAVE JUST DONE?!" she screamed.
"Yeah! We saved the children from you." said Destiny.
"And in doing so, you sentenced me to DEATH!" screamed Violet.
"You were going to KILL those kids! Don't you dare lecture us!" cried Destiny.
Matt stood behind her and the Groke was also by her side.
"How embarrassing. A human defeated you. And not just a human. Two of them, along with a hermit crab soldier. How the mighty have fallen." said the Groke.
Violet screamed angrily and then her face became old and decrepit. "You will suffer! The lot of you! You will all suffer the wrath of the Eternal Winter! The whole lot of you! DAMN YOU ALL!" cried Violet as her face became skeletal and soon there was nothing of her. Bubbles found himself lighter and saw that there was nothing left but dust.
"Ashes to ashes and dust to dust." said the Groke.
"Well said." said Destiny, wiping off some blood from her nose.
"You okay?" asked Matt to Destiny.
"Never better Matt. Never better. Go save your brother. He's in a funny situation." said Destiny.
Matt turned to see the frozen Tyrone and ran up to him.
"Tyrone! What happened?!" cried Matt.
"I'll unfreeze him as soon as I stop this… whatever this is." said the Groke, looking up at the dark purple sky.
"What is it?" asked Morso.
"The Eternal Winter curse… this one is… different." said the Groke.
"Different how?" asked Destiny.
"There is no ice in the sky, other than the ice particles. There is something else going on." said the Groke.
"Try freezing the sky." said Morso.
The Groke shot ice powers to the sky, hoping to freeze the clouds or something. Instead, the clouds became much darker and it shot an electrical volt to the ground.
"Oh my gosh!" cried Morso.
"That woman…" said the Groke.
"What?" asked Destiny.
"The curse. She enhanced it. It is indeed the Eternal Winter Curse, but Violet did something to it to make it more power proof." said the Groke.
"Then how do we stop it?" asked Morso.
"And how do we wake everyone else up?" asked Matt, pointing at the floating coffins.
"Unfreeze Tyrone. He might help us." said Destiny. The Groke snapped her fingers and the ice melted off Tyrone, who began to breathe.
"Tyrone! You're alright!" cried Matt.
"For now. Just wait until I get sick with something." said Tyrone.
"Did Violet say something to you about this curse?" asked Destiny.
"She was bragging about how powerful she was going to be. Nothing else." said Tyrone.
"Then what can we do?" asked the Groke.
"Why not kiss the kids on the cheek to wake them, like in the fairy tales?" asked Morso.
"That won't work. Plus it's creepy!" cried Matt.
Tyrone looked up at the sky and looked at the coffins. He then felt chills run up to his spine after he realized something.
"Guys, remember who it was who told Violet she can do this sort of thing?" asked Tyrone.
"She said it was the Viscount…." Matt stopped instantly. He realized this was one of Brion's tricks.
"No way! This is Dark Impulse! No wonder why it's not working!" cried the Groke.
"Hello, of course it's Dark Impulse. This curse was cast by a witch." said Morso.
"I know, but I didn't realize that this was the reason why my power couldn't stop it. We'll need more power to stop the curse." said the Groke.
"What kind of power?" asked Tyrone.
"Anything that represents the good. You see, Dark Impulse is powered by many negative emotions. Hatred, jealousy, malice. But the forces of good are much more powerful. We have to use the power of the Light Impulse to stop this." said the Groke.
"Easy, but how exactly?" asked Morso.
"A hug. A kiss. Anything that appears as good." said the Groke.
Tyrone and Matt both stood next to each other and they both gave each other a hug. Something happened. The storm stopped somewhat, but it kept going.
"Do that again! Hug!" cried Destiny.
Tyrone and Matt hugged tighter and the storm was calming.
Destiny smiled and she quickly picked up one of the soldier bunnies and gave it a hug. The storm was getting quiet.
"It's working! It's actually working!" cried Destiny.
"What? Really? Showing displays of personal affection? That's stupid!" cried Morso. With that, the storm got darker.
"Oops. Negativity makes this storm powerful." said Morso.
The bunny soldiers all gave each other hugs, even to Bubbles. The Groke and Morso hugged each other, but the curse was not lifted. It was getting weaker, but it was still much too strong.
"Hugs are not enough!" cried Matt.
"What if we say sweet things like I love you or something!" cried the Groke.
"I love you Matt!" cried Tyrone.
"I love you Tyrone!" he cried in return. The boys smiled and they awkwardly patted each others back.
"What sweet brothers." said the Groke.
"That's not working still!" cried Morso.
"Look!" cried Destiny, pointing at the sky. The coffins all came together and floated towards what appeared to be an eye forming. Then out of nowhere, an angelic like being appeared, wearing long white robes. Her arms had wings and so did her feet. Her head also had wings. This person, whoever it was, looked a lot like some form of Goddess from mythology. She also looked like a statue, with an expressionless face and her eyes were bright blue. Her skin was white as porcelain and her hair looked like it was made out of glass. Indeed she was different and beautiful.
The Groke and Morso both screamed at her sight however.
Tyrone quickly asked them. "Who is it?"
"It's the original caster of the Eternal Winter Curse! Lady Tundra!" cried the Groke.
"Is she good or bad?" asked Destiny.
"Bad! She's bad! Really bad!" cried Morso.
Lady Tundra put her arms forward and pushed everyone away.
"Violet served her purpose. She brought me an offering. Children who will give me youth. I was about to strike her dead when I saw you all fighting her. Then imagine my surprise as you all thought your pitiful displays of affection were weakening my curse. How foolish." said Lady Tundra, in a booming and commanding voice.
Tyrone and Matt both blushed and folded their arms angrily. "Real men, I mean bros can say I love you to another bro!" cried Matt angrily.
"Yeah! We're brothers!" cried Tyrone.
Destiny stood tall as well. "We are going to stop you!" she cried.
"Three humans with no power and no Sword Warrior training come to face me? Violet was a joke. I should have ended her misery the moment she cast my curse." said Lady Tundra.
"Now I understand! This wasn't just a curse for the Eternal Winter. This was also a curse to bring you back from the dead! Years ago you were struck down by Sword Warriors during the ancient days of Rood Bridge Park!" cried Morso.
"Correct. This curse brought me back to life. And now that I'm here, I might as well take the youth from these children, then I will come after you all." said Lady Tundra.
"No! Stop it!" cried Tyrone who stood in front of everyone and he faced Lady Tundra with no fear. The Goddess looked at Tyrone and was taken aback by his courage. She floated down slowly and stopped midway to observe the brave one who was defying her openly.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"Nobody. But you have to let the kids go! They have lives here! They have families, loved ones, and a whole life ahead of them! I don't know why you want to destroy Rood Bridge Park, or whatever hidden world you want to get rid of, but why punish them? What's your reason? Because you're evil? Is that it?" cried Tyrone.
Matt wanted to stand by Tyrone, but Destiny pulled him. "No. Wait a second." she whispered calmly to Matt, who was getting worried for his brother.
Lady Tundra folded her arms. Indeed, she did look like a statue come to life from a museum of Greek Mythology.
"I have my own reasons, child. This I can tell you; humanity is a curse. Humans destroy everything that is good on Earth. I was once human myself, but I saw the light and I decided to step forward and cast this curse. I was struck down by opposers who loved life, and yet they weren't able to kill me. They should have. Now that I've returned, my goal is still yet to be complete." said Lady Tundra.
"That's bullshit!" cried Tyrone.
"Excuse me?!" asked Lady Tundra in surprise.
"Even if you're some form of Goddess, you are still human; just like everyone else! If you go ahead and kill those kids and us, you'll be no better than a human who really is bad!" cried Tyrone, speaking from his heart.
"You dare offend me!" cried Lady Tundra.
"You sound just like the woman who took these kids! You're not different." said Tyrone angrily.
Lady Tundra floated up in the air and summoned the coffins towards her. Tyrone looked everywhere on the ground and found a rock. He grabbed it and then he threw it at Lady Tundra.
She looked down at Tyrone and her eyes began to glow.
"Tyrone! Run!" cried Morso.
The Groke quickly shot her ice powers at Lady Tundra, stopping her for a brief second.
"Run for it boy!" cried the Groke.
