Disclaimer: I'm not saying it again.

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Part Four

Sarayou looked on in horror. Were any other aishas with him? She squinted, but couldn't see any others. But then again, there are a lot of shadow aishas in the pride. Did anyone leave the pride with him?

Sarayou turned and took off down the hill, towards the gelert lair. She located Sinya, who was trying to get the puppies to a safe place. One was lagging behind. Putting her muscles into full speed ahead, she dashed at the pup, grabbing it as she went by. It yipped in surprise.

An exploding snowball crashed in front of the cave, just behind Sarayou. Sinya stepped in the cave after the puppies just as it hit. Sarayou surged forward once more, this time with the puppy. She raced through the cave, and into the nursery. Sinya stopped for a minute to let her blow past him, then followed, allowing the smallest pups to latch onto his back since they couldn't keep up.

"How did they get a snowball?" Sinya shouted after her. Once they got in the nursery, he lowered his voice. "An exploding one at that?"

"Toranyo. He has connections in the lost desert," Sarayou answered sadly.

"Isn't that Hasia's husband? The leader of the aisha pride?" Sinya was frantic now. "Are the aishas still on our side?"

Sarayou sighed. "Yes, he is. Nevertheless, I saw him marching with the lupes. I didn't see any of the other aishas with him, but it's pretty dark, and most of his close friends are dark colors."

Sinya opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. So he turned to leave, letting Sarayou come up with a reason to make the puppies stay in the cave and away from the entrance.

"Let's go call Hasia. If she's still with us." Sinya heard Sarayou come up behind him. She nuzzled his nose to get him up.

"Don't lie around. We need to get moving. You had plenty of time to take a nap earlier." She left it up to him to get up and follow her.

They left the peace and quiet of the cave and entered chaos and loud war cries. Sinya took off through the battlefield, fighting off attacking lupes all the way. When he reached the speech rock, he looked back to see Sarayou jumping on heads, snapping at some lupes, and swinging at others. When she reached him, she hopped up on the rock and began the S.O.S. call for Hasia and the aishas.

Sinya joined in and in no time they could see Hasia and the pride racing through the field and towards the hill.

"Here they come!" Sarayou raced through the battlefield once more, this time too fast to see, let alone strike at. She ran until she found Hasia, then came to a screeching halt.

"Sarayou! What's wrong?" Hasia barely avoided slamming into the panting gelert.

"They-" Sarayou panted, "They're here."

"The lupes?" Hasia became even more alarmed, if that was possible. Sarayou nodded, and continued,

"They came a night early. Rafe must have known that we heard. He planned an early strike!''

"Oh my god," Hasia resumed running once more, Sarayou following.

"And, Hasia?" Sarayou shot a sorrowful glance at her best friend.

"What?"

"Toran's leading them, at Rafe's right paw." Sarayou said this quickly, trying in vain to keep Hasia from panicking. The aisha stopped in her tracks, and told the pride that she and Sarayou would catch up soon. They ran on, and she and Sarayou slowed to a walk, each trying to get her breath. "I saw him, at the front." Sarayou explained. "I hardly believed it myself, Hasia. But I saw him, right beside Rafe." She fought back tears as she said it, trying to keep strong for Hasia's sake.

"He was with them…with the lupes. I wonder what Rafe told him. Probably a twisted version of what you told us." Hasia turned to Sarayou, her eyes showing traces of suspicion. "Yours is the truth… isn't it?"

"Yes! Why would I ever lie to you? I saw him with my own two eyes, Hasia. I would never lie to you. About anything. Or anyone." Just after she said this, they heard the thunderous roar of battle, and another barrage of snowballs flew at Sarayou. They just barely dodged, and raced into the field. There were lupes everywhere. The aishas were outnumbered one to three; the gelerts, one to four.

Hasia stole a bag of snowballs from a passing lupe and darted even faster towards the hill, with the lupe pursuing her. Sarayou rid herself of a brown lupe and jumped on the one chasing Hasia. She flipped her over -from what Sarayou could tell it was female- and found herself standing over Persia. They both paused, startled at seeing each other, then Sarayou simply fled after Hasia, leaving Persia in the field.

Suddenly Sinya was there, loping beside her.

"I figured it out." He panted, quite out of breath from trying to find them. "I know what it means!"

"You know what what means?" Sarayou looked at him, confused.

"Let's get Hasia! Then she'll hear it as well!" Sinya had to shout to be heard. Sarayou nodded, and went faster, telling Sinya to meet her at the hill. When she got there she collapsed, exhausted from running. Hasia gave her a snowball to throw.

"Evidently Taelia enchanted the bag," Hasia yelled. "It's still as full as it was when I took it." She launched a peach snowball at Rafe's brother, hitting him on the head.

Sarayou threw hers, then told Hasia, "Sinya wants to tell us something! Come on!" she tugged at Hasia's wing. Sinya got there at the same time. "More running! Let's go, Sinya!" the girls ran past Sinya, leaving him to turn around and follow. Geez, doesn't anyone know how to fly? Hasia looked around and realized that she and a few others -two aishas, three gelerts, and a lupe- were the only ones with wings. Oh. Duh. She fluttered her own dark, glittering wings and picked Sarayou up in one arm, and Sinya in the other, then flew towards the cave entrance.

"Okay, what do you want to tell us?" Hasia hid the enchanted bag of snowballs between a rock and a wall.

"The poem! In the chamber, in the back of the cave! The one you showed me, Sarayou. I'm sure Hasia's seen it."

"Yeah? What about it?" Hasia was growing impatient.

"I solved the riddle! Come on! I'll show you." he took off towards the crystal cavern. The girls exchanged nervous glances, then sped after him.

They still marveled at the beauty of the cavern. It was glowing -and got brighter when they entered. Sinya gasped at the beauty of it all. Hasia and Sarayou gaped.

"The cavern -it… it's never done this before! It was always sparkling, shining. But not glowing!" Sarayou stuttered. She turned in a circle in the center of the room, taking in its glowing warmth.

"What's going on? It's so beautiful. Yes, it's pretty, but why is it doing that?" Hasia was full of questions. She had only been here twice, the day she was born here -then once on her twentieth birthday, for her wedding to Toranyo. Her thoughts flew back to him.

Toranyo… I wonder if he'll make it. Is he still on their side?

"The poem," Sinya started, jolting Hasia from her world of thought, "is not a poem at all. It's a prophecy." he led them triumphantly to the slab, reading it aloud once again.

"When war is at its peak,

When pain is at its greatest,

When three colors abnormal

Come together.

Left crescent, upright eye, right crescent,

Together form the Trimoon.

All enemies will perish,

Wiped from the earth as if

They never were.

Few will be spared,

Those who are true to their heart.

Then Trimoon will

Disappear,

With one more calling yet to be.

That calling?

Do whatever it takes to

Keep peace an easy task.

Soon life will reign,

Soon life will return to

The way it was before.

Trimoon will not return

Unless it is needed.

If used wrongly,

The world is in mortal peril.

Thus is the

Trimoon prophecy.

"War is at its peak! Look outside if you don't believe me. And there's so much pain out there you wouldn't believe it. Three colors abnormal." Sinya stressed the last sentence, to see if they would catch onto what he was saying.

"That's us!" Hasia said. "We're not normal colors by any means," she cried. "I mean, look at us!"

"Yeah, really," Sarayou joined in. "I'm lime green, not pale teal. And Hasia is a shadow faerie aisha! Who ever heard of a shadow faerie aisha? Or any shadow faerie neopet for that matter?" She was shouting now, with realization finally kicking in.

"Yes," Sinya answered. "And I'm gold, but not solid like with a brush. And our eyes. They are definitely abnormal."

"What about the next part? What's 'Trimoon'? And what does it mean by 'Left crescent, upright eye, right crescent'?" Hasia stepped up to make sure she got it right. "Yeah, that's what it says." She turned to Sinya for another answer.

"That, ladies, is where our significance is stated. I don't know what 'Trimoon' is. But what I do know is this. 'Left crescent' -my birthmark, on my right paw. It's a crescent facing left. The 'upright eye' is Hasia's birthmark, on her forehead. It looks like an eye standing upright, on its end. And, lastly, 'right crescent' -Sarayou's left paw. Her birthmark is facing right; it's also a crescent." Sinya grinned triumphantly.

The girls looked at each other.

"And the rest?" They inquired, synchronized.

"The rest is about what will happen if we come together to do something here. All evils pertaining to us three will disappear, as if they never were. It s purpose is to keep the peace, and it won't come back unless we need it. And if it gets into the wrong hands, then this world will be very unpleasant."

"Okay." Sarayou looked around the room. "What is it we're supposed to do?"

"I have a feeling," Sinya said, walking around to the back of the pedestal, "That this is what we do."

There were three small craters in the crystal on the back of the pedestal. They were just big enough for a paw. The left one had a right crescent shape above it, the center one an eye on its end, and the right one a left crescent shape, all different colors of crystal. The first was an emerald, the second clear black obsidian, and the third amber. The room glowed brighter as the trio approached the craters.

Sinya put his left paw in the right one, and instructed Sarayou to put her right paw in the left one.

"Now I put mine in the center. Here goes," Hasia mumbled, doing as she said she would.

The crystal cavern glowed even brighter, almost to a blinding light. The three symbols proved themselves to not be attached to the pedestal, and moved out of it. The three neopets gazed on in amazement as the crystals fused together, becoming a sphere, like a full moon. They took their paws from the holes and watched the object float in the air above them.

"Trimoon!" someone shouted from the cavern entrance.

The three stood and turned to see who it was.

"Rafe! What are you doing here?" Saryou stepped forward to protect her friends. "Get out!"

"You," Rafe growled. "So you were the three destined to unlock Trimoon. I should have known."

"I said, get out," Sarayou growled menacingly. "Your impurity does not belong here!"

"Trimoon is mine! Hand it over!" Rafe rushed forward and tried to grab Trimoon. Instead, Sarayou bit him.

He threw her to the side, her impact with the wall a loud thump, accompanied by a cracking sound. "Do not challenge me, foolish child!" Rafe grabbed Trimoon and took off outside.

"Sarayou! Are you okay? Sarayou!" Hasia rushed to Sarayou's side. Sinya winced at the sight.

"Sarayou, don't leave us! No…" Sinya cried. "Hold on! Don't go!"

"Get…"Sarayou said slowly. "Get Rafe. Get Trimoon back… before it's too late." She winced. Her head was throbbing.

"But what about you? We can't leave you!" Hasia was crying.

"Just go. I'll be fine…"Sarayou trailed off, then knew no more.

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A/N: Wow, this is really good for being so corny... -