Hey Guys! As promised, here's the final chapter for the Prologue Saga...
Took me shorter than expected, but hey... I find it amazing that I actually did something early...
Oops, why am I still talking? Get to the reading! xD
Of Good and Of Evil: The Final Stand
Prologue - Part Six: End Game
As we entered the being, we all felt a torrent of power surge through our veins. Our powers were suppressed the entire time. However, since we've entered the elemental sphere, out powers began to go totally haywire. I could've sworn I've seen visions of the elements bestowing onto me their wisdom. The other tutors seemed to have the same effect. Our armors suddenly began to melt off our fur as our eyes began to glow our signature colors wildly, despite us suppressing our powers as best we could. We felt our bodies burning as the surge began to overwhelm us, as if our bodies were being possessed by some outside being. There was no pain with what we were experiencing, but the feeling of being controlled by outside forces was extremely electrifying.
I was then surrounded with vivid images of six statuettes, circling around me. The orb around my hand suddenly dislodged itself from my arm and began to levitate upward together with the statuettes. The others' orbs had also been removed from their respective owners, and before we could react, a sudden twinge of pain erupted from all over our bodies. We didn't care how naked we were beside each other; no one of us had perverted feelings since the pain was far too overwhelming for us to notice our "bare" complexions. We were suddenly filled with tens of thousands of visions. Visions of the past and future began to encase my mind. One was very strange indeed. I could easily tell this was from the future, since it was no longer on Pacem in Terra, but some other planet.
*Vision State*
The sky was bright and warm surrounding the thick pine forest with its warming rays. The animals had just began to rise from their slumber. But, what crossed my attention was a female chipmunk. Her dark brown fur and brown rimmed glasses showed her age and her exposure to humans. She looked middle aged, and very healthy. But, what did disturb me was the fact that she was pregnant. But, not only that, it seemed that her offspring had the very same auras we tutors have. I counted three auras within her womb: one red (presumably fire), blue (water, I suppose), and Kelly Green (an Earth-user no doubt). I also looked around to see that she was holding on to another chipmunk baby in her arms. This was a unique child indeed. Its aura was that of my father, Soron. A Gleaming bright silver lining haloed over the giggling toddler munk. His mother seemed pleased playing with her first-born. Though, I presume that her mate had either gone missing or has moved on to the nether realm. I was struck with curiosity when I heard the mother chipette have a "conversation" if you will, with her eldest son. She sat on the base of an old pine tree, letting the calm breeze and warm sunlight encase them as they snuggled close together.
"Soon…" she sighed as she rubbed her slightly swollen stomach, "Soon, my darling Max, your brothers will be born. Would you like to hear the names your father and I picked for them before he passed away?" she asked with a sad smile, probably in memory of her mate.
The toddler saddened a bit after hearing what had happened to his father, but he gleamed with happiness and nodded when his mother asked what she was going to name his soon to be brothers. He looked about a year older than the three unborn chipmunks in his mother's womb. Though, I do find it strange that he was the first-born of the litter. I silently hid behind the pine tree closest to them and listened patiently.
"Okay…" she sighed again as she took a deep breath. "Well, the first-oh, I mean second born will be named Alvin, in honor of your grandfather, Alvin, who gave me and your father that same tree we live in now." She then began to contemplate as she tried to remember what she had planned.
"The next…" she put a finger underneath her chin, "will be named Simon, after Simon Peter from the Bible. I'm sure he will be the wisest amongst you four…" little Max then gave a disappointed look toward her mother. The mother chipette could only laugh as she rubbed noses with her eldest son.
"That doesn't mean you'll be the greatest leader among them, right? You'll have to be a good example to them, okay?" the toddler only giggled as he nodded.
She then sighed deeply as she let a small tear drop flow from one of her gorgeous oak-brown eyes.
"The youngest, I believe, will be named Theodore, after your heroic father. I will never forget what he had done to save us, or the forest as a whole. I never found out where he had gained such strange powers. How was he able to control the Earth around him? I would never know. All I do know, is that your father wanted to name the youngest of you four after him, saying that he will soon bear it proudly when he grows older."
She then gave a quiet giggle when her son gave a rather cute inquisitive look. She wrapped her paws around him lovingly as she kissed the top of his forehead.
"Let's not forget about you… my eldest son." She giggled again as she looked around, checking if anyone or anything was there. When all fell silent again, she looked directly into the bright hazel brown eyes of his son.
"Your name, Maximiliam, was from one of our human friends. He is a doctor, a kind of healer that lives in a giant stone house called a "hospital"; it was because of him that you were born, my dear Max. It was also because of him that I-oh, I mean we found out that you were going to have brothers." She then rubbed the silky smooth fur on his son's head, making him giggle as she kissed his son's cheek. What surprised her-no, both of us apparently, was the toddler's first words.
"Mãe… mãe!" he began shouting as he clapped his hands. Both of us were dumbfounded, most especially his mother.
How the hell was it possible for a toddler barely a year old, have his mother speak in English and then reply in Portuguese?
His mother was both shocked and impressed by his son's "gifted" intelligence. She smiled and kissed his cheek, tears in her eyes and snuggled him close to her heart.
"It's not the language I was expecting, my son. But, you are your father's son after all. Did you know your father learned so many languages before we met? Perhaps it was because he spoke Portuguese while you were still in my womb, that you were able to speak like that…" she then began to wonder what his son's first word meant.
"I wonder what "mãe" means… hmm…" but, apparently, her son answered that question as well.
"Mommy! Mommy!" her son cried, smiling. The mother chipette could only laugh and smile as she carried her son up in the air, both of them giggling hard as their faces turned red.
I was going to relax a bit, but the vision was far from over.
After facing my back to the mother chipette and her son, I was brought all the way back to some other place. This time, the temperature was warmer, more wild and dry. I found myself in a thicket, its thorns and branches strangely not affecting me, as I ghostly slipped past them. When I made past the thicket's defenses, there lay a chipmunk couple, holding each other lovingly, hidden by the thickets walls. In between them was a sleeping baby chipmunk, probably as old as the first infant chipmunk I saw. The little chipette's sparkling emerald green eyes was somewhat similar to mine; only hers was of that compared to a newly shined stone engraved in the center of her eyeball. The mother chipette, just like the first I've met earlier, was with child at the moment when I had "visited" them.
She slowly rubbed around her swollen belly as her mate scooped up their eldest daughter in his hand. Her father seemed to be overly delighted that his beloved was with child.
"Just think little Christie…" the chipmunk whispered to his daughter with an ear to ear smile on his face, "Soon, your sister will be brought into this world. Then you four can grow up and become very successful in your lives. But, don't grow up too fast, okay?"
The little chipette could only giggle at her father's amusing face as he kissed her cheek.
"Remember, Sam…" the mother chipette suddenly spoke up, "soon, we will have to consult the tribal healer nearby if she could assist in delivering our daughters. I can already feel little Brittany kick as hard as her little feet could. I think she's far too excited to get out of my stomach."
Sam could only laugh at his mate's dismay. He placed his free arm around his mate, the other one holding on to his sweet and delicate daughter as they shared a warm embrace.
"You know dear…" Sam suddenly broke the silence after their shared hug, "We'll have to name the other two… but what shall we name them?" he then changed to his glance and looked deeply into the emerald green eyes of his daughter's with his own icy-blue ones.
"What do you think, Christie? What should we name your sisters?" he asked with a slight chuckle.
Baby Christie looked inquisitively at her father. I could heavily sense the gold aura that haloed around her, she then pointed to a set of letter blocks on the top shelf. Sam laughed a little as he grabbed his daughter's toy blocks and lay her and them to the floor. Christie then kicked the blocks as hard as she could, which surprised both her parents as she clapped with glee.
Her mother giggled slightly and scooped Christie into her arms.
"Christie…" she giggled, "why did you do that? Those were your favorite toys…" but before she could continue, Christie pointed to the mess that was the blocks below her. Her mother didn't quite understand what her daughter meant, but when she looked closely, she gasped in shock when she realized the pattern her daughter left on the floor.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Sam asked, worried.
"Look at what your daughter did…" she replied, still in shock.
"Yes, I know, she made a mess…" Sam rolled his eyes and shot Christie a disappointed look.
"N-no Sam… L-look closer…" she then let Sam stand where she was a moment ago, and pointed to him the pattern Christie had created. Sam first noticed nothing, but when he looked at it closer, he too gasped in shock when he read the patterns.
His daughter kicked the blocks… and spelled words. Not just words… but NAMES.
Names… but for whom? When both parents looked deeply at the spelled words, they realized that the names were spelled each in its own unique color.
A Purple set of blocks that spelled "Jeanette"…
And a Spring Green set of blocks that spelled "Eleanor"…
"B-Brittany…" Christie's mother suddenly shuddered.
"J-Jeanette…" Sam continued, dumbfounded.
"And Eleanor?" they chorused, then looked at little Christie on the floor, spelling out something with the pink blocks that were scattered all over the floor. When she finished, her parents took a good look at their daughter's work.
A Pink set of blocks that spelled "Brittany"…
The couple was amazed. Their eldest daughter, barely a year old, spelled out the names of her soon to be sisters, using nothing but a sharp kick and a set of pink, purple, and spring green letter blocks. The little chipette's mother was very impressed with her daughter's intelligence. Hell, I'm freakin' impressed as well! Another familiar pang of pain began to wave over me, and immediately I turned my attention to the mother chipette. Sure enough, three more auras made themselves known to me. One pink, one purple, and one Spring Green, the precise colors that Christie herself used to name her sisters. I grinned slightly as the couple began discussing on their daughter's amazing intelligence. I was going to listen some more to their conversation, but the vortex that was my vision carried my elsewhere.
I was then brought to a more "civilized" location. With its streets flooded with busy people, coming in out of the various stores and shops the covered the sides, with a huge ink black passageway in the middle where their vehicles constantly pass on and on. I'm guessing that this is a road for the public to use. I was then brought to attention by the very same familiar pang within me. I began looking for where the auras were originating from before the pain began to eat me up from the inside out.
I began my search, looking through the various houses, alleys, and corners. With each passing hour the pain grew more and more. I realized that this was not like the same planet the other two sets of chipmunks belonged. Their aura presences were far too faint for me to sense, but I know I was still in the same time stream. The search continued until my body began to ache with such excruciating pain. With every step I took, the pain would bring me down to my knees. I was starting to get desperate. Where were the others when I needed them? Wait, this is my vision… no help from the outside world… Damn, visions suck that way. As the location of the auras grew closer, so did the pain that I was bearing all throughout my body. It was as if I had a repeat of that spar I had with the tutors. The auras seemed to be grouped into one location, thankfully. The only problem was, it was above me, in a tree house several hundred meters above me. Now, if this wasn't a vision, and I had my powers, climbing up the tree would be far too easy. But that's why visions were designed this way. They were created in a particular place in your subconscious, where you are unable to access your powers. The Sentinels tau- no, I meant my parents taught us that visions were created there so that you could not hurt yourself, and it ensures equality within the mental and physical realms.
Climbing would still be easy for me, if the pain didn't constantly grow worse by the hour. I silently growled in pain as my head began to throb as I made my ascent. My sight was already beginning to grow wavy as I took paw after painful paw up the tree. The presence of the auras began to warm me, giving me the urge to carry on. The pain was still growing, but at least it was starting to become more and more bearable as I inched my way to the top. When I reached the tree house, the throbbing began to quiet down. I peered through the window, seeing what this "thing" wanted me to see. The house was quite cozy and warm, the quiet brown and white interior made it feel very homey inside. As expected, I see two chipettes, both pregnant, beside their respective husbands. All of them sharing jokes and tales of their experiences before they met again. Kinda like the same old chit-chat I hear the mothers in Pacem in Terra share when I pass by their homes.
"So…" I heard one of the chipettes speak as she grinned, "how go your soon to be daughters, Mrs. Nilla?" she asked, giggling a little as she took a sip from her cup.
"Sophia Thomas…" the other chipette retorted, clearly annoyed, "you know you can call me Andrea… why so formal?" She laughed lightly as she rubbed her swollen stomach. "And to answer your question, they're doing pretty well. I can tell that my little Celene and her sisters will be quite a rambunctious bunch, eh?" Both chipettes began to giggle as their husbands left the room.
"Anyway…" Andrea cut-in, "How go your sons, Mrs. Thomas?"
"Perfectly fine, Andrea…" Sophia answered. "Though even though they're not even born yet, they're already becoming quite the pain. Especially little Brandon. I can already tell that he will be quite the bag of mischief in the future."
I examined both mothers closely, searching for the auras. This was the first time I had a difficult time searching for their auras, but there is always a reason for everything.
I examined Andrea first. Her three unborn daughters carry quite the brightness that she had. One was a bright orange, the second a stunning yellow, and the third was a regular red. These three had the same heartbeat as a flame spark. These three have potential, I could feel it.
When I examined Sophia, however, I found the source as to why I had such a hard time detecting their auras.
'A black aura…' I thought out loud in my head. This one was a darkness user, no doubt. His brothers on the other hand, were of a bright lime green and maroon to bloody red. When the vision vanished from my mind, I began to contemplate on what had just occurred.
I counted fourteen. Fourteen munks? With the same powers we have?
"A new set of tutors…" I slurred, speechless.
*End Vision state*
When I broke off from the being's mental touch with me, I found that I was apparently the last one to wake up. Everyone else had awaked and were in total shock. Amanda, in particular, looked rather disturbed.
"What happened?" I asked a little worried at her condition.
"T-that thing…" she gasped, "took a piece of me…" she began to hyperventilate as I tried to calm her down with an embrace.
I breathed a quiet sigh by her ear, coaxing her to relax. I let my eyes glow a heavenly white and whispered to her ear.
"Calma, meu amigo ...não há nada a temer ...me diga o que tem acontecido…"
Her brown-green eyes then began to glow her usual dark brown as she whispered into my ear her experience with the being.
According to her, one of her descendants will bear her name, it only seemed fitting that she looked like her. So, the being dove into her womb, took hold of one of her eggs, and left her unharmed, but traumatized and perhaps permanently scarred. I hugged her tighter as I felt her anguish and pain flow to my heart.
"Está tudo bem ..." I cooed to her ear as I let her tears stain my fur, "pode suportar a dor que você não ser mais…"
The words didn't quite affect her, since she was never fond of learning foreign languages. Still, she returned the hug with tears and almost hysterical sobs. I patted her back as I felt the softness of her honey brown fur.
We all realized then that our armors had really melted off when the being consumed us. Our fur ruffled with the breeze as day quickly grew to night.
Phelan seemed quite ecstatic when the being had left him. When I had asked him, he only told me that his vision was that of a partial victory. I didn't seem quite relieved. But I also had to admit I was still rather pleased.
A partial victory was still far better than bitter defeat.
As we prepared to walk back to camp, the ground below us began to shake uncontrollably as our eyes once more began to uncontrollably glow our respective colors again. No longer did we feel the pain the first time it had happened, but we still were feeling rather uncomfortable with our powers going totally haywire. The earth split in between us all as we felt a sudden torrent of unbelievable power enter our bodies. I could feel the intensity from such a force when I felt my control over the elements begin to double, then triple, heck, even quadruple! The surge quickly vanished as fast as it had arrived, leaving us stunned in both shock and awe. We exchanged glances at each other, wondering whether anyone of us had an explanation. What caught our attention was that each one of us a gem implanted onto our chests. The chipettes had their gems planted just above their bosoms; while we munks had ours planted directly on our chests. The fourteen gems were each in our signature colors, and they glowed bright hues when our powers turned active. The gems then started to spring out root-like tendrils as they began to encase our bodies. Somehow, the gems told us to relax and let the tendrils do their task.
The tendrils began to cover up the once bare parts of our bodies, overlapping them with some kind of unique armor. It felt as though it was thick, at the same time very maneuverable and light. The armor began to snake around our shoulders, covering whatever bits of fur along the way. The ladies' armor, just like their original armors, left a space around their stomachs, leaving them bare, exposing their curves. The feelings then left us as we glanced at each other once more. Our newly formed armor covered us pretty well. Gauntlets covered our paws and heavy greaves for the guys and light ones for the girls. Our eyes no longer glowed uncontrollably, and for once, we feel as if we were in total control of ourselves.
"What just happened?" Sally asked, clearly confused. The other tutors looked at each other asking the same question among themselves.
"This…" I stated, "Is the gift my parents left us when they left this world…" I looked at them with a smile, though they looked at me with baffled looks on their faces.
I laughed lightly as my emerald green eyes, as if on que, returned to their almost permanent heavenly white color.
"What I mean is…" I let out a small sigh, "that our powers have reached their highest peaks…" everyone looked at each other and give a relieved 'oh…' and we all shared light laughs.
We gathered around in a small circle and shared one last group hug, hoping that all of us would make it through this war. Phelan said it himself that we would have a partial victory. That, in itself, was more than enough to convince me that we might still have a chance of winning. Seeing that everyone was just recovering from what had just happened, I took it upon myself to bring them back to the camp. I lifted a large earth disk from below all fourteen of us, and gently levitated it back to the camp. All of us shared jokes and past experiences. Even the ever quiet and mysterious Phelan gave bits and pieces of himself. When we made it to camp, a messenger from the Victory came to greet us.
"Oh, General Andrews, General Tome and tutors…" the human bowed in haste, with a troubled look on his face.
"What is it, messenger?" I asked, troubled about his worry. I looked up at his towering height over us, and used my eyes to get the answers I wanted.
Looking at the seriousness I had on my face, the messenger recollected himself and took a long sigh.
"Its Captain Michael, sir…" he spoke glumly. Sally and I gasped at the mention of the very name.
"What happened?" Sally suddenly cut in. Her powers were still quite uncontrollable as she let a gust of wind suddenly burst out from her exasperated yell.
The messenger quickly panicked before Sally's uncontrollable wrath, as I eased her into a calming embrace. I felt her tears freely flow from her eyes as we anticipated the worst that could've happened to him.
"He's seriously injured, generals…" I heard him whisper, "And we believe he hasn't much longer…"
Sally began to sob deeply, staining my new armor as she tightened her embrace around me.
"Can you take us to him?" I asked, teary-eyed as well.
"That is why I'm here, general…" he bowed slightly as he closed his tired eyes, "the fourteen of you are to come with me to the Victory to say your last words to the Captain, come… there's no time to waste."
Immediately, we were beamed aboard the Victory, still orbiting around the outskirts of Pacem in Terra. All fourteen of us were deeply saddened and surprised at the Victory's condition. The battlefield around her looked like Armageddon struck that tiny portion of space. The Victory herself was battered and torn, its hull just on the brink of breaking, had it not been for her repair teams. We walked along its burnt out pathways and cracked floorings. Every corner of the ship had hundreds of injured soldiers being treated by as few as three to four medics, who barely had enough medical supplies to assist their patients. Out of deep sorrow and pity, I searched deep with my untapped potential, and drew out a warm light from my chest. It began to beat slowly and softly, like a little heart. I clasped it warmly around my palms, as I softly blew into it, making it grow larger with every breath. Personally, I really had no idea what I was doing, but my heart was telling my body to do so, so I had no objections. When the light had grown to a size of a ball (probably a golf ball, hey, I'm a chipmunk. Golf balls are rather big for me…), I shot it out toward the center of the ship. When the ball of light made contact with the creaking hull, a sudden flash of light began to engulf the entire ship.
As the light swept throughout the tattered ship, more and more of its damaged shell began to slowly repair. The soldiers who were injured began to regenerate and heal at inhuman speeds. The consoles began to return to their tip-top forms. Every bit of the almost-ruined vessel began to return to its original form. When I released my grip from the ball of light, exhaustion and lightheadedness immediately swept over me. I felt myself being caught by several pairs of hands, only to realize that they were several dark tendrils, casted out by Phelan himself. My tired, saggy eyes looked at his burning blood-red ones. The darkness within him must have doubled when the being consumed him.
"Easy there, Perry…" he cooed as he gently brought me back to my feet. "You okay? You seemed pretty tired ever since that "thing" spat us out." He asked, a little worried, raising his brow at me inquisitively.
"I'm fine…" I retorted, a little annoyed, "I really don't know what happened, how I did it, and how much energy I consumed. But, whatever it is, it really took a toll on me." I then felt a sudden burning sensation on both my palms. When I looked at them, both paws appeared they were slightly burnt, like I was holding on to a wild flame in my paws for several seconds before letting it go. I began writhing in silent tears the pain from the burns. Once I regained myself, I looked toward the messenger with a determined look on my already saddened face.
"Take us to him." I commanded. He obeyed without question as he led us to the medical wing. There, we saw Michael, his body covered in bandages; his body was bleeding, a bandage covered the upper left portion of his head. All of us looked at him with sadly. He was barely 28, he was turning 29 in just a few weeks, and he even has a girlfriend back on his Terran home world. We compressed around his bed, his eyes closed as we looked at his calm, nearly lifeless face.
I began to take to pondering about the light that I just created merely seconds ago. It healed the ship and her crew, but why didn't it affect Michael at all?
"This doesn't make any sense…" I whimpered, which scored me confused looks from the others. DJ brought an arm around my shoulder, making me look into his dark cerulean eyes. DJ always understood situations like these, he's been in far too many similar experiences, and he easily comforts those with the similar pain he's constantly suffering. He shot me a comforting smile, like brothers sharing the pain that the family bears. He immediately hugged me silently, letting my held-back tears flow freely. He too, also shed tears of his own, as the rest of the group joined the embrace. Even the seemingly cold-hearted Phelan shed a few unwanted tears. His face blushed with embarrassment when his tears began to flow. He hated exposing how he truly felt. Sally broke off from the hug and smiled at him reassuringly. She hugged him tightly, and let her tears touch his mahogany brown fur. Phelan's Forest Green eyes began to water as Sally began to slowly unlock the real Phelan from the emotionless exterior that she was seeing.
"I-it's alright, Phelan…" Sally whispered in between sobs, "n-no need to h-hold it in…"
Phelan resisted, but eventually, the wolf-like, strong willed munk too, broke into tears as he tightened his embrace around her. I too broke off from the hug and walked toward Michael's face. The life-support system beeped annoyingly, keeping the already dead body in front of me "alive". This was something totally unexpected, but I doubt he had any regrets.
When I got to him, I smiled at him, tears streaking my eyes as the pain enveloped me. I touched his cold cheek with a small glint of light extending from my paw.
"Thank you, Michael…" I whispered, hoping he could hear me. "You did your best. Now, I think it's time you took your rest. I believe you deserve it." With that, Michael's life-support system turned itself off, and Michael passed away right in front of us. The tears that I now shed were no longer tears of pain, but of happiness. He was in a better place now, I believed that.
Sally approached me, her eyes glinted with sorrow. My emerald green eyes looked deeply at her sapphire blue ones as we shared a loving and passionate kiss. We embraced each other tightly as tears trickled down both our cheeks as the pain that separated us now seemed to bring not only Sally and me, but everyone gathered here, closer together. The death brought by one man has gained the unity of fourteen plus two hundred and ninety-nine others who mourned for his death. He shall forever be remembered in our hearts.
Funeral preparations were supposed to be made. Unfortunately, we were too late for that.
A large wave struck the Victory's shields, making us all collapse to the floor. Shocked, everyone quickly panicked to stand and see what had occurred.
"What the hell happened?" Angel asked, completely caught off-guard. When I looked out toward the window, I let my mouth drop agape at the horror that was before me. Hundreds of frigate ships began to appear out of hyperspace. All of them bearing the insignia of the Dark Lord himself. Everyone's eyes grew wide as the Dark Lord himself made his presence known. We all trembled with fear as we felt his evil presence echo throughout Pacem in Terra's surface.
"Hear me, foolish rodents!" he boomed. "I have come to finally claim what is rightfully mine. Your resistance is futile now!" he cackled before laughing maniacally.
This angered us all. Enraged, I ushered them to the transporter to begin our counter-attack. But, as I made my way ahead of them, I felt a sudden piercing object pass right through me. There was no pain, but I felt blood spill right out of my mouth. I could not speak, but I did manage to look down. A sword had been wrung right through me! Its color and symbol I recognize far too well. I managed to utter one final word before I collapsed.
"P-Phelan?" With that, I collapsed to the floor. Looking upward toward the sky, I saw him, with an evil smile on his face. He held the other tutors in his dark grasp. The tendrils holding them firmly in place. He looked at me with his bloody-red eyes, and whispered something only I could hear.
"I'm sorry, Perry. But, like I said, this would be a partial victory. If you intervened, we wouldn't stand a chance. But, with you gone, at least you fools would have some consolation…" he began to laugh maniacally as he tightened his grip on the other tutors. I could hear them choke and yell curses at Phelan for betraying us. I tried getting up, but the blade thrusted in me wouldn't allow me to do so. Just as I was about to give up, I heard my beloved Sally scream in pain as the tendril tightened it serpentine grip on her. This brought my blood to a boil. My fangs made themselves present; my eyes turned into a bright heavenly white as I thrusted out the blade from my body. The wound it formed began to heal, and I stood proudly in behind him. Phelan turned around too late, as he was about to strike me, I lashed out tendrils of my own, throwing him across the room. He immediately released his grip on the tutors, all of them gasping for the air they recently lost. They looked at me with awe, as my red white aura began to glow a fiery red.
The original Periosha Andrews finally awakens to take his place in this world. My aura returned to its original color. The flames of the other elements that had burned within me had become a part of my soul. They bored themselves deep within my newly returned flames. The spirit of the phoenix surrounded me, giving me a bright orange glow. Phelan was about to strike with his hell-fire, but it was immediately countered when Azrael quickly countered with her tendrils. Frustrated, Phelan jumped off the side of the ship and into the teleporter as he cowardly dashed to Pacem in Terra. Everyone followed suit, but I was already there when Phelan arrived. How, you ask? I wouldn't know. When Phelan arrived, I breathed a great wall of flame toward him. Instinctively, he dodged the flame and countered with controlling the shadows around me. I let out a blood-curdling roar as the flames around me spiked, making the shadows disappear. I was about to attack him again when the Dark Lord himself thrusted a bolt of black lightning toward me.
I was quick to counter with a wall of light. The other tutors arrived and immediately took to action. A scout had informed Isley that the militia had already begun their defense against the Dark Lord's forces. The Dark Lord casted his demonic claws upon me, and immediately my body froze underneath his shadow. As powerful his attack was though, I forced my body to shake off his power, with such a force that it could destroy me in the process. Sally and the tutors began to attack Phelan. Sally's shadow orb began to form around her paw as Azrael combated Phelan with her master swordsmanship. Phelan barely parried Azrael's quick, flawless strikes as he also avoided Aaron's water spikes. He created a wall of hell-fire in order to protect himself against Isley's light orb attacks. Isley then used the light around him to create what was known as the Solar Collider. A giant ball of light began to form above him as the power of the sun began to grant Isley more strength to bear and strengthen his attack.
Kat, likewise, followed Isley's example, and created instead a Lunar Collider. Using the power of the Moon and the stars, she created a giant Violet and White sphere. It too, began to expand and strengthen the longer Kat held it in. She also began producing sparks of electricity from her paws as the power began to surge through her veins.
Cheryl, Teresa and Ricardo was ushered from the battle to join the resistance back at No Man's Land, ensuring that victory would be our only result.
DJ, meanwhile, created a protective barrier of fire around the two light users as he countered Phelan's blade with his own burning sword. The two began parrying and countering each other before Azrael phantomed her way behind Phelan, preparing to slice his traitorous head off. Phelan quickly noticed, and barely dodged the swing. He had survived the initial attack, but it didn't leave him unharmed. He felt blood flow from his right shoulder as he cursed while looking at Azrael's bloodied blade. He prepared to counterattack when Sally suddenly appeared in front of him. Phelan prepared to attack, but Sally already released a gust of wind below him, sending him upward. They were going to finish him off when they heard yet another blood-curdling roar come from where the Dark Lord and I did battle.
And that roar was from none other than myself.
The orange phoenix aura around me began to change its hue to a bloody red. My claws were stained with black blood, as my tail began to swish around in total rage. The Dark Lord and I were on even grounds. Neither of us gave in to the other's will or power.
That was until, I decided to finish the fight… once, and for all…
Gathering the very last strings of my strength, the hue of the phoenix's aura changed to blue. I closed my eyes as I let the elements around me respond to my plan. The flame I had carried began to grow uncontrollably as the ground began to quake and split. Phelan had been forced back near the Dark Lord. Both of them waiting for what crazy move I intended to do. All of them looked at me, and the now dying face I had. A green line of energy began seeping out of my body and into the blue phoenix. Everyone gasped at what I was doing. Shouts of panic and fear were heard at what energy I was using.
I was using my very own life force to finish this fight. I… plan to die along with them.
"Now…" I roared, "You will never claim this place. I will use the very essence of my own life to destroy you and your "puppet", right here… right now!
"NO!" I heard Sally scream, but it was too late.
The two light users blasted their fully charged attacks toward Phelan and the Dark Lord, which made them use their energy to block such powerful forces. However, that left them vulnerable to the phoenix.
"Of Good… and Of Evil…" I mumbled, feeling the pains come to me as the power slowly relieved itself from me.
"This… is…the…Final…Stand!" I roared. The Azure Blue Phoenix then flew from my body, colliding with the two evil lords, dragging them upward the sky. The phoenix grew at an alarming rate. It quickly swept all over No Man's Land, dragging all of the Dark Lord's minions with it as it began to soar into the depths of space. Once there, it absorbed the hundreds of ships that poured into Pacem in Terra, then it began to gather up all the evil that Tempest had caused. All the evil that had corrupted the very existence of the universe was dragged into the Phoenix. Once it felt satisfied with its burden, it exploded in varies of miraculous colors, eradicating the evil that once caused this universe nothing but grief and sorrow. Now, peace and love can finally began to sprout out from the dirt that this plague had caused for hundreds of years.
The cost was worth my body. I lied there lifeless. My spirit ever present as Sally and the others wept for my death. They said that my sacrifice was worth it. That it temporarily berid the world from evil, so that we could start anew.
Sally smiled at my now lifeless form as she knelt next to it. She took one cold hand toward her stomach and smiled lovingly at me.
"I was going to tell you when the time was right… but now, I'll always tell our child-or children- of your deeds, my love. I'll never forget you. Your name will be forever remember, Periosha. I love you, just as you have loved me. We lasted for two years together in a strange new world. Now, I believe our offspring can be the same heroic figure their father is. You've done so much already. You deserve your rest."
She kissed the top of my cold forehead, and planted a soft, wet kiss on my lips.
I smiled as I stood behind her. She turned around when she felt that there was someone behind her, only to see me standing there. She cried tears of joy as she hugged my ghostly form.
I whispered something into her ears, something only she could understand and hear…
"Eu estarei sempre lá para você, meu amor. Eu te protegerei de todo perigo, e eu vou manter nossas crianças seguras das insídias do mal. Eu te amo e sempre amarei para sempre ... Adeus e eu estarei esperando para você quando chegar a hora..."
I then kissed her softly on her lips. She felt the warmth of her lips as she tried to return the warm feeling by deepening the kiss. Our tongues did battle one last time, swirling and holding onto each other, begging that one would never leave the other. When we broke from the kiss, Soron and Serenity suddenly appeared behind me. Smiles were ever present on their faces as they approached Sally.
"You have a very beautiful mate indeed, Perry…" my father chuckled, making Sally blush.
"And just so you know, we both approve…" my mother cut-in, smiling at both of us.
My parents then gave Sally their blessings, as my father kissed her forehead and my mother her cheek. Just as they did with me before they left. They joined once again, standing behind me.
"I'll be waiting for you, Sally…" I smiled, "but don't give your life away… it'd hurt me if you do…"
Sally giggled lightly. "Of course not… I'll join you yet, Perry…" with tears stinging her eyes, she smiled one last time at me, "I love you…"
I smiled back, tears also stinging my eyes. "And I love you…" with that we vanished into thin air. Sally smiled as she felt the unborn child within her cry its heart out with the departure of its father. Sally rubbed her stomach gently, and hushed the child within.
"No need to worry, my beloved…" she cooed. "You're father will never really leave us. He literally 'sticks' to things, and especially people.
The sun began to set as she walked to the funeral service. A new hope sprung alive in her heart.
'I promise you, Perry…' she spoke in thought, 'that this child will be your greatest gift to me, and you'll regret dying because you won't be able to take care of him/her. Serves you right…' she lightly giggled at her last comment. She felt me smack my forehead with the palm of my paw, as I shouted out loud in heaven.
"AW, MAN!"
I know it looks like the last part was rushed, but like I said, school is NOT being helpful... T_T
END!
That's all folks! (for the Prologue that is…XD)
Review button is right below!
Please R&R!
"Living it my way..."
-Periosha
-Max
-Soron