Chapter 12- battle on the beach
Hi, I am sorry the chapters are taking longer to do and upload. I have been off sick and had been unable to access the internet in the past few weeks, among other things like more important priorities. Hopefully I can get back into doing this story more frequently. Anyway, here we go with chapter 12...
Meanwhile
Betelgeuse, Rigel and Teal'c continued to chase down Pettigrew's group as they continued their escape through the trees, that group and their cargo riding a horrible-looking pumpkin carriage. That carriage resembled a cursed version of a pumpkin carriage synthesized by a certain maid's fairy godmother to allow the maid transport to a castle to meet a prince, but there was no time to take in this carriage's resemblance to that story's pretty and magical pumpkin carriage for Teal'c and the two Wolf sisters and granddaughters of Nanu knew they had to apprehend them and rescue the kidnapped kids. As the three continued their pursuit of Pettigrew's group through the thicket, Teal'c looked around as he swam through the air as Kamaitachi always did.
"Are we heading in the direction of...?" he began when Betelgeuse finished this sentence, confirming the familiarity.
"The BEACH!" the dark red, orange-eyed Wolf barked as she and Rigel dodged a tree. Teal'c snapped out of his gaze of the familiar surroundings and continued the pursuit. The chase continued through the trees in the direction of the beach close to the cliffs where Cair Paravel Castle stood perched overlooking the Eastern Ocean. However, the chase had not gone unheard and Betelgeuse, Rigel and Teal'c had unexpected help on their tail. Not too far away from Teal'c and the Wolves' location, another group of pursuers charged through the forest, also after Pettigrew's group. This group consisted of four young Kings and Queens on their horses and several different sorts of creatures, among them several Nekomata, some Fauns, one or two warrior Centaurs, two Nine-Tailed Kitsune, some Terror Birds and some Flying Rods. High King Peter charged through the forest ahead of this group on his horse with his three siblings, King Edmund and Queens Susan and Lucy close behind. Following the Monarchy Quartet were some of their officials, among them Tumnus and his cousin Guinan, Kushanku, Alexandrite; Sordward, Sheilbert, Athos, Porthos, Aramis, Squea'tagnan the warrior Mice; Rattus the warrior Rat and his adoptive Lightning Pika brother Mjölnir; Ahhuayo the aging Ahuizotl, and Hagrid and Alestomeria the Kitsune. Also with them were Basophil, Eosinophil, Monocyte, Neutrophil, Padparadchsa "Paddy", Milky Way and some of the Flying Rods including Rosa the Magenta Flying Rod. The Flying Rods flew overhead, serving as aerial guidance for the Monarchy Quartet and their grounded assistants and under their directions, the four Monarchs charged through the forest with their assistants in tow.
When Rosa and Basophil had been taken to Cair Paravel, along with Leon and the other teens, the pair had been freed of their magical binds by High King Peter's magical sword called Rhindon. Magical swords like Rhindon were among the few tools capable of snapping magical binds. Ordinary blades and points such as Kushanku's Gladio-Captionisse, or GC, Sword-Within-A-Sword or Eosinophil's trident and even bladed non-weapon tools like scissors could not break these binds for they had been purposely magically imbued to be unbreakable except by their users but thankfully, High King Peter's sword Rhindon was able to overcome this magical property much to everyone's, especially Basophil and Rosa's, relief. Leon had been treated by Queen Lucy with her Fire Flower Cordial and had been told to stay behind with his sisters and other teens excluding Basophil and Eosinophil with Mr and Mrs Beaver and some other assistants for their safety so Leon and company were absent. After all, they had participated enough in these dangerous battles, especially Leon after the Stinger-Rat stabbed and severely injured him with its tail-stinger.
High King Peter's group continued their pursuit of Pettigrew's group under the guidance of the Flying Rods including Rosa and within moments, the dark red, dark blue and white forms of Betelgeuse, Rigel and Teal'c, emerged into view through the trees and as soon as they had fully caught up with them, they joined the chase. Through the trees the enemy group with its pumpkin-like carriage was clearly visible ahead of them.
"THERE THEY ARE, THE KIDNAPPERS!" yelled Paddy with a point of her sword. With that, High King Peter's group, along with Teal'c and the two Wolf sisters, picked up their pace. Kushanku commented on the carriage.
"Look at that carriage's appearance," he called, "It resembles a corrupted version of that magical carriage used by Cinderella to travel to the Ball."
"They probably used it to lure out the children from the school," said Sordward as he and his twin brother Shielbert sidestepped a tree trunk while Athos, Porthos, Aramis and Squea'tagnan deftly dodged some roots and woodland floor debris like stray logs and sticks to avoid tripping over or crashing into them.
"Stay focussed on chasing down that carriage and rescuing the kids," shouted King Edmund, his stern glare flashing at the group. Kushanku and the warrior Mice obeyed and continued their chase.
"WE'RE NEAR THE BEACH!" shouted Rosa from above. High King Peter and company flashed glances at the surroundings and saw that the density of the trees around them was dropping from a clutter to more spacious dotting. More light poured over them as the canopy overhead also dropped in the density of branches and leaves. Up ahead was a strip of pale white-brown sand and beyond it, the crystalline azure and silver expanses of the sea. However, High King Peter and company continued their pursuit as Pettigrew and company hastily swerved left on the sand, kicking up a shower of it on the go, continued to charge and then finally pull up, meeting some more sinister groups, some of which also accompanied by carriages and similar modes of transport of cargo.
"Why are they pulling up on the beach by the Eastern Sea?" asked Mjölnir perplexed as he and Rattus prepared their weapons, the former reaching for his war hammer. High King Peter didn't reply as he brandished his sword, Rhindon, and prepared to lead his group to engage the kidnappers and rescue the kidnapped victims. King Edmund also drew his sword while Queen Susan took her bow and an arrow from the quiver on her back and nocked the latter into the former, prepared to shoot it at the sinister creatures. Queen Lucy also prepared her dagger while Kushanku, now hovering with his two tail branches spinning like the propeller blades known to the Monarchy Quartet in their world as helicopters, prepared his GC sword.
"Kushanku, you launch the first attack while you, Flying Rods, Alexandrite, Terror Birds, Teal'c and Warrior Mice, rush to the carriages and rescue the kidnapped victims while we engage the creatures," commanded High King Peter. Kushanku nodded obediently and prepared to launch into an aerial battle charge, his broad GC sword aimed at Pettigrew and company as they hastily prepared to unload their cargo of captured victims while the rescue group prepared for combat.
Pettigrew barked orders to his underlings and the members of the other kidnapper groups, some of them being Siren-Heads, Slender-Men, Neko-Cabbits and one being a Triffid-Mouth (a Humanoid-like plant creature with a dark flower-like mouth with the petals fringed with razor-sharp teeth and a venomous whip-like tongue snaking out of the centre; it was actually a type of Dark Dryad that was loyal to Jadis), to unload their carriages and prepare the tied-up, kidnapped victims for collection by some helpers from the sea. However, they had been caught and now they were forced to both prepare the kidnapped victims for collection AND fend off their pursuers and Kushanku had already started the fires of the inferno.
Kushanku, his tails spinning and propelling him aerially at high speed rocketed towards Pettigrew's group, his GC sword poised to strike, his eyes blazing amber fire and his colourful fur almost puffed out from aggression though they were flattened by the passing wind as he charged through the air. His white hair also spiked out and through his teeth, a vicious hiss gritted. The flying Nekomata zoomed towards a Slender-Man as it placed one of his granddaughters, Malachite who was bound, her limbs tied together, onto the sand and without hesitation and with one silvery slash of his sword, violently cut the creature down. Malachite flinched at the intense violence and the screams of the Slender-Man's allies as her grandfather then flew away, turned round above the water and charged back, flying straight towards a Siren-Head. Pettigrew reached into his pocket and pulled out some colourful string, the magical binds, but before he could fling it at the Nekomata, Kushanku to bind him, an arrow tipped with red tailfins shot in and penetrated his shoulder, sending literal STABBING pain erupting from there and the Elf screaming for it and grasping the pierced area for Queen Susan had struck by firing the arrow at him. Then a lightning bolt appeared and zapped the Stinger-Rat as Mjölnir attacked. As the Stinger-Rat thrashed from the bolt, the yellow Rodent resembling an electrical rodent from another world then rushed in and, swinging his electrically charged war hammer such that it resembled a silvery, sparking ring, screeched to a halt and thrusted his hammer at Pettigrew. Another bolt erupted from the block of the hammer, surged through the air and struck Pettigrew, inflicting him with another burst of pain. However, an ugly Humanoid Rodent armed with a small spike on a flexible tail leaped in and thrusted the tip of that spike at Mjölnir, aiming for the Lightning Pika's chest and intending to inflict the deathblow. However, Mjölnir deftly dodged the attack, sending the tip of the Stinger-Rat's tail sticking into the sand. Then Mjölnir countered by jumping at the Stinger-Rat and, with a MASSIVE cry, the Lightning Pika slammed his war hammer's block HARD onto the Stinger-Rat's left back leg. At the same time, Kushanku cut down a Siren-Head and then lunged at a Carcasus and plunged his GC sword into its back, killing it. A PIERCING scream erupted from the Stinger-Rat as a torrent of agony erupted from its foot. As it continued to scream, Alexandrite rushed in and, with one swing of her sword, she cut it down and killed it. Around the pair, the battle fire began to grow as the rest of High King Peter's group finally engaged the rest of Pettigrew's group and other kidnappers, King Edmund cutting down a Neko-Cabbit when it leaped at him to bite him. Alexandrite's turquoise eyes then landed on a certain neon green and dark green striped Nekomata kit, her limbs bound by magical binds. Nearby Alexandrite, Rosa and the other Flying Rods with her rushed towards one of the carriages while Betelgeuse, Rigel and Teal'c engaged several Xenojaws and another Slender-Man.
"Malachite!" she cried and rushed over to her.
"Grandma, look OUT!" cried Malachite. As Alexandrite rushed over to her granddaughter, she immediately stopped DEAD when a grey Humanoid-Lizard appeared between her and Malachite and slashed its clawed fingers, those claws imbued with paralysing venom, at her. Alexandrite narrowly missed having a set of claw marks appearing on her chest as the Lizard-Man's claws' tips only sheared out some colourfully metallic fur from that area. Then Mjölnir appeared and spun his electrically charged war hammer but before he could launch a lightning bolt from it at the Lizard-Man, the sly Reptilian Humanoid reached with its prehensile tail, seized Mjölnir's war hammer and yanked it right out of the Lighting Pika's paws to his shock and horror. Then the Lizard-Man, a hiss escaping its toothy mouth with a snake-like tongue flicking at the air, tossed aside the war hammer, seized a screaming Malachite in its clutches and leaped away. Alexandrite and Mjölnir, now without his war hammer, pursued with the former demanding back her granddaughter and spitting caustic threats at the Reptile-Humanoid if it EVER did ANYTHING at all to Malachite.
Kushanku continued his relentless aerial attack from above, employing the Spinning Propeller Tail Attack, an attack and technique that was exclusive to Nekomata able to fly as foxfire was to Kitsune and the Axe Beak technique to Terror Birds, to strike down another Siren-Head. Below him, Tumnus and his cousin Guinan cut down some of the Dwarves while Sordward, Sheilbert, Athos, Porthos, Aramis and Squea'tagnan hurried to another carriage to begin their rescue mission. Ahhuayo engaged a Hag, using his tail-hand to a swing a sword at her while Basophil, Eosinophil, Monocyte, Neutrophil, Padparadscha "Paddy", Milky Way and several others, along with King Edmund, fought more of the ugly creatures. Alestomeria and Hagrid also incinerated a few with their foxfire, killing them instantly for foxfire was at its most potent in Kitsune over 900 years old, but because of so many of their allies present and the MASSIVE setback excessive foxfire usage had even on Nine-Tailed Kitsune, they limited it severely and instead employed telekinesis, seizing any environmental ammo they could find with their psychic grasp to fling at their enemies, and fire breath. Then Neutrophil and his siblings and Teal'c broke away from the inferno and rushed straight for the carriages with the Warrior Mice and the Flying Rods. As soon as they were at the carriages, they rushed straight in and began their rescue of the bound victims, most of them kids, inside. The inferno continued to rage on the beach but the tide was about to turn in the favour of one side. Kushanku rushed at a Xenojaw as it threatened Queen Lucy, twirled round and struck it down with his spinning tails, allowing Hagrid to finish it off with a rock shard to the chest via telekinesis like a flying dagger.
"I'd strongly recommend you move to the sidelines with your cordial ready to treat any casualty, Your Majesty, or you'd risk becoming one yourself," said Hagrid sternly to Queen Lucy. Queen Lucy then rode off on her horse to a safe distance while Hagrid engaged another Hag. Kushanku, Tumnus and Guinan followed Queen Lucy.
Once Queen Lucy was safely out of the way, her older three siblings and company continued the fight. Queen Susan shot down more monsters with her arrows and used her own bow as a weapon to knock down a Blue Mouse when it went to attack her. She then quickly nocked an arrow into her bow and in a blink of an eye shot the bloodthirsty and deceptively cute Rodent in the neck, killing it instantly. As she did that, Paddy struck down another Carcasus but suddenly, a silvery blade flashed by and struck her in the right shoulder, opening an injury. The pink and orange sister of Alexandrite released screeches of agony, dropped her sword and seized her slashed right shoulder with her left paw. Queen Susan shot a horrified look at the Nekomata after shooting down another Blue Mouse.
"PADDY!" she cried. Then a blue form with a triangular head, long, lanky legs and arms like a Slender-Man, horrifically dilated eyes and a MASSIVE red-lipped mouth laced with spiky teeth appeared, tossed aside its bladed weapon which was curved, like a scimitar or sickle, seized the wounded Paddy with its long arms and began to constrict the Nekomata. This creature was a close relative of the Slender-Man called a Squeezer. Males were blue and females were pink and were actually cursed toy-like creatures brought to life by Jadis using her evil magic when she ruled Narnia with a diamond-ice fist. Krampus had some of these as minions as well, though during the events of the Exodus 30-plus years into the Age of Winter, they had been someplace else while Krampus assisted Jadis in combating the evacuees. Squeezers appeared as deceptively cute and affectionate toy-like creatures, much like the Blue Mice in order to have their victims let their guards down but once that happens, the Squeezer shows its true colours as the sadistic, bloodthirsty monster that it was. Its main weapons were its sharp teeth, double jaws (with the second set being pharyngeal and retractable, those jaws also armed with razor-sharp teeth) and constricting arms but some employed weapons such as swords and even magic as well. And one Squeezer had just caught Padparadscha in its arms and was now squeezing her like a boa constrictor.
Paddy, her right shoulder bleeding badly, writhed and squirmed in the Squeezer's tightening grasps as the Squeezer, its eyes immensely dilated and teeth bared from the thrill of its victim's screams, then brought the Nekomata closer to its mouth. Queen Susan looked on in horror as the creature then protracted its pharyngeal jaws; those jaws rimmed with spiky white thorns, and aimed them for its victim's neck. Paddy screamed and writhed all the more as she gazed into the incredibly SADISTIC and insane-saturated black eyes of the beast, those eyes being a carbon copy of a certain Sorceress who sometimes donned this same facial expression when the thrill of battle and her victims suffering fed her insatiable appetite for such, but the Squeezer refused to let go and prepared to plunge its secondary set of fangs protruding from its equally tooth-armed primary jaws into Paddy's neck. Queen Susan snapped out of her horror, quickly seized an arrow from her quiver, nocked it and aimed the tip of the arrow at the Squeezer's neck. Then with a SNAP of her bow, the arrow sliced through the air like a Flying Rod but without the wings and penetrated the Squeezer deep in the face. The creature released an agonised wail and dropped Paddy who flumped into the sand, her injured shoulder being seized by her left paw. Queen Susan then dropped from her horse's back and rushed over to Paddy but as she did that, a black tendril shot in and seized her left foot. The Queen released a cry of surprise as her left foot got stuck in something and she fell flat on her face just near Padparadscha in a shower of sand to the pained Nekomata's surprise.
The rest of High King Peter's group continued fighting Pettigrew and company with several more Squeezers appearing and seizing more victims when more black tendrils suddenly appeared and whipped the former group. Some tendrils struck some of them on some part of the body with Hagrid getting whacked in the face as he was about to blast a Squeezer with his foxfire, allowing the Squeezer to lash at him and bite him; King Edmund having his sword knocked out of his hand as he fought a Hag, that tendril sending a SHARP pain through his sword hand and making him cry, and a Red Flying Rod was struck down from the air as it helped to blow away a shadow of Umbra-Fleas released by one of Pettigrew's Hags at them with its undulating fins. The Umbra-Flea swarm then descended like a living, floating shadow onto the Flying Rod and began a gruesome feast on it, that Rod screaming in agony as it was eaten alive to the horror of Rosa and the other Flying Rods. Betelgeuse and Rigel, Neutrophil and Monocyte, however, managed to react in time and slash some whip-like tendrils with their swords or seize them in the beaks. As they did that, Basophil and Eosinophil looked up and saw some forms glide in from the sea.
"There are some MINIONS in some BOATS!" cried the latter. Then Rigel gazed at the severed and writhing snake of black tendril as it thrashed violently like an ugly black eel in the sand.
"What are THOSE THINGS!?" cried Monocyte. Then Milky Way, after cutting down a female Squeezer to free Rainbow Quartz, her granddaughter, with her wing-spikes, flew in, a look of dread on her face.
"Tentasects," the sparkling white elderly Pegasus said in a low voice. Betelgeuse, Rigel, Monocyte, Neutrophil, Basophil and Eosinophil looked on in equal dread. Nearby, Teal'c and Ahhuayo viciously fought against several more thrashing black tendrils until one of them seized the latter, the Ahuizotl, by the neck and began to throttle him.
"AHHUAYO!" cried Teal'c and in a blink of an eye, the elderly Kamaitachi rushed forward and slashed the tendril throttling Ahhuayo with one swipe of his scythed claws, freeing the Ahuizotl and saving him from having his neck potentially snapped. The aging aqua blue Dog-like Reptile with hands for paws and a tail tip flopped onto the sand, his chest heaving to draw in some air and also cough to relieve himself of the strangulation. Teal'c then shot a worried look into the forest. The others on High King Peter's side also shot worried looks while the surviving remainders of Pettigrew's group, their faces laced with an opposite emotion, did the same.
Kushanku, Tumnus, Guinan and Queen Lucy looked on in wonder from the sidelines.
"Where did those black tendrils come from?" asked the second one. Kushanku, who hovered in the air, was about to reply when suddenly, a black blur shot past the quartet behind them with a whoosh sound. The four stiffened and began to try and point a finger or paw on the cause of that noise but then another black tendril, this time a thicker one ending in a white hand with each finger ending in a curved claw like a talon, rocketed in from behind the quartet through the trees. Alestomeria, after driving off a newcomer creature as it entangled Rattus (this creature was not a Squeezer as it was BLACK, not BLUE or PINK and it had giant gleaming white insect-like eyes and a toothy grimace) with her fire breath, sending it scurrying in a screech of agony, saw the hand-ending tentacle zoom towards Queen Lucy and the other three.
"Your Majesty, Tumnus, Guinan, Kushanku, LOOK OUT!" the Nine-Tailed Kitsune screamed. The four shot her a confused look but that dispelled in a split second as the white hand was soon upon them. MASSIVE screams erupted, alerting the fighters on the beach and also the new arrivals on the water, which were more minions in boats as seen by Basophil but when they saw the screamer get hoisted into the air by the white, clawed-fingered hand, horror EXPLODED through High King Peter and company, but most ESPECIALLY High King Peter, King Edmund and Queen Susan.
"LUUUUCY!" cried the three in EXTREME terror as their youngest sister, Queen Lucy, was lifted into the air from her horse by the hand, the clawed fingers wrapped around the back of her neck and royal cape. Queen Lucy's crown, cordial bottle and dagger fell off her head and out of her hands into the sand as she was hoisted while Kushanku, Tumnus and his cousin stumbled back from stun. Then Tumnus prepare to lunge forward with his sword to attack the arm and free his friend and the first human he had EVER met before the events leading to the Age of Winter melting into the Dawn of Spring and the Golden Age but before her could slash the arm holding Queen Lucy in the air, another black Insect-like creature with massive white eyes, toothy mouth and tentacles, rushed in and pounced onto him, knocking him back. Two more also pounced onto Kushanku and Guinan and sent them stumbling back again. King Edmund, seeing his sister in danger then prepared to lunge forward but Alestomeria blocked his way with her fan of nine tails.
"Stop, King Edmund," barked the Kitsune, especially as a MASSIVE screech, this time a Cat-like one but it wasn't from Kushanku, "LOOK!"
King Edmund shot Alestomeria a terrorised look and then turned it in Queen Lucy's direction as she was lowered to the ground but as his eyes landed on the owner of the hand-ending tendril, his heart DROPPED and his blood FROZE. High King Peter and Queen Susan also froze in place as their blood turned to ice and that same effect was carried to their assistants, including Ahhuayo, Teal'c, Alexandrite, Mikly Way, Neutrophil and his siblings and cousin, and the Warrior Mice who had managed to rescue some of the kids and carry off to one side.
The Cartoon Shadow Cat stood with Queen Lucy firmly in its clawed-hand grip, its toothy Squeezer-like grimace and black upside-down pupil eyes glaring at High King Peter and company with a glare that was FAR more corrosive and vitriolic than ANY acid or alkali of our world. Its toothy grimace dripped saliva and the clawed fingers of its other hand hovered dangerously close to Queen Lucy's neck and around it, more insectoid shiny black creatures with tentacles, Tentasects, gathered, the same caustic glare replicated on their faces.