Chapter 14
The next two days passed quickly and Hunter woke up on the morning of the third day, ready to face the final boss, but also a bit nervous as he didn't know what exactly to expect. Despite Lance trying to find out more, the Maestro of Negativity could only give a vague description of the Negaboss. Even Balan and Malika tried to find out more, but to no avail.
A knock at the door made him turn and open the door to see a Plenti there and to his surprise, it hugged him. He returned the hug and was surprised when the Plenti placed him on his shoulders and began squeaking to the Kurukuru, Kosokoso, Endlessli, and Gachigachi that were around them.
The other four squeaked back in reply, making Hunter wonder what they were talking about before the Plenti began moving and the others followed. Hunter was curious before the group stopped before Lance, who was drinking some coffee. He smiled at seeing them before his face took on a look of surprise as he listened to his Negati. "What is it?" The young man asked.
Lance looked up at him. "These Negati wish to join you in your final battle," he said. "They can sense the Negaboss you have to face is very powerful and they want to help you defeat it."
Malika came up to them and she looked at the Negati. "You guys can sense the power of this mystery Negaboss?" She asked.
They all nodded and the Plenti gestured with its hands. Lance blinked. "Apparently, this mystery Negaboss is stronger than any Negaboss I created," he said.
Balan looked grim. "We might have to step in to help Hunter ourselves then," he said.
While Hunter appreciated that they were willing to help, he looked at them. "Can I at least try on my own first?" He asked, making them look at him. "If I can't do it on my own, then you guys can jump in."
"Hunter, are you sure?" Malika asked in worry. "It's never good to go into a tough battle alone."
"I'm not alone, though," he said. "I know you guys will be there for me and I can depend on you all for help. But...I have to at least prove myself first. Please?"
The three Maestros looked at each other before nodding. "Alright," Lance agreed. "On one condition. We are there to witness your battle and the moment it becomes too much for you to handle alone, we will step in to help."
The young man nodded. "Deal," he said.
The Negati squeaked in agreement too. "Before we take you to where the Negaboss is, I believe my daughter has something to show you," Balan said with a smile.
Malika smiled too and motioned for Hunter to follow her. The Plenti set him down and the young man followed the Maestro of Reassurance as she guided him to her bedroom. "When you first arrived and started on your quest, I wanted to make something for you," she said. "Dad and Uncle Lance helped me with it. I hope you'll like it."
She opened the door and gestured him inside. He stepped in and stopped in awe at seeing on a mannequin was an amazing brown cape that shone in the light. He went up to it and picked it up, looking at it all over. He paused when he saw the picture of the red cardinal on the back that looked just like Flapjack. Tears gathered in the young man's eyes as he hugged the cloak close to him. He then noticed something and looked closer at the collar of the cloak, specifically the area around the shoulders.
There were pieces of cloth that looked like tassels or something to hold objects. Malika saw that he noticed and smiled. "I was thinking that the gifts you've gotten from the inhabitants could be placed along the collar of the cloak," she said. "Reminders that everyone is rooting for you and of your journey to be the person you are today, the person that both Flapjack and Luz saw when they first met you."
He smiled and began pulling out the items he had received. Malika smiled at seeing the bag of black pearls, the red cardinal feather, the piece of train track, the black Queen chess piece, the mustard seed, the crystal snowflake, the red butterfly patch, the cat keychain, the hexnut, the homemade airplane wings pin, the marble, and the small paintbrush.
Hunter picked up the bag of pearls and Malika smiled. "You don't have to do the whole bag," she said gently, having sensed he had another idea for the pearls. "You can do just one pearl if you want."
He gave her a grateful look and took out one black pearl, putting the rest away in his pocket. "How do I attach them to the cloak?" He asked.
She smiled. "Allow me," she said as her magic gathered in her hands. The items floated, along with the cloak, and before Hunter's eyes, the items attached to the strips of cloth around the shoulders of the cloak. Once it was finished, Malika used her magic to place the cloak around the young man's shoulders. "There," she said with a smile. "Now it's complete."
He hugged her and she returned the hug. "Are you ready?" She asked him.
He nodded. "Yeah," he said.
Malika scooped him up and carried him to her dad and uncle. The inhabitants and costumes were all there too. "Good luck, Hunter!" One of them call out.
"You've got this!" Another one of them called out.
He was touched by their support and Malika set him down at the doors that Balan and Lance stood before. Moon Walker came up to them. "Mind if I join you?" He asked.
Hunter nodded and the Negati he had befriended came up to them, ready as well along with Midnight and Stardust. Balan and Lance pushed open the doors and the group walked in. As the doors shut behind them, they noticed the area was like a swamp and a graveyard. Hunter swallowed nervously and Malika gently squeezed his shoulder. "It...It's just like before," he said softly.
"When you faced Belos before he escaped back to your world?" Lance asked.
The boy nodded before taking a deep breath. "At least I'm not alone this time," he said. "I made the mistake before and it cost me."
"We're here for you, Hunter," Stardust said.
"We're not leaving you," Midnight promised.
Just then, a large hand hit the ground in front of them before something shot up with a horrible screech. Hunter noted that it looked similar to Belos and he glared at it. The Negaboss screeched again and Hunter charged, jumping to the side to avoid the hand slamming down again and he ran up the arm, throwing his arm back and delivering a punch to the monster's chin. He jumped back to avoid getting grabbed and threw out another punch. The creature roared at him and tried to catch him, but he moved fast.
Just then, the creature's arm began to catch fire, but it wasn't hurting it, which made Hunter realize it was one of its powers. He moved fast, but the fire was catching up and he was a long way from the ground to land safely if he jumped.
"Hunter, jump!" Balan's voice called out.
The boy turned to see the Maestro was flying along beside the monster and he jumped, the Maestro of Positivity catching him and flying back to avoid the now-fiery hand.
The Negati swooped in, beginning to attack, which made the monster roar again and try to swat them away. Lance stepped in to deflect some of the attacks. Hunter bit his lip before looking at the cloak he had on and he took a deep breath. "Balan, if I can't face something alone, does that make me a coward?" He asked.
"No, my boy," Balan replied. "Admitting you need help is never a coward's move."
Hunter nodded as those words helped him. "Then...can I ask you guys to help me beat this thing?" He asked.
The Maestro of Positivity smiled. "Of course we'll help," he said before turning to Malika and nodding. She grinned and placed two fingers in her mouth, a three-toned whistle escaping her.
Moon Walker began moving, his power making the monster freeze, but not affecting the others. Using this to their advantage, everyone threw in attacks that affected the monster, who roared in anger. Hunter then saw something that looked like a weak point and he went up to a Gachigachi. "I think I see a weak spot," he said. "Can you charge at it?"
The Negati nodded and squeaked something. "He wants you to guide him to where it is," Lance said as he was nearby. "Climb aboard."
Hunter did so and guided the Gachigachi to the spot and the Triceratops Negati charged at it, striking the spot head on. The monster cried out in pain as a result. "That's it!" Hunter cried out before seeing the weak spot move. "Keep eyes on that spot!"
Stardust and Midnight did so. "There!" The purple-suited being called out when she saw it.
The Endlessli fired a tornado attack, striking the spot dead on and making the monster cry out again before the weak spot moved again and the monster roared, getting ready to launch another attack. Stardust noticed something. "The weak spot keeps moving!" He called out.
Hunter quickly gave it some thought. "We need to do an attack from above," he said. "But we're going to need it distracted."
"We can handle the distraction part," Lance said with a nod.
"Malika, you help Hunter," Balan said.
She nodded and picked up the boy. "Ready?" She asked him.
"Ready," he said.
She flew them upwards and the other two Maestros and the two siblings worked together to distract the monster and the Negati helped out. Moon Walker waited until Hunter and Malika were in place before he began moving, freezing the monster into place and Malika flew downwards, Hunter reaching out with one fist while Malika's magic surrounded it.
Moon Walker stopped walking suddenly and the monster roared, but saw the two coming at it too late. The attack connected and the monster cried out as it was defeated, shrinking before them until a ghostly figure of Belos in his human form appeared and he glared at Hunter. "You will not stop me," he said.
"You're wrong," Hunter said. "My friends and I will stop you. And when we do, you will never harm anyone or anything again, including the palismans."
A bright light surrounded the ghost and it vanished, making the stage vanish too as Balan gathered them all in his magic and flew them back to the Isle of Tims.
Looks like the monster has been defeated for now.
Next chapter is the epilogue. :)
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