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Neopia's Fill in the Blank News Source | 31st day of Collecting, Yr 26
The Neopian Times Week 136 > Continuing Series > Rage Alone: Part Two

Rage Alone: Part Two

by nomad2

Jyrados knew the skies must be yet another desperate warning of the planet. Red skies were not normal in the middle of the day, but this seemed to be a more subtle warning. From the skies, though, he noticed something rather odd. The land to south was darker than the north. It was his best lead, having no other leads, so he changed direction from the west to pursue it. He was flying into territories which were uninhabited by people, so he knew not what to expect.

     He saw a cave formation during his flight, and that was as good a place as any for him to start. He didn’t see anything in the darkness of the cave, so he broke a branch off a tree to light at the end like he did before for a torch. It felt like there was a wind blowing from the cave, nearly blowing out the torch. It didn’t last long, so he began his descent into the deep caverns.

     Moister levels rose as he moved through, and the caverns seemed like a maze with many loops and dead-ends. After a few hours passed, he had traveled a great distance in it, being sure to keep a trail of recognizable rocks laid down so he doesn’t get lost.

     At a point, he could see a light shining through the tunnels not coming from the torch, so he had thought he walked in a circle towards the entrance. When he reached the end of the tunnel, he was at a large room of glowing crystals attached to the rock walls. His torch was close to burnt down to the point of uselessness, so this was a fortunate find for him. He discarded his torch and picked up a crystal off the ground.

     Looking around the room, he saw there were no other passages attached, but he could also only see majority of the room with some large crystals in the way. Walking around the chamber, he noticed a giant beast sleeping behind one of the crystals. Stumbling back in surprise, he tripped over a small rock and landed on his back with an echoed thump. The sleeping creature slowly opened one eye, then upon seeing Jyrados, he quickly opened the other and stood. The large beast turned out to be of the Monocerous’ species.

     The Monocerous stomped a hove and snorted at Jyrados, all awhile lowering its head to ready for a charge. Jyrados’ eyes went wide and he rolled to the side, just barely dodging the creature. Immediately after that he jumped up and started running on all fours, speeding away for his life. Keeping his head down to see the stones he laid, he dashed madly for freedom while hearing and even feeling the thundering footsteps of the Monocerous as it charged after him, staying close behind. Jyrados never knew he had the energy to run so far so fast, but being chased by something much bigger than you has that effect. When he saw the light at the tunnel opening, he managed to speed up since he could feel the breath of his pursuer on his tail. Once he made it clear of the caves, he spread out his wings and shot off into the sky, the Monocerous stopping and lazily going back into the cave since it couldn’t follow. An enormous sense of relief fell over him.

     While he was in the air, he reach his hand in front of his mouth and spit out the glowing crystal, having placed it there for safe keeping during the chase. He wiped his forehead and said, "Well, I had no luck there, but at least I won’t be needing a torch in the future."

<><><>

Gliding through the skies of the south, he looked around towards the ground to look or anything else that might be promising. Moving past the forests, he found himself entering the mountains. Though not the largest mountains, they were still large enough to make the search around them more difficult. The red skies made it feel hotter, though it really wasn’t. The red light reflected off the snow at the top of the mountains, making them look like they were on fire. It was a beautiful sight, but still unnatural.

     Though he could not feel any shaking, he could tell there was a quake occurring just below him. The rocks began to split open around the mountains and shoot up highly pressurized air. Following the hot air came flames bursting forth like pillars, reaching into the sky. Jyrados had to dart around them, making his way towards the ground. Shooting up nearby, he had to make curves around the already existing ones as well as keeping away from the cracks in the ground which had not yet shot fire. If this was the warning of the planet, the wrath of the legacy must not be pretty.

     Nearing the ground, he set down on a ledge relatively high up and looked at the land. Pillars of fire reached up into the red skies. A feeling of doom fell over Jyrados, and he could only hope that the rest of the world isn’t as bad off as this region. It saddened him to think that the world would end in such a violent manner, and the only haven is a space station which is already crowded daily with visitors.

     He stood up and turned around, looking at the side of the mountain, some rocks seeming stacked in a way which shows the short quake alone caused the rock to collapse. He sighed and turned away, getting ready to spread his wings when he heard a familiar voice behind him. "You are on the right track, young one, but look harder."

     Jyrados turned and saw the old Nimmo he met in the Faerie city standing at the rocks. Very puzzled, he said, "Who are you, old Neopet, and how did you get here?"

     "I am Trum, and I am also very talented. You have come far for a runt, but if you think flying around will show you what you need to know, then you are a fool," said the Nimmo, having a very serious look on his face.

     Jyrados held his arms out to the side, "Look around us, do you think this is easy? The world is a big place, and looking for something that was lost centuries ago is very hard. If I try to slowly cover the entire planet, then it’ll be too late."

     Trum just turned around and put his hands to his forehead. The rocks on the side of the mountain began to shake a bit and suddenly flew off the sides effortlessly. As the rocks were thrown, the side of the mountain turned into a rather rough passage, no bigger than to let a single person through at a time. Trum then turned to Jyrados and said, "That is all the help I can give you on your path. Enter, and meet your destiny."

     Jyrados stood in awe at the way the passage was just opened up. Looking over to Trum, he said, "I appreciate the way you just helped me, but why? Who exactly are you?"

     "The land is plagued by an evil, and I was once considered its only friend. His anger at the world which he did not fit into, however, slowly drove him insane with rage. He wanted more than he had, but could not get it, so he pushed me away with his insanity. He is truly alone, and I just want to help him. Although he can no longer be helped to love life, I hope you can help him not to doom everyone else’s love for life." The Nimmo then began to off towards a pass in the mountains which would lead him out of the area.

     Jyrados quietly said, just being in ear shot of Trum, "I’ll do my best..."

     As Trum walked off, Jyrados went to the hole and folded his wings up to fit into it. Pulling out his crystal, he could see that it went straight into the mountain’s core without descent. The tunnel looked to be Neopet-made, as the tunneling was smoother than if it were made by nature. For half an hour, he moved deeper and deeper into the mountain, the temperature becoming more comfortable, to his amazement. Finally, he reached a point where the tunnel was large enough to fit several Neopets in, and in front of him were two large doors, each one having the symbol of Fethva on it, being a dragon and a gryphon moving in a circular pattern like a yin/yang symbol.

     Through these doors is either his victory, or his demise.

     Pushing with all his might on the large doors, they swing open while making a grinding noise as they brush against the rock. Through the doors was nothing more than an empty room, torches on the walls illuminating the cavern. Peering closely, Jyrados saw a figure on the other side of the room, up against the wall where there wasn't enough light to fully show him.

     Stepping slowly into the light, a green Kacheek came into vision. A stern look of anger and hatred on his face, he spoke with a voice that was not meant for delicate ears, "I see someone actually came here looking for me. I must say, I expected people to have combed the planet weeks ago. Neopets must avoid me even when their lives are at stake."

     Jyrados rose up a fist as he glared at the Kacheek and said, "You have no right to do this to the world. For everyone you've hurt, I'm going to see to it you have justice done to you."

     "Justice?" the Kacheek said with rage in his tone. "You dare speak to me of justice? The world is filled with creatures and evils, most of which go unchecked. Pain is everywhere, Shoyru, and Neopets are abandoned to run from the pain. Do you think evasion is something anyone wants? Many are pained, and I shall stop the pain of everyone on the entire planet. If in my same position, you would do just as I have."

     Jyrados leaps forward, stopping just in front of his face, the Kacheek flinching back a little, "I would never do this, you psychopath! It is time I end this. If you want to leave the pain of this world, then do it alone."

     The Kacheek just laughed in Jyrados' face, his laugh being very deep and unsettling. Before he stopped laughing, Jyrados bared his teeth and threw a punch at the Kacheek, knocking him against the wall with his forceful blow.

     The Kacheek just stands and stares right at Jyrados, "Now that wasn't nice..." Electricity crackles around the Kacheek and he charges at Jyrados with great speed, slamming into him and knocking him to the ground. Jyrados simply jumps back up and slams his arms down on the Kacheek's shoulders, forcing him down before spinning to hit him with his tail, causing him to slide back some.

     "I wasn't expecting a match," Jyrados said as he took in a deep breath to steal life from the Kacheek with the dark power of Life Steal. The Kacheek leaps up like a maniac and swings wildly at Jyrados to no avail. Jyrados exhales, and a fireball bursts forth from his mouth, burning and halting the Kacheek Having stopped his advance, Jyrados rushes forward and pins him to the wall with his arm and says, "Now you won't be able to use Fethva for your sick purpose. This is over now."

     With a weak, tired voice, he Kacheek says something to Jyrados which worries him more than anything ever has, "You fool, it has already been done. Why do you think the quakes and disasters even began? You're too late, Shoyru... the world will fall apart."

     Clenching his teeth tight, he threw the Kacheek all the way across the cavern room, slamming him against the wall. Having rendered him unconscious, Jyrados looked around the room for anything that he could use to find the legacy. Seeing only torches, he ran from torch to torch, tearing them from the wall. After the last torched was removed, it looked as if a section of the wall vanished into thin air, opening a passage down.

     Descending right away, he felt more and more heat. The passage spiraled and led him to a large chamber with lava all around the edges. What lit the area up most of all was what was at the center of the room. A large crystal, one the size of Jyrados, stood floating in the air between two rock spires. The crystal emitted a dark blue glow and the spires were covered with red cracks. Occasionally the whole area would shake, but the room remained intact.

     Able to feel the corrupt power within the crystal, he looked to the two spires which bound it. If he was to save the world, he only saw one option: destroy the spires. His eyes began to turn dark, shadows dancing around him. Lightning crackled around him, the shadows jumping up and entering the electricity, making it darken. Dark light surrounded him, building up more and more with every second, the build-up rate accelerating. With a loud roar, the energy burst forth towards the spires, the energy hitting the rocks, shattering the two. As they crumbled to the ground, the crystal seemed to crack itself. Blue light shining through it brighter than ever, a loud whistling sound was heard until the Legacy of Fethva itself shattered, causing an explosion which filled the area with a bright light which was the last thing Jyrados saw before he blacked out.

Epilogue

Slowly opening his eyes, Jyrados felt like he was in a pool of water. The first thing he saw was clouds in the blue skies above. Slowly trying to sit up, he saw that he was indeed in a pool of water. He had a headache which hurt worse than any other, and his body had injuries on it. Looking over to the side, he saw the Water Faerie and the Faerie Queen standing beside the fountain he was in.

     "I see you're finally awake. Try not to move, for you are still not well," said the Water Faerie in a very sweet and tranquil voice.

     Jyrados said in a soft tone, "Where am I? How did I get here?"

     The Faerie Queen stepped forward and said, "Many saw the explosion at the mountains to the south. Seeing it, we rushed as fast as we could and found you very injured on the rocks. You were lucky to survive that blast."

     With a sudden look for worry on his face, he says, "What happened to the Kacheek? Did you see him? Is he alright?"

     The Faerie Queen forms a saddened look on her face, "We did not see anyone else. Rocks were piled high and either he is gone or buried."

     Jyrados sighed, "After our fight, he must have been too tired to get anywhere. I guess I couldn't help him, old Nimmo."

     The Faerie Queen raises a brow at that last sentence, "I assume that has something to do with your travels, so I guess I won't ask until you're well."

     "The skies... are blue. Is it over?" Jyrados said while looking back up at the sky.

     The Faerie Queen said, "It is more over than you know, dear Jyrados. The legacy is destroyed, the pillars that controlled it were destroyed, and thus, Fethva himself was destroyed."

     "But doesn't that mean balance was destroyed?" Jyrados asked with worry in his weak voice.

     The Faerie Queen smiled sweetly, "It was made to stop evil magics from disrupting the balance. Although it is sad to see it gone, the people are strong enough these days to keep such magics from tipping the balance. All will be well, now rest."

     Jyrados sighed, "He was right. His pain is a common one. With other like him around, the world will never be well."

     Closing his eyes, Jyrados drifted off to sleep, his wounds slowly healing in the fountain, and the world once again as it was. Darkness may yet return, however, and one Neopet's rage alone can plunge all into utter chaos.

To be continued...

Previous Episodes

Rage Alone: Part One

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