Episode VII: Darkness Settling on the Horizon
"There's something I don't understand," said Ryo. "How did the NeoPets know
we were here?"
"I'll take this one." Sakari said, "That disc that Brad swiped through Neomailed
all the NeoPets, with info on our location. That's how they got to us!" Sakari
was a genius. If it wasn't for her, we'd be dead.
"Okay, so now where are we? This certainly isn't a cold climate," said Willie.
Wondering the same thing, I took out my NeoP0rt.
"Location: Neopia, [12]-[19]: Endless Plains. Of course," I said. I really
would've never guessed, despite the fact we were sitting in a plain... and it
was endless.
"So, what's our next move?" Ryo asked.
"Recruit," said Sakari. "We need to recruit others to help us in the fight
against Malum. We can't win with just the five of us. I just need to make some
more Red Roms, and find people willing to do it. Would any of you happen to
know anyone?"
"Well now that you mention it," I said, "I know someone that would definitely
be interested. I told her the stories of this place... she's the only one that
believed me. Plus, her pet is strong... not as strong as Senka Orichalkon, but
strong."
Kage said, "Stop keeping us in suspense already! Who is she!?"
"Her name's Laura. I'm sure she'd be interested in coming here. And her pet,
Dracosis, is very strong. Valuable asset is written all over it."
"Okay," Sakari said, "That's one. Anyone else any of you know of that we could
use?" We all shook our heads. "Well, I know somebody, too. Her name's Kisaki,
she's my best friend. She has yet another Shoyru to add to our little group.
Figures."
It was an awkwardly quiet few minutes from there on. For, we had no idea where
to go to make progress. But, as soon as you see a section of a field being covered
in darkness, it kind of pounces to your mind.
"Hey guys, something's up!" Kyoutan yelled as he arched his neck up high,
moving his eyes rapidly around like a paranoid reptile. We all jumped up to
see the darkness. We all ran in the direction where the dark field was settling
down.
"I bet you guys a steak dinner that this is Malum's work!" Willie panted out
as he ran.
"I'm not stupid enough to take that bet!" Ryo replied to Willie. As we made
it over the horizon, we saw what the problem was. NeoPets everywhere, with strange,
tiny black creatures attached to them.
"Whoa! What the heck are those!?" I exclaimed.
"Those... are Dark Parasites," Kage murmured. We all turned around to see
what information he had about the so-called Dark Parasites.
"I remember... something in a black cloak came up to me once..." Kage started
explaining the story just as it had happened.
***
"My take-over of Neopia is going successfully... but not fast! I need more
power! Even with the powers of Ether on my side, it's just not enough!" Kage
was yelling at blank space.
"Do you think I could do better?" Ritsuzen asked.
"Nonsense Ritsuzen, you're doing great." Kage may have been the evil Emperor
of Shadows then, but he still felt compassion for his NeoPet.
"I believe I may be able to assist you," said a figure in a cloak as he stepped
out from the shadows with no visible face.
Kage jumped up from his chair in the room. "What do you mean?" The thing lifted
up his cloak, and a strange, tiny black creature came out.
"I know you already have the ability to control NeoPets... but these will
have even better control, and make them stronger. And you can have them for
nothing. They're called Dark Parasites." Ritsuzen snarled at the parasite.
"Don't do it Kage! That thing is too much! It's too evil, even for you!" Kage
trusted Ritsuzen's word more than anything, and what he did next proved it.
"You, and your parasites, can leave. I have no use for them. I'd like to see
you conquer this game with those stupid little gremlins of yours."
"Game?" the beast in the cloak muttered, confused. "Fine. But you will regret
it."
***
"Even without Ritsuzen, I could tell that there was more evil than I could
control... ever since I harnessed the powers of the World of Apocaly, as you
so humbly call it, I have gained a sixth sense for evil." Well, that was certainly
informative.
"Come on Ryo... let's do this!" I yelled out to Ryo. He automatically picked
up on what I meant.
"Got it, Brad! SnowOhki, Weaponize!" Ryo exclaimed.
"You too, Orichalkon! Senka Weaponize!" SnowOhki formed her tribal warrior
outfit, while Orichalkon formed his golden armour. All the other commanded their
NeoPets into battle, but had an expression on their faces, as if to say, "I
want my pet to Weaponize too."
"Gurando Tokai!" I yelled out to Orichalkon, and hit the button on the NeoP0rt.
The rays of light took out about five of the twenty that were attacking us.
Meanwhile, I saw SnowOhki take out another five with her daggers. In a matter
of seconds, we had taken out half of the enemies.
"Malum has got to be kidding! This is it!?" Willie yelled as he yelled strategic
commands at Cubix. We had stopped using NeoWeapons all together, and simply
let our pets duke it out in hand-to-hand combat with the enemies. In about a
minute, all of the enemies were destroyed. But Kage started yelling at us.
"What are you doing!? Those pets are innocent--it's the parasites! You kill
the parasites, and let the NeoPets go!" We all stood in awe at what we had just
done. We had destroyed twenty innocent NeoPets. I collapsed onto my knees, and
started quietly murmuring to myself.
"No... we dusted them all... we're just as bad as the Emperor of Shadows..."
Sakari held her hand out in front of me.
"Brad, get up. What's done can't be undone. They're gone, and we can't bring
them back." Kage walked over to me now, too.
"It's hard to stand on two feet, isn't it?" I took this as an analogy to destroying
the innocent and not being able to regain your ground. I took Sakari's hand,
and pulled myself up. And then, my ears picked up something that everyone else
was noticing too. A low paced clapping. I turned around to see what the other
were staring at. The one Kage had mentioned in his story, the thing in the cloak.
"You... you! You WOULD move onto another evil force after I denied you!" Kage
was in a furious rage.
"I'm glad you turned me down, Emperor. The one I serve now is more powerful
than you could have ever been."
"My name is not the Emperor! It is Kage, and it will stay like that from now
on!" We all decided to let Kage and the thing verbally attack each other.
However, if things got violent, we would back him up. Orichalkon and SnowOhki
stayed in their Weapon forms just in case.
"We could've been great together... but now you will perish at my feet! Prepare
to face the full power of Atrox!" His cloak started floating, and his hood dropped
down to reveal the face of something like a dragon/snake hybrid. His reptile,
clawed hands came out of his long, baggy sleeves, and lightning started to shoot
between them. A blue wave of energy shot out of them, and aimed straight towards
Kage.
Episode VIII: Courageous Ones, We Must Do Battle!
"Kage, watch it!" I yelled as I shoved him out of the way of the blast. The
blast got me in the knee, but I was okay. This guy was obviously a freak. "Go
Orichalkon, get him!" All the others yelled at their pets to get into the battle.
I got back to my feet, but struggled to stand up. Luckily, Sakari and Kage were
there to help me up.
"You simply must stop being so heroic. You're gonna get yourself destroyed
at this rate!" Sakari exclaimed.
I said, "What can I say. It's what I do."
"Why won't this lizard thingy stay still!?" Cubix questioned as he flew around,
trying to land a decent hit on Atrox. None of the NeoPets were making huge success.
They occasionally landed a hit here and there, but Atrox was coming back strong
every time.
"Come on! You guys have to try harder!" Ryo yelled. He was the type of person
who would demand nothing but perfection from a fight. Losing was not an option
for him.
"We're trying man!" Orichalkon yelled as he slashed away with his golden claws.
We continuously tried NeoWeapons, but it still wasn't enough.
"Let me show you what a beast of TRUE power can do!" A wave of energy shot
from his hands in all directions, hitting all of our NeoPets. They all started
to fall to the ground, and with the drop being over a hundred feet, all we could
do was watch them from the cliff as they prepared for their doom!
"Ah, noooooo!" Kage yelled as he jumped off the cliff. Sakari reached out
her hand to catch him, but it was in vain. Just as we all turned to depression,
Kage hovered up riding a silver steed. As we all looked closer, we realised
it was Ritsuzen covered in valiant silver armour.
"Guys, they all Weaponized!" Kage yelled to us as he rode on Ritsuzen. He
wasn't lying, either. Kyoutan was covered in high-tech armour, with jet boosters
and guns all over. Cubix wore a dark robe, carrying a long, crystal scythe.
They all turned to Atrox, glaring evilly. Evilly, yet full of happiness. The
kind of happiness a hero would feel when they know the enemy is done for.
"Okay, let's do this!" Sakari yelled. We all exclaimed at the same time, "NeoWeapon
activate!" All the NeoPets took battle stance, and they all used their NeoWeapons.
Orichalkon's Gurando Tokai, SnowOhki's Kouseki Kyouran, Ritsuzen's Ro-Yaru Arashi,
Kyoutan's Fukaban Suisei, and Cubix's Takai Youkai.
Ritsuzen's Ro-Yaru Arashi was powerful indeed. With one mighty flap of his
wings, a barrage of silver rays were blasted out from his wings and fired at
Atrox.
Kyoutan's new NeoWeapon, Fukaban Suisei, was brutal. With two massive cannons
emerging from his cybernetic armour, two massive black energy bombs were fired
at Atrox, leaving a massive explosion in its wake.
Then there was Cubix, with his Takai Youkai. Cubix slashed his scythe in the
air twice, and two glowing blades of light shot through the air right into all
the other gathering energy.
All the attacks combined into one massive shot of power, and hit Atrox head
on. Atrox roared in pain as the massive shots hit him, while we all covered
our eyes to shield ourselves from the searing light. The NeoPets just floated
there, unfazed and confident. They looked so brave, standing there in the glowing
waves. As the smoke cleared, we saw Atrox on the ground a hundred feet below,
with his cloak torn. We all grabbed onto our NeoPets and floated down. When
we reached the foot of the cliff, all of our NeoPets reverted to their normal
form.
"I guess I should give..." Atrox devilishly glared at us. "BAKA!" he yelled,
startling us all. He then started to run off.
"Come on, we have to catch him!" Kage yelled, running after him on Ritsuzen's
now Weaponized back. All of our NeoPets Weaponized again, and we all took flight
after Atrox. For someone so bony, he was incredibly fast. Just then, I saw something
that bewilders me to this day. Reality actually seemed to ripple, as Atrox vanished
into thin air. But Ritsuzen and Kage kept going, and vanished too.
"Did anyone else see that?" Willie asked.
"Yeah... I did!" Cubix replied. "I say we go through! We can't let Kage go
by himself!" Cubix dragged Willie right through. Ryo and SnowOhki stepped forward,
SnowOhki's blonde hair flowing in the wind.
"Hope to see you on the other side!" Ryo said as him and SnowOhki ran through.
I turned to Sakari.
"Come on, we might as well go," I said to Sakari. Sakari nodded back at me
and we both ran through at the same time.
When I made it through, I found myself in a very dark looking place indeed.
Everyone else was there, they made it through, too. The grass was near black,
the sky was almost blocked out by the gathering of branches with no leaves.
The wind made an eerie howling noise, and we were all chilled to the bone. Especially
Sakari, who was wearing a skirt and a top. We really should've packed some thicker
clothes.
"Our lizard friend went that way," said Kage as he pointed to a hill. Wherever
Atrox was, it was just over that hill. I now noticed that all our pets had once
again reverted to their normal forms.
"Well, then what are we waiting for? Let's go get him!" Willie said. He was
the impulsive one, and ran off to the hill without any compliance from the rest
of us. Without any other option, we ran after him. And when we made it to the
hill, I couldn't believe what I saw.
As I looked down the hill, I saw a massive tree. I mean MASSIVE. It must've
been a hundred feet tall, with its thick, mammoth roots protruding from the
ground. It had something very strange in it, too. A shaft and small part of
the blade of a sword was stuck in the left side of the tree. And this was a
big sword, about the size of a large truck.
"That looks suspicious," Sakari said. We all slid down the hill, and noticed
that there was actually a door in the tree, with three slots in it. I tried
to open the door, but it would budge when I pushed it, and there was no way
to pull it.
"Well, looks like this is where they went. Bad thing is, we can't get in."
Everyone was pretty depressed to hear my news. As we all began to walk away,
we heard a rustling in the bushes. And then, something jumped out at us.
To be continued... | 
