The Neo-Rakarr: Part Four

     "I am not this Karei of whom you speak," she repeated, louder. "I don't know who she is. My name is Aihami."

     All of the Champions-in-Training, Champion Taruuk, and the Techo, Head Champion Horak were still gazing uncomprehendingly at her, so she continued.

     "I may not be this Karei, but I am a Neo-Kidoka. And if Karei was or is a Neo-Kidoka, then I can do nothing but stand up for her cause, as all Neo-Kidoka will. We stand for harmony, and for the strength of spirit, and no matter what the circumstances we will perpetuate that message all that we can, to all that we can."

     She could guess that the Neo-Rakarr wouldn't want to reason with her, and she was right. The crazed Techo pointed an accusing digit at her.

      "You think you can get through us with your lies, don't you, Karei," he snarled. "Well, the Neo-Rakarr take no prisoners, they simply crush all who stand between them and where they want to go. And so I crush you, Karei, as I have wanted to do for so long." He turned to the Champions and Taruuk. "Come," he commanded. "We will take her now to-"

      At that moment several pounds sounded on the iron door, followed by a hurried request for permission to enter. At a nod from Horak, one of the Champions trotted quickly to the door and swung it open.

      In marched a thickset Bruce, dangling a young Nimmo, not much older than Aihami was, by the collar of his training uniform in one flipper. The Nimmo had a terrified expression on his face, and the Bruce looked enraged. He marched up to the Supreme Champion and Head Champion and deposited the young pet unceremoniously on the floor.

      "This inept student," the Bruce snarled venomously, "is unspeakably clumsy and weak, and has failed all of his requirements for the test! He is a disgrace to all Neo-Rakarr! I want him removed from this establishment!"

      "That will be done," Champion Taruuk replied, casting a sharp and piercing glare at the wretched Nimmo, who was sinking practically into the floor with fright.

      "There's no need to insult or scare him," Aihami piped up firmly. She had knelt beside the Nimmo and placed a paw gently on his quivering shoulders. She looked back up at the Neo-Rakarr, completely calm, but angry fire burned in her dark eyes. "Students don't need to be subdued all the time, they should be helped along so they can get better."

      "This is the way of Neo-Rak, Karei," Head Champion-Horak smirked. "This, through our training programs, is how we separate the weak and the strong, and do away with the weak. This creature is not worthy of being one of the Neo-Rakarr. Normally, the inept simply get released to wander, lost forever in the Mountains, but this one…he will follow you, Karei. And I will watch, and rejoice!"

      He waved a claw at the ten Champions, and they closed in on the Nimmo and Aihami. Aihami felt her paws tied behind her back again with thick vine ropes, and forced roughly to her feet. Here we go again, she thought wryly, but this time there was the poor frightened Nimmo to think of. She could feel him; he was too scared to move, and a Champion was shouting harshly and prodding him hard with the spear.

      She closed her eyes and started to breathe again. She reached the Nimmo's lifeforce, pushed her soothing power towards it. After a while she felt him relax considerably and get to his feet. Thinking she may as well, she tried to connect herself to the Champions as well, but to her shock she realized they had closed themselves off completely, not allowing themselves to feel anything more than shame and pride and fear and pain. She couldn't reach them at all. It was too horrible. All these poor pets, ending up like this…

     ***

      Here, Stonewings snarled, low and deep in his throat. Here, they landed. And I smell that the red four-ears was here too.

      "You're sure?" Mandrake inquired, his small voice trembling.

      Very. I never forget a scent.

      "They were here, Kokyu-Master," Mandrake cried. "I think they followed this path."

      Kokyu's eyes traveled along the narrow path that wound like a Cobrall up the barren, cold mountains. He shivered slightly with the unaccustomed chill in the air. "Manny, do you know where we are?"

      The little Jubjub nodded. "'Course. I've been here before, with my owner. These are the Forgotten Mountains."

      Kokyu would have been intrigued by the place, so mysterious and strange, had he not been almost sick with worrying about Aihami despite his best efforts to keep it in check. He shook the feeling off, trying to calm it with energy. It helped somewhat.

     "Well, Manny, no time to waste. Ask Stonewings to lead us along the scent trail, I'm sure we'll find her sooner or later."

     He hoped he sounded confident; he didn't want to make the Jubjub, the Anubis or the Ganuthor lose heart, and as long as they felt someone was in charge they would feel secure. He had to be that rock; reassuring them that all would be well, though he had doubts about the truth of that himself. Together, Stonewings snuffling eagerly ahead of them, they started off up the rocky trail.

     ***

     "Wh-what is that?" Mandrake asked nervously some time later, as he gazed at the looming red castle on the path further ahead of them. "And who lives there?" Stonewings, sensing the JubJub's anxiety, nudged him gently with a forepaw.

     "I don't know, Manny. I just don't." Kokyu rested a paw on Stonewings, and Mandrake and Didicus, trying his level best to calm them. His deep sense of foreboding was much increased at the sight of the enormous stone structure. He was very certain that whoever had kidnapped Aihami had taken her there, and that they did not have good intentions. They had to get a closer look somehow.

     "Manny," he said, "could you ask Stonewings to fly us around the turrets of the castle, up there?" He indicated with a paw. "I don't want to approach on foot. They'll be watching for us."

     Mandrake relayed this to Stonewings, who promptly agreed. The Aisha and the Jubjub, his Anubis in tow, climbed back onto his broad grey back, and the Ganuthor took off strongly from the side of the mountain, soaring higher and higher on the air currents until they were wheeling around the top of the castle.

     As Kokyu extended his perception through as much of the castle as he could, he didn't like what he sensed at all. He could feel pain, stress, conflict…and all so strongly. There was so much bad feeling in there; it seemed impossible such a large amount was concentrated in one place.

     The rusty creak of gates from below broke into his distracted thoughts. Someone was coming out. Quickly, he told Stonewings through Mandrake to land on one particular turret. Stonewings complied, and the party, clinging to the odd landing site and each other, looked down at the ground far below them.

     A little procession marched out, no more than tiny specks against the pale brown of the earth. There were the ten red clad pets Kokyu had seen before, bright dots of scarlet. They were split into two, one group of five before and one after, and between the two marched a single dot of white, black and red. Kokyu knew in an instant it was Aihami, and though he silently rejoiced to see her alive and well he was still filled with dread over what might happen next. Beside her marched another red pet, though he didn't seem like one of the original ten; his manner was different. He didn't appear to have the pride and arrogant confidence of the others. Following up behind were two red clothed pets that seemed to have more of that arrogance than any of the rest, for all Kokyu could tell.

     The pets were moving towards a stony little path that branched off the original, wider one and led up the mountain. There was no time to lose.

     "Tell Stonewings to trail them from the air," he hissed to Mandrake. "But silently. Don't let them know we're here."

     ***

     Aihami stood as tranquilly as she could, despite the thick vine cords impeding her forepaws and the growing panic in her being that she was trying hard to quell. She and the Nimmo stood side by side on the edge of a rocky overhang sticking out from the side of the mountain. It was quite near the peak and very high up, and chilling winds were tearing at them, ripping through their fur and uniforms, threatening to blow them off their perch at any moment.

     The Nimmo looked even more frightened as he gazed down at the sheer mountainside below them. It was a very long way down, and thin strands of cloud were floating around here and there further below. She pushed more calming power towards him, thinking it was lucky he was more receptive than the other Neo-Rakarr. At the same time she wondered what she had gotten herself into. Sure, she had found out about the Neo-Rakarr and their cause, but now what could she do about it? At least the poor Nimmo didn't have to face this alone...

     "And here ends the Neo-Kido legacy," came the sneering voice of the Techo behind her. "Ended forever. A lot of good its philosophy has done it," he added, chuckling smugly.

     Slowly, deliberately, Aihami turned to face the grinning Techo. "So be it," she said, her voice free of malevolence or bitterness. There was only peace and gentleness in her tone. "Perhaps that is true. But I'd like you to think on what I say. Violence is never the answer. And ultimately, as you break the balance and serenity of nature and turn it against itself, everything will fall."

     She was taking deliberate care not to say anything about Kokyu, or her students. As long as there were Neo-Kidoka, there was always hope for harmony, especially if these Neo-Rakarr thought she was the last of her art. Perhaps when her own lifeforce had joined the others in the skies, she could find some sort of way to warn them about Neo-Rak.

     The Techo's face twisted in a snarl. "Enough with your babble, Karei! Your Neo-Kidoka words are meaningless, and futile. The only way for the world to live on and prosper is for the strong to stamp out the weak and pass on their own legacy! I have heard enough from you!" He waved a spiteful claw at the waiting Neo-Rakarr.

     Aihami felt herself lifted up in the red-clothed Eyrie's strong claws, and then thrown, hard and fast, over the side. The Nimmo's shriek of horror told her that he had received the same treatment. She breathed again; tried to find him, to calm him and alleviate his fear. Maybe there was a way out for him…if she could find him a tree sticking out of the rock wall, an overhang, anything…

     No one had noticed the great grey shape, with two Neopets and a Petpet clinging to it, launch itself off a ledge further up the mountainside and hurtle down through the mists towards the earth.

     ***

     Back on the ledge, Head Champion-Horak laughed evilly and triumphantly as he turned to his Champion. "Now the Neo- Kidoka are vanquished forever, Taruuk! The Neo-Rakarr are finally free to spread their message of violence to all Neopia, the force we have been training and preparing will finally be unleashed! And I shall reign as Head Champion of all, for all Neopia shall turn to Neo-Rak!"

      "You're wrong," said the Eyrie quietly.

     The Techo stopped in his capering. "What did you say, Taruuk?"

     "I said you're wrong, you decrepit old Scamander," the Eyrie replied coolly, turning to face the Head Champion. Before Horak could recover from sputtering shock at the insult, Taruuk had pushed his beak up against the old Techo's face. "Because you will not be the one who shall reign as Head Champion over all. That title will belong to no other but me!" As his beak clacked shut on the last words, the Eyrie dealt his Head Champion a hard, fast blow with his forepaw. The Techo, screaming with rage, hurtled far out over the ledge, and disappeared from view as he fell.

     The other Champions, seeing this, stood in open-mouthed shock for a moment. Then the Krawk broke the stunned silence. "Er…Long live Head Champion Taruuk!" The rest took up the chant quickly, and soon they were all calling it as loudly as they could.

      The new Head Champion smirked to himself. To a Neo-Rakarr, overcoming one's enemy by deceit was considered a great feat, one to be admired. "All is mine now," he keened triumphantly. "The former Head Champion was nothing but a mad old fool, waiting this long, ranting and raving about revenge! Obviously, that Aisha could not have been the Karei of his time. But the Neo-Kidoka Aisha we caught was instrumental in helping get him out to this place. And if there are truly Neo-Kidoka in Neopia, what does it matter! We are far stronger than they. We shall proceed in recruiting new Neo-Rak trainees to separate the weak and the strong!"

      Headed by their new leader, the Neo-Rakarr made their triumphant way back to their headquarters.

To be continued...