The Shoyru Tamer: Part Five

     "I don't know," Mega whispered back. "Did you tell anyone about last night?"

     "No, did you?"

     "No. I think you, Ray, and I are the only ones who know."

     "Hey, Zombie Face! Move it!" cried a Halloween Shoyru. "We want breakfast, too, ya know!" Duel looked at her, and then back at Mega.

     "We'll talk later," she whispered, grabbing her breakfast and walking towards the table Auo, Angel, and the newly yellow Nik sat at.

     "Does Tamer look a little…crazy to you?" Angel asked Duel as Duel sat down next to her.

     "No," Duel lied.

     "Are you okay?"

     "Yeah, I'm fine." That wasn't exactly the truth, either. Not only was she tired from staying up the rest of the night thinking, but she was also extremely nervous about Tamer. Was Jhudora going to attack? What was going to happen to Ray? "Hey Angel?"

     "Yeah?"

     "Can I ask you, uh, a hypothetical question?"

     "Shoot."

     "What if a Dark Faerie was to attack the school?"

     "We'd kick her butt all the way back to Faerieland, of course!" Angel cried, punching the air. "We are a camp of Battledoming Shoyrus, are we not?"

     "Well, that's true…" Duel said quietly. She ate the rest of her breakfast in silence.

     *****

     Down in the deep catacombs of Neopia Central, Sammy and her friends talked about the Neopian Times, joked a bit, and read their favorites stories out of the newspaper.

     All of a sudden, her eyes widened and a scene played in front of her eyes; she was seeing the future, and the future wasn't pretty. Defeated Shoyrus lay all around, but four stood standing. There was a yellow one, a Christmas one, and then Duel and Mega. There was also Curse growling next to Duel. They all looked defeated. But where was Tamer?

     Her vision ended there, and Sammy snapped back to reality.

     "I've got to go," Sammy said quickly.

     "Why?" a black haired girl with a red cape asked.

     "I've got a bad feeling something's going to happen at the Shoyru Tamer's place." Sammy examined the black expressions of her friends. "I'll see ya'll later. Bye guys." And with that said, she got up from her seat, sped down the candlelit corridors, emerged above ground into Neopia Central, and levitated across the ground towards the boat that would take her to Terror Mountain.

     *****

     Everyone was dismissed to the Training Grounds, but Mega and Duel lingered behind. Tamer adjusted his Accelerator Helmet and was about to leave the room when the two ran up to him. "Are you sure you want to continue training us?" Duel asked. "Jhudora could attack any minute."

     "That's true," Tamer said quietly, "but a business is a business. I've got to continue, guys."

     The doorbell from the front door rang.

     Tamer motioned for Mega and Duel to follow him, and the three of them ran to the front door. Tamer opened the door open and looked at the pink-haired girl standing in the doorway. "Sammy?"

     "Sammy?"

     "Mom?" Duel blinked. What was her mother doing here?

     "Hello Tamer," she said politely. "Um, I have something to tell you. I'm -"

     "Psychic," Tamer said just as Sammy was about to say it.

     "Yes," she said, a little confused. "How'd you - ?"

     "I told him!" Duel cried quickly. Now Sammy blinked.

     "Um, okay… Listen, I had a vision; your camp's going to be attacked! I don't know by who, or when, but it is!" Tamer looked at Mega, then at Duel, and then back at Sammy.

     "Sammy..." Tamer sighed. "I've got something to tell, er, show you." Tamer reached to take off his helmet, but he stopped as the four of them heard a loud shriek from the Training Grounds.

     "That must be the attacker!" Sammy said. They all ran over to the second door on the other side of the room, and Tamer tore it open. Sammy gasped. Her vision had come true; all the Shoyrus had been wiped out at once.

     "But…how?" Mega asked.

     "Magic," Sammy said angrily. "Dark magic. And only one person could've been able to conjure up such powerful dark magic, other than me - Jhudora." Sammy ran out into the middle of the field. "Come out and fight, you coward! What do you want?!" The sky went dark. Sammy looked up as cackling filled the air. Jhudora appeared in front of her.

     "What do I want?" Jhudora asked. "What do I want?! Oh-ho, I'll SHOW you what I want!" Magic sparkled across Jhudora's fingertips, and sparks of black lightning zapped out past Sammy and wrapped themselves around Tamer's body. Jhudora flicked her hand towards herself and the lighting (and Tamer) shot from the place Tamer was standing all the way over to in front of Jhudora. The Dark Faerie then clutched onto the lightning.

     "Tamer!" Sammy yelled. "You leave him alone." Jhudora started cackling again and purple and green clouds swirled around her. The day Ray was kidnapped flashed before Sammy's mind. She narrowed her eyes. Black sparks danced around her body. "I said… LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Sammy forced her hands in front of her and black magic burst from them, knocking Jhudora back. She let go of the lightning that was wound around Tamer and it disappeared.

     "Thanks, Sammy," he said.

     "Get. Off. Me," someone said underneath him. Tamer looked down; he was sitting on a yellow Shoyru. Tamer shot up.

     "Sorry, sorry," he said. The yellow Shoyru got up and brushed his knees off. He was covered in bruises, too.

     "Nik?" Duel and Mega ran up to Sammy and Tamer's side, Curse sitting on Duel's shoulder. "Are you okay?" Duel asked.

     Nik shook his hand in mid-air. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little banged up. Have you seen Angel?"

     "I'm right here." A Christmas Shoyru emerged from underneath two other Shoyrus. "And I'm okay, too."

     "You won't be for long!" Jhudora flew up into the air and in front of them. "Now be good little children and leave me to my work." She reached out to grab Tamer again.

     "Oh no you don't!" Duel cried. "Sothinz Noirtem Hetaraza!" Black magic surrounded her body, and with a flick of her wrist, it all flew at Jhudora as top speed, knocking her into the wall. Sammy smiled at Duel. "Like mother, like daughter," Duel said proudly.

     Jhudora clutched her head and groaned.

     "Keep hitting her," Curse said. "She's vulnerable!" Angel grinned slyly and rolled the sleeves to her Winter Coat up.

     "With pleasure," she said. When Jhudora stood up again and started advancing towards them, Angel yelled out and flew into the air, diving down and hitting Jhudora square in the chest. Mega and Nik dove underneath Angel and kicked Jhudora in the knees, quickly getting out of the way before Jhudora collapsed onto the ground. The three Shoyrus grinned at what they had down.

     "That's…" Jhudora mumbled, "ENOUGH!" She looked up and rapidly waved her hand from the left to the right. The four Shoyrus, Curse, and Sammy were surrounded by a black bubble and were lifted into the air. They all tried to penetrate the bubble, but they would not burst.

     Jhudora staggered to her feet. "Well, now that we have those brats out of our way, let's get back down to business." She reached out her hands and Tamer unwillingly started moving towards Jhudora. Once he was in her hand's grasp again, Jhudora grabbed his shirt. "What part about 'You're coming back with me' do you not understand?"

     "I'm not going back!" Tamer yelled. "Not now, not ever again!"

     "Stop trying to resist!" Jhudora yelled back. "I could've sent you on another mission by this time."

     "I'M NEVER WORKING FOR YOU AGAIN, JHUDORA! NEVER EVER AGAIN!" Tamer yelled on the top of his lungs. His eyes narrowed and he drew back his hand and punched Jhudora in the jaw.

     "How dare you!" Jhudora roared. "No assistant of mine shall ever lay a hand on me!" She twisted her hand and grabbed Tamer's shirt collar, hoisting him up into the air. Tamer started coughing.

     "Stop it!" Sammy screamed. "You're hurting him!"

     Jhudora didn't listen. With her other hand, which was burning with purple fire, she punched Tamer in the face. He yelled out in pain and was sent flying through the air. He landed roughly on a pile of Shoyrus, and rolled onto an open spot. His helmet was cracked the moment Jhudora's magic collided with it, and the impact to the ground shredded the helmet to pieces, revealing his face.

     Duel and Mega looked at each other, their eyes wide. Jhudora brushed herself off and grinned evilly at what she had done to Tamer. Nik and Angel were utterly confused at what was going on, and Curse was trying to penetrate his bubble, obviously not paying attention. Duel looked over at her mother. Silence hung in the air.

     And then, Sammy's soft, little voice broke it.

     "Ray…"

To be continued…