The weeds connected the magic stone to the final gate, and signaled they were ready to begin.

“Everything’s all ready Master Moo, shall we begin?” one of the weeds inquired to his master, Moo.

Moo turned his massive head towards the baddie and nodded, “Yes, commence, and be quick about it!” The weed nodded nervously and indicated to the others to get ready. Weeds ran hither and thither, making preparations. Everything had to be just right so they could perfect Moo’s body, and if they failed, they knew what the consequence would be. The ancient machine was started up, and the magic stone began to glow along with the wires connecting it to the final gate. The energy ran up the massive columns until it reached the top, then all of the power was projected straight to Moo. As Moo felt the power surge through his body, he roared, half in triumph, and half in pain. The baddies looked up at him anxiously as the final gate powered down, and gasped as an eerie dark blue aura surrounded their master.

“At last!” he exclaimed. “I can now destroy those accursed rebels! I have even more power than before!!” With that, he gave another roar, and blasted the roof of the mountain tunnel, giant wings filling out preparing to fly.

During the commotion, a weed crept over to the machine, and gazed at the magic stone. He pondered for a second, then reached out his hand….er….roots, and murmured to himself, “Hmmm, master doesn’t need the stone anymore, now that his body is perfected, so, I think I’ll just hang on to it.” With that, he snatched the stone and backed away, looking innocent. However, Moo had other ideas. He powered up, and the baddies gasped in fear.

“M-m-master Moo! What are you doing?” one of the jells shrieked.

“I have no further use for you weaklings!!” The blast of fire engulfed them all and destroyed both the baddies and the final gate. Moo gave a laugh, and took off to find the rebels.

***

Falcon and his troops hurried into the huge ice cavern, looking around in astonishment. “Looks like he destroyed everything, even his own baddies.” Falcon commented dryly. He turned his head from side to side, sighing, as he looked around at all the lost disks, and the ruins of the final gate.

“Yes, Moo destroyed everything. I am the only one who survived,” a calm voice stated from the shadows. It was Monol, and he emerged from the darkness slowly. “My name is Monol. My purpose is to tell my st-” he was suddenly cut off, as an explosion was heard just outside the cavern.

“Sir! Moo has returned!” one of the dragons called out. Falcon looked around one last time, then spread his wings.

“Let’s move out then troops, there’s nothing here. You there, Monol, get up on my back, quick!” Monol did as he was bid and the dragons took off. One paused, though, as something glittering caught his eye. He rushed over and saw it was the magic stone, resting beside a lost disk. He grabbed it an hurried after the others, just missing a huge beam of energy from Moo.

***

As Moo and the Phoenix rose, glowing, into the sky, the dragons, Granity, Genki, and Holly looked on in amazement. Then, the two beings exploded in a blinding burst of light, which engulfed everything and spread across the world. Lost discs changed into mystery discs, and Moo’s crests disappeared. Then suddenly, Genki felt the light lift him from the dragon, and he was thrown, yelling, through a portal, his friends’ shouts ringing in his ears as they called his name.

“Genki! Hey, kid! Genki!” Falcon called out. He watched as Genki disappeared. “Where’s he going?” Holly felt her eyes mist up with tears as realization hit her.

“He….he must be…going back to his world….” She said softly. She looked down in despair, she had lost another friend. Then another shout caused her to glance back up, and she noticed Granity beginning to glow. “Granity! Granity, are you alright?” The light from Granity grew so intense that they all shut their eyes. A gasp caused Holly to open them again, and she saw, to her amazement, Pixie. She was back to her old self again, and beside her, was Big Blue! A pair of dragons swooped forward as the last of the light disappeared, and caught Big Blue on the rope before he fell. “Pixie! Big Blue! You’re both okay!” She said happily. Pixie nodded, and turned to Big Blue, tears shimmering in her eyes.

“Big Blue…..” She whispered, a gentle smile on her face. Then she could contain herself no longer. She flew over to Big Blue and hugged him, tears streaming down her face. “I was afraid I’d never see you again! I’m so glad you’re back!” At first Big Blue looked astonished at Pixie’s behaviour. Then, he too smiled and, as carefully as he could with his huge fingers, patted Pixie gently on the head.

The dragons had decided to head for Holly’s old hometown, Toriyama, where the lost discs would be revived. They had been unable to find Monol where they had left him, so continued on, a little confused at that. What none of them saw, was the light in the distance, which separated into five parts and flew to the ground, revealing the five monsters Suezo, Tiger, Mocchi, Golem, and Hare. Monol floated over to meet them.

“Welcome back,” Monol greeted the monsters happily.

***

There was complete darkness everywhere, masking the hulking shape, hiding it from view, except for the glowing red eyes. “Soon….soon I shall exact my revenge!!” the creature grumbled. “But I shall have to be quick about it, for I am not the only one who wants it, and I am not the only one who has gained new powers from my own hatred and rage. Although, I did have a head start, the others haven’t had anywhere as much time to prepare, after all….they were lost discs until just a few hours ago. I guess I’ll send out my first troops. HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!”

The glowing red eyes snapped and narrowed. “Now then, I suppose I should get things started. Not only will I get my revenge on those rebels, but I’ll gain more power to add to my own….I will be more powerful than Moo…and I shall rule the world!! WAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!” His insane laughter echoed around through the darkness, and then subsided as the hulking figure heaved a great sigh happily, closing his terrible eyes. “Ahhhh…..it would seem my first wave of squall troops are getting near, I can feel it. Soon, I’ll have one of the rebels, and those pesky dragons too!”

***

The sun was beginning to set as the dragons made their way out of the snowy mountains, and were now flying over rougher, rockier terrain. Falcon was conversing with a couple of other dragons and Pixie as to where they should spend the night.

“I say we just keep flying, there’s no need to stop,” was Pixie’s opinion. One of the other, younger dragons pointed out that there was no need to continue flying, either. Falcon broke up the argument.

“Listen, there’s some ruins further ahead, we can camp out there. Thor is right, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t stop, besides, the troop needs a bit of a break.” Pixie sighed, then agreed, as Thor grinned and nodded.

Holly had not said much during the day, in fact, nothing at all. She was sad about her friends, and no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t bring herself to smile. As night began to fall, a dragon flapped over to Holly.

“Excuse me miss, I almost forgot. I think this is yours.” He held out his clawed hand to reveal the magic stone. Holly gasped, and thanked him. He winked at her as Falcon called out for them to land in the ruins, which were just ahead. Holly dismounted from the dragon she had been riding on, and stretched, getting used to being on solid ground again. They didn’t know they were being watched as they set up camp and prepared to sleep. Pixie and Big Blue tried talking to Holly as they ate supper to try and cheer her up, but eventually they gave up, not being able to get much out of her. After dinner, she got into her sleeping bag and gazed around at the dragon troops, some talking, some eating, others sleeping. She sighed and looked at her retrieved magic stone, wondering what became of her friends. Oh, Genki…she thought.

The attack came around midnight, when everyone was asleep and the campfires were almost out. Stone dragons snuck into the camp, and there were more of them than twice the number of Falcon’s troops. However, Pixie was always on the alert, and she snapped awake as they came near. She glanced at them, and noticed the crests they were wearing. It wasn’t Moo’s crest, instead, it was a dark blue in colour and the shape somewhat resembled that of the magic stone, and bore a picture of lightning coming out of a whirlpool. Some sixth sense told Pixie that they were not friendly. She immediately gave a yell to awaken the others. The dragons came awake, mostly confused, but were set upon by the intruders right away.

“What the-”

“Hey, what’s going on?!”

“Who’re you?”

Chaos reigned as they dragons shouted, and Falcon gave the order to attack. His troops retaliated, desperately trying to fend off the attackers, but they were hopelessly outnumbered. Pixie leaped off of Big Blue’s shoulder and blasted a lightning attack at a stone dragon who was grasping a struggling Holly. The stone dragon roared and dropped Holly, who scrambled out of the way just as it fired at Pixie. Pixie flew backwards and slammed into a ruined building, which then collapsed, burying her in the rubble.

“Master Pixie!!!” Big Blue shouted, as he and Holly ran towards the spot where she went down.

“You fool!” Another of the attackers hissed at the stone dragon. “We were supposed to take them all alive you idiot!” The two then assaulted Big Blue with heavy blows, as another knocked Holly unconscious. Big Blue collapsed from the strain and blacked out, as did all of Falcon’s troops eventually. The stone dragons took Falcon, Holly, Big Blue, and all the dragons, leaving Pixie because they believed her to be dead.

The leader of the attackers looked around in triumph, and laughed aloud. “Hahahaha!! These weaklings were no match for our squall troops! Master will be very pleased!” With that, he took off, along with the others, not realizing Pixie had heard everything before she blacked out.

The next day was overcast, with gray clouds drifting across the sky. Pixie gradually came awake, and as her senses returned, she remembered what took place the night before. She gazed at her surroundings, and saw that somehow, miraculously, she had survived the cave-in of the building. Although she had a pounding headache, Pixie tried to ignore it to try and get out of her predicament. She got up and began shifting some large rocks, being extra careful not to upset the ones holding up the rest of the rubble, so it would not bury her completely.

***

Around noon, the group of monsters arrived in the ruins. Tiger sniffed the ground while the others gazed around at all the blast marks on the ground, along with a few lost disks. Golem stared at the lost disks sadly.

“What…happened?” he asked slowly.

“It was the baddies chi!” Mocchi exclaimed. Suezo turned to him angrily.

“How could it be the baddies Mocchi?! The Phoenix destroyed Moo and changed all the baddies!!” he shouted at the little monster.

“Yeah!” Hare agreed. “There shouldn’t be any more baddies!” Mocchi replied and asked what else it could be, and the three monsters began to argue. Tiger tensed up, thinking he heard something, and tried listening for any other sounds. Unfortunately, all he could hear was Suezo, Hare, and Mocchi shouting at each other.

“QUIET!!” he barked at them.

“QUIET YOURSELF TIGER!!! YOU’RE THE ONE SHOUTING!!” Hare retorted at the top of his lungs.

“SHUT UP SO I CAN LISTEN!! I CAN’T HEAR ANYTHING WITH YOU YELLING LIKE THAT!!!” Tiger glared at Hare, his golden eyes flickering dangerously. Everyone else was silent. “Good, now, I thought I heard something….” He paused, there it was again! A strange scratching noise, now accompanied by a muffled shouting. Tiger’s eyes grew wide as he recognized the voice. Hare seemed to hear it to, for he rushed over to a pile of rubble and began shouting.

“Hello? Hello? Is anyone in there?” He stopped, and pressed his ear up against the rocks. He heard more shouting, but couldn’t discern any words.

Suddenly, Tiger exclaimed, “It’s Pixie!” The others gaped at him in shock, then they all scrambled over, trying to reach Pixie. Golem stomped over, and slowly asked them to move out of the way. They complied and watched as Golem lifted the huge rocks, finally revealing Pixie who looked a little beat up, and pretty angry as well. Then her expression abruptly turned from anger to shock as she stared around her, eyes wide open.

“You….you guys, you’re here…I thought that….but…what….you guys are back!” she stuttered.

“Well obviously, otherwise we wouldn’t be standing right here now, would we?” Suezo muttered under his breath.

“Pixie back too chi!” Mocchi exclaimed happily. Hare perked up, that’s right, hadn’t she fused with Big Blue? He was about to ask when Pixie already answered.

“After Moo and the Phoenix disappeared, I changed back, and Big Blue was there as well.” Tiger nodded in understanding, then was struck by a sudden thought.

“Hey Pixie, what happened to Genki? I keep thinking that as the Phoenix and Moo were about to explode, I could hear everyone screaming his name…” He looked inquisitively at Pixie, who sighed and looked down.

“He..he went back to his world…just suddenly was pulled backwards through a portal…and then he disappeared. But, at least he’s okay…” Pixie looked back up at Tiger, who averted her gaze. Then Golem, who had mostly remained silent, spoke up.

“Where are..the others?” At his question, Pixie snapped up, her eyes went wide as she suddenly remembered the events from the previous night.

“Damnit!” She exclaimed, surprising the others. Then, she straightened up, and was preparing to take off when Monol floated forward.

“Perhaps, before you rush off, you should explain what became of the dragons, we may be able to help.” Pixie halted, and then nodded her head sadly.

“You’re right, sorry. Maybe we should find shelter, looks like it’s gonna rain.” The monsters complied and soon found a large building, half of it missing, as a light drizzle began to fall. They lit a fire and Pixie sat down, eyes narrowed, as she began to narrate.

“Okay, this is what happened…”

The stone dragons flew swiftly and silently, only stopping for short breaks to rest and eat. If the captives showed any signs of waking up, they were immediately clubbed back into unconsciousness.

The captain was glad there hadn’t been any problems yet, they had done their best to remain inconspicuous so as not to attract any attention. However, it had only been three days and there was still quite a ways to go before they reached their destination. The one thing that bothered him though, was that they had failed to apprehend the pixie. He believed she had been crushed from the cave-in, and was wondering if his master would be angry. Still, it was no easy task having to tell his troops to take prisoners, for the army of stone dragons had wanted to kill. At least this way, they would hopefully get more missions that were much more pleasurable. The captain suppressed a shudder as he thought of his master, and the velvet, or terror dog as they were referred to as well, who went by the name of Nightmare and was their master’s servant, carrying out any order without question. Not much was known about the tiger hybrid, but everyone believed him to be very powerful. After all, he had to be if he was the second-in-command.

The captain looked around, they had stopped long enough. He gave the order to move out, and the stone dragons continued their flight, in a southwesterly direction.

***

After listening to Pixie’s recount, the monsters had remained silent, not knowing what to think. The rain had steadily gotten heavier, but it was dull, with no lightning or thunder to accompany it. Eventually, Suezo piped up and stated that they had to rescue their friends, but there was no way of knowing which direction they had gone. Finally it was decided that they would visit towns and villages and ask around. It was all they could do. They waited for a few days until Pixie recovered, then prepared to get going. Then Monol spoke.

“Take care of yourselves, I have things I must attend to. Perhaps we will find the answers soon.” The others nodded and said their goodbyes. Then they set out.

***

A dark figure walked along the cold stone floor of the fortress. It stopped in front of a pair of double doors, and knocked on them carefully.

“Come in!” A deep voice boomed from behind the doors. The figure stepped in, and bowed before the large monster in front of him.

“Sir, the stone dragons have returned. Their mission was successful.” He called out, without looking up.

“Did they capture them all?”

“They brought most of the dragons, but a few perished in the fight. They also brought the golem sub-breed and the girl. The Pixie was killed in the fight as well, lord.”

“And where are the captives now?”

“Locked in the dungeon, all of them.”

“Very Good Nightmare. Tell the guards I will meet with them shortly.”

“Yes sir.” Nightmare got up and exited the large dark chamber, shutting the doors behind him. The black tiger smirked to himself. Soon…

Holly groaned and rolled over. Next she wished she hadn’t, because the movement had caused her already extreme pain to worsen. Yet she forced herself to sit up and take stock of her surroundings, but she had to wait for her eyes to adjust to the darkness before she could see anything. As she finally became accustomed to the dim light, she gasped, seeing the bodies of her friends strewn around on the floor. She then shook her head, trying to rid herself of the awful headache and dizziness, and also trying to recall why she was here. She remembered shouts and screams all around her, but that was about it. Suddenly her eyes widened as she gazed around at her friends…where was Pixie?

Nightmare decided to position himself before his master came to meet with the prisoners. He easily snuck into the dungeon past the guards and went up to a roof beam, where he could see everything below him. He settled down as one of the captives began to stir.

Holly tensed up as she heard huge footsteps echoing outside the room. A large barred door was opened and a hulking figure with glowing red eyes stepped in. Holly’s eyes went small in fear as recognition dawned on her.

“G-Gooji?!” She exclaimed incredulously. The large monster smirked in amusement.

“So, you remember me, do you?” he chuckled quietly, as she just kept staring, shocked. “Well, well, I see you’re surprised to see me. You and your rebel allies never did finish me off, I survived. Too bad the same cannot be said about you. Though first, I think you should give me that stone of yours.” Holly glared up at him and clutched the Magic Stone to her chest.

“I would never give you this! What use would it be to you anyway?” Gooji chuckled again, and fixed her with his stare.

“Ha! Why do I want it? I’ll tell you why. It will add to my power.” He grinned at the confused look on the teenager’s face. “It will give me more power because it is linked with my own stone.” He opened his enormous hand to reveal a stone just like Holly’s, though right now it was glowing a deep red, just like his eyes. She looked at it, astonished.

“There…there’s another Magic Stone?” she said shakily.

“Pah! Foolish child, you do not even know it’s full power. But together, they can give the bearer more energy, though it would be nothing compared to putting all of them together.” Gooji had what seemed to be a hint of greediness in his voice.

Of course, Holly thought, he’s greedy for power. Just another person who wants to rule the world. She sighed, when did they ever give up? “And just what makes you think you can harness this power, Gooji?”

As the conversation began, Nightmare decided now would be the best time to act, before Gooji got hold of the girl’s stone. He waited for the precise moment, then leaped off the beam, a strange black ray firing from his mouth toward the hulking monster. Gooji gave a shout, and made a swipe at Nightmare, who dodged. His glowing red eyes narrowed in rage.

“NIGHTMARE! YOU TRAITOR!!” he bellowed. What Gooji did not realize, was that the dragons, every single one of them, were awake, as well as Big Blue.

The pirate dragons had always been commanded well by the wise Falcon. Falcon had made plans in case of emergency, as he often did. When the dragons awoke, they stayed completely still, pretending they were still out, and awaiting Falcon’s signal. Whereas Big Blue had only recently awoken, yet had remained motionless due to instinct. Suddenly Falcon’s voice rang out.

“Attack troops!!” The dragons all leaped up as one and each fired a bright beam at Gooji. However, the stone he had in his possession was indeed giving him energy, as he used a glowing red shield and deflected most of the attacks. Then his eyes snapped, and he formed a huge ball of energy in his large hands, releasing it straight at the dragons, as Holly shouted. The ball exploded, and light and dust flew everywhere, blinding Gooji, Nightmare, Big Blue, and one other who had been watching the commotion from a roof beam, further away than the one Nightmare had perched upon. The figure made a quick decision, and hopped down unnoticed.

Nightmare saw his chance. As Gooji was preoccupied, he made a flying leap towards him, and snatched the stone. Gooji’s red eyes went wide as the power left him, and he suddenly felt shock run through his body at the sudden weakening. Then all he saw was darkness as Nightmare attacked him.

The dust began to clear, and Holly screamed out her friends’ names, as Gooji’s echoing shouts sounded out behind her. Then she saw, to her horror, lost disks. At least three quarters of Falcon’s troop had been destroyed. Other dragons were knocked out, but a few were still standing. Holly felt the tears stream down her face as she gazed at the destruction, and looked at what remained of Falcon’s force. She gasped again as she realized, Falcon was not among those still alive…

Big Blue struggled to his feet, there were lost disks surrounding him. He felt hate and rage towards Gooji, but tried his best not to let it get the better of him. He supported a wounded dragon as he turned his attention back to the battle ensuing between Gooji and Nightmare. While Gooji’s size and natural strength gave him an edge in battle, it was no use against Nightmare’s amazing speed, plus the power given to him by the strange glowing stone. Big Blue threw himself and the dragon to one side as a blast flew by him, and he knew they had to get out of here. Just then, Gooji’s hulking body landed in front of him, cutting him off from Holly, and the dust and debris which rose around him blocked his vision.

Holly coughed from the dust enveloping her, then looked around in surprise as a calm voice spoke beside her.

“Hey there, I think it’s best if we high-tail it outta here right now, before those two bring the roof down.” She gasped in shock at the figure next to her…Gray Wolf! His baddies’ crest was gone, and his blue eyes were no longer cold and heartless, but warm and friendly. She was about to say something when Gooji and Nightmare went at it again, Nightmare still holding the upper hand.

“But…what about the others?” she said to him, peering through the thick dust and smoke trying to catch a glimpse of Big Blue. He shook his head.

“I’m afraid there’s no time. There’s nothing we can do to help them, or those who are lost disks….your friends are strong, I’m sure they’ll make it out okay. Follow me, I know a secret exit!” Holly looked around desperately one last time, and nodded, tears forming in her eyes. She prepared to stand up, but fell back down on her knees with a groan as pain coursed through her body, protesting the movement.

“I-I don’t think I can stand up…” she mumbled. Gray Wolf nodded, then turned around.

“Here, get up on my back.”

“Thank-you Gray Wolf, you’re very kind. Just like your brother. I’m glad to see that you’re free from Moo’s control.” Gray Wolf blushed a bit at this comment as she pulled herself up onto his back. She didn’t notice the tear that ran down his muzzle at the mention of his brother. Suddenly, a low rumble echoed around the chamber.

The roof had taken enough, the battle was too much, and one of the columns supporting the roof had been smashed. The room was beginning to collapse.

“Let’s go!” Gray Wolf barked, and took off, Holly hanging onto him, hoping Big Blue and the few remaining dragons would be okay. Gray Wolf dodged falling rocks and raced out the doors, zipping past guards who were either trying to break up the fight or escape the collapse. The baddies soon began to give chase, and Gray Wolf had to take an alternate route to get to the secret exit.

“Why don’t we use the normal exit?” Holly asked him.

“Because there are too many guards, and the gates are always locked. We’d never break through.” He replied. He took a sudden turn down a narrow corridor, dashing along halls and rushing through chambers of the maze-like building.

Gooji was tiring. His attacks were not doing any good against Nightmare, because he dodged every single one and retaliated frequently with blasts from the stone. Nightmare grinned devilishly.

“You actually believed you could use the full power of this stone Gooji, and find the others? You are pathetic. You do not even know its proper name.” Nightmare continued mocking, as Gooji roared in anger. “Ha! This is not just any stone, it is one of four magic gems. The Ruby of Rage, the Emerald of Courage, the Sapphire of Sorrow, and the Diamond of Joy. Very powerful indeed, and I was sent here by my master to get them.” The black tiger smirked.

“YOU!! YOU WERE SIMPLY USING ME THIS WHOLE TIME!!” Gooji was now beyond rage. Nightmare smirked again.

“Of course. And now, it is time, for you to DIE!” A black orb formed around Gooji, who screamed in aguish. It felt as though every nerve and bone in his body was on fire, and he gave a final growl as his body took on the familiar reddish glow and shriveled into a lost disk. Nightmare chuckled in triumph, the Ruby around his neck. “Hahaha, your army now belongs to my master as well. I shall need to get some powerful monsters, for it is only a matter of time before the rebels begin to suspect something…” suddenly Nightmare paused as he remembered. “The prisoners are escaping! Well, the ones Gooji didn’t kill anyways.” Nightmare looked around at the rubble of what was left of the dungeon, then hurried away, telling any baddies he ran into to be on the lookout and catch the escapers.

Gray Wolf and Holly emerged from a secret tunnel onto the side of a mountain around midnight, with a pack of Cabalos right on their trail. They dashed of as the howls of the pack echoed behind them, signaling to other troops in the area. Gray Wolf went as fast as he could down a long winding path, cliffs rising up on both sides.

A torpedo attack from one of the pursuing Cabalos barely missed Holly’s shoulder as she clung to Gray Wolf’s mane. She looked up, there was a fork in the path, separated by rock. Gray Wolf made for the left path, but skidded to a halt and jumped away as a fireball and a squadron of Black Dinos came around a corner of the canyon. Gray Wolf gritted his teeth. With the Black Dinos coming from the left and the Cabalos coming up from behind, he had no choice but to go right.

He took off again, swerving to avoid as many attacks as he could. Holly noticed the somewhat nervous look on Gray Wolf’s face and wondered if something was wrong with this path. What if it leads to a dead end, then what? She thought to herself.

“Gray Wolf, where do these paths lead?” she asked him. He replied without looking back.

“The left path leads over the mountain and towards a forest. And the right…” he trailed off, and Holly then knew something was definitely up.

“Where does this path lead Gray Wolf? Is it a dead end?” Gray Wolf was silent for a few seconds.

“Well, it…it comes out at the edge of a ravine, there’s a fairly long drop, a deep river below, and no way across from here. It’s the only way to go.” He gulped nervously, as comprehension dawned on Holly and her face blanched. She could see the ledge coming up a little ways away.

“Oh..oh no” she stammered. She tightened her grip and shut her eyes.

“Oh yes, I’m afraid it’s the only way.” He told her. They were almost to the edge, and a group of Evil Hares watched in astonishment from atop the canyon walls. One spoke up.

“They’re not slowing down…are they gonna…they must be completely nuts!” The baddies watched wide-eyed as Gray Wolf reached the ledge. He pushed off with all his strength in a mighty leap. The Cabalos skidded to a halt at the edge, taken aback. The momentum of the jump carried them almost halfway across the ravine, then they began to fall down towards the river below.

“Okay, hang on Holly, this will probably be a really rough landing! Hold your breath!” They both sucked in a mouthful of air. Then they hit the water.

Holly felt her body go numb with shock from the icy coldness of the river. The impact had separated her from her friend, and she desperately tried to make her way to the surface, but because of the pain and numbness in her limbs, it was impossible. Her lungs felt like they were going to burst, and finally, she passed out from lack of air.

Gray Wolf paddled to the surface of the water and gasped in air. He then gritted his teeth as he swept passed some rocks sticking up out of the water. He had not thought the current was this swift.

Gray Wolf then realized he had forgotten something. This river led to an enormous waterfall! He looked around for Holly and spotted her limp form several feet behind him. He shouted out to her, but his voice was lost in the roaring of the water. He paddled against the current, and had almost reached her when she was struck by one of the rocks. She disappeared under the surface again, and Gray Wolf submerged as well. He grabbed the back of her vest in his teeth, and rose back above the water, just before they plummeted over the raging waterfall.

***

Genki snapped awake. He had been having a horrible dream, he had seen Holly, Falcon, Big Blue, and Gray Wolf. He realized he had tears in his eyes, he had been crying. He must have started after most of the dragons had been killed. He shook his head. It was just a dream…it was just a dream. Nothing more. Just a dream. He kept telling himself this, but it had seemed so real. He sighed and looked around his bedroom, which was almost exactly the same as when he had first left and gone to the Monster World. He had been back in his world for a week now, but it seemed like months to him. He missed all his friends.

He got out of bed, thinking he would go get a drink, when he paused. His tv was beginning to glow. He looked at it wide-eyed for a second, then dashed around his room, grabbing his roller blades, backpack, a bit of food, and getting dressed. Next he sat down in front of the tv, and put his hands against the screen. He felt himself get pulled in, and made a huge grin. He was going back!

***

The six monsters trudged along in silence. Suezo wasn’t complaining, Tiger and Hare weren’t fighting, Mocchi wasn’t saying he was hungry. Even though it was late at night, they hadn’t stopped to rest, because they weren’t tired at all. Then suddenly they were blinded by a flash of light and they heard a familiar voice yell. Genki dropped to the ground out of the light and landed on his back. He grunted and sat up. Then…

“GENKI!!!” Six voices shouted in unison and he was swept up into a big hug by Golem, and Mocchi jumped into his arms. Hare laughed and cheered, while Tiger and Pixie smiled.

“Hey Genki, you back already?” Suezo said with a laugh.

“Haha! Yup! Did you miss me?”

“Of course, chi!” After they finally finished cheering, Pixie stepped towards Genki.

“Genki, I think there’s trouble happening.” The merriment ceased and Genki looked around at his friends.

“Why? What’s up?” Pixie told him everything that had occurred over the week, and when she finished, Genki seemed in deep though. “So then…my dream was real…”

“Dream? What are you talkin’ about?” Suezo piped up. Genki told them about the dream he had experienced that night. Tiger’s heart raced at the mention of his brother, while all the listeners were shocked to hear about Falcon and the dragons. Pixie looked at the ground, thinking about Big Blue. Hare was the first to speak.

“Well, it’s obvious what we need to do, right guys? We need to find the others and stop this ‘Nightmare’ guy from whatever he’s up to!” They all agreed, and set off, on their new journey.

To be continued…

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Space Cadet: You must hate me now because of what I did to Falcon and the Dragons…;_; sorry, it’s a habit I’ve always had of killing off a main character. But don’t worry, I’m sure this isn’t the end for them ^_^

Thor was still a very young dragon, barely half-grown. In Falcon’s army, he had the job as messenger, because despite the fact he was not an adult yet he was very fast and agile. And now, he was alone. He had been one of the few survivors of Gooji’s blast, and the cave-in of the dungeon. The young dragon had managed to hide for a while, then he took to the air to seek out other survivors, and also alert anyone about this new threat.

Thor turned his head as he heard a shout behind him, and he hoped it was one of his fellow dragons. His hopes died, though, as he saw four Stone Dragons headed in his direction. The group sped up a little, and the baddies surrounded him. One sneered at the young dragon.

“Well, well, well! What’ve we here, boys? An escaped prisoner! What should we do with him, eh?” His companions guffawed and called out different suggestions.

“Chain him with some rocks and toss him over the mountain!”

“Tie him up and roast him alive over the fire!”

“Chop off his wings and send him off a cliff!” The baddies all chuckled loudly, and Thor looked at them in fear and frustration. The first Stone Dragon smirked, and made another remark in reply to the horrifying suggestions.

“Heh, heh, they all sound tempting, but that’d be lettin’ him off easy. We should take him back to Master Nightmare, I’m sure there’ll be some real fun then!”

The others cheered and closed in on Thor, who, although frightened, came up with a quick decision. As the baddies moved in, he suddenly gave a great heave with his wings and shot upwards, then zoomed over the heads of his enemies. The leader of the little gang gave a roar in anger.

“OY! COME BACK ‘ERE, DAMNIT! LET’S GET HIM!!”

They gave chase, but Thor easily dodged and soared around them, mocking the baddies and adding to their frustration as he made a face at them.

“Nah nah! What’s the matter, slowpokes? Can’t catch me? No wonder! You’re too fat and heavy to keep up with me!!” He stuck out his tongue and flew beneath them, then took off around a rocky outcropping, the baddies giving chase, but to no avail.

Thor had underestimated the Stone Dragons’ stamina. While they weren’t as speedy as he was, they could definitely keep going longer, and he was tiring. He had to avoid their attacks, which seemed to be getting more difficult each time. Finally, he was struck with a small burst of fire, and veered towards the ground with a yelp. He hit the earth heavily, and heard voices in front of him, unlike the gruff-sounding voices of his pursuers. His vision going blurry, he looked up to see a shadow fall over him. A man’s voice spoke.

“This must be one of them…”

Then Thor blacked out.

It was the next day, and the young dragon was still out. In his dreams, Thor kept seeing the demise of his friends in Gooji’s dungeon, and the fact that he had been powerless to stop it haunted him. Why couldn’t he have done something? But Gooji had been too powerful. The ghosts of the Pirate Dragons appeared before Thor, calling him weak. Then it all faded out.

As the young dragon began to stir, an Eared Mew looked up from a map he was studying. The dragon opened his eyes, and turned to face the small monster.

“Where…am…I?” he said sleepily. The Eared Mew came over to him as he realized he was lying on a soft bed.

“Me and some others brought you here. You crashed right in front of us! There were Stone Dragons chasing you, but don’t worry. You’re safe now. What’s your name?”

Thor smiled at the monster’s friendly attitude.

“My name is Thor. I was searching for my friends when I was attacked.”

Thor thought his companion looked like he knew something about that last statement, but he didn’t pursue the subject.

“I’m Eared Mew. You must be hungry. Are you well enough to walk, or should I bring you something?”

The mention of food brightened Thor a bit, and he grinned.

“I’m starving! I think I can walk okay, so lead the way!”

Eared Mew nodded and hopped off the chair he was sitting on, folding up the map as he did so. Thor climbed out of the bed and followed him out the door of what appeared to be some sort of sick bay, and they walked down a well-lit hallway. Eared Mew explained to Thor about the building they were in.

“This place is an ancient underground base, thousands of years old! And there’s things here from the ancient days, like the lights.”

Thor gazed at the lights, which appeared to be made of glass, which he found very odd. They stopped in front of another door, and Eared Mew gave Thor what seemed an almost apologetic grin.

“It might be a bit busy in here, ‘cause it’s right around lunch time, though it shouldn’t be too bad.”

He opened the door, and Thor gazed around. There were many tables in the large room, most of them unoccupied. At the others, there were mostly monsters, with a few humans here and there, all eating and chatting cheerily. Thor gasped as he saw a familiar face sitting at a table further away from the full ones. Eared Mew looked up at him.

“Do you know that guy? We found him earlier than you, luckily he was alright. He was with a dragon too, pretty big fella. Wounded a bit badly, though. He’s in sick bay right now, he’ll recover soon.” Eared Mew looked around in confusion as he noticed he was talking to nobody. Thor had rushed over to the table where the huge figure sat, eating silently.

“Big Blue!! Big Blue, you’re okay!!” he exclaimed happily, running up to the stone monster.

Big Blue jerked up in surprise, and smiled at the young dragon. It was sort of a sad smile, though. He must be thinking about Pixie, poor guy. Thor thought. Then he had an idea.

“Hey Big Blue, you don’t really think she’s dead do you?” Big Blue looked up in surprise, then he nodded sadly. “Come on, she’s lived through worse things and survived. She’s a lot tougher than those baddies thought she was, and you know it!”

The large monster’s expression softened, and he gave a weak grin. Thor returned it, and patted one of Big Blue’s huge fingers reassuringly.

“Thank-you. You’re right, Pixie is strong. I shouldn’t worry so much. What was your name again?”

“I’m Thor!” The young dragon said cheerily, and extended his claws, which Big Blue carefully shook.

The two of them ate lunch together, and swapped stories about what had happened to each of them. Apparently Big Blue and an older dragon had fought their way out of the palace, and were trying to get away, but it had been tough because the dragon had been injured. Then they had been found by the baddies. He might not have been able to fight them off, but some friends appeared, one was Eared Mew, along with his master Jim, and a few monsters. They had brought them here, just like they had with Thor.

Then Jim approached their table. He was in a cheery mood, as usual.

“How you feeling today, matey? Better I hope!” The two monsters nodded and thanked him. “Eared Mew says your other dragon friend will be fine, so no worries there!”

Jim asked them to accompany him to a meeting, and they agreed. When Thor inquired what the meeting was about, Jim replied that they needed to discuss the new baddies and what do to about it.

Jim led them to a medium-sized room with a large, circular table and chairs. Seated at the table were Eared Mew, a Kato, a Ducken, two Dragons, a Scaled Hare, and a Datonare. Jim introduced the other monsters as Kato, Ducken, Rayce and Shilten, Korus, and Furden. When the introductions were over, Jim motioned for them to take a seat. Surprisingly, there was a chair large enough for Big Blue. There were still a few empty seats.

“We just have to wait for a couple others, then we can get started.” Jim told them. He began chatting with Eared Mew while they waited, and the other monsters were making conversation as well. After several minutes, the door opened, and a boy with silver-gray hair walked through, followed by a Worm and a Horn. Jim greeted them.

“This is Alan, his Worm, and Captain Horn! You guys are a little late.” He said with a wink.

Alan laughed, and so did Horn, then they sat down at the table. Jim started off by introducing Thor (most of them already knew Big Blue), and then he asked Thor and Big Blue to once again relate their stories.

When both had finished, they held a moment of silence in respect for Falcon and his Pirate Dragons. Then Kato, who had remained silent the whole time, spoke up.

“It would appear that this world is under a new, yet at the same time, old threat.” The group stared at him in confusion, but before anyone could question him, Korus asked them to be silent and let him finish. Kato nodded his thanks to Korus, and continued.

“You said that Nightmare used dark rays as an attack against Gooji, correct?” he questioned Big Blue, who nodded.

“Yes. But I have never seen anything like that before, and I am sure that it is not a normal attack for a Terror Dog.”

Kato agreed with him.

“You’re right, nor is it normal for any monster for that matter. I am positive that this Nightmare is one of an ancient group known as the Dark Spirits.”

Alan gaped at Kato like he was insane, while Rayce, Shilten, and Furden looked up, their eyes wide in shock. Korus was the only one who had expected this and was therefore calm. The rest, Horn especially, looked confused. Alan finally found his voice, but when he spoke, he seemed so shocked he could barely get the words out.

“You…are you..crazy?! That was….just…some…old legend…and…but…” he trailed off, shaking his head. Captain Horn, still looking very confused, questioned them.

“Arr now, hold hard a second there! First, what in the briny deep are them Dark Shadows, an’ why are ye all lookin’ so afraid?” This time it was Korus who answered.

“That’s Dark Spirits, Captain Horn, not Shadows. The Dark Spirits are said to be ancient spirits who were once good. In the time of the Ancient People, these spirits started to become hungry for power, as the Peoples’ civilization progressed and they began creating monsters. The spirits discovered the energy of the monsters made them stronger, so they would steal the energy of the newly created monsters, and it was almost as though they stole the monster’s very soul. Afterwards, the monster became a spirit just like them. The humans became worried about this, and they experimented, trying to alter the monsters’ genetic structure so they wouldn’t be vulnerable to the spirits.

“Their first attempts failed, of course. One of these experiments involved them trying to create a monster that was incredibly strong, hoping its strength would keep it safe. They created a Terror Dog, and indeed he was definitely more powerful than other monsters. But he was not strong enough, and was taken by the spirits. I’m sure you could already guess that this was Nightmare. However, he had been able to resist them a little, and so, the humans felt that they were making progress. They continued with this project, and in the end, created their own spirit-like creature. It could change its form and purify hearts. It was named Mauradire, a very odd name, but it seemed to fit for some reason. But the humans should have realized, that what they had created, was an exact replica of the spirits, except much stronger.

“The humans decided to terminate that project, and were going to destroy the being they had created. Because of their actions towards it, though, it became vengeful, and turned against them, and destroyed the scientists who created it. It took its place as the leader of the spirits, and that is when they became the Dark Spirits.

“Eventually, the humans ‘perfected’ their monsters, and they were no longer vulnerable, though the spirits could still take the monsters’ life force, much like an Allure can. After the wars broke out, and the humans were creating Moo, something happened. They chose not to use the alterations which would make him immune to the spirits, because they believed he would be more powerful without it. They also believed Moo would be so strong the spirits wouldn’t affect him. To a certain extent, they were right. Because of Moo’s strength, he could not be taken by the spirits, but, they did steal some of his power. The problem was that the power they took from Moo tainted them. They became not only power-hungry, but evil as well. Though something happened to them afterwards; they all disappeared, except for Mauradire himself and Nightmare. But after the battle with Moo and the Phoenix, they too vanished. And now, it seems they have come back again and are trying to conquer the world.”

Horn had his mouth open, his pupil turned tiny in surprise, as Korus finished. Thor was completely speechless; he had never heard this legend before. Jim and Eared Mew appeared to still be taking it all in, and Kato was deep in thought. Finally, Alan broke the silence.

“Come on, you guys! It-it’s not like…there’s no evidence that this Nightmare is one of them…or even if the legend is true! Because…that’s all it is…a-a legend.”

Furden looked at Alan and growled.

“Just a legend, you say? Remember, Moo was supposedly just a legend, and look, he nearly destroyed the whole world!” The Datonare glared at Alan, who muttered something and looked away. “What did you say?!” Furden exclaimed.

“None of your business!!” Alan retorted. Furden was about to say something else when the two Dragons Rayce and Shilten suddenly moved between them.

“Now, now, that’s enough!” Shilten called out calmly. “We should be concentrating on fighting the enemy, not each other. We’ll never win if we can’t get along.”

Rayce agreed with him.

“Yes, you need to calm down. Furden has made a good point that old legends often do turn out to be true. I think you two should make up.”

Alan and Furden both grumbled apologies and sat back down. Big Blue turned his attention back to Kato and Korus.

“So then, what can we do to stop them? Is there something that can defeat these spirits?”

The pair exchanged glances, then Kato answered.

“Nobody knows for sure what can stop them, but there may be a way to find out. I heard a rumour once of an underground temple, which held clues as to what could stop them. If I recall properly, it was called the Shuvola Temple. Unfortunately, I have no idea where it is located.”

Korus nodded, and added in some information as well.

“I heard of the temple too, its whereabouts are unknown, though it is said that it was created by a goddess of monsters, and that there are magical forces within.”

At these words, something clicked in Big Blue’s mind. Magical forces…Genki and the others always knew which way to go because of where the Magic Stone led them. Perhaps it could reveal the way to the temple…He then voiced his thoughts to the others. Jim scratched his head.

“Only problem is, we don’t know where they are, either.” After Jim spoke, everyone looked down, each thinking about what could be done.

Thor looked at Big Blue, and was very surprised to see tears forming in his eyes. He’s thinking about Pixie again. The young dragon thought for a moment, thinking again how he had been unable to help his allies before, then made his decision.

“I would like to go look for the girl Holly and help reach the temple!” The others stared at him, and as he had expected, they didn’t approve. Shilten calmly tried to talk it over.

“Come now, young one. Leave that to us, we’ll take care of it. You rest up awhile.” Thor shook his head stubbornly.

“I won’t stay here! Most of my friends died and I couldn’t do anything about it! I refuse to just sit around, I’m going to help them any way I can this time!” Shilten was about to object, when Rayce silenced him.

“Let him do it, Brother. He’s worried, and you’d be just the same if I was the one out there. Keeping him here will not do any good, it will simply make things harder for him.” He winked at the young dragon, who thanked him gratefully.

“Well then, you’d better not waste any time sitting around here all day!” Eared Mew jumped up on the table and gave him a few instructions. “I’ll take you down to the kitchen, you can pack up some food for the search. Oh, and you should probably bring medical supplies as well.”

Thor nodded, and was about to leave the room with Eared Mew, when he paused. He turned around and walked over to Rayce and Shilten, stealing a glance at Big Blue, who still looked down.

“Excuse me, but I was wondering if you could do something for me.”

Rayce brightened up, he always looked forward to some sort of mission.

“Sure, young Thor, what do you need?”

“Well, the night we were ambushed, one of our friends was left behind because the Stone Dragons thought she was dead. But I don’t think so, ‘cause Pixie’s real tough, and I was wondering if you could look for her?” Shilten leaned down so he was face-to-face with the young dragon.

“Okay then, young one! We’ll help you out. I know where those ruins are, though it’ll take us about a week to get there. You just take care of yourself, alright?”

“Thanks Shilten, and I’ll be careful.” Thor waved good-bye to his new friends, and before he left Big Blue thanked him gratefully with wavering eyes.

Eared Mew found a pack for him, which they filled with lots of food that would last a while, as well as medicine, bandages, and other necessities. Afterwards, Kato and Korus walked with him to the concealed entrance of the base. Kato offered Thor a cloak, which he accepted gratefully, as Korus spoke.

“Be careful, try not to get seen by the baddies. We will stay here to keep an eye on that palace and look for other survivors, as well as anyone who may be willing to stand up against these baddies. You take care of yourself.” Thor nodded, and shook their paws.

“You be careful too, I’ll see ya around!” With that he took off, waving goodbye. Kato waved to the young dragon as he flew away, and turned to his friend.

“So energetic and willing to help. That one will be very wise one day.”

Korus kept his eyes on the speck in the distance that was Thor.

“Maybe he already is wise, my friend.”

Kato closed his eyes thoughtfully.

“Perhaps you are right. You know, he reminds me a lot of the Tainted Cat Brothers before they became baddies.”

“Hmm…what happened to those two anyway? I haven’t seen them at all since Moo was destroyed.”

“They decided to travel around the land and fix up any messes they created while they were under Naga’s command. I think they’ll do just fine.” Kato opened his eyes again. Korus turned to go back inside.

“So do I my friend, so do I.”

To be continued…

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Space Cadet: Oooh….now we’ve got some plot to go on! Hmm, I’ll have to come up with a few more things, but I think this could really work out well! Oh, and a little interesting note: I derived Mauradire’s name from the word maudire, which is French for curse.