Ares attacked the mutant creature mercilessly, and it let out a horrifying
shriek, then vanished into thin air. Beside him, the Battle Faerie had her sword
withdrawn, and she was engaged in a combat with four of the black creatures.
Snowballs were flying through the air and hitting both mutant enemy and Neopet
alike.
General Ares fought off mutant after mutant, as each one landed down right
in front of him. Occasionally, a thin arrow from the enemy would hit his armour
and fall uselessly from him, and onto the deck. And it was in times like these
that Ares felt glad that he had saved the Light Faerie.
Suddenly, there was a loud shriek, and a dozen of the black creatures flew
down and surrounded him. Ares gulped. He only had his Tri-Scimitar! How was
he going to fend off dozens of the mutant creatures with just one sword? The
creatures closed in on him, but try as Ares might to eliminate some of the mutant
creatures, more of them just came in to replace the gaps of their missing comrades.
Ares lost all of hope of ever defeating them.
But just as he did so, something huge and flaming swooped down low over them,
making the creatures shriek and recoil in disgust. "Ares!" came a familiar shout.
"Jack!" Ares exclaimed when he realised who had come to his rescue.
"Catch this!" the fire Scorchio was still circling above them in the air. Ares
looked up as something small and golden fell from the sky, into his upturned
paw. It was a Blizzard Ring.
Jack flew down and landed beside Ares, and the two friends grinned. "Let's
take them down!" Jack called out excitedly. And Ares almost laughed. He had
never seen his friend so excited about fighting before! But the black creatures
were closing in again, and so Ares held out the Blizzard Ring. Almost immediately,
as if it could sense what he wanted, a horde of poison snowballs flew right
at the black creatures. Shrieking and writhing, they disappeared in the blinking
of an eye.
None came back to replace their fallen comrades, because the Neopian Army
and the Faeries were winning the battle. The sky was no longer choked full of
black creatures, and the waters were no longer swarming with mutants. Ares continued
to fight the black creatures surrounding him and Jack, but he now used his Tri-Scimitar
instead of the Blizzard Ring. Just as Ares raised a hand to finish off the last
black creature, there came a loud BANG and dodging, he shouted, "Jack! Duck!"
But it was too late. The Scorchio, hit by a streak of black lightning, tumbled
to the ground.
"Nooo!!!" Ares cried in anguish as he rushed over to kneel at Jack's side.
The Battle Faerie found him in a whiz of purple and green, and she quickly whispered
to him, "Ares! It is time…" Then with another flash of black, Ares found himself
standing in front of two giant mutant creatures. They towered over him, and
Ares could see the steely glint in their eyes. It was time for him to battle
the King and Queen.
Everyone on board the Psellia stopped short, even the black creatures turned
around to see what was happening. "Fight us. If you win, you will live. If you
lose, Neopia is lost," they said to Ares, but his vision was red now, for they
had hurt his best friend Jack.
With a mighty roar, ignoring the tiredness in his limbs, Ares raised his Tri-Scimitar
and charged towards the King. The King withdrew his own sword, black with silver
carvings, and gave a mighty blow that sent Ares reeling to the floor. Again
and again Ares tried to aim a blow at the King, but the King deflected his strikes
seemingly without any effort.
Finally, with one last blow, the King sent Ares flying to the other end of
the Psellia. Ares lay there, not moving, and the King made his way to the fallen
lupe. "You have tried, and failed. Now Neopia is lost." The King said, and raised
his sword to finish Ares off.
Everyone gasped, but no one saw the triumphant gleam in Ares' eyes. For, a
split second later, he had the Blizzard Ring in his paw and aimed it at the
King. Ice snowballs pelted the mutant creature at once, and with a cry of defeat
it vanished with a puff of smoke.
But Ares was not down yet. He aimed the Blizzard Ring at the other mutant
creature. All at once, a flood of icy snowballs hurled out of the Blizzard Ring,
and the Queen too, gave a terrible cry and vanished with a puff of smoke.
There was silence... then, everyone aboard the Psellia and the other battleships
gave a great cheer. General Ares had done it! He had beaten the King and the
Queen! He had saved Neopia! But Ares was oblivious to all the attention he was
getting. The Battle Faerie followed him to where his best friend lay on the
deck of the Psellia. Ares took Jack's head in his paws and tried to prop his
friend up against the side of the battleship. "Jack… Jack old pal… can you hear
me?" Ares whispered to his friend, tears welling up in his eyes.
The Scorchio's eyes fluttered open slowly, and he gazed at the magnificent
Lupe in front of him. "Ares… Ares you did well, very well…" Jack muttered softly,
choking back his sobs. Ares tried to hold back his tears. "Listen, listen, Jack!
You're not going to die! Listen to me! You are going to live!" he shook the
Scorchio. Pain coursed through the Scorchio, and he gave a wheezing pant. "Ares…
you were the best… friend I've ever had… thank you… thank… you…" Jack was fading
fast.
"No, Jack! No, open your eyes! Listen to me!" Ares cradled his friend's head
to his chest, but Jack was fighting to say something. "Ares… promise me… you'll
open… my… pre… present only after… the… war is… over," and with those last few
words, the fire Scorchio's wings burnt out, and his head rolled limply to one
side. Jack's eyes closed in a peaceful sleep, leaving Ares alone on the deck
of the Psellia, mourning the demise of his best friend. The Battle Faerie came
up to Ares and placed a hand on his hand. "Ares…" she said softly. But the Lupe
was overwhelmed. Tears coursed down his face, dampening his blue fur.
"What a great friend," General Ares shook his head. The Battle Faerie nodded,
"Yes, Jack's quite a Scorchio, and a great friend. And now he has fallen valiantly
in battle, Ares. Think of it; if he hadn't stepped right in front of the lightning
bolt, it would have hit you, and the Neopian race would have been wiped out."
Ares looked up at the Battle Faerie, confusion shining through his grief.
"What? He stepped in front of the lightning bolt? But… I…"
"You thought what?" The Battle Faerie asked.
"I thought he didn't move quick enough," Ares murmured as fresh tears fell.
"He did move quick enough, Ares. Quick enough to save your life," the Battle
Faerie told Ares gently.
Ares nodded, and slowly he got up and stood on all his four paws, over his
best friend Jack. "You saved my life, Jack. You were the great friend," he whispered
to the Scorchio, then turned away.
Ares stepped into the marble ballroom of the Battle Faerie's palace. It was
months after the greatest battle had taken place, and the members of the Neopia
Army and Neopia's faeries had been invited to a ball held in memory of Jack.
A few seconds later, Ares found the Battle Faerie at his side. Her long purple
hair was swept up in a bun, kept in place by a sparkling diamond pin. Instead
of her usual green battle tunic, she was donned in a long silver gown that made
her easily the most beautiful faerie in the room. "You look great," the Battle
Faerie said to Ares. Ares glanced down at his Lupe tuxedo. "Jack gave this to
me," he recalled, holding back tears. The Battle Faerie nodded, "He had great
taste," she said.
Minutes later, the Battle Faerie and Ares were standing on a raised platform
with crowds of well-dressed Neopets and elegant faeries below them.
"Welcome, citizens of Neopia! Today we are gathered here for a ceremony held
in memory of Jack, rank Doctor in the Neopia Army, and best friend of General
Ares," the Battle Faerie gave a nod to General Ares, who stepped forward.
"Jack the fire Scorchio was my best friend. I had known him ever since I was
a young Lupe, and he was there by my side through thick and thin. There was
one thing that we shared with passion and vigour. That is, my dream to become
a fire Lupe Jack shared that dream fervently too, and even when we grew up,
we still shared that dream. Jack went to become a NeoPet doctor, and I a General
in the Neopia Army. But we still kept in contact, and Jack was still my best
friend, the only NeoPet I ever trusted with my life. And a few months ago, Jack
joined the Neopia Army as a doctor so that he could be by my side through thick
and thin, even when I was working."
Ares took a deep breath. Just thinking about Jack made him sad.
"Well, now my dearest friend Jack is gone, and his last words reminded me
of something. Just a few days before the greatest battle, Jack handed me a parcel,
and told me to open it only after the war was over. Now the war is over, and
I shall open the parcel in front of all of you," and with that, Ares withdrew
the small brown parcel from his black coat and began to undo the wrappings.
Everyone watched in anticipation as a table was brought forth (hundreds of
faeries flew the table up to the stage in a glitter of colour) and as Ares placed
the parcel on the table.
The gift was wrapped in soft cloths, and slowly Ares removed the fold of the
golden cloth. And now the gift was displayed to everyone in all its splendour.
The whole ballroom gasped, and Ares felt a tear slid from his eye.
For lying there, in the fold of soft golden cloth, was a fire paint brush.
The End | 
