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The Initiate Defenders: Part Three


by burning_shadows_79

--------

Conflict

Judge Hog, Sergeant Brexis, and almost all the other members of the Defenders of Neopia were headed for Faerieland, their eyes glazed and their minds empty, in the grip of Jennumara's Brain-soap Potion. It was just after midnight and the sky was pitch black, cloudless but also moonless, a light mist shutting out the stars. Blackwing, whose vision was unhindered by even the deepest darkness, was leading the brainwashed Defenders toward their destination: a niche in the cliffs not far from the Faerie Caverns. They were to enter Jennumara's hidden castle and become her servants. Right now, they were aware of nothing else.

     The group wandered blindly along the main road that led from Neopia Central southwest to the mountains of Faerieland. Even Blackwing was stumbling and falling regularly, blundering into trees and walls, unable to pay proper attention to where he was going. It seemed that the potion had been too powerful; it not only placed the Defenders under Jennumara's control, but it sapped their energy, slowing their reflexes and dulling their awareness of their surroundings. Progress was extremely slow, but they finally managed to drag themselves to the castle entrance in the cliff wall just before the sun rose.

     Judge Hog entered first along with Brexis and Blackwing, who was still directing them. The tunnel was long, winding, and utterly dark. All the Defenders filed in, taking as much care on the slippery steps as their befuddled minds were capable of. Unbreakable, the robot Cybunny who had been first to take the potion, was last to enter, and he covered the opening behind him with fern fronds and vines to conceal it from intruders. The stone fingers on his left hand fumbled with the plants; he struggled to concentrate, and shook his head slightly to try and clear it. Eventually the ferns completely blocked out the lights emanating from the nearby houses and lamps, and he proceeded down the passageway after the others, feeling his way through. Halfway down, he slipped on the rough stone steps and bashed into the wall of the narrow tunnel. He got to his feet and kept moving, totally undamaged: he wasn't called Unbreakable for nothing. Even the petrification spell cast by Jennumara had not caused any real harm. But the Cybunny took a little more care than before as he approached the end of the tunnel and the entrance to Jennumara's underground castle.

     At last, the group reached a lighted corridor. It was carved from the bedrock, a hundred yards long but only about ten feet wide; thick wooden doors along its length led to different rooms of Jennumara's fortress, but nearly all of them were locked with heavy iron padlocks. The ceiling was high above them, its shape appropriate for a steeply sloping roof except that they were below ground. A yard or so above each door was a recessed panel bordered with a plain black frame which served as a substitute for a window, casting a faint, enchanted red glow into the hallway. The place was grim and frightening: it looked like a Darigan prison.

     The Defenders of Neopia were greeted by a flock of menacing-looking Zumagorns, which descended from the shadowy ceiling and fluttered around them on tiny black wings, checking for any signs of hostility. After a few seconds they were deemed ready, and the Petpets zipped away down the corridor to the arched doorway at the very end, which was large and impressive, visible even from this distance. Judge Hog and the others still had blank expressions, although Unbreakable shook his head slightly in response to the Zumagorns' high-pitched chattering. Eventually there was a loud bang as the double doors were thrown open, and Jennumara glided down the hall, wearing long violet robes and an evil, eager smile.

     She scrutinised her new army for a second or two before lifting her arms wide in a gesture of invitation. "Welcome to my castle!" she pronounced, her voice dripping with wicked pleasure. "I am most honoured to have you here. You will be escorted to the conference room, tenth door on the left, where you will receive further instructions. Once you have been given your duties, you will begin your service to me immediately."

     All the Defenders nodded dully. Unbreakable blinked, slightly confused; he had already been serving Jennumara for two days now. As they moved mechanically down the corridor, there was a colossal crash behind them as a sturdy steel gate fell into place, sealing the tunnel that led back to the surface. Unbreakable twitched slightly, but nobody else reacted.

     ***

     Later that morning, four fledgling members of the Defenders of Neopia arrived at the Headquarters for their first day of hero work and discovered the others missing. It wasn't long before they pieced together what had happened: the Defenders had sent one of their number to confront the Darkness Faerie called Jennumara, who had placed him under a mind-control spell and sent him back to his home base to brainwash the other heroes, who had obediently trundled off to join Jennumara. Now the fate of the Defenders of Neopia, and possibly the fate of Neopia itself, rested on these four newest and most inexperienced heroes: Vitry, Astrin, Skyla and Nuru.

     Strictly speaking, Astrin did have some grounding in this field: he had rebelled against Dr. Sloth in the old days. But Vitry was still very young and not yet confident; Skyla had her highly emotional nature to keep in check; and Nuru had never before been in a city or interacted with urban Neopets. Things didn't look entirely promising.

     Nevertheless, the little group set off boldly, certain that they could save the day. Skyla, channelling the magic from the enchanted crystal set into her necklace, stirred up a powerful windstorm that lifted the heroes into the air and carried them quickly towards Faerieland; Vitry made this all the more convenient by transforming herself into steam before setting off, allowing the rushing air to easily support her now minuscule weight. Astrin was carrying his golden wand, through which he could project powerful sunbeams; and Nuru's wooden staff was embedded with seeds from which he could instantly summon plants. But could they rescue the Defenders of Neopia, whose combined might was vastly greater than theirs?

     Before long, the group reached the outskirts of Faerieland. Skyla lowered the wind speed and she, Astrin and Nuru descended gently to the ground. Then they looked around for Vitry, but they couldn't see her at all. Then out of the blue, she reappeared high in the air fifty yards away and began to plummet towards the earth, yelling in terror.

     Nuru thrust his left hand forward: the grass on the ground below Vitry grew to a metre high and a few small trees sprouted, their flexible branches and thick leaves cushioning her fall. As she landed, her watery body smacked hard against the foliage and several droplets flew. "Ouch!" she said, looking at Skyla in frustration. "Not so much wind speed next time! I couldn't stop!"

     "I couldn't even SEE you!" Skyla retorted, annoyed. Astrin rolled his eyes. "Come on," he muttered to the others, "we have a rescue mission to carry out."

     The group headed for the cliffs, stopping for a moment in the vast cave through which many Neopets regularly entered the maze of tunnels beyond. Nuru nervously felt the walls. "Did the note say the entrance to Jennumara's castle was IN the Faerie Caverns, or NEAR the Faerie Caverns?" he mumbled to Astrin.

     Astrin scratched his head, winding his fingers around his long Grundo antennae. "Near the caverns - I think," he said uncertainly.

     "So you don't know?" said Skyla in frustration. "You're the one who read the note."

     "Would you have hung around Headquarters until you'd memorised every detail, when there are lives at stake?" demanded Astrin.

     "I might have brought the note with me, actually," Skyla scoffed, rolling her eyes.

     "You could have done," Astrin reminded her. "It was right there in the office..."

     Nuru buried his head in his hands, groaning through his fingers, "Yeah, fine, fine. All of us forgot. Are we going to have a big argument, or are we going to look for the entrance?"

     Vitry pointed to a group of laughing locals who were heading into the caverns, dropping handfuls of coins in the nearby creek for luck as they passed. "Would Jennumara have put the secret entrance in a place where someone might go in there without meaning to?" she asked reasonably. "If it was IN the caves, someone might take a wrong turn and end up in there by mistake, or they might think it was a secret path to the treasure rooms or something."

     "There are treasure rooms?" said Nuru curiously, but Skyla laughed. "You already have all the treasure you need. You found those super seeds in the Deserted Tomb's vaults, didn't you?"

     "I thought Nuru was only looking for a way out of the tomb," said Vitry. "Look, I don't think the door to Jennumara's castle is here; she probably put it somewhere where nobody goes."

     "How do you know?" Skyla said sceptically.

     "Because I'm still young enough for hide-and-seek," replied Vitry.

     "Fair point," Astrin remarked, as Skyla was humbled into silence. "Let's search along the bottom of the cliffs," continued Astrin, "I seem to remember the note mentioning the cliffs."

     Nuru chipped in, "Didn't the note also say something about halfway? Did it say halfway up the cliffs, or halfway along?"

     "Halfway up would make more sense for someone who could fly," opined Skyla.

     "But then how would Unbreakable have gotten in? He can't fly," Astrin said.

     "Maybe he can climb?" suggested Nuru.

     Vitry had a sense of trepidation; she wanted to avoid the risk of taking another fall. "Let's look near the ground first. If we don't find anything there, then we'll look higher up."

     Skyla snorted. "Yeah, walking shouldn't take long. It's not like the cliffs are huge or anything." When Astrin and Nuru flashed identical looks of warning at her, telling her without words to keep her temper in check, she rushed on, "I just think it would be quicker to search by air."

     Astrin suddenly looked stunned. "Search by air..." he repeated. "Skyla, that's it! You can use your wind powers to search for openings in the cliffs; if you can whip up an air current inside, then it might be a way in!"

     "That's a great idea!" said Vitry happily, but Skyla was irritated with herself. She made a facepalm, her long pointed ears flapping, then said "Yeah, all right." Looking cross, she whispered grumpily under her breath, "I should've thought of that."

     ***

     As the four initiates squabbled over finding the entrance, deep below in the underground castle the hypnotised Defenders of Neopia were receiving their orders. They were also passing information to Jennumara about their missions and their powers, allowing her to better make use of her new servants. Judge Hog, staring blankly into space, babbled about the four newest members of the Defenders and how they were trained to become superheroes. Jennumara was suddenly hearing alarm bells.

     "Where are these four new members?" she snapped angrily, glaring around the table. "Who are they?"

     Sergeant Brexis responded in a monotonous voice. "The River Spirit, a Water Kyrii who can control water at will and transform herself into liquid or steam. Starlighter, a Fire Grundo who can generate intense sunbeams. Cyclone Aisha, painted Eventide, who has the power to control air currents. The Beanstalk, a Woodland Ruki who can accelerate and direct the growth of plants." He paused, glancing vaguely over at Judge Hog. "They weren't there when the meeting was held about Unbreakable. They didn't receive the potion."

     "WHAT?!" screeched the Faerie. "If they're members of the Defenders of Neopia, I need them in my ranks! Give me more information. Where do these Neopets come from? Where were they at the time you were given the potion? Where are they now?"

     The Mind's Eye, the psychic Nimmo, recalled as much as she could from the initiates' dossiers, and Brexis explained that they had been celebrating their induction into the membership when Unbreakable arranged the meeting. But when asked for their current location, all Judge Hog could tell the Faerie was that they had been asked to meet with him in the office that morning.

     "Aaah," breathed Jennumara, relaxing. It was only a matter of time until the new members took a drink from the watercooler while they waited for the other Defenders to arrive at the office. But then something occurred to her. "If they took the potion already, I would have felt it by now... I can tell when I gain control over a mind. So when were they supposed to have met you?"

     Judge Hog looked down at his watch. "Two hours ago."

     So they had been there for two hours and hadn't taken the potion yet? Or had they left the office already? Jennumara was very suspicious. "Is there any likelihood that they'll realise something is wrong?" she snarled, her eyes narrowed.

     "Yes." Judge Hog gave the details: there were always at least three Neopets in the office, even at night; papers had been left out, he had not finished his drink; things were usually kept tidy. "It would be obvious that something was wrong, particularly to Starlighter. He used to take part in the resistance against Dr. Sloth."

     "So for all you know, they could be on the way here right now?!" screamed the Faerie. "We can't let them ruin my plans! I'm so close to success - I won't let this happen!" She thumped the table with her fists and bellowed at the top of her voice. "YOU HAVE TO STOP THEM!!"

     Unbreakable, who had left a note on the office noticeboard that inadvertently gave away the location of Jennumara's castle entrance, said nothing.

     ***

     After half an hour of trawling along the edge of the cliffs searching for a hidden doorway, Skyla finally struck gold. A mass of ferns formed a loose mesh over a sizeable patch of cliff, and when Skyla tested it, a strong current of air surged from it, blowing away the plants and exposing a long, dark tunnel.

     Astrin headed in first, followed closely by Skyla. Vitry moved cautiously on the damp rock, but Nuru turned to the rock wall above and extended a long, thin vine from it to follow him into the passageway. The rock gave an ominous creaking sound as he did so.

     "Nuru, what are you doing?" whispered Skyla, exasperated. "If you grow a vine down the tunnel, its stem will thicken and weaken the rock, and then the entrance could collapse!"

     "We'll need it to find our way out," Nuru muttered. "It's pitch dark in there."

     A soft golden glow began to emanate from the tip of Astrin's wand. "Not any more it isn't," said the Grundo. "Don't make that vine grow any longer, or we might not be getting out at all."

     Nuru sighed wearily, then proceeded down the passage with the others. Even with Astrin's light, it was slow and difficult progress; the path was narrow and cramped, and the stairs leading downwards were slippery and very steep. Vitry tripped over her own tail-hair and landed hard on the floor, spraying drops of water from her long mane. "Argh!" she said loudly. "Maybe I should just transform and go down there as liquid water, then I can't trip over."

     Skyla rolled her eyes, but nobody could see her do so in the dim light. Vitry sank to the floor and trickled forward, flat against the stone steps. Astrin allowed the puddle to move ahead of him before continuing down the trail. Behind him, Nuru was having trouble even on four legs; he staggered and fell onto Skyla, who crumpled against Astrin causing him to topple onto Vitry with a splash.

     "OUCH!" The puddle slithered out from underneath Astrin and stood up again, trembling with shock. "That hurt a lot!"

     "Sorry," mumbled Nuru. "Astrin, could you make that light a bit brighter?"

     "Yeah," grunted Skyla, rubbing her elbow where it had grazed the wall, "apparently Mr Clumsy here has two left feet when it's dark."

     "I'm supposed to have two left feet - I'm a Ruki!" said Nuru crossly, untangling his limbs and getting up again.

     Even Astrin was losing patience now. The glow from his wand intensified until the others flinched instinctively, and he hissed through gritted teeth, "That enough?"

     Nobody spoke. The tension was palpable; everyone could sense that conflict was imminent. Astrin's light dimmed to a more suitable level and Skyla whispered, "Much better." Even through her whisper, it was clear she was struggling to stay calm: the others could hear her voice shaking.

     They proceeded down the passageway in silence, all of them harbouring intense feelings of frustration. Every one of them wished they were alone, away from the others, able to carry out the task at hand without distraction; they couldn't bear each other's company. After a few minutes of the kind of quiet that seems to swell over time, the end of the passageway loomed in the distance. Just visible beyond the tunnel ceiling were the pointed tips of the bars of a massive steel gate, which had been raised.

     "Remember, the Defenders aren't themselves," whispered Astrin, pausing in front of the open gate, "so don't hurt them - just repel them."

     Nuru picked the tree seeds from the end of his staff and clenched them in his fist, ready to be sown; Vitry melted back to the floor in liquid form, preparing to enter by stealth; Astrin's lit wand went out, but Skyla darted forwards and whipped up the wind, carrying her up to the ceiling, preparing to attack.

     "Skyla, what are you doing?!" said Astrin sharply. "They'll hear you!"

     But she was already finding out that her manoeuvre had been a big mistake. A dense flock of Zumagorns was closing in on her from the shadowed spaces above, screeching furiously. The Petpets grasped her with their clawed fingers and tried to drag her away, and she responded by screaming at the top of her lungs.

     "GET THEM OFF ME!" squealed Skyla: Vitry resumed her Neopet form and rushed forward, trying to divert the Petpets' attention, but they ignored her. Astrin tried to scare them away with a dazzling beam of sunlight from his wand - the Zumagorns scattered in fright, but Skyla's eyes were forced shut by the bright beam and as she was distracted, the wind strength dropped and she started to fall from the ceiling. Nuru, without thinking, threw himself to catch her and she landed on his back, sending all of the tree seeds flying from Nuru's hand, scattering them on the rough stone floor.

     "NO!" burst out Nuru, trying to pick up the seeds - but now the four heroes were in bigger trouble. A gush of fire tore through the air, missing Nuru by inches: Torchio had heard the commotion and flown into the corridor to confront them. Astrin stared at him, taking in the expression on his burning scarlet face, which was quite blank and empty. Another blast of flame issued from Torchio's hands and Nuru dived to his right, but the seeds were engulfed and quickly burned up. Vitry leapt into action, raising her hands and summoning water from the surrounding atmosphere and hurling it at Torchio, who ducked and wove through the air, releasing more fireballs towards Vitry. She screamed, unable to react quickly enough while still controlling the airborne stream of water - but Skyla intervened, blowing the flames aside. Vitry was blown aside as well, colliding hard with the far wall: the water she had conjured to try and quench Torchio fell uselessly to earth with a sad splash.

     Nuru resumed searching for unburnt seeds; he had to rely on touch and sight, since the tiny plant embryos inside the seeds were too small for him to locate using his powers. Meanwhile, Astrin unleashed another sunbeam, much stronger this time, in Torchio's direction. The fiery Scorchio squinted and tried to retaliate, but Vitry had regained control of the water on the floor and intercepted the flames, thrusting the liquid upwards towards her foe - and Torchio, blinded by Astrin's light, was too slow this time. Drenched and dripping, he fled back down the hallway.

     Suddenly Astrin yelped. Something had struck him from behind, something the others couldn't see. The Grundo felt hands closing around his chest... Blackwing had arrived, invisible. Astrin's sunbeam ripped through the air, swinging wildly as Blackwing struggled with the golden wand. Vitry vanished into vapour, but Nuru had finally managed to find some intact tree seeds, which he scattered and sprouted. Colossal trunks rocketed upwards, their branches spreading toward the ceiling, ready for action - but he still couldn't see Blackwing. Vitry suddenly reappeared, clinging to thin air and struggling with the invisible Blackwing as Astrin wrenched himself loose from the Wocky's grip and dropped his golden wand. He reached for it, but it moved of its own accord and flew down the corridor, far out of reach.

     Skyla clenched her fists: a huge windstorm brewed, surging down the hallway, keeping the enemy at bay. Orig the Great, hovering in the air midway down the hall, had joined the fray, entranced but still formidable; as the heroes stared him down, Orig's eyes flashed and the heavy gate through which they had entered was released from its chain and came crashing down, trapping them in the corridor. Nuru stretched the boughs of the surrounding trees towards Orig just as Astrin let loose another sunbeam, which hit the branches and set them ablaze - Vitry noticed in a flash and summoned water to douse the flames. Skyla suddenly felt her necklace unfastening and coming loose, and the wind vanished in an instant. The crystal necklace soared towards Orig, but Astrin blinded him with another burst of light. Skyla panicked and rushed towards the necklace, but out of nowhere, Blackwing, still invisible, struck her across the middle and she fell to the floor, knocked out.

     From above, a vast blue ribbon flowed past, descended to the floor and rapidly contracted into the Marvellous Stretchy Chia. Dr. Flexo threw his arms forward and caught Vitry in the back before she could transform: she collapsed, but Nuru managed to dodge the Chia's strike. Astrin let loose an intense glow from his whole body, trying to disorient the corrupted Defenders, and Nuru sent a massive branch thundering across the hall to entwine Orig the Great, immobilising him. Astrin's wand, directed by the trapped Orig's power, spun back towards him and he ducked just in time, but Nuru, just behind, took the wand full in the chest and crumpled. Astrin was now fighting alone, and he flashed his light as strongly as he could, but now Torchio was back. Flames erupted on either side of the Grundo and as he spun around in panic, Torchio charged him, knocking him to the ground and pinning him down.

     Now Judge Hog, with an extremely ominous gleam in his eyes, walked calmly down the hall and stood over the four helpless heroes, towering above them. "Starlighter, the River Spirit, Cyclone Aisha, and the Beanstalk," he announced, his gaze passing in turn over Astrin, Vitry, Skyla and Nuru. "The four newest members of the Defenders of Neopia."

     The Zumagorns were now returning, carrying handcuffs and ropes, tying up Nuru, Vitry and Skyla. Astrin was pulled to his feet to be handcuffed and bound along with the others, and he knew that his light had no use now. Brexis, looking stern and cruel, arrived to witness the four heroes being taken into custody; a distant and unfocused Unbreakable followed. With the Defenders of Neopia gathered around them, Jennumara emerged from the throne room and strode triumphantly down the hallway, laughing evilly. "Four new recruits. How charming!" she gloated, her eyes alight with glee.

     Astrin met Judge Hog's eyes defiantly, knowing he himself would soon become another brainwashed servant of Jennumara. The Judge spoke in a deep, booming voice, sounding unlike himself, beyond reason.

     "From now on, we defend the NEW Neopia."

To be continued...

 
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» The Initiate Defenders: Part One
» The Initiate Defenders: Part Two
» The Initiate Defenders: Part Four



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