The Shadows Army by Darkdragonsoul |  |
Remainingsoul busily trained outside his NeoHome on the coast
of Central Neopia, doing a series of kicks and punches into the air. His PetPet,
Sphinx, a Khnum, watched lazily in the shade, dozing. Solanarii, a blue Shoyru
and his younger sister watched from the shade, leaning against the trunk of
a tree. Her desert PetPet, an Anubis she named Desert Winds, sat beside her
cheerfully, panting in the heat. Remainingsoul took a break from his training,
and went back to the shade where Sphinx had fallen asleep. He looked at the
creature fondly, and then noticed Solanarii and Desert Winds.
“You know, you really shouldn’t train so long. You’re putting
Sphinx to sleep,” she said, joking. Remainingsoul smiled and gently woke the
sleeping PetPet, who yawned.
“He always sleeps, unlike your little energetic pet,” he told
her, just as Darkseawing called them inside. “I’ll race you,” he challenged,
picked up Sphinx, and ran before she could answer. She beat him inside, Desert
Winds running at her heels, and almost ran into Darkseawing, a newly transformed
Lupe. He staggered back, then caught his balance.
“Man, I miss having wings,” he said. His pet, a Fungree named
Starlight Figure, sat on his shoulder. Desert Winds barked happily as Solanarii
grabbed a bowl and put food in it, setting it down near the couch. While he
ate, she went inside the kitchen, and grabbed a red apple from the refrigerator.
Before she could eat it, Darkest_soul, a stars Uni, stood blocking her path.
“Supper is in five minutes, can you wait that long?” she asked.
“Nope,” Solanarii answered, and took a bite out of the apple,
heading back to her room. Remainingsoul was listening to loud rock music in
his room, but she didn’t mind. She took out the latest novel she was reading,
‘The Art of Sword Fighting’, and began where she had left off. Desert Winds
barked again, jumping up on her bed. She paused in her reading, and stroked
his dark blue fur.
“Sis, supper's ready!” Remainingsoul called out. She left Desert
Winds on the bed, who curled up in the warm spot she had just left and fell
asleep. She walked into the dining room, and sat down beside Darkseawing. When
she saw the meal, which was another health food, she groaned.
“You know, I really need to train, so I’m just going to grab
some NeoCrackers and go back outside,” Remainingsoul said, and went to the shelves,
grabbing a box of them and heading outside. He straightened all of a sudden,
looking out at a gaping hole in the side of the cliff, the entrance to a cave
long forbidden to him.
I’m level 39; I can take care of myself, he thought
to himself and walked towards the entrance. Sphinx followed then began whining
when they got towards the entrance. He stepped on the first stone, and a huge
cavern opened under the two. He was caught by a vine, which pinned his wings
against his body. He struggled, but even his strength could not break the vines.
Sphinx was caught too. The vines went loose, except around them, and they dropped
to the floor. A sickening perfume filled his nostrils, and he felt groggy. He
saw a dark figure stand over him, and that was the last he saw.
When he awoke, he was in a medium sized metal cage, with Sphinx
sleeping next to him, curled up under his wings. More cages lined the cavern
walls; some filled with pets and others empty. A shadowed Shoyru stood in the
center, eyes closed. He stood up, wings folded to his side as not to hit the
metal.
“Ah.... So your awake,” the Shoyru said, eyes still closed.
“Why do you have me here?” he asked.
“I have been studying you lately, and so you will become a
fighter in my Dark Army.” He still had his eyes closed.
“I will not!” he stated loudly, voice echoing off the dark
walls.
“You have no choice. The perfume you inhaled when you fell
makes you follow every order I ever issue.” He laughed, then closed his eyes
again. Remainingsoul scowled, rushing at the bars. He got a jolt of energy from
it, and fell to the ground.
Solanarii ate as little as she could, grabbing another apple
on the way out. Desert Winds followed behind her, barking. He ran off, and she
followed, coat glistening with sweat by the time she reached the distant cliff.
She saw a hole, and just then, two large vines came out of the hole.
“Shoyru Inferno!” She said and sent a fireball at them. The
vines were burnt, and she looked down. There were no others, and she was curious.
She put Desert Winds on her shoulders between her wings, and climbed down, reaching
the soft ground beneath. A perfume, which was sickeningly sweet, surrounded
them.
“Bubble Shield!” she called out, and a large bubble surrounded
them until the perfume disappeared. She hid behind a stone, as a shadowed Shoyru
appeared out of nowhere.
“Hmm.... I suppose that was a faulty trigger,” he mused, and
walked back. She followed silently at a distance, until she reached a cavern
with metal cages lining the walls. She saw her brother, knocked unconscious
on the opposite side. The shadowed Shoyru stood in the center, meditating.
“Hey! What have you done to my brother!” she said, appearing
out of the shadows. He opened his eyes instantly, and vines grabbed her arms,
legs, and waist. She struggled, and he laughed.
“Oh, so that red runt over there is your brother?” he asked.
“I do so love family feuds.” He gestured at her unconscious brother. “If you
want him back, then you have to fight me.”
“If you win, you will free my brother... and all the other
prisoners,” she told him.
“And if I win?” he asked, amused.
“Then you will become my servant. Forever.”
“All right,” she said, and he released her. “We will fight
in the Stone arena, in exactly two weeks.”
***
Solanarii had been practicing for two weeks, and today was
the day the battle would occur. She had grown two levels, and was now up to
18, but she thought it might still not be enough. She waited nervously in the
ruins of the Stone arena, warming up. The Shadow Shoyru was on the other side;
Remainingsoul tied between two columns, unconscious. She drew a million-degree
sword, metal shield, among other items, and went into the middle of the arena.
The Shadow Shoyru was already there, equipped with nothing.
Solanarii threw a battle card at him, which hit him directly,
and slashed at him with the million-degree sword.
“Shoyru Inferno!” She created a fireball and hit him. Her
opponent still had a lot of life left though; she had barely made a dent in
him. He hit her directly with a blast of energy, sending her smashing into a
column.
She struggled and stood up, realising that her sword would
not be of any difference. She dropped the items.
“Shoyru Inferno!” The fireball completely missed. He sent another
blast at her, and she was thrust back into the sharp rubble from the columns.
She pulled a shard out of her arm, standing again.
Solanarii?A sweet voice filled her head. Solanarii,
this is the Uber Light Faerie. I have come to help you fight the evil. I will
give you an ability that is most powerful. If you use this attack more than
once, its energy drain will destroy you, so you have but one chance. Good luck,
she told her, and Solanarii felt an energy enter her. She launched into the
air, and a bright light surrounded her. It continued gathering, while the shadowed
Shoyru watched in horror.
“Solar Flare!” she said, sending the energy at him. It enveloped
him, and when it faded, he had disappeared. Remainingsoul woke up, and Solanarii
ran over to him, hugging her brother happily.
“What happened? I feel like I just got hit by a bus,” he said,
and she broke him free of the vines.
“I’ll tell you later brother. First we have to free the other...”
she collapsed from the exertion of energy. I have taken care of it, the
Uber Light Faerie told her, and she smiled weakly, as her brother helped her
up, and they made their way from the stone arena to their coastal home.
“Now, about that story...."
The End |
