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Urawa and I watched as the cowardly Taricha flew off. I looked down at the
sword that I had struck him with. Suddenly I felt different. I felt as if I
wanted to destroy everyone around me.
I lost control of myself for a second. I raised the sword above my head, and
slashed at Urawa who jumped with quick reflex, and stood back. "Drange, what
are you doing?!"
I looked up at him with glowing red eyes, but got control back, and threw the
sword to the ground. "This sword... it's possessed..."
Urawa quickly put his foot on top of the sword to prevent me from picking it
up again. "It's powerful, but the evil in it is too great a force. If you are
on the side of holiness, as you and I are, Drange, it shall overtake your body,
and control it. If you are weak-minded it will become your soul. If you are
strong-minded, you will be able to throw it away, and it won't be able to control
you for long."
I nodded, and looked up at the moon in the sky, my eyes reflecting it's light.
The villager who Taricha was about to destroy before. I ran to her, and knelt
beside her. "Are you all right, little girl?"
The girl coughed weakly, and opened her eyes to look up at me. "Taricha...
you are.... evil... Drange... has betrayed.. us...." She then closed her eyes
again, and left Neopia.
I clenched my fists, and got up. "Taricha.... you'll pay for this!!!!" I outspread
the Halloween Nimmo wings I bared, and turned to Urawa. "Dispose of the sword."
Urawa, who had turned away from the sword to watch me tend to the villager,
turned back to find that the sword had magically disappeared into thin air.
He scratched his head. "That's odd.... I could've sworn it was just there a
minute ago..."
"This isn't good. A mighty sword like that is on the loose now... and it could
strike us at any minute..." I replied. I then narrowed my eyes and looked at
Taricha's Tower in the distance, on the Nimmo's HQ. "We have to pursue Taricha,
I need my body back."
Ivory and Pharoah had just arrived by us, panting and huffing. "You guys, don't
leave us behind!!!"
Urawa looked to the direction I was looking, then to the direction Taricha
fled. "He went that way, so it'd be a good idea if we did that too."
I flapped my wings, and hovered in the air. "Then what are we waiting, let's
get a move on!"
Urawa hesitated, and nodded, but I noticed a small tear that came to his eye
when he looked up at me. "Yes, just give me a minute, Drange..."
He turned around, and I landed behind him with a concerned look on my face.
"What's wrong, Urawa?"
He didn't answer me, but instead spoke to himself. "Kinsengh... my home...
burnt to the ground by evil itself... I no longer have a place to stay... a
place to live.... a place to call home... rest in peace... Kinsengh."
He wiped the tear from his eye, and turned back to me. "All right, let's go."
I removed the concerned look, and patted him on the back. "Yeah, that's the
spirit." I hovered in the air again, Urawa and Ivory did the same. Ivory looked
down at Pharoah. "Midas, you do the ground patrol while we fly above."
Pharoah nodded. "All right, Jess. I'm off now, have a safe airborne journey!"
He ran ahead, leaving us all in confusion. "That's the only time he's ever
been really serious, did you notice that?"
Ivory and Urawa nodded, and then we all flew into the air. Ivory smirked. "It's
about time we do our job too. Midas will take out the ground foes, while we
combat the air enemies, if any."
We all understood as we flew ahead. Four friends, united by fate, traveling
on one objective. To defeat Taricha and regain control over my body. We flew
for hours, defeating Nimmos that challenged and passed us by in flight, and
watched below as Pharoah vanquished one Nimmo after another.
The skies were stormy, but nothing would stop us. Not a volcanic eruption,
not an earthquake, not a thunderstorm, and most of all, not Taricha. After many
more hours of flight, and one night, we found a large floating platform in which
was too high for us to see what was on it.
Pharoah looked up at us from the ground, and yelled. "I think Taricha may be
up there, guys!"
I looked down to him, and nodded, then glanced to Ivory and Urawa. "You guys,
I'll go up there, and see if Taricha is there. You two, stay down here. Got
it?"
They both nodded, and I rose high into the sky while Ivory shouted up to me.
"GOOD LUCK, DRANGE!!!!"
I continued my flight, and dodged a few lightning bolts that suspiciously were
aimed at me. As I rose, the bolts began to become more accurate, and I needed
to be faster to dodge them. When I finally got to the top of the altar, I could
see Taricha on it.
I put up my fists, still hovering in the air, and growled at Taricha. "TARICHA!!!!
OVER HERE, YOU FREAK!!" I noticed he was grasping the black sword I once wielded
before in Kinsengh in his hands.
He looked over to me, and laughed. "Drange, you have returned! Just in time!
I'm bored, and I'd like to fight with someone at this moment in time."
He floated above the large altar, and neared me with mischievous eyes and a
look of anger on his face. He chuckled a bit. "Tell me, Drange. Why do you wish
to follow me? Why do you wish to destroy me?"
"You're too stupid to know? You're planning to destroy my brother! Why else?!"
He laughed again. I didn't see what was funny. "Ah, yes. Now I understand.
Well, shall we begin anytime soon, Shoy boy?"
The name just didn't suit me. I lunged at Taricha, but he disappeared, then
reappeared behind me, his arms crossed, looking cocky. "You can't teach an old
dog new tricks, huh? You've tried that many a time, and now I've become accustomed
to it, to your dismay of course."
He kicked me in the back, making me turn around, then punched me in the jaw.
I grunted, and then wiped the blood from my lip. "Why don't we take this out
on the ground, Taricha?"
He scratched his chin for a moment, then smirked evilly, and spoke. "Naw, too
dangerous down there with all your pathetic friends and all."
I shrugged. "Well, if they're so pathetic, why won't you go down there? They
won't be able to destroy you if they're so pathetic."
He laughed. "Ha, tricks, Drange! Tricks! I'm not stupid enough to go down there,
and fall into your ambush attack trap! Hahahaa!!!"
 While he wasn't looking, and too busy laughing at me, I stole the sword
from him, and laughed back at him. "He who wins laughs last, Taricha." I put
the sword safely inside the belt on my waist, planning a sneak attack on him
anytime now, when the time was right.
I remembered when we were in Kinsengh, and I used that sword to make Taricha
retreat. It must've heavily damaged him. I also remembered Urawa telling me
about how it could control you, but that was a risk I was going to have to take.
"So, what's your next move, Drange? Are we having a staring contest?" He laughed.
I shook my head, and grinned. "No, not a staring contest..." I quietly pulled
out the sword from the belt. "... a dying contest!!!!"
I stabbed Taricha with awesome force in his belly with the blade, throwing
him back a bit. I could easily tell, he wasn't expecting that. The sword stuck
out both sides of him. He held the spot in great pain, and yanked the sword
out. "Curse y-you, Drange!! C-curse... you!!"
He grasped the sword tightly in his hands, and whacked me with it, throwing
me nearly 5 miles away, into a strange circular pillar which collapsed from
the force of me being thrown into it. I got up, and rubbed my head. It throbbed
with pain.
Slowly but surely, Taricha came flying toward me, his wings torn from using
so much power, and his torso bleeding heavily. He dropped the sword, which I
hastily picked up and reinserted it onto the belt.
He then laughed. "Foolish Drange... you've just made it easier for me to destroy
you...." He raised one arm and a bolt of lightning sparked from it. He chanted
a verse in foreign language, then shouted an unknown word into the air. "MASAMUNE!!!!"
The sword floated in the air out of the belt, and I scrambled to grab it, but
my hands just passed through it. My eyes widened as it struck the ground between
Taricha and I, and began to glow immensely. Suddenly the glow surrounded Taricha
and myself, and he began to laugh insanely.
"NOW, DRANGE!! YOU'LL GET WHAT YOU REALLY DESERVE!!!" He continued to laugh,
and suddenly I felt my soul being removed. I tried desperately to keep my soul
in my body, but the attempt was futile, and it was unsuccessful.
I blacked out for a half second, then found myself facing the actual Taricha,
in his own Halloween Nimmo body. There was an awesome pain in my gut. I looked
down and saw blood rushing freely from it, and saw Taricha in his original form
stand up, and brush himself off.
"You think I'd let myself get damaged that easily? It was for a good cause.
See, Drange, you've now reclaimed your body! And it is heavily wounded! AND
NOW YOU SHALL DIE!!!" He laughed again, and the sword floated in midair, then
went into Taricha's Nimmo hands.
 Suddenly,
from behind me, Urawa, Pharoah, and Ivory ran up. They all backed up when they
saw me on the ground. They thought I was Taricha. Pharoah headbutted me in the
back with his tusks, and snorted. "Take that, Taricha!" I turned to face him,
and they noticed the "evilness" that once inhabited Taricha's eyes
were not in mine. Urawa waved his hands at Ivory and Pharoah. "No, don't attack
him anymore! It's not... Taricha...."
Ivory scratched her head in confusion. "You mean.... that's Drange?" Urawa
nodded with confidence. "I'm sure of it. Just look at his eyes..."
Pharoah and Ivory looked into my eyes, and stepped back. They both shouted
out in unison. "DRANGE?!"
Ivory ran up to me as Taricha rolled his eyes. "Family reunions... bunch of
luvy-duvy crud. TIME TO END IT ALL!!! First, you three! Let this mighty sword
called the Masamune finish you off!!"
He held his sword high in the air, and out shot a disc from it that soared
swiftly at Ivory, Urawa, and Pharoah. It was so large it could've easily destroyed
all three of them. I watched it near them, but then mustered up all my strength,
and pushed myself up. I stood in front of the attack, and held out my arms and
wings, shielding the three allies.
"TAKE ME!!!!" I shouted out loudly as Ivory screamed. "NO!!! DRANGE, DON'T!!!"
Pharoah and Urawa were just left with shocked faces.
The mighty disc struck me, horribly wounding me, then vanished without warning.
In extreme agony and pain, I dropped to the ground, and closed my eyes. I...
had been defeated...
To be continued...
(images by savi340 ) | 
