Two Thieves, a Million Skeletal Warriors

The battle was still raging all around them. Wave after wave of skeletal minions, nay warriors, swarmed them. It was obvious they didn't stand a chance. But the more they slain, the more courage that had built up within these thieves battered hearts.

     Specifically, two thieves were beginning to rethink their lifestyle at this most inappropriate time.

     "Golden," shouted TheManWithTheSilver, "I think we're going to lose this!"

     "Quiet Silver, I'm concentrating!" snarled back the green, cloaked Shoyru. They had maneuvered themselves in the dark, cold cave so they could fight side by side, symbolic brothers-in-arms.

     "Do you ever think we made the wrong choice?" inquired Silver, barely diverting a vicious attack from a nearby minion of the Bringer.

     "Hah, I never make a wrong choice," bragged the Shoyru. "It's all these undead that made the wrong one!" A pivot, a slide, a slash, another fallen minion.

     "No, I mean joining this down-trodden lot?"

     "Sil, we _are_ downtrodden!" Silver nodded, stabbing another warrior with his Lost Desert Dagger. It crumbled under the strength of his attack. There was a break in the waves this far back in the battle. Silver and Golden were lucky to have entered the fray late. Most early joiners hadn't escaped a gruesome fate.

     "I mean it. What has thieving got us?"

     "Friends, family. When you were younger it was all you wanted." Golden flicked a bit of bone off of his cloak. Silver surveyed the scene:

     A monstrous sight. Thief medics were tending to practically every soldier still standing, those who weren't still standing were left to _them_.

     "This is our family? Golden, most of them won't make it past this battle. Our 'family' is falling apart, and we're going to be part of it."

     Golden peered over the large crowd. Beyond he could see the large figure of the Bringer destroying everything he could get near. Golden remained silent, choosing to ignore his Chia comrade. Eyeing him over, he could see a few cuts on Silver.

     "Didn't fair too well, did you?" said Golden, half-sarcasticly. "Medic!"

     "Says you." He held up his blade for inspection. It was broken at the hilt.

     Golden just laughed. "You saved up for that for quite a while.. A shame."

     The Chia failed to see the humour and threw the hilt over the crowd. Amongst all the noise, the clanging of steal upon bone, he could pick out a thief shout "Ouch!"

     The noise was indeed deafening. The voices of thousands of recruits against hundreds of thousands of enemies.

     Golden looked at Silver. Silver looked at Golden. "Gold... I'm scared."

     What an opportunity for an insult! thought Golden. I could probably really impress the lads. But, he continued, the lads are gone. They're never coming back. We're never going to leave this place.

     Golden looked at Silver. Silver looked at Golden. "I'm scared too. But we'll make it."

     "You think so?"

     Guilt took over Golden. All his training in thieving and deceit hadn't prepared him for this one tiny lie:

     "Yes. I know we'll make it." Silver just smiled, tears visible in his large eyes.

     "Here they come again!" screamed a familiar voice: Kanrik. You couldn't see him for the amount of rising skeletons.

     "That's Kanrik, isn't it? He's come to save us!" exclaimed Silver, shaking the Shoyru by the shoulders as best he could. Again, he wasn't prepared. Instead, he just opened his cloak and took out his own Lost Desert Dagger. He offered it to Silver, who's expression was priceless. He'd forgotten all about the fight, the Bringer and Kanrik. All Silver was thinking about now was the incredible emotional value of his friend's selflessness.

     "Th-thank you Golden!" Golden looked away and scratched the back of his head.

     "Don't break it," he snorted, as he turned to face the new wave. It was quite a way away yet. At least ten minutes. But what he saw chilled him to the bone, despite the coldness of the cave. He was coming.

     "What is it Golden?" Another pang of word-lies.

     "Nothing."

     'Words are Lost Desert Daggers,' thought Golden.

     "What are we going to do when we get out of here?

     "I want to spend all my share on preparing for our next thieving endeavor!"

     Golden didn't answer. He was experiencing changes only those who are pure of intention feel, changes so intense and, well, changing that any Shoyru would have to contemplate every choice, every decision that led up to this point. What if I didn't run away from home? What if I didn't join the thieves? What if I didn't cross my eyes when I was younger? What if I never met Silver? And so on.

     No, best not think like that, thought Golden, I must keep my mind on the task at hand.

     Of course, when the task at hand is dying gracefully, it's much harder to do so. He took another look at his Scroll of Dark Nova. He knew every word on it off by heart. I could probably summon Novas without the scroll by now, he thought. Heck, why not give it a shot.

     "Sil, heads up!" He chucked the scroll to Silver, who failed to catch it. It clattered to the icy floor. Silver clambered to pick it up, unwrapping the ribbon Golden had tied.

     "Golden, why wait until today?" grinned Silver. "We're going to make it, right?" Silver laughed, nervously. He had been crying. Golden's wing twitched.

     "Yeah. Of course."

     The other thieves were getting apprehensive. The Bringer was drawing near. Even the Chia could see it now. "Go-", he began, but was cut off by the Shoyru.

     "Don't worry. For the love of Masila, don't worry."

     Silver grimaced, something the usually happy-go-lucky Chias don't bother doing.

     Silver remembered when he first met Golden. When he first got the name, 'TheManWithTheSilver':

     ------

     It was a warm day, completely unlike what was going on in the present. It was a desert day, completely unlike what was going on in the present. It was a dagger day. A young green Shoyru had been abandoned by his selfish master in favour of a less 'cute' pet. That young green Shoyru had been left with enough Neopoints to fend for himself for a day, maybe less.

     Coincidentally, another young pet had been abandoned on that day. A Chia, whose master wanted something more fierce and frightening. Little did he know how this Chia would spark fear in the hearts of his enemies. He'd been left with nothing. When they met, it was a match made.. Well, a match made in a desert. The Shoyru, 'TheManWithTheGolden', nicknamed his new friend 'Silver', which became 'TheManWithTheSilver' formally. Together, they banded and managed to make the right choices. Right up until they met a bunch of discerning thieves in Neopia Central. Then began the wrong choices.

     ------

     Until now. Golden had a chance to put things right. A chance to give another spark of hope in the once brave Chias heart.

     "Hey, Silver?" He looked up. "Remember when we fought off some of Darigan's troops? Remember how pathetic they were?" The Chia nodded solemnly.

     "Remember when we got pot-shots at Lord Kass? That was fun huh?" The Chia smiled and chuckled to himself. "Silver, this is the most important moment of our lives. We're--" Pain struck Golden again. "We're going to do this. We're going to be the best fighters Neopia has ever seen. We're going to plough through this lot, we're going to shred the Bringer, we'll take that jewelled rock and we'll take it to Neopia Central and we'll make a mint!" As the speech went on, many of the fallen thieves felt the tiniest tingle of hope in their, again, beaten, bruised hearts.

     "Silver." The Chia looked up. The Chia held that dagger high. That Chia let out a mighty roar. All the men let out a mighty roar. The Chia screamed for all he was worth, and all the men rose from their weary feet.

     "Silver." The Shoyru grabbed Silver and held him tight. 'This is the last time we fight, but not the last time we'll see each other,' was what he thought before every last one of them charged towards the mass of soldiers.

THE END