Monster Rancher Fan Fiction ❯ When Destiny Calls ❯ Patience of the Rock ( Chapter 2 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

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Øü DhC:\WINWORD\TEMPLATE\NORMAL.DOT �Cale Kuecker �Cale Kuecker@Š°ïFÁ@À¤YÜ¥e=À eC'D¢CŽžjžjjžjžjžjžjžTŸT& #376;TŸTŸTŸTŸ
^Ÿ"TŸ"¡1€Ÿ €Ÿ€Ÿ€Ÿ€Ÿ€Ÿ€ 76;€Ÿ±Ÿ³Ÿ³Ÿ³ŸÍ& #376;Ô¡ Ôu¡Ä¡T¢,"¡jž€ŸIJ€&# 376;€Ÿ€Ÿ€Ÿ"¡€Ÿjžj 82;€Ÿ€Ÿ€Ÿ€Ÿ€Ÿ€ Ÿjž€Ÿjž€Ÿ±Ÿ~žPÎ ž†jžjžjžjž€Ÿ±Ÿ€ Ÿ1€ŸWhen Destiny Calls Gathering of Allies: The Patience of a Rock By Cale Kuecker (Ashertye@aol.com) Summary: Continuing their search for the legendary Phoenix, the Searchers, now numbering four, have come across a stone golem living by himself in a forest. Now they just have to find out why this gentle giant is there in the first place. Please read and review. Disclaimer: I do not own Monster Rancher in any way shape or form. If you try to sue me for using it, you'll get nothing but bus change. Do not use this story without my permission and do not change it for the same. Oh, and since I don't know all the names and attacks of the monsters, I may have to make some up. ************************************************************************ "Fighting solves nothing." -Golem, "Monster Rancher" ************************************************************************ Genki skated along the desert at top speed, his little monster Mocchi right beside him, keeping up with an impressive amount of speed. At some points the pink monster even managed to pass Genki, but quickly lost his lead. The brown-haired boy turned his head to check on his companions, and, sure enough, they were still in sight. Joshua and Pink Eye ran after their two younger companions, a slightly angry face on the big man's face. Right behind them, showing a remarkable agility given his size, ran a giant pile of rocks shaped like a man. Genki smiled at the newest member of their team, the gentle Golem. He was huge, even bigger than Joshua and his body had the chiseled appearance of a super-body-builder. Genki laughed as a picture of someone actually sculpting a hunk of stone into his rocky friend suddenly entered his mind. "Genki get back here!" called Joshua. He still didn't quite trust Genki's ability to use his skates, despite how able Genki had been on them when he'd trounced the black dinos. The boy still remembered how he'd used Captain Black Dino as a bridge and sent the reptilian monster to the bottom of the ravine. That little escapade had also helped to prove to Joshua that Genki was capable of taking care of himself and that Genki was not simply a little kid that needed to be left in the "safety" of a village. Joshua had told him as much the night before they'd reached the Enigma's Forest. Genki suddenly stopped, deciding to let the others catch up to him. Mocchi, though, didn't register this fact in time, slamming full speed into his trainer and knocking them both to the ground. Genki rubbed his backside, laughing a little at his own forgetfulness in warning his little friend. For his part Mocchi was rubbing his head and rapidly apologizing to Genki for knocking the air out of him. Of course with both of them stopped it didn't take long for the other three to catch up to them. "Took a bit of a spill, eh kid," Pink Eye said, his voice dripping with sarcastic concern. The eyeball knew Genki had not hurt himself, but still, this was too good an opportunity to miss. "I thought you suezo-types were supposed to have the best vision of any monster, Pink?" Genki said, in an equally sarcastic tone. "Don't call me that!" Pink Eye yelled. Joshua put his hand on Pink Eye's eye-lid. "Calm down you two. The last thing we need is a fist fight." "Ah, we weren't fighting Josh. We were just talkin' loud." "You need to stop getting so far ahead of the rest of us kid. Just cause I said you could come along doesn't mean you don't have to act responsibly. What if there had been a group of Baddies waiting for you?" "DON'T CALL ME KID!!" Genki yelled his face going red. Golem suddenly began to laugh, a sound that reminded Genki of a loud rock-slide. "What was that about?" "You look funny when you pretend to be angry Genki," Golem stated in a deep, slow voice. "What do you mean 'pretend'?" "It's obvious to me that you are all friends. You could never really be angry, though you do a good job pretending." Genki simply stared at the stone giant. Though he didn't show it often, Golem did possess an amazing amount of insight, and he used it to help keep situations from turning violent. And it was rather hard to fight around such a peaceful monster. Soon the five began to walk again, Genki agreeing not skate ahead of the group. That didn't stop him from skating circles around the group, though, with Mocchi clinging to his back, squealing with delight at the speed they were moving. Genki, though, couldn't keep his eyes off his big stone friend. *Has it really been three days since we met him? He acts like he's an old comrade,* Genki thought. His body went on autopilot as his mind wandered back to the events of three days ago. ************************************************************************ They had been camping out for the night, tired after traveling all day. Genki, Pink Eye and Joshua were arguing as they had almost every night since they'd met. Genki and Pink Eye were trying desperately to keep the older human from leaving both Genki and Mocchi in a village. "They're too young, Pink Eye," Joshua argued. "Would you quit talking about me like I'm not even here," Genki said, trying to keep his voice down to avoid waking the sleeping Mocchi. "May I point out that he didn't join us from some village we passed. He came out of a mystery disk, something I don't think any human has ever done that. And then there's him." Pink Eye's tongue pointed to Mocchi. "I've never seen another monster like him, and he came out of the disk Genki brought with him. It can't be a coincidence." "They're still too young. I don't want them getting killed just because we're taking them along." "No one is TAKING us along, we're coming of our own free will. We want to help stop this Moo guy from taking over." "You could get hurt badly..." "Ha, nothing can beat me. I'm the Monster Champ. Those Baddies don't stand a chance against..." "Excuse me, but am I interrupting something here?" Came an old, coarse voice. All three turned their heads as a very short and very old woman, whose face was almost completely wrinkles, stepped out of the bushes. She was dressed in an ugly purple dress with a hood, and a big brown cigar sat in her lips. Genki almost followed Pink Eye's lead and did a double-take at the sight of her. "What's the matter, never seen an old lady before?" The woman said, noticing the look the pink suezo was giving her. "Er.. No... I mean yes... That is to say..." "What my friend here is trying to say is that you took us by surprise. We did not expect to see anyone out this far from the village," Joshua said, a big hand covering Pink Eye's mouth. "And to answer your question, no you are not interrupting anything important." "Hey," came Genki's indignant response. The old woman took the cigar out of her mouth and began to talk. "I was traveling towards Troveta to visit my grand-daughter and her family, when I saw your campfire. It's so late, I was wondering if I might share your company. I would, of course, consent to pay for some food for dinner. It has been far too long since I've eaten well." The old woman pulled out a draw-string bag that looked very full of coins. "Nonsense my dear. I'm sure you would allow us a free stay at your campsite if our situations were reversed. Please sit down and I'll get you a plate of food." Joshua began to rummage through his back pack and pulled out a plate and a cup. "I hope you don't mind a bit of a wait though. The food needs to reheat, but I can offer you some tea right now, if you would like." "Why thank you, young man," the old woman said, sitting down on the ground. *********************************** "AAAAAHH!!!!!" Genki awoke with a start at Mocchi's scream, ready for whatever baddies had snuck up on the quintet during the night. He was somewhat crest-fallen to find his little monster was screaming because he had woken up facing their old guest. "Mocchi, you can quit screaming," Genki said, putting his hand on the green shell that covered the top of his friend's head. As if on cue Mocchi did stop. The old woman was also awake, giving the beaked child a quizzical look. Joshua and Pink Eye had also awoken and neither looked like they were very happy. "What's going on here!?!" Pink Eye yelled, his eye red and a vein popping out of his head. "She scared me," Mocchi said, pointing at the old woman. "I did no such thing. I was just sleeping when this baby monster started screaming like someone had cut his head off," the old lady said defensively. "You were trying to scare me!!" "Mocchi, I don't think she did it on purpose," Genki said. "It was probably just an accident." "Well, all right." "Now that we've had our morning scare," Pink Eye said, rummaging through his and Joshua's backpacks, "how about breakfast." As Pink Eye got up, his friends could see he was holding the handle of a frying pan. "An excellent idea, Pink Eye. Madam, will you be joining us?" Joshua asked. "If you don't mind. I do have along way left to go before arriving in Troveta, and a full stomach is preferable to an empty one." With that, they all went about performing their morning grooming routines as Joshua cooked a breakfast. Soon the breakfast call was made and all four came running back to the campfire. It wasn't long before the meal was finished, and all five let out a contented burp, the old lady's being the loudest of all. "I really wish there was some way I could repay you for your kindness," the old lady said. "Thanks but that's not necessary, we'll just be on our way. We have to make it through the forest up ahead as quickly as possible." "NO!" The old woman yelled, whirling on Joshua. "You must not enter that forest or you may not come out alive." At these words, Mocchi's eyes wavered in fear as he hid behind Genki. "What's wrong with that forest?" The boy asked. "An enigma lives there. People and monsters have been going into that forest for years, and the ones who made it out always told stories of a dangerous monster they kept saying an enigma lives there." "Well thanks anyway lady, but I don't think we have to be afraid of some local superstition," Pink Eye said. The old woman motioned him to her with her finger, than put out her cigar on his tongue. "OUCH!" "You would do well to listen to this superstition, young monster. I've seen those who've gone through that forest. They're never the same after those accursed woods are done with them." With that the old woman began to leave, waving to her new acquaintances. "What a nice lady," Pink Eye said, sarcasm running rampant in his voice. It didn't take long for them to break camp. "So what do we do now?" Genki asked. Joshua reached into his shirt and pulled out the magic stone and began to concentrate. An image of a flaming bird appeared on the smooth black surface and transformed into an arrow which pointed directly at the forest. "I guess that settles it kid," the big man said. "But didn't the old lady say something scary lived there?" Mocchi asked, fear in his voice. "Ah, don't be a baby Mocchi. She was just saying that to scare us into taking the long way. I bet there's nothing living in that forest at all, there's just some tourist trap on the perimeter she wants us to visit." "I'm not so sure Pink Eye. She didn't seem like the type to lie." "Look, we could argue about this till the cabalos come home, but consider this, the sooner we can find the Phoenix, the sooner we'll be able to stop Moo. And what if the Phoenix is inside the forest? For all we know, this supposed enigma could be guarding the Phoenix's disk." "Pink Eye does have a point Josh. There could be a real reason the Magic Stone is pointing us that way." "But the enigma..." "Mocchi, don't worry. There's probably no such thing," Pink Eye said. "We should get going before we wind up staying here again tonight." "All right, lets get going. With any luck we'll make it through the forest before nightfall." So saying, the quartet began to move out, with Mocchi still having an uncertain look on his face. ********************************************* Three hours later found the Searchers inside the forest, the clicking and chirping of insects surrounding them. Dark clouds were gathering in the skies above them, and already droplets of water were sprinkling on the four. "It looks like rain," Genki commented. "Really, what gave you that idea?" Pink Eye said sarcastically as the rain picked up. The group picked up the pace as they tried to beat the downpour to shelter. All were thoroughly drenched by the time they arrived at the ruins of a very large stone building. "Well, I guess we can scratch making it out of here before nightfall," Genki said as he took off his shirt and proceeded to wring the water out of it. "At least we'll be dry in here," Joshua said. He began to gather some of the debris for a fire. As soon as the flame was lit Genki and Joshua placed their shoes nearby to dry. "Hey guys come take a look at this," Pink Eye said from a hole in the wall. Genki hopped up and almost made it to the pink monster in one leap before Joshua even got to his feet. Mocchi too came to the senior monster, stepping outside so he could see past the rubble of the wall. What they saw almost took their breath away. Almost a hundred lost disks covered in vines were scattered over a muddy field, and each one looked very old. "It looks like some sort of... monster graveyard," Genki said, rainwater beating against his skin as a cold wind blew over the group. The boy sneezed and nearly slipped out of the wall, if not for Joshua's steadying hand. "Yes, but how did it get out here in the middle of nowhere?" Joshua said. "Do you think any of them can be revived?" Genki asked. "Not without the Phoenix, I'm afraid. Though I suppose the right thing to do would be to at least search." "None survived," came a soft and deep voice. The group turned around to find two soft gray eyes staring at them from the shadows. As the creature came closer to the fire, the four searchers could see the outline of a massive body, even bigger than Joshua's. Hands the size of boulders hung from two thick arms and Genki could swear he felt the ground shake as the creature walked towards the group. The light of the fire revealed the creature to be a pure-bred golem, a monster made of granite possessing phenomenal strength and stamina. "I will not permit you to take any of the lost disks." The golem said, his voice growing harder. "Easy there friend," Joshua said, holding his hands up. "We have no intention of stealing any of the lost disks. We're just passing through and needed a place to get out of this storm." "If that is so, then you are welcome to stay the night. I am sorry for being so harsh, but everyone else who enters this forest tries to steal the disks. My name is Golem, what are yours?" "I'm Genki, the Monster Champ. This is Pink Eye and that's Joshua. And this little guy is Mocchi." "Chi," Mocchi cried as he bounded up to Golem, holding out his hand for a shake. Golem took the much smaller hand between his thumb and forefinger and gently shook, a smile on his face. "Since you're being kind enough to let us stay the night, the least we can do is offer you the warmth of our fire," Joshua said, a sentiment echoed by Genki as he indicated a place for Golem to sit. "And perhaps you can shed some light on how so many lost disks came to be here." "It happened a long time ago. There was a big battle here that killed all the monsters. I alone was left alive. I don't know why, but since then, I've been guarding this grave from thieves, waiting for a way to bring my friends back. But lately, the number of lost disks seem to be growing. I can't explain it." "Well today must be your lucky day Golem," Genki said, a smile on his face, "'cause we're on a mission to find the Phoenix so it can revive all the lost disks." "Revive 'em, chi." "Really?" "Well, that is certainly something the Phoenix would be capable of. But first we have to get through this forest." "In the morning, I will show you the shortest path out. The sooner you find the Phoenix, the sooner I can see my friends again." "That's the spirit (Yawn)," Genki said. Pink Eye and Mocchi were busy unrolling the sleeping bags as Joshua and Genki prepared dinner. ********************************** By morning the rain had stopped. Genki woke up to find the sun shinning in his face, in distinct contrast to the weather of yesterday. Anxious to see what their camp looked like in the day, Genki quickly got dressed and bounded up to the hole in the wall, accidentally waking Mocchi up as he went. Outside, the field was vastly different under the warm gaze of the sun. Flowers of all different colors mingled with the lost disk, giving the whole field a much happier appearance. The young boy then noticed Golem walking up from the tree-line, his hands cupped as he carried water to all the flowers. The scene was so serene Genki barely registered Joshua's hand being placed on his shoulder. "Genki, breakfast is ready." "He seems so at peace." "Golems are not known to be creatures of turmoil Genki. But we best stay out of the way of his morning rituals, I don't want to get him angry." With that the two humans turned back to the fire where Pink Eye had two plates waiting for them. They were joined by Golem soon enough, who simple ripped a chunk of the wall out for his own breakfast. "You know Golem, I've been thinking. We'd stand a much better chance of finding the Phoenix with a big strong guy like you along." "Pink Eye does have a point Golem. You really shouldn't have to be alone," Genki said, as he bit into a biscuit. "I'm sorry but I can't go with you. Someone has to protect them." "Well, thanks anyway for your hospitality," Joshua said as he put away the cooking stuff. Golem got to his feet as everyone finished packing and began to lead them across the field out of sight of the lost disks. The rock monster gently moved a small bush aside to reveal a trail. "This trail hasn't been used in a while, so it is a bit overgrown. It is the shortest path out of the forest, however, and you should be out in the open in only an hour." "Thank you Golem," the four said as they left the waving golem behind. They hadn't gone more than twenty minutes when Genki noticed Mocchi playing with something. "Whatcha got there Mocchi?" the boy said, moving over to his young monster. Something blue seemed to be squishing around in his pink hands. "I found it this morning, chi. It's really sticky and can make all sorts of shapes," Mocchi answered, a smile on his face. Joshua saw the thing too, but had a slightly different reaction to it from Mocchi or Genki. "Mocchi let me see it." Mocchi obediently handed the blue slime to the man, worrying that he'd perhaps done something wrong. Joshua looked at the slime for a few minutes. "This is residue from a Jell. Mocchi, did you find this at the graveyard?" "Yes." "Oh dear," Pink Eye said. **************************************************** Golem watched as his four guests left, hoping they'd succeed soon. That's when he began to notice a sucking sound coming from behind him, like a wet suction cup working on stone. Fearing the worst Golem ran back to his field of disks, only to find ten blue forms tugging and pulling at the vine covered disks, crushing the flowers as they went. "STOP!!" Golem yelled, causing the ten jells suddenly turned around, a baddie crest tied around each one's neck. "It's that golem," said one of the jells who was wearing an oversized brass helmet. "How'd he get back here so fast." "I will not let you take those disks." "It's not like you could stop us, rock head. We're claiming these disks in the name of Master Moo. He's gonna enjoy turning them into baddies to fuel his armies. But since you insist on getting in our way..." the captain jell pointed at Golem and screamed, "Jell Force... ATTACK!!!" The fluid monsters were almost a tidal wave as they charged their rocky opponent, thunderously crashing into him. For a few minutes, it seemed as though the shape-changing villains would succeed in felling the giant, until, with a mighty push, Golem send the wave back. The jells scattered, surrounding Golem as best they could. "Sheet attack," the captain said. Each jell became a flat sheet and began to once more hit Golem in rapid succession, once more unbalancing him. This time however, before Golem could regain his balance, Captain Jell folded himself into a ball and fired the red sphere that floated in his body. It exploded when it hit Golem, sending him falling to his back. Like lightening, five of the jells were transformed their bodies into chains and bound Golem to the ground. "NO!" "There now, you shouldn't be much of a problem. The rest of you slimeballs... finish gathering those disks for Master Moo." The other four jells went to work laughing and taunting Golem as they uprooted the precious disks. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a blur of orange, brown, and gray slammed hard into Captain Jell, breaking the liquid monster in half and coming to a stop mere feet from the now disoriented monster. "You creeps better leave our friend alone if you know what's good for you," Genki yelled, raising his fist. "And what does a snot-nosed human brat think he's gonna do against us?" Captain Jell yelled back, pulling himself together. This proved to be an exercise in futility as Mocchi followed his trainers lead, slamming through the helmet-clad jell before rolling into a ball. The child monster bounced like a rubber ball, hitting each one of the five jells that held Golem to the ground, freeing the granite giant. Before any of the jells could retaliate, Pink Eye teleported in and grabbed Mocchi, reappearing beside Genki as Joshua barreled through the remaining jells. By this time, Captain Jell was once more back up and he couldn't believe his eyes. *How can these gang of losers beat my elite jell troops?* The jells pulled themselves together and began shooting their orbs at the searchers in a barrage. The five dodged the barrage as best they could, but it seemed nearly impossible. Suddenly, Golem stepped in front of the other four, blocking the attacks with his own body. Now prepared for their tricks, Golem easily withstood the explosions. The same could not be said of the lost disks, stacked over to the side, victims of the Jells bad aim. The disks shattered as the hard and volatile balls hit, a fact not lost on Golem, who rushed over to the broken disks, hoping to find at least one that had survived. "My friends... What have you done..." "Ahhh, is da wittle golem upset we broke his wittle buddies," Captain Jell taunted. "Well you might as well say good-bye to the rest of you friends, 'cause they're coming with us." Golem could feel his temper rising as he heard the jell's cruel voice. And with it rose his energy level. "You think that's funny!! I'll show you what's funny!!" Golem yelled as he turned towards the jells, his eyes glazing over in a cruel white light. The formerly gentle monster roared as he charged, a white light shining in his eyes. Two unlucky jells were unable to move as a crushing blow landed on them, reducing the hapless duo to lost disks. Golem then turned to four more jells, his fists flying like guided missiles as the four turned their arms into whips as they tried to defend themselves. Their attacks did nothing as they each felt the full force of Golem's strength before feeling their forms contorting into disks. "What are you?" Captain Jell screamed as he fired his orb at the rocky monster. Golem roared in response as his foot crushed three more jells, leaving only the captain. "No, please I beg of you. I'll leave the disks in peace, I swear. Just don't kill me, noooooo!" Captain Jell yelled as Golem used his rolling attack and flattened him. "Whoa look at him go," Pink Eye said, his eye wide in disbelief. "Golem strong," Mocchi said. "Unbelievable," Genki said. "I'd never have believed a Golem capable of this," Joshua said. Suddenly, Golem turned his attention towards his four friends, his eyes still glowing white. He charged and the Searchers barely had any time to escape. "Golem what are you doing?" Genki yelled as he leapt on the attacking golem's retreating hand. He skated up the rock giant's arm stopping on his massive shoulder. "We're your frie.... AHH." Genki was knocked away by a powerful slap and sent sailing into the wall. Fortunately, he was not hurt too badly by the attack. Joshua was instantly by the fallen boy, ready to fend off any more attacks. "Save the talk kid, it doesn't look like he knows us from the jells," Joshua turned to his monster partner. "Pink Eye, any ideas as to what's going on?" "Not yet Josh, but I'll find out," Pink Eye said, dodging a fist from Golem. "Think you can keep the big galoot offa me long enough?" "Someone has to keep Genki safe." "I don't need protection Joshua. I'm fine." To prove this, Genki jumped to his feet, wobbling a little on his skates. "See, I can take it." "Very well, I'll distract Golem long enough for you to strike him." "I wanna help too," Mocchi said, his hands balling into fists. "Okay, you hit him in the back of the knees. With any luck he'll go down easily. All right?" "Right!!" Both children said. As the three put their plan in motion, Pink Eye took cover in the ruins, closed his eye and began to concentrate. A slight yellow glow began to surround the eyeball's body as a small vein began to show itself on his head. His mind reached out to touch the berserk stone giant's mind, sifting carefully through Golem's memories for some answer to his puzzling behavior. ****************************************** Pink Eye felt himself traveling through time to find himself in the middle of a battle between many different monsters. It was a vicious battle that took up both the air and the ground. Pink Eye looked around to find Golem also fighting, clearly on the loosing side. He and his monsters continued to fight clearly trying to defend what could only be the ruins the Searchers had camped in the night before. Suddenly, Pink Eye heard a voice behind him. "This battle is going badly for you Allure," a raspy voice said from inside the building. In the doorway stood a beautiful pixie/naga hybrid, worry apparent on her delicate face. "My offer still does stand. I can give you the ability to win this fight." Pink Eye looked inside the building to see a frightening monster carrying a double bladed scythe. All the eyeball could see of the other monster's face was two eyes with an eerie blue glow. "They may be bad, dark one, but I hold no illusions as to your evil nature," the allure said, casting a sideways glance at the other monster before returning her attention to the battle. "Ah yes, but at least I have no interest in your shrine. Sometimes you have to deal with the devil to save the righteous." Allure winced as she saw another one of her friends die. "Another one bites the dust, Allure. You don't have much more time before those barbarians overrun your defenses." Another defender died. "I'm only going to ask you once more Allure..." A fairly young pixie hybrid fell dead from the sky, almost directly at Allure's feet. "No, I can't take it anymore. Please, save them..." "My pleasure," said the monster and soon he began chanting softly as a blue mist began to build up, leaving the building. As the mist swept over each of the defenders, there eyes changed to a subtle blue shade and their fighting tactics much more vicious. As the blue mist began to envelope Golem, his eyes turned, not blue, but white as they had in the real world. It wasn't long before the tides began to turn as the defenders tore into their enemies. That was when Pink Eye noticed something. All the monsters that ran out of opponents suddenly stopped as if waiting for something. This weird activity was also noticed by Allure. "What have you done to them?" Allure said. "Why, I made them stronger. Unfortunately, the same spell also saps their will, leaving them mine to control." "What?" "As I said, I have no interest in your shrine. Your friends, however, will make excellent additions to my employer's army. You, on the other hand, are not necessary." Allure turned in time to see a flaming blade come down on her, but not in time to stop the weapon. The female screamed as the blade tore through her body, reducing her to a lost disk. "Goddess," Pink Eye said. Outside, he saw the battle end as the last of the attacking monsters, begging for mercy, died under Golem's foot. All around him, the suezo-type saw lost disks littering the field. All the monsters stood on the ground, their eyes staring at nothing as they waited for commands. All the monsters, except for Golem, who still seemed to be in a fighting mood, attacking his allies with the same ferocity he'd used in battle. "What are you doing you stupid rock-pile?!" The dark form yelled. "I command you to stop." Golem seemed to ignore the command, instead crushing a spot dino with his fist. "Blast, I hadn't counted on any of these bumpkins being strong enough to resist my spells. Well, if he won't be part of the solution, I'll just have to have him killed." The blue-eyed monsters began to move towards Golem, ready to destroy him. Their attacks had very little effect on the super-charged giant. One swipe took out five of the attackers while another reduced four more to disks. "Argh, he's too strong," the shadow cried. "I'll make you pay for ruining my plans. I curse you, golem, with spell that will rob you of that which you hold most dear. Whenever your rage becomes great, may those you love and care for be only as enemies in your eyes, from henceforth. Enjoy." With a wave of his scythe, the figure was gone, leaving Pink Eye alone with the raging golem. Soon too Pink Eye began to feel the pull of his own mind, and left the rock man to his sad fate. ****************************** *Whoa, that was intense. Who was that thing in the shadows?* Pink Eye looked through the hole in the wall and saw his friends still battling Golem. *Well, now I know why Golem's attacking us, but how can I use that to our advantage? Maybe I can get him to realize what he's doing.* Once more, Pink Eye closed his eye and concentrated as the same yellow glow surrounding him. Outside, Genki delivered a quick kick to Golem's head and used his arm as an escape ramp. Golem roared as he attempted to crush the boy, only to find Joshua gripping his waist in a bear hug. The human used Golem's own weight to throw him forward. Golem rose from the ground, his eyes still glowing has he growled and rounded on Mocchi, throwing deadly punch. Before Mocchi could get out of the way, Golem suddenly stopped in his tracks, his eyes going back to normal. He blinked, an almost bewildered expression on his face. "What... What happened?" Golem asked, looking around the field and noticing the jells lost disks and the crumbled forms of the other lost disk. He also saw he bruises on Mocchi, Genki, and Joshua. "No, not again, please." "It's all right Golem," Pink Eye said, rushing up to the stone giant. "It's all right. No one was hurt, except for the jells." "But I was about to kill your friend." "It's not your fault. You were under a spell." "Pink Eye, what happened." "I entered Golem's mind and forced him to see you guys instead of just attacking shadows. He's under a curse from some spell-casting monster from a long time ago. He's fine now." Genki had only to look at Golem, who was staring at the jells' lost disks, tears coming to his eyes, to know that he was far from fine. "Golem..." Genki said, walking up to the crying monster. As a tear fell down his rocky cheek and the ground, Genki noticed a flower sprout from the soil it hit. The tear was soon followed by others, each one creating a flower. "It happened again. I lost control." "Pink Eye says you weren't yourself." "You don't understand Genki... It's the same thing that happened twelve years ago. I killed them, I killed them all." "It wasn't your fault, big guy," Pink Eye said, hoping up to Golem. "Believe me I saw it, you were under a spell agreed to by that Allure." "No, Allure would never have..." "She had no choice, and she paid for her mistake. Believe it or not, if you hadn't stopped your friends, they'd have been nothing more than mindless slaves, killing for an evil master," Pink Eye said. "Listen to Pink Eye and Genki Golem," Joshua said, patting the monster's back. "Not your fault, chi." "No, it is my fault... Any other monster would have found a way to save them." "Stop it!" Genki called. The other four looked at him with wide eyes. "There was nothing you could have done Golem. At least this way, there's a chance to revive them with the Phoenix. But if you just stay here and mope about it, they'll never come back. "But..." "No one could have helped them at that point. If you really feel you gotta make it up to them, why not help us find the creature that can save them." "I'm too much of a liability, Genki. If I loose control again, what happens if I hurt one of you?" "We'll deal with it, that's something friends do." "Come on Golem-chi, come with us." "Yeah big guy, we could use your help." "It's your decision Golem, but I think you know where you're really needed."Golem looked at Genki, thinking carefully on the offer now given him. ************************************************************************ That was how it had happened. Golem had decided to help them search for the Phoenix, saying that he was tired of waiting for others correct his mistake. Genki wasn't sure if that was a good belief for the monster to keep. After all, his friends' death had not been his fault, as Pink Eye had continually stressed as he recounted what he'd found in Golem's memories. Still, he was traveling with them, and he didn't seem to be drowning in sorrow. Suddenly, Genki heard a loud roar. The boy turned to find five dinos running up behind them, familiar medallions hanging from their necks. Another roar signaled the arrival of six more dinos, one wearing the helmet of a captain, coming up in front of them. "Ah, so you're the searchers," Captain Dino said, grinning fiercely. "I was expecting something more challenging than a group of children and their nanny." Genki went into a fighting stance, an action mimicked by his friends as they prepared for battle. "Why don't you geckos slither back under a rock," Pink Eye said, glaring at the green dinosaur. "Oooh, Pinky's got a wicked tongue in his mouth, I can't wait to rip it out." The other dinos snickered at their captain's comment. "Face it, you five made a big mistake in going up against Master Moo's Dino Troopers." "And you made a big mistake entering my territory, Moo-spawn," said a deep throaty voice from up on a rock. The sixteen monsters looked up to see three knew monsters. One was a daton, a tiger/suezo hybrid with pink and yellow fur and a mischievous look on his face. An expression of anger and hatred that perfectly opposed the daton's was present on his counterpart, a tiger/dino datonare with scaly green fur. Between the two, though, stood the one who had challenged Captain Dino, his ice blue eyes piercing the intruders beneath him. He was a tiger type as well, but the silver and white coloration of his fur betrayed his golem blood. "And who are you to who believes he can challenge Moo's will?" "They call me... GRAY WOLF!!" So saying Gray Wolf jumped from his perch, roaring as his two comrades followed, ready to fight.To Be Continued.... ************************************************************************ Well, what do you think? Isn't Gray Wolf supposed to be a member of the Big Bad Four at this time? And where's Tiger? For the answers to these and more questions, keep watching for the next chapter. In the meantime, be a good reader and review the story. See ya. 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