Monster Rancher Fan Fiction ❯ Last Battle Saga ❯ Episode 2: Draco ( Chapter 2 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Episode 2: "Draco"

"Goodbye everyone!" Holly waved to her friends who weren't going. "Yuji, you behave yourself! We'll come back as soon as we can!" Yuji looked disappointed that he wasn't going. Holly and her friends set off.

About a half-hour later, Yuji went out of Pink Eye's house. He looked at Pink Eye. She was busy talking to Rover about something. Yuji saw his chance and snuck away, picking his backpack up along the way.

"Okay, Yuji," Pink Eye said, turning away from Rover. "Time to go back- YUJI?! DAMN IT!!! YOU LITTLE FOX!" She shouted. She knew exactly where he was going, but couldn't do anything about it.

Let Holly-chan take care of it. She thought.

"Where now Holly?" Suezo asked, looking around. Holly concentrated hard and looked at her Magic Stone. The Phoenix pointed to the north.

"We go north." Holly replied. They started off again. Suddenly, Tiger twitched his ears.

"What was that?" He asked, looking around.

"What was what?" Holly asked. Gray Wolf's ears twitched as well.

"I hear it too." He said.

"Hear what chi?" Mocchi asked. Suddenly, there was a loud whoop behind them. They all turned around. A small figure flew over their heads. Everyone ducked.

"The Hell-?" Pixie yelled. The figure landed in front of them.

"Yuji!" Holly shouted. "I thought I told you to stay home!" Yuji rollerbladed up to her. (Make a note ~ Genki must've grown out of his original rollerblades and gotten new ones. Moo has Genki's newer blades, and Holly gave Yuji Genki's old blades, which he had left in the MR world from his first trip there. He skates as well as his father. @_@.)

"Aw Mommy," He replied. "I wanna come! I can help!" Holly sighed.

"Well, it's too late to bring you back…" She said. "…you can come," Yuji jumped in the air.

"All right!" he cried.

"But," Holly continued, "you must stay by me at ALL TIMES. This journey's dangerous, and I don't want you hurt." Yuji sighed.

"All right Mommy." He said, skating by her side.

Maybe he's as strong and brave as Genki was. Holly thought. I hope so, I would hate myself forever if anything happens to him…

"Let's see…" Puck counted his fingers. "that makes…14!" Suezo snorted.

"And 14's such a nice round number." He said sarcastically. "Holly, do you realize our number has doubled from when we were kids?" Holly smiled.

"The more the better." She said. Suezo rolled his eye.

"The more the more noticeable by Moo's troops." He grumbled.

"Oh, lighten up Suezo." Holly said, still smiling.

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Yuji, Mocchi, Coltia, Ghost, Big Blue were fast asleep by the campfire, snoring loudly. Gray Wolf was curled up, fast asleep. Achika and Pixie were trying to have some kind of "sister talk" without fighting, but failed. Suezo tried to sneak away some more food, only to be caught by Golem. Hare was calculating something on his counter, muttering to himself. This left Holly, Puck and Tiger to talk to each other about Genki.

"Holly, why don't you tell Yuji about his father?" Tiger asked, trying to keep his voice low, so as not to wake anyone up. "I mean, he should know Genki's not dead, and is Moo." Holly stared at the flames of the campfire, but said nothing.

"He has a point you know, Holly-chan." Puck said. "Yuji should know." Holly looked at Yuji but still said nothing. Puck waved his hand in front of her face.

"Heelllooo in there!" He said in his annoying singsong voice. Holly pushed his hand away.

"I heard you." She said.

"Well, it's nice to know you're with us," Puck replied. "You were acting like your mind was on totally something else." Holly sighed.

"It was." She said. "I don't want to tell Yuji that Genki is Moo."

"But Genki's his father!" Tiger exclaimed, struggling not to shout. "He has a right to know!" Holly glared in his direction.

"I know that!" she snapped. "Tiger, I don't want to cause him pain! You know how it felt when you found out your brother was working for Moo! Think about how I felt finding out Moo was my father!" Tiger looked down.

"Tiger," Holly said, softening her voice, "it was the worst thing in the world for me. Yuji shouldn't have to go through the suffering I went through. He's better off thinking Genki is dead."

"But what if we defeat Moo?" Puck asked her. "What if we get rid of him for good, and get Genki back? How are you going to explain it all to Yuji? Knowing that his dad once did horrible things can be devastating as well." Holly sighed.

"It's not as bad as knowing your father is possessed by something evil." She said. "Finding out later, when you know he is okay again, isn't even half as bad as knowing he is not himself, and could kill you without a second thought." That ended it. Tiger and Puck fell silent as Holly looked back at her son.

"Eat my fist, evil doers!" Coltia muttered in her sleep. "Feel the punishing hand of justice!" She sat up in her sleep and thrust her hand forward, like she was punching something. Her fist went right into the fire. Coltia woke up instantly.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" she screamed, shooting up. She ran around, holding her fist, which was engulfed in a small flame.

"OOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!" she stepped on Gray Wolf's head, and the gray lupine monster snapped awake.

"What the-?" Coltia punched him in the face.

"OOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!" Coltia cried. Gray Wolf went flying into Golem, knocking him over. The two started rolling toward Suezo, who saw them coming, and ran away screaming. Suezo ran right into Coltia, causing both of them to fall down and be "flattened" by Golem and Gray Wolf. The others sweated at the sight.

"Makes a fool of herself even in her sleep." Tiger muttered.

"Uuummm, you might want to take care of this, Puck-chan." Holly said, still sweating.

"Yyyeeeaaahhh." Puck replied, sweating more.

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"C'mon, c'mon! Let's go, let's go!" Yuji shouted, jumping around. Holly sat up sleepily, rubbing her eyes. Puck yawned and stretched with Coltia, whose hand was bandaged up.

"Yuji, it's a little early…" Holly yawned, trying to fix her morning hair. Yuji grinned.

"C'mon Mommy! The sooner we get goin', the sooner we can beat Moo!" he said, walking over to Tiger and Gray Wolf.

"C'mon, guys, wake up!" Yuji shook them awake. Tiger and Gray Wolf opened their tired looking eyes. (Actually, Gray Wolf opened on eye, the other was swollen shut from being punched by Coltia.)

"Not very good with patience, are you, Yuji?" Tiger asked, stretching. Yuji cocked an eyebrow.

"What's 'patience' mean?" he asked. Tiger sweated and looked at Holly, who sweated too.

"Um, I'll teach him that word later." Holly told Tiger, who shook his head.

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"Master Moo, the rebels have started another journey." Titan, one of Moo's Evil Six, reported. Moo/Genki frowned a little.

"Fools. There are no more Phoenixes. What are they wasting their time for? Oh well, take care of them." Titan bowed his head.

"Yes Master." He replied.

"And don't you mess up," Moo/Genki warned him, "or you will end up like Captain Marble." He pointed to the broken Lost Disk. Titan sweated.

"Y-yes sir." He stuttered. "My troops will do them off."

"They better Titan, for your sake." Moo/Genki growled. "It's about time I took over this place. Now, leave." Titan nodded and walked out a bit quickly.

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"Ha ha! Yeah! This is fun!" Yuji shouted. He was rollerblading ahead of the group. Holly had to keep yelling at him to stay in sight.

"Yuji! You're too far ahead!" Holly shouted. "Slow down before you-"

"Whhhhaaaa!" Yuji fell flat on his face.

"-Crash or fall into something." Holly sighed. She ran up to Yuji, who was holding his head.

"Yuji! I told you to wait!" Holly scolded. Then her mood softened. "You okay?" Yuji nodded.

"I just tripped over that stupid rock!" Yuji exclaimed, pointing to a stone sticking out in the road. Holly took a closer look at it as the others came over.

"Wait a minute-" Holly dug around the stone until it was loose in the ground. Holly pulled it out, reveling a Mystery Disk. Suezo laughed.

"Well look at that," he chuckled, "Yuji found a Mystery Disk!" Yuji grinned sheepishly and blushed.

"Heh heh. Well, I didn't really mean to…" He said, getting up. Holly dusted the Disk off.

"Well, let's go find the nearest shrine." She said, getting up. Yuji and the others nodded in agreement.

"That shouldn't be too hard." Puck said. "Since there's one right up ahead." The others stared at him.

"Sensing the Shrine power, huh, Puck-chan?" Coltia asked. Puck smiled his mischievous grin.

"Hai, that's right, Coltia my dear!" He said. Suezo grumbled as a vein appeared on his head. He jumped to the top of a tree and took a look around.

"Well whadda you know?" he said looking to the west. "Puck-chan's right! There's a temple about a half-mile away." Suezo took a closer look and sweated. "And it's surrounded by Moo's Lavas!" He hopped back down. Coltia hid behind Puck.

"I'm scared!" Coltia exclaimed. The others sighed.

"Aw, what's a couple of badies?" Yuji asked. "You guys took care of Moo's Marbles, Lavas should be easy!"

"Your father was always too confident, Yuji," Tiger said, "don't underestimate your enemy." A question mark appeared over Yuji's head.

"'Underestimate'?" He asked. Tiger sighed as the others sweated and fell over.

"Nevermind!" Tiger growled. Hare thought for a moment.

"I just know I'll come up with a brilliant plan to take care of those Lavas!" He said, looking in the direction of the shrine.

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"So, what's your 'brilliant' plan Hare?" An annoyed Tiger asked as the group crept towards the Shrine. A vein appeared on Hare's head as he glared at Tiger.

"Would you shut up? I'm still thinking of it!" He growled.

"Make me!" Tiger snarled back. The two monsters scowled at each other. Mocchi stepped in between them.

"Don't fight, chi!" He exclaimed, pushing them away from each other. Yuji nodded.

"Yeah, we got other things to worry about, like how get those Lavas out of the way." He said, peeking out of the bushes to look at the badies. Hare forgot about Tiger as he snapped his fingers.

"I've got it!" he exclaimed as Tiger snorted behind him. Hare ignored him as he told the others about his plan.

"Now, what we've got to do is find some ashes left over from last's night's fire. Then we get some stones and have Tiger and Gray Wolf make 'Moo symbols'…."

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Captain Lava looked around.

"It's too quiet out here…" he muttered. Suddenly, Hare came out of the bushes, covered from head to foot in ashes, so his fur was black. He had a "Moo symbol" pinned to his fur. He wore a helmet like Captain Evil Hare used to.

"Greetings Captain Lava!" Hare said, doing his best to sound like an Evil Hare. "I have a Mystery Disk to give to Moo!" Lava eyed him a bit suspiciously.

"And why are you alone?" He asked. Hare laughed.

"Come over here!" Hare shouted behind him. Gray Wolf, also wearing a "Moo symbol" walked over to them, as the others stayed hidden.

"Gray Wolf, aren't you part of the rebel group?" Captain Lava asked. Gray Wolf laughed.

"Can't you tell a different monster from one another?" He asked. "I am not the Gray Wolf you are thinking of! I am Captain Gray Wolf of Moo's troops!" Captain Lava grumbled.

"Prove it!" He exclaimed. "Show me the scar on your left paw!" Gray Wolf sweated.

"Um…fool! I don't have any scars!" He shouted. There goes our cover… Hare thought. To his surprise, Captain Lava smiled.

"That's right!" he said. "Captain Gray Wolf never had any scars!" Hare breathed a small sigh of relief. Then he cleared his throat to speak.

"Captain Lava!" He said, keeping his "evil" voice, "We wish to escort the Disk to Moo." Captain Lava frowned.

"Why are you telling us this?" he asked. Hare sweated a little.

"Well…you're kinda in our way. We've had trouble with some other monsters and wanted to know if you'll help us get to Moo safely." Hare said, thinking fast. Captain Lava nodded.

"All right then, we'll take you Moo." He turned around, signaling his troops to follow them. Hare chuckled to himself as they moved into the shrine. Just as they got to the unlocking place, Captain Lava snatched the Disk away from Hare.

"Hey!" Hare exclaimed. Captain Lava laughed.

"Sorry, guys!" He said, "I can't let you get the credit of giving Moo the Disk! I'm gonna give it to him! Moo will be pleased! Lavas attack!" The Lava troops shot red beams out at Hare and Gray Wolf, engulfing them in a huge cloud of dust. Hare shook off some of the ashes, leaving two black spots on the ground.

"Okay Gray Wolf," Hare whispered. "Now we hide!" Gray Wolf and Hare leapt behind a statue just before the dust cleared away. Captain Lava laughed again.

"That takes care of them," He said. "Let's go!" Hare and Gray Wolf watched the Lavas move out of sight. Gray Wolf smiled.

"How long do you think it'll be before they realize that's just a painted stone carving?" He asked Hare. Hare laughed.

"Oh, I think Moo will find out for them!" He said. They ran back to get the others.

"See them Suezo?" Holly asked as Golem threw Suezo in the air.

"Yeah! They're about five miles away now, headed north!" He shouted as he came falling back to the ground. For once, Golem caught him.

"It's about time." Suezo muttered. They headed back into the shrine, knowing the Lavas wouldn't bother them for a while. They walked into the unlocking room.

"Can I please unlock it Mommy?" Yuji pleaded to Holly. "I'm the one who found it!" Suezo snorted.

"More like stumbled upon it." He muttered.

"Suezo, be nice." Holly sighed. She turned to Yuji. "Sure you can. Now, just listen to what I say, and you'll do fine." Yuji smiled.

"Okay!" He exclaimed. Holly led him to the platform.

"Now, put the Disk in place," she said. Yuji nodded and did so. They went back to the stone stand. Yuji was a little too short to reach the button, so Holly lifted him up.

"Concentrate on unlocking a monster, and when I say 'now', you shout 'unlock'. Got it?" Yuji nodded and closed his eyes, concentrating hard. The button under his hands glowed white, and the Disk spun around, faster and faster, glowing brightly.

"Now!" Holly hissed. Yuji pressed the button down.

"Unlock!" He shouted. There was a flash of white, and then a ball of red light hovered in the air. The ball lowered to the ground, taking shape. Soon, a baby Dragon emerged. He yawned loudly.

"Rrrreeee. Huh?" The Dragon looked around. He flapped over to them. He watched Holly put Yuji down. The Dragon flew over to Yuji.

"Are you the one who unlocked me?" He asked. Yuji nodded. The Dragon flew into his arms and nuzzled him. "Cool! You're my new Master!" He exclaimed. Holly smiled at the surprised Yuji.

"Well, looks like you've got your own monster, Yuji." She said. Yuji smiled.

"Cool! How's Draco for your name?" He asked. The baby Dragon smiled.

"Draco! I like!" He said in his cute, small voice. Yuji grinned.

"Draco it is then." He said. Draco flew up and perched himself on Yuji's shoulder. Yuji laughed as his new monster nuzzled him.

"Let's go!" Holly said. The group moved out.

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"Baka Yo! This isn't a Mystery Disk! It's just a piece of stone!" Titan threw down the fake Disk in anger, shattering it. Captain Lava backed away.

"It wasn't my fault!" He exclaimed. "Captain Evil Hare and Captain Gray Wolf were the ones I took it from!" Titan glared at them.

"Fool!" He shouted. "Captain Evil Hare and Captain Gray Wolf aren't anywhere near here! You were tricked by the rebels!" Captain Lava sweated.

"Please! Let me go back! I'll take care of them!"

"No, you won't." Titan said in an alarmingly calm voice. "Energy Blast!" He shot a red beam out of his palm.

"TITAN!" The Lava cried as he was blasted away, turning into a smoking Lost Disk. A vein appeared on Titan's head as he lowered his hand.

"Captain Zuum better not fail me." He growled.

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"Damnit! It's friggin' cold!" Hare shuttered.

"Well, should I remind you whose idea was it to come up here in the first place?" Tiger growled. Hare scowled at him.

"Shut-up Tiger!" He mumbled. Tiger snarled, but did nothing else.

"R-r-re-m-min-n-nd-d-d m-m-e-e a-a-g-g-ga-a-ai-n-n w-wh-why w-we'r-re g-go-oing th-th-thr-r-ou-gh h-h-here." Yuji shivered, Draco wrapped up in his blanket. Holly pulled her cloak tighter around herself.

"Y-yeah H-hare." She shuddered. "w-why a-a-ar-re w-we h-h-here?" Hare rubbed his arms together.

"W-well," He replied, "t-this is t-the q-q-quickest w-way t-t-to S-s-s-sout-t-th C-ci-t-ty w-without r-run-ning int-t-to M-m-Moo's-s troop-s-s."

"I-it's t-t-too c-c-cold." Yuji whimpered. Holly wrapped her blanket around him and picked him up, keeping him close to her to keep him warmer. Yuji smiled at her.

"T-thanks M-m-mommy." He said. Holly smiled back.

"You're welcome." She replied. They trudged on, feet dragging in the snow.

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"Come on. We're closssing in on the rebalssssss!" Captain Zuum told his troops. All his troop members had spirals for eyes.

"Captain," one whined. "It'ssss awful cold." Captain Zuum stormed over to him. He grabbed him by his neck.

"Lissssten here," Captain Zuum hissed, "Titan told usssss that Massssster Moo wantsss thesssse rebelssss dead, no matter the circumsssstancessss. Now, get a move on or Massssster Moo will have your sssskinssss!" He dropped the Zuum.

"Let'sssss go!" He shouted over the howl of the wind. His troops followed after him.

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Achika fell to her knees.

"It's too cold!" she cried. "I can't feel my body!" Coltia, Golem, Mocchi, Suezo, Hare, and Pixie fell down next to her.

"Us too…" They groaned. Tiger squinted through the blizzard, looking ahead.

"C'mon! we'll be there soon!" He shouted. "We've got to keep going!" Gray Wolf nodded.

"Yeah, let's move it!" He agreed. Holly managed to sit down, still holding Yuji.

"E-easy f-f-for y-y-you t-to s-s-say." Yuji shivered. "Y-y-you and-d-d G-g-gray W-w-wolf b-both h-hav-v-ve t-t-thick f-f-fur." Out of his cloak, Puck pulled out 10 fur jackets.

"Why don't you guys use these?" He asked, holding the jackets up. The others glared at him. A vein appeared on Suezo's head.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU GIVE THOSE TO US BEFORE?!" He screamed. Puck sweated.

"I guess it slipped my mind." He said dumbly, Coltia clinging to him to keep warm.

"'Slip your mind' my butt!" Pixie yelled. "Just give us the damn things, it's colder than Hell!" Puck sweated more and gave everyone but Tiger, Gray Wolf, Ghost, and himself a jacket. The others quickly put the coats on. Yuji kept Draco buttoned-up in his jacket. Feeling quite a bit warmer, the group went on.

After three more hours of Hare and Tiger's grudging, Suezo's complaining, and Draco's whimpering, our heroes reached the rocky and warmer area of the mountain. Yuji jumped for joy.

"All right! No more coldness!" He exclaimed. Suddenly, everyone's jackets disappeared. They all frowned at Puck, who sweated.

"Okay, okay! Next time I'll warn you!" He promised. The others sighed.

"Well, where does the Magic Stone say now, Holly?" Big Blue asked. Holly took the stone out of her shirt and concentrated.

"The Stone says to-" she didn't get to finish. In a second, Captain Zuum's troop was all over them. Coltia screamed.

"I'M SCARED!" she screamed, punching a Zuum in the face. "SCARED!" She popped another Zuum, sending him into three of his comrades, knocking them all over. "REALLY SCARED!" she kicked a nearby Zuum "where the sun don't shine", (Wherever that is on a Zuum…) making him keel over in pain. Everyone, including the Zuums, sweated as Coltia hid under Puck's cloak, shaking.

"Maybe we should let Coltia do the fighting sometimes." Hare muttered. The Zuums forgot about Coltia and went after the others. Holly picked up Yuji and put him behind a large boulder.

"Stay here," she whispered to him, "it's dangerous." She ran off to help the others. Yuji and Draco peeked over the boulder. Six of the Zuums were Lost Disks already, including the ones Coltia hit.

Hare gave a Zuum a good kick in the stomach, sending him sprawling to the ground. The Zuum turned into a Lost Disk. Tiger and Gray Wolf Torpedoed while Big Blue Tornadoed the Zuums. Holly was dragging a knocked-out Mocchi away from the battle.

Suddenly, as Holly put Mocchi safely between two large rocks and got up, a Zuum approached her. Holly saw the shadow covering her, and turned around, eyes wide in fear. The Zuum raised his hand and slashed her across her side, sending her crashing to the ground.

"MOMMY!!!" Yuji cried, rushing over to her. The Zuum didn't bother with little Yuji and went to fight Tiger. Yuji lifted Holly's pale head up.

"Mommy?" He asked. "Can you hear me?" Her eyes remained closed as a pool of blood surrounded her. Tears streamed down Yuji's face.

"Nooo…" He whispered. He carefully put Holly's head down and turned to the Zuums. His eyes were ablaze with fury. Yuji got up, Draco fluttering behind him.

"YYYYYAAAAAAHHHHH!" Tears flowing out of his eyes, Yuji leapt forward, his hand rolled up into a fist. The Zuum that had hit Holly abruptly turned around. Yuji socked him brutally under the jaw, sending him flying through the air. The Zuum crashed down the mountainside and hit the ground with a thud, instantly changing into a Lost Disk. Everyone gawked at the furious Yuji, who was breathing heavily.

"Wha-?" Pixie gasped.

"The Hell-?" Captain Zuum yelped.

With another yell, Yuji charged forward, punching and kicking. Zuums flew left and right. The boy's face was red with anger.

"YOU JERKS!" He screamed, sending more Zuums crashing down the mountainside. Tiger, Hare, Suezo and the others stopped fighting and gaped at him. Some Zuums tried to hit him, but failed as Yuji sent them airborne. One Zuum managed to trip Yuji, sending him crashing into a hard stone, legs first.

His right leg slammed into the rock, snapping with a loud BANG! Yuji cried and grabbed his broken leg, face twisted in agony. The nearest Zuum slashed Yuji across the face, leaving three shallow gashes. Yuji cried out again and Draco growled loudly.

"HOW DARE YOU TOUCH YUJI-CHAN!" He shouted as loudly as he could in his little voice. He lunged towards the Zuum, claws extended.

"FIREBALL!" He cried, firing a small blast of fire into the Zuum's eyes. The Zuum screamed in agony and fell to the ground. Draco flew at the others, Chomping and Scratching, leaving ruined and bleeding eyes. Yuji struggled weakly to his feet, still very angry. He started to punch out a Zuum when Pixie flew over and picked him up.

"Hey! Let me go!" Yuji growled angrily. "Let me get them!" Pixie shook her head.

"You're in no condition to fight anymore." She said. Still Yuji squirmed.

"But they hurt Mommy!" He exclaimed. Pixie set him down in Golem's hand.

"We'll take care of it." Pixie told him. She flew back to the Zuums. Yuji looked down. Puck and Coltia were applying pressure to Holly's wound, lessening the bleeding. Yuji wiped the blood out of his eyes and watched as Pixie, Big Blue, Tiger, Hare, and the others kick the Zuum's' butts. Soon, only Captain Zuum was left. He sweated a BIG sweatdrop.

"Ha, ha…um…I'll jusssssst be leaving now…" he trailed off, starting to run down the mountain.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Tiger bellowed. "BLIZZARD!" A blast of snow shot out of his mouth. It slammed into Captain Zuum, turning him into a frozen Lost Disk. Hare smiled.

"Well, that takes care of that!" he exclaimed.

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Holly felt the darkness slip away and the light seep in. She groaned.

"It's okay Holly-chan," she heard Coltia voice say as a gentle hand touched her face. Holly opened her eyes. Her vision slowly came back into focus. Coltia, Puck, Suezo, Tiger, Mocchi, Hare, Pixie, and Achika looked down at her.

"You okay?" Tiger asked. "That was quite a blow you took." Holly blinked. Blow? A sharp stab of pain in her side reminded her. Oh, that. Holly thought. She sat up and groaned.

"Be careful!" Puck exclaimed, unusually serious. "That cut is pretty bad!" Holly groaned again and laid back down. Hare put a cold cloth on her forehead.

"Yuji," She moaned, "where is he?" Her friends exchanged worried glances. Holly began to feel alarmed.

"Is he alright?" She asked, her heart beating 5x faster. Pixie smiled a little.

"Don't worry, he's not too badly hurt." She said. She pointed to the campfire. Holly looked over. Yuji sat by the fire, staring into it, as if in a trance. His right leg was in a splint, wrapped in gauze. His face had about 3 bandages on it. Draco was curled up next to him, asleep. Holly looked at Yuji concernedly.

"What happened?" She asked Golem. Golem grunted.

"It was. Terrible. Tiger. Tell you." He replied. Holly turned to Tiger, who sighed.

"Well," he began, "after you were hit and blacked out, Yuji went berserk. He ran over to you, trying to wake you up. When you wouldn't, he got really, really mad. The Zuum that hit you, oh boy! He was gooonnnneeee! With one punch, Yuji sent him crashing down the mountain. He was a Lost Disk in no time.

"And Yuji didn't stop there. He punched, kicked, and screamed. He killed more Zuums than the rest of us put together! He didn't even stop when a Zuum sent him crashing into a boulder, which broke his leg.

"A Zuum slashed him in the face. The short minute he was out, Draco blinded some of 'em. Then Yuji got back up and tried to continue fighting. He only stopped when Pixie dragged him away from the battle and put him in Golem's care." Tiger looked at Yuji, still staring into the fire, saying nothing.

Tiger sighed.

"After he calmed down completely, which took a while, he realized what had happened. He stared at the Lost Disks and went into some kinda shock. He wouldn't speak to anyone. He's been staring at the fire ever since.

"Kid's a great fighter, but I think he's in shock from killing the first time." He finished. Holly looked at Yuji again, frowning.

"Yuji, you okay?" She asked. Yuji's frown deepened as he looked a his mother.

"Mommy," he said barely above a whisper, "I killed them!" His eyes watered up. "I killed them! I've never killed before!" He started to cry. Holly slowly sat up.

"Come here." She said gently. Yuji crawled over to her as the others moved out of the way. He sat down next to Holly. Holly hugged him tenderly.

"I know," she whispered, "I know. It's hard to kill, Yuji, I know that very well. I've done it once before, and I didn't like it at all." Yuji wiped some of his tears away.

"You did?" He asked. Holly nodded.

"Yes. And I can tell you that even though killing isn't good, if we fight Moo, we will have to kill sometimes, whether we like it or not. But Yuji, as long as there are other ways out, use your wits instead of your fists. I'd really prefer it if you didn't fight as much." Holly wiped some more of his tears away with her thumb.

"Well, I don't mind fighting that much, but I don't like having to kill." Yuji said.

"Well kid," Tiger said, "I hate to tell you, but this journey's harsh. It's kill or be killed. Maybe when we awaken Seisakusha, he can revive the Lost Disks like the Phoenixes did. Besides Yuji, your dad had to kill badies. He didn't exactly 'like' it, but he lived with it." Yuji frowned a little more.

"Well then, I guess I'll fight, even thought I'm not too thrilled about killing." He said. He looked back at Holly. "I'll try to find other ways to win." Holly smiled weakly.

"That's good," she said, "You do that, Yuji." Yuji smiled a little.

"I will, Mommy." He said. He yawned. Golem gently picked him up.

"Time for. Bed." He said, setting Yuji back down next to Draco. Yuji yawned again and lay down.

"G'night." He said sleepily. Yuji closed his eyes. Tiger walked over and with his mouth pulled Yuji's blanket over him. Holly's smile widened a little.

"G'night." She whispered.

~ Holly-chan's Note: CP's wrote the next part. She did a great job! ~

If Yuji's strength seems ridiculous, you should've seen how he was when I first wrote it! *Laughs* Honestly, I had no idea how superhuman I had made a 5-year-old…I'll try to tone it down a bit on his physical powers, but Yuji is his father's son--thin, yet very strong for his age.

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