HOME | DD

Description
The Monster Empire Vs. The Lady Defender:
Chapter 4:
Enemies and Rivals: Part 2

By

Norris Vaughn III

In the dimly lit caverns of the Dark Alliance’s lair, the molten lava and torches as the only light source, Brutus and the Elven Princess were on the warpath, as they chased Dynamite Soldier and the Lady Defender. As they ran down the darkened passageway, they could see the light of the Defender’s torch getting smaller and smaller in the distance. Brutus’ rage-filled eyes narrowed, as he and the Princess followed the light down deeper into the labyrinth which made out the cavern system. As they ran off into the darkness, little did they know, they had actually just ran passed Dynamite and Cassie who hid behind a wall of stalactites. They peered from their hiding place, watching Brutus and the Elven Princess disappear down the tunnel and away from them.
Dynamite sighed in relief, relaxing a bit as he sat back down, as he turned to the Lady Defender and said, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but good thinking on your part.”
“Well, it won’t take them long to realize they’re following a decoy.” Cassie replied.
Yes, as they were running away from Brutus and the Elven Princess along with the rest of the leaders of the Dark Alliance far behind them, Cassie and Dynamite managed to widen the gap. There was, however a small problem…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Hurry up! They’re gaining on us!” Dynamite Soldier shouting, his head turned around to face Cassie who trailing behind.
Cassie growled and then shouted back, “Why did you leave me behind like that!”
Dynamite rolled his eyes, his head turning back to the front before he then scoffed and said, “Not my fault you’re slow! Besides, I told you to run.”
Cassie looked at him with anger in her eyes. She, the Lady Defender, SLOW? How dare he say that about her! She’ll show him, as she suddenly started to pick her legs up harder, making herself go faster and faster to the point she passed Dynamite Soldier who was now behind her.
“Who’s slow now~?” Cassie said teasingly, as she looks behind her to face Dynamite who only scoffed. It was then he realized a major issue with their escape attempt…
His eyes went wide, as he stared at it: the torch, she was still carrying the torch!
“Why are you still carrying around that stupid torch!” Dynamite shouted in panic.
“Um…to be able to see where I’m going?”
Dynamite growled into his hand, as he kept running, before he then shouted back, “But the enemy can see wherever we go as well!”
Cassie paused, as he still ran, and she realized he was right. “…WHY AM I STILL CARRYING THIS STUPID TORCH!”
“You just realize that!” Dynamite scolded her, “Get rid of it!”
Cassie was about to do what he said, raising her arm up as if to throw it behind them, that was until she noticed something. She suddenly stopped, as he then examined something near the wall of the tunnel they were in. Dynamite ran passed her, but immediately returned.
“What are you doing?” he said, “They’re going to catch up to us any second!”
Cassie simply moved the torch to expose a large, bat-like creature hiding within a crack in the wall. She then smirked, as she turned over to the Dynamite Soldier.
“Got any rope?” she said with a huge smile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Indeed, it was a bat with a torch tied to it the Elven Princess and Brutus were now chasing. They ran further and further down into the tunnel, unaware of the ruse. The bat flew away, trying to get away from the torch, as it acted as the perfect decoy now in the darker parts of this cavern system.
“I don’t think this will fool them for long. They’ll catch up to it eventually.” Cassie explained.
“No matter, what ever time this plan of yours brings us will hopefully be enough to get out of here without any further trouble.” Dynamite replied.
Cassie laughed a little, nodding in agreement. She then winked before she asked, “Hey, we actually make a pretty good team, huh?”
“And you just had to say something as cliche as that.” Dynamite said before he got up onto his feet, “And it doesn’t matter because don’t get use to it. Now, my turn to say something cliche: The moment we get out of here, we’re enemies again.”
Dynamite turned to walk away; Cassie looked on, actually disappointed to hear this. She was secretly hoping that through this experience, the war between them could be resolved, but she should have known that was a fool’s hope. She then got up herself and soon followed suit, as the two walked down the way they just came from; back down the darkened, dimly lit tunnel. As for the other members of the Dark Alliance, as soon as they joined the chase, they immediately lost sight of Brutus and the Elven Princess, as they scrambled yet failed to keep up. The others followed Nightshade’s lead, but even she, knowing the caverns better than anyone, did not know which way the others had taken, as she led their group astray by taking a simple wrong turn. Eventually, they managed to go the completely wrong direction entirely. This was fortunate news for Cassie and the Dynamite Soldier, although unaware of their change of luck, as they travelled down through the cavern looking for an escape.
As that duo got underway, continuing their search for the exit, meanwhile, Brutus and the Elven Princess had caught up with the runaway light. Hot on its tail, the two of them panting heavily as they gave chase. Reaching for what they thought was the Lady Defender, the two jumped for it. While the Princess fell flat on her face, Brutus caught it. He threw the torch down angrily, as he growled and snarled like a snorting beast as he brought the caught thing to view. To his shock, Brutus discovered it was but a mere bat. The Princess looked up to find this out for herself before she laughed.
Brutus, embarrassed and angry, turned and shouted, “What’s so funny about this!”
Through her laughter, the Princess collected her composure before she returned to her feet and said, “My, my, Brutus the Mighty fooled by a torch tied to the tail of a bat.”
“And you were fooled as well!”
The Princess crossed her arms and replied, “Maybe, but at least I didn’t make myself out to be a fool in the process. The look on your face when you saw that bat is priceless.”
Brutus threw the bat away, as it then flew away back into the darkness screeching. Brutus huffed loudly, snarling again, more bull than man by now with his anger getting the better of him. He then replied, “Or is it because you’re letting the Lady Defender get away?”
The Princess looked over at him, a tinge of fear shined in her red eyes for just a split-second. “W-what do you mean?”
Brutus’ expression changed from that of an angry bull to a cocky jerk who knew he got someone where they wanted them. “I heard what you said earlier when the Defender and the Wooden Man showed up, calling them…’idiots’? Now why would you do that unless…you were giving them time to escape, but they failed?”
The Princess was shocked; perhaps Brutus wasn’t as dumb as she originally thought. He was alway a bull-headed moron, thirsty for blood and action, never one to figure stuff out on the fly. Regardless, she remained calm, but failed to conceal her fear entirely.
The Princess then replied, changing the subject, “C-come on, we have to find them before they escape.”
She turned as if to go back down the way they came, torch in hand she began to walk through the darkness. Brutus followed closely behind her, but not to follow her lead but rather to continue his accusations. He then suggested, “Or is it to find them before Nightshade and the others find them?”
The Princess was growing angry with these accusations of his. She turned to look over her shoulder and said, “Silence you moron; I will not stand for this any longer!”
She turned back around and then kept moving forward, but Brutus stopped her again when he said as he followed, “Then I guess you wouldn’t mind if I brought this up with Madame Nightshade then, right?”
This was it; he had crossed a line. The Princess froze in place, and Brutus knew he got her this time. He smiled to himself, as she stood there in fear. She then suddenly spun around to face the beast man.
“Listen you, if you start spouting nonsense about me to our superiors, I’ll…” she warned him.
Brutus, on the other hand, was not impressed nor afraid of her threats. He simply rose his battle axe to her throat, cutting her off mid-sentence. He then asked coldly, “You’ll what?”
The Princess stood there in place, blade to her bare throat, her eyes and body shaking in fear. The Minotaur Prince had her cornered; had he figured her out so easily after all this time? She was so careful up to this point, and to be found out by an idiot like Brutus was a disgrace of the highest order.
“Tell me, Princess,” Brutus asked, “are you going to help me find the escape prisoners or not? And until then, I call the shots.”
The Princess nodded carefully, trying not to get nicked by the blade at her throat, as she nodded in defeat. Brutus smirked to himself before he lowered the blade, putting it away. He then spun her back around and pushed her forward. “Onward!” he shouted, knowing she was going to do anything he ordered her too, and he was going to enjoy it. The two of them then went into the darkness in search of the escape prisoners once more. They were no longer equals, as Brutus held all the marbles against the Elven Princess who was no better than a slave to his will.
Meanwhile, Cassie and Dynamite were making their way through the cavern, as the light was becoming better but only due to the lava. They walked side by side in awkward silence, the rumbling of the slow moving magma filling the void. Cassie had shifty eyes, as she looked over at the monster walking beside her, curious about him. She had fought his warriors a couple of times now, but he knew nothing about him or his people. Where did they come from? What was he exactly when he said, ‘Wooden soldier?’ Maybe now was the time to ask these questions; they had time it seemed.
Cassie looked over at him and asked, “Can I ask you a question?”
Without even looking in her direction, he replied bluntly, “Depends.”
“On what?”
“If it’s a stupid question, I won’t dignify it with an answer.” He replied just as harsh and bluntly.
Cassie was visibly upset with this response, as he then pouted, “I’m not an idiot.”
Dynamite rolled his eyes, “I beg to differ.” He looked over at her as he then continued, “Apart from moments, glimmers of intelligence, it doesn’t disguise the fact there’s nothing inside that skull of yours besides air.”
Cassie shot him a glare, as she retorted, “At least I’m not a walking termite farm. Come on, Soldier-Boy, just one question?”
Dynamite rolled his eyes, as he then stopped, crossing his arms before he gave in, “Fine, what?”
Cassie thought about it for a minute. She felt as though she needed to ask a good question to break the ice between them. It was clear there is still hostility between them so she needs dot lightened to mood. She finally came up with a simple question that she thought would do the trick, “What’s your name?”
Dynamite cocked a brow, as he replied, “You know my name, its Dynamite Soldier.”
Cassie laughed slightly, as she responded, “No, no, that’s like your title or warrior name. You don’t expect everyone to just call me by ‘The Lady Defender,’ do you? Let me start by giving you my name: it’s Cassie, Cassie Stormbrook.”
“And I don’t care, nor am I giving you my real name.” Dynamite replied, as he turned to walk away, not wanting to do anything with her anymore.
Cassie gave chase before she immediately caught up, walking beside him once more. “Come on!” she shouted, as she caught up, “I gave you my name, it’s only polite for you to return the favor.”
“I don’t think so.” He shook his head no, as he kept on walking forward
Cassie rolled her eyes yet again, not giving up and being rather insistent on the matter. She kept pace, as she never left his side, “Is it a terrible name?”
“No.”
“Are you embarrassed by it?”
“No.”
“A girls name~?”
“NO!”
“Then what is it?”
Dynamite was finally pushed over the edge, as the conversation and her insistence had pulled his trigger as he then shouted, “Fine! If I give you my real name will you SHUT UP!”
Cassie, standing before the angry monster smiled up at him innocently, nodding like an excited little girl who just won a fight of wills.
Dynamite rolled his eyes, crossed his arms again, as he finally said, “Trevor Willow.”
Cassie paused once the name was given before she began to crack up with laughter. Trevor looked down at her in annoyance, as she was clearing finding something funny about his name. “What’s so funny?”
“I’m sorry,” she replied, giving into the sensation to laugh, as she became louder and louder with laughter, “but what kind of name is ‘Trevor?’”
‘Trevor’ stared at her in silence, as she just went on laughing and laughing. He was more annoyed than ever before because of this. He finally snapped back, “Oh yeah? What kind of name is ‘Stormbrook?’ Sounds like a name someone came up with on the spot as if it was the first thing that came to mind.”
With that, Dynamite Soldier walked off, a sense of triumph flooding his system, as Cassie stood there in place, shocked by what he just said. She chased after him, as she shouted at him, “It’s not a made up name!”
Suddenly, they heard the sounds of oncoming footsteps fast approaching. Dynamite stopped Cassie in her tracks as she caught with him, making her aware of this. He then hurried her behind a row of pillars, the two of them then hid quickly as the footsteps got closer and closer. It was Madame Nightshade’s group, finally getting their way through the caverns in search for Cassie and Trevor. The two of them stayed still behind the pillars of stone, as the group made their way through the room.
“Keep careful watch,” Madame Nightshade ordered her underlings, “the two of them could be anywhere by now. Leave no stone unturned in your search!”
With that, the group dispersed; they began to scan the area bit by bit for them. Dynamite and Cassie looked at one another in fear and panic. They were now literally cornered, but fortunate enough to not have been spotted yet. Nightshade’s imp drew close to their hiding spot, however, as he looked side to side along the stone floor, sniffing he air. Dynamite could see the ugly little thing approaching, and he knew it was only a matter of time before it would give them away to the others. Looking to his left, however, he noticed a way out: the row of stone pillars led all the way to the nearest tunnel and away from Nightshade and her goons. Dynamite smirked to himself, as he then looked back at Cassie, signaling to her there was indeed a way out of this. Cassie leaned over, looking passed him to see if this was indeed true, and sure enough it was! She smiled as she then looked up at the wooden monster and nodded in agreement to his plan. And so, their slow escape from this mess began.
They must be careful not to be spotted. The two of them waited for the imp to look away; the snarling, ugly little beast looked around the floor, picking up small stones as it searched and searched. Every time the imp looked away, Dynamite and Cassie quickly yet quietly stepped over behind the next pillar in the row. Over and over again, the process continued ever so slowly. Cassie was sweating profusely, following the wooden monster, as she tried not to make the slightest sound, carefully planting one foot after the other whenever they switched from pillar to pillar. Dynamite’s heart was racing inside his wooden chest; he couldn’t remember the last time he was so nervous. His breathing was getting heavy. This was, after all, the longest he had ever been in the field. Normally, it would have been a quick fight or a scouting mission, something along those lines, but today was different. Today, he was working hard to get his freedom back alongside his foe the Lady Defender. The nervousness rattled him yet he proceeded from one pillar to another, watching for any signs of movement from either the imp, Nightshade or any of the others, as he and Cassie finally reached he end of the row. The imp had long lost track of their scent, going the other way by the time they reached the entrance of the tunnel, but new danger awaited them.
Dynamite and Cassie silently celebrated to one another, smiling happily as their slow journey to the tunnel entrance had finally come to an end. As they quietly sped into the tunnel, however, they were immediately met by two familiar faces: Brutus and the Elven Princess. The two had apparently circled around from a different passageway, reaching the room from the other side only to wound up running into the enemy along the way back to Nightshade. The two groups stared in shock and awe for a moment. Dynamite’s eyes went wide, as his met the shocked stares of the other three. The awkward silence between the two groups felt tense, as each one of them didn’t want to be the one to break it; all accept Brutus. Brutus eventually smiled brightly.
“Madame Nightshade,” he shouted, alerting the other members of the Dark Alliance to their presence, “The escapees are here!”
Madame Nightshade and the other members quickly turned, their dagger-like stared returning. Cassie, thinking quickly, turned her hands to stone and punched Brutus and the Princess out of them way.
“RUN!” she shouted at Dynamite, as she grabbed him by the hand and dragged him off down the tunnel. Brutus and the Princess regained their footing, merely grazed by the Defender’s blows. Brutus then grabbed the Princess by the throat, pulling her close to his face.
“Listen here,” he grumbled, “if you help me capture those two, I might reconsider telling Nightshade and the others about your traitorous ways.”
The Princess, gasping for air, quickly nodded within his grasp. “Not like…I have much of a…choice.”
Brutus then let her go, ordering her to pursue them. Nightshade and the others quickly joined the pursuit yet still fell behind, as they poured into the tunnel after Brutus, the Princess, Dynamite and the Lady Defender. The sounds of footsteps once again flood the cave system. To Dynamite and Cassie, those sounds were like an ominous, dark tidal wave of dread, as the enemy were hot on their heels once again. And through the darkness, a light of hope appeared. Cassie could see the way out, they were running right for it!
Dynamite, being dragged along by Cassie came to a sudden realization. He then shouted, “Wait, you can turn into stone?”
Cassie turned while she kept running, as she replied, “Yeah, it’s one of my powers. I can merge into the earth, turn into stone, stronger than most people, why does it matter?”
“Because it changes everything! We can fight back!” Dynamite exclaimed.
“I thought you said we couldn’t because of our powers!”
“I did, but I didn’t take into account our other abilities, ones that wouldn’t cause a cave-in!” Dynamite explained.
“But we’re almost out!”
“True, but Sailor Moon and the big dumb bull over there will just keep chasing us even if we make it out!”
Cassie was then pushed to the side by Dynamite once they made it to the cavern which led to the cave’s entrance. “Follow my lead.” Dynamite replied; Cassie looked up at him confused, but nodded as she agreed with him.
Brutus and the Princess, meanwhile, were gaining quickly. They emerged from the tunnel only to be tripped up by a pair of detached wooden arms which latched onto their ankles. The two landed on their faces hard, and as they tried to get up, groaning in pain, Cassie jumped out from behind a pillar.
“Stone Tomb!” she shouted, as her hands turned to large stone ones before they slammed against the floor. Stone spires shot up from the floor around the Elf and Minotaur, encasing them in a prison of stone. Brutus and the Princess could barely move.
Cassie smiled brightly, as she crossed her arms proudly, examining her work. “That was a good plan, Termite-Farm.”
Dynamite Soldier emerged from his hiding spot armless. His arms crawled up to him, reattaching themselves to his sockets as he knelt down to allow them. He then stood next to Cassie as he then said, “Thanks..and don’t call me Termite-Farm.”
It was such a quick turnaround, Brutus and the Elven Princess were completely caught off guard which led to their easy capture, but that might change any moment. The sound of charging footsteps rang forth from the tunnel, as the other members of the Dark Alliance was fast approaching. Brutus smirked, getting cocky, while the Princess looked concerned; Cassie shared her expression of concern, as she looked over at Dynamite, “Got a plan for them? Because I don’t think that trick will work on all of them.”
Dynamite rolled his eyes before he scolded her, “Thanks for stating the obvious.”
“Ha,” Brutus laughed, “you fools! You won’t be able to handle all of us!”
Dynamite sighed in annoyance before he walked around the two enchased foes to the front of the tunnel entrance. “Relax, I got this.” He then replied, as he pulled one of the sticks of dynamite off of his shoulder pad. It lit the moment it came off his shoulder. Like someone dunking a basketball, he threw the lit stick of dynamite into the tunnel. Of course they were taken by surprise — most likely because none of them knew what dynamite was — as a large, sudden explosion collapse the tunnel before they even got halfway. They were cut off from their companions and now had to find another way around.
Dynamite dusted his hands, as he turned to the others as he said, “That was easy enough.” Walking passed Brutus, he then replied, “So much for back-up. Now, if you excuse me, I’m getting bored with all of this.” The two girls and Brutus stared on in disbelief, wide-eyed and stunned by what just happened. Regardless, Cassie turned and followed Dynamite, as the two of them began to head for the exit, reaching it at long last.
Brutus growled; he watched as the two of them were about to exit the lair. His continued growl soon trailed off into a roar which rang out through the cavern. The rocks enchasing Brutus began to crack and give way, and soon he was free with a sudden burst of dust and debris. Dynamite and Cassie turned as they were about to step out of the cave shocked by this turn of event. Brutus then began to charge at Dynamite at breakneck speed. Cassie, acting quickly, pushed the monster out of the way, taking the brunt of Brutus’ attack head on, as both of them went flying out of the cave entrance. Cassie landed on her back once Brutus rolled off of her after they landed roughly.As Cassie got back up, grunting in pain and clutching her stomach, she looked around at her new surroundings. She was now in a green, hilly field with moss cover boulders littering the field. She then looked to her left; there was a cliff, as she could hear the ocean waves echoing from afar. Cassie then turned back to the battle ready Brutus who stared back with reddening eyes out for blood. Cassie’s hands grew larger with three fingers, buffing up to almost club-like weapons. She and Brutus then clashed in their new battlefield.
Back in the cave, Dynamite got up again, dusting himself off as he leaned over the cavern entrance. He watched on as Brutus and Cassie as their hands clasped together, as they trie to push against the other, neither one giving an inch. Dynamite was not impressed, however, he shook his head, “That stupid girl; I could’ve taken the hit.”
“Please!” Suddenly shouted the Elf Princess, getting the attention of the wooden monster who then turned to face her, “Get me out of here so I can help!”
Dynamite stared on in confusion before he huffed and crossed his arms, “Why should I? She’s the enemy, why should you care what happens to the Defender? And on top of that, what is she to you?”
“W-What do you mean…?”
“Come on, clearly you two are rivals, but you’re acting as if you two are something more like as friends or something. I mean, for crying out loud, you have been saving her sorry butt all day and don’t think for a moment I haven’t noticed!” Dynamite confronted her.
The Elven Princess looked stunned, blinking from the shock. The jig was up for her, and her secret was out by this complete stranger she just met. She had kept it from the others for years without getting caught, but now not only was Brutus suspicious, but this wooden man had caught on so easily to her scheme. “Look…” she finally said, her head hanging low as her eyes went to the floor, as she didn’t want to look at him, “maybe you’re right, I do think of her as more than some rival, but that’s not what’s important right now!”
Dynamite looked on, listening intently, as she then continued, “What is important is that the two fo us help her now! I’m not the only one who has been doing some saving today; Cassie just saved you from Brutus’ charge. Don’t you dare tell me that means nothing to you! So free me from this stone, and together we can help Cassie defeat Brutus and be rid of him!”
Dynamite paused for a while, as he scratched his chin thinking her proposal over. “You know what?” He finally asked, “I don’t need your help. I can take the stupid bull myself.” He then turned as he began to leave the cave once more.
The Princess went wide-eyed once more as she then shouted, “Y-You c-can’t just leave me here!”
“Already doing that,” Dynamite coldly replied without turning to face her as he walked to the cave entrance.
“You jerk!”
“Been called worse!” Dynamite shouted back, as he finally left the cave. As he made it to the sunlight again after hours in those caverns, Dynamite inspected the battlefield before his eyes trailed back to Cassie and Brutus duking it out. Dynamite then brought his left wrist up to his face and then pulled the sleeve of his uniform down a bit to reveal a small, watch-like communication/locator device. It hadn’t worked in the cave because the signal was blocked the thick layers of stone since he was underground which would explain why the Monster Empire hadn’t come and rescued him. As he examined the device, two small lights, one green and one red, turned on which indicated that the signal was getting through to the Father-ship.
“Great, this thing can reach me through the deepest depths of space, but not through a few hundred feet underground? I need to report that defect to Isaac.” Dynamite said to himself, as he was in no hurry to help Cassie with her fight, but he was just about to get to it now that the calvary was on the way.
Cassie was thrown about by the blood thirsty Minotaur. She rolled along the ground, as she was thrown to the side. Brutus was about to strike with his battle axe, as he shouted, “Now it is time to end this once and for all!” As he brought the axe overhead, Cassie braced herself for the impact yet as the axe began to be swung down, Dynamite suddenly lunged forward as quick as a flash, appearing next to the shocked and stated brute. His wooden fist then smashed into the side of Brutus’ head, as Dynamite then shouted, “Ten-Stick Punch!” With that, another explosion occurred, blasting the Minotaur and sending him hurdling through the air a good hundred yards or so before he landed with a loud thump.
Cassie looked up at the monster who had just saved her. “You’re late.” She told him, as he offered his hand before she took it and got back up.
“Only fashionably late,” he then joked with a cocky grin. Cassie laughed a little; she hadn’t seen this side to him at all so it was nice to see it, this lighter side to an otherwise stiff as a board soldier. The banter was short lived, however, as Brutus returned to his feet once more, smoke bellowing from the side of his face where Dynamite punched him. The attack, it would seem, only made the brute even more angry. The Minotaur roared yet again, shaking the ground beneath them.
“Are you kidding me? How durable is this guy!” Dynamite shouted in disbelief.
“He’s a tough one to bring down, always been, so it’ll take a lot more than one punch to keep him down.” Cassie explained as she then got battle ready again, getting into a stance.
“Seriously?” Dynamite asked, “I just hit with the explosive force of ten sticks of dynamite! That would shred a normal man to pieces! What, do minotaurs have bones of steel or something?”
“I don’t know…but HERE HE COMES!” Cassie replied, and sure enough Brutus was charging yet again. Horns first, Brutus was about to ram them head on. He took Dynamite first who was the most caught off-guard, and who then literally grabbed the bull by the horns, as he was pushed backwards. His heels dug trails into the dirt, as Cassie looked on in shock. She then punched the ground, causing a pillar go stone to come up from the ground, as it smacked Brutus in the face. Dynamite let go when Brutus was stopped by the pillar of stone, as he was flung backwards and then he rolled back to his feet. He jumped into the air, and with a kick with the force of twenty sticks of TNT behind it. His foot came down onto the top of the Bull’s head, as another explosion caused a dust cloud to engulf the two. Cassie coughed loudly, she waved her fists side to side to try and clear the smoke away. A figure emerged form the smoke. At first, she couldn’t see who it was so she tensed up, getting back into that stance again. Sure enough, however, it was Dynamite, but he was charred like leftover firewood. Cassie stared on in amazement that he could still stand yet before her very eyes he was healing rapidly. In a flash of white light, he was back to normal.
“How did you do that?” Cassie said, as Dynamite walked up to her as if he did nothing special.
“All Monsters have regenerative abilities.” Dynamite explained, but Cassie gave him a look which clearly translated she didn’t understood what he just said. “My mind heals quick.” He explained in simpler words; Cassie nodded as she finally got it. “You think that got him? Dynamite then questioned.
“Hard to say, but best to be on our guard.” Cassie replied. And sure enough, she was right as Brutus suddenly jumped from the smoke, tackling the two of them while they were not paying attention. As the fell, the two fo them kicked the mad cow off of them, sending him falling through the air several feet onto his back. The pair, in turned, also fell onto their backs regardless of throwing Brutus off of them.
As they returned to their feet yet again, Dynamite asked, “How resilient is this guy?”
Brutus rolled quickly back to his feet, and was about to charge again when a familiar attack sent him flying once more.
“I know that attack…” Cassie said, and she and Dynamite looked back to the cave entrance to discover the Elven Princess had gotten herself free from her stone prison. She had come to the aid of the hero and the Monster. She ran up to them, glad to see they were all right for the most part.
“I see you got free?” Dynamite said as she joined them.
“Yeah, no thanks to you.” The Princess retorted.
“Can we save the drama for later? The Bull’s getting back up!” Cassie exclaimed, and again Brutus returned to his feet. Upon seeing the Elven Princess standing with the arch foe of the Dark Alliance, his eyes flashed with red again.
“Princess, you traitor!” he shouted and roared again.
Dynamite looked at the two women before he asked, “So what’s the plan?”
“We attack together and make him fall for good.” The Princess replied.
“Yeah, tried that, didn’t work. Got any BETTER plans?” Dynamite responded starkly.
The Elven Princess spun her head around to stare at Dynamite angrily. She then grabbed him by his pointy nose, taking his head off his neck. As Dynamite tried to ask what she was doing, she then hurled the head at Brutus was again charging at them. Head to head, Dynamite’s hit Brutus between the eyes before bouncing and rolling away on the ground. The Princess, while Brutus was distracted by the pain of getting hit in the face with the wooden, ball-like object, walked right up to Brutus and sent him flying again. In midair, Cassie landed a solid blow with her stone fist right into Brutus’ face. Using gravity to her advantage, she forced Brutus into the ground with such force it left a crater where they landed with Brutus smack-dab in the middle. Cassie walked out of the crater pleased with her work while Dynamite’s body finally retrieved his head once it had rolled back to his feet.
Once his head was put back onto his neck, as snarled at the elf girl and scolded, “Don’t you ever use my head like a volley ball ever again!”
At first, the Elven Princess wasn’t phased by his whining, but then she got a puzzling look upon her face once she had processed what he had just said. She turned to him and asked, “What’s a volley ball?”
As Cassie walked out of the crater, Brutus sprang up from the ground, roaring loudly yet again. Cassie turned, looking at him in annoyance before she raised her hand up for her next move. “Stone Trap,” she said as she quickly closed her hand into a fist. Four stone spires of stone shot out of the ground, surrounding Brutus, as they soon closed in on him. Brutus smirked, however, as she grabbed his axe once more and sun around. This impromptu attack dismantled Cassie’s, as Brutus chopped down the stone pillars as if they were simple trees. Brutus then jumped up in the air, Cassie still stunned by how easily her main finishing move was countered, and the bull warrior, axe overhead, came falling down towards her. He was merely flung back by the Elven Princess who struck him with her usual attack yet again. Cassie turned to see the elf standing just yards away behind her, smoke coming off the top of her scepter.
“You’re welcome.” The Princess bluntly and coldly replied.
“I didn’t ask for your help!” Cassie snapped back, angered at how her most hated rival and foe saved her.
“Get use to it.” The elf girl replied, as she walked over to Cassie’s side.
Brutus yet again returned to his feet. He had become more and more wobbly on his feet, the battle took a toll on him and it was showing. His breathing was becoming heavier and heavier; he stood there by the edge of the cliff where he had landed, arms hung at his sides.
“He’s in a rage,” the Princess explained, “nothing will stop him until he destroys the object of his anger. All we can do is slow him down enough to get away.”
Cassie then got an idea, a look of sudden realization appeared upon her face. “We’re on a cliffside…” she said to herself, as she then had her arms turn into stone once more. Her arms grew outwards and downwards, merging into the ground. Cassie closed her eyes, concentrating on what laid deep within the ground beneath them. She slowed her breathing, as she tried to find IT. Brutus stayed in place, trying to catch his breath so he may be able to strike his foes down in the name of the Dark Alliance. Brutus then raised his voices to the sky, roaring loudly with that same, animalistic battle cry before he charged again.
The Princess’ blood red eyes grew wide out of fear, as she turned to Cassie and said nervously, “Hurry it up…”
Cassie’s eyes twitched, as she struggled to find what she was looking for. The thunderous stomped of the charging bull grew closer. It was incredibly disruptive to her concentrating. Finally, she found it: a fault in the ground. Cassie’s voice rang out, as she broke the fault, pressing against the ground with all her mighty. The ground cracked, the sound of splitting rock became as thunderous as the charing bull’s footsteps. Brutus was stopped in his tracks, as he became unbalanced as the ground dropped beneath him yet he did not fall into the ocean like Cassie had hoped. Cassie opened her eyes, shocked when she Brutus, startled but very much alive, stood just a few feet in front of her. He seemed shortened down, having to look up at the two girls for the first time as the ground had collapse yet didn’t crumbled completely. Brutus slowly smiled before it grew into a laugh, one filled with cocky joyousness that he was still alive. He began to approach the two girls, out for blood, but before he could take another step, a whistle drew his attention. The crazed bull and the girls looked to the side to find Dynamite Soldier standing at where the crack began on the far end of the cliff. The Monster took another stick of dynamite from his shoulder and then he dropped it into the crack. Brutus gasped, knowing now what that red stick was capable no. He tried to scramble to safety, but the blast went off as Dynamite held his fingers to his ears to keep them covered. The ground quickly gave way beneath Brutus. He then fell through the ground, stone and debris rained down all around him, as he fell into the rocky waters below. That was the end of Prince Brutus of the minotaurs who screamed all the way down as he fell to a watery grave.
Dynamite walked to the girls, staring down at their handiwork before he said, “He was one durable bull, but not even HE can get back up from something like that!” He dusted his hands and walked away from the cliff’s edge. Cassie and the Elf looked on in shock, stared at one another, and then finally followed him away from he edge. The Princess noticed something out of the corner of her eye; it was Brutus’ axe. She picked it up, stared down at it coldly. She was disgusted by it, as she grimaced as she stared down at it. She then held it over the cliff before letting it fall into the ocean to be reunited with its master. She watched as it landed in the rocky depths below. The Princess turned away from the edge and joined the others. Her secret was safe once again; she knew Dynamite wouldn’t bother to expose her to the others so she was confident her secret would be kept.
Lady Nightshade and the other members of the Dark Alliance finally showed up on the scene. The bat woman’s eyes grimace, as she entered the sunlight. Th Elf King and the other members followed her out of their lair. They all looked at the Elven Princess perplexed; they all wondered the same thing but only Nightshade dared to asked after moments of awkward silence, “Where’s Brutus?”
The Elven Princess, despite her loyalties, turned to the Dark Alliance leader before she pointed at Cassie and Dynamite and then spoke, “They killed him. He lured her to the side of the cliff before collapsing the ground beneath him.”
“That would explained what felt like a small earthquake we felt on the way up here.” Anna Cobra turned to the others and said, content with this assumption as the others nodded in agreement with one another. All seemed pleased with this explanation, all but Nightshade. Her eyes leered at the Princess as she joined the rest of them.
“Then we must avenge him.” Lady Nightshade replied, ignoring her growing suspicions and deciding to focus on this moment instead. Cassie appeared worried, as her long time enemies seemed ready to strike them where she stood but Dynamite was undeterred. He stood in place, arms crossed over his chest, not moving an inch.
“And what makes you think you’re capable of accomplishing that?” Dynamite asked sternly.
“Why, simple my wooden friend,” Nightshade replied, “we out number you.”
Dynamite cocked a grin before his wrist communicator started beeping. This caught the others off guard; they had never heard such a noise before. They looked around to see where it was coming from before their eyes, Cassie’s as well, landed on Dynamite who brought his wrist to his chin and looked down at a strange grayish thing he was wearing. Dynamite’s gin turned into a wide smile and he clearly knew something the others did not.
Cassie looked up at Dynamite in bewilder, “What is that?”
Without looking at her, he replied, “A sign of good things to come.” He then looked straight at Lady Nightshade and continued, “Hey, Nightshade! You might want to redo the math.”
Nightshade couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She thought he was going mad or something, but that was before she was cut off before sh can utter a retort by the roar of engines overhead. Two small carrier ships flew right over the Dark Alliance. A huge gust of wind bellowed around Dynamite and Cassie, as the two ships landed behind them. The engines died down and the doors opened. Wooden Soldiers came marching out of the ships in rows of two side-by-side. They all looked alike, similar in appearance to Dynamite Soldier, but head and shoulders shorter. Instead of sharp, triangular eyes with visible pupils, these soldiers all had simple, tiny black dots for eyes. Their cheeks with red circles, and their mouths were a small, thin black line about an inch long. Their noses were not like Dynamite’s which was a long, thicker cylinder which got smaller form base-to-tip. Instead, their noses were made out of three segments of cylinders, getting smaller and smaller the further away from the face it got. They all wore matching uniforms, the imperial uniform of the wooden soldiers: blue in color with tall, cylinder hats, black boots, black belts with gold buckles, and goldenrod shoulder pads. These were the numerous, durable, combat ready soldiers of the Monster Empire.
They surrounded Dynamite and Cassie, creating a semi-circle formation. Those in the front knelt down while those standing behind them forming ranks. They aimed their guns, the standard imperial rifle with a triangular built-in bayonet, at the Dark Alliance. The terrestrial beings had no idea what to think about all that just happened. Even Cassie stood there wide-eyed, surrounded by all these wooden men. Nightshade then huffed and smirked, trying to act as those she wasn’t affected by this sudden development.
“You think WE are scared of a few toy soldiers with spears?” Nightshade did her signature laugh with her fan like fingers over her lips and asked.
Th Elf King drew his sword and took a step forward in aggression. This only served tp prompt one of the soldiers to open fire and with a single laser blast, he shot the King’s sword in two. The medieval beings were startled by the sound of the gun firing before staring at the heated piece of metal that was once a royal blade. The Elven Princess was completely surprised. That sword was passed down from King to King, and to see it destroyed so easily by this strange new weapon blew her mind. Nightshade looked on just surprised; she had eaten her words so quickly it would seem.
“For the record,” Dynamite replied, “those aren’t spears. Anyway, Nightshade, since you were so eager to make a deal with me earlier, let’s make one then. You and your little friends go back into your little hole, and we’ll call it a day, how about that?”
Nightshade stood in silence for a few moments, as she thought it over. Eventually she brought her hand up to her mouth yet again and laughed. “Fine, we shall take your offer, but next time you and the Lady Defender will be the ones to be brought to an early grave.” She then turned and went back into the cave with the others close behind her. The battle was over so quickly with only a single shot fired.
“That was…easy I guess.” Cassie replied only to have the Wooden Soldiers turn on her with their guns now all aimed at her. Cassie put her hands up, scared at this sudden turn of events.
“Lt. General, so glad you’re all right.” A Wooden Soldier with an eye-patch over his left eye walked up to Dynamite.
“Ah, Lt. Maple,” Dynamite immediately recognized and shook his hand, “so good to see you. What took you so long?”
“Well, sir, we lost all visual contact with you the moment that strange Magical Girl elf attacked you. After that, the King and Prime Minster tried scanning the planet for hours in the hopes to find you, but before the scanning was complete, your communicators signal returned on our monitors so the King ordered our troop to come and retrieve you.” Lt. Maple explained. He then looked over at Cassie, “What should we do with her, sir?”
Dynamite looked over back as Cassie. He stared at her for what seemed like an eternity before he finally responded, “Leave her alone.”
“But sir, she is the enemy.” Lt. Maple replied, stunned by such an order to come from Dynamite Soldier.
“That’s an order, Lieutenant, you better listen.” And with that, Lt. Maple dropped it before ordering the men to board the hips. Cassie blinked, amazed at how Dynamite was letting her go.
As the two were left alone, the other wooden monsters waiting for their Lt. General to join them, Cassie asked him, “Why are you doing this?”
Dynamite shrugged before he put his hands behind his back and said, “Because you saved my life a few times back there. I felt as though I needed to repay the favor at least one more time to make sure we’re even.”
Cassie nodded, amazed at what he was saying. She felt touched by his words, humbled by his kindness. He then continued before he offered his hand, “I can’t believe I’m saying this…but it was good working with you.” Cassie looked down at his hand, puzzled by what she was supposed to do with it. “It’s called a handshake, you put your hand in mine and go up and down.”
Cassie nodded again before she did just that. She smiled brightly, as they shook hands. Dynamite then turned and walked toward the transport ships. “See you later, Wood-Pulp!” Dynamite simply waved without looking back, as he boarded the ship. The engines roared back to life, as the ships them lifted off, soaring into the sky, and Cassie was left alone. She smiled in awe, staring off the ships soon disappeared in a blink of an eye. It was an incredible sight.
“Dang it…” she realized, as it dawned on her that maybe she should have asked for a ride, her since of wonder turned to confusion and disappointment, “now I have to walk home.”
Hours later and Cassie was finally back in Alladornia. She filthy, exhausted, but most of all she needed a drink. Once back in town, she immediately walked straight to the tavern.
Briana smiled peacefully, as she cleaned the counters in the empty tavern. Her shift had just started and there was no customers in sight until her best customer kicked open the door.
“…I’m back…” a tired Cassie replied as she walked through the doorway. Briana looked up to find her friend in shambles. She went to her aid right away. “My gosh, Cassie, what happened! You’re a wreck!” She said, as she helped Cassie to her favorite seat.
“Whatever happened to customer service?” Casie asked sarcastically.
Briana, however, ignored her quips and proceeded to help her still. “Now,” she replied once Cassie was seated, “you just relax and I’ll get you a drink on the house.”
As Briana went back to the counter to fetch her friend a glass of water, Cassie smiled and thank her. “You know, Briana,” The exhausted Cassie said, leaning back in her chair to try and get comfortable, sighing blissfully, “you’re the best friend a girl ever had.”
Briana froze in place. She hadn’t expect to hear something as kind as this it meant a lot to know that Cassie thought of her as a friend. Briana smiled shyly to herself while behind the counter. She then poured her a glass of water and carried it back to her friend. “Now,” Briana asked, as she fiddled around with that red, heart-shaped stone on her necklace, and then gave Cassie the glass of water to drink, who then proceeded to drink the whole thing in one long gulp, “tell me everything.”

To Be Continued…

Description
The Monster Empire Vs. The Lady Defender:
Chapter 4:
Enemies and Rivals: Part 2

By

Norris Vaughn III

In the dimly lit caverns of the Dark Alliance’s lair, the molten lava and torches as the only light source, Brutus and the Elven Princess were on the warpath, as they chased Dynamite Soldier and the Lady Defender. As they ran down the darkened passageway, they could see the light of the Defender’s torch getting smaller and smaller in the distance. Brutus’ rage-filled eyes narrowed, as he and the Princess followed the light down deeper into the labyrinth which made out the cavern system. As they ran off into the darkness, little did they know, they had actually just ran passed Dynamite and Cassie who hid behind a wall of stalactites. They peered from their hiding place, watching Brutus and the Elven Princess disappear down the tunnel and away from them.
Dynamite sighed in relief, relaxing a bit as he sat back down, as he turned to the Lady Defender and said, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but good thinking on your part.”
“Well, it won’t take them long to realize they’re following a decoy.” Cassie replied.
Yes, as they were running away from Brutus and the Elven Princess along with the rest of the leaders of the Dark Alliance far behind them, Cassie and Dynamite managed to widen the gap. There was, however a small problem…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Hurry up! They’re gaining on us!” Dynamite Soldier shouting, his head turned around to face Cassie who trailing behind.
Cassie growled and then shouted back, “Why did you leave me behind like that!”
Dynamite rolled his eyes, his head turning back to the front before he then scoffed and said, “Not my fault you’re slow! Besides, I told you to run.”
Cassie looked at him with anger in her eyes. She, the Lady Defender, SLOW? How dare he say that about her! She’ll show him, as she suddenly started to pick her legs up harder, making herself go faster and faster to the point she passed Dynamite Soldier who was now behind her.
“Who’s slow now~?” Cassie said teasingly, as she looks behind her to face Dynamite who only scoffed. It was then he realized a major issue with their escape attempt…
His eyes went wide, as he stared at it: the torch, she was still carrying the torch!
“Why are you still carrying around that stupid torch!” Dynamite shouted in panic.
“Um…to be able to see where I’m going?”
Dynamite growled into his hand, as he kept running, before he then shouted back, “But the enemy can see wherever we go as well!”
Cassie paused, as he still ran, and she realized he was right. “…WHY AM I STILL CARRYING THIS STUPID TORCH!”
“You just realize that!” Dynamite scolded her, “Get rid of it!”
Cassie was about to do what he said, raising her arm up as if to throw it behind them, that was until she noticed something. She suddenly stopped, as he then examined something near the wall of the tunnel they were in. Dynamite ran passed her, but immediately returned.
“What are you doing?” he said, “They’re going to catch up to us any second!”
Cassie simply moved the torch to expose a large, bat-like creature hiding within a crack in the wall. She then smirked, as she turned over to the Dynamite Soldier.
“Got any rope?” she said with a huge smile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Indeed, it was a bat with a torch tied to it the Elven Princess and Brutus were now chasing. They ran further and further down into the tunnel, unaware of the ruse. The bat flew away, trying to get away from the torch, as it acted as the perfect decoy now in the darker parts of this cavern system.
“I don’t think this will fool them for long. They’ll catch up to it eventually.” Cassie explained.
“No matter, what ever time this plan of yours brings us will hopefully be enough to get out of here without any further trouble.” Dynamite replied.
Cassie laughed a little, nodding in agreement. She then winked before she asked, “Hey, we actually make a pretty good team, huh?”
“And you just had to say something as cliche as that.” Dynamite said before he got up onto his feet, “And it doesn’t matter because don’t get use to it. Now, my turn to say something cliche: The moment we get out of here, we’re enemies again.”
Dynamite turned to walk away; Cassie looked on, actually disappointed to hear this. She was secretly hoping that through this experience, the war between them could be resolved, but she should have known that was a fool’s hope. She then got up herself and soon followed suit, as the two walked down the way they just came from; back down the darkened, dimly lit tunnel. As for the other members of the Dark Alliance, as soon as they joined the chase, they immediately lost sight of Brutus and the Elven Princess, as they scrambled yet failed to keep up. The others followed Nightshade’s lead, but even she, knowing the caverns better than anyone, did not know which way the others had taken, as she led their group astray by taking a simple wrong turn. Eventually, they managed to go the completely wrong direction entirely. This was fortunate news for Cassie and the Dynamite Soldier, although unaware of their change of luck, as they travelled down through the cavern looking for an escape.
As that duo got underway, continuing their search for the exit, meanwhile, Brutus and the Elven Princess had caught up with the runaway light. Hot on its tail, the two of them panting heavily as they gave chase. Reaching for what they thought was the Lady Defender, the two jumped for it. While the Princess fell flat on her face, Brutus caught it. He threw the torch down angrily, as he growled and snarled like a snorting beast as he brought the caught thing to view. To his shock, Brutus discovered it was but a mere bat. The Princess looked up to find this out for herself before she laughed.
Brutus, embarrassed and angry, turned and shouted, “What’s so funny about this!”
Through her laughter, the Princess collected her composure before she returned to her feet and said, “My, my, Brutus the Mighty fooled by a torch tied to the tail of a bat.”
“And you were fooled as well!”
The Princess crossed her arms and replied, “Maybe, but at least I didn’t make myself out to be a fool in the process. The look on your face when you saw that bat is priceless.”
Brutus threw the bat away, as it then flew away back into the darkness screeching. Brutus huffed loudly, snarling again, more bull than man by now with his anger getting the better of him. He then replied, “Or is it because you’re letting the Lady Defender get away?”
The Princess looked over at him, a tinge of fear shined in her red eyes for just a split-second. “W-what do you mean?”
Brutus’ expression changed from that of an angry bull to a cocky jerk who knew he got someone where they wanted them. “I heard what you said earlier when the Defender and the Wooden Man showed up, calling them…’idiots’? Now why would you do that unless…you were giving them time to escape, but they failed?”
The Princess was shocked; perhaps Brutus wasn’t as dumb as she originally thought. He was alway a bull-headed moron, thirsty for blood and action, never one to figure stuff out on the fly. Regardless, she remained calm, but failed to conceal her fear entirely.
The Princess then replied, changing the subject, “C-come on, we have to find them before they escape.”
She turned as if to go back down the way they came, torch in hand she began to walk through the darkness. Brutus followed closely behind her, but not to follow her lead but rather to continue his accusations. He then suggested, “Or is it to find them before Nightshade and the others find them?”
The Princess was growing angry with these accusations of his. She turned to look over her shoulder and said, “Silence you moron; I will not stand for this any longer!”
She turned back around and then kept moving forward, but Brutus stopped her again when he said as he followed, “Then I guess you wouldn’t mind if I brought this up with Madame Nightshade then, right?”
This was it; he had crossed a line. The Princess froze in place, and Brutus knew he got her this time. He smiled to himself, as she stood there in fear. She then suddenly spun around to face the beast man.
“Listen you, if you start spouting nonsense about me to our superiors, I’ll…” she warned him.
Brutus, on the other hand, was not impressed nor afraid of her threats. He simply rose his battle axe to her throat, cutting her off mid-sentence. He then asked coldly, “You’ll what?”
The Princess stood there in place, blade to her bare throat, her eyes and body shaking in fear. The Minotaur Prince had her cornered; had he figured her out so easily after all this time? She was so careful up to this point, and to be found out by an idiot like Brutus was a disgrace of the highest order.
“Tell me, Princess,” Brutus asked, “are you going to help me find the escape prisoners or not? And until then, I call the shots.”
The Princess nodded carefully, trying not to get nicked by the blade at her throat, as she nodded in defeat. Brutus smirked to himself before he lowered the blade, putting it away. He then spun her back around and pushed her forward. “Onward!” he shouted, knowing she was going to do anything he ordered her too, and he was going to enjoy it. The two of them then went into the darkness in search of the escape prisoners once more. They were no longer equals, as Brutus held all the marbles against the Elven Princess who was no better than a slave to his will.
Meanwhile, Cassie and Dynamite were making their way through the cavern, as the light was becoming better but only due to the lava. They walked side by side in awkward silence, the rumbling of the slow moving magma filling the void. Cassie had shifty eyes, as she looked over at the monster walking beside her, curious about him. She had fought his warriors a couple of times now, but he knew nothing about him or his people. Where did they come from? What was he exactly when he said, ‘Wooden soldier?’ Maybe now was the time to ask these questions; they had time it seemed.
Cassie looked over at him and asked, “Can I ask you a question?”
Without even looking in her direction, he replied bluntly, “Depends.”
“On what?”
“If it’s a stupid question, I won’t dignify it with an answer.” He replied just as harsh and bluntly.
Cassie was visibly upset with this response, as he then pouted, “I’m not an idiot.”
Dynamite rolled his eyes, “I beg to differ.” He looked over at her as he then continued, “Apart from moments, glimmers of intelligence, it doesn’t disguise the fact there’s nothing inside that skull of yours besides air.”
Cassie shot him a glare, as she retorted, “At least I’m not a walking termite farm. Come on, Soldier-Boy, just one question?”
Dynamite rolled his eyes, as he then stopped, crossing his arms before he gave in, “Fine, what?”
Cassie thought about it for a minute. She felt as though she needed to ask a good question to break the ice between them. It was clear there is still hostility between them so she needs dot lightened to mood. She finally came up with a simple question that she thought would do the trick, “What’s your name?”
Dynamite cocked a brow, as he replied, “You know my name, its Dynamite Soldier.”
Cassie laughed slightly, as she responded, “No, no, that’s like your title or warrior name. You don’t expect everyone to just call me by ‘The Lady Defender,’ do you? Let me start by giving you my name: it’s Cassie, Cassie Stormbrook.”
“And I don’t care, nor am I giving you my real name.” Dynamite replied, as he turned to walk away, not wanting to do anything with her anymore.
Cassie gave chase before she immediately caught up, walking beside him once more. “Come on!” she shouted, as she caught up, “I gave you my name, it’s only polite for you to return the favor.”
“I don’t think so.” He shook his head no, as he kept on walking forward
Cassie rolled her eyes yet again, not giving up and being rather insistent on the matter. She kept pace, as she never left his side, “Is it a terrible name?”
“No.”
“Are you embarrassed by it?”
“No.”
“A girls name~?”
“NO!”
“Then what is it?”
Dynamite was finally pushed over the edge, as the conversation and her insistence had pulled his trigger as he then shouted, “Fine! If I give you my real name will you SHUT UP!”
Cassie, standing before the angry monster smiled up at him innocently, nodding like an excited little girl who just won a fight of wills.
Dynamite rolled his eyes, crossed his arms again, as he finally said, “Trevor Willow.”
Cassie paused once the name was given before she began to crack up with laughter. Trevor looked down at her in annoyance, as she was clearing finding something funny about his name. “What’s so funny?”
“I’m sorry,” she replied, giving into the sensation to laugh, as she became louder and louder with laughter, “but what kind of name is ‘Trevor?’”
‘Trevor’ stared at her in silence, as she just went on laughing and laughing. He was more annoyed than ever before because of this. He finally snapped back, “Oh yeah? What kind of name is ‘Stormbrook?’ Sounds like a name someone came up with on the spot as if it was the first thing that came to mind.”
With that, Dynamite Soldier walked off, a sense of triumph flooding his system, as Cassie stood there in place, shocked by what he just said. She chased after him, as she shouted at him, “It’s not a made up name!”
Suddenly, they heard the sounds of oncoming footsteps fast approaching. Dynamite stopped Cassie in her tracks as she caught with him, making her aware of this. He then hurried her behind a row of pillars, the two of them then hid quickly as the footsteps got closer and closer. It was Madame Nightshade’s group, finally getting their way through the caverns in search for Cassie and Trevor. The two of them stayed still behind the pillars of stone, as the group made their way through the room.
“Keep careful watch,” Madame Nightshade ordered her underlings, “the two of them could be anywhere by now. Leave no stone unturned in your search!”
With that, the group dispersed; they began to scan the area bit by bit for them. Dynamite and Cassie looked at one another in fear and panic. They were now literally cornered, but fortunate enough to not have been spotted yet. Nightshade’s imp drew close to their hiding spot, however, as he looked side to side along the stone floor, sniffing he air. Dynamite could see the ugly little thing approaching, and he knew it was only a matter of time before it would give them away to the others. Looking to his left, however, he noticed a way out: the row of stone pillars led all the way to the nearest tunnel and away from Nightshade and her goons. Dynamite smirked to himself, as he then looked back at Cassie, signaling to her there was indeed a way out of this. Cassie leaned over, looking passed him to see if this was indeed true, and sure enough it was! She smiled as she then looked up at the wooden monster and nodded in agreement to his plan. And so, their slow escape from this mess began.
They must be careful not to be spotted. The two of them waited for the imp to look away; the snarling, ugly little beast looked around the floor, picking up small stones as it searched and searched. Every time the imp looked away, Dynamite and Cassie quickly yet quietly stepped over behind the next pillar in the row. Over and over again, the process continued ever so slowly. Cassie was sweating profusely, following the wooden monster, as she tried not to make the slightest sound, carefully planting one foot after the other whenever they switched from pillar to pillar. Dynamite’s heart was racing inside his wooden chest; he couldn’t remember the last time he was so nervous. His breathing was getting heavy. This was, after all, the longest he had ever been in the field. Normally, it would have been a quick fight or a scouting mission, something along those lines, but today was different. Today, he was working hard to get his freedom back alongside his foe the Lady Defender. The nervousness rattled him yet he proceeded from one pillar to another, watching for any signs of movement from either the imp, Nightshade or any of the others, as he and Cassie finally reached he end of the row. The imp had long lost track of their scent, going the other way by the time they reached the entrance of the tunnel, but new danger awaited them.
Dynamite and Cassie silently celebrated to one another, smiling happily as their slow journey to the tunnel entrance had finally come to an end. As they quietly sped into the tunnel, however, they were immediately met by two familiar faces: Brutus and the Elven Princess. The two had apparently circled around from a different passageway, reaching the room from the other side only to wound up running into the enemy along the way back to Nightshade. The two groups stared in shock and awe for a moment. Dynamite’s eyes went wide, as his met the shocked stares of the other three. The awkward silence between the two groups felt tense, as each one of them didn’t want to be the one to break it; all accept Brutus. Brutus eventually smiled brightly.
“Madame Nightshade,” he shouted, alerting the other members of the Dark Alliance to their presence, “The escapees are here!”
Madame Nightshade and the other members quickly turned, their dagger-like stared returning. Cassie, thinking quickly, turned her hands to stone and punched Brutus and the Princess out of them way.
“RUN!” she shouted at Dynamite, as she grabbed him by the hand and dragged him off down the tunnel. Brutus and the Princess regained their footing, merely grazed by the Defender’s blows. Brutus then grabbed the Princess by the throat, pulling her close to his face.
“Listen here,” he grumbled, “if you help me capture those two, I might reconsider telling Nightshade and the others about your traitorous ways.”
The Princess, gasping for air, quickly nodded within his grasp. “Not like…I have much of a…choice.”
Brutus then let her go, ordering her to pursue them. Nightshade and the others quickly joined the pursuit yet still fell behind, as they poured into the tunnel after Brutus, the Princess, Dynamite and the Lady Defender. The sounds of footsteps once again flood the cave system. To Dynamite and Cassie, those sounds were like an ominous, dark tidal wave of dread, as the enemy were hot on their heels once again. And through the darkness, a light of hope appeared. Cassie could see the way out, they were running right for it!
Dynamite, being dragged along by Cassie came to a sudden realization. He then shouted, “Wait, you can turn into stone?”
Cassie turned while she kept running, as she replied, “Yeah, it’s one of my powers. I can merge into the earth, turn into stone, stronger than most people, why does it matter?”
“Because it changes everything! We can fight back!” Dynamite exclaimed.
“I thought you said we couldn’t because of our powers!”
“I did, but I didn’t take into account our other abilities, ones that wouldn’t cause a cave-in!” Dynamite explained.
“But we’re almost out!”
“True, but Sailor Moon and the big dumb bull over there will just keep chasing us even if we make it out!”
Cassie was then pushed to the side by Dynamite once they made it to the cavern which led to the cave’s entrance. “Follow my lead.” Dynamite replied; Cassie looked up at him confused, but nodded as she agreed with him.
Brutus and the Princess, meanwhile, were gaining quickly. They emerged from the tunnel only to be tripped up by a pair of detached wooden arms which latched onto their ankles. The two landed on their faces hard, and as they tried to get up, groaning in pain, Cassie jumped out from behind a pillar.
“Stone Tomb!” she shouted, as her hands turned to large stone ones before they slammed against the floor. Stone spires shot up from the floor around the Elf and Minotaur, encasing them in a prison of stone. Brutus and the Princess could barely move.
Cassie smiled brightly, as she crossed her arms proudly, examining her work. “That was a good plan, Termite-Farm.”
Dynamite Soldier emerged from his hiding spot armless. His arms crawled up to him, reattaching themselves to his sockets as he knelt down to allow them. He then stood next to Cassie as he then said, “Thanks..and don’t call me Termite-Farm.”
It was such a quick turnaround, Brutus and the Elven Princess were completely caught off guard which led to their easy capture, but that might change any moment. The sound of charging footsteps rang forth from the tunnel, as the other members of the Dark Alliance was fast approaching. Brutus smirked, getting cocky, while the Princess looked concerned; Cassie shared her expression of concern, as she looked over at Dynamite, “Got a plan for them? Because I don’t think that trick will work on all of them.”
Dynamite rolled his eyes before he scolded her, “Thanks for stating the obvious.”
“Ha,” Brutus laughed, “you fools! You won’t be able to handle all of us!”
Dynamite sighed in annoyance before he walked around the two enchased foes to the front of the tunnel entrance. “Relax, I got this.” He then replied, as he pulled one of the sticks of dynamite off of his shoulder pad. It lit the moment it came off his shoulder. Like someone dunking a basketball, he threw the lit stick of dynamite into the tunnel. Of course they were taken by surprise — most likely because none of them knew what dynamite was — as a large, sudden explosion collapse the tunnel before they even got halfway. They were cut off from their companions and now had to find another way around.
Dynamite dusted his hands, as he turned to the others as he said, “That was easy enough.” Walking passed Brutus, he then replied, “So much for back-up. Now, if you excuse me, I’m getting bored with all of this.” The two girls and Brutus stared on in disbelief, wide-eyed and stunned by what just happened. Regardless, Cassie turned and followed Dynamite, as the two of them began to head for the exit, reaching it at long last.
Brutus growled; he watched as the two of them were about to exit the lair. His continued growl soon trailed off into a roar which rang out through the cavern. The rocks enchasing Brutus began to crack and give way, and soon he was free with a sudden burst of dust and debris. Dynamite and Cassie turned as they were about to step out of the cave shocked by this turn of event. Brutus then began to charge at Dynamite at breakneck speed. Cassie, acting quickly, pushed the monster out of the way, taking the brunt of Brutus’ attack head on, as both of them went flying out of the cave entrance. Cassie landed on her back once Brutus rolled off of her after they landed roughly.As Cassie got back up, grunting in pain and clutching her stomach, she looked around at her new surroundings. She was now in a green, hilly field with moss cover boulders littering the field. She then looked to her left; there was a cliff, as she could hear the ocean waves echoing from afar. Cassie then turned back to the battle ready Brutus who stared back with reddening eyes out for blood. Cassie’s hands grew larger with three fingers, buffing up to almost club-like weapons. She and Brutus then clashed in their new battlefield.
Back in the cave, Dynamite got up again, dusting himself off as he leaned over the cavern entrance. He watched on as Brutus and Cassie as their hands clasped together, as they trie to push against the other, neither one giving an inch. Dynamite was not impressed, however, he shook his head, “That stupid girl; I could’ve taken the hit.”
“Please!” Suddenly shouted the Elf Princess, getting the attention of the wooden monster who then turned to face her, “Get me out of here so I can help!”
Dynamite stared on in confusion before he huffed and crossed his arms, “Why should I? She’s the enemy, why should you care what happens to the Defender? And on top of that, what is she to you?”
“W-What do you mean…?”
“Come on, clearly you two are rivals, but you’re acting as if you two are something more like as friends or something. I mean, for crying out loud, you have been saving her sorry butt all day and don’t think for a moment I haven’t noticed!” Dynamite confronted her.
The Elven Princess looked stunned, blinking from the shock. The jig was up for her, and her secret was out by this complete stranger she just met. She had kept it from the others for years without getting caught, but now not only was Brutus suspicious, but this wooden man had caught on so easily to her scheme. “Look…” she finally said, her head hanging low as her eyes went to the floor, as she didn’t want to look at him, “maybe you’re right, I do think of her as more than some rival, but that’s not what’s important right now!”
Dynamite looked on, listening intently, as she then continued, “What is important is that the two fo us help her now! I’m not the only one who has been doing some saving today; Cassie just saved you from Brutus’ charge. Don’t you dare tell me that means nothing to you! So free me from this stone, and together we can help Cassie defeat Brutus and be rid of him!”
Dynamite paused for a while, as he scratched his chin thinking her proposal over. “You know what?” He finally asked, “I don’t need your help. I can take the stupid bull myself.” He then turned as he began to leave the cave once more.
The Princess went wide-eyed once more as she then shouted, “Y-You c-can’t just leave me here!”
“Already doing that,” Dynamite coldly replied without turning to face her as he walked to the cave entrance.
“You jerk!”
“Been called worse!” Dynamite shouted back, as he finally left the cave. As he made it to the sunlight again after hours in those caverns, Dynamite inspected the battlefield before his eyes trailed back to Cassie and Brutus duking it out. Dynamite then brought his left wrist up to his face and then pulled the sleeve of his uniform down a bit to reveal a small, watch-like communication/locator device. It hadn’t worked in the cave because the signal was blocked the thick layers of stone since he was underground which would explain why the Monster Empire hadn’t come and rescued him. As he examined the device, two small lights, one green and one red, turned on which indicated that the signal was getting through to the Father-ship.
“Great, this thing can reach me through the deepest depths of space, but not through a few hundred feet underground? I need to report that defect to Isaac.” Dynamite said to himself, as he was in no hurry to help Cassie with her fight, but he was just about to get to it now that the calvary was on the way.
Cassie was thrown about by the blood thirsty Minotaur. She rolled along the ground, as she was thrown to the side. Brutus was about to strike with his battle axe, as he shouted, “Now it is time to end this once and for all!” As he brought the axe overhead, Cassie braced herself for the impact yet as the axe began to be swung down, Dynamite suddenly lunged forward as quick as a flash, appearing next to the shocked and stated brute. His wooden fist then smashed into the side of Brutus’ head, as Dynamite then shouted, “Ten-Stick Punch!” With that, another explosion occurred, blasting the Minotaur and sending him hurdling through the air a good hundred yards or so before he landed with a loud thump.
Cassie looked up at the monster who had just saved her. “You’re late.” She told him, as he offered his hand before she took it and got back up.
“Only fashionably late,” he then joked with a cocky grin. Cassie laughed a little; she hadn’t seen this side to him at all so it was nice to see it, this lighter side to an otherwise stiff as a board soldier. The banter was short lived, however, as Brutus returned to his feet once more, smoke bellowing from the side of his face where Dynamite punched him. The attack, it would seem, only made the brute even more angry. The Minotaur roared yet again, shaking the ground beneath them.
“Are you kidding me? How durable is this guy!” Dynamite shouted in disbelief.
“He’s a tough one to bring down, always been, so it’ll take a lot more than one punch to keep him down.” Cassie explained as she then got battle ready again, getting into a stance.
“Seriously?” Dynamite asked, “I just hit with the explosive force of ten sticks of dynamite! That would shred a normal man to pieces! What, do minotaurs have bones of steel or something?”
“I don’t know…but HERE HE COMES!” Cassie replied, and sure enough Brutus was charging yet again. Horns first, Brutus was about to ram them head on. He took Dynamite first who was the most caught off-guard, and who then literally grabbed the bull by the horns, as he was pushed backwards. His heels dug trails into the dirt, as Cassie looked on in shock. She then punched the ground, causing a pillar go stone to come up from the ground, as it smacked Brutus in the face. Dynamite let go when Brutus was stopped by the pillar of stone, as he was flung backwards and then he rolled back to his feet. He jumped into the air, and with a kick with the force of twenty sticks of TNT behind it. His foot came down onto the top of the Bull’s head, as another explosion caused a dust cloud to engulf the two. Cassie coughed loudly, she waved her fists side to side to try and clear the smoke away. A figure emerged form the smoke. At first, she couldn’t see who it was so she tensed up, getting back into that stance again. Sure enough, however, it was Dynamite, but he was charred like leftover firewood. Cassie stared on in amazement that he could still stand yet before her very eyes he was healing rapidly. In a flash of white light, he was back to normal.
“How did you do that?” Cassie said, as Dynamite walked up to her as if he did nothing special.
“All Monsters have regenerative abilities.” Dynamite explained, but Cassie gave him a look which clearly translated she didn’t understood what he just said. “My mind heals quick.” He explained in simpler words; Cassie nodded as she finally got it. “You think that got him? Dynamite then questioned.
“Hard to say, but best to be on our guard.” Cassie replied. And sure enough, she was right as Brutus suddenly jumped from the smoke, tackling the two of them while they were not paying attention. As the fell, the two fo them kicked the mad cow off of them, sending him falling through the air several feet onto his back. The pair, in turned, also fell onto their backs regardless of throwing Brutus off of them.
As they returned to their feet yet again, Dynamite asked, “How resilient is this guy?”
Brutus rolled quickly back to his feet, and was about to charge again when a familiar attack sent him flying once more.
“I know that attack…” Cassie said, and she and Dynamite looked back to the cave entrance to discover the Elven Princess had gotten herself free from her stone prison. She had come to the aid of the hero and the Monster. She ran up to them, glad to see they were all right for the most part.
“I see you got free?” Dynamite said as she joined them.
“Yeah, no thanks to you.” The Princess retorted.
“Can we save the drama for later? The Bull’s getting back up!” Cassie exclaimed, and again Brutus returned to his feet. Upon seeing the Elven Princess standing with the arch foe of the Dark Alliance, his eyes flashed with red again.
“Princess, you traitor!” he shouted and roared again.
Dynamite looked at the two women before he asked, “So what’s the plan?”
“We attack together and make him fall for good.” The Princess replied.
“Yeah, tried that, didn’t work. Got any BETTER plans?” Dynamite responded starkly.
The Elven Princess spun her head around to stare at Dynamite angrily. She then grabbed him by his pointy nose, taking his head off his neck. As Dynamite tried to ask what she was doing, she then hurled the head at Brutus was again charging at them. Head to head, Dynamite’s hit Brutus between the eyes before bouncing and rolling away on the ground. The Princess, while Brutus was distracted by the pain of getting hit in the face with the wooden, ball-like object, walked right up to Brutus and sent him flying again. In midair, Cassie landed a solid blow with her stone fist right into Brutus’ face. Using gravity to her advantage, she forced Brutus into the ground with such force it left a crater where they landed with Brutus smack-dab in the middle. Cassie walked out of the crater pleased with her work while Dynamite’s body finally retrieved his head once it had rolled back to his feet.
Once his head was put back onto his neck, as snarled at the elf girl and scolded, “Don’t you ever use my head like a volley ball ever again!”
At first, the Elven Princess wasn’t phased by his whining, but then she got a puzzling look upon her face once she had processed what he had just said. She turned to him and asked, “What’s a volley ball?”
As Cassie walked out of the crater, Brutus sprang up from the ground, roaring loudly yet again. Cassie turned, looking at him in annoyance before she raised her hand up for her next move. “Stone Trap,” she said as she quickly closed her hand into a fist. Four stone spires of stone shot out of the ground, surrounding Brutus, as they soon closed in on him. Brutus smirked, however, as she grabbed his axe once more and sun around. This impromptu attack dismantled Cassie’s, as Brutus chopped down the stone pillars as if they were simple trees. Brutus then jumped up in the air, Cassie still stunned by how easily her main finishing move was countered, and the bull warrior, axe overhead, came falling down towards her. He was merely flung back by the Elven Princess who struck him with her usual attack yet again. Cassie turned to see the elf standing just yards away behind her, smoke coming off the top of her scepter.
“You’re welcome.” The Princess bluntly and coldly replied.
“I didn’t ask for your help!” Cassie snapped back, angered at how her most hated rival and foe saved her.
“Get use to it.” The elf girl replied, as she walked over to Cassie’s side.
Brutus yet again returned to his feet. He had become more and more wobbly on his feet, the battle took a toll on him and it was showing. His breathing was becoming heavier and heavier; he stood there by the edge of the cliff where he had landed, arms hung at his sides.
“He’s in a rage,” the Princess explained, “nothing will stop him until he destroys the object of his anger. All we can do is slow him down enough to get away.”
Cassie then got an idea, a look of sudden realization appeared upon her face. “We’re on a cliffside…” she said to herself, as she then had her arms turn into stone once more. Her arms grew outwards and downwards, merging into the ground. Cassie closed her eyes, concentrating on what laid deep within the ground beneath them. She slowed her breathing, as she tried to find IT. Brutus stayed in place, trying to catch his breath so he may be able to strike his foes down in the name of the Dark Alliance. Brutus then raised his voices to the sky, roaring loudly with that same, animalistic battle cry before he charged again.
The Princess’ blood red eyes grew wide out of fear, as she turned to Cassie and said nervously, “Hurry it up…”
Cassie’s eyes twitched, as she struggled to find what she was looking for. The thunderous stomped of the charging bull grew closer. It was incredibly disruptive to her concentrating. Finally, she found it: a fault in the ground. Cassie’s voice rang out, as she broke the fault, pressing against the ground with all her mighty. The ground cracked, the sound of splitting rock became as thunderous as the charing bull’s footsteps. Brutus was stopped in his tracks, as he became unbalanced as the ground dropped beneath him yet he did not fall into the ocean like Cassie had hoped. Cassie opened her eyes, shocked when she Brutus, startled but very much alive, stood just a few feet in front of her. He seemed shortened down, having to look up at the two girls for the first time as the ground had collapse yet didn’t crumbled completely. Brutus slowly smiled before it grew into a laugh, one filled with cocky joyousness that he was still alive. He began to approach the two girls, out for blood, but before he could take another step, a whistle drew his attention. The crazed bull and the girls looked to the side to find Dynamite Soldier standing at where the crack began on the far end of the cliff. The Monster took another stick of dynamite from his shoulder and then he dropped it into the crack. Brutus gasped, knowing now what that red stick was capable no. He tried to scramble to safety, but the blast went off as Dynamite held his fingers to his ears to keep them covered. The ground quickly gave way beneath Brutus. He then fell through the ground, stone and debris rained down all around him, as he fell into the rocky waters below. That was the end of Prince Brutus of the minotaurs who screamed all the way down as he fell to a watery grave.
Dynamite walked to the girls, staring down at their handiwork before he said, “He was one durable bull, but not even HE can get back up from something like that!” He dusted his hands and walked away from the cliff’s edge. Cassie and the Elf looked on in shock, stared at one another, and then finally followed him away from he edge. The Princess noticed something out of the corner of her eye; it was Brutus’ axe. She picked it up, stared down at it coldly. She was disgusted by it, as she grimaced as she stared down at it. She then held it over the cliff before letting it fall into the ocean to be reunited with its master. She watched as it landed in the rocky depths below. The Princess turned away from the edge and joined the others. Her secret was safe once again; she knew Dynamite wouldn’t bother to expose her to the others so she was confident her secret would be kept.
Lady Nightshade and the other members of the Dark Alliance finally showed up on the scene. The bat woman’s eyes grimace, as she entered the sunlight. Th Elf King and the other members followed her out of their lair. They all looked at the Elven Princess perplexed; they all wondered the same thing but only Nightshade dared to asked after moments of awkward silence, “Where’s Brutus?”
The Elven Princess, despite her loyalties, turned to the Dark Alliance leader before she pointed at Cassie and Dynamite and then spoke, “They killed him. He lured her to the side of the cliff before collapsing the ground beneath him.”
“That would explained what felt like a small earthquake we felt on the way up here.” Anna Cobra turned to the others and said, content with this assumption as the others nodded in agreement with one another. All seemed pleased with this explanation, all but Nightshade. Her eyes leered at the Princess as she joined the rest of them.
“Then we must avenge him.” Lady Nightshade replied, ignoring her growing suspicions and deciding to focus on this moment instead. Cassie appeared worried, as her long time enemies seemed ready to strike them where she stood but Dynamite was undeterred. He stood in place, arms crossed over his chest, not moving an inch.
“And what makes you think you’re capable of accomplishing that?” Dynamite asked sternly.
“Why, simple my wooden friend,” Nightshade replied, “we out number you.”
Dynamite cocked a grin before his wrist communicator started beeping. This caught the others off guard; they had never heard such a noise before. They looked around to see where it was coming from before their eyes, Cassie’s as well, landed on Dynamite who brought his wrist to his chin and looked down at a strange grayish thing he was wearing. Dynamite’s gin turned into a wide smile and he clearly knew something the others did not.
Cassie looked up at Dynamite in bewilder, “What is that?”
Without looking at her, he replied, “A sign of good things to come.” He then looked straight at Lady Nightshade and continued, “Hey, Nightshade! You might want to redo the math.”
Nightshade couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She thought he was going mad or something, but that was before she was cut off before sh can utter a retort by the roar of engines overhead. Two small carrier ships flew right over the Dark Alliance. A huge gust of wind bellowed around Dynamite and Cassie, as the two ships landed behind them. The engines died down and the doors opened. Wooden Soldiers came marching out of the ships in rows of two side-by-side. They all looked alike, similar in appearance to Dynamite Soldier, but head and shoulders shorter. Instead of sharp, triangular eyes with visible pupils, these soldiers all had simple, tiny black dots for eyes. Their cheeks with red circles, and their mouths were a small, thin black line about an inch long. Their noses were not like Dynamite’s which was a long, thicker cylinder which got smaller form base-to-tip. Instead, their noses were made out of three segments of cylinders, getting smaller and smaller the further away from the face it got. They all wore matching uniforms, the imperial uniform of the wooden soldiers: blue in color with tall, cylinder hats, black boots, black belts with gold buckles, and goldenrod shoulder pads. These were the numerous, durable, combat ready soldiers of the Monster Empire.
They surrounded Dynamite and Cassie, creating a semi-circle formation. Those in the front knelt down while those standing behind them forming ranks. They aimed their guns, the standard imperial rifle with a triangular built-in bayonet, at the Dark Alliance. The terrestrial beings had no idea what to think about all that just happened. Even Cassie stood there wide-eyed, surrounded by all these wooden men. Nightshade then huffed and smirked, trying to act as those she wasn’t affected by this sudden development.
“You think WE are scared of a few toy soldiers with spears?” Nightshade did her signature laugh with her fan like fingers over her lips and asked.
Th Elf King drew his sword and took a step forward in aggression. This only served tp prompt one of the soldiers to open fire and with a single laser blast, he shot the King’s sword in two. The medieval beings were startled by the sound of the gun firing before staring at the heated piece of metal that was once a royal blade. The Elven Princess was completely surprised. That sword was passed down from King to King, and to see it destroyed so easily by this strange new weapon blew her mind. Nightshade looked on just surprised; she had eaten her words so quickly it would seem.
“For the record,” Dynamite replied, “those aren’t spears. Anyway, Nightshade, since you were so eager to make a deal with me earlier, let’s make one then. You and your little friends go back into your little hole, and we’ll call it a day, how about that?”
Nightshade stood in silence for a few moments, as she thought it over. Eventually she brought her hand up to her mouth yet again and laughed. “Fine, we shall take your offer, but next time you and the Lady Defender will be the ones to be brought to an early grave.” She then turned and went back into the cave with the others close behind her. The battle was over so quickly with only a single shot fired.
“That was…easy I guess.” Cassie replied only to have the Wooden Soldiers turn on her with their guns now all aimed at her. Cassie put her hands up, scared at this sudden turn of events.
“Lt. General, so glad you’re all right.” A Wooden Soldier with an eye-patch over his left eye walked up to Dynamite.
“Ah, Lt. Maple,” Dynamite immediately recognized and shook his hand, “so good to see you. What took you so long?”
“Well, sir, we lost all visual contact with you the moment that strange Magical Girl elf attacked you. After that, the King and Prime Minster tried scanning the planet for hours in the hopes to find you, but before the scanning was complete, your communicators signal returned on our monitors so the King ordered our troop to come and retrieve you.” Lt. Maple explained. He then looked over at Cassie, “What should we do with her, sir?”
Dynamite looked over back as Cassie. He stared at her for what seemed like an eternity before he finally responded, “Leave her alone.”
“But sir, she is the enemy.” Lt. Maple replied, stunned by such an order to come from Dynamite Soldier.
“That’s an order, Lieutenant, you better listen.” And with that, Lt. Maple dropped it before ordering the men to board the hips. Cassie blinked, amazed at how Dynamite was letting her go.
As the two were left alone, the other wooden monsters waiting for their Lt. General to join them, Cassie asked him, “Why are you doing this?”
Dynamite shrugged before he put his hands behind his back and said, “Because you saved my life a few times back there. I felt as though I needed to repay the favor at least one more time to make sure we’re even.”
Cassie nodded, amazed at what he was saying. She felt touched by his words, humbled by his kindness. He then continued before he offered his hand, “I can’t believe I’m saying this…but it was good working with you.” Cassie looked down at his hand, puzzled by what she was supposed to do with it. “It’s called a handshake, you put your hand in mine and go up and down.”
Cassie nodded again before she did just that. She smiled brightly, as they shook hands. Dynamite then turned and walked toward the transport ships. “See you later, Wood-Pulp!” Dynamite simply waved without looking back, as he boarded the ship. The engines roared back to life, as the ships them lifted off, soaring into the sky, and Cassie was left alone. She smiled in awe, staring off the ships soon disappeared in a blink of an eye. It was an incredible sight.
“Dang it…” she realized, as it dawned on her that maybe she should have asked for a ride, her since of wonder turned to confusion and disappointment, “now I have to walk home.”
Hours later and Cassie was finally back in Alladornia. She filthy, exhausted, but most of all she needed a drink. Once back in town, she immediately walked straight to the tavern.
Briana smiled peacefully, as she cleaned the counters in the empty tavern. Her shift had just started and there was no customers in sight until her best customer kicked open the door.
“…I’m back…” a tired Cassie replied as she walked through the doorway. Briana looked up to find her friend in shambles. She went to her aid right away. “My gosh, Cassie, what happened! You’re a wreck!” She said, as she helped Cassie to her favorite seat.
“Whatever happened to customer service?” Casie asked sarcastically.
Briana, however, ignored her quips and proceeded to help her still. “Now,” she replied once Cassie was seated, “you just relax and I’ll get you a drink on the house.”
As Briana went back to the counter to fetch her friend a glass of water, Cassie smiled and thank her. “You know, Briana,” The exhausted Cassie said, leaning back in her chair to try and get comfortable, sighing blissfully, “you’re the best friend a girl ever had.”
Briana froze in place. She hadn’t expect to hear something as kind as this it meant a lot to know that Cassie thought of her as a friend. Briana smiled shyly to herself while behind the counter. She then poured her a glass of water and carried it back to her friend. “Now,” Briana asked, as she fiddled around with that red, heart-shaped stone on her necklace, and then gave Cassie the glass of water to drink, who then proceeded to drink the whole thing in one long gulp, “tell me everything.”

To Be Continued…