The War Rages On

Author's POV

Hunter crashed into debris as he tried to fight off Hakiro, he groaned in pain as he tried getting back up again. The other animals couldn't do much since they were all pretty injured and fatigued, but they couldn't just let Hunter get hurt. Even if some of them despise him.

"We have to help him in some way." Jake said to the others. "I may not like him, but he's a jammer too." Jake added, everyone else nodded quietly, Jake glanced at Swift again, feeling his heart clenching at how lifeless she was.

"But how can we help him?" Kyle asked, "Hakiro's too strong, he has the power of almost every Gem, except the Water Gem." Kyle explained, some of them already starting to doubt any hope, "Maybe all we could do is protect the Water Gem.."

"That's not a bad idea.." Izzy spoke softly, "But what will we do if it gets taken?" She asked, nobody answered, verbally at least. Their eyes are already saying it's the end, so Izzy's ears went down and she trembled. "I-It was a great life.." She stuttered, Jake rushed to her side and comforted her, "A-All the people I have k-known.."

"Izzy.." Jake trailed, trying to stop her from crying.

"I-I'm scared.." Izzy sobbed, covering her face and letting her tail wrap around her shaking body. "I-I don't w-wanna leave so soon.." Jake's ears went back and he hugged Izzy, in an attempt to comfort her. Izzy sobbed quietly, everyone felt scared and worried as well, Kyle scanned over the surroundings.

The buildings were destroyed, the grounds were cracked and broken, Mira's statue was cracked and shattered, the plants were dead, and the sky was already turning orange. It was almost night time. They've been fighting for almost the whole day, and yet.. they couldn't stop it. Kyle sighed, both in exhaustion and loss of hope. At least.. we gave it our all.. He thought sadly, reminiscing memories.

Hunter suddenly crashed into where they are and he was groaning, he had fresh scars and bruises around his body but he stood up stubbornly. Growling at his father, his eyes and paws glowed faintly with all the energy and strength he has left. Hakiro had bruises as well, but they weren't as bad as Hunter's. Throughout the time the Queen was just in the sky, recruiting some of her subjects that survived and didn't move.

Hunter panted heavily, his body aching and chest heaving heavily. "Y-You.." He panted, Hakiro looked displeased, "Y-You can never.. get your paws.. on that Gem.." He finished, narrowing his eyes. Hakiro chuckled bitterly.

"Oh, I'll do anything to get it, even if it means killing you." Hakiro said, smiling darkly.

He's willing to kill Hunter?! Jake thought, surprised and in disbelief. Shoot..

"This is your last chance, give up the Gem, and I might consider sparing your lives once I finish my job." Hakiro said, looking slightly tired. Nobody said anything or moved, everyone just stared at Hakiro silently, not wanting to give up the Gem. "...Alright, then. I guess I'll have to kill all of you for that."

Meanwhile...

The Spirit World was a huge underground world that nobody else knew existed, it was a bright place, with crystals illuminating it's corners and giving the cave life. Swift walked silently beside her grandmother, her head hung low but she was facing up, she couldn't shake off her uneasy feeling that her friends and family weren't safe at all. But she kept quiet, Kira's tail wrapped around Swift to reassure her that she's alright.

"Whoa.." Swift said in awe of the huge place. Kira chuckled.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Kira asked, "When I found this place, I didn't even believe it was real, it was just so beautiful and mesmerizing." Kira said, right now they were walking down, a huge waterfall was at the center of the cave, surrounded by cherry blossoms and bright crystals.

Swift said nothing else, she was fascinated by her surroundings but she can't just help but think about her friends and family left in the real world. She felt disappointed and sad that she failed them, as a friend and family member. She was dragged from her thoughts when something suddenly swooshed by her, she was startled so she jumped, Kira caught her in time.

"W-What's that?" Swift asked, looking at the flying creature that resembles a dragon, but was glowing brightly and is relatively not very big in size. It's almost like a flying serpent, except with no wings.

"It's just a Flight Spirit, young one. They guide lost souls to The Spirit World, I, myself was guided by one." Kira explained, Swift saw many more Flight Spirits flying all around the beautiful haven. It was beyond fascinating. They continued walking towards the center where she saw many animals, giraffes, eagles, you name it.

"Wow..." Swift murmured in awe. "How long have you stayed here..?"

"I left when you were barely three years old, so it's been.. more than seven years." Kira explained, she still felt guilty for leaving her only granddaughter. "I already know this place very well, I could show you around, if you want, young one. But I want you to meet some animals." She fished, Swift nodded and went on with her grandmother.

Later...

"We're here." Kira said after a while of walking, they arrived at a medium sized plain-like space, it was surrounded by plants, cherry blossoms and a beautiful river flowing from the waterfall. "Wait here, I'll be back, Swift."

Swift sat down on the soft grass as she watched her grandmother walk into a medium sized hut, she glanced around and saw a lot of animals, talking and laughing together. She smiled softly, in sadness, she already missed her friends and family. I hope you guys are okay...

"Swift?"

Swift jumped a little when she heard her grandmother call her, she was standing in front of the hut, "Come in, please." She said, Swift nodded and skipped over to the hut, but she looked back again. She saw a sort of familiar figure in the distance by the waterfall, but she couldn't see it properly so she just went in with her grandmother. The hut was relatively big inside, with clean furniture, walls, floors and a comfy atmosphere.

"What is it, Grandma..?" Swift asked, Kira stopped then looked in front of her. Swift was confused, until she looked as well, what she saw, shocked her. There stood, four of the other Magic Alphas, they stood proudly and had their heads high. They all bowed to Kira, she bowed back as paying each other respect. Swift felt very low, so she bowed down lower than how she should, her tail flopped down and her ears laid back.

"Thank you, Swift." One of the Alphas spoke, smiling.

"H-How do you know my name..? Ms...?" Swift asked, looking up at the light green eagle Alpha.

"Kira has told of you, said you were her granddaughter who has kept the Water Gem in good hands." The lion Magic Alpha spoke, his mane made him look intimidatingly huge, Swift was smaller than everyone so she felt very shy and a little vulnerable. "Do not be afraid, young one. All is in good hands."

"Where is the Water Gem?" The arctic fox Alpha asked, Swift reached for her key, but it wasn't with her. She silently panicked. The arctic fox raised an eye ridge, "...Well?"

"Akina, be kind to the young fox, she is troubled." The lion Alpha said, Akina, the arctic fox nodded and glanced at Swift with a softer look. "But I have to ask, young Swift, where is the Water Gem if what Kira said is true?"

"I-It's in my heart necklace b-but.. i-it was gone when I-I woke up.." Swift stuttered, nervously. She hid her head in her paws as she braced for the worse. Kira's paw caressed her head softly. "I-I.."

"Where do you think it is, Kira?" Akina asked, "We cannot risk it to fall unto the evil king's paws." She added.

"Are you sure nobody took it, Swift?" Kira asked her granddaughter. Swift nodded but didn't move too much, her tail wrapped around her small body as she shook slightly. Kira sighed, "If it's not here, where could it be?"

"Wait." A voice stopped everyone, it was male, a deep male voice. Everyone else turned around, only Swift looked up and wiped her tears away. Behind them was a tall arctic wolf, he had a scar on his right eye and lost half his tail, he was as tall as the other Magic Alphas. "I think I know a possibility."

"..Who are you?" The lion Alpha asked, questionably and slightly wary. "You seem oddly familiar, nonetheless.."

The arctic wolf bowed slightly, then spoke again. "I'm Adrian, the Dark Magic Alpha.." Then the eagle Alpha had sudden realization.

"You're the voice that we heard when the Dark Magic was formed then?" The eagle asked, Adrian nodded. "But, how is it that we never saw you like this before?" The other Alphas looked at Adrian for an explanation. He cleared his throat.

"Well," He started, "Dark Magic was, and still is, known to be evil, while the other elements are known to be pure, and it takes longer to control. When I, accidentally, discovered Dark Magic, it controlled me like I was a puppet on strings, it made me do horrific things, until I learned how to control it. I wasn't like this before, I didn't have my scar or half my tail, it was some effects of what Dark Magic made me do." Adrian paused, "Dark Magic is very dangerous, it can corrupt a jammer's soul, control their minds or even worse.. drain their life completely."

The last sentence made Swift shiver, it was chilling enough to make her wonder how Hunter was able to cope with Dark Magic in the first place, but she's lucky that he could control it's power.

"So.. you weren't an Alpha when the Gem was first formed...?" Akina asked, Adrian nodded. "When was your time as Alpha?"

"It took me a very long time to understand Dark Magic, it was only until the king was banished when I learned to control it." Adrian said, he glanced at Swift, his ears perked up slightly. "I think I know how to find that necklace of yours."

"H-How?" Swift asked, feeling desperate.

"From experience, before I passed, I also kept the Dark Magic Gem safely in a collar durable enough to sustain its power. When I woke up after death, it wasn't with me, until I saw it with my deceased older brother. In my theory, when a jammer died with an accessory, and they already have a family member or close friend that died.. that accessory will appear to that family member or friend, most likely to indicate you're about to enter The Spirit World." Adrian said.

Swift thought about it, she tried thinking of who could've gotten it, a lot of her family passed, like her grandparents and great grandparents. But the creak of the front door stopped her from thinking.

"Mom, I'm back-"

Swift's eyes widened when she heard an all too familiar voice, she stood up then looked back. There, standing a few meters away from her, was someone she loved, and deeply wished could come back. The fox in front of the door had their eyes wide, as well, she was shocked, but at the same time.. about to cry. Swift's eyes started to water.

"S-Swift..?" Savannah called, a tear escaping her eyes, "T-This can't be true.. M-Mom, i-is.. that..?" Savannah looked up at Kira, Kira nodded, both sadly and happily. Savannah's paw went to her mouth and she rushed towards Swift, Swift ran as well and they met in the middle, Savannah immediately wrapped her paws around Swift and brought her to her chest. And they let their emotions loose. "S-Swift.. o-oh my sweet daughter.."

"M-Mom.." Swift stuttered and buried her face in her mom's chest, she felt happy, yet sad at the same time since her appearance here meant she was dead. Tears rolled down her face as she realized how much she missed her biological mom, "Y-You're here.. Y-You're r-really here.."

"Of course I am, sweetie.." Savannah smiled, and pulled away a little to look at her daughter with loving eyes. "You've grown so much.." Kira, and the other Alphas smiled softly. They were all parents, actually, and also realized how much they miss their children. "But.. this means.. you're.." Savannah's wars went down slightly, and her tail wrapped around Swift.

"I-I know.. A-And.. I-I'm sorry.." Swift cried, her mother's paw wiped her tears away, "D-Dad and Hunter are left there.." Savannah smiled to ease Swift's feelings.

"There's no need to be sorry, Swift. Mom has told me what you've done for and at Jamaa Academy, if anything, you should be proud." Savannah said.

"B-But.." Swift trailed, but her mother shushed her gently, Swift's ears drooped.

"It's alright, my daughter.." Savannah said softly, caressing Swift's head gently like she used to do when Swift was a pup. Swift relaxed a little, "We can find a way to bring you back.. Plus.." Savannah paused, Swift looked up, curious. Until Savannah took out her heart necklace, in one piece. "I got this."

Swift breathed out a sigh of relief, and got it gratefully, then wore it. She unlocked it and the Gem was safe, only not glowing like it should. "Y-You got this right..?"

"Yes, I didn't quite know how or why, but it reminded me of you so much. So I kept it ever since." Savannah smiled.

"Now that it's found, Adrian why don't you explain how you think you could send back Swift?" Kira said.

"Of course, everyone, follow me." Adrian said and they all walked out of the hut.

To Be Continued...

Word Count: 2356 words (New record :o)

Aww, happy mother and daughter reunion :3