I’m so glad it’s back!  I’ve really missed it.  Really looking forward to the continuation of this Solowrite!

yay here it is

Part Nine

Some people are very, very fortunate to be alive.

One of these people thanks the stars every night for keeping them here on the planet, because their brush with Death was far more than a brush.
In fact, they’re practically dead already. But one thing keeps them tied to life- a memory.

A memory of hope.
Of strength.
Of courage against all odds.

As the prisoner slumps against the bars of their cell, their emaciated body scarred from the recent whips (apparently, you’re not allowed to say “I would murder a bacon sandwich” in the royal prison) and bruised from the cold metal bars.
Again, they replayed the scene in their head.
Again, they reminded themself to have hope.
If eleven teenagers could survive a dance with Death, why can’t I?

-=-

Ameilya was desperate for something to change. She kept rewatching the scene, each time fighting back desperate tears as the checkered floor turned redder from her sister’s blood, shiny from the wetness building in her eyes.
Oh, Maia… I miss you, even though this is just a dream.
Wait-

A dream-

Amaia was reduced to the point of screaming, screaming at the sky, at the trees, at the doctors, at the metal table, at everything and anything to 

MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP, I DON’T WANT TO BE STUCK IN THIS DREAM
This… dream?

Oh-
A dream-

Robyn was cautious, but she turned her back. Maybe she could stop the fear that was tumbling in her stomach by avoiding the Fake Robyn.
Shiny black hands reached for her and sharply pushed her around, so that she was facing Fake Robyn as Fake Robyn killed Cleft and Taurin again.
Wait, she killed them again? But how could she if it wasn’t a dream?

A dream-

Forrest thought he heard something- perhaps a whisper. But it was gone, so he turned back towards the ghosts of his sister and mother, preparing himself for another barrage of insults.
Instead he found nothing.
The clearing fell away into inky darkness, the kind that made you shiver.
Forrest stepped back.
...Just a failure, that’s all you are!

His mom was back. Nemus too.
But the whispers kept coming, sharper now, until Forrest heard them loud and clear.

A dream-

Bradley tried to fight the sphere, but it wouldn’t let him out. How infuriating was that?!? He had a super-powerful magic sphere of energy, but he couldn’t even control it!
Shhhh- 

Bradley blinked.
SHHH-

There it came again, the weird whisper.
BE QUIET! YOU NEED TO HEAR!

It sounded like Lizzie.
Bradley shut up.

And then he heard it.

A dream-

Willa, despite the fear, was attacking the beast.
Her only available weapons were her hands and a tree branch, but she made do, whacking the Riverias until she got sucked into the void again.
It got boring after three seconds.
Wont something brighten up my

She got sucked into the void.

Day? This is freaking boring, Thryxx.
She got her wish: A voice echoed around her.

Then listen!

“Okay,” Willa thought. And she listened.

A dream-

Taurin was curled on the floor beneath the tables, shaking.
He had tried so hard to not look but the slimy blackness pushed him out every five seconds, determined to torture him.
But then he heard Robyn’s voice (accompanied by a pinkness in his cheeks).

Hey, Taurin, can you hear me? Yes? No? Whatever. Anyways, its a dream.

“What the- that makes no sense!” Taurin said, his voice echoing around the room.
“Of course its a dream! Its not like this is real! It cant be-” 

And then everything

turned

black.

Arja found herself floating.
It was an eerie sensation, to be suspended in the darkness while screams echoed around her, screams that sounded like her brother.
But with a rushing sound, Arja fell as the screams stopped, and she opened her eyes to see the shadow horses gone, no more scenes of Taurin dying.
Wait- but how did she get out? How did they break the spell?

Robyn, who was looking queasy, managed to smile at her and nod to Taurin.
Her brother responded with a whispered “I’ll tell you later”, which made Arja feel like something big had happened.
Indeed- something had.

They had escaped the Nyghtmares.
Which no one ever does.
So, of course Thryxx was staring at Arja like he had just eaten a very, very spicy ghost pepper.
Oh man, his face is red.
Arja glanced over at Taurin again. He wasn't there.
She felt a surge of panic before spotting Robyn and Taurin, who were concealed behind a banner and were slowly making their way up to the throne.
Good idea, brother. Arja thought, starting to walk slowly towards the wall. Thryxx was distracted by the sight of five midnight-black horseshoes that lay quietly on the floor, their occupants destroyed forever.
Serves him right. Arja ducked behind a pillar and darted towards the throne, keeping to the sides. She passed a tall servant that carried a golden tray and was hiding behind the bench. Their hands were in chains.
“Here- unlock yourself and run. I think we’ll provide a big enough distraction,” She whispered, passing the servant her hairpin. Then she moved on, keeping low to the floor. On the other side of the room, Taurin and Robyn were behind the throne.
Her other friends had disappeared.
Wait, no. Not disappeared.
Quite the contrary.

 Now Bradley was a dragon, charging full speed at Thryxx. And there was Willa stabbing some advisor man, who would not be around to do his job tomorrow.
With a yell, Arja rushed into the battle.

Rose was happy.
Willa wasn’t dead! (She had known that, but it was great to see her sister riding [and strangling] a guard like a cowboy) So, carefully, Rose summoned a tiny twister and let it free.
The twister grew in size until it reached Thryxx, exploding into a ball of thrashing winds that tore into the throne, gouging out precious metals, then whacking Thryxx in the (still red) face. Rose allowed herself a small smile, then drew her dagger and whacked a businessman, who was trying to run, in the knees. He fell over and Rose jumped over him, onto a slippery golden tray that spun her across the red-coated floor like a sled, finally dumping her onto the pedestal in front of the throne.

“Well, well. If it isn’t Rose Evyrgreen, back to torture me. Destroying my precious Nyghtmares isn't enough for you, then? Go ahead. Kill me. I welcome Death. We are old, old friends.” Thryxx said, leaning down to glare at her.
“I do not want you to die. I want peace.” Rose said quietly, fingering the carpet beneath her.
“But war is how we survive, darling Rose. Without war, we are nothing. Without bloody battle, we cannot survive.”
“Not true. But if you welcome it- you better be ready.” Rose said, lurching backward as Willa dropped from the sky, directly onto Thryxx’s head. He could only gasp before Willa knocked him unconscious, whacking him a couple times more for good measure.
“Nice job, sister.” Rose said, helping her up.
“He deserves it, Rose. He made a Riverias boring!” Willa shouted, attracting the attention of their friends.
“What now?” Asked Ameilya, shifting smoothly back into human form. Amaia landed next to her, her talons wet with blood.

“I… I don’t know. We still have to find the-” Robyn started, but her eyes widened and she slumped forward, a knife hilt protruding from her back.
“RO!” Cleft screamed, pushing past Taurin. He knelt next to Robyn, feeling her pulse.
“What the-” Rose whirled around to see Thryxx standing up again.
“So sweet, but your little sister isn’t going to destroy me. My skull is thicker than her arm!” He cried, wincing slightly. Apparently Willa had hurt him.
“Darling Rose, tiny Willa… Your parents didn’t stand a chance, you know that, right? I killed them with a flick of my hand! They were pathetic!”
Rose snapped.

Cleft watched as the throne room exploded. Rose was standing in the middle of a twister, her arms outstretched and fingers dancing. Thryxx was caught in the whirl of wind, his robes whipping in frantic circles as he clung to the throne.
“MY PARENTS,” Rose screamed, picking up the throne with her tornado.
“WERE NOT,” she continued, slamming the throne onto Thryxx.
“PATHETIC!!!” The twister stopped and Thryxx went still.

Rose slumped onto the ground and promptly passed out, but Thryxx wasn’t dead- Not yet.
So Cleft took his dagger and circled the throne, finding a spot to crouch down. He pressed the knife against Thryxx’s throat, hard enough to draw a tiny bit of blood.
“Where is the Queen?” He asked. When Thryxx didn’t respond, he pushed harder.
“The Queen? The Queen… at my childhood home!” Thryxx gasped for air.
“Stop- Child- I can help you-” he said, pale fingers reaching towards Cleft’s face.

“You killed thousands of people! Why would you help me?!” Cleft screamed, jabbing the knife into Thryxx’s robes.
“I… I can give you pow-powers…” He stopped.
Powers? Cleft drew back the knife. He can… give me powers?

“Cleft. Its a lie. You know… You know he’ll just kill you.” Cleft turned to see Robyn sitting up, staring straight at the dagger in his hand.
“End him… End him and save our world, Cleft. I know you can… can do it.”
Cleft looked at his dagger. Did he really have the strength? Could he kill Thryxx right here?
“Cleft- I never told you, but I think… I think you have the potential. Please put the knife down and end him peacefully.” Rose was still lying on the ground, but she opened her eyes and repeated the message.
Violent… or peaceful? Robyn or Rose? Cleft’s head swirled and he dropped the dagger.
Robyn’s face flashed with anger, but Rose was smiling at him like he was the only thing she cared about. When she slumped back, unconscious again, Cleft felt that he had made the right decision. Peace is better than war… he told himself.
“Thryxx. Promise to never harm another soul and I won’t kill you. You’ll spend your life in your own dungeons, but you won’t be dead.” Cleft said, stepping back.
“I would rather die.” Thryxx’s voice echoed throughout the hall as he grabbed Cleft’s dagger and stabbed himself.
There was silence.

Nemus lifted her head. It was over, just like that. Thryxx was dead and gone and the world would be saved. She had expected something different, a great battle scene like the ones in the books she read. Where was the victory? Thryxx had ended himself. There was no glory in that. He just… died. No fighting (except for Rose’s tornado… That was pretty awesome) and no chaos. Nemus couldn’t pretend she wasn’t disappointed, but at least they had saved the world!
She turned to her friends.
“Who wants to be here when people find Thryxx dead?” She asked, her voice filling the icky silence.
“Not me. I need a bandage, plus fame wasn’t really my goal.” Robyn said. Then she ducked her head.
“Im… I'm proud of you guys. I didn’t think… It was supposed to be just me! Nobody was supposed to risk their lives for this mission! I was supposed to sacrifice myself and end Thryxx so the world could be in peace… but you all did it better. Um… thanks, I guess.”
“Well, I mean, you did get a pretty good team, so of course we did it.” Bradley joked, leaning back against the wall.
“So… what next?” Forrest asked, massaging his cold fingers. Nemus felt a pang of sadness as she realized they were bloodless and cracked, probably from feeding the various trees that had sprouted up around the room, crushing Thryxxites in the process.
“Me and Amaia need to find our family. Grandma is dead and our parents have been gone for years… where do we go now?” Ameilya said, pulling her sister closer.
“I need to take Arja home. Did you see the geysers she created? I’m so proud of you, Ari.” Taurin smiled at Arja, who weakly returned his grin.
“I agree we should get on with our lives, but what about the Queen?” Cleft said, and it was like he dropped a bomb.
“The Queen…” Robyn finally spoke, standing up and wincing.
“Of course we have to save her. I mean- I have to. This is my… my destiny. You don’t have to come.” Robyn turned away.
“Hah! You think we’re letting you go alone? Hilarious, Ro. I'm coming with you.” Taurin draped his arm over her shoulders, which made Nemus smirk. How did they not notice it?
“Us too. Family can wait, I’d much rather go on another dangerous adventure with you guys.” Ameilya said, standing up. Amaia nodded.
“I think its safe to say I'm coming. Forrest?” Bradley glanced toward his friend.
“Totally. Nemus, you coming with?” Nemus nodded, smiling at her brother.
“How could I miss out?” she said.
“I cant let my sister go alone.” Cleft grinned.
“Wait, there’s more? Count me in!!!” Willa bounced over to Robyn, then shifted into the color of her tunic and completely disappeared.
“Stoppit, Willa. You’ll waste your energy.” Rose sat up. Apparently she never stayed unconscious for long.
“I… I think I should come. Willa needs supervising, and…” She glanced at Cleft, then looked away, blushing. Nemus felt like laughing, but she stuffed it down and settled for a smile.
“Okay- Well- Thanks… Where is she? The Queen?” Robyn shifted her attention to Cleft.
“Thryxx said… Thryxx said ‘my childhood home.’” Cleft frowned.
“Anyone know where Thryxx grew up?”

“No… But I know how we find out.” Nemus said.
“Follow me.”