Rise of The Elements

Star and her friends barely escaped the phantom prison, but the danger isn't over yet. The phantoms are growing stronger, and the lost Elementals still need to be found. But strange visions and a mysterious prophecy force Star to believe that the danger has only just begun. With help from new friends, could Star have a chance to save Jamaa before it's too late?

Authors Note

Made by Abbykurle

This is part two of Slave of the Phantoms. If you haven't read that yet, please do.

Please read this! There is urgent news on this and the entire Rising Heroes series!

The story will contain a bit of blood. It won't be as intense as the other one until farther into the story, but I recommend you don't skip any parts. And here are the awesome characters that fans of the story created! Character slots are not open right now, so no one can submit any characters anymore.

Miaklianne (Mia): Dark green lemur with silver rings around his tail and eyes, one green eye and one red eye. Wears old boots, red sword, gloves. (Male) Character created by Kat2wind2archer

Carrot: A yellow bunny with tan splotches, green eyes, pink ears, yellow flower crown and yellow worn. (Female) Character created by AdorableEspurr193

More fanmade characters will appear farther into the story.

Prologue: The Creation

(Gore warning)

3 years earlier...

The frightened brown wolf looked around. He wasn't sure what was happening. He had been eating food in his cell a minute ago, and now he was trapped inside a capsule attached to a wall in the phantom laboratory. Along the wall were four other capsules, almost touching. Tubes attached to the top and hung down into the capsules. All the tubes attached to the middle capsule, for some odd reason. In

Comic version by Crystalrabbit1

the other capsules were a crocodile, a cheetah, and a lemur. The middle capsule, the largest one, was empty. This section of the laboratory was mostly empty. It was a separate room that was very dark. On the left wall was a simple door. On the wall opposite the capsules were several tables with syringes, whips, chains, and bottles of glowing liquid. There was also a long desk with three computers on it. The

Also by Crystalrabbit1

computers were the brightest thing in the dark room, but it wasn't enough light to light up even half the room.

The door opened with a loud creeeaaak.

Arim, the head general, floated into the dark laboratory with an sinister expression. Beside him were six other phantoms. Three phantoms rushed over to the table with the computers and started tapping away at the keyboard. Two stayed where they were. The last one floated over to the middle capsule and opened it. Almost casually, he floated inside the capsule and closed it. The capsule was far too big for him.

The phantom in the capsule grabbed the tube that was hanging down. Tiny suction cups were on the bottom and sides. The phantom stuck the tube onto his head and sat there silently.

The last two phantoms opened the cheetah's capsule. He started hissing and attempted to escape. The Phantoms held him still and attached the tube to his head. They slammed the capsule shut. The cheetah tried taking the tube off, but the phantoms on the computers tapped a button and the cheetah went still. The two phantoms went to the next capsule, the lemur. They did the same thing. As the phantoms went from capsule to capsule, the wolf had an odd realization. All the animals with him were male. Why?

The phantoms reached the wolf's capsule. They opened it by pressing a button on the outside. The capsule opening slid open, and the wolf jumped out. The phantoms lurched forward and grabbed him before he could get far. They shoved him in the capsule and stuck the tube to his head. The capsule slid shut.

The wolf grabbed the tube on his head and tried to pull it off. He didn't know what they were doing to him, but he couldn't let it happen. He tried to pull, but it wouldn't budge. One of the phantoms at a computer pressed a button. The wolf felt a slimy feeling on his head, and suddenly he grew so tired that he lost the motivation to keep pulling. He felt too weak, it was too hopeless. He let go. At the same time, his arms went numb, leaving him no way to get the tube off if he wanted to. And he did, but he couldn't find the strength to do it.

The phantoms at the computers started rapidly tapping buttons. The two phantoms hovered beside Arim, who just sat there staring at the animals in the capsules. Lights appeared above the capsules. The wolf felt an odd feeling in his head. Suddenly there was a flash of pain. The pain came back, stronger than before, and kept getting worse. The wolf tried to scream, but nothing came out. He grabbed his head, then let go and started banging on the walls with his front paws. The other animals were doing the same.

The phantom in the middle capsule was doing the worst. He was waving his tentacles around, making it look as if he was growing. But when he looked closer, the wolf realized that he was growing bigger. His body was getting longer, less slimy. In fact, it was looking... scalier. The four top tentacles started to melt, and soon there was nothing left. The bottom four tentacles began to grow and stretch. Claws sprouted from the bottom.

Suddenly, the crocodile beside the wolf dropped down and went still. The phantom started to grow thick scales on his stomach, and his head stretched out similar to a crocodile's. His gurgling cries turned to roars. He grew a long, thick tail. Spikes sprouted from his back. The phantom was changing into something completely different. He wasn't a phantom anymore. The wolf wasn't even sure if he should be calling that monstrosity a 'he'.

Then, suddenly, it stopped. It was all silent. The wolf looked around at his companions. They were all lying on the ground, unmoving. Arim opened the capsule with the cheetah and poked him.

"Dead," Arim muttered. He moved to the next one. Same result. Then he moved on to the capsule with the monster in it. Arim paused, then opened the capsule. The monster was lying on the ground, also unmoving. Arim poked it with his spear, but it didn't move. It wasn't even breathing.

Arim snorted angrily. "Useless. All this work, and it doesn't even-" Before Arim could finish, the monster jumped up and leaped out of the cell. It had bright blue eyes. It turned to look at Arim and snarled. Then, the last change happened.

Very, very slowly, its eyes turned yellow. Its pupils turned into slits. None of the subjects used in the experiment had yellow eyes.

The experiment had gone wrong. Terribly wrong.

Art by Nkurle

Arim knew this instantly. Only a second later, the monster slashed at Arim with its claws.

"Stop!" Arim shouted. Instead of obeying Arim's commands like it was supposed to, the monster lurched forward and grabbed Arim's bottom tentacle in its jaws. Arim attempted to stab the monster, but it let go and jumped backward. The five phantoms tried to grab it, but the monster swung around, hitting all the phantoms with its tail. The phantoms flew back. One hit a table and a potion fell over and poured yellow liquid all over the phantom. The Phantom made a gurgling scream and disappeared in a puff of black dust.

The monster jumped forward and smashed the second phantom in its jaws. The phantom exploded into dust instantly. Arim threw his spear, but the monster jumped onto the ceiling. The lights above the capsules shined behind the monster, making it look like it was made of shadow. Then it jumped down and sliced its claws through another phantom, then blasted lightning from its mouth at Arim. Arim didn't move. When the lightning hit him, his body simply absorbed it. The wolf gasped.

Arim picked up his spear, then raised it in the air. A huge bolt of lightning came down from nowhere and blasted the monster. It dropped down, unconscious.

There was a long moment of silence. The remaining two phantoms floated up behind Arim.

"We should kill it," One of the phantoms said.

"No," Arim growled. "We have to keep it. This monster, the... the ShadowKiller, is perfect. If we make a few adjustments, or maybe train it, it will obey our commands. This ShadowKiller is perfect for capturing the Elementals."

The wolf was confused. What were Elementals?

One of the phantoms grumbled angrily. "We can't keep it alive. The experiment went wrong! It will never listen-"

"Quiet! I make the orders around here!" Arim shouted. "I don't care if it doesn't obey me, I will make it obey me, no matter how long it takes! Put it in a cell and lock it with two keys."

The other phantoms sighed and dragged the monster away.

Once the door closed, Arim turned toward the wolf. "Ah, the only survivor, apart from the Shadowkiller. Now, what might I do with you?"

The wolf didn't answer. Answering Arim is never good.

Arim grunted and opened the capsule. He took off the tube and grabbed a syringe filled with transparent gray liquid, holding it in front of the wolf. Before the wolf could run away, Arim grabbed him and held him down.

"Why don't I try this out, eh?" He poked the wolf with the syringe.

And everything went black.

Chapter 1: A New Beginning

3 Years later...

Star padded through Jamaa Township, fallen leaves crunching under her paws. Star sniffed the cool October air, thinking about all that had happened over the past months.

Ever since Star, Mari, and Infinity had escaped to Jamaa, things had gotten so much better. Despite the Jammers who laughed at them, tons of kind-hearted Jammers had helped them. An honorable lemur named Miaklianne (Mike for short) had helped with their injuries and let them stay at his house.

Thankfully, Mari's wing was not broken, and she had healed up quite nicely thanks to Miaklianne. Star's wound on her shoulder had healed as well. Now that she wasn't in the mucky phantom prisons, the wound had fully healed, all that was left is a thin scar.

Unfortunately, there were no signs of the other elemental Jammers yet. Mari says that they just need time, but Infinity thinks they aren't in the main eight lands of Jamaa (Not counting the ocean lands). They don't have Miaklianne's opinion, because they haven't told him about the elemental powers. Yet.

Star soon came across a grocery store and walked inside. She took a bag of carrots and walked up to the register. She put the bag on the shelf, along with the last of her gems. She sure hoped that Mia would continue to share his food with them, or else she wouldn't know what to do. Infinity had been earning the three of them gems for a while now, but everything was so expensive and Infinity wasn't earning enough gems.

Star woke up from her thoughts when the deer at the register tapped her shoulder and handed her the bag of carrots. She smiled at him as she walked out of the store. The brown leaves scattered all over the ground crunched loudly under her paws as she headed back to Miaklianne's place. October had come so quickly, and Night of the Phantoms was in a few weeks. Jammers were already decorating their yards with pumpkins, plastic spiders and fake phantoms.

As Star was walking, she saw a homeless bunny lying next to a tree. She was yellow with tan splotches and green eyes, and she wore a yellow flower crown and yellow worn. Star hesitated before walking up to the bunny and asking "Are you okay?".

The bunny didn't move at first, but then jumped up and grabbed her bag of carrots. The bunny started biting frantically at Star and digging her claws into her fur. Star yelped and dropped the bag of carrots on the ground. The bunny jumped off Star and started eating the carrots out of the bag.

"What did you do that for!" Star yelped, rubbing her cuts. The yellow bunny stopped eating the carrots and looked up at her.

"Oh... I'm, um... Sorry," the little bunny stammered fearfully. "I didn't you would let me have them, so I just..."

"Stole them?" Star interrupted. She couldn't help but thinking how awkward the situation was. 

The rabbit nodded slightly and gave the bag back to Star, which now only had five carrots left. Star snatched it back and started to walk away, then paused and turned back.

"Well... are you okay?" Star asked. The bunny hesitated before nervously answering. "Nah, I'm fine. And sorry about... that." She looked at the carrots for a moment before hopping away.

Star watched the bunny wander off until she was out of sight. She sighed and padded off to Mike's house.

....

Star walked into Mike's house and into the living room. Miaklianne was sitting on the couch with Infinity, and Mari was preening her feathers on the opposite side of the room. Infinity looked up at her and noticed the bag of carrots.

Art by Crystalrabbit1

"Woah. I didn't know you were that hungry." Infinity said with a laugh. Mari saw the bag and frowned.

"Um, I didn't eat them all. A homeless bunny ate the rest." Star decided to leave out the part where the bunny grabbed the bag out of her paws and ate the carrots without even asking.

"Oh. And what about all those cuts?" Mari said sternly.

"Oh... I... tripped?" Star said nervously. She really didn't want to tell them that the bunny had attacked her, of all things.

"I can help," Miaklianne said. Star had totally forgotten that he was there. He rarely spoke and mostly stayed quiet. It wasn't that he was shy, he just hated small talk and meaningless conversations.

The lemur stood up and looked at Star's injuries. He had dark green fur with silver rings, he wore a red sword, brown gloves and old boots that he refused to throw away. Star already knew that he was a skilled doctor, though she was not sure why he had decided to leave his home in the first place. 

Star suddenly felt a strange tingling sensation where her cuts were. When she looked down, the cuts had already scabbed over. But strange enough, Mia had healed them without any medical equipment.

"Woah... how did you do that? I swear it couldn't have healed that quickly..." Star gasped, pulling her arm away. The green and silver lemur looked up at Star with his eyes wide.

Infinity and Mari looked concerned. "What's wrong, Star?" Mari asked.

"I... don't know..." Star answered nervously. Suddenly, it struck her. "Oh my... you have healing powers!" Star exclaimed. 

"Great Mira! What did you say?!" Mari gasped.

Infinity shook his head. "Can someone explain what's going on, because I have no clue what is making you all gasp so much," Infinity asked.

Miaklianne looked up at the three animals, then sighed and stood up.

"Okay, I do have healing powers." He started. "I discovered them during a test to earn a doctor's title, and my father told me nothing in my home village would satisfy me and I could use my powers for good. So I headed to Jamaa township... but I kept my powers a secret so no one could use these powers against my will." Miaklianne explained. He looked up at the three animals, hoping they'd understand. Instead, their surprised expressions turned to smiles.

"Well... I guess we have to tell him now." Infinity muttered. With that, the trio told Mike their big secret.

Chapter 2: The Vision

"Do you think he's an elemental?" Infinity asked. The sun had set not too long ago, and the trio sat in the room Miaklianne had given them to sleep in. There were three mattresses spread out along the floor. 

Mike had been greatly surprised when they told him that they had elemental powers and that they were trying to find the other elementals. But he wasn't as surprised as they were when he revealed his power of healing. It was obvious that he wasn't an elemental, but then why would he have magic powers?

"I'm not sure. Healing isn't really an element of nature, and the only elements were fire, ice, wind, sun, shadow, nature, rock, water and thunder. None of those are healing." Mari said, tapping her wing against her chin thoughtfully.

"But then why does he have magic powers? HOW does he have powers?" Star asked, shaking her head in confusion.

"Maybe it's a sign." Mari murmured.

"A sign of what?" Both Infinity and Star said in unison.

"A sign to show us where the other chosen ones are, or where to find them," Mari explained. Her voice was stern and commanding, which made it seem as if she was absolutely sure that that was the case.

Star slowly nodded her head, even though she was pretty sure Miaklianne hadn't been given powers just so they knew they would find an elemental soon.

"I understand what you mean, but I don't think that's the case. Maybe he can help us on our journey to find the elementals. It would be kinda silly if he had been given these incredible powers just to show us we might find a chosen one." Star thought aloud. Infinity nodded his head in agreement

"True," Mari muttered. She fluffed up her feathers and looked at the ceiling thoughtfully.

Infinity spoke up. "I think we should get to bed now. If we keep thinking so hard like this, our brains are going to explode." Infinity joked. He gave his chest a quick lick and curled up in one of the mattresses. Mari flew up to a perch on the wall and Star plopped down in her mattress.

....

Star woke up in a dark metal room. The horrible stench of phantoms filled her nostrils. She jerked awake and looked around. She was standing beside another phantom with full armor, and in front of her was a huge metal throne covered with spikes and engravings of phantoms. Sitting upon the throne was none other than Arim, holding a large spear crackling with electricity.

Star tried to back away, but her legs betrayed her and brought her forward instead. The phantom beside her moved forward as well, then gestured her to stop. Arim towered above them, scowling. One of his top tentacles had been ripped off and hadn't grown back, which Star had done herself.

Arim stepped off the throne and hovered just above the ground. "Bring me to the prisoner." He growled.

Star swung around and walked toward a huge metal door at the other end of the room. She tried to turn back and face Arim, but her body wouldn't obey. The phantom beside her opened the door and hovered down a long corridor. The ceiling was lined with pipes of all sizes, and a transparent tube filled with glowing green phantom tar lined each wall, filling the hallway with a green glow. Star turned around to see Arim following close behind her. His gaze was fixed on the end of the hallway.

Star turned her head back. The hallway opened up to a huge circular room. A few small pipes ran along the ground and all connected to an enormous pipe In the center of the room that stretched up from the ground to the ceiling. A section of the tube was made of glass, revealing tons of phantoms traveling up through the tube. Along the walls were many smaller pipes going up to the ceiling and disappearing into the walls. Several parts of the floor were made of glass, revealing more glowing green tar that lit up the room. And throughout the whole room, there were openings to other corridors and hallways.

The largest hallway had a big metal gate covering it. Star was able to slow down so she could peer into it, but she couldn't see what was on the other side before Arim prodded her with his spear to make her speed up.

"What are you staring at? Hurry up, guard." Arim hissed in her ear. Star lost control of her body again and moved forward against her will.

Guard? Star wondered. She hesitated before looking down at her paws. But instead, she saw tentacles. At that moment, Star realized she was dreaming, and in her dream, she was one of Arim's phantom guards.

Star turned to look at the gate again, but then she entered one of the tunnels and lost sight of it. She walked -or hovered- down the hallway for a long time before entering another room. The pipes on the walls disappeared, along with the green glow of the phantom tar. She was now in a dark room, not much bigger than the hallway, that smelled faintly of rot. It was awfully dark, and it took a while for Star to realize she was in a long, twisting cave lined with stalactites reaching up to the ceiling.

Star moved into the dark cave, and once her eyes had adjusted to the dark, she saw that some of the stalactites were made of dark purple phantom goop. She turned to see a fairly large hole in the wall of the cave, with metal bars covering it. A red panda was cowering inside, with a small dish of rotting food beside it. There was no bed in the small cell, and only a small dish of brown water. The red panda was very skinny, with every one of its ribs showing.

Star looked around and saw even more cells lining the twisting, dark cave. This prison was even worse than the one Star had been in. All the cells were dirty, dark, and unkempt. One of the imprisoned animals glanced fearfully at Star and then curled up on the rocky ground.

The other phantom guard led them to a dark cell near the back of the long cave. This part of the cave was so dark it was almost impossible to see anything more than a few feet in front of her. Unlike the other cells, this one had an extra wall of metal over the bars, with a tiny window at the top. Arim turned to Star and gestured to a key hanging on one of the stalactites. His folded his tentacles and glared at Star while she picked up the key and nervously fit it into the lock on the metal door. She heard a click and opened the door, then stepped back to let Arim pass.

The cell was so dark inside, Star could only see a faint silhouette of the animal inside. Arim hovered in front of the cell and glared at the animal inside.

"Well? Have you thought about my deal?" Arim growled. Star heard a hiss from inside the cell before the animal started talking.

"Yes. And why do you think I would accept? Half the stuff you were telling me made no sense, so why should I even think twice of it?" The prisoner's voice was hoarse and raspy. It was hard to tell whether it was a girl or a boy talking.

Arim chuckled. "First, everything I have told you, no matter how crazy it sounds, it's true. As to why you should accept, the answer is simple. You can either stand by my side, with everything you could possibly want or die in this dark, cold prison. After all, you won't last much longer without any food."

Star looked closer at the cell and realized there was no food, only a small cup of water. Whatever Arim wanted from this prisoner was very important to him.

The animal growled. "Well, I don't care! What can you give me? Your just a phantom, and there is nothing I could possibly want worth joining you!" Suddenly the animal broke out into a fit of coughing.

Arim waiting until the prisoner had stopped coughing before talking again. "Well, here is what I can give you. I can give you something you never had before... a purpose. You were never loved in Jamaa, without a single purpose to serve. Jammers were nice to you just to spare your feelings. But did you ever feel truly loved? Did you ever feel like you were really wanted? Did you ever feel truly special, that you ever had a real purpose? I think you know the answer to that. It is a simple NO. By joining me, I can give you a purpose. I can give you what you never had before. Something no one in Jamaa can give you. By coming to stand by my side, you can have what you have always wanted. A purpose. And once I get rid of them.. you can have anything you could ever want." Arim seemed to smile as he waited for an answer from the prisoner.

There was a long time of silence before an answer came from the dark prison. "How do you know that? You're phantom, you can't come anywhere near Jamaa."

Arim snorted. "I know what happens in Jamaa. You'd be wrong to think I don't have at least a few spies in Jamaa. Now give me an answer. This is your last chance." Arim hissed.

"You know what.. I don't care. Go ahead and do what you want.. I don't want any part in it." The animal growled.

Arim sighed as if he knew this was going to happen. "Fine. Have it your way. Guards, take away her water and chain her down. If she escapes or harms anyone, you have permission to kill her." Arim ordered. He turned to hover away as the other guard grabbed the prisoners water dish through the bars.

Just before Arim disappeared from sight, the prisoner called out. "Wait! I accept your deal... and agree to do anything you tell me to."

Arim stopped, then slowly turned around, a triumphant look in his eye. He hovered over to the cell and held out his tentacle. "Welcome to the phantoms side." A scarred paw reached out to shake his tentacle.

Then suddenly, the whole cavern began to fade to darkness, and Star woke up with a jolt. Panting, she looked around her room, but Infinity and Mari hadn't moved from their spots. She had her real body back, but she knew she had to tell Infinity and Mari about this.

It may have just been a dream.. but she felt as if it meant something. And if it did, then it was important.

Chapter 3: Training

Star yawned and padded outside. The sun was shining, and a cool breeze drifted through the air. She was going into the backyard to practice her powers with Mari, Infinity and maybe even Mike, now that he knew about their powers. But they could only practice minor abilities because, although there was a slim chance Arim was alive, they could alert Arim of their presence.

Infinity and Mari were sitting in the shade of one of the many maple trees that lined Miaklianne's yard. Miaklianne was standing beside the fence, quietly watching them with interest. The ground was littered with fallen leaves. The maples lining Mike's yard had only a few clumps of golden brown leaves left in their branches. The leaves crunched under Star's paws as she walked through the gate and rushed into the yard.

"Sorry I'm late!" She said, sitting beside Infinity.

"It's fine." Mari muttered. She flew into the sunlight and turned to face Infinity and Star. She noted that Mari's wing was completely healed now. Since Miaklianne had revealed his magical healing powers, he had probably fully healed Mari's wing.

"So" Mari started "As I've probably told you before, in order to trigger your powers you need to do a certain thing, which can be different for the kind of magic you're using. Every Elemental has three types of powers; attack, defense, and vision. Attack powers are triggered by putting all your focus on your target, then thrusting out your paw or talons toward them, or an action similar to that. Defense magic is hardest to do, it requires being somewhat calm, and you have to be very alert and put all your focus on what you are trying to defend. Defensive powers can be very different from each other, but all have the same purpose. And lastly, visions. Visions normally aren't triggered when you want them to, but it is possible to give yourself a vision. It requires a lot of focus, and you need to be relaxed. While doing what is needed to get a vision isn't as hard to do as defensive magic, most times you don't actually get a vision. Visions most commonly occur in dreams, against your will. Now, lets try some attacks."

Visions occur in dreams? If that was true, then what could Star's dream have meant?

"Wait! Hold on, can I say something?" Star blurted out. Mari turned around to face her, folding her wings over her chest. "What do you want?"

Star hesitated. "Erm... what exactly happens.. in visions? Do they mean anything?"

Mari nodded. "While I don't know as much about visions, I do know that they always mean something, important or not. Sometimes they show things that will happen in the future, the past, and maybe the present. Some visions show things that don't actually happen, but they show something that means something else. But that is all I know." Mari explained.

Suddenly Star wasn't so sure about telling Mari her dream in front of everyone else. What if the dream was showing something, but meant something even worse? Or perhaps she didn't need to worry about it, and it had happened a long time ago. But it could also be something that was going to happen in the future.. and that would mean Arim had survived the explosion. But Mari had also said visions could mean something that wasn't very important. She could be worrying everyone about something that wasn't to worry about. I should tell this to Mari alone. Star decided.

"Anything else you need to ask?" Mari asked.

"Actually... yes." Star began, picking her words carefully. "What if Arim is out for us... the chances he survived that explosion are slim, but then why else are we being so careful about not using too much of our magic? Do you think he is alive?" Star was suddenly worried she could have angered Mari.

"Do I? No. And why would he be out for us? Did you have a vision?" Mari narrowed her eyes, looking suspicious.

Star hesitated, taken back by her reaction. "Not... really. But... I think he would be coming after us because of something he said to me. He said I would be very useful to him, and I know that meant more than just being his slave." Star remembered Arim had said something getting rid of them in her dream, but she decided not to mention that. "Arim was also pleased when I almost turned into a Phantimal, AKA the Unknown." Star hoped Mari would understand.

There was a long moment of deadly silence as Mari glared at Star. Finally, she spoke. "That is true, but Arim never could have survived that explosion after we beat him up. Arim is dead, Star, and there is no denying it."

Star quietly growled and glared at Mari. "But your not listening, the evidence says-"

"NO! You're not listening! Arim is dead, Star! DEAD!" Mari screeched, ruffling her feathers angrily. Before Star could respond, Mari turned away and flew into the center of the yard. "Now, as I was saying before.." she glared at Star "..we are going to practice our attacks. So get over here and practice your attacks on the trees." She gestured with her wing to three trees in front of her. Miaklianne didn't look very pleased to have the trees in his yard getting destroyed, but no one dared bother Mari right then.

Infinity padded over to stand beside Mari and shot Star a sympathetic glance, too quick for Mari to see. Star stood next to Infinity, opposite of Mari. She faced the large maple in front of her and closed her eyes briefly to let her anger drain away. She concentrated on the tree in front of her, putting all her focus on her target. Then she thrust out her paw and a thin beam of light exploded from it. The beam of light soared right past the tree, but left a burn mark along the trunk.

Star turned to see Mari staring at her. "Work on your aim. A blow like that couldn't harm a snail." She let out an angry sigh and glanced at Infinity, who slammed his paws to the ground, and the leaves in the tree shriveled as the water was drained out of them.

Star growled quietly and turned toward the tree in front of her. She concentrated on the center of its trunk, but her focus was clouded by anger. Star threw her paw toward the tree with as much force as she dared. For a split second, nothing happened. Then pain flared up from her paw and spread through her whole body. Star cried out, and suddenly her world turned black.

It seemed like forever once the darkness faded. Star was in Kimbara Outback, looking down across the desert from atop a cliff. As usual, there were almost no Jammers there, but something seemed off. Nothing moved, except the waterfall, and there wasn't a single animal, wild or tame, which was unusual. Suddenly the whole land shuddered.

Then there was another shudder, even stronger then the last, that seemed to shake everything for miles. The ground split open, revealing a never-ending pit of darkness. Cracks appeared all over the ground, splitting into huge crevices and ravines. The waterfall poured into one of the pits, until a rock covered the water. The earthquake got even stronger until the hospital collapsed and the debris fell into the dark cracks in the ground. Huge chunks of rock jutted out of the ground, seemingly by an unknown force.

But the terrifying earthquake didn't seem very terrifying. There was something powerful and magical about it, as if an ancient power was rising from one the endless pits in the ground.

Then, without warning, a giant black tentacle covered Kimbara, crushing it. Star's vision faded to darkness again, and she could feel a dull throbbing pain in her head. She could hear faint voices somewhere near her, talking urgently. Then her eyes snapped open to see Mari, Infinity and Miaklianne standing over her. She was still outside, laying on the ground.

"Oh my word! Star, are you okay?" Mari asked.

"Of course she's not okay! She just randomly blacked out, do you think that means she's okay?" Infinity yowled.

"I... I feel okay..." Star muttered. She sat up and rubbed her head, wondering what in Jamaa just happened. Her head still hurt, but other than that she felt fine.

"What happened?" Mike asked quietly, looking concerned. "You aren't hurt."

Star didn't know the answer to that. What exactly had happened? She had been trying to use her powers on the tree, when pain shot up her arm and she blacked out. She could have twisted her arm, but that wouldn't have been enough to knock her unconscious. Besides, Miaklianne said she wasn't injured, and wouldn't explain why her head hurt. But then the weird dream she had? Or had that been a vision?

"So? What happened?" Mari snapped. The anger had returned to her voice, and it sounded like she was still furious with Star for whatever reason.

"I don't know. I was trying to use my powers, and then my arm hurt...."

"Then you misused your powers. Be careful next time." Mari grumbled.

"Hey, she never finished." Infinity snapped, nudging Mari's wing with his paw.

Star sighed gratefully and continued. "As I was saying, pain spread up through my arm and then I blacked out, and... something happened." Star expected someone to interrupt, but they were all staring intently at her. "I had a dream... that I was in Kimbara Outback. Nothing was there, and everything was still and silent. Then I felt a shudder, and an earthquake struck. Huge chunks of rock shot up from out of the ground. Everything was torn to pieces, rocks were flying everywhere, and before it could get any worse, a huge phantom tentacle grabbed Kimbara and crushed everything. Then it all went black." Star took a deep breath and looked up at the surprised faces of her friends.

"Star, that wasn't a dream." Mari said quietly. "That was a vision."

Chapter 4: A Sign

"A... vision?" Star muttered. Two visions in one day? Mari had to be kidding!

"What else do you think I said? Yes, a vision." Mari answered, looking deadly serious.

"Sounds more like a sign to me. A sign to show us something." Infinity remarked, staring up at the sky. "Something important, that's for sure."

Mari shook her head in frustration. "Whatever it means, Star must have been using her powers wrong in order to trigger it. You need to try better next time, Star." She gave Star a quick glare, who responded with a quiet growl. Why was Mari so cranky?

Miaklianne looked eager to break the tension between Mari and Star. Quickly, he added "You should rest, Star. You look like you're in pain." Star nodded, remembering how much her head hurt.

Mari nodded as well. "Mike is right. Why don't you go rest in your room. Infinity, go with her. And while your at it, try to decipher the vision." She gave them a quick nod and lifted off into the air. Star watched her fly past the tops of the trees and wondered where she was going.

Infinity nudged Star to her paws and walked inside the house. Star followed him, with Miaklianne beside her. Star couldn't help but wondering why she had had two visions in one day. Maybe there was some sort of mistake, or was one just a normal dream? And what had Star said that had angered Mari so much? Star entered her room with Mike just a few paces behind her.

"Do you need anything for the pain? I can only heal wounds and broken bones because of the way my powers work, so you would need to take a medication for it." Miaklianne asked, sitting down beside Star.

"It's okay, I'm fine." Star answered. It was true, her headache was beginning to fade. Mike nodded and left the room.

"So," Infinity mewed after a while of silence. "What in Jamaa did you say that ticked Mari off like that? I've never seen her so angry before. I mean, she can be pretty stern, but not like that."

Star shrugged. "I don't know. It might have been something about Arim. She seemed determined to make me believe Arim is dead, but I don't understand why. Arim is her brother, why would she try to convince me, and herself, that he is gone forever? I know he is evil, but she still has to care about him a little bit." Star sighed and looked out the window, expecting to see Mari flying around out there.

"What do you think it means?" Infinity suddenly blurted out.

"What?

"The vision you had. What do you think it means?"

Star shrugged. "I really have no idea. But the whole thing unnerves me.. the earthquake, how silent Kimbara was, and the giant tentacle crushing it all. The only thing it seems to be showing is the end of the world."

"If it were the end of the world, I'd think we would all have visions of that." Infinity suddenly looked guilty, but only for a split second. He continued "And didn't you say something else happened? Something about rocks?" Infinity asked.

Star nodded. "Yeah. Big, sharp pieces of rock were coming out of the ground. Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering. Was there anything else that happened? Any little details that could mean something?" He looked up at Star expectantly, curling his tail around his paws.

"Well..." Star muttered, "There was something odd about the earthquake. It felt... magical. It didn't feel very natural. There was definitely something magical about it."

Infinity perked up and snapped his fingers. "Thats it! The earthquake wasn't a natural cause, something else caused it. Something with magic. Perhaps... an Elemental?"

Star let that sink in. Had she really had a vision that they were going to find one of the Elementals?

"That must mean they're in Kimbara. And we need to hurry, or the next part of my vision will come true." Star stood up. She was about to leave and tell Mari, when she suddenly came in.

"I have bad news." She said. "Miaklianne won't have enough gems to support all of us anymore. We'll need to leave soon."

Infinity came up behind Star. "Actually, that's good news."

Mari stared at him. "What?"

"Tell her, Star."

Chapter 5: The Hidden Camp

Star stuffed her things in her suitcase. They had all decided to pack their items, take as many gems as Mia would allow, and set off to Kimbara. They had agreed to take a few weapons too, in case they met some phantoms. They still hadn't mastered their powers, especially Star, so they needed a way to defend themselves. Mari still had her ice sword she had taken from the Phantom prisons. Infinity and Star had bought swords from Jam Mart Clothing.

Star put on the leather strap and placed the sword in its sheath. She adjusted the buckle and looked in the mirror. She had to admit, it looked pretty good on her.

"Hey Star! Quit admiring yourself and finish packing!" Infinity teased, peeking into the room.

"I'm not admiring myself."

"Mhmm?" He smiled.

"Go away." She said, then laughed.

"Aww, fine." He chuckled and closed the door.

Star looked back into the mirror. She reminded herself of the heroes she would read out in books when she was younger. Superheroes with magical powers, bravery that went to no limit, and the selflessness to risk their lives for anyone. The heroes that traveled Jamaa, invading phantom factories and defeating evil villains. She might as well be one of those superheroes in the books. Here she was, about to travel Jamaa to find the remaining Elementals, stop Arim, and defeat the ultimate enemy....

But now that she thought about, who was the ultimate enemy? It couldn't be Arim, because he was an Elemental who had been turned into a phantom. Why had Mira called back the Elementals when there wasn't even an enemy to defeat? Zios had originally gave the Elementals their powers so they could protect Jamaa from evil. Once the phantoms came, the Elementals were killed by them because their powers couldn't stop the pollution they caused. Then the Alphas rose to power, and the Elementals were never seen again. Star, Mari, and Infinity have been the first animals with elemental powers for thousands of years. If they had powers, that meant the other elements must be out there.

Star looked away from the mirror and zipped up her small suitcase. She had packed food, water, bandages, and other things she may need. Plus Infinity's and Mari's luggage, they had enough food and water to last them a whole week.

Star slung the suitcase over her shoulder and ran into the living room. Infinity and Mari were waiting for her.

"Hey, what took so long?" Mari asked. She didn't seem to be angry at Star anymore, but it seemed like she was trying to avoid talking about what had happened.

"Sorry. I was thinking about something." She responded. "Where's Mike?"

"Here." Miaklianne came into the room with a suitcase in his paws. "I'm coming with."

"Woah, woah, woah! Slow down there. You can't come with." Mari said.

"Yes, I can. My healing powers can be very useful, and you may need some extra help out there." He answered, standing up straight and waving his striped tail.

"But..." Star stuttered. Then she realized that he was right. He may not know how to fight, but his healing powers would be incredibly useful.

"We should let him come. He is right, actually." Infinity answered her thoughts.

Mari sighed. "Okay. But what about the gem-"

"10,000 gems right here." Miaklianne cut in, waving a few bags of gems in the air.

"That's... a lot."

He nodded. Without another word, he turned off all the lights in the house and walked outside. Star and the others followed him, and he locked the door behind them.

"Alrighty, to Kimbara we go." Infinity sang happily. He checked a map on the wall of a building, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"Oookay... I think we have to go this way." He muttered, pointing down the road.

"Think?" Mari questioned. She flew up behind him and looked at the map. "Oh, you're actually right."

"Of course I am! Now, let's go. I'm not sure I liked that last part of Star's vision, and I want to get there before it happens."

Star thought about that. The giant black tentacle crushing Kimbara Outback like you would crumple a piece of paper wasn't very reassuring. She ran to catch up to the others and followed close behind. Mike followed close behind.

After a few minutes of walking, a carriage pulled by two Clydesdales passed by.

Art by Jumpyl123 on AJ

"Hey! Could we get a ride?" Star asked, waving her paws in the air.

"Sure. 150 gems." One of the Clydesdales answered.

Star nodded and fished out some gems from her suitcase. She handed them to the Clydesdale, who grabbed them in his hoof. "Hop on."

Star opened the door and jumped in. She motioned for the others to follow, and, one by one, they all climbed in. It was a lot larger inside than she expected, with four seats facing each other.

"So, where to?" The other Clydesdale, a female, asked.

"Can you take us to Kimbara?" Infinity asked.

"Mmm, we can do that. You want us to bring you to a certain house, or just the main square?" The female horse responded.

"Err... main square, please."

" 'Kay." The two clydesdales turned around and took down the road, going at incredible speed. The carriage bumped along.

Infinity looked like he was going to die of fear. His eyes were completely dilated, and he was grabbing onto the seat as if his life depended on it. "N-not so fast please!"

"Oh come on, we will get there in no time if we keep going at this speed!" Star interjected.

"Well, my stomach is caught in my throat because of all these bumps! Slow down!" He yelled.

The two clydesdales immediately slowed down. They were still going fast, but not as fast as before. Infinity seemed to relax, though he was still a bit tense. After twenty minutes or so, they crossed over the bridge and into the main square of Kimbara Outback.

Star opened the door and hopped onto the hot sands of Kimbara. The sun was blazing hot and bright in the sky. A waterfall cascaded down from an overhanging cliff. Gabby's Animal Hospital was nestled in between two orange cliffs. Short wooden buildings were laid around it, and it looked like they were building a new shop. Orange rocks were scattered around, along with a few scraggly trees and bushes.

Infinity jumped down behind her. His face had a tint of green, and he looked sick. His ears were drooping down. Mari flew out of the carriage and landed on the top of a clump of orange rocks. Miaklianne was the last one out, and he just stared around in wonder.

"Happy to be in service." The male clydesdale waved to them and trotted back to Jamaa.

"Thanks!" Star called to them.

Infinity in Kimbara by CrystalRabbit1

"Okay, try to use your powers to sense where the Elemental is." Mari commanded. She ruffled her feathers and looked up at the clear sky.

Star closed her eyes and tried to do what she had done at the phantom prison. She took a long, deep breath to calm herself, and concentrated on her powers. She'd only done it a few times, most of which she had done during training and totally failed.

The sounds of birds and crickets chirping in the distance muted. The scents of Kimbara seemed to fade around her. The heat coming from the dirt under her paws cooled down. She felt a familiar tingling sensation in her head. Then, it stopped.

Star looked at the others. They shook their heads.

Star sighed and looked around. She noticed the same bunny she had seen earlier wandering around. Suddenly an idea struck her mind. "We could walk around the houses. Maybe we will sense the Elemental when we get close to him or her."

"Maybe." Infinity muttered. Mari shrugged.

Star sighed. Having no other ideas, she walked up to the bunny.

"Hey, can I ask you a question?" she asked.

The bunny sighed. "This is about the carrots, right?"

"No. But I'm still angry about that."

"Hey, I'm sorry! I just can't help it. I dunno why I do it, but I do."

Star raised an eyebrow, but forgave her anyway. She couldn't keep a grudge for long. "Alright, I forgive you. But to my actual question, have you seen anything... strange going on?"

The bunny tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Hmm. Well, Boomer, the kangaroo alpha, has forbid anyone from going to the outskirts of Kimbara. I'm not sure why, it doesn't make sense. But nothing else seems off, and I've only been here for a day."

This is Carrot (art by me, character by AdorableEspurr)

"That's okay. Thank you!" Star turned around to walk away, then stopped. She turned around. "Oh, by the way, my name is Star."

"The name's Carrot. Nice too meet ya." Carrot tipped her flower crown like a hat and hopped away, to a nearby tree.

Star smiled to herself and ran off to the others. "Hey! I think I got a clue!"

Infinity was lying on a rock. At the sound of Star's voice, he sat up so quick that he almost fell off. "What? What is it?"

Star stopped at the foot of the rock, panting. "Someone told me that Boomer has banned Jammers from going near the outskirts of Kimbara. It has to be something important."

Infinity's shoulders slumped. "I hope you're not suggesting what I think you are. What if someone catches us?"

"There's barely anyone here, Infinity. What else are we to do?" Mari asked.

After a few seconds, he sighed. "Ugh, you're right. But it hasn't even been a day and we are breaking an Alpha's rules!"

"What about your opinion?" Infinity asked Miaklianne. Mia was sitting on a small rock, sifting through his suitcase. He simply shrugged and continued looking through his suitcase.

"Should we wait until nightfall?" Mari suggested.

"No, we shouldn't wait that long. We should do it at midday, when it is hottest. Everyone will be inside instead of roasting in the sun," Star answered.

"But that's right now," Infinity stated, sitting up on the rock.

"I know." Star was already walking away. Mia zipped up his suitcase, slung it over his shoulder, and followed Star. Mari turned to Infinity and shrugged, then flew off after the two. She stayed up high, where she was less likely to be seen. Infinity sighed and leaped off the rock, easily catching up to Star.

They passed by a small village made up of small wooden houses. It was made similarly to the main square of Jamaa township, with a clothing and den shop, a recreation of Club Geoz, and a fountain. Instead of a Mira statue, there was a well that looked empty. The fountain was only spurting a tiny bit of water.

Infinity, Mia and Star snuck behind the houses, not trying to look too suspicious but also trying not to be easily seen. Infinity stopped at the well and looked down sadly.

"There isn't a drop of water in here," he said quietly.

"It all evaporated," Star said, coming up behind him. Mike followed, looking around to make sure no one was watching.

"No, I mean there isn't water anywhere in the dirt around here. This is a bad spot to put a well, there was never any water in here."

Star stifled a gasp. "H-how do you know that?"

Infinity suddenly looked surprised, then confused. "I'm not sure. It... it must be my powers, I think."

"That's pretty cool. I wish I could do that." Star muttered.

"Oh, come on. I know you have cool powers just waiting to be discovered." Infinity smiled warmly and rested his paw on her shoulder.

"We should go." Miaklianne said. A second later, the door of a house opened and someone came out. Star pulled away from Infinity and walked down the path that lead away from the village, trying to look as normal as possible. Mia ran up behind her, along with Infinity.

"So," Infinity started after they had gotten far from the village. "Where is the border of Kimbara?"

Mike tapped his shoulder and pointed to a sign not far from the group. As they got closer, Star realized that it said 'By order of Boomer the kangaroo Alpha, DO NOT PASS.' Behind that was a tall wooden fence that looked very worn down.

"Yikes," Infinity muttered as they got closer. "Do we climb it?"

"I guess," Star answered. She looked up at the fence. "I'm really starting to regret this. What if it has nothing to do with the Elementals? What if we get in trouble and get put in prison and then Arim do-"

"Woah! Calm down! You're the one who got us into this, you don't get to be the one to complain," Infinity said with a laugh.

Miaklianne came up beside them. "Should we look for weak spots?" he asked. He placed his front paw on the fence and gently pushed. Instantly, the section of the fence fell down. Mike stepped back, startled.

"Well..." Star walked over to the fallen piece of the fence. "Looks like that's how we get in. Thanks, Mike."

Mike shrugged. Without waiting, he hopped through and started across the dry wasteland. Outside of Kimbara, the land was drier and had fewer plants. Star stepped through slowly, eyeing the rotting fence. Infinity ran through behind her.

Star looked up and saw Mari in the distance. She was circling in the air, and after a few minutes she turned left, the opposite way Star was. Star sighed and looked out across the distance. And that's when she heard it, a faint roar. Everyone froze. Seconds later, Miaklianne pointed to a plume of smoke drifting up in the distance. It didn't take long before everyone was charging forward at full speed. When Star looked up, she saw Mari change direction and turn toward the smoke. She had seen it too.

As Star got closer, she realized it was a camp in the distance. A small firepit in the center, with two poorly built tents and dry logs for seats. Papers and supplies were scattered across the ground, as well as a little bit of blood. There was a large scorch mark on the ground in the middle of the small camp, with a little flame still alight. That was where the smoke was coming from.

Star skidded to a stop in front of the camp. It was deserted. Infinity and Mia came up behind her and instantly started surveying the camp.

"Star, see if you can smell anything!" Infinity demanded.

"Oh, right." Star put her suitcase on the ground, then pushed her nose to the ground and started sniffing. Upon closer inspection, the logs were rotting and purplish. Star sniffed one of the logs and reeled back. It stank of phantoms. In fact, the whole camp smelled of the phantom's horrid stench.

"This is definitely a phantom camp," Star muttered. She observed one of the splatters of blood on the ground. It was fresh. It also had a tint of purple, meaning it was phantom blood. But there was also blood from some sort of animal that Star couldn't identify. Mia poked some papers beside her, but didn't move them.

"Hey, you might wanna look at this," he said. Star padded over and read one of the pieces of paper. It read:

☑ Sett cAmp nEXT too KimBURah

☑ fINd weekNessess

□ MOOVe too aPPondail

□ fIND weekNESes

□ reepurt too ARIMz neerezt cAmp (coLLec TRappIN stuFFZ)

Star's heart stopped when she read the second part. Find Kimbara's weaknesses? What was Arim planning?

"I think there is something else," Mia muttered. Infinity popped up beside him and started reading the note. Miaklianne wiped a blob of phantom goop off the paper to reveal one more thing.

□ FINd shaDOE keeluur an BRinG TOO aRim

Star gasped. She stepped back and closed her eyes, trying to slow down her heartbeat. This wasn't good. Not good at all.

"What did you find?" Mari flew down beside them and looked around at the abandoned camp.

"Mari..." Star paused and turned to look at her.

"The phantoms are hunting down the ShadowKiller."

Chapter 6: Boomer

"How do they even know if it survived the explosion?" Mari asked.

"I don't know," Star muttered, looking around. "But we need to keep searching. There could be something else here that could tell us what Arim is planning. Mike, show her the letter."

Miaklianne picked up the letter and gave it to Mari. She gasped when she saw it. "Oh, great Mira! Do you think they are planning an invasion?"

"I hope not," Infinity mumbled. He peeked inside the tent. Star ran up beside him and shoved her head in. There were supplies scattered across the ground, such as binoculars, spears, ropes, and splatters of goop. There was a shelf that had been tipped over, and a small, ripped cot on the left wall. On the right wall was another cot that had been flipped over.

"This place looks like it was ransacked. And it wasn't that long ago," Infinity observed. He padded inside and lifted the fallen shelf. There were more supplies underneath that had fallen out, and a few books. Infinity picked one up and looked at the title.

"What does it say?" Star asked.

"I dunno. It's written in Phantom." He picked up another book, but it was also written in the phantom language. Star backed out of the tent and accidentally bumped into Miaklianne, who was holding something.

"Sorry!" Star yelped.

"It's okay," He said. "But look at what I found." He showed Star the thing he had been holding. At first it looked like phantom goop, but when she looked closer, Star realized it was a pitch-black scale. "Where did you find that?"

Miaklianne pointed to one of the splatters of blood on the ground. Star nodded, grabbing the scale, and ran over to Mari. She was looking through the papers on the ground, but sadly, most of them were wrtten in Phantom. A few looked like they had been ripped out of books.

"Mari, look at what Mia found," Star said to her. Mari looked at the scale and grimaced.

"We need to tell Boomer about this. If Arim is planning an invasion, or something worse, we need to let the Alphas know," Mari explained.

"But he would know that we snuck out here against his orders!" Infinity interjected, running up behind them.

"We have to. If Arim is planning an invasion, keeping this secret could destroy Jamaa! We need to tell him. Right now. Star, put the evidence in your bag." Without waiting for a response, Mari jumped into the air and started flying.

"Ugh," Infinity complained.

"Oh, come on, Infinity. Give me the list, would you?' Star took a plastic back out of her bag and slipped the scale inside, then the list. She put the plastic bag in her suitcase, zipped it up, slung it over her shoulder, and ran after Mari.

....

Star caught up to Mari easily, leaving Infinity and Miaklianne far behind. She looked up and Mari flying just overhead and thought about their argument they had had earlier. She didn't want to start up another argument, but she had to know what was going on with Mari.

"Hey, I guess this counts as evidence that Arim is alive," Star said. She hadn't tried to, but it came out a bit rudely.

"Yeah. Maybe I was wrong," she said quietly.

"Why did you think Arim was dead in the first place, anyway?"

Several minutes passed before Mari flew a little lower and slowed her pace so she was flying right beside Star. "Okay, look. I knew Arim was alive, but... I tried to convince myself he was dead. I didn't want to beleive that he was alive."

"What?! Why? He's your brother!" Star exclaimed.

Mari looked behind her, where Infinity and Miaklianne were still out of hearing distance. "Yes. But that just might be the problem. When we fought him back in the factory, I was... I was scared to hurt him. I didn't want to, even though I knew I had to. And that isn't the only problem. I've said many times that Zios called the Elementals back for a purpose, and that purpose must be a common enemy only we can defeat. But Arim is also one of us, and how are we supposed to stop evil when one of our own is trying to kill us? For some reason, Arim kept his powers when he turned into a phantom. That means that no one else can become the Thunder Elemental." Mari paused and took a deep breath. She had tears in her eyes.

"Star... I know this doesn't sound like me, but I'm scared. I don't know what to do. The only way we can defeat whatever Zios sent us here to defeat is to kill Arim. But... I don't want to kill him. He's my brother. I know he's still in there somewhere... I can feel it. I don't want to kill him if there is a chance to get him back. I told myself he was dead because that is the only way anything could possibly work out." Mari slowed down and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Mari..." Star slowed to a stop and Mari did the same. "I can't imagine what you are going through right now. But pretending Arim is dead isn't going to change anything."

Mari nodded. "I know that now. I should have known before. Just... don't tell anyone. I'm sure there is a way through it, but I don't want you to tell anyone. Please."

"Don't worry, I won't." Star turned and saw Infinity and Mia coming toward them. Mari quickly wiped the tears out of her eyes and took a deep breath.

Infinity came to a stop in front of Star, with Miaklianne close behind. "Hey, why did you stop?"

"We were just talking," Mari said. Every trace of how sad she had been before was gone. "Come on, we should hurry."

....

It didn't take long for them to get back to the main square of Kimbara. Star saw Carrot resting in the shade of a tree and ran over to her.

"Hey, is there any way to contact Boomer? We have something important to tell him."

Carrot looked up at her and noticed Mia, Infinity, and Mari standing behind her. She stood up slowly. "Um, yeah... What's so important?" she asked.

"Just something we found. How to we contact Boomer?"

Carrot gave her a suspicious glance, but didn't question her. "I'll show you. Follow me." Carrot started to hop away. Star and the others followed closely behind.

This is laura

Carrot came up to a small wooden cottage surrounded by an old wooden fence. Carrot knocked on the door and waited. Only a few minutes later a tan and brown kangaroo with white swirls opened the door. She had bright pink eyes, a yellow head flower, and a pearl bracelet. "Oh, hello. Do you need something?" she asked in a sweet voice.

"Yeah. These guys need to tell Boomer something," Carrot answered.

"It's urgent," Star added.

The kangaroo looked at each of them. "It's not an autograph, is it?"

Infinity raised an eyebrow. "Are autographs urgent?"

"That's what the last Jammers said."

"Oh. Um... this is actually urgent. It's about phantoms," Infinity said.

The kangaroo gasped. "I'll get him right away!" With that, she closed the door.

"That was weird," Infinity mumbled.

"Who was she?" Star asked Carrot.

"Her name is Laura. She works for Boomer, which is why I asked her because she can get in touch with Boomer the quickest. There are other ways to contact him, but they usually take a while."

A second later, an expensive-looking car drove up. Boomer, the kangaroo Alpha himself, jumped out.

"See?" Carrot said with a laugh.

This is Boomer. (At least, what I think he looked like.)

Boomer was muscular, large, reddish brown, with a red arrow pattern going down his back and tail. His underbelly was swamp green, along with his hair. He had bright lime eyes with a lime diamond pattern below his eyes. He wore a leather strap dotted with emeralds that held a large leather pouch that Star assumed was filled with boomseeds. He also had a leather band on his wrist dotted with emeralds and a spear with a large emerald as the head. Star also noticed that he had two scars on his leg.

Boomer came up to them and looked them over. Laura came out of the house.

"What is it that you want? Something about phantoms?" he asked in a deep voice. He crossed his arms.

Star gulped. "Erm... yeah. We found something you might want to see."

"Lets talk inside," he said, hopping past them and going into Laura's house. Star and the others followed him, but Star noticed that Carrot stayed outside. She stopped in the doorway and looked back at Carrot.

"You can come inside," Star said.

Carrot shrugged. "Nah... it's fine. I can just leave."

"No, you don't have to. You can wait outside, if that's fine with you."

Carrot made a small smile. "Okay."

Star padded inside and let Laura close the door. Laura's house was very nice on the inside. There was a large room that was lit by a stone fireplace on the far wall. In the left corner were two sofas, each on one side of a wooden table. On the left wall was an opening to what looked like the kitchen. There was a shelf on the right wall, with a closed door next to it. Despite how comfortable it looked, something felt off.

Boomer sat down on one of the sofas and crossed his legs, leaning his spear on the side of the table. Laura gestured for them to sit down. Star sat down on the cushion farthest from Boomer, in fear of getting poked by his spear. Miaklianne, Infinity, and Mari sat down on the other sofa. Laura didn't sit down.

"So, who are you guys?" Boomer asked.

"I'm Star, and these are my friends Infinity, Mari, and Miaklianne.

"Alright. Now, tell me what you found," Boomer demanded.

Star unzipped her suitcase and pulled out the plastic bag with the list and scale in it. "We found an abandoned phantom camp along the borders of Kim-" Star stopped with she saw the look on Boomer's face.

"You were at the border of Kimbara? Against my orders?" he snarled.

"We were looking for something," Star said quickly. "And we saw smoke in the distance, so we went to check it out-"

"You didn't inform me of this and just ran out there on your own?!" Boomer yelled.

"Look, we're sorry," Miaklianne interrupted. "But that doesn't matter right now. You need to see what we saw there."

Boomer stayed silent for a minute, then slowly relaxed. "Fine. Tell we what you saw."

Star gave Mia a quick smile and turned back to Boomer. "As I said, we found an abandoned camp that definitely belonged to the phantoms. It looked like it was sabotaged, stuff was scattered everywhere. There was blood and goop all over, and a huge scorch mark on the ground that was still smoking. We also found this," Star pulled the list and the scale out of the plastic bag and set them on the table.

Boomer picked up the list and read it. A minute later, he grimaced.

"They must be planning an invasion," Mari suggested.

Boomer nodded and put the list on the table. "Just as I feared."

"What do you mean?" Infinity asked.

"I closed off the borders because there had been several reports of phantoms there. Also-" he stopped suddenly.

"What?" Star asked.

"Don't tell anyone what I am about to say. I don't want to cause a panic." He paused. "Several eagle patrols came back just a few days ago and reported that the phantom Badlands had spread from the northeast down to the west, only a few miles from Kimbara Outback. After the phantom sightings, I knew that they were planning something. The phantom Badlands spread very slowly, which means that there must have been a ton of phantoms around the west side for the Badlands to have spread there so quickly."

Star gave the others a nervous glance. Arim had to be behind this.

"Also, who is Arim?" Boomer asked suddenly.

"He's a powerful phantom general. Mari, Infinity and I were his prisoners for a while. And in case your wondering, the ShadowKiller is a dangerous and powerful hybrid they created that escaped their factory."

Boomer looked closely at the scale. "Does this belong to that 'ShadowKiller'?"

Star was about to say no when she realized that he might be right. It hadn't even registered to her before.

"Maybe."

Boomer nodded and stood up. "Show me the camp. Right now."

Chapter 7: The ShadowKiller

After Star had told Carrot what happened, leaving out the part about the eagles seeing the Badlands expanding, Boomer had Star and Infinity show him where the camp was. He told Mari, Mia, and Carrot to stay behind at Laura's. Now, Star and Infinity were sitting in the backseats of Boomer's limo while he drove to the camp. Star had expected someone else to be driving for Boomer, but surprisingly, Boomer was actually the one driving.

In no time, they had arrived. Boomer quickly looked over the camp and observed the splatters of blood. Several minutes later, he came back to Star and Infinity, who were waiting patiently just outside the car.

"Definitely an ambush. I'm not sure what made the scorch mark, but it is most likely from some type of phantom. A very large phantom. Now, let's go to Appondale."

"Wait, Appondale? Why?" Infinity questioned.

"If the phantoms are alive, they most likely went to Appondale. That was the third part on their list. Now, hop inside and tell me if you see anything suspicious." With that, Boomer jumped into the car.

Infinity gave Star a questioning look, and she just shrugged. They jumped into the car and drove across the arid landscape. Eventually, the rocky ground turned into grassland as they entered the savanna of Appondale. They stayed along the border, but soon saw a small village in the distance as they got closer to the mainland.

After several minutes, Infinity suddenly jumped up and screamed, "Stop!"

Boomer brought the car to such an abrupt stop that Star smashed her nose into the seat in front of her.

"What is it?" Boomer asked, scanning the area through the windows.

"I saw something black in the grass," Infinity answered, pointing toward the distance. There was nothing to be seen but flat grassland a few acacia trees.

Boomer squinted, pressing his face to the glass. "I don't see anything."

"We could get out of the car and check? If a phantom is there and we drive up in a car, it will alert it. Or them," Star pointed out, rubbing her sore nose. Infinity and Boomer both nodded their heads and climbed out of the car and closed the doors quietly. Star followed them. They crept through the grass toward the black blob Infinity had seen.

Star stepped in something slimy and wet with a loud squish. She looked down and saw a small blob of phantom goop.

"Found something," Star whispered, wiping goop off her paw. Boomer had a grave look on his face. He pointed ahead and the trio continued stalking through the grass. They saw a tree just up ahead and peered through the grass. The scent of phantoms filled Star's nostrils. In the shade of the tree was a heavily armored phantom sharpening a long spear with a rock. Beside him was a small device that looked like a walkie-talkie, along with several other supplies made from phantom goop. Small splats of goop were scattered underneath the tree, but not as many as Star had expected.

Star ducked back into the grass and turned toward Boomer and Infinity. "Should we kill it?" she whispered as quietly as she could.

"Wait and see if it spills any info about that general, Arim," Boomer whispered. He parted the grass in front of him slightly and peeked through. Star did the same. The phantom wasn't in good shape. Once Star looked closer, she could see cuts and scrapes all over his tentacles, some of which were still bleeding. The end of the spear handle was splintered and short, meaning that the end had been broken off.

The phantom stopped sharpening his spear and picked up the walkie-talkie. He pressed a few buttons and held the walkie-talkie to the place the phantoms mouth would have been.

"Smog, we got the info on Kimbara. Found their weaknesses."

A quiet, staticky voice responded a second later. "Good. Arim will be pleased with you. Where are you now?"

The phantom made a distressed grunt. "Appondale. We had to move because our camp got attacked by that-" The phantom suddenly froze mid-sentence and looked around. Star slid back into the grass.

"Sorry, can't talk now. I'll report later." Star heard a click a second later. She lowered her head and closed her eyes, hoping the phantom didn't find them. After a minute or so of silence, Star looked up. The phantom was gone. So were the spear and the walkie-talkie.

"Where did he go?" Infinity asked, looking around.

"I think-" Star froze, hearing a loud snap behind her. She caught a glimpse of something behind her, and instinct took over. She jumped out of the tall grass, seconds late of getting stuck in a net of phantom goop. She spun around, and to her horror, found Infinity and Boomer caught in the net, struggling to escape. The more they struggled, however, the tighter the net got.

"Star! Behind you!" Boomer called. Star spun around and found the phantom from before pointing a spear at her neck. Star growled and turned her head ever so slightly she she could look behind her. Another heavily armored phantom had appeared behind her, which was probably the one that had thrown the net. Boomer managed to free his arm and tried to grab his spear, but the second phantom pulled it away, along with his pack of boomseeds.

"Alright wolfie, I recommend you do what I ask, unless you'd like a spear lodged in your throat," the first phantom grumbled. Star stood still, but growled quietly. The phantom suddenly lurched forward and grabbed her by the neck, then pressed his spear against her throat. Star didn't dare struggle, in fear of getting killed.

"Hold it, your the wolf that the boss wanted! Ha, he's gonna love this!" the first phantom exclaimed.

"Arim? What does he want with me?" Star asked.

"Why do you care?"

"You think I don't care about getting imprisoned?"

The phantom paused to think about that, as if becoming an imprisoned slave wasn't half as bad as doing a chore. After a few seconds, he shrugged and turned to his partner. "Let's tie her up and secure the other two. Once Thorn gets back, we'll take them to the boss."

The second phantom came over. He unbuckled her sword, but before he took it away, Star grabbed it and swung it at the first phantom's face, hitting him in the eye. He staggered back, giving Star enough time to unsheathe the sword. She charged toward Boomer and Infinity, hoping to set them free, but the second phantom grabbed Star's tail and gave her strong shock. Star yelped and lost her footing, but managed to swing her sword back at the phantom. The sword made contact with his upper tentacle, but all it did was cause a deep dent in his armor.

The phantom scowled and wrenched the sword from Star's paws. She tried to grab it back, but the phantom pushed her to the ground and threw the sword off to the side. Star kicked the phantom and yelped in pain when her paw hit the hard metal of his armor.

"Hey Venom, get over here and help me!" the phantom yelled at the one Star hit in the eye. Venom shook himself and hovered over, holding a rope made of phantom goop.

Star kicked at the phantoms, trying to form a plan in her mind. She didn't have any weapons, Boomer and Infinity were trapped and couldn't help her, and it seemed that nothing could break their armor, apart from boomseeds, which Star also didn't have. There was only one thing Star could do, but she couldn't let Boomer see it.

Art by Firedragon0729

"Hold still!" the second phantom yelled, giving Star a strong shock. Pain shot through her body. Left with no other options, Star squeezed her eyes shut and thrust her front paws forward. To her relief, a burst of blinding light exploded from her front paws, enough for her to see through her closed eyelids. When she opened her eyes, she saw the phantoms thrown back from the force. Star jumped to her paws, despite the pain in her paw from kicking the phantoms armor.

Star dove for Boomer's pack of boomseeds and threw it open. She grabbed a handful and turned to the phantoms, which had already gotten up and were charging toward her. Star threw a boomseed at the second phantom. The boomseed blew the front of his armor clean off, but didn't kill him. Venom froze and started to back away. At first, Star thought he was going to run away. But she was wrong.

Venom lunged for his spear, which he had dropped when Star hit him in the eye. Star threw a boomseed at him, but he batted it away with his spear.

"Star! Get us free!" Infinity yelled behind Star. Star gently tossed her last boomseed at the net. Before it made contact, however, a rock came out of nowhere and hit the boomseed. The boomseed was tossed upward and exploded in the air. Star looked up and found another phantom glaring at Star. It was probably the phantom called Thorn.

Thorn raised his spear and charged at Star. She reached for the bag of boomseeds and threw one at Thorn, but was grabbed from behind by Venom. Thorn's armor was blown off by the boomseed, but like the second phantom whose name was unknown, he was only slightly harmed.

The second phantom had recovered from his shock and now held his spear to Star's throat once again. This time, he didn't waste any time. Using his other tentacles, he started tying Star's legs together, and gave her a small shock every time she struggled. Being held still by two large phantoms, Star didn't have any chance at escaping. She was too exhausted to use her powers, and even if she wasn't, her paws were tied together.

"Let them go!" Boomer shouted suddenly. He had given up on trying to force his way out of the constricting net. "Take me instead! I know where the kangaroo Heartstone is hidden!"

None of the phantoms looked impressed. "You'll have to try harder than that if you want us to give up this girl. She's top on our boss's wanted list! Well, until he caught that one guy-" Thorn stopped talking mid-sentence, staring at Star as if he had spoiled a big secret. "Nevermind. Plus, there's nothing you can do to stop us!"

Suddenly, a terrifying noise cut through the air. It sounded like a cross between a roar, a scream, and a howl. The phantoms all froze and started at the horizon, terrified.

"Oh no, not that thing again... hurry up, Rust!" Thorn shouted at the phantom whose name had been previously unknown. Rust fumbled with the rope, trying to tie Star's mouth closed but not going any faster.

That mutated howl echoed across the savanna for the second time, and in the distance, Star caught sight of a dark shape running through the grass, as fast as a cheetah. Then it jumped into the air... revealing what is really was. The ShadowKiller opened its mouth and blasted a long arc of lightning at the phantoms mid-air. The lightning hit Venom right in the face with incredible aim. Venom was flung high into the air and hit a rock with a sickening crack. His armor cracked open, and dark, reddish-purple blood spilled out of a wound on his back.

Art by Shark0Bait

Thorn turned and bolted away, spinning his tentacles to gain speed.

"Thorn! Get back here, you wimp!" Rust yelled. But Thorn was long gone.

The ShadowKiller landed in front of Star and Rust. Rust dropped Star, who rolled away as fast as she could. He blasted the ShadowKiller with tons of bolts of electricity, but the ShadowKiller didn't seem harmed. Sliding his long, forked black tongue over his lips, the ShadowKiller jumped on top of Rust and pinned him down. He chomped down on Rust's top tentacle and ripped it off like paper, despite the broken armor still attached. Rust let out a bloodcurdling scream as the ShadowKiller picked him up in his jaws and threw him to the ground, then prepared the final blow.

Star looked away, and instead focused on getting to Boomer's spear so she could cut herself free. She managed to get the rope off her mouth with her paws and rolled toward Boomer's spear. When she looked up, she saw the ShadowKiller running toward Venom, his jaws covered in blood. Using his long claws, he sliced Venom in half. The ShadowKiller let out a roar of victory- and turned toward Star.

He jumped over the net that Infinity and Boomer were in, completely ignoring them. He stalked toward Star with his claws extended and his teeth bared. Star reached for Boomer's spear, but it was just out of her reach. However, the pack of boomseeds were. Star doubted they would do anything, but it was worth a try. Star grabbed the bag and took a boomseed out, which was really hard with her paws tied at the wrist. She took one out and threw it.

The ShadowKiller froze and backed away, hissing. Star scooted forward and grabbed the spear as the ShadowKiller batted away the boomseed before it could explode in his face. Star cut her binds, somehow managing not to impale herself, and stood up. She didn't stand a chance alone, but if she could release Boomer and Infinity, they might be able to fight it off.

Art by Nkurle

Star growled and stepped back, then realized that her paw was glowing. The ShadowKiller had stopped stalking toward her, and now just sat there glaring at her. Star dropped the spear and slammed her glowing paw on the ground, and a ring of light appeared underneath the ShadowKiller. Before he could react, the ring exploded in a burst of light. He went flying into the air and landed on his feet, covered in scratches and bruises. The ShadowKiller gave Star an odd look... was it disappointment? Then, it ran off.

Star, panting, grabbed Boomer's spear and cut Infinity and Boomer free. Being as exhausted as she was, she collapsed to the ground and moaned. She was covered in scrapes and burns where the phantoms had shocked her.

"That was amazing!" Infinity screamed, hugging her. She manged to sit up and hugged him back. But Boomer didn't celebrate. He picked up his boomseeds and spear and glared at Star.

"You weren't really going to give them the kangaroo Heartstone, were you?" Star asked Boomer, pulling away from Infinity's hugs.

"Of course not! I just told them that so they would let you go. As my duty as an Alpha, it is my job to put the inhabitants of Jamaa before myself." He paused and looked around, then turned back to Star. "But first, we need to talk."

Chapter 8: Restless Night

After everyone had gotten back in the car and they were driving back to Kimbara, Boomer demanded "Alright, tell me what happened back there. What was that?"

"What was what?" Star asked.

"That... that light. What you did to that monster," Boomer asked. "Also, what was that monster?"

"That was the ShadowKiller," Infinity answered for Star. "Those phantom's boss, Arim, keeps trying to the tame the thing. I don't think he realizes how dangerous it is."

"No, he knows how dangerous it is. That's why he wants it," Star muttered. Now that she thought about it, it was probably the ShadowKiller that had attacked the phantom's camp. But why had it gone through all the work of tracking down the phantoms after they had escaped it the first time?

Boomer nodded, but kept his eyes ahead. "Okay. Now answer my first question. What was that thing you did?"

"Erm..." Star gazed at Infinity helplessly. "It was... I actually have no idea."

"Star, quit lying to me. I know that you know what that was."

"Star, just tell him," Infinity whispered. "He could help us."

Star sighed. "Okay... just don't tell anyone, apart from the other Alphas. You promise?"

"Depends on how big of a secret it is."

Star glanced at Infinity for assurance. He nodded. "Okay, you see... we're the lost Elementals."

Boomer brought the car to such a sudden stop that Star smacked her head on the seat in front of her a second time. Boomer turned around to look at her. "You're the what?"

Art by Firedragon0729

"The Elementals."

Boomer squinted at her. "What is that? A gang or something?"

"Uhhhh..... no. You don't know what that is?" Boomer shook his head.

"The main six Alphas would know," Infinity said. "They were alive when..." he trailed off.

"Than that'll be our next stop. That was definitely magic you did back there, so I should tell the main Alphas about it." Boomer started up the car again and drove smoothly through the savanna. In no time, they were back in the outskirts of Kimbara. Along the way, Boomer asked them a few questions. "So, can the rest of you do that?"

"Yes," Infinity replied. "Our magic is based off each of the Elements. Light, darkness, fire, water, nature, earth, sky, storm, and ice. The rabbit, Carrot, can't do magic though."

"Interesting." What felt like only minutes later, Boomer drove up to Laura's house. They all got out of the car and entered the house. Before Star went in, hoever, she looked around for Carrot. There was no sign of her. "How did it go?" Mari asked the moment she got inside. Miaklianne was sitting on one of the sofas, drinking a cup of water. Laura was nowhere in sight. Neither was Carrot.

"We found the phantoms who had abandoned the camp. I think it was because the ShadowKiller had gotten to them," Star explained, sitting down on the sofa by the table. Infinity sat down beside her, and suddenly, she felt something... odd. She wasn't sure how to describe it. Laura came out of the kitchen and smiled at them, and the feeling faded.

"Oh, you're back!" she exclaimed. Once she noticed the fresh scratches and bruises on Star, her smile faded. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Star muttered. Miaklianne pressed his hand on a particularly painful scrape on her forearm and the pain faded.

"I saw the camp, and it is exactly what I feared," Boomer said suddenly. "Tell them what happened." Infinity and Star took turns telling everyone what had happened back at the camp, all the way to getting attacked by the ShadowKiller and almost getting captured. They didn't leave anything out.

After they had finished, they looked out at everyone. Miaklianne looked deep in thought. Mari looked worried. And Laura looked surprised. "You... you have magic?" Laura asked. Star nodded.

"So do I. It's not like theirs, though," Miaklianne admitted. "I can heal others without much effort."

"We are going to Alpha Quarters to discuss it with the other Alphas. They say that the main six should know more about it," Boomer explained to Laura. She nodded, watching Mia heal Star's wounds.

"We'll go tomorrow morning. "Is is okay if they stay here, Laura?" Boomer asked.

"It's fine with me. It gets lonely here anyway, I'll enjoy the company," Laura answered.

"Okay. I'm going to schedule a meeting with the Alphas while I can, so you guys get comfortable here. It was... nice to see you." Boomer turned and left, closing the door behind him. A minute later, they heard his car start up and drive off.

"Is anyone ready for dinner?" Laura asked.

Star quickly checked a clock on the wall. She had totally lost track of time. "Oh. It's okay, we brought our own food."

"Oh, don't worry about it. I have plenty of food. What do you prefer?"

....

(Thismusic goes well with her dream)

After they had eaten, Laura brought them to guest rooms where they made themselves comfortable. They all shared a room, which was fine with them. For the rest of the evening they chatted and did their own things. It was only until they had gone to bed when Star remembered to tell them about her vision the night before. But looking over at their sleeping faces, she decided it could wait. She laid down her head and drifted off.

A few minutes later, she woke up panting. She was running through a shriveled, dead grassland at full speed. The sky was dark purple and cloudy, and a venomous green glow was along the horizon. The grassland may have once been beautiful, but now it was dead, every blade of grass was a dark, sickly brown. The ground was cracked and dry, causing her paws to bleed whenever she stepped on a sharp piece of dirt. The grassland stretched out as far as the eye could see, there was nothing else in sight.

She tripped on a sharp piece of rock jutting from the ground and collapsed in the dying grass. Despite the blood running freely from the fresh cut on her wrist, she continued to run. She was looking for something... but she wasn't sure what.

Then, in the distance, she spotted something. A lone tree, standing in the distance ahead of her. She picked up the pace and didn't stop until she was in the shadow of the dead, black tree. It had no leaves, but the wide-spread branches showed that it was once an acacia tree. The bark was peeling off, and what remained was black as charcoal. She pressed her scraped paw against the tree, silently mourning for it. Then, what was left suddenly crumbled into ash.

Ahead of her, the grass faded into dark, stony ground. Black vines covered in thorns grew out of the cracks in the dead, lifeless earth. Ahead, toxic smoke drifted into the sky. The dead, blackened husks of what might have been trees stuck out of the earth, no longer the beautiful work of nature they once were. The occasional splatter of poisonous black goop or blood could be seen through the dirty, polluted air. This was the Edge of Jamaa, where the desolate Badlands took over. And it was spreading. Fast.

Suddenly, something seized her by the throat. She gasped for air, trying to pull free of whatever had grabbed her. She was forced to the cold ground, still struggling for air. She managed to twist around and kicked her captor right in the chest. It was thrown backward, struggling to regain its footing. She jumped to her paws and stared at her captor. It was a Phantimal cheetah. She heard a whoosh of wind and spun around, just as another Phantimal, a falcon, dove down and grabbed her in its claws. It pinned her down just as another animal held her still. Only, the third one wasn't a Phantimal. It was a scraggly direwolf. It was completely ordinary.

Except for it's eyes.

Its eyes were completely white.

She had heard of animals like these with white pupils, who were usually blind, but their pupils were actually just a very light gray and were slightly visible. This was not the case with the direwolf. Its eyes were pure white, with the slightest glow. Those eyes were not ordinary.

But that wasn't the only thing that disturbed her. While the cheetah helped hold her still, she saw the direwolf pull a syringe of gray liquid from a leather sack it wore. She kicked and struggled, but could not get free. It raised its paw and held the syringe over her.

Art by Firedragon0729

"There's no need for that. Drop her," came a voice nearby.

She was instantly dropped to the ground as the three strange animals made a ring around her. The syringe was inside the direwolf's sack before she could blink. Then she struggled to her feet and searched for the owner of the voice. She saw a dark green phantom a few feet away, holding a chain on one tentacle. He had a ragged scar over the corner of his eye, and spiked wristbands on his bottom side tentacles.

"General Smog, what do we do with her?" the direwolf asked in a strange tone. It sounded like he was talking in his sleep.

"Take her to General Arim. She has what we need," the green phantom, Smog, answered. She saw the glint of his spiked wristbands just before she was knocked out.

....

Star woke up panting. She had been clutching her blanket in her sleep so hard that her paws were sore. She didn't let go and sat there gasping while the effects of the dream wore off. After several minutes, she slowly got up and went into the kitchen to get a drink, still traumatized by the dream. It was so realistic, it felt like she had been there herself. But she had to remind herself that it was just a dream.

She turned on the light in the kitchen and grabbed a cup. She heard footsteps and turned around to see Laura join her. "Oh, hey there. I saw the light on and came to see what was wrong. Are you okay?" Laura asked.

"Bad dream," she responded simply. She still had that weird feeling, like something bad was about to happen. She hoped it was just from the dream. She sat down at the table and stayed there for a while. Laura sat down with her.

"Must have been a terrible dream," Laura said quietly.

"Yeah, it felt so real. I just really hope it isn't a vision."

"A vision?"

"Yeah, it's kind of like a dream that shows you something important. I've had them before... it's because of the Elemental powers."

Laura considered this. "What happened in your vision?"

"Well... I had one where I was in Kimbara Outback. Then an earthquake happened, and huge cracks appeared in the ground. The hospital fell inside, and rocks started jutting out of the ground. Then, a giant phantom tentacle came down and crushed everything," Star said quietly. "That's why we came here."

"Yikes." They stayed quiet for a while until Laura finally spoke again. "I had a dream kind of like that. I was somewhere in Kimbara, and everything started shaking. There weren't cracks in the ground, but suddenly all these phantoms started flooding the place. I ran away before they could get me, then I ran into a cliff and couldn't get away. The phantoms grabbed me and I woke up."

Star could tell that Laura was getting uneasy. Something about Laura's dream was also unnerving her. She emptied her cup and cleaned it. "I'm going back to bed now."

"Okay," Laura responded as Star left the kitchen. She went to her guest room and laid down in her bed, thinking about her dream. And Laura's. But then a strange thought entered her mind.

What if Laura was an Elemental?

Chapter 9: Revealed

When they woke up in the morning, Laura had breakfast already prepared. They ate it quickly and Star gave them all a brief summary of her dream.

"It was was really creepy. I think I was a smaller animal in my dream, like a rabbit or something, because everything seemed bigger," Star concluded.

"Yikes," Infinity remarked. Miaklianne, Star, Infinity, and Mari were all sitting at the round table in the kitchen. Laura was making a call in another room.

"Oh, and also... Laura told me that she had a dream a few nights back. It was kind of like my vision with the earthquake, except Laura was being chased by phantoms and rocks weren't shooting out of the ground," Star explained. Suddenly, she remembered her vision a few nights back. She had to tell them now, before it was too late. "Hey... I meant to tell you this before, but I also had-"

"Good news!" Laura suddenly yelled, hopping into the room. "I got in contact with Boomer and he said he managed to set up a meeting with the main six Alphas. He was busy dealing with the phantom camp you found and wasn't able to contact me until tonight. It'll be in thirty minutes, so you better get packed. I'll bring you there."

"Oh, that's great!" Mari exclaimed. They cleaned up their plates and set to packing. The moment they entered their room to gather their things, Miaklianne asked them a question.

"Do you think she is an Elemental?" he asked.

"Laura? Why do you say so?" Mari questioned.

"She had a dream just like Star's. It could be warning her of the same thing it was warning Star," Miaklianne explained.

Mari considered this as she gently placed the items she had taken out of her suitcase and put them back in. "You could be right."

"I agree," Star said. "I kept getting this weird feeling whenever she was in the room. Is there any way to be sure though?"

"I'm not exactly sure," Mari responded. No one said anything for a few minutes, and Star decided to take this time to tell them about her vision with Arim and the prisoner.

"Hey guys, I need to tell you something. I kept trying to tell you earlier, but I was either interrupted or distracted.

"Oh," Infinity muttered. "Well, what is it?" Star gave them a brief explanation of her strange dream. In the end, she was rewarded with several shocked faces.

"Two visions in one day? That seems odd," Miaklianne observed.

"Actually, it's not," Mari said. "The Light Elementals were known for their visions. And the more visions, the more important the thing that their powers were trying to warn them of."

"But what do those two visions have in common? They were completely different. The only thing similar between them was phantoms and prisoners," Infinity explained.

"...and Arim."

They sat there in silence the rest of the time, thinking over what they had learned. In just a few minutes, they were all packed and ready, and met Laura in the main room.

"Ready to meet the Alphas?" Laura asked with a wide smile.

Star actually wasn't ready to meet the revered guardians of Jamaa, but she said yes anyway. They all packed up and got into Laura's car, which was a dirty red and had multiple scratches. As Laura started the engine, Star prayed to Mira that this would go well.

....

The drive was longer that Star liked, all the way from Kimbara to the Alpha Headquarters in Southeast Jamaa Township. Before Headquarters was built, there used to be an unpopular building known only as Club Goez, a small place to hang out and listen to disco music. It ended up getting destroyed when mysterious glowing lines appeared all over Jamaa sometime around October, the year before. The glowing lines turned out to be involved with a secret chamber in the Lost Temple of Zios, known as the Forgotten Archive, which was reopened during the eclipse. The lines were called the Lines of Power, and not much is known about them.

Getting back to the point, the Alpha Headquarters was built where Club Goez used to stand. Before the Headquarters, it was difficult to contact the Alphas. Now meetings could be assigned with all the Alphas, or just a few, with little difficulty.

As they drove up to the large building, Star couldn't help but to gasp at its imposing beauty. She'd never seen it in person, only on photos on the Internet. It was a large crystalline building built of different types of crystals, stone, and trimmed with gold. It had a large purple, plated roof. The entryway had the most crystals, each with a unique, iridescent shine. There were two statues of Mira at the front door. The building was considerably large, with a small canal on the side that allowed the river to temporarily go inside the building, allowing water animals to meet up with the Alphas.

Laura parked the car and let everyone get out, letting them leave their suitcases inside. They pushed open the gold-trimmed door and were greeted by a white and gray flamingo in a suit.

"What are your names?" he asked.

"I'm Laura, and this is Infinity, Miaklianne, Star, and Mari," Laura answered him.

"Come with me," he said, turning and strolling through the brightly lit room. The room that they were currently in was large and round, with a crystalline floor and statues of the Alphas lining one wall. On the side there was a small river, with a few seals playing in the water. The room was fairly crowded, filled with animals admiring the statues, trading, or reading the information plaques below the statues that talked about the Alphas.

"Do they usually ask for your names?" Infinity asked.

"No, but you are appointed for a meeting with the Alphas," the flamingo answered. He lead them to the end of the room where there was a wooden stairway leading to the next floor. On the second floor, there where the Alphas armor on display and in another room, multiple interesting artifacts including the rare and powerful feather of Mira.

Star paused to look at the many items on display for animals to learn about. There were portal crystals, boomseeds, a live chomper plant, the phantom beacon, Mira's feather, and even whirlpearls, the underwater substitute for boomseeds. There was a burly direwolf wearing rubber gloves and holding a vial of some sort of black substance, which Star guessed was phantom goop. The direwolf shook the goop onto his gloved hand and tossed it to the chomper plant, which opened its mouth and snapped up the oily substance.

The flamingo led the group to a wooden door labeled 'Authorized personnel only'. Inside was a decently long hallway with a few doors on the side. It wasn't quite as fancy as the other rooms, but it was neat, with a red carpet going down the whole hallway and a crystal embedded above each door. The flamingo went to a wooden red door at the very end of the hallway and opened it. Star stepped inside and gasped.

They were in a large, bright room with a huge, domed ceiling. The room seemed to be mostly made of lightly colored crystals, with everything emitting an iridescent shine. The ceiling was impossibly tall, with stained glass at the top. Along the sides of the room were tall stained glass windows, each trimmed with stone and displaying a unique pattern. In the center of the room was a long stone table, decorated with colorful crystals and intricate patterns. There were seats lining the longer sides of table, with one on each of the shorter ends.

And sitting in the seats farthest from the entrance were the Alphas. Most of them, anyway. Star saw Liza the panda, Sir Gilbert the tiger, Greely the wolf, and Graham the monkey. They were discussing something, which Star heard a bit of before the Alphas noticed their arrival.

"...can't believe Peck and Cosmo got to stay out and do something interesting, while I have to deal with this fake alarm," Star heard Greely's gruff voice say.

"Fake?" Graham responded. "There is utterly no proof of that, and you don't even know what Peck and Cosmo are doing at this moment, it could be much less interesting than this."

"I agree that it could be a false alarm," Gilbert said. "There are no records of the Elementals anywhere, and-"

"Ahem. Your visitors have arrived," the flamingo said as he stepped aside and let Star and the others enter.

"Oh! Welcome to the Alpha Headquarters Meeting Room!" Liza exclaimed, standing up.

"Not too shabby," Infinity commented, admiring the stained glass windows.

"Here, come sit," Liza offered, gesturing to the many empty chairs. Gilbert was on the farthest chair at the end of the table, Graham and Liza sat on the next farthest seat, facing each other, and Greely was seated next to Graham, looking uncomfortable and annoyed. Sir Gilbert looked a tad bit suspicious, but tried to hide it with a smile. Graham and Liza just looked happy and welcoming.

Star sat down closest to Liza, with Mari and Laura next to her. Miaklianne sat on the opposite side, a seat away from Greely to give him his space, with Infinity next to him. The flamingo closed the door.

"So, Boomer told us about that camp that you found. I take it you've met this Arim guy?" Liza asked.

Infinity nodded. "Yes. He captured all of us, apart from Miaklianna the lemur and Laura the kangaroo."

"Yes, we've heard reports of him before," Sir Gilbert informed them. "There were a few others from the prison you escaped from, who told us about Arim and how someone blew up the factory and freed all the prisoners. Not all of them made it back to Jamaa, though."

"Yeah, we were the ones who blew it up," Infinity said. "Too bad not everyone was able to make it back."

Gilbert nodded. "We appreciate the effort to save the prisoners, but thats not what we are here to talk about. Boomer informed us that Star used strange magic to defeat attacking phantoms at the hidden camp, as well as to fend off one of the phantom mutation, and shortly after claimed that you were the lost Elementals. Is this true?"

Sir Gilbert turned to Star, expecting an answer from her. She found herself fiddling with her paws nervously, but quickly stopped. "Uh, yeah. Exactly what happened."

"You're sure? And you're not just saying this to get attention, right?"

"Yes, I know what I did. And, er, said. And I can prove it."

"Okay, show us."

Star looked out at all the expecting faces, feeling even more stressed. She took a deep breath and tried not to focus on everyone staring at her, then held up her paws. She tried focusing on her paws, and the bright light filtering into the large room. She imagined light appearing on her paws, and tingling sensation formed on her body and traveled down her arms and to her outstretched paws. She opened her eyes just as a bight orb of golden light appeared, hovering in the air. The orb pulsed with light and gently floated up and down between her paws. Well, that's new, Star thought. It reminded her of the glowing spheres in Epic Wonders.

Star looked at the shocked expressions of the Alphas. Gilbert looked the most shocked, and was given a weird glance from Greely. Suddenly the ball of light flashed and disappeared.

"...Well then," Graham said after a moment of shocked silence. "We have a lot to consider."

"How is this possible?!" Sir Gilbert suddenly exclaimed. "No one should even know about this..."

"I'm not exactly sure whether this is good news or bad news. Ever since the eclipse, strange things have been happening," Liza observed, talking more to herself than anyone else.

After the initial shock died down, Sir Gilbert apologized for his sudden outburst. "My apologies, it's just... we haven't expected to see the Elementals ever again."

"We were hoping you could give some information," Mari asked politely. "My parents knew a little bit about the Elementals, their ancestors have tried to pass down the knowledge for generations, in case the Elementals ever returned. They knew very little though, and we hoped you could help us."

Liza nodded. "We don't know too much, but I'm sure we can help you. Not long after the Elementals were killed by the first phantoms in Jamaa, the first Alphas were appointed. After the phantoms were pushed out of Jamaa, the Jammers eventually gave up on the Elementals ever returning and forgot about them. Most of the now ancient writing about them... disappeared. The first Alphas were not us, however. You see, the Alphas have an extended life of up to a thousand years. When the current Alphas are going to pass away, the Heartstones choose new Alphas that the old ones share their knowledge with before they die. That is why we know more about the Elementals than anyone else. There have only been two generations of Alphas before us, and we figured that the Elementals were no more, never to return.

"We know that the Elemental's powers were passed down by each generation, though not genetically. When they first learned of their powers, they were typically renamed to a name with the letters of Mira in it. They had powerful magic corresponding to each of the natural elements, which could be used together to form larger elements. Examples would be wind, lightning, and water used together to create storm magic, and plants and rock could create earth magic, rock and fire could create lava magic, and it was rumored that light and darkness could be used together to create galaxy, or space magic. All the Elementals could have visions of the past or future, and could even create prophesies."

Star let all the information sink in. Galaxy magic sure sounded cool. Perhaps, if they found the dark Elemental, they could create the rumored space magic. Possibilities started to flood her mind, and she could feel excitement bubbling up. She had to remind herself that it was just a rumor, and probably too good to be true.

"So, what about the other Elementals?" Infinity asked.

Liza thought for a moment. "I know that the Elementals were always stronger together, and they could draw their magic from their surroundings, which is part of the reason that they died when the phantoms first came to Jamaa. But it also meant that it was easier to use their powers when in a group. I also recall that they could sense the magic of the other Elementals, making it easier to find someone who hadn't learned of their power yet. Of course, a lot of those things I mentioned could only be used with a lot of training."

"Before we continue, may I ask how many of you there are?" Sir Gilbert interrupted.

"Four," Mari chirped. "Star with the power of light, Infinity with the power of water-"

"Infinity the leopard?" Liza asked.

"Yes."

"Oh. Sorry for interrupting, It's just that a cat with the powers of water is an... odd choice."

"Not all cats hate water," Infinity piped up. "And we are great swimmers anyway."

Liza nodded. "I understand. Now, please continue."

"As I was saying, Infinity has the power of water, Arim with the power of lightning, and me, with the power of ice."

"Woooah, hold it there," Graham blurted, standing up. "Arim, the phantom who captured you, is an Elemental?"

Mari's boldness faded and a look of nervousness crossed her face. "Yes. He was my brother, before turning into a phantimal and then, a phantom. After that he managed to rise to the rank of General using his Elemental powers to scare and overpower the other phantoms."

"And he was your brother?" Graham confirmed.

"My... my adopted brother. We were both captured many years ago."

Star stared at Mari in shock. She'd never mentioned that her brother was adopted! What else could she be hiding from them?

"Did Arim survive the explosion?" Liza asked.

Mari nodded. "Yes. We didn't see him escape, but we are sure he survived. Star saw him in a vision." She continued by recounting all of the visions Star had, quickly summarizing each one.

"We should send extra protection over to Kimbara Outback," Sir Gilbert decided. "It is obviously in danger. We could also send some of the minor Alphas to guard the border of Appondale, since that was where the phantoms planned to spy on next, according to Boomer. Speaking of Boomer, he is currently scouting Kimbara's borders."

"It appears Jamaa may be in for some trouble," Liza added. "I don't mean to lower our spirits, but we should prepare for trouble. I'm glad that the Elementals have returned, but it might mean that danger is coming."

"Do you mind if I ask something?" Miaklianne asked. All attention turned toward him.

"Of course," Graham replied.

"As you know, I am not an Elemental, however I do have strange abilities that I have kept secret for a while. I have the ability to heal any wound, which is the reason I moved to Jamaa Township. I don't know how I got my abilities, but I discovered them when studying for a doctors title. I was wondering if you knew anything about this."

The Alphas paused to consider this. "How does it feel when you heal someone?" Graham asked.

"It's difficult to explain. When I close my eyes, I can see the injury in a... different way than you normally would. It looks almost like its made up of... strings, which I can rearrange to close up the wound, fix broken bones, and heal other similar injuries. It sounds strange, but it's true. No one can see me do it, except myself. I suppose I could reopen a wound if I wanted, but I've never tried that and probably never will."

After a long minute, Greely spoke up for the first time since the very beginning of the meeting. "My best guess is the ancient Lines of Power. I've taken great interest in them and studied them quite a lot. Ever since they appeared, unusual things have happened. Even though they are no longer visible, I'm sure that their magic is still flowing through Jamaa, and could give certain Jammers strange abilities."

"Do you think that's why we got the Elemental powers?" Star asked.

Greely shrugged, looking slightly annoyed at the attention he was getting. "Perhaps. But didn't the legends say that Mira and Zios themselves chose the new Elementals?"

"I think so," Liza said. She turned her attention back to her guests. "Do you have any more questions?"

"I was hoping we could learn a little more about how our powers worked," Star admitted.

Liza smiled sadly. "I was hoping so too, but sadly, we don't know everything."

"Perhaps they could learn more from the Forgotten Archive. There are still so many scrolls in there that we don't know about, and lots of myths and legends written in there," Graham pointed out.

"Good idea," Sir Gilbert agreed. "But let's keep your powers to ourselves for now. We don't want to start a bunch of commotion. We'll keep on the look out for anyone who may have powers, but you should report to us every couple days. And if we happen to find Arim... we'll try not to kill him."

"I can bring them to the Chamber of Knowledge," Laura offered.

"Thank you," Gilbert said. "Now, I think we can call this meeting dismissed."

Chapter 10: Prophecy

(I promise to speed things up in this chapter, TRUST ME DUDES)

Star looked out the window of Laura's car, watching trees and greenery flash by. They had agreed to take the Alphas advice and head for the Forgotten Archive, which could have information on the Elementals. Laura had offered to drive them there, thankfully.

The car passed onto a dirt road surrounded by tall jungle trees on both sides. Large ferns grew between the trees, and thick moss clung to the trunks. The farther they went into the jungle, the larger the ferns and thicker the trees. Soon there were vines hanging from the thick branches and ivy crawling up the trunks of trees. Thin rays of sunlight streamed through openings in the leaves overhead.

The dirt road suddenly turned to a large parking lot. There were several roads branching off the parking lot, but Laura parked beside a thin but worn path going deeper into the jungle. There was a large sign beside the path that said "Tᴏ ᴛʜᴇ Lᴏsᴛ Tᴇᴍᴘʟᴇ ᴏғ Zɪᴏs". A weathered sign beside it had the words "No motorized vehicles beyond this point".

Star got out of the car and immediately felt the damp heat. The air was warm and humid, and Star could hear insects buzzing around. She shook out her fur. The jungle was not a place for arctic wolves.

The others jumped out behind her and they began walking down the worn path. The jungle was named for the huge, ancient temple in the center that had once been a shrine to the great Sky Father, Zios. The jungle itself was originally called 'The Jungle of Zios', but was changed to 'The Lost Temple of Zios' after the Great War. Now the temple was just a bunch of ruins, but there were some shops and buildings around it that were still in good shape, some of which had been rebuilt. It was guessed that 56% of the jungle was still unexplored, so most visitors stuck to the roads and paths that wound through the jungle.

After a while, the path opened up to a large clearing. Around the edges were various buildings, most of which were old and crumbling, as well as a small river. Star recognized Brady's Lab and The Chamber of Knowledge immediately, as well as a building designed to look like a huge elephant, where Jammers could play Temple of Trivia. There were a few crumbling ruins and an old arch covered in vines, and various other buildings that were very widespread and looked much less used.

But in the center of it all was the main attraction.

The huge, golden mask of Zios himself hovered above a polished staircase leading into the ground. A year ago it had been dirty, broken and crumbling. In the Great War between phantoms and animals, Zios's had been slain, and all that remained was his crumbling mask. No one had known that it had covered the hidden staircase to the Forgotten Archive, an ancient library filled with scrolls that hadn't been read for thousands of years. When the great Eclipse had come, the mask had returned to a renewed state and revealed the hidden staircase.

Star realized she was panting from the heat. Her thick fur, made to withstand cold climates, was not helping her right now. Infinity, who was a snow leopard, also appeared to be having the same problem.

"So... do we just go right in?" Star asked. In the distance, beyond the buildings, Star noticed the silhouettes of more crumbling ruins.

By Shark0Bait

"I think so," Laura muttered. She hopped toward the staircase and was interrupted when a monkey wearing a suit and shaded glasses jumped in the way.

"What is your business in the Forgotten Archive?" he asked sternly.

Laura appeared surprised, but she responded calmly. "We are researching something and thought that the scrolls here would provide good information."

The monkey nodded slowly and briefly went over the rules of the Forgotten Archive. After that he allowed them to go inside. They descended the winding staircase and appeared in a large, underground room with long roots hanging from the ceiling. Shelves lined the walls, with hundreds of scrolls occupying them. A small shop was carved into the side of the staircase, and there was a shelf in the center of the room that had a golden statue of Zios's mask. Long green roots crawled down the walls and staircase.

In another section of the room, three large green portals lined on the wall cast the section of the room in greenish light. A small waterfall poured into a tiny pond on the edge of the room. Behind that was a staircase leading to another level.

Star gasped silently in awe. The place was beautiful. The only light came from the sunlight filtering into the room from the staircase, the portals, and a few candles scattered around. Despite that, it was easy to see all the beautiful details. There were only a few Jammers in the room though. There was a direwolf wearing a feathered mask looking at items in the store, and two arctic wolves and a deer standing together and reading a scroll. Star could hear muttering and wingbeats coming from the second level, but she couldn't see who was there.

As they reached the bottom, a Fearsome falcon glided down from the second level. She was light purple with a very light blue stomach, a tuft of long feathers on her head and the white and blue mystical pattern. She had bright blue eyes, and wore a Mira feather pendant. Swirling around her feet were blue and white mystical patterns, which floated through the air magically. As the falcon landed, the swirling patterns hovered just above the ground, slowly spinning around her talons. Star had only seen a Mystical animal a few times. They were very rare, and had magical appearances.

"Welcome to the Forgotten Archive! My name is Kalani," the falcon said with a bright smile. She had an old, wise voice. "Since there isn't any official librarian to keep things organized, me and several other animals are allowed to be temporary librarians. For the time being, I can also be your guide for today."

"Oh, thank you," Star said. "Are there any scrolls on... maybe, stories and legends of animals with, erm, magic?"

Kalani nodded. "There are still a lot of scrolls that haven't been read over, but we have been able to categorize most of them. The bottom left corner of that shelf over there is all about old legends and tall tales. If you can't find what you want, that box over there has some of the unorganized scrolls." Kalani used her wingtip to point to a box that was being observed by the two arctic wolves and a deer.

"And, If you need any help or have any questions, I will be on the second level. Enjoy your stay!" Kalani spread her wide wings and flew back up to the top level, the swirling Mystical pattern following her.

While the others went over to the shelves, Star decided to check out the box of unorganized scrolls. The animals sorting through the box were all males. One of the wolves had a light blue chest and tail, with a dark blue body and magenta swirls. He had green eyes and a leather band around his neck. The other arctic wolf had black chest fur and a white body, and green spots and eyes. The deer was dark gray with a white underbelly and sapphire eyes.He had dark brown gazelle horns and a bandage around his right ear.

"So... erm, have you guys found any scrolls about, like... ancient legends and stuff?" Star asked uncomfortably.

The black and white wolf glanced at his comrades. "A few. We were just helping Kalani sort these out." He pulled a few scrolls out of the box and handed them to Star.

"Thanks," Star said as she carefully unrolled one of the scrolls.

"Yeah. By the way, I'm Jack. This is Aril, and the deer is Daymoni." Star noticed the deer backing away uncomfortably.

"I'm Star." She smiled and began reading the first lines of the scroll. It appeared to be a poem about dragons and other mythical creatures. Star sighed in disappointment and went to the next one. Meanwhile, Aril took an odd-looking scroll out from the bottom of the box. It was inside a stone covering carved and painted to look like wood, with a golden rim and a golden seal that looked like a sun. It had many intricate carvings along the gold rim. Aril stared at it in awe, then called out to Kalani. "Hey, Kalani! Can you come here?"

Kalani flew down from the top level and landed beside him. "Woah, what's that you got there?"

"I don't know. Is this real gold?"

"Probably," Kalani muttered. Star looked up from the scroll she was reading and stared at the gold scroll in shock. "Why is it decorated like that?" she asked.

Art by Crystalrabbit1

"Lets find out." Aril tried to open it, but didn't seem to have any luck. He adjusted his grip and tried to yank it open, but it still didn't open. "Geez, what is wrong with this thing?!" Aril muttered angrily.

"Let me try," Jack offered. He took the scroll and tried turning the cap, but like Aril, he had no luck in opening it.

"Is there some sort of puzzle to open it?" Daymoni asked shyly, peering over Jacks shoulder to see the mysterious scroll. Jack fingered the intricate patterns and tried finding any buttons or clues, but was out of luck.

"Could I try?" Star asked. Jack shrugged and handed it to her. "Good luck with it. Trust me, it won't budge."

Star held the scroll carefully in her paws. She couldn't help but touching the beautiful gold sun on it. Suddenly, she felt a tingling sensation in her paws and the sun shimmered, barely enough to see. The seal flipped open and Star popped the top off without any effort. The other animals all gaped at her, totally stunned.

"How did you do that?" Aril exclaimed.

"I don't know. I just touched it. Maybe the seal was stuck or something..." But the tingling sensation she had felt was all too familiar.

Aril reached over and grabbed the case, then carefully pulled out the scroll and unrolled it. He began reading, but then his expression changed to disappointment within a few seconds. "It's just a weird poem. Clearly nothing worth putting in a case like that." He tilted his head toward the gold-rimmed scroll case.

Daymoni peered at the case and spoke quietly. "Is there anything else inside it?" Aril reached into the case and felt around, then withdrew his paw and shook his head. He put the scroll in its case and put it in a box beside him labelled 'poems'. The small group dispersed, but Daymoni and Jack stayed and continued to sort through the box of scrolls. Star was about to continue sorting through the box when curiosity got the best of her. She carefully took the scroll out of its case and unrolled it, then began reading.

.

Nine chosen to defend Jamaa,

will rise again in glory and awe

To defeat the evil lurking beneath,

will stop at nothing until its defeat

The Creature will be tamed by an untrustworthy force,

trying to save the one it hates most

The trusted will turn to betray their own,

the Overthrower will be overthrown

Mother of Shadows shall arise,

and bring forth evil older than Time

Those who are needed seem to be gone,

the Sun and the Feather will right the wrong

By Crystalrabbit1

Shivers went up Stars spine. She knew this, somehow. This was important. Then suddenly, images flashed through her mind, quick as lightning. She saw Light and Darkness merging together. A figure plummeting to its death. A feather that shone like a thousand suns. A cage of death shattering. A monster lunging at her throat. A great beast, intent on the destruction of Jamaa.

Star gasped and dropped the scroll, staggering backward. Infinity noticed and rushed to her side.

"Star?! Are you okay?"

She nodded numbly, then snatched the scroll off the ground, holding it carefully in her paws. "I-Infinity... I know what this is." She turned the scroll so he could see the writing.

"It's a Prophecy."

Chapter 11: Attack

Infinity stared at the scroll in amazement, quickly reading it over. After a moment of shocked silence, he whispered, "We need to show Mari."

They immediately ran over to Mari, where she was looking through scrolls with Laura and Miaklianne. "Mari, look at what we found!" Star exclaimed, then added quietly, "It's a prophesy."

Her eyes widened and she snatched the scroll in her talons, reading it quickly. Mia and Laura peered over her shoulders and read it too.

"This is exactly what we need. Any ideas on what it means?"

Star and Infinity stared at her blankly.

"I... understand the first line...." Star muttered hopelessly. The nine heroes were probably the nine Elementals, although Star was pretty sure that line was obvious. Mari handed the scroll back to Star, who placed it its case.

"So, Mari... what do we do now?" Infinity asked. Mari opened her beak to respond when a loud BOOM sounded nearby. The ground vibrated slightly, and Mari looked around in confusion. There was a loud scream and three animals bolted down the stairway into the Forgotten Archive.

One of the animals, a red panda, yelped in horror. "Help! The phantoms are attacking!!"

Kalani immediately flew over them, an intense expression taking over her face. "Do you know where they came from, and are there any other animals outside?"

The red panda shook in fear, but managed to mutter an answer. "T-the phantoms came out of the jungle.. w-with a bunch of strange animals..."

Kalani ushered them farther into the Archive, then ordered everyone to stay inside. "I don't want anyone to leave, unless the phantoms somehow get in. I'm going to call for help and fend off the phantoms as long as I can." With that, she flew up the staircase.

"I guess that means we leave?" Infinity said with a smirk.

Mari rolled her eyes. "We can go help, but please don't be stupid or get caught."

"Hold on, Kalani said to stay here," Laura objected.

Infinity shook his head. "We can't let her fight those phantoms alone. Plus, we aren't normal Jammers." He ran toward the entrance and started up the stairs, with Mari close behind. Star started to go forward when she felt a paw on her shoulder. She turned to see the rusty red direwolf wearing the feathered mask.

"Uh... is something wrong?" she asked. The direwolf reached for his mask with his other paw and ripped it off. He grinned a wicked grin, and Star saw his pure-white eyes. Memories of her dream in the badlands came flashing into her mind. She started to tug away, but the direwolf grabbed her head and forced her to the ground.

"Get off me!" Star snapped, clawing at his stomach with her back legs. The direwolf snarled and dug his claws into the thick fur on her neck, piercing the skin beneath. She was aware of animals screaming, and heard the distinct voice of Laura. Suddenly, the direwolf was thrown off her with incredible force. Star staggered to her paws and saw Laura beside her.

"That was a powerful kick," Star complimented.

Laura ignored her compliment, and instead asked, "Why is that thing attacking you?!"

"No idea. All I know is that it has to be working with the phantoms."

As if in response, the direwolf howled and lunged forward. His claws stretched for Star, who jumped to the side at the last second. Laura leaned on her tail and thrust her legs at the direwolf, delivering another powerful blow. The direwolf fell onto the ground and rolled to a stop. Star thought it had been knocked unconscious, but then opened its glowing eyes and stood up. Star prepared for another attack, but next thing she knew, Aril the arctic wolf was on top of it, snapping and clawing.

Star rushed over to help and managed to force its head down to keep it from biting everyone. With help from Aril and Miaklianne, they managed to hold down the insane direwolf. It was unnaturally strong, even for a wolf.

Panting, Aril turned to Star. "Okay, what the heck is this thing?" he snapped.

"How should I know?"

"You knew it was with the phantoms."

"I just guessed."

Before Aril could snap back at her, they heard a loud crash. Three purple animals, one being a great-horned owl, rushed into the Archive. The three animals ran toward Star in terror. She was about to ask them whether Kalani was okay, when she realized that these animals weren't fleeing in terror. In fact, they weren't animals at all. They were Phantimals, with pale, blank eyes. Before she knew what was happening, three Phantimals had all piled onto her, clawing and biting at her. She yelped in terror, flinging her legs around wildly and hoping she would hit one of them. The other two Phantimals were a lion and a coyote, both of which seemed intent on killing her.

Someone pulled the coyote away, and Star caught a glimpse of Miaklianne trying to throw his sword at the owl. Having no choice, Star focused her energy on the ancient power inside her, and an orb of light appeared in her paws. Willing it to grow hotter and hotter, Star smashed the orb of light into the lions face. He staggered back, roaring in pain. Star caught a flash of burn marks in his face as he lunged at her again. She ducked and rolled, thankful for all the training she'd had at Mia's.

The lion swerved and charged at her again. Putting her energy into focus, another orb of light appeared in her paws. Once the lion was close enough, she jumped to the side and smashed the orb into his flank. He roared and swiped a massive paw at her. All five claws raked across her face, sending pain all the way down her neck. She staggered backward, panting, and prepared another orb of light.

She barely caught a glimpse of it before the Phantimal owl grabbed her shoulders in its talons and pushed her to the ground. She managed to lift her arm and smash the orb of light into the owl. It screeched and flapped desperately to get away. Star noticed smoke coming off its feathers.

She pushed herself to her paws and saw Aril fighting the strange direwolf by jumping onto its back and biting it.

The direwolf, who seemed to never tire, managed to grab Aril's leg in his jaw. He threw Aril at the wall and charged at Star, still determined to do whatever he had been ordered to do. Laura noticed and cried out in anguish. She stretched out her hand toward Star, and the most unexpected thing happened. The ground began to shake, and a large slab of rock erupted from the ground, creating a barrier between Star and the direwolf.

Art by Crystalrabbit1

Star recalled the vision she'd had of Kimbara. The rocks coming out of the ground... they looked exactly like this. And suddenly, Star knew what it meant. The rocks, the earthquake, Kimbara...

And then she heard a bloodcurdling scream. A scream that belonged to Laura's. Fueled by rage and worry, Star ran out from behind the slab of rock and saw the direwolf holding Laura by the shoulders in his jaws. She was completely limp, meaning she was either unconscious, or dead.

Star cried out in anger, feeling the rage build up into a long spear made entirely of golden light. She thrust her paws forward, and without even touching the spear, it hurled at the direwolf. At the last second, however, the Phantimal lion was pushed into the way of the spear. The spear hit him hard in the side and dissipated on contact, but still left a deep wound. The lion collapsed, unmoving.

Oop I made her paw pads the wrong color... oof. Background is by Animal Jam. (It's just a slightly altered screenshot, I didn't draw it)

Star was suddenly aware of Infinity and Mari's voices. She looked up and found the Phantimal owl swooping toward her. The owl spread its wings and, strangely enough, stopped moving. It was still flapping its wings, but wasn't moving forward. Star stepped a way in confusion and saw of Kalani pointing her wing at the owl. She lowered her wing and the owl suddenly fell to the ground, where Kalani flew over to attack it.

Star backed away and looked around for Laura and the direwolf. Through all the chaos, she could hardly tell who was who or what was what. She managed to get a glimpse of a red tail disappearing up the stairway. She charged after it, despite the burning pain in her face and her exhaustion. She emerged from the Archive and saw the direwolf disappearing into the jungle, with Laura limp in his jaws. Star felt a pang of guilt and sadness hit her. She began to run forward when a phantom jumped into her way, wielding a long spear.

The phantom swung its spear at her, but it was snatched out of the air. Star looked up and saw a strangely colored toucan clutching the stolen spear in his talons. In a split second, the phantom was stabbed straight through the eye and disappeared into a poof of black dust.

The toucan landed in front of Star, and only then was she able to see how big he was. He was much larger than any toucan Star had ever seen. He was a dark, pale blue color, with pale yellow wingtips and face. He had a bright orange beak with a bright cyan stripe going down it, and he had several marks in his wings and eyelids of the same color. As well as that, he had very unusual clothing, marked with tribal designs and decorated in leaves.

Jamal (art by meee)

"Ma'am, are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah... yeah, I'm okay." She reached a paw up and touched the scratches on her face, and pain flashed through her. "Actually, no, I'm not."

"I am Jamal, Alpha of the Toucans. You should leave immediately and get medical help," he ordered as he pointed a wingtip at one of the paths leading through the jungle.

"Wait, no! Laura is in danger-"

"Whose Laura?"

"My friend. She was taken into the jungle by an evil direwolf."

"Was he a Phantimal?" Jamal suddenly spun around and sliced an approaching phantom in half using the spear he'd stolen.

"No... but he was working for the phantoms."

"If he wasn't a Phantimal, then he wasn't working for the phantoms," Jamal said flatly.

Star gritted her teeth. "I know what I saw. He attacked me, and helped the Phantimals take my friend."

Jamal opened his beak to respond, then jumped out of the way as a phantom charged at him. He snatched the phantom in his huge beak and flung it into a tree, then turned back to Star with a commanding expression. "I'll make sure the other Alphas know about this, but right now isn't the time to discuss whether this direwolf is evil or not. Your friend is probably too late to save right now, and you need medical attention. You should leave, and get help if you can." Jamal then spun around and continued attacking the invading phantoms.

Star wasn't about to abandon her friends in a fight, but she knew that she needed to get her wounds dealt with. So she turned and ran back into the Archive, faintly hearing Jamal calling to her that she was going the wrong way. But she knew something that he didn't.

As Star entered the Archive, the first thing she saw was pure chaos. Scrolls scattered everywhere, animals fighting for their lives. The Phantimals were being outnumbered, as the survivors that had entered the Archive looking for refuge had joined the fight. Star leaped down the stairs after locating Miaklianne and charged toward him. He was swinging his sword frantically at a lone phantom that had gotten into the Archive. Once the phantom got close enough, he managed to land a hit and sliced the Phantom clean in half.

Star ran up to him, panting. "I need help," she gasped.

He nodded, and quickly placed his hands in her snout. She felt a cool, tingling sensation wash over her, and she felt the pain dissipate. When he took his paws away, she felt her face. Only thin scratches remained.

"Thank you," Star said with a quick smile.

"Yeah, no problem. Where's Laura?"

Guilt washed over Star, making her feel numb. "The direwolf took her into the jungle... I don't think she's coming back."

.

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"Take the ones you can, and get out of here!" someone called. Star recognized it as the gurgling voice of a phantom. She caught a glimpse of the Phantimal coyote flinging Aril at the wall, who went limp as he slid to the floor. The sound of a scream then echoed in the room, and Star saw Daymoni being dragged away. Star noticed that the phantoms were fleeing, but they were trying to take prisoners with them.

Jack lunged at the phantom holding Daymoni, but it knocked him away and escaped the archive, taking the struggling deer with him. Jack slowly got to his paws, then groaned. "No, no, no... they took Daymoni! There's no way he's gonna survive a day in the phantom prisons!"

"We still have time to save him," Kalani assured him. She appeared exhausted, but was unwilling to let the phantoms take him away. They followed the phantoms out of the Archive, and Star found herself running behind them. She was also exhausted, but she wouldn't sit by and let the phantoms take more prisoners. She thought about her time in prison, and rage urged her on.

Art by ViciousBeeV

As they reached the surface, they caught sight of Daymoni struggling against the phantoms. Jack rushed forward and bit one of the phantoms holding him. Jack suddenly jumped back, as he had been shocked. He growled and swiped his claws at the phantoms, desperately trying to free Daymoni. Another phantom came up behind him with a spear, and Star called out, trying to warn him.

But it was too late.

The phantom thrust his spear right through Jack's chest. Shock registered on his face for a split second before his body fell to the ground, and slowly stained the grass red. The phantoms fled into the forest with Daymoni, and left Star and her friends with Jack's lifeless body.

Chapter 12:

Star's knees were weak, and she felt tears in her eyes. She'd only known him for a few minutes, but it hurt to see him die like that. No one deserved to die like that, fighting for their friends.

Jamal suddenly burst out of the trees on the opposite side the phantoms had fled, with a group of armored Jammers he had gathered behind him. He opened his beak to speak, but then saw Jack's body and stopped. He landed beside Star, confusion and anger flashing across his features. "What happened?!" he snapped.

"He tried to stop the phantoms from taking away his friend, but..." Infinity trailed off.

Jamal turned to the group of armored jammers behind him, fury etched across his features. "Follow the phantoms into the forest and see if you can save any of the prisoners." He turned back to Star and the others who had fought the phantoms. "You guys head back to your homes or get medical help if you need it."

Star turned around and padded over to Infinity and Mari. They were both staring at Jack, silently mourning him. Infinity saw Star approaching and immediately turned around to face her. "Star, you'll never believe it. Kalani, she's actually the wind Elemental! She discovered it several years ago, and when the Forgotten Archive was discovered, she offered to become Librarian so she could learn more about the Elementals. It sounds like she knows a lot."

"Indeed." Star turned around and saw Kalani fly up to them. The mystical swirl patterns hovered slowly around her feet.

"I wonder, though, why those creatures came here. And why they were so interested in Star." Kalani looked at the scars on Star's snout and frowned sadly. "And why they took your kangaroo friend instead."

"Her name is Laura... Speaking of which, I think- no, I know she is an Elemental. When the direwolf tried to attack me, she put out her hand and a huge slab of rock just grew out of the ground. She also had a dream similar to a vision I had. And that vision, I think I know what it meant." Star glanced at Infinity and Mari, who were listening intently. "The dream took place in Kimbara Outback because that's where we found Laura. The earthquake and the rocks coming out of the ground showed that she had the rock, or earth Element. And the phantom crushing everything... that represented the phantoms taking Laura."

"We have to get her back!" Infinity exclaimed, jumping to his paws.

Memories of the phantom prison flashed through Stars mind. The thought of going back to a place like that made her feel sick. "We- we can't go back to one of the phantoms prisons. We could get captured, and its too late to follow the phantimals there."

"Star makes a valid point," Kalani stated.

"Then what are we supposed to do? We can't just leave her!" Infinity looked visibly worried. Star was worried as well, but she just couldn't stand the thought of going back to that prison... just thinking about it made her feel sick and anxious.

"We could tell the Alphas, " a voice said behind Star. She yelped in shock and jumped back, as she hadn't known he was there or when he got there.

"Sorry, did I scare you?"

"Yeah... little bit."

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BAHAHAHAHAHA

Work In Progress

SO I'M BACK FROM AFRICA BUT I GOTTA GO START SCHOOL NOW SO EXPECT UPDATES, BUT NOT FREQUENTLY

SORRY TO DISAPPOINT

HAVE A NICE DAY