By: Jumper Prime
For Disclaimers see chapter 1
Chapter 3: Tiger's Battle with Destiny
Genki, Moochi, Holly, Suezo, Tiger, Hare, and Golem were walking down the road on a bright sunny day when a Cabalos(Tiger/Naga) jumped out in front of the group. They immediately went on the alert, ready to fight, but the Cabalos was alone and didn't attack. Instead, it delivered a message.
"Greetings rebels," the purple Tiger-type said "I bring a message from Master Grey Wolf. He challenges Tiger of the Wind to a duel of honor. No Baddies will interfere and no other rebels are to tag along."
"I agree." Tiger responded immediately
"No Tiger!" Genki cautioned "It could be a trap!"
"Trap, chi." Moochi echoed
"For all we know, Grey Wolf and a bunch of his Baddies could gang up on you as soon as you arrive." Holly noted
"In such a situation, the odds would not be good for you." Hare agreed
"Enough!" Tiger roared "I've already accepted the challenge, and that is final!"
"At least let us come with you." Holly offered "We won't interfere and we'll make sure Grey Wolf plays fair too."
"No way." The Cabalos said calmly "Either Tiger comes alone or I don't lead him to Master Grey Wolf."
"Then let's go, already." Tiger snarled
With a smirk, the Cabalos turned and started running with Tiger close behind.
"Tiger! Wait!" Genki called out to his friend but Tiger either didn't hear or simply ignored him. In mere moments both Tiger and the Cabalos were out of sight.
"Now what do we do?" Holly sighed "Grey Wolf won't keep his word. If Tiger gets the upper-hand, he'll cheat and we won't be there to help him."
"Don't be so sure about that, Holly." Suezo said with a hint of pride in his voice "GOLEM!" At Suezo's shout, Golem reached down and picked up the yellow eyeball and threw him high into the air "Got em!" he yelled as he reached the peak of his flight "They're heading for that mountain!" As Suezo fell back down, he saw Golem turn to peer in the direction Tiger and the Cabalos had gone. "GOLEM! CATCH ME!"
But the stone giant did not catch the rapidly falling monster and Suezo found himself in a very recently created depression in the earth, feeling a bit of pain following his abrupt encounter with the ground.
"Sorry." Golem apologized to Suezo as he picked him up out of the hole and set him down on his thick tail
"Y'know Golem, sometimes I think you do that on purpose." Suezo said crossly
"Suezo, I would never do that on purpose."
"You guys can talk about it later," Genki interrupted "We gotta motor! Tiger might need our help."
So saying, Genki took off running, Moochi perched on his back, with Holly, Hare, Suezo, and Golem running right behind them. They stopped only once, for Golem to throw Suezo skyward again to get a better idea of Tiger's destination, and then they began running again until they reached the cliff face that Suezo had seen Tiger and the Cabalos scale by leaping from ledge to ledge. Genki, Holly, and the others could not leap from ledge to ledge as the Tiger-types had so they had to climb hand over hand. Golem offered to let Holly ride up on his back but she refused, preferring to make the climb herself. She soon discovered that she had no trouble keeping up with Genki and the others, in fact, the higher she got, the easier it seemed.
*And why shouldn't it?* Holly mused to herself *The Phoenix is a bird which soars through the air.*
[Indeed Holly.] The Phoenix's words echoed in Holly's head [The sky is, or at least was, my home. My power within you longs to taste the clouds again. Add this desire to the increased strength and agility the channeling of my power grants you, and this climb should be simplicity itself.]
*Increased strength and agility?*
[Yes. It is only a trickle right now, but the more accustomed you grow to my power, the more will flow.]
*Wow. I hope I don't disappoint you when the time comes.*
[Impossible. If you do your best, even if you fail to defeat Moo, I will not be disappointed. I have seen into your heart and can see the inner strength which was there long before I took up residence. My power is simply bringing that inner strength into the physical realm.]
As the group reached the top, they saw Tiger under attack by a pack of Cabalos.
"We were right." Genki frowned "Grey Wolf's Baddies're ganging up on Tiger."
"What do you say we even the odds?" Holly asked as she drew her dagger
"I say: Let's Rip It Up!"
Genki dashed towards the fight with Moochi on his back and the others close behind. Genki leaped into the air and Moochi separated from him as they reached the peak of their arc. Moochi, curled up in a ball, slammed into one Cabalos while Genki's extended foot kicked a Cabalos away from the beleaguered Tiger.
"Grey Wolf must've forgotten about his 'duel of honor.'" Genki said sarcastically and Grey Wold just smirked
"You might be interested to know," the silver Tiger-type began "That he's decided to join forces with me." There was a moment of silence after this declaration, which was immediately broken by the sound of laughter from Genki, Moochi, Holly, Suezo, Hare, and Golem.
"Did you really expect us to believe such an obvious lie?" Genki asked
"Oh, but it's not a lie."
"We know Tiger would never do such a thing!" Holly said with confidence
"I know Tiger better than any of you fools do!" Grey Wolf snarled angrily and hen howled "Cabalos, attack!"
At Grey Wolf's command, his pack of Tiger/Nagas leapt at the group. Holly dived out of the way of a charging Cabalos while the others similarly avoided attacks and started fighting the Baddies. Holly slashed with her dagger at a Cabalos which dodged aside. She managed to land a kick but before she could follow up, she had to jump clear of a Lightning attack from another Cabalos. Holly knocked away a nearby Cabalos with a kick and then sent a Flame Slash at the Cabalos that had tried to fry her, sending it reeling with burned fur.
"What in the world is that?" Suezo stammered and Holly looked in his direction to see the eyeball gazing at Tiger and Grey Wolf, who seemed to be in the eye of a miniature hurricane
"It's Tiger's Twister," Hare said "The deadliest of the Tiger breed's attacks."
Holly's attention was forcibly taken away from Tiger's battle by a Cabalos as its Roar knocked her over. Holly rolled to her feet, just avoiding getting cut by the monster's sharp claws, and slashed it with her dagger, drawing a little blood. She sent it reeling with a punch from her left hand and then suddenly heard Tiger give a cry of pain. Holly turned to see Tiger hit the ground as the mini-hurricane dissipated.
"Heh..." Tiger said quietly as his breathing hard and ragged "I... taught you that move."
Tiger then collapsed to the ground. Grey Wolf started to move towards him to finish him off, but Genki broke away from the fighting to get between them.
"You insult Tiger's warrior pride, boy." Grey Wolf mocked "Now get out of the way."
"I won't let you hurt Tiger." Genki replied defiantly
Suddenly, almost too fast for the eye to see, Tiger jumped to his feet and shot past Genki, impaling Grey Wolf with his horns. A shattering sound was heard at the moment of the hit as the crest on Grey Wolf's chest was shattered by one of Tiger's horns. Grey Wolf slumped to the ground, his fall bringing forth fear in the hearts of his Baddies.
"Cabalos! Retreat!" One Cabalos ordered and all turned tail and ran, leaving their fallen leader behind
"You beat me..." Grey Wolf rasped out "I'm proud of you."
"I'm sorry." Tiger said solemnly as he stood over his fallen brother, eyes closed so he could not see what he had done to him
"Don't be. I'm free now. I wish there was some way of going back to when we were innocent puppies again."
Grey Wolf went still, including his breathing. His body glowed and then changed, solidifying into a Lost Disc. Tiger opened his eyes and stared in horror at what had once been his brother. The rest of the group remained silent as Tiger let out a mournful howl.
End of chapter 3
For those who have seen and actually remember perfectly the events of "Tiger's Battle with Destiny" I ask your forgiveness as I only got to see it once due to Fox Family's idiotic policy of not showing two of the most important episodes in the entire series. I've done my best to reconstruct it from what little I remember of the episode, plus a semi-detailed summary I found on the Monster Rancher messageboard(mostly the summary) but there are likely distinct differences that have nothing to do with the change in Holly's status. On another note, this may be the last chapter of Phoenix Arisen that I write, due to a marked lack of interest that I have noted. In all the time that the first two chapters have been up, this story has received ZERO reviews. Since it has gotten a number of hits, I can only take this to mean that nobody likes it, so unless this story gets enough reviews to make me think otherwise, there will be no more chapters. Over and, quite possibly, out.
