Chapter 8: All Against One

Angel was on her way back to the Wind Chasing Forest. She knew that the other Zolnixies were headed back to the meadow to recover and fine plenty of food to eat as Stormblade starved them. Sebastian, Tux and Vanessa were at her side. They were wanting to help Angel get rid of Stormblade.

"I hope we can make it! Stormblade and his pride can attack our home without any guards there!" Sebastian was worried about Xavier and Windflight.

"Don't worry, Xavier and Windflight can fight! Rioku, Tyan and Joseph are there too! With them, those Lighiras won't stand a chance as much!" Angel reassured the worried Bulbori as they leaped of a few logs and reached the basket.

"I think we can fly there." Tux stopped Angel for a second.

"Alright, let's fly." Angel still had Sebastian on her back while Tux was letting Vanessa ride on him again. They flew over the seas and across a few islands. They finally reached the edge of the Wind Chasing Forest. From there, Angel could hear roaring sounds, it was like a fight broke out.

"What is that?" Tux wondered.

"I don't know, but come on! We gotta hurry!" Angel ran ahead, with Tux behind. Vanessa was clinging onto Tux so that she didn't fall off of his back. Sebastian was holding onto Angel, he looked ahead and saw a bunch of Lighiras near the entrance of the castle fighting. But they were not attacking their friends, they were all attacking Stormblade.

"All of you are traitors! All of you are!" The angry Lighira hissed.

"You took my Zolnixies! Give them back!" Ash roared and tackled Stormblade down.

Angel gasped when she saw her father for the first time in years, fighting with a Lighira at the risk of his own life.

"You are still weak from that last attack I gave you!" Stormblade slashed Ash in his sides. The Zolnixi howled in pain and tried to stand his ground. Angel leaped in.

"I don't think you wanna do anymore harm to my father!" Angel stood in front of him.

"Angel? Is that you?" Ash looked up at her.

"Yes, father it is me." Angel replied.

"Well, now I got you both!" Stormblade was about to attack them, but Sebastian used his light attacks to slow him down.

"Ow! You little!" Stormblade growled as Tux pounced on him. The Lighira slammed Tux right into the ground. The Vulynx was in pain as he struggled to get up. Vanessa used her darkness attack to keep Stormblade from moving towards Ash and Angel. The pain struck Stormblade, but the evil Lighira didn't give up, he broke free from the Ryori's attack and slashed her neck. Blood was flying in the air as Vanessa landed on the grass. Trying to gasp for air.

"YOU!" Angel roared at Stormblade and slashed one of his eyes out. He roared and tackled Angel down. Ash and Tux leaped on Stormblade and pinned him down.

"You will not hurt Angel!" Tux growled.

"Yes! Leave my daughter out of this!!!" Ash howled and bit down into Stormblade's neck. Blood was starting to come out but Stormblade used his back feet to kick Ash off and used his front paws to swipe at Tux. Tux leaped away and dodged the attack on time. He went over to Vanessa, who was lying on the ground.

"Help..." She whispered.

"Help is coming! I will get help!" Tux ran passed all of the Lighiras that watched the fight. Jaso was looking at Tux, he wondered why that kind of Vulynx would be there.

"Angel! Get him!" Jaso cheered for her. Angel was in a tough spot as Ash helped her out.

"I'm tired of you both! Time for you to die!" Stormblade growled. Ash was ready as he leaped at the same time as his opponent. Their claws were out and they each slashed each other in mid air. Angel watched in horror as she saw both her father and Stormblade hit the ground hard. Blood spilling like crazy.

"No! Father!" Angel ran up to Ash. Her father was on the ground breathing heavy.

"I gotta stay alive! I'm strong!" Ash's thoughts were clouded. He was trying to keep awake.

Sebastian was about to attack Stormblade, but when he stepped in blood, he looked at the Lighira on the ground. Stormblade was also trying to stay alive.

"You are one evil Lighira." Sebastian commented.

"Shut... Up..." Stormblade said his final words and closed his eyes. Never to open them again. Stormblade was dead.

Once Sebastian saw that the evil Lighira died, he looked over and saw Angel sitting near her father, who was on the ground and in he same state except that he was still alive somewhat. Sebastian hopped over to them. His wings were close together.

"Is he okay?" Sebastian asked Angel.

"I don't know, he's looking at me. He's trying to say something." Angel looked at her father again.

All of the Lighiras walked pass Angel and Jaso stopped and looked at her.

"We are so sorry for what we have done. I'm going to take my pride elsewhere." Jaso held Angel's head up with his paw.

"Thank you. But who are you?" Angel asked.

"I'm Jaso. I'm the good Lighira." He nodded to Angel and left with his pride. He never said goodbye or turned back to look at her. Foran followed the group. Whiplash and Jewel didn't look back either. They were to busy talking to each other. Angel finally turned to her father.

"Angel... I can still see you..." Ash choked.

"Father, I can't lose you too..." Angel started crying.

"Your mother will be proud of you..." Ash was starting to go limp.

"Father, I love you." Angel pressed her muzzle into the side of his fur, blood got on her nose.

"Angel... I love... You... Too..." Ash's pupil went upwards and turned small as he didn't say anything else. Ash was now dead.

"Father? Father! No... No!" Angel cried, tears streaming down her face and onto the ground. Her tears fell into his blood. Sebastian was by her side. Tux came back and noticed that Angel was crying.

He saw Ash's dead body on the ground.

"Oh no..." Tux looked over Ash's body.

"What will we do?" Tux sighed.

"We have to go back to the castle and get the others." Sebastian hopped to the castle. He opened the doors and went into the throne room to get Windflight.
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"What? Fighting? Angel is here too?" Windflight was surprised as she rushed passed Jena's nursing room and out of the doors to see a few figures from a distance. She ran towards Angel and Tux who was next to Ash.

"Move! What happened?" Windflight pushed passed Tux and saw Ash's body.

"He died while fighting him." Angel pointed to Stormblade's body.

"That Lighira! He must have been the one that was causing issues!" Windflight growled.

"Windflight. I don't know what to do now. My mother is gone. My father is gone..." Angel cried more.

"Angel, I think you need to go back home with your family. Your Zolnixi group." Windflight replied. She was sad too.

"You think so? But I love it here too." Angel was torn in two. She used to live in the meadow and she moved to the Wind Chasing Forest because of the buildings and new friends she made.

"I know you do. But if you are worried about Sebastian and the Ryori then you can stay here." Windflight smiled a bit.

Suddenly, the three Puffadors came to drag Ash and Stormblade's body away. They dumped Stormblade's body in the river and then they buried Ash's body in the ground and sprinkled gold dust on it.

"Thanks you three." Angel nudged them.

"Anytime Angel, your father will be in the Wind Chasing Forest." Tyan nodded.

"Angel, I will miss you if you leave us." Tux sighed.

"I know. But I think the other Zolnixies need me at the meadow." Angel finally cheered up and got strong mentally.

"You think so?" Vanessa's voice made Tyan jump. The pink Ryori was walking up to them. Bandages on her neck this time.

"I know so." Angel smiled at her friend.

"Vanessa!" Sebastian tackled her.

Angel giggled. But she turned to Windflight and Xavier who walked up to her. He was still a bit weak, but he was able to walk around again.

"Angel, I heard from Rioku and Joseph about your father. I'm so sorry that he died." Xavier dipped his head and closed his eyes.

"That's alright..." Angel whispered.

"So where will you go Angel? Will you stay?" Vanessa asked.

"No. I'm going back to the meadow. I need to become the queen and protect those Zolnixies." Angel shook her head.

"Angel... I will miss you..." Sebastian was about to cry.

"I will miss you too." Windflight licked her cheek.

"We will all miss you." Xavier nuzzled her sides.

"Thanks guys. This is for the best." Angel turned to leave. Tux was watching her and Vanessa cried.

"Angel..." Tyan looked at her.

"Angel..." Joseph finally said.

"Angel..." Rioku gave her a look.

Angel looked back at them all.

"Thank you all. Thank you all so much for what you've done for me in the past! I know we lost Quince and Maiden, but I promise I will visit some time." Angel called back to them.

Tux glanced at her, not wanting to cry like the others, but a few tears were leaving his eyes and going down his face.

Angel turned and walked into the deep forest and to the meadow to help recover her home. And make a new castle that the Lighiras destroyed. She was going to recover what was lost.
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Jenna was sad when she hear the news about Ash. She was the one that healed him back to his normal strength.

"Yeah, Ash was a nice Zolnixi to talk to." Tyan sighed.

"If only I healed him even more..." Jenna cried.

"It's okay Jenna, you did your best. I'm sure Ash is thanking you for it." Tyan placed his tail on her shoulder.

"Thanks Tyan." Jenna left the healing room for the night.

"Tyan, I think Angel will be fine." Rioku's voice made him jump. He looked back and saw the tiger Puffadore.

"Yeah, I hope so." Tyan liked seeing Angel everyday. He would talk to her a lot during their break time and take a drink from the lake together. He went outside of the castle and saw Sebastian, Tux and Vanessa sitting together in the grass. He came over to them.

"May I join you?" Tyan asked them.

"Sure..." Tux replied. He gave room for Tyan. The Puffadore lied down in the grass and looked up at the starry night sky.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Tux asked.

"Yeah, it is." Tyan answered. He smiled.

"Today was a good day. But I do miss Angel already." Sebastian sighed.

"I know, you were friends with her from the beginning." Tyan looked at the sad Bulbori.

"It's hard to part with friends. It's hard." Vanessa added.

"So since we live here now, what will we do?" Tux asked.

"Well you guys gotta work and help the king and queen with other duties." Sebastian replied.

"Oh..." They all said.

Angel was going home. Ash died to save her and her friends miss her. Xavier and Windflight are in the throne room, looking up at the night sky as well. They also miss Angel.
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Jaso and his Lighiras were back at their kingdom. The castle was still okay as he sent his pride to do their new duties and make them better.

"You all will recover this place. No Zolnixies are to be trapped here!" Jaso told everyone. All of the Lighiras got to work. Whiplash and Jewel were about to work, but Jaso came over to them both.

"What is it Jaso?" Whiplash grumbled.

"Do not growl at me. Listen, you both need a rest. Do not work today." Jaso placed his paw on Jewel's shoulder and padded away.

"You heard him, we get a few weeks off." Jewel shrugged as Whiplash smiled and followed her to their resting den.

Everything was almost back to normal for both sides.
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To Be Continued...

Chapter 9: A New Life

Tux woke up in the farthest room of the castle. He let out a huge yawn and stretched. From where he was standing, he could see Joseph and the others heading down to the dining room for breakfast. He walked out of the room to get some food too.

Everyone was cheerful, the Lighiras were gone and Stormblade's rule was over. Some of them talked about Ash and how brave he was in the battle. Windflight told Xavier about her new power and promised to show everyone her power at the end of the day.

Tux smiled when he heard all of the good news. Vanessa came up to him finally and spoke.

"So, how are you liking it here dude?" She smiled at him.

"This place is better than the islands." Tux responded with pride. He would miss Angel a lot, but he knew that she would come back to visit someday.

"Hey I wonder if you wanna go and visit Angel at her place today. We can gather Sebastian." Vanessa finally had an idea while she ate her food.

"Sure. I think we can sneak a peek at what she's doing so that we don't disturb her work." Tux replied while eating.

Sebastian heard them and landed next to them both.

"So we will see Angel?" He scared them.

"Whoa! Don't do that!" Tux hissed with a smile.

"Yes, we will see Angel and watch her work." Vanessa replied.

"Okay!" Sebastian was happy to hear that they were going to take a sneak peek at Angel and her place.
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Angel and the other Zolnixies were working. The castle was almost complete as the queen told them to take a break.

"Queen Angel, thank you." The Zolnixies breathed out and smiled.

"Anytime. Make sure that you all get enough to eat before we continue the rebuild." Angel nodded to them.

All of the female Zolnixies didn't have to work because they all had their own babies to take care of. In the bushes, Tux, Vanessa and Sebastian were watching from a distance. They were surprised to see so many Zolnixies in the meadow.

"So this is her home." Sebastian looked on.

"I guess so, it's so peaceful." Vanessa whispered.

"And it's a huge meadow. I guess this is why she came back." Tux looked at the huge meadow and saw the castle.

Finally, Angel looked over to the bushes and saw a few sylesties. She came over to their direction.

"Uh, I think she saw us." Sebastian froze in place.

"Hey guys." Angel was near them now. She knew it was her old friends.

"Oh hey! We were just stopping by!" Tux looked at Angel, he was afraid that she would chase them out.

"Alright, I didn't say that you guys couldn't visit. But since you are here, I will show you around for a bit." Angel smiled at them and waited for them to follow her.

Tux followed her along with Sebastian and Vanessa. They all walked through the Zolnixies that were eating their food.

"So this is your home, Angel?" Tux wondered.

"Yes, this is my home. You see, I was born here and as I got older, I got tired of the meadow life and came into the Wind Chasing Forest where I met a Luffox named Maiden. She accepted me into the forest and I lived there with my friend Sebastian for 2 years." Angel explained.

"But now this is your new life?" Tux questioned her.

"Yeah, it's my new life. But I will still be around." Angel laughed.

"Hmm..." Vanessa was pondering.

Angel showed them the castle and the lake next to it. Then she showed them the playground area for the younger Zolnixies. She even showed them the dens they made for when the rain was pouring. After that she took them back over to the bushes.

"You all have to leave now, I don't want the others to worry about you guys." Angel stood there and looked at them.

"Okay, Angel. It was nice seeing you again!" Sebastian hugged her back leg.

"I know Sebastian... We will meet again sometime later." Angel licked the top of the sweet Bulbori's head.

Sebastian blushed and hopped off along with the others.
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Later that evening....

Windflight was ready to show everyone her new power. They all gathered around near cliffs where Maiden and Quince were buried and looked at her. Xavier smiled and sat next to Tux. Tux was excited to see her new power and so was Sebastian. Vanessa never got the fact that powers existed. Tyan had to tell her before the moment began.

"Is anyone still coming? Are we missing anyone?" Xavier asked as the group of sylesties stopped talking.

Finally, Angel emerged from the bushes and rushed over to see Windflight's new power. She wanted to see her friends that night before she took rest at her castle. Xavier and the others turned their heads to see her, they were all excited.

"Angel! You're back so soon!?" Tyan rushed over to her and jumped up excitedly.

"Yeah, but only to see you all and Windflight's new power." Angel replied.

"Yay!" Joseph barked.

"Come on guys! Windflight is ready to show off her new power and you all can't miss it!" Xavier's voice boomed through to them.

"Lets hurry!" Rioku ran faster than the others. Angel was close behind.

Once they all got into a spot and sat down. Windflight nodded and turned around. She didn't want to blow everyone away with her new roar.

She closed her eyes and then squinted them shut, she took in a heavy deep breath and let out the loudest wind chasing roar, it blew so hard on the trees that they were bending down to the ground. Her mouth open wide was the wind blew against her uvula which was swinging left and right in her mouth in a fast motion, her tongue was lowered as it moved up and down a little bit to keep her roar steady. Everyone watched her roar even though her back was turned towards them.

Xavier's face was covered with a big smile, seeing that she did have a power. Finally she was done, she closed her mouth and turned to face everyone, even Angel.

"So?" She smiled.

"That was amazing girl!" A sylesti shouted in the back of the crowd.

"That was good, honey." Xavier clapped his paws.

"Awesome!" Angel leaped up.

Sebastian nodded and smiled.

Everyone loved her new power. It would come in handy if anything else threatens the forest and tries to take down their castle. Windflight finally stepped down from the rock and went back into the castle with all of the sylesties and her mate. Angel, Sebastian, Tux and Vanessa were the only ones near the high rock that night, saying good bye.

"Well, that was a nice event. I gotta go now guys." Angel looked at her friends and waved her paw at them.

They waved back.

"Bye Angel! It was nice seeing you again!" Sebastian called to her.

"Bye guys!" Angel rushed off to her new life.

Tux watched her go. He felt like he loved her.

Vanessa looked up at Tux and saw the love in his eyes and she asked him a question.

"Tux, are you alright?" Vanessa was worried about him.

"Me? I'm fine Vanessa." Tux sighed and walked back into the castle.

"Alright, I will stop getting into you head for once." Vanessa giggled. She went into her room to sleep. Sebastian decided to do one last thing before going to bed. He went outside and picked a flower out of the ground, he placed it near the Zolnixi meadow and also took out a note he wrote for Angel, it read:

"Dear Angel,

I wanted to let you know that all of the adventures we've been on were great! If anything else happens, I will be there you for! Tux, Vanessa and I have not given up either. We are taking good care of Xavier and the others. You will not have to worry too much about them. I also hope that you are loving your new life even though it's tough. And remember that you are not alone."

Love, Sebastian.

The Bulbori placed the note by the castle porch and he hopped off.

The lights came on in the castle as Angel opened the castle doors and looked left and right. She could have sworn she saw someone from above. Then she looked down and saw the note, she opened it and it read:

"Dear Angel,

I wanted to let you know that all of the adventures we've been on were great! If anything else happens, I will be there you for! Tux, Vanessa and I have not given up either. We are taking good care of Xavier and the others. You will not have to worry too much about them. I also hope that you are loving your new life even though it's tough. And remember that you are not alone."

Love, Sebastian.

Angel almost went into tears.

"I know Sebastian... I know..." That was all Angel said as she went back into the castle and placed the note in her treasure box. She then looked out of her window and up into the starry night sky.

If only she could be in all places around Sylestia...
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The End