Slave of the Phantoms

''An ordinary wolf named Star is captured by the phantoms and put into slavery at a phantom factory. There, she meets an eagle named Mari and a mysterious phantom named Arim. This factory is filled with secrets, and it seems Star has an important role to play. Then she makes an incredible discovery that changes her life... and a realization that the fate of Jamaa may rest on her shoulders.''

Authors Note
WARNING: This story contains some blood.

Feel free to fix any spelling mistakes, but other than that please do not edit this story. If you see any grammar mistakes, please tell me in the comments. Also, if you're going to make an inspired spin-off of this story, please credit the original by me. The reason is that there are at least four spin-offs.

''' Note: Most pictures are going to be redone, and I am accepting fanart to add to it. If you want your fanart added, post a picture of it in the comments or on my message wall. You will be credited for your art. '''

Chapter 1: Captured
Star gathered her things, getting ready to leave her cottage. The wood of her little cottage was beginning to rot much faster, and the smell of phantom goop was everywhere. The air was heavy with phantom smog, and Star could tell they were getting nearer. She was pretty sure she had gotten everything; A rope, flashlight, food, two bottles of water, matches, and a blanket. Star had stuffed everything in a small suitcase and hauled it onto her shoulder. But it felt like she was missing something.

Star had begun packing only a few minutes ago. At first, she didn't notice the grass withering, and the faint smell of phantom goop until the wood of her cottage had begun to rot and the smell of goop had filled the house. She had gone outside to see what was wrong and found a large group of phantoms coming her way. Instantly she knew that she couldn't stay any longer... so she grabbed her suitcase and started packing. Now every log that made of her house had rotted and turned mushy and purplish brown. A clump of withered wood fell from the ceiling and crushed her bed.

Star grabbed her trusty stone sword and her bow.

She could hear the phantoms outside her cottage. Star ran to her bedroom, grabbed her arrows and rushed out the back door... but she was too late.

The Phantoms had surrounded her cottage, some had armor and a few held maces, all ready to attack her. Several large, bulky phantoms with short stubby tentacles closed in on her, with several normal phantoms behind them, wielding spears.

Star swung her stone sword at the phantoms with all her might. Most dodged, but she managed to slice one in half. It exploded in a poof of black dust and its weapon dropped to the ground. Bulky phantoms swung their maces at her, luckily she dodged, but dropped her sword. Before she could grab it, a phantom crushed it with its mace.

Star ran into her cottage and hid behind a lump of withered wood. She grabbed her bow and fit an arrow to the bowstring, ready to fire. She wasn't very good with a bow, but that didn't matter now.

Suddenly she felt the slimy tentacle of a phantom grab her by the neck.

"You're not escaping that quickly."

And everything went black.

Chapter 2: The Cells
Star woke up inside a purple metal cell. It was a small cell, with three solid metal walls. The wall in front of her was a barred door that took up the whole wall. On the right side of the cell was a small toilet, and on the right corner were three shelves. One shelf had a chunk of rotten, gray meat with had a chunk of fuzzy mold on it. One shelf was empty, while another shelf had a medium sized metal bowl of water. The bottom of the bowl was green with algae, and the water had a tint of brown. Disgusting.

The left side of the cell had a chunk of rotten wood with a blanket on top. it resembled a bed, but if anything, Star would rather sleep on the floor. On the center of each wall was a barred window, except for the back wall.

Star peeked out of the barred door and looked around. She was inside a metal room, and her cell was pushed up against one wall. Four other cells were pushed against the wall on her right side. One cell was on her left side, but it was dark and empty.

Star had a moment of panic. The disgusting smell of phantom goop, the phantom vines creeping up the purple metal walls... this was no doubt a phantom prison. And she was a prisoner.

Star forced her self to calm down and sat on the wooden bed, and was rewarded with a few painful splinters. If Star was going to even stay alive, she needed to remain calm. Suddenly, a phantom floated up to her cell and glared right at her. He was a dark purple phantom with thick armor and a huge phantom spear that was covered in spikes.

"Hello, I am General Arim, and I believe you are Star?" the phantom said in a sinister tone. His voice sounded strangely like that of an animal's, which just creeped her out. Phantoms normally made gurgling and crunching sounds to communicate. What creeped her out, even more, was that he knew her name. "H-how.. did y-you know that? And where-" Arim cut her off.

"One of my slaves informed me you had built your cottage near one of my camps. As to how I know your name, you should know that already. And now that I have seen some of your skills... I think you will be very useful to me".

Star shuddered. This was definitely a powerful phantom, and she couldn't imagine what he meant by that. "U-useful?"

Arim chuckled. Again, his voice didn't sound like a phantom. It creeped her out that his voice sounded so much like that of animals. "Why, I'm going to put you in slavery, of course. You think I would let an animal like you go to waste?"

Star took a step back. She hated how he acted like she was something very valuable like she was a diamond that he had dug up himself. Arim studied her as if waiting for her to suddenly turn into Superman or something. When Star continued to cower in the back of her cell, he sighed and continued talking.

"Anyway, here are the main rules." Arim handed her a sheet of stained, ripped paper through the bars. "On the back of that paper are the jobs you have to do for today and the following week. And if you have any questions, your neighbors can help."

Star watched as Arim floated away, and something felt familiar about him... but she wasn't sure what.

She looked back at the sheet of rotting paper. The rules were... Star looked at the sloppy writing again. Those are some dumb rules. She thought. She flipped the paper over and looked at the 'jobs'. There was a badly-written list of things that said 'Bring trash bags to the compressor to be crushed' and 'Repair tubes'. There was a long list for tomorrow and the rest of the week.
 * 1) WHen a phaNtom gaurd tels yuo orders, yuo do it and gards hav spearS
 * 2) dO not EScape
 * 3) do WHATEVER generAL Erim Arim say and be poliTe too him andhe has larGe purple speer with spIKees
 * 4) JaMers tat do not obey will bee punishd
 * 5) noo cOMplaining or arguING AT Guards

As she was reading the paper, four strange animals came by. They were gray or black with shades of purple on their fur. Their eyes were pale and their fur looked slimy and torn. A few of them had tentacles sprouting from their back. Some had bare patches on their skin that revealed black, slimy skin that resembled a phantom's. They were all skinny and hunched over, a few had cuts on their skin.

"What is wrong with those animals?" she muttered. They were walking alongside a few phantoms as if they were buddies. Star was pretty sure she would have nightmares about this place for the rest of eternity. Everything here chilled her to the bone.

"The phantoms call them 'the unknown', but they are most commonly known as Phantimals. They are animals that have either been infected with phantom blood or have been taken by the phantoms," someone replied. Star looked through her window to see a blue eagle in the cell right of hers. The eagle was light blue and white with light purple blocky patterns. She looked nice enough, not like everything else in this horrid prison.

"What do you mean 'taken by the Phantoms'?" Star asked her.

"They have been trapped in the cages for so long working for the phantoms that they.. become one themselves."

Star muffled a gasp. Turned half phantom? This place was officially off her vacation list. Star looked nervously at the eagle. "But why do the phantoms call them 'Unknown'? Obviously, we know about them."

"I have no idea. That's why we call them Phantimals. "

Star nodded. "What's your name?" she asked.

"Mari. And your name is Star?" she said.

"Yes," Star muttered, still confused why everyone knew her name. "How did you know?"

Mari smiled. "You should know that."

Star stared at Mari. That was the same thing Arim the phantom said. Again, this freaked her out, but she managed a weak smile. "Well... nice to meet you, I guess." Star would have asked her a billion more questions, the fact that she knew Star's name and acted kind of like that creepy purple phantom general really weirded her out. But instead, she laid on her bed and thought about all that had happened.

Chapter 3: Put To work
Star looked up from her bed to see a guard at the door.

"Time for work, Star," he said. Unlike Arim, he sounded like he was gurgling water when he talked. So not all phantoms sounded like animals. The guard unlocked the cell and opened it. Just like General Arim, the guard had a spear, but it was shorter and wasn't as spikey. Star shoved herself into the back of the cell but didn't come out.

"W-work...?" she muttered.

"Didn't Arim give you the work list?" the phantom grumbled. Star nodded.

"Then get out of here and follow me." Star remained still.

The phantom grumbled and pointed to something outside the cell. A tiger Phantimal came into view and walked straight into her cell. It grabbed her by the scruff and dragged her out. She kicked and thrashed, but the tiger was stronger and bigger than her. The phantom attached a chain to her neck and the Phantimal let go. Star tried to run, but the phantom was holding the other end of the chain.

"Stay still! Gosh, why are the newbies always so wild!" The phantom complained. He pulled on the chain and Star was forced to follow. The Phantimal followed close behind.

The guard dragged Star through many tunnels and rooms, a few of them had cells but they were all dripping with phantom goop. They soon arrived at a huge outdoor factory with thousands of pipes and machines everywhere.

The guard pushed Star into a room built on to one of the huge machines. Inside, she saw many animals and Phantimals grabbing giant bags and climbing a rusty ladder that led into a large hole in the ceiling. Another ladder was next to it. The room itself was fairly large, but space was confined because of all the plastic bags lying around. The room was bare, apart from the bags, and it reeked. Star's nostrils burned from the stench.

Star looked back at the exit. There was only one exit, a single metal door. One phantom and Phantimal each guarded the door. Star's guard took off the chain around her neck and pushed her farther into the room.

"Grab bags and bring them to top of that machine, drop it in the giant hole and climb down the other ladder back here. If you refuse work, you are punished." The guard said to her.

Star cautiously walked to the pile of bags and grabbed one by the string. She snuck a peek inside and regretted it. A horrible stench drifted into her nose, so bad she felt sick. Inside were chunks of rotting food, unidentifiable chunks of meat, mold, rusting bits of metal, and others things that were too gross to explain. Star closed the bag and walked to the ladder. Cautiously, she grabbed the bag in her mouth and started climbing the ladder. Bits of rust and metal crumbled under her paws as she climbed, the bag weighing her down.

Star could barely hold the bag up, she was sure she would fall. The thin metal bars were bending under her weight, and every step it was harder to climb. Star clutched the ladder with all her might and pulled herself to the top.

There was a huge hole surrounded by machinery, but there was no space on the edge of the hole to rest. Star hung on the ladder and threw the bag into the hole, then sidestepped onto the other ladder.

Star slowly climbed down the ladder, making sure she wasn't too close to the fox that was climbing down underneath her. The metal bars of the ladder were even thinner here, bending down terribly under her paws. Clumps of rust and metal fell with almost every step.

Star froze when she heard a loud creaking under her paw. The bar she was standing on was bent, and it just kept bending until it snapped with a loud crack. Star lost her footing and was left with her hind legs dangling.

Star clutched the bars with all her might, pulling herself up. As she reached the unbroken parts of the ladder, she saw the broken bar of the ladder fall down right on the fox that had been climbing down. Star watched in horror as the fox fell off the ladder and fell all the way down to the ground. Star finished climbing

down the ladder and stared at the limp fox's twisted body. A large male fox ran at Star. He was snarling, foam dripping from his mouth. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was the same bright red color as the other fox that had fallen.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SISTER! HOW DARE YOU DO SUCH A THING TO HER!"

Star stumbled back. She instantly felt so bad about what she had done, yet so stunned. She wasn't sure what to say. "I... I didn't..."

The male fox didn't want an explanation. He bared his teeth and lunged at her. Just before he made contact, one of the phantom guards slapped him right in the face with a whip. The fox fell the ground and hissed, foam dripping from his lips. The hiss sounded so unnatural and disturbing, it didn't sound like an animal at all.

"Get back to work!" The phantom ordered. The fox growled and took a step toward Star, ignoring the rash that was beginning to form from getting hit with the whip so hard. The phantom slapped him with the whip again and made an angry gurgling sound. "I said, GET TO WORK. Or else I tell Arim and you be punished badly." The phantom grumbled. At the mention of Arim's name, the fox went quiet and crawled over to the bags, looking around nervously as if Arim might pop out of nowhere.

Star was so stunned, she didn't move until the phantom slapped her face. "You get back to work too!" Star went back to her work, a terrible feeling in her heart.

Chapter 4: The Creature
Star lay in her cell, staring at the moldy chunk of food the phantoms had given her. Her stomach growled, but the piece of meat looked too disgusting. Finally, she gave in to her hunger. Star scraped the mold off and took off the rotten parts. All that was left was a tiny chunk half as small as it originally was. Star took a bite. She spat it out instantly. A horrible taste had been left in her mouth, making Star want to puke. She drank a tiny bit of water but spat that out too. Suddenly she didn't feel so hungry anymore. She glanced at the empty cell next to her.

To her right was the cell with the eagle named Mari, and to her left was the empty cell. Star saw tons of phantoms looking for cells to put new slaves, but they never used that specific cell.

Inside was a bowl of water, a ripped bed, and an empty bowl. If there even was a toilet, it probably was in the covered part of the cell.

Star lay in her bed, staring at that empty cell. It was always empty. It never changed. It was never used. It wasn't a cell, it was a cage. It was a cage for a beast.

Star stared at the cage, thinking about why the phantoms never used that cell. Suddenly, she remembered the incident with the fox and guilt built up in her chest. She tried to forget about it, but she never could. She just wanted to stuff her face in her smelly blanket and cry.

Star laid down on her bed and tried to think about something else. It seemed like hours until she fell asleep.

...

Star woke up in the middle of the night. Most of the phantom guards in the room had dozed off or fallen asleep, but they would wake easily.

Star was relaxed. It was the first time it had been quiet and peaceful since she was captured. As Star started to fall asleep, she heard growling.

It was coming from the empty cell. A low growling sound was coming from the darkness of the cell. Star looked closer, and she could see yellow eyes. She could barely see the dark shape of the creature. She could only see its deadly black claws, white teeth, and a spiked tail swinging back and forth.

Star leaped back as the beast lunged at the cell bars, quickly slinking back into the shadows. She saw huge dents in the thick bars where the beast had bit it.

Star shivered. More questions flooded into her mind. Why did the phantoms put that thing there? What was that thing? Was it another Phantimal? A horrible phantom hybrid? Some prisoner that went insane? None of the above seemed to match the horrible dark shape lingering in the shadows, quietly stalking her. She would never sleep knowing this beast was right next to her, always watching her. She could see the faint shape of the creature pacing around the shadows of the cell.

Star lay back down in her bed, watching the yellow eyes as they moved around the cell.

But no matter where it moved, it was always looking at her.

Chapter 5: Thoughts
Star woke up to the loud noise of hammers hitting metal.

She hadn't realized she had fallen asleep with the eyes of the beast watching her all night. The yellow eyes were gone now, and she couldn't see the dark shape of the creature's body in the cell. Star looked at Mari. "Did you know there is a beast in the cell to my left?" Star asked Mari.

"Yes," Mari replied.

"Do you know what it is?" Star asked.

Mari sunk further into her cell and frowned as if she didn't want to talk about it. "You don't want to know." She muttered.

Star glanced at the dark cell and frowned. "Yes, I do. Can you please tell me? Please? I just want to-"

Mari sighed angrily and flapped her wings. Star was about to ask why she was so angry, but then Mari started talking. "It's a creature that the phantoms created. They combined a wolf, cheetah, a lemur, a crocodile, and a phantom. After the experiment was finished, the creature betrayed them so they had to lock it in that cell. Ever since then they have called it the Shadow Killer. It has the ferocity of a wolf, speed of a cheetah, scales like a crocodile, it can climb like a lemur, and it is just a horrible as a phantom." Mari explained.

"Woah... that sounds.. terrible," Star replied. She was starting to regret asking what it was because now she was terrified.

"It's not the only experiment they have done using animals as test subjects. It really is terrible." Mari said sadly.

Star looked down sadly. This place was horrible. A terrifying 'Shadow Killer', a freaky phantom that knows her name, horrible experiments involving animals, animals that turn into phantoms, and tons of tortured slaves.

"Why is it called the Shadow Killer? Does.. does it kill your shadow?" Star looked down, afraid that her shadow would disappear right under her. Was that possible?

Mari laughed without humor. "No, no. It is a shadow that kills. But I agree, they need to get better at naming the horrible creatures they create." Mari turned away from Star as if she didn't want to talk anymore. Star understood why.

She looked at her gross water and took a sip. It tasted like dirt, but she was thirsty enough to drink it. The meat, however, was so gross she had thrown it at a phantom the third day she was here. They had given her a new piece, but it was so disgusting she only ate a bit when she was starving. As Star drank, a phantom guard came to her cell.

"Time for work," he said in his gruff voice.

Star got up and followed the guard. They went to the factory and followed a path to a big machine. The machine had huge pipes, tubes, and pumps, and a thick cloud of steam billowed from a giant tube.

On one side of the machine was a giant wheel, and tons of animals were struggling to turn the wheel.

The guard pushed Star over to the wheel and told her to turn the giant wheel along with the other animals. The wheel was extremely heavy and hard to turn, and she had to use a lot of strength to turn it. The other animals around her didn't look very good. They were all sweating and covered in scratches, like an army of squirrels had attacked them.

Star slowly turned the wheel, many thoughts swirling in her mind. She thought about Arim and Mari. Something about them was very familiar, but she had no idea what. How are an eagle and a phantom related?

It sounded crazy, but Star knew they had something in common. As Star spun the wheel, she thought about the things they had in common. They both knew her name the moment they met her. They both wouldn't answer her questions. But what else? They felt so similar, but she couldn't tell what was similar about them, apart from the whole knowing her name thing.

Star slowed down, lost in thought. Their names sounded slightly similar, but she wasn't sure why. But Star thought about it more and more and more, until finally, she found the answer. Their names had the same letters. But what did that have to with everything else?

Star twisted the letters in their names around. Their names sounded similar to something else. But what?

Star twisted the letters around in her mind again, and again. Mari, Iram, Amir, Riam, Arim, MIRA.

Mari, Arim, and Mira all have the same letters. What does this mean?! Star had to find out what was going on. She had no idea what either of them had to do with Mira at all. But one thing was certain: Mari was hiding something very important.

Star was so consumed in her thoughts she didn't realize that she had stopped turning the wheel and made the entire wheel stop. Star woke up from her thoughts and realized what had happened.

A gruff phantom guard hovered up to her.

"What exactly are you DOING?!" he yelled.

"I'm so sorry! I was lost in my thoughts and forgot what I was doing-"

"WELL, YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO DOZE OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF WORK! You over there! Get over here!"

The guard pointed to a large black Phantimal wolf at the back of the wheel, who walked up to the guard without hesitation.

"Punish this arctic wolf." The guard ordered the Phantimal. It padded over to Star. Its jaws were stained with blood like it had bitten a ton of animals. It had sleek black fur, unlike most other Phantimals, and a light purple blocky swirl pattern. Its eyes were rimmed with red, and its pupil was pale gray. It snarled quietly and, without warning, bit Star in the shoulder hard.

Star shrieked in pain. The wolf let go quickly, but he had done a lot of damage. Star howled in pain and clutched the wound.

"Be quiet and get back to work!" The guard slapped Star's face. He pushed her toward the wheel and she winced. She had no idea how she was going to push a huge wheel that weighed as much as three elephants with this wound, but she didn't want to be bitten again. She glared at the phantom and started to push. The Phantimal wolf lowered its head and began pushing the wheel behind her.

Star tried to be quiet as she continued to turn the giant wheel. It stung like crazy when she pushed with her paws, so she tried leaning on the wheel with her other shoulder. It was pretty hard, but it didn't hurt as much. It was hard to do with a deep wound in her shoulder, but she managed to get past work for the day.

When her chores were done, Star was exhausted. She had extra work because she had stopped the giant wheel, and her wound hadn't settled very good. The phantom smog and the poisonous environment had turned the wound a shade of pinkish purple. It was puffy as well, and Star felt queasy looking at it.

Star lay in her cell, staring the cell where the 'Shadow Killer' was. Mari wasn't in her cell at the time, but when she came back, Star was going to have a serious conversation with her.

Something very important is going on, and no one was telling Star.

But she was going to find out.

Chapter 6: Transformed
The next day, Star woke up and found Mari in her cell.

"Mari, I have something to ask you," she said, trying to sound stern. Mari looked at Star and frowned at the wound.

"I see you didn't follow the rules. You need to be careful here... do what the phantoms say. I know you don't want to, but you have to. Arim won't let you think twice about breaking the rules. He won't hesitate to punish you. Especially you..." Mari muttered. She said you like Star was a very dangerous weapon that could go off at any second. A very dangerous weapon that Arim would do anything to get his tentacles on.

"Actually... That's what I was going to talk about. You and general Arim know something that I don't. And it has something to do with Mira." Star said. She was gaining confidence with every word.

Mari's eyes flashed with surprise, then anger, then confusion. It happened so fast, Star was sure she hadn't seen it. But she had.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about," Mari said, staring at Star in confusion. She sounded awfully confused, but Star knew she was faking it.

"Yes, you do. I don't want to be lied to. Tell me what is going on," Star demanded. She tried to hide the anger in her voice, but she was tired of being lied to.

Mari scowled but quickly hid it. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Star growled. "Yes, you do! Just tell me!"

Before Mari could say anything, a phantom came and escorted her away.

...

Star sat peacefully in her cell, waiting for Mari to come.

She decided to go to sleep because it was taking to long. As Star lay down in her bed, she heard a bloodcurdling scream. In the middle of the room, one of the Phantimals had dropped to the floor and was twisting around in pain.

Star stared in horror as the Phantimal's back split open and a slimy tentacle sprouted out. More tentacles began to grow all over its body. Its skin seemed to be peeling off and another black, slimy coat of skin grew out. The Phantimal's body rounded in shape, and black skin covered its legs.

The Unknown screamed its last, as a slimy black film covered its face. Star continued to watch in horror as the Phantimal fully turned into a phantom, a huge white eye forming on its face.

It slowly lifted itself off the ground, hovering there.

Star shoved her face in her pillow. She had to face the fact that someday that was going to happen to her.

''I need to escape... and when I do, I will come back here and free everyone. Or else we all will share the same fate... ''Star thought, trying to hold back the tears.

The next morning, Star found Mari in her cell.

Star slammed her paw on the cell bars, hoping to wake Mari. Mari opened her eyes, groaning.

"Mari, I need to have a little chat with you."

Mari sighed. "For the last time, I don't know why you think Arim, Mira, and I are related. And please don't hit the cell bars so hard next time." Mari replied.

"Fine. But then why does Mari and Arim and Mira have the same letters!" Star yelled.

"Oh. Umm... I don't know..."

"Stop lying to me! Aren't we friends?" Star asked.

Mari sighed angrily and looked up. "It's better that you don't know. I'm not telling you anything more." Mari said, turning away.

Star sighed.

''So much for that. ''She thought.

Chapter 7: The New Job
Star followed the phantom guard to the factory.

Sitting next to a machine was a huge cart filled with cargo. Many animals were attached to it by harnesses. The phantom guard chained Star to the giant train, behind a brown hyena.

Star waited until the phantoms gave the signal, and then she pulled the train along with the others, looking at the hyena in front of her. He was very skinny, with claw marks and small wounds all over his body.

She guessed that the phantoms used him to punish other animals because his claws and muzzle were stained with blood.

Star continued pulling the train through the badlands until she was totally exhausted. Every time she slowed down or looked away from where she was supposed to be going, a phantom would whip her. Unfortunately, Star had to learn that the hard way.

After Star had pulled the train for an hour or so, they reached a camp in the badlands. Star helped the other animals unload the cargo and they got a long break before pulling it back to the factory.

Star slumped in her bed, truly exhausted. She had been put into slavery for at least two weeks, and her jobs got harder every day.

After thirty minutes of rest, Arim came to her cell.

"Well hello, Star. I heard you haven't been very obedient lately." Arim said.

Star moaned but didn't say anything.

"Not very talkative are you? Well, I have an idea that might make you behave more. I hear you are very kind, and you were truly heartbroken when you accidentally killed that fox on your first day." Arim sneered.

Star looked away and groaned.

"Oh don't be ashamed. I would have killed her myself if you hadn't. Anyway, back to the main point. I have a new job for you, and I think you will enjoy it. There are some other slaves that have been very VERY disobedient. I can't punish them all, so when YOU see a slave not following the rules, you must punish them. Don't think of being gentle, give them your worst. There must be blood and screaming. If there isn't, one of the phantoms will then punish you. Sound good?"

Star stood silent. Blood and screaming? This place got worse and worse.

"I'm guessing that is a yes. Your job starts now." Arim opened the cell door and left the room, indicating to his guards to watch her.

Star left her cell nervously. She couldn't resist work, or she would be punished again.

One of the phantoms told her she could only be in workroom 1, 2, and 3.

Fortunately, Mari was working in the factory. Star wandered through each of the workrooms, hoping everyone would obey.

As Star was walking through room 2, she saw a sloth that was supposed to by fitting phantom tubes together but was bending them instead.

"Aren't you supposed to be putting those tubes together?" Star said.

"They won't fit." The sloth said, pretending to be concerned.

"I saw you bending them so they would not fit. You have to be punished now." Star said, trying to be stern but failing.

"No! Don't punish me! I wasn't bending them, I was following the rules!" The sloth pleaded.

Star grabbed the sloth's hind leg and bit it very hard. The sloth shrieked and tried to pull away, but that forced Star to bite harder.

Finally, the sloth stopped struggling and Star let go immediately. Star looked at the horribly deep wound in the sloth's leg.

Star walked away and tried to ignore the sloth's cries and screams.

''This is the worst job. I would rather pull that train for an entire day. But how did Arim know I would hate this so much? ''Star thought.

Unfortunately, many animals were disobedient, and Star had to punish at least 9. She bit 3, clawed 3, whipped 2 and had to claw a poor bunny's eye.

Finally after an hour, one of Arim's guards told her work was done for the day. He also gave her a new list of work for the next week, which was even more disappointing.

For the next week, in the morning and at dusk, she would have to punish slaves that did not obey. At noon she had to do some of the worst jobs, besides punishing.

But at the very end of the week, she had to watch over a group of slaves.

Their names were Flora, Mighty, Count, and Mari.

Chapter 8: Nightmares
The next week was horrible.

Star had to punish anyone who did not obey, in probably the worst ways.

She didn't realize how many animals didn't obey... in just one day she had punished 18 slaves. She had to make a few poor animals completely blind and left others with horrible wounds.

Tomorrow she had to watch and punish four animals - Flora, Mighty, Count, and Mari.

Mari was never in her cell at dusk, so Star couldn't tell her what was coming tomorrow. Before Star went to sleep, General Arim came to her cell.

"Hello again, Star. Are you enjoying your new job?" Arim said.

Star glared at him but kept silent.

"You are very interesting Star, I admire that. As for tomorrow, you are going to watch over a few very disobedient slaves. I believe you are friends with one of them."

Star glared at Arim, not responding.

"My best guard will be putting them to work, but YOU will be the one to make them obey. By that, I mean punish them. Why am I choosing you? Why couldn't I choose another phantom or the Unknown?"

Arim laughed.

Star rolled her eyes.

"You have great power hiding in your soul. I can feel that power, and I am putting that power to the test. Tomorrow you begin your task, but remember, I am always watching you." Arim sneered.

Arim left the room, leaving Star alone to sleep.

Star listened to the low growling of the Shadow Killer until she fell asleep.

.

.

Star woke up to a loud roar.

A blinding light had filled the rooms, so bright all the phantoms dissolved into purple dust. Star leaped up from her bed, her tail wagging excitedly behind her.

Rescue had come.

Sir Gilbert broke through the walls into the room with a groundbreaking roar, red fire flaring from his giant paws.

Huge vines broke the other wall, Cosmo leaped out from the hole, his staff glowing with a greenish light.

Graham swung on the vines through the walls, orange light surrounding his outstretched hand.

Purple light blasted through one of the broken walls, Liza ran in, her staff glowing bright purple.

Peck flew into the room with a splash of paint, pink light trailing behind her paintbrush.

The final wall shattered as Greely leaped in with a tremendous howl, blue fire bursting from his paws.

Star shouted in joy, waiting for the Alphas to blow her cell open. The Alphas went throughout the room, freeing all the animals in the room.

Star smiled widely as the Alphas freed her, and she thanked them generously. The Alphas moved on to the empty cell, faint crying coming from the shadows of the cell.

"Wait no! Not that one! It has a deadly beast trapped in there, not an animal!" Star shouted, but it was too late.

Sir Gilbert broke the cell open with one swipe of his huge paws. The crying stopped, and a flash of black flew through the entire room.

Then everyone, including the Alphas, dropped dead. Star stared in pure horror.

"Why are you sad, little one? I'm just keeping you safe" An eerie voice said.

A flash of pain and everything turned black.

.

Star lay in her cell, watching phantoms hurry back and forth, carrying pipes and other things like that.

One phantom had a key. He was murmuring things to other phantoms, but she couldn't understand because they were speaking in the phantom language.

Unexpectedly, the phantom grabbed a spear and stabbed two of the other phantoms. He growled at the remaining phantoms, and they all backed off.

Star realized the phantoms was Arim.

Arim stuck the key into one of the locks of the cell with the Shadow Killer inside. There was one more lock that didn't have a key.

"Which one of you has the other key?" Arim said in English.

The phantoms all shrugged. Arim killed each of the phantoms, then grabbed a key from one of the dead phantoms.

Arim slipped the key into the last lock, then turned it until they heard a click.

The cell door flung open, and a shadow flew through the entire room, and everyone dropped dead, including the slaves.

Star looked away in fear and sadness.

"Why are you sad, little one? I'm just keeping you safe." Another eerie voice said.

A flash of pain and everything turned black.

.

.

Star woke up from her dreams, breathing heavily.

She could hear growling from the Shadow Killer in the 'empty cell'. Star lay back down, haunted by her dreams, but she managed to sleep through the night.

Little did she know how real these dreams could be.

Chapter 9: Losing Control
Star woke up and followed Arim's guard to a large room. Against the left wall was a huge machine that had many pipes sticking out all over it, and a few pipes trailing across the floor, walls, and ceiling. The machine looked unfinished, and pieces were missing on the pipes on the floor. Propped against the right wall were many shelves, each with a large number of items on each shelf. The items were sorted out, such as nails on one shelf and chunks of metal on others. On the far wall was a huge diagram of the finished machine and where the pieces go. It also showed where the pieces on the shelves went.

There she met Count, Flora, Mighty, and Mari.

Count was a red and white tiger with gray stripes. Flora was a blue and pink otter with purple eyes. Mighty was the brown hyena Star had seen pulling the phantom train through the badlands.

Mari's eyes widened when she saw Star.

"Guard, you never said Star would be here," Mari said sternly.

Star was surprised that Mari would act like she was the boss of that guard. The guard glared at Mari.

"Star is going to watch over you, making sure you do what you are supposed to do." The guard said as if he wasn't bothered by Mari talking to him so stern.

"Count, you going to make phantom pipes. Flora, you put pipes together. Mighty, you connect pipes to the machine over there. Mari, you give everyone the right supplies, they should be in shelves over there. Star, watch them closely. There is a diagram over there that explain where everything goes. Now, get to work."

Everyone began their work, Star watching everyone very closely. She didn't understand how these four could possibly be such a handful.

As soon as the guard left, she saw how. Count stuck the nails and bolts in the wrong side of the pipes. Flora started taking apart pipes instead of fitting them together. Mighty took pieces off the machine, not even half of them were pipes. And Mari took all the pieces and brought them back to the pile.

Flora took the pipes apart and tossed them at Count, who ripped them apart began grabbing scraps of metal and fitting them together in all the wrong ways. Mighty started tearing apart the machine. And Mari grabbed pieces out of their shelves and mixed them up so they were no longer sorted out.

Star growled, yelling at everyone to get back to work. They took a glance at her but didn't stop.

Star ran at Flora, grabbing her tail.

"Stop this right now!" Star yelled.

"No. This is our last chance to get away. Come on, it's your chance too. Don't you want to leave this horrid place?" Flora said calmly.

''I really do want to, but Arim said he is always watching me. If I leave now, I will only get captured and punished. ''Star thought. Star turned around and realized the four animals were building a giant drill. To drill out the wall and get out of here.

Star really wanted to help them get out of here, but a part of her disagreed. She wanted to be free, and get out of this horrid place. But she was supposed to be stopping them from doing that. She was supposed to be following Arim's orders. She was a slave. She had to stop them.

Star bit Flora's stomach, blood dripping onto the rocky ground. Count ran to Flora.

"What did you do to her! I thought you were with us!" Count said.

"I am, but you are supposed to be doing your work!" Star yelled.

Star leaped onto Count, digging her claws into his flesh. Star grabbed him by the neck and threw him to ground, holding him there until he stopped moving.

Star ran after Mighty, who was trying to hack one of the machines.

"Stop it Mighty," Star growled.

"No, I'm not wasting this chance to get out of this place," Mighty said in his hoarse voice.

"Stop Mighty, this is your last chance!"

Mighty shook his head.

"Fine, have it your way." Star hissed.

Star grabbed one of his wounded legs and bit it as hard as she could. Mighty screamed in pain, Star biting harder and harder until finally, he fainted.

Star let go, breathing heavily. She ran over to Mari.

"Mari, I'm warning you, stop this now." Star hissed.

Her voice was unnatural, just like the fox whose sister had been killed. Mari looked at Star, and her eyes widened. She knew what was happening to Star.

"Sorry Star, but I'm going." Mari grabbed the unfinished drill in her talons and hurled it at the wall. The drill was small, but the wall cracked and the room shook. Mari grabbed onto the drill again, but Star leaped into her and pulled her to the ground.

Star heard an alarm going off, but her thoughts were focused on Mari. Phantoms poured into the room, wielding spears. Star put her chest on Mari's chest and was prepared to strike.

Mari screeched loudly, batting her wings on Star's head, knocking her out.

Chapter 10: Answers
Star woke up in her cell. Her head was throbbing, and she was covered in cuts like she had been dragged all the way to her cell.

Mari was watching her concerningly. Mari had many cuts as well, and a deep gash on her stomach like she had been hit with a spear. Star doubted it was anything else.

"Are you okay?" Mari asked

Star rubbed her head. She could barely remember what had just happened. She could faintly remember attacking Mari.. but why the heck would she do that? "Yeah... I just can't quite remember what just happened. But I do remember... I wanted to help you escape... but another part of me wouldn't allow it. Like.. something was controlling me."

"You almost killed Count, Mighty, and Flora," Mari said cautiously.

"What?! What do you mean?!" Star asked. It was starting to come back to her now... she was supposed to watch Count, Mighty, Flora, and Mari. Then she attacked them because something inside her was telling her to.

"You.. you wouldn't understand," Mari said.

Star looked at her. "I think it's time for some answers," Star replied, her voice strangely calm.

Mari sighed. She covered her head in her wings and looked away. Star waited for a moment, and Mari began to explain.

"Alright... I will tell you everything. First, the reason you almost killed Mighty, Count, and Flora was that you were starting to turn into the Unknown. That's why it felt like someone was trying to control you. You turned part phantom and you were determined to follow the phantoms orders when your animal part didn't want to."

"Oh.. well... umm what do I do about that?" Star asked. She felt nervous, knowing that a small part of her had turned to the phantom side. She hoped there was a way to get rid of that little part because she did not want to attack her friends again.

"I'm not exactly sure, it's never happened to me before. But you need to fight it when you feel it coming." Mari replied.

"How do I 'feel it coming'?" Star asked.

"You will know," Mari said, sitting down in her bed.

Star didn't feel reassured. But she nodded anyway. "So... now to explain the part about you and Arim's names being so similar?"

Mari sighed. "You see, long ago when Mira and Zios created everything, Zios had made a special power inside the first animals. It gave them a certain elemental power, either nature, fire, ice, water, rock, crystal, wind, light, shadow or lightning. They were called Elementals, or The Chosen Ones. They were the first guardians of Jamaa. For generations, the family passed on this power to their children. Only animals that already have that power can tell if someone else does. When someone found that they had the power of Zios, they changed their name so it had the same letters as Mira" Mari explained.

"Why?" Star asked.

"It was an old tradition. But soon, over time, animals stopped having Zios' power. Jammers forgot about the elemental powers. For several generations, there were no Elementals. That was until now."

Mari let it sink in. Animals with elemental powers. But until now...

"So... you are an Elemental?" Star asked.

"Yes."

Star's eyes widened. It made so much sense now. But then that meant Arim...

"Wait, but what about Arim? Is he...." Star trailed off. She couldn't imagine a creepy, evil phantom with amazing powers given by Zios himself.

"Well... you see, Arim IS a chosen one. But he is also... Arim is my brother."

"YOUR BROTHER!?" Star yelled.

"Don't freak out, I will explain. Arim used to be an eagle, just like me. But we were captured by the phantoms when we were only kids. The power of the phantoms was so overwhelming, we couldn't use our powers in the cell, but the phantoms had already figured out we had Zios' power. You see, we cannot use our powers on things that have been polluted by phantoms. That is why Mira and Zios called upon the Alphas when the phantoms first arrived. I had the power of ice, Arim had the power of lightning. After a while, Arim finally lost hope and gave in to the phantoms. They turned him into a phantom and the phantoms let him become a general because he had Zios' power. Ever since then I've been trying to reason with him, but nothing seems to work now." Mari said sadly.

"Wow... that's horrible." Star responded. She still couldn't believe Arim had amazing magical powers.

"But there is one more thing. I've tried to stop him from noticing, but Arim realized that you have Zios' elemental power."

Star was shocked. Powers? For her? No way. She was just a cowardly wolf that attacked her own friends when they tried to escape a prison with her.

"Wait... Woah, woah, woah! what did you say? Me? Powers? Nope. No no no, I don't believe it."

"You have to. I have already sensed it." Mari responded.

"But... wait, that's why you knew my name? And why you guys felt familiar.. but then why didn't my parents know about the elemental powers?"

"As I said earlier, almost every Jammer had forgotten about the elemental powers. But very few still had hope that new Elementals would come. Like my parents, for example. Your parents probably lost hope that more Elementals would come."

Star paced the room. This was too much. Too much to handle. "This is too much... Powers, evil magical phantoms... no no no. How... ARGHH!" Star fell on her bed and covered her head with her paws.

"I know... It's a lot to handle. But you should rest. That will help." Mari said, resting on her bed.

Star sighed and lay in her bed to rest.

Chapter 11: The Plan
Star woke up for work. She was still shaken from the news of her elemental powers. She didn't feel any stronger. Maybe she had to use her powers, but Mari has said something about phantoms pollution keeping her from using her powers.

She had planned that she would try to avoid Arim as much as she could. Star looked out the cell door to see Arim talking to the other guards.

"We have not fed it for months and it still alive!" One guard said.

"That is because it holds great power. True, mountain breaking power." Arim said.

"It's not worth it! It's just gonna turn on us again! It ain't gonna serve us." A young phantom guard said.

"Yeah, face it General, it's just another experiment gone wrong." Another guard said.

"DO NOT QUESTION MY CHOICES! You just haven't seen the secrets of this magnificent beast!" Arim growled.

"You aren't even a king, so why are you telling us what to do, huh?" A guard said.

"I am your GENERAL." Arim sneered.

Star looked away as Arim zapped the guard to death. The other phantoms backed off.

"Now, where is the key?" Arim hissed.

The guards looked at each other and shrugged.

"WHERE IS THE KEY?"

"We d-don't know G-g-general Arim." The young guard stammered.

Arim raised his staff and small bolts of lightning rained down, almost hitting the guards.

"FIND THAT KEY NOW OR YOUR DONE!" Arim shouted, electricity coming out of his long tentacles.

The guards scurried away, but Star could tell they were just trying to get away from Arim.

Arim looked into the shadows of the cage with the Shadow Killer. He smiled and hovered away.

Oh no! Don't do this Arim, don't you dare release that thing! Star thought worriedly.

After Star pulled the phantom train for a while and went back to her cell, she found Arim unlocking one of the keys of the cell with the Shadow Killer.

"Good, all we need is one more key. Although I wasn't expecting you to find the one inside the vault. Now, bring me the last key." Arim said.

"One phantom king destroyed the other key." A phantom said.

Arim stared at the phantom, his face twisted in anger.

"Then look at the lock, and make a new key that fits perfectly inside," Arim replied calmly.

The phantoms glanced at each other, then nodded at Arim and looked at the lock. Arim smiled and left the room.

I need to stop them before they release that thing and it destroys all of us! Star thought.

.

.

It was time to watch the slaves and punish them.

Star left her cell and went to the workrooms 7, 8, and 9. Fortunately, work room 9 was the room right next to her cell.

It was time to stop the Shadow Killer.

Star wandered around room 9, only looking at room 8 and 7 every few minutes. Star's plan was simple, but it was a big risk. This is how it goes: Simple.
 * 1) Get the phantoms to leave her cell room.
 * 2) Sneak into the cell room.
 * 3) Grab the key from the lock of the cell with the Shadow Killer.
 * 4) Lock the cell with the key.
 * 5) Switch the cell key with the key for Mari's cell.
 * 6) Get back to work.
 * 7) If the phantoms see you, pretend to be turning into the Unknown.

Star wandered around the three rooms, glancing at the cell room every now and then. As Star went into room 9, a blue cheetah leaped from his workstation into the cell room.

The cheetah raced out of the cell room.

"Catch that blue cheetah! He is escaping!" Star yelled. Most of the phantoms had seen, so they believed her.

As all the phantoms left the room, Star rushed into the cell room and grabbed the keys.

"What are you doing?" Mari asked.

"Switching keys so that the Phantoms can't unleash the Shadow Killer," Star said, trying to lock the Shadow Killer's cell.

"Instead of saving me?" Mari replied.

"That cheetah ran into the factory, and the factory is FILLED with phantoms. He will be caught instantly, so I don't have enough time to free you." Star said, finally locking the cage.

Star could hear the cheetah yelling, which meant the phantoms had caught him. She felt kind of bad for him, but either way, she put the Shadow Killer's key on the hook Mari's key was on.

Star tried putting Mari's key into the lock, but it wouldn't fit. She heard the phantoms getting close. Star shoved the key inside, but it broke in two. The Phantoms were just outside the room.

Star left the two pieces on the floor and ran into work room 9.

The moment Star got in room 9, the phantoms entered the cell room. They saw the broken key and glared the cheetah, thinking he did it when he ran into the room.

Some phantoms carried the cheetah away, probably to be killed. Star continued work.

The plan had worked.

Or not.

Chapter 12: Shadows Emerge
Star looked at the small plate of meat the guard had given her. It was slightly gray with patches of green mold, but Star was too hungry to skip a meal. She scraped off the mold and managed to swallow the chunk of meat. She drank some of the gross water from the bowl to wash away the taste, but it only made it worse.

The Phantoms still hadn't found out about the key getting switched, and they still had to make a key for the second lock.

Even better, the phantoms were extremely confused that 'Mari's key' would not unlock her cell. That was great news for Mari because she didn't have to work.

All the phantoms were confused, and none of them dared to tell Arim.

Even though Star had extra work, she was happy.

....

"WHAT?!!!!!!!!" Arim screamed.

"We're sorry General!! That cheetah messed up everything, we don't know h-"

Arim picked up the guard and threw him across the room.

The guards scurried away and backed against the walls as Arim passed them. Arim picked up the keys and observed them closely.

"Someone just switched the keys! HOW CAN YOU NOT SEE THAT!" Arim growled.

So much for that plan. Star thought as she watched Arim from her cell.

"Anyway, I made the key for the second lock. I figured you wouldn't be able to, and I was right." Arim sneered.

He grabbed both keys and began unlocking the cell.

No no no no! DON'T DO THIS! Star thought. Arim unlocked the cell and opened the door, smiling evilly.

"Get a prisoner!" Arim shouted. The Phantoms grabbed a monkey and held it in front of the cell.

Yellow eyes appeared in the shadows of the cell, slowly getting nearer until just its muzzle was visible. It had sharp black teeth, and a pitch black tongue flicked out like a snake.

The Shadow Killer leaped from its cell, so fast it was just a flash of black. The Shadow raced out of the cell and latched onto the ceiling with its sharp claws, hissing and shooting electricity from its mouth.

Electricity blasted most of the phantoms, killing a few of them. Star stared in horror, backing farther into her cell.

The Shadow Killer was unlike anything she had ever seen. It was terrifying, with rows of razor-sharp teeth and thick plated scales like a crocodile that was as black as the night sky. It had a thick chest and small waist like a cheetah, as well as long muscled legs to aid in running fast. It had a long, thick, striped tail similar to a lemur's and small wolf-like ears. It also had small tentacles on its legs. Arim raised his staff and slammed it to the ground, lightning raining down on the Shadow Killer. The Shadow dodged most of them and deflected the rest with his own electricity.

The Shadow flew from the ceiling to Star's cell, leaping from one cell to another. His sharp claws made deep dents in the cell bars, and the prisoners began clawing at the dented bars. The Shadow Killer leaped onto the walls, blasting electricity at the phantoms. Luckily, the electricity blasted Mari's cell lock off, and the lock flew at Star's cell, breaking the bars.

All the phantoms began zapping the Shadow, but only a few zaps made contact. The Shadow Killer raced through the room, clawing phantoms and biting their tentacles off. Arim threw his spear at the Shadow, but he simply caught the spear with his long striped tail. The Shadow broke the spear in two, charging at Arim with cheetah-like speed.

Arim side-stepped and punched the Shadow's crocodile-like jaws. The Shadow whirled around, slamming Arim's head with his thick tail. Arim immediately got back up and grabbed the Shadows tail, giving it a strong bold of electricity.

While this battle raged on, Star had managed to pry the broken bars open, escaped, and freed the rest of the prisoners.

"Come on, this is our chance to finally get out of this place," Mari said, leading the other prisoners out.

Star looked back at Arim and the Shadow Killer fighting.

"I want to, but I just..." Star trailed off when she saw Arim get a skull-breaking hit on the head. Blood spilled out of his hard armor, electricity forming from his tentacles.

Mari must have felt something too, because of her slightly sad and surprised expression.

"They will finish this by themselves, but we have to... NO!" Mari screamed as Star ran back into the cell room.

Star growled at the Shadow Killer. It was chaos - phantoms running all over the place, electricity shooting back and forth, blood everywhere.

But despite everything, something was urging her on.

Star jumped onto the cells, then leaped onto the Shadow Killer's back and bit his neck. His tough scales protected himself, but Star did deal a lot of damage.

The Shadow Killer flung himself onto the ceiling, causing Star to fall painfully to the ground. Star got up and ripped a bar off one of the cells.

Star threw the cell bar at the Shadow Killer, hitting him and making him fall. Six phantoms zapped the ground where the Shadow lay.

He dodged two but got hit by the rest. Star ran up to the Shadow and bit his leg very hard.

The Shadow gripped Star's throat and threw her so hard she broke through the wall.

Pain flared through Star's whole body. She lay frozen on the floor for several minutes, stunned from the pain. Star was surprised she wasn't dead from such a blow. Breaking through a wall? Either the wall had been weak and old, or Star's supposed powers had somehow protected her. After the pain subsided, Star slowly got up to see herself in a small room. In one corner of the room was a giant cell with a pile of weapons inside, including her bow and arrows.

Star limped back into her cell room to see the Shadow Killer biting Mari's throat.

Star howled in rage and tried to run forward and help Mari when pain flared through her body a second time. She collapsed to the ground and stared in horror and the Shadow Killer prepared the final blow. Suddenly, a broken streak whizzed past Star and hit the Shadow along his spine.

The Shadow Killer screeched in pain, letting go of Mari and pulling the spear out. Mari landed in the corner of the room, coughing and wheezing.

"I knew you still cared.." Mari coughed.

Arim scowled and punched the Shadow in the face, knocking him out.

At that moment, Star had forgotten the phantoms were her enemies, but she remembered right when Arim knocked her out too.

Chapter 13: It's Time
Star woke up inside her cell, her head throbbing. Her whole body ached, and she was bleeding from many cuts. It seemed to take all her strength just to sit up in her bed.

The Phantoms had covered all the holes and cracks in the wall with phantom goop, and the broken cells were replaced with new ones.

Star looked at the cell to the left of her. The Shadow Killer was laying in his cell, still knocked out.

Strangely, Star felt bad for him. Star looked at Mari, who was laying in her bed, just barely awake. Mari had ripped some cloth from her bed and wrapped it around her neck.

Star did the same, ripping off a part of her blanket and wrapping it around her wounds.

"Mari, did the prisoners escape?"

Mari looked up at Star. "Only one. We tried to sneak out the factory, but the phantom guards caught us. I managed to get away and help you, and one cheetah escaped, but the others were caught."

"Oh," Star said sadly. She sighed and laid down, cringing in pain.

....

For the next month, Star watched the phantoms closely.

She had found out that during dusk and dawn the phantoms switched guard posts, and it only took them 10 minutes to do so.

She also found that once every 3 weeks, the phantoms would leave at dawn to 'phantomize' the area around the prisons, overwhelming Mari's powers with pollution so she couldn't use them. It was actually a smart idea, and it took about 20 minutes to do so.

Star had been trapped for 4 months, and she felt it was finally time to escape.

In two days, just before switching guard posts, the phantoms would leave at dusk to renew the spell. This was the perfect time to escape because the phantoms would leave for 30 minutes.

The pollution level was also at its very lowest, so they would just barely be able to use their powers. If they were lucky, the pollution level would get extremely low before the phantoms renew it.

During work tomorrow, Star would peek around the place. The phantoms were beginning to trust her, so it would be easy to look around and not be punished.

Star would find a way into the weapon room she found while fighting the Shadow Killer, take a weapon, free Mari, sneak out the factory and fight the guards, then escape.

After Star found a way into the weapon room, everything would be set. Almost.

One thing was missing.

Star didn't have her elemental powers yet.

....

Star sat on her bed thinking, as the phantom guard came.

"Time for work Star." He said, opening the cell door. Star walked out of the cell, then stood still and awaited her new orders.

"Today you be granted permission to freely wander entire structure. You are not allowed to go outside or in the factory, so you must stay indoors. If you see slaves that not obeying, punish them. Don't forget Arim be watching you, so don't do anything foolish." The guard said, then hovered away.

Star wandered around, punishing the disobedient slaves. It creeped her out to think that Arim was watching her, and she knew that, in a way, he was.

Along the way, Star found a map hanging on the wall that showed the entire building. She noticed that there was a lab on the side of the building that she hadn't noticed before. She had thought it was part of the slave house. Looking at it again, Star also realized that her cell was in room 2. She observed it closely, and after a moment of hesitation, continued down the hallway.

Finally, Star turned a corner and found a large door. She turned the knob and quietly pushed the door, but it didn't budge. Star peeked through a crack in the door and saw a pile of weapons locked up in a cell.

That must be the weapon room I saw when fighting the Shadow Killer. Star thought.

Unfortunately, the cell inside the room needed a key, because it had a lock on it. Star tried pushing the door open again, but it still kept shut. Star looked at the walls around the door, looking for a button or a lever. Strangely, one of the metal panels of the wall turned a lighter color, almost as if it was glowing. Star pressed her paw on the metal. The metal panel slid into the wall and the door opened. Star silently gasped, then walked inside.

Star observed the keyhole very carefully, then ran out of the room before anyone saw.

The shape of the keyhole indicated that the key had a double row of spikes on it.

Star closed the door and searched for the key.

....

After three long hours of work, Star passed a bulky guard holding a ring of keys. Star looked closely at the keys and found the one she needed to open the cell with the weapons.

''I need some sort of plan to get that key. I'm gonna need something to distract him so I can steal it...'' Star thought.

Just then, a dark blue snow leopard tied to the wall began to faintly glow.

Maybe he will help me and distract the guard. Star thought, surprised by her strange luck. Star walked up to the snow leopard just as the phantom guard looked away.

"Hey, I'm trying to get one of the keys from that guard over there. Could you distract him so I can steal it?" Star whispered to him.

"Well, you're lucky because I am the master of distracting." He whispered back to her.

"Awesome! Thanks so much." Star whispered. She felt strange when she was near him like he was spying on her or something. She shook off the feeling and sat next to a large pipe on the wall and waited.

"Hey! You fat guard over there! I have a few questions for you." The snow leopard began.

The guard grunted and hovered over to the snow leopard, who immediately started talking nonsense. Star crept up behind him and grabbed the keychain.

She flipped through the keys until she found two that had a double row of spikes on it. The only thing different was the length of the spikes and the handle.

Star had no idea which one to pick. Star panicked, trying to remember exactly what the keyhole looked like.

The phantom guard was getting restless and would forget about the snow leopard any second now. Star had no idea what to do.

Breathe, Star, breathe. The words drifted through her mind like a warm light, and Star calmed down. As Star relaxed, one of the keys softly glowed.

Star grabbed the key off the chain and ran away. The snow leopard saw her and stopped.

"Ya know, I think I found the answer to all my problems! Cheese!" The snow leopard finished. The guard muttered something angrily and hovered away.

....

Star reached the door with the secret button. She pushed the metal panel on the wall and went inside.

Star unlocked the cell with the weapons inside but didn't open it. In two days the phantoms would be gone for half an hour, and that would be the time she would grab a weapon. She went back to her cell for her next job, smiling.

It was time to escape.

Chapter 14: Ready, Set, Trapped
Two days later, one hour before dawn, Star sat in her cell preparing to escape. Star attempted to wake Mari once more by hitting the cell bars, but Mari still lay asleep.

"Mari! Wake up!" Star said in her loudest whisper. Slowly Mari opened her eyes, groaning.

"What is it.." Mari murmured.

"I have a plan.. to escape," Star said excitedly. Mari's eyes widened.

....

Star lay in her bed, pretending to sleep and watching the guards closely.

Finally, after 13 minutes, they left. Almost all the prisoners were asleep, but even the prisoners that were awake didn't notice.

Star had been weakening one of the bars of her cell over the past few days, and now it was thinner and easier to break. Star gripped the bar with her jaws and pulled, trying to break it.

Star pulled harder, biting the bar with all her strength, but it still didn't snap.

"Here, let me help," Mari said.

"How?" Star asked. Mari smiled.

Mari spread her wings, concentrating on the metal bar. Slowly, bits of frost began forming on the bar until it turned into ice.

"Woah..." Star gasped.

"That is what the elemental powers can do," Mari said proudly. Star closed her jaws around the ice, breaking it. Bits of ice fell to the floor, and a few prisoners saw and gasped.

Mari did the same to her cell, but it took longer, then they left their cells and went to the weapon room.

Star opened the cell and searched the pile of weapons, grabbing out a wooden crossbow. From within the pile of weapons, something was faintly glowing.

Star reached inside and grabbed hold of it, pulling the weapon out. Star gasped when she realized she was holding an Alpha Sword.

Star held the Alpha Sword in the air, a radiant glow coming from the blade.

"Woah," Mari said, holding an ice sword in her talons.

"Let's free those slaves and get out of here," Star said. Mari nodded.

"You're not leaving that quickly."

Mari and Star turned around to find Arim at the exit of the weapon room.

"Well, THIS will be exciting."

Arim lifted his spear and pointed it at Mari and Star.

Chapter 15: Battle of Elements
(This song goes well with this chapter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWRJAHaOrYg&index=33&list=PLJcZQhmxiPwizAOAIUJropcHq4jgJGMeT )

Star growled, raising the Alpha Sword.

Mari used her ice powers to make the blade of her ice sword longer and sharper, spreading her wings and lifting into the air.

The battle had begun.

Arim waved his spear and bolts of lightning blasted Mari and Star, but they swiftly dodged before the bolts made contact. Star ran toward Arim, bringing the Alpha Sword down on his left tentacle.

Arim deflected the Alpha Sword with his spear, at the same time giving Star a strong shock, pushing her away.

Mari swooped toward Arim, hitting his helmet with her sword. He swung his spear at her, but she had already flown away. She flew in again and pushed him over with her talons.

Mari stretched out her wings while hovering in midair, summoning sharp ice spikes that surrounded Arim, just grazing his slimy skin.

Arim got up and spun around, his spear cutting the ice and blasting them with electricity. Star grabbed a chunk of ice, hurling it at Arim.

Arim used his spiked wristbands to deflect the ice, Mari and Star charging at him, swords ready.

Arim used his spear to block Mari's sword, but Star's Alpha Sword cut off one of the pipes on his helmet, along with the tentacle underneath. Arim shrieked and leaped into the middle of the room, dropping his spear and raising his tentacles.

Star gasped as electricity formed from the ground and surrounded Arim, making an electric barrier.

Mari created an ice boulder and dropped it on Arim, but the electric barrier blasted the ice to splinters. Arim slowly hovered toward them, the barrier following him, and an evil smile on his face. He cornered Mari, but created another chunk of ice and hurled at him to hold him back.

Mari tried creating more ice to hurl at him, but her powers were weakening. She wouldn't have enough energy to hold him back forever. Soon he would reach her, and without a way to get away, she would be dead. Arim sped up, and his electric barrier touched Mari. Mari screeched as she was zapped painfully and forced across the room.

Arim's electric barrier disappeared as he retrieved his spear and hovered above Mari, holding his spear to her neck.

Star watched in horror as he lifted the spear and brought it down on Mari, that evil smile on his face.

Despite her life at horrible risk, Star ran.

She wasn't going to let Mari die.

Not now.

Star leaped, putting her body between Arim's spear and Mari's neck.

Star closed her eyes, bracing herself for the pain.

But it didn't happen.

Star's body gave off a brilliant and radiant light, in fact so bright and powerful it pushed Arim across the room. Mari's eyes widened, her mouth wide open.

Arim crashed into the wall with such force he almost got knocked out. Star got to her feet, the light no longer coming from her.

"What.. what happened? What did I do?" Star asked.

"That... was your elemental power! The power of Light!" Mari gasped. Star's eyes widened. She did have powers after all. The power of light.

Now filled with confidence, Star padded over to Arim."Well, Arim.. it looks like we beat you." Star said, walking over to Arim who was slumped on the wall.

"You did.. but I will... I will find you.. and destroy you. You only have.. 18 minutes.. left... it's not enough.. time to free.. the prisoners.." Arim said before he fainted.

Mari and Star left with a glance back.

It was time to escape.

Chapter 16: The Great Escape
Mari and Star ran through the phantoms prisons, breaking the cages and freeing every slave they could. Star  Still couldn't quite use her powers yet. She didn't have enough time to try and use her powers, though, so she used the Alpha Sword to slice the cages in half.

Time was ticking down. They hadn't even freed half the prisoners and they only had four minutes before the phantoms would renew the pollution level and capture them.

Finally, Star dropped the Alpha Sword and sat down.

"There has to be a quicker way to free all these slaves. And there is an entire factory that probably has just as many slaves as these prisons have..." Star said, breathing heavily.

Star closed her eyes and relaxed. She hadn't mastered her light powers yet, but when she had relaxed, her powers had shone the things that could help her, such as the right key to use and the panel on the wall to open the door.

Slowly her vision brightened, and she saw the bright image of a room, probably inside the factory. Inside the room was a small lever.

The lever pulled down and a timer appeared, ticking down from 10 minutes. The image zoomed out, showing the door to the room, which had a large phantom symbol above it. Star could just barely see the image of cells unlocking.

The bright image of a factory appeared, then it exploded.

Stars vision disappeared.

''Why would the Phantoms have a lever that shuts down the systems and explodes the entire factory? Maybe if they had to evacuate and didn't want anyone to know they were there.'' Star thought. Still, she didn't think making a lever like that would be a good idea, but then again, the Phantoms weren't very smart.

Star opened her eyes."I think there is a room that shuts down the systems and explodes the factory. I'm not sure how that would help, but apparently, my elemental powers think it will..." Star said to Mari.

Mari nodded. "My mother told me that visions come more easily to those with the powers of light or dark. But how-"

"You can always hack into the system and make the lever unlock all the cells in the factory." A voice said.

Star and Mari turned around to see a blue snow leopard. Behind him were many freed slaves.

"You're the one who helped me steal the key! Wait.. but how did you escape?" Star asked him.

"You're not the only ones here who have Zios' elemental powers. And I just happen to have the power of water." He meowed, water beginning to form around his paws. "My name is Infinity."

Star was so relieved, she wanted to hug him, but there wasn't time."So, you said you can hack into the system?" Star asked.

"Not only am I good at distracting, but I'm pretty good at hacking too." Infinity replied.

"But the locks on the cells need keys to open. How does hacking make them open?" Mari questioned.

"You didn't know? The cells in the factory are opened electronically. They aren't opened by a key, but they have to be opened with a special card that only a few phantoms have. Anyway, let's stop the chit-chat and get to freeing these prisoners!" Infinity explained.

"Wait! Only you know how to hack into the system, won't the factory explode afterward? How would you escape?" Star pointed out.

Infinity paused. "I'm pretty sure it takes ten minutes before it explodes." He muttered, whiskers twitching.

"But ten minutes isn't enough time for you to escape. Are you willing to risk your life to do this?" Star said.

Infinity looked around himself, from the slaves to Star and Mari. There was a long moment of silence before he answered.

"Yes." He said.

Star and Mari nodded.

"I think the room has a phantom symbol above it. Do you know where it is?" Star asked.

Infinity nodded. "I've seen that place in the factory before. Anyway, tootles!" Infinity said before running into the factory.

Star and Mari ran through the factory and the prisons, freeing every slave they could.

Finally, they only had one room left.

Mari and Star ran into the prison room, but just as they were about to free the prisoners, they heard a robotic voice speak:

Attention: The factory will self-destruct in 10 minutes.

All the prisoners began to freak out, screaming and shivering, one even fainted.

"Everyone don't worry! We are going to get you out of here so calm down!" Mari explained. Star and Mari ran through the room, untying the slaves and breaking the chains.

"Everyone follow us!" Mari said, blasting a wall with ice. Star jumped up and swung the Alpha Sword, shattering the ice and breaking a hole in the wall. Mari at the lead, Star and the prisoners ran after her, breaking through the walls and running through the hallways.

Attention: The factory will self-destruct in 9 minutes.

Mari, Star and the prisoners finally made it outside the phantom prisons, the huge factory looming over them.

"Everyone go! Run as fast as you can!" Star said, ushering everyone out.

"I'm going to the other side of the factory to help anyone who can't get out," Mari said, flying away.

Attention: The factory will self-destruct in 8 minutes.

Star looked out into the factory, hoping to see Infinity. On the very edge of her vision, she saw a small black dot.

Star waved her paws in the air, the Alpha Sword giving off a light glow. Slowly, the dot got closer, and Star realized that there were multiple dots.

Attention: The factory will self-destruct in 7 minutes.

Star realized with horror that the dots were the phantoms.

Oh no... the phantoms have renewed the pollution levels! Star thought worriedly...

Star realized the phantoms were running away.

They must have heard the warning and decided to run away instead. Star thought, hiding a smile.

Attention: The factory will self-destruct in 6 minutes.

Star raised the Alpha Sword and charged at the phantoms, protecting the prisoners. The phantoms saw her and turned away, trying to get away as fast as they possibly could.

Star managed to catch up to one of the phantoms, pinning him down and holding the Alpha Sword to what she thought was his 'neck'.

"Where is Arim?!" She growled.

"I.. um.. he went after you.. um.. but never came back. But please... please don't kill me!" The phantom stammered.

Star didn't feel any pity for the phantom, but he would probably die when the factory exploded anyway. Star lowered her sword and ran to the prisons.

Attention: The factory will self-destruct in 5 minutes.

Star ran back to the exit of the phantom's prisons, leading the rest of the prisoners out.

Everyone had escaped.

Now she just needed to wait for Mari.

Chapter 17: Earthquake


Star stood nervously outside the giant phantom factory, waiting for Mari.

Attention: The factory will self-destruct in 4 minutes.

''Where is Mari! This is taking too long!'' Star thought.

Just then, Star saw a blue speck in the sky soaring toward her.

"Mari!!" Star yelled. Mari swooped down and collapsed on the ground in front of Star, panting.

"It's... Infinity.. he.. a.." Mari stammered, trying to catch her breath.

"We need to get out of here! There's no time to talk!" Star explained. Mari climbed onto Star's back, and Star ran away from the factory as fast as she could.

Star could faintly hear a robotic voice saying:

Attention: The factory will self-destruct in 3 minutes.

There was a forest just a mile from my cabin, so if I can find the remains of my cabin I can get to the forest... Star thought as she ran.

The sharp greenish rocks of the badlands cut her paws, but she continued to run as fast as her legs could go. Star looked ahead of her and saw the ruins of her cabin scattered across the rocks.

Star ran toward the pile of rotting purple wood. As she passed it, her legs collapsed under her and she fell painfully to the ground.

"I can't go.. any further." Star panted.

Attention: The factory will self-destruct in 2 minutes.

Now Mari was the one urging to go on.

"Come on Star! If we're going to stop anywhere, it absolutely should not be here!" Mari said, trying to lift Star with her wings.

Star managed to get to her feet, but she couldn't run without toppling over.

"Hurry up Star!" Mari yelled.

Star finally got some of her strength back and began to run toward the forest. Mari lifted herself into the air and flew a few feet above Star.

Attention: The factory will self-destruct in 1 minute.

Star ran a little faster, her legs aching and bleeding. Just then, a small bolt of lightning shot down toward Star, blasting the handle of the Alpha Sword.

Star yelped and leaped back, her paws burning from the lightning. The Alpha Sword was blasted in the opposite direction, its blade lodged in a boulder.

Both Mari and Star looked back and saw the small shape of Arim.

"Arim..." Star growled.

Just as she said that Arim zoomed away so quickly it was as if he just disappeared.

Mari tapped Star's paw with her talon. "I think we should get out of here..." She said nervously. Star nodded and began to run once again.

Attention: The factory will self-destruct in 20 seconds.

Star almost stopped dead in her tracks.

"Not now.." She panted, running twice as fast as she was before. Mari flew above her, going much faster than she had before and not glancing back.

Star ran faster and faster, sharp rocks constantly stabbing her paws, but at this point, she didn't even care.

Attention: The factory will self-destruct in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0.

The ground shook violently, huge cracks forming in the ground and rocks flying in the air. Star heard a tremendous sound, louder than a volcano erupting.

The ground trembled so violently as a huge ball of fire consumed the entire factory, blasting it to pieces. Pipes and boulders blasted out from all sides.

The explosion pushed Star 6 feet in the air, and 12 feet away from where the factory used to be.

Giant boulders were forcefully pulled out of the ground and blasted in all directions. Star landed painfully on the ground, then quickly rolled away as a huge pipe nearly crushed her.

A nearby group of phantoms was easily crushed by a large slab of metal, purple goop spraying everywhere. Star froze in her tracks as the ground split in front of her paws, green slime bubbling inside the crack.

Star leaped away as the huge chunk of rock she was standing on fell into the giant crack.

Green steam poured out as the rock dissolved in the green slime, which probably was polluted lava or something like that.

Star flew a foot in the air as another explosion happened, and she just happened to land right next to Mari.

Mari was sitting next to a big pipe, trying to pull her wing out from under the pipe. Another crack was spreading right next to Mari, and she was close to falling into it.

Star ran into the pipe, trying to free Mari. The crack in the ground was so close to them that Star nearly fell into it.

Mari screamed as the crack expanded and one of her legs fell over the edge. Star grabbed Mari's wing and tried to pull it out, but couldn't.

I have to use my elemental powers, its the only way... Star thought. She closed her eyes and tried to stay calm, which is pretty hard with the giant rocks falling everywhere.

Star squeezed her paw and finally focused, and felt the gentle heat of light coming from her paws.

Star opened her eyes and waved her paw at the pipe, and a blast of light came from her paw and broke the pipe. Mari quickly crawled out of the crack and over to Star.

"Are you okay?" Star asked.

Mari winced and shook her head. Her wing was bent oddly as she leaned against Star.

The ground shook wildly as another crack appeared, blocking their way out. The ground underneath the remains of the pipe collapsed and melted in the green lava below.

They were trapped.

Chapter 18: Sinister secret
(Infinity's POV)

Infinity ran through the factory. The green rocks below him scraped his paws and made them bleed. He winced but continued running through the factory

He ran up a tilted ladder, careful not to slip. Being a leopard, it was no problem, but his paws hurt and he didn't want to fall. But falling wasn't a problem either, because he was a cat. But he couldn't waste any time. He finally had a job, a purpose, and he was going to succeed. He wasn't the tiny blue kitten in the foster homes, hoping to have a purpose, to have a home.

When he first agreed to risk his life, it had seemed like the heroic, noble thing to do. he was the hero of the fairy tale, the hero who risked his life and came out alive.

But now, he was terrified. Even more scared than he had been when he was a kitten living on the streets, hoping to survive. He couldn't fail, or his only friends, the ones he had known for only two minutes, would die. Every single innocent animal being tortured in this prison would die.

And if he succeeded? he wouldn't just save their lives. He would free them from their prison. They would be free, knowing that the brave Infinity had saved them. Okay, they would probably have no idea who saved them, but it was a nice thought.

Finally, he found the door with the phantom symbol above it. He charged in and began hacking. It was complicated, but soon the screen above the control pad turned red. Infinity flipped the lever, and...... done.

Attention: The factory will self-destruct in 10 minutes.

Infinity bolted out, not looking back. he looked around, but he couldn't go back the way he came. It would take too long. Growling in frustration, he charged through a row of machines. He turned left and right... and found a dead end.

It would take too long to go back hopefully there was a window or another exit in the room, or he would be dead. Infinity busted open the door and charged inside.

He was horrified by what he saw. Tubes full of purple liquid, diagrams, and test subjects. Infinity freed the test subjects immediately, but they didn't follow him out.

"C'mon! We gotta go!" he muttered, hopping from paw to paw.

"I do not follow your orders. My orders are from Arim." The animals said in union.

Infinity stared at them. What did they say? Then he saw the label on the tube of purple liquid.

No. This was not good at all. Not good. At. All.

Attention: The factory will self-destruct in 4 minutes.

Infinity hesitated before he left the test subjects awaiting orders and charged out the back door.

Chapter 19: Not-so-lost Lives
(Back to Star's POV)

Mari and Star watched as the green lava slowly chipped away at the rock they were standing on.

They both tried to think of some way out, but couldn't think of anything that would be successful. The cracks were far too wide to jump, and Mari wasn't able to fly.

"Mari, can you use your ice powers to push a rock over the lava?" Star asked.

Mari closed her eyes, and ice began forming behind a boulder. Slowly, the ice expanded and the boulder rolled over the edge and into the lava, covering it up.

Star was just about to jump across, but the boulder began sinking and small holes appeared inside it. Star stopped just before the boulder sunk in the lava and a thick cloud of green steam rose up.

''What are we going to do? Nothing is working! ''Star thought nervously.

Mari shrieked in warning as the ground shook once again and half of the rock they were standing on collapsed into the lava.

Star sat down on the rock. "It's over. We can't do anything." Star said sadly.

Mari sighed. "Star, we can't give up now. Zios chose us... we can't give up."

Star's eyes widened. Before she could argue, the ground shook wildly and another chunk of rock they were on fell into the lava.

Star fell to the ground, and in the distance, behind thick clouds of dust, a small black speck was running toward her and Mari.

"What is that?" Star asked.

"I don't know, but we need to get outta here before the lava gets to us!" Mari shouted, making a bridge of ice across the lava.

Mari placed her foot on the bridge, but the lava had already melted it thin, so large cracks appeared around her foot. Mari stepped back as the bridge melted completely.

In the distance, the black speck was much closer and appeared to be blue. Star watched as the speck grew, grew and grew until she realized who it was.

"Mari!! LOOK!!" Star shouted, pointing to the blue animal. Mari looked where Star pointed.

"INFINITY!!!!!!" They shouted.

Infinity smiled at them, then slammed his paw on the ground and water poured out. "Mari, use your powers to make the water colder!" He said.

Mari closed her eyes and cooled the water. The freezing water flowed into the lava, cooling it.

"Great job!" Star said as Mari created an ice bridge and they ran across it. Star, Mari, and Infinity ran across the badlands, constantly dodging boulders and cracks.

....

Hours after the earthquake had ended, the trio was still wandering through the badlands.

"I can't believe that explosion was so powerful it could cause an earthquake," Star muttered.

"I can't believe the phantoms would create such a powerful self-destruct. I mean, who would need such a thing like that?" Infinity replied.

"I can't believe we survived!" Mari blurted out. The others nodded.

And on the horizon, just below the setting sun, was the forest.

Chapter 20: Never Safe
"There it is! The forest!" Star shouted, running toward it. Some of the trees had turned purple, and goop was splattered across the brown leaves.

"Oh, no.. the phantom 'sickness' has already spread here!" Star said sadly as the others caught up.

"The phantom sickness only got some of the trees. I can see healthy trees behind the polluted ones." Mari said, walking into the forest.

Infinity and Star looked at each other, then cautiously walked into the forest with Mari. After they wandered past the dying trees, they found a beautiful forest full of healthy, green trees and plants.

"Okay everyone, let's set up a camp." Mari chirped. *We should find a place to rest before we move on." The others nodded and leaped off into the woods.

....

Star arrived in a clearing in the middle of the forest. Oaks and birch trees surrounded the small clearing, moss clinging to their trunks. There she found a large willow tree, its branches touching the ground to create a small tree tent. Next to the willow was a small stream that glimmered in the sunset. The sky was tinted purple, reflecting off the water and creating a magical glow. Star looked up and saw stars beginning to twinkle in the darkening sky. In the distance were the sheer gray cliffs of Mt. Shiveer, coated with white snow.

"Hey everyone! I think I found the perfect camping spot!" Star exclaimed.

Mari and Infinity ran into the clearing and gasped. "It's beautiful.." Infinity said with delight.

"Alright, Star, can you collect some berries and fruit?" Mari said.

"What about a bonfire?" Infinity asked.

"I think a fire would give out our location. Star, you could just make some light, right?" Mari replied.

"Sure.. but I'm not very good with my powers yet so it will be dim," Star answered.

"A dim light is all we need," Mari said.

"Okay," Star replied, padding into the forest to collect fruit. The trees closed in around Star, but the light of the rising moon lit up her path.

A tall apple tree stood under the moonlight, ripe apples growing on its branches. Star stood on her hind legs and began picking apples.

Once her paws were full, she walked back to camp, following the scent.

When Star had been trapped, the powerful scent of phantom goop and phantom dust blocked Star's sense of smell, so Star was glad to finally be able to use her greatest sense.

As she started down the path, she heard a snap. Star whipped around and dropped three apples, but didn't even bother picking them up. She stared out into the darkness of the forest, hoping that she hadn't actually heard something. She raised her nose and sniffed the air. She could smell the usual scent of the forest, along with the scent of fruit and a very faint trace of a phantom.

Star stood frozen for a long time before finally picking up the apples and heading back to camp.

....

Star ran into the camp and plopped the apples on a patch of moss.

"Mari, I got the apples!" Star exclaimed.

"Great! Alright everyone, let's eat." Mari replied happily. Star noticed that she had wrapped some bark and leaves around her wing as a cast.

Infinity, Mari, and Star sat in a circle and ate their apples. Star closed her eyes and stretched out her right paw. She took a deep breath and concentrated on trying to imagine light coming from her paw. A few seconds and nothing had happened. Star tried to imagine that feeling she had gotten when her powers had helped her by making the key to the weapon room glow. Suddenly, Star felt strange ripped across her paw and an odd tingling sensation across her body. When she opened her eyes, a dim light was coming from her outstretched paw. The ripples on her paw had faded, but the tingling sensation remained.

Mari eyed her glowing paw. "You learn quickly."

"Yeah. It's harder than I thought it would be." Star muttered, taking a bite out of her apple. After she finished chewing, she asked, "So Infinity, you have elemental powers, but how come your name doesn't have any letters from the name Mira?"

"I changed my name so the phantoms didn't know. But the question is, how come your name doesn't either?" Infinity replied, licking his chest and his paws.

"I... I actually don't know." Star muttered, suddenly realizing.

"I think I do," Mari replied. "The Elemental powers were not involved with genetics, meaning that they weren't passed down from the same family. They were given to the most worthy from Zios himself until phantoms first invaded. After that, no one ever got the elemental powers. Families forgot about the elemental powers, and didn't do the tests to Jammers when they were young to see if they had Zios' powers."

"So my family never knew?" Star asked.

"No."

Star silently gasped. Her family never knew about all this? It felt weird now that she knew about it, but her parents didn't have a clue. "Wait, you said Only the most worthy got powers..."

"Yeah, I was thinking about that." Infinity interrupted. "Zios stopped giving out powers-"

"Hold on, Zios didn't just give out the strongest powers any Jammer could ever have! He gave it to those who were destined to protect nature and its inhabitants before the Alphas came to be." Mari corrected.

"Yeah, yeah, That's what I meant. Anyway, as I was saying After the phantoms invaded, Zios didn't grant elemental powers to Jammers anymore because the Alphas could protect Jamaa. Jamaa didn't need the elemental Jammers to protect them. So if we have the long-lost powers..."

"Then that means Zios is calling back the Elementals!" Star yelled, jumping to her paws with her tail wagging.

"Yeah, but that also means a powerful enemy is emerging. One that only we can stop." Infinity finished, standing up.

Mari looked thoughtful, then slowly nodded. "Your right. That also means that the other Elementals are out there, and we need to find them and unite them."

Star was overflowing with excitement. She was going to unite the long-lost Chosen ones of Zios, in which she would work with to defeat and ultimate enemy.

"Well, we can make plans tomorrow, but right now, I need a nice, long nap." He turned to go inside the tent when he stopped abruptly. "Hold on... I have a question. Did anyone else get that weird feeling when they were around Arim?"

Star and Mari looked at each other. "Yes, about that..," Mari started. "You see, Arim used to be my brother. But... he gave in to the phantoms and turned into a phantimal, then a phantom. For some reason, he still has his powers, which only makes him more dangerous." She lowered her head sadly.

"Oh. I'm so sorry, I didn't know." Infinity came over to Mari and rested his paw on her back.

"Of course you didn't know. Now.. I'm fine. There's nothing any of us can do about it." She nudged his paw off and walked into the tent. Infinity yawned and followed her. Star stayed outside and watched the sky darken. There was no way she could get even a few seconds of sleep with so much on her mind.

Star froze when she heard crunching and a foul smell entered her nostrils. Could that be the phantoms...? Star thought nervously.

Slowly and quietly, Star crawled into the tree tent. "Mari! Infinity! Wake up! I smell phantoms!" She whispered. Star grabbed Mari and shook her as hard as she dared.

"Mari!! Wake up!" Star whispered as loud as she could. Mari twitched and slowly opened her eyes.

"What is it.." She murmured.

"The phantoms! They found us!" Star said, trying to whisper but failing.

"More phantoms? Your joking.." Infinity said, slowly waking up.

"No, I'm not!" Star whispered, gritting her teeth. Just as she said that the leaves around the tent shuddered and then turned a dark shade of brownish purple. Mari bolted awake and winced when she accidentally hit her injured wing.

"What are we going to do?" Star whispered quietly.

"We have to make a run for it. But I'm far too exhausted...." Mari muttered, looked at her wounded wing. Star raised her snout and sniffed the air again. She could definitely smell phantoms nearby. And she could smell Arim with them.

"I smell Arim. We need to leave." Star barked, the fur on her back rising. "I can use my powers to stop them, but Arim will be able to sense it..."

"If Arim is already out there, it's no use to hide from him. We need to leave at any cost." Infinity said, the silly look in his eyes fading.

Mari nodded. "My wing is too injured to fly, and I can't walk that far. Infinity, could you carry me?"

Infinity nodded. She climbed onto his back, as he winced at her sharp talons holding onto his skin. "Alright, let's get out of here before we end up as slaves again."

Chapter 21: Invasion
Star pushed away from the leaves of the tent and dashed through the trees at top speed.

She instantly regretted running so fast once she smacked into a tree. Star quickly got up and began running again, still feeling a little lightheaded.

Infinity ran just in front of her, Mari perched on his back. The farther they went into the forest, the trees began wilting. Their leaves were brown and goop was splattered over their pale trunks. Eventually, the trees became bare and purple. The foul smell of phantoms filled the air and made Star feel sick.

''That must be the work of Arim's phantoms. In no time this whole forest will be dead.'' Star thought sadly. She looked behind her and saw several phantoms chasing after her, shooting small lightning bolts in every direction. Star turned around and focused on the trees in front of her, not paying attention to the phantoms chasing after her.

Another round of lightning bolts shot past Star. One hit her back leg, and she tumbled to the ground. Tons of phantoms jumped on top of Star, a huge mass of slimy black tentacles. Star shrieked as she was constantly zapped and tackled.

Star flattened her ears against her head and bit a phantom. In return, she got a strong shock that stung her whole body. She yelped in pain as the Phantoms held her to the ground.

Infinity stopped dead in his tracks and clawed the phantoms off one by one. Mari quickly shot a blast of ice and froze a few of the phantoms.

Infinity pushed the chunk of frozen phantoms off Star and looked at her in horror.

....

Star slowly opened her eyes to find herself inside a dense jungle. Infinity was using a wet leaf to wipe thick phantom goop off her paws.

"Wha... What.. Where are we?" Star asked.

"You fainted so I had to carry you and Mari all the way to safety." Infinity said.

Star tried to get up but winced as her paw stung horribly.

"I recommend you don't move until I get all this phantom goop off. It's harmful, ya know." Infinity meowed. He dipped the leaf in a clean puddle and continued wiping the goop off.

"Where is Mari?" Star asked.

"She said she's looking for something. I'm not sure what, though." Infinity replied.

"And the phantoms?" Star asked.

"Tricked them into thinking we went a different way. And in case you're wondering where we are, I'm not exactly sure. After tricking the phantoms I ran and ran until I found this dense jungle to hide in." Infinity answered. Star looked around for the sheer cliffs of Mt. Shiveer, but the dense trees blocked her view. She lay down on the soft grass as Infinity wiped the goop off her paws. After a while, he stopped and began licking his own paws.

Star looked at her paw, which no longer stung, but felt hot and tingled. She glanced at Infinity, who had stopped grooming and was standing on a tall tree watching for phantoms. "I don't think we can wait for Mari any longer, I can see a lot of phantoms coming our way." Infinity called down to Star.

"Well, how are we supposed to tell Mari that we are leaving?" Star called back.

"By using our powers... But it takes a lot of concentration to send messages to one another, and only one animal can sense it." Infinity yelled.

"You can do that?!? Why didn't you tell me earlier!" Star called. If she had known all this earlier, she could have easily busted out of that prison.

"I don't even know how to do it. If there is anyone who can do something like that, it's Mari." Infinity yelled back.

Star sighed. Suddenly, Star could feel a strange sensation in her mind that felt similar to the sensation she had felt when she first saw Arim. The weird feeling seemed to be pulling herself West. As fast as it had come, the strange feeling went away.

"Did ya feel that? That means Arim found us." Infinity called as he leaped off the tree. "Mari should have felt Arim using his powers too, so she will know that we are leaving. Come on, we can't waste any more time here!" Infinity said.

Infinity nudged her with his nose and she slowly sat up. Her paw stung when she put pressure on it, but she managed to follow behind Infinity as he ran ahead. She managed to keep up the pace, but her injured paw slowed her down.

"Are the phantoms you saw coming from the West?" Star asked Infinity after a while.

Infinity leaped over a fallen tree and stopped. "Actually, they were coming from.. mm.. North." He replied.

"So Arim thought he was smart enough to try to sneak-attack us," Star growled. Star's heart skipped a beat when she suddenly heard a shrieking eagle cry.

"Mari!!" Star cried. She looked at one of the towering trees to find Mari clinging to one of its branches. Star pointed to the tree with her tail.

"Mari is in that tree!" Star shouted. Infinity leaped onto the trunk of the tree and began climbing up. Star stood by the trunk and looked out for phantoms. She could hear the noise of the phantoms electricity and smell the rotting of plants. Star bared her teeth and got ready to attack...

But then, it stopped. The smell of rotting plants faded away, the loud crackling of electricity could no longer be heard.

Infinity jumped down the tree with Mari perched on his back. "Mari, how did you get up there? I thought your wing was broken." Infinity asked Mari.

"Well, maybe not broken, probably just sprained," Mari replied.

"Ya, but how did you get up there?" Infinity repeated.

"I had to make sure what I was looking for was really there, and climbing the tree was the only way to find out," Mari answered.

"Guys.. did you feel that.." Star interrupted.

"Feel what?" Mari asked.

"That.. the phantoms.. it just... stopped.." Star murmured.

"Phantoms can't stop moving their tentacles, or else they will stop hovering and collapse to the ground." Infinity corrected.

"No.. they just, left," Star said.

Mari laughed.

"Since when do you laugh?" Infinity joked.

"Guys, this is the reason I went out to search," Mari said excitedly.

"And you still haven't told us what you're searching for," Star muttered.

"I found Jamaa," Mari replied.

Chapter 22: Back to Jamaa
"JAMAA?!?" Infinity and Star gasped.

"Yes. And the phantoms probably left when they realized this is awfully close to Sarepia Forest. It's time to go home!" Mari exclaimed.

Filled with new energy, the trio leaped through the gigantic trees of the forest, heading into Sarepia Forest. As they went, the trees grew thicker and taller, and Star could see wooden planks and ropes laid across the branches of the trees.

A small fire pit came into view, along with a few jammers roleplaying around it. Star was overjoyed and filled with excitement, but one thought occurred to her. ''Once I get to Jamaa, where will I live? My house was destroyed and I don't have any gems to buy or rent a den!''

Star stopped dead in her tracks at that thought. Infinity stopped and asked, "What is wrong?"

"Mari, Infinity, do you still have a house?" Star asked nervously.

"No.. I never thought of that!" Mari admitted. Star could hear the anxiety in her voice.

"We could find some abandoned building and find our own food. I have had experiences like this before." Infinity said, losing his joyful voice.

Star sighed. She looked at the Jammers crowded around the fire pit, wearing their rare spikes and worns. She looked like an outsider, dirty and covered in wounds.

"Guys, we can manage this! We just survived prison, an explosion, army of phantoms, and tons of other things no Jammer would survive! Besides, we are Zios' Chosen Ones!" Mari said, spreading her wings.

Infinity looked at Star, a wide smile on his face.

"Star, Infinity, you can use your powers together to revive plants and I can help repair a house for us to live in with my ice powers. We have a responsibility now, and Zios chose us out of millions of other jammers. Living on the streets homeless is nothing compared to what we have done today. We will collect the rest of the elements and protect Jamaa together! We can do this!" Mari exclaimed, hopping on Infinity's back.

Star smiled.

"We can sleep in between Coral Canyons and Sarepia, which is somewhere over there if I remember correctly." Infinity said, walking East. Star followed them, feeling a new hope.

....

A shadowy beast climbed up the brown rocks of Coral Canyons, he was known as the Shadow Killer. His scales were broken and bleeding, and wounds covered the Killer's body. Besides the pain, the Killer continued climbing the hard rocks, up and up, next to the setting sun.

But now, the Killer knew that Arim was not alone. Arim was becoming an even bigger threat.

The Shadow Killer had first thought of Star as an enemy, but now, he thought of her differently than he had before. She was kind, and would soon master the element of sun very well.

Maybe, Star wasn't bad. At least, no longer bad in the Killer's eyes. Maybe, he still could love, like the animals he was made from had.

Maybe, the minds of the animals he was made from, still loved, and maybe that would never change. Maybe Star was not bad, and hate was. The Killer made up his mind.

Star was not bad. No matter how much she had injured him, she was not bad.

She was good.

Very good. Good enough to be protected.

Even if she hated him, he did not hate her. He would protect her, from Arim, from phantoms, from hate.

Star was not bad, nor were her friends.

Star was not bad, but hate was.

The Shadow Killer climbed the top the rocky cliff, the hot sun warming his aching scales. He looked down, down at Star, Infinity, and Mari.

The Killer watched as Star cared for her friends, helping their wounds, and not caring for her own wounds. Yes, she was very very good.

He would protect her, and he would learn to love as she did.

He would love, just like her.

And maybe, just maybe, others would love him in return.

Arim was growing in power, and Star needed his help. Arim had new weapons, allies, and a whole army of phantoms at his side, along with the dangerous element of lightning, which was strengthened after turning into a phantom. And if Arim was planning what the Shadow Killer thought he was... then Arim could become an unstoppable enemy.

.

Chapter 23: A New Adventure Begins
A cool breeze blew through the warm air as Star, Mari and Infinity sat on the cold rocks of Coral Canyons and watched the sunset. The sun slowly sank behind the giant rocks of Coral Canyons, the sky fading from yellow to red to purple to black. Stars were beginning to appear in the darkening sky, and the warm air grew chilly.

"So, how are we supposed to find the other 'chosen ones'?" Infinity said, interrupting the silence.

"We will find out," Mari said.

Infinity tilted his head. "Find out how?"

"We can sense them. We can train and strengthen our powers so it will be easier to search for the 'chosen ones'. But first, we need a plan." Mari sighed. "But honestly, I really don't know exactly how to find them."

Infinity looked like he was going to say something important, but then he turned around.

Mari and Infinity both looked back at the setting sun, needing more hope. Star did the same, and for a moment she thought she saw something standing on one of the cliffs watching her. Before she was sure, the black figure had disappeared.

"Before we do anything though, we should collect some gems and find a home," Star said, interrupting the silence again.

Mari turned toward Star and smiled.

"You're right. Before we begin plans and finding the elemental jammers, we should collect as many gems as we can and find somewhere to stay."

"I have a feeling that we are gonna do fine." Infinity smiled as the last rays of sunset disappeared on the horizon. The moon and stars illuminated coral canyons in a blue-ish light.

Star lay down on the rocks and laid her head on her paws. "Let's get some sleep." "Then we find Zios' chosen ones, together," Mari said.

"Together!" They all agreed.

And with that, they fell asleep.

Epilogue
Arim floated through the ruins of his old factory. He couldn't believe that all this had gone to waste. Everything he had been working on was destroyed and burned. A few flames flickered among the ruins, and dark black smoke floated into the darkening sky. The sun was just a red dot on the horizon, disappearing among the purple and green rocks of the phantom badlands. Phantoms drifted through the burning ruins, looking for anything that could have survived the explosion. It was unlikely.

Arim hovered toward a large, dark green phantom that was using a long strip of burned metal to dig through the debris. The phantom had a pink scar over his eye and spiked wristbands alike to Arim's.

"Did you find it, Smog?" Arim demanded, wiping ash off his tentacle.

"Nope. No sign of it, sir." The phantom, Smog, answered, poking at the remains of a pipe.

"Well, keep looking. The factory can always be rebuilt, but this is the one thing that cannot be replaced. If you find anything that could be useful, tell me." Arim turned to hover away and then heard Smog gasp in surprise behind him.

Arim spun around. "What? What is it!"

Smog reached into a large pile of broken chunks of metal and pulled something out. It was a syringe filled with transparent gray liquid. There was a crack in it, and small drops of the gray liquid oozed out. Arim grabbed the syringe, careful not to let the precious liquid drip out.

"This is it. We need to hurry to a lab so we can replicate it. Where is the nearest phantom camp?" Arim asked.

Smog pointed toward the horizon where the sun had just set. Arim nodded and handed the syringe back to Smog.

"Bring that to the camp as fast as you can. Take a few phantoms with you. I'll see if there is anything else that survived the explosion and then I will join you. Now go!" Arim demanded. Smog nodded and hurried off. Arim turned back toward the debris scattered across the ground. A few fires were still burning, casting the surrounding in an orange light. It didn't look as if anything else had survived the explosion, which was a shame. Arim was about to gather his phantoms and follow Smog to camp when he noticed something smoking lying on the ground. Arim picked it up and wiped the ash off. It was his spear- charred and broken in half, with smoke still coming off it.

"It doesn't matter now," Arim muttered to himself. "I'll make myself a new spear, build a new factory, and capture all the Elementals as my slaves. Then, I can finally get what I want." Arim tossed the burning spear into the rubble and hovered toward the dark horizon.

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The End
To be continued in part 2...

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