The Next Generation

Author's Note
This story is not at all true and does not mention anything (except for Mira and Zios) about the origins of Animal Jam, and also is a w.i.p!!! (work in progress), well at least currently. I will change this when it's done!!!

Thank you to all that comment!

This is by Paliesum

Also huge credits to Safetyfireluv for making the cover! :D

Prologue:
The young 12 year old bunny hopped out of his burrow nestled in the thick bushes of Sarepia Forest. He was pure black and purple, with stars in his completely red eyes. Dark red Swirls were engraved on his thick, rough fur. Wearing a pitch-black ninja mask, covering his face, leaving a bruise on his black fuzzy head, due to it being too tight as there was only one size to it. A brown strap covered his back, with a small pouch with thousands of gems inside. The bunny hopped towards the badlands. Trees were dying, the ground looked like it had been hit by a meteor the size of the sun, and the grass was a sickly green-purple colour.

This has to be work of the phantoms invading Jamaa, he thought, picking up a small purple tree leaf, with specks of brown on it, with splodges of phantom goop on it.

But secretly, he thought that the phantoms were a good friend to him. The bunny was more of a dark and edgy type, who liked having fights with non members who had just been born, trust trades with members who had a spike, and liked playing with dark, evil magic. After doing research on the phantoms, he had found out that they lived in a tall purple mountain in the badlands. That was what the legends had said. Even though he knew Mira and Zios would not like what he was doing, it was nice to have a friend that he had things in common with.

Reaching behind him for a small backpack on his back, he fished out a pair of old binoculars and peered into them. Not there, not there, NOT ANYWHERE! The bunny was about to give up, but at the last moment he caught a tall purple mountain in his eye. "Perfect," he muttered, and strolled up.

The further he went up, the phantom stench began to waver into his nostrils. When he reached the top, he found himself surrounded by phantom guards holding electric spears with spikes on them. "WHO ARE YOU?!" boomed a puffy fat phantom.

"Uh-uh, I am-a Hollow." stammered the bunny, clutching his pouch.

"What brings you here to the Phantom Castle?" declared a bat-like phantom, flapping its wings in horror and happiness.

Hollow was a little embarrassed to tell them why he was here, but managed to keep it all together. "I wish to make friends with you. I do not like Mira and Zios' rules. I want to roam free. To be happy again with someone my own kind." he replied, stepping up to the fat phantom.

The fat phantom looked shocked, but grinned and slammed himself to the ground in approval. "Well, hello then. Welcome to the phantom community. Would you like to transform into a phantom?" the fat one replied, "And, my name is Admiral Udo."

Hollow replied with a grin showing off his chunky white teeth, "I would love to, Udo." After a few zaps and shocks, Hollow transformed into a phantom. He was very pleased, and later became the Phantom King. During his time as the Phantom King, he decided to capture and kill some of his phantom mates.

Shocks, zaps, and screams were heard the next following week. The dead remains would go into test tubes, and he would add some wolf, cougar and bear fur to it.

"Finally, I have created my evil beast." said Hollow with a smirk. A gust of purple smoke suddenly filled the chamber. A phantom covered in grey fur, with flat brown ears, and was barely visible, with a phantom face and made a gurgling roar.

"OH NO!" yelled Hollow in despair. The creature pounced onto Hollow, and using the force of his roar, he pinned him to the wall and scratched him, making deep cuts, and ripped him apart and produced a great wave of electricity. A hundred years had passed, and the creature was never heard of again.

Chapter One: Underwater Terrors
A small skunk cautiously stumbled out of her den, peering at the thick vines on a hollow oak log and large trees towering over her shaggy little head. Her name was Victoria, or Vicky for short. Vicky stared up above into the tall mountain above her den. Apparently, as the legends had said, the mountain that was above her small den was a Phantom Castle. She didn't believe it, but even LOOKING at it made her stare up at it in fear.

Vicky was unusually smaller than other skunks, usually teased by larger animals, like grizzly bears and cougars, which liked to prowl round her den. Vicky's stripe was pure white, and her fur was baby blue. She often wore purple candy-cane socks and a small purple studded collar. Vicky walked closer to the mountain, and looked at the peak. There was a small cloud of smoke shooting out of it.

"I wonder what that is, I mean, I hope I don't live IN an active volcano!" muttered Vicky, and she strolled quickly to a crystal-clear lake reflecting rays of sunlight. She thought physical exercise was important, just in case if a phantom attack would approach and she had to flee, so swimming was what she did every morning. She stripped off her socks and put them at the side of the den, and did an elegant dive into the lake. Vicky swam underwater quickly, even though it was not normal for skunks to swim quickly underwater. Vicky saw lots of different types of fish, like she was in Bahari Bay, but unlike Bahari, there were small oysters on the rocks.

Vicky smiled at all the fish and bobbed her head on the water for a breath. During her breathing moment, she felt nips on her long tail and something had caused her legs to cramp. She cringed in pain, suddenly wondering, ' ''What if there are sharks in the water? What if there's a stone fish about to poison me?''' Vicky's curiosity soared through her, so she took a peek into the depths of the blue liquid. She couldn't believe what she saw. A small blue phantom school were lurking underneath, and were roughly scraping her skin off!

"Ahh!" yelled Vicky. Her small but powerful legs kicked some of the phantoms off, but still some held on to her furry leg, and her blood was slowly turning the lake a light scarlet. Putting her head up, she screamed some more, her mouth wide in fear.

The phantoms began lacerating Vicky's skin even more now. She was so scared she might yelp in pain and wake the larger animals up. Calming down more, she put her fuzzy head down and saw them still gnawing at her skin and dragging her slowly deeper into the lake. It was easier for them because she was underweight and was smaller than usual skunks.

"Stop!" Vicky ordered and surprisingly they stopped and stared at her in obedience, wanting to hear more. Vicky was shocked and tried saying some more. "Um- why don't you go-and maybe go back to where you belong?" she said nervously.

"Okay, whatever you say boss." replied a blue phantom, giving her a salute. She was stunned. She could talk to phantoms, and phantoms could talk to her. 'Interesting,' she thought, and waved goodbye to the aqua phantoms, which swam away.

Vicky bobbed her head back onto the surface, and stepped on the lush green grass. She opened the door to her den and walked onto her small leaf bedding and smiled at her old Professor Panda toy. Vicky bent over to examine her cuts. They were pretty bad. One scrape on her leg was not bleeding, but the skin had been ripped clean off and it was more painful than the other one which was bleeding so hard that it soaked the leaves a bright red. 'Ugh, better find some new leaves for a bed later.' she thought, beginning to look at her tail. Several light purple bruises had formed onto her soft fur.

"How am I going to fix this?" Vicky wondered, and began looking through her cupboard for some band-aids.

After an hour of looking for bandages, she couldn't find any so she wrapped her cuts in some rotten leaves and rubbed some water on her bruises. It was the best she could do for the time being. Vicky's stomach suddenly began growling at her furiously, meaning she was hungry. Sighing, she limped to the fridge and got some fresh earthworms and fried them on the stove. As for her treat, she got out the cookie jar and took out some raspberries. (this is a skunk's actual diet) When she sat down at the wooden table, she began to chew and gobble down her food. After clearing her plate, she hobbled outside and went to the lake to wash her dishes.

Putting away the dishes, she decided to go and have a walk. As soon as Vicky opened the door, she saw a red white striped skunk wearing a black tie and a sun visor looking at her.

"Hi." he said. "What's your name?"

Vicky appeared to not have heard him so she said, "Sorry?"

The skunk repeated, "What's your name?" Then Vicky blacked out.

Chapter Two: New Friends, New Foes
"Hey, are you okay?"

Vicky opened her eyes. She saw the red skunk from before crouching over her in concern.

"Um, yeah, I'm fine." she replied uneasily. "Wha-what happened?" The red skunk pulled Vicky back up, so she could sit. Vicky could suddenly see that her cuts had been bandaged and her bruises had been rubbed with a special ointment, and some had already began fading.

"Well, I was asking you for your name, and you couldn't seem to hear me, so, I asked you again, and then, this phantom-thing, ya know, it had stars on it, just attacked you, and you just fainted. Luckily I fought it off," said the skunk, grinning hugely, his white teeth shining and his cheeks a light pink, and he held out a blue sword with a small red gem in the middle.

"Oh." said Vicky in embarrassment, her cheeks flashing a bright red. "Um, what type of sword is that?" The red skunk smiled and held the blue sword up. "This, is an Alpha Sword."

Vicky couldn't believe it. He actually possessed an ALPHA SWORD?! One of the most powerful swords in history, known to kill phantoms with one strike! She was so shocked and amazed so that all she could say was, "Oh, wow."

The male skunk smiled warmly and asked, "So, what was your name again?" Vicky was a bit nervous to tell him her name, but anyway, she still did.

"Um- I'm Victoria, Vicky for short." she admitted, blushing. The male skunk stopped and thought about this for a second.

"Did you know, that the name Victoria means 'victory', Vicky?" he said, pulling his Alpha Sword back out. "Um, no,"  Vicky replied, surprised. The skunk stopped and pulled out his Alpha Sword and held it out in front of Vicky.

Vicky had no idea what to do. Was she meant to take it? Let him keep it? Look at it? There were so many thoughts in her mind so she cringed, hard.

"Take it." said the skunk. "You are the only one who can destroy the phantoms. I've heard they've created a legendary beast that can wipe out everything, even the phantoms themselves. You can do this Vicky." She was so starstruck. She slowly reached out a shaky paw, and took the Alpha Sword, and clutched it tightly.

"Um, thanks. Uh-what's your name?" Vicky asked, putting the sword into a small pink backpack.

The skunk paused before answering. "Oh, I'm Dax." he replied, grinning.

"Cool name." Vicky replied in approval. Suddenly, a question struck Vicky's mind. "Uh, hey, I was just wondering, why'd you come here in the first place?" she asked Dax.

"Oh, I was just playing Jamaa Derby with my buddies, and I got bored. I looked out the window, and then I saw you talking to blue phantoms. I thought that was pretty cool, how you could like practically befriend your nemesis. So that's why I'm here," admitted Dax, blushing. So, Dax liked Jamaa Derby.

"Interesting," Vicky thought,

"So, I wanted to tell you that the blue phantoms you were talking to, are like, not really normal phantoms. They are Aqua Phantoms, or Aqutoms."

"WHAT!?" yelled Vicky, her mouth open wide. "I thought there were only, like, normal phantoms! And how do you even say.. Ackqetumz?" Dax laughed at Vicky, like she was telling some corny joke.

"Vicky, it's A-K-T-U-M-S, not whatever you just said." he replied, chuckling.

"Oh," said Vicky, blushing hard and practically dying inside. "Well... how come I couldn't stop those Night-phantoms but I could stop the Aqutoms?"

Dax paused and thought about it for a second. "Well, there were once these Gods of Jamaa, selected by the Alphas. They could talk to like, phantoms, but only the special ones their kind. Say, you are the Water God. That's why even though you are a skunk, you can swim pretty fast in the water.

"You could also command the Aqutoms, by talking to them. Apparently, when a jammer talks to a phantom, they sound like the phantom. And somehow, they can understand the phantom back. For the Water God, it sounds like an elephant is gurgling water." said Dax, like a really clever scientist.

Vicky paused. "Am-am I actually A GOD!?" she said out loud, doing a victory dance in her head.

"Yes, and I haven't finished my explanation yet. If a phantom not your type attacks you, it can lead to some serious damage. You were actually pretty lucky you just fainted, because the Midnons are the most harmful species of phantom, as they are like, the grandson of the Roarlect!" continued Dax.

"What in the sake of Zios is a Roarlect?" questioned Vicky.

"The legendary beast that the phantoms' created. It has a powerful roar, and can cause a huge wave of electricity." replied Dax. "So, let's say, the Aqutoms are your friends, and the other phantoms and The Roarlect are your foes!"

"And, I'm your friend, right?"

"Always."

And blushing, Vicky gave Dax a small hug and Dax gave her a shake on the paw. "We have work to do, right Dax?" declared Vicky.

"Oh yeah, a whole pile of work, just for us. I'm the Tropical God by the way." said Dax, leaving Vicky starstruck.

Chapter Three: Gems and Powers
Vicky gasped, her baby blue curl flying up. "You-you are-the Tropical God?" said Vicky, her tail twitching.

Dax looked overwhelmed, but still managed to stutter out, "Uh-uh, y-yes, I'm the-a Tropical God." Vicky grinned ear to ear. ''So her best friend was also a god. Maybe they had something in common... could they be secret twins? Or maybe...''

"Hey, um, Vicky? Vicky? VICTORIA!?" yelled Dax. Vicky began to climb out of her thoughts.

"Huh? Sorry, didn't catch that, Dax." she replied, brushing off the dust forming on her legs. "So, where are we going?"

"To the Phantom Castle, but it's more like a tower of terror." Dax replied casually, growling at the fleas nipping his back. "Gah, there's so many fleas round the tower!" he grumbled furiously, scratching his back. Vicky laughed sheepishly.

"Uh, yeah, a lot of fleas and pesky bugs round my den." Dax stared at her like she was an unknown species of slug.

"You mean you actually live under the Phantom Castle?" Dax said in awe, staring at the mountain above Vicky's den.

"Yeah, practically." she said, biting her fur. Suddenly a sea of fleas burst out of her upper leg. She screamed and watched in horror as the fleas began to swarm right in front of Dax's face.

"Ahhh! Where did all those fleas come from?" he yelled in fury, running round in circles.

"No idea." Vicky lied.

"Well, should we get up to the tower now?" Dax suddenly dragged Vicky to the badlands. It was honestly pretty peaceful. "Not yet. We have to get a grappling hook from Mt Shiveer so we can climb up the rocky mountain," replied Dax. Vicky shivered. She knew that Mt Shiveer was extremely cold, and skunks did not belong in a cold climate. They preferred moist and warm climates, like Sarepia Forest.

"O-okay." she stammered, getting a beanie, a thick winter coat, a jamaaliday scarf and keeping her socks on. Dax on the other hand, just put on a thin jacket and then they were off.

...

"So, how far away is Mt Shiveer?" asked Vicky, panting, after walking for an hour through Kimbara Outback.

"About 5 more miles." replied Dax, a pool of sweat forming on his head. "Should I call a Horseber?" (Uber but with horses)

"Okay, sure." she replied. Dax fished out his phone and called a Horseber.

"Okay, a horse called Rajesh will pick us up in 10 minutes at the Appondale pet store." he said, after clicking his phone multiple times.

"Kay." replied Vicky.

After walking to the pet store and looking at all the cute animals, even the snakes, Rajesh the horse arrived.

"Hello." Are you Dax and Vicky?" he asked, holding out his phone.

"Yes, we are. I believe you are Rajesh?" said Vicky confidently.

"Correct. The ride to Mt Shiveer will be 'bout 75 gems for 2 people." Rajesh replied, holding out his hoove. "Uhhh... Vicky, did you bring any gems?" whispered Dax. "Uh.... no." muttered Vicky. "Uhhh... I got a backup plan!" yelled Dax out loud.

"Whazzat ya sayin' kiddo?" asked Rajesh.

"We don't have any gems, but we do have this." said Dax. He stretched out his paws wide. "Overgrow!" he muttered, and suddenly, thick vines and flowers began growing out of his paws.

"Woah. OK, boy, get in the trolley. Girl, you gotta stay." replied Rajesh in awe.

Vicky began gnawing her claws nervously. She didn't know how to use a water move. She stretched her paws out, just like Dax, and began concentrating very hard on making a waterfall shoot out of her claws. But it wouldn't work.

"Welp, I guess ya gotta go back home now girlie, so-"

Suddenly a whole entire tsunami type thing came out of her claws, as she automatically muttered, "Blast Splash!" Rajesh was so shocked he let her through and then it was a peaceful ride to Mt Shiveer.

The moment they arrived, Vicky and Dax began shivering like crazy and immediately ran into the Hot Cocoa Hut where they were greeted with 2 steaming mugs of hot chocolate for free. They went to the Shiveer Shoppee to buy a grappling hook.

"10 gems please." said the shopkeeper, handing them the grappling hook.

"Will this do?" Dax asked as he began forming a tulip and passed it to the shopkeeper. "Sure," he replied, and then the 2 skunks walked out the door, to go to the Tower of Terror. But unfortunately, they were greeted with a couple Ice Phantoms.

"ICOMS! THEY SHOOT SPIKES OF ICE AT YOU! RUN!" yelled Dax, sprinting away with Vicky running shortly behind him.

Chapter Four: Phantom Troubles
Vicky and Dax were still running like crazy for their lives, the Icoms still chasing after them and shooting powerful ice spikes.

"Ow!" yelled Vicky after an ice spike pierced her left ear. She stopped abruptly and began shaking herself. Dax, on the other hand, was trying to distract the Icoms, knitting vines using his paws. "Come on little Icoms, look at this! Something you can freeze instead of me and VIcky!" he called. Perhaps Dax shouldn't of added in that last bit, because the Icoms went ravenous after that and started freezing the plant and a bit of Dax's paw.

"Ow, ow ow! It's so cold that it burns! Vicky, our powers will be useless with Icoms!" yelped Dax in pain. Vicky nodded.

"You're right Dax! But- then we'll never defeat the Icoms on our own!" she replied, fighting off the Icoms with bubbles.

Dax grinned. "Then, why don't you use your Alpha Sword?" he said, kicking a Icom off his arm and licking his right leg which was bleeding with scrapes and cuts. Vicky took a deep breath. She knew she could use the Alpha Sword, but she was scared she couldn't control it.

"U-um, a-alright." she stuttered, slowly drawing out the Alpha Sword and holding it out in front of her. The Icoms on her left leg stopped gnawing, and stood there, watching, while her leg ached and bled like an uncontrollable bloody nose. Vicky raised the sword up, and smashed it into an Icom. But suddenly, an irregularly large Icom jumped into her face and then she mysteriously blacked out.

...

Vicky woke up in a blueish white dome, assuming it was an igloo. She was in a cage, and the bars were made of steel ice. Beside her was a damp snow blanket and tea leaves were arranged for a pillow. No food, or water. She couldn't even find a hint of crumb or a drop of liquid. Seriously, if the only liquid was dangerous bubbly acid, she'd probably drink it.

Vicky stared outside her cell. Another cell to her left was empty, but the cell to her right had a small light purple goat with crimson horns and emerald green eyes. She wore a shiny green sequin bow, and had a pirate sword on her back. The goat was staring out of the hard snow window.

"Uh, hey, you alright?" Vicky asked the goat, peering through the metal bars.

The goat stared at her. "None of us are okay. The Icoms capture anyone roaming freely round Mt Shiveer. My friend Chief made the mistake of taking us to Mt Shiveer skiing for his party. Bad mistake," she replied. "So, how'd you end up here?"

Vicky found herself gnawing at her claws again. "Uh-me and my friend Dax were just... exploring and wanted to buy a grappling hook. So we did... and then the Icoms just started attacking us, and then I blacked out." she replied, poking at a small rotten tea leaf.

The goat stopped and stared at Vicky in disbelief. "Wait-is Dax a red skunk wearing a sun visor and a jacket?" she asked, her small purple tail twitching. "Um, yeah." replied Vicky. "I've heard that Dax also got captured by the Icoms, but fortunately escaped, unlike me and you." the goat replied. "Oh, well Dax sure is lucky not to be stuck in this dump." Vicky replied, a little annoyed that Dax escaped and she didn't. "Yeah, you're right!" the goat replied, laughing. "Hey-what's your name?" she said suddenly. Vicky stopped. "Oh, I'm Victoria, Vicky for short. You?" she replied, grinning. So she had 2 friends, a goat and a skunk. Cool, she thought. It would be nice if the goat was a god too. "Oh, I'm Layla." replied the goat, smiling warmly at Vicky. She smiled back, grinning hugely. Suddenly, Layla heard someone yelling in fury.

"Uh.. Vicky, what was that?" she asked, her left ear twitching. Vicky listened and could hear the yelling too. "It sounds like-someone's yelling and they're angry." she replied, staring at the ice door. The door suddenly burst open. "Let me GO! I don't wanna stay in your ice dump!!!!" the victim yelled. Layla looked a little closer and her mouth widened in shock. "It's Dax!" she whisper-shouted. The Icom holding Dax sounded like he was chewing an ice cream really loud. "We-chuck-should-chuck-put-chuck-him-chuck-with-chuck-those-chuck-idiots-chuck-over-chuck-there-!" he boomed, dropping Dax carelessly into the cell to Vicky's left. Dax stared at Vicky, grinning.

Vicky was so happy to see Dax again that she said, "Thank Zios you're here, I was getting worried!" exclaimed Vicky, smiling. "I'm glad you're here too." replied Dax, smiling. "Who's that?" he asked, pointing a furry paw to Layla. "Oh, that's my new friend, Layla." replied Vicky. "Oh, hey Layla, I'm Dax." Dax said, waving to Layla. "I've heard." she replied, smiling. "Well, how do we get out of-" started Dax, but got interrupted by a small Icom carrying trays of food. "Lunch-chiro-is-chiro-HERE-!" said the Icom, giving them trays of mouldy food. Vicky stared at her tray in disgust. "Ew, is that a peanut butter and pepper sandwich? And it's mouldy? And is this algae meant to be in my water?" she said, gagging at the thought of eating that. "Well, you gotta start somewhere." replied Dax, also overwhelmed,  but took a small nibble out of his sandwich.

Layla devoured the food instantly, and pushed her portion away. "Wow, how do you eat this junk so fast?" asked Vicky, about to sip her water. "Just so I don't get a freezing from the Icoms." replied Layla, adjusting herself on the bed. Listening to Layla, both skunks devoured their food like a pack of hungry wolves. Vicky gagged and reached for a bucket and threw up in it. Dax did not  gag, but he did turn a little green. Layla giggled. "Well, you gotta get used to it." she replied, a goofy look on her face. "Well, how do we get out?" Vicky thought about this for a second. She thought about the grappling hook that they had earned to find the Roarlect and stared at the small crack through the ceiling, probably just enough space for a small skunk or goat to fit in.

"How about, we go and maybe use the grappling hook to go through the crack up there?" suggested Vicky, staring at the crack. The others stood up and looked at the crack in wonder.

Chapter Five:The Betrayal Escapists
Vicky looked at the others hopefully. At least she thought it was a decent idea. Layla was the first to turn round. "I think that's a really splendid idea," she replied, saying no more. Her tone was, well calm. Not exactly over the the top, which she thought could occur. Vicky sighed. Hopefully Dax says something more awesome, she thought. After seeming a million years, Dax turned around. "Well?" asked Vicky uncertainly. "Well, I have my grappling hook ready. Worth a shot." he said casually, like it was no big deal, and he reached for the grappling hook in his bag. "So, Layla, would you want to use the hook?" asked Dax, handing the grappling hook to Layla's hoof. Layla smiled. "My honours," she exclaimed, smiling. Vicky's heart sunk. Dax chose Layla over her? Tears formed in her eyes, but she brushed them back in. Layla swung the grappling hook round, and then she flung it to a small ledge beside the crack. "Bull's eye." she muttered, and held her hoof out wide to let Dax pass through. He grabbed the rope and climbed up. His legs were aching, because skunks were definitely NOT meant to be walking on ice walls, but with a surge of determination, he made it to the crack. Unfortunately, he couldn't quite fit in the crack. Glaring at Vicky, he slid back down.

Layla stared at Dax in disbelief. "Why did you not go through?" she asked, obviously concerned. "I couldn't fit," he replied, still eyeing Vicky like she was a dung beetle rolling up balls of dung. "It's because of HER." He pointed accusingly to Vicky. Her heart seemed to have sunk even deeper now, as she was trying to hold back the tears. Layla frowned at her. "Well, I have another plan. How about we use our powers to get rid of the bars?" she suggested. Dax's eyes lit up. "That's an amazing idea Layla! How about you use your Fire Powers to melt the bars, and I can use my plants to brighten up the place a little, and..." Dax paused when he got to Vicky. Vicky sighed. "It's okay. I can just watch, or I guess, even water the plants would be nice." she said solemnly, hunching into a corner. "And also, does Layla have powers? Is she the Fire God?" Layla stared at her like she was a unknown creature on a different planet. "Yeah, I am," she said, and her and Dax began getting rid of the bars.

Vicky hunched up in a corner, holding back the tears that were burning her eyes. She stared at Layla, busy melting the bars, and looked at Dax solemnly turning the gloomy ice dome into a zen garden type thing. Everyone was speechless. Dax was the first one to speak, after Layla melted a hole in the grass that he had formed. "Vicky, would you mind filling the hole with water?" asked Dax hopefully. She stared at Dax, right into his ocean blue eyes. "Yeah... sure, I guess," she replied, walking out and used her paws to create a small pond. "You could add a lily pad or something." she suggested, getting her own self back. He smiled at her. "Are you mad at me for doing that? I'm mad at myself for being all grumpy and stuff on you." I don't really think it's fair," he said, taking Vicky's idea and making a small lily pad. "Uh, yeah, I was a little mad, I guess." she replied. Layla stared at Vicky suddenly, and Vicky stared at her right back.

"What do you want?" Vicky half-grumbled. Layla looked at her like she was going to stab her with her powerful hoof, but she grinned, showing her shiny white teeth.

"To apologise, I'm so sorry!" yelled Layla suddenly. Vicky took a small step back, pulling out the Alpha Sword. She looked at her, puzzled. Layla stopped, looking hurt. "Oh man, I messed up AGAIN! I let my powers take control of me!" she said, tears coming out of her eyes. "WHAT?!" Dax and Vicky yelled in shock. "Fire can easily take control of you. That's why, I've been acting so mean lately." she sobbed, wiping her tears back. Unfortunately, while Layla was weeping, a Icom stomped into the room, or garden. "Well-chuck,-what-chuck-have we-chuck got-chuck chuck-here?!" he yelled, glaring at all of the plants. "U-uh, n-nothing, sir." replied Layla shakily. "'Well-chuck-it looks like-chuck- you are trying-chuck-to escape!!" the Icom boomed again, getting his ice spear ready which looked like a snow cone. "Well, you see... RUN!!! declared Dax, and the girls followed after him, sprinting their hardest.

"COME BACK HERE-CHUCK!" roared the Icom. "Blast Burn!" yelled Layla, the floor cracking and exploding into a pool of fire. "AHHHH!" screamed the Icom in shock and fury. "Come on guys, they're gonna send out more soon!" Vicky yelled, her Alpha Sword at the ready. A huge wave of Icoms suddenly charged towards them. "KILLS-SHUCK-THEM!!!!!" declared a fat one, which looked like a blue balloon with an eye. A bat like-Icom came to Vicky, and she struck it with the Alpha Sword, it slowly falling to the ground, phantom goop exploding out of it. A regular Icom suddenly jumped up on Layla, gnawing her skin and shooting ice spikes at her. "NO YOU DON'T!" yelled Dax, charging for the surprised and enraged Icom, wrapping it round in vines. Suddenly, the fat Icom came bouncing towards Dax, and smashed right into his eye. Dax didn't feel anything, and then fainted. Layla kicked at the Icom that was on her underbelly, and yelled at Vicky to help. Vicky darted quickly to help her friends, the fat Icom charging for Vicky, and she held the Alpha Sword in her paw, and got in close with the fat Icom. It smashed Vicky to the ground too, but quickly got up, even though she was pretty sure her wrist was sort of broken, and she was bleeding like crazy. She swung the Alpha Sword up and struck it right into the fat phantom. It turned limp, and smashed into the ground in defeat. Layla finally got the Icom off her stomach, and shot a fireball at it. "Nice," replied Vicky in approval, Layla grinning back. They stared at Dax and then nodded at each other. They were going to have to take Dax to Gabby's Animal Hospital, and possibly themselves.

Chapter Six: Hollow's Animal Graveyard (this one is short)
Layla and Vicky burst out of the Icom prison and ran into the safety of the Hot Cocoa Hut. They both shared a small cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows as victory in escaping the Icom prison, and carried Dax along with them, him resting on their shoulders. "Excuse me, but could you please call someone from Gabby's Animal Hospital?" asked Layla politely, holding up one of Dax's furry paws and pointing it at him. The shopkeeper looked shocked and immediately pulled out his phone and dialled someone from the animal hospital. "Hello?" said the receptionist. "Uh, hello." replied the shopkeeper. "One of my customers has fainted and has scrapes all over him, and his friends look like they could use some work too." The receptionist paused and stopped talking. "Oh in the sake of Zios! The ambulance will arrive in a few minutes." she replied, hanging up. The shopkeeper turned and looked at the 2 girls. "They'll be here soon, don't you worry." he said, smiling warmly. Vicky stared sternly at Layla. "I hope Dax is okay." she said. "Yeah," replied Layla, scratching her back. Beep-beep, something called. "The ambulance!" chorused the girls happily, and them and Dax rushed to the ambulance.

After they arrived at the hospital, they noticed something was oddly... different. There were no animals in Kimbara Outback, only fallen items. Vicky thought she saw something move between the sand though. "Wait!" she yelled, signalling for Layla to come. "I think I see a sloth!" Layla sprinted to see the figure. "Really?" she asked, peering into the sand. Her face slowly changed to a frown, her eyes narrowing. "It's just a rare orange fox hat on the ground," she said. "It means the phantoms must've been here. Disguising as foxes." Vicky's mouth widened, and if Dax was conscious, she thought his mouth would pull open too.

"No, no, it can't be a fox hat!" Vicky murmured nervously, picking up the hat with her claws. "Do you think we should burn it?" Layla frowned. "If we did that, the phantoms will be after us. But I would recommend it." she replied, chuckling a little. They shrugged their worries off and stumbled into the hospital. "Hello?" called Vicky, concerned. No answer. "Hello?" called Layla, even louder than Vicky. "Well, hello, hello hello little victims!" replied a low, cold voice. The girls turned around to see a phantom ghost. A normal phantom ghost. It was none other than King Hollow's ghost.

...

Layla dropped Dax in shock, and Vicky stepped back, pulling out her sword. "Hehe, you have fallen for my trap. Welcome, to Gabby's Phantom Hospital. Or Hollow's Animal Graveyard! Hahaha, do you know what happened to poor little Dax?" "He got hit with a fat Icom." replied Layla simply. Hollow laughed. "AND, underground, he got roared by my creature, The Roarlect." Mwhahahaha! Your friend is now DEAD."

Chapter Seven: The Roarlect's Weak Spot
Vicky and Layla gasped in shock. "No... that can't be!!!" Vicky yelled, while Hollow laughed maliciously, and tears streaming out of Layla's eyes. "I only knew him for such a short time," she sobbed, holding on to Vicky's paw tightly. Her heart had sunk into her stomach, and it was bubbling and giving her a feeling of dread. Hollow grinned. "Now, to take over Jamaa, I shall release my beast upon you! Go, Roarlect!" Suddenly a hunky animal shaped creature rose from behind Hollow. "Hehe, NOW ATTACK THEM!" The Roarlect did a great leap, pouncing onto Layla and it's sharp tail stabbing Vicky, Hollow disappearing.

"Bubble!" yelled Vicky in fright, her underbelly soaked with blood and scrapes over her neck and head. 2 giant bubbles attempted to trap the Roarlect, but swiftly, it dodged each of them and shot electric sparks going towards Layla. "VOLCANO!" roared Layla, her face bruised and a lump on her skin, one of her horns crooked. A wave of lava and rock rushed over the Roarlect as it growled in fury. "ROARRR!" the Roarlect thundered, charging for both of the girls.

"Layla, help!" called Vicky, her head bleeding, reaching into her bag for possible things to use for the fight. "Right!" replied Layla, rushing over. They poured out the contents of bag. Finally, Layla yelled, "Use the Salt and Pepper! Use it now, quick!" Vicky nodded fiercely and grabbed the bottles of salt and pepper, and began dancing round with it like a crazy person. The Roarlect roared in fear, electric sparks coming from around it. 'Ha!" Layla yelled, signalling for Vicky to keep dancing with the salt and pepper. The Roarlect suddenly stopped, and it caught a whiff of pepper. Then, the Roarlect acted all clumsy and dizzy. "Oh no," said Vicky. I think it's going to sneeze!" Layla nodded fiercely and she and Vicky rushed out of Hollow's Animal Graveyard, picking up Dax, hearing a loud crash and the Roarlect flying out of the roof of the hospital, laying unconscious. Layla sighed. Vicky slowly went for the lake in Kimbara Outback and washed the blood off her fur. "Come on, let's go and clean up at my den, eh?" she suggested. Layla nodded. "It's for the best."

Chapter Eight: Back at last
Vicky and Layla slowly walked to Jamaa Township, where it was mysteriously empty. Layla turned round to look at Dax, who was resting on her shoulders. She gasped. "Vicky, Vicky!" she exclaimed, as Vicky turned to face Layla. "What," she said irritably, "is going on now?" Layla showed Vicky that Dax was not on her shoulders anymore. Vicky indeed also gasped. "M-Maybe, the h-heavens have already t-taken him," she stammered. Layla nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right." she replied. Vicky reached into her bag and took out her phone. "Horseber?" she asked, tapping furiously. Layla smiled, "Sure," I've got gems." she replied. After tons of furious taps, Vicky said, "Faron will arrive in 10 minutes by the diamond shop."

Layla nodded, and they bolted quickly to the Diamond Shop. Then, all of a sudden, a large, bulky figure emerged from the distance.

" 'ello, I am Faron." he said, dragging the carriage behind him. "Vicyk and Layal?" Vicky grunted. "Uh.. Vicky, sir, and, that's Layla." she grumbled. Faron stared at Layla accusingly. "Oh," he replied, holding out his hoof. "guess ya gotta gimme that gems, 'bout 20 for 1, I must'a say." Layla dug round in her pocket for some stray gems lurking around. "Will these do?" she asked, holding out 51 gems. Faron counted them quickly. "Ye young ladies, I am a precise man. I wanna exactly 40 gems ya'll." he grumbled, reaching for a stick, and chewed it, saliva wrapping round it.

"Ew," muttered Vicky, as Layla put some gems back and counted the remaining. "40 gems for you," Layla said, holding out 40 gems exactly. Faron furrowed his brow and counted again. "A bit of gem pieces the-''splash!" '' Vicky had had enough and had mumbled, "Splash that dirty hoof and give it a wash!" Layla stared at Vicky in amazement.

"Um, okay, hop in ladies!" said Faron, soaking wet, and quickly pulled the girls' back to their den.

Chapter Nine: The Secret Tunnel (Dax's POV)
Dax woke up. He was in, some sort of room. Then, out of nowhere, 2 red skunks looking like Dax peered at him. "Daxy baby!" they both yelled, and Dax was utterly confused. "Where am I?" he asked, looking at the white room with white, well everything.

The familiar skunks laughed at eachother. "In heaven!" the bigger one called. Dax gasped. Was he really... dead? "Then who are you guys?" he asked, listening intently. They nodded and chorused, "We are your parents."

Dax was shocked and thought it was a joke. "No, No, you're joking right? Also, am I really dead?" The 2 skunks took a while to answer this.

"Well, we're positive that your soul still remains in you. So I'm sure that you're not exactly dead, you just haven't found a way to escape heaven. There is a way, that we know of though." said the smaller skunk, which Dax assumed was his mum.

Dax's Dad nodded. "Yeah. And we are your parents by the way." he responded casually.

Dax rubbed his eyes. Yes, he was sure he was dreaming, and began to pour out his feelings on his parents.

WIP