Juno: The Sacrifice

Juno looked up at the tall, glowing blue crystal. Everything was in place. The round door with the symbol of Zios engraved in it would immediately close once the light of the glow moths faded. But the glowing crystals surrounding the door attracted the glow moths, meaning that until the crystals were removed, the door would remain open. That meant the invading phantoms would easily be able to sneak in.

But Juno didn't intend for the crystals to be destroyed. In fact, her plan was to only temporarily draw away the glow moths. She had set up the fake crystals- their light was dim, but once the blue crystals no longer glowed, the moths would retreat to the fake ones. Juno knew the phantoms would come in through here, but she also knew that the phantoms were not smart enough to solve her puzzle. She planned that, one day, once the phantoms were drawn away, someone would come in and release the sabertooths and direwolves. She didn't know when that day was, but she had hope that it wold come eventually.

A bright blue glow moth fluttered down and landed on Juno's outstretched paws. She felt a tear slip out of her eye as she thought about how this day had come. It was only a few years after the Alphas had been appointed, due to fights between the animals. And even though they hadn't realized it immediately, the anger and hatred had drawn the Phantoms to Jamaa from another world. Balloosh, being the farthest from the main land of Jamaa and closest to the Badlands, had been surrounded and overrun by phantoms. Juno had left her own kind to help the sabertooths and direwolves escape. Only to realize that they couldn't.

But then she had another idea. It was risky, but it could work. The direwolves had created an underground escape shelter a while back, and it was for good cause. Juno evacuated all the animals into the shelter and closed it off, hoping the other Alphas would be able to drive the phantoms out of Balloosh. But they never did.

The animals expanded the shelter, making it easily large enough for two entire tribes of animals to live in. It ended up turning into and entire underground city. Small compared to even the smalled city in Jamaa, but big enough for the animals to live in comfortably. The days passed. Days turned to weeks. Maybe even months. It was hard to tell underground. But Juno kept waiting. She only knew it was time to conduct a new plan when the explosions started. The phantoms planned on blasting their way in. And they would have succeeded if Juno had taken action any later. She created a circuit using the glow moths that phantoms couldn't solve, which would open a door to the underground city. But it wouldn't be enough. So Juno planned on making the ultimate sacrifice. She only hoped the other Alphas would understand. If taken the wrong way, it could look like an act of betrayal. But Juno would do anything for these animals, even if they weren't her own kind.

The explosion shook Juno out of her thoughts. The glow moth fluttered away in fear. This explosion was much closer than the previous ones. Rocks fell from the ceiling, and the ground shook for a whole thirty seconds before stopping. Juno wiped the tears from her face and ran through the open door. The Zios emblem would keep the phantoms from breaking through it. As she entered the once beautiful city, she gasped. Things were much worse.

The Alphas Fang and Star had done exactly what she had asked, but it had cost them. The phantoms had tried to enter through a small cave attached to the city, but Juno had sealed it off. Dispite this, they broke through her defenses, and would break through the next one in a matter of hours. Or minutes. Her solution had been to take as many glowing blue crystals from the city walls and cover the cave entrance. But they had clearly been in a rush. Many of the walls had been torn down in an attempt to get the larger, more powerful crystals. Animals rushed around in panic, ramming into each other, crying, shouting, or frozen in fear. The two Alphas, Fang and Star, ran up to Juno.

"Are the crystals ready?" Juno asked.

"Yes," Fang replied. His fur was a glorious silver, but it was matted and dirty from the constant work. One of his long fangs was chipped.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Star asked. Her purple and gold fur was also dirty, but her composure remained brave and confident. "It will kill you!"

"I am aware of the risks. But I am willing to take them," Juno said, looking out at the broken city. The animals running around in fear. The distant explosions and rattling that quickly followed. With her excellent sense of smell, she could smell the stink of phantom pollution lingering closer and closer. Star's nose wrinkled up suddenly. She could smell it too.

"Get to the Heartstones. It's time," Juno commanded. She took the lead, acting confident. But inside, she was scared. Scared for Star, Fang, and every animal trapped in here. If her plan failed, every one of these animals would die. They would become extinct. Wiped from existence. Never to see the light of day again.

Juno pushed the thoughts out of her mind and approached the Heartstones. Glowing with life. Star suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Juno in a tight embrace. "I'm going to miss you. So, so much." Juno felt tears dripping onto her shoulder.

"I know. It will be okay. Stay strong for the sabertooths, Star." Juno pulled out of Star's grasp and tried to smile.