The Adventures Of Mint & Coco

26: The Rage We Feel (Coco)

I flatten my ears tightly, trying to block out the sound of death. A piercing scream echoes through the air, abruptly cut off. I look around frantically. "Mint!" I scream over the sound of clashing weapons. I cannot spot her in the crowd. I feel my breath knocked out of me as I am slammed into the ground. I feel something sharp touch the back of my neck, and I scream, twisting around roughly. I look up and feel bile rise in my throat. "Daspyn." I snarl. I reach for a knife, but she sinks the tip of hers into my neck. "Poor, poor Coco. Where's Niko? Isn't he going to come save you? Oh, that's right. Elsa has him." She grins, and with horror I see blood dripping from her incisors. She leans closer, her foul breath making me gag. Her knife gleams as she brings it up to strike. I close my eyes. Suddenly her weight disappears. I bolt upright, grabbing a knife. I see who saved me from Daspyn. Luna. They struggle on the ground, grunting with effort. I try to move, but it's like my feet are glued to the rocky ground. Then everything is in slow motion. I watch Daspyn sink her knife into Luna's chest, just as an arrow buries itself in Daspyn's back. I look to the direction where the arrow came from. Luke. I rush to Luna's side. I fall onto my knees, staring at her face. She smiles at me and grabs her sword. She slowly reaches it out to me. I try to ignore the blood pooling around us. "Coco... I want... you to... have this." She puts the sword into my hand. I feel tears spill down my cheeks. "Luna..." I choke on my words. Her eyes glaze over. "No!" I screech. I feel a hand on my shoulder. I look up. Tears blur my vision, but I make out Lukes's face. He pulls me up and folds me into his arms. "She loved you." He whispers. I pull away. He kisses my forehead, then beats his wings. Then he's gone. I feel my blood heat with rage, and I growl. I feel a clawed hand graze my arm, and I yell, swinging my sword with deadly precision. I see a head roll to my feet, its mouth open in a silent scream. I smile, baring my fangs. "For Luna!" I scream, thrusting my sword into the air. Yells fill the air, cat mutants and bird mutants alike. I close my eyes, then run into the chaos. I yell, swinging my sword at every foul-smelling shadow. I hear them hit the ground, blood splashing onto my feet, but I don't stop. A shadow charges towards me, and I pull a knife from my belt and throw it. It hits it straight in the chest. It disappears, leaving behind a faint black cloud. I look up, blowing my bloody hair from my face. I see the shadows are retreating, and the mutants are following them. I nod faintly, smiling. I look around at the empty battlefield. Surely Mint would've looked for me... "Coco!" I hear a meow. I prick my ears, looking to the direction of the voice. "Mint!" I yowl. I see faint movement in a tree. I make out Mint in the leafless branches. I run to her, changing form. My legs grow shorter, my vision sharpens. I reach the tree and claw my way up it.
I sit next to Mint on the thick branch. We touch noses in greeting. She is the first to speak. "We need a plan." She meows urgently. I nod. "We need to find Elsa and rescue Niko and Shadow." I breathe. She nods slowly, her brow furrowed in thought. "But what about Jared?" My heart sinks. "We'll have to defeat him." I flatten my ears. Mint unsheathes her claws, burying them into the rough bark. "And how, exactly, are we going to find the castle?" Mint growls softly. I manage to shrug. "We have to start looking." We sit in silence, watching the mutants chase the shadows over a hill. They disappear from view. I look at Mint's profile, silhouetted by the fading sun. Look how far we've come. When we came here we were inexperienced kids. Now we're smarter. Older. I realize Mint is looking at me, her green eyes shining. I look around and spot an opening in the mountain's rock face. Dense pine trees protrude from it. I point to it with my tail. Mint nods. Without a word, she jumps to the ground. I follow. With a deep breath, we make our way to the trees.
We reach them, and I sit down, curling my tail around my paws. We sit in silence, calculating our next move. I look around.
It's strangely... familiar.
I bolt upright. "Mint." I meow. "What is it?" She asks, standing up. "This is the forest in one of my dreams." Memories come flooding into my mind. Jared leading me to a hole. Jumping into it. Appearing at a castle. Elsa's castle. "I know where Elsa is." Mint cocks her head but says nothing. I look to my right. A large bush looms there, casting shadows on the leafy ground. That's where I first met Jared. Then that means...
I look to my left. I see a small hill with an ancient oak tree growing from it. I pad towards it, Mint following behind.
I reach the trunk of the oak tree. The hole is right in front of me. Mint steps up beside me, and our pelts brush. "This is it?" Mint asks, leaning over the edge. Dirt crumbles under her paws and falls into the gaping, dark depths. The fur rises on her back, and she flattens her ears. "This is it." I murmur. I flick my tail. Our pendants begin to pulse, and we grow into our human form. I look over at Mint, whose knees are shaking. "Coco, what if we die here? How would we get back home?" She flattens her ears, her eyebrows furrowing in worry. "We won't die, Mint. We can't die." I say. But... What if we do die? What happens then? I sheathe my sword and grab Mint's hand. "This is our destiny." I say. She nods and squeezes my hand. "On the count of three. One, two..." I look at her. "Three." She whispers.
We push off the ground.
Then we're falling. Down. Down. Its pitch black. I try to scream, but my voice is ripped from my lungs. Will this ever end? I try to swallow my panic. It didn't take nearly this long when I was with Jared. I see something glowing. I reach as far as I can and manage to grab it. I open my hand. It's Jared's pendant. I frown in puzzlement. I slip it around my neck, and everything goes white.


I blink open my eyes to gray sunlight. I sit up, immediately regretting it as pain erupts in my back. I ignore it and stand up shakily. I brush the dirt off of me and reach for my sword. I sigh in relief as my fingers meet the cool hilt. I look around. "Mint!" I call. Nothing. I'm on a cracked cobblestone road. The sky is gray, and the trees are black and lifeless. I shiver. This has Jared written all over it. I unsheathe my sword and grip it tightly. I slowly begin walking down the road. A sudden chill causes goose bumps to rise on my arms. I turn around and gasp. The ground I was standing on crumbles away, leaving a white nothingness. I turn, my heart pounding. "Mint!" I scream. My voice echoes eerily through the grim landscape. "Mint, where are you?" I shriek, my throat raw. I see something gleaming behind a tree. I run towards it. I reach the tree and fall to my knees. Mint lays there, her eyes closed. Her light brown hair is spread around her head like a halo. Her pendant gleams. "Mint, wake up." I grab her hand. It's ice cold. "Mint. We have to go to the castle now. To save Shadow and Niko. To save the Realm of Time." I gently shake her shoulders. She still does not respond. I feel hysteria ride in me. "Mint!" I scream. I drop my head. I feel my pendant pulsing, but I refuse to open my eyes. I feel a hand on my shoulder. "Coco." I look up. Mint sits in front of me, rubbing her eyes. I rush forward and put my arms around her. "Coco! What's wrong?" She says into my hair. I pull away. "Nothing." I smile, and she smiles back. We stand up, brushing dirt from our armor. I nod briskly. "You ready?" I ask. Mint exhales, her breath forming fog in the cold air. "Yes." She murmurs. Side by side, we walk down the cobblestone path.

I stop abruptly, my boots scuffing the cracked cobblestone. I draw my sword, and Mint does the same. We look up at the looming tower in front of us. I swallow shakily and look at Mint, whose eyes are closed. Her eyes snap open. She looks at me, her pupils slits. She bares her fangs. "Let's do this." She growls. I nod, flattening my ears. With a flick of my tail, I walk forward.
I set my hands onto the door handles and pull. The doors creak loudly, and I cringe, unsheathing my claws. We step through the doors. They slam behind us, leaving us in pitch black. "I see you have arrived, flower." Says a familiar voice. I feel claws rake down my back. I hiss, swinging my sword. Jared chuckles. Suddenly, light floods the room. I blink rapidly, trying to focus. A huge chandelier in the center of the ceiling gives off gray light. I look at the windows. Its pitch black outside. I shiver. A huge staircase rises in front of us. It's the same type of rock as the road; cobblestone. "If you want your loves to live, you must follow me. Jared's grin flashes in front of me. I glance at Mint, and she nods slowly. Jared appears at the top of the stairs; his menacing black and red coat draped around him. "Coming?" he inquires. Gripping my sword and flattening my ears, I step onto the first stair. Mint follows cautiously, flicking her tail. With horror, I see the stairs crumble under our feet. I whip my head in Mint's direction. Her eyes widen. "Run." I whisper.
We pelt up the stairs, faster and faster. I feel the rock crumble under my feet, and I shrink into my cat form and jump. I barely land on the ripped carpet before the rock falls into a black nothingness. I lay on the musky carpet, gasping for air. Jared chuckles, and I feel my blood heat in rage. I grow into my human form. Mint rises beside me. Jared appears in front of me. "Oh my, that was a close one." He sneers. I growl and swipe out with my claws. He disappears. Mint and I look around slowly. I feel my heart beating in my chest, and I inhale shakily. Mint growls. "We followed you. Now give us Shadow and Niko." I hear a snort. "Give them to you? Just like that? There's so much more you must do before you can have them back, dear." Jared laughs, his smooth voice echoing through the castle. "What do we have to do now?" Mint snarls. "Hmm." Jared murmurs. A grin slowly transforms his face. "You must play a game." He says smugly. "Fair enough. What kind of game?" I ask. Jared appears in front of me. "I've hidden Shadow and Niko somewhere in this castle. You must find them and bring them to me before nightfall. If you do, you will be able to return home and Elsa and I will leave. If you don't... you will watch us kill your loves and take over the Realm of Time and Earth." He informs us. "Wait, and Earth?" I choke out. Jared nods, then disappears. "I suggest you get started." He says. I look at Mint. "Let's split up. We can find them faster that way." I suggest. She nods. "Good luck." She flicks her ear and dashes into the darkness. "Good luck." I whisper.