Animal Jam: Into Darkness

Prologue

The skies were dark, no light except for the star and the purple flames ripping across the landscape. Even then, they tried to flee. But that was what the monsters wanted. As the poor souls ran for the cover of the nearby forest, they ran right into the grasp of Phantoms only to be slaughtered. A village of over three hundred animals was destroyed within two hours, the population obliterated.

The village used to be a quiet, peaceful setup of dens and gardens, but now the setting was up in flames, some of the inhabitants burning inside their homes from the initial attack.

Suddenly, the flames on the path leading to the village were swept aside by a flash of red. Pulling his paw back, a large tiger set his flowing crimson cape back in place as the flames made way for him. Walking after his huge form was a lean, slender figure of a blue-and-white wolf. They quietly walked into the village, looking around.

"Check for survivors," the tiger, Sir Gilbert, said with a deep voice. The wolf, Greely, nodded once before turning and walking off. Gilbert then continued down the path of abandoned homes, knowing none of them were to house any lucky survivors. His body then tripped slightly, and he moved his right forepaw back to see the now crushed rabbit skull that had burned. Gritting his teeth, he wiped the remnants off before moving on, careful not to step on anymore burnt Jammers. After what seemed like forever of searching, he gave up.

Then, inside one of the homes, a weak cry pierced the air, and Gilbert whirled around. His big paws thudded against the ash-covered ground as he ran over to a big den, half of it burned away. Looking through the rubble, he tried to find the source as it cried again, deciding it to be a baby. "Greely, come here!" He kept digging as his comrade appeared beside him. "A newborn. I can hear it. Help me look!"

They dug around the charred wood and furniture until Greely said "Look." Gilbert saw that he was standing by what was the charred corpse of a bear, the withered body spread over a burnt rug as if trying to protect it. The Tiger Alpha quietly walked over, gently moving the bear aside so Greely could move the rug. As he moved it, they jumped back as the bear moved, weak and slight. It turned its milky gaze toward them for a moment. Its lips twitched slightly before the bear finally stopped moving. Greely and Gilbert looked at each other before moving the rug. Under it seemed to be a door to a basement or something. Gilbert walked over and hooked a claw around the door-ring, lifting it up and flinging it open. Greely walked down the stairs first, Gilbert following. The area was surprisingly clear of smoke. His head turned sharply at another loud cry, and his gaze zeroed in on a blanket-covered something.

He walked over, and removed part of the blanket so he and Greely could peek in. They moved back slightly as a pair of dark-brown eyes peeked out at them before hiding again with yet another cry. Gilbert removed the rest of the blanket to reveal a little cub with brown fur and white fur patterned in swirls. She looked distressed, scared and hungry, crying loudly as she curled up to hide herself from them.

"Come now, little one. We're not going to hurt you."

Gilbert reached a large paw to gently grab the newborn cub, peering down at her as she squirmed. He blinked once when she paused, staring up at him with wide eyes and ceasing her crying.

"See, Gilbert? Give her here, your face is scaring-"

Gilbert pushed Greely away with a hindleg as he walked past. "Let us teleport to Mira's palace."

"Um... what about the cub?"

Gilbert hesitated. He'd sat on his haunches, holding the cub gently in one arm to cradle her. Looking down, she'd already fallen asleep. Sighing, he answered "I will find her a new home, but we need to get to the palace for milk. We can't spend time looking for any."

Greely looked skeptical, but said nothing. Gilbert turned away, and closed his eyes. Both Alphas concentrated on their deity's home, the Crystal Palace created to house all Alphas in their time of need. However, most of the Alphas were dead, and their spirits refused to choose another host for reincarnation because they were always killed.

Upon teleporting in a flash of orange flames, Gilbert looked up at the palace in all it's grand glory. A small yawn caused him to glance back, seeing the cub stare up at the palace with wide eyes. He smiled slightly before walking to the big double doors. Upon walking inside, the two males glanced at the statues of animals, each representing an Alpha Spirit. A tiger, wolf, panda, toucan, etc. Ones that were alive had glowing eyes.

Out of the many statues, only eight had glowing eyes. The panda bear, koala, rabbit, wolf, tiger, monkey, grizzly bear and polar bear.

"Where have you two been??"

Gilbert and Greely turned to see Liza and Cosmo hurrying over. "We were waiting for the eyes of your statues to fade! Cosmo, check for wounds!"

Greely shooed Cosmo away. "Liza, we are fine. We just took a little longer because Gilbert needs to save every baby he finds."

Liza blinked once as Gilbert removed the cub from his back. "Surely we have some milk to give her?"

"I'm sure we- OH MY MIRA!"

Liza stepped back when the cub rolled onto her back with a gurgle. "Where did you two find her??"

"Mooresdale Village."

"This is-"

The four Alphas turned toward the statues. The eyes on the statue of the Grizzly Bear Alpha went dim before completely fading. Liza clenched her jaw before sighing "This cub was Nix's." Greely and Gilbert looked surprised, Greely saying "So, this cub is..."

"Yes, and she must never know."

Liza walked over and took the cub from Gilbert, saying as she walked off with Cosmo "Pray to Mira that we can protect her. If we can't..." She trailed off with a shake of her head, cooing gently to the cub as she started crying again.