Well, it's true



More for Chapter Ten! (This, I think, is the longest chapter I've ever written)



Alpha was in bad shape. Her leg was badly gashed and she had a painful scrape on her cheek, and, worst of all, that blasted headache was not going away. It was so bad that she could barely see, and she kept blacking out momentarily. Even she, the optimist, had to admit that she probably wouldn't make it to the Refueling Station #10, the nearest building.

She limped along the marked trail that the shuttles followed, trying not to lose consciousness. As it was, the light was quickly dimming, and she used most of her energy trying to stay on the path. Luckily Medivo had very bright stars, and she hoped that once the moon rose the going would be easier.



Kovu was in trouble. That grey rabbit was like a shadow as she silently tracked him, and she seemed to know the terrain extremely well. That makes sense, he realized, she couldn't have found the clearing that she landed in if she hadn't been here before. But that knowledge was giving her the edge, and she could almost anticipate his next move. So he began to put distance between them, drawing away from her ship and into the forest. Within a few minutes he no longer could see the clearing or the trail, and from the sound of it she wasn't following him any more.



Coppertop finally gave up the chase. The hunted obviously was not interested in anything but leaving, and it was growing dark. She headed back to the glade where the others waited for her.



Kroys had made camp. His expended energy was trickling back slower than he had thought it would, and 6 hours after his estimated time of departure he was still only up to half strength. Also, he was beginning to have doubts about the safety of his position; the mercenaries were more clever than he had thought. After all, he hadn't expected them to attack him in the Deep Spacer, and they had, he hadn't expected the traitor Claw to join forces with the grey rabbit and they had, and, most important, he hadn't expected them to be so powerful, to have that black rabbit with the diamond with them, or for the other two- he thought the one had been called Duck and the other Gath or something like that -to have those staffs that powerful. Those misexpectations had nearly killed him. Why couldn't they have figured out that he was on Lohar, a very magical planet, too? With those troubled thoughts he gazed into the flickering fire, as the darkness grew and thunder rumbled.



Kovu had been walking for almost 2 hours when he saw the fire. It was small, and there was a black-cloaked figure sitting near it. He had a staff in his hand, one that gleamed bloodred and black in the firelight. Kovu had seen magical artifacts before; he had no trouble recognizing this staff as one. And there was only one human in the entire known Universe with a staff like it: the self-styled Emperor Kroys. Having heard all of the horror stories he kept his distance, circling around the tiny camp and deciding if he should attack or wait. He decided on wait.



Coppertop heard the thunder in the distance, and being familiar with the powerful rainstorms on Lohar, told her friends that they would be better off in the ship. Wild Angel nodded after a moment and said that a BIG storm was on the way, so they made themselves at home on the Assassin. Coppertop took Shinyso and Ducky aside and held a whispered conference with them, and then the trio unobtrusively disappeared. She left a note in the cockpit telling Claw that he was in charge until she got back, another symptom of her growing trust that he wouldn't suddenly turn on them. She also added that if they were attacked, "don't wait for me. Take off and fight; I'll catch up somehow." Then they slipped out into the woods.



Kovu was just circling Kroys' camp for the 3rd time when he ran right into a small grey rabbit with big blue-green eyes and brilliant blue electricity leaping over her fur. Her white shirt had a tear in one long sleeve, and her black boots were scuffed and muddy. She held a staff in one hand, and Kovu recognized the broken gem in the top as half of the Sparif Crystal, a Crystal of which he had a sliver of himself. "Ducky?"



Mwahahaha! *in a deep theatrical voice* What will happen next to our brave heroes? Will Alpha make it to the Refueling Station Number Ten? Or will she be found by enemies? Stay tuned and find out in the next chapter of Conquerer!



OK, a bit weird, I admit