Lugia Winning Entry

"And don't ever think of coming back!" The gruff sound of Niko's voice echoed as he tossed Edmee into the sand. Not daring to say a word to him, the Tarinooki ran until she was out of his sight. Finally stopping to take a breath, she contemplated what had happened to get her exiled in the first place.

~~Three Hours Earlier~~

"Esmee! Start making some sweets for Lanturnacht!" Niko yelled to her. Esmee frowned. She hated following orders from Niko; he hadn't been the same since his father had died and given him control of the village.

"Yes, sir." Esmee replied glumly. While everyone else would be going door to door to receive candy, she would be indoors, making that very candy. Heaving a sigh, she prepped the candy molds. As she was filling it, wary thoughts started to pop into her mind.

"What if I were to go with everyone else? Not obey Niko for once?" Glancing around, she smirked mischievously. Silently putting down her tools, she crept out the door. She went undetected for about ten minutes before Niko caught her.

***

"I didn't even do anything that bad!" She said angrily. But here she was, in the Dire Morana. On Lanturnact. No-one in their right mind would come here on purpose- and that was on a normal day!

"Oh no." She said. Who knew what types of beasts would be out lurking the sands of the Dire! A deep pang of fear washed over her suddenly, and she broke into a sprint. Finally she collapsed in the sand. Her head hit a hard rock, and she was out in a second.

"Do ya think she's dead?" A muffled voice said.

"Who's dead? What?" Esmee slurred, opening her eyes. All she saw was a blurry purple and black figure.

"I guess not." The figure said, beginning to laugh. Esmee blinked twice, and the figure became more visible. There were two figures, actually- one was a Northern Zisscor, the other was a Desert Haruba. She glanced around: she was in what appeared to be a tent.

"She recovered fairly quickly," The Haruba mused.

Esmee sat up slowly, her paw going straight to her head.

"Huh?" She said, feeling a rough bandage.

"You took a nasty spill. But..." He trailed off.

"Why don't you tell us why you were in the Dire, especially at a time like this?" The Haruba finished. Esmee sighed.

"Ok. I'll tell you. But you have to tell me who you are after."

***

"And that's why I was there." Esmee finished. The Haruba nodded slowly.

"And now it is time to introduce ourselves. My name is Kyron, and this is Lucia." Lucia bowed quickly.

"But why am I here? Why did you save me?" Esmee sputtered. Lucia smirked.

"We saved you because we didn't want you to die. Then we discovered you were more than just a normal Tarinooki." Esmee looked up at the Zisscor in confusion.

"Allow me to explain," Kyro said. "You see, every year during Lanturnacht, the two of us go looking in Dire Morana for pets- quite frankly, like you."

"But every year thus far, we've failed. But now you're here. To save our village from the Monster of Lanturnacht." Lucia continued.

"The monster of what now?" Esmee questioned. She was beyond confused at this point.

"The monster of Lanturnacht. It is a terrifying beast that roams the Dire Morana during Lanturnacht; hence its name. But our little village on the border of the Dire, is in "dire" danger every Lanturnacht." She chuckled at her own weak pun.

"Ahem. Anyways, the monster comes to our village every year on Lanturnacht Night, and destoys everything.

"Well then, here you go," Kyron said, placing a dagger in Esmee's paw. "Use it wisely." Esmee gaped at the dagger in her paw.

"I have to kill it?" She yelled.

"Well, yes." Lucia said, her voice bordering curiosity. Esmee turned the dagger around in her paw.

"Fine. If it'll save you guys."

***
"Are you sure about this?" Esmee asked.

"Yes, yes." Kyron said. The two were interrupted by a loud roar.

"What-" Esmee said before a huge creature emerged from the sand. It was easily fifty times Edmee's size, and green slime dripped from its open jaws. A clod of noxious gasses surrounded it.

"AAAARRRRRROOOO!" It roared once more. This time, though, Esmee could understand what the beast was saying.

"Why do you attack this village every year?" She yelled at the top of her lungs. The beast looked down at her in curiosity.

"They have my precious Orb of the Transaur!" Esmee looked at Lucia and Kyron, who were freaking out.


"WHY AREN'T YOU KILLING IT?" Kyron yelled. Esmee explained that she could hear the beast, and it needed something. Kyron's angry expression softened.

"Alright. But why do you need an Orb of the Transaur?" Esmee told him.

"Ah. I see," He said, removing a small orb from his fur. "Is this what you wanted?" The Transaur nodded happily. Kyron tossed the orb to it, and it sunk into the beast's skin. Large, graceful wings suddenly sprouted from it's back, and the gasses dissipated to reveal gorgeous lavender colored skin.

"Thank you so much, you three," The now much less scary beast said. "Is there anything I can do for you?" Esmee thought for a moment.

"Yes, yes there is." She said with a smirk.

***

"Umm, sir, what's that?" A guard asked Niko, who was lounging in a beach chair.

"What's what?" He snapped, removing his sunglasses. He gaped at the sight of a huge, lavender reptile flying towards him.

"What?" He yelled, attempting to run to safety.

"Happy Lanturnacht, Niko!" Esmee yelled, smiling as she stood on the Transaur's back.
Niko wouldn't be exiling anyone else, at least not for a while.


THE END