Final Stand

Charlie took the lead in the fight against the American team. Even thought the giant would be a tough opponent with such little mythical creatures, he was confident in their assault. Charlie sent Jack to help Matsume with the black dog. Archie the jackalope was on his way to assist Asa in catching the wolpertinger. Alba continued her fight with Astor while Harper the basilisk and Uriana the harpy both attacked the giant.

Rei wanted to be of some help to the others and thought of a way for her to lend a hand as she watched the battles rage on. She looked over in Asa's direction. Archie had begun to chase the wolpertinger around, giving Asa a moment to rest from all the tackling. The cloth wrapped around her body was tattered and torn, and she was breathing heavily. Rei turned to Olivia who was watching the fight as well. "I've got an idea."

Rei called Asa over to her and instructed her and Olivia on her plan. While the three of them got to work, Archie continued to distract the wolpertinger. Both creatures were about the same in speed and agility on the ground, but the wolpertinger's wings created an opportunity for it to attack from above. With a flap of its wings, the creature propelled itself onto Archie. The two tumbled along the beach, kicking and biting at each other. There was a moment when the two creatures were still, and Olivia used that chance to throw a pebble at the wolpertinger to get its attention.

"Come and get me!" Olivia shouted. The wolpertinger charged at her with so much speed that it couldn't stop. "Now!" She shouted when the creature was close enough. At Olivia's cue, Rei and Asa threw out a net made from some strips of Asa's cloth. The wolpertinger ran straight into the net and was caught. While the creature was struggling in the net, Archie came over and bucked at its chin, knocking the wolpertinger unconscious.

Rei laughed. "Now that's how you catch a rabbit!"

Kei was scared but she too wanted to help Matsume and Jack. Kei thought back to her mythology class with Tsuda. She concentrated on her knowledge of the black dog. From what Kei could remember, the creature was a demonic being from English folklore. It was like a ghost, whose body could not be harmed by normal attacks. Kei continued to think of any weakness that the creature might have.

Charlie interrupted her train of thought by asking, "Kei, might ya have any salt?"

Kei turned to Charlie. "What would you need salt for?"

"A creature like this isn't a huge fan of the stuff. I reckon it'd make him run for the hills."

"No, I'm sorry," Kei replied disappointingly.

"Shucks!" Charlie reached into his pocket and pulled out a container. "All I've got is this here vegemite. I doubt the salt is high enough."

"How much salt is in that vege- what did you call it?"

"Vegemite. It's a delicious spread from back home." He turned the jar to read the ingredients. "It says here that this jar contains three grams worth of salt."

"That's perfect!" Kei exclaimed.

"Ya think it'll work mate?"

"We won't know until we find out."

Charlie opened the can and held it to the black dog. "Here goes nothing." The black dog gave a quick sniff of the jar and leapt away. "Ah ha! He hates this stuff. Come here you!" Charlie began to chase the black dog down the beach until it was long gone. The black dog's human ran after it.

Kei giggled. "I doubt we'll see them again any time soon."

Alba was struggling in her battle with Astor, and Harper and Uriana weren't fairing much better. Yun walked over to where Isla and Ivy were watching the fighting and said, "I have a plan. Will you two help me?"

"What've you got in mind?" Isla asked.

"It seems like Astor is powerful but has a hard time controlling his lightning. I was thinking, what if we could trick Astor into striking the giant with some of that lightning?"

"Sounds risky," Ivy commented. "Just how do you suppose we pull that off?" Yun smirked as he explained his idea to them. "This could actually work. I'm in!"

"I am too," Isla stated.

Yun broke off from the two girls and ran over behind the giant. He gave a whistle, calling Alba over towards him. As Alba began flying away, Astor followed her. Isla and Ivy looked on as Alba led the way. Once they felt Astor was close enough, the two girls each clapped their hands together. It was their cue for Harper and Uriana to complete the scheme.

Uriana flew up to the giants face and clawed at it. The irritated giant turned towards her and raised a hand. As the giant brought his hand down on Uriana, Harper used her tail and wrapped it around one of the giant's legs to trip him. Harper and Alba flew away as the giant stumbled into Astor. On impact, Astor let out large amounts of lightning on the giant, causing him to drop unconscious, bringing Astor down with him.

Mary looked around at her fallen creature and those of her companions. "I don't believe it! You beat us? How? Our creatures were much larger and more powerful than yours could ever be!"

Rei laughed with pleasure. "We defeated you because we worked together as friends. Never underestimate the power of team work."