Cross Lanes: The Fourth Dimension
- Locked due to inactivity on Aug 4, '16 4:37pm
Thread Topic: Cross Lanes: The Fourth Dimension
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Copyrighted. stealing will result in imprisonment.
Summary- a girl aqwires the ability to phase through mirrors into paralleled dimensions over vast surfaces of the world. she get's stuck there and has to fight her way through dimension beasts to get to the endlander and defeat him to return home. it's in progress and is about 33 pages in google doc length. hope ya like it. -
CHAPTER 1: A Four Way Highway
Honestly, why would anyone care? So, I can phase through mirrors into opposite worlds that doesn't give anyone the right to call me a sorcerer. Im just like you. I just have one extra capability. No one but me knows that I can phase, not even my dad. And you know what? I really dont care.
Nekio! Stop writing in that book and help me make dinner!
Shut it Im busy!
No youre gonna help me make it now!
That was my dad. Hes a bit of a stickler when it comes to me putting my book before food. But I cant really blame him because I need to put on a little more weight anyway. I throw my book onto my bed and rush down the stairs, but halfway down I trip over one of the white shoelaces on my Nikes, causing me to fall towards Storm, who was lying at the edge of the stairs. he yelped as he just barely got out of the way. Storm is my husky. we also have a german shepherd named Titan but I think hes tied to the post outside for getting into the ham earlier. Come on Storm you know I didnt mean that. He wined and left out into the living room.
Stop trying to reassure the dog and come tell me which piece of steak you want.
Dad kind of mid-burned the steaks so I chose one of the ones off to the side since they didnt look too bad. I stabbed it with a fork and put it on my plate, then started toward the living room.
Dont forget to feed the dogs before you eat. And watch out for Titan hes in a particularly bad mood.
Honestly, I rarely see Titan in a good mood except for when we go to the park. I set my plate on the table and walk over to the fridge, since we usually put the dog food beside it. I went into the fridge instead though and got the tuna we ate on Tuesday (Its Thursday now) and dumped it into Storms bowl. I have to be particularly nice to him because my butt almost turned him into puppy mush. He made a cheerful bark and jumped up on my legs. Whoa! Hey! Down boy, down! The bowl slips from my fingertips and Storm lunges for it just as his steel bowl hits the ground. Dang it Storm! You could have just waited until I put it on the floor.
Whats happening in there?
Nothing. Storm just made a small mess.
Well when you get done feeding Storm, make sure that Titan stays outside.
I will.
I grab Titans brass bowl and fill it with ordinary dog food and place it on the back porch. Titan bounds over and begins obnoxiously snarfing down the kibble. Man, you are such a slob. I close the door and go to the sink to get a rag and clean up some of the tuna Storm spilled, then I go back into the living room to eat my steak, which is cold now.
Why do you care for those dogs so much? Dad asked.
Because I like animals?
Oh. Okay then. I was Just wondering why you GAVE STORM OUR TUNA.
Dad dont make it out to be some kind of big deal.
Im not trying to, its just that I was going to eat that for lunch tomorrow and now I don't have anything.
Pfft. Its not like I just sold him your soul.
Dad just looked at his plate without responding. He just sat there quietly. Dad? Arent you going to snap at me with a clever comeback?
Dont you miss your mother at all? He said suddenly.
His question was somewhat unanswerable. Dad. I never knew my mom remember? All you told me about her was that she was killed in a car accident. I cant be sure I miss her if I never really knew her. Dad didnt respond to me again, and his focus never left his plate. I think that I could almost see the glint of a tear in his eye.
Go to bed Nekio.
But I-
I SAID GO TO BED!
I lift my plate from the table and shove the remains of my steak in Storms bowl, and put my dish in the sink. Storm, lying next to his dish, eats two of the chunks, then follows me up to my room. I toss my Nikes into the floor near my dresser and put my journal in the top drawer. I take off my shirt but leave my shorts on, and climb under the covers. I turn off the lamplight and try to go to sleep. Storm leaps up on the bed and lies down next to me. The rest of the room fades away as I fall into a deep sleep.
I wake from my dreamless sleep with a slight headache. Storm wasnt on the bed, but his body left an impression in the covers. Hes probably downstairs mocking Titan at the door. I tell myself. Those two never really got along well but we managed to teach them to tolerate each other. We once used to have a great dane names Sampson, but we had to give him away. I pull the covers off of me and went to the closet. We hadnt done the laundry in a week, so I just pulled out the shirt I thought was cleanest, a bedraggled white T-shirt. I slipped it on and went downstairs. I could already smell the bacon before I even reached the bottom step. Dad! is Storm down there with you?
No. I thought he was up there with you. Did you forget to lock up the fence?
No. I made sure it was locked. Ill go put on some shoes and see if hes somewhere in the neighborhood.
Okay, but make sure you get breakfast before you go.
I walk down the steps and grab a few slices of bacon from the plate on the table, then I go down the hallway to the bathroom. When I walk in I look at myself to see if Im halfway decent. My hair is a little mated and I cant determine if my eyes are blue or grey. Maybe just a blue grey. My hair is also starting to get a little lighter from being in the sun so its kind of a light blond. I should probably put a sweater on. I still had my blue scarf and hand gloves on from yesterday. Im not sure why I decided to sleep in them. I grab my black sweater and go through the mirror. Yes I just walked through it like a puddle, epic I know. I pass through the other side into the field of mirrors. Its just a field filled with mirrors that you can see through from the inside out, but the people outside cant see you. I look through the first five, but I didnt see Storm anywhere. As I pass the sixth one, I hear the faint but sudden sound of smashing glass. I look over to the left and see some of the mirrors falling and breaking. I dont think its too big of a problem since there are miles and miles more of them. Its most likely somebody on the outside breaking them. I pass the ones on the street to see if Storm might have just walked out for a bit, but one of them just crashed down right in front of me! Then the ones Ive passed already start to fall too. And the ones past that and past that. All the mirrors start falling. I run to try and leap through an unbroken mirror, but it falls. I fall flat into a pile of glass shards. The glass pierces my hands and stabs me through my shirt, and they run all up my leg. I take a deep breath as I pull out each one. By the time I finished all the mirrors were broke and not a new one a mile in sight. The grass was now no more than a sea of broken glass and frames. I pick up one of the larger shards and looked through it. There was my room on the other side. Sheer coincidence. Well, I know I cannot fit my whole body in just this little shard, and I can't Phase through the glass shards glued together without the fear of being fractured into little pieces on the other side. I rambled to myself. I shove the shard in my pocket and walk forward. Its not like I can do much else but that. After a few hours my legs begin to get heavy and my sweat begins to sting my cuts. I can't be sure why Im sweating anyway when it's no more than seventy two degrees out here, or in here, or. Uh. Just here. Then I began to hear the glass shift behind me. I turned my back to see if I was just imagining things but I wasn't. There was a little six year old neko boy behind me. You know, those part cat part human people that have a tail and ears like a cat. Now Im DEFINITELY sure Im hallucinating! YEEAAAAAGH! A HALLUCINATION! IM LOSING MY MIND! I scream.
WHAT?! WHERE?! I CAN'T SEE IT! IS IT INVISIBLE?! He shouts back, waving his arms around in bewilderment.
YOU! YOURE A HALLUCINATION! SHOO, NEKO BOY, SHOO! He looked at me like I was crazy. Which I won't say that I wasnt.
Huh?! Thats rude! I AM real!
Tha -
Thats impossible. You cant be real. I mean, I feel like I could have seen one like you, but not in reality!
Well, youd be surprised. This isnt reality.
But it can't be real either then.
Of course it is. Dont you know youre in the antiverse?
The what now?
The antiverse. My brother talks about it all the time but I dont really know what it means. He says it's in our world but no one knows where it ends or begins, but the end might have a new world.
That just gave me an idea. Little kid, could you show me where your brother is? I need to ask him something. I wanted to know if what his brother is talking about might be my world, and if there are any more mirrors in this, this.dimension, that I could cross through to get back home. He reached out his left hand and pointed North, but there was nothing there.
Go that way. He always says that our mirror goes back that way when I come here.
Why did you come here anyway?
I heard crashing, so I came this way, but when I got here broken glass was everywhere and I saw you so I went to ask you about it.
So you dont know why they all broke?
Nope. Like I would know that, Im six.
I grab the shard from my sweater pocket and look at it, then shove it back in. Show me the way then.
CHAPTER 2: New Task at Hand
We got to the mirror in a matter of minutes, the frame was made of tree branches and leaves. I looked through and saw a cabin on a hilltop, surrounded by tall spruce trees and dark, cloudy skies. The only disadvantage of phasing through it was that it was raining. I wouldnt be bothered by it but Tazunes a neko, and cats don't like water, which means we gotta get there quick. I back up as far as I can and grab his hand, then I charge at full speed through the mirror. The water pelts us hard as we run through the wet grass, and I almost slipped as we reached the porch. My plan didnt work as well as I thought it would, because now were both drenched. I look down at Tazune, drenched and surprisingly grinning, then at the cabin door, then back at Tazune. So, what do I say to him? I found your fluffy black-haired neko brother? Or Im from another dimension and come to find the way back out? I joked.
Just leave it to me.
I reach out my right arm and knock on the door. No answer. I reach out to knock again when I heard an annoyed voice yell back,
Who is it!?
Soroku, open the door! Its me! Tazune yelled to him.
Nygh. Its cold out here. I groaned, shaking cold water of of my arms.
Taz, is that you? Whos that youre with?
I found a girl in the field of mirrors. I think she's from the antiverse.
Really? Dont mess with me Tazune. Lying to your brother is wrong.
Im not lying! Come see for yourself! Shes still human!
Still human? Let her in. Doors unlocked.
I grab the handle and turn the door knob. the room inside is completely different from the outside. Hundreds of papers are scattered everywhere, and two laptops were hooked to the wall. There's also a V-couch up against the wall and two windows. A fifteen year old neko boy is at a desk beside it doodling on a piece of paper. He almost looks exactly like Tazune, except for the fact his eyes are light green and Tazunes are grey. His tail is also tipped white like a matchstick and he wears a black velvet jacket similar to mine. He gets up and walks over to Tazune and pulls him forward by the collar, his face blank.
I cant believe you brought a her here. Look at her. Shes not exactly-
Let go! Let go! All I know is that she comes from the antiverse! He drops Tazune on the ground and walks over to me. He looks me up and down. Not the way a guy eyes a girl normally, a little different. Then he throws out his hand so abruptly its almost an insult.
I am Soroku Anayagi. I presume you know my brother already.
I reach out and shake his hand, and it was surprisingly cold. Um, yeah. Nekio Echo. Can you tell me what Im looking at here?
This is my work. I know everything about the dimensions and where all the mirrors go, so if you have any questions feel free to ask. Soroku said with a grin. He seems to be really soft spoken and even his green eyes reflect like a mirror, but for some reason that only makes him look even more strikingly fierce. He walks over to his desk again and continues his drawing, while Tazune curls up on the couch. I walk over to him and ask, What are you drawing?
The Endlands of Maltora.
His drawing was made up of a series of floating stone buildings that were falling apart into pathways and below it, a barren land.
Where is that?
In dimension Seven, or to you, the Seventh Mirror.
Is there any way I can get back?
What?
I pull out the mirror shard from the field of mirrors and drop it in front of him.
Here, this is from the mirror in my room. I need to get from here to there. You probably already noticed I wasnt from your world anyway. He stood up and looked me in the eye. It was a little creepy, but I made sure my gaze wouldnt falter from him.
I assumed that when Tazune showed up on my doorstep with a drenched girl beside him. But what I dont understand is why you are eager to get back to the antiverse.
Well I, Um. My dad will get worried. Yeah, my gaze was definitely beginning to falter.
My brother and I were the only surviving beings in this dimension until you appeared. We used to be human like you, but our bodies have been permanently changed into this form. we can never go back to the real world.The only way to leave this world back to where we came from is to defeat the Endlander and go through the mirror it guards. He flips his hoodie over his head. Then he walks over to the couch and plops down next to Tazune. I take one last glimpse of Sorokus drawing and sit down next to him.
Soroku? How did you get here?
The same way you did. Through a mirror.
What is the Endlander?
Its the only dimension beast capable of following someone through a mirror. It even has the ability to cross through the antiverse. Not only that, it is the strongest, largest, and smartest dimension beast in existance.
I was tempted to ask if Ill turn into a neko if I stay here too long, but I kept that one to myself. He takes off his jacket and sits down next to Tazune and I sit down on the other side. I kept most of my thoughts focused on what my dad might be thinking right now. What he would say if I ever told him I can phase dimensions.
CHAPTER 3: Nightmares
I wake up but Im still somewhat half asleep. I guess I dozed off. I feel something warm and soft on my arm that wasnt there before, too big to be a pillow and too small to be Soroku. Turning over just slightly I see Tazune in the corner of my eye. He was grasping my shirt and growling.
What?
I dont want to be in the dark He says faintly. I pull myself over and grasp him.
Youre not in the dark. I say.
I want to go home. He says. He is dreaming. I see Soroku still on the other side of the couch asleep.
Huh? I say.
The monsters gonna get me! He grasps my shirt even harder. Not knowing what else to do, I turn over all the way and gently pull him towards me. Theres no telling whats going on in his head right now , but I know it cant be anything good.
Nygh Whats going on? Soroku says, stirring around on the couch.
Tazune. I think hes having nightmares.
Yeah. He has those often. Soroku says casually.
Is there a reason why hes on my side of the couch?
I need sleeping space too you know.
Yeah. Shove the six-year-old on the teenage girl from another dimension to get your rest. Thats completely natural. He laughs lightly.
Im a growing boy. I need my rest. He flops over on his stomach.
Do you know why Tazune is having these nightmares?
We came here from your side of the world just two years ago. I took Tazune here to show him this place I discovered, and showed him the abandoned house I found. I taught him how time still moves, but its like nobody knows you left. We only stayed here for a few days, but when we were ready to go back home, we had lost our mirror. So from that -
point, I had sent Tazune every so many days to see if he could find it. We still havent found it. For two years. Somewhere within that time, we discovered dimensional beasts that want us out of here. Since then, Tazune has had the same nightmare over and over again about being devoured by thousands of dimension beasts in the Endlands of Maltora.
Thats terrible! But why? Why would these dimension beasts want you dead?
They arent human. They are animal-like and monstrous. Like lions preying on lambs.
Then it looks like this lamb is gonna have to show the lion whos boss.
CHAPTER 4: Interdimensional
The dimension beasts are ruthless tyrants that will stop at nothing to destroy anything and everything living in each dimension. You obviously dont know what you're up against, but who knows. You could be the ILS everyone's been looking for. The Interdimensional Light Shifter.
The what now? I gently push Tazune over to get up.
Never mind that. We just need to get to the fifth dimension first. Ill explain more later. First off, dimension one. The Temple of the Hourglass. Its guided by a Sand Serpent
When I dont come back, just assume Ive been eaten by a giant snake.
Yeah, like THATS reassuring. He says sarcastically. In the news tomorrow: Worlds first ILS killed in action by giant snake.
Lets see... what's in the comic section?
Pfft. Shut up.
Soroku turns to pick up his black hoodie. Thats when I figure out what was on his back earlier. A large, deep red stain runs all the way down the left side of his white shirt.
Soroku, what happened to your back! He slips the hoodie on quickly.
Sand serpent. On my first try, this happened. Its not a big deal. Dont worry about it. I walk over to him and put my hand up his jacket and run it over the scar. Its rough from above his shirt.
Tail or fang?
Tail, luckily. Fang and Id be dead. I remove my hand from his jacket. Dont worry. Ill let it hit me again before I ever let it hit you.
? I stare at him in bewilderment.
What?
...Nothing. Wheres the mirror? I want to see what it looks like.
Behind the house. Dont go too far. And take this with you. Its a sword by the name of the Hourglass. The blade is iron and slim like a knight's sword. The handle is glass filled with sand and has a gold inlaid crest on the front.
I open the door and step outside. Its warm and humid. The sky looks grey, so its probably going to rain again. It wouldnt have been a good day to leave again anyway. I walk around to the other side of the cabin. Over in the underbrush, theres a mirror leaning up against the side of a tree. I walk over to it. The mirror's frame is made up entirely of hardened sand and iron, like the handle of the Hourglass. I look inside, an unending sea of sand in my wake. The thought of fighting an enormous sand serpent drives me into fear, and that scar on Sorokus back is really discouraging. I look at the sword he just gave me. My reflection staring back at me in the blade. Soroku why would you...? Strange. I place the Hourglass in my belt loop and walk back towards the cabin.
CHAPTER 5: Iron and Sand
I walk back inside the cabin. Sorokus back at his desk, as usual, and Tazune is awake too. He was sitting on the couch playing video games on one of the laptops.
Its almost evening isnt it? Shouldnt we go out to the cellar and get something to eat? Tazune asked.
There should be some ice cream bars in there. Soroku says. I plop down on the couch and dig for something I could eat out of my sweater pocket, but there was nothing. there actually used to be a peanut butter bar in one of them but I think I already ate it.
Hey, wait. Soroku digs through his desk drawer and pulls out a box of poptarts.
Poptarts for dinner? Thats new. I comment. They both turn and look over at me. I guess they didnt see me come in.
When you live here, we eat whatever we have left in the cellar, which isnt much. We dont have to eat much either. At Least once every three days. Tazune says.
Wow. I gasp.
Soroku rips open the box and tosses a pack of poptarts to me and Tazune. The fact that I caught it was unnatural. Back in the real world, at Tetredan High, I could never catch the ball when we were playing softball. It always hit me in the face, or slipped from my hand. The catch I just made was actually decent. I open the bag of pop tarts. Theyre the fudge kind. I bite off half of one and put the rest in my pocket. I walk over to the window again and look out. The sun sets as the thick covers of the night envelopes the sky. I wish I knew what time it was, but my watch stopped working a month ago. Now its just on my wrist for looks. I remove the Hourglass from my belt loop and place it up against the wall, then I walk over to the couch and sit down next to Tazune. He was already falling asleep right side up. I lift him up, careful not to stir him, and gently set him on the side of the couch he was on a while ago, then I crawled on to the other side and threw my shoes off. I watch as Soroku stands up and walks over to Tazune,checks if hes asleep, then walks over to me.
You going to sleep too? He whispers.
Yeah.
Have good dreams. He turns away to leave, but that's when, by instinct, I stand up again.
Wait. I say.
What now? He says turning back at me with his hands in his jacket pocket.
I just nevermind. I turn back again to go to sleep, but he grabs my hand.
You already have my attention again. What is it? He asks. I turn and face him.
Well, you said all that stuff. Taking a hit for me and all that. So thanks. For reassuring me and all that. He lets go of my hand.
No problem. I dont mind being selfless. I walk over to the couch and plop down on it.
We should get ready to leave tomorrow. He says, going to the other side of the couch.
We make our way around the cabin and over to the mirror. Taking my last glimpse of the cabin, I step through it. All of a sudden my feet were sunk deep into the sand, and an overwhelming chill crept over me. My surroundings are bleak and empty. I dont see a temple anywhere. As I walk forward, the sand beneath me begins to sink deeper and deeper, until Its up to my waist. I try to pull myself out, but the sand only pulls me down harder. Soroku tries to pull me back up, but hes starting to sink in as well. I let out a scream but it was only drowned out by the strong winds of the desert. The sand covers my shoulders and then my head until the sand completely pulls me under. I was positively sure I was going to drown, but then I fell through an opening and landed hard on the ground. I shook the sand off my body and looked around the room. Soroku is brushing himself off and Tazune looking over to the side where two very large sand monuments of snakes stood tall on each side of the right side of the room. I looked down at the inscribers I saw on the pedestals. Each one said: Take note that these snakes are actual size of the original. At Least I got a heads up. In the middle of the statues there is a door with an S engraved in it. It must stand for snakes. I thought. I walk over and open the door. Inside, the room was much bigger, and there is another statue of a snake with sand spilling from its mouth. Its eye sockets were hollow and the stone looked almost fragile enough to break. Before I let the others walk forward, I look down and see another engraving etched into the ground. This one said: Watch where you step. I look at the ground in front of me. There were large meter sized blocks on the ground. Those are probably the panels. I look at the large snake statue and then at the sand in its mouth. It fell into a perfect line curving around the room. I carefully put my foot on one of the panels with sand on it and it doesn't fall, so I make my way around the pattern. Occasionally, I would step on the wrong panel and it would slide down and fall into the abyss of darkness below. Soroku didnt miss any of the pannels for some reason. When we get to the snake's head, it closes up its bottom -
jaw and the sand stops flowing. Then the ground beneath us falls away and I slide under the head on a slide. The slide takes us down through a thin tunnel that spits us out into the largest room, Soroku and Tazune piled on top of me like a chair cusion . I turn to Soroku to ask if he knows how many rooms there are, but nothing comes out of my mouth. Soroku, using sign language, tells me that this temple has a curse on it. The Elegy of Silence. The sand in here completely coats the floor, but it only reaches up to the top of my ankles. In the back of the room there is just one solitary snake sitting up with its mouth wide open. Its eyes are made of pure translucent ruby. I walk up to it to see if there might be another engraving somewhere to tell me what challenge this is supposed to be and on the side of the wall it says: The real thing. Just as I read it, the snake lunges for me. I wasnt quick enough. I couldnt dodge that. Just before I could at least attempt to get out of the way, Soroku jumps in front of me. He pulls out the Hourglass from me quicker than I could see him do it and sends it through its top jaw. The snake pulls back with Soroku still holding on and he throws it on its side. The snake revives and lunges for me again, but this time I grab one of its teeth and leap onto its head. Its almost impossible for me to keep my footing though when its entire body is made of sand, the only thing I could think of that wasnt. was its eyes! Soroku! Toss me the Hourglass! I had missed it at first, but I could actually talk again. Soroku throws the Hourglass at me from the front. I reach out to grab it, but it flies over my head and digs itself into the serpent's tail. The snake screeches and throws me backwards, and I slam into the wall. It turns and lunges for me once again. I jump up as its head is slammed into the wall and its teeth are smashed inside. I run down its back and pull the Hourglass from its tail, then I leap off it and run back around to its head. I look up to where Im supposed to strike, but its too high for me to reach, even with my awesome jumping skills.
What are you waiting for! Jump! Soroku shouts.
Its too high! I can't make a jump like that!
Use the wall!
I leap up to the side of the wall and use all my force and strength to lunge at its head, then I send the Hourglass deep through its pulsing red eyes. Both of the eyes shatter clean away on both sides. I drop down and watch as it screeches and withers as its body is returned into the sand on the ground. as it fades away only one tooth remains. Soroku walks over and throws the tooth into the wall. When it shatters, another sword is revealed. He walks over and lifts it up. Its almost identical to the Hourglass.
Here, he says handing me the sword. This is the Flame.
I reach out my arm and grasp it, the handle is much warmer than the Hourglasss. When I look at the handle, its made of the exact same components as the Hourglass, but instead of having sand inside, there is flames climbing around in it. And the handle is made of bronze and glass.
Its fairly strong against ice beasts, which will be beneficial in the next dimension. Soroku tells me.
Soroku? How come we can talk again?
The elegy only lasts until the beast is awoken.
Its not like that in other dimensions is it?
No. Just here.
Can we go now? Tazune asks.
I dont see why not. I say back.
CHAPTER 6: Bronze and Fire
We need to get to the next mirror. Soroku says urgently.
Just then, a hole explodes from the wall. Inside a mirror laced with silver and ice leans up against it. I walk over and gaze inside. Its an enormous cave completely covered in ice. the light coming through the holes in the top shine luminescent rays onto the floor making the ground glow a sky blue. I step my foot in through the mirror as freezing cold creeps over my body. Tazune and Soroku step in behind me. Its relatively smaller than the first room in the Temple of the Hourglass. In the center of the wall there is a completely frozen door with a slit in it, I take the Flame in hand and send it through the opening and pull it back out. Just then the ice melts away and the door pulls open by itself. Before I walk in Tazune pulls at my arm away.
What? I ask. I look down. In front of me, there is one last thing written in the ice. It says: Watch for movement. Watch for movement? I look in the room and gaze forward so that I can see the entire room around me. Nothing moves inside at all. It's quiet and peaceful, like an elevator. without the music anyway. I ready myself with an attack stance and slowly walk step by step into the room. Nothing happened. The room was completely empty except for the next door. I walk over to it, and just then two large ice skeletons with glowing emerald green eyes burst up from the ice in the wall. One held a shield and the other held a sword. Great. Thisll be interesting.
Ay! No one passes the Skull brothers! The one with the sword shouts.
Yeah! No trespassers! The one with the shield calls behind him.
I glimpse below.I can see fish moving around so it must be water.Oh yeah? Well what if I do this. I taunt, using spare knowledge. I drive the Flame into the ice below, sending a large crack through it towards them. They both look down and see the crack, and leap out of the way just as the ice fractures. Great. Plan A failed. Whats plan B?
That was a nasty trick, ay! Now youll pay! The one with the sword threatens.
Yeah! Nasty trick, youll pay! The one with the shield repeats.
They both leap at me with sword and shield. I dodge it and run behind them as they both accidentally smash into each other. Ill go for the one with the shield first because it has no way to attack, I tell myself, but Ill also need to find a way to keep the one with the sword busy so I can make a clean shot. I throw myself at the one with a sword and glaze its arm, then slide up to the wall.
Ay! You cant attack me, I attack you! It yells.
As it lunges its sword for me, I leap out of the way, and just as I expected it's sword becomes stuck deep in the ice. The one with the shield tries to come in to help him remove it but I corner it up against the wall. I run at it and slam the sword through its chest to keep it held in place, then I throw my leg up into the air and smash its head in the wall. Only one of its eyes shattered though so I threw a fist at it to shatter the other one, but the other Scull brother grabbed my arm and through me all the way across the room into the other wall.
Thought you could get rid of me, ay! It mocks.
Yeah brother! Get her! Shouts the half shattered other brother.
Because the Flame was stuck in the shielded ones chest, I didnt have any other option but to resort to the Hourglass for defense. I unsheathe it as quickly as I can and thrash at the one in front of me.
Ay! You cant hurt me with a blade like that! Stupid! It torments.
Thats not the point! I yell at it. I continue to push it back with my constant strikes until it becomes pinned up against the wall next to its brother, then I send its blade gliding with an uppercut.
Ay. why dont we forget this happened and go separate ways, eh? It pleads as a last resort.
Nah, I find this way more entertaining.
I grab both of the brothers heads and smash them together, and both of them lay limp. For some reason their heads are destroyed but there bodies don't fade away like the rest.
Soroku steps over to my side, Tazune behind him.They were the castle's guards. they won't fade away because they were already dead. They were just possessed by a Spirit of Remnants, which brought them back to life in their state before they were dead, making them Soldiers of Remnants. We better leave soon because you never know when another Spirit of Remnants will come to claim their bodies.
I remove the Flame from the shielded ones chest and its body slumps down next to the other brother. At Least they died in battle and not for some unreasonable cause. Grasping the F -
Flame I drag myself back over to it. It looks down on me and stares, like Im its next meal, but turns away and stomps towards Tazune, who still seems to be fending off the frost lizards. I stare blankly into the reflection in the Flame. Did it just show mercy? No. It showed pity. One thing I hate more than pain is pity. And this retarded dinosaur just gave me a plateful. Hey you stupid newt! Get back here and fight! I yell at it. My ribs stab at my lungs making me lurch. I really wish pain meds would fall from the sky right about now. The Colossus ignores me and stands tall over Tazune. He doesnt seem to notice, because hes still slashing at the lizards, sending hordes of them back into the crevice in the ice. The Colossus opens its jaws wide and lunges for Tazune. Too late. Tazune turns and at an instant is swallowed whole. I watch as he goes down its throat, but then I see him shove the Hourglass through. The Colossus shrieks and falls backwards. The impact shatters all the ice off of its body and all that remains is a large skeleton with emerald eyes. Tazune pulls the Hourglass back into the skeleton, still holding on to its ribcage. Ribcage! Tazune! try to break its ribs! If he breaks its ribcage he will restrain its movements. It will be in the same state Im in. Fragile and weak.
But arent we supposed to be heading for its eyes?
Leave that part to me! Just take him to the ground! I grasp the Flame firmly. Tazune begins hitting the Colossus ribs with the Hourglass, and they begin to chip off one by one. It slumps over from lack of support, now at the perfect distance for me to strike. I jump up, a sharp pain piercing me, and send the Flame surging through its right eye. Its stuck. The Colossus yells, my shoes just barely brushing its teeth, and rams itself into the wall, emerald chips scattering everywhere. I turn to the right. Stalagmites. There are some coming down to the ground. I swing myself onto its back and grab it by the front fangs, jerking violently to the left. Its head rams hard into the ice, shattering the stalagmites in an instant. Its eye is cracked but not shattered. I have to shatter it, but the flame is still in the other eye socket. Before I can do some last minute logic thinking, The Colossus begins to lurch over and stumbles like a drunken man. Hes going to fall. I jump off its head and, due to the fact I can't really support my weight that will, fall like a ragdoll onto Tazune.
OW! Tazune yelps, my elbow digging into his neck. GET OFA ME!
Sorry! I slump off of Tazune and lay flat on the ice, facing the Colossus. It continues to stumble and trip into walls until it finally drops onto the ground. It whimpers. I stand up and hand the Flame to Soroku, who I hadnt really thought about until now, then walk over to the Colossus, staring heartlessly into its eyes. I turn and walk away from it, not turning my head at all to see Soroku bash what was left of its eye out.
CHAPTER 7: Dream a Dimension
Here. The Colossus left this. Soroku says handing me another blade. This one is a little different from the Flame and Hourglass. It shares the same blade as the others but its handle is entirely different. Instead of metal, The handle is made of bone, positioned in such a way that it looks like a spine with ribs wrapping around a glass tank. Inside it, thick blue ice wraps around the walls. It almost looks like it's climbing it.
I guess you could call it an all-purpose blade. He grins. I think he was attempting to make a joke but failed. It has a greater sword stance than the Flame or Hourglass.
Huh. Cool. I say, kind of absent minded. Why is it that I have to go through all these dimensions to stay alive when alone it's killing me. I mean, it seems legit, but something just seems off.
Did you see what I did Soroku! I took the Colossus down! The most powerful ice monster! Tazune squeaks, throwing his arms in the air.
Dont be a show off. Soroku scowls, Nekio finished it off.
Youre no fun! Always taking me for just another annoying brother! Tazune pouts.
Thanks. for helping. Tazune.You did. well. I gasp. My adrenaline wears off and the pain comes back stronger than ever. At Least I stopped bleeding. Soroku sees me beginning to slump and lifts my arm over his shoulder.
Dont die on me yet. He says. I turn and, since our faces are so close, our noses nearly touch. I look at him. His eyes are still an unchanged neon green and his hair and ears are still a night-sky black. I move away, trying to support my own weight again. I am more than reluctant to let myself like this guy. He is way off my scale. He frowns. Tazune grabs my hand. I think he was trying to steady me in place of Soroku. Boys like these make me feel so high maintenance. I turn to smile thankfully at him, but instead of seeing a little black haired six-year-old neko boy, I stand eye to eye with a sixteen-year-old. He is fierce, just like Soroku, and looks like Tazune. He wears a black shirt and a green scarf, but there is one trait that makes him completely different from the two. He is not a neko. I stare blankly at him, repeating the thought in my head. He is not a neko. Then I look behind him. We arent in the cavern. We are in a neighborhood. The trees are a bright orange and red, and leaves scatter the sidewalk. It appears to be early fall. All the houses are white and blue. One, across the street, had a small german shepherd tied to a post, and one a few blocks down had a white fence around it. Each house has its own little difference. I look back at Tazune. The once six-year-old neko boy I was looking at only a moment ago, is now a teenage human. But I dont just see that, I see his expression has changed too. The way his smile bent, how his eyes angled in that one particular way. Its different now. Instead of a playful and fun kid expression, It is more familiar to a deeply shattered soul. It makes my heart ache. But theres something else. He looks strong willed, like hes prepared to fight for anything and anyone. Not only that but he also looks strikingly familiar. Like I had seen him from somewhere else during a different time aside from the one Im in now.Then we come to an intersection on the roads. Wait, that's not the right wording. This is a neighborhood, these are individual lanes.There has to be a better name for them. They should be called. Cross lanes.
CHAPTER 8: Wind and Grass
I gasp, the ghostly image of an older Tazune disappearing. I open my eyes, for some reason they were shut, and look around. Im in a field of grass, but I dont see Soroku or Tazune anywhere. The Field of Mirrors? Did I dream everything up? Tazune, Soroku. Was it all just a dream? I think. But even that doesn't sound true. Im no where close to home.
HELLOOOOOO! ANYONE THERE?! I yell out into the distance. Anyone!
Woah! Woah! What's with all the shouting! I see Soroku run up the side of the hill. Tazune lagging behind. The six-year-old Tazune. The Tazune I know best.
Sorry! Im so glad theyre alive. Im so disappointed Im alive. Soroku comes up to me and hugs me. I tense up. This feels. different from what I remember. I don't think he noticed though, because he just releases me and smiles.
If this were the Field of Mirrors, Id say you broke every one. I look at him blankly, still tense.
You mean. this isn't the field of mirrors? He laughs.
No. No its not. It's a kind of field meant to mimic it. Somewhere out here, something is mirroring our exact movements. He seems to be in an informative mood. Its kind of annoying.
Soroku, can we stay here for a while? Im gettin tired. Tazune says from behind. He slumps over, grabbing his brothers pants. I had completely forgotten about the time. It looks like it's about six or seven oclock. But I wouldnt know because Im not wearing a watch. I probably left it in another dimension.
Well, I guess so. But only because its getting late. Soroku says, lifting him by the collar. Since there isn't anything to sleep on, we just try t -
to get comfortable in the grass. Soroku comes to lay beside me, but I push him away. Sorry. I say. Soroku looks at me. He seemed hurt, but with Soroku its hard to tell. I dont really understand him well. He lays down and Tazune curls up against him. When I look at them, I get the feeling they have the strongest brother relationship Ive ever seen. But in retrospect I feel like Im disrupting that. Its an odd sensation. I close my eyes and watch Tazune and Soroku disappear into the back of my mind, listening to the sounds the night brings.
I wake up, but something doesnt seem right. Im on my bed, back home. The air is stale with the scent of my clothes, and my alarm clock is set wrong. But I get the heavy feeling I don't belong here. I get up and slip on my only pair of jeans and grab my jacket, then I walk over to the window and look outside. Leaves scatter the pavement, and cars rush through the streets. Early fall. I walk downstairs and see Titan. But that's all I see. Dads probably at work. I think to myself. I carefully step over Titan and walk over to the kitchen. Theres a note but I cant read it. All of this seems slightly off. Why is Titan indoors and why is dad writing in an odd language? Then I realize something. The writing isnt just odd, its backwards. It says, Dont worry about Titan, theres bacon on the table. I turn, a plate of bacon sitting on the table. I grab a piece and shove it in my mouth, then grab my jacket and blue plaid scarf go outside. Its cold out,so I grab my blue finger gloves too. I could have swore I was already wearing them. Its around sixty-five degrees. I look around with the feeling Im supposed to be looking for someone, but without enough clear focus to know where to look. Then I see a girl across the street, the hood of her jacket drawn over her face. Hey! I call out. The words echo in my head. I feel as though I havent spoken to anyone else in months. But why? I remember speaking to Dad yesterday several times, and even some of my friends earlier that day. I walk towards her, and she moves in sync with my steps towards me. As her features become more clear, I begin to remember. She wears a white jacket, a green scarf, green gloves, and white shoes. Her shirt is black, and her hair is a dull blond. Her jacket hood still drapes over her face. I move my hands up over my head, and she does too. Shes basically a video game avatar.I pretend to grasp the hood and pull it back, revealing her face. Like I sorta-not-really expected, its a Nekio replica. Or what I could call Oiken. Her eyes are a discolored yellow, and her facial expressions tell me that Im weirded out. And to be true I am. Then all the light memories I began having crash down on me with brute force. The Field of Mirrors, Soroku, Tazune, the Temple of the Hourglass, the Land of the Ice Colossus. Theyre back. I look back at my duplicate, still mimicking my expressions. Suddenly the new blade of bone I got materializes in my hand. It may not be the best time to do so, but I decided to name it the Reaper. Her blade emerges as well. It looks the same as mine, but instead of the Reaper, it's the Repaer. The Repayer. It suits her character. I run at her and she runs at me. Both of our blades in hand collide, sending an overwhelming recoil up my shoulderblades. The impact seems to affect Oiken too. I shake myself off and run at her again, but instead of using the Reaper, I use a high kick. She mimics my move again and both our shoes hit flat against each other. It seems a naturally approached attack won't be useful in this kind of situation. I stand in front of her. It seems she only attacks when I attack. She holds the Repayer with its bridge flat against the back of her leg the same way I do with the Reaper. I wonder. I thought, reaching my right hand out to her. We both grasp hands, so she isnt my reflection obviously.
Figure it out, did you? She says casually. She lightly cackles, and a light flashes from in between our grasped hands before I could say anything, and Im back in the Mimic Field. Soroku and Tazune arent here so that must mean that theyre still in.their, uh, vision field. Oiken is still in front of me, but she isnt grasping my hand anymore.
Youd be the first to figure out my little secret. The others that face me attack for ever and ever, never to escape a soulmatch. But since you have won, She lunges at me with the Repayer, and I dodge it quickly, the pain in my leg causing me to collapse. She looms over me. I have to kill you now. The Repayer comes crashing down, just barely striking my face. She struggles to pull it free, so I flail her with the Reaper, but none of my strikes land a hit. In fact, they just go right through her. I rip my shirt free and dive out of the way. She rips the Repayer out of the ground and surges towards me. I throw the Reaper up and slide under her. Catching it I counter attack her back. Still nothing. She tries to ram my arm, but I drop forward and she falls. I remember that I have a sword stance Ive been meaning to try out. I am the Reaper at her and look at her. The sword glows like a shadow, but doesnt send an attack at Oiken. I wave it and a stream of darkness follows it like a flag. I run at Oiken and slash at her with the Reaper. She screams as a stream of light rushes from her chest, but she doesnt fall.
Eh, heh, heh. Dont think this is the last of me. Theres still a part of me inside slowly destroying your friends. And when they die, Ill still be here and theres nothing you can do about it. She begins to fade, but I dont stand down there. I grab the Reaper and throw her off into the grass. She stops fading and I come at her again, giving her a final blow to the stomach.
Not so fast. Im not done yet, She puts the Repayer at her side and lifts her palm high in the air. Go free remnants! Destroy her! At that moment, a Mirror Serpent and a Mirror Colossus appear. The Mirror Colossus is made of fire and the Mirror Serpent is made of mud. Exact opposites of what they should be. As Oiken fades, Soroku and Tazune reappear. Both of them stare around blankly. Guys! Hey guys! Catch! I unsheath the Flame and toss it to Soroku, Then throw the Hourglass to Tazune. They look at each other slightly unsure of what's going on, but run over to me anyway.
What are THOSE!? Tazune yells.
Mirror monsters! I reply, running at the Mirror Serpent first.
I send the Reaper through its head, but it slides through it like I didnt even strike yet. I fall to the ground. The Mirror Serpent turns and lunges its jaws for my face. I quickly barrel roll out of the way and run off to the side. Its teeth get stuck in the grass and I send the Reaper through its right eye. It screeches and flips off to the side as shards from its aquamarine eyes fling to all sides. Its tail swings from underneath me, catching me off guard, and grasps me in its mouth. It wasnt until now that I realized my ribs are still broken. I yell in anguish. From a flash in the corner of my eye, I see Tazune run up and slash its other eye. It hisses and throws me down. I watch as it flails around as its body sinks into the earth. Now its back to being normal mud. Off to the right, Soroku is fending off the Mirror Colossus. I want to help, but I can't move. Then I realize he doesn't need it. The Mirror Colossus lunged for Soroku but he leaps out of the way. It falls to the ground. The Colossuss leg comes up from up over Soroku and knocks him down. Tazune runs over to help him. It gets back up and, instead of going for Soroku again, lunges for Tazune. I distract my body from pain and get up, running in front of him. The Colossus knocks me down with brute force. I look up as my vision begins to fail me. Tazune is fending off the Mirror Colossus on his own. I fall to the ground as the rest of my surroundings fade away. Dont die, just dont die. Youre okay. I repeat over and over in my head until I completely black out.
I wake. I am somewhere completely white. I look fo -
forward, and I see two girls. One is wearing a black shirt with a very large black jacket with four neon green arrows each on her sleeves and arround the shoulders and upper back. She has green eyes, her hair is black with neon green bangs and she wears black hand gloves. Her pants are black with a few chains coming down at the pockets and her shoes are black as well. the other wears a white shirt, has blue hand gloves, a hankerchief around her neck, and wearing a blue flannel vest. Her pants are light navy and her shoes are white. She also has a white tail. She has blue eyes and light blonde hair well. The one wearing the flannel vest smiles and looks at the other.
We dont get many visitors, do we?
Im afraid this one isnt here to stay. The one in black and green says.
Thats a shame.
Dont worry. Well see her again soon. It won't be too long.
Can we tell her?
I dont know. Will you listen? She is talking to me now.
I will. My voice cracks as I speak.
Strong spirited. I like that. She smirks. Long before you came here, there were others. Others like you. They shared a common purpose and destiny. There was thirteen of them. The first was a strong leader. He moved quick and moved around his enemies effortlessly. He was so proud of himself that he decided he could stand higher than the others, which, over time, lead to his ultimate downfall. Then there was the second brother. He knew the difference between right and wrong very well, and he was always quick to protect his brothers. But he slowly began to see more wrong in his brothers than right, giving him a cold heart. Knowing what he did, he left and was never seen again. The third learned how to do things right by watching and copying what the others did. Later, he began to use this skill of interpreting his brothers moves to beat them. The others found this skill horrifying and banished him. The others began to fall away like the others until none of them were left standing. except one.
Its time for you to leave. We have to go too. The one in the flannel vest says. I try to speak. I needed to know more. But my surroundings fade away again, and Im back in the field. My injuries, the pain, theyre gone.
Chapter 9: Stone and Crystal
I look up and see Soroku. There are charred marks all up his arm from where the Mirror Colossus struck him. I fell around the rim of my ribcage. There is no blood. I look back at Soroku. He seems more worried than he should be, but that's not as new as it could be from my standpoint. I look over to Tazune, who is bandaged up his shoulder and over his right eye.
What happened. Are you guys okay?
The Mirror Colossus struck down Tazune. It was distracted long enough for me to send the blade through its eyes. The real question is, are YOU okay. I looked at you and I couldnt find a scratch on you. What happened?
I was. well. I couldnt find accurate words to describe what I saw and heard. It was more like my mouth wasnt letting me speak them.
It doesnt matter. We have to get to dimension five. The time we have left is cut shorter than we think. I sit up and graze the side of his cheek with my hand.
Soroku, If I can handle my fate, I think I can handle my destiny.
Yeah, youve done an impressive job of showing it. He says sarcastically.
Ugh.you guys are so SLOW. Can one of you just find a mirror? Tazune says from behind us. I get up and walk over to him. For a little kid, he sure knows how to ignore his pain. He still grins as though we just met. I wonder how such a young and innocent boy could be faced with something so graphic, yet keep a straight face.I reach out my hand to him.Let's go. If what Soroku says is true, my life could be cut much shorter than I hoped. He takes my hand and we walk over the hill. On the other side, I see a mirror whose frame is made of stones and boulders. I let go of Tazunes hand and walk through the mirror. On the other side is a cave. Tazune and Soroku walk in after me. I graze the wall with my fingertips and when I look at them, there is small glass crystals on them. Small portals to other worlds, accessible yet unusable. I look over to my right, where a small glow blinds me. I walk towards it, maybe expecting it to be another mirror, but instead it is just the end of the cave. I walk outside, and see an gigantic forest covering the ground until it touches the horizon. Then I look up at the cave we were in. Instead of a flat cliff it is a large mountain that towers higher than the Stratosphere.
Um, guys, we have to run. Like, now. Tazune says from behind. I look behind us. A large behemoth sized monster towers over us. Black blood drips from its mouth. It is covered in brown and green fur and its eyes are white. It has a long tail with fur at the end, massive horns, and strong arms with long claws. Its back legs have paws. Is the spitting image of a wolf. Rather than attacking, it stands docile.
It doesnt appear to be hostile at all. I tell Tazune, who cowers behind me.
That still doesnt guarantee that it won't attack! The monster slowly steps towards me and Soroku jumps in front of it. I push Soroku to the side and walk towards it slowly. It growls and I stop. It begins to walk closer to me and stops a foot in front of me. I uneasily reach my hand out to its face, and it presses into my hand. Its fur is soft and warm. It isnt a threat. I drop my hand and step away from it.
Come on guys. This one isnt an ordinary dimension monster. It isnt going to kill us. As we walk away, I turn my head. Its following us. I walk over to it and run my hand along the side of its mane. What do you want? For me to ride you or something? I feel around the ridge of its right arm, which is rough and bare. It doesnt seem that it has any other specified purpose. It lays on the ground, urging me to mount it. I lift my left leg over it and grab its fur for balance. Its like a horse. Nothing to worry about. I think to myself. It rises, but nothing more. Its waiting to be guided I pat its side and it walks forward, its steps thundering underneath it. I reach for Sorokus hand and help him up behind me, and he lifts up Tazune.
Are you sure about this? Soroku asks.
Im sure that it won't kill us, but thats as sure as it gets. I tell him. As it walks, I can only look arround wonder where its taking us. The trees have bark the color of gold and leaves in all different shades of crimson. The beast's massive claws throw up the dirt on the ground leaving a long trail. Soroku grabs my waist to steady himself.
If you need to, we can trade places. Its looking for a place to dig.
To dig?
The temple is underground.
No thanks. Ill stay in the front.
It thrusts itself downhill to the outer rim of the forest. There is an open field in front of us, full of tall gold-brown grass. The beast flattens out the grass in front of it and begins digging.
This is it. I say.
Yeah. Dimension Four. Soroku says.
I guess that means were halfway there then.
The ground caves in and the monster falls in. Another cave. It shakes itself off and stands taller. Crystals of green and blue reach out from the ceiling and I pull one out from the wall. The crystal is almost completely translucent, like it was diamond. I shove it in my pocket as the monster walks forward, making a large scraping sound with its claws like forks on a plate. The air is still and thin, so we must be getting farther. We make our way into a much larger room with gigantic crystals on the ceiling. We were about to make our way over to the other tunnel when the crystals start crashing down. Tazune yells. The beast quickly runs over to the other tunnel as the crystal shards stab at its legs.
What was that!? I shout when we get to the other side.
Crystal bad. Crystal kill. The voice was not Sorokus or Tazunes, it was the beasts.
Y-you can talk!? I ask it.
Kill crystal! It kill too! I could hardly understand it with the blood in its mouth drowning out what it was saying. It begins shaking nervously. I -
It here! Kill it! KILL IT! It shouts.
Whats here? Kill what? Just then the crystal in my pocket glows vigorously. I yell and throw it out. It grows bigger and new limbs on it forms. Its some sort of crystal man. It reaches out with a jagged arm, probably trying to attack, but the beast jumps on top of it and smashes it to pieces.
Y-you mean the crystal that was in my pocket was alive? I ask.
Yes. It kill. It alive. But it human made into monster.
Its a human? Soroku asks. I keep forgetting I have two others with me.
Yes. It lost, so it monster.
Since when can you talk? And arent you a monster too? Do you have a name? I ask repeatedly.
To many questions. Name is Murlough.
M-Murlough? Is it really you? Tazune asks, hopefully for some reason.
We used to have a dog named Murlough that came with us through our first mirror. Tazune found him and named him. He ran away one day and never came back. Soroku tells me. I turn and see tears running down Tazunes face.
Murlough! Where have you been! He yells.
I lost. I becoming monster. To late. I help for as long as can.
Well save you Murlough! Just hold on buddy! Thats where the conversation ended. Murlough just continued through the tunnel without a word. When we reached the end, the tunnel opened to the base of the cave. It was completely filled to the brim with thick greyish crystal. I know that its a monster and it was going to attack at any moment, but I didnt know what to do after that. I keep Murlough steadied for when the crystal attacks, but it never does. I move Murlough forward and the crystal moves slightly. It must respond to movement. I think to myself. I move Murlough again, but more slowly, hoping we could maybe maneuver around it and strike its weak spot before it has a chance to attack, but the crystal moves all at once, forming into a glassy wolf with amethyst eyes. It growls at us and I move Murlough back.
What do we do? I ask Tazune, who is usually the best in these kind of situations.
...Just attack it. Maybe you could just break it. Just then, as if by Tazunes word, Murlough piles on top of the wolf. First there is the sound of fracturing crystal, and then a moan. The wolf had sent large crystal claws through Murlough, then he was thrown aside, along with us. Murlough gets up and we fall off him. I try to get onto him but he brushes me off.
I fight. This Murlough purpose. No help. Murlough turns and runs toward the wolf once more.
Murlough! NO! Tazune shouted. Murlough strikes the wolf with a mighty blow from his left horn. Its shoulder shatters, but almost instantly is replaced with more crystal. Murlough runs at it again and slashes at it with a claw, breaking his left amethyst eye. It doesnt regenerate. The wolf lunges at Murlough and bites into his shoulder. He throws it off himself, but limps slightly from the damage. Murlough lunges at the wolf again, but this time the wolf sends a large crystal blade through Murlough throat. Its a blow to strong to walk away from. Murlough falls.
MURLOUGH! Just then Tazune snapped. He gets up and literally rips the Reaper from my belt, then he runs at the wolf. The wolf send a blade out towards Tazunes throat but he dodges it and, instead of taking a clean shot at the wolf's right eye, he sends it through its shoulder. It howls. He hits it into the ground and continues striking at it even as the crystal regenerates.
THATS RIGHT b------! SUFFER! He yells. I got up and took the Reaper from him. He pulls back aggressively, but Im stronger than him so it wasnt hard to get it out of his hands. While the wolf was still on the ground, I send the Reaper through its eye and kill it. Tazune shifts over to Murlough still body and lifts his head.
Boy, I help. But you finish battle for me. Now it my end. Goodbye. The light that was left leaves Murlough eyes and Tazune drops to the ground, weeping. I walk over to him and stroke his left ear.
Tazune I ty to speak, but I dont know what to say. Pure silence enters the room along with the spirit of death and the steady sound of crystal dust sliding across the floor.
Chapter 10: Trees and Flowers
We all walk out of the cave, Tazune still silent as ever. I wouldnt blame him. I know the feeling of losing a pet. Come to think of It, I had completely forgotten about Storm. I hope that wherever he is, that hell come home. The air is warm and crisp. We didnt come out from the way that Murlough dug up, it was another way. One that was coming out at a lower elevation in the middle of the forest where the leaves on the maple trees where pure green. Light streams through the leaves and onto my face. Its been a long time since Ive seen the sun. I look at Soroku, and he looks back at me. He smiles weakly.
Even though it wasnt my dog that died, I can feel Tazunes pain. Just one of the many gifts my mother gave me. Even as pain sticks deep in us, I can still heal the wounds.
...Why dont we find somewhere to rest. I suggest.
Okay. Soroku says. I grab both Tazunes and Sorokus hands and walk them along side me like they were my best friends. They really are aside from the fact that theyre my only friends. The grass shifts peacefully underneath my shoes, a much more welcoming sound than crystal and bones being broken apart. We come to an open area in the woods. Its full of dandelions and honeysuckle, leaving a sweet scent in the air. I can also smell something else too. Its a little bit like lavender Tazune lets go of my hand and looks up. A strange glint appears in his eyes.
Tazune?
That smell. Its making me feel weird. He says.
The lavender? Soroku pulls on my hand and takes me over to the cliffside.
Well be back Tazune. He says from behind.
Its best we watch him from a distance. He tells me.
Huh? Why?
Lets just say, Tazune is a bit more sensitive to his environment than us.
I didnt know exactly what Soroku meant, but we both sat down and watched him carefully. He lies down in the grass, picking at the dandelions, when a girl about his age suddenly tries to creep up on him. She has very light blond hair, pale skin, and wears a white hooded T-shirt. Her eyes are a sunny yellow. She isnt a neko though. She does have a tail, but its twice as long as a normal nekos and pure white, like the one of the girls who saved me. She doesnt have cat ears, but rather pointy elf like human ears. I try to say something to Tazune from a distance but Soroku covers my mouth.
What is she? I ask Soroku, removing his hand from my mouth.
Unlike the three of us, that girl actually lives in this dimension. Shes a type of IDL like yourself.
The girl sits down next to Tazune and gently taps his shoulder.
Hey. She says.
Tazune jolts, quickly turning his head, but goes back to being docile when he sees her face to face. what? He says back.
You gotta name?
Im Tazune. He says. And you? -
Leo. She reaches out her left hand and feels his ears.
Gah! S-stop that! Tazune blushes, getting flustered.
Zero was right. She feels his tail. Tazune pulls it away from her. You people are exactly like cats. Tazune tries to respond, but Leo speaks over him. I wonder what she would say if I took you home. I wasnt about to let her drag away Tazune so I try to stand, but a hand is placed on my shoulder. I immediately thought it was Soroku again, but it wasnt. Instead it was another girl that looked like Leo. She was taller than me and her hair was pure white and down to her hips. Her eyes were violet and she wore a white shirt, and her arms were completely bandaged except for her fingers.
Where do you think your going? She said, expressionless.
She cant take Tazune.
I dont plan to let her. Shes only playing with him anyway.
And who are you supposed to be?
Zero Lightshadow. I was surprised to have found the name familiar.
Is there a reason why youre in dimension five again? She was looking at Soroku bitterly. Soroku turns his head away from her, as if he was embarrassed, and responds, Im here because I have to be not because I want to be. I was confused. It seemed as though they both had some sort of hatred for each other. I stand, pulling Zeros hand off of my shoulder, and look over at Tazune. Him and Leo were playing tag I thought. They were okay.
Hey. Zero asks. You never told me your name. She seemed to be kinder to me than she was to Soroku.
Im Nekio Echo. I tell her.
...Echo. Sounds cool. Oh, and She leans in and whispers in my ear, I think you should see Thirteen.
Thirteen? Whos Thirteen?
He usually goes by Dreizehn. She smiles. A lonely friend of mine. Someone Im hoping might recognize you. He would be happy to see you.
Dreizehn?
Yeah. I'll take you to him. Hes not to far from here. Zero grabs my hand and notions to Soroku to get up. We walk over to the field Tazune and Leo were playing and call them over, then we are led through the woods again. We come back out into a field of golden tall grass much like the field Murlough dug through, and just across is an abandoned church. The stone walls were a dull gray and slightly cracked, but the brightness of the stain glass windows brought out the beauty in it. Zero pulls me forward to the door, but signals to Soroku to stay where hes at. Soroku gives me a look of disapproval, but I only shrug in response. Tazune and Leo stay with him. When we get to the door, Zero pulls back.
Where are you going? I ask, confused.
Just knock on the door. You talk to Dreizehn first, then Ill come back. Everything about this was confusing me. I look back at Zero who had already turned her back and left through the grass, then I look at the door. The wood on it was a charred brown, like something had burnt it. I knock hard on the door. The sound echos over the grass. It takes a moment before The doorknob turns and I brace myself for whoever opens it. The door slowly opens and a tall boy looks down on me. His hair is white and straight, hanging over his shoulders, and his eyes are a light indigo color. He wears an old white shirt and darkly colored jeans. He pulls the MP3 earplugs out of his ears and looks at me.
...You okay? You need something? He asks paying no attention to me having deep thought.
No, not really. I say, my voice cracking slightly.
Would you like to come in? He says, motioning inside like a butler.
What? His question throws me off though.
Well, I dont want to leave you out here alone, and I havent gotten any visitors lately. He notions to the empty church again, where I could also see that there was a grand piano at the end.
Um Well. I say, and for some reason I walk in absent minded. He smiles at me.
So what brings you here?
It takes me a moment to respond. At the moment I don't really know. I feel like I recognize this place though. He puts his right hand through his hair, as if he doesnt know what I mean.
Youre welcome to stay here with me for a while. At Least until you figure things out. He tells me as I move my left hand over one of the stain glass windows.
Im not sure. I start, a little unsure of myself.
Zero probably sent you here. She thinks Im lonely because I dont get many visitors. But to be honest, I just like the quiet. He says, putting the earplugs in his pocket. But youre not like the others she sent thankfully. You actually look really familiar. I didnt know what he was getting at, but Ill try to say something simple. So who are you?
Nekio Echo. He smiles at me.
Yes. I remember now. Thank you. He looks at me with a half smile, but under his eyes he looked like he might come at me. I step back outside, unsure of what exactly is going on, and see Zero and the others come up to the church. Dreizehn follows close behind.
Hes been living in that church for a year now. Zero tells me.
Really? Oh. Soroku pulls me behind him.
Nekio, who is this? He asks more to Dreizehn than to me.
Dreizehn Kaiga. He tells him.
Nekio- He starts, sounding protective and fairly annoyed.
Hes just a friend. I push past him, not intending to be rude.
...You already know him?
Well, not really. But he doesnt mean harm. I smile at Dreizehn and he smiles back.
Dreizehns looks as of now may look fairly deceiving, but I assure you he is not a human. Zero tells me. Dreizehn steps farther outside and, to my amazement, two large white-feathered wings stick out from his back. They shimmer in the light as though they are frequently washed.
Dreizehns a.
Somewhat an angel, yes. Dreizehn comes from Dimension Twenty-seven. Its an arctic dimension of ice and snow. I went there once, but he was the only one there, so I went ahead and brought him here.
But why does he have wings?
I dont know. It must be some sort of adaptation he has. Just as Zero spoke, something white cascades down from the sky. Possibly a large bird, but as it spreads its wings open wide coming down, I think otherwise. It is a large white dragon. As it lands, two people climb off of it. The same two girls I believe might have saved my life. Luxien. Youre back.
Yep. Had to go fight a grass lion. Luxien says, straightening her jacket and resting her halberd in the grass. Its black with four green arrows coming out farther than the blade just like the ones on her jacket. Raine helped me hold it down so I could take it out.
It tried to eat my bow. Raine says, tinkering with the silver bow on her back.
Luxien, Raine, this is Nekio. Zero says.
Oh hey, its the girl from before. Looks like you arent dead after all. Luxien says.
Wow. I thought we wouldnt see you again. You did get torn apart by three dimension beasts. Raine says.
Nekios still as selfless as ever. Soroku says.
I wouldnt doubt it. She more different than she was before. Raine says.
I don't know Raine, shes starting to act like her old self to me. Luxien says, talking about me in the past pretence. What Im actually misunderstanding is what she means by my old self. I havent changed in the slightest. I dont think.
Hmph. She still has a lot to remember before that happens.
What exactly is it Im missing here? I ask.
Oh. Our bad. Zero hasnt said anythin to you yet has she. Dont worry about it. Luxien says apologetically.
It looks like its gonna rain soon. Soroku says.
Thats why we should get inside. Dreizehn adds, glaring at Soroku. We gather into the church. Zero and the others lay their weapons up against the left wall, and I lay my swords up against the right. -
Chapter 11: Rethinking
Soon the winds had greatly picked up, so you could hear the rain rapidly hitting the church like bullets hitting steel. The rain had also managed to seep through the nine foot wide hole in the ceiling, collecting in a big puddle near the windows. We all sat on the steps together in a row at the front of the church which happened to have the most wind and rain resistance. Raine sat next to Luxien and Zero sat next to Leo. Soroku and Dreizehn sat next to me. Soroku on the left and Dreizehn on the right. Tazune sat next to Leo instead of Soroku, telling me that he feels the same impending destruction about to happen on both sides of me like I do.
Why dont you go sit next to your brother, Soroku. Dreizehn says in the least rude way.
Why dont you? Soroku barks back.
Because I have to ask her something important.
Tell her in front of me then. Its not a big deal.
I would if it weren't personal. Soroku grunts angrily, stands up quickly, goes over and sits next to Tazune. Nekio, do you recognize me at all? I look closely at him. His hair glows silver under the light produced by the storm clouds, and his eyes reflect back a bright indigo like before. His skin is a light pale color as well, which I didnt quite catch before, but other than that, I dont think I recognize him at all.
No. I dont think so. Dreizehn turns his head back forward again. His eyebrows are bent sadly, but he still smiles lightly.
Its nothing Zero cant help you remember. After all, she knows you best. Zero stands up right after he says that.
Thats right. I almost forgot. Zero comes over and sits where Soroku was less than five minutes ago. I have to ask you some things.
Ok then. I say.
Whats your birth state?
Silverville, Ohio.
Your full name?
Nicole Jamie Echo.
Your best friend? She asks in a more shallow tone.
Soroku. It wasnt my best option, but it was either that or Storm.
Would you rather kill all of us and get magically transported home, or lose all chances of getting home for the safety of our well being. The question was horrifically worded and left a chill in my body, but Zeros expression tells me that I still have to answer. Everyone down the row was giving me a dark stare waiting for my answer.
I would rather lose all chances if it meant still having all of you alive as my friends. They all sighed in relief.
What is your weapon of choice?
A katana, mabe.
Do you know where you are?
An abandoned church in dimension five.
Only one more question. Exactly who do you think Dreizehn is? I think hard on the question, but so far I havent gotten the slightest idea. I just cant bring my mind to remember who he is, or if I ever really knew him.
I-I dont know. I just cant remember. I say. Dreizehn lowers his head slightly, as if I insulted him.
I can tell you now that you failed most of the test. You did get part of your name right though and your birth state. Question four was just a test of true character, which isnt counted.
I failed? What does that mean?
It means Im going to tell you the right answers now. Since I can tell you dont remember anything. I sit forward ears open. Question one was right, so Ill move on. Your middle name is not Jamie, its Light, which isnt really a drastic change for you Im guessing. Your best friend is not that stray cat over there, its falcon boy. Are you keeping up?
Im doing well with it.
Your weapon of choice is not a katana like mine, but rather a silver knights sword. You are not only in an abandoned church in dimension five. You are also in the place where you first met Dreizehn and us and had your first sword fight against another human, before he had his wings. Zero had stopped before answering one of the most important questions I had. About Dreizehns identity to me.
Zero, you forgot the last question. I tell her as she stands.
Thats for Dreizehn only to answer. She says blankly. I feel rude saying this but why the heck is this girl telling me who I am when I know darn well who I am. I think. Dreizehn stands up, flattens his shirt, then turns to me with a heavy sigh.
I was honestly thinking Zero was going to tell you, but I guess I have to be the guy to tell you. Since I am that guy. Dreizehn says. He was flustered when he said it and his face was slightly more worried than embarrassed. Zero smiles in apology at him, then starts shoving everyone outside one by one, first Soroku, who was obviously highly against me being left in here alone with Dreizehn, then the rest of them. It had stopped raining hard and the winds had calmed, but it was still sprinkling lightly outside. The dew cling strongly on the stain glass, and the light shining on the windows made the room gleam like a rainbow sunset. Dreizehn brushes his sleeves off as he walks over to the piano. He opens the top of the piano and pulls out two swords, both seemingly very old and almost never used. He walks back over to me and hands me a very lightly colored knight sword, the kind Zero said I liked using best. The blades handle has two small angel wings pointing outward on it and in the upper center of the blade, a blue diamond shaped crystal. The sword he holds has the same design as mine but the crystal on his is a lighter color blue. Dreizehn takes off his jacket.
This will be your first lesson. He says, aiming the blade at me just a foot away from my face.
Chapter 12: Titanium
I slash his blade away from me and double back as a thick harmonious clang runs clear through the air. He comes at me with his blade outward and I move aside to dodge it, sliding over the piano. I come up from behind him to attack, but as my blade comes down he opens his massive wings sending a large wind gust over me making me fall backwards, silvery feathers that have been shed clinging lightly to my jacket. He uses this to his advantage and brings the blade crashing down towards my face. I move my head aside and the blade cuts of part of my bangs, just barely missing my face by an inch. I roll over and and jump back to my feet, but he corners me against the stain glass. I dash towards him as hes coming at me and dive under his left wing. I grab onto his shirt collar and throw him aside. He loses his balance and falls hard onto the stone floor. I firmly ram him in the chest. He attempts to stand up but he falls back down and doesnt get up again. Concerned, but still wary, I carefully walk over and kneel down to look at him, checking for the usual vital signs. Hes still breathing, but I think I knocked him out. I carefully move my right hand over his throat to make sure his hearts beating too. Its steady, which seems abnormal considering how hard we fought. I pull my hand back to my side. Zero says weve sword fought before, but if thats true I would have expected him to win, not me. Especially with these wings of his. I look at his sword more closely. His initials DK are carved into the bottom. I look under the handle of mine and see the letters NLE. Nekio Light Echo Im guessing. I slowly slide Dreizehns sword out of his hand, then I stand up with the one that appears to be mine and head over to the piano to put them back while hes sleeping. Or maybe he has a concussion. Or hes in a coma, but Im not going to go through all the possibilities. I slide the piano cover back open and push the swords underneath the strings. I walk back over to Dreizehn and lift him up by his masculine shoulders and drag him up beside the piano, his ankles hitting the stairs when I put him against the wall. I look down on him as I stand. His shirt is mangled and his sleeves slightly torn. Not by me, but by something larger. Maybe a tree. His pants are large and loosely held together by a blue-gray belt. The only part of him that made him look less like a homeless boy were his white and gray tennis shoes. I avert my gaze over to the piano. Its large black key cover standing out the most on it. I havent played in around four years, but I still remember how to read the mu -
music and play the songs. I sit on the pianos vaguely cushioned stool and open the cover. Almost immediately, hundreds of papers come spilling out over me. I pull them all back together, not necessarily arranged in the order they were in but close enough. Just as I put them up over the piano, a book thuds over my ankle. I reach down and pick it up. Written in large writing over the book's front cover are the words Dreizehns Journal. Knowing that this must be his personal journal, as in I shouldnt read it, I put it next to the stack of papers. I pick up the papers, knowing that they must not be personal since they werent in his journal, and skim through the writing. Most of it was just jotted notes about the weather and a few newspapers, but there are a few papers with poetry written on them. One in particular has caught my attention. It was titled, If I Waited One-thousand Days Without you. The paper is wrinkled and tinged yellow, but other than that it was well preserved. The writing was cursive-like and written in the most intriguing way possible, like the person who wrote it took ample care in making it look the best it could be. I read it silently to myself.
One thousand days without you,
All have been like hell.
I let you go alone,
That didnt turn out well.
I waited several weeks,
I did not say good bye.
I waited several months,
I never asked you why.
I should have been here for you,
But I wasnt there.
I regret every moment,
I did not care.
The poem was written in such a depressed and dark tone that I had almost shed a tear. But Im stronger than that. I dont cry at the first sight of something sad. On the back side was Dreizehns signature and a date labeling that it was written approximately two years ago. I lay the poem back down on the stack of papers and look down at Dreizehn. He looks serene, but the delicate furrow in his eyebrow make clear the hurt he has witnessed. Its clear he wrote that for me, but I still have no recollection of who he is, or why he cares about me. I kneel down and skim my fingers over his throat without thinking. Even with his size and strength, he still has this sort of fragile and caring look to him, as if he couldnt kill an ant even if he really wanted to. I flinch as I see his hand rise to mine. His eyes steadily open, as if what little time he was out he was in a deep sleep, and stare into mine. Up close, his eye color is more vivid and defined. The unchanging color of bright indigo, clouded by drowsiness. His hand moves from mine and slides behind my neck, feeling at my soft skin. Im sorry. I say instinctively. That I left you here.
Dont be. I got mad at you. Im the one who should be sorry.
Who are you Dreizehn?
Still clueless? I nod, hanging my head low.
I want to remember. To understand. Just tell me.
We- He pauses. We fought just the day before you disappeared. It was about the dimension beasts. You wanted to go to the Endlands on your own, and I disagreed.
That explains the argument, but the question was who are you?
I can't tell you.
Why Why not? The heat coming from him was making me unexpectedly drowsy.
You wouldnt understand if I just told you. He gently pulls me into his chest so that my head rests up against his heart. Im too weak to resist, and too weak to understand. Sleep. His words were like a calm ocean breeze pulling me in. I couldn't help it. The warmth of his body gently pulls me under, and before I had realized it, I had fallen asleep.
I walk up to an abandoned church. This is the first time I had ever seen a human made structure in so long. Everything else was either a cave or a crevice in the earth. I walk inside. A boy not much older than me sits at a piano in the back corner. He is tall and handsome. Much like my brother Soren. Hes playing a song I recognize, one that I often played myself in my free time. Cannon. I ask him where he learned the song. He stares blankly at me at first from a distance, but then he stands to get a better look at me. He smiles. A friend.
For weeks I have accompanied this boy. Not once has he made clear his name. Just a smile when he is asked. He has showed me the songs written by him along with others that have already existed. He showed me how to play the songs he wrote. They were amazing. He rarely talked to me at all, but we spoke to each other in a way where words were not needed.
The boy finally spoke. His name is Dreizehn Kaiga. He comes from Dimension Twenty-Seven. The arctic and mountainous region. He apologized to me for his silence. I tell him not to be. It was actually really fun to try understanding his expressions. He laughs in such a way that brings me a step closer. I want to know more about him.
Ive had more fun since hes spoken to me. We talk about the stupidest and most fascinating things. Like why there are only so many people who can go to different dimensions by mirrors. And if the sky we see is the same in every world. He showed me his journal and all the poems hes written about me since the first time we met. Hes more than my friend.
I wake up, but not enough to open my eyes. Just enough so that Im self aware of where Im at. The memories echo clear. I still dont fully understand, but I know how important Dreizehn is to me now. slide off of him, too drowsy to stand, and roll over onto the floor next to him. Dreizen is my best friend, but not only that. He is the closest one I have. -
Chapter 13: Shards of Remembrance
Soroku along with Zero and the others walk in and move over to me. Soroku looks at me, then at Dreizehn drowsy figure on the ground next to me.
So she has some of her memories back? He asks looking over at Zero.
Just enough to know who Dreizehn is. Nothing about us or the others though.
Thats just great. I stand up, a little off balance and look at Zero.
What do you know about Soren? I ask, my voice cracked and soundless.
Soren Echo?
If thats his name, yes.
Soren is your brother.
I know that. Im asking why he isnt with you guys.
Soren He didnt make it. Raine says, lowering her head.
Why? What happened to him? I ask with little remorse.
The Dimension Delta. He was on his way to the Endlands of Maltora and he got sucked into It. We have no Idea where he is or if he is even alive.
And you haven't tried to cross through the Dimension Delta?
Are you crazy? Luxien says.
We dont know where it is and we dont know if its safe to cross through it or not. Raine says, giving an apologetic smile for Luxien.
The Dimension Delta is a dangerously unstable rift between worlds. Soren could very well be floating throughout it in a thousand subatomic particles. Zero said in an a matter-of-fact tone.
Wait if the Dimension Delta is somewhere in the Endlands of Maltora, doesnt that mean we could get sucked into it too? I ask.
She makes a good point Zero can we get sucked in? Luxien asks, pulling back her
It is possible. Zero says, tilting her head lightly and looking at the broken glass.
Oh well thats just GREAT Zero. I guess we should go right ahead to the Endlands. Sounds PERFECTLY safe. I mean, theres only a ninety-nine percent chance we might ALL end up like subatomic particles but OK. Luxien says, throwing her hands around in a sarcastic rage.
Calm down Luxien. Theres no need to put up a fight. Why do we even have to go to the Endlands everyone? I mean look at this place. Its so beautiful and there's so many different dimensions to discover. There might even be more people we havent found yet. Why leave? Rain asks.
We all have a lot of people at home that need us to depend upon, right? Dont you think we should be there for them? Leo says.
Well, I dont exactly have a family. You guys are the only family and friends I have.
Me too. Luxien said, her rage slightly calming and her armored arm being strung over Raine.
I have family, but they dont really get involved with me or my life. It would be the same either way if I never came back or if I did. Zero said.
We dont have friends, but our family really cares about us. Tazune says, grasping Sorokus sleeve while he continues to ignore everyone and shoot eye daggers at Dreizehn.
We are family too. If we go home, well be separated. Do you guys really want that? I say, neglecting the fact I have a dad at home.
Dont you guys remember? If we never go back, the world will still continue spinning as if we never left. Its as if we never existed here to begin with. LIke another half of us is living our life for us. Leo says.
I see its like having a twin.
Exactly. While were living our lives in here for the time being, another copy of us is living our life outside of the dimension the way we would.
How do you guys know all of this?
Before you where Nekio Jamie Echo, you where Nekio Light Echo. You wrote an entire book on your study of the dimensions and that was one of the things you wrote. Zero says.
Theres only one question thats pressing me right now.
What?
If I lived a life in this dimension before, then how old was I?
The same age you are now.
But that cant be possible. I have literally no memory of this place except for Dreizehn, and youre telling me that I existed at this age and wrote an entire book and met all of you people and made it all the way to this dimension?
You never actually made it through the Endlands of Maltora or killed the Endlander. Raine witnessed you fall through a rift in midair after tripping off a platform. She said she looked for you down below, but that she couldnt find you or even a trace indicating where you fell. Just that you vanished.
What was Raine doing there?
She was hunting Stone Wolves far below on the ground. Its what she does here. She collects the shattered eye jewel fragments of the dimension beasts she kills and makes things out of them.
Really? Like what? I was getting off subject but Im curious.
Well, things like this. Raine says, pulling a glass ball out of her pocket that was no bigger than the size of a penny. Inside it where sparkling light turquoise fragments. This is one of the balls I still have from that day. Do you want to see what it does? She asks, expecting a yes.
Sure I say. She directs me and the others outside, Dreizehn still left inside asleep. We line up against the left side of the church in the shade and Raine moves away out into the light, around three meters away from us.
This little marble Im holding is one of my easiest to use long range weapons. Since theyre made from the jewel fragments of a Dimension Beast's eyes, they have the same elemental effect of the Dimension Beast, such as fire, ice, wind, water, metal etcetera. They are super powerful and fragile. Watch this. Raine draws her left arm back with the glass marble delicately in hand, then throws it several feet away. The ball shatters, sending a massive gust of wind all around the field, flattening us all against the wall. Raine lifts herself off the wall and pulls several other crystal marbles from her pocket. I could give you a few since they could come in handy, but I can olnly give you wind and fire ones cause Im getting low. But I fight grass lions all the time so I rarely worry about running out of the wind kind. She smiles and gives me ten wind marbles and five fire. Just watch out when using the fire kind. They have a massive destruction range.
Uh thanks. I put them in my pocket, carefull not to break them. It wouldnt be cool if I just spontaneously combusted infront of everyone. I looked up at the sky as water begins to sprinkle and cling to my skin. The wind proceeds to pick up again, making the grass swish violently like a sea of green and tan. Its definitely going to rain again, so I start heading back to the front of the church, but just as Im about to open the door and let the rest in in front of me, a large roar and a gigantic streak of lightning runs through the clouds. I dont think much of it, but when I actually decide to look up, It wasnt lightning at all. -
Chapter 14: Thunder and Lightning
A large, long dragon falls from the clouds, its large metal bone-like structure heading right for us. Out of the way! I shout. Dreizehn grabs Leo and Tazune and flies for the trees and Zero and Luxien run to the side just as the large beast slams into the ground teeth-first into the grass. Soroku and Raine are behind me. Raine has three arrows with blue ice crystals fixed into the tips already knocked into her bow to fire off at it, and Soroku has his arm arround me with his ears drawn back and the Flame in his hand. The dragon stands and shakes the dirt from his teeth with its amethyst eyes glowing bright, then roars in my direction with every metal spine on its back standing. It thrashes its whiplike tail on the ground and stands on its hindlegs with metal wings wide and roars oncemore towards the sky this time, echoing like thunder and making the ground under me shake. Raine lets loose the silver elemental arrows into its underbelly and they explode, ice crystals flying everwhere like daggers into the ground. There was no efect.
Ive seen one of its kind before! Its a metal dragon from Maltora! The only way to kill it is to make it kill itself! Luxien yells from behind its tail.
How the heck am I supposed to do that!? I yell back.
Its made of metal, so it uses lightning! When it gets struck, its not affected, but if you can hit it with alot of metal at the right moment, it should explode!
You want it to explode!? Are you insane!?
Just a tad! She winks and slams into its tail with her halberd. It bounces off and the dragon whips her asside. She hits the side of the church, and after all that, she stands without the slitest hint of pain, but her head is bleeding and the backside of her jacket where she was hit is violently torn. The dragon looks in her direction and yells a thunderous soundwave at her. She stumbles, but doesnt fall. She mock yells back at it. It slowly opens its wings as a large cloud forms in a spiral above it. A large streak of purple lightning shoots through it and its entire body lights up like a violet storm of destruction. Luxien sees this and jumps in the air imediately, slamming her halberd into its face, breaking one of its metal horns and leaving a large charred scratch in its face. It stumbles back. See!? Its easy! Just make sure if you attack it like this you dont hit him where the lightning on its body is surrounded! If you want to reach his face, the best way is to weaken him so he falls or get him to face your dierction! Just watch out if you do it the second way cause he has a lightning cannon in his throat! After saying that, the dragon imediately jumps into the sky, opening its menacing spiked wings and flying violently into the air and into the clouds above. It yells its ground shaking roar to us below and flies away. Shortly after that, the clouds clear away along with the rain. Luxien wipes the blood out of her eyes and looks up. Oops. I scared it away. No fair! What a wimp! She yells at the sky. She didnt even flinch, or even fall for that matter. She stood her ground and slammed it directly in the face! After mocking it of all things! Shes one intimidationg fighter for a teen. Yo Nekio. Whatre you looking at. She sees me staring and flips her halberd onto her back.
You just slammed a dragon over six times youre height in the face!
So?
So, how in the world did you get so brave!
Heh. Ive fought and seen worse. Wait till you meet the rest of the Maltorian beasts. This guyll seem like a runt. She laughs.
Youve been to Maltora?
Yeah, the place is beautiful. The only downside is thatits the ultimate spawning point for dimension beasts. First youll see the usual grass lions and crystal wolves, but then it will go from that to biger beasts like ice tyranosaurs and sand serpents, after those big guys youll be dealing with the legendaries that only exist in maltora, like that lighting dragon.
I see So what other legendaries do you know of?
Well Ive only seen two others. Theres the armored fire giant and the wind phoenix. Those two are killer in my opinion. Theres more legendaries than that though, but none that Ive seen yet. I couldnt make it past the giant. Zero was able to get me out of there.
Just how far is it in order to make it to the Endlander though?
Well, its quite a ways. The great thing to know about Maltora is that because it floats in the sky and the pathways that you walk on are spaced out, you can see the end, but I have to tell you, the second you get through the mirror over there, the most you can see of the Endlanders castle is a black dot. I barely got halfway.
Well, I know that thats the way out of here, and that killing the Endlander stops the Dimension Beasts from spawning, but I dont plan to leave after I kill it.
Really? How come? Soroku asks from behind me. Dont you miss your dad?
Well yeah, but I also know that Soren is out there, and even if I dont know my brother, he means as much to me as Tazune means to you.
Fine then. So the plan is we go to Maltora, kill the Endlander to stop the dimension beasts from being created anymore, and then we find the dimension delta?
Correct.
Youre plan is unlikely to work. I doubt you could save Soren without getting stuck in there yourself, and then all this work you spent trying to kill the Endlander and stop the dimension beasts will have been pointless. Zero says.
It doesnt kill to try.
In this case, trying would kill you. She glares at me.
Im going anyway.
Still selfless as ever. Drez says, flying from the tree to me with Leo and Tazune in both arms, then sets them down.
No fun. I wanted to fight too Taz whines.
Youll get a chance. I say to him.
Well if youre going to the Dimension Delta after Maltora, Im coming too. -
This one physically hurts me, in a way that I haven't been hurt in a long time. Lets just f---ing do it.
1. Fix your summary. Use a spell checker. Hell, use a spell checker for the whole thing, because there are dozens of amateur misspellings in this thing that are usually caught, even before you proof read it. How are there still people who don't have a spell checker? IT'S BUILT INTO EVERY WEB BROWSER! WHAT COULD YOUR EXCUSE POSSIBLY BE?
2. Proofread your s---. You know what that means? It means read your s--- after you finish writing it to make sure you didn't actually write 'the' twice or misplaced a comma. And if your story is so terrible that you can't proof read it, why are you expecting other people to read it?
3. It's spelled acquired. You would know this if you HAD A SPELL CHECKER!.
4. Mmm, the pain is fresh. Here's something you should have learnt in second grade English, but didn't because your school system is s--- and you've never even touched a book before. When someone is speaking, you need to give them quotation marks. These little things ("). These designate when someone starts and stops speaking, they're very important. Learn to use them.
5. While we're on punctuation, this is an apostrophe ('). It is used to designate possession, but more importantly, is also used for contractions. For example, I'm is a contraction of 'I am.' Any time that two words are forced together like so, they need an apostrophe, otherwise your grammar suffers.
6. It just occurred to me that these apostrophe issues might just be a problem with transferring the story from Gdocs to here. If that is the case, please feel free to ignore the above criticisms.
7. You have an annoying tendency to start all your sentences with the letter 'I.' I know that you're writing from a first person perspective, but such repetition makes the story boring to read, really limits your overall vocabulary and the presents little opportunity for background details that are very important for a story like this. It gets better in the second chapter, but only marginally. The only time you DON'T use 'I' is when someone else is doing something. As an experiment, I want you to try and write the next chapter without starting a single sentence with 'I.' Remember, background details will be your friend.
8. Don't overuse capitals for emphasis. Once or twice per chapter is the rule. Don't break it.
9. Don't overuse exclamation marks for emphasis. Once or twice per chapter is the rule. Don't break it.
10. Learn proper spacing. Your story is one big block that's really hard to read. It wouldn't kill you to mash the enter key a few times to break it up. No one likes a wall of text.
That's all I really have to say at the moment. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go drink the chlorine.
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