I don't own anything in this story, though please don't steal my ideas.
CHAPTER ONE: The First Kiss
She sits on her friend's bed, gazing out at the full moon, getting drowsier and drowsier as the TV continued to blare about useless commercials for useless things. Slowly her eyes closed, and she fell asleep, though not for very long.
As she dreamt of happier times, a graying man swung through the window and landed with a thump on the floor in front of her. He was her father, a cruel, murderous old man in his sixties, out to take over the galaxy, and prepared to cut down anyone in his way. Even his own daughter.
Now, Crystal had known for quite a while that she was being hunted by her father. She had constantly moved from place to place in safety. She had stayed at her friend's school to long. While her friend was a boy, she was merely friends with him, no more. He had gone downstairs to get a drink, and would be back up in about fifteen minutes. But Crystal was smart enough not to fight her father until he returned, for she would surely get him killed if she didn't lead her father away soon.
So, when she finally awoke from the sound of the thump, she sprang out of bed in a hurry, so as she could move away from him. She did not wish to fight him, though he had no mercy and would not hear of such a thing.
She backed up into the door, looking for any means to distract her father so she could escape. She came upon a chair, light, but hard, and in a blink of an eye picked it up and threw it, hitting the old man square in the face. He fell back against the wall wounded and unconscious. Crystal seized the moment to make a break for it and threw open the door and slamming it back. She ran down the hallway and almost collided with a young man about her age. He was about as shocked as she was, and she grabbed his hand and pulled him into the nearest stair well.
"I'm Crystal. If I leave you here, you will die. You must follow me. Okay?" said Crystal between huffs.
"Umm, okay." The boy answered back, apparently confused. Crystal, still holding his hand, dragged him up the stairs, just as the door through which they had just came was blasted off it's hinges by a red energy beam.
"C'mon!!" she screeched as he was lagging behind. "Hurry up!!"
"I'm hurrying!! Who is your dad anyway?"
"I'll tell you when we reach a safe place" She said, but then a blast hit the wall above her head and she screamed. "C'mon!!" He ran faster and soon they were out the door and-
"Where are we?" Crystal asked.
"Um…the roof." He answered.
"Where are we going to hide??"
"Uh….over there!!" he points at a small building off to the side of the roof, a storage hut. They quickly rush inside and close the door. They hear footsteps, and suddenly, where Crystal once stood, there was a small black cat.
"Hush!!" said Crystal's voice from the cat's body. She leapt up into his arms and listened as her father opened the door. He left as he couldn't see anybody. The coast was clear.
They emerged, her still in cat form, but then he held her back.
"Here, take these. They're invisibility pills." He said, offering her some white pills. She turns back into a human and takes them, immediately turning invisible. He then holds out a gold ring, and she takes it without question and slips it on her finger.
After doing so, she led the way towards a tall tree. They climbed onto the tree and began to descend. He went first, then she, and after she got down, he turned into a black, furry dog.
"Don't ask questions, just come on and follow me. I know a safe place." He said. "And turn into a cat." She turned back into the cute, fluffy, black cat and followed him.
After thirty or so minutes, they came to a hut. He turned back into a human, and led the way in. She trotted in, still as a cat, and leapt onto the bed. She curled up and turned into her human self as he turned on the small TV.
The small hut contained two small rooms-the main room and a bathroom. In the main room, there was a kitchen area, a cot, and a TV. There wasn't a window, just a door leading outside and to the bathroom. The walls were painted white, but had marks of time on them. The cot had a dark blue comforter on white-blue sheets, which were stretched across a small white mattress.
As she lay there, drifting to sleep, her head fell against his, so he stretched his hand over his head and held hers. He leaned back against the cot and began to fall asleep. Subconsciously, her hand moved towards his and she held it. 3
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Outside, at the very edge of the forest, Crystal's murderous father walked slowly towards her. He could sense her through the Force and she was very strong. He telepathically sent her a message telling her to meet him in a clearing before midnight-or the boy dies. He chuckled. She had just agreed.
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Crystal slowly rose, placing his hand, which she had been clutching, on his slowly rising chest. She moved over to the kitchen and wrote on a scrap of paper:
I'm so sorry.
She placed the paper on the small foldable table and walked to the door, opening it. Before she stepped out, she turned to look at his sleeping form. "I love you." She whispered, then turned and closed the door with a soft thump. She walked on, into the forest, towards the clearing her father had mentioned. She secretly hoped he wouldn't wake up and follow her. She was going to face her father, after all, to save his life.
What attracted her most to this boy was that he reminded her of when she was in high school, where she met her true love, George. The boy also reminded her of happier times with Madame Mairie; her caretaker after her father ran away but before Crystal tried to stop him. She spoiled young Crystal, with sweets such as chocolate, of which she had never eaten before, thanks to her father's brutal attitude toward her. She visited the happiest place on Earth. She got a confidence booster. She made friends.
But then, one fatal day, Crystal was walking home from her very last day of high school, and as she was walking (with George) a helicopter came down upon them and kidnapped him. She was left sobbing on the sidewalk. She soon found out it was her father's handiwork. He couldn't stand to see her happy. So, he took away the things that made her happy: George and Madame Mairie.
Crystal found Madame's body in her bed. She had been taking one of her afternoon naps, and they injected her with poison. Soon, after Crystal made this discovery, she also made another, more shocking one-she couldn't die.
Apparently, her father wanted to do away with Crystal all together, so his men left a bomb in the house, which blew up while Crystal was crying over Madame's dead body. As people and neighbors and friends thought she was dead, she just walked out of the house with a few minor scratches. To avoid publicity, she went out the backside and hid in a nearby forest for three months. Then, she heard news of George still alive, and since then she has been searching for him, while at the same time hiding from her father.
Until now.
"Where are you??" she screamed into the forest. "You said you'd meet me here!!"
"And I have." came a voice behind her.
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Back at the hut, a boy named Jayson arose and found that she was no longer sleeping in the cot. He stood up and looked around. He noticed a slip of paper on the kitchen counter. He walked over a read it.
"No!!" he screamed. He rushed out and turned into dog form once more. He followed her scent to a large clearing in the heart of the forest. At one side of the clearing stood an old man he took to be Crystal's father. At the side nearest him, was Crystal. Her father was constantly bombarding her with energy bolts.
Jayson took another invisible pill and stepped out to her.
"I'm here to help." He said to her.
"No, just leave, it's to dangerous." she said.
"No! I'm not going to loose you. I don't want to loose you." Crystal looked at Jayson and saw something in his eyes, something she hadn't seen in a man since George-concern and worry. It was apparent then that he loved her just as much as she loved him. But then, her thoughts seemed to stop time and remind her that she only loved Jayson because he reminded her of George. Was that really love? Did she really love Jayson, or just George and Jayson was a way to get to him?
Crystal took some time to think, precious time, which greatly cost her.
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"Hmmmmm…"her father sad. "Who is she talking to??" He smiled and aimed a very strong energy bolt towards the invisible Jayson. Crystal turned just in time.
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Crystal turned just in time to see her father aiming an energy bolt at Jayson, and a strong one at that. She quickly pushed Jayson out of the way, and in doing so got hit with the bolt. It hit her above her hip and sent her flying ten feet into the air and she landed near a tree twenty feet away. When she finally stopped rolling, she was limp, with a huge gash in her side, though she was not bleeding.
"NO!" screamed Jayson as he ran over to her. He picked her up and went behind a tree as her father gave a long, evil laugh.
"Jayson…." She whispered as her eyes fluttered open. "Run away…save yourself...I'll be fine…"
"No…" he said through tears. "No. I'll make him pay for what he's done." At that, he stood up and walked out from behind the tree. He threw Crystal his back-pack, from which she immediately grabbed some bandages and wrapped them around herself.
"It's time to end this old man."
"Yes, it's about time. I told her no man could defeat me." said the father, who grinned maliciously.
"How dare you!! How could you treat your own daughter in such a barbaric way??"
The old man's smile vanished so quickly it would make a cheetah blink. "My past history with my daughter is none of your business young man. Besides, you can't defeat me. No one can!!" he spun, throwing up a lot of dust. When it all cleared, the man was gone.
"He's burrowing beneath us!!" screamed Crystal from behind the tree. Jayson looked at the ground and, sure enough, the old man was burrowing towards them and fast. He ran to Crystal and she picked up the back pack as he picked up her. For about ten minutes he ran through the forest carrying Crystal. He soon became tired of this and set her down by a tree and he leaned against a tree close to her.
"This isn't working." He said. Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he snapped his fingers. "Turn into a cat!!" Crystal looked surprised, but she turned into a cat and he a dog, and he picked her up by the scruff of her neck and carried her.
He headed towards his hut, but then Crystal stopped him.
"What?" he asked irritably.
"I know where a portal is that will get us to a much safer place. Just follow my directions." Said Crystal, and she guided him for the next hour to a metal door built inside the mouth of a cave. They both turned into humans again and Crystal lamely walked in.
As they stepped into the darkness, Crystal snapped her fingers and torches everywhere lit up, revealing a Labyrinth.
"Whoa…" whispered Jayson, as he gazed above at the high cave ceiling. A few swishing sounds could be heard above them and around them, too.
"Uh…what are those…?" asked Jayson, peering up.
"Don't look up, they don't like it. They're vampires." She added after seeing his confused face. "Now, follow me. I know the way out." She walked forward, Jayson close behind her, and the quickly made their dangerous journey through the Labyrinth. After a few turns and corners, Jayson started to breathe very heavily.
"What is it?" Crystal asked leaning next to him.
"I'm…really…tired…." He said, holding his side. Crystal helped him up and put one of his arms over her. They walked quickly, hoping to not attract attention from any of the flying overhead creatures.
Almost thirty minutes later, they came upon a portal, which was blue and purple and looked like water flowing in a pool.
"Wow…it's so, beautiful…" whispered Jayson. He moved forward to touch the swirling watery substance, but then, Crystal yelped in pain and sank to the floor. "What is it? What happened??"
"He…he's here!!" she gasped. Jayson pulled her towards the portal, just as her father came around the bend.
"Move away, son. I wish to talk to my daughter. ALONE!!" he yelled.
"Never. Never!! Crystal, go through the portal, NOW!!" Jayson yelled as he charged at the old man in his dog form. Crystal backed up until she was through the portal, leaving Jayson and her father alone.
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Crystal sat down on a fallen palm tree, waiting and waiting for Jayson to come through, alive. She stood up and paced around and around, her pacing getting larger and larger.
"Where is he? It's been long enough!!" she cried.
Meanwhile, back in the cave, her father and Jayson were still in a heated battle. Jayson dogged a punch and a bolt and went in for the inside, aiming for the throat. The old man cut him off and dealt him a sharp blow to the stomach. Jayson again went at him, but dogged in and out and slashed the man's shoulder. He stood back to study his work, and the man placed his hand on his bleeding shoulder, and gave a Gaara-like scream. Jayson then went at him, but he was furious and swiped at Jayson, throwing him into a nearby wall.
When the dust settled, Jayson, scarred and bleeding, lay on the floor, unmoving, and the man was leaning against a nearby wall, also bleeding. He glanced at Jayson and gave a merciless laugh that frightened every mouse, rat, and roach in the vicinity.
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Crystal, pacing and biting her lip, heard the dull thump of man against rock and the chilling laugh from her father.
"No…no…NO!!!" she screamed, and ran into the portal, changing into a-
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The old man slowly walked to Jayson. He lifted his hand up to give him the final blow. As he struck down, a flash of black hit him, flew over, and landed smoothly behind him. It was a black tiger, and had come through the portal. Before he could register what just attacked him, the thing was upon him again, tearing away at his flesh. His screams for mercy were drowned out by the slashing and roaring of the great beast, and silence was acquired only after the beast had killed the man.
Through the dust, Jayson's eyes fluttered open, and before him stood a mighty black tiger, with symmetrical white stripes running up and down its slim body. The beast walked over to Jayson in a somewhat feminish way, and laid down next to him and started licking his face with its rough tongue. Before he knew it, the licks became soft kisses and he looked up into the face of Crystal, bruised in some areas and with a large cut on her shoulder.
"Hush now." She whispered after Jayson made attempts at speaking. "You need rest." He looked into her eyes, and she into his, and she saw love, beautiful love, and he saw love, too, infinite love. Dozens of little mice gathered around the couple, and they slept in a moment where everything in the world was just and right. Nobody fought, killed, stole or yelled during that moment, and in that moment, Crystal created a spell, that whenever they have another moment of love, all will be right with the world.
Epilogue
A young girl of seventeen or eighteen sat on a black sanded beach watching a boy surf the high waves of Hawaii. As the wind whipped through her raven black hair, she caressed a scar on her stomach, clearly visible through her silk cover up over her black bikini.
Crystal looked up as Jayson came up to her after being wiped out by a rather large wave. "Hey." She said as he grew closer. "Tired already?" she added with a smirk.
"No, I just was wondering if you would like to give it a try." He said smiling.
"Okay, though I've never surfed before." She stood up and grabbed her surf board out of the sand beside her towel and walked into the ocean, paddling until a wave came, riding the small waves, and always falling into the water with the bigger waves. After several minutes of this, she called it quits and swam to the shore. Jayson met her at the shore and helped her to her towel. He took the surf board and stabbed it into the ground beside them.
"Not as easy as it looks, is it?" he asked.
"Definitely not." Crystal said smiling.
"No matter, you are so amazing." Jayson leaned closer.
"Kiss me if I'm, that amazing." She whispered.
"Okay."
Jayson leaned ever closer and Crystal meet his lips and they kissed.
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In a dull gray cave with vampires flying overhead and mice scurrying below, the body of a dead old man lay as still as a gravestone. A small mouse scurried over to a crumb of something, whether it be flesh or a dead roach, it couldn't tell because of its size.
As it grew near to the crumb, which was itself near the corpse, the dead man's fingers gave a twitch.