BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. The ache arced through his body just as evenly as his lifeblood pulsed out, pooled beneath him onto the cavern floor. He looked to the side, slowly, agonizingly slowly. His vision blurred as he moved his head, some of his pink bangs swinging down over his eyes, obstructing them from the blue…shape, looking at him. His vision was still blurred, still hazy from whatever had hit him. I must have hit my head something awful on the way…down…
There was the ache again. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. It was filing his ears now, tearing through his eardrums, vibrating him to his core. It was too hard to think, let alone breathe, so he simply looked, let his thoughts slip down below with the dripping crimson lakes under him.
I think I might have broken something. That thought, right before it slipped from his grasp, somehow made him as giddy as a child, and he laughed. Mistake. Disaster. He coughed, choked, and felt a trickle down one corner of his mouth. He gently turned his head, felt his neck grind as he turned away from the blue shape – was it lying on the ground now? – and faced his chest.
That's when he saw IT. A…sharp…thing. What were they called again? Something…something that began with an "s". A sta…Stagra…Stala…
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
There's the ache again. It's getting quieter now. Maybe it's just the world getting quiet around me? It's probably the stalagmite, it must have punctured something…
AHA! THAT's what it was called! He almost cheered out loud, if it wasn't for the air that was almost gone from his lungs. He tried to breathe in, tried to ask the blue shape for help, and felt fire greet his lungs instead.
He heard screaming somewhere, a wail that pierced the muted pulsing that had fallen over the world. Was it the blue one? No, no her scream was different-it was a she?-but the noise…it was coming from above…
BOOM…Boom…boom...
A cliff was above him, so he couldn't see what was making that noise, although he did see what he thought was a flash of yellow-orange standing up there. Yellow-orange…why did that feel familiar…
boom… boom…. boom…
The pulsing was slowing. Still deafening, though. It was almost as bad as not knowing where he was.
Why was EVERYTHING in here so familiar, but he couldn't place it? It was so frustrating, so INFURIATING to feel like that, to feel like you knew something or someone important, but didn't know who or what it was. The blue shape had stood up again, stumbled away through the emerald glow of the cave, away from him. Why did an act so small feel like something so…wrong? Almost like He knew…that…
Black. Black and quiet.
And then, suddenly everything was crystal and sharp. The pulse was gone, but the cave was dark. It had lost its venomous tint, and the blurred shapes that he couldn't make out before were likely long gone. Lewis searched the cave around himself, saw nothing bit a small pink glow near himself. He looked down to the source of the light and saw a sight that chilled him down to his bones and marrow.
In fact, that's all he was. Bones, covered in a three-piece suit, and adorned with a simple, heart-shaped locket. Lewis recognized this…He stopped, as a thought slowly dawned on him. He remembered more than just the locket now. He remembered his name. He remembered the trip to the cave.
He remembered his friends.
Vivi. His beloved Vivi. The blue shape, that had crumpled at the sight of his…
Oh, God. His body. Lewis suddenly felt sick to his stomach. But he continued on, thought about what else he could remember, ensured that all his memories were there.
He remembered Mystery, Vivi's dog. The poor thing had looked suspicious of the cave the entire time; they'd eventually had to drag him in. Oh, if only he'd listened to Arthur and Mystery, then maybe he wouldn't…
…
…
Arthur.
…
His best friend.
…
His best friend…who had pushed him off of that cliff…
Lewis' feeling of concern changed to one of hurt and confusion.
Boom. The pulse had started again.
Lewis didn't even notice. His mind was preoccupied, going from confusion to anger.
Boom. Boom. BOOM. BOOM.
Anger to Rage.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM
Rage to Fury.
And in his fury, the world exploded in sound and fire.