Haze drifted through the tunnels and caverns of the Lava Reef Zone. The crystals deep within the Zone glistened as the glowing lava rushed by them in rivers of molten red. Steam rose; clouds of dust mingled with them until they emerged from an opening high, high above from the core of the volcano.
Deep, deep down within the very core of the Volcano laid a purple chameleon, curled up almost into a ball in front of a crystal, sleeping. It had electric green spines on its head that were soft enough to actually be referred to as hair, and sharper ones on its long tail. It wore gloves that might have been white at some time, but were now so doused with black and red and eaten away and burnt off that any color was really indiscernible.
A few moments later, a small rock was dislodged from the tunnel ceiling by a slight tremble in the volcano, and it fell right onto the chameleon's head. Instantly it awoke, ice blue eyes burning, teeth gritted and hands at the ready for a fight. Then, it spied the out-of-place rock on the ground and grinned.
As if hearing something only it could hear, the chameleon turned to the giant crystal beside it. "Hmm?" it asked of the crystal with a voice that was female.
She laughed, running a hand through her 'hair.' "Yeah…little bugger rocks have been movin' around lately…" she said to her reflection, as if it had asked her a question. Then she listened.
"…Go outside? Do you really think…? But…but we've never been outside, except only that one time there was no food or drink anywhere around. …You really think so? A good day to try…? Alright, we'll give the outside a go." After giving an affirmative nod, the chameleon walked shakily yet determined through many tunnels until finally, after a short while, she was met by the rays of the sun. Of course, after being in a volcano for so long, the sun felt very chilly. The whole of 'outside' did.
The girl trudged for a long while, hands clasped together, rubbing each other. The soft grass comforted her bare feet, but the cold morning dew felt like stepping on tiny ice cubes to her. Her eyes squinted under the brightness, but quickly became accustomed. Then, as the grass grew steadily longer, until she was standing in a large field, the girl grinned.
"This isn't so bad…! Good idea," she complimented, but it was not clear to whom. Seconds later, a soft rustle was heard nearby, and the girl disappeared beneath the long grass, yet crawled silently and quickly toward the sound and whomever was making it.
Raising her head off the dirt and using a hand to soundlessly part a batch of tall grass, she witnessed another chameleon like herself, color of green and male, stalking carefully through the grass. She did not call out to him; rather, she was perplexed and confused. After a moment, she saw the other fade away, and the vegetation parted by itself.
"What the…? Oh…that's right, I can do that too." The girl was muttering to herself, and tried to disappear. She figured whatever that guy was hiding from might be something she wouldn't want to come upon either.
Something didn't work, however. She could still see her hands; still see herself. After wondering at this for a moment, she glanced at her arm and laid it back down on the ground and letting the grass go back to its normal position. But her arm was strange; it was green.
"Ahhh!" she yelped, surprised.
The hiding spot was now blown, but she was already gone, running, jumping into the trees. She leapt from the dirt to the branches, and then she scurried up into the highest branches and kept going. Jump, jump, jump; the girl raced, though to where she did not know. Hearing the call of 'wait!' in the distance only made her travel all the more faster.
"Where…where…? You know I can't go back there!! Why? Ack, you know why! Now, which way do I go?!" she ended her question with a scream, for she had missed a branch and plummeted to the ground yards below. She cracked her head upon landing and fell sprawled on grass, mud and rocks as blackness came upon her.