This is technically a self insert I suppose, as the characters have the personalities of me and two of my friends. This was originally just something I was going to write in my spare time for the heck of it, until a friend said I should post it. So here it is. If you don't like this type of story, don't read it. I accept constructive criticism, but please don't hate. I'm just another person that loves to write, no need to get nasty.

I have three other stories out, only two of which I'm REALLY working on. I may update slow if this is something I continue to post on and if I do, I'm sorry. Life is just so busy sometimes and writer's block is a pain in the rear. If you like this and want me to keep going, leave a comment. Send me a message. If you have ideas, let me know. I may or may not use them, but I'll at least consider them. If you are here, thank you for taking the time to read this.

Disclaimer: I only own Divan, Kijo, Suva, Rata, Tezo and Kixi. The rest is not mine.


The Knowing, the Brave, and the Completely Clueless

Prologue

It was supposed to be a simple sleep over before the third semester of college started; chock full of all our favorite movies, tons of popcorn, and our loving companions. But when a freak thing happens and my apartment explodes, we all wind up dead.

Oh but things can never be that simple, can they? Death would have been too simple for this story. Tales, at least good ones, are never that simple. They are complicated, full of drama, battles, hate and love. They are full of good, evil, tough decisions, harsh consequences, crippling loss and excitement that will leave you wishing for more. They teach you things about yourself and others that you never knew before. They show you the true meaning of courage and bravery, the true meaning of loyalty and family. And sometimes, they even let you find love.


I flitted around the room, picking up some of the stray items that had wandered away from their places. Of course, they hadn't actually wandered anywhere. That wasn't possible. They were items that I had set down or that had been knocked over that I just hadn't gotten around to picking up yet. Su and Ki were coming over with Tezo and Kixi and I needed to have the place as clean as possible. Sure it would probably be complete disarray afterwards but the cleaner it was now, the less messy it would be later. At least, that was my philosophy.

I had just picked up the last book that had fallen over when the doorbell went off. I hurriedly put the book back on the shelf and headed for the door. Rata, my ten year old Umbrella Cockatoo, flew towards me and landed on my shoulder. I smiled. I unlatched the lock on the door and pulled it open to reveal my two best friends and their faithful companions.

"Hey Di Di!" Kijo said excitedly; Tezo, her 3 year old male husky barked his hello and Suva and her cat Kixi said their hellos in their respective languages.

"Hello Su, Ki." Rata said from my shoulder. She was an excellent talker despite the fact that her breed of bird wasn't supposed to be able to speak that well. She was incredibly smart, as was all our animals, and could hold long conversations. She seemed to understand everything you said, just like Tezo and Kixi, though they couldn't actually speak English.

"Hey guys." I greeted, ushering them inside and shutting the door behind them "This is gonna be the best night ever."

"You bet! Su brought her entire movie collection!" Ki exclaimed.

"I did not." Su retorted with a smile "Just most of it." Ki and I laughed. Su was a movie junkie, just like Ki. So since Su had a ton of movies, we decided to spend the weekend before the third semester of college started watching movies. Everything from the sappy Titanic movie to the entire Star Wars and Lord of the Rings collections to the scariest movies out there and we had pledged to watch them all.

"We're goin' to be livin' on caffeine and sugar the entire weekend." I told them, my country kid accent peeking through.

"What are you talking about? I ALWAYS live off caffeine and sugar!" Ki exploded. Something told me she was living of it right then.

"We realize this Kijo. You're living off it right now, aren't you?" Suva asked, mirroring my thoughts. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.

"DUH!" Ki answered "What else am I supposed to live off of?"

"Sleep and decent food." Rata answered from my shoulder. I couldn't help it this time, I busted out laughing. I could hear Su giggling.

Ki's mouth dropped open and she started to sputter. "But…. What…. Gah! Who asked you!?" Ki questioned, her face beet red.

"You did. You addressed everyone." Rata answered. Tezo barked once, as if agreeing with her. Kijo looked down at him and glared.

"You're supposed to be on my side boy!" she whined at the husky. He gave her his equivalent of a grin. She huffed like a five year old child, crossing her arms over her chest. "Meanie." She muttered.

I had tears in my eyes by the time I was done laughing and Su was holding her sides, saying ouch in-between her giggles. Ki was hysterical with her five year old attitude and joyous nature. Very rarely did you ever see her anything but happy.

"It's your guys' mission in life to embarrass me isn't it?" Ki asked us. Su and I shared a glance before turning back to her.

"Yeah, pretty much." We answered in sync. This time all three of us laughed; Tezo, Kixi and Rata joining in with barks, meows, and birdy laughter.

"Alright, that's enough excitement for right now. What do you say we get these bad boys going?" Su announced. Ki nodded excitedly like a little kid on Christmas being asked if they were ready to open presents. I chuckled.

"I'll get the popcorn. Su, get the movies ready. Ki, wanna get drinks?" I asked. She nodded and with another chuckle the four of us headed to the kitchen while Su and Kixi got the first movie of the night going.

Ten minutes, a pot of coffee, a six pack of Dr. Pepper, another six pack of Pepsi, two bags of skittles, another two bags of jolly ranchers, three freshly made batches of hard butterscotch candies, a huge metal bowl and five bags of popcorn later was only the start of our movie night. There would be a lot more where that came from. Kijo and I carried all we could, Tezo carrying a bag of skittles between his teeth and Rata flying in with a bag of jolly ranchers in her talons. Su laughed, getting up and following us back into the kitchen, helping us carry in what was left of the goodies.

"Awe, The Notebook? Really?!" Ki exclaimed as we re-entered the living room. She pretended to hate sappy romantic movies but really she loved them. She was a hopeless romantic at heart, just like I was.

"Yes, really. We have to start off with something that will make us want it to be over. Otherwise where's the fun in a movies night if we don't want to watch anything else?" Su explained. Ki huffed but relented.

I excused myself long enough to grab pillows and blankets, making a second trip to get more. It was winter still, and it was supposed to be quite cold tonight. I had the heat cranked up, but the cold still managed to seep in. I dumped the bedding on the floor and told them to pick what they wanted. Once we all had our respective blankets and pillows, we settled onto the couch, our pets taking up their places. Tezo and Kixi on Ki and Su's laps and Rata on my arm. As Su hit the play button, we all grabbed a handful of popcorn and the movie night began.

About an hour and a half later had all of us crying as the movie went off. Ki decided we needed something with more humor and happiness, so she picked the next movie while Su and I grabbed more drinks and food. When we returned, the main menu of Madagascar was up on the screen. I grinned. Madagascar was one of my favorite movies! We settled back into our spots and hit play.

When all three Madagascar movies were over, Suva and Kijo deemed it my turn to pick as they left for more drinks and food. I scanned through the movie case. What to watch? Then my eyes caught sight of another of my favorite movie trilogies. The Lord of the Rings! A huge grin lit of my face as I took the first of the movies out of its case. We had already seen The Hobbit, we had went to the movies to watch it so all we needed to watch now was The Lord of the Rings. Ki had been begging me and Su to teach her everything there was to know about the trilogy of books and movies. What better time to do that, then on movie night?

I popped it into the DVD player and waited for the main menu to pop up. Once it was up, I went to help Ki and Su with the food, drinks and candy. When we walked back into the living room, Kijo squealed when she saw what we were watching.

"I love you right now Di!" she shouted, glomping me in a hug. I laughed.

"You're welcome." I chuckled, patting her back. We headed back to get the rest of the stuff when it started.

It was just a low hum at first. I almost didn't think anything of it. Many things in my apartment hummed when they kicked on. It was strange. I set down the drinks I was carrying.

"Di? What's wrong?" Suva asked me. My head cocked as I listened to the humming as it got louder and louder.

"You guys hear that?" I asked my two best friends.

"The humming?" Kijo asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, I hear it. But isn't that normal?"

"Normally, yeah. But this time it's not. Nothin' in here hums like that. Ever." I told them. They shared a look.

"Should we be worried?" Suva asked nervously. I didn't respond for a few minutes, listening as the humming continued to get louder and louder. By the time I realized what it was, it was too late.

"Yeah," I muttered "We need to be very worried."

The last thing I was aware of, was the loud boom as my apartment exploded.