'Ello mates.
Been a bit of a while since I've updated anything, not that I had much of something to update in the first place. But, recently got hit by a bolt of inspiration, so figured I'd try to work on something,
Without further ado, let's hop into the second chapter of "With This Key"
Disclaimer: I don't own the Walt Disney Company, CBS, Aerosmith or Kingdom Keepers.
Upon entering the building, known as G-Force Records, Steven urged Rod to wait in the main lobby while he made a call. Rod took this time to explore his surrounding, a circular room with what appeared to be guitar necks built into the pillars. Just as he was about to go looking for his new long haired companion, he reappeared. "New plan," Steven called out. "Instead of the Children of Light coming to meet us, we're going to meet them."
"When you say we're going to meet them, what does that mean? It must be fairly late at night. Shouldn't these children as you call them be asleep?" Rod asked, shaking his head confused.
"They aren't really children, more teen-aged. But I guarantee they are still awake, given what's been happening throughout the parks." Steven replied, as he motioned to the entrance they had entered in a few minutes prior. "The way I see it, we can just take the limo there, I'm sure Joe won't mind."
Rod followed Steven out and around the building to a gate marked 'Stagehands Only.' As they passed through the gate, he saw perhaps the strangest limousine he had ever seen. Rather than the modest cars he knew and had used on set (on set, what could that mean? He thought to himself) this car was nearly triple the length.
"Do you like it? It's our special Super-Stretch, designed for getting 24 of our biggest fans from the recording studio to the Forum in a matter of minutes. Should get us from here to Epcot in a matter of seconds " Steven stated, clearly proud to show of the behemoth of a vehicle. "Here, step in and we'll be livin' it up as we're going by." With that final statement, Rod took Steven's waiting hand and the two of them entered the limo.
After the 10 most terrifying seconds of his life, Rod exited the now stopped vehicle and quickly hugged the ground for dear life. Upon noticing this, Steven remarked, "Ya know, that's the highlight of a lot of people's days."
"Yes well, I'm also sure they knew what they were signing up for when they stepped into the vehicle." Rod retorted. "Where are we anyway? Are we still meeting those children you mentioned?" As he looked around, he was immediately taken in by the different architecture that surrounded him. What appeared to be a giant glass pyramid was to his right with a large circular building located to his left. Behind the round structure, a large white sphere loomed overhead. As he was looking around, however, Steven began to walk around the circular building, and signaled Rod to follow him. He obliged, and noticed that as they passed by another gate, the area seemed to gain a blue tint, making the area appear to be underwater.
As the pair entered the building, the aquatic theme continued, and even expanded, revealing a large aquarium. But Steven paid no mind to this, crossing by it, occasionally muttering to himself while leading Rod on a tour of this living sea. Eventually, they left the building again, passing by a restaurant known as the Coral Reef. While the duo was rounding the final turn, Steven stopped him and stated simply, "Be mindful around them, they may not seem like it, but those seven have been through a lot. I have an odd feeling that something big is about to happen, and you're at the center of it." With that, Steven turned and left, but not before acknowledging Rod's thanks for bringing him here.
"He seemed a nice enough fellow, I just wished that he could have given me some answers instead of just dropping me here," he mused to himself. Rod eventually found a door marked "The Living Seas Conference Center," from behind which he could hear muffled voices. After a few minutes listening to them, he knocked on the door.
"Hello there, I presume you're Rod?" a boy, looking no older than 18 asked. Rod nodded and the boy opened the door fully to reveal the room. The lounge as it appeared be a rather expensive looking space, judging by the style of the couches unlike anything Rod had ever seen. In front of a glass wall, behind which was a large aquarium, a table and chairs which seemed as though they were hasity pushed there to create a central meeting place. Six other teens sat around the table, five of them chatting, one buried in something Rod could not have imagined in his wildest dreams. "I really hope you're who we've been waiting on," the boy said. "My name's Finn. Over by the table is Amanda, Charlene, Willa, Jess, and Maybeck. The one with his head stuck in the computer monitors is Philby." As he said each name, the respective person waved to Rod from the table. "We're still not quite sure why you're here, or really how you can help us. All we do know is that you appeared in one of Jess' dreams, and that's been good enough for me in the past." With a final comment, Finn sat at the head of the table, offering a seat to Rod.
"I'm flattered that you put so much faith in me to help you out with this problem, but I'm afraid that I don't know much about where I am, or even who I am." Rod accepted the seat, and began to recount his last hour to the group gathered. "I'm afraid that I'm just not quite sure how I can really help. I'd prefer not to get mixed up into any unpleasant situations, if I can."
After finishing, Jess, he believed her name was, spoke up saying, "Hey, that's understandable, but it's too late now. Once you show up in one of my curses, I mean dreams, it's pretty hard to avoid it. You can't escape a prophecy, and when you try to, it usually turns out worse."
Getting a sense of defeat, and feeling a little trapped, Rod sat down and asked, "so why am I showing up in this prophecy of yours."
To this remark, the red-haired boy, Philby, looked up from his computer and replied, "Have you ever heard of the 'Dreamfinder'?
So that was chapter two. Hope you enjoyed. Please leave a review if you did, or if you didn't and want to leave some criticism, please go ahead.
I know I really shouldn't leave on another cliffhanger, but I actually have the story mapped out, so I don't think it will be another 2 year break between updates. There's an actual story that I want to tell, so that should help things along, rather than just coming up with chapters on the fly like I used to do.
I shall see you all a little later, peace.
-mpawn