Haha, good evening, all you night owls out there! I kind of posted a little later in the night than I expected...XD; But thanks again for your patience--this week has been so packed full of school...man! I hate it so much.
Dream sequence headed your way! I like this one a whole lot since it gives you-know-who and Meta a chance to...bond (?) together. I think you'll like it, though it's short.
Enough rambling! I hope you enjoy this chapter of Hoshi no Senshi!
-Laz
"Do you not have any regrets?" a hauntingly low voice suddenly spoke smoothly.
Hearing it caused me to flinch and open my eyes, but I saw nothing but darkness. Confused, I tried to find my strength and escape, but when I pulled my hands close, I heard the jangles of chains rattling against each other. The voice cackled heartily. He took pleasure in my helpless movements.
"I finally found you."
My voice made its way into the bitter air. "Who are you? Where are you??" I asked as I shook in fear.
That sickening laugh echoed throughout the room as what looked like chess pieces began to appear around on black and white squares. I managed to sit up to get a grasp of my surroundings; I was on a black square…on a chess board.
Chess, I pondered for a moment. Then, I remembered that a common metaphor for a complex and villainous plan was a game of chess. The king and queen were the leaders; rooks, knights, and bishops were the higher-ranked minions, and pawns were used as dirty sacrifices. My chains faded away and my hands became free, but I soon recognized that I was being lifted into the cold air. I kicked my purple feet desperately, trying to get out of the grasp.
"You have hidden long enough." the voice was dead serious now, almost sounding enraged.
"I haven't hidden from anyone!" I responded after a pause.
But then I felt strange. I felt warm all over and a dull pain took it over quickly. The feeling was ominous and eerie, almost as if someone was twisting my insides. But just as I felt it happen, it was gone, and I fell to the ground, impacting the surface with a sharp thud. My instinct kept me on the ground, face-flat, hoping that whoever was there would leave me.
"You know of my power, and you will understand and worship it soon, just like the demon beast that you are."
"Demon beast? I am no demon beast!" I denied as I picked myself up.
"Meta, you are. Rather, you will be, and you will become the greatest out of all demon beasts."
Before I could answer, I heard someone call out to me loudly.
"META!!"
My eyes shot open instantly as I heard my name. Gasping for breath, I sat up and rubbed my eyes; it was only a terrible dream. My head was drenched in sweat, as was my pillow and sheets. I had never been this frightened of a dream before in my life.
The room was just as dark as I had left it, but out the window, I could see a light of some sort flickering brightly against the black sky. Unsure of the matter, I simply rubbed my eyes once more, thinking it was just my eyes playing tricks on me.
"Meta, please, there's something wrong!!"
A young red puffball was now grabbing at my hand desperately. I looked down at him in confusion and saw that he was shaking and crying uncontrollably; a frightening scene to be sure. Feeling pity for the little boy, I collected myself and got out of my bed.
"What's going on?" I asked tiredly. I assumed that he just had a bad dream and that his parents were being ridiculously lazy, so they sent him to me.
The boy's blue eyes glistened with hot tears, and his head fell down. I looked down at him in uncertainty; surely nothing small would make a small puffball cry. But then it hit me; an abnormal smell filled the air. It took only a moment for me to realize what it was.
It was smoke.
"M-mommy and daddy sent me here…" the boy said between sniffles. "But they…they didn't look good when they did! M-Meta, I don't know what to do…! They might be gone already!!"
"What is going on?! Tell me what is happening!" I repeated urgently, the scent of smoke getting thicker by the second.
"The-the village…" he sobbed. "It's on…it's on fire!!"
My heart raced. The village on fire? Who could have set it on fire? The weather was wet; fire could never exist in such a condition. Then I understood: Nightmare. He was the only living thing that would ever do such a demonic act without hesitation. All those years of silence and "peace" were full of planning, scheming, and plotting in his part.
The boy clung to my arms as I ran outside as fast as I possibly could. Indeed, it was true; the entire village was set ablaze with crimson red fire, illuminating the entire area. The smoke was a dense gray, and from my past lessons, I had been told that anyone could suffocate within a few minutes. I was unsure of how long or how easy it would be for survivors to escape at this point in time. I set the boy on his feet and looked him straight in the eyes.
"Run far away from here. As far and as fast as you can – just keep going." I commanded, my voice wavering with anger and terror.
"Meta…"
"Go. You don't have time for me." I snapped. The small child's eyes filled with tears as he turned and began to sprint away helplessly. My hopes were that at least he would be safe to live his life.
Now there was the matter of evacuating everyone else; something in which I did not know how to do very well. Nevertheless, I began to make my way around the place, trying to stay low on the ground, calling out to the air to see if anyone would respond. But no one answered them, and time began to run short as the large fires were dumping smoke onto the village like water.
My small lungs couldn't handle everything going on, so I covered my mouth with my stubby sapphire arms. Yelling so much took a lot of oxygen, and smoke was replacing it in the air. I needed to get out of the village before I fell over dead.
"M-Meta…!"
I turned around to see an older citizen of the village, limping towards me. His face was cringing in pain, as I ran towards him, eager that someone heard me and trusted me enough to come my way. I gave my free arm to his side, helping him walk.
"Come on, we must get out of here before we suffocate," I commanded. He refused to move from his spot, though.
"Meta, Nightmare is back…"
That harsh name echoed in my mind as I heard it. I had my suspicions, yes, but I never imagined his minions coming back so soon.
"How is it possible…" I mumbled in false disbelief, trying to talk myself out of the obvious truth before us. "Nightmare couldn't have done this—what would he want with us—" He snapped his eyes shut in agony.
"You think that some jokester did this?" he growled. His expression eased as he squeezed my arm. "There's something wrong with my foot—a piece of the rafter fell on top of me when I tried to get out of my home."
I glanced down at his red shoes, but it didn't concern me too much after hearing Nightmare's name. But judging by his painful appearance, I could easily assume that his foot was broken. He couldn't walk, let alone run, even if he wanted to.
"It's probably broken." I sighed. "This isn't good."
"I saw a demon beast go into the house across from mine. He's looking for you; you need to get yourself to safety." He changed the subject quickly. But his words that commanded me to run were foreign to me. I would never do such a selfish thing—running was for cowards, especially if it was for your own good.
"Why do they want me for?" I asked quickly.
"I'm unsure of it. Now leave me and go."
"No. I will not leave." I darted a glare at the orange puffball. "Not without you."
"Meta, it's already too late for me. Even if we escape, where will we go? This is the only civilization on this planet," he said miserably. Though I knew this to be true, I stood my ground and attempted to drag him with me out of danger. The smoke was becoming too thick for us to stay any longer.
"What's wrong with you?! You can't possibly want to just sit and die here!"
"If it will lead me to a place away from villains and malicious wizards, I will stay and depart this life." He responded, eyes full of certainty. "I beg of you to flee from here—alone. Do it for us; be the Star Warrior you are and bring an end to this villain who caused all this."
I let him sit on the ground. We both started to cough from the amount of thick black smoke that surrounded us almost as soon as he got to the ground. The air was becoming unbearably warm and thick; should I leave him, run, and be a coward, or stay and die with my people?
"Try over here."
After a short pause and a crack of wood, a low and frustrated growl responded. I shuddered.
"This guy is either sneaky or just scared. Ha! And His Darkness calls him a Star Warrior…"
I whirled around and could see silhouettes of two demon beasts, one larger and more monstrous-looking than the other, behind the smoke. I knew that if they wanted to capture me, they would kill the person next to me so they could not have any witnesses of my kidnapping. I had to flee; there was no other choice.
I looked back at the orange puffball on the ground. He was fading into death.
"I am sorry," I closed my eyes as I touched his small arm. "Please forgive me for leaving like this."
And without another thought, I quickly started off.
My heart rate was faster than ever as my feet carried me forward at a pace that was dizzying. Of course, some of it was just running itself, but the other part was pure fear; what was I to Nightmare? My hope was that I wasn't meant to be another pawn. Even if I could get out of their sight, I had nowhere to go, but I had to get away from them as soon as I could. I was clueless as to what those demon beasts' intentions were, and I had a pretty good feeling they wanted me on a platter for their master.
My sprinting led me to the same forest I had walked in earlier. Its ground was now covered with leaves that almost were invisible because of the ominous darkness. I could make out, though, that the leaves covered the roots of the towering trees, but I figured that my quick footing would prevent me from falling over them. When I looked up at the sky above me, the moon was beginning to be covered by developing clouds; a good sign of rain. Perhaps the village would be doused with water and would bring the fire to a halt.
I longed to stop and catch my breath, but I was concerned if the two minions were on my tail or not. I slowed my pace, instead, after hearing nothing behind me.
After that, I couldn't think about anything but running. Where would I go? I didn't have a clue. The older man that I left behind was right; we were stuck on this planet without help or transportation. There was a slim, slim chance I would end up lucky and they wouldn't a) chase after me, or b) not find me, give up, and leave.
I glanced behind me, but didn't stop. I heard faint laughs of evil pleasure, and I could have sworn I saw something gleam in the light. A sword, perhaps? Now there would be no way they would give up and leave at that rate. I was doomed.
Thunder echoed throughout the sky as lightning etched along dark clouds. I needed to find shelter soon, but that was the least of my worries. I could bet anyone that they were after me, and if I was even more unlucky, my smoke-dense scent could be picked out by a smell-savvy demon beast. Most likely, Nightmare sent one just for hunting purposes. My hope was that my dark blue skin would be camouflage enough and that I was far enough away from any life for me to be detected.
Something cold suddenly hit me, and my heart skipped a beat, thinking it was a weapon that made contact with me. To my luck, it was only a damp branch that had reached out and smacked my arm mysteriously. It only tripped me up a little bit. The "whooshes" of water on the trees' leaves met my ears soon after that. Swallowing, I knew that my fate would come soon; if I ran any faster, I would surely slip and fall.
Alas, my violet shoes caught on a tree's root, and my face was met with the ground. My face stung like as if I had been slapped, as was my arms. I cursed under my breath as I sat up and wiped off my face. My eyes stung with developing tears, but I wiped them away. What was I, a child? Just because my night was a living hell didn't mean I had to cry about it.
I could only hope then that bad things wouldn't get worse. Unfortunately, I heard a voice; the one that was back looking for me in the village.
"Oh, Meta, where are you?" he taunted. I could hear the smirk in his voice. I panicked slightly, but ducked under a tree's hollow opening. I shut my eyes and prayed they couldn't hear, see, or smell me.
"Come on, we know you're out here,"
My heart skipped another beat, and my breathing began to shake. I put my hands over my mouth, muffling my fearful gasps so that they wouldn't be so loud. I couldn't help but to think that these people sounded like they were more than determined to kill me.
"Hey, Meta, you little waste! If you're a Star Warrior, why don't you come out and show yourself?" he continued to try to bribe me out, but I refused to move. After a long silence, he muttered, "west. Move west. If he is not there, then we'll improvise."
I relaxed slightly, but I wasn't stupid enough to get out of my hiding spot in that instant. I gave a silent sigh and decided to make myself comfortable enough to try to think of a plan before heading back to the village. My back met the inside of the tree, and my arms went limp. I became oddly aware as to how tired I really was after running so fast so much.
That was when my eyelids dropped and my body fell limp.
