Intricate crystals twinkled like stars. Larger ones were sharpened like icicles that poked out in every direction on the ceiling. They seemed to give off a soft glow that made the river appear purplish in color. For the first time I've been here, I thought this place was beautiful.
"What's that?" Marth suddenly asked.
He was pointing towards the river. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary until I went near it. There were two figurines with gold plates holding down a piece of paper. I recognized the figurines and as I went to pick it up, they were shrouded in a white glow. The two kids came to life in my arms and the golden plate beneath them disappeared.
My eyes blacked out from the sudden bright light but the kids wrapped me in a tight hug.
"Ness, Lucas. Are you two okay?"
"Yeah, but it was so scary! Tell them, Lucas!" Ness piped up.
He fixed his red cap to the right position and clapped Lucas on the back. Lucas already had tears forming in his eyes but he tried not to sob. Marth and I sat down as he explained his story.
"I don't remember clearly, but we were all chased down by these five black monsters. We tried to fight back but they were too strong and we were all separated and… and… I-I can't remember from there. It's really fuzzy. It's almost like a dream but I know it's not a dream."
"How do you know it's not a dream?" Marth asked softly.
Lucas looked up at Marth. His eyes were full of worry and confusion. His mouth hung open as he tried to mumble something out.
"That's okay. What's most important is that we stick together."
Marth patted Ness and Lucas' head like a loving brother. I smiled a little. If I was Ness or Lucas and just woke up in a place like this, I wouldn't have known what to do. I remembered to pick up the piece of paper that was near the figurines and read it out loud: "Oh, why only five… I cannot do this. I need more time."
Lucas stopped me, "D-did you say 'five'?"
He stiffened. He stared at the piece of paper as if it was a poisonous snake ready to strike.
"Oh, these are little pieces of paper I found. I thought they'd be clues for something."
The kid shuddered. Then I recalled his story. Lucas' story of the 'five monsters' and this entry… do they have something in common? If so, what does this connection mean?
Behind me, something whined.
And as if to answer that call, the cave shook lightly, but enough to rattle the pebbles.
"Something's coming." Marth warned.
I held my weapon tight and waited. Series of whines and incoherent mumbling and dragging feet perked my senses. Whatever the thing was, it was walking very slowly. As I looked back, I saw Ness trying to escape Marth's arms. I shook my head 'no'. I didn't have any idea what the creature was, and I was certainly not going to let anyone attack blindly.
The creature materialized from the darkness.
It breathed sharply and grunted with each succession. It was on fours so the dress it was wearing was tattered and dragged along like matted hair. A reddish-brown substance was caked everywhere on its mouth and parts of its chest. I hoped it wasn't blood.
Something twinkled on each side of its ears. I guessed it was diamond earrings, for the creature looked like a human woman, or was a human woman sometime before.
The creature wrinkled its nose and sniffed around. I was ready to fight back, but it had absolutely no interest in us. She found a crystal shimmering from the reflection of the river and stared down on it. She moaned and touched the beautiful rock affectionately.
I looked back at Marth. He cocked his head back to where our path leads. I nodded. We quietly left the scene, leaving the woman in her fantasies.
"That was maybe the scariest thing that's ever happened to me." I sighed. My palms were sweaty so I wiped them on my clothes. They felt sensitive and raw.
"I told you, some of them don't attack." Marth added.
"But what about the reddish stuff around her mouth?"
"Dirt, I assume. She did seem very interested in crystals. Perhaps she sniffs around for those crystals and mud gets on her face."
I shrugged. There's probably no better explanation than that. I noticed the kids were awfully quiet. They were both looking down.
"Did she scare you?"
Ness looked up. He was biting his lip.
"I'm cold."
Lucas nodded, still looking down and rubbing his arms. I cracked a smile. Marth unclipped his cape and handed it the shivering kids. They gratefully wrapped it around them like a little burrito. The air around us was starting to get cold again. We may be close to a large body of water.
Eventually, we came across a warm orange light that colored the river. Crystals still poked out every once in a while, but the flames in the rusty lamps were much more powerful. The firelight danced and flickered. Every lamp stapled on the wall was lit and that continued for quite a while.
"I wonder if there are people… people that are alive." Marth mumbled.
The river trickled along the path. I could see the floor now and fine grains of sand were carried along with the water. Most of the water seared into the ground and wetting our path. We had to be careful of slipping the mud. If that creature was searching for crystals here, her whole dress would be caked in this mud.
Lucas pointed at the horizon and said, "Is that a lake?"
Indeed the river lead to a large green lake. They started to trot excitedly. I tried to keep up with them but embarrassingly, I slipped and hit my back. Marth quickly assisted me up despite I was now covered in mud.
"Sorry about that." Ness quickly added.
"I'm sorry." Lucas followed his example.
I tried to brush out some of the mud. My toga was no longer white, but the pieces of paper managed to stay unharmed.
"Yeah… well, just be careful or you'll end up like me."
The lake was murky and dark as it went to the center. The river was deposited here. We all tried to see into it, but the thick sea green color obscured our view. Water gently lapped at the edges but besides that, there seemed to be no unique life in the lake.
"What if there's like a big dragon living in here?" Lucas mused.
"Haha, that would be exciting." Marth added.
We stared at the lake for a good five minutes until we decided that it was a waste of time. Luckily, there was a definite path past the lake. We walked along the outline and occasionally kicked some rocks in the water. We almost reached the end of the lake.
Just then, the candle lights flickered feverishly. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
"What's wrong?" Marth asked. Ness and Lucas looked up at me curiously.
The lights fluttered dangerously. It can't be.
They can't disappear.
I grabbed at Marth and the kids huddled together. Their look of surprise was the last thing I saw before the lights died. My hands were wrapped around their clothes, but it escaped from me.
"No… No, not again!" I cried out. I swung my arms everywhere, blinded by the sudden darkness. But I felt nothing. My cries were unheard.
A pair of red eyes peered from the lake. It cackled.
Author's Note: The characters resurrect from figurines. If someone touches it, they come back to life. Just like Subspace Emissary.
