A/N: Hi everyone! I'm here with the next chapter of Crytopyrite! I hope you enjoy it!
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The next morning, Sam was the first one to wake up. Realizing that Danny was still asleep, she moved around quietly, careful not to wake him. She wanted to have breakfast ready for her new friend before he woke up, as a surprise. Besides, Danny wouldn't be able to go too far until his ankle was healed up, so he wouldn't be able to get food for himself until then. Sam struck a match on the wood that remained from last night, and soon a small fire was lit. She got two eggs out from her bag, cracked them, and threw them in the frying pan.
After a few minutes, Sam suddenly heard a small noise to her right. She turned toward the sound, sighing with relief when she realized it was only Danny, who was just waking up.
Danny rubbed his eyes, getting used to the brightness of the morning. "You're up already, Sam?" he asked. "What in the world are you doing up?"
Sam gave Danny a warm smile. "Making breakfast. Scrambled eggs, to be exact. I just finished making them."
Danny blushed slightly at her voice, then realized what he was doing and got control of himself. He slowly started to get up when Sam ran over with a plate of scrambled eggs and stopped him.
"You aren't going anywhere Danny, until that ankle of yours is healed." Sam said sternly. "I'm happy to bring your food over to you, and if you need anything, just let me know, okay?"
Danny nodded, a little surprised at how much Sam was caring for him. Then again, she had quite a few friends who were Elementals. "No problem Sam, and thanks."
Sam sat down beside Danny as they started to eat their scrambled eggs. "It's the least I can do. Besides, I've needed some company. I was looking around here to find some Elemental fruits-to give to my friends, you know-and then I found you."
"Well if your looking for fruits, I am not the guy to ask," Danny said with a laugh. "I couldn't find any fruits around here. Then again, I've never really looked around the forest before. We're not really allowed."
"Well, it is a pretty big forest, even for someone like me who's been through it quite a few times." Sam replied as she put their paper plates away. "Wait a minute!" she suddenly whispered to Danny, "I hear something."
"Danny strained his ear to listen. He heard something too. He could tell it was a voice, but he couldn't quite hear what it was saying. "Stay here Sam, I'll go look."
"No you won't!" Sam whispered. "The forest can be dangerous for someone who's never been through it before, and besides, your ankle still needs to heal. I'll go."
Sam quietly slunk through the trees, following the voice. Soon, she could hear the voice saying "Daniel, where are you?" in a strangely familiar voice. Sam walked closer, wondering who could possibly be searching for Danny. Soon, however, she saw the person who was speaking, and gasped in horror. It was Vlad Masters.
"No," she whispered. "That despicable Pyro! He can't be here, he'll find us!" She shook her head, trying to control her fear. "No, I will not allow a repeat of the past. I won't allow Vlad to do what he did 10 years ago! " With that, Sam turned around and ran back the way she came.
Danny looked up when he heard a rustling in the trees, knowing that it was Sam. He was surprised, however, when she had an urgent, panicked look on her face.
"Danny! Danny, come on!" Sam said in a rush, gently lifting him up. "We have to get out of here!"
"W-What?" Danny asked, confused. Why was Sam acting so panicked, so frightened?
"We can't stay here," Sam urged Danny, gathering up all her belongings. "Vlad's looking for you!"
"Vlad Masters?" Danny asked, feeling more relaxed now. "Don't worry, I've known him for 10 years, and he hasn't done anything bad." He didn't quite understand why Sam seemed so scared. Suddenly, reality hit him like a fireball. "Oh drat! He might try to take me back to the Academy!" When Sam gave him an odd look, he explained. "I ran away. I somehow accidentally used fire and Vlad found out about..." Danny faltered for a second. Should he tell her? She seemed pretty understanding, and had cared for him through the night. Sam could be trusted. "…these." Danny finished. He slowly rolled up his sleeves and showed the indigo rings to Sam.
Sam stared at the indigo rings with a mixture of shock, amazement, and…was that realization on Sam's face? "I-It's true," she whispered, as she gently reached out and touched one of the rings.
Danny shut his eyes, expecting a wave of pain to come as when Vlad had touched it. To his amazement, there was no pain, no torturous reliving of the horrible moment when he had been attacked by the paleblood's machine. Just a sense of relief, of freedom...of belonging. He opened his eyes, staring in shock as the rings glowed. Not dark blue as it had been when Vlad touched it, but a bright, light blue.
As the glow of the rings faded, Danny realized that the pain in his ankle had vanished. He shook his ankle. It was totally fine, as if it had never been sprained at all. Danny gazed at Sam with wonder shining in his eyes.
Sam then looked at Danny almost sorrowfully. "Look, Danny, I know you think he's looking for you just because you ran away, but this is urgent! You don't know the truth, the full truth! Of Vlad, the Cryto village destruction, of the legend, of everything!"
Danny shook his head. "Wait…how'd you know about the destruction of my home? I don't quite understand. What full truth? What legend?"
"Trust me, I'll explain later," Sam said urgently, looking wildly around her. "The longer we stay here, the more danger we're in! We have to leave now if we don't want to be found!"
With a final look around, the pair quietly ran toward the edge of the forest.
"You can't fool me Vlad," Sam whispered within her mind as she and Danny ran. "You took Danny away from me once...I won't let that happen again!"
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Danny and Sam finally reached the edge of the forest, both exhausted and out of breath. Sam looked at Danny gratefully.
"You're safe," she whispered, as if Vlad was right behind them. listening in. "For now, you're safe."
Danny stared at Sam quizzically. "Why are you so concerned about me?" he asked. "You should be worrying about yourself! You aren't an Elemental, so you have no powers to defend you if anything happens!"
Sam was exasperated now. If they could just reach their destination, she could tell Danny everything she knew, but now, with Vlad lurking in the shadows, she had to be careful. "Danny, don't you understand? I'm worried about you because...if you are lost, then we all are lost."
"Why can't you tell me now?" Danny asked, exasperated as well. He wanted to know what secrets were hiding around him, why Sam seemed so scared of Vlad. He wanted answers.
"If I tell you here," Sam whispered to him, "we risk being caught. When we get to the Hideout, I'll tell you." She pointed toward a city in the distance. "You see that city there?"
Danny nodded, curious. Most of the city's buildings were like small skyscrapers, but there was one spiral-shaped building that towered above the rest.
"Well, that tall, silver spiral building is where my parents work. They're job is to exterminate Elementals. I despise it, but unfortunately, we live there, so I have to listen to Elementals being tortured every day." Sam shuddered at the thought. "That's why I ran away, and found a place for me and my Elemental friends to stay hidden. That's where I'm taking you."
"You're not taking our friend anywhere, human!" a voice shouted.
Danny and Sam practically jumped a foot in the air. Sam looked petrified, but Danny knew that voice. His suspicions were confirmed as he saw Tucker, Seraphine, Dash, and Valerie step out of the woods.
"Give back our friend, and no one gets hurt!" Tucker shouted at Sam, whose voice Danny had just heard. Tucker and the others in the group began charging up their Elemental beams.
Danny stepped in front of Sam, acting as a shield. "Guys! She's harmless! She's trying to help me!"
"Oh?" Seraphine asked suspiciously. "I don't know if we should believe you. The Danny that I know would never trust a paleblood. Prove that you're really Danny."
A sly grin appeared across Danny's face. With one hand, he shot ice energy, and with the other, he shot fire. "Is that proof enough for you?"
The group nodded, all of them muttering "Oh yeah, that's proof alright!"
Danny smiled. "Okay guys, this is Sam Manson. Sam, this is Tucker Foley, Valerie Gray, Dash Baxter, and Seraphine Ignitron."
"Hi Sam," said Tucker, Dash, Valerie and Seraphine.
Danny nodded, pleased that all his friends were getting on good terms. "Okay, now that introductions are out of the way, it's time we got down to business."
"Whoa, what business?" Dash inquired. "You have to go back to the Academy! That's why we're out here, to look for you!"
Danny sighed. "Look guys, the whole reason I left is to find a place where I belong! Sam here is a friend with a bunch of our kind, and she's taking me to a place where they are. I'm going no matter what. Are you in, or are you out?"
The group whispered to each other for about a minute, then turned to Danny and Sam. "We're in!"
Danny smiled, glad that his friends were now there to help him along.
It was then that Sam spoke up. "Okay everyone, let's get going! If we hurry, we should make it to the city by nightfall!"
Without asking any questions, the group started on.
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A/N: Well, what do you know? Looks like Sam has some secrets of her own! And Danny's friends are now along for the ride! As for the legend that Sam mentioned, you'll find out next chapter! Remember to review!