Inside the cave, there was nothing but darkness. Hollow darkness. And then we saw the light. Annie held my hand tighter than ever before. We both ran towards the light and then we found ourselves in a clearing. Or rather, a closed space with a large tree, on a small hill of grass. Circulating the tree was a stream of water. From inside, we saw a water fall. This place was like paradise. Annie walked up to the tree and looked around.
"I have seen this place before. But I don't know where." said Annie.
"In a story book maybe?" I asked.
"No. Not in a story book." said Annie.
"Is this from one of Plato's stories?'" I suggested.
"No. And this isn't the secret place either." said Annie.
"Weird that this isn't a good place to hide the crystal." I said.
Just then, we heard a voice. A very deep commanding voice. "Who goes there?!"
Annie and I turned and we saw an old woman standing by the tree. Her arms were folded and she was scowling at us both. Annie saw her and quickly lowered her head in respect.
"Forgive me. My friend and I didn't mean to walk into your home." said Annie.
The woman looked at Annie and walked towards her. "You... are are a Redfeather." said she.
Annie looked at the woman closely. The woman was of Native American heritage, and she wore jewerly made of seashells and her clothes looked very antique. Not modern at all. She looked like she came from a movie or a play. But it looked too real to be a costume.
"I am Annie Redfeather. Yes. But why do you know my last name?" asked Annie.
"Young lady, you have seen the Crystal and it's guardians. And you have a gift. One that will save the crystal from the touch of the Dark Master." said the woman.
"The dark who now?" I asked, rather disrespectully.
"Why is this young white man with you?" asked the woman.
"He's my boyfriend. My lover." said Annie.
The woman looked at Annie in surprise, and smiled as if she heard something wonderful. "And he loves you in return?!" she asked.
I quickly spoke up. "I love her! I do! She's my love!" I cried out.
The woman turned to see me and walked toward me with speed. She looked at me and smiled. "You have a heart of gold. You are making money in this world, yet you use it to help your loved ones. You put others before yourself. It's no wonder why the power of waking chose you." said the woman.
"The power of what?" I asked.
"The power of waking child! The power that binds our universe together! The one thing that connects us to the spiritual realm and the physical one. And the dimensions." said the woman.
"What is this power you speak of?" asked Annie.
The old woman pulled us both close to her. "The power of waking has been used to save countless lives. It has been passed on to many good hearted souls." said the woman.
Annie and I exchanged looks. "Power of waking?" I asked.
"Long ago child, the power of waking was a powerful tool used to counquer the forces of evil. But in time, it's power began to slowly fade away like a flame dying out on a candle. Knights in shinging armor, historical figures history either glorifies or ignores, Keyblade Wielders, and once, very long ago in a galaxy far away, powerful users of the Force." said the woman.
"Star Wars?" I asked.
The old woman chuckled. "Those movies and books of today are based on things that happened in different universes. This power is something both of you have. In fact, you both should know by now. You both share it."
Annie and I looked at eachother in our eyes. "Love." we both said.
"Yes. Love. The most powerful and greatest of all virtues.Your love is what will save our world. Today and now." said the old woman.
"Then why all this backstory about our universe?" I asked.
The old lady smiled. "Well we want to make this "fan fiction" a little bit more lore don't you think?" said the old woman with a wink.
I smiled and so did Annie.
"Then, if our love is strong, what are going to do about the wendigos? And you mentioned a dark master?" asked Annie.
"Yes. Well... there is someone evil behind the shadows. This person has been watching you both in envy and it wishes to see you both fall into the dark." said the old woman.
"But who? Is it my shadow? The dark version of myself?" I asked.
"Even your shadows are serving someone bigger. Your Dr. Otto Scratchnsniff thinks he's in charge, but in reality he's a mere puppet to the true mastermind of this evil." said the old woman.
"True mastermind?" I asked.
Annie looked at me and realized something. And so did I. The word mastermind was very obvious.
"What if... Dr. Scratchnsniff... what if that was his shadow?" I asked.
"Then that means the real Dr. is... good?" said Annie.
The old woman shrugged. "He is still evil looking."
I tried not to chuckle. I came to a sudden realization. And a sudden cold feeling in my shoulders. I knew who the villain was. I mean, it was so freaking obvious. Even Annie looked dissapointed in herself. The old woman chuckled in delight.
"You figured out who was behind it all? Marvelous." said the old woman.
"We have to go back and warn them! We left them all alone!" I cried.
We both quickly said our farewells to the woman.
"We are sorry, but we realy need to go and face our enemy." I said.
"And demand he stops chasing us." said Annie.
"Remember, use the power of love." said the old woman.
"We won't forget you. Thank you." said Annie as she kissed the woman on the cheek.
"By the way, we didn't get your name." I said.
"Oh, that won't be necessary. You see... in a couple of years you will see me in a new animated Disney movie. And you will find out my name through there." said the woman waving goodbye.
We both waved at her and we ran back into the cave to reach our friends. It won't be until the year 2003 when I finally learn the old woman's name. She appeared in a very beautiful and criminally underated Disney movie about Bears. It was like the Lion King for me.
And by now, you probably figured out who our true enemy was. Gosh, it was so predictable and I gotta admit, I did not see that one coming. Think about it. The one person I didn't see a shadow of. Dr. Otto Scratchnsniff's shadow. I wanted to point out something I forgot to mention. The shadow didn't have an accent. Otto spoke in a very German esque accent. How did I not see that detail and leave it out. Plus, "he" sent Pinky to me because he wanted Pinky out of the way.
I should have known.
The Brain. He was the mastermind.