If you want to know more about Neo, go read the story. Tyfi Signal owns Neo and is completely fine with me using him. Feel free to leave a review if you have any questions or just want to give a review.
Lucy awoke to find herself on the floor. She looked around and was still in the basement on the cold stone floor. Chomp was nowhere to be seen. She looked over to where the guitar was and saw it was open. She quickly ran over to it to find it still sitting there. She stared at it for a moment before closing the case and going up the elevator.
Chomp is one sneaky robot, she thought as she went up the elevator. She arrived at the first floor and found Ryder filling up dog bowls. Nobody else was awake.
"Good morning," Lucy greeted as she went over to watch him.
This kindness surprised Ryder. "Good morning," he said. "If you're looking for Chomp, it left last night while I was cleaning. It just came up the elevator and walked out the door. I watched it walk across the bridge before it disappeared on the other side."
"She comes and goes," Lucy stated. "Which bowl is mine?"
Ryder pointed to the gray bowl and Lucy went over and started eating. After a few minutes, Chase came in with the other pups following him. Bella came down the elevator from where she went to sleep. Lucy moved her bowl away from them but that didn't stop them from trying to talk to her.
Marshall was the first one to speak. "So… You make fire?" he asked with a nervous smile.
Lucy glared at him. "I can do more than that if you make me mad enough," her tone was even and displayed no emotion.
Chase growled at her. "Don't threaten my friends."
"It wasn't a threat," she said. "My emotions play a role in my power. If I can't control my emotions, then I can't control my power. Being honest isn't a threat."
Ryder whistled and Lucy had enough of it. "Why do you have to do that. I hate it!"
Ryder was surprised at her outburst. "It's just how I get their attention. It's effective and it doesn't bother them."
"Fine. Just don't be so loud."
Ryder turned his attention to the pups. "Today, there will be no emergencies. Mayor Goodway is giving us a day off for our hard work. You are free to do as you wish but don't leave the lookout without coming to me first. If you need me, I will be in my garage talking to Lucy."
The pups nodded and went their separate ways. Lucy followed Ryder to the garage where he used a lift to raise his ATV and went to work on it. Lucy looked around at his tables and the only thing that caught her eye was a black pup tag that was in several pieces.
"What happened to that?" she asked.
Ryder slid out from under his vehicle and looked at the pup tag. "It broke during a mission. I'll have it fixed soon," he said as he slid back under and went back to work. "So, how many of these elements are there?"
"I only have knowledge about 12 of them but recent information shows that there are 24."
"What are they?"
"Lightning, fire, water, ice, poison, metal, earth, crystal, plasma, wind, shadow, and nature."
Ryder got up and started working on the back of it. "Some of those don't even make sense. Lightning is plasma."
Lucy just sighed. This was not the first time she had to explain this. "Your mortal concepts are close but not entirely correct. There is so much that you have yet to understand."
"In the parlor, you started making things change and go crazy. What was that?"
Lucy smiled. "I was demonstrating my power. I was using fire, lightning, and ice."
"I would prefer it if you don't use your powers around my pups. You are welcome to take the guitar and return to where you came from."
Lucy thought about this. "Actually, I think I'll be staying for a little while longer. I'll take any time I can get away from my employer. I won't use my power around your pups."
Ryder nodded and Lucy left the garage. She looked around before she spotted some of the pups playing on a trampoline. She went over to watch but Chase was there and he glared at her. Her ears lowered and she went to find something else to do. She walked around for a bit and found Bella working on her pup house.
Lucy approached slowly. "What are you working on."
This sudden noise startled Bella and she pointed her drill at Lucy. "Oh, it's just you," she said as she lowered the drill. "I'm just working on my pup house. Something isn't working right."
Lucy walked around the pup house and observed it. "What does it use for power?"
"All of the vehicles are powered by electricity. Rocky doesn't like the use of gasoline. He says it's bad for the environment."
"Did you check that the battery was fully charged?"
Bella just glared. "Yes. I'm not an idiot."
"Did you make sure that the battery was connected?"
Bella's face paled for a moment before she ran to the back of the pup house and opened a panel. You could clearly see that the battery was not connected.
Bella quickly plugged it back in. "I guess I forgot to plug it in when I took it out. Thanks."
Lucy nodded and began to walk away but stopped when she felt something. Something else was here and she could feel its presence. She just shook her head and started walking across the bridge. She didn't notice it at first but the water in the bay was moving in a very unnatural way.
It took a while but Lucy made it across the bridge and headed to the pet parlor. She walked in and found Neo playing with that cat. It ran around while he chased it. Katie was busy putting things on shelves while they played. Neo chased the cat until he slipped and slid into Katie.
Katie sighed. "Neo, I told you to stop chasing Cali. I don't want to do this but I have to if I want to get work done."
She put her stuff down and picked Neo up. She brought him over to a chair and made him sit on it.
"Stay," she told him.
His ears flattened. "You can't keep me here forever."
"You only have to stay there until I finish putting this stuff away."
Neo started whimpering so Katie walked over and gave him a squeaky toy. Soon, Neo was happily chewing on his toy. Lucy walked further into the parlor and approached Katie. Katie was surprised to see her.
"Hello, Lucy," Katie said as she bent down to pet her.
Lucy pulled away before Katie could touch her. "Don't pet me. I'm nobody's pet."
Katie moved closer to her and Lucy pulled away again. They did this a few times before Katie just jumped at her and picked her up. Lucy tried to escape her arms but was unsuccessful. Katie started petting her head and Lucy's tail started wagging.
Lucy realized this and sighed. "Could you please put me down. I don't want to hurt you and I don't like this."
Katie laughed. "Really? According to your tail, you're loving this."
Lucy's skin turned ice cold and Katie yelped at the sudden change in temperature and dropped her. Lucy shook herself and walked over to a rubber bone. She poked at it a few times before walking over to a dog bed to curl up in.
"You really like to sleep," Katie said as she went back to putting stuff on shelves. "Do you get enough sleep at night?"
Lucy turned to look at her. "I may be immortal but I do need rest. I've slept for a few years once. I was surprised to find out I slept that long but nothing happened while I was asleep."
Neo was still going to town on that toy. Lucy looked at him. "Is Neo allowed to leave or is he in trouble?"
Katie looked over at neo. "He can leave as long as he doesn't cause trouble."
Lucy nodded and went over to Neo. "Do you want to go somewhere?"
Neo let go of the toy. "Where would we go?"
"Somewhere more interesting."
"The beach is pretty interesting."
"Sure."
They left and went to the beach. Not much was going on there except for a few people. The cold weather was on its way and a cold breeze could be felt.
A few hours later
They were walking along the beach and talked about Lucy's powers and the elements.
"I still can't believe you're that old," Neo said as they walked.
Lucy laughed. "Not everybody is willing to believe in the impossible."
"Were you always a dog?"
"No. I'm just using this form to blend in. My usual form is similar to human but my mentor thought this would be better."
"Who's your mentor?"
Lucy was hesitant. "He's just an old man. There's not much to say about him."
"Okay." Neo was also hesitant when giving information. He didn't exactly trust this strange creature. "I haven't always been a dog either. I used to be human but this cloaked figure turned me into a dog. I've gotten over it. It was about a year ago."
"Who is this figure?" Lucy asked.
"I don't know. I was um… hurting a pup and he just showed up and turned me into a pup."
Lucy thought about this new information. "I'll have to find this figure. Maybe there is something he can teach me. Do you know where-"
They were interrupted when the sand around them erupted and started moving. Lucy was suddenly buried in the sand and standing in front of her was a strange creature made of sand. It only had a humanoid upper body and his lower body melted into the sand. The sand it was made from started to harden into an outer shell. Two eyes carved themselves into its face.
"Finally, a decent meal," it said with a raspy voice.
It reached out and was about to grab her before water shot out from the bay. The water made its hand soggy and it fell apart but it quickly reformed. It stared out at the bay and waited. A drop of water fell on its shoulder and it looked up. Above the creature was a large bubble of water. It popped and the sand creature melted and disappeared.
"You should be careful, girly," a voice said from the bay.
Another creature rose from the bay. It was large and blue. It stood at 7 feet and its right arm was similar to a crustacean. It was covered in a red shell and had a claw at the end. The creature was covered in various barnacles and starfish. On its back was a large assortment of coral. Its face was a red starfish with a beard of red tube coral.
"Sand demons are dangerous things," it said. The words just flowed from its mouth. Its voice was aged.
"Who are you?" Neo asked. This question caused Lucy to sigh. She knew who this was.
The creature from the bay just laughed. "I am Hornacle, Celestial of Water. I guard the oceans and protect the mortals I come across. It never hurts to do a public service."
Lucy pulled herself from the pile of sand. "Hello, Hornacle."
Hornacle stared at her for a minute before smiling. "Jacob! It's good to see you again. It's been centuries."
"Why are you here?"
Hornacle scratched his chin. "I think I had something for you. Yeah, I received a message from the Time Master. He said, 'the stones are approaching and you must act fast when they land.' That was all he told me."
Lucy's face paled. They can't be coming, She thought. I'm not ready.
"What are the stones?' Neo asked.
Hornacle just gave him a sad smile. "That is a story for another day. You shouldn't worry about it. I have something else for you Lucy."
Hornacle breathed in but when he breathed out, his breath didn't come from his mouth. It came out of his beard and a symphony of horns sounded from his beard. The tube coral wasn't just coral, they also served as horns. The waves parted and a trident came from them.
Lucy was shocked. "Why did you bring that here?"
Lucy's trident was bronze. It's middle point was a blade instead of the normal point. The intersection of the trident held a cage-like structure. Inside this structure was a glowing green stone that just floated in the center.
Neo was amazed at this unique weapon. "What's that green thing?"
"It's very important," Lucy said. "A stone was made for each element and that one is the emerald. It's most commonly known as the time stone."
Hornacle blew his horns and the trident returned to the sea. "I was told to give this to you when you go back to Mount Olympus. When the time comes for you to leave, come to the sea and the trident will return to you."
"Thank you, Hornacle. I appreciate your kindness."
Hornacle nodded and walked back into the sea. The water returned to normal and nothing was left to mark the Celestial's presence. The sun was going down so Neo and Lucy decided to head back to the lookout. When they arrived, the other pups were watching tv and Ryder was playing on his pup pad. Neo went inside while Lucy walked to the edge of the hill and looked out at the sea.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?"
Lucy turned and saw Zuma walking towards her. "Yeah. I have always loved the ocean. It's calming to watch the waves."
Zuma nodded. "I love watching the waves. It's weally calming when evewything else in my life seems to be cwazy."
"Rhotacism."
"What?"
Lucy giggled. "You have Rhotacism."
Zuma looked down at his paws. "Yeah. I know I talk funny. I'm working on it."
Lucy gave him a smile. "You shouldn't be ashamed of it. Nobody's perfect." She paused for a moment. "I think it's cute."
Zuma turned to look at her. Their muzzles were close. Both of them noticed but neither of them back away. They stared into each other's eyes and Lucy scooted closer.
"Hi, guys."
Lucy quickly turned away and growled. "Hi, Rocky."
"What are you guys doing?" He asked as he sat between them.
Zuma was still staring at Lucy. He quickly realized this and turned his attention back to the waves.
"We were just talking," Lucy said as she refused to meet their eyes. "And we were watching the waves."
Rocky groaned. "I don't see why people like water. Don't you know that drowning is a very common way to die? I'm not taking any chances."
Zuma snickered. "Are you sure it's not your aquaphobia?"
"Leave me alone, Zuma. I'm working on it." Rocky said as he stood back up to head inside.
Zuma got up to follow him. "Why am I the only one that can get you to take a bath? What makes me special?"
Rocky blushed but it was too dark for Zuma to notice. "You're just calming. A calming voice helps me."
The two went back inside to continue their conversation. Lucy was now alone once more. She looked up at the sky and lightning flashed. A few minutes passed and Lucy was now soaking wet. She went back inside and all the pups looked at her.
"Did you have fun?" Ryder asked as he grabbed a towel.
"Ha ha, very funny," she said as Ryder dried her. She was soon dried and her fur was now standing up. The pups all laughed when they saw her fur.
"Alright, stop laughing at her," Ryder said. All of the pups stopped laughing except for Neo. Chase nudged him and he stopped. The pups all went to their bowls and ate their dinner.
The pups played for a bit while Lucy watched tv. After an hour, Ryder told them it was time for bed.
"Come on, Lucy," he called to her. "It's time for bed."
Lucy looked at him. "I'm not one of your pups. I don't need to go to bed at the same time as them."
Ryder sighed. He received the same kind of argument from his pups on several occasions. "I know you're old but you live here for the time being and you need to follow the rules."
Lucy sighed and followed him up the elevator. They reached a room that appeared to be his. Most of the pups slept on a blanket on the floor but Bella and Neo were on Ryder's bed. Lucy climbed up there with them. They looked at her before falling back asleep. Lucy curled up and went to sleep.
The next day
The next morning was fairly normal except for the fact that Lucy was tired and accidentally set her bowl on fire.
"Sorry, Ryder," Lucy said as she watched him throw away the charred remains of her bowl. "I wasn't paying attention."
"It's fine," Ryder said. "Just be more careful, okay? I don't need any more 'accidents'."
Lucy was about to walk away but Ryder grabbed her by the collar. "Something happened in the basement this morning."
Lucy's face hardened. "Where's the guitar?"
Ryder sighed. "I'm not sure. I went down there and-"
He was cut off when wind blew him back. He slammed into the back wall and the temperature rose. The light bulbs shattered as Lucy made her way towards him. Her eyes were a bright white.
"Who took it?" Her voice was steely calm.
"I don't know," Ryder said as he struggled to stand. "I was reviewing the surveillance this morning and the camera went out in the middle of the night. I went down to check it and the case was empty."
Everything went back to normal but Lucy looked surprised to see everything go back to normal. The temperature returned to normal and the lights fixed themselves.
"Tell me, Jacob. How much do you value this guitar?"
Lucy turned around and found herself facing the mind demon once more.
"What do you want this time, Cipher?"
Bill held the guitar in one hand. "I'll make you a deal. Tell me which dimension the sword is in and I'll give you the guitar."
"I will never tell you where the guitar is. How do I know if you'll hold up your end?"
Bill just laughed. "You don't. But I don't think you have much of a choice. I'm in control here and I have the guitar."
Lucy thought for a moment before sighing. "It's in the 7th dimension."
"Where in the 7th dimension?"
Lucy glared at him. "That wasn't part of the deal."
"You're right. Here's the guitar, kid. Don't kill yourself with it."
He tossed the guitar on the floor and left the same way he came. Ryder got up and walked to the door but didn't see where Bill went.
"I need to leave, Ryder," Lucy said as Ryder turned towards her. "The guitar isn't safe here and all of you aren't safe as long as it's here. I'll take it to Starhenge and return it to Attmoz."
"Will you have the strength to go there?" He asked. "You said that your cut weakens you."
"I'll be able to heal it with the guitar. I just need to take it before something else tries to steal it."
Ryder looked back out the door. "Why did he just leave? He could've taken the guitar and left."
"Bill is a strange creature. He just wants a sword."
Ryder turned to look at her. "Why did he call you Jacob?"
Lucy sighed. "That's my name."
"So you're male?"
"I am most of the time but this is one of the rare times when I'm female."
Ryder walked over and took the collar off her. "You're allowed to leave. I won't keep you here."
He started petting her head. "You'll always be welcome here."
Lucy gave him a sad smile. "I'll return one day but I must leave. I need to go to the beach."
"I'll take you there."
A few minutes later
They made it to the beach and Lucy looked out at the water. A wave came in and her trident washed up on the shore. She grabbed it and was covered in a white light. Standing where the dog once stood was a 7-foot man. He stood there with pale skin and blond hair. He turned to Ryder with green eyes.
"I need the guitar," he said.
Ryder nodded and tossed him the guitar. "Is this what you really look like?"
Jacob smiled. "This is what I look like most of the time. It's how I blend in with humans. I must leave now but this won't be the last you see of me."
A portal opened behind him and he fell back into it.
Jacob blinked and found himself standing on a floating island. In the center of the island stood a tall telescope. The floor of the island was covered in large, rectangular stones. He looked around and saw that nobody else was with him.
"Good evening, Jacob," a voice said from behind.
Jacob turned and saw the Celestial of Lightning. "Hello, Galvana."
She gave him a smile. "I see you have found the guitar. That's great. I will return it to Attmoz when he returns."
"Um, How have you been?" Jacob asked with a nervous smile.
"It could be better."
They stared at each other for a bit. They didn't speak much since Galvan spent most of her time on Starhenge. Galvana was the eldest of the Celestials and the wisest. Attmoz may have been their leader but he respected Galvana's wisdom.
Galvana let out a sigh. "We are losing this war, Jacob."
"No. I will defeat my father. We can stop his forces."
"You don't understand," she said as she stared into his eyes. "The gods no longer support you."
"What?"
Galvana nodded. "You didn't take your father's offer but Zeus did. The gods will be spared from your father's wrath but the dimensions will not."
Jacob's mouth hung open. "He can't do this. We're making progress and he just gave up?"
"You can't stop your father without the sword. He is fated to die by it and you are fated to kill him."
"I can stop him without the sword if I had your help. Just bring Starhenge to where my father is and help me kill him."
Galvana shook her head. "The Celestials can't help you. The other Celestials follow Attmoz and he wants you to deal with it on your own. If I could help you, I would but I won't betray him. I will do what I can to convince him but I can't make any promises."
Jacob walked to the edge and sat down. "What am I gonna do, Galvana? I'm on my own here."
Galvana gripped her staff and walked towards him. "It's time for you to do your job. You're the god of heroes. It's time for new heroes to rise."
"It's been ages since I trained a hero. I can't do it."
Galvana smacked him with her staff. "The stones were heroes once. They can be heroes again."
Jacob stood over her. "They're monsters! They betrayed the Source. I am not freeing them."
"You don't have a choice. They're coming, Jacob. 9 of them will be freed from the tablet and some of them may help you but they won't be enough to stop The Overlord. It's time to wake the Source."
Jacob pushed passed her and walked towards the telescope. "I've tried to wake it but it's not responding."
"Most of the Source's systems shut down when it went to sleep but some of them are still active and are monitoring the dimensions. If they detect an abnormal amount of darkness in the Alpha dimension, then they will wake the Source so it can deal with it."
Galvana turned to face him. "Your father must enter the Alpha dimension and spread his darkness."
"We're trying to prevent him from doing that. That's the point of this war. If he destroys the Source, then we lose. The dimensions will fall and he will reign chaos across whatever's left of the dimensions."
"You must have faith in the Source."
That's all I've been doing!" Jacob shouted. "I have always trusted the Source but where is it when I need it?"
Galvana thought for a moment. "Perhaps it is time for a prophecy. It will help you with your journey."
"Where is there an oracle that can give me a prophecy?"
"The 17th dimension is home to the Grove of Dodona. It used to be in the first dimension but it was destroyed by your father. It regrew in the 17th dimension but it will not be an easy task."
"Do you know where it is in this dimension?"
"No."
Jacob sighed. This was just another long mission but he was at full strength now so it shouldn't be very difficult. Maybe this will be an easy mission, he thought but immediately regretted it. No mission was ever easy.
Galvana saw the look on his face. "Don't mistake this mission for easy, Jacob. I can assure you that finding an ancient oracle will be very difficult. You should visit the Time Master before you go. He would like to speak with you."
Jacob nodded and left through a portal. The Hall of Heroes was quiet but that wasn't the troubling part. All of the torches were out. All of the statues were untouched except for the 8th hero. His statue was fully repaired. Jacob entered the large chamber and quickly noticed that his statue was destroyed. Was it really a dream, he questioned as he walked towards his throne.
The Time Master took notice of his entry. "I'm sure you noticed the recent repairs that I didn't authorize."
Yes, I noticed," Jacob said as he sat on his throne. "Do you know who did it?"
"I'm not sure but I have a few guesses."
Jacob cleared his throat. "Galvana said you wanted to see me."
"Indeed, she did. I heard you were going after the Grove of Dodona?"
"News travels fast."
The Time Master scoffed. "You can't keep secrets from me, Jacob. The 9th hero came from the 17th dimension. He wielded the element of light."
"I'm very aware."
"Levi Gladio," he said with a smile. "He was a great hero. He slayed so much evil."
"You've told me this before."
"His name is what the humans in the first dimension called him. Sadly, they forgot his story as the centuries passed."
"Is there a point you're trying to make?"
The Time Master turned to look at him. "The point is that his power lives on. He died and his power remained in his sword. The sword was used by a line of heroes similar to this one. Its last wielder destroyed it to save her world. Be kind to her when you meet her. She has saved her world several times and still works to defend it. She absorbed the sword's power and will be a valuable ally."
"Perhaps she can help me find the grove," Jacob said. "What's her name?"
"They call her She-Ra."
Enjoy the 17th dimension. The next chapter probably won't be written quickly because I have school work I need to do and I will be writing longer chapters. This chapter was already partially written by the time I posted the last chapter. Leave a review if you just want to express your opinion or have a question.
