The hunt for the stones continues with Neo. He's an interesting pup that wasn't always a pup. Enjoy the chapter.
The morning light shined through the doors of the lookout. A week had passed and still no signs of the other stones. Unfortunately, the light that came through the doors landed on an unsuspecting pup and Lucy was not pleased with this. She opened her eyes and immediately closed them after seeing the bright light in the window. She turned away and opened her eyes to see the recent repairs to the lookout. The repairs to the lookout were complete and some things were improved. She heard whistling and looked to see Ryder preparing breakfast.
"Morning." She greeted as she walked up to him.
Ryder smiled down at her. "Good morning, Lucy."
He reached down to pet her but she pulled away. His hand missed her head and she glared at him. He laughed and was about to comment but a loud gasp caught their attention. They looked over and saw Everest breathing heavily. Her eyes were wide open and she looked around before finding them.
"Hi." Everest said between breaths.
Ryder walked over to comfort her. "Did you have another nightmare?"`
She whimpered and tried to crawl away. Ryder grabbed her and pulled her into his lap. He stroked her head as she tried to calm down.
"It's just a dream." He said. "Calm down and we can talk about it."
"I don't wanna talk about it." She muttered.
"It'll make you feel better." He told her.
She shook her head and wiggled her way out of his grasp. She walked outside and Ryde sighed as he watched her go.
"Give her time, Ryder." Lucy said. "She just needs some time to process what happened."
Ryder nodded. "She keeps having nightmares but won't tell me about it."
"Just give her time." Lucy told him as she walked to the elevator.
She arrived at the top to find an interesting scene. Rocky had his head in one of the various machines. She watched as he attempted to remove his head from the hole with very little success. She rolled her eyes before changing to her usual form. Jacob used his god-like strength to peel back the metal and pulled Rocky out of the machine. Rocky glared up at him.
"I could've done it by myself," Rocky said.
Rocky mumbled something and went to gather his tools. Jacob turned his attention to the main monitor. A map of the area was on the screen and he could see the icons of the missing pups. Zuma was still circling the bay and the other three were in separate locations of the forest. Rocky came up beside him and observed the map.
"Do you ever wonder why they kept the pup tags?" He asked.
Jacob thought for a moment. "They probably don't know they have them."
"But the sapphire encased it in ice. Why wouldn't they destroy them?"
Jacob shrugged. "Guilt? They're pulling energy from the soul of their host and they might feel guilty about it. It's hard to tell without talking to them."
Ryder came up the elevator and stood behind them as he looked at the map. They watched as Zuma stopped and began going the opposite direction. Rocky scratched his ear before asking a question that's been bugging him.
"Why are they staying here?" He asked. "Are they still hiding?"
Jacob let out a breath. "I'm not sure and I don't like it."
Rocky noticed Ryder standing behind them. "Where's Everest?"
"She's on her way back to Jake." Ryder assured him. "There's no need to worry."
Rocky gave Ryder a strange look. "I wasn't worried."
"What?" Ryder asked.
"Hey, guys." Jacob called. "Something's wrong."
"There are many things wrong right now." Rocky said.
"This hasn't happened before." Jacob said as he pointed to an area on the map.
The other two looked at the map to see that something was definitely wrong. Neo's pup tag was gray and unmoving. It had been moving very slowly before but it was now completely still. The other icons still had color but Neo's pup tag was a dull gray.
"Oh no." Ryder said. "This isn't good."
"What does this mean?" Jacob asked.
Ryder took a deep breath. "This tracks them by sending out a signal and tracking where that signal stops. The signal stops when it is received by one of the tags. This means that Neo stopped receiving the signal."
"But that only happens if the tag is broken or turned off." Rocky said.
Ryder nodded. Jacob hasn't taken his eyes off the map. He was observing every inch of it. The forest didn't seem big but he knew that size can be deceiving. He thought about his last encounter with one of the stones and knew this was going to be just as hard.
"Is the sapphire secure?" He asked as he turned around.
"Yeah, why?" Ryder questioned.
Jacob made his way to the elevator. "Keep it that way. I'm going after Neo. He shouldn't be far from his last location."
"Do you want me to come with you?" Rocky asked.
"No." Jacob said with a glare. "Stay here and continue repairs."
"But there isn't anything else to fix."
"Anything can be improved." Jacob advised before going down.
He exited the lookout and saw the forest in the distance. He looked out across the bay and watched the humans. He watched them carelessly live their lives. They lived with little fear and no knowledge of the dangers that awaited them in the shadows. He was about to go to the forest but something strange happened.
He blinked a few times and saw that his eyes were not deceiving him. Everything was frozen. The humans weren't moving, the waves were completely still, birds were floating in the air. Time just seemed to stop. He turned in circles as he searched for the source of this problem. This lasted until he turned once more and saw that he was not alone. Standing behind him was a cloaked figure. A hood covered their face but two bright eyes shone from under the hood.
Jacob raised his trident. "What are you?"
"Not important." The figure said.
"Who are you?" Jacob asked as he backed away.
"Also not important."
Jacob cleared his throat. "Are you doing this?"
"Not personally. I called in a favor from my lord."
"And who is that?"
"Not important at the moment."
"So it'll be important later?"
"We are straying from the point."
"And what's that?" Jacob said as he raised his voice. "I don't have time for this."
"You must save Neo."
"I already know that!"
Something about this figure unnerved Jacob. The figure was calm and emotionless. It spoke about some lord it followed but gave no details about who it is. The fact that this lord could freeze time didn't make Jacob feel any better about this interaction.
"You know he must be saved but you do not know where he is." The figure said in its calm tone.
"I already know where he is."
The figure stepped forward. "You know where he was but you do not know where he is."
"And you do?" Jacob said as he scrambled back.
"Go to the forest and follow the path. You will reach a lake within the hour. Bend down and stare into the water. When you do, turn around and he will be there."
Jacob pointed his trident at the figure. "How do I know I can trust you?"
"You don't."
And the figure was gone. Jacob looked around and saw no signs of the strange being. It just vanished. It left no smoke, no trail, and strangely no footprints. He was pretty sure it didn't have a shadow. Jacob shook his head to clear it and began walking to the forest.
The walk was quite nice. Jacob could surely turn into something that could fly but he liked the human ways of transportation. They were simple and didn't require much energy. There were many things that Jacob loved about the humans. He would do anything to protect them.
He arrived at the entrance to the forest and saw the path. The tracks of Ryder's ATV were still visible in the dirt. It didn't appear that humans visited the forest often. He walked down the long and winding path. He passed several trees that had holes in them. The holes looked melted and most were still steaming. He continued down the path and searched the trees for threats.
He started stumbling a bit as he continued walking. His vision blurred a bit but he didn't let that stop him. Eventually, the path ended and a small lake came into view. He figured he might as well take the figure's advice. He approached the edge of the lake and stared into the water. A feeling of queasiness immediately formed in his stomach and he fell to his knees.
Despite not needing oxygen, he struggled to breath. The world seemed to spin beneath him as he stared into the water. There was something wrong with the water. It was clear but all of the fish were floating at the top. Movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He looked to his left and saw a strange gas moving around the edge of the lake. It was a sickly shade of yellow and had no smell. It surrounded him and the world seemed to tilt.
A small laugh from behind him made him freeze. He turned and expected to see a monster but was met with a large cloud of the same gas. It cleared and he saw that the figure was right. Standing before him was one of the strangest creatures he has ever seen.
The creature was standing on two feet but it was hunched over and leaned on its knuckles. It was very thin. Its skin was white and looked like a mushroom stalk. A large mushroom that was around 3 feet grew on its back. Various other fungus grew on its body. Without the mushroom, this creature stood at around 5 feet tall.A large mouth with yellow teeth took the place of its face. It had no eyes and had two small holes on the sides of its head that most likely served as ears. It wore a cocky smile as it stared at Jacob. The same yellow gas from before came from its mouth as it spoke.
"Having trouble, Siriqois?" Its voice was rough and very breathy. It spoke each word slowly.
Jacob stumbled away from the creature. "I-I'm guessing you're one of the stones?"
The creature let out a breathy laugh. "Please, call me Tox."
Jacob leaned against a tree for support. "What did you do to me?"
"I had you in my grasp as soon as you stepped in the forest."
"What do you mean?"
Tox gave him a cocky smile. "A forest is home to many plants and many toxins. There are so many possibilities and combinations. It took me a while but I finally made a poison that can break down mortal bodies and make them suffer."
Jacob attempted to stop breathing but the gas forced its way through the pores of his skin. He raised his trident and immediately dropped it as the strength left his body. He felt his body go numb and his eyes rolled back in his head. He fell forward and landed in the dirt. Tox grabbed the trident and poked him with it. He got no response.
"Such weakness." Tox said to no one in particular. "Perhaps losing a few friends will teach you something."
He attempted to straighten his back by using the trident for support but had limited success. He managed to stand tall enough that his hands weren't dragging the ground but wasn't standing completely straight. He began walking down the path to begin his reign of terror. Unknown to him, the unconscious god heard everything.
Back at the lookout
Things were less eventful at the tower. They were waiting for Jacob to return so they could rescue the next pup. Rocky was busying himself with the long task of sorting through his recycling truck. He had organized everything except for a certain group of objects. He stared at the 5 pieces of the tablet in his possession.
He attempted to assemble them and discovered that they fit together nicely. The bottom side was a perfect hemisphere and the top was completely flat. 12 holes were arranged in a circle on the top of the tablet. 3 of them were filled with the dormant stones. There was a hole in the center and Rocky assumed that was where the last piece would go.
"Some day." He muttered.
He disassembled the pieces and closed his truck. He watched it transform and put the pieces into his pup house. He was going to check on the sapphire but decided to leave it alone until Jacob returned. He heard whistling and saw Ryder cleaning his ATV. He walked over to talk to him.
"Hi Ryder." Rocky said with a smile.
Ryder looked over and smiled. "Hello Rocky. How have you been?"
"Not good." Rocky said. "The lookout feels empty without the others."
Ryder sighed. "I know, Rocky. We'll get them back. We just need to wait for Jacob to get back with Neo so we can rescue the next pup."
Rocky nodded. "I just worry that we won't be able to save everyone. Can we really trust Jacob to do the right thing and save them? You saw what he did to the sapphire."
"He saved her, Rocky."
"I know but what if it comes to saving them or stopping the stone. We don't know if he'll choose saving them over stopping the stone from getting away."
Ryder took a deep breath. "I know, Rocky. I've been thinking about it, too. I'll talk to him about it when he gets back."
They sat in silence as Ryder finished cleaning his ride. It's been nearly a week since their encounter with the sapphire and they still felt uneasy with the way that Jacob handled it. Ryder planned to reason with the frozen beast but Jacob turned to violence before Ryder had the chance.
A cool breeze began blowing through the area. Rocky took a deep breath of the cool air and immediately started choking. Ryder didn't think anything of it until he realized that Rocky was struggling to breath. He rushed over to help his pup.
"Rocky! Are you okay?!" He asked.
Rocky gave no response and went limp in his arms. Ryder checked his pulse and was relieved to find a heartbeat. He stood up with Rocky in his arms and was about to run to Katie but noticed that he was surrounded. A yellow gas was surrounding them slowly. It was a foot tall and rolled across the ground.
The gas spread across the ground around the lookout. It sizzled and crackled whenever it consumed an object. A cloud of gas began forming in front of Ryder and he watched as a shape began to form in the gas. It dissipated and Ryder saw the creature that caused this. Many things confused him about this creature but the most confusing thing was its weapon.
"What are you?" He asked as he backed away from the creature.
The creature laughed at the boy. "I am the lemon jade, but you can call me Tox."
"What do you want?"
Tox laughed. "That's an interesting question. I'm here to make sure Neo has nothing to return to. If he breaks free, I want him to see that he has nothing left to fight for. He will spend an eternity as my host whether he wants to or not."
Ryder stared at this creature in shock. It was willing to destroy everything to get what it wanted. For once, he didn't know what to do. This thing didn't want peace. It wanted to rule.
"Maybe we can figure this out?" Ryder proposed with a nervous smile. "I'm sure I can help-"
"Enough talk!" Tox yelled in anger. "If someone wanted to help me, they would have done it by now. The pain I have felt will be nothing compared to the pain you're about to feel."
The clouds of gas began to quickly rise. They continued rising until they were about seven feet tall. Ryder stayed in the small area he was left with. He didn't know what the gas was but he figured it would be bad if he went in it. Tox laughed as he heard Ryder squirm to avoid the gas.
He could have killed the boy by now but he loved torturing his prey. He could save time and finish it quickly but why not enjoy it? He's got an eternity. He's in no hurry. The only thing limiting him is the lifespan of his victims.
The clouds of gas began to close in on Ryder. They were slowly moving towards the center but something stopped them. The ground beneath him grew dark as the gas began to turn black. Ryder watched as more of the gas turned black and sank into the ground. Soon, all of the gas surrounding the lookout was gone.
Tox was having a rather unpleasant reaction to this. He had no eyes and followed by smell. He could no longer smell the gas and couldn't feel it around his legs. He heard Ryder breathing in front of him. He turned his head around as he tried to locate his gas. He found himself unable to make more.
Ryder heard lightning and looked up to see a dark cloud forming above the lookout. Lightning flashed but it was black. The light was leached from the air with every flash of this black lighting and the air around the lookout grew darker. A strange form began rising from the short, black fog surrounding the lookout.
This form was completely black and semi-transparent. It was as tall as Ryder's garage and had long and lanky arms. Its elbows were at its waist and its hands reached the ground with long fingers. Strange limbs aside, it was fairly humanoid and very skinny. There were many unsettling things about this creature but the thing that unsettled Ryder the most were its two eyes. They glowed a bright red and had no pupils. Tox couldn't see the creature but he could feel that something was there.
"What are you?!" He yelled as he swung the trident around. Each swing missed the dark being.
The black fog was now around Ryder's ankles and was touching his skin. This sent a shiver down his spine and a sense of fear began to envelop him. Every instinct told him to run as he watched the weird creature circle Tox. Its movements were silent and it spoke no words.
"What is this witchcraft, boy?" Tox yelled as he swung the trident wildly.
Ryder remained frozen as he watched the strange creature. The creature poked at Tox as it walked around him. With each poke, Tox spun and jabbed the trident in that direction. Ryder's eyes widened as he watched the trident go right through the creature. It passed through the creature like a shadow.
After realizing this, the creature moved closer to Tox. It tilted its head as it watched the trident enter and exit its form. It suddenly reached forward and grabbed the trident. Tox attempted to pull the trident free but it didn't move a single inch. The shadow being had a grip as tight as steel as it effortlessly held the trident in place. It put a hand on Tox's shoulder and pushed him away. The shadow threw the trident down the hill and watched Tox attempt to find it.
Things got stranger from here. The creature grabbed Tox's legs and slammed him into the ground several times. Tox struggled to stand in his dazed state and mumbled words that sounded more like random noises. Once again, the creature threw Tox onto the ground and his mushroom was bent and torn in several places. The shadow being forced Tox's mouth open and grabbed a hold of his teeth. It pulled several yellow teeth from Tox's mouth and yellow liquid began to pour from it. When the liquid hit the ground, it sizzled and started to melt the asphalt.
The horrid creature raised its foot and forced through Tox's head. The sound of bones cracking filled the air as Tox's skull caved in. Tox began to dissolve into yellow gas. This gas was quickly absorbed by the shadow being. The mushroom was the only remaining as it rolled to the side. The last of the gas was absorbed and a small black and white dog was laying on the ground.
Ryder stood in stunned silence as he watched the shadow pick up Neo by his collar and swiftly grabbed the mushroom. The creature walked to him and set the dog at his feet. It looked Ryder in the eyes and Ryder's heart pounded in his ears. It used one of its long arms to reach up and pull itself up to the entrance of the lookout. It walked inside and went up the elevator.
Ryder looked down at Neo before setting Rocky down beside him. He grabbed a pet carrier and put both dogs in it. He put it on the back of his ATV and made sure it was secure before rushing to find Katie. He decided to deal with the other thing when he got back.
Ryder came back to the lookout after his hour-long trip. Neo was safe with Katie and Rocky was sitting in his lap. Ryder got off his ATV and walked in the elevator while Rocky went to his pup house. Ryder went up it expecting to see a monster but what he saw wasn't that far off. The trident was leaning against the wall and standing at the large monitor was the owner of the weapon.
Ryder walked up to him. "I'm guessing that thing was you?"
Jacob sighed. "Yeah."
"Why am I not surprised?"
They sat in silence after that. It was no surprise that Jacob could have been less brutal. Ryder thought Jacob should've been more careful when handling the pups. Something seemed different about Jacob. He seemed less focused and was just staring at the various buttons. His posture was relaxed and less tense.
"You seem different," Ryder said.
"I feel better."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Jacob took a deep breath. "Do you know what I am?"
Ryder blinked, surprised by the question. "No, I don't think you really explained that."
Jacob looked at Ryder and he could see that his irises weren't the normal green. They were a deep red that sent a shiver up his spine. It was so inhuman and wasn't the most comforting.
"I am the creation of the dark lord," Jacob said simply. "My father has been at war with the Source for trillions of years. I wasn't alive back then but the Time Master told me that their forces were equal. Neither side could pull ahead and defeat the other. My father wanted something that would give him the edge."
"So he created you?" Ryder guessed.
Jacob nodded. "I was different from his other monsters. I was faster, stronger, and I obeyed orders. My father never attacked the dimensions. He didn't even want to kill the Source."
"What changed?"
Jacob turned back to the map. "From what I understand, the Source destroyed my father's kingdom. Every creature in it was killed. The last standing structure was my father's palace. Despite being the center of the blast, it still stands to this day."
"What does this have to do with you feeling better?"
"If I go a while without using the darkness, it will begin to pool inside of me. It will seep into my mind and fill it with dark desires. If I go too long, then I will succumb to these desires and become the monster my father wanted me to be."
Ryder stood in silence as he thought about this new information. Jacob had a worse past than he originally thought. Shortly after, Rocky came up and started working on one of the control boards. A loud beeping pulled Ryder from his thoughts. He turned his attention to the map and saw that one of the pup tags was flashing.
Rocky attempted to cover his ears with his paws. "What is that?"
"It's just a new system I designed," Jacob said as he pushed a button.
The map zoomed in on a corner of the town. A pup tag was flashing as it entered the border of the town. It was moving around a square-shaped area that looked to be surrounded by a fence.
"It appears that Bella has some plans," Jacob said. "What is this area that she's in?"
Ryder took a closer look at the map. "That looks like the scrapyard. Rocky goes there for scrap metal. In fact, he went there yesterday."
"I'll go stop her from hurting people," Jacob said as he started heading for the elevator.
Ryder grabbed his arm before he could leave. "I know you're just doing your job but you need to be more gentle with them. They're still my pups."
"I know," Jacob assured him. "That's why I'm leaving my weapon. I've had some time to think while you were gone and decided to change my method of attack. I'll remove the stone and return your dog to you in one piece."
"Just be gentle with them."
Jacob began walking to the elevator. "I will."
"Can I come?" Rocky asked.
"No," Jacob told him.
"But-"
Jacob stopped and turned around. "I said no. No one else is getting hurt because of me."
Jacob made it to the elevator and went down. Ryder watched him go. He knew Jacob was a good person but part of him wondered if his team was ever going to be whole again. He looked over at the trident. The green stone was still glowing but nothing else about the weapon looked magical. He had many questions but it didn't seem like he would be getting answers any time soon.
Jacob made his way across the bridge and was now walking through the town. People gave him strange looks as he walked past. He was quite taller than the average human. Though, it could just be because they've never seen him in town before. He would've taken his time and talked to people but he had to hurry.
Something caught his eye as he was walking. A bright white light came from the sky and descended into the forest. None of the humans seemed to notice and continued with their day. After a moment of hesitation, he decided the safety of these humans was more important than whatever was at the scrapyard. He quickly left the town and went into the forest.
Meanwhile at the lookout
Ryder had his eyes on the map. He watched the icons move around. Bella's icon stayed at the scrapyard and didn't seem to be moving around much. Across the room, Rocky still had his head in one of the control boards.
He looked around in the machine while pulling out bits and pieces. He began replacing these parts with some of his own design. It's the same thing he did the day before. He attempted to pull his head out but found himself stuck once again. He continued pulling until his head suddenly came loose. He rolled backwards and landed on his stomach.
"I'm getting too old for this shit," He muttered as he walked back to the machine.
"Huh?" Ryder called from the monitor.
Rocky turned and smiled. "Nothing. I just got my head stuck."
"Okay," Ryder said. "Just be careful. I don't need any more of you getting hurt."
As soon as the boy turned back to the map, Rocky dropped the smile and turned back to his tools.
"Idiot," He muttered.
Unknown to him, Ryder was watching him through the reflection of the monitor. He saw the strange behavior but decided to focus on the task at hand.
Deep in the forest
Jacob continued walking as he searched for the bright light. He was about to give up when he heard a strange sound. He immediately recognized the sound as an instrument. This instrument sounded like strings were being plucked. He ran to the source of the sound and was surprised when he saw the owner of the instrument.
This creature was a bit shorter than Loodvigg. It stood on four green, insect-like legs. It stood straight up but its exact body shape was hidden by dark gray fur. A large red shell covered its back and looked similar to a scarab shell. Its head was small and covered in gray hair with a wispy beard hanging from its head. It had a small face that was void of hair with two big eyes that looked strangely green antennae sprouted from the top of its head.
Coming from under the shell were four green, insect-like limbs that were shaped similarly to the legs. The lower two limbs held an instrument. In its hands was a sitar and looked to be made from a tree branch. The strings were white and the tuning pegs were made from a darker wood. The creature looked at Jacob with a warm smile and a bit of disappointment.
"I was hoping you would bring that puppy." The creature's voice was male and soft. "I would've enjoyed meeting him."
"Sorry to disappoint, Scaratar," Jacob said. "But I couldn't risk his life."
Scaratar still had his smile. "You think you can save everyone but sometimes you can't save yourself. You need to let people help you."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Jacob said as he turned away. "I've let you help me before."
Scaratar plucked a string that grabbed Jacob's attention. "I'm the Celestial of Poison, I'm immortal. You need to start trusting those who aren't. They're not always going to die."
Jacob's face darkened. "I thought that once but you know what happened."
"It's not your-"
"HE DIED BECAUSE OF ME!" Jacob shouted as a tear rolled down his face.
He quickly wiped the tear away. "I need to go. I need to save this dog."
Before Scaratar could stop him, Jacob was already gone. He stopped for a moment to wipe away any other tears. He walked out of the forest and continued his walk to the scrapyard.
An hour later
Jacob made it to the scrapyard and was about to enter but saw a small house at the front. There was a rocking chair on the front porch and an old man was sitting in it. The man waved to Jacob when he saw him and Jacob walked over.
"Hello there, young man," The old man said. "Can I help you?"
Jacob smiled. "I'm here looking for something. Have you seen anything strange around here?"
"Not much happens around here anymore." There was a hint of sadness in his voice. "I get very few visitors."
"I heard that Rocky from the Paw Patrol comes here a lot."
The old man smiled when he heard the name. "That little pup is an angel. He helps me out around here in exchange for some metal. Sometimes, he just helps without payment. It's been a while since I've seen him."
This surprised Jacob. "Wasn't he here yesterday?"
The old man looked confused. "No, I don't believe I've seen him for more than a week. Has he been busy?"
"I don't know." This statement is normally true, and still is, but now it bothered him. He really didn't know what Rocky was doing.
"Do tell him to pay me a visit?" The old man pleaded. "I miss him."
"I will. Do you mind if I take a look around?"
The old man hesitated. "Sure. Just don't break anything of value."
Jacob nodded and made his way into the scrapyard. As expected, there were piles of metal everywhere. There were some broken cars laying around but something seemed off. Instead of being a mess like normal scrapyards, it was organized. The metals were sorted by type and were neatly stacked. Jacob originally thought that Rocky did this but seeing the larger pieces of metal made him doubt that a small dog was the one responsible for it.
The sound of metal clanking startled him from his thoughts. The old man didn't mention anyone else being on the property. As he walked around, he heard the sound of something banging on metal. The sound would stop and start up again shortly after. He continued walking as he tried to find the source of the sound and hit a few dead ends along the way. He eventually found a large clearing along with the source of the noise.
The creature stood at 11 feet. It looked to be made of gold and some kind of gray metal. It had slim shoulders and large fists. A large gold sphere sat on its shoulders and a black trucker hat was on the sphere. Its body was humanoid and slim. A chainmail net hung off its back. Bits of metal were in the net. It picked up a piece of metal and looked at it. It tapped on it a few times before putting it in the net.
Jacob started making his way towards the creature. He was slow and avoided making noise while he thought about how to approach the situation. He didn't have his weapon and didn't want to show the creature the horrors that the darkness can bring. The choice was taken from him when he knocked something over and caught the creature's attention. The large creature turned around and Jacob saw that it had no face.
Jacob took a deep breath. "Hello there."
The creature gave no response. It pulled a copper rod from the net and Jacob backed away. It tapped the rod a few times and turned it in its hands. Seeming to be satisfied, it held the rod out to Jacob and stood still. Jacob hesitated but grabbed the rod and the creature let go. It turned back to the pile of metal it was inspecting and continued looking.
"What are you?" Jacob asked.
The creature gave no verbal response and turned around. It reached out and tapped the rod again before turning back to the pile. Jacob took a closer look at the metal and saw a message engraved in it.
You know what I am.
"Are you one of the stones?" Jacob asked.
Jacob watched as the message disappeared and a new message appeared on the rod.
You call yourself a god yet you have the intellect of a child. I am indeed one of the stones.
Jacob was surprised by this response. It told him what this creature was but he didn't expect it to be so rude.
"I assume you're gold?" He asked.
How long did it take you to figure that out?
Jacob took a deep breath. "Perhaps I should get to the point. I'm here for your host."
The creature stopped what it was doing and turned around. It stood still before asking a question of its own.
You want my host?
"Yes," Jacob responded.
The rod became blank as the creature pondered his request. The hat on its head tilted and fell to the ground. A new message appeared on the rod but Jacob didn't quite understand.
I will be happy to return your little animal… but only if you can answer a riddle.
"Name your riddle."
The large creature grabbed a large metal plate and shoved it into the ground. Jacob watched as a riddle appeared on it.
A metal neither black nor red,
As heavy as man's golden greed.
What you do to stay ahead,
With a friend or foe or arrow and steed.
Jacob stared at the riddle. It was complicated and the clues were unusual. Many answers swirled in his head but none of them seemed right.
Jacob looked up at the metal creature. "I-I don't-"
"Lead."
Jacob turned and saw the old man from earlier. The man had a cane and still had his smile.
The man cleared his throat. "I said the answer is lead. To stay ahead of someone, you must lead them. A heavy gray metal is lead. I gave you the answer, now give up the dog."
The riddle disappeared and a new message took its place.
Not bad, kid. You earned my respect. If you ever need my help, you know where to find me.
The large gold sphere fell off the creature and rolled to Jacob's feet. The rest of the creature began to melt. It melted into a puddle and revealed a small gray dog. The puddle separated into two piles of metal: silver and gold. The gold sphere cracked open to reveal a much smaller gold sphere. Jacob picked it up and it fit in his palm.
"I'm glad you found her," The old man said. "I was hoping you would."
Jacob reached down and picked up Bella. "How did you know I was looking for someone?"
The man sighed. "My name's Terry. That creature you were looking for came here a lot. I've spoken with it before. It means well and you looked ready to kill. I couldn't just let you kill it."
"Don't worry, Terry," Jacob said. "I'm not going to hurt it."
"Something tells me the same thing happened to Rocky. I hope you find him."
"I already have."
Terry just smiled. "Well, you best be getting back now. You've been out here for a while."
Jacob looked up and saw that the sun was beginning to set. He had been out for several hours. He quickly thanked Terry and began his trip back to the lookout with Bella in his arms.
One hour later
The sky was dark when Jacob arrived back at the lookout. He entered the lookout to see Neo and Rocky asleep in dog beds. Ryder was cleaning the toys off the floor. He turned when he heard the door open and immediately rushed over.
"Is she okay?" He asked.
Jacob handed her to him. "She's fine. She's just tired. Having your soul used can take a lot out of you."
Ryder breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you. I'll get her somewhere safe to sleep."
Jacob watched Ryder set her down while he searched for a dog bed. He walked outside and thought about what happened. His new approach worked well and he brought Bella home safely. He looked up at the stars and saw the constellation that marked the arrival of the Celestial he found earlier. The constellation was called Poison's Mark.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I know the story has been going a bit fast but it will be slowing down a bit.
Leave a review if you want to. I would love to answer some questions people may have.
