Chapter IX - Lost in a Lost World

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I woke up today, I was crying,
Lost in a lost world,
Cos' so many people are dying,
Lost in a lost world.
Some of them are living an illusion,
Bounded by the darkness of their minds,
In their eyes, it's nation against nation against nation,
With racial pride, sad hearts they hide
Thinking only of themselves, they shun
The light. They think they're right
Living in their empty shells.

Oh can you see their world is crashing
Crashing down around their feet
And angry people in the street,
Are telling them they've had their fill
Of politics that wound and kill
Grow, the seeds of evolution
Revolution never won
It's just another form of gun
To do again what they have done
With all our brothers' youngest sons.

Everywhere you go you'll see them searching
Everywhere you turn you'll feel the pain
Everyone is looking for the answer
We'll look again, come on my friend
Love will find them in the end
Come on my friend we've got to bend
On our knees and say a prayer.

Oh can you feel the world is pining
Pining for someone who really cares,
Enough to share his love,
With all of us. So we can be
An ever loving family.
Have you forgotten we're all children
Children from a family tree
That's longer than a centipede
And started long ago when you
And I were only love-

I woke up today, I was crying,
Lost in a lost world,
Cos' so many people are dying,
Lost in a lost world.
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"This is a place in southern Oregon called the Oregon Vortex. I saw it on a show once. This place is a doorway between dimensions, where balls roll uphill and nothing is as it seems. But when I left, it was intact. Something tells me that this evil being could have done this." Kakarika said, turning her head this way and that, trying to make sense of things.

As Kakarika flew upward and Ssargon followed, they noticed the cloud of smoke still hanging above the fire-damaged forest. As soon as they broke through the cover of the trees, Kakarika looked around. What she saw shocked her.

The world she had once known was now a wasteland. The sun was blocked out by the smoke that covered the atmosphere like a blanket, suffocating everything that hadn't been burned. The heavy air was thick with the smell of fire, sulfur, charred flesh, and... something else. A reeking odor, the smell of demons. The sky was lit with an eerie orange glow from the flames that licked the horizon. Ssargon coughed, his eyes whirling into red and black swirls, the color of the sky. Kakarika's eyes reflected the terror in front of her.

"I've got to get home! What if my family's in danger!" Kakarika cried. Her Alcoan mind had an internal compass, and her human heart knew the way. The lost dragon turned to the north and flew as fast as she could, a stream of brilliant blue light following her.

Ssargon watched after her, "I'll never catch her unless I transform. PHOENIX RISING!"

As the griffin prince shouted out those last two words, flames enveloped his body. His griffin body melted and reshaped into the body of a phoenix. The fiery firebird flapped into the flame-darkened sky, following his wayward ally.

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Kakarika halted in midair, staring down at the burned-out graveyard of houses that she had once called home. She hovered over the singed grass that had once been the field of the high school she had once attended. The school itself looked to be ruins hundreds of years old, though only two years old.

"I left a kid. I return a warrior." Kakarika said, bravely despite the waver in her voice.

She slowly flew towards the skeleton of her home, the only house that was still standing, though horribly burnt. The acrid smell of burned paint assaulted her senses as she flew in her window. The glass had been shattered and then melted, the screen ripped with jagged claws. She tore the screen from the window and flew inside, landing by her shredded bed. As she looked around her room, now even more messy than before, her eyes caught a glitter amid the wreckage. She dug through the broken stuff and came up with the four dragons that she kept on her windowsill.

One was a snowglobe, with a wizard holding a staff and a crystal ball. Next to him were fluffy-looking clouds, golden stars, and a rainbow. This supported the globe itself, which contained a green and purple dragon hatching from an egg.

The other one was a maroon eastern dragon, an import from China. It looked a lot like Shenron, only shorter. In its right foreclaw, it held a ball. Its mane seemed to be swept back from an unseen wind. The entire figurine was made of a sort of maroon material.

Another was similar to the second, but its left foreclaw stood upon a ball. Its mouth was open in a roar or maybe a laugh. Red gemstones made up its eyes.

Finally, the last one was the best. On a rocky base stood a blue dragon. It was standing as though it had just spotted someone, its legs spread protectively, its head alert, turned towards the intruder. Its fan-like ears were tucked against its wedge-shaped head. One wing was half-extended, the other folded against its back. One foreclaw was raised in an offensive posture, the other one hovering protectively over a brownish-yellow glass ball.

But there was another figurine there that Kakarika had never seen before. It was a red dragon, larger than even the maroon Chinese dragon. The dragon's fiery scales sparkled as though they had been dipped in glitter. The dragon had a narrow, pointed snout with wicked-looking fangs. Its fiery crystal eyes bored into Kakarika's very being. It stood on its hind legs, its foreclaws stretched out and cupped together, as though to give something to Kakarika. In its cupped claws it held a spherical crystal, slightly smaller than her fist. Inside the crystal swirled red and orange flames, though the crystal itself was not hot to the touch. Kakarika reached for the crystal, and as she did, the large sphere sprouted a golden chain with tiny links. Awestruck, she drew back as though the flames leaping inside the spherical gem would strike her.

"Take it." A voice - the dragon? - whispered in her ear, "Take it. Protect it. He must not have it."

Obediently, Kakarika grabbed the gem and held it in her hand, feeling the soothing warmth it eminated.

"You are not the one." A multitude of voices whispered.

"I know." Kakarika whispered back, "This is not my gem."

Ssargon flew in the window. As he landed on the floor, the burned floorboards creaked, alerting Kakarika. Abruptly the voices halted and the silence rushed to fill the space they had occupied.

Ssargon looked at the gem Kakarika held in her hand, "The Fire Gem! Where did you get it?"

"I found in the claws of this..." Kakarika turned to point out the red dragon statue, only to find it gone, as though it had never existed, "... dragon."

Ssargon looked skeptical, but didn't have time to question her as Kakarika walked sullenly out into the hallway. There, at the top of the stairs, was the sight she had never wanted to see.

Kakarika could only speak one word, "Angel..."

Angel, Kakarika's... Kelli's... Australian Shephard/Kelpie crossbreed was lying on her side at the top of the stairwell. Her gorgeous brown and yellow eyes were closed behind brown-furred eyelids, giving her the appearance of sleep. Her sleek brown fur coat, dotted here and there with tan and white in a way the breeders had called 'dapple', was matted and dirty. There was no sign of a struggle, no sign save for the raised fur on Angel's neck and back. Kakarika shook her head, running back to her room. She grabbed Ssargon by his arm and flew out of her home. Though Ssargon was confused, Kakarika was far from unthinking. She had left her home out of fear... fear that she would find her family in the same condition as her dog.

Kakarika didn't go far. She landed on the ruined field and waited until the confused Ssargon landed in front of her.

"He's been here. That demon that took Trunks... he's been here. He was looking for the Fire Gem, but I got it first." Kakarika was about to tell more, but she didn't have the chance.

People came from nowhere, surrounding the two travelers. They wrapped chains around the griffin and Alcoan, binding them together.

Ssargon's eyes clouded over, the same thing he'd done when he was about to use his Air Element powers.

"No!" Kakarika hissed, "These are innocent people. We can't harm them."

Ssargon's eyes changed back to normal, his feathers settling back into position. The ragged people began dragging the travelers back to wherever they had come from.

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Kakarika awoke without ever remembering falling asleep. They were traveling through a dark tunnel, the sound of cart wheels on rock and dripping water were the only sounds that could be heard. Ssargon was alert, his head turning this way and that, a fierce gleam in his eyes.

Groggily, Kakarika turned her head as much as she could, gazing at Ssargon beneath heavy eyelids.

"Where've we been going and how long have I been sleeping?" Kakarika was surprised at the way her voice sounded, drunken and slurred.

Ssargon said mildly, "The Spirit of the Saved, as they call themselves, drugged you using some sort of psychic device. It didn't affect me, since I don't use psyche. I faked sleep for a while, but I was watching where we were going. There wasn't much to see. We were loaded onto these carts and hauled off underground, where we've been for the past two hours. They tried to dump us off and take our Gems, but I snapped at them and they thought better of it." Here, Ssargon snapped his beak as a demonstration. A few of their captors that happened to be close to the cart jumped about a mile and moved farther away.

"Did they say what would become of us?" Kakarika was strongly considering going Stellamancer on their asses.

(Author's note: A 'Stellamancer' is one of my own words, since Aquamancer would be a wizard who uses water and so on, so forth, I made Stellamancer as a wizard who uses the power of the cosmos. If there is a real word for this type of wizard, e-mail me at SnakeVnm8@aol.com)

"They're going to kill us and take our Gems, that much I know for sure. I heard them talking... we're going to an underground city where they will burn us alive." Ssargon said dryly, as though they had said they were going to walk to the moon and carry it back for dinner.

"Sounds like fun. Maybe they'll toast marshmallows over our funeral pyre." Kakarika laughed, then turned to their captors, "Hey!"

Some of them looked at the smiling Alcoan. Kakarika laughed, "Hey, when you burn the bird here, do you want regular or extra crispy?"

Some of the people looked confused, others began whispering amongst themselves. Finally, someone who appeared to be the leader spoke up, "Shut up, demons. We're going to kill you for what you and your kindred have done to our homes."

"Demons? Our kindred?" Kakarika looked confused, "Look, dude, I think you've gotten us figured all wrong. I'm not a demon, I'm an Alcoan. I came here by accident and found the Fire Gem, which is needed to rid this other dimension of a very evil demon. I need to get back to that dimension ASAP to rescue a couple of my friends. This griffin here with me is an ally, the keeper of the Air Gem, another Elemental Gem needed to complete the process."

Another person stepped forward. When the dim light from the torches hit him in the face, Kakarika's breath caught in her throat where a lump formed.

"Sh... Shawn?" It was Kakarika's... Kelli's... older brother.

"How do you know me, bitch?" Shawn cursed.

"Shawn... it's me... Kelli, your sister. I've undergone a few changes, but it's me!" Kakarika said, her voice ringing out in desperation.

"Prove it." Shawn snorted.

"Well, your full name is Shawn Patrick McClary. Your room had a lot of pictures of bands on the walls, bands which I didn't much care about but you loved. Whenever you saw me, you'd automatically tell me to shut up, even if I hadn't said anything." Kakarika said calmly.

"Kelli?" Shawn's tone held a note she'd never heard before... hope.

"Yeah! I was sent to another dimension to protect it from a demon. If I would've known it would happen, I would've told you and Mom and Dad and Angel." Kakarika said, her voice cracking at the mention of her dog's name. The cart stopped and people climbed on to release Ssargon and her.

As soon as they were free, Kakarika walked over to her brother, "Tell me, Shawn. What happened here?"

"Some demon of darkness came into the world and began wreaking havoc. He didn't have a name, he said that it was for The One to figure out. Anyway, he said that he had heard that the Fire Gem was here under the protection of a red dragon, and that he wanted it. Fortunately, he didn't get it. He ravaged the planet looking for it, even sent his evil Minions after it. Soon, he gave up and left this dimension to pursue The One, but he left the Minions here in case the Fire Gem showed up. When you got it, we assumed you were a Minion, and we wanted to destroy you before you could bring the gem back to the demon." Shawn explained, "Now that I've told you our story, you tell me yours."

"Well, I don't remember exactly where I was when it happened, but all of a sudden I was in the middle of this city, in the form you see before you. I met up with some people and I was given my mission. There's really not much to tell. I've teamed up with the Z Fighters and a couple of others, Ssargon here, and a little dragon named Neo Shenron." Kakarika explained her own story.

"Where is this Neo Shenron?" Shawn asked, looking around as though he might pop out of nowhere.

"He's not here. He stayed behind to guard Bulma and the others should the demon return. He also told me that since he is the embodiment of the spirit of the dragonballs, it'd be better if he stayed behind." Kakarika sighed, missing the little oriental dragon's squeaky voice.

Shawn nodded, "You'd better get back. I never thought YOU'D end up saving the world, but hey, lately nothing has been as it seems."

Kakarika laughed slightly and began to spark and glow, "I can use my newfound teleportation skills to get to the surface. Don't worry, I will return."

"Oh, and Kelli?" Shawn said with a smirk, "... shut up."

And then she was outside, in the rank air.

"Well, I'm sure it was nice seeing your brother again." Ssargon said good-naturedly.

"That wasn't MY brother." Kakarika replied, "And this isn't MY home. This is... some other dimension, my world's future, if you will. This world is to my world like Future Trunks' timeline was to the Z Fighters."

The Fire Gem was warm in her hand, reminding Kakarika of her mission. Slowly, she flew south, towards the Vortex from whence they came.

On the way, Kakarika began to marvel at how she had acquired the knack for flight. Before she had 'acquired' this form, she had a fear of heights. Now, she could dip and soar the greatest of eagles, rising up to the bellies of the cirrus clouds and diving to the murky depths of the ocean, all without fear or hesitation.

As they reached the Vortex, Kakarika turned to the ruined landscape, whispering, "One last gift."

Using her limited Geomancer skills, the trees grew bright green, dripping with dew. As soon as this was done, the trees swirled together and the journey through time and space began once again.

"... Goodbye, Shawn." Kakarika whispered.