Author's Note: Thank you to all those who reviewed this story :). I'm REALLY sorry I took so long to update and I'm just as sorry for ending in another cliffhanger (at least, I think that was a cliffhanger). To make up for it, I'm going to try to post the next chapter sooner, hopefully within the month. It's summer in our country and I have all the time I need :). Hope you like this chapter.
-Twilight Twinkles-
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters in this story except for Firefly.
Chapter 4: More Darkness
Spyro
The blue glow drew closer. Soon we could make out the specter's eyes glistening and its grin growing larger as it realized our predicament. It drifted among the cave stones and cast shapeless shadows upon the dead end. Then it spoke, " Our pursuit ends here; everything is falling into place. Soon the ambitions of all spirits will become reality." the spook paused, its voice was somehow similar to the wind chime music that always accompanied it. "My fellow spirits are currently dealing with the dragon worlds and the living ones that inhabit them. All I have to do is take care of the realms' famous little hero."
"Oh yeah? You're not going to succeed and neither will your friends. Not while I'm around." I didn't know exactly how I was going to fulfill that but I looked into the specter's eyes nevertheless.
It answered with a sinister laugh, like wind chimes clanging onto each other in a brutal wind. "You WON'T be around...not for much longer..." The ghost drifted closer; as it did, the air in the passageway seemed to get a lot colder.
Sparx flew in front of me protectively. He buzzed something that translated, "You just had to provoke it! In situations like this, its best to keep quiet...What are you looking at?"
I was looking at the passageway floor. Though there definitely were no escape routes on the walls and ceiling of the dead end, the floor was a different story. As the ghost's blue glow fell upon it, it gleamed with moisture. I saw that portions of the ground were broken into cracks that branched out into jagged patterns. "Sparx, we'll be out of here in no time." I grinned at my best friend and cast a last taunting look at the approaching ghost. Without wasting another moment, I head bashed into the floor. The cracks gave in with a crumbling sound and we plunged into more darkness.
Of the fall, there wasn't much to remember. Everything passed in a blur. All I could see were the shadows I plummeted past and Sparx beating his wings briskly to keep up with me as I fell. I thought about gliding but heard the sound of running water and decided against it. With the bottom probably only moments away there wasn't any sense in prolonging things. I caught a glimpse of something flowing beneath us and after a few last seconds of falling, splashed into glowing blue water. Sparx and I recognized it at once...we had landed in a portion of the luminous stream. It was much deeper than we first thought it was. All we could see of its bottom were large stalagmites reaching out from blackness.
The ghost hadn't given up. As if in slow motion, it descended onto the waters. What happened next, it either did not expect or did not realize until too late. As soon as the spook's hazy form touched the liquid, the water started to bubble again and...it sank.
Something invisible seemed to be pulling it downwards. The spook's grin turned into a frown as it got sucked back into the gleaming blue waters. It sank deeper and deeper and in a few seconds all Sparx and I could see of it were its smirk and its eyes. We watched in amazement. The stream was like a portal - a ghost's portal. Just like we would get warped into another world the moment we leapt into one of the dragon world portals, the ghost would get drawn back into its world the moment it touched the luminous waters. Just before it disappeared completely, it looked at me angrily and mouthed, "You haven't escaped yet." The specter blew something into the waters, smiled wickedly and vanished.
As I stared on, a strange scent seeped out of the stream. It reminded me of those fragrant white flowers that smell good only at night. Somehow, it made me feel a bit dizzy... then quite feverish... I swam slowly towards the stream's bank and lay down. The cave stones (some still resembled skulls) looked as if they were fading into fog. Soon everything was darkness.
Firefly
As we traveled onward through the passageway, I kept looking back. I almost expected one of the spooks to pop up from behind and grab me. Sighing, I dismissed my fears and turned forward again.
The kangaroo glanced at me and smiled. "I'm Sheila. The dragonfly's called Sparx and the dragon's name is Spyro. Haven't you heard about them? They've saved the world several times already and now, they probably have that ghost wishing it never went after us in the first place."
I shook my head and tried to smile back, "I'm not really from here. I was out past midnight and that ghost took me... mom used to tell me a story about blue ghosts. I thought she just made it up." My smile failed. What came out was another scared sigh.
"Stories?" Sheila's ears perked up. "Did she tell you anything about what the ghosts did or what they might be up to?"
"She said they come out during midnight prowling about and bringing anyone they find to their world. I can't remember what they do to the ones they take." I paused, trying to remember more details. "And they really, really hate being dead. That story scared me."
The kangaroo looked as if she were brainstorming. She opened her mouth to say something but before she could utter a single syllable we both turned around. A familiar buzzing sound echoed in the pathway behind us. Emerging swiftly from the darkness was what appeared to be a glowing ball of yellow light.
"Sparx?!?" Sheila recognized him immediately. I smiled, relieved; thank goodness it was only the dragonfly. But Sparx, as Sheila had called him, didn't look relieved. He looked the opposite. Exhausted, he buzzed something to Sheila. I couldn't understand insect language but I could tell from the way he said it that a really bad thing had happened.
Looking a bit worried, Sheila turned to me. "Sparx said we have to follow him. Something's wrong with Spyro..."
As we chased after the dragonfly, vague memories of a bedtime story echoed in my head. The only story my mom ever told me that I didn't want to listen too. The one she begged me to try to understand but I couldn't. It was the only story that ever gave me nightmares. But bad dreams hadn't kept me from exploring that fateful midnight.
Now my most feared story was becoming real.
-Twilight Twinkles-
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters in this story except for Firefly.
Chapter 4: More Darkness
Spyro
The blue glow drew closer. Soon we could make out the specter's eyes glistening and its grin growing larger as it realized our predicament. It drifted among the cave stones and cast shapeless shadows upon the dead end. Then it spoke, " Our pursuit ends here; everything is falling into place. Soon the ambitions of all spirits will become reality." the spook paused, its voice was somehow similar to the wind chime music that always accompanied it. "My fellow spirits are currently dealing with the dragon worlds and the living ones that inhabit them. All I have to do is take care of the realms' famous little hero."
"Oh yeah? You're not going to succeed and neither will your friends. Not while I'm around." I didn't know exactly how I was going to fulfill that but I looked into the specter's eyes nevertheless.
It answered with a sinister laugh, like wind chimes clanging onto each other in a brutal wind. "You WON'T be around...not for much longer..." The ghost drifted closer; as it did, the air in the passageway seemed to get a lot colder.
Sparx flew in front of me protectively. He buzzed something that translated, "You just had to provoke it! In situations like this, its best to keep quiet...What are you looking at?"
I was looking at the passageway floor. Though there definitely were no escape routes on the walls and ceiling of the dead end, the floor was a different story. As the ghost's blue glow fell upon it, it gleamed with moisture. I saw that portions of the ground were broken into cracks that branched out into jagged patterns. "Sparx, we'll be out of here in no time." I grinned at my best friend and cast a last taunting look at the approaching ghost. Without wasting another moment, I head bashed into the floor. The cracks gave in with a crumbling sound and we plunged into more darkness.
Of the fall, there wasn't much to remember. Everything passed in a blur. All I could see were the shadows I plummeted past and Sparx beating his wings briskly to keep up with me as I fell. I thought about gliding but heard the sound of running water and decided against it. With the bottom probably only moments away there wasn't any sense in prolonging things. I caught a glimpse of something flowing beneath us and after a few last seconds of falling, splashed into glowing blue water. Sparx and I recognized it at once...we had landed in a portion of the luminous stream. It was much deeper than we first thought it was. All we could see of its bottom were large stalagmites reaching out from blackness.
The ghost hadn't given up. As if in slow motion, it descended onto the waters. What happened next, it either did not expect or did not realize until too late. As soon as the spook's hazy form touched the liquid, the water started to bubble again and...it sank.
Something invisible seemed to be pulling it downwards. The spook's grin turned into a frown as it got sucked back into the gleaming blue waters. It sank deeper and deeper and in a few seconds all Sparx and I could see of it were its smirk and its eyes. We watched in amazement. The stream was like a portal - a ghost's portal. Just like we would get warped into another world the moment we leapt into one of the dragon world portals, the ghost would get drawn back into its world the moment it touched the luminous waters. Just before it disappeared completely, it looked at me angrily and mouthed, "You haven't escaped yet." The specter blew something into the waters, smiled wickedly and vanished.
As I stared on, a strange scent seeped out of the stream. It reminded me of those fragrant white flowers that smell good only at night. Somehow, it made me feel a bit dizzy... then quite feverish... I swam slowly towards the stream's bank and lay down. The cave stones (some still resembled skulls) looked as if they were fading into fog. Soon everything was darkness.
Firefly
As we traveled onward through the passageway, I kept looking back. I almost expected one of the spooks to pop up from behind and grab me. Sighing, I dismissed my fears and turned forward again.
The kangaroo glanced at me and smiled. "I'm Sheila. The dragonfly's called Sparx and the dragon's name is Spyro. Haven't you heard about them? They've saved the world several times already and now, they probably have that ghost wishing it never went after us in the first place."
I shook my head and tried to smile back, "I'm not really from here. I was out past midnight and that ghost took me... mom used to tell me a story about blue ghosts. I thought she just made it up." My smile failed. What came out was another scared sigh.
"Stories?" Sheila's ears perked up. "Did she tell you anything about what the ghosts did or what they might be up to?"
"She said they come out during midnight prowling about and bringing anyone they find to their world. I can't remember what they do to the ones they take." I paused, trying to remember more details. "And they really, really hate being dead. That story scared me."
The kangaroo looked as if she were brainstorming. She opened her mouth to say something but before she could utter a single syllable we both turned around. A familiar buzzing sound echoed in the pathway behind us. Emerging swiftly from the darkness was what appeared to be a glowing ball of yellow light.
"Sparx?!?" Sheila recognized him immediately. I smiled, relieved; thank goodness it was only the dragonfly. But Sparx, as Sheila had called him, didn't look relieved. He looked the opposite. Exhausted, he buzzed something to Sheila. I couldn't understand insect language but I could tell from the way he said it that a really bad thing had happened.
Looking a bit worried, Sheila turned to me. "Sparx said we have to follow him. Something's wrong with Spyro..."
As we chased after the dragonfly, vague memories of a bedtime story echoed in my head. The only story my mom ever told me that I didn't want to listen too. The one she begged me to try to understand but I couldn't. It was the only story that ever gave me nightmares. But bad dreams hadn't kept me from exploring that fateful midnight.
Now my most feared story was becoming real.