-AUTHOR NOTES-
Okay, so who cares if I didn't receive a review to begin with? I at least appreciate the people who actually took their time to view the story. ;
Anyhow, it's time we advanced to the next part in line. The exploration mission for Damus and Crista lead further into the lighter core of the mansion. It's there that the Metal Heads' (failed) attacks on the building are shown. I also wanted to expose on the figure of the shadow as shown at the end of the chapter; thus, cue in a few of those "visions from the afterlife" moments.
It's gradually starting out to be more Christmassy as of now due to the decorations implied, and its heart is also growing as far as I can see. Just you wait. ;)
Anyhow, be sure to take your time and go through the chapter. Reviews are still appreciated! :D
Peace out,
-Rexy-
---
Time passed, and it wasn't long until the hallways suddenly started to get brighter and brighter. That left the expressions for Crista and Damus to be eliminated in a more white light, as they knew that there could be something waiting for them at the end of the path.
There stood two more doors, slightly open, leaving a small stream of light energy to show through them. In an instance, Damus walked towards it and used his hands to slightly push them open, leaving the sights of the next room to creep upon their own eyes.
Once there, they were greeted into a giant room as greeted by a staircase leading into a higher balcony onto the left, and a smaller door leading towards the right. The room was decorated with bright silver tinsel, and white pyre flies were seen flying around the area.
"Would you look at that?"
Damus continued to expect his surroundings, seeing closer towards the tinsel... and another object that was established near the staircase. There was a green tree structure, covered in tinsel, lights and baubles, standing firmly in a brown-orange metallic pot.
"Now who in their right mind would set up a pine tree in the middle of a haunted house?" he smirked to himself. "Looks very suspicious."
He gave off a light twitch of the eye, before he started to inspect the tree. From what he saw, most of its structures resembled that for your average Christmas tree, making things difficult to analyze. He then walked behind the back of it, looking closer into what has been provided.
And yet, all he saw was a cable leading into a socket near one of his feet, providing the eco energy for the lights. He gave off a light blink, before he walked around the other side, looking confused over the state of the tree. Meanwhile, Crista stood there smiling.
"Look up there!"
She pointed up towards the top of the tree, leaving Damus to show his attention towards a small star-shaped object at the top. It looked glittery in structure and shone in time with the lights, but its unusual eco-like colors left Damus to blink at the sight of it.
"A purple star?"
"How can it be possible?" Crista asked. "And... what's the point of its presence within this mansion?"
"I'm not sure, but it's best if we can keep going to find out."
Damus brought his attention towards Crista, whom gave out a twitch of the ears back at him. He then looked back towards the top of the tree, bringing some closer attention towards the star and its more unusual structures that were brought around it.
Even though its main shade seemed to be purple, various slabs of indigo, black, blue, lilac and white also shone among it. The shades of Eco, he managed to think to himself. With a curious eye shift, he brought his eyes back towards his partner, with a light answer showing in his mind.
"Do you suppose that is another dark eco crystal hanging up there or what?" he asked her.
"Might have been, but I'm not entirely sure."
During that time, Crista managed to walk her way towards the stairs, climbing her way up a few steps and eventually finding a position on the slope so that she was standing almost level with the star. She brought out a hand to try and touch it, but as soon as she did... she pulled her hand away from it and its freezing textures.
She then managed to run further up the stairs, taking a close look towards the tree from a higher angle. From down below, Damus started to show a devious smirk upon his own face, knowing that he may earn a fair amount of light knowledge behind the ordeal.
"Those Metal Heads seem to know what they want, but it may take a while before they could ever reach it."
He gave off a light chuckle to himself, before he started walking towards the smaller door to the right of the entrance. Once there, he ended up showing a strong posture, before bringing his attention to Crista from his position. Her expression then started to show curiosity.
"Should that be proven to be the case", he said with a determined look, "you should take the left alley towards the ballroom. I'll go closer into the hallways on the right. Got it?"
Crista gave out a light nod, before looking at her position from the balcony overlooking the scene. Ahead of her, down the stairs was the set of doors that she and Damus came out of before. She then looked to the right, and saw a single door, covered by golden plating.
"Good", Damus nodded. "Now let's get moving."
She quickly turned towards Damus, but when she did so... he was already gone, going down the hallway with a lot of determination. That left her to give off a curious glance towards the ballroom doors, where she started to walk towards them with a twitchy glance showing upon her own eyes.
Once there, she opened the doors, ready to bring herself into another darkened hallway ahead of her. But as she did so, a few pyre flies ended up flying inside, granting some elements of light to guide her way through. Once that was done, she went inside, leaving the door to come to a close on its own.
As soon as that was done, silence was soon brought around the room once more, leaving only the pyre flies to start stirring. The star was seen glowing within them, allowing several radiances of light to show within the room and adding a comfortable essence around the pine tree, standing majestically in its position.
---
It wasn't long until Crista managed to reach another door in the hallway, and it was there that she ended up seeing into its basic red wood stained features upon it. Once there, she used her hands to slightly push them open, ready to see what was on the other side.
Her eyes were greeted by a ballroom structure, with the use of red curtains falling around the room, along with gentle yellow spotlights that shone on an empty dance floor nearby. There, she gave out a curious twitching motion before she started walking towards it.
She was then a few meters away from the spotlights when she saw something peculiar shining within them; a set of golden sparks flying within the wind. They soon reflected upon her eyes, showing a lot of piece for her. It wasn't long until the sparks soon managed to come together, and started spinning around in a hurricane motion.
"What the-!" she screamed.
The gale then started to spark with a series of white, gold, brown and yellow lighting, before eventually forming the shape of a figure within it. She managed to take cover behind a nearby chair, looking on at the transformation taking place right in front of her.
And there, the shape then started to show itself as a shadow - an ottsel type shadow. The same one that spied on them earlier. He then gave off an honest blink before bringing his attention towards her, his one red eye giving off an essence of warmth towards her.
"Who are you?" she asked.
The ottsel figure then walked out from the spotlight, showing himself in full motion under the more natural lights. He was shown to be an ottsel with brown fur, hovering in the air with a spiritual essence around him, almost the same height as Crista.
He then brought his face into the light, and revealed some metallic headgear covering the right hand side of his face as well as a part of one of his own ears. A red cape was brought around his shoulders, almost hiding the main portions of his lower face to match.
"More like..." she gulped, "What ARE you?"
The specter didn't raise a mouth to speak. Instead, he continued to hover towards her direction, wanting to take a closer look towards her. During that time, some of his cape slipped from his mouth position, revealing a light moustache gesture just underneath his nose, running from one side of the face to the other.
That left Crista to blink further on towards him, unsure about what the ottsel could provide for her. His main features may seem unwelcoming to her, but yet... his appearance felt so relaxed and pleasant, something that could almost relax tension within her.
And yet, he managed to give off a warm smile towards her. For that, she widened her eyes and took cover, still feeling uncertain over what the ghost would do to her. She then crawled under a few rows of seats, in a hope that she would be able to hide away from him.
---
Back with Damus, he was shown to make his way down another darkened tunnel that lead from the main room. His footsteps were then gracefully positioned upon the ground, giving off light elements of noise that nearly rung through his own two ears.
The moonlight that came out from the cracks to the walls to the left of him shone down upon the minimal hallways that were brought around him, leaving him to take a cautious stroll through the setting for himself, holding onto various sides of the wall if need be.
Then, his focus was soon brought onto a small wreckage area that was shown to his left. That left him to raise an eyebrow at the sight of them before he started to cautiously walk his way over with his hands showing tension in their grasp.
"Wow, look at all this stuff", he whispered to himself.
He crouched down and saw some of the lower elements of the "wreckage" for himself. In front of him were golden saucers, wax candles, a few quills and scrolls complete with sloppy precursor writing on them, and a shining purple object wedged between the middle.
"Wait a minute- MORE dark eco crystals?"
He gave off a light blink at the sight of it, before bringing out a hand and pulling the crystal out from its position. The cold structures of it were easily felt upon his hands, leaving him to quickly place it on a nearby table. With a light sigh, he then started to search through the wreckage for any other items within.
It wasn't until a few seconds later that he was able to pull out a small stringed sack; at the sight of it he gave off a light smile, leaving him to pick up the crystal once more and slip it inside, tying it inside its temporary prison. While he placed it inside his pocket... something else managed to catch his eye.
"Hang on a sec... what is this?"
He looked upon the walls beyond the wreckage, and saw into a small photograph hanging in the darkness. There, he walked towards it, ready to see into it for himself. His eyes then started to show more tension than open acceptance, quivering within their positions in the darkness.
He then looked closely towards the photo for himself; one half was still shown to be kept within the darkness, while the other half was shown to be Crista's humanoid form. The sight of her left him to open his jaw right at the very sight of her appearance.
"Crista...? And what's wrong with the other side?"
He looked around as carefully as he can, looking for a light source. And yet, something struck him; the energies of the Metal Head Skull Gems. He started to roam within his backpack, pulling out the gem he picked up from the early exhibitions around the manor.
Once there he showed it in front of the picture, wanting to take a closer focus towards it. And yet... he then noticed the true qualities behind the picture. The side with Crista was shown to be in a reasonable condition, while the other side was shown to be burnt off, with nothing but black burn marks covering that part of the image up.
He then sighed, before placing the photo and the gem into his backpack. After that he brought himself back on both feet, looking around at his surroundings once more. Nothing much to take of interest aside from a few candle holders without any wax candles. With that in mind, he turned around and left the scene behind.
---
Back at the ballroom, Crista soon managed to stop crawling underneath the chairs, and eventually found a position near the back. Once there, she ended up crouching into a small ball, hoping to keep herself as far hidden from the specter as she possibly could.
The ghost ottsel himself, however, was then seen going up the center aisle, bringing his attention to each of the rows in detail, while hovering an inch above the ground at the same time. Then, he managed to come further and further towards the back, where the sound of shaking was brought to his own ears.
Over there, he then turned towards the right, seeing into the furthest row there. He then saw the yellow ottsel cowering in her position; there, he gave out a light smile, before he carefully came towards her, bringing his arm carefully over her back once he was there.
"There is no need to worry, Crista", he said in a reassuring tone.
"Aah! He speaks!" she screamed as she brought herself up onto both feet. "And... he knows my name! I'M SCARED!!!"
It was there that she managed to hurdle across the chairs, trying to keep herself out of the way of the ghost ottsel as far as she could go. But... during her run, she ended up tripping over one of the front rows of seats, causing her to be sent flying into the air, before sliding on the dance floor on her chest.
She moaned with pain due to the force behind the fall, but while that happened, the ghost ottsel couldn't help but smile at her actions, before he briskly hovered his way towards her. The sight of his body left her to show a more unsure expression upon her own eyes.
"Why are you afraid?" he asked her. "There is no need to be so, for we are entities in our own right."
"How do you know so much about me?"
She showed a more unsure expression upon her own two eyes, while the ghost ottsel was shown to be giving off a more peaceful smile. He then crouched down to her level, and placed one of his hands under her chin, leaving her to focus her eyes towards it with a shaky gesture.
"I have been watching you for a while now, my dear. And yet, I have understood everything that went in that troubled mind of yours."
Crista's fur almost turned white. "How is it possible? I've never seen you before."
"I don't have time to explain as of yet."
He then brought himself up to his feet once more, before he started hovering his way across the dance floor once more, with a more sorrow-based expression upon him. During that time, Crista managed to bring herself up onto both feet, dusting herself off from the fall.
"As far as I know, I've been guarding over this mansion from the Metal Heads that have recently attacked it", he said while bringing his hands to one another. "I have no idea what they want with the dark eco crystals, but it seems as if they are desperate upon sucking away the planet's energy. I shouldn't be surprised. When I was alive I faced a lot of those problems myself."
Crista gave off a nod. "I understand."
She looked on at the ghost ottsel's appearance, and thought about what his time might have been during his life span. Could he have been scarred underneath the cape of his? Is the metallic headgear hiding something? Was he a humanoid to begin with, but killed as an ottsel?
Those and many more questions started to roam through her mind, leaving her to look closely towards the ottsel for himself. She then came towards him with a more determined expression than before, trying to reach for his hands... yet, they were hard to grasp upon for her.
"Is there something we can do to help you out?" she asked.
The ghost ottsel then tried to speak, but... that was soon before the sound of opening doors managed to bring his attention. Crista's ears also managed to prick up, as she looked back at the door that she managed to come through to begin with.
Standing there was a shadow as portrayed on a bright background of white light, holding onto a small sack of sorts. He was then seen steadily walking his way towards both ottsels, with a smirk starting to show upon his almost shadowed face.
And it wasn't long until he managed to reach the spotlights for himself, with his bold wastelander-based features almost coming into place. These familiar structures managed to leave Crista to give off a light smile at the very sight of him in front of her eyes.
"Damus?"
He gave off a nod, before he came towards the spotlights for himself, seeing into Crista in full motion. While she gave off a warm smile at him, the ghost ottsel just gave off a curious eye twitch towards him, leaving Damus to widen his eyes at the sight of him.
All three figures remained in silence for a few seconds, allowing the winds from above the building to blow above them, ringing in their ears if need so. Then, Damus pointed on at the ghost ottsel, while looking almost confused by its general appearance.
"What in the Precursors is that thing?" Damus asked while pointing at the specter.
"Let's just call it the 'Phantom of the Opera'", Crista twitched back.
She gave off a warm smirk as she placed both hands behind her head, with her tail starting to twitch from side to side. That left both Damus and the ghost to look on at her with agitated expressions on their own faces, unimpressed by her sense of humor.
Soon after that, Damus then walked on towards Crista and picked her up, resting her against his plated shoulders. They both soon looked on at the ghost ottsel together, who managed to show a curious expression straight back towards the pair.
"Still, what do you suppose he's doing here?" Damus questioned.
"He's told us that he's been staying here, guarding over two dark eco crystals that rested within this house", the blonde ottsel responded while using hand gestures at the same time. "We know the first one through the Christmas tree, but the second?"
"Here, I managed to find it", he smiled back at her.
He brought out the small sack, and used one of his hands to open it up and reveal the dark eco crystal he managed to find. He then placed the sack upon Crista's hands, which started to glow at the same status as the star that was placed upon the pine tree in the previous room.
"You're not an alliance with the Metal Heads, are you?" the ghost ottsel asked Damus. "Because if you are..."
"No, we're not", Crista interrupted. "We're on the same level as you; we just want to see the Metal Heads gone, after what they have managed to do to our own lives."
Crista gave off a smile as she placed the sack back within Damus's hands. Once that was done, she managed to climb down from his shoulders, landing firmly upon the ground and showing a cat-like gesture upon her hands and feet as she did so.
She soon managed to reach the ghost ottsel himself, whom tried to reach for one of her own hands, but... in a true supernatural fashion, his hands went straight through hers. During that gesture, Crista couldn't help but chuckle lightly to herself.
"We can't take him with us though", panicked Damus. "I can probably sense through his scars that something is wrong with this guy!"
"Please, calm down your majesty!" she responded back with a smile. "Just because he's hurt on the inside doesn't mean he can't help us, right?"
She smiled lightly while looking on at his basic structure. The slopped "headgear" upon the right hand side of his head. The cape that went around his neck. A fair amount of facial hair placed around his nose and mouth. And a brown-red eye showing in place. The structures left her eyes to widen at the sight of them.
"Come to think of it", she paused, "you seem to remind me of someone...!"
She gave off a light smile towards him, whom gave off a curious blink back at her. It wasn't long until he took a grasp upon his shoulders, stroking her gently as she managed to do so. Then, they both started to make their way away from the dance floor and towards the door they came through.
Meanwhile, Damus noticed onto the comfort between the pair, and it was there that he showed a curious glance towards them both. He then started to walk behind them, keeping his eyes on them in sequence. Crista. The ghost ottsel. Almost anything could go, he thought to himself.
And as they left the ballroom, the lights as shown on the stage soon managed to die down, eventually showering the ballroom into a temporary siege of darkness. And yet... before he closed the door, a pyre fly flew into the room, showing a small element of light in the darkness.
---
Several minutes soon passed since the ballroom of the mansion was left alone. During that time, Crista, Damus and the ghost ottsel that roamed around the building were seen leaving the building together, trying to hold onto one another as they managed to do so.
Yet, Damus's expressions continually shifted back and forth between the two ottsels, leaving him to show a curious expression upon his glance. It seemed as if they both knew each other before to his eyes, but where could he point it out?
His thoughts were soon ceased as they made their way back into the decorated balcony once more. The Christmas tree still stood firmly underneath them, showing a delicate motion through its position upon the lower areas of the room. The dark eco star on top of it gave off a warm purple light towards them, reflecting upon their faces.
"So you're saying that he's been responsible for guarding the Eco Crystals in this house from the Metal Heads?" Damus asked Crista. "Where did you presume he found them anyway?"
"I'll answer that question", smiled the specter.
The ghost ottsel stepped forward, while bringing his eye back and forth between two objects - the small sack in Damus's hand, and the star on top of the pine tree. He gave off a light smile, before he started hovering down the stairs, keeping his attention focused upon his surroundings.
"I found them alone in the wasteland. It was there when I saw that their mysterious energies must have a link to the Metal Head behavior. But what, I am yet to find out."
Crista gave off a light nod. "I can understand."
She lightly smiled back towards the ottsel, before she started to make her way closely towards the staircase. Once there, she climbed onto the rail, and slid down it in a surfer motion. That left Damus to catch up with the others by just walking down normally.
Once at the bottom, they looked on at the scenery around them. The tinsel, eco lights, pine tree and pyre flies were all in place, asking for a welcoming visit from anyone. The sight of it left Crista's face to show curiosity as she turned back towards the ghost ottsel.
"But I'm even more surprised on how you remained optimistic throughout all this, what with the Christmas decorations and all."
The spirit chuckled. "You never can tell what the power of the Precursors can provide to the planet, even in this atrocious state."
He responded with a light shrug of the shoulders, while making his way around the other side of the tree, keeping his calm expression as firm as possible. While hovering over there, he saw into a small window in the corner, providing a strong element of moon light towards the scene.
"The more faith you have towards your following, the sooner this world will be at peace once more. That's my motto."
"Yeah, but the Metal Heads keep coming back after endless slaughter!" growled Damus. "How the heck can we be at peace?"
"Patience, comrade. If you don't keep the faith, you understand that this world will be as lost as you'd make it."
Damus looked on with a light blink. He thought about the ottsel's words long and hard, even though to his view it didn't seem to make much sense. As far as time goes, most people seemed to lose their support over the Precursors long ago, feeling uncertain over the sudden pain that was flowing across the world.
Bearing those emotions in mind, he tried to open his mouth to speak, but before he could even do so... Crista jumped upon his shoulders and brought out one of her own hands to suddenly silence him. His expression showed a more unsure gesture as he brought his eyes towards her.
"Don't even say it", she whispered.
All that Damus could do was look on in silence. He then provided a focus towards Crista's thoughtful expression; could it have been, that he and her both seemed to be thinking the same thing at that time? Silence soon passed, leaving them both to look closer into each other's gaze.
While that happened, their expressions soon turned to determination, as them both started to look into the scenery ahead of them. They showed expressions filled with more certainty upon them, as the stars from outside continued to shine brightly towards them.
Silence came around them all, knowing that they have soon managed to clear their mission of exploring the household and grabbing its treasures. They then looked on at the dark eco star, ready to take a grasp from its position from above, but... that was before a few footsteps were heard.
"Wait a minute", Crista gasped. "Did I hear something back there?"
"Sounds suspicious to me", responded Damus.
She pointed towards a nearby shadow as shown near the entrance from the hallway leading into the manor. Over there, a light sound of growling was shown within the darkness, leaving Damus to show a shaky expression while bringing out his own gun.
"Come on out with your hands in the air, you common thieves! We'd make mincemeat of you as soon as you step on out!"
"Damus, please!" Crista shrieked. "They could be wanderers for all you know!"
She stepped in front of him, waving her hands in the air, trying to block Damus from shooting. But... he responded by using his foot to almost kick her out of the way, while she herself managed to dash away from his actions just in time. That left her to show shock upon her own face.
And thus, he fired his gun straight towards the shadow, causing the sound of a roar to show within the darkness. And from out of there, came a few blue-purple creatures covered with metallic plating all over their bodies. The sight of them left their expressions to show fear. For they were seen to be face to face with a group of Metal Heads.
"Then again... maybe not", she whispered to herself."
"By the Precursors", shrieked the specter. "What are they doing?"
They were seen running their way around the room, scavenging for every detail they could hope for. Some of the flying ones tore down some of the tinsel decorations out of their own frustration, and some of the smaller ones were left to scavenge on the floor while leaving scratches upon the tiles.
And yet, some of the more skilled climbers managed to reach the top of the staircase, looking on at the pine tree as they managed to do so. Other creatures of their caliber waited at the base of the tree, with their eyes focused on one sole object - the star-shaped dark eco crystal.
They brought out their dagger-like claws, ready to cut into the tree for themselves. And thus, it seemed as if the tree's time has managed to cut itself short. During that time, Crista's expression continued to show more uncertainty at the very sight of their actions.
"It looks as if they're fighting hard for that Crystal", she gasped. "How can it be possible?"
"I'm going in!"
The ghost ottsel hovered his way up the stairs once more, with his arms aiming towards the tree as he managed to speed his way further along. From down below, both Crista and Damus showed expressions filled with panic, unsure about what would happen as soon as he reached the stairs.
And when he did, he managed to meander past some of the Metal Head attacks, before hovering his way to the top of the tree. Once there, he started to reach for the star in his own two hands. Meanwhile, Crista's face showed concern as she herself took a step forward.
"You'll get hurt!"
"What's the point?" the ghost responded back. "You know that I'm dead anyway."
"Point taken?"
Damus's expression started to show surprise, while Crista started to show a blush upon her lower portions of her face. While that happened, the ottsel brought out both hands, trying to wrap its gesture around the crystal. A bolt of purple energy soon started to show through his body at that stage.
There, the crystal was soon locked between his own hands, leaving his face to show a light smile upon his own face. The crystal soon managed to take a firm grasp within his own two hands, leaving him to hover back towards the stairs with it, its light still showing through his own body.
"Got it!"
"That's it!" Crista smiled. "Keep it in hiding!"
The ghost ottsel continued to smile as he tried to hover his way away from the Metal Heads, whom both seemed to be focused upon the star more than ever. They then started to chase the ghost ottsel all around the room, trying to reach the crystal from his grasp.
They brought out their claws to try and swipe him away from the crystal, but... no matter how many times they tried to do so they ended up with their claws going straight through the specter's body, leaving him to almost chuckle at the sight of their actions.
"Stop it, it tickles!"
He then smiled before he ended up hovering his way back up towards the top of the landing once more. By that time, the Metal Head swarm was then shown to be getting slightly exhausted by their gestures. That left both Crista and Damus to exchange chuckles with one another.
While that happened, the spirit soon managed to reach the position of the tree that it once was on before. There, he ended up gesturing on at both Crista and Damus, whom ended up with determined looks upon their own faces. That left the specter's expressions to show a more unsure expression towards the pair.
"Now what do you suppose we do?"
"You keep a hold onto the crystal while we fend off against those buggers", Crista smirked. "I feel it's our only chance."
Damus showed a confident expression back. "We'll knock them out!"
Damus showed a joyful expression upon his own face, before he brought out his own gun, aiming them towards the Metal Heads. Silence then managed to creep around him, leaving him to think that his time around the Manor of the Haunted Star was about to cease, whether it be win or lose.
And thus, fate was about to clash. Will Crista and Damus escape with the dark eco crystal? Will the Metal Head armies be reduced once more? And what will become of the ghost ottsel at the end of all this?
Those questions, and a few more, started to roam around their minds as they were about to begin their encounter.
-end of part 2-