Keri: Wow…*stares at the messed up room* I was just kidding, read below this…
Tunder: O_o I was only joking…I'm busy with school too, Grade 11 with 2 Grade 12 courses and I'm trying to finish a Grade 11 and 12 course in one year, plus I have my website…and I still have time to update, multitask! ^_^
Kai Hiwatari: Aww…you should put it on FF.net, I had a Digimon fic once on a different account.
The Great Kuro Neko: I'm confused…is he gonna die or not? Multi-task, tee hee, I'm darn good at that!
Beyblader_grl: Yeah, there was something funky going on with FF.net. Aw, he's not evil, he's just got his priorities mixed up a bit, that's all. I want Kai too, lol!
MaliksGal4 Eva: O_O I read a review once on someone else's fic and the reviewers just wrote 'MORE' like a hundred times.
blue-phoenix5: *sniffs* Now everyone thinks Ray's gone evil. He just needs to sort out what's more important to him.
dreamer_gurl: I would probably slap the guy, ^_^U
~*~Prodigious girl*~*: You know, you like the strangest things. ^_^U That line did appeal much to me. O_O Yeah, well, Carly's like that and Enrique and Johnny both know it.
scarlet diamonds: You changed your name, it's pretty, I like it! He's not evil…he's just got thing mixed up for now…
whisper*2*imaginary: Well, isn't everyone feisty when they're angry, I know I would be. Yeah, it is confusing, O_o, I only have exams at the end of the year, June…hope you do well…
~kai~: Hmph, I'm just saying it, in a friendly sort of way…Besides, if I have time to write a whole chapter, reviewing probably won't even take one tenth of the time I did to write this. I haven't had any exams yet…but I'm not doing so great in Physics, it's sooooo hard.
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* ~ ¤ ~ Quøte ~ ¤ ~ *
"How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it."
~ Marcus Aurelius
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Chapter 20: Too Dark to See
"Slow down Willow," Holly complained, "We're not going to get anywhere walking so fast. Do you even know what you're doing?"
Willow didn't answer, she just kept going ahead.
"If you don't tell me where we're going," Tala said coldly, "I'm going to go my own way, there's no use in getting lost for no reason."
They had dropped into the Dark Kingdom. The sky was black and everything looked...well...dead, to be blunt. There was no sign of any life and there was hardly any light at all.
"Chill out pal," Carly said, giving Tala a friendly punch on his shoulder, "Give her minute to catch her breath, she looks like she going to cry."
"I still don't understand why Ray didn't come with us," Kai said, "I thought that we all agreed to help each other out."
"Don't you get it?" Willow demanded, trying to keep her tears from falling down, "He's too BUSY to help me! He doesn't care about me at all."
Kai frowned, "I hardly think that's it. He's probably so preoccupied with his Kingdom that he forgot that others need his help as well."
"Well, he's being stupid," Carly declared.
Everyone sweatdropped at her direct attitude.
"Very direct, aren't you?" Tala remarked.
"We know he's being dumb," Hru put in, "He should've just came without question!"
"It's not just that," Carly said, crossing her arms seriously, "I'm being serious guys. I've studied a lot of ruling before. Since all the Kingdoms are interdependent, the Fire Kingdom depends somewhat on the others as well. And his Kingdom is weak now, if he doesn't help us eliminate the strong, then he's putting his own Kingdom at risk. He could be attacked this very moment and then his whole Kingdom would collapse!"
"Listen to her guys, it's seldom she sounds so serious," Johnny joked.
"If he doesn't want to help me, that's fine," Willow said angrily, "I don't need his help, I have yours." She examined the map and sighed, a wistful look in her eyes, "I wish he was here though..." She looked up, "Sorry guys, I don't know what's wrong with me."
Carly started to open her mouth, but then she closed it again, deciding against what she was going to say.
"Can we just go?" Holly asked impatiently, "If we don't hurry, the Light Kingdom might not be there when we get back!"
"Yeah!" Kai said quickly, "Let's hurry!"
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"We should make a stop at the Dark Sanctuary first," Willow said, reading her map, "And talk with the Dark Mage. I hope he isn't as...um...formal as the Fire Mage."
"You mean weird, right?" Carly said, "Totally bizarre!"
"Holly, you feeling okay?" Kai asked.
"Yeah," Holly said, "I feel fine, thanks, why?"
"Well, I thought you might have gotten a headache or something cuz your weakness is Darkness," Kai explained, "If you don't feel well, you should tell us."
"Yeah, not wait till you're at the verge of collapsing," Johnny said pointedly.
"Well, NObody asked you to CARRY me!!!" Carly shot back, tossing her hair.
"Darkness is my weakness, but I'm also strong against it," Holly said, shrugging, "Whatever that means."
Kai shrugged as well, "Beats me, but if you feel nauseous or something like that, you can tell us."
"Yeah, and then we'll see how much you like Kai carrying you!" Carly snapped, still looking testy.
"Carly!" Holly said, turning red, "What did I say about directing your sarcasm at me???"
"It wasn't at you, it was at Johnny!" Carly retorted, making Kai and Johnny both blush their shades of red.
"Life..." Carly muttered.
Tala and Enrique overheard and both laughed to themselves.
"Excuse me," Hru said icily, "How are we supposed to know where we're going if it's so dark? I can hardly see what's ahead of me."
"I'm ahead of you," Tala replied sarcastically, "Just don't walk too fast, I don't need you smashing into me."
Hru blushed, grateful for the dark, "That's not what I meant."
"Yeah," Kailee whined, "I'm afraid of the dark and it's morning! Shouldn't it be bright and sunny?"
"Instead it's dark and gloomy," Max shuddered.
"Thus the name of the Kingdom," Tala pointed out.
"My Kingdom is NOT dark and gloomy!" Willow snapped, "It just needs a bit of fixing up, that's all!"
"Is it just me, or do I have a nasty feeling that we're being watched?" Johnny said, quietly gripping his axe.
"I don't heard anything," Willow said, looking around.
"Listen hard," Johnny whispered, "I was trained as a knight when I was young, I definitely hear something."
"Trees are rustling," Tala said quietly, "But there's no wind."
"I still don't hear anything," Cassandra complained.
"Stop chewing your gum then!" Kai hissed, "It's no wonder!"
"Arrows," Carly said, "It's the sound I make when I draw an arrow and fit it on my bow."
"Arrows???!!!" Enrique cried.
That did it, suddenly it started raining piercing arrows.
"Duck!" Hru yelled.
"Where? There's too many!!!" Kai shouted, covering his head, "I can't see who's firing!!!"
"It doesn't matter!" Tala said, sending a dozen arrows off course with a quick swipe of his hand which created a small windstorm.
Johnny whirled his axe around and chopped down the closest tree. They heard a small squeal followed by a series of chatters.
"There's someone there," Holly said, "It's a bunch of weird creatures."
Arrows continued to rain down on them.
"Aaah!" Kai groaned as one arrow pierced into his arm, drawing out blood.
"Kai!" Holly exclaimed, looking horrified.
"Bastards," Kai snarled, "I'm fine, don't worry." He gritted his teeth and yanked the arrow out of his arm.
Holly cringed at his action, "Oh Kai, that's sick."
Carly stumbled into Enrique, "Ow, gosh, I can't see a cursed thing!" Arrows shot down at both of them. Enrique immediately glowed orange and used his Psychic to stop the arrows right in their tracks, then he let them fall harmlessly on the ground. Carly gave Enrique a tight hug, "Thanks buddy, you're the best!"
"Cowards!" Johnny said, "They won't come down and face us, they'd rather hid in the shadows and cower. Holly, maybe your light can do the trick."
"What did you expect from evil beings, huh Johnny? That they will fight an honorable battle???" Holly scoffed, she made her palms glow a soft white light. Then she expanded the light until it lit up the whole area.
"Excellent Holly!" Johnny praised, swinging his axe into a tree and anchoring it down.
"There!" Hru cried, pointing to the treetops, "I see them. Little critters-like things!"
The small monsters resembled monkeys, but they had devil horns. Their eyes were red and they held a bow in their hands. They wailed and screamed in the light, desperately covering their eyes.
"Keep the light up!" Kai said, jumping forward. He fired thunderbolts from his hand, killing the little creatures one by one. The remaining creatures started running away.
"Hold it," Carly said dangerously, her eyes glittering, "Nobody tries to kill me without being punished!" She blasted out Ice from her hands and made frozen sculptures of the retreating monsters.
"Somebody help!!!!" Kailee screamed as two of the little monsters climbed on her and tried to snatch her wand, "EEEEEEWWWWW!!!"
"Kailee!" Max used his rifle and managed to knock one out while Kai used his sword and literally ripped the little monster apart.
"Is everyone okay?" Hru asked anxiously, "Was anyone hit?"
"Me," Kai gritted his teeth, "I'm fine, it got my arm."
"Here," Holly took out her handkerchief and tied it tightly around Kai's arm, "We wouldn't want you to bleed to death."
"Thanks," Kai grunted, "That's not my ideal death either."
"Willow, you didn't attack at all," Cassandra remarked, "You okay? Still thinking about Ray?"
"Hmm...?" Willow sighed, "Not really...well...sort of...yes... Besides I'm not sure if my attacks would've had any effect on these Dark Monsters."
"And those monsters kept away from you too," Holly remarked, "They must sense something from you and decided to leave you alone."
"Oh I'm so sorry you guys," Willow apologized, "I promise I'll fight next time."
Johnny picked up an arrow and examined it carefully.
"What are you looking for?" Holly asked.
"Nothing, it's just that the arrow could've been poisoned," Johnny said, "Thankfully it's not. It's just a regular arrow. Arrows are tricky, they can poison, paralyze, and knock out people instantly."
"What were those things???" Max asked, wrinkling his nose.
"They're called Dark Demons," Willow said, "It says that on the map anyways."
"They should be called Dark Bastards," Carly muttered.
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"We still can't see things very clearly," Hru remarked, "Willow, when you fix this Kingdom up, I hope you will add some light to the place." She hit someone by accident, "Ooops, sorry about that."
"Yeah, buy a sun and stick it in the sky, would you?" Tala grumbled, "That's like the 5th time you've hit me Hru! How about you walk in front of me!"
"You think that I LIKE walking into you??" Hru demanded, "If we switch around, then you'd be walking into me!"
"Well, I'm not blind," Tala shot back.
"Ohhhhh, so you've saying that I'm blind, are you???" Hru seethed.
"Oh just never mind," Tala groaned, "Whatever."
"If Ray were here, he'd be able to light a torch for us," Willow said wistfully, "Holly can't keep lighting up for no reason, it'll drain her."
"Well," Carly said, sounding offended, "Since Ray ISN'T here, we can light a torch the old-fashioned way!"
"No." Tala said calmly, "I'd rather you not."
"Why???" Hru demanded, "You want me to keep walking into you or something???"
"That's hardly the reason!" Tala said, looking flustered, "I meant that if we walk around carrying the only light in this dark place, everyone's going to know where we are!"
"He's got a point," Kai said, "It's dangerous giving away our location."
"It's dangerous not being able to see what's in front of you too!" Carly said.
"We'll manage," Johnny said, "Your eyes will adjust automatically. It'll be okay."
"There's a graveyard up ahead," Willow said, gulping.
"Did you say GRAVEYARD???" Kailee cried, "That's it, I'm outta here, I'm already scared to death, there's no way I'm walking through a graveyard!!"
"Isn't there another way??" Max asked nervously, "There must be."
"I...don't think so," Willow said, squinting at the map, "Nope, it's the only way."
"Let me see," Tala grumbled.
"You can't," Hru reminded him, "That map card will burn your hand."
"Screw that," Tala muttered, "Can you even read the map???"
Willow made a face at him, "YES! Hmph, let's go! The Dark Sanctuary is on the other side."
"Come on guys," Carly said, "It's just a graveyard!"
"JUST????!!!!" Kailee squeaked, "What do you mean JUST a graveyard! They're scary and haunted and it's full of ghosts!"
"Cut it off Kailee," Kai scoffed, "There's no such thing as ghosts."
"Fine, there are restless spirits then!" Kailee shrieked, "You couldn't pay me to fight spirits!!!"
"Why don't we leave that to Hru?" Tala said wryly, grinning at her.
"I'm not some spirit-killer you know!!!" Hru said in disgust, "You're not throwing me in there all by myself! I'd like to bury you!"
"Give it a rest," Johnny said, "We have our weapons and if there's any emergency, Holly can get us out of it with her light."
"Yeah," Holly nodded in agreement, popping up behind her best friend, "No problem."
"Then let's go!" Willow urged.
"You had better repay me somehow!" Kailee muttered, "This is SO creepy."
"Hold Kai's hand then!" Carly said angrily, "And stop talking, what if something's watching us??!"
"I'm not holding her hand!" Kai said.
"She's your sister!" Willow said, "It's not like Carly told you to hold Holly's hand!"
"Shut up!" Kai yelled.
"You SHUT UP!" Carly hissed loudly, "You're going to attract all the monsters here!"
"I need my hand to fight!" Kai said, "Kailee why don't you hold someone else's hand???"
"I don't want to hold anyone's hand!" Kailee shot back, "I wanna go hoooooommmeee!"
"Quit your bawling," Tala grumbled.
"All of you be quiet and keep moving!" Johnny ordered, "Don't stop in the middle of a graveyard!"
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Soon they were halfway through the graveyard, according to Willow. They hadn't seen anything unusual yet, but they occasionally heard weird wails and moans from out of nowhere. Kailee was badly spooked though and convinced that ghosts were haunting the graveyard.
"Come on guys," Willow said, "We're halfway there, just a little further, please."
"It's not like we're gonna stop in the middle of the graveyard," Carly spat, "That's like saying 'bury me' isn't it???"
"We haven't seen anything yet anyways," Kai said, looking around carefully.
"I wonder what's buried here," Hru said curiously.
Tala flashed her a wicked grin, "Why don't you dig one up and find out?"
"Gross!" Hru gasped, "No! What if it's a rotting body or something??? Tala, that's completely disgusting!"
"Sorry," Tala grinned again, "I couldn't resist."
Carly kicked a gravestone, "Stupid gravestones, stupid darkness, stupid Ray, stupid graveyard."
"Anything else?" Johnny asked playfully.
Carly glared at him, "Stupid Johnny!"
"Hey, I was kidding," Johnny protested, "Don't get all mad again, is anything not stupid??"
Carly smiled and threw her arm around Enrique's shoulder, "My best buddy."
"I'm your best buddy," Johnny corrected.
Carly pinched Enrique's shoulder lightly, "So is Enrique."
"Ow!" Enrique yelped.
"Sh!" Tala said suddenly.
Everyone looked at him.
"What?" Hru asked, looking confused, "I didn't hear anything."
"SSSSSSSSHHHH!!" Tala hissed.
"O-kay," Hru said, sounding offended, "Keep your head on!"
"The birds took off," Tala said quietly, pointing to the sky. A flock of birds had scattered.
"So?" Hru looked at him as if he had gone nuts, "You sound like you've never seen a flock of birds fly."
"My sarcasm is being stolen," Carly grumbled.
"Something must have scared the birds off," Tala said reasonably, "And that something must have been a monster, unless there's a hunter here."
"He's right," Johnny perked up, "I heard something."
"How come I never heard anything???" Kailee demanded.
"There!" Kai shouted, pointing to the gravestones in front of them, "Things are floating outta of them!!"
Dark wispy shapes were floating out of the gravestones and the coffins. They surrounded Willow and them and started circling them, murmuring chants. They had red eyes and transparent bodies. They kept circling them, spinning faster and faster around the group of teens.
"What are they?" Kailee grimaced, huddling closer to Max, "Eeeww..."
"What are they doing?" Carly complained, "It's making me
dizzy!!!"
"They're spirits," Hru whispered, "Restless spirits."
"Dark Ghosts," Willow added, "That's what they're called, they're monsters too."
{¤ Dark Ghosts ¤ are restless spirits who were killed by some mean of torture, they haunt the graveyards of the Dark Kingdom and are always looking for new victims to snare and steal their spirits away to join the ever growing graveyard.}
"It's so nice to know their names," Kai muttered, "What do we do about them???"
"Killing them sounds good to me," Carly said ironically.
"They've got us surrounded," Holly said, "Let me use my Light." She sent out a burst of white light and the Dark Ghosts let out a horrible wail, sounding like claws scraping on a chalkboard.
"Ugh, stop stop!!!" Kailee cried, covering her ears.
The screams were horrible and none of them could take it. It sounded like someone was being tortured until the very soul of their body was being drained out of them. Finally, Holly was forced to stop her light, but when she did, the Dark Ghosts zoomed towards them.
"Don't let them touch you!" Hru shouted, slashing her Spirit weapon through a monster and killing it, "If they go through you, you'll be in big trouble."
Tala let out a frustrated snarl, "My freakin' gun doesn't work! It's so busted, everything I fire out goes right through those freaks!"
Cassandra dove to one side as a Dark Ghost tried to charge into her, "Eeek! That's crazy! My trident's not working!!!" She swung her weapon around furiously, "This is stupid!"
Kai slashed his sword in the air, but to his surprise the blade just went through the Dark Ghost who sniggered at him, "No! Mine's not working either, I can't attack."
Holly fed some light into her sword and whirled it around, killing the nearby spirits, "Mine does. I guess normal weapons don't work."
Kailee let out a piercing scream as a Dark Ghost shot straight for her.
"Kailee!" Kai shouted.
"Kailee!" Willow and Holly cried, but they were too far away to help.
Max tackled Kailee aside, landing them both on the ground and the two of them tumbled down the short cliff and smashed into a tree. Enrique, who was behind Kailee, wasn't so lucky and he wasn't fast enough to react. The Dark Ghost flew right though his body, through his heart, cackling as its wispy shape emerged from Enrique. A look of shock passed over Enrique's face and he collapsed on the ground. His eyes were glazed and the color drained from his face, his body was eerily still and unmoving. His whole body turned dark and dull and he didn't get up or move at all.
Carly stumbled in front of her fallen friend, her emerald eyes wide with horror and shock. "Enrique!!!!" Carly's agonized yell filled the Kingdom.
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Ooops, I forgot to update, it's one day late, lol! I'm sorry, I got my dates mixed up with my other fic. Plus, I'm so totally busy with redesigning my website, which will be ready this weekend, it looks okay so far, it's change, lol! Poor Enrique, I'm always picking on him, first the broken arm, now this…I don't know, it just seems that Enrique's more accident-prone than the rest, lol! You know the deal, read and review! ^_^ Thanx!