We DO NOT own Sailor Moon, Harry Potter, or what ever else Sailor Spirit Aquarius and I, princessbookangel21000 decide to throw in (we only wish we did!).
CHAPTER 2
The Crystal Journey
As Annie sat there, huddled up in a little ball, tears flowed down her face, like the blood from hitting that table. She felt the darkness and despair that had accumulated over ten years, creep up around her in that small space. Why did she deserve to receive all this abuse for things that were out of her control? Why did she have to live with such horrid people? It seemed as if Annie's purpose in life was to be shut up in a tiny corner that no one notices, without any sign of love. Getting blamed for everything, even if it couldn't be anyone's fault, and being made to live with people who hurt you physically, and emotionally was almost a daily occurrence. If this was what life was about, then what was the point in her existence? Why couldn't she have gone with her parents in that alleged fire? Why did she have to be with such a family, where the feeling of being unwanted was experienced more often then that of 'family affection'? Why did she have to live like this? Annie would sometimes have fantasies about going away on a magical train, away from the Fiores. To meet the other children from her dreams in reality was a concept that she had often wished for. She would also have daydreams of that forest at the end of the street; the one people thought was haunted. She would imagine what it would be like to go in there. If she could, she would run away into that forest, away from the pain and misery that she was enduring at that very moment. Possibly, try to find a family who at leased cared a little, like one boy in her dreams, who, like her, experienced what it was to be an orphan, but was adopted. The more she thought about how absent any sign of love was from her abusive family as it had been for ten of her life, the more pain sheared through her, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, causing her to cry harder."Shut up you stupid freak!" she heard Brandon yell, kicking at her door. "You have no right to cry after what happened to me!" "And get out of those bloody clothes while your at it," shouted Alfred. "If you got some on the walls which your aunt will have to clean while your in there then you surely will have some on your clothes so take them off. Then put them by the door so that we can get them clean if we have guests by the time you're out of there."
Annie gave the door a very hurt and dirty look that she wished she could send through it. Then took off everything that she had worn that day, and replaced them with a set of deco-aqua coloured night- gown that had a very uncomfortable ruff at the neck and wrists. Then she quietly sobbed some more, with no awareness of time, until she finally cried herself to sleep.
At first, she was lying in darkness, while a steady dripping sound echoed through her mind, when she felt a strange light come through her closet. When it wouldn't fade, she opened her eyes. She saw that it was coming through the door, which was ajar. It was also very late, according to the clock at the end of the hallway. "What's going on?" she thought. "Surely, I can't be out of trouble this early after what happened."
At first, Annie pondered on why her door would be opened. She knew that the Fiores tried to keep the door locked at all times when she was being punished, even when they went to get her bloody laundry. It seemed unnatural for an early freedom. That's when an idea struck her like lightning. Freedom! The opportunity that lay before her was something that could never have been taken for reality in Annie's mind. This was the chance that she dreamed about, the chance to break away from the mistreatment, scorn, and abuse she was forced to endure with for the last ten years of her life; Annie could now escape from the Fiores! Maybe she could change her name, to prevent the Fiores from finding her. Ms. Sensai had called her Serina when they first met, but that was because, apparently, she mistook Annie for her adoptive niece. She liked the name a lot, as it seemed to fit her better then Annie, so Serina would become her new identity, and she would leave the name of Annie behind her. Serina was going to be more open, more expressive, and less meek and quiet then she ever was as Annie. She was so excited about all of the possibilities she didn't even bother to change out of her pajamas.
Quickly, Serina wrapped her hair up in a pair of Japanese Ponytails as to keep it out of her face, leapt off her mattress. Opening the door enough for her to slip through, but slow enough to keep it from making any noise was the key to her successful escape. There was no sign of the source of that mysterious light, but she was more concerned about her exit at that moment, and hadn't given it a second thought. "It was just the moonlight reflecting of something," she assured her self. She knew that the Fiores would have an alarm system on at night, so Serina decided to go onto the roof, down onto the porch and on the ground. Then she noticed that light again out of the corner of her eye.
It was that silvery, blueish-white light again, the same one that came in through her door, only this time, it was coming from where the back door was. "That's odd," she thought. What was going on? She approached the back door carefully. It to was slightly open. "Is someone trying to break in?" Serina knew how dangerous it was for her to approach someone, who was forcing entry, as it was more likely then not that person was armed. She was more than ready mentally and physically for such an event, and decided to take the chance. She was very grateful for Ms. Sensai's training.
Serina peered through the door, to see how many people were outside, but saw no one. All the porch, house, and streetlights, including those of the Fiores' house, were out. It looked like a great power outage, but no one seemed to notice the strange, shadowy street. Only the full, silver-white moon made it possible to see around the neighborhood. It was unusually bright, and seemed a bit closer then normal. Serina had always loved to look at the moon, even more then being out in the rain. She could remember sneaking on to the roof sometimes, just to watch the moon. On rare occasions, she would actually fall asleep outside, from being out so late. Then she'd wake up just before dawn, and go back in her closet, as not to let the Fiores know where she had been.
All of a sudden, Serina heard the rumbling of thunder off in the distance. She looked around, and saw a blanket of large, dark, cumulonimbus clouds that flashed with blue-white lightning (the kind that usually meant heavy rain or hail). It moved abnormally quickly, and it wasn't long before the rain started coming down on Serina. It felt wonderful, the cool water falling on her face, almost cleansing, in a way. Before long, she started dancing and running around in the storm, under the moonlight. Then she noticed that the moon was still very visible. The storm, despite its quickness, didn't advance any farther. It was as if it didn't want to obstruct the moon. "This is weird," thought Serina. "Why would a storm move so fast, then stop so soon?" it was at that moment, that she saw that silver-blue white light out of the corner of her eye.
Serina turned around, and saw, at last, the source of the mysterious light. It was coming from a small, cluster if blueish-white crystals. The entire group was roughly 7.62(almost 3 inches) centimeters wide, and the largest one in the center was about 20.32(almost 8 inches) centimeters in height. Although the surface looked as hard as quartz, the inside radiated with the strange light that kept shifting, as if it were made of liquid. Serina remembered reading in a fantasy book once, that crystals were frozen light. However, she had always thought that was just a fairy-story, not real. Still, the blue-white crystals looked like ice cubes that weren't frozen through. "Wow! It's so beautiful," marveled Serina, stretching out her hand to touch it. Then she withdrew it as she wondered."How did it get here?"
She looked around, to see if there was someone about, but instead, she saw another crystal group, only forty-three centimeters(1-2 inches) away from the first one, then another one that was the same distance. In fact, there was an entire trail of these glowing crystals, and it looked as if it was going into the nearby forest. Serina had always wanted to go into these woods, but someone had always told her not to, that it was too dangerous. At first, Serina was a bit apprehensive; especially sense there was a thick fog seeping out from behind the nearby trees. Then, she felt something call her. It wasn't a voice, but more like a force that was requesting her to go, pulling her towards the woods. Her curiosity intensified, and Serina decided to take the risk. "Well," she thought, "No one can get answers for questions without searching for them." And with that, Serina started running along the way indicated by the crystal path.
Serina felt it again, the magnetic force that wanted her to go into the woods as she ran. She noticed that the storm seemed to follow her. Not that she minded, but it was a very metaphysical experience. Even more supernatural, the moon was still shining very clearly, without a single cloud to obstruct it. "What a strange storm," pondered Serina. "And what is this feeling that's calling me?" she ran faster, and made it through the trees. She paused to catch her breath. The mist was so thick, that she could only see two crystal clusters distinctly, and three hazy lights beyond her range of clear vision. For a split second, Serina wanted to go back, then she felt the strange impulses push her on. "I wonder if I'm getting closer," she thought. At this point, she started shivering slightly, Serina slowed down a bit to conserve her energy. After walking for a while, she came across a fork in her path, but this time, there were no more crystals to follow. She was reminded of a tune she heard when she was very little. "Which way shall you go, which path shall you take? If you don't take any you'll surely make a mistake!" Serina wondered which road to take, looked around to see if she took a wrong turn, but discovered that the other crystals had disappeared. The thick haze made it impossible for Serina to find her way back without getting hopelessly lost. She looked at her dead end, just to see if she missed something, then she noticed the silver-blue light again. There was a new extension of the pathway of crystals, leading through the left fork. Serina knew that there wasn't a crystal there before, and felt uneasy. That was when the impelling force that brought Serina to that point rekindled inside of her, pushing her to go on.
Serina hurried deeper into the woods, wondering what the shimmering crystals would lead her to. By this time, she was soaked, and very cold. At last, Serina came upon a clearing in what seemed like the heart of this Forest of Mist.
In front of her, was a small lake that was about as large as the Fiore's back yard thrice over. Just beyond the lake on the other side of it, parallel to Serina, was a large, subterranean passage that looked like a great, projecting hill that had come above the surface over time. The large boulders at the mouth were made of the same, shining crystal that the mystic pathway consisted of. "Is that where I'm supposed to go?" Serina pondered. "If it is, then how could I get there?" the cave was more like an island when she tried to walk around, so Serina couldn't go around that pond, and there wasn't a boat to use. She could swim, (she could remember the times Brandon had tried to drown her) but she wasn't sure how deep it was. Serina gently picked up a stone, and cast it into the water. She couldn't hear what was happening, and it was obvious that it dropped straight down without a 'shore'. Without warning, a flash of lightning suddenly struck the water, illuminating what was underneath (as well as causing Serina to jump back). For a split second, she could see large, sharp, underwater stalagmites that made it almost impossible to swim through.
Serina sat down in the fog as she contemplated her methods of getting passed this obstacle. It was clear that this was where she was supposed to go, and there was no way back at this point. For a while, Serina thought of attempting to go back to the Fiores', only it was they who were the reason why she ran away in the first place. The crystals were just a hopeful destination point that she secretly wished would lead to a real home.
After about ten minutes (which felt more like an hour), it was obvious that there was no other way around it. She couldn't turn back, go around, get help, or stay. Again, the strange feeling that kept whispering to her pulsated, more urgently. This was obviously, one of those times when she had to risk everything on faith. "Well, this is it," she thought hoping that whatever had brought her to that point would get her to that island cave. Serina stood up and went to the edge of the water, and, holding her breath, stepped into the water.
(or should I say onto ?)Serina gasped. She was still standing, with only her toes slightly submerged, but she couldn't feel anything below that resembled solid ground. She looked down, and saw no support underneath. "What in the world is going on?" Serina thought as she stood on the water. If there ever was such a thing as magic, she would definitely consider that a reasonable explanation for what was going on. There was nothing in her studies that said that this was possible in this reality. For a minute, Serina was unable to move out of apprehension, then that unknown power from inside her throbbed again, pushing her forward. Putting great trust into whatever was keeping her from sinking, She walked towards the glowing crystal cave. It felt weird to walk on such an unusual surface. The greatest fear was that whatever was keeping her afloat would give away. She was afraid of looking down at her feet, so she focused on the cave in front of her.
The mouth of the cave was at least twelve feet tall and had a very wide entrance. The large stones that made up the threshold were positioned symmetrically, and did look like there was liquid light inside. However, upon closer investigation, Serina noticed that each crystal was of a slightly different pigment. She felt very small as she went through the mouth of the cavern, but when she did, a remarkable sight met her eyes.
Crystals of every colour in the spectrum, of practically every shade of those colours. Most of those shades without the possession of a name, lined every inch of the grate cavern wall to wall, and even on the natural ceiling, like a colossal geode. It was about twenty-one and a half feet at its base, and at the top of the crystalline dome was approximately that same measurement with three more feet added. The light coming through the mouth made the cave glitter like stars. Serina wished that she had at least ten more eyes to see it all with its splendor. She was so absorbed in the beauty of the underground chamber that as she approached it's center, she didn't notice that she was standing on solid ground again, with her feet still slightly submerged in the water. What she did notice, though, was that the cave was growing darker.
She wheeled around to see that the mouth of the cave was closing. In a panic, Serina ran to the opening, but when she got there, the cavern had sealed itself seamlessly shut. All that she could feel were the crystals that lined the rest of the large geode, and there was complete darkness around her, not unlike what she left.
"Is there anyone out there?" she yelled out, hitting in a smooth part of the wall. Her voice echoed throughout the chamber. "I'm trapped in here! Can somebody please get me out?"
There was no answer.
"Please!" Serina called out again hitting the solid rock harder. "I can't get out! Can anybody here me!"
Again, no answer, except her own echo. As her pleas for help remained unheard, she began to regret leaving that horrid house. She may have been abused and mistreated, but at least she had a little food, and the chance to go out now and then. It looked more as if she was going to be trapped in this crystal cavern forever.
"Please!" Serina screamed one last time, hitting the wall as hard as she could, "Get me out of here!" As her voice echoed across the dome, large tears began to form.
A single tear fell down her face and hit the water with a quiet drip. It was at that moment, when light filled the place as the crystals in there suddenly shined with they're own brilliant glow. Serina turned around to see the kaleidoscope of colour and light that took the place of the darkness. Serina was so captivated by her surroundings that the thought of being practically buried alive left her mind as she moved to the midpoint of the geodesic dome. She blinked, and another tear fell into the water. There was a slight rumble, and rocks began to drop. Thinking that the cave was collapsing, Serina let out a yell, kneeled down, shut her eyes tightly, and put her arms above her head to brace for impact as stones fell from the great height. When it all grew quiet, Serina opened her eyes and stood to see what had happened. A hole, in the shape of a perfect circle, and roughly two feet in diameter, appeared in the focal point of the great topside, and a shaft of pure white light appeared. It was so bright, that it made the crystalline walls appear dim before it. Serina stretched out her hand into the light, purely out of awe, then stood in its midpoint.
It was so blinding, she had to put up her hand to see what was up there clearer. She noticed a small peak drifting down into the cave. As soon as it entered, all the crystals that covered the wall flew off the walls with an almost explosive force. Again, Serina put her arms up without thinking. It didn't take much to realize that she wasn't harmed, but she looked up when she didn't hear a splash. The crystals that had lined the walls only seconds before were levitating at different heights, and, still glowing very softly, began to revolve around Serina steadily. The actual cavern was formed out of a fine type of quartz that made the sight even more splendid. Indeed, the kaleidoscopic display was enough to make her wish that she could see more then the human body could allow. At this point, she could see what was drifting towards her, and stepped aside to let it drift to the bottom.
It was a butterfly made out of silver quartz, set within a thin, golden hoop. Despite fact that it was about a third of Serina's hand in size, it drifted as gently and as lightly as a snowflake on a calm winter's evening. Its wings had tiny jewel shards imbedded in them, giving it that silver-rainbow colour. As it got lower, the crystals that were orbiting it, as well as Serina, grew dimmer and dimmer. When the butterfly finally hit the water, all the crystals stopped shining there own light, and fell to Earth with millions of splashes that, for some reason, didn't disturb the estrange jewel. In fact, as Serina dodged the falling crystals, she accidentally sprayed water over to where it was, and witnessed that the water splashed off of the beam of light, much like it would to a post at a dock. When all was calm, the butterfly drifted until it reached the edge if the light beam. Serina wasn't sure whether she was imagining it or not, but it seemed as if the cavity in the ceiling was constricting slightly. The beam was now in the shape of a perfect crescent on its side, exactly like her birthmark, with the butterfly also vertical. Entranced by the unusuality of the placing, Serina slowly walked toward the beam, stopping short of it. Hesitating, she stretched out her hand, wondering whether or not if the shaft coming from the top of the cavern was light or not. It definitely was, but silvery, multicoloured sparks seemed to fly off her hand and the part of her arm that was covered in the light, causing her to retract it out of shock. Serina examined her hand, but saw that it wasn't at all harmed, nor was it glittering. She didn't even feel anything (with the exception of how fast her heart was beating). Serina looked back at the shaft, then at her hand. Then, without even knowing what she was doing, Serina closed hr eyes, and stepped into the light.
There wasn't a part of her that wasn't in shadow. She opened her eyes, and saw that she was giving off that same, silver-rainbow aura. Slowly, but surely, the light that was coming off her got brighter and brighter. Serina, out of awe, spun around once, seeing her aura sweep off of her very being, like glittering sand being blown off a rock on a windy desert mountain. Serina looked at the blinding source of light and felt again the sacred sensation of her soul being purged of all the negativity that she had unwillingly excepted as the purpose of light. Suddenly, the light she was giving off died, as the crescent shaped beam turned into a golden light that came from the ground, and the water began to swirl around her. As she stood there, frozen, Serina thought that the place was filling with water. Then she felt the surface she was standing on give away. The source of the gold light became larger, but whatever surface was there quickly disappeared.
She sank into the ground like a stone out of the window. Serina fought her way back to the surface, gasping for breath. Panicking, she swam until her feet felt level ground again. She had barely stood there for three seconds when she sank again. Serina did manage to get back on her feet, but as she ran, she felt the water level rising rapidly as a large whirlpool began to form. When she touched the wall, the water was already up to her waist. Serina started banging on the enclosure, pleading for help again to the nonexistent person outside. When logic finally kicked in, she decided to try to use her own strength on her prison. She focused her energies, took a deep breath, and gave the quartz barrier a punch that would have normally smashed three two-inch slabs of solid concrete.
The next thing that happened was extreme pain flowing from her fist to her arm. Serina's yell bounced off the wall, unheard to the outside world, but at least nothing was badly damaged. As for the wall itself, Serina found to great surprise (as she rubbed her sore hand) that it didn't even have a scratch. Turning to see what was going on, Serina whitened as the whirlpool that had started was now a whirling, glowing vortex. The crystals that came off the cave were now spinning so fast that they looked like multicoloured blurs that were quickly disappearing into the unknown. Serina knew, as the water level got higher and the maelstrom became consuming, that she was probably going to die in there. She could hold her breath for a long time, but the water would make it more difficult. The strong current would also add complications. Then there was the fact that there more then likely wasn't a way out of the great eddy (vortex), and no way of coming up for air. At least, if she died, she would be where the Fiore's wouldn't be able to hurt her anymore in that lifetime.
However, the current had taken hold of Serina before she was ready, and she was swept off her feet and dragged under the water before she could inhale. She fought the vortex as hard as she could, and did manage to take a quick breath, but the force of the swirling water made it impossible for her to hold it for more then a few seconds. She came up again, and gasped for air. Serina could see the quartz cave spinning further and further away from her as she was swiftly being pulled to it's core. Repeatedly, she was submerged, surfaced enough to breathe, then submerged again. When she came to it's center, she took a last breath, and was drawn into the golden heart of the whirlpool.
It was one of the strangest experiences Serina had ever gone through. She passed through (what felt and looked like) a thin film of water, much like going from one bubble to another. On the other side, the crystals that were towed in with her seemed to warp out of reach. Then, Serina saw what appeared to be a narrow tunnel. At what felt like a great speed, she flew through the tube-like passageway. There was no real 'top' or 'bottom', as they looked the same. The upper and lower parts of the 'Mind Tunnel' (as Serina classified it when she first entered) were, like the crystals, a full spectrum of interchanging colours of light. The sides looked like outer space, except that it looked like it was submerged. However, there was no real 'top' or 'bottom', as they looked the same. Then it happened.
There was a bright light that looked like a star hurtling towards her. Serina thought that she was going to crash into it, when the tunnel took a sharp turn. She remembered reading about things called Wormholes, tunnels that ripped through space and time, and acted as a shortcut between parts of space. The passage she was flying through seemed to be more then likely a wormhole, but Serina had always believed them to be theoretical.
It happened again; another star came dangerously close to her, but she was turned away safely in an entirely different direction. Serina noticed that the wormhole had different tunnels that ranched off it; not that she needed to worry about which direction to go in; as the mind tunnel seemed to know where she needed to go. This repeated when she least expected it as she dodged stars, comets, and what she could have sworn to be an occasional planet. Left, right, middle fork, up, right again, down, spiral; she tried to prepare for the sudden moves and directions as they changed, but it was impossible. As she passed through the mind tunnel, Serina started having flashbacks of each time that a supernatural event happened to her. The time when Serina decorated the town in one night, the time when she became consumed by that light on Brandon's birthday year's back. And not to mention, the time when she was pulled to shore by a strange current when she was pushed into a river, and every dream she had that involved those other children that were as different as she was. Suddenly, everything stopped. Serina seemed to be floating in space, protected by a liquid-like bubble of air that would let her observe her surroundings. Serina looked to the right slightly, and gave a great gasp of awe. In front of her was the moon, but it was close enough to her that she could see practically every detail of its surface. Then she noticed something very odd. There was a dense part of it that seemed to go on for a few miles near the Sea of Serenity. "Is that... a forest?" she thought. Then she turned to what was right next to it. The small area seemed to be littered with unusually shaped stones that seemed to resemble ruins. Serina shook her head, wondering why in the universe she was thinking thoughts that were unbelievably fictitious. The concept of life on the moon! Such a thought would have her laughed at by children her age and would have probably gotten her a beating from Uncle Alfred. That was when another thought struck her. "What if I need to go back?" she wondered. Truthfully, Serina didn't want to go back to the Fiores, but if she had to, how was she going to get there? She tried to remember the route she had taken, but those efforts proved to be futile. That was when, without warning she suddenly started hurling through what felt like a giant tube again. It didn't take long for her to realize that she was going through another wormhole. Faster and faster she went, passing stars and planets, until a silver-white light, like the one in the crystal cavern, came into view. It didn't really look like a star, but it was as bright as a nova. Was that where she was supposed to go? Serina began to spiral, her rotational period accelerating dangerously. The light was spinning faster towards her. She was going to crash right into that light. Serina let out a yell, then…
Serina fell onto solid ground, landing feet first, out of the sky. That was the greatest rush she had experienced in her ten years of life. "Did I just die?" She wondered. Physically, she didn't feel any better off then when she left the Fiores. Serina had always believed that, when a person died, that they would feel that they were in the best health of his or her life. Serina felt very shaken from the journey through the tunnel. She decided to test out weather she was dead, and bit her finger. The fact that she felt pain when she bit, and the fact that it bled, seemed to rule out the possibility if being dead. Serina straightened up, and looked around to see where (or when) she was. What she saw made her stop in her tracks.
HAHAHA! CLIFFHANGER! Hey wasn't that a good chapter? I thought so any way. Hey, is any one else upset about how the November elections turned out besides me? DEAN RULES! Bushes Sucks! (No offence to any Republicans, or Bush supporters!)
ELECTIONS!
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