Chapter 6 Reinforcements

First of all, I am so sorry about the problem with changing point of views. Originally I put lines between them, but I kept forgetting to, but now I will make more of an effort to do that. Yeah, and I should say that while this story might not be all that interesting right now, keep reading because I am definately sure you will love what I've written in the further chapters. Wait another two or three chapters, and I'll be dropping the ball of freakiness.

That day Thandrana was the subject of every conversation. Griffin kept her flower in a glass cup of water right at the front of his bar, and many of his customers would see it and ask him what he thought of the Spirit.

"I don't know," he said truthfully. "I've been an atheist for years, but I can't deny that I saw some things that definitely shouldn't have happened."

"Magic tricks," Patrick and Kassey, the old firework makers had said. "Hoaxes and child's play, that's all it is. We don't believe in Spirits, we believe in Science."

And they had left, leaving Griffin alone in his bar. He absentmindedly dusted the counter while his muddled mind journeyed over everything that had happened. Had the spirit been the one who killed the farmer? And if so, why?

"Griffin," he looked up to see Muffy, his waitress, standing there. "You look troubled. Why don't you take the day off. I'll watch over everything."

Griffin nodded slowly.

"Thank you," he said.

Muffy brushed her golden blond hair back and smiled, before stepping behind the counter. Griffin turned for the door. He would meet with this Thandrana and ask her himself. Muffy continued dusting off the counter top. Business was slow today, for after Thandrana's demonstration few people journeyed very far from they're homes. They were all a bit shaken, and everyone was not sure what to believe anymore. Muffy had been a devout Jew all her life, but the stuff the spirit demonstrated made her think twice. She knew that due to they're pagan ancestors, and the religious influences from Japan, many of the natives of the Valley were not that surprised. She knew that Galen often spoke of Gods and Goddess' and the like.

However on the other side of the coin the stream of Irish immigration had brought a lot of Catholic influence upon the Valley. She knew that Marlin was a devout Catholic. Vesta had been raised Catholic along with Marlin, but had rejected it and all religion when she grew older. There were many people in the village whom she had no idea about what they believed. Romana, for instance, and her granddaughter Lumina. Sometimes even in a small town you don't know little things about people.

What she did know was that Forget Me Not Valley would never be the same after this. Thandrana had affected everyone no matter if they believed what she said or not. Things were about to change around there and who knew where the humble Valley would end up.


When night came Griffin came to help Muffy with the sizable late crowd. He never told her how his meeting with Thandrana had turned out.

"She seems like a good person, er spirit," Wally said, sipping his drink.

"I'm going to see her today to talk with her," Cody replied. "Imagine, a higher being, right here in Forget Me Not Valley. And I thought that nothing interesting ever happened here."

Muffy walked over and handed both of them their drinks.

"So what do you think Muffy?" Carter asked.

"I have to say I don't know," Muffy said. "She says she'll help us if we keep her flower, so I'm keeping it."

"Heck with it," Patrick said rubbing his nearly bald head. "No flower's gonna help anyone. She's just a trickster whose got this town in the hold of a clever practical joke. Either that or Grant had us all up on heroine."

He and his twin brother Kassey laughed, they're musty gray mustaches jerking back as they grinned. Wally rolled his eyes impatiently at the strangeness of the two brothers.

"Why don't you guys go hit on Muffy," Carter suggested.

"Oh that's a good idea," Kassey said laughing.

"Hey!" Muffy protested. "They're both like over twenty years older than me."

Huffing and guffawing the two eccentrics lumbered out of the bar, leaving behind an unpleasant smell of gunpowder.

"Those guys are really getting on my nerves," Wally said.

Cody finished his drink and left.

"Well I'm going to go make sure Hugh isn't getting into trouble," Wally said, standing up.

"It's getting late, so I should go too," Carter stood up and followed him.

They stepped out of the bar and bumped right into a fuming bloodshot eyed man in a white lab coat. In the darkness they could barely recognize him had it not been for the significantly bright moonlight.

"Daryl," Carter said in surprise.

The sight of Carter seemed to infuriate the scientist even more.

"Carter," he said unpleasantly.

"Still trying to catch the white demon?" Carter asked.

Wally stifled a chortle, receiving a glare from Daryl.

"Why yes," Daryl glowered. "Still digging up ancient crap?"

Carter's eyes narrowed.

"Still dabbling around with electricity?"

"Still 'studying' with Flora in you're free time?" Daryl made quotation symbols with his hands as he said 'studying.'

Carter was stunned.

"Why you insolent scoundrel! At least my work is dignified!"

"At least I don't go hitting it with my assistant!"

They stopped and just glared at each other for a while. Carter then turned to leave.

"I don't want to talk to you, you sad excuse for a scientist."

"Look whose talking mister 'there's gotta be gold around here somewhere.'"

Carter walked off in silence while Daryl proceeded to perform cruel, but rather hilarious impressions of Carter at work.

"Maybe over here," he said in a stupid sounding voice. "Or over there. Or maybe, right THERE!"

Daryl ran around in a circle before stopping and looking around.

"Oops," he said giggling dumbly. "Looks like I dwopped my shovel again! Shucks."

Wally shook his head and walked away. Once Daryl got bored of poking fun at Carter he stood up and walked back in the direction of his home by the swamp.


'Are you sure this will work?'

'I am certain. This town is on the verge of spiritual decay. Everything will fall in place as soon as I start working.'

'But you do know that we don't control the weather over the entire island.'

'Everyone who took my flower has signed themselves out as my servant. So therefore as of now I control quite a significant area on this island.'

'But what of the other part?'

'The other part will soon be mine as well. But we must not rush to it, we must work slowly.'


I lead my cow out from my barn and into the open field. The cold night air brushed against us as we moved out into the field. I brushed its side as the beast munched absentmindedly on some grass. As I brushed my cow I glanced out into the forest. The forest was always silent. Birds lived in it, but they rarely chirped. Which was weird, because when I saw them in other parts of the village they chirped all the time. Except at the swamp. But that's because there was never anything living there except for the fish. The swamp and the forest were truly mysterious places, for when I walked within each I felt something that was different, almost spiritual.

In the swamp I found a dark presence that nearly killed me, but in the forest I felt something different. Something that wasn't dark, but was scary. The silence frightened me, as if a mighty power was lurking within. I didn't know what it was, but I was afraid of it, afraid of its power, afraid of what it could mean. I didn't know which scared me more, the swamp, or the forest. All I knew was that right now the swamp was more dangerous, or so I thought.

"Hello Josh," I looked up to see an elderly man walking towards me from the village.

"Hi," I said, "Galen, right?"

The man nodded and gazed over at my cow.

"How's you're farm been producing?" he asked.

I looked from my one cow to my small plot of crops. I turned back to Galen and smiled unpleasantly.

"Its not very prosperous yet," I confessed.

"Thandrana can fix that," he said.

The hair on my back stood on end as I looked up at the strange old man, standing there possessed with the new Spirit.

"I've seen her do great things for people already," he said quietly, a strange darkness hidden behind his friendly eyes. "She can help. Believe me, she can help."

His eyes lured me in, drawing me towards the darkness, but I jerked away.

"No," was all I said. "No."

Galen stared at me again, but I turned and looked away. With that he turned, and walked out of my farm. I continued brushing my cow as if nothing had happened. She bit into a large flower, and continued munching.


"So why didn't you keep the flower?" Vesta asked for the fifth time that night.

Celia rolled her eyes and looked back at Vesta.

"Because I don't believe in her!" she shouted angrily.

"How can you not believe in her?" Vesta asked. "She appeared before us all."

"I've told you before Vesta," Celia said, calmer this time. "I believe in God, I don't believe in great Spirits that watch over us, just one, God."

It was Vesta's time to roll her eyes.

"Religious bull-crap," she murmured. "My parents tried getting me into that stuff when I was a kid. They got Marlin, but I quit going to church in high school."

Celia had heard this story. How her parents had tried forcing her to go to Church and to go to confession and stuff like that. Celia was a strong Christian girl, as many country people are. Vesta had been raised Catholic, but had turned against all religion when she rebelled against her teachings. Marlin grumpily entered the room and slumped down on the couch.

"Oh hi Malin," Vesta said. "We were just talking about you."

"Nothing bad I hope," Marlin mumbled, before turning the TV on.

"I wasn't talking about him," Celia protested, before storming out the door.

Outside, Celia let loose a frustrated sigh before walking off in the direction of the forest. Vesta and her had had they're arguments about religion before, for Vesta was such a hard edged atheist that she took every chance that was available to bash religion. But now that Thandrana had come Vesta had come one with more strength and with more anger than before.


I finished my farm work early that evening, so I decided to go into town to see the people I hadn't met yet. My first stop was the local inn.

"Hello Josh," a humble looking Japanese man said upon my entrance. "I am Tim, the owner of the inn. And this is my wife Ruby."

A short haired Japanese girl stood beside him. I nodded to both of them.

"Nice to meet you both," I said.

Tim brushed his black hair back before looking over at the stairs.

"I just came here to meet you guys, and anyone else who might be staying here," I explained. "Is there anyone staying here right now?"

"There's our son Rock," Ruby said. "But he's off visiting Lumina right now."

"There is Nami," Tim said.

"What's that about me?"

I looked up suddenly and saw a straight faced redhead walking down the stairs slowly.

"Oh there you are Nami," Ruby said smiling. "This is Josh, the new owner of the Farm. Lets see, what's its name?"

"Shadow Ranch," Tim explained.

"That's right," Ruby said. "Remember, the old farmer died."

Nami nodded coldly and brushed her bangs out of her face.

"Well its good to meet you Nami," I said, extending a hand.

Nami didn't take my hand. She nodded to me quietly.

"Excuse me if I don't shake hands," she said, before walking out the front door.

I watched her leave, feeling snubbed.

"Don't worry about it Josh," Tim said. "Nami always acts that way around people she doesn't know. She's a traveler, a real loner."

"Yeah," Ruby interrupted. "She came here last year, telling us she didn't plan on staying, that she was just passing through. Apparently she moves from place to place, and from island to island."

"We don't know if she has any family," Tim said. "What we do know is she lost someone sometime in the past, which may have marked the beginning of her traveling days."

"Oh..." A feeling of pity arose inside of me.

I would try not to be hurt by her cold attitude then, for it seemed that she was suffering on the inside.

"I hope we see you around often," Tim said cheerfully.

I nodded and smiled, before noticing the cup of water resting on the table with Thandrana's flower in it. I faked another smile, and left.


Nami walked away from the inn unpleasantly, her footsteps plodding against the cold ground as she moved stiffly. Her head hung down, and she looked at the ground as she walked. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a small group of people standing around the swamp, talking amongst themselves. Nami ignored them, not caring what they were so interested in. Maybe it had something to do with the town meeting that she had neglected to go too. She had been in her room all day, so she hadn't found out what had happened during the meeting. Nor did she really care.

The stars shone down on her as she stumbled down to the beach and gazed out over the silent waters. They splashed quietly against the cold sandy shore as she watched. Way out in the distance she could see a boat making its way in towards the shoreline. More tourists maybe? She'd have thought that what had happened to the last batch would have scared visitors away. Oh well, the ship would arrive in the morning, and maybe Nami could barter passage off this small island, if she wanted to. Nami sighed quietly as she folded her arms and continued staring out over the ocean. Something stirred in the air around her as the boat continued through the silent night waters.


"Looks like a storm's coming!" the Ship's Captain shouted, glancing at the rough waves ahead.

A wave struck the side, causing Cliff to lurch suddenly.

"That's funny," the Captain continued. "They were predicting clear skies today. We'll have to divert to Seabird Port, just north of here. Then we'll set out again tomorrow, I'll drop those five little men off on Forget Me Not Island, and then take you to Australia."

Cliff grabbed onto a railing and held on tightly as the ship continued rising up and down over the waves.


The five Sprites huddled together below the deck of the ship as the storm outside grew stronger and stronger. Hoggy looked up suddenly.

"You feel that?" he asked, glancing at the other sprites.

Timid nodded, but Bold just sat in the corner not responding.

"Its her," Aqua said. "I can feel it."

Slowly the Sprites shuffled up onto the deck just in time to hear the Captain say that he was diverting the ship to Seabird Port.

"No," Bold said. "She's on Forget Me Not Island all right. We'd better stop the ship and get to shore."

"But how?" Timid asked. "The Captain's taking the ship to the port. We won't be able to talk him out of it."

"We won't have to," Nappy said. "Respond to the signals she's sending. Its obvious she can feel our presence. When we confirm our existence she will provide a way."

The other's nodded, before closing they're eyes and chanting quietly: "From the height of the sky, to the depths of the earth, bow to the Goddess for all of you're worth."


'There's something out there, I can feel it!'

'But what is it?'

'Something from the past, I'm not sure what. But I feel that there is more than one of them. Some Spirits left over from my original forces perhaps.'

'The Spirits of Mineral Island?'

'Reinforcements. They are returning to me.'

'What will you do?'

'Something prevents them from coming here, I will bring it down.'


The boat thrashed again.

"Its getting stronger!" Cliff shouted at the Captain.

"If I can only navigate us out of the storm then I can get us safely to Seabird Port!" the Captain replied over the sound of the waves crashing against the ship.

"What's going on?" Cliff turned when he heard a faint voice behind him.

He saw five little men standing a good distance behind him looking around worriedly and whispering to each other. Cliff grabbed the railing as the ship lurched again. If he didn't know any better he would think...

"Wait a second..." Cliff murmured to himself.

The Harvest Sprites! What were they doing here? Going to Forget Me Not Island? Cliff's eyes widened. What would they do there? He let go of the railing and started walking decisively towards them, intending to demand an explanation as to where they were going. The waves crashed against the ship again, sending him reeling. He grabbed the railing and drew himself towards the Harvest Sprites, but then they saw him.

"Cliff?" Aqua said. "But where is Shadow Bringer?"

Shadow Bringer had been the demon that had been with Cliff during his time in Mineral Town. But before he'd left he'd had it exorcised out. Cliff pointed shakily at the Sprites.

"Wha-what are you doing?" he shouted over the din.

Whatever they planned on doing in Forget Me Not Valley, Cliff imagined it wasn't good. The Harvest Sprites sensed this, looking at each other. Then suddenly they dove forward, shoving Cliff back away from them.

"Hey!" he cried as Nappy jumped into his chest, slamming him painfully backwards.

The other Sprites quickly dove overboard and the sea swept them away. Cliff swung a fist at the tiny Sprite who jumped over it with ease and hit Cliff in the cheek with his tiny fist, jolting him slightly. Then Nappy dove overboard as well.

"Wait!" Cliff shouted, stumbling forward.

The ship buckled, and he was thrown overboard and the treacherous waves swept him under. Before darkness took him away one thought flashed through Cliff's mind.

The Harvest Sprites are going to the Island. They must be warned. The people must be warned...

Then darkness took him and his body was swept down into the depths.