Chapter 12 A Visit to Mineral Island

Sorry for the delay in chapters. I haven't been very motivated about this story due to the lack of reviews. That being said I'd appreciate it if you other people would start giving me some feedback so that I know how I'm doing. Oh yeah, and thanks Pyro Flare for your consistent reviews, but couldn't you come up with something more to say than "Good story and I don't know what to say." Don't mean to put you on the spot, but could you tell me what you liked and what you didn't like? Or advice, if you come up with ideas or suggestions then I am more than happy to hear them. Now that the depressing note is out of the way, well Enjoy!

I stepped down off of the Ferry with my bag in tow.

"This is great!" Nak skipped cheerfully down the gangplank. "Hello Mineral Island!"

I shook my head and stepped off of the gangplank. Then good ol' intelligent Mr. Hancock came racing down the gangplank barking wildly.

"Hey stupid!" I shouted, "get back here!"

Mr. Hancock, hearing his name being called, immediately raced back towards me.

Nak jumped onto ol' John's back and the dog, with the Sprite on its back, dashed off into the town.

"Hey!" I shouted after them, but they were gone.

"So what brings yew here?" the Ferry Captain asked me, stroking his beard.

"I'm looking for someone," I said. "Do you know of a man named Zach?"

The Captain's expression hardened, and his smile faded.

"I want you to be very honest with me," he said. "Why do you want to see Zach?"

"He's my cousin," I said.

"Oh!" the Captain's face melted and he grinned again. "M'name's Captain Bates! Put er there!"

"I'm Josh," I said.

His large hand enveloped mine and he pumped my arm up and down.

"Any relative of Zach is a friend of mine!"

"So you know my cousin," I asked.

"Know him!" Captain Bates guffawed. "E's practically family! Come on then, I'll take ye to 'im."

He led me from the beach into Mineral Town. I noticed with surprise how large the town was compared to Forget Me Not Valley, and how happy everyone seemed. I passed two farms, but was told that neither belonged to his cousin. One was principally for livestock, and the other for chickens. Captain Bates led me past both of these until he brought me to a large, well developed farm.

"Welcome young sir," the captain said, "to Happy Farm!"

"Happy Farm?"

"Aye," Captain Bates said. "This here's been yer cousin's farm for about one and a half years."

I looked around at the large farm, its fields filled with crops, and a nice chicken house and a barn, both looking brand new.

"I'll go get the Missus Chandrata," the captain grinned.

"Mrs?" I looked up, remembering that I'd heard my cousin had married.

Captain Bates walked over to the house and banged on the door.

"Oh Missus Zach Chandrata?" he called out.

"Missus ANN Chandrata!" a female voice called from inside.

The captain chuckled as the door opened and a beautiful red haired, freckle faced girl glared out at him. She was dressed in blue overalls with an orange shirt and bare feet.

"Yeah," Captain Bates said. "I knew that m'dear."

The girl's frown turned into a smile, and she laughed.

"Its good to see you again Joe," she said, as the two of them hugged.

"Missus Ann," the captain said, turning to me, "I'd like yew tah meet Josh. 'E says e's yer husband's cousin."

The girl smiled and walked over to me.

"I'm Ann Chandrata," she said. "You must be my new inlaw."

I smiled shyly and held out a hand. Zach was definitely lucky to have found a girl this pretty to spend his life with.

"Nice to meet you," I said as we shook hands. "But where is Zach?"

"Oh," Ann smiled. "He's in the barn taking care of the new cow."

"I need to see him," I said.

"Zach!" Ann turned and shouted at the barn.

Within a couple seconds the door opened and a tall brown haired man with piercing eyes and a huge smile stepped out. There was no doubt about it, it was my cousin. I smiled.

"Hey Zach!" I shouted.

"Josh?" he walked up, smiling. "You didn't tell me you were coming to visit!"

"Of course not," I said grinning. "Wouldn't want to ruin the surprise."

We hugged each other.

"Glad to see you've already met my beautiful wife," Zach said, putting and arm around Ann.

Ann smiled, and gazed lovingly up at the farmer.

"Yeah," I gazed out over his fields. "I see you've been productive."

"You can say that again," Zach threw a wink at his wife.

"Let me guess," I looked back. "How many kids do you have?"

"None," Zach smiled. "Not yet. We just got back from our honeymoon a week ago. Not planning on having kids for a while yet."

"I'm sorry I couldn't come to your wedding," I said. "My father just died, and I had to fix up all his affairs."

Ann gasped, and threw me a sympathetic look.

"I'm so sorry..." she said.

I shook my head.

"Its okay," I turned away from her. "I didn't even know the man anyways."

Zach threw a look at her as if to tell her not to touch that subject.

"Well I'd hate to see you come all this way without a proper dinner," Zach said, trying to brighten up the mood. "So Ann, is dinner ready yet?"

He put his arm on her shoulder. Ann grinned playfully at her husband and took his hand in hers.

"Yup," she said.

"Great," he planted a kiss on her lips before walking towards the house.

"Meatloaf," Ann said, "mashed potatoes and baked veggies."

Upon hearing that some of his favorite foods were for dinner Zach stopped, ran back over to Ann and gave her another kiss, before sweeping her off her feet and carrying her towards the house. She giggled and nodded for me to follow.

"Care to join us for dinner Captain?" Zach looked at Joe Bates.

"Sorry," the captain apologized, "can't. I gotta head out again. Nice meeting you Josh."

I nodded at Captain Bates as he left before following Zach and Ann inside their house.

Nami trudged back to the inn at about seven o'clock at night.

"Where've you been young lady?" Ruby asked, smiling broadly as she entered. "You missed dinner."

"Its alright," Nami said, "I grabbed some food at the Blue Bar."

Cliff walked in behind her.

"Ah," Ruby said. "I see you've met Cliff."

Cliff smiled faintly and nodded.

"He came from Mineral Island," Nami said.

"Really!" Ruby went on rambling to the two of them for a while.

But finally Cliff and Nami were able to excuse themselves, and head up to their rooms for bed. It wasn't like Nami to go to bed so early, but Ruby didn't question it.

"So Zach says you're a farmer too," Ann said to me over dinner.

I nodded, and ate another bite of meatloaf.

"My farm's called Shadow Ranch," I said. "Its quite a bit different than this farm."

"Happy Farm," Ann giggled. "I still don't think I'll ever get used to that name."

She shot a glance at Zach.

"What?" he said playfully. "I couldn't think of anything else!"

Ann smiled at her husband and looked back at me. We chatted for a while before stepping outside to gaze at the stars.

"Summer's coming," Zach said. "I always raise Pineapples during the summer, because they always earn high profits. Can you grow Pineapples at your ranch?"

"I don't think so," I responded. "So far I've mostly grown tomatoes and Turnips."

"Do you like living in the Aprachi Islands?" Ann asked.

I nodded.

"I tell you," Zach said, leaning back in his lawn chair as he gazed up at the stars, "I've never smelled fresher air anywhere else in the world. There aren't the factories and automobiles like in the city. Of course I do miss driving."

"The night sky is beautiful too," I said, gazing up at all the stars.

"Oh yeah," Zach agreed. "A couple months ago I couldn't just sit outside at night and watch the..."

Then he stopped, and shut his mouth.

"I'm gonna go wash the dishes," Ann said, standing up and walking towards the house.

Zach smiled at her as she walked inside.

"I'm happy for you," I said. "Married to the girl of your dreams and with a farm this successful."

Zach just nodded.

"Its been hard work," he explained, "but Ann has made it all worthwhile. She's been wonderful."

I gazed up at the dark sky, filled to the brim with stars.

"There's something I need to talk with you about," I said. "Do you know of a man named Cliff?"

That got his attention.

"What do you know about Cliff?" he said almost desperately.

"Well..." I struggled for words. "He's come to Forget Me Not Valley."

"Oh..." Zach looked up at the sky again. "Cliff was never really the same after..."

"After what?" I looked up at him again.

"I don't know if you'll want to listen to this," Zach began.

"Zach," I interrupted. "I need you to tell me everything that happened here on Mineral Island. You want to know why? Within the past month a new cult has arisen out of nowhere on Forget Me Not Island. My father died an unexplainable death. I was attacked by some supernatural force. And now a killer is running loose. Cliff says that similar events occurred here. Now I need you to tell me what the heck is going on."

Zach just looked at me for a while, his features turning grave, and almost fearful. Then finally, he spoke.

"When I first moved here," Zach began, "I found that the town was gripped in the hold of some sort of religion. A religion involving a Goddess, and several Spirits of the Island. I of course did not believe in it. But then I found a note on my desk left behind by my Grandfather. A warning. It spoke of a great evil which lived in the forest, and in the mountains. It also contained a warning no to underestimate the evil, and to never go outside at night. The first night I did go outside I was attacked by some spirit, some demon. Ann saved my life."

I watched him as he related to me his tale.

"It was not a Goddess," he explained. "It was a demon. A fallen Angel, one of the third which had followed Lucifer at the beginning and fallen from heaven. You may not believe in this stuff as I do, but I do know that what I fought against was no good spirit."

He told me a story, a dark story of evil spirits, a satanic sorcerer, and a plan to plunge Mineral Island into darkness. And then, he spoke of a climactic struggle where his soul was wagered against the soul of a powerful demon. And how in the end the Harvest Goddess had been cast down from the top of Mother's Hill into the sea below.

"The Angel Tarana said that since the Right Hand had been defeated then the Goddess would not be able to return here ever again, for now the island was under the protection of the Angels."

"And you think that what we are experiencing in Forget Me Not Valley is the cause of a demon left over from the Harvest Goddess' forces?"

Zach just nodded.

"Did the Spirit ever tell you what its name is?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied. "It called itself the Great Spirit Thandrana."

Zach looked up suddenly.

"That was the true name of the Harvest Goddess!" he shouted in realization.

"But what does she want with our island?" I asked.

"Probably she wants what she had here on Mineral Island," Zach said. "She wants the power that she once had, or she seeks to recreate the old Goddess Religion somewhere else. Be very careful. The only way you can fight Thandrana is if you wield the powers of Christ."

I rolled my eyes.

"You of all people know that I do not believe in that," I said.

"But you can't deny that which is happening on your island," he replied. "Soon you, or someone else will have to face it. And you must be ready."

He then turned and looked back up at the stars.

"I think I'll go help Ann with the dishes," with that, he stood up and walked back to the house, leaving me alone outside.

When Celia awoke it was already late at night. Slowly, she drew herself up from her bed and glanced out her window, wondering how long it had been since she had fallen unconscious. Celia opened her bedroom door slowly, to find Marlin leaning against the wall beside it with a gun in one hand and a walking stick in the other. Celia smiled, realizing that he had been guarding her during the night. But he was asleep, so Celia drew by him quietly so as not to wake him up. She walked downstairs slowly to grab a glass of warm milk. After sleeping for who knows how long she would need all the help she could get sleeping tonight. She walked down the steps quietly, but stopped when she saw Vesta sitting in the family room, cross legged on the floor.

"Vesta?" Celia walked over towards her.

Vesta stirred slightly, and her lips moved slowly, but her eyes stayed shut.

"Vesta?" Celia touched her shoulder gently.

Slowly Vesta's eyes opened.

"What are you doing awake at this time of the night..." Vesta looked up at Celia with bloodshot eyes, causing her heart to start pounding.

"I... Weren't you wondering if..."

"Go to bed," Vesta said in a voice that was not her own.

"Vesta?"

There was something in Vesta's eyes that wasn't right.

"Go to bed!" she roared.

Celia jumped backwards, before dashing back up the stairs. Vesta watched her go, smiled slightly at the shear meanness of it, before closing her eyes again.

'The world is changing.'

Nami stirred in her sleep, but did not wake up.

'You have a debt to pay Nami.'

At the sound of her name the sleeping redhead's eyes opened slowly.

'In exchange for your life you owe us something.'

Nami's eyes widened, and she tried to sit up, but she found that she couldn't move.

'You owe her your services.'

Nami struggled to move, but only succeeded in twitching slightly.

'Tomorrow night I will take you.'

She felt something cold and icy wrap around her throat, cutting off her breath and the flow of blood to her head. Then it released her, the presence left, and she lay there awake in her bed. Her stiff, cold joints pained her when she moved them, as if something had lodged itself within her.

Slowly she staggered to her feet, and crawled down the stairs to the kitchen. When she arrived she found Cliff standing by the counter, with a glass of some sort of liquor in his hand. He raised it up to drink, but stopped when he saw her.

"What are you doing?" Nami asked.

Cliff set the glass down.

"I couldn't sleep," he said. "Could you?"

"No," Nami said.

Cliff took the glass and chugged it, before slamming it back down on the table and squinting his eyes as the strong alcohol shot into his system. Nami caught a wiff of the whiskey and wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Are you drunk?" she asked.

"Not yet," Cliff said. "But I'm working on it."

He opened the fridge to get the bottle.

"Kind of late to be getting drunk," Nami said.

"Not for me," Cliff poured himself another glass.

"Since you're awake," Nami said, "could you help me with something?"

Cliff shut the fridge and turned back to her.

"I suppose..." he replied.

"Great," Nami smiled. "Lets go to the swamp then."

She reached into a drawer and drew forth a few things which she thought might come in handy. Then Cliff and her walked out the door. The swamp loomed before them, its waters rippling quietly.

"Why do you want to go to the swamp?" Cliff asked.

"Because something isn't right about the swamp," Nami explained. "And I need to understand what exactly it is."

The two of them walked to the edge of the swamp, and hesitantly looked down into the waters. The sky was dark, and thunder rumbled in the distance. Every now and then the sky was lit up by a bolt of lightning.

"Looks normal to me," Cliff said.

"Quiet!" Nami shushed him, looking and listening quietly for anything.

Suddenly a the leaves from a tree above them began to rustle quietly, but there was no wind.

"What's going on?" Cliff asked as the air around them began to crackle as if with electricity.

Nami drew the tiny light bulb and the two wires out of her pocket slowly.

"What are those?" Cliff asked.

"I got them in a science experiment kit when I was a kid," Nami explained. "You could hook the light bulb to a lemon with these two wires and make it light up."

Nami hooked one wire to one side of the bulb and stuck it in the water. She took the other wire and hooked it onto the other side of the light bulb.

"I've heard that Spirits often send out electrical signals."

"Spirit?" Cliff looked very disturbed.

"Where should I stick the other wire?" Nami asked.

"Um..." Cliff looked around. "To the tree maybe?"

Nami attached the wire, set the light bulb down, and waited. Then, suddenly the tiny filament began glowing faintly with electrical energy. It was only a faint light, but it was enough to make Cliff and Nami draw back almost in fear.

"It worked," Nami whispered.

Cliff nodded.

"Lets try it on the other side," he suggested. "Except this time lets hook it into the ground instead of to the tree.

Nami nodded, and proceeded to do this. She left one wire stuck in the water, and then shoved the other through the loose dirt and then closed the clamp. The light bulb suddenly filled up quickly with light, nearly blinding Nami and Cliff with the intensity of it before exploding violently. The swamp waters lit up as electricity shot through them. Nami and Cliff both leapt backwards, as shards of glass shot out everywhere on the ground. For a while they just sat there, clutching tightly to each other as if afraid that a mighty spirit would appear before them.

"What happened?" Cliff asked, removing his hands from Nami's arm embarrassed.

Nami just sat there wide eyed. Then out of the corner of her eye she saw Daryl's house. The lights were flashing on and off before they finally failed completely. His door swung open and the Scientist stood there, his face looking very very annoyed. He walked over to them slowly, breathing heavily, as if seething on the inside.

"Whose messing with my electric wiring!"

"What?" Nami looked up at him.

"My electric wiring! I ran an electric wire through the ground through here for my lightning experiment!"

Nami sheepishly looked down in the ground where she saw that she had accidentally hooked the wire to another wire.

"Oops," Nami said.

"What's that mean 'oops?'" Daryl looked at the ground. "Now how am I going to get a lightning bolt into my house?"

Suddenly as if to prove that God did in fact have a sense of humor, a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky and into Daryl's open window.

"Aaauugghh!" he shrieked, leaping up to his feet. "The... the uh... the lightning bolt... it..."

Then the lights in his house started working again.

"Is it just me," Daryl began, "or did the bolt of lightning hit my circuitry in the right place to send enough electricity into the house to power my power plant and power my house? Yes!"

He leapt back to his feet and did a little dance while running around in a circle.

"My experiment is a success!" he then dashed off towards his house.

Nami and Cliff just looked at each other.