Author's note: This story is a little more popular than "Hedgehog and Bat" is, so I can't ignore it. Next chapter!
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Segment 2: The Trouble Starts
Chapter 3: Demonic Darkness
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(Kim)
"This is the cave, just ahead," Foxwood explained as he led us to a cave opening. I could barely make out something glimmering inside. The cave's interior was dark, so it was hard to tell.
"Sounds like an adventure just waiting to happen," Leo declared, his courage escalating to the point where it became a little scary.
As we entered the cave, Leo drew the Fox Scouts flashlight from his backpack and shone it around. Its simple light brought a little illumination to the interior of the cave, making it easier to see what was ahead.
For the most part, however, the cave was still dark. I was constantly fearful that I might trip over a stalagmite or hit my head on a stalactite or maybe step in a puddle. Somehow, though, I never did; my footing was always safe and secure.
At the end of the tunnel, Leo and I found an odd crystal-looking thing mounted on a pedestal. Its glow was somehow hypnotizing, and you could tell just by looking at it that there was a massive mount of evil contained in it.
We both stared at the crystal for a moment before Leo held his flashlight in one hand while raising his other hand to touch it. "Careful, Leo," I interjected, "you don't even know what you're doing!"
Not paying attention, Leo touched the crystal. The instant he did, it shone with a brilliant light, and both of us were sucked into the thing and down some sort of vortex.
Being in that vortex was like being in space. Leo and I were practically weightless, and remained in free-fall as the warped space passed around us.
After a moment, the two of us had a rather rough landing on a grassy surface. It looked like we were back in Verdant Woods; this looked just like the area outside the cave, only it seemed haunted, and the sky was nightish.
"What in the world is this?" Leo wondered out loud.
Before I could say anything in response, an arrow zipped out of the brush from behind us, narrowly missing Leo's shoulder. Examining the arrow, I realized that it was marked "F.W."
It didn't take a genius to figure that "F.W." stood for Foxwood, and that's who came out to retrieve the arrow and confront us. "Hello," he greeted us. He looked different somehow; in fact, he seemed a little evil.
Leo blinked. "Oh, hi, Foxwood. Man, this forest looks a little creepy. Did that crystal-thing do this?"
"Not exactly," Foxwood explained. "The area you are standing in is not the 'true' Verdant Woods, but rather a demonic replica of it. And I am not the true Foxwood; actually, I am a demonic clone of him."
"Well, for a demon," I commented, "you sure are polite."
"I can't help it," the demonic Foxwood countered. "Being crafted from Foxwood's mold, I can't help but slightly adhere to his personality. But enough! If you plan to meddle with what we demons have in store for your Emerald County, I'm afraid I'm going to have to whack you a little."
"Whack THIS!" Leo shouted, lunging at the demonic Foxwood with a powerful-looking kick. I had to mimic his lunge so I wouldn't get yanked off my feet.
Not one to be easily fooled, D-Foxwood (I hope you don't mind that abbreviation) blocked Leo's kick with something that looked like an old-fashioned quarter staff. It may have been old-fashioned, but it was surprisingly effective.
"Very clever," Leo sneered as he recovered. "But that was only the beginning. Kim! Help me out here!"
I knew what that meant. This time, Leo used our common tail to whip me forward, and I delivered a forward kick right toward D-Foxwood's head. He tried to block it with his quarter staff again, but- SNAP!- the impact caused it to break in half.
"Quarter staff broke in half," I joked. "I guess each piece is worth twelve and a half cents now. So what are you going to do now?"
D-Foxwood pulled out his bow and arrows and tried to shoot us from afar, but it was rather difficult to aim efficiently at such close range. Leo grabbed D-Foxwood's bow and pulled it out of his hands, causing him to accidentally hit a tree branch with an arrow.
Of all the rotten luck! When the branch fell, it landed right on our common tail, trapping us for a moment. That moment was sufficient for D-Foxwood to escape while we lifted the branch out of the way.
"Drat!" Leo muttered. "Now what'll we do?"
As Leo let out his anger, I spotted something glimmering on the ground. Picking it up, I examined it. It resembled a Chaos Emerald from Leo's description of them, but it looked rather dark, just like the crystal that had brought us here.
"Hey, Leo," I interrupted my older brother, "what do you think this is?"
Leo took it and turned it over in his hands. "I can't say I know. It looks like a Chaos Emerald, but it's filled with dark energy. Maybe Tails knows what it is. Let's go show it to him."
"All right… but how do we get back?"
Instead of answering my question verbally, Leo practically pulled me into the nearby cave. He apparently suspected that there would be another, similar crystal in the same location as the first one that would take us back.
Amazingly, he was right. A crystal that was precisely the same shape as the first one, but glowed with light instead of darkness, rested on an identical pedestal in the center of the room. Its glow was mesmerizing, and I had to pause to stare at it.
Leo was not as patient as I was. He rushed up and grabbed the crystal, causing it to glow and- once again- suck both of us through the vortex we'd been through just minutes before.
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I think I have a couple critics who'll hate this chapter. I haven't quite figured out why, though.