*Myst leans sideways from the side and waves awkwardly.* Uh, hey guys. You're probably wondering why I've been a bit long on the update. I could give you excuses, but let's face it. You just want to read the story. I know must of you guys want me to focus on the Little Never Land and Lucky Sorcerers, but I did this instead. But as a special treat, I'll reply back to your reviews to those that did last chapter.

AnimeCrazedGirl7-Yeah, that did got a bit morbid, huh? Disney has done worse things than that. Of course, it was only two people in the barn and the rest that weren't killed vanished in that light. Then again, we don't know what happened to them either. Don't worry, I'll eventually explain more of it later in the story.

Prismrain13-Your wish is my command! Adrian and Garnet are right below!

PirateWizardThief-Who knows? We'll just have to wait and see how Grumpy will react to meeting Kyra.

This chapter is dedicated to my new beta-reader MissBreePhoenix, who's also helping me with my Little Never Land fic and has some awesome fics of her own. You rock, Phoenix!

All things Disney belong to Disney. The OCs are mine and Freak's. Enjoy!

Chapter 10

~Garnet~

After Garnet and Adrian escaped from the Huns, they jumped on to the solar surfer and left China. They flew to one of Adrian's safe houses, an old, rundown log cabin, where they decided to spend the night recuperating. Adrian pried open the wooden door, making the rusted hinges creak and the dust floating in the air visible upon the outside light's entrance. Adrian entered the cabin, carrying in one arm his solar surfer, while the younger boy remained at the door, looking in with curiosity

"Does anyone live here?" He directed his blue eyes to Adrian.

"Except for a few rodents, it's been just me."

Shutting the door behind him, Garnet wandered over to a table and wiped his hand across the surface. Dirt like dust darkened the skin on his hand. "Sure is dusty," Garnet commented, smearing the dirt on his pant leg.

Adrian chuckled lightly, "Well, it's no five star hotel, but it'll do for tonight." Adrian placed the solar surfer against the wall then proceeded to a room with two cots in it, Garnet tailing behind him. He threw his knapsack on one, causing a small mushroom cloud of dust to spring up out of the mattress.

"Just throw your backpack anywhere," Adrian instructed Garnet.

The little boy began coughing when he noticed a small window to his right. He walked over to it and tried to lift it open, but it wouldn't budge. He struggled with it for a moment before turning back to Adrian.

"Why won't this thing open?"

"Oh, I nailed it shut when I first came here," Adrian replied without turning away from what he was doing.

Garnet stared at him in horror. "Why would you do that?!"

"To keep robbers and trespassers out, of course," Adrian replied as if it was obvious.

"But what if there's a fire?" Garnet argued, straining his muscles as he kept trying. "You need to make sure all your exits are able to open easily."

The amused boy said, turning his head to the small boy who was becoming more frantic by the minute. "There's not likely to be a fire. I'm careful."

Garnet gave up on the window, shaking his sore hands out. Then he glared at Adrian, thinking him as being a bit arrogant. "My sister told me that's what everyone says, right before their houses catch on fire and our dad had to hose the flames out. Plus, my lungs are hurting from all the dust in here."

Adrian's playful tone dissolved into a more serious one, his face softening.

"This place won't catch on fire, and it's just dust, kid."

"Yeah, but I'm kinda allergic dust! It makes me have to sn—"

Before Garnet could finish his sentence, he left out a sneeze that made every particle of dust in the house jump up from its resting place and swarm around in the air. After the dust settled down, Adrian was able to see poor Garnet covered in a coating of dust.

Garnet took one glance at Adrian and started bursting out laughing. Adrian looked down at himself to see what was so funny and realized that he, too, was covered head-to-toe in a thin layer of dust.

.oOo.

Later that night, after the two cleaned themselves up, Garnet was lying awake on his cot while Adrian was messing around with the fireplace. He poked at the embers with a stick, causing the fire to crackle and come alive. The flickering lights danced across his face. When Adrian was sure the flames would remain steady, he stood up and went over to his cot. He took off his boots and coat then flopped down on his back and closed his eyes. Garnet stared up at a hole in the ceiling, the nighttime sky poking through at him. He rolled over on his side, making the bed squeak. Adrian, hearing Garnet tossing around on his bed, spoke up.

"Can't sleep?"

"Just thinking about my family," Garnet replied softly. "I miss them."

"We'll find them. I promise."

There was a brief pause before Garnet propped his head on his thin arms and asked, "Where's your family?" Garnet couldn't remember if Adrian had ever mentioned his family before.

Adrian remained silent.

"Don't you have a mom? A dad?" Adrian still didn't answer; he couldn't find the words to say.

"You have to have somebody," Garnet continued on, feeling a little uneasy by Adrian's silence. "A brother? A sister?"

Adrian choked out an answer, "My sister is dead. Gone."

Garnet gasped quietly to himself. "Oh. I'm sorry…" he said apologetically.

"It's okay. You didn't know."

Garnet sat up in his bed. "What was her name?"

Adrian waited before replying. "Amber."

"How did Amber die?"

Adrian let out a sigh before saying, "We were on a mission together. I screwed up and made a mistake. She paid for it."

"How?"

"…She drowned."

"Oh, wow. I'm so sorry. If anything ever happened to Kyra or Luke, I don't know what I'd do." Garnet frowned at the thought. What if his brother and sister already were dead and he didn't know? What if they died a long time ago, when they first came to this strange world?

As if Adrian heard his thoughts, he reassuringly said, "We will find them, Garnet. I'll make sure of it."

Garnet felt better and smiled. He trusted Adrian and really believed he would find them, for him.

"Thanks," Garnet whispered and lay back down on his cot. He drifted off to sleep. Adrian, on the other hand, stayed awake with images of his sister flashing through his mind.

.oOo.

Morning arrived and it was time for the boys to get off their cots and pack up for another adventure.

"Where do we get to go next?" An excited Garnet asked, bouncing up and down.

"I don't know. The solar surfer picks the place."

They were outside on the dirt path. Adrian put the solar surfer on the ground and started to set it up.

"What do you mean?" His statement made Garnet curious.

"The solar surfer always picks my destinations, like it has a mind of its own. It can sense trouble. Wherever I'm needed the most, that's where I end up."

"So, say, hypothetically, that my brother or sister were in a life-threatening situation, then the solar surfer would take us to them? And since it didn't yet, that means they're all right?" Garnet asked hopefully.

"Err…that's not exactly how it works. You see the solar surfer only goes to places it knows, places it's been to before. It knew about the Huns because it's already been to China. If your brother and sister are in places the solar surfer hasn't registered yet, it wouldn't know to go there."

"Oh…I get it." Garnet couldn't help but be a little disappointed.

Adrian stepped up onto the solar surfer and held out a hand to Garnet.

"Ready?" he asked the little boy.

Garnet smiled and grabbed his hand, pulling himself onto the solar surfer.

"Ready!"

The solar surfer hummed and then lifted off into the morning air.

~Kyra~

Kyra took cover as a swarm of bats flew over her head, disappearing into the trees. She straightened up, checking back to make sure there was nothing behind her. Shuddering, she pulled her jacket closer to her body and continued walking down the path. "I hate bats."

Hours had passed since she and the prince had parted ways, him to his castle and her to the Dwarfs' Cottage. She had nothing to guide her but the directions Gwydion gave her. They were working well at first, but the forest changed the deeper she went from all peaceful and happy-birds-singing to dark, creepy, and bat infested. The path became all jumbled up, like it deliberately wanted her to be lost. It got to the point where she couldn't tell if she was going in circles or not.

The wind howled, sending leaves up into the air in crazy spirals that went flying past her. Branches shook above her head, making her think of skeletal hands when she glanced up at them. It almost seemed as if they were about to grab her off the ground at any moment. Once or twice, she could've sworn she saw a ghoulish face along the surface of a tree trunk. A chill went down her spine; the idea of eyes watching her haunted her thoughts. The blue-ish glow emitted off her form as if she was a lantern with a vibrant flame inside, lighting up her path a few inches from her feet.

Kyra hated to admit it, but she was scared. She felt so feeble and alone in these woods, half expecting something to pop out and attack her. Taking a deep breath, she steeled her nerves, pushing down her fear. There was no time to panic.

Then a shrill whine pierced the air. The glowing girl stumbled back, hitting her back against a tree. She looked in the direction of the noise, hyperventilating. When it sounded again, her hand fumbled for her dagger. Finally, she gripped the hilt of the dagger and unsheathed it. She carefully walked over to where she heard the noise.

The whine came again, right behind the tree in front of Kyra. She wavered back, bracing herself. Gulping, she stepped over to the other side of the tree and raised the dagger high. The adrenaline melted away as her weapon faltered to her side, her shoulders relaxed from the tension.

The mysterious noise was nothing more than a whimpering fox caught underneath a net. Its red fur poked through the holes in the trap, large rocks weighed down the corners. She could see that the red and white legs were entangled; the creature kept trying to free itself desperately. The little fox tried to back away when she came into his view, crouching low and staring at her with big, blue eyes.

"Hey," Kyra whispered gently, kneeling down. "Hey, it's okay."

Slowly, she reached her hand out and ran her fingers through his fur. The fox tensed up at first, but then he gradually calmed down. He closed his eyes and moved closer to her hand. He was an adorable little guy, with a small frame, black feet and muzzle, and he reminded her of this Cocker Spaniel her neighbor used to have.

"Poor little guy," Kyra cooed. "Got yourself tangled up in a real mess here," she huffed, shaking her head. "I know what that's like. I got myself trapped in this huge mess with little chance of getting out of it."

Her fingers idled to his neck and stopped when they made contact with the dog collar there.

"What's this?" Her brow scrunched as she examined the collar, which was consisted of an acorn trinket and green leather. "Some kind of dog collar? Do you belong to someone?"

The fox just stared at her. She shrugged. Guess not all Disney animals can talk. But if he belongs to someone, maybe returning the fox to his owner would help her. With that thought, Kyra started to cut through the ropes.

"Don't worry, I'll get you out of here."

Kyra was almost done when she heard a whistle and felt something brush past her ear. An arrow slightly shook when it pierced the bark of the tree not far off where she was, the arrow that was aimed for her. Kyra whirled around from the direction it came, her eyes wide.

Stalking among the shadows, a man in a hunting hood with a bow gripped in his hand. Kyra couldn't see his face as it was hidden underneath his hood, but she could see his line-set mouth. His voice was deadly calm as he spoke.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Rubbing my ear after nearly getting an arrow through the head!" Kyra replied snidely. "What's wrong with you?"

"Consider that my warning shot." He lifted the hand that was clutching his bow and pointed a finger to the fox. "That fox belongs to me."

Said fox growled at him, his lips turn back into a snarl.

"Seems to me he doesn't like you."

"Doesn't matter; I've been trying to get him for too long now, and I'm not about to let some ragged girl sent him free. So, step aside."

Kyra stared up at him as he halted right in front of her, seeing the yellow eyes underneath the hood. Unbeknownst to the hunter, Kyra was cutting up the last of the rope. When the last piece was broken, the fox quickly crawled out of the net and made a mad dash into the forest.

"No!"

The huntsman made to throw a dagger, but Kyra tackled him to the ground. The knife flew out from his hand and buried into a trunk nearby. When the girl looked up, the fox was nowhere in sight. She let out a breath, and then felt the wind knocked out of her when the hunter slammed her back into the ground.

"Stupid girl!" he yelled in her face. "I needed that fox! Why didn't you just step away?!"

Despite the fact he had his hands wrapped around her neck, Kyra managed to give him a glare. "Because I don't take orders from anyone," Kyra gagged. "Especially people with bad-breathe. Don't you ever brush?"

The hunter growled, tightening his grip around her neck. Kyra winced at the pain and found it harder to breathe. When she looked back at his face, her blue light helped her to see his eyes. There was something else in them beside anger, almost thoughtful.

"Since I've lost the mutt," he started, forcing her to her feet with his hold now around her wrist. "Perhaps a Glow would suffice as replacement. I'm sure the Queen will be please to meet you."

'The Queen?' Kyra thought, momentarily confused. Then realization dawned on her. 'The Evil Queen from Snow White! But he's not that old hunter guy from the movie! He looks like he's twenty. Maybe he's a new employee. Well, of course, moron. She probably killed that other guy when he failed his quest, like she's going to do to me to get to my blood.'

Desperate, Kyra squirmed and tried to pry his hands off. "You can't take me to her! She'll kill me!"

His mouth twitched cruelly as his hand gripped his bow and brought it in front of him. "She'll do far worse than kill you."

Kyra struggled more so than before as the hunter started to drag her away. Without warning, a red blur rushed out of a bush and latched its teeth onto the hunter's leg. The young man cried out in pain, losing his grip on the girl. The fox yelped when the hunter kicked its side. With the distraction, Kyra whipped out the pepper spray and shook the bottle vigorously.

"Take this, jerk!" Kyra cried out, getting the hunter's attention. The moment he turned his eyes to her, a cloud of black clouded his vision as his eyes began to burn. He let out a terrible cry of pain, blinded.

Quickly and with her heart racing, Kyra snatched the bow from his hand when he tried to swing it at her like it was some sword and swung an uppercut to his jaw. With him down, she whirled around and ran further into the woods, the hunter's cries echoing behind her. Her breath came out in heavy pants as she maneuvered her way around the undergrowth, not knowing where she was neither going nor caring. She just wanted to put as much distance as she can from that psychotic hunter.

Once she came to an opening, Kyra collapsed onto the tall grass and tried to calm herself down; beads of sweat dotted her face. The scent of flowers filled her nostrils, relaxing her tensed muscles, if only a little. Two dangerous crises in less than a week, that's just so abnormal for her. True, she faced things that weren't exactly safe back home, but at least it wasn't stuff like getting kidnapped by a freakish dragon-thing or attacked by an enigmatic hunter. The most risky thing she'd ever done was sneaking out at night to go to a midnight rave. And something else she couldn't remember clearly. Something about running away.

Kyra propped herself up onto her elbows, her arms covered in dirt, her one hand still clutching the bow she stole from the hunter. Looking at it now, she wasn't sure why she took it with her. Perhaps it was pure instinct or last minute reflex. Whatever it was, it was smart of her to do it. If he recovered before she could disappear completely from his view, he would have used his bow. Taking his bow bought her some extra time.

Kyra turned the weapon this way and that, brow furrowed. The bow was nothing special, just a curved piece of wood with a drawstring tied to both ends. The only unique thing was a design winding down from the upper limp to the lower limp of the instrument. She squinted her eyes to try to make them out. Her concentration was broken when a wet nose poke touch her arm. She gasped, and then relaxed when she saw it was just the fox, wagging its tail and its tongue hanging like a dog.

"Well," Kyra orated, sitting up. "Thanks for the help back there, I guess."

He just stared at her, smiling in a way cartoon animals can. He jumped up on her, front paws on her shoulders and licked her cheek. Kyra let out a laugh.

"Okay." Kyra gently lifted him back onto the ground. The fox wouldn't stop though and leaned his head into the girl's hand, wanting to be pet.

Kyra chuckled, giving in to his demands. "You are just like a dog. Maybe just smarter."

Her eyes blinked, a glare momentarily disturbing the pupil. There was a nametag on the fox's collar, so small it could have been mistaken for a stinkbug. On closer inspection, she could see it said Rusty.

"So that's your name," Kyra noted thoughtfully. She wiped her hands on her jeans as she stood up. "Well, Rusty, you're welcome. Now you go back home wherever that is and try not to get into any more traps again, okay? Bye." After quickly adjusting her bad strap and picking up the bow, she started walking away.

Few steps later, she looked back only to see the fox following her. When she stopped, the fox known as Rusty did, too. She continue walking, her eyes in front of her. Ten steps in and turned back. The little animal was still following her. She stopped, he mimicked. Experimenting, Kyra sidestepped to the left, took a step forward, and then went to the left again. He did the same thing.

Kyra frowned at him. She gestured for him to leave her alone. "Bye-bye."

Rusty took a step closer and let out a happy bark.

"No," she chided, talking to him in a voice that a dog owner would use on his dog when he did something wrong. She pointed in the other direction. "Go home. I can't have you come with me. Go home."

It didn't work as he kept trailing her path as she strolled off. Kyra tried to ignore him, thinking that if she gave him no attention, he'll eventually wander off. Don't get her wrong; she loves cute animals as the next person. However, under the circumstances, she can't have any distractions or anything hold her back from finding her brothers. Maybe the fox could come in handy. He did help her escape the huntsman, and the animals here seemed to be smarter than the ones back home. On the other hand, he got himself in that trap in the first place.

Dusk started to roll in and Kyra still had that fox behind her. And she still didn't know where she was. The trees where less dense and the ground was cracked with few grass growing, but other than that, the girl still had no idea. She huffed, blowing a few black strands from her face.

"It'll take a miracle for me to find those dwarves now."

Then she felt the ground move beneath her. Her muscles tensed, eyes turning to saucers. Rusty whined, tail between his legs and jumped up into the girl's arms, rubbing his head underneath her chin for comfort.

Kyra looked down and saw that the cracks in the ground were larger than they were, tiny bits of rocks rolling down to where her feet where. Her mind didn't register what was happening until the ground gave away and she was falling, a pillar of smoke encasing her and Rusty.

~Luke~

Luke didn't remember getting out of that giant bottle, or when he started walking again. Yet here he was, trekking through the endless sea of sand, the glare of the sun burning the back of his neck. The jacket was back on his head. He wanted to take off the black muscle tee as well, but figured that it wouldn't be smart to expose himself more to the harsh rays than he already was.

His throat was so dry, drier than it has ever been. Maybe some sand has gotten in there. It's already everywhere else. In his hair, mouth, ears, eyes, clothes, shoes, even in the water can he still had slung over his shoulder. Speaking of which, the water ran out hours ago, and that last drop wasn't enough to satisfy anyone. How he wished for a bottle of water now.

Funny, he never thought he would die of thirst back home.

Home. California.

How did he end up here in a Disney desert from northern California?

It doesn't matter much now. With his legs so heavy and his feet stumbling so much, he knew he wasn't going to last much longer. Coming down from the thousand sand dune he had climbed, his feet sunk down and he fell, flat on his face. He spitted out a clump of sand and tried to get up, but couldn't. It was like all the strength he possessed was gone. And soon, he'd be gone, leaving an empty shell that was him with vultures circling overhead. Unlike last time, their meal won't fight back.

Then, whether it was from the dehydration or the heat, his mind slipped out of reality into a memory.

He was at the beach, knee deep in the sea salt water. Kyra and Garnet were there, too, laughing and splashing each other. Up on the sand, Luke spotted a couple sitting side-by-side on a blanket. The woman was smiling as the man beside her talked, their hands intertwine. Then they gave each other a kiss.

Luke knew who they were; his mom and dad. This was the trip they went on to the beach before his dad died and before his mom—

His mom.

Something happened to her after Michael Lockwood's death. Something no one could figure out, something bad, something that he couldn't recall. Why can't he remember?

A whistle of wind blew his parents away like they were made of sand themselves. Luke whirled back to Kyra and Garnet and watched as they, too, dissipated into sand, carried off into the clear sky. He blinked, and founded himself surrounded by water.

'What's going on?'

A shadow fell on top of him, draping him in darkness. He glanced up to see a giant wave above him. Startled, he closed his eyes and braced himself as the nightmare descended.

Myst: I know, I know. Another cliffhanger. Review/PM and tell me what you think. Also, if you want to tell me which story you want to see more updates of, feel free to do that. Hopefully more updates will come. Fingers crossed.