A/N: I wish I could reply to guest reviewers normally. But I can't, so I'll do this one here, since this has been bothering me: Ckbrothers - There won't be any new characters in this, just ones in the main story. Sips, Sky and Teep were all in the original story, even if they had very small parts (Sips was in carbonite so he was only referred to, while Sky/Teep were in 'The Castle', chapter 14. Sky was not named because I was doing it as a small cameo, not a major part, but he was still mentioned). Teep was included in Rythian/Zoeya's backstory because it made sense and I mentioned him in the main story being at the base, so it links together. The only other possible one I could include into the sequel would be TDM, since I know at least something about him, but it would be similar to Sky's involvement in the first story - extremely minor. The other two I've never watched and don't intend to include - Sorry.
(If you don't care about the reply to the review, just read down from here like usual)
"Lomadia, I found something!" I glanced over at Nilesy as he ran over to me. He was panting as he reached my side, so he took a few moments to recover. I stroked Mr Owl, waiting for Nilesy's news. "There have been rumours going around about a cure." I raised my eyebrow. A cure? That was new. I hadn't heard that one before. The usual 'The world is doomed' is the best I've heard. I took my hand away from Mr Owl, crossing my arms in front of my chest.
"A cure?" I echoed. Nilesy nodded.
"Yup. Apparently there's a group of four travelling together, and I heard 'Enderborn' and 'Scientist'." Well that narrowed it down. Rythian and Lalna, for sure. I wonder who the other two were, though. Probably our friends, but which ones? I hadn't heard from Xephos in all of this... I hope he's ok. At least I knew both Rythian and Lalna were now. But, Honeydew? Sjin? Zoeya? Nano? I knew none of their fates. Nano I could guess...seeing as she was infected with the taint. Damn it...she's going to be caught up in this... "But..." I looked at Nilesy with concerned written across my face. "They didn't know where the group were heading." My hope faded. Even though they were alive, we had no clue where they were. "Don't give up, Lomadia. You can think of something." I blinked, hearing Nilesy's words of encouragement. I smiled, nodding. 'Right.' I thought, closing my eyes. 'How will I work out where they went...?'
"Hello friends." Startled, my eyes shot open. There standing, well floating, before us was the demi-god known as Ridgedog. "I see you have a problem. Care to share it with me, Lomadia?" I caught Nilesy's shocked look on his face. The demi-god always seemed to ignore him. I shrugged, sighing.
"Well...we've found out some rumours about what Rythian and Lalna are doing. They're working together to find a cure." I began. "But, there are two others with them and we don't have a clue where they are." I didn't realise until now but my hands were shaking. Was I nervous? A slight laugh formed in my mind. 'Nervous about what? ...Xephos.' I breathed slowly, regaining my composure. "Do you think you could help us, Ridge?" The demi-god thought for a few moments, leaving the three of us silent. He then nodded.
"Of course!" He smiled. "Now, who do you think could be with them?" What? Why is he asking us this? Surely it's more important to find them than to know who they're with.
"Ridge, is that really..."
"Lomadia? Who haven't you seen on your journey?" Again, Nilesy was cut off by Ridge. I was surprised he kept his frustration inside, actually. I thought – there were quite a few people Nilesy and I hadn't seen.
"Well...there's Xephos, for a start. He hasn't contacted me at all." I began. There was a look of concern that flickered across the demi-god's face, but I continued regardless. "I haven't heard anything from Honeydew either. It would make sense if they were the two with Lalna. But...the last place Xephos was...was at Sjin's Farm. Maybe the two are Xephos and Sjin? I doubt it's Nano, since she was infected earlier." I sat on the ground. "Sips is still in carbonite, so he's probably still on the farm. Hopefully the taint can't get through to him."
"Rythian would want to be with Zoeya and Teep, though." Nilesy pointed out. "Either these villagers miscounted how many people there were, or something has happened to some of them." He explained. That was true – there were contradictions in the number of people we hadn't seen and how many were in the group. So...either they just weren't with the group, or... Shit. I held my head, sighing.
"How is this helping, Ridge?" I asked.
"I'm preparing you."
"For what?!" My reply was more aggressive than I had intended. "S-Sorry..." I muttered. "It's just... I guess this is all getting to me. The end of the world, and everything." I laughed slightly. "Fuck... Do you know where they are, Ridge?"
"I don't know exactly, but I can tell you the direction." Ridge guided us both to the opposite end of the village. "They were heading that way." He pointed out of the village. "I caught a glimpse of something crossing the mountain only a day ago. If you hurry, you'll be able to catch up with them. They shouldn't be too far." He explained. I nodded, turning to Mr Owl. Stroking him, I whispered something to him and he began to grow. Nilesy and I hopped onto the large Mr Owl and were set to take off before Ridge added: "Oh, Lomadia. I believe that one of other the two you will find is Sjin." Sjin? How could he know? But, I guess there's no point questioning anything about him.
"How do you know it's Sjin?" Nilesy voiced the question I didn't bother asking. It seemed like Nilesy shouldn't have either.
"Safe trip!" Ridgedog then flew away. "Oh, and my mansion's this way, so bring them back here, alright?!" He shouted back. The depressed Nilesy sat behind me, staring at his hands. I didn't really understand either parts – why Ridge was ignoring Nilesy, or why Nilesy was getting so upset. I gently put a hand on his shoulder, comforting him.
"Don't worry about Ridge. You know how he can be." I whispered. Nilesy perked up a bit, nodding. I stroked Mr Owl. "Alright then, Mr Owl. Let's go." The owl hovered for a few moments, before he began to fly. Soon we would find the four. Rythian, Lalna, Sjin and...Well, we didn't know who else. Xephos...oh, I hope you're ok! Please...please be safe.
"Not too far..." Nilesy muttered. "It's been, what, hours!"
"Nilesy, it's been 10 minutes." I replied. "Now stop complaining. I know Mr Owl isn't the fastest owl there is, but he's trying his best!" I scolded the man, who flinched and glanced away. Mr Owl hooted in appreciation, and I stroked him gently. I looked ahead, seeing something. "See? What did I—" I cut myself off, seeing the sight. Taint, and at the centre, Lalna and Sjin. I saw the unmoving body of Rythian, the Enderborn. Was he dead? My eyes noticed various tainted people in the taint, before my eyes landed on the two closest to the pair. Honeydew and...Xephos. No...He...Xephos...why? How did this happen? My anger was strong, my hand clenching into a fist. "Damn it!" I shouted, but none of them heard me. Well, apart from Nilesy and Mr Owl.
"Lomadia...calm down! We'll get him back, I promise!" Nilesy said quickly. "Look, right now we need to get Lalna and Sjin out of there! There's no time to be worrying about Xephos. We need Lalna to get the cure, so focus on getting them out of there!" He explained. I took a deep breath, sighing. 'Alright.' I thought.
"Shut up!" We were both shocked when we heard Sjin. "I'm going to destroy you! Whatever it takes, I will end you!" This was a surprise. Sjin was NEVER like this! Xephos must have done something to just push him over the edge. Though, a lot of things could do that when you're at the end of the world. Nilesy and I exchanged glances for a moment before I turned to Mr Owl.
"Now, Mr Owl. We have to get them now." Mr Owl nodded, hooting as he descended.
[Did I p̥̱̳r̪epa̗̘r̹̟̠̝͈ḙ you well enough, L͑ͭ́̀ͨo̬m̝͂͑̓̔̔̓͒ă̦ḓ̳̜̲̓͒i͔̳̬̙̞͎͇͑a̱͚͖̫̬̟͓̳͖̺̔̐ͅ? I suppose t̖͍͖͇̱͉̾ͥ͒͑ỉ̼̤̦ͬ̑m͚̤͇ͧ̇ͫ̊e̹ will tell.]