~Author note~

Hello! This chapter is going to be split up into two parts – Emily and Annabel, and Ben. Hope it makes sense…

Sorry I haven't updated for a while, school life has been more hectic than ever so it's been hard to find time to write, along with the fact that I'm trying to write my own original story too. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

MM.

~Emily and Annabel, Emily POV~

I woke up on a beach, coughing and sputtering out saltwater, and I groaned. My body ached all over from battling the ginormous ocean waves. I was lucky enough to hold onto a large piece of driftwood and float to Aurora… Or at least, what I thought was Aurora. All I could see was sand.

I slowly pulled myself up and looked at my surroundings- a barren land with no plants, and the only exit looked to be through a dark, mysterious looking cave. I peered in; it looked a little scary, I hoped I wouldn't have to go through it. Then I panicked. Where were Annabel, Walter and Ben?!

Running across the beach I instantly felt relieved as I saw Clover gently licking Annabel awake, but there was no sign of Walter or Ben. Tears pricked my eyes. I just hoped that they'd washed up somewhere else, a little closer to civilisation if there was any.

Annabel finished throwing up seawater and began to stand up. "Annabel!" I called, and hurried over to her. She looked a mess, but then again I knew I did too. Her navy blue hair had been pulled out of its braid, and it clumped around her shoulders. Her highwayman clothing had been torn in several places but was at least still holding together. My soldier uniform was sopping wet and a little dirty, but surprisingly there weren't any large rips.

"Are you okay?" I asked Annabel, my lips feeling sore and my throat scratchy. She nodded, dusting the sand off her. "I've had a look around, but I haven't found Ben or Walter. But chances are we'll find them eventually." I pointed over to the cave and explained about it being the only exit.

"Then what are we waiting for?" said Annabel. "Come on Clover," She called to the dog, who had already begun to run across the sand towards the ominous cave. Hesitantly, I followed suit.

"There'd better not be any hobbes here," I grumbled, struggling to walk properly on the sand.

I should have known that we'd face something far worse than hobbes.

~Ben Finn~

Ben woke up to find himself in a bizarre place, considering only a few hours ago he'd been fighting for his life in the ocean. He'd tried to hold onto Emily's hand for as long as he could… but the waves were too strong. And now, he was in a room made out of clay walls, with incense burning everywhere. It was hot, and he could feel beads of sweat trickling down his forehead, then dripping onto a mound of cloth blankets that he was lying on. He sat up with a groan and a "fuck", rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He almost didn't notice the woman who walked in and placed a glass of water beside him. She was very different to the people of Albion- she wore loose, bright coloured clothing and was bald on the head, save for a blue tattoo. She was very striking to look at.

"I see our new guest has awoken," The strangely clothed lady said, "My name is Kalin. What is yours, stranger?"

Ben helped himself to some water before continuing. "Ben," he said, "Where am I?"

"You are in Aurora," Kalin walked over to restock the incense, "Or what most call it around here now- The City of Nightmares. Once you are better, you may walk the streets, and understand that name."

"But I thought nobody lived in Aurora."

Kalin laughed. "And yet I am here. While there are not many of us left we are still living, accompanied by the spirits of our ancestors. We were a peaceful tribe, until violence struck us."

It seemed as though Kalin wasn't prepared to give away details of the 'City of Nightmares', so Ben chose to change the subject. "How did you find me?"

"Fortune looked down on you, as you washed up upon our docks and we spotted you. I am surprised you don't remember; you were awake when you washed ashore, begging us to find the three other members of your crew. I have my most trusted men searching for them."

Ben was overwhelmed with gratitude. "Thank you so much Kalin, I don't know how I can ever repay you."

She smiled. "You said one of your crew members was the princess of Albion. I do believe that there is some business that we could agree on."

~Emily and Annabel~

"I understand why Walter hates caves so much…" said Annabel, as we trekked through the dark, desolate cave, "…because this one is terrifying me."

We hadn't been walking for long, but already I had begun to regret ever stepping foot in that cave. The hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end, and the feeling of constantly being watched was overwhelming. But alas, we carried on, descending further into the darkness. "Don't worry," I told her, "we've been in worse situations, we'll make it out of here."

"Yeah, when an archaeologist discovers our remains," She grumbled, hurrying after Clover who, unlike us, was having a grand time.

We continued to trek on through the cave, until it began to open up. I could see a guardrail, and stairs spiralling down. I looked over the edge where the guardrail stood. "What on Earth?" Down below was an enormous hole in the ground, with a purple light glowing eerily from it. To the right of the purple hole were skeletons littered around.

"Skeletons are never a good sign," said Annabel. "Come on, they may have something useful on them."

"I never thought I'd live to see the day where I would have to search dead bodies," I said, and followed her down the crumbling staircase toward the hole and the bodies. As we got closer, it became more spooky and grotesque. I searched the bodies on the left, and Annabel searched the ones on the right.

It didn't take me long to find one of the poor bastard's journals. "Hey, listen to this… 'It speaks to us still. Darkness incarnate. We know now we can never escape it.' Annabel, I think we should get out of here."

"Nonsense," She said, flicking through a book. "We'll be fine. I've got something in this journal too. 'Luminous spirits of the sands, impart daybreak and gleam under a quiet moon.' What's that suppose to-"

Before she could finish her sentence, in front of us the purple haze in the hole disappeared to open up a long spiralling staircase going straight down. It looked dark, but it may have been our only way out of the cave, into blissful sunlight. Clover barked, and began to descend, leaving us with no choice but to follow the daft dog. "I have a bad feeling about this," I whispered to myself, being careful with each step I took.

~Ben Finn~

Ben was feeling much better after waking up and drinking, and he found himself talking to Kalin for almost an hour about the revolution, telling her of Albion and its troubles. She seemed greatly interested, asking questions about the leaders of the revolution, from the rebel princess to the feisty Miss Page, and even a little about Emily. He blushed as he talked about their adventure with the warlocks in Bowerstone market.

"Have you found anyone yet?" He asked worriedly.

Kalin shook her head. "Do not worry, we will find them. I am very much interested in joining your revolution- but for a cost."

Ben raised an eyebrow. "What cost?"

"I do not know if you knew, but you are not the first Albion soldier to venture to Aurora, Mr Finn. Three years ago we were visited by your King."

Ben choked in surprise. "Do you mean Logan-"

"Yes. He came here, and his soldiers encountered the same terrible fate that many of us faced- the Crawler. Logan was the only one to survive, with the help of Priestess Mara. He promised he would come back with an army to defeat the monster; we never saw him again."

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, recalling the time after Logan's coronation where he had gone missing. "So you want us to bring an army to Aurora."

"In a way. I want the princess to swear an oath to my people- that she will consider us a part of Albion, and protect it like every other town. If she promises this, then we shall agree to join your cause, and go to war."

Ben took in all that Kalin had just told him, and though for a moment. He hadn't yet seen the destruction of the Crawler, but it sounded like a grave threat. He only prayed that Emily, Annabel and Walter didn't have to encounter it. "I'm sure we can arrange something Kalin."

She smiled, her eyes crinkling. "You have a kind soul, Captain Finn. Let me take you to the heart of our city, and show you the pain that we have felt. Then there shall be no doubt in your mind."

~Emily and Annabel~

It was pitch black at the bottom of the staircase, and in one word, the place was sinister. Every instinct in me was telling me to run and run fast, but how could I when I couldn't even see my own feet? I bumped into Annabel's back. "Oomph, sorry Annabel."

"I can't see a thing," She said, holding onto my shoulder. "And my gauntlet is set to shock."

"Can you not switch them to fire?"

"That would mean going to the sanctuary, but it doesn't seem to be working. I can't travel there."

From further ahead of the darkness. Clover barked, and paws began to patter back to us. I felt him brush against my legs, and through my limited vision I could see something in his mouth. Annabel picked it up, and it began to look clearer as to what the object was- it was a torch. "Oh, you clever dog!" cried Annabel as she picked up two stones on the floor and began to create sparks. Suddenly, the torch burst to life, and the fire lit up the whole area.

To be honest? I think I preferred it in the dark. The place was hideous looking, with chains dangling and rattling on the walls. It looked like a temple of sorts- a temple for darkness. I took a step back, seriously not wanting to go through the dark, petrifying tunnel. "I don't like this," I whispered to Annabel, "I really, really don't like this."

"I hate it too, but we don't have a choice. We have to find Walter and Ben," she whispered back, before clearing her throat and stepping forwards further into the tunnel. I ran after her, desperate to stay in the light.

It felt like we had been walking for an age through the horrid temple, with a constant feeling of somebody watching us. My feet were sore, and I felt like there was no end to this temple. Why was it so big?

Eventually the tunnels opened up into a room, with the door covered with the purple haze from before. As we walked up to it, a breeze came out of nowhere and the torch was easily snuffed out. "No, not the bloody light!" Annabel cried as she frantically tried to light it again, using the stones.

I could hear a voice laughing, as through it was drifting through the breeze. I gripped onto my sword, pulling it out when the voice continued talking mockingly.

"You carry a funeral torch… to come here to die…"

My blood ran cold. I recognised that voice. And after Annabel lit up the torch, I could tell she did too. It was the voice in my head I had heard so long ago. Broken little toy…

We turned around, searching for the room for any sign of a person, any sign of the owner of that spine-chilling voice. "Hello?" My voice croaked, fear taking me over.

"Dead fingers talk… dead fingers whisper… dead fingers claw at a million eyes…"

"What are you talking about?" Annabel cried beside me, gripping onto the torch. I could feel something crawling over my feet, and I looked down. A black, slimy liquid was covering the ground and bubbling. There was no escaping it; the sickening grime was everywhere. Black shadowy beings began to drag themselves out of the floor, dripping in the slime. They had wings and swords, and began to charge.

"Ahaha… The children are here to play…"

Swing. Block. Attack.

"Be corrosive. Be pernicious. Be diseased. Be devoured…"

Kick. Jump. Stab.

"Accept death now… It is so much easier than what is to come…"

Shoot. Slash. Pause… Stop.

The shadows stopped spawning. I collapsed on the floor, gasping for air. Those- those things, crawled out of the ground. They were shadows. And they fought us. "I have seen a lot of crazy things this past month," I said to Annabel, who was also on the floor, "But this is by far the weirdest thing I have ever encountered."

"Yep," Annabel replied, "I completely, one hundred percent agree with you."

Eventually we stood up. The black slime was gone, as if the whole fight hadn't even happened. "I feel like I'm going mad," I said, before giving Clover's ears a scratch. He seemed completely unfazed by it all, trotting over to the purple hazed doorway, waiting patiently for one of us to unlock it. Annabel took out the book with the incantation written inside.

"Luminous spirits of the sands, impart daybreak and gleam under a quiet moon." Like last time, the purple haze disappeared, allowing us to go forth.

The odd voice followed us as we went along, bringing more shadows as it went. We were exhausted, but we couldn't stop for a break. It would get us, and it would kill us. So we kept going. Even Clover had begun to lose his happy spirit, as his ears drooped and his paws dragged across the floor. We'd been in the darkness for goodness knows how long with the torch as our only source of light, and I had no idea how long we'd been in there, let alone what the time was.

After endless wandering and fighting, we got to a ledge, with a very steep drop. I looked over the edge- it seemed like there was no other way down than jumping, but I knew I would break a bone if I jumped. Our view as to what was down there was blocked by a large rock face opposite the ledge that hung low leaving a small gap.

"I'm sure we'll be able to make it," Annabel said uneasily.

I laughed. "You have Hero strength; your bones don't break as easily as mere mortals like myself."

She thought for a moment before nodding and moving to stand on the edge of the ledge. "Then I'll jump first," She said, "and tell you how bad it is."

I reluctantly agreed, knowing that if Annabel broke a leg in my presence and I didn't stop her, I would have a lot of glaring revolutionists plotting many different ways to kill me. And they could do so very easily.

And so she jumped, sliding down the side of the ledge onto the ground below unscathed. "Everything good?" I asked, but she didn't answer. It looked like she said something while looking at where we were going next- and it sounded like she said Walter. She ran off, and out of my vision.

"Shit," I said, and jumped, colourfully swearing all the way down. I didn't slide as gracefully as Annabel had, but I didn't break anything, so I called it a success. And then I looked up and saw something that filled my eyes with terror.

Walter was tied up on an altar, covered in the same black slime, and Annabel was next to him, trying to help him. As I ran forward, I could hear what he was saying.

"I can't see… I… I can't… See…"

"It's okay Walter," comforted Annabel, "We'll get you out of here, I promise."

But the mocking, evil taunting voice was back.

"Death… Brings the gift of blindness… We have waited centuries for you…"

As Annabel continued to use her shock gauntlet to free Walter from the slime, I watched a hideous grotesque creature crawled out of the darkness, followed by giant robotic birds shuffling behind. But it was the creature that I was more horrified with. It was cloaked in black, with three heads and a thousand eyes, blinking at random intervals. Bile was rising to my throat, and I struggled to hold it in.

"Did the blind seer not tell you about us? Did she not warn you?" I frowned in confusion as the creature taunted and teased. In the background, I could have sworn I heard Annabel whisper a name of some sorts, it sounded like 'Theresa'.

"What are you?" I whispered.

"I am The Crawler... I am the enemy of light… I am your darkest nightmare… Watch the light fade from your eyes as the Children feed upon your carcass… yes… they have bodies now… bodies that can tear you asunder!"

The robotic birds took this as their cue to attack, swinging their arms of blades in my direction. I ducked out of the way. Annabel was still trying to help Walter- I was on my own.

I dodged another swing and grabbed my sword, aiming for their knees. I slid between the first bird's legs, twisting and slicing its legs and it toppled to ground, smashing into little shards of metal. I was blocking more attacks than making them, as the birds began to push me against the wall and corner me in. One began to spin, slashing my arm. I yelled in agony as blood spurted out, and I clutched onto it. There was no way I would be able to defeat all the birds, not with my arm in the state it was in.

It was like heaven began singing when I saw Annabel cut one bird down and began on the next one, distracting the birds and letting me stab one through where its metal heart would be- if it had one. We finally destroyed all the robots, and I could have cried in relief. The Crawler was nowhere to be seen, but his voice was still heard.

"We are coming... for all you wish to protect… all you wish to control… You have been warned…"

And then the voice was gone.

"Emily? Annabel?" Walter croaked. He was still on the altar, but he was sitting up, no longer chained by the dark tentacles of slime that were confining him. His eyes were black, and he was swaying back and forth. He was still blind. We walked over to him. "Please, take me into the light. I need to get out of here now."

Annabel held one side of him and I held up the other, being careful not to bump the still bleeding gash in my arm. There was some light coming from an archway leading to a spacious corridor. We semi-dragged Walter through, until we were finally out into… more desert.

We walked on a few metres until we were safely away from the temple and we sat on a dune, not able to go on any further.

"I can't," I said, my eyes too heavy to open, "My mouth is dry, my feet are aching and I'm bloody exhausted. I can't walk."

"Me neither," Said Annabel. Walter had slipped out of consciousness, and was gently snoring. When I opened my eyes to look at him up close, he looked twenty years older than when we had started. Nobody talked, and I don't know when we did, but we eventually all passed out.

~Ben Finn~

After wandering the destroyed City of Aurora, Ben asked Kalin if he could join the search to find his friends, and she let him, offering to accompany him. They set off across the dunes, searching for any signs of life. Sweat trickled down to his chin as he stumbled in the sand, looking for a needle in a haystack.

"I think I see something in the distance," Said Kalin, squinting across the desert at a temple that seemed very out of place. There were stone steps covered in sand, and was fortunately being laid on by three travellers- but they weren't moving.

"Emily! Annabel! Walter!" Ben yells, running towards them as Kalin struggled to keep up. She called over another member of the search party who was nearby, and together the three ran as fast as anyone could in sand. Ben crashed to his knees beside Emily, her long hair strewn across her face. He gently brushed it away, and cupped her cheek into his hand. "Come on Emily, please wake up…" He said gently.

The three rescuers carefully picked up the sleeping three. "We must get them back to Priestess Mara at once. The old one has darkness deep inside of him, and the young ones have some set in them as well."

"What will happen if we can't get this 'darkness' out of them?"

"…Then they will never wake."