Everyone I before I start let me apologize for my absence. I've been super busy and because of that I haven't been able to touch upon it. Not only that
The first 3,700 word of this fic was lost all gone because my phone crashed. It was very hard to get over since my memory of what I've written is vague. :(
But. Here's to an attempt to remember what I've written and hope it satisfies at least one of you.
Ceridwen Lucius: Thank you so much for your help and patience. There are some things I couldn't have done without you :)
Now unto the story
Play: Mikio Endo – Suoh Mikoto
It was still early morning as Leanna lead Kane back to their rooms. Kane could easily tell that Leanna was probably very tired after look for him
"Kane you got to stop wandering off. I can't keep an eye on you for everything you do" mumbled Leanna as they passed through another train cart with Kane unintentionally scaring anyone who happens to see him
Once they got back in their room they both found everyone else already asleep. Leanna takes her seat next to the window as Kane Sits down next to her. She eventually starts to fall asleep. Kane then looks out the window of the moving train
He could see that it is still somewhat dark as it is not even sunset yet. But it looks like it still maybe a while before the light of day will reach his eyes. And now. He'll just have to play the waiting game… but then he gets an idea
He grabs his communicator and attempts to use it. Only to receive static after pressing every combination he knew, turning every knob that was on the device and refrained himself from smashing the damn thing to pieces
This goes on goes on for a little while until the device loses all of its power…. This makes Kane feel a slight agitation as he felt like throwing it at Zack. But refrained himself from doing it because of Leanna's wishes for no will to kill each other
He simply puts it away and sits in disappointment until he gets an unexpected feeling on his left. When he looks he sees that Leanna is asleep. Leaning on him. He has only felt the feeling from two other people…. But that was a long time ago. Though he tolerates it
He looks at her sleeping form and could only wonder what she thinks of in her sleep. Though if he could guess. It's probably better than any dream he'll have. Hell. Any person on this place will have a better sleeping experience than he does
Not only does make Kane want less and less to do with sleep. But it also sparks a slight jealousy that he isn't able to have peace in his sleep like the others…
But now. It didn't matter to him.
Leanna's dream
Leanna is walking around a beautiful grassland with a town nearby as she watch all the wondrous stars that it had. She felt happy until.
But however this wouldn't last as she could sense….. something… a person. Nearby. She made her way to where she believed this person may be. She realizes it's only a small boy. He was hiding in a little hole. Not wanting to come out. Though she is sending a familiar sits about this boy. It's on the tip of her tongue but she just can't think of what it is
"Hey there. Little fella? Are you ok in there?" said Leanna worried. He only looked at her. She couldn't see him other than that he has blue eyes in the darkness. There appeared to be a wind in the hole blowing her direction. And she sees what she makes out to be a blue scarf
"…" said the boy felt little scared as he takes a few steps further in the hole. Even though he was right at the end of the hole
"Don't worry little one. It's going to be alright. You don't have to be afraid" said Leanna slowly approaching him and making sure not to scare him. Whilst holding out her hand to him
The boy only looked her strangely blinking at her before reluctantly taking her hand. Allowing him out of the hole. She could see the boy somewhat more clearly. For some reason she couldn't see much of his face as She sees that he is wearing a black hoodie.
Though the hood and blue scarf covers the majority of his face. She could only see that he has blue eyes and some black hair
"Do you have any parents or relatives nearby?" Said Leanna hoping to help him. The boy only looked down and shook his head. "Oh I'm sorry…. But still. Let's get you to the town and sort this out there" the boy looked back up to her as the both made their way towards the town
Then at one point. The boy stopped dead in his tracks
"?" said Leanna turning around to see him standing still "Hey, don't you want to get help here?"
The boy shook his head as he pointed behind her. The town that looked fine before now looks like a tornado hit. The boy then proceeded to walk the opposite direction before he sat down on a bench. He then gives her a wave. To which she interprets as "good bye"
"Wait what are you-?" said Leanna as everything starts to fade and the silhouette of the boy and everything else began to disappear whilst being replaced with a familiar looking silhouette
Dreamscape end
Leanna slowly opens her eyes to see she is leaning on something…. She closes her eyes for a few moments more before opening them again
She realizes that she is leaning on Kane. Trying not to slightly panic she slowly gets off. But what surprised her is that Kane sitting in the exact same position she saw the little boy in. She honestly couldn't tell if it meant something.
Or maybe it's just her waking up and reality is influencing her dream before awakening
Kane looks at her. She wondered what time it is before slightly moving the curtain slightly to see that the sun is starting to rise. She looks at Kane to see that he is staring at her. Trying her best not to let out a slight help
"H-How long were you awake?" said Leanna
"….I have been awake for the entire time after we got back in here" said Kane honestly. Though Leanna secretly wished that his helmet didn't distort his voice at a time like this. It was definitely a scary sounding one.
"*sigh* said Leanna as she just continues to sit and looking at the sleeping forms of the pango, Zack, and Amelia
"Poi…." Said the pango starting to wake up. And hopped off the pillow it was sleeping on in front of Leanna and Kane "Poi Poi" it said in a 'good morning' context
This made Leanna smile as she reaches out to pet him. Kane looked at him while he was being pet by Leanna…. He starts to think …. Should he give him a name?
"…Leanna. How far are we now?" said Kane as Leanna stops petting the pango
"Hmm.." said Leanna looking out the window "We are almost at Bazada we should be arriving there soon" as she holds onto the pango
"…" said Kane as he now has to continue to wait… he has the urge to wander the train but he doesn't since he is sure that Leanna doesn't want him to cause trouble
About an hour later
Leanna as she is still holding the pango notices that the curtain gas gotten brighter. Not only that but the train also feels slower. She then puts the pango on the table before tapping Kane while the train comes to a complete stop
"Kane. We have arrived in Bazada *yawn* time to get up" said Leanna as she gently taps Amelia who squints her eyes at first before slowly opening them. Kane gets up from the seat and leaves their room to wait outside
This made Leanna and Amelia open their eyes more as they believed Kane was going to wander the train and unintentionally scare the passengers and staff again
Leanna immediately got off her seat. She opens the door to see Kane standing right outside the while like a bodyguard
"Kane don't leave just yet" said Leanna trying not to be too loud while the pango jumps out from their room to in front of Kane
"…You can relax Leanna. I'm just waiting out here" said Kane as he holds his hand out for the pango to jump on.
Amelia and Zack left the room and looked right at Kane
"….I see you two have finally awoken. Especially you Zack." Said Kane as Zack slightly tenses and makes a slight suspicious face at Kane while he turns around and leaves the three of them
"Kane you said you'd wait outside!" said Leanna again trying not to be too loud as the three of them catch up to him
The four of them passes through a few train carts to which there was little to no passengers or staff walking around. They then see an open door. The clerk seemed a bit both scared of Kane. But surprised that somehow they managed to sneak a pango on the train. She was too stunned to say anything as she watched Kane exit through the door
"Im so sorry for the trouble" said Leanna as she, Zack and Amelia follow after Kane to see him standing in front of the station seemingly waiting for to see that this 'Bazada' place is a whole entire market
He didn't know what to think of it at all as the pango looked at everything in awe as Amelia comes to his side. Not only that. There were plenty of unique looking adventurers and people walking around so this meant Kane wouldn't get as much stares
"…You said that this place is the Embermyst. Correct?" said Kane
"I said that this was the closest city to it." Said Amelia as they looked at the sea of people that are going around from shop to shop, arriving, or leaving
"…" said Kane. Amelia looks at him and notices that he is slightly bothered by she has just said
"But of course. Close is a relative term. We will just have to traverse through rough terrain and the forest" said Amelia as she then points south "Since we are a few hours away from nightfall. I suggest we settle down before traversing them"
"Good thinking! And you know I also heard that you can buy your heart's desires here" said Leanna
"Buy my heart's desire?..." thought Kane as he began to wonder what this marketplace has in stock. While the pango looks excitedly at all the things around in the marketplace
Amelia takes notice of this and proceeded to poke the pango making it giggle
"poi poi" said the pango as it continued to be poked for a moment longer before stopping
"I'm going to go look around. We should all meet at the inn" said Zack no questions asked and just slipped into the crowd
"I think that's a great idea." Said Leanna looking around "I think we are getting even closer. Why not enjoy what's around?"
"…." Said Kane as he watches her go into the crowd before feeling a tap from Amelia "?"
"May I request for the ability to watch over the pango?" said Amelia causing the pango to look at Kane curiously
"…granted. Be good little one" said Kane handing the him in Amelia's arms
"Poi poi" said the pango as she sat down and pet it. Seeing this an excuse to leave. Kane walks into the crowd. Strangely to him there were some tall people around as well. However. The tallest person he sees is 6'2
He continued to wander the crowded marketplace and the sea of people walking around. Until 3 particular shops catches his eye. He walks into one of them. A knife shop. He walks in to see business similar to his hometown. And gets a slight find memory resurfacing….
"Daddy it's the knife shop! Can we go in please? Pretty please?"
If he were still a kid. He would have bugged his parents more than that. Whilst being curious to what kind of knives they have. Once he entered not that many people stopped what they were doing even though many of the employees there seemed a bit on edge since Kane has a scary appearance.
Kane over seeing whatever flashy, weird, or whatever kind of knives that are being sold. None of them seemed to draw interest from him…. Except for one. A pitch black knife. To some it may look somewhat average…. But to Kane.. it reminded him of someone
Kane continued to examine the knife for a few more moments until an employee musters up some courage and walks to him
"You interested in that knife?" said the employee
"…" said Kane as he then looks at the employee who true his best to keep his composure from showing signs of fear "….How much?..."
"That's 12 coins unless you got something to trade. But are you sure you want something like that?" Said the employee as Kane nodded "uh well then."
Kane then gets his communicator and thinks to himself(while the employee curiously looks at it). Would the place accept it? And if so is he really going to give something as valuable… ish, as that away?
"F**k it" thought Kane before holding it out to the employee who takes it and messes with the buttons
"What is this?" said the employee
"… communicator. Though it is out of power… you could probably sell it to a mechanic." Said Kane
At first the employee wasn't sure why Kane didn't bother to sell it earlier…. But judging by the look of it and this could possibly be worth top coin if given to the right people.
"You got a deal" said the employee excitedly as Kane left the shop with the knife. Kane didn't know what he was going to do with that communicator. But he didn't care. For all he knows the people here could turn it into something else
He then looked at the knife he got and remembered a certain person he knew
"Listen Kane. Sometimes. Cutting yourself beats shedding a tear. Otherwise you'll lose your f***ing mind. And get more of these. Whether it be a flick of the wrist or not"
Kane still remembered his friend. And all his "ways" to deal with issues. Kane could only wonder. What he would do if he were still around. Or better yet. Been in the same situation he is in..
The next shop. Was a candle shop. Whilst passing lots of shops selling magical amulets(too which none seemed to have anything beneficial to him), food, jewelry, and clothing
The candle shop. Seeing that shop reminds him of some of his fondest times.. and his family's love for candles in general. How they would purposely turn off all power to be lit by candles
Kane goes in and looks at the many candles that they had to offer. He looked at all the different scented one in interest. And surprisingly enough no one inside the shop seemed scared of them as he was approached by a woman
"Hello sir. Would you like a free sample?" said the girl cheerfully holding a tray full of mini candles and mini sets of matches
"…" said Kane as he grabs two candles and a set of matches and puts them away. He then looked through the big selection they had. He could only wonder what his parents would have done if they could see all this
Most of these names are unfamiliar to him…. But yet he has no coins to buy them. Which internally makes him frown
"Anything in particular you like?" Said the woman
"…..Yes…. Though sadly I am unable to obtain any" said Kane leaving the shop. He wanted to stick around but since he has no money. He doubt they'd allow him to. So he went on to the last shop that caught his interest
A painting shop. However there didn't appear to be much. But that didn't matter to him since there was one painting in particular that caught his interest
A picture of a lit cabin in a snowy forest. It somewhat reminded him of his own home before it came to burn. And thinking about it just makes him slight wish he could go back to the old innocent days…..
And this all makes him realize…. His medication truly is wearing off…. He is starting to feel things again. He doesn't want them since to him the more there are the more pain there will be
He can still feel the effects of it. But he wishes he could have brought more of that supplement he borrowed from his comrade. Or even better. Brought his own. Just great. Life to him couldn't get any more inconvenient.
To Leanna
Leanna was looking through an arts an crafts shop that happened to be nearby where Kane is. Leanna notices him staring at the certain painting before he pretty much walked away. She began to think
Does he have an interest in painting?. Seeing him like that makes her curious to what other interests he may or may not have. She then notices a black journal that came with a pen. She looks at it and thinks about Kane for a moment
"I'm sure he won't mind" said Leanna grabbing it and going over to the manager
"Hello ma'am. How may I help you today?" said the manager with a smile
"I'd like this please" said Leanna with a cheerful look. And giving the manager some coins
"Thank you so much. Have a nice day!" Said the manager as Leanna waves goodbye to the shop manager and walks over to Kane who didn't seem to notice her
Upon reaching him. She talks his shoulder making him snap out of his stare and look at her
"Hey Kane. You find anything interesting?" said Leanna slightly curious to why the pango isn't with him
"…." Said Kane as he shrugged his shoulders
"Well I got you something" said Leanna as she holds out the journal to him. He slowly takes it and looks at for moment "It's a journal. I figured you would like something like that"
"…..Thank you.. Leanna" said Kane. To Leanna's surprise. Despite his monotone voice. He sounded very sincere. This made her feel good. So be to her. Kane is probably a very gloomy person who just needs to be shown some kindness here and there
"C'mon let's go look around" said Leanna as she leads Kane through more of the market. Until they see a perfume shop to which she looks at excitedly and walked over to it with Kane. But a certain bottle catches her eye. She examines it for a good few moments before Kane spoke up
"You planning to get that?"
"No. It just reminds me of home." Said Leanna "Spirit Orchid…"
"…..really?" said Kane
"Yes. My grandmother used to have this on her at all times." Said Leanna. As something Kane told her a few days ago whilst remembering a fond memory of her and her grandmother were at the market. Kane could tell she a slight tinge of sadness in her eyes
"Reminds you of what you have lost….. stuff you know you can't get back"
"…." Said Kane as he know exactly how she is feeling. To which in a way he feels she is somewhat similar to him. But however. To him. He feels that she probably had it better than him
The somber mood started to disappear as Leanna smelled something… delicious. She took a step in the direction of scent. One of her favorite foods that always made her feel better
"….Leanna?" said Kane
"Do you smell that?... or can you even smell with that helmet?" Said Leanna
"…" said Kane as he cannot smell anything even if he tried with his helmet "…..What do you smell?"
"It smells like…. Cinnamon buns" said Leanna
"…Cinnamon…. Buns?" said Kane as that sounded very foreign to him
"Cinnamon buns. They are little spiced bread rolls with icing. Have you not heard of one before?" said Leanna
"…..no" said Kane. Leanna looks at him in shock. How could he not heard of something so delicious? Don't they have them or at… wherever he was from?
"Well then. How would you like to try one?" said Leanna. Perking his interest "C'mon I'm sure you'll like it" as she leads him to a stall where the scent originated
Normally Kane would have declined. But since Leanna had been nothing but good to him. So he thought something like this wouldn't hurt as they reached the stall
"Hello madam how may I help you today?" said the clerk
"We would like 2 cinnamon buns please" said Leanna as she puts some coins on the counter. As the clerk starting counting them. She gets a slight look of excitement and turns to Kane "This is one of my personal favorite foods, I'm sure you would love it" as the clerk puts two bags on the counter
HUpon seeing them. She takes one and hands it to Kane. Who then holds it in his hand for a moment. He looks back at her as she takes a bite our of her own cinnamon bun and enjoying it. Kane opens the bag and looks at the cinnamon bun in curiosity
It looked almost how he imagined it with Leanna's description
"Mm.. aren't you going to try?" said Leanna
"…Yes…. Later" said Kane. Then a few moments later a couple soldiers recognized Leanna and tapped her shoulder
"Miss we have matters to discuss with you" said one of the soldiers
"I'm sorry Kane. I need to take this" said Leanna
"….I'll see you later then" said Kane making her smile as she waves to him before going with the two guards.
Kane then decided walk back to where he last saw Amelia next. He sees her hugging the pango with a smile. It's the first time Kane has seen her smile at all. But then Kane then lightly taps her head accidentally startling her
"EEP" said Amelia accidentally dropping the pango
"Po-*Plop*" said the pango hit the ground. He was still ok though "Poi poi…."
"K-Kane! *Clears throat* I was merely conducting an analysis" said Amelia
"Poi!" said the pango leaping back into her arms
"But regardless. I am going to the apothecary" said Amelia as the pango snuggles her making her cheek turn pink
"….do you need to be accompanied?" said Kane
"No. It will be faster if I go alone" said Amelia
"…very well" said Kane as Amelia nods to him and walks away while holding the pango. Kane didn't know why she brought the pango with him. And thinks that maybe she wants to snuggle with him while she gets the medicine or whatever
"Poi poi.." said the pango in a 'goodbye' fashion
Now Kane didn't know what do next. So he though he should spend the rest of his time at the inn…. Assuming that he can find it
He then sees Zack standing over at a bounty board where a red haired girl seemed to be trying to talk to him. As much as Kane dislikes the idea. He believes that Zack may know where the inn is. Since he doubts that anybody else at this time would tell him. Right when he gets close the red haired girl storms off. As he then notices Kane
"…Zack… did you find the inn?" said Kane making Zack uncross his arms
"Yeah. In fact I was just about to head there" said Zack as he leads him toward the location of the inn
Upon arrival there. Kane looked around. There didn't appear to be much people around. As Kane then sits at a table. For a moment Kane thought he was going to get peace and quiet until Zack comes over and sits across from him
"This is going to take a while" thought Kane as for the next few hours the two of them would continue to sit there without saying a word to each other
Later as the day turns dark
For what felt like an eternity. Leanna, Amelia, and pango all entered the inn and sat over with Kane and Zack. Leanna sits next to Kane as she puts the pango on the table while Amelia sits next to Zack
"Poi poi!" said the pango happy to see Kane hopping in front of him. Prompting Kane to pet him. Though Leanna and Amelia look a bit tense for some reason. Them Leanna perks up
"Oh! Amelia, you and I will be sharing a room tonight" said Leanna
"Naturally. It would be more appropriate than the alternative." Said Amelia as she then pauses and looks at her in interest "Are you insinuating that you would rather share a bedroom with them?" pointing to Zack and Kane
"W-what!? No! Of course not!" said Leanna defensively
"Oh, my mistake. Of course you could not have meant both of them. There aren't nearly enough beds. You must have meant him" said Amelia pointing to Kane. Leanna's face then turns pink as she shakes her head using the one time she saw Leanna hug Kane on the train as her hunch
"Amelia! That's not true!" said Leanna
"If that is the case, then why bring it up?" said Amelia making Leanna's cheeks turn Pinker
"Well it's because I'm excited! It'll be nice to have some girl time." Said Leanna as Amelia thinks about what she said and nods
"I concur. Sharing a room has proven to strengthen our bonds amidst peers and foster comradery" said Amelia
"You mean friends?" said Leanna
"Precisely" said Amelia as they both smile to each other
Friends? Kane could hardly call any of them friends…. Except the pango as Kane then pets him
"Poi?" said the pango. The four of them look at him for a moment before Leanna scoops him up in her arms
"The pango needs to spend the night with us tonight. We need him for science" said Amelia as she puts one room key in front of Kane "This is for your room"
"Yes, for science" said Leanna as they both quickly go into their room and slam the door shut
"Is it just me or did that seem unusually suspicious to you?" said Zack
"…they seem fond of the pango. Is that what is suspicious to you?" said Kane seeing nothing more than the girls wanting to spend time with the pango
"More we dodged a blast" said Zack Leaving Kane to wonder what he means by that. They both head back into their room and made sure to close the door. Zack puts his guns on one bed and gets in the others
"You are one strange man" thought Kane as he has never seen anyone do that for their guns. He then puts the two mini candles, set of matches, journal, pen, and bag of the cinnamon bun in front of him
He then turns around to see that Zack is out cold in the bed. He must've been very tired. Then back at his stuff… he then opens the bag to examine the cinnamon bun once again…
"…" said Kane as he then takes off his helmet and puts it one the desk. He then pulls it out and sniffs it. It is unlike he had ever sniffed. Even though it was more likely cold. It didn't matter to him. He then slowly took a bite of it
It tasted unlike anything he has ever tasted. Where the only other taste he can mainly remember being pancakes, cigars, cigarettes, blood, metal, ration bars, sea creatures both aliens and food, and alcohol/beer he could ever remember
To him this sweetness felt like something he would have love to eat as a child. Maybe even more than a cake… he didn't know what to think. But he likes it already as for the next few moments he spent his time eating it
After he finished and wiped the crumbs off his face… he looks at the journal. And thinks about Leanna for a moment…. Maybe… he can consider her a friend
He then gets the journal and tears out a page as he gets an idea. He proceeded to write….. his "feelings" or something upon it… upon writing it more and more… he starts to slightly tear up as they dripped onto the paper
Then after a few moments later. He puts the pen down and grabs the matches. Whisky clenching the paper he just wrote on
He walks out on the balcony as even though tears starting to sprinkle on his face. He forced himself from making a sound. Even though he was unable to stop clenching the paper…..
He then takes a match and lights it. After he puts the matchbox and puts it away. He holds the paper and looks at it for a few moments. Before lighting the paper aflame and watching as it burned. He didn't worry about causing a fire because the floor is made of stone
Once all he ashes flew away. He flicks the burnt out match away and walks over to the desk…. He then grabs all the things he put in there. And put them away…
Ge then sits on the cushioned chair and continued to sit until all his sprinkled tears started to dry out before putting his helmet back on
Why did life take him to such a place? He will never know… but now. It feels like everything good gets jinxed unless they are silver linings…..
And the worst parts is that eventually he is going to feel tired. And he dies not want to go back into dream world… where all he will get is dreamscape flashbacks of his losses, pain, and suffering…. He felt…..
He felt scared of going to sleep. As he continued to force himself to be awake. But his medication is wearing off. Every day his body will desire more and more sleep
The next day
Zack wakes up and starts to fiddle with his gun and looks over at Kane. Who is still on the cushioned chair. It made him wonder if Kane is awake or simply sleeping. Zack then gets up and slowly walks over to Kane.
"Kane?" said Zack
"?" said Kane looking up at Zack
"Oh your awake. I'm heading downstairs. Meet me when your ready" said Zack as Kane nods to him. Kane then goes to the balcony to see that pretty much all of the ashes are gone
"….I miss you…" thought Kane to himself before going back inside to follow Zack. Right when he left the room he noticed Zack waiting at the table…. However Kane strangely expected Leanna to already be there
Kane and Zack sit down for a few moments until they noticed Amelia and Leanna walking towards them. Leanna seemed very tired while Amelia had a big smile on her face mirrored by the pango in her arms
"….morning.." said Kane as he felt compelled to say it some reason. This made Leanna smile to him
"Morning" said Leanna who seemed happy to see them
"Poi" said the pango as it wobbles in Amelia's arms.
"We should definitely start moving if we don't want to lose daylight" said Zack who felt he has waited long enough as Amelia puts the pango down and pulls out a map. While she did that Kane holds out his hand for the pango to jump on. It gave Kane a very innocent smile
"Poi poi!" said the pango doing a little hop
"….good to see you too" said Kane as Amelia looks through the map for a good few moments before putting it away
"We will proceed Eastward, through the forest adjacent to Bazada" said Amelia "From there we will travel northbound towards the Sinoa Mountains."
"…how long should we expect the journey to be?" said Kane
"Assuming there are no divergences, we should arrive in Embermyst by mid day" said Amelia as she then leads them all out of the inn. To which Kane noticed that beside innkeeper. It seemed vacant.
Outside the streets is pretty much as busy as it was the day prior. Even though at this early. The crowd gets thinner and thinner as the four of them get closer to the city borders
"I'm starting to question of this was a good idea at all" thought Kane as the real lead they had was a map. No GPS. Just a map. This place couldn't get more rustic to him
Once they reached the border gates the guards that were standing there moved our if the way
"Good day!" said one of them garnering Kane's attention. Upon seeing him the guard felt a little bit nervous from Kane's.. stare. Zack of course saw this and found this to be a little bit amusing.
Now that the sounds of the crowds and train were disappearing and the sound of nature started taking over. Kane started to feel at peace slightly. He looks up in the sky once again and starts to… like it more
However not as much because it seemed to be a super hot. And super bright. Not that it bothered Kane as much but it definitely got Zack to get to the forest much faster. Though the pango didn't seem to mind the heat at all
While Leanna and Amelia didn't seem to bothered by it
Right when the reached the forest. Zack felt relief for the shade. Not only that. To Kane it seemed like a sight to behold.
No deadly monsters, no feral tribes, no rebels, hell. Even no signs of technology. Kane almost immediately wished he had some sort of camera now… and a desire for more of those pills. However he could hear woodland animals scurrying around and birds chirping.
But as they all reach deeper in the woods. There appeared to be less and less sunlight. It still didn't bother Kane that much since with his helmet he can see in the dark.
He looks down at Amelia as she leads them with her map. However what did slightly bother Kane was that the deeper they went. The quieter the place became. It didn't bother him too much, it's just that it felt different. Though this got the pango to feel very nervous
"Poi…." Said the pango as it nestles in Kane's hand for comfort. He then gave it a slight pet to calm it down "poi"
Leanna started to feel uneasy as she then hugs herself. This did not go unnoticed by Kane
"…Leanna are you feeling alright?" said Kane
She seemed startled by his question as she puts her arms down
"I'm fine" she said, Kane doubts it. But he is pretty sure that if he asks her about it again she'll probably get pissed at him
"….very well" said Kane making her slightly smile as the path gets darker and darker and everyone (except Kane) couldn't see that well. Kane didn't know what to think as all the trees he sees are all dead looking, black, probably a few owls here and there. Hell he remembers a place identical to this
However. The place Kane remember seemed to have a bunch of supernatural stuff going on .
"Are you sure we are heading the right way?" said Zack as Kane gets a match and lights it. Upon seeing it Amelia grabs a torch and gestures for Kane to put the match on it. Upon doing it there came a lot more light.
Upon looking at the surroundings Leanna and the pango seemed more scared
"It appears we have reached the Forest of Sorrows" said Amelia
"F-Forest of Sorrows?" said Leanna
"Poi poi…." Said the pango with an 'i'm doomed/scared tone'
Now Kane could see why this was familiar. But he could remember some haunting words said to him around the time
"There's a big black bird. He is staring right you…. For an eternity."
"How long is eternity?"
"Long as time maybe…."
Those words prompted Kane to look up….. luckily no giant killer bird abomination… he then looks at Leanna as she looks deathly pale. If a woman like her gets scared of a place like this. Then something must be off
Kane starts to be a bit more alert
"Do we have to go through there!? Th-there must be an alternative route right?" said Leanna as Amelia shakes her head in response
"It can only be accessed by these woods" said Amelia as Leanna groans in response
"I had a feeling you'd say that…" said Leanna in a defeated tone.
"Amelia… is something that needs to be known about this place?..." said Kane
"Well rumor has it that whoever enters this place may never return" said Amelia, Kane started to notice that Leanna started to look more scared "And that whoever has left this place could tell that there have been spectral wails that draw in people to wander-"
"Amelia stop!" Said Leanna as she didn't want to hear more "We can travel this stupid place if we have to but no more of that story stuff that isn't true, and can't be true, so it's not true!" her voice gets shriller the more she spoke.
Then. Kane gets a very cruel idea in his head. Making him crack smile behind his helmet. And frankly he could tell so did Zack just by looking in his eyes
"…Do you think the rumors are possible?" said Kane making a shiver go down Leanna's spine and making the pango nestle even more in his hand
"It doesn't matter if I think it's possible because it's the truth" said Zack
"ZACK!" said Leanna "Stop!" as she turns away and walks ahead as both Kane and Zack crack a smile before resuming their usual Stony stares
The four of them continued to journey through the forest as there was an eerie silence where every crunch of leaves have a slight scare to Leanna
However. It didn't bother Kane that much since with his night vision he could see that pretty much everything that is staring at them are just birds, cats, and some rats
But then. There was a busy of wind making everyone but Kane freeze
"Kyaa!" said Leanna as Kane felt something grab onto his arm and something jump onto his helmet. He then realized that it was Leanna that did that as she buried her face against him with her eyes squeezed shut as she pulls his arm to her chest
"…" said Kane pulling the pango off his helmet
"poi…" said the pango. Then Amelia managed to relight the torch making Leanna open her eyes to see what she is doing. Her cheeks turn red as she quickly drops Kane's arm
"Sorry, I…" said Leanna as she trails off while her blush deepens…. This feeling Kane felt. He remembered that feeling before from two other people(girls). He didn't mind it at all.
However Kane noticed that he is some sort of comfort to her since Kane himself is a scary dude and can pretty much scare away many animals if he simply tried. Kane felt a slight worry towards her as he holds out his hand to her
Although surprised that Kane of all people would do this. She doesn't stop him as they link arms. She blushed a little more. Amelia watched the whole thing and cocks her head to the side. Then the pango jumps from his hand into Amelia's arms. Making her almost forget what she will say next
"Kane. Are you afraid as well?" said Amelia
"?" said Kane
"You seemed to have mimicked Leanna's movements" said Leanna
"….If one is to be afraid. It is ok. In a place like this it is only natural.." said Kane as Leanna smiles to him and squeezes his arm a little tighter. However one thing she noticed. Was that Kane spoke with a hint of emotion
Just before he spoke identically to Amelia but now he starting to sound like a different person…. Maybe she is getting through to him
"Thanks" said Leanna as Kane nods back to her. They all continued to trek through the Forest of Sorrows until there was a light at the end. Even though they almost made it out. It seemed like a place that Kane would like to go again. Despite how eerie it is
"Poi!" said the pango as he squiggles himself out of Amelia's arms and hops towards the light. Upon catching up to him. The trees looked alive and full of wisdom and magic
If Kane thought the forest from earlier was amazing. Then this totally blows this out of the water. The pango seemed very happy as Kane watched it hop around. Leanna seemed very relieved to have left the first of Sorrows as she then let's go of Kane
"So Embermyst is close then?" said Zack
"Indeed" said Amelia. As she begins to lead them all. The pango seemed extra happy right now as it blissfully hops along after them. Kane began to take in the sights of the beautiful forest. He has no doubt that Remington or Hyun would have loved to see this… if only if he could still see them if course…
Though sadly Kane couldn't enjoy the sights for long as there was a clearing up ahead. It didn't take too long for them all to reach it. Upon arriving at the place there seemed to be a few guards that casted their gazes upon the group (more specifically. Kane due to his imposing figure)
"Halt. State your business" said one of them. Amelia walks ahead and starts to speak to them. After a few moments of conversing with them. They give their gazes once again at the rest of the group. They aren't sure what to think of Kane and Zack but they don't seem to have a problem with Leanna at all
Then suddenly an old man started to approach them
"Greetings, Elder Issim. I am Amelia Estelle and these are my associates" said Amelia. The elder didn't bother to look at Zack, but he looked at Amelia with interest, then on Kane. He looked very suspicious of Kane
"Who is that Knight of darkness over there?" said the Elder Issim pointing to Kane
"That is Kane. He is nothing to worry about as long as you don't bother him" said Amelia as Elder Issim scratching his nose upon studying Kane's physical appearance for a few moments longer
"Well then. No point in standing around" said Elder Issim leads them all to his house. Upon entering. Everyone but Kane sits down on the cushions "Kane.. is it? Would you like to sit down?"
Kane shakes his head
"Very well" said Elder Issim "But please tell me. How did you find this place, and what brings you here?"
"Your research is what brought us here" said Amelia handing him a books and a bunch of papers making him look at them in surprise before fixing his glasses
"We also came here to talk to your about terrestrial rifts. Do you know anything more about them?" said Leanna
"Why yes! I've been studying them for a time. But lately I've been *Ahem*. Distracted" said Elder Issim before clapping his hands together "Where should we start?"
Then suddenly there was a rumble. Was it an earthquake?
"What was that?" said Leanna as Kane started to tense
"Oh just the volcano. It's really nothing to worry about when we are over here" said Elder Issim "We are in the domain of the fire elemental. Who protects us from the volcano"
"…Fire elemental?..." said Kane "….back to the topic but. How would one person create a rift?"
"Ah yes. To be able to do that. You need a lot of energy. More than the normal human is able to create. The only things with that kind of energy that I can think of are the elemental temples." Said Elder Issim
"…Is there an elemental temples nearby?" said Kane
"Yes there is. Here in Embermyst if course" said Elder Issim "Built upon the outskirts of this village. It's not a far walk" Kane started to feel hope. If he could only find a way to Barnes the energy and get back his own dimension er… out of.. wherever the hell this place is after that damn book sent him here
Leanna and the other quickly get up
"Leaving so soon?" said Elder Issim "I was hoping we could stay and chat longer. I haven't been out of Embermyst for many years, and I'm curious to his the outside world is going" feeling a little down now that the visitors are leaving
"We'll be able to chat after we get back" said Amelia "It is a huge honor to meet you" saying that last part with a hint of emotion. This tells Kane that she really seems to respect him. This made Issim feel better as he really enjoyed meeting the new people
Upon leaving Issam's house. Kane heard a woman's voice.
"Excuse me" said the woman. Kane turns around to see her. She wore just enough to cover essentials and nothing more.
Before Kane could ask. Zack said "Who are you?" as the steps up next to Kane as she then salutes to them. To which Kane did not expect at all
"Kara Noir, treasure Hunter extraordinaire!" said the woman named Kara. Zack and Kane narrowed their eyes at her
"What do you want with us?" said Zack
"Well I heard you are interested in a certain fire temple
"You were…. Spying?" said Kane who looked like he was about to grab his baton
"Whoah! easy big guy. I don't mean any harm" said Kara "You see I've come to offer an extension of friendship! Or at least an extension of mutual benefit. And I happen to know a secret passage that is undiscovered at the temple"
Before Kane could say 'Not interested' Leanna then speaks up "If it is undiscovered. Then how did you find it?"
"Its all part of the treasure hunting gig. You have to look for stuff like that" said Kara. Kane was already starting to dislike her. But not as much as he dislikes Zack. She reminds him of bounty hunters. They really are people not to work with in Kane's opinion "The best part is that I've already disarmed of made of note of most of the traps there"
Kane started to be more suspicious of her as she then gestures to Leanna and Amelia
"If you can use your magic. We'll be able to make the magic barriers go away and easily find more traps" said Kara
"Uh huh. And how does that Benefit you?" said Zack glaring at her, she then grins in response
"I'm only there for the artifacts and relics. You guys seem to be interested in something else. Do like I said mutually beneficial" said Kara "So what do you guys say?" Kane, Amelia, Zack, and the pango… wait…. Where's the pango? Began to huddle together
"…. I don't trust her." Said Kane
"Like I said. I have very keen hearing" said Kara
"…You guys decide. I'll be right back" said Kane leaving them to go to the village Kara winks at him as he heavily resisted his urge to say something back to her. Though he hops they reject her proposition
Kane heads to the village to look around for the pango. It took him a few moments to see him just sitting on a rock
"There you are" thought Kane walking towards him.
"Poi?" said the pango hearing Kane's footsteps as it turns around to see him. "Poi!" As he happily hops over to Kane. To which once again Kane holds out his hand for him to jump on
"…I need to keep a better eye on you" said Kane as his body becoming more tired everyday makes him forgetful
"Poi poi" said the pango giving Kane a smile as he walks back to the go back to the other. Zack seemed to fix his gaze upon Kane while Leanna walks over to him
"Kane we have decided to allow her to join us" said Leanna followed by Kara
"S**t" thought Kane
"So. What is your name?" said Kara
"…." Said Kane as he simply walked past her
"Poi poi" said the pango in Kane's hand
"Don't feel bad. If he gets to know you he'll talk to you more" said Leanna
"Oh.." said Kara as she felt a little chip in her ego that she got straight up ignored "But what is his name?"
"His name is Kane. And believe it or not. He also gave the cold shoulder to pretty much everyone he meets….. well. Minus the pango of course" said Leanna
"Where to?" said Kane to Amelia
"Just this way" said Amelia as they all headed towards the where the temple is
Later
They all arrive in the temple. There is a roaring fire within an open structure in the middle of a grand hall. However what catches Kane's eye is that there is one wall that has strange symbols on it. Amelia started to observe them
The pango hopped around the place looking in fascination while Leanna and Kara seemed to be looking around the temple
Then there were a few monks with brooms started to come out and sweep the floor. They didn't pay much attention to the group at all
"Poi.." said the pango looking at the fire in reverence. Once it got suddenly bigger. The pango squealed and hopped towards Kane. When Kane saw him hop, he holds out his hand. And the pango jumps on it. But what Kane didn't expect was for him to jump off his hand and onto his shoulder
"C'mon you guys. This way" said Kara as she walks in front of an empty wall, everyone else (not including the monks) caught up to her and were a bit skeptical "We're here"
"…..is there supposed to be a hidden mechanism?" said Kane
"Bingo!" said Kara as she pushes a brick and suddenly a segment of the wall swings open. She then waves at the opening with a flourish "Ta-da!" she then leads then down a winding stone stairway which ends at a beginning of a narrow passage
Everyone files in behind as she carefully picks her way down the hall. Kane noticed that there are "X"s on the floor. And judging by that. They might be a trap
"Just don't step on any 'X's. I put them there to hopefully help people avoid them" said Kara as the deeper they travel the more 'X's seemed to pop u "Especially that one" pointing to a distinct looking 'X' and lots more of it on the wall
"What does that do?" said Leanna
"if that X is stepped on lots of bars will shoot our from the wall and block the patch. It's hard unless you know how to limbo, plus they hurt real bad because they are super hot to touch" said Kara
"And you managed to get through?" said Zack as Kara winks at him
"I am very limber" said Kara. Normally. Zack would've brushed off comments like that. But he actually seems impressed. This made Amelia look at he both of them
"Based off the dilation of Zack's pupils. It appears that Kara's flexibility is attractive to him" said Amelia. Upon hearing that Zack was taken aback. Kane found this amusing.
"I was just thinking it is a useful skillset to have" said Zack defensively while Kara has a mischievous glint in her eyes
"Usefull skillset to have? In what context?" said Kara
"For scouting and navigating you've done a thorough job mapping this place out and marking the traps" said Zack
"Zack, was that a compliment?" said Leanna with a smug look while Zack glares at her
"No, an observation" said Zack with a hint of annoyance while Kara smiles playfully while Zack turns away
Leanna couldn't help but think to herself that Kane and Zack has talked more often than they ever did when she first met them. She became slightly interested in seeing what else will make them talk
"…..smooth…." said Kane with a hint of sarcasm
"poi" said the pango while Zack glares at Kane even though Kane is a scary guy as they all reached a magic barrier.
Kane poked the barrier and nothing seemed to happen despite it's gaseous appearance
"Hm… surprisingly solid" said Leanna as the pango hopped off Kane's shoulder and hopped right through it no problem "Pango wait!"
Kane reaches out his hand for the pango for fir it to bump into the barrier
"No, pango!" said Leanna "We have to find a way to save him! Who knows what could have happened to him when he went through!" as she then presses up the wall "Pango?"
This tells Kane that she is not only really attached to the pango. But really meant a lot to her way more than he thought
"Poi?" said the pango as he hops out of the barrier "Poi poi" Leanna then scoops him up into a hug
"Pango! your back safe!" said Leanna holding onto him real tight
"Poi!" said the pango as he wiggles out of her arms and hops over to Kane. He then extends his hand for the pango. To which once again. The pango jumped into his shoulder while Leanna pouts in response to bring left by the pango
"In order to pass through. We need to give up something special into the flame" said Amelia
"What?" Said Leanna
"…." Said Kane as he looks through his little bag…. He takes out his deathtrooper knife….. he looks at it and at the fire while gripping it very tightly. The knife that was given to him by a friend…. A friend he has made sure to never forget….
But if it is the only way to pass through so he can get back home…. Then so be it.
He then hesitantly places the knife into the fire and watched it burn brighter…. Even though he doubts Amelia. She really has not let him down so far in his time here. He touches where the barrier would be… and to his surprise. He got through.
Though it got him to wonder how did Amelia come to this conclusion? As he went through the barrier his vision was covered by a bright light for a few moments and once it subsided. He saw a big fox with a red woman
At first he felt cautious of the sight. Neither the fox not the woman showed signs of hostility or hidden intent
"…who….. are you?..." said Kane curiously as she blinks at him and smiles. He isn't sure what to do now as then the flames that lit the room flickered and suddenly he felt what seems to be a warm embrace as the feeling permeated his body
The woman continued to hold his gaze for a moment and takes another step to him. As she did that Leanna, pango, Zack, Amelia, and Kara all pass the barrier
"Poi?" said the pango looking at the woman and then at the fix as he them hops over in front of the fox. The fox looks at him curiously as it began to sniff him and swish it's tail. This made the pango squeak as he then hops behind Kane's leg for safety "Poi!"
The woman giggles as she takes more steps closer to Kane. He didn't see any ill intent from her. But he felt compelled to kneel down to meet her level.
The rest of the gang looked at Kane awkwardly as they believe he is kneeling to the fox
"Uh.. Kane? Are you bowing at the fox?" Said Zack as it seems that Zack cannot see the red woman. The red woman then puts her hand on Kane's head as he felt a pulse of warmth flow right through him. His eyes widened as he did not expect that feeling
It felt like something inside of him just clicked open.. and the more the feeling the more translucent the red woman became… it reminded him of a few eerie things in his childhood and early days as a deathtrooper
But this….. had the opposite of fear
Eventually the red woman disappeared after taking her hand off Kane's head
"Just what was that?" thought Kane as the pango looked at him in interest. He then jumps upon Kane's hand and starts nibbling at his fingers
"?" said Kane noticing the pango on his hand. And Kara waving her hand in front of Kane's face
"Are you ok? You kind of zoned out on us" said Kara as Kane looked at her and a then saw a worried look from Leanna
"…" said Kane getting up
"Did something happen?" said Leanna
"…It's nothing to worry about…. I am fine" said Kane as Amelia points her bracelets at him
"Hm… curious" said Amelia looking at Kane "It appears that all the energy in this place is gathered within Kane" This made Leanna look intrigued as she looked at Kane
"?" said Kane "…what?"
"Kane did you so something?" said Leanna
"…" said Kane "….I am unsure…. One moment I felt nothing… then this…"
If it was just anyone else that said that. Leanna would have been suspicious. But strangely enough even Kane seemed unsure of what is going on as Amelia continued to observe him
Then suddenly the barrier went down… and the first where they all sacrificed their items has went out. Kane looks inside to see his knife and everyone else's items already intact and look as if they were untouched but the fire
He then grabs his knife and examines it... Just what kind of magic goes on here? He then puts it away feeling glad he still has it
"Was this some sort of trial?" said Kara
"I believe it was a test for our willingness to sacrifices…" said Amelia as they rest of them grab their stuff and Kara leads the way out of the secret path pass all the traps, and out the secret entrance
Upon exiting the monks didn't seem to have done much besides continued sweeping. And they all made their way out of the temple
As they all were walking back to the Embermyst village Kane lagged behind while the pango was still in his hand continuing to nibble his fingers
It worked him a lot now the somehow managed to absorb all that energy… not only that he's wondering if he's getting possessed…. Again
It took a few moments for Leanna to notice Kane's a sense as she slowed down for Kane to catch up. Upon catching up she began to pet the pango in his hand while the pango ignored her while continued to num on Kane's fingers she pouts at being disregard. Before focusing her attention on Kane
"..Something on your mind?" Said Leanna
"….if I were to use this energy…. Would I be able to open a temperal rift?" said Kane. Kara then immediately stops dead in her tracks and turns around
"Pardon me, but you were speaking on using the energy you absorbed to open rifts?" said Kara. Kane started to dislike her even more
"…." Said Kane as Amelia then turns around to watch "….mind your business MS. KARA, Otherwise there will be a problem." In an extremely menacing tone. This sent shivers down the spines of all four of them. Though not the pango. Because he just continued bumming
This immediately got everyone else to be quiet as because of his scary threat. They decided not to touch it further due to the fear if the rising tension from Kane
Later
They all arrived at the village at night time. Amelia ram over to a man who happened to still be awake and conversed with him for a few moments before running back to the group
"It appears the place as an inn. We shall stay the night... But what just happened…. Kane had a feeling that it will pop up again….
To be continued….
Kane's journal notes page 1
Dear mother…. I may never know if you are able to read this or not but I like to think that you will. I still miss you with everything I have. I may be at my lowest that I have ever been. But yet it's because of you among others that has kept me going
I still will never forget the day you disappeared. The day the gave your life so that I could live. Both you and Dad
I'm sorry you never got to see me grow up… but I want to let you know I managed to be a major thorn against the Rebel Alliance. As a deathtrooper. I don't know if you know what those are. But frankly I didn't either before I became one
Because of it I managed to slay Jedis, rebels and all kinds of evil that plagued the Galaxy
I still remember your favorite song. "And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming. All the moment of Truth in your life" that is how it goes doesn't it? Well I guess I won't know for a while then.
But now. I don't know what will happen next. I am afraid. I am in a place unfamiliar. But if you were to see it I'm sure you would have loved to see it
But yet I still fear many things to come. But I know I'll see you again soon you and everyone else I lost. I don't know when but I know I have lots to tell you.
I miss you with all my heart, and until I write to you again.
Love, Kane Wintergreen Javier
Trivia
1: I have a prequel to this story. And I know so of you may be confused why. But I'll tell you. I'm worried that if I continue to write flashbacks for this story it will probably just eat up most of this story time. So because of this I'll make a major change to this fic.
And that change. Is significantly less flashbacks to Kane's past. But that's about it. So if you want to know what goes on. Just read the prequel fic I made. The Death Before Life
2: I'm am glad that more people have decided to read my story even if I haven't updated this in a while. But if you are a new reader. Then ", Hello!" I'm glad for your time :)
3: originally this chapter was going to end with an eerie flashback that happened to Kane when he was still 13-14 years old
4: Leanna's dream was much different in the original version of this fic before it got lost. But looking at it now. I think what I replaced with is better.
5: Special thanks for my friend Ceridwen Lucius for your help,!
So yeah. Please leave a review(Whether it be criticism or not) It really means a lot and motivates me to make this.