Hey, I'm back. And I want to say thank you to CrankshaftRabbit for their advice. I'll try that since FF likes to troll you into thinking they're saving the story, but you'd have to sign in only to see it deleted everything... But really, thank you for the advice. ;D I will try that! Also, thank you BlackButler181 for reviewing my story as well. HUGS! Everyone be safe out there!
Chapter 5. The First Element.
Shadow was finished with his search and was now on the other side looking for Amy. He knew where he was going since he had been here several times, but looking for a girl in this pile of rubble would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. He was grateful tho that they separated. He didn't want to explain why he would come here at times. In truth, he barely remembered the place at all, but it was still his first home to him. He never went to his birth house since he didn't really feel like finding anything of his. It would only be his baby toys and clothes, but his second home had some of the things that were from here. He would only come back occasionally to mourn for his parents loss, his parents he barely knew, but had died saving his life.
If only he could tell Amy the real reason why he would come here often, but bringing up a past that is too hard to get through isn't very easy. She knew how hard it was to lose those that cared for you, but he was still too stubborn to say anything else to her. Shadow stepped over another piece of broken history as he continued walking around, looking around to find any sign of pink anywhere. He quietly growled to himself feeling a bit impatient that she would make him wait and find her. Why was this girl so hard to understand? Speaking of which, he heard his voice being called out from behind him. It was loud, but a little soft so she didn't attract any unwanted monsters.
Shadow turned around to see Amy running towards him with a worried look on her face. He sighed to himself feeling a little relief that she was still alive and walking, but also feeling very annoyed with her. "Finally. Where the hell have you-" he stopped himself when he noticed that she was clutching her chest where the stone was hidden inside her shirt. He could tell from afar that it was glowing brightly, even though she was trying to hide it. "The stone..!"
"Shadow! The stone...! The stone...is glowing!" Amy shouted with each breath she took. She slid to a stop in front of him and quickly took out the stone having it glow more brightly now that it was finally out of hiding. "I think...the element is close by...!"
His features turned serious knowing that they were getting closer to the element. "Madam Vulga said you can find them. You need to read the spell that shows were the light element is." he instructed now looking at her intently.
Amy nodded quickly and looked down at the glowing stone. It was kinda hard to see where the words she needed to read since the light was very bright still. "I...I can't read it..! It's not showing anything, and it's too bright to find any words..!" she said in a less hopeful voice while looking back up at him.
He growled under his breath. "Alright..we know the element is close by, but no sign anywhere in these houses. Let's go to castle." he instructed again now turning his attention towards the three story building that looked ready to crumble at any moment.
She looked at the castle with him now looking more worried. "There might be thousands of rooms inside! How will we be able to find them?" she asked looking back at him. He looked back at her with no emotion in his tone.
"No time. Let's go." he turned away and proceeded to run down the the crumbled pathway towards the castle leaving the worried girl alone again.
"Hey! Shadow! Wait!" she called out to him after kicking off a heel to run after him, "We're supposed to stay together!" The knight said no word to her as they both ran right through the open doors that were blown away from a past monster attack.
The castle was like the one Amy had been in when she woke up, but it was a little smaller. The ceiling in the great hall, was in an arch way like a chapel ceiling with only one hanging lantern since the other one like it was on the stone floor, crumbled up into small pieces. The sides had some tattered flags with the kingdom's symbol on them and three arched glass windows on each side of the halls with a few that were shattered. Four columns stood tall on each side of the room with only three that were crumbled down so only a few were barley holding up the building. On the end was a large staircase that had two sets on each side, two doors that lead to possibly stairs or another hallway with two more on the bottom floor leading to the basement.
Shadow stopped himself after reaching the middle of the great hall. Amy was quick to stop herself before she would run into him. "What is it..? Why did...you stop?" she asked between huffs of air after her fast run.
He didn't say anything, but raised a hand to her without looking back. He held up a finger to silence her while twisting his ears back and forth trying to pick up any sort of sound. Amy kept her mouth shut for him this time. She did took the few seconds they had to look around the room at the interior designs it might've looked before the fight. It wasn't big, it she could tell it might've been amazing back then. Her wrist was suddenly gripped by the knight's causing her to gasp as she was pulled with him towards the grand staircase.
Amy stumbled a bit once Shadow tugged her along, but was quick enough to catch herself before she fell to her knees. She looked up watching him draw out his sword to fight as they rush right under the stairs and through one of the broken down doors leading to the basement. "Shadow! Where are we going?" she gasped.
"I can hear sounds from the bottom floor...! We might be close, is the stone glowing still?" he asked without looking back.
She looked down at her chest seeing the color of her shirt glowing brightly like before. "Yes..it's still glowing...!"
"Good, then that means we're getting close...!" All the way down the spiral steps using what little light they had from the top till they reached the bottom floor. There was only darkness that surrounded the two making it more difficult to continue further. Amy kept a strong grip on Shadow's hand as they reached the bottom floor. Shadow had been into the castle a couple times before, so he knew what was there. But he'll keep himself slow and steady for Amy. Altho, when they were reaching the bottom of the stairs, he could sense something was off. He felt it before when Amy was being attacked by the were-cat. There could be danger around.
Once they reached the basement floor, Shadow stopped himself from going any further having Amy run into him and give him a slight push. "Oof! What the-Shadow!" Amy shouted angrily, but was cut off when the said knight pulled his hand out of her's and lightly slapped it onto her mouth, closing it shut.
He said nothing, but even in the dark, she could feel the angry glare that was burning through her head once he turned around to silently hush her. He slowly moved his hand off of her mouth letting her breathe a quiet sigh from her short run. It was very dark enough that none of them could see each other. Hell, Shadow blended into the darkness very well because of his fur color. No movement at all which started to make the girl a little worried. The darkness was one thing, but the silence was much worse when combined. She began to hear slight ruffling like fabric being moved a little. Amy tried to force her eyes to get used to the darkness, but she was still unable to see anything in front of her. Until..
A warm light began to glow from Shadow's hand as it grew and grew till at least both hedgehogs and a little of the room was visible to them. Amy gasped at the bright yellow crystal clutched tightly in the knight's hand. "That...That...rock...it's glowing...!" she gaped, completely entranced by the magic of some odd stone.
Shadow turned around to face her still holding the crystal in hand. "Don't you remember what I had told you before? There are many types of magic crystals? I was gifted with this from the king before we left." he lifted up the crystal to show her what it looked like since he remembered that she really wanted to see a real elemental crystal.
Amy's eyes gleamed at the magic filled stone. It was just like any ordinary crystal when it's not activated, but way it glowed, it looked so out of the ordinary. She had seen rocks that glowed from some stores that sold ancient stones, and other asian cultured items. They glowed, but only used a lightbulb powered by a cable. "How pretty.." she awed as she reached up to touch it after wondering how it felt like once it was being activated.
The knight took his hand away once he saw her reach out towards it. "Rose, no. You don't know how to use it and if I give you the crystal, the light will dim. You'll waste the power that's inside it." he warned her. She rolled her eyes and took her hand back before crossing both arms.
"I just wanted to see if it's hot, or cold." she complained.
"It's cold." he said in a low, monotone voice. Before Amy could retort, he turned around again and started to slow make his way through the hallway.
Amy glared at the back of his head and grumbled under her breath while she rushed over to his side so she wouldn't lose him in the dark. As usual, Shadow was being his annoying self. She wondered how he could be so cold to her one second, then turn his mood around and be nice to her the next. Remembering the picture of his family, she also wondered if he even had a happy childhood before the war happened. She had so many questions for him that she couldn't keep herself from talking any longer. Even if she needed to keep herself quiet for Shadow to hear any sort of danger.
As they continued on, the room was able to show what looked to be a dungeon. At least five open cells were on one side of the hallway were caged up. A couple were broken down though. Some cells had chains bolted into the wall to hang someone up by their hands, along with wooden beds bolted to the wall and hanging on air. The sounds of rats scurrying away from the light of the crystal continued to send shivers up Amy's spine as the two continued. "Shadow...I don't think there's anyone in here..." Amy shivered looking up a the knight.
Shadow kept his eyes on the path ahead of them as the light slowly reached the end of the hallway showing a door leading to possibly more cells. "I know. There's one last room at the end of this hallway. If we don't find anything, we'll look upstairs." he instructed.
"But you said you heard some sounds down here. You think it might be from the rats?" Amy asked.
"Probably..but I'm still sensing that we're not alone.." before he could continue, the two stopped at the said door ready to open it up to search the next room. The sounds of rocks skipping across the stone floors and chains being rattled stopped Shadow's hand from gripping the door knob. The sounds were faint, but it was enough to get both of them on edge. He looked up at the door realizing that something, or someone was behind it. He turned back to Amy, who was giving him a terrified look back. "Whatever happens...do not turn your back on the enemy.." he whispered with a strict tone in his voice.
Amy gulped up a large lump in her throat and nodded slowly. Once Shadow turned his back to her, she twirled the bow around and took out one of the arrows to hold in a threatening way. Even though she was very scared right now, she didn't want to let Shadow fight and get hurt like last time. So she'll do her best to stand up for herself to show him that she can fight in situations if she tried. Once Shadow positioned himself after placing the crystal in his pouch turning off the power inside, he gripped both his sword in one hand, and turned the knob with the other. Then threw open the door to face whatever was inside. Once again, the room was very dark, but now the sounds of low, monstrous growls flooded the large room.
Quickly pulling out the crystal from his pack, Shadow held it out and igniting the power inside, illuminating the room from the door to half of it. Immediately, both Shadow and Amy saw white eyes stair directly at them as they scurried away from the source of light. Amy gasped in horror to see that it looked to be spirits haunting to room they were in. The shadow spirits from the looks of it, were tall, skinny and very slender. Their bodies were long enough for their heads to almost reach the ceiling, no legs, or feet. Just a sharp point at the end like a long tail. Their arms were very long, the size of their bodies with four long fingers, about three feet each. Their finger tips looked sharp like claws, ready to rip apart their prey easily.
"Sh-Sh-Shadow...!" she quivered at the sight of the new monsters that were now surrounding the light not even daring to get close enough.
"Rose, get back! Night Crawlers are not to be dealt with!" Shadow shouted almost pushing her away to shut the door, but before he did, Amy pushed him forward stopping him from closing the only thing thats keeping the monsters inside. He looked back at her with a piercing glare. "Rose, I said-"
"Look!" Amy's arm was stretched out in front of her and her finger was pointing directly at the monsters, but that wasn't what she was pointing at.
Shadow turned back to the growling night crawlers wanting desperately to get near the two. He followed the trail that her eyes and finger were showing him, which had lead them to who they were possibly searching for. The light didn't show much, but from across the room, a figure was lying on the floor with a very dim, flashing light crystal beside them. He hadn't even realized that the monsters were not the only things that were trapped in the room. A prisoner was inside, possibly one of Scourge's victims and hopefully the element they were looking for. The crystal beside the unconscious person was barely showing any sign of power and was the only thing keeping them alive from the killing spirits.
"Damn it..! Good eye, Rose. I'll handle the night crawlers, you get yourself over to them and see if they're still alive!" he shouted now stepping into the room into battle. He began to wave the crystal back and forth scaring away the monsters as they cowered in fear from the hellish glow. Amy was still in fear of the spirits, but did as she was told and quickly rushed past Shadow and over towards the figure. He was right beside her the whole time as she ran, keeping the night crawlers away. The crystal had plenty of power inside, but it's not enough to vanquish the spirits to death. He needed more power to get them out of the dungeons.
Amy quickly dropped to her knees by the figure as the light started to show who was lying in front of her now. The figure was a brown furred wolf girl with tattered fur and messy blond hair. The wolf must've been a hybrid because of the dirty white angel wings she had on her back that looked all scuffed up. She wore a light gray dress, her skirt was cut so it was short in the front and longer in the back that reached her ankles. Her top was cut in a V-neck and had long puffy sleeves cuffed at her elbows. Black tight pants that looked like leggings with black knee high boots. A thick, brown belt was wrapped around her waist with a side satchel clutched to the belt.
She looked so battered up that the monsters must've got to her first and she had the light crystal to help her for a while. Amy gripped the side of the wolf and carefully pulled her, rolling her around so she was now laying on her back. "Hey! Hey, miss? Miss!" Amy called out to her, but the only response she got was a painful groan.
"The crystal won't hold them back for long! Night crawlers won't stop until their victim is dead!" Shadow shouted as he swung the crystal again scaring away a couple of the spirits that had tried to get closer to him.
"She's alive, but she's not waking up!" Amy cried out not even sure what to do in this situation.
Shadow knew that these monsters will stop at nothing to get to them, but there was no other choice in the matter. He continued to hold the crystal as he backed away towards Amy while looking back to see where he was going. He dropped to her side and held out the crystal to her. "Hold it..! I'll carry her, but we need to get out of the dungeon!" he told her. Amy quickly shook her head as tears began to slowly prick at the corner of her eyes.
"I can't! I'm scared! I thought I can handle this but I can't!" she cried staring at him in fear. She didn't know if she could fight these things, but now she wasn't sure if she could hold a magic crystal and use it's powers since she was not even used to it.
His eyes slightly widened as a flash of the past appeared right in front of him. The site was a familiar figure, a blond princess was staring at him with utter fear like Amy's. After a quick blink, Amy was right in front of him again. He was stunned for words as to why he had suddenly brought part of his horrible past back at this moment. Right now, he shouldn't be thinking about that at all. He needed to focus on the mission, and he didn't want Amy to be scared this time. He placed his sword down and with a gentle grip on her hand once he reached up and took it, he placed the crystal in her hand. He still gripped it so the light was flashing brightly. Amy could easily feel the power emitting from the stone in her hands, enough that it felt like it was energizing to her.
"Rose..listen. I know you're scared. But right now, you need to be brave. Don't think of the problem right now. Think of the power inside the crystal. The power will listen to the holder. That is you. You need to focus on the power inside. Think of the light from the sun, the light from a candle, anything that shines brightly." Shadow's voice was surprisingly calm and gentle. It was very surprising to see him be this way towards her again, but the way he was teaching and comforting her, slowly eased the fear from her eyes and body.
Amy was still afraid, but with Shadow beside her, she felt that she might be able to handle the toughest fights. She wanted to show him how she was capable of fighting, and this was possibly the right time. Without even realizing it, Shadow had taken his hand off the crystal making it slowly dim now that a new user had barely enough to keep it going. The monsters were now inching closer and closer to the three as the light grew dimmer and dimmer. Shadow quickly gripped his sword tightly and got up to attack the night crawlers if he had to. As spirits, he would't be able to land a punch, or swipe of his sword at them, but to keep both Amy and the mystery girl alive, he'll do whatever he can to keep them alive.
Amy's eyes were closed and her mind was focusing on the crystal's magic. She knew she didn't have any time at all, but she needed to concentrate. The way the sun's rays shined down on earth, giving light to the living and plants to help them grow. The light of a warm fireplace on a cold, winter's night. The moons light's brilliantly glowing to shine across the rivers and mountains as the wolves howled into the night. The light of a home with her parents giving her warm hugs and love. Amy's mind was now connected to the power of the crystal in her hand, she could feel the abilities inside growing stronger and stronger with each thought she had.
Before the night crawlers could get any closer, enough for one of them to reach out towards the sword, welding knight. The crystal began to grow brighter and brighter making them scurry away from the three. Shadow turned around to face her. He was very impressed on how fast she had used the power inside the stone to make it glow like that. It took him several weeks for him to learn how to harness the power inside the crystals, but with Amy, her energy must've been more stronger than his.
Amy's eyes slowly opened as the glow of the light had her emerald eyes sparkle. The crystal was glowing in her hand, the light was bright and beautiful. Her eyes widened at the sight before her, completely out of words to how she was able to make a magical stone glow. The angered sounds of the monsters in front of the three brought her out of her thoughts having her look up and turn to see Shadow was on the other side of her body. He was now holding the unconscious girl in his arms in a bridal style. Shadow looked at her with the same surprised look, but he hid it behind his stoic expression. "Come on! Lead us out of here!" he shouted.
She nodded and got up onto her feet. While holding the crystal tightly in her hand, she began to wave it around like how Shadow did to ward off the monsters while guiding both of them through the room. They creeped along the walls practically hugging the hard surface while keeping a close eye on the night crawlers. They were now more angry than before. Watching their prey was being taken away from them and forced to stand away from the killing light. The crystal had barely enough power now to ward them off, but enough for the two to leave the room safely. Once the two slipped right through the open doorway, they both rushed out into the hallway as the night crawlers were now giving chase. Roaring and screeching in rage so loud, they made the walls rumble. Causing the poor pink girl to shriek in fear.
Amy was trying her hardest to keep the crystal glowing and helping both her and Shadow leave the darkened hallway, but the sounds of the monsters was beginning to grow increasingly hard for her to continue on. She let out another shriek as the walls began to rumble again from the screeching spirts behind them, forcing her body to stop running and almost having the knight behind her run into her back. "Rose, keep going!" Shadow urged, but she was too scared to continue.
"I-I can't! I'm scared!" she cried now looking back at him with fresh tears streaming down her face.
The monsters were getting closer and closer now that the light of the crystal was beginning to dim. Amy's thoughts were now easily erased from fear, causing the crystal to lose power. Shadow looked behind him to see the spirits flying closer towards them. Their large claw-like hands were now digging into the floor and walls, causing a nasty screeching sound when their nails dug and scratched the hard surfaces. He had no choice, but to act fast. Luckily beside them, one of the cells had the bars broken off. Shadow gripped the girl tightly with one arm around her back and with the other, grabbed Amy's hand and pulled them both into the cell. Amy shrieked again feeling a hard pull before her body landed on the stone floor. In a quick swipe, Shadow carefully dropped the girl to the floor and picked up the stone after it fell out of Amy's hand once she fell to the floor.
He held it up to the doorway of the cell and forced the dimly lit light to grow brighter again with what little magic it still had. The night crawlers were so close to reaching them before Shadow had just enough time to pull them away to safety. They screeched in fear, backing away from the horrid light as they scrambled away from the open cell. They were very close by, but not even dare get any close to the light again. Dropping to his knees, Shadow sat down on the floor while holding the crystal so the light was still glowing. Amy was now sitting up as well on her knees, she was quietly huffing and puffing from both the run and fear. She looked over to the quietly panting knight, who was watching the doorway of their cell. Keeping an eye on the monsters in front of them.
"...Sh-Shadow...?" she spoke up in a quiet whimper. He said nothing, but she noticed his ears twist a bit so their facing her allowing her to continue, "...I...I'm sorry...I tried...and I f-failed.."
"No... You did good, Rose.." He replied quietly, "...You knew how dangerous this will be.."
Amy slowly nodded and lowered her head now looking down at her knees. "I know..I'm trying to be brave...I hate being weak, I wanted to show you that..I can be strong.." The knight quietly sighed, then slowly turned to her.
"Your not weak, Rose. You're just not used to this world like I am. You will get more better in time, but...just keep yourself calm and don't let fear get to you." he instructed. He honestly didn't like seeing her this way, but wasn't really sure how to comfort her at all.
She said nothing, but slowly nodded again. Her eyes lowered down a bit more to her shirt before her eyes widened again. "Shadow!" she gasped looking back up at him. Shadow slightly jumped when she shouted, fearing that she might've been hurt somehow since she was now clutching her chest.
"What is it? Are you hurt?" he asked.
"The stone! It's not glowing anymore!" Both of them were now silent.
They never realized when they entered the room, but when Amy got close enough to the girl, the stone suddenly stopped glowing. They were too preoccupied with the night crawlers that none of them noticed that the glow had stopped. Did that mean...? Both Amy and Shadow looked at the still unconscious girl, then back to each other. Practically thinking the same thing. "...You think..she..." Amy whispered.
Shadow said nothing, but he gave her a slow nod, telling her that she might be the element they were looking for. Amy twisted her body around and slowly crawled over to the girl. She wasn't able to get her to wake up before, but she hoped the wolf will wake this time. She really looked banged up so they'll need to patch her up when they get out. "Hey..? Hey, wake up. Please..." she called out while gently shaking her after gripping her shoulder carefully, "Please...get up, please...!"
"...Unn.." both hedgehogs' eyes widened once they heard the girl groan in her sleep. Amy continued to shake her, gently, but enough to hopefully get her to wake up more. The wolf was slowly, but surely able to bring herself out of her unconscious state. Her eyelids began to slowly open showing tired, light blue irises, looking from one side to the other till they landed on the fuzzy pink blob. Her vision was pretty fuzzy, but in a few seconds, they were slowly going back to normal. "...Wh-who...are you...?" she asked in a weak tone.
Amy's heart skipped a beat once the poor girl finally woke up. She couldn't help herself, but smile happily for her. "Thank god you're okay..! We're here to help you, so you don't have to be afraid anymore!" she replied happily.
The wolf girl was still a little worried at the fact that some girl was standing over her when she was practically alone for a long time, not to mention that she had to deal with the monsters for a while so it was more difficult to even comprehend "okay". "Wait..! The monsters!" she gasped, forcing herself to sit up and turn around to see if they were around, or attacking. Her body hurt like hell when she sat up, but she was more concerned about the night crawlers.
"Whoa! Whoa! Take it easy! They're not going to attack us right now...!" Amy reassured her while waving her hands back and forth, "Shadow is keeping them away from us, so we're safe for now."
"Sh-Shadow..?" the wolf repeated before turning around fully to see the said knight, who was still sitting by the door, but was watching and listening while keeping the crystal shinning as much as he can. Her eyes widened and quickly got up so she was sitting on her knees. Her hands were on the floor and her body hunched slightly forward in a bowing motion, "Sir Shadow..it's an honor to meet the great black knight. Thank you so much for you and your friend's help in my rescue."
Shadow slightly blushed at her generous greeting, but hid it very well, nodding his head slightly for her answer. "Your welcome, miss..?" The girl pulled herself up and smiled at the two sweetly, but still weakly since she was still hurting inside.
"My name is Alicia." she answered.
Amy smiled and nodded. "My name is Amy Rose. I guess you know very well about Shadow then?" she asked now more interested in how popular Shadow really was.
The wolf, Alicia turned to her and nodded quickly. "My kingdom where I'm from has heard of his bravery and many fights he has been though. He's very well known throughout the world." she answered truthfully.
Shadow had to turn his head away since he wasn't really used to people talking about him like that. He never liked the praises he would get sometimes, but tries his best to show how courteous he was towards them. "I'm not that special, but I do try my best to keep the world and my kingdom safe." he pointed out in a gruff kind of tone.
"They also say you are very mysterious because of your expressionless look." Alicia pointed out with a small giggle seeing that the rumors were true about how stoic Shadow is right now, "But I want to thank you so much for rescuing me. I don't know how you two have found me, but I'm deeply in your depts." She bowed again to both Shadow and Amy, which made the pink girl blush completely.
"W-Well...there's something that you can do for us.." Amy suggested making the wolf girl look back up at her, "You see..we did come to save you, but Shadow and I are on a mission to find special people with an elemental power."
"Elemental power? You mean like the chosen six who helped the hero vanquish the evil king?"
Shadow quickly joined in seeing that she had heard about the legend. "So you do know about the elements? We're here to see about if you are one of the elements we have been looking for." he looked up at Amy, who was now clutching the stone, still hidden under her shirt, "Amy has been gifted the power to seek the elements and with all six chosen people, we'll defeat King Scourge and take back our wold. He has taken many prisoners, but at least five of them, counting you, possibly."
Alicia listened deeply, but inside, she was contemplating if they truly believe that she was one of the elements. She had heard about them growing up and even heard that one of the elements was from her kingdom, but she didn't think it was actually her. ...Is she, tho? "I'm sorry..I'm not quite sure if I understand. I have been taken prisoner, but I'm not sure if I'm one of the elements. I don't have that kind of power inside...well...except that I can heal." she pointed out while looking down with embarrassment.
Amy's eyes widened, "You can heal? That's fantastic!" she chirped, "That might make it so much easier if you might be the element of light!" The wolf looked back up at her.
"Light?" Amy nodded. "But...I don't...I mean...my kingdom is home to those who create the crystals of light.."
"So that's why you had a crystal in your possession." Shadow asked having her nod to him.
"That's right. But when I was taken here by force, I hid the crystal so those monsters that brought me here wouldn't take it. I thought I could escape, but when those...night crawlers...came, I had no choice but to use it. I tried my hardest to escape from that room, but each time I have tried to leave, those monsters would attack me. My crystal wasn't able to hold them off like yours so..that's why I'm covered in cuts and bruises.."
Amy's ears slightly drooped down hearing how she was taken and left for dead. "I'm sorry...I wish we came sooner. But if you were the element of light, then you'll be able to defeat the monsters easily."
"I'm not sure if I am the element you seek! I'm not gifted like you, or strong like Sir Shadow!" Alicia shouted making Amy jump slightly, "...I just...I just want to go back home...to grandfather..."
"Grandfather...?" The wolf nodded. Amy quietly sighed seeing how scared this girl was like her. But more since she wasn't able to keep her hopes up. She looked back at Shadow, who gave her a small, sympathetic look back. "Alicia..." she started and looked back to her, she reached over and gripped her shoulder gently bringing the girl's head up to meet her eyes with her teary ones, "I know you're scared. I am, too. But...we can't lose ourselves like this. Shadow has kept me going for this long. Now I want to help you. You miss your grandfather, right?"
Alicia slowly nodded while wiping away some tears. "Very much.."
Amy smiled a soft, reassuring smile to her. "Then think of him the whole way. Don't think of yourself as weak, because you're not. You are strong, and you can handle this. You handled staying alive for this long, so you are strong to continue to fight. I promise you, Shadow and I will not leave your side at all and we will help you out of this. But only if you trust us."
The angel wolf stared at her with fear still in her eyes, but part of her was beginning to grow a little more stronger, just from the comforting way Amy was giving her. She was very scared at this point and thinking that there might not be a way out of this, but seeing how strong this normal girl was being for her. Shadow was the strongest in the group, but this girl, Alicia can sense something inside of her, strong and fearless. If she could see her grandfather right now, he would scold her for being so scared and weak. He wanted his granddaughter to be brave and succeed in her hardships. With Amy here giving her the boost she needed, she slowly began to feel a bit more braver to help her new friend. She was scared still, but wanted to show that she can try once more as long as she doesn't loose hope like she had almost done.
She gave her a small smile and a slight nod with no words needed, but enough to at least show that she was ready to help Amy and Shadow with whatever they needed to escape. Amy's smile grew bigger once she saw her smile and nod, then leaned in and gave her a small, but genuine hug. The wolf girl was very surprised and even flinched when she hugged her. But slowly, she wrapped her arms around Amy and returned the hug back, closing her eyes and relaxing in the embrace. Feeling safe for once after her captivity. Shadow was very surprised, and very amused at how quick Alicia was to agree with Amy. It was only words she had spoken, but the way Amy was speaking to her, it sounded strong, and courageous. Amy was beginning to show more and more of her strong side to him than she even realized. Tho, she does get scared very easily, but seeing how she was trying for this girl, was enough to bring a small smile to the knight's muzzle. A very small smile, but it showed that he had a little more trust in the pink girl.
Suddenly, the loud screeching of the night crawlers had quickly brought all three out of their small conversation, making them look up at the doorway to see the monsters slowly inching towards the cell. To Shadow's shock, the crystal in his hand began to slowly dim. The power inside had been used up and it was slowly dying on them. "Damn! We have no time left..!" Shadow huffed now inching away from the door towards the two. He slipped out his sword ready to use when the light completely goes out.
"You can't use your sword on them! I'll go right through!" Alicia shouted now making her fears grow once she noticed the light crystal was fading fast and the night crawlers were slowly coming towards them.
Shadow looked over his shoulder at her with a small glare. "You don't think I know that? We have no other choice!" he growled. He didn't mean to, but in this situation, he couldn't help, but show a bit of anger in his voice.
"We do have a choice!" Amy interjected having the two look at her confusingly. She looked at Alicia and gripped her shoulder a bit tightly as she continued, "I'm going to see if you are the element of light we have been looking for, but you have to trust me."
Alicia stared at her with wide, fearful eyes. She wanted to say yes, but now that the pressure was getting too great, she was afraid to say anything. Shadow got up on his feet and stood in a threatening pose with his sword out, watching the night crawlers now getting very close to the doorway. "Rose, anytime now!" he shouted.
"I know, just gimme a minute!" Amy retorted back, glaring at the back of his head, then looked back at Alicia replacing the angered look to a soft smile again, "It'll be okay. You are not alone now, you can do this."
The wolf continued to stare at her for a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity to both Amy and Shadow. He was pretty pissed that she was keeping them waiting, but Amy wasn't angry. She was scared, but continued to give Alicia her comforting smile, hoping and praying that she'll turn around and agree with her. And she did. Alicia said nothing again, and nodded slowly. Amy's smile stayed while she moved her free hand to her chest and slipped out the stone making the wolf girl's eyes slightly widened. She had heard about the Stone of Ages before, and had seen pictures of it in books, but never thought she would see it up close like this.
Amy held the jewel up so it was facing her. It wasn't glowing, but to her shock, words began to show only to her. Just like Madam Vulga had told her. Only she can read the words which will give the chosen person their new ability, which was rightfully Alicia. Keeping a strong grip on her shoulder while staring at the stone intently, Amy began to read off the words clearly, "Light thy way, oh power! Give thy chosen hero energy to control the sun!"
All of a sudden, the jewel began to glow brightly again, much more than before. The light of the jewel was able to ward off the monsters a bit, making them cower away from the cell once more. Shadow turned around when he noticed some rays of light from behind him, both he, Alicia, and Amy watched as the jewel began to shoot out the power of Light it had held for so long and seep right into Alicia's body. The wolf gasped loudly once she felt a powerful energy seep right through her chest, and all throughout her body, making her feel more powerful than before. She felt like the power of the sun was coursing through her body, helping her know what she can do with this new ability that has been gifted to her.
Once the jewel has stopped glowing, Amy stuffed it back into her shirt, then looked up at Alicia. The darkness began to swallow up the three now that the crystal had finally gave up the power inside. The night crawlers howled with excitement and ran into the cell, wanting so much to tear up their bodies limb from limb. Before they could even touch one of the heroes, another glow had sprouted out from the angel wolf herself this time. The demonic spirits, again, cowered in fear. Howling and screeching with both fear and anger. Alicia slowly stood up onto her feet, leaving Amy alone on the floor. Shadow watched as she past him in a graceful walk over to the open doorway, making the monsters back further and further away.
Alicia's eyes had turned from light blue to a golden color once she had begun to harness her new found power. She lifted up her arms, stretching them out and her balled fists pointing them directly at the night crawlers. With no words needed, her hands opened up creating a bigger and brighter storm of light, illuminating the room so much that it was completely filled with no sign of shadows anywhere. The night crawlers howled in pain as the new light surrounded them so there was no possible way to escape this time. Their bodies began to shrivel up as their screeching grew louder and louder. The shook in a violent way wanting to save themselves by clawing the floor and walls, desperately trying to break free and find any source of darkness. But their efforts were slowly coming to an end. Their bodies continued to violently shake and shrink till there was no sign of the night crawlers anymore once they're bodies puffed out of existence.
Both Amy and Shadow had watched the whole thing unfold with their eyes widened and mouths hung open. They both knew how powerful the elements were, but never thought it would be enough to make this sort of blast of power. Once the monsters were dead, Alicia created small orbs of light to help guide them out of the dungeon before she turned around and smiled at the two. She, too, was very surprised at how she could create such power in her attack. She didn't think her new abilities could make anything like that, but she was very thankful that she had saved them all from death.
"...How did I do..?" she asked still smiling widely.
Shadow was the first to speak after she had brought them both out of their stupor. He shook his head and gripped the side of it before replying, "You...that truly was impressive. Well done, Alicia."
Amy nodded quickly. "That was amazing! You are the element of Light! We knew you were when we found you! You were so incredible!" she cheered while rushing over to Alicia and engulfing her in a big hug.
She was very surprised at the sudden embrace, but was quick to return it feeling equally happy. "It seems that I'll truly return my debt to you two..." she chuckled weakly.
Before Amy could ask why she was feeling tired, Alicia immediately collapsed into her arms, bringing both girls down to the floor. "Whoa! Whoa!" she gasped as she tried to keep themselves up as much as she could, but the extra weight wasn't making it easy for her. Shadow was quick enough to rush over and grab the almost unconscious girl, then pulled her out of Amy's hold and into his arms like before in a bridal style. Amy let out a heavy breath once she was able to stand straight again, then looked up at both the knight and angel wolf. "Is she okay...?" she asked.
"She's fine. She's just unconscious again. Must've used up a lot of energy with her new found power." Shadow replied while staring at the sleeping girl in his arms.
Amy looked at her now looking and feeling worried for her. "She'll be okay, right?" she asked again after looking back at Shadow. He looked at her and nodded.
"Yes. She will be just fine. Right now, let's bring her outside and find a safer place to camp. I'm sure she'll have plenty of questions once she wakes up." With that, he carried her out of the cell and down the hall to the stairs.
Amy watched him leave the room before she followed closely behind him. She was thankful that Alicia had made small orbs of light to help them both get out safely. And was also happy that both their mission to find the first element was accomplished. She kept a good distance from him as they made their way out of the dungeon and back up to the first floor of the castle. All the while clutching the tight string that was connected to the bow that was safely wrapped around her shoulders again. She was surprised that Shadow hadn't even noticed that she was holding something that might've belonged to his father, but knew he might not have none since he was a baby in that picture. Coming back to that, Alicia won't be the only one asking questions.