So, this was a project I was rewriting since I was in sixth grade and now I'm in eight grade....You people don't care about that don't you?
Anyway just so you know it's pronounced like Alex without the 'x'
------------------
Chapter 1: Another clichéd beginning
Three teens were walking on the brittle sidewalk, well into the afternoon. The sky was a mix of red and golden hues. Excitement filled the taller of the two girls in the group of three. A few minutes later of silence and she couldn’t take it any longer.
“Today is the day, guys!” the tall black haired girl exclaimed with happiness. Out of the other two, a chestnut haired girl looked confused, while the other one, the only boy, was ignorant to the outburst.
“What’s so important about today, Sofía?” asked the other girl. She halted in her steps, her low ponytail moving with her as she faced the black haired girl, Sofía. The boy sighed with an air of boredom. It’s time for her to show off, he thought as he rolled his eyes.
“Well…”
“Today, Ale is the day Sofía claims to beat the game, again,” the boy interrupted as he ran his hand on the mop of brown hair, effortlessly messing it up. Sofía glared at his friend for interrupting her. He replied the gesture with a small smirk.
“What game, Rene?” the chestnut haired girl, Ale, couldn’t help but ask. Her voice, like before, held an air of confusion. People say curiosity killed the cat, but for Ale that never existed. Sofía smiled widely, something she reserves for…
“Kingdom Hearts!” Sofía squealed involuntary. Everyone who only met her would have thought she is on a sugar high, but for her friends it was completely normal. Ignoring the fact that she squeals for one of her favorite game, the boy named Rene gave her an odd glance. A looming silence engulfed the trio as they resumed their small walk to Sofía’s house. Ale fidgeted with her fingers quietly while Rene felt the urged to say something.
“Which one?” the question left Rene’s lips before he could stop himself. Being related to Ale made him as curious as she was and that was not a good thing for him. Noticing this, Sofía gave an amused glance at his childhood friend. Ale just giggled at the young man she called so many times cousin.
“The first,” she declared proudly, her head held up high. Rene snorted at her dramatic reply as they rounded a corner. Ale blinked at both of them, it was time for another round of discussion for her to be left out. She was never a game savvy.
“You already beat that game, the one for the handheld and the sequel to boot,” Rene informed rather flatly, making Sofía frown. That was quickly changed into a pout.
“Hey, you got to admit it’s harder than the second one,” she countered out of thin air. Rene seemed surprised, but kept his cool.
“Um…” Ale trailed off, lost of words to say. For Ale, Sofía and Rene were speaking a whole different language. She just cocked her head to the side.
“Your point?” Rene kept going as he crossed his arms, his favorite gesture by far. Sofía just smirked.
“To be realistic or technical whatever you want it to be, you couldn’t even beat the first game,” she smirked smugly. She just loved to push Rene’s buttons. He blushed angrily, but before he could make a rude gesture to the tall girl, Ale hummed.
“Wait a minute, there were two main games?” Ale asked as she grabbed the attention of the other two teens. While Sofía nodded slowly in sympathy, Rene slapped his forehead in frustration. He took a deep breath; it was his time to explain to Ale.
“Yes my dear cousin, “Rene started, a bittersweet tone in his voice, “there’s two of them.” Ale nodded as she absorbed the information, but stopped suddenly.
“I never understood those games to begin with,” Ale mumbled more to herself that the other two. Lifting her gaze she met with the destination they desired, “Oh, look, we’re here,” she stated quietly as she pointed at the cream colored house. Sofía nodded and took out the small copper colored key. With a small click, the door opened and the trio went inside. Already inside, Sofía closed the door with minimum sound.
“Hey, where are your parents?” Rene asked casually as he looked around in concern. Since meeting Sofía’s parents, he has grown fond of them.
“Yeah, they’re usually here at this time of the day,” Ale as she deliberately sat down at the soft green sofa in the living room. Its wooden furniture and the green sofa for starters stood out from the soft colored walls and floor. Sofía walked toward the living room ready for a reply.
“They’re out of town,” Sofía replied dryly as she joined Ale on the sofa on the other edge. Her hazel eyes seemed misty and glazed when she replied
“Business or pleasure?” Rene imitated a taxi driver as he sat on a wooden chair. Both girls giggled, just to satisfy the so called ‘humorous’ friend. Nothing like a strained laugh to make everything better.
“Anyway,” Ale changed subject before Sofía could respond with Rene’s query, “You got left alone?” even thought the intention was that of a question, it sounded more like a statement. Ale grinned to herself, her eye wavering at her own ripped jeans. Sofía nodded carefully. If her hunch was right, she was going to regret nodding. Both Rene and Ale smirked at each other. So they were thinking the same thing. Sofía whimpered under her breath.
“You know what that means…” Rene urged, his face lighten up by the thought. He barely agreed with his cousin, Ale, but when the time called it meant suffering for their friends. Ale nodded, being her turn to finish the sentence. She stood up from the sofa dramatically.
“Party!” Ale yelled in delight as she started jumping up and down in place. Even with her practical and logical way of thinking she was, to put it bluntly, a party girl. Rene glared mildly at Ale. Maybe they weren’t thinking the same thing.
“Game marathon!” Rene exclaimed over Ale’s suggestion. Ale glared at Rene in a similar style and her hands went to her hips.
“Game marathon? That’s the best you can come up with?” Ale asked cockiness and arrogance in her voice. Sofía sighed quietly.
“Wow…Like if a party was a great plan to begin with,” Rene countered.
“Well at least it’s better than looking at a screen for five hours!”
“Yeah and a party with three people, very smart!”
The petty argument continued with no a sound from Sofía. An idea struck her, but for it will cost her greatly. Her plan was to satisfy both of them, but she didn’t include herself in the equation. She took a deep breath.
“How about both?” Sofía suggested quietly. Her stomach lurched nervously as the quarreling cousins turned to meet her gaze. It took a few moments register what their friend said.
“Yeah!” Ale answered joyfully. Rene nodded in agreement as he rolled his eyes at Ale’s answer. Without a word she stroked her chin in a mocking way of thinking. “So it’s a game party marathon?” Ale wondered aloud. Rene seemed to mimic Ale and resumed a thinking pose.
“Can we actually focus on having this marathon or party whatever you guys call it?” an irritated Sofía snapped.
“You’re kinda right,” Rene muttered as he shifted his eyes. He was about to do the same actions his cousin did. Heat rushed to his face, but it wasn’t noticed by the females. Scared to get another reply like Sofía’s, Ale raised her hand like if she asked for permission.
“Let’s play Kingdom Hearts first,” Ale seemed to suggest, but her intention was interpreted into a demand. Without any audible protest she walked toward the black Playstation 2. Sofía nodded in response to Ale and helped her in setting up the console gingerly. Meanwhile Rene crossed his arms silently.
“I wanted to play Final Fantasy X…” he protested in a small whisper. Even if they were born on the same year, Rene was considered the youngest one in both birthday and in stature. ‘But,’ he thought to himself, ‘I’m always getting my way and make them suffer…’ He seemed to like to annoy them, but maybe this one time he’ll let them have some fun.
With each one absorbed in their thoughts or tasks, they never noticed the lights. Sure they were plain and all, but they didn’t notice that they flickered briefly. It was so sudden, that the teens just kept preparing for their night long event without a worry. Not for long though.
“New game or continued?” Sofía offered as she picked up the onyx colored controller. As Ale and Rene answered, a slightly longer flicker of the lights made its way into the house. Like before it wasn’t noticed or it was just ignored.
The screen of the television showed a menu with a spiky haired boy in a beach. The trio was apparently laughing a remark that Ale made. The lights flickered yet again, but this one was longer than a second. It was actually noticed by Ale’s sharp eye while Sofía and Rene shrugged it with a small discussion. Ale gave a worried look over to her friends.
Suddenly a flicker was present. This one attracted the attention of the only male of the trio. Rene raised an eyebrow and tapped Sofía’s shoulder gently. She turned to meet Rene’s questioning chocolate brown eyes. He merely pointed to a nearby lamp. As on cue, the lamp’s light flickered.
“Are you that oblivious to your own house?” Rene demanded calmly as another flicker, a much longer one, appeared. Before she could respond to Rene a scream was heard. As Rene and Sofía turned to the origin of the scream the lights flickered in lightning speed several times.
Flick
Ale let out another scream. She crawled away from the television and collided with the sofa.
Flick
A pair of yellow eyes materialized on the screen. Sofía whimpered, already on the floor. Her breathing became ragged and shallow in fear. Rene glared at the pair of eyes.
Flick
The yellow eyes came out fully, a black figure being the owner of the eyes. The figure was that of a medium sized dog in a form of an ant. Its crooked antennae twitched slightly.
Flick
It crept closer. On the other hand, the teens were petrified by fear.
“What the hell is that?” Ale breathed as she grabbed hold of Rene’s blue sleeve tightly. Her cousin just shook his head in disbelief, no words coming out of his mouth. The one who was more speechless was Sofía with heavy breathing her only action.
The creature was just a few inches away now. Without warning, it leaped towards the teen. A mass of darkness engulfed the trio. The only sounds that were heard were that of screams.
-----------------------------
Darkness…
That was the only thing Sofía could see. She groaned in slight pain as she tried to stand up. After several minutes in trying to stand up she opened her hazel eyes. It took a few moments to adjust to the new surroundings. A small column of light appeared weakly. When Sofía finally stood up and regained her balance she could finally observe the dimly lit atmosphere. She was in some kind of platform made from mosaic of stained glass. The glass was arranged in a way that in the middle was a pair of blue feathered wings.
“This…” her loss of words wasn’t of fear like last time. This time it was by awe. But the feeling was short lived when everything that happened before came crashing down on her. “This…must be…a…dream. Yeah, that’s it, it’s only a nightmare,” she reassured herself shakily.
What will you choose?
A serene voice rang through the emptiness as a small whisper. A startled Sofía yelped and jumped slightly. First a black creature, then a nightmarish situation and now a voice that appeared out of nowhere. Yep, this wasn’t her best day.
“Choose what?” Sofía was really losing her sanity now.
Your destiny shall be crafted
And with that said, three decorated pedestals rose from the platform. Each of the heavily crafted pedestals carried a weapon of sorts. Sofía stood bewildered at the sudden appearance of the pedestals.
Choose wisely…
The voice urged softly. Sofía looked around and shrugged. With nothing else to complain, she walked forward and stopped in the middle of the three pedestals.
The first one was midnight blue dagger. Its handle embedded with stars and the blade itself a pearly color. It had an aura of mysticism, which for Sofía it was a bad sign. She dismissed the dagger mercilessly.
The second pedestals possessed what seemed to be a boomerang with a dark green lining. It was larger than the average boomerang by a few feet, making its sharp endings more menacing. This interested the black haired girl who raised an eyebrow in amusement. She kept the boomerang in mind when she turned to the last pedestal.
It had a sword, yet it was slightly different to what Sofía thought about swords. Its blade was a pure white which held a visual aura. The hilt was white, but seemed to be slightly darker and had two small wings sprouting out of it. The wings were for pyre decoration, making no actual movement. Sofía suddenly became even more confused, why was she allowed to choose weapons?
“They look…cool and I mean all of them…” Sofía spoke to herself dreamily. She had to make a choice. Without noticing her feet began to move to the sword. With no other choice, she grasped the sword.
Halo Sword
Heaven’s power
Purest of all swords…
Is this the power you choose?[/I
]“Ah…The voice came back!” Sofía exclaimed. For the voice that meant a ‘yes’ and the platform shook. The pedestals collapsed on each other and the remaining two weapons disappeared. Sofía grasped the sword yet again, thinking it will stop the shaking.
The unexpected for her came to be. The stained glass platform shattered under her feet.
-----------------
Child, don’t be scared of your destiny…
Ale stirred as the voice broke a so called ‘dream’ of hers. She let her dark green eyes open, but what she saw was something different from her friend’s house. She was face down in a stained glass platform. Does that sound familiar?
Ale seemed hazed by her different environment. Knowing she will not find out anything if she stayed face down, she pushed herself off the floor.
“Where am I?” Ale asked herself out loud. Her eyes shifted side to side as a precaution, but only found emptiness with only the platform. “What’s with this platform? Why is it doing a visual pun on my last name?” she kept on with the questions.
Unlike the last platform, this one only had a single image. It was a tall obelisk like tower. Its stone a silvery gray hue, but Ale just crossed her arms, simply not caring for the image. She was situated in the only window the elegant tower had.
Suddenly, three heavy items fell out of the vast darkness. Quickly, Ale covered her head with her arms. When nothing injured her, she dared to sneak a glance. It seemed that the fallen items were three pedestals, each one having a different artifact.
Choose wisely…
The voice whispered softly as everything went silent once again. Understanding what the grave voice meant, Ale jogged towards the pedestals.
The first one was a medium sized club. Its base was a pure white and leather grips tighten around the lower part of the club. On the wider end, a sparkling blue sphere was in place. It was clear enough to see a pair of curious green eyes and the messy low ponytail of Ale. Before Ale could even take a second look at it, another weapon got her interest.
“That is so beautiful!” Ale murmured as she tip toed to the last pedestal, ignoring a black spear with pulsing purple carvings.
Her gaze traveled to the last pedestal. It was a golden shield while the edges were a silver hue. In the middle of the shield an image of a crescent moon and a sun closing on each other. This really got the attention of the girl as she grabbed the shield with both her arms.
Eclipse Shield
Guardian of the sky
Protects its master no matter what…
Is this the power you choose?
“Of course!” Ale replied without second thoughts. She squealed shortly from happiness as the other two weapons disappeared. Oblivious to the small quake that shook the platform, Ale kept on mumbling cheerfully about the shield. She couldn’t wait to show it to her friends.
The platform shook harder now. Various large pillars surrounded Ale. She yelped in surprise and tried to escape the massive pillars. But, no avail as she was cornered into the center with no way to escape.
With no warning, the platform shattered. Every piece of glass fell, taking Ale with it.
----------------
Wake up, your destiny waits…
A voice rang through Rene’s head, earning him a small headache. He opened his brown eyes just so he could roll them.
“The hell with destiny,” he mumbled coldly. He rubbed his temples to lessen the pain. He came to a sitting position as he grumbled under his breath to calm himself down. Why do headaches make him so short tempered?
As he took in the surroundings, he couldn’t let the image of the stained glass platform be forgotten. Its image was that of a rosebush, well if you take out the roses that is. The whole platform was covered by vines made from thorns that held no particular pattern. Rene raised an eyebrow at this. Who would take all the time to do that kind of eccentric work of art? Rene didn’t know but he was certain he wouldn’t waste his like that.
A bright flash blinded Rene momentarily. As he muttered a few curses, three gray pedestals materialized in front of him. In each one, there was a different type of weapon.
Choose wisely…
Before Rene could register what the voice said or even open his eyes, another headache erupted in his being. He grasped his head between his hands. The brewing desire to scream in agony overwhelmed him, but he didn’t give up. He was a man after all, right?
“Why should I choose one of these freakin’ weapons?” Rene protested as he crossed his arms. A few seconds of silence followed his statement, “But…” he stretched the word, “since I got nothing to so…” he trailed off. Typical Rene; the only person who could change his mind that quickly. Taking all the time of the world, he strolled toward the pedestals. He raised both of his eyebrows at the items.
“I have to choose between a fan, a book, and a staff?!” Rene exclaimed bewildered. For him those so called weapons were useless. With nothing else to do, he grabbed the staff.
The staff’s style worked well with the platform It had several thorns in the wooden yet sturdy staff. At the tip of the staff there was a purple orb with mist shrouding its contents. Before he could observe in detail, the same old voice interrupted him.
Demon’s Staff
“Oh, very original,” Rene mumbled, every word filled with sarcasm.
Painful Powers
“From a wooden stick, yeah right.”
Dark beings protect you…
Is this the power you choose?
Rene was completely silenced for once. Even he had his limits when it came to unknown things or powers in this case. In a way, the last penultimate sentence scared him. Was he really that ignorant if he were going to choose the staff? Will he actually be protected by dark beings?
His hesitation cost him greatly. Thinking his silence meant acceptance, the other two weapons disappeared. Rene’s eyes went wide as a majestic grand door materialized in front of him.
Open it.
The voice ordered. Rene, without thinking, grasped the handle and opened the door. And a bright light engulfed his body.
--------------
“Sof…are you alright?” a male voice called out. A figure stirred, trying to believe nobody called her. For once, she wanted to be alone. A few minutes of silence passed. “Just answered me, woman!” Rene’s raised voice opened Sofía’s eyes in anger.
She growled audibly and received no answer, except a smirk from Rene. “Hm…Fetal position on a platform in front of a guy…” Rene pondered loudly, earning a small glare from his friend, “Doesn’t give an image of a big girl, right?” suddenly, Rene was on the floor as well.
Sofía had just pushed him down, but no words of protest came out of her mouth. She winced as her muscles were stiff. How long was she unconscious? She stood up gingerly.
“Yeah, thanks for the great help,” Rene muttered as he stood up as well. He looked around the vast platform as if trying to find something. Sofía turned to him to speak, but before she could utter the question, Rene opened his mouth.
“Do you know where Ale is?” the burning question that both wanted to know exited from Rene’s mouth. Sofía bit her lip at the question and looked down while Rene’s face was full of worry. Silence overtook the platform again.
“I wish I knew,” Sofía whispered sadly.
“Guys!” a familiar voice hollered with joy. Both saddened teens turned around to find their question answered. Ale was jogging with difficulty over to them. When she arrived, Ale received a hug from both Rene and Sofía. But, this reunion was cut short.
Now you must learn how to fight…
The eerie voice rang through the dawn colored platform. Its statement received questioning glances from the teens.
“How are we supposed to fight?” Rene more or less demanded as he received nods from the girls in agreement. It seems that they held on to their weapon and lost it when they arrived at the new platform.
As on cue, the weapons they had chosen earlier appeared in their hands.
“Talk about deus ex machine, “Sofía mumbled with a hint of irony in her voice. She had to admit that was convenient.
Before the trio could admire the others’ weapons, an eerie creature rose from the platform. Its yellow eyes locked on the teens. More of the ant-like creatures rose up and joined the first one, clearly outnumbering the teens.
One of the creatures, a Shadow, lunged toward Ale. As on instinct, she blocked herself with the only thing she processed, the shield. The Shadow impacted on the golden shield and, with a short wail, vanished. Noticing how frail the creatures were, Sofía readied her sword. With many doubts in her mind, she slashed at the nearest one. Like the last one, it vanished.
Rene dodged the Shadows, but he stole a few swipes toward the creatures’ direction. He didn’t even know what that good for nothing, well for him, staff did as a power. Sure the girls have the ones that did actual damage. A swipe almost cut him as he ducked and slid back.
Five Shadows advanced toward Sofía and Ale as they were on the edge of the platform. Completely surrounded with no way out of this. Sofía slashed at the nearest one, but was deflected by the creature’s claw like fingers. The black haired girl almost fell forward, but was held by Ale roughly. Ale covered herself with the shield and ram into two of the Shadows.
With only three more Shadows, the girls dodged the remaining ones to join with Rene’s struggle. He was scratched, but nothing fatal. Rene leaned on his staff to regain his breath and hoped the creatures won’t attack him in this state. His was wronged as a Shadow lunged toward him.
“No!” Ale bellowed as she ran faster toward her cousin. Sofía went at the same pace as her chestnut haired friend.
Rene barely had time to register what was happening. Without warning, the staff’s orb glowed and purple light engulfed the platform. The light engulfed the platform for a few moments before everything returned to the normal lightning. Only the teens were left standing on the platform. No Shadows in sight.
“Whoa…” Ale whispered in amazement.
“How did you do that?” Sofía asked curiously. Rene hesitated.
“I really don’t know,” Rene admitted quietly, “I think it was the staff not me.” He sighed. Rene longed for a place where everything will make sense. To further the longing, a flight of glass stairs appeared at the edge of the platform. He grumbled under his breath.
“Should we go?” Ale asked as she pointed toward the stairs. “It leads to another platform.” She stated. Without a word, Rene jogged to the stairs and started to climb them.
Sofía shrugged. “Oh well,” she said as she followed her friend. Not liking the thought of being alone, Ale followed them cautiously. Ale gave a longing look back, but her eyes widened at the sight.
Behind them, the glass stairs were vanishing. Each step they took, a stair vanishes, Ale concluded in her mind. Ale gasped at realization. She tried to muster her voice to tell the others. Even if she warned Sofía and Rene it will be too late. Rene was already at the platform and Sofía was half way through the stairs.
This could turn out ugly.
“Deja vú…” Sofía muttered as she gazed at the oncoming platform. Just a few more steps she thought only to informed herself. Her mind wavered to her muttered phrase. She felt she had already been there, but not physically. Sofía quickened her pace. She had a bad feeling about this.
Already on the platform, Rene gazed at its vastness in silent amazement. The platform was a warm golden color, the edges in a ruby red hue. A simple yet elegant design, he thought in passing. What interested Rene the most was the beam of light in the middle of the platform. He took a step forward.
Ale sprinted to reach Sofía as a she could. When she reached her friend, realization hit her once again. Both of the girls had already been the platform. Ale watched the last stair vanished with a sunken heart.
“I’m too late,” Ale mumbled sadly. Noticing her friend’s hung head, Sofía walked toward her.
“Too late for what?” Sofía asked, making Ale jump in place by surprise. Ale took a deep breath so her voice could actually be heard.
“The…the…the stairs disappeared!” Ale stuttered out loud enough and pointed to where the stairs were once there.
“What?” Sofía exclaimed in disbelief. Her stomach lurched and her nostalgic feeling returned. Without a second thought, the girls sprinted toward Rene. When they reached him, Rene stood frozen in place, already by the beam of light.
The closer you get to the light,
The bigger your shadow will get.
The voice stated simply, prompting the trio to look back. A large shadow was spread along the platform. But that wasn’t what surprised the teens the most. Instead of three separated shadows, there was only a twisted and disfigured shadow. The next sequence of events would terrify the trio the most.
Suddenly, the shadow’s arms began to detach themselves off the platform. The long arms flailed on their own for a while trying to find the strength to lift itself up. And the creature did find the strength to lift its torso up.
The torso was pitch black, like his complete body, but it had a gaping hole where its heart should be. The head came out next. Its unruly locks covered its face and amber eyes gazed out with emptiness. Finally its feet sprang up as well.
Throughout the whole transformation, Sofía was full of fear, Ale couldn’t help but whimper and Rene’s jaw could have hit the floor. They had never seen something so bizarre.
Good luck…
The deep voice whispered without any emotion.
“Hmph, that’s the only thing he says,” Rene complained as he crossed his arms bitterly. He would love to be in his happy, not to mention sane, place right now.
“I think we should defeat that thing,” Ale suggested to her friends, which Sofía nodded to agreement, gripping her sword tightly.
“You think?!” Rene hollered as he barely dodged a punch that was sent by the giant shadow. He rolled on the floor from the almost impact, but no injuries were on him.
“Okay, okay, that’s a stupid question,” Ale confessed sheepishly as she ducked just in time to miss the shadow’s other fist. She grinned toothily while Rene muttered something incoherent.
“Would you stop arguing and fight?” Sofía interrupted desperately, deflecting with difficultly the shadow’s arm’s momentum from its fist. In an unexpected twist, the large creature undid the fist, colliding Sofía by her stomach. Its fingers were claw like and made tiny slits in the hazel eyed girl’s blue shirt. Sofía groaned as droplets of blood began to form at the scratches. How can a mere shadow, which actually grew to ten times their height, actually hurt them? Aren’t shadows supposed to be light that’s blocked?
The immense creature raised his fisted arm and it began to glow. While the teens questioned this, a black aura surrounded the fist. Rene admired the small ritual of the creature, without warning his staff glowed dimly, making the creature to lunged the shadow far away from the male teen. The impact of the fist upon the platform knocked down Ale to the floor and slid down close to the edge.
“We’re never going to defeat that…” Sofía exclaimed, looking for a right word to describe their enemy, “thing.”
“Darkside,” Rene mumbled more to himself than the others. Sofía passed him as she helped Ale get up.
“Rene! Stop mumbling to yourself and do something!” Ale cried in a desperate tone as she ran toward the shadow with ferocity. Sofía glared at Rene, completely agreeing with her chestnut haired friend. Rene didn’t notice the girls’ actions and closed his eyes.
He was in a trance like state. He grabbed his staff tightly with both of his hands pressed it against his body. A feeling of great dread filled the platform and Ale turned around to find the immobile Rene. Unlike Sofía who was striking the creature’s hand with much vigor, Ale felt the dread and her body shook slightly. She stopped attacking and walked towards Rene.
Sofía put all her mind and soul on hitting as hard as she could, but no avail as the creature stood without difficulty. She groaned as she heard footsteps. She hoped it was from Rene, but was wrong as she turned around briefly. Ale left, her shield a few feet away from both girls. The green eyed girl was closer to Rene and held out a hand as in to help him.
“What are you doing?” Sofía screeched as the creature’s other hand almost punched her. Receiving no reply, she lunge the sword toward the creature and ran toward her friends. No way was she going to fight with something ten times her size. She didn’t notice that throwing her sword would cost her greatly.
“Darkside…” Rene mumbled yet again this time the orb in his staff glowing lightly, “Lacking hearts…Must be destroyed…” he spouted different phrases along this one. Rene didn’t protest when the staff’s glow engulfed him.
“Rene!” Both girls yelled as they came closer to him. Ale tried to pry off the staff, but fail as the boy’s grip was too strong. Sofía on the other hand let tears stained her cheeks.
“Sofía, help me,” Ale gasped as Rene’s eyes rolled to the back of his head. Sofía just whimpered and let a soft sob escaped her lips. “Just do something that isn’t crying!” Ale exclaimed as she pulled the staff with all her might.
Before both of the girls could see what was happening a low humming was heard. With that sound the creature opposite from the kids began to be disfigured even more and shrunk in size until it was no more than a literal puddle of darkness. From the teens’ feet the same inky liquid trailed their feet.
“What’s happening?” Sofía asked as she grabbed hold of Ale, fearing being separated from her friend. Ale just shook her head as she finally let go of Rene’s staff. She then grabbed her cousin’s wrist in her fingers dreading the same thing Sofía hated. Rene looked on as he closed his eyes yet again.
“Don’t worry…” he hummed softly prompting the girls to look at him. It wasn’t Rene; his voice was too deep to be his, even if there was a hint of his voice in there. “The door, it has been opened.” Trying to figure out his cryptic words, the girls found themselves almost consumed by the dark tendrils.
Don’t forget…
The voice seemed to chide in as the teens’ felt their senses go numb.
One opened door isn’t enough.
And the darkness closed in completely.
Anyway just so you know it's pronounced like Alex without the 'x'
------------------
Chapter 1: Another clichéd beginning
Three teens were walking on the brittle sidewalk, well into the afternoon. The sky was a mix of red and golden hues. Excitement filled the taller of the two girls in the group of three. A few minutes later of silence and she couldn’t take it any longer.
“Today is the day, guys!” the tall black haired girl exclaimed with happiness. Out of the other two, a chestnut haired girl looked confused, while the other one, the only boy, was ignorant to the outburst.
“What’s so important about today, Sofía?” asked the other girl. She halted in her steps, her low ponytail moving with her as she faced the black haired girl, Sofía. The boy sighed with an air of boredom. It’s time for her to show off, he thought as he rolled his eyes.
“Well…”
“Today, Ale is the day Sofía claims to beat the game, again,” the boy interrupted as he ran his hand on the mop of brown hair, effortlessly messing it up. Sofía glared at his friend for interrupting her. He replied the gesture with a small smirk.
“What game, Rene?” the chestnut haired girl, Ale, couldn’t help but ask. Her voice, like before, held an air of confusion. People say curiosity killed the cat, but for Ale that never existed. Sofía smiled widely, something she reserves for…
“Kingdom Hearts!” Sofía squealed involuntary. Everyone who only met her would have thought she is on a sugar high, but for her friends it was completely normal. Ignoring the fact that she squeals for one of her favorite game, the boy named Rene gave her an odd glance. A looming silence engulfed the trio as they resumed their small walk to Sofía’s house. Ale fidgeted with her fingers quietly while Rene felt the urged to say something.
“Which one?” the question left Rene’s lips before he could stop himself. Being related to Ale made him as curious as she was and that was not a good thing for him. Noticing this, Sofía gave an amused glance at his childhood friend. Ale just giggled at the young man she called so many times cousin.
“The first,” she declared proudly, her head held up high. Rene snorted at her dramatic reply as they rounded a corner. Ale blinked at both of them, it was time for another round of discussion for her to be left out. She was never a game savvy.
“You already beat that game, the one for the handheld and the sequel to boot,” Rene informed rather flatly, making Sofía frown. That was quickly changed into a pout.
“Hey, you got to admit it’s harder than the second one,” she countered out of thin air. Rene seemed surprised, but kept his cool.
“Um…” Ale trailed off, lost of words to say. For Ale, Sofía and Rene were speaking a whole different language. She just cocked her head to the side.
“Your point?” Rene kept going as he crossed his arms, his favorite gesture by far. Sofía just smirked.
“To be realistic or technical whatever you want it to be, you couldn’t even beat the first game,” she smirked smugly. She just loved to push Rene’s buttons. He blushed angrily, but before he could make a rude gesture to the tall girl, Ale hummed.
“Wait a minute, there were two main games?” Ale asked as she grabbed the attention of the other two teens. While Sofía nodded slowly in sympathy, Rene slapped his forehead in frustration. He took a deep breath; it was his time to explain to Ale.
“Yes my dear cousin, “Rene started, a bittersweet tone in his voice, “there’s two of them.” Ale nodded as she absorbed the information, but stopped suddenly.
“I never understood those games to begin with,” Ale mumbled more to herself that the other two. Lifting her gaze she met with the destination they desired, “Oh, look, we’re here,” she stated quietly as she pointed at the cream colored house. Sofía nodded and took out the small copper colored key. With a small click, the door opened and the trio went inside. Already inside, Sofía closed the door with minimum sound.
“Hey, where are your parents?” Rene asked casually as he looked around in concern. Since meeting Sofía’s parents, he has grown fond of them.
“Yeah, they’re usually here at this time of the day,” Ale as she deliberately sat down at the soft green sofa in the living room. Its wooden furniture and the green sofa for starters stood out from the soft colored walls and floor. Sofía walked toward the living room ready for a reply.
“They’re out of town,” Sofía replied dryly as she joined Ale on the sofa on the other edge. Her hazel eyes seemed misty and glazed when she replied
“Business or pleasure?” Rene imitated a taxi driver as he sat on a wooden chair. Both girls giggled, just to satisfy the so called ‘humorous’ friend. Nothing like a strained laugh to make everything better.
“Anyway,” Ale changed subject before Sofía could respond with Rene’s query, “You got left alone?” even thought the intention was that of a question, it sounded more like a statement. Ale grinned to herself, her eye wavering at her own ripped jeans. Sofía nodded carefully. If her hunch was right, she was going to regret nodding. Both Rene and Ale smirked at each other. So they were thinking the same thing. Sofía whimpered under her breath.
“You know what that means…” Rene urged, his face lighten up by the thought. He barely agreed with his cousin, Ale, but when the time called it meant suffering for their friends. Ale nodded, being her turn to finish the sentence. She stood up from the sofa dramatically.
“Party!” Ale yelled in delight as she started jumping up and down in place. Even with her practical and logical way of thinking she was, to put it bluntly, a party girl. Rene glared mildly at Ale. Maybe they weren’t thinking the same thing.
“Game marathon!” Rene exclaimed over Ale’s suggestion. Ale glared at Rene in a similar style and her hands went to her hips.
“Game marathon? That’s the best you can come up with?” Ale asked cockiness and arrogance in her voice. Sofía sighed quietly.
“Wow…Like if a party was a great plan to begin with,” Rene countered.
“Well at least it’s better than looking at a screen for five hours!”
“Yeah and a party with three people, very smart!”
The petty argument continued with no a sound from Sofía. An idea struck her, but for it will cost her greatly. Her plan was to satisfy both of them, but she didn’t include herself in the equation. She took a deep breath.
“How about both?” Sofía suggested quietly. Her stomach lurched nervously as the quarreling cousins turned to meet her gaze. It took a few moments register what their friend said.
“Yeah!” Ale answered joyfully. Rene nodded in agreement as he rolled his eyes at Ale’s answer. Without a word she stroked her chin in a mocking way of thinking. “So it’s a game party marathon?” Ale wondered aloud. Rene seemed to mimic Ale and resumed a thinking pose.
“Can we actually focus on having this marathon or party whatever you guys call it?” an irritated Sofía snapped.
“You’re kinda right,” Rene muttered as he shifted his eyes. He was about to do the same actions his cousin did. Heat rushed to his face, but it wasn’t noticed by the females. Scared to get another reply like Sofía’s, Ale raised her hand like if she asked for permission.
“Let’s play Kingdom Hearts first,” Ale seemed to suggest, but her intention was interpreted into a demand. Without any audible protest she walked toward the black Playstation 2. Sofía nodded in response to Ale and helped her in setting up the console gingerly. Meanwhile Rene crossed his arms silently.
“I wanted to play Final Fantasy X…” he protested in a small whisper. Even if they were born on the same year, Rene was considered the youngest one in both birthday and in stature. ‘But,’ he thought to himself, ‘I’m always getting my way and make them suffer…’ He seemed to like to annoy them, but maybe this one time he’ll let them have some fun.
With each one absorbed in their thoughts or tasks, they never noticed the lights. Sure they were plain and all, but they didn’t notice that they flickered briefly. It was so sudden, that the teens just kept preparing for their night long event without a worry. Not for long though.
“New game or continued?” Sofía offered as she picked up the onyx colored controller. As Ale and Rene answered, a slightly longer flicker of the lights made its way into the house. Like before it wasn’t noticed or it was just ignored.
The screen of the television showed a menu with a spiky haired boy in a beach. The trio was apparently laughing a remark that Ale made. The lights flickered yet again, but this one was longer than a second. It was actually noticed by Ale’s sharp eye while Sofía and Rene shrugged it with a small discussion. Ale gave a worried look over to her friends.
Suddenly a flicker was present. This one attracted the attention of the only male of the trio. Rene raised an eyebrow and tapped Sofía’s shoulder gently. She turned to meet Rene’s questioning chocolate brown eyes. He merely pointed to a nearby lamp. As on cue, the lamp’s light flickered.
“Are you that oblivious to your own house?” Rene demanded calmly as another flicker, a much longer one, appeared. Before she could respond to Rene a scream was heard. As Rene and Sofía turned to the origin of the scream the lights flickered in lightning speed several times.
Flick
Ale let out another scream. She crawled away from the television and collided with the sofa.
Flick
A pair of yellow eyes materialized on the screen. Sofía whimpered, already on the floor. Her breathing became ragged and shallow in fear. Rene glared at the pair of eyes.
Flick
The yellow eyes came out fully, a black figure being the owner of the eyes. The figure was that of a medium sized dog in a form of an ant. Its crooked antennae twitched slightly.
Flick
It crept closer. On the other hand, the teens were petrified by fear.
“What the hell is that?” Ale breathed as she grabbed hold of Rene’s blue sleeve tightly. Her cousin just shook his head in disbelief, no words coming out of his mouth. The one who was more speechless was Sofía with heavy breathing her only action.
The creature was just a few inches away now. Without warning, it leaped towards the teen. A mass of darkness engulfed the trio. The only sounds that were heard were that of screams.
-----------------------------
Darkness…
That was the only thing Sofía could see. She groaned in slight pain as she tried to stand up. After several minutes in trying to stand up she opened her hazel eyes. It took a few moments to adjust to the new surroundings. A small column of light appeared weakly. When Sofía finally stood up and regained her balance she could finally observe the dimly lit atmosphere. She was in some kind of platform made from mosaic of stained glass. The glass was arranged in a way that in the middle was a pair of blue feathered wings.
“This…” her loss of words wasn’t of fear like last time. This time it was by awe. But the feeling was short lived when everything that happened before came crashing down on her. “This…must be…a…dream. Yeah, that’s it, it’s only a nightmare,” she reassured herself shakily.
What will you choose?
A serene voice rang through the emptiness as a small whisper. A startled Sofía yelped and jumped slightly. First a black creature, then a nightmarish situation and now a voice that appeared out of nowhere. Yep, this wasn’t her best day.
“Choose what?” Sofía was really losing her sanity now.
Your destiny shall be crafted
And with that said, three decorated pedestals rose from the platform. Each of the heavily crafted pedestals carried a weapon of sorts. Sofía stood bewildered at the sudden appearance of the pedestals.
Choose wisely…
The voice urged softly. Sofía looked around and shrugged. With nothing else to complain, she walked forward and stopped in the middle of the three pedestals.
The first one was midnight blue dagger. Its handle embedded with stars and the blade itself a pearly color. It had an aura of mysticism, which for Sofía it was a bad sign. She dismissed the dagger mercilessly.
The second pedestals possessed what seemed to be a boomerang with a dark green lining. It was larger than the average boomerang by a few feet, making its sharp endings more menacing. This interested the black haired girl who raised an eyebrow in amusement. She kept the boomerang in mind when she turned to the last pedestal.
It had a sword, yet it was slightly different to what Sofía thought about swords. Its blade was a pure white which held a visual aura. The hilt was white, but seemed to be slightly darker and had two small wings sprouting out of it. The wings were for pyre decoration, making no actual movement. Sofía suddenly became even more confused, why was she allowed to choose weapons?
“They look…cool and I mean all of them…” Sofía spoke to herself dreamily. She had to make a choice. Without noticing her feet began to move to the sword. With no other choice, she grasped the sword.
Halo Sword
Heaven’s power
Purest of all swords…
Is this the power you choose?[/I
]“Ah…The voice came back!” Sofía exclaimed. For the voice that meant a ‘yes’ and the platform shook. The pedestals collapsed on each other and the remaining two weapons disappeared. Sofía grasped the sword yet again, thinking it will stop the shaking.
The unexpected for her came to be. The stained glass platform shattered under her feet.
-----------------
Child, don’t be scared of your destiny…
Ale stirred as the voice broke a so called ‘dream’ of hers. She let her dark green eyes open, but what she saw was something different from her friend’s house. She was face down in a stained glass platform. Does that sound familiar?
Ale seemed hazed by her different environment. Knowing she will not find out anything if she stayed face down, she pushed herself off the floor.
“Where am I?” Ale asked herself out loud. Her eyes shifted side to side as a precaution, but only found emptiness with only the platform. “What’s with this platform? Why is it doing a visual pun on my last name?” she kept on with the questions.
Unlike the last platform, this one only had a single image. It was a tall obelisk like tower. Its stone a silvery gray hue, but Ale just crossed her arms, simply not caring for the image. She was situated in the only window the elegant tower had.
Suddenly, three heavy items fell out of the vast darkness. Quickly, Ale covered her head with her arms. When nothing injured her, she dared to sneak a glance. It seemed that the fallen items were three pedestals, each one having a different artifact.
Choose wisely…
The voice whispered softly as everything went silent once again. Understanding what the grave voice meant, Ale jogged towards the pedestals.
The first one was a medium sized club. Its base was a pure white and leather grips tighten around the lower part of the club. On the wider end, a sparkling blue sphere was in place. It was clear enough to see a pair of curious green eyes and the messy low ponytail of Ale. Before Ale could even take a second look at it, another weapon got her interest.
“That is so beautiful!” Ale murmured as she tip toed to the last pedestal, ignoring a black spear with pulsing purple carvings.
Her gaze traveled to the last pedestal. It was a golden shield while the edges were a silver hue. In the middle of the shield an image of a crescent moon and a sun closing on each other. This really got the attention of the girl as she grabbed the shield with both her arms.
Eclipse Shield
Guardian of the sky
Protects its master no matter what…
Is this the power you choose?
“Of course!” Ale replied without second thoughts. She squealed shortly from happiness as the other two weapons disappeared. Oblivious to the small quake that shook the platform, Ale kept on mumbling cheerfully about the shield. She couldn’t wait to show it to her friends.
The platform shook harder now. Various large pillars surrounded Ale. She yelped in surprise and tried to escape the massive pillars. But, no avail as she was cornered into the center with no way to escape.
With no warning, the platform shattered. Every piece of glass fell, taking Ale with it.
----------------
Wake up, your destiny waits…
A voice rang through Rene’s head, earning him a small headache. He opened his brown eyes just so he could roll them.
“The hell with destiny,” he mumbled coldly. He rubbed his temples to lessen the pain. He came to a sitting position as he grumbled under his breath to calm himself down. Why do headaches make him so short tempered?
As he took in the surroundings, he couldn’t let the image of the stained glass platform be forgotten. Its image was that of a rosebush, well if you take out the roses that is. The whole platform was covered by vines made from thorns that held no particular pattern. Rene raised an eyebrow at this. Who would take all the time to do that kind of eccentric work of art? Rene didn’t know but he was certain he wouldn’t waste his like that.
A bright flash blinded Rene momentarily. As he muttered a few curses, three gray pedestals materialized in front of him. In each one, there was a different type of weapon.
Choose wisely…
Before Rene could register what the voice said or even open his eyes, another headache erupted in his being. He grasped his head between his hands. The brewing desire to scream in agony overwhelmed him, but he didn’t give up. He was a man after all, right?
“Why should I choose one of these freakin’ weapons?” Rene protested as he crossed his arms. A few seconds of silence followed his statement, “But…” he stretched the word, “since I got nothing to so…” he trailed off. Typical Rene; the only person who could change his mind that quickly. Taking all the time of the world, he strolled toward the pedestals. He raised both of his eyebrows at the items.
“I have to choose between a fan, a book, and a staff?!” Rene exclaimed bewildered. For him those so called weapons were useless. With nothing else to do, he grabbed the staff.
The staff’s style worked well with the platform It had several thorns in the wooden yet sturdy staff. At the tip of the staff there was a purple orb with mist shrouding its contents. Before he could observe in detail, the same old voice interrupted him.
Demon’s Staff
“Oh, very original,” Rene mumbled, every word filled with sarcasm.
Painful Powers
“From a wooden stick, yeah right.”
Dark beings protect you…
Is this the power you choose?
Rene was completely silenced for once. Even he had his limits when it came to unknown things or powers in this case. In a way, the last penultimate sentence scared him. Was he really that ignorant if he were going to choose the staff? Will he actually be protected by dark beings?
His hesitation cost him greatly. Thinking his silence meant acceptance, the other two weapons disappeared. Rene’s eyes went wide as a majestic grand door materialized in front of him.
Open it.
The voice ordered. Rene, without thinking, grasped the handle and opened the door. And a bright light engulfed his body.
--------------
“Sof…are you alright?” a male voice called out. A figure stirred, trying to believe nobody called her. For once, she wanted to be alone. A few minutes of silence passed. “Just answered me, woman!” Rene’s raised voice opened Sofía’s eyes in anger.
She growled audibly and received no answer, except a smirk from Rene. “Hm…Fetal position on a platform in front of a guy…” Rene pondered loudly, earning a small glare from his friend, “Doesn’t give an image of a big girl, right?” suddenly, Rene was on the floor as well.
Sofía had just pushed him down, but no words of protest came out of her mouth. She winced as her muscles were stiff. How long was she unconscious? She stood up gingerly.
“Yeah, thanks for the great help,” Rene muttered as he stood up as well. He looked around the vast platform as if trying to find something. Sofía turned to him to speak, but before she could utter the question, Rene opened his mouth.
“Do you know where Ale is?” the burning question that both wanted to know exited from Rene’s mouth. Sofía bit her lip at the question and looked down while Rene’s face was full of worry. Silence overtook the platform again.
“I wish I knew,” Sofía whispered sadly.
“Guys!” a familiar voice hollered with joy. Both saddened teens turned around to find their question answered. Ale was jogging with difficulty over to them. When she arrived, Ale received a hug from both Rene and Sofía. But, this reunion was cut short.
Now you must learn how to fight…
The eerie voice rang through the dawn colored platform. Its statement received questioning glances from the teens.
“How are we supposed to fight?” Rene more or less demanded as he received nods from the girls in agreement. It seems that they held on to their weapon and lost it when they arrived at the new platform.
As on cue, the weapons they had chosen earlier appeared in their hands.
“Talk about deus ex machine, “Sofía mumbled with a hint of irony in her voice. She had to admit that was convenient.
Before the trio could admire the others’ weapons, an eerie creature rose from the platform. Its yellow eyes locked on the teens. More of the ant-like creatures rose up and joined the first one, clearly outnumbering the teens.
One of the creatures, a Shadow, lunged toward Ale. As on instinct, she blocked herself with the only thing she processed, the shield. The Shadow impacted on the golden shield and, with a short wail, vanished. Noticing how frail the creatures were, Sofía readied her sword. With many doubts in her mind, she slashed at the nearest one. Like the last one, it vanished.
Rene dodged the Shadows, but he stole a few swipes toward the creatures’ direction. He didn’t even know what that good for nothing, well for him, staff did as a power. Sure the girls have the ones that did actual damage. A swipe almost cut him as he ducked and slid back.
Five Shadows advanced toward Sofía and Ale as they were on the edge of the platform. Completely surrounded with no way out of this. Sofía slashed at the nearest one, but was deflected by the creature’s claw like fingers. The black haired girl almost fell forward, but was held by Ale roughly. Ale covered herself with the shield and ram into two of the Shadows.
With only three more Shadows, the girls dodged the remaining ones to join with Rene’s struggle. He was scratched, but nothing fatal. Rene leaned on his staff to regain his breath and hoped the creatures won’t attack him in this state. His was wronged as a Shadow lunged toward him.
“No!” Ale bellowed as she ran faster toward her cousin. Sofía went at the same pace as her chestnut haired friend.
Rene barely had time to register what was happening. Without warning, the staff’s orb glowed and purple light engulfed the platform. The light engulfed the platform for a few moments before everything returned to the normal lightning. Only the teens were left standing on the platform. No Shadows in sight.
“Whoa…” Ale whispered in amazement.
“How did you do that?” Sofía asked curiously. Rene hesitated.
“I really don’t know,” Rene admitted quietly, “I think it was the staff not me.” He sighed. Rene longed for a place where everything will make sense. To further the longing, a flight of glass stairs appeared at the edge of the platform. He grumbled under his breath.
“Should we go?” Ale asked as she pointed toward the stairs. “It leads to another platform.” She stated. Without a word, Rene jogged to the stairs and started to climb them.
Sofía shrugged. “Oh well,” she said as she followed her friend. Not liking the thought of being alone, Ale followed them cautiously. Ale gave a longing look back, but her eyes widened at the sight.
Behind them, the glass stairs were vanishing. Each step they took, a stair vanishes, Ale concluded in her mind. Ale gasped at realization. She tried to muster her voice to tell the others. Even if she warned Sofía and Rene it will be too late. Rene was already at the platform and Sofía was half way through the stairs.
This could turn out ugly.
“Deja vú…” Sofía muttered as she gazed at the oncoming platform. Just a few more steps she thought only to informed herself. Her mind wavered to her muttered phrase. She felt she had already been there, but not physically. Sofía quickened her pace. She had a bad feeling about this.
Already on the platform, Rene gazed at its vastness in silent amazement. The platform was a warm golden color, the edges in a ruby red hue. A simple yet elegant design, he thought in passing. What interested Rene the most was the beam of light in the middle of the platform. He took a step forward.
Ale sprinted to reach Sofía as a she could. When she reached her friend, realization hit her once again. Both of the girls had already been the platform. Ale watched the last stair vanished with a sunken heart.
“I’m too late,” Ale mumbled sadly. Noticing her friend’s hung head, Sofía walked toward her.
“Too late for what?” Sofía asked, making Ale jump in place by surprise. Ale took a deep breath so her voice could actually be heard.
“The…the…the stairs disappeared!” Ale stuttered out loud enough and pointed to where the stairs were once there.
“What?” Sofía exclaimed in disbelief. Her stomach lurched and her nostalgic feeling returned. Without a second thought, the girls sprinted toward Rene. When they reached him, Rene stood frozen in place, already by the beam of light.
The closer you get to the light,
The bigger your shadow will get.
The voice stated simply, prompting the trio to look back. A large shadow was spread along the platform. But that wasn’t what surprised the teens the most. Instead of three separated shadows, there was only a twisted and disfigured shadow. The next sequence of events would terrify the trio the most.
Suddenly, the shadow’s arms began to detach themselves off the platform. The long arms flailed on their own for a while trying to find the strength to lift itself up. And the creature did find the strength to lift its torso up.
The torso was pitch black, like his complete body, but it had a gaping hole where its heart should be. The head came out next. Its unruly locks covered its face and amber eyes gazed out with emptiness. Finally its feet sprang up as well.
Throughout the whole transformation, Sofía was full of fear, Ale couldn’t help but whimper and Rene’s jaw could have hit the floor. They had never seen something so bizarre.
Good luck…
The deep voice whispered without any emotion.
“Hmph, that’s the only thing he says,” Rene complained as he crossed his arms bitterly. He would love to be in his happy, not to mention sane, place right now.
“I think we should defeat that thing,” Ale suggested to her friends, which Sofía nodded to agreement, gripping her sword tightly.
“You think?!” Rene hollered as he barely dodged a punch that was sent by the giant shadow. He rolled on the floor from the almost impact, but no injuries were on him.
“Okay, okay, that’s a stupid question,” Ale confessed sheepishly as she ducked just in time to miss the shadow’s other fist. She grinned toothily while Rene muttered something incoherent.
“Would you stop arguing and fight?” Sofía interrupted desperately, deflecting with difficultly the shadow’s arm’s momentum from its fist. In an unexpected twist, the large creature undid the fist, colliding Sofía by her stomach. Its fingers were claw like and made tiny slits in the hazel eyed girl’s blue shirt. Sofía groaned as droplets of blood began to form at the scratches. How can a mere shadow, which actually grew to ten times their height, actually hurt them? Aren’t shadows supposed to be light that’s blocked?
The immense creature raised his fisted arm and it began to glow. While the teens questioned this, a black aura surrounded the fist. Rene admired the small ritual of the creature, without warning his staff glowed dimly, making the creature to lunged the shadow far away from the male teen. The impact of the fist upon the platform knocked down Ale to the floor and slid down close to the edge.
“We’re never going to defeat that…” Sofía exclaimed, looking for a right word to describe their enemy, “thing.”
“Darkside,” Rene mumbled more to himself than the others. Sofía passed him as she helped Ale get up.
“Rene! Stop mumbling to yourself and do something!” Ale cried in a desperate tone as she ran toward the shadow with ferocity. Sofía glared at Rene, completely agreeing with her chestnut haired friend. Rene didn’t notice the girls’ actions and closed his eyes.
He was in a trance like state. He grabbed his staff tightly with both of his hands pressed it against his body. A feeling of great dread filled the platform and Ale turned around to find the immobile Rene. Unlike Sofía who was striking the creature’s hand with much vigor, Ale felt the dread and her body shook slightly. She stopped attacking and walked towards Rene.
Sofía put all her mind and soul on hitting as hard as she could, but no avail as the creature stood without difficulty. She groaned as she heard footsteps. She hoped it was from Rene, but was wrong as she turned around briefly. Ale left, her shield a few feet away from both girls. The green eyed girl was closer to Rene and held out a hand as in to help him.
“What are you doing?” Sofía screeched as the creature’s other hand almost punched her. Receiving no reply, she lunge the sword toward the creature and ran toward her friends. No way was she going to fight with something ten times her size. She didn’t notice that throwing her sword would cost her greatly.
“Darkside…” Rene mumbled yet again this time the orb in his staff glowing lightly, “Lacking hearts…Must be destroyed…” he spouted different phrases along this one. Rene didn’t protest when the staff’s glow engulfed him.
“Rene!” Both girls yelled as they came closer to him. Ale tried to pry off the staff, but fail as the boy’s grip was too strong. Sofía on the other hand let tears stained her cheeks.
“Sofía, help me,” Ale gasped as Rene’s eyes rolled to the back of his head. Sofía just whimpered and let a soft sob escaped her lips. “Just do something that isn’t crying!” Ale exclaimed as she pulled the staff with all her might.
Before both of the girls could see what was happening a low humming was heard. With that sound the creature opposite from the kids began to be disfigured even more and shrunk in size until it was no more than a literal puddle of darkness. From the teens’ feet the same inky liquid trailed their feet.
“What’s happening?” Sofía asked as she grabbed hold of Ale, fearing being separated from her friend. Ale just shook her head as she finally let go of Rene’s staff. She then grabbed her cousin’s wrist in her fingers dreading the same thing Sofía hated. Rene looked on as he closed his eyes yet again.
“Don’t worry…” he hummed softly prompting the girls to look at him. It wasn’t Rene; his voice was too deep to be his, even if there was a hint of his voice in there. “The door, it has been opened.” Trying to figure out his cryptic words, the girls found themselves almost consumed by the dark tendrils.
Don’t forget…
The voice seemed to chide in as the teens’ felt their senses go numb.
One opened door isn’t enough.
And the darkness closed in completely.
...that's pretty long hey hi! remeber me? lol..guess not anyway it's been really good ^^