OtherWorld

PART 1: Prince
How could things have gone so wrong?
When I finally defeated the evil Vizier that had destroyed my kingdom, I thought that there could finally be peace. But no. A few of the Viziers former accomplices’ called him back again. He used the Dust of Time to make himself an immortal. Then he called up an army of Darkmen to assist the Dust Monsters in trying and kill me. But I defeated his army when a mysterious boy with a Light-Blade saved my life. But now…
The Darkmen were being aided by a group of “nonexistent beings”, or, Nobodies, as they were called. They were no pushovers. But neither was I.
The Vizier had opened a portal to the Darkness. Darkmen were pouring out of it, and ravaging my land. I had fought until my hand froze to my sword, and I was unable to strike again. Then I was captured. Now, I was in a jail cell.
“Prince.”
I looked up. There above me was Rensax, me friend and enemy, depending on the situation.
“Use the darkness inside of you.” He said.
I reached into the dark portion of my soul, and allowed it to rage. I had done this before, and I knew what to expect: a hideous transformation to my dark side. Then heat seemed to invade me. I underwent a transformation. When it was over, I looked at myself. I was the Dust Wraith!
I was faster, stronger, and I was still alive! Better yet, I had the Daggertail: a long bladed chain with the Dagger of Time at the end of it.
I broke the bars of the cell. A nobody came running. I dispatched it with a crack of the chain. I spun and twirled my chain as Darkmen converged on me from every side. Did they think that they were the only ones with a dark side? Five nobodies and three Darkmen were dispatched with my first charge. The rest stepped back.
“What’s the matter? Scared?” I mocked. My voice came out as a dry hiss, and sounded thick with phlegm.
A Dust Monster pushed the Darkmen aside. Ahh, a “challenge”. I didn’t even give the Dust Monster time to think. I wrapped my chain around its neck and used the Monster as a flail to destroy the Darkmen. Then I struck the Dust Monster with my dagger, and took the dusts that inhabited him, and thus destroyed the Monster.
“Nice kill.” Rensax said. “The portal that is letting in these Darkmen is to the North. You know what you must do.”
“Why are you helping me?” I asked. “You are on the Vizier’s side!”
“Just because we work for the Vizier doesn’t mean we have his best interests at heart.”
“Not that you have a heart.” I said.
“True.” he said. “Now go.”
Hurling myself from the tower where the jail was situated, and hurled my chain to the window. It caught on a jagged wall spike, and I swung on the chain down to the next level. There I spun the chain in a wide circle, dispatching the Dust Birds that were closing in on me with a single spin.
Then I hurled myself straight down, plunging the dagger into the wall to slow my descent. When I reached the ground, I ran off as fast as I could. I leaped into a nearby waterfall, and broke the Dust Wraith spell, and returned to my human form.
I knew what I had to do. My people wouldn’t stand a chance against the Darkmen for much longer. I needed to close the portal to the Darkness before the Darkmen became overwhelmingly strong in number. Looking up, I saw the sky was starting to brighten with the dawn, but one area was still dark, so dark it was a dark bruised purple color. I strode off towards the dark area. The portal was in that direction. I could feel it.
I was getting that feeling again…
That feeling that I wouldn’t be seeing my home again. Weird. I knew what I needed to do; I had a plan; and I had my sword and the Dagger of Time. Nothing could go wrong.
Then I saw it.
The portal.
A Monster leaped at me. I sliced off its head (it was its head, right?). Another came at me from behind. I stopped its time with the Dagger of Time, and sliced it into so many pieces that nothing could save it. I sprinted towards the portal, and I leaped through it. Blackness. Then it felt like I hit a wall, and it felt like two conflicting forces were trying to pull me in opposite directions. Then the strain became unbearable, and right before I passed out I thought I saw a much younger version of me floating in the opposite direction as me…
PART 2: CARIS
I opened my eyes and saw the face of a blond teenage girl bending over me.
“He’s awake, Kael!” she called.
A teenage boy walked over to me. I sat up.
“Hey dude. My name is Kael. Is this your first time to Traverse Town?” the boy asked. He had spiky gold hair.
“I know one thing: I’ve never been here before.” I said. “My name is… um… err… I think it‘s Caris…”
“You think? You don’t remember your name?!” the girl said. “My name is Siferra. How old are you?”
“I’m… 15, almost 16. I can remember that much.” I said. “But I don’t remember much else. All I can remember is some life as a fighter, and something about a dagger that could control time… weird.”
“You look kind of like a soldier.” Kael joked.
It was true. I was wearing a black and grey camouflage zippered sweater, dark grey jeans, black sneakers, white gloves that left my fingers bare, and a black and grey camouflage headband. It looked cool, but I did look military.
“Well, do you know how I got here?” I asked.
“Nope.” Kael said. “We heard some lightning strike in this area, and came to investigate. Then we saw you lying on the ground, and brought you to our Den.” he gestured around at the enclosed area. “This is where we hang out. We’re waiting for some friends. We are investigating some rumors of a haunted mansion in the middle of the woods. Would you like to come with us?”
Before I could answer, two other kids walked in.
“Hey Kael. Hi Siferra.” the tall boy said. Then he saw me. “Hey, I’ve never seen you here before. Are you new in town?”
“Hayner and Olet, meet Caris.” Siferra said. “He’s just arrived in town. But he has a problem.” She proceeded to tell them about how I couldn’t remember anything about my life prior to a few hours ago. The others were sympathetic, but soon they were talking about what they had planned for their day.
“Well,” Olet, the girl, said. “What about those rumors? Are we going or not?”
“I’m going.” Hayner said. “Caris can come if he wants to.”
We all ended up going. The woods were kind of strange: dark, mottled trees alternated with smooth light ones to make a confusing place. If we hadn‘t had the lantern-lit path, we would have gotten lost. Eventually, we came to a large mansion that looked like it had been abandoned for years.
“Must have been a nice place when it was built.” I said. “Wait… over there!”
“What?” the others said, and turned to look where I was pointing.
“It’s gone now.” I said. “But it looked white and about as big as a man.”
“Was it a-a-a ghost?” Olet said fearfully.
“I don’t think so.” I said.
We proceeded into the grounds. When we had searched them thoroughly, Kael and Siferra suggested going inside.
“I’ll go.” I said.
Then of course Hayner and Olet said they would come.
It was at that moment that I saw the mysterious white figure again. I said nothing this time, not wishing to alarm my newfound friends. But I stayed on the alert. We were looking at a control panel, and I suddenly pressed a button. A hidden panel slid up. Why did I press the button? I asked myself. It was as if some unknown force had guided my hand to it. I looked behind the panel.
Behind it was a beautiful fighting dagger. The blade glowed blue, and the handle glowed gold. There were strange runes on it.
“Wow Caris!” Siferra whistled. “Nice find!”
There seemed to be no objections to my ownership of the dagger. As I placed it in my belt, I noticed three buttons on its handle. I was getting a strange feeling that I had seen the weapon before.
“Look!” Hayner said. “There’s an inscription where the dagger used to be!”
I read it out loud.
“‘You have now gained the Dagger of Time. Well done Caris’.”
“Wow! Whoever put this dagger there must have known you were coming, Caris!” Olet said.
There was a strange hissing noise behind us, and I turned to look.
I saw beetles, but of huge proportions! Each one was as big as a cat, and they had huge sharp pincers. One jumped at my face, but I knocked it away with a blow of my dagger. Olet screamed.
Dust scarabs. The name darted into my mind. Dust scarabs? The beetles were scarabs, sure, but the I didn’t understand the dust part. Then I took out my dagger, and told the group to run while I fought the scarabs.
Pressing one of the buttons on the dagger’s handle, I ran forward and struck at one of the beetles. It froze, and turned into dust. I struck at it again, and the dust fell apart. Another beetle stepped forward, and I dealt with it the same way. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a sword came whizzing at my head. I dodged it, and picked it up. It fitted my hand exactly. I faced the scarabs double bladed. Blade-skill that could be learned only with years of training came into my head, and I fought with skill that far surpassed one of my age. But though the sword hurt the beetles, only the dagger dispatched them. When I finished off the last of the scarabs, the sword dissolved.
I caught up with the group at the gates.
“What took you so long?!” Hayner demanded. “Those bugs could have killed you!”
“Took longer than I expected to find my way back.” I lied. It felt bad, lying to friends, but how could I explain my beating six giant mutant beetles?
After we all went back to town, Siferra asked, “Do you have a place to stay, Caris?”
I had been caught in a few returning memories. One was of the dagger, and the other was of the Dust of Time. So Siferra’s question caught me off guard.
“Huh? Oh, uh, no. But I’ll find a place.” I said.
“There’s a cot in the hangout place. You can stay there, if you want.”
“Thanks!” I said. “I really want to thank you guys for everything you guys have done for me, even though you hardly know me yet. Thank you.”
“No problem.” they said.
That night I couldn’t sleep. I walked out to the abandoned mansion again to see if I could remember anything more, and saw a sword! But I knew this sword! It had seen me through all of my fights, even though I could remember none of them. I picked it up, and it was wonderfully light to my hand, and the metal it was made of was sharper then any weapon that I had handled, with the possible exception of the Dagger of Time. Then I saw a black hole in the sky, shaped like a heart with an “x” through it. That was weird, because a moment ago there was nothing there. Then I saw a tendril of darkness snake down, and it made a wide circle around me. Then I felt like I was falling, and I finally landed on a platform suspended over an abyss. Out of nowhere, a massive thing appeared. It was white and looking straight at me. I readied myself for combat.
“Caris?”
I whirled around. “Kael?”
There he stood, holding a Light-Blade.
The Light-Blade’s chosen one. The thought darted into my mind unbidden, and another memory darted into my mind: one of a boy who looked like Kael, and who wielded a Light-Blade.
“Watch out!” Kael warned. I instinctively ducked. A large, clawed hand swept over me, missing my head by a hairsbreadth.
“Distract him!” Kael yelled. I complied, distracting the Monster while Kael got on the other side of it. Then the Monster snatched me up, and when it threw me up in the air, I struck at the 40-foot gargantuan figure. Kael slashed up its legs. Then it went flying off the platform. I and Kael were hurled off. We both hurled our weapons at it at the same time. Kael Light-Blade scored a deep slash and came back to him, but my sword struck deeply in and stayed there. Then Kael grabbed my arm and threw me back towards the platform. The giant Monster came flying back up towards the platform, and the airflow dragged me and Kael back to safety.
“Watch me go crazy!” I said. One of the things that I had remembered was how to use the Power of Haste with the Dagger of Time. Pressing all of the buttons on the Dagger’s handle, I sent my own time into fast-forward. To my eyes, I was a normal person in a slow-motion world. I ran at what must have seemed the speed of sound to Kael, and slashed at the Monster with my Dagger. Pulling my sword from where it was imbedded in the Monster’s flesh, I then I executed a twenty-hit figure-eight combo with my sword and dagger. The Monster reeled back in slow motion. But then the power wore off, and I was smashed by a claw as big as myself. Right before I would have passed out, I held down the Dagger’s blue button. Time rewound to before the claw hit me, and I knew to dodge it before I was hit.
The battle was one sided. I and Kael tore up the Monster. Our weapons soon took effect, and the Monster fell from the platform. A wave of light returned us to the normal world. And my sword dissolved.
“What was that thing?” Kael asked.
“A high-ranking Darkman.” I said. The words came out without me speaking: it was as if someone was speaking through me.
“Darkmen?!” Kael exclaimed. “I remember now! They are the darkness inside people’s hearts personified!”
“Some of my memories are coming back.” I said. “I remembered how to use this dagger. I must have handled it before I lost my memory. And my sword: I can sense that it has seen me through dozens of fights. I also remember those bugs.”
“The scarabs?” Kael asked, confused.
“Yeah.” I confirmed. “They had been infected by the Dust of Time.”
“What are the Dusts of Time?” Kael asked.
“The Dusts of Time control time. Long ago, the dusts were locked away in an impregnable 20-foot Statue. This Dagger of Time is the only other container that is strong enough to contain the Dust of Time. The Dusts of Time are dangerous, however: If you come in contact with it, they will turn you into a hideous mockery of your original form, and will transform your mind into that of a predator, and your only thoughts will be to kill anyone that lives. You will become a Dust Monster. However, there are a few artifacts that can prevent this transformation: my Dagger, a Light-Blade, and a few more that I still can’t remember. My Dagger can use the Dusts of Time to control time like I did in the fight with that Monster.”
“Nice fighting by the way.”
“You were just as good as me.”
“True.”
We started walking back towards the town, when another memory darted into my mind.
“Oh no… I’ve just remembered something else…”
“What is it?” Kael asked.
“I have been infected… by the Dusts of Time!”
“WHAT!?!?!?!?” Kael yelled.
“My transformation is not like the others. I turn into what is called a Dust Wraith. It is stronger and faster and way more agile then a Dust Monster, which, by the way, are twice as strong as whoever they were before. I keep my mind too, and I make my own decisions. I don’t turn into a senseless killer like Dust Monsters do. I become just a human with the body of a Dust Wraith, not a senselessly murdering Dust Monster.” I explained.
“What were you doing out in the woods by yourself, Caris?” Kael asked suddenly.
“I was trying to see if being in that area would jog my memory some more.” I explained. “What were you doing out here?”
“I was following a man dressed in a black robe. He looked suspicious, and with all the crazy things happening here I thought it was best to see what he was doing here.”
“What crazy things?”
“Well,” Kael counted on his fingers, “Those strange lightning bolts, your memory loss, the haunted mansion, the Dagger of Time, those Dust scarabs, the white figure you saw, and that Darkman thingy we just fought.”
‘I guess you did the right thing.” I said. “Oh, and, Kael.”
“Yeah?” he asked.
“Don’t tell the others about this.”
“Agreed.”
We walked in silence the rest of the way back.
The next morning, I awoke very hungry. I would need to get a job and earn money to get food. I dressed, and walked outside. It was a bright morning, and the sky was clear. I checked my pocket: I found a small bag. It was filled with golden coins! I was rich!
I walked down the road, and the smell of delicious pancakes and savory sausages filled the air. I found the source: a small shop with no one in line for food that looked like it had seen much better business. A tired-looking woman sat at the booth.
“Hey.” I said. “Those pancakes sure smell good.”
“Would you like some?” the woman said. “Hey, are you new?”
“Yeah. My name’s Caris.”
“My name is Beth. Welcome to Traverse Town.”
“Thanks.” I said. “Sorry, but I don’t have any local currency.”
“There’s a money changing booth on Abroad Street.”
“I need more of a jeweler’s shop.” I showed her one of my gold coins.
“Ohhh. That’s so pretty!” she gasped. “There’s a jeweler on the next block, but he’s not open until ten o’ clock.”
I checked the clock: it was 8:05.
“I guess I’ll have to come back later.” I said, a little sad because I was really very hungry.
“Nonsense!” Beth said. “Tell you what: I’ll cook for you now, and at ten o’ clock you go to change your money, and you bring me whatever you owe me.”
“Thank you so-o-o much!” I said. “Ill have three pancakes, some sausages, and four scrambled eggs.
Twenty minutes later, Kael showed up. When he saw me, I had my mouth full of sausage, eggs, and pancakes.
“Hey, Caris! Found the best cook around, I see!”
Beth blushed.
“She is a great cook!” I said.
Then Siferra showed up, and we all ate together. We all laughed when Siferra said that Beth was the best cook.
When we had finished eating, I promised to come back with the money. Then we all walked to the dock.
“Hayner and Olet can’t come over today. They didn’t say why.” Kael said.
“I have something to give you guys.” I said. Drawing out the bag of gold coins, I withdrew three: One with a ruby as its center-piece, one with a sapphire as its center-piece, and one with a white pearl as its center-piece. I gave the ruby one to Kael, the sapphire one to Siferra, and I kept the pearl one.
“Is this real?” Kael asked.
“I think so.” I said.
“And you have an entire bag filled with these?”
“Yeah.” I said.
“COOL!!!!”
“Thanks Caris.” Siferra said, giving me a kiss on the cheek.
“Hey Caris.” Kael said. “There’s a fighting competition tomorrow: I want you to try out. I’m already in it, but I think you have a shot at winning.”
“I might try out.” I said.
We walked to the arena master.
“This is my friend Caris. He wants to join the fight competition tomorrow.” Kael said.
“Can he fight?” The master said.
“He is my equal.”
“He’ll fight DeMayne.”
“DeMayne is a veteran, but with your skill, he shouldn’t prove much of a challenge.” Kael told me later that day. “He’s no pushover though, and he always has tricks up his sleeve. But if you can make it to the final minute, you should win easily.”
“Thanks.” I said.
The next day, I went to Beth’s stall again. But this time, I ate a light meal of one fried egg, one pancake, and a bacon strip. Beth was optimistic about my chances.
When the fight came around, I was ready.
“OKAY!” the announcer called. “Who do you think is going to win?”
“KAEL!!!! HAYNER!!!!” Olet, Siferra, and Beth called.
“SEIFER!!!!” several others yelled.
“VIVI!!!!” two men called.
“DEMAYNE!!!!” several people called.
“SETZER!!!!!!!!!!!!” a large group roared.
“CARIS!!!” Beth called. Her voice was lost in the tumult of voices.
“Well, Today’s competitors are: Kael, my personal favorite; Hayner, the quick thinking action lover; Seifer, the runner-up for the top; Setzer, the champion; Vivi, the unexpected fighter; DeMayne, the sly competitor; and the newcomer: Caris, the newest addition! Let the fight begin!”
I faced off against DeMayne. We were using heavy, solid foam swords called “bloon’s”. He struck at me, and I dodged. I tried a counter attack, and scored. He tried to trip me, and I dodged it. I struck at him, and followed up with the figure-eight combo with my bloon. That brought a cheer from my friends. I blocked the next hit with my bloon. Then he struck me so hard on the head I was seeing stars. Then my natural blade-skill took over. I started using my bloon like a sword. DeMayne started losing, badly. When he saw he could not win, he hurled a handful of dust at my eyes, and I stumbled back. But before he could strike, the time ran out.
The announcer walked over to me and held up my hand. “CARIS IS THE WINNER!!!!” he yelled.
Kael and Hayner were next. They matched each other almost perfectly, but near the end Kael struck a blow that floored Hayner. Kael won his match.
Then it was Vivi against Seifer. It was a quick match. Seifer struck at Vivi and scored a light hit, but then Vivi struck at Seifer and almost knocked him out. That was the end of their match. As Seifer passed by me and Kael, he told Kael something.
“Thrash him.”
It was Kael versus Vivi. That was a long match, but Kael won in the end. Then something strange happened.
Time stopped for everyone but me and Kael. Then a white thing came out of Vivi.
A nobody. Literally, a “nonexistent being”. The voice said again.
The nobody spawned three more of itself.
“Hey Kael. You got the Light-Blade?” I asked as I drew my Dagger and my sword materialized again.
“Right here.” Kael said. The Light-Blade materialized in his hand.
We flew at the nobodies. One slashed at my feet, but I blocked it and absorbed it with my Dagger. Kael slashed a nobody in half with his Light-Blade with one hit. I did my figure-eight combo and dispatched another. The last nobody tried to flee, but Kael threw his Light-Blade after it and killed it that way.
Then a man in a black robe appeared.
“Kael!” he called. “It’s me: Axis!”
“Who are you?” Kael asked.
“He’s not alone either, Caris!”
A man in a black and dark green fighting outfit stepped out from behind him. Both of the men had a slightly evil look about them.
“Don’t you remember your old buddy Rensax?” the man asked.
Then a loud and deep voice came out of the air.
“NO!”
A figure in red and black appeared.
“Do not try and win the warriors back to your side!” he commanded.
“Listen, you!” Axis yelled. “I’m not about to let the Masters hunt down Kael because they think he’s a traitor!”
He blasted some flame at the figure, but it evaporated in a hiss when the figure activated an energy shield. Then the figure disappeared.
Suddenly Kael called out, “Hayner! Olet! Siferra!”
Time was restored. The two men and the figure were gone.
“Time for a challenge!” the announcer said. “Caris versus Kael!”
He struck at me, and I dodged. I tried a counter attack, and scored. He tried to trip me, and I dodged it. I struck at him, and followed up with the figure-eight combo. I blocked the next hit with my bloon. Then he struck me so hard on the head I was seeing stars. We were equal on points when we ran out of time, so the judges decided that whoever scored the next point won. Then my natural blade-skill took over. I started using my bloon like a real sword. Unfortunately, Kael started using his bloon like a Light-Blade!
It was like the worlds most intense fight. I ended up taking to the air. I ran up one of the light-poles, and jumped into the air. Kael hurled his bloon up at me, and I blocked it. He caught it, and when I landed we were at it hammer and tongs again.
We went on like that for a long time, until we both were staggering around with exhaustion. Once we ended up back to back, peering around for each other. Then I struck with the last of my strength, and Kael went flying.Then we both collapsed, and the world went black as I fell asleep.
I ran through the castle corridors. I was searching for something. Then I saw something that made my blood go cold.
The woman who I loved was hanging over a pitfall. She was holding onto the Dagger of Time, which was imbedded in the stone wall, and if she let go she would fall. Dust Monsters were closing in on her. I ran towards her, slashing up Dust Monsters with my sword. Right when the Dagger slipped out of the wall, I leaped forward and grabbed it by the blade. The blade made a deep cut in my hand, but I didn’t let go. The woman I loved saw the blood from my hand running down the dagger, looked at the Statue of Time, glanced behind me to see Dust Monsters closing in on me, and looking my full in the face said a word in a language I did not know but yet understood, and let go. She fell… and thus died. I felt my heart tear in two. I looked behind me. There were Dust Monsters closing in on me. They were to blame for the death of my love. I flew at them, in a fury. In seconds they were dead. Then I saw an old man come walking into the room. The Vizier! He was amazingly agile and fast, but I jumped on him and tried to throttle him, but he pushed me off.
‘The girl is of no importance!” He said impatiently. “Give me the Dagger, and I will give you power. Eternal life will be yours!”
“I’ll live forever, huh?” I said. “When all I love is dead, and I am to blame?” I pointed my bloody dagger at him. “I choose death!”
I hurled myself up to the top of the Statue of Time, and I struck the dagger into the dome at the top of it. Then I was plunged into a fog as all that had happened was undone, and time rewound. Words filtered through the fog in my mind. “Caris… Caris… Can you feel Prince?”
What?
Then I sat up. What a weird dream. Something about a Vizier and a girl and my Dagger. Already it was fading from my mind.
“You’re finally awake.”
I looked behind me. A beautiful girl was sitting behind me.
“My name is Sara.” she said. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Caris.” I said. “Where am I?”
“You are in the tent of healing.” She said. “You suffered from exhaustion when you finished fighting Kael, and you got a deep cut on your shoulder when you fell. You won your match, but I would advise against fighting Setzer.”
‘Why?” I asked. “I feel fine now.”
“When you fell, your left shoulder struck a piece of glass, and the shard was deeply imbedded in your shoulder. I have bandaged it, but more damage to it could get it infected. And that could mean complications. If I were you, I would forfeit the match.” Sara explained.
“Well,” I said, “A minor injury can’t hold me back from combat.”
“I wish it would.” Sara said, a little sadly. “If you get sick with infection…”
“It’s okay.” I said. Why was she so concerned for my safety? “You’re a healer?”
“Not really.” Sara laughed. “I’m just here to earn some money. I sing. Would you like to hear me sing?”
“Okay.” I said.
She began to sing. Her voice was like the finest music ever. The song was sad, and stirred something inside of me. Then the tune took a turn, and I recognized the song as one from my home!
When she finished, I spoke in a hushed voice. “Where did you hear that song?”
“A traveler taught it to me.” Sara said. “She was from a faraway land called Ahzad. She said that it is in another world altogether.”
“The woman: what did she look like?” I asked.
“She wore red, carried a bow and arrows, wore gold earrings, and said her name was Farah.” She said.
The girl in my dream! Now that my mind was functioning properly, I noticed that Sara could have been describing herself, minus the bow and arrows.
“Hey, wish me luck!” I said as I picked up my bloon. “Hey… where is my Dagger?”
“You had a Dagger? Oh yes!” Sara said. “Here.”
She drew the dagger out of a side drawer.
“Thanks.” I said. “This dagger is my only link to my lost memories.” I explained my memory loss.
“Oh, you poor thing!” Sara said. “Well, I hope you find what you’re looking for. Good luck. Come back here when you want to rest.” and with that she gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Its strange.” she said with a laugh. “I know we never met, but I feel as though I have known you for years already.”
“Strange.” I said. “I feel the same.”
I walked outside, and stepped up onto the platform. Kael was practicing.
“Hey.” I said.
“Oh, hey.” Kael said.
“I have decided to resign.” I said. “Too great of a risk of infection. You’ll be fighting Setzer.”
Kael opened his mouth to argue, but I silenced him.
“Look, I don’t want to talk about it, okay?”
“Okay, if you’re sure.” Kael said. “But you are better then me.”
“No.” I said. “I got lucky with one hit. We are equals, Kael! Now I need to go.”
I stayed in the tent of healing all day, until Kael and Siferra came to visit me.
“Here.” Kael tossed me a white gem. “You deserve it! Don‘t try and argue! I’m not taking it back. We plan to get the gems made into rings.”
“I think I’ll try that too.” I said. “Where did you get the gems?”
“I beat Setzer and these gems were the prize!” Then Kael noticed Sara. “And who is this?”
“This is Sara. She has been taking care of me.”
“Hi!” Kael said to my newest friend. She smiled at him, and left the room to get something. When she left Kael nudged me.
“Are you falling for her, Caris?”
I reached for a pillow to throw at him, but at that moment two things happened: Sara walked up to the bed I was in to give me a shot, and a thunderbolt hit the tent!
The thunderbolt transported us to a strange place. A huge staircase, with Darkmen spawning all over it! My sword materialized, and I drew my dagger. Kael had his Light-Blade, but Siferra and Sara were unarmed.
“Hold it.” Kael said. “I remember this place. This is where Ian lost his memory.”
“Ian?” I asked. “Who’s Ian?”
“Ian is my other half, my somebody. I am a nobody.” Kael said. That made no sense to me, and I decided to not pursue the matter.
“I had to put him to sleep while I re-chained his memories.” Siferra said. “You see, Caris, there is a spell on this place that as you climb higher up you lose more and more memories, until by the time you get to the top you have lost almost all of your memories, and everyone who knew you forgets you as well. I had to put Ian to sleep while I chained his memories back together.”
“Okay, but how do we get out of here?” Sara asked.
Then a voice spoke from behind us.
“Follow me!”
We whirled around to see a short figure wearing a black robe. He was holding a golden Light-Blade.
“The King!” Kael cried out. “Michael!”
King Michael turned around, and saw Kael. “Hello again, friend! Nice to see you.”
We followed him down a long tunnel. “This was how I got out of this place.” King Michael said. “There is a portal here to the Darkness. I avoided that portal, and there is a portal behind it that leads into a land called Ahzad.”
“Ahzad?!” I yelled. The entire group stopped and stared at me like I was growing horns. “That’s my homeland!”
“Wow, you actually remember things now!” Siferra teased.
“The closer I get to my land, the more I remember! I’m sure of it!”
“LOOK OUT!” Michael yelled. I tried to jump back from the edge of a pitfall, but it was too late. I toppled over, and a wave of darkness washed over me. The last thing I saw was King Michael throwing a small gold key after me…
I awoke in a scene of utter blackness. Even the rocks of the barren land I was in echoed that blackness. It was cold, and even the blowing wind seemed lifeless. It was overwhelming. It brought out the darkness inside me. In seconds I was undergoing a hideous transformation. When it was complete, I saw that what I had most dreaded had come over me: I was the Dust Wraith.
But even the wickedness that my form now represented brought a measure of relief. This was the world of Darkness, and a normal person couldn’t have seen anything but pure blackness. But the Dust Wraith was part of the Darkness, and it had no trouble seeing in the blackness that now enveloped me. I saw that there were stairs. Stairs in a zigzag pattern going up into an area that seemed a little lighter then the area I was in. I started running towards the stairs, but then I stopped. There in front of me was a small golden key. I picked it up. It was warm. I put it in my clothes. Then I ran up the stairs.
About halfway up the stairs, I heard a voice speak from a small cave. “Caris?”
I whirled around, drawing my chain. “Who’s there?”
“It’s me.” Rensax crawled out of the cave. “So, you have remembered your duties.”
“What duties, Rensax?” I asked. “We used to be friends, right?”
“You remember me?” Rensax asked. “I need to make sure though… What was the name of our employer?”
I said nothing, confused.
Rensax sighed heavily. “You really have lost it, haven’t you? It was nice knowing you, Caris, but I’m afraid that this is where your path ends.”
With that, two long blades with a black smoke flowing up out of them appeared at his side. “Dark-Nesses‘!” he yelled. Immediately, a group of totally black beings appeared in front of him. He turned to me. “I’m sorry, Caris.” then he pointed the dark creatures in my direction, and said “Capture him. Bring him to the tower of execution.”
I whirled my chain, and three of them went flying. But the rest enveloped me in a wave of blackness…
When I regained consciousness, I was on a high tower, with nobodies and Darkmen surrounding me on every side. One being braver then the rest ran at me. I dispatched it with a crack of the chain. I spun and twirled my chain as Darkmen converged on me from every side. Did they think that they were the only ones with a dark side? Five nobodies and three Darkmen were dispatched with my first charge. The rest stepped back.
“What’s the matter? Scared?” I mocked. My voice came out as a dry hiss, and sounded thick with phlegm. This all felt like it had happened before. Then a Dust Monster came up. I easily pushed it off the tower’s edge
I charged in to the mass of Darkmen. I wrapped my chain around the neck of a Nobody (It was its neck, right?) and used it as a flail. I flattened five Darkmen with the nobody be fore I ran it through with my dagger. Then I slowed down time for all the Darkmen, and hacked a path through them, and then body slammed several over the edge of the towed. Then I absorbed three Darkmen with my dagger. Then the power ran out. I ran up a wall and jumped off. I threw my chain down and snagged a Darkman. I snapped it up to my level, and sliced its head off. Then I used a Dust Monster’s head as a landing pad, and absorbed him with my dagger.
Then I was grabbed from behind by two men in black robes. I slid from their grasp and flipped over their heads. Then a strange new gas was released in my face, and I went dizzy. The men dragged me towards the castle exit. They put me in the back of a hover craft, and began driving away.
I shook off my dizziness, and was about to attack them, but then I heard a familiar voice.
“Caris! It’s Kael! Chill out!”
The taller of the two figures removed his hood, and I saw my friend’s face. He looked slightly scared. Then I remembered that I was in Dust Wraith form.
“Sorry you had to see me in my worst form.” I said.
“It’s okay.” Kael said. “I have my worst moments to. I have been trying to hold off my own transformation until we leave this place, but I can hold it back no longer.”
With that Kael underwent a transfiguration. He morphed… Into a Darkman version of himself! He was now Kael-Thas!
“I am way stronger and faster now!” Kael-Thas said. “I could equal you, now.”
Then the other figure took off their hood. It was Sara! She ran over to me and threw her arms around me, even though I was in Dust Wraith form. I hugged her back.
When she let go, she blushed slightly, and asked me what had happened to me.
“I am a Dust Wraith.” I said miserably. “Sorry you need to see me like this.”
“It’s okay.” Sara said. “I’ve seen worse. I am a nurse, after all! I’m just glad you’re safe now.”
Now it was my turn to blush. Siferra came from the cockpit of the hovercraft.
“Welcome back.” she stood very close to Kael-Thas.
“Where is that key I threw to you, Caris?” Michael asked.
I took the key from my pocket. When I came in contact with it, my Dust Wraith form fell away, and I turned back to normal. Kael still was in Thas form.
Then we had about three seconds before all evil broke loose.
A Darkman flew out of nowhere and snatched up Sara, and a nobody grabbed Siferra. Then they were gone in seconds.
“What the heck…” I said, confused by what had just happened. It was too fast for it to really register with me.
Then the figure in red and black appeared. “The girls have been taken by the forces of Darkness.”
“You again!” Kael said. “What’s going on?”
“When the Masters realized that it could not contain your group, they captured the people you two really care about, to lure you deeper into the kingdom of darkness. The Masters are using your own honor, chivalry, and sense of justice against you. Just as they did to Prince.”
‘Who’s Prince?” I asked.
“The Prince of Ahzad. He is your non-nobody. You are a nobody, Caris. Just like Kael is Ian‘s nobody. I will leave you to make your decision with out me.”
Then the figure stepped back.
“Well?” King Michael asked.
“‘Well’ what?” I snapped.
“What are you going to do?” he asked. “I won’t be able to help you; I need to help the king of Ahzad.”
“We can’t just leave them there!” Kael protested.
“You two are the only ones who can help them.” King Michael said.
“I can’t take them alone.” Kael said. “Your call, Caris. You are the leader now.”
I was in turmoil. My land needed help. My people were being ravaged. For all I knew, the Vizier might have already conquered my homeland. But I couldn’t leave Sara and Siferra here. Neither could I leave Kael to go alone.
“I’ll go with you, Kael. But why do you call me the leader?” I asked.
“Simple. I barely know Sara, but you have already stolen her affection, so she‘ll feel a lot safer with you in charge. You are a great fighter, and you excel at strategic maneuvers, and you don‘t lust after glory and honor. You are the only one of us who would make a good leader.”
“But I don’t want to be leader!” I said.
“That is beside the point, Caris.” the figure spoke again. “our destinies are coming upon us, and your destiny is to lead. Lead wisely, my liege.”
I was stunned. How could I lead my friends, when I had been the reason that we were in this predicament?
The figure seemed to sense my confusion. He placed his hand on my shoulder, and spoke. “You will not be alone, Caris. You have a friend. Your friends are an asset that outweighs any flaws you have. Even I have my flaws. I cannot stay with you right now, but this is my wisdom for you: you must be decisive.” the man disappeared then.
“Caris.”
I whirled around. “Rensax!”
“hey.” Kael said. “its that guy who led us to you, Caris!”
“You helped my friends? Why?” I demanded.
“I’m glad you remember me, Caris. I really am.” Rensax said. “Please come back to us. You used to be happy about our plan.”
“What plan?” I demanded.
“The plan to take over the Core of Heart, of course! You know, that place where the hearts of all of our non-nobodies go when they die” Rensax said, surprised. “That way, all of us (the nobodies, I mean) can live again! We’ll simply take our hearts back.”
“I’m sorry, Rensax.” I said. “But I just cant let you do that. You would use your newly acquired hearts to summon even more Darkmen, and take control of the worlds.’
“I wouldn’t do that.” Rensax said, “But Thrall and the Vizier would. But I don’t answer to him.”
“Who do you answer to, Rensax?” I asked.
“The winning team.” he said craftily. “You should know that, Caris, after all this time.”
He turned to go, but then stopped. “Caris, please consider what I am asking of you. I don’t want to see you dead. You or your friends. And I can even get the Masters to let you off for turning on us like you did. Maybe when this is over we can just go to a different world, and forget about this.” I shook my head, determined not to join the enemy. He hesitated. “The way things are going with your somebody now, Caris, I don’t think that we’ll meet again. Goodbye.” he said sadly. Then he strode off into the darkness.
Kael started after him, but I held him back. “Let him go.”
“But we need to find out where the others are!” Kael protested.
“I think that you may need to find them yourself, Kael.” I said as gently as I could. “Rensax has told us far more then he is allowed, anyway, so I don’t think that you‘ll be getting any more information out of him.”
“What do you mean, ‘by myself’?” Kael said in alarm.
“I may not be here much longer.” I said, sadly. “I think that the Masters are planning to kill my somebody. In that case, you must carry on. Besides, my sword’s not much good at fighting Darkmen and Nobodies. Only my dagger hurts them.”
“But-b-b-but…” Kael stammered.
“Go!” I said. “Find them. I will come with you for as long as I can, but I think that you will be the one to free them.”
“But the guy said that you were the leader!”
“And I am ordering you to go and find them.”
Kael grew angry. “fine then! Go and just sit down and die! You probably couldn’t help anyway! Coward! ”
“You think that I enjoy death, Kael?!” I said, angry at his insults. “I may not be good at fighting Darkmen, but you can bet your life that if you think that I’m scared of a slimy little-”
“If anyone here needs help, it’s you, Caris!” Kael interrupted angrily. “You probably will go and help the Masters with Rensax anyway!”
He ran off, muttering angrily.
I hadn’t enjoyed that. But I needed to tell Kael that I might not be alive to help him save our friends.
However, I did not just plan to sit around and wait for death. I needed to give Kael a chance. My idea was that if I attacked the place that they were keeping my somebody, then the Master’s would send most of their forces over to that area, leaving my friends with only a token guard.
I drove the hovercraft off into the world of Darkness. It was hard going. I could feel physical pain. My somebody was probably getting harmed right now. But I was going to make it. I had to.
I arrived at the scene of execution. It was horrible. A young man was chained to the ground by all four limbs. My somebody. He was being mocked by a group of huge Darkmen. I knew better then to charge them. My dagger would be my only defense.
Climbing the wall that surrounded the pit, I saw a strange glow. I started walking towards it. I climbed higher and higher. When I go to the top, I saw a sight that I will remember forever.
A beautiful sword, with a blue-glowing heart-shaped hole on the middle of the blade. Here was truly a deadly weapon! I picked it up, and cast off my own sword. The runes on the blade of the new sword were in a strange and beautiful language, and they read: “HeartBlade”.
HeartBlade? Was that some kind of new Light-Blade? Whatever it was, it was now mine! And I could take on those Darkmen!


TO BE CONTINUED....