“That was their second mistake. It took me seconds, and I literally mean seconds, to kill the general. I was prepared for alarms to go off, but nothing came. Their security was very poor… that or either my mother or I had disabled it the previous night.” Vlad’s voice was starting to scare me. It had taken on a sharp edge and he said everything as if he was reliving that night.
“Vl-Vladimir?” My voice shook as I said his name.
His head jerked up as he returned to the present, hair getting into his eyes. The darkness of it contrasted greatly with his pale skin. “Huh?”
“You were starting to get a bit scary,” my voice was hesitant and unsure, but that didn’t really surprise me. I’d take a huge, poisonous monster any day instead of a teenage demon that was slightly bipolar.
“My bad, I guess I haven’t fully recovered from four years ago, but it’s alright, don’t worry.” His gaze was sure and steady, but I think he was lying. I guess he could tell what I was thinking. “I’m serious, it’s all good. Don’t worry about it.” Vlad had taken a few steps toward me and his hand was slightly lifted. When we were only a few feet away from each other, he seemed to change his mind and dropped his hand.
But of course, me being the idiot here, I got this sudden impulse to close the distance between us… and that is when hell broke loose.
FIRESTAR
Everyone had ended up following me, and between you and me, that was a big relief. The further we went, the more maze-like it became. Gods am I glad that I wasn’t claustrophobic. Even with the memories from that creepy guy, I wasn’t one-hundred percent sure we were going the right way, but we finally did reach a ladder that led only to darkness.
“Well… this was one of the last parts in the vision,” I said aloud to everyone as we circle around it. “Did anyone bring a rope by chance?” I asked the question even though I already knew the answer. My three new teammates all shook their head no. If Waterstar was here, I’m almost positive that she would’ve had a rope. “Okay, here’s the plan, we’ll descend the ladder but no one will go too far from the bottom, then we will join hands at the bottom.”
Ice and Sun nodded their heads but Forest was choosing to be a smart ass, which wasn’t too surprising at this point. “Will we then build a fire and sing Kum Ba Yah as we dance in a circle?”
“Well of course!” I said in a sarcastic voice. I think the snarky exchange between us really lightened the mood, or at least got a few non-forced grins.
I went down the ladder first. I carefully tested every rung before I’d put my full weight onto it; if we were lucky the ladder wasn’t too long, if we weren’t lucky, there wouldn’t even be a floor underneath it.
I heard the others start following me down the ladder. It was a long process to get all the way to the bottom, a process that included my head being stepped on. Twice. The second time, I grabbed the person's leg and I heard the deeper voice of Forest cry out in surprise. I smiled into the dark and continued down, satisfied with that revenge. The ladder was a large one, but thankfully there was a floor at the bottom. “Roll call.” I said into the darkness when I was pretty sure everyone was down. “Sunstar.”
“Present.”
“Icestar.”
“Alive.”
“Foreststar.”
“Spiders suck.”
We all turned in the direction of his voice. I think he could tell that we were befuddled by his response. “A few crawled on me on the way down, didn’t you guys feel them?”
We all replied in the negative. “Maybe it’s your name; spiders tend not to like fire, ice, or sun, but I’ve heard that they love forests.” The joke had come from Icestar; we were all so surprised that he actually said something without being asked that it took a second for anyone to laugh.
“Okay, enough of that,” Sunstar had been the first to stop laughing and immediately took the leader position again. “Come on everyone, hold hands.” We all fumbled around in the dark until we were all connected.
“This reminds me of a little kids show on Earth,” Forest stated in grim amusement. We started forward with me in the lead. Sun was directly behind, slightly pissed that she was second, and then it was Forest and Ice. Our progress was slow, which was annoying me. Who knew how much time my teammates down below had. However, something about holding hands in a long line didn't make moving that quick. If the hall had been wider, I'd have us walk side by side but that unfortunately was not an option.
After close to half an hour, our footsteps started to echo. “I think we’re getting close to a ladder or staircase,” I said just loud enough for everyone to hear me, but my voice still echoed like the footsteps. I slowed down even more so that I wouldn’t accidentally step off of a ledge. But of course, whoever controls these type of things had a different plan or simply hated me.
My foot tried to step on mid air, and lemme tell you something, it is extremely hard to float and I don’t suggest trying it. I'm not sure if Waterstar could even float on air with her weird energy manipulation. I think Sunstar tried to keep me from falling, but she wasn’t exactly prepared for my sudden weight to be pulling her down, nor is she that strong. After that it was a domino effect until we had all fallen.
“Nice going Fire,” Forest said, or at least I think that’s what he said, but the sound of air rushing past my face was a little too loud to be sure. It sounded like a very Forest thing to say. Anyways, something didn’t feel right about this wind, it felt like it was pushing against us, not the other way around like it would be if we were truly falling. Trust me, there is quite a large difference, and due to Water's mad ideas, I knew that difference.
“Is it just me or does this feel wrong?” I tried to shout over the wind, hoping they’d be able to understand.
They all answered in what sounded sorta like an affirmative. Sunstar grabbed my hand and motioned for the others to connect theirs. She then rolled to the side and we started dropping really fast. And when I say fast, I mean fast. If you haven't noticed, I mean what I say.
“Oomph,” we all let out a gasp as we landed in a four-person dog pile, me on the bottom. As I stood up I checked for any serious injuries. Nothing was too bad, but man would I be bruised in the morning. Foreststar was rubbing his shoulder and moving it in a circle, but he didn't seem too bad either. The other two had landed toward the top of our pile and were also fine. Great, so far no casualties. Take that Arctic, I could totally be commander. I surveyed the room we were in and noticed two things immediately. One, Darkstar was unconscious on the floor. Really bad. Plus there was blood drying on his face. Just wonderful that was, but hopefully it was only skin deep. Nothing like brain damage, because that would suck with Darkstar.
The second thing was Waterstar and a guy that looked similar to the one in my vision, except he looked a bit younger and less evil. But that’s not what sounded my internal alarms. He was holding Water in a freaking headlock, as if he was planning on snapping her neck sometime soon.
Damn, that is not the way to get a girl's attention.
Also, he is dead.
Chapter 8: Underworld Gates and Shadow Cats
DARKSTAR
You know what really sucks? Being able to hear everything going on around you while you sit in a dark chasm and can’t say anything to the idiots outside.
Yes, I did just call Water and Fire idiots. Water shouldn’t be listening to that guy ramble on about his past. It was stupid and a waste of time. Sure his past was sad, but unnecessary to hear. And Fire should’ve stayed at the HQ. It also sounded like he had brought others into this stupid mess too. Real smart, Fire, real smart. Oh angels…I’m starting to sound like Waterstar; that’s just dandy.
And to continue my freaking pissed off ranting, no one was helping me become conscious. No one. At all. Yea, yea, Water checked my injuries an hour or so ago, but that’s it. They’re all just like, “Oh hey, there’s Darkstar, he’s not dying or anything like that so we’ll just temporarily forget all about him and have fun being wi
thout him.” Haha, awesome guys, just real freaking awesome.
Yea, you might say I’m getting pretty worked up about this, but have you ever been stuck in a dark chasm without any outside communication that’s somewhere deep in the back of your mind? Didn’t think so. Trust me, it isn’t as fun as it sounds. My apologies to those who have been in my position.
WATERSTAR
My mind was in a frenzy, a really huge, really confused frenzy. Seconds before I was about to hug Vladimir (in a helpful, comforting way… I really think I should stop watching Earth movies) he’d spun me around and placed me in a headlock. This guy was no joke. I was in the most defenseless position that I’ve been in since forever. I couldn’t even figure out why I was in the headlock, much less get out of it. Just freaking fabulous.
I heard a few thumps hit the ground and I tried to look up. Not the best idea in the world, but I did manage to get a glimpse of red hair and a short pony tail.
Firestar.
How the hell did he get down here? I’m surprised Arctic had let him leave… ehh on second thought, Arctic probably hadn’t.
“Sorry, instant reaction,” Vladimir started to say as he loosened the headlock. I felt his muscles tighten behind me as he assessed the newcomers. I was just straightening up when Vlad pushed me behind him and stood in an attack stance.
“Oh angels, Water!” Firestar shouted from the other side of Vlad.
“Don’t touch her,” Vladimir snarled.
“She’s my best friend, and you sir are screwed.” Fire replied, his eyes narrowing. Oh wonderful, both of their voices were deep and menacing and death threats were flying left and right. Guys are such idiots!
I tried to get a word in but that wasn’t going to happen. They were about ten feet apart and if they could’ve been circling each other like wolves, they would’ve. However, Vlad didn't want to expose me to the others, which kept him firmly planted in front of me.
I finally noticed the other three people behind Fire. I recognized Icestar, but the other two were complete strangers, wait, I take that back, the one with the green hair looked a bit like the guy who had picked Fire up… and should’ve picked me up too, though that didn’t go as planned, now did it? I think his name was Foreststar… I think.
Either way, the girl with the bumblebee colored hair was motioning for me to sneak over to them. I shook my head no and held up an index finger in the universal “one second.”
I seriously needed a plan, or at least an infamous Waterstar improvise. I watched as Fire lunged for Vlad but the latter easily evaded it. They exchanged a few more blows, but neither of them had an advantage, hopefully they wouldn’t fight fire with fire any time soon, and I mean that quite literally.
I guess this would be a good time to intervene. I quickly stepped to Vlad’s right, his weaker side. While watching them, I had noticed that he led with his left. I saw Firestar’s eyes flicker toward me; I think he thought I was trying to move to his side so he launched himself at Vlad again, probably trying for a distraction. Hah, jk. New plan, Firestar.
I spun into his line of attack and held my right hand against Fire’s chest while letting my elbow act as a spring when his momentum collided with me. I used Vlad as a cushion when I was pushed backwards by Fire. I also faintly felt energy surrounding me, as if it too were acting as a cushion. Energy couldn’t be a solid, despite some other occurrences where I had thought so. It had to just be my imagination.
“STOP IT!” My voice rang out in the sudden silence.
On both sides of me there was heavy breathing. I could feel the two boys still glaring at each other like little kids; I had a feeling that I only had a limited time to explain that neither was an enemy.
“Vladimir, Firestar is a good guy, he’s my friend.” I slightly turned my head toward the half-demon, still keeping Fire in my line of sight. Then I turned to Fire in the same manner, “Fire, Vladimir is good,” I hesitated at the word ‘good’, that wasn’t exactly the right word. “Or well, he isn’t going to hurt us.” I amended.
They glared at each for a few more seconds before turning away. Well, at least Vladimir did. Firestar still stood aggressively, ready to continue fighting. “Water, I’m sure you believe that he wouldn’t hurt you, but I had a vision about him. He showed me how to get down here, but I had sensed an immense evil about him. The only difference is that the guy in my vision looked older and had horns.”
I looked at Vlad then at Fire. This was getting interesting, if nothing else.
“That was my father, Lucifer. I have no clue why he would show up in your vision on purpose, but it wasn’t me, whether you believe that or not.”
Fire didn’t take his eyes off of Vlad. “What about Darkstar? What happened to him?”
Ahh, crap, I had forgotten Dark… again. Damn was he going to be pissed when he woke up.
“I had attacked him when I had still thought that he and Water were my enemies. I’m sincerely sorry about it.” Vlad let his voice uneasily drop off at the end.
Firestar still looked extremely pissed, but bumblebee girl came over. “He'll be perfectly fine once I get my hands on him. I'm one of the best healers in the Rebellion, which figures since my primary is healing. Let me handle this.”
I was about to stop the girl from walking over toward my friend, because really, who did she think she was, but Fire shook his head at me. I raised an eyebrow but he didn't say anything, just motioned for the girl to go over to Dark. I followed Ms. Bumblebee and just then realized that I come up with a bajillion names for people I don’t know, but I mean, her dark hair had horizontal yellow stripes, what else would that make you think of?
“I’m Sunstar, by the way, you must be Waterstar, right?” She gave me a confident smile. I ignored it and simply nodded my head. I can be pessimistic and cold-hearted when I want to; it just doesn’t happen often. Okay, maybe it does. Maybe I am a completely rude person that judges people quickly and has negative opinions on most people that I don't know. But maybe, those people should stop being so stupid and learn to be more awesome like my friends.
I stood to the side as Sunstar started to examine Dark’s injuries; her small hands lightly flitting over his body. Damn was she terrible at this. Just by watching his breathing I could tell that he was definitely okay, he just needed an extra… kick.
I pushed Sun out of the way; I knew she was probably glaring at me now. Who cares what she thinks? I then sent a swift kick to the side of Dark’s ribs and he immediately jerked up.
“Gee, thanks for remembering me.” He said sourly. Yup, he was pissed.
Sunstar immediately helped him up. “Wow, way to add on to his injuries!” She sent another glare at me. “Are you okay? Do you need anything?” She placed a hand over his ribs where my foot had made connection, and I saw a glowy yellow surround the area under her hand.
“No, I’m fine.” He pushed away Sunstar's hand. “I like my bruises to heal on their own to remind me of my stupidity.” Aw yeah! That’s my friend! Dark could freeze someone in their tracks with just his voice, when he wanted to. My friend noticed my smirk and turned his darkness on me. “Though I wouldn't have those bruises if someone had paid more attention and revived me earlier.”
Sunstar was a bit too upset at Dark to smirk about me getting reprimanded too. I took his rath a bit more good naturedly, and settled for flipping him off. Darkstar rolled his eyes. Sometimes I think he thought that I was a bit more immature than I should be for seventeen years old.
“You guys need to go to the Underworld Gates, right?” Vladimir broke the silence. Fire, Dark, and I nodded our heads, but I saw the others shift uneasily.
“I can’t go much further than this; this fort was built because I wanted a place away from my father. If I were to leave, he would question it greatly, and that would reveal you. If you follow those doors, the path will eventually lead to the Underworld, and I’ll send a guide with you.” Vladimir was all business once again. It was kinda annoying how easily he could switch person
alities.
He turned to the side so that he wasn’t facing any of us. “If I were you I would close my eyes.” His voice was only loud enough for us to hear him. We all did as he had said, or at least, I’m assuming so, my eyes were kind of closed.
There was an insanely bright light and I heard a few muttered curse words. I guess someone kept their eyes open. Buttmunch. “Okay, you can all open your eyes now.” Next to Vlad was a solid black cat that looked as if it were made of shadows. The only other color on her was a small bell that was tied to her collar, which shone brightly compared to her dark fur. “This is my companion, Kuro. She can lead you through the Gates and to the Mystic Animals.” I didn’t even ask how he knew that we were looking for them.
Vlad knelt down until he was face to face with the cat, who was perched on top of the vent. “Kuro? Will you please take my friends to the Animals, our way?” The cat blinked her eyes before jumping off of the vent and walking to the doors that Vlad had come through earlier. There she sat down and waited, her tail twitched every so often.
“Follow Kuro, she will take you where you need to go. The path she follows is rough at points, but it is a lot safer than going the normal route. Oh, and Darkstar? I apologize for hurting you earlier.” Dark just nodded in the moody way of his. It was better than nothing though, and I knew on the inside Darkstar was forgiving him. He wasn't one to keep a grudge, everything just seemed to flow past him.
“What if we don’t agree to go? We had only said we would come down here to rescue Water and Dark, not go all the way to the pits of Hell. Only raving lunatics would agree to that crap.” Foreststar was the one who had spoken, and next to him Sunstar shifted uneasily. Whimps, but understandable.
Before Fire, Dark, myself, or even Vladimir could say something, Ice replied curtly, “Then stay here, no one is forcing you to go. I’ll be with the Mystic team though, so you won’t have a ride home.” He shrugged his shoulder and joined my team next to Vlad. I gave him a small smile and he looked away from me. I couldn't tell if it was because he didn't care for the smile or if he was embarrassed, but the last one didn't make sense. I guess it was just his anti-social tendency.
Star Rebellion Page 9
