Chapter 22

Hooray! The next chapter is up! ^^ I hope you guys enjoy it! This chapter has some exciting story progression in it! :D I am sure you guys will want to read about it, so enjoy! :3

Chapter 22

Lefty drooled sleepily as she was being guided/ helped into bed… She was really too tired to care what was happening at the moment as she flopped into bed exhausted. The only thing she could could think of was sleep… Yet, as she drifted off into what she liked to call ‘the mid point’ where you’re vaguely aware you’re awake, but not asleep, Lefty sensed something really strange… 

There was a very faint breeze in the air… Lefty tried to ignore it so she could head off into dream land, but the breeze got stronger… “What the haymonkeys?! Can’t someone get some sleep?! I’m never going to with THAT kind of breeze!” Lefty angrily thought, as she huffed and blinked open her eyes to see what was the deal…

However, when she opened her eyes she had to quickly close them due to the sudden light contrast. “Oww! Who left the lights on?!” Lefty tried to yell her thought out, but it remained trapped in her head….  Lefty then tried to lick her lips to unseal her mouth, since sometimes it tended to do that without water in the night, but as hard as she tried to move her tongue it refused to budge… “Ok, not funny… Why can’t I move? Is this another one of those dumb dreams where I’m about to wake up?” Lefty thought, since she couldn't speak… 

Lefty then started to hear a faint voice that started to get louder and more recognizable  “NO! YOU CAN’T HAVE HER!!!!!" Lefty heard a voice… "Cat?" Lefty’s body began to go into panic mode as she realized that she was having some sort of dream… She didn't like what she was hearing, yet at the same time she wanted to open her eyes again and see what was happening… However, fear won against her better judgement and she decided that keeping her eyes shut would be best until she knew what was going on… So Lefty simply laid there and listened as the sound of another voice came into her hearing range…

 “*Tehehisss hehetiss*…. This…? THIS is the hero? *Bwhaha!* Really?! This is it? This is all I get to play with?! A scrawny pipsqueak? *ho-ho!* This is a riot! This can’t be the hero! She’s too young! I think those ‘light loving  freaks’ are just messing with me now! They know their hero is never going to come, and now they just want to toy with me! *hahahaha! Hehe….*” The voice laughed….

Suddenly it turned very rough and almost growl like, which made Lefty shiver… “So…. Let’s get rid of her quickly…” The voice roared making Lefty very nervous despite the fact she knew it was just a dream… The footsteps got closer and closer to her until they stopped for a little bit… 

“But hey, I’m a nice guy… Let’s not leave our guests out in the dark as well!” The voice purred as the sound of screams got closer until they sounded like they were right next to her… 

“NO! YOU CAN’T HAVE HER!!!!! LEFTY!!!!!!!!!!!!” Cat screamed again… The voice seemed to walk closer to the direction Cat’s voice came from and growled… “SILENCE!! Your punishment is next for pretending to be the hero as WELL! Would you LIKE me to put you in line FIRST!?” The voice roared as it started to change into something that sound more like a dinosaur, except it was a bit more raspy than that… “Perhaps a dragon?” Lefty thought as her body remained stiff as a nail…

A faint squeak was heard coming from the general direction of Cat as the voice walked over towards Lefty again… The unforgiving sound a sharp metal could be heard being unsheathed as Lefty’s body screamed for her to get up and move… But Lefty could do nothing but lay still as some kind of force prevented her from moving her limbs…

Roars and hisses could be heard around Lefty as the voice’s feet stood on top of her body, causing all kinds of pain to shoot through her as she laid there helpless… The voice didn't stop there and now its knees were digging into her side and putting more pressure on her body… 

"Owwowoww!" Lefty screamed in her head as she tried to move any part of herself to get away. But yet again, nothing changed... Lefty felt sick; this dream was becoming a bit too real for her...

A faint whisper could be heard… “So now what do you have to say Prophet? Now what do you do?! It’s over… You've lost, and I've won…” The voice mocked as it changed again into a more soft and soothing voice, like an angel or mother’s voice would be, but a little bit harsher than that… Lefty heard another voice speak next to her, that sounded very familiar, yet distant as well… “I may have lost today ‘Dark shadow’… But tomorrow is your dying day…” Lefty froze in horror as she realized what was going on, while the ‘Dark Shadow’ screamed in agony...

“YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SAY SUCH BLASPHEMY!!! YOU WILL DIE NOT ME!! I HAVE WON!!!” The voice shrieked as it roared angrily… Then it snorted angrily, as Lefty heard it turn back around towards her and growl… From the sound of it, Lefty thought it was charging towards her for whatever reason as it bellowed along the way… “IT IS FINISHED!!!!” Lefty thought she heard the voice scream, but she couldn't tell if it was the ‘Dark Shadow’s’ voice or the other mysterious one… Then suddenly a sharp pain hit Lefty’s side; making her jerk awake and scream… 

Lefty panted as she wiped cold sweat off her face… “Just a dream… Just a dream…” Lefty reminded herself as she looked around at her friends sleeping… She then looked at her cross necklace because it was glowing rather brightly… She then came to conclusion that her cross necklace had given her that dream to prepare for what was to come…

“Tell them…” The stone cross whispered to Lefty… Lefty growled in response… “Ya.. And I’m the queen of mars…” Lefty frowned as she got up out of her bed and went to get some water from the sink… “Lucky they have a sink in this dimension...” Lefty thought groggily as she tried to wake up a bit… 

The cross stone seemed to glow intensely, as it flashed brightly off and on… “This is not up for discussion  You need to tell them …” The stone whispered with a bit of urgency in its voice this time… 

Lefty didn't like the sudden pressure she was feeling, and instead ignored the voice and continued to splash water on her face… The stone wasn't going to take no for an answer though, and flashed brighter on and off… This made Lefty aggravated as she realized she could now hear stirring in the bedrooms, no thanks to the light the stone necklace was making…

“What the haymonkeys man!? Why do you constantly insist on forcing me to do things I don’t want to do?!” Lefty screamed at the stone necklace in her mind… However, she was quickly interrupted by the sound of pawsteps heading towards her direction… 

:O Whoa, did Lefty just have a vision? 0_0 Hmm... Seems legit to me, but why won't she tell anyone? >:O You'll just have to tune in next time and find out! ^_^

(Picking up pace huh? ;3)

Chapter 21

Yay! Here is Chapter 21 guys! ^^

Sorry guys, this chapter's mostly a filler on some things... :/ But it will get better I promise! Just hold on a bit longer... :3

Anyways, enjoy! :D

Chapter 21

Lefty yawned as she sat back into her chair…. She was tired and worn out from all the energy she had spent, and was surprised she hadn't cloasped into sleep just yet…  She settled back deeper into the chair to be more comfortable, as she let her eyes gaze over to the group… 

Apparently Raven was giving the gang a crash course training exercise on what was what, and why this happened or why it didn't happen… Lefty was really too tired to care at the moment, so instead she let her eyes shut and tuned in to what they were saying with her ears through her hood… 

“…Shadow…” “Army… Attacked…” “Dark….” Lefty was only hearing bits and pieces as she fought to stay awake and listen… Whatever the gang was talking about sounded important, as Lefty could make out her friends voices talking fast… She continued to listen… “777…. Golden….” “Sacrifice…” At that word Lefty nearly sprang up, but she was too tired to really do that… (What on earth are they talking about? I don’t comprehend this…”) Lefty pondered… “Young Prophet…. It is time to rest and have peace…” The stone cross whispered to her…. Lefty wanted to argue; to stay up just a little longer and listen, but the stone cross had other ideas as it’s warm glow surrounded her and made her start loosing consciousness as she drifted off to sleep land….

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Stripes sighed as he wearily looked over to the sleeping Prophet once more before returning his focus to the papers in front of the group… “Okay, I understand the brief origin of why this happened, but you still haven’t explained why we are here or more importantly how we’re supposed to get back home…” Stripes frowned as he sat back further into his chair while looking at Raven…

Raven seemed hurt by Stripes’ remark, but spoke without change in his voice… As if nothing happened… “I’ll be as clear as I can on the subject; but I can only tell you what I’m allowed to say… Each Prophet before you had a purpose on Estyren before they *ahem* left, just as you have a purpose here… Nothing happens without reason…” Raven relpyed… 

Stripes didn't like riddles, but let Raven continue… “Think about it this way… It’s like um, popcorn yes? I’m not too familiar with that subject, but I know one group who had some of the magical substance with them when they came…” Raven smiled, “One of the strange seeds er… Pops first before the rest do… and then once the final one pops you have the whole sack of magical white things!” Raven exclaimed… 

Stripes cocked his head in confusion… “I don’t get what popcorn has to do with our situation…” Stripes frowned…

Raven grinned, “Perhaps I’m not too familiar with your dimension… Let me re-frase it. One seed is like a single group… They come and do their purpose before they er… Pop, and then the next group comes in and does the same thing… Well once that final seed, you all, comes in and finishes the task then we have the whole bag completed, or should I say purpose of saving the world right?” Raven frowned a bit, obviously trying very hard to explain to the group the reason… He then shook his head, “Look, I’m not sure how to put it for you travelers… Regardless, you will come and do what you need to do, and then you will go home. I’m not sure how you will do it, but going home you will… The books do not lie, you will save Estyren…” Raven sighed wearily…

Stripes rolled his eyes, “Whatever… I don’t quite get all of that, but if you say we will go home eventually then I guess we’ll compromise… I don’t think we have much of an option not to…” Stripes frowned as he once again looked at his bud Lefty…

It was then that Space scooted his chair and stood up… “Well all that’s fine and dandy cause we’re already doing it anyways, but why in the world are we saving your planet? Couldn't you just rally up your people and get them to fight? I mean, why drag other people to do your dirty work?” Space frowned, as if he was missing something…

Raven sighed and muttered something like, ‘you young kids shouldn't even be on this kind of a journey…’, before he grabbed the books off the table and put them back up on the bookshelf… “Many have… Many died…” Raven rambled to the group, making Stripes’ spine tingle… “As much as you think war is that simple, it’s not… There are only a few people left on this planet that are ‘pure’ anymore… There’s not enough to make an army even if we wanted too…” Raven frowned darkly…

Stripes could hear Space gulp a little, “Then… Why on earth do you think a couple of teenagers and kids can do it any better?” Space asked nervously… 

Raven grinned real big, “Because if I know one thing it’s that our loving creator that exists in every dimension, including yours, has left us a precious tool to help us… His love…” Raven whispered… 

Stripes thought this was some kind of joke! “What kind of dumb ruler leaves only his love to protect a whole planet?! Surely there is something more to it than that!” Stripes snorted… 

The gang glared daggers at Stripes, telling him to be quiet… “Stripes, this is serious… We’re not home anymore… Things work differently here…” Cat frowned as she returned her gaze to Raven… “Do you perhaps mean that energy that exits inside Lefty’s cross necklace? I’m not sure I understand…” Cat questioned…

Raven pushed his glasses up further onto his face… “Well, yes and no… Only a small portion of it exists inside your prophet’s stone, while the rest is dormant inside stone hill where your mission ends…” Raven replied as he sat back down… “You see our planet is ending its chapter… There used to be an abundance of light energy everywhere when the world was at peace…” Raven chuckled, “However, the ‘Dark shadow’ arrived soon afterwards to stop our joyful celebrating and began to destroy any unprotected ‘light source’ leaking around until there was only what was left inside that stone your bud has…” Raven pointed once more to Lefty who was still dozing away… “But fear not! The rest is not gone, but rather was placed into stone hill after the shadows chased it there… Because the light could not ever be destroyed, but rather only moved… The ‘Dark shadow didn’t like not being able to destroy it, but since he could not, he figured it would be easier to hide it so Estyren would turn to their most evil of desires…” Raven grimaced… “Only the most purest beings have survived temptation and death…” Raven whispered, as if it was hard to speak about… “Anyways, once you all reach stone hill and figure out how to release it, then the light will spread again and Estyren will begin its new chapter…” Raven smiled dreamily…

“*Ahem* Sadly, you’d be surprised that things do not work much differently here than in your world…” Raven smiled…

Shila blinked, “Huh? I don’t seem to understand that at all! I thought other dimensions were like supposed to be different!” Shila scratched her head…

Raven simply shook his head, “Well, yes they are in looks, and maybe in a few things we do and such… But the key aspect behind each one of them is the same… Each dimension goes through a life cycle. There’s creation, then maturity, old age, and finally the death of it… This particular dimension just happens to be on the verge of death because it is very old… But once a dimension dies, I believe in my studies that it doesn't really die, but rather transforms into something new along with other dimensions…” Raven chuckled…

Stripes was now really confused… “Uh… I’m not getting any of this…” Stripes mumbled.

“I think my brain’s going to explode…” Princess groaned as she fiercely tried to scrub her head like it would help stop it from spinning or something… 

Raven then laughed, “Haha! Perhaps I’m forgetting how young you all are! Come, let us rest and prepare for tomorrow.. I have some special training not only for the Prophet’s problems, but for your own problems as well…” Raven smiled warmly, as he helped guide the kids in the right direction to the bed rooms, while helping the gang guide the tired Prophet into the room as well….

0_0 So what will happen next? Gosh, Raven sure is one confusing guys huh? What does he mean by dimensions having life cycles? And lol, obviously he's not very good at explaining what popcorn is to children XD

Alright, so after a long time here is Chapter 20! ^^

It may be a little rough though, I don't have the same editing program that I used to.. :P

But, I had to get a new computer because my old one died... (It's a lot nicer btw)

Anyways, sorry! There will no longer be any cover photos! D:

I simply do not have the time anymore, and it is a lot faster to publish them this way...

But enough of my ramblings, here is Chapter 20! Enjoy! :3

Chapter 20

Lefty whined as she groggily blinked her eyes open to find a stranger looming over her… Lefty would have yelped in surprise, but her body seemed to disagree with her as it screamed in agony at her attempts to move… Lefty sighed as she helplessly watched the man walk away and talk with Space about something, but the sounds were hard to make out, and Lefty could only catch every other word as her head spun… 

“Okay Lefty?” Cat whispered to Lefty… Lefty blinked in surprise as she realized that both Cat and Shila where holding her by the arms, “Err… Ya I think… Who’s that guy?” Lefty moaned as she slowly tried to move her body…

Cat and Shila allowed Lefty to try and move, but it didn't amount to much as she flopped back down… “Don’t know yet… Seems he’s the owner of the house that has Lilacs next to it…” Cat replied as she helped Lefty from falling down on her chin hard…

Lefty’s mind seemed to click back in as she nearly twitched from the sudden realization… “Cat... I need to speak with him…” Lefty told Cat as she tried to move her feet and arms suddenly… Cat didn't like that and immediately grabbed Lefty’s arm, “You can later! You’re not going to kill yourself trying to move after using so much energy!” Cat yelled as she tugged the weak Prophet towards her, making Lefty stumble in response…

Lefty only muttered a weak reply, and flopped back down… As much as she hated it, she didn't have the energy to be pulling off this stunt. Yet, she still needed to talk to him… Cat sighed wearily and helped Lefty up into a sitting position without her falling over from being dizzy. Cat had never seen Lefty this weak, and that was saying something since she tended to know Lefty really well.

Shila soon joined Cat in helping Lefty regain her senses… It seemed to Shila that Lefty didn't like the sudden attention she was getting, but was really too weak not to comply. Once Cat and Shila helped Lefty stand up, they quickly guided her over to where the action was going on…

The man who had opened the door  noticed that the young lass he had seen earlier was walking over towards him with help, and immediately ran over to the trio... “My word this is something! Does anyone care to explain why you kids are out here at this hour?” The man exclaimed. Eventually Space and Stripes joined in the fun and walked over to where Lefty was as well…

The strange man nearly laughed as he smiled and helped the poor lass dust herself off… “So what might your name be?” The man smiled… Lefty gritted her teeth at the pain she was feeling, but extended her hand forwards. “Name’s Lefty… Lefty the Prophet, and currently considered one crazy messed up teenager right now…” Lefty grinned playfully as she looked Cat and Shila, who flattened their ears in amusement…

The man blinked in confusion, but shrugged it off as he shook her hand… “Well Lefty, I’m glad you showed up. I've been expecting you all, but I didn't think you were so young! Name’s Raven, but you can call me Rave…” Raven smiled as he helped Lefty up the stairs to the door…

“WAIT, YOU WERE EXPECTING US?!” The gang yelled in unison, save Lefty… Raven nearly laughed as the gang walked towards Raven’s house, “But of course… I’m a wizard, I know these things… Right Lefty?” Raven grinned at Lefty… Lefty flattened her ears in embarrassment… “Right…” Lefty replied sarcastically… Raven disregarded that and gently guided Lefty towards the entrance of the door… “So, why don’t we head inside and get you all fed ok?” Raven smiled as he held the door open for the group…

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“Incredible! So you have already fought several shadows before you even reached me?” Raven exclaimed in wonder as everyone started to settle down into chairs and eat dinner… Stripes quickly took a sip of some water he was holding before opening his mouth, “Ya, and not to mention that some of them had actually managed to put us in a sort of nightmarish dream…” Stripes exclaimed hastily as he gasped between gulps of water…

Lefty silently put her light hood back on as she quietly sat down in a corner of the room… Her eyes silently gazed over to Raven who seemed to be eagerly taking in every detail from the gang’s adventure… “If Lefty hadn’t have used her powers to wake us up, I personally think we’d have been goners… However, I knew it was a dream all along…” Stripes quickly added in as he boasted about him being the strongest of the team… 

Space nearly wanted to clog Stripes, but instead tried to change the subject… “Err… Right, I’m sure we couldn’t have gotten anywhere without you Stripes, but if we truly didn’t have the equipment we got from Toby, we’d be in a bigger heap of trouble…” Space hastily butted in, knowing that Stripes could go on for quite awhile…

Raven nearly flipped out of his chair, “Wait just on moment! You went to Toby’s house?!” Raven exclaimed in surprise… Space’s voice squeaked, “Well ya… But why is that such a big surprise? Isn’t that where all the others went too?” Space replied in confusion, as he looked at Raven as if he had said something wrong…

The wizard nearly made his chair topple over as he quickly stood up and grabbed his staff… The gang watched in  confusion as he swung the staff around in such a manner it appeared as if he were sword fighting, and quickly slammed the bottom of it on the ground making an echo… Then the whole house glowed a faint purple before fading like nothing had happened.  Raven then quietly breathed as he shakily sat back down, this time having his staff in hand… “No young knight, everyone before you does not go to Toby’s…” Raven replied coldly as he quickly eyed the young Prophet who was nearly asleep… 

Lefty caught his gaze and slowly opened her eyes in confusion… Raven’s gaze then slowly shifted over to Space, “Tell me… Why did you go over there? Why Toby’s?” The wizard questioned, as if something didn’t quite make sense… Space blinked in confusion, but answered calmly, “Well, let me start from the beginning…” Space replied as the wizard nodded in approval… “I’ll make it short.. You see, we came here when we were asleep… Then Lefty said we should climb over this giant dirt hill, and then there was this town.. And…” Space didn't get to finish as Raven quickly interrupted him… “Ok, I see.. It appears the stone cross had lead you to a place most other Prophets do not arrive at…” Raven sighed in frustration… 

The gang looked at Raven in confusion as he continued… “I will be honest with you, and tell you everything you need to know as of now… First off, the reason I asked you about Toby’s is because he has been banned as a place that Prophets go too…” Raven replied, still indicating that the rest of them not speak just yet… “That is because his ambitions in what our little group of ‘light Protectors’ call him as, were dark and greedy… I am surprised as to why the stone cross would have wanted you all to start there… Secondly, I see that you are the destined ones to officially stop the shadows… That is why you all have been attacked so much more than any other group I have seen…” Raven frowned…

Cat frowned back, “So if we are really the chosen ones to stop the shadows, then why did the other’s fail? Why not our group fail as well? Or are you saying that to protect our feelings?” Cat replied darkly… Raven sighed as he walked over to a book shelf, “Like I said, I’m not going to lie to you…” Raven frowned as he pulled down a silver book and opened it up to a certain page..

Everyone except Lefty gathered around the table to look at the book. Raven quickly pointed to a picture, “I am certain you have seen this picture before since you went to Toby’s house… This picture represents the true Prophet with good intentions, that will stop the shadows… No surprise that’s your friend here, since she’s the only Prophet I've ever seen with long ears…” Raven laughed, “Anyways, the reason why there have been so many other try and fail is that the prophecy says there had to be 776 other groups come before you… It’s sort of like a wake up call to all the sinners and things… It also helps hide the true Prophet from the ‘dark shadow’ because he can not count that high…” Raven grinned…

Shila blinked in confusion, “I’m not getting this… What do you mean it can not count that high? And why did there have to be 776 other groups give a wake up call to people who have sinned? And in what ways did they sin? And most importantly, who is this ‘dark shadow’ you keep talking about?” Shila asked in confusion, no doubt making her head spin…

Raven simply grinned and closed the book, “Ah, that is a good question… I think to answer that, one must first know where to begin…” Raven grinned as he set down another book in front of the gang…. The gang looked at it in wonder, it was a small golden book with words written in an unfamiliar language… “What the heck is this?” Princess questioned in confusion as she tried to open it up and look… 

“That is the book of all books… I’m certain your Prophet and a few others know what it is… However, only the prophet is permitted to read it…” Raven frowned as he pulled Princess’ arm off of it… “Why her?” Stripes asked in confusion, feeling a little left out… Raven smiled warmly, “Ah, because it is a guide book made to guide and give encouragement to only the chosen ones… If one were to read it without the permission of the Prophet, I’m afraid that you will just disappear…” Raven frowned… 

That made everyone freeze in their tracks, “Just disappear?! Where did they go?!” Space asked, already knowing what the answer probably was… Raven did not reply, but simply picked the book up and tossed it to Lefty who was more than half-asleep, “You wanted to know about the ‘dark shadow’ correct? I've put a spell over the house, so no shadow can hear us…” Raven continued as if nothing had happened, and quickly reached for his staff and lit up a magical fire….

So what did you guys think of that Chapter? :O Raven sure is a strange wizard huh?

Tune in next time to hear more of Raven's Story! :D