Abandoned Memories

{*Abandoned Memories*}







Prelude,

{*Fractions of The Past*}



..............

         A tall, bulky teenager wearing a black hooded robe down to his

feet walks into a dungeon filled with helpless people trapped behind

bars. He walks past a helpless old woman, who mocks his presence.

         "You filthy scum! All 13 of you are gonna pay!"

            

         "Watch your tongue, rat!"

         

         " Some day you'll face judgement! I'll see to it!"



         "Hah! Foolish rat! This is the organization you're talking to.

We are judgement."

         

         "You're filth!"

         The child becomes angry, "YOU, ALONG WITH EVERYONE ELSE IN THIS

DUNGEON, ARE HERE FOR A REASON! YOU'RE  CRIMES HAVE BROUGHT YOU TO

THIS PLACE, NOT US!"

         "WHAT CRIMES?!! WE ARE FAR MORE INNOCENT THAN ANY OF YOU SCUM!"

         

         Another man, older and wiser, also with a black hooded robe,

walks into the dungeon, maintaining a slight distance away from the

outraged teen."Crixus, For what reason are you yelling at these rats?

Do they need punishment?

         He replies with shear anger, and walks past the hooded man.

"Yes boss! Everyone of them. Take their hearts(souls)

immediately!"

         The man looked at him with suspicion, "You know we can't do

that. Their souls are still too strong."

         The boy turns around,"Says who? Just set up the death sentence

now! I'm sick of seeing their pathetic, dying faces."

         

         "Crixus! Look at me now!"

         

         The child, although hesitance resides within him, chooses not to

disobey."Boss, I....I know what you're thinking. I swear I didn't..."



         "Anger. It's an emotion. Don't tell me he's influenced you too."



         "Boss, I swear I never said anything to him."



         "Fear. Another emotion. Already, you've been infected. Beyond

influence. You are just as much of filth as those in the cell."



         "But boss, please, give me another chance. It'll wear off I

promise."

         

         The old lady shouts at them from the cold bars in which she

is locked behind, and wakes up several other prisoners. "HAH! IT'S

THAT KID, ISNT IT?! HE'S INFLUENCED EVERYONE OF YOU. EACH ONE OF YOU

SICK BASTARDS HAVE FEELINGS AND DONT EVEN KNOW IT!"

         

         The older member of the organization experiences anger bottlling

up within him, but contains it with excellence. Instead of hollering

at the menacing old lady, he quietly announces to Crixus, "We will set

up the death sentence as soon as possible. This lady, she is right.

She knows way too much. That's why we must remove her and every one of

her followers from life."



         Crixus looks at him with puzzled amazement, "But boss, you just

said earlier that...."



         The man grits his teeth and whispers in the kids ear, "Listen,

if any other member of the Organization finds out that we have any

form of emotion, you do realize what our penalty is, don't you?"



         "Yes, I do, but boss,...



         "Good, now go see Xalaband. Tell him that the prisoners on

sector 361 have given up their hearts(souls) and are ready to be put

to death."



         "Yes boss" Crixus walks out of the dungeon and onto a large

flight of stairs heading up towards a huge, metal platform. In the

middle of the platform was a cylindrical stand, with a shining blue

aura on top of it. All around the platform was a countless series of

large, metal platforms heading towards other dungeons filled with even

more helpless people being held prisoner. Crixus walks up to the stand

and waves his hand over the blue aura. It then triggers the platform

to float upwards at a slant heading in the direction he was facing.

After a while it stops, and attaches to another platform 4 times it's

size. As Crixus walks onto the other platform, he sees a wall around

it, with 3 metal doors, one door in the middle, and one on each side.

He walks up to the door in the middle and opens it. He sees two men in

black hoods talking to each other, in an empty room containing only

designs along the floor and a plain desk with an antique chair next to

it.



         Crixus gulps, and interrupts their conversation."Xalaband, sir,

I have a message from Albaxis."

         

         One of the men leaves while the other walks up to Crixus and

asks, "If Albaxis wanted to tell me something, why would he send such

a low ranking member such as yourself to inform me rather than just

coming here himself?"



         Crixus felt pain that he hadn't ever felt before. He could feel

humiliation, but regardless of the matter he answered Xalabands

question carefully. "I don't know, but he sent me either way, now

please sir, let me tell you what he has to say."



         "Very well then."



         "Albaxis says that the prisoners in sector 361 are ready to

die.They chose to rid themselves of their hearts(souls) because they

can't bear to live with the crimes they've commited.



         "Cant bear to live? Hmmmm, sounds foolish. Very well then. We

will grant them their wish.  The sentence will begin at dusk tomorrow.

You must inform Albaxis of my approval."



         "Yes, sir", Crixus obeys and begins to walk towards the

elevation platform.



         "Crixus!"



         He turns around, "Yes sir?."



         "After you find Albaxis, I want you to look for Xelabus. Tell him he

is not welcome to participate in the sentence. He has already begun to

lose my trust. There is no telling what he might do next."



         "Understood."  He begins to leave the room. As Crixus walks

towards the floating elevator, he hears the door slam shut behind him.



         "Hmmm, Xalaband must be real busy," he wonders. As he takes the

elavation platform and reaches the 361st sector, he hears another

conversation going on around the corner, and the voices sound all too

familiar. He hides behind the corner of the dungeon and eavesdrops on

the conversation.



         

         " What could we possibly accomplish? There are way too many

prisoners. We couldn't save them all.



         "I know it seems hard but we can do this. Organization Xlll is

already falling apart as we speak, and If we can't save them all then

we need to save enough people to show that we mean business. Holding a

jail that kills people just for the sake of obtaining power. It's

wrong, and I'm glad you finally realize that just as i do Celest.

Just because this organization has no emotion does not mean we should

be at loss with our morality.



         "Youre right, Xelabus. No, you're always right. It just

surprises me that you didn't end up being the leader of this

Organization, you know? You would have made a great leader."



         "Celest, know matter how hard I try, Xavier will always have

that lurking power over me. After all, he is my older brother. It's

just sad that things have to come to this. I wonder what he'd be like

if he actually had emotions."



         "Xelabus, he'd be just like you, I know it. It's because he has

no emotion that he leads us. It's funny, because I can see a little

bit of emotion in every member except for him. I guess that's what

makes him so powerful. So, uhh, are we gonna save these people or what?"

"We have to think of a plan first."



         Crixus becomes slightly edgy and begins to feel a wave of

emotions slowly circulating throughout his body. He thinks to himself,

"No! I'm becoming a softy. I've been around them too long! I must

hurry!" He then walks up to Xelabus, pretending he didn't hear the

conversation. "Xelabus, I have strict orders to inform you of the

death sentence that will be held at dusk tomorrow."



         Both Xelabus and Celests eyes widen with horrid surprisement.

Xelabus releases his own tension and calmly answers, "Why so

early? Normally they tell us of these kind of sentences a week before

it actually happens."



         Celest puts her hand on her chin and looks intently at Xelabus,

as if signaling a change of plans. She announces while looking

straight into his eyes, "Strange."



         "Oh, and Xelabus, I was told that you were not allowed to go to

the death sentence, otherwise the punishments would be severe."



         Xelabus and Celest exchange glances again. They each know

exactly why he is unable to go. He answers to Crixus, "Then it Is

already decided. I won't go", he lies.



         "Okay then, I will let both Xalaband, and Xavier know that you

have accepted their disapproval of your participation." Crixus begins

to leave.



         Xelabus, on the otherhand, isn't finished with the

conversation."Hey, Crixus. Come here a second."



         He listens, and walks towards the two. "What is it?"



         "You need to cheer up. You're just a kid ya know?"



         Crixus retaliates, "You and your girlfriend need to mellow down

a bit. The Organization does not welcome those with emotion."



         Celest invades the conversation, "Not made for those with

emotion? Crixus look at yourself. It's because of this organization

that you're like this. You're hurting yourself Crixus, and most of

all, you're not a monster. Not like them."She pauses for a second, "If

you'll just let us....."



         "ENOUGH! I've heard enough from you two! Your feelings are

indescribably sickening. You are both scum of this world, the scum

that this organization means to free this world from. You're lucky you

are still a part of this Organization."



         Xelabus retaliates, "Youre lost Crixus. We can help you. Don't

you realize that Organization XIII was a big mistake right from the

beginning?"



         "Xelabus, the Organization is fine. It is you that is the

mistake."



         "Cmon Crixus! You are a good person. Don't you see that what you

are working for is working against you? They don't care about you, not

like we do."



         "I have nothing left to say to you Xelabus, only that it is

imperative that I announce to everyone in the Organization that both

of you have disgraced their name. The two of you are scum, and shall

be punished severely, and imminently." He begins to walk away.



         Celest cant bear his ignorance any longer. "CRIXUS! Don't you

realize what YOU are doing? These are innocent people. They aren't

scum. They are innocent people with hopes, and dreams. They have

families to live for, and all this Organization cares about is power?

Your turning yourself into a monster just like them. I know there is

good somewhere inside you."



         Xelabus interrupts her, "Crixus, if there's anything you need to

know it's this. An Elder once told me, True evil, true ignorance lies

within those who care not for others, but for themself."





Ch'.1

{*A Sunset to Remember*}



         / The sun whimpers, on a beautiful warm afternoon in the outskirts

of a large city known as Farvalle, while two, young souls, race in the

high, grassy fields up to the big swaying willow tree ahead of them.

It is overcome by a steep cliff, that allows the view of a large busy

city to be seen from miles away.

         The breeze is so soft, so gentle, that it expresses the nature of

the dying sun before dusk. Beautiful, is the sunset as all the colors

of red, orange, purple, and blue, mix to create an array of feeling, a

sense of hope.

         With large bursts of laughter, Alex, a 15 year old phylosophical

mastermind, with the charms of a rock star, shouts to his best friend

Cierra "You know you can't beat me!" His bright blue eyes gleaming,

showing a pinch of cockyness, as he allows her to keep up with him up

until they get close enough to the tree.



         "Hey....no fair, you're....too fast..", Cierra somehow manages

to get the words out of her mouth as she pants heavier and heavier

with every passing touch of her feet to the ground.

         As they get closer to the Great Willow Tree, the grass grows

higher and darker, while the light from the sun slowly diminishes.

         Cierra, is a beautiful 15 year old girl, with gleaming green

eyes, that sparkle in the sun, and long straight blonde hair down to

her elbows.  Not only is she beautiful on the outside, but she is

unique and artistic on the inside. Because of this she lacks in

confidence, but exceeds in intelligence, and chooses not to show it in

spite of giving off a solid appearance.

         Alex decides that this time, he'd let her get real close to the

tree before he picks up speed and crushes her hopes of winning once

and for all. Afterall, he couldn't possibly allow himself to lose

after having a winning streak of 13 to nothing.



         "Hey... Alex, you're looking....beat", Cierra says right before

she jolts at top speed, and faster than Alex thought possible.



         He obliviously replies, "Beat?!! Hahahah, no way!," still

running at a decent pace up until he realizes that she is several feet

ahead of him. As he runs the grass ahead of him seems to grow higher

and higher until he is unable to see her. "Hey, no fair!" he shouts

sprinting through  the high grass. Now, with her out of sight, Alex is

afraid he is going to lose the race.

         He keeps running and running, running and running,......



         "what? This isn't right." He comes into realization that he should at

least be at the willow tree now. Still, running through the high

grass, Alex finds himself in a state of panic and confusion. His

vision becomes blurry, and his heart beats faster than ever before.

         "where's the tree!",he yells as the grass becomes so high and thick

that it towers above his head. He screams in utter fear and confusion.

         "Cierra!!!!!!!" Due to fatique, he faints, and falls to the ground,

losing consciousness………………………………………………………………



         Only to find himself verging on the brink of lucidity, he peers

into what he believes to be a dream filled with nothing but evil and

darkness.

         "huh? Wait, I don't get it, where am I?" His  mouth drops, and

he notices that the atmosphere around him resembles something more

than just a simple dream. It is so much like reality that his voice

had turned to echo as he spoke. As he examined the pitch black

darkness around him, a feeling as if something was there, almost as if

it had begun to reveal itself as a conscious presence, had begun to

haunt him. "What an odd dream. Seems real." He talks to himself,

trying to overcome this odd, unsettling feeling of being watched. He

toys around with the lucidity of the dream, and shouts as loud as he

can,

"Where am I!?" He was not expecting a reply.



         "You do not remember?", a powerful, and low voice emanates from

the space around him. The voice is calming and soothes Alex's restless

body.



         He replies, barely conscious during the unexpected

phenomonenon,"wha, what's...going on. WHERE....Am, I."



         "WHERE ARE YOU?!! HOW can you not remember this very place? You

are in Twilight Town my friend, a rundown city with great potential,

and secrets misunderstood by most. Xelabus, Only those that know the

truth can make sense of these secrets. You, are the only one. Wait,

why am I even telling you this? Hahahahah, you know more about  this

town than anyone!", the voice rages on unable to understand why so

called Xelabus, is unable to remember who he was, or still is.



         Alex replies, "Huh? Who are you? What's going on?  You mean to tell me that

I've been here before?"



         "He's messing with our minds I know it", another voice, not

quite as strong, emanates from the backround.



         The greater voice yet again rages in frustration, "How do you

not remember this place?!! The room you are standing in right now?!"



         Alex blinks, now realizing that they are not a threat and that

they are just as confused as he is. He replies, "I can't see anything, just darkness."



         The softer, younger voice that seems to be that of a young male

angrily yells back, "You liar! You're trying to trick us, I know it!

You have to be!!! You have to be...", his voice slowly softening and

holding back with pain in his heart, "Whats his problem?! Why is he

acting like this??"



         A third voice, a female voice this time, is heard coming from

his right. "Xel, it's me. Don't you remember me?



         Her voice is so young and beautiful, it can only be recognized

as the one he lost in the high grass. "Cierra?" He guesses.



         She sighs, and is heard walking away. She walks up to where the

greater voice stands, and whispers in the old mans ear.



         The raspy, powerful, elderly voice roars in anger, but it is

evident that fear resides within his offended words. "WHAT?!! How can

you come to such an abrubt assumption?!! Xelabus remains with us.

There is no way his spirit could have passed! His heart is too strong!"

         His voice appears to come closer, "Xelabus, it's me, Albaxis,

previously, the 3rd order of the organization, a traitor of

organization Xlll, just as you are."



         "I'm really sorry, but I think you have the wrong person. I

seriously have no clue what you're talking about. Am I supposed to be

important or something?"



         "Yes, Xelabus, you are more than just important. You are the

very heart of this world. You ARE the balance." He turns around and

faces the other two. "Listen,  Xelabus is fine. Only his memories are

lost. We just need to bring him back to us."



         "But Albaxis, what about that deal? Xelabus made some kind of

deal with The Elders a year ago, right before the success of the

rebellion against the Organization, and all of a sudden he just

dissapeared. I can't help but miss him." The girl thinks for a minute,

and asks the old man,"what do you think happened to him?"



         The old man finally comes to an obvious assumption, " I guess

now it's time we face facts.



         "Face facts?", the girl questions his vague answer.



         "Yes, face facts.", the old man pauses for a minute." I can't

believe it took me this long to figure it out.



         The girl begins to lose patience, and speaks anxiously,

"Albaxis, what do you mean, face facts? I mean, he's

still here with us isn't he? He came back, and your saying part of

him isn't here? You're not making any sense.



         "Listen, Celest, I know how it must feel, to lose a friend,

someone you truly care about. It may seem unbearable at first but you

can't go on believing there is nothing you can do. Now before you go

on calling me crazy, you need to know this. Whatever we see in him is

probably the towns memories playing tricks on us. I dont think he is,

actually here anymore. That deal with The Elders meant the end of his

life here with us, whether we want to believe it or not. The Elders

always have divine reasons for what they do, and Xelabus; his bravery,

his separation from us brought hope to this world, but what he didn't

realize was that now, we would need him more than ever before."

         The

great voice directs himself towards Alex again."Xelabus, we need you.

This world needs you. We will come for you, just keep on waiting. It

won't be long."



         Alex replies towards the seemingly crazy old man "What are you

talking about?" He then thinks to himself, " I have one wacked up mind

for thinking of this. Better start waking up soon. I'm starting to

creep myself out."



         The old man sighs, and then informs the other two, "It may not

have killed him, but he is no longer a part of our world. In fact,

It'll only be a matter of time before his spirit fades away and

dissappears into whatever world he is now a part of. His memories of

us, have been lost forever, but....



         The young male interrupts and protests againsts the misguidimg

words of Albaxis. " You said not to give up! How can you tell us that

there is hope and then go on saying his spirit will leave and never

come back?!! You said there's hope, now tell us what we can do!"



         "Rex, you must listen, there is a way, you just didn't give me

enough time to explain. There is only one thing we can do to bring him

back, but it might be too risky. Things could go terribly wrong.

Afterall, it's incredibly hard to warp realities and not get noticed.

The Organization could find us. And with Xelabus knowing absolutely

nothing it might prove fatal if they find us before we get back home.

With xelabus powerless they could snap him like a twig. I hate to say

it but without him and his memories we are in for a load of trouble."



         Celest can be heard at a distance as he slowly, yet again loses

consciousness, "Wow that's so sad. I can't believe this is happening.

I never realized that without him we'd fall into desperation. And

without his memories he is totally powerless? I mean, it just sounds

so hopeless.



         Rex agrees, "Your right. Maybe it is hopeless."



         The girl then asks the greater voice, "And what did you mean

when you said it was just the towns memories? Are you saying that,

even though I'm looking at him right now, he's really just a figment

of my imagination?"



         "Not quite. Something must have brought him here. Maybe his

heart is fighting to remember, and the belief that he could conquer

the deal caused his spirit to weep, allowing him to send some kind of

paranormal message to us."



         "Thats besides the point! Were losing him as we speak!", Rex

implies to the two as they all begin to notice that Xelabus's body is

becoming transparent. Rex can slightly be heard yelling as Alex slowly

fades away. "WHATS HAPPENING TO HIM!? HE'S DISSAPEARING!?! XELABUS!"



         Alex feels a vibrational sensation of bliss as he slowly fades

away.



         "Woah, what's going on?", he murmurs as he feels as if he is

separating from this dream into the depths of sleep.

He can barely hear the old man continuing on with his

extraordinary explanation. "Wow, it seems as if his spirit is

literally being ripped from this reality and into another.

Good luck..... My Friend."





Ch.2

{*Hearts Awakening*}



         "Alex", a soft, feminine voice can be heard in the darkness.

"Alex....ALEX!!



         He opens his eyes and barely succumbs to the light, laying

backside on the ground with Cierras hands touching his head. Barely

awake he manages to murmur, "ughh, Cierra?



         " Youre awake, finally," she sighs.



         " What happened? How long was I asleep for? Did I lose?" he asks

a stream of questions as he slowly regains consciousness.



         "Well, you definitely lost, and I really don't know what

happened. Maybe you tripped or something?" she asks.



         "Yea, I think I did", he answers back thinking that was the only

seemingly acceptable answer. "I probably tripped and hit my head on a

rock. I don't know im not sure if I remember", he lies, and all of a

sudden has an awkward feeling, as if his body could feel the irony

that his mind created.



         " I hope you don't have a concussion. Are you alright?", she

sympathizes.



         "yea, actually I don't feel any pain at all. Hey let's get back

to the tree. I want to see the sunset before it gets dark,"



         "Here, Grab my hand I'll help you up," Cierra suggests as he

finds his footing and uses her grip to gain his balance.



         "thanks"



         "Yep, oh and I still won that race", she kids around trying to

lighten the mood. It's still late afternoon, and the sun is just above

the horizon.

         As they walk to the willow tree, Alex asks cierra "Hey,

how long was I out for?"



         She replies, "Not that long. As soon as I got to the tree I

expected you to be right behind me. You weren't, and I thought you

would jump out of the grass and scare me. So I waited for some time

and you didn't come. That's when I started looking for you. It didn't

take long before I saw you on the ground, laying there. I'm still not

sure how you passed out. Really, I'm just as confused as you are."

         As they got to the tree they each sat down using the trunk as a

back rest. They were about 5 yards away from the edge of the cliff.

At this point, they were able to see the sunset perfectly,

falling into a darkened shadow covering the mountains above the city

of falvalle. As the sun fell deeper and deeper into the mountains,

their shadows grew larger and larger, eventually covering the land in

which they sat upon into a slight blue darkness.



         "Hey, ughh, Cierra, did you, by any chance, here me screaming

your name?", he asks with a look of confused determination in his eyes.



         " You screamed for me? Why?"



         "Nevermind. I was probably asleep by then. But, aww it's just so

confusing."



         "What do you mean?", she asks with a bedazzled look on her face.



         He thinks for a moment, and finally has the courage to tell her.

"My dream, it just felt so real, and I don't even know how I fell

asleep by then. I passed out because I was running for so long when I

knew I was supposed to be at the tree. It just doesn't make any sense.

Maybe it was more than just a dream, and...."



         She interrupts him, "Calm down, Alex, you probably just had a

bad dream after you passed out. Hahahaha maybe you're getting out of

shape."



         "No, it was more than that, I know it was. Dreams aren't like

that. You don't just go into a dream. You have to fall asleep, and

that's when your imagination runs wild. This", he begins shaking,

"this was real!"



         Cierra starts to become annoyed and  doesn't fall for any of it.

"Alex, if this is your wierd way of trying to Impress me, it's not

working. And you're scaring me."



         "you're right, I'm sorry. I bet I sound like I belong in an

insane asylum right now."



         She replies," Ha, yea you kinda do."



         They both sit for a while, with nothing to say, and watch the

sun fall deeper and deeper into the mountains below it, until.....



         "Hey, what are you two love birds doin without me?", shouts Kage

out of complete nowhere.

         Alex is pleasantly surprised to hear the voice of his childhood

friend, Kage, although he was looking forward to a deeper relationship

with Cierra.

         "Maybe today was not meant to be that day", he thinks to himself. "So what brings you here?", Alex asks his cocky but unreplacable

childhood friend.



         Kage replies with a cocky smirk on his face, "I just wanted to

ruin the moment."



         Slightly embarrassed, Cierra remarked stubbornly, "what moment?!

And how did you even know we were here in the first place?"



         Completely ignoring the second question, Kage replied again,

with another look of cockiness on his face, and walked closer to the

two, " Oh, that's  right", he rolls his eyes, "like you said the other

day, Kage shutup, we're just friends. You sounded so defensive. Cmon

guys I'm not stupid. You two have something going, but I swear if I

end up being the third wheel or some shit....."



         Alex knew he had to say something, otherwise, Cierra would just

get up and walk away. "Kage?"



         Kage stared blankly into Alex's eyes, "what?"



         " If I were you, I'd quit coming to conclusions. You're annoying

her, and you know just as well as I do that you should never make

Cierra mad. She can get pretty feisty", Alex replied, knowing that

would comfort Cierra enough for her to stay.

         She giggles and points at the sky. "Hey guys, look."



         "look at what?", Kage asks holding back a comeback towards who

he now believes is "challenging" him. Then, he slowly turns his head

towards something remarkable. "Woah, Alex you see that?!"



         Alex's eyes wide open, with pure awww running through his mind.

He notices the mysterious misplacement of the night sky, "Kage, you're

wrong. You mean what we DONT see."



         Now in complete, utter shock, Cierra begins to make possible

assumptions as to how this strange event is happening . "Maybe it's

just a wierd eclipse, or am I imagining this whole thing? Alex, am I

dreaming?



         He shakes his head, "No, you're not dreaming, I think."Maybe I

am again", Alex thinks to himself.



         The experience is so unbelievable that Kage begins to studder,

"wha, wha, where did, did the moon go?"



         "Maybe Alex knows. Alex, did you do this?"



         He looks at Cierra with a snark look on his face. "Oh yea I

totally ripped the moon right out of the sky. Like I could ever do

that."



         "You're right, I just don't understand. Did it really just,

dissapear!?"



         Under the impression that something is very wrong, Kage starts

to feel anxious and uncomfortable. "Guys I think we should leave. I'm

getting the chills."



         Cierra replies with an odd look on her face, "Wait, we should

stay here a little longer. It's almost like, I can feel something.

It's wierd. I can't explain it."



         "Yea. Thats kind of the reason why I want to leave. Please, I

wanna go now", Kage pleads while slowly walking backwards up to the

high grass.



         "Kage, wait. You hear that?" Alex asks.



         "yes I do now let's get out of here!", Kage yells back as a

large rumble begins to form, as it becomes so loud and so powerful

that it feels like a small earthquake. As the small quake assembles,

an odd figure is seen pixelating in the sky where the moon is supposed

to be, while a large bright pink light flashes out of the pixelation.

The air around them begins to flutter rapidly, as a large wind picks

up speed at almost hurricane level.



         Now screaming in utter terror, while holding onto the willow

tree for dear life, Kage yells, "WHATS HAPPENING?!!"



         "I DONT KNOW!", Cierra shrieks, also gripping the trunk of the

tree.



         Alex slowly walks towards the edge of the cliff in order to see

the bright, shining, pink object with better clarity. His eyes

glimmer, and mirror the bright pink object floating hundreds of miles

away from them in the sky. He is almost hypnotized by it's beautiful

essence.



         A huge blast of energy can be felt through the ground and into

their bodies, as the pink light becomes brighter and brighter, and the

wind becomes incredibly strong, so strong that it pushes Alex even

further away from the tree.



         "Grab my hand!!!," Cierra reaches out for him while Kage holds

her arm forming a human monkey chain. She looks over Alex's shoulder

and sees the steep cliff behind him. He finally comes back to reality

and tries his hardest to grab Cierras hand but finds himself being

pushed closer and closer to the edge of the cliff.



         "I can't!", he screams. "The winds pushing me back! It's too

strong!"



         Completely ignoring Alex's fight against the smoldering wind,

Kage looks towards the sky and yells," WOAH!! YOU GUYS SEE THAT?!!".

He sees a pink heart shaped figure positioned directly where the moon

was supposed to be.



         "Cmon Alex! Reach!", Cierra manages to scream, as the heart

becomes brighter and brighter with each passing second, while forming

a red aura around the perimeter. At this point, the heart is fully

visible, and the hurricane winds begin to subside. Alex is one foot

away from the edge, and begins to lose his balance.



         Cierra let's go of Kages hand and runs towards Alex as he slowly

begins to fall backwards over the cliff. She runs as fast as she can towards Alex as he falls over the cliff, and almost loses her own balance as the power of the winds slowly die down. "Alex!"Cierra screams in shear agony over his plight towards the jagged edges of the giant cliff. She looks below the edge, and sees nothing. Then she notices something even farther down. It was Alex, hanging onto a large root coming from the Great Willow Tree.

         The tree had momentarily saved his life. Now, he just had to find some way to get up towards the top of the cliff, which was definitely not going to

be easy.



         "Alex! Don't worry we'll find a way to get you up! Just hold on!"



         He replies sarcastically, "Yep, just hangin on for my life

here." Then, all of a sudden, he feels a great burst of energy in his

chest. Something far greater than adrenaline. No this was something

that made him feel incredibly powerful, something that could not be

explained with words. Was it his heart? No, maybe not his physical

heart, but something within him that brought hope to this desperate

struggle. He all of a sudden feels the urge to let go of the root.



         "Alex I'm sorry I can't find anything!", Cierra yells fearfully

as she looks over the cliff and no longer sees him hanging off of the

root. "Nooo", Cierra whispers as a huge part of her dies within her.

She screams to Kage as if in agony. "Kage, he's gone!"



         "What?! What happened to him?!! I can't hear anything over this

wind!!"

         

         She ignores him and continues to look over the edge of the

cliff. "Hes dead."



         "Cierra. I'm right here.", she hears something echoing from

behind her.



         She turns around, and sees an insanely bright, yellow figure of

a person walking towards her. She knows that it is Alex, but can't

shake this feeling of losing her mind. The shining yellow essence in

replacement of his normal body didn't make sense, but she ran up to

him and hugged him tightly regardless of the insanity. As they both

regain balance she manages to ask, " But...but how?"



         He replies, "I don't know. I just felt this wierd feeling and all

of a sudden I ended up here. Anyway, the winds gone. Maybe it's over."



         Cierra felt overwhelming feelings of both of relief, and of

confusion. She was relieved that he had survived, but bedazzled as to

what was happening to him, and as to how he managed to get up the

cliff. But now, that didn't madder. Now dead silent, with the wind

gone and the earthquake subsided, the only sound left is the intense

vibration throughout the air made by the gigantic heart in the sky.

         The atmosphere around them begins to change from a dark blue to a

bright, blinding pink, while little glimmering flashes of white light

randomly appear and dissapear from sight, repositioning themselves all

over the sky, and the vibrations coming from the heart begin to

subside as well.

         "wwwwoooowwwww! It's so beautiful!", Cierra announces,

completely awe-struck, staring at the giant heart in the sky with

confusion and amazement.

         Out of complete nowhere, the heart beats once, and the pink

light becomes so bright that it blinds the three of them, allowing

only a flash of whiteness to be seen. They all scream, as if it is the

end of their lives, as the heart bursts, and explodes with a large and

incredible vibrational force. It knocks all three of them onto the

ground, and shortly after, the three of them can hear a large

whistling object, gliding 20 yards above their heads, like a firework

heading in their direction.

         They begin to regain their sight, as a big, bright blue object

the shape of a comet flies past them at sonic speed, and crashes into

the high grass, causing a combination of debri from the ground and

pieces of the object to scatter all over the place. The object burns

everything in it's path, and leaves a large trail of fire and burnt

grass behind it.

         Now able to see perfectly, the three of them look towards the

trail of burnt high grass. Cierra and Alex each take deep breaths, and

take in whatever it was that just happened.



         Kage on the otherhand does not react to the situation as calmly as them. He begins to lose his

sanity. "What,.. The hell,... Is GOING ONN! THIS is FREAKING INSANE.



         Alex tries to calm him down, "Kage, it's alright, we're fine,

right? Not even a scratch on us."



         "What DO YOU MEAN WE'RE FINE?!! ALEX THERES A FREAKING HEART IN

THE SKY!! AND SOMETHING JUST CAME OUT OF IT! FOR ALL WE KNOW IT MIGHT

WANT TO ANAL PROBE US OR SOME SHIT! I MEAN IT DID JUST AIM ITSELF

RIGHT AT US RIGHT? Alex it came from space. IT CAME, FROM

SPACE!!!!!!!!!!! AND NOT TO MENTION THE BLINDING YELLOW GLOW

SURROUNDING YOU! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!!"



         Alex doesn't quite know how to respond, because nothing like

this has ever happened to him, and he  is just as scared as his

friend. The only difference between the three of them is their sense

of adventure.

         Alex and Cierra become curious, and want to figure out exactly

what's going on. Unfortunately for Kage, there's  only one way to

figure it out.



         Cierra looks to Alex for approval, "Should we go through the

trail?"



         Before Alex gets the chance to answer back, Kage answers for him.

"What do you mean GO to it?!! Are you crazy?!!"



         Alex understands Kages hesitance, and although his curiousity is

overwhelming, he agrees with Kage and replies to Cierra, "He's right,

we should just leave it alone and go home. Act like it never happened."



         "THANK YOU!"Kage yells at him, seeing to it that someone was

finally making sense of the whole situation.



         As Kage and Alex begin to run away from the trail of burning

grass, Cierra chooses to stay and figure out what exactly Is

happening. She yells at the two of them. "How can you act like none of

this ever happened? The whole world is probably going crazy right now!

Look at the opportunity! This thing could have landed itself anywhere

in the world and it chose OUR hideout. Alex, think about it. These are

probably aliens with a technology so advanced that they were able to

visit us before we could even contact another alien race.

Guys, this is an opportunity we can't miss, and even if you do leave,

this, thing, will probably make itself known regardless of our

decision to stay or not. Alex, and not only that, maybe this has

something to do with your dream. Maybe the aliens were trying to

contact you in your dreams or something. I mean, what if this is our

destiny?!! Already I can feel the adventure. The linearity is coming

to an end guys, now we just have to suck it up and become a part of

the adventure.!"



         Alex turns around and replies, "Cierra, are you coming with us

or not?"



         "Did you hear anything I just said?!!", she yells back with

frustration.



         Alex and Kage are both too stunned to answer.



         She thinks for a moment. "No, I'm not going with you guys."



         "Why NOT?!!" Kage yells at her in disbelief.



         She rolls her eyes at Kage and tries to convince alex to go with

her. "Cmon Alex, I don't wanna go alone."



         Alex stares at her for a while with sympathy, and comes to the

conclusion that it would be best to leave. "Cierra I understand that

it would be a great opportunity but what if they're not friendly? Do

you want to be the first human being on earth to die because of a

hostile alien race? Tell you one thing , I know I don't", Alex thinks

for a moment, "Cierra, please, just come with us.



         "Fine, I'll just go by myself", she announces and runs straight

into the trail of burnt grass.



         Alex yells, "No! CIERRA!" He finds himself with no choice but to

follow her, not only because it would be the right thing to do, but

because he cares about her.



         Before entering the burnt pathway, he walks over to Kage, and

notices his body trembling in absolute fear.



         Alex begins to reason, "Kage, listen....." and is yet again

interrupted.



         " What the hell is she doing?! Why would she go in there?!! Is

she nuts!!", Kage shouts unable to control his erratic emotions.



         Surprisingly calm and collective, Alex notions to Kage, "

Listen, I really don't know what's going on, and I want to go home

just like you do, but we can't let Cierra go INTO THAT FLAMING

DEATHTRAP BY HERSELF!



         "I know, but all of this is just plain crazy! What if it's the

end of the world?!!"



         "It could be, but that's no reason to just leave her behind!"



         Kage looks to the environment around him and picks up a big stick.



         "You know what this means right?", Alex notions to Kage.



         He gulps, summoning up the courage to enter the blazing pathway,

"Yep, let's go."