D&C FT- Subterranean

Different and Cool FT: Subterranean

By Reid M. Haynes

Note: Some elements of this story are influenced by Japanese Anime (characters with technicolor hair, etc)

The story so far:
8th grade student Andrew Champion knew he was in for a wild ride when he decided to befriend Tarah Reichardt, the nerdiest girl in school. But he could've never guessed how special his new friend was. Tarah is actually the gatekeeper of another world called Broodring, home of the tree of life, Yggdrasil. Now, with the help of his martial arts trainer Maru Mari, Andy explores his relationship with Tarah both in school and in the realm of the fantastic tales.

(Read the other “Different and Cool” stories for details)

*****

         Uptown Starlight City was an explosion of sound, sight, fury, and diet cola billboards. Among the towering skyscrapers and enclosed walkways, vehicles beeped and bullied their way through the streets, a rainbow of colors reflected a thousand times over in the mirrored windows of the surrounding buildings. Folks of all ages and types were traversing the city sidewalks, entering and exiting the buildings like ants in the red earth. It was the perfect town to get lost in, a never-ending reservoir of inspiration and adventure.

         Andy coughed as a rickety old mo-ped blasted an illegal amount of exhaust up his nose. Brushing away the thick fumes, he turned back towards the optometrist's office, where he had been waiting for Tarah these past ten minutes. The signpost he had been leaning on was starting to leave a telltale groove on his back, and he adjusted himself absently as his eyes started to wander about the city. He adjusted his windbreaker as the large prop glasses hanging above the entrance caught his gaze, mesmerizing him with its cartoonish swirls painted on the "lenses."

         Soon though, his friend emerged from the office, having finally finished up inside. "I'm here!" Tarah announced, as she adjusted the glasses on the bridge of her nose. "Thanks for waiting!"

         "Hey Tarah, I thought you were gonna be ready when I got here," Andy complained, stretching out his back from its previous compromising position. "I didn't know it was gonna take an hour."

         "But look, Andrew!" she chirped, tapping her fingers on her frames. "New glasses! Aren't they cool?"

         Andy took a peek at the aforementioned object. To the naked eye, Tarah's new glasses seemed exactly the same as her old ones; black, horn-rimmed frames with large, thick lenses. Privately, he wondered if maybe you needed glasses in order to describe glasses. "They're nice, Tarah," he said instead, offering up what he hoped was an acceptable imitation of a smile.

         Apparently, this was good enough for Tarah, as she grinned in kind. "My eyes have gotten a little weaker since last year," she said, falling in by his side as they walked in the general direction of the bus station. "I only had my last pair for two years."

         "It's not something to worry about, is it?" Andy questioned, looking at her with some concern. "Your eyes, I mean."

         "Oh, it's okay." The bespectacled girl shook her head and smiled. "Near-sightedness runs in the Reichardt family, but we only get so bad. My cousin wears glasses too, but his eyes haven't gotten any worse since Junior High."

         "Another Reichardt inheriting poor genes." A silky, smooth voice slipped into the conversation like an international spy at a high-stakes casino. "The cycle of inferiority continues."

         Andy's body tensed up, and he began walking a little faster. Like an automaton, his stride carried him forward on a set path, his eyes locked straight ahead as to avoid any distractions. Appearing alongside the two like shadow wraiths, Justin Bishop and Slick C. Limestone were now flanking them like a pair of pincers ready to crush their prey. Former friends they once were, but nowadays, just another set of jerks to deal with, and the last two people Andy wanted to see right now.

         "Checkin' out the nerd habitats!" Slick crowed, waving his arm in a motion that encompassed the optometrist's office behind them. "What an explorer!"

         "And as doomed as one, too." Justin leaned over into Tarah's personal space as she eyed him nervously.

         "Don't you guys have something better to do?" Andy glowered at them from the corner of his vision, keeping close to Tarah as to provide moral support.

         "We were just visiting Father's shopping mall built in the newly annexed commercial district." Justin placed his hands inside his pockets, straightening up like a well-to-do society patron. "But we can take a break from B-Co's prime acquisitions to check out Champion's nerdy acquisitions. Our revenue goes up, while your reputation goes down."

         Andy was just about to retort in his friend's defense, but Tarah was focusing on something else. "Shopping mall?" the young biologist gasped, a trace of anger entering her voice. "Hey, you built that over Starlight City wildlife area! It was protected!"

         "You'd be surprised what a few loopholes and a good lawyer can do." Justin smirked with satisfaction. "Success of the kind you weaklings will never taste."

         "The rich get richer!" Slick guffawed, clapping Justin on the back. "Glad I'm stickin' with the rich!" The two roughhousing rowdies grinned, and then slapped five as if they had just completed a field goal at the fourth quarter of a bowl game.

         Andy growled, already tiring of this ugly charade. But before he had the chance to tell Justin just how much he cared about his father's corporate expansion, he became aware of a telltale tremor just beneath his feet. Justin and Slick continued to chortle to themselves, but Tarah had sensed the disturbance as well, gripping onto her friend's arm with surprising intensity. Andy could feel his skin prickle with anticipation, the hairs on his arm stiffening up and getting caught between Tarah's fingers.

         A moment of silence followed the brief tremor, but Andy and Tarah remained alert, eyes darting and ears perked for any sign of unusual activity. By now, even Justin and Slick had felt the tension in the air, and ceased their harassment of the duo to look around the city like a pair of antsy tigers.

         Andy took a second to slow his breathing. "What...was that about?" he muttered, half to himself, half to anyone that would listen.

         Tarah's eyes shot open with sheer panic. "Andrew, let's go!" she yelled, her grip tightening as she prepared to drag him off. "Now!"

         "Huh?" Andy turned to Tarah.

         CCCRRRAAACCCKKK!!! the sidewalk beneath their feet fell away in a collapse of concrete, sliding down like a stone-gray avalanche. In the middle of the street, just shy of the next intersection, a huge, dark fissure had opened up, as if Starlight City was a cracked egg in a chicken coop. Cars and trucks skid to a stop as they reacted to the sudden quake, with one minivan hanging precariously over the gap in the earth. The four teens traveling on foot that day weren't nearly as lucky, and found themselves caught right in the middle of Ground Zero.

         "Urgh!" Andy grunted, trying to scramble back to the one section of sidewalk that was still intact. The fissure had nearly swallowed him whole, and he was now hanging over what seemed to be an endless abyss of shadows. About the only thing keeping him up was Tarah's desperate hold on his arms, as she struggled with all her might to haul him onto the sidewalk. Justin and Slick fared no better, stranded on a sharp incline of sidewalk that left them trying to suction-cup themselves with their hands to keep from sliding downwards.

         "Damn!" Justin swore, trying to scramble up to the beautician shop just out of reach.

         "T-Tarah!" Andy stammered, holding on for dear life.

         "Andrew!" the pigtailed girl cried. "Hold on!"

         It was all for naught, as soon the ledge Tarah was standing on gave way to their combined weight. Together, the two friends plummeted into the abyss, their combined yell a unison of tenor and soprano. Justin and Slick held fast for a moment more, but soon they, too, were falling through the fissure to the Starlight City underground aqueducts. "C-C-Crap!!!" Slick managed to get out before all four teens disappeared into the earth, leaving behind the ensuing panic of a city gone mad.

*****

         "Ouch...!" Andy hissed, wincing at the application of the makeshift bandage. "I...think that's a little tight, Tarah."

         "Hold still, Andrew." Tarah continued to wind the material over his arm, where he had incurred a nasty slash from the fall. She was using a piece of Andy's windbreaker that she had torn into strips upon finding her friend was injured. It was a good jacket, but already ruined thanks to the blood stain, and a little too light for January anyway. Tarah and the other boys fared a little better, coming to with minor scratches and bruises that didn't require immediate treatment.

         "Don't think I'll be wearing this again," Andy commented, bringing the tattered remains of his jacket away from his face. "It smells like metal."

         "There's a high iron content in blood, you know," Tarah explained as an aside, securing the bandage with one final tug. "That's why blood smells like metal, because your body chemicals react to the iron."

         "If we're done with the science lesson, maybe we can figure out what the hell is going on," Justin interjected, setting his contemptuous gaze on the two of them. Andy bit back the retort he had prepared, instead heeding the advice and surveying their new environment.

         "This is so not coooool," Slick moaned into the darkness, his teeth chattering like canastas.

         Andy, Tarah, Justin, and Slick were now two-hundred feet below the city surface, damp from the foul sewer sludge that had broken their fall. Light poured in from the fissure above their heads, and the faint sound of emergency rescue vehicles could be heard from the city streets above. Previously, Andy and Slick had tried yelling for help, but the chaos above them ensured that their prayers would go unanswered. With no hope of climbing back up, and the noxious fumes already starting to make them sick, it was time to move on and figure out what to do next.

         Around them, the remnants of a lost world presented themselves in all their menacing glory, standing in stark contrast to the sleek metropolis above. The dark, stone walls entrapping them sported fearsome skulls where water drained out from, and the ceiling was decorated with large archways that could've belonged to an olden days fortress. There were even a few antique suits of armors lining the walls, bearing shields, swords, and spears from a bygone age of warfare. Other than a slight rust residue, these implements looked to be in decent condition, thanks to a high concentration of steel in their forging.

         Slick wandered over to one of the armors. absentmindedly running his hand over the blade of the sword. "Heh, looks like a museum show reject," he snorted, moving the vambrace in a slashing motion. "Ka-paw!!"

         "Starlight City was built over the original city founded by Saint Starlight," Tarah informed him, looking into a door leading to another passageway. "I bet this is an old sewer from back then."

         "They didn't tear it all down?" Andy wondered, wandering over to the armor Slick was currently perusing. "Strange..."

         "Oh, Starlight City leaders have always had a deep respect for history." The skinny girl managed a grin in spite of their precarious situation. "It's really interesting, Andrew, once you read up on it."

         "Keep your mouth shut, Reichardt!" Justin snarled at last, stomping over to Tarah and yanking on her left pigtail with undue force. "It's bad enough I'm stuck down here with you, so I don't want to hear your geeky flights of fancy."

         "Ow!" Tarah clutched at her hair as Justin continued to tug at it. "Stop it!"

         An indescribable rage overtook Andy, and he charged over to the two in a flaming fury. "How'd you like if someone yanked at your hair, huh?" he snapped, grabbing onto Justin's silver mane and giving it a sharp pull. "Get off of her!"

         Justin roared in surprise, loosening his grip on Tarah's pigtail. This gave Andy just enough opportunity to push Justin away from her, sending him sprawling forwards and nearly toppling him over. Quick as a whip, though, Justin was back on balance, staring at the other boy with a frothing mixture of malice and mayhem. Andy returned the glare with equal animosity, his demeanor almost as fierce as the antique armors surrounding them.

         "You know, Champion, you ran away from our last fight," Justin rumbled, pulling back his fist in preparation for a punch. "Nowhere for you to skip off to this time."

         "I'm right here, Justin." Andy's reply was quiet and acidic, his eyes already scanning his opponent's stance for any weaknesses.

         But just as they were about to come to blows, a low moan reverberated throughout the ancient corridors, dispelling the tension between Andy and Justin. The boys turned from their conflict temporarily, and started looking about the area for the unknown presence. Tarah slowly approached the two again, positioning herself by Andy's side. Slick gulped down a hefty wad of spit, the one exposed eye beneath his hair shifting about like lightning cracks.

         With an earth-splitting wail, a gnarled hand lurched out from within the shadows, reaching towards the foursome in a clawing motion. Slick shrieked like a thirteen-year-old girl, flying backwards onto his rear as his hair swung over to instead cover his other eye. The actual thirteen-year-old girl, Tarah, was less frantic in her fright, but her body was taut with tension, and she hunched forward like a baboon whose babies were under attack. Andy glanced at Tarah, and then turned towards the terror, a sickening, uneasy feeling rising from the pit of his stomach.

         All about them, wobbling awkwardly on two legs, were tall, humanoid beings, wearing the tattered remains of what looked to be pajamas and stocking caps. A faint, unearthly glow emanated from these monsters, sending a bluish light that crept through the murky haze of the sewers. Their sallow, sunken faces resembled sleeping travelers, but their eyes were wide open, emitting the same, unholy light that enveloped their bodies. Emerging from all nooks and crannies, they had surrounded the small group in numbers exceeding a dozen, forming a semi-circle and backing them slowly against the wall.

         "Gah!" Slick recoiled away from the mysterious beasts, going in full panic-mode. "What ARE those?!"

         "They're R.E.M.s" Tarah spoke quietly, entranced by the creatures' dead-eyed stare, but not so entranced as to deny the scientist inside. "I've never seen them until now."

         "R.E.M.s?" Andy kept his eyes trained on the incoming threat, spying more approaching from down the tunnels.

         "Revenant Energy Monsters," Tarah told the group, huddling closer to Andy. "They're a type of Dream Demon that have absorbed enough human nightmares to resemble the worst of our species. They're strong guys."

         Andy winced. From some of the otherworldly adventures he had experienced with Tarah in the past, he knew that what she said was the unvarnished truth. On one of those adventures, he had actually encountered another type of Dream Demon, one resembling a giant cockroach. He had been no match for the Dream Demons back then, and now he was facing them down once again.

         "Well, those 'strong guys' are about to end us!" Justin hissed, hustling backwards as one of the creatures reached for his face.

         "Don't touch them!" Tarah called out, this time taking on the role of the knowledgeable one in the wake of their supernatural nativity. "If you do, you'll be dragged to a deep sleep where you won't wake up! Then they'll prey on your dreams!"

         Andy gnashed his teeth, caught between a rock and a hard place. Like the rest of the group, his back was forced against cold stone, as the R.E.M.s closed in on them in advancing numbers. Frantically, he swung his head to and fro, trying to spy any inspiration that might get them out of this alive. His gaze fell on one of the armored statues to his immediate right, sporting a sword and shield that had survived the sewer stink fairly well.

         A plan finally formulated in his mind's eye, and he reached towards the gauntlet of the knight's armor. Wrenching open the fingers, he removed the single-edged sword from the gauntlet's grip, grabbing its hilt within his own two hands. Although the blade was orange with rust, the sword was well balanced, and not too heavy for someone his size. "Can't touch em', huh?" he growled, bringing up the weapon and taking a grand swing at the nearest R.E.M. like a batter kicking off the first inning. "Try this!!!"

         The blade slashed clean through the Dream Demon, severing its head at the neck and leaving its decapitated body to fall back lifelessly in a tangled heap. Slick let out a curse at the sudden severing, and the R.E.M.s reacted to their fallen comrade, bearing down on the small group even harder. But having achieved a modicum of success, Andy was no longer cowed as before, and continued to confront his fiendish foes with the look of flame in his eyes. "We won't get anything done just standing here!" Andy shouted, his grip tightening around his sword. "Let's go for it, Tarah!"

         "R-Right!" the girl cried, rushing to one of the armored suits to procure a weapon for herself.

         With a herculean cry, Andy went on the offensive, ignoring the slight pain in his injured arm as he carved a path out from the R.E.M.s unholy circle. With his eyes darting from foe to foe, he moved his sword in large, looping arcs, cutting off arms, legs, anything with the potential to reach out and send him to an eternal sleep. Tarah, for her part, had managed to salvage a large partisan with a cracked, useless blade. Shattering the blade against the wall, she grasped her makeshift staff in two hands, and proceeded to apply her quarterstaff techniques to keep the monsters at bay, using the weapon's long reach to keep clear of any offending appendages.

         Andy ducked under a R.E.M.'s haphazard punch, returning with an uppercut slice that cleaved the creature straight through the middle. "Make yourself useful, idiots!" he hollered out at Justin and Slick, who were still standing in awe of the two young fighters. Andy and Tarah were now teamed together, using their combined ability to watch each other's backs and keep the Dream Demons from getting the upper hand. Tarah utilized whirling swings of her staff to give themselves a wide berth, while Andy set about tackling each creature individually, finding them no match for his training in the fighting arts.

         Slick continued to cower helplessly, splayed against the wall like a squashed spider. Justin, however, had pulled off a pair of gauntlets from one of the surrounding armors, and was in the process of fitting them onto his hands. Having armed himself, the silver-haired lad clenched his metal-clad fists, and whirled towards the enemy forces. His narrow eyes squeezed into two dangerous slits, and then, he was on the R.E.M.s like a lion, beating them down with a flurry of powerhouse punches.

         Andy focused his attention on his opponents, but kept enough awareness to notice his former friend's fighting fervor. Justin's punches were coming out fast and hard, flying in seeming random patterns that were keeping as many as three R.E.M.s at bay. Before ten seconds had passed, the silver-haired boy had fought his way to Tarah and Andy, sidling up next of them to form an incomplete circle facing their opponents. "Justin?" Andy spoke up, stealing a sideways glance at his impromptu ally.

         "It's the Blaster Rush style." Justin answered the boy's unspoken question. "You're not the only one who trains in an advanced martial art."

         Andy paused for a moment, then accepted this new information with a grim smile. "Reminds me of that time we took on those older kids trying to kick us off the baseball field," he commented, thinking back to a memory almost three years old to this day.

         "Looks that way, Champion." Justin's tone remained the same, but his grimace lifted upwards in an expression that could almost be described as a grin.

         "Andrew, Justin, let's head this way!" Tarah broke into the conversation, grunting as she slammed her staff into a R.E.M. that had been getting too close. "I bet we can make it!"

         Together, the terrible trio continued through the cramped corridor, with Slick following along like a gun-shy puppy dog. With Tarah leading the way with her wide-ranged attack, they cut a swath through the R.E.M.s, as Andy and Justin assisted her with a combination of swordplay and the sweet science. Rounding the next corner, they shot through another passageway, this one adorned with old torches that had long since lost the ability to brighten the way. Andy paused in front of a particularly stubborn opponent, then chanced a spinning heel kick that tore the R.E.M.'s head clear off its shoulders, his shoes and jeans protecting him from the cadaver's cursed touch.

         Suddenly, a rumbling sensation overtook the passageway, nearly sending the four stumbling over their own feet. The R.E.M.s ahead let out an alien squawk, then skulked back into the shadows for the moment, leaving a clear path for the kids. Andy kept running ahead, but looked upwards at the ceiling, spying the loose sediment and debris that was starting to come loose. "It's another earthquake!" he shouted out to the others, who were also picking up the pace. "Hurry!"

         Amidst the threat of falling stone, the Starlight teens run through the tunnel, shielding their heads reflexively with their arms and weapons. Yet the seismic activity was already at an all-time high, and they could hardly keep their footing now. Finally, the tunnel itself gave way, and the ceiling came crashing down almost on top of them. The four kids all dived in different directions, sliding across the sewage before drifting to a stop among the piles of fallen foundation and stone.

         Andy was the first one up, raising himself up on his hands alongside a fallen Slick Limestone. Looking back towards the site of the destruction, the way forward was completely blocked off, and Tarah and Justin were nowhere to be found. "Tarah!" Andy hollered through the debris, hoping against hope that his voice would be answered. "Tarah, are you okay? Tarah!!"

         "Andrew, I'm alright!" Tarah called out from the other side, and Andy sighed with relief as he could see her elfish face through a hole in the wreckage. "I'm with Justin!"

         With a grunt, Andy set about trying to move the fallen ceiling separating him from Tarah. It was no use; the crucial obstacles impeding him were altogether too heavy for someone of his meager strength. "It's no good!" Andy shouted as he continued to struggle with the stone. "I can't move it!"

         "Andrew, I have an idea!" Tarah piped up through the rubble. "I read up on the Starlight City underground in my history book. Let's follow the flow of the sewage, and that'll lead us to the new water purification plant! We'll meet up there!"

         "Split up?" Andy's voice was incredulous, and he slapped his hand on the debris in frustration. "But you'll be alone, with only Justin!"

         "It's okay, Andrew!" She tried to encourage him with her simple smile. "I can handle being without friends. I always was before."

         The double meaning in her words tore at Andy's heart, as he remember a time when Tarah and him weren't as tightly knit. "But you have friends now," he told her, trying to reach through the wreckage to touch her hand.

         "I know." Tarah's smile softened, her eyes twinkling with repressed emotion.

         "Oh geez, can we quit with the romantic interlude?" Slick complained from Andy's end of the collapsed corridor. "Let's just get out of this dump so I can wash my beautiful locks!"

         "Limestone's right," Justin barked, moving over to Tarah. "Let's go."

         In two groups, the junior high students walked away from the wreckage, taking detours leading deeper into the sewers. With Andy's sword, Tarah's staff, and Justin's gauntlets, they remained wary of any danger, for the next trial awaiting them was surely only a corridor away.

*****

         The walls of the labyrinth were starting to feel claustrophobic, with their gothic architecture and menacing ornaments lending them the sense and feel of a torture chamber. Thirty minutes had passed, yet Andy and Slick were still traversing the dilapidated dungeon by their lonesomes, following a never-ending stream of sewage. In this particular corridor, the walkways were decorated with stone gargoyles that kept a beady-eyed stare on the two boys. Yet Andy pressed onward at a steady gait, much to the disconcertion of Slick, who was trailing behind nervously, commenting on every object that even remotely disturbed him.

         "Look at these ugly things!" Slick cried with a grimace, lurching away from the looming gargoyles. "Reminds me of Mom before she's gone to her stylist. I hate this crap-hole!"

         "Nothing we can do about it now," Andy replied, still keeping his sword at the ready. "Don't mind the scenery, and just keep moving forward."

         "To where?" Slick shot back, throwing up his arms in despair. "We have no idea where this rat maze goes! We haven't seen Justin or your geek girlfriend in, like, forever!"

         "It's all got to link up sooner or later." The boy didn't bother acknowledging the 'girlfriend' bit, but continued stomping through the sewage that had accumulated on the walkway. "Tarah's got the right idea."

         As they reached a fork in the road, Slick stopped for a moment, letting the other boy get a few steps ahead. "Why are you doing this, Andy?" he asked finally, his arms flopping to his side in a gesture of futility.

         "Huh?" Andy stopped in his tracks, turning back towards his traveling buddy and letting the sword drop to his side.

          "I mean, this whole 'I'm gonna hang out with the world's biggest nerd' thing," Slick tried to explain, resting his back against the nearest archaic object lining the tunnel. "You've totally changed this year, dude! We don't even see you half the time, and when you show up, you're too much of an embarrassment with that dweeb you keep around. We're enemies now, and I don't know how it happened!"

         "Because it's an adventure." Andy's face softened in surprise at Slick's sudden interest. "I just got tired of doing the same old thing day after day. You can hate Tarah all you want, but she's anything but boring." His lips arose in a gentle smile. "It's freedom, Slick. That makes all the difference in the world to me."

         "But it's stupid, Andy!" Slick insisted, gesticulating wildly. "Nobody in school likes you anyone, and Justin's out for your blood. This is a Grade-A mess you've cookin' up here! It's just gonna keep getting worse for you!"

         "Well, then that's how it is." Andy propped up his sword on his shoulder, turning towards the ongoing path shrouded in darkness. "You can't be safe and free at the same time. Maybe you'll figure it out someday, like I did. But right now, I'm ready for anything that comes my way."

         Slick frowned at this, but continued to follow after him. "Safety and freedom, huh?" he muttered to himself, looking down towards his shoes, as if they could explain the truth in Andy's philosophy.

*****

         "How much longer are you going to sit there, Reichardt?" Justin seethed, sneering at Tarah as she bent at the water's edge. "Looking at a new bacterial growth for your checklist?"

         Tarah said nothing, but continued to analyze the rushing current. Suddenly, her eyes lit up like a child receiving a birthday present. "The water's moving faster!" she squealed, smiling down at her muddy reflection. "We're going this way, Justin!"

          As Tarah darted off into the darkness. Justin snorted to himself, smashing his gauntlets together in absent-minded frustration as he followed after her. It had been this way for the past thirty minutes, which was already too long for him to spend with Reichardt. Despite Justin's social connections with Starlight City and the Bishop Corporation, it was Tarah who actually had the run-down of how the underground aqueducts worked, thanks to her interest in science and history. This left Tarah as the defacto leader of their newly formed team, leaving the silver-haired boy as a lackey of sorts, an ironic reversal of their social statuses at school.

         Justin wasn't going to leave it at that, however. "It's your fault, anyway," he grumbled, walking in step with her. "Everyone you deal with something bad happen to them, including Champion. You'll always be a magnet for trouble, Reichardt."

         Last year, Tarah might have gotten hurt by such caustic comments. Instead, she just gave him a quick glance. "You don't have to hang around me if you don't want to," she said, returning her gaze to the sewers ahead. "Cougars and wolves avoid human habitat, you know."

         "You're too easy a target," he insisted, studying his gauntlet-gloved hands and contemplating the power they contained. "Freaks like you are destined to be destroyed by wolves like me. It's the law of Nature."

         Tarah closed her eyes, her hands tightening around her metal staff. "I used to think that, too," she admitted, wiping her glasses free of the humidity that had built up on the lenses. "I thought I was just too different, that I couldn't adapt like the rest of our species. Then I met Andrew, and he showed me I wasn't just a dead-end, that there was a place for me after all."

         "Champion may have become a lion, but he'll not be content to lie with the lambs," Justin challenged her. "He'll get sick of you, like everyone else did."

         "He won't," Tarah rejoined, her jaw set. "Because he's my friend. And I can help him too. I'm not the same as I used to be."

         Justin was silent for a moment, letting Tarah's statement hang in the damp air. "Well, we'll just see how long your unnatural union lasts," he decided, brushing at a loose lock of hair with a metal finger. "Until then, watch for the wolves. We'll coming for you."

*****

         "Can this sewer go on any longer?" Slick moaned, tugging at his water-logged jeans. "These threads were brand new, dude!"

         Andy raised an eyebrow at his cantankerous companion. "You know, I wonder why you're the one that finds Tarah annoying," he tossed out with a smirk.

         "At least I don't babble on about the joys of muskrat reproduction," Slick argued, absently brushing at his hair so that it covered his eye in the style he most preferred.

         "It's more interesting than you might think," Andy replied, having long since past the need to feel embarrassed. "Look, I think I can see light up ahead." The sea-maned boy squinted his eyes at what he thought was light streaming out from the end of the corridor. With his spirit rejuvenated, Andy began jogging...right into the path of two other teen that were crossing the intersecting tunnels.

         "Ooof!" the boy grunted, struggling to retain his footing. When he saw who he had bumped into, his face erupted into a mega-watt smile. "Tarah!"

         "Andrew!" Andy's myopic, always-enthusiastic friend was an explosion of energy as she hugged him round the neck. "I'm so glad you made it!"

         Andy hugged Tarah back, ignoring the presence of Justin Bishop, who was bringing up the rear with a look of barely-contained contempt. Instead, he looked beyond the girl's pigtails into the light, which was much clearer now. "And there's the exit, too!" he cheered, squeezing the girl just a little bit harder. "We made it!"

         "Not a moment too soon." Justin breathed a sigh of relief that was rather uncharacteristic of him. "Any more time with Reichardt, and I'll be growing a third eye." Giving Slick only a cursory glance, the boy took off towards the exit at a rapid pace. For once in total agreement, the rest of the group ran after him, their eyes alight with the promise of refuge, refreshment, and maybe a nice, hot cup of cocoa to cap off the day.

         But all too soon, comfort gave way to catastrophe, as an old foe made a long-overdue comeback in the Starlight City sewers. Right behind Justin, in a burst of indigo flame, a hulking figure raised itself from the murky mire, cutting off the exit from Andy, Tarah, and Slick. Tarah shrieked uncontrollably, and Andy rushed to her defense, bringing up his rust-ridden sword once more. As Tarah struggled to bring her staff up to bear, the fire surrounding the figure dissipated, revealing a final Revenant Energy Monster, one with a lot more energy than anything they had previously faced.

         "It's a R.E.M. Nocturnal!" Tarah called out for the others' benefit. "This one's fed off the darkest of night terrors! He's even stronger!"

         "Dammit, I can't take much more of this!!" Slick screamed, grabbing his head in a vice-like grip.

         "Justin!" Andy pleaded from his side of the corridor, trying to catch sight of the silver-haired boy ahead. "Get back here and help us get rid of this guy!"

         But the surly teen only shook his head in refusal. "Sorry, Champion, but this soldier's bowing out of the 'wands and wizards' game," he said, taking off his gauntlets and depositing them in the sewer water. He turned toward the light, where the promise of escape awaited him. "It's every man for himself now. Let me know how it turns out for you."

         "Come on, man!" Slick protested, reaching for his friend. "Don't do this to us!"

         But Justin had already taken off for the exit, leaving the gauntlets lying uselessly in the sewage behind him. Andy swore under his breath, and turned with Tarah to face down the last obstacle to their freedom, without the aid of their one-time companion. The R.E.M. Nocturnal was easily fifty-percent larger than the previous R.E.M.s, its moaning mouth now sporting a set of pearly white fangs. What's more, it had somehow found itself a nice, long axe to brandish, and was clearly capable of splitting Andy and Tarah like lumber.

         The boy swallowed his indecision, brought up his sword, and charged the beast with everything he had. Coming down hard with an overhead strike, Andy was dismayed to find that the R.E.M. Nocturnal was well-versed in combat, blocking the blow with a mere twist of its axe. Tarah was following close behind, joining her friend's assault with a pinpoint jab to its stomach. This, too, was turned aside, the R.E.M. moaning dangerously as it whirled its weapon in a spiraling motion that made it impossible for the girl to squeeze an attack through.

         Andy and Tarah continued to hack away at the beast, assailing it from all sides and trying their best to find an opening in its defense. Yet the R.E.M.s determination was ironclad, spinning its weapon in a myriad of patterns that deflected any and all assaults coming its way. Even when the two combined their strength in a two-pronged assault on its head, the axe-wielding antagonist held fast, simply gripping its weapon tighter to resist the simultaneous blows. And with a wild swing of its axe, it sent the two teens flying back with sheer wind force, their weapons knocked from their hands and no longer accessible to them.

         "No!" Andy yelled. as the R.E.M. started moving in, its axe raised above its head in preparation for an executioner's final arc.

         "Andrew!" Tarah scrambled to her feet, trying her utmost to reach her friend. "Please don't die!"

         But the fearsome foe had already closed the distance between them. Andy raised his head to catch the glint of the axe, seeing his own helplessness reflected in its shining blade. He screwed his eyes shut, and prepared for impact.

         "Andrew!!!" Tarah screamed.

         And then, the creature ceased its assault, freezing like a robot that had just been cut off from its power supply. Andy willed his eyes open, and found that the R.E.M. had lost all its violent fury, the eerie aura surrounded the beast fading to a mere flicker. A large metal spire was sticking out from its chest, running straight through the creature like a beef kebab. "Get back to sleep, jerk!" Slick barked from behind the R.E.M., twisting Tarah's staff one final time.

         As the beast stood motionless, the blond teen knocked down his adversary with a single, well-placed kick, sending it face-first into the muck. As Andy and Tarah stared slack-jawed at Slick, he pulled the staff out of the fallen monster, tapping off the phantasmic gore that clinging to it. He grinned toothily, holding the staff aloft like a royal guard. "Wanna ditch this place, guys?" he said, motioning towards the exit with a jerk of his head.

         Andy and Tarah looked at each other, wondering what to make of this sudden turn of events. But soon they smiled, nodding at Slick in agreement as they picked up their weapons and prepared to leave the sewers behind, once and for all.

*****

         The golden light of the afternoon sun was like a salve for the three teenagers, washing over them with twinkling radiance. The smell and slime of the sewer was but a memory now; though their clothes remained damp, their hearts remained pure. Before them, across a grassy field filled with flowers, stood the water purification plant, where all the sewage from the ancient aqueducts ended up. It was a symbol of hope for the small group, a sign that human ingenuity would always triumph over the terrors of the darkness.

         "Hoo haw!" Slick whooped, dancing about the grassy field like a satyr. "Glad to get out of that place!"

         Tarah smiled at Slick. "Thank you for saving Andrew and me," she said, bowing her head.

         "Hey, I saved my hide!" Slick clarified, pounding his chest with his hand. "And what an awesome hide it is, too!"

         Andy grinned at the both of them. "So Slick, feel like hanging with us a while longer?" he offered, leaning upon his sword like a gentleman's cane. "We can pick up some take-out at the noodle shop."

         The blond boy looked at Andy as if he had grown a second head. "What, are you nuts?" he exclaimed. "I gotta reputation to keep! Can't be seen with Dork King Champion and Terrible Tarah. You know how it is."

         "Slick?" Tarah piped up, the hope in her eyes fading fast.

         "Yeah, we might've had a few cute moments back there." Slick shrugged, wandering away with the staff tucked behind his back. "But the world keeps turnin' 'round, and I need to get back to checkin' out chicks!"

         "You really gonna do this to us?" Andy broke in, shooting an angry glare at the back of Slick's head.

         The blond teen turned back to them, his face forming into a scowl. "Look, Andy, I'm not like you, okay?" he bit out, the pent-up frustration finally bleeding into his voice. "I can't just 'buck up' and forget about everything I've done to keep my place in the pecking order. I have connections to make, girls to meet. I can't do that hangin' around the two biggest dorks!"

         Slick tapped his staff on the ground. "I'm stickin' with guys like Justin," he said, fixing them both with a hard glare. "It's safer that way, the way it's always been."

         Tarah lowered her head in defeat. "Just go..." she muttered, a frustrated frown overtaking her features. Then, she turned away from him and walked back over to Andy, who was still looking at Slick with a frown on his lips.

         Slick watched them both from across the field, his scowl deepening into a sour slice on his face. For a moment, it seemed as if he wanted to say something, but instead, his shoulders just lowered, as if rejecting that notion. Discarding the staff, he turned from Tarah and Andy and walked off alone towards the road leading back to the city. From there, he stuck out his thumb, waiting for a car to offer him a ride the rest of the way home.

         Andy walked over to the despondent girl, touching her arm reassuringly. "Don't let it bother you," he said soothingly. "It's just how he is."

         "I don't like wimpy boys, Andrew," she responded, refusing to look up from the grass.

         Andy remained silent for a moment, watching Life disappoint Tarah's once again. He remembered all too well the time when he himself was that wimpy boy, just like Slick. This time, though, he was strong enough to be there for her, putting an arm around her shoulders and letting his sword drift down against his leg. "Let's go home, Tarah," he said, leading her back toward Starlight City, which shone in the distance like a castle in the sky.

*****

         Lunch at Starlight Jr. High was the usual affair, with high-octane conversation and a heavy dose of rabble-rousing in the cafeteria. It was January, yet some of the students still opted to take their meals outside, preferring to brave the elements rather than the wrath of their more rambunctious peers. Andy and Tarah were seated at a table near the carpool lane, eating a modest lunch just as they did every day. As if nothing had ever happened.

         "I can still taste the sewage in my mouth," Andy gripped, sucking on his juice box with a puckered-up face. "I swear this fruit juice was made at that water purification plant."

         "Don't worry, Andrew!" Tarah chirped, sliding her thermos over to him. "You can have some of mine!"

         Andy looked at her dully, but took the thermos in hand and sipped quietly. Immediately, he gagged and sputtered, the taste of tomatoes and hot peppers spreading through the insides of his mouth like a forest fire. Coughing a bit, he wiped his mouth clean with a napkin while simultaneously trying to fan it. "Man, that stuff has a kick!" Andy declared, pushing the thermos towards his friend.

         "But it made you forget about the sewage, right?" Tarah smiled, taking back the thermos and drinking from it easily.

         "That it did," Andy agreed, with a touch of irony.

         "Hot stuff, Champion," a familiar voice broke into the conversation. "But you can't stop our fire, either."

         Andy rolled his eyes, reaching for a granola bar as he ignored the unwelcome visitor. Justin was looming over him with a wry smirk, together with three members of his recently formed posse. Apparently, he had forgotten all about yesterday's adventure, and his elitist attitude was back in full force, evident in his stance and in his eyes. The other boys were joining in with their snickering, albeit without the sense of dark dignity that Justin maintained.

         Sensing his antagonists were here to stay, Andy turned to Justin with a weary look. "We're trying to eat here," he breathed out, leaning his arm on the table. "Do we have to do this now?"

         "Now, tomorrow, and every day after." Justin sneered, moving aside as Slick joined the rest of the pack with a school bulletin in his hand. "Until you learn that Survival of the Fittest reigns supreme."

         "Except it's gonna hafta wait!" Slick interjected, holding up the notice. Justin turned away from Andy to regard his pal with an annoyed look, as the blond boy continued to shake the bulletin like a rattle. "The grapevine's been kind, and I just found that cheerleader practice got changed to 12:15. This thing is bunk!" He tossed aside the sheet of paper aside with an air of dismissal.

         Justin looked at him cock-eyed. "You mean we're late in checking out the new uniforms?" he gasped, disbelief etched into his features.

         "First come, first serve!" Slick made as if to dash towards the gymnasium. "Short-skirt action never waits!" Justin nodded in agreement, and together with the rest of his group, scampered off to join Slick for a first-rate peeping session.

         As Slick left with Justin, he pulled his hair back away from his eye, and winked at Andy.

         Andy watched him go, stunned into silence by this odd turn of events. Just like that, Tarah and him had been left to go about their business in peace, with only the whistling of the wind as company. Tarah, too, was a tad subdued, putting a finger to her cheek in contemplation. "But I thought cheerleading practice was still at 12.30?" she wondered, her gaze wandering to the windblown trees. "Did they change things without telling people?"

         Andy continued to observe Slick, an idea forming in his recesses of his brain. "Hey Tarah, don't give up on Slick," he said.

         Tarah looked over at Andy, and put down her thermos. "What do you mean, Andrew?"

         He caught her gaze with an intense look. "I know he's cowardly and wishy-washy, but he's trying to help," Andy reasoned. "He made up that stuff about cheerleading practice to give us a moment's peace away from Justin. If we keep faith in him, he'll come around one day, just like I came around. So...so don't give up on either of us, alright?" He finished his entreaty to her with a large, heaving release of air.

         Tarah was now looking down on the table, her face unreadable behind her glasses. But soon, she raised her head with a fresh smile for Andy. "Well, if he wants to be friends with us someday, I'll be ready for him!" she bubbled, her cheeks flush with new cheer. "If he likes us more than Justin Bishop!"

         Andy smiled in kind, looking back over to the gym that his old friend has disappeared into. "Yeah," he whispered to himself. "Someday..."

                             END