"What exactly is this place?" Nibs asked as Huck led the group of adventurers forward.
"It's a water reservoir," Mike told them from the back. "They're kind of becoming a huge thing. They store water from the nearby lake for the water treatment plant to make it safe to drink." "Wish we had something like that back where I come from," Huck told them. "Don't suppose anyone's able to light a torch or something?" Terrance flew off of Mike's shoulder and headed toward the front of the group., lighting the way for them. "Thanks, little buddy." "I think the bigger question is why would Bastian come in here?" Nibs asked. "Do you think he was running from something?" "What does he need to run from? He has AURYN," Mike said. "Unless he lost it again, boy's got a habit of losin' stuff," Huck reminded them as they got deeper into the tunnels. "Bastian! Come on out, your friends are here!" "Alright, everyone stay real close," Tiny Tim told them. "There's no telling what's down here." "Mike, you seem to know about this place," Huck said as he noticed a thick cloud of fog aroud his feet that seemed to be getting higher. "Is fog a normal thing in here?" "Not that I know of," Mike told them as the fog was starting to become thicker. "I can't see!" "Don't get separated!" Nibs shouted. "Everyone, link hands before-" Nibs reached around, and couldn't feel anyone through the fog. "Huck? Tim? Mike?" "Nibs...," a echoing female voice through the fog. "Where are you Nibs?" "Who's there?" Nibs asked as he saw a woman coming through the fog. She looked familiar to Nibs, even though he hadn't seen her since he was a baby. "Mother?" * Mike was coughing in the fog as he tried to make his way through it, when he thought he heard something skittering around behind him. He quickly turned around and saw nothing. "Guys?" As Mike turned back around to continue his search, something jumped out of the fog at him, clawing him across the chest, taking most of shirt in one swipe and leaving three red scratch marks. Mike fell onto his back, holding his chest in pain as the bird he had killed in Neverland, or a horribly mutated version of it, stomped forward. Its feathers were replaced with scales, and its beak was sharp and pointy. It was three times larger and had a horrible screech as it came closer. * "Guys? Where are you?" Tiny Tim asked in his cockney accent as he hobbled along on his metal crutch. "This isn't funny!" "No, but this is," a voice said as Tiny Tim's crutch was pulled from his hands. The boy struggled to stay upright, but a kick to the leg sent him to the ground, followed by a harsh laughter as an old man appeared in the fog. "M- Mister Scrooge?" "That's right, you annoying little peasant," Scrooge said as he tossed the crutch away. "And I'm here to finish what that disease started. You should have never lived past that Christmas." "But you changed, you've been so kind these last few years," Tiny Tim told him as Scrooge used his cane to hit him in the leg. "I've changed back, and just in time to unload the burden you've become to me," Scrooge said as he hit Tiny Tim in the leg again, even harder. The boy screamed in pain as Scrooge got ready for another hit. * "Mike?" Terrance asked as he flew through the fog. "Anyone?" Terrance stopped and floated in the air as he heard the sound of metal scraping against the wall. It was the familiar sound of a hook, followed by a creepy laughter. "Little fairy, all alone," Hook said, his voice echoing through the thick fog. "With no friends to call his own." "Hook? You're dead," Terrance whimpered as he tried to fly, but found himself frozen in fear. "You can't kill me, boy, I won't let you!" Hook said as he hooked hand flew behind Terrance, nearly cutting his wings off. The fairy started flying as fast as he could, but the hook pinned him to the wall by through his tiny shirt. * "Where the hell is everyone?" Huck asked as a fist punched him in the jaw. The young man fell to his knees as he saw Pap Finn walking out of the fog, a drunken mess. "Time to come home and get what's comin' to you, boy," Pap Finn said with an evil glare in his eye. * Outside of the reservoir, Bastian was being compelled by the brightly glowing AURYN to go inside. He stopped just outside the door as he looked down at the medallion around his neck. "Okay, okay, what's so important that I have to stop searching for who I am to come here?" Bastian asked as the door slowly opened in front of him. "Uh uh, I'm not going in there." AURYN started pulling Bastian through the door as he tried to hold onto the egeds with his fingers, but finally had to let go as the door closed behind him. * "Mother?" Nibs asked as he slowly got closer. "Is that you? I've always dreamt of the day that I could meet you." "And I was glad the day you disappeared," the woman said with a laugh . "You were a horrible burden, and I was glad to be rid of you. Look at you, you're pathetic. A mere boy, doomed to never becoming a real man." "That's not true," Nibs told her. "I'm a hero back where I come from. I do great things with my friends and-" "You're a loser, and you'll never be loved," she said. "You think they care for you? They only want you for what do you, and the second no longer of use, they'll be rid of you. Because you're impossible to love. I couldn't do it, and no one else could, either." Nibs tried to hold the tears back as the woman's arm became scaly and clawed. She prepared to swipe at him when Bastian saw them through the fog. "I wish for a machete!" Bastian said as a big blade appeared in his hand. He rusehd forward and cut through the woman's arm, sending it to the ground. As soon as it fell, it turned into a hundred tiny spiders on impact and began crawling towards Bastian. "Bug spray!" The machete turned into a large can of bug spray as the boy started spraying it at the spiders. The tiny creatures rushed away as Nibs hugged him. "Bastian, you're alive!" "Is- is that my name?" Bastian asked. "The others are here somewhere, we have to find them," Nibs said, taking Bastian's hand. "I just want to know what the hell that was." "Best guess? A demon clown that likes to eat kids," Bastian told him. * The Neverland bird scratched at Mike's face, drawing more blood as it screeched at him. Mike was laying on the ground, too paralyzed with fear to move. Bastian and Nibs made their way through the fog as Nibs jumped onto the bird's back and started wrestling with it. Bastian rushed over to Mike to help him up. "You don't look so good," Bastian told him as a giant ball bat appeared in his hand. "Want to take a crack at that beast?" "With pleasure," Mike told him as he rushed forward. After a few swings, Nibs was tossed off of the bird's back as it ran into the fog as he looked at his bloody body. "Good to have you back, Bastian. Think you can do anything about this?" "The scratches I don't know if I can heal, but," Bastian closed his eyes. Mike's shirt reappeared on his body and the scars healed themselves. "Well, I'll be damned." * The trio made their way through the fog as Bastian tossed Tiny Tim his metal crutch. "Let the old man have it! Face your fear!" Tiny Tim whacked Scrooge across the face. "What day is it? 'Tis asskicking day, sir!" One more good whack and Scrooge fell back through the fog. * "Such power," Hook said as he looked at Terrance. "Instead of killing you, I'll devour you and consume your power for my own!" "Consume this!" Nibs shouted as he punched Hook in the face. Terrance flew out of his grip as Mike took him into the palm of his hand. "Are you okay, little buddy?" Mike asked. "I am now," Terrance told him. "Is that really Hook?" "No!" Bastian and Nibs shouted in unison as Bastian put a hand on AURYN. "I need something to take this guy out!" AURYN started to glow as a tick tock sound was heard. A giant crocodile slide through the fog, opening its jaws to devour Hook, who just disappeared where he stood. As soon as he was gone, the crocodile vanished as well. "Is that it? Is everyone here?" Bastian asked. "No, where's Huck?" Nibs asked. "What if that thing is killing him right now?" * "You like that?" Huck asked as he punched Pap Finn in the face again, and then again, not giving the old man a shot to fight back. "I ain't scared of you no more! Ya' hear me, old man! I ain't scared!" Pap Finn opened his mouth, showing pointed teeth as Huck stepped back, just as the others caught up to him. "You'll be scared, boy! All of you will be scared! I will devour your fear, and consume your souls!" the old man shouted as he turned into a six foot clown, with even sharper teeth. "This things feeds on fear," Bastian told them. "So don't let it scare you!" "Oh, we're far past that," Huck said as he cracked his knuckles. "Just let me at him." "Well, if we're going to fight a monster, we may as well look the part," Bastian said as AURYN started to glow, turning their clothes into armored versions of what they were already wearing, complete with swords and shields. "Knights, attack!" Nibs shouted as they rushed forward. The boys started wielding their swords at the creature, who knocked them all back with one strike of its arm. Everyone fell onto their back as the creature just snarled at them while laughing. "You can't kill me!" the clown shouted. "I am the original fear! I am the thing that man has been scared of since before time itself! I am eternal!" "You talk too much, good sir!" Tiny Tim shouted as he tossed his metal crutch into the clown's mouth, with went through the back of its head and pinning it to the wall. The creature tried to pull the crutch out, which was when the boys noticed the clown was melting. " "What was the crutch made of?" Huck asked. "I don't know, just ordinary metal," Tiny Tim said. "Nothing special." "You didn't show fear," Bastian told him. "That's what made it powerful enough to take him down. You weren't afraid." "Of course I wasn't, I'm not scared when I'm with my friends," Tiny Tim told them. The clown finally pulled the crutch out and disappeared into a sewage drain before they could catch him. "He'll recover, then come back, stronger than ever," Nibs told them. "Then let's get the hell out of here before it comes back," Huck said as he looked at Bastian. "You think you can use AURYN to get us home?" "I don't know," Bastian told them as he took AURYN off from around his neck and just looked at it. "There's a lot about this thing, and myself, that I don't know." Tiny Tim took AURYN and looked closely at it. "Well, we can tell you everything we know about both of you while we look for a way out of this world." The group headed out of the reservoir with Tiny Tim still holding AURYN. Huck put an arm around Bastian's shoulder. "What do you want to know first, buddy?" "Well, I'd like to know-" Bastian started to say as a powerful blow knocked everyone to the ground, knocking them all unconscious. As they lay in a heap, the winged monkeys towered over them, seeing AURYN in Tiny Tim's hand. One of the monkeys picked the crippled boy up and slung him over its shoulder. "Oh, no," Terrance said as he saw what was happening and started tugging at Mike's shirt. "Mike, wake up! Wake up!" The monkeys started flying away with Tiny Tim and AURYN as the rest of the group remained on the ground, unconscious to the world. TO BE CONTINUED...
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By Tobias ChristopherAuthor, luckdragon trainer Archives
November 2019
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