It was like waking up to a nightmare. Slowly but surely, practically everyone on the island came to mindlessly obey that self proclaimed king. Even the lumberjack, Isaac, had donned the uniform of the Pig Army and swore that he would destroy Lucas for his defiant stance against the master of the island. Everyone had died inside and had become soulless creatures; wandering the island and praising the one person who deserved that honor the least.
And then, pandemonium. Deep within the earth, a young psychic, the
chosen one, grasped at a tiny needle and drew it from the earth like a post
apocalyptic King Arthur. His friends and
family, living and fading away, were staring, anxious, as he fulfilled his
destiny. There was a loud grumble from
what sounded like some sort of beast, and the earth quaked. High above the group, the largest city on the
island,
It was quite simple: the end of the world was happening.
All around the island, things were being destroyed.
A red rope with the characteristics of a snake swerved his
head about to look at the chaos and horror in
Water cyclones, land cyclones, earthquakes, and now the
island was being pelted with huge, flaming stones that he felt were the size of
However, he couldn’t really think of any place that could be safe from all of this. In his panicked state, he didn’t try to stop and think, he simply slithered anywhere he could go. He just passed the ruined city’s arcade when a huge crack formed in the earth. The Rope Snake felt a hiss of hot steam rise from the jagged chasm, and a screech was heard from beyond the horizon. It might have been the dragon for all he could tell. The poor snake had no idea what to do. The steam burst at him so fast that his tiny body was sent hurtling into the sky and then was drawn down into the chasm below.
The snake wondered how his friend Duster was doing as he fell into the chasm. He certainly hoped his friend was faring better than this. The pain was unbearable; it was so hot. It was as if he was being thrown into Hell itself. The chasm was beginning to close. The Rope Snake cursed his luck; he would die being crushed by the chasm rather than falling and landing on the bottom where he would starve to death. <i>Which would be a better way to die?</i> he wondered. It didn’t matter; what was done was done. He would be crushed and eaten by the earth itself. The chasm began to close, and all he could see was a tiny pinprick of light before it was swallowed up by the darkness.
---
It was like waking up from a nightmare. It certainly is an odd feeling, standing within the darkness. The world they knew was gone, and it was replaced by something unfathomable. How could one from Earth ever contemplate a world of complete nothingness? It certainly seemed impossible for their friend from another world to walk normally because it seemed unable to fathom such a world. It couldn’t move about without bumping into things.
“Hey!” Duster called out to their friend. “Lucas wanted to see you!”
Their friend had a tough time following Duster. The visitor nearly tripped over a doorknob and ran full force into a rather large capsule. Rubbing its nose, the next step their friend took was one that was regretted.
“Watch where you’re stepping!” The cricket cried as their friend nearly stepped on the incredibly strong Okera, “A cricket’s life is a life too you know!”
Their friend gave a surprised gasp feeling the Rope Snake suddenly slither up its leg. He ended up wrapping himself around its arm, “Hey, have we met before?” Duster continued to look for Lucas and tell him the whereabouts of their friend. Their friend raised that arm, inquiring Rope Snake.
“Yeah, my name’s Rope Snake. Although I was thinking of changing it to ‘Snake Rope’, what do you think?” Their friend smiled at the snake, “Yeah, I’m thinking a more idyllic life would be best for me. Maybe Duster and I can hang out some more. It was fun jamming with him when he was part of that band.”
Their friend thanked the Rope Snake (sorry, Snake Rope) for helping them through all their adventures, and the Snake Rope blushed even more red than normal as he slithered down their friend’s body and off again.
“Lucas! Lucas, where are you?” Duster called out as their friend tried in vain to walk through the world without bumping into things (did it about seven more times, actually). One time, it bumped into Kumatora accidentally. The woman whirled around; she was hiding her face,
“Kumatora?” The good thief questioned.
“Huh? Oh… it’s you…” She muttered, looking at both Duster and their friend. She wiped her eyes, which looked like they were becoming puffy in the darkness, “I… I never thought it’d turn out like this. It’s a little dull here right now, but… but for some reason…” She sniffled lightly, and Duster looked extremely surprised, “but for some reason… I can’t stop crying… I wonder… I wonder what this feeling is…” Their friend turned to Duster, who was staring at Kumatora,
“…You know, Kumatora, this is the first time I’ve seen you cry, I think…” If it wasn’t so gloomy, you would see a tinge of red coloring on his face, “You look kind of cute like that.” The former princess glared daggers at her friend.
“Don’t get used to it,” She muttered, wiping her eyes, “Where’s Lucas, anyway? I think he wanted to speak with you,” She motioned to their friend, “Really, you come here after what happened and he flies the coop. I’ll give him a firm beating when I find him!” She stopped looking so mad, and suddenly began to cry again, burying her face in her hands.
“W…why won’t the tears stop…?” She cried, rubbing her red eyes, “Why do I feel like this…?”
---
Their friend had to leave. It was probably for the best, as people were getting a little annoyed that it was running into everyone. It waved goodbye as everyone thanked their friend, and if you strained your ears a little, you could hear someone sniffling. Duster looked around, through the crowd; Lucas was nowhere to be found.
“Thank you so much!”
“Thanks!”
“Goodbye!”
“Take care of your world!”
“You don’t want your world turning out like this, huh?”
“Good bye!”
“Bye!”
“Don’t forget us!”
“Bye bye!”
“We’ll miss you!”
“Thanks again!”
“Come visit us lots! Let’s play again!”
“Goodbye!”
There was a short moment of silence where no one knew what to say. Then, a small voice rose out of the dark.
“…and… thanks.”
Their friend was gone, and still there was no sign of Lucas…
---
It was like waking up to a dream. Hours after their former world’s cataclysm, the residents of the dark world curled up and went to sleep, their bodies absolutely worn out. They say that when a person sleeps, said person will sleep until he or she has the energy to continue that life. If that is the case, then the residents must have slept for a million years, perhaps longer, before they truly felt ready to awaken.
And there came a time when they were. Kumatora’s eyes fluttered open, and Fuel sat up and yawned. The two noticed something very different from when they had fallen asleep. Kumatora rubbed her hands across the ground. She could feel the soft coolness of grass. It was then that she heard Fuel shout out, delighted. He leapt up and shouted at those around him:
“Everyone! Everyone! Wake up!” He demanded of the villagers who were still sleeping, “Look! Look! Grass!”
“There’s ground!” Kumatora proclaimed in delight, standing up and looking about. Everyone else was beginning to awaken, blinking groggy eyes, “H… he did it! Lucas did it!” She pumped her arms in the air and cheered, “Lucas did it! Our world-!”
“Our world…” Fuel murmured in awe. He stood next to her as they looked off a large cliff over the world that Lucas and the Dragon had worked together to create for all living things, “It’s… it’s…”
“It’s more beautiful then I had ever imagined…” Kumatora said in amazement, scanning the horizon, “Are we standing in some mountains? There’s an entire range here! And there’s a river going to that lake! Is that a desert?”
“Where’s the ocean?” Fuel asked. Kumatora looked at the teenager, and he pointed, “Look! Look around you, there’s no ocean!”
It was true. The world was so large that they could not even see the ocean from where they stood, “Does… does this place even <i>have</i> an ocean?”
“I wonder…” Kumatora said, taking in the sights, “But it’s… it’s… it’s so huge! Duster! Duster!” She turned around and stared at the one villager who wasn’t awake and taking in the sights. Kumatora jammed her heel on his jaw, “Wake up, Duster! You’re missing the whole thing!”
“I’m up! I’m up!”
Kumatora drew her foot back as the good (albeit lazy) thief sat up and yawned. He then turned to his friend.
“Now… what am I missi-” He couldn’t help but stare in wonder at what he saw. Kumatora smiled at his look of awe as she placed her hands on her hips. All of Tazmily’s old residents were standing together, looking over the cliff at their new home. The world had everything they could ever want. At the base of the mountain was a large lake, and a natural valley, perfect for farming and cultivating. Water… farmland, woodlands… Lucas picked the perfect location to place his friends and the town to keep them happy and healthy. Kumatora then gasped.
“Lucas!” She shouted, looking around, “Lucas! Lucas, where are you?” She began running down the mountain, hoping beyond hope that Lucas was still alright. Maybe he was at the base of the mountain? “Lucas! Lucas! Where are you? We’re looking for you!”
“Speaking of Lucas…” Bronson said in thought as Duster
rubbed his now bruised cheek, “There’s no sign of
“Boney?” Duster dragged himself up with the help of his father, and he looked around, “Where’s Boney?”
“Down here!” The township looked where the voice came from, and followed Kumatora’s lead. She had found the tired, worn out dog only a few feet from the rest of the people, “Oh, Boney, how are you?” She asked, petting her friend and listening to him telepathically. Boney whined a bit.
“I’m not… feeling too well…” He told the former princess
unhappily, “Where’s Lucas…? Where’s
Kumatora rubbed the dog’s head, “I’m sure they’re down the mountainside. We’ll find them. You rest here with the Rope Snake.”
“It’s ‘Snake Rope’!” the nearly forgotten snake hissed (it’s what snakes usually do, though). Duster yawned widely, covering his mouth lightly and wiping sleepy tears from his eyes.
“Can I stay with Boney then? You know, in case he needs something?” Kumatora grabbed his cheek and dragged him down the way, grumbling about how useless her escorts were.
---
The town didn’t see another soul. As the women worked hard to create shelters
for their children and the men worked even harder to create lumber for
permanent establishments, Kumatora dragged Duster all
about the way, calling for Lucas,
“Kumatora… We’ve been searching all day. I don’t think they’re around here…”
“They’re here!” The woman replied matter-of-factly, still tromping through the woodlands, “We just haven’t searched hard enough!”
“It’s nearly dark! We really should get back to the settlement, Kumatora…”
She turned around, and pursed her lips, “…I just don’t want to think of them out there, all alone, sleeping on the ground like that…”
“Lucas is a smart kid,” Duster reassured his friend, “He’s probably found a good place to set up shelter for the night. The big thing <i>we</i> need to do now is get back and set up shelters of our own.” Kumatora glared at her friend, and he stared back at her.
“There’s no point in hurting yourself for him. We’ll find him, Kumatora. I promise.” The two stared at each other, as if testing their strength against each other. Kumatora licked her lips in an agitated manner.
“You swear? Swear that we will find him, Duster!” The good thief blinked at her, and she stamped her foot to emphasize her statement. “Swear it! Swear that we’ll find him together!” He wondered how hard she was holding her tears in, and he nodded.
“I swear, I swear that we’ll find him. Even if we have to search throughout our new world… we will find him.”
Kumatora looked like she didn’t want to stop the search, but Duster always kept his promises. She nodded confidently. “Right, then. I’ll take your word for it.” And with that, she walked straight past him and meandered back to the settlement. Duster sighed lightly, happy that he could rest again, and began to hobble back to “New Tazmily”, being sure to pick up any nuts, berries and anything else edible he found along the way.