Tacking the tracks

11/30/2005

Fay stopped where train tracks started to expand out from the ground, and crises, crossed, and looped like the tracks of a amusement park roller coaster, over a never ending boiling red sea. Giant neon purple poles protruded out from the steaming red ocean, and supported the tracks.

"Wow, our whole kingdom is mostly a sea of red water!" exclaimed Fay with wonder in her still extra large pink eyes, as she peered through the endless red, and spotted scattered islands floating high above the boiling red floor, with the train tracks coming and going from every individual island.

"It isn't water, its "red water"; which is as burning-hot as lava; course the steam it gives off will turn you to ashes before you even reach the red water. The only way to get from village to village is by train, but since it's the only train on earth it'll take days before we can catch it. So for now we can just walk across the tracks, and hope we don't fall through the huge gaps," explained Lackafay sprinting onto the tracks. A blue neon sign hovered nearby, it read: "Leaving Sabador Kingdom"

Fay stepped onto the dark gray metal tracks, and then slowly gazed down at where a few thousand feet down red water burned hot for her. "How about we just wait patiently for the train." suggested Fay, still gazing between the one foot spaces between the tracks.

"We need the exercise. You aren't afraid, are you?" questioned Lackafay, a tiny pinch of mock in her tone.

"No!" spat back Fay, shooting a glare up at Lackafay. "It's just bloody hot up here, it's like my whole body is being blow-dried!" with that Fay crossed her arms and gracefully walked through the tracks, with her head held high, quickly getting ahead of Lackafay. Lackafay then stopped, took hold of the back of her mahogany cloak and ripped a slit up the back, then a dark gold lion tail, and a bulky hot-pink dragon tail jabbed out and aided her balance as she continued to step cautiously.

A black neon sign read: "You've reached Shadow forest, now leave, now."

"They could have at least said "please" pouted Fay, glaring at the sign sourly, her eyes a fading shade of pink as the effect of the icky-spider wore off.

Lackafay's shadowed face gazed up the round; ridiculously long trunks of the trees that made up the Shadow Forest, everyone of their jurassic trunks were compacted close together, like a mosh-pit for trees. The trees were thousands of years old, and so strong that they some how could survive the scorching heat of the red water, and thrived in it, the trunks would cool in the middle and because the trees leaves and branches were so dense it forever banished the sun, thus making it's branches and leaves nice and cool.

"This isn't even a island, it's just a clutter of stupid old trees, lets go to a real place." whined Fay, crossing her arms and turning around.

"This place is populated by Cigams, and even though they have powers, and look like freaks, they still have a basic human form. If they can move around in this mutant tree land, then we can too." stated Lackafay firmly, as she reached out her arm and ran her palm down the rough gargantuan trunk of a nearby tree.

"Lackafay, stop feeling up that tree, and lets go." ordered Fay impatiently.

"I'm looking for a hollow area or some secret lever." retorted Lackafay, knocking her knuckles against the tree.

"You give the Cigams too much credit, look up there." said Fay rolling her eyes up, while her gold lips curled at the tips.

Lackafay looked up the trunk of the tree, and rolled up on one of its long branches was a rope ladder...

"I'll get it!" announced Fay, taking the small white icky snake out from around her neck and licking its small tongue. The next second she was charging up the tree trunk, a few dozen feet up Fay grabbed the branch in one hand, placed the icky snake in her cloak, then uncoiled the ladder from the branch, letting it down to Lackafay, who quickly began to climb up.

Fay glanced over her shoulder and found that above the fat trunks, was a much less dense area where the tree's limbs intertwined and locked with each other in such a way that it created a bumpy, yet firm floor to walk upon, with many levels of limbs, with cozy mushroom huts sprouting out everywhere.

"Hey, Lackafay! There's a city up here!" called Fay chipperly; as she climbed over and landed amongst the tangle of tree branches that hardly had any gaps in between.

"Keep your voice down." warned Lackafay, as she reached the top.

"Now I can finally take this ugly cloak off!" proclaimed Fay, pulling off her cloak and letting it fall down the side of the trunk, promptly dissolving from the extreme steam on its way down.

Fay closed her eyes and ran her fingers through her long silky hair, which was entirely jet black, save for a few white locks framing her face. She wore a gold strapless dress attached by a collar in the front of the dress, and straps falling down her arms with sharp dragon fangs lining them. A dark gold belt around the waist draped an elegantly long flouncy material in front of the dress that almost reached her toes. And going almost all the way up her arms were matching gold gloves.

"You needed that cloak to hide your identity, you baka." replied Lackafay letting out a small sigh. "Cigams hate humans with a deep passion; do you know what they will do to you if they see you dressed up like a human princess? I'll tell you. They'll slit open your stomach and stuff you full of starving termites." explained Lackafay with a tense voice.

"Oh yeah..." muttered Fay, biting her bottom lip as she smiled sheepishly, and placed a crystal white, dragon-fang shaped tiara on her head.

Lackafay wiped her hood off her head, bearing her silky black hair and the few white strands framing her face. "Here use my cloak, you need it more then I do." said Lackafay, as she pulled her cloak off her shoulders and handed it to Fay.

"Oh score" cheered Fay, swinging the cloak around herself.

Lackafay wore a black shirt, with its long sleeves attached by pink safety pins, a hot pink heart with a pitchfork piercing through it in the front of the shirt. And she wore a pleather yellow mini skirt, with a yellow metal belt that hung loosely at her waist and black knee high boots that had yellow metal shackles around the ankles. She also had her nails painted bright yellow, with yellow metal rings on both her middle fingers with a chain attaching the ring to her matching yellow metal bracelet around her wrists.

Fay turned and skipped off, her light-gold lion tail flipping back and forth as it escaped through the slit in the back of the cloak along with a bulky, baby-pink, scaly dragon tail.

Lackafay's fading pink eyes gazed around cautiously, "Wonder why no one's around." she pondered to herself, as she walked forward, her dark-gold lion tail curving up stiffly, and her hot-pink dragon tail poking rigidly straight back.

"Obviously because their roads suck." replied Fay, stepping over a curvy branch protruding out of the ground.

Fading pink eyes scanned the area, the mushroom huts glowed eerily, like each had their own neon atmosphere, and everywhere tiny scattered mushrooms glowed like tiny lamps. Some grew in clusters, their glowing lights glistening in unison. Lackafay was so preoccupied admiring the distracting scenery that she didn't notice something slither near her black boots.

The corner of Fay's bright, wide, pink eyes caught a glimpse of the slithering creature, and just as she opened her mouth to speak, someone jumped down from a higher level. The creature's body was tall but as bulky as a hippo, with blond spiked up hair, the bangs concealing its face like a waterfall.

"What are you do-" but before it could finish it was lifted off the ground like a rag doll. Holding it up from around its round ankles was a camouflaged vine, long and with powerful girth, and wasting no time another vine wrapped around Fay's neck and flung her off the ground as well. A third vine soon snaked up and just as it circled around Lackafay, she jumped out from the middle of it before it could enclose her, only to be confronted by two more long, fat vines, and for a moment she was jump roping her way through them, but one wrong step allowed a vine to twist around her ankles, but as soon as it did a powerful electric shock was pulsed through it, and a blink later the vines released their prisoners and slid back into the deep crevices.

"Damn those vines!" snarled the large creature, taking out a wood comb and weaving it through his bangs as he got to his feet.

"Icky! Icky!" screamed Fay, feeling her neck for the little white snake.

"Are all the Cigams here as vicious as that thing?" asked Lackafay, glancing over at the long haired creature.

The spiky haired creature slipped his comb back in its baggy tan pants. "Please, that's insulting. We're much more vicious. That leech of a vine was planted here by humans, it feeds off our great trees, hollowing them out from the inside, and it takes our people away and they are never seen again. Damn the humans!" he cursed, shaking his huge round fist.

Fay lifted the ice white snake up in triumph. "I found him! He was only hiding down in my-"

"But I can tell you two aren't humans, not if you can scare off a vine like that. Or perhaps I'm just fooling myself, because I can't bring myself to eat the flesh of creatures I owe a debt to." with that the creature bounded off into the branch twined distance.

Lackafay decided to walk in a different direction, just in case the Cigam changed his mind. There were so many over hanging branches and levels, it was like a play house of passage ways, finally they reached a considerably big mushroom with a cardboard sign in the front that read: "BAR"

"Let's go in." said Lackafay, walking toward the entrance, but she paused in front of the wood door and turned to face Fay.

Fay raised her palms out defensively. "I won't get drunk I promise!" she protested.

Lackafay only blinked slowly in response. She then reached around her neck and took off her, giant, steel, pearl necklace. "Take this." she said, putting it around Fay's bruised purple neck.

"The "Kill-Dead"; the magic, stainless steel, pearl necklace that when worn won't allow you to be shot by arrows, bullets or spears." awed Fay out loud, more to herself then anybody else.

"Yes, but it won't protect you from swords, so don't do anything annoying." warned Lackafay, as she turned and opened the wood door and stepped into the huge mushroom.

As soon as the two entered the noisy, bar, filled with the stench of unwashed clothing, and cheap "mind-drainer" drinks, the place fell awkwardly silent. And all eyes fell on them, but Lackafay and Fay sauntered right in as if they didn't notice all the angry, and bewildered gaping eyes fixed on them.

"WHAT THE UNDERWORLD DO YOU THINK YOU PEACES OF FILTH ARE DOING HERE?! HOW DARE YOU INVADE OUR BARS!" thundered a guy, whom looked entirely human himself, except for his yellow pupiless eyes.

"Hey! You look like a human! A pretty good looking one too!" countered Fay, pointing a accusing finger back at him.

With that the yellow eyed Cigam, arched his back, and out stabbed thin slits of steel like the pages of a book, that went vertically down his bare back, then long, soft, yellow feathers grew from his bold head.

"..wow..." was Fay's only response.

"DON'T LOOK AT US LIKE THAT! YOU ARE THE REAL MONSTERS! YOU STOLE MY LITTLE BROTHER! DID HE MAKE A NICE BATTERY FOR YOUR KING?! DID HE?! DID YOU SUCK HIM DRY?" blazed another, with a big pink scar slashed across both eyelids keeping them closed.

"Hey! your eyes are closed shut! how do you know we're looking at you guys weird?!" demanded Fay defensively.

At that the scar faced man, bowed his head down and from the back of his head two antennas poked out from his long ebony hair and at the tips were giant eyeballs, he then raised his face back up, and the skin from his cheeks parted and out poked two more eyeballs. Then he reached down and unbuttoned his pants, but just when he had grabbed hold of his zipper a purple skinned Cigam next to him grabbed his wrist and said. "I think they get the point, Comrade."

"No, no. I'm still not convinced." interjected Fay, her eyes gawking and her mouth slightly ajar.

At this time most of the Cigams had gotten off their bar stools, and had moshed together in front of the two girls.

Lackafay quickly cut in. "We're not looking for conflict; we only want some info ab-" but an iron voice suddenly cried out-"HEY! GET THE UNDERWORLD AWAY FROM THERE!" Everyone in the room turned to the right, and there was Fay, kneeling near an adorable, light yellow bunny, that was laying passed out on a lavished red velvet throne five times its size, fit for a king. The bunny had long ears, one ear flopped down with a metal cannon-ball bracelet around it, with a matching studded collar around its small neck, from the metal collar ran two thick chains, each connecting to the deadly sharp metal claw gloves on its four paws.

"KEEP YOUR DIRTY MITS OFF OF "PRINCE SNIPE!" ordered a cigam, as the entire crowd ran toward Fay.

"Awww. Isn't that cute Lackafay? They all worship this adorable lil bunny rabbit, and it's passed out from drinking too much." giggled Fay grinning in delight, with her eyes closed and cuddling her cheek against the soft bunny fur.

Lackafay attempted to squeeze over to Fay, but the crowd of Cigams was too dense.

"I'll CHOP OFF HER HEAD!" screamed a furious Cigam, raising her arm up, her arm being a large blunt steel object.

"Get out of there you idiot!" shouted Lackafay, squeezing between some cigam's legs, then crawled close enough to grab hold of Fay's light-pink dragon tail, then yanked her out of the way just as the large steel blunt arm was brought down.

"DESTROY BOTH OF THEM!"

The Cigam with large blunt steel arms, glared back at Lackafay now, then raised her second arm up and slammed it hard against the back of her neck. It's sharp edge cut Lackafay's silky black hair clean off, and for a moment she just stood there on her hands and knees, still grasping Fay's light-pink tail, her lime green eyes wide and mostly white.