[ Cruel Winter - A Inanimate Insanity Invitational AU ]

Chapter 14 - Fricking mountains

The mountain was tall and daunting. Everyone was exhausted. "How long are we going to be climbing?" Silver Spoon asked.

"Oh shut it Silver." Yin-yang grumbled. "Oh come on Yin-yang, we're all tired and we know it." Candle sighed. "...Yeah, she has a point." Goo looked to the side.

"Guys, seriously? We've walked this far, and you just want to give up? There's nowhere we could rest here anyways!" Yin-yang snapped. "Uuugh." Silver Spoon and Goo groaned in unison. "Oh come on guys, we can make the best of this, can't we?" Candle tried to keep the mood positive.

"...Yeah, I guess you're right." Yin-yang obliged. "She always is." Silver Spoon joked. 

Yin-yang just blankly stared at him. "What? It's not funny when I do it-?" Silver Spoon asked in confusion. Candle suddenly started to feel lightheaded. "...Hhh- My head..." She whined.

"Oh come on Candle, you'll live." Goo suggested. "Okay, okay..." She sighed, her legs almost forcing themself to walk against the snow.

The lightheadedness soon turned to a headache, but she kept quiet so as not to bother anyone. The throbbing pain in her head was starting to make her dizzy. She began stumbling around. Silver Spoon blinked at her.

"Candle- Are you ok-?" He asked. "Wha- Oh uh... Yeah, yeah, total-" Candle suddenly collapsed.

Everything was dark. Not a single bit of light shredded into the area. Just pitch darkness. That was until Candle opened her eyes.

"Wha...?" She muttered. The sound was there, but it never echoed. It just... Faded into the darkness as she spoke. "...Uh... Hello? Where am I?" She called out.

Suddenly, there were indistinct whispers. The whispering got louder and more clear, yet they still overlapped. "What are we going to do? She's sided with the shadow." A voice whispered. "We'll just have to hope she leaves." Another one replied.

Candle just blinked in confusion. Had she woken up in some mindscape she shouldn't be in? "That's not the point! The stone must be found before he gets to it." Another voice snapped loud and clear. "But Guardian, what can we do to stop her from going along with this?" A voice asked.

Candle stared in pure curiosity. Who was /she/?

"...Look, I have a plan," The so-called 'Guardian' muttered. "But she isn't going to like it." It added. "Then how will we get her to go along with it?! She doesn't even know her part in this destiny!" A voice snapped.

"...We won't tell her then. We'll set everything into motion, and once she retrieves that stone, we'll get back what rightfully belongs to us." The Guardian muttered.

Candle's flame started flickering. The voices were silent. Had they noticed her. "No no stop-" She whispered, trying to dim the flame. That was when something hit her in the head.

She then woke up. For real this time. She stared around at the mountains. "...Oh... Right..." She sighed tiredly.

She realized she was being carried by Yin-yang. "Oh, you're up-" Yin-yang muttered. "...How long was I out for...?" Candle asked. "I don't actually know. You just randomly passed out-" Yin-yang muttered.

"That Silver jerk wanted to help, but I still don't trust him." He gave Silver Spoon the side-eye. Silver Spoon didn't seem to notice at all as he and Goo climbed up the mountain.

"...Oh." Candle mumbled, still extremely tired. "Do you wanna keep walking, or are you too tired?" Yin-yang asked. "...I think I'll be fine..." Candle hopped down, stumbling onto the ground.

P"Are you sure?" Yin-yang raised a brow at her. "Yeah uh... I'm fine." She insisted with a nervous smile. "...Okay... if you're sure." Yin-yang sighed. Candle continued stumbling ahead. Her head had still been hurting from whatever hit she took. But that was just a dream, wasn't it? She yawned.

Yin-yang was staring at her concernedly, but she didn't seem to notice. Candle kept stumbling, nearly tripping onto the snow. "Candle- You probably shouldn't be walking if you keep stumbling." Yin-yang blurted out.

"Oh come on, I'm fine..." Candle chuckled. "Er- Candle? I don't think your fine." Silver Spoon muttered. "What do you mean?" She asked.

She was getting stared at by now. "...Your eyes-..." Goo mumbled. "My- Eyes...?" She blinked a few times. "They're blue-" Yin-yang gasped. "...What are you-" Candle collapsed to the ground.

"AHH HOLY SHI-" Yin-yang tried to wake her up, shaking her in a panic. "WAKE UP WAKE UP IT'S TIME TO WAKE UP MISS GURL COME ON IT'S NOT HARD WAKE UP GOD DAMMIT PLEASE WAKE UP GOODNESS I FUCKING BEG YOU WAKE UP!" Yin-yang's words were running together. "Ok ok, how about we just calm dow-" Silver Spoon was cut off. "SHUT UP!" Yin-yang yelled.

Silver Spoon jumped back as Yin-yang kept shaking Candle. Candle's eyes suddenly shot open. Except... there were three, glowing blue eyes.

"...Wha- Candle?" Yin-yang muttered, setting her down. "Are you ok...?" He asked. "Your friend is perfectly fine. But alas, we have a message for you." Candle muttered. "...What?" Goo, Silver Spoon, and Yin-yang muttered in unison. "The stone is in danger." Candle whispered.

"Stone? Candle, what are you talking about??" Goo asked in pure confusion. "Save the stone." Candle started twitching uncontrollably as the third eye vanished and the blue color slowly faded from them.

Candle collapsed to the ground.

"...What the hell?" Silver Spoon mumbled. "Well, I guess we DO have to find somewhere to stay for the night." Yin-yang sighed, picking Candle up. Goo and Silver Spoon stared at him like kids at an ice cream truck, smiling excitedly as they followed him.

Once they found a flat spot on the mountain they all settled down. Yin-yang set Candle down by a bare tree while Silver Spoon started a fire.

Yin-yang stared at Candle for a moment, almost wanting to wake her up and ask what happened back there, but he decided against it. Yin-yang yawned, almost tempted to fall asleep.

He scurried up the tree and leaned against the trunk, closing his eyes and waiting for the next morning. It wouldn't be too long from now, would it?