Chapter 12 - Nature Is Beautiful (rewrite)

30 1 0
                                        

Red Son was lounging on the couch, the house empty as everyone was out on a mission to retrieve a powerful gem artifact. He tried to use the TV but ended up breaking the remote and the screen. After fixing the TV over the course of three hours, Red Son decided to explore. He stepped out through the front door, his hair in a ponytail blowing in the wind. He surveyed the town and then looked at the dense forest across it, having seen some trees at the park before.

With determination, Red Son jumped from the railing of the porch and walked downhill toward Shadowfen. As he passed by the townspeople, many stared at him, likely due to his horns and tail. He ignored their gazes and made his way to the large gathering of trees. A blond human attempted to stop him, but Red Son simply towered over him, and the human hesitated before speaking. "Hey, no one is allowed into the Forbidden Woods. You might be taller and scarier than the others, but you can't go in," the human warned. Red Son pushed past him and entered the woods.

Inside the Forbidden Woods, Red Son marveled at the sunlight filtering through the leaves. He used his hologram screen to take pictures of various flowers and identify their names. Following a creek filled with light blue lily pads, he discovered a waterfall with a lighthouse perched above it. Red Son climbed the mountain to the lighthouse and found it empty with stairs leading to the top. "Hmm, this will make an excellent secret base," he mused, marking the lighthouse's coordinates on his hologram map.

Descending carefully from the lighthouse, Red Son reached the waterfall and found a cave behind it. Inside, he discovered massive gemstones of every color and shape embedded in the stone walls. At the cave's end, he encountered humans dumping their trash. Infuriated, Red Son threw them into the water at the bottom of the hill and burned the garbage. After cleaning up, he retraced his steps back to the creek.

Red Son swam through the water, letting the current carry him back to where he had first found the creek. Emerging from the woods, he used his fire powers to dry himself off and then walked to Chica's Pizza. He bought three boxes of pizza and carried them uphill to the group's base, where everyone had returned from their missions. They all enjoyed the pizzas together.

As he ate with his new friends, Red Son reflected, "This planet isn't all bad. The inhabitants are tough."

(This took 413 words)

Fusion 2.0Where stories live. Discover now