Needle and Thread

Garnet

[ALX50%=0]

Andesine's first sensation upon returning to the ash plains was that he was underwater. He waved his arms around, but got nowhere. Opening his eyes was useless; all that he saw was a field of grey. "Ash!" He yelled. Motes of dust began drifting down his throat and into his lungs, making him cough. "Ash! Can you lift me up..?"

"Oh! It's you." Ash's voice seemed to come at him from all directions as the ash parted around him. Andesine looked up at the sky and sighed in relief, then coughed up the remaining ash in his lungs.

"Sorry about that," Ash said. "Had I known you were coming, I would have cleared a spot."

"It's fine," Andesine coughed. "Anyways. I'm ready to go to the Death Temple now."

"Okay," Ash said. "Are you ready to die?"

"For about fifteen minutes," Andesine replied, withdrawing a small vial from the pocket of his pants. "Will that be enough time?"

"More than enough, if we hurry," Ash replied. "Also, if I may give you some advice? Do not speak in the realm of the dead. There are many who recognize those who will come back to life eventually, and try to stop them."

"Why?"

Ash shrugged. "I do not know."

"Okay, then." Andesine uncapped the vial, and hesitated.

"You don't have to," Ash reminded him. "After all, it isn't like there's much you could do with that key other than hand it back to the Gatekeeper."

"There is," Andesine said. "I'll figure it out."

He tipped the vial back and drank.

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Dying is a funny thing. [I've experienced it myself, so I would know.] It's painful, but it's also relaxing. Some part of you is so happy that it's over, that after this you don't have to worry anymore. Of course, the rest of you is frantically struggling to survive, but that is the part that dies first.

Andesine's death was quick, but seemed to last forever. When it was finally over, he was greeted by Ash. She seemed different-- bigger, somehow. A soft glow, like the ghost of a flame, surrounded her. "Welcome to death, Andesine!"

Andesine nodded.

"Now," Ash continued, "we'll need to take you to the Death Temple... Oh! Hi, Spirit!"

Someone new was approaching. At first, it appeared to be a misty cloud, but quickly formed a face and the top half of a female body. Her arms ended in tentacles, and beneath the hem of her shirt sat a crackling cloud of purple energy.

"Hey," Spirit said, brushing aside her long black hair. "What's up? Who's the newbie?"

"His name's Andesine," Ash replied. "He's a mute."

"Hi, Andesine!" Spirit said cheerily. "Oh. Whoops, forgot to form hands." Two delicate hands with long fingers formed in a puff of smoke. Spirit waved.

Andesine smiled and did the best bow he could in the zero gravity medium where they were floating.

"Aw, he's sweet," Spirit said. "So, where you guys going?"

"Oh, he wanted to see the key or some such," Ash said. "You know new people."

"Yeah," Spirit said. "Hey dude? Andesine?"

Andesine nodded.

"Don't spend the first three years of your death waiting for someone to bring you back to life so you can grab the key," Spirit replied. "Trust me, it's not worth it. Plus, the company there is pretty rude. There are a lot of better people to spend your death with." Spirit winked at them and dissolved, leaving them alone.

"Don't worry about her," Ash said. "She flirts with every new arrival. C'mon!"

Andesine followed her down through the gloom until finally some sort of formation came into view. It looked like one of the dribble castles he'd created with mud when he was little, except made out of scorched bones smeared with ash. They went straight towards the wall and passed through it. Ash then led him down a corridor crowded with other ghosts. They murmured disturbingly as Andesine passed through them, and as they passed through him. Shades of grey veiled Andesine's eyes as Ash pulled him forward. By the time Ash said, "We're here," Andesine might as well have been blind.

She guided his hand forward. For one moment, he felt unimaginable warmth. Then his hand passed through the key. He squeezed Ash's hand.

"What is it? You want to know why these people are here? You want to know how many minutes are left?"He tried to nod, but he didn't know if she could see him. "I guess I would be curious about both, too. We've been here almost fifteen minutes, so get ready. And these people are here because they want to be resurrected. They think that if someone alive were to grab the key, they would be restored to their former selves. It's not true, but it gives them something to do during their endless death's first years."

***********************

Dying was definitely odd, but resurrection was even odder. It began with pins and needles that started in his heart and spread outward, followed by the ache of sore muscles.

Andesine reached for the spot of warmth he'd felt earlier, only to realize it wasn't a spot of warmth at all, but kind of cold. He snatched it and put it in his pocket, just as the murmurs around him rose to screams of joy and rage. Misty fingers clawed at his sweater, his hair, his horns, but fell away just as quickly, rolling off him like oil on water--

--and then there was the sensation of rising and he was gasping and choking in the middle of his hole in the ash.

"Jeez, that was a hairy one," Ash said, rising out of the plains. "Do you have it?"

Andesine took the key out of his pocket. Unlike the other keys, it was silver, and bore the image of a skull on it. "I wonder what it leads to," he said.

"I wouldn't be in a hurry to find out," Ash remarked. "So, what are you going to do with it?"

Andesine sighed. "I guess that's all the answer I need," Ash said. "You're going to see if you can find Lyra, right?"

"Yeah," Andesine sighed. "There's not much I can do with this, I mean, and if she performs the Universe Gate spell, I guess I'd want her to live... plus, I'm worried about East."

"Because he basically only helps you guys so he can hit on Lyra later, when you aren't around?" Ash asked. "It's written all over his face," she added, when she saw Andesine's expression. "You're right to be worried. I wouldn't want anybody macking on my Spirit besides the usuals, myself."

"It's not like that," Andesine said. "I'm not her boyfriend. But I can just tell they wouldn't be good together. Anyways, she is far too stupid to survive on her own for long."

Ash shrugged. "Well, good luck with that. And if you fail, I'll find you in the afterlife!"

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Psst! Hey, it's me. Lily. I need your help. I thought that this might be the last fandom I'd use for title sequences, but it's not... could you guys suggest more in the comments? It would really mean a lot to me :)

If nothing gets suggested by the time I should publish the chapter after the next three, I'll use the Assassin's Creed game titles. But those won't last for long, so I would still like suggestions!