Needle and Thread

And Steven!

Sorry this is late! I forgot.
[Fandom+ (1)]

After about half an hour of walking, Sun said "7h15 15 7h3 pl4c3."

"Seriously?" Andesine peered at the thick jungle before them. "I thought we'd be walking for another two days."

"N4, w3 574rl1gh7 3l3m3n74l5 d0n'7 n33d much 5p4c3, 50 w3 d0n'7 h4v3 much," Sun replied.

"Makes sense," Andesine said, just as Lyra grabbed him and pulled him back. Everyone else had stopped walking. When he turned to her for an explanation, she pointed at the ground in front of him, where a web of tripwires glistened faintly in the dappled forest light.

She smiled. "Guess this time, I'm the one paying attention!"

"Don't rub it in," Andesine replied. "I'll be back to saving your butt before you know it."

"C4n y0u guy55 570p fl1r71ng f0r l1k3 tw0 5econd5?" Sun asked.

"Oh, that's not flirting," Lyra replied certainly. "That's conversation. Trust me, I have done both, and I know the difference."

"You flirt?" Andesine asked.

"Not anymore," Lyra said cheerfully. "Too busy doing actually cool stuff."

"5555h," Sun hissed. "1f r4y c47ch35 u5, y0u'r3 d34d m347."

"Ray?"

"0n3 0f my 3mi554r135. h3'5 r34lly pr0t3ct1v3 0f 7h3 73mpl3. 1 gu355 y0u'd c4ll h1m 7h3 f1n4l b055."

"Sweet," Lyra said. "Finally, something fun--"

"Y0u d0n'7 h4v3 4ny 5ungl45535, d0 y4?" Sun asked. "C05 1f y0u d0n'7 y0ur v1510n 15 5cr3w3d."

"Oh," Lyra said, finally lowering her voice. "So he, like, shines?"

"g07 7h47 r1gh7. 5h1n35 8r1gh7 l1k3 4 d14m0nd."

"We're supposed to fight him with our eyes closed?" Andesine asked incredulously.

"w3? Wh0'5 w3?" Sun asked. "1'm n0774 '80u7 70 f1gh7 r4y, h3'5 my k1d."

"Your... oh," Lyra realized. "He's a ray of light from you! Huh. That's awkward."

"y34h, 50 y0u guy5 h4v3 fun."

"You won't hold it against us if we kick his butt?" Andesine asked cautiously.

"n4h, h3'5 k1nd 0f 4n 455. 8u7 h3'5 h15 0wn p3r50n. '5 n07 my pl4c3."

"All righty, then," Lyra whispered. "We've just gotta get ourselves some shades and we're good."

"Yeah, we'll just pop by the nearest convenience store and grab some," Andesine said sarcastically. "Do you actually think that it'll be that easy?"

"Well, I never said we had to do it now," Lyra replied.

"'5 g3771ng 4wful 8r1gh7 h3r3, d0n'7ch4 7h1nk?" Sun said casually.

"Crap," Andesine said. "Well, no chance now."

An arrow whizzed through the forest, nearly impaling Andesine before Sun snatched it out of the air. It burned to a crisp in her fingers. "7h47'5 7h3 l457 71m3 1 h3lp y0u h3r3," she said. "Y0u'll b3 48l3 70 533 4nd 4774ck h1m f0r 480u7 7h1r7y 53c0nd5 83f0r3 y0u'r3 8l1nd. u53 17 w153ly." Then she vanished.

Lyra grabbed Andesine and ran, weaving through the trees in order to dodge arrows as the brightness behind them grew and grew.

"Plan?!" She shouted.

"Maybe a key!" Andesine shouted back. "Mine might summon someone already blind or dead!"

Lyra glanced back for a second, winced, and stumbled, falling to the ground. Andesine screeched to a halt. "I don't think we have that much time," she said weakly, getting up just as a glowing behemoth burst through the nearest trees.

"Lyra, you little--! Aaargh!"

The next thing she knew, a confused bellow issued from her right, and Andesine bumped into her and fell over.

"Andesine?" She said. "What's going--"

He yanked her sideways. "Idiot, don't do that! I might have blinded him but he can still hear," he hissed. "Let's go. My vision's all spotty."

They crawled away from the bright light, trying to make as little noise as possible. Once they got far enough, Lyra opened her eyes and helped Andesine up.

"Go rock form," she whispered. "Then maybe I can carry you out of here."

"Fine," Andesine whispered. back, his eyes unfocused. "But if you drop me I'll kill you." He melted down into his usual red rock. Lyra picked it up and kept walking until she ran into another tripwire. She stepped over it just as Sun reappeared.

"y0u d1dn'7 f1n15h 7h3 j08," they noticed.

"Yeah, well," Lyra said, setting Andesine down. He stood up and turned around a few times before giving up.

"Crap," he said. "It's all a big blur. Hopefully it goes away soon."

"m4y83 17 w1ll, 1f y0u'r3 lucky," Sun said. "8u7 y0u'v3 g07 b1gg3r pr08l3m5. y0u 571ll n33d 70 8yp455 r4y 4nd g37 70 7h3 73mpl3, 83f0r3 7h3 un1v3r53 c0ll4p535. 4nd, ju57 4 h1n7, 7h47 5h17 574r75 500n 50 g37 m0v1ng."

"Soon? Like, in half an hour soon or in a few weeks soon?" Lyra asked.

"1 d0n'7 kn0w! 500n. Ju57 g37 y0ur53lv35 1n 7h3 73mpl3."

"Hmm." Lyra looked at Sun, then at Andesine. "Can you take care of Andy for me? I don't want him getting hurt.

"No," Andesine said.

"Come on, dude, you could get hurt," Lyra replied. "Plus, I can handle stuff now. I've been training with the sword and keys and stuff-- I'll be fine. You'd only be a burden."

"I'm going," Andesine said stubbornly. "I mean, what if you need help?"

"y34h, 1'm g0nn4 4gr33 w17h h1m h3r3," Sun added, "m057ly 83c4u53 7h3 73mpl3 15 k1nd4 m4d3 0f f1r3 4nd h3 d035n'7 r34lly... d13 fr0m 7h47. 50000000..."

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

"I can't believe this," Lyra said.

"What?" Andesine asked innocently. "It's just like old times!"

"You should've let me ride piggyback," Lyra grumped, "Instead of holding me like some sort of baby."

"I told you," Andesine said, "there's less of a chance of you getting hurt this way."

"Right turn coming up," Lyra snapped. Andesine stepped around the corner.

"Anyways, I am sacrificing my feet for this," he said. "You could at least thank me."

"All you're sacrificing is your feets' brownness," Lyra said. "They're just going to be black for a couple of weeks. Sun said so herself."

"Yeah, I'm going to look really badass in front of the final boss," Andesine mumbled. "Half blind with feet like coal."

"You're way too concerned with looks."

"So are you, Miss Ew-There's-Ash-From-A-Terrible-Massacre-Under-My-Feet-And-All-I-Can Think-About-Is-My-Shoe-Quality."

"They were nice shoes."

"They were nice people."

Silence. Then, "Take a left turn in about thirty steps."

Andesine obeyed. "I'm sorry, Lyra. I didn't mean to bring that up."

"It's fine," She said sharply. "Let's not have any chick flick moments here, okay? Just... let's get the key and get out."

"Okay," Andesine said quietly.

They went on in a silence that seemed to last forever, even with Lyra giving instructions, until they reached the Key Room.

*******

Okay, guys! I really need some new chapter titles, and won't be publishing for a week. Feel free to submit any ideas! :)