I can't believe I agreed to do this, wait...I never agreed!! I look around the black portals as it's starting to turn gray, that means we're almost there. The ground comes fast and hard as I land on my feet, for a first-timer Beatrice did pretty good usually people puke their first time.
This place is just as I remember, the skies are gray color with a red tint in the clouds. The grass is dead usually dead grass is yellow right, well here it's light gray. The tress are pitch black color with red flowers growing by them, poisoned no doubt.
"Wow" Beatrice says in disbelief.
"Expect more Beatrice this's just the beginning, you got the communicator?" I say.
"Yeah" she says putting it in her pocket. I wave her forward, I know where the black lake is, and I know why it's deadly.
We walk carefully through the black trees being careful not to touch any of the plants. I've seen the red one's are poisonous but I've never seen purple ones, they must've sprouted because of the nasty environment, I'm not sure weather they're poisonous or worst.
"What's so important about this black rose anyway?" Beatrice asks. I hesitate to answer but she has the right to know since I got her into this months ago.
"The Black Rose is Shadow's main source of power, remember how Percy acted evil when we battled him and then nice afterwards" I say.
"Yeah, I remember" she says.
"Well he was infected with black ink, a special substance that when it infects your body it turns you evil, or it turns you to obedience to the one who injected you, the Black Rose makes the Black ink" I say carefully stepping over tree roots.
"There has to be some way to reverse it like you did after you battled Percy" She says.
"The White ink reverses the effects of the black ink and makes you more powerful. It also can heal your injures immediately no matter how severe" I say. She nods as we reach the end of the forest.
There it goes deeper than the sea itself the black lake. It's very large, taking up about one third of the dimension itself. On the shore of the lake is a stable bridge made of hard cold stone leading to base 1 or better known as Shadow Black's palace, but something is different from last time I saw it...the lake is scarlet red.
"Is the water supposed to be red?" Beatrice asks frightened.
"No..." I say frightened also.
I've read about the black lake and one thing for sure is that the lake is not supposed to be unless...blood has been spilled in the last 24 hours.
"L-Let's start looking, and keep your eye out for any suspicious movements" I say.
We nod at each other and I see her grip her take out her sword and grip it tightly in one hand and her other hand on the communicator button that controls the clicks.
I decide to be prepared because if I'm correct Beatrice and I are in grave danger. I carefully start looking around the pants by the shore, the red ones shrivel and bloom obviously producing poison. The purple ones are ready but they're different than the one from the ones in the forest because it has yellow spots on it's petals. I carefully check every flower careful not to touch them, Beatrice was also smart because she did the same thing.
I go up to her because we've checked every flower near the shore and it's not here...that means we'll have to go across the stone bridge.
We start across looking for any flower or something to show the black rose is here. We are very lucky that the rose can't stand water or we'd have a lot more work to do.
I start to ease seeing everything is normal...for now. We keep walking along the very long bridge that's when I sense something, a darkness...
I stop dead in my tracks when I see a red line on the bridge, it looks like we're half way but I took this bridge to Shadow's castle when I was 13 and this's where we saw...no not him, please not him!!
Beatrice doesn't know about him yet so she crosses the line thinking it's the half way line but I stay watching. I see shimmering near Beatrice and I know for certain that's him.
"Beatrice! Look out!" I shout but it's to late she turns back and comes to getting knocked down with a dagger.
She bites her lip and I see she's holding back a scream.
"Hm, my aim must be off, because her head is still there" he says.
"Leave her alone!" I say my bow in front of me.
He turns around to see me and I was right about us being in danger, this's the Shadow Bandit, this's his territory. But without a reason to pass, he kills.
"Well well, we have to people who want to die today" he says his long bloody dagger in his hand.
"T-There must be some way we can pass" I say my hands shaking like crazy. The reason, no creature who has tried to fight him has made it out alive.
He eyes Beatrice and I carefully, his face twists into a smirk.
"There is, Beatrice Jackson, and Justine Grace" he says.
"H-How d-do you know our names?" Beatrice says still clutching her shoulder, she must've gotten a deep cut.
He knees down to where he's still above her and the flat part of the dagger moves across the side of her face.
"Everyone in this dimension knows you're names, you're two of the most wanted for King
Alptraum, and Prince Shadow" Hearing Shadow be called a prince makes me flinch a little, he's the exact opposite.
"Get to the point buddy we're not here for your yapping" I say thinking "What were you thinking! you're going to get yourself killed".
He looks at me a little mad but with a amused smirk. He gets up leaving Beatrice bleeding like before and confronts me.
My heart is pounding so hard it might just literally jump out of my body, my hands are shaking so hard that it's easily visible.
"You have some guts talking to me like that, my point is you and Beatrice come with me across the bridge straight to Shadow's castle, I get to turn you in, and I get money" he says.
"How much money are we worth?" I ask curious maybe I can pay him more.
"200,000 D-Coins each" he says. Okay there's no way I have 400,000 D-Coins, I barely have over 100( they are kind of like drachmas just they are black).
I gulp back my fear and Beatrice looks like she's going to pass out but she's looking at my hands.
"No way, I'll fight you" I say distracting him from my fingers holding up 1,2,3. She knows what I mean and I just hope he doesn't look back at her.
He scoffs and raises up his dagger.
"This'll be a fight I'll never forget, be lucky you and her are worth a lot so I won't fully kill you" he says.
Let the fight begin...
