The Chronicles Of SkyArmy - SSundee

Ssundee- Chapter 29: Crystalgate

~Ssundee~

I looked at Derp. He smiled at me. I smiled back and turned to face Sky. "Alright guys. Today we're going to find Seto." We all nodded and I saw Ty adjusting his headphones. He glanced at me and Derp and raised his eyebrows. I nodded curtly and he turned back to the front, satisfied. Husky raised his hand. "Ooh sir, pick me sir!" Sky smirked. "Yes Husky?" "Mr. Skydoesminecraft, how are we going to find Seto?" Sky's smirk vanished and he stared at me. Ty and Husky turned round to look at me too. I swallowed and looked at Derp. He smiled reassuringly and I nodded, turning back to my expectant friends. "Um, I think I know where he might've gone. H-he told me about his home town and life before SkyArmy and I can kind of remember some names he mentioned, just not faces...if you know what I mean?" Sky nodded. "What was the name of the village?" I moistened my lips before answering, my skin prickling uncomfortably beneath my friends' stares. "Um, I think he said he was from a place called: Crystalgate?" Husky smiled. "That doesn't surprise me. A lot of famous mages and sorcerers have been born there." I smiled back as Ty turned to Sky. "How're gonna get there?" Sky rolled his eyes. "Duh, our horses." Derp facepalmed and I laughed.

***

As I had reluctantly left my horse behind at Lancey and Diamond's house I had to share Derp's horse with him. I didn't mind too much though. We'd been traveling for sometime, galloping across nearly all the different biomes, from Mesa to Tiaga. We passed a village and I tilted my head to one side. Why did it seem familiar? My stomach clenched as we passed the sign. It said: Signia. My home town. Derp tensed and I knew he'd seen it too. He slowed the horse as we passed it. I stared into it, trying to seek out an old relative or friend amongst the throng of people visiting market. My face fell when I realised there was no one else there. An old guy looked up and met my gaze. I remembered what Seto had said. 'Signia was a safe haven for transmoganarians...' Was that guy the same as me? He blinked slowly and I saw a hint of madness within. I'd forgotten what it was like having a separate identity, as mine was as real as I was nowadays. Derp shook his head slightly, as though trying to block out something. The horse picked up the pace and soon my old life was far behind us. But a blur in the haze on the opposite horizon... The sun was sinking low in the twilight-lit sky by the time we reached Crystalgate. We dismounted our horses by a birch forest. The leaves rustled gently overhead and reminded me of the jungle den Lancey and I had slept in the night before. I turned as Sky called me over. The others were tethering their horses and setting up camp for the night. Derp smiled at me and went over to Husky to have more healing potions applied to his scar. I walked over to Sky and stood beside him on a rocky outcrop overlooking the village. I caught my breath. The very air was static and thick with electricity. Everything was deathly still. Below in the village thick tendrils of magic swirled and slithered through the village's cobbled streets. The magic washed over me and relief seeped through my bones. "It's..." I didn't have any words for it. Sky too, seemed awestruck by it all. I tensed. "There'd orange, blue, red...but no purple..." Seto wasn't here...

~Derp~ When Ssundee lay down next to me, I could tell something was wrong. He was tense, and his eyes were tight shut behind his sunglasses, as though he was trying to block out the world around him. I sat up, staring down at him. "Ssundee. What are you not telling me?" I pulled his sunglasses off when he didn't answer me and he sat up instantly, blue eyes glaring at me. "Hey!" I held them just out of his reach, narrowing my crooked eyes. "Tell me what's the matter." He sighed. "Seto isn't in the village, ok? He's not here." I sighed. "We kinda knew this wasn't gonna work. If a sorcerer wants to remain hidden, he will." Ssundee's blue eyes hardened in determination as he lifted his head, his gaze burning into me. "Then we'll find him ourselves." I froze. "What?" Ssundee glanced round, making sure no one could overhear us, then leant in close, whispering. "If Seto sees the whole of SkyArmy traipsing towards him, he'll freak. I know I would." I nodded. "So, just us two go after him?" He grinned. "Yup. Then we can be the 3 Musketeers." I raised my eyebrow at him sceptically. "No Ssundee. Just no." He chuckled as I stood up silently, handing him his sunglasses again. To my surprise, he pocketed them, rather than putting them back on. I didn't question it though. We snuck away from the camp, the moon's gentle glow lighting our path. Ssundee walked slightly in front of me, scouting the route ahead. I kept a lookout from behind. The stars shone above us, guiding us to the Sorcerer. I glanced at Ssundee. His blue eyes were glistening in the moonlight and his shadow cast darkness over me. I moved into the light and he looked back at me. "You ok Derp?" I smiled. "Yes. Just trying not to get lost in your shadow." His eyes widened slightly, unable to interpret the meaning of my words. Then he just shrugged and carried on walking. I knew our friends would worry about us, but Ssundee was right. Seto trusted us. It would be better if it was just us alone. I sighed. It was going to be a long night...

(A/N: Ugh, I feel as though I let you doods down. I promise the next part will be better, it's just I'm writing other stuff at the moment. Just trying to get other books out of the way so I can work on this more. Sorry if this disappointed you doods. I'll try extra hard for the next part. Sorry again. Squeaks. 😌)