Revenge of the nightmare

The Secret Seal

Piper and red dashed through the woods, locating the location of the scream. Just before they arrived, their was a white flash, then nothing. Only Lakota laid unconscious on the floor. Piper cursed under her breath and pounded the ground.

"We missed her dammit! We were so close to restoring the dimensions and returning to our normal life...." Red put a hand on her shoulder, using her for balance.

"I feel that might not be the proem anymore. The red room is shifting back to its original place." He placed a hand on the bark and closed his eyes. "Surely you feel this too?"

Piper took a deep breath, opening her hand on the ground and closing her eyes.

"What the-?" She jerked back. Red hobbled over to Lakota who was asleep.

"In the white light, I caught a glimpse of a turquoise hood, who belongs none other to my ex-partner Kelsey. I felt a bad surge of power surge from this spot. I do not know what it is or why it happened, but I have and idea of who caused it and someone who might hold answers to just these questions" the both looked at each other, than at Lakota who was softly snoring.

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"Well what are we going to do with her?" Asked Piper, she crossed her arms.

"I'm not sure," he went over to Lakota's body and picked it up,"but let's start with bringing her to camp." Piper nodded and followed him into the forest.

Lakota slept next to the fire Red had began to start again, while Piper paced on the edge of the small clearing. Red looked at her.

"Stop pacing and sit down," he said, "there's no use in worrying."

Piper opened her mouth to protest but then came over and sat down next to the fire. She played with a small strand of hair, twirling it around her finger. Red's eyes lit up behind his mask as if he was smiling.

"What is it?" Piper asked.

"Oh it's just that you haven't done that with your hair in a long time." He chuckled. "It's gotten longer, you know. It's now down to your shoulders."

She rubbed it between her fingers. "I guess your right. I haven't had it this long since..." She trailed off. Distant memories flashed before her. A pang of pain ran through her left eye, she clutched it.

"Piper what's wrong?" He ran to her side.

"No...I'm...fine...." Again a wave of memories came. Piper fought against them and screamed. Red hugged the girl, trying to calm her down.

"Hey Piper, it's okay now." He said calmly. "It's not going to happen again, I promise."

"No Red," she shook her head. Her eye still throbbed, "no more empty promises."

"Piper this isn't an empty promise." He pleaded.

"It's going to happen again and this time no one will survive." She was beginning to black out from the pain.

"How do you know that?" Red questioned her, though he was just trying to keep Piper still conscious.

"The...seal..." Red pulled out of the hug and looked at her left eye. It seemed to be cracked like a lens.

"Piper why didn't you tell me?" A

trickle of crimson blood ran from it.

"If I had told you then it you would have been dead already, remember you shortened your lifespan to keep the seal intact." Piper fainted into his arms.

Red held her tightly."And I don't regret doing it."

Lakota stared at them from her spot on the ground. Red felt her gaze and looked at her.

"I'm assuming that you heard everything." He said calmly. Red gently placed Piper on the ground, took of his jacket then laid it on top of her. He turned to Lakota. "What do you want to talk about Sergeant?"

Lakota scowled at him. "It's not Sergeant anymore, it's Captain."

Red held up his hands. He laughed, "Well I'm sorry captain. When was your promotion?"

Lakota crossed her arms, she looked away from him. "I was promoted after you two left the castle."

Red laughed harder. "Promoted two ranks because both of your higher ranking officers left. This is amazing."

"You two never gave an explanation to why you left... None of you did."

Red pressed on. "Oh yes we did, didn't you read the letter that we all left behind." Lakota looked as if she was going to explode. "Anyways, back to the topic at hand. I now know that you were listening into our conversation I should assume now that you want to know everything."

Lakota nodded. "Yes, I do."

"Good," Red crossed his arms,"but I have to warn you. This might make everything even more confusing then it already is."

"I understand."

Red nodded back."Well then, where should I begin?" He paused for a moment then began. "On the night we invited you and Zoey into the kingdom and incident happened. I'm sure you know, but Drake broke into the palace attempting to obtain the amulet Amaterasu, I believe that was the name. Now at the same time Skye had somehow broken out of her seal, I don't know how, but it probably had something to do with Drake." He clenched his fist. "The only way to stop Skye was to create a new seal. When creating it I had to sacrifice a part of my life, but what had happened by mistake was that it took Piper's life too."

Lakota's eyes widened. "Wait you don't mean-"

Red nodded. "Piper became a seal for Skye's power, and I gave a portion of my life to her so she could live."

Lakota stared at Piper. "Now she is loosing herself all because everything is falling apart."

Red nodded again, he looked at Piper. "The only reason I'm alive is because of the life that I gave up for her."