Chapter 4- Blurry Line of Separation

So they left and after four days came to a single mansion.  “I wonder who lives here?” asked Flair. 

“Hopefully not an Experimenter,” said Ruby. 

“Should we knock on the door?” asked Sheeshy. 

Before anyone had a chance to answer, the door opened and out came a woman who was about 20 years old.  “I thought I heard someone out here,” she said with a soft smile. 

“Who are you?” asked Sthy. 

“I am Flora,” said the woman, “and I am a PAS.”  Opal, Ruby, Lapis, Chocolate, Marshmallow, and Lazuli weren’t sure if they could trust her.  “Please, come in.  My husband is in the kitchen making some food.  If you want you can have some,” said Flora with the same calm smile. 

“Sure,” said Sthy.  They went in, but Opal, Ruby, Marshmallow, Chocolate, and the two dragons never let their guard down. 

“AAAAAAAH,” came a scream from upstairs. 

“Mom, Joie has a mouse,” screamed a girl as she came running down the stairs, but stopped when she saw Opal and the others.  Suddenly her brother came running down after her.  He was holding a mouse by the tail.  He almost toppled over the girl, but then noticed that they had company. 

“Joie, Niesa, behave.  We have guests,” said Flora as she came out of the kitchen with a tray filled with an assortment of snacks.  She put it down on the coffee table.  Then she noticed the mouse and yelled, “Joseph, put that mouse outside.”  Joie opened the door and put the mouse down and it scurried off. 

“Sorry about that.  My name is Niesa and this is by brother Joie,” said Niesa as Joie joined them at the table.   They just sat on the floor because the table was too short for chairs.  Niesa was about 13 years old and Joie was about 14 or so.  They both had really dark hair like Flora and green eyes.  Joie had on blue jeans and a green shirt.  Niesa had on a long red skirt and a white shirt. 

“Hi.  My name is Sthy and this is Flair,” said Sthy. 

“Hi.  I’m Sheeshy,” said Sheeshy. 

“My name is Sento,” said Sento. 

“…My name is Opal and this is Lapis and Marshmallow,” said Opal cautiously. 

“… My name is Ruby and this is Lazuli and Chocolate,” said Ruby, just as cautiously. 

“Nice to meet you,” said Joie. 

“Pleasure,” said Niesa. 

“So are you guys Children of Light?  After all, you don’t look like normal people,” asked Joie.

“Joie, don’t be rude,” said Niesa.  At this point, Flora was in the kitchen. 

“No problem.  Yeah, we are,” said Sthy. 

“What can you guys do?” asked Joie.  Joie was thrilled to have someone his age other than his sister. 

“Well, I can walk through things,” said Sthy. 

“Cool,” said Joie. 

“If I read or watch a movie, I can remember it word for word, or picture for picture.  Then I can rewrite or draw it,” said Sheeshy. 

“Wow!  I always wished I could do that,” said Niesa. 

“I’m just really smart… ohm and I’m from another time and planet,” said Sento. 

“Cool,” said the two kids at the same time. 

“What can you guys do?” asked Niesa. 

Opal and Ruby looked at each other. 

Before they could say anything, Flora came in followed by a man who was about 21 or so.  He had blond hair and blue eyes.  “Oh, hello.  You guys must be the Children of Light,” said the man.  “It’s very nice to meet you.  My name is Paul,” said the man, as he and Flora put down some plates in front of everyone.  It was lasagna with garlic bread and lunar fruits.  Lunar fruits are sweet-sour.  The reason they are called Lunar fruits is they only grow at night; if they are exposed to light, they vanish.  They grow mainly in forests where the trees are dense. 

“Oh, yum,” said Joie.  So everyone ate.  Then Sthy talked with Joie while Sheeshy talked with Niesa. 

“Opal, is something wrong?  You’ve been quiet,” asked Sento as he went over to Opal, Ruby and the animals (that is except for Flair who was talking to Joie with Sthy). 

All Opal said was, “There’s something wrong.” 

“Yes, very wrong,” agreed Ruby. 

“Do you guys want to stay the night?” asked Flora. 

“Sure,” said Sthy. 

“No,” said Opal instantly.

“We need to be going.  We have a long way to go,” said Ruby. 

“Come on, just one night,” pleaded Sheeshy. 

“If you guys want to stay, you can but we are leaving,” said Sento. 

“Fine,” said Sheeshy. 

“Sorry, you guys, we have to be going,” said Sthy.  They got up and joined Opal and the others. 

“Wait…” said Paul.  Flora looked at him.  For some reason, there was pain in her eyes.  Opal, Ruby, Sento and the others were ready for anything. 

“Huh?”  said Sthy confused.

“Can you help us?” asked Flora desperately. 

“With what?” asked Opal plainly. 

“There are Experimenters coming for Niesa and Joie,” said Paul. 

“What?” asked Flair. 

“You see, they are like you " Children of Light " and some Experimenters found out about them.  We need your help,” said Flora. 

“Opal?  Ruby?” was all Sthy said, as if asking them for permission. 

Opal looked at Ruby and he look at her.  Then she said “When will they be here?”

“Soon,” said Flora looking at the clock.  “About ten minutes.”

“Which way will they come from?” asked Ruby. 

“They will most likely come from the ocean,” said Paul. 

“Great.  That means they will come from every direction except for Luna (North).  They will probably come from Luno (South) " Marshmallow, Lapis, we will take that place.  The next place is Solo (West) " Sheeshy, you and Sento take that side.  Sthy and Flair, that leaves Sola (East) for you.  Ruby, I need you, Chocolate and Lazuli to guard the family.  Knowing the Experimenters, they will find a way in,” said Opal. 

Everyone went to their position and got ready.  While they were waiting, Sento asked Sheeshy, “What are those directions again?” 

“Luna, Luno, Sola, and Solo.  The reason that they are called that is because the moon rises that way and sets over there,” said Sheeshy as she pointed first North and then South. 

“Oh, north and south,” said Sento. 

“And the sun rises over there and sets there,” said Sheeshy as she pointed first to the East, then to West. 

“Oh, east and west,” said Sento. 

“So what can you guys do?” asked Ruby, as he made his daggers and shield appear. 

“Cool,” said Joie. 

Niesa shook her head.  “I can make flowers appear, and Joie can call normal animals and he can talk to them.” 

“Opal, do you think that they are telling the whole truth?” asked Marshmallow. 

“I’m not sure.  That’s why I left Ruby, Chocolate, and Lazuli with them.  Ruby might not have discovered his stone power yet but he still has his illusions,” said Opal. 

“Yeah, his power to create illusions is very useful,” said Lapis. 

“Hey, Flair, why do you think Opal and Ruby were so against staying here?” asked Sthy. 

“I don’t know,” said Flair. 

Suddenly smoke surrounded the house.  Opal took out the staff she had gotten and tapped it two times.  The air from the staff blew the smoke away.  Standing there in the clearing were about twenty surprised Experimenters, and behind them was a darkness goblin. 

Opal whistled and the others, except for Ruby’s group, came running. 

“Is that a goblin?” asked Sento, a little scared. 

“A shadow goblin " they fight with and hide in the shadows,” explained Opal.  “My group, get the goblin.  Other groups, deal with the Experimenters.  They all took out their weapons and shields. 

“Get all of the kids.  Don’t kill them.  The Supreme Savior wants them alive,” said the one who was in charge.  For a few seconds, there was stillness. 

Then the goblin instantly disappeared and Opal’s group went after it.  Before the Experimenters had found out who Opal was, she and her brother had learned how to spot all sorts of Mythical Creatures, not to mention Children and Animals of Light and magical items.  So Opal and her group were after the shadow goblin while the others fought the Experimenters. 

“Something’s wrong,” said Joie.

“Shh,” shushed Ruby.  Ruby listened and then turned around and saw another shadow goblin.  The terrified family behind him scattered just in time for Ruby to strike.  He got the goblin’s arm and it let out a horrifying screech. 

Opal heard that and called to Marshmallow and Lapis, “You guys, we need to be quick.” 

The family covered their ears while Ruby stood perfectly still and concentrated.

“What are you doing?” asked Joie from behind a chair.

“Shhh, don’t move,” snapped Ruby.  He was looking behind Joie. 

Joie slowly turned his head and there was the goblin.  Joie let out a horrified scream. 

“Shut up,” yelled Ruby. 

The goblin was confused.  Then he waved his arm across his body, and a chair on the other side of the room got the top half cut clear off.  The goblin attacked a lamp, table and cabinet, and the same thing happened to them that had happened to the chair. 

Then suddenly, the goblin fell to the floor unconscious.  Behind him stood Ruby, who had just knocked the goblin over the head with his shield. 

Opal stood quietly.  Suddenly she shot an arrow at a tree and there was again a horrifying screech.  Opal had gotten the goblin in the chest, but an arrow does little damage to a goblin.  Next she charged at the tree with her sword and got the goblin’s leg.  “Now,” called Opal.  Lapis wrapped around the tree and the goblin, crushing the tree and forcing the goblin out and onto the ground.  By now, it was badly wounded.  

Since the goblins were the Experimenters’ main weapon, they all started to retreat.  The ones that weren’t too wounded helped the ones that were, and a few of them carried the goblin.  The leader called, “Retreat.”  Then he turned to Opal and the others and said, “Next time we meet, you will be our prisoners.”  Then he left.  Right before he left, Opal heard him say to himself, “Coming with just 20 men and 2 goblins is not smart.” 

The “2 goblins” reminded her of the screech and she rushed into the house.  There were Ruby, Chocolate, Lazuli, Joie, and Niesa on the floor asleep.  Flora, Paul, and the goblin were all gone. 

“Ruby,” called Opal as she ran over to him and the others came into the house.  “Wake the others,” said Opal, as she looked around the room to see if everyone was there.  “Ruby, wake up,” said Opal and she shook him by his shoulders.  It took about three minutes until everyone was awake.  Then Opal asked, “You guys, what happened?” 

“I don’t know.  I fought the shadow goblin and knocked it out and then I was talking to Joie and then I fell asleep,” said Ruby. 

“I remember a kind of smoke that smelled like lavender,” said Niesa.

“Sleeping smoke,” said Opal. 

“Where are our parents?” asked Joie. 

“Let’s look around, but in pairs " just in case,” said Opal.  They paired up and started to look around. 

“Hey, you guys, I smell lavender and… roselights?” said Sheeshy.  

“Roselights… those are flowers of light.  They keep dark creatures’ power weak,” said Opal, as they all went over to where Sheeshy was. 

They all looked around for a bit and then Flair found a secret tunnel.  Before Opal went in, she looked at which direction it was going and noticed it was going Solo towards Stone isle.  When everyone was in the tunnel and had been walking for a while, Ruby went up to where Opal was and whispered, “We’re heading for home.” 

“Yeah, I wonder what Flora and Paul are doing to be going to Stone clan territory?” asked Opal. 

“You think that is where they are now heading?” asked Ruby. 

“Yeah, they knew more than they were letting on,” said Opal. 

They finally got to a door.  Everyone got their weapons and shields ready.  Then Opal opened the door.  Inside was some sort of lab.  Flora and Paul had the goblin strapped to a table and they had all sorts of weird tools as if they were going to dissect it. 

“What is this place?” said Niesa. 

“This is like an Experimenters’ lab,” said Sthy. 

“Yeah,” said Flair. 

“What are you talking about?” came a voice.  It was Flora.  “What we are doing is nothing like what they do.” 

“Yes.  We are doing this to protect our family,” said Paul. 

“Well, why do you think Experimenters capture us?  They have the same intention and they do the same as you are doing,” said Opal. 

Paul and Flora were surprised by what Opal had said.  “You sound like you are defending Experimenters,” said Paul. 

“I’m not.  I’m showing how you are doing the same thing that they do,” said Opal. 

Then Ruby added, “Why do you think our kind call them experimenters?” 

“Well…” said Flora, but had nothing to say to defend herself. 

“Exactly,” said Sento. 

“Mom, Dad, what did you do?  You did the same thing that the Experimenters wanted to do to us,” said Joie sadly. 

“What?  No!  Don’t you understand…” said Paul suddenly interrupted by Niesa.

“Don’t you understand if you do that to them, then how can we be sure that you won’t do that to us?” 

“What?  You are our children.  We would never do that,” said Flora. 

“Don’t be too sure.  I met a family like this one.  There was a wife who was a PAS and her daughter was a Child of Light, but the husband was an Experimenter and he turned her over to the others,” said Opal.  

“Well then… how can you say he did that to save his family?” asked Paul. 

“Simple.  He wanted to protect his wife,” said Opal. 

“But…” said Flora. 

“Face it.  If we have to, we will fight you.  No matter what, we will prevent you from killing that goblin,” said Sthy. 

Flora and Paul looked at each other and then at Niesa and Joie.  After a while they said, “Fine, take the thing.” 

So Opal and Ruby carried the goblin up, while Sheeshy held the flowers by it so that it wouldn’t try and kill them on the way out.  “We will bring it to a different island and leave it in a forest,” said Opal. 

“But what about its arm?  Will it heal?” asked Niesa. 

Opal looked at its arm and then at Niesa and said, “It would have been better if it didn’t have holly flower sprinkled in it.  Now there is no chance of it healing if it is left out in the wild.”

“But who put holly flower on it?” asked Joie. 

“Let’s just say this.  This is a normal sword,” said Ruby. 

Niesa and Joie looked at their parents, who looked away.  “Well, can we heal it and then release it?” asked Niesa. 

“Don’t know.  It’s up to your parents.  After all, we are leaving in five minutes and something like that would take at least a month to heal,” said Opal. 

“We can heal it and then find a boat from town and bring it to a different island,” said Flora. 

Opal and the others left the goblin with Niesa and Joie.  They went to town and bought a sailboat.  It had a kind of house on it with five rooms.  They all ate some dinner and went to bed.