Chapter 5, Part two. The Ghost from Whispwood

 Eos didn't know what she would see when she reached the top of the stairs,  probably some creature of unimaginable horror that was named the Ghost of Whispwood. So when she reached the top of the stairs, she almost fell down them as she had been startled by the small human-ish figure floating in front of them. Early 2000s at the least(Eos had no clue about how these people managed their age) looked about the same age as a young twenty-something-year-old human, pale gray for its skin tone, and cream colored hair that floated like it was under water. The ghost's eyes were a murky green. It was floating, but not see-through, just solid. 

"Has someone finally come to set me free?" The ghost whispered, the sudden noise filling the air. 

"We.....We need your passkey." Lonely spoke, "Please."

"Set me free, or die!" She snapped, then covered her mouth, her face twisted in pain. 

"No death threats, lady! We don't know how to free you." Eos ordered, stepping in front of Lonely, reaching a hand into her pocket, hoping that she grabbed the right suit with the blaster in it. No luck. She muttered a curse that she would have gotten in trouble saying back at home. 

"K-kill kill him! The one who pulls the strings." She coughed out the words, seeming to be fighting with herself, "Pass key. Grave. Lost love."  

The ghost grew tall and large, eyes gone, fingers grown sharp. Her head snapped up and she looked at them, her voice fearful as she whispered, "Run!".

"LONELY, I THINK IT'S TIME TO GO!" Eos yelled!

"WAY AHEAD OF YOU!" Lonely grabbed her arm and started running down the stairs. 

"What is that thing?!" He panted, looking behind. 

"Of course, Foe's got a hold of her, that's why she has a passkey! He won't let her go till he's dead! That's why her spirit is still here! She must have asked him for his help when she was alive, and now he's making her repay her debt!" She smacked her forehead. How could she be so stupid? 

"Of course! That makes so much sense!" Lonely said sarcastically. 

"You have little understanding of the universe and what some creatures can do. You have no right to-!" 

The ghost let out a ghastly scream, which made them run faster. When they finally reached the bottom, they ran onto the empty landscape that was once Whispwood. 

"Find the graveyard!" Lonely called, letting go of Eos's arm and running away from her.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" She hollered, but it was no use; he was out of earshot. 

"Boy, can that kid run." She thought as she sprinted off in the other direction. She heard part of the wall of the lighthouse collapse as the ghost broke through the wall. Eos realized she should have started running as soon as Lonely did, but it didn't matter now that the ghost had seen her and started to give chase. 

"CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAAPPPP!!!" Eos yelled as she begged her legs to start moving faster.  She didn't know this landscape; she kept stumbling over loose boards and rocks. She didn't see a graveyard through all that sprinting and tumbling. Eos turned to look back. The ghost was still giving chase, and now looked even scarier in the darkness and fog. She turned back around and smacked right into a wooden pillar. She could now taste blood in her mouth from biting down on the inside of her cheek. 

The ghost grabbed her ankle and held her in the air. Over a waiting, gaping mouth with rows of teeth. 

Eos braced herself for a sickening death. Then something zipped through the air and hit the ghost's hand, just barely grazing Eos’s leg that the ghost was holding onto. The creature let out a sharp wail and dropped Eos to the ground. Eos had no time to collect herself before Lonely grabbed her arm and slung it around his shoulder, dragging her in the direction of the craft. He was saying something, but she didn't hear what he said. Her leg was warm with blood, and she was starting to feel woozy. She turned to look back over her shoulder, the ghost was flickering in-between being controlled and being in control. 

"Faster. We've got to go." Eos huffed.

"But your leg-" Lonely protested.

"NOW, lonely.".

He picked up his pace, and she tried to ignore the pain as she limped faster. 

They managed to get to the spaceship just as the ghost let out a hollow wail. Lonely helped Eos into the captain's seat. 

"Take us up." He ordered

"Yep!" She punched some buttons, then yanked the steering wheel up, and they flew into space. When they reached a point where they could just float in place, Lonely helped her to the first aid cot so they could wrap her leg. 

"How? What happened back there?" Eos asked once on the cot.

"Found the grave of 'Matteo quin, loved by Emily grace’. The rest was scratched out. All the other tombstones had been broken. I found this glowy thing resting on top of Matteo's." He held up what looked like a broken pipe that was indeed glowing, "I shoved it into these weird, huge pockets these space suits have and found a weird blaster in the other one. That's when I heard you yelling and came to get you. Sorry about your leg, by the way." 

"......It'll heal. Those pockets each lead to their own little safe back home, so the wearer can shove any treasure they find into them. They're called portal pockets." She explained as Lonely pulled a bandage from a med kit. 

"That's a dumb name." He muttered as he motioned for her to roll up her pant leg. 

"I guess so, but the point is we have the first part of the passkey." She sighed as she rolled her pant leg. The starblaster beam didn't go all the way through, thankfully, but it was still going to hurt when she stood up; it would hurt for a while before…...she decided not to tell Lonely what would happen. They sat in silence while Lonely wrapped her leg. When he was done, he looked up and asked.

"Where now?" 

"Well, the closest planet is Ancient Geese; it wouldn't hurt to check there for the next part of the passkey. Plus, we could grab more supplies."   

"Wait….did you just say Ancient Geese?"

Chapter 5, The Ghost from Whispwood, part 1. A Ghost's Lament

Eos had no desire to be here. Parents back home told children the stories of the haunted lighthouse of Whispwood, how it would guide ships away from the planet, but anyone who dared to land would never be seen again. At least that's the story parents told their kids. In reality, they would find the half-eaten remains of the missing floating around in space. They needed to search for this key and get off this godforsaken planet. 

"What the heck happened here?" The boy, Lonely whispered, stepping over rusted nails and warped wood planks. 

"Used to be a colony of Whilps many years ago. They didn't know that the atmosphere was thin or that this planet already had an occupant. A ghost who loved its privacy." She explained, hopping over an old fence.

"A ghost?" He scoffed. 

"It eats them and throws their remains out into the coldness of space." 

"Oh..." 

They reached the lighthouse and stared up. It soared past the dark clouds that swirled in the sky like a whirlpool.

"Please tell me they put an elevator in when they built this." Lonely groaned. 

"Doubt it." She frowned, "You good at climbing limby?"

"It's Lonely, and I hope so..." He winced. 

Eos took a better look at him. Nobbily, black messy hair, the most miserable yet determined dark green eyes she'd ever seen were the color of juniper leaves, and a well-structured face. She had to remind herself that he had almost killed her and gotten her into this hopeless situation. 

She shook her head, "No time for dwelling on it, you have a job to do." Eos thought.

"Scared, star girl?" He smirked.

"Shut up and come on." She muttered, shoving open the red door. She had been right about the stairs; they spiraled upward with no end in sight. 

"Lady's first." Lonely bowed, gesturing to the stairs. 

"What a gentleman." She snipped sarcastically and started up the stairs, the human following behind. They walked in silence for the first thirty minutes, but when they reached what Eos assumed was halfway up, they heard the sound of a music box. It was a sorry song that was slow and melancholy.

"Geez....even that would scare my aunts. What the heck could be winding that box?" He whispered.

"The ghost, probably. As long as we stay quiet, we shouldn't disturb it. You have.....aunts?" She asked, turning to face him, "Is that what humans call their parents?" 

He didn't answer at first, just walked past her and continued up. He stayed silent for twenty more steps before saying, 

"Yeah." 

Eos thought it was weird that he would take that long to answer a simple question, but eh, maybe it was a human thing. She didn't know much about humans, now that she thought about it. She knew they had a small life span from living on what they called Earth, and she knew that they were a pretty clueless race, but that was about it. 

"Hey, do-" She started, but was cut off by Lonely shushing her.

"Listen..." He whispered. 

A ghost’s song.

Loney 

 Lonely heard someone talking behind the music. He shushed Eos and motioned for her to listen.

"No one remembers my name. Not one to tell my story. ooohhh that's a shame..."

"I lean against these cold windows, watching ships pass, wondering how long this could last..."

"They, oh, they left me here with my pain! Left me to take the blame! How could you leave me? Why don't you care? Forget the lost girl from this forsaken town! No one cared anyway!" 

She pauses for a second. Like she knows it's not true. 

"Oh my love, how my heart aches for your smile. You stuck with me, and the world turned wild. You say it wasn't my fault..., but it was!"

"How could you have done what you did! Run and leave your life behind. I could never forgive you, even if my heart could let me." 

"Now they went and killed you for choosing a runaway girl over your life of splendor. I should have gone instead..." 

"They took away our water, they took away our food! Just because you told them they couldn't have you! Your people died because of me, the foolishness I had to love you and tell you. They're gone because of me, and I only wish I could go too."

"Trapped in this sinkhole, I can never escape. I'm bound by these chains that could never break. He holds me like this till the time is here.  Not bound by fate, but fear."

"Controls me like a puppet on a wire. I can't ever leave till he sets me free, or a star of bright light strikes me in the heart. If only I could fight it, the puppet master who controls my anger and every move when he sees fit!"

"Now come out, you children of the stars. I don't wish to delay your deaths..."

The Ghost hummed from the top of the stairs, music still going. 

"We're going to die," Lonley whispered, trying not to fall down the stairs. 

"Yep." Eos nodded, grabbing his arm, "Let's get it over with then." 

He decided that this was no dream. Did he want to die? Who knows, but he knew he wasn't gonna give up without a fight.........a fight that could probably do nothing to this apparition.

Chapter 4, Part 2. The Lighthouse

Eos had no desire to be here. Parents back home told children the stories of the haunted lighthouse of Whispwood, how it would guide ships away from the planet, but anyone who dared to land would never be seen again. At least that's the story parents told their kids. In reality, they would find the half-eaten remains of the missing floating around in space. They needed to search for this key and get off this godforsaken planet. 

"What the heck happened here?" The boy, Lonely whispered, stepping over rusted nails and warped wood planks. 

"Used to be a colony of Whilps many years ago. They didn't know that the atmosphere was thin or that this planet already had an occupant. A ghost who loved its privacy." She explained, hopping over an old fence.

"A ghost?" He scoffed. 

"It eats them and throws their remains out into the coldness of space." 

"Oh..." 

They reached the lighthouse and stared up. It soared past the dark clouds that swirled in the sky like a whirlpool.

"Please tell me they put an elevator in when they built this." Lonely groaned. 

"Doubt it." She frowned, "You good at climbing limby?"

"It's Lonely, and I hope so..." He winced. 

Eos took a better look at him. Nobbily, black messy hair, the most miserable yet determined dark green eyes she'd ever seen were the color of juniper leaves, and a well-structured face. She had to remind herself that he had almost killed her and gotten her into this hopeless situation. 

She shook her head, "No time for dwelling on it, you have a job to do." Eos thought.

"Scared, star girl?" He smirked.

"Shut up and come on." She muttered, shoving open the red door. She had been right about the stairs; they spiraled upward with no end in sight. 

"Lady's first." Lonely bowed, gesturing to the stairs. 

"What a gentleman." She snipped sarcastically and started up the stairs, the human following behind. They walked in silence for the first thirty minutes, but when they reached what Eos assumed was halfway up, they heard the sound of a music box. It was a sorry song that was slow and melancholy.

"Geez....even that would scare my aunts. What the heck could be winding that box?" He whispered.

"The ghost, probably. As long as we stay quiet, we shouldn't disturb it. You have.....aunts?" She asked, turning to face him, "Is that what humans call their parents?" 

He didn't answer at first, just walked past her and continued up. He stayed silent for twenty more steps before saying, 

"Yeah." 

Eos thought it was weird that he would take that long to answer a simple question, but eh, maybe it was a human thing. She didn't know much about humans, now that she thought about it. She knew they had a small life span from living on what they called Earth, and she knew that they were a pretty clueless race, but that was about it. 

"Hey, do-" She started, but was cut off by Lonely shushing her.

"Listen..." He whispered.

Chapter 4, part 1. The lighthouse

 Lonely had made her mad, he could tell. With everything that had happened back there, his brain had spaced on anything that had been said; all he could remember was the soldier hanging limp. 

"ARE YOU REALLY THAT DAFT?!" Eos exclaimed, turning around in her chair. 

"I-I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention!" He yelped. 

She rolled her eyes and groaned, turning back around to focus on the stars. 

"Well," She sighed, "First, we need to track down the stupid passkeys; second, we use the passkeys to transport us to wherever this foe is hiding. Third, we find something that will make the rocks disappear, and lastly, we kill this tyrant." 

"KILL?" Lonely shouted; he was beginning to doubt that this was a dream.  

"Yes, kill him, and if you have a problem with that, then you'd better just jump out the airlock, because I can't go back without finishing this." 

He honestly was debating the whole airlock thing and was about to ask where it was when Eos muttered, 

"We're here." 

Just outside the window was the surface of a small, barren planet. If anyone lived here, it was centuries ago. The only building that wasn't a pile of junk was a lighthouse that sat so big and stood so high it took up most of the planet. There seemed to be no plants anywhere, which meant no water and no atmosphere. 

"Welcome to Whispwood, or what's left of it at least. There are air-suits in that closet. I'd suggest putting one on before leaving." She said, bringing them to a smooth landing. 

He followed her instructions. Lonely didn't want to make her mad even more by arguing. There were only three of the "air-suits" Eos had mentioned, and they looked more like a goldfish bowl and backpack to Lonely than a space suit. He hoped it wouldn't smell of fish; he didn't want to throw up on top of everything else.

"WHAT THE HECK ARE THESE FISH BOWLS FOR?!" Lonely shouted from the closet. Eos walked over to join him at the closet. 

"Put it over your head, idiot." She glared at him and grabbed one off one of the hooks. She walked away muttering something about humans and monkeys. Hesitantly, Lonely grabbed one and looked it over. It looked like a large goldfish bowl. 

"I'm not putting this thing on. I'll smell like fish!" He argued. 

"Put it on, or I'll shove it on your head and leave you on this deserted planet!" She snapped from the front of the ship. 

"oR i'lL lEAve yOu oN tHiS dEsertED plAnET." He mocked.

"WHAT WAS THAT!?"

"NOTHING!" He yelped and shoved the fishbowl onto his head. Immediately, the suit powered on, and a liquid metal slid out from the bowl and over him, slimy and skin-tight. He felt like screaming, but stopped himself when he realized Eos was watching him in her suit. She was covered in silver from the neck down, and the backpack had a tube connecting it to the bowl over her head.   

"Put on the bag and come on. The longer we wait, the more Starlin will fall to ruin." She spoke in a tone that seemed cold and sad. He obliged and slung on the bag, a tube slid out, and he connected the fish bowl to the oxygen backpack. He found he could move quite easily, as if he wasn't wearing the suit.

"Okay. Let's find this portkey." He smiled.   

"Passkey."

"WHATEVER!"

Chapter 3, Part 2. Planet of the Starlin.

 Eos couldn't believe this. First, she nods off and lets a dumb human pull her ship off course. Second, she gets back to her planet, and her mentor decides to jump in front of the king, saving Arun, but killing himself in the process. Now she was babysitting a criminal who had been sent to kill the very enemy that had been trying to snuff out her race for eons. She felt like crying, she felt like screaming, but instead she bowed and grabbed Lonely's wrist as she walked by. Leaving and pulling him out of the room felt good,  walking away from the prying eyes who thought she couldn't do it felt better. It felt easier to be away from family than to be near them. 

"Congratulations on becoming a captain." Lonely smiled half heartedly, but she could hear the pity in his words.

The voice in her head whispered, "Everyone feels sorry for you...your own family doesn't need you. He threw you to the wolves.....kill the boy...and run!"

"Don't!" She snapped, "No pity from you, we have a job to do and we'll do it. Even if it means we might not come back." Eos couldn't do this today, not enough energy to deal with it. 

"Oh...." He sounded like this quest thing was more of an inconvenience than a death sentence, and it was starting to bug her. 

The starships weren't far, but they needed to stock up on food first. The castle kitchen was filled with people running back and forth, scurrying around. Eos found who she was looking for right away. 

"Dawn!" She shouted, running up to her sister.  

"Hey, E!" Dawn called as she scooped her younger sister into a hug. 

"As much as I would love to stay and chat...do you have any spare rations? You'll learn from da latter." Eos asked, keeping one eye on Lonely, who was watching the chefs prep dishes for some fancy dinner party the king would be hosting. 

 "Of course!" Her sister grinned as she hurried over to the large pantry. She came back quickly with an arm full of food, she set it all on a countertop, and started shoving it into a bag. 

"Look, Dad said he wanted to have dinner when you got back from patrol, but I guess it'll have to wait till you get back from this trip, huh?" Dawn laughed as she handed over the bag of food.

"Maybe. We have to go now, Dawn, but we'll talk about the details when I get back. okay?" Eos hesitated, "If I ever come back..." she thought, and before leaving, she called to her sister, "I love you."

"Aww, I love you too, you goober!" Her sister grinned and waved. 

Lonely didn't say anything on the way to the new starship, and Eos was thankful for a bit of quiet; it gave her a chance to quiet her brain, and it stopped her from crying from the stress. They climbed into a ship, and she pulled up a map. 

"Okay, human, there are stories that there’s a passkey hidden on each of the planets surrounding Starlin. Where to first?" 

"uhh…That one... right there," He pointed to a planet with just a lighthouse, the closest to their planet. 

"Okay, whispwood it is." She punched a few buttons, and the ship powered up, and they flew away from her planet. A few minutes passed before Lonely asked.

"What am I supposed to be doing again?"