User blog:Addfire/ToSWiki!Tale Part 4

Rubik felt like he'd been walking forever. Hotlands stretched on and on, and it sure didn't help that he was avoiding sleep at all costs. He never again wanted to see Desert with his insane grin and bloodstained coat. He passed one building. Another. He had already checked to see if Venera could ferry him to the city, but the giant was gone. 3DD13 had offered to carry Rubik, but when he tried to turn on his rocket jets Rubik learned that Eddie's entire metallic body warmed up. And not in a pleasant way. Another building. His feet began to drag. Another building. Was it getting colder, or was it just him? Another building, the street was paved. He stumbled, the jolt shaking him back into a state of full consciousness. He had made it to the City! He gave a sigh of relief, and hailed down a taxicab. Rubik bundled himself into the cab. The driver looked back, skin grayish-blue. The driver had spiky hair, and his seat was painted like a target. The driver did not introduce himself      --. --- -. . .-. .--. -.-- .-. .     , simply nodding and saying, "Perhaps with your arrival, I can be fixed." Rubik gave the man a strange glance, and offered, "I'll... try to fix you? But in the meantime, I need to get to the baker's." "Chengsha isn't at the Bakery," the driver murmured. "Instead, she is delivering her goods to the king himself. I will take you to the palace." Rubik didn't give an affirmation, but the taxicab was already moving. Once they reached the Palace, Rubik clambered out of the vehicle. "I'm afraid I have no money for you, sir..." He apologized. "No money." The taxicab drove away. Okay... Rubik thought to himself. ''That sure was... creepy. But at least he didn't rip my eyelids off with a nail clipper.'' Rubik walked up the steps to the Palace, admiring the beautiful neoclassical architecture. It reminded him of... Something. He couldn't exactly place what. Purple columns held up the outer roof, and a gargantuan purple door made Rubik assume that the king had a serious superiority complex. With closed eyes and held breath, Rubik touched the door, lightly. It swung open, revealing darkness. “Hello?” Called Rubik tentatively. “Anyon-” The room lit up to reveal a stunningly beautiful hallway, with ornate golden carvings decorating each wall. There was a single door at the very end, so Rubik took a deep breath, and walked up to it. His knuckles rapped three times on the door, and a hearty “Come in!” sounded. Rubik gripped the doorknob and opened this door, stepping into the throne room. There were golden flowers covering it, and a golden throne in the center. Seated on the throne was a man. Or… a goat-man? He had broad shoulders, a golden blond mane and beard, and two large curved horns. He wore a suit of armor, a yellow cape with golden pauldrons, and a crown on top of his head. He was lounging, and listening to a woman whisper in his ear. She had long white hair, but with a young face. In fact, the word to describe her was inconsistent. She had two eyes, technically, two orifices above her nose, and yes, it was true that both had one white each… but each had four irises, and a pupil per iris. When she spoke, razor-sharp teeth were revealed. A pink dress adorned her, with the occasional red or purple stripe. She was pouring a cup of tea as she conversed with the king. Rubik stood there for a while, feeling awkward that he was being ignored. Then, the king held up his hand. “Thank you, Head Spy Chengsha. Your information is most helpful.” His baleful gaze turned to Rubik. “And who might you be?” Rubik swallowed. “Hello, your majesty. My name is… Rubik? And I’ve, um, come to see if you could help me get home.” The king looked down at him. “Well, there were a couple things wrong with that sentence. First off, I may be a king but I’m no majesty. Call me Sir Sondz. Secondly, I can’t get you home if I don’t know where your ‘home’ is.” “Right, yes, of course… I’m, um, human, sir, and I come from… above?” Chengsha’s eyes widened. “Above?” She declared. “Impossible! My informants would have told me if a human was wandering about the underground…” Rubik gulped. “Well, with all due respect, Miss Head Spy, I’ve only talked to like four people and I only got here yesterday. Maybe they didn’t-” He stifled a yawn. “Know?” Cheng’s face was skeptical until the yawn, and at that point her face softened. “Listen, dearie, when’s the last time you slept?”

Rubik waved her away. “No, I’m…” Another yawn. “... Fine.”

Chengsha bit her lip. “If you insist… Here, have some tea. My treat, I’m also the Baker of this kingdom. Best food in town!” Rubik nodded. He hadn’t had food since Francois’ hotel. He accepted the offered tea, and had only taken one sip before feeling immensely drowsy. “What… did you…” He managed to get out before falling down. “Only a mild sedative. You need the sleep, I can see it on your face. You’ll wake up in a nice bed, and feel much better. Trust me.” Rubik’s eyes shut.

He wasn’t in that dreaded room this time, but a forest. Desert was standing beside him, still with the same insane smile and bloodstained coat. “Don’t worry,” He began nonchalantly. “I’m not planning on damaging those precious eyes of yours. I just want to talk! After all, maybe we could find common ground. And don’t bother running, I’ve set up this dream so you can’t escape me. “Ghosty’s right, you should know. We are being controlled. But I’ve thought it over, and you are the centerpiece of it all… So if I manage to kill you, or make you snap and start killing, perhaps I could break whoever’s controlling us?  “Those are just the ravings of a madman… And I’ll try to torture you later… But I want you to know that I’m sane, and that I’m doing this for a perfectly good reason. Love ya lots! Bye!” Desert disappeared. Rubik breathed a sigh of relief. The trees around him became spears, and started to stab him again and again. You can’t die in a dream, but you can sure as hell feel pain.

End of Part 4!