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Okay...the top bit is annoying me right there ( ^ ) because it's not spacing out for me. And, I have great news. I have officially UN-JUMBLED my story line. Some small things need to be taken care of first, but other than that, the big picture is there. YAY!!! xDD

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"Right down here, miss." The guard said, opening the frozen-over large door. The metal of his armor scratched at the ice as his fingers slid off of the door, letting it slowly slide to a close behind us. I heard the locks clicking as the door shut, the mechanisms turning until they met each other. Ths guard's armor was heavier than the guards I had to previously go through to get down to this floor of Nostro's Ice Castle. I could clearly see my breath, each patch of ghostly white growing larger until it disappeared into the frigid air. The farther down that we got into Nostro's castle, the colder things seem to get, until the cold finally became unbearable.

"What's the temprature in here?" I asked, as the guard opened another steel door.

"As cold as science can get to absolute zero." He said, and then smirked a little, as if he were enjoying my discomfort. Either that, or he really liked his job, guarding the freezing lower regions of an abandoned castle in the middle of Nevada. Do you know how strangely people look at you when you get to the Grand Canyon looking like you're about to go skiing? They look at you like you're nuts.


"We keep it like this so Nostro's powers are kept at bay." The guard said, leading me down the hallway after hanging his keys on the hook of his belt. I also noticed that he didn't really answer my question.

"That thing that you have locked up in here is barely Nostro anymore..." I said, my deep purple eyes cosing uninteresteldly.

"How would you know?" The guard asked. I was reluctant to answer such a personal question, but...

"I once knew him." I mumbled, stuffing my cold hands into my coat pockets. His body and a tortured soul...that was probably all that was left of him. Nostro had been a Guardian. Guardians were humans that had the natural-born ability to turn into their soul animal, and that's what made them strong. Some Guardians even had other gifts, like Nostro had. That is...before he went insane. His total of destruction, or ToD -- we'd been keeping track -- was 17 of his fellow Guardians, along with 4 villages and 2 cities.


"It's not like I can tell. The last time anyone was down here was when Nostro was bound to the entrance to the Caverns. You must be pretty important to have access down here." I looked down, eyes now open and smiled slightly.

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess you could say that." I stopped suddely as my snow boots started to make the distinct sound of rubber boot soles on stone, no longer snow and ice.


"We're here." The guard said.

"Well, it's about friggin' time." I said, looking back up. The icy air jabbed its way down the sides of my throat as I gasped. A great, icy archway stood before us, with what looked like water covering it like a thick veil. Behind it, lay a furry lump. Strange symbols were etched into the archway, and I couldn't understand any of them. The room was still very cold, with small holes in the ceiling. I'd guessed that was to let the rain in, and as it dripped onto the floor, it would freeze into ice. But through those holes, light from the sunny day outside was shining through, bouncing off of the ice and creating fabulous colors.

"It's just as i'd remembered...it's still in one piece, despite the rumors... Nostro would never be able to get out of this." I said softly, walking slowly up to it. The water rippled like some kind of wind was blowing onto it, like bright white silk with tinges of blue. I slid my hand out of my warm jacket pocket and reached forward to touch the silken gate. My fingers were merely one millimeter away from the water before the guard screamed from behind me. Blood splattered violently onto the water gate, merging with the water unil it became a light pink color.

I whipped around, black pony tail swishing - to face the creature of which I had been looking for. Nostro stood about three feet tall when he was crouched onto all fours. Thick, long, and oily black fur covered his entire body, up to his ears and down to his inch-long claws, which were now flecked with blood. As he retracted his claws, he licked his muzzle and grinned, exposing his yellowing fangs.

"Hello, my dear." He growled. The very sound of his voice made my spine siver, like the sound of a thousand knives being focefully dragged across the chalkboard of my mind. His voice was deep and creepy, and unwelcome in my cold ears, even if it was him that I had come to see. My heart beat faster and my fingertips tingled; despite the fact that I knew he wouldn't hurt me once he found out who I was.

I had two theories - he would either remember who I was, and listen to what I needed to say, or...he would remember who I was, rip me to peices, and use my head as a soccer ball.

"Nostro?" I whispered. He looked a lot worse than I thought he would. I turned to the furry body that lay behind the gate to the Caverns of Time.

"Yes... and yes, that is my body." He hissed, padding up next to me. He hissed quietly, almost inaudibly at his reflection in the water. He then turned his head to me.

"Who are you? And why have you come here?" He asked. I looked at him nervously, eyeing the blood still dripping from his fangs. His eyes locked onto mine. He looked at them for a minute, then abruptly growled, a deep rumble that started deep in his chest and erupted through his teeth. He somehow managed to compose himself.

"Vivian. My my, how you've grown! I haven't seen you since you were a little newborn." He chuckled lightly. I grimaced, somehow glad that he remembered me, and that he hadn't ripped me apart. Though he was right...it had been years since I'd seen him...even after his murderous rampage. Guardians age much slower than humans do. I had been there when my father gave their lives to prevent anyone from ever getting into the Caverns of Time. I was only little, and that had happened almost 30 years ago. For every 1 years a human gains, Guardians age by 1/2 of a year. ( 1 Guardian year = 2 Human years. ) Some parts of The Caverns of Time were much too dangerous for any human or Guardian to ever get into.

"I had rotted in there for 30 years...thanks to your father." Nostro mumbled, looking at his body on the other side.

"You're dead." I said plainly. He smiled slightly.


"Well...yes. What did you expect?" He laughed, and turned around. This was one of Nostro's many powers...to project his soul from his body and roam about. He could even walk through walls - and, apparently - my father's gate. Nostro's tail twitched.

"And what exactly did you need, young one? Why have you the need to come here?" He asked. And I flat out told him.

"The Guardians need your help." Nostro sorted.

"And why, pray tell, should I give a damn after what they...including your father...did to me?" He said cooly, sitting down and wrapping his dirty tail around his legs.

"Because you were one once." I said softly. This struck a chord with him, as his ears stood straight up and he snarled.


"Not anymore!!" He shouted, abruptly turning away from me and standing on his hind legs. He dug his claws into the pillar of ice that was facing him, and he dragged them down the middle towards the floor. I'd noticed similar marks on the ice all around the room, even the ceiling in some places.

"I understand, but -- " I started, but Nostro whirled back towards me.

"No you don't." He growled, eyes suddenly dulling and filling with sadness and pity for himself. "Noone ever will." And to that, I could not respond. I took a hesitant step forward to comfort him, but I slipped on the snow and fell backwards, hitting my head on the ground.

"OW!" I shouted, bolting upright in my bed. "What?" I mumbled, looking around my room. "It was just a...dream?"


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And, so meets the end of the Prologue. I'll put up the first part of the first chapter so I can't forget what I have. I also have to go over this a few more times, but leave a comment anyway. And remember - my keyboard sucks, so If you find any typos just tell me.