The world shuddered around him. In his stasis pod, far beneath the surface of the planet Phantom, Elazar strained to see what was causing such disturbance above. He squeezed his eyes shut and fell deeper into the network of minds. The Nines' voices echoed as he reached out into oblivion.
Whisperings tickled his ears and ghosts of the eight remaining captives beckoned him, but he did not have time to commune with the prisoners. He brushed by them all, climbing down through unconsciousness, into the place he sought.
Elazar slipped through the network veil and into four white fox paws. His vision blurred, but he blinked away the mist. Around him, fall leaves floated down from tall oaks and pristine maples. He padded through the browning grass.
A sharp crackle startled him.
His ears flicked toward the sound and he flipped nimbly, landing behind a tree.
A bear cub romped through the leaf piles, scattering them everywhere.
Elazar relaxed at the familiar sight. He circled the tree and peered up into its branches. Birds nested in the bows.
He shook his head and continued through the forest searching for the source of the Nines' excitement. His ears perked up at the sound of cloven hooves skirting through the trees. As he followed the sound, the woods transformed from golden fall to emerald spring. Flowers bloomed everywhere and he could hear the trickle of a nearby brook.
The deer were close.
He swiveled his ears to catch every sound. A low whir buzzed somewhere nearby. Elazar sneaked through the underbrush, careful to stay as low to the ground as possible. When the whir grew louder, he phased out of his white coat and into a black one, blending into the shadows beneath the trees.
The woods ended in a small clearing, through which ran the brook. The deer grazed near it.
The whir whispered down to nothing, replaced by a new sound – footsteps. Elazar ducked father back into the bushes, keeping his head low. He scanned the clearing. There – at the far end of the open space stood two men. Their clothes were foreign – nothing akin to the sleeping princess, or the woman sequestered away in her nearby tower.
The strangers' voices carried to Elazar on the breeze. He strained to hear them clearly, but despite his avatar's superb senses, he could not decipher their words. As the men drew nearer, Elazar discovered they were mere children – perhaps nineteen or twenty.
He cocked his head as the pair rustled through the wispy grass. One – the more outspoken of the two –stopped to pick a wildflower. He breathed in a deep whiff of it and smiled. The quieter young man pointed toward the brook and both of them froze.
Elazar chanced a glance back toward the water. The deer startled, leaping over the narrow stream one right after the other.
The first young man sighed and his face fell, but it lit up again when he spied a flock of geese, honking overhead. He pointed up toward the birds with such enthusiasm it made Elazar wonder if the boy had ever seen geese before.
The young men wandered through the trees for over two miles. They followed the brook until it broke out into a larger clearing.
When they lay down in the grass, Elazar was puzzled. He sneaked closer to them, his whiskers dancing as he sniffed the air. They did not stink of the devil-queen or her minions. He grimaced at the memory of her foul stench.
He stepped closer and sniffed again. They did not reek of mercenaries either.
Their scent wafted to him, metallic and cold, yet kind and good-hearted. He stared at them from the shade of a thick blackberry bush as the young men talked. Now that he was closer, Elazar realized why he couldn't understand them. Their language rang strange in his ears. Still he strained to pick up any familiar sounds.
The young men grew quiet as the breeze sifted through the grass, lulling the world into a soft silence. Elazar listened for a long time, crouched beneath the bushes. After half an hour, he slipped through the grass over to the quiet boy's side. He sniffed the still face and cocked his head. The stranger's appearance reminded him of the woman in the tower.
Elazar circled the sleeping young men, snuffling their hair and studying their dirty boots. When he was sure they were unaware of his presence, he reached out a cautious paw and tapped the quiet boy's nose. The stranger didn't stir.
The earth beneath Elazar's paws rumbled. He started, spreading his feet to keep his balance. When the young men didn't stir, Elazar stepped back and stood on his hind feet, peering over the tall grass. He took stock of the area. Nothing was amiss – not here. He sank back down to the ground and phased from black fur to red as he felt another murmur.
He streaked out of the clearing toward another part of the forest, following the Nines' disquieted tremors until they intensified into a dull roar he could almost hear, even though the planet's surface remained undisturbed.
Just outside the wood lay rolling hills dotted with patches of wildflowers and occupied by herds of roaming horses and deer.
Elazar didn't understand the prisoners' anxiety. Another trembling mind touched him as he passed over several hills. He temporarily ducked into patches of flowers for cover when the excited whispers rose.
As he reached the crest of the last hill, he felt the overwhelming urge to raise his muzzle to the sky and howl in excitement.
The twilight sun sank behind him. His red fur glowed golden. Down below, sprawling across a bare patch of ground lay a metal dome. It glinted in the evening light. A thrill raced through him and he gave in to the itching compulsion, raising his tiny voice to the sky as the night's first star twinkled into view.
The next instant he ducked behind the rise as a man popped out of the dome. Elazar peaked over the hill, his ears flicking back and forth as he heard more people inside the structure.
The man was older than the two boys sleeping in the woods, and he looked most peculiar with no eyebrows to lend structure to his face. Elazar whuffled at the strange man, resting his chin on the ground between outstretched paws as he watched him.
The man yawned and stretched. His face was tired, but glad. Elazar flicked an ear as he stared. The stranger folded his arms over his chest and paced in front of the dome. At any second, Elazar expected one of his fellows to come out and see what he was doing. No one disturbed him.
As darkness fell, the man stopped and gazed up into the sky. Elazar chanced a look up too. It was going to be a lovely night. The air was cool and the breeze whisked over the hills and down into the small valleys between them. He sighed and closed his eyes.
Boots crunching in dirt caught Elazar's ear. They weren't the stranger's steps. Instead of the man's heavy footfalls, these were much lighter, careful and quiet. If not for his enhanced hearing, Elazar would have missed them. His eyes popped open. He looked for the stranger and found him standing several feet from where he was a minute ago. The man stared into the sun's fading glow, unblinking.
A patch of grass blocked Elazar's view. He scooted around it and froze. Not six feet from the stranger stood the woman who lived in the tower. Her red-gold hair glinted in the last rays of twilight. She held out her hand to the man. Elazar peered around the grass just in time to see him fall to his knees, shock on his face.
The stranger whispered something Elazar couldn't hear. The woman went to him and knelt. She flung her arms around his neck and Elazar caught the distinct keen of shared tears. The woman pulled away and held the man at arm's length. He laughed, eyes bright, and turned back toward the dome, but the woman laid a cautioning finger over her lips. The stranger's eyes questioned her, but he nodded. Both of them stood and the woman ushered the man farther away from his camp.
Elazar crept along the hilltop, following them out into the countryside. They stopped under a tree several hundred yards from the dome.
They spoke, but their voices were low. Elazar slinked through the grass toward them. When he could hear better, he stopped. Foreign words passed between the two. The woman conversed with the stranger as though she knew him.
Elazar listened. The stranger's words flooded over the woman. She held up a hand. He fell silent. The woman whispered a single word and held out a closed fist. The man opened his hand and a tiny message crystal fell into his palm. The stranger pocketed it and asked a question.
The woman shook her head. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she stepped away from the stranger. He called out to her and pointed back toward the dome again, but she bit her lip and turned away.
The stranger watched her trek out into the foothills, but he didn't follow. Sadness welled up in Elazar's throat and he felt the urge to yowl each one's distress, but he squelched the yelp.
The man's face fell and he sat down beneath the lonely tree. He crossed his legs stiffly and pulled out the crystal. The very last wisp of evening light hit it, making its pristine skin sparkle. The stranger pulled out a flat disc and set the crystal on it.
Elazar focused on the disc. He sniffed the air; a familiar metal tang wafted back to him. He inched closer to the stranger.
The message on the crystal flashed to life and Elazar stopped. The hologram flickered, then stabilized and started playing.
Elazar's golden eyes flew wide open as he listened. The woman in the tower spoke in a language he hadn't heard since the sleeping princess's arrival seven years ago.
The stranger watched the first ten seconds of the message, and then skipped ahead several times before shutting it off. The man sighed heavily and stood up. He put away the disc and crystal, shoved his hands in his pockets and plodded back to the metal dome.
Elazar followed him. Halfway there, someone else poked their head out of the dome. Elazar skittered back into the grass.
He peered through the quivering blades at the second stranger.
Roaring voices crashed over Elazar. He jerked back and turned a frantic circle, trying to make sense of the explosion of sound numbing his brain. His head throbbed. He gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut against the pain.
The world spun. Once it settled he opened his eyes and was greeted by the clear pod seal. He triggered the release. The pod popped open with a hiss and Elazar stumbled out into the dim cavern.
His legs wobbled. He braced himself against the pod until the feeling passed.
Free from the roar of the Nine's voices, he basked in the silence. He was alone save for the eight unconscious prisoners and the princess sleeping in her pod, housed in the center of the chamber.
Elazar stepped over to the princess's pod controls. He brought the transparent tube up out of the ground. It rose with a quiet hiss. Vaporous clouds rolled through the room in wake of the pod's entrance.
Suspended behind the frosty glass floated a beautiful young woman. Her long red hair fanned out around her head. Her hands rested delicately on her chest, folded together as if in a prayer. Around her neck still hung the silver amulet Elazar placed there years before. It glistened in the low light. The haunting silhouette carved into its face stared back at him.
Elazar bowed his head. The jumbled thoughts from the Nine began to focus as he stood in the silence.
His eyes snapped open and he hastily transcribed a message for the princess. He wanted to convey it to her personally, but she would never hear him above the din of the Nine, and he feared to wake her body so suddenly.
Elazar finished the message and sent it off into the nether.
The status blinked orange for nearly ten minutes. Elazar stared at the light, sweat beading on his forehead. He sighed in relief when the indicator blinked green.
He started the princess's waking cycle.
Eyes drooping, head low, he headed for a nearby stone bench. Elazar sank down onto it, letting his head rest in his hands. In half a minute, he drifted off.
A faint bleep jerked him awake and he shot up. He dashed to the pod controls and touched the blinking icon.
A hologram flashed to life. He held his breath as he watched.
In her ethereal form, the princess stood near the feet of the two sleeping young men Elazar saw in the clearing. She whispered to them, her words wafting on the wind.
One of the strangers woke – the quiet one. He froze when he saw the princess. Her ghostly figure faded slightly as he stared at her. Leaves blew through her translucent figure.
She whispered to them again.
The young man looked at her with curious eyes. He shook his friend awake. Together, the strangers stood and approached the phantom princess. She smiled at them and held out a pointing finger.
The wind picked up. The grass whipped at the strangers' legs. They ignored it.
The princess motioned for them to follow her and started off in the direction she'd pointed. She took a few steps and looked back. The young men still stood wide-eyed. She beckoned them again and kept going.
After three steps, she looked over her shoulder. They were following. She gave them a reassuring smile and Elazar let out the breath he was holding.
He kept watching the curious band as the princess's ghostly footsteps led the young men to the mouth of a cave. The strangers balked, but the princess urged them on, humming a melody Elazar did not know.
The young men crept into the cave. They followed the princess as she trekked down a long winding stair. The way grew dark as they descended, but the princess exuded a soft glow to light their way.
Elazar caught sight of a familiar marker on the wall. He flicked off the hologram and clambered back into his pod. He shut and sealed it, sinking back into the nether.
He strained to hear the sound of foreign footstep above the roar of the Nine's excitement.
Elazar waded through the unconscious world. He found the portal he sought and squeezed through it. From his perch, he could see the chamber outside and all the pods in it. Whispers and murmurings leaked through the swirling nether access. Elazar focused on the echo of footfalls.
The click of boots quickened. They crescendoed to a loud thump-thump-thump. Then silence.
Elazar felt the minds of the prisoners open to the strangers. Into the chamber they tumbled.
The princess's avatar vanished. The strangers looked all around, keeping close to the exit.
Elazar waited.
The princess's voice sounded through the clamor. Elazar nodded as he listened to her. Today was the day.
Elazar spoke two words. They rang through the nether and into the waking world. The young men started, eyes darting around the room. He repeated himself, this time softly.
The strangers relaxed.
In the center of the room, the princess's pod hissed. The seal popped open. She blinked at the strangers and smiled.
Elazar's shoulders sagged. The young woman's mind disappeared from the collective buzz. He swiped at a tear as she tested her legs. She stumbled forward. The quiet young man dashed in. He caught her and helped her back up as she laid a steadying hand on his shoulder.
Her long, blue dress swished just above her feet and her chestnut hair fell longer than it had upon her arrival.
Elazar's charge trembled. She looked up, directly into his invisible eyes. She could not see him, but whispers of his presence still lingered with her. She smiled at Elazar, tears rolling down her cheeks.
Without another glance, she passed with the strangers through the portal to the outside passage.
A knot welled up in Elazar's throat.
He whispered an ancient prayer as the young woman departed. Its words shimmered in the air and wafted on the breeze, ushering his lost princess home.
Author's Note: Written for the WA No Dialogue Challenge on fanfiction.net