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| - I brought the squirrel I had caught moments ago into my cave, and after making sure I was safe, I went to the corner of the rough stony walls and pawed at the dirt where I remembered I'd buried by rabbit yesterday. It was gone. All that remained was bits of brown rabbit fur. I looked around, pannic fluttering in my chest. It was not because of annoyance at my lost prey—it was that the only creature small enough to fit through the entrance was a cat.... Suddenly terrified, I backed away into the wall. The shadows gazed back hauntingly at me, and I decided that this might not have been a safe place for me to stay. The fur on my spine pricked as a gust of cold wind swept in from the entrance far into the tunnel. Socializing had never been my skill, nor my priority. I had grown up without parents, and lived with the fact that a kit could not trust anyone. And with that principle I stood there, casting frightened glances in quick motions toward everywhere in the cave. I was alone. All alone. You can't do anything just standing here, I scolded myself sharply. If you creep up on the intruder first you'll not be the one taken out. Rule number four of being a rogue: always think for the benefit of yourself. I crept, sticking myself to the side of the cave walls, and found a side tunnel. Sniffing at the dusty ground at the entrance, I found a scent, smelling equally of honey and bloom but of ash and dust. Odd. I tried not to think about everything odd in my life and crept onwards. The damp, stale air thickened as I traveled deeper into the ground, and I found it harder and harder to breathe. By the time I had gotten to the end of the tunnel, my chest was heaving. No...nothing in here. "Looking for someone?" I would have screamed if my lungs had enough air. I weakly turned around, shaking on my paws. An orange and black tortoiseshell stood, her beautiful green eyes gleaming, her breathing as if she were aboveground. She walked with ease, until she was eye to eye with me. "What may you be doing here?" Sweat trickled down my forehead. Her face emitted kindness, but her eyes gleamed with something far more dark and dangerous. I can't trust her! I can't.... Yet something pulled me toward the stranger, and I was compelled to know more. "W-who are you?" I whispered. "I am Lazuli," she meowed in a dark tone, soothing yet sour. "What does your name happen to be?" Don't. You can't trust her. "Wintergreen," I blurted out, then clamped my mouth shut. Why had I done that? "Well, hello, Wintergreen," she meowed smoothly. "What are you doing in my cave?" Rule number two. "What do you mean, your cave?" I hissed at her. "This is mine! I found it first, and I lived here too." After a moment, I added, "And you stole my prey." "Oh, come, now," Lazuli laughed. "I still have that chunky rabbit of yours. We can share. Follow?" Of course I won't, I thought. Let alone talking to her and revealing my name, I would definitely be strong enough to resist the urge to follow her. I had never followed any cat in my entire life. Nevertheless, my paw took an involuntary step forward. I shuddered, trying to pull it back, but Lazuli just laughed and spun around, taking it as an invitation that I would follow. And I did. Who is she? Frowning, I let in to the sensation and followed her. Lazuli went through many twists and turns, with so many stony corridors that I found it hard to believe they even fit down here. But finally we arrived at a small hole leading to what seemed like a very large space on the other side. "Is this your den?" I asked quietly. The cold, clammy air pressed in on me from all sides. She nodded enthusiastically. "Come, let us share a meal," Lazuli invited. The thought of food perked me up. I followed her, a little extra spring to my step. And I almost died. I felt myself drop a tail-length before a set of jaws dug into my scruff and lifted me up. Sharply turning around and gazing down, I almost lost concsiousness at the danger. It was a chasm so deep that the ends were lost in shadows. Lazuli dragged me back and raised a paw to block me. "Don't be so foolish, and watch where you're going," she hissed, though she had dragged me up mere heartbeats ago. I looked at her in awe. "Lazuli," I whispered in pure gratitude, speaking her name for the first time. "You saved me." Lazuli nodded gravely. "Come, and this time be careful." She inched over a skinnier slab of stone connected to the cave wall and I followed, extremely careful with my former ordeal. I had almost died. And Lazuli had saved me from destruction. Thankfulness welled up inside of me. It could have been my last day. And I think now....she looked suspicious, but maybe I can trust her. I padded into her underground den. Shafts of light fell in, casting dancing displays on the floor from cracks high up in the rocky ceiling. Little pools of water littered the floor, rippling slightly as we passed them. Our reflections stared back at us. I realized mine was dirty, clumped, and patched in places while Lazuli's looked shining and sleek. I quickly gave myself a few hasty licks to the chest. As we drew closer to the end of the cave, a little room barriered by stone walls and vines that grew from dirt above came into view. Lazuli beckoned me inside. I recognized my rabbit slumped in the corner, heaped and dirty, though hunger now craved me and my stomach rumbled. Lazuli dragged the rabbit up to us and we crouched down, taking turns tearing a piece of the tough flesh. "So, tell me your story," Lazuli meowed, her voice clear and beautiful. Something compelled me to tell her. Maybe it was that magical aura around her, maybe it was the fact that she'd saved me heartbeats ago, but either way, everything came spilling out of me, from my dead parents to my search for the Mystic Flower. For a second I realized I had paused my search for too long. It's okay, I'm with Lazuli. I'm safe with her. "Ah, I see," Lazuli replied, quiet yet with all the sound in the world in her voice. "I haven't heard of anything like a Mystic Flower." Yet she had the same weird glint in her eyes that I'd seen before. "Yes," I replied. "I'd like to find the Mystic Flower. It would give me hope, and that's something I really need." "Hmm," Lazuli replied. She seemed to be pondering for a moment. "Now that I see we are...aquaintances, I am wondering...can I join you on your jouney? To offer extra protection, help, and friendship." That was quick. I had never known a friend in my life. I'd been alone, and the last time I had heard my name was with Lazuli. I wouldn't be the "alone" Wintergreen anymore. I would be with someone. Someone to watch my back, someone I could trust and rely on. And before I could be stop myself, I had blurted out, "Yes." "Good," Lazuli purred. "I suppose we shall start, then." "Yes, I suppose so," I mewed. As Lazuli walked away to one of the pools to lap up some water, I stared at her. She was beautiful, yet mysterious. Something throbbed inside of me, telling me not to trust her. But I couldn't resist it. I was pulled toward her, and I couldn't back out. As I stared at her back, delved in thoughts, I didn't notice Lazuli look back. I didn't see her eyes narrow for that split second. I had never trusted anyone before. Why had I done it now? Why was I so compelled to trust Lazuli? What had I done?
- The Quest Begins is the first volume in The Original Series. Kallik is featured on the portrait. Below Toklo, Kallik and Lusa stand gazing at the North Star.
- The Quest Begins is the second episode of Power Rangers: Galactic Pirates and a tribute to Power Rangers: Mystic Force.
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