Author's Note

Ah, you've made to chapter twelve of Fireflower's fanfic that goes beyond the typical oneshots made from before, a Mature one no less on the grounds that this chapter will deal with another heavy subject matter proven to be unsuitable for those under eighteen, easily offended, and/or quickly nauseated; however, this chapter will be ending on a more uplifting note unlike the others, a strange sentiment born from familiarity no less.

Aside from disclaimers long ago, I want to take the time to say thank you for never pulling out too early since we're now oh so close to the end of the story, mind you; speaking of which, this chapter in particular was originally going to end with Dinky falling into the flames but I'd decided against it and with good reason: even though, it had at least standard three thousand or so words, it did seem like that it was finished so I continued on and tacked on a different end.

One last thing before I sign off, I hope you can be surprised about this chapter now even more than the others before it since another special guest is going to be joining one of our fateful protagonists in this chapter below; but, it will not be the end until otherwise so please stay tuned and enjoy, okay? Thank you.

Gravity

All across the very way, there was some darkness already filled to brim with a dank and dire atmosphere where such factors of sight, substance, and scent lay buried in obscurities referred to as an earthly void. The only clue to the rather otherwise unknown environment were the neat placement of such shrubbery, all too fertile and lush with life to the point of producing some flowers rife with many colors and texture. Even so, the very landscape right underneath it was composed of countless acres filled to the brim with sepia soil that had stretched far and wide as it could be seen despite the near lack of visibility thereof.

Nevertheless, there was at least one living being that had stood out and about amongst the very plane of existence thereof: a bright skinned female was found sitting within the brilliant green. A set of some straight blonde hair had run past the nape of the neck with its rich and tender fibers glowing about in a direct contrast to the surroundings that the owner was already dwelling. She had worn a plain white tee that was found to be overlaid by a set of denim overalls that was adorning the petite body, possessing a thicker texture and louder color than the undergarment. Upon the blonde’s feet were some big blue boots that had been shaded lighter that her general attire but not as light as the socks that she wore as well, its fabric already halfway past the shins.

“Sparkler…” she had murmured about at once as she was started to shaking about only slight as she was rustling some leaves that were dancing in the wind.

It wasn’t long until the blonde had started coming to her senses, she was thereof instantaneously surprised to find herself in a rather peculiar location at once as the minimal surroundings all across the way. Even though that there was darkness all around her, the fact that she was able to see the foliage that cloak the female’s body was nevertheless proof alone that eyesight was far from lost, irises matching hair. Direct airstreams were now brushing up against the shrubbery that the blonde had already found herself despite the gentle tenderness, carrying a crispy cool scent of a tangy sweetness that her nose picked up. She couldn’t help but give in to the overwhelming trepidation that was deeply crawling within her integumentary system, the golden locks standing on endwise as if the electrons hiding about were radiating.

The blonde started to shake about in attempt to escape the leafy refuge that she had seen as her prison, only to be stopped in place by a loud bloodcurdling scream that was nearby the tight area, “AAAHH…!”

“Shut the fuck up, bitch…!” another voice echoed into the now timid listener’s ears, “don’t you let me spoil my fun…!”

“NO, PLEASE… DON’T–––” was all that the first voice had cried out for her to hear before it was ended by a throaty gurgle.

It wasn’t long until the blonde’s ears were treat to a percussion of grunting and panting, no doubt the work of the secondary voice here. The brief memory of the shrieking that had plagued the listener’s ears forced her eyes shut back up as these factors painted a picture. Only the ingrained surrounding the had cloaked her body divert the actual sight where the very sounds thereof had originated from. Heightened tensions were still stagnating within the observant blonde until the solitary outburst had ended with a resounding moan.

When all was said and done, the soloist of sadism had spoke, “man, that was a waste of a good twat; at least her body was still warm though.”

“Mommy… Daddy…!” was all that the listener had shouted out at first after a long period of silence, but nobody came, “please…”

“Dinky… I’m sorry…” a voice was heard, but the blonde wasn’t the source as she was now already almost to the brink of tears at once.

The fainting rattle of the assailant’s victim had drove the listener to burst on out of the large foliage at once, only to be confronted by a heart–stopping sight. A lone woman of a taller build than that of herself was found abandon upon the desolate soil, possessing a darker complexion upon the dirtied skin thereof. The blonde had instantaneously recognized the how the very figure’s hair and eyes radiating with the once majestic purple already stripped of liveliness and style. Although that the woman in her presence was all dressed up, the former’s attire was undone: the top half of the purple jumper torn up and blue knickers exposed. The barefoot status of the figure in question was enough as it were to remind the blonde of the bruises sustained coupled with the wound on the former’s neck.

The sight of the exposed woman taken in by the trembling observer’s faltering eyes had now served as the overwhelming pressure that broke the latter almost completely. Even though that the blonde was quick enough to avert her gaze at once, the very sight and sounds from before had now been enough for the weepy young counterpart. All that she could think about was the rather unrestrained level of brutality that she had bore witness to that had fallen upon the unfortunate figure in question earlier ago.

At this very moment in time, the blonde in attendance couldn’t help but feel her own heat beating against the ribcage underneath her skin and flesh, unleashing a downpour upon the woman’s lifeless body, “SPARKLER, PLEASE WAKE UP… PLEASE… PLEASE… MOMMY AND DADDY ARE WAITING FOR US…!”

“Dinky…!” a loud shout was heard at close range, breaking the eponymous observer out of her trance; sure enough, she started to look around for the new source of this voice, only to have already found the answer in the form of the fallen figure’s newfound movement of the fingers, “go, please… the town is… they’re going to–––”

“They’re gonna what––– what are you talking about?!” the blonde was sobbing about as she was caught off–guard by the sudden activity of Sparkler’s bleeding assemblage, prompting the former to back away from the latter whom was once perceived as dead thanks to the recent turn of events thereof.

Even with the disheveled state of the woman’s particular dishabille, she had struggled to rise upward and said to Dinky all at once, “fire… they’re going to set fire to the town… sister, please…”

“You’re not making sense, Sparkler; who’s ‘they’re’ and why?!” the blonde shrieked as she had struggled to pull onto her aforementioned sister’s arm quickly, “don’t leave me alone like this; let’s go…”

“I don’t know… but it’s not going to be safe to stay here any longer; please, your mom needs you to come back…!” the weary woman groaned as she had still felt Dinky attempting to drag the former along anyway.

Sparkler’s statement instantaneously fell flat on deaf ears as her sister cried about, “not without you, not like this… we’re sisters and we’re inseparable so that means that no one’s supposed to be left behind or forgotten; it’s what our parents and Uncle Turner had said…! I can’t go on without you at this rate, no matter what happens; I just can’t leave you like this, let alone leave at all…!”

“Mom won’t go on… without you either; besides, I’m… going somewhere anyway… but not with you, sister, no thanks to that… brute of a soldier…” Sparkler had slowly gasped as she had grabbed onto the blonde’s arm in response almost immediately, “I had already swore to mom… to keep you safe no matter what: your father may have… brought you into this world… but it’s still my responsibility… as the firstborn of the family… to make sure that… nothing bad happens. Just reach back to mom… and the other… as fast as you can: don’t stop… no matter whatever or whoever… catches sight of you; as a matter of fact, don’t even… approach any of them… at all… It’s okay, Dinky… I don’t care that… we’re different; no one wants to… leave in my place either and… its because that I love you… when mom got married… all that I’d seen was… the end of a nightmare… for her and me. Then, when you were born… all that she had seen… was the beginning… of a fresh start: a loving family… a decent job… and a town… where no one will judge us; even I thought… about making a name… for myself as it… continued onward. Listen to me clearly… mom and dad are… counting on you… more than ever… Dinky, don’t give up… I don’t want her… to think that I had–––”

“Sparkler… Sparkler… SPARKLER?!” Dinky cried out, beset by the only breath that her titular sister took before subsiding all at once, the latter’s body now going limp and heavy to the point where the former had lost any reason to continue on.

As the light faded from the woman’s amethyst eyes, her lips had curled into a small smile as she had then whisper, “I’m sorry…”

“No… no… no… it’s not possible: I won’t believe that you’re gone; IT’S A LIE…!” the blonde had cried out as she had struggled to move her sister’s body once more, this time with feeling, “COME ON, SPARKLER, PLEASE GET UP…!”

“Your sister is dead because of you…!” a new voice had now escaped into Dinky’s ears, possessing twice the amount of venom as the tertiary voice but lacking the tenderness of herself and Sparkler.

The blonde started to feel the once cold, unmoving, limited animated flesh that had belonged to the woman grow hotter than it were since the latter’s monologue from only seconds ago. Sure enough, Dinky had soon turned around to find a petite vermilion flame already nearby her trembling fingertips, causing the tight grip to be broken away all in due time no less. Under so little time that the blonde had used to starting paying attention once again, her sister had become instantaneously bathed in the growing conflagration before the former. Now it would seem that any and all attempted to preserve Sparkler in her once former glory were rendered futile as she burned brightly and briskly altogether much to Dinky’s horror. As the blonde couldn’t do much besides backing away and watch with tears in her eyes as the large flame crumbled and clicked freely, feasting upon the fallen female’s frail form. Many seconds had passed until the woman in question was reduced to a charred and shrunken amalgamation of fabric and bones, stripping away the color that provided an identity. In course of the overwhelming devastation that had befallen Sparkler, the fire had still raged onward with the smoke and ashes trapped within started to shrink and become blackened. Such a sight alone was all that Dinky took of what had once was her dearest sister laying across the scarce environment, its consumer now started to shift focus almost immediately.

The blonde remained speechless save for one word that she had slowly wept in response to the ordeal, “Sparkler…”

“Sparkler can’t help you anymore, Twinky; she’s already dead…!” the voice from before had now laughed as the fire before Dinky started to grow at once, “and now, it’s your turn to join her; your spirit is required at the other side…!”

“AH…!” the blonde had quickly cried out in pain as the cinders had started tickling her denim overalls, forcing her to back away at once.

Of course, as soon as Dinky retreated, the small inferno started gaining some speed at once all while the recent voice cackled in her ears, “run, baby, run…!”

“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!” the blonde had shrieked out as she soon started sauntering away from where the woman once laid, gaining a rather massive lead all in due time, “WHERE IS EVERYONE?!”

“Go on ahead and run to your mommy and daddy, Dinky; I’m sure that they would be of much better help than that worthless wench of a sister…” the voice guffawed while the flames had grown and started following the eponymous runner.

All the melancholy that the blonde had experienced from Sparkler’s predicament was now defaulted back into the trepidation from before, this time in a much greater scale. Even though that Dinky was now running in a straight and narrow line, she had paid close attention to the terrain underneath her very feet so as to not give the fire a chance. In spite of the inner agility within the blonde’s body kicked into overtime, the very conflagration behind her had showed no signs of either ceasing or desisting any time soon at all. Only a memory of the woman’s body being burn reinforced Dinky’s desire of escape, turning a logical reflex into a need for speed surpassed by the likes of amalgamated steel. Under the blonde’s boots, she could feel the ground change in its entirety, the desolate flat soil now replaced by the rocky mountain high that impacted her straightforward path.

Despite the large distance that Dinky had traveled so far, she had still watched as the inferno was gaining up on her while whimpering in disbelief, “oh no…”

“Oh, yes…” the voice chuckled, now finding its in the conflagration that took the form of a massive lion that growled, “I’m gonna getcha…!”

“I'm really scared of heights but not as much as whatever that monster is; I have to climb up: it’s the only way…” the timid blonde had thought to herself silently but quickly, swallowing a lump as she slowly stared at the newly formed geological formation.

While Dinky was panting about, she could still hear the flames chasing after her, eating away what little good fortune that remained with reach. At long last, the blonde scrambled to place her hands upon the rocky surface almost quickly, the strength within the legs now channeled to the arms. Latching onto the cracks and bumps within Dinky’s reach was no easy task as she had remained already aware of the consequences awaiting her. Luck and skill were starting to drain away from the frantic blonde’s body as the stress of the running about was taking her toll almost at once. Even though that Dinky did managed to hang on tightly, her heart and mind were starting to racing on further than she had ran long before. Determined to escape the clutch cargo that contained and composed the conflagration, the blonde still hitched herself upward and at the next point.

As Dinky found herself yards away from the ground upon, the formation she had started climbing upon started to shake followed by a monotone chorus chanting, “fall…!”

“What is this, a rockslide or an earthquake…?” the blonde had grunted with beads of sweat pouring out from her forehead as specks of dust fell on her head, “this can’t be happening to me…!”

“FALL…!” the chorus bellowed, gaining an increase in form and volume as it had reached Dinky’s ears at once.

The combined forces of heat, gravity, and strain were now counterattacking against the very blonde’s own will to live and performance thereof. Even though that Dinky refused to give the audience what they had wanted of her, both hands started cramping about from the continuous activity. As the blonde still continued onward, even her bright skin was changing to a bloody red during the ordeal, matching the bruises upon the palms.

With an outstretching rock within her grasp, Dinky placed her hand upon it at once, only to be rewarded with a loud crack from the immense pressure; soon, gravitational forces succeeded, forcing her on a downward path as she screamed aloud, “AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH…!”

“YES…!” the fiery onlookers cheer as the blonde fell from the mountainous partition almost instantaneously, “MISFORTUNE AWAITS…!”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…!” Dinky screamed as she felt the flames that chased her now waiting to devour her as they had done with Sparkler not too long ago, shutting away her tear–stained eyes almost immediately in due time as she was unprepared for the dolor that had remained.

At long last, the blonde felt the solid ground from beneath slammed onto her back but the heat and light didn’t feast upon herself in the very least. While that Dinky was left alone to her devices, she had found herself unable to move, no matter how much effort that was now being put into it all. Only the fire that threatened the blonde’s life remained at her side, surrounding her like people who used to say the line about sticks and stones. Like before, Dinky was shocked, saddened, but most of all, scared, the strength she had put into escaped already reduced to the barest minimum.

The blonde couldn’t help but cry from the pain and suffering that she was enduring at this very moment in time, shutting away both of her eyes in a delayed expectation before hearing a tender voice, “sister…”

“Huh…?” Dinky whimpered as she had slowly opened her eyes back up once more with feeling, “Sparkler…?”

The source of speaker was greeting the blonde not in a fiery blaze but a blinding light that the latter’s matching eyes were able to withstand. The form that was taken in front of Dinky was none other than the woman from earlier all cleaner and shiny than the former remembered. The major difference in the attire that Sparkler wore was not only modest but also in brighter shades resembling of mountainous majesties. The only constant that remained for the woman was the utter lack of shoes from before yet her feet remained suspended in the atmosphere. The face that Sparkler wore was not of the pain and sorrow but that of concern and elation, free of the material wound inflicted beneath her.

“Dinky…” was all that the ethereal woman said, the fire and flame dispersing back into nothingness while leaving the aforementioned onlooker be.

The sight and sound of Sparkler’s new form, coupled with the suddenly forced disappearance of the conflagration brought joy and tears to the blonde who found the strength to raise her arms out to reach for the former and cried out, “sister…!”

“It’s like want I had said before: I’d made a promise to mom that I will protect to protect you; besides, it’s what big sisters are supposed to do…” the woman in white replied as she had soon slowly descended to return the gesture almost immediately, “goodbye, Dinky. I will always be with you…”

At that moment, the two were drawn into an embrace, there hands now upon each others backs as they had held on tightly. Dinky had felt traces of tender tears falling from the corner of Sparkler’s eyes even though that both of them were smiling. Just as the blonde was comforted by the woman, the latter had started to fade away almost out of the former’s sight already. Reopening Dinky’s eyes, she was treated to the sight of Sparkler’s form returning to nothing, save for a cloud of photons.

“Sparkler…” the blonde cried out once more, this time with feeling as the last of the ethereal light had now disintegrated before both her very eyes but nobody came.