Tony’s finger’s brushed the now brilliantly glowing crystal just as a deep rolling roar of a sound began to build within the cave—coming from everywhere and nowhere. The floor of the cave shuddered violently and Tony swayed to regain his balance. An earthquake! I have to get out of here now, he thought. The ground rippled beneath his battered sneakers and the sound roared and crashed around him. He quickly reached out and gripped the largest crystal firmly and broke it off at its base. The crystal shone like a tiny star as he held it aloft and turned to retrace his steps.

Stones began to fall from the ceiling, pelting Tony’s head and shoulders and catching in the hood of his thick red sweatshirt. The deep ringing sound rolled through Tony’s bones as the air within the cave began to fill with glimmering lights. Tony leaped for the narrow cleft; his only thought to leave the cave before it all came crashing down about his head. Then the walls of the cleft were pressing against him as he desperately squeezed his slight frame through. Tiny sparkling lights darted before his eyes, filling the narrow space with brilliance. Shock waves passed through the unyielding rock pressed against his chest and back, his hands and feet scrabbling desperately for the leverage to free himself from the grip of the collapsing cave.

Tiny lights filled his vision, and the sound rose and rose to become the single thundering focal point of his awareness. The pressure on his torso slid away and he felt as if he were falling, falling, falling. And then, his consciousness was snatched up, up and away; spiraling heedlessly into a maelstrom of light and sound until it was lost and tiny and nothing much at all amidst the whirling chaos that had become all and everything.

Grass. Yes—that’s the smell, grass and…and…dried leaves? And that sound…running water? Some kind of birdsong? Warm and…wet…I think. Tony cracked open one eye only to be blinded by a sudden stab of painfully bright sunshine. Bright! And warm…so warm. A rustling sound nearby brought his thoughts into sudden focus.

He struggled to push himself up, bringing one arm up to shield his eyes against the glaring light. Carefully, he looked around. His feet were dangling in the warm water of a small river, while the rest of him sat on the muddy grass of the bank. All around, huge trees rose toward the sky, leaving only a small clearing in the leafy canopy through which the sun shone brightly. What happened? How did I get out of the cave?

The rustling sound came again, from just behind. Tony turned, aching muscles protesting the sudden movement. Tangled brush blocked his vision; he could see nothing. I’d better get home, he decided, and crawled slowly to his feet to stand blinking in the leaf-dappled sunshine of the forest. Which way is home? Shrugging, he picked a direction and began walking. The underbrush was thicker than he remembered. A cramping in his right hand caused him to notice that he still held the crystal from the cave—his knuckles were white with the tightness of his grip. He forced his hand to relax and held the crystal up before his eyes. In the light of day, its glow had disappeared, leaving just a faint bluish tint to the otherwise translucent stone. Well, at least it wasn’t a total loss, he reassured himself as he tucked the crystal into his pocket.

Looking around, he began to notice his surroundings in more detail, noting that the trees seemed much larger than he remembered. And what’s with these weird leaves? Tony paused to examine a huge glossy leaf hanging down into his path. It was almost as wide as the length of his arm from wrist to shoulder. I don’t remember the leaves being so BIG!

Tony pushed aside the leaf to continue his hike, and found a hideous face snarling back at him. Glowing eyes burned beneath a thick brow. Tony jumped back in alarm as the terrible visage parted its thin black lips to reveal huge, crooked yellow teeth. Hideous green flesh was pulled tight across a misshapen skull, atop which sat a battered red helmet sprouting tiny little bat wings. Its breath smelled like rotting garbage.

Frightened, Tony turned to run, only to stumble over a second monstrous apparition blocking him from behind. This one was much shorter than Tony, but uglier still than the first—if such a thing were possible. This new menace leered up at Tony, its teeth even larger and more stained than those of its companion. Two prominent horns spread out from either side of its scaly green skull—giving it a decidedly sinister appearance.

Heart pounding, Tony realized he was trapped. He whirled as the creature behind him advanced. It raised a knobby, clawed hand and scowled. A huge ring upon one of its fingers began to glow. The short creature grabbed Tony’s legs from behind and pulled him off his feet before he could react. Then it hopped across his legs and joined its much taller companion. It reached up and grabbed the huge tattered cape of the tall one and snarled something in a strange language. The larger monster laughed in reply—an evil sounding chuckle, which did nothing at all to reassure Tony.

Tony scrambled to his feet just as the big monster’s ring began to shine brightly, emitting a low sound like the howling of distant winds. A dark shape began to form in mid-air between Tony and his assailants. Tony backed further away as the shape began to take on form and substance, sprouting dark jagged wings and a long sinuous body. A slitted tongue darted from between black lips.

With a mighty flapping of leathery wings, the new monstrosity rose into the air, its reptilian eyes never leaving Tony. It hovered momentarily and began to dive. Tony finally recovered from his fear enough to regain the use of his legs. Turning, he dove into the heavy foliage, hoping to lose the monsters in the dense underbrush. Within seconds, however, the winged beast was upon him. Its heavy talons raked his shoulders, once again knocking him to his feet. He was filled with a sudden weakness and fought against an urge to be sick. Glancing up, Tony saw the monster swoop around a tree just ahead and head back in for another pass.

Desperately, Tony searched the nearby forest floor for something, anything, with which to fight off the beast. There were no large sticks or fallen branches nearby, only soft mounds of moss and forest wildflowers. Tony’s mind raced as he struggled to his feet once again. The monster was almost upon him. At the last moment before it struck, Tony dove behind the nearest tree, avoiding the ebony talons. The creature shrieked in rage at its prey’s narrow escape and whirled for yet another attack.

Tony turned and ran. He ran as he had never run before. Ducking branches, dodging gnarled roots and leaping fallen limbs, he fled. The sounds of pursuit from behind told him that the two monsters on foot were following him as well. Ahead, the trees thinned as the forest parted to allow the passage of a wide river—presumably the same river he had found himself next to when he first awoke. Not wishing to be caught in the open, Tony swerved to head deeper into the huge trees.

Without warning, the flying monster slammed into his back once more. He felt the fabric of his clothing rip as the grabbing claws barely missed his flesh. The claws sank deep into the hood of his sweatshirt, and the beast pulled up, taking Tony with it. From below, he could hear the grotesque laughter of his other pursuers. Feet flailing in mid-air, Tony reached up to pound ineffectually against the tough claws of his captor. As he raised his arms, he fell right out of his shirt and went plummeting to the ground below. He landed against a huge upraised root and bounced gracelessly down its length to land in a spongy bank of moss. The pungent scent of crushed vegetation filled his nostrils as he took stock of his condition. Battered, bruised and now shirtless, Tony was frightened and confused beyond anything he had ever experienced.

A shriek from above reminded him that he had not yet escaped. Ignoring his aches and pains, he took off through the trees once more. He had no idea of where to go, his only thought was to remain out of reach. A tree blocked his path and he began leaping its gigantic roots to go around it when he ran headlong into the first two monsters. The big one grabbed for him and Tony barely avoided the huge swiping hand. He fell backward over a root. The crystal slid from his pocket to bounce off his chest before landing awkwardly on Tony’s face. He grabbed the crystal, having forgotten all about it. The two monsters loomed above him, while the flying one was hovering just above their heads. They were all staring at the crystal.

Why aren’t they attacking? Tony lifted the crystal toward his attackers, and to his surprise, they retreated a few paces. Are they afraid of this crystal? Tony looked directly at the crystal. It had begun to glow brightly in his hand—the way it had back in the darkness of the cavern. Blue light began streaming from between his fingers with a cold, furious presence. Hey—maybe I can scare them off with it!

Tony sat up, holding the glowing stone before him. The monsters backed off further. Back on his feet, Tony waved the crystal menacingly toward them. The small one again shouted something in a strange language, and the flying monster dove again. So much for that idea, thought Tony. I need something to fight with! A weapon!

As abruptly as the thought came into his head, the crystal in his hand began to tremble beneath his fingers. A distant roaring sound came to his ears as he dove to avoid the clutches of the flying monster. The claws raked his bare shoulders and once again he felt the crippling weakness wash through him. What’s going on? He looked around once more for anything to use to defend himself. I need a weapon—a BIG one.

With a great sound like the clanging of a million bells, the crystal exploded in his hand, becoming a blinding ball of light. The light dimmed as swiftly as it had appeared, leaving behind a gigantic furred beast with daunting wooden antlers spreading from either side of its massive head. Not another one! Tony despaired. The new beast regarded him calmly from huge liquid green eyes. A soft blue pelt covered its gigantic bear-like body from nose to tail. Its muzzle parted to reveal brilliant white teeth and its breath spilled across Tony’s nose, a scent of crushed clover and fresh earth filled his nostrils. It dipped its great head and swiped its huge black nose gently across Tony’s cheek—before turning to face the other strange creatures. Dazed and terribly confused, Tony retreated behind a sheltering root and watched as the flying monster turned its attentions to the huge shaggy beast which had come from his crystal.

The piercing screech of the flying monster was drowned by a terrific bellow of rage issuing from the lips of the antlered beast. The new beast leaped to meet the flyer in mid-air, their bodies coming together in a startling flash of multi-colored light. The abrupt tang of ozone filled the air. Shielding his eyes against the brilliance, Tony had a vague impression of flapping wings, gnashing teeth, ebony claws, and blue-furred paws all whirling in a frantic dance of clashing and burning energy. Then, as suddenly as it had all begun, it was over. With a final explosion of light, the winged monster seemed to disintegrate, and the furry blue thing was standing alone confronting the first two creatures.

For the their part, Tony’s original attackers were now shaking in their skins as they beheld the huge beast glaring angrily down at them from its twelve foot height. The small one was jabbering in its weird language, holding its hands out as if in entreaty. The big one just stood there with its mouth open, a rivulet of drool spilling unheeded onto its tattered cloak. They’re afraid of it! Tony regained his courage as he watched the blue beast intimidate the monsters. Maybe this weird blue thing is actually my friend!

He stepped forward from his hiding place and moved to stand beside the big furry creature. His head barely reached the beast’s shoulder—and its huge shaggy head loomed far above, its two long antlers spreading like branches across the forest ceiling. As Tony approached, the blue beast glanced at him momentarily and dipped its head in acknowledgement. Then, turning back to the monsters, it opened its mouth and blasted them with a bone-jarring roar. The terrified monsters were plastered to the tree at their backs with the force of the great sound—and when it had ended, they both lost their nerve and scattered in opposite directions. Tony watched them disappear into the surrounding forest, immensely relieved to see them flee.

The huge blue beast now calmly turned to gaze down at Tony. Its eyes were now gentle and Tony was not afraid of it, although he remained very confused.

“Uh…h...hello.?Tony stammered. “My name is T…Tony.? The beast remained placid, its eyes never leaving Tony and standing very still. Maybe it isn’t very smart, he thought. Like a big dog or something. He looked the beast over. Despite its gigantic stature, the thing was now exuding an air of…of…well, cuddliness. Tony approached carefully, and reached out his hand to touch the pale blue fur of the beast’s great mane. The fur was soft and silky, but also filled with the crackle of static electricity as he ran his hand through the strands. He looked back up into its surprisingly gentle face.

“Well, you’re certainly too big to take home,?he joked. “Mom would never let me keep you!?Tony smiled. The great shaggy head tilted to one side, cocking its head exactly like a curious dog.

“Umm…I’m sort of lost and I need to start finding my way back home…so, I’d better get going.?Tony felt sort of sad at the thought of leaving this strange new friend behind. He reached out to stroke the soft fur of its mane once more. “Uh…thanks for rescuing me from those weird guys.?

“You are welcome…Tony.?The deep booming voice caught Tony utterly unaware. He jumped back and stared up at the beast in amazement.

“You…you can talk!?/div>