Mystic Shores By Reuben A. Macapinlac Remy, Rogue, and all other Marvel Characters are TM of Marvel Comics. Wil-Tree was made up by me. Note 1: Words in (parentheses) are when a person is thinking to himself. *** I would like to thank everyone who sent their comments, and especially to those who archived my prologue. This is my second try at Fan Fiction, so any comments are welcome at supereub@lava.net Feel free to E-Mail me. I like to hear from others how they liked my story, and if they didn't, well, I'll improve it. *** Part One ******** Remy was aware of the hot sun beating down on him. He lifted a hand to his face, he felt the long stinging gash which he got from the knife. Lying on his side, he opened his eyes. A pearly white beach stretched out under him, as far as he could see. The sand led up to a brilliantly blue ocean, with small rippling waves. This certainly wasn't home! Remy sat up and examined himself. Their had been a blood stain on his shirt, but the wound was gone. Quite strange. Where was this place? How long has he been here? Remy turned to find a thick jungle, about fifteen feet behind him. (I ain't no botanist, but dis place don't look like New York.) He slowly got up, having some trouble walking at first, his right leg was sleeping. He limped closer to the jungle, concerned about the trees. Their bark was not brown. A good number of them were blue, green, or white. There was also a peculiar yellow tree which appeared to have no bark at all. He stepped deeper into the jungle. (What in de hell? Am I dead?) "Heaven?" he asked aloud. "Not even close." Startled, Remy jumped back, not a good idea considering his right leg was still asleep, he stumbled to the ground. He quickly stretched his legs and flexed them. Then. slowly, he stood up again. He saw nothing. (I must be imaging t'ings, probably all in my head.) Remy thought to himself. "Who is dat?" he asked nervously, walking around the area. "Me." (Dat had definitely been a voice!) Remy looked around once more, and decided that it had come from behind the yellow tree. He walked towards it and put his hand on it's bark. What had appeared to be yellow bark felt more like leathery yellow skin. "Get your hands off now!" Remy stepped back. The voice did not come from behind the tree, but from the tree itself! He tripped over his feet. (A talking tree?) "You're going to hurt yourself!" laughed the patronizing voice. Remy didn't take the laughter as cruel. It was better than knives and guns! "What are you mon ami?" "I am a tree, you twit!" (What de hell?) Remy tried again. "Who are you?!" "I am Wil-Tree, a direct descendant of the once powerful Guard-Trees." (Is dis a joke? Dis is almost as crazy as getting shot.) "Where am I?" Remy asked. He was almost unable to get his thoughts together. "You are in Aberlie, twenty miles from the border of the Tuntar Empire," replied Wil-Tree. Remy thought this over and decided that he must have lost his mind. "How long have I been lying on shore?" he asked calmly. "A very short time. Two or three days, perhaps." Remy blinked in surprise. "Two days! You consider that a short time homme?" "I am a tree," the tree said. "I have lived for approximately 382 days, 7 months, and 28 days. It is possible for me to live for another 400 years. Two or three days is a short period of time. It is all a matter of perspective, you got a problem with that?" The tree sounded offended. Some of it's branches began to tremble, with no wind. "I apologize if I offended you," Remy said quietly "I am not from around here, do you know where New York is from here?" "Eh?" the tree asked, seeming rather puzzled. "New York. In de U.S." "Wha? What the devil are you talking about?!" Remy started to become even more worried. Surely, this is his first encounter with a talking tree, and he has never heard of New York. Hell, where was Aberlie located at anyway? He could feel that he was in a deep situation here. "I don't know what you are looking for stranger," the tree continued, "but if you are here, it is for a reason. However, if you wish to leave, then you might talk to the Emperor." (I'm getting directions from a damn tree, what is goin' on?!) But crazy or not, he thought it was imperative to talk to another human. If this tree helped him find a man, it was worth it. "Would you be so kind as to tell me how to find him mon ami?" Remy asked politely. "If you step behind my trunk," the tree said, "you will find a road which leads to Tuntar. That is where the Emperor rules, you can talk to him from there." "Thank you!" Remy exclaimed as he took a step forward. The tree did not answer, but was too busy trying to yell at a bird which had perched on one of his branches. Remy set off down the road. He admired the landscape, it reminded him back to his days in Europe, before he met Storm. (Dis is like traveling to the Wizard of Oz, but dis is not Oz, or Kansas, or New York. Dis is Aberlie, whatever dat is. What de hell am I doin' here?) Then he became aware of the hunger growling in his belly. If the tree was correct, he had not eaten a single bite in two days! His amazement and wonder about this place, plus the talking tree, had preoccupied his thoughts before. He had to find food, and fast. Remy looked at the trees next to the road. He spotted what appeared to be a fruit tree with a green trunk, and the fruit looked good, but strange. He approached the tree gingerly. He came up to the tree. "Excuse me." Remy called, feeling stupid, but not as stupid as he knew he would be to pass up fruit that could be eaten while his body clock haunted him. "Excuse me homme, is your fruit good? Can I have one to eat?" There was no reply. Remy was relieved. If the tree had talked, it would probably be irritated by now. (How do I know if dis stuff is edible or not. I should have eaten somethin' at the bar.) He picked up a fruit about the size of an apple. Its color, however, was white. Which made Remy weary of taking a bite. Slowly, he moved the fruit towards his mouth, he took a tiny bite, sucking on the juice, and swallowed. (Dis is good! Much like strawberry!) He took another bite. Once he realized that it was not poisonous, he greedily ate the fruit. After he finished, he grabbed his coat and made a knapsack out of it. He quickly grabbed as much fruit as he could carry and wrapped them inside. (Dat should be enough for de trip.) Before he took off, he sat in the shade, resting from the hot sun. He checked his inventory. He had his wallet and a bike key. The bike key would be useless without his bike. He checked in his wallet. (Fifty Two bucks, probably worthless around here too.) Remy tucked both items into his pocket. He got up and dusted himself off. He grabbed his knapsack and continued his way to Tuntar. That day, Remy had walked about 6 miles. It was beginning to get dark, and Remy didn't know if there were any things that roamed around this place at night. As much as it seemed like normal, the talking tree and some of the landscape had proved otherwise. Remy grabbed several sticks and twigs. He quickly grabbed a stick and lit it with his kinetic energy. Carefully, he lit the stack of twigs, making a fire in no time. He sat beside a tree, leaning back on it as he looked at the stars. (What did I do? Where did I go? I remember last night, gettin' shot by that bastard! Den I end up here, on a beach, completely different from New York. Talking trees, white fruits, green trees? Tuntar? Aberlie? What are dese t'ings? Where are dese places?) He dug in his pocket, grabbed his wallet. He searched in the wallet, and noticed a picture of Rogue. He sighed. "Oh chere," Remy mumbled "Why'd you have to do it?" Remy continued to think of where he was until his eyes began to get heavy. He yawned as he lay on the grass. He slowly drifted to sleep. END OF PART ONE. Reuben M. *Supereub* supereub@lava.net - SUPER'S Home Page: http://free.websight.com/Macapinlac2 - Supereub's X-Men Krazy Page: http://free.websight.com/Macapinlac3 - Supereub's X-Men Fan Fiction Archive: http://free.websight.com/Macapinlac4 *-------------------------------------* | | | Hey, who took the cork off | | my lunch?!! | | - W.C. Fields | | | | | | | *-------------------------------------*