h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The Bodine Crystal
Lucas Panoulias
May 7th/2000


Tikan was a great thief. He once stole some jewels from King Turtlebed s castle. Not once has he been caught. Slade was also a good thief, many people talked of both of them and never thought one better than the other. Tikan and Slade are mortal enemies. Most people didn t know the secret past that both of them held. They weren t always enemies, Tikan and Slade used to be partners in crime. Of course they didn t see it as a crime, they had seen it as a simple profession that took much more skill then every other job out there. Both of them even saw it as fun, they were inseparable. For the most part Tikan lead the pair, found all of the jobs. Slade was more of an apprentice, he followed Tikan around, and got fifty percent of the loot. Slade was very skilled, and very scheming. Tikan was a little blind of his friend s deceptions. Tikan was very smart, but did not see what was going through Slade s head. Slade wasn t as smart, he had great schemes, although he knew he couldn t pull them off on his own, he would need Tikan s help. What Slade really wanted was to rule Tikan, he wanted to be in charge. Slade saw Tikan as nothing but a cog in a gear. Something that was in the way of him. If Slade got his way he would make sure Tikan would listen only to him, and if Tikan didn t, he would perish. Slade s plan was to get Tikan to sneak into the well guarded forbidden Bandura Castle, and retrieve the Bodine Crystal. Many thieves have tried to retrieve this famous relic, but none have succeeded. The castle was well guarded, Slade didn t even know where he should start. After some convincing, Tikan agreed that he and Slade should attempt this thievery. Slade knew that Tikan had the skill to get the crystal. When Tikan accomplished this task, he would be forced to give it to Slade, or would suffer death.

Tikan took a good look at Bandura Castle. There were four high towers on each corner of the square walls. In each tower were two large archers, clad in blue leather and poised to kill. The front gate was guarded by two knights, both wearing chain mail, thick gauntlets, and also well armed. Tikan could not find any possible way to get inside the very well guarded castle. Tikan walked around the castle twice, on his second time around he saw something. On the right side of the castle there was a very odd looking rock. It was almost shaped like a cube. Tikan inspected much more thoroughly. He gave the rock a good push. The rock slid forward a few feet. There were steps leading below, where the rock used to be. Tikan climbed down the steps very slowly. He was not sure if it was a trap as of yet. The stairs were damp, and it was very muggy below the earth. Tikan saw a hall leading toward the castle. He followed the castle slowly, taking all precautions necessary. Tikan arrived at a dead end, the only way to go, would be back along the same path. He heard voices above him, he looked up and saw a latch. Tikan waited for the voices to go away and then opened the trap door slowly. Tikan seemed to be in some sort of great hall. The hall had long beautiful banners of blue, gold, and red. Tikan assumed these must be this castle s royal colours. Tikan snapped out of the distractions and realized his task at hand. He must get this crystal. Tikan s first thought of the crystal s whereabouts was in the king s bedroom. Tikan snuck through the castle very silently, he heard people close by. Tikan hid behind a pillar and watch two people pass. They said something about a wedding, nonetheless Tikan breathed a sigh of relief and pressed onward. Tikan made his way upstairs onto a balcony above the great hall. There were two door on this floor, Tikan tried the first one. Inside this room were tables end to end, covered in all types of food. There was more food than Tikan had ever seen. Tikan stopped thinking about the food and decided to try the other door. In this room he saw a large bed, shelves and clothing racks. In the far corner though, there was a large crystal resting on a single pin. It was amazing, this crystal must be worth thousands of gold pieces. Tikan grabbed the crystal, he held it up. Tikan had never held anything that had such a weird balance. He pulled a small bag from his vest. Tikan placed the crystal inside the bad and left the room. Tikan decided he should take the same route as he did before. He scurried downstairs quickly. When Tikan reached the spot where the trap door was, he briefly looked around. When Tikan knew that he was safe, he went down and shut the door behind him. Tikan ran through the corridor and climbed the stairs outside the castle walls. Tikan pushed the rock back over the hole and ran as fast as he could to where Slade was waiting.

Meanwhile Slade was thinking over his plans. He would wait for Tikan to show up and would be very blunt. Slade would put a knife to Tikan s throat, if Tikan did not agree to his terms. Slade would kill him there, and take the crystal from him. Slade could see Tikan approaching in the distance. He had a bag with him, and it looked full. Slade became very excited. When Tikan arrived, Slade asked him, Did you get the crystal? . Of course I did, I am the greatest thief of all, he replied with a smile on his face. Just then Slade put a knife to Tikan s throat as planned. Listen to me Tikan, if you do not do as I say, I will kill you right here, said Slade. Alright, what do you want Slade? , he replied, almost ready to cry at this betrayal of friendship. I want the crystal and all of the credit for stealing it, I also want you to follow my orders from now on, he commanded with a sly grin on his face. Very quickly Tikan wrapped around and placed his dagger against Slade s throat while knocking his knife away. Slade, you will listen to me. I am heartbroken at what you have said to me. I will give you the crystal, personally I don t care for it, I got it for you. I now know how you have felt, you have thought of me only as a tool, not a friend. Because of this, I no longer wish to be friends with you. When I let you go now, I don t ever want to see you again. Do you understand Slade? , said Tikan, with a tear flowing down his flushed cheeks. Slade replied, I understand Tikan, I am sorry, I realize how wrong I have been. I will never be seen with you again, I am sorry. Farewell my old friend. At that point Tikan let Slade go and watched him run like never before. Farewell old friend , he muttered under his breath. So you see, Tikan and Slade weren t always enemies, they used to be good friends, or so Tikan thought anyway. Tikan will never know how Slade really felt, or if he really was his friend. That is what happens to you when greed takes over your life. The hardest thing for Tikan to do was let his dear friend go. Nothing can feel worse that making the decision that you don t want to be friends with someone who was very close to you before. I think to this day Tikan regrets letting his friend go, and probably wishes that he didn t. Unfortunately you can t go back in time and make things better. Maybe taking that chance that you missed. You always have to remember that the only real regret, is not taking the chance you had.



Very unformated because it came out weird when I pasted

here you go tyler.


Lucas

It....SUCKS!!! J/K! It's really good. But im wondernig if there is any underlying meaning to it. But oh well, ill talk to you about it after you get on. Ciao

~Slade