First topic message reminder :

Hai peoples, so here's the prologue to the novel I'm writing. I could really use some readers and comments and suggestions and critiques and the like, and, welp, here it is. You can also read it on deviant.art  http://eaglecicada.deviantart.com


It's been two hundred years since The Convertion struck, turning all living creatures except humanity into strange creatures known as Familiars. These Familiars look mostly the same as they did before the Convertion, but they are transparent, like ghosts, and have been drained of all their color. Despite their ghostly looks, they can not walk through walls, or float like a ghost can. The most intriguing thing about them, however, is that they can not disobey their masters orders, no matter what. The Convertion was a man-made disease created by a power hungry man, whom used hundreds of Familiars to go to war with the kingdom, seeking the throne. In the end, both the King and the madman died, and Basilisk, a majestic creature owned by the King, disappeared with the loss of his master, and is said to have turned itself to stone, and awaits the return of its master.

It is now year 2015. A bald, middle aged man stood, staring out his window, arms behind his back, the sun shining on his bald head. The world outside looks lifeless. The grass, trees, and plants are all transparent and gray, leaving the world with no color. The Convertion made anything with life other than humanity void of color. It's truly a sad sight. One would never know what the world looked like when it had color, since two hundred years ago technology had not advanced to the point of being able to take pictures in anything other than black and white. Compared to the colorless world outside, inside here looks like some type of paradise. The walls, floor, and ceiling are all coated with emerald paint, and there's a bright light coming from the fireplace.

The man sighs, and walks over to a picture, staring at it blankly. It's a picture of himself, holding two little girls with bright blue eyes, who look to be no older than two-years. One of the girls has magenta hair, and the other blonde. Standing next to him is a woman, clearly pregnant, with half of her hair magenta, and the other half blonde, clearly where the girls got their hair from. She also has the same blue eyes as the girls. The woman and the girls look nothing like him. His eyes are blood-red, he has a green beard, one of his arms is a darker shade than the rest of his skin, as if it had been badly burnt, and on the right side of his face is an eerie, metal mask, completely covering that side of his face. He has an ominous presence about him, making him look completely unorthodox next to such a beautiful woman and adorable little girls. Despite how different he looks from them, this was his wife and his daughters. With how colorful his family is, they don't look like they belong in such a gray world at all. There's suddenly a knock on the door.

“Come in.” he says, dryly.

Five bearded men whom look like they are in their 60's walk in, dressed in very similar robes to the ones the masked man is wearing, making them look like some type of ancient sorcerers. Emblazoned on their robes is two capital E's inside an emerald-colored circle. “Afternoon, Master Sartur.” one of them says, closing the door behind him. This one has a brown beard, and several bald spots on his head.

“Afternoon, fellow Wise Men!” the masked man, Sartur says. “Wise Man Zart, how is your wife doing?” he asks.

“Heh, it's your wife you should be worrying about, isn't it? She's the one with our future king in her womb, not mine.” replies Zart.

One of the other Wise Men speaks. “I still can't help but think that your plan is all up to chance, Sartur. We're going to wait eighteen years for your boy, whom isn't even born yet, to come of age, to crown our king? That's quite unreasonable, in all honesty. Why don't we just make my son king? I mean, I was the first to have a son, two years earlier than you, while you had two daughters in a row.” he says, stroking his red beard.

“Come now, Wise Man Vincent, we've been over this before. Your son does not have The Power. There is nothing special about him. Our King absolutely must have The Power. Without The Power, that son of yours is no better than a pet dog.” replies Sartur.

Vincent crosses his arms. “Atleast I actually have a child, unlike these three pigs, Johnathon, Leonardo, and Garrison. You fools are worthless.” The three Wise Men named Johnathon, Leonardo, and Garrison look astonished at Vincent's remark. Garrison walks up to Vincent as if about to say or do something, but Sartur raises his hand.

“We're Wise Men, not barbarians, can we all act like it, please? You three, go check on my wife.” Sartur says.

“Is that not the Soldiers jobs?” asks Garrison, not pleased that he's being asked to do something that a lowly Soldier should be taking care of.

“Ah but you do want our king to be delivered successfully, don't you? Can such an important job be entrusted in the hands of the Soldiers?”

“Well, I suppose not...” says Wise Man Leonardo. The three Wise Men walk out, leaving just Sartur, Zart, and Vincent.

“Good job taking out the trash, Sartur.” says Zart. Him and Vincent are not very fond of those three Wise Men.

“Now, as I was saying, do you really think we have time to wait on your boy to come of age? What if he doesn't even have The Power? What then, do we just pray you one day have another son who does have it? With the state the world is in, can we truly keep waiting on you to have a son with The Power?” asks Vincent, sitting with crossed legs.

“Why do you doubt Sartur so much, Vincent? That damned boy of yours isn't going to be king, period. Get over it!” snarls Zart.

“It's not Sartur that I doubt, it's the reliability of his plan. As we speak now, the world is just getting worse and worse. We're wasting time! We're going to save every Familiar in the world and restore peace to the world, aren't we? We've waited too long!” replies Vincent.

Because Familiars have no choice but to obey their masters, humanity uses them for their own benefit, in cruel, immoral ways. It's like slavery. Vincent always felt like they are wasting time by waiting for Sartur to have a son who has The Power. Sartur's two daughters can speak with Familiars, and the King from two hundred years ago could do the same thing, but nobody else is known to be able to do this, so he calls this ability 'The Power'. Vincent and Sartur both had their first kids around the same time, but Sartur had a girl while Vincent had a boy. On the contrary, Vincent's son can not speak to Familiars, while Sartur's daughter can. Vincent insists that his son should just be crowned king, but Sartur refuses to have a King whom doesn't carry The Power.

“But we can't achieve our goal unplanned, Vincent. It can't be a coincidence that my offspring have the same ability as the King. We need something as powerful as the Basilisk in our hands, and with a King of our own with The Power, perhaps he'll be able to awaken Basilisk, no?” says Sartur, pacing to the side again.

Vincent sighs and shakes his head. “Still, though. This is all in the hands of the roll of the dice. That, I just don't like...” he says, taking out a pair of dice and rolling them, both landing on one.“I've got stuff to do, we can chat more later.” he says, getting up and shutting the door behind him.

Zart stares as Vincent leaves, hand cupped under his chin. “I don't trust him. He's always doubting everything and trying to get that stupid kid of his to be the King. I don't like those three sissies either. Maybe we should've just kept it as me and you only as the Emerald Empire Wise Men.” The Emerald Empire, named after Sartur, his last name being Emerald, is the name of the organization Sartur and Zart created all on their own, by searching high and low for people that they considered good and worthy. It took them twenty eight years, but now they have an entire organization with hundreds of Soldiers, and their own massive castle. Sartur himself braved the Earth, searching for the smartest men in the world, whom are now known as the Emerald Empire Wise Men. With their intelligence all put together, they managed to create all types of advanced technology.

“Strength comes in numbers, Zart. If it was still just me and you like how we started off, we would never have managed to build this castle, would we? Nor would we have so much money.” replies Sartur. With all the advanced technology they managed to create, they sell all sorts of products, which made them filthy rich.

“I'm still amazed the invisibility worked. We have our own, invisible, thirty meter castle! We're bloody geniuses!” Zart says proudly. They made their castle invisible so that they can keep their organization secret. How else would they hide a thirty meter castle?

Sartur opens a dresser and pulls out a chessboard. “While we await the birth of the King, shall we enjoy ourselves to a game of chess, my friend?” he asks. Sartur's wife is pregnant and is expected to give birth within just a few hours. Zart nods, so the two friends engage in a well matched game of chess for about four hours. Sartur has only his King, two Pawns, and one Bishop left, but Zart is down to just his king.

“It's stalemate if you can't checkmate me within twenty moves.” Zart says, moving his King out of check.

“Haha! That is far more than enough time, my dear friend.” laughs Sartur, confident he can win by then. He picks up his Bishop to put Zart's King in check again, but the door swings open violently, and in comes one of the Wise Men, Garrison, panting heavily.

“You bloody fat warthog! Have you forgotten how to knock?!” says Zart, disgusted. Garrison brushes him off.

“Sartur...the King has been born!” exclaims Garrison, still panting, as if he ran a long distance at full speed to bring this news. Sartur and Zart both jump to their feet, ready to go see their newborn King.

“But..there's two other things...” Garrison says, looking from east to west.

“Oh? What might that be?” asks Sartur, curiously. Garrison stares at the floor, as if this is going to be hard to say.

“Spit it out you fat bastard!” shouts Zart, grabbing Garrison by the collar.

“Well, you should see the first thing for yourself, and the second thing...your wife, she..died. The birth of the King killed her.”  

Shadow and his mama. <3

This chapter was really tough to write, but I managed to finally complete it



Three teenage Soldiers are seated alone at a table in the castle's dining hall, isolated from everyone else. The three of them stare downcast, toying with their food in silence.

“I hate living like this.” says the black-haired girl.

“Hm? What are you talking about, Mary? We're going to restore color to the world and save all Familiars. Don't you enjoy fighting for a good cause?” asks the brunette.

“Enjoy...this...? Really, Maya? Of course not!” exclaims Mary, slamming her fist down on the table. “All I do is eat, sleep, and follow stupid orders to save Familiars, which I don't even care about in the first place! What sane person enjoys a life like this?!”

“The other Soldiers seem to enjoy it.” replies Maya, gesturing towards the other Soldiers, whom are all enjoying their meal while chatting happily amongst themselves.

“Those fools? Just like me, they don't have any family that they know of, but they are so used to living like this, they don't even question it! I'm no fool like them, I know I have to have a family out there somewhere...but how did I end up here? Why can't I just live a happy family life in an actual home? I bet it's easier on you two since you at least have some family you know of. Must be nice having Wise Men for fathers.”

The red-headed boy stands and glares at her. “Don't you fucking talk about my family! You're not the only one who hates this stupid shit you know! My father isn't himself any more, and my mother disappeared! It's all because of Sartur, it just has to be his fault! I mean, I'm not going to be king because his son has this 'power' that I don't?!”

“Both of you just calm down...” says Maya.

Mary stands up, ignoring Maya. “You're right, Andrew, it probably was that damn masked man's fault! Maybe I should go give him a piece of my mind...” she moves to storm off, but Maya grabs her arm.

“Don't do anything foolish! Don't you remember what happened last time you acted up, just a few months ago?”

“Yeah, Maya's got a point there.” says Andrew. “Sartur used you as an example. He called up every Soldier for a meeting, and made you take off all your clothes, get on your hands and knees, then he beat your ass with a leather belt in front of everyone until you cried like a baby.” he snickers, a boyish grin spreading across his face while Mary's cheeks flushed bright red as she remembers how she was humiliated. His smile goes away the second Maya slaps him across his face.

“G-Get that thought out of your head, can't you see you're embarrassing her?”

“Oh please, you just don't want me thinking of any girl naked other than you.” replies Andrew, wrapping his arm around Maya's waist and kissing her cheek.

Mary sits back down, wrapping her arms around her knees. “After he humiliated me like that, everybody has been treating me like crap!” she says, gritting her teeth as a male Soldier walks past, wolf whistling at her. “Andrew, they all started treating you poorly because you used to always boast about how you're going to be king, only for Sartur to publicly announce his son as the future king. And Maya, they treat you bad because of that title as head of the Soldiers you got last year. With my only two friends here being the other loners, it's not like I can at least pretend to be happy here!”

“Don't forgot they already called you a freak even before that due to your eyes being two different colors.” says Andrew.

“That's just pessimistic thinking, Mary. You should appreciate what you do have rather than be upset over what you don't.”

Mary sighs. “I guess you're right. You two are the best friends I could ask for. Even still, I can't help wanting to get revenge on Sartur for making a laughing stock out of me. Oh how pleasant the thought of taking everything from him is...”

Andrew grins. “Now that's a thought I can relate with! This shouldn't be the Emerald Empire, it should be the Cyder Empire! No, the Cyder Citadel!”

Just then Andrew feels a hot liquid dumped over his head. “Y'ow! What the hell?!” he jumps up and sees two female soldiers giggling, one of them holding a now empty cup of tea.

“They're really stupid, aren't they? Don't they know we can report everything they just said straight to Master Sartur and get them in huge trouble?” giggles the first one, as the two girls walk away.

Mary pushes her chair back, and springs at the two of them, like a wild animal pouncing on it's pray. “Don't pick on my friends!”

Andrew backs up and puts his hands up. “I've got no part in this.” he says, while Maya tries to get Mary off of them to no avail.

The two girls scream and try to get away while Mary brutally assaults them. The other Soldiers notice, but instead of breaking up the fight, they all gather around like this is some type of show. “Oh shit, someone got on Mary's bad side again! That girl's freaking crazy!” says one of the onlookers.

“You all keep your traps shut or else you're next!” exclaims Mary.

By the time Maya finally manages to pull Mary off of them, one of the Wise Men comes rushing over to the scene. “What's going on here?!” he demands, and sighs when all the Soldiers point to Mary. “You again...I should've known.” he grabs her by the back of her shirt and starts dragging her away.

“I hate this empire...I hate everything!” she whispers to herself.

***

“You've finally awaken, Soldier.”

The first thing Maya sees when she opens her eyes is Nate sitting next to her. Glancing around, she quickly notices that she's in a hospital bed, and Nate and his sisters are sitting around here as if they've been waiting for her to wake up. “M-My lord...what happened?” she asks, pulling her covers up to her chin, blushing.

“So she really was out cold the whole time...” He sighs. “The jet exploded, killing several Soldiers and many other innocent lives. You don't remember anything at all?”

“Mary...she appeared out of nowhere. She said...'I know the truth now. And I now have my own 'Power' to make Sartur pay.' I tried to talk to her, but she looked directly into my eyes, and then there was a weird black haze all around me...next thing I know, I'm here.”

“I knew it! It was her again! Whenever Mary puts me to sleep, it's exactly like what you just described as well!” exclaims Nate, standing to his feet.

“But I don't understand what she hates us so much for...” says Annie.

“Hmm, hold on a second. You know this Mary girl? Can you please tell us everything you know about her?” asks Connie.

“O-Oh, uhm...I mean, yes, Lady Connie!” Maya gets out of bed and bows, much to Connie's amusement, whom tells her there's no need to be so formal.

Everyone listens intently while she tells them what she knows about Mary. As they listen, they find out that every Soldier in the empire has lived there as long as they can remember and that they don't even know how they got there or who their family is. Most of them don't even question it though, since the empire is all they've ever known. The Wise Men even use the empire as a school for the Soldiers, rather than having them taught at an actual school. Instead of being raised by their families, the Soldiers were all raised by the empire.

“I see...it's starting to make more sense now.” Nate crosses his legs with closed eyes as if deep in thought.

“Yes, this information also adds up with what we've read in the newspaper. You don't think...” says Connie, interrupted by Nate.

“Don't say things like that. I'd really rather not consider such things.”

“So, because Mary didn't like being raised by the empire, she's hunting us to seek revenge or something? That's really immature...” says Annie.

Nate, who seemed so calm up to now, slams his fist on the wall. “Damn straight that's immature! Because of her acting like a child, we can't be safe anywhere we go! My loyal soldiers were just doing their job of guarding the jet, and she killed them along with causing so many innocent lives to be lost! Can't she imagine the grief those families that lost loved ones because of her must be going through right now?!” he raises his fist, staring at the friendship bracelet he got from Leah, and his eyes start to water.

“M-My Lord...” says Maya, shocked to see her king this way.

“Don't worry, it's just another one of his mood swings.” Connie sighs and puts her hand on her brother's shoulder. “It's okay, Nate, we'll bring her to justice.”

“But how...what are we supposed to do against someone with supernatural powers like that?!”

“Well, evidently your daggers are capable of putting out her flames, so that's a start!” exclaims Annie with an encouraging smile.

Nate shakes his head. “No, you two don't understand...you haven't seen what she's capable of with your own eyes like I have. If we tried to stop her, she'd just...” he suddenly freezes, remembering how the Demons showed him the illusion of Mary burning his sisters crushed to death then burning their corpses.

“Ah...!!!” he screams, dropping to his knees and pulling at his hair in agony. Annie hugs him from behind, running her fingers through his hair.

“It's okay, Natey, it's okay...we're all here with you now, and we always will be.”

Connie checks the time on her phone, then slips it back in her pocket. “Father's speech is going to start soon, let's get going. Maybe he came up with something that will help us.”

***
“Ahem...” says Sartur, clearing his throat and pacing to the side. He stands before a much larger, louder crowd than when he gave his last speech, and has even more Soldiers circled around him as if in need of extra protection.

“Ladies and gentlemen...” he says, raising his microphone to his lips. “We are all aware of the tragedy that befell us last night.” he paces to the other side then continues. “Last time you saw me, I informed you all of the catastrophe that awaits us if we do not keep our sins in check. And since then, there have been two cases of arson.” he sighs and paces back to his original position.
“Whoever is behind this, tell me: what do you seek to gain? I informed you all that if we do not keep our sins under proper balance, the Demons are going to fade away! This Cinereo Mundi...gray world of ours is going to come to an end if we do not control ourselves!”

Instantly, the crowd erupts into chaos and confusion, even worse than the first the time. “Wasn't this guy on TV just a few days ago?” a citizen asks. “What's with that mask on his face? He looks evil! I bet he was the one behind the fire! My son died because of that explosion!” says a mother. “Demons? This crap again? I thought there were no more of these type of cults!” says another citizen. “It's the Emerald Empire! I heard a rumor that those weirdos were suspected of kidnapping a bunch of Familiars, yet this man was talking about 'saving' them the other day? Why should we trust anything he says?”

Sartur ignores all the chaos he created in a matter of minutes, and continues with his speech. “The second case of arson...someone set our empire's private jet on fire, causing it to explode, killing my soldiers and several other innocent lives. Could it be that someone means to eliminate King Emerald before he can awaken Basilisk?” he pauses, watching the chaos unfold with the crowd, then continues. “My good friend, Zart spent years upon years building our jet! What has he done to deserve having his years of hard work go up in flames?! What have our soldiers done to deserve losing their lives?! What has our king done to have his life threatened like this?! What have the Demons done to deserve enduring so much pain from our selfish sins?! Do you know how many Familiars were on our jet when it exploded? What have they done to deserve dying in such an undignified matter?!” he pauses for a short moment again, as if grieving for those who lost their lives. “Bwahaha! Foolish human, whoever you are! The king still lives, and every second, he gets closer and closer to unlocking his destiny! Guess what?! I've got hundreds more soldiers, and plenty more jets were those you destroyed came from, haha!!! All you've achieved is causing destruction in your own community! Our empire remains as strong as ever!!!” he starts manically laughing so much he begins coughing.

“All hail King Emerald! The king is going to awaken the Basilisk and bring this world to justice! I support the Emerald Empire!” shouts a citizen, whom is immediately hit in the face by another citizen.

“Stupid! You really believe all that dumb crap about a Basilisk and the Convertion? It's just a made up story used by cult leaders like this guy!”

The chaos increases, the citizens arguing amongst themselves over the story of Basilisk, some of them even fighting each other. When Sartur stops himself from coughing, he continues his speech yet again.

“You people truly are ignorant...don't you see what you're doing? Think about the pain the Demons are enduring right now because of how sinful you are behaving! Whether or not you believe me now, in due time you'll all have no choice but to believe. Ladies and gentlemen, please tell me: what do you dream of?” he asks, letting some of the citizens say what they dream of. “Want to know what I dream of? I'm dreaming of a colorful world with no more sin, and free Familiars. With that, I bid you all farewell for today. Thank you for listening to this important message brought to you by the Emerald Empire. All hail the king!” With that, he and the soldiers walk away.

While the crowd remains in chaos, Nate and his sisters, whom were watching from a good distance, begin to walk off.

“What's wrong with those people...? They are acting so insane over father's speech.” says Annie.

“With what happened last night, it only makes sense that they are still in a panic.” replies Connie.
They keep walking, then notice Nate isn't moving, staring back at that crowd.

“Hey, isn't that...” he says, pointing to a little girl in the center of the crowd, trying to slip away, but is far too caught into it, like a bug in a spider's web. “Leah!” He exclaims, charging into the chaotic mass, trying to surge forward and get to her.

“E-Excuse me...I need to get back home...” Leah says, not seeming to hear Nate calling out to her. The crowd pays no heed to her presence, and remains in chaotic violence.

“Leah!!!” Nate calls out to her again. Someone gets pushed and falls on top of him, giving him even more trouble getting to her. It's like trying to fight against the mighty currents of the ocean.

“What should we do?” asks Annie. “Nate just got lost in that crowd...”

“We can get him out of there, can't we?” asks Shadow.

“I don't think that will be necessary.” says Connie, noticing flashing blue and red lights approaching.

The police arrive and break up the crowd, arresting the violent ones. With the chaos gone, Leah notices Nate and runs over to him.

“Nate! It's you! I knew we would meet again!” she exclaims, giving him a hug.

“I didn't expect we'd see each other again so soon though...What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I live here now. My mom is a single mother, and she can't really do much anymore, so we moved here and live with my uncle now.” she explains, then goes off topic. “That speech though, I wonder who that creepy masked man is? Whoever hurt my mom is his enemy though, so that makes him my ally! You know what they say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend!”

“S-So you support the Emerald Empire too?” Nate asks.

“Yup!” she nods with a smile, then glances behind him, noticing his sisters and Shadow. “Oh! You two visited him at the hospital after me, didn't you? Are you his friends?” she asks.

“No. We're his older sisters.” replies Connie, while Annie makes sure Nate didn't get hurt.

“Natey, there's a knot on the back of your head!” exclaims Annie.

“Ow!” Nate flinches when she touches it. “It'll be fine if you keep your hands off my head...” he says.

“Oh no, you're hurt? Maybe you should come home with me? My Uncle is a doctor, he'll be able to make your pain go away.”

“That won't be neccesary, we can take care of him.” says Connie.

“Oh, okay.” replies Leah, clearly disappointed. “I'd better get going, my mom is probably worried sick. I'm not allowed to go out on my own, but I was really bored, so I did anyway...” she says, staring at the ground. “Cya, big friend Nate.” she says and starts to walk back home.

Nate glares at Connie. “Why did you say that? She's clearly lonely. I'm her only friend, it's not right to leave her all alone like this.”

Annie nods. “Yeah, I mean, at the very least, we could walk her home to make sure she gets there safe...”

Connie sighs. “I suppose that would be alright.”

“Hey, Leah, wait up!” Nate says, running over to her and tells her that they'll walk her home.

“Really? Thanks, friend!” she says, clearly satisfied.

***
“This is my home! I guess you have to go back to your home now, huh?” says Leah, after ringing the doorbell.

“We don't live here, actually. We're just on a short vacation.” Nate says.

The door opens, and a middle aged man comes out. “Leah! There you are, youisr mother was so worried! Didn't she tell you not to go out on your own?” he says, then notices Nate and his sisters. “Oh? Who are you kids? Friends of Leah's?”

The three of them politely offer their hands to him and introduce themselves, explaining to him that they walked her back home. Leah tells him that Nate is the one who saved her mother and that he's her good friend.

“Ah! Yes, I saw this young man in the paper this morning, I knew he looked familiar!” Leah's uncle says, shaking Nate's hand a second time.

“I was in the newspaper...?” Nate whispers to himself.

“Call me Uncle Josh!” Leah's uncle introduces himself. “We can't thank you enough for saving my sisters life. Please, come in and make yourselves at home!”

Leah gasps. “So big friend Nate can stay for a while? Yay!”

“Oh, you're a doctor aren't you, Uncle Josh? Could you do something about this big knot on Natey's head?” she says, touching the knot again, making him flinch in pain.

Uncle Josh chuckles. “Natey, eh? That's quite the cute pet name you've got there! Please, come in.” he says, letting them inside.

he door opens, and a middle aged man comes out. “Leah! There you are, youisr mother was so worried! Didn't she tell you not to go out on your own?” he says, then notices Nate and his sisters. “Oh? Who are you kids? Friends of Leah's?”

^ Misspelled your mother. xP

Good chapter, though!!!

Another very hard chapter...had to rush this to extremes just to get it done >.< sorry if its terrible


After being welcomed into Uncle Josh's house, a woman in a wheelchair, Leah's mom, scolded her for leaving home on her own without permission.

“No need to be so harsh on her, especially in front of our guests.” says Josh, gesturing towards Nate and his sisters.

“Oh, you're...” she says when she sees Nate's face.

“I'm Nate, the one who saved you from the fire. These are my sisters, Annie and Connie.” Nate says.

“Yes...I remember your face clearly. I don't know how I could ever repay you. All my daughter ever talks about is how awesome her 'big friend Nate' is. P-Please, make yourselves at home!”

While Josh has Nate take a seat in the kitchen so he can check how bad his head injury is, Annie and Connie stand in the living room awkwardly, with their hands behind their backs. Having never been to someone else's house before, they're not sure what to do or say.

“No need to be so shy!” says Josh. “Have a seat! You can change the channel from these boring news reports if you want. The remote is right over there.”

“Uh...we're not allowed to watch TV.” replies Connie.

Leah gasps. “You're not allowed to watch TV?! Then what do you guys do all day?!” she asks, while petting Shadow's fur.

“Well, we usually, uh...” says Annie, scratching her chin as if thinking of what to say. Croakie, whom was sleep this whole time, hops out of her pocket with a yawn. “Oh! We always play with Croakie and Shadow in our spare time.”

“Wow! You have a frog too?! That's so cool! I have a kitten, I call him Mr. Snore 'cuz he's always sleeping. I'll go get him!” says Leah, running upstairs.

“This little bump on your head is what you're making a big deal over?” laughs Josh. “That aint nothing, young man! Just put some ice on it and it'll go down in no time!” he says, handing Nate an ice pack.

“I wasn't the one making a big deal out of it though...” replies Nate, as he gets up, holding the ice on the back of his head. “So, what was this about me being in the newspaper you mentioned earlier?” he asks.

“Oh, you didn't know? There were a lot of people who saw you put out that fire last night, and they've recognized you as the same guy that put out the first fire. Here, take a look for yourself.” Josh hands him the newspaper.

“That's interesting...I'd like to see that for myself as well.” says Connie, looking over Nate's shoulder, reading the paper with him.

“Hey, don't just exclude me like that! I want to read too!” says Annie, sitting down next to Nate.

“Civilian puts out fire that not even the firefighters could handle...” he reads out loud. While reading it, they find out that people are saying there is no way he's even human, the way he made water appear out of thin air. There are even some people that think he might be King Emerald, but their opinions aren't being took seriously. The firefighters say that he didn't actually do anything and that they are the ones who put out the fire, so the people who report to have seen him put out the fire aren't being took seriously.

“Wow, you really are in the paper, Natey! That's kinda cool...I wish I was in there too.” says Annie.

“No, this isn't cool at all. We're supposed to keep our identity a secret, and people are already suspecting Nate of being King Emerald...” whispers Connie so that only the three of them can hear her. They quietly discuss it for a while, until Leah comes back down, with a kitten Familiar in her hands.

“Mr. Snore is still asleep like always...” she says. “Oh, uhm...Connie? Do you need Uncle Josh to give you a checkup too?”

“Hm? Why would I need a checkup?” asks Connie. When she notices Leah staring at her legs, she starts to shift about in place uncomfortably. She hadn't even realized that she's still in her nightgown, meaning her battered and bruised legs are on full display. “No, I'm fine...it's just, I...”

“My sister doesn't like to talk about it.” says Annie, stepping in front of Connie. “She doesn't need a checkup, but thanks for asking!”

“We need to get back to the hotel...I can't walk around like this.” whispers Connie. She grabs Nate and Annie's hands and starts to walk towards the door.

“Oh? Leaving so soon? I haven't even got the chance to treat you kids to lunch yet!” says Josh.

“We're sorry, but...”

“You really need to get dressed, I assume? I was wondering why you're in your pajamas at this hour! But do you really have to leave just yet? I was hoping you kids could play with Leah at the park, you see. She keeps begging to go, but she doesn't have anyone to play with there.”

Leah and Nate both gasp at the same time. “The park?! I've always wanted to go to the park! Connie, you HAVE to let us go!” exclaims Nate.

“No, you're coming with me back to the hotel.”

“Oh come on, Connie, don't be a party pooper! It's not fair if we don't get to go because of you!” says Annie, hugging Nate from behind.

“Hold on now, I've got an idea. How 'bout I give you a ride back to your hotel so you can get dressed, then I drop you kids off at the park? How's that sound?” suggests Josh.

“I-I suppose that would be fine, then.”

Leah claps her hands in excitement. “Big friend Nate is really going to play with me at the park?! Yay!!!”

“Just make sure you remember to put something on underneath this time.” says Leah's mom.

Connie's face quickly flushes red. “W-What are you talking about...?”

Leah's mom chuckles. “You had yourself quite exposed when you were leaning over to read the paper. At least your brother and sister weren't in position to see anything.”

Nate and Annie both start laughing, which makes Connie blush even more “L-Let's just go already...”

***
“He was here, wasn't he?” Spats Andrew, the stench of alcohol coming from his breath. He looks around the whole hospital room as if scanning for some type of evidence.

“What are you talking about, Andrew? Aren't you supposed to be on duty?” asks Maya, sitting up in bed cautiously.

“He was here! I can smell that filthy pretty rich boy stench of his all over!” He gets on her bed and leans in close to her, sniffing her whole body like a dog.

“Andrew, calm down, you've clearly been drinking again. Wait...why do you know what he smells like? I don't think that's normal...”

“Tryna get smart with me, are ya?!” He aggressively pushes her out of the bed, causing her to fall on the floor with a loud thud. “While I'm out there slaving my ass for those damned Emeralds, you're here pretending to be hurt so you can invite that snob Nate in and have a little private time with him?!” He says while searching under her pillow and blanket.

“I'm not pretending to be hurt, the nurse told me to stay here for a day even though I told her I'm fine.” replies Maya, calmly, dusting herself off and standing up.

After nearly tearing the room apart in his search, he turns to Maya with a lustful smile, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Let's leave this Empire, together. We don't have to work for Sartur, the two of us could survive on our own! We'll go off on our own journey to find my mother, and...”

“No, Andrew. I will never leave the Emerald Empire.”

“What the hell do you mean no? Your life is in danger here anyway! What do you have to stay for? The title of head of the soldiers that you never earned? Or maybe it's...oh I get it! You want to stay because you think that being the head of the soldiers and Zart's daughter, you think Sartur and your father will set up a marriage between you and him!” He says, caressing her body and licking her skin, clearly making her uncomfortable.

“W-What...? That's so farfetched it doesn't even make sense...and please, cut it out! This isn't the place, or the time...” she says, trying to push him away to no avail.

“You think I'm dumb, don't you? It's all starting to make sense now! They probably already have your marriage planned, unknown to everyone else! When that time comes, what do you plan to do with me? Just throw me away and move on to him?!”

“Yes, I do think you're dumb...in fact, sometimes I think you're just straight up retarded.” Maya says, not realizing she was talking out loud. When she sees the expression on his face, she can swear she feels her heart skip several beats.

“You bitch!!!” he yells, punching her in the jaw with so much force she falls on the bed. He grabs her by the waist and starts trying to work her pants off, but she kicks him in the chest with both legs, knocking him off his feet.

“You really are retarded...you're going to rape me here, where you'll obviously be caught? Do you WANT to get arrested?!” She grabs a lamp and points it at him with shaking arms, as if to use it as a weapon. Andrew spits on the floor, approaching her with slow steps, while she takes one step back for each step he takes forward.

“You want to know the truth? I've never liked you. Never! The only reason I put up with you is because I feel SORRY for you. You would always talk about how you're going to be king, but my father had already told me that Sartur's son would be crowned king. It was so pitiful seeing you boast like that, I knew you'd eventually make a huge fool out of yourself.”

“Shut up! Shut your mouth, you little lying, deceiving hoe!” he shouts, then starts muttering something that can't be comprehended, probably due to too much alcohol.

“Then when your father started being abusive towards you, your mother disappeared, and the other Soldiers started laughing at you, I knew you'd feel like you had no one left. Like the whole world just crashed down on you. So I told you I love you, which was a total lie. I just couldn't stand to see anyone so alone. But you're just not worth it...”

Andrew lets out an animal-like roar and pounces on her like a lion going after it's prey. She tries to scream for help, but he covers her mouth with one hand, while holding her down with his feet and working her clothes off with his free hand. Before he can make too much progress, the door opens, and the nurse comes rushing in.

“What's all that noi-... oh my...! S-Security!!!” yells the nurse when she sees what's going on.

Andrew acts as if he doesn't even notice the nurse there, but within a matter of minutes, he's surrounded by security and escorted out of the building while handcuffed.

“Have fun in prison, you jackass...” says Maya, following the cops that are taking her in for questioning.


“Yay! We're at the park! This is gonna be so much fun!” says Leah, skipping out of the car.

“Wow...real slides, real swings...real everything!” says Annie, staring in amazement.

“Wow, everything seems bigger than they did in the picture books...” says Nate.

Leah sits the sleeping Mr.Snore down on the bench with her uncle, then runs over to the slides. “Come on, what are you guys waiting for?” she calls back.

“Last one there is a rotten egg!” says Annie, bolting after Leah, Nate and Connie chasing after her.

The three of them have a great time with Leah as the hours go by, until the sun starts to set and Uncle Josh calls Leah over, telling her it's time to go home. “I don't want to go...we're having so much fun.” Leah says with a saddened expression, pushing herself back and forth on the swing.

“Same. I can't believe time went by that fast. Come on, Connie, push me one more time!” says Annie, kicking her legs back and forth.

“Annie...I've been pushing you for nearly an hour...” says Connie, between heavy breaths.

Nate kneels next to Leah, petting her on the head. “I don't want to go either, but we can't keep your uncle waiting.”

Leah looks up with a sigh. “You're right...Uhm, Annie, Connie? Can you two go ahead? I want to talk with Nate alone for a minute.”

“What...? A girl wants to talk to Nate alone?” says Annie, her face turning red.

“I don't see why not, we'll be able to see both of you from there anyway. Let's go, Annie.” Connie says, taking Annie's hand and walking back to where Uncle Josh is waiting.

Nate sits in the swing next to her and Shadow jumps in his lap with a yawn. “So, what's up? Something wrong?”

“I had a great time with you today...I wish you were my brother. Why did he have to disappear?!” she says, holding back tears. “It's not fair. I don't have any friends and my brother disappeared before I was even born. It's just not fair!”

“I'm sure he'll come back one day.” replies Nate, gently rubbing her back.

“You think so, huh...” she says, then reaches into her pocket. She takes out a picture and hands it to him. “This is my mom with my dad and brother. I wish I could've seen them at least once...”

When Nate takes a look at the picture, he falls out of the swing in shock. “T-That's...” he whispers, still staring intently at it. The man in the picture is a middle aged man with a long red beard and short patches of red hair. Sitting on his shoulder is a little boy with a huge grin on his face and the same red hair. Nate has no doubt about it, he'd recognize that face anywhere. Leah's Father is Vincent and her brother is Soldier Andrew!

“You okay, big friend Nate?”

Before he can reply, they can hear a loud, distant scream, and a female voice cackling manically. Then they can hear the piercing screams of a Familiar.

“Was that Uncle Josh?!” asks Leah, jumping up.

“That laugh...it's her again already! Mary!” exclaims Nate, him and Shadow surging in the direction they heard the laugh coming from.

Annie and Connie are laying on the ground, grasping at their hair and screaming as if in agonizing pain. The corpse of Uncle Josh lies on the ground, scorched. Mr. Snore is laying on the ground, blood pouring out of his mouth, and a gray tongue covered in blood next to him.

Leah gasps. “No!!! Uncle Josh, Mr.Snore!!!” she drops to her knees, crying.

“Mary...she's gone too far this time!” exclaims Nate, he and Shadow taking off the direction of the laughter.

I can tell it was rushed, but overall... Exactly.

Kurono Satō wrote:I can tell it was rushed, but overall... Exactly.

 Post #55

Exactly? o.o?

I meant excellent xd

Started CH23 today, finished CH23 today. Went surprisingly well with no writers block in the way .

Chapter 23

Huff...puff...His heavy, sharp breaths can barely be heard under the sounds of the pouring rain and his and Shadow's loud footsteps. Tripping over a fallen tree branch, Nate falls face first into the mud. Instantly rising back to his feet, he drops to one knee, coughing up a mouthful of mud.

“Nate!” Shadow calls, running back over to his friend. “This is hopeless. We're not going to find her. Let's just go back, we left Leah and your sisters by themselves.” He says, while trying to support Nate back to his feet.

“Dammit...damn this!!! S-Someone...has to make that sick...little witch pay!” Nate exclaims between heavy breaths, forcing himself back up. “MARY!!! SHOW YOURSELF YOU COWARD!!!” he yells at the top of his lungs.

As if in response to him, the trees catch fire and Mary's familiar evil cackling can be heard in the distance. Not wasting a single second, Nate, puts the fires out with his daggers, then, limping, surges in the direction of her voice. Swooping down from the sky without a sound, a vulture Familiar grabs Shadow in it's talons and flies off.

“No, SHADOW!!!” Nate yells, jumping after the vulture, but falls right back into the mud. “Damn...damn...damn!!!” he swears to himself, clutching onto his right arm while once again forcing himself back to his feet. The second he gets back to his feet, he feels a foot connect with his ribs, knocking him down to his side. “Ow!!!” he howls in pain, now clutching onto his ribs instead of his shoulder, feeling searing pain throughout his whole body. When he looks up, his eyes quickly lock with Mary's blue and red eyes.

“I'm a Demon, not a witch. Get your facts straight.” she says, leaning over with her hands on her knees, smiling innocently.

“Y-You...Where...where's Shadow? What did you do...to my sisters and Mr. Snore? Why did you kill Uncle Josh...?” he tries to force himself to shout the words out, coughing hoarsely as he does so, but feels like all his energy has been drained out.

“Oh, that filthy mutt? Don't worry about him, he's in good hands now.” she chuckles, brushing her hand against his cheek, but he swats her hand away.

“Bring him back to me now!!!” he tries to grab her by the throat, but she teleports behind him, and stomps on the back of his head. She keeps her foot on his head for a while, before yanking his face out of the mud by his hair, laughing as she watches him cough up more mud.

“Why do you want to see that mutt so bad? I thought today was for just the two for of us. But if you won't play with me alone...fine.” she says.

Five vultures start flying around his head without making a sound, one of them carrying Shadow in it's talons. It releases him and he starts falling down, Nate catching him in his arms.

“Shadow! Are you okay?” he asks, hugging him tight. Shadow nods.

“Now that you have him back, let's play!” exclaims Mary, clapping her hands like an excited little girl that just got a new toy. “But wait, you are far too filthy to play. You should see yourself.” she giggles, taking his phone out of her pocket, and snapping several pictures of him.

“Answer me...what did you do to my sisters?!” Nate demands once more.

Mary rolls her eyes. “Oh, Annie and Connie? I just let them have a nice, peaceful little nap so you and I can have some fun alone.”

“You monster...How was someone like you ever accepted into the Emerald Empire in the first place?” Nate asks, clawing his way to the nearest tree, using it to support himself back to his feet.

Her eyes seem to flicker in some type of hope or satisfaction when she hears his words. “You know I was in that petty little Empire? Then...do you remember who I am?”

“Remember who you are...? What are you talking about? I don't know you! I know you're a cruel, sick, evil witch that has no place in this world, that I know for sure!” he shouts at her, pointing his shaking finger at her.

Mary drops her gaze to the ground, her hair covering the expression on her face. The blue and red glow from her eyes illuminates the ground, and she remains silent for a moment, standing there motionlessly. Then she looks up, flicking her hair out of her face, and laughs manically. “It's okay, it's okay! You can make up for all the years you left me on my own by simply playing with me now! That's fair, isn't it?!” She raises her hand to the sky, and the vultures start circling around Shadow.

“Shadow!!!” Nate throws a handful of daggers at them without hesitation, and they fall out of the air, leaving a puddle of blood at his feet.

“Hahaha!!! Look at what you've done 'hero'! You're no better than me now! Tell me, how's it feel to have your hands stained with blood? Thrilling, isn't it?!” Mary laughs wickedly.

“Nate...you killed them.” says Shadow, staring at the corpses in shock.

“N-No, I...” whispers Nate, his eyes widening in realization of what he's done. He killed five Familiars! It wasn't their fault they were being made to do bad things, and he took their lives away for it! Isn't his goal to save all Familiars? What type of savior is he now?! “Aah!!!” he screams, dropping to his knees, grasping at his hair.

“Nate, you stained your hands with blood to protect me, and I swore to be a protector, not the one being protected. So now it's my turn to return the favor!” Shadow howls at the moon, then surges towards Mary at full speed. She's so busy laughing her ass off at Nate, she doesn't even notice Shadow coming, until she feels his teeth sink into the flesh of her bare leg.

“Ouch!!! Stupid mutt!” she screams in pain, trying to shake him off her leg to no avail. “Ow! That really hurts! That's it, two can play at this game!” she exclaims, and Shadow's fur is suddenly set on fire, and he starts running around in circles, howling in pain.

“How dare you hurt Shadow!!!” shouts Nate, limping towards her as fast as he can, swinging his fists at her wildly.

Mary blocks his punches with ease and sighs. “How many times do I have to knock you down? I only want to play with you for just a bit.” She kicks the back of his knee, knocking him down once more, but he grabs her by the back of her dress, forcing her down with him. Not letting go of her, he repeatedly throws fist after fist at her, which she has a hard time blocking now that he has her on the ground with him.

“Let go of me!” she says, teleporting a distance away, but since he still has her in his grip, she teleported him with her. Back on their feet, Nate roars like a wild beast, punching her in the gut with so much force this time, she's swept off her feet and knocked in the air by the simple laws of physics.

She clutches onto her gut, doubling over in pain. Panting heavily on her hands and knees, she vomits, tears streaking down her face. “Ow...! Why are you so mean to me...?!” Before she gets a chance to react, Nate's foot connects with her gut, punting her against the bark of a tree. “Okay, okay, calm down!!!” She exclaims, fear in her eyes. She snaps her finger, and the fire on Shadow's fur is put out, but he passes out at the same time.

“Are you happy n-” Nate's fist slams against the bark of the tree with shocking force, but this time she teleports out of the way just in time.

“You gotta be faster than th-...whoa!” Without as much as even glancing over his shoulder, his fist swings back at her, which she teleports away from in the nick of time. This time he throws a kick to the side, exactly where she teleported, but she gets away right in time again.

Punch, teleport, kick, teleport. The pattern continues for what feels like eternity, but Nate is only human. Despite his unshakable will, he has his limits. The second he starts to slow down, Mary kicks him in the jaw, and safely teleports a far distance away from him. “How can he keep up with me...he doesn't even have a Demon inside, does he?” she asks herself, panting heavily.

Nate spits out a bloody tooth, struggling back to his feet, making Mary wonder how no matter how many times she knocks him down, he gets right back up. “Take one step closer, and the wolf gets it!” she threatens.

“You wouldn't dare...” replies Nate, staggering closer to her.

“Oh I wouldn't? Say, Nate, aren't you wondering why the Familiars you killed went without even a single scream?” Her words make him stop, realizing that every Familiar under her possession has never made a single sound, then remembering the condition Mr. Snore was in, with his tongue cut out.

“You...you're a monster!!!” Nate yells, throwing dagger after dagger at her. She teleports away from each of them, then picks them off the ground.

“Are these for me? How sweet of you!” She teleports in front of him, kicking him in the chest, and then pinning him to the tree with his own daggers. “Please, allow me to demonstrate for you.” She teleports over to Shadow, picking him up by the fur on his back.

“No! Let him go! Do whatever you want to me, but please, put Shadow down!!!”

“Oh but I just love your screams! Playing with Shadow is so much fun because it makes you scream! Don't be mean, let me play with him too!” She pries his mouth open, sticking a dagger down his throat. “Ladies and gentlemen! Today I will present to you a live demonstration on how to silence a Familiar! King Emerald here thinks he's special because he can talk to these pathetic creatures, but is he so special anymore if they can't talk to him in the first place?”

“What are you going to do? STOP!!!” yells Nate, trying to break free to no avail.

“Now as you all can see, this wolf has very sharp teeth and he can bite my hand off when he wakes up, so safety first!” she giggles, and Shadow's teeth all catch fire. Once his teeth all melt away, she puts the fire out. “Now for the main event!” she says, and starts sawing at the back of Shadow's tongue with the dagger. Shadow wakes up, howling in intense pain.

“NO!!! Please, I beg you! Cut out my own tongue instead!!! Anything but this!!!” cries Nate, still trying to break free.

Blood splatters all over her face while she does this, until she cuts his tongue completely out, tossing it at Nate's face. She bows elegantly, as if she just performed a magic trick. “Hahaha! How was that, everyone?”

Shadow runs over to Nate, blood dripping out of his mouth. “Shadow! Shadow, speak to me!” exclaims Nate. Shadow moves his mouth, but no sound comes out. “How!!! How could you do such a thing?!!!” Nate yells, glaring at Mary, tears pouring down his cheeks.

“Hahaha! Oh I just love your screams! Let's see what happens if I take it up a notch!” Mary grabs Shadow by his tail, and slowly slits his throat, ignoring Nate begging her to stop, she laughs like a psychopath, then finishes the job quick and easy. Shadow's head falls off his body, rolling towards Nate's feet, blood pouring everywhere.

“Shadow...No, this can't be...It's a dream, all just a bad dream. A hallucination! I must still be in the desert, being tormented by the Demons!” he tells himself.

“A dream? Haha, silly boy! This is all 100% real. Now, watch him BURN!!!” she raises her hands and Shadow's corpse is scorched in flames, torching him until there's nothing left of him but ash.

“SHADOW!!!” Nate screams at the top of his lungs, everything seeming to go in slow motion to him.

“He's dead, Nate.” Mary says, kicking the pile of ash that remains. “Now, for you.” she teleports in front of him, cupping her hand under his chin, and staring directly into his eyes like she always does.
But this time, he glares right into her eyes as well, roaring at the top of his lungs like an enraged beast. Suddenly, brightly glowing black and white colors start flowing out of Mary's body and into Nate. “Ahh!!! What's going on...?!” she yells in pain.

A black and red hooded figure appears in front of Nate, completely identical to the Demons they met in the desert. “The fruit of sin within you is becoming fully ripened. Come, harness the fires of Wrath.” The soft, distorted voice says, barely heard over Mary's screams and Nate's ferocious roaring.

Mary staggers back, then kicks Nate in his chin, knocking him out cold. The hooded figure vanishes, and the colors flowing out of her into him disappear as well.

“What...the...HELL...was that?!” she asks, clutching onto her chest, struggling to catch her breath, her teeth clattering in fear. She stares at him one more time, then teleports as far away as she can get from him

Mary and Nate are in love. x3

Nate x Mary...we shall call it Nary, or Mate XD Too bad she's going to be alone with another guy from now on o.o


The charcoal-like stench of burnt skin and the sulfurous odor of hair on fire, mixed with the sweet, burning smell of smoke awakens him. Blinking slowly, he raises his head, but despite the fire all around him and scorched corpses on the ground, he remains seated with his back slumped against the wall.

A figure appears seemingly by magic right in front of his eyes. His vision blurred from the heat, all he can make out is a shadowy blur of darkness. “Looks like I’ve finally made it to hell…” he says, dryly, without moving.

“Looks like I finally found you, Andrew.” the female voice says, brushing the back of her hand across his cheek. “What on earth happened to this pretty face of yours?” she asks, noticing his scar.

“Took you long enough to bring me down from that shithole of a planet to the depths of hell, Satan.” replies Andrew, spitting on the floor.

“...Satan? Goodness me, how rude! You don’t recognize your good old friend Mary?” Mary says, with her hand on her chest and backing up, as if taken aback by his comment.

“Mary…” Andrew rubs his crusty eyes to clear up his vision, and can now see Mary standing right in front of him with her hands behind her back, smiling from ear to ear. “So this is where you’ve been all this years. Heh, guess you were even worse than you seemed.”

Mary rolls her eyes with a flick of her hair. “This isn’t hell, silly. Come on, I’m here to break you out.”

Andrew almost lets out a soft chuckle. “Break me out? What for? I don’t have any reason to want to escape. Just leave me be.”

Mary slumps against the wall next to him. “What’s gotten into you? Did that little slut finally break up with you or what?”

“I said shut up dammit!” he yells at her, slamming his fist against the wall. “My father was killed and I lost Maya. What do I have to continue living for anymore?”

“Wise Man Vincent was killed…? When? By who?”

“The masked bastard of course! Who the hell else?!” he raises his voice at her.

Mary puts her hands up in her defense. “Hey, don’t get mad at me. Trust me when I say I hate Sartur just as much, if not more than you. Hearing of your father's death hurts me, you know. After all, it was him who told me the truth. If it weren’t for his support, I’d still be serving the Empire right now.”

Andrew spits on the floor once again. “Yeah, like hearing that’s going to make anything better. My father helped you escape but just let me become nothing more than a damned soldier blindly following orders when I should be the one ruling?” he takes in a deep breath, then coughs from inhaling so much smoke. “Go away. Just let me die alone here.”

Mary stands, and takes him by the hands with a giggle. “No can do!” she says, and they suddenly appear outside.

“How the...what the shit did you do?” Andrew asks, blinking in surprise and staring in awe at the prison burning to the ground.

Mary pinches her nose. “Ew! You smell terrible! If you’re going to stay with me, first things first, take a bath and brush your teeth! You smell like horse shit.” she says, trying to wave the stench away.

“Stay with you…? I thought I told you to just let me die here.”

Mary sighs, then slaps him across the face with the back of her hand. “ My god, you’re such an annoying emo sometimes! If you die here, who’s going to find your mother? Are you satisfied with dying without knowing what happened to her? Is she not enough reason to keep on living? Huh?” she asks, constantly slapping him.

“Shut up...you don’t know shit.” Andrew groans.

“Yeah yeah, I may not know what it feels like to be in your shoes, but I know one things for sure. You’re not king, your mother is gone, and your father is dead. And it’s all Sartur’s fault. You’re just going to let him continue on living as he pleases despite all he’s caused you? Wow, I can’t believe you! You’re so-” she tries to slap him again, but this time he swats her hand away.

“If you hit me again, I’m going to knock the taste right out of your fucking mouth.”

Mary giggles. “There we go! That’s more like the Andrew I know!” she says, clapping her hands in his face, like a coach trying to motivate her star player.

“Fine. Let’s say I try to take the bastard down. How am I supposed to do that? He has the whole empire to protect him, and I’m just one second best loser.”

“But you’ll have me, the demon of Wrath by your side. Come on, what type of man would leave a lovely little girl like me on her own? I’ve been homeless, living on my own for two years, I’m tired of being lonely.” she says, sitting with her knees hiked enough to expose the bright red panties under her short dress. “I promise, there’ll be a lot in it for ytruth be tou~”  she whispers in a seductive voice, leaning mere inches away from his ear.

A slick grin slowly spreads across Andrew’s face, busting his chapped lips open. “You sure know how to get what you want.” he licks the blood off his lips and stands up. “Together we’ll take the Emerald Empire down and find my mother, huh? I’ll join you on one condition. Leave that bratty little king to me, I want him for myself.” he says, sinisterly.

“Truth be told, part of the reason I came here for you is because Nate has become too much for me. I don’t know what he did to me, but it feels like...like he took part of my soul away. I hate to admit it, but...he scares me.” Mary says, wrapping her arms around her chest, shivering at the thought of what happened between her and Nate.

“Haha, the reckless Mary that somehow set a whole prison on fire and magically got me out is afraid? Priceless!” replies Andrew, laughing for the first time in a week.

“What? You’re not supposed to laugh at a girl when she tells you she’s scared! You’re supposed to wrap your arms around my shoulder, and say cliche things like ‘it’s okay now, I’m here with you and will always be by your side from now on.’ Don’t you know how to please a women?!” she pouts at him, stamping her foot on the ground.

“Eh...I, uh, never thought you were that type of girl…” Andrew says, flustered.

Mary pats him on the head, giggling. “You’re so cute right now. If only you didn’t still smell like horse shit. Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.” she takes his hand and teleports away with him.

***
Nate, six years old at the time, is laying in the middle of the floor, snoring softly, when the door swings open. His father walks in, carrying both a small wolf and frog in his arms. He sits the two Familiars down next to Nate, then unlocks the door to his daughter's room, entering without shutting the door behind him. A few moments later, he enters Nate’s room again, with Annie and Connie, who look like they just woke up, following behind him.

“Nate. Wake up.” he says, softly kicking his son in the back.

Nate’s eyes slowly blink open, then he sits up with a yawn, rubbing his eyes. He picks up one of his darts, throwing it at the calendar to mark off the previous day like he always does. When he sees the Familiars, he rapidly springs to his feet. “Wow! Are you real Familiars?!” he asks in amazement.

“So these are the three ‘powerful’ humans?” says Shadow, cocking his head to the side while looking up at them.

Sartur folds his arms behind his back, and slowly paces to his left. “Nate, my dear boy, you are going to be king in just twelve years. You’ll need to truly understand for yourself the type of suffering these poor creatures endure every second.” he pauses, pacing to his right, then continues. “I saved these two from a very tragic condition, and now I leave them in your care. The wolf is for you, my son, while the frog, I entrust you with this one, Annie.” he says, patting Nate and Annie on the shoulder.

“R-Really? This cute little froggy is for ME? WOW! Thank you, daddy!” exclaims Annie. The frog hides underneath Shadow at the sound of Annie’s loud voice. “Aww, he’s hiding from me! What’s his name?”

“Why don’t you ask him yourself? You kids are the ones with The Power, not me.” replies Sartur. He then exits the room, leaving them alone with the Familiars.

“...I’m going back to bed.” says Connie, returning to her room, slamming the door behind her so loudly, the Familiars jump in shock.

“Gee, what’s her problem?” Annie asks, flipping her hair.

“She must be upset that Father didn’t give her a Familiar to look after too. Why didn’t he? Has Connie been bad?” asks Nate, staring at the door with concern.

Annie shrugs. “Must’ve been. Otherwise, I’m sure she would’ve got one too.”

The wolf slowly approaches them, with the frog right behind him, clutching to his leg. “Is it true...can you really...speak with us?”

“Must be true! I mean, we can hear what you’re saying! Hey, little guy, don’t be afraid, I won’t bite!” Annie says, leaning over and smiling at the frog. The frog peeks from behind Shadow’s leg, then after a short moment, hops over to her.

Nate gently pets the wolf’s fur. “They look so...invisible, but I can touch him just fine. It looks like my hand should go right through him.” He says, continuing to pet his fur. “I heard about how badly mean people treat you guys. Don’t worry, I’m going to be the king one day, and I’ll save you all. What’s your name?”

“I’m Shadow. He’s Croakie. Your father saved us both, so we’re in debt to this...’Emerald Empire’.” replies Shadow.

“A debt?” Annie giggles. “Don’t be silly, you don’t need to think like that! You’re in good hands here! I don’t get how anyone could be mean to cute little guys like you two. What happened to you?”

Shadow and Croakie both silently stare at the floor, then after a few moments, Shadow speaks. “We’d rather not talk about it.”

“Oh my...I-I’m so sorry…” Annie says, sobbing while tears stream down her face.

“That’s so sad...you must’ve been so lonely. Why are people so mean?!” Nate yells, kicking his toys across the room, and slamming his fist on the wall in his little rage. Noticing his book about friends, tears start to stream down his face as well. “H-Hey, do you two think that...w-we could be...friends?” he asks. Shadow jumps into his arms and nods, burying his face in his chest.

“Friends...yes, Familiars are my friends, and humanity is my enemy.” Nate says, hugging Shadow tightly.
***
“He’s awake! He’s finally awake!” exclaims Annie, rushing over to Nate, sitting on the bed with him

“Ngh...huh…?” he asks, looking around the room, noticing that they are back in their hotel room in the big city. “Ah!!!” he screams, suddenly feeling sharp pain flowing through his whole body. He falls off the bed, onto his side. “What...what is this pain? What’s going on?!” he asks, panting.

“You’ve been asleep for two whole days, Natey. Don’t you remember anything?” Annie asks, supporting him to his feet.

Nate clutches at his hair, feeling his memories flow back to him all at once. His eyes widen, and he glances all across the room. Pushing Annie aside, he looks under the bed, and when he finds nothing under there, he searches the whole room. After several minutes of searching all over the room, he grabs Annie by the shoulders. “Annie! Where is he?! Where is Shadow?!”

“I-I don’t know, Natey, we were hoping you could tell us...Remember the day we went to the park with Leah? Mary put me and Connie to sleep somehow, and when we woke up, you and Shadow were nowhere to be found, so we ordered the Soldiers to search everywhere for you two. They found you, but still haven’t found Shadow.”

Nate drops to his knees. “No...you mean, Shadow, he really…NO!!!” he batters his fist against the floor, his face full of sorrow.

“Natey...where is he? We’ve all been so worried.” Annie asks, gently rubbing his back. He springs to his feet, shoving her aside, and quickly dashes out of the hotel room.

“Nate! Where are you going?!” Annie calls, running after him.

Shivering from the cold of the freezing rain and gusts of wind, Nate keeps on running, ignoring the pain flowing through his whole body. “MARY! WHERE ARE YOU, MARY!!!” he yells, pushing people to the ground as he runs.

Eventually, his legs start to give out on him, and the pain becomes too much, causing him to collapse on the ground in an alley, breathing heavily. “Shadow...oh, Shadow!!! A-AWOO!!!” he howls at the moon, then starts to cry, wrapping his arms around himself. He lays there motionlessly, letting the rain soak him.

Eventually, Annie catches up with him, but he doesn’t even seem to notice her there while she takes her sweater off and puts it on him, giving him her best protection from the freezing rain. “Natey…” she says. He slowly picks himself up, and sits on his hands and knees, letting his tears pour out.

“Annie...he’s dead. Shadow...he’s gone.”

Annie gasps, then clasps her mouth with the palm of her hands, the tears starting to stream down her face as well. Croakie hops out of her pocket, staring silently at the ground.

“The stupid mutt...he really went and died on us? Is this for real…?” he says, trying to keep his tears inside, but they pour out as well.

Annie firmly embraces her brother, and he hugs her back twice as tight, sobbing hysterically into her shoulder. “It’s okay, Natey...everything’s going to be alright.” is all Annie can think of to say to him, which she keeps on repeating, while they remain hugging each other like this all night.ff

Andrew and Mary now..... Well... Nate does have Kingly things to do. xd