I sadly do not own this game, if I did there would be some sort of sequel :D

I sort of blame my friend for this story since we were talking about types of stories we liked to read and write. So, this story sort of came out of the clear blue and based off a picture I've drawn.

Stan/Ari pairing

takes place some time before Epros joined the party and after they found out the princess was a doll.

Ari gazed out of the hotel room and at the early morning sky before turning back to look at the rest of the group. Everybody was still asleep, tired from the yesterday events. The only reason Ari was awake was because he couldn't sleep. Some of his dreams were bothering him, so he decided to get up instead of going back to sleep. He began to readjust his headband when he heard Stan come out of his shadow. The Evil King looked blinked before yawning, stretching his arms over his head before looking around. He failed to see Ari, but Ari was use to it by now. Ari just stood there quietly and watched Stan. When Stan saw that everybody else was still asleep, he scowled and crossed his arms.

"Idiots! Don't they know that we have a schedule to follow? We have to defeat those stupid Evil Kings and get my powers back! Don't they care? Why! Those stupid --" Stan stopped short when Ari yawned. He turned to look Ari, finally noticing him. Ari was rubbing away the remanding sleep from his eyes. Stan blinked before uncrossing his arms. "Well, it's nice to see that someone cares around here!" Ari looked at him before shaking his head.

"Morning to you too, Stan." With a yawn, Ari looked back out of the hotel window. Stan watched Ari for a moment before looking out of the window too. It was silence before Ari spoke up. "How did you sleep, Stan?" Stan huffed before crossing his arms and leaning against the window frame.

"That's a stupid question to ask, slave. I slept fine, just like I usually do at night!" Ari sighed before shaking his head.

"There is no such thing as a stupid question, Stan. I was just curious to how you slept that's all." Stan huffed again before glaring down at his servant.

"I didn't ask for your opinion now did I? When I want it I will ask for it!" Ari looked up at him with sad eyes.

"But... Stan... I was just..." But Stan would hear none of it.

"Look. I don't care what you think! You're nothing to me but a slave to help me gain my powers! Once I have them you will be nothing more than a stupid boy! You are dirt to me!" With that, he turned his back to Ari and focused his attention to some random object in the small hotel room. Ari stared at Stan in shock before gazed sadly at Stan's back. Ari then looked back out of the hotel window, a lonely tear falling down his face.

"... Sorry." Stan looked over his shoulder just in time to see Ari rub his eyes again to rid of the tear that Stan didn't see and go to wake up Rosalyn. Stan watched before sighing.

"Slave..." But Ari's attention was now drawn to something else. Now that Rosalyn was awake, she and Ari began to discuss what they were going to do today. Stan watched silently as the two talked before returning to Ari's shadow just as quietly as he had come out. Ari saw the flicker of black before turning to where Stan was.

'Stan... You weren't serious... Were you... Please say you weren't...' Ari was taken out of his thoughts when Rosalyn began yelling at Big Bull to get up.

"HEY! Are you listening to me? GET UP!" In reply to Rosalyn's question, Big Bull just rolled over on the cot he was sleeping on. Rosalyn gritted her teeth before taking out her rapier. "I SAID GET UP!!" Ari shook his head as he watched Rosalyn try and get Big Bull up. He then walked over to where Linda and Kilsing were sleeping and began to wake up the rest of the team up. Once up, the team began to start their journey again. Everyone was all talkative and happy, but Ari wasn't like them. His thoughts were about what Stan had said to him that morning and if they were true or not. Ari sighed before looking down at his shadow, watching it walk beside him on the ground.

'Stan's been quiet ever since at the hotel... Why is he so quiet...' Rosalyn must have noticed also, for she looked down at Ari's shadow too.

"Hey, Pathetic Evil King! Why aren't you out of Ari's shadow! I have a few things to talk to you about!" But the only reply she got was the whistling of the wind. Now everybody was getting uneasy. Stan let Rosalyn call him a name and he didn't even do a thing about it! Everybody stared at Ari's shadow, waiting for the Evil King to come out and say some sort of comment, but Stan never did. After awhile, Rosalyn scoffed and continued walking.

"Feh, stupid Stan is probably asleep. Come on! We have to make it to the next town." With that, they continued walking. Ari stayed a few feet behind, wondering if Stan was okay. After about a half-hour, Ari spoke up.

"Stan... Are you alright? Are you asleep? You're worrying me." Silence was all Ari got. Ari sighed and was about to just keep on walking when Stan came out of his shadow. He had his arms crossed and he glared down at Ari. Ari looked up at him, silently wondering what he was going to do. Stan just stared at Ari with his yellow jack-o-lantern eyes before speaking.

"Slave. What have I told you? I don't need your pity or worry. I truly don't care what you think." Ari looked sadly up at Stan before sighing.

"Sorry, Stan. I just... Never mind." Stan continued staring at Ari before sighing himself.

"Wait... Slave... I..." But he wasn't able to finish. Out of the clear blue, monsters and ghosts suddenly surrounded the group. Ari quickly grabbed his sword and rushed to rejoin the group. Rosalyn had already drawn her rapier, poising it at a rat like monster, Linda gripped her microphone, Kilsing got his two thick textbooks out, and Big Bull with his muscles. Stan made himself bigger, looking quite intimidating. The group waited in the circle of monsters and ghosts, waiting to see who would make the first move. The monsters and ghosts were also waiting, both teams having a staring match. Finally, it was the monsters that broke the staring match and attacked first. The group went on the defensive while the monsters attacked them. Ari had to duck a couple of times to avoid the claws and teeth of the smaller monsters. Things were going well after the first five minutes. The group was winning and was a head of the monsters and ghosts. That was, until some bigger monsters came in and joined in on the fun. The group was once again out numbered.

While Ari was blocking one of the monster's attack, Linda was knocked into him. The singer shook her head to rid of her slight dizzy spell before looking at both Ari and Stan.

"There are too many of them! We have to try and run!" Stan scowled down at her.

"What? Run! We can't run! We are just beginning to win!" Even though Stan said it, he didn't know how much the group could take and Ari was getting pretty beat up. Linda got back into the fight, smacking one of the monsters in the jaw with her microphone. Ari had finally gotten the monster that he was currently defending himself from away from him and managed to throw it at another monster. The two collided and fell to the ground unconscious, but three other monsters took their place. Ari gazed uneasily at the three monsters that were currently looking at him like he was turkey dinner. Ari backed away before bumping into Rosalyn. She cast a freezing spell on five of the monsters that were after her before looking over her shoulder to Stan.

"Stan! We need to go! We won't last out here!" Stan looked down at the hero before letting out a frustrated sigh.

"As much as I hate to admit it... I think we must run." Rosalyn nodded before casting one last spell and freezing most of the monsters in place.

"Come on, everybody! We need to go, now!" She cut at one small monster that had avoided her freezing spell and ran off toward the main road. The rest of the group, as soon as they were able to, ran off behind her. Ari finished off the last monster that was in his way before running to catch up, Stan now retreated inside of his shadow. As he ran though, he failed to see one remaining monster that was not frozen hiding in the taller grass. The monster that was hiding waited before leaping. Ari didn't have enough time to defend himself with his sword and was knocked to the ground. The monster also had knocked his sword away and began to bite and dig it's claws into Ari's body. Ari screamed and that cued Stan to come back out of his shadow. Stan used the powers that he had sent an electric shock wave at the monster, sending it flying into a boulder. Stan crossed his arms and looked at the now defeated monster.

"Ha! You think you can defeat moi? I think not! I'm the true Evil King and--... Slave?" Only then did Stan realize that Ari was not standing next to him or running to catch up with the rest of the group. He turned around and looked in horror at his bloodied slave. Ari's body lay there unmoving on the grass, covered in deep cuts and bite marks, most on his head and chest. Stan gasped and quickly tried to get him to come around. "Slave? Slave! Open your eyes! I command you to open your eyes!" But it was no use, Ari's emerald eyes would not open and his non-moving body made Stan's shadow body go cold.

"Slave! Open your eyes! Don't you dare die! Slave! ARI!!!"

to be continued...

Sorry for the cliffhanger! But I didn't feel like making this a one shot. I will have the next chapter up soon.