It's been a bit since I've written anything for Okage, especially a shipping fic. I wanted to do a sequel setting type story, and I wanted it to include StanxAri, but with a real plot behind the romance stuff. I did my best to balance all genre elements, so I hope the story will be enjoyable. There will be some mature things later on, but I will be posting that alternative chapter on ao3 once I'm able to set that account up. But for now, enjoy!

Chapter 1: Disturbance

The sun filtered lazily through the trees, casting spotty shadows across the dirt roads of Tenel. The air was hot and heavy, hazy with humidity that threatened an unseen storm upon the sleepy village. It had been two years, two long years since Ari had finished his strange adventure to restore the powers of the Evil Shadow King, Lord Stanley Hihat Trinidad XIV, or Stan as he preferred to be called. After the defeat of Beiloune and the regaining of Stan's true form, everyone in the group had parted ways.

On this particular summer day, our story begins. Our hero remains the same as always. Quiet, sarcastic at times, but still overshadowed. Ari had changed a bit from his journey, however. He tended to be a bit more outspoken when he could (this of course fell on deaf ears when it pertained to his family). He often wondered about his comrades and their whereabouts. Last he heard, Big Bull had returned to his hometown. Rosalyn was no doubt still chasing Stan to the ends of the earth. Kisling had settled somewhere near Madril, opening a little science shop in the process. Linda and Epros left together with the circus, their location (and whether Epros ever returned Linda's affections) a mystery. And then there was Stan...no telling where the demon king would be. Any word that would come in the form of a letter had stopped months ago.

Ari hadn't been particularly worried, just...it was nice to hear from his former master every now and then. It was a reassuring feeling knowing what he was up to.

The blade of grass that Ari had been twirling between his fingers was abruptly plucked as the thought crossed the boy's mind. He missed Stan? That idiotic, floppy, flat-faced, asshole of a shadow that bossed him around? As if!

"I don't miss him that much..."

"Ari!"

A sudden voice from behind the teen caused him to, not-so-gracefully, turn in his seated position. Annie was walking towards him down the grassy hill.

"Mom has dinner ready, better hurry up too!"

"Alright, I'm on my way, hold on." Ari stood, brushing dirt and grass blades from his pants.

The sun still remained high in the sky above, stretching the siblings' shadows long and thin as they trudged their way up the hill towards home...

"It's been too quiet around here!"

The sudden exclamation from the family's patriarch silenced the dinner table.

"Dad, what are you talking about?," Annie broke the silence.

"Just...this!," their father waved dramatically around. "This heartwarming, family wholesomeness! It's so boring!" He slumped back into his chair and crossed his arms, a childish pout on his face.

"Dear, I think our family has had enough excitement for a lifetime." Their mother smiled at Ari and Annie. Ari could have sworn his face turned as pink as his sister's shadow.

"I don't know, mom. Without Stan and the others around, it is a little boring. Right, Ari?" Annie grinned at him.

"S-Shut up, Annie!"

Ari's family chuckled as they continued their dinner. The boy's blush grew as he poked at his carrots with his fork. Was life really that boring without the rest of his friends there? Although, seeing as how he had been wondering about their whereabouts, maybe it was...Maybe excitement every now and then hadn't been so bad...

CRASH

Just as the thought had entered into Ari's mind, the alarming sound from the foyer caused the boy and his family to jump violently, gasps intermingling with the mysterious noises. With a shout of "Finally!" from his father, Ari and the others scrambled out of the dining room and through the kitchen into the foyer. Sparkling glass from the overhead window littered the floor. And standing in the middle of it, his normally slicked back hair messy in the fresh wind filtering in, was none other than Stan.

Little had changed about the Evil Shadow King, minus his mussed up hair. His glare remained focused in the corner of the room by the stairs. After the first initial shock of seeing Stan glaring in their foyer, the family's eyes followed the path of his stare. A large ghost hovered in the corner. Its aura threatened the beginnings of a dangerous transformation, it lumpy body pulsing and rippling more with each passing minute.

Stan, his glare never leaving the ghost, finally spoke.

"Glad you could finally join me, slave."

"Stan! What...what's going on here?"

"Small talk later. Why don't you put those scrawny legs of yours to good use and grab that Gear Sword of yours?"

Ari stood confused for a moment. Stan needed his help? Defeating a ghost? He supposed in its defense, the ghost was huge, but still...

"That was a command, not a philosophical quandary! Now, hurry up!"

Ari snapped out of his stupor and swung himself around the banister, sprinting up the stairs. To his surprise, the ghost turned, ready to pursue.

"Hey! Mashed potato brains! I'm your opponent right now! Wouldn't you rather have the honor of losing to the Great Evil King Stan?!"

A gurgling sound bubbled up from somewhere within the ghost as it hovered for a moment. It then immediately followed after Ari up the stairs. Stan cursed and ran after the ghost.

Ari had reached his door by this point, flinging it open and locking it behind him. Already he could hear crashes and shouts from Stan in the hallway beyond. Fighting down panic, the boy climbed on to his bed and lifted his sword from its shelf on his wall. A loud shout from outside caused Ari to trip over his covers and fall backwards on to the floor, the sword sheath clutched to his chest. A terrifying crash shook the house, causing Ari's heart to jump into his throat. He dashed from his room, throwing the sword scabbard off somewhere in the process.

Ari skidded to a stop at the top of the stairs. At some point in time while he had been in his room, Stan was thrown from the top floor into the front corner of the house. He was half buried in rubble, and a constant stream of curses escaped from the demon's mouth as he struggled to get back up. The ghost had transformed into a spiny, bug-like creature Ari had never seen anything like it in their previous adventure. Gathering his courage, the boy climbed onto the stair railing, and with all his strength, he jumped. With a sharp cry, Ari brought down his Gear Sword and sliced the creature down through its middle surprisingly easily. The creature vanished in a cloud of smoke after it split. Ari's momentum sent him crashing into Stan, who caught him in his arms and gave a grunt of discomfort as he crashed back into the rubble.

The dust settled and the family surveyed the damage to their home. One broken window, a destroyed hallway, and a hole in the wall from Stan's impact. Although Ari's father was elated with joy at the return of some excitement, it was safe to say Ari's mother did not share in that excitement...

Ari pushed himself up from the position he had landed in. He felt rubble tumble from his back. However, something warm that was wrapped around his shoulders held him down. The surface beneath his hands was also warm. After giving a little cough, Ari cracked open his eyes. He found that his eyes met with the yellow orbs belonging to Stan. The Shadow King gave him a smirk.

"Hello there, slave."

Ari's face flushed as he pushed himself out of Stan's embrace, rolling off to the side.

"Ow! Careful, slave! I did just collide with your wall!"

"S-Sorry...h-hey! Wait a minute! What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be...I dunno...off conquering the world or something?"

"Well, about that...," Stan began as he sat up and brushed the dust off of his suit. "I need your assistance."