"The Wrath of the Moon"
An Emperor's New Groove Fanfic by:
JessieofTR (Megan Clifton)

Chapter 1
"The Dream and the Skull"

Emperor Kuzco shot up in his bed, sweat running down the back of his neck. He had had a horrible dream in which Yzma was trying to kill him again. As he tried to think back to it, he put a hand on his forehead, trying to remember clearly everything that happened. He ran a hand through his jet black, wet hair, and layed back down. It wasn't just him in the dream. Someone else was there too. He didn't know who it was. Pacha maybe? No, it defiently wasn't Pacha. It was a skinny person, like him, but he had never seen this person before in his entire life.

He remembered he was running from something, and he didn't know what that was either. He remembered turning his head, and seeing a skull on the ground.

That was what scared him so much. In Kuzco's time, a skull in a dream meant death was coming. And not neccesarily to him, to anyone he knew. But then, why should he believe in old signs? Old fairy tales? He was the emperor. He controlled EVERYTHING from life to death.

He smiled slyly. "It was just a dream..." He told himself in his smooth voice. "Just a dream..." He removed his hand from his forehead, laying it down next to him. If it was all just a dream, why was he still worried?

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The next morning, the sun shone over Cusco, Peru bright and early. Servants were busy bustling around the palace, and Kuzco's birthday was just around the corner. He was to turn nineteen...and one year from then he would have to have chosen his bride. But Kuzco was too layed back and stubborn to do any choosing at that moment.

A short and stubby servant (Which Kuzco had dubbed "The Thing That Wouldn't Shut Up") was making notes in his log, as Kuzco came down for breakfast, wearing his usual red and yellow robes, that signfied his royalty.

The "Thing That Wouldn't Shut Up" (which will from now be called the TTWSU for short) greeted the emperor with a smile and a bow. "Good morning your highness!! How are you feeling?"

"Fine....I guess...." Kuzco said, putting a hand to his head, still thinking about the dream he had.

"Is something wrong, your highness?" The TTWSU asked him.

"Um....no...nothing..." Kuzco shook his head. He glanced up at the TTWSU, who was back to making his notes. "Um.....hey.....short stuff.....do you, um....well....believe in myths....or signs or any of that sort?"

The TTWSU looked up at him, thinking it was a pretty strange question. "Well.....yes....I guess I would like to think I follow the Incan codebook....why?"

"Well uh....ya know that one about seeing a skull in a dream? Well, I kinda..."

Before Kuzco even finished, the TTWSU dropped his quill and log. "You....saw a.....skull....in a ...dream?" His eye twitched.

The whole palace nearly stopped what they were doing when they heard. They all scared at Kuzco with hushed voices, eyes widened, and listening.

Kuzco stared around with eyebrows raised. "Well...um....it's....no big deal....I mean..."

"SOUND THE ALARM!!!!!" The TTWSU shouted, and panic ensued like someone had dropped a bomb.

"Woah! Woah!" Kuzco attempted to calm them down, but it was useless. "STOOOOOOOOOOP!!!!!!" He finally shouted. "LISTEN!!! That's a dumb myth! It's not real!!!! You should all stop worrying!!!"

The TTWSU was shaking with fear. "You-you-your highness!! We can't stop w-w-w-worrying. Your life is in danger! P-p-please, we have to do something..."

"Well, screaming like a bunch of banshees isn't gonna get you anywhere!!" Kuzco shouted at him.

"I...I know, sire. But we must keep you safe until all of this passes. There's still a chance...and not a WORD of this dream is to get out to the public!" He directed his voice at everyone in the room. "Not a single word...."

"Yeah, whatever....now I'm starved...I'm getting breakfast..." Kuzco said, and started walking to the dining room, putting a hand on his head. "I should never have said anything...." He sighed.