Okage: Shadow King

~*Temporal Paradox*~

"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending."

Prologue: Same Old, Same Old

"Stan!"

The forest of Willkur, which encircled the small village of Tenel, a slightly run down manor, the circus grounds and everything else in between suddenly had its peaceful tranquility shattered. Rather violently.

"Stan! Get back here! Right now!"

In the brief year and a half that Ari and his friends had freed his world from the all powerful force of Classification, breaking Beiloune's control over their lives, things hadn't really settled down like the boy had expected.

"Give me back my parasol or I'm going to slice your black heart out!"

True, things weren't as wild or crazy as when the false Evil Kings had been roaming about. No, instead they had the one true Evil King Stanley HiHat Trinidad the XIV causing havoc wherever he went. And not a single step behind him—and occasionally in front of him—was the Great Hero Rosalyn.

"You're a dead man, Stanley! Do you hear me?!"

Under normal circumstances, Ari would have gladly gone out to greet his dear companions. However with the King and the Hero riled up as badly as they were, he knew he'd be stuck in the middle. Again. Regardless he decided to intercept Rosalyn before she caught up with Stan and quite possibly murdered him, because the short tempered Heroine had an inclination get carried away.

"Gah! I'm going to smash you flatter than Ari's shadow!"

Now that was a little unnecessary. The red haired boy with his peculiar fashion sense smiled a little. He stepped out onto the porch of his home, with its worn stone stairs with overgrown weeds sprouting in the cracks. The sun filtered down through the thin white cloud cover, warming his shoulders and back. Ari walked down the steps quickly, pushing the gate open and rushing onto the main road that wove its way through the forest of Willkur.

"I'm sending you personally to he—"Rosalyn, whom had just rounded the corner, skidded to a stop when she spotted Ari. Her golden eyes widened in surprise for a moment before she clenched the handle of her rapier so tightly he swore that it would snap. "Did you see that half-baked Evil King, Ari?" She looked almost exactly as he remembered, white coat, black fingerless gloves, one eye obscured by her blonde tresses. The sole difference was her hair, which instead of ending at the base her neck, now extended to a little past her shoulders.

"No," he answered truthfully. The green eyed boy glanced around quickly and spotted the dark form of a shadow sliding into the shade of an oak. Following his gaze, the Heroine grinned triumphantly. She pounced, her sword in her hand in an instant, stabbing the shadow so viciously that the rapier-tip buried itself halfway into the soil.

It didn't hurt, true, but it had the desired effect of forcing King Stan upright. He did so. Rather flamboyantly. A cloud of darkness sprang out of the soil, forming into the evil being in a heartbeat. The twin horned shadow, complete with a jagged line for a mouth and yellow eyes, immediately launched into an indignant rant.

"Who do you think you are, you two-bit Hero? Who gave you permission to stab moi, Evil King Stan?!"

"I don't need permission! Now give me my freakin' parasol!" Rosalyn snarled, one hand briefly adjusting the belt she wore for a headband, mostly hidden by her hair.

The shadow jerked his claws in irritation. "I don't have your parasol!"

"I'm not an idiot! You just made off with the thing a few minutes ago! Now hand it over!" She pointed her rapier at his throat, though Stan was impervious in his current form. "Or better yet, fix my shadow, like you promised you would!"

Ari looked down. Oh yeah. Her shadow. The pink shadow was what had made Rosalyn into a "comic relief Hero", though he thought she had done that herself. No one would bother her about the shadow if she didn't overreact about it quite so much.

Stan crossed his arms. "Promise? What promise? Did I make a promise, Slave?"

Ari felt Rosalyn's eyes on him, and Stan's too, and the boy put his hands up as if to ward them both off. "Uh…well…you kinda did, I think, Stan. Even if you didn't, you should fix it anyway since she helped you get rid of Beiloune."

"Thank you, Ari!" Rosalyn gave him a grateful smile before transforming her features into a glare. "Now. Fix it. Or is it beyond you, 'Your Majesty'?"

"Of course not," Stan scoffed, glowering crossly at Ari without looking at the furious Great Hero. He sank into the ground and then rematerialized as his normal self. The Evil King looked human, true, except for his glowing tawny eyes and pointed ears. He also had a mouth full of fangs and incisors, and a strong jaw line that seemed to lock his face in a permanent smirk. He also had spiky yellow hair that poked every direction of the compass, though primarily upwards. His clothes, which had always amused Ari, were something incredibly simple for such a vain person. A bluish black suit with an open white shirt, the buttons ignored.

"I don't feel like fixing your shadow. Maybe if you beg." Stan removed her parasol from seemingly thin air and handed it back to Rosalyn with a flourish as she sputtered with rage. Snatching the precious pink item back, the Hero popped it open and her shadow promptly turned black.

"I will beg you when hell freezes over," Rosalyn seethed.

Stan's eyes flashed. "Then you're not going to be 'normal' again, are you?"

Ari decided to mediate before it got any worse. "Say guys," he said casually. "What brings you here?"

Rosalyn took a deep breath and shut her eyes, the arm holding her parasol trembling with rage, her teeth grinding together. Her patience had long ago withered to almost nothing. "Nothing. Just wanted to check up on you. Haven't seen you in almost a month. How are you, Ari?" She said at last, her anger almost completely buried under her pretense of politeness.

The boy shrugged. "Fine. Same old, same old."

"What about Marlene?"

Ari blinked. Marlene was a very special person, not because she was a former princess back when Beiloune ruled, not because she was the old tyrant's daughter, not because she had once been insufferably haughty, but because he had met her for real only after Beiloune had been defeated.

This was due to the fact that something had happened. Some error, some mistake, which had caused Princess Marlene to vanish from Beiloune's world. She was safe wherever she went, because he had Classified her as such, but some blunder had removed her from her father's radar. And apparently he never found her again. Heartbroken, Beiloune had created a lifelike doll with his daughter's qualities and played make believe with it.

In truth, Marlene was cursed to be ignored by everyone in the land, except by those that were also at her level. She lived in the clean and beautiful but eerie city of Triste for years that only she knew, her spirit shattered and bitterly alone. When Classification was destroyed by Ari and his friends, the girl and those like her were suddenly visible again. They fled Triste, eager to assume new lives. Marlene had been able to see through the eyes of the doll that Ari and everyone else had mistaken for her, and desperate to actually meet them, she had traveled from the barren Pospos Snowfields all the way to sunny Tenel.

The real Marlene, he found, was barely like the original. At one point she might have been arrogant and snooty, but her accidental exile had done her some good. She was shyer, gentler, and nicer in general, though she had occasional moments of biting sarcasm and displayed traits of a princess that one would expect. But normally, no, she didn't. It was like meeting a new person.

"Marlene's great," Ari snapped himself out of his reverie to answer Rosalyn's question. "She's inside now. Do you all want to come in?"

Stan huffed, crossing his arms again. "I might as well."

"I think he was talking to me, Stanley." Rosalyn snorted.

"Tch whatever…woman." Wearing an expression of victory, the King strode towards the old manor on the hillside, the unnamed residence of Ari and his family.

Rosalyn sighed and wordlessly followed the boy as he ascended the stone steps. They were surprised to see Marlene waiting for them, sitting on the porch, ruby eyes narrowed in thought.

The doll princess had once had vibrant orange hair and even brighter clothes. The real princess had pale skin from her exile from life, and she had spent her time indoors. Her hair was insipid also, and she wore a simple brown dress. Ari suspected that she no longer cared what people thought of her fashion sense. Even after a year and a half, she had yet to regain her full composure.

She stood in one fluid motion, offering Ari an envelope as he approached. "This came for you," she informed him, her voice still unnaturally soft.

"Thanks." Ari flipped the letter over and removed the paper from within, scanning the lines.

"Well? What is it, Slave?" Stan growled, looking over his shoulder.

"A message from Kisling. He's got something to show all of us and wants us to come to Madril, and to his lab. He's already located Epros, Linda, and Big Bull."

Rosalyn shrugged. "I guess we can go. When does he want us there?"

"As soon as possible."

"It can wait 'till tomorrow," Stan grumbled, already heading inside of the house. "Slave! Get over here and fix me something to eat."

"Stop being lazy," Marlene said in a weary tone. "It's not like you cook, Your Highness."

"I don't have to."

Before the pair could start again, Ari interjected quickly, "I was going to make something anyway."

"I don't envy you for living with Stan." This statement was accompanied by a roll of her eyes as Rosalyn held the door open for everyone.

I just hope Kisling's newest invention doesn't make things worse, Ari thought to himself.

Unfortunately the boy had a tendency to be proven wrong. Often. Fate liked a laugh every once in a while. Usually at his expense.

~***~

Well. I've been out of the Okage section a long time.

I was re-reading my other story, Dark Tempest, and it's a mess. I won't even lie. You may see a few elements from Dark Tempest in here later on. Consider this a much needed overhaul of it, but Temporal Paradox has a much different plot. And I'll try to keep them all in character this time, with the humor Okage is known for.

Since I'm still working on another story, it will be a while before I can get to this. But I wanted to put the prologue up to let you know, yes, I am still in this section.

Okay. On that note, want to review? Chapters will be longer than this Prologue.