I have been so bored over Thanksgiving break, it isn't funny. The Hilton in North Carolina has nothing to do at all. I mean, we had the Internet on the T.V., but no Flash Player, so that means no games, no You Tube, and no Happy Tree Friends. I was miserable!

I don't have a computer with internet at home, either, so it takes me forever to get these stories online. What do you think so far? Feel free to *ahem* leave a review. Just, you know, throwing it out there...no pressure...

So, my slightly wounded pride aside, here's the next installment of this tale about almost nothing! Weeeee!

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Gryffin awoke the next morning to harsh sunlight pouring in one of the windows. Her dreams had been feverish ones about dead raccoons with rotting flesh, each holding a beating heart in its hand. She had a sickly moment of surprise when she woke up and couldn't remember where she was, but then the events of the previous day came back to her in a flash, and she sighed. She stiffly got to her feet and adjusted her robe, then wandered into the kitchen. Splendid wasn't there.

"Splendid?" Gryffin called, looking around. "Where are you?"

"In here..." came the weak reply. Gryffin walked into his room and found him curled up in his bed, shivering.

"You okay?" she asked, and he groaned.

"I feel like my stomach's trying to punch its way out," he said, then groaned again.

"Why don't you go to sleep?" Gryffin asked, smiling kindly at him. "Get some rest and I'll make you tea later, okay?" Splendid grinned at her and sank back into the covers as the alarm rang. He made to get up, but she put her hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down.

"What are you doing, Gryffin?" he asked, looking up in bewilderment.

"You're not going anywhere, sick as you are. Besides..." she added darkly. "...I have a score to settle with Lifty." Splendid chuckled.

"Be nice, okay? Don't drag their torture out too long..." Suddenly he stopped and thought for a second. "...On second thought...rip their guts out, make them eat it, and say it was from me." Gryffin grinned and saluted.

"Your wish is my command, love." With that, she flew out the window. Splendid watched her go, laughing to himself.

"She isn't half bad, that alien."

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Gryffin flew out over town, searching for the source of the alarm. She soon came upon a small jewelry store and, to her surprise, saw not only Lifty but Shifty too, looking perfectly alive and well. This sight confused her to the point that she halted in midair and cocked her head to one side. Shifty looked up by chance and spotted her.

"Oh, SHIT!" he yelped, dropping the armful of necklaces he was holding. Lifty looked up too and halted, his jaw dropping.

"I think it's that crazy bitch again..." he said, sounding panicked. Gryffin smiled sweetly and swooped down on them, laughing.

"Did you miss me, my dears?" she asked mockingly. Shifty turned to run while Lifty opened the box containing the jewel. He aimed the jewel at her, waiting for her to get sick, but she just stood there, staring at him. A wicked grin lit her face, and the demon took over. The idiot had no idea that he had just given her a nice little boost of energy.

"DIE, ASSHOLES!" the demon screamed, slashing her hand through the air. Shifty couldn't help but freeze where he stood, watching the horrific sight that was unfolding in front of him. Lifty gagged, clawing at his mouth in agony as his skull slowly slid out, eyes still attached. His ribs and spine followed, along with his lungs, brain, and intestines before he collapsed on the ground, an empty skin. The demon threw back her head and laughed as Shifty recoiled in disgust, staring down at his inside-out brother.

The demon smiled sweetly again, her bright blue eyes flashing with insanity, her lips curled back over needle-sharp teeth. She slashed again, aiming her magic towards Shifty's eyes. He reeled backwards, screaming, before dropping to his hands and knees. He screamed louder as his eyes exploded, turning to ash and burning the skin around his eye sockets. The demon stalked over to him, putting her hands on her hips.

"Now, I'm going to ask you some questions..." she said, kneeling down next to him. He had crumpled up on the ground, shaking from the pain. A low moan escaped his lips and turned into rough sobs as he instinctively rubbed the area around his eyes, trying to make the pain go away. The demon kept talking. "...You're going to answer me truthfully, aren't you?" Shifty nodded. "Good." She straightened up. "I thought I destroyed you yesterday. How are you still here?!"

"We...we come back..." he managed to gasp. "...P-please make the pain stop..." The demon thought for a second, relaying this information back to Gryffin.

So Splendid was telling me the truth...she said thoughtfully. ...but then, it makes sense. I'm still here, aren't I? The demon laughed, bringing her hand down and swiftly snapping Shifty's neck. He convulsed for a minute, blood trickling from the corners of his mouth, then let out a gurgled, raspy breath and died. The demon kicked him aside as if he were trash.

"Didn't I tell you? You can't be killed here. We can destroy without consequence." She let out a soft moan of pleasure at the thought of being allowed to feed her bloodlust with an endless supply of victims.

We'll see, Gryffin said, as if she had some choice in the matter. Can you please just destroy that gem now? The demon laughed again.

"You do it. I'm saving my energy for later." Her eyes faded back to grey, and Gryffin smiled, looking down at the slaughtered Lifty and Shifty.

"Nicely done..." she said, walking over to the gem. She picked it up out of its box and looked at it for a moment, studying the facets on its surface. It felt just like a Chaos Emerald, but the shape was that of a glowing green acorn. After some thought, she quickly buried it in the dirt, regrowing the grass to make it look like nothing was there. "Who was stupid enough to bring an object like a Chaos Emerald to this planet?" she asked with a sigh in her voice.

This planet is full of idiots...the demon said. ...and don't look now, but I think there's someone watching you.

"Huh?" Gryffin whipped around to face Flippy and Mime. Flippy looked confused and slightly disgusted, but Mime's eyes were shining, and he looked simply delighted.

"We...we heard screams..." Flippy said, sounding slightly breathless as he stared down at Lifty and Shifty. Gryffin cocked her head to one side.

"Do you two follow me around or something?" she asked. Why is it always these guys? Mime grinned, nodding brightly, but Flippy shook his head.

"We were just around..." he said slowly, edging away from the mangled raccoons. Mime looked at him, then at Gryffin and shrugged. He tapped her arm, made a slashing movement, pointed to Lifty and Shifty, then pointed to Gryffin with his head cocked to one side.

"Huh?" she asked, not sure what he was doing. He gritted his teeth in frustration as Flippy mumbled something about meeting Flaky and walked away.

Mime grabbed her wrist, made her pat Shifty's carcass, then pointed to her again. This time, Gryffin understood.

"Yes, I killed him," she said. "Why?"

Mime put his hands close to her eyes, then pointed at the sky. Blue. He waited for her to comprehend, then pointed to Shifty angain and shook his head, grinning.

"Okay, so I didn't really kill him," she said, mildly irritated. "Why does it matter?"

He pointed in the way Flippy had gone, patted her eyes again, then pointed to the grass. Gryffin stared blankly at him, and he smacked his hand to his forehead with a sigh of annoyance. Mime repeated the gestures three times before what he was saying dawned on her.

"Flippy has a demon?"

Mime cocked his head to the side again, then began to rapidly speak in sign language, which Gryffin didn't understand.

"I don't know what you're trying to say, love. Here..." She reached in the pocket of her robe and took out a pencil and notepad, which she then held out to Mime. "...Maybe this might be easier." Mime took them and began to scribble furiously.

What do you mean 'demon?' he wrote. Flippy has PTSD, and he normally is the one doing the brutal murder around here. What did Lifty and Shifty do to you, anyways?

"Do you see this patch of grass?" Gryffin asked, pointing. Mime nodded, looking confused. "It hides a gem known on Mobus as a Chaos Emerald. Lifty and Shifty hurt Splendid with it, and I refuse to take that sitting down." Mime glanced at the ground at Gryffin's feet, then shrugged.

Well, I guess they deserved what they got. I'm Mime, by the way. What's your name?

"I'm Gryffin," she said, holding her hand out to Mime. To her surprise, instead of shaking her hand, he grabbed it and pulled her into a hug. "Um...nice to meet you, too..." she said, taken slightly aback. Mime grinned, taking a balloon out of his pocket. He blew it up and deftly twisted it until it took the shape of a dog. Gryffin smiled and tapped the dog on the head, making it amble around in his hand. Mime jumped backwards, startled, and Gryffin began to laugh.

What? he asked. Most balloons don't jump around when I'm holding them. How did you do that, anyways?

"I have a Chaos Emerald fused into my body," Gryffin replied. "It lets me do spellwork and the like." Mime glanced again the where the Chaos Emerald was buried, scratching one of his sharp little antlers in thought. He looked at the balloon dog again, an odd gleam in his dark blue eyes.

That's very interesting. I think I hear Splendid calling you, you know.

"Huh?!" Gryffin whipped around, listening. "I don't hear anything, but I guess I should get back to him. He still isn't feeling well." Mime hugged her again, then shooed her off. As she flew away, he waved until she was out of sight, then turned his attention to the patch of grass where she had been standing. An idea began to form in his mind, and he slowly kneeled down and dug beneath the dirt.

His heart leapt into his throat when he caught a glimmer of green. Perfect.

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When Gryffin made it back to Splendid's house, she found him still in bed, staring at the ceiling in a bored sort of way.

"Splendid?" she called, and he jumped slightly.

"WHAT THE F-? Oh, it's you," he said, grinning sheepishly. "For the love of God, don't sneak up on me like that. How did it go?" Gryffin laughed and gave Splendid a blow-by-blow description of what had happened to the twin raccoons.

"...And then he just crumpled up with blood gushing out of his face! It was awesome!" Splendid grinned at her.

"Aren't you just the little ticking time-bomb? I always knew you could fight well." He sounded proud.

"How did you know?" Gryffin asked, and Splendid grinned wider.

"I was puking, not blind. By the way, that was very Flippy-esque of you, ripping his heart out with your teeth," His grin faded as he wondered how such a sweet little girl could have turned so violent.

"Oh, and I met Flippy and Mime again," Gryffin said, pulling him away from his musing. "Um...is there something wrong with Flippy's mind?" Splendid hesitated slightly.

"Kind of..." he said. "...Flippy has Post-Traumatic Stress, so things can get a little violent around him. Why, did he hurt you?"

"No, silly. Tell me...do his eyes change color or something?" Splendid could see what she was getting at.

"His eyes do change color, but they turn green, not blue. Why did your eyes do that, anyways?" he asked. "Are you trying to tell me you have PTSD?"

"No...I was just curious, that's all," Gryffin said. "And I don't know why my eyes do that. I was just angry, I guess." She felt bad lying to Splendid, but she didn't want to risk him freaking out about a demon in her mind. "So..." she asked, trying to drive the guilt away. "...Does Mime ever talk?"

"Nope. The boy hasn't said a thing since he's been here," Splendid replied. "I personally think he's not quite right in the head. Didn't you say you met him?" Gryffin nodded.

"He's very sweet," she said smiling. "And he has such pretty eyes...they're almost purple..." Splendid couldn't help but smile; her face had changed from serious to dreamy in under a second, and all because of Mime.

"I see," he said, trying his best to keep a straight face. "He really likes you, you know."

"Really?!" Gryffin squealed, clasping her hands together under her chin. "Do you really think so?" That did it for Splendid. He buried his face in his blanket, snorting with laughter. Gryffin sat there staring at him, feeling slightly confused.

"What's so funny?" she asked slowly, a hurt look creeping onto her face. Splendid managed to get a grip on himself and resurfaced, his eyes streaming with mirth.

"Nothing..." he said, wiping his eyes. "...I had a...erm...coughing fit, that's all. Why don't you go find Mime again? I'll be fine right here." Gryffin nodded and walked away, drooping slightly.

"You didn't have to laugh at me like that..." she muttered, feeling slightly angry, slightly ashamed. And I thought Splendid was my friend.

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Aww, Splendid...you big meanie...

I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it, really. I'm more worried as to what Mime is doing with that Chaos Emerald, known on the HTF world as a *ahem* Kryptonut. I just hope he doesn't do anything stupid...

I have decided to move this to the M-rated group, where it belongs. Now I don't have to be that tame anymore. Look foreword to some stuff that isn't 'fo da kids' in later chapters. And, by the way, this is going to be a long story, as I have said before.

Next chapter is almost done already. Just a heads-up, the demon gets a name, and things might get a little hot between two homicidal maniacs. (hint, hint, clue-by-four)

Cheers!