My eyes flickered open, and I found myself panting as though just emerging from deep waters. Instead of waking back up on the beach where we had camped until the morning or in Maxwell's domain, I was in a pitch black room. No scent, nor sound, nor sight gave me any hint as to what was inside of it, but when I looked down to examine my paws I noticed I could see them as easily as if the area was lit around me. "Hello?" I tried into the sucking blackness, no sounds coming back to me, not even an echo, as though the shadows had stolen my attempt at words. I turned in a slow circle, trying to find something. The lack of depth perception was making me dizzy and giving me a headache.

"Wilbur!" Someone exclaimed, and I jumped around to face whoever spoke.

"Charlie?"

The woman I had previously met along with Nightmare had taken me here, and she looked absolutely terrified. "I'm so glad I could catch you before he did."

"He?"

"No time for questions. You have to listen to Maxwell... do what he says. Trust me, it's for your best interest." She was shaking. "He will hurt Roslyn. She is a weakness now, Wilbur. You can't deny anything or his demands will get worse while putting her life on the line." She shook her head. "He knows you don't care about yourself, that's why he hasn't threatened you yet."

"I-I understand but I don't really... understand?"

"I don't have time to explain and you don't have time to be confused. Just listen to me and it'll become apparent in the future."

Naturally, I was distrustful. "What about Nightmare? Why are you warning me about Maxwell with its immense loyalty for him?"

"I sent Nightmare to check on the fifth." Her voice caught in her throat for a moment.

"Oh... he... with Roslyn in the group... is she the fifth?"

"No. But it seems she's made herself the fifth without her own knowledge. Just... I have to go. Remember, don't stray away from him. He will shatter you if you do, and don't tell him about this meeting!" With this last ominous warning, I was thrown forcibly out of the plane of existence and deposited rather ungraciously inside Maxwell's chamber, which was something unusual since he usually summoned me at the edge of the corridor. That wasn't the only thing I noticed, though. He had a way of, every time he talked, he would show emotion for only a short time before resuming a bored and defeated pose.

Not today, though.

He was tugging at his restraints in barely concealed rage as my newly returned depth perception attempted to fix itself. "You bumbling, foolish, IDIOT!" He roared. "Do you have ANY idea what you have just done?"

"Um... overshowed Warly? Cared for once in my life? Um... yay me?"

I yelped as a black orb burst on the ground just inches from my paws. "You cannot grow close to her," he snarled. "She clouds your judgment. She's using you, monkey."

"Using me?" I repeated uneasily. "Um... I'm sorry, but the last time I checked, you're the one using me...? Also, um, I'm not sure if you knew this, but I'm not a monkey...? My species is technically prime ape so if you could refrain from calling me that that'd be perfect."

"Don't get smart with me," he growled. "You will continue in your journey. Shadow magic is such a powerful and... dangerous thing." The look on his face was nothing short of manic. "It'd be such a shame if I lost control of it and... 'accidentally' killed Roslyn," he punctuated his words with a wave of his hand, black flames flickering around it.

"I wasn't... planning on not continuing?"

"Is that so?" His dark gaze burned into me. "Nightmare can read your every thought. It knows exactly what you are so-called 'not planning'."

I didn't reply, wondering whether to be scared, annoyed, or rebellious.

"If you don't believe me," he huffed. "You could choose to do your own thing and suffer the consequences of your actions."

I chose rebellious. "I don't believe you. What are you going to do to me? Yell at me? Oh, I'm so terrified of the almighty powerful king."

A sinister, thoughtful look came over his face. "No..." he muttered, almost to himself. "Look here, monkey. For now, I won't do anything. But when you slip up, you'll be glad to know it'll be her throat I'm slicing."

"I don't believe you again. You see, you aren't going to be doing any throat-slitting, my friend. You don't like getting your hands dirty. If anything, you'll send Charlie after me. But I'm not afraid." I lifted my chin. "How could I be afraid of a shadow? A lack of light? So terrified."

He pulled at his restraints furiously. "Don't you EVER speak of Charlie that way! She is more dangerous than you could EVER know!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. You'll send Nightmare after me."

He sat back, snarling. "You aren't worth my breath. Go now. Leave me, before I show you how 'pathetic' my shadows can be."

Before I even realized what was going on, I was being shaken awake. I gasped as though breaking into the air from deep waters and Roslyn jumped back, her eyes wide. "Are you alright?" She breathed shakily. "You were... thrashing and... then you went silent... and... I didn't think you were breathing."

"Oh... I'm so sorry to have scared you," I tried lamely.

I quickly looked around to see the others were still asleep.

"You scared me half to death!" She pressed against me. "I thought you were dead."

"No no never," I promised, thinking hard over what Maxwell had said. The longer I thought about it, the more and more I realized that he was threatening to kill her, which replaced my earlier rebelliousness with pure rage. How dare he even suggest getting rid of this one happy thing in my life!?

"You'd better not," she replied fiercely. "I'd kill you myself."

"You two! I'm trying to sleep!" Walani shouted, to which Warly responded by throwing a rock at me.

"Oops," Roslyn snickered. "They weren't as asleep as I thought apparently. What did she yell?"

"That she was trying to sleep."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, whatever." She smiled at me. "I guess I'd better go back to sleep too. I'm just glad you're alright."

"I'm fine, but I need to go think for a while."

"Oh... do you want me to go with you?" She asked with a twinkle in her eyes.

"No... sorry, I think I need to be alone for a bit."

Her shoulders slumped a bit but the twinkle didn't go away. "Oh, okay! Be back before sunrise, though."

"I will," I chuckled. "I just had a dream that I really need to think about."

"Well, I'm here if you wanna talk about it." She flicked my nose with her tail before curling up to fall back asleep.

I blinked at her for a moment before slowing starting in the other direction, back towards the jungle. However much I hated it there, I felt like I needed to be surrounded by something. The beach was far too open for my liking at the moment. Once I found a bramble thicket and a tree in my way between them I sat heavily. "I'm sorry," I grumbled to myself. "I would tell you if I could." I rolled onto my back to see the stars. "Was he telling the truth? Is it you he's going to be after?" I asked myself. "Is it really that obvious how important you are to me? I mean... I've lived so long without you, but now that I know you... I don't want to know what would happen if he hurt you." Some part of me already knew what would happen. I would claw that smug grin off of that demon's face or die trying. I would never stop until I watched his reign crumble to dust. No one threatened ME, or MY ROSLYN, without facing TERRIBLE CONSEQUENCES. I rolled back onto my side and flexed my claws into the ground.

I didn't know how.

I didn't know when.

All I knew was that someone was going to pay.

This was not over.