A-Plus Cassiopeia: He was just introduced now.
Al Drin Hoshizora: Darnell isn't going to leave. She has unfinished business.
I am a burglar: You do that.
Darnell held the boy in her arms while simply holding her other hand on the girl's head, silently warning her not to move. Darnell placed her foot on the crossbow and stared ahead at Saul, her eyes locked with his.
"Let my children go," Saul demanded firmly. He was staring at Darnell, his gaze striking fear into her eyes. Even though she had the upper hand in the situation, Darnell still couldn't help but fear for her life.
"No, I won't," Darnell stated defiantly. "Not until you listen to what I have to say."
"You can't-" Saul started.
"You WILL listen," Darnell stated firmly, her claws pinching into the girl's scalp. She was sure this would keep Saul where he was.
Saul looked as furious as possible, but he didn't move. After a few moments, he said, "Fine, I'll humor you. What is it you have to say, bogeyman?"
Darnell was silently relieved that Saul was bothering to listen to her. She breathed silently, trying to think of the most important thing to say. "I want you to stop hunting us down as if we're animals," She said to get straight to the point.
"What?!" Was Saul's immediate response. "I cannot do that!"
"Why not?" Darnell asked, her face contorting into confusion. "You've locked away so many of us for years."
Saul took a step forward, and Darnell instinctively stepped back, increasing her hold on the two children.
"Why should I stop hunting you when all you do is terrorize this village?" Saul asked, his eyes filled with hatred. "Do you know how many children are lost every year because of you?"
For a moment, Darnell remained silent. She hadn't quite expected that retort. "Yes, well, we only do it to scare you so you don't try and hurt us," She pointed out.
"You murder children to try and tell us not to threaten you?!" Saul shouted, getting visibly angrier. "I guess that girl from three years ago deserved to die, then! Her family was mourning for months!"
Darnell was about to respond, but Saul then continued, saying, "You're even threatening children right now!"
Darnell was beginning to feel like her argument was falling apart. "It's not like that!" She shouted at him. She was amazed that nobody had heard them yet.
"Then tell me what it is?!" Saul retorted. At that point, Darnell let go of the two children. They were quick to race towards their father. Darnell then proceeded to pick up the crossbow, trying to figure out how it worked.
Saul stared at Darnell, not moving now that she had his weapon.
"Do you want to know how it started?" Darnell asked. "How all these problems began?"
"I know very much how it started," Saul said indignantly. "But I'll hear your story, for whatever good that does."
This should make him change his mind, Darnell thought to herself. She was going to pull her trump card.
"When my mother was a little girl, she was captured by you humans," Darnell explained. "For a long time, they tortured her, until she managed to escape. Explain to me, why did you humans do that."
Then, at that moment, Saul's eyes widened in shock. He looked deep in thought, then, he looked towards Darnell again.
"What was her name?" He asked, his eyes filled with suspicion.
"Aristodemos," Darnell answered, wondering why he was so surprised. The moment the words left her mouth, Saul's eyes darkened, and Darnell wondered if he knew her mother personally.
Before Darnell could grasp what was happening, Saul was right in front of her. He grabbed Darnell's wrist and started pulling her towards the house. The crossbow clattered onto the ground.
"What are you doing?" Darnell asked as she was led into the house, the two children following her and Saul. The four walked up the stairs, down the hallway, and right into Saul's room.
Once they were within the room, Saul roughly turned Darnell so that she faced the portrait of Saul's brother.
"Look at that boy!" Saul growled at her harshly. "Do you know him!"
Darnell stared hard at the picture. She felt she recognized him from somewhere, but she couldn't put her claw on it.
"That was my brother, killed by your mother!" Saul bellowed at her. "Your mother lied to you, girl! When we moved here, she caught us, and forced us to visit her every day. When we skipped out on her, she killed him! Don't you see, your mother lied to you!"
Then, Darnell realized it. The boy in the picture had the same facial features as...
"The ghost..." Darnell whispered as realization sunk in. "No, that can't be right..."
Darnell stared, wide-eyed, at Saul, feeling as if her life had been one giant lie. She extended her wings, and soared out through the window and towards the forest.
She had to find answers.
As it turned out, breaking into the crematorium where all the entrapped Bogeymen were held was easier than Joshua and Maria would've thought. Judas and Absalom had been very tired after their fight with Darnell, so they were easy to dispatch, even for two children.
The real problems came when, ironically, the kids used the keys they'd stolen from Absalom to free the three Bogeymen children. The second they were freed, Devony had grabbed Joshua and pinned him against the wall.
"What are you doing here?!" She asked, her hands wrapped around his throat. "Answer me!"
"Darnell sent us here!" Joshua explained quickly. "We came here to rescue you!"
Devony quickly released Joshua. "Your the boy she befriended, huh," She said to herself. "I never expected this from her."
"Never mind that," Maria said as she shoved Judas and Absalom into one of the cages and locked them in. "We have to get all of them out of here and return them to the forest."
After realizing the oddity of that statement, Maria whispered, "What have I gotten myself into?"
Joshua was quick to unlock all the cages, releasing the Bogeymen. They stared at Joshua and Maria in bewilderment, then proceeded to fly out through the door and into freedom.
"Come on, let's go!" Joshua said, and he grabbed Maria's arm and dragged her out towards the forest to follow them.
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