Silver's Fangs: Yeah, that... I'm going to move on.

I am a burglar: Just try and catch a spirit. It's harder than you think.

Gloyd Orangeboar: Then they'd tear you apart.

Scarlet Rabbit: No kidding.


"It's funny," Maria whispered to Joshua as they were tied to a wooden stake. "When I imagined dying... I thought it'd be by human hands."

Joshua sighed, hanging his head. "Where's Darnell when you need her?" He lamented, and briefly tried to think of peaceful thoughts to dull what he assumed to be his painful final moments.

Aristodemos called off the Bogeyman tying them, and then approached them. Roughly grabbing Joshua's hair, she jerked his head up so he was staring at her, and then extended her claws. She pointed her index claw and aimed it at Joshua's throat.

"This is for conversing with my daughter," She hissed in a low whisper, and prepared to slit Joshua's throat. Joshua shut his eyes, and prepared to endure his death.

For a moment, time slowed down for Joshua. As he became lost in his thoughts, he wondered what death felt like. Was death agonizing in a person's last few moments, or was it a moment of peace for them. Joshua then thought of being taken up to heaven, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

"No!"

Joshua's eyes snapped open, and he jerked his head to stare at who had spoken. He recognized it as Darnell's voice, and he felt a glimmer of hope that she had come to rescue them. Aristodemos, likewise, took a step away from Joshua and Maria, and lowered her claws.

Darnell swooped towards the fields at a speed that Joshua had never seen before, which was remarkable considering how fast the Bogeymen were anyways. Darnell landed in between her mother and the tied up children, shielding them from the crowd of Bogeymen. She outstretched her arms and extended her wings to appear bigger then she truly was. The crowd instinctively backed away.

"Darnell, what are you doing here?" A Bogeyman in the crowd asked, startled. The crowd began to murmur for answers.

"I'm here to stop this!" Darnell stated firmly. "All of this is wrong!"

"What's wrong?" A female Bogeyman asked.

"These kids don't deserve to die," Darnell claimed, turning toward them. "They're totally harmless."

"What?" The crowd asked in astonishment. Aristodemos, who had remained silent so far, glared at her daughter. Darnell ignored her mother's glare, and instead slashed the ropes binding Joshua and Maria, freeing them.

"Darnell, I want you to leave," Aristodemos demanded. "Go, now!"

"No!" Darnell stated defiantly as she helped Joshua and Maria off the stake. "You're a liar."

Aristodemos' eyes widened in disbelief, then narrowed them again. Turning to the crowd, she shouted, "Look what these humans have done to this child. She's turned delusional!"

"That's a lie!" Maria stated, walking off the stake. "We freed your friends and family. Isn't that proof we mean no harm?"

The crowd began to murmur in disagreement with the three children. Aristodemos coldly gripped her daughter's face, stared her in the eyes, and whispered, "Leave now. I'll deal with you later."

"No!" Darnell shouted, slapping her mother's hand away. Turning to Joshua and Maria, she shouted, "Quick, get on!"

"Wait, what?" Maria asked. Darnell didn't wait to explain, and grabbed both of them and hoisted them into the air. Then, she extended her wings and took flight into the air, holding the two kids tight.

"Hey, get down here, now!" Aristodemos demanded, and took flight after them. The crowd watched from below, bewildered at the sight of what was going on in front of them.

Maria held tightly onto Darnell's waist, screaming hoarsely as she found herself over 100 feet in the air. Joshua, who was slightly more accustomed to heights, simply shut his eyes and wrapped his arms around her shoulders to keep from falling.

Darnell soared straight into the air, trying to fly into the clouds so as to disappear from view. She briefly looked down, and saw that her mother was catching up to her fast. She briefly screamed, and picked up flight. She vanished into the clouds, her mother flying close by.

For a brief moment, Darnell could hardly see where she was going. The clouds were turning gray, signifying that it would start raining soon. She hoped that the rain would deter the crowd from her, and she could hide with the kids.

Darnell heard hissing from behind her, and realized that her mother had caught up with her. Joshua turned around, and saw Aristodemos lung at them. Instinctively, he kicked Aristodemos in the face as hard as he could, knocking her back. She quickly regained her senses, and continued her pursuit.

Suddenly, a flash of green glimmered in the sky, and Darnell saw the figure of the Ghost form in the clouds. Before she could stop, the Ghost soared towards her, making a grab for Joshua. She jerked away at the last second, but this distraction allowed Aristodemos to snatch Joshua out of Darnell's grasp and fly off with him. Darnell immediately gave chase while Maria continued screaming her head off.

Below, Saul and the mob showed up at the fields, and they immediately saw the crowd of Bogeymen. The Bogeymen turned to stare at the crowd, and a rupture of screams and gasps erupted from both sides.

"I've never seen so many Bogeymen," One man noted. The crowds were distracted when they saw an explosion of green energy erupt in the clouds. Saul saw Joshua in the arms of Aristodemos.

"Good Lord," He whispered in disbelief. Judas aimed his crossbow to shoot, but Absalom stopped him.

"Don't, you fool!" He hissed. "You'll shoot the boy!"

Aristodemos, meanwhile, had noticed the human crowd and slowed down to observe the sight. Darnell took the opportunity to snatch Joshua out of her grasp and start flying to the ground.

"Phew, that was close!" Joshua said. No sooner had the words left his mouth that Darnell was struck with a blast of energy omitted from the Ghost. The blast caused her to release both children, and the three went soaring to the ground, Darnell unconscious.

The Ghost soared to catch Joshua as he fell, and grabbed him in his arms. He noticed Maria falling, and flew to try and catch her as well. Darnell regained consciousness, however, and immediately grabbed both children out of the air. Not knowing where else to go, she soared to the first thing that entered her vision.

An abnormally large tree, over a thousand feet tall, looming over the rest of the forest.


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