"So, what's it like having a dog that talks now?" Stan asked the next day as they left school.
"Entertaining, for one," Brooke replied. "Except, this morning he woke me up early shouting, 'I have to pee!' until I got up to let him outside. Not that it's really much different from when he does the same thing but barks until I get up. I'm not sure which one I find more obnoxious."
"Right, that's cool," Darren said. "But can we talk about the fact that Cartman wasn't at school today? And how yesterday, Trent left to go get his revenge?"
"He came back for the fajitas," Brooke stated rather nonchalantly.
"Did he explain anything? Like, did he say what he did to him?"
Lucy looked very disapproving of Darren's eagerness over the subject.
"Oh, yeah," Brooke said. "Er, something about siracha sauce and a bicycle."
"What?"
"Now all two-hundred and eight bones in Cartman's body are broken…yet somehow he's still alive…" she looked displeased. "Anyways, he'll be in the hospital for a while."
"Wait," Kyle said. "The human body only has two-hundred and SIX bones."
"Yes, well," Lucy smoothed her velvety coat. "Apparently, there were two extra bones shoved inside of him for the sole purpose of breaking them. Eh, the details are…disturbing."
"Dude, sick," Stan said.
"That could've been us!" Kyle said to Stan and Kenny.
"Maybe you should apologize," Lucy mentioned.
"What good is that going to do?! He'll still hate us and wish horrible things upon us!"
"Nonsense."
"Yes sense!"
"You guys are cute," Brooke smiled as she unlocked the front door to her house.
They followed her inside; Stan, Kyle, and Kenny were surprised to see Trent sitting on the couch in the living room and watching the TV. He seemed to usually spend his time downstairs. He barely spared them a glance and said nothing to them, instead, he watched as Brooke threw her schoolbag away in the corner before throwing herself onto the couch with a long, loud "UGH," muffled between the cushions.
"Uh, is she okay?" Kenny asked Lucy.
"Oh, yes. She does this most days after school." Lucy walked away towards the kitchen.
Trent looked rather bemused by Brooke. He watched her for a bit, and when she didn't move, he said calmly, "There's a beetle on your back."
"Cute," came her muffled response from the cushions.
"Oh, no, wait… It's a roach."
"AGK!" The girl sprung up and jumped from the couch in a panic, preforming a sort of bizarre jig in an attempt to remove the unseen threat. She stopped after a moment and glanced around for any sign of a bug, then noticed Trent smirking as he forced his gaze back on the television. "Fuck YOU!" she shouted.
"BROOKE!" her not-mother's voice yelled from upstairs.
"Sorry!" she ran off into the kitchen suddenly. After a few seconds, she returned, sending the other boys warning glares as they smirked. "Shut up!"
"We – didn't say anything," Darren choked on a laugh.
"I hate all of you."
"Nah, you love us!"
She raised her middle finger at him before ducking back into the kitchen. They could hear Lucy scolding her for the vulgar gesture. Cautiously, they crossed the living room and passed Trent to follow after her. She was standing on a chair and trying to reach something at the very top of one of the wall cabinets, but it appeared to be just out of her reach. Lucy was eyeing her from over the book she was reading, obviously concerned that she would fall but resisting the urge to nag her as she knew it wouldn't make a difference.
"What are you trying to get?" Darren asked.
"The cinnamon," she grunted as she stretched then gave up and hopped down from the chair. "Who put it so high?!"
"You did," Lucy said, returning her gaze down to her book. "You were hiding it from Charles and Lamar, remember?"
"Oh, yeah. Those weirdos LOVE cinnamon. Anyways, I need it for a brew."
"Brew?" Kenny echoed. "Like a potion? You doing witchy stuff?"
"Yes," she said defensively. "So?"
He blinked at her. "…Why does it need cinnamon?"
"Makes it taste better. Anyways –"
"Here we go…" Lucy muttered.
"Trennnt! Come heeeere!"
With a small sigh, the boy got up from the couch and walked over to the kitchen. He stopped beside Brooke. "What?"
She pointed up at the cabinet. "I can't reach the cinnamon."
"I told you not to put it up there," he looked only mildly annoyed. "I told you I was gonna have to get that shit down for you if you put it up there."
She made a bit of a pouty face as she looked away, not liking the idea of asking for help after he did, in fact, tell her not to do that. "…Can you please get the cinnamon for me?" she mumbled, very much aware of the other boys watching.
With another sigh, this one more exaggerated, he climbed up onto the chair, muttering to himself as he reached for the spice. They weren't entirely sure what had happened, he really wasn't either, but the top shelf of the cabinet suddenly collapsed with a loud noise as all of the other ingredients and spices fell and burst open on the countertop and floor.
He coughed a little from the spice-polluted air, waving his hand to clear it, then handed her the little undamaged container of cinnamon. "Here," he said with a cough.
She had been looking down at the mess curiously and smiled brightly when he handed her the cinnamon. "Thank you!" she sang and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before prancing away to her room.
He was unperturbed. "Uh-huh," he said, trying to dust garlic powder off his clothes. "Fuck's sake…" he muttered.
"The FUCK was that!?" Kenny yelled.
If his friends didn't know any better, they would have assumed he was talking about the collapsing of the shelf. But they knew better…
Lucy was staring in utter shock at the mess. She slapped her book down on the table and said very firmly, "I am NOT cleaning that!"
.
After watching Lucy clean up the mess, because Trent apparently wasn't doing a good enough job of it in her eyes, they all made their way up to Brooke's room out of curiosity of what she was doing. Even Trent and Lucy had decided to go see.
Brooke had set up a large cauldron in the center of her room, with an odd green-colored fire burning the bottom of it. She actually had to stand on a small stepstool to properly look down into the cauldron and was slowly stirring the bubbling blue contents with a large wooden paddle. She glanced up at them as they entered, her face momentarily hidden behind the rising steam that was snaking its way out the half-open window.
"Dude," Stan said to Kenny. "Your girlfriend's totally a witch."
For a short moment, Kenny was too distracted by the scene to respond, but he quickly retaliated with, "She's not my girlfriend!" Though, there wasn't as much 'enthusiasm' in his tone as there usually was. Instead, there seemed to be just the tiniest, slightest hint of unsurety or maybe even disappointment.
"She's not?" Trent asked genuinely.
"Not officially," Darren muttered out the corner of his mouth to Trent.
"What are you jerks muttering about over there?" Brooke snapped as she sprinkled a pink, gritty mineral into the brew, turning it a brilliant deep shade of purple.
"What are you making, exactly?" Kyle asked. Even Lucy looked quizzical about the contents of the cauldron, which he would have thought that she, of all people, would know.
"It's called Shadow Potion," Brooke told him. She removed the paddle from the liquid and tapped it on the edge of the cauldron before she hopped down from the stepstool. Then, she opened the cinnamon and tossed all of it, container included, up into the brew. The liquid belched potent fumes that smelled of cinnamon and smoked pinewood, bellowing an excessive amount of steam for another minute or so before the room cleared. She had put out the fire and went to close the window.
Lucy waved her hand in front of her face to clear away a bit of lingering steam. "What in the world are you making THAT for?"
"What do you mean?" she looked astonished. "You know I'm the only one who can make a decent batch of Shadow Potion. Aside from Zella, of course."
"Who's Zella?" Darren asked.
"A werewolf shaman. She taught Lucy and me everything we know about potions, medicine, and poisons."
"Poisons?" Kyle echoed.
"Yeah," Brooke said absently as she rummaged through her closet. She returned with a ladle and several little glass bottles lined up neatly in a tray.
They watched her climb back up the stepstool and use the ladle to, very carefully, pour the purple liquid into each bottle equally. She appeared very focused on the task, so they kept quiet until she had finished and was sealing each bottle with a cork.
"That sure is a lot of…whatever that stuff is," Kyle remarked. "What's it for?"
"Shadow Potion," Lucy answered, "is a werewolf specialty brew. For monsters, it allows the user to become one with shadows and blend into the darkness. Creatures that work as reapers, but are not actually reapers, use it if they do not retain the ability to disguise or hide themselves around mortals. It can also be used for spying, of course. In recent years, it has become incredibly useful for spying on and tracking Nightmares, who are naturally able to fuse with shadows and travel through the dark. However, a full dose only lasts for a full twelve hours before it wears off. And that's if it's made by a professional… Like Brooke or Zella."
"That sounds awesome!" Darren said.
"Yeah!" Kenny agreed. "What happens if a human drinks it?"
"Well, the effect would be very different," Lucy told them. "They would gain slightly similar abilities. Hm, no, more like, they would be able to control darkness…in a way. Oh, also, the effect would be permanent on a human. In other words," she narrowed her blue eyes at them. "You can't have any! Shadow Potion is ruled illegal to distribute to any creature that is not born of the Nether."
"I was born of the Nether," Kenny said rather bluntly.
She looked visibly dumbfounded, almost having forgotten about that detail. "Y-Yes, well… You're still a human."
"So?" he looked a little offended by that.
She winced. "Ah, well, what I mean is –"
Brooke interrupted them with a very sweet voice towards Kenny. "Don't be silly, Kenny. The first, and last, human that ever drank pure Shadow Potion melted from the inside-out."
He was suddenly completely uninterested in the purple liquid. "So, how do you guys think you did on that math test today?"
Brooke laughed and stowed the tray of filled bottles under her bed. There was a momentary flash of yellow from under the bed. "Bug will make sure that gets delivered safely."
"Who?" Kenny asked.
"The lobster under my bed. He's…not really a lobster. His name is Bug!"
"You're fucking weird," Trent told her.
"Thanks," she smiled and went back over to the cauldron. "I'll keep the rest of this to make sub-Shadow Potions." Before anyone could ask, she said, "Potions made from Shadow Potion, but they have different effects. Hey, maybe someday I'll let you guys play with some of the sub-Shadow Potions. It's only pure Shadow Potion that's dangerous and or permanent to humans."
"How long do those last?" Stan asked.
"Same amount of time for a monster. For a human…um, maybe like a month? Anyways, they're only dangerous if you overdose. Even for monsters."
"What kinds of effects can they have?" Darren asked curiously.
"Loads. Temporary telekinesis, pyrokinesis, other elemental powers, telepathy, flight, lasers…"
"Lasers?!"
"Pew-pew!" she made little finger guns at him. "Yeah. Lasers. Magic armor, magic weapons…pretty much anything you can think of, there's a way to get it from a sub-Shadow Potion. Temporarily, of course."
…
As Darren, Kyle, Stan, and Kenny all left Brooke's house later, they decided to go hang out at Stan's house. When they entered his room, the little dark blue Oracle Stone sitting on his desk suddenly flew up and over to circle excitedly around them.
"Oh, hey buddy," Stan greeted it and opened his hand for it to drop in to.
"Man," Darren said. "My little stone usually greets me by divebombing me on the head… It freaking hurts."
Kenny suddenly remembered something. "Oh! Hey, guys, watch this!" He held his hand out, staring at it with much concentration until a small, pointed white stone suddenly appeared floating just above his palm. "It shows up when I think really hard about it!"
"Aw sweet!" Darren said excitedly. "Let me try!" He held his hand out, staring very hard and straining a bit until he let out a little fart and the stone appeared. "Oh god," he gasped for breath. "That was harder than I thought it'd be."
The others had stepped away from him just a little. "I think you were trying too hard," Kyle said. He had gotten his smooth, swirled orange and green stone to appear at some point while Darren was trying to summon his own. The stones all flew around each other excitedly, making cheery little tingling sounds.
"Have you guys ever used yours?" Stan asked. They all exchanged looks and shook their heads. "Me neither… I don't know what to use it for."
"Brooke said they can show the past or the present," Kenny said. "Let's just ask them something to show us and see."
"Like what?"
"Uh…" he stared at his white stone as it lowered itself in front of him, waiting for a request. "Show us…um… Oh! Show us how Brooke got her dog, Sniper."
With a little flash of light, the boys were suddenly somewhere else. They looked around, startled. They appeared to be…in Hell?!
"What did you do?!" Kyle squeaked.
"I don't know!"
"Darren!" Stan shouted. "You're standing in fire!"
"Huh?" he looked down. Sure enough, there was a decent blaze burning around him, but he felt nothing and the flames appeared to phase through his body. He looked over at a large jagged rock and tried to touch it, but his hand passed through it in a similar fashion. "Hey guys, I think it's just an illusion."
The others visibly relaxed and examined the area. "Huh," Kenny waved his hand through a fire. "Are we like…IN the memory?"
"Look!" Kyle pointed, looking a bit frightened.
Satan himself was stomping towards them; gliding smoothly across the ground beside him was Brooke's father, the cloaked skeleton known as the Grim Reaper. They passed the children without even the slightest glance or acknowledgment.
"Yeah," Satan was saying. "We've got plenty of Hell Hound pups this year. They're perfect for guard dog work."
"They didn't see us," Stan muttered.
"Shh," Darren held a finger to his lips. "It's the memory Kenny asked for!"
"What kind are you looking for?" Satan had led the Reaper to a small pit in the rocky ground where several different flaming puppies were playing and snarling at each other. "Need it for anything specific?"
"Actually," Grim said. "I was looking to get one for my daughter."
"Ah, how is she doing since…?"
"Not well," he admitted. "I'm always so busy… I was thinking a puppy would help give her something to do and make her feel…a little better."
"Hm…" Satan reached into the pit and pulled up one of the puppies. "What about this one? It's the last Doberman style we have left. They're stubborn, but loyal and very smart. I think Angel could handle him."
Grim examined the snarling, flaming dog. It was a beast of fire and bones, but tiny and, in a way, cute. He reached out and took the puppy in his boney hands. It stopped snarling, the fire dispersing and leaving behind what appeared to be a regular Doberman Pinscher pup, and looked up at him with its tail wagging. "Hm," he looked over the puppy. "Yes. I think he'll do. How much?"
He laughed. "I'm not going to charge YOU! Besides, after what you and your daughter have been through… Just take the little rascal. He keeps eating my socks, anyway."
"Thank you."
The boys winced a little as they were suddenly somewhere completely different. Actually, they recognized it. It was Brooke's circular bedroom back at the castle. The layout was even the same as they remembered. There was a younger, smaller Brooke laying behind the bed's veil; she looked about five or six.
The Grim Reaper suddenly entered through the large decorative doors, flicking the light on and gliding silently over to the bed. He gently pushed aside the veil. Brooke was facing the other way.
"Is this all you plan on doing today?" her father asked. She didn't respond. "Well," he said. "You can't exactly take care of your dog if you won't leave your bed."
She turned her head to give him an odd look. "I don't have a dog."
"You do now." He abruptly dropped the puppy onto the bed beside her.
Brooke was caught off guard, so she didn't have time to protect herself before the puppy assaulted her with excited licks across her face. "Ah! What?" She couldn't help but smile and laugh a little as she tried to push the puppy off. "Heh, stop!"
"See that?" her dad said. "He likes you already. Take care of him and he'll take care of you, too."
She sat up and stroked puppy Sniper along his back. "Thanks Dad."
"I thought you would like him. I thought it would be a good idea to help you feel better and keep you focused on something positive. Dogs are good for that, I think." He reached a hand out to brush aside her bangs. "I know I rarely get time off to spend with you…but don't forget that I care very much. I love you, and you're not alone."
She smiled up at him. "I love you, too."
The scene faded, and the boys found themselves back in Stan's room. "Her dad got her Sniper as a present," Stan said.
"Yeah," Kyle said. "It sounded like he got her the dog for her depression or something. You guys heard what Satan said? He must've been talking about Desmond."
"Not sure how I feel about the fact that Brooke's dad and Satan are good friends," Darren muttered to himself.
"Hey," Stan had an idea. "What if we use the stones to show us what Desmond was like? Oh! We could have them show us their mom! The monsters talk about her like she was the most amazing person ever."
"Well," Kyle said. "I'm sure to them she was. Didn't she, like, create the Nether AND the monsters?"
"Stones!" Darren said firmly. The stones froze in the air as if coming to attention. "Show us how awesome Brooke's mom was!"
There was a flash; they were standing on top of a huge stone pillar somewhere in the Nether. Two absolutely massive monsters were before them, standing opposite each other as if they were soon to fight. One they recognized as the elder god Cthulhu, the other they recognized from the big statue on the fountain they had seen on their way to Brooke's castle.
Instead of solid white, however, the Wechuge's smooth feathers were brilliant hues of gold, orange, and red. She looked like a sunset. She was so much larger than Brooke's monster form. In fact, Sol was just as huge as Cthulhu. Her wings were tipped with crimson, matching the long feathers at the end of her tail, and her bronze-colored antlers were mightily impressive. She glared with golden eyes at Cthulhu.
"Brother!" she boomed. Her voice was simultaneously melodic and imposing. Beautiful but filled with powerful authority that made the boys stand up straight. "I had made you lord of this district, but I see the reports are true of you abusing your position. You have also been meddling in human affairs. Not only have you broken my laws, but you now dare to challenge me?!"
From what they remembered, Cthulhu spoke in strange gurgling sounds, but somehow, they could understand. Perhaps it was due to something the Oracle Stones were doing?
"You are too soft-hearted!" he roared. "We should be using the mortals to our advantage! We should be taking their souls for power and conquering other worlds!"
"Fool!" she roared back. "This world has a purpose! It exists for balance! They all do! Disrupting the balance will send everything into chaos!"
"Chaos is the first step to creation!"
"Chaos is the first step to ruin! Creation can only come from what is there, not from what no longer exists!"
"Nonsense! Your close-minded way of thinking, and the way you let the monsters do as they please, it will all come to an end today! They should be doing our bidding and NOTHING else! I will make the other worlds fear the Nether!"
"I created this world," Sol said dangerously. "I simply allowed you to live in it!"
He laughed, the sound rumbling across the land and shaking the pillar the boys were standing on. "Yes, but it's been many a millennium and I think it's time for a change. You treat mortal souls with the same tender care that you give your monsters, filing them into their final destinations and failing to see the magnificent source of power they are! We are the FIRST to touch the souls after their deaths, why should we send them away to other realms? We should be using them to our advantage! I will show you…"
He held up a claw; at the very tip was a tiny little white ball of flame. So tiny, that the boys could just barely make it out from where they were.
Sol narrowed her golden eyes at him, a deep growl rumbling in her throat.
"Observe," Cthulhu said. "My foolish human followers have given me a sacrifice. A newborn baby that I have cursed with rebirth. When he dies, he will be reborn just to die again another time. Over and over, for all eternity. A never-ending cycle of wealth and power for me!"
Kenny tensed.
"I am well aware of your illegal curse," Sol growled lowly. "But cursed or not, that soul belongs to ME."
He appeared to be grinning under the mass of tentacles that surrounded his mouth. "Now, Sol, observe the power one can gain from just a single, tiny, human baby's soul!"
The tentacles spread apart to reveal a nasty-looking mouth full of needle-like teeth. He raised his hand to his mouth, swallowing the tiny white light. There was a wave of white that passed across his body and he convulsed oddly as his muscles appeared to bulk up. He threw his head back and released a loud roar before suddenly flying at Sol with incredible speed.
The boys almost didn't know what had happened. Cthulhu was over there, and now, all of a sudden, he was grabbing Sol's antlers in his claws. The Wechuge struggled against him for a bit before he managed to lift her and violently toss her aside, sending her crashing loudly into several other stone pillars. Again, all of a sudden, he was upon her. He grabbed her with one hand by the throat, readying the claws on his other hand.
Sol's pupil became a thin slit as she peered down at him with fury. There was an odd sound building up and a yellow-orange light forming in her exposed ribcage. Before Cthulhu could strike her, she twisted in his grasp, turned her gaping maw down at him, and released a huge blast of pure energy that burned him and forced him to release her. The boys covered their ears at the sound the blast made.
Before he could recover, Sol slashed her long black claws across his chest, plunging them halfway into his flesh and pulling the tiny white light free of his body. She opened her jaws and swallowed the soul, slamming her mouth shut with a snap. Her feathers stood on end as the light passed through her, making her look twice her already impressive size. The tiny soul mingled in her ribcage with her own purple, blazing inferno of a soul, giving the inferno a burst of white around it.
Sol screeched furiously at her sibling, a blast of fire shooting out from her body in all directions so powerfully that the boys could've sworn they felt the heat even in the memory. Now, it was Sol that was suddenly upon him. She rammed her antlers into him, lifted him from the ground, then flung him away so hard that he left a massive crater when he hit the ground again. Before he could move, she let out another roar and magical chains of some odd sort burst from the earth and impaled pointed ends into her sibling's back, calves, and shoulders, preventing him from standing.
"I should destroy your soul," she boomed, the power from the baby's soul making her voice echo. "But I will make you suffer by showing mercy. You will no longer be a lord in my realm, but you shall remain trapped here, in the very spot you dared to defy me in! May you gain as much love and praise from your mortal followers as you think yourself worthy, for you will NEVER have authority in my realm again!"
And, with that and a single flap of her broad wings, she lifted into the air and soared away, leaving her furious, screeching sibling behind.
The boys were in so much shock and awe that it took them a moment to realize that they were suddenly standing somewhere inside the castle. There was a door before them, from which a very pretty, slender woman with long silvery hair stepped out. "Right on time," she said serenely as she closed the door behind her.
Another woman of equal beauty was approaching her. This one was a bit more muscular but lean and wearing loose flowing white robes that possibly could've passed for a dress. She stopped abruptly before the silver-haired woman. She had very long, smooth golden hair, and now that she was closer, they could see her golden eyes. She had all the look of an angel without the wings.
"It is done," she stated bluntly. They instantly recognized Sol's powerful, yet lovely voice.
"Yes," the silver-haired woman said. Despite her hair color, she looked just as youthful as Sol, maybe even younger. "You spared him."
"I doomed him to an eternity of suffering," Sol said with absolutely no hint of remorse. "He will not be able to even use the soul he cursed. Unfortunately," she opened her hand to reveal the tiny white light flickering in her palm. "I cannot break my foolish brother's curse upon it."
"Ah," the other woman carefully took the soul into her hands. "You poor, beautiful thing. You will suffer much, for many years, but you are strong." She looked up at Sol. "They will name him Kenneth."
Sol looked highly uninterested, but the boys almost fell over from shock. Kenny, in particular, was about to shit a brick.
"I see him becoming very close to your daughter…"
Now, Sol reacted, looking bewildered. "What? Why would my daughter be close with a human?"
"Hm… I see her on Earth…going to school."
Sol was looking even more shocked. "What?! For what purpose would I send my child to the mortal realm?"
She frowned. "I'm not sure, Your Majesty. That is all I see of it. It is too far ahead for me to see clearly. About ten years, I'd estimate."
Sol scoffed and looked down at the light with contempt. "Humans are nothing but trouble. Vile and pointless."
"And yet," the woman smiled. "You chose to save them from Cthulhu's wrath."
"To keep the balance," she retaliated.
"And then, you could have destroyed this one, used it all up, or destroyed it to save it from the curse. But, instead, you tried to remove the curse, and now you are on your way to send it off so that it may be reborn."
Sol made an annoyed face, but clearly had no words left to argue.
"This child will be very important to your people."
She sighed. "You've never been wrong before, Crystal. But why a human, of all things?"
"That, I do not know." She handed the soul back to the queen. "Would you like to say anything to him?"
"What is the point? He won't remember it once he leaves. Besides, he's a baby."
Crystal smiled knowingly. "He might hear it someday."
"Hmph." Sol took the tiny light and began to walk away at a brisk pace. "No, I do not wish to speak to Kenneth."
"Very well," Crystal shrugged. "We will see him again."
"Dude, Kenny," Stan went to say something, but Darren shushed him as the scene changed once more.
They were in another place presumably somewhere in the castle. It was a tall, cylindrical-shaped dark room where the only source of light came from a white beam shooting up from a big well in the center. Many souls were flying up from the well's beam and bursting out into the room to wander aimlessly until they were collected by banshees to be taken away somewhere. They recognized Joey, the purple-eyed hippie banshee with the odd head tilt problem and ever gaping jaw, but he did not appear to have either of those problems in this memory.
They watched him fly around the room, selectively snatching up several souls of different colors before he filled his ribcage and flew upwards and out through a hole in the wall along with several other banshees. Standing at the well was Sol in her human form, with the woman named Crystal at her side.
"My monsters are being slaughtered over and over, only to return straight to a fight that never ends," Sol watched a pink monster soul shoot out from the well. She looked worried. "The Nightmares are stronger with their King." She said the word with contempt and turned to face Crystal. "I will have to join the battle, just as you predicted."
"Yes, but that means –"
"I will die." Sol finished. "And I will not return."
Before Crystal could say anything else, a little white soul with a faint tint of blue burst from the well to flit excitedly around them. "Oh," she said with mild surprise. "It is you again. I see you've gained a bit of color. I'm glad you still remain relatively pure, though."
Sol looked over to see who she was talking to. She watched emotionlessly as the little human soul glided smoothly over to her and stopped close to her, like a toddler wanting to be held.
"He must recognize your soul from the time the two of you fused," Crystal smiled a little.
"We have no bond, you!" Sol said firmly. The soul flickered happily at her voice and moved closer. She took it in her hand and made a face. "Foolish little boy."
"Anything you want to say to him now?" Crystal asked. "This will be the last time you ever see him."
There was the slightest hint of sadness in the Queen's eyes as she stared down at the little light resting in her palm. "A human that suffers the same fate as my monsters…and you're only a child." She sighed then carefully stroked the flame with her other hand, cupping it tenderly. "Death is not what scares me," she told it. "I am only regretful over the fact that I will not get to watch over my children or see them grow. My own soul with be destroyed on this day. I will not return, and there will be no final destination for me. I will no longer exist, except for in their memories. My advisor tells me that you will become close with my daughter… Whatever that means, I expect you to look after her well in my place." She took a slow, deep breath in. "Farewell…Kenny."
Sol handed him over to a female banshee with mint eyes. "Amora," she told the banshee. "You will look after this one from now on. Send him back home, now."
She bowed and carefully took the soul before flying out through one of the holes high in the wall.
The Queen turned back to Crystal. "Good-bye my friend."
Crystal bowed lowly as Sol left the room, walking with all the authority and purpose she always had.
The boys were suddenly in a field somewhere. In the far distance behind them was the back of the white and gold castle, but they were too distracted and frightened by what was going on around them to notice. The sky above them was crimson, the tall grass was black and splattered with blood, and all around them were many different Nether monsters viciously fighting with horrid-looking black masses of teeth, claws, and eyes that appeared to change their shape to effectively harm whatever monster they were currently targeting.
Over the noise, nearby, they heard what sounded like the heart-wrenching cry of a large dog being injured. They looked in time to see a large black werewolf being thrown aside; a long, deep gash running from his chest all the way down to his hip was spraying blood across the ground.
The loud cracking of bones made them look over to see a banshee being crushed beneath a Nightmare that had taken the form of some kind of horrendous elephant-like monstrosity. The banshee did not allow itself to die, however, until it had bitten and ripped a large chunk out from its assailant's side, causing it to disperse into nothingness.
They made to go help the banshee, but stopped as they remembered that it was just an illusion in their heads. With a defiant screech at the next Nightmare, the banshee was crushed and killed.
"Look at that!" Kyle pointed.
Towering above all of them, at the back of the Nightmare army, was a massive beast equal in size to Sol's Wechuge form. It was some kind of amorphous disaster of claws, bulging red eyes, and many sharp-toothed, wide mouths that smiled wickedly at the scene beneath it.
Suddenly, the fighting ceased as a loud, familiar screeching roar echoed across the battleground. The boys and all the monsters and Nightmares turned to look at the sunset-feathered Wechuge flying over the field and straight for the Nightmare King, a terrifying, furious gleam in her golden eyes.
She lowered her head as she got closer and collided with the King. He had already shifted himself to a similar shape, locking antlers with her and grinning psychotically. "The Queen has arrived!" His voice was like thunder echoing off a mountain, reverberating through the bodies of everyone around.
Sol did not bother to exchange words with him. There was a light building up in her chest and mouth. She pushed him back, removed her antlers, and shot a beam from her jaws directly in his mock deer face. The Nightmare King hissed and retracted himself, the light burning his bubbling flesh. He shifted again, extending a long tentacle of an arm tipped with sharp claws and slashing it across her face.
The Wechuge screeched furiously. The attack left a deep crack across her bone face. The boys were shocked and frightened to see blood spurt from the wound, but Sol retaliated quickly. She lunged forward and bit hard into the King's throat, digging her long claws into his body and tearing away at him before he managed to knock her off by shifting his body to grow a broad tail that he used to push her aside. She flew up high, and he sprouted wings to follow after her.
Everyone watched as the giants took their fight to the sky. Everything Sol did, the Nightmare King seemed to either copy or counter with his odd shape-shifting ability. He was even able to mimic her huge blast of energy, surprising even Sol and blasting her out of the sky.
She landed hard, with an ear-splitting sound of the earth cracking beneath her body. For a moment, she didn't get up. When she did, they saw that she was covered with bleeding gashes, her brilliant feathers messy and bloody, and her wings tattered and broken. She struggled to even get onto all fours, looking up at the King as he made a dive towards her for a final blow.
There was no hint of fear in Sol's eyes, only a powerful defiance. She forced herself up and met his blow to her chest with a critical slash through his whole body, splitting him as he ripped her blazing soul from her body and crushed it in his claws.
He roared furiously and with pain as his body fell apart, quickly turning into a shadowy mass and fleeing as the Nightmares vanished. Upon her death, the Wechuge burst into a mess of blood and feathers, leaving nothing else behind.
The monsters that were left standing were silent for a long time, obviously shocked and saddened by the permanent death of their Queen, their god. When the first monster dared to let out a triumphant roar, the others followed suit, sending all their hatred and defiance towards the Nightmares to the sky.
They were back in the castle. There was a gruff-looking muscular man with wild black hair standing before them. His entire torso was wrapped with bandages. Before him was Spike, the green and yellow pygmy dragon.
"I'm terribly sorry, Sith," Spike looked up at him sadly. "Nightmares had invaded the castle as soon as the Queen left to fight their king. They appeared to be targeting the young Prince and Princess. Crystal was destroyed protecting them and your daughter just before the guards were able to destroy them."
"…Are the Prince and Princess injured? Is Lucy?"
"No, sir. They are safe and unharmed."
"Good."
Again, the scene changed. The boys were standing outside in what appeared to be an extensive garden in a courtyard surrounded by the castle. They were surrounded by flowers and dogwood trees. There were many animals wandering around, rabbits, squirrels, butterflies, and even a few tiny deer. In front of them was a thorny wall of deep red roses where stood someone they had never seen before.
The boy looked a little younger than them. He was incredibly pretty for a boy and had shoulder-length black hair and brilliant blue eyes that rivaled Lucy's. He was tenderly pruning a large rose before he removed it from the plant and brought it over to a younger girl watching him from beneath one of the trees.
"This one seems nice," he smiled, looking very gentle and serene. "Here you are."
Brooke took the rose and smiled shyly at the boy. "You finally got them to bloom," she said. "I thought it was just going to be a big wall of thorns forever."
"Well," he laughed a little. "They needed to establish security before they felt safe enough to bloom, right?"
"If you say so." She stroked the velvety petals. They were still wet with morning dew. "Desmond, are you ever worried about ruling the kingdom?"
The boys looked stunned. They shuffled closer to get a good look at Desmond and hear his voice.
"Worried?" he smiled. "What do you mean?"
"It seems like a lot of work," she muttered.
He laughed. "It isn't so bad. But, I'm not very good at the whole 'putting my foot down' thing."
"You're too soft."
He laughed again. "You're too honest! But I'd rather that than a lie, I suppose. If we're being honest now, I think you would be better at the job than me. You should take over for me."
She shook her head vigorously. "No, no, no! I'd put them all in the wall!"
"Maybe that's what they need," he grinned and leaned against her.
"Cassidy does…" she muttered. "Desmond, you won't leave me alone, will you?"
He tilted his head at her. "Where is that coming from? Of course not, love. I'll never leave you."
"Promise?"
"I promise." Desmond took the rose and fitted it into her hair. "Angel, would you like to dance?"
"Okay," she smiled up at him.
He smiled sweetly at her reaction and took her hands in his. "A Koi's Whisk?"
"Yes!"
They watched the young siblings begin some kind of fast-paced ballroom style dance before the scene changed again. They were outside still, but somewhere else not far off from the castle. Monsters were fleeing in all directions to get away from the wild-feathered Wechuge thrashing everything in sight. The first time the boys had seen her rampage, she was clearly filled with burning rage, but this time seemed a bit different. The monster was screeching and roaring, but it did not have the rage-filled look in its eyes. No, instead, there were tears falling from them as she thrashed the buildings around her.
The boys were tempted to dash out of the way as she neared them, but two banshees had appeared and caught their attention. It was Charles and Lamar. They looked very sad.
"Princess!" Lamar shouted up at the much larger beast. "You have to stop!"
"You're hurting your people!" Charles added. "Their homes are being destroyed!"
"We know it's hard to control your power. You're very strong!"
"And we know your sad about Desmond… We're sad, too! We loved him too! We know you feel alone!"
"But you're not alone!" Lamar called. "We're still here! Everyone is still here for you! We know it won't change what happened. He's still gone, but you're not alone!"
"You never were!"
The Wechuge stopped and stared down at them. Her growl turning into a whimper as water fell from her eyes.
The banshees moved a little closer. "We're here, Princess," Charles said. "And we love you."
"We'll never let you feel alone ever again!"
She lowered her head to meet them, fire engulfing her body and dispersing to leave behind a very sad, crying little girl. The banshees quickly curled themselves protectively around her and nuzzled their heads against her face. Several other monsters returned and moved closer to huddle against them as well, trying their best to be near their saddened little Princess. None of them showed any wariness or fear now, only a desire to be near her.
The boys found themselves sniffling and wiping tears from their eyes as everything vanished and they were back in Stan's room. A lot of time must have passed, because it was now dark outside.
"Guys," Darren sniffed. "I've never felt so many emotions at once."
Kenny wiped his eyes on his sleeve. "Charles and Lamar calmed her down just by caring and talking to her."
"Did you see after?" Kyle asked. "All the monsters that were running away immediately went back to comfort her, too."
Stan sniffed and rubbed his eyes. "I think we used the stones wrong or something. That was way more than we asked for."
"Yeah," Kenny allowed the white stone to rest in his hand. "I'm kind of glad I know, though…"
"Should we tell her?" Kyle asked. "Brooke, I mean?"
They exchanged unsure glances.
.
The next day, they went through school silent and sad. They hardly spoke until later when they had gathered in Brooke's living room while she was upstairs.
"Heyyyy!"
"Heyyyyyyy!"
Charles and Lamar caused them to jump a little as the banshees burst from the floor.
"What are you guys doing here?" Lamar asked. "I mean, you guys are always hanging around the Princess, but what are you doing here, downstairs?"
"Yeah! You know she's in her room, right?"
The banshees tensed as the boys suddenly hugged them.
"Eh…" Charles looked unsure. "Lamar, why are these guys making physical contact with us?"
"I. Don't. Know."
Brooke had come downstairs and froze at the last few steps. She was not aware that the boys were there. She had only gone downstairs to meet her banshees in the kitchen for a snack, but instead she found them being hugged by her human friends. The banshees looked over at her desperately.
"Help," Lamar whispered.
"Uh, what are you guys doing to my banshees?"
They released Charles and Lamar and hurried over to her. She looked startled, preparing herself to run if need be.
"We used the Oracle Stones to see your past!" Kyle blurted.
"Huh?" she was completely caught off guard.
"First, we just used them to see how you got your dog, then we wanted to see Sol, your mom."
"She totally kicked Cthulhu's ass!" Darren interjected.
"Yeah! And then, for some reason, the stones showed us how she died fighting the Nightmare King!"
"Then," Stan added. "They showed us Desmond and you in a garden or something! Then, next, they showed us you as a giant monster rampaging in the Nether until Charles and Lamar got you to calm down, and we now have a serious respect for those two dummies!"
She stared at them, processing. They braced themselves for her to yell at them, but she only straightened herself and said calmly, "Oh. Okay." She walked past them towards the kitchen, but stopped and looked back at them. "Um…what did you guys think of Desmond?"
"He – he seemed really nice," Stan said. The others agreed.
She smiled faintly and turned away. "He was."
To be continued…
Did you think I forgot about those little Oracle Stones? I bet YOU forgot!
