Chapter 7
A Party Gone Wrong
The sun rose over Unikitty's castle, and Shy woke up from her bed. She looked around the room, confused. It took her awhile to remember that she was in Unikitty's castle. Deep down, Shy was used to sleeping in her depressing room back in Frown Town. Even if it was for one night, Shy appreciated spending the night at the castle.
The doom lord gave a stretch before she jumped out of bed. Today was the day that Shy would have to prove herself to Master Death. Truthfully, Shy felt uncomfortable with going through with Master Death's plan. She didn't want to risk hurting anyone, especially Kittycorn. The doom lord didn't have time to think about that as she heard a knock on her door.
"Morning, Shy! Are you awake?" Shy heard Kittycorn's voice from the other side of the door.
"Uh, yeah. I just got out of bed." Shy replied.
"Great! I hope you are excited for the party! Meet me downstairs once you are ready."
Once Kittycorn walked downstairs, Shy took this time to get ready. She walked downstairs and outside the castle, where she was surprised to find an entire crowd. The doom lord could have sworn that everyone in the kingdom showed up.
"Oh, Shy! We are so glad that you can make it!" Unikitty said as she and Puppycorn walked up to Shy.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Shy bowed in respect. "There are so many people here. What is this party for, anyway?"
"We are having this party to mark the 5th anniversary of the day Unikitty and I became the king and queen of the Unikingdom." Puppycorn explained. "It was around that day when Unikitty and I adopted Kittycorn."
Unikitty nodded. "Yes. Even though Kittycorn finally had the family she wanted, she still didn't have any friends, until she met you, Shy. We want to thank you for always being there for Kittycorn. She always tells us how lucky she is to have you as a friend."
"She really said that?" Shy realized. "I'm happy to have her a a friend too."
"Well, Puppycorn and I had better get going so we can officially start the party. Let's go, little bro!"
"I'm right behind you, sis!" Puppycorn followed Unikitty to the castle's balcony.
The doom lord looked around to see so many smiling faces. After all the time she spent in Frown Town, it felt refreshing to her to be a part of a joyful celebration. She felt as though she had finally found her true home.
Shy's smiled soon faded as she took notice of a cloaked figure, facing towards her. Even though the stranger's face was hidden, Shy could tell that it was Master Death, ready to put his plan into action. Master Death motioned for Shy to follow him, which she complied. The two doom lords made their way through the crowd until they were sure that nobody was around them.
Once he was sure that nobody was eavesdropping, Master Death removed his hood and spoke to Shy. "I see that you have made it. Now we can continue with the plan."
"Wh-What do you want me to do?" Shy replied, almost too afraid to ask.
"It's simple. I just found out that the queen's bodyguard, Hawkodile has the key to the castle. All you have to do is take the key from him and give it to me." Master Death explained. "Now go, and don't disappoint me."
Reluctantly, Shy left as she searched the crowd for Hawkodile. It was hard for her to find him since everyone in the kingdom was here. It was at that point when Shy knew that her search was going to take awhile.
Meanwhile, Hawkodile and Dr. Fox were speaking to each other as Dr. Fox held Foxodile in her arms.
"Looks like Foxodile is having a fun time out here." Hawkodile said, noticing his son's smile.
"Aww! Is little Foxodile having a fun time? Yes he is!" Dr. Fox playfully tickled Foxodile, which made him laugh.
It was at that point when Shy finally found Hawkodile and Dr. Fox. The doom lord approached them and said, "Hi, Hawkodile! Hi, Dr. Fox!"
The couple then faced Shy before they waved to her.
"Hello, Shy! We hope you are enjoying the party" said Dr. Fox.
"I am, Dr. Fox. So, how are things going with Foxodile?" Shy asked.
"I'm not going to lie, it's not easy taking care of a baby, but in the end it is all worth it!"
"It's just too bad that I can't spend more time with the little guy right now. I have to fulfill my bodyguard duties and protect Queen Unikitty and King Puppycorn by keeping the key to the castle safe." Hawkodile explained before he showed Shy the key to the castle.
The moment that she saw the key, Shy gave a soft gasp. This was the opportunity that she had been waiting for, so she knew that it was now or never. Once Hawkodile put the key back in his pocket, Shy took this moment to distract the action hero.
"Uh, Hawkodile? Is that a ninja that I see behind you?" Shy pointed behind Hawkodile.
Right behind his shades, Hawkodile's eyes widened in shock before he turned around in a fighting stance. "A ninja? Where? Show yourself, coward!"
As Hawkodile and Dr. Fox were distracted, Shy took the key from Hawkodile's pocket before sneaking away. It was at that point when Shy sneaked through the crowd. Despite that, it didn't stop Kittycorn from noticing her.
"Oh, Shy! There you are!"
The moment she heard her friend, Shy hid the key behind her back before giving an awkward smile.
"H-Hi, Kittycorn."
Kittycorn ran over to her friend before she said, "So, I've been wanting to ask you something for awhile. Once the party starts, do you think you would like to dance with me?"
For a moment, Shy immediately forgotten about her worries. "I would love to, Kittycorn. The only problem is that I don't know how to dance."
Kittycorn giggled, "That's alright, Shy. Dad didn't know how to dance either, but Mom taught him how. I can teach you as well."
"Sure! I'm sure that it would be fun!" It was at that moment when Shy looked behind her as she noticed that Master Death was glaring at her as if he was telling her to hand him the key or else. "Uh, please excuse me, Kittycorn. I have to run to the bathroom real quick. I'll be right back."
With that, Shy ran to where nobody can see her, where she met up with Master Death. The psychotic doom lord stared at the key and gave a sinister grin.
"Well done, Master Shyness. You just took your first step to becoming a doom lord. Now, hand over the key." Master Death held out his hand.
There was something about this that didn't feel right to Shy. She started to wonder if she should even consider giving the key to her mentor.
"Y-You promise that nobody is going to get hurt, right?" Shy asked.
"Of course. The most that I'm going to do is spray graffiti inside the castle. Now, give me the key." Master Death demanded, getting more impatient. Shy still felt uncomfortable with handing over the key. "You want to prove your worth, don't you. This is your only chance!"
Reluctantly, Shy finally made up her mind and gave the key to Master Death. Without another word, Master Death sneaked his way towards the castle. This made Shy wonder if she made the right choice.
After a couple of moments, Unikitty and Puppycorn stood on the balcony and got everyone's attention.
"Ladies and gentlemen, for 5 years, Puppycorn and I ruled over the kingdom to make it as happy as possible." Unikitty began.
"We want to thank all of you for coming and we hope that you all have a great time today!" Puppycorn told the citizens.
Once the king and queen of the Unikingdom made their announcements, the celebration officially began. It wasn't long before Kittycorn and Shy found each other. They both smiled at one another before they held each others' hands.
"So, are you ready for me to teach you how to dance, Shy?" Kittycorn asked.
Shy nodded in response. "Yes, but I guess I am a little nervous." Shy smiled as she avoided eye contact with her friend.
"Don't worry, Shy! I'll help you out!" Kittycorn assured.
With that, the two friends wrapped their arms around each other as they began to dance. It took Shy awhile to get used to dancing with Kittycorn, but she soon started to have fun. This caught the attention of Unikitty and Puppycorn.
"Oh my gosh! Little bro, look!" Unikitty pointed to Kittycorn and Shy.
"Wow! Those two are having so much fun, dancing together. Kittycorn is growing up so fast, isn't she, sis?"
"She sure is, Puppycorn. I'm so happy for them!" Unikitty agreed before she and Puppycorn held each others' paw.
As they continued to dance with each other Kittycorn and Shy glanced at one another before shyly looking away. That was when Shy decided to speak to Kittycorn.
"Kittycorn? I just want to let you know that I'm very grateful to have you as my friend. After spending my life in Frown Town, I feel that I have finally made a true friend. I just want to tell you that you are very special to me."
The princess then smiled before she replied. "You are special to me too, Shy! I'm very happy to have you in my life!"
Before they knew it, the princess and the doom lord got lost in each others' eyes. They slowly leaned closer to one another as their lips were about to meet in a kiss. However, before they were able to kiss, Shy opened her eyes at the last second to notice Master Death sneaking behind Unikitty and Puppycorn with his dagger in his hand.
Master Death got closer and closer to the siblings with a sadistic grin.
"Finally after all these years, I shall finally have my revenge on you two." Master Death whispered before he raised his dagger.
Seeing that Master Death was about to kill Unikitty and Puppycorn, Shy yelled at the top of her lungs, "Master Death! No! What are you doing?"
Shy's outburst caught the attention of everyone at the party. They looked up and started to panic once they noticed Master Death. At that moment, Unikitty and Puppycorn turned around, shocked that Master Death was behind them this whole time.
"Oh no! Queen Unikitty and King Puppycorn are in danger! I have to hurry!" Wasting no time, Hawkodile raced towards the castle and ran up towards the balcony as fast as he could.
Meanwhile, Unikitty and Puppycorn took a few steps back as they tried to process what was going on.
"Master Death?" Puppycorn stared at the doom lord with fear in his eyes.
Despite how scared she was, Unikitty did not give Master Death any satisfaction. "How did you get here?" Unikitty demanded.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Master Death replied. "I couldn't have done it without my apprentice, Master Shyness."
Hearing this caused everyone in the crowd to mutter among themselves. Everyone was shocked by this news, especially Kittycorn, who stared at Shy in disbelief. Master Death got ready to kill Unikitty and Puppycorn, only to hear a voice behind him.
"Not so fast!"
Master Death turned around to see Hawkodile in a fighting position. This did not intimidate the doom lord in the least.
"I don't know how you got here, Master Death, but you are either going to come quietly with me, or we'll have to do this the hard way!" Hawkodile threatened.
The psychotic doom lord soon walked towards the action hero, who stood his ground.
"Do you really want to fight me, Hawkodile?" Master Death gave a dark chuckle. "Don't think that I don't know about your newborn son! It would be a real shame if he lost his father at such a young age!"
Furious with Master Death's words, Hawkodile charged right at him before throwing a lot of punches and kicks towards the doom lord. Despite his elderly age, Master Death swiftly dodged all of Hawkodile's attacks with ease. The moment he caught Hawkodile off guard, Master Death slashed the action hero with his dagger, causing him to collapse to the ground.
"Hawkodile!" Unikitty and Puppycorn watched in horror as Hawkodile fell to the ground.
Hawkodile placed a hand on his wound as Master Death stepped closer to him.
"Is that the best you can do?" Master Death taunted. "Normally, I would take this opportunity to kill you, but I don't want to bring anymore unwanted attention to myself. Consider this your lucky day."
Not wanting to stay any longer, Master Death immediately turned to leave the castle.
"Wait! Get back here!" Hawkodile struggled to get up, only to fall back onto the floor.
It was at that moment when Unikitty and Puppycorn rushed over to Hawkodile's aid.
"Don't push yourself so hard, Hawkodile." Puppycorn told the action hero.
"You have done enough already. Please just rest while we get help." Unikitty said.
Meanwhile, Master Death rushed out of the castle with his dagger in hand. This caused everyone at the party to panic. They all began to scream as they ran in every direction. Master Death ran through all of the chaos so quickly, nobody even realized that he returned to Frown Town.
By the time everyone calmed down, the party was in ruins. Shy took a look around and looked away in shame. She couldn't believe that she left everything get so out of hand. If she hadn't handed the key over to Master Death, none of this would have happened. Unikitty and Puppycorn wouldn't have been put in danger and Hawkodile wouldn't have gotten hurt. The doom lord was so overcome with guilt, she struggled not to cry.
"Shy?" Kittycorn soon walked over to Shy with a concerned look. "What Master Death said wasn't true, was it? You're not really his apprentice, are you?"
Deep down, Shy didn't know how to respond. Kittycorn simply took Shy's silence as confirmation.
"Shy, please tell me that you weren't the one who let Master Death in the castle." Kittycorn begged, hoping she was wrong.
With a deep breath, Shy finally replied. "Yes, Kittycorn. I am Master Death's new apprentice."
Despite Shy's confession, Kittycorn didn't want to believe it. Her best friend has been working for the most feared doom lord of all time and she never realized it. Soon, Kittycorn's shocked expression was replaced with anger.
"So, this whole time, you have been keeping this secret from me? This whole time, I thought you were my friend, but you have worked with Master Death behind my back. Has our friendship meant anything to you at all!" Kittycorn yelled with tears running down her eyes.
"Kittycorn, please listen!" Shy begged only to be interrupted.
"No! I trusted you! Why did you have to go along with Master Death's plan? What would your parents think if they knew what you were up to?"
This time, it was Shy's turn to get angry. "Don't talk to me like you know my life! You don't even know what I've been through!"
"That doesn't make it okay for going through with Master Death's plan, Shy!" Kittycorn yelled back. "I can't believe that you have been working with Master Death this whole time! You've just put my family in danger!"
Soon, Shy started to tear up as she glared at Kittycorn. "Kittycorn, I'm sorry! I didn't know that this was going to happen! Besides, at least you actually have a family! Both of my parents are dead!"
As Shy said that, Kittycorn stared at Shy in shock. She couldn't believe that during the entire time she knew Shy, she had no idea that Shy's parents were gone. Kittycorn knew the feeling of not having any parents back when she was at the orphanage. Soon, Shy started to cry.
"Kittycorn, I'm sorry for everything that I had done. I know that you hate me for keeping this secret from you. I'm going back to Frown Town, and you never have to worry about me again."
"Shy." Kittycorn reached out for Shy, but it was too late. Shy ran away, not looking back. "Shy, please wait!"
It was at that moment when Kittycorn was left alone in the middle of the destroyed party. The princess didn't know what to do. All she could do was collapse on the ground as she began to cry. Despite how great today turned out, this ended up being Kittycorn's worst day ever.