Chapter 8

From Bad To Worse

After the incident from the party, Shy ran all the way to Frown Town and never looked back. On her way back home, Shy began to feel guilty for what she had done. If she had known that Master Death planned to kill Unikitty and Puppycorn, she wouldn't have went through with his plan in the first place. The worst part was that Kittycorn now hates her, and Shy lost her only friend.

Shy just wanted to forget about this horrible day and go to bed. It wasn't long before she reached the abandoned building to make her way to her room. Before she could enter her room to cry, Shy found herself face to face with Master Death. He appeared to be expressionless, so it was hard to tell what he was thinking. The two doom lords stood in silence until Master Death spoke.

"Master Shyness, come here."

Despite how calm he looked, Shy was too scared to approach Master Death. Shy considered running away, but knew that it would just make it worse. With a deep sigh, she walked over to Master Death. Shy anxiously waited for him to speak, but was caught off guard when Master Death slapped her across the face.

"You imbecile! You ruined everything!" Master Death yelled, no longer hiding his anger. "If you haven't given away my position, I would be ruling over the Unikingdom by now!"

Shy rubbed her cheek before she glared at Master Death. "You told me that you weren't going to hurt anyone! You were about to kill Queen Unikitty and King Puppycorn!"

"Exactly! I needed you to sneak me into the castle, so I could finally take over the kingdom by force!" Master Death explained.

It took a moment for Shy to process what Master Death said. She soon turned back to Master Death with tears in her eyes.

"So, this whole time you have been using me? I was nothing more than a tool to you, wasn't I?"

Master Death shook his head. "No. While it's true that I lied to you, I have spent all this time preparing you for your life as a doom lord. You see, I have failed Master Doom as her mentor, but I won't make the same mistake for you. I see potential in you, Master Shyness. Before I die, I will continue to teach you everything about being a doom lord so that you will continue my legacy. You will be a better doom lord than Master Doom will ever be!"

Shy couldn't believe that she didn't realize it sooner. Master Death never cared for her. All he ever cared about was to find someone to continue his legacy. It was at that point when Shy started to hate Master Death more than ever. That was when she finally made her decision.

"I'm leaving!" Shy turned to leave the building.

"Where do you think you are going?" Master Death demanded.

"I don't know, and I don't care! Anywhere is better than here!" Shy replied without even turning to look at her mentor.

Shy tried to reach the door, but Master Death stopped her by blocking her way with his dagger. With Master Death in front of her, Shy took a few nervous steps back.

"You are not going anywhere! I tried to be a good mentor and do everything that I can to make you the best doom lord you could be, but you have forced me to take desperate measures. I just came up with a new plan to kill not only Unikitty and Puppycorn, but your girlfriend, Kittycorn as well!"

It was at this point when Shy was more scared than ever. She trembled as Master Death stepped closer to her. "N-No! Kittycorn!"

Meanwhile in the Unikingdom, Unikitty and Puppycorn stood outside of Dr. Fox's lab as Dr. Fox tended to Hawkodile's wounds. The two siblings waited in silence, both of them hoping that Hawkodile would be okay. After waiting for what felt like forever, Dr. Fox finally step out of the lab.

"How is Hawkodile feeling, Dr. Fox?" Unikitty asked.

"Hawkodile should be fine now, Unikitty. He just needs to rest." Dr. Fox replied.

"Well, that's a relief! We're so glad that Hawkodile is going to be alright!" Puppycorn sighed in relief.

Dr. Fox nodded. "Still, I couldn't help but imagine what would have happened if I couldn't heal him. I almost lost him."

Judging from how much her voice was cracking, Unikitty and Puppycorn could tell that Dr. Fox was trying not to cry. The two siblings soon hugged Dr. Fox in an effort to comfort her.

Dr. Fox soon took off her glasses before wiping her eyes. "I'm fine, guys. What about Kittycorn? Is she doing any better?"

"No. Kittycorn locked herself in her room, refusing to talk to anyone." Puppycorn explained.

"She must be so upset after what happened. Come on, Puppycorn. Let's see if we can cheer her up." Unikitty suggested.

Once they made their decision, Unikitty and Puppycorn walked over to Kittycorn's room before knocking on her door.

"Kittycorn? Can we come in?" Puppycorn asked.

"No! I'm not in here!" came Kittycorn's voice from the other side of the door.

It was clear to Unikitty and Puppycorn that Kittycorn was still upset by what happened.

"Kittycorn, please! We know that a lot has happened yesterday, but Puppycorn and I just want to talk to you, so can you please let us in?" Unikitty asked.

The two siblings waited for a couple of seconds before they heard Kittycorn unlock the door. She stepped out of the way to let her adoptive parents in her room. All three of them sat on the bed when Unikitty was the first to speak.

"You know that you would have to talk to Shy sometime, right?"

Kittycorn gave a nod as she said, "I know. I just don't know if I can talk to her right now. She kept this secret from me for who knows how long."

"But, Kittycorn, Shy is your friend! Maybe she only kept her apprenticeship with Master Death a secret so you wouldn't get hurt." Puppycorn explained.

"Yeah, but that didn't help. Shy was the one who let Master Death in the castle in the first place." Kittycorn countered.

"Listen, Kittycorn. I know that it must have been a shock to realize that Shy was the apprentice of the most feared doom lord of all time, but we know that she cares about you. Why else would she bring so much unwanted attention to Master Death yesterday?" Unikitty pointed out.

Kittycorn took a moment to think about what her adoptive parents told her. "I never thought of it that way. I guess I should have been more understanding of Shy. After all, she has been living with Master Death all this time with no parents. She must have had a tough life." After a few moments of thinking, Kittycorn finally made up her mind before getting up from her bed. "I'm going to look for Shy and apologize to her."

The moment, Kittycorn said that, Richard burst into the room, carrying a letter as he was panting from exhaustion.

"Richard? What's wrong, and what is that letter you're holding?" Unikitty noticed the letter.

"I just found this letter at the front door." Richard showed everyone the letter. "This letter is from Master Death. He just took Shy captive."

Unikitty, Puppycorn, and Kittycorn gasped at the news.

"Master Death?" Puppycorn repeated.

"He has Shy?" Unikitty couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Kittycorn looked as though she was about to cry. If she had been more understanding of Shy, she probably wouldn't have gotten kidnapped in the first place. "Sh-Shy!"

Richard brought his eyes back to the letter as he continued to read it. "According to the letter, Master Death wants the three of you to meet him at some abandoned building in Frown Town, or he will kill Shy."

"What are we going to do, sis?" Puppycorn asked his sister.

"We are going to Frown Town to save Shy, Puppycorn. Kittycorn, we want you to stay at the castle while Puppycorn and I head to Frown Town and rescue Shy." Unikitty said.

Kitttycorn shook her head. "I can't! I know that you are only trying to protect me, but Shy is the only friend I ever had! I need to come with you and rescue her!"

Unikitty and Puppycorn felt uncomfortable with bringing Kittycorn along, but knew that there was nothing that they could say to stop her from coming with them to Frown Town.

"Okay, Kittycorn. Just promise that you would stay close to us so we can protect you. You already know how dangerous Master Death is." Unikitty replied.

Kittycorn nodded. "I promise!"

With that, Unikitty, Puppycorn, and Kittycorn got ready for their journey to Frown Town. Despite how determined she was to rescue Shy, Kittycorn was worried about her best friend the whole time. She silently hoped that Master Death didn't hurt her. Kittycorn didn't care how dangerous it was. She was going to do everything she can to save her best friend.