- Chapter Three: In the Eleventh Hour -

When I first opened my eyes, I only saw darkness. Then, various small lights swam into view.

With a moan, I rolled onto my paws and staggered to my feet. Other pokémon near me were groaning, and a few had either managed to sit up or stand like me. I slightly swooned, feeling suddenly light-headed. I grimaced and fell to one knee.

Breathing heavily, I thought, What happened to us? That Magnagate... Did Mr. Ace set this up? Then, why would he try to save us like he did? Arrgh, my head is starting to ache.

"Well, this isn't good," Lucy exclaimed. Dirt marred her normally spotless fur.

"Oh my Arceus, we are so dead," Eris whispered.

Shaking my head, I scanned the area into which we landed. A large cavern stretched above and to the sides of me. Lumpy grey rock coated all open surfaces. I scraped a paw pad along the floor; the rock felt slightly abrasive. I noted that what I originally thought were normal lights were actually bioluminescent mushrooms. Their yellow color struck me as odd.

After a moment of thought, I realized what had happened to us.

"We're outside of a Mystery Dungeon," I gasped under my breath.

Slowly, I turned my head to the far end of the cavern. A hallway cut into the face of the rock. Strange pillars, composed of a dull white marble, lined the sides as if the hallway led to an ornate palace. Several glowing mushrooms adorned the opening, forming a misshapen arch.

My forepaws shuffled a few inches backwards. That...That's the entrance to the Mystery dungeon. I remember now. Red Magnagates lead to the entrances of Mystery Dungeons. Why, though? Our Magnagate was yellow, the color that leads to a normal dungeon. Well, until it turned red. How could someone reroute a Magnagate that was already open? That's like trying to pick up and move a mountain! You can't! Then how?!

"Hey...," Eris said, gesturing to the hallway. "Isn't that place...the entrance to a Mystery Dungeon? It looks just like how Mr. Ace described it to us."

I nodded. Her face paled, and she hugged her thick tail close to her. "This is not good. Not good. We don't know how to handle Mystery Dungeons. We're doomed. Doomed…"

"We are notdoomed," Zane seethed. He paced proudly near the dungeon's entrance. "We're better than that." Eris shied away from him as if he had a disease.

Zane moved his attention to the entire group of students. "I am not afraid of this Mystery Dungeon, and I know some of you aren't as well. I will enter this dungeon and escape. For those of you who do not want to linger here for a rescue, I suggest you join me."

He traipsed to the dungeon's entrance, a narrow tunnel marked by rectangular marble monuments. Hesitating to observe the monuments, he huffed and continued forward. As if he had opened a floodgate, other students poured in quickly after him.

"Guys, maybe we should wait. W-we don't know what we're going to find in there," Eris spouted, glancing back and forth between me and Lucy.

"As much as I hate to admit it, we should follow him," I said through my teeth. "The only pokémon who can save us right now are ourselves."

I started tromping after the other students. Eris hastily laid a hand on my shoulder to stop me.

"Mona, are you really sure?" she asked.

"Yes, Eris, I am," I responded. I shrugged her hand off of my shoulder and kept walking.

"We'll be fine, Eris. There is strength in numbers," Lucy reassured Eris. Eris merely lowered her head. Thus, we followed Zane into the Mystery Dungeon.

As the eerily lit darkness encircled us, a loud slamming resounded from behind. Startled, I whirled around and froze. My eyes only met with more black and glowing mushrooms. The opening had vanished.

Despite the current situation, I could not deny the excitement that coursed through my veins. Another Mystery Dungeon—an undiscovered dungeon at that—lay before me. A tension gripped me, anxious to be released.

Eris's hand gripped onto my shoulder, and a whimper came out from her mouth. I rubbed her leg with my head for reassurance. "Hey, we'll be fine. We'll be just fine."

Curious, I studied a pillar. Its white, square design seemed at odds with the pale grey stone behind it. Rapping a paw on its smooth side, I only heard a thump. I wonder how this formed. It's just so odd, I wondered.

I made a move to bat it again. Just before my paw reached it, the pillar vanished, and my paw sailed through empty air. A startled cry came from the back, then another from the front. More pillars were disappearing, and the walls behind them were fading away. Darkness consumed us when the ceiling and floor finally vanished.

Without warning, sheets of rock rippled through the darkness like a current of water washing away grime. At certain places, the rock jutted upwards, then back into the center from higher up. Bioluminescent mushrooms sprouted just behind the wave of new rock, emitting their odd yellow glow.

In the space of seconds, a small room had formed around us with three corridors leading outwards. We occupied the center of the room. Each shuffle and breath echoed loudly off of the rock.

My head thudded painfully, eliciting a wince. I must've hit my head or something when I landed back there, I thought. For some reason, however, a strange foreboding tickled the back of my mind.

"This way," Zane ordered. He moved confidently to the furthest corridor.

"I guess we might as well follow him," a butterfree said.

"Sure we do," a beedrill replied. Nonetheless, he flew after Zane.

While we padded down the corridor, Eris asked me, "So, Mona, um, how exactly do dungeons like this work again?"

I thought for a minute, then replied, "Well, there are feral…" My head panged again, causing me to flinch and suck in a tight breath.

"Are you okay? Is something bothering you?" Eris asked worriedly.

"I think I hit my head when we came here. It just hurts a little. Anyway, as I was saying, there are feral pokémon that roam in here and will attack us on site. We can find items like defense scarves lying on the floor. Like normal dungeons, we have to find the stairs to proceed."

"Hmm," she said.

The throbbing feeling started again, and I tried to breathe steadily and ignore it.

We wound through corridors and rooms, encountering no enemies. Zane, still in the lead, found a scarf lying on the floor and quickly claimed it. He proudly flashed it to us, and I could tell that it was a power band.

The lucky bastard, I thought.

Turning a corner, I spotted a set of descending gray stairs set into the ground. The other students noticed them as well, for they rushed to the staircase and hurriedly clambered down them. I walked down them at a much more leisurely pace.

Darkness once again consumed my vision. For a brief second, I became weightless. Then, another room formed around me. I shook out my fur and stole a quick glance around me. The other students who arrived before me were already leaving the room.

For a brief moment, irritation flared within me. Here I was, in a Mystery Dungeon that was just begging to be explored, and I was being dragged along by pokémon who wanted nothing more than to kiss this place goodbye.

"I do hope we get out of this place quickly. This is quite nerve-wracking, being in here," Lucy remarked. I strode past her and into the corridor without a second thought.

The next few seconds passed in a blur of motion. Lucy screamed at me to duck. Something landed on my back and shoved me onto the floor. My face dug painfully into the rock, cutting my nose and jarring my teeth. A gravely snarl filled my ears. Hot, smelly breath brushed past my nose.

I struggled, trying to breathe and escape at the same time. A set of jaws clamped onto my stomach and began to shake me. My spine wrenched painfully from the aggressive treatment, causing me to cry out in agony.

After a few seconds, the jaws suddenly released me, and my attacker emitted a sharp whine. I thumped to the ground, groaning. I rolled onto my side and strained my head up.

A mightyena laid on the ground, stunned. Eris stood above him, her fists glowing a bright orange. She then grabbed ahold of the mightyena's fur and flung him into the wall. She punched it rapidly several times before slamming it down. It croaked meekly and vanished into thin air.

For several seconds, I stared at Eris, mystified. Eris huffed aggressively, still glaring at the spot where the mightyena had been. From the manner in which she held herself, I hardly recognized her.

A rush of pawsteps came from behind me, and several students crowded around me and Eris. Several questions about the attacker flew my way. I ignored them and focused on Eris. Almost as if she noticed my glance, she turned my way and walked over to me, her body suddenly hunched and timid.

"I...," she started. The other pokémon stopped interrogating me and stared at her. She gave an odd squeal and quickly backed away.

"Eris, what the heck was that?" I asked her.

"Ummm…?" she stammered. She shuffled away even more, refusing to answer.

"That was freaking awesome," an ampharos commented. "You never said you could fight like that."

"Umm…," she said again.

"Just leave her alone. She clearly doesn't want to talk about it," Lucy said defensively. She positioned herself protectively in front of Eris.

"So? It was still cool," the beedrill from earlier said.

I stood and turned to face the students. "Yeah, and if we don't keep moving, we'll probably get ambushed again," I said.

As if on cue, Zane shouted something from far down the corridor about finding the stairs. The students abandoned us and tromped toward the sound of Zane's voice.

Eris and Lucy approached me, Eris rather cautiously. Running to meet them, I said to Eris, "What in Arceus' name was that? Since when could you kick butt like that?"

"Umm," she repeated. She hugged her tail close to her body shyly. "I don't know what you mean."

"Of course you do! Don't mess with me," I exclaimed. "Thanks, though. I would have been chow if it weren't for you."

"Okay…?" she said with a tilt of her head.

"Touching, but we really should be going. I don't fancy being left behind," Lucy interjected.

We jogged to catch up with the group, descending the stairs last. As we landed on the next floor, I stole a glance at Eris. She stood slightly hunched, scanning the area.

What was up with her? I thought. She never fought that good in class, and I've never seen her look so angry.

"Eris, are you sure you're okay?" I asked her.

She stared into space for a moment longer, started, and replied, "Yeah, yeah. I'm, um, uh, just fine."

Realizing I would achieve nothing, I said, "Alright then. Let's keep going."


"Get down!" Zane shouted. He leapt over me, fangs bared and coated in electricity, and crunched the throat of a swoobat. It screeched in pain and fell to the ground. Black marks curled around its neck, and the smoke from the burns was the only indicator of its existence after it vanished.

Spitting out a wad of fur, he said to me, "Useless. How much longer do I have to put up with you?"

Growling, I started to spit out a retort when a paw landed on my shoulder.

"Don't feed his ego, Mona," Lucy said.

Zane huffed. "That's right. Run to your little friend. She knows what's good for you."

As he walked away, I angrily shook off Lucy's paw. "What the heck, Luce? Why'd you force me to take that crap?"

"Because it won't solve anything. He'd just get ever madder at you. He's not worth the effort. People like him just love to make other feels bad, and there's nothing we can do about it," she said.

I sighed, calming. "Yeah, I guess so. Still doesn't make me any less frustrated with him," I said.

"The feeling is mutual," she agreed. "Now, we should keep going. It's been eight floors already. How much longer can this dungeon go on?"

"Dungeons can go on for a long—," I started to answer, then cut off when my headache pounded once more. I inhaled sharply and squinted my eyes shut.

"Mona, are you okay?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah, it's just this headache. It's been getting worse and worse," I answered shakily.

"Do you need to sit down, or...?" she said.

"No, no, I'll be fine," I said dismissively.

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'll be okay, Luce. Let's just get out of here."

Walking along the corridor, the yellow glow of the mushrooms seemed brighter than before. I averted my gaze from them and continue plodding forward.

At last, we reached the stairs, an oasis of hope. "Thank heavens," I breathed. When I climbed down them, I did not land in another square, rocky room. Instead, I landed in an amorphous cavern. On the other side, light streamed through a cleft in the rock.

"We're out!" someone cried.

"Thank Arceus! I'm never going near another Magnagate again," the butterfree from earlier said.

But we have no idea where we are,I thought. Returning my gaze to the exit, I froze when I spotted a silhouette standing silently there. The edges of the shadow fluttered as it were wearing a cloak. As I started at it, its head slowly turned toward me.

Another wave of pain rocked my skull. I squeezed my eyes shut, and when I opened them, the figure was gone. A horrible premonition washed over me.

What the…? Am I going crazy? I pondered.

"You know…that dungeon wasn't too bad," Eris praised. "I kind of think that was…fun."

"That was funto you? More like torture to me," Lucy said.

I cocked my head at Eris. She thought that was fun? I thought she hated the concept of exploring Mystery Dungeons, I wondered. Not that I'm really complaining.

"There's the exit," the beedrill said, pointing with his stinger toward the light. "Let's get out of here. I'm tired of seeing rock, rock, and more rock."

He buzzed to the exit, but just before he reached it, a thick tail flashed out from the shadows and slammed him backward.

A gravely roar echoed off of the cavern walls. More roars flew from behind us, urging us forward and to the center of the cavern. The roars stopped when we stood roughly in the middle.

Then, pokémon slowly crept from hidden recesses and crevices in the walls. A graveler and two nidorinos emerged to my right, while two gravelers and two nidorinas materialized to my left. With another loud roar, a nidoking and a nidoqueen appeared before the exit, partially blotting out the light. They held their heads held high and glowered at us.

The nidoking leaned forward and bellowed, "Who are you, cretins? What right do you have to trespass onto our territory?!"

Zane stepped forward challengingly. "That's none of your business. Let us pass, you cretin. My patience is very low."

The nidoking stomped his feet on the ground and bashed his enormous fists together. "You challenge me in my own territory?! You are an arrogant fool!"

"You are a fool for obstructing my way," Zane spat, drawing close to the nidoking. "Your pitiful pride for this droll cavern is starting to grate on my nerves. I could not care less whose territory this is. Move. Aside."

Instead of stepping out of Zane's way, the nidoking tromped closer and angled his horn towards Zane's eyes. "Not only do you insult me," he snarled, "but you also insult my mate, my family, and my friends!"

He pulled his left fist behind him. "For that, you will pay! Attack, my family!" He swung his fist straight into Zane's face.

Yelling, the gravelers threw barrages of rocks at us. The nidorinas and nidorinos charged at us, swiping left and right with glowing claws.

Without hesitation, I charged ground-type energy in my claws and dug into the earth. I tunneled straight in front of me, eventually reaching where I thought the exit was. When I surfaced, I saw that I had emerged right in front of the cleft. Rays of sun warmed my fur, a welcome change from the chilled darkness of the caves.

I turned towards the exit, deep in thought. I could leave right now, I contemplated. I could see where we are. I could go get help. We definitely aren't at the school, but I could find someone.

I surveyed cavern. Despite our best efforts, we were losing terribly. The gravelers had begun rolling around the cavern, bulldozing down anyone in their paths. The nidorinas and nidorinos were teaming on helpless students who either had a major type disadvantage or were too weak-willed to fight back. The nidoking and nidoqueen themselves were using Poison Jab and Poison Fang, respectively, to tear through the group. Their ferocious display of power, as well as the unity the nidoking's clan had, awed me.

We can't win this fight. We're too disorganized, I observed. I need to go get help. That's our only chance of getting out of this mess.

I faced the outside once more and prepared to kick off, charging my affinity energy in my legs. I had just taken a step when I heard heavy footsteps behind me. A large weight slammed into my back, launching me out of the cavern mouth.

I tumbled to a stop near the edge of a tall cliff. Groaning, I wiped my nose with my paw and pushed myself to my paws.

Looking upward, I saw nidoking lumber toward me, anger scrawled on his face. In the bright light, I noticed a prominent scar tracing from his horn down to the outside of his left eye.

He halted a few yards from me. "You," he growled. "You are a coward, running away from a fight! I shall deal with you myself."

He lunged at me, his paws extended. I barely saw the attack coming. I quickly ducked and rolled under his leap, escaping by a hairsbreadth.

The nidoking landed roughly on all fours where I had stood moments before. "So now, when you are cornered, you fight back? You disgust me," he growled distastefully.

I need to get out of here, I thought. This guy's gonna trample me to bits!

I turned towards a path that led down the cliff. I kicked off into a Quick Attack, trying to distance myself from him as quickly as possible.

"Oh, no, you don't, coward! You will face me!" the nidoking yelled.

He slammed both of his fists into the ground, creating a tidal wave of earth. The wave rapidly traveled down the path and passed under me, throwing me off balance. It suddenly surged upward farther down the path and solidified into a dirt-and-rock wall. I skidded into the newly formed obstruction and landed awkwardly on my left hind leg. I screamed when it twanged painfully.

More tremors came from up the path. I stared up and watched the nidoking advance on me. I could do nothing as he picked me up by the neck and snarled in my face.

"You have nowhere to go now," he snalred. He pulled his open hand back and curled it into a fist. A light purple glow enveloped his fist. I shut my eyes and lowered my head, expecting a harsh blow.

I heard a whoosh; then, I was suddenly falling to the earth. I landed painfully on the ground. Moaning, I opened my eyes. The nidoking laid prone before me, sparkling leaves dancing in the air above him. Shocked, I glanced towards the top of the wall behind me.

There, standing on top of the wall in all his leafy glory, was Mr. Ace. He glared at the nidoking with leaves swirling around his form. He jumped down from the wall and landed next to me as if he did not see me. After scanning the area several times, he called out, "Clear! Let's move!"

From atop the dirt, Maple leapt down next to me. The roar of rushing water sounded behind the dirt, and a beam of water exploded through the mound. Sculle waded through the gap in the dirt.

Mr. Ace lowered his head to me as if noticing me for the first time. "You guys can go help the students in cavern," he said.

"Sure thing," Maple said. She bounded up the path, leaving Sculle to run, albeit much more slowly, after her. The blastoise regarded the nidoking with a passing glance, then continued lumbering after the ambipom.

Mr. Ace watched them vanish into the cavern, then slithered over to me. He leaned down and prodded my injured leg with his nose. I hissed in pain and shrunk back against the wall. He huffed and said, "It's not broken, but it's sprained at the knee. Can you walk?"

I shook my head. "I can't even move it without feeling pain, sir," I responded.

Mr. Ace righted himself. Without warning, he swung his tail around and wrapped me in its embrace. "Then I'll just have to carry you back myself," he said.

I grunted, too winded to make a sarcastic rebuttal. Mr. Ace gathered his body underneath him and surged up and over the wall. The landing jarred my leg, and I had to bite back a whimper.

We both were quiet as he would down the hill, as I had come to realize where I was. It took ten minutes for him to fully descend from the hill and onto a rolling plain. In the distance, I could spy a line of trees.

Feeling brave enough, I broke the silence. "Mr. Ace?" I asked. He glanced back at me in a tacit response. I continued. "How did you manage to find us so quickly?"

After a minute, he said, "I found all of you by tracking your exit point using the Magnagate's swirl mark and the rearranged Entercards. When I reached the hill and saw you come flying from a crevice, Maple, Sculle, and I climbed up to your point. You know the rest."

I blinked in surprise. "You tracked us using only marked dirt and a container of cards? How long did it take you? How long were we gone?"

Mr. Ace sighed. "So many questions. Yes, I did track you using only 'marked dirt and a container of cards'. It took me one hour to locate you and another three to find you since the location I discovered was not overly specific. That means you've been gone four hours and that it's almost evening. To be honest, I'd say that you were lucky. That Mystery dungeon could have been longer and much more dangerous."

I gulped upon hearing his last statement. It could have been worse? Sure, we didn't encounter hordes of feral pokémon, but the loners were still mean and ruthless. How much more terrible could it have been?

I had only one question left, and I was almost afraid to ask it. However, my curiosity overtook my caution. I hesitantly asked, "Mr. Ace, why did that Magnagate transport us to a Mystery Dungeon and not a normal dungeon?"

He took in a sharp breath and only said, "I don't know."


Mr. Ace dropped me off at the school, where a blissey nurse had taken me to the school's medical wing. She laid me on a cot and fed me medicine that looked oran berry paste, yet tasted far too sour.

Eventually, Mr. Ace and his teammates returned with the remainder of the students. Some were able to walk, and some were being carried by the explorers or by other students. The blissey nurse, while having her hands fully, managed to treat us all exceptionally well.

As the blissey finished with caring for the students, she walked up to me, kneeled down, and asked, "Hello, dear. Is there anything else bothering you?"

"Yes, I ha—," I started to say, but then stopped. I don't have a headache anymore, I thought with curiosity. That's...weird, but in a good way, I guess.

"Sorry, I mean no. I don't have anything else," I corrected.

The blissey smiled. "That's good to hear, honey." She gently stroked my head before standing and grabbing a matchbox off of a nearby counter. She quietly lit candles next to our cots. Performing one last cursory check, she shut the door to our ward.

I relaxed against my cot, staring up at the ceiling. Why is my headache gone? It was so painful in that Mystery dungeon and in the cavern. Maybe it just faded when I wasn't paying attention to it.

My thoughts turned toward the silhouette that I had seen in the cavern. Who was that? That pokémon appeared and vanished so suddenly. Maybe I just imagined it. After all, why would any sensible pokémon wear a black cloak? No one else even reacted when it appeared, too.

A strange smell interrupted my thoughts. Raising my head, I sniffed again, and dread filled my chest.

Oh no. Oh no, no, no, I thought desperately. I noticed an orange glow radiating from underneath the door. This is bad! We need help!

A furret woke up beside me, his nose sniffing crazily. He lazily blinked and shook his head. He noticed that I sat wide awake on my cot and moved his gaze to where I was looking. His face donned a crazed expression, and he shook awake the student next to him.

All around me, the class was stirring awake. Pokémon with keen noses began to panic. Several started banging on the walls, while others began shouting for help. I still had not taken my gaze off of the orange glow, which was growing brighter. All of us had faced the same horrifying reality.

The school was on fire.

I threw off my covers and tried to stand. I wobbled slightly but remained on all four paws. Shakily, I took a step forward. My knee twanged, forcing me to stop and clench my teeth. Arrgh! I can't walk, much less run! How will I make it out if I won't be able to run past the smoke and fire?

A sound of straining wood groaned above me. I craned my head upward and watched as the wooden ceiling began to cave drastically. A crack formed in the center of the depression, and the ceiling dipped even lower. Several students screamed in terror. A mad rush for the door ensued.

I tried to move, but my knee seared with pain, forcing me into a slow crawl. I strained towards the door while the ceiling dipped lower. I'm not gonna make it. I can't go faster,I thought despairingly. I was only five feet from the door when the ceiling collapsed. Pressure swamped my body, and my eyes closed involuntarily.

Whump! Shhh...

I opened my eyes. I somehow was outside the door, or rather, what was left of it. Rubble had replaced it, completely sealing the room off. I...I should have been in that, but I'm not. How?

Then, I realized that my point of view hovered too far off the ground. Confused, I stretched down, but my paws only swung through air. Almost as if it sensed my desire to touch the floor, the pressure that still surrounded me released, setting me lightly onto the ground.

"Hey, um, are you okay? I was behind you and trying to get out when I saw you limping towards the door. I thought you weren't going to make it, so I carried you out," Eris whispered. She leaned over me, inspecting me for any injuries.

I gawked at her. Carried?! More like hauled! How did she do that in the blink of an eye?!

Realizing that she was looking for a reply, I shakily said, "Yeah, I didn't think I was going to make it. Thanks a lot."

She smiled briefly and turned towards the glow around the corner. Her tail swished back and forth.

"Hey, um…," I said, still disarmed. "Where's Lucy?"

"She's already heading for the front entrance," Eris replied.

"Good. Now, we need to get the heck out of here, too," I said.

I peeked around the corner to scope out the hallway. The roaring fire had consumed the right side of the hall. Gaping holes exposed burning classrooms, blackening with each passing second. Heat had warped the floors, the walls, and the ceiling, twisting the hallway out of proportion. Smoke clung to ceiling as if it was a cloud in a nightmarish sky. I involuntarily coughed when smoke drifted into my lungs. My eyes watered, clouding my vision.

"Is it...bad?" Eris asked. I looked back over my shoulder and mentally slapped myself.

She's a grass type. She's naturally afraid of large fires. What do I say?

"It's not too bad. We can live if we go now, before it gets worse," I said hesitantly. I heard Eris audibly gulp and briefly quake.

"Just follow me," I said evenly.

If only I felt as confident as I looked.

I had just moved toward the flames when a splitting pain seared through my skull. I groaned, pinning my ears back. Dang it! Not again! Is the smoke affecting me?

Taking a deep breath, I forged ahead. My knee still hurt, but I pushed past the pain and maintained a steady pace. The smoke seeped deeper and deeper into my lungs with every breath, forcing my body to hack futilely.

At the end of the hallway, the other students shuffled through the inferno. As I watched, a piece of the ceiling collapsed in front of them, blocking off the rest of the hallway. Zane, who had narrowly escaped being crushed, dove into a nearby classroom. The students scrambled after him.

In the corner of my eye, something moved. I snapped my head to my left and gasped. A black figure, a cloak draped heavily over it, lingered outside of the cafeteria. I reeled in shock, but after I blinked, it was gone.

What is wrong with me? I thought worriedly.

"Mona, c'mon!" Eris pressed. After one last glance at the cafeteria, I surged forward.

Dodging raining ash and glowing embers, we ducked into the classroom that the students had entered. Zane, Lucy, and the others were squeezing through a gap in the wood that led to the hallway once more. An ursaring barely fit through the opening. He screamed when a splinter of wood tore his knee.

Biting my tongue, I limped through the gap, emerging into the front hallway. Immediately, I turned toward the front doors, yet I froze when I beheld the pile of debris blocking them.

"No, no, no!" Zane cursed, pacing back and forth. He kicked a loose piece of wood, then hacked miserably. Lucy appeared even worse; she panted heavily and coughed more than breathed the air. Red ringed her puffy eyes.

"What're we going to do?" Eris cried in despair.

Zane stopped pacing. He faced the rubble pile, stretching his mouth wide open. Before I could blink, a blinding lightning bolt streamed from his mouth and struck the pile. My ears numbed, and I sailed backward.

When I came to, the debris pile was scattered all over the place. Open air poured through the remains of the doors. Zane laid immobile on the ground, a thin line of blood tricking from a wound on his head.

Lucy sat right in front of me, her paws shaking me roughly. My head pounded loudly.

"O…a…," she said, her words garbled by my shot hearing. Upon my lack of a response, she grabbed my scruff and pulled me to my paws. She dragged me to the doorway. We had just made it out the door when a horrible sense of premonition washed over me.

Lucy's grip on me suddenly vanished. I whirled about and stiffened in shock. The black figure stood before me. In his right claw, he held Lucy.

"Let go of me!" she screamed, thrashing wildly.

"Lu-Lucy…," I breathed. I slowly trod backward. Fear coursed wildly in my veins. It constricted my breathing and made my heart labor to beat.

"Mona! Help me!" Lucy begged. Desperation abounded in her eyes.

Ominously, the figure's left arm rose upward. A gruesome, violet-clawed hand extended from the large sleeve, pointing at us condescendingly. A cold wind began to blow, stirring my fur and chilling my bones.

"This is only the beginning," the figure rasped. Its deep, echoing voice amplified the feelings of helplessness and terror inside of me.

"You are no longer safe. This world is no longer safe."

A dark aura, much like smoke, encased the hand. He positioned it above Lucy's head.

"Your kind is so weak, so pitiful. What an inferior creation you are," he uttered.

The claw lunged downwards, and time seemed to slow down. I stared in horror as the pointed claw descended towards her skull.

No. NO! I thought.

"STOP!" I cried, my sense of self-preservation vanishing. A multitude of Swift stars, more than I had ever managed to conjure, formed around me. They fell in a shimmering shower toward the malevolent being.

The claw reached Lucy's skull before my Swift reached the claw. The attack plunged into Lucy, driving deep into her brain. Blood poured out from the wounded and dripped down her limp visage. Her body twitched once, then went still.

The Swift stars struck his claw and knocked Lucy out of it. Like a rag doll, she tumbled to the ground. The figure uttered a string weird words that sounded like a curse. He wrung his claw, scattering droplets of blood.

Before I knew what was happening, the figure lunged at me and yanked me up by my scruff. I struggled against its hold, desperate to escape. Tears streamed from my eyes at the sight of Lucy's motionless body.

"You," he said. He sniffed me, and I recoiled from him. "The fear, the despair… I can taste it."

The figure cocked its head curiously. "Yet, I feel something more…,"he whispered. he lifted his free hand in front of my chest. Veins of dark energy raced from his claw and sunk into my chest painlessly.

"What are you doing to me?" I screamed, vainly kicking at the cowl. The figure only growled and raised his hand high above me. Dark energy surrounded his claw once more. Up close, I could tell that the energy appeared less like smoke and more like writhing, fluid shadows

"Let this be a lesson for you to remember in hell: never defy me!" he roared.

Recoiling, I ducked my head and waited for the inevitable blow. Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blasted my side. Leaves scratched at my fur. My assailant dropped me, caressing his claw.

"Grr! Who was that?" he snarled.

"Over here," someone replied. Mr. Ace stood several feet behind me, leaves dancing in the wind around him. Maple and Sculle stood at his sides.

"You," the figure said. "Hahaha! I should have known."

"Enough theatrics. This ends here," Mr. Ace said. Almost invisibly, he shot in front of me, his tail held aloft and glowing a bright green.

"And here you are, accusing me of theatrics," the figure mocked. His hooded head shook in condescension. He raised his claws and slammed them toward the ground.

Mr. Ace was quicker. He thrust his tail into the ground moments before the figure. Massive vines surged out of the ground and wrapped around the cloaked being. He growled and tugged vainly at the vegetation binding him, shooting Mr. Ace with a withering glare.

"I have waited too long for this, Shroud," Mr. Ace said. He slunk close to the figure. "You're coming with me."

Shroud laughed raucously. "Haha! I see that you are as delusional as ever, Ace. Unfortunately for you, I'm not in the mood to become your little prisoner."

A faint crackling sound tickled my ears. Mr. Ace's eyes widened. "Get down!" he shouted.

He whipped around to me and dove over me. I struggled against him for a moment before a loud explosion flattened us. When I peered around his body, I saw only charred vines scattered over the ground—no Shroud.

"Curse it all," Mr. Ace said. He uncovered me and shook the debris off his back.

"Ace, there's nothing you can do about it now. We have to help these kids," Sculle said. His voice had a peculiar rasp like he was aged far more than he appeared.

Mr. Ace lowered his head for a moment, then stretched himself high into the air. "Students, I know this must be very disconcerting for some of you. We have already alerted the headmaster of the danger here, and your parents will be arriving here shortly. Gather here around me."

We obeyed him, too shocked to do much else.

"Where are Zane and Lucy?" he asked.

I gulped and bit my lip. Lucy… She's…, I thought. My vision blurred, and my cheeks wetted with the tears dripping down them.

"She's…," I croaked, drawing everyone's attention to me. Mr. Ace followed my gaze and spotted Lucy on the steps. He seemed to deflate upon seeing her.

"…I see," he simply said. "And Zane?"

A shake of heads was his reply.

"Not good. Could you go search for him, Sculle?"

Sculle nodded in affirmation. He tottered to the building and aimed the cannons that protruded from his shell at the burning building. Twin blasts of water fired from their maws, drenching a part of the building's exterior. The flames extinguished, he entered the school.

The sound of rushing water echoed from the gaps in the walls. Rivulets trickled from the cracks. A tiny stream flowed around Lucy, framing her in a shining wreath. Unable to contain my emotions any longer, I collapsed onto the ground and sobbed. Even when my parents arrived and tried to console me, I could not find solace in their words, for my grief had consumed me beyond repair.


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