HOLY HELL I DID IT!

Finally, a new chapter that didn't take a month to get out! Is it a full moon or something?!

What's going on guys, it's ButterHunter here, and welcome back to another chapter!

Let's just get straight in!

Chapter 34: The Aura

We slowly walked down the dark, gloomy halls of this prison. Silk, the spider, me, and Snowy (still with spider silk in her face).

We kept going corner after corner, hallway after hallway. My legs were growing tired, yet we kept walking further and further.

We saw lots of skeletons and spiders here. Some looked like they were standing guard, and others looked like they were training for something. Most watched us as we passed, staring particularly at me. I guess that escaping with force would be damn near impossible.

Finally, we entered one last door and found our destination: A long table, with some food on it. Diana was here, standing against the wall, I guess waiting for us.

"About time you showed up." Diana said, walking over to Silk.

"They took time to get out of the cell." Silk said, glancing particularly over at Snowy with distaste.

"Whatever. Let's get them cleaned up." Diana said.

She came over to me and freed my hands again. Silk started pulling out the silk in Snowy's hair. Once my hands were free I went over and pulled it off of Snowy's hands as well.

Diana LOOKED like she wanted to help, but she was still rather scared of Snowy, and couldn't force herself to get close enough to help.

Even so, eventually the silk was gone from Snowy's body, clumped up in a small pile in Silk's hands. "Can… can you please not do that again?"

Silk nodded, even she agreed that getting the threads out of Snowy's hair was bad. "Definitely not."

"Okay, now… you two, please, sit." Diana said, gesturing over to the table, with food prepared.

I instantly didn't trust it. "Umm… no thanks. I'm not hungry right now." I said, hoping my voice hid my light stomach moan.

"Y-yeah. I'm not h-hungry either." Snowy said, holding herself back from the bacon on the table.

Diana shrugged, taking a seat on the other side of the table. "Suit yourself. Sit."

We did so, and the smell of the food became all the more enticing up close. Snowy was on the verge of drooling, but held herself back. We had no idea what they did to this food. For all we know, there could be poison in this stuff.

"Geez, if you're hungry, take something." Silk said, grabbing some eggs herself and starting to munch.

I glanced over at Snowy, unsure. No way Silk would've grabbed some if it WAS poisoned, but… are they planning something?

In any case, Snowy made the first move and took a small piece of bacon, nibbling it slowly. It must have tasted normal, because she took a few more pieces as well as some toast. I trusted her judgement, so I carefully took some for myself.

The four of us sat in an awkward silence while we ate. While it wasn't Susie's cooking, it was pretty good.

Soon enough everything was gone. "That was good." Snowy said, breaking the quiet.

"Not my best, but glad you two liked it." Diana said quietly. "Anyway, now that the food is gone, we need to talk to you two."

I leaned forward, still very cautious about them. "And that is…?"

"First, formalities." Silk said. "I assume you'd like to know about this place?"

Snowy and I nodded. "Well, to put it simply, you are in the Spider and Skeleton Corps headquarters, or S&S Corps. We took you here because we need to ask something of you, human."

Mild irritation of calling me 'human' aside, I knew better than to just believe that. "Aaaaand…?"

"We need help getting something from a human settlement." Diana said. "It's… complicated, but, something that will help spiders and skeletons out a lot."

"I don't follow." I said.

"*sigh*... okay, we'll back up." Silk said, clearly expecting that response. "For years, many monsters have made friends with others they like, and enemies with the ones they don't."

"One of those in the like group are skeletons and spiders." Diana supported. "Well… kinda. I guess we… tolerate each other better."

"For the most part, most of the two races simply accept each other. I mean, we'll share food and water sometimes, and a place to sleep for a day, but not much further beyond that."

"Okay…" Snowy said, taking all this in.

"But there are groups like us." Diana said enthusiastically. "Groups that want to work together. Groups that see a great power in working together. Unfortunately, those like us are few and far in between."

"So what's so important about having us here, then?" I asked.

"Simple. Long, long ago, there was a ruler, a skeleton ruler, who brought the two races together, for a time. His guidance made both races benefit greatly. But somehow, he was killed. The skeletons thought it was the spiders, and vise versa." Silk recounted.

"Of course, that was years before any of us were born, so there's no guarantee that either story is the truth, but…" Diana said slowly. "Either way, the clans have… had a manageable relationship since then."

"But we intend to fix it." Silk said, slamming her fist on the table. "The skeleton king may be long dead, go figure, but his crown is still out there somewhere. If we can find it, we just might be able to resolve the cracks in our people."

"..." I stayed quiet, as did Snowy.

"So, really, this is simple." Diana said. "We need you." she added, looking at me.

For a few seconds, no one spoke. Then I realized that they wanted me to say something.

"Look, I… I'm just a guy who wants to get out of here. I'm not about to help the monsters that stalk me every night when I'm outside." I said.

"Look." Silk said, leaning forward. "I really want to get you out here too, because you're kinda starting to annoy me. But if you don't help, then we will have no choice but to get rid of you. PERMANENTLY."

"Like hell you will." I said gruffly. "I'm sorry. Find another human to do your dirty work. I'm not doing this. You're better off showing us to the door."

Diana sighed. Clearly she had expected something like that response. Then, I saw her get an idea.

"Come with me for a second…" she said, standing up and swiftly getting to the door.

Silk looked just as confused as I did. "Diana, what are you…?"

"Just trust me on this one." Diana replied, still looking at me.

I slowly stood up and started heading over to her cautiously. Now that I got a good look at her, she's not as tall as me, but quite taller than Snowy, for sure.

Snowy started to follow after me, but Diana held up her hands. "Snowy, I promise you that I will not do anything wrong to him, I swear. But I just need him for a minute."

Snowy didn't like that. "But… can't you show me too?"

"I have to show him, and him alone." Diana said quickly.

Snowy looked over to me. Even if she didn't like it, she'd follow my word.

'Well… Diana hasn't made any attempts to harm me yet.' my thoughts go. 'And… I'm kinda curious what she wants to show me anyway.'

"You stay here Snowy. I'm sure this is nothing bad." I said, hoping that I was right.

Clearly she didn't want to, but she made herself sit back down in her little chair as Diana nodded. "I would never do that. Especially since I'd have to handle her if I did."

"Damn right you would." Snowy muttered, but only Silk and I heard her.

"Now…" Diana spoke up as we left the room. "...um… oh my Notch, I'm so sorry. I… never asked for your name."

"Oh… it's, uh… Cameron." I said slowly.

"Cameron…" Diana repeated. "That's… a nice name."

"Thanks?"

"It was a compliment." Diana said. "Now, follow me."

Snowy POV…

"Mmm…"

"What's gotten into you?" Silk said behind me. I didn't hear her.

I was still watching that door, even though Master was already long gone. Something wasn't sitting right with me. Maybe had something to do with Diana, the skeleton, leading my master away. After all, skeletons are the sworn enemy of wolves…

"Hellooo? Anyone here?" Silk said, snapping her fingers.

I blinked back to reality. "Oh, sorry… were you saying something?"

"Yeah. What's your deal?" Silk said, looking into my eyes.

I looked at the ground. "What… what do you mean?"

"You've been really, really antsy since we found you." Silk said. "We brought you back to your friend, we gave you a decent meal… then he leaves, and you mutter threats to my friend. What's. Your. Deal."

I growled slightly. "I care about my master."

"Why?"

"WHY?" I suddenly yelled, catching her off guard. "Because he took me in. He gave me a home, when I had none. He cared for me, like no one ever did. He worries about me, when no one else does. He is my master, and I am sworn to protect him, and be by his side. So yeah, my DEAL is that I will stop at nothing, and I repeat, NOTHING, to protect him."

For the count of five, all was quiet. Silk watched my angry breathing with surprise.

Then, she… laughed. "Wow. Those were words of a warrior right there."

"Huh?" I said, confused.

"I respect anyone who has a spine. At first, you just seemed like a whiney little dog. But that speech you just made? That changed my mind. You're not a whiner. You're a fighter."

"..."

"And… I…" Silk said, suddenly getting quiet. "I can relate to your story a bit. I was lost, and had no home myself. And then I found Diana, and her people. They all welcomed me like lost family. I… I felt joy again, elation, even."

Silk had my full attention at this point. "I know what it's like out there. You get one shot in this world to be normal. You can be either a human, or a 'mob' as some call us, but that's it. So when someone like us comes along, a half monster, it's brutal. You can't pass off as a human because you look or sound different, but you can't exactly be a monster either because you look human."

Tears were building up in the pits of Silk's eyes. "We aren't normal. We are called freaks, mutations, mix-ups. All because we had abnormal parents…"

At that point, Silk seemed to lose control. Tears gently streamed down her cheeks, and her head rested on her arms, gently sobbing into the table.

I realized what she meant. My story must have sparked something inside of her. It reminded her of her life. Her struggles. Her pain. And now, she was releasing what seemed like her true emotions, in what seemed like… a really long time.

"I'm normal! I'm normal! I'm normal…" Silk yelled, sobbing in her arms louder.

I couldn't just sit there. I crawled off my chair and down to her, and gently patted her back.

She seemed surprised by that. She looked up and saw me, gently patting her still. "Wh-what are you doing?"

I didn't say anything. Instead, I hugged her. My instincts told me it would be a good idea.

"H-hey! Let go!" Silk said, struggling at first. Then, she felt something. I guess… relief? Whatever it was, she slowly stopped struggling.

"W-why… why are you hugging me… even after knowing that we took you away… why?" she asked me.

I answered simply: "Because everyone needs someone to hug."

She didn't say anything. Emotions came back to her again, and she started crying again. But this time, she hugged me back.

I rubbed her back, and whispered, "Shhhh… it's okay… everything is fine… shhhh…"

I know I should've still been mad at her, for what she and Diana did to me and Master. And I still was, don't get me wrong. But now wasn't a time to be mad. Silk was alone. She hid it very, very well with a tough, business-like exterior, but… deep down, she wanted someone to care. Someone to be nice, even if she didn't want it. Someone to lean on, even if she was standing just fine.

Right now, I could be that person. And I would be too, until she felt better.

Cameron POV…

Earlier…

"Sooo… where are we going again?" I asked.

"Just follow me. I'll explain in a minute." Diana said.

We kept going through the hallways of this place. I figured it was underground, given how much we could walk in one direction and keep going, and how many stairways there were.

Finally, a minute later we found a slightly ajar door, leading to another, deserted room. It kinda looked like an abandoned office or something, because there was a small, plain desk with a paper or two on it, and on the wall had a lone, dusty clock. Unless it was broken, it indicated that the time was early morning, which meant I slept the whole night in the cell.

"Okay… why are we here?" I asked while Diana closed the door behind her. Nothing seemed very special about this room.

"I just wanted to talk alone for a minute." Diana said. "Why won't you help us?"

"Oh gee, I don't know, might have to do with the whole KIDNAPING thing!" I said.

"I get that." Diana said, stepping forward to me. "But still… we need help. Can't you give us help?"

"Look. If you REALLY needed a human, there could've been a much better way to do so." I said. "As of right now, I'm not even considering helping you."

"And I still understand that." Diana said, stepping even closer. She was getting a bit too close, so I half-stepped back. "But… it'll get you out of here. If you help, we'll never have to worry about each other again."

"I kinda have a hard time believing that." I said. "I'm sorry, but I don't trust people I just met that well."

"Please?" Diana said, practically standing on top of me and grabbing my shoulders. "Pretty please? We really need your help!"

"Like I said, the answer is no!" I said, pushing her hands off my shoulders and stepping back even more.

But then I ran out of room. The wall of the room was right behind me. Diana took advantage of this, and stepped to me again.

I tried to get around her, but she forced me backwards every time I tried.

Until I was cornered.

I didn't realize it until it was too late that she had backed me up into the far corner of this room, as far away from the door as you could get. Diana used this to stand right in front of me, looking at me almost sadly.

"Come on… pleeeeaaase?" she said slowly, leaning forward and gently touching my chest. "I promise it'll be worth your while…"

This was getting too uncomfortable for my tastes. "N-no! Get off me!"

"But I don't wanna…" Diana said even slower, batting her eyes gently at me. "In fact… I want to be closer…"

"Wha-" I started to say, but was interrupted when she suddenly clamped her arms around me. Her eyes gaze gently into mine, saying without speaking, "Please?"

"N-No! I'm not gonna…" I started, trying to squirm out of her grasp.

She still looked at me. Not saying anything, just… watching me.

"I… I won't…" I said, slowing down against my will.

Silence.

"I… I…"

She said nothing.

Then, it clicked. 'I-I know! Vivianna, Aira! They can help! Guys! I need help out here!'

But nothing happened. I didn't feel a calming sensation, nor an energy boost.

'G-guys! Come on! Help!' I yelled in my head again.

Panic rose in my chest as I heard nothing from them.

'W-what? Wh-where are you guys?!' I yelled one last time.

Still no response.

I tried to concentrate on those two. Surely they weren't ignoring me at a time like this, right?

Slowly, I could faintly make out a voice in my mind… very faint. It said something along the lines of, "Cam… we… not… someth… on your own… trying to…"

That was all I could hear before it faded out completely. 'Wh-what… why are they…"

Diana's grip suddenly tightened on me, forcing my attention back to her. "Pleeeeeaaaasssse?" she softly begged again. Her eyes… were they… shinier?

Slowly, a lone tear ran down her cheek, falling onto the floor. Was… was I about to make her cry? Because I won't help?

'Dammit… not the crying tactic again…' I moaned internally.

I hesitated for the briefest of seconds, but eventually, I gave up. "I… fine. I'll… help you…"

Diana's face lit up. "Really? You will?"

"Because you forced me too…" I muttered. I don't know if she heard me, but if she did, she hid it from me.

"I knew you'd help!" she said, hugging me tighter, pushing her bust more in my chest. I was trying to ignore it, but that was much easier said than done.

While I was being hugged, I couldn't help but remember that… Diana was almost ice cold. The same feeling of her clinging to my warmth struck me again, but this time… I didn't ask her to get off.

Rather, I felt that this time I should do something. So I gently, cautiously, wrapped my arms around her, trying to warm her up a bit. Diana seemed to like that. She squeezed me tighter, pushing herself as close to me, and my warmth I guess, as she could.

I had to admit: this reaction was kinda cute. While she was really cold, I… couldn't help but feel better. I don't know. Maybe it was just satisfaction that I was doing something good?

And then Diana remembered her place. "Oh! I'm… I'm sorry." she said, pulling away quickly. A few awkward seconds were spent as we stared at each other, Diana blushing slightly.

"Um…" I started, breaking the silence. "Just a random question, but have you ever considered wearing something more… covering? Like a nice sweater?"

"I… I tried once. It was uncomfortable." Diana said awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck. "This is the only outfit that feels comfortable and doesn't restrict me as an archer."

"I-I see…" I said. "Well… maybe you'd feel less cold if you tried it, you know?"

"I know, I know." Diana said longingly. "I like warmth, but… I don't want to be uncomfortable."

We kinda stood there in an awkward silence again for a minute, until Diana cleared her throat awkwardly. "Um… I… can… can I… um… hug you… again?"

I'm pretty sure my own blinking was easily heard for a few seconds when she asked that. "I… I mean… I… I guess? I really don't know how to respond to that…" I got out.

"I'm just asking you if it's… okay to." Diana said softly, looking slightly red in her cheeks. "I would never try to if you felt… something wrong with it."

"I.. I mean… there's nothing wrong with it, but… I was just… surprised, I guess." I said, awkwardly rubbing my neck. "You can… go ahead if you want."

With a lot more hesitation than the last two times, Diana slowly hugs me again, still with a light blush on her face. Once she settles in, I feel her almost instantly relax again, as if she was never nervous in the first place.

I slowly and gently hug her back, earning a small hum of approval from the skeleton girl. Why I did this, I don't know. Just 'cause?

In any case, she seemed to be even more clingy to me this time, maybe because this time I gave her permission? Whatever the case, I leaned into the wall to get a better grip on Diana…

When I slipped, sending me falling onto my back.

As if THAT wasn't bad enough, Diana was also sent falling with me. But the way she landed on top of me…

All of the sudden my face was right in her bust.

I froze internally. I literally couldn't move, even though I really, REALLY wanted to. Red hot fear was freezing my bones in place.

"Oh Notch!" Diana said, not realizing what just happened. "Are… are you okay?"

I tried to say something, but it was muffled. Diana realized what was going on and sat up, blushing herself.

"I'msorryIwasn'ttryinganythingyou'rechestwasinmyfacepleasedon'tkillme!" I pleaded quickly. Diana could only blush even heavier in response.

I was trying my best to not look down from Diana's face. The last thing I wanted was to be accused of being a pervert now of all times.

We stared at each other for a long time. Way, WAY too long, but still, we needed calm down a bit. Finally, Diana realized she was still sitting on me, and hastily stood up off of me. She held her hand out to me, and I took it gently.

I stood, trying to ignore the slight pain in the back of my skull, and the burning sensation still in my face. Then Diana cleared her throat. "Umm… maybe we should head back now…"

"Ohh… right." I said, just remembering that we left Snowy with Silk back in the other room.

We walked in silence, other than our steps echoing softly on the stone floor.

"You… you don't know how happy this makes me." Diana said quietly, her hand gently cupping my shoulder. "That… you agreed to help us."

"Like you really gave me any other choice…" I muttered. "I don't want to help, I want to get out."

Diana pulled me off to the side of the hallway. "I will get you out. I promise."

Doubtful still, I asked, "You promise?" with mild sass.

"Cross my heart, on Notch's holy name." Diana said seriously.

Our return trip continued from that point without issue. The only thing I really noticed was that… Diana seemed… squirmy around me. Not in an embarrassed way, no…

More like she wanted to hug me again.

Listen, I like hugs as much as the next guy, but… this girl was taking it a bit far. I mean, even SNOWY never…

Okay, that's a lie. Snowy did hug me WAY more than Diana.

I guess… Diana is way too forward about it. I mean, what would another person's response be to this question: "I'm really cold. Can I hug you to warm myself?"

And then… there was… 'that' that happened. That was beyond embarrassing. Once or twice I had to catch myself, or my gaze would've found it's way back to her breasts again. 'NO! Bad Cameron!' I said in my mind the second time. 'Now is not the time for that!'

'But it's right there.'

'That's no reason to stare!'

'But she might like it. After all, why would she show it off if she didn't?'

'And if she doesn't?'

'Who cares about that? Look at them again!'

'Shut up!'

I was pulled out of my conflicting thoughts suddenly, when Diana stopped me in front of the door. "*sigh*... looks like I don't really have a choice, huh?" I asked, remembering how I gave in.

Diana shook her head. "Not really, no."

I sighed. "Well… I guess if it gets me out easier…"

With that thought out of the way, we entered the room.

Snowy and Silk were still sitting down at the table, seemingly in deep conversation. "...and like I was saying, that place was nasty. The smell alone could-" Silk was saying, stopping once she saw Diana and I entering.

"Oh hey you two." Silk said, nodding in my direction.

Snowy looked up, and her face lit up. "Master!" she called out, standing up and running over to me.

She pulled me in one of her hugs again. I did my best to walk over and sit down in a chair with her half-attached to me.

But for once, Silk… didn't seem to mind this behavior. In fact… she seemed to gently smile at Snowy. I was rather confused by this, but right now, I had other things to worry about.

Anyway, once Snowy pulled herself off of me and Diana had sat down, Silk looked at me, and asked one more time, "So… are you going to help us, or not?"

I sighed once, before glancing over at Diana. She was looking at me, with… expectant eyes. She knew what my answer was most likely going to be.

But she wanted to make sure that I was going to be cooperative, I guess.

And then I looked at the ground. And only muttered one sentence.

"Fine… I'll help you."

Silk looked honestly surprised at me when I glanced up. Diana, on the other hand, looked very, very happy at me.

And then, I thought of something perfect.

"IF!" I shouted, catching everyone off guard. "If… and only if… whatever we have to do, you two have to help as well. That is the ONLY reason I will help."

Silk and Diana stared at me for a long time, before they huddled together to talk. Seeing her chance, Snowy leaned over to me and whispered, "Master? What are you doing? I thought we…"

"I changed my mind." I said in the same whisper. "But if they really want us to do this 'job', then they have to prove they want it badly. Otherwise… I'm not even going to lift a finger to help."

Just as I leaned back into my seat, Silk and Diana seemed to wrap up their talk and looked over at me.

"So…" Silk said, eyeing me closely. "You suddenly agree to help, but only if we… accompany you?"

I nodded. "I don't care if we have to go to hell to do this 'job'." I air-quoted. "Unless you two come with us while we do it, I'm not helping in the slightest. That is final on my end."

Diana and Silk both glanced at each other, most likely having a silent conversation. Silk seemed… almost impressed. Why, I couldn't say, but she definitely had some sort of new respect towards me. And Diana… well, I couldn't really say much. If I had to say something, she just looked… surprised at my terms. But hey, even I had to have some sort of leverage in this. After all, do I look like I want to sign up for a suicide mission?

If they denied, there was a high likelihood that this job they had for me was life-threatening, and that would instantly change my mind. On the other hand, if they did agree, that didn't meant this job wouldn't be dangerous, but I would know that they are at least willing to go that extra mile to help their races.

Something that I could deeply respect.

After a few more seconds of stalling, Diana and Silk looked back at me. "...fine. We agree to those terms. We will help you during this job we have, and in return, if it is done well, we will let you go. Deal?" Silk said, sticking out her hand.

I looked at it for a brief moment, before, clasping her hand firmly with my own. "Deal." I said, as we shook on it.

"So… what's the job anyway? And be VERY detailed, please." I said after the handshake was done.

"It's simple." Diana said. "That crown from the old skeleton king is out there somewhere. If we can find it, we can reunite the skeletons and spiders peacefully."

"And we have enough reason to know where it might be next." Silk said, before reaching into her pocket and pulling out something.

"This paper is a conversation or something I overheard while I was out on a scouting mission close one of the nearby cities." she explained, handing me the paper. Snowy leaned over to look at it as I read:

"Is the artifact in the safe zone?"

"I'm sure of it. How did we find that dusty old thing anyway?"

"Not sure. It was buried in the ground. Seems, well, kinda morbid, considering it's made of bones, but hey, at least it's something unique."

"Made of bones, buried in the ground, and old." Diana repeated once I finished reading. "Those, to me, are proof that the crown was delivered somewhere to that nearby city."

"Yeah, but…" I said, hesitant. "The way they said, 'Made of bones' seems kinda loose to me. I mean, how do we know for sure that it's the crown and not just some fossil or something?"

"We don't." Silk admitted. "We have no way of knowing that. But there is enough evidence for it to be the crown to convince me."

Doubt was still heavy in my mind, but I nevertheless pressed on. "Okay… so say it is the crown. What's our plan of attack?"

"For right now, nothing." Diana said quietly. "We need more information to go on. But you can bet that we will try our hardest to get the intel."

"In the meantime, we need to see what you can do." Silk said, standing up herself. "First, you." she said, pointing at me.

Snowy, who had remained rather quiet up to this point, spoke up again. "Wait, what about me?"

"I'll be back soon, don't worry about it. I'm not gonna hurt him, I promise." Silk said. "Diana, can you keep watch on her for a few?"

Diana looked at Silk as if she was crazy. "K-keep watch on…"

"Yes, keep watch on Snowy. Come on, it isn't that hard." Silk said, waving for me to follow her to the door. I couldn't help but notice… Silk used Snowy's name properly now. Did something happen between these two while I was gone?

I glanced at Snowy, who was watching me again for my response.

"Stay put Snowy." I said quickly. "I promise I won't take long, wherever this is going."

Snowy clearly didn't like that, but she stayed sitting nonetheless. Diana was eyeing her very, very closely, almost shaking out of fear.

"Okay…" Silk said as we left the room. "Oh yeah, what was your name again?"

"Um… Cameron." I said quickly, eyeing the spider nervously.

"What are you staring at?" Silk asked.

"Just… being cautious." I said slowly.

Silk seemed to snicker at that. "I said I wasn't gonna hurt you, didn't I? What, don't trust me?"

I stared at her in a 'are you joking, or…?' kind of way.

"Whatever. Now, follow me."

Meanwhile…

Snowy POV…

"Mmmm…"

I whined a little bit as Master left the room again. Why did they only need him, and not me? I'm strong. I can help.

But I was pulled out of my thought's, when I remembered that Diana, the skeleton girl, was behind me, still sitting at the table.

Well, shaking was a more accurate word. She was half looking at me, half watching for sudden movements, I guess.

"*sigh*..." I sighed. "This is starting to get annoying…"

"Wh-wh-what is?" Diana stuttered out.

I looked up at her. "You know… I'm not that scary."

"I… it c-can't be helped…" Diana said nervously. "I… I shake when I'm near a wolf…"

"But you weren't shaking before…" I said.

"Th-that's because I had Silk, and him there." Diana explained, scooting away from the table a small bit.

Seeing her shake like that… my comforting side was wanting to come out again. "You look like you need someone to hug." I said calmly.

"H-h-hug?" she asked, confused and afraid. "N-no, I'm fine… just as long as those two don't take long…"

"You really do look like you need a hug…" I said, scooting out of my seat. Diana saw that, and instantly began to sweat.

"H-h-h-hey… c-come on… s-stay put… p-please…" Diana said, scooting further away from me.

"I'm not scary." I said sweetly. "I promise. I won't hurt you, as long as you don't hurt me or Master."

"I-I-I wouldn't ever DARE hurt either or you!" Diana half shouted out of fear.

"Exactly." I said, moving slightly closer. At this point, Diana stood up and moved to the wall. "Hey, come on. I just want one thing."

"Wh-wh-what is that?" Diana asked, fearful.

"Just pet my head. I promise it'll make you feel a little better." I said, presenting her with the top of my head.

Diana shook her head furiously. "N-nonono! I-I'm fine! I-I'm already-"

"Pleeeaaase?" I asked. I used my Puppy Eyes again, and I could tell that even through the fear, Diana was slowly giving into curiosity. Her thought process must've been something like, 'Is she… really not gonna hurt me?'

Eventually, a good minute or so later, a shaky hand barely reached out towards me. I waited.

Slowly, she made her hand come closer to me. I stayed still.

Even though she was really, really tense, she managed to come within arm's length of me. Her hand was almost there…

And then she touched my head.

She backed away suddenly, as if she had hit me and was waiting for me to attack. When that didn't happen, she carefully approached again, and let her whole hand touch my head.

"That's it…" I said softly, just loud enough for her to hear. "You're doing fine…"

Her hand gently rubbed the top of my head, as if she was testing my reaction. It felt… surprisingly nice, despite only being a light touch.

I pushed my head gently into her hand, saying without words, "More…"

She hesitated, but I could tell she was relaxing. Her hand pressed down a little more firmly, and I gently moaned a little in happiness.

Diana seemed a bit more warmed up at least. She got down to a knee to get a bit better leverage, and pet me even more. I scooted closer to her without my knowledge, but I didn't care. I wanted to savor the petting…

And then it stopped. I glanced up, and Diana was looking at me… a bit scared. "S-sorry… you moved suddenly, and it startled me…" she said quietly.

"O-oh…" I said, before realizing her hand was still on top of my head. I gently reached up and tried to touch it, but Diana pulled it off before I could.

We didn't say anything for some time. Honestly, it was a bit awkward. Then again, Diana was pretty much confronting one of her biggest fears right now, so… yeah, awkwardness would probably happen.

I gently looked over her again. I didn't give it much thought before, but… she really was kinda underdressed, wasn't she?

"Hey… Diana?" I asked quietly. "Why… why are you wearing that?"

"W-why?" she asked, looking down at her clothes again. "Because… it just suits me. It fits good, and it doesn't make being an archer any harder."

"I can understand that, but…" I said, glancing particularly at her chest region. "I don't know, it seems like you'd get a cold wearing just that every day."

I said it casually, but once I finished speaking Diana looked… almost sad. Did… did I say something wrong?

"H-hey… did… did I say something?" I asked quietly, quickly. "I-I didn't mean to be pushy, or anything, I really didn-"

"No… no, you weren't rude or anything." Diana assured me quickly. "Just…"

And just then, a light shiver passed through Diana. So light actually, that I almost didn't catch it. But I did see it. And in that second, I understood.

"You… you do get cold, huh?" I asked softly.

Diana seemed to sigh gently, before glancing back up at me. "Y… yeah. You got me. I don't really know why, but… no matter what I wear, even if it's a sweater or something, it… doesn't seem to be enough. If I had to guess… it's because I'm part skeleton. After all, most skeleton's wouldn't have to worry about cold or heat, because they have nothing other than bones to worry about. But… I feel really cold all the time. I got used to it, but… still, I can't help but wonder… what it feels like to be warm…"

"Don't you ever get out under the sun much?" I asked, before realizing what a stupid question that was. Of course she couldn't. Skeletons burn in sunlight, so naturally that fear would probably extend to her as well. That did raise the question about how she came to our house, though...

Diana seemed even more down by that. She let her head hang, which caused her hat to fall off her head and land in front of my lap. Slowly, I could see that she was breaking down. I… I had asked the wrong question this time.

"I… I'm afraid… to stand out… in the sun…" she murmured, before breaking down completely. Silent tears slowly dripped down her face, landing gently on the floor. I knew instantly that I had to do SOMETHING. I couldn't just leave her there, crying her eyes out.

So I did the first thing I could think of. I gently reached out, and patted her shoulder. She flinched badly, but then realized it was a friendly gesture, so she somewhat relaxed again.

I kept patting her shoulder for a little bit, hoping that would calm her down. Thankfully, it did, and the tears slowly stopped falling. She sniffled a few more times, and then looked up at me.

"I… I'm so sorry…" I said quietly, feeling my eyes become slightly shiny myself. "I… I didn't mean to… make you cry…"

Diana looked at the ground for a minute, before chuckling slightly. "I… I know you didn't. S-sorry… I let instinct take control for a minute."

"I… I'm really sorry…" I said softly.

"It… it's fine. I swear." Diana said gently.

I wrung my hand a little, hanging my head. Diana tried gently rubbing my head again to calm me, but she didn't see what was coming.

I hugged her.

She nearly jumped out of her skin, (ironic knowing she's a skeleton) and started shaking badly. "H-hey! Wh-wh-what are you doing?!"

I didn't say anything. I simply just hugged her gently. She… she was so cold. Unnaturally cold. But I still hugged her all the same.

I could feel the tension loosen in Diana, slowly as she realized that I was just trying to comfort her.

"W-why… are you so peaceful to me?" Diana asked, half nervous, half curious. "I… I thought wolves hated skeletons…"

"We do…" I admitted. "But that doesn't mean they can't get along."

Diana thought about my words for a minute, watching me hug her tightly. It was still cold, but… I think she liked it, despite the fear.

I could feel her arms gently snake around me, gently tugging at my back. She… she was finally hugging me back.

It felt… oddly peaceful.

I scooted further into her arms, making us closer together. She flinched a bit, but didn't let go. Now she was properly hugging me, clinging to me. I must have been pretty warm for her to cling to a wolf like that…

But I didn't mind in the slightest.

Cameron POV…

Earlier…

The two of us walked onward into the depths of this facility.

We walked onwards, till I could hear noises up ahead.

"Where are we going again?" I said, keeping my voice neutral.

"I said it before, we're going somewhere I can test you." Silk said, glancing at me over her shoulder. "And we're almost there."

Slowly, the noise grew louder. Now I could make it out as arrows hitting targets in quick succession. "Umm… are we… going to a skeleton and spider filled area, by chance?" I asked, tugging at the collar of my shirt.

Silk snickered a bit. "Relax. Even if we are, and even if they wanted to hurt you, they can't. I'm with you, so you're protected."

Her words barely did anything to ease my tension. As we came closer to the open doorway where the noises were coming from, I began to sweat involuntarily.

We passed under the doorway, and it was revealed to be a massive training ground. Skeletons and spiders alike were all over the place, shooting arrows, practicing rushing at targets, and a bunch of other things that I couldn't describe.

Apparently Silk decided that it would be best to walk right down the middle of the room, so that EVERYONE could see us as we passed by. Most of which stared at me uncomfortably as we passed, and one or two chattered at me in their own languages. I'm not sure what they said, but Silk seemed to giggle at some of them.

"Alright you guys, back to work!" she shouted to everyone in the room. "He's with me!"

Slowly, everyone in the room went back to whatever it was that they were doing. Even so, I could still feel them watching me closely, not in an aggressive way, but more in a curious sort of way. I'm guessing most of them have either never seen a human, or they haven't tried to instantly kill a human before, and were rather curious about that fact.

I tried to think positive. At least I was protected by Silk, right? Surely I had that going for me. No way all of these spiders and skeletons would try anything with her around.

Then, once we were on the other side of the room, Silk stopped me in front of a medium sized area, lined with fence. "Wait here for a minute. I have to grab something from a room close by, and then we can start."

"W-wait!" I stammered. "C-can't I just come with you?"

"Sorry, but no." Silk apologized. "I have to go somewhere you can't roam about at the moment. I won't be long. Just keep calm."

With that said, Silk disappeared into the sea of training grounds. I nervously waited for her to return. Just to be safe, I stepped inside the safety of the fenced in area, but I knew it wouldn't do much against a spider or an armed skeleton.

Eventually, as I watched the bland stone wall, I got the impression I was being watched. I turned around to see… another skeleton, watching me. It had a bow, but it was down by it's side, hopefully meaning it wasn't about to attack.

We kinda just… stared at each other for a minute. Well, I was staring more at the skeleton more than the other way around. I always found that so creepy, that the one creature that doesn't even have eyes can be the best archer out of all the monster that roam the world. That and the fact that they looked soulless freaked me out even more.

It carefully looked me up and down a few more times…

And then it spoke.

"You've met with an awful fate, haven't you?"

I blinked a bit. I didn't think skeletons could even speak English. Then again, that one old skeleton that stopped as Susie's place before had spoke, so I guess they can if they want to? Regardless, I was quiet before leaning closer. "I'm sorry?"

"You are a human." the skeleton said. It's voice rattled and creaked every time it's jaw moved, but I understood it all the same. "And yet here you are, in the middle of skeletons and spiders."

"Believe me, I had no intention on coming… wherever 'here' is." I said quietly.

"Whatever the reason, you are now put in a dangerous situation." the skeleton continued. "One that could mean the end of you."

"Wait… what are you going on about?" I said, stepping up the fence.

"The crown…" the skeleton said, it's voice dropping to a whisper. "You are the human we needed to get the crown. But it's now more dangerous than ever."

"What's it to you?" I asked rather harshly.

The skeleton ignored my tone. "Just listen. A grave fate awaits you where that crown is. Most of my brethren, Diana included, were not around when that crown was in someone's hands. I was. I remember exactly how it was."

The skeleton looked down at it's boney hand. "Power changes people, human. Even if they have a heart of gold, eventually, power corrupts things. The king was corrupted. He was going to plan mass genocide of ALL other races than skeletons and spiders. Not just humans. Creepers. Endermen. Zombies. Cows. Wolves. Pigs. Even Cave Spiders, cousins of the spiders, would not be spared."

It looked at me, and I could tell even without eyes there was desperation as it stared at me. "The crown would bring our races together, yes. But not without sacrifice, of one's own rational."

I stared in disbelieve at this weird skeleton. Somehow, it's bones seemed to grow even older than they already had as I watched him.

"Look… if I don't get that crown, then I'm as good as dead. And why should I even listen to you? How do I know if you're telling the truth?" I asked.

"You shouldn't." the skeleton agreed. "And you probably won't, no matter what I say. But if you continue down this road you are going, then there will be no such thing as a happy ending for you, for me, for Silk, for Diana, for everyone."

I watched the skeleton as it appeared to sigh. "It seems I can't do anything more. At the very least… I will give you this."

It showed me it's bow. But… if my eyes weren't mistaken, there was a faint purple-ish aura surrounding it, running up and down the bow. As well as a small quiver with half a stack of arrows.

"Ummm…" I said, looking around. "Pretty sure that'll get confiscated the second someone sees me with it."

"Under normal circumstances, yes, it would." the skeleton agreed. "But this purple aura means something different. These bows are incredibly rare. Only one out of every thousand skeletons would be seen holding a bow like this, and that is a sign of high rank among our kind. Giving a bow like this to someone else is sort of like a sign of trust, and therefore will not be taken, unless you turn against us. Understand?"

"I… I guess." I said, taking the bow. The purple aura seemed to glow brighter for a second, before fading away.

"Go on. Fire it." the skeleton said expectantly. I was confused about what he wanted me to fire at…

When I saw a target not that terribly far away from here, just to my left. The only problem was that a skeleton was currently using it, but I guessed if I gave it a heads up.

I whistled loudly enough for the skeleton to hear, and prepped the bow to fire. Fortunately, it got the message and stood off to the side, as I carefully aimed…

And fired. The arrow soared beautifully through the air, hitting right in the bullseye. Which was impressive, considering the target was a full twenty blocks away from me.

"Not bad at all." the skeleton I had been talking to said, sounding impressed. "Not many skeletons can handle a shot like that. If you fail at this job and become a skeleton yourself, you'd make a fine addition to our forces."

"Umm… thanks?" I said, sheathing the bow behind my back.

"It was a complement." the skeleton said lightly. "Now… good luck to you, human. Whatever path you follow, I hope that my words at least had some affect on you."

It started to walk away, before one last question stuck out at me. "Wait." I called out.

The skeleton turned and looked at me again. "Does the purple aura… mean anything other than rank?"

The skeleton… it almost seemed to smile. "That is for you to discover. Good-bye."

With that it left, leaving alone to my thoughts. What did it mean, by 'that is for you to discover?' What was that about?

But as I pulled out the gift, and was about to inspect it closer, suddenly I heard a gasp from my left. I looked up to see Silk, holding an assortment of supplies, staring at me, surprised.

"W-w-who gave you that?!" she asked, dropping all of the stuff she had in the little fenced off area.

"Some skeleton." I replied simply. "Practically gave it to me."

Silk looked at the faintly glowing bow with wide eyes. "Those… those are so rare… and a skeleton just up and GAVE it to you?!"

"Pretty much." I said, tucking it behind my back again.

"..." Silk was quiet for quite some time.

"I think we'll hold off for today." Silk said softly, eyeing my new bow again. "I'll clean up here, and then we'll head back."

She quickly shoved everything that she had brought with her into a bag that she borrowed from a nearby spider, and then gestured for me to follow.

As we walked back through the army of skeletons and spiders, they could all see my new bow that was given to me. But the stares weren't in a menacing sort of way, no. Rather, they all looked at me… with increased curiosity.

Silk and I slowly made our way out of the training grounds, back to where we came from. But about halfway there…

Suddenly, I was against the wall, with an angry spider girl in front of me, getting in my face. My first thought was that she suddenly grew, but I looked down and realized her feet were apparently around my legs, sticking to the wall.

"How did you get that bow?" Silk asked me again, not sounding very happy.

"Wha-"

"Don't play dumb. I know that a skeleton will only give a bow like that to another skeleton. So how. Did. You. Get. It?"

"I'm not lying, I swear!" I said, sweating.

But before Silk said anything else, someone else spoke up. "He's not lying Silk."

We both looked over to see… another skeleton, without it's bow. Was it the same one that gave me the bow in the first place?

Silk looked surprised. "You… you gave him your bow?"

"Indeed." the skeleton said. "I know all about your little mission for this human, so I gave him something to make the going easier."

Silk hopped off the wall and stared straight at the old skeleton. "But why would you care about him? Hell, if we didn't need him I'd kick him out right now, and be glad for it."

"Because I can tell something about him." the skeleton said, looking at me now. "Something tells me that he is gonna do something bigger than any of us can even imagine."

"But you know…" it wrapped up, turning around. "Even he will need the right tools for the job."

With that, the skeleton left, leaving the two of us standing there, confused.

Then, Silk huffed. "Fine. I'll let you hold onto that." she said unhappily. "But know that if you try to use that to free yourself, we are authorized to use lethal force to stop you. Understood?"

I nodded. Like I was about to kill someone in a facility with a million spiders and skeletons ready to fight. I had a bow with only a few shots in it.

"Good. Let's get back to Diana." she said. "Hopefully she's okay…"

"Ahh, Snowy's not stupid. She wouldn't hurt something if it didn't hurt us first." I reassured, but I couldn't help but have a small amount of doubt in my voice…

"Well, only one way to find out…" Silk said, continuing onward. I followed along shortly after.

If the bow was in my hands, I would've been able to see the bow faintly glow again, this time even brighter…

And that's that! Holy hell, this chapter is so long, yet it took less than a month to get out! My writer's block is over, baby!

So yeah, hope you all enjoyed that little plot chapter. Now Cameron had a strange bow, one with a purple aura around it… *sarcasm* I wonder what that can mean…

(Wow Author. Even here you poke fun at yourself.)

Neptune?! You're in the wrong author's notes! Get out!

(Chill out, I'm only here to promote your other story.)

Not the right time for that Nep!

(Another time, maybe?)

I don't know, just let me wrap up here!

Sigh… sorry about that. That was Neptune. She's one of the main characters in my other story, "HyperDimension Neptunia, Volume C." She's… needy kinda.

She apparently thinks that she can get me more publicity for that story if she jumps over here and starts talking. I'm terribly sorry for that.

But I guess if you do want to learn more about who that Neptune girl I'm talking about it, then give HDN, VC a read. It's got puns, references, jokes, serious moments, laughter, and a bunch of other things. It also shatters the fourth wall constantly, so be warned.

Anyway, now that that shameless self-promotion is over, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I finally broke the trend! We are getting back to what our normal upload time was!

*lets that thought hang for two seconds, then knocks on the wooden shelf next to me.*

As always, if you guys want to play Minecraft with me, let me know. PM me with your in game name, what server, and when, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. And don't forget about my personal server! I reset the server recently, and have gotten on it almost once a day since then. I would really like to see some of you guys on there.

But until next time guys, this is ButterHunter signing out for the time, and as always, stay awesome.