Here's chapter twelve. It's okay I guess, but the title doesn't start making sense until the end. =p I hope that you like it. And if you don't, then I'd rather not hear from you..

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Chap. 12: Pushed Into Darkness
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It was very early in the morning. All was silent except the sound of a gentle morning shower against the window pane. Then, joining it was the soft noise of light footsteps against the floor. The room was almost completely dark but there was a patch of early morning light against the wall, emiting from the window. Then you could slightly make out a shadow in that small patch of light. Then the owner of the shadow came closer, closer to the living room couch.

"Kasey," whispered the shadow's voice, "are you awake? Probably not, huh?"

Kasey turned over on the couch, revealing her face in the slight glow of the fragment of light. Even though she was a heavy sleeper, the whisper seemed to reach her ears and register itself in her brain, although not enough to wake her up. She sighed in her sleep, looking peaceful and carefree like an innocent, naive child. Strange how slumber can make anyone look that way.

"Kasey... Kasey?" the voice said a little louder. Then a pair of hands, or rather, paws, reached out to shake Kasey awake. She groaned quietly at her peaceful sleep being disturbed, and blinked her eyes slightly open into thin brown slits almost hidden by her eyelashes.

Kasey stretched, then completely shut her eyes and licked her lips. "What do you want? I'm tired and cold and don't feel like getting up right now."

"You never do this early in the morning, do you?" the voice replied in a somewhat amused tone. "I can't sleep. And I didn't want to drive myself nuts pacing the floor like you do, so..."

"So you decided to drag me into your insomniac misery, hm?" Kasey finished, her eyes again opening to brown slits. She yawned. "At least turn a light on. It's darker than a dungeon in here." At this, she reached over and flipped on a lamp switch, the sudden light uncovering the shadow's identity: Susan. Kasey then blinked her eyes several times, trying to get them to adjust to the sudden light. When she stopped this routine she had them opened completely. She sat up and stretched again. "Oh, I swear, I don't know HOW often I've been sleeping on couches recently..."

"Hm, this is almost perfect. Except one thing's missing. Where is your boyfriend? I know he's still around here somewhere." Susan quickly glanced around.

Kasey looked around too, then noticed a pile of blankets at the end of the couch that seemed to slightly rise and fall rhythmatically. Kasey made her way on all fours over to the pile of blankets. Then she sniffed it somewhat, making herself look like a curious puppy. "Smells like laundry detergent, and..." Kasey knocked off the blankets with a playful swat of her paw, revealing what was underneath: a sleeping 625. Kasey tried nudging him awake with her paw, and he finally stirred.

Sitting up, he looked at the girls' faces back and forth, then covered himself back up with the blanket. "D'ya mind?! I don't intrude on your personal space!" Huffily, he laid back down and forced his eyes closed.

Kasey sniffed his face. "Did you know you smell like mayonnaise?"

625 opened his eyes, looking annoyed. "See what I mean about intrusions of personal space?! I didn't give you permission to discover what I smell like!"

"Did you get up on the wrong side of the couch this morning, 625?" Susan asked.

"Well how would you like it if Stitch sniffed your face? Would YOU like it?" 625 snapped.

"But Stitch does stuff like that all the time," Susan excused. "I am aware Kasey doesn't, but she just gets curious sometimes. I should've warned you what you were getting yourself into."

"Leave me alone, okay?" 625 pulled the blankets over his head.

Susan put her paws on her hips. "And why are you so darn snappy?! I know some people can be grumpy in the morning... but sheesh! What's your problem?" She looked to Kasey. "You'd better give your boyfriend an attitude adjustment, Kasey."

"Maybe later. I'm still tired. Do you mind leaving us alone and coming back at about noon?" Kasey laid her head down.

Susan snapped her fingers. "I know what you guys need!" She disappeared into the kitchen, then reappeared moments later with steaming mugs of coffee.

"Coffee?!" Kasey questioned. "I don't drink coffee."

"Well, maybe it's about time you did," Susan said promptly. She looked over at 625 who had fallen back to sleep. "He's back to sleep again. Shall I pour coffee in his face?"

Kasey gave a look of sheer disapproval. "No. Even you're not that cruel."

"Well, what I think you guys should do is," Susan began, "go back to Gantu's ship and plead with him to let you live there again. You two can't live here forever, you know. Nani only gave you a week. And it couldn't hurt to get started bright and early."

"This changes the subject, doesn't it?" Kasey quirked a brow, but all the while wearing the smirk smile she was infamous for.

Susan shook her head, smiling. "Have some coffee, Cuz'!" Susan offered Kasey a mug.

Kasey stared inside the mug Susan held out, watching the cream swirl around in the strong-smelling brown liquid. Then she sat back. "No thanks. I don't feel like contaminating my body with caffeine right now."

"Well, you never mind... 'contaminating' yourself with the stuff HE feeds you." Susan pointed to 625, who was still asleep. "Who knows what he puts in those sandwiches he makes." Susan continued to hold out the mug of coffee. "If you trust your boyfriend, the least you can do is trust me and contaminate your body. Please?" Susan gave Kasey a teasing smile.

"Hey! That teasing smile is copyright to moi!" Kasey exclaimed. She laughed. "Okay. I'll have some." She took the coffee from Susan and took a sip. Then flinched. "It's hot!"

"Of course it is! What, did you expect it to have ice cubes floating around in it?" Susan asked with her paws on her hips.

Kasey then proceeded to shake 625 into consciousness once more. When he woke up again, before he could say anything, Kasey grabbed another mug of coffee from Susan and offered it to 625. "Hola Figaro! Did you have a good siesta?"

625 took the coffee without question, and when he sipped it he flinched like Kasey had. "It's hot!"

Susan sighed. "Am I the only one that isn't totally clueless?"

"Well maybe if you just drink it quickly." Kasey took a big gulp of her coffee, then she flinched worse than before and her eyes started to tear. "I shouldn't have done that..."

625 laughed. "I could've told you that!"

Kasey gave 625 a playful push. "Shame on you for laughing at your girlfriend!"

"Okay, okay, okay. Enough goofing off, you two." Susan shook her head, but she couldn't help a little laughter herself. "Your time here is limited, remember? I really think you should go back to Gantu and apologize for whatever it is you did."

"We didn't do anything!" Kasey held her paws up in the air while carefully balancing her coffee mug on her lap. "Except a little good-natured teasing."

Susan didn't look surprised. "You know, even 'good-natured' teasing can go a little too far."

"Well, we'll do it eventually. We have a whole week, right?" Kasey smiled. "For now, let's concentrate on breakfast. Do you have any pancake mix? Boysenberry syrup?"

"Any butter?" 625 added.

Susan groaned. "This is going to be harder than I thought. You guys, you can't just keep avoiding the subject. You need to talk to Gantu."

"Aw, why do you always have to be a fun-sucker, Susan? Besides, I like pancakes!" Kasey nodded.

Susan sighed. "Okay. If I make you a pancake, will you go and talk to Gantu?"

Kasey considered this. "Maybe."

"Maybe isn't good enough, Pancake Girl." Susan looked annoyed, but slightly amused as well.

"Okay, so I will."

"You promise?"

"Fine."

"Say it."

Kasey sighed. "...I promise. But 625 has to go with me."

"Why? Are you scared?" 625 teased.

"No!" Kasey insisted. "It's just that you're homeless too, you know. It's only fair that we go together! Couples are supposed to be equal."

"But I don't want to go! I have plans." 625 nodded.

"Plans?" Kasey questioned with an upraised eyebrow. "Plans to what? Raid the kitchen then lay around eating all day?"

"I see you understand."

Kasey snorted. "That's not work! It's being lazy!"

"Like you aren't!"

"Hey, hey!" Susan did a "stop" gesture. "Please, don't do this now. You two have responsibilities to take care of. So take care of them!"

Kasey folded her arms. "Okay, okay. We will after breakfast. You don't have to be so bossy about it!"

"Well, I'm sorry, but that's the only way to get through to a couple of pathetic creatures such as yourselves."

625 snorted. "Yeah, like you aren't pathetic. Designed to attract the opposite gender? That's the only way YOU can get a boyfriend! THAT'S pathetic!"

Susan looked agitated. Her right eye twitched. She stood up. "...I'll make the pancakes." Then she disappeared into the kitchen.

Sometime later, when everyone had had their breakfast, Susan held open the door for Kasey and 625. "Okay. Your stomachs are full. Now go talk to Gantu about getting your home back."

625 held open the door. "Mine isn't. Do you have any---"

"Out!" Susan demanded, and shut the door on the two experiments, then leaned against it. "Sheesh!"

"Is she rude or what?" 625 shook his head. "So, what do you want to do?"

"Duh! Talk to Gantu about letting us back." Kasey rolled her eyes.

"You mean we were being serious?" 625 looked surprised.

"Well, I was, at least," Kasey answered. "So let's go. You don't want to be thrown out in a week, do you? You don't want to be homeless, do ya? Now come on, let's go see if he will take us back." Then she started to walk off.

"You say it like it's nothing. And let me tell you, I wouldn't mind doing nothing," 625 remarked, unaware for the moment that he had just made himself a victim.

"Yeah, I know. If there was a class in nothing, you'd get an A in it," Kasey remarked. "Come on then, Mr. Nothing."

625 looked like he was about ready to complain, but reluctantly followed his girlfriend in silence. The air was misty, but the morning shower had passed. When they had finally made it to Gantu's spaceship, 625 gave Kasey a little push towards the entrance. She looked back at him in annoyance, but she walked up to it anyway.

"Hello?!" Kasey shouted through the closed entrance. "Are you there, Gantu?"

"No, I'm right here," Kasey heard a booming voice from behind her, but before she could turn her head she felt herself being lifted up. Then the next thing she knew, she was face-to-face with Gantu. He had also picked 625 up off of the ground, who was in his left hand as Kasey was in his right.

Kasey waved innocently. "Hi, Gantu."

"Don't 'hi' me, you good-for-nothing ex-minion of mine. What are you doing near here? You don't live here anymore, so you're trespassing on my property." Gantu looked at them each angrily, his hands tightening around their bodies.

Kasey coughed, struggling uncomfortably. "Could you loosen your grip? I can't breathe!"

"Yeah. The girl has a nice point." 625 struggled uncomfortably as well. Then he stopped, flinching. "Ow. I think you just crushed a vital organ."

Then, suddenly, Gantu dropped Kasey, then dropped 625 in order to examine his right hand. "Ouch! What did you do to me, female?!"

Kasey examined her claws. "I knew my claws were like thorns, but who knew they could penetrate YOUR flesh, Gantu!"

"Yeah, who knew?" 625 seemed to be laughing silently. That is, until Gantu gave him a threatening look, then he conveniently hid behind Kasey.

"Now, let's get down to business." Kasey clicked her claws. "Not that you deserve us, but we're asking you to take us back. Answer me quickly, for we don't have all day."

"Uh, actually, Sugar Dumplin', we do," 625 told Kasey, but she simply showed him her claws, then he went back to being completely hidden. Even though hiding behind his girlfriend to get away from her doesn't exactly sound smart.

Gantu chuckled. "I knew you'd come back crawling. Well, who am I to turn you down when you obviously need me?"

This annoyed Kasey. "What?! We don't need you, and we're certainly not coming back crawling! I wouldn't come back if you paid me!"

"Uh... Kasey?" 625 looked cautiously at his girlfriend. "What are you doing?"

"I am not living there again if he's going to be that inconsiderate! If anyone's going to do any crawling, it'll be HIM," Kasey decided. "Not us. We're not going to degrade ourselves."

"But I LIKE degrading myself!" 625 insisted.

"Fine. If you two still want to be on your own, go ahead. But you won't last a day without me." Gantu pressed Kasey's nose gently, but because of the size of his finger it didn't feel that gentle to her, and she toppled over, landing on 625.

"We already did!" Kasey shouted after him as he stomped away. She folded her arms angrily. "Boy, some people are so insensitive to others." She shook her head, unaware that she was still sitting on 625.

"Uh... could you maybe..." 625 said from underneath her, "get off of me?!"

"Huh?" Kasey said cluelessly. Then she looked down. "Oh. Sorry." She got up and started to pace around with a thoughtful look on her face.

625 watched her for a while, looking back and forth as she paced back and forth. Then, finally, he snapped and held his head. "Would you stop that?! You're making me dizzy!"

"Sorry. I'm just trying to figure out what we're going to do." Kasey bit her claw, looking worried.

"Well, it's your fault, you know! Gantu was GOING to ask us back, but you didn't want to degrade yourself! I blame you!" 625 pointed to Kasey, annoyed.

Kasey didn't seem to care. "Whatever." She walked a little ways further, then stopped. She sighed, and her ears drooped sadly against her head. "It looks like we're going to have to continue being Susan's burden."

625 scoffed, but didn't say anything.

It was dark in the living room, the only light coming from the television screen. 625 and Kasey were, as usual, on the couch. There was food and drinks all over the coffee table in front of them, and there was also food all over the couch and wrappers and empty soda cans on the floor. Susan came into the room just then, and the scene in front of her more than a little annoyed her. She stared at them, mouth agape. "What are you guys doing?!"

"Eating," 625 replied. "What does it look like?"

"Well, you're certainly not keeping yourselves in shape, that's for sure." Susan snorted. "How can you guys live with yourselves?! Don't you feel so... dirty for being a couple of lazy slobs? I would!"

Kasey shook her head. "No, no, no." She pointed to 625. "HE'S a lazy slob. I'm just lazy."

Susan sighed, looking around the messy room. "Listen. Maybe you do this kind of stuff in Gantu's ship all of the time. But you can't do it here. If Nani catches you, you're going to be SO busted. I'LL be so busted!"

"Well, we have to eat!" 625 exclaimed in annoyance. "What do you want us to do, starve ourselves?!"

"Well, maybe you wouldn't be so..." Susan looked 625 over, "...plump."

"Are you saying I'm fat?!"

"Hoooold it!" Kasey waved her paws around frantically. Then she put them on her hips. "I won't have my best friend and my boyfriend arguing. Why don't you join us, Susie?" Kasey smiled sweetly.

"Are you kidding?! I won't be a part of your..." Susan looked like she was searching for the right words to say, "bizarre... lazy... rituals! And don't call me Susie!" She stomped her foot in annoyance and started to walk away. But in the room walked...

Nani. And she couldn't believe what she saw. "What... what is all this?! Is that EVERYTHING we bought at the grocery store last weekend?!"

"No, some is from the weekend before that." Kasey nodded.

"You weren't HERE the weekend before that!" Nani exclaimed.

"My, picky, picky." 625 shook his head. "Why care about minor details?"

"This is no minor detail!" Nani turned to Susan. "I don't know what to say, but... those two are eating us out of house and home!"

"Or at least 625 is." Kasey pointed her thumb at 625, and he folded his arms at her in annoyance.

"Not to mention what they did to the living room..." Nani looked around at the mess again, looking like she couldn't believe how messy the room had gotten in only a few minutes. "I'm sorry, but you're going to have to ask them to leave."

"Now? But you promised them a week!" Susan helplessly reminded Nani.

"I am sorry, but I can't afford to have them live in this house another day. Literally! They're going to have to go," Nani said sincerely, looking like she really was sorry, but that there was nothing more she could do.

"Well that bites," Susan remarked, but she looked to the floor and sighed. "However, I understand. You two... I'm sorry, but you have to go, and now."

"Well, do we have time to pack?" Kasey looked skeptical, and she pouted slightly.

"Of course. Go on." Nani waved them on.

Kasey leapt down from the couch. Then she grabbed both of 625's paws and tried to pull him off. "Come on, 625! We have to pack!" She tried with all her strength to pull him off, but discovered that she couldn't. "Have you gained weight since an hour ago?!"

"Well, by the way he eats, did you think he'd be a stringbean?!" Susan exclaimed.

Kasey nodded. "Good point." She continued to tug on 625's paws. "Will you come on!"

"But I don't want to!" 625 whined. "Can't you pack for me?"

"It'll be quicker if you do your own packing. And I WON'T do it for you. So come on! Get up!" Kasey pulled a little more then gave up and started to walk away.

"625, go help your girlfriend pack!" Susan demanded. "Or I'll drag you there because let me tell you, I'm a lot stronger, and ROUGHER than Kasey." Susan curled her right paw into a fist, as if she was about ready to give 625 a good punching.

"Okay, okay." 625 got off of the couch, and blocked his face with his arms as he walked past Susan. "You don't have to threaten to punch my lights out!"

"If you weren't my friend's love, I would've done just that a long time ago." Susan punched her left paw as she watched 625 leave the room.

Moments later, the couple came back into the room with their packs. They were led outside, Susan watching pityingly as they left. As they walked away from the house, Kasey sighed. "You didn't have to make such a mess of the place. And you didn't have to raid their whole kitchen! That's why we were kicked out." She scowled. "Again."

"You are just as responsible as I am! And I didn't have to come along! It was YOU who Gantu originally kicked out!" 625 shot back.

"You're right! You didn't have to! And if you didn't, then I wouldn't have been thrown out again!" Kasey started to quickly walk away angrily. Then when she saw that she wasn't being followed, she turned back and went over to 625. "Sorry. We shouldn't be worrying about whose fault it is. We're in this together."

"I'm glad you've finally come to your senses." 625 smiled proudly. "After all, you couldn't live without me. I'm the whole world to you."

Kasey looked like she was about to snap at 625 for that, but instead she simply rolled her eyes and gave a sarcastic, "Right." She headed off, and this time 625 followed behind.

As they continued to walk, Kasey spotted a small secluded cabin. Curiously, she started to walk towards it. "Maybe someone here can help us."

"Are you sure we should just go up to a stranger's house?" 625 looked cautious.

Kasey frowned. "Well, you have a point. But what else are we going to do? Besides, it's a cabin, not a house."

"Oh, well, excuse me! A cabin."

Kasey made her way up to the cabin's door, and carefully held out her paw, about to knock. Then she stopped. "What if, when I knock on the door, somebody opens the door and grabs us then gags and bounds us, leaving us to rot until someone---"

"Oh, for cryin' out loud!" 625 stepped forward and swung open the door. "There!"

"625! You're not supposed to just barge in!" Kasey pointed out.

"So? There's no one in there, anyway." 625 was looking into the darkness of the cabin. "Empty!"

"You sure?" Kasey walked around and in front of 625, looking into the cabin. Then, despite the fact that she didn't remember telling herself to do so, she walked further into the cabin.

625 stood in the doorway, watching until Kasey's walking form disappeared into the darkness, becoming a part of it. He stood there a little while longer, not really willing to follow after his girlfriend. Trying to stall, he called after her. "Kasey?... Kuh-Kasey? What are you doing?! You get back... right now! ...Please, don't make me follow after you. Kuh...Kasey? Are you all right?" He stepped a little further, looking worried and frightened. He did NOT want to do this. He continued watching the blackness for a little while longer, hoping more than anything that she would reappear any minute now. But when she didn't, he knew what he had to do, as much as he didn't want to. He walked farther into the cabin, then heard a sound that would send chills up anyone's spine:

The door slamming shut and locking behind him.

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THE END

To be continued
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