The director had difficulties setting up for the next interview. The camera kept sinking into the swampy soil and they had to relocate several times before they found ground solid enough to take its weight.

"Are you sure that it's a good idea to film in the Misty Valley?" asked Go-kun, dubiously.

"Of course!" replied Nicole, her eyes shining brightly. "This is what Tetheus has to deal with. Maybe we'll even see a yokai. If the two of them fight and we catch it on tape, then we'll get more viewers for sure!"

"Ahem!". A loud cough came from the imposing figure that suddenly appeared beside them. He was distant, deadly and damaged.

"Oh my," breathed Nicole, adjusting her safari hat. "Did Lykouleon give you that black eye?"

"No," He coughed again. "Raseleane got a bit upset when she heard my description of her lingerie. She's a vixen. Left, right: she's got a deceptively strong punch." He clenched his fist and looked toward the sky. "She really is the perfect woman."

Go-kun squinted at Tetheus. "Have you lost weight?"

"Well, most of the packages are for Kai-Stern and Alfeegi now. Ruwalk's sulking about it, though he's pretending that he doesn't care. Alfeegi's not too happy. You should read some of the cards. There's a whole bunch that turned him red and that he refuses to show to anyone. I shudder to think what's in them, since I've seen the ones that he hasn't tried to burn and they're pretty... um... something."

"You're not so popular now," said Nicole, unkindly.

Tetheus sighed. "I guess that there are only so many little brothers a girl can have before she runs out. I shouldn't have been so greedy and ate them all at once."

He bent over, with a loud creak, and rescued a sinking chair from the mire.

The director called out to the little group, "We're ready."

"I'd better ring home," said Go-kun. "I just have to check in on Random-chan."

Nicole nodded and led Tetheus over to the camera, which was balanced precariously on the edge of a cliff. Three of the four Chan sisters were desperately trying to keep it from falling off. Fish-chan was ordering her younger sisters to hold on, while she tied it to some of the nearby trees and rocks. Burbs-chan and Goldy-chan rolled their eyes and pulled faces while her back was turned.

Muse-chan grabbed the make-up kit from the quicksand that had swallowed the big lady in the mini-skirt and did her best to cover Tetheus's bruises. The heavy-duty concealer was doing a good job and couldn't be found, so she apologised to Tetheus when she handed him the mirror.

"Okay, ready on set!" came the stern voice, as Tetheus and Nicole jostled over the few patches of secure footing. "Three, two, one, action!"

"Welcome back to Tetheus: Questions and Answers," said Nicole, brightly. "I'm Nicole and today I'm talking to Tetheus in beautiful Misty Valley."

"Thank you for agreeing to interview me again, Nicole," said Tetheus, offering a profile to the camera and hiding his shiner from view.

"Tetheus, a number of people are curious about your background. Tell me about your parents."

"Nicole, this is a bit awkward." He paused, thinking carefully about what he had to say. "I'm a demon. We're born from the fears of humans." He stretched backwards and there was another loud creak. "There once was a young human boy who was an only child. He lived in a forest near a village, which was very dangerous and so he was under strict instructions not to answer the door and be very careful with strangers, hide if he heard someone coming, that sort of over-zealous parental anxiety. Well, one day, his mother was late home. The evening wore on and it got dark and she didn't turn up. He couldn't leave the house and there was no-one nearby that he could talk to and take refuge with if he was allowed to leave, so he just curled up into a ball imagining all the horrible things that could have happened. He worked himself up into a terrible state and just when he thought that he would explode from terror, three children burst from his wardrobe and ate him. I guess that boy was our parent, mother and father."

Nicole stared at him. "And now you work for the Dragonlord? How did that happen?"

Tetheus winked at her. "I was born from a child's fear, but I soon became the fear of adults. I and my siblings preyed on the children of that village, we were only kids ourselves, what can you expect? Anyway, word was sent to the castle at Dragoon that terrible demons were plaguing this small town, a hamlet really, and that they needed help. I was surprised that the Dragonlord himself came. I think he was disappointed when he saw the three of us, scrawny children, cowering under a meagre bed. It's not the image that a great and noble slayer of demons has in mind when he sneaks out of the castle. I threw myself at the Dragonlord while my brother and sister escaped and he easily over-powered me."

"Then what happened?" asked Nicole.

"The Dragonlord was proud. He couldn't bring himself to murder what he saw as a child, so he put me in chains and brought me back to the castle. He wanted to rehabilitate me. I fought every time they tried to move me, feed me, release me, capture me. I think I'm the reason that Alfeegi only has one testicle now. Over time, I got bored of fighting back. Over more time, I started talking to the Dragonlord and the other denizens of the castle and over even more time, I came to respect them. I'd spent several human lifetimes in the castle by that stage and it was my home."

"How old are you?" asked Nicole.

"Oh, I'm not sure how old I m exactly. I wasn't aware of time when I living as a demon, but it's been one thousand, three hundred and sixteen years since I learned to count."

"Wow," said Nicole. A breeze blew through the clearing and Tetheus freed sinking feet with a murky slurp. "Let's go to the phones. Hello, is that Old Fiat? You're talking to Tetheus!"

"This is Old Fiat. Long time viewer, first time caller," said a disembodied voice. Nicole waved to the camera and smiled. Tetheus nodded, uncomfortably.

"Tetheus, can you swim?" asked Old Fiat.

Tetheus twitched. "How strange," he said, opening his jacket and reaching into its inside pocket with a creak. He pulled out a scroll of paper, which he unrolled and displayed to the camera. "I just got my silver swimming certificate today."

There was a crackle on the line and then Old Fiat spoke again. "Can you cook?"

Tetheus shook his head. "I believe in the raw food movement. Nothing beats it live and squirming. Cooking destroys the nutrients, you know."

"Okay..." said Nicole. "Do you have any more questions, before you go?"

"Sure," said Old Fiat. "Does Shyrendora..."

Tetheus exploded. "What? Where did you hear that name? How do you know about her? I haven't said anything about my family, well, not much. What's going on here?"

Nicole gaped like a fish and Muse-chan grabbed the emergency contract and flipped through its pages.

"Are you watching me?" thundered Tetheus. "What else do you know about my past? Is there any point in me answering more questions, since you seem to know more than even the DRAGONLORD does!"

Muse-chan darted forward and handed the contract to Nicole. When she reached out to Tetheus, he restrained her with a single finger on her lips.

"I'm obliged to answer any question yes, but I don't have to answer if any question's unfinished. WHAT IN THE WORLD COULD THAT BE?"

"Very funny," said Nicole, finally getting a word in. "That's not going to work..."

"AIEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

She turned and Tetheus escaped. "Right," said Nicole, pushing her hat firmly onto her head and getting out her elephant gun. "Just what part of a One-Eyed Monster is the vulnerable bit?"

xOxOxOx

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