Chapter 7: The first key
As the sun sets in the distance, a loud howl is heard and the Lazytown kids, plus Krystal and Sportacus, all stand back in fear. Usa, now the large white wolf she mentioned just a few hours before, sits there on the ground and stares at the others with her huge, light blue eyes. She tilts her head a bit, stands and sniffs the air. Krystal wonders what Usa is doing then she cautiously walks toward the large wolf. Usa stares straight at her then sits back down, waiting for her to walk on up. Stephanie begins to worry about Krystal's safety.
"What are you doing?" Stephanie asks in fear.
"Hush," Krystal glares at Stephanie then returns her attention to Usa. "Usa? Are you still in there? Can you understand me?"
"Of course I can understand you, you idiot," Usa speaks through her mind. "The one you should be worried about is Seniõr Jumping bean. He doesn't look too hot."
"I've had it with your name calling," Sportacus snares. "Every time you get the chance, you call me 'Mr. Jumping bean' or 'Sir Hop-a-lot'. I'm tired of it." A set of brown wolf ears appear on his head, through his stupid blue hat. "From now on, start calling me by my real name."
"Are those wolf ears or are ya just happy to see me?" Usa laughs a bit then stares. "Wait. Wolf ears?"
"What does it mean, Usa?" Krystal asks as she stares at the wolf ears on Sportacus's head.
"It means that he's the reason why our power is weakening," Usa says with surprise. "Oh no. This can't be happening. He isn't mortal at all. He's immortal. Damn it."
"Is that a bad thing?" Stephanie asks.
"DUH!" Usa lightly growls. "It means that I just cursed the key to this reality. Who knows what affect this will have upon it."
"How long will this curse last?" Stephanie asks.
"It will last as long as there is a full moon," Usa whimpers a bit. "Why do these things always happen to me?"
"This is so going to put a damper on your record," Krystal states as she sits down. "Now what?"
"Follow me," Usa stands once more and walks away. "But only Krystal, Stephanie, and Sportacus. The rest of you have to go home and rest. Trust me."
"But why, Usa?" Trixie asks with a whining voice.
"Don't question my authority," Usa growls. "Go now. I'll have Stephanie fill you in tomorrow."
"Yes ma'am," Ziggy salutes and runs off to his house. The other kids also head home.
"Much better," Usa walks away. "Come along now."
A little later, in Krystal's temporary home, Krystal is playing video games in the living room while Usa, in the dining room, explains about how the curse placed upon her works. Stephanie tries to follow along and Sportacus is trying to pull the wolf ears off his head. Usa grunts a bit and snaps at Sportacus, scaring him a bit, then continues on. A little distracted from Krystal playing video games loudly, Stephanie still tries to understand what the hell Usa is saying.
"So you're saying that in order to break this curse upon you and Sportacus, this Angel girl must find a way to free herself?" Stephanie looks confused.
"No," Usa shakes her head. "What I am saying is that if Angel finds what she is looking for to free herself, the curse placed upon me will lift and Sportacus can be normal again. Some-what."
"That's funny," Krystal laughs.
"What is?" Usa looks back.
"How you said that," Krystal walks up. "He will be normal again, some-what. That's funny, ya know."
"Shut up," Usa growls. "I'm being serious here. The some-what part means that he is also the key to this reality."
"I know," Krystal gives a knowing grin. "I know what it really means," she nudges Usa a bit, backing away after Usa growls at her. "Sorry. God. I didn't know you truly wanted to protect the freak."
"That's because you don't know how dangerous my father can get," Usa snaps at Krystal. "I vowed to protect the innocent. Even if it is someone I don't like very much. As long as the soul is pure, I have to do my very best to protect them. Even if it means my very life."
"That, I understand," Krystal nods her head. "I have been in that situation before. So I can see why you want to protect them. All right. Now what are we to do if your father does send another demon."
"I'm not sure," Usa says. "But I do know that I have to remove the powers from Sportacus's soul. Unfortunately, judging by his age, the powers already fused with his soul. Which means I have to kill him once I'm in my human or half human form. Sorry."
"That's stupid," Stephanie slams her hands onto the table. "Couldn't there be another way to remove those powers from his soul without killing him?"
"Afraid not," Krystal sighs. "So far, I had never needed to kill anyone in order to remove the key powers from their soul. Mainly because they were mostly young ones."
"And this is only my first mission in protecting a key, Stephanie," Usa says, a little upset.
"Well then I guess you're gonna have to kill us all in order to kill him, Usagi," Stephanie snares at Usa. "I, for one, am not going to let either of you hurt him."
"No worries, Steph," Krystal grins. "If I did kill an innocent person, I would disappear forever. Usa can't either because she made a promise to the gods that she would never kill another pure soul again. If she did, she would die in an instant and her soul would be imprisoned for all eternity."
"It's true," Usa nods her head. "Krystal told Laverna to find another way to retrieve the powers from certain keys without resulting in death. So far, no such luck. But I can understand you getting mad. I don't blame you."
"I see," Stephanie stares.
"So what now?" Sportacus asks while standing. "I'm part wolf. There is no way am I going into public looking like this."
"Chill out, Sportacus," Krystal grins. "I'm sure no one will notice."
"This is stupid," Usa growls a bit. "If it weren't for the fact that there is a key here, I would be at home, eating cake with my friends."
"Or going all love-struck over some kid from America," Krystal cheerfully says. "Oh well."
"Dork," Usa glares at Krystal.
In the underground home of Robbie Rotten, Evila, in baby form, is crying her head off until she notices Robbie walking in. Robbie is tired of Evila's crying and he wants to go to bed. Unannounced to him, something appears in front of Evila and she eats it. A second after, a green light shines and Robbie turns around to find an older version of the blonde hair, green eyed baby. The woman smiles to Robbie and says, "Hi cousin. I'm back." Robbie grins with evil and he plops down onto his neon orange chair.
"How did you do that?" Robbie asks with a huge grin on his face.
"Let's just say," the woman sits down as well. "I have a friend who is the lord of darkness. And he's not Hades either. In this form, I shall be called Daphne until we can find a way to revert me to my demon form."
"Good idea. But one problem. How are we going to keep Usagi and the others away? I saw what the girl can do."
"I know, dear cousin. She has that special death-rebirth ability on her side. But I got an idea. Listen closely…"
(End of 'Chapter 7: The first key')
Coming soon:
Chapter 8: Demon of dreams and eternal sleep