Chapter 24: Farewell to Pride

Its been a couple days since Mew brought Lunis into his home. As of now Riku and Joe Dark sat in the living room while Mew was working on breakfast. But Lunis, it seemed, was having trouble getting accustomed to the idea of a morning routine.

"Yaaaaaaaawn..." Came the gentle bellow of the lunar sleeping beauty wrested from her slumber. She slowly wobbled down the hall with her arms stretched so high that she could almost touch the ceiling, and her silver locks a draping curtain of frizziness.

"Morning..." She smacked her lips, her eyes open like slits.

Mew put his pan on the stove and greeted her with an impish smile, "Heh, morning moonshine."

"Good morning." Said Riku, while Joe Dark limply swung his hand up to show he was alive.

Lunis rubbed her eyes and wandered into the kitchen. Mew was about to crack his first egg when he suddenly felt his right shoulder being sandwiched between two squishy melons. He froze up and his heart vigorously pumped blood up AND down his body.

With a smile growing on its own he looked to his right and saw Lunis dully staring at him, looking ready to tip him over and take him out like he was the last bowling pin for a split.

Mew wiggled his shoulder a bit to give her brain a jump start...Not that there was any rush.

Her eyes perked up and after a quick look down she pulled back with pink in her cheeks and stuttered, "I-I'm sorry Mew!"

"D-Don't be." Mew replied, turning his head a way until his smile decided to go away.

"Heh, who would've guessed inviting a girl into my home would have such fast acting benefits? I should've tried this a lot sooner!"

After a few seconds of them standing around in awkward silence Riku poked his head up and asked, "Is everything alright?"

"Yep!" Lunis proclaimed the same time Mew said, "Y-Yeah!"

He then laughed off the rest of his smile and remarked, "Turns out our lunar goddess isn't a morning person!"

Lunis blinked a few times at the joke only Mew seemed to find funny. Then, he resumed work on breakfast. Though it was tough, seeing as the tall leather wrapped gift from heaven was currently leaning over him with the wide, curious eyes of an owl.

"Can I try making breakfast?" She offered, pointing at her smiling face. It was an eager, but innocent enough request. How could Mew refuse?

Mew stepped back and gestured both hands forward, "Go right ahead!"

He then leaned right and hollered, "Her guys, Lunis'll be making breakfast!"

"R-Really?" Riku stammered.

"Oh god..." Joe Dark spoke with dread.

Mew rolled up a newspaper and smacked him upside the head. He then turned back and saw Lunis gazing over the stove and counter.

"So you cook food on this and season it with these..." The way she whispered and stared said that she was off in her own little world. A firm nod heralded her return.

"Ok! Mew," She turned and placed her hands together beside her face, "I need some bonephant liver and kraken eggs!"

Mew stared deep at her sincere smiling face and slowly reached for the plastic wrapped tube to his left. He then wagged it at her and stoically murmured, "We got sausage?"

Lunis stared at the package and pulled it out of his hand with some hesitation. She gave it a light squeeze and bobbed her head.

"Sau...sage," She then gave a firm nod and remarked, "I can work with this!"

So while she did her job Mew vacated the kitchen and went to sit down next to Joe Dark. He had his arms pressed against his chest and leaned deep into the couch.

"This is a terrible idea." He grumbled.

"And here comes the pessimism..." Mew groaned and sighed.

Joe Dark waved a hand up and looked at Mew briefly, "She knows nothing of Earth cuisine. Her palette's spoiled by alien trash."

"So she has a taste for," Even Mew had to admit what he was about to say sounded flavorless, "Bone...phant."

"Doesn't mean she won't make us a five-star meal!" Mew said, cheerfully snapping his fingers.

"...I think I'd rather keep having your eggs everyday." Joe Dark grumbled.

"Like you don't love them." Mew nudged his elbow into him, and his frown somehow got grumpier.

A few minutes later Lunis wandered out of the kitchen and towards the front door, tying her hair into its usual ponytail.

"Where you going?" Mew wondered.

"To your garden," She opened the door partway, "Maybe I can find something that'll add to the dish!"

She hurried out the door and Riku started to rise from his chair, "I should go with her."

Mew swung his hand down then planted it behind his head, "Eh let her explore a bit. If she's got any questions she'll come to us."

"Lord knows she will..." Joe Dark bemoaned, then grabbed and pulled down the left side of his face, "My head's still hurting from the relentless bombardment she fired at us two days ago."

"Its like you said," Riku remarked, "She's never lived a day on Earth. But...I'm sure she'll adapt quickly."

"Hmph," Joe Dark closed his eyes, "Only if her brain is even half as big as her ti-"

He quickly trailed off into nonsense. Mew looked at him with an innocuous smile, and he creaked one eye partway open. Mew then gave him a combination of a hum and a laugh.

Joe Dark cocked his head to glare at him with both eyes. Mew grinned and spoke like a child teasing someone on the playground, "Someone's got a crush!"

"D-Don't lump me in with you!" Joe Dark sunk back into the arm of the couch.

Mew reached out to his shoulder and looked him in the eye like a doting father, "Son. Your at that age now...when your body feels urges-"

"I KNOW HOW MY DAMN BODY WORKS!" Joe Dark hissed in a panic, "T-This has nothing to do with me...salivating a waterfall like you do!"

Mew drew his hand back and murmured, "Heeeey, rude!"

Joe Dark shivered and withdrew into himself, "Damn woman and her skin-tight leather hugging her obscenely large-"

He came aware of Mew's increasingly growing smirk as he remarked, "You are definitely my brother."

"Ghhh...!" Joe Dark grimaced then brought his foot up to briefly kick Mew.

"I-Its not my fault that she leaves nothing to the imagination!" Was the lamest excuse he could muster in his defense...Even if he was right.

"Well I'm not complaining." Mew said with a hearty chuckle.

"Of course not, this is your dream come true!" Joe Dark growled back, "But its not practical for going out in public."

"Public?" Mew said, tilting his head.

"Don't be dumb, she'll want to get out of this house eventually," Joe Dark nudged his head to the right and whispered, "Especially considering..."

Mew looked at Riku and nodded his head, "Oh yeah."

Riku jolted slightly and went "Huh?" while Mew swayed his hand and told him, "Don't worry about it."

He then smiled and coyly remarked, "Yeah, she'd definitely turn some heads."

"She's a series of car accidents waiting to happen." Joe Dark put it bluntly.

"The destined awakener of puberty in the young masses..." Mew murmured and rubbed the back of his head with a dry chuckle, "Though that'll happen regardless of what she wears."

"At least we can TRY and cover her up."

"True...Fine, I guess I can try making her some clot-"

"Like hell you will!" Joe Dark glared his way.

"What? Why? You've seen my work!"

"And given full creative control you'll stuff her in daisy dukes and a crop top and call it a day."

Mew's lips were slowly widening until Joe Dark gave him a dirty glare. Mew then swung his hand out and hollered, "Fine, then I'll take her clothes shopping!"

"Oh I'm sure you'd love to." Joe Dark remarked.

"Alright wise guy then you do it!" Mew said impatiently.

"Are you mad?!"

"We'll somebody has to chaperon her!"

"Then have your girlfriend do it!"

"She's-!" Mew sputtered and swung his hand out in a dismissive wag, "No way! They'll tear each other apart!"

Mew swung to the right and exclaimed, "Riku, you do it!"

Riku's head was hung towards his stump with a glazed over look in his eyes. He suddenly blinked twice and remarked, "Huh?"

"Were you...even listening?" Mew said with some worry in his voice.

Riku sat up and gave a weak nod. Mew stared at him until the front door swung open and Lunis wandered in with a cornucopia of vegetables in her arms.

"You have so much stuff out there!" Some of the stuff fell to the floor as she carried it to the kitchen, "I don't even know what half these things taste like!"

She went and laid them all out on the counter and then picked them out individually. Mew resumed thinking about the prior subject and got a brilliant idea from it.

"I'm just going to tell her."

As he looked over the couch Joe Dark snickered, "This ought to be good."

"Hey Lunis."

"Yeah?" She walked around the corner holding an apple.

"One thing we probably should've mentioned sooner..." Mew pointed at her directly, "You don't have to keep wearing that if you don't want to."

Lunis tugged at the material near her chest and sounded surprised, "These clothes aren't normal around here?"

"Not in this day and age." Joe Dark scoffed.

"Well..." Lunis placed her apple down slowly and appeared saddened, "Alright then."

She reached for her back and, one loud snap later, both Joe Dark and Mew felt a jolt in their hearts. That leather was about to come off.

Joe Dark grit his teeth and Mew had both thumbs up, gasping in laughter. Joe Dark punched the back of his head to send his face on a downward plummet to his crotch.

"T-That doesn't mean you strip bare!" He then struggled to exclaim.

Lunis pressed an arm up to her chest before the leather got too far and stammered, "Y-You...don't?"

"NO!" Joe Dark's face was plenty red by now.

Mew swung up and rubbed where he'd been struck while explaining a little more respectfully, "You just need to go buy clothes at a store. So keep that on for now..."

Lunis put her outfit back on and remarked, "Buy clothes? That sounds like fun!"

"I guess?" Mew tilted his head, "We were kinda wondering who you'd like to go shopping with though."

She laid a finger against the side of her face and murmured, "Why...couldn't we all go together?"

Mew and Joe Dark widened their eyes at each other like a couple of goldfish. Mew slumped back into the couch and gave a canned laugh.

"Yeah...why...couldn't we?" Which then deflated into a sigh.

Lunis fluttered her eyelashes and chuckled, "Anywho, I'm going to make breakfast now!"

And make it she did! ...Eventually. Between deciding what produce to use and learning the complex mechanics of a spatula, it took Lunis an hour to make breakfast.

Joe Dark was practically a skeleton again by the time he sat at the table. Fortunately he ate plenty of crow, for Lunis wound up making a good meal. Not that he'd ever say so to her face.

She did something unexpected and interesting. She took two pans, filled one with eggs and the other with the whole package of sausage. Then she took some of the stickier vegetables and blended it together into a paste with a little melted butter for flavor. Then when the sausage and eggs were done, she used the paste to hold them together, and then cut the whole product up into fours, topping each slice with roasted peppers.

This bizarre but delicious dish would be come to known as an "Omelet Cake" from then onward.

Mew sank back into his chair and slapped his belly, letting out a hot huff of air, "Whew, I'm full!"

The food sat in his stomach like a boulder, dragging his will and motivation down with him. There was so much to digest. That wasn't a breakfast, it was a break-ing-fast.

"The perfectly whipped eggs...complimenting the rich sauce and cooked right sausage. The zing of the peppers attacking your taste buds with every bite...! To be able to make such a fine meal out of what seemed like a bad idea..."

"Aaaaah, its like the work of a goddess..."

"No shit sherlock." Joe Dark said, calmly downing his last bite of food.

Mew sunk further into his chair and moaned while rubbing his belly. "Marry me Lunis..." He muttered quietly.

Lunis, having collected the plates from the table, stared at Mew with a blank look in her eyes. Joe Dark sighed and glared at him in disappointment, "He's a base creature driven by three things...Lust, gluttony...and fighting."

He was then kicked under the table.

While Lunis cleaned up Mew pulled himself up out of the chair and did his after meal stretches, "Aaaah I'm beat...But the morning's young and there's things to do!"

He headed towards the front door when suddenly, Riku approached him from behind and asked, "Are you heading out to the garden?"

"Yeah, how come?" Mew stopped and turned around.

"Let me handle it today."

"...A'right." Mew rolled his shoulders and stepped aside.

Riku stepped out into the crisp morning atmosphere and gazed up at the beaming sunlight. He shaded his eyes with his only hand and then wandered out into the garden.

Dozens of plants and trees had been stripped clean of their hard work. Riku smiled and murmured, "She definitely had fun out here..."

Now the plants needed a little stimulation to grow plenty of strong, fertile replacements. After ID'ing which plants needed help, which wound up being all of them, Riku returned to the front of the garden to get to work.

He raised his shoulders and took a deep breath. He then looked down at his arm and stared longingly into his palm. He closed his eyes and let his breath out gently. Macros was in his head, repeatedly telling him "You CAN'T."

"I can..." Riku held his hand out towards the garden and firmed his gaze forward, "And I will."

"Concentrate...Relax..." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting the many scents of nature flow into his nose, so that he, and his mind, could become one with it.

"Mmmm." His energy flowed through the ground and into the deep roots spread about. Every taste these plants produced now mixed in his mouth and mind. He too, was a root.

The plants were properly fertilized. Nutrients spread throughout their stems and leaves. Everything was going fine so far. He felt his heart beat harder for a moment, but kept his concentration focused.

As some of the plants started budding, his arm twitched. He grimaced, momentarily at that, and then shook his head and calmly steadied his hand. But the twitching continued, turning into a series of uncontrollable shakes.

He bit his lower lip and held his hand out harder. Another deep breath was necessary. Necessary...but fruitless. The shaking worsened, burrowing deep into his muscles with an intense, throbbing pain.

He fell towards one knee but forced his hand up. His veins glowed with a dark green tint. Still, his spirit refused to cave.

"Concentrate...! Relax...!" He grit his teeth in strain and then, with one painful gasp, he watched as all the produce burst or cracked apart, turning his brother's garden into a massacre of colorful proportions.

"GAH!" He dropped to his knee and smashed the ground with a taut fist, the pain within fading in seconds.

"You CAN'T." That voice modified itself to taunt with a tone of pity.

Riku hung over, breathing heavily in a sweat. The drops falling upon the still blades of grass. He cracked his fist and tried to stand up. His eyes could barely maintain focus, but he could see the mess he had made, and loathed every inch of it.

"Ha...Ha...ha..." Riku closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath, raising his hand out towards the garden.

He stopped, sensing someone's soft gaze on his back, and looked over his shoulder. Lunis was just standing there, watching, blinking, making it difficult to tell what she was thinking, or what she felt.

"..." Riku hung his arm and head and grunted a frustrated breath.

The unsubtle rustle of grass from Lunis' steps steadily grew louder, until she was standing just a couple feet behind him.

He felt like he was being pitied by her gaze, and put his stump forward out of sight. Only for her to grab hold of and pull it back, gently rubbing it before her chest.

And when she did manage to see him eye-to-eye, those were indeed eyes of pity she showed him. But her soft touch, and quiet voice, made her out to be wholly sympathetic to what Riku was going through.

"What happened to you Riku?" She whispered, intending to keep their conversation private.

Riku gently slid his arm out of her grasp and looked down upon it. The tenderness of her voice pried open his shell and with it, made him speak.

"Your fa-" Riku swallowed his words. He couldn't bear to tell her the truth, "...A powerful enemy defeated me in battle, and took my arm as his prize."

Lunis hung her head and backed away slowly, "I-I see..."

She then tried sugarcoating the matter by mentioning, "But...you beat him in the end right?"

"We beat him..." Riku murmured, "My brother, Kairi, even Joe Dark...It was because we worked together that we won."

He raised his hand and squeezed it into a fist, "I couldn't do it alone. I was...too weak."

He shook his head and dropped his hand down, "No that's not right...I was prideful. I played god and paid the price for my arrogance."

He hung his stump out and murmured, "And my arm was the cost..."

"Now I can't control the elements, no matter how hard I try," Riku swung his arm down hard and said, "I might as well be worthless."

"...I don't think you're worthless Riku." Lunis whispered sincerely.

Riku slowly turned around and saw her having some difficulty looking straight at him.

"All my life people were always telling me what to do. Nobody had the courage to ask what I wanted to do..." She lifted her head and smiled at Riku with wobbly resolve, "Except you."

"You didn't have to say anything to me, your enemy. But you didn't...because to you, I was more than that. You saw me as a person, not a tool for murder."

Riku's eyes widened for a moment and Lunis nodded, "I think...its not your body that's strong. Its your heart. That kind, selfless, never-give-up attitude has never let you down. And it won't now."

"You'll get through this. I know you will."

"...What makes you so certain?" Riku said in a dour tone.

"Because I'm here," Lunis confidently responded, "And I'm here...because of you."

Riku paused as Lunis laid a hand atop her chest and struggled to both look him in the eyes and press through her lips, "S-S-So let me help you in return, o-ok?"

"...N-No," Riku stuttered and turned away, swinging his arm out at her and remarking, "I can't...I...I have to do this myself!"

"Do you...?" Lunis murmured, giving Riku time to look her in the eyes, now slanted firmly, "Cause that worked so well before...right?!"

Riku was stunned that she was raising her voice so feverishly. And she stood there and let him have it, "You said it yourself, you couldn't have beaten my father without your friends' help!"

Riku stared at her face and murmured, "I...I didn't say-"

"I'm not stupid Riku," Lunis swung her hand down and grit her trembling teeth, "J-Just...confused..."

"I offered to help because your heart was practically screaming for it! But then you brush me aside and say you'll keep doing things on your own?!"

"Because I have to-!"

NO YOU DON'T! Lunis screamed until her face was bright red, then took a moment to pant and catch her breath, 添ou think you're beneath getting help from others? You're wrong!

"You have so many wonderful friends who'd be willing to give their all to help you!" Lunis laid a hand on her chest and curled it into a fist, "If father had even once considered the same then...!"

Lunis swung her head down, covering her face behind most of her hair. Through her locks though, Riku could see her shed a tear.

"...You're not alone Riku," Lunis raised her watery eyes towards him and softly spoke, "You deserve to be happy. But you can't just keep turning that happiness away. You're not a bad person. Please, stop thinking you are."

"..." Riku lowered his head and closed his eyes, letting the lunar goddess' words stew in his mind for a while, "Thank you Lunis, I'll think about it."

Lunis smiled across her reddened cheeks and lifted her head, walking off looking satisfied, and letting out a quiet puff of air as she entered the house. Riku then looked at his lone hand and out at the mess made in the garden.

"..." He swung his head towards the house and narrowed his gaze. He began walking slowly towards it, clutching his fist by his hip.

He wandered past the living room and time seemed immaterial, as did his surroundings. Mew and Joe Dark were squabbling nearby, but he didn't hear a word of what they said.

"You are nothing more than another casualty."

You are not worthy of controlling light and darkness with such a blind mind ou are not worthy of carrying the Elemental Overlord's legacy ou are worthy of not even the fake body of flesh created by the original fake Overlord

"Impudent child! You are in my domain, and so long as I am omnipresent I will never allow you to lay even the tip of your sword on my armor!"

"But in the end, you should've known better than to fight outside of your weight class…"

"Gaining power made you confident, and arrogant. You became sure that nothing would hurt you, or the people you cared for again."

"No pride holds equal value to a life. Not yours, or that of those close to you."

Insults and warnings swirled in his head, detaching him from the world, and leaving his body to wander to his brother's room like a zombie. When he wandered in there the voices ceased and he found himself staring down at the end table, where the card he picked up from Macros lied upon.

Dizzy, sad, and tired...Riku had had enough of these feelings. He'd been warned, he'd been tested...But every time he did so he failed miserably.

Link, his arm, and almost the entire universe paid for his pride. How much more could he continue to ignore all this and continue an impotent cycle of self-destruction? And what would be the next cost to pay if he did?

Mew flashed in his head, and stung deep in his heart.

And that, was it. Enough...was enough.

He gripped the card firmly in his hand, "Happiness...huh?"

Then he turned around to hurry down the hall. Mew stood up from his chair and intercepted his brother with a worried look in his eyes.

"Whoa, you alright there Riku?"

Riku was ignorant to the bitter tears rolling down his cheeks as he stared his brother in the face and murmured, "Something has to change brother..."

He planted a hand on his chest and passionately proclaimed, "I have to change."

Mew stared in stunned silence and backed away. Riku raised the card before his face and saw nothing but the color palette Macros was adorned in on both sides.

"...How am I supposed to contact him?" He muttered.

"Ring ring! Ring ring!" The phone went off in the kitchen, tilting many a head.

Riku wandered over and picked it up, given no time to say a word before the caller said, "I can tell you're ready."

It was Macros.

"Thank you Riku. Not for anything you did for me in particular, but for doing this for yourself. Ahem...! Anyways, I'll call up Catherine and send her your way for the pick up."

After the dial tone Riku hung up and turned around. Mew stared with his mouth agape as the card in Riku's hand had just...vanished.

"Who IS that guy?" Mew gasped quietly.

Not even five minutes later and Saturn flew into the area with the ship she had taken them to Macros' place last time. Turns out she'd been doing patrols in the galaxy.

Riku headed out the door with his head held high and Mew and Lunis stayed behind to see him off, with Joe Dark lingering in their shadows.

"So you're really going through with this huh?" Mew remarked.

Riku turned aside and nodded his head, "I have to."

"Of course! I wish you the best of luck Riku. Take as much time as you need, the rest of us can hold down the fort until you get back."

"I know." Riku smiled and waved them off as he walked towards the teleportation beam up to Saturn's ship.

"See you later Riku!" Lunis cheered and stood on her tip-toes to strengthen her waving him off.

He disappeared in a flash, and Saturn's ship sped off into space. Mew crossed his arms and smiled, breathing a sigh of relief now that his brother had seemed to have regained some of his resolve.

But what he said..."I have to change". It really struck a cord with him.

What could the future hold for those around him? And...will he continue to be the same person he is now, or someone completely different?

"...Eh, who cares about that!" Mew turned around and pumped his fist in the air as he headed back into the house, "I call dibs on the rocking chair!"

"...You!" Joe Dark grit his teeth and pursued him inside. Lunis, meanwhile, stayed there and stared up in the sky with a longing smile.

STORY 4: Fractured Hearts END

…

…

Night fell quickly on the day after Riku had left the house. The moon was big and bright up in the sky, and the owls were making noise outside.

But for Mew and Joe Dark, that didn't matter. They were lounging in their comfy seats and staring at the television, wrapping up a late night horror movie.

It ended on a sad note. The protagonist couldn't save the woman he loved from the evil vampire, and her corpse turned to dust upon sunrise.

Mew wagged his head and threw his arms over onto his waist, "Ugh, why do these films always gotta end like this?"

He snagged the remote and shut the TV off. Looking over at Joe Dark, he saw him leaning back with his mind deep in contemplation, for once.

"Hey Joe," Mew snapped his fingers and broke his brother out of his trance, "Lunis is out hiking. We got the house all to ourselves."

He laid the remote down and asked with a pleasant smile, "What do you want to do right now?"

"You serious?" Joe Dark scoffed. Mew nodded, to his surprise.

"Hrrrmmm..." He crossed his arms and gave it some minor thought.

"...I guess I could give one of your video games a shot."

Mew shot up like lightning and proclaimed, "Sweet!"

He bent down in front of the TV but quickly came to a stop. One canned laugh later and he was rubbing the back of his head and saying, "Hahah...this is the first time I've needed a second controller. Lemme just get one out of my room."

He only took one step when suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

Mew looked at Joe Dark and asked, "I'll get it. Can you get the controller?"

"Haaaaa, I guess. In your closet right?" Joe Dark made his way for the hall with his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, middle shelf." Mew made his way for the door when more knocks came a-knockin'.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" He started opening the door when the thought occurred to him, "Geez, that was fast Lu-"

Standing outside the door was a pale-faced girl a foot shorter than him wearing a fancy ebony dress and long, draping violet hair.

"...Is it Halloween time already?" Mew looked the girl in her red eyes and nonchalantly remarked, "Uhhh...hello?"

The girl creaked her head back sort-of like a doll and murmured, "Is Joe Dark here right now?"

"Joe Dark...?" Mew squinted his eyes then gave them a few blinks. Then, it hit him, "I'm sorry, who are you and how did you find this place...?"

"I am Alura. I followed Joe Dark to this place." She got right to the point but that just made her come across as weird.

"...Huh. Well, he never mentioned you before," Mew started to turn away and mumbled to himself, "Or much of anything for that matter..."

"Hey! Joe!" Mew hollered as his brother could be seen coming down the hall.

Joe Dark raised his head and immediately he looked like he was about to have a heart attack. His pupils retreated and his skin was as white as snow. He dropped the controller on the ground and before Mew could say "You have a visitor" he zoomed across the room and slammed the door shut.

Mew gawked at him as he spun around with big, wide eyes devoid of color.

"What the HELL is that about?!"

Joe Dark's heart was beating out of his chest as he placed his hands behind on the door and murmured, "I...I don't know! I've...never seen that mannequin before in my life!"

"She knew your name." Mew quietly responded.

"S-So what? Many people do! I'm infamous!" Joe Dark got the stare of shame from Mew, attacking him at his most vulnerable.

"Gah!" Joe Dark spat out in annoyance, "So I may have neglected to mention a few things...!"

"A few things?" Mew raised a brow and then gently pushed him off the door so he could open it again, "You're gonna have a whole lot of..."

Mew stepped out the door and his eyes slowly widened all the way, "Ex...plaining to...do..."

The entire house was surrounded by hundreds of big feral wolves, many of them going so far as to stand on the mountainsides. The pack was led by a bigger wolf with claws full of blood-drenched knives that also wore some kind of military uniform.

And Alura, the mysterious maiden that had descended upon this night, joined the side of a towering beast of a man with wrinkled skin, fangs, and hungering red eyes. The beast licked his lips and leaned back against the air, a fist propped against the side of his face.

"Found you at last, my fleeing child..." They bellowed in a sincerely dreadful tone, inciting the growls of his many furry warriors.

Joe Dark crawled out of the house trembling from head-to-toe, staring up at the man without his usual gusto.

The man smiled and wiggled his fingers against his face, "I am never one to let a meal go uneaten...And you, my dear Dark King..."

His eyes glowed under the pale moonlight as he breathed deep through his ragged nostrils, "Shall be a feast for the ages."

NEXT: STORY 5: Banquet of the Twilight