Ugh… Hello… I hate daylight savings so much… If you want to know why I haven't updated all week, that's why… It's taken me all week to get over the fatigue of having to wake up an hour off schedule… That's how much I need my sleep… Anyways, good thing I had this pre-written…

RandomDragon: What was what?

LightningPunisher: Lauren here. I hate sportsmen jock types. They're usually jerkasses. I like nice guys that are really cute.

Electrify: You shouldn't be.

Voltron007f: I'll try as hard as I can.

Moemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia

Chapter 49

"Aurore…" Lulu said through gritted teeth, frowning.

"Hello, mini witch." Aurore said, smiling. "I must say, you looking up at me, me looking down on you… Ah, nostalgia…"

This is getting kind of weird. The two of them were having a hilarious conversation, while one was fifty feet away from the other, standing atop a large shrine.

"Mini… witch…?" Lulu asked, shaking. "That does it. I'm gonna kill you…" Lulu stalked towards Aurore angrily, glaring at him with murder in her eyes.

Lulu walked towards the stair case, only to hit a barrier of light. She placed her hands against the barrier and pushed, resulting in being flung back, landing on her small butt, frowning.

"Aurore!" Lulu exclaimed, staring up at him, frowning. "Come down here and let's settle things once and for all!"

"Kufufu…" Aurore chuckled, staring down at us, smirking. "No no no, love. You staring up at me, and me looking down on you… That is how we'll always stay."

"What's the deal with you two?" I asked, frowning.

"I told you." Lulu said, frowning. "Aurore makes me sick."

"Yeah, you've told us that many times." Petal said, frowning. "But why?"

"It's not so bad anymore." Lulu said, frowning. "But it's his aura."

"What about it?" Petal asked.

"It's black as pitch." Lulu said, frowning, staring at Aurore.

"Is that bad?" Keith asked, frowning.

"Is that bad?" I asked when Lulu didn't respond to Keith's question.

"Black has both positive and negative symbolism." Lulu answered. "On the positive side, black is the color of protection and the desire to help others. However, on the negative side, it means someone who has deliberately withdrawn from others and internalizes their problems, as well as someone who is hiding something to deceive another."

"So which is he?" I asked.

"I don't know." Lulu said, frowning. "With most people, if they have bright colors, then they have the positive qualities of the color, and if they have dark or muddy colors, then they have the negative qualities. But black…"

"Black isn't bright or muddy." Petal said, frowning. "So it's too hard to read…"

"Yes, Petal, that's what I was trying to say." Lulu said, frowning. "So I can't read Aurore's aura, so I never know what he's thinking. That's one reason I don't like him."

"What's the other reason?" I asked.

"Because of the power of his aura." Lulu said, staring at Aurore. "It's enormous."

"What? What does size have to do with anything?" I asked, frowning.

"Well, the bigger the better." Keith snorted, smirking. Petal responded by kicking him in the knee.

"See, his aura is a corona of black flames that surrounds his body." Lulu said, staring at the massive swirls of black flames around Aurore's body.

"What does that mean?" Petal asked, frowning. "What do flames mean in terms of a person's aura?"

"It means that they're a person of great personal power, or an avatar for some sort of higher being." Lulu explained. "I've never seen anyone but him have that kind of aura, and it's way too intense… I can't stand staring at it."

"Wait, so that's why you hate him?" Petal asked. "Because he's some sort of herald for some sort of almighty powers that be?"

"Yes." Lulu said, nodding. "Because he's a big bloody flaming black cloud I can't read. Just STARING at him makes me want to vomit. And if that's not bad enough, he talks down to me all the time."

"That's not my fault, love." Aurore said from the top of the shrine. "It's just easier to talk down to you since I'm so much taller."

"You see?" Lulu asked, gesturing to Aurore. "He is so irritating, I can't stand it!"

"Listen, we don't have time to deal with him." Sven said, frowning. "Alright, you, what were those Team Dim Sun grunts doing here?"

"Simple." Aurore said, leaping down from where he was standing, landing on the stone floor of the cavern. "They were looking for the black crystals they use to power the Gigaremo and Miniremo machines, aka dark shards."

"Wait, what are Gigaremo and Miniremo?" I asked, frowning.

"Seriously?" Aurore asked, surprised. "They're those machines that Team Dim Sun uses to control moemon."

"What?" Sven exclaimed, frowning. "They've got the ability to control moemon with those small violet shards?"

"Yes." Aurore said, nodding. "Now then… What do you think was in that huge crack in the wall?"

Aurore pointed at the huge hole in the wall above the cavern, smirking.

"A huge dark shard?" I asked, shocked.

"Yep." Aurore said, nodding. "And this dark shard, or, as I like to call it, the Shadow Crystal, contains the negative energy that powers every single dark shard in Almia."

"So it's because of this… Shadow Crystal thing that the all the moemon in the world are being controlled?" Keith asked, frowning. Always one to cut to the chase, that Keith.

"Basically, yes." Aurore said, nodding. "You can think of that shard as the jackpot. You purify that one, you purify them all."

"Wait, purify?" I asked, frowning. "What do you mean by purifying them?"

"Oops, I've said too much." Aurore said, smiling. "Just forget I said that. Anyways, if you do manage to get the Shadow Crystal back from Team Dim Sun, then I'd advise you not to go near it."

"And why's that?" Petal pressed, frowning.

"Because sealed within that darkness is a darkness more fearsome then you can possibly imagine." Aurore said, stroking her cheek. His eyes were narrowed and harsh, and his voice was colder than ice. He stared at Petal with all the warmth of a snake, as though she was a mouse petrified in front of him.

"Good luck, love." Aurore said, his hard expression slipping off of his face like oil, replaced with a warm smile. "I sincerely hope that you'll make it through the end of days." His words slipped off of his tongue like oil from a pipe, and he slithered his way up to the top of the shrine, smirking.

"Ladies… Gentlemen… Mini Witch…" Aurore said, smiling. "I wish you all the best of luck in my little game. Until we meet again…"

The space around Aurore began shifting and distorting, as if wrapping around him. Then, all of a sudden, the space bounced back to normal and Aurore was nowhere to be found.

"Well, I guess I'd better leave." Lulu said, walking away.

"Wait, you're going? Why?" I asked, frowning.

"I came here to find what that bastard was planning." Lulu said, turning back to us, frowning. "But I have no intention of being another one of his pawns and find myself being roped into this game. Good luck. To all of you. But I'm leaving."

And without another word, Lulu turned and walked back into the dark passageways we'd emerged from.

So, what could Aurore be planning? And what exactly is this game of his? Now, if you don't mind, I'm gonna go back to sleep.