Author's Note: Hi everyone! Here's the next chapter! I'm kind of jumping around with moods/situations this chapter, so I apologize if this seems confusing. Enjoy! :D NOTE: I feel the need to point something out. "Axe" (for now) is the name that the Black Knight has inside Mordecai's mind/armor/axe that Mordecai carries with him. I will reveal his real name later on, so sorry for any MORE confusion.

A new morning had dawned on Mallard Park. While it was still difficult without Mordecai around, everyone managed to get their jobs done while trying to be positive, and today didn't appear any different.

"Auuuuugh!" a certain red robin yawned, stretching her arms. She rose out of Mordecai's bed and walked over to the window, peering outside while rubbing her eyes open. She spotted Rigby out in the driveway, carrying some boxes to a car, with Eileen close by. Since staying at the park for the past few days, Margaret was becoming accustomed to the almost care-free demeanor the crew had. She was enjoying it immensely, especially compared to college. Most importantly, she had people who cared about her here.

It was nearly perfect.

Out of the corner of her eye, Margaret saw a single, lonely-looking tree, with almost all of it's leaves on the ground. It was getting close to fall, so Mother Nature began to show off her vibrant colors. Reds, yellows, and browns dotted the whole landscape. 'Hmm. Maybe I should go out and rake up those leaves? It'd be a nice thing to do for having the park look after me...' she smiled. The robin headed outside, grabbing a nearby rake that had been leaned against the stairs. Before starting her goodwill gesture though, she stopped by Rigby and Eileen.

"Hey guys!" she waved. "What are you doing with those boxes, Rigby?"

Rigby set the box in the back of the car, "Well, I'm moving in with Eileen. I didn't think you'd want a guy staying in the same room with you, and Eileen agreed to take me in. Plus, I get to show off my guns of steel!" he boasted, "flexing".

The girls simply rolled their eyes.

Ignoring Rigby's gun show, Eileen pulled Margaret off to the side. "So...how are you holding up?"

"Oh, I'm doing okay. I figured I'd rake up some leaves, clear my mind, ya know?"

The mole beamed, "That's great! I'm glad you're trying to take a breather from thinking about..." she coughed, "uh, you-know-who..."

Rigby had picked up another box, but stopped for a moment to face them, "Who, Mordecai?" Eileen swiftly walked back and punched him in the arm, which also caused the box he was holding to fall onto his foot. "OW!" he screamed, grabbing his foot and hopping around. Margaret giggled. It was the first time she'd laughed for a while and it felt good.

"Well, I'll see you guys later. Have a great day!" she smiled, walking off to her task.

A half-hour later, Margaret was done. She had just finished gently raking the leaves into a neat little pile.

"Ahhhh." she sighed. "This is so relaxing. It's peaceful, calm." she said to herself.

After finishing her chore, she strolled into the park house, whistling a cheerful tune. She was thirsty from the work, so a drink from the fridge was calling her name. Benson happened to be in the room as well, going through papers. He stopped reading when she entered.

"Oh, hello Margaret. You seem happy today." he smiled.

She looked over to him, "Yep, I love the fall. The leaves, the food, the beautiful colors, everything. It's just what I needed."

"Yeah..." He took off his reading glasses for a moment, folding his fingers together, "Listen, Margaret, I don't mean to rush you or anything, but how long are you planning on staying here?"

She pondered his question. "Hmm. Well, I thought I'd maybe...um, get a job here?" She put her hands to her hips, "I can pull my share of work, Benson."

Benson thought about this for a few seconds. With his top employee nowhere to be found, he'd need all the help he could get to make a profit, and this cheerful young birdie seemed right up his alley. "Well, if you think you could handle working here, I'd be more than happy to have you help out!" he answered.

She grinned. "Really? Thanks, Benson! I love being here, it's nowhere near as stressful as college, or even the coffee shop. Plus, I can stay in Mordecai's room."

Benson frowned, "I don't think you'd want to room with Rigby..."

"Oh no, didn't he tell you? He said he was going to ask Eileen if he could move in with her?"

Benson's eyes widened, "Huh. Didn't think he'd be that...mature." He shook off the thought of that raccoon actually being responsible, "Well, if that's true, you can move in with us." The machine stood up and went to shake her hand.

"Welcome to the crew, Margaret." he smiled.

Outside, Thomas and Muscle Man were doing Rigby's chores, as the raccoon was busy packing up his stuff for Eileen's apartment.

"Hey, Thomas? You know who else mows the lawn? MY MOM!" Mitch laughed.

Thomas groaned, "Dude, don't you know how annoying those are by now?"

"Hey! Those jokes are hilarious, bro!" he argued.

"No. No, they aren't, Muscle Man..."

"Shut it, Thomas! Just keep pushing the mower, or I'll-"

The goat suddenly stopped his task, turning to face Muscle Man head-on. He'd nearly reached his boiling point with Mitch and got up in the green man's face, "You'll what? Huh?! I'm getting really tired of your shit, man!"

Muscle Man raised his fist back, "Oh, you're asking for it now, bro!"

Skips was nearby, lifting some bags of mulch, when he heard the argument. He skipped over to the boys, who looked like they were ready to come to blows. He quickly pushed them apart, causing Muscle Man's fist to hit only air. "Hey, stop! What's going on here?!" he yelled.

"Thomas is being a jerk! He doesn't think my jokes are funny!"

Skips frowned, "That's what this is about?"

"Well, yeah! How can you not laugh at my classics?!"

"Because they're annoying as hell, dude! Also, this isn't just about the jokes; you haven't helped me at all since Mordecai ran off, or-or even before that!"

"Hey, you're only an intern, bro! You need the experience! Besides-"

"Enough!" the yeti interrupted, "Why don't you do your job, Muscle Man? I think Thomas here deserves a break."

The green man was seething with anger, but gave in, mumbling to himself as he walked off with the push-mower, "Ugh! No one around here has a sense of humor!"

Skips faced the goat, "Thomas, follow me. We need to talk..." The yeti led Thomas over to his house, shutting the door behind them, "Go ahead, have a seat."

The goat nervously sat down on Skips' bed, "What's this about, Skips?"

Skips sat down beside him, "Well, it's about you. I've never seen you act that way. Why were you so angry?"

"I-I don't want to talk about it..." he replied.

"Hmm. I can tell it's something more personal than Muscle Man, am I right?"

The goat looked up at Skips, wide-eyed, "Geez, you really have a good sense of reading people, huh?"

Skips chuckled, "It comes with experience. So, what's really bothering you, Thomas?"

"Um, well, it-it's about, um, my father..." he whispered.

"Oh? What about him? Is he alright?"

Thomas paused for a moment, taking a breath, "He's, um, he's not here anymore..."

Skips was shocked, "OH! I'm so sorry...I didn't know..."

"It's cool, Skips. A few years ago, this week is when he passed away, and it's always stressful for me, ya know? Then you add on the whole 'Mordecai-gone-insane' thing, and-"

Skips put a hand on the young man, "I understand, Thomas. You don't need to go into details. Muscle Man obviously didn't know what you were going through."

Thomas' fists began shaking, "Yeah, but Mitch doesn't help the situation, at all! He comes up with all those stupid jokes, and-and he bullies me into doing the work, then when I asked for help he told me to be quiet and keep working! Thank God you came over, I was gonna clock him!"

Skips put his hands on the boy's shoulders, "Thomas, take a deep breath. Just relax, it's in the past, it's over."

The goat started to calm down, "Okay, okay. Sorry, I just reached a breaking point, but I also don't wanna talk to Muscle Man for a while now. What should I do?"

Skips put his hand to his chin in thought, "Well, maybe you should try to become friendly with some other employees?"

Thomas was puzzled, "Huh? But I'm already friends with the others?"

Skips smiled, "Yeah, I suppose you are. But, I mean establishing a bond. You and I seem to have done that, simply with this talk." Skips stood up and moved to the front window, with Thomas joining him, "For example, look out there at Rigby: He's lost his best friend. I'm not saying you should take Mordecai's place, but you should be there for him. Eileen's a great girlfriend, but you've gotta be his pal to share some laughs with. Do you understand what I'm getting at, Thomas?"

Thomas agreed, "Yeah, I get ya..." He looked back over to Skips, then on a spur of the moment, pulled him into a quick hug, "Thanks for talking with me, Skips. It helped a lot."

Skips was surprised at his sudden gesture, but gladly returned the embrace, "No problem, Thomas. If you ever need anything, come and see me, okay?"

The goat pulled away from the yeti, grinning, "You bet!" He moved over to the door, "But, I gotta go see Benson, he-"

Out of nowhere, a sudden clap of thunder was heard in the distance. The boy poked his head outside, "Hey Skips, it looks like it's gonna rain."

Skips peered out of his back window. He saw the black clouds forming a few miles away, "Yep. That's unfortunate too..."

"Why? Wouldn't the rain help the plants and stuff?" the goat asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess so. Anyways, I'll talk to you later, Thomas. I, um, have some work to do."

"Oh, okay. See ya later!" he waved.

Skips stared out the window again. He couldn't shake an uneasy feeling coming over him.

'This doesn't look good...'

Later that night, the storm had moved in with full force. The sky over the park was pitch black, with only flashes of lightning brightening the stark atmosphere. Skips was lying in his bed, attempting to sleep. He thrashed and turned throughout the night, unable to close his eyes. He heard a banging noise on the other side of the room.

"What the heck is that noise?!" Skips groaned. He sat up, looking to the source. It was the back window, which was apparently stuck. He rose out of bed, trying to find the light switch. He flipped it, "Ugh! No power?" He paused for a second, "Oh yeah, I was supposed to fix the circuit breaker today. Damn it..." He sighed and went up to the window, but thought he saw something speed by in the lightning. He was too tired to check it out, so he closed the windowsill and started to head back to bed.

As if out of thin air, a shadowy figure instantly appeared in front of him, twirling some sort of weapon.

"Good evening, Walks. It's such a beautiful night tonight...'

The yeti tried to peer into the darkness, "What the hell?! Who are you? How did you get in here?!"

"Why, that strikes me right in the heart, Walks! After all our adventures together, you don't remember me?"

Skips looked closer: those eyes, the black armor, that chilling voice...

"Mordecai? Is that you?"

No response. The figure just stood there, the blood-red eyes staring him down, as if into his very soul. Skips then thought of that voice. Where had he heard it before? Unless...

The yeti's eyes grew into saucers, "No. It-it can't be..."

Mordecai smirked, "You look as if you've seen a ghost..." He stepped towards the yeti, "Well, I regret to inform you, but I'm very much ALIVE!"

With that shout, Mordecai charged at Skips, his axe raised high. Skips barely avoided the attack and tried to punch Mordecai, but he hit Skips with the butt of the axe in his chest, knocking the yeti back into the wall. Skips regained his footing and charged at Mordecai, wrapping his arms around his waist while somehow knocking him to the ground. The two rolled along the floor, trying to gain an upper-hand. Skips eventually did, bashing Mordecai in the face a few times. He then stood up, backing away from the deranged avian.

Mordecai wiped away some blood, "Hmm, I see you can still fight admirably. That's good...I like a challenge."

With no weapon to fight, Skips had to think to win. He needed to try to get to some of his potions that he had stored underneath the house in case of emergencies. He quickly skipped over to the cord to open the staircase to the hidden basement, but Mordecai once again blocked his path, standing directly over the basement.

"Where are you going, Walks? I thought we-"

Skips reached down and yanked the cord, unexpectedly lifting the bird off his feet. He shut the door above him, then dashed down the steps, frantically looking for a potion, 'Come on, come on! Damn it, where is it?!'

Mordecai got back up, brushing himself off, "Well, it also appears you can still be a coward when facing someone better. No matter. I will find you..."

With no lights, Mordecai couldn't see very well. The avian began dragging his axe along the floor, attempting to find any uneven grooves in the paneling. The only thing Skips could hear was the scraping of the metal blade against the wood directly above him. The yeti wiped sweat from his brow as he was fumbling through the many elixirs he had placed on the shelves below, throwing most to the side.

For the first time in a long time, Skips was actually scared.

BASH! BASH! BASH!

Mordecai had found the basement door. He slammed the axe into the wood over and over, effortlessly breaking the cover.

"Come out, Walks! Stop hiding and face me!"

Skips came to the bottom of the stairs, "My name isn't Walks anymore, it's Skips!"

Mordecai laughed a bit, "'Skips'? What kind of an imbecile calls themselves-"

He suddenly threw some potions at Mordecai like a pitcher, with some hitting his face.

He backed away in pain, holding his face with one hand, "AUGH!" He began spinning his axe around, hitting the walls, while blinded for a moment. When he came to, he was angry, to say the least. He sprinted down to the yeti, gripping him by the throat and tossing him back up the stairs to the main floor, almost like a rag doll. Skips was knocked out cold just from the pure amount of force from Mordecai's throw. The bird slowly stepped back up the basement stairs to him, "Your end has sadly come, my dear friend. It is time to die..."

With all the thunder and lightning going on outside, it'd be a miracle if anyone heard anything. Ironically, Thomas, of all people, had been sent out to Skips' garage to see if he could fix the park's power problem.

He knocked, "Hey, Skips! You awake? Benson told me we need to fix the power as we have a lot of stuff to do tomorrow!" He didn't get a reply, so he yelled louder, "SKIPS?! Hello?!"

Mordecai heard this, "Hmm? Someone must be out there?" He walked over to the door, smiling, "Well, it would be rude of me to not let them in with such a storm going on..."

When he opened the door, Thomas screamed. Mordecai put his hand to his mouth, shutting the goat up. He dragged him inside, ordering Thomas to stand in the corner and watch Skips' execution.

If he tried anything, he would die as well.

Inside the park house, the only people there were Margaret and Benson, who were both wide awake as Benson waited on Thomas' return.

Margaret yawned, "Um, can I go to sleep yet? We can always fix it in the morning, Benson."

Benson was staring out the window, "No, we can't. It needs to be turned on soon as we have some jobs early in the morning that will use a lot of power, and Mr. Mallard will be pissed at me if I fall anymore behind than I already have with Mordecai leaving. Don't worry, once Thomas gets back from seeing Skips, we can go to sleep."

They waited a few more minutes, but heard and saw nothing, "Hmm. I'm getting worried." Benson put on his jacket, "I'm gonna go check if they're okay. You wanna join me, Margaret?"

She sighed, "Yeah, sure. I've got nothing better to do..."

They ran over to the garage-house. Benson stopped in front of the door, which he saw was ajar. They opened it quickly and were stunned at the sight.

Margaret stood there in disbelief. Mordecai had his axe raised over Skips' body, while Thomas was frozen in fear in the corner of the room. She could barely speak, "M-M-Mordecai?"

'What? That voice...'

Mordecai came to his senses for a moment, lowering his axe. He turned his head and stared at his girlfriend, "Margaret? Is it really you?"

His eyes turned red again, "NO! WE WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO SEE HER YET!"

Mordecai tried to fight back over the knight's control, "NO! I- Margaret, please! I'm sorry!"

"WE MUST GO, NOW! THIS IS TOO SOON!"

Mordecai was thrashing around the room, unknowingly backing up into the window he'd snuck in through. He crashed through it, with glass scattered all over the grass outside. The bird stumbled off into the night, leaving everyone in shock once more.

Benson and Thomas ran over to Skips to make sure he was okay. Margaret still stood there, trying to comprehend what had just happened.

The guys took Skips into the park house, setting him down on the couch. The rain outside had woken him up. He rubbed his head in pain.

Benson spoke, "Skips? What happened? Was that Mordecai in there?"

Skips shook his head, "No. At least, not anymore."

"Then who?" Thomas asked.

He frowned, "Damien has returned."

Margaret became angry, "What are you talking about, Skips? I heard Mordecai speak! How do you know that isn't him?"

Skips sighed, "It's a long story..."