DISCLAIMER: To Guest: Oh, that. Sorry, I didn't realize that. Thanks for letting me know. However, I will keep Moose's age at 15, so you can probably guess that he's being held back from the ninth grade and being forced to repeat the eight. Your call.

C/W: Themes of psychological trauma distress, suicidal thoughts, mentions of blood.

Be prepared.

After checking out the cute cashier, Devon, at the Daisy Mart on her way home from school with her friends, they attempted to invite her over for karaoke, to which Mei politely turned down since she had duties at the temple. But, of course, they knew for a fact that Mei's only turning them in favor of her mother, since it was tough to say 'no' to her to ask to do what she wanted for a change. The girl was definitely brainwashed in being the perfect little girl.

But they let her go for her sake. Though not without doing a dance together while singing to one of their favorite 4*Town songs, then Miriam gave her a music CD of the band's tour in Australia, which she accepted dearly. Then finally the bus arrived, which Mei quickly hopped on. As she did, she hugged and kissed that CD case like a newborn baby, but then she froze and yelped with shock mixed with horror at what she noticed that nearly made her drop the CD in the process. Kris sat there on the bus, completely battered and bruised with some bleeding cuts here and purple bruises there after his less-than-pleasant encounter with the trio.

"Oh, Kris!" Mei rushed over to his side, checking his injuries with concern. Kris winced a bit as she touched his welts. "Sorry. What happened? It was the Monroes again, wasn't it? Wasn't it!?"

"Yes." He replied, revealing a chipped tooth in his mouth, which made Mei even more upset.

"Ugh! Those idiots! Those eggheads! Do they not have any couth?! I got every mind to knock those three into next week!"

Kris was quite touched and flattered by his friend's concern for his wellbeing that he was so tempted to reach over to hold her hand, but he restrained himself quickly, not wanting to make it awkward for them both.

"Seriously, why do you keep letting this happen to you?" Mei demanded as she reached in her bag for her emergency first aid kit, always well-prepared as she was to help tend to her friend's lesions. "Are you trying to get yourself killed? I swear, one of these days, you'll end up getting pummeled to death unless you do something about it."

"They're just messing around. It's what they do." Kris defended weakly and unsuccessfully.

"Kris, look at you." The girl argued. "They're using you as a punching bag. This isn't 'messing around', this is abuse. The worst kind. You gotta step up. Stand up for yourself. Starting showing them who's boss."

"Stig told me something similar." said Kris.

"Well, he does have a point, you know."

"When does he never?"

Mei did her best to cover up Kris's black eye and his welts as best she could with her makeup kit before the shop made it to their destination. The last they needed was Ming getting annoyed with Kris's questionable state as she'll probably think customers will assume that he's getting beat up by his boss at work, which would probably make them and their temple's business look bad. So they hopped off and rushed down the sidewalk through Chinatown until they finally made it.

The Lee Temple, Mei's humble abode and the place dedicated to the immortalization of their famous and blessed ancestor, Sun Yee. Everything there was red panda themed as Sun Yee was well-known for her love for animals, mostly red pandas. Mei and Kris stopped before the entrance next to the red panda statues of 'Bart' and 'Lisa'.

"Okay, ready for this?" asked Mei before they could go in and Kris nodded. "Just remember to smile the whole time and don't let her words get to you. Alright, here we go."

And upon entering through the double entrance doors, inside the two went towards the red temple. Kris stood back while Mei headed over to the shrine of Sun Yee where her mother was. Ming Lee, the proprietor of the Lee Temple and Kris's supervisor. There she stood in all her dignified and august pride and glory. The strict, high-strung, overbearing, judgmental and prudish woman with her black, coiffed hair, her green blazer and green and light blue-striped qipao dress. Just being in her presence made Kris feel weak and small.

"Mei-Mei, there you are!" The woman dropped her formal and proper stance to check her precious daughter for any possible injuries and damages. Pretty typical of an overprotective mother like her. "You're ten minutes late! Are you hurt? Are you hungry?"

"Uh.." Mei tried to get a word in, but Ming shushed her up by shoving a bao into her mouth from a plate of baozi she was holding.

"How was school today?"

"Killed it per usual." Mei proudly proclaimed, presenting her test sheets, all passed.

"That's my little scholar." Ming gleefully took the tests from her as if accepting the medal of honor. "Today, honor student. Tomorrow, UN Secretary General."

Kris fought the urge to roll his eyes as Ming just floated around in her own world. But then, she finally acknowledged his presence and her face turned sour. Not unusual at all.

"Mr. Bengtsson." She robotically announced as she gently approached him with that authoritative headmistress posture of hers, scrutinizing him up and down and his barely-hidden bruises did not go unnoticed as she gestured to them.

"And what's up with all this, huh? Is this some kind of macho thing with you boys? Huh?" She snidely commented with a frown. "How many times must you beat yourself up just to look 'cool'?"

"I…It's just that I-"

"Oh, nevermind." She cut him off with a hand to the face before he could explain himself, then jabbed a finger to the gift shop, ordering him to the cash register. "Just shut up and get to work. And no hanky-panky, go it? Or else it's going out of your pay."

"Yes, ma'am." He automatically obeyed and rushed over to his spot behind the counter in the shop, pinning his nametag to his jacket.

Mei, meanwhile, watched the whole thing with sympathy and worry. It really pained her on the inside to see her poor friend get bossed around like this, but this was her mother they were talking about. Losing her approval and her love was the last thing she wanted. She needed to do what she could to keep her happy and satisfied.

So afterward, she joins her mother in their prayer to Sun Yee. Then it was time for temple duties, like sweeping the floors and chasing away some dumbshits defacing their temple walls with graffiti. Once the place was in tip-top shape, it was time to let the guest in.

It was just like any other day at the Lee Temple. The same old thing every time.

Every day, folks would march in to check out the wondrousness of the temple devoted to Sun Yee. Instead of worshiping a god, the Lees honor their ancestors, but most notably Sun Yee, their most revered ancestor. A scholar, a poet and a defender of all animals, mostly red pandas for she admired their red, fiery coat and mischievous nature. Every day, Ming would go on and on with Mei dressed up in some ridiculous red panda mascot suit - made of cardboard no less - about how red pandas blessed their family with good fortune and prosperity and that it will bless yours as well.

And every day, Kris would be there behind the counter in the gift shop, ringing up items for the customers, listening to his boss prattle on like that, extolling the once great Sun Yee, their most proud relative to the crowd. Kris was quite good at numbers as helped each customer purchase various red panda-themed accessories and whatnot. And he got along quite well with the visitors. If only Ming at least showed him some appreciation and gratitude for his work performance since the dragon lady doesn't pay him very well. But they weren't the richest family around and plus, it may be the oldest temple in Toronto, it wasn't big or popular enough to draw in that much foot traffic for them to make a sizable amount of cash.

Kris remembers that day like it was yesterday. When Mei offered him to work at the Lee Temple.

(FLASHBACK) One Year Ago...

"Say what now?"

"Come work at the Lee Temple." Mei repeated. "You want to help your mom, right? Well, you can be our cashier. Besides, I've heard you're quite good at money."

"I don't know about that, Mei." sighed Kris. "Your mom already doesn't like me. Even if I agreed to this, there's no way they'll even want me there."

"Oh, come on. It'll be fine." continued the nerdy girl persistently. "I'm sure she'll say 'yes'."

But at the Lee Temple hours later…

"No! Absolutely not!" Ming sternly answered.

"Oh, come on, mom!" Mei begged.

"Mei-Mei, I love you, but there's now way I'm letting some odd-looking freeloader work for us. Especially this one." The mother aimed her finger towards the nervous Kris. "I mean, look at him. He's smelly and improperly dressed and who has their hair like that, anyway?"

"Mom, don't talk like that in front of him." Mei argued.

"Well, I'm sorry, but he probably is. You want to risk scaring our customers away?" Kris looks hurt and offended by her mother's cruel words against him, but he struggles to not let it show out of fear of possibly making himself look bad in front of her. But Mei wouldn't give up so easily for her friend.

"Mom, please. Kris, here is very good with numbers and counting cash." Mei explained, grabbing Kris just as he was about to sneak away and bringing him to a one-arm hug. "He'd make a swell cashier. And plus, he's very desperate to help his mother support his family. Just until she, herself, gets a job. So please mom."

Then she activated her most powerful weapon. The puppy-eye look. Ming looks possibly helpless against the cuteness of her daughter and looks back at Kris, who definitely looked desperate for sure. And she knew that Mei wasn't going to let this up anytime soon, so she finally made up her mind.

"Oh, alright, fine. I'm not gonna like this, but I'll allow it for you. Mr. Bengtsson, you're hired." Ming reluctantly declared before Mei squealed and hugged Kris tightly with excitement, who then nervously grinned.

"But it's going to be on my terms. You will show up on time and take your place behind the register. You will do exactly as you are told when you are told. You will not speak unless spoken to. You will keep things professional between us at all times. You will not offend, annoy or make any of our customers uncomfortable in any way. Do absolutely nothing that will embarrass us. And you do not screw with me or my daughter or so help me, I will fill your life with misery and pain. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Mrs. Lee-"

"'Yes, ma'am'!"

"Sorry. Yes, ma'am." Kris corrected himself.

"That's better." Ming huffed. "Now be here at exactly 6:30 PM tomorrow. No side trips, no going home first, no talking with friends, just right here."

"Okay."

Kris could say it was nice enough for Ming to hire him and allow him to work there, even if she doesn't take the guy seriously most of the time. In fact, she's not afraid to sneak in a few unflattering remarks his way, which only made him boil with rage on the inside. Kris had to keep himself restrained of these negative emotions so as to not get himself fired. He was doing this for his mother. The poor woman was having a tough time supporting a family like theirs. If only his father was there.

But he needed to stay focused and not make a scene. Do a good job, get paid and go home. The very same routine on loop each passing day. And he's only been working there for the past year and although the payment wasn't decent, they could always save their earnings. His grandfather Carl helped support the family with his job as a cop and his Grandpa Morten has been laid off recently. But Grandpa Carl was going to retire soon at some point. Hopefully, they have enough cash by the time Elsa gets that nurse job. Then Kris could maybe look for a completely side gig after that.

"How are you holding up the fort?" asked Mei.

"Oh, uh. Not too bad. We're making some good progress here." He responded uneasily.

"Cool beans. Doing well as usual, that's what I like to hear." His friend said exuberantly.

Unknown to them, Ming was listening in on their conversation as her eyes narrowed and she gave a hard stare. Was her daughter still associated with that weird nobody? It almost hurt her pride to see her perfect and pure little Mei-Mei stoop this low to even choose to be in the same room as that rapscallion. What Mei sees in him, she'll never know. The boy was trouble. He had to be. She just knew it. Every day, she sees him and Mei together and every day, it feels as if her baby girl was slipping further and further away from her and that scared her to death. The thought of her Mei-Mei one day deciding to leave and have fun with Kris only to find out that he had done something unspeakable to her, like rape her or rob her, to even kill her!

No, 'kill' was too much of a stretch. But what if Kris was simply pretending to be her friend just to take unfair advantage of her to hold her back. That girl had her responsibilities, had duties to keep on top of, grades to ace and traditions to uphold. Meilin Lee was the epitome of perfection and Ming had taken every single step and worked herself to the bone to make certain of that. She wasn't going to have her daughter throw her life and reputation away over some boy. She needed to be here with her family. With her mother. And if Kris thinks he can take her Mei-Mei away from her, then he has another thing coming.

"Well, I gotta get back in character. Hang in there, okay?" Mei said, walking away and getting back into the mascot suit. He still couldn't believe she once offered to let him wear that thing. He wouldn't even be caught dead in it.

"So." Kris jolted and stood up straight as soon as he looked to see Ming staring directly at him with that cold look in her eyes. "You and Mei-Mei are getting along well, I see?"

"Uh, I…..y-yes. Mei-Mei's ver-"

"Ah ah ah." Ming cut him off again, raising her scolding finger. "Only I get to call her that. Understood?"

"Right. I'm sorry." He whimpered.

"Mei seems quite fond of you, though I can't imagine why. But I know all your tricks, mister. So what's your angle here, buster? Do you want her money? Do you wish to use her? Do you want her to do your homework so you don't have to? Is that it?"

"N-No."

"Let me set something straight here. Mei-Mei has no time to fool around with those other kids. No time to dilly-dally with juvenile delinquents like yourself. Mei is a very special girl and you are not. You have no business being with her. So as I say to you as I have each day, remember your place here and watch where you step. Because I will ruin your life. Is that clear?"

"Uhhhh…..But I-"

"Yes. Or. No?" Ming demanded roughly, close to losing her temper.

"Yes! Yes."

"Good. Now don't push it. I have my eye on you." After saying her piece, Ming sauntered off.

Kris secretly glared daggers at her back as she left, but still retained his cool as he breathed in and out, in and out, in and out, massaging his face and combing his locks back. It was fine. This was fine. Ming just cares deeply for her daughter and her safety. Surely she doesn't mean to come off as rude or condescending. She's just trying to protect her daughter, that's all. Nothing she says to Kris has to mean anything. But that certainly doesn't give her any right to be mean, mouthy, snobby, haughty, stuck-up, controlling and a complete-….!

No, no, no. Stay calm. It's not worth it. Kris repeated these words in his head like a sacred mantra. But just to quickly get it out for a second, Kris turned, raised a fist to his mouth, bit down really hard and let out a small scream of fury as strained as he could, but kept his mouth and teeth clamped on it so as to keep it muffled and silent so nobody would hear.

Satisfied, he sighed heavily and returned to the cash register. For the rest of the afternoon, people came and went, but after a while, it was time to close the place up for the night. The mother and daughter duo ushered everyone out before slamming the doors shut, both breathing a sigh, exhausted from such a long day of work, then high-fived.

"Come on. Dad's making dinner." Ming spoke and Mei headed over to their house, waving goodbye to Kris before leaving while her mother remained.

As Kris locked the gift shop up, the mother cleared her throat to get his attention.

"So I'll be seeing you tomorrow, I suppose, Mr. Bengtsson." She said straightforwardly. "Don't be late or else. And may I suggest you not show up to our temple looking like a thug this time? Good night to you."

"Good night." He said back, less enthused.

Leaving the Lee Temple, Kris walked all the way over to the bus stop, grumbling, swearing and cursing under his breath. It's been 10 months since he's been working for the Lees, but Kris's been much too tolerant of Ming's crude slander for so long. Eventually, it's going to boil up to a point where it becomes too much for him.

Like for instance: one day when Kris is working the register, Ming would tear into him as freaking usual, then say something that would really send him over the edge. Then Kris would lift up the cash register King Kong-style and throw it right Ming, sending her tumbling to the ground. Then Kris leaps over the counter and proceeds to savagely beat the living crap out of Ming with the register, bashing her head in over and over and over again.

But that would never, ever happen. As resentful Kris is over her, he would never bring himself to cross that line, no matter how gratifying it sounded in his head. Violence is never an appropriate option. He wasn't the Moose.

What would his friends think?

What would his mother think?

What would Mei think?

One quiet, alone bus ride later and Kris found himself back in his neck of the woods. It was just beginning to grow dark the minute he arrived at his house. Before entering his house, Kris had to psyche himself up and make himself smile and make it look convincing. He can't let them see his pain. Not now. He's not ready.

"Hello!" Elsa called as he stepped in. "Kris, hey! So? How was work?"

"It was…..work. The same as always. We, well, they got good business." Kris explained.

"Oh my god!" Then Elsa gasped when she realized his injuries. "What happened to your face!?"

"Was the old lady picking on you again?" Stig retorted as he sat in front of the television, watching his favorite show, The Addams Family.

"Oh, Stig!" Elsa rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me. The Monroes?"

"Yes." He admitted.

"Oh! I got half a mind to go have some words with your principal about this." Elsa raved on.

"It's okay. Mei helped with them a bit."

"And I suspect your shift was no different than school today?

"No, I managed. It wasn't easy, but I managed." expressed Kris honestly.

"Well, I'll take that." His mother, giving him a smooch on the lips and the cheeks. "We're having takeout for dinner. 'Sound okay?"

"Yeah."

Stig was no idiot. He could tell by some intuition that Kris was not okay in any way. But he chooses to keep it to himself. He didn't want to intrude on his brother's personal business. But on the contrary, Stig could relate to what Kris was dealing with and how he was dealing with it. After Elsa helped tend to the rest of his wounds and after watching another episode of The Addams Family with Stig, Kris decided to go ahead and hit the hay.

He climbed the stairs, passed the expressionist painting of a giant tree in the hallway upstairs, brushed his teeth and entered his room, getting into his pajamas, which were simply black boxers and a dark maroon wife beater. As he sat there in his room, he took the time to reflect on his day today. Going to school, getting his ass kicked by the Monroes, another typical afternoon shift at the Lee Temple, Ming Lee insulting him and crushing his soul with every scathing word thrown at his face. It just made him want to just…!

He began whaling on his bed like a maniac, punching his pillow repeatedly like a punching bag at the gym with lightning speed, then began throwing his fists around as if trying to fight an unseen intruder, his fists thrashing aimlessly about while grunting furiously and even fighting back some tears in his eyes.

His heart pumping, his blood boiling, his face heating up and his brain beginning to ache as his eyes stung before finally calming his tantrum down, ending his brief episode. Kris sat on the floor in a corner, unable to stop a few tears from running down his cheek. He took deep breaths, trying to keep him together. But how could he? Every day was a struggle. A rigorous test. A inescapable nightmare of endless agony. Why must he feel this way? Why can't it just end already?

Every day, he would hope something bad would happen to him. Every night, he would go to sleep, hoping to never wake up.

Looking around, he found solace in eyeing his beloved electric guitar and it brought a tiny smile to his lips. But as he turned to face a picture frame on the floor that he knocked down during his fit, there in the photo with his younger self was a man. A tall, dark-skinned man he knew all too well.

Suddenly, it looked like the photo started to bleed. Confused, Kris felt drops on his head and realized that cracks were forming on the ceiling, leaking blood from there as well. He held out his hand and watched dark crimson droplets pour onto his body, drenching him in wet, moist, sticky coating of demonic red. Blood spilled from the walls as more and more droplets of blood poured furiously down onto him like a hellish, biblical rain.

Kris panicked and clutched himself tightly, laying on the floor in a fetal position as he tried to ignore the gruesome sight. And then he could've sworn he heard voices. Angry voices. Overlapping voices. Voices that shouted his name.

"Kris!" Came his mother's voice at his door as Kris froze and gasped rigidly. No more blood, no more voices. Nothing but him in the room. "Everything okay in there, hon?"

"Yeah, mom. Just getting ready for bed. Good night." He said, getting up off the floor.

"Uh, good night." He heard her hesitantly say, followed by her footsteps fading down the hall.

Then Kris sighed, shaking his head before getting himself under the covers, trying to block out any more intrusive thoughts. Kris puts his CPAP on and laid down, allowing the air to pass through his nose and mouth and enter his lungs. It felt so nice.

So cozy, so soft, so warm.

He shuts his eyes. He sleeps.

Now we've been introduced to Ming and apparently her relationship with Kris is a very unpleasant one. She doesn't take him seriously, thinks of him as a bum and a deviant and really hates it when Mei and him interact. She'll definitely have a much more antagonistic role in this story. She and Kris both struggle to put up with each other, though it's mostly just him working his ass off for her while she just spits in his face. And it's not just bullies or Ming that Kris has to put with every day, but it's an extreme level of trauma that plagues his mind and a past event that seems to haunt him relentlessly.

Another thing is that Kris wears a dark crimson tank top to bed, the same color as blood, which is a symbol of his trauma.

Next Chapter: After another tiresome shift, Kris falls into a restless sleep that night where he has another nightmare of a traumatic event which shifts into one of a huge battle taking place before encountering a tall, obese man and a strange magic hammer.

Next Update: February 14, 2023