AN: Well, I decided to start another story! I hope you guys enjoy this one. If you haven't already, I would recommend looking at Pain of the Past Redux and/or Episode 14: Flickering Flames before reading this. Would probably add to the reading experience.

Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 1 Eerie

The scent of home was an aroma that Aria Shellcreep loved with every fiber of her being. She grew up with this smell, so it always frequented the back of her mind. It lingered among the ridges of her nostrils, tempting her with sweet nostalgia. The memories of being with her dad, playing in the snow with other kids, and walking down the streets of Frostwall were all packed into this cold, sweet smell.

This particular day, the smell seemed to be stronger than normal. Must have something to do with her returning to Frostwall for her annual visit to see her father on his birthday. Events like that always inspire people (especially her) to reminisce more often than they would otherwise. Still, there was always this feeling in the back of Aria's mind whenever she returned home. Not that she was adverse to coming back, not at all. She loved her Dad, Smoky Shellcreep, and she always enjoyed seeing her Daddy when he started yet another year in his long, long life. Plus, she loved seeing how Frostwall had changed during her absence from it. How did her home town stack up to the wonders of the much warmer Koopa Kingdom? What features did the city acquire to seduce cold blooded, winter-hating Koopas into making it their permanent residence?

But the feeling was always there, not at all buried underneath these questions Aria asked herself. It was strange, to be sure. There was an…eerie quality to Frostwall. There had been every time she went to visit her Daddy. She couldn't quite place her finger on what it was though. Whenever she got close to identifying it, the answer evaded her. It floated away like a balloon she had accidentally let go of, floating up into the air where it would never be seen again. This just left her with the eeriness, which grew stronger and stronger every time she stopped by.

So, as she stood on the front stoop of her childhood home, she pushed the feeling to the back of her mind where it belonged and knocked on the door. Shuffling occurred on the other side as her elderly father made his way over to let her in. She drew in a breath of freezing air and hugged her gift close to her chest. She decided that she was going to give her Daddy an even snugger hug than the present was currently receiving.

When her Daddy finally got to the door, his eyes lit up like a fireworks display. "Aria!" He laughed as he pulled her into an embrace. Aria smiled and, just like she promised herself, hugged him with the strength of a lovestruck bear. She joined in on his laughter, relishing it.

"Hi, Daddy." She pulled away and gave him a sly grin. "You don't look a day over thirty! What age regression formula have you been using, because I would love to try it!"

Smoky laughed. "Aria, you flatter me." He welcomed her in, graciously accepting the gift. Aria took in a deep breath as she stood in her childhood home, the desire to reminisce growing stronger and stronger. She looked over at Smoky after she took off her winter gear. He hobbled over to her in a way that almost looked like he a limp. This set off alarm bells in Aria's head.

"Daddy, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Smoky sucked some air threw his teeth and put his hand to his hip. "My bones aren't what they used to be, that's all."

Aria furrowed her brow. "Why don't you walk we get you a walker? I think that would…"

"It's fine sweetie." Smoky grunted as he came over to her, putting his hand on her shoulder and stroking it. "I've still got some strength. I'm not an old geezer just yet."

That sentence couldn't be any farther from the truth, and one look in Smoky's direction proved that. His naturally gray hair had turned snow white, and wrinkles were just as prominent on his face as make up was on hers. Aria wanted to further reinforce to him that he needed a walker, that his body wasn't as young as his mind set out to make him believe. She didn't, as ultimately, she felt that the effort would be frivolous. Smoky Shellcreep always did have a sort of stubborn streak. However, she wasn't just going to stand idly by and make the likelihood of her poor father falling. She took hold of his hand, leading him into the living room.

As they walked, Smoky started up a conversation. "I'm so happy to see you, sweetie." He smiled at her despite his browning teeth. "How's your research going?"

Aria let out a breath. "It's…going…"

Smoky frowned. "Have you hit a stumbling block?"

"Ehh…sort of." Aria set him down on the couch, taking a seat right beside him as her Daddy kept his gaze locked on her. "The thing that has drawn a good chunk of my attention is the Dark Prince, the half human son of the Shadow Queen. A bunch of cults center around him specifically, believing that he is the one who should be the God of the Mushroom World. But…" Aria hesitated, as Smoky's wide eyed gaze on her made the embarrassment of not making any progress all the more unmanageable. "Even with that in mind, there's very little information recorded about the Dark Prince. The legends are vague (as they so often are), and textbooks don't cover this subject because…well, the subject doesn't pertain to their topics. It's more legend than it is history, and Lord knows that they aren't any scientific ways to prove the Dark Prince's existence…" her voice trailed off at that last word. She even sunk into the chair, trying to avoid eye contact with Smoky in anyway possible.

"I see," Smoky said. He patted and stroked her shoulder again. "Well, don't give up, baby girl. You'll find what you're looking for." He chuckled, his features glowing despite his old age. "Even if you don't, I'm proud of you. Your mom would be proud of you too, I imagine."

Aria smiled. "Thanks." That was the whole reason Aria pursued the career path that her mom had ventured down; to honor her memory. Unfortunately, honoring a legacy wasn't necessarily the greatest way to pay the bills, but…

She almost shook her head, only stopping herself when she realized that it would look weird to her father. So, instead, she cleared her throat and stood up. "Well…I guess I'll go ahead and get started on the soup." She was always responsible for making her dad's birthday dinner. She was happy to do it, even though she wasn't usually the biggest fan of cooking under normal circumstances.

As her father rose off the couch too, she made her way over to the kitchen. She was extremely pleased to find the ingredients she needed in the fridge (not surprised though; they were there every year). She pulled them out, got a big pot, a large pan, and a cutting board out of the pantry, and got right to work. This dish, while nothing more than a simple version of chicken noodle soup, had always stood the test of time as both Aria and Smoky's favorite. Smoky made it all the time when Aria was a little kid, sighting it as one of the most complete meals that a koopa could come across. Nowadays, Aria didn't eat it very often, but she found herself craving it more often than not while back home in her apartment. Just another aspect of the place where she grew up, another nostalgic flavor to seduce her into become lost in the past.

"So, Aria," Smoky said as Aria set the stove on to boil the noodles. He chuckled, the sound more playful than most of the chuckles Aria heard from him. "Met anybody who…'catches your eye?'"

Aria seized up. "Daddy!" In the three years since she moved out and made an annual return, Smoky had asked her this every time she stepped back under his roof. She had actually come to expect the answer this time around (if it happened two times before, it was bound to happen a third). However, it didn't make it a question that she felt particularly keen on discussing. So, she gave the standard answer that she gave him the last two times too.

"I'm not focusing on dating right now."

Before, when Aria gave that answer, Smoky dropped the subject entirely. So, it came as quite a surprise to Aria when he talked to her. "What? Why not?"

Aria blinked, doing a double take to make one hundred percent sure that she had heard right. "I just…" she allowed her tensed up shoulders to relax. "I'm just focusing on my research." She began chopping the chicken, getting ready to throw it in the frying pan.

"Oh." Smoky's voice drifted off. He approached her, close enough so that Aria could almost feel the heat emanating off of his reptilian body. "Well, that's too bad."

Aria raised an eyebrow. "Too bad?"

"Yeah. Aria, you're gonna be twenty two in three months. And yet, you've never had a boyfriend; never! It's…well, I think now would be a good time for you to get one."

Aria faced him, her eyebrow still very much raised. "Have you started going senile already?" She regretted the comment the minute she said it, especially because of her father's soured facial expression. "Sorry! Sorry, it's just…" she turned back to the chicken breast she had been hacking at. "When I was a teenager, you told me to stay away from boys. You told me that dating wasn't all it was cracked up to be, and that my time would be better spent focusing on school!"

"Well…yeah! Of course I said that Ari; you were a teenager! It was pretty much my job to say that! Teenagers tend to get in a lot of trouble during that time, and I didn't want that to happen to you!"

Aria frowned, thinking about what he said for a brief spell. That did make sense, although she saw little reason for him to change his tune now. That is, until he spoke again.

"But I don't want you to stay away from dating permanently, Ari. I can tell you that finding love, experiencing it, and sharing it with someone else…why, it's one of the most rewarding and amazing feelings in the world. I…I found that with your mother, and honestly, I wish I had been brave enough to find it with someone else. Sure, another woman wouldn't have replaced your Mom, but…." he paused, sniffling as he did.

This caused Aria to feel a pang. "Oh, Daddy." She went up to him, hugging him but also being careful to not touch him with her hands (she didn't want him to get salmonella).

"It's okay, Ari," Smoky said after he sighed. "It's just a choice I decided to make." He pulled out of the hug and looked her right in the eye. "But you don't have to make that same mistake. You're young, you have a whole lifetime ahead of you! And let me tell you sweetheart; it's going to be a much more exciting and much more wonderful life if you have someone to share it with. Sure, you might not find your special someone right away, but that will only make the time when you do all the more sweet."

Aria paused to put the cut up chicken breast into the pan. She thought about these words as she washed her hands, feeling like there was some kernel of wisdom attached to them. Smoky had lived a long life after all, so it would make sense that he would know about this particular aspect of it.

Regardless, when Aria dried her hands, she stood firm in this answer. "That's all well and good, Daddy. But…honestly, I'm okay with staying away from the dating game, at least for a while. I want to make some progress with my career as a demon hunter." She threw the paper towel in the trash. "Besides, trying to find 'the one' amidst the plethora of creeps and perverts roaming the world sounds like too daunting of a task."

Smoky's face didn't exactly fall, but the spark in his eyes did seem to diminish a bit. "Oh. Okay."

Aria turned back toward him with a smile, hoping to lift his spirits. "Besides, today's not about me and my love life, Daddy. It's about you! You're turning sixty five; that's a pretty big deal!"

Smoky snickered. "It's not that big of a deal. Age stops being relevant after some odd years."

"Even still." Aria stepped closer to him, smiling into his black eyes that had not changed despite every other part of his body groaning under the weight of old age. "It's something worth celebrating. And trust me; I am going to make sure that this birthday is a birthday worth remembering."

Smoky smiled. "Well then. I'm already looking forward to it."

…

Two hours later, Aria and Smoky sat at the dining room table, eating the soup. Aria let the flavors linger in her mouth, once again feeling the tickling sensation of nostalgia. This was only further reinforced when she looked at Smoky, wearing an expression that made him seem many years younger than he actually was.

"This is delicious, sweetheart," he said with glittering eyes. "I think you outdid yourself this year."

Aria laughed. "You say that every year."

"Because you keep getting better!" Smoky laughed. "Boy, did I raise a good kid."

Aria blushed and put another spoonful of broth into her mouth. She watched Smoky eat, giddily relishing the smiles he sent her way. They almost made her feel like nothing was wrong with the world.

Almost. There was something bothering her; the eerieness that she couldn't quite explain. It hadn't been very prominent earlier. But now that the she was sitting in her childhood home, with nothing to distract her, it felt so much more potent. Powerful, palpable, and just straight up icky. No amount of other activities would distract Aria from this really creepy feeling.

"Aria, are you okay?"

Aria did a double take. She looked into her father's eyes for a few seconds, questioning whether or not it would be a good idea to tell him about her feelings. It was his birthday after all; it wasn't a good idea to bring up something that would ruin the mood.

Of course, if she didn't talk about it now, it was going to eat her alive. So, despite her best judgment, she started to talk.

"Daddy, do you ever get the feeling that…that things aren't as they should be?"

Smoky blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Well…I get this strange feeling whenever I return to Frostwall. I don't know what it is, but something about the city doesn't feel right. Like…like something happened that none of us took the time to know about." She squirmed a little. "Sorry, I know this sounds pretty cryptic, but it's the only way I really know how to describe it. Frostwall just feels…off."

As she spoke, Smoky leaned forward and nodded along with her very…incomplete explanation (to be fair, nothing she could say would ever truly make it complete). When she finished speaking, she kind of expected him to just laugh it off, reassure her that this feeling is completely unfounded and therefore ridiculous. So, when he did speak, she was more than a little surprised.

"I know what you mean."

Aria did a double take. "You…you do?"

Smoky nodded, his face grim. "I get the exact same feeling. It's deep in my gut, sometimes not even noticeable. But sometimes, when I leave the house, it returns. It's like the things that I'm looking at aren't real, in a sense. LIke…like I'm stuck in a dreamworld of some sort, and that all I see is just an illusion hiding something sinister in the background."

Aria blinked. Wow, he had explained the feeling much better than she ever could.

"And sometimes," Smoky continued, "the feeling returns when I'm talking to people." He looked right at her. "Even you."

Aria did another double take. "Me?"

"Yes," Smoky said while nodding. "I…I feel like you shouldn't be here." He pursed his lips, furrowed his brow, and looked at her all while a strong, unexplainable mist appeared in his eyes. "It reminds me of the dreams I used to get."

"Dreams?" Aria whispered.

"Yes, dreams. Nightmares, really. I constantly had nightmares of you being snatched away from me. I had dreams of you screaming, all while darkness surrounds the two of us and engulfs us in it forever." Smoky sniffed. "It's…it's terrible."

Aria felt her stomach churn. "That…that does sound terrible…" she looked down at her soup. All of a sudden, the meal she loved throughout her childhood didn't seem too terribly appetizing. In fact, nothing seemed appetizing, as the eerie feeling returned to her. It added onto the pictures her mind formed when Smoky described his nightmares. She…she honestly felt a little sick.

However, just as soon as it was there, it disappeared like sand slipping through her fingers. She looked back up at her Dad, sporting a sheepish grin and scratching the back of his head.

"Sorry! Sorry, I probably shouldn't have said that. I can see that it scared you."

Aria shook her head. "No, it didn't scare me, Daddy."

Smoky blinked. "Are you sure? Because…"

"Daddy, my field of work has me research the nature of demons and the horrible impact they've had on the physical world. It's gonna take more than just a little description of a nightmare to freak me out."

Smoky put his hand to his chest, sighing in relief. Good, that was convincing to him. She seemed to be getting better at lying.

"Well that's good," Smoky said. He ate two more bites of his soup before pushing the bowl to the side. "Well, I think it's time that you and I have my birthday cake!"

"I couldn't agree more." Aria pushed her bowl to the side and stood up. "I'll go down to the bakery and get it."

With that, Aria made her way over to the front door. Once her winter gear was on, keeping her scaly, ectothermic body free from the biting force of the chill, she headed out. As she walked, she thought some more about her father's nightmare. Sure, it was just a description, and descriptions were usually limited. Even still, it shook her to the core. It…it almost made her feel like she had seen the event in the dream, like she had lived through it herself.

She shook her head. "Stop dwelling on this, Aria. It's not good for you." She pulled her scarf over her mouth, walking the rest of the way to the bakery in silence. She was honestly relieved to get to the front door. She was just about to go in, just about to pick up her Daddy's double fudge chocolate cake…

When something caught her eye. She squinted at that thing, or rather, that person. She couldn't see their face, as they were walking away. However, she could see their hair. Royal blue, puffy and down up in one of the most prestigious ways that she had ever seen. She had only seen that hairstyle once before, many years ago. She had long ago forged the theory that she would never see it again.

Aria gasped. "Could…could it be…?"