The next few days at Elinor's house passed rather slowly.

During their stay, the Folcharts kept busy. Mortimer remained in the library for most of it, tending to Elinor's books as promised. All day, he would sit at the desk by the largest window, where all the sun would filter in and cut and paste and glue. And it didn't matter how much time he spent in that library either. It seemed that Mortimer always had a giant pile of books to bind for he never seemed to have time to play with Dante. Many times, he had been asked to do so, to no avail.

"Dad, I'm going to play soldiers," Dante would say. "Will you be part of my squad?"

Mortimer would sigh regrettably and say, "I'm very sorry, Dante, but you know I can't play right now. I have so much work to do. Why don't you ask your mother?"

Unfortunately, Teresa also spent quite a lot of time in the library, keeping her husband company. More often than not she'd be found, curled up in one of the library's comfy chairs with an old paperback, right where she could see Mortimer and watch him work. But she would also often obey Dante's requests to play. The two of them would spend hours exploring the eccentricities of Elinor's house or playing in the garden. Even when they weren't together, Dante would often spot his mother watching him play through the window, a wistful and peaceful look in her eyes. It always made her happy to see her son playing in the same garden she had played in during her childhood visits to Elinor's house.

Dante could understand why she felt this way. Elinor's garden really was a kid's paradise. Tall trees and large bushes were perfect for simulating jungle adventures. Rolling hills and large ditches were optimal for hide and seek. But Dante's favorite game to play in Elinor's garden was the aforementioned Soldiers.

Soldiers was a game Dante had played and perfected over years of being alone on the road with his parents. Inspired by his favorite video games, the goal was to capture some random object, usually a pretty flower or unusual looking rock, while avoiding "soldiers" along the way who would be guarding them. Usually, these soldiers took the form of piles of books or rocks, although Mortimer never liked it when he used the former for his games.

However, Mortimer needn't worry today because this time Dante had scattered piles of rocks throughout Elinor's garden. All of them were guarding the shiny pebble he had found behind one of the bushes that morning. Dante's goal would be to take out all of them so he could reach his most vital treasure.

Dante crouched behind a tree, a wicker basket on his head and a pouch he had borrowed from his mother in his hands. Opening it revealed a horde of pinecones. Dante took one and held it to his mouth.

"General, this is Private Folchart! Do you read me?"

Dante made a noise resembling static before saying, in his best "tough guy" voice, "Yes, I read you Private!" More static sounds. "Are you in position?"

"I am, General!" Dante said, reverting to his normal voice. "What is the mission this time!?"

"Here's what you need to do, Private," the "General" stated. "There in the jungle, under the watchful eye of all those soldiers is the Water stone. It has the power to create rain anywhere in the world at any time."

"That sounds amazing, sir!"

"It does. But those soldiers want to keep it for themselves!"

Dante feigned surprise. "But that's terrible, sir!"

"I know. That's why we need you to take it back for us, so those soldiers can't keep all the water to themselves."

Dante nodded at his own directions. "What is the plan, then?"

"The plan is this, Private. You'll climb the trees and take all the soldiers out from there with your grenades. Then you will come down and obtain your treasure."

"Sounds like the perfect plan, sir!" Dante said earnestly. "You can count on me."

With that, Dante pocketed his "walkie-talkie" and scurried up one of the trees. It was a nice and tall one and even only hallway up he had a good view of Elinor's garden and all of his enemies.

"Alright. I'm in position," Dante reported to himself. "Phase one of the plan is a go." Carefully, so as to not fall, Dante brought forth his bag of pinecones and pulled one out. He took aim and fired, dropping it on one of his rock sculptures. He was spot on, and the pinecone caused all of the rocks to collapse.

"Yes," Dante whispered. After all, if he was too loud, he might reveal himself to the enemy. "One down, five to go."

Dante continued his game, inching along the branches of Elinor's tallest trees, taking out enemies from above. Dante was so good at this game now that he rarely ever missed, and all of his "grenades" hit their target. Soon, there was only one sculpture left and he wouldn't be keeping that Water Stone to himself for much longer. Dante felt like a hero, even if it was only in his mind.

"Last one," Dante whispered, as he hung onto one of the branches. Now he was directly above the final stone sculpture, digging into his bag for another grenade.

Slowly, Dante pulled out one of his grenades and aimed it at the pile of rocks below. "I am in position," he whispered. "One more throw and the Water stone will be ours." Dante steadied himself, took aim and threw the pinecone with all his might.

It landed on the other side of the garden.

"KABLAM!" Dante shouted, mimicking the sounds of a nasty explosion. In reality, the final stone sculpture didn't move an inch, remaining completely tranquil and unaware of its surroundings. In the realm of Dante's imagination however, the "soldier" had taken notice of the intruder, and was scanning the trees, looking for him.

Dante hurriedly hid behind a tuft of leaves on the tree. He held a pine cone up to his ear and said in his General voice, "Private Dante, did you get all the soldiers? Over!"

"I'm afraid we have a slight problem, General!" Dante confessed. "I've been noticed by the last remaining soldier. I have to get to higher ground to avoid his wrath."

"I see…" said the "General. "Godspeed, soldier. And good luck!"

With that, Dante continued his climb up the tree, almost reaching the canopy of Elinor's little forest. He was so high he was almost level with the roof and Dante thought for a moment how fun it would be to play up there, though he quickly banished the thought from his mind.

Not now. There are more important matters to attend to. Like defeating this last bad guy.

So, Dante got in position one last time. In his imagination, he was completely out of the line of sight of the soldier. Though he was calling for back-up. I have to take him out and get the water stone before more soldiers get here. Dante took aim one last time. This was his last grenade, and he couldn't afford to waste it.

Without a moment of hesitation, Dante brought his final pinecone down on his final pile of rocks. A second later, it was no more.

Dante let out a whoop! He had done it! The soldiers had been defeated. All that was left to do now was retrieve the water stone and bring it to safety.

Quickly, Dante scuttled down the tree, talking into his walkie-talkie pinecone as he did so. "General. All of the soldiers are down, and I am retrieving the water stone. Over!"

Dante assumed his General voice for the final time to say, "Well done, Private Folchart. Thanks to you all the children in the world will have water to drink. You are a great hero."

Dante smiled smugly to himself. "Why, thank you, General," he said. But his smile quickly fell when he realized that the Water Stone was no longer where he had left it. "Where's the water stone!" he shouted. This was not something he had planned for his game.

"Looking for something?" called out a deep voice from the trees. Dante spun around to see the Black Prince smiling at him. He was holding a shiny pebble in his hands.

Dante laughed, eager to go along. "Hey, you took the water stone!" He shouted. "Give it back!"

"And just why would I do that when it gives me control of all water in the world?" The Black Prince asked. "With this I will gain a near infinite amount of power!"

"The Water Stone isn't for gaining power!" Dante said in his best "hero" voice. "We need to use it to make sure all the people of the world have water to drink."

"But I don't really care about the people of the world," Black Prince countered in his best "villain" voice, which Dante thought sounded very dastardly indeed. "All I care about is ultimate power. As the only one with access to all the water in the world, everyone will be forced to bow down to me. Otherwise, they'll die from thirst."

Dante gasped as if he'd been told Christmas had been cancelled. He pointed an accusatory finger at the Black Prince. "That's terrible! I can't allow you to win!"

"Fool! I have already won!" With that, the Black Prince ducked out of the clearing and into the forest that was Elinor's garden.

"Oh no, you don't!" Dante shouted. He followed after the Black Prince and soon found himself in a jungle of bushes, tall trees, and flowers both wild and tame.

The chase was extremely challenging, precisely because of how overgrown Elinor's garden was. And it didn't help that the Black Prince's dark skin helped him blend in with the shadows the trees cast over the greenery. It didn't take too long for Dante to work out that chasing the Black Prince would be a useless task.

So, he changed tactics. Instead of running through the woods, tripping over everything, Dante got down on the ground and listened. There was much to hear, the excited chirping of birds, the rustling of leaves in the wind, the call of summer insects, but no sign of the Black Prince.

This is too hard, Dante thought exasperatedly. He was just about to call the game off when he heard it. The sound of footsteps on grass. Dante held his breath. Cautiously he rose just enough to peek out of his bush. His breath caught. There, the Black Prince stood, looking around, probably for him.

"Come on, Private!" The Black Prince called out to the garden. "Shall there be no one to stop me from stealing the Water Stone after all!?" Dante crouched down on the ground, pouncing, preparing for attack.

"I see there will be no opposition after all! All the water in the world is mine!"

Dante jumped out from the bushes!

"Got you!" He shouted as he tackled the Black Prince to the ground. The Black Prince yelped and the two fell to the ground laughing.

"You've caught me, private," The Black Prince said in his most dramatic voice. "You've stopped my Evil Plan."

"Yes, I did it!" Dante cheered, taking the Water stone. "Now all the people in the world shall have water!"

"You know…" the Black Prince said, sitting up. "You make a very good hero."

"Well, I think you make a very good villain," Dante said. "And a good playmate. You should join my games more often."

"I wish I could Dante," The Black Prince said. "But I'm a very busy man. I've always got things to do. Secrets to find out." And the Black Prince winked.

"Is that why I never see you around the house?" Dante asked. The Black Prince nodded. It was true that the Black Prince didn't spend a lot of time in Elinor's house. Dante hardly remembered crossing paths with him during the day. He wouldn't even be present at dinner some nights, even though Elinor would summon everyone from every corner of the house to eat at her table. Previously, Dante had just accepted that the Black Prince came and went as he pleased, but now that he was right in front of him, Dante wondered just what he did all day.

So, he asked.

"What exactly do you do when you're not in the house?" The Black Prince chuckled in response.

"That's a complicated answer, Dante. Too complicated for me to tell you."

"Oh, I understand," said Dante, even though he didn't understand at all.

"Don't worry, Dante," The Black Prince said. "I may not be able to tell you what I'm up to. But I can show you."

"Show me?" Dante echoed.

"That's right," The Black Prince said. "What do you say about coming back to the garden tonight? I'll show you something very special and you'll get to know what I've been up to all this time."

"Like a surprise?"

The Black Prince laughed a little. "Yes, like a surprise."

"That sounds awesome!" Dante said excitedly. "I'm definitely gonna be there!"

"Glad to hear it!" The Black Prince said. "See you tonight, Dante."

So that was that. Even though Elinor grumbled and groaned, Dante was set for a night out at precisely 9:30 p.m. When he came to the front door a few minutes before, Elinor was waiting for him.

"There you are," Elinor said. She was standing by the door in a robe and slippers. Her hand was already on the alarm. "At least you had the sense to show up on time. I'll turn this off for you while you're outside, but as soon as your little show with the Black whoever he is, is over, you're coming back inside and it's going on again. You hear?"

Dante nodded. "I hear." Normally he would've been angry with Elinor for being so condescending, but right now he was far too eager to see the Black Prince tonight.

"Alright, then," Elinor said, opening the door. "And try not to stay out too late. I'm not leaving my books vulnerable to attack any longer than I have to!"

"Okay!" Dante said, yet again shrugging off Elinor's venomous words as he strode through the darkness.

Elinor's garden was a different world at night. The shade of the trees made things dark in the daytime, but it was nothing compared to the almost complete and total darkness that now enveloped him. Dante probably would have become completely lost in the maze of shrubs and greenery if it hadn't been for the faint light of the flames burning between the trees.

Emerging into a small clearing revealed a circle of torches. In the center of this circle was the Black Prince who was beaming at him.

"Dante!" he called out with a huge grin on his face. "Welcome to the show! Take a seat, take a seat. I have something very special planned for you." The Black Prince was gesturing to a log that sat near the perimeter of the circular clearing. Dante obeyed his commands and shyly took a seat. He wondered what sort of amazing things the Black Prince was going to show him.

"Ladies and gentlemen," The Black Prince said, mostly for dramatic effect. "Today, you are in for something very special. For I have brought a special guest with me who is a dear friend of mine."

That's when Dante heard it. A low rumble that rang out through the forest that was Elinor's garden. Dante jumped, his eyes darting through the darkness, but he couldn't find what had made the ominous sound.

Not until a great roar shook his eardrums.

Dante whipped his head around just in time to see a brown bear pounce on the Black Prince, who went down without protest. Dante jumped to his feet, yelping in surprise. "Prince!" he shouted, his heart beating quickly. But his fear quickly subsided when he discovered the Black Prince was laughing heartily. Dante watched in astonishment as the bear licked the Black Prince's brown face and sniffed his clothes.

"Yes, yes, I'm happy to see you too," the Black Prince said through his laughter.

Meanwhile, Dante was absolutely dumbfounded. "Why isn't the bear attacking you!?" He urged.

But it took a moment for the Black Prince to collect himself. When the bear finally stopped licking him, he sat up and said, "This, Dante is my good friend. Ever since I saved him from his abusive owner, he's always been loyal to me. How about you say 'hi' to my good friend, Dante."

The Bear trotted up to Dante, his nose sniffing the air curiously. Though he tried to be brave, Dante couldn't help but flinch slightly as he began sniffing his shoes. He squealed a little as the bear worked his way up, causing the Black Prince to laugh.

"Is he your pet?" Dante asked. He watched the bear cautiously as it turned its attention to a small red flower. It glowed orange in the fierce fire light.

"We've never really liked the term pet," The Black Prince explained, smiling. "The two of us are just good friends who happen to be of different species."

"Oh, cool," Dante said. The bear licked him, causing him to yelp.

"Look at that! He likes you!"

"I like you too…" Dante said, although he was furiously wiping his wet cheek. What if he has rabies or something? He didn't entirely trust the bear yet. "So, is this what you wanted to show me?"

"Not quite," The Black Prince said. "Although bears are cool, the two of us possess some great talents we really think you'd enjoy."

With that, the Black Prince opened the bag that stood at his feet and pulled out a set of throwing knives. Their handles were made of wood, ornate patterns carved into them. Their steel blades gleamed under the orange flames.

"Pretty!" Dante exclaimed.

"Now, without further ado," The Black Prince announced. "A few of my best knife tricks!" Dante applauded enthusiastically.

The Black Prince started out simple. A simple knife flipping trick. Dante gasped in amazement and the Prince's smile grew even wider. He pulled out another knife, flipped both of them at the same time.

"Ooooh," said Dante.

The Black Prince winked, and for his next trick, he threw both knives up in the air and caught them flawlessly. Dante applauded with great enthusiasm.

The Black Prince pulled another knife out of his bag. Three knives! He threw all three of them up in the air at the same time. Dante caught his breath, wondering with wide eyes how the Black Prince was supposed to catch all three knives with only two hands. Then, to his surprise he began juggling them. Dante whooped and cheered, encouraging the Black Prince, who kept on pulling knives out of his bag until he had seven of them in the air. Dante's mind was absolutely blown!

Dante clapped his hands together furiously, absolutely starry-eyed. "Amazing! Amazing! Amazi-"

Crash!

"What the-" Dante was snapped out of his reverie by an ominous sound. The Prince and his bear had frozen. He looked about the garden, trying to find its source.

Thump! Bang!

"The house!" Dante explained, and he took off running.

"Dante! Wait!" Called the Black Prince but Dante barely heard him. In an instant adrenaline flooded his body as he ran through the garden, hardly noticing the scrapes and scratches that bloomed on his body each time he tripped on a bush or ran past a low hanging branch. He was far too worried about his parents who were almost certainly in danger.

Running around to the front of the house, Dante noticed the grand double doors had been knocked off their hinges. This should have been a sign to stay away, that whoever had broken in was more than just a regular burglar.

But Dante was eight years old. He ran straight through the doorway.

The scene that greeted him was frightening. Moonlight flooded into the grand entrance, revealing it in a state of disarray. Elinor's books were strewn everywhere, lying on their faces, their pages strewn about. Walking further into the room, Dante noticed the hall that lead to the library was the only one with light flowing through it. He started that way.

And then an arm grabbed him and pulled him into another room.

Elinor's rough voice whispered in his ears. "Quiet," she urged. "These aren't your typical burglars. We don't want them to hear us too."

Them? Who are they?

Dante kicked and screamed but it was useless. For being so old, Elinor had a surprising amount of strength, and she used it to keep Dante from escaping her grasp.

Crash!

"Where is it!?" A rough voice shouted from the adjacent room. The library, Dante thought.

"For the last time, I told you we don't have it!" Dante's heart skipped a beat upon hearing the voice of his father. Mortimer's voice had a level of fear that he had never heard before.

"Liar!" Shouted another voice. "Tell the truth, or your wife gets it!"

Not mother! Dante was close to panic now, practically convulsing against his great aunt, but Elinor remained steady.

"Hookface, don't you dare!" Another voice urged. "The Adderhead needs both of them alive. If you kill him, you'll destroy his entire plan."

"Of course, Piper. Sorry Piper."

"Let me take care of them. I know exactly what will force them to give it up."

The Piper's voice had a strange quality to it, Dante decided. While the other two crooks had voices rough and grating as sandpaper, the Piper's voice was nice almost soothing. But then there was the tinny quality of his voice, as if he was speaking through a ventilator, that made it sound just as unsettling, if not even more unsettling than his accomplices.

"Let me make a deal with you both," The Piper said in that strange voice of his. "Give me the book and come with us to the Adderhead's base. Do us a small favor and afterwards, we'll let you go."

"Never!" Mortimer practically spat. "We'd never do any sort of favor for the Adderhead!"

"And even if we did. We know you'd never keep your promise," Teresa added.

"No way to know for sure unless you try," The Piper answered in an almost mocking fashion. "Keep in mind, that we'll get our hands on it no matter what. We just want your cooperation. If you do that, things will go smoother for both of us."

Mortimer and Teresa's answers were far too quiet to be heard from through the walls, but Dante guessed the answer had been "no" judging from the loud slap that erupted a second later.

Dante flinched, even though it wasn't him being hurt.

"Resa!" Shouted Mortimer.

"Ouch!" Shouted his mother. "You bastards!"

"That's what you deserve for being so difficult!" Exclaimed the crook for whom Dante still had no name.

"No matter," Said the Piper. "Search the entire room. Break the cases! Knock down walls and doors if you have too! We will find that book!"

A series of thumps and crashes erupted from the library as the crooks got to work. Between them, Dante could hear his parents yelping and shouting as the sacred space was destroyed. Even Dante, who didn't care for books felt his heart sink a little lower each time he heard something break or clatter. A bully at school had once crushed one of his favorite game cartridges under his foot, breaking it into a million pieces. And now someone was doing the same to his parents!

"Found it!" Shouted one of the crooks. Mortimer and Teresa gasped. Hookface cheered.

"Well done, Bruiser," The Piper said. "Now for these two people here."

Tears filled Dante's eyes as the sound of his parents being gagged reached his ears. Though Elinor's grip on him remained steady, her arms trembled as she held him.

Before long, the crooks' voices were fading from the library. Dante broke from Elinor and rushed out the room just in time to see them loading his parents into the trunk of a sleek black car. The book they had stolen was nowhere to be seen, but he didn't have to be a genius to determine which one they'd been after.

"Nice job, everyone," Said a man whom Dante guessed was the Piper. It was hard to see in the nighttime darkness, but Dante saw he had a slim figure and something on his face gleamed in the moonlight. "The Adderhead will be beyond pleased with this."

"Can we go get McDonalds?" asked Bruiser's voice. It came out of a man whose body type was significantly larger than the Piper's. The car trembled as he climbed in.

"Maybe we'll go through the drive through," The Piper offered. Then he settled into the driver's seat and the car took off, kicking up dirt on the way.

Dante took off after it, although he was immediately left in the dust. By the time, Dante had reached the doorway and had burst into the garden, the car was already roaring through Elinor's front gate, taking his parents with it.

By the time he'd reached the edge of the property, they had already vanished into the night.

It was as if his parents had never been there at all.

Ooh! What a cliff hanger! Wonder what happens next.

Sorry the knife scene was so short; I couldn't think of very many knife tricks for the Black Prince to do. :(

As you can see this fic now has some original characters. We never really got to know any of the Adderhead's soldiers in cannon so I took the liberty of giving them the same naming conventions as Capricorn's Fire-Raisers. Hope that's alright with you.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed and see you next time!