(A/n: Here's the second arc and its summary:

A little over a decade has passed since the Being of Darkness was defeated in South Park, but hardly any time was spent grieving for those that either lost their lives or were corrupted to serve the Dark Master. The humans trained nonstop with their Inner Guardians, and the Dark Master made sure to strengthen his creations in turn.

There will be many more dangerous and unavoidable battles as the darkness continues its steady approach. Friends will be reunited once and for all, new friends will be acquired, enemies will be formidable, and...feelings will be developed.

Also, Trigger Warning: mention of suicide)

(Arc 2: Monochrome Days) Chapter 24: During The Passing Years...

Twelve years.

Twelve years have gone by, yet it was hardly acknowledged by anyone. Every year was spent training and fighting with very few moments to rest.

After the death of one of the Dark Master's Beings of Darkness', more of them started getting defeated and the Dark Lord decided to strengthen his army by creating more creatures but of different species. Using humans—even animals and insects that came into contact with a Being of Darkness' magic, the Dark Lord used their unshakeable loyalty to his advantage. They gave the Inner Guardians and their hosts as well as those that didn't have an Inner Guardian but could use magic a difficult time throughout the years, while the Beings of Darkness' only came into action once they saw victory close at hand.

There were more losses than wins between the two parties, however neither side gave up.

Fighting to the death—fighting for ones survival soon became a natural part of everyday life...

April 10th- Stan

The entire world has underwent apocalyptic changes. Spring has been nonexistent, not that it ever appeared in South Park, Colorado.

Buildings have been either reduced to rubble, appear rundown, or are wrapped in large, icky, black roots. The dark grey clouds above are shedding white and black snowdrops, the ground is thoroughly covered in the abnormal colored snow. A few grotesque looking creatures that resemble crows are soaring through the air, releasing ear-grating caws. One of the monsters spot something down below with its big red eyes. It stops flapping its large wings, and dives towards its newfound prey.

Walking along the impure snow is a teenager with neck-length black hair caked with spots of purple blood. His black leather jacket is dirty and shredded in strips, but it's still keeping his arms and hands warm, revealing a plain white T-shirt underneath. His dark jeans only have several stains of purple blood, and so does his black and grey sneakers.

"CAAAW!"

Stan stops and turns around heaving an annoyed sigh, three bloody scratches marred his cheek, and some areas on his face have splatters of purple blood. His sapphire eyes give the swiftly approaching crow monster a dull stare, its beak spread wide open, ready to sink its fangs into his flesh. He takes his hands out of his jacket pockets.

"Watch out!"

The bird is suddenly blown to pieces by a bright orb. Its blood and organs splatter in all directions, Stan groaning in disgust as he shields his face with an arm. Once the squishing sounds cease, he lowers his arm and turns back around to see Kenny and Kyle nearing him, the white aura from Kenny's hand fading away. A strand of his blonde hair becomes colorless, leaving one side of his hair blonde and the other side white. It turns out casting any sort of magical spell colors over a lock or two of his blonde hair, not aging. He is the tallest and oldest among the three while Stan and Kyle are the exact same height and age. Kenny turned nineteen last month, but they didn't celebrate his birthday this year. He wasn't bothered by it because his birthday wasn't celebrated the previous years. Since he outgrew his parka, he's wearing another one that is similar to his old one along with a pair of blue jeans, and black combat boots. He no longer tightens the hood whenever he puts it over his head. He's still self-conscious about his appearance, but not to the same extent as when he was a child. It's thanks to Mrs. Marsh and her cooking that fattened him up a bit. Kyle's attire is a red turtleneck sweater, pale blue jeans, and brown snow boots. His hair grew a little past his shoulders and is now tamed and curly.

"Dude, I so had that," Stan grumbles, flinging his arms to rid off the bits of flesh clinging onto him.

"Yeeeah, sure you did," Kenny says, clearly not believing him. His injury and the state of his clothes depict otherwise. "You're welcome, by the way."

"Let me heal you," Kyle offers. He raises a hand glowing in a green aura towards the scratch marks on Stan's cheek.

"Thanks," Stan says, relaxing. He could've done it himself, but he had used up too much of his magical energy against those monsters earlier.

"Where's my thank you?"

Stan contains the urge to roll his eyes. "Thank you sooo much for saving my life. I was almost done for." Kenny flips him off for sounding monotonous and sarcastic. Kyle removes his hand from Stan's cheek once he's done healing him. "Let's head home," Stan says, and they start walking.

"Your mom's worried sick about you," Kyle tells him, Kenny nodding his head to confirm that what he said is true. "Had us come out here to find you."

Stan heaves a sigh. "Well, the stupid bird wouldn't stop flying around, so I ended up having to chase after it."

"And you ran straight into its trap?" Kyle assumes.

Stan almost doesn't want to admit it. "Yeah...pretty much." The smart bastard. He glares ahead. "And Chris was being a dick, he didn't help me out at all."

"He probably thought you could handle them by yourself," Kenny says.

"Hmph, just barely," Stan scoffs. He had to singlehandedly fight a horde of crow monsters, which nearly lead him to being ripped to shreds or eaten alive. He believes Chris has been bearing a grudge against him, not that he really cares because he knows why. He didn't kill Kyle all those years ago and most likely hates that he still considers him an ally. Not only that, but Chris even warned Stan about Luke, that he's not to be trusted. Was rich coming from him.

"We're tagging along with you from now on," Kyle declares. He shoots Stan a stern glare when he opens his mouth to argue. "Whether you want us to or not."

"Yeah, I agree," Kenny says. "It's starting to get really dangerous out here." He sees a trio of crow monsters watching them from atop of an abandoned small shop.

Stan sighs again. "Fine. Not like I could stop you two anyway."

Without looking, Kyle kills the three hideous creatures with a big green orb. Kenny whistles, impressed by his aim. The remainder of the walk is spent chatting about random things until some minutes later, they reach a large dark purple barrier. Inside of it is a house that hasn't been demolished like the rest of the houses in the neighborhood. The three teens enter the barrier, creating silent ripples. They approach the front door. Stan opens it and they walk into the house. Kyle closes the door.

Stan's mother gets up from the couch, very relieved to see them back—Stan, specifically. Even though she's in her late fifties, she looks like she hasn't aged a bit. Her hair has gotten longer though, going an inch past her shoulders. The ceiling light is on, and it's thanks to her barrier. The house has been able to sustain electricity, heat, and clean water because of it, keeping the appliances functional since the power went out for good years ago.

Stan gives his mother a sheepish small smile as he and Kenny amble into the living room. Kyle tells them that he's going to check on Ike. Mrs. Marsh hugs her son tight. Kenny sits on the sofa. Stan wants to return the embrace, but he doesn't want to dirty his mother's clothes even more.

"Thank God you're okay." His mother pulls back to inspect him, frowning as she gently touches the cheek he was previously injured at. "You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"

"No, Kyle took care of my injury for me."

His mother smiles, pleased to know that Kyle healed him. She lowers her hand away. "Are you two hungry? I baked some cookies."

Kenny rubs his stomach and says, "I'm staaarving."

"I'll eat later," Stan says. "I need a shower and a change of clothes."

"That you do," Kenny quips.

"Okay." Mrs. Marsh heads for the kitchen. "Ask Kyle if he's hungry."

" 'kay." Stan turns around and walks towards the stairs, going up them. He nears Shelly's room, stopping next to the partly opened door. He frowns, looking off into space. To this day, he still ponders the whereabouts of his father and big sister. Why did they leave? Where could they have possibly gone? Did they really get taken away by an Inner Guardian like Kenny said all those years ago? But the one thing Stan refuses to think about or even acknowledge as a possibility is that his father and older sister left because they were corrupted. His mother apologized to him for not telling him about their abrupt disappearance when he'd woken up that day after a two-weeks sleep. She didn't want to worry or stress him out since he'd just recovered.

"If only I'd been more careful..." Stan remembers his younger self witnessing his mother sobbing on the bed in what was once hers and her husband's bedroom in the dark. It pained his heart seeing her crying like that. She blamed nobody but herself, unaware that Stan felt the same way. Still does. He was so keen on helping Kenny and saving the Broflovski's that he completely neglected his own family's safety.

Feeling tears coming to surface, Stan clenches his eyes shut to prevent any from falling. "Just where the hell did you guys go?" Wherever they are, he just hopes that nothing bad has happened to them.

"It's been twelve years now..."

Stan slowly opens his eyes, wiping away the tears with both hands, not caring that he got more purple blood on his face. He inches closer to the door to peek inside the room. He sees Kyle sitting on the floor on his knees next to the bed, his boots beside him. Sleeping in the bed is his little brother. Ike aged in his deep slumber, his hair has grown to his shoulders. He's been taken care of not just by Kyle, but by everyone else in the house. Kyle was very thankful for their consideration. Based on Ike's face alone, he appears to be either 14 or 15 years old. Not even Kyle knows his sibling's exact age, constantly training and fighting took up a lot of his time and attention.

"It's crazy how time flew by so quickly, but sadly...nothing's changed. Instead, things have gotten worse. You'd think we were in a...dark, apocalyptic fantasy novel if you'd seen the state of the town and the monsters we've been going up against...Then again, you don't even know what those genres are, let alone know what a novel is." Kyle shakes his head with a depressed sigh. "...We've been managing though, thanks to all of the training we've done. But no matter how many monsters we defeat, more just keep coming. It's honestly tiring and frustrating." Stan completely agrees. Using magic is still really cool and all, but having to fend off against the Dark Master's abominations time and time again dulled the excitement. "I'll be damned to let anything happen to you." Kyle seizes Ike's hand that's on the covers. "You, Luke, Stan, Kenny, and Mrs. Marsh are the only family I've got. I can't...lose either of you. I won't let it happen." Kyle gently squeezes Ike's hand. "I promise." Kyle doesn't say anything else. Stan isn't sure if he should take this moment to- "I know you're there, Stan."

Stan isn't surprised that he got caught listening in, despite this being the first time. He's always respected Kyle's privacy whenever he wanted to check up on Ike. "Just wanted to tell you mom made cookies. Better hurry before Kenny eats 'em all."

"Thanks, but I'll pass. Not hungry."

"Okay." Stan walks to his bedroom, closing the door behind him. He turns on the ceiling light by flipping up the light switch. His room is still the same, he had no time to even consider redecorating due to having more important things to do such as protecting loved ones and not dying. But he likes his room the way it is, although the one thing he wants to get rid of is the nightlight. He kept using it until he turned 10 years old. His mother let him stop using it when he proved to her that he no longer needed it, but the truth is, he hasn't gotten over his fear. He's eighteen now, and he's still afraid of the dark. He's ashamed—very ashamed, however as long as his mother, Kyle, and Kenny don't know or find out, he won't let the feeling weigh him down.

He takes off his shoes next to the wall by the door, then approaches his bed. He looks at each of the football posters on his wall, his lips curling into a small smile. His dream to become a professional football player won't ever be achieved. Despite that, he's not sad. It was only a sport he got infatuated with because of the pros on the posters. He wanted to be just like them, perhaps even better than them. Now, fame doesn't really mean anything.

Stan takes off his torn-up jacket, dropping it on the floor. Physical training buffed up his body significantly. He sits down on his bed and raises a hand up to his chest. He closes his eyes. He takes in a deep breath; a dark blue aura surrounds his body. This is a helpful technique his mother taught him five years ago after a taxing battle against an influx of monsters. It's called Self-Invigoration: a spell that restores ones magical energy. It wasn't easy to get down for awhile since it required him to be absolutely focused on his Magical Core, something he was still trying to get accustomed to doing at the time. It took him four months to master Self-Invigoration while it only took Kenny a week and Kyle one month. Stan wasn't jealous that they got it down quicker than he did, not all...

The calming process lasts no longer than five minutes. Stan doesn't feel low on magical energy anymore. He exhales through his mouth as he lowers his hand from his chest, relaxing his tense posture. The aura vanishes as he opens his eyes.

Time for a much-needed shower.

.

.

.

Stan exits his bathroom twenty minutes later with a towel around his waist. He's using the heat of the red auras from his hands to dry his hair as he walks to his dresser. Someone knocks on his door. "Come in," he says. His door pushes forward.

Kenny walks in closing the door by leaning against it. He took his parka off some time ago, a white T-shirt was underneath it. He's developed some muscles as well from training. Just when he's about to speak, his words get stuck in his throat and his cheeks color a bright red.

Stan takes notice of the silence. His hair now dry, he stops channeling magic to his hands and removes them from over his head as he turns to look at Kenny. He cocks an amused eyebrow and decides to tease him. He smirks. "Like what you see, Ken?"

Kenny's blush darkens and he glares at him. "N-no, shut up." Stan laughs. "Should've told me you were damn near naked."

Stan shrugs. He begins to take some underwear and clothes out of his dresser. "This isn't the first time we've seen each other half-naked before, so relax."

Kenny couldn't deny it, much to his chagrin. "Yeah, whatever. I want you to come with me to look for Karen and Kevin. I...think they're still here in South Park."

Craig and Clyde

"I can't believe I'm spending my birthday out here like this."

Craig and a pouting Clyde are traversing a deserted neighborhood within their hometown. They were transported here from their Inner Guardians' realms a few minutes ago. Craig has grown tall, being a few inches over six foot while Clyde's height barely reaches his shoulders. He is still wearing his chullo even though it's gotten a bit small for his head. It's the only memento he has that's been keeping him from forgetting his parents. He's going to continue wearing it until it can't fit anymore. The rest of his attire is a dark blue jacket, black pants, and black shoes. Clyde's hair has gotten a bit longer and he styled it to be slightly messy. He's wearing a red and black letterman jacket, blue jeans, and white shoes. In his left ear lobe is a diamond stud earring.

"Oh yeah, I forgot your birthday was this month," Craig says. He and Clyde had mostly been in their Inner Guardians' realms during the years, rarely ever seeing each other until they became proficient in using their magic. "Happy birthday, man."

Clyde smiles a little. "Thanks. At least you remembered the month this time."

"Can't blame me since we didn't see each other much," Craig says. Plus, they'd been doing nothing but training. Hell, he barely spent time with his little sister.

Clyde frowns. "True..."

The momentary silence is broken by a loud and demonic screech. Tensing up at the sound, Craig and Clyde stop, searching frantically for the creature. They spot a mutated bird perched on a crooked street lamp, its big red eyes staring directly at them.

Clyde is equally appalled and revolted by the large thing. He's never seen a creature like that before. "Wha-what the hell is that?"

Craig glares nervously at the monster. "It doesn't matter what it is, we need to kill it."

Clyde cowers behind him. "I-I'll leave that to you."

"Coward." Clyde ignores Leon's rude comment.

Rolling his eyes, Craig extends a hand towards the monster, preparing to blast it to smithereens. His right eye turns silver as a white orb appears in his palm. Feeling threatened, the monstrous bird spreads both its beak and wings wide, baring two rows of sharp teeth as it releases another ear-splitting cry. The size and length of its wings are huge. It lunches itself at Craig and Clyde. The brunette yelps and shuts his eyes, clinging to Craig. Craig shoots the orb right for the monster's beak. Instead of it exploding, the projectile goes straight through its body. It drops to the ground, dead.

Clyde opens his eyes, looks over Craig's shoulder, and grimaces. "Ew."

A heavy amount of purple blood discolors the snow even more as the corpse starts to break down into black particles.

Craig lowers his arm, his eye reverting to its normal color, amber. He casually puts his hands in his jacket pockets. "Can you get from behind me now?" He asks in a deadpan tone.

Clyde pats his shoulder before moving to stand beside him. "Not my fault you're so damn tall." Craig just grunts dismissively, then they proceed walking. "You remember where Mrs. Marsh's house is?" Clyde asks, warming his hands in his jacket pockets.

"Nope."

"Figures," Clyde says flatly.

"Last time we were here, she had a barrier around her house. So we just need to be on the lookout for that."

Clyde furrows his eyebrows, thinking deeply. It takes some moments for him to recall there actually being a big purple-colored barrier over the Marsh's house. "Oh yeah, that's right. Damn, I'm surprised you still remembered that. It's been five years."

"And I'm surprised you remembered how long ago it's been," Craig retorts jokingly.

"Ugh, all this talk about remembering things is makin' me feel old." Even though Clyde said that, he can't help but smile a little. Both he and Craig are the same age now, nineteen. But before he can start reminiscing, a quartet of bird monsters hovering in the air alarms him into stopping. "Uh, Craig? T-there's more of them..."

Craig stops also while gritting his teeth. "Yeah, I can see that." He notices Clyde not getting ready to attack. "Don't just stand there, kill them."

Instead, Craig does all of the killing even when they finally reach the Marsh's household minutes later. Craig is the only one covered in splatters of sticky, purple blood, much to his indignation. They stand before the barrier. Clyde looks sheepishly over at Craig. "Hey, look, it's my birthday. Just think of it as you were protecting the birthday boy."

"What Nonsense." He once again ignores Leon's snarky remark.

Craig directs his scowl at the brunette, his nervous, innocent smile slightly abating his anger. "You're lucky." He walks into the barrier. Clyde breathes a sigh of relief before doing the same.

They walk up to the porch, and Craig lightly knocks on the door. While they wait for it to open, Clyde decides to strike up a conversation to lessen the awkwardness. "Sooo, how's Tricia been lately?" His Magical Core made it possible for him to enter and withstand the energies of both the Realm of Light and the Realm of Darkness. He was 12 years old and Tricia was 9 years old at the time he visited the Light Realm. She was still grieving the loss of her and her older brother's parents, not because they were dead, but because they had been corrupted to serve evil. Craig had waited until she was a little older to tell her what happened to their parents, and swore that he would save them one day.

"She's been okay thanks to Stripe," Craig answers. "How's your dad?"

"Pretty bossy, but other than that, he's been alright," Clyde says. Ever since his mother's passing, his father has gotten twice as protective of him. When he was a little boy, it was understandable, but now that he's almost an adult, he wishes his father would tone it down a notch. He knows how to fend for himself and others, despite not showing it minutes ago. His father had been supervising the training sessions he did with or without Leon within a barrier that shielded him from the realm's Light and Dark energies—making sure Leon didn't push him too hard, or made him do superfluous activities or exercises. His father also made sure Clyde took breaks, forcing him if need be.

The rattling of a doorknob catches the teens' attention. The door opens, standing behind the doorway is Mrs. Marsh, who smiles upon seeing them.

"It's good to see you two again. Come in." She steps aside to let Craig and Clyde enter. They walk into the living room while she closes the door, and joins them in the room.

"Wow, Mrs. Marsh! You haven't changed a bit," Clyde comments, his shock genuine. He moves an orange parka to the side before sitting down on the sofa. Craig remains standing next to the sofa.

Mrs. Marsh giggles at the compliment. She picks up an empty plate from off the small wooden coffee table. "Well you two certainly have."

Clyde smirks. "I'm a lot more handsome, aren't I?"

"You wish," Craig deadpans. Clyde flips him off, and he does it back.

Mrs. Marsh giggles again. "Would you boys like anything to eat or drink?"

"Can I have a soda?" Clyde asks.

"Me too," Craig says.

"Of course, if Stan and his friends haven't drank them all." Mrs. Marsh nudges her head at the sofa. "You can have a seat, Craig."

"Are you sure? I don't wanna dirty it."

"It's fine, you don't have to worry about that." Mrs. Marsh walks away towards the kitchen. Craig sits down on the cushion next to Clyde. He takes off his hat and puts it in his jacket pocket.

They sit in brief silence. "Do you still hate Tweek?"

Clyde's soft-spoken query catches Craig off guard. He frowns at him. "What made you ask that all of a sudden?"

Clyde doesn't meet his gaze, his lavender-colored eyes appearing sad and distant. "Cuz he was once our friend, and...I miss him."

Craig's frown saddens. He's seen Clyde make this face once before, when he thought about his mother. Mrs. Donovan was a very kind woman, but for some reason, knowing that she committed suicide in order to stop herself from killing Craig and Clyde hasn't been sitting well with Craig at all through the long years. He's been meaning to ask Stripe what really happened that day, but he didn't want to seem as if he didn't trust him.

Hearing the sound of Mrs. Marsh's footsteps coming back to the living room, Craig and Clyde quickly get rid of their melancholy expressions. Mrs. Marsh returns carrying two cans of soda in each hand. She gives them a soda and they thank her. She sits down in the armchair on Clyde's side. The two teens open their soda can and take a big sip, savoring the fizzy, fruity, and flavorful taste.

Once they're done drinking, they sigh out, "Ahhhh," in unison.

Mrs. Marsh giggles again. "How have Roger and Tricia been? Have they been well?"

Clyde sets his can down on the table while answering, "Yeah, my dad's been doing alright. He's gotten more overprotective though." Craig holds onto his can.

"Can't blame him since he lost his wife. He surely doesn't want to lose you either," Mrs. Marsh says, speaking from a somewhat similar experience.

Clyde lets out an emotional sigh. "Yeah, I know."

There is a tense beat of silence. "Um, Tricia's been okay too," Craig answers. "She really hopes I save our parents." And so does he.

Mrs. Marsh nods, her lips a small smile. "I believe you will once we find where all of the corrupted people have been taken to."

Craig is grateful for her assuring words. "You and the others been good?" He and Clyde were here once before to help get rid of a bunch of monsters five years ago. It was very nerve-racking, thankfully nobody died or was inflicted with any life-threatening wounds.

"Yes, we've been managing," Mrs. Marsh says. "There've been less Beings of Darkness' showing up here..." Her face becomes serious. "Which means there's a greater enemy lurking somewhere."

Craig and Clyde appear uneasy by her last statement. "What makes you say that?" Clyde asks.

"Because the darkness is near. It's contaminated the clouds and snow, as you've both seen while on your way here. I don't think it's been strengthening the creatures since they're still easy to kill, but it's got to be doing something to or for them that will overpower us when we least expect it. I just don't know what exactly." Her frustration quickly changes to realization. "Oh wait, I forgot to ask, but are you two here to stay?" Craig and Clyde nod, relieving her.

"Maybe our Inner Guardians can look into what the darkness is doing to them," Craig suggests.

Mrs. Marsh seems delighted by his idea. "We'll be counting on them then. Hopefully, they find something soon."

"Will you be able to do it, Stripe?" Craig asks.

"Yes, I Will Try My Best."

"Ya heard him, Leon?" Clyde asks.

"Yeah, Yeah. I Need Somethin' Else To Do Besides Babysitting Your Annoying Dad Anyway."

"Hey, only I get to call him annoying."

"Sadly, I don't have enough rooms or anymore spare futons," Mrs. Marsh says. "Do either of you know where you're going to be staying?"

Craig and Clyde blink and share a look. They hadn't thought about that. "Uh, your house or mines?" Clyde asks.

"I...don't think my house has a lot of rooms," Craig admits bashfully. His room, Tricia's nursery room, and their parents' room are the only ones he can recall.

Clyde blinks again. "...Same here."

Forcing a smile, Mrs. Marsh sweatdrops at their indecisiveness.

Wendy and Bebe

"Oh God...This place looks beyond awful," says Bebe. Her blonde hair has grown down to the middle of her back and has maintained its frizziness. Her pierced ears have small golden hoop earrings. She's wearing a pink jacket over a red sweater, black skinny jeans, and black ankle boots with small heels, making her a little taller than Wendy.

"Y-yeah..." Is all Wendy can say. Her ebony hair is also down to her back, but is tied into a low ponytail. On her head is her favorite purple hat, and around her neck is a purple scarf. She's wearing a short, black jacket over a knee-length purple dress, black stockings, and purple snow boots.

"Let's hurry up and find Mrs. Marsh's house," Bebe says. They start walking.

Wendy and Bebe have been staying in their Inner Guardians' realms, training and visiting each other for the past twelve years. Emerald was originally a Light Inner Guardian, but because Bebe's mind was affected by Dark magic, she ended up becoming a Mixed Inner Guardian due to almost getting corrupted herself when she tried to free Bebe from the corruptive spell before Elena's arrival. The Dark magic mingles within Emerald's and Bebe's Magical Cores, and it took awhile for them both to harness it well and switch between the two attributes at will.

Wendy looks up at the sky, frowning at the near black clouds. To think Stan and his family and friends have been staying here keeping South Park safe for over a little more than a decade. She not only admires their dedication and perseverance, but their strength as well. Now that she and Bebe have returned with the purpose of aiding them, they'll surely stand an even greater chance against the enemies loitering in their hometown. Wendy then wonders about her other classmates. She still remembers them even though it's been so long, and is worried about them. Even the bullies, she's concerned about them too. She had to shove such feelings and troubles aside whilst training, otherwise they would've greatly disrupted her focus.

A loud screech startles the girls stagnate. "W-what the hell was that?" Bebe asks, glancing around for whatever made that harrowing noise.

"Up there!" Wendy points up at the sky. In front of them are a pair of horrendous looking birds flapping their unusually big wings. Their red eyes are locked onto them, then they let out caws that are painful to the ears, and dive towards them, opening their beaks revealing fangs.

"Holy shit!" Bebe exclaims in a panic. She and Wendy dodge out of the way, avoiding being bitten, and the monstrous birds fly high up before doing a U-turn back their way, opening their bills again.

"Get ready! Let's use Light Needle and aim for their beaks," Wendy says. Bebe nods, liking her strategy. Together, they stretch out their right arm in front of them—Wendy's wrist emanating a yellow light while Bebe's glow in a purple color. A white aura forms around their hands. Their enemies are quickly closing in on them, ready and willing to eat them alive.

"Peirce through, Light Needle!" Wendy and Bebe chant.

Both of their auras shrink until they're in the center of their palms, and a thin string of light shoots forth at high-speed. The needle-like projectiles penetrate the two monsters' agape beaks, killing them instantly.

Wendy and Bebe lower their arms just as the monsters fall to the ground, their corpses slowly being reduced to black particles.

"Looks like the darkness has changed animals now," Wendy says sympathetically. At least these birds and probably many others like them were put out of their misery.

"That Or The Dark Master Created Those Atrocious Entities," Elena says, disgusted and upset.

Shaking her head with a pained and angry expression, Wendy turns away. "Let's go. We might run into more of those monsters if we stay out here any longer."

"Can we not teleport to Mrs. Marsh's house?" Bebe asks her Inner Guardian as they resume walking.

"You Two Can, However The Queen Of Darkness' Ancestor Placed A Barrier Around Her Home, So Teleporting Inside It Won't Be Possible," Emerald says. Bebe wishes she would refer to Mrs. Marsh as anything other than the Queen of Darkness' ancestor, it's weird and a little impolite since she has a name. Bebe and Wendy learned about the Queen of Darkness from their Inner Guardians, though their knowledge about the woman was very limited. Not only is Mrs. Marsh related to her, but she was a highly respected figure centuries ago that was slain by someone she once trusted. The reason is still unknown. "But I Think We Should Use This Opportunity To Kill As Many As Those Monsters As We Can."

Bebe groans, not in the mood to deal with any more of those flying monstrosities. Their appearance and the sound they make give her the creeps.

"Wendy, I Sense Something Amiss," Elena says.

Becoming anxious, Wendy stops. "Bebe, hold on." Bebe stops beside her, now on the alert. "What is it, Elena?" Wendy asks, readying herself for the worst.

"...I'm Afraid I'm Not Entirely Sure," Elena replies, sounding troubled. "For A Fleeting Moment, I felt A Formidable, Evil Energy. Now It's Completely Gone. You Girls Please Be Very Careful, I'll Warn You As Soon As I Sense The Energy Again. Hopefully, I Don't."

"O-okay." Wendy looks at Bebe, who appears just as on-edge. "Emerald warned you too, right?"

"Yeah." Bebe locks eyes with Wendy. "We need to get to Mrs. Marsh's house, quick."

Wendy hums in agreement, and this time, they run to the Marsh's abode.