Chapter 43: this is halloween
I do not own kingdom hearts or the properties shown in this fanfic. They belong to the respective owners and the original story is based on the works of Darius Almighty. Kingdom hearts and trials of the keyblade is owned by square Enix, Disney, and Tetsuya Nomura. Please support the official release.
Right. Now time the spooktacular adventures of halloween town! My brother james and I are devoted lovers of tim burton's work like mars attacks, james and the giant peach, Beetlejuice, the two batman films, corpse bride and of course the nightmare before Christmas.
With that out of the way, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
"I like rum! Yes I do! I like rum! How 'bout you?" Jack Sparrow sang happily, parading about alone in his room in the Shera in a drunken frenzy, either because he and everyone else had lived through the assault on Disney Castle to tell the tale, or because he was simply Jack Sparrow. "Better be careful with me supplies though! Rum don't last forever! Soon or later I'm gonna have to return to the Caribbean to stock up!"
His good mood seemed to die when he said that and he became silent and grim. He reached into his pocket and pulled out something other than rum. It was a small folded piece of cloth which he slowly unfolded. There wasn't much on it, just the picture of a strange key. It was of an odd double pronged design, painted onto the cloth in black ink. He lay down on his bed, stared at the cloth and sighed.
"Three more days," he whispered. "Gibbs, you'd better come through. I don't know how much more I can take here." He sighed again and, for whatever reason, began to sing.
Yo Ho,
All together,
Hoist the colours high.
Heave ho,
Thieves and beggars,
Never shall we die.
With one final look at the parchment, he stuffed it back into his clothes. He made sure to refill his rum bottle before he left his room for the bridge.
KHKHKH
"This may be the most complicated project I've ever worked on," Wade sighed, screwing a bolt tighter on the blue and white robot that he had been trying to fix for a week now. It just refused to start working . "You're either very broken or very stubborn. I'll have a few things to say to you once I get you working." He looked the bot over and noticed a number printed on one of the panels.
"R2-D2, huh?" Wade chuckled and set back to work. "Alright, Artoo. I least I have a name to yell at you now."
"Hello all!" Jack exclaimed cheerfully, waltzing into the bridge like he owned the place. "I'm restocked on rum and ready for anything! So ladies, front and center!"
"I thought you hid the rum?" Mulan whispered to Mushu, who shrugged helplessly.
"Yes, I caught that," Jack said. "I don't recall stuffing my drink in the laundry chute. Then again I don't recall much of what happened five minutes ago. Who am I again?"
Sora stood alone at the window, staring past the glass and into the empty space that was so vast in his eyes. Somewhere out there was Riku, being hunted down like a animal by the evil Chasers and their half a master. Bad luck seemed to follow Riku wherever he went but his heart remained strong. Unfortunately it was his heart the Chasers were after. How long would it be before his bad luck caught up with him again?
"You okay?" Kairi came up beside him and looked out with him.
Sora shrugged. "Just thinking." They were silent after that, nothing said between them for awhile.
"Riku's gonna be okay, you know," Kairi said finally, looking at him again. "He knows how to take care of himself. He's not gonna let something as boring as Chasers stop him."
"I'm not worried about that. I know Riku will okay," Sora replied, not taking his eyes off the window. "I pity Xemnas if they try and go after him. It's just... Kairi, I know who my father is now! I mean, I know his name! I know my name! I'm Sora Skywalker!"
"Catchy," Kairi giggled.
"I've grown up for years not knowing who my real parents were," Sora went on. "Not knowing what kind of people they were. My father may even be alive. And I've seen what kind of person he is. He's a really strong, and caring, he's really a hero."
"Must run in the family," Kairi said. Sora smiled at her.
"Hey Sora!" Marlene and Denzel stood by him now, smiling happily. "You never finished telling us about our future selves!" Denzel grinned. "Was I really as cool as you said I was?"
"And what about me? What was I like?" Marlene asked sweetly.
Sora blushed slightly. "Well you certainly...develop," he muttered looking away. Marlene and Denzel looked at each other in confusion. When Sora turned back to the window he saw a familiar sight.
"Is that...?"
"You guessed it!" Cid called from the steering wheel, pocketing the gold sphere that was the universal map of Captain Flint. "We are now coming up on Halloween Town! If the giant pumpkin didn't tell ya I may have to hurt you."
"Halloween Town?" po exclaimed, bounding over to the window to gaze at the world outside that looked like a pumpkin. "There's an entire world dedicated to Halloween? I love Halloween! All the trick-or-treating, all the candy, all the costumes! Last year I was a Power Ranger!"
"Well, then you'll love Halloween town!" Sora said with a grin. "Because as soon as you get down there you're magically provided with a Halloween costume!"
"We get new clothes?" Kairi asked, excited at the prospect.
"Yeah! They'll appear on you instantly!"
"So I have a chance to look even scarier?" Beast grumbled, taking a look at his claws in disgust. "...yay."
"Can we go?" Marlene, Denzel and Ron asked, Ron appearing from nowhere at the mention of his favourite holiday.
"Sorry tikes...and Ron," Barret apologized. "Keyblade wielders only. Maybe when you're older. And have a Keyblade." The three of the pouted childishly.
KHKHKHKH
The adventure to Halloween Town began just like any other, with touching down on the world's surface. "Welcome, guys!" Sora walked toward the pumpkin headed scarecrow sign, once again wearing his black Halloween vampire outfit, then faced his newly clothed friends. "To Halloween Town!"
"Whoa! Totally gothic!" Kairi's pink dress was now blood red, pictures of spiders decorating the fabric, and fishnet stockings on her legs. She also had small red horns sticking out of her auburn hair. "You weren't kidding, Sora. I love this! "
"hey I'm in my werehog form again." sonic was covered in werewolf-like fur. He also had a tail sticking out of his rear end. He had become a werewolf, or werehog as it were. "Shadow, eat your heart out."
"Now this is the kind of stuff I tried to avoid with the whole Aztec gold business." Jack had become a decaying pirate zombie, his clothes torn and his flesh old and moldy. He compared one arm with his other arm. "But at least I'm a nice shade of grey. This is temporary, right?" He accidently ranked his right arm off with his other arm leaving a stump on his right shoulder. "Oops. I can fix that."
"Sweet! A robe!" po was in nothing but a black hooded robe. He would be mistaken for the Grim Reaper if it weren't for his panda paws and cheerful smile. "I love robes! Gives me a real air of mystery and power!"
"Classy," Mulan commented, now a black clad, green skinned witch. She even had a broom. She twirled it around like a quarterstaff. "Nobody better expect me to sweep with this thing. Whoa!" The broom jerked and lifted into the air, taking Mulan with it. "Uh, a little help?"
And Beast...
Looked exactly the same.
Same cloak, same fur, same ticked off expression.
"Apparently this world doesn't want to mess with the essence of scary perfection!" Jack Sparrow grinned, putting an arm around an irritated Beast.
"I hate you so much," Beast growled sourly.
"Come on, guys! Halloween Town awaits!" Sora called. He lead the way down the path with his friends following behind him.
None of them noticed when the pumpkin scarecrow shifted its head to look after them, cackling silently to itself as it did.
Now walking through a graveyard, the other Keybladers saw what this world really was. Dark, dreary and frightening as it was, it also had an air of magical wonder. Even so, it was still a creepy place.
"Sora, why didn't you tell me this place was so scary?" po whimpered, eyes shooting back and forth nervously as they walked through the tombstones.
"Of course it's scary. It's called Halloween Town!" Kairi exasperated. "What did you expect?"
"Candy, trick-or-treating, candy and kids running around in lame costumes. More candy. Not the real deal! It's like this entire world is haunted!"
"If I didn't know any better I'd say you were scared," sonic mocked with a smirk.
"If I didn't know any better I'd tell you to shut up!" po shot back.
"That makes no sense...," Mulan pointed out.
"Anything we should know about Halloween Town before we're there?" Kairi asked Sora.
He shrugged. "Not really. It's a pretty cool place! And there's one guy there that makes thing really interesting! His name's Jack."
"I like him already," Jack said.
"Anyone who carries that name is nothing but trouble," Beast grumbled, half joking, half serious.
"Hold on," Mulan interrupted, cupping a hand to her ear. "Anyone else hear that?" Everyone looked at her, then tried to listen to what she was talking about. They heard it soon enough. The faint sound of music. It was a steady tune, very catchy once you could hear it. It seemed to be coming from the graves all around them, as if the dead had risen just to hum, and it was growing louder.
Boys and girls of every age
Wouldn't you like to see something strange?
Come with us and you will see
This, our town of Halloween
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Pumpkins scream in the dead of night
This is Halloween, everybody make a scene
Trick or treat till the neighbors gonna die of fright
It's our town, everybody scream
In this town of Halloween
White transparent ghosts appeared from nowhere flying through the air as if dancing. They cascaded around them, much to po's fright, and before they knew it each one of them was lifted off their feet by a spirit and carried off into different parts of Halloween Town. Sora was taken into the window of a house and tossed onto a bed, landing on its cushiony surface.
[CREATURE UNDER THE BED
I am the one hiding under your bed
Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red
Kairi was walking down a staircase and peered over the railing.
[MAN UNDER THE STAIRS
I am the one hiding under yours stairs
Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair
[CHORUS
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!
Mulan inspected the interior of a home when a closet door, the bottom of a couch, a grandfather clock, and trap door slammed open, vampires resting behind each one, all of their yellow eyes turning to her.
[VAMPIRESIn this town we call home
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song
[MAYOR
In this town, don't we love it now?
Everybody's waiting for the next surprise
A black cat prowled the streets and sonic stalked after it like the werehog he was.
Round that corner, man hiding in the trash can
Something's waiting to pounce, and how you'll...
[HARLEQUIN DEMON, WEREWOLF & MELTING MAN
Scream! This is Halloween
Red 'n' black, slimy green
[WEREWOLF
Aren't you scared?
"No," sonic bluntly said.
[WITCHES
Well, that's just fine
Say it once, say it twice
Take a chance and roll the dice
Ride with the moon in the dead of night
As the witches passed overhead, po emerged from his cover behind a tree which happened to support several lynched skeletons, scared out of his mind in this crazy place. And when the tree he was hiding behind suddenly grew a face, he spluttered and backed away.
[HANGING TREE
Everybody scream, everybody scream
[HANGED MEN
In our town of Halloween!
Jack stared oddly at the pink clown before him.
[CLOWN
I am the clown with the tear-away face
Here in a flash and gone without a trace
Beast walked around the street when the wind suddenly picked up and blew through his cloak and fur.
[GHOUL
I am the "who" when you call, "Who's there?"
I am the wind blowing through your hair
[SHADOW
I am the shadow on the moon at night
Filling your dreams to the brim with fright
[CHORUS
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!
[CHILD CORPSE TRIO
Tender lumplings everywhere
Life's no fun without a good scare
[PARENT CORPSES
That's our job, but we're not mean
In our town of Halloween
[MAYOR
In this town
Don't we love it now?
Everybody's waiting for the next surprise
[Chorus
Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back
And scream like a banshee
Make you jump out of your skin
Every goblin, witch, and monster was gathering in the town square around the fountain spewing green water, cheering and chanting, some carrying torches. The young and old were in full spirits. The Keybladers managed to meet up with each other again in the midst of the festivities, blending in well with their outfits. One large brute was pulling something on a rope through the entrance to Halloween Town, soon revealing it was a wooden pony, and riding on it was the scarecrow sign from earlier. It was around this that everyone flocked.
The scarecrow suddenly sprang to life and snatched a torch from the crowd before it swallowed it whole. It burst into flame with a fire in its belly, but that didn't stop it from dancing in a spectacle. Its limbs swung while wreathed in flame and blew fire from its pumpkin head to the awe of the crowd.
This is Halloween, everybody scream
Won't ya please make way for a very special guy
Our man Jack is King of the Pumpkin Patch
Everyone hail to the Pumpkin King now!
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!
The scarecrow sprung off the pony and dove head first into the green fountain, snuffing out the flames and vanishing beneath its murky surface.
In this town we call home
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song
And he rose from the fountain depths, arms folded over his chest, his scarecrow disguise burned off to show his grinning skull. The titan of terror, the knight of nightmares: Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King. He spread his arms wide and bared yellow teeth, cackling into the night. Once the entire complicated but well planned out show was over, everyone was left cheering for Jack Skellington. Even the Keybladers found themselves clapping.
"This guy knows how to make an entrance," Kairi said.
"Thank you! Thank you everyone!" Jack Skellington laughed wholeheartedly, waving to his fans from his high point on the fountain. "Really, your applause is too kind! It's your support that make these events so gosh darn horrible!"
"Well done everyone! I do believe that was our worst one yet!" The Mayor of Halloween Town announced through his megaphone, his two-faced head in its happy position. "It truly was terrifying! What a night! Did anyone else see that scared little blond kid? I think we made him wet his pants!" That alone made everyone cheer while po ducked his head to avoid any eye contact with the others. "And it's all thanks to you, Jack! Your brilliant leadership makes Halloween a scream!"
"Not at all, Mayor, not at all!" Jack looked past the crowd of monsters and he broke into a grin when he saw a familiar face.
"Do my sockets deceive me? Sora!" Jack Skellington leapt off of the fountain and ran with his long legs over to them, sweeping Sora off his feet when he got there. po cowered behind Beast when he did. There was a freakin' skeleton walking in front of him!
"Hey, Jack! Good to see you again!" Sora laughed as he was spun around by the skeleton dance.
"The pleasure is all mine! It's been too long! I thought that was you on your way here! I would have said hello, but it didn't want to break character! And look at this! You've brought an assortment of friends this time! A stunning devil-girl! A zombie pirate! A fierce werewolf! A wicked witch! And you, you are the most frighteningly monstrous thing I have ever seen!" Beast growled under his breath, now throughly convinced everyone named Jack was out to get him. Still smiling, Jack noticed the shaking po behind the Beast.
"HI THERE!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The panda hid himself in Beast's purple cloak, whimpering incoherently in its folds.
"I'm that good!" Jack Skellington boasted. "But where are Donald and Goofy? It wouldn't be the same without those two!"
Sora hung his head. "Tell me about it. It hasn't been the same without them since." He shook his head clear. "But never mind that, Jack. What's going on here?"
"What do you mean?" Jack Skellington asked.
"The singing? What was all that about?" Kairi asked.
"That? Oh nothing. Just Tuesday!" They all stared at him incredulously.
"You do that everyday?" sonic asked in disbelief.
"Yup! Everyday! Over and over! Every...single...day..." His mood seemed to drop like an anvil and he sighed sadly, deflating like a balloon. Noticing everyone's questionable stares he composed himself. "Can I tell you guys a super secret?" Everyone nodded, seeing his pretty serious expression. Everyone leaned in anxiously, except po who really wanted to keep his distance; Jack Skellington leaned in to whisper.
"I'm bored." They all just stared blankly.
"You're...bored?" Sora asked patiently.
"YES! I'm bored! Bored, bored, bored, bored, bored! Boy, it feels good to get that off my chest! A terrible weight has been lifted! Don't get me wrong, I love to sing and dance and entertain, but nothing ever changes around here! It's the same thing day in and day out! No matter how many times I try to make Halloween better it's always the same. And believe it or not, that song get's a little tiresome after the first three-hundred and sixty-four days. I need something!"
"You're not thinking about taking over Christmas again, are you?" Sora asked suspiciously.
"You tried to take over Christmas?" Kairi asked in horror.
"That's pure evil!" Mulan gasped.
"What are you, the Grinch?" Jack said.
If Jack Skellington had blood, or skin for that matter, he would be blushing. "Oh, that's all ancient history! I was young and foolhardy! I'm surprised you even remembered something that happened so long ago!"
"It was last year," Sora dead panned.
"The point is, I've put it behind me! Thanks to group sessions, rehab and painful shock therapy, I'm completely over my past obsession! I'm a new Skellington!"
"So what's the problem?" Sora asked.
"I'm right back where I started! I love Halloween and all, and I'm the Pumpkin King! But I'm going out of my skull here!" He removed his head from his shoulders. Everyone cringed slightly but none more than po. "I try to make Halloween more fun not just for me but everyone. But the only one I can't seem to impress is myself! The people love me and I love them, I make them happy with my terror," Jack explained, casually passing his head around, rolling it along his arms or juggling it, much to everyone's discomfort. "But I crave something other than spooks and screams. I crave adventure! Yes, the chance to do something fantastic! I want to raid an ancient temple! I want to fly through the air while shooting two guns at once! I want to sail the seven seas!"
"Hey, that's this Jack's job," Jack Sparrow interrupted.
"That's why I'm so happy you're here, Sora!" Jack Skellington exclaimed, popping his head back into place. "There's always adventure when you're around! Wherever you go a lot of trouble seems to follow! It's like a wonderful plague! So how bout it, Sora? Are we gonna fight some Heartless?" He got right in Sora's face, positively beaming. Sora chuckled uncertainly.
"Well...are there any Heartless around?"
"No...," Jack admitted. "But I'm sure we can find some!" Sora grinned weakly. Jack had really flipped his lid.
"Sora, is it really okay for us to be wasting time like this?" Beast asked.
"We need to find what we came for," Mulan reminded. There was a certain twinkle in Jack Skellington's eye sockets.
"What's this, Sora? There is a reason you've come, isn't there? What's the exciting story?" Sora sighed. It couldn't hurt to ask him.
"Well, we're actually looking for Keyblades," he answered.
"Keyblades?"
"You know, like mine." Kingdom Key whisked to Sora's hand. Jack stared at the weapon, putting a bony hand to his chin as if thinking.
"Have you happened to see anyone in town who has something like it? It's really important," Kairi asked. Jack crossed his arms and went into deep thought, closing his eyes. It was a while before he finally said something.
"I do know someone." Everyone instantly went into hero mode.
"Really?" Sora asked excitedly. Wow, that was easy. "Who? Where?"
"It's..." They leaned in anxiously, on their tiptoes, to hear what the Pumpkin King had to say. "ME!" It took every amount of strength not for them to fall over.
"You? Really?" sonic asked doubtfully.
"Of course! Isn't obvious?" Jack Skellington exclaimed, now in a full blown good mood. "I am the one you are all searching for! Me! Jack Skellington!"
Sora scratched his cheek. "Well, I actually was thinking that. That's how it's been so far."
"But we're not as insane as this guy," Mulan pointed out. She cast a sidelong glance at Jack Sparrow. "Well, most of us aren't."
"You can at least pretend I'm not here," Jack Sparrow sighed.
"This is it!" Jack Skellington went on. "This is the chance I've been waiting for! I've seen all the things you can do with your Keyblade! So heroic! This is the adventure I've been craving after! I prayed and wished and finally it comes true! It can only be called destiny!" He stood his tallest, puffed out his chest, and raised his hand to the air. "And my destiny is about to be fulfilled! Come to me, Keyblade!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
A tumbleweed rolled by.
"..."
"..."
"Jack...," Sora said.
"No, no! I can get it! Reveal Keyblade!" Nothing happened. "Up, up and away, Keyblade!" Nothing happened. "Fly to me, Keyblade!" Again, nothing happened. "Here, Keyblade! Here boy! Come to Jack!"
"Man's off his rocker," Jack Sparrow said. "And coming from me that's saying something."
"Can we go now?" po whimpered fearfully.
"I thought Keyblades come to those of the strongest and purest heart," Beast recalled.
"What are you saying?" Jack Skellington asked curiously, momentarily stopping his insane rambling.
"Well, you're a skeleton," Kairi said, a little embarrassed. "Do you even...have a heart?" Jack looked utterly offended.
"Of course I have a heart! See?" He ripped open his chest and ribs to show that he did indeed have a living, beating heart. And a liver. And a stomach. And about twenty-one feet of small intestine.
po fainted on the spot.
"So as you can see," Jack said as he buttoned his body back up. "I am the perfect candidate for a Keyblade! I'm brave! I'm smart! I'm strong! Im-"
"Modest," Mulan said dryly.
"I'm modest! I'm courageous! I'm all those things! I'll go where no Skellington has gone before! No longer Jack the Pumpkin King! But Jack the Keyblading hero!""
"No offence, Jack," Sora interrupted before he could go on. "But we're kind of in a hurry here. We're just gonna look around town and see if anyone knows anything." Jack Skellington's face fell considerably.
"But-"
"It was nice meeting you," Kairi said as they walked away
"But-"
"Teach me how to do that breathing fire thing later!" Jack Sparrow grinned.
"But-"
"I don't like you," Beast growled.
"But-" But everyone was already walking away into town. "But I can do it, guys! Really! I can get a Keyblade! Watch! Keyblade, appear to me! Go, Keyblade, go! Sock it to em', Keyblade! Come on, just give me a chance!" He chased after them still pleading his case, but they seemed to be ignoring him.
None of them noticed that they left po behind, still unconscious from fainting. He was just left in the middle of the street for the rats to pick at. Something other than rats peeked over the fountain at the boy. Three pairs of eyes fell upon him, followed by three sets of mischievous giggles. The owners of the eyes hopped over to him.
"Hey, wake up!" one of them said, poking the prone po with a stick. When he didn't react they all started poking him with sticks.
"I think he's dead," muttered one.
"Shut up!"
"Make me!" Finally one of them got fed up and thwacked po over the head.
"OW! WHAT!?" po snapped upon his rude awakening. He looked to the culprits ready to tear them apart and found himself surrounded by three very evil looking children. A devil boy, a witch, and a tubby skeleton. po yelped in fear and crawled up against the side of the fountain, holding his head between his legs. "I hate this place! I want to go back to the ship!" he whined pathetically.
"Man, what a baby," the devil boy scoffed.
"What's you're your problem, mister?" the witch muttered.
"You're not scared of little old us, are you?" the skeleton asked. po quit his crying enough to get a good look at them. Upon closer inspection he saw that their evil faces were only masks; just children in costumes. That put him more at ease.
"Uh, of course not. I'm not scared of anything!" he declared, flashing a shaky smile, then grew worrisome again. "Is that skeleton guy still here? And where did everyone else go!? They didn't leave me alone in this insane asylum, did they?!" This went on and on.
"Ah, this guy is a loser!" the witch went on.
"All blond and no brains," the skeleton kid sighed.
"Yeah, come on. We got to get ready for our prank," the devil boy stated. At the mention of that word, all traces of fear and worry left po's system, replaced by child-like excitement.
"Did you say prank?" he asked happily. Back in the valley of peace he liked pulling pranks on the furious five and master shifu even if they don't like it. "You guys are doing pranks?"
"Yeah, what's it to you?" the witch asked.
"You a cop or something?" the devil sneered.
"No way! I'm po! I love doing pranks! Who are you guys?" The three of them giggled together.
'Lock!" the devil boy announced.
"Shock!" the witch exclaimed.
"Barrel!" the skeleton answered, and as one they removed their masks and laughed into the air. po cringed. Their faces weren't any better than the masks that hid them; in fact the masks he preferred.
"S-so, uh, what kind of prank are you guys gonna pull?"
"Oh, you wouldn't be interested," Shock said offhandedly.
"Only it's a fantastic prank!" Barrel gushed.
"A masterful prank!" Lock added.
"A most excellent prank!" Shock giggled.
"It's gonna be huge!"
"It's gonna be epic!"
"The likes of which this town has never seen!"
"So big that no one will forget it as long as they live!" po nearly had tears in eyes he was so excited. He was officially pumped now!
"But why are we telling you this?" Shock shrugged.
"Yeah, you wouldn't be interested at all," Barrel said.
"Later dude," Lock waved off, the three of them turning their backs on him and walking away.
"Wait! That's not true!" po pleaded, wanting to get something other than wet pants out of this trip. "I'm interested! I really am! I want to help out! Come on! What do ya say?" The trio stopped walking. They each shared evil grins before they faced the ninja again.
"Alright. You twisted our arms," Shock admitted with a shrug. "You can help us out."
"It always helps to have a few extra hands I suppose," Lock admitted.
"Especially when he's taller than us!" Barrel exclaimed.
po grinned brightly, the pranking part of his brain taking over. "Alright! Awesome! You'll see! I'm the best prankster out there!"
"That's all well and good," Shock said. "But we can't start right away. We have to gather our supplies first."
"They're the whole basis of the plan," Lock explained.
"Can't happen without em'!" Barrel put in.
"Cool. What is it?" po asked. The three mischief makers giggled together again, a knowing laugh between them,. They put their masks back on their faces and answered at once.
"Bugs."
And that concludes another chapter. Be sure to write nice reviews, adapt the original story (Darius Almighty's work) on DeviantArt, turn it into a webcomic or post the story on TV tropes or follow and favorite it. And remember may your heart be your guiding key!