The Wolf Kronicals (In need of a serious revison)

Chapter X- Prologue

"Once upon a time there existed a giant tree that was the source of all mana. A war, however, caused this tree to wither away, and a hero's life was sacrificed in order to take its place. Grieving over the loss, the goddess disappeared unto the heavens. The goddess left the angels with the edict: "You must wake me, for if I should sleep, the world shall be destroyed." The angels bore the Chosen One, who headed towards the tower that reached up unto the heavens. And that marked the beginning of the regeneration of the world."

“Maliko!!! What are you doing?!”
“Playing Tales of Symphonia… What does it sound like?”
“Don’t you have a story to write? You got all these people’s hopes up!”
“But… I have to regenerate the world…”
“You write this story RIGHT now, young lady!”
“But…”
“NOW!!!”
“*Grumble, Grumble…* Fine… That’s why you’d marry Rodyle…”
“What?”
“Nothing!!!”




Chapter 1- The War
"Master! Master! Please... Wake up!!! Master!!!" Kegamin was screaming into Maliko's ear. Maliko woke up cranky and was still half asleep anyway. "Hehehe. No, please. Master Marik.... I dont wanna be your mind slave... ^///^" She mumbled in her sleep, a silly grin appering on her face as she started to blush. "Master!!! Get up!!!" Kegamin shook her again. "Uh...Huh...Kega...min...? What...do you want? It's the middle of the night..." *Whine* Orichal complained. "Master! It's an emergency! The angels are attacking the village!" "...So what? They're angels. I mean, look at them. They're led by Peach. Who listens to Peach? No-wit pansies, that's who! Plus, the gate is sealed off, anyway. You should really stop overreacting about this kind of stuff." "The gate is broken..." "...What?" "The gate sealing off DarkSoul from Dream Star is broken." "H-how the heck did that happen?" "The angels... are in allience with the Children of Crescent Garden..." ".........You're joking, right?! You have to be joking! It's April Fool's Day, right? RIGHT?! What day is it?" *Jumping off bed and ripping calander off wall* October...12... Kegamin... You're not joking...are you..." "Do I ever...?" "...Good point... You might want to... sound the alarm... before we are all dead..." "Okay..." Maliko jumped out of bed and threw on some clothes. She felt the slight jolt in her heart that indicated her wolf senses sensed danger...This was going to be a long night. Let me explain!
*Cheers from unknown audience* The Children Of Crescent Garden referred to the Half-Breeds. VERY powerful, a destructive group of half angels, half demons. Most of them love to fight...They were so strong...They could give Maliko and her friends a serious run for their Rupees...That wasn’t good... When everyone heard the alarm, they gathered on the field and both teams stood on a separate side. “Peach!“ Maliko called across the field. “What do you want now? I was having a very cool dream, and because of you, I have to wait another 24 hours to be violated!!!“ (Everyone: “………..”) “I’ve come to destroy you demons and claim DarkSoul or as I will call it “Sakura Fields”. There will be flowers and rainbows and sunshine and a whole bunch of Petits and kitties and ponies…” “S-sakura Fields??? Kitties…Ponies?! …Sunshine?!?!“ Maliko almost gagged and found a brand new reason to kill Peach. “DarkSoul would NEVER EVER be named Sakura Fields if I have anything to do with it! You‘re dead!” Maliko pulled her friends over. “Okay, guys! Do the best you can... It shouldn’t be too hard, but look. Those guys over there has light arrows…Don't die..." she ran off. Still on the field, Nivea grabbed Kegamin and whispered "Go follow her...And protect her...If she is left alone, she may do something reckless...again..." Kegamin didn’t respond, but stared into Nivea's eyes, and ran off after her. "Weird kid...I heard she has absolutely no memory of his past..." Kensuke said. "That Maliko...She is pretty heartless to do that to such a kind child..." Commented Rouge. "How old is he?" Nivea said. "I think he's 8 or 9..." Sparky said. "Wow...He's so young..." Rouge spoke again. "Well...We'd better go..." "Yeah...Lets go..." The war was raging. Maliko took out the smaller angels first, chomping down on the neck bones until they cracked as loud as the thunder that started to boom loudly and the lightning that flashed and lit up the whole field. Blood was washed away by the pouring rain that was now falling over the crimson battlefield. After about 15 minutes, Peach called over the archer that shot purely Light arrows, a VERY powerful weapon when it comes to fighting demons. The archer found his first target… Maliko, who was obviously leading the assault. He turned to her. Kegamin knew what the archer was planning and ran to Maliko’s safety. “Kegamin! What are you doing?!” Maliko screamed as Kegamin jumped in front of her, and pushed her to the ground. The archer took aim and fired the arrow… right at Kegamin. The glaring, almost blinding glitter of the light arrow’s path cut through the night sky, causing everyone on the field to cover their eyes, especially the demons. A split second later, a thumping sound was all that was heard. When the light turned back to shadow, Maliko turned to see Kegamin, unconscious on the floor with the arrow stuck pretty deep in his chest. His skin was pale and blood was dripping from his ghostly white lips. Maliko jumped to her feet and started to shake him violently. “K-Kegamin!!! Kegamin!!! Get up! Now is NOT the time to play dead! Come on!!! Get up!!! Kegamin!!!” Maliko continued to shake him. Rouge pushed her to the floor and took Kegamin’s bloody limp body from her. “Maliko! Are you stupid or something? Can’t you see the boy is dying? Take him to the hospital ward, now!” Maliko was hesitant and glared at her with anger but soon came to her senses and picked him up from the bloody battlefield. “Maliko! Let me take him… You have to avenge your servant and I know you don’t want anyone killing Peach while you’re tending to his wounds. I can do it for you!” Disen blushed heavily as he talked to his crush, all the while never looking her straight in the eyes. “Hmmm… You’re absolutely right! Thank you, Disen.” She laughed and rubbed her hand in his hair, frizzing it. This made Disen blush more and said “M-My pleasure, Mal. Anything for you…” He held Kegamin’s body carefully and ran off. By then, the Archer had already started shooting more light arrows from his bow, lighting the field every few seconds. Sparky was terrified and ran around as fast as he could, looking for shelter. He ran past a dead angel, decapitated and wings ripped off and thrown to the side. He didn’t notice her there and tripped over the body. He looked up and noticed a dark figure standing on top of their house. The shadows reflected onto the ground with a copper light. Then it hit him! That was what he had to remember! He ran to find his mother before it was too late. “Mom! I remember!” Sparky walked over to his mother. Then out of nowhere, from the direction of the figure came a light arrow, much bigger than the one that pierced Kegamin. “Mom! I remember! Sha----!!!” Sparky stopped mid-sentence. “Sparky! Hurry up! What is it?” Maliko urged him. Then the light died down and Maliko saw it. The light arrow… It had hit him and pierced his heart. Sparky hit the floor with a cracking thump as his limps bent back. Maliko, in a shocked fear, couldn’t comprehend what had just happened. She fell to her knees and grabbed her son. He closed his eyes and tried to speak with the little life he had left. “M….om….” He tried to call her attention. “S…..had….ow….” he struggled to finish, but he couldn’t. At that point, the blood building up in his pierced heart caused it to burst. Sparky gasped as he took his last breath of air. “S…parky?! Speak to me! SPARKY!!!” Maliko shook her son as she held him in her arms, but it was no use. Sparky was dead.








Chapter 2- The Other Side of Love

Everyone surrounding Maliko could feel the blood thick tension and Nivea knew that someone had to hurry and comfort her… or else… She looked in the direction that the arrow came from, but no one was there. The figure was gone. She put her hand on Maliko’s shoulder. “Miko…” she began to speak, but all of a sudden she heard a ripping sound. She backed up, knowing she was too late. “Everyone! Run! Now!!” She pointed towards the house. Everyone ran as fast as they could, but despite Nivea’s order, Disen turned and ran back for Maliko. “Disen! No!! Come on!!” Nivea screamed. “No! I can’t leave her here!” Disen continued to run back. “He’ll die…” Nivea said to herself. Disen grabbed Maliko and turned her around only to see she wasn’t crying, or even mourning. Actually she looked as if she were struggling… Her fangs were bared and she gripped Sparky’s body so hard that her claws were impaling his back. She was sweating heavily and breathing as if she was gasping for air… She fell to the ground, letting go of Sparky and grabbing her head, screaming. She suddenly stopped screaming and her body fell to the floor, her eyes colored a dark grey, like a helpless mind puppet. Disen looked up and could see the moon in the sky. …A lunar eclipse… He wondered why no one had attacked Maliko yet. He didn’t even hear any voices, come to think of it. He looked around and the place was deserted. He wouldn’t run, he spoke to himself. He had to help Maliko… He loved her and would never leave her alone. He grabbed her and held her in his arms tightly. Disen heard that ripping sound again, very clearly this time. Then out of nowhere, blood shot out from Maliko’s back and splattered everywhere as 2 huge black wings ripped through her skin, folded up. As Maliko screamed bloody murder and gripped Disen’s body with her claws, impaling him, the wings opened up shot out in both directions. Black feathers covered the field and the sight mesmerized Disen even thought he was being stabbed by her claws. Then he felt her claws going deeper and deeper into him, as if they were growing longer. He couldn’t break down, for Maliko’s sake… He had to stay alive… He grabbed Maliko tighter and felt her wings, the softest feathers he had ever felt. “Maliko… What’s happening to you…?” As if she was being controlled suddenly, Maliko ripped her claws out of Disen’s back and stared intensely at his bloody body. She lunged forward for attack, but simply licked him softly. Disen, obviously confused, reached forward to touch her, but then a crimson aura, thick as a wall of blood, surrounded her. Maliko took one last look at Disen, then disappeared behind the wall. He reached forward, but the aura was hot enough to melt steel and he couldn’t even get near it. That’s must be like Super Saiyen for demons, he thought. He looked at the ground and noticed the arena floor cracking and lifting up, reveling the glowing red magma underneath. He didn’t have anywhere else to go, so he jumped on her back and held on to her as tight as he could, for if he fell… He’d die. He pressed his head to her back, between her wings and heard barely audible light voices speaking. “It’s their fault… They killed him…Now…You’ll kill them…” “But, Master-?! I can’t… Disen is still there…” “Fine… Kill him, too!” “But he tried to save me!” “I don’t care! Do it!” “…Yes, Master…” In response, Maliko’s wings began to flap and her body lifted off of the ground, rushing towards the house. Everyone had been watching and they all screamed and ducked. Maliko sped up and started to fly upward, to the roof. She wrapped her tail around Disen’s waist and pulled him off of her. He cried out, sure that Maliko would follow that voices order and drop him into the lava. She let him go and Disen fell. Suddenly, he plopped down… Onto the roof of the house. Confused, Disen looked at Maliko, who was flying in the other direction. Even though it was dark, lightning and the glowing lava lit the field, and from the roof, he saw everything… Maliko swoop in and pushed some of the smaller and lesser angels and even demons from her own team into the burning magma. The torturous screams from the burning creatures were deafening, even from his distance. Maliko then went back and started gutting the larger demons with her claws, ripping off limbs and pulling out organs, and leaving them there to die slowly on their own. She was killing her own team as well as the enemy… Disen looked on in horror… His life was spared, but this was not the Maliko he knew… It couldn’t be…Maliko would never hurt her own team… Her allies…Her friends… That voice… What was it? He had never heard anything like it… It was evil and demanding… and very manipulating… and she had called it Master… What was that about? He looked back and saw Maliko devouring some thing… Or someone! He saw a pink cloth, ripped and bloody and tossed to the side. He also saw what were once beautiful white wings, shredded and torn off… It was Peach… Maliko was eating her greedily…Blood and brains were splattered all over the floor. All of a sudden, what looked to Disen like a boy around the same age as Maliko came at her with a sword and swung. Maliko turned around with just enough speed to block with her arm, but the blade dug into her skin and sliced her. Apparently unaffected, Maliko turned to the boy, giving him a chance to run but the boy stood his ground. He ran at her again but she hit him with her wing. The boy fell back, but jumped right back up and came at her again, piercing her wing this time. Maliko’s claws glowed red, she growled something inaudible (She actually said Crimson Fang Attack) and slashed at him cutting him across the eye and blinding him severely. Still holding the sword, he stumbled blindly into the aura and the heat caused him to faint. Maliko rushed forward to attack but then she suddenly ran out of energy, stopped and fell to the floor, unconscious as well. The aura started to dispatch… And Maliko’s wings folded back and resided back into her back. The magma sunk back into the ground, taking all the dead bodies with it, including Sparky’s. Everyone waited to make sure it was safe and ran to help Maliko. Disen was the first to reach his love’s body… He looked over and saw the boy… Tall, with long, spiky black hair that covered the left eye where Maliko had cut him. He had feline traits, the ears, claws and tail. Disen picked up the sword and saw a weird symbol of a wing with an “A” carved into it on the handle. He looked the sword over. The handle was a dark blue, with an even darker navy blue habaki. This sword looked similar to the swords the archangels used in the ancient legend… But it couldn’t be so… They were only legend, after all.








Chapter 3- Ski Jetstream

The boy stirred and groggily held his head, complaining that it was too dark and he couldn’t see. He opened his eyes slowly, noticing he couldn’t see out of the left one and reclosed it. He sat up, only to see Nivea staring him down. “Ah! What the-?!” he jumped and crawled backwards. “Who da heck are you!?” “Hmmm…” she poked his ears. “…” she stared. “What are you staring at?” the boy inquired. “…..Stupid feline…” she walked away. “Say what?!” the boy cried out. “I am the strongest angel in my class! No one talks that way to Ski Jetstream and gets away with it.” The boy picked up his sword and charged at Nivea, only to get knocked back down. “….Hahahahaha! I don’t know how you survived against Miko… You’re a wimp!” “WHAT! How dare you?! I’ll make you pay for…. Wait… You KNOW that creature?! Are you serious? What is that thing?” “That THING happens to be my best friend!” She pointed to Maliko, who was now back to normal. “Huh…!? It’s… a girl…” ‘Wow… She’s pretty’ He thought to himself. Just then, Maliko started to wake up. “Arggg… My flippin’ head…” She held her head and howled in pain. “What is she? Some kind of dog?” Ski asked Nivea. “She’s a wolf demon… Her name is Maliko.” “Maliko…” he said to himself but Maliko overheard. “Yeah? What?” she said, eyes still half closed. But then she looked up and saw the boy. ‘God, he’s hot…!’ she thought to herself. Disen noticed the starry look in her eyes and got very jealous. “Maliko-!” he quickly spoke. “Do you remember what happened to you? After Sparky…” He caught himself, noticing the tears that were beginning to develop in her eyes when she heard any mention of her dead son’s name… “After the war…You tried to kill this boy… Ski, is apparently his name… And he survived… In other words, he challenged your power… and you couldn’t kill him…” Disen finished with a hidden smirk, knowing all hell was about to break loose, and he would once again be the object of her affection (in his mind). “Say what!?!? Nobody beats Maliko Wolfen!!! You cheated!!!” “What?! I am a high-class magician! I don’t cheat!” “Ooooo, you’re a magician? Do a magic trick!” Nivea wanted to see badly. “………I’m… well…you see… I’m an apprentice right now, so…um…” “So basically, he has no tricks… He’s a rookie, a trainee, a newbie some might say… At least that’s what this one thinks…” Kensuke laughed. “I am NOT a rookie! And quit talkin’ like Kenshin! He’s MY hero, not yours!” “Have you ever met him?” “Yes!” “Where?” “In the mountains!” “I’ll bet…considering he trains in the forest this time of year!” “That’s what I said! I met him in the forest, and he saved me from a bear! Yeah!” “I lied… He IS in the mountains…” “O_O” “You’ve hit an all-time low…Next you‘ll tell me you dueled Yugi in the Eiffel Tower…” “Hahahahaha!” Everyone laughed as hard as they could, even Maliko. “……” Ski was humiliated and refused to speak. He picked up his sword and started to walk off when Maliko grabbed his arm and spun his around violently. “And WHERE do you think you’re going, you cheating loser?!” “Where do you get off calling me a loser, you canine freak?! I didn’t cheat, so let go of me!” “Make me!” “I will!” He hit her in the head with the blade, cutting her close to the eye. Blood started to drip out of the cut. “Why you little… You’ll pay for that!!!” She sliced his arm with her claws. “No one cheats Maliko Wolfen and gets away with it!” She whistles loudly and her and Ski’s shadows started to shift into 2 shapes that looked like huge ovals. Much to Ski’s surprise, the shadows started to grow limbs and pull itself off of the ground. The shadows started to gain more features, such as eyes and mouths… and fangs. After mass amounts of dark fur sprouted and covered the shadows, Ski realized that they more nothing more than mere wolves. They were much, MUCH bigger than normal wolves, though, and towered over Ski with a threatening growl, Crimson red and Moonlight golden eyes piercing his very soul. Being that he was part feline, he did what any normal cat would do in the presence of a huge, hungry looking dog… He ran for his life! “Orichal, Aurora! Grab him and bring him to me, now!” The wolves caught up to the dashing Ski in an instant and grabbed each of his arms with their teeth. Pretty soon, Orichal and Aurora returned with the kicking, screaming Ski, their teeth stabbing his arm like knives. They bit around the shoulder and blood ran down their mouths, staining their fur. You see, Orichal and Aurora were Maliko’s two wolves and also her bodyguards. Orichal was a huge black wolf with crimson eyes and fangs that could bit through steel with ease. There was a big crescent moon symbol on his stomach that was very visible because it was a clean white on her shiny, pitch black coat. Aurora, on the other hand, was a equally huge white wolf with no marks on her body except for one scar down her back. She was the most playful and loved Maliko more than anyone. Her only true weakness was cold weather. She had demonic, glowing yellow eyes as bright as the full moon and her howl could be heard from anyone dimension connecting to this one. There are 4 different dimensions connected to DarkSoul. There was Crescent Garden- where the half breeds live. There was Shadow’s domain- Where evil spirits worked under the rule of Shadow, a evil and ruthless dictator. But no one has ever seen Shadow, or even seen any open portal to that dimension. So Shadow’s Domain was just a myth. There was Dream Star- Where all the angels lived, and lastly, there was Fear’s Nightmare- A VERY dangerous place used for training. As soon as you step in, the door closes and your worst nightmare comes to life. You can leave when you conquer your fear and beat your nightmare, or die trying. Its different for everyone, which makes it harder. You HAVE to enter alone, and even if you could somehow manage to bring a friend, they can’t see what you see, only their own fears and you would get separated anyway. For example, If you were scared of spiders, the door would lead straight to the egg chamber during mating season of the spiders from 8-Legged Freaks. All these places are fully accessible from the portals in DarkSoul, but Dream Star is blocked off to prevent anyone from coming in. At least, It was, until the half breeds broke down the gate. As Maliko and Nivea put it, “Who wants a bunch of filthy angels running around our precious world anyway?!” Well, back to reality, Ski was pretty much numb throughout his whole body, but his mouth wasn’t! “Hey, you dumb canine! Let me go!” Ski started kicking and accidentally kicked Maliko in the leg. “Ouch!” she cried out and the wolves bit down harder. “I’m tired of you! Orichal, Aurora… Take him to the Death Chamber…” “Maliko! What are you-” Kensuke started but Maliko cut him off quickly. “I don’t want to hear it! Don’t let him out until he’s good and dead, okay?!” She called after her wolves. This shocked all of her friends but Nivea, who patted her on the head. “Nice call, Miko.” She laughed and Maliko turned to her. “Thanks, Niv… Now, I’d better check on Kegamin… Someone has to do the dishes tonight.”

Chapter 4- Maliko’s Parents

Maliko and her friends headed to the hospital ward, called “Wounded Spirit Hospital” to check on Kegamin. Maliko was greeted by the nurse by the door. “G’ morning, Maliko.” The kitty-eared nurse Kalila (Kah-lie-la) waved, smiling brightly and lighting up the gloomy world. Kalila was very young, a child… and orphan of 7 years, who grew up on a farm. But she was the world’s finest doctor, discriminated against because she wasn’t human. She had skill in just about every type of healing and medicine and for that reason, she was the only doctor in the entire dimension. She had huge kitty ears, long blonde hair pulled into several ponytails, bright blue eyes and always wore a small blue and white striped overalls. She stood a small 3’5’’ and she loved strawberries. As payment for her services, Maliko let her have 24 hour access into the Strawberry Patch where the freshest and juiciest were grown, a payment she accepted more than happily. Her tail swished happily side to side when she smiled and she was the cutest thing you would ever see. “Hey, Kat. How’s Kegs?” Maliko waved back. “Not too good… A serious case of Amnesia is the best part. I‘m really not sure if he will make it... He’s really sick and his wounds run deep. Start counting your blessings. You can take him home, but… Keep him warm and covered at all times. Feed him lots of fruits and vegetables to build his strength. Don’t force any chores or labor on him for a couple of weeks. Just let him rest, and he might survive. Also, give him this… Medicine from this bottle. 2 Spoonfuls twice a day to speed the healing process. Don’t let him near any angels because his will is weaker than ever today.” Maliko’s eyes lit up. “H-h-his will is weakened? Yes!!! Now I can make him into the mind slave I have always wanted!” She dashed in the room. You see, Maliko had control over Kegamin, but only to an extent because of his amazingly strong will, but now, she could have the mind slave she always wanted. Maliko stood by his bedside and stared at her servant. He was healing, but was still pretty beat up. His breathing was heavily labored and his eyes were closed tightly. He shook with pain and his heart beat at an irregular rate. His small fingers were clutched into a soft fist. He was bandaged everywhere and the blood soaked almost every inch of his body. His skin was still pale as a ghost and he looked like a corpse already. Maliko poked him once. When he didn’t respond, she poked him again. Kegamin’s mouth twitched and his pale purple eyes opened slowly. “……?” He didn’t remember who she was, and to awake in a hospital bed, bloody and in pain and see a bunch of demons staring at him, surrounding him, he started to panic. “….W-who are you…” he spoke softly. “Don’t play dumb, kid! You know who I am!” “I…um…uh… I do?” “Maliko, remember… The nurse said he has amnesia.” “Oh yeah!” She put her hand on his head and closed her eyes, emitting a strange energy. “Sleep, now… Mind Slave…” She said, almost hypnotically. All of a sudden, Kegamin felt his eyes growing heavy and felt as if he had no other desire in the world but to obey her. He softly went to sleep. Her friends looked on in awe as they witnessed Maliko’s professionalism in controlling his mind though she only tried it once before, the first time she erased Kegamin’s memories. “You now belong to me…Your heart, body and your soul is mine… You will do what I tell you without thinking or judging… You have no past, no present and no future. You have no mind of your own. Give in to my power and watch your will fade away. I am your Master now.” She took her hand off of his head. She spoke firmly now. “Kegamin!” Kegamin’s eyes shot open. “Yes, My Master…” He spoke weakly, his breathing becoming labored just from the effort. “How can I serve you?” “Sleep… I don’t need you now…” “Yes, Master.” Kegamin turned to his side, closed his eyes and fell into a deep trance-like sleep. Maliko ran her fingers through his soft black hair. “Sleep now… Your purpose will soon be clear…“ Maliko spoke to him so low, no one else heard. Nivea walked over to Maliko and stared lovingly at her. “Mikkkkooooo~! How did you learn to do that?! Can you teach me?! I just gotta use that on Link!” She grabbed Maliko’s arm as she begged. “Please, Please, Pleaseeeeeee????!!!! “Um, Sorry, Niv… I cant teach it to you. It’s a secret art that my family trait carries. My Mom and Dad, Vincent and Katie… They told it to me in my dreams… I can hear them sometimes… See, look! Their picture is in this locket they gave me as a baby.” Everyone crowded around to see what evil beings could birth the Lord of the Wolf Demons, but they were VERY shocked to see the sweetest and loving looking couple ever. To the left, Vincent Wolfen, Maliko’s Father. He had short spiked hair and dark crimson eyes very similar to Maliko‘s. His fangs were glittering in the sunlight as he leaned over to kiss his wife. The lady he held tightly was none other than Maliko’s mother, Katie Wolfen, a beautiful woman that stood lovingly next to her husband. Her light blue eyes and long brown hair was her most striking features and she blushed as she leaned in for a kiss from Vincent, giggling so happily her fangs were visible and her ears poked out from the top of her head, a dark brown and tanned and her features soft and young… just like Maliko’s. They looked so happy together. “Yeah… That’s them… My parents were the greatest wolf demons in the world. Aren’t they so cool?”




Chapter 5- The Hidden Side

Everyone stared lovingly at the locket in Maliko’s hand, but then all of a sudden she spoke up. “Um… Can you guys excuse me? I have something to take care of…” She walked out the back door and up Union Path- The mountain path that led to the top of Crescent Mountain where Maliko loved to go to think. Everyone else easily excused her but only Disen saw the look in Maliko’s eyes when she snapped the locket shut and he wondering how reliving the memory of her parents was starting to affect her. There was a glisten in her eyes and Disen suspected tears. He decided to talk to her alone and cheer her up. “Um…Shouldn’t you guys be checking on that Ski kid? Take Nurse Kalila with you… He should be bleeding to death in his cell with all those bite wounds and you know Maliko wont be content until she beats him herself…” Disen prayed they would leave. “Sure, Disen. We’ll give you your time alone with Miko.” Nivea giggled. “You could’ve just said that, dude…” Kensuke shook his head. “Yeah!” Fang chimed in. “It‘s not like we don’t all know.” Rouge laughed. “How Maliko didn’t notice this long is a mystery to me!” Nivea called out. “Okay, whatever! Just get out of here!” Disen blushed slightly. He heard one of them mumble “Hey, where IS Nurse Kalila?“ but though nothing of it. Just as Disen suspected, Maliko was heard crying as he wandered up the mountain. When he stepped on a small branch, it cracked in half and Maliko was broken out of her solitary sorrows. “Disen! I…um…I… What are you doing here?!” “Maliko… You were crying… I never saw you cry before… In fact… None of us has…” “So what?! Just go away!” “Miko, please…” Disen put his arm around Maliko’s shoulder and sat down with her. “Please… Talk to me… What’s this about?” “…………” “Your parents…” “How did you know that?!” “I could see it in your eyes… Don’t be scared to talk to me… I understand. My Mother were murdered in front of my eyes as a child… At least you were spared the horror of staring death in the face… Do you know how it feels to be drenched in your mother’s blood?” “Please…Tell me… What happened…?“ Maliko could see it was bothering him and was anxious to get the subject away from her. Disen looked away as he relived the moments of childhood. “It was my 5th Birthday. It was me, my Mom and my Dad… We were at the park and my Mom came over to ask me if I wanted a sip of water… My Dad came over and asked my Mom where his beer was and my Mom told him that she had left it home, that this was a day for me and not for drinking… He was a serious drunker and got out of control all the time around me… and he was very abusive when he drank… The last thing I remember… My Dad started yelling and slammed his old beer bottle on a tree, breaking it and threatening me and my Mom with it… and my Mom stood up… trying to get me away from him before I got hurt or something, she told me she was going to show me where the water fountain was. She took my hand and started to leave my screaming father behind. He was already drunk from the ride there… and he…took the broken bottle in his hand… and he… killed her…Right in front of me, he sliced her head open… and there was blood everywhere” Disen started to break down in tears. “I was just a kid… so I tried to shake her and I was crying and screaming for her to wake up… I cried as loud as I could… and after about 5 minutes… I realized she wasn’t asleep and she was really dead and my father who I loved had killed her…And he wanted to kill me, too. He swung at me and did manage to cut me…“ He pointed to the scar on the side of his face. “And out of instinct, I lunged at him and just bit down on the first piece of flesh I got a hold of… I wasn’t aiming and even if I was I couldn’t see through the tears in my eyes… The burning tears…” He was crying harder now as he relived it all in his mind. “ I bit down and snapped his neck with my fangs.” Maliko held Disen as he spoke, sensing his pain was so deep-rooted that even thinking on it was extremely difficult for him and telling her about it was amazing. Maliko could relive every moment and every second of his past in her mind, the way he explained it. All the years she had known him… no one would ever think that past Disen’s hardcore bishie and bad boy exterior lied such a tender and crying child. “Oh my god… Disen… I didn’t know… I’m sorry…” She held him tighter, much to Disen’s delight. Just the soft embrace of the one he loved so dearly…Despite all his fantasies, he never thought that Maliko… His Miko… would ever hold him so softly in her arms. He stopped crying and held her just as tightly. “I’m sorry for what happened to your parents… I know how cruel humans can be… Anytime you want to cry…I will be glad to return the favor.” He looked into Maliko’s glittery eyes and smiled. She started to finally appreciate her friendship with Disen, as opposed to before, where she just saw him as a weird, depression and super competitive tough guy. “…Disen…Um… Thank you…” she gave him a small affectionate kiss on the cheek and dashed off. Disen didn’t really register this well and he turned cherry red. His brain sort of shut down and he tried to walk home, but wobbled slowly and tripped over a stray log and fell into the ocean. The rush of the water just made his confusion worse and he tried as hard as he could to swim back up, but didn’t have the arm and leg strength to try. All of a sudden, a rush of water pushed him back to land. Disen was obviously surprised by this and turned to see who his savior was. It was just Sai, taking a swim. “Um… Thanks, Sai!” “No probs! Later, Disen.” He swam off quickly. “ Disen decided to get back to the dungeon to check up on everyone, especially Maliko. Back down at the dungeon, angry mumbles and loud objections could be heard. Disen pushed through the crowd of all his friends. “What’s going on, guys?” he asked them, until he saw the empty cell. “Didn’t you hear?” Rouge gossiped. “Hear what?” “That Ski kid! He’s gone!” “What? But, how-?!” “I don’t know, but Miko was real angry about it. She’s off looking for him now. She’s really serious about it. She even has the hybrid pups on the prowl for his scent. When he gets back, He’s dead for sure…”

Chapter 6- Shadow of a Doubt

Disen heard Maliko yelling from across the park. He didn’t hear everything, but did catch glimpses. The words Idiot, Dead, Slaughter, How dare, Have the nerve and Sudden Death was heard quite clearly, but everything else was blurred. He decided to go and see what she was really saying. As he ran towards her, he felt a weird jolt that made him want to turn around suddenly. He turned to see a weird black shadow standing on top of the dungeon. He stopped for a second and wondered what that was. He was about to go back and investigate, but as soon as he blinked, the shadow was gone. “Ooookay… I must have some of that sea water in my brain…” he said to himself and continued running towards Maliko. When he caught up to her, she was still yelling, but started to calm down when she saw Disen. “Oh hey, Disen! How are you?” Maliko said WAY too calmly for Disen’s liking. Something was up… But what was she hiding from him? “Maliko, I know he escaped… Do you want me to help you find him?”
“E-escaped? W-what do you mean?” “Um… I heard you yelling from across the yard…” “Son of a…” “Hehehe! So, do you want help or not?” “………Fine……” Upon hearing this, Disen got very offended. “Fine?! What’s wrong with accepting my help? We’re friends, aren’t we?” “Yes… I suppose… It’s just that…” “Hmmm?” “I didn’t want anyone to know he’s escaped outside of the guards and stuff… Would ruin my rep, ya know?” “Oh… Um… Yeah… I guess…” “So, come on… Lets do it… Lets find him… Before word gets out that a feline actually survived here, you know? I mean, besides Kalila.” “Okay, yeah… Lets go…” He didn’t dare tell her everyone already knew. They searched all day and night for 3 days, Maliko as vigilant as the minute they started and the exhausted Disen following close to his love, showing no true signs of pain, not wanting to bother Maliko with his problems. Finally, they found him, passed out in a dark and dry desert area, temperatures there exceeding 100 degrees on a cool day because of all the volcanoes in the area. No one but the fire demons lived there. She sniffed him and turned to Disen to tell him that Ski was near death with a heat stroke and very near starvation, only to see Disen had passed out, too. Giving top priority to her friend, she called her wolves and asked them to dig until they found some source of water underground. They quickly discovered a small pool underground with very clean, cold and delicious water. She force-fed Disen and Ski water until they woke up. Disen was thrilled to see that he was alive and his love, Maliko, had brought him back to life. Maliko quickly dismissed this, saying she didn’t care about him, but a death of a friend would look bad for her, but gave him a smile and a sly glance that told Disen otherwise. Ski wasn’t at all as pleased to see Maliko as Disen. “Why did you help me?! I was FINE on my own.” “If you were trying to die, you were doing a good job!” “You’re stupid!” “What?!” She stomped on his knee until it cracked in the wrong direction. “Owwwww!!!!!” “Shut up! Now who is stupid?!” “I thought you hated me!” “I do!!!” “Then why did you save me?” “I told you, you’re a magician… A user of magic… could never beat me under normal circumstances! You’re a cheater! I wish to kill you and extract your magic…” “But you cant-” “I can do whatever I want! Either you do what I say, or I will kill you.” Maliko glared down at the exhausted Ski with pure hatred and scorn, and Ski started to get a little scared and despite his determination to stand up to her, he looked down at his feet, knowing she was serious and also knowing that he couldn’t stand up to her in his condition. “By the way…” Maliko started to walk away. “Huh?” Ski looked back up. “How did you get out anyway?” “That kid let me out. The one wearing that hot nurse’s outfit.” Maliko stopped dead in her tracks, not able to comprehend what she had just heard. She turned around slowly, and asked him to repeat himself. He did and Maliko hopped on Orichal and took off as fast as she could, leaving Disen and Ski behind in her dust. Disen, being the kind person he was, helped Ski to his feet and carried him over to the water, where he cooled off. “……Thank you, but…” “Why am I helping you, right?” “Yeah… Aren’t you a wolf demon, too?” “Believe me… Not all of us are as mean as Maliko. Actually, she’s not as mean as she seems…” “Yeah, right…” “She just acts that way to newcomers… Don’t worry, we can be friends if you want. I know how it feels to be lonely.” “Um… Sure… I never really had much friends before.” “Come on. I’ll take you back.” “Um… Alright.” Disen called Aurora over, but following Maliko’s orders, she refused to let Ski ride on her back. Disen pleaded with her, but she refused to disobey her master. It was a long way back, but Disen refused to abandon his new friend, so he picked Ski up onto his back and started to walk. Seeing Disen’s determination to help him, Ski saw that he could trust Disen and opened up his wings, flying them back with lightning speed. As they got near Maliko’s house, Ski folded his wings back and collapsed to the ground. Disen carried him the rest of the way, saving all of his questions until after Ski recovered. Little did he know that Ski was not going to recover so easily. Kalila pounded on the bars of the cell, crying that innocent people would die if she was killed, but Maliko was not about to change her plans. “You have 3 days left to live! Enjoy it before I kill you right now!” “Maliko, please! I was only opening the cell to go in and heal his wounds, but the second I did, he ran away! I didn’t let him go on purpose! Plus, if I die... Who will heal all of the cuts and bruises and broken bones you get, like EVERY day?” “Grrr… Fine! You’ll live… But you are sentenced to 1 week in Fear’s Nightmare first!” “WHAT???!!!! NO! You cant do this to me!” “Hahahahaha!!!! Foolish girl… I do what I please!” Maliko opened the cell and dragged the screaming and crying Kalila into the portal and threw her in. Shutting it with a very heavy boulder, she laughed. “See you in a week, you traitor.” She returned to her bedroom exhausted from the long day. She changed her clothes to a warm nightgown and curled up under the warm fluffy covers and rested her head into her down filled pillows with the doggy paw prints all over them. Speaking of dogs, she thought, I had better thank Orichal and Aurora for such a good job today. She whistled and when her favorite wolves appeared in her bedroom, she petted them. “You guys are great! Now go get some rest.” They licked her good night and laid down at the foot of her bed, cuddled up close to each other, tails wagging softly. Maliko grabbed Luki, her favorite stuffed animal, a brown and black dog with a white stomach and red collar. “Nighty night, Luki…” were her last words before sleep took her over and she drifted into her fantasy slumber land. Little did she know that Luki was not the only one watching her sleep.
The next morning, Maliko awoke to Orichal barking in her ear. “Huh? What is it, Oreo?” Maliko sat up in worry. Orichal licked her cheek so she wouldn’t get too worked up, then turned and laid on his stomach, motioning with his tail for Maliko to climb on his back. Maliko started to change her clothes, but Orichal barked loudly, telling Maliko that there was no time for that. Sensing it was an emergency, Maliko jumped on and Orichal took off. Running straight for the hospital, Orichal burst through the door. Maliko jumped off when Orichal stopped, her nightgown blowing from the wind of the speed he was going. Disen noticed and looked over, blushing very noticeable. Nivea bumped him with her elbow, and he turned his head rapidly. Maliko looked over to the bed where Ski had been resting to see his sheets were all shredded and there was a pool of blood on the floor, leaving a crimson trail right out the door and outside. Maliko followed the trail and noticed that it lead to a portal that didn’t previously exist. “What the heck-?!” Maliko saw the portal and put her hand in. She felt a weird sub-zero temperature air and tried to pull her hand out but it was stuck. After much effort, she finally got it out. After treating the severe frostbite her hand got in the portal, she stood up. “I’m going in. Who’s coming with me?” Disen jumped up. “WHAT?! You can’t! You saw how hard it was pulling your hand out and how cold it was. If you went in, you might now be able to come out!” “Yeah, I guess you’re rig-…” Maliko started to agree, but stopped and stared blindly as her crimson eyes glowed light purple. She looked into Disen’s eyes and spoke in a disturbingly dark voice. “Keep quiet, fool! Maliko must go, for her Master commands it. We cant just let my new prey escape.” “Miko?” Nivea poked her in confusion. “Keep your filthy hands off of me, canine!” Maliko shot back. “What’s wrong with you, Maliko?” “Hehehe… Maliko? Never… My name is Krypt. I am Maliko Wolfen’s Master. I have come out only for the purpose of recruiting anyone who would like to assist me in finding Ski Jetstream.” “You’re evil… What’s the catch…?” “If you refuse, I will kill you. I have very advanced telekinetic powers, and it is very simple to take your lives. See, look!” He pointed to Nivea. She coughed, then coughed louder, falling on the floor on her hands and knees and began to vomit dangerous amounts of blood, her skin turning white. “Okay!!!!!! We get it! We’ll go! Stop!” Disen screamed. “Smart choice, fool.” He put his hand down, releasing his hold on Nivea. She fell to the floor with a threatening crack, unconscious. As Kensuke picked her up, Disen turned to Krypt. “Why do you want Ski so badly?” “I need his magic to become strong enough to destroy my weak side.” “But he doesn’t have magic, he said.” “True, he doesn’t have magic…he knows about! His magic is a surpressed memory that I plan to bring back by means of shock therapy.” “Hey! What did you mean by “Your weak side”? “I mean, Maliko… She is holding my powers down and therefore, she must die…” “WHAT?!” Disen cried. “We are not going to help you hurt Maliko!” “Then you will die…” “I don’t care! I wont help you!” “What?! You… would sacrifice yourself… for… her?” “Oh course I would… I… I lo-.. She is my friend!” “But, you would be hurt…” “So?” “Hmmm… I don’t understand… but fine!” He lifted his hand to take Disen’s life, but Kensuke stepped in front of him. “No! We’ll go!” “Kensuke! What are you-” “I’m explain later…” He whispered. “Hmmm… You’re wise in your choices… I will meet up with you later… I must prepare. Tell Maliko of this plan and I will kill you all.” Maliko’s eyes turned back to normal and she wiped her eyes, which were teary, as she yawned. She was still really sleepy and wanted to get back to bed. “Okay, guys… Goodnight…” Disen grabbed her arm and turned her around. “No… We must find Ski…” “Now?” “Yeah… We don’t want him to die before we get his magic…” “Oh, yeah! Lets go!” As Maliko rushed out of the room, Disen looked around. He saw Maliko running, Kegamin in a hospital bed, Nivea in the bloody bed next to it, Kensuke and Fang, sleeping on the foot of Kegamin’s bed. He rubbed his arm with his hand nervously and wondered that when this was all over if he would ever see any of them again. In about an hour, the group was ready to take off, but knowing that no human could stand the cold, Maliko only asked Disen and her wolves to come with her. She told Kensuke to stay behind to look after Kegamin and Saabel and Bierez to look after Nivea, a task he more that gladly accepted. Setting off, Maliko, Disen, Orichal and Aurora looked back at the place that they had called home for so long for…maybe, the last time. They closed their eyes and took a deep breath, and jumped in.



Chapter 7- The True Enemy

As soon as Maliko’s body touched the cold air of the new world, she couldn’t breathe. The air’s frigid temperature clogged her airways and she started gasping for breath. All of a sudden, the air warmed up and she felt herself sweating. She looked up to see Disen holding up some weird glass dome-looking thing. “Huh? Wha-?” Maliko looked up in confusion. “Don’t worry, Miko. I got you. I can use my fire powers to create a force field in this frozen nightmare.” Disen smiled. Maliko looked around the new dimension. All she saw was pure white snow, and the sky was pitch black. Maliko looked around to see how her wolves were doing and was horrified when she only saw Orichal next to her. “Disen! Where is Aurora?!” Maliko cried. “I don’t know.” “Disen! Stay here with Orichal and keep him warm. I have to go find Aurora!” “But, Miko-!” “Sorry, Disen! I cant stop to talk! Gotta go! Don’t move until I get back, okay?” “………Okay……” Maliko jumped out of the shield of warm fire and took off, calling Aurora’s name every chance she stored up enough warm air to open her mouth. “Aurora?” she called as loud as she could. “Aurora!!! Wher-” she covered her mouth and took a breath. “Where are you?!” But no matter how often she called, she heard no response. She started to panic and began to run, seeing no end in sight. “Auroraaaa!!!” she called as she ran. Suddenly she tripped over a big lump in the snow. She got up and looked back and there lay Aurora in the snow. “Aurora!!!” Maliko looked and noticed that the snow was a dark crimson red and saw that her paw was bleeding badly. ‘She must have cut it on something when she landed.’ she thought to herself. ‘I have to take her back myself.’ As Maliko leaned over to pick her up with the little strength she had left, she heard a small whimper. Aurora looked at Maliko lovingly, but whimpered softly in pain as Maliko kissed her nose softly. “Don’t worry…” she whispered. “It will be okay. Just hold on, okay?” Aurora barked in a very low tone and Maliko knew she couldn’t pick her up with the big gash in her leg and she knew that in the cold, Aurora would not survive until they got back. Taking a deep breath, she did all she could and pulled off her clothes, wrapping Aurora’s wounds and body in it and, shivering from the sub-zero winds, picked her up and started on her way back. About a couple of hundred feet from Disen, Maliko collapsed and passed out, exhausted from the cold. Orichal, smelling the blood, ran out of the shield of fire and found Maliko and Aurora, dragging them both back into the force field. When Disen saw Maliko, he tried his best to stop himself from passing out from the sight of Maliko in her bra and underwear. He giggled to himself, but when he saw their condition, he immediately turned up the heat as much as he could. He hoped they woke up soon… He was running out of energy and that shield wasn’t made to last forever…
Pretty soon, Maliko and Aurora started to wake up. When Maliko got up, she saw Aurora staring at her in the corner, tail wagging rapidly. Maliko walked up to her and petted her head and Aurora jumped on Maliko and licked her cheek over and over again. Maliko laughed hard and stood up. Realizing her clothes were still gone, she squealed and blushed really hard, grabbing them off of the floor and putting them on as fast as she could. “We really… should go…find Ski now…” Disen spoke weakly. “I’m… running out… of energy…” “Okay, Lets go… Wait, What about Aurora? She cant stand the cold!” “Hmmm… I know! Here!” Disen focused his energy into a big red dog collar, which he put around Aurora’s neck. “It’s a Flame Collar. It will keep Aurora warm as long as she wears it.” “Ah! It’s perfect! And it looks good on you, Rura!” Aurora barked in agreement. As soon as Disen lowered the shield, a big gust of freezing wind blew by and froze everyone but Aurora. “Geez… That’s cold… Lets hurry, Miko.” “Okay…” Maliko climbed on Orichal’s back. “Come on, Disen! Get on Aurora‘s back! It will be faster!” “We can do that???” “Yeah! What did you think I was gonna do? Walk? Hahahahaha! Not likely!” “Cool!” Disen climbed on and they took off. After about 15 minutes, they saw a castle in the distance. “Look!” Maliko pointed at the huge towering castle. “Yeah! I see it… I wonder who it belongs to…” “Who cares?! Whoever it is has Ski and Ski is mine! Whoever it is better be expecting all he** to break loose when I get there, because that’s just what’s gonna happen!” Maliko gritted her teeth. “……Hmmm…” Disen started at the castle in wonder. But before Maliko could ask what was up, a huge snowstorm whipped up and blinded everyone with pure white frost. The blizzard was too thick for anyone to see anything. “Disen? Where are you?” “I’m right here!” “Where?” “Here!!!” He poked her from behind and she jumped. “Ah!!!” “Sorry…” “It’s okay…” She took his hand and Disen blushed, not worried because he knew Maliko could not see. “What are you doing?” he asked. “You don’t want anyone to get lost again, right? Well, if we hold hands, we wont. You have Aurora, right?” “Yeah.” “Okay, and I have Orichal. Lets go.” “Okay.” As the wind blew in harder, Disen held on tighter to Maliko’s hand. ‘Wow…’ he thought to himself. ‘Her hands are so soft…’ Maliko and Disen finally found their way to the castle, frostbitten and barely able to move. They were so numb, they could not feel each other’s hands even though the were holding it. They rang the doorbell, hoping whoever it was that answered had a fireplace that they could thaw out in front of. As the door creaked open, a man came to the door and Maliko looked at him in shock. He was as pale as a dead person with equally dead eyes that glowed red from under his long black hair. He had huge demon wings that shot out from both sides. His hair almost completely covered the horns on his head and his small pointed elf-like ears. She also noticed a large lizard like tail that was lined with spikes that swished side to side slowly. As he opened his mouth to speak, the huge fangs covered in blood were revealed. In fact, his entire mouth was covered in blood…as if…he had just finished consuming something extremely bloody and didn’t have time to clean up before answering the door. If this guy was as evil as he looked and they had interrupted his meal, in their condition… They might be his next. Maliko started to get a little worried. Her hands started to shake and realizing she had barely any energy left, Disen spoke for her. “Excuse me…We are looking for… someone named… Ski Jetstream… Can you let us warm up in your… house, please? If we don’t… get our energy back… We might… not make… it…” He ran out of all the energy he had left and collapsed onto the ground alongside Maliko and her wolves. The man picked the four up at the same time and took them to the guest rooms and lay Maliko and Disen in the warm and newly made beds… and placed Orichal and Aurora in front of the fireplace on a nice fluffy rug. Little did they know, Ski lay dying slowly in the bed right next to them…
The next morning, Maliko awoke and looked around. When she realized she wasn’t in her own bed, she cried out softly, but then remembered what had happened the night before and calmed down a little. She looked over and saw that everyone was still asleep. She looked over at Disen and smiled. He had saved her life with that barrier and she had to repay him. She just didn’t know how… That’s when she saw Ski in the bed, blood dripping from his mouth. She jumped out of bed and rushed over to him. Staring him down intensely, she lifted his head with her thumb and smiled. “So… This is where you’ve been hiding… Well, Let’s go… It confuses me how you got through that snowy horror land alone, but whatever.” She started to pick him up when she heard the darkest voice she had ever heard in her life. “Take your filthy hands off of my perfect vessel, you stupid canine.” She turned to see the man that had answered the door yesterday. “Huh?” “You heard me… Unhand that vessel…” “Vessel? I don’t think so! This body belonged to me first. Tough luck, pal…” She continued to pick him up. As soon as she did, a strong ray on dark energy shot Maliko in her back and she dropped Ski onto the floor, falling right next to him, crying in pain. “Arggg… You’ll pay for this!” She jumped up and lunged at him, but a voice in her head stopped her. “No… Don’t touch him… Now is not the time to fight…” “But I jus-” “Keep quiet…” “But, Krypt! I only tried to-” “Shut up!” Maliko whimpered and looked at the floor in anger and defeat, holding back tears. Talking through his weakened vessel, Krypt spoke to the man. “Heh heh… Shadow… Its been a while… Hasn’t it?” “Krypt? Is that you? You’ve finally found refuge in a demon’s soul like you wanted?” “Hmmm… Yes… This girl… Her name is Maliko Wolfen. She is a god among wolves.” “Ah. So… What brings you here?” “I have come for the boy.” “You mean…” “Yes… That boy… He is essential to my plans…” “Oh, I am sorry…I mean no harm to your…plans… but I cant let him go…” “It was not a question. I am taking the boy.” “I don’t think so, Krypt.” “Shadow. Don’t be a fool. I gave you life and I can take it away.” Upon hearing this cold threat, Shadow stood with a rather shocked expression, then looked down at his reptile-like feet, swishing his tail back and forth angrily. When he looked back up, his dead eyes were now glowing a bright red and he whispered a chant. “Ercno Mahdi Danoe, Kanachi Eresn Ragew…” He pointed to Ski and Ski’s body started to glow. “Let the darkness rule in day, Let compassion show no sign. As long as the vessel’s heart still beats, His soul will still be mine!” He cried out and out of Ski’s chest shot a clear rainbow colored sphere. As Shadow continued to chant, the sphere got darker and darker until it was pitch black. “…No…” Krypt growled angrily. “Krypt… What is going on? What is that?” “That…sphere is his soul. And this fool is trying to defy me and take it over. As long as he has control of the soul, he has control of the body.” Maliko gasped softly. As Shadow slowly lowered the dark soul back into Ski’s body, Maliko cried out. “Shadow! Stop this! What do you want with Ski?” “That’s none of your concern, you pathetic demon. Heh, heh… You’re supposed to be a god? Have you not wondered why your friends haven’t woken up yet?” Maliko just remembered. She looked back at Disen, who just needed to catch Maliko’s mere scent to awaken… and her wolves, that usually awake long before Maliko, and waited by her bedside until she did. With a scared soul, but awakening rage, Maliko turned to Shadow. “What did you do to them?” “ The same thing I am about to do to this boy. Shut down their minds, close their hearts and corrupted their souls. Give it up… Your friends belong to me now.” “No…NO!” Without hesitation, Maliko rushed at Shadow only to be knocked back by a wall of dark aura. “Fine. You want to play? Let’s play then.” He put his hand in the air and made a tight fist. “Rise, my entities of darkness…” As soon as he spoke, Disen sat up in his bed. “Disen! Please, tell me you’re okay…?” When he didn’t respond, she called him again. “Disen?” But what she saw, she really didn’t expect and it sent chills colder than the snow outside down her spine. Disen glared at Maliko with the darkest and purest form of hatred that she had ever seen. Never did she think that anyone was capable of making her feel so alone with just a look, especially from Disen, the person that had always looked at her with nothing more that a nervous but overly happy smile, always blushing. Disen’s eyes were no longer the light purple shade that she loved. They were now the darkest of grays, one shade away from pure black and Maliko could see that he wasn’t about to help her. In fact, He looked like he could kill her on the spot. The pitch black rings around his eyes made him look as if he had not slept in years and Maliko began to tremble. She heard a growl and looked over to see Orichal and Aurora had surrounded her and had the same deadly look in their eyes as Disen. She turned to Aurora and saw that the collar that Disen made her started to glow and in less that a second, Aurora’s eyes turned bright red and orange and her entire body lit on fire. Maliko tried to run when Disen lunged at her, but got surrounded and pushed into a corner. “Heh heh… Who’s destiny is in your hands now, Krypt? Take her life, slaves! And bring her soul to me!” Shadow cried. Aurora opened her mouth and shot a huge fireball at Maliko. She did all she could and ducked down, shielding her head with her hands, waiting for her life to end. She quickly felt warm heat, but not hot enough to burn her. She opened her eyes to see herself protected by Disen’s flame barrier, the one that helped her in the snow. She looks over to Disen, and is surprised to see that he has a strained, but happy smile on his face. Maliko took this as an opening and vowing to return her friends to normal no matter what, ran past Disen and dashed for the door. But before she made it out, Shadow grabbed her and held her down. As much as she tried to get loose from his grip, she couldn’t. Shadow got really close to her face and stared her down. He looked deep into her eyes and gasped. Stumbling back a little bit, he spoke. “Hmmm… It seems you and I are not as different as I thought. You got guts… I like that… Take your friends and go. I am done modifying their mental structures, anyway.” “Grrr… I don’t need your help helping my friends! I could have saved them myself!” “…And you wonder why I call you a idiotic canine?” Maliko turned to see Ski standing behind her. “If it were up to you, we would all be dead. Why can’t you just accept help?” “Shut up! I didn’t come because I was worried about you! The second I extract your magic, I am just going to kill you anyway.” “And let me have his empty vessel.” Krypt chimed in from the background. “Oh, yeah. That, too.” Wide eyed, Ski stared at Maliko. “Did you just talk to yourself?” “Huh? No… I was talking to Krypt.” “Who?” “Krypt. My Yami.” Ski looked around. “I don’t see anyone.” “Oh, god… No wonder you want to kill him so fast. How did he survive again?” “Luck.” “Yeah… That has to be it.” “Hey! It was NOT luck!” “Whatever…” “So, how are we supposed to get out of here?” “There is a portal in the back. Take that.” “Um… Thanks?” Ski was reasonably skeptical about Shadow’s help. Shadow looked at Maliko. “Don’t worry. You don’t have to thank me.” “Don’t worry, then! I didn’t plan on it!” “You’re a stubborn little brat, aren’t you?” “Brat?! You know what?! If I’m a brat, then you’re a-” Disen ran up from behind and grabbed Maliko’s mouth. “Lets just get out of here!” He dragged her out the door and they all ran for the back. Once outside, Maliko turned to Disen. “Hey, Disen… Why… did you save me back there?” Disen turned quickly and started into Maliko’s confused eyes. Blushing hard, he giggled nervously. “That’s easy, Miko. It’s because…Um… Well…” “Well what?” “It’s because we’re friends, that’s all.” “Oh, okay. Well, thank you.” She grabbed him and hugged him tightly. “I love you, too.” she whispered in his ear. Upon hearing this, Disen jumped back. “You…You knew!? For how long??? Wait… You do?” “Yes, I’ve always loved you… Let me show you how much…” She held him tightly and pulled him into a passionate kiss. Disen, so happy he was in shock, embraced the kiss and kissed back. Holding her as tight as he could, he never wanted to let go of this moment. All of a sudden, he felt a huge pain in his stomach and fell back. He heard Maliko’s voice as he started to fade and the world darkened. “Disen!” Maliko screamed. Disen shot awake from his daydream and stared at Maliko, who was screaming at him and had punched him in the stomach for zoning out on her. “Huh?” “I said Why did you save me!!!???” “…Because we’re friends… That’s all…” Disen spoke sadly, realizing it was only his fantasy world taking over again and Maliko didn’t really love him at all. Disen’s eyes started to water but wiped the tears away before Maliko saw him. He didn’t want her to think he was a baby and like him less that she already did. “…I love you…” he whispered to her back as she walked away.




Chapter 8- Love is Blind
As everyone jumped into the portal, Shadow grabbed Disen. “What do you want?” Disen freed himself from Shadow’s grip and got one foot in the portal. “You like her… Don’t you?” “What? Who?” “That wolf demon. I saw the way you looked at her.” “So what if I do like Maliko? That’s none of your business!” “I can make her love you back… if you want…” “I said Leave m-… Wait…What?” “You heard me. I happen to specialize in love potions. I can make Maliko love you more than anyone. Just like you want.” “You can?” “Yes.” Disen pulled his foot out of the portal and turned to Shadow. “…What do you want…?” “Nothing much. All I want in return for eternal happiness for you and Maliko is… Maliko’s demon shard.” “You mean the black one around her neck? Her mother gave that to her before she died! I could never take it! She would never let me have it.” “You can just take it when she is sleeping. I promise not to do anything bad with it. They are quite beautiful in the sun and I collect them, that’s all.” “…I don’t know…” “Come on. Think about it. You just do this one little thing and Maliko will love you forever. It’ll be just like your dreams. Don’t you want to live those dreams?” “I…I…Fine! I’ll do it. But you must promise not to use it for anything bad.” “Of course I promise.” Shadow gave Disen his most sincere smile. Disen nodded and jumped into the portal.
As soon as the day was through and the twilight of the moon shone in the sky, Maliko waved goodnight to her friends and went to bed. After about an hour, Disen went up to Maliko’s room to complete phase 1 of his plan. He shook Maliko violently, waking her from her peaceful sleep. “Miko! Miko!! Are you okay?” “Um…sleepy…but yeah… Why?” “You were coughing so hard in your sleep. I think you were choking. You should go drink some water.” “I was? Um… Okay… Orichal, can you get me some water?” Orichal ran off to get some water. Aurora loyally followed to help. ‘Crap’ Disen thought. “Maliko… You look so pale. I think you should go check it out. I think I should hold your necklace for you. It looks pretty tight. I can adjust the strap while you do.” “Um… Alright… Don’t drop it.” “Don’t worry, Miko! I wont.” He smiled, even though deep down his heart was breaking knowing he was about to betray Maliko so harshly. He swore to make up for his lies by being the best lover in the world, taking care of her, and never hurting her. While Maliko was in the bathroom, he gently removed the black demon shard and put it in his pocket. When Maliko came back, Disen made sure not to let her see the shard was gone and jumped up to put it back on her neck. When he was done, he tucked her into bed, saying he wanted to make sure she was safe before he left. He warmed her up some hot chocolate and she soon fell into a deep sleep. Disen kissed her cheek and ran out.
Jumping back into the portal that he made that led him right back to Shadow’s house. Banging on his door, Disen was in tears. “So, you did it?” “Take your stupid shard! I cant believe I lied to Maliko like that!” “It will be worth it, young one…” “Lets just get this over with…” “Here you go.” Shadow gave Disen a small bottle with a blue liquid in it. “There is your love potion. Just make sure no one is around before she drinks it, because she loves the first one she sees forever.” “Okay… Thanks…” Disen ran off as fast as he could.
The next morning, Disen was the first one to Maliko’s house. “Here, Miko. I got you some medicine for your cough.” he handed her the bottle. “Um… Thank you. You’re the best, Disen.” She took a big mouthful and swallowed the whole thing. Much to Disen’s surprise, instead of instead of embracing her new lover, Maliko dazed out, in sort of a hypnotized state. “M-miko?” Disen got really worried and shook her softly, and instead of waking up, she collapsed, cracking her head on the floor. As the blood poured out slowly and Disen tried his best to help her, Shadow appeared in the room. “Heh heh… Looks like my plan worked.” “Shadow! What did you do?” “Nothing. All I did was make a potion that induced comatose. I didn’t make her drink it. You did, with your lies. Now she will never wake up.” Disen’s eyes started to water and he felt a deep hatred and rage boil inside him. He ran at him with all the speed he could summon and managed to scratch his face with his claws. “See, I would have spared your life for helping me, but now… You’re mine!” Shadow grabbed him and held his hand to Disen’s head, speaking some sort of ancient chant, activating the shards power. “Stop! Please! Let me…go…” Disen fell into a deep sleep in Shadow’s arms, helpless in helping Maliko now, who was still bleeding, skin pale and dying. Shadow took his brand new mind slave and Maliko’s almost dead body and warped back to his realm, creating a portal in the shadows. When Maliko’s wolves returned and saw the blood with Maliko’s scent surrounding it, they panicked and barked loudly, summoning all of her friends. When they saw the puddle of blood on the ground, they cried out in shock and fear and went to find Maliko. Little did they know, Maliko’s life was being taken slowly and painfully 2 feet away from Disen, who Shadow was molding into his new mind slave. He upgraded his powers and build unbreakable armor around his clothes. But though Disen’s body sleep in agony, Disen’s soul let him look on in spirit. He walked over to the bed and could see Shadow messing with his body and saw Maliko’s spirit sleeping peacefully. He picked her up and sat in the corner with her in his lap. Tears ran down unto Maliko’s body, as Disen cried and cried, heart shattered as he saw what had become of his Miko. Her skin was pale and she was close to death, hopeless and helpless. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…” he kept repeating, holding her tightly in his arms. “It’s okay…” Maliko whispered softly. Disen jumped. “Miko?” “Disen, I know what you did. And I forgive you, no matter why you did it. I know you. And I know that whatever reason you had, it had to be good.” “I thought… Shadow said that you…” “Heh heh… You think he could take me out that easy? My body may be weak, but my spirit isn’t. Disen, no matter what reason you had, I forgive you.” “Miko…Thank you…” He held her tightly. “My spirit is fading and my body may not wake up for a long time, maybe even years… So hang in there when you get back up, okay?” “Okay…” “Try to keep my body as smexy as it is now, so when I get back, I don’t have 10 years of cosmetic surgeries to do, alright?” “Okay…” “Bye, Disen. Remember, wake up at all costs.” “Okay… Bye, Miko…” He started to cry, but didn’t care this time. Maliko wiped his tears. “Don’t cry. I will be fine.” “Okay…” He smiled and Maliko winked in return, her spirit fading away completely. “Maliko…I love you… Please come back alive…” He spoke to himself, half wishing it for himself.



Chapter 9- Shadow’s Deal

As Maliko slept in silence, Shadow was terrorizing DarkSoul. With his new powers and Disen as his loyal slave by his side, he had no problem making slaves of her friends. As he walked into Maliko and Nivea’s anime shrine, Nivea, whose demonic powers helped her to heal, jumped in front of him. Blocking the steel plated door, she cried out.
“I don’t know WHO you think you are, but you cant just come here and do whatever you want!”
Shadow said nothing, but pulled a chain out of his pocket and tossed it at Nivea. Instinctively, she caught it and looked at it.
“Huh?”
she looked down and noticed it was wrapping itself around her legs too tightly and they became numb, turning purple. Nivea fell to the ground and Shadow lifted his hand in the air, using psychic energy to lift her and wrap the chain too tightly around the rest of her body as her held her there.
“Will you join me?” he said calmly, staring into her eyes.
“I’d….never…j-join you!”
Nivea managed to choke out, suffocating from the chains.
“Then die.”
He threw his hand in a harsh motion, sending Nivea flying and slamming her headfirst into the steel door, putting a dent in it and leaving her unconscious. Shadow unwrapped the chain and picked her up, feeling her body was cold as death, though she still lived. He looked her in the face and spoke evilly.
“You dare defy me? You will not live to regret it.” He commanded Kensuke to take her, a task he obediently completed. When she slowly opened her eyes, she saw nothing but pitch black. As she tried to sit up, she banged her head on some type of metal. Actually, she was covered with metal on every side, and air was thin. She felt something on her hand and poked it. It was a… worm. She then realized in horror what had happened. Shadow had trapped her in a metal coffin and left her underground to die. She started to panic and started banging. After about 10 minutes of this, she felt the dirt fall out from under her and he fell to more darkness.
“Huh??? How did that happen??? Who cares! I gotta get out of here!”
She ran until she tripped over an unlit torch. She picked it up and lit it with a match she had in her pocket. When she looked up, she nearly fainted. She was staring down the biggest spider egg sack she had ever seen, about 500 times her size. She screamed and just as she turned to run, the egg sack broke open and billions of tarantulas climbed out and jumped all over her, crawling in her hair and her mouth and munching on her flesh. Nivea felt so terrified she couldn’t move or even breathe and passed out on the ground to be consumed by the arachnids. When she awoke again, she was being tangled upside down in an adult spider’s nest, a spider so huge, it could easily eat her in one gulp. The spider got 2 inches away from her face and spit acid on her eyes. When Nivea took one last blurry look between screaming in pain and saw her bloody body melting away in the reflection of one of the spider’s eyes, she took her last breath before being wrapped up completely. Shadow sat at the edge of Fear’s Nightmare’s portal and laughed to himself at the screams he heard from the nightmare she was living.
“Ah…That sound was always refreshing, Maybe now she will change her mind.”
He reached in and pulled someone out. When he looked, it was little Kalila crying and panting on the ground, shaking from fear.
“….Ooookay…”
“Please…Don’t hurt me. Maliko threw me in there and I was so scared. Please…Help me. I…”
She passed out on the ground. Shadow picked her up and examined her. He put his hand to her head and said to himself
“Run soul check.”
His eyes glowed for a second and he gasped.
“This girl! I…How could she…”
He handed her to Disen.
“Take special care of this girl! You hurt her in ANY way, and I will take your life.”
Disen’s hazy eyes remained uncaring, but glowed as his weak mind processed the command. “Yes…Master…”
He reached in again and pulled Nivea out, whose body twitched in silent fear. No matter what Shadow did, she wouldn’t respond. She was in a death-like state because of her fear, he realized and laughed. Eventually, she calmed down and started to awaken.
“Heh heh Hehehe… Will you join me now?”
She started into his eyes with fear, realizing that if she didn’t… He would send her back. But how could she betray Maliko, her best and most loyal friend? “I…I…cant…”
“So you would face an eternity like that…for Maliko? A lifetime trapped in the Aracnodimension? So be it.”
Shadow lifted her by her neck and prepared to throw her back in when out of nowhere, someone pushed him and Nivea toppled out of his hands as he fell into Fear‘s Nightmare himself. She looked up to thank her savior.
“Disen! I-”
“Don’t thank me! Let’s go! We have to wake Maliko.”
“Okay! Where is my darling Miko?”
“Um…” “O_O YOU FORGOT?!”
“Heh heh… Yeah… Hold on.”
He pulled a thick packet of stapled paper out of his pocket labeled Orichalcos Girl, turned to Page 48 and began to read aloud.
“…and warped back to his realm, creating a portal in the shadows. Oh, yeah! I was asleep. The portal in her room…Okay…Geez. This is NOT my sexiest helpless face…I look dead…Hmmm… Gotta work on that…I should so fire that photographer! Maybe a topless scene will patch it up for all of my fan girls…”
“Miko would kill you if she knew you pulled out the script in the middle of the story!”
“Why? She can just leave this scene on the cutting room floor later!”
“This is LIVE!!!”
“O_O;”
“That’s what I thought! Now remember your lines and lets go!”
“Okay.”
He stuffed the script back into his pocket and they ran towards Maliko’s room. As soon as they got there, they looked around and found the small portal in the darkest corner of the room. They jumped in, ran into Shadow’s house and found Maliko. Nivea shook her violently.
“Wake up! We gotta go help everyone! Come on!”
Disen pushed her over quickly.
“She’s NOT sleeping! She is in a coma…”
“What!? Are you serious?”
“Yeah…”
“Who could have done this to her…”
“Heh heh…Look right next to you.”
Shadow rose up from the ground and laughed. “Shadow! What do you mean?! I know it was you, so you wont trick me!”
“Don’t take my word for it. Ask Dice-boy for yourself. Tell her, Disen…Tell her who put her in this coma.”
“Disen…He’s lying, right? Tell me he is lying!” Nivea cried. When Disen looked down and backed up against the wall, tears running in rivers down his cheeks, Nivea knew the truth.
“Disen…How could you!? I thought you loved her! How could you do this to her!? You’re not good enough to have Miko-kun! I hope she NEVER loves you!” Nivea cried and ran out the room. Hearing those heart crushing words, Disen was in a state of shock. He sat down and buried his head in his hands, wailing in pain. Shadow walked up to him and put his hand on Disen’s head. Disen looked at Shadow in pure anger. “Why did you tell her that!? It wasn’t my fault! You tricked me!” “Hmmm…” Shadow stared at Disen calmly, his eyes never breaking Disen’s angry gaze. Disen felt a cold pulsating in the way Shadow looked at him and looked back at the ground. “How did you get out anyway?” “Easy, My worst nightmare is…myself! And I quite like myself. ^_^” “*Sweat Drop* I just want Miko back…” He shut his eyes tightly and stood up. “Please…Shadow. I know you can bring her back. Please… I will do anything you ask. Just please…” His eyes started to water again. “Just please… Bring her back…” Disen stared intensely at Shadow, begging Shadow with his teary eyes. “…Eh…Sorry, kid. Nothing I can do.” He started to walk away. “Please! I…” “…Fine… You will be my permanent slave. If I am attacked, you take the hits in my place. If my life is in danger, you will live and die for me.” “Alright.” “Lets go. And remember, I took you in as a slave, not a friend! You're nothing more to me than a lab rat...So don't think for a second that I care about your life!” “I understand.” “Now…This journey… You may have to kill your own friends.” Disen didn’t respond. “And Maliko?” “Oh yeah. Okay… But first, I want you to sign this contract saying you belong to me.” “…Okay… Where is the pen?” “Your fingers are the pens.” “You mean…You want me to sign it… in blood, don’t you?” “Yup.” He threw Disen the contract. Disen looked at the contract, bit his thumb with his fang and signed it as fast as he could, before he could change his mind.?
Staring at the contract, his eyes watered. He could never see Maliko again, but he knew that she would be alive, and that was enough for him. She walked up to her and softly touched her cheek, tears splashing on her face as he struggled to keep himself calm. He leaned over and kissed her gently. “Goodbye, Maliko… I love you.” He held her hand, started at her silently. As he leaned over to give her one last hug, Shadow’s chain wrapped itself violently around him and he was forced to let go as Shadow pulled his newest slave towards him. ‘Maliko will wake up now…Calm down.” He snapped his fingers and her eyes opened. “Remember, no talking and no touching. Got it?” “Yes, Master…” Shadow walked out of the room. Maliko climbed out of bed and wiped her eyes. Seeing Disen, she jumped up. “Disen! Are you okay? Were you the one who woke me up?” Remembering Shadow’s deal, he didn’t speak, just stared at her with whimpering eyes, wanting more than anything to embrace her and tell her how he felt and what was going on. But he knew he couldn’t. “Disen…What’s wrong? Please… Speak to me…“ Not able to bear the pain anymore, he just turned and followed Shadow out of the room, leaving Maliko in a confused daze. Getting hungry, Maliko started craving blood due to the smell of the crimson stained room. She walked out and climbed into the portal. When she got back, the dark town was completely deserted. She looked around and saw Nivea trying to wake Ski up from sleep, kicking his immobile body. At that moment, Maliko senses went out of control and she craved blood from earth uncontrollably. She ran to the portal to Earth and to her horror, it was sealed up. Her cravings were certainly not to be toyed with and there was good reason. Ski woke up just in time to see Maliko claw through the boulder that blocked the portal to find food, something even Nivea didn’t know she could do. Nivea jumped up in horror. "We have to find her... She's not exactly well..." She spoke to Ski. "She's...going crazy, isn't she?" "Well, deprived of the blood she craves, I wouldn't be surprised... I mean, look at it this way... After so many years, it's hard to break the routine... She's hungry, she gets bones... Human bones...She's thirsty, she gets blood..." "But doesn't she get that from the Butcher shop and the Crimson Fountain?" "Yeah, and where do you think those bones and blood come from? Humans..." "!!!" And no one ever questioned it, for fear of death... Now, someone just cut her off for such a long time, in that coma and sealing off the portal... How do you think she's supposed to cope? It's always been "She wants it, She gets it" ...Well, now she wants it... And she's doing whatever it takes to get it... Someone's gonna die... I'm guessing everyone on Earth.” “Did she ever go to Earth before?” “Yeah, a couple times. Never killed anyone, though. Except this one time when we were little kids…” “…?” “She gutted the victim, strangled him with his own intestines, and then she threw everything but his blood and bones into the river..." "What did she do with the blood and bones?" "She had that for Lunch! Duh!" "....What did the guy do to deserve such a brutal death?" "Oh! He bumped into Orichal by accident. He was just a small wolf then, only up to Maliko’s knees, and Orichal bit off the man’s arm. He kicked Orichal in the nose and it started to bleed. When Maliko found out, that's what she did to him... Heh, heh...-^_^-" "Isn't that a little unfair?" "... O_O...Tell her that, I dare you!" "...No thanks... Let’s go.” On earth, they followed the trail of dead headless bodies, gut and gore splattered streets and blood stained pavement. Ski stared scared and wide eyed. “This…this is horrible…” “This is… about once or twice a month…” Nivea laughed at Ski’s horrified expression. “Eh, whatcha gonna do…At least she keeps the human population leveled.” They continued to walk for about 3 miles when they saw Maliko sleeping in the middle of the street, gripping a half eaten human arm and snoring peacefully, expression full of satisfied content. “She must be full…” Nivea laughed and picked her up and they stared back on their way back to DarkSoul.

Chapter 10- The Light and Shadow Within

5 years past since this time and everyone was doing fine. Maliko and all her friends lived normally and soon learned to forget about Disen, who Nivea marked as a traitor, all except Maliko, who thought about Disen all the time and could never hate him. Everyone healed and Kalila went back to being hospital nurse. Ski eventually stopped hating Maliko‘s guts, but they weren’t what you would call friends. They still fought constantly, building up both of their power, both learning new attacks and soon became bitter rivals. The constant Feline VS. Canine was a hot topic in DarkSoul, because both Nivea (Who always bet on Miko) and Kensuke (Who always bet on Ski) both became super rich because there was barely a time when they weren’t fighting and when Niv and Ken were not betting. DarkSoul was completely rebuilt and they added a huge pool right in the center near the Crimson Fountain, right along with a gigantic stadium so Maliko and Ski could fight without destroying the town. Poor Disen was actually doing a very good job as Shadow’s slave. He killed many opponents with his new Fire Blitz attack, burning them alive from the inside out and he learned new strategies and new faster methods of death, making Shadow stronger and stronger all the time. Disen had matured into a very sexy wolf demon. He had much stronger from the all of the fighting, and his muscles showed brilliantly as well as the fact that his light purple eyes had darkened into a violet color. He met many girls, human, angel and demon alike on the mission who wanted him, but Disen showed no interest in them and took all of their lives, under Shadow’s command, of course. His hair was longer and covered his eyes when he let it and when he smiled, his fangs sparkled in the sunlight. His soul grew gradually colder with every life he took and it showed in his eyes. His dark and evil glare rivaled that of Eiri Yuki’s and could make hundreds of fan girls fall to their knees with severe nosebleeds, begging to have his children, but Disen didn’t care. In all the years he had been gone, Disen never once forgot about Maliko. His love for her still burned as strong as the day he left and he could not help but think of her day after day, wondering what she was up to and how she was doing. Disen stared sadly into the sunset after a complicated murder mission. Shadow walked up to him and sat down. “What’s up?” “Master! I…um…I just…” “You miss Maliko, don’t you?” Surprised he guessed right, Disen looked at his feet. “Yeah…” “Lets go see her then.” “!!!” “ What?” “Are you serious?” “Yeah, whatever. I’m bored. But only for today.” “Okay!” “You can give her this.” He handed Disen a multi-colored flower. “…Thank you…” “Lets go.” Shadow and Disen jumped into the portal. I will be back for you in 1 hour.“ “Alright.“ They walked around for a good 2 minutes until they spotted Kensuke. “Kensuke!” he called out to him. He turned. “D-d-disen?! Is that you?!” “Yeah! Wow! You look great!” “Thanks! You too, man! Maliko will be so happy to see you!” “S-she remembers me?” “Remembers you??? She talks about you every day!” Disen blushed and smiled to himself. “Where is she?” “In the pool. Go meet her.” “’Kay! Thanks!” He ran off to find Maliko and spotted his love just as she climbed out of the pool. She was the most beautiful person he had ever seen in his life. Her, now much longer, tripping wet hair covered her eyes and she flicked her head to brush it away. Her crimson eyes glowed like fireflies in the dusky evening sun and her tail was wagging as she stretched back and her wet bathing suit showed just how mature her body really was. Disen whimpered and grabbed his nose to prevent the nosebleed that shot out of his nostrils. Smelling the blood, Maliko turned and saw Disen. Her heart skipped a beat and she ran to him, tail wagging faster than ever. “Disen!!!!!” She jumped on him and licked him happily. He hugged her as tight as he could. “Miko…” he began to cry. “I missed you so much…” he cried much harder now. Maliko blushed and held him as she sat on the ground next to him, smiling slightly. When Disen finally calmed down, Maliko stared at him happily. “Yay! I knew you’d come back so I kept your room just like you left it!” Hearing this, Disen’s perfect mood turned dark. “I…cant stay…” “Why not?” “I cant tell you why. I just cant!” “Sure you can!” “I’m sorry.” Maliko grabbed his arm and made a handcuff out of shadows. You see, Maliko also learned new tricks in the long time apart, like how to make inanimate objects from the shadows. She grabbed his arm and locked it around him and then her arm. “You’re not leaving again!” “Miko! I have to!” “You cant!” “If you don’t let me go, I’ll kill you!” He pulled his sword out with his free hand and held it to her head, glaring at her. Maliko jumped back and the shadow disappeared in a flash. Truly afraid of what Disen was becoming, she backed up, whimpering and ran away. “I’m so sorry, Maliko. But I cant stay. I cant see you hurt like that again.” He realized he forgot to give her the flower and ran to find her. It was almost time to go. He couldn’t find her by the time he had to go and regretted saying what he did to her. He explained his dark mood to Shadow when they got back. “Don’t worry. We’ll be back tomorrow.” Shadow reassured him. “We will?” “Yeah” Disen’s tail wagged and he drifted off to sleep, forgetting to ask just what they were returning for. The next morning, Shadow awoke to see Disen rereading the contract.
“Hey, Dice-boy. What’s up?” “I have a question. If you were to die, then would I be free?” “Uh, no. You would follow me into the afterlife.” “……” “Why? Planning to kill me with that poisoned cup of tea last night?” “!!! You knew about that?” “Yes. I wasn’t happy, so I switched it with yours.” “!!!!!!!” “Heh heh… Just kidding.” “……” Shadow whipped out his chain and wrapped it around Disen’s throat, pulling him close to his face. “If you ever try another stunt like that…” he whispered in a heart shattering voice “I will kill Maliko as slow as possible, then force it to replay in your mind for the rest of eternity, screams of pain and all.” Disen coughed and looked down, not able to breathe at all. “Now,” Shadow laughed darkly, releasing Disen. “On to DarkSoul!” Disen jumped up and started walking when an angel girl, looking about 19 and kind of slutty, walked up to him, grabbing his arm. “Hey, sexy…” She stared at him with her most seductive voice. “Don’t speak to me if you value your life.” Disen said calmly and coldly. “Ooooo, A bad boy… I like that…” She held Disen’s arm tighter. Disen wrapped his arm around her and shot his claws up, using them to brutally rip through her chest. Feeling around inside her, he grabbed her heart and ripped it out of her, staring at the limp and bloody heart in his hand and the dead girl on the floor with the hole in her chest. He threw it on the floor and stomped on it, shooting blood all over him. “You know, you could have just said you were taken.” Shadow laughed evilly. “Now quit wasting time. We have to find Maliko. We are going on a mission.” Just the very thought of his darling Maliko accompanying him on one of his murder missions made his heart jump and his face turn red with happiness. He got a running start and jumped into the portal. As soon as he got there, he didn’t stop to wait for Shadow and ran off ahead, and found Maliko crying hysterically in her room, all her friends and her wolves trying to calm her down. As soon as Disen burst through the door, everyone turned and Disen stood shocked at the large amounts of dark stares he got. “How dare you even show your face after what you said to Miko?” Nivea cried and grabbed him. Disen pulled his hand back and stared at her angrily. “I came here to apologize. Maliko, I am going on a mission and I would like you to come with me. Will you?” He held his hand out. “You came all the way here, to ask me that?” “Not exactly…” Shadow stepped out from the shadows. “What are YOU doing here!!!” Maliko cried. “Shut it, wolfy. Didn’t he tell you? He was working with me the whole time going on what we like to call Murder Missions.” Maliko jumped up off of the bed. “Disen would never kill anyone! You’re such a liar!” “Am I?” “Tell him, Disen! I know you’re better than that! I know it! Tell him you wouldn’t!” “No, Miko… It’s true…” Disen whispered. “….Disen…” Maliko shook her head in scared disbelief and sat down slowly. “I knew you were a traitor!!!” Nivea cried. “Yeah, so…like I was saying, You are not here to invite her, you idiot. You have failed too many missions and wasted too many training days preoccupied with this girl. So I’m here to fix that. Your next mission… Kill Maliko!” “WHAT?! I WONT DO THAT!” “Do it! You have no choice. You’re bound to me by blood.” He pulled out the contract. See? Number 2. You must kill who I tell you to without question. Or else…” Disen stared at Shadow in horror. “Please…” “Don’t beg me. Just do what you are told, slave.” Disen looked into Maliko’s eyes sadly as he pulled out his sword and walked towards her. Maliko, scared and wide eyed jumped up and backed up against the wall. “Disen…P-please… Don’t do this…” She pleaded for her life and when he got close enough, shielded her head with her hands. “Goodbye…Maliko Wolfen…” he spoke softly and he lifted his weapon and held it high over Maliko. Maliko screamed and shut her eyes tight. ‘Drip…Drip…” was all that could be heard in the room seconds later. Maliko smelled blood but wasn’t hurt. She opened her eyes and cried out at what she saw. Disen had taken his sword, and instead of following his orders to kill Maliko, stabbed himself in the chest until the blade shot out from the other side. He lay on the floor in a pool of blood, eyes barely open. “Disen!!!!” Maliko jumped up and softly lifted Disen’s body from the floor, holding it close and pulled the bloody sword out, throwing it to the ground. Disen’s eyes opened slowly, and he blushed softly to see Maliko holding him. “Miko. I’m sorry…” he whispered, taking all of his energy. “Don’t say that… You’ll be fine!” “I sorry for what I said… and I are sorry that… I never told you…” “Told me what?” “How grateful I am to have you as a friend. I think it’s almost my time, so I just wanted to tell you that before I go.” “Shut up! You’re not gonna die! You’re not!!!” “Maliko… Please…Come closer…” “Huh?” she placed her head right near his face and Disen leaned up all he could manage and kissed her cheek. “I’ll always be watching you…” he coughed and spit up blood, then smiled. “Disen… Please… Tell me what’s going on. Why did you leave?” Through hazy eyes, Disen coughed again and spoke as slowly as he could, so that he didn’t throw up again. “…I signed a contract with Shadow so you would come back to life… and it bound me to him forever.” “Which is why you said… you couldn’t stay…” “…I’m sorry for threatening you.” “Don’t worry about that! I don’t care about that! “He said that…” He clutched his stomach suddenly and began to throw up even more blood. Maliko held him and he soon calmed down, finishing quickly. “…and I would still be bound if he died, but he never said…what would happen if I died.” He smirked slightly. Knowing in her heart that Disen was really going to die, she looked to Nivea with a desperate need for comforting words, but Nivea stood silent, wiping tears from her eyes. “Maliko… it’s almost my time.” “Disen…” Maliko couldn’t contain her tears. “Miko… Don’t cry for me. What do you think…this is? Pokemon the First Movie? That won’t help either of us, so don’t.” He wiped the tears from her eyes, even if they kept coming. “Always remember, I lov-” he stopped suddenly, his weak heartbeat stopping short as Shadow taken his sword and stabbed Disen through the head, splashing his blood all over Maliko. “Too much conversation for me.” He said calmly. “If you’re gonna die, just die already.” Maliko, enraged beyond words at what she had just seen, stood paralyzed by shock for a split second, then cried out in rage and lunged at Shadow in an attempt to take his life, when he quickly disappeared into the shadows. Maliko, in angry tears, ran back to Disen and picked him up, calling his name desperately. “Disen…” she shook him softly, tears running down her eyes. “Disen…Please… Don’t go…” She cried harder, clutching her burning heart in pain and burying her head in his chest. “Disen…Please…Wake up…” Nivea walked up to her and touched her shoulder sadly. “Miko… It’s no use… He’s gone…” “No! It’s not true! He can‘t be!” Aurora walked up to Maliko and licked her cheek to calm her down. She remembered how Disen had saved her life in the snow with the collar he made and whimpered sadly. Seeing everyone so sad, Maliko couldn’t deny it anymore, but held his corpse tighter, as if believing her touch could bring him back. “….” the room was silent as tears ran from everyone’s eyes. A voice was heard in Maliko‘s head, Shadow‘s voice. “Heh heh… You think this was bad? This is merely the calm before the storm.” “……” Everyone walked out as Maliko picked Disen’s body up and held him close, kissing his pale cheek. “Disen…Watch over me…” she walked out and shut the door behind her.

Chapter 11- A Time without Purpose

The days following were long and hard for Maliko and her friends. At Disen’s funeral, Maliko and Nivea spoke and he was buried with a letter that Maliko hoped he would find and read in heaven, signed by all his friends.

?

He was buried on top of Crescent Mountain where he and Maliko talked about their pasts for the first time, grave covered in red, white and black roses. The headstone was engraved with a short poem that Maliko wrote him. It was called Twilight. It read,

The Shadowy Night can take more than a life
It can take a soul, as well
But a person that can face dark and turn it to light
Is braver than words can tell.

Maliko took Disen’s death harder than anyone. After the funeral, she was often found sitting by Disen’s grave, singing a song that he had always liked, a song that she remembered from somewhere… hoping he could hear it, wherever he was. For a reason Maliko could never understand, he always hated the song but was always more than willing to hear Maliko sing it as he hummed along like he had loved the song all his life. It was a haunting but beautiful melody that contained only the most poetic but cryptic lyrics. Her friends could never comfort her because when she was singing, nothing they could do or say would distract her from her song. It was like she didn’t even hear them. She would even sleep there sometimes, using a rock as a pillow and staring at the pale glowing moon and the billions of twinkling stars in the sky, looking over the ocean where the water hitting up against the rigid mountain wall made a comforting sound. Aurora was just as sad as she was and barely left the house, only to eat and drink, or to whimper and howl on the roof of Maliko’s house. Orichal always offered her a bone or her favorite chew toy to cheer her up, but she just whimpered sadly and curled up in the corner, head buried in her tail. The days weren’t the same in DarkSoul. Nivea cried silently often, regretting what she said about Disen and Kensuke didn’t have a rival to train with anymore. Maliko even stopped speaking to Ski, who was lonely and bored now that he wasn’t arguing or fighting for his life. He had thoughts of leaving, but quickly dismissed them, knowing deep down that he didn’t want to leave but didn’t have any idea why. He didn’t like Maliko, he didn’t like Nivea… His only friend Disen was dead. Why couldn’t he go? What exactly bound him to this place?




Chapter 12- Stuffed Love (Luki's Story)

Thinking about this, he didn’t really pay attention to where he was walking and bumped into someone. He looked up, surprised. “Oh, sorry…” He jumped back as he stared down a weird guy dressed in a navy blue T-shirt and a black hooded jacket. He had spiky hair that blocked his eyes until he brushed his hair to the side to show that his eyes were a very dark violet, one step away from black. “No problem, Ski. I was looking for you.” “Huh? You were? Why?” “I have something to tell you. Look in the top drawer of Maliko’s dresser in her bedroom for the answer you seek. Bye!” He disappeared in a flash of light before Ski could ask how the man knew his name. Ski stared stunned and wide eyed for a second, then decided to do what the man said and walked over to Maliko’s house. He had to get her out of the room. She would never let him in, so he had to sneak in. He rang the door bell and was not at all surprised to hear Seto Kaiba cry “White Lightning Attack!!!”. As soon as Maliko walked out of the room to answer the door, he flew up to her window. He spotted her dresser and yanked it open. All he saw was a blue piece of string. He reached in to pick it up and noticed it was stuck. He pulled it and out of nowhere shot a huge kunai. Ski screamed and ducked, missing his eye by less that an inch, but slicing the side of his face and stabbing Luki in the head. He fell off of the bed and flopped onto the floor as Ski screamed in pain. Maliko burst through the door at the sound of the screaming to see Ski on the floor gripping his now very bloody head. “What are you doing here?!!” “Owwwww!!! I was sent here, if you must know!” “By who?!” “I don’t know! He left before I could ask his name!” “Likely story, Jetstream!” “Its true!” “I’ll bet…” She turned her head and noticed Luki on the ground impaled with the kunai. “O_O” “What?” She ran to Luki and pulled the kunai out of his head gently, holding the hole to prevent further blood loss. “Luki? Lukiii!!! Are you alright!? Wake up!!!” She shook him violently, but all she heard was a mere “……“. Teary eyed, Maliko turned to Ski with pure rage and dark intent in her eyes. Ski stared at her, confused. “What’s wrong, Wolfen?” “What did you do to Luki!?” “What? The stuffed animal?” “Shuddup! I’ll kill you!!!!” “Just as she was about to attack Ski, she turned to Luki. “Huh!?” she gasped. (*Groan* …God… That hurt… I would like to be shot, please) came a soft voice that only Maliko heard. “He’s still alive! But I have to hurry.” She picked Luki up gently and held him tightly to her. “Hold on, Luki… You’ll be fine.” She ran and jumped out of the window, landing quickly and took off as fast as she could to the hospital. Ski sat stunned for a second, then climbed out of the window as flew there slowly, heading to the hospital to get his injury treated as well. When he got there, he was surprised to see Maliko crying harder than he had ever seen her and Nivea sitting there trying to comfort her with no success. As Ski walked up to them, Nivea looked up. “Oh, hey…” “Hi…What’s going on? Where is everyone?” “All the doctors and nurses are working in the emergency room on Luki’s very delicate brain surgery.” “B-brain surgery?!” “Yeah… You DID impale his skull with a kunai!” “He is a stuffed animal!!! He can’t feel pain! He doesn’t have a skull! Or a brain! And considering he is not ALIVE, no amount of brain surgery will EVER heal him!!!” Maliko looked up at him in horror at the thought of Luki dying and Ski was shocked to see how much she had been crying. She couldn’t… really believe he was really going to die, could she? Who could be that irrational? Before he could stop her, Maliko ran out of the hospital crying. “What’s her problem? She isn’t serious, is she?” “We don’t know anymore ^_^;. We just do it to humor her.” “Hmmm…” He stood up and walked out of the room. Looking at the night sky, he bumped into something and fell back. “Huh?” he looked up and saw the same weird man as before. “Hey.” the man said uncaringly. “Don’t “hey” me! Why did you tell me to check her top drawer!? I almost got killed!!!” “I know… I was watching. I just wanted to see if you were stupid enough to do something so dangerous as invade Maliko’s room based on nothing but a stranger’s advice.” “What?! So I almost died for nothing?” “No…I’m kidding… There was a reason. I knew this was going to happen, so I came to explain something to you. First off, Luki is alive, you know.” “O_O What?! He’s a stuffed animal! He is NOT alive! What doesn’t anyone understand about that?!” “Listen to me, stupid. Maliko had a puppy a long time ago, as a child… and his name was Luki. They were much closer than best friends. They were virtually inseparable. You couldn’t find a better fighting team, even for a couple of kids. They did and learned everything together, which is why Maliko’s fighting techniques seem so primal sometimes. But when Maliko was about 10 years old, there was a violent war between her and a couple of demon hunters and Luki died in the middle before Maliko could save him. After that, Maliko was completely heartbroken. For months, you could never find her no matter how hard you looked, because she always went to her and Luki‘s secret spot to think and cry. She wouldn’t eat or sleep and everything had to be force fed to her to keep her from dying. Eventually, Maliko calmed down and got a good idea. She made a small stuffed animal version of Luki and put his soul inside of it, vowing to protecting it forever. So you can see why she is so upset.” “Hmmm…I see… How do you know all this?” “Heh, heh.” He turned and melted into the shadows. “….” After a lot of searching, he finally found Maliko sitting by Disen’s grave again, crying softly. He flew over and touched Maliko’s shoulder. Maliko, startled, cried out and looked up. “What do you want?!” “I’m sorry.” “O_O What?” “I spoke in ignorance even when I didn’t understand your pain and to make up for it, I have something for you.” “What is it?” He handed her a blue and red ribbon. “What’s this for?” “It’s a special ribbon that I made for Luki. It’s much better than pain medication because wearing it makes all of your nerve endings numb and all the pain goes again and not just some of it. I thought… you might want to give it to him.” Maliko hesitated in taking it from Ski and stared into his sincerely sorry eyes. Her tear filled eyes saw how sorry he was, but she herself didn’t understand. Why did he care? She slowly stood up and took the ribbon, looking down at her feet. “…Thanks…” “You’d better go give it to him. I heard the surgery is supposed to start in a second.” “!!!!” She took one last look before she took off towards the hospital. Maliko made it just in time to give it to Luki and sat outside patiently, but nervously. Ski walked in and looked at Maliko. “Well? What happened?” Maliko took a second before responding, then looked up. “Luki said to tell you he said “Thank you.” Ski smiled. “No problem. Now stop being such a sissy and come satisfy my combat cravings in, lets say, the arena?” “You’re on, Jetstream!” “Bring it on, Wolfen!!!” They ran out of the hospital as Nivea and Kensuke glared at each other just as intensely. “You ready to lose?” Kensuke smirked. “Why would I be ready for that? I never do. But its never too late to get richer, though.” She ran out before he could respond and he jumped up and ran after her. After a night of intense battle, bloodied and battered Maliko stumbled out of the arena clutching her arm and leaving a trail of blood behind her and she tried to make it to the hospital door and just as she did, collapsed in front of it. Ski, who was doing no better, laughed softly and painfully as he flapped his shredded wing, gliding over Maliko by a couple of feet then fainting right in front of her. Kalila walked out of the emergency room, wiping her sweat and spoke to herself. “Glad that’s over. He is the last patient of the night, so I can finally get some rest…” she stumbled happily into the lobby where she saw Maliko and Ski laying in a huge puddle of blood and groaned loudly. “Noooo!!! Not again!!! I wanna go HOME!!!”



Chapter 13- The New Amity

The next morning, Maliko awoke with bandages from head to toe. Even her tail was wrapped up. She looked over to the left and noticed that Ski was sleeping right next to her. She jumped up in disgust and horror. “Ewww!!! What the heck!?” At the sound of Maliko screaming, Ski opened his eyes slowly and tried to sit up, but the pain was too unbearable and he laid back down as fast as he could. Maliko saw this as a quick opportunity to get the first hit, but as soon as she got ready to attack him, her eyes flashed purple again and Maliko stepped back, breathing heavily. She gripped her head and there was a flash and Ski shut his eyes. When he opened them again, he saw a person that looked like Maliko, but… wilder hair, darker purple eyes and… it was a guy, anyway. The man walked over to Ski and stared at him with dead eyes. “W-who are you?“ “I’m Maliko. What does it look like?“ The intensity and darkness in the man’s voice frightened Ski, but he didn’t let him know that. It was too risky to show fear to a potentially powerful enemy. “Don’t you lie to me! You look nothing like her… Wait…Okay, you look a LITTLE like her, but I know it’s not her.” “Heh heh… Maybe you’re not as stupid as you look. That’s a relief.” “What do you want?” “My name is Krypt. That’s all you need to know.” “K-krypt? He walked right up to Ski and held a weird shaped sword to Ski’s neck. He whispered in Ski‘s ear in a voice that made a cold shiver run down Ski‘s back. “Now, Pick one. Quick and painful or slow and even more painful.” “What?!” “How do you want to die?” “You’re gonna kill me like this?” “Actually, I really wanted to splatter your brains all over the walls with this Bob-omb, but then how am I supposed to use it then?” “Use…my body? What are you talking about?” “…God, your taking too long! You’re going the long way now!” “Screw you! I’m not gonna let you kill me!” “You don’t have a choice in the matter.” Krypt’s eyes started to glow and Ski was slowly lifted out of the bed, levitating in mid-air. “Hey… This is kinda cool…” Ski laughed. “It wont be.” “Huh- Whoa!!!” Ski flew at sonic speed into the back wall and slammed against it very painfully, sticking to it with his arms spread out. “Owwwww!!!!!” Krypt lifted the sword and took Ski’s arm, holding it tightly and forcing Ski’s hand into a fist. “Ready to die?” “Let me go, you stupid punk! Fight me like a real man.” “Unfortunately for you, I am not foolish and weak willed like Maliko. I am sparing you the pain of fighting me and taking your life less painfully.” Krypt positioned the sword and expertly slit Ski’s wrist in the shape of a weird symbol that looked like a star with a K going through it, but at that moment, Ski didn’t care what it looked like. All he knew was that it hurt and it hurt bad. After Krypt squeezed his arm a couple of times to really get the bleeding started, he looked at Ski. He then took a tiny bottle out of his pocket and dripped 2 small drops of purple liquid into the cut. “ This will help you…sleep… And as soon as you are asleep, the process can begin…I’ll be back for you in a couple of days. Try to be good and dead by then, ’Kay?” He disappeared in a flash, leaving Ski still stuck to the wall, bleeding heavily and trying to stay awake the best he could. But, with every drip drop that echoed throughout the empty room, the closer Ski stood to death, and Krypt taking over.
About an hour later, Kalila returned to her position as nurse back at the Wounded Spirit hospital. She unlocked the door and laughed into the darkness. “Maliko was still be asleep. Hahaha… Its amazing the type of trouble that girl can sleep through. I swear, one day, her and Ski are in for the worst…fighting like that.” She flicked on the lights and screamed in horror. She jumped back as she stared upon Ski’s pale body hovering above a puddle of blood. But something was wrong. He wasn’t just pale…He was deathly white… She ran to him and tried to pull him off of the wall, but with no success. So, she then tried to wake him up. “Ski? Ski! Please, tell me you’re alive!” Ski’s strained breathing was all that could be heard then. Dark Magic was the most reliable choice of what was going on, but…“Maliko… What did you do to him?” She whispered to herself, wrapping Ski’s wrist and running off to find help. Kalila found Nivea lounging by the pool under an umbrella. “Yaaaaaaaaawn… What’s up, Kalila?” “It’s very important! Please, something terrible has happened to Ski and he is dying!” “Yay!” “No yay! If Ski dies, you wont make money…” “So? I’m filthy rich already!” “ …and you’ll never have enough for Link’s Anniversary Gift! Remember? You said it was your super special otaku triforce shield of ultimate love? It was called…um…The Incredibly Lovely Otaku Version Effective Liberal Instant Numbing Kangaroo. Codename: I.L..O.V.E.L.I.N.K. That blasted metal Kangaskhan that you wake everyone up at night building? The one that is invincible, indestructible and a mix of all Link’s weapon’s put together so that he didn’t have to wear anymore thick clothes because he didn’t have to hold all his weapons all the time and you could make him wear that tight black stripper outfit you got him all the time? That one?” “*Gasp* I’m still $300, 532, 879, 042, 414. 38 short!!! This is serious!!!” They ran to Maliko’s house to see a note on her bed. “Looking for me? I’m at the grave house. Later! “……“ Nivea read the note and stood silent. “’Kay. Lets go!” Kalila chimed and Nivea looked up quickly and nodded. Making their way to the grave house on the base of the mountain, Nivea and Kalila saw Maliko walking out of the grave house, wiping tears from her eyes, gripping Luki as tight as she could. “I’m sorry, Marin… Please forgive me…” She said to herself, so low that no one could hear. “Maliko!” Kalila cried out and Maliko jumped and nearly dropped Luki. “Are you psycho?! Don’t DO that!” (She’s out of her mind. I almost split my stitching! Hey, you dumb broad! Indoor voices!!!) “You tell her, Luki!” “Miko, do you mind not talking to yourself for a second and listen, please?” “I’m NOT! I’m talking to Luki!” “Sure… Now, Listen! Something terrible has happened to Ski and he’s dying. You have to come now!” “No one hurts Spy-gear Jetplane but me! I’m on it!” Kalila stood dazed at the sight of her calling Aurora and flying off, and Nivea shook her. “What’s up?” “Nothing… Lets go…”
At the hospital:
“Who the heck did this to you???” Maliko tried to patch Ski’s wound with a thick cloth, but nothing stopped it. “Darn it!” Maliko cried just as Kalila and Nivea came in. “What took you so long? Heal him!” “No.” “No?! What do you mean No?” “If I heal him, that will encourage your senseless violence!” “What are you talking about?” “You cant just go around using Dark Magic and cutting people up and expecting I will just heal them every time you do it! I just wont do it!” “Cu-cutting people up?! I didn’t cut Ski!” “Sure you didn’t…” “Kalila? I don’t CUT people. I bite! Cutting and scratching it for stupid felines!” (Like Ski!) “You tell her, Luki!” “I don’t believe you!” “I don’t CARE if you don’t believe me! Heal him NOW! Or do you want to spend another week in Fear’s Nightmare!” “……Fine…” She walked up to Ski and chanted a weird spell, which closed the wounds. But Ski was still pale and Kalila proceeded to pump blood into him forcefully. But something was still wrong. No matter how much blood he received, his skin still stayed the same deathly pale… Why didn’t it help him? Kalila didn’t understand at all. Maliko walked up to him slowly and laughed, much to everyone’s surprise. She didn’t laugh her usual hysterical “Hahaha, You fell down the stairs“ laugh. She laughed a dark and heart freezing “Hahaha. I just killed your family, your friends, your lover and your newborn son and put them in a blender and now you have to eat them“ laugh. “Miko?” Nivea backed away from her, a little scared. “Miko… Please stop… W-what’s so funny?” “Oh, my dear Nivea? Don’t you understand? The time of demise of the Valley of Light has come.” “What?” “Lets just say… You’ll be the first to die when my vessel is complete.” “What? I’ll be the first to die? Miko~! Why would you kill me?!” “You are the single biggest threat to my plans next to Jetstream here.” “Miko?” “Don’t you see, you idiot? I am NOT your little Miko anymore.” “Then who are you?” Kalila stepped forward. “Soon enough, you will see… Ah ha! The vessel is hollowed out and complete.” “H-hollowed out? You mean…” “Yes. The soul has resided in the pit of Shadows for all eternity. His body is mine now!”

Chapter 14- Newfound Friendship

Ski blinked and looked up at Maliko, who was staring at him sadly. Everyone else looked pretty sad, too.
"What’s up, guys? Why so sad?"
"......."
"Huh? What’s wrong with you all?"
Maliko turned and walked out the door, followed by Nivea. After Kalila stopped and explained everything that had happened, Ski blushed softly.
"You mean, they're actually sad... for me?"
"Uh huh..."
"Why? I thought they didnt like me."
"You should talk to Maliko. I told you before, she really isn’t as bad as everyone thinks."
"Maliko, huh?"
Ski got out of bed and spread his wings, pushing himself up into the air and gliding around DarkSoul until he spotted Maliko on top of Crescent Mountain. He flew down and landed next to her.
"Yo."
"!!!!!! What the heck are YOU doing here"
"Were you crying...for me?"
"Ewww. H*ll no!"
"Oh."
"Why? What is if say I was?"
"Then I would say... Thank you."
Maliko stared at him for a second then turned her head. Ski slightly put his hand on her shoulder.
"Are you saying that you wont miss me at all?"
"Yeah, That’s what I mean."
"Well... I'll still miss you."
"Why???"
"Aren’t we friends?"
"We are?"
"I always thought so."
"W-why?"
"Because...Um...I don’t know. I just kinda figured."
"Oh. Well...Um..."
"...Fine. I guess we can be friends then."
"....Maybe..."
"Maybe? Well, That’s good enough for me."
He laid down on his back, resting his head on Maliko's leg and looked up at her.
"Isn't it nice?"
"ISNT what nice?"
"To have a chance to talk without having to fight."
"Yeah. It is cool."
"So...That grave you always go to...The one you sneak off to at night... Whose is it?"
O_o "You SEE me?!"
"Yeah."
"...Well, It belongs to a very dear friend."
"Care to tell the tale, oh great storyteller amongst the Gods?"
"...If you want to hear about it, read Orichalcos Girl- Volume X."
"...I never got that script. You told everyone that it was a secret and they couldn’t have it, remember?"
"Oh, yeah. Well, Um... I'll explain. His name was Marin. When my mother and father died the day I was born, he found me and protected me. He died protecting me from some demon hunters on my 10th birthday. Here... I will help you. We will go into a flashback."
"NoooOOOOoooo!!!"
"Shuddup! Its already started!!!"
*Sigh* "Fiiiiine..."

This is my 10th birthday when Marin told me to run so I wouldn’t get caught by demon hunters, but told me that we were playing Hide and Seek so he didnt scare me. After a while of interrogation to Marin, I came out of hiding with Luki to see why he took so long to find me...And stepped right into their trap...

“Aren’t you even gonna look? You’re the worse hide and seek player ever! How hard is it to see me hiding behind Luki‘s litter box? Man, that stinks…” “Bark!!!” “You tell him, Luki!” “Maliko! Run!!!” “???” “There she is!” The man turned to see Maliko, and fired a shot at her, but it didn’t hurt her. She just stood there, baffled. “Are they playing, too?” “Did you see that? She IS a demon!” They pulled out the Holy Arrows and aimed. Just as they fired, Marin jumped out from behind the men and blocked her, taking 4 arrows to the chest. "Ma...liko...Run..." He fell to the floor with a crack as he took his last breath and Maliko saw just why he had told her to run. She ran, alright… Right up to those demon hunters and tackled them both. Luki bit one of them in the ankle and Maliko scratched his eyes out with her claws. When they were both immobile, they ran outside and bumped into a girl. Maliko fell back and saw that the girl had a tail, too. Maliko figured that the demon hunters were long past dead and was about to say hello when one of the demon hunter came running out of the house with a big gold-colored gun, the kind that fired Holy Shots, that were made for demon hunting. Maliko screamed and ran and the girl ran, too. Luki was running as fast as he could, but tripped and fell. Maliko ran back for him, but the man fired about 6 shots to his back and head and Luki was dead. Eyes blinded with tears, Maliko stopped running. Her angry eyes glowed and out of the thunder erupting ski came rain, lots and lots of pouring rain too heavy for the man to fire straight and from the single rain cloud that hovered over the man, a huge spiraling thunderbolt that hit the man right at the top of the head, electrocuting him and killing him, too."

"Turns out that the girl was Nivea... I didnt know back then how much we were hated, but after seeing that... Lets just say that it's how DarkSoul came to be..."
"......."
Ski wiped the tears from his eyes and Maliko looked down at him.
"Are...you crying for me?"
".....I'm sorry...Its just...I didnt know you had it so hard... I mean, I had problems, too, with my siblings and all, but Geez..."
"Um...Don’t worry about me. Marin is happy in the afterlife, The Angels will pay for hurting my family... And look on the bright side. I still have Luki!
(Yeah, B*tch. And I'm all she will ever need! Don’t make me Judo Flip you.)
"You tell him, Luki!"
(^_^ Hehehehe)
"Hahahahaha!!!"
"What’s so funny?"
"Nothing, Spy Gear...Nothing..."
"I told you NOT to call me Spy Gear!!! I hate that commercial!!!"
"Yeah. Me, too."
"Hey, what's up with that Krypt guy anyway?"
"Well, after my parents and Marin die-"
(And me!!!)
"And Luki died, I was depressed and lonely. I joined up with Nivea after a while and I lived with her and her parents. After a long time, they were also killed by the Demon Hunters. We both were lost and wished for a place where we can go and know that we are safe, until we were old enough and strong enough to come back and get revenge on the Angels. With that, I went on a journey to find somewhere that we can go and I met Krypt, a wandering spirit. He told me that if I let him live in my body until he found his own vessel, he could give us a place where we could be safe. And that led to the creation of DarkSoul. "
"So...You...created DarkSoul?"
"Well, actually...It was an empty dimension. Me and all my friends created it together as a home for orphaned or abandoned demons."
"....Wow...By the way...Who names a dog Luki anyway?"
"Actually, his name is Laurenkaithrop. (Lauren-Kai-Throp) But I call him Luki for short."
(Yeah.)
"O_O; That’s a long name. Hey, Luki... Do you mind if we are friends, too?"
(That’s fine with me...You're cool, I guess. Just keep your feline paws off on my Miko and I wont have to bite your balls off! Okay, buddy?!)
"He says Sure." She covered Luki's mouth.
"Cool."
The sun began to set in the sky. Maliko, Ski and Luki looked on in sadness.
"So... Today will be the last day I will see this, huh?"
"...Yeah, I guess so. This day needs a little light."
Maliko held out an orb that shot out fire whenever she pressed it.
"What an awesome toy!!!"
"My friend Blaze gave it to me a long time ago."
"Can I have it?"
"Um...Sure, I guess."
"Yay!"
He put it in his pocket.
"....Maliko."
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."
"For what?"
"I don’t know. Being my friend, Letting me stay here in DarkSoul all these years even if I wasn’t a demon..., And most of all... Being my rival. All that hard fighting has taught me, protecting yourself is the first key to winning. And so I learned something that has come in handy for a time like this."
"What?"
He began to glow a weird blue and took Maliko's hand and held it tightly.
"Whoa...What are you doing?!"
"Crescent Soul Substitute!!!"
"Huh???"
A small ball of light appeared in his hand. It was burning hot for a second, but when it cooled down, It was the most beautiful crystal orb Maliko had ever seen. It had patches of black all over it.
"W-what is that?"
"It's my soul."
"WHAT?!"
"I'm going to put it somewhere safe. I was planning on telling you to hide it, but then Krypt would know."
"Yeah. Wait, No! He's not here!"
"What?"
"He went down to the pit of Lost Souls to straighten everything out for your arrival."
"How...nice of him."
"Hehehe. I will put it in th~ WAIT!!! If this is your soul, what is keeping you here?"
"Oh. I am using a substitute soul. This can last for months."
"Okay. So like I was saying before I was interrupted by logic *Twitch* ...I will put it in the best hiding spot ever."
She jumped up and ran off. Ski stayed behind and stared at the sky, sparkling with stars.
"...Real friends..."
He smiled and fell asleep right in that spot.

Chapter 15- Arachnophobia

The next morning:
"Maliko!"
*...Snoooore!!!*
"Malikoooo!!!"
*Ear Twitch* *Snoooore!!!!!*
"MALIKO!!!"
*Cough* *Gasp* "Huh?"
"Maliko! Wake up!"
"It's time!"
"...For what...?"
"For Ski's soul to go to the Pit."
"....You woke me up for that?"
"Shut up and get moving."
"No thanks. I'm sleepy."
"Do you remember who you're talking to?"
".........."
"What’s wrong?"
"Krypt...Why do you have to kill Ski?"
"...What?"
"Why do you always have to target my friends? Ever since I joined you when I was young and VERY vulnerable, might I add... You've been killing my friends one by one... I don’t understand... Why?"
"Ski...is your friend?"
"Uh huh. Please...don’t hurt him."
"Fine."
"What?"
"Fine. I won’t hurt him."
"What? Really?!"
"No. I'm lying. Now come on! My new body awaits me!"
"But, Master!"
"I said Lets go!"
"And what if I refuse?"
"Do you remember what I did to Nivea last time?"
"............."
"Exactly. Let’s go."
(I think your train of thought derailed and went straight to H*ll.)
"....You tell him, Luki..."
Maliko sadly got out of bed and changed her clothes. She called Orichal and he ran over to the hospital, where Kalila was standing.
"Hey. Where's Ski?"
"I don’t know."
"What?"
"He never came back last night."
"???!!!"
Maliko stepped outside and climbed back on Orichal, who flew up high and Maliko looked around until she saw him asleep on the mountain where they sat last night.
"Hehehe... He's still there?"
(That’s so weird)
"Yeah. Let’s go see what’s up."
Maliko and Orichal flew down and landed right next to Ski.
"Wakey Wakey, Jetplane!!!"
"*Yawn* Huh?"
"It's...um...time for...you know..."
"...Oh...Alright..."
Ski stood up and faced Maliko and smiled.
Maliko smiled back and held her arms out. Her eyes flashed then glowed and there was a dark shadow that surrounded her. When the shadow cleared, Krypt stood there with a smirk on his face.
"Are you ready?"
"Uh huh."
"Good."
Krypt held his hand to Ski's chest and his hand glowed. After a few seconds, Krypt jumped back with surprise.
"...Your soul...It's..."
"Gone? Yeah, I know."
"B-b-but...How did...What???"
"Hehehehe!!! What’s wrong, Kryptonite?"
"Don’t EVEN start that, Wolfen!!!"
"Why? What’s wrong with it?"
"Jetstream! Where is it?"
"Where is what?"
"Your original soul. Where is it?"
"Now why would I go and do a stupid thing like tell you that?"
"Because you value your life."
"Either way I'm gonna die."
"....(Good point)..."
"See! I am right! Now I'm really not gonna tell you."
Krypt stared at Ski's eyes very hard and gasped.
"You...don’t have a clue where it is...do you?"
"W-what do you mean?"
"I could see that look in your eyes. You're as lost as I am about the current location of your soul. So that means only one person DOES know where it is."
"W-who?"
"You know who."
Krypt put his hands out and a light flashed about 3 feet away from him. A dark figure appeared from it, wrapped up and bound with chains. Ski tried hard to make out who the figure was. He gasped when the color returned to its body.
"Maliko!!!"
Since she couldn’t really respond due to her mouth being covered up, Maliko looked at Krypt in anger.
"Since when can you do this?"
"I could always do this, but me and Maliko have to stay at least 5 feet within range for it to work."
*Muffled Profanity*
"Now, Maliko. Why don’t you tell me where his original soul is before I have to make THIS my vessel."
"This IS your vessel."
"I mean solitary vessel."
"OxO"
"I thought so."
"Um...I don’t think she can tell you with the chains AND the duct tape over her mouth."
"Oh, yeah."
Krypt untied the chains then painfully ripped the tape off.
"ARGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Tears ran down Maliko's eyes as she screamed and screamed.
"...Hehehe..."
"You think this is funny?! I swear, Let me catch you and you're dead."
"Shut it, Wolfen. Where is it?"
"Why don’t you go knock Superman out of the sky, Kryptonite!"
"Hey, Miko!"
"Huh?"
Maliko turned to face Ski.
"Brunch."
"Hehehe Hehehehe!!!"
(Does that make you laugh every time?)
"Yup."
"Yup what?"
"Yup Brunch!"
"Hahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!"
"Enough!!!"
(Party Pooper)
"I know, right?"
"I don’t have time for your games. Tell me or it'll be a repeat of the Neutral War all over again."
"What are you gonna do? Make me transform?" Maliko said in a mocking voice.
"Yes."
"O_O What?! You cant do that!"
"Yes I can."
"You can?"
"That’s right, Jetstream!"
"........No...But if she does that...She'll hurt everything in DarkSoul, wont she?
"Yup."
".....Miko...Just give it to him..."
"No."
"What? You have to!"
"No, I don’t!"
"You'll be hurt!"
"I don’t care!"
"Everyone else will be hurt, too."
"......I wont give it to him!"
"Miko! Just do it!"
"No!"
"Then you have chosen the hard path, huh?"
"You cant do this! ...You cant control me forever, Krypt."
"You're right. I don’t have to control you. I can just send you back to Earth just like how I found you. Sad, Lonely and Pathetic."
"What do you want from her?! She was homeless, hated, and an orphan. Top it all off, she was only 10 years old!" Ski cried.
Krypt ignored her and kept talking.
"Do you remember, Maliko? You had no friends and your body was stained with the blood of all you cared about. Face it. It was all your fault anyway. If you hadn’t been so stupid, Marin AND Luki would have still been alive and if you hadn't been born, your parents would still be around, too. Think about it, Maliko. You're better off dead anyway. At least your parents would still be around."
"Hey! Don’t say that! Leave her alone!!!"
"You know it's true, Maliko. This is all your fault. Just surrender your soul and give it to me! That way, I will get someone's body to myself, even if it's not Ski's. And think about it this way... If you give me your body, I wont have to hurt Ski and at least you can say that you didnt kill all of your friends."
"I said Stop it!!!" Ski ran up to Krypt and pushed him.
"Miko! Don’t listen to him... Its not your fault!"
(Yeah! He's a loser!)
Maliko didn’t say anything, but just looked down in silence, tears running in rivers down her face. Ski held her head up and looked into her eyes, but they were hazy and dark. No matter what Ski or Luki said, her dead expression didn’t change. Ski began to get worried and desperate.
"Miko. Please...Don’t listen to him." He bent down to his knees and held her tightly. Tears started to form in his watery eyes and he pleaded for Maliko to listen to him. But Maliko's hazy expression never changed.
"Well? You were saying? Who can’t I control?"
"Krypt...You're a monster! You know how she felt about her past! You know that was her weak spot. If anything...Did you have to say that?"
"Um...Yes? I think I did."
He looked over at Maliko.
"Now return to me to begin your transformation, Maliko."
"........" Maliko looked up in silence, her eyes surrounded by the dark rings of too much crying. For a second, nothing happened and Ski wondered what Krypt was talking about. Then he looked back at Maliko and saw that she was dematerializing slowly.
"Miko! No! Don’t do it!" He ran to grab her before she disappeared, but missed by a split second, and Maliko disappeared completely.
Ski had one last chance to help Maliko. He grabbed Krypt and started banging his hand on his back.
"Maliko! Please, Maliko! Come on!
Don’t do this! It's not worth it!!!"
He pressed his ear to Krypt back, remembering the time that Disen told Ski that during the Neutral War, he pressed his ear to her back and heard Maliko and Krypt talking inside her soul. Sure enough, he heard soft voices.
"Are you ready, Maliko?"
"R-ready? For what?"
"To become the being that you are meant to be! To become a deity...under my control! Are you ready for ultimate power!?"
"...No?"
"What's that? Yes? Okay!"
"No! Wait! Please!!!"
"What is it now?!"
"...I'm...um..."
"What??? Hurry up!"
"I'm...scared..."
"Of what?"
"I remember last time...It hurts...alot...A whole lot... it feels like your body is tearing itself apart. It feels like being awake for open heart surgery..."
"...So?"
"Please...don’t do it... I don’t think I can handle another transformation..."
"Don’t worry... You wont be awake to feel it..."
"Oh. Okay. Wait!!! Huh?!"
All you could hear was screams of terrible pain, like someone with immortality had caught on fire and was tied down in a abandoned room in an ancient underground warehouse about 50 miles into the middle of the desert...underground...under the water that’s under the sand in cardboard clothes in a scuba diving suit and your body is covered in oil and gunpowder and for some reason, your body is covered by the suit but you don’t have a helmet and you're drowning forever... (You wont die. You're immortal, remember? You'll just suffer for all eternity.) Yeah, All that WAS necessary...Cause that’s how bad and painful the scream sounded.
All of a sudden, Ski could hear a weird sound...It sounded like...Thunder! But...The entire time he was in DarkSoul... He didnt remember it raining...Except during that Neutral War...
"What da heck is dat?"
He grabbed Maliko tighter in fear. Maliko stood up slowly from the ground and Ski jumped back. She raised her arms in the air and shot them out to her sides and rain started to pour. Thunder could be heard booming in the distance and lightning raced through the dark clouds that now covered the entire dimension on DarkSoul. Maliko looked over at Ski and stared deep into his eyes. Ski stared back just as intensely hoping that she would snap out of it, but of course...No luck. She stared and stared until she smiled wickedly and Ski heard a voice from deep inside...a dark and evil voice...It said:
"So, Ski... Not a big fan of spiders, are you?"
Ski jumped back, his heart pounding by just the mention of the arachnids he feared so much.
"I didnt think so."
The thunder boomed again and Maliko turned and pointed at Fear's Nightmare.
"Oh god...No..."
All of a sudden, A black thunderbolt shot out of the sky and shot into the portal. All of a sudden, Millions and Millions of all types of spiders crawled out of the portal. From the size of ants to 10 feet taller that the 8-Legged Freaks, every type of spider...normal or mutant...crawled out of that portal and just ran wild.
After about 10 minutes of this, Kalila woke up and opened her curtains, looked out, slowly closed her curtains, picked up her phone and called Nivea.
"Ring ring....Ring ring...Hello?"
"Hey, Nivea. It's Kalila. Are you awake?"
"I am now."
"Did you look out of your window today?"
"No. Why?"
"Guess what’s out there?"
"What?"
"About 12 or 13 hundred immense spiders of pants-wetting proportions."
"...What did you just say?" (She and Ski both have arachnophobia)
...Look for yourself."
"Alright."
Kalila heard Nivea put her phone down slowly, open her shades and after 3 seconds of being stunned...
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This woke up the rest of the people and Kensuke got up and looked out of his window.
“Something tells me Spiderman’s taking his hero status a little too far…”
Maliko fell to the floor as if she had suddenly blacked out and Ski (Still in fear) called to her...unable to move due to shaky legs.
She sat up slowly and scratched her head, then looked over to the side and giggled.
"Maliko!!!" Ski called Maliko happily, hoping she could fix everything.
"......" She didnt respond right away...It looked like she was playing with something...but she did look at Ski, and Ski stared back at her.
"Hello, Ski."
He wondered why she didnt get scared. She was afraid of spiders, too.
Then she turned to him fully and Ski jumped at what she was holding. A huge furry spider the size of....a puppy. A small puppy. About the size of Luki...
She was holding it tight and laughing. The spider made a weird sound and Maliko laughed and petted it. It seemed pretty docile around Maliko. Very cautious, Ski reached over to touch it. He got closer.....closer....closer..........and the spider snapped and bit his hand, which got swollen and puffy right away.
"Maliko! Get rid of that spider right now! Its dangerous!!!"
"...No...This spider...is...my friend..."
"No, Its not! It can hurt you! Get rid of it now!!!"
"......No...You don’t understand...me...only he does...my friend..."
Maliko looked at Ski and he nearly screamed. Maliko had dark black eyes just like the spiders. Not all the extra ones...Just her 2 original ones. But the ones she had looked glazed and hazy...as if she was being controlled...by something...or someone... Maliko stood up and ran into the forest with the spider in hand. Ski knew he couldn’t stop her and looked around. He noticed that Luki was nowhere to be found....

Hours later, when Ski could get enough power to stand, He stood up and headed to the forest to save Maliko from her delusions. He twitched everytime he touched or even saw any huge webs with the trillions of covered bugs stuck to them.
"I hope they don’t eat cats."
Ski used every attack and technique in his arsenal to kill the spiders that blocked his path. On the way, one dying human that must have found its way to the spider's web cried "Beware the spider queen. She's protecting the egg sack in the center."
"...Egg Sack....*Groan*..."
Eventually, he found just what he wished he didnt see. An egg sack. But not just any egg sack. A HUGE egg sack. Like, 1/2 a Skyscraper Huge...
Ski gasped and fell back when he looked over and saw Nivea, Kalila and Kensuke stuck to a wall of trees with thick webbing. He tried to pull them off and call to them, but they didnt respond at all.
"Its no use. They're out like a light..."
"...It seems I have visitors..."
Someone came down from the ceiling on a single strand of web. But it was no spider, as far as Ski could tell…
“M-m-Maliko!?! You’re the Spider Queen?!
“You’re darn right I am!"
“You’ve got our friends captive. How about letting them go, getting rid of all this web stuff, and we forget this all ever happened?”
“You simply think I’d listen to that? I plan to make everyone like this one here…”
“Uh… this one where?”
“Right here! In front of you, you fools!”
“...Huh? What do you mean?"
Ski looked over and saw a big machine implanted so deep in her skin, you'd think it was drilled in. The blood ran down from her back and stained her pearly webs.
"What the heck IS that?!"
Then Ski had a thought: Remember the big spider Maliko said was her friend? … What if that thing IS controlling her...using that machine? Like mind control...Ugh...Like Marik Ishtar..."
"You heartless little..."
“So, you know already? Fine… I’ll be doing the same to those three on the wall there, too. But after I kill you and steal the fluids from your body!”
“Eep… I don’t like the sound of that!”
“But I should give you a chance… give up now, and I’ll let you lead over an army of maggots or something…”
“You can take that offer and shove it!”
“Then I’ll make it slow and painful!”
"Heh heh... You cant catch me."
"I didnt mean for you."
"Huh?"
Maliko fell back screaming and grabbed her head to ease the pain, but to extend the pain for her, some of the main spider's spider minions tied her hands back with more of their webs. All you could see is pus-filled bubbling skin around her eyes and the bubbles inflated slowly.
"Ewww..." Ski stepped back.
The bubbles got bigger and bigger and then popped suddenly.
Maliko looked up slowly and everywhere where the bubbles popped were small black...spider eyes, covered in pus.
"Omigawd...No...Maliko..."
Maliko looked up slowly and Ski noticed a small light in her eyes.
"S...Ski..."
But as suddenly as it came, the light disappeared and Maliko's eyes glazed over again. She grabbed him and pinned him to the wall.
"....Maliko...I'll save you...
As ski’s mind raced, he thought to himself.
' After all this time, after all these years of fighting... You cant die here... You cant die now...Think, Ski...Think...What did you learn that will help you...?'
He closed his eyes and thought back, but all he could think of was the last time he was happy...When him and Maliko were on the mountain. Then he remembered... The orb! He could use it to burn down the webs!
He took his free hand and held down the button, burning all the webs to the ground. As the machine on Maliko's back glowed, Maliko fell to the ground and the machine pushed itself deeper into her back. At this point, she was too deep into the spell to scream on her own, but Ski knew she still felt it. He jumped down and witnessed her slow and painful (and rather bloody) transformation, he could hear her screams in his head, as if their souls were connected...Then he realized that she still had his soul...so for him to hear the screams so clearly... She had to still have it with her. But, where did she hide it so easily??? He looked at her as her body jerked back in pain and saw a sparkle. 'So that’s where she hid it!!!' he thought. It was in her collar where her shard used to be, before Shadow got it. That was risky, but really clever of her. Krypt would never have guessed, because he would have thought it was still her shard and not his soul.
'Nice one, Miko.' He ran up to her and grabbed her, holding her down and jumping on her back. He pinned her to the floor and ripped the machine out of her back. Maliko felt the pain, but only for a second. Then she collapsed on the ground near Ski's feet. Ski picked her up and finished torching the place. As soon as everything was dead, he stood up and grabbed his friends, opening his wings and flying back to Maliko's house. He put everyone down, tended to their wounds and sat down, seeing if anyone would wake up. He looked out the window. He felt sad...somehow. He had new friends and didnt mind the enemies much... But he needed to get stronger... That’s why he set off to begin with. That’s why he left. His family, his home... He couldn’t waste time here for much longer... He had to be stronger if he wanted to achieve his goal. He wasn’t going to let his past repeat itself... He had to protect what he had... Ski looked over at Maliko. She slept softly, not feeling the pain of her wounds thanks to Ski's spell. Even with the bloody bandages
wrapped around her waist and head, She still looked beautiful to him. She always did... No matter how much he hated her... He remembered the first time they met... She hated him for being an angel and for living... But he thought... Where would they be now if he had died... He remembered how pretty she looked to him then and that starry eyed look she gave him... (Before she turned on him and tried to kill him) But he knew, It was Disen that had truly loved her... If only he hadn’t... Suddenly, Ski got an great idea. He stood up and turned to Maliko.
"You're gonna love me for this!"
He ran off to go train.


Chapter 16- Search for the Crystal Rats

2 days later, When everything was straightened out and everyone woke up, Ski walked into the hospital. It was early and Maliko was still asleep. He shook her softly.
"Miko...Mikkkkooooo..."
He shook her a little harder, and her ear twitched. He got real close to her ear and whispered "Naked Seto Kaiba is on the mountain looking for you and he sent me to get you..." he felt a cold breeze whoosh past him and he blinked. When he looked, Maliko was gone.
"Huh?!"
He turned around and Maliko was fully dressed standing by the door. "Well?! What are you waiting for?! Come on!!! Seto awaits!!! Setooooo~!!!"
"Um... I was just joking, you know."
"........"
Maliko collapsed on the floor. Ski rushed over and held her head up.
"Maliko! Maliko!!! Are you okay?!"
"Snoooore..."
".....GET UP!!!!!"
Maliko jumped up and held her head, half asleep and growling.
"Whaaaat?!"
"Come on."
"What is it?"
"I have a surprise for you. Someone is waiting for you."
"Huh? Who?"
"It's a surprise, remember?"
"....What time is it?"
"6:12 A.M."
"......"
"Let's just go."
As Maliko and Ski walked over to the mountain, Maliko glanced over at Ski. Ski noticed and looked back at her, but as soon as he did, she turned her head as fast as she could and looked down. At the base of the mountain, Maliko smelled a very familiar scent.
"*Sniff* ...It can't be..."
"Heh heh... What’s up, Maliko?"
"...Nothing..."
Maliko walked to the top and sitting there looking at the multicolored sunrise was the person she least expected to see.
"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Heh heh..."
"D-D-D....."
"Hey, Miko! Miss me?"
"Disen!!!!!"
Maliko jumped at Disen, nearly knocking him over. She grabbed him tightly and started to cry, tears covering her entire face.
"Miko, please. Don’t cry."
"Ski! I don’t....But... How...did you..."
"It’s a new skill I learned a while back. I figured that you missed him and I'm SURE he has alot to tell you. Only problem is that I can only gather enough energy for this one day. That’s why I woke you up so early. I figured you'd want as much time as possible."
"Ski...I..."
Not knowing how else to express her joy, she grabbed him and pulled him into a tight hug and whispered in his ear.
"Ski...Thank you..."
Ski stared wide eyed and blushed a little bit.
"You're welcome."
Ski smiled and watched as Disen turned bright red as Maliko squeezed him and cried... As much as he wanted to stay, he knew it would be wrong and left them to talk alone.
Eventually, Maliko calmed down and they got into talking.
"When I talked to you, when I came to your grave... did you hear me?"
"Uh huh. I used to sit by my grave and wait for you to come every night and sing to me. Man...I love..."
"Love what?"
"...I love... the way you sing! Yeah... That’s it...Sure..."
"Oh. Okay!"
Maliko smiled and sat close to Disen as he held her arm around her.
"So what have you been up to?"
Maliko told him about everything that happened since his death and Disen sat angrily.
"......."
"What's wrong...?"
"Shadow...He hasn't come back yet..."
(Is that such a bad thing?)
"Yeah, isn’t that good?"
"....No..."
"Why not?"
"Well, during the time I spent with him...I learned a little about him. I learned his parents were killed by demon hunters, too. But only because of a human..."
"A human?"
"Uh huh."
(So...What does that have to do with it?)
"Well... You see, Luki..."
"Wait....You can hear Luki, Disen?!"
"Huh? Oh, yeah."
"How?!"
"Think about it. He died, and I died. I can hear him because he is a spirit just like I am."
"Ooooo. Okay."
"Well, He used to talk about it every night, in his sleep, I mean. He had nightmares and stuff. Something about a blue volcano. He always wakes up so angry, but after about 2 or 3 murder missions, he calms down."
"So?"
"So that means that he is desperate for revenge. If he wasn't, he wouldn’t have the nightmares and the whole vengeance complex... Oh, it’s hard to explain. I'm just saying he has the black shard, he has the portal. Why hasn't he come back yet?"
(He must be planning something, right?)
"Right."
Just as he said that, something ran past them, down the mountain and into the forest. Disen looked to see a huge black creature. "Looks like something's been eating their Super Mushrooms!" Disen laughed and looked at Maliko for a response, but she looked pretty preoccupied. Maliko sniffed the air and smelled the delicious scent of blood. She started to drool and stood up. She grabbed Luki and ran into the forest before the scent disappeared.
"Wait here until I get back!!!" She screamed after him.
"Mikkkkooooo! Wait! Come back! ...Man...I have a bad feeling about this."
He looked at the grass and noticed a black spot where the creature had run.
"Huh? What's...this?"
He touched it and realized it was some black liquid. Disen sniffed it and gasped.
"Oh god... No!"
He jumped up and ran to find Ski as fast as he could.

Meanwhile, in the middle of the forest:
"Come back here!!!"
The black creature dashed left, then just as Maliko was about to grab it, suddenly turned right into a thick path of trees that Maliko ran into without looking, and was knocked out. When she awoke, the creature was staring her in the face. She tried to grab it, but couldn't move her arms or legs. She looked over and cried out in shock when she noticed that she was tied down very tightly.
"Heh heh... Looks like I caught something in my trap."
A tall figure stepped out from behind the trees. It was...
"Shadow!!! What are YOU doing here? Ooooo, when I get outta here, I'm gonna..."
"Not a nice thing to say to the person that has your life in their hands. Whatever happened to Good Evening, Master? Geez... Show some class."
"Master?! Are you crazy? Not gonna happen! I'd rather die!"
"If you say so."
Shadow walked over to Maliko and punched her hard in the face, making Maliko's lip bleed. Maliko growled and licked the blood off of her lips.
".......I'll kill you...."
Shadow picked the small black creature up off of the ground, and twisted his tiny head until it popped off, blood shooting out and rushing to the floor. Black blood... Thick and delicious black blood... Maliko stared in hunger at the blood on the ground and tried her hardest to get out. She had to get to it... It smelled so good... Shadow smiled evilly and tossed her the body of the creature, which she caught in her mouth and gobbled up greedily. She squealed in happiness... She had never in her life tasted blood (or anything else) this delicious... She had to have more... She had to...
"Like it?"
"W-what is it? Why does it taste so good?"
"It's a Coal Rat. I breed them in my home... underground. I have millions of them..."
Maliko's eyes widened and she began to drool.
"Please... Can I have some more? I'll do anything!"
She started to sweat and Shadow smiled evilly.
"I don’t know..."
"Please?!"
"Hmmm... The Wolf Demon Lord... Reduced to begging..."
"I don’t care! I'll do anything... I HAVE to have more..."
Just as Shadow was about to make his offer, they heard loud voices from above.
"There they are! Begin your descent!"
"What?!"
"Go down!"
"Where??? There nothing but trees!"
"So what? Go down!"
"She's NOT here!!!"
"Is so!!!"
"Is not!!!"
"Go down!!!"
"Fiiiiine!"
"Whoa! Pull your wings back out!"
"I can’t!"
"Why not?!"
"You're crushing them!!!"
"We're falling!!!"
"WHOAAAAAA!!!!!"
*Crash*
"See! Told you she was here!"
"...Fine..."
"Oh, my... It is good to see you again, Dice-boy. Can I offer you some animal crackers? I would offer a Phoenix Down, but it seems you already managed to get your hands on one..."
"Can it, Shadow!"
"Miko... Are you okay?"
"Must...have...more...."
Disen noticed the black blood running down her mouth, and his heart began to hurt.
"Oh god... No....It's too late... She already tasted the blood of the Coal Rat?"
"....Must....have...."
"Coal Rat?"
"It’s an extremely rare species of rodent that produces blood with a chemical that demons are seriously addicted to. Once they taste it, they will do anything to get it... Even kill you or me..."
"But, she wouldn’t..."
"Yes she would. Under the influence of the Coal Rat... she would..."
Disen looked at Maliko, sweating hard and twitching slightly, obviously trying to resist its power, but failing.
(Miko...Please hold on...)
"So... We can’t save her?"
"The only thing that can save her in the antidote made from a Crystal Rat, but I don’t know where to find them. As far as I know... They're extinct..."
"...That can’t be true... If we don’t get it, what will happen?"
"Well, Maliko's need for it will get worse and worse and her body will....well, I guess you can say... Self-Destruct... Blood will start to drip from her pores, and..."
"That’s enough, Shadow!"
"Whaaaat? I'm only giving you the 411... Because knowledge is power, right?"
"Disen..."
"Yeah...Lets go."
"Man, I'd LOVE to come along and see what happens when Disen can't find it in about an hour or two. He's always had a patience problem... Seems he would rather kill his enemies quickly when he doesn’t get what he wants... I prefer slow deaths, but whatever..."
"That’s NOT true!"
"It's not?! Who was the one that killed the random woman and her 2 children because she didn’t know where to find the Photon Blade?! She was a HUMAN!!! Humans can’t even SEE the Photon Blade!"
".......I don’t know what you're talking about!"
"Suuuuuure...."
"Leave me alone!!!"
Disen ran out of the forest clearing and Ski looked at him in worry. Disen loved Maliko more than he loved himself. Before the day was over, Ski knew that Disen was gonna bring war down and send blood running in the gutters. If it was to save Maliko, he had no regret in killing anybody, not himself, Nivea, Kalila, Kensuke or even him... Even more so, he had been trained under the dark influence of Shadow for so long...The only person truly safe was Maliko, and she was in terrible danger already. He just knew that by the end of the day... Someone was going to die...
They decided to go to the river to ask Sai what he thought. The river was connected to many different parts of DarkSoul and he was always swimming...Maybe he spotted the Crystal Rat once or twice. On the way to the river, they met up with Nivea, who was more than shocked by Disen's sudden return. When Ski explained everything to her, she offered to help.
"No. You'll just get in the way."
"Come on! I want to gooo!!!"
"I said No! If you want to be of any use to me, go find a Crystal Rat."
"Cant I just come with you guys?"
"No!"
"Why not?"
"Because I said No, you little..."
"Little WHAT?! I dare you to finish that!"
Ski could see that Disen was getting annoyed, so he jumped in.
"Nivea! You just can’t! Now go away! You're wasting time!"
"No! I'm not leaving until you let me go with you!"
Disen's eyes glowed and he pushed Ski to the side, then grabbed Nivea's arm violently.
"Hey! What the heck is wrong with you!? Let go!!!
"...em erofeb erutaerc eht fo luos eht em evig, sduolc nosmirc no ssenkrad tiliwt..."
"Huh?"
Nivea felt a weird tingle throughout her body, and then she couldn’t move all of a sudden. Her body was solid and her thinking became labored. All of a sudden, her brain shut down completely and her eyes turned a light grey.
"......"
A clear blue crystal appeared in the dirt by her feet. Disen picked it up and rubbed off the dirty spots and spoke in a chilling voice... A voice Ski didn’t know Disen was capable of.
"Get out of my sight before I drag you down to He*l with me..."
Disen gave her an ice cold look and Nivea slowly turned and walked away.
"Disen..."
Ski got off of the ground and backed up a couple of inches very slowly, becoming scared of finding out just what else he had learned from Shadow...
"Lets go."
Ski nodded, and walked slowly behind Disen, wondering what would become of Sai if he didn’t know where to find the Crystal Rats.

Down at the river, Ski flew above the water and looked out. "I don’t see him!"
"....How does Maliko call him?"
"I don’t know! Let's see..."
He whistled loudly and a huge tidal wave began to rise.
"WHOA!!!"
He tried to run but the wave hit him and sent him flying onto the shore. He landed and groaned loudly. All of a sudden, he sniffed the air.
"Do I smell....fish sticks?"
He looked up and saw Sai standing inches in front of him.
"I hope you know I take offense to that..."
"Heh heh... Sorry!"
"...What do you need?"
"Well, Sai... Um, you get around, right?"
"Uh...I guess you could say that..."
"Have you ever seen something called a Crystal Rat?"
"Huh? What's that?"
"It's a creature that resembles a rat, but with spikes lining its back and a curly pig-like tail. Every part of its body is white, except for its eyes which are made of crystals...hence the name..."
"I think I've seen one before!"
"Really?! Where?!?
"Um... I don’t remember... Sorry..."
"Tell us now!"
"I said I don’t remember!"
Disen walked up to Sai and grabbed him...well, attempted to, but his skin was as slippery as butter. Instead, Disen looked Sai in the eyes, which were just pitch black and if you looked too long , you would feel like your soul was being pierced. But Disen wasn’t fazed. He stared as hard as he could and growled angrily, fangs exposed.
"Prepare to die..."
After a couple of seconds, Sai's eyes widened and he became cold. Not normal cold... Not even winter cold... Sub-zero cold... His breathing was extremely labored and he reached to grab his chest which, contrary to the cold, felt as if it was on fire. But he couldn't move... He was barely able to look down, but when he did, he gasped. His body was trapped in ice up to his neck, one layer of normal ice, lined with a thicker layer of dry ice. Disen walked over and tied a thick rope around the ice, which he had gotten out of his bag. He pulled the frozen Sai over to the edge of the bridge and laughed.
"One more chance... Are you sure you don’t know where to find them?"
Sai couldn’t answer even if he wanted. He could barely breathe enough to stay alive. He struggled to stay awake... He looked weakly at Disen, his eyes begging for mercy. But Disen didn’t care at all. He looked at Sai and smiled evilly.
"Okay... Time's up."
He untied the rope and kicked Sai off the bridge. As soon as he hit the water, the dry ice made a huge thick fog that covered the entire area. Even though Ski couldn’t really see Disen in front of him, he could feel the evil radiating off of him. The same evil that Shadow had given every time he walked in the room...And he knew. Disen had changed for the absolute worse. He couldn’t tell Maliko though. Even if they saved her... Even when they saved her... He couldn’t crush Maliko's rose colored images of him. He was her perfect friend... He was fun to play with, and to talk to. He always listened and never judged... and he was kind... He was gentle... and wouldn’t hurt a fly, unless that fly tried to hurt his Miko... And in her own little way, Maliko loved Disen as much as he loved her, if not more. He couldn’t break her heart... after all... he was only here for today, right?
Ski was still scared, though. He figured...if he could turn on his friends so easily, he could just as easily turn on Ski. Ski decided to run while he could. He extended his wings and started to fly off, when he felt himself being pulled down.
"...Where are you going, Ski?"
"Um...I just..."
"Did you think I wouldn’t see you?"
"...No, its not that... I..."
"Ski... Am I going to have to deal with you, too?"
"Disen! Why are you being like this? You're not the same as before! You're evil now!"
"Heh heh... I wouldn’t say evil... But I do have much more power now... And I can protect those close to me now... I can protect Miko...And no one is going to get in my way!"
"But, Disen... We're friends! Don’t you remember?"
"No."
"Oh, you wanna play hard ball? Fine! Flashback time!!!"
"If you do, I'll kill you!"
"You cant kill me!"
"Why not?!"
"Because if you did, 4kids would just censor it!"
"This ISNT 4kids! Don’t even joke like that! Don’t you remember who writes this story?! The most violent anime freak on the planet!"
"...Holy crap, you're right!!! Maybe I'll change my mind about that flashback..."
"Too bad... It's already started!"
"NoooOOOOoooo!!!!!"

Back in Volume 2:
“……Thank you, but…”
“Why am I helping you, right?”
“Yeah… Aren’t you a wolf demon, too?”
"Believe me… Not all of us are as mean as Maliko. Actually, she’s not as mean as she seems…”
“Yeah, right…”
“She just acts that way to newcomers… Don’t worry, we can be friends if you want. I know how it feels to be lonely.”
“Um… Sure… I never really had many friends before.”
“Come on. I’ll take you back.”
“Um… Alright.”


"See! I told you!"
"...... I don’t remember that..."
"Yes, you do!"
"Prove it!"
"Your eyes are watering... You're crying because you DO remember and you feel ashamed...right?"
"...No."
"I thought you hated Shadow! What did he do to you? What happened to you!? Please! Tell me! I can help you! You don’t have to be this way! ...Maliko wouldn’t want to see you this way..."
"I told you before...Master Shadow granted me what I needed... The power to protect Maliko... no matter what..."
"M-master?! What do you mean!? You hate Shadow! Why would you give him that kind of power over you?!"
"It's none of your business!"
"Please... You were my only friend before Maliko... I want to help you protect her..."
"I don’t need help protecting the Bereavement Project!"
*Gasp* "Bereavement? What do you mean?! Where did you hear that?!"
Disen covered his mouth and backed away slowly. Then he turned and ran before Ski could follow him.
"...What’s happened to you..."

Ski lay down in the grass, letting the dew on the blades wash over him. He turned to the side and started to think.
"Bereavement...What does that mean?"
He got up and went home, found his old dictionary and started to read.



be·reave

be·reave [bi r?v]
(past be·reaved or be·reft [bi réft], past participle be·reaved or be·reft [bi réft], present participle be·reav·ing, 3rd person present singular be·reaves)
vt
deprive through death: to deprive somebody of a beloved person or a treasured thing, especially through death (often passive)


"Huh? What the heck does that mean? Maliko didnt die... so why did he call it that??? This is so confusing!!!"

He went back up Union Path and looked around. Sitting down, he looked over the water where the Centifish and Cowhales swam.

He looked over at the water and noticed how calm it was. He secretly wished Maliko was there to watch it with him.


Chapter 17- Howling Island

“……Um…Hi…”
Ski jumped and turned to see a young boy with short black hair and dark blue eyes. He wore a black jacket with a hood that he had over his head and some blue jeans. His sneakers squeaked in the wet grass. Ski had never seen this boy before.
“Oh, hi! What’s your name?”
The boy sat down and took his hood off, revealing his spiky hair.
“My name’s Kegamin.”
“Kegamin? Wait, aren’t you that boy that…”
“Maliko’s little slave boy? Yeah, that’s me…”
“Oh…How old are you?”
“I’m 13.”
“Wow. You’re young.”
“…Yeah…”
“So, what are you doing here?”
“…I don’t know… I’ve been Maliko’s slave so long that I haven’t really talked to anyone in years… Just lonely, I guess.”
“…Hmmm… Well, You must have a lot to talk about.”
“Well, yeah. But its not like anyone really listens to anything I have to say.”
“I’ll listen.”
Kegamin’s eyes widened as he turned to Ski.
“Really?”
“Sure! Why not?”
“…But, why?”
“I know what its like to be lonely.”
Ski put his hand on Kegamin’s head and he smiled.
“Cool. Thanks. But, I don’t know what to talk about…”
“Um, okay. How about Maliko? You’ve been with her so long… Do you know any secrets about her?”
“Yes.”
“Ooooo! Tell me!!!”
“Okay! Um, Lets see. She writes manga in her spare time. Her newest one is called Maliko VS. Ski- The Epic Battle. It has very poor drawings. I don’t know why. Her art skills are amazing… If you ask me.”
“Really?”
“Uh huh. She draws pictures of you and her all the time.”
Ski blushed and cried out “Me and her doing what?!”
“Fighting.”
“Oh… Well, um… What else do you know?!”
“I know she has bunny pajamas…With the ears and feet and tail and everything.”
“O_O Really?!?!”
“Hehehe… Yeah.”
Ski looked at Kegamin and pulled him closer. He pointed to the sun going down in the distance.
“Look. When’s the last time you saw that?”
“With my Mom… When I was 6.”
“What happened to her?”
“Maliko killed her.”
“W-what?!”
“I said Maliko killed her.”
“I know what you said. I’m just surprised.”
“Why?”
“…I really don’t know… Hey! I thought… everyone said you had amnesia!”
“I did… I guess I just… remember…”
“That’s so weird…”
“I know…”
“So… Where are your father?
“She killed both my parents and kidnapped me. She thought she erased my memory, but she didn’t. I didn’t want to die, so I went along with it.”
“So… You were acting this whole time?”
“Yeah… At least until I can find a way to go back home… But what’s the point… She killed my big sister, too.”
“Huh? Who’s your sister?”
“Do you know someone named Peach?”
“O_o That’s your sister?!”
“Yeah…”
“Oh, wow. That’s horrible…(In more ways that one…)”
“It’s alright…”
“Alright?!?! How can it be alright?!”
“… I got over it years ago…”
“…Yeah, but still…Aren’t you sad?”
“…No…”
Ski knew he was lying. His eyes were starting to get watery and his body was shaking.
“I’m not Maliko… You don’t have to hide your tears from me.”
He held Kegamin while he cried. He told him about how much he missed his family and all the stuff they used to do together. And the entire time, Ski listened sadly. Eventually, Kegamin stood up.
“Hey… Thanks for listening to me… I feel a little better… You’re a good friend.”
Ski stood up, too.
“I wish I could help you more, but I gotta get going.”
“Why? What’s the rush?”
“I have to search for this thing called a Crystal Rat.”
“Hey! I know where that is!”
“You do?! Where?!”
He pointed over the ocean into the distance.
“Over there, in a place called Howling Island.”
“Why is it called that?”
“Because the entire island is shaped like a wolf if you look at is from above.”
“OMG! Thank you!!!”
Ski grabbed Kegamin and hugged him and ran off to tell Disen.
“Bye!” Kegamin called after him.
“Bye! And thanks again!” Ski called back.


Ski looked and looked but couldn’t find Disen anywhere.
"...Man, This sucks... Am I going to have to go alone?"
Just as he said that:
"Ah!"
"W-what was that? That sounded like a girl's voice... But there aren’t any other girls here besides Maliko, Nivea and... !!!!!"
"....Well, tell me, Nurse... Is it possible to give yourself open heart surgery? Because that's the ONLY way you're going to live if you don’t tell me what I wanna know!"
"I told you! I don’t know anything!"
"Wrong answer!!!"
"Disen!!! Stop!!!"
"Huh?"
"I know where the Crystal Rats are!"
"You do?! Where?!"
"On this place called Howling Island!"
Disen turned to Kalila.
"I guess fate has spared you today. Consider yourself lucky."
"Disen..."
"What?"
"Were you really going to kill me? We were friends and I healed your wounds so many times. What would Maliko say if she saw you now? She could never love you the way you are now..."
Disen's eyes glowed in rage.
"What... did you say to me?! I'll kill you!!!"
He picked Kalila up and bashed her head into the ground a few times until she lay bloody and unconscious then left her there and walked to Ski.
"Soooo... Where is this "Howling Island"?
"Disen!!! You could have killed her!!!"
He started to run over to her, but Disen grabbed him.
"Where do you think you're going?
"I have to help her!"
Disen's eyes glowed again as he grabbed Ski.
"You will do no such thing..."
"Disen...!!!"
"Let's go! Now!"
".........Come on..."
Ski picked Disen up and started to fly over the ocean.
"Don’t drop me!"
"I wont..." Ski whispered, even though he considered it.
In about 10 minutes, Disen noticed a sparkling in the distance.
"Hey... Isn't that..."
"It's Howling Island! Kegamin was right!"
"Right...? About what?"
"He was the one that told me where the island was."
"...He is, huh?"
"Yeah. Come on, Let's grab one!"
Disen ran over and tried to grab one, but he was too slow and it got away. He tried again and again and after about 4 more tries, he got one. It squealed loudly and struggled to get away.
"What do we do now?"
"We have to extract some of their blood."
"How are we supposed to do that?!"
Disen pulled out a needle and stabbed the rat's back, then took some of his blood.
"....Disen..."
"Yeah?"
"Where did you get that needle?"
"Kalila."
"....Did she give that to you?"
"...No."
"..........."
"What?"
"...Nothing..."
"Okaaaaay...? Geez, man. You’re more confusing that the real story behind Koopa Kid's birth..."
"............"
"Alright, we have it. Let's go back."
"Okay."
When they got back to the island, Disen suddenly grabbed Ski and held him down.
"Ouch! Disen, Stop playing games! We have to get this to Maliko!"
"No, I have to get this to Maliko! She hates you... To think that you saved her... She'll be crushed..."
Disen pulled out another, much bigger, needle filled with neon green liquid. It glowed brightly in the sunlight.
"W-what are you doing?! What is that?!"
"This is Herotoxis. ...Let's just say... A very deadly poison for angels."
"...Disen... You cant do this! I just helped you!"
"...No. According to you, Kegamin provided the location. You're just the messenger... And the messenger’s purpose is shattered when the message is delivered...."
"...!!!"
Disen pulled Ski's head to one side and stabbed him in the neck with the needle, ejecting the substance into Ski's body. In less that a few seconds, Ski's body began to react negatively and jerked forward as Ski gasped for air. In less that a minute, Ski stopped moving and he lay helpless in the grass.
"...Don’t worry. It won’t kill you... I'll leave that to Maliko."


Chapter 18- Rejection and Redemption

Disen ran off to find Maliko. When he got there, Maliko lay on the floor, blood leaking from her hands.
"About time you got back! ...She's useless like this. She's just sitting there...dying... Geez, she's getting blood all over the grass! If you're gonna self destruct and die violently and slowly, at least have the consideration to show some class and wipe up after yourself." Shadow smiled evilly at Disen, who ignored him and fed Maliko the blood forcefully. Eventually, she stopped bleeding and woke up, dizzy and dazed.
"...What happened?"
"Good. She's back..."
"Hey, Disen!"
"What, Shadow?"
"You know... You really didnt have to kill everyone..." Shadow laughed. I mean, I understood Nivea, because she got annoying, but Kalila? And Ski.... Oooh, man. That was cold. He told you everything he knew...and flew you to the island AND brought you back to life... I think I rubbed off on you a little too much..."
"...Disen... What is he talking about?" Maliko asked, still dizzy.
"Nothing, Miko. Let's go."
"Not so fast..." Shadow walked up to Disen and grabbed his shoulder. Disen turned and punched him in the face.
"...Geez. Your fists feel like they're made of frozen turkeys..."
"Disen..."
"Huh? What's wrong, Miko?"
"....Where's Ski?"
"Oh, don’t worry! I know you hate him...I took care of him for you. *Blush*"
"...What?"
"Huh?"
"What did you say?!"
"I said... I... took care of him... for you?"
"Disen!!! What did you do to him!?"
"He poisoned his bloodstream."
"WHAT?!?!"
"Don’t worry, Miko. I didnt kill him! I figured you'd wanna do that yourself..."
"Disen... How could you..."
"What? What did I do?"
"How could you hurt him? What did he do to you?!"
"Miko..." Disen reached for Maliko's hand, but she pulled back quickly.
"...Disen... What’s wrong with you...?"
"Huh?"
"It's not like you... It's not like you to hurt anyone... I thought Ski was your friend..."
"...Yes, but he was your enemy..."
"...Where's everyone else...?"
"...They'll recover..."
Maliko stepped back and stared into Disen's eyes.
"Disen... I don’t think..."
"....You don’t think what?"
"I don’t think... we can be friends anymore..."
"What?!"
"Disen... Look what you did..."
"So what? We don’t need them... We can be fine living here on our own... We can leave them and find a place all our own... A sanctuary..."
"Disen... This WAS my sanctuary... I created this place so no one would ever have to be alone! This was supposed to be a safe haven to lost, orphaned and abandoned demons, remember?! I can't be friends with someone who so easily hurts the ones who trust them... Even if I believed you... You might hurt me, too..."
"Miko... I'd never hurt you... I..."
"...I wish I could believe that..."
"Maliko...After all I did for you... You...you're rejecting me...?"
"...As long as there are others in this world that cares about me... I’ll never leave..."
Maliko turned and ran out of the forest in the direction Disen had come in.
"Miko..... Miko! Come back!"
"Heh heh..."
"What's so funny?!"
"Wow... You do all this for a girl and she still turns ya down... That's why you never trust dames..."
"Shut up!!!"
Disen's legs felt weak and he fell back, sitting in the bloody grass and leaning on a tree.
"I told you this would happen... I give her a day to come back and try to kill you when she sees the real damage..."
"No... She wouldn’t hurt me..."
"Why do you think that?"
"I'm too important to her. She'd do anything for me... She loves me..."
"And...Here's the denial period..."
"......Shadow..."
"Hmmm?"
"Do you think she'll ever love me?"
"No."
"....."
"Not now, at least... Listen to what she said. She told you what she wanted..."
"She did?"
"Uh huh... Think... She said "...As long as there are others in this world that cares about me... I will never leave..." Right? So that means... to get her to go with you..."
"I have to destroy every other person in this world that cares about her."
"...Um..." Shadow started to object but sensed a great evil plan. "That's right."
"So... That’s what I have to do."
"Well, who's left?"
"Lets see... I got Nivea, then Sai, Then Kalila...Then Ski. Who else is there?"
"Um... Who told you where the Crystal Rats were?"
"Ski said Kegamin told him...!!!"
"Oh, yeah. Kegamin..."
"He should be easy... Now I just have to find him..."
The bushes shook just as Disen was about to get up. He turned to see...
"...Kegamin?! What are you doing here...?"
"Master sent me to retrieve you."
"Master... You mean Maliko?!"
"...That is correct. Please, come with me."
"Kegamin..."
"Hm?"
"Do you value your life?"
"Master said my life holds no value."
"So...If you were to die..."
"I don’t want to die."
"Why not? You are being treated so cruelly with Maliko..."
Kegamin gave Disen a blank stare.
"Do you even know what that means?

"cru·el
cru·el [kr? ?l]
(comparative cru·el·er, superlative cru·el·est)
adj
1. merciless: deliberately and remorselessly causing pain or anguish, or insensitive to the pain and anguish of others
2. bringing about pain: bringing about pain and distress, or painful to bear"

"O_O That's... right..."
"Spazz..." Shadow laughed from the background.
"What does knowing this word have to do with death?"
"Don’t you hate your life with her?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because she loves me. And being loved by Maliko is worth the pain she ensues."
"...I know... Kegamin... What was she doing when she sent you?"
"She was crying."
".......I see....."
"Someone has made her very upset."
"I know."
"I don’t know why you are so sad. Maliko loves you, too."
"Maliko doesn't love me."
"I have never seen her shed so many tears for someone she didnt love."
"What are you talking about?"
"Your funeral... She did nothing but cry... Now please... Come with me."
"Oh yeah! I forgot!"
Disen stood up and walked behind Kegamin until they reached Maliko's house.
"She is in her room."
"Thanks, kid."
Disen ran upstairs and found Maliko sitting on her bed, bleeding badly.
"Miko?! What happened!!?"
"....Disen... What are you doing here?"
"You called me."
"I never called you."
"But Kegamin said you did."
"Yeah, and he already brought you once... and you told me you hated me and you tried to kill me! You know that! What are you doing here?!"
"What are you talking about?!"
"I'm not stupid and I'm not forgiving you! So don’t think that'll work! Just go away!"
"But, I..."
"I said Get out!"
"No! I wont leave you! I have to help you!"
Disen ran over and looked over Maliko's wounds.
"Maliko... I'll help you... Then you'll love me, too..." He whispered to himself.
"Disen... Just leave me alone..."
"No... I have to prove that it wasn’t me that hurt you like this..."
"Why are you helping me?"
"Do you really want to know the answer...?"
"Yeah..."
"It's because... I really lo~"
"Look!"
"Huh?"
"That's the person that hurt me!"
She pointed out of her window and Disen saw that the person really did look like him. Spiky black hair, dog ears and tail, dice headband and black jacket. He was running towards the portals.
"What the..."
Disen climbed over the balcony and jumped. Remember, it was only the second floor.
"Hey, you!"
The person stopped running but didnt turn around. Disen ran up to him and grabbed his arm and cried out. It looked like he was looking in a mirror. Everything matched perfectly. The eyes, the clothes, the hair... Disen stepped back.
"Who are you?"
"I'm you. Well, that’s what everyone thinks..."
"Huh?"
"Do you really think you had it in you to attack your friends? Do you remember when you fell from Ski's back? You were unconscious, so I quickly dragged you into the bushes, attacked them and knocked them out, got the antidote and came back, gave you the antidote and hacked into your memory... so you think that you did it. It's what Master Shadow ordered, after all. Something about betrayal and death and something or other... His only rule was not to tell you."
"What are you doing, you moron!"
They turned to see Shadow behind Disen.
"I was just telling Disen your plan."
"And what was my rule?"
"Don’t tell Disen the plan...Ooooo....Oops..."
"You IDIOT! You always do this!!!"
"Sorry, Master..."
"This is why I don’t trust you anymore... Fine. Now you know the truth... So what?!"
"...You little..."
"....It was funny, though. You were all "She doesn’t love me... My life is a lie... Waaaaa!!!!!"
"I'm so confused... So you mean... I never hurt anyone..."
"Of course not! You're a wimp..."
"Shadow. Why would you do this to me?"
"Um...I'm evil?"
"Yeah! He's evil!"
"Shuddup!"
"...That’s your new minion... You replaced me...with him...? Are you serious...? Why does he look like me?"
"Oh! I forgot! I don’t really look like this. Look!"
He snapped his fingers and a glitter of light surrounded him. Disen closed his eyes and when he opened them, he saw a boy standing there, dressed in a navy blue T-shirt and a black hooded jacket. He had blond spiky hair that blocked his eyes until he brushed his hair to the side to show that his eyes were a very dark violet, one step away from black.
"My name's Warps."
"....Warps? That’s a weird name..."
"It's because I can do this!" Warps dove at the ground and just sunk into the dirt.
"Whoa! Where did he go?"
"Here I am!"
Warps popped out behind Disen.
"That's cool!"
"Thanks! I like being you more, though. Wanna be friends?"
"Sure."
"Hellllloooo!!! Remember the plan!!! You are NOT supposed to be friends with the enemy!!!"
"Enemy?"
"Disen is the ENEMY! You are such a~"
"A genius, right?"
"...No."
"Awwwww...."
"Anyway... Disen. Do you want to stay here and endanger Maliko's life or come and train with me again?"
"I think I'll stay. I'm not scared. I can protect Maliko with the skills you taught me."
"You little ungrateful..."
"J"
"Stop smiling!!!"
"Well, I guess I'll see you later, Warps."
"Where do you think you're going?"
"To tell Miko the truth about how I feel... If I'm going to endanger her life... At least let her know why..."

At Maliko's House:
"Maliko... I have something to tell you..."
"Huh? What is it?"
"I don’t know how to say this..."
"...Um...Take your time?"
"I...um...I....l-lo....um....."
"Disen?"
"Maliko! I'm sorry!"
Disen turns and runs out of the house. Breathing heavily, he hears a voice.
"Couldn't do it, could you?"
He looked to see Shadow.
"Shadow... What do you want from me?!"
"Nothing..."
"...Huh?"
"......."
"Shadow... Are you...sad???"
"...!!! What?!?! No! I'm NOT... sad.... Ewww..... Emotions...."
"......"
"........"
Disen turned and walked away. On the way, he found some blue flowers. He picked the petals off of about 5 of them and mixed them with the poison in the needle. The poison soon turned yellow. He put it in his pocket. Soon, he found his way to Crescent Mountain. There, he stared at the sunset and prepared to go back to the darkness. Remember, he was only back for one day... Just as the sun was going down, Maliko came running.
"Disen!!!"
"Huh? Maliko? What's wrong?"
"I had to send you off, didnt I?"
"Oh...yeah..."
"Goodbye, Disen. I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you, too."
She held him close and he put his arm around her. He had barely 10 minutes left... He handed her the needle.
"What's this...?"
"Its the antidote to Ski's poison."
"Huh?"
He explained what Warps had told him and Maliko held him tight.
"I'm sorry I got mad at you..."
"It's okay..."
(It's a better chance that any... I might as well... Here goes...) Disen thought to himself.
"Maliko..."
"Yeah?"
"....I love you..."
"...!!! Huh?"
"You heard me! I love you!"
"Disen...!"
"I've loved you, like, forever! But I couldn’t tell you..."
"Disen... I love you, too..."
"*MEGABLUSH* Y-y-y-y-you d-d-d-do???!!!"
"Uh huh..."
Disen held her tightly and kissed her cheek.
"I guess... It's time for me to go."
"....Oh...Yeah..."
"Bye, Miko."
"Bye, Disen."


Chapter 19- Shadow Games

The next morning:
"....Maliko....Wake up..."
*Yawn* "Yeah? What's up, Ski?"
"I have something to tell you!"
"Okay. What is it... HEY?!?! Wait a second! How are you awake? I didnt bring the antidote yet!"
"Shadow helped me!"
"O_O Shadow?!"
"Yeah! That’s what I was trying to tell you! He's helped all of us!"
"Why???"
"Well, he said that he wants us to meet him in front of Fear's Nightmare in an hour."
"Why?"
"I don’t know!"
"Miko!!!"
"Huh?"
Nivea came running up the hill on Orichal as Aurora flew Kalila.
"~Mikoooo-chaaan!!!!"
"Nivea!!!"
Nivea jumped off of Orichal in mid-dash and fell on Maliko. Sitting up, she held Maliko tightly.
"Nivea... I didnt see you in a long time. Please tell me you're alright..."
"Oh course I am! What about you??? Ski told me everything! Where is that double crossing traitor?!"
"...Disen's not a traitor..."
"What?"
"I said Disen is NOT a traitor!"
"How can you stick up for him after what he did to us?! Are you that dense!?"
".....He saved me..."
"Listen, Miko. We are best friends and I love you and anime as much and even more that the next person, but sometimes... You gotta stop living in your little fantasy world... Disen doesn’t love you and he is not good for you..."
"Shut up..."
"Miko... Please, listen to her! He tried to kill us!"
"That wasn’t him!!!"
"How do you know?"
"Because he told me! And I trust him!"
"......"
"He said some weird guy in all black just came out of nowhere and told him the whole thing... That was that guy that hurt you... Not Disen!"
"Hahahahaha! Yeah, right! You actually believed that crackpot story?"
"....She's not lying."
"Ski? What did you say?"
"I said She's not lying. I saw that guy! That’s the one that told me to go in Maliko's room! Remember, Maliko? Kunai in Luki's head?"
"It was him...?! He'll pay for what he did to Luki..."
"Are you guys serious??? I don’t believe any of this!"
"Nivea...!!!"
"You just want to protect that idiot! He's dead! Whets left to protect?"
"...Stop... Don’t say that..."
"And you know what? I'm glad he's dead!"
"Shut up!"
"How about you make me? We are supposed to be best friends and you choose this loser over me? Screw him AND you!"
Nivea kicked Disen's headstone and it cracked at the top and fell over, breaking a chunk off of the top. Ski and Kalila gasped and stared in surprise and shock when Maliko lunged at Nivea and started violently biting her shoulder close to her neck... really close...
"Maliko!!! STOP! You'll kill her!!!"
But Maliko didnt stop and Nivea fought back. She slashed at Maliko's face until blood oozed from her eye sockets and the deep gashes on her cheeks. Nivea's right shoulder was almost eaten through completely, and blood was still pouring from it. Maliko and Nivea continued to fight violently and brutally until finally, the two of them passed out from blood loss. Kalila and Ski silently and carefully carried them onto Orichal and Aurora and flew back to the hospital to repair their deep gashes and wounds.
The next morning, Maliko and Nivea were wrapped up but showed no signs of waking up. About a week passed and they were still unconscious. About 2 weeks later, Nivea's eyes opened slowly. She tried to move but the hole in her shoulder had not completely healed and she cried out loudly. She looked over to the right the best she could and saw Maliko lying in the bed, bloody bandages covering most of her face, and patches over her eyes. Blood trickled down from the patches and formed a puddle on her pillow. Nivea stared in horror at the sight of what she had done to her friend. Tears ran down her face, but it hurt to cry so she closed her eyes and drifted back off to sleep. She awoke about an hour later to Shadow standing over her, staring with uncaring eyes.
"...what do..you...wa...nt...?" Nivea struggled to speak.
"You look hurt."
".........."
"That’s too bad..."
"...?"
"I'm holding a tournament tomorrow. The sake of your souls depend on it."
".....?!"
"I'm calling it the Shadow Games. Get it? ^_^"
"....................."
"Geez... Tough crowd..."
"....."
"Maliko did this to you, huh?"
".....yeah..."
"I know. I saw the whole thing."
"......"
"Hahahahaha! I cant believe they really expected you to believe that bogus story! I mean, You SAW Disen attack you and everyone else! You're supposed to be her best friend. How easily she changes sides when a guy is involved, huh?"
"......"
"I agree with you totally... If I were you... I'd still be upset..."
"......"
"I have a deal for you. I heal you and Maliko and you can join my side and fight it out in the tournament..."
"...no..."
"Why not?"
"Because......I know…your type…of game…whoever loses the game... loses their...soul...right?"
"How about if I promise not to take any souls for that match? It will be a match with only pride to lose..."
"........"
"I'll heal you anyway... Just think about it, okay?"
"......"
He touches Nivea, chanted some weird words and a blue light glowed. Then he touched Maliko and did the same.
"You'll be fine in the morning. Remember... Think about it..."
"........"
Shadow walked out of the room and Nivea thought and thought, until she finally fell asleep.
The next morning, Shadow heard a knock on his door. He opened it to see Nivea standing there, shivering. Shadow smiled and let her in.
"So... You've decided to join me..."
"Only until I fight Miko... Then... I'm gone."
"...Sure... Go back and I will pick you up in a few hours. Train until then..."
"Yeah."

About 5 hours later:
"Okay, everyone! Into the portal!" Shadow directed everyone into a small black portal that lead to an alternate part of Fear's Nightmare. Once everyone was in, stadium lights shot on and everyone was amazed to see how hard Shadow had worked on this. A large battle arena, a racing track, a pool, a hospital next to a large library and a few more unrecognizable machines and buildings filled the entire Stadium. A crowd of half-breeds, much more than 20,000 filled the stadium with cheers and boos. There was a big wheel with a bunch of weird pictures on it. There was a needle, a raindrop, a sword and a sneaker.
"Okay!" Shadow spoke with a microphone. "Now that everyone is here, we can get started!!!"
"Hey! Shadow!!!"
"What???"
"Everyone is NOT here! Where's Nivea?"
"Oh, don’t worry! She'll be here!"
".....um...okay...?"
"Like I was saying... the 2 teams... please come to the podium in the middle of the field."
Maliko, Ski, Sai and Kalila walked to the middle of the field.
"Yeah! Now entering Team 1! Wolfy, Cat Boy, Aqua Lad and Kid."
Ignoring the very violent complaints about the announcement of their names, he continued.
"Wolfy will be the leader of Team Crimson. Now for the winning team... Warps, Samurai, Squirt and Doctem."
"Who?"
"These four will be the members of Team 2. Warps is the leader of Team Twilight."
"It's...that guy..."
"I know..."
"You know the rules. Each team will be faced with a challenge. The team leader will choose who competes in that challenge. There will be four matches. Whatever team loses more matches *Coughteamonecough* will be eliminated. In the impossible event that there is a tie, there will be a tie breaker between Team Leaders. Got it?"
*Loud Cheers*
"Good! Challenge 1! Wolfy! Spin the wheel!"
"...Whatever."
Maliko spun the wheel and it spun and stopped on a picture of a needle.
"Okay! Event 1 has been decided. The 2 competitors must face a bad situation. There are 2 patients with the same disease. A disease that causes the patient to leak blood from his eye sockets and make his head inflate until it explodes. This is extremely painful and the victims last about 1 hour. There is no cure... Seemingly... But there is a library full of medical books. The objective is to cure the patient before your opponent. If the patient dies, you are disqualified. You need a love for reading, a vast medical vocabulary and history and the skill of a master doctor to win. Ready? Good! Now pick your competitor!"
Team 1:
"Kalila! You are the only one of us that actually heals instead of destroy. You go!"
"Okay! I'll do my best!"

Team 2:
"Doctem."
"Understood."

"Okay! READY?"
"I have healed Maliko so many times from so many different...unexplainable injuries, what don’t I know?"
"SET!"
"You will be the victim under my surgeon’s blade and at my mercy when I am finished with you..."
"GO!!!"

Chapter 20- A Doctor's Love

Kalila and Doctem took off. Being the smaller of the 2, Kalila got to the library first. She stared wide eyed at the sign on the door. It read:
Always remember, This may be just a game...but a real life victim's life is in your hands.
"....."
Just then, the little boy's scream from the surgery table snapped Kalila out of her thought just as Doctem arrived. She snatched the door open and dashed to the nearest shelf. Doctem went to the shelf all the way in the back. In about 20 minutes, hundreds of well skimmed books and no results, Kalila was startled by a ripping sound. She turned to see Doctem threw down a light blue book, jumped up and dashed out the door.
"......!!!!"
Kalila grabbed the book that he was reading and read as fast as she could until she got to page 34. It read:

Terephonaria (Tera-phone-a-ree-ah):
The self inflation and destruction of the human body. Occurs in one of every 2.3 thousand people at the ages of 9-14.
Cure: No known cure, though it was argued that a slice of Couple's Cake, in its debut in Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door, actually cured one of the victims. The actual results of that test are still currently unknown...
There was one more test that proved to work 7 out of 10 times in curing this disease. It involved the use of Doctor Richard's stemac~
The page was ripped from there. Someone had ripped the entire page off.
".....Doctem...!!!"
She dropped the book and ran out of the library.
"Shadow!!!"
"...Huh? What?"
"What resources are we allowed to use?"
"Um... anything, I guess..."
"Alright!"
"Maliko!"
"Yeah?"
"How do you make a Couple's Cake?"
"A what-now?"
"Oh! I know!"
"You do, Ski?"
"Yeah! My brothers always ate it with their girlfriends. I've heard it's impossible to eat alone and eating it with your loved ones always brought harmony and peace, even in chaos. That was the basis of the recipe. You take the fiery burning passion of a Spicy Soup and combine in with the delicate soft and frozen love of a snow bunny. That’s how you make it!"
"That makes sense!"
"Why? Do you need one?"
"Yeah! Right now!!!"
"Um...Okay! Where can we get a Spicy Soup?"
"Maliko's Magma Flavored Ramen should do the trick!"
"Yeah! I'll do it right now! I love ramen!"
"What about the snow bunny?!"
"They should be in Shadow's Domain! Its a frozen wasteland in there!"
"Oh yeah! Come on!!!"
Maliko and Ski ran off to make the ramen and Kalila and Sai went to catch a snow bunny.
At Maliko's house:
"Are you supposed to heat the noodles up like that?!?!"
"Yeah! How are you supposed to call it true magma flavored ramen if you don’t heat it up with real magma? It's in the sauce, too."
"No wonder it's so hot! What ever happened to hot water and a microwave?"
"That's for squares!"
"...."
"Here! Add these in the pot and mix it."
Maliko handed him a huge bag of peppers in a boiling sauce.
"What's this?"
"Chili peppers, jalapenos, Jamaican peppers, black pepper, red pepper, bell peppers, sweet peppers and crushed peppers."
"...What's the sauce?"
"Lava."
"You're gonna kill someone with this!!!"
"You've eaten this!"
"And nearly died!!! ...Never mind! How much do you want we to add?"
"All of it."
"WHAT?! I cant!!!"
"Why not?"
"The snow bunny will melt from 10 miles away with this!"
"Just put it in the pot!!!"
"...Fine..."


In Shadow's Domain:
"There it is!"
"Where? I have frostbite on my eyeballs..."
"Don’t worry, Kalila... I got it."
"Thanks."
"No problem."

They met up back at Maliko's house.
"Got the soup?"
"Yeah. Got the bunny?"
"Uh huh. ACHOO!!!!!"
"O_o Bless you, Kalila..."
"Thanks."
"You know, I heard that only a meant-to-be couple can make it."
"That's crap, Ski."
"Yeah, It's only a rumor...I guess..."
"What's wrong...?"
"I always liked the idea that when I get married, the first thing me and my wife will make is a couple's cake to prove we were meant to be..."
He poured the soup into the bowl.
"That's stupid! You're such a sissy!"
She threw the Snow Bunny into the bowl. There was a blinding light that forced everyone to close their eyes. When they opened it, there was the cake. 2 layers, decorated in mouth watering blue frosting and cherry red icing roses formed in the shape of a huge heart on the top and tiny hearts on the sides.
"Did we....just..."
"....make...a Couple's...cake...?"
"Awwwww!!!!!! Ski and Maliko are meant to be!!!!!!"
"SHUT UP RIGHT NOW!!!!!! IT WAS JUST A RUMOR! JUST A STUPID RUMOR!!!!! STUPIDSTUPIDSTUPID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"...Then why are you spazzing out, Maliko?"
".......Um...I...."
She turned and ran out the door. Ski stood with his back turned, face bright red.
"Ski...Are you okay?"
"!!!!!! Yeah! We have to bring this cake, right?"
"Just a slice..."
"Okay..."
Ski cut the cake and walked out.
"You don’t think......um....they..."
"Nah."
"Yeah, you're right. That's stupid. Let's go."
"Okay."

Back at the stadium:
Kalila ran over to her patient on the operating table. It was a little boy.
"Owwwww..."
"Hey..."
"Huh?"
"Do you like cake?"
"Y-yeah..."
"Okay, that’s good. Eat this."
She handed him a small bite size piece.
"Um...Alright..."
He ate it and smiled.
"Wow... This is good... If I wasn’t going to die, I'd ask for the recipe."
"You wont. Just keep eating."
"...Okay..."
Bite after bite, the boy ate and ate...and the swelling seemed to slowly...stop.
"HEY!!!!"
"What, kid?"
"He's healed!!!! I'm done!!!"
"OxO What?!"
"Come look!"
Sure enough, the boy was fine.
"....Team Crimson.......wins..."
"Thank you so much~!!!"
"Whets your name?"
"Lucas."
"....Well, Lucas... You're welcome..."
The boy ran towards the audience and grabbed a woman that was running to catch the boy.
"Mommy!!!"
"Lucas!!! Oh my god... You're okay..."
Maliko walked up to Kalila and put a hand on her shoulder.
"We...just helped...a human..."
"Ha-ha... Well, I sure your pride isn’t all dead yet..."
"Says you..."
"Look over there. Look how happy he is!" She pointed towards Lucas as he took off his baseball cap to reveal...
"He has..."
"...wolf ears???"
"But... I thought..."
"...I was the only wolf demon..."
"What about Disen?"
"He's an orphan..."
"...ISNT he?"

TO BE CONTINUED...AND REVISED. I PROMISE!!!