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trashjuicesmidrewrite · 2 months ago

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Episode 7 :3c (MID Rewrite)

HEYY so QUICK WARNING: this episode contains the struggles of a trans character, as well as some descriptions of blood and gore. It’s not explicit but I thought I should warn about that in case anyone was uncomfortable about that type of stuff. If you are, in the next episode I’ll put a summary of this one in the beginning message. If you’re okay with this theming, I hope you enjoy!

Episode 7: The Things I Don’t Tell You

Ava slowly opened her eyes and was met with pure darkness.

She quickly sat up and scanned her surroundings. In the void were five doors each of varying shades of grey.

Did I take something? She thought while standing up to walk towards the middle door.

Up close, the middle door had scratches and places where it was burned. In the corners was writing that not even a kindergarten teacher could decipher. Ava could still tell it was written with some sort of distress.

It was also the darkest grey out of all the doors. She didn’t know what that meant, but she knew she didn’t wanna go through it.

She put her hand on the door and took it away with a hiss. It was scolding hot, but she could tell it wasn’t like that when she was farther away. It was like it didn’t want her to be near it.

She walked to the right of it and scanned the next door.

She didn’t have to touch it this time to know it was extremely cold. It was a pretty mid grey, but she couldn’t really know that because of the layers of paint on the door. There were so many layers you could barely even grab onto the handle.

Ava didn’t wanna get frustrated trying to open it, so she skipped to the next and last door on the right.

It was a fossil grey, and it looked newly repaired without any signs of damage on it. She felt comfortable enough to touch, but recoiled in surprise.

It was extremely wet, not with paint, but with water.

She smelt her hand to find that the water was salty. It wasn’t sea water or sweat. It was tears. It’s like the door was made of it and it was melting.

Ava wanted to check the other doors to choose which one to go through, but her choice was rushed by a piercing beep.

She panicked and went to quickly open the door and slam it behind her.

Ava studied the room. It was a long navy blue hallway. As much as she didn’t want to, there was no other choice but to see what was at the end of it.

She hesitantly walked through the corridor. The further she walked the more she could hear mumbling seemingly from the corner.

Suddenly, two stark tall shadows emerged. It scared the hell out of Ava and she covered her mouth and crouched into a darker part of the hall.

She couldn’t tell what they were talking about, but she could tell it was something important to them.

“Perhaps she’s confused.” Said the slightly taller shadow. “You’ve told her the countless stories of females succeeding in this kingdom haven’t you?”

“Of course I have!” Snapped the other shadow. “But this is something other than confusion, it’s insanity. She should know better than anyone she doesn’t have to be become something she isn’t and will never be to be stronger. It disgusts me, the women around her, and every other woman who’s sacrificed their life so she could have a roof over her head and clothes on her back!”

Ava had no idea who or what they were talking about, but it was clearly none of her business.

She turned to where the door was but it disappeared. It was replaced by some kid. It was lying in some fetal position with its body in an uneven rise and fall motion.

Ava guessed the kid was crying and while she felt bad, she didn’t want to try and comfort it. She was terrible with kids.

Unfortunately it wasn’t her choice, as the kid sat up and looked directly at Ava.

“How?” It said, its eyes widening.

“Uhhh” was all Ava could say before the floor under her feet crumbled and she fell through.

Ava woke up with a gasp startling the Daemons around her.

“Queen Ava, glad you’re awake. Thought you died or something.” Said Asch as he held out a hand to help her up.

Ava grabbed it and wobbled a bit while standing up. She almost fell back down before Asch caught her.

“My bad,” she stamped her feet on the ground to keep her balance, “I had the weirdest dream, there was-“

“What was it about? Tell me.” Said Pierce, laying down on the floor.

Ava jumped a bit to see not only Pierce but every other Daemon guy on the floor. She guessed they were sleeping and Asch woke up first.

“Uh I was gonna…” said Ava kinda unnerved by Pierce’s response.

“What? Tell me. Right now.” Demanded Pierce getting up and getting right in Ava’s face.

“Pierce! Back up from Ava.” Ordered Asch. “You’re freaking me out…”

Pierce stared at Asch before backing up and bowing to Ava as an apology.

Asch cleared his throat to rid of the silence that fell in the room, “Would you like show us around?” He said while presenting the place to Ava like he was a salesman.

“I mean this room is new to me too. So like it’s more exploring with you guys.” She said while absentmindedly walking up the stairs.

The five men were quick to follow her. They didn’t want to admit it, but they were about as excited as her to find out more about this place. They hadn’t known human royalty could have their own palaces.

Ava looked at the six doors at the top of the staircase. They gave her a weird feeling because of that dream, but it might’ve been nerves.

She walked to the left to see what else this place had in store.

The hallway leading to the next room was boringly empty. Its walls and floor were a light gold with lavender banners and carpet adorning each respectively.

At the end of it, Ava saw the most beautiful thing she’d ever had the pleasure of witnessing.

In the room was a huge swimming pool, with a small jacuzzi at the end of it. It had to be about as big as an Olympic one.

The water was a weird color, with it being a weird dark blue-ish purple color. It mesmerized Ava while she walked towards it.

She crouched near the edge and wanted to drown in the water to soak up all its beauty. She could tell the Daemons caught up with her hearing them whisper insults at each other.

Despite refusing to look back, she could tell Pierce was staring at her. Ava had no idea what stick got stuck in his ass, but she could tell it made him really irritated at her. She didn’t really wanna talk about whatever it was though.

“After you passed out, I explored the place a bit before I went to sleep.” Said Asch choosing to sit beside Ava, dipping his legs into the water.

“This isn’t as good as my place as far as palaces go, but…” He looked into the water seemingly becoming hypnotized by it, “Damn this place is nice.”

Ava couldn’t help but take off her socks and house shoes to get her legs in the water.

“How is this here?” She asked, it was more of a question for herself than for Asch.

“Honestly I have no idea. I knew E-urth had enough magic to do a lot of stuff, but not enough to hide a whole section of a palace in such a puny building.” Asch answered, still looking at the water.

“Did…did you just say E-urth?” Questioned Ava trying to hold back a laugh.

“Yeah, how else would you pronounce it?” Said Asch slightly raising his tone.

“It’s…haha! It’s pronounced earth!” Hollered Ava.

Ava shrieked with laughter, kicking the water and splashing Asch in the process.

“Sh-Shut the hell up! It’s weird to say it like that anyways it’s not like how it’s spelt!” Said Asch, his face getting increasingly more red.

“No! It’s not! But you pronouncing it like that is kinda cute!” Giggled Ava not thinking.

Asch’s face got warmer, “H-Huh?” he spluttered as Ava continued laughing.

“Who the hell are you c-calling cute!? I’ve demanded you respect me, and I haven’t seen a speck of it!” Fumed Asch.

“Aw…I’m Asch…and I’m so important ‘cause I’m a prince! Haha! Me and my pretty big muscles are threatened by gettin’ called cute!” Mocked Ava while flexing her arms to pretend to have muscles.

Asch could do nothing but hide his face and walk to the entrance of the pool, “Damn it! I’m going!” He yelled while already halfway to the other hallway.

“U-Uhm, my prince! Wait a second!” Said Rhys trying to catch up with the hothead.

“Asch, I need to laugh at ya! How d’you let a girl do that to you!” Laughed Leif while running after Asch.

“Wait a minute! Listen can we please not fight in this place?” Begged Noi trying to calm down tensions.

Ava was pretty proud of herself for getting most of those guys out. Of course with her luck, the only one that didn’t leave was Pierce.

He went to crouch beside Ava, but instead of looking at the water, he stared right at her.

“In your dream, what did you see?” He asked, with a tone softer than what he used before.

Ava was slightly surprised by the change, but she didn’t wanna keep not telling him.

“There were some doors…I went through one of them and heard two people arguing, and I saw a kid. That’s all.” She finally told him.

Pierce was silent for a moment, still looking straight at Ava. He slouched more while crouching, with a somber look in his eyes.

“I…had that same dream.” He finally said.

There was a silence between the two, but neither knew what to say. Ava could tell Pierce was hiding something.

“Do you know what that dream was about? I mean I sure as hell don’t.” She said with no response from Pierce

Until, “That dream, it’s more of a nightmare for me. Back when I was a daughter.” He said his voice threatening to crack.

“Daughter? What? What are you-“ Ava stopped herself, finally connecting the dots.

“That nightmare I…” Pierce paused turning to look into the water, “I didn’t want you to see it, or anyone for that matter.”

Pierce then grabbed Ava and got close to her face, “Promise me to not tell anyone of this. Especially Asch. I’m afraid.”

Ava was scared of the sudden touch, but she couldn’t just say no and then run away. That’d also just make her a big asshole.

“Don’t worry Pierce, I won’t tell a soul.” She said while pretending to zip her lips.

“Thank you Queen Ava. You truly are a saint.” He stood up and bowed before walking away to join the others.

Ava laid down with her legs still in the water. The slow motion of the water rising and falling massaging her legs made it hard for her to stay awake.

“I’m gonna…close my eyes…” she told herself, but eventually she fell fast asleep.

“Th-That asshole! Making fun of me…i-if we were still on Daemos do you wanna know what’d happened to her!?” Ranted Asch as he stomped through the empty hall.

“She’d be up to your mercy my prince.” Stated Rhys.

Asch stopped and turned to look at Rhys with an annoyed look, “That was rhetorical.”, he said as he turned back to continue ranting about Ava.

Rhys continued to follow Asch now wondering what in Asch’s tone could tell him that was a rhetorical question. He couldn’t tell if him not catching it was his fault or Asch’s. Asch also looked mad, what if he’ll never ask him rhetorical questions again? What if he won’t act sarcastic in general with him again?

Rhys’ mind spiraled into a never ending train of thought of all the possible ways Asch could have taken that interaction. He stopped walking to put all his energy on thinking, and the Daemon behind him, Leif, bumped right into him.

Both Daemons fell over, as Leif was running to catch up with Asch. Leif landed on top of Rhys who landed laying on his stomach, knocking all the air out of him.

“The fuck man?!” Yelled Leif, “Why’d you stop?!”

“Would you get off of me first you lunatic! Watch where you’re going too!” Heaved Rhys trying to catch his breath.

Leif obliged and moved beside Rhys, as the purple Daemon rolled over brushed any dust off his clothes.

“Psh, stop being dramatic. You’re brushin’ away nothin’.” Snarked Leif.

Rhys glanced at Leif with furrowed brows before standing up and speed walking to catch up with Asch.

Leif got up on his feet as Pierce and Noi finally caught up with him.

“Why can’t some of us get along…” lamented Noi while trying to catch his breath.

“What are ya? A Mir Soldier or some shit? Haha!” Insulted Leif while running to wherever the hallway took him.

“Leif is so mean! Don’t you think Pierce?” Said Noi while watching Leif run through the hallway.

“You are very tiny and weak. Just like a Mir soldier. So he’s not wrong.” Noted Pierce while walking past him.

Noi mumbled to himself as he walked with Pierce.

“I’m serious! Like…if our goal is for one of us to marry Ava so we can get control of Earth, then we can’t be A-holes to each other.” Noi crossed his arms to emphasize his point.

“First, just cuss. Second, naturally if we’re fighting for the same woman, that will pit us against each other.” Explained Pierce.

The two walked together in silence. Noi felt as if he should say something. As if there was a way he could refute that there wasn’t a way all of them could work together.

“I mean…” Noi started, “what’s the point even? She doesn’t seem interested in any of us anyways.”

“Noi it’s not complicated. That interaction she had with Asch, that can turn into something.” Said Pierce with a harsh tone.

He quickly stepped in front of Noi, startling the smaller man. He kneeled down to meet the ginger at face level.

“I don’t know how seriously the others are taking this, but I do know how I’m taking it. Being able to marry Queen Ava and take spot as king would allow me to do something important to me. Asch is ahead of all of us right now, he may not know that now, but he’ll surely know later. Now I’d rather not talk to you for the rest of the day if that’s good with you.”

Pierce looked the smaller in his eyes for a few long moments until he straightened up and continued to walk to the other room.

Noi was surprised by the sudden speech by Pierce. He hadn’t really heard him speak much the whole time they were there. Still, Noi’s eyes started to sparkle out of admiration for Pierce.

Noi was even more shocked when Pierce started limping and fell to the ground. The ginger ran to Pierce and knelt down to see what happened.

“P-Pierce! Are you okay?” He stammered slightly shaking the taller man.

“I feel so tired…Noi this isn’t normal…” Pierce said lethargically, falling in and out of consciousness for a few moments.

Noi quickly stood up, “This is probably a side effect from being on E-ur- uh, Earth!” He declared. “I’ll get Queen Ava! She’ll know what to do!”

“Don’t yell…” said Pierce groggily as Noi sprinted to the pool room.

“I’m back to the fucking doors again! Dammit!” Screamed Ava while kicking the middle door, “Ow! Shit!” She grabbed her toe to soothe it from the pain.

For what felt like hours, Ava has been wondering the dream void trying to find a way to get out.

She’s banged her head on each of the doors, she’s left her hand on the burning middle door, she’s just wondered through the black void. No matter what, she either didn’t wake up, or was right back at the five doors.

Ava couldn’t tell whether it’s been seconds, hours, or even days. Tired, she put her back to the first door in the line and slumped down.

When she first got here she took the chance to scan the other two doors

The door Ava was slumped on had a smokey grey color and looked to be made out of clay. It had an almost hand-made feel to it, and she could put her hand through it.

Whenever she did, it’d feel like she could feel a cool breeze on her hand. She didn’t dare put her whole body through it, but the door almost wanted her to. It felt as if it wanted her to learn its secrets. Like some sort of cry out for help.

Still, she resisted that urge when she went to look at the door next to it.

It was like a pewter grey, and it smelled of something. Whatever that something was, Ava wanted to drown in it. Instead of her going through the door, she almost got inside it. Like it was consuming her, so she panicked and quickly dashed away from it.

So now here she was. Sitting in this black void with absolutely no way out. She didn’t want to, but she felt like the only way out was to go through one of these doors.

She got up and walked to the door that led her to the dream she had earlier. It had to be about Pierce.

The last thing she wanted was to break Pierce’s privacy, especially since she didn’t want to be in it in the first place. She had to get out of here though, and this was the only way.

She reluctantly grabbed the handle to open the door. The slow creaking of it was about the most obnoxious thing she’s ever heard.

Ava pressed on despite it, and ventured into the hallway ahead.

The same thing had happened as before, or at least the two figures had the same conversation. This time though, instead of the kid being near the door way, it was Pierce.

He practically sprinted towards Ava without even breaking a sweat and knelt down at her level.

He silently scanned her face, but his eyes went on wildly. Ava felt her body getting warmer by the second.

Pierce’s face was interesting this close. His eyes were a striking teal, and it’s honestly amazing she didn’t notice them till now. His nose had such a defining shape, not like “eugh”, but more of a “ooo”. At least that was Ava’s thought process.

He also had scars. One crossing the bridge of his nose, and the other going from his eyebrow to his jawline on his left eye.

Without thinking, Ava reached out to touch Pierce’s face. In those few seconds, Ava wondered all the possibilities of what Pierce’s face would feel like.

Pierce quickly snapped her out of her fantasy, grabbing her hand and squeezing it a bit too hard.

“Why?” He simply said. “Why did you come back here? How? Queen Ava I don’t…”

Ava could tell Pierce was distressed. She hated seeing people like this, and as much as she didn’t want to care. She could feel herself needing to.

“Pierce I- man- I don’t know either. Right now I think I’m dreaming, and it doesn’t end until I do this or something.” Ava rambled.

She then remembered what happened earlier “Pierce?” She said “You got me out of here last time…how did you do that?”

Pierce seemed to ignore Ava’s question, looking past her and into the hallway.

“Mom…” he whispered to himself.

He walked past Ava to go deeper into the hallway. Even while a bit mad she was ignored, Ava still followed Pierce.

Turning the corner where the figures appeared they started to hear other things. They seemed to be about different things, not all bad, but they were definitely not all good.

“If only you’d listen to me! She’s obviously not mature enough to be a warrior. Make her a servant. It’s the job she deserves.”

“I’m doing the best for you! For us! Don’t you get that?”

“If you’d stop all this nonsense maybe I’ll treat you with respect! Until then your cleaning floors, washing dishes, tending to farms…”

“Where are you going? No…please! Don’t do this to me! Come back to me Penelope!”

Ava started to feel awful. She hated to see how tense Pierce was, how he’d flinch every time the voice came back, how the air would get thick around them every time the voice uttered “Penelope”.

“I’m sorry Queen Ava. I can’t do this.” Pierce said, his voice shaky. “I don’t know why you won’t wake up, but it’s affecting me I don’t want to relive this.” It sounded as if he was going to cry.

He slumped down on the floor, letting only a few tears shed. The tip of his horns started to fade in color becoming a pitiful light blue.

Ava tried to calm Pierce down, “H-Hey this seems like it’s just childhood stuff right? Doesn’t it get better as you grow up?”

Pierce answered with a slight nod. Ava then got an idea that could get themselves out of there.

“What if we just run through here? We don’t hear anything and we get to adult life easier!” She exclaimed in hopes it would make Pierce feel a bit better.

Pierce turned his head slightly to look at Ava. “I can’t. There’s something up ahead. I know there is.”

“We’ll fight it then, together.”

Pierce widened his eyes at Ava, surprised by her response. He then did a slight smile and stood up.

“You’re not lying, right?”

Ava took a few seconds to respond. “No.” She finally said “Not this time.”

Pierce’s horns gained back a bit of their color, but not fully. Ava couldn’t complain though.

Pierce grabbed Ava’s hand with the same force as he did before, but this time she knew it wasn’t with anger.

“On three, alright?” Both Ava and Pierce readied themselves.

“One…two…”

“Get back here!” A voice shrieked, startling the both of them.

A woman appeared around the corner sprinting towards them.

Her hair was a long tangled mess, and her eyes were tired but determined. She was glowing a bright teal, bright enough for someone in a plane to see her

“Sh-Shit! Three! C’mon Pierce, let’s get outta here!” Yelled Ava while dragging Pierce subtly begging him to move.

Pierce stayed still for only a moment before taking off with Ava. Around them were screams of the same voice that was chasing them.

There was rarely another voice, and that made Ava’s heart ache. Still they continued through the hall ignoring every word that plagued their senses. All up until…

There was a dead end.

“No…no!” Screamed Pierce. “I can’t! Damn it!” He banged against the navy blue wall.

“Pierce! Calm down! Okay? Look at me will ya?” Begged Ava while trying to grab his attention away from the wall.

Pierce turned to Ava while trying to calm himself down.

“Th-There! See? We’re still a good bit ahead of that thing so-“

Ava was cut off by being suddenly kicked in the side by the blue woman.

Pierce was stunned as he watched Ava slam against the wall, creating a huge hole in it. She collapsed to the ground looking unconscious frightening Pierce a bit.

He snapped himself out of his daze and formed his axe out of his hands.

“Penelope…c’mon my sweet baby…” The blue figure pleaded.

Pierce stood there in his battle stance waiting to strike at the woman.

“I want to…” Pierce shook his head, “I…I don’t want to hurt you mother, but I…”

The figure leaped to swing at Pierce, yet he used the belly of his axe to block the attack.

“So you want to be like this? Alright. Fight me then! Fight me and the army of Tohe!” Dared the figure.

Pierce took a step back, putting his back against the wall. This moment, he can’t remember it. He can’t remember what happened. He knows the aftermath, but it seems when anyone says what he did he just blocked it out.

The clanking of armored footsteps interrupted Pierce’s thinking.

“So you’re the general of Tohe’s army? Kaliska, am I right?” The voice said. “Such a pleasure!”

When Pierce looked beside him he saw a fully armored figure. Its helmet adorned with the crescent of Noimosýni. Its body was covered with a light green cloak, having the symbol of the royalty.

This could be no other person than the king of Noimosýni. Arie.

“The blockhead here’s your kid right? Stand down. I’ll take care of him.” Jeered the king.

“She’s coming back with us.” Kaliska took out her blade.

“A general with bad eyes and bad ears? Tch, clearly he deserves a better general.” Quipped Arie.

The king reached his hand out towards Pierce. His movement made a clanky metal sound. “Come now.” He said, “let me introduce you to your new kingdom.”

Before Pierce instinctively took his hand, an arrow was shot between them that Arie masterfully dodged.

“Over my dead body.” Said Kaliska looking dead at Arie.

“Oh, we could get that arranged!”

Arie reached his hand out toward the past woman and it miraculously turned into a machine gun. It was unlike Pierce had seen before, the more and more he relived this memory the more he forgot about everything around him.

“You’re not stupid.” Said Kaliska. “If you kill me, Wai would wage war.”

“She’d kill you too if she knew you brought out a whole section of the army right under her nose though, right?” Sneered the armored royalty.

Kaliska took a step back, hesitance plastered onto her face. A few of the soldiers behind her looked uncertain still ready to fight.

“Aw…the poor little coyote is scared…” babied Arie. “It’ll be even funnier if I got this kid’s actual new leader here.”

“You don’t mean him do you?” Asked Kaliska with her pride now dwindling into fear.

Pierce switched his gaze between Arie and his mother. Slowly, he started to remember.

He started to remember how conflicted he was in this moment. How scared he was of King Arie. How even the slightest mention of Yakedo would make the air around him go cold.

He never knew who Yakedo was at the time. He’s always heard stories, but other than that he was another ruler to him. Now more than ever, he wanted to meet him. Only if it’s just to get a glimpse of a better life.

“Who else would I mean?” Said Arie readying his gun just in case Kaliska decided to move.

“Y-You can’t…I’ll call it off just don’t-“

“Too late I’m afraid.”

Everyone stopped their movement. Their breathing, their fidgeting, and if they could, their heart beating.

The sound of Yakedo’s footsteps rang in everyone’s ears, only giving them a taste of his fury.

Pierce looked at him through the corner of his eye. Yakedo looked odd. His facial features and outing fit were the same, with it being shoulder armor with a red fur cape that was floor length. He also had a black sleeveless, tight, shirt with dark red pants.

It was something about the space around him. He was glowing almost, unnaturally glowing. Almost like a savior.

“This is the boy, correct?” Asked Yakedo with a slight growl under his voice.

Arie nodded excitedly, the clank and screeching of his armor making the Chikarian king cringe. “My gods Yakedo! Have you seen him fight?” He exclaimed. “Better than your general I bet!”

“Hmph, and not better than yours?” Yakedo bantered with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh gods, no. Smartest of the land, I’m afraid.” Chortled Arie sounding playfully appalled.

Yakedo elbowed Arie in the arm, somehow damaging him through the armor. He walked beside Pierce and put his arm around him.

“This young man here clearly doesn’t deserve you. Drop your weapons and we’ll walk away. Don’t and everyone that’s on your side will perish.” Stated Yakedo, his eyes piercing through Kaliska.

Kaliska scoffed, “That is my daughter and she will not be going with you! She is to stay here to be under my care so she can be a successful general in my place.”

“Very well then.” Said Yakedo. “Pierce is it? I’m going to teach you something alright?”

Pierce could do nothing but nod. He knows what’s coming and his heart started to beat faster. He didn’t want to go through with this. Not again.

“That feeling deep inside you…you’d describe it as anger right?” Said Yakedo. “Use it.”

Pierce got that same feeling he felt all those years ago. Empowerment. Someone that believed him. Saw him for who he was, but it came at a cost.

He could feel every bottled up feeling he’s ever had charging up his body like it had before.

“P-Penelope…baby, calm down! Th-there’s no need f-for violence at this moment!” Pleaded Kaliska signaling for the army to be ready to defend.

“Kaliska, you’ve missed your chance for any peace.” Scolded Yakedo. “I’m afraid you should prepare your people for a quick battle.”

Pierce could feel himself losing grip on reality. The anger built up over so many years was starting to take control, and he didn’t know how to handle it. He never knew how, and it’s too dangerous to ever learn.

“…Yo…Pierce.” Croaked a voice that sounded like Ava. Although, Pierce couldn’t tell.

“I’m feeling alright…hey, that things still there. Are you guys talkin’ or something?” Questioned the voice.

Pierce was starting to let go of the last threads of consciousness he had left. “I’m so sorry, but there’s no way I can control this anymore.”

Pierce fully let go, and that sprung his body into throwing up his axe and catching it with one hand on the knob and the other on the throat.

He whirled his body around catching insane amounts of momentum. He then let go, throwing it towards the army of Tohe men and women.

His mother had dodged it, but some of the soldiers behind weren’t so lucky. The axe went cleanly through those who didn’t dodge and came back to Pierce like a boomerang.

He caught it gripping one hand on the throat and the other on the belly of the axe. His anger looked at his mother’s soul, almost daring her to make another move.

“Fine! Penelope, I love you, but I’ve had enough! Men and women of Tohe! attack!”

It was all a blur. All Ava or Pierce could see was the deep purple blood that started to flood the area. It was disgusting, it was crude, but to Pierce’s fury, it was the best tool for his own violent creativity.

Ava and Pierce’s unconscious bodies lay in the middle of the four confused Daemons.

They had carried Ava’s limp body to the place Pierce passed out. Even with all of them pitching in, there was no way they could carry or even drag Pierce far.

“I just don’t get it…” said Asch looking puzzled. “First he’s acting weird towards her, and now this.”

“Perhaps we should ask Lady Grandma? She might know what to do.” Said Rhys fidgeting with his hands.

Asch groaned into his hands. “Do I gotta?”

“Stop bein’ a baby.” Said Leif juggling his daggers. “As soon as she remembers she’ll be back to her old proper self.”

Rhys’ eyes lit up, “Leif that’s…the smartest thing I’ve heard you say!”

“Oh shut up would ya!?” Leif snarled.

Three of the Daemons went to grab Lady Grandma. Noi was left with Pierce and Ava just in case they woke up.

They walked through the mess that was the living room and stood at the door.

“Asch, the hell’s the hold up?” Said Leif as he formed his daggers back into his hands.

Asch turned to look at the other two Daemons “I uh…I don’t really wanna do this.” He admitted.

“Let’s do it already! You’re acting like a kid! Rhys, tell him he’s acting like a kid!” Exasperated Leif.

“Rhys, don’t listen to him. You should listen to me and tell him he doesn’t know shit about what this means to me!” Huffed Asch.

The two continued to argue with each other, and kept telling Rhys to say things. Rhys this, Rhys that, “Rhys don’t say that say this!” It got on his nerves.

“Would the both of you shut up?!” He screamed, his voice cracking wildly as it’s not used to straining itself.

Rhys’ face grew warm because of it. He expected Leif or Asch to comment on it, but they were both silently waiting on him to say something else.

“Th-The both of you are acting like children.” He said his voice softer. “We aren’t even doing this to spend time with Lady Grandma or anything, we’re doing this to help Pierce and Ava.”

Asch and Leif both looked at each other and nodded.

“The scholars right…let’s get this over and done with…” groaned Leif while he opened the door.

“You are so unbelievable!” Fumed Mrs. Oats trying to grab Lady Grandma.

Ever since the old feline woke up it’s been nothing but chaos. Mrs. Oats was already thinking of dropping her off in a ditch somewhere.

Lady Grandma had started her day off with eating almost all of the canned tuna in Mrs. Oats’ fridge. She only left a few because the old woman caught her before she could stuff her mouth with them.

She then messed with the adult cat for a bit until it practically despised her, and it chased her all throughout the apartment.

Mrs. Oats temporarily defended the purple fuzzball from the cat, but Lady Grandma had taken that chance to grab the last few cans of tuna.

Now Mrs. Oats has been chasing her around the whole kitchen area for those cans.

“Felicity needs to eat you hag!” Yelled Mrs. Oats cornering the cat.

“Well I’m tryna eat! It’s not my fault you have nothin’ but trash cat food!” Lady Grandma yelled back.

Just then, they heard a knock at the door.

“Look at what ya did!” Complained Mrs. Oats. “Ya got me a noise complaint!”

Mrs. Oats angrily went to open the door and saw the three Daemons. She was surprised by the encounter, but immediately changed her mood to be happier.

“I didn’t expect you all to be here!” She said cheerfully. “Come in, come in!”

Before any of the men could attest to the offer she dragged them all in.

She moved like clockwork, swiftly picking up Lady Grandma and slamming her shut in the pantry. The feline didn’t even have any time to protest.

The older lady then grabbed a jug of sweet tea and poured three cups of it. She pushed all three of the men onto her couch and placed a cup in front of them. She sat opposite of them and looked as cheery as she could.

“How’ve you all been? Treating Ava well I hope!” Said Mrs. Oats.

“W-Well Lady Oats…we actually were here to talk to Lady Grandma.” Hesitated Asch.

The smile on Mrs. Oats face immediately disappeared. “Fine…” she said while getting up to walk to the pantry.

While they were waiting, Rhys took the time to study the liquid of the cup. He smelled it and recoiled a bit surprised by the sweet smell. Against his better judgement, he took a sip, and he immediately fell in love with it.

He chugged down his cup in one gulp.

“Leif if you don’t mind me asking, could I have your drink if you don’t want it?” Asked Rhys.

“Go crazy man.” Said Leif sounding disinterested.

Rhys swiped Leif’s cup and drank it all in one go. “My gods…this is delicious…” he whispered to himself.

Asch wanted to drink his cup to see what Rhys was talking about, but he didn’t think he could stomach it. Lady Grandma’s whole appearance, even her voice made his stomach suck in itself.

The mere thought that his grandma died and is now acting like this? He didn’t want to be anywhere near her, but he didn’t have a choice. She’s all knowing and throwing her assistance away would basically be certain death.

“I knew y’all would need my help!” Exclaimed the feline heading towards the table.

Lady Grandma did an extraordinary flip landing on her hind legs and did a pose. She waited for some type of applause, but was met with complete silence.

“Tough crowd…” she sat down and crossed her legs. “What do ya need me for?”

It took a few seconds for any of the Daemons to respond until Leif eventually piped up.

“Pierce and Ava are kinda…unconscious? They’re not wakin’ up and we have no idea what to do.” He explained.

Mrs. Oats started to grow a look of horror, but Lady Grandma’s face looked puzzled.

“Hm…sleeping beauty thing huh?” She stood up and scurried to the door. “Lemme analyze the situation and all will be fine.”

Mrs. Oats shook her head to get her mind clear enough to stop the men from getting up.

“Hold on! What do you mean unconscious?” She asked trying her best to stop them from getting to the door.

Rhys glared at Leif for a bit before turning his attention to Lady Grandma. “It could’ve been more clear, but basically they are asleep and won’t wake up.”

Mrs. Oats looked between the three Daemons confused. None of them knew how else they could explain the situation.

“I’m putting my foot down! Tell me all what happened. In detail. Beginning to end.” She said sternly.

The Daemons were surprised by the sudden outburst and stood there dumbfounded for a few seconds.

Mrs. Oats calmed down. “Listen…Ava is like a granddaughter to me. If she’s overexerting herself or…and I don’t mean to accuse…you’ve done something to her…I don’t think I could live with myself knowing that I could’ve made a difference.”

The three Daemons looked at each other for a bit. Without saying a word they all said to one another the same thing.

We don’t have time for this.

Asch walked ahead of the others and bowed before Mrs. Oats.

“Lady Oats, I’m aware you care about Queen Ava, but we need to get back to her and Pierce. The more we sit around here talking about the issue, the more serious it gets. Please get out of our way.”

Mrs. Oats furrowed her brows. “I’m not letting you do a damn thing!” She fumed.

Asch and the other two Daemons were getting a bit tired of this, but they couldn’t put their hands on her. Not only would that disrupt the peace they have with Ava, it’d also just be a hassle.

They all collectively groaned with annoyance trying other ways to get the old lady to move. None of them truly working just yet.

Dark purple blood splayed on the floors and walls of the navy blue hallway. Horror encompassing Ava’s very being.

She had just watched Pierce rip and tear through hundreds of people. Her eyes watched his as he took heavy breaths from the fight.

She opened her mouth to say something, but only gasps dared to come out. Pierce’s gaze stared down Ava almost threatening her to not make another sound.

He stepped closer toward her, making Ava let out a quiet squeal. He continued to walk and she could hear the squelching that came from the teared flesh beneath him.

Pierce got closer to Ava and crouched down to meet her eyes. They were face to face now, and Ava’s heart was beating as fast as it could. This time it wasn’t out of nervousness or unchecked feelings, but instead it was fear. Pure fear. Something that no other experience could make her feel.

“Ava.” Said Pierce, his voice dead.

There was nothing else. Simply just her name, but it made her heart sink.

“Ava…don’t…” he reached out to touch Ava’s face, but she backed away.

Pierce looked hurt by this, yet the blood on his face made him look sinister. He tried to touch her face again keeping the same look. Once he finally succeeded, Ava flinched, but let him cup her face with his hand.

“Are you scared?” He asked simply, but Ava still couldn’t bring herself to move.

Pierce brought his other hand to the small of his back and embraced her. He held on to her tightly, so tight she could barely breathe. It’s almost like he knew this with him loosening his grip for her to get a breath in, and then tightening it back up again. Almost as if he didn’t want her to be able to run away.

“You’re so small. You’re trembling. Tell me, do you see me in a different light now?” Pierce questioned still holding Ava like if he let go she’d float away.

Tears of fear burned her eyes, and nothing but gasps and sobs escaped her until a simple “I don’t know.” Finally let loose.

“Ah, we barely know each other. I wish I knew you as much as you know me now.”

A wave of guilt took over Ava as tears started to fall down her face. She had fully invaded Pierce’s privacy, made him relive terrible things, and made him like this.

She had to get out of this. There’s a way and she’s willing to find it.

While she started to think of a way out Pierce whispered a subtle “I love you Queen Ava.”

He held on to Ava even tighter now, almost cracking her spine.

“No you don’t…” she whimpered. “You’d…I don’t know…be less this…”

Pierce loosened his grip on Ava and stopped hugging to look at her.

His face was a mix of shock and guilt. Ava couldn’t tell though, her vision was spotty.

As she regained some energy she looked at Pierce the sternest look she could muster up. “Like you said, you barely know me. I’m not…” she thought a bit before saying “I’m not saying I can’t love you. I’m saying you have to know me better.”

Pierce’s longing gaze turned into a ferocious snarl. “You don’t know that…I need you Queen Ava!” He yelled.

Ava quickly kicked Pierce square in the jaw and got up to sprint down the hallway. She ran as fast as she could, hearing Pierce’s booming footsteps behind. Never did she dare to look behind her or slow down. She just kept running.

She turned the corner and saw that the door had returned. With the little stamina she had left, she sped up to get to the door for enough time to open it.

As she fiddled with the handle she realized something horrible.

It was locked.

Ava shook her head as if it would unlock the door and she proceeded to bang and claw at the door. She could hear Pierce behind becoming angrier every second she isn’t near him.

She turned and saw that Pierce had turned the corner bolting towards her. If she couldn’t escape it, there may be a way to talk Pierce out of this.

“Pierce! Hold on!” Ava yelled holding up her hands. Pierce had only stopped inches away from her, but didn’t try to suffocate her again.

“We b-both know you don’t feel this way.” She stammered. “So why are you so adamant about this?”

Pierce looked at her for a few minutes before finally croaking “To prove to her…”

Ava cocked her head to the side and asked “T-To prove what to who?”

“To prove to Kaliska that I’m a man.” He said as the tips of his horns grew pale again.

Ava didn’t want to ask any more questions, but Pierce had thankfully answered her without saying a word.

“If I can be king…earn a title of that stature and still have it respect me…” Pierce trailed off for a bit before saying “she’ll see there’s no denying what I am, and she’ll love me again.”

Ava slowly put her hands down. “Well, you don’t need that Pierce. You’ve got family, a newfound family. You’re fine without being king.”

“You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about!” Pierce snapped. “I still want her approval despite of what she’s said. I can’t bring myself to forget about her because…until that day…she really did love me.”

They both stayed silent for a minute before Ava took a deep breath.

“I wish I could relate to you, and help you through this on a personal level but…I can’t. What I can do is say that no matter what it gets worse if you do nothing but remind yourself of it. I know this is kinda cheesy and probably shitty advice, but you should look at what you have and focus on what you don’t once you feel like yourself! K’?” Comforted Ava.

Pierce stared off in to space with deep thought in his eyes. A river of tears streamed down his face. His breath was slightly uneven, until he looked at Ava.

“Mmm…I’m sorry for the tears Queen Ava. Do you have a handkerchief?” He asked while suppressing his voice cracks.

Ava just smiled, “Nah man. Let’s go ahead and try to wake up first.” She reached out her hand, and Pierce took it.

Noi was pacing back and forth in the hallway. He was getting a bit jittery with Asch, Rhys, and Leif taking forever, as well as Pierce and Ava looking they won’t get up in the next hour.

He suddenly heard a herd of footsteps stomping towards her and he started to panic until he controlled his breathing and realized it’s probably the other guys.

He could see them speeding towards him. “Hey! It took you guys forever! Where’s Lady Grandma-“ he was suddenly pushed to the side.

“Outta the way pretty boy! You should probably start runnin’ too!” Yelled Leif while escaping to the other room.

Noi was very confused until he started to see what they were running from.

Mrs. Oats was chasing Lady Grandma with a cane looking furious.

“Hey! Ginger! You’re with them too right? Treat Ava with a little more care!” She yelled looking past Lady Grandma’s tiny cat stature.

“Noi, get your ass to runnin’! Where’s your survival instincts, huh!” Shouted Lady Grandma while rapidly approaching Noi.

The small Daemon was very conflicted. He could run to save his own skin, but he couldn’t just leave Pierce and Ava. Noi especially couldn’t leave Pierce. If the old lady was mad at all of them she’d probably trample on him a bit more.

He put Ava’s body over his shoulder and tried his best to drag Pierce. He could only go a few inches, but it was still progress.

“Oh you dumbass!” Badgered Lady Grandma. “You care too much! I’ll fight her off with ya! I can’t let you get your ass kicked by a old woman without any help…”

“Th-That’s a little rude isn’t it?” Noi protested, but he still got ready to fight.

Asch and the others started running back down the hallway, “Cats…CATS!” He yelled, “So many of them! And they’re all angry!”

Noi and Lady Grandma both looked behind them, and saw the army of cats chasing the three Daemons. Both of them started to have horrified looks.

“The hell was even in that room!?” Shrieked Lady Grandma.

Asch reached Noi and Lady Grandma before anyone else. “It…shit I didn’t breathe enough…it was just a dark ass room when me, Leif, and Rhys got in there. We thought it’d be a good place to hide from Lady Oats til we couldn’t hear nothing but cat screeching.”

Lady Grandma jumped up and smacked Asch across the face. He could hear Leif laughing his ass off behind him as he and Rhys got on either side of him.

“Sorry Asch, that was outta nerves.” Lady Grandma explained. “Listen what I’m gonna say is gonna be a bit inappropriate alright?”

Asch nodded slowly not really understanding how a bunch of cats could be sexual in any way.

“You’ve bed about 23 women, right?”

Asch did a double take and started stuttering wildly. His face becoming a deep red. He started looking between Leif and Rhys.

Leif was laughing harder than before, kneeling down holding his stomach. Tears rolled down his cheeks as his face got red.

Rhys looked awkward and had a tinge of disapproval in his face, keeping his mouth in a tight straight line. He quickly looked away from Asch deciding the wall is a more interesting thing.

“Oh would you two grow up?!” Chastised Lady Grandma. “Alright your father if I remember correctly bed about…50 women I wanna say?”

Asch started to sputter even more. This was the last thing he wanted to hear before getting mauled by cats.

Lady Grandma started scratching her chin. “I think I’ve done about…15 men? Could be a bit less, y’know I found your grandfather quickly.”

“MA!” Asch yelled slightly startling the purple feline. “Where the hell are you going with this? I don’t wanna hear about it!”

“Fine, I’ll get straight to the point then.” She climbed on Asch and rested on his shoulder while pointing at the cats before declaring “Those are all the reincarnated souls of all the men and women this family has made love with!”

Just as Leif started calming down he erupted into laughter again, kicking his legs. Asch didn’t even wanna glance at Rhys.

“How do you…wha-“

“I counted them all okay?! And I’m positive that’s all 300-something of ‘em! They kinda die of a broken heart when you don’t choose them.” Lady Grandma jumped off of Asch’s shoulder and got on her knees and bowed. “Now you better start apologizing!”

Lady Grandma then started saying a Daemon’s name followed by a “I’m deeply sorry for leading you on!”

A light shown from the crowd of felines and it quickly shot up into the air. Asch stood there dumbfounded before bowing the same way as Lady Grandma, but not saying anything.

“Asch! The hell are you doing?” Growled Lady Grandma before saying another Daemon’s name and apologizing.

“Uhm…I can’t…remember their names.” Reluctantly admitted Asch.

Lady Grandma glared at Asch with a hint of disappointment, but chuckled to herself. Eventually it turned into a full blown laugh. “We’re so doomed!”

Asch looked all around him and he felt like his head was swimming. Everything around him was starting to fall apart, but he couldn’t just take it like a wimp.

It was time to act like a prince.

“Ma! I need you to take a look at Pierce and Ava, and Noi, help her with whatever she needs.” Asch stood up and formed his sword. “Leif, we need to ward off all the cats. Rhys, hold off Lady Oats, try to get her unconscious. At this point she’s getting annoying.”

Everyone nodded in response to Asch’s orders. “Alright! Daemons of Chikara! Let’s fight!” He resounded.

Everyone sped off into doing what they were ordered. Leif and Asch rushed to the herd of cats and immediately started slicing through them.

A few cats got brave and jumped to scratch at Leif’s face. The assassin was distracted, and didn’t have enough time to react. Asch leaped in front of Leif, and sliced through three of the cats. He kicked the other right out of the air.

When he looked back at Leif, he gave him a slight nod and continued to tear into the cats.

Rhys ran towards Mrs. Oats and formed his staff. He spun it around and hit the old woman in the side of her neck.

She got knocked back a bit before swinging at Rhys with her cane. The advisor swiftly dodged before striking her ankles with his staff. This swept Mrs. Oats off her feet, and before she could do anything, he hit her right in a pressure point on her neck, knocking her out cold.

Rhys stood up proud and turned to see what the others were doing.

“Rhys! C’mere! We need ya real quick.” Hollered Lady Grandma signaling him to get over there.

He quickly went to kneel beside Lady Grandma and Noi, listening attentively to their conversation.

“Ava definitely has something up with her. She’s got him in some type of spell bind. Only way to wake ‘em up is to pull ‘em outta there.” Lady Grandma explained looking over to Noi.

Noi began panicking slightly. “W-Wait! You just got Rhys over here why can’t he do it.”

Lady Grandma groaned out of annoyance. “Because he actually knows how to monitor over you. Also I care more if he dies or not.”

“I-I can die in there?!”

“Welp, off you go!”

The cat climbed Noi and pawed at both of his eyes. He got knocked down and protested a bit before passing out.

Lady Grandma dusted off herself looking at her handy work, but could see the question in Rhys’ eyes.

She raised her paws up revealing a lavender powdery substance. “Oldest Chikarian trick in the book. I’ll show ya how to make this stuff another time.”

“Ma! Rhys!” Called out Asch. “Get over here we need some backup!”

Pierce and Ava wondered throughout the dream void. They haven’t seen the doors in quite a while, so they thought they were making progress.

“Dang, maybe you were right. I guess wandering around in circles wasn’t getting me any closer or farther.” Said Ava making sure to stay close to Pierce.

“We’ll be out of here in no time Queen Ava.” He said, but Ava could tell there was something else on his mind.

Ava could always tell when someone was hiding something. Especially if it was from her specifically. It was like a sixth sense for her.

So she stopped Pierce right in his tracks by getting in front of him. “Something you wanna say?” She questioned.

Pierce stayed silent, but his eyes told his secrets. He started to look everywhere but Ava. Whether he was trying to find a way to tell her or if he was finding a way to not tell Ava couldn’t tell, but she preferred the former.

“Queen Ava…” he finally said “I’m sorry for the way I acted earlier. It wasn’t right, and if you said how you’d love me if I got to know you better…to get me to calm down…well I don’t blame you for lying.”

Ava looked at Pierce shocked for a bit. If she was being honest, she couldn’t really tell what she meant when she said that. All she wanted to do was get Pierce to calm down, yeah, but somewhere deep down she knew there was something more to it.

“Pierce I- ugh damn it. I get why you were acting like that, you were desperate. Listen, I like you right now and I’m saying the full truth when I say that I can love you. You’ve still got the same chance as the other guys to win me.”

Ava grabbed Pierce’s hands, only slightly flinching at how large they were. “You may even have a bigger chance now. You were always my favorite out of the five.”

Pierce’s horns had finally regained all their color after blushing at the tips of his ears. “Th-Thank you Queen Ava.” He said.

“PIERCE!” Screamed a Voice, ruining the mood in a matter of seconds.

Ava and Pierce quickly looked all over to see where it was coming from. Behind them, they could see Noi rapidly approaching them. His eyes dead set on Pierce.

Noi crashed into the large Daemon, knocking them both down while he hugged him tightly.

“Ohmygodsohmygodsohmygods! I thought something bad happened to you! It’s so dark and scary here, but I’m sure it was nothing for you! You’re so cool and stuff! Especially Queen Ava! Oh my gods!” Noi rambled hugging Pierce tighter every sentence.

“Gah! Noi would you get off of me?!” Demanded Pierce, but Noi didn’t let up.

Ava watched the two wrestle for a bit. She couldn’t lie, it was kinda entertaining. Noi was way stronger than she thought he was.

Noi latched onto Pierce’s back. The general repeatedly slammed him onto the void floor, but it didn’t seem to deter Noi’s cheery hold. The only thing that stopped the ginger was a headbutt from Pierce.

Noi temporarily let go as Pierce quickly pinned him down, grabbing him by the arms. Noi began to squirm around still smiling joyfully.

“Why are you even here? How are you even here?!” Pierce yelled.

Noi smiled even wider. “I got sent here! Gosh I’m so glad to see you!”

The two argued back and forth right until Ava got sick of it. “Noi! You said you got sent here? Was it to help us out?”

Noi looked at Ava still sprawled under Pierce. He began to squirm even more, now with the actual attempt to get away from the taller Daemon’s hold.

“Oh! Yeah it’s kinda crazy out there. If we can get you and Pierce’s help, we can take care of things a whole lot quicker.” He chirped.

After a while, Noi finally scurried under Pierce and scuttled over to in front of Ava.

“Don’t worry, you guys were going the right way! With me here though, the exit should be easier to see!” Said Noi while marching ahead of them. Both Ava and Pierce rushed to catch up with him.

They walked for a while in silence as Noi hummed to himself. He stopped after a bit, and he lost a lot of the pep in his step.

Ava got worried. “Hey Noi. Everything alright?” She asked.

Noi only hummed in response, but stopped walking. He turned, but he looked at Pierce. “It’s not about you Queen Ava…” he said.

“I’m really sorry General…I’m getting so emotional! I pretty sure I’m the first Daemon you spoke more than a few sentences to! A-At least on this trip. If I mean so much to you, then you mean so much to me!” Noi admitted

Pierce looked at Noi blankly for a bit before comprehending what he said. “Noi, you may have the-“

The Daemon was interrupted by another hug from Noi. “Thank you so much. Thank you for caring about me!”

Noi quickly grabbed Pierce’s hand and started running into the void with him. He started blabbering about something, but Pierce wasn’t paying attention as he was watching Ava try her best to keep up with them.

Leif stylishly spun his daggers before slicing two soul cats at the same time. Three of them ran up to attack him from behind, but he dodged them all and kicked one in the head. He threw his daggers at the other two.

He took out the daggers from existence from afar and reformed them back in his hands. Over his years of training he’s mastered the art of Daemon weapons.

He did the same trick again with two other cats. Doing what he’s doing now takes a lot of skill and training. Not physically, but mentally.

Focusing on your weapons and the enemy can be hard. Especially without letting the aura that’ll get them back into your body be too noticeable. As an assassin, Leif’s been pretty much knocked upside the head enough times to be able to do it.

It’s the smartest thing a Daemon can learn, and one of the only things that all Daemon can have a chance to learn.

“L-Leif! A helpful tip…they seem to have relationships with each other. We can take advantage of this.” Said Rhys hitting a few cats with his staff like he’s golfing.

Leif slightly cocked his head. “I’m listening…?” He said confused. He didn’t expect Rhys to even consider working with him.

“You’ve mastered the art of aura manipulation right? Which means you can make it look like your daggers have multiplied.” Rhys spluttered.

“The hell are you going with this?” Leif groaned.

“M-Multiple your daggers when throwing them and a cat will try to defend another out of instinct.” He fidgeted with his coils. “After they‘ve toppled on top of each other I’ll hit them out of view.”

Leif thought for a bit before kicking a cat away. He decided the plan was kinda worth it.

“You’re smart as hell man, y’know that?”

“Yes. I do.”

Six soul cats jumped towards them, and Leif threw his daggers at them. He focused in on the aura that surrounded his weapons. Carefully, he started to construct another version of his daggers. The exact same shape, color, and even scratches that he really needed to take care of.

Daemon aura alone isn’t enough to make a copy of your weapon physical, you need a bit of magic to accompany it. Obviously, no one can use any on this mission, but aura is completely useable.

It’s a manifestation of a Daemon’s soul, and not something that has to be learned. It’s natural, kinda like walking. It’s an extension of a Daemon that only they can harness and can’t be cheated.

Leif finally copied the dagger and separated it from the others.

Like clockwork a cat that was next to another went to take the dagger for it. Two of them made a noble sacrifice, but one was mistaken, which happened to be the one in the middle.

Rhys jumped up into the air to strike the two cats. While still in the air, he kicked one group of soul cats on the right of him. On his left, he right hooked the other group.

Just like that, all three groups of cats were swiftly taken down. Leif watched in awe as Rhys landed on his feet doing a showy bow.

“Impressed? You should’ve seen my face when you were copying your dagger. After we’re done with this, I beg of you to teach me all you know!” Rhys twirled his staff and readied himself for another group of cats.

Leif and Rhys’ movements were like two bodies of water. Their attacks flowed together perfectly, and bit by bit, their mini rivalry started to come to a close.

Tons of cats were ready to attack them, but Leif executed his end of the plan flawlessly. He crafted perfect replicas of his daggers and spread them out.

The soul cats clumped together and Rhys hit them all like baseballs.

“It’s going…going…gone! MVD Rhys does it again!” Joked Leif copying a saying he heard on Ava’s TV while tricking another set of cats.

Rhys looked at Leif with the widest smile ever, and continued his attack on the souls.

While ducking and weaving, a cat snuck up on Leif catching him off guard.

The cat scratched at him aiming for his eye. Luckily he had just enough time to react and put his arm up to block it, so the cat scratched that instead.

He thought it still hurt like hell and made a yelp sound. Rhys caught wind of this and looked over to him.

“Leif! Are you al-“ He was cut off by a group of cats overpowering him.

“What the hell happened?! Why are there so many of them now?!” Shouted Leif drowning in a sea of cats. “Dammit…why is the royal family so horny…?”

Leif’s head was submerged in the souls, and Rhys watched horrified as his hand began to sink too.

“Oh gods…I should’ve just kept fighting…I’m sorry Leif.” He whimpered as he sunk into the fluffy death trap.

Suddenly Rhys could feel a pair of large hands grabbing him by his waist. He panicked at this before realizing that…

It was Pierce.

Pierce held him up getting out of the furry sea. “Are you okay Rice?” He said.

“It’s not- whatever yes I’m okay. Is someone checking on Leif? Or the others?” Said Rhys still a bit unnerved by Pierce’s hands.

“Everyone should be okay. We need to fall back immediately. There’s way too many of these cats.” Yelled Pierce.

Rhys could hardly hear him over the symphony of meowing around them. Before he could ask Pierce to repeat what he said, the general forced him into a curled position and threw him across the hall.

The advisor tumbled for a bit before finally landing with a thud right next to Lady Grandma. She was dragging an unconscious Mrs. Oats.

“Rhys! Thank the gods…help me lug this hag to her room will ya?” She asked struggling to move the older woman by even an inch.

Rhys nodded and threw Mrs. Oats over his shoulder. Both Lady Grandma and him ran to the end of the hallway. Once they made it, they started to catch their breaths, as they were a good bit ahead of the wave.

“Holy moly…I’m so out of shape. The old bag was right, I shouldn’t have eaten all that tuna.” Lady Grandma lamented.

Rhys looked between the felines and the door. “We can make it to her room and come back to help, right?”

Lady Grandma looked at Rhys as if he said the dumbest thing ever. “Yeah, if we run like hell. I don’t wanna do that though, plus Pierce said to just sit and wait on Ava’s couch.”

“L-Lady Grandma! I can’t do that! Especially if Asch is still there! Or Leif!” Rhys protested

The purple cat sighed. “Listen, they’ll be fine. Only one in there who has the slightest chance of dying is Noi.” She said

She pawed at Rhys’ foot to signal him to follow her, but Rhys started running way ahead of her. Lady Grandma, still tired, ran to make sure he didn’t do anything she thought was stupid.

They got through the passage and ran to Ava’s living room to see that no one else was there.

“No…I have to go back there. I can’t sit here and wait.” Mumbled Rhys.

He laid Mrs. Oats’ body on the couch and rushed back to the palace entrance. Lady Grandma quickly stood in front of him, blocking his way.

“Rhys I know you wanna save Asch and the others, but they’ve got this handled. We’d only get in the way.” She reasoned, but Rhys wasn’t having any of it.

“You’d only get in the way. I have a personal duty to save Asch. Not caring about your own grandson is none of my concern.” He walked past a shocked Lady Grandma into the passage.

The purple feline stood there for a few moments trying to comprehend what Rhys said. She could just let him die in there, but honestly that just made her heart hurt.

Rhys was the only Daemon that was truly interested in being a mage. He paid close attention to anything she taught him, and losing someone like that would be devastating.

Against her own better judgement, she ran after Rhys. Even if she died again in there, it’d at least prove Rhys wrong. She did care about Asch, it wasn’t her fault she couldn’t remember much about him.

Sorry for the cliffhanger 😔 I wanted the end of this mini battle to be its own thing and I wanted Pierce’s story to be the lasting thing on the mind. While rereading my plans and how long the episode was, I realized that couldn’t be done when the battle was taking up a quarter of the episode. I cut it off here and reworked my plans a bit to hopefully make future stuff more focused but just so you know I WILL be using cliffhangers more often holy moly it makes things so much easier for me and the flow of the story. Like, I get it now. I get cliffhangers😭 The next episode is being written probably as you read this, but it still might take a bit to release as this one did. I hope you enjoyed!

#aphmau my inner demons #leif my inner demons #my inner demons #noi my inner demons #rhys my inner demons #asch my inner demons #my inner demons aphmau #my inner demons ava #my inner demons pierce #My inner demons Lady Grandma #Not surprised that’s not a tag lol #My inner demons rewrite #mid rewrite #rewrite #Original characters my inner demons

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