Ep. 10 Awakened Devilry

September 26th, 2023

Nature and Freedom were silent in their cell, watching the Sun rise. They had nine hours until the trial, and they still had no evidence fit for a judge. Nature's condition had gotten better and her concussion was treated successfully.

The night had been quiet because Freedom was focused on Nature resting. It did not do much good though. She was over the top stressed about what they were going to do. Who knew what Jack was going to say? The two only had what they saw and heard.

She paced back and forth, writing ideas but crumbling them up and tossing them aside. Freedom leaned against the wall watching her. A guard came down the steps and to their cell, surprised to Nature pounding her head against the wall.

"Nature, you're going to give yourself another concussion," Freedom sighed. "Or a headache. Maybe both."

"Everything good?" The guard asked.

"It's fine, Justin," he reassured him.

The guard nodded and went back up the steps.

"Nature, please," Freedom walked over to her, finally having enough. She turned around to face him.

"I don't know what to do! We're screwed!" Nature complained.

"No, we're not!"

"It's over, Freedom! We're not getting out of this one! If we try to run or force ourselves out of this, it will make us look bad! We have nothing!"

"Nature, calm down! Being stressed and arguing is not going to help, okay? Come on, sit down."

She hesitated, but she did sit down next to him. They took a deep breath and exhaled. Freedom wished he could read Nature's mind to know what storm was raging on in silence.

"Queen Sun sent letters to our families. They know we're in here. We need to hope they come up with something if we can't, alright? We cannot give up. Our lives are on the line here," he held her hands in his.

Nature blushed and looked away. "This isn't going to be easy."

"When is life easy, Nature? Look at me."

"What?" She questioned, looking back at him.

"We will live through this. I promise you we will."

"Don't make promises you can't keep. You're only making this more difficult," she let go and walked over to the window.

"What do you mean?"

"... I want to believe we're going to survive, but I feel like a child again, Freedom. This feels like another fantasy I thought I could make come true."

"I don't understand."

"When I decided to study scribing, I was doing something illegal. A ten-year old wasn't allowed to have a job that big. But I saw opportunity, a chance, hope that I could make the Hunters' life maybe even a little bit better. I wanted to return the favor. They had no idea how much they changed my life for the better. I read every book, took every class, studied all reports and papers, and practiced the requirements. When I wrote the letter to Queen Sun, pleading her to give me a chance, and she accepted it, I had never felt so hopeful before. But the more time passed, the more people hated me, the more I became discouraged. Nothing was working. Still, I continued every day."

"Then, let this be another chance," Freedom got up and walked to behind her.

"I gave up a long time ago, Freedom."

"Maybe this is what you need though to change Humanity's mind. All it takes is this working, Nature. Maybe it will make them see how well they've raised you. Hell, it may even lift a burden on my family."

"This isn't a fairytale."

"I'm not calling it one. Look, my job is to protect Equality, which means I have to protect you too. I cannot just stand here and let you throw your life away. You're here for a reason. We escaped for a reason. Where did all that determination go?"

"Freedom," she turned around and looked up at him, tears coming out of her eyes. "I know things. I know things that I'm not supposed to know. I hate the Guardians, I hate my life, but I mostly hate myself! I wish I was a different person. I would give anything to be normal! I wish I could start over with my life, make new and better decisions! Why can't you see how terrible I am? I'm one person who gets a say in choices here. I sign away deaths, confirm trials, abuse myself emotionally and physically, barely sleep, take daring moves, make threats to innocent people! I hate the person I've become!"

"Then, who do you want to be?"

"Normal, Freedom. I want to be normal. I want to wake up to a regular family, not worry about who's going to try to hurt me next, and have a good day. I'm not the person you think I am. I deserve to die. I'm not a good person."

"Actions speak louder than words. Nature, you protected me from Jack multiple times, you visit orphaned kids, greet everyone, give welcoming's to new comers, sacrifice for your family, treat your friends right, let bygones be bygones, chose the right thing, and serve justice. You're not perfect. No one is normal. I would never ask you to change just because you're different from other people. Being different is what makes you special, magical, beautiful. You're like a living form of nature itself, and I love you. It's sad people fail to see how wonderful you are even at your worst. You are a good person."

"... But what if I told you, I'm not Human and I know it?"

"I know you're not. We talked about this."

"You don't understand. I don't want to let you in because if you see who I really am, it could ruin our bond and my life."

"I don't care what you are. You're the greatest thing that's ever happened to me."

"It doesn't matter. Jack will win, and what I really want to tell you won't matter."

"Tell me what?"

Nature thought for a moment about what she was going to do. Her stomach twisted into a knot. Freedom was off limits to her. She wasn't allowed to date. Would it matter when she died? She only wanted him more and more each second. Freedom noticed she had become shy to the point she wouldn't even look at him.

She moved closer to him, still not looking up. At last, she looked up into his ocean blue eyes. They were wonderful, and she felt like she could melt looking into them. Nature tensed up and feared he would hate her for this.

Quickly, she grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him down to her face level. Then, she slightly tilted her head, closed her eyes, and their lips meant. Freedom was wide eyed and caught off guard. Both of their minds were racing like wild fire. Time felt slowed down as Freedom surrendered to the passion kiss, running his hands through her hair and pulling her closer.

Freedom thought her lips were soft and smooth and tasted of sweet berries. They felt love, not friendship, for each other. The room had been cold but now it felt blazing hot. They were in a steady daze, but, sadly, they also needed air. Nature wanted the moment to last forever.

They broke away at the same time, panting for air. They still held each other and had their heads together. Ten seconds had passed. They felt hot and desperate for more, but Nature didn't allow it, realizing what she had done.

She gasped, pushed him away, and turned around back to the window. She felt her lips, who were vibrating from the shared energy. Freedom stood in silence, questioning what had happened. They both had butterflies fluttering in their stomachs.

"Cute," Freedom chuckled, blushing. "You have a crush on me."

"Sh-Shut up!" Nature covered her mouth, embarrassed.

Freedom hugged her from behind. "It's okay. You don't have to shy away from me."

"I tried to not fall for you."

"Didn't get you very far, did it?"

"The last time I cut myself it was because you."

"What?" Freedom asked, shocked. He turned her around. "Why?"

"When James told me it was you who tried to drown me, I didn't want it to be true. I trusted you with my life, and I felt like I had lost everything. That's when I figured it out. I love you too."

"Why did you keep it in for so long?" He questioned, being a blushing mess as much as Nature.

"I didn't think it would matter when we died. I thought it would hurt more having you for a short time only to lose you shortly after, but I can't wait any longer. It's unfair."

Freedom was silent, unsure of what to say. "I... I've liked you for a long time. It's hard to explain, but, strangely enough, that day we bumped into each other, I felt like we had meant before. It just kind of stuck. I was going to tell you sooner, specifically when it came to James, but I knew... dating wasn't your thing."

"... It's like I said. I have secrets. Secrets that could get me in trouble to be honest. But I've never felt this way before, and I don't want to lose you."

"We could make this our secret," Freedom teased.

"I know you're joking, but my father is going to murder you if we don't. Literally."

"A secret it is then, Lady Nature."

"You're such a tease, Sir Freedom."

Nine hours later, Jack, Nature, and Freedom were brought to the court room in the castle. Its walls were plastered white and rose high enough for a fan to be on the ceiling. It was not on though.

The Judge's stand sat in the back center with the witness box on its right. Also, to the right of the Judge's stand was the Jury. Two exit doors were on both sides of the Judge's desk, and to the left was a private box for Queen Sun to sit at. On the left wall was a chalk board.

In the front of the room, a low wall separated the seats from the prosecution and defense tables. The seats were split into four parts. The media had four rows of seats closest to the right wall. The victims' seats were to the left of the media. Then, one row closest to the left wall was for family, the other three behind being for public. In between victims and family and public were the last three rows for the Attorney Office, defense, and agents.

Guards were at the doors doing their regular job, and news about the trial and situation had gotten around fast. Equalians might not have had phones, but they had tv. Therefore, they could watch and listen to what was going on.

The three were not given lawyers. The public wanted a confession and explanation to the disappearance of Jewel, Butterfly, Dasher, and Nicole. Usually, it would be illegal, but Queen Sun had made the statement herself.

After everyone was seated, and everything was ready to go, the trial could begin when the Judge pounded the gavel three times. Because Jack had accused Nature and Freedom, he was considered the prosecutor, meaning he would begin with his opening statement. He stood up and walked to the jury.

"On August 18th, a member of the Royal Guard was murdered. Then, later, on September 21st, four important members of the Human society went missing. The evidence and witnesses presented will confirm Lady Nature and Sir Freedom are guilty," Jack said and sat back down.

The Judge then turned to Nature and Freedom. "How do you plead?"

Nature raised and took their turn to the jury. "The evidence we will provide will be truthful and support a logical reasoning for Sir Jack to be the correct kidnap and murderer. We plead not guilty."

The trial moved into phase two: presenting physical and/or witness evidence. Unfortunately, Jack was supposed to go first again. Like before, he got up and confronted the jury.

"The whole time I have been doing my job, Lady Nature has been out to prove me guilty of murdering Sir Tyler. What does that have to do with my brother? On August 21st, Queen Sun had made arrangements for Lady Nature to learn self-defense. Seems normal enough, right? Sir Freedom jumped to the chance to bring her to the regular guard training place, which he did not have a difficult time doing. If it were anyone else, it would have taken much longer. They spent mostly the whole-time side by side.

Soon after, Detective Jewel and Lady Nature shows up at the castle investigating the situation about a purple feather found at the scene. All the guards with purple wings were questioned, but I was a particular target because my brother had accused me of being suspicious.

That night, Sir Freedom disappears, later on to be said traveling by Lady Nature. But I felt something was not quite right, so I dug a bit. My brother had actually been in the Hunters' Territory those few weeks.

Strangely fast, he returned home in time for Hillville to be starting schooling again. The murderer was reported as had fled Equality.

A few days later, Detective Jewel, Daycarer Dasher, Forestry Butterfly, and owner of Fruit Acres, Nicole, all go missing at the same time. They happened to be close friends to Lady Nature.

Furthermore, Sir Freedom and Lady Nature do not turn up in school for a few days. On September 21st, Lady Nature gets poisoned. I was guarding there and she threw me out unexpectedly. Three days later, I was guarding Princess Guardians when they barged in, fought me, kidnapped Princess Guardians, and escaped.

Finally, yesterday, I had ran into them in the Icelands while being on duty. I discovered where they were keeping those four and fought against them to escape. Therefore, we arrived at the castle and they attempted to frame me.

Now, wouldn't it make sense the smartest person in the entire land could outsmart us all? She could easily commit murder, and she works late hours. She has connections everywhere. That is all, your honor."

Jack sat back down and shot the other two a quick grin. His eyes read, 'Good luck.' Nature gulped and stood up. She looked at Queen Sun apologetically and continued to the jury and judge.

"I have thought Jack guilty of Tyler's death," she began. "I did investigate the case, study the details. I did take lessons on self-defense and I made a new friend. I also made an alliance with Princess Guardians for there to be no fighting between us. In return, she gave me the lessons I needed.

Sir Freedom was in the Hunters' Territory, but it was not for the reasons you would expect. Sir Jack has been physically harming him, and I wasn't going to just not do something. I did what I had to even if it sacrificed my job because doing the right thing is more important than making a buck or two.

A lot happened when we returned to school. Princess Guardians showed up out of the blue, my friends forced me on a date, I didn't listen to Sir Freedom, and almost died... twice. But Sir Freedom, I, and Princess Guardians figured something out, and it changed everything. By this point, those four, my friends who I pushed away, were gone.

I have no concrete evidence, but I do have an explanation for you.

It may seem like a coincidence, but we noticed there was something dragging us together. There was also something else pushing us apart. The date I went on said Sir Freedom tried to drown me, but Princess Guardians thought otherwise. His name was James.

James' approach to me was random and perfectly timed. Everything with James' arrival started going downhill. Sir Freedom and James fought, threatened each other, but James had told him he replaced him. James was a distraction from a bigger picture. His job was to force us apart, but Princess Guardians intervened with that.

Of course, next, I was in my office with Sir Jack alone. Let me tell you, I had never felt more uncomfortable being watched in my life. I did force him away because he wouldn't be quiet and spoke fairly unpleasant words. Before I did though, I had to go help Queen Sun for a few moments. I got back, drank my coffee, sent him away, and work. Next thing I knew, I was poisoned.

Thanks to my brother, Foxy, he concluded James was Sir Jack's eyes and ears. He also thought that I should be dead. That poison is strong but here I am. Sir Freedom and Foxy decided the poison was a message. Whoever it was knew we were on to them and they had direct access to us and the castle. Foxy knows I have a hard time keeping awake on later shifts and noted it was the perfect time to catch me off guard. We decided we had to do something.

So, we snuck to Sir Freedom's home and overheard a conversation Sir Jack and a female voice who later turned out to be a demon were having. Our next step was to ask Princess Guardians for help. Jack attacked us, but Princess Guardians teleported us away.

We made a plan, prepared, and set to it. Sir Jack kidnapped us and tortured us, specifically me. My friends were there, and we were going to get them out. But we had to fight. We did not come back with them because it's hard to do a rescue mission with a concussion and poison kicking in. But we did make a promise, we would come back for them.

No matter who refuses to believe we're telling the truth, I will argue and argue and argue Sir Jack is guilty! So, say what you want."

Nature sat back down next to Freedom.

"Well, this certainly is a lot of information to take in," the Judge said. "But do either of you three have witnesses?"

"No, your honor," Freedom stood and sat back down.

"I'd like to call James up to the witness box, your honor," Jack requested.

"Granted."

James happened to be amongst the crowd. He walked to the witness box and took a seat. He said the truth pledge with his hand raised. Jack approached the box.

"James, I'm curious about the fight between you and my brother. What happened?"

"Well, Lady Nature had just finished telling Sir Freedom to leave her alone. Then, he went off on me. He also threatened me and said he'd drown me too-."

"I OBJECT!" Freedom yelled, popping up. "I NEVER SAID THAT! I JUST TOLD YOU TO STAY AWAY! I KNOW WHAT YOU DID!" Nature tugged at him to calm down. "You brought family into the matter because you knew it would bother me!"

"Did I?" James mocked him.

"No further questions," Jack sat down.

"Your honor, I do have questions," Nature budded in. Freedom sat down so she could continue. The Judge let her do so to James. "Now, apparently you two think I'm blind, so I KNOW FOR A FACT Sir Freedom would not have tried to harm me. He's had plenty of opportunities to. So, who were you fighting with that night?"

"Sir Freedom."

"No, you're lying," Nature shook her head. She turned to everyone else. "I have a pretty good idea on how this all began. Get comfortable.

Everyone knows the story of General justice and King Khaos. Most people think it is General Justice's fault King Khaos disappeared. Everyone knows the impact General Justice's death put on his family. The disrespect to their family has been going on for years, even now! As a kingdom, we have to ask ourselves, was that a good approach? If General Justice did anything wrong at all, why are we shaming the rest of the family? No one has tried to prove his innocence except for his family. Instead, we the people, have decided to jump to conclusions, point our fingers, because someone had to take the blame.

While Sir Freedom and I were trying to escape, Sir Jack gave an explanation on his actions. He told his brother he was sick of dealing with the disrespect. Listen, when you falsely accuse with no investigation and people only follow what they hear, it can cause even worse problems. He's doing this because no one took the time to question it. So, he made a plan.

It required seven souls, but he couldn't do it alone. Sir Jack has no experience with magic. However, the demon he's working with does. Sir Jack, demons are dangerous creatures. They're known to turn on you as soon as they get what they want.

...I have a confession to make. I know her. Her name is Nemon, though it's not her real name, it's all she's told me. She's power hungry and an enemy of the Guardians. Sir Jack, she's using you to get through them. When we heard their conversation, she mentioned slowing down the Guardians so they couldn't interrupt the plan on September 28th. Sir Jack had also mentioned James had said Sir Freedom and I had not shown up to school-."

Nature was stopped when the entrance doors sudden slammed open. Everyone looked back to see Princess Guardians, Dasher, Butterfly, Nicole, Jewel, Foxy, Speedy, and Skate. In Princess Guardians hands, she held a file and a huge book.

"Sorry for the interruption, ladies and gentlemen, but new, seeable, concrete evidence and true witnesses has arrived!" Princess Guardians exclaimed. Nature and Freedom sighed in relief while James and Jake were looking pale.

In a panic, Jack rose. "Your honor, she's not part of the trial! She can't interfere!" Jack protested.

Gaining confidence, Freedom stood saying, "She can if we call her as a witness!"

"Granted," the Judge agreed with Freedom. "Well, James, stand down."

As James returned to his seat, Dasher, Jewel, Nicole, and Butterfly sat in the witness area. Speedy, Foxy, and Skate stayed at the entrance. Princess Guardians took the oath but did not sit.

"I'm going to need the chalk board," she told the Judge. He accepted it. Nature sat down, letting the princess steal the show.

"By hearing what I could from TVs along the way, Sir Jack is lying about mostly everything. Lady Nature and Sir Freedom, on the other hand, are being truthful, but they're forgetting parts. Lady Nature forgot about explaining Jack's plan and how Sir Tyler ties in with all of this.

In the book named 'Forbidden Magic', there is a part about Dark Magic. For those who don't know, Dark Magic is a powerful yet dangerous type of magic capable of mountains of damage. It's made with the formula of combining the four branches that makes up the Human society. Communication, flight, strength, and analyst.

When you fill in the blanks, Forestry manager, Butterfly, was for communication. Daycarer Dasher was for flight. Fruit Acre owner, Nicole, was for strength, and Detective Jewel was for analyst. But why them out of the thousands of others who also had the same abilities as them? None of you are as close to Lady Nature as they are.

You see, Sir Jack was taking this a step farther. He needed time, defense, and unity to create a Dark Magic Monster. A Dark Magic Monster would tear the land apart piece by piece. It would take more magic than you could even imagine to take one down. You're probably wondering, what about the Guardians? Like Lady Nature said, they're distracted right now. Thanks to the Hunter, Skate, we learned the Guardians are not fond of Dark Magic anyway.

Sir Jack needed to find those last three souls before he could do anything. They were rare, but the pattern of finding them were connection. Lady Nature, the reason you and Sir Jack were on good terms on August 21st is because he had not figured out, he needed you yet. But the next day, and day after, he observed your and Sir Freedom's connection. It was strong- very strong. You clicked like that," she snapped. "Later, I showed up and ended having to help you because I'm brother didn't want to deal with you. We had never really gotten along, but the connection was still there, making it compatible to work together.

Sir Jack saw this. That's when he knew.

So, what about Sir Tyler?

Based on the evidence Detective Jewel uncovered, he did not commit suicide. Someone with purple wings pushed him off the roof. Sir Tyler was soon to be accepted into the Magic Academy, so he knew a thing or two. It's possible he heard something at guard training or saw something he should not have. He was caught but didn't realize it. Here's what I think happened:

It was a regular school day, but Sir Tyler was trying to decide what to do with the information he had obtained. He went to the rooftop for air since it was close to his first class. Sir Jack attempted to push him off, but Sir Tyler put up a struggle. He stabbed him, causing less struggle. Before he was pushed fully over, he grabbed at Sir Jack's wings, making a feather fall off. He was dead within seconds of the fall and Sir Jack got away, taking the knife with him.

Now, let's talk about souls. Souls are mysteries parts of the spirit form of ourselves. Others are more powerful than others. Sir Jack needed me for defense, Sir Freedom for time, and Lady Nature for unity."

She walked over to the chalk board, flipped to a page in the book, and wrote the formula, 'CC22+F45+S34+AY28= DM. DM+DF100+T100+UN200=DMM.'

"This is the formula Sir Jack is using to create a Dark Magic Monster. He got this out of a restricted book. 'Forbidden Magic of Equality,' is a restricted book to the public eye. There are two copies, but one is gone. I have this one, the last one.

During the time Lady Nature and Freedom were kidnapped, we had them prepared in case something like that happened. Foxy had created trackers. Hours later, we lost signal in a place up in the Icelands. We marked the place it was at.

Today, we went to the location since the three of them were in the dungeons. We found those four in an abandoned mansion. They explained everything.

If that's still not enough for you, Sir Freedom had claimed Sir Jack had poisoned Lady Nature's coffee while she was out of the room. He checked the posts and discovered yes; his brother was there. Every post is supposed to have at least two guards. The guard who was supposed to be with Sir Jack was called to the Icelands last second, putting Lady Nature and him alone. Here's the file," she held it up. "It's true. In the mansion, we found this bottle in Sir Jack's bag." She held up a bottle with neon liquid in it. "This was the poison as the four said. There was another bottle crushed on the floor that I recognized as what Lady Nature was using to ease the pain of the poison. There were two pairs of broken chains and a file used for cutting metal on the floor.

Any questions?"

"No farther questions!" Nature exclaimed with joy.

"Sir Jack, is there anything you'd like to add or ask?" The Judge asked.

"No, your honor," he groaned.

"Alright then. Closing statements."

Jack stood there for a moment, unable to read everyone's minds. His eyes locked with Nature's and they stared each other down. Jack was aware he lost the battle, but he was not finished yet. Instead of a closing argument, he broke out in laughter.

"You think this is over?" He scoffed. "It's only begun!"

"Should've seen this one coming," Freedom sighed.

"I did see it coming," Princess Guardians closed the book in her hands. "We're all here."

"So, what's the plan?" Nature asked.

"I don't know yet."

"Jack, please, we can talk about this!" Freedom shushed them.

"What is there to talk about? You chose your side. We already "talked" anyway."

Freedom shook his head. "How long have you been planning this?"

"It's not going to matter if I tell you or not."

"Okay, he's not going to budge. Princess Guardians, get those four out of here. We got this," Nature whispered to her.

"Good luck," she agreed.

Princess Guardians hurried to Dasher, Nicole, Jewel, and Butterfly. She snapped, signaling they needed to leave. They listened and the five of them started towards the entrance. Before they could go through though, Nemon appeared and blocked it.

"Where do you think you're going?" Nemon purred.

"Freedom, take care of Jack. I'll handle her," Nature said. She began to leave, but Freedom grabbed her arm.

"Are you sure?"

"I have to try."

He let go, but Nature did not get far up the walkway before Nemon cast a spell, causing Dasher, Nicole, Jewel, and Butterfly to disappear. People were freaking out. Nature and Freedom looked at each other, unsure of what to do. So, they focused on Jack.

"Where are they?" Nature demanded.

"Don't worry. You'll join them soon," he grinned and flew up towards the ceiling.

Then, he smashed through it, causing dust to fly around and parts of the ceiling to disintegrate. The dust made a cloud, so everyone coughed until the particles separated back into the air. Princess Guardians fled down to Freedom and Nature, the three Hunters following behind.

"Are you guys okay?" Foxy asked.

"Yeah, we're fine," Freedom said.

"They're gone!" Nature complained, looking up through the hole in the ceiling. Queen Sun also went to the hole to look and put a sympathetic hand on Nature's right shoulder.

"I knew you two were innocent," she said.

Nature looked up at her and sighed, "Now you tell me."

"It's September 26th. Jack won't do anything, will he?" Freedom narrowed his eyes.

"That's the part we couldn't pin point. Why September 28th?" Princess Guardians answered.

"Wait a minute," Nature came to a realization. She walked over to a table and pulled James out. The Equalians watched her curiously. "You didn't leave with them. September 28th was just a set date for action. It could be any day."

"Another distraction," Princess Guardians agreed. "Look, I don't want to know why you know a demon, but she's clever. You know her, so where do you think they are?"

"They're creating something big...so they'll need a high place with plenty of open space."

Suddenly, the light that lit the courthouse became dark. Everyone rushed outside to see why because they thought the clouds had covered the Sun. But instead, in the distance, a huge black matter was rising in the horizon. It had caused such a shadow, no light from the Sun was able to pass through. The only light came from buildings and street lamps.

"Is that... Dark Magic?" Freedom gulped.

"Yup, that's what it seems to be," Princess Guardians squeaked.

"What are we going to do? Is there anything we can do?"

"Sir Jack would have to be stopped," Queen Sun answered.

"I was afraid it was going to come to this," Nature began. "I know what has to be done."

Nature started to walk away slowly from the crowd.

"Nature, where are you going?" Freedom shouted after her. She turned around.

"Remember what we talked about?"

"You can't be serious!"

"Someone has to."

"You're not going alone," he caught up to her. He lowered his voice. "Especially after earlier."

"Don't leave us behind," Princess Guardians said, walking to them. Queen Sun, Speedy, Foxy, and Skate came with her.

"We're coming too," Speedy stated.

"Really?" Nature asked, shocked. He nodded. "Well, we should hurry then."

"Where are we going?" Freedom questioned.

"The dojo."

Back where Nature's journey had begun, the dojo was slowly being torn apart because the Dark Magic was building itself at a quick pace. There was still room to stand within, but in this situation, would you want to be in cooped up in the same place? Well, Nature's little parade did not want to, but they had to. Prince Night had joined them along the way.

They were frightened by the thing before them, but they had to keep going. Now, they stood at the entrance of the dojo. The dojo could not be seen through. However, they knew Jack was there because something had to control the Dark Magic.

Jack was waiting for them. He knew they would come. All he had to do was wait.

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Foxy asked.

"Dark Magic has a root, a brain if you could call it that, in the center. Sir Jack should be there controlling it."

"Are you saying we have to go into it?" Freedom questioned.

"Yes, it's the only way. I hope one of you have some awfully good persuasion skills. We don't have the kind of power to overpower it any other way."

"This won't be easy. My brother is stubborn."

"So am I," Nature shook her head. "I'm not going down without a fight."

"Here," Prince Night said, handing Freedom, Princess Guardians, and Nature a sword.

"Stick together," Queen Sun warned. "Because it will try everything to force you apart."

"Sound familiar?" Princess Guardians said to Nature and Freedom. "Let's go."

The other two agreed, and together, they turned away from their group. They looked up and braced themselves as they barged into the Dark Magic's walls. The walls were thick, wet, and cold. Nature opened her eyes and saw waves moving throughout the walls like soundwaves. Within seconds, they arrived on the other side.

Freedom gasped for air and Princess Guardians shook from the coldness, but Nature just stood there, wondering about the waves. As if it were night, objects, the floor, and walls were darker colors, yet viewable to them. They could even see an outline of their group, only as auras though.

"I am never doing that again!" Freedom gagged.

"Woah, guys, look," Princess Guardians pointed upwards.

As tall as the Eiffel Tower, a black, cylinder tower had been crafted. Huge grey clouds circled at the top shooting out lightening. They were a football field away from the tower.

"I reckon my brother is probably at the top."

"Yeah, it must be the root," Nature nodded.

They figured the easiest way up was by flying, but the lightening would serve as a problem. Carefully, they avoided the lightening. The higher they went, the harder it became. Finally, they reached the top. It was smooth like glass but black like obsidian. Maybe it was obsidian. Freedom put Nature down.

A few meters away, Jack appeared and sarcastically clapped three times. They looked over in his direction in fear. Jack's whole eye sockets and eyes had turned into black voids. The Dark Magic had consumed him.

"Jack-," Freedom began.

"QUIET!" Jack shouted. "You're in my field now!"

Freedom shut his mouth, not wanting to make the situation any more worse than it already was. Besides, he had to consider Nature and Princess Guardians' safety too. They waited for Jack to continue.

"I'm surprised you'd walk right in here together, but I knew you'd come. Welcome to your first experience with Dark Magic! Mostly you, Princess Guardians."

Princess Guardians turned to the other two. "Jack's not talking. It's the Dark Magic speaking, and it can read our minds."

"I'm not thinking straight anyway," Nature assured her. "The energy field here is too powerful."

"How are we going to break through to him then?" Freedom asked.

"You can't!" Jack/the Dark Magic said.

"Getting discouraged won't help. It feeds off insecurities, fear, and negativity," Princess Guardians warned them.

"Clever girl," Jack/ the Dark Magic grinned. "But it won't help you. One of you is too filled with such emotions and secrets. You run away from everyone, afraid to show yourself."

"Nature, don't listen to it," Freedom encouraged.

"It's true though. Why would you know it? Does she even know it herself?"

"You didn't wait for us to come to chat!" Princess Guardians changed the subject. She took a running start at him, drawing her sword, but a long, black arm rose from the floor and smacked it out of her hand. She stopped, stunned for a moment.

"Not so fast, princess. What do you need a sword for? Magic fuels your body."

Then, Jack lifted his right arm and millions of black shards appeared in the air. Princess Guardians fled back to the other two. She casted a spell that created a shield around them just as the shards reached them. They hit off of the shield as if they were hydrogen atoms in the Sun colliding with one another. Eventually, so many hit, the shield started to crack.

"Can't you make it stronger?" Nature panicked.

"No, I was never able to do thickness correctly. Just hold on, I have other ideas."

The shield shattered and the crystals stopped coming. Was it over? It could not possibly be so easy as to just let the shield break. Princess Guardians was rethinking what she was doing, remembering it could read her thoughts. Therefore, it knew what she would do next.

How do you outsmart a person who can read your mind?

She figured there had to be some combination going on. If unity, time, and defense helped create a Dark Magic Monster, then what could they do without being in a combination of flight, communication, analyst, and strength? Why were they special?

'Together,' she thought. 'It can only be achieved together? By working together? I can defend them, but breaking through to Jack will take time. We have to work together? Why doesn't it make sense? In less... maybe Nature's a little more than a bridge....'

"SILENCE YOUR THOUGHTS!" Jack/ the Dark Magic shouted at her.

"What is it?" Freedom asked.

"We have to beat it together. We must fight our fears. It's going to take time, but we can-!" She was cut off by a black arm shooting up and grabbing her right wrist. "Hey!" Another one followed, holding her other wrist.

"Nature, help me get them off!" Freedom requested, trying to pry them away from the princess. Nature slashed the left one in half with her sword, making the arm shrivel up and cave back into the floor.

The Dark Magic did not like that.

Fierce wind forced Freedom and Nature flying in opposite directions, leaving Princess Guardians on her own. Freedom had been forced to the right while Nature had landed on the left. More arms appeared around Princess Guardians and wrapped around her until her entire half lower body was covered by the arms. They squeezed, making sure she was stuck in place.

She moved back and forth, attempting to break free unsuccessfully. All the other two could do was watch in terror as a tornado formed from above the surface of the tower. It spun and whirled, getting smaller to arrive at Princess Guardians. It was no normal tornado.

The tornado latched onto her head and took control of her mind. Like the dark clouds above them, her eyes became clouded as the Dark Magic slowly and painfully drained the princess of her Equalian magic. The wind from the tornado had let loose her hair. Once the Dark Magic had finished, and Princess Guardians had stopped squirming, it let go of her completely. Her now lifeless body fell onto the cold floor, signifying she was gone.

Interesting enough, not only had it stole her magic, but her hair and eyes had turned white. Her crown had also fell onto the floor, and her wings were gone.

The Dark Magic wanted the outside group to observe its work, so Princess Guardians was tossed through the wall. It was smarter now and knew how to use magic. However, it was aware Freedom and Nature lacked the ability to control magic, so it had no reason to use it against them. It wanted a fair battle.

The two were in disbelief. They could not handle the idea of death arriving around the corner just by being drained of their abilities. What happened to the other four anyway? Was Princess Guardians an example? If so, where were their bodies?

Nature was going to run to Freedom, remembering Queen Sun told them to stay together. The Dark Magic heard the thought and acted immediately. It channeled into her mind, picking at the cerebral cortex until Nature had a reaction to the poison.

Nature stopped in her tracks and put her left hand over her heart. As Lady had predicted, it was, again, much worse than last time. Even though a concussion was added last time, it was still worse. She did not think it was possible, but the poison certainly proved her wrong.

Freedom recollected himself, noticing Nature was having another episode. Then, he looked to his brother, or his body. The Dark Magic controlled his right arm up, clenching his fist slowly. The more he clenched, the more pain Nature felt pulsing through her. Freedom felt anger and pity for his brother. Nature had tried to warn him, expect that was about Nemon. There was a bad outcome either way.

He lifted his sword and advanced towards his brother. Freedom had no interest in killing Jack, but he did want to pin him down somehow. Using Jack's free hand, the Dark Magic blocked Freedom's sword with its own. It stopped crushing Nature, and focused on Freedom taking the bait. It knew he would do anything for Nature.

Nature laid on the cold obsidian floor helplessly. She could barely lift a finger, so helping Freedom would be impossible. The pain was not as bad as it had been. There was nothing she could do except watch Freedom battle. He was making little progress, but the only important thing was he was trying. The Dark Magic wanted her to watch, for it was only playing gentle and easy on the young soldier.

Feeling stiff, Nature had recovered enough energy to sit up. She scanned both of their moves closely. The Dark Magic was... uncomfortable with her hope. So, it stopped playing easy on Freedom. It swung, tripped the guard, and pierced him through the chest. Nature clasped a hand over her mouth with her eyes wide. It drew out and turned from him.

The blow surprised Freedom. He stood trembling for a moment, realizing he had been struck in the heart and there would be no recovery from death now. Nature cried, finding the strength to finish running to him. She caught him as he began to fall backwards. She was still weak, so she could barely hold him. Instead, she gently set him down. Freedom groaned in pain, knowing he did not have much time.

"Freedom, you can't leave me!" Nature shallowly breathed, her tears rolling onto his face. He put a hand on her cheek and wiped her tears away and smiled. "Don't smile at a time like this..." She put her left hand over his.

"I'm sorry, Lady... Nature. Looks like... we're not... winning after all...," he said, even a tear escaping from him. "It's been... an honor... working beside you. I love you... goodbye." He closed his eyes.

His hand fell out of Nature's and onto the floor.

"Freedom?" Nature cried. "No... you can't- you can't- come back to me! FREEDOM!" She burst out in tears, hugging him for dear life. The blood couldn't bother her now.

"Weak," Jack/ the Dark Magic said. "You're all weak."

Nature paid no attention to him. All she wanted was Freedom back.

"He's gone. Give up. Surrender to me."

Again, she didn't care.

"Are you listening?"

She didn't care.

"HEY!"

She did not care what it had to say to her. She did not care if it killed her right then and there. She did not care if she never saw another night sky. She did not care about Jack.

But she did still care for Freedom, and thought he would want her to go on. To even beat the monster before her if she somehow managed it. She had to keep trying, so she spun around to it.

Glad it had her attention, it faded away the surroundings. It would still eat Freedom's ability, but it would also manipulate Nature. From Jack, it learned she would not give in, believing she was already broken. But now that it had time on its hands, it could rewind the clock. It could force her to watch moments from her life. Whatever it took to get inside her head, it would do.

It tried, but it failed. Those memories had been barricaded in the back of her mind long ago. It could not access those memories. Her childhood was mostly blocked off. Had she forgotten them? No, they were those secrets that could get her into trouble. They were the secrets that could end her life faster than the Dark Magic could process. They were dark, too dark for even light.

Her soul was already filled with darkness but it contained light too. The Dark Magic viewed it as being like the yin and yang. It could not break her because she was already broken. She was killing herself from the inside.

It lashed out in anger, wanting her soul dreadfully. It needed her soul. It did not care how much evil her soul already had. It scooped her up with a large black arm and hand. Nature felt nothing looking into Jack's cold dead eyes as it sucked every last bit of goodwill she had. The biggest mistake it made was taking the good and filling up the bad.

Nature went numb, letting it take everything out of her. Finally, she lost consciousness and it threw her through the wall like it did to Princess Guardians and Freedom.

September 22nd, 2007

"Oh, look at you," a female voice holding a newborn in her arms smiled.

"She's beautiful! She has your hair," a male voice sitting beside the woman said.

"But she has your eyes, Dexterity."

"Hush, you both need rest."

"What about you?"

"I'll be okay."

"Your cancer though...."

"Flora, never mind about me. What shall we name her?"

"It's tradition to name the first girl a version of nature. It'd be a sin and shame not to. Do you see her hand?"

"What am I looking at?"

"The mark."

"A birth mark?"

"No, we shall call her Nature. The balance between life and death, the beauty of the Earth, and a rare treasure of the Universe."

September 26th, 2023

"She'll wake up, right?" Foxy asked, standing over Nature.

After the Dark Magic had consumed Nature's abilities and flung her out, she had landed in front of them. Princess Guardians and Freedom had awoken up but not the same as before. They did not have their wings and extra intelligence. Their hair had streaks of white in them and their eyes were also white. Nature's hair had streaks of grey in it though.

It hadn't taken long for the two to wake, but Nature seemed to be taking her time. Or was she actually dead? The group couldn't be sure since the other two had seemed dead too.

The Dark Magic had morphed into a Dark Magic Monster. It had a long tail, massive wings, two metallic horns, and whiskers around the mouth. Instead of attacking yet, it had flown up into the sky. It looked like fairytale myths of dragons from ancient times. A black dragon it would be with white glowing eyes.

"Hopefully," Skate said, gazing down at her.

"What do we do now?" Freedom sighed.

"I'm not sure. I'm surprised you're even still alive. You shouldn't be."

"Yeah, it'd be nice to know why. Do you know, your majesty?"

"No, I've never seen anything like this," she shook her head. "Trust me, I've seen a lot, but this is new."

"Mom, you're a thousand years old. How have you never seen this before?" Princess Guardians sighed.

"This planet is six billion years old, Guardians, yet it has not passed all the other solar systems in the galaxy. It may not live long enough to reach the center of the galaxy either. I'm only a thousand years old and still have much to learn and see. The Earth changes as much as we do. So, do not expect me to know everything. I know very little. You'll understand someday."

"How do we know they'll be a 'someday'?"

"What have I told you about that? You cannot rule if you think that way!"

"Well, I've done the math! I do not see a way out of this!" Princess Guardians yelled at her mother.

"Lower your tone," Queen Sun answered calmly. "We will get nowhere like this. What we should do is evacuate Equality. Both Humans and Hunters."

"There's not enough time for that," she scoffed and shook her head.

"Yes, there won't be if you just stand here!"

"How are we supposed to get a message out that quickly?"

"Guardians, you are wasting time."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Never mind. I'll do it myself. In the meantime, you all cannot stay here either. Please, get out of Equality. I'll take care of the rest."

And like that, she flew away towards the castle. The others were silent for a moment until Prince Night crossed his arms.

"So much for next queen," he said to his sister.

"Shush, Night. It would be impossible and unrealistic to be able to get everyone out of Equality in a rushed amount of time!"

"So, your solution is do nothing?"

"My solution is finding a different course!"

"A different course? We don't have a different course!"

"Did you two not hear your mother?" Skate snapped at them. Shocked, they stopped arguing and turned to him. Prince Night opened his mouth but shut it when Skate raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, let's go," he nodded.

The small group left for the gate into and out of Equality and Freedom carried Nature, praying she would wake. Many other Equalians were already out too, but thousands upon thousands still needed to get out. Then, Freedom had a thought. What about Lady? Would the water aid her?

Freedom set Nature down on the grass. He felt ashamed of himself. He was supposed to be dead. But there he was breathing, and Nature not waking up. It was his job to protect her but he failed. He failed to protect the one thing he truly cared about anymore. It was tearing him in two looking at her. He felt sick to his stomach.

"Hey," Foxy tapped him on the shoulder. He jumped but calmed once he saw it was Foxy. "Are you okay?"

"No," Freedom fought tears. He had already showed much weakness, so he dared not show any more. Still, he bit his tongue.

Foxy stood there, unsure of how to react. Affection was not his thing or comfort, but he cared about Freedom and hated to see him so down. He could tell what was going on, how Freedom really felt. However, he did not mind it. If anything, he actually wanted a deeper more family like connection with him. They were already like brothers though.

"I think she will wake," he said at last. "Nature is strong."

"Nature is different," Freedom said a bit bitterly.

Again, he felt unsure. He couldn't argue with the statement, but why had Freedom said it so harshly?

"But you also think she will wake, right?"

"I don't know, Foxy... I wish it was me...."

"No, you don't really mean that. You're just frustrated. You're not thinking straight."

"I made a promise-."

"Life doesn't always work out we want it to."

"You don't understand."

"No, I do. You're scared, sad, angry. It's normal. Freedom, I've lived unfairly my whole life. You want answers and the life you wished to have."

"I don't want anything but Nature!"

"Calm down! Please," Foxy softened. He lowered his voice and sat down next to Freedom. "I know how you feel about her. I've known it for a while."

"...How?"

"You'd do anything for her no matter the cost. I never said anything because I like you. You're good for Nature. You're good to Nature. It's important to us."

"Us?"

"I'm not the only one. You're forgetting we're half animal. We've watched, observed, listened. Some of us are not going to admit it so easily though that we've all pretty much decided you're "a part of the pack". Does that make sense?"

"Is your father the one being difficult?"

"Yeah, you could say that. If Nature were for real my sibling, it would make sense for her to be stubborn because my father doesn't budge easily."

"... I don't know what I'm going to do if she doesn't wake up. I don't think I could live with myself, Foxy."

"Believe in her, Freedom. Sometimes it's all she needs. Believe."

Freedom thought about what that meant exactly. There were times when Nature was the strongest person he knew and others when she seemed fragile. How was believing supposed to help? If she was gone, she was gone. He hated the thought though and bit his tongue. He would do anything, so if Foxy thought believing would work, he had to try.

He picked up her right hand, held it in his, and lightly squeezed.

'You have to wake up,' he thought. 'I can't live without you now. Not after all the progress we made towards Jack and...us. Please, you have to.'

An hour had passed, most of the Equalians were out now. Queen Sun was just waiting for the few hundred in the Icelands. She had assigned Princess Ice and Princess Crystal to bring them. In the meantime, she was also scolding Princess Guardians for not helping at all.

The Hunters were as nervous as an introverted middle school student having to present in front of the class. The Humans were equally unsure how to take standing next to them. Most of them had never even seen each other's races. One could say they did not like it, but this was a life-or-death situation. Sometimes, you have to put aside your grudges and face challenges.

Besides, most of them were more worried about their homes being destroyed. Some were wondering about the Guardians, if they were right about General Justice and his family, what happened to Dasher, Nicole, Jewel, and Butterfly, and what the deal with Freedom was at the moment.

Especially his mother, who was ready to break down about Jack, find Karlos, and be able to talk to Freedom. However, he was in no mood to talk to anyone. He was more focused on Nature.

Another hour passed, and finally everyone was there. All one hundred six thousand people were outside the front of Equality's walls. The only ones possibly missing was the Guardians and Lady. Queen Sun had stopped lecturing Princess Guardians, for now she needed to think of a plan that would protect the people if the Dark Magic Monster decided to go beyond the walls. Knowing the history of magic, she was sure it would not hesitate to do so.

Luckily, within twenty minutes, the Guardians did decide to show themselves and talk to Queen Sun. They were not in a good mood themselves because of a demon, a Dark Magic Monster, and Guardian Jason was annoying them. The crowd had simmered down with their worry, more curious about what the Guardians would have to put into this. They didn't have much of a plan themselves.

"If you're so smart, you think of something!" Guardian Hannah yelled at Guardian Jason.

"You guys act like we haven't delt with these before," Guardian Jason rolled his eyes.

"It would be fine if we had the crystal," Guardian Phoebe said calmly, sketching a picture.

"You were supposed to watch it while we were busy!" Guardian Hannah continued at the Guardian boy.

"I'm not the one who can master the dead!"

"YOU'RE FIRE! HOW HARD CAN IT BE?"

"If it's not hard, why don't you two have the demon yet?"

"You had one job, Jason! ONE JOB!"

"How was I supposed to know what the demon would do? You two are the ones who've studied her for years!"

"We were gone for an hour!"

"Well, it's not my fault you can't do your job the first time!"

"Excuse me? You're not even supposed to be here! But, nooo, you just had to stay!"

"If you weren't such a pain, I wouldn't have to stay!"

They kept at it going back and forth. Eventually, Guardian Phoebe had had enough of their bickering and shut her sketch book. She walked over to them and knocked their heads together. They landed on the grass and saw birds flying in circles for a moment before snapping out of it.

"What the heck?" Guardian Jason complained, rubbing his forehead.

"The more you two argue, the less time we have," she replied seriously.

"Let me get this straight. While we're trying to figure out what happened-," Guardian Hannah began.

"Bull crap! You're yelling at me!" Guardian Jason interrupted.

"You're drawing, Phoebe. DRAWING!"

"If you'd shut your traps for a second, I'd share why, but until you get your heads together, I'm perfectly fine with flying solo!" Guardian Phoebe shook her head. They said nothing in reply. "Are you two done?"

"Yeah," Guardian Jason answered. "What do you got?"

After huddling and talking low, the three Guardians got secretive, so the Equalians no longer knew what they were up to. Not even Queen Sun was able to decipher their whispers. In a few minutes, they broke away, and Guardians Phoebe and Hannah began talking to Queen Sun. Guardian Jason got bored and decided to see how Freedom and Princess Guardians were holding up.

He found them under a tree, both in similar conditions. Princess Guardians was biting her nails and Freedom continued to not leave Nature's side.

"Hello," he greeted.

Princess Guardians looked up. "Who are you?"

"Oh, right. We haven't meant. I'm Guardian Jason, at those two dimboes services."

"He says he's Guardian Phoebe's nephew," Freedom closed his eyes.

"Really? What's her... favorite color?"

Guardian Jason slightly laughed. "Blue, every Guardian knows that."

"Favorite weapon?"

"Bow and arrows."

"Hobbies?"

"Writing, drawing, plotting, observing, singing, taking care of the dead, a soul talker, and designing."

"A soul talker?" Princess Guardians questioned innocently but glanced at Freedom. Freedom caught onto what she was doing. "What's that?"

"It's kind of self-explanatory. She talks to souls."

"Interesting. How old are you?"

"I don't have an answer, but in Human years, I'm ten."

"You're what?" She said in disbelief. "How long old are those two?"

"Phebes is fourteen and Hannah is thirteen."

"You're joking."

"No, time moves very slowly for us here. By the way, I know both your fathers."

"...How?"

"I'm not supposed to say anything. Just know that I know you two. The three of us know more about you three than you know about yourselves."

"Yeah, because that's not creepy at all," Freedom shook his head.

"What do you know about my father?" Princess Guardians demanded.

"He was a great person, wonderful leader."

"Was?"

"Did I say that? I meant "is". He isn't dead. Phebes would have said he was. He's still out there somewhere."

"Interesting," Princess Guardians whispered. "Why are you here? There's only ever been two Guardians."

"That's what Thing One and Thing Two over there wants you to believe," he nodded in the direction of the Guardians. "Don't let them fool you too much though."

Satisfied, he left them to return to the Guardians. They watched him whisper something to Guardian Phoebe, making her laugh. Princess Guardians turned to Freedom with a glint of hope in her eyes.

"It's funny. He never gives away information like that when Nature can hear. But the moment she can't, he's fine with saying a bunch of things," Freedom stated. "The Guardians are strange people."

"You two really were correct. There's something going on with us three. I bet they're not here for the Dark Magic Monster."

"Why are they here then?"

"Nature. They know something. I'm not sure what yet, but they know something. I can feel it."

"I don't get it. The other four are probably dead, but we're alive and Nature is... asleep?"

"Dark Magic Monsters are supposed to be a myth. Freedom, didn't Skate say they weren't sure what Nature was?"

"Yeah. She's not fully Human, Hunter, or Guardian."

"I have an idea. Have you ever heard 'The Lacuna Keeper' before?"

"No."

"Okay, 'Lacuna' means 'an unfilled space' or 'a missing portion of a book or manuscript'. It's also a noun. A 'keeper' is another word for 'guardian'. Put them together you get 'a guardian of a missing portion or unfilled space'. Skate mentioned Nature is like a balance. Jack needed her for unity."

"So?"

"The Lacuna Keeper is a myth too. Get this: it can form balances between worlds, it's incredibly intelligent, sensitive, hides tons of secrets, determined, fast, strong, can talk to animals, and the list goes on."

"Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"I hadn't thought about it before. There's a problem though."

"What?"

"The Lacuna Keeper is supposed to be kind of alien. I know from my mother Nature's real parents were Equalian."

"How does she know that?"

"Nature's from a farm just on the coast of Equality. It sat next to a small village. There were rumors everyone turned up dead there, but that was at least a month after she ended up with the Hunters."

"Nature told me her siblings were still there as far as she knew."

"Why would she know that?"

"Beats me. Maybe she sneaked a visit? I've never even heard of that place."

"That would be because my mother abandoned the place. It's not really part of Equality anymore. Anyway, the farm was deserted. What's strange to me is no one recognizes someone like Nature."

"Are you sure? She had a grandmother, Naturaleza. Nature looks exactly like her. I've seen a picture."

"That's the other thing. There are no records of anyone living on the farm, but my mother said a family was defiantly there. The only person alive the guards found was a man on the farm. His name was Alex. He told them he had four sisters, Blinky, Minky, Mumble, and Plum."

"Nature told me those names, but she also said she had another sister. Inky."

"Really? My mother suspected that was the farm Nature was from. Well, she was right, but Alex claimed he was alone. He was suspected as the murderer but there was no evidence to suggest that at all. My mother then questioned on his parents. He said their names were Maria and Charlie, and they were dead too."

"Nothing about Nature though from his mouth?"

"No, nothing."

"That's really odd. What happened to her sisters?"

"They just... disappeared."

"What does it have to do with 'The Lacuna Keeper'?"

"I was thinking, what if Maria and Charlie are not her biological parents? Nature looks nothing like her family. The only connection is pink hair, but their hair was dark pink."

"What about Naturaleza?"

"I think her and Nature were really related. I think something happened to Nature's biological parents and the records were wiped clean."

"Or they were never made," Freedom suggested.

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it. You can tell Nature is Equalian, but no one can draw connections to relatives. There's no law stating you have to be born in a hospital. Do you know the word 'Psithurism'?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Whispering the secrets of the Universe, Princess Guardians. Nature was telling me she's only ever heard the word from her grandmother. She's never seen it, and the only other time she heard it was out of my mouth. They," he pointed to the Guardians. "They don't want Nature to know something. So, there's your alien part."

"But that would have to mean she's part Human, part alien."

"Why didn't Maria and Charlie want her? Skate said the Guardians were around when Speedy and Foxy found her."

"Hasn't Nature told you anything?"

"She doesn't like to talk about it. The subject isn't taken lightly and most of it is off limits. The first week I spent with the Hunters, I talked with Foxy about it. He said they don't know what happened either. I'm lucky I could get their names. She was very tense about it too."

"Look, I don't know if you've caught it, but she has a very strong aura. It draws people in, good and bad. Whatever makes her unity, it's powerful. If you think about it, that... magic... grew. I doubt it stopped."

"The poison Jack used was to slow down the process of soul development."

"That explains a lot, but why go through so much trouble when Nature barely puts up a fight physically? Why was he trying to slow her down?"

Freedom tightened his grip on Nature's hand. "He was afraid," he realized. "We found someone who knew what the poison was and such. The woman told me Nature's soul was extremely rare and extremely powerful. Nature is dangerous but also a blessing. I think the demon and Jack were scared she would overcome them. When we were kidnapped, I swear I've never heard Nature more frightening than then. She basically mocked him with reverse psychology. I'm telling you, we were not guilty, but she is capable of murder."

"Reverse psychology, huh?"

"Yeah, if you thought her yelling at the Hunters was scary, that night against Jack was one hundred times worse. If this all works out, we might want to get her a therapist and check her sanity."

"It was that bad?"

"Oh, well, she was also almost drowned and self-harms herself too."

"Her mind sounds like a walk in the park," Princess Guardians said sarcastically. "So, are we thinking Lacuna Keeper?"

"Yeah."

At that moment, Nature's fingers on the hand Freedom was holding began moving. Freedom stopped and looked down at Nature, suddenly praying he hadn't imagined the movement.

"What's wrong, Freedom?" Princess Guardians asked.

"Don't tell me I'm losing it," he pleaded. "Come back to me, please."

After a few moments, slowly, Nature opened her eyes. Princess Guardians stood shocked, surprised she was alive. Freedom burst into tears and wrapped his arms around Nature. She only went along with it because she was confused. He broke away, figuring she needed room to breathe.

"...My...head...hurts," she finally said.

"It's going to for a few minutes. It's going to," he held her.

"But... I... feel... strange."

"Freedom, her eyes," Princess Guardians pointed out.

"What about them-?" He stopped.

They were rainbow. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, purple, pink, brown, black, grey, and white were all shaded into her eye color. He looked at them agape.

"Nature, do you feel okay?" He worryingly asked.

"I'm...not...sure. Didn't... we... die?"

"No, we're still here somehow. There's a Dark Magic Monster now, and Queen Sun had us all evacuate to outside Equality's walls."

The realization came to Nature and she started to cry, feeling Freedom's face to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

"I thought...you died!"

"I'm here. I thought so too, but I'm here," he comforted her.

Nature took a moment to process the situation. Then, when she noticed the Guardians, a sadness filled her. She thought it being odd considering she never liked them in the first place. She felt... pity for them. She had no idea why though. Why would she feel pity?

"Why are they... just standing there?" She questioned.

"They're apparently discussing a plan," Freedom answered.

Suddenly, the Dark Magic Monster roared, and the Equalians jumped, screamed, or quivered. Nature looked around at the thousands of people. She attempted to stand but her legs were shaking. Freedom rose too, ready to support Nature if she needed it. She turned around to him.

"We shouldn't all be clustered like this. We're easy targets," she said.

"I'm sure Queen Sun knows that," he assured her.

"Is Lady here?"

"Uh... probably not. I doubt she would show herself anyway."

"Freedom, we can't leave her in there. It's not right."

"Wouldn't the water protect her?"

"What about the flowers?"

"Nature, we can't go back."

"It's not even towards Settle Sun!"

"We don't know that!"

She crossed her arms saying, "I'm going to go get Lady. No one gets left behind."

"What are you two arguing about?" Princess Guardians asked.

"Nature wants to get the woman I was talking about."

"Nature, you're in no condition for that."

"You're not a doctor," Nature firmly replied. "And you can't stop me." She walked away from them towards the gates.

"Nature!" Freedom called after her in annoyance. They caught up and stopped her. "Why do you insist on going into the danger?"

"Lady is important. She helped us. She helped me. It's not right to leave her behind."

Freedom took a big sigh, debating with himself. She was right, but it was too dangerous. They were lucky they were alive, but Nature was determined to go right back in. He knew if he said no, she'd go anyway without him or Princess Guardians.

"What do you think, Princess Guardians?" He shook his head.

"I don't know. I guess we'd be safe as long as it stays in Settle Sun."

"Great! Let's go!" Nature exclaimed.

Carefully, they slipped past everyone and opened the gates only by a crack. The Guardians noticed and told Queen Sun to open the gates. She thought they were crazy, but she had to listen.

Nature, Freedom, and Princess Guardians meant with dark smoke everywhere. The Dark Magic Monster was somewhere near, most likely in the sky. Nature led the way towards Aqua Fell, but they got no farther than Town Square before the dragon-like monster swooped down from the sky.

"I told you this was a bad idea!" Freedom hissed as they hid behind a market stand tent.

The Dark Magic Monster was gigantic. Its wings rolled out a mile long each and rose one thousand meters into the air. The monster had to be at least as huge as the castle. Nature knew their hiding spot was not going to last them forever.

But she had a strange feeling to the monster, almost like a connection. There was something familiar about it to her. She could hear its thoughts. It was scared, unaware of its surroundings, but also very angry it had been awakened. Therefore, it acted out, breaking things to settle itself. It saddened Nature knowing it was just a confused creature that everyone thought was a monster.

She knew how it felt and it turned her stomach inside out. If long ago she changed, maybe it could too. Maybe all it wanted was someone to understand it. Someone to show it another way.

"Stay here," she said to Freedom and Princess Guardians.

"What?" Princess Guardians questioned.

"Nature, get back here!" Freedom panicked.

But she ignored them, and came out to reveal herself to the Dark Magic Monster. It noticed her immanently and raged towards her. She meant it in front of a pillar it had smashed in half a few moments earlier.

'Stop,' she said to it through her mind. 'It's okay. I'm not going to harm you.'

It growled like it had a lump in its throat as the darkness kept swallowing the small town. But the Equalians could see what was happening, and they were confused. Guardian Jason was holding Speedy back from going anywhere.

'I know you're upset, but destruction is not the answer. They are frightened as much as you are. Your demons are active. Isn't it tiresome being negative? I know how you feel. I've been here before. It hurts being called a monster, doesn't it? Well, you're not. You're beautiful. They just don't know it yet.'

She took a few steps forward, and little dots of light started to appear. They were the same colors as her new found eyes. She saw past the Dark Magic Monster's imperfections. Those eyes had granted her a new perspective. There was evil in kindness and kindness in evil.

'You're like a caterpillar. There's nothing on the outside hinting at what you'll become when you become a butterfly. They'll just have to wait for you to show yourself. This isn't the real you. Negativity has consumed you, but you can change. Don't let them take the light that's inside you.'

The Dark Magic Monster softened and lowered its head down to her. Nature gently put a hand on its jaw and the other on its nose. Then, she rested her head against its head.

'All you need to understand is yourself worth.'

It shut its eyes with her, both of them starting to glow. At a leisurely pace, the darkness picked off of the Dark Magic Monster's skin like confetti. The amulet rings on Nature's fingers flickered purple and pink too. As more of the dark came off the monster, the darkness drew back.

Nature stepped away from the monster and smiled. It smiled too with small tears. When the dark had faded away behind them, the monster was a golden dragon. Its eyes had remained black, but it gained white pupils.

'Take care of yourself, small one,' it said and flew away to an unknown place past the clouds, possibly to never be seen again.

The darkness had left behind Dasher, Nicole, Jewel, and Butterfly on the ground. They groaned and sat up, rubbing their heads. Freedom and Princess Guardians ran to Nature.

"How did you do that?" Princess Guardians asked.

"It was just misunderstood," Nature replied.

However, it wasn't over yet.

The dark magic had passed, but Jack lifted rocks off himself. He was damaged severely with cuts and bruises all over him. He huffed and glared at the three. Then, he drew his sword, ready to pounce on them, but Nature made a wall of ice block him from attacking.

"Don't come near us," she growled.

"Nature?" Freedom started to question as sparks of electricity shot around her.

"Freedom, I think we'd better step back," Princess Guardians suggested. They did and just in time too.

The ice broke and Jack tried again. Nature lifted water with her hand from a nearby pond and splashed it onto him. Then, she lost all her senses. It felt to her she was having an episode of transient global amnesia, a moment in time when you forget where you are or what you are doing. Except she was doing something. She was using earthly elements against Jack.

Nature was unaware of her actions though. She could hear a fountain's water running in the distance. For a moment, she had forgotten who she even was. Whatever magic she had, she couldn't control it. It happened on its own. It overwhelmed her soul on the inside. She closed her eyes and embraced the smell of everything.

Time moved slowly in her own little world. She could hear her heart beating slowly. When she opened her eyes, she felt like she was seeing for the first time. Nature was floating and still battling Jack, and still had no idea about it. The water she was using tickled like feathers on her face.

A passing thought made her think the experience was delusional, and a trick her mind had created. Science had stated animals could see more than a Human, and she understood that now. There were colors no Human could ever dream of around her.

In a faint, more distant land perhaps, voice, she could hear Lady. Lady's words were foggy to her though and sounded foreign.

"Nature, you need to calm down. You're going to give yourself a heart attack!" Lady edged on, but Nature only heard it as a fuzz.

Then, there was a great white light.

A touch from Lady made her feel dizzy and shut her eyes.

'Nature,' a female voice whispered. 'Nature.'