The return of a lost friend

It's early night, and Dante's out heading towards his date's house. He had already spotted a great place for the two to sit down together and enjoy the night. Even though he was excited for his date with Ashley, he still had a fearful thought in the back of his head.

Dante~ I hope nothing goes wrong… I really want her to enjoy our time together and not feel afraid of me after I tell her the truth. I'm getting closer to her home. She said she'd be ready by nine. So I just have to show up on the dime and she'll probably be impressed with my time management.

It's only minutes until nine o'clock approaches and Dante's standing on the rooftop of another house across the street from Ashley's house. A minute before then he quickly made his way to her front door waiting for the last few seconds to pass. The second the time turned nine, he knocks on the door waiting for his date to appear. A minute goes by and nobody answers. He knocked again but still the door wasn't opened. He Decided to call her but she didn't answer. Dante was about to leave feeling completely upset until he heard something coming from the other side of the door. He puts his ear to the door and listens to what's going on.

*Inside the house*

Ashley~ Why is it so hard for you to accept the fact I'm not a kid anymore!? I'm practically a grown woman! You can't control me anymore!

Ashley's father~ You still live in my house! You follow my rules! If you want to go out and do what you want then fine… but know when you walk out that door, it'll be the last time you ever do.

Ashley~ Ugh! You never let me do anything. It's like you hate seeing me grow up. I wanted you to meet the guy I'm going out with but you won't even let me out of the house.

Ashley's father~ You're going out with a boy!?

Ashley~ Yes! I told you this this morning! Do you not listen to me!?

Ashley's father~ Who is he? He's not some junkie is he? I want a whole background check on him.

Ashley~ NO! You're not doing this to me tonight. This is the one time I finally met someone who I can connect with, and you don't approve of it.

Ashley's father~ I don't care, I'm not letting my little girl go out with some random guy I don't even know. For all I know he could be some kidnapping killer.

Ashley~ HE'S NOT A KIDNAPPING KILLER! Don't you ever talk badly on his name, EVER! He's better than any guy I know in this world. That includes my own father, who treats me like I'm still ten years old!

Ashley's father~ You're not going out tonight, and if you go out with that boy… then don't even bother to come back. Go to your room for the rest of the night. I'm done arguing with you.

Ashley~ If only mom was still here. She would have loved to see me grow up and make my own decisions, unlike you…

Ashley leaves the room making her way to her bedroom. Dante walks away from the door then tries to call her again. The phone rings for a few seconds but she finally picks up.

Ashley~ Hey Dante…

Dante~ Hey… are you ok? You sound like you've been crying.

Ashley~ That's because I have. My dad still treats me like I'm a kid so he shelters me in the house.

Dante~ Oh… so I'm guessing he isn't gonna let you go out tonight.

Ashley~ Yeah… I'm really sorry. I really wanted to see you again.

Dante~ What if I said I can make it happen? What if you could see me again and we still went out?

Ashley~ How? My dad won't open the door for you and I can't sneak out the back.

Dante~ Ashley… I have something to tell you. I wanted to tell you on our date but I guess I have to tell you now.

Ashley~ What is it…?

Dante~ I need you to do what I say and don't ask questions. Stand in the middle of your room. When you do that I need to to send me your current coordinates then stand away from that position.

Ashley~ What are you-

Dante~ Just… do it.

I hung up the phone waiting for her to send me the coordinates. When she sent them, I immediately night traveled to the center of Ashley's room. When I looked at her, I saw her look at me with the most surprised look on her face. It was almost as if she saw me kill someone.

Dante~ I know what you're thinking! I can explain. Basically, to tell you the short version, I'm not a normal human being. I'm a Rogue Owl. Which is another thing I'll have to explain later.

Ashley~........

Dante~ Ashley…?

Ashley~........

Dante~ *sigh* I knew this would happen. I guess I'm better off leaving huh?

Ashley~ Not without me…

Dante~ Ash-

Ashley~ No questions asked.

Ashley began to pack a bag with some of her stuff and clothes. She then grabbed a slip of paper and wrote a little note to someone and left it on the dresser. Before I knew it, she grabbed on to my hand as tight as she could and told me…

Ashley~ Take me away from here…

Dante~ But what about your father? He'll be completely pissed if you leave and never come back.

Ashley~ He said it himself… if I leave, then I better not come back. I want to live life to the fullest and I can't do that here in this house. So I'm begging you to take me from here… please, it's all I want. If you love me then you'll take me with you.

I stood and thought to myself if this was a good idea. I knew I couldn't take her to the forest because my mother doesn't know that she knows about the real me. I had to keep her somewhere but not the forest.

Dante~ Hold on, I need to make a call.

I walked outside of her room and onto the outside balcony. Without missing a beat, I called my mother to explain what was going on and see what my options were.

Rose~ Hey sugar! How's the date going?

Dante~ Mom, she knows… And she wants me to take her from her father.

At that moment… my mother knew this night escalated to an all new level of seriousness.

Rose~ Ummm, okay, Uhh… why does she want you to take her with you?

Dante~ Her father doesn't give her freedom to live her life and grow up. In fact, he's the reason we haven't started our date yet. She wants to hang out with me but her father won't let her because he doesn't trust me. He also told her if she leaves, then she can't come back to her house.

Rose~ Clear signs of an obsessive and strict parent that shelters their kids. That's never good for the kids' mental health.

Dante~ Yeah and she's begging me to take her with me. I want to but I don't know where to take her.

Rose~ Bring her over to the Forest. Trust me, it's best if she lives here. It's safe and she won't be found by anyone who doesn't know about this place. Nobody except me knows about our Homeland.

Dante~ Alright… I'll bring her there. Thank you mom.

Rose~ No problem sugar.

I hung up the phone then walked up to Ashley and held her hand.

Dante~ Any last words In this room before you never see it again?

Ashley~ No… I'm done looking at this room. It's all the same and has been the same for years upon years.

Dante~ Alright… hold on tight.

Within seconds, I night traveled us right to the center of the Forest.

Dante~ Welcome!

Ashley~ A Forest? Actually… pretty beautiful if you ask me

Dante~ Yeah, it's a bit weird, but it's what we call "home".

Ashley~ "We"?

Dante~ The other Rouges like me. My mother and Rick. We're working on getting more rogues to live here but we haven't started the process yet.

Ashley~ That sounds really nice. I can't wait to meet them. So… what do we do now?

Dante~ Well we can head to my room in that little house. You can keep your stuff there.

Ashley~ Awesome!

The two head inside and make their way to Dante's room. When they got there, they found someone standing in the middle of the room gazing at his knife.

Dante~ RICK!?

Rick~ OH! Ummm…

Dante~ What are you doing here?

Rick~ Just wanted to look at your knife. It's really cool to look at up close.

Dante~ Well I appreciate the compliment, but I never said you could just walk in here when you want.

Rick~ I'm sorry bro… Hey, who's the chick?

Dante~ Someone really important.

Ashley~ I'm Ashley, what's your name?

Rick~ The name is Rick. Future alpha Rogue Owl in the making.

Dante~ Yeah right! Good luck ripping that title from me.

Ashley~ What do you mean "Title"?

Rick~ He hasn't told you? Dante is practically the top dawg around here. He's right next to his mother Rose.

Dante~ My mother is the strongest and the smartest around here. She's who calls all of the shots.

Ashley~ Wow… she sounds like somebody you wouldn't want to play with.

Rick~ She is somebody you don't want to play with.

Dante~ Yeah… Hey, I'm gonna go on ahead and let her know that you're here. I'll be right back.

Dante hugs Ashley before he runs off to his home.

Ashley~ He's such an amazing guy.

Rick~ A tough one as well. I need to let you know something about him. Keep this between you and us.

Ashley~ I don't think I should keep secrets from Dante, don't you think?

Rick~ Like I said, it's about Dante. Anyway, I feel like Rose won't be the strongest soon. You don't know this but… Dante isn't as innocent as he may seem. I've seen him do things that I don't think any other Rogue would have the balls to do.

Ashley~ Like what?

Rick~ I saw him go on a murder spree… not just any ordinary murder spree from any Rogue. Even though I'm not a Rogue yet, I still had sense to know what I saw wasn't normal. And it all happened because I told him to go crazy with that knife.

Ashley~ You mean the purple glowing knife?

Rick~ Yup… the second I handed it to him, he lost all control of himself. You would think what you saw was a demon that fed off of blood and sins.

Ashley~ He killed…?

Rick~ Yup, that's the nature of a Rogue Owl. Soon I'll become one as well. Anyway, watch your back. You never know when that side of him will show again.

Rick leaves the room but Dante returns seconds later.

Dante~ Rose said you can stay here for as long as you like. Also, she wants to speak to you alone in a few minutes.

Ashley~ Why me? Also, why do we have to be alone?

Dante~ I dunno. You might as well make your way to her room. She's on the same floor as us, down the hall, last door on the right.

Ashley~ Thanks… I'll be back.

Ashley tightly hugs Dante and kisses him before walking away. She walks up to Rose's room door and enters. She sees Rose sitting in the middle of her bed crisscrossed with the lights dim while looking at a picture of someone. She instructs Ashley to sit down in the padded chair in front of her bed. Ashley sits and begins to speak to her.

Ashley~ So… What's up Rose?

Rose~ It's been a while since I saw you. You were the same age as Dante… you two used to play together when you were just little and naive kids. Dante doesn't remember because his memories are completely wiped but you probably do.

Ashley~ Yeah, I do… I've loved him ever since then. When you guys had to move, it hurt me… a lot. I spent a lot of my days wondering if I'd ever see him again. I'm glad you called me and told me to meet you at the beach. But my question is why did you do it? What purpose do I serve to you?

Rose~ That's a simple question in need of a simple answer. The reason why is because I know you're strong as well as intelligent. I also know you're willing to do anything if it means stealing my son's heart. Not only that, you're definitely not as strong or smart as Dante, but you're still incredibly strong and smart enough to kill that pathetic girl Twilight while remaining undetected.

Ashley~ Who exactly is this… "Twilight"?

Rose~ Dante's girlfriend, or should I say ex girlfriend.

Ashley~ Twilight… I don't know who she is, but I already hate her. I can't let her get in my way.

Rose~ Good! Because of that, I have a job for you.

Ashley~ What do you want from me?

Rose~ I need you to kill the girl. She doesn't deserve to have my son in her life. He needs a strong, intelligent and beautiful woman like you. He doesn't need a weakling like Twilight. If you can do that, then you can have him for your whole life.

Ashley~ My whole life. Just Dante and I…? Holding hands and snuggling together at night. I couldn't ask for anything more perfect than that.

Rose~ Then make sure when you go to the city, that you come back here knowing she's dead. I'll only give you two chances until I kill you myself.

Ashley~ I won't let you down. I promise.

Rose~ You better not. Now get out of my room. It's getting late and I need to rest for tomorrow.

Ashley~ Yes ma'am.

Ashley leaves the room and enters Dante's room again. She finds Dante in bed dozing off and climbs in with him after she ties her hair in a short ponytail.

Ashley~ Hey…

Dante~ What's up? What did she want to talk about?

Ashley~ Just wanted to let me know that she's glad to have me here and to make myself at home.

Dante~ That's nice. *Yawn* It's been a really long night, huh?

Ashley~ Yeah, I'm getting kinda tired.

Dante~ Same, I'm so glad we sprung for the king sized mattress. As tall as I am, I knew it was a good idea to do so.

Ashley~ How tall are you?

Dante~ Last time I checked, I was like… six foot, four or five.

Ashley~ Do you get that from your mother? Because she's pretty tall herself.

Dante~ Actually, both my mom and dad are tall. At least I know my mom is. I never got a chance to talk to my dad.

Ashley~ What happened?

Dante~ He was killed accidentally. The man who killed him was sent to prison for a really long time.

Ashley~ I'm sorry for your loss.

Dante~ *sigh* Sometimes I wish he was here. At least here long enough to know everything about him. I'd give my soul just to see him in person.

Ashley~ I probably would do the same if I were you. *Yawn*

Dante~ It's probably best that we get some sleep. Especially you Ashley, you have the longest night out of us all.

Ashley~ Yeah… *sigh* Well, goodnight.

Dante~ Goodnight to you too.

Dante wraps his arm around Ashley as they both quickly turn in for the night. Back at the hospital, Donny lays in bed thinking about Sunset while Maggie continues to fix his wounds. He kept talking to himself about what he felt when he let Sunset rest on his shoulder. Maggie noticed this and wanted to see what was up with him.

Maggie~ Hey, Donny? Are you ok? You've been quietly talking to yourself for a while now.

Donny~ Oh… it's nothing much. I just want to be let out of this hellhole right now.

Maggie~ Believe me, we all don't want you in here as well. But no matter how mentally draining it is, you have to stay here until you make a full recovery.

Donny~ I could just walk out the door and say I'm completely fine.

Maggie~ Even though we can consider you're nearly healed we can't think you're one hundred percent. You still need to rest here and wait until your arms have recovered completely. Now sit still, I have to continue closing your wounds. We're almost there so just hang in there. Also this part might hurt a bit so bit down on this thick wood stick in case you feel pain. This is gonna take a while.

Donny~ Please rogue gods have mercy on my soul.

Maggie~ Here we go.

Donny~ UNGH! Damnit!

Maggie~ I'm sorry Donny… but it has to be done. I can't make this any less painful.

Donny~ Just do what you have to do.

Maggie~ Alright… Remember to bite down on the stick.

We continued for at least four hours before she could finish closing my arm. I was in so much pain to the point where I passed out in the process. To make things worse, she wasn't even finished. She was only half way done with this arm and she had to return the next day to continue closing my wounds. This was not going to be fun or pleasurable whatsoever… At least sleeping helped me get through a fourth of the process but I still had to endure the rest. I just hoped after this is over then I can finally get back to training and look for Dante.

*Meanwhile in the Forest*

It was dark, but it was also quiet. So quiet, all you could hear was the sounds of trees rustling and wind blowing. In the mix of the dark and gusty Forest Rose was outside gazing at the central fountain and the orb powering it. She took her hand and reached into the fountain water realizing how cold it was and started remembering how life was in the past. She found joy in doing so because she felt it was the only thing that kept her happy aside from her son Dante. Rose was about to leave after sitting there for so long until she heard something out of the ordinary. She heard the sound of a stick breaking in half but everyone was in their homes fast asleep. That's when she sprung up and stood her ground.

Rose~ Who the hell is there? Show yourself or I'll find you myself.

Rose was alert and aware of the fact someone was out there but they wouldn't show who they were. That's when Rose put her abilities to good use and concentrated on one thing which was any sound of steps being taken around her. That's when she realized the intruder was running away from her but luckily she was able to figure out what direction they were heading. She chased them throughout the forest until minutes later she finally caught them. It was only one person wearing a mask and hoodie with long black hair. Rose unmasked them with any hesitation and what she saw left her made of nothing but questions.

Rose~ You… BITCH!

Jamie~ Long time no see huh!?

Rose~ You're supposed to be dead!

Jamie~ And you're supposed to be Dante's caring and loving mother. Tell me, what the hell is so loving and caring about erasing his memories and forcing him to kill? Not only that, you're trying to kill the person he loves most in the world. HOW COULD YOU!?

Rose~ How did you…

Jamie~ I've been watching you for as long as i can remember. All I have to say to you is that you're fucking sick in the head and I can't wait until Donny and Rip finds him and kills you and your replaceable little helpers. I'm gonna leave this forest and let them know where Dante is and take something I know you can't live without.

Rose~ You're not going anywhere! At this point you know too much and I'm gonna make sure i go to bed tonight knowing you're fucking lifeless.

Jamie~ Test your luck, why don't you? I'm not the same Owl I was before.

Jamie balled up a fist and infused a lot of her energy into it then struck the heaviest hitting punch Rose had ever felt and ran off. The punch left her completely speechless and weak. She could barely stand but she had to endure it and catch her as fast as possible. Rose chased her for hours until they finally had a standoff in front of the fountain. Rose could see Jamie eyeing the fountain and what was in it and that's when she finally figured out what she came here for.

Rose~ I see you staring at the orb and you're not gonna get it.

Jamie~ Says who? You? You can't even stand up right. Taking what's in that fountain won't take much at all.

Rose~ Oh yeah! Oh no… dammit!

Rose nearly collapsed on the floor with her insides in complete pain. She didn't realize it until now but that punch wasn't just some ordinary punch from a Night Owl. That punch was something special. She took a good look at and into Jamie's eyes then finally realized what she was up against.

Rose~ You fucking… bastard. You're a fucking Rogue! That's how you got all that energy. Even though I took it from you, you still were able to unlock your inner Rogue and regain your power and a lot more with it. You sly son of a bitch.

Jamie~ Yup! And also, you might want to say goodnight before you fall asleep. I didn't just punch you. I also forced you to chase me down so not only will your body be in more pain from all the stress, but will also be ten times more fatigued than It would have been in the beginning.

Rose~ Fuck… you…

Jamie casually walked over to the fountain and grabbed the orb from the center. She also took a large and fancy looking plastic bottle and filled it with the fountain's water. Before she left, she got close to Rose who was already flat on the ground by now and picked her up by the neck.

Jamie~ One more thing, I know this won't kill you… but I want you to know we're even now.

Jamie closed her hand enough to nearly crush Rose's neck like she did to her long ago. After that, Rose completely collapsed onto the flat ground completely unconscious. Jamie took the opportunity to leave the area before she was caught by anyone else and did so successfully. She began to make her way towards the city where Donny is hospitalized with a way to completely heal him in seconds and with the orb in her hands.

Jamie~ Don't worry Donny and Rip… I'm coming home and I'm coming home with good news. So, this is the soul artifact the Owls swore to protect. Well, we're about to see what this thing is truly capable of.

Meanwhile, Rose is still flat on the ground trying not to pass out from fatigue. She began to stand in total pain then started walking back to her house. When she got there l, she made it all the way to her room and laid in bed. She tried to get comfortable but the pain was unbearable for her. She could barely move without her intestines feeling a sharp pain.

Rose~ D-damnit, that bitch… I'm gonna make her pay. She'd better hope someone kills me before I get to her… DAMNIT! Ouch…! It hurts to yell. *Sigh* I'll have to find a way to cover up my wounds so Dante doesn't go crazy. If he sees how bad of condition I'm in, then he'll head to the city and kill Jamie himself and we can't have that. Seeing Donny and the others could trigger something and I need to make sure that won't happen when he actually gets to see them. Damn… She took the orb, but at least she and the others can't control it. Just one mess up, and they're dead. First thing in the morning, I'll send Rick out to retrieve it and bring it back. Without that orb, we can't begin recruiting Rogues for the empire. For now… I need to rest and try to regain at least *some* strength.

Rose soon fell asleep with Jamie on her mind the whole night. Meanwhile Jamie herself only had one person in mind and that was Dante. It brought her nothing but pain and misery knowing he wasn't who he was before. With every mile she traveled, there was a single tear that dropped down her face.

Jamie~ Dante… you were there for me when nobody else was. You helped understand what it's like to have a home, family, and friends. You gave me a chance when nobody else would. And most importantly… you gave me the opportunity to have who I can consider my amazing and caring brother. And it's because of all of that, is why I'm gonna find some way to bring your memories back. Even if it takes a lifetime, I'll find a way. And it's all gonna start with this orb.