#it would be very silly and cute if he couldnt get rid of them in any form but that wouldnt rlly work | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dontjudgemebymykpoptrash · 4 years

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Saw A.C.E in Chicago and Atlanta this week and had meet and greet packages for both stops (no I couldn't afford it, yes my bank account overdrafted whoops).

It was ammazingggg. LONG STORY AHEAD.

The question I asked was answered by Chan. Bless his heart he struggled so much to say my name and I was in the second row on the furthest side from him. I stood up and waved so he could see me. They asked how to pronounce my name and BK actually said it perfectly, I was so impressed!

The question that was chosen was "What hobby do you want to try that you haven't tried before". He said Cooking, cause he isn't good at it and Donghun won't eat his food.

When the item signing started, BK would interact with us a lot and the girls in front of us took the liberty of teaching him the phrase "Let's get this bread." His face when they explained that bread = money was priceless. Experiencing that magical moment will live with me forever since he has been saying it nonstop since then.

So since PLT I've decided my "thing" for each autograph I can get is making my dumb pun fans. Eventually I'll just have a wall of these dang things and I'm excited about it. I made one for each my friend and me. Here's mine.

The other thing I prepared for them I kept super secret because I very much wanted to see their reaction to it. I didn't post it publicly anywhere. In line with Choice teasingly referring to Junhee as a lizard much to the delight of the fandom and the rest of A.C.E while hysterically bugging Jun, I couldn't resist... I'd always wanted to give away cute things at concerts but since I'm also an asshole I used my exceptionally mediocre photoshop skills to make

These beauties.

I originally only had 150 to hand out and I was actually worried I wouldn't be able to get rid of them all. I thought people might think they're dumb and not want any. Then due to a print shop mistake I ended up with 650. Whoops.

Before the meet and greet they tell us explicitly we are not allowed to give them anything and if they catch us trying to sneak them something they'll escort us out. My plan to see their reaction was almost destroyed! But I was very graciously given permission to -show- them the card, not give it to them (don't worry. They each got two in their gift boxes).

A.C.E tends to always stand/sit in the same order, so just as I expected, Chan was up first. He understood the pun of my fan! He thought it was really cute and gave such a big reaction I was pleased. Then I showed him the card and it was even bigger. I told him it was Junhee and he full on kicked out a leg and hit the table as he laughed which made me happy. He shook my hand.

Up next was Donghun who was the most quiet. I showed him the card after he signed my fan and he asked who it was. I told him it was Jun and he laughed and probably judged me a lot but then he gave me a high five and interlaced our fingers for a moment so I didn't feel completely embarrassed. The person behind me was so excited they moved onto Donghun before Jun was ready for me so I was waiting in limbo for a few seconds.

Leader Jun in the middle, the reaction I wanted most. He signed my fan and then I put the card down for him to see. He asked who it was, he seemed surprised. I told him it was him and he laughed and tried to deny it. He asked what kind of lizard it was, I told him it was a giant day gecko because I think they're the cutest. I told him I made sure to give them some in their gift box, and that we would see him again in Atlanta. He shook my hand and then the person behind me got excited again lol.

Byeongkwan was next! This boy is an absolute doll okay? The first thing he said to me is that he liked my lipstick (it was green). He signed my fan, then I showed him the card and he was beyond stoked. He laughed so loud and even held it up to Jun pointing it out to everyone. I promised him he got two in his gift box. He asked if I made one of each member and I told him no, but promised him I would next year (me and my big mouth). He held my hand and interlaced fingers and was just so sweet until the person behind me encouraged me on again.

WOW. OKAY. So Sehyoon is my bias af I was VISIBLY SHAKING at this point and as I set my fan down it so obnoxiously tapped the table several times. He tapped his lips and pointed at mine and said "pretty". I thanked him and said it was green for "cactus". I'm not sure if he understood cause he just repeated "cactus" and cocked his head slightly before signing my fan. Then I showed him the card. He asked who it was and I said Jun. He laughed a little and then I told him he was my favorite. He had the quietest lil thank you, then took my hand in both his soft tiny bby hands and I think my brain melted cause I couldnt make eye contact anymore it was too much. Just thinking about it is making my heart hurt. (To be clear, I am in no way special, he held everyone's hand the same way).

After that, we did the pictures! I very shyly wanted to stand between BK and Wow. I didn't do anything special this time around cause the pose I wanted was done by two other people so I just asked for cute cheek pokies. They were having so much fun with people so that inspired my next photo request. As I was walking away from the photo BK told me again that he really liked my lipstick and I was over the moon.

I brought about half the cards with me to hand out hoping I wouldn't have extras and people LOVED THEM? I ran out and felt bad that I didn't bring more!

The concert was AWESOME!! They're so interactive with fans I had several moments with EACH of them, but my favorite is when Wow kicked up a heart and he saw me catch it all goofy instead of letting him hit the woah and he laughed and mimicked me. He also handed me two lollipops (I gave one to my friend) but I'm never gonna eat it.

For the hi touch Chan handed us our photo cards, and hi fived us. They were oddly out of order (chan, Donghun, BK, Wow, Jun). I managed to tell him and Donghun they did amazing, then BK told me AGAIN he still loved my lips. I was so excited I told him "it'll be BLUE next time" and he said "oh!" BUT BY DOING THAT MY DUMBASS MISSED THE CHANCE TO LOOK INTO WOW'S AND JUN'S EYES UGH I WAS SO UPSET AT MYSELF also I got yelled at by security (rightly so).

Next is Atlanta!

I started handing out cards earlier and got worried again cause there were quite a few people that weren't interested at all. Fortunately by the end of the show there were so many people wanting them I offered to do a reprint if necessary. Some people even said they were going through the hi touch holding it up which I LOVED.

Anyway, this time during the Meet and Greet I was in the front row directly in front Byeongkwan and Wow. I WAS NOT OKAY. I kept making eye contact and getting so shy ugh. Byeongkwan recognized me and tapped his lips and winked when he saw me (I was wearing blue lipstick this time). BK got my question (the interpreter said my name perfectly without me needing to tell her, I was so impressed!) I asked what concept they wanted to try that they hadn't tried yet. He said they had already done everything and I cocked my head giving him a disbelieving look. He then admitted that they hadn't done the cutesy boy concept and I lost it- I cant imagine them trying to pull that off.

For future Choice in my position- these boys have ears like BATS okay. There was one time Jun said something like "it's his choice." And I quietly said to the person next to me "no we're choice." And he looked at me and said "You're right! You're all choice!" I was shook.

Wow got asked what his favorite dessert to eat is and he said chocolate anything, then listed things "Chocolate cake. Chocolate ice cream. Chocolate rice." At this point everyone exclaims and he gets his silly lil smile and says "Chocolate fish." And everyone loses it. It was so funny and cute.

Later Jun was asked if he preferred pancakes or waffles and it was a really hard question for him. He said he had been eating more pancakes since coming to the US but he liked both a lot. He just didn't like Chocolate pancakes and I said "cause Wow eats them all?" And wow just very dreamily says "Choco pancakes...." I about died.

BK was asked if he wanted to go to the aquarium and he said he really hoped to. He asked if there were beluga and everyone said yes but I said "But they have WHALE SHARKS!" which imo is the coolest thing about the Georgia aquarium. None of them seemed to know exactly what I meant but they were excited by the concept of the words "whale" and "shark" together. (Spoiler alert: The next day they totally went and got pics with the whale shark).

Finally BK asked where people recommended they eat. Someone suggested sushi at first. I thought it was funny to recommend sushi when visiting the US. BK seemed of the same mindset so chicken and waffles came up and Jun loudly said WAFFLES! To which, Wow said in his same dreamy tone "chocolate waffles" and I looked at him and said "chocolate chicken?" embarrassing the HELL out of myself cause everyone was super grossed out by it and making a scene. I hid but my friend said Wow thought it was funny. I think she was trying to make me feel better.

So the item signing time comes up. My DUMB ASS forgot my album at home so the day before I had gone on a panicked shopping spree and decided on a pot for my cactus.

Chan was up first as usual. He recognized me and asked if I was in Chicago and I said yes! He asked what the pot was and I told him it was for my cactus plant. He was so adorable, while he was signing it he said quietly "grow well." So now it has to. This time he did not do a high five with me.

Next was Donghun. He looked so confused at my pot. I told him it was for my cactus and he just kinda nodded. It was very quiet because I had tried to learn a short phrase for him in korean but I got too nervous and I couldn't say it. I just thanked him. I'll have to keep practicing.

Jun was next and also asked me if I had been in Chicago and thanked me for coming again. I told him it was my last stop but I knew they would keep doing amazing. He asked about the pot and said it was so cute and signed super big. He shook my hand.

BK was next and he complimented my lips again. I asked him if he liked the green or blue better and he said both were good. He asked about the pot and signed it for me, he said it was cute and he liked it. He high fived me when it was time to move on.

WOW. AGAIN. okay so he asked about the pot and I said it was for my cactus and he mimed planting a cactus while looking up at me and I nodded while melting cause he is SO GODDAMN CUTE OKAY. Then while he was signing it I worked up my courage cause I had tried to learn a phrase for him as well BUT I MESSED UP I MESSED UP SO BAD IT WAS BAD OKAY. He was so confused and thank GOD the interpreter was right there and she asked "what are you trying to say" and she helped me say it. I was SO EMBARRASSED I had practiced so much and was saying it SO WELL up until that moment. Once I managed he smiled and said I did good then took my hand and said something which the interpreter translated for me and I just grabbed my heart with my free hand and then had to just cover my face I couldnt handle it. Walking away was hard but staying was harder.

Of course that just put me back in my seat directly in front of him.

Dont judge me, but I was trying to say, "You're so awesome it makes my heart hurt." And his response was "Then I'll prescribe you some medicine" and I KNOW its cheesy and overdone but I wanted that moment once for me so I took my chance. Anyway I looked like a damn fool but it was over.

The last dumb thing I did as the signing went on cause we kept making random eye contact and I got self conscious of always looking away. One of the times Wow and I met eyes I winked and shot finger guns and his eyebrows raised ever so slightly and I wanted to sink into the floor and die so I hid my face again. He looked so surprised like what WAS I THINKING WHY DID I DO THAT AAAAAAAA.

Anyway.

Here's my cute cheap pot!

Next was pictures. This time I had a plan. I asked them to pose ugly with me. They were surprised and asked for clarification twice, BK even asked me in english and I said "yes, ugly faces. If you can! If it's even possible." I wonder if it's the first time theyve ever been requested to do that. Anyway that's gonna be my thing too with the punny fan from now on. They did their best and it's absolutely adorable. Afterward BK walked up to me and wanted to see the pictures I took so I showed him. After he walked away it occured to me how fun and casual that was, that he just came over to look at pics together. I love this boy so much damb.

The atlanta show was amazing but the stage was so high up and far away there was no direct interaction possible. They made up for it with even more interaction! BK and Donghun each danced with me. I made a heart with my friend and Chan winked and laughed cause it looked like she begrudgingly made the heart with me when in reality she just couldnt hear me and couldnt tell what I was asking. Wow played a heart escalating game with me and he won so I made a dumb cute face and he laughed.

At hi touch I was determined not to miss Wow again. The order was the same except Donghun and Chan switched. I told them they did really amazing, a great show! Then BK said "Best lips!" To me and I got so excited but still didnt want to miss Wow, I loudly repeated "Best Lips!" While making eye contact and high fiving this poor man so hard, then for Jun I said "Don't forget!" And he was just so unprepared for me because I was unprepared for me but I WAS SO HYPED UP I LOST MY LAST BRAINCELL ITS STILL IN ATLANTA GUYS ITS GONE FOREVER.

So anyway that was a lot of unnecessary details about my specific adventures with A.C.E and I loved them so much and maybe one person will read this and smile but mostly I just want to try and remember as much detail as possible. I'll add things as I remember if I forgot something. Anyway dont be like me hahahaHAHAHA.

Also highkey if BK or one of the boys ends up with a bold lipstick color for a comeback or promotions in the next year or so I'm taking full credit.

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dragonwitch77 · 5 years

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Shadow Girl Ch2

“AAAAAAHHHHH! HELP US!”

“RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!”

“THEY’RE AFTER US!”

“SOMEONE HELP US! AAAAAAHHHHH!”

The screams of his minions did little to grab his attention. His eyes were glued to the book, reading every line carefully and studying the sentences word by word. It had his full and utter concentration, and nothing would tear him away from it.

“Waaaor!”

Except maybe for the occasional checking glance.

Snatcher looked up from his book, looking down from the stump home of his many minions he had perched himself on the moment he entered the small village. Many of his minions were running around, heading in different directions with a unanimous unspoken agreement to get away from one individual. The said individual who was one not among the dead that was chasing them.

“Waor waor!” Down on the ground chasing the minions was a little girl. No older than four, she was like any typical child would be. Hyper, full of energy, curious of the world all around her, and purely innocent.

Snatcher couldn’t help but smile as the young child ran around his village chasing his minions, roaring like a monster with her little hands up in the air. He noted that her hood had fallen down again, and one of the pigtails was coming undone. He would have to fix that later if not sooner with the kid running around messing it up.

“AAAHHH! HELP! SHE’S CHASING ME!” One of the minions cried out. But Snatcher knew they weren’t in any real danger. None of the minions were. Nor were they screaming in fear. The cheeriness in their tones and attempts to hold in their laughter was a far cry from any fear that would be there if they were in real danger. But, no. It was just a typical game of Monster Chasing.

It was currently the kid’s favorite game this week. It was one of the more ‘quiet’ games that Snatcher preferred her to play other than her more adventurous role playing games. But at least she wasn’t playing with the Fire Spirits or getting stuck in a spider web. Even the Dwellers would join in once in a while for fun chasing or being chased.

“Waor! Wao-ah!” Snatcher’s eyes widened as the small girl tripped, landing face first on the ground. Before he could move to do anything, his minions were already there surrounding the small girl.

“Oh no! Newbie fell!”

“Is she alright?! Is she hurt?!”

“Poor newbie!”

“Check her for any owies!”

The minions helped the small child up, dusting any dirt that might have gotten on her when she fell and checking for any signs of injury. Satisfied that his minions were handling things, Snatcher went back to his book.

It was odd that a ghost would be caring for a child. Much more so a living one. It wasn’t something Snatcher had planned or even wanted. The child simply came into his undead life without warning. He didn’t plan to keep the kid for this long, he had thought of getting rid of her, but he just never found the heart time to do so.

Now he was stuck with a kid he didn’t want in his forest. It wasn’t so bad. His minions tended to do most of the work in keeping the girl entertained and most of them enjoyed playing with her.

“Snatcher!” Hearing his name, he once again peeked over his book down at the small girl looking up at him. Her big blue eyes stared up at him, holding up one of her ribbons. Ah. Her ribbon fell out.

He sighed, setting the book aside and picked up the small girl in his hands. There was one thing that the girl refused anyone to touch and that was her hair. Aside from Snatcher, she never let any of the minions touch it, claiming that they pulled too hard or it wasn’t pretty enough.

Mostly Snatcher had a feeling she only wanted him to do it since he had fingers. And she liked being near him for some reason. “There.” He smiled at his work, finished the ribbon into a bow at the end. “Now don’t try to mess it up.”

Once Snatcher had set her on the ground, the child turned around and blew a kiss at him. He merely rolled his eyes and went back to his book. Giggling, she turned around and started chasing the minions again. “Waor! Waor!”

“OH NO SHE’S BACK! AAAAAAH!” And with that, the game continued.

It was a peaceful day in Subcon. A typical, normal day.

“Aw~! She’s so cute~!”

Until Snatcher got an unsuspecting visit. The ghost nearly jumped in surprise, whirling around to come face to face with the last person he wanted to see today. “Moonjumper!”

“The same.” The corpse giggled. “You seem a little jumpy today Snatcher. Did I manage to catch you off guard?” Moonjumper poked the shadow’s cheek, which was slapped away rather harshly.

“Don’t. Touch me. Shouldn’t you be up in the sky keeping a lookout?”

“I was. But then I spotted my little niece playing with your minions!”

“She’s not your niece.” Snatcher said in a deadpanned tone.

“Then why do you keep her?”

“Because there was no way to get rid of her.” Snatcher growled. “I’ve told you this hundreds of times! I’m only keeping her now because she may be some use to me when she gets older.”

Moonjumper frowned. “Well that’s not very nice. If you wanted to have some servants, you could at least force some intruders to do your bidding. That is what you normally do.” Snatcher glared at him. “And what use would you have of her when she got older?”

“Probably some task that might pop up in the near future that I need her to fix.” Snatcher scoffed. “The only thing I care about is my forest. Whatever happens to her is none of my concern.”

“Got you!” The girl shouted, catching Snatcher and Moonjumper off guard. They glanced at the child, spotting her hugging one of the minions from behind.

“Oh no! You got me!” The minion playfully whined, placing a hand on top their head. “Oh woe is me! She got me! Woe is me!”

Snatcher frowned as most of the other minions shook their heads or groaned. “… Oh.” The child let the minion go from the hug, running over to a different minion and hugged them. “Got you!”

“HEY!”

“Sorry dude.” The minion shrugged, patting the child on the back.

Moonjumper chuckled lightly. “The child certainly knows which minions are her favorite.” His voice caught the attention of the minions and child.

“MOONY!” The girl squealed with delight, letting the minion go and running up to the corpse, holding her arms up.

“Why hello little star! How’s my favorite niece?” Moonjumper picked the child up, holding her to his eye level.

“She’s not your niece!”

“Everyone says otherwise!” Moonjumper stuck his tongue out at Snatcher. “Look how big you’ve gotten! I only see you at a distance but I swear you’ve gotten taller! How old are you now sweetie?”

“I’m thr—” The child started before stopping, holding her hand up with three fingers. “… FOUR!” She finally said, holding up another finger and making Moonjumper and a few minions swoon over her cuteness.

“So CUUUTE~ Now, what would my niece like from uncle Moonjumper? Dancing dolls? A puppet theater? Story time?”

“HEY! Story time is MY job mister!”

“Dolls! Dolls!” The girl chanted, making Moonjumper laugh.

“Dancing dolls it is then! And after that we can play some games and have some snacks and watch the stars and—”

“Annnnd now it’s her bedtime.” Snatcher plucked the child from Moonjumper’s hands, heading off towards his tree home.

“Nooo! Not bedtime Snatcher!” The girl whined.

“Yes. It’s certainly not the child’s bedtime. That’s not for another hour!” Moonjumper followed after the pair much to Snatcher’s dismay. “You can’t send my niece to bed just because I wanted to play with her! You’re being utterly rude! And not to mention messing with the child’s sleeping schedule.”

“She’ll be FINE. And let’s not forget how you kept her up nearly the whole night into the morning that one time.”

“IT WAS JUST ONE TIIIME!” Moonjumper whined, making the young girl giggle.

“Moony funny!”

“Moony has to go bye bye now kid. He needs to be at his post, like he should be.”

“Oh you’re no fun.” Moonjumper huffed with his hands on his hips.

“No. I’m just cautious. I don’t want intruders scampering about in my—”

“Our.”

“In MY forest. I only have room for one living being and that’s all.” The girl looked to Snatcher with confusion on her face.

“What’s scamping?”

“Scampering in when you run in quick light steps all around the place kiddo. You do that with the minions all the time.”

“I do?”

“You sure do! Like a little bunny~” Moonjumper peered over Snatcher’s shoulder, getting shoved away by the shadow.

“Post. NOW. And you. Bed.” This earned a loud groan of complaint from the two. “None of that now! What I say, goes.”

“Fine. Have it your way then.” Moonjumper huffed, turning to leave. “But you don’t need to be so pushy about it.”

Snatcher glared at the corpse a bit before he felt small tugs on his mane. “What is it kiddo?”

“Why you hate Moony?” The child asked, staring up at the ghostly shadow with her big blue eyes.

“I don’t hate him kid. I despise him.” Snatcher growled before shaking his head and sighing. “It’s… an adult business kid. I’ll tell you more about it when you get older.” The child huffed, pressing her face against his chest so deep that the lower part of her face was obscured and only her unhappy eyes were visible. This made Snatcher smirk a little. “Heh. Alright kid. How about a story before you go to bed, hm?”

The mention of a story instantly perked the young girl up. “Yeah! Story! Story! I want story!”

“Alright, settle down. Settle down.” Snatcher chuckled. “How about a story with…” He hummed, thinking up a story to tell the child. “Wiith knights. And a dragon?”

The child gasped with excitement. She loved stories with dragons in them! It was always funny when the dragon burned the knights stinky butts! “Yeah! Yeah! Dragons! Lots a dragons!”

“And some magic?”

“Yes!”

“And some daring adventure?”

“Yes Yes Yes!”

“And cute little princesses?”

“Oh don’t be silly. We don’t add princesses in our stor—WHAT ARE YOU DOING BACK HERE?!”

Moonjumper frowned. “I would put a princess in a story.”

“GET. BACK. TO. YOUR. POST.” Snatcher growled through gritting teeth.

“Not until you promise to—URK!”

“POST. NOW.” Snatcher tightened his grip around Moonjumper’s neck. “Or else I’m going to break that neck of yours you little—” He stopped short, looking at the small child in his arms. “… uh, meanie. Yeah let’s just go with that.”

“No! No hurt uncle Snatcher!”

“Okay, kid, we really need to work on your sentences.” Snatcher let Moonjumper’s throat go, turning his focus back on the child. “And on that matter we really should start teaching you about the basics and learn some astronomy and—”

“Boats?”

“Noo. That would be ridiculous.”

“Oh. Well that’s a shame.” Moonjumper rubbed his neck, hoping that he wouldn’t find any marks left behind later. “Because I saw some ships that were nearing along the coast line of the forest that looked interesting enough to study.”

“Well the kid isn’t going to le—I beg your pardon?”

“There are ships coming at the coast line of the forest. BIG ones.”

A cold pit formed in Snatcher, gripping the child closer to his chest.

“Snatcher?”

“Sorry kiddo. Story time will have to wait.” Snatcher hurried to the tree, Moonjumper following behind in pace with him. “Snatcher has to go somewhere really quick and check it out.”

“But story!” The child whined as she was placed on her bed. “And dragons!”

“Kiddo, I promise when I come back, I tell you a story.” Snatcher started to pull away, but the child quickly grabbed his hand.

“No go! Snatcher need to tell story!”

“I will! When I get back kid. I just need to make sure that—” He stopped, looking at Moonjumper. The corpse only shrugged. He didn’t know how to help at the moment. “Okay, look, kid.” Snatcher sighed, turning back to the small girl. “How about when I get back, I’ll tell you an extra story? Hm? Would you like that?”

The child looked into the shadow’s eyes. She liked Snatcher’s stories. They were always funny and cool. But she really didn’t want him to go either. She didn’t like sleeping without Snatcher there. But an extra story…

Snatcher could almost chuckle at the cute look on the child’s face as she tried to decide what she wanted, though he wished she would hurry up soon. The longer she took, the more he worried about those ships getting closer.

“Snatcher.” Moonjumper was a little more impatient, clenching and unclenching his hands on his arms, ready to go at a moment’s notice.

“I’ll be there just hold on.” Snatcher shot back before looking at the child. “Well kiddo?”

The young girl really didn’t want Snatcher to go, but the idea of an extra story was very tempting. Finally with her mind made up, she let Snatcher’s hand go with a pout. “Back soon?”

“I’ll be gone and back before you know it kid.” Snatcher promised, floating out the tree. “Just stay in the tree and wait there! Smell ya later!”

“Do you really think she’ll stay there when we get back?” Moonjumper asked as the pair took to the sky.

“Of course not. Why do you think I have minions stationed around there in the first place?” Snatcher huffed, breaking through the trees to the sky above Subcon.

“I knew they were placed there for a reason.” Moonjumper mused.

“Alright, enough chitchat! Where are those ships you mentioned?”

Moonjumper pointed to where the forest met the sea, out in a distance where a pair of large ships were sailing. Snatcher summoned a telescope, looking through it and frowned deeply.

“Well? Is it a false alarm? Or are we going to have some company?”

Snatcher was quiet a moment, studying the ships carefully.

“Snatcher?”

The shadow huffed, squishing the telescope between his hands which then evaporated into nothing. “Looks like we have far away visitors coming to pay a visit.”

“Imperials? Monarchs? Pirates?”

“More along the lines of travelers sent out by a sovereign.” Snatcher crossed his arms, not liking this one bit. “They seem to look like they’re on an expedition.”

“Well that doesn’t seem so—”

“An expedition for take over.”

Moonjumper frowned, looking out at the ships that were sailing closer and closer to the forest. “… Really?”

“Well if cannons, spears, handful of armed knights, and barrels of gun powered is somehow their friendly way of saying hello, they probably haven’t heard of our customs.”

“What if the cannons are full of confetti?”

“Who in their right mind would fill a cannon with confetti?” Snatcher sighed, pinching his face. “You know what? Let’s not dwell on that and focus more on the situation here.”

Moonjumper smiled, cracking his fingers one by one. “Soo… I take left, you take right?”

A deep smirk crossed Snatcher’s face. “Only if you’re willing to lose.”

Moonjumper laughed, disappearing in a flash of dark pixels as Snatcher took off diving into the shadows.

~~***~~

She didn’t like waiting. Waiting was boring! And boring was a bad thing like timeouts and eating nasty veggies.

She didn’t like veggies. They tasted yucky! Not like the sweet stuff uncle Moony brought her when Snatcher wasn’t looking. Those were yummy! She wished that Snatcher wasn’t so mean to uncle Moony so much so that he could visit her more often and give her more yummy stuff.

She sighed, flopping over on her stomach on her bed. “It no fair Mr. Floppy Ears. Snatcher promised story. Yet he weft with no story! Oh! Left. Left. Left. Left. Snatcher says I need to pract my words better. Left left left!”

Snatcher told her that she need to work on her words since she was getting to be a big girl. But uncle Moony says she was fine speaking like that.

“He promise two stories when he come back. But when he come back Mr. Floppy Ears!” Mr. Floppy Ears was silent. “Yeah! He take looooooooooooooo—(Deep breath)—ooooooooooong time!”

She rolled over on her back, looking up at Mr. Floppy Ears and giggled seeing him upside down. “Uncle Moony says Snatcher goes on importan stuff. Snatcher goes for very looong time before come back.” She frowned. “Uncle Moony always fun when Snatcher gone. Makes you dance silly! And makes funny shows with you and Puff and Flip!” Her frown deepened. “… but uncle Moony left with Snatcher.”

She sat up, turning around and picking Mr. Floppy Ears up. “They left Mr. Floppy Ears! With no story! Snatcher say to wait, but I want story!” She huffed, looking out the tree. She smiled. “I go to story.” She slid off the bed, walking with Mr. Floppy Ears in her arms to the front of the tree. She peeked out.

Snatcher left minions behind to watch her when he left. He didn’t like it when she left the tree on her own. Something about it being bad? She didn’t know. And didn’t really care.

She smiled when she looked to the right and saw the funny fire foxes dancing around the fire. Snatcher didn’t like the fire foxes, but he kept these foxes next to the tree. Saying he needed them for a wall? But why? All they did was dance around a fire and Snatcher didn’t like it when she got close to them.

She would play with them later. She needed to find Snatcher and get her stories first. Climbing out of the tree and walking slowly down the root to the land, she started on her way to find Snatcher.

“Newbie’s out of the tree!” She froze, stopping in place as four minions popped out of nowhere and surrounded her.

“Newbie! What are you doing?”

“Boss said you needed to stay in the tree.”

“Yeah! You need to stay inside the tree till he gets back!”

“He won’t be happy if he catches you out of the tree.”

She huffed, hugging Mr. Floppy Ears closer. “He left! No story!”

The minions looked at each other. “Story?”

“Is she talking about her bedtime stories?”

“Boss does like to tell her stories.”

“He left! No story!”

“Newbie, calm down. I’m sure boss will be back soon to tell you stories.”

“No! He left! I go find him for story!” She pushed past the minions, trying to get away from them and find Snatcher, but they blocked her path.

“No newbie! Boss doesn’t want you out of the tree when he’s away!”

“He gets really mad when you don’t listen.”

“And he doesn’t want you wandering around on your own!”

“You might get hurt and get owies!”

She frowned. She did hate getting owies. They hurt. But she wanted her stories!

“Listen. How about we tell you a story?”

“What?” Three minions looked at the middle minion in shock but her eyes lit up. A story from a minion and two stories from Snatcher? That was THREE STORIES!

“YES! YESYESYESYES! Gimme story!” She hopped up and down, really wanting the story.

“Oh great. Now you made the newbie want a story from us.”

“What? There’s nothing wrong giving the newbie a story.”

“Nothing wrong?! Do you not know how the boss gets when someone other than him tells the newbie stories?!”

“The last time Moonjumper told her a story, boss was livid for WEEKS!”

“Not to mention that the boss made it very clear that he doesn’t want other people telling the newbie stories!”

“Story?”

“Sorry newbie. You’re not getting a story.”

“… no… story?” Her lip trembled. No… story? She wasn’t getting a… story? But. But she liked stories! Why wasn’t she getting a story?!

“… Ooooh no.”

“NO! Don’t cry newbie!”

“Please don’t cry!”

“Y-yeah! Don’t cry! You don’t need to cry!”

“Story…” Her eyes were getting watery. All she wanted was a story.

“OKAY! OKAY! We’ll tell you a story!”

“YEAH! We’ll tell you a GREAT story!”

“A really really great story!”

“You’ll be begging to hear it again!”

“… weally?” She rubbed her eye.

“Yes! It’ll be a story you will remember forever!”

She smiled. That sounded great! “Tell! Tell!”

“O-okay, uh, um. O-Once upon a time in a village, uh, far, FAR away—”

“—there were four bestest buddies in the whole wide world!”

“Who really liked to get into mischief a lot—”

“—because they wanted to have fun!”

“And these buddies got into a LOT of trouble—”

“—TONS of trouble!”

“Very big trouble.”

“Well. You guys did.”

Three minions turned the heads at the minion.

“… what? It’s the truth. You guys always got into trouble.”

“YOU got into trouble too!”

“Only because you dragged me along!”

“Oh Yeah? What about that time you tried to steal a pie?”

“You guys made me do it!”

“No way!”

“Nuh-uh!”

“You did it by yourself dude!”

“No I didn’t.”

“Yes you did.”

“No I didn’t.”

“Yes you did.”

“No I didn’t.”

“Yes you did.”

“No I didn’t!”

“Yes you did!”

“No I DIDN’T!”

“YES YOU DID!”

“NO I DIDN’T!” The minion jumped on the minion next to them, slapping them and tumbling around on the ground. The other two minions jumped on top of them and then proceeded to fight.

She… was confused. Did he steal the pie or not?

She wanted to know, but Snatcher always told her that she shouldn’t get close to minions that were roughhousing or she would get owies. Thinking of Snatcher reminded her of way she was out of the tree. She needed to find him and get her story!

She couldn’t go forward since she wasn’t allowed near roughhousing minions and she couldn’t go to the swampy part of the forest. She gazed towards the fiery part of the forest. Snatcher always said that she could visit there someday when she was older. She was older now! She could go in there and find Snatcher!

The only thing standing between her and the fiery forest was a fence, but that was easy! She just crawled under it and came out the other side. The minions were still fighting, so they wouldn’t be busy watching her as she made her way inside the burny, fiery, hot part of the forest all on her own.

She was such a smart kid!

~~***~~

“There it is. Subcon Forest. A real nasty work if you ask me.”

“So that’s what it looks like. I always imagined it to be creepy. But not this creepy.”

“Did you ever imagined trying to invade it?”

“Not really…” The young soldier frowned, looking at the helmet in his hands. “Why are we invading? Subcon really hasn’t given us a reason to invade them before.”

“Ba! Who knows?” His companion leaned against the side, staring out at the large forest they were heading to. “King probably wants more land or resources or something. Can’t really tell with him. His advisor might have an idea, but he probably won’t tell any of us lowly peasants.”

“Still, don’t you think it’s odd?”

“About what?”

“No one has ever come out of Subcon over hundreds of years, right?”

“So they say.”

“Are we even sure there’s anyone living in that forest?”

“Living? Pfft. Sure are.” The two soldiers turned to the third knight who was leaning his back against the railing that had joined them. “I’ve heard that there was at least one living person spotted living in that forest. People just assume everyone else is just too shy to come out of that forest to say hi.”

“I wonder why.”

“Probably because of that old legend about the crazy king and the mask.”

“Old legend? What’s that?”

“You haven’t heard of it?”

“You’ve got to be kidding. No one hasn’t heard of the old legend about this place!”

“I know of a mask and the king.”

“So, you had heard of it.”

“Probably. I do tend to hear a lot of stuff now and then and different versions of any story.”

“Then you should know about the old legend about how an old king used an evil mask to control his kingdom and how he used it for evil deeds and wicked tasks against the different nations before the rose up against him!”

“I heard he used it to separate his kingdom from the rest of the world.”

“Yeah, I heard that too. The nations had such a big army that the crazy king used his mask to push the lands far away, breaking them into islands that made new kingdoms! The mask has crazy power!”

“Get real. The mask isn’t really real. And neither was the king. Subcon’s residents are probably just too cowardly to show their faces or reach out to anyone. Guess seeing two ships ready for battle will wake them up from their illusion of a peaceful dream to the harsh reality of the world when we dock.”

“I’m pretty sure someone should have seen us by now.” The young knight glance at the second ship sailing beside them. “I mean, two big ships coming from a different land armed to the teeth just to invade. That really not the best welcoming party I know.”

“You’re right. It isn’t. I’m pretty sure Subcon’s residents wouldn’t be too happy about it either! Especially the Snatcher!”

“… who?”

“… You’re kidding.”

“No. Who is the ‘Snatcher’?”

“That’s an odd name to give someone at birth.”

“Oh for the love of! The SNATCHER! Ghostly being?! Stealer of souls?! The living shadow!”

“OH! You mean HIM!”

“Oh yeah! Yeah! I know him!”

“Yeah, heard a lot about him!”

“Yeah a really spooky guy. Don’t want to run into him on a dark night.”

“…”

“… you have no idea who I’m talking about.”

“Nnnope!”

“Sorry.”

“Who would call themselves the Snatcher? That’s ridiculous!”

“Besides, there’s no such thing as living shadows.”

“Or ghosts. Ghosts are pretty dumb.”

“Yeah, I used to be afraid of them when I was a kid but now? Not so much.”

“When you get older, you start realizing how dumb things are now that you know things better.”

“Ghosts are pretty dumb.”

“Yep. Not even the brightest. I mean, what can a ghost do? Float? Yeah, really scary.”

“I obviously don’t believe in ghosts at this point. I mean have you seen a ghost?”

“No. Have you?”

“Not in my life. Have you?”

“… Every… Single… Day.”

“Okay you’re obviously lying. There’s no way you could ever have seen a ghost every day.”

“Yeah, also, what’s up with your voice?”

“… PECK IT.”

“Wh—” The young knight started before the knight they were talking to evaporated and a large shadowy being stood over them, glaring with deep anger.

“DUMB? YOU WANT TO SEE DUMB? WELL, TOO BAD!”

The knight coward in fear, staring up at the shadowy being that was towering over them.

“YOU GET THE NOT SO NICE GHOST.”

With that, the shadow lunged at them and attacked the ship. It was an uproar in that moment as soldiers were blasted and had their souls ripped out of their bodies, not even noticing the second ship being attacked by their own enemy with red strings.

~~***~~

She was a smart girl.

Snatcher told her that often when she did something new. Like when she climbed a tree without help. Or when she played hide and seek with him and hid with all the other minions so he wouldn’t find her. Or the time she painted a picture of her, Snatcher, the minions, Dwellers, and uncle Moony!

Though, uncle Moony was gone from the picture last time she saw it.

Oh well! She could make more paint uncle Moonys later! She needed to find Snatcher and get her stories!

… but, where was he?

She looked around, turning to find the familiar shadowy being. He wasn’t anywhere nearby, and she couldn’t see very far between the trees.

Maybe he wasn’t here? But he wasn’t here, then where was he? Uncle Moony said that the forest was a big place. Maybe he was deeper in?

“Snatcher is hard to find Mr. Floppy Ears. I no see him in forest.” She hugged Mr. Floppy Ears closely. “I no give up! I want story! Find Snatcher and get story!”

She huffed, continuing on her path to find Snatcher and get her story!

“We’re going the wrong way!”

“No we are not!”

She stopped. Did she hear voices?

“Yes we are! We’re supposed to be at the tower!”

“And we’re getting there!”

“Does this looking anything like a tower?!”

“We would be getting there sooner if you would just shut up and follow me!”

“You don’t even know where we are!”

She looked around, but couldn’t see anybody. Where was the voices coming from?

“Well we’re somewhere in the forest heading towards one of the towers.”

“That’s not comforting at all!”

“Hello?” She called out, looking for the voices. “Is anybody there?” Something flew past her ear, making her jump and let out a squeak of fear.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU IDIOT?!”

“I was just defending myself!”

“AGAINST A CHILD?! REALLY?!”

“It could be a ghost disguised as a child!”

“You are such an idiot Naon!”

She hugged Mr. Floppy Ears tightly. These voices were loud. Loud like when Snatcher got angry. And when Snatcher was angry he got scary. And she didn’t like scary things. Scary things were bad. Uncle Moony always told her to hide at the tree when bad scary things appeared.

“Oh! Wait! Don’t go!”

“Maka! Don’t go down there!”

She looked up, spotting something jumping out of the trees and land in front of her. She froze up. This didn’t look like a minion or a Dweller. She whimpered, backing away from this new thing.

~~***~~

“No no no no! Don’t be scared! I’m not going to hurt you.” Maka softly spoke. “Did Naon scare you?”

“I didn’t scare anyone! That’s a ghost Maka!”

“She is not a ghost!” Maka shouted up in the tree Naon was still hiding up in. She turned back to the child, smiling softly. “Don’t listen to that big meanie. He’s just being paranoid.”

The little girl clutched her doll close to her chest, her wide big blue eyes staring up at her with fear in them. “w… what’s par… par… parnod?”

Maka’s smile widened, kneeling down so she was smaller so not to spook that child. “Paranoid means that he’s scared and jumpy. Like a big old scaredy cat.”

“HEY! I am NOT a scaredy cat!”

Maka shot a frown over her shoulder before looking back at the scared child before her. “What are you doing in this forest sweetie? Are you lost?”

The child was silent for a moment before nodding her head.

“Are you trying to find something?”

The child nodded again.

“We’re trying to find something too. And we got lost too.”

“Again! We’re not lost! Just off track!”

Maka frowned, turning to look behind her as her partner jumped down from the tree. “That’s the same difference Naon!”

“Look, we’re not going to get anywhere talking to some ghost disguised as a little kid!”

“She’s not a ghost!”

“You don’t know that!” She looked back the child, finding her backing away with fear on her face. “Oh. Oh no, don’t cry sweetie! We’re just being angry at each other.” She knelt down in front of the child, rubbing her head gently. “My name is Maka and he’s Naon.”

“Don’t tell it our names.” Naon whined.

“What’s your name?”

The child fiddled with her doll, drawing a circle in the ground. “… kiddo.”

Maka frowned. “N-no. I mean your name. What do your parents call you?”

The child blinked, tilting her head. “What’s parents?”

Her frown deepened. “… your mommy and daddy.”

“I no have mommy and daddy!”

Maka felt her heart stop a moment.

“Whoa whoa whoa. Back up! How can you not know what a mommy and daddy is? Or have any?” Naon stepped forward, making the little girl back away. “Someone has to be taking care of you! You got clothes on and you don’t look to be starving.”

Maka looked at the child carefully. Naon was right. The child did appear to be healthy. But she did question the clothes. Purple raggy clothing with a matching poncho. The only thing that wasn’t colored purple was the two pink bows in her brown hair that were kept in two tiny pigtails.

“Don’t you have any siblings? A cousin? An aunt or an uncle?”

“Uncle? I have uncle!”

“You do?” Maka asked.

“Yeah! Yeah! Uncle Moony! He fun uncle!”

“And where is uncle Moony?”

“He over…” The child glanced around, her smile slowly looking around the forest. “He over… over…”

“… Are you lost little one?”

“Obviously.”

“Shut it Naon.”

The child looked back at her. “Uncle Moony no here.”

“I see. Well, how about I help you find uncle Moony then?”

The child’s face lit up brightly. “Really?!”

“Maka! You can’t just abandon the mission!”

“You can go ahead if you want to Naon. I’m not letting this child get lost any further.” She picked the child up, carefully sitting her on her hip.

“It could be a trap!”

“Would a ghost really go as far as to disguise themselves as a human being?”

“Master won’t like this.”

“I wouldn’t like what?”

Maka and Naon jumped. They quickly turned to the voice. “Master!”

There standing before them was Master. Deep black cloak with his special mask on his face, eye boring at them with unamusement before looking at the child in Maka’s arms. “Why is there a child in your arms Maka? I don’t recall you bring one for this important mission.”

“We just found this child here sir.”

“It’s a ghost in disguise! I keep telling her but she won’t—”

“The child is not a ghost Naon. A ghost would need considerable amounts of energy to make a disguise this convincing and hold it for this long.” The Master spoke, cutting off Naon and walking up to Maka.

The young girl eyed him warily, hiding part of her face against Maka’s chest.

“Hello child. How are you?” The child let out a small squeak of fear, hiding her face more from the Master. “Shy aren’t we? Do you have a name?” The child shook her head. “Really? Now that can’t be right. You must have a name now, don’t you?”

“Master. We don’t have time for this. The longer we stand around here, more the more time we waste.”

The Master was silent, contemplating Naon words. He was right, in a sense. The more they focused on this random child, the more they were getting off track of their mission. The ship were likely being attacked by now, so it was only a matter of time getting to the tower.

“… Very well. We’ll worry about the child later.”

“But sir—”

“You may bring the child if you wish Maka. But we must focus on our task first.”

“… yes sir.”

“Good. Now I believe the tower is this way. Keep close. Especially you Naon.”

“Oh come on! I wasn’t lost!”

~~***~~

Moonjumper hummed, marveling at his handy work with glee. The boat was practically destroyed, with bits and pieces floating on the waves along with bodies of soldiers. He didn’t exactly know what he was going to do with this boat, but he figured he could take some of it apart and make it in a smaller boat for his little niece to play with.

His smile broadened. Thinking of his little niece with a pirate hat on her little head with a wooden sword in her tiny hands was a cute thought. One that needed to come to fruition.

“Whelp. I’m done on my end.” Snatcher floated over to him, a few souls in hand. “Could have gone better than I wanted to. So how’s your ship fairing?”

“Better than yours I suppose.” Moonjumper cast a quick glance at Snatcher’s ship, which was nothing else than a few scraps on fire quickly sinking to the sea. “You really have a dramatic for flair in your attacks.”

“Please. I could have done better.” Snatcher shrugged, shoving the souls in his mouth and swallowing them whole. The action made Moonjumper cringed, finding the act rather gruesome and inhumane. “Don’t give me that look. You used to do it too.” Snatcher licked his finger.

“That was before I knew what I was doing was wrong.”

“Whatever. You’re missing out on a good meal here.” Snatcher shrugged, heading off towards the forest. “Anyway, I better get back to the kid. No doubt she’s trying to escape to get her stories.”

“Or you.” Moonjumper followed after him. “She’s really attached to you you know.”

Snatcher scoffed. “Please. She only likes me because I tell her stories and put bows in her hair. Between the two of us she prefers you over me more.”

“Ouch. That must be hard to admit.”

“DON’T PUSH IT. I still don’t like you hanging around the kid. You’re a bad influence on her!”

“I’m a bad influence? Mister, you do realize that you hardly are even a better role model for her than I.”

“Like what?”

“Well for starters, who keeps taking their eyes off her often?”

“I have to patrol my forest mister! And besides, the minions keep an eye on her for me.”

“Who keeps forgetting that she’s afraid of the dark?”

“The whole forest is dark! You can’t blame me for that!”

“Who keeps on getting her into trouble with spiders?”

“For the record, you’re half of the blame there.”

“And let’s not forget that one incident with the Fire Spirits and the swa—”

“OKAY! I GET ALREADY!”

Moonjumper smirked.

“But let’s also look at the fact that you don’t tend to have the best intentions for the kid either.”

His smirk quickly fell into a frown. “What? Don’t be absurd! I have the best intentions for her health and life!”

“You keep giving her sweets for food. She’s going to get fat before she reaches the age of ten!”

Moonjumper sputtered. “She is not going to get fat! And there’s nothing wrong with giving her sweets!”

“All she ever wants to eat are sweets! And further more—” Snatcher suddenly froze, putting a hand to his chest.

Moonjumper stopped, eyeing the shadow carefully. “Snatcher?”

“… something’s wrong with my tower.” Snatcher gazed in the direction of a tall tower covered in fire and thick spiky vines. “I… I have to check it out.” He changed his course, veering away from his original intended path to his tree.

“Wh—Wait! Snatcher! What about the child?!”

“KEEP AN EYE ON HER!” Snatcher shouted over his shoulder before disappearing, leaving the corpse to hover there confused.

He could have gone after the shadow, but for years he dared not to go anywhere near his tower. Snatcher only had two things that Moonjumper knew he was very protective of. First being the forest and its inhabitants. Second being his tower. He didn’t know why Snatcher was so protective of it. No amount of poking or asking ever got him to open up about it.

And it wasn’t a good idea to go anywhere near it since last time he did, he ended up with broken bones and deep scars. Since then, he had lost any interest to go anywhere near there. But, what exactly was going on over there that would draw Snatcher’s attention? He could follow to find out.

… Ooor.

His eyes landed on the tree with a giant vine wrapped around it in the distance, smiling widely. Maybe he could take this little chance to spend some time with his niece after all.

~~***~~

Cold.

She wasn’t used to cold. Snatcher always made sure she stayed warm wrapped up in blankies and uncle Moony gave her funny looking mud water that tasted great. But Snatcher wouldn’t let her make mud water. Something about it not being mud?

She shivered, snuggling against the nice lady. What was her name again? Maka? Yes that sounded right. Maka was a nice lady. Even if she wore dark clothing and a funny mask on her face like the other two. The mask reminded her of the ghosties that were in the forest and love to funny moves and chase her in Monster Chasing. And they had pretty colors.

“Are you cold, little one?”

She looked up at the nice lady, nodding her head.

“It’ll be alright. Soon we’ll reach the tower and be out of the cold.”

She smiled, nuzzling the nice lady. She was so nice! She never met someone as nice as her. Well, uncle Moony was nice too. But he didn’t count!

“Maka. Come take a look.” The loud one called out.

She didn’t like the loud one. He was mean, and loud, and stupid. So he gets no name. Mr. Floppy Ears said so.

“What is it?” The nice lady went up to them. “… oh.”

Why was the nice lady suddenly quiet? She looked to where the nice lady was looking. Her mouth fell open in shock as she gazed up the big tower that was in front of them.

“… big.”

~~***~~

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE GOT PAST YOU?! YOU FOUR WERE IN CHARGE OF WATCHING OVER HER AND YET YOU’RE TELLING ME YOU LOST HER?!”

The four minions cringed, looking at the ground in disappointment.

Moonjumper growled, facepalming with one hand and clenching his other tightly. “One. Job. You four had. One. Simple. Job. And you botched it up! Not only were so preoccupied with fighting over some petty squabble, you also managed to lose my niece?!”

“We didn’t know she would wander off when we were fighting.”

“IT DOESN’T MATTER! My little niece is out there on her own and you four have done nothing but argue instead of searching for her! How does Snatcher deal with you IDIOTS?!” Moonjumper huffed. “… Now is not the time to be yelling at you. I need to find my little niece before she gets hurt.”

“We’ll hel—”

“NO!” Moonjumper roared, causing the four to cower in fear. “Absolutely not! You four will be nothing but trouble! You couldn’t keep an eye on her and when I come back there will be consequences to your actions!”

The minions trembled as he left to go look for the small child.

~~***~~

“This tower seems bigger on the inside. It feels like we’ve been climbing forever.” Naon said, glancing down the side of the stairs they were ascending. Kicking a small pebble, he watched as it fell. When it disappeared and he couldn’t hear it land, he chuckled nervously. “Yikes. Don’t think anyone would survive a fall like that.”

“It does feel like this place is going on forever.” Maka agreed. “This place doesn’t feel normal. Almost like we’re in a different place. Yet… not.”

“Then it must mean we are on the right track.” The Master gazed upwards. “But luck would have it, we do not have far to go now.”

“Thank goodness! I was getting tired of walking up these steps.”

“Don’t be hasty Naon. This is only minion to what we have to do now.” The Master stopped at the top of the stairs, looking about the small stone bare room. Icicles hung from the ceiling and covered the floor, jutting out like swords that were placed about with no meaning.

The Master gazed intently at the ice, feeling dark power radiating off it. Just the same as the power radiating below them deep underground.

“Ice!”

“Yes child. This whole place is covered in ice. Be careful and don’t slip.” The Master gazed over as Maka led the child up the stairs, making sure she didn’t slip or step on any ice patches. Naon was right behind them, keeping an eye on the child and the ground.

“Hurry up. The item we seek is near.” The Master turned his focus to one side of the room that was covered in thick ice. Calmly, he walked over to it, taking out a small vial and opening it. Tipping it over, drops of green liquid landed on the ice. Once the liquid touched the ice, it began to crack and melt. Satisfied, he put the small vial away, waiting for the ice to melt away.

“Made it!” The child cheered as she hopped up the last step.

“Yes you did! Good job!” Maka cheered, clapping her hands as the child did a little twirl.

The Master couldn’t help but smile a little behind his mask at the child’s antics. Such a young mind and innocent of the world around her. He always envied that of young children.

“Come. Our path is almost at an end.” The Master beckoned his group to follow, heading up the wet stairs to a trap door. It took some force for it to move before it opened, letting a full blast of cold air seep in. Stepping out into the cold, The Master gazed around, his eyes landing on the center of the room where a single pedestal stood.

It looked harmless enough, but it was the box that sat on top that The Master was after. The deep thick chains made of magic wrapped around it intrigued him to step closer and inspect it. It was there, just in reach, yet so far away out of touch.

Naon poked his head out, spying the pedestal and the box. “Whoa. So it really is here.” He said with slight awe, stepping up on the floor with Maka not far behind him with the child.

“Yes. But we must be quick now. We cannot dawdle now.”

Maka eyed the box, feeling the power coming off it. “It feels… suffocating.” She clutched a hand to her chest, pulling the child close to her leg.

The child looked between the box and everyone, confusion written on her face. “What that?”

“That, child, is a powerful artifact. The very reason we are here.” The Master stepped closer to the pedestal, yet dared not to get too close to it. “With this our troubles will be far behind us and the kingdom.”

Naon nodded his head, stepping forward next to The Master. “Well, best we get this done now. The weather certainly isn’t being nice to us.”

~~***~~

Moonjumper was panicking.

Not only was his niece gone, but he had no clue to where to look for her. The village was out of the question for searching. The minions living there would have brought her back to the tree. She couldn’t have gotten into the swamp. The Fire Spirits were still there and barrier was still up. So that only left the burning part of the forest.

Still not an ideal safe place for a child, yet Snatcher didn’t put any barrier or wall to prevent a small child from wandering inside like he did with the swamp and ruins. He would have a strong talk with him later once he found his niece.

Right now he was more worried that the young girl would burn herself or have a run in with spiders or, even worse yet, one of Vanessa’s living ice statues. He would never forgive himself if something happened to the child and he wasn’t there protecting her.

Just as he was looking in one of the tree houses, he felt a thrum of power. His flying faltered for a slight moment before he caught himself.

“What the-?!”

Surprised and shocked, he turned to where the wave of power came from. The tower. The one covered in ice. He could feel it pulsing with dark energy, even from the great distance he was at.

Someone was at the tower.

His first thought was to rush over and see what was going on, but his mind drifted to his niece and worried about her safety. He wanted to find her first, but the tower was just as important. He knew what was there. He knew it had to be guarded.

But at the same time, his worry for his niece bled in.

He had to find her, to make sure she was okay. But he didn’t know how long that would take or if he ever would find her in time before whoever was at the tower was gone.

If he went to the tower first, he could stop whatever was going up there.

But with a cost of potentially losing his niece…

~~***~~

The box pulsed with power like a beating heart, sending wave after wave of dark magic in the air. The air felt colder, fear was emanating, and all anyone could do was stare at it in mixed awe.

The Master, standing closest to the box, gingerly held out a hand, touching the wood with light taps before taking it in his grasp.

“… WOW. That was… this is…” Naon started, trying to find the words yet failing to come up with any that could speak what was on his mind. Maka could only numbly nod her head, having no power to speak or take her eyes off the box.

The one who was greatly effected however, was the small girl pressed against the stone pillar with her doll clutched tightly to her chest. No one in the room could feel the power so great such as she did. Her eyes were wide, her heart rate going up to concerning rates, and cold pit of fear was overtaking her. But that wasn’t all she felt.

She could feel something. Something bad and wrong coming from the box. Something that made her feel small, helpless, and scared.

Maka took notice of the child’s distress, slowly moving towards her as her limbs felt numb and out of place than they normally did.

“… such power.” The Master whispered, feeling the power pulsing through his very core. He never felt such power before. Never in such great volume.

“Master?” Naon quietly called out. The Master was quiet for a moment before shaking his head, turning to Naon.

“We should start heading back now. There’s no doubt that someone felt that power surge and will come check it out. We need to leave. Now.”

“Yes Master. I don’t want to be caught in the cold. It makes my joints ache.” Naon joked, though there was a noticeable lack of any real humor in his tone.

“Come now child. Let’s go.” Maka held her hand out for the child to take, but the young girl’s attention went past her and spying a figure fast approaching the tower.

“UNCLE MOONY!” She cheered, catching the three off guard.

~~***~~

“Little star?!” Moonjumper couldn’t believe it as he approached the tower. There was his niece with three dark cloaked figures with masks. One holding the box, and another in front of his niece.

That sight set off warning bells in his head and he charged forward. His magic surged, creating strings that materialized out of thin air and shot forward at the three figures.

To his disappointment, the three evaded his strings, jumping out of the way before they could land their mark. This didn’t stop him so easily. Commanding the strings, they followed after the strangers, making sure to maneuver the strangers away from his niece. He didn’t want them or his stringers accidentally hurting her.

His main objective was to get the box. The power coming from it was bad, and needed to be sealed away again.

“Hold still and let my strings grab you!” He growled as, somehow, the three cloaked figures kept getting away from his strings.

Until one grabbed at his string, giving it a mighty tug that surprised Moonjumper at how strong the pull was as he was suddenly pulled down and into the tower, landing in a heap. The fall left his dazed till a burning pain in his back snapped him out of it. With a roar of anger, he leapt up and turned to face his attacker.

Using a bit of his magic, his strings bundled together, weaving into a sword. Grabbing the handle, he swung at his attacker. To his credit, the attacker had thought that the sword was a useless weapon being made out of string, but was quickly proven wrong when they sidestepped away and the sword got nothing but the cloak, leaving a clean cut in it.

Moonjumper grinned, swinging again and again at the figure who evaded his attacks with great skill. He did not get to enjoy the feeling long as he was attacked from the side. Growling, he made another sword and began fight with the three figures in cloaks all at once.

He couldn’t risk going all out. Not with the chance of harming his little niece. His best option was to battle these figures. He knew they would tire out soon. They were still living being after all. He could keep this up forever and snot feel the strain of it.

Raising one sword up, he brought it down fast at one of the figures pinned against a pillar, smiling with glee as they could not get away and only held their arms up for protection. His glee was short lived however as when his sword made contact with the figure’s arms, it bent. Confused, he brought it up close to his face for inspection, wondering why it bent when it was supposed to slash.

He didn’t have long to inspect it however as he was suddenly clocked in the jaw. The punch was powerful enough to send him to the ground, and it was then that he realized how tired he was. But that was impossible! He shouldn’t feel weak!

He then kicked in the gut, slashed at the arms, kicked in the face, and then stabbed through the chest by the three figures, slamming against a pillar and pinned there.

“Uncle Moony!”

Moonjumper weakly cracked open his eyes, spying his little niece. “l-little star…” His voice crack, coughing as the sword in his chest was making rather difficult to speak. He wanted to scream at his niece to run, to get help or at least get away from the danger of these strangers.

Unfortunately, his niece decided to run towards him and the three cloaked figures. His heart sank as one figure turned their head towards his niece.

“Uncle Moony?! I knew it! The kid IS a ghost!”

“Naon! No! She’s not a—”

“Can it Maka!” The one known as Naon stepped between him and his niece, stopping her in her tracks and gazing up at the cloaked figure in fear. “I knew it was only a disguise! Its been fooling us this whole time!”

Horror pooled inside Moonjumper as Naon took out a dagger.

“Naon! No! Leave them be! We got what we came for! We must leave now!”

Naon seemed to falter a bit. For a moment, Moonjumper hoped that Naon would leave his young niece alone.

But in one quick motion, Naon swung his arm, hitting his niece and sending her flying to the ground. Anger bubbled in him. Glaring daggers at the Naon as the one known as Maka rushed forward and grabbed Naon.

“Naon stop! Don’t hurt her!”

“Don’t Hurt It?! Do you realize that it set a trap here?! Fooling us with that fake kid disguise?!”

“Ghosts can’t bleed!”

“What?!”

“There’s blood on your knife!” Maka pointed to the dagger. Blood dripped off the steel, landing on the cold ground.

Eyes turned to the child, slowly picking herself up, holding her bleeding cheek in one hand as tears rolled down her face.

Before anyone could move, there was a deep growl. An inhuman growl. One that shook the very core inside Moonjumper.

He knew that growl anywhere.

In a flash, the three cloaked figures were smacked aside by a shadowy appendage. The child was dragged over to him, and Snatcher glared darkly at them, hovering over the child protectively with an arm shielding her.

“NEVER TOUCH THE KID!”

Moonjumper could almost smirk. He knew he loved her.

“Sna-nat-ch-cher!” The child hiccuped and sniffled, fat big tears falling down her face.

Snatcher cast a quick glance at the girl before turning to Moonjumper with a deep scowl on his face. “Why didn’t you take her someplace safe?!” He growled, grabbing the sword and pulling it out.

Moonjumper grunted in pain, rubbing his chest. “To be fair, I didn’t get much of a chance to.”

Snatcher huffed, patting the child gently on the back as she cried against him. His eyes were trained on the three figures as they picked themselves up. “So, mind telling me what you’re all doing here. And more importantly.” His eyes landed on the box clutched in one figure’s hands. “What you plan to do with that.”

“None of your business ghost!”

“Naon! Shut up! You’re making things worse!”

Snatcher growled, sending a wave of his own power out. “Better watch your tongue boy!”

“And do please try to think before you speak. Whatever you say next will determine your fate.”

“It is none of your concern.” The one figure who held the box spoke. “Only know that we have gotten what we came for, and if you may somehow stop us, the others have already gotten the other half we need.”

“Oh, they were friends over yours?” Snatcher smirked. “They made a nice treat when I got there. Though they weren’t much of a fight as I would have liked.”

“YOU PECK!” Naon shouted, charging at them. His path was blocked as thick thorny black vines shot out from beneath.

“LANGUAGE! There’s a kid here!” Snatcher turned to the child, pulling away slightly. “Kid, stay here. Snatcher and Moonboy—” “HEY!” “Need to take care of this real quick.”

With that, the vines dropped down and the pair lunged out, claws and strings ready for round two.

The child watched as her two guardians battled with the three not so nice people. She pressed up against the pillar, making herself as small as possible. She had never seen Snatcher or uncle Moony like this before. And Snatcher was angry, which made him scary.

She hugged herself, but then realized something was missing. Looking down, she found that Mr. Floppy Ears was missing! Oh no! Looking around, she spotted him near the edge.

Moonjumper was not having an easy time. Naon was proving to be a difficult opponent, blocking his every attack with the small dagger. Snatcher wasn’t faring well either, as it turned out Maka and the third cloaked figure were skilled in the use of magic, blocking and attacking with their own power that counteracted Snatcher’s power.

Things were not looking good. Adding with the fact that Moonjumper was getting weaker and weaker, which was really getting on his nerves. Bring down his swords only to be blocked again by Naon’s dagger. Blood was being smeared on his swords, making his anger flare.

How dare they? How dare they attack his precious little niece?!

Out from the corner of his eye, Moonjumper spotted the on with the box edging away from the battle. It didn’t take a genius to know that they were trying to make a break for it, and that got under Moonjumper’s skin.

Well if he wanted to leave the battle, then he will.

Permanently.

The moment the figure tried to run, the moment he tried to make a break for it, Moonjumper had only enough power to throw a pair of strings at him. One thin for wrapping and grabbing stuff, and the other one thick for moving heavy stuff around. The thin string wrapped around the box, swiping it from his grip, while the thick string slammed in to their chest hard enough to push them over the edge.

But what was meant to be only one victim, another was also taken.

The world slowed down as Moonjumper and Snatcher watched in complete horror as the young girl, innocently picking up her Mr. Floppy Ears, was rammed into and pushed over the edge along with the figure.

Her scream was carried in the wind as she fell from the tall tower, disappearing into the mist far far down below.

“KID!”

“LITTLE STAR!”

Moonjumper was kicked in the head, knocking him down. Naon then threw an elongated knife at Snatcher, hitting him in the middle and stunning him. His magic seeped out, draining him till he could no longer move and slumped against a pillar.

Maka and Naon ran to the edge, looking down from the high height. “MASTER!”

“He’s… he’s gone.” Naon slammed his fist on the ground. “He’s gone! Peck! He’s Gone!”

“And the child.”

“Who cares about her?!”

“I do! She was just a kid Naon!”

“She’s not that important now! We lost Master! How are we supposed to complete the mission now?!”

The two argued, not noticing Moonjumper slowly making his way towards Snatcher. Bit by bit he crawled towards him, eyes focused on the knife embedded in his middle. Once he was close enough, he grabbed hold of the handle, tugging at it. With all his strength left in him, he tugged the knife out of Snatcher, throwing it over the edge.

“Look! We got to focus on the mission! It doesn’t matter that a few kids die along the way!”

“How heartless are you?! How can you just says that with a straight face?!”

“I’m being reasonable here! We need to take the box and get out of—” A dark shadow cast over them.

They both looked up to see a red eyed Snatcher glaring down at them before he grabbed each of their heads, lifting them up high before smashing their head down hard enough that the ground cracked. Both bodies went limp.

Releasing his grip on them, Snatcher turned to Moonjumper, going over and lifting him up by the collar to glare at him in the eyes. “WHAT. DID. YOU. DO?!”

“I… I-I don’t—”

“YOU SHOVED HER OVER THE EDGE! YOU PUSHED HER OVER!”

“I-I didn’t… I didn’t want—”

“Save it!” Snatcher tossed Moonjumper down. He flew out of the tower, leaving a broken Moonjumper to think about what he had just done.

~~***~~

“Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasebealright!”

Snatcher had never once been so scared in his life up to now. His yellow eyes scanned the mist, hoping that the young girl had grabbed onto one of large icicles that could have possibly saved her from the fall.

Though that was a very slim chance.

“Pleasepleasepleaseplease!”

Eyes landed on an icicle, and Snatcher froze. Every part of him felt cold and hallow as he stared in terror at what he saw.

“… no…”

He shook his head. “NO! Kid!” Snatcher doved farther down, trying to reason that the red tinted ice wasn’t from the kid.

#ahit fanfic #ahit #shadow girl #hat kid #snatcher #moonjumper #chapter 2 #get ready for FEEEEEEEEEELS!

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