FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The shadow fled from the mountains, hurtling down the cliffside at a violent pace with a whispering shade. The vile blizzard ripped through his cloak of silver, his feet never touching the ground as he skimmed over the ice and soon touched upon the sands of the desert.

"How did it go?" the black shadow asked with looming neck.

"Terrible," he snarled twisting his cane, "the Furies failed their task, even our own former followers struggled against."

"How should we tell the grand chief?"

"Not yet," he floated past his friend, "let's see how they fare in the desert city."

"Understood." The tall one nodded as they travelled into the wastes. "Should we prepare ourselves for anything?"

"Mary has unlocked her power," the silver spectre twirled his staff keeping afloat on the breeze, "she's become more dangerous so I advise we wait until Wosorr to dispose of her and her new friend."

"Better to sink a ship than burn a caravan," the black phantom chuckled, "nowhere to run out at sea."

"Exactly, just as the mongols tried to invade Japan in the 13th century, and I shall become what they call the 'kamikaze'...the original meaning that is."

"Hmhm...I only hope the light of Pangaea is as rich as your knowledge."

"That would have to be a light richer than Croesus himself."

They smiled to each other as the sandstorm drifting behind, their forms disappearing into the golden sands.

===============

An hour after the shadows had left, Mary and Kirie finished their descent where they soon met the desert. The sandstorm would burn their eyes with a blistering heat that ripped the cold from their bodies

"IS THIS GONNAE GIT WORSE?!" Mary shrieked.

I DON'T KNOW! I'VE NEVER BEEN TO THIS PLACE!

"HOW'D YOU KEN WHIT IT'S LIKE?!"

I'VE LIVED LONG ENOUGH TO KNOW FROM OTHER SPIRITS!

"LIVED?!"

YOU KNOW WHAT I MEANT!

"WHY ARE YOU SHOUTIN' ANYWAYS, YER TELEPATHIC!"

IT'S HARD TO FOCUS IN THIS SANDSTORM ALRIGHT?!

Pushing themselves against the scirocco, the raptor and haunter gritted their teeth and stomped into the sands that blinded them with their harsh golden light, the flaxen burn of an invisible sun almost tearing the flesh off of Mary's neck as the old acid scar felt the claws of the storm rake across its darkened skin. Her feet dug down into the undulating sands as dunes shifted around them, like serpents in the water to constantly disorient them as Kirie reached back for Mary.

DON'T LET GO!

"YOU KEN WHERE WE'RE GOING?!"

MY SENSES TELL ME WHERE OTHER SPIRITS LIE, JUST KEEP UP!

"ALRIGH'!"

Tightening her grip against the spectral hand which turned half-solid in her grasp, the raptor stomped harder as her clothes fluttered in the wind, her jeans tightening against her legs and her purple tank top whipping her belly with lashing strikes that stung even harder. Kirie moved northwest, shifting her path slightly as her senses picked up something beyond a massive dune that rose before them. Suddenly it drifted as one mass, startling them as they stumbled back before the goliath rose even higher, the roaring sands turning the dune to a mountain that shielded them against the typhoon. They tried to take shelter at its base, but the dune would move again with a tremendous surge that shook the earth beneath them. Hurrying after it a second time, they tried to burrow inside before it could move by diving headfirst into the sloping bottom, the colossus shifting again with a grinding crunch as they found themselves splayed flat in the burning silt.

"ARE YOU, FUCKIN' SERIOUS?!"

This is ridiculous.

Kirie huffed slitting her eyes.

This is why I never vacation in Alola.

"AHM PUNCHIN' THIS BASTARD!"

What?!

"FUCKIN' CUMMERE!"

Shooting out a hard streak of thick water, the sand suddenly turned to glue with a swampy mixture as she blasted more from her hand to cause the giant hill to start slowing down in its escape. Against the burning haze she pumped shot after shot, forming a gooey molasses around the sentient dune that struggling to heave itself, before Mary fumed slammed her fists damp into the base and surging a stronger current through her claws that swirled through the inside and turned its shining yellow face into a crispy cold brown.

"RIGHT!" She clapped her hands. "FUCKIN' GET IN THERE!"

What did you do?!

"Saltwater!" she swished her fingers with scattering drops. "Clogs it up ken, whit you never been tae thuh beach?!"

Of course, it just never occurred since I'm not a scientist.

"Ach dinnae say that, anyone can learn!" She started punching into the now-muddy dune and tearing open a cave. "C'mon let's get oot this fuckin' storm!"

Crawling inside Kirie followed after Mary, the raptor pushing apart the dirt with her claws and sculpting a small cul-de-sac to let them see the outside world. Huddling up close the phantom caused a shiver through the raptor as her tail-wisp wrapped round her.

"A-AAAH!"

Sorry, has a mind of its own sometimes.

"Hmph...how big is this fuckin' desert?"

Big enough, apparently. I heard there was a place called Briia'gn'nga-

"Gesundheit," Mary smirked.

But besides that I know nothing of this desert proper.

"So how do ye ken any of this if you never been?"

Others have told me, stories that cross from spirit to spirit throughout the lengths of the Farplane.

"How big IS thuh farplane then?"

Infinite.

Kirie spread her hands wide as she could.

It is the realm beyond life itself, where all spirits pass on to the ether, the beyond.

"So it's just...space?" She pushed up against the wall. "Well, ah guess that's nae bad, nae worries aboot where we all haftae live, do we get houses?

Not quite, there are many places one can reside in, if you are yourself able to reach them.

"Ahhh...wonder where me an' Gerald can head aff tae?"

I can show you both a wonderful place.

The haunter grinned squeezing Mary's hand.

Would you like that?

"Aye." She smiled nodding. "That'd be braw, thanks...oh, storm's pissin' aff, you ready?"

Always.

Scurrying out of the watered dune, they headed back across the wastes as they saw a shining line on the horizon with the telltale glint of water. The sands opened up into a single flatland of barren rock, a gold mirror to the sun that never was as the further they walked, the less sand they found and the more harsh the earth became. Mary clenched her teeth, trying to hop over the rocky soil as Kirie led the way towards what appeared to be a crack in the dirt. Then it started to widen, rippling through the world as they saw a descending ramp and what appeared to be a grand canyon, tearing the desert in half to a colossal rift until the horizon itself was undercut by the thin darkening crack.

There! I sense spirits there!

"Friendly or naw?!"

Definitely not like the Furies so I think we're safe.

"I'd want mair than just 'you THINK'."

There are lots of spirits, too many to be just fiends, I think this is actually a settlement!

"Again, 'you think'-"

We have no choice, look!

Upon the horizon was a giant wall of thickening yellow fog, the storm approaching once again as Mary threw her hands.

"AWWW FER FUCK'S SAKE!"

Let's just try here at least, maybe someone can take us farther!

Heading down into the valley, they heard the storm approaching in a furious bellow from the distance, like the horns of angels descending upon the world to blight it once again. Mary started running as the noise grew louder, the skies infernal screaming causing her to slip and tumble down the slope as Kirie tried to grab her, the raptor gathering speed in a frantic run against her will to the bottom of the canyon, struggling to come to a halt as she almost collided against a column and swerved past to stumble over a rock and trip hard into the stone.

"FUUUCK!"

Are you alright?!

"NAW, AH FUCKIN' LOVE SLAMMIN' MAH FUCKIN' HEID FULL-PELT INTAE THUH FUCKIN' WALL!"

Her body suddenly fumed with an acid burst, pouring from her arms and sizzling the earth around her in a bubbling shield of molten fury that she shot towards the single rock she tripped. They watched the offending stone melt into a blackened puddle as Kirie floated near.

Better now, Mary?

"Ffffuckin' arshehole bastard, _" she spat before pinching her snout with a deep breath, "_HHHHhhhhhhalright, alright. I'm calm now, I'm good."

It's interesting that happens only when you're angry.

"Oh aye issit noo?"

Yes! Hmhm, you are very much like your son I have to say.

"Whissat supposed tae mean?" she asked with flinted eyes.

He had quite the short fuse too, thankfully he did manage to curb that.

"Oh, that's...good, glad tae hear!"

They walked through the valley as the sound of the desert storm raged above, torrents of sand turning the sky to a static hiss that roared in their ears. Through the canyon they wound through the twisting paths as shadows lengthened, the signs of footsteps from shoes to claws to stilted legs making Mary feel the eternal history of this place as they saw pale lights in the distance, buried in the depths of the ancient land. At the end of the valley was an entire city built within the crevasse, where buildings carved from every mineral formed a cliff of shimmering rainbows.

Is that...a city?!

"Ah dunno, you said they'd be friendly righ'?"

They should be, I'm not sensing any malice like before in Raegn.

"Lang as sumbody'll take us oot o' this place, ah don' care."

At the foot of the cliff a pair of giant emerald gates opened up before them as they found a multitude of beasts roaming the streets that were paved with gold. Quartz, ruby and sapphire shone alongside purest amethyst and brimming cobalt that blinded them from above, creating a stained-glass effect in the air with lights crossing into a singular point at the central plaza where a giant compass tilted in a constant spin. Reptiles, mammals, humans and insectoids walked and skittered throughout the streets, where stores glistened with neon lights of savage pink and piercing mint beneath glorious amber and cyan that buzzed and flickered throughout the crystalline city.

"COME ON DOWN WE GOT THE LATEST!"

"ALL THE RICHES YOU COULD WANT!"

"A NEW CAR!"

"A FAITHFUL COMPANION, SERVANT OR PET!"

"REUNITE WITH YOUR FAMILY, ONLY FOR A PIECE OF YOUR SOUL!"

"Okay hauld oan," she pulled back, "that has tae be fake."

It most certainly is.

Kirie shook her head.

The city of Briia'gn'nga does not seem to be a place that would honour its debts. Stay close to me, do not be tempted by their offers-

"EHH, dinnae fret," she batted her hand, "ah been tae thuh market in Hilltoon, ah ken how these punters play."

"EY THERE!"

A white crustacean hunched in fine robes scuttled up to her.

"I couldn't help but hear a sharp-eyed ma'am like you who wants to know the good stu-"

"Git thuh FUCK oot mah face before ah boil you lobster-boy."

She raised her fist showing it bubbling with acrid heat, causing him to back off with his antennae shivering in fear as she walked off with Kirie beside her. The sandstorm ever constant soon blotted out the sky to trap them in darkness, the city still lit up as none of the locals seemed to care for the night befalling when the golden cobbles almost blinded them from the neon gleam. More offers lured them as they headed down a street that burrowed into the cliff, the walls enclosing of sheer crystal face that dangled periously in overhangs whilst the haunter scoped out the businesses, hearing the patter from a dozen beasts wearing loose robes that scuffered their feet, smiling lips and grinning mandibles all greeting them with a hand reaching out to offer something before Mary snapped at them.

"Ah take it back, this isnae Hilltoon, this is more like Portobello."

Another street of merchants?

"Aye, in London, markets are sae big ah always worried aboot bein' pinched."

You said before you did not enjoy London.

"Naw, ah mean...well," she rubbed her neck, "ah loved mah job, don' get me wrang, it's just thuh city was sae big, no' like Dundee where everyone knew each other an' people were friendly."

Ahh, a small town girl, living in a lonely world.

"Heheee, ahhh...maybe ah shouldnae hauv taken that job."

Why?

The haunter stroked her arm.

It wasn't your fault.

"Naebody said it wuz!"

But you seem to be regretting it.

"Just...thinkin' whit woulda happened if ah hadnae gone, maybe ah woulda been-"

Stop.

She put her hand on Mary's chest and faced her in the street.

The worst thing you can do is torture yourself with what-ifs and had-beens.

"Ah cannae help it-"

I know, but you can't wallow in regrets, as a spirit it's very easy to. You must focus on Gerald, he is suffering NOW and we must help him.

"Hhhhh...right." She nodded rubbing her face. "Yer righ', he's...probably daein' that already, probably frettin' himself like he always does."

Is he a nervous person?

"Och you've nae idea!" She waved her hand with a soft giggle as they kept walking. "Number of times he caught me oot thuh door when ah wuz pregnant, fussin' over me like ah wuz made o' glass, he bought me new coats tae keep me warm, he made a special stew in the mornin' an' made SURE ah could hauv it in a thermos, he didnae even shag me unless ah begged him!"

Ohohoho, that is...quite the dear husband of yours!

The haunter widened her grin with a slight blush.

What was it like being...pregnant, if I may ask?

"Thuh fuckin' worst," she rolled her eyes, "sum days are fine, you just hauv a hot flush an' maybe you crave fer summat weird like ah dunno, raw potatoes or beans mixed wi' strawberries, yer body gets awfy possessive fer certain foods cuz it's cravin' VERY specific nutrients."

That sounds quite a struggle.

"Then there's thuh mood swings! People took a real step back when ah started bawlin' in thuh middle o' lab tests, ah had tae sit in thuh corner an' anyone come near ah just start screamin' at them! But Gerald...he never left me."

She hugged herself as they stopped on a corner of cobalt.

"There wuz this time...ah had a real bad day, ah needed tae get hame an' Gerald came to the lab to walk me back. There were these workers, construction types an' they start talkin' shite at me, they thought ah wuz fat an' say all sortsa rude shit aboot me, like who fuckin' DOES that?!"

How could...ANYONE mistake pregnancy for that?!

"AH KNOW RIGH'?! Ah start sobbin', normally ah'd be tearin' intae 'em but mah hormones were all tae fuck, an' Gerald has this look oan his face that ah never seen him done, you ken whit he did?"

Kirie swished round an old lamppost with eyes widened.

"He fuckin' marched up tae thuh biggest fucker an' BOOF, fuckin' slammed his face with a left hook!"

HAH, r-really, he just attacked them?!

"AYE, ah wuz shocked same as you, Gerald never hit anybody in his life, ah thought he'd hauv broke his hand if he tried, an' this bastard starts readyin' hisself tae punch him back, but Gerald gets all smart like an' says 'sir, you ought to consider that you just insulted my wife, who is not only a highly-respected scientist, but ALSO pregnant. You are also about to attack his husband, a lawyer, who is rightfully defending his wife in public, so if you lay a single finger on me, I will drag your company into the worst most difficult lawsuit of your life where they will just fire you to save money. So go ahead, make the biggest mistake of your life'."

The haunter whistled with a soft clap of her hands.

Did they back down?

"Aye, he did! Just backed hissel' aff sayin' he wuznae worth it, Gerald just takes me by the arm, an' we march back hame. Ah thanked him every hour, kissed him every minute, just overwhelmed with emotion...that's when ah realised why I love him."

She clutched her heart with a swelling tear in her cheek.

"He keeps me tethered tae thuh shore, so ah dinnae get washed oot tae sea. Withoot Gerald ah felt adrift, just coastin' oan thuh waves, I knew ah had a career an' such but nothing in mah life, nothing fer ME. But then ah met him...an' just as ah help push him tae better things, he pulls me back from leaping aff thuh cliff...cuz fuck knows ah will, ah ken plenty o' people ah shared mah bed with but none ah would ever trust mah heart with."

I did want to ask why you fell in love with him.

Kirie touched her shoulder.

The way you describe it, reminds me of how we were on the cliff, tethered to keep each other safe.

"That doesnae sound bad does it?" Mary winced. "Ah mean ah hauv mah career, he encouraged me tae keep after it an' he's always been at mah side, even gave up his job just tae move wi' me!"

Because he loved you that much, or because your job paid better?

"Well, a wee bit o' both. But he never regretted it, ah always felt bad aboot it but he said it wuz his choice...he gave up so much fer me. That's why I haftae find him."

"M-...Mary?!"

A voice came from the darkness, hoarse with a familiar rasp that she couldn't quite place as she stepped towards one of the store fronts in a dead-end alley, an old cinderblock office with an exceptionally vibrant sign titled "Calm Sea Inc". At the front of the store, wrapped in a hood holding a sign demonstrating luxurious deals, was a triceratops with green skin and sunken eyes beneath his long shaded horns from a frilled head, including one stubbed at the end of his nose. Scars covered his features now resembling a ghoul, the lines of his skull made out clearly when Mary's face widened in shock when the stranger stood up.

"I-is that...you, Mary?"

"Oh...ohhh god no. Charlie?"

He nodded as she walked up to him. His arms spread wide with a frail shiver of age before she hugged him tight whilst Kirie kept her distance.

You know this person?

"Aye," she nodded, "this is...Gerald's friend-"

"Was." He sighed bowing his head. "I don't...I don't deserve to be called that anymore."

"Whit happened?!" she rubbed at his arms. "H-how many years has it been, christ you look auld!"

"It's a long story. God, you look so young."

He slumped against the wall and clutched his face to hide his own tears.

"This is hell. This must be hell, oh GOD!"

"Hey-ey, HEY, c'mon!" She took his hands and tried to pull him up. "It's alrigh' look, ahm here, see ahm fine!"

"Mary...Mary you're dead. I'M dead, but at least I died old, you...you don't look any different than when I last s-saw you, oh...god just f-FUCK!"

He slammed his fist into the wall as people walked on by with uncaring pace.

"Ahm sorry Charlie," she gripped his arm, "do you...do you ken where Gerald is?"

"I don't. Why, he's not with you, didn't you both...went, together?"

"We did but then we got separated. Ah ken where he is though, ah hauv this, look!"

She showed the ring that shone on her hand pointing farther to the west.

"Mah weddin' ring an' his, it points tae where we are, we just haftae cross the ocean."

We came to this city hoping to find passage.

The haunter floated close with a courteous bow.

I am Kirie, I'm helping Mary find her husband.

"Did...oh no, no no no Mary," Charlie shook his head, "please tell me you didn't form a contract."

"Whit, naw!" she sneered. "She just found me in a forest, ah got lost, she's helpin' me!"

I assure you I made no contract.

Kirie waved her finger.

I am a friend of Mary's son, we met on his travels, I am paying a debt to him of my own will.

"W-wait...you don't...you don't mean li'l James do ya?" the trike gulped. "Oh god please don't tell me he's-"

He is not, he survived the tragedy that befell Mary and Gerald. He is still alive.

"Ohhhh that's...that's good." A heavy sigh flooded through them as his body slumped against the wall. "Sorry I...I should be happy he's alright but-"

"Yer worried aboot Gerald," Mary nodded patting his hand, "ahm worried too. But we could find him together, we could-"

"No." He pushed her hand away. "I don't...I don't deserve to see him again, I...I failed you. Both of you."

"Whit, whuddaya mean?!"

"I promised, I TOLD him I would keep him safe, I promised since we first left home that I would be there for him...and I couldn't save him, or you."

He walked away to stare at his hands trembling to form fists through his cloak.

"I told him no matter what, that I wouldn't let anyone hurt him, I wouldn't let...I promised him one thing, one single thing and I couldn't go with him because I didn't want to be a third wheel!"

"I know, but it's really not your fault-"

"He loved you, I know that. I should've found a way, just quit my job but I didn't wanna stifle you both, you had your own life together, he loved you...I loved him too."

"Charlie." She touched his back. "Gerald doesnae blame you, ah don't either-"

"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!" He turned with a shriek. "You don't, KNOW, you just said you got separated!"

"But ah ken whit he's like too, you know he doesnae blame you!"

"I COULDN'T SAVE HIM! I COULDN'T SAVE YOU AND NOW I SEE YOU LOOKING LIKE THIS, LIKE THE DAY WE FIRST MET AND IT FUCKING KILLS ME!"

He opened his cloak more to reveal his body, a darkening husk as his belly became bloated beneath a pair of ribs, his body riddled with a disease as Kirie felt something flicker in her mind.

"Oh my god," Mary shook her head, "is that...Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease?"

"I wanted to grow old with him," said Charlie nodding. "I wanted to be...with both of you, to see your son grow up. I wanted to be his uncle Charlie."

"But you haven't aged, and that means...he must look young too. I shouldn't have waited, I tried so hard to find you but they wouldn't tell me a thing!"

"Oh..." she clutched her face with tears starting to flow, "I'm...I'm so sorry-wait...w-wait, who didnae tell you?"

"The fucking government, the police, your own company denied what happened to you!"

"WAIT WHAT?!"

"HEY, what's going on out here?!"

Charlie put on his robe quick and shook his head in a plea for them to be silent. Out of the office a steel-eyed human of gold silk robes pointed her finger at the triceratops.

"Are you harassing these people?!"

"N-no Ms. Patrelli!"

"We were just askin' aboot yer deals!" said Mary pointing to Charlie's board he left by the wall. "We wanted a ship tae take us across thuh water."

"Oh! Weeeehehell that's different come on in, please!"

She walked back inside as Charlie sighed.

"Thank you."

"Nae bother, we do need a ship."

"She can get you one, but the price is high."

"How high?"

"I'll tell you when I've paid it off finally."

He lifted his robe to show a pair of ghostly shackles.

"I wanted to get past the sea, to try and find Gerald but she got me doing this."

"You're her fuckin' slave?!" she hissed. "...right!"

She flexed her arms with a crick of her neck.

"Back in a minute, Kirie keep an eye oot wouldya?!"

Hmm, yes.

Kirie hadn't heard her, staring off into the distance as the raptor walked into the office. Her eyes closed as she recalled another voice, the streets turning into a forest the emerald gild became leaves.

"S-someone...help me."

"A-are you alright?!"

"My...my leg, I can't, I can't get up!"

"Oh you poor thing, let me help you!"

There was a scent on the breeze, a warm sweater of cloth and wool wrapping around her in the softest embrace as she was gently carried.

"Goodness what a strange house...hello?! Is anyone there?!"

"No...no one is there anymore not since...Millie passed away."

"Well if no one's here then this should be alright to rest up, door's not even locked."

There was a breeze that she knew, a bed she had once sat beside now empty and cold. But he wasn't there. She wasn't there. Now someone else was calling her name in the house that she grew up in.

"Quite a stroke of luck finding this place."

"I-it...used to be my-"

"You know, funny thing, I was actually looking for a house like this for a little side project of mine. Would you like to help me, once you get better?"

"You...you mean I can stay here, really?"

"Truth be told, I actually was looking for a partner, I fear I'm in rather a spot of bother myself and don't think I could manage all of this by myself. I won't ask for much...only your company, and a promise that you keep our new place open for as long as you can.

"...yes. Alright. I'll help you, anything to be here again where she...where my child lived."

"Hey, you alright?"

Charlie's voice broke through her head as she shook free.

Wh-what?!

She turned towards the triceratops back in the street.

Where...where is Mary?

"She went inside," he thumbed at the door, "I'd go in but Ms. Patrelli gets scary when I don't do my thing out here."

I see...yes, sorry, how did you end up in her debt?

"She promised she could find him...starting to think that's kinda bullshit."

That's unfortunate. Perhaps we can find a way to have you join us, we are searching for him too.

"Well..." he walked up to her rubbing his head, "I been down here long enough to know that once you put your debt to someone here, you're probably never leaving this place."

"_ARE YOU FUCKIN' SERIOUS?! _"

The windows exploded from the office as they suddenly ducked, along with everyone else in the street who fell to the ground from the shockwave ensuing. Peering inside the office they found Mary slamming her hands on the desk of a tourist agency dappled with pictures of boats and screaming at Patrelli.

"Listen, I'm just saying-"

"THEN SHUT YER FUCKIN' FACE, HE'S COMIN' WI' ME!"

"I HAVE a contract, which he signed so unless YOU want to replace him-"

"I am NOT partin' wi' anythin' you FUCKIN' WITCH!"

"Alright I don't have to take this, are you going to make a deal or not?"

"The only deal ah hauv is he comes with me, an' YOU gimme a boat."

"How about, no."

She took a bell from under the desk and rang it. From the back door came a monstrous golem standing 8 feet tall with Aztec lines forming across its oval head and fierce metal claws.

"REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE RECEIVED, USER PATRELLI."

"Take this harpy outta here before she breaks her hand on something."

"ENGAGING IN REMOVAL." He stomped causing the room to quake before looming over Mary. "PROCESS DEMAND: VACATE PREMISES OR BE REMOVED VIOLENTLY."

"You think ahm fuckin' scared o' THIS twat?!" she shouted at her. "He's gonnae be yer fuckin' bedpan after ahm done with ye!"

"RESISTANCE IS NOT ADVISED."

"YOU CAN RESIST MAH FUCKIN' FIST UP YER BALLS WHEN AH PUNT THEM O'ER THUH WALL!"

"Ohhh god," Charlie pinched his nasal horn, "Eights is gonna kill her, I mean, not, um, can ghosts get killed again?!"

Juuust wait.

Kirie grinned putting a hand on his shoulder.

She's learned plenty of tricks since her death.

The golem approached with a lunging arm as Mary ducked underneath, the second one trying to grab her face as she backed off with a sudden jump to the wall before her hands fumed with a thickening liquid. When the monster approached with both its arms raised to crush her, the raptor slashed with two blasts of water straight to the shoulder joints causing it to stagger back with a vile hiss burning through. One of its arms started to creak, crunching forwards to try and swing at her head before it suddenly stopped and tilted downwards by itself. Mary smiled when its arm fell off with a clanging thud, much to Patrelli's shock when the second arm followed showing the steel joints had been eaten away by a melting acid.

"Awww didya drap yer wee hands ya big walkin' gobshite?!"

"ERROR, DAMAGE TO VESTIGIAL JOINTS, ENGAGING AGGRESSOR MODE."

"Ohohh you wannae get AGGRESSIVE?!"

Charging towards her, Eights tried to ram its entire body into her to crush against the wall before Mary dodged and slammed a molten fist of superheated acid that gouged through its chest. In its staggering shriek, she grabbed at its leg and ripped it off by melting the knee and cracking it against its head like a baseball bat to send it falling to the side. The robot powered down as she turned towards Patrelli, brandishing the leg of steel that swung her weapon high to crush the entire desk in half causing her to scream and pull back.

"ALRIGHT, A-ALRIGHT ALRIGHT JUST TAKE WHATEVER YOU WANT DON'T HURT ME!"

"Whitever ah want, ehh?" She threw the leg to crash against the wall and sent pictures tumbling down. "One, ah need a boat across thuh water, one that's good an' reliable, none of yer shite leakin' buckets or whitever."

"Alright, alright!"

"TWO. You gies me Charlie, whitever contract you hauv with him, he's mine now."

"Wh-WHAT?!" she squawked clutching her robes. "B-b-but, but we signed it fair and square, he-"

"AH DON' FUCKIN' CARE!"

She blasted a hot jet near her head as Patreli recoiled.

"YOU, give me Charlie, NOW. Whitever ye hauv to dae, change thuh name of his owner tae Mary Elizabeth Campbell."

"C-can't I just give you the boat, you know how hard it is to find a slave in this place?!"

"You ken how hard it is tae buy a new FACE?!"

Her fingers dripped with bile closer to her.

"Charlie, an' the boat, or else."

"...f-fine." The human whimpered shaking her head. "I'll rewrite the contract, then he can take you to the dock-"

"Is he drivin' thuh boat?"

"N-no, no he's not qualified for that, I have someone out there."

"Alrigh', that's braw." Mary sucked the waters back into her hand and offered it to shake. "Pleasure daein' business with ya, Ms. Patrelli."

"R-right." She shook her drying claws. "Pleasure, Mrs. Campbell."

Through the depths of the valley, Mary followed Charlie into a tunnel that howled with gasping winds that tore at their faces. Kirie had wrapped herself around her, acting as a cloak to better hold them against each other as she fluttered violently in the shrieking gale.

"IS THIS SERIOUSLY THUH BEST WAY TAE GET THERE?!"

"YEAH!" Charlie shrugged not looking back. "IT'S THIS OR THE DESERT!"

"THEY'RE BOTH WINDY AS FUCK!" Mary screamed.

DOWN HERE WE'RE NOT BEING BLINDED BY SAND!

"NAW BUT MAH EYES ARE GONNAE GET BLASTED OOT THUH BACK O' MAH HEID!"

"YOU CAN ALWAYS GO BACK!" he shouted. "ONCE WE GET TO THE OCEAN THE WIND'LL STOP!"

"HOW FAR IS IT?!"

"NOT MUCH FURTHER, TRAVELLING'S WEIRD IN THIS PLACE!"

What felt like an hour of walking, they had traversed five hours of distance through the winding caverns that burrowed deep into the depths of the land. Kirie flapped against the raptor's back as Charlie's tattered cloak almost slapped their faces, the darkness descending as the triceratops clicked his fingers to spark a light between, a small orb in his palm he put into that lit up the walls where their shadows clutched against. Their eyes turned to shrieking slits, their claws digging into the red stone as fragments of bloodied dust scattered across their scales as the demonic roar of banshees turned to a wall of living screams. Soon they would finally cease, the lantern in Charlie's hands starting to sway more calmly as they saw a light at the end of the tunnel.

"Well, that's familiar," Mary muttered.

"Yeah," said Charlie, "you saw that too when you died?"

"Well ah mean, helicopter, crashing intae mah face, makes an awfy big light."

"O-oh, sorry I meant-"

"Heeheheh, ah ken whit you meant is fine ahm jus' teasing," she cracked a smile patting his back."

"I don't know how you can joke aboot this."

"Well whit else can ya dae? Ahm deid, whit matters now is finding Gerald."

"Maybe I just haven't accepted it yet."

We are here for you.

Kirie drifted one of her hands to his side.

Everyone deals with death in their own way.

"So it's not bad if I can't move on?"

Well, no, it is, but we are here to help you cope through it.

"Oh...th-thank you but, I think I'll be a lot happier when we find Gerald."

Stepping out from the cave they found themselves upon a shore of black sand under a pale moon. Night had fallen over the sea wrapped in pale gloom as Charlie walked to a pole in the sand.

"Thank you by the way," he said to Mary, "I don't know how I can repay you for getting me oot o' there."

"Yer mah friend," she patted him, "an' even if you weren't, you're still Gerald's closest friend-"

"I don't, I shouldn't be called tha-"

"You're Gerald's friend an' that's whit matters! He would say thuh same thing, that's why we're going together!"

"Alright...thank you, again."

Placing the lantern on its pole, he stepped back as the light extended over the sea like a shining bullet, piercing through the fog and hitting something beyond when a tower sparked alight in the distance.

"Yanno, something bothers me," Charlie rubbed his horn, "how come we can't just fly over the water?"

"Ah wuz jaskin' thuh same thing!" Mary piped. "Apparently all ghosts hauv different abilities like ah've got water that can turn tae acid an' you hauv yer ball o' light."

"Oh yeah I figured that oot pretty quick," he clicked his fingers to spin three orbs that shimmered with gold, "can't explain how but apparently the reason why Patrelli wanted me was cuz I make a good signaller."

Is this not regular?

Kirie pointed at the lantern.

"No, that's just something I do, other boating companies got their own ways of calling transport."

How fascinating...I honestly thought this was the standard, almost classical even.

"Yeah it's pretty neat," he rubbed his neck, "so...what do we do after all this?"

"We're gonnae be together!" Mary grinned pumping her fist. "You, me an' Gerald, Kirie knows a place we can hang oot in peace."

"Then I guess I better give'er eh?" He stretched his arms and clapped his cheeks. "The guy on the boat's pretty quiet, don't worry he's friends with everyone."

"Whit's oan the other side?"

"The caverns of peace, Pa'nectacec."

"Panek-ta-check?"

Ahhh.

Kirie nodded with a smile.

The depths where souls have accepted their fate.

"That...sounds like Gerald," said Charlie with a sigh, "is he really there?"

"Must be," Mary held up her ring still shining across the sea, "anythin' else oot there?"

"No...god, if I had just been allowed to go to the other shore maybe I coulda found him."

"Whit matters is we're here now. We'll find him, ah promise."

She held his hand with a smile as he straightened his back, the robe still shivering around him as they saw the light of something approaching. Mary had expected an old Grecian oarboat with some mysterious black-cloaked skeleton drifting over the sea. Instead she found a charming little tugboat with an engine that puttered through the fog, glimmering with rusted steel and a name that had long been scoured off its side with a few cabins below the helm where a figure stood upon. An anthropomorphic shark who smiled fondly at his new passengers, his tail languishing behind whilst wearing clothes of a naval cut as he welcomed them with a beckoning hand.

"Hey Rez," Charlie waved, "howsit going?"

The sailor shrugged with a quivering smirk as they stepped aboard.

"This is Reza, he's contracted with Patrelli's company."

"Nice to meetcha!" Mary waved. "Thank ye fer takin' us."

"Just the same place as usual, we'll be getting a trip back probably but we'll let you know beforehand if not, alrighty?"

The shark nodded and pointed down below to their rooms which were surprisingly comfy. A cushy little spot with seats covering three walls and a table between, a small cabinet of drinks all of which were non-alcoholic and a further room where hammocks could be found for weary travellers. They sat themselves down on the seats, where the window gave a splendid view of the endless abyss, the black mercurial depths where the boat would turn in its departure and took off across the ocean. The lighthouse kept shining with eternal gaze as the moon disappeared behind the clouds as if bowing to the grace of that lonesome guardian, guiding souls across the breach.

"Soooo whit do ya ken aboot this place?" Mary asked her friends.

"Other than it's Wosorr," said Charlie shrugging, "this sea's full of tears, the fog formed from regrets, you know, standard stuff."

"Well that's awfy depressing."

Indeed.

Kirie sighed sitting on her tail-wisp.

How did you know Gerald, if I may ask?

"We met in high school," a faint grin escaped him, "he uh, signed up to be a tutor, said he wanted to fill out his time and stay in school long as he could, didn't wanna go home an' I needed help with some algebra. We started talking a lot, we became friends and then we graduated into college."

"Ah didnae ken that," Mary shook her head, "ah thought you met in class just bein' nerds aboot math."

"Well yeah, but I wasn't a keener like he was, he was always a teacher's pet and people made fun of him, but I didn't. Not after he helped me get an A."

What did you study?

The phantom drifted upwards to sit on a perch.

"He studied patents law and minored in electrical engineering. I took the same except patents law was my minor whilst my major was geology. I didn't actually wanna be a patents attorney but...well, I met his family, the one time I got to come over, and I knew then I wanted to keep him safe, so-"

You chose a class only to stay close to him.

"AND a job, but turns out the job was pretty good," he swept his hands, "Termon and Termon were real nice about lifting two college boys, then we got lucky on some cases where Gerald just flourished."

I did want to ask the issues surrounding his family, but if that is too personal-

"They're fuckin' cultists."

Mary's words turned the room silent as she laid back.

"Them Furies we fought up in thuh moontains? Couple o' them were cultists too, Pangaeist fucks. Like dinnae get me wrang, ah ken most Pangaeists are aw good an' chill an' dinnae burn the shit oot o' people with fire rituals-"

"But Gerald's family did." Charlie closed his eyes. "He never recovered from that ritual, I remember when he changed around when he was sixteen. We first met when he was fifteen, he was a pretty shy nerd but nothing odd, then came after his sixteenth birthday and he was just...gone. Like a piece of his soul had been ripped from him. I loved him. I still love him...I wanted to help him, more than anything."

He clutched his horns as if threatening to snap before Mary put a hand on his knee.

"He loved you more than anything."

His head turned to her smile.

"He wuz always happiest whenever you called us."

"I...I know. Mary, I don't want to sound mean but-"

"You wish you two had been together. Ah ken that, an' ahm deeply sorry Gerald couldnae return that thuh way he does me but you're the best friend he ever had, he ALWAYS talked aboot you."

"I know...I-i know...f-fuck."

Charlie clenched his fists. She took one of them and squeezed harder as the boat drifted over the waters, the fog settling in that soon turned the windows blank, wrapped in silver foil. Yet there was still the lighthouse off in the distance, a pale orb that blinked through the beyond as the sound of the engine rumbled under their feet with a trembling purr, soothing their minds as they fell asleep whilst Kirie watched over them. Charlie's robe opened up during his small dreams in little fits, showing the scars of the disease that had taken his body. The haunter felt the mist lingering, seeping into the boat as she started to float outside above deck to where the shark kept on sailing.

I just needed some fresh air...sort of.

He smiled nodding.

Will we be alright in this fog? It's awfully thick.

The shark tapped his head with a wink of his eye and spread his hand out across the stars, picking them out and pointing straight on through the mist to indicate he knew precisely where he was. It was then that Kirie noticed he had no fins upon his body, torn by savage red tears from his back and tail with rope marks festooning his arms and legs. He saw her eyes dart away out of respect, but he thumped the console of his steering wheel and waved a finger.

My apologies, I...that was rude of me.

He shook his head with a smile, sweeping his hand towards the view as if encouraging her to relax and take it all in. As she pressed her hands on the railing and stared out across the sea, Kirie thought she saw a fragment of a shadow out on the water before it turned solid. Two shapes could be seen, one a four-legged beast, the other a much larger house as she tried to turn away before she felt the hand of the shark grip her head.

Wh-what...what are you doing?!

He bent his head down as his gills opened up to breathe a single word with a deep rasping voice.

"ACCEPT."

What?! A-accept what?!

"ACCEPT."

No...n-no, no I don't want to remember, p-please, g-get off me!

"ACCEPT."

NO, S-STOP IT!

She struggled in his grip, his hand clutching her head as he locked her eyes upon the house on the sea.

==================

A voice called out to her, along with many others combined with so many scents. Warm grass upon dry scales; the must of feathers; the sodden damp of pondwater and the sharp burn of lightning within fur.

"Hey hey, where ya been?!"

"I was out getting more nuts, hold on!"

"M-miss, MIIIISS, Bellissa pushed me!"

"Bellissa I TOLD you, if you start bullying again you will be planted outside!"

"I did nothing you can't prove it-"

"NO excuses! Now for that, you're helping me with dinner, if you're good I'll let you have extra."

"Fiiiine."

S-stop it.

Kirie shook her head.

STOP, s-stop it, I don't want to-

"ACCEPT."

His grip became stronger, almost crushing her mind as she sputtered gasping with a shivering sob, staring at the house and all its creatures within that galloped, hooted, screeched and purred around the garden. Then there was the face of an older human that came through the mist, her body slightly hunched and dressed in plain robes with clog-sandalled taba shoes of traditional Japanese dress.

"Come on dearies, dinnertime, everyone come inside!"

"YEAH YEAH FOOD!"

"W-wait, wait for me I wan' food too!"

"Come on then Toto, get on my back, I'll race you there first!"

"Okayyyys!"

"Ho ho ho., such a hungry little pack aren't you?"

She felt the hand across her head, the stroking of fingers under her chin as they ate together, a mess of beasts scarfing away in the house as their voices chattered with Kirie's.

"Did ya see the festival?!"

"Yeah it's so COOL, all the lights all over the city, they put out these um, um, th-things, made of paper that got lights in 'em!"

"Lanterns, Toto dear."

"Y-yeah, lanterns, and they flew up into the SKY!"

"I-i saw the two birds, at the tower!"

"Really?!"

"You did NOT!"

"NOooooo I diiiiid!"

"Oh yeah what they look like then?!"

"Um, one was like silver, shining in the moon a-a-and one was like PURE gold!"

"Ohoho, well that's good Rita, you know those who see the two birds are said to have luck all year round!"

"Reeeaaaaally?!"

"Ugh, wish I saw the birds too!"

"One day you will, perhaps next year for the next festival."

"C-can we go, can we go see mom?!"

"...what...what did you say?"

"Can we go mom, pleaaaase?!"

"YEAH mom can we?!"

"...hah...hhhhahahaha...a-alright. Alright, we'll go with Ms. Alice, next year, together."

Days would pass of thunder and lightning, storming floods and summer morns all whilst she travelled through the woods and stepped towards the outskirts of a city, her band of children behind her whilst her friend the old woman walked slower, her scent turning weaker. She saw lanterns cross the sky like a myriad of stars, a tower pagoda-style in the distance. Then she felt it. The pulse of her friend and the scent of something deeper, festering in the hands that stroked her face.

"I'm sorry dear...I was already quite old when I started this."

"What, n-no you're fine, you can still walk! Surely, I-i need help with them-"

"No. No dear."

The taste of a cloth sleeve filled her mouth when she tried to pull the woman from her bed.

"You know, since we first met, I always knew you were more caring than you wanted to be."

"Wh-what, what are you saying? Of course I care, why else would I be s-stuck here in this house again looking after all of them?!"

"You must think I'm silly trying to start a daycare in my autumn years...knowing that, if I didn't have a helper it would be a rather short-lived venture but...do you want to know why?"

"Please...t-tell me."

Her face came closer, cracked and wrinkled as her lips pressed on her head.

"Because I wanted to make others happy. I had no one left dear, no family, nothing. So I thought to myself, well, plenty other creatures out there don't have them either and perhaps, I could do something about it. The house was fortunate, but you...I think it was destiny that we met."

"D-...destiny? What do you mean you were just helping me like you always do!"

"Hohhh...ohh I do wish I could understand you," the hand of the human rubbed down her ears, "but I hope you understand me, yes?"

"I do." Kirie nodded in the past. "I always...when you told me you wanted to help find little ones lost in the woods I-i had to...I don't know if I ever told you about my Millie. I have a lot of...things I needed to get out, my heart was...I-i wasn't finished, Ms. Alice I had s-so much more left-"

"Shhhh...don't cry sweetie."

Her hand lifted up her chin as Kirie begged.

"D-don't...don't leave me Alice. D-don't leave me, I-i can't, I can't be alone again."

"Let me give you some advice," the old woman whispered. "You cannot save everyone. No one can. But you can still save someone, and the fact you stayed with me trying to help all those little pokemon who have no one else in the world, shows that you can. Do not mourn for me."

Her trembling fingers crept over her cheeks.

"Do not wallow in despair and rage against death. I was happy to meet you, to be your friend and to help even the smallest pokemon away from harm. That's what I want you to do, to carry on in my name."

"But...b-but I don't want you to leave me!"

"I know you'll be sad. But instead of making it your cloak, to hide underneath, I want you to make it your strength. Promise me...don't become a waste, don't lose that strength if not for yourself then for the children who need you. Don't let that sorrow drown you, but instead drive you to help others avoid the same fate."

"B-but...but I can't do anything about you, what do you want me to do?!"

She buried her face into the blanket, hearing the woman's heart beat slower as her tears dampened the sheets.

"Look at me."

She looked up to her face.

"Promise me, you won't let yourself waste away. Keep bringing hope, so others won't have the grief you possess. Promise me dear."

"I...I-i-i promise."

She knew the woman couldn't understand her and yet she smiled. Her eyes started to drift as she thrust her paws forth to shake her.

"N-no, bo Alice, ALICE NO! MS. ALICE PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME! I CAN'T, I-I CAN'T DO THIS ON MY OWN PLEASE!"

==============

Her tears returned back to her, Kirie screaming to the abyss as she lurched beyond the rail of the ship.

A-ALICE, ALIIIIICE! D-DON'T LEAVE ME I CAN'T DO THIS, I CAN'T, PLEASE!

"Whit's goin' oan?!" Mary stumbled up from behind to see Kirie reaching out.

AAAAALIIIIIIICE!

"HEY!" She grabbed the haunter pulling her back. "HEY, KIRIE C'MON!"

A-alice, I saw her, I-i saw my friend she was going away LET ME GO!

"CALM DOON!" Her eyes burned with jade as she shook her hard. "There's nabody oot there Kirie, it's all water!"

But...I saw her, I saw her and me, when I was, back when I was alive-

"She's not there."

Charlie came up from the deck.

"That's what this sea does to ya. Taunts you with grief, mocks you with sorrow. Forces you to accept what you hold in your heart if you haven't already accepted it."

How...how do you know?

"Because every journey I take I see Gerald's face in the depths. Every goddamn time I go oot on the sea, Rez stops me from falling in because once you do, you will never come back up."

The shark nodded sadly as the haunter snarled at him.

YOU forced me to watch!

"Because you have to accept it," said the trike leaning on the rail, "you have to accept it, and be strong enough to realise your regrets so you can let them go by the time we reach Pa'nectacec."

Why?!

She rushed towards him with tears down her face.

What regret do I have in not being able to save her, from a disease I could do nothing to stop?!

"That's just it," Mary shrugged, "there wuz nothing you could've done."

BUT WHY?!

Kirie shrieked turning back to her.

WHY DID SHE HAVE TO DIE?!

"You don't think ah dinnae understand?! Trust me ah seen many people die when they didnae deserve it!"

But YOU have the power! YOU have the knowledge to heal, you had a better chance than I did!

"And still people died oan me, fer reasons beyond mah control, you cannae save everyone that's thuh first lesson-"

_WHAT LESSON DOES IT MEAN WHEN HE LET MY DAUGHTER DIE?! _

A shock fell over the ship as Kirie shook her head, stunned by her words as she slumped down to the floor and clutched her face. A quiet sob came as Mary sat down beside, stroking her head and pulling her close. Charlie was about to speak, but then saw Reza was gesturing towards the east as he saw something fume from the murk of the mist. A cloud of darkness formed from the depths that roared with a vicious surge of black water that rose higher and higher.

"Uhhhh girls?!" Charlie gulped. "You might wanna hold onto something we're being chased!"

"Wait whit?!" Mary looked up.

"Just grab something, REZ PUNCH IT!"

The sailor saluted and quickly pumped the lever, launching full speed to the lighthouse as they grabbed for the railing and felt their bodies lurch with a violent jolt. The savage charybdian force rose further into the sky and tore through the clouds with jaws of brine and a sound of such Olympian wrath that they heard the mountains tremble from the horizon. The boat would lurch and stumble in constant leaps over the waves that came hurtling towards them, the infernal beast growing stronger behind with each new wave it absorbed into itself.

The vessel was pushed to its limits, barrelling through the waters as the wall of rage came closer, the rain started spitting on their heads in a drenching roar as Reza gripped the wheel hard and waited for the tsunami to almost hit them. Turning fast in a hard drift he dodged the crashing wave when it slammed down behind his rudder and sent shockwaves ripping through the sea, causing the boat to buck with savage throes that caused its passengers to stumble as they saw the tidal rage rising once again to turn physically towards them.

"HOW THUH FUCK'S IT DAEIN' THAT?!"

IS THAT LUGIA, NO, KYOGRE?!

"REZ CAN WE MAKE IT TO THE ISLAND?!"

The shark gave a huge shrug and kept looking back, the roar of the ocean's might sending a white hand of vengeance upon as he sharply turned once again, this time warning his passengers to hang on tight before the ship swung a hard 90 degrees. The crushing force of the water almost clipped the stern of the boat, making it rock harder causing both Mary and Charlie to stagger towards opposite sides of the deck with Mary almost falling into the sea, before Kirie shot out a pair of ropes from her hands and pulled her back to her side. Reza started to temper the engine, revving and slowing down to try and almost taunt the sentient wave as he cut a serpentine path through the darkness. The roaring slalom lunged with massive claws, splitting into two smaller waves that punched the water in crushing blows that sent the boat shooting upwards, cresting the bow of rippling tides and flying through the air in brief spurts before crashing down hard to soak them with the frigid depths.

The typhoon continued with ripping tears as the savage waves turned to piercing white fingers that gouged through the water, raking apart the ocean in small trenches before the boat managed to escape its reach with the island in sight. Reza took a chance and gunned the engine for all its worth to burrow through the sea, a sharp gale pushing against him as he slitted his eyes towards the black isle and its shining lighthouse that continued to cast its holy gaze across the sea.

"Oh thank god," Charlie sighed slumping against the side, "alright Rez good work, you got us safe-"

"Is that NORMALLY s'posed tae happen?!" Mary cried.

"Nooot really, never had a living tidal wave chase after us, there's nothing oot on this sea!"

"Alrigh' well that wuz fun guess we're aff tae-JESUS FUCK!"

Darkness came upon them as a wall of tears loomed before them, the rising tsunami bursting in front of the ship as it curled its pale fingers up into the sky to block their path. The monstrous wave almost seemed to roar with a voice of its own as Kirie noticed a shadow within the haze.

What...is, someone's inside that thing!

"Wait whit?!" Mary cried.

Someone inside, someone is causing that tsunami!

"...CHARLIE, REZ!" Mary rushed towards the pilot. "Sum fuckin' bastard's inside that thing!"

"WHAT?!" cried Charlie. "WHO?!"

"Ah dunno but ah ken whit to dae, ah need you to ram that fuckin' thing, then TURN hard at thuh last minute, ahm gonnae freeze it!"

"WAIT WHAT?! ARE YOU CRAZY, YOU CAN'T FREEZE A TSUNAMI?!"

"GET ME CLOSE AN' AHLL PROVE IT!"

DON'T BE A FOOL!

Kirie shrieked against the howling rain.

WE HAVE TO TURN BACK UNTIL IT'S GONE!

"NO, GET ME CLOSE, AH CAN FREEZE IT WITH AMMONIUM NITRATE!"

THAT'S ABSURD, YOU CANNOT FREEZE THE OCEAN, ONLY GODS CAN DO SUCH A THING!

"_FUCK YER GODS, AHM A FUCKIN' SCIENTIST! _"

She jumped towards the bow and spread her arms wide against the furious wind.

"REZA, PUNCH THIS BASTARD IN WE'RE GETTIN' TAE THAT ISLAND!"

He looked between Charlie and Mary, Kirie agasp with fear at her manic fury before the triceratops gently nodded. The sailor gave a thumbs up and pumped the engine with a widening grin as the boat shuddered at its fullest strength, the shark pounding the lever hard as he could until it almost broke in his hand when the vessel shot towards the wall of fuming brine. Kirie grabbed Mary tight and tied her body to the boat with more ropes as the raptor grinned with venomous smile, clenching her fingers as granules of white started to flow from her hands and trail behind them in the water.

"COME OAN YA BASTARD!" the raptor screamed. "_YOU COME BETWEEN ME AN' MAH FAMILY, YOU'LL FUCKIN' WISH YOU NEVER DIED TAE FACE ME! _"

The wretched whirlpool screamed back as it lunged over their heads, bracing itself to crush the boat under its gargantuan weight. The boat turned just before it started to fall as Mary shot forth a noxious spray of thickening chemicals that salted the water and burst through the air in a doubling cloud of numbing mist. The typhoon lurched to crash beside the boat, causing it to shudder violently and almost capsize fully on its side before the water started to turn placid, more swiftly than usual. The vile tsunami turned upon them as Mary roared with a tearing slash of heated white salts that scattered across its front when it lunged, starting to slow down its descent as it became sluggish in its fury whilst the raptor kept bursting more of her gaseous spray.

"Wh-what, what's she doing?!"

I don't know...the water is...stopping?!

"HOW DO YA LIKE ME NOW HUH?!" she cried with arms open wide. "COME OAN THEN, YA FUCKIN' COWARD SHOW YERSELF, HIDIN' BEHIND YER FUCKING WATER LIKE SUM PRICK WHO'S TOO FEART TAE SHOW HIMSELF!"

With lumbering surge and a weakening strength, the tsunami crystallised at its base with crackling ice forming across the sea between them. Rez took his chance to quickly turn the boat towards the island and dock it soon as they could with Kirie stunned at the petrifying water.

How did you manage to stop it?!

"Ammonium nitrates," Mary dusted it from her hand, "causes an endothermic reaction with water ken?"

But it...sea water cannot freeze.

"Aye it can! Whit do ya think icebergs are made of, it just needs mair cald!"

"MARY, HURRY!"

The voice of Charlie alerted them as he jumped from the boat with Reza in turn, seeing the last throes of the tsunami heading towards in a final reach to crush its whitened froth against the stern of the ship. The two leapt off when it slammed hard into the boat, punching it further inland with a crunching snap against the rocks as Kirie grabbed Mary to float her quickly off the bow and land safely with the others. The island was a desolate place of pure black stone, an old fortress standing atop its broken hills with jagged walls and the remnants of houses littered throughout its moors. The lighthouse remained untouched upon the far end of a promontory point, the waters breaking against the shore as they stared at the one before them.

"I have only known you in this afterlife."

A silver-cloaked phantom burst from the wave's departure.

"And I am already SICK of you, my dear aunt."

"Wh-whit?!" she gasped tightening her fists. "WHO THUH FUCK ARE YOU?!"

"None of your business," he spun his amber-tipped cane, "your infernal crusade ends HERE!"

He blasted her with a full punching gale to the stomach, sending her down to the dirt as Charlie and Reza quickly grabbed her out of harm's way. The phantom charged in a zigzagging strike towards Kirie before striking her with his staff, the haunter fading from his sight in a blur of fuchsia when she reappeared behind him and punched the back of his hood, sending him stumbling as he tried to turn with a hard crack of his blunt cane across her face.

"You alright?!" Charlie asked pulling Mary up.

"Nnnngh, f-fuck's SAKE!" she shook her head. "If you think ahm gonnae stop cuz sum wee phantom FUCK says ah cannae-"

"LOOK OUT!"

He pulled her fast from the oncoming path of a wall that hurtled towards the shore, crunching over the dirt and splitting apart with rumbling pieces rolling into the sea.

"This is as far as you go!"

A black robe stood with long neck upon the peak of the hill.

"Nowhere to run, no escape, Mary!"

"Who thuh FUCK are you people?!" she roared clenching her fists. "How do you know mah name?!"

"Don't worry! After this, no one will know your name ever AGAIN!"

Jamming his claws into the dirt, the mountain shook as he tore a chunk of rock as big as a jeep from the earth, wrenching it over his head to toss down upon them as the three dodged quick from its rolling path. Charlie was knocked down by a stray rock that flew at his head, whilst Mary ducked under the scattering spray and Reza covered the trike with his body to protect him from further assault. The raptor jumped up the slope with a snarling face, scraping her claws into the hard rock as she leapt upon her attacker and drove her fist into his chest, the wraith grabbing her arm barely fazed and swinging her hard like a hammer to crush her against a wall that crumpled on itself. Pushing herself up with a bruised back, she flecked water from her claws and charged with a raking slash of pure acid that melted through the black cape as he countered back with a monstrous haymaker. The raptor dodged past with a fierce uppercut that slashed the front of his neck before he jumped back in a heavy stomp, slamming his fist into the earth and splitting a giant crack through the hill that caused Mary to stumble, shooting a hot blast from her hand that sprayed down the fiend's leg with a burning heat.

Down at the shore Kirie took on the silver shadow, who blasted wind shots from his sleeves that went spiralling across the shore whilst she kept dodging between to hurl shadow balls at the enemy. The stranger vaulted upwards in a whirlwind that tore downwards upon her, forcing the haunter against the wretched shore before charging her like a comet. Waiting for him to get close, she shot out a thick green rope that twisted deep into his arm and yanked him into the dirt whilst sucking out his spiritual energy to briefly rejuvenate her. Severing the cord Kirie quickly strafed around him to confuse the grey cloak and punch the back of his head again, dodging the swipe of his cane but not the spinning cyclone that wrapped round his body and shockwaved hard to force a circle of dirt apart from his feet, forcing Kirie back by several feet as he turned and pointed his amber cane to suddenly shoot it like a harpoon. She dodged quick in an upwards draft before a howling gale came from behind her to pull the staff back to its owner.

"And what loathsome little wisp are you?" said the fiend stabbing his cane in the dirt.

None of your business, as you said! Why are you attacking us, how do you know Mary?!

"You are far too beyond our inner circle to even comprehend our grand ascension! So forgive me if I rather not waste my breath and instead I waste YOURS!"

Clapping his hands together he formed a vicious shockwave that cleaved through the land like a vertical blade. The haunter dodged back but was blindsided when the sharp gale split in half to tear through her essence, gasping with a shudder when she almost separated into two before her face reformed itself with a crackling hiss. She waited for the next strike as the grey phantom scarred the earth with another vile roar of cyclonic force, dodging left then immediately floating above to evade its dual split and hurl a shadow ball at his face, blasting him hard to fall on his back to the sound of cracking bone. His scream was cut short by a reverse-cracking sound as he slowly reared back up with a burst of flame from his body, briefly surrounded with a hot burning wind as his limbs snapped back into place.

"Were I alive, that would have been the end...but not in THIS WORLD!"

Lunging towards Kirie, the wight pulled back his cane and hurled it like a boomerang to her face which the haunter ducked beneath before he grabbed her face with his claws, spinning himself round to hurl her towards the mountains at a blinding speed with his staff returning to him. He smugly tapped it on the earth seeing his companion in the distance slam a hard boot into Mary's chest, sending her rolling down the hill before he saw Kirie flying towards him. She curled her hands and shot her head forwards to meet the long-necked spectre with a savage smile before shooting out ropes from her fingers. Startling the dark phantom, she bound one of his arms and pulled him forwards causing him to rear back to try and pull her harder in turn, almost swinging her round like a ball-and-chain before she shot a green vine into his back and pierced his spine with a snarling fit when she sucked part of his essence, thickening her purple colours before she pulled the ropes back to her body.

"Not bad," he cricked his neck like snapping a branch, "used to work in a circus?"

No, and even if I was, I wouldn't hire such pitiful Mr. Mimes as you and your friend.

"Then I'll make you a mime, and silence you instead."

With a crunch of his fists he slammed both of them in the earth and caused a jagged blast of sharp stone to pierce towards the phantom, who simply floated out of range with a snickering fit.

Hmhmhahaha, ohohhh a rock-type, oh that's adorable!

"I got more tricks than that."

She felt a grin from beneath his hood as he pulled back his fist, a dark fuming essence billowing from his cape when he suddenly rushed forwards in a streak of crunching earth dragging behind him before driving into an uppercut that tore with black flames. Kirie dodged back with a fright and countered with her own darkness that pulsed from her body to make him stagger back before she lashed him across the face with half-a-dozen ropes. In his stumble the haunter tackled him, slamming her half-solid form into his chest before grabbing his neck and wrenching him hard to the ground when more ropes wrapped around his throat. The dark beast swung out a long tail that slapped her down in turn, stunning her briefly to give her enemy time to get back up and barge towards her with a sweeping hand to slap her down and pin her with his other fist driving into her face.

"How does the dirt taste?"

N-NNNNGH!

"Don't worry, I've gotten good at digging graves."

A-AAAGH!

"What do you want on your tombstone? I know we're already dead but thought I should ask."

Oh you...are s-so kind, allow me to dig YOURS in return!

His hand drove deep into a cloud of smoke and crunched his knuckles into the dirt as Kirie disappeared, spectral plumes of indigo swirling up his arm and forming into lengthly cords that bound his arms and violently pulled them back until they almost creaked from their joints.

During this struggle, Mary went rolling down to the shore and stumbled back onto her feet to meet the silver beast, running to a full pelt with her fist heading straight through his chest like a bullet train, much to his surprise when the shattering of ribs channelled through her arm and he fell onto the shore with an open chest-wound and a damning scream. He felt his bones cracking back together in a shrill hiss, vaulting back up as he scarred her face with savage claws of wind that shot out beyond his hand.

"Whut's yer FUCKIN' PROBLEM!?" she screeched.

"If you had stayed in the forest, there would not BE a problem!"

Ripping the ground with carving strikes he formed shockwaves of piercing white as she dodged left and right with a dripping lash of molten green that sizzled across the black earth. The spectre came for her ready to strike as the raptor swerved past to grab the back of his neck and slam him in the dirt before kicking his skull like a football. Every crunch of bone was followed by a grisly reset as the cloak loomed back up, tightening his cane between his fingers as he roared with a half-lunge to make Mary swing too hard, before dodging in a boxer's weave and striking her twice in the face with a blunt thrusting stab of the staff in her stomach. She grabbed at his face with a furious bellow and shoved her thumbs into his eyes within the hood, making him scream even harder when she drenched his head with a burning drench of acid that dripped down his front.

"_A-AAAARGH, AAAAAAAARGH! _"

"_YA FUCKIN' LIKE THAT, DO YA?! YOU FUCKIN' LIKE THAT YA PRICK?! _"

With a violent explosion he forced her away in a colossal blast, his body suddenly consumed by a sphere of violent winds that almost turned solid as he floated closer towards her.

"YOU HAD ENOUGH YET?!" she taunted. "OR YA THIRSTY FER MAIR?!"

"Au contraire, my dear aunt." His voice dripped with rancorous sneer. "This pitiful charade ends HERE AND NOW!"

The ground shook with his maelstrom as he swept his hands like a conductor, casting torrents that blasted Mary hard and even lifted her up in the air before slamming her down and dragging her across the earth with scraping the gravel. She tried to push against but the silver cloak's unbridled fury pummelled her against the stone and kept slamming her skull until it almost compressed with a dangerous creak. Suddenly the phantom was struck from the side by a blinding ball of gold that swirled around his body in the hurricane, bursting in his eyes and leaving him staggered.

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HER!"

"A-AAAARGH, you, WH-WHAT!?"

Charlie came pounding towards the shore with spheres of aurum in his hand.

"I WON'T LET YOU PUT A FINGER ON HER, COME ON REZ LET'S WASTE THIS NERD!"

The shark followed suit as the phantom turned with a hard blast towards the trike, knocking him down with a violent punch to his skull as the sailor dodged and suddenly screamed with eyes of piercing black. Mary was startled briefly by the voice from the shark as blood shot forth from his gills like frozen daggers that tore through the grey cloak, pushing him back enough for her to come from the side and crack his jaw when the winds started to fade. Falling down to the dirt before catching himself, he floated back up and rushed towards his friend in the black cloak being strangled by Kirie, plunging his cane through her face and ripping through her form to slash the ropes free.

"LUCAS, I'M WEARING THIN!"

"GUH, thanks, you alright sir?!"

"I DAMN WELL AM NOT, NOW HELP ME ERASE THESE BASTARDS!"

"Gladly."

With knuckles cracking as he flexed his hands, the one known as Lucas raised his hands and focused his aura with a great and terrible rumbling. The walls of the old fortress started to move from the hills as the silver fiend brought forth a burning khamsin, a ferocious typhoon that summoned the broken slabs of thick mortar and cobbled stone to swirl above their heads, looming up to twelve feet of solid wall as they both gave a furious cry.

"Shit SHIT, MARY RUN!"

The three on the shore ran for the nearest cover, which happened to be the boat as Reza leapt behind with Mary and Charlie joining whilst they waited for the bombardment. However the scientist had another plan and quickly slathered the side of the hull where it met the sand with some sort of stickying liquid.

"What are you doing?!"

"Makin' sure this thing doesnae crush us or get battered away, hauld oan!"

With a bubbling white foam that covered the sandbar under the ship, Mary crawled up against Charlie as they heard the roaring lunge of huge walls crashing onto the shore, cracking apart with a quaking dust before hitting the side of the boat with a colossal strength that forced it to bend into its yaw. The wights of grey and black pummelled the yacht harder with a hailstorm of boulders, crushing and punching until pieces of it were flying off, shattering windows and bursting the hull as it tipped precariously over them more and more.

"IT'S COMING DOWN!"

"NO IT'S NOT!" she grabbed Charlie tight. "Trust me, ah froze that tsunami this boat's nae coming doon!"

He stayed beside her with a nervous hope, Reza panicking with every crunch and thud and creak that his boat suffered with tears in his eyes and a trembling of red dripping from his gills until the shelling would stop. One last wall slammed into the side as it shuddered against their backs, but Mary's solvent held on fast as she grinned standing up from behind it.

"WHIT'S WRANG?! YOU RAN OOT O' PEBBLES YA WEE CUNT!?"

"DAMN YOU!" the grey fiend gasped looking back. "Lucas, we must regroup-A-AAAAAGH!"

Going somewhere?!

A piercing needle shot through his chest, stabbing out his front as a thickening drip of spectral essence drooled out of him that Kirie absorbed with a sucking gulp. The long-necked Lucas tried to charge at her before she swung his friend in front like a shield, causing him to stop in his tracks as she slammed the back of his head then pulled hard on his hood to throw him down the hill. Crunching bones and splintering gasps filled the air as Lucas ran down to grab his friend, swiftly pulling him up into his arms as the cracking marrow reknitted itself with his hood peeling back.

What...no...J-JAMES?!

Mary gasped with Kirie's outburst as she approached with Charlie and Reza in tow. The raptor in the pale cloak stared at them with eyes of silver and purple marks scarring over his snout.

"That...whit thuh FUCK?!"

"For a scientist," he hissed, "you're rather slow on the verbal take."

"Th-that...he...he looks like Gerald," gasped Charlie.

"Because I am his nephew." He raised his cane towards the group. "Remember the name of Martin Campbell...and the Sons of Janus who shall see paradise-"

"NOOO!"

Charlie rushed towards them as Lucas turned with a hard swipe of his long tail thwacking him hard back down the shore. Pulling back his own hood he revealed himself to be a black brachiosaurus with golden eyes staring through.

"Y-YOU...YOU FUCKERS!" Henderson screamed. "YOU TOOK HIM AWAY FROM ME!"

"The choice was his," said Lucas stepping back, "all who were born beneath the light of Pangaea shall return to its final moments."

"SHUT THUH FUCK UP YA GOD-BOTHERER!" Mary shrieked stomping towards them. "WHERE IS HE?! WHERE'S GERALD?!"

"You already know, don't you?" said Martin snickering. "You are on this island where beneath its depths lie the caverns of Pa'nectacec. I would rather we had stopped you here, but I suppose if you desire true death in a worse agony than we could bestow upon you-"

I cannot believe this.

Kirie shook her head.

That his father's family...of all people would have such aura of cruelty.

"You call us cruel?" Lucas cocked his head back to Mary. "Compared to this traitor who'd deny one of our own eternal paradise?"

"_FUCK, YOU! _"

Mary came charging as Lucas swung his tail once more, leaping over the large length and socking his jaw hard enough to make him almost fall. She lunged at him again but he slammed his foot with a shuddering stomp that cracked the earth beneath into a blunt jutting shelf, punching the raptor's stomach hard in a self-impalement before she fell back with shrieking gasp.

"Should you dare to follow us," said Martin still hanging from his carer's limbs, "you will find a worse fate than death could ever have given you."

Kirie tried to attack but the brachio ducked beneath her ropes and stomped the earth again, causing a hole to appear that roared with darkened winds. He leapt into the abyss with bleary eyes as Mary tried to jump after with stumbling legs.

"MARY, MARY WAIT!"

"AH HAFTAE FIND HIM, COME OAN!"

MARY YOU HAVE TO REST!

The haunter tried to grab her arm.

YOU ARE WOUNDED, JUST WAIT!

"THAT FUCKIN' CULTIST BASTARD TOOK MAH HUSBAND, HIS OWN FAMILY!"

I KNOW, BUT THEY WILL DESTROY US IF WE GO IN WOUNDED!

"GERALD NEEDS ME, AH PROMISED TAE STAY WITH HIM!"

JUST, WAIT!

"_NO, AH WON'T LEAVE HIM TO DIE, NOT AGAIN! _"

She forced herself past and threw herself into the hole, Charlie staggering after in a cry desperate as Kirie followed third, with Reza scratching his head and looking back towards his ruined ship before taking a deep breath and leapt into the depths.

As soon as Mary landed she grabbed the walls of the blue cavern with scarred knees. Her spirit looked weaker than before, her colours pale with a gasping shudder as she clutched her face.

"G-gerald...h-hoh god Gerald, ahm...a-ahm sorry...ah didnae think, they would get you, not here."

Her tears ran down her fingers as she took a moment to breathe, the raptor venting with a gasp as she clutched her stomach, bruised with cuts that caused her essence to bleed out in soft pale slivers. A snarl crept on her face as she started limping through the dark as a soft warm breeze beckoned her that tickled her snout. Her eyes were gone to the misty black, her hands trembling along the walls to keep her senses sharp as she felt the bleeding turn worse, drifting smoke out of her wounds as she clutched them tighter trying to secrete some salve from her fingers. The path wound itself deeper into a spiral, sending her further to the depths as a scent drifted through her mind. Floral patterns. The salts of the sea.

"N-NO! NO, don't fuckin' dae this, ah haftae find him, I...a-aagh!"

Stumbling with her leg she grabbed for the wall and pulled herself onwards, the scent turning stronger as it suffocated her with memories of frosting, flowers and cake on a late summer's noon. She slammed headfirst into a door, cursing before she hammered on the oaken wood and searched for the handle to pull it back. A light blinded her.

"Wha-aagh...wha-...what?"

A garden spread out before her, her mouth agape at the ceremony taking place. A long central aisle, with rows of people in their seats where at the end stood a humble white arch, the sounds of the seaside town rumbling on with cars and the wash of the sea. There stood Gerald, in a rented black suit waiting at the end.

"N-n-no. No, god don't do this."

His smile broke her heart. She tried to pull back but her legs kept walking, magnetised to the altar where a faceless priest stood spreading arms towards her. She struggled to resist, throwing her head back before she looked down to see her bridal dress.

"N-NO, NOOOO DON'T DO THIS! WH-WHY ARE YOU DAEIN' THIS, WHO THUH F-FUCK IS DAEIN' THIS?!"

Music started playing, a classic theme for such an occasion on flutes as she caught sight of people in the crowd. Charlie was smiling, back to his old self healthy and husky. Her parents smiled too, the old sour-faced turtle and the raptor beside him. She caught a tear in his eye that he wiped away quick as her feet brought her to the altar, turning towards her husband-to-be. His eyes were like the morning fog, soft and grey, the bump on his head shining with old dried blood.

"Gerald...Gerald issat you?"

"We are gathered here today," said the priest, "to honour the union of Mary Elizabeth Thompson, and Gerald Campbell on this blessed day."

"Gerald, t-alk tae me. Gerald, Gerald please!"

"If anyone has a reason for this union to not be, then speak now or forever hold your peace."

"UM, AYE, HAULD OAN!"

Her hands would not move as she frantically shook her head.

"TH-THIS ISNAE REAL, RIGHT?! This isn't happenin' again, th-this is just, just a memory, like with Robert, GERALD SAY SUMTHIN'!"

"Then let us begin," the priest continued unabated, "I believe the groom has his own vows."

"Oh...god. Oh god no."

She closed her eyes and turned back to him. The warmth from his hand was like a dagger in her breast.

"Mary."

"H-hoh god no!"

"When we first met, I almost went into the next life. But then you brought me back, because...I don't know why. Most would say it's because of your duty to heal the sick. But I...I want to think you were giving me a second chance."

"Gerald please, n-no, this isnae real!"

"I don't have a lot to give, and I still don't know why you stayed with me. You're so much smarter, more ambitious, you inspire me to be more that I'm always surprised you don't just float away on your own strength. Maybe you wanted to share that strength with me. If so, thank you."

Her hands squeezed his as tears dripped down her cheeks.

"I feel stronger because of you. For the first time in my life...I feel I can. Whatever happens in our future, for however long this relationship lasts know that I will always love you, if not as your husband then as your friend. I will always do my best, even if it's not good enough, I'll give everything I can. All I have to give is my heart...but it now belongs to you."

He pulled her fingers to his chest.

"I will always be with you, for however long we want, Mary."

The audience gave a fawning sound as Mary started to hiccup with shivering tears. Charlie was sobbing the loudest, trying to cover his face as he rocked in his seat.

"Mary Elizabeth Thompson," the priest beckoned, "do you take him as your lawfully-wedded husband, in sickness and in health, til death do you part?"

"Ah do." Her words came without even thinking. "Ah promise...whitever happens ah won't leave your side. Ah will never leave you to be alone, never again ah swear to you."

The look he gave was full of hope. Behind her face Mary was screaming, watching the memory through her eyes as Gerald's smile widened with a gasp of relief and his hands clenching tighter. Fingers strangling her heart.

"Gerald Campbell, do you take her as your lawfully-wedded wife, in sickness and in health til do you part?"

"I do," he nodded.

"Then I pronounce you to be husband and wife, under witness of God in Heaven. You may now kiss your love."

She closed her eyes and met his lips. She missed that warmth from his breath, the kiss that sealed them together as their hearts beat as one. It was crueller now for the brief moment she enjoyed, a breadcrumb to a starving man as the kiss would last an eternity, the joy from their friends and family washing over in a single wave until she opened her eyes again. She found herself in a cemetery that reached beyond the hills, her clothes the same purple tank top and dark jeans. She slumped to her knees in the mud beneath a flickering lamp, bowing her head forwards as she began to scream.