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Arthur

Never in my life did I think that I would see such a horrific sight that would be even worse than when I saw my home burn down. This made me rethink of what evil can happen when I least expect it.

There they my parents were--strapped to wooden poles just at the complete mercy of the soldiers and the angry slaves of the property. I could see a dark stream of blood pour down my father's body, soaking his shirt and pants with the dark liquid that made my stomach feel unsettling. My mother had bruises and cuts along her face, along with my dad, and I could see that the both of them had been beaten and shot, even my mom since I could see a gaping wound at her own side, just like my father. They both looked like the fight had been knocked out of them, but I really hoped that they still had enough to stay conscious.

Standing in front of my father was a panther of the blackest of black fur and menacing eyes that made me shudder in fear. He looked strong and cold and, for some reason, had the presence of high importance. He stood upright like a pole had been placed where his spine was and he looked like he was holding himself regally almost like some sort of king. His presence was what made me feel very, very uncomfortable, almost like he was doing it on purpose to just mess around with my feelings and emotions, just making me feel purely terrified.

Well, he had done a pretty good job at that. I couldn't deny the fact that I was shaking right where I was standing. My heart seemed to be racing, just pounding against my chest like it was about to beat out, and I could feel my breaths grow shakier and shakier by the moment.

He and I looked each other dead in the eyes. His were filled with a lust for fear and brutality while mine were constantly on the verge of pure torment and fear of him and his power. The smug smile on his face told me that he was responsible for the gunshots, hence the pistol in his hands. Just locking my eyes on the weapon itself made every bone in my body turn stiff, like he had just frozen me in place like Medusa herself from the myths. Something told me that he wasn't afraid to use that on anyone, especially a child like myself, and feel no remorse for it later. The look, the gun, and his overall presence were all the signs that I needed to know to figure out who he was.

Jupiter Thaulm. He was the sole person that had control over this entire property and all of us slaves and soldiers. Dad had told me much about him and his power. Two years ago, he took over half of the Apple Corporation and left the other half to a naga woman by the name of Shira Finkler. The man was a millionaire and one of the few powerful people in the entire world, yet not even close to the power of the Overlord. But he was a cruel man by all means, said to slaughter slaves who didn't obey his will or make him his "very personal" slaves if he saw an interest. Just thinking about all the terrible things he's done made me shudder.

But why did this involve my parents? Apparently everything turns into chaos in barely half an hour if I'm not around, and this just felt like it was a new level of chaos that I had never seen before. Whatever kind of man he was, he was someone I didn't want to cross ever, but I needed to get to my family.

I gulped and bolted forward, tears filling my eyes before letting them stream down my face. "Mom! Dad!" I cried frantically.

Surprisingly, Jupiter stepped out of the way and let me get to them. The ropes fell and the both of them slumped forward and hit the ground, groaning out in pain from the sounds of it. Dad was the only one who looked conscious to me and I went over to him first, hoping to find some answers.

"Dad!" I cried out to him, turning him over so I could see his bloody face and body. His blood was still leaking out of his wound and found its way onto my hand, but I didn't care either way.

He groaned and began to cough out blood, letting long drops stream down his lips. "A...Arthur? Is that...you?" he asked, sounding as though he was in a daze.

"Yes, dad! It's me! I'm here!" I began to sob, feeling my tears drip onto his body.

The world began to grow dark around me and my parents. A beam of light brightened both of their bodies and me and that was all I could see. My mom just laid there, not breathing and void of any type of presence. She looked so lifeless...just so cold and empty, as if she was already gone.

My father broke me from my daze, cupping the side of my face before speaking. "Arthur...please. I need you to listen...and listen well, okay?"

His voice was hoarse and weak and he coughed up more blood once he was finished speaking. I almost didn't want to believe what I was seeing. In my arms was my father who looked as though he was about to die, along with my mother who looked just as bad as him. They both looked like they were on the verge, and I just held onto my father's hand while he gripped mine as tight as he could with the remaining strength he had.

No...no...no. Please...don't let this happen. I had already lost my home and my freedom, and I wasn't ready to lose my parents too! Please, no! Please! I held onto my father's hand as tight as I could, just fighting through the pain that was tearing its way into my heart as best I could, shaking and trembling in fear--fear of losing the last things that I held dear to my heart. Just as I thought my father was losing his grip, he using his strength and held on as long as he could, looking into my scorned and horrified eyes just as I could hear a sad lullaby begin to echo in the back of my mind.

He coughed and looked deep into my eyes. "Arthur...I want you to stay strong...and never give up, understand?"

I fought through my tears and tried to wipe them just as they were forming, missing the ones that streamed down my face. "Please don't go...please...you can't..."

My words made him groan, not in pain, but in despair. He and I both knew that he was injured and no one was going to heal him no matter how much we begged or pleaded. I didn't want to believe it though. Each second I just wanted to blink and think that this wasn't happening, like this was some sort of bad dream that I was going to awaken from, soon.

But it wasn't, and I couldn't wake up either. It was real, just all too real for it to be a figure of my imagination. The blood that coated my hands was real. The pain I was feeling at the moment was real. The wounds to my father were real. Nothing was fake. Everything I was seeing, feeling, and hearing was more real than I could imagine. I was kneeling right next to my wounded father, who could die any second, and there was nothing that I could do about it besides just kneel there and stay with him and her for the last few moments that I could.

I couldn't even describe what I was feeling deep down in my heart. Was it hurt? Anguish? Pain? Terror? Horror? Devastation? It could be all those things and possibly more, but I still wanted to deny it all and just believe that this was all in my head, that this wasn't happening.

"Arthur..." he whispered, his voice just getting weaker by the minute. "Listen...I want you to know that you're mother and I are proud of you. We love...you with all our heart...and no amount of pain or loss will make us think the other way."

"But you can't leave me..." I stammered, finding it hard to even speak through my sobs and hiccups.

He sighed and placed his blood-covered hand on the side of my face. "Things happen, Arthur, and we can't stop them. Whether this was...destiny of not, I will not deny death." He saw my pained eyes and turned my sight to look at him. "Do not cry...my son. We will always love you, and we will always be watching over you."

"D-dad...p-please..." I begged him, letting my tears fall onto his weak body.

He weakly smiled and placed my hands on his chest, looking me right in my eyes. Instantly, I could see everything that had happened previously before all of this. I could see the green fields and our home completely untouched by the soldiers. The land was full of peace and prosperity, void of any destruction or poison that had plagued it that year ago. The cattle and animals that we had kept over the years looked at peace with all the calm and quietness that was around them, not letting the destruction of the culture of the world shake them from their lives.

Then, I saw us. My father, my mother, and I stood at the top of the hill that towered over the backyard of our home. We watched over all of the peace and serenity that filled our land and smiled at the sighed. My father looked like himself a year ago, void of any cuts or lashes from the soldiers and just overall clean and back to his old self. My mother was smiling bright and cupped her stomach, which was beginning to bulge, telling me that she was pregnant. I myself stood in the middle of them and held the plane that they made for me on my birthday in my hands, watching over all of the property and land just like the both of them.

Everything was calm. Everything was peaceful. The only sounds that filled the air were the cooling summer breeze that washed over all three of our bodies and the rustling of fresh summer leaves that blew around us in some sort of miniature tornado that didn't hurt or harm us. It was beautiful and elegant, and a sight that I knew could've become a reality if the soldiers hadn't intervened. The hill behind our home towered over the rest of our property and housed the oldest tree that my father never chopped down. It was a willow tree that spread its streamy leaves all around us, almost wrapping us in their wonderful embrace.

I wished that that sight could've been real, but I knew it was something that I wanted to see, it wasn't a reality anymore. My father brought me back to the dark place that surrounded us. He looked weak as weak could get and his fur was looking it's bright color, soon turning dull and lifeless along with the other parts of his body. He still seemed to fight to stay alive, trying to aid me on my understanding of things before departing.

"You see now..." he whispered, his grip starting to fail on my hand. "I do not have much time...my son. Please...listen."

Even though I wanted to shake my head and try to think this wasn't real and that this wasn't happening, I nodded and closed my eyes. I didn't say a word to him but he knew I was listening intently to him.

"Follow your heart...leave this horrible place and find the Revolution...they will take you in and train you..." He gasped and grunted, shaking. "Find Carlos...he'll help you."

"C-C-Carlos?" I stuttered.

He nodded. "Yes...find him...find the Revolution. Train with them...fight with them. Together...I know that you can end this war and bring back the world...do you understand, my son?"

I nodded. "Yes...dad."

"Good," he sighed, breaking his sight with me. "Feel no pain for our deaths... Arthur. You are a strong...caring...and smart boy. I know you'll do...great things in the future, but no matter what...never give up. Do you...know why?"

"W-why?" I asked, holding onto his hand for dear life.

He smiled. "Because we love you, and you promised us that you...would stay strong, did you not?"

That's right. I had forgotten that I promised them that I could stay strong even after they passed. But I didn't know that they were going to die a year after I made that promise and leave me behind with nowhere else to go. I was still stuck on this property with soldiers and a terrible Task Master that were just going to do whatever they wanted to me if they found the right moment.

It took me a few moments to find the right words to respond. "I-I did...b-but..."

"Arthur...no matter what happens, we will be watching over you...I promise you this...do you believe me?"

We both met one another's eyes. The sincerity in his eyes made me feel more comfortable with his words, though I still didn't want to let him or mom go. He knew that I was going to have trouble trying to accept the fact that they were dying, but he also knew that I was going to accept it eventually and fight on. I didn't know how he knew but he knew like it was some sort of odd prophecy that he had foreseen years even before my birth. Yeah, right.

I nodded though. "Y-yes, sir."

"Good..." he whispered, lying his head back against the ground. "Good..."

A few moments passed by, just waiting for him to speak again, but he didn't. His grip began to loosen on my hand and I struggled to not break down again, fighting back the waves of tears that were flooding my eyes with each passing second. I held his hand as tight as I could even as his grip failed and went away.

He was gone.

There was no doubt in my mind that my mother was gone as well. She lay on her side, still completely lifeless and unmoving just like the last time I saw her. Slowly, I walked over to her and shook her, hoping to get some sort of groan of pain or gasp of air or something to tell me she was still alive. For the past few minutes, I continued to shake her, placing my ear on her chest to hear some sort of heartbeat that would tell me she was still okay.

I felt nothing.

The only thing that I seemed to feel was the cold touch of her hand paw-pads. I took her hand with mine, wiping my father's blood onto her hand by accident. Carefully, I brought her over to my father and laid them side by side, placing their hands right on top of their chests. With one movement, I closed their mouths and eyes so that I could make sure that I sent them into a slumber of pure peace and serenity that couldn't be tarnished by the real world. I knelt right next to them and kissed both of their foreheads, not realizing that a teardrop from my eyes landed on each of them.

"God, if you can hear me, please welcome them into your embrace with open arms. Let the warmth of your radiance touch them and wash them of all their sins. May you take them as your own children and allow them to watch over me until the day that I am ready to join them and you in the haven that we call Heaven."

I didn't expect anything to happen, but something did. A shining ray of light beamed right down on me and wrapped me in a warm embrace, not the warmth that nearly killed me each day though, it was cool and inviting that it made me feel like I was back home on my farm. This feeling reminded me of my mother's warm touch on days that I would be sick and she would be there to nurse me back to help, cupping the side of my face with her gentle hands that always made me feel better. It also reminded me of my father's comforting hug whenever I would get hurt or feel down, and he would just be there and wrap his arms around me and let me bury my face into his chest.

This moment made me want to feel so much better in ways I couldn't describe. They weren't physically holding me or caressing me but this loving warmth was all I needed to help me get things back together with myself. Tears continued to stream down my face but they weren't ones full of hurt or pain, they were filled with comfort and clarity, knowing that God was welcoming my mother and father in his arms.

"Thank you..." I whispered.

I hoped that God really was welcoming them and shining down on me. Wait, what was I saying? Of course he was. I...I knew for a fact that he was letting his radiance shine down on me and my fallen parents. No one was going to tell me otherwise because I believed it. This was probably one of the only times that I truly believed something that I had no idea about.knew that I would see them again one day when I get much, much older. Hopefully when this war is over I can just live my life in peace yet live it to the fullest until my time comes to an end.

Sadly, I didn't get to enjoy my time with my dead family. A black hand clenched itself on my shoulder and brought me onto my feet abruptly. The grip was strong yet I knew who it was just by the way he held me up.

I struggled against the grip of the male, trying to shake myself loose. "Lemme go! Lemme go!" I shouted, trying to pry myself off.

Deep, sinister chuckling filled the air around me. "Oh, dear me, child. Please pardon me. I did not realize you had not finished reflecting on the death of your parents. What a tragic--"

I cut him off. "Accident?" Somehow I pulled myself free and turned to face his menacing yellow eyes. He still scared me senseless but I gathered up all the strength I could muster. "D-Don't you lie to m-me. I saw you right next to them doing nothing, J-Jupiter!"

The smile he carried on his face changed instantly to a frown of utter disappointment and frustration, making me wish I held my tongue. "You need to know when to hold your tongue, fox."

Suddenly he grabbed me by my collar and brought me to eye level. I struggled as much as I could, fighting against him with all the strength and energy that I had. He was just too strong, using his own strength to wrap his hand around my neck and start choking me very slowly. I coughed and gasped for air, using only one eye to look at him in his pained eyes.

Wait...his eyes.

I decided to make a desperate move. With what energy I had left, I pulled back my arm and used my claws, slashing right down his right eye. He howled out in pure pain, dropping me from his grip and making me land on the ground. As I landed, I looked up to watch him clutch the right side of his face while crimson blood began to drip down his face then onto his clothes. He took large steps back and groaned out in pain, hissing like one of the naga people that roamed the planet.

A collective gasp blew over the entire crowd of slaves and soldiers. Some held their hands over their mouths while the soldiers stood there in shock with their mouths agape. Innkeepers for the mansion looked horrified and yet awestruck, along with the slaves, since I was probably the only person who ever decided to try and injure the Task Master of the estate.

Jupiter on the other hand didn't look none too pleased after what had happened. After he had gathered his thoughts he looked right at me with his good eye, somewhat of his other eye, and snarled. The anger that filled his glare had me shaking in place, quivering with immense fear that only seemed to get worse by the minute. We both locked eyes with one another until he pulled the gun from the holster attached to his thigh and aimed it right at me. The panther panted and snarled at me, the gun in his hands shaking violently as if he was having a hard time to judge whether or not to kill me or not. To be honest, I didn't think he'd have to think secondly on what I just did since I just gave him four perfectly aligned scars right down his right eye.

He snarled at me, showing me his pearly white fangs. "How dare you scar my face, you insolent brat! Oh, how I am going to enjoy killing you. I admire your spirit, child, make no mistake of that, and not many have tried to make an attempt on my life. Any that have don't live to tell the tale either. You have spirit, I'll give you credit."

"And you have a pretty jacked up face now..." I muttered to myself.

Jupiter didn't seem to hear me, so he just went on. The Task Master groaned and hissing, clutching his eyes with his bloody hand. "Tell you what, since you have such a strong spirit, I'm going to give you until eight tomorrow to live. I'll make sure everyone's up and awake to see the massive spectacle I have planned just for you." His smile had me feeling shaky and off for some odd reason.

Spectacle? Something tells me that I'm not going to look forward to that at all. My mom and dad told me that not all spectacles are always glamorous or pretty like the Fourth of July or New Year's Day. Some were actually really cruel and horrifying and involved death, beatings, or something just as bad. Jupiter had to be thinking along those routes since there was no way he was going to just let me off easy.

The Task Master wasn't finished though, yet he lowered his gun. "It's...two o' clock right now. You have seventeen hours until I get to show everyone the reason why I run this place. Get ready boy 'cause tomorrow you're going to wish you never laid a finger on me."

He and I met eyes, somewhat, again. The powerful feline just smirked slyly, telling me that he had something bad planned for tomorrow and I was going to be right in the middle of it. Whatever he was thinking of made me fear everything that had to do with him, even the things that barely did.

I wasn't sure how I felt anymore. Fear, anguish, despair, hurt, pain, guilt, and dark didn't seem to even suit the kind of predicament that I was in. I wanted to be strong, hopeful, and courageous despite the situation that I was in but all of the fight seemed to be kicked out of me when I saw that he was completely serious about everything. Well, I did give him four scars that made his face look even more terrifying, but was that really a reason to kill me? In some ways, it made people look as though they were tougher and scarier so people wouldn't try to make another move.

So in other words, I did him a favor.

Jupiter turned his back on me and walked away towards his mansion. The sea of slaves, innkeepers, and soldiers parted his way as two guards walked behind him for safety. Once he was long gone, the remaining soldiers disbanded the group of people and sent them back to their jobs. They paid no mind to me for some odd reason. It was probably because I was a dead man anyway, so they were going to keep me in peak condition until Jupiter made his "spectacle" or sorts.

Eventually it was only Washa and I. Actually, I take that back. It was Washa, my mother, my father, and I. There was no way I was going to forget about them, even if they were deader than nails. Only the sound of the whistling wind filled the air, spinning all around me in every single direction that made me shudder. It was never cold on this property, but I could feel just a chilling ache in my spine that only felt like it was growing worse by the moment.

I fell onto my knees in defeat, then onto my hands. Tears filled my eyes until they began to rush down my face, showing all of my pain and hurt. I cried every one of my emotions out, punching the ground violently just in pure anger that I couldn't do anything to change things. I just wanted to wake up from this...dream and find that my mother and father were still alive and still good and healthy.

But this wasn't a dream, it was real.

The hours flew by quickly. I don't know if it was pity or regret, but the soldiers didn't even bat an eye at me as I dragged my mother's body away from the pillars. Washa helped me out and carried my father's body behind me.

I didn't want to bury them on this godforsaken land but I didn't have a choice. They deserved a proper burial on the land that they raised me at, not a land full of death, dread, and pain. At least home I could bury them back at our willow tree where it would be a more suitable place for a burial. They would've thought the exact same thing if it had been me instead of them; I just knew it for a fact. They deserved only the best of the best but instead all they got was crap for all their hard work, forgotten like some sort of stone thrown into a lake.

But I didn't forget them, and that was why I was still dragging them.

We dragged them both as far as we could before the sun began to set. The dynamic contrast from orange to red to a depressing blue made me wish that they were still here with me. I just wanted their arms to wrap around me and comfort me in this time of need, but I knew they couldn't anymore. Just as the sunset was growing on me, the humidity in the air began to steadily change and I could tell that a storm was coming up on the horizon.

Great. Just what I needed right now. Luckily, I had also brought a shovel with me, as did Washa. Together we dug two separate holes right next to each other, not too far apart but not too close to each other. We slaved ourselves for two hours digging the two plots as fast as we could before the storm set in. The thunder could be heard from very far away, and that sound was what made us go even faster with our task at hand.

Why did she want to help me bury my parents? If she was on the side of the Task Masters then she wouldn't be helping me bury two people who obviously did something wrong to be shot and killed. Maybe she really was one of the good people on this world. I was wrong to think otherwise. She really did care about my family and I enough to help me bury them properly and not just dump them somewhere where I knew that they would never be at rest. Only a true friend like her would help me do something like this, and I believed that with all my heart.

We finished the two plots before the thunder grew closer, using our remaining energy to place them into their graves with careful ease. Once the task was finished, we filled in the plots, even with the pain in my heart telling me that I didn't want to see them go forever. Moments passed by as I looked upon their lifeless faces, hoping that soon they would just wake up and act like nothing had ever happened. I really hoped that I was still dreaming and any second either one of them would wake up and tell me that this wasn't real and that they weren't dead.

After ten minutes of waiting, Washa patiently waiting on me, I dug up the dirt and felt tears form in my eyes once more as I dumped one of the many loads of dirt back into the plot. I couldn't even look down into the graves to see what progress we were making, pained at the sight of burying my parents at such a young age. Washa was a huge help, not scared at all by the sight of burying two random strangers that she barely knew. Maybe she did this for other slaves as well, just to help families out with their troubles like death or something. She wasn't as scared of death like I was and it amazed me, perhaps because she had done this many times before with families that she barely knew, like mine, and helped them move on with their lives.

After about fifteen minutes of putting dirt back into the hole, we made the final touches to their graves. They weren't deep but they were deep enough so that no one could see them. Washa said that they needed a proper burial in which she said she would come right back.

I waited in front of their holes for a good ten minutes for her to return. No words came out of my mouth during that whole time. I thought that my voice had disappeared entirely, along with the rest of my drive to go on. To be honest, I didn't want to leave this spot. This was where my family was, and I wasn't sure if I was ready to leave my family like this. They were way too young to be dead, and I was way too young to experience something like this. I just wasn't sure if I could leave them.

Washa came from the shadows of the night holding a few things. She held two stone crosses and a backpack that looked my size. The crosses I could understand, and I couldn't thank her enough for them, but the backpack was odd to me. It wasn't a standard backpack either. It looked like one of those army hydration packs, just without the water cable built in, giving it that backpack look. Whatever reason she had the backpack was her own reasons and it wasn't in my own right to ask her why.

"Here," she said, handing me the two crosses.

I took each of them, finding the date of my parents' birth through their death and their names inscribed onto them. "How did you do this?"

She sighed and used a smaller shovel to plow two more holes behind the graves. "We have an inscriber inside the mansion for times like this. Luckily I have full access and they don't take too long to inscribe."

I was speechless at first but I shook my head, trying to regain my thoughts. "T-Thank you...Washa. This is just...I can't even tell you."

She threw a gentle smile my way. "Arthur...you are my friend and you remind me of my son when he was younger. Your parents were the nicest people I have ever met and I was glad enough to have met them. I'm terribly sorry for all of this, I really am. I'm sorry."

I looked at the graves then planted the crosses, filling in the holes with dirt. "It's okay...I'll be joining them soon enough. I don't know what Jupiter's going to do to me, but can you promise me that you'll bury me right next to them? I want us to die together as a family."

She looked down and sighed. "I can't do that Arthur."

"What?" I asked, turning to her. "Washa...please, I don't want to be dumped somewhere else than here. Please!"

She didn't say a word to me but instead walked over to me and took me by my wrist. "I'm sorry Arthur, but I can't see you die along with them, especially in the way Jupiter has planned for you."

She used her free hand and pulled out some sort of forked looking object the size of a push pin. The wolf placed one of the prongs against the left hole of my wrist then did the same to the other. The wristband suddenly glowed brightly before dimming down until the light died out in my band, making the entire bracelet go limp completely. The forked object then sparked and disappeared, leaving me startled until I saw her pull the band off my wrist off my arm.

"That's why you're leaving tonight."