Iris

I had weapons and armory to horses in the stable. I watched the men and women in the town of Shelldera, from my home. One fine sunny day, I watched my parents leave our home in a horse- drawn carriage to go on some kind of work-related business that they had to attend to, as I waved them good-bye. I won’t know for sure until they get back. I was at home by myself for a few hours when IT appeared near my home and disappeared a few seconds later. My life was ruined by IT when it decided to appear on the day my parents left. Nobody knew why a random white wolf with flame markings appeared. I knew that he wasn’t just a normal wolf of any kind, he was known as the Flame Wolf. It had one purpose, and that purpose was to find the assigned target and take it to the Devil. I knew who the next target was since I kept up with the disappearances of certain families and friends. I made myself the next target on accident. I didn’t mean to. I became the next target because I kept up with certain pieces of evidence that shouldn’t have made sense at all. The only good thing was that I knew there was one way to get out of being the target. I had to defeat him fair and square during battle. I wrote a note for my parents to find, if I didn’t make it out alive, so I hid it under my bed, only letting a corner of the paper show. I turned myself into my Black Draginucous form, turned and looked at my bedroom for one last time. I flew to the park and looked for the Flame Wolf. I found him and landed a few yards away from him. I noticed he was pacing back and forth.

He growled and spoke in Galician with a big grin when he saw me, “Obxecto adquirido. Listo para levar. Imos, débil Daru Daru!! Target Acquired. Ready to take. Let’s go, weakling Daru Daru!”

“Non!! Non vou!! No!! I will not go!!” I spoke back in Galician as I turned into my Elf form with my Dragon Blood Armor on.

I grabbed my Finger claws, put them on and grabbed my spear. I took my stance and waved for the Flame Wolf to make the first move. The Flame Wolf howled, and multiple skeletons popped out of the ground and surrounded me. I started fighting the skeletons of past wolves, elves and Draginucous. I slashed and swung as bones flew every which way you could imagine. I kept fighting the skeletons until there were no more. I faced the Flame Wolf and he growled at me. He lunged at me and I dodged his attack. He spun around and lunged at me again, mouth wide open. I blocked his bite attack with my spear as he latched onto the spear. He started to gnaw on it when I slammed him onto the ground. He yelped, let go of the spear and stood up as I backed away a little bit. I spun around to walk away from him when he knelt down. I didn’t notice that The Flame Wolf was sneaking up on me until the last second. Before I could hit him back, he bit my lower left arm. I screamed and fell to my knees as I held my lower arm.

“Ti ... enganaches. You... you cheated.” I said as my vision started to fade to black and my eyes turned to a dull and lifeless color.

The Flame Wolf walked up to me and said, “Nunca son xusto. A miña picadura é peor que a miña casca. I am never fair. My bite is worse than my bark.”

He howled but, I grabbed the Flame Wolf by the neck and said, “Meus ... os meus pais non ... non estarán contentos con isto. My... my parents will not… not be happy about this.”

I dropped to the ground completely, my hand let go of his neck. I knew my helmet fell off and I watched it roll toward a tree. The Flame Wolf shook and howled again. Hands made of flesh came up, grabbed my body, and took it to the Under World. The Flame Wolf disappeared because his work was complete.

The Next Day (Narrator)

It was a beautiful, sunny day as a young man named Sylvyr Petsandoral, was walking in the park and walked near one of the trees to cool down. He suddenly, stumbled over something and looked down to see a helmet made of Dragon Blood. He immediately knew who it belonged to, Iris Freedom. Sylvyr picked it up and held onto it for her parents. When her parents got back about a week later, Sylvyr walked over to her parent’s home and knocked on the door. Her father answered the door and looked at Sylvyr a little confused. Her father was puzzled on why Sylvyr was there.

“Tara Diera. I found something that belongs to your daughter.” Sylvyr said as he grabbed something from the bag he was carrying.

Sylvyr showed him the helmet he had found. Iris’s father took the helmet from the young man. He thanked Sylvyr and closed the door. He took it inside for her mother to see. When she saw Iris’s helmet, she ran upstairs to Iris’s bedroom to see if their little girl was there. She was wrong and she laid across Iris’s bed, crying her eyes out. Meanwhile downstairs, he set the helmet onto the kitchen counter and threw his dagger at a wall, angrily. He paced the floor, downstairs plotting his revenge against whoever took his sweet and innocent daughter. He knew that whoever took her, would pay for that was a grave mistake they made.

‘Who would do such a thing to my daughter? Who could have taken her? Why would they take her? Who in their right mind would take her? Lolo’s missing and now Iris is gone. Whoever did this is going to pay for this grave mistake, whoever made it.’ Tara thought to himself as he paced in the kitchen.

Deera Freedom, Iris’s mother, sat up, looked down at the floor to see a corner of a piece of white paper sticking out from under the bed. She picked it up and knew exactly who wrote the note by the signature and the hand writing. It was Iris’s hand writing, no doubt about it. Deera knew immediately that Iris had written that note when they had left for their work trip.

“Hey, Honey Bunches of War!! Come in here, prease!!” Deera yelled as she held the note up.

Tara Diera, Iris’s father, ran up the stairs and into Iris’s room. He saw Deera holding a paper with a worried expression upon her face. Deera had a holt of one of Iris’s stuffed horses and held it tight.

“She must have written it a week or so ago while we were gone. Prease, read it. I... I cannot bring myself to read it.” Deera said as she handed the paper to him.

He grabbed it from her, she started crying as she hugged the stuffed horse. He read the note aloud, without shedding a single tear. Here is what the note said:

“Dear Madre and Padre,

I knew this day would come. Please, do not grieve for me. I took your places, so you guys could live on. I fought hard but, failed. I ask you to find my brada, Lolo Darius Freedom. If you find him alive, tell him that I love, and I missed him. If you find him dead, please hug him for me and tell him that I loved him with all my heart. I will miss you guys so much. Thank you for the life you guys gave to me.

Your Loving Daughtren,

Daru Daru/Iris

P.S. Please do not come looking for me. I don’t want you guys getting hurt or killed.”

He set the note on the desk and looked down at the desk. He looked up at the mirror and looked back down at the desk.

“I... I cannot believe that she... she gave herself up for... for us to live on... without her.” Tara said as he leaned his hands on the edge of the desk.

Tara looked up at the mirror once again and noticed that Deera was crying. He sighed as Deera looked back at him through the mirror.

“But, at what cost? Why would she do that? Did she do it just for us? How did she know that Lolo was gone?” Tara asked as he curled his fingers, crumpling the note that Iris had written.

“I do not know the answers to the questions you asking but please come and sit. We need to grieve and it’s alright if you cry, my dear.” Deera said as she wiped away tears but, more rolled down her rosy cheeks.

“I am not allowed to cry. I have taken an oath to my people and to myself not to cry since I was little. Now, I must get going now.” He said as he turned around and walked out of Iris’s bedroom, into the hallway.

“Where are you going now?” She asked as she followed him out of the room.

They got to their bedroom entry way when she blocked the entry to their room, where his staff and book were.

“I am going to go find my own daughtren. Move, Deera. I don’t want to hurt you.” He said as he bowed his head with respect to her.

“Why do you elves have to be so cold hearted and selfless? How can YOU be so cold hearted even after OUR daughter went missing or is dead, huh?” She asked him as she turned toward him, still crying, and still blocking the way.

“We elves are what you call cold hearted because we don’t attach ourselves to anything other than family and yet we still don’t cry. I am not cold hearted; I am only honoring the Oath I took. We also have other oaths we can take in honor of our families.” Tara replied.

“What Oath did you take?” Deera growled, with tears in her eyes.

“It was known as the No Attach and Cry Oath. It is one even the Ladens took it if they wanted to. Once we became of age, we could take the Oath if we wanted to, and lived out our lives, whether it’s in the village or falling in love and having a child.” Tara said as he looked at Deera.

“I cannot let you go find our daughter alone. I am going with you, whether you like it or not.” Deera said as she turned into her Black Draginucous form and stepped out of his way.

“That is fine. I do not mind if you go with me. I would love for you to come with me. I wanted someone to scout ahead for any signs of Iris.” Tara said as he walked in and grabbed both the Book of Norawind and the Staff of Riles.

He walked out of the room and smiled at her. They used the magnificent front doors and walked through the gates. Deera flew up and scouted the area for any sign of Iris. She found something even better. She found white wolf fur stuck on a branch of a bush. She flew back to Tara and smiled at him.

“I found white wolf fur that belongs to the Flame Wolf in the park.” Deera reported as she landed next to him.

“Let us go to the park, then.” Tara said as he nodded at Deera.

They both walked toward the park. Tara walked onto the grass and Deera went to touch the grass when a forcefield of some sort burned her paw, she screeched, and she stepped back a ways. She turned into her human form and held her hand as she winced at the pain.

“Are you alright, my dear?” Tara asked as he walked back to her.

“I... I will be alright. I cannot go through there. I do not know why I cannot go through there. You will have to do it alone. I wish I could help more than what I did.” Deera said as she looked at Tara.

“Hmm, there is a forcefield around the park protect them from any harm done to them by a Draginucous. You go ahead and head back home to treat your hand, sweet heart. I’ve got this, I hope.” He said as he looked at his book.

Deera stood up and left, while Tara walked back through the forcefield. He looked at his book, turned to the page he needed and spoke these words to summon The Flame Wolf of the Under World:

Come Forth Demon of the Under World!!

Taketh my Soul and Taketh it to HIM!!

The Flame Wolf rose from the ground in his human form, stood up tall and looked at Tara.

“Cén fáth ar dhúisigh mé dom as an staighre iontach a bhí agam? Why did you wake me from a wonderful nap I was having?” The Flame Wolf growled at Tara in his Native tongue, Irish.

“Do you think I am that dumb to fall for that? Well, I am not that dumb! I want my daughtren back, now. Give her to me now.” Tara snapped at The Flame Wolf.

“Ó? An bhfuil sé fíor? Ní féidir liom í a thabhairt duit. baineann sí anois leis an Diabhal féin!! Oh? Is that so? I cannot get her to you. She now belongs to the Devil himself!!” The Flame Wolf snarled back at Tara.

“Fight me, Elf to Magical Being of the Under World. Come and get me, you cowardly Wolf Demon.” Tara yelled as he took his stance with a ball of magic within his hand.

The Flame Wolf growled, turned into his wolf form, and took his stance in his wolf form.

Meanwhile, Iris was making a deal in the Under World with the Devil as The Flame Wolf and Iris’s father fought.

“If I win this game, I live and get to go back to the surface. If I lose, I will stay here in this stingy, hot place. Deal?” Iris said with a smirk as she hid the gun she had found earlier.

“Deal. The game is Poker.” The Devil said in a rough and raspy voice.

He tossed her a deck of cards and she shuffled them. She gave out four cards to him and four cards to herself. She set the rest of the cards off to the side. She looked at her hand and she smirked even bigger. She had an Ace, ten and two threes. The Devil looked at his cards and saw that he had a full house. He put in some chips and she folded.

“Show thy cards that you yield in your hand, my dear.” He demanded.

She showed him her hand and he started laughing.

“What’s so funny, uncle?” Iris asked as she smiled at him.

“Nothing. Now, do you want to play another round?” He asked her as a bell rang as she grabbed all of the cards and started shuffling them, once again.

He stood up and walked away from the table. She dealt the cards and gave herself the worst cards while, he was given another full house. He came back mumbling to himself.

“Come and play another round.” Iris said as she looked him straight in the eyes.

He sat down and picked up his cards. He looked at them, bet some chips and she folded once again. She showed him her cards and looked at him with a smile.

“I lost to you twice. I am now yours, Devil.” She said with a smirk.

“Give me your soul, dear child of Tara and Deera.” He said as he opened a jar and smiled wide.

“Hmm... Tempting offer but, I have to firmly say no.” She said as she pulled the gun out of hiding and pointed it at him.

He lost his smile and stepped back a little bit, scared.

“H... How did you get that?” The Devil asked nervously.

“Are you scared of a little gun that I found that was just lying around?” Iris asked him with a smile upon her face.

“N... N... No, I am not scared of... of that gun. I was j... j... just startled that you found it.” He said as he put his hands on the table.

Iris stood up and kept the gun pointed at him. How ironic, the gun kills as the trigger is pulled. Though, the hammer wasn’t pulled back.

“Now, that I have your attention. I am breaking the deal. I want to go home. Send me home, now!” Iris said as she pointed to the “roof” of the Under World.

“WHAT?!?!? THAT WASN’T PART OF THE DEAL!! I am not doing that, you arrogant little pain in the tail!!!” He yelled and pointed at her.

“What can I say? I only learned from the best and you know who he is!!” Iris said as she sat back down.

The Devil was so angry he broke the table. The cards and chips flew everywhere.

“What’s the matter, Uncle? Can’t take losing to your smart niece?” Iris asked sarcastically.

“I cannot take this from you right now!” The Devil snarled as he started walking to the door.

He stormed off and she exclaimed, “It only happens when you’re not here!!”

“Wait, it only happens when I’m not there? What do you mean by that?” The Devil asked as he stopped and turned around to look at Iris.

“Oh, my learning how to defeat you and your crew of evil beings. How do you think I learned how to fight the stupid Flame Wolf?” Iris said with a wide smirk, showing her sharp Draginucous teeth.

She grabbed a couple of cards off the ground and held them together. He walked away and slammed the door shut behind him. It shook the whole room.

Meanwhile on the surface, The Flame Wolf was trying to bite Tara, but he was dodging the bites. Tara smiled and shot magic at The Flame Wolf, hitting him smack dab center in between the shoulder blades. The Flame Wolf yelped in pain and laid on the ground from a one strike blow. The fur and the skin were singed to a crisp.

“How... How did you know to hit me there?” The Flame Wolf asked as he winced from the pain.

“Déanann tú dearmad gur ELF mé. Tá a lán draíochta ar eolas agam. Tá muid ag magadh leatsa roimhe seo. Tá a fhios agam conas é a shárú. Ós rud é gur ELF dílis mé, labhair le do shaoiste agus iarr air m'iníon a scaoileadh. You forget that I am an elf. I know advanced magic. We elves have dealt with you before. I know how to defeat you. Since I am a sincere elf, talk to your boss and ask him to release my daughter.” Tara said in Irish as he stood up tall and proud, over shadowing The Flame Wolf.

He got up and descended to the Under World to the Devil.

“Sire! Sire! Father of halfen Hybrid wants his daughtren back.” The Flame Wolf yelled as he flew to the Devil’s side.

“I know he wants her back. She wants to see the Over World and she wants to be with her family again. There is no way I am giving up my niece ever again. The only way I will give her up, is if my sister, Deera Freedom fights you and wins.” The Devil said as he watched a couple of screens, one in the room where Iris is and the other where Tara is in the park.

“What shall I tell him, then?” The Flame Wolf asked as he laid down and healed his wounds.

“Tell him, that my sister has to defeat you in order to get Iris back... also, take his life if you can.” The Devil said as the room got dark and only his red eyes were visible.

“Are you sure, sire? The elf is strong. That was really ominous.” The Flame Wolf said as he cleaned himself up.

“Just… Get going!!” The Devil yelled as he kicked the Flame Wolf in the rear end.

“Okay, okay. I am going. Jeez, you don’t have to be so mean.” The Flame Wolf mumbled as he walked away from the Devil.

The Flame Wolf rose to the Over World and looked at Tara.

“What did he say, you unworthy demon wolf?” Tara asked impatiently.

“He cannot release her until his sister defeats me.” The Flame Wolf said with a nasty looking grin.

The Flame Wolf then howls, and skeletons of his ancestral Elves rose. The skeletons started walking toward him. Tara looked at them in utter shock and shook his head side to side.

“No, not my Ancestors. Please, Ancestors. Don’t do this! Rest in Peace and None shall wake you Again!!” Tara exclaimed as a white mist made the skeletons disappear into dust.

Tara fell to his knees and started breathing heavily from casting one of the advanced spells in the Book of Norawind. The spell took a lot of energy to cast. The Flame Wolf took the opportunity in his hands… well, paws, and ran to go bite Tara when, a red and blue flames appeared, stopping the Flame Wolf in his tracks. Deera appeared from the flames and she was in her Black Draginucous form. She looked at Tara and then looked back at The Flame Wolf.

“No one hurts my family and that includes Tara.” Deera growled as she looked at The Flame Wolf.

Tara stood, nodded at Deera, and left to the outskirts of the park to watch them fight. Deera and The Flame Wolf lunged at each other and the Flame Wolf scratched Deera’s cheek as they passed each other. They both landed and faced each other. Deera’s cheek had a fine bright red line that ran horizontally with a bit of scarlet leaking out a little. Deera screeched and the Flame Wolf yelped and held his ears down.

She stopped and looked down upon The Flame Wolf and growled, “Get up, you weak wolf. I will always conquer you!!”

The Flame Wolf got up and started barking and chirping. With that call, bright red flames surrounded The Flame Wolf and Deera. She growled and “whipped” up the flames with her flame tip on her tail. She burnt part of his fur and skin. He healed himself, grew hair back and growled at her. He laughed as he stood up and looked at her.

“What’s so funny?” Deera asked as she looked at him confused.

“Je zult me niet overwinnen!! You will not conquer me!!” He growled in her native tongue, which was Dutch.

He howled, and skeletons popped out of the ground and dirt was flung. She took a deep breath and turned into her human form. The skeletons stopped moving and looked around very confused. The Flame Wolf looked around for her too. He growled just as he felt a tap his shoulder. He turned his head to see who it was but, Deera punched him smack dab in the jaw which, knocked him down to the ground. The skeletons disappeared as he tried to stand up. His jaw hung loose from the socket.

“Hoe ... hoe sterk ben je? How... How are you that strong?” The Flame Wolf asked in Dutch while he sat up and fixed his jaw.

“I told you, I would conquer you. Did you forget that I am still a Black Draginucous in my human form?” Deera growled as she rubbed her bloody knuckles.

“F... Fine. You have conquered me.” The Flame Wolf whined as he bowed his head with respect.

He howled, and hands made of bones grabbed Deera by her legs. She went through the ground as Tara yelled out for her. She left no evidence that she went through the ground. The Flame Wolf disappeared and appeared next to Deera, who was being held in chains. The Flame Wolf changed into his Human Form and glared at Deera with a wide smile.

“You stay here while I get the boss.” He said with a small snicker.

The Flame Wolf walked out of the room, laughing. Deera screeched and Iris screeched back in response.

“Iris!! Where art thou?” Deera asked as she looked around.

“I… I am in the room behind you, Madre!!” Iris exclaimed as she reached through a small window behind Deera.

She turned around and started running toward Iris but was stopped short by the chains.

“No... No... NO!! Let Iris and I go!! Please, brother. Let us go.” Deera exclaimed as she tried to break the chains.

The Devil, Deera’s brother, walked in and started laughing.

“Why would I do that? I am tired of being under your thumb for years. You are younger than me! I can watch you lose your strength as I control your daughter. I can keep both of you until that... that... PUNY elf that you fell for years ago in High School, fights and dies trying to save you two.” He said with a nasty grin.

“Tara will fight but, not to the death. He is smarter than you give him credit for. He will be here in 3... 2... 1...” Deera said as she saw magic start swirling at the doorway.

“Helldoora Flame!!” Tara yelled as he appeared in the doorway behind the Devil.

“Tara, Honey Bunches of War!! Watch out for The Flame Wolf!!” Deera warned Tara.

Tara turned around quickly and shot magic at him but, he dodged just in time. Deera broke the chains when she changed into her Draginucous Form. The Devil grabbed Iris from the other room and held his claws to her neck.

“Tara!! Stop!! He has Iris!!” Deera said as she turned into her human form again.

Tara stopped fighting The Flame Wolf and looked at Deera, then looked at The Devil.

“Do as I say, or she gets... AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!” The Devil screamed as he was thrown across the room by Iris.

Iris stood in her stance as she looked toward The Devil. Tara and Deera stared at her stunned.

“No one messes with my family, and NO ONE THREATENS MY FAMILY!!!” She growled as she grabbed the gun that she had found earlier.

She stood up from her stance but, fell to the floor immediately. Tara and Deera noticed something wasn’t right with their daughter immediately after she dropped. Tara dropped his staff and book and ran over to Iris. Tara noticed she had a deep laceration on her left side, and she was unconscious.

Tara picked Iris up and said, “Dear Heart, grab my staff and the book. We need to get Iris to a doctor and quick.”

Deera grabbed the Staff of Riles and the Book of Norawind. He teleported all three of them to the Over World.

“Tara, why don’t you take her to the doctor, and I will put these away.” Deera suggested.

“No. I... No... Just follow me with them. We may or may not need them.” Tara replied as he looked Iris and his blood-stained shirt.

So, they ran to the doctor that was three streets down from the park. They ran to the doors and…

“Doctor Blue Blood!! We have an emergency!!” Tara exclaimed as they barged in through the doors.

“What’s the... Woah!! It’s Iris!! What happened to her?” Doctor Blue Blood said surprised as he saw Iris’s lavender hair.

“Please... Prease, help her. Prease, Prease!!” Deera pleaded.

“Bring her back here and set her on the bed. We’ll see what we can do for this lady of honor.” Dr. Horseshoes said as Tara laid Iris on the bed.

“We will be waiting for you when you wake, daughter.” Tara said as a few nurses took Iris to the Operating Room with Doctor Blue Blood in tow.

Iris

I remember falling to the ground in a reddish, brownish dirt place. Then I remember hearing voices of Padre and Madre, then I heard nurses talking about my accomplishments that I have done.

“Sedate her. We do not want her to move while we work on her. Deep laceration on her left side. It needs sewn together asap.” I heard Doctor Blue Blood say as I tried to get up.

Nurses grabbed me and slammed me against the bed. They held a mask looking thing and I kept moving my head side to side, avoiding the mask. Out of my peripheral vision I saw one of the nurses grab a needle and syringe full of something. I was having no part of it. I knocked her down with my tail that appeared.

“Hold her down!! Strap her arms, legs, and her tail down, now! We need to sedate her now!” Doctor Blue Blood said as he had a hold of my tail.

I tried to stand again but the nurses held me down and strapped my arms and legs down. After that, they tried to strap my tail down, but I hit them away from me. Then, I felt a small pinch in my arm. I looked over to see a nurse pull a needle and syringe out of my skin. My eyes got droopy and I got tired really fast. I tried to fight it but, it was no use. In

no time, I was asleep, and they went to work upon my side.

I remember waking up to a little cottage in front of me. I walked up to the door and knocked upon it. The door opened and I heard whispering as the closed behind me. I turned around and saw no one as I backed up slowly.

“Dear sista, come join me at this meal I have prepared.” I heard a familiar male voice say as I touched a chair.

I turned around to see, none other than my brother, Lolo Darius Raven. I couldn’t believe that he was there. I pulled the chair out and sat down. I scooted the chair forward, a little bit to get to the table.

“Lolo, why are you here? Why is there a meal prepared for us?” I asked as a plate of ham, Monterey Jack Cheese, cranberry sauce, corn bread and green beans showed up.

“The food symbolizes when we shall have an argument. I am here to say, I am coming to find you, my dear sista. The cottage symbolizes that we shall part once again and come back stronger than ever.” Lolo said as he smiled at me.

“The Monterey Jack is in the shape of a school. The cranberry sauce just turned into blood, like we will spill one another’s blood. The ham is a guitar shape and that is a little confusing there. The corn bread is a block? I don’t get it.” I said as I noticed that Lolo was gone.

I looked around for Lolo. I couldn’t find him. Next thing I know, I am waking up in the O.R. and the nurses are hustling around. I sat up as I had ringing in my ears. I noticed that Doctor Blue Blood was saying something, but I couldn’t make it out. I looked around and stood up. The ringing in my ears stopped as I stood there for a moment.

“Iris!! You need to lay back down. You are going to rip out your stitches.” Doctor Blue Blood said as he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back toward the bed.

I shook my head no and then, I lost feeling in my left side. I fell to the ground as I heard nurses start to scream. The metal cart I tried to grab to help me stand crashed to the floor. I grabbed my left side because it started to hurt me. It felt wet to the touch. I brought my hand around and saw my hand was covered in blood. I noticed a nurse sneaking up on me and I laid on the floor. I felt another pinch in my skin and I fell asleep just as quickly as the first time.

This time I was in front of an office building. I walked up to the door and the door opened up slowly. I backed away as something walked out and looked at me like I was stupid.

“Your turn, ma’am. The boss wants to see you.” The guy said as he pushed me toward the door.

He pushed me through the door, and he was gone. I was in what looked like my mom’s office at the house. Why was it here in this glass building?

“Iris Tatiana Freedom!! Where is your brother?” I heard my mother ask, sternly.

“I do not know, mother.” I answered honestly.

“I sent you out there to go find him and this is all I get! I disown you as a daughter!” My mother snarled as she slammed her hands against the desk.

I jumped a little bit and replied with, “You cannot do that. You cannot disown your own daughter. I really do not know where Lolo is at. Please, believe me.”

“I just did. Now get out of my office!!” My mother snarled.

I backed away and through the door. It went dark, then I was in front of a leaf door. The Leaf Door opened, and I walked through it. I noticed my father was pacing and mumbling to himself.

“Ah, daughtren of mine. I have long missed you. Now that you are here, you must take an Oath.” My padre said as he smiled at me.

“You aren’t my padre. He doesn’t smile, he doesn’t seem happy at all when it comes to speaking about anything.” I said as I backed away.

“Nonsense, dear child. I haven’t been happier since the day, your mother and I split ways.” Padre said as he hugged me.

I shook my head no and screeched as I went down to my knees. I started crying and everything was gone. All I saw white all around me, then a bright light moving back and forth.

“Iris? Iris. Come on. Wake up.” I heard someone say as I opened my eyes slowly.

I blinked multiple times to see clearly. I looked up to see a nurse with blue eyes and ears like an elf on my right side. She smiled at me and I looked at her, confused out of my wits. I sat up slowly and the nurse touched my shoulder. I looked at her and she looked right back at me.

“Who are you?” I asked her.

“I am Nurse Joy. I am the nurse who is taking care of you for the next few days. You are in the ICU part of the clinic. You need to rest to let your wound heal, Iris.” The nurse said as she laid me back down.

“No. I don’t need rest. I need to find my brada.” I said as I sat up and pushed her aside.

I put my legs over the side of the bed and slid slowly off the bed. I touched my feet to the cold, linoleum floor. I put weight on my legs and stood there for a while. I smile as pain shot through my side. I ignored the pain and went to walk when I started to fall. I grabbed the nearest thing to me, which was a metal rolling cart. The metal cart crashed to the floor along with the utensils that were on top. I sat up and heard nurses run into the room.

“Why can’t I feel my left side?” I asked in disbelief.

“You were injured during a fight. You need to lay down and rest.” I heard one of the new nurses say as they walked toward me.

“No!! No. I need to get home and figure out where my brada went.” I said as I tried to stand up but fell back to the floor.

“Let us help you get back in the bed so you can get some rest. You need to let that wound heal properly.” The original nurse said as I noticed she was walking toward me with a needle and a syringe.

“I said, NO!!” I snarled as my tail showed up and I slung her across the room.

“Please, you need to rest so you can heal.” Another nurse said as she hit a button and a blaring sound started.

“Shut it off!” I yelled over the noise.

“Not until you let us help you into the bed so you can rest!” The nurse who hit the button said.

“F… Fine! Shut it off and I… I will cooperate with you.” I yelled as I noticed her hit the button again.

The sound turned off and I looked at her as she walked over toward me. I swung my tail at the nurse, knocking her down to the ground. Another nurse grabbed my left arm and lifted me up. I pushed her away and grabbed my side. It felt wet, sticky and something poked my hand. I pulled my hand away from my side and saw blood drip from my hand. A nurse grabbed my arm and I stood up with her help. She helped me to the bed and helped lay me down on the bed as another nurse grabbed a needle and syringe. I looked up to see that she was walking over to me with it.

“Restrain her!” The nurse with the needle and syringe said calmly.

The other nurses held me down as the nurse jabbed my leg with the needle as she said, “I am so sorry.”

I noticed that Doctor Blue Blood walked in and put gloves on. He nodded as another needle was jabbed into my arm. Before I fell asleep, I felt them strap me to the bed. I fell asleep just as I felt something poke my side.

A few days went by as Deera sat and Tara paced the floor in the waiting room.

“I have a tale to tell you, and the tales are true.” Deera said to another young lady in the waiting room.

“Honey, I don’t think she’s interested.” Tara said as he sat down next to Deera.

They were waiting and hoping for Iris to come out of the Operation Room.

“Since, I am waiting to see someone, I would love to hear a tale.” The young lady said.

“Well, if you say so. Let me tell you about my daughter and how she ended up in the Operation Room. She decided to take on The Flame Wolf by herself in place of us. She didn’t exactly end up defeating The Flame Wolf but, she apparently fought hard against him.” Deera said.

“Not hard enough. She knows that her magic is strong enough to defeat the Flame Wolf. Why didn’t she use her magic?” Tara said as he looked at Deera.

“Shush, Tara. You are ruining the tale I am telling. Where was I? Oh, yes. Then, my husband, Tara and I decided to go find her. We found her in the Under World, defeated the Devil and she ended up hurt. She lost a lot of blood but, I hope they can fix her soon.” Deera finished as a set of doors opened and out came Dr. Blue Blood, taking his rubber gloves off.

Tara and Deera stood up. They walked over and Deera was just a ball of nerves.

“There is good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?” Dr. Blue Blood asked.

“Give us the good news.” Deera said anxiously.

“The good news is that she survived. She will be able to live her full lifespan. She fought us over the last few days and has ripped her stitches out once or twice. We replaced the blood she had lost. She is fine for now. We have nurses watching over her 24/7. The bad news is that she will probably not have function in her left side. When she was fighting us, she asked us why she couldn’t feel her left side. She will wake up here in a few hours from the sedation we had to give her.” Dr. Blue Blood said as he looked at them.

“What is the chance of her not having any feeling in her left side?” Tara asked as he focused more on the no feeling in her left side.

“In her case, 80% is the chance of that happening.” Dr. Blue Blood replied with a sad tone in his voice.

Deera gasped and ran out of the office. The young lady ran after her.

“Is it alright if I go see Dar... I mean, Iris?” Tara asked.

“Yes, you may. Tara, Iris is in Room 1939.” He said as he left from in front of the doors and went into another room.

Tara went to room 1939 and saw Iris laying in the bed, all peaceful. He sat down and started reading the Book of Norawind.

Meanwhile, the young lady ran after Deera in the rain.

“Mrs. Freedom!! Please, wait up!!” She yelled after Deera.

Deera stopped and looked at the young lady as she got closer. The young lady stopped and smiled at Deera.

“I am Iris’s friend, Droopy Keelhill. I am the Red Draginucous daughter of Fire Fortess, the Red Draginucous Mother and Tall Tale Pete, another Red Draginucous.” She said as she pulled back her hood and Deera saw that she had red horns on her head.

“No... Way. Are you really, Droopy Keelhill?” Deera asked as she looked at her.

“Yes, ma’am. It is I. I know it’s been a long time since the last time you saw my mother and I.” Droopy said as she smiled her wicked smile.

“Let’s go see Daru Daru. What’s your dragon name?” Deera asked.

“HELLENFIRE!!!!” They heard Fire Fortess yell from the sky.

Fire Fortess landed next to Hellenfire with quite a thud. Droopy bowed her head down.

“Why you run off? You better than that! You know better!” Fire Fortess snarled.

“Fire Fortess, dear. What are you doing here?” Deera asked.

“I here see Daru Daru.” Fire Fortess said as she turned into her human form.

Deera led the way back to the doctor’s office. They got in and Droopy and Fire Fortess sat down.

“I will go see if Tara is in the room with Daru Daru.” Deera said as she ran toward room 1939.

She opened the door and saw that Tara was holding Iris’s hand. Tara smiled at Deera as she entered the room. Iris’s left arm twitched as Deera walked closer. Iris opened her eyes and slightly smiled.

“Ma? Pa? Is... Is that you?” Iris asked.

“Yes, it is. It is your parents.” Deera said as she knelt on the floor next to the bed.

“M... Ma? Where is Hellenfire?” Iris asked.

“Her and her mother are here. They both want to see you.” Deera said.

“Not her mother... not yet at least. I want to see my friend first.” Iris said slowly.

Deera stood up and walked out of the room. She walked to the front and got Hellenfire. She took her in the room and Iris was sitting up. Hellenfire ran over to Daru Daru and hugged her.

“Deume un susto bastante. You gave me quite a scare.” Hellenfire said in Galician slowly as she started crying.

“Hey, hey. I am sorry. I didn’t mean to give anyone a scare.” Iris said as she lifted her right arm and held back the wince of pain as she hugged her back.

“Descansa, querido amigo. Rest, my dear friend.” Hellenfire said as she teleported from the bedside to the door and left the room.

Iris laid the bed back and laid down on it. She yawned and started falling asleep as she closed her eyes.

“Rest my dear daughter. You will need all your energy for tomorrow.” Deera said as she laid on the floor and fell asleep.

Tara casted a spell to keep the room warmer to what they needed to be more comfortable. He was used to it by now. He learned quickly that Draginucous types like the room warmer than normal. He smiled and slept in a chair that was nearby.

Iris woke up the next morning, sat up and stretched while Deera and Tara slept.

“Ma? I need to walk around.” Iris said as she pulled the sheets from her body.

Deera awoke with a slight startle, stood up and stretched.

“Alright. Let’s go.” Deera said with a smile.

Iris got off the bed and walked towards Deera. Deera caught her as she went to fall.

“Ma? Can you hold onto me?” Iris asked as she grabbed Deera’s shoulder.

Deera nodded and walked with her all over the office and across the halls. Iris smiled as they walked around. As they walked, the feeling in her left side started to return. They stopped a moment to rest when Dr. Blue Blood bumped into them.

“I see you’re up and walking. You are free to go home today. There is no charge for Iris.” He said as he took the ivies off of Iris.

Iris’s smile got bigger and she ran to the room to wake Tara. She got there and started shaking him. Deera stood in the doorway and watched them.

“Pa! Pa! Pa! Wake up!! We can go home!! Wake up!! Wake up!!” Iris said as she shook him.

“Wha... What? How is this possible?” Tara asked as he sat up and was still half asleep.

“Dr. Blue Blood said so and she’s healed quickly since she is half Draginucous.” Deera said with a smile.

Tara stood and grabbed his Staff of Riles and the Book of Norawind. All three walked out of that doctor’s office like a family instead of missing someone. They walked all the way home and headed back to bed to sleep in from the few rough days that had happened.

Iris

I woke up the next morning and stretched. I could smell breakfast being made downstairs.

“Iris! Lolo!! Breakfast!!” Tara, my Padre, yelled.

I ran down the stairs and slid right into a chair at the table. Tara smiled as he served the food that he had prepared for us to eat. He prepared Ham, Milk and made a sack lunch for me.

“Breakfast smells wonderful, Honey.” Deera, my Madre, said as she got to the bottom of the stairs and walked into the Dining Room.

“Thanks. Do you know where Lolo is?” Tara asked as he set the plates of food on the table.

“Lolo!! Where’s Lolo?” I asked confused as I looked at Deera and Tara.

“Oh, boy. I knew this day had to come. Umm... Lolo is missing but, we haven’t given up on looking for him. I know we should’ve told you earlier, but we had to look before we told you.” Deera said with a smile.

“I ain’t no little kid anymore!! I must get going to school. See you guys later.” I said with a slight growl as I packed my backpack and grabbed my sack lunch.

They both sighed and went on their way to work. I walked to the school, mumbling when an elf figured knocked me over. I fell to the ground and my backpack emptied its contents onto the ground.

“Watch where you’re going, soith tú (you bitch)!!” A male voice said as he started walking away and everyone started kicking my stuff around.

I growled and snarled in Galician, “Vai pagar por iso!!!! You will pay for that!!!!”

Everyone stopped and stared at me as I started picking up my own papers and books. I put them back in my backpack and walked past all of them. I walked in the school and everyone stayed out of my way. My friend, Droopy came up to me and walked with me all the way to our first class. I entered the classroom and sat down at my normal desk.

“E... excuse me, ma’am. Are you Iris?” The teacher known as Mrs. Streaker asked.

“Yes, ma’am, I am. Why do you ask?” I replied as I glared at the wall.

“W... we thought you died since no one saw you in quite a long time. So, how are you here and not dead?” Mrs. Streaker asked as she sat at her desk.

“Well, to tell you the long story would take a long time. So, long story short, I lived because I fought and defeated the devil and my parents helped save me.” I growled as I looked at the door, since it had opened.

In walked some kids, including the elf bully who called me a nasty word. He looked at me as he sat in the desk next to me. The other kids looked at him like he was insane or something.

“Ha!! Look what the Dwarfens dragged in. It’s that Halfen Hybrid from earlier!! Since, you have been gone, I became the top bully. I bet you’ll want your spot back, too bad. You cannot have it back.” He said with a smile.

“You don’t understand who you’re dealing with, Mac. That’s Iris, not another pushover Draginucous.” A young centaur girl said as she walked past Iris.

I stood up while looking down and walked over to the front of his desk. I slammed my hands on his desk, scaring him a little bit. The young lady backed off.

“So, Mac. You think I am a pushover like the rest of my kind, eh? I have news for you. I am no pushover. I made it through the Under World and made it back here, ALIVE!!” I growled as I looked at him with a stern look.

He fell backwards, out of the chair. He stood back up and headed to the back of the class, scared to the bone. The other kids started laughing. The bell rang as I sat back down at my desk. The young lady sat down at the desk next to me. I didn’t really care about who sat next me, just as long as they weren’t jerks, like Mac. He knew better than to mess with me.

“Alright... kids. Let us get busy learning how to defend ourselves, WITHOUT scaring others.” Mrs. Streaker said as she looked at Mac and I.

“Sorry, ma’am. That is the way we, Draginucous or even my father, an elf, does it. It gets the job done since no one likes us anyways. I am going to go look for someone.” I growled as I stood up.

“Who are you going to look for?” The young lady asked, cautiously.

“Busco a Lolo, meu irmán. I am looking for Lolo, my brother.” I growled in Galician as I looked at the door.

“Lolo? You mean Lolo Darius Freedom? As in… Lolo the Unbeatable.” The young lady asked as she stood up and looked at Iris.

“That’s quite enough, Iris and Marsali!!” Mrs. Streaker snarled.

Marsali and I looked at Mrs. Streaker. I shrugged and headed to the door. The door locked as I touched it.

Then, someone came on the Intercom and said: “Code Pink!! This is not a drill. Code Pink is in effect. There is an intruder in the building!!”

Mrs. Streaker pushed a small red button on the western wall in the classroom and the intercom came on.

“I have Iris if you guys need her.” Mrs. Streaker said.

The door unlocked, and I looked at Mrs. Streaker. She nodded for me to head out. I opened the door and walked out. The door closed and locked behind me. I walked down the halls when, suddenly something hits me in the head.

“Who threw that?” I growled as I looked around and saw an elf with black hair and a cloak with a hood on.

“Who are you? Iris, I presume. Are you the trusty Draginucous that protects this school or are you a stupid ass student?” He asked as he held a couple of small rocks in his hand.

“That’s for me to know and you to find out.” I said as I looked at him for a moment.

I recognized the voice immediately and looked at him with sorrowful eyes. I stood still and stayed silent. He got angry and threw rocks at me again. I blocked each one with a magical shield. He looked at me, surprised and just couldn’t find any words to say. I made the shield disappear as I stood, looking at him.

“H… How did you do that?” He asked, finally speaking the words he could muster.

“Eu son un híbrido. Vexo que ti tamén. I am a hybrid. I see you are too.” I growled as I looked at him.

“Como podes dicir? How can you tell?” He asked me, angrily.

“O xeito en que tiras, regalouna. Sei quen es. The way you throw, gave it away. I know who you are.” I said as I ran my fingers through my hair.

“Hm. Good catch with that lousy eyesight but, can you block this?” He asked as he threw a Ninja star at me.

I smiled and caught it with my bare hands. I dropped it and looked at him. He looked at me, astonished. I walked forward and past him. He watched me and decided to follow. I knew he was following me because I could feel his presence behind me. He followed me toward the gym where I disappeared into the rafters.

“Show yourself!” He yelled, and it echoed back.

All of a sudden, he heard laughter and then saw flames surround him. He looked around, scared as I jumped down from the rafters. I walked through the flames toward him. He knew he couldn’t escape through the doors, since the flames blocked all the exits.

“Why are you here, Lolo?” I asked him.

“H… How did you know it was me? I hid my identity from others. Tell me this, how did you recognize me?” He asked me, confused, and astonished at the same time.

“I recognized you by your voice when you first talked in the hallway. I knew you would follow me to the gym. Now, why are you here?” I asked with a growl.

“I am here to get you out of this school, out of this dump of a town and out of this crowd.” He said as he made his guitar appear and sat down.

I looked at him confused as he started playing a tune that I remembered from our childhood. That was when Lolo and I were smaller and younger. I sat down next to him to make sure it was our childhood song. He started singing to the tune. I stood up and stepped away from him. I looked down at the floor as I stood a good 20 feet away from him. I started crying and he stopped playing the guitar and singing. I fell to the floor to my knees and cried water works, which then turned into a small river or stream of tears and it flowed toward Lolo.

“Hey, hey. It’s alright now. Come on and grow up a bit, will ya?” He asked as he stood up, made his guitar disappear and jumped up into the rafters of the gym.

“Grow up?!? Grow up?!? I have grown up more than you have!! You ran off without telling us where you were going!! We were all worried and you left us for dead!! Madre and Padre have been looking for you for years!! They were looking for you!! They miss you!! I miss you!! You… You knew that I was different, and you took care of me!! Maybe, you don’t want to remember that specifically, but I remember it like it was yesterday!! You took care of me and you played that specific song for me when I would take a nap or, so I could fall asleep after I had a Night terror!! You were the best thing that happened to me when I was little!! My… I mean, OUR parents lied to me when you went missing that you were off hunting and will be back!! I was young and feeble!! When I was in Junior High for Hybrids, they asked who my role model was, and guess who I put! Guess!!” I snarled as I wiped away my tears.

“Who did you put for your role model?” Lolo asked as he dropped down from rafters onto the floor next to me.

“I said, GUESS!!” I snarled at him.

“Chill, sista. I am going to guess, Mada or Fada.” He guessed.

“That’s wrong. I… I put you down for my role model. You were my role model.” I said as I looked at him.

“That cannot be right. I have been gone since your 4th grade. How can I be your role model for all these years I have been gone?” He asked with a slight smile.

“It is right, Lolo. I looked up to you when I was little, and I hoped one day I could be just like you. I… I guess I was stupid enough to think that I could be just like you.” I said as I sat down and put my head upon my palms.

“Hush, dear sista. It’s alright now. I have come back to get you and our parents. I was doing my job when I left you three.” Lolo said as he set his guitar down and hugged her without crying.

I hugged him back and smiled. I grabbed a tranquilizer syringe that I had kept in my jacket pocket and stuck it in his neck. I grabbed a radio as he fell to the floor and slept.

“It’s all clear now. He’s tranquilized, and I shall take care of him… later.” I said as I held the button on the radio down.

When I finished talking, I let the button go and all the doors unlocked.

‘That’s a bit strange. Why would he come for us now?’ I thought to myself.

I shrugged, threw him over my shoulder and picked his ninja star up. I took him to the office and tied him to a chair. I knew he was strong but not as strong as me. Then, the bell rang to go to their second-class period. I went to my first class and grabbed my stuff. I headed back to the office and set my stuff where it wouldn’t be seen. I walked back to the room I had tied him in and turned the lights off. Lolo woke up in a dark room and only saw my eyes appear through the darkness. He looked for his ninja star and couldn’t find it. He heard me start laughing when I turned the lights on, suddenly. He squinted and looked around. I laughed once more.

‘Oh no. This is the detention room. Why am I here? Also, why am I tied to to this chair?’ He thought to himself.

“Lots of questions, I presume in that big head of yours.” I said as I leaned up against one of the walls.

He looked at me stunned and couldn’t find any words to say to me. I laughed once more and picked up his old book bag that had stayed in there for years. I threw it on the floor next to him. Dust flew from years of neglect and not being used. I left the room as he coughed from the dust. He grabbed the book bag next to him with his feet and dumped the contents from inside of it onto the floor. A couple of books, a few folders, and a few binders. He searched for the knife that he used to keep with him when he did go to school years ago. He couldn’t find it within his stuff from the book bag.

‘What?!? That’s very odd. I knew I accidentally left my knife in MY book bag. Maybe, just maybe, someone stole it from my book bag. Where did it go? Who would take it?’ He thought to himself.

“Are you looking for… this?!?” I snarled as I threw his knife and it hit dead center between his hands, cutting the rope.

His hands skootched to the side, away from each other. He brought his hands in front of him and took the rope off. He rubbed his wrists as he looked around the room for anything but didn’t find anything. He started crying as he sat on the chair.

“I will call Madre and Padre, so they can pick you up while I finish out my school day.” I growled as I wiped away tears from his eyes.

I went to open the door as something locked the door. I heard Lolo laugh. I turned around to see that Lolo was holding a ball of magic.

“Bad choice, sista, bad choice.” He said as he threw the ball of magic at me.

As it hurled at me, I pressed the button on the radio I had and said, “Code Fire!! Code Fire!! Evacuate the school, do it now!!”

I caught the ball of magic as it got close and diminished it quickly with a smile. I started laughing as I looked at Lolo. He looked at me in disbelief as he realized he couldn’t defeat me. I glared at him and growled. I pointed to him and then to the chair. He sat down in the chair and watched me as I walked closer.

The bell rang for third when someone came onto the radio and said, “Is it now safe for the kids to go to their next class?”

“Yes, it is. Let them move, I have him under control and let the teachers I have known, that I will not be there for class. Have them give my work to Droopy Keelhill.” I replied as I grabbed the knife and tied him up again.

The rest of the students filled the halls within seconds and disappeared within a couple of minutes. Lolo looked at me and bowed his head. I growled and sat in another chair.

“Why did you leave? Why are you here for us now?” I asked as I looked at Lolo.

“I left because I was looking for a smaller town on a search for a smaller home for us. I wanted fada, mada, and you to quit hogging all the attention from me!! I wanted to make sure no one knew who you guys were!!” Lolo yelled as he started crying as he sat there, tied to the chair.

“No, we weren’t taking all the attention from you. You also took an Elven Oath not to cry, didn’t you?” I growled the question at Lolo.

“No, I haven’t yet. I am still not of age.” Lolo said as he bowed his head while more tears rolled down his face.

I stood up and walked over to Lolo. I wiped away his tears and smiled at him. I sat on the floor and looked at him. I grabbed the radio and whispered something into the radio. Then, I grabbed his knife and cut him loose. He rubbed his wrists and smiled at me.

“I will let you off of this punishment IF, if you will go home with Madre and Padre.” I growled as I held onto his knife.

“I cannot go with Mada and Fada. It’s… umm… Personal.” Lolo said as he stood up and looked at me.

“You can pretend you are a visitor for me, and you wanted to see the mansion.” I suggested as someone knocked on the door.

I walked over to the door and opened it just enough for someone to walk in. He watched a young centaur walk in and look at him. Her and I started talking about him. I walked over to Lolo and grabbed his wrists. I dragged him to the young Centaur that walked in. He touched the young centaur’s face and knew exactly who it was.

“Mara? Is… is that really you?” Lolo asked as Marsali touched his face.

“Yes, it is. Lolo the Unbeatable, has returned to retrieve his damsel in distress.” Marsali said as she smiled, and a tear ran down her cheek.

“What? I am here to get my sista, mada and fada. I am no little kid anymore. You act like a child and you need to grow up.” Lolo snapped at Marsali.

She stomped her foot and looked at Lolo surprised. He looked back at her and realized what he had said, was wrong and regretted saying it to her. He walked away from Marsali and she followed him for a couple of steps. Iris watched and motioned Marsali over to the door. They started whispering again.

“Hey, Lolo. It’s quite alright. I… I’m not mad at you. It just upset me to see that you have become hard core so… so…” Marsali said as she tried to find the right word to use.

“So, dumbly, unworthy, quickly with no brains to show.” Lolo stated as he looked at Marsali through the corner of his eye.

“No. No, not those words. You became so hard core, quickly and yet; I can still see the Lolo I met in you. Please, return to him and not be this, horrible hard-core person you are.” Marsali said as she walked up to him and lifted his chin.

He smiled at her and looked at her. He contemplated on if he wanted to hug her or not. He stood back away from them and started thinking of all the Pros and Cons about hugging. He also thought about what his “Master” had said to him earlier that morning.

“Hugging is for the weak and fighting is for the strong. You can only be one, or the other. If somehow you meet someone that is both, kill them.”

“I… I’m sorry master. I cannot kill my sista or… anyone like that.” Lolo said to himself.

“Wait, master? You are owned?” I asked as I just then noticed a collar around his neck.

Lolo growled and fell to the ground as the collar shocked him. Marsali and I gasped.

“Fool!! You knew this would happen if you didn’t do it.” Master’s voice echoed within his head.

I ran toward him. I grabbed my radio and spoke into it. Marsali looked at me, worried. I nodded and picked Lolo up, I opened the door and ran all the way home with him. I opened the door to my house and ran in, out of breath. Tara and Deera saw us and ran over to us, quickly.

“Iris!! What happened to Lolo? Why are you carrying him?” Tara asked as he took Lolo from my arms.

“Lolo attacked… my school and… we fought. Before I… could call you two, he got shocked and said… I hate to say it. He said Sorry Master and he got shocked and fell to the ground.” I explained while still out of breath.

“Master?!? You mean, he’s owned?” Deera exclaimed.

I nodded and looked at Deera. Tara and Deera exchanged looks and both ran upstairs to take care of Lolo.

“Go finish your day at school and we’ll take care of him!!!” Tara yelled from upstairs.

I headed back to the school. When I got there, it was lunch time. I sat down at a table with no food in front of me. My friend since I was little, Droopy Keelhill, sat down next to me and looked at me puzzled.

“Where’s your food, Iris?” Droopy asked as she looked at me.

“I… I’m not hungry.” I replied as I set my head upon the table and wrapped my arms around my head.

Everyone in the cafeteria went silent and looked at me. I could feel their eyes staring, digging into my skin. No one moved in the cafeteria at first. Then, all of a sudden, everyone in the cafeteria grabbed something and set it in front of me. I sat up and saw that everyone in the cafeteria was in a line setting food in front of me.

“Cheer up, Iris!! Iris is Number 1!!” They all chanted in unison as they set food down in front of me.

I smiled as tears started to roll down my cheeks and stood up. Everyone cheered and yelled for me. Even Droopy joined into the cheering. I ate the food offered and finished the rest of my school day. When the school day finally ended, all the kids busted out of the doors and headed home. Droopy and I exchanged looks and headed home. I walked home alone to see the doors had opened by Lolo.

“Thought you’d be home by now.” Lolo said with a smile as he leaned up against the door frame.

“Did you really?” I asked sarcastically as I hugged him, knocking him over.

We both laughed and got up. We walked into the house and closed the doors. Tara and Deera smiled as they had started to fix dinner. Lolo got chills that ran up his back and echoed this message:

Kill them. Do it or there will be consequences worse than a shock. Now, make sure they are completely dead not alive but all the way dead.

Lolo shook it off and headed to his room. I headed to my room upstairs and set my stuff in my room when I heard a phone ring. I listened closely for the sound and found it came from Lolo’s room. I noticed the door was slightly opened and I peered through. I opened the door a tad bit and saw a holographic screen with an older gentleman that had a cloak on it.

“Lolo!! Did you get the message?” A strange male voice said.

“Yes sir, I did. I will try to kill them. It’ll be hard for me because they are family.” Lolo replied.

“Try? You WILL do it. I don’t care how hard it’s going to be for you. You have 72 hours to get it done. If you fail, you will be shocked and sliced. Got it?” He snarled.

“Yes sir, I got it. I will get it done. Lolo, out and about.” Lolo said as he closed the little pocket-sized pod.

I accidently leaned forward, and the door squeaked open. Lolo turned around and saw that I was standing there, profounded by what I had just heard come from my own brother’s mouth. I couldn’t believe what I had heard Lolo say. Lolo looked at me and motioned for me to come in. I backed away and ran downstairs to Tara and Deera. Lolo followed and was stopped short by Tara.

“What’s wrong, Iris?” Deera asked me.

“Ask Lolo. He knows what’s wrong.” I growled.

“What is she talking about, Lolo?” Tara asked.

“She mad, fada. She’s hearing things. She needs rest from the rough day she had, today.” Lolo explained quickly.

“Liar!! He’s lying!!” I screamed.

“He is lying, Honey.” Deera said as she hugged me.

Lolo now had a dilemma. He could tell them what she heard him say or keep lying. He made a list of Pros and Cons in his head. It didn’t help him. He decided to run off again through the doors and to the forest nearby. He stayed hidden. He knew both consequences would be bad but was unsure how the consequences would lead up to in the end. He was home but not master’s home. He didn’t know exactly which one to choose. He can either lie to his parents to save his hide or he could tell the truth and suffer consequences.

If you chose the home he was raised in, Turn to Chapter 6

If you chose master’s Home, Turn to Chapter 7

Lolo

I took a deep breath and stood up. I walked back into the house I was raised in and looked for my parents and Iris. I saw that all three of them were sitting in the Dining Room at the table.

“I have to tell you guys something.” I said as I walked up to the table.

“Sit and tell us what you have to say.” Tara said as he pointed to the chair across from Iris.

I sat down in the chair offered and took a deep breath.

“I… I lied earlier. I am sorry about that, sista. She saw and heard the call I sent out to my Master. My mission is to kill anyone I interact with that is a hugger and a fighter, not one or the other but both. That includes my family. It wants me to, and I refused to do it when I met Iris at the school.” I explained as I laid my head down on the table.

“Who is it?” Deera asked with a troubled expression as something beeped from kitchen.

Deera left the table and went to check on the food.

“I cannot give his name, or I will get… hurgh!!!” I said as I took a shock which knocked my ass out.

“No!! Brada!!” Iris yelled as she flew out of her chair and over the table to me.

“Don’t touch him, Iris. Something isn’t adding up.” Tara said as he observed my unmoving body.

“I know exactly what’s shocking him.” Iris said as she glanced at me as I laid on the floor.

I laid there on the floor; breaths slow. Iris started to cry and grabbed the collar that was around my neck. She tore it from around my neck and tossed it away. She studied me as I laid there on the ground. Iris picked my body up and started walking toward my bedroom.

“Do you want help, Iris?” Tara asked as Deera walked into the room with four plates of food.

“No. I have a certain pod call I have to take care of.” Iris growled as she grabbed my pod from the floor next to where my body once laid.

Iris headed upstairs and into my bedroom. She set me on my bed and dialed the pod number to my Master. It rang once… twice… three times before I woke up and slammed the pod closed.

“No, Iris. Do not call him. He will teleport… Where’s my collar? Iris, where is my collar?!” I asked frantically as I looked from one place to another in my bedroom.

“I ripped it off of you in the kitchen.” Iris said as she kept an eye on me as I rushed around looking for my collar.

“Why would you do that?!? That is my connection with my MASTER!!!” I yelled as I dashed out of my bedroom and down to the kitchen.

I got to the dining room, slid to a stop, and grabbed my collar off the floor. Tara looked at me bewildered and pointed at the collar that I had picked up off the floor.

“Ugh, before you ask. My collar connects me to my Master and always will. I need it to use the pod I got from my Master. I can sense you are a fighter, not a hugger. Mada is a… I mean, both. She is both along with my sista. They both must die.” I said as I put the collar back on with the snap piece.

Tara just shook his head and stared at me with distressed eyes. I shrugged it off and walked away. Tara knew something was up but couldn’t quite tell exactly what it was. I was up to no good and Tara had to stop me before I actually did my, so called mission. I walked back upstairs toward Iris and glared at her. Iris walked down the stairs and to the kitchen. Then, my pod started ringing as I fastened my door to my bedroom. I ended up fumbling the pod before I actually opened it. I finally got it open and saw my Master.

“Report about your family.” My Master said.

“Fada is a fighter, mada and sista are both.” I reported as I looked at the door and locked it with my magic.

“Kill all three of them. There is no need for them here.” My master said.

“No. I am not killing them. You can punish me all you want but it won’t change my mind.” I answered as I glared at the hologram.

“Are you defying my order?” My Master asked me, surprised.

“Yes, I am!! I am no longer going to let you push me around all the time!!” I growled as I looked at the hologram of my Master.

“What did you just say to me?” My Master asked as it lifted its arm up, holding something.

“S… Sorry, Master. I just don’t think it’s the… what’s the word… honorable intent to do. They are my family and I would like to keep them alive, please.” I corrected myself as I started to sweat.

“Fine. They can stay alive, but you have to kill 3 more in their place.” My Master said as it lowered its arm.

“Y… Yes, Master. I will do that. Lolo out and about.” I said as I closed the pod and stuck it on his desk.

I unlocked my door and walked downstairs. I looked at my family who was waiting for me at the table. I smiled, half-heartedly and sat down at the table. I looked at my plate of food, which was turkey, French Bread, salad, and some Cranberry sauce. I looked at Deera and Tara and smiled with glee to see such a wonderful amount of food on his dish. We ate the food on our plates, I gathered the dishes from dinner and washed them up. Iris grinned and stood up. She started to tip toe toward me, but I could hear her coming up behind me. I caught her before she could complete her surprise attack. I grabbed the hose from the kitchen sink and sprayed her with it. She ran off chuckling as Tara and Deera watched us, happily from the table.

“Alright, Lolo. That’s enough. I am going to take you somewhere important tomorrow.” Tara spoke as he stood up and looked straight at me.

I put the hose away and Iris shook the water off. Iris and I laughed as we walked toward the table.

“Can I come with you guys?” Iris asked with a big smile.

“Yes. Both of you have to take an Oath since both of you are half elf.” Tara said with a small chuckle.

Lolo and I smiled and headed upstairs since it was almost dark. We went to their rooms and went to bed.

“Do they have to take an Oath?” I heard Madre ask.

“They are half elf and according to tradition, kids of an elf must take an Oath by the time they are 20 years of age.” Tara said with a slight smile.

Tara and Deera went to bed soon after. All the lights turned off and everyone was asleep, except for me. I walked out of my room and to the front door. Iris heard the front door open and she got up. She walked out of her bedroom and to the top of the stairs to see me opening one of the front doors. I saw Iris and disappeared in a cloud of smoke from one of my smoke bombs I had made. She walked down the stairs and looked at the door as the smoke cleared.

‘Where is he going at this hour?’ Iris thought to herself as she closed the front door, I had left open.

Continue to Chapter 8

Lolo

I walked into the house and kept a stone-cold face. I walked into the kitchen and looked at Iris who sat at the table with our parents. Tara pointed to the chair that was across from Iris.

“Sit, my dear son.” Tara said as he observed my body language.

“No sir. I would rather not. Also, I have to say that Iris is a liar. I have a mission but it’s not for killing anyone. I am here to grab some of my stuff and leave to go back to my Master.” I said as I kept myself from telling the truth and getting punished.

“That’s not true!! He’s lying, Ma!! Pa, do you believe me?” Iris screeched angrily, causing Tara and I to cover our ears.

“I believe you, dear. Just… He is believable to. I don’t know who I should go with.” Tara said as he looked at me and then at Iris.

“She’s mad because I am home now and she’s not a single child anymore, fada. I am telling the truth.” I said as I stood by the chair between Tara and Deera.

I walked into the kitchen and got a bottle of water out of the refrigerator. I opened it and took a drink from it. I closed the bottle and headed back to the table. Tara scratched his chin and looked at me. Deera left the table to check the food in the kitchen. She served the food and set the plates of food on the table. I looked at the amount of food that sat on the plate but refused to sit down and eat it.

“What? Are you not gonna eat Madre’s home prepared food?” Iris asked with a grin.

“It looks… What was the word? Ah, yes. It looks appetizing but I have to say no since my Master wouldn’t be happy if I ate food from my home.” I snapped as I glared at Iris.

“Wouldn’t your ‘Master’ not be happy about you not eating at all?” Iris asked, still grinning as she held something behind her back.

“Well, that is true. I might as well eat.” I said as I started walking toward the table.

Iris smirked and hurled the Butcher knife at me. I dodged it and watched it hit the wall. Then, I looked at her, harshly.

“Oh, it is on!” I snarled at Iris as I glared at her with harsh intensity.

I growled and used my magic to levitate the knives from the wooden block in the kitchen and tossed them at Iris. Iris stopped some of the knives with her magic, but the others slid by. One knife sliced her cheek, leaving a nice thin line of scarlet that ran down her cheek, before hitting the wall. Iris tossed the knives back at me and I caught them one by one.

“That’s enough, you two!!” Tara yelled as he casted a bubble spell around both of us.

I lost control of my magic, which caused the knives to drop to the floor. Tara levitated the knives and put them away where they belong.

“Both of you, eat and then head to your rooms. Iris, there is no need to be so jealous and don’t try to kill your brother. He has only just returned home.” Tara said as he released us from within the bubbles, we were in.

“Padre, I am not jealous!! He is lying, and I can see through that stupid lie of his that he is feeding you, you… you unworthy claud of an elf!!” Iris yelled as she stormed off to her room.

Tara looked at me, surprised at what Iris had just called him. They heard her slam the door and she started crying. I had just realized that Iris had let her emotions get the better… well, in her case, the worst of her. I didn’t like that she had called our Fada an Unworthy Claud of an Elf. I smiled and sat down at the table. I started eating as Tara grabbed Iris’s plate of food and headed up to her room. Tara knocked on the door to her room, but all he heard was crying instead of an answer.

“Hey, sweetie flower. Can I come in?” Tara asked.

“Tch. No need to. She won’t let anyone in there.” I said as I walked up the stairs and past Tara.

“Why… Why should I let you in?” Iris asked while she was finding things and things were hitting the floor.

“Well, I thought it would be a good idea to have you eat your food.” Tara said as he observed the hallway.

Iris opened the door and motioned Tara to walk in. He walked in and smiled.

“Thank you. I am sorry for the insult. I didn’t mean it.” Iris said as she stuffed her face full of food as she started untying the fabrics and picking things up.

“No, it’s alright. I was actually raised with worse.” Tara said as he heard a phone ring.

Tara left, and Iris heard a phone ring again. She followed the sound to my room, once again. She pushed the door open slightly to see what was going on inside. Iris saw me open my pod and see the holographic cloaked figure again.

“Lolo!! Front and center!!” It said.

“Yes, Master!! I am here!” I said as I stood up tall and saluted to him.

“Report progress and on your family.” It said.

“The only one on my tail about this operation is my sista, Iris.” I said as I stared at the holographic image.

“Good. Get rid of her and get back here quickly.” It said.

“How though? She already knows too much.” I said as I looked around.

“You will figure it out. Do it quickly before she finds out anymore.” It said.

“Yes Master. I shall do that. Lolo out and about.” I said as I closed the pod and threw it to the ground.

I threw the pod to the ground and started stomping my feet around. I chirped multiple times while I paced the floor and thought of ways to get rid of Iris without killing her. The door creaked, and Iris moved away from in front of the door as I looked toward the door. I opened the door and saw Iris at her doorway. I then, got a brilliant idea.

“Hey, Iris. I am sorry about earlier. Want to come help me clean up our mess?” I offered her.

“It’s alright. I am sorry for throwing the Butcher knife at you. I will help you.” Iris said, not really meaning it about throwing the butcher knife.

Iris and I ran down the stairs and saw the kitchen was a complete mess. We nodded to each other and started cleaning the kitchen. After about an hour, the kitchen was cleaned up. Deera walked in to see Iris and I had just finished cleaning up the kitchen. Deera smiled and sat at the table. She looked at Iris and I, then pointed at two of the chairs that faced her. We sat down in the chairs and looked at Deera.

“Are you two done fighting?” Deera asked them.

“Yes, mada. We are done fighting.” I said with a slight smile.

I smiled a wicked smile. Deera shrugged it off, even though it seemed odd to her that I was wearing a wicked smile. Iris got up and left the kitchen to my room, leaving Deera and I alone. I watched Iris as she headed toward her room and then got up to leave the table but Deera stopped him by grabbing my arm. I looked at Deera baffled.

“Lolo, deary. You don’t need to follow her. Please chill and relax. It must be really stressful being someone’s slave.” Deera said with a growl.

“Actually, no. It’s not that stressful.” I said as I pulled my arm away from Deera.

“Maybe they are going easy on you, my dear son. How can you be so sure?” Deera asked as she looked at me with her poignant eyes.

“Remember, I am already with a Master. I am also, NO SLAVE!!” I snarled at Deera as Tara walked in.

“Lolo!! That is no way to speak to your mother!!” Tara snapped at me, slightly scaring me.

“S… Sorry, father. She said it must be stressful being a slave.” I said, quickly.

“It is incredibly stressful like you wouldn’t believe. I used to have one until I defied his order to kill your mother since she was the last Black Draginucous. He let me loose and I caused him such trouble that it almost killed him, and I released my brothers and my sisters.” Tara said as he looked at Deera with a smile.

“How come you didn’t stay with the Master you had?” I asked, confusedly.

“I didn’t stay because I abandoned orders and traded it for love. It sounds selfish, but I believed that not everyone needed a Master. My brothers and sisters thought the same way. I still have yet to find my last sister.” Tara said as he winced at the memory of his sister forced to leave their home.

“Go on to bed, now. We will head to bed in a little bit.” Deera said as she stood up and comforted Tara.

I shrugged and headed to my bedroom. I walked in, and closed my door to until it was cracked about two inches. My pod rang, and I saw an elf woman.

“He… Hello, Is this Tara?” She asked.

“No, ma’am. This is Lolo Diera. I am his son. Who are you?” I said.

“I am Regina Diera. I need Tara to find me, and quickly.” Regina said quickly and quietly.

“I will let him know.” I said with confidence.

The call ended and I set the pod onto the desk again. I ran out of my room and down to the kitchen.

“Fada!! Fada!! What’s your sister’s name?” I asked frantically.

“Her name is Regina Diera. Why?” Tara said confused.

“I think I was in contact with her.” I said quickly.

“Show me this message.” Tara said as he grabbed his cloak.

Tara and I went up to my bedroom when my pod rang, once again. I shoved Tara into my closet and answered the pod. Tara listened to the whole conversation.

“Lolo, here and ready for another mission.” I said confidently.

“Good. Did a certain Regina call the pod and speak to you?” His Master asked.

“No, Master. It was another slave… err… acquaintance of yours.” I lied.

“Hmm. Which one called, my favorite Death Keeper?” His Master asked, kindly.

“It was… ummm… It was Holo Gina. She called me, looking for advice on how to fix a robot.” I said quickly as I saluted.

“Lolo, I need you to come back after you get rid of… HER.” His Master said.

“Yes, Master. Lolo, out and about.” I said as I closed the pod, set it on his desk and started crying.

Tara came out of the closet and looked at me, angrily. I stared back, with tears in my eyes. Tara’s eyes softened up and he went to touch my shoulder. I slunk away from Tara’s touch.

“I… I am so sorry. I have… have to go, soon.” I said still crying.

Lolo pushed Tara out of his room and started playing a calming music.

Tara walked down the stairs and looked at Deera. He shook his head no and headed toward their bedroom. Deera followed him and they both went to bed. The rest of the lights turned off and everyone was asleep, except for me. I walked out of my bedroom and to the front door. Iris heard the front door open and she got up to see that I had opened the door. I saw Iris and disappeared within a cloud of smoke from a smoke bomb I had made. Iris walked down the stairs and looked at the door.

‘Where is he going at this hour?’ Iris thought to herself as she closed the front door.

Lolo

I ran down the sidewalk toward the gate. I climbed over the gate and landed on the other side. When I landed, I rolled my ankle. I st I looked around and ran down the road toward an alleyway. I got to the edge of the alleyway when I was stopped by Holo Gina, his Master’s “acquaintance” for receival and deliver, the Moon Howler.

“What are you doing? Your mission isn’t done.” Holo Gina growled.

“Keep it down. Iris doesn’t know I am out here. Master told me to come back for another mission.” I said as I grabbed a branch nearby.

“Are you okay, Lolo?” She asked me as she stepped toward me.

“I am fine!! I am fine. Also, I told you not to call me Lolo. I told you to call me Death Keeper.” I said as I stood up and looked at Holo Gina.

We glared at each other for just a moment. Then, I sighed and looked at Holo Gina as her ears drooped.

“I… I am sorry. I didn’t mean anything by that. Just help me get back to master’s place.” I said as I grabbed the branch again.

“Yes, Death Keeper. Anyways, what happened to you that has caused you to limp?” Holo asked as she grabbed his arm and put it around her neck.

“Tch. Long story. I do not know if I will have to tell Master and I do not know if she will have me tell you guys. Just… Let us get going before Iris and my parents figure out that I am gone.” I said as I started limping along side Holo Gina.

We stayed silent as we walked a couple of miles away my parents lovely home that I was raised in.

‘Home… How does that saying go again? Oh, yes!! Home is where the heart is. Where does my heart sit, home with my family or with my Master?’ I thought to myself.

Holo Gina and I were silent all the way to master’s house. We walked through the back door and all the other acquaintances started cheering Holo Gina and I’s name given by our Master. Her name that was given to her was Deceit. We walked past them and into our master’s office. I cleared my throat and motioned for Holo Gina to leave. She did so and closed the door as she walked out the door.

“Death Keeper? Is… Is that you?” My Master said as she turned around in the chair.

“Y… Yes, ma’am. It is I, Death Keeper. I am here for my next mission.” I said as I looked at her cloaked form and saluted to her.

“No need to be that formal, my dear Lolo. Anyways, your next mission is to live with your family and act like nothing is wrong. Then, you will update me on your progress on trust within your family, so we can destroy it before it gets to be an issue.” She said as she stood up.

“Destroy my family? I am sorry. I cannot accept that mission if that is the purpose of it.” I said as my foot started throbbing with pain.

“Did you just say no?” She asked as she looked down upon me, confused.

“Yes, ma’am. I did say no to you for that specific mission. I am not going to allow you to destroy my family which I grew up in until I got you, Master.” I replied as I hid the pain as much as I could.

“Huh. Just as stubborn as your father was when my father was Master to him. Your father refused to kill the Last Black Draginucous because he didn’t feel like that was the right thing to do. He thought that we should all live in peace. How cute. I hated it and so did my father. How shall I put this? It’s do the mission I gave you or mucking out the stalls in the horse barn for the rest of the year.” She said angrily.

“I would rather muck out stalls, clean up around here, or even do some extra tough training, than hurt or destroy the family I was born into. I would rather be sent off to another Master, or even to slay another creature of evil, than to hurt or even break my family apart. They are worth more to me than you will ever know, Master.” I said with a wicked smile.

“Fine. I will order Regina and Deceit to help you muck tomorrow. First, you need to rest and make sure you are ready for mucking out the stalls tomorrow.” She said as she grabbed me by the chin and lifted it up.

“Y… Yes ma’am.” I said as I left her office.

I closed the door behind me, and I started to limp all the way to my quarters, up the small set of stairs and into the loft. I walked in and closed the door. I walked over to the medicine cabinet and grabbed an Ace bandage. I walked over to my bed and sighed. I sat down on my bed and stared at the wall for just a moment. I took my sandal off and started wrapping my foot and my ankle. Then, someone knocked on the door just as I had finished wrapping my foot. I put my sandal back on and looked at the door. I stood up, limped over to the door, and opened it. I saw it was Deceit and Regina. I motioned them to come in to my room.

“Hey, I heard that argument you had with Master. She didn’t seem incredibly happy.” Regina said as she walked in next to Holo Gina.

“Fancy room, Death Keeper. Well, at least fancier than ours.” Holo Gina said as she looked around the room.

“Don’t touch anything! Why are you guys up here?” I snapped as I limped back toward my bed.

“Well, did she ask about your limp?” Holo Gina asked as she watched me limp from my bed to a chair.

“No, she didn’t. I didn’t show any kind of pain with her. I am her favorite out of all of you lower class organic beings. Also, I will push and hide all pain that I endure from her.” I said as I sat down on a chair and set a picture of Iris, face down.

“Who was that in the picture, Sir Death Keeper?” Regina asked as she walked closer to me.

“It’s Iris, my younger sista. I used to play with her when she was little. I found out earlier today that I was her role model. She grew up so quickly while I was gone. She protected herself, a whole school and… and…” I said as I started to cry and couldn’t finish his sentence.

“Hey, hey, hey. It’s alright. I haven’t seen my brother since he was little so, I don’t know what he looks like now.” Regina said without shedding a tear.

“Tch… babies. I haven’t seen my family in years maybe even a decades. I ain’t crying over some stupid flesh that you call family.” Holo Gina said as she leaned up against a column in the room, faced away from us.

We stayed silent for the next couple of hours when, our Master called for all of her acquaintances to line up. All three of us walked down the stairs and stood in line with the other 17.

“Lolo the Death Keeper, dear. Get out of that line. Lines are for the weaker classes.” Their Master said with a smile.

I stepped out of the line and next to her. I smiled at her and she smiled back. As she went to speak, they heard a knock on the door. I walked to the door and opened it. I saw Iris and started chirping. Everyone scattered, and she kept her hood up.

“Lolo, you have to come home, now. Ma and Pa are worried about you.” Iris said as she kept her head low.

“Go away, Iris. My name is no longer Lolo. My name is Death Keeper.” I snapped as I slammed the door shut.

Then, Iris showed up in front of me again. I looked at her surprised. Then, she looked at me with tears in her eyes and disappeared into a cloud of smoke. I looked around confused and chirped again. They all came out of hiding and stood back in line. I counted 18 and didn’t see Regina.

“Deceit!! Where is Regina?” I demanded.

“I… I don’t know sir.” Holo Gina said nervously.

I raised my hand to smack Holo when he heard, “I am so s… sorry sir. I am the one to blame not Deceit, sir.”

I put my hand down and saw Regina running toward us. She lined up and looked at me.

“Why were you late?” I asked her as I walked toward her.

“M… My foot got stuck be…between 2 sacks of grain when I hid, sir.” Regina said nervously.

“All I can say is at this point, be careful next time. That goes for all of you!!” I said confidently as I watched my footsteps.

“Sir, Yes, Sir, Death Keeper!!” All 19 said.

“Master, why did you call us?” I asked as I knocked on her office door.

She came out of her office and said, “I called you guys for a ceremony of get rid of and keepers.”

Everyone started whispering and I shushed them up quickly with a glare. She pointed to the first five and motioned them to leave. They gave their collars and their pods to Master. Then they left the building.

“Everyone else stays. Lolo, I need to see you in my office along with Regina.” She said as she walked toward her office.

Everyone left the line and went back to work. Regina and I walked into our Master’s office and closed the door.

We both saluted and said, “Here on your command.”

“No need to salute, Regina and Lolo. I bet you two are Aunt and Nephew. Is that true?” She asked.

“Y… Yes ma’am. That is true. My father is Tara Diera and Regina is his sister.” I explained.

“Regina, who is his mother?” She asked as she looked at her.

“His mother? I… I don’t know who his mother is.” Regina said with honesty.

“My mother is Deera Freedom, The Last Black Draginucous.” I piped up quickly.

“How is that possible? How can a Draginucous and an Elf make a child? That’s impossible!!” Their Master said.

“Actually, it isn’t impossible if I am standing here.” I said as I stood up tall and smirked.

“Ugh… whatever. Both of you are taking the mission I said earlier and updating me on your progress.” She said quickly as she turned around to face the wall.

Regina and I smiled and left the room. We ran all the way to the mansion gates to see Iris on the front porch. Iris unlocked the gates and opened them. Regina and I ran in and hugged her tight.

“Let go of me, you traitorous claud elf.” Iris said as she pushed both of us off of her.

They walked into the mansion and went to bed immediately. Regina laid on the floor in Lolo’s room. They slept for a long time.

Iris

I couldn’t sleep that night, well… that early morning. I tossed and turned until about 3 or 4 AM. I sat up and left my room. No one was up at this hour. I walked down the stairs and out the front door. I walked onto the lawn and looked up at the stars. I sighed and turned into my Black Draginucous form. I looked at my wings to see that one of them was ripped. I sighed once again and took to the sky. I flew far from the mansion to seek something.

‘Ha! Something? I know exactly what I need. I need the Healing Stone.’ Iris thought to herself.

I flew through the clouds and the stars until I got to a mountain. I landed and turned into my elf form with my armor on as I noticed smoke was coming out of the entrance nearby. I summoned my spear and walked in while knocking on each and every rock. The smoke stopped, and a guy with golden/dark red eyes showed up in front of me.

“What do you want, Daru Daru?” He growled as he looked me in the eyes.

“I need it and you know exactly what I wa… I mean need. You know what I need.” I growled back, unafraid.

“Ugh!! I don’t have The Healing Stone anymore, my dear. I believe your brother took it when he disappeared years ago. He had left me a note saying that he needed it to heal a friend.” He growled as he flicked his golden hair out of his face.

He started to walk away when I growled and threw my spear at him. It whizzed toward him and sliced his arm on its way past. He smiled and turned around to look at me. I smiled at him as the anger rose within me. He started laughing and I looked at him confused and concerned, still full of anger. He shook his head and walked away, disappearing into thin air. I tried to follow him to see where he went but couldn’t find him. I put my finger claws on and grabbed my spear from the wall.

“Huh. I am guessing you are the female offspring result from Tara Diera of the Elves and Deera Freedom of the Freedom Family.” He said as he appeared behind me.

I turned around and slashed at him as I growled. He dodged my blow and knocked me down. I landed on my back and I looked up at him as he smiled down upon me. He leaned down and grabbed me by my armor. He lifted me up off the floor and got close to my face as I almost started to panic.

“Get out of my cave or I will hurt you, daughter of my sister and brother-in-ugh… Just leave from here and do not return!” He growled as he tossed me down and turned away from me, ready to turn back into his Draginucous Form.

I got up and said, “No, sir. I want to learn your name. All I know is that you are my uncle.”

He stopped and turned his head toward me, only showing one of his eyes. He sighed and closed his eyes. He walked into the shadows and faced me. He opened his eyes again and stared at me. All that was visible was his eyes. I glared back at him, in my battle stance.

“You don’t know who I am, do you?” He asked as his armor made of gold and gems magically appeared.

“Do I know whom, sir?” I asked as I wielded my spear.

“I am Deera Freedom’s Older Brother. I am surprised she hasn’t talked about me more. Does she have any pictures of me in that big mansion of hers?” He asked with a growl and stepped out of the dark.

“Hm. There is no way you are my Madre’s brother!! She said her brother was dead!!” I growled as I looked at him.

“So be it a Draginucous fight. I am Killer Freedom, the Golden Draginucous of the family.” He growled as he turned into his Golden Draginucous form.

I looked at him stunned, watching his finally transformation take place. I shook my head and turned into my Black Draginucous form with ease. He was 4 times the size I was. I growled and went to bite his leg, but he flicked me out of the air and into a golden cage. He smiled and locked the gate on the cage. He grabbed the cage top and headed out of the cave. The cave entrance disappeared as he flew toward my home. It didn’t take long for us to get there. He set the cage down in the lawn and turned into his human form.

“Turn back to your elf form. You are now home, youngling.” He growled as he smiled at me.

I growled and turned into my human form. He opened the cage door and grabbed me by my shirt. He walked me to the door and cleared his throat. He knocked on the door and waited a few minutes. Then, we both heard footsteps running up to the door and it opened up about a foot. Lolo had answered the door and looked at us in confusion.

“Hello? May I help you?” Lolo asked.

“Good Morn’ to you dear, Lolo. May I speak with your parents?” He said with a smile upon his face as he still held me by the shirt.

“Sure, sure. Come on in and sit down. I will go get them.” Lolo said as he opened the door wider to let us in.

“No, thank you. I would rather have them come to the door since it is about… Iris.” He said as he glanced at me.

Lolo left the door open and ran to get Tara and Deera. I growled and started to wiggle, trying to get away from his grip. Well, in the long run, it failed. He patted me on the head 3 times, and my body just froze. Deera came down the stairs, saw Killer and frowned. Tara came down after Deera and was mumbling to himself.

“Hallo Killer. Wat doe jij hier in godsnaam? Hello, Killer. What the hell are you doing here?” Deera asked in Dutch with a growl as she looked at Killer with disgust.

“Good Morn’ Deera and Tara. That is no way to speak to me, dear sister. Anyways, I am here to drop off a little pest of yours because she came to my cave. Also, I am to tell you that we have a family reunion this week and they said to bring the child that can transform.” Killer said as he let go of my shirt and my body unfroze.

I growled and pushed Killer down to the ground. I turned into my Black Draginucous form and grabbed his shirt. I flew upwards a few miles and growled at him.

“Go back to where you once came!!” I snarled as I let go of him and shoved him downwards with a lot of force.

He fell through the air and landed on his back, hard. Hard enough to knock the breath out of him and have a head injury from the ground. I landed next to him and turned back into my human form. I walked to the front door and walked into the house as Deera ran out of the house and knelt next to Killer.

“Are you alright, Killer?” Deera asked as he sat up and rubbed his head.

“Ugh… Yeah, *Clears his throat* Yes, Deera. I am fine. I have taken worse like you almost ripping me to shreds over holding Iris. I shall be heading back to my home.” Killer said as he stood up.

“Um… Killer, would you like to join us for breakfast?” Tara offered with a smile.

“I would like to, but you heard your daughter. I will be on my way home.” Killer said as he winced at the pain in his head.

“Killer, alsjeblieft. Blijf voor het ontbijt en laat Tara je genezen. Killer, please. Stay for breakfast and let Tara heal you.” Deera said in Dutch, worried about her brother.

“Fine. I shall stay for breakfast and see if Tara can heal me. He was never good at healing magic.” He said as he walked into the house with help from Deera and Tara.

Lolo smiled as he had already started making biscuits, ham, bacon, and eggs. I growled and sat down on the couch. Tara went and grabbed the Book of Norawind. Killer and Deera smiled at each other and then turned away from each other. Tara came back and opened his book.

“Is that the Book of Norawind?” Killer asked as he saw the leather book.

“Yes, sir. Why do you ask that?” Tara answered confused.

“Well, The Book of Norawind has great power that an elf cannot handle. Yet, you defy the odds and can handle it. Is that correct?” Killer said as he smiled.

“I have had this book since I was little. I have been the only elf in all of Elven history that could handle this advanced magic. Hold still while I concentrate so I can heal you.” Tara said as he looked at the book and a blue mist appeared.

It crawled up Tara’s leg and into his outstretched hand. He looked at Killer with a smile as he healed Killer. I got up and walked into the kitchen. I started helping Lolo with the splitting the breakfast onto plates. I put plates in front of Killer, Deera and Tara as Tara finished healing Killer. I grabbed myself a slice of ham and walked out the door with my backpack.

“See you later, mada and fada. We are off to school. Bye, Uncle Killer. See you guys later!!” Lolo said as he grabbed his old book bag and left the house.

Lolo ran and caught up to me. We walked all the way to the school, together like we used to. When we got to the school grounds, everyone started cheering, “Iris!!” over and over again. I smiled and stood up straight. Lolo stood back and walked slower to blend into the crowd. A black faun named Midnight Dash, spotted Lolo, and started cheering for Lolo.

“Lolo the Unbeatable is back!!” Midnight Dash cheered.

Everyone started cheering and Lolo stood up straight as they whooped and hollered until he was greeted by Principal Skeletal.

“Lolo Darius Freedom, I presume.” Principal Skeletal said as he blocked Lolo’s way.

Lolo gulped and looked at him with no fear. He grabbed his bag and pushed passed him. Principal Skeletal grabbed him by the shirt and tossed him to the grass. Principal Skeletal walked to Lolo as he sat up.

“Principal Skeletal!! No!! Leave my brother alone!!” I screeched, hurting his ears.

“How many times have I told you, no screeching at school! I guess it will be detention for you, young lady. I do not care if you have saved this school multiple times. It is unacceptable to leave a mess that you made after you save the school. Why do you have to do that? You know what? You are suspended from this school for one week.” He scolded me.

I noticed Lolo grabbed his lower leg and yanked him to the ground. Principal Skeletal fell to the ground. I held in the laughter that bubbled up.

“You both have pulled my leg, literally now, to many times and I am going to call your parents. They are going to give you two a talking to about this kind of behavior.” Principal Skeletal said as he scowled at Lolo and I.

He stormed off and I ran over to Lolo. I helped him stand up and brushed him off. Lolo and I laughed about it.

“Um, thanks. See you later, Iris.” Lolo said with a smile.

“No problem. That’s what siblings are for. See you later, Lolo.” I said as Mr. Billendor showed up in front of me.

“Class!! Now!! Young Lady!!” He screeched at me.

I ran off to my first class and Lolo went to the office to get his schedule figured out. He walked into the office and smiled.

“Hello, my student. How may I help you, Lolo?” Mrs. Streaker asked as she looked at Lolo.

“I need a schedule for school.” Lolo said as he stood up straight, trying to look intimidating.

“That’s not intimidating me, Lolo.” Mrs. Streaker said with a smile as she held out a paper.

He looked at it and walked out of the office to his first class. Meanwhile, I grumbled and walked into Mrs. Streaker’s classroom. I sat in the chair that was up front with a nasty grin. All the other students walked in and sat at their desks. Mrs. Streaker walked in and smiled at her students. She did role call and noticed that Mac wasn’t there.

“Well, Iris. Can you go see if you can find Mac anywhere in the school and then report back, please?” Mrs. Streaker asked as she looked at me.

I rolled my eyes and walked out of the classroom. I searched everywhere including the office. I walked out of the office as Lolo and I’s parents walked in. I darted down the hall next to the office, where my classroom was. I ran to my class just as the Intercom came on and called for me to come to the office. Mrs. Streaker saw me and smiled.

“Did you find Mac anywhere in the halls or in the office?” Mrs. Streaker asked.

“No, ma’am. I did not find Mac anywhere in the halls or in the office.” I answered her.

“Alright. Iris, you have to go to the office.” Mrs. Streaker said with a worried expression.

I growled and grabbed my backpack from my desk. I stormed out the door and into the hallway, slamming the classroom door behind me. I sighed as Lolo walked up next to me.

“I am guessing the Principal called our parents for real, huh?” Lolo asked me as he looked at me.

“You have no idea how hard it was to keep from eyesight. I saw them walk in and I ran out of the office before they could see me.” I said as we walked toward the office.

I stopped in front of the office door and started coughing. I dropped to the floor and my books scattered everywhere next to me. Lolo stopped and fell to the ground with a migraine, knocking him out. The book that was on Lolo’s backpack, disappeared as another Draginucous showed up. Not in its Draginucous form, but in its human form. It touched Lolo and I, bubbling us, touched the top of the bubble, and then all three of us disappeared before Killer got there.

“No, no, no, no! Deera!! Tara!! Come out here!! Lolo and Iris disappeared!” Killer yelled as he knelt on the ground.

Deera and Tara walked out of the office and saw Lolo’s backpack and Iris’s books scattered next to her book bag. Deera screeched and dropped to the ground. She smelled a stench that she recognized well. She sat up and looked around.

“What is it, Deera?” Tara asked as the stench hit his nose.

“Do you smell that?” Deera asked as she took in more of the scent.

“Yes, dear heart. It stinks like Helicodiceros Muscivorus.” Tara said as he held his nose closed.

“Like what?” Killer asked.

“A Helicodiceros Muscivorus, also known as Dead Horse Arum Lily. I know who wears that stench. It is our sister, Celestial Freedom.” Deera said with a growl as she said the name.

Meanwhile, I woke up and I looked around to see Lolo who was about 20 feet away from me. I heard a buzzing noise and looked for it. I saw his pod next to him.

“Lolo!! Wake up!! Your pod is ringing!!” I yelled as I ran toward him.

He sat up and grabbed his pod.

“Oh!! Lolo, here and ready for a mission.” Lolo said as he answered it and saluted.

“I need you here at the base, ASAP.” A female voice said.

“Yes, ma’am. Lolo, out and about.” Lolo said as shut the pod.

We both heard laughter from more than one angle. Lolo grumbled and started chirping. They all shushed and looked at Lolo and I with curiosity. Lolo stopped chirping and I started growling. I changed into my Black Draginucous form, breaking the cage Lolo and I were in. They clapped, and lights came on inside of the building they were in. Then, the door burst open and in came Killer, Deera and Tara, in that order. Everyone else changed back into their human forms.

“Celestial, Flower, Terrorling, Hera and Death!! In front of me, NOW!!” Deera screamed loudly.

They did as they were told. She growled as they sat down. I turned into my human form. Lolo and I ran over to Tara and hid behind him. The four humans came and sat in front of Deera. One was leaning up against a door frame.

“Why did you take Iris and Lolo?” Deera asked angrily.

“W… we did it so we c… could get you and K… Killer to come to the R… Reunion.” Terrorling, the Gray-haired male, said in fear.

“We are here just for that? Whose idea was it?” Deera asked, angrily.

“It… it was my idea, Miss Goodie Tooshoos.” Celestial, a white-haired female, said as she looked at Deera.

“Yeah, it was OUR idea since you and that disgusting beast of a wife never answered our invite.” An elf said as she looked at Tara, angrily.

“Celia?!? Where have you been? We never received an invite.” Tara asked surprised to see a female elf apparently named Celia.

“Enough!! This is pointless!!” Flower, a Purple and Yellow-haired female, snarled as she grabbed me from behind Tara.

I screeched everyone covered their ears. I ran to the center of the room and transformed into my Draginucous form. I growled and looked at Celestial.

“I challenge all my aunts and uncles, including Killer. No aunt and uncles of elves. This is only between the Draginucous family!!” I snarled as I pushed Celestial and Flower out the door.

Terrorling sat in a corner and transformed into his smokey Draginucous form. Flower, Death and Hera did the same, but they were a cyan, white and a purple and yellow. Celestial pushed Deera out of the way and transformed into her 3-legged white Draginucous form. Deera screamed and transformed into her Black Draginucous form. Deera attacked Celestial as Terrorling and Flower lunged at me. I grabbed them and tossed them against the wall, knocking them both out. Death and Hera lunged at me and we all started fighting. Scarlet water started flowing out of scratches, bite wounds, lacerations and stab wounds endured during the fight.

“ENOUGH CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILD!!!” We all heard a male voice yell.

We all stopped and looked to see it was a white skinned human. Deera got up and turned into her human form. The others except for me, did the same. He walked toward me as I stood up and glared at him.

“An gcaithfidh mé glaoch ort le do ainm Draginucous, mo daor? Do I have to call you by your Draginucous name, my dear?” A female voice asked in Irish.

“Ma? Pa? Why are you here?” Tara asked as he recognized his mother’s voice and felt the presence of his father.

“We heard about Iris and how she is half Elf and half beast.” His father said.

“Mr. Diera and Mrs. Diera.” Deera growled at them.

“Now, now. No need to be unpolite, my dear. I am Norma and this is Heath.” Norma said with a smile.

“The wicked sisters, Amilia and Badilia, set you up to be here. Apparently, I am no good to you and father. Since I left the village with no blessing from you or mother, I haven’t been worth cac leat dhá. (Shit to you two) Lolo saved Regina from a master and all you want is Iris. Ní dóigh liom go bhfuil! I don’t think so!” Tara snapped angrily at them, partially in Irish.

“Norma and Heath, I am Drago Freedom, and this is my lovely wife, Lavender Freedom. Deera is my daughter and Iris is my granddaughter.” Drago introduced himself.

“Shoo, old man and let Iris choose her true path she shall choose to go down.” Heath snapped as he pushed Drago back.

I growled and turned into my human form. Exhausted, I fell to the floor and started panting.

Lolo

The whole Draginucous family gathered around Iris as Deera to her. Tara gasped, pushed passed all of them and ran to Iris’s side. He knelt down and held Iris’s hand as her panting slowed down and started to become normal.

“Tara!! Back away from those beasts!!” Heath and Norma yelled as they gathered Amilia, Badilia, and Celia.

“No, Ma and Pa. You have to understand that Iris is my daughtren and I have to be with her.” Tara said calmly as he held Iris’s hand.

Regina came out of hiding and hit Tara upside the head with a small rock, knocking him out. Regina lifted him up with her magic and walked through the doors with Heath and Norma. Deera started crying as I walked up and knelt next to Iris. I sighed and looked at Deera.

“Head on home, Mada. Uncle Killer take mada home along with your siblings and your mada and fada.” I said as I set a bag beside Iris.

“Grandchild? Is everything alright?” Lavender asked as she went to touch my shoulder.

“I will take care of her from here. Go on and follow Killer home.” I snapped at Lavender as I jerked my shoulder away from her touch.

Lavender, Drago, Celestial, Flower, Hera, Terrorling, Death and I watched Deera stand up and walk over to Killer. Deera whistled and motioned them to follow her out the door. They gathered up behind Deera and Killer. They left with Killer and Deera. I got up and closed the door behind them. I opened the bag and looked in it. I grabbed one of my daggers and observed Iris. Her breath started to get slow and shallow. I thought maybe it was time to put her out of her misery. I knelt next to her and swallowed hard. I held the dagger above my head and started shaking. I breathed in and out until my shaking hands had gone still.

I whispered, “Sorry, my sista.”

I closed my eyes and the dagger came down within my hands. The dagger hit the floor beside Iris. The dagger laid there on the floor and I started looking around for my other dagger. I found it in the bag nearby, and I took a deep breath. I grabbed the first dagger and raised it above my head once again. I noticed her eyes had opened up. Her eyes darted around looking for something or someone.

“M… Madre? Padre? Where are you?!? Madre!! Padre!! Where are thou?!?” Iris yelled with a questioning look as she sat up.

I dropped the dagger as Iris “looked” at me with eyes as white as snow. She “looked” around and started to stand but fell back to the floor.

“Let me help you.” I said as I grabbed the bag and put both daggers back in the bag.

I grabbed Iris’s hand and helped the shaky Iris stand up. She smiled and gained her balance. She sniffed the air and walked to the door. I slightly smiled and walked behind her a few feet.

“Padre? Madre? Brada? Where are you guys?” Iris asked as she stood outside and heard a crowd booing her.

“I am right behind you, Iris.” I told her as she relaxed a little bit.

She bowed her head and I walked out behind her. Then, there was cheering when they saw me. I took Iris’s hand and guided her through the crowd. They grabbed rotten tomatoes and threw them at her. She heard them throw the tomatoes but took the wrath of their anger. The tomatoes hit her as she walked beside me. She turned into a red covered human.

“Lolo? Lolo!! Bring her here to me!!” Amilia yelled as she jumped up and down for me to see her above the crowd.

I sneered, and Iris growled. We kept walking until we got to the front gates of our home and I opened them. I comforted Iris as we walked toward familiar steps. Iris perked up and started smiling as Deera started running toward us as we walked through the front gates.

“Madre? Madre!! I… I need you.” Iris said as I let go of her and Deera hugged her.

“Oh, my dear Daru Daru! Is she hurt or no, Lolo?” Deera asked as she wiped away a tear from her eyes.

“No, she isn’t hurt. But…” I said trailing off when I saw three of my acquaintances heading toward us.

I pushed Iris down to the ground and she started growling. Deera grabbed my arm and opened her mouth to speak. I elbowed her in the head, knocking her out. Iris growled and changed into her elf form with her blood armor on. She grabbed her spear and stood up. She stumbled around a little bit before standing her ground.

“Come at me, sista of mine!!” I yelled as I grabbed my daggers.

The 3 acquaintances stopped and saw that I was fixing to fight Iris. Their eyes widened, and one of the elves grabbed his scythe and walked into the yard.

“Death Keeper, sir!! Shall I help you?” He asked as he put his fist over his heart and bowed to me.

“You’re so unpredictable, brada!! Get over here and fight me!! Let those you call acquaintances fight beside you!!” Iris snarled as she held her ground.

The other two came running in with their swords drawn. Iris kept growling and the elf with the long brown hair dropped his sword in admiration of Iris. The other elf with a long silver mohawk punched the other elf in the arm.

“Come on, man. That ain’t cool that I am the only one holding a sword now. Get it together, Levi!!” The elf with the long silver mohawk snapped at him.

The elf with the scythe and short, bushy silver hair swung at Iris and she dodged. She blocked his attack with her spear and pushed him back. He ran at her again, but she blocked and held her stance. She stood her ground and smiled at him. He looked at her confused and she pushed him down to the ground as she knocked his scythe out of his hand. She pinned him to the ground with her knee and pointed the sharp point of the spear at his throat. He held his hands above his head.

“That hurt, Bud!! I am not hurting this young lady. Can you three not see that she is blind?” Levi snapped at Bud.

Bud lowered his sword and stared at Iris. He noticed her eyes were as white as snow.

“Death Keeper, sir. Levi is right, she IS blind.” Bud said as he put his sword away.

“Don’t turn your back on her. She is smarter than she looks, guys. Iris knows how to use her other 4 senses and figure out where we are standing. Help Raja get up.” I said as Bud looked at me.

“Bud!! Help me out!!” Raja exclaimed as he looked at the point of the spear.

Iris stood up from pinning him and walked slowly backwards. Raja stood up, grabbed his scythe, and ran toward the front gates. Bud turned his back to her and started walking away when suddenly, Iris ran toward him and grabbed him by the back of his neck. Iris growled as Bud screamed like he was on fire.

“Bud!! No!! Drop him, you monster!!” Levi yelled as he picked up his sword and pointed it at her.

She growled and faced Levi, still holding Bud. Levi wiped away a tear and looked at Iris. I ran toward her with my daggers out. She threw Bud at me and Bud hit me, knocking both of us back. Iris walked toward Levi and stopped when he touched her left shoulder with the tip of his sword.

“Put your sword away, dear Levi. It is no use against me.” Iris said with a smile.

He looked around for Bud and I. He saw me standing up and Bud laying on the ground in front of me. I coughed and shook my head no toward Levi.

“Don’t listen to her, Levi!! She is trying to get you on her side!! Don’t do it!!” I yelled toward Levi as I checked on Bud.

“Why should I listen to you?” Levi asked as he looked at Iris.

“Listen to me and you can have anything you want. I shall grant and give you whatever you wish.” Iris said as she smiled.

Levi put his sword away and looked at Lolo then back at Iris. He swallowed hard and looked at Lolo.

“What is your choice, Elf of the North?” Iris asked as she backed away slowly.

“Sir Death Keeper edo neska gazte amorratu hau. Ez dakit norekin joan behar nuen. Sir Death Keeper or this ravishing young lady. I… I don’t know who I should be going with.” Levi said in Basque as he looked at Bud who was sitting up.

Bud sat up and looked at Levi. He started coughing as Levi stood there, watching him. I motioned for Levi to come over to Bud and I. Out of nowhere, Iris ran toward Levi and grabbed him by the throat before he could move. She lifted him up off the ground as he started squirming. Killer ran to see what was happening outside when he saw Iris holding Levi in the air by his throat.

“Let him go!!” Killer snarled the order at Iris from behind her.

“No, Uncle!! THEY attack me and mada!! THEY need to pay the price!!” Iris snarled back as she started to squeeze Levi’s throat.

Killer ran toward her, but ran into some kind of shield that was around her. The air from around her and Levi started getting thin. She had a mask made out of magic, letting her breathe normally. The lack of air started to suffocate Levi as he gasped for air. Then, Iris heard Tara’s footsteps running toward her, but she ignored him. She heard more steps running toward her, and they weren’t anyone she knew by memory. They started screaming and yelling at her as she blocked them out. I watched Tara break her shield and walk up to her as the air around them returned back to normal. She felt Tara’s hand upon her shoulder. She kept growling and Tara squeezed her shoulder. She stopped growling and set Levi down but kept ahold of his throat.

“Sweetie, no more. Let go of him, my dear.” Tara said sweetly.

She shook her head and her eyes started to sting. She blinked multiple times until she could finally see. She was shocked to see that she was choking Levi. Raja, Bud, and I were around her, weapons drawn and pointed at her.

“L… Levi?” She asked as she let go of his throat.

“Yeah, *coughs* yeah. Why did you attack my crew and I?” Levi asked as he rubbed his neck.

“Lolo attacked me. I am so sorry, Levi. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone, especially you. I am so sorry.” Iris apologized as she started crying.

“It’s alright, Iris. I know what you went through a few years ago. I am just worried about Bud.” Levi said as he walked toward Iris.

“Death Keeper, shall we advance the attack?” Bud asked as he held his sword up toward Iris.

“Levi!! Move, so we can kill this one!!” I snapped at Levi.

Levi did as he was told and moved away from Iris. She looked at Lolo, Raja and Bud angrily. She turned into her Black Draginucous form and growled. Bud swung his sword and hit her claws. His sword broke and she laughed as she pushed him back, hard. Bud hit the wall, knocking him out. Iris went to bite Raja out of existence when he jumped up and hook her horn with his scythe. She lifted her head and he held on for dear life as she tried to knock him off.

“Now!! Do it now!! I cannot keep her distracted for long!” Raja yelled as Iris desperately tried to get Raja off of her.

I growled and ran toward her, daggers out and I ended up stabbing her left front leg with one of the daggers. She screeched, and everyone fell to the ground as they covered their ears. She pulled the dagger out and changed into her elf form. She lifted her hand with the dagger up and saw a cut in her arm about two inches long.

“Why would you hurt me, Lolo?” Iris asked as she fell to her knees.

She fell completely to the ground. Her breaths slowed, then they stopped. Tara ran over to her as I ran off with Raja, Bud, and Levi in tow. Killer ran over to Iris and checked for a pulse.

“She’s gone, brother in law.” Killer said as he stood up and looked at Tara.

“There is no way she’s gone. She has to be alive.” Tara said as he looked at Killer.

Iris

I awoke, sat up, and looked around. On my left, I saw an angel with feathered wings around land so green that the fruits are always ready for the picking. On my right I saw, a barren desert that held a woman who had skeletal wings stretched out. Both women held their arms out for me to enter one or the other’s land.

“Choose wisely, my dear Daru Daru. Life awaits you and Death defeats you.” A woman’s soft and tender voice said.

I stood up and asked, “Why are you making me choose?”

“My dear, Daru Daru. It is your choice whether you live, or you die. It is not our choice to make. All we can do is persuade you to go one way or the other.” An older raspy woman voice said.

I growled and clawed the air around me until I saw Levi facing me with tears in his eyes, running down his cheeks and falling to the floor. I stopped and went to touch his cheek, but my hand went straight through. I watched him cry more and heard his voice.

“Why did you do that? Why did you kill her, Death Keeper?!?” Levi yelled.

‘Who is Death Keeper?’ I thought to myself as Lolo’s body appeared out of thin air.

“I did what I had to do! It was my mission to kill her and get back to Master. Grow up, you big pansy!! It is only one out of many that we have killed!!” Lolo snapped back as he walked around the knelt Levi, by my body.

“You can tell our so-called Master I am done, DONE!! She has gone too far this time!!” Levi yelled as he stood up and grabbed a necklace, not the collar around his neck.

Lolo, Raja, and Bud looked at him surprised and wide eyed. It had paused, and I walked around to see what Levi had grabbed. I saw that it had a picture of him and I when we were in second grade. I started to cry and took it from his hand and flipped it over to see that our birthdays were the same day, October 15. It continued as I put it back in Levi’s hand.

“This is when Iris and I were in second grade!! She and I have the same birthday and everything!! She is my soul twin!! She completes me, and you know that, Death Keeper!!” Levi yelled as he cried some more.

“Levi!! Why didn’t you defy me then? Why are you defying your orders now?” Lolo asked angrily.

“I am defying them now because they weren’t killing someone over what they do or who they are. Back then it was, kill for vengeance or beat them up. This order was out of spite, not vengeance!!” Levi growled as he walked over to Tara and Killer.

He knelt down next to Iris’ body and said, “Thanks to you, she is gone.”

“Levi!! Levi!! I am here not gone!!” I yelled as the scene disappeared.

Another scene showed up after that one. It was the Draginucous family and the Elven Family, including Deera, Tara and Lolo. They were circled around my body and mourning. Then, they all separated ways, even Tara and Deera split ways. Tara went with his family and Deera went with hers. Lolo stayed with his Master and carried out some gruesome jobs that brought blood and shame to both sides of the family. Both families lined up, opposite of each other in a forest nearby and started a war. It disappeared, leaving me helpless and crying.

“N… no, no, no!! Madre and Padre wouldn’t split just because I am gone. They wouldn’t split… Would they? Lolo would care that I am gone, wouldn’t he?” I snarled as tears rolled down my cheeks and I fell to my knees.

“Daughter of Tara Diera and Deera Freedom, may I call you Daru Daru?” A woman’s voice asked as she walked up.

I looked up and saw a woman of a cream color with black hair. The woman changed into her Draginucous form. She was a Black Draginucous with a blue sheen to her. I stood up and changed into my Black Draginucous form. She was the same size as me.

“Yes, ma’am. Whom are you?” I asked.

“Daru Daru, I am Darius Raven. Welcome home, young warrior of the Sun Goddess.” She said as her slick black feathered wings unfurled from her side and extended up and out.

I couldn’t find the words to describe Darius Raven. She smiled at me and motioned for me to unfurl my wings. I unfurled them and somehow, they were now feathered. My wings had a purple sheen to them. They were exquisite compared to some wings I have seen.

“Home? What do you mean by home?” I asked very confused.

“Home is where life happens. Be what you want. I am your mother’s twin sister that was rightfully killed when I was your age by an Elf from the Southern Forest. I know whom he was. He was known as Tara Tarantula.” Darius said as she walked toward the angel and the green landscape.

“What? My father couldn’t have killed you when he was younger. My father doesn’t like to talk about his past and what he did when he was younger.” I said with a hint of surprise in my voice.

“Surprised, are you not? The elves and Draginucous have never gotten along except for your father and Deera. I remember seeing how happy your mother got when she would see Tara on the streets in Belgium.” Darius Raven said as she walked toward the Angel.

I followed her to the angel and the woman with the skeletal wings screamed. The woman disappeared along with the barren desert she was with. I looked at the angel and she touched Darius Raven.

“Remember my dear Daru Daru, be careful of the choices you choose. Darius Raven will be the same age as your mother when you see her again.” The angel said with a smile as

she set her hand upon my head.

I felt like crap when my soul got back to my body. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes. Tara, Deera and Death, Deera’s younger brother, stood around me with a smile.

“She’s alive, my dear!! She is awake!!” Deera exclaimed happily.

I stood up and looked around for Lolo. I didn’t see him anywhere in the yard. I couldn’t feel his presence anywhere in the house or in the yard.

“Where… where is Lolo?” I asked as I grabbed my spear from Death.

“He ran away from here.” Flower said as she smiled.

“What a coward. He apparently cannot handle the consequences of his actions against me. He will burn and suffer. I will be back.” I said with a growl.

I walked through the front gates. I walked all the way to Lolo’s Master’s home in the middle of pretty much nowhere. I knocked on the door and Lolo answered.

“Iris? I thought I killed you.” Lolo whispered.

I walked past him and through the door. Everyone stared at me as I walked all the way to the end and into their master’s office. I slammed the door open as they started whispering and Lolo followed me into the office.

“I don’t know who you are, but I will not stand for anymore of this nonsense.” I growled as their Master stayed silent.

I could tell their Master was a female by the shape of the shoulders. She lifted her hand up and it was thinner than a male’s hand would be. She snapped, and Lolo appeared beside me. I growled and started getting frustrated and irritable.

“Take her away from here and KILL her this time.” She said as Lolo bowed.

“Holo Gina and Aphrodite!!” Lolo yelled for them.

Holo Gina, a Moon Howler, and Aphrodite, an Angel with a broken wing, went to grab my arms, but I started fighting them with my spear. I knocked them both back and growled. They came at me again and I blocked Holo’s strike with my spear. I blocked Aphrodite’s wing slice with my shield. I pushed them back and I jumped onto a chair. They laughed as I jumped from the chair and landed on Holo Gina. I ran toward a dark corner and looked at their Master.

“Back off!! I only want to…” I started to growl but was knocked out cold.

When I hit the floor, Aphrodite had stood behind me with her eyes only showing. Holo Gina growled and stood up. They grabbed both of her arms and drug her out of their master’s office. Lolo sneered and picked up Iris’s spear. Lolo went to walk out when he heard Deera scream out his name. Lolo ignored it and followed Aphrodite and Holo Gina out of the room and to The Chains. Aphrodite grabbed the chains and wrapped them around Iris’s wrists and ankles. After a couple of hours, I woke up slowly and looked around. I started fighting the chains that were around my ankles and around my wrists, but they only got tighter. I saw something move within the shadows and started growling.

“Show yourself!!” I growled as I kept an eye on the shadows.

“If you insist, sista.” Lolo said with a smile as he stepped out of the shadows.

“Help me, brada!!” I exclaimed as I started to cry.

He lost his smile as he watched me cry. He shook his head and broke my spear across his knee. I looked at him shocked and put my head down in shame.

“Did I break something important to you, sista of mine?” Lolo asked me as he dropped the broken spear onto the ground.

I stayed silent as tears ran down my cheeks. He started to laugh until it was interrupted by a little bit of pain.

“What is the matter, sista?” Lolo asked with a smirk.

He growled and felt pain running throughout his body. He walked backwards, quite a ways away from me and started breathing heavily. He screamed and fell to his hands and knees.

“Ugh… what is happening… ugh… to my body?” He asked as he felt nauseated.

“The change is happening, brada. It’s the most painful thing I have ever felt. Now, you are feeling that same pain I felt. It is nauseating, painful, heart wrenching and hard to control where you do it at.” I said as I changed into my Draginucous form.

It broke the chains and I turned back into my elf form. I looked at Lolo as he doubled over, and my instincts told me to grab him and take him outside for more room. I sighed and grabbed Lolo. I took him outside and headed toward a cave. Something tripped me at the edge of the forest. Lolo landed a few feet away from where I landed on my face.

“Where do you think you are taking Death Keeper?” The elf with a long blonde braided hair asked as he came out of the shadows, swords drawn.

“Away from here, duh.” I growled as I stood up and picked Lolo back up.

“He belongs here with me and Master, not you!” He growled as he swung his swords at me.

I sighed and dodged them. He kept attacking and I kept dodging the blows. He swung low to the ground and I stepped on them. He tried pulling them out from under my feet, but it was unsuccessful. Lolo groaned, and I pushed the elf back. He stumbled backwards, and I ran off while holding onto Lolo.

“Why… ugh… why are you helping me?” Lolo asked as he felt pain searing throughout his whole body.

“Hold your tongue, brada. We are almost home.” I assured him as I skidded around the corner and onto the street we lived on.

I stopped and set Lolo down carefully. I set out a blanket that I had hidden in Lolo’s backpack. I set Lolo upon the blanket, carefully. I changed into my Draginucous form and grabbed each of the corners carefully. I took flight and flew home. I got there within 3 wing beats and set him down on the ground. I landed and fell to the ground as I changed into my elf form. Deera, Killer, Lavender and Drago all sensed the presence of Lolo and I. They ran outside and saw both of us laying on the ground. Deera went to run toward Lolo but Drago stopped her and pointed toward me. They stood back and watched us. I stood up and walked over to Lolo as he started coughing.

“It is alright, dear Lolo. Relax and let it sear through your veins. Relax and let the pain melt away.” I said as I knelt next to him and touched his shoulder as he curled into a ball.

He relaxed, and he grimaced as the pain seared through his entire body. He wanted to scream but he heard me whisper something about not to scream. He clenched his teeth instead and took deep breaths. He got to his hands and knees. He looked at me with tears in his blood shot eyes. Then, he dropped and grabbed my arm. His grip got harder as his eyes changed from a blue hue to a deep maroon color and slits had formed. His body grew into a white and slender Draginucous. His head changed from an elf to a Draginucous head similar to mine. He stood up and lifted his head to look around. He was completely white except for a black skullcap marking. I changed into my Draginucous form and smiled at him. We both heard Deera, Drago, Lavender, Death, Terrorling, Flower, Celestial and Hera cheering.

“Welcome Blood Skull.” I said as I held my paw out for him to touch.

“Heh. This feels amazing but, strange at the same time. I didn’t think this was possible for me. I guess I was wrong. My name is… Blood Skull. Daru Daru, isn’t it?” He said as he looked at me and then at Deera.

“My name is Daru Daru as a Draginucous, but I am known as Iris in my human or Elf form. How do you feel about your transformation, brada?” I answered with a smile.

“I feel so strong and strange at the same time. It feels good, I guess?” Lolo said as he looked at himself from claws to the tip of his tail.

“That is a good sign that it is working.” I said with a smile as I changed back into my elf form.

Lolo changed into his elf form and fell to one knee and a fist upon the ground. He stood up, shaking, and looked at me with a grin. Not a bad grin, but a happy grin. He was beaming with joy until we heard Bud, Holo, Levi, Aphrodite and Raja yelling out his name.

‘Oh no. They are coming to get me and will do everything in their power to get me back. That includes hurting my family.’ Lolo thought to himself.

‘Ah, hell. Them again? They are here for Lolo or are they here for me since I took Lolo away. Wait, they aren’t yelling Lolo, they are yelling Death Keeper. Is that Lolo’s name or someone else’s name?’ I thought to myself as I started hatching a plan.

The Freedom Family ran inside the house for their weapons and ran back out. Lolo and Iris both screamed and when they came out, both of them were gone.