Twinkle's Story: Chapter 39

*Oh my gosh, I haven't posted a new chapter in so long (again)!*

*But I couldn't really help it. With my computer not working properly (including right now) and not having that much time on weekends recently makes the chance of typing up new chapters far, far less.*

*Which brings me to this. Since my computer isn't being nice to me right now, this is the first Twinkle's Story chapter post I'm typing on my iPad instead of on my computer. Which means there is a higher chance of there being typos in this chapter. When I have the chance to go on my computer (when it starts working again), I'll fix the possible typos.*

*Since I only know how to change font colors on my computer, all text will be in the original black. (Until I can fix it on my computer.)*

*Oh, another thing. I'm gonna be really busy on upcoming weekends as well, so the next chapter won't be posted in a while either.*

*I've also not been posting chapters in a while because I've been on writer's block/lacking inspiration for story ideas. For where the story is now. But I do have ideas for the end/2nd story. But not ideas for now. (Just check my DA. XD). (I'm weird lol)*

*Well, enjoy this cruddy chapter! Once the school year ends for me, I'll try to make better chapters. And actually start that story side-blog. Hehe.*

*Oh, right. The chapter. Well, enjoy (I guess)!*
*Edit: Went on computer and changed POV names' colors. Because colors are fun.*

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ARDERE

I grimace as Autumn tears the tiny thorn that got stuck in my shoulder fur with her teeth. When she spits it on the ground, she reluctantly sighs. I look at the sharp end of the thorn on the dirt floor. Crimson red covers that end and starts trickling off the tip onto the pale brown ground. A thin path of red trails after the thorn's tip. By instinct, I turn my head to look over my left shoulder. A tiny spot of the crimson red is there, increasing rapidly. I lick the blood that's pouring out of the tiny wound; the thick, hot, slightly salty taste of my own blood practically begging me to vomit. Despite feeling about to pass out, I clean the rest of the excess blood off the back of my left shoulder. When I can see the golden color of my fur again, I stare at the distinguishable wide zig-zag shape that covers a large majority of my left shoulder. The shape reminds me of a lightning bolt- only much, much smaller. I sigh and look up at Autumn.

"Thanks," I mumble, feeling slightly embarrassed. I hate having to rely on my younger sister so often. Too often.

But despite that, I love her for always having my back. No matter what the circumstance may be. 

"No problem," she says briskly, standing up. The ebulliance in her voice is long gone now. Father must have really hurt her. 

He hurt both of us. 

It should've just been me.

Why did I drag Autumn into this mess? 

I immediately jump to my feet. Intruder!

Autumn looks at me tiredly. "What is it now, Ardie?" 

A weight lifts off my chest. She isn't too depressed to not call me by her nickname for me. That alone makes me feel slightly better.

"That voice... Who is that?" I ask, perking an ear up. I then run towards the sound of the unfamiliar voice, my ears guiding my way.

I hear Autumn sigh and reluctantly follow me. 

I halt in surprise at the place where the voice originated from. Inside the enclosed area that is the leader's den. Our father's den. 

My suspicions rising, I cautiously step closer to the enclosed den's entrance. 

My ears rise and my eyes widen as I hear the unfamiliar voice again. It says with deep certainty in their voice, "None of them belong in Jamaa. They're just background experiments. Well, for the vast majority. Some of them are special experiments that are variables in a much larger test. They are a threat to Jamaa's society. So will you join us to exterminate the threats?"

After a moment's pause, I hear Father's voice. "Well, it depends. What do I gain from joining you?"

The other mysterious person pauses before speaking again. I hear a hint of dangerous laughter in their voice. "What do you gain, sir? You'll gain a just reason to punish your son."

My heart skips a beat. I eavesdrop on what they're saying again. "Your son is also a threat to Jamaa's society. I'll admit it's peculiar. Why is your son involved in the fate of foxes?" 

"My son once visited fox territory."

 I imagine Father saying that with a straight face. It wasn't intentional- it was an accident!

"Well, your son is a special experiment. Just like the foxes that are special experiments."

Father asks a question. "How do I know that they are "special experiments" and not just ordinary beings?"

"They are threatful special experiments because they all have Elemental Powers. They are extremely dangerous in our world. I suggest exterminating your son as soon as possible."

"An Elemental Power, huh? What is my son's then?" 

 "Stay focused! Just get rid of your son when you still have the chance."

Rage is filling me up. Why does he have to be against foxes so much? Why does he have to hate me- his own son- so much? Why...

I don't know exactly how it happened. What... just... happened? 

The next thing I know is I'm inside Father's den, the den's entrance barrier charred to a crisp, and that I am feeling the very definition of hatred.

Oh, and my fur is also glowing. Just like who I was destined to be.

Ardere, the one who glows. Brighter than even lightning. 

So I also have an Elemental Power, eh? 

Well, I think I just figured out what mine is. 

TWINKLE

We decided to walk down to the beach since it's in the direction of where Dawn is supposedly. And by now I know Duke won't say "no" for an answer. So we decided to walk across the vast plain nothingness to get to the beach that's on fox territory's edge of Jamaa into the true unknown. And now Duke and I are walking on the beach's boardwalk.

I pop the last bit of icecream cone into my mouth, chewing on it slowly. I finally swallow it, and look at Duke suspiciously. 

Duke finishes his icecream sundae as well, and gives me a look. "What?" he asks, a hint of annoyance that's been there ever since the discussion about the caves and Dawn in his voice. 

"Aren't you the least bit suspicious about why they did that?" I ask.

"About what?" Duke smirks and then tosses the napkins in a nearby trashcan. Little kids exchange quick glances with each other, and run out of the way so Duke can walk back towards me more easily. Suspiciously easy.

He shrugs. "Weird," he says, referring to the little kids. 

"Exactly," I say. "Why are so many people trying their best to avoid us?"

"They're scared of us," Duke says with a straight face and then grins.

 When he says that, I can't help but feel all tense inside. Ever since that night out there, being with Duke has felt... different. Ever since that night- the night when Duke's orange flames faded to black- being around him never felt the same ever again. 

"Well, you are pretty scary," I say, then laugh softly and awkwardly. I hope I didn't sound too serious when I said that.

Duke gives me a more serious look, and then we walk along the boardwalk again. Other foxes run to the sides, so Duke and I can walk pass. I hear a little boy say to who looks like his mother, "I-Is that him? Wh-Why is he here? I'm getting scared--" and then watch as she pushes him closer to the side of the walkway where all the shops and restaurants are located. Through the bustling crowd of all different kinds of foxes speed-walking through, I see the little boy shakily point a finger at Duke. "You two don't belong here. G-Go away!"

He then chases after his mother, leaving Duke and me awkwardly alone. 

Duke shrugs. "Kids are weird these days." 

"It's as if they'll do anything to be as far away from us. Remember that girl at the icecream stand?" I say.

Duke and I got our icecream by waiting on an icecream line like normal people who want to get icecream. When the girl was holding two icecream sundaes, she turned around to exit the line. When her gaze landed on Duke and me- the next two in line-, she put the two icecream cones into the icecream worker's paws, and fled the stand as fast as she could. When Duke and I were first in line, the worker gave us the two icecreams the girl abandoned. He was shuddering as he gave us the icecream sundaes. But since we were really hungry, we accepted the icecream and walked away. Many, many wide eyes stared at us as we walked out of the line. 

Overall, it was really weird.

Suddenly I hear a beachball bouncing on the boardwalk's floor behind Duke's feet. He abruptly halts, and looks down at the beachball. 

Based on his current look, I look down at the beachball too. It's covered in a thin layer of sand, grains of sand falling off the ball and onto the floor.

"D-Did the ball hit you?" I ask hesitantly. 

"Yeah," he mutters, grabbing the bottom of his shirt and jacket in his right paw. As he moves his right paw, many grains of sand roll off his back. It results in a large, thin layer of sand collecting behind his feet.

When I'm about to say something, a bunch of little- but not as little as the boy who got pushed away from us by his mother- kids walk towards the sand-covered beachball. When a boy picks up the beachball, he looks up at Duke and me and gulps. "S-Sorry," he stammers, and then turns around to walk away from us and to join the rest of his group of friends who stand back a distance from us. 

When he is about to take another step in the direction of his friends, Duke places a paw on his right shoulder. The boy looks all tensed up, and wriggles out of Duke's hold. 

"Go away from me," Duke says curtly facing me, and faces the boy's back again. 

The sudden brightness in his eyes tells me he isn't gonna accept "no" as an answer, so I take a few steps back in the direction away from Duke and that kid.

I hear Duke growl at the boy, "Why'd you do that?"

The boy stammers again. "I-It was an accident. I-I didn't mean to h-hit you. I won't do it again, I p-promise."

I see very tiny trails of steam where the base of Duke's neck is. The kind that comes right before embers start and a fire appears. I gulp and take a small step closer to Duke and the kid. 

"You're full of... Full of... Never mind that. Do you honestly expect me to believe such promises? The ones by those who never mean what they say?!" Duke yells at the boy. 

Poor kid...

I stand still, horrified as I realize I was right. The hints of steam did in fact lead to a fire. Two fairly large fiery wings shoot out from right under Duke's shoulderblades. The kid just stands there in front, probably paralyzed in fear. 

Run, kid, run! Run away now! I beg the kid, in my head. I won't dare to say those words out loud. Especially since Duke is literally right there. 

But the kid doesn't. In fact, he doesn't move a single muscle. I curse myself. 

"You'll pay..." I hear Duke whisper, a hint of figurative poison in his voice. He bends his knees, so he looks at the kid's face straight-on. The fiery wings that shoot out of his shoulderblades, shoot in the direction of his back, and when he lowers to the little kid's head level, the tips of the wings face upward toward the clear blue sky. 

"Listen, I didn't mean to ruin your jacket. Just buy another one or something," the kid says. 

At that moment, Duke's black jacket turns into black flames. Toxic, deadly black flames that are concealed in a jacket. 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..." the kid gasps.

"This isn't an ordinary jacket, you idiot!" Duke yells at the kid. 

Duke turns around to look in my direction for a brief moment. His eyes have turned to hot, boiling, concealed bright amber flames. In fact, tiny bright orange sparks cover every tip of fur on his entire body. 

He turns back around to the poor little kid again. He screeches, his fiery wings moving with the soft breeze, "WHY DON'T I JUST KILL YOU NOW!" 

Fire alarms finally start ringing in the distance. I imagine lifeguards running to where we are from far, far away. I silently swear in my head over and over again. 

I hear Duke shriek again. "THAT'S THE ONLY WAY TO REPAY FOR WHAT YOU DID! FOR EVERYONE TO PAY! EVERYONE HAS TO PAY FOR THEIR ACTIONS! EVERYONE HAS TO DIE!" 

Duke is becoming the darker side of himself. He's turning into his past self. The very definition of a dark past. Fierdan...

"THE WORLD FIRST HAS TO BURN BEFORE IT'S GOOD AGAIN! EVERYONE HAS TO DIE!" 

When I see lifeguards running towards Duke in the corner of my eye, I daringly run into the deadly scene. I grab Duke's boiling hot wrist, and pull him away from the scene as fast as I can. 

I look back and see so many frightened eyes. 

I know why these people are so terrified. 

They must be terrified because they know. 

They know who he really is.

DUKE

She saved my life... She saved my life... again. I wipe my wet eyes with the back of my paw. All the flames start burning out, but my heartbeat doesn't slow down at all. 

I blink, my eyes adjusting to the sudden darkness of this hidden alleyway. 

"Duke, you're... you're a monster." I hear her voice again. 

When I face her, I don't know why she looks a mix of all bad emotions. Sadness, anger, puzzlement, confusion, self-hatred for loving...

Tears fall out of eyes. I whisper, "I... I know I am." 

My eyes widen in the dark alleyway corner, as her arms suddenly wrap around me. 

I hear her whisper, her arms still wrapped around me in a tight hug, "I... I know you are. And... And that's another reason why I can't ever let you go. I need to always be around my monster. Because... Because... I still love you." 

We don't let go of each other until both our shoulders are soaked in tears. 

ANOYMOUS POV

I'm so sorry. Please, please forgive me. For everything. 

I'm breaking. I can't handle this pain I've endured for over a century. 

Please die and put me out of my misery.

I'm begging you, Duke. Please... die. 

So we can both finally be truly free. 

Please...