Twinkle's Story: Chapter 70

*warning, just in case*

ANONYMOUS POV

It's only a dream. This isn't real.

With his eyes remaining closed, he flipped the pillow over. The cool and soft fabric tickled the left side of his face.

He was pretty sure that he was dreaming, but he wasn't certain. It seemed too realistic for it to only be a dream.

When he settled down again, he was disappointed to still find him standing there. The young man noticed that the guy standing at the end of the bed had a striking resemblance to himself. They had vaguely similar faces, the same colored hair, and the same lightly tan skin tone.

Except there was something off about him. He was appearing rather empty. He looked like he was only a spirit; he also looked like a hollow body.

You're not human, so tell me. Who and what are you? 

The guy standing near the bed opened his mouth. There was something off about him flashing his teeth. It was as if all his teeth were sharp. They all looked like fangs, definitely not human teeth.

He brushed the index and middle finger of his right hand just an inch away from his teeth. Something was off about his nails too. They looked strangely black and sharp. Then he lowered his hand; the two fingers pointed down at the floor.

"Hello brother," the guy said as his fingers brushed the side of his leg.

Danny? Is that really you?

He inched closer to the bed. In under a minute, they were staring each other in the eye.

The guy's voice reminded him of venom. The words and how he said them sounded as if he was spitting out a venomous substance.

"I have one thing to tell you," he said as he raised his hand in front of his face.

There was a mad look in his eyes as he flashed his strange teeth again. He slowly lowered his index finger, so only his middle finger wasn't in a fist.

For a few minutes, the guy only spat out swear words. He had a liking for ones that started with the letter, f.

It might have been because of the room's artificial light. It looked as if a dark red trail was twisting around his raised middle finger.

The man on the bed pulled his knees closer to his chest. His brother was making him very uncomfortable.

"Do you still believe me to be weak? Struggling against your creation's abuse doesn't make me weak. I am not the weak one, dear brother. You are the weak one."

He lowered his hand again.

"Your creation made me hate our father by brutal force. It did things to me. It threatened me to do things. Your creation hurt me severely all the time. If our father hadn't already made my life turn into a living hell, then you did for creating Soulless."

Soulless. I created Soulless behind our father's back. I didn't know how terrible the end result would turn out.

"How long has it been? Ten years, thirty years, a hundred years? How long did I have to suffer due to Soulless being a part of me? How long did I have to suffer because of how much you hated Zios? Do you have any idea how long you made me suffer for?"

I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Danny. 

"You hated our father so much, but I ended up the one hating him more. I did what Soulless wanted me to do for so many years. It abused me physically and mentally until I wanted to kill him myself. It made me kill many people. I'm obviously not a damn human, stupid. I lost my humanity a long time ago, and it's your fault. It's more your fault than father's!"

I am sorry. You've grown up so much. I can't believe what I helped turn my little Daniel into. I wish I could turn back time, so we could go back to the happy days. Days when we were both happy. The time when our mother was alive and no Jamaa project existed.

He even laughs. It's definitely not a child's laughter.

"I killed our damn father. Your creation made me hate him to that point. Screw you and him. You were all wrong. I'm not weak at all. I've been straight to hell and back. I'm stronger than the three of you will ever be."

The two brothers were now less than an inch away from each other. One grinned; the other gulped.

"Guess who I'm going to kill next?" 

Why are you still killing after you killed Zios? The main goal Soulless wanted you to have was for you to perform the ultimate revenge on Zios. You have made our father pay the price of death. What more do you want?

"I'm going to kill your Soulless creation. You are dead to me, my dear brother."

The man woke up covered in a cold sweat. He sat up and pulled his knees to his chest.

No one's here. It was just a dream. 

He hastily grabbed the pair of glasses on his nightstand.

But when he put them on, he swore he saw an unidentifiable figure walking further and further away from the end of the bed.

DUKE

What is with those two? Why do they have to be like that?

Then I hear her voice. This time it's Dawn's.

Before she can say anything else, I yell at the door. "Leave me alone!"

She clearly doesn't get my hints. I'm a bit surprised to hear how calm her voice is.

Hate me, gosh darn it! I'm yelling at you, so fight me back!

"We have to do more training," she says. "Oh and can you please tell me why you left the rooms. Twinkle is only trying to help you. Did I say something wrong?"

I should have killed you when I had the chance. You make me want to kill myself before Fierdan comes.

"I don't want to do more training, okay? Please go away and leave me alone," are the words I say aloud.

Then I hear Twinkle's voice.

"Ugh, come on! Unlock the door now, Duke!"

What are you mad about? You tired me out, and all I'm asking for is a break. You've got your point across, Twinkle. You're clearly better than me. 

I sigh in complete frustration. "I'm exhausted and want a break."

"It's been an hour. Open up," Twinkle says.

Getting up to my feet, I mutter, "Fine," and unlock the door.

I fall back onto the bed when they enter the room.

The questions keep on coming. I try to avoid looking at them by looking at the beige ceiling instead. That, of course, doesn't stop them.

"Why did you ditch us?" Twinkle asks.

I give up on trying to ignore them. I sit up and let my legs dangle off the edge of the bed.

"It was because you were right. You know how to do Elemental Power abilities better than I can. I'm annoyed because I first taught you how to summon fire at the most basic level."

"You should have said something then. It's not my fault if I shattered your false ego," she says.

Dawn goes up behind her and puts a paw on her shoulder.

"That's enough, Twinkle."

Twinkle sighs and slowly walks toward the door. She looks back at Dawn and me before twisting the door knob and leaving the room.

Dawn joins me on the bed. Her left foot knocks into my right one.

"Okay, it's just you and me now. Can you please tell why you left the room when we were talking before?"

Being my stubborn self, I tell her no.

"Duke, I'm being serious. Was it something I said?"

I roll my eyes and mimic her voice. "Was it something I said?"

She also rolls her eyes. "Do you have the slightest idea how disgusted and violated I feel? Do you think I'm happy upon knowing that I'm the half-sister to Zios's children? Guess what, Duke? I'm not happy at all. I feel so stupid for having that very big and crucial memory zapped from my brain."

Before she can say anything else, I speak up.

"That wasn't the last straw for me. That wasn't the reason why I left the room."

Dawn faces me with her bright emerald green eyes.

"Then why did you?"

I breathe out slowly. "It's because my appearance is a lie. If you hadn't used your magic to heal me, I would be covered in scars."

I get off the bed. "I can finally put a word to what you did to me back then. You made my scars visible and then invisible because of your magic. If it wasn't for you, I would look as much as a wreck on the outside as I do on the inside."

I look down at my shirt. It still is the red shirt with the black fire design.

"Okay, I admit it. Maybe you were right. You used your magic to take off my clothes to see all my cuts and bruises. I know you can magically switch our outfits. I guess I did go a little too far that day. If you were planning on doing something to me that I had in mind, then you could have easily removed all our clothes. But, obviously, you didn't."

Dawn laughs softly. "Oh, I'm just like Calliah. We both gave you questionable first impressions, but now you know that we both have the great role of caring about you and being your protectors. I know we both lied quite a lot to you, so it's going to take a while for you to let go and forgive us. It's okay though, Duke."

 I interlock my fingers and put both my paws behind my head.

"Want to know something I didn't tell Twinkle? That I don't want you to ever tell her?" I ask her.

Dawn hesitates for a moment before saying, "Sure. What is it?"

Well, here it goes. 

"I want to get better. However, now that I know that you've been using magic on me, I doubt that it's even possible for me to fully heal myself. I want my body to be clean again; I want my mind to be clear. I want this chaos to stop. It can't ever stop though. I'm the Duke Fierdan. I'm the puppet of Zios, Soulless, and Fierdan himself. As long as I'm alive in this body, I won't ever be at peace with myself. For so long I've been trying to trick myself into thinking I'm okay again. But, come on, Dawn. What's the point? I had troubles way before I knew I'm a form of Fierdan."

It's hard to continue. Twinkle isn't here, but what if Dawn tells her? What will she think of me then? 

The look Dawn gives me, however strange it may be, comforts me.

I can do this. I can't hide away forever. 

"I'm also annoyed with Twinkle because of who she is. I care about her too much, especially considering all I've done to her. She reminds me too much of myself, and it haunts me. We are parallels, and not just because she has the cold blue version of the fire Elemental Power. I can't help but to feel like she's copying me. I don't want her to be like me. She wants to kill someone from school. Do you know how haunting it is to hear her say that? Twinkle reminds me of myself, but now it's not in a good way. Oh and before that, she told me she harmed herself too for whatever reason. Dawn, she did the same thing that I did. I can't stand being around her for too long. I see parts of myself in her, and I hate it so much. I just want to stop. Why the hell do I care about her so much? Why the hell was I like that? Darn it, Dawn! Make it stop!"

Push my darkness into the light. 

I realize that I'm slightly shaking. Dawn gently touches my wrist with the tips of her fingers.

"The real reason why I was in the hospital right after the field trip accident was because I felt like it might have been my fault. I have a phantom flame marking on my heart, and phantoms came. Back then even if I didn't know how, I did know that I was the one to blame for having the phantoms come. I knew that phantoms caused her sister to die. When I saw that phantoms could have killed her as well, I lost it."

I pause and only focus on breathing. I then continue since I can't go back now.

"I never told Twinkle before that time in the hospital that I felt myself falling in love with her. Until we figured out that she has ice powers and I have fire, I couldn't figure out why my feelings for her were so different than with any other girl. I'll admit it. At one point, I even thought that perhaps I won't ever have those types of feelings for a girl. That maybe I could have the feelings for a boy instead. So anyway, I used the accident and the ice as excuses."

Say it already. Bring the dark into the light.

"I felt so guilty. I completely lost it. I knew where those feelings led me to before, and I didn't want to go back to that low of a point again. But it was hard. It was so freaking hard, Dawn. I couldn't put any explanations to it, and of course I couldn't tell anyone why. They would call me a freak for my phantom flame and the fact that my mental state has always been a mess. The only person I knew who understood why I have a phantom flame was my mother, Calliah. But as you're well aware, we didn't have the best relationship until Fierdan locked up Soulless. Well anyway, I felt extremely guilty and helpless."

I turn away from Dawn and lower my head. If I could see myself, I bet I look like that scared child I was that knew his mother hated him but not knowing why.

"The reason why I was in the hospital right away wasn't even because I wanted to see Twinkle as soon as possible. I lied about that. The real reason why I was there is because I admitted myself to the hospital to stay the night after the accident. I didn't sleep on the Tall Tower's roof that night. I made sure I was safe in the hospital, so I wouldn't think of, uh, doing anything bad."

I look at Dawn.

"I had conflicting thoughts about living or dying way before this whole Fierdan and black flames thing started. You see, Dawn, that day's events triggered something off in my brain. It caused me to have suicidal thoughts. But just like how Twinkle ruins me now, she saved me back then."

I don't have to worry about Dawn telling Twinkle everything I just said. Because when we exit the room, I see Twinkle standing right by the door.

But she isn't alone. Ardere is with her.

TWINKLE

Since Duke is at a lost of words, Dawn speaks for him.

"Did you two hear everything he said?" she asks Ardere and me.

I look at Ardere and back at her. We nod our heads at the same time.

"Yeah, sorry," Ardere whispers. "I'm sorry about eavesdropping and going outside before."

Dawn's eyes widen. "You went outside when I specifically told you not to?"

"Yeah," I say. "I caught this rambunctious pup outside. I brought him inside, and then, well, then we sat by the door. Sorry."

Duke, looking up at the ceiling for whatever reason, finally finds his words.

"So you two heard everything? That's fantastic. Now I know better to keep certain things to myself."

I sigh. "Look Duke, Ardere and I have the right to know what you told Dawn. Especially since you were talking about me. I don't know what the big deal is. Now you don't have to repeat yourself."

Duke's paws are in fists. I have the feeling that he's struggling not to cry.

"You don't get it. You won't ever get it."

I stand on the tips of my toes, so I'm eye-level with him.

"What don't I get?" I say, looking into his eyes.

"I finally understand why you have ice powers," Duke says. "It's because you are cold and insensitive."

When I kiss him on the cheek, I also bite.

"Excuse me? I have a good reason to be cold and insensitive."

"What is it? Why are you being such a jerk to me nowadays?"

I stomp my foot because of how frustrated I am. "And you haven't ever acted like a jerk to me or to anyone else here," I say sarcastically.

Duke glares at me as he rubs his cheek with a finger. "We were away from each other for two weeks."

I cut him off before he can say anything. "And I was isolated away from reality for those two weeks. Black Raven, my bird affiliate, trapped me in this ice castle. I don't know how, but Ardere could enter."

He looks down at Ardere. The wolf smiles back at him.

"When I finally left that place, I decided to change myself. I didn't want to be weak anymore. Being weak has made so many people take advantage of me. I decided to change myself, so I wouldn't be weak ever again. I'm not the same girl I was back in school."

Ardere pipes in. "Yeah, I bet. We first met each other in May, and now it's September. I hope we all changed since then."

I smile at him. "Yeah, and I'm never going back to who I used to be."

Ha Ha I Hate

Hi.

I updated the chapter list on my other blog. As of now, it's up to date.

Well anyway, I just want to say it now. Thanks a lot for almost 125,000 views. That's a big number.

Now onto the post...

Do you want to know what I really hate? Haha?

It's the story.

I hate it.

It's so stupid. It's funny how stupid it is. Lmao I hate it.

I got another project to do before my spring break.

I don't have time to post chapters this week.

But my stupid brain won't stop thinking of the stupid story.

I want to post Chapter 70 before the weekend now.

I don't have time. School sucks and I got work to do.

But I want to write so badly.

Haha, I hate myself.

That's not the only reason why I hate the story though.

I also hate it because of the characters, the plot, the.. everything.

Don't worry. I won't accidentally quit the story for another year like last time. At least I hope so.

It's just that.. I don't know. I can't help to hate it.

For the 60s arc, I've been trying to write the reasons why Fierdan is the way that he is. Well, you know, how/why he killed people.

And so I've been trying to get the point across: Fierdan killed people because he hated how everyone except him and Dawn were happy in Jamaa (or if I choose an original name, then that) and how they were praising his father, Zios (or if I choose an original name, then that).

Like, I don't know, I guess that was his motive.

And yet. I feel like that's nowhere near enough of a decent explanation.

I still can't think of any explanation to give for why Fierdan wanted to kill so many ordinary people.

I mean yeah, there is Soulless in his head manipulating and hurting him if he doesn't do what Soulless asks.

But like. That's not enough. Okay, I know.

Soulless was a program that Zios forced Fierdan's brother to create. They both worked on it, but the brother did a lot more secret coding for it behind his father's back.

The brother basically coded in for Soulless to hate Zios so much. Which then made Fierdan hate Zios so much. But due to how Soulless got their points across to him, Fierdan grew to hate Soulless a lot too.

About the brother, I honestly don't like having to refer to him as Fierdan's brother. I'll admit it. I've been in this conflict for a while.

I want to give him a name. I want to reveal it in the story. Especially in the 70s arc since I'm planning on including his POV a few times in this new arc. But at the same time, I don't know if I should reveal his name yet. Half of me wants to reveal his name in the 70s arc, and half of me wants me to reveal his name to the fox characters when they're humans in the human world.

About the human world, I have to think of a name for it. I don't want to name it a country like the United States or whatever. So I'm stuck on a name for that too.

Anyway, back to my Fierdan point. I'm stuck and can't think of how he was able to kill so many people.

Ugh. When I first introduced his character, I made him this creepy guy who killed hundreds of people. But now when I think about it, all I can think of is- how? How in the world can that happen? That makes no sense.

Way too many people. How did he kill so many people? Why was I such an awful writer when I was 15? It's so hard to fix all my story mistakes.

And like. How could he come in contact with people to kill them? What was 15 (or was it 14) year old me thinking? That, what, people casually go into Fierdan's castle (why is he even in a castle.. wth) and Fierdan says hello and kills them? What the hell? Or that Fierdan goes outside once a month or whatever and chooses people to enter his castle by force. And then he kills them. Like, excuse me but, what?

And why wasn't anyone doing anything to stop him if it was obviously him killing people?

Yeah guys. This is one reason out of a X number of reasons why I hate this story and think of it as a joke now.

Fierdan, my dear, you're being way too unrealistic.

For the 70s arc, I'm planning on including:

- At least 1 character death.
- Fierdan's brother being very nervous about Soulless and Fierdan.
- Past - Human chapters. (Zios's sons and Dawn in the human world; pre-Fierdan).
- Past - Jamaa chapters. (Dawn and Fierdan when they were both alive in the living physical world).
- Reasons why Twinkle's personality changed so much between the 50s arc and 60s arc. (It has something to do with being isolated from everyone for a week or two).
- Dramatic changes in other characters.

That's all I will say.

Repeating

From the other post. But Cutepups the fool won't be bad by swearing.

Please read this post though.

Uhm.

:'^)

. . . . . .

Life sucks. School is stressful. I have standardized testing and projects to do.

Sigh. Sigh, sigh. Sigh, sigh. Sigh.

The testing program didn't even work today. So I actually didn't take it today. Lol wow.

I woke up from like a 4 hour nap not too long ago. What the heck.

Since I posted 5 chapters in a row instead of thinking about how reality sucks, I lost an hour or two of sleep for a week.

Why, you may ask? Because. I love suffering.

Fantasy and fictional worlds are better than reality.

Now onto my cursed Twinkle's Story talk.

I'm treating the story seriously and as a complete joke at the same time.

Emotional stuff, deaths, ages, worlds, relationships are all making me suffer. The plot twists and emotional stuff are confusing the heck out of me. I love suffering and confusing myself. It's great.

My children: Twinkle my blue daughter and queen, Dawn my green daughter and queen, Ardere my happy light sunshine boy, Duke my problematic emo son, Fauna my angel girl, Finny because why not, and Fierdan my very problematic troubled brain son who I love so much.

Pre-Fierdan Daniel though. Oh my. My love. My child.

Starts to cry.

This is me after posting any chapter in the 60s arc: Wow, I love my son. I love my daughters. I love my children. Fierdan, my boy! Wow, I love Fierdan. Wow, wow!

Viewers: Why do you love your killer character so much? What is wrong with you, you heathen?
Me: Because. Uh.... *has difficulty finding words to say without spoiling anything*
Viewers: You cryptid fool.
Me: Gotta. *finger guns* Love my problematic fav.
Viewers: What about Duke?
Me: Oh, I love Duke too. I just have Fierdan more up the scale for my favorite characters.
Viewers: What about Twinkle and Dawn?
Me: Well, I used to really hate Dawn. After thinking out her past some more, I changed my mind. I love her so much now, guys, it's incredible. She needs a break. Zios with her pre-Jamaa, Fierdan with her in Jamaa.. gosh, give Dawn a break. Twinkle, well, I find it hard to put her on the same scale as Dawn and him. I love Twinkle a lot too, but right now I think I'm loving Dawn and Danny's characters more.

After every chapter in the 60s arc I post, I sing and cry "Danny boy, Danny boy" in my room at midnight.

This 60s arc was all about Fierdan. At least kinda. Lots of him in these ten chapters, huh guys? All about that past. Fierdan, Dawn, flashbacks, the human world.

The 70s arc is going to be emotional. Whew, I'm not sure if I'm ready to start typing chapters in the 70s.

That's why I'm not gonna post a new chapter for at least a week. Haha.

Omg just watch me make this cursed story have 100 chapters. Oh god please no. Just don't, Cutepups. Do not.

My 60s arc aesthetic: Twinkle knowing things before Duke, Twinkle punching Duke in the face, Twinkle insulting Duke, Twinkle slapping Duke across the face.......

Wow, I love Twinkle. My blue daughter.

But come on, girl. Tsk, tsk. You're frustrated with Duke and yourself. You're frustrated because you're still attracted to him.

Damn it, Twinkle. Just go be with Dawn already.

In Chapter 68, Twinkle is basically telling Duke he sucks because she still unfortunately loves him.

And what does my blue daughter do? She kisses him.

I'm crying. Twinkle why.

I'm drawing Danny and Dawn as cute human flower children. And they look so cute. I hope I don't screw up the line-art and coloring though.

*cough* Towards end of Chapter 64 *cough*

Know what really gets me? After a little over 100 years, he's standing up for himself against Soulless's abusive behavior. Like I know I haven't really said it, but Fierdan/Daniel has been abused/manipulated all his life. I might get more into it in the 70s arc though.

Not to reveal too much but. As children, Zios (I really should change the name because in my story Zios is such a terrible person who's done terrible things, and he's a good character thing in AJ and like what if AJ is gonna condemn me if they found out about me.. ahem) is in one way or another abusive and/or manipulative (more like both) to the three.

Perhaps Fierdan killed Zios because he was so done with what he made him, his brother, their mother, and Dawn go through.

Yeah idk where I'm going with this.

I really should go back and change every time I use the words Zios, Jamaa, Mira, and (maybe) phantoms to new and original words. Because like. This story ain't no AJ fanfic anymore. Dorothy ain't in Kansas anymore.

Ya. Ain't. Yaint.

Cursed word. Gasp.

Know what I find so cute? Fierdan basically rescuing Fauna in Chapter 67. 

I find how Fierdan with Fauna in Chapter 67 was so cute because of what Duke was thinking a few chapters before that. Duke was thinking about how he'll hurt anyone who dares hurt Fauna even though he kinda caused her to die. And since he can't really go to Fauna, Fierdan did instead. And Eternal was being mean to Fauna. So Fierdan hurt him (basically just choking him).

*thinks about Fierdan's actions in some chapters* .... kinkshaming you, boy.

Lol me.

Going around naked, choking someone, that scene in Chapter 60 ("Hurt me"), Fierdan and Dawn, Fierdan wanting Soulless to hurt him.. welp. 

This is basically Fierdan lol:

Someone: *talks about how much Fierdan is an evil killer (I mean he technically is, it's just that he's kinda very misunderstood)*
Fierdan: okay
Someone: *says the word "zios" in a positive way*
Fierdan: *goes up to the person in a threatening way before hurting them* what did you say? you want me to beat you up now?

Taurel is growing more and more messed up. He thinks of Risak as an idiot, he's obsessed with torturing Fierdan (he thinks Duke = Fierdan but that's not exactly true), he even chops his own paw off.

He's mad crazy.

Sparkle and Taurel aren't exactly on the same page. They're thinking two completely different things.

Who am I missing? Oh yeah. Ardere, my boy.

Ardere is so pure. My little child. He stayed by Duke's side for the entire time he was screaming. He thought he was inadequate because he's a wolf. But then Dawn, Duke, and Twinkle tell him about all the good he's done and how he affected their lives for the better in Chapter 66. I think that part was so sweet. Aww.

paw: hand 
In the story, paw is the substitute word for hand. Paw doesn't mean like an actual dog paw or whatever. It's like the same thing as a human hand. It's just that they call hands, paws.

claw: nail
Paws have claws. Like how human hands have nails, fox "paws" have claws. Claws are what they call nails. And unlike paws, claws are shaped differently than nails. Claws are actually shaped like dog claws. At least kind of.

Foxes in the story are more like humans than actual foxes. I think of all the characters (ok maybe Ardere not as much) as being humans. Foxes are just like humans but they have tails and triangle ears instead. That's basically it. Oh and I draw their noses as circle shapes rather than as vertical lines.

Vixen and reynard are swear words. Freaking (depending on the context but usually) is another swear word.

Who in their right mind still thinks this story is still suitable for children? Like, idk, people under 11-13?

Eh.

I should update the chapter list on my other blog. I'll do it later. At some point.

Bye.

Alright I'm done (explicit lol)

Alright I'm done. This post won't be a chapter. Um lol.

So anyway. Hey guys.

Whew, I posted a lot of chapters. Haha, you're welcome.

Life sucks. I don't want to deal with real life things. School is stressful.

So in ignoring all that, I decided to just post some chapters.

Fictional worlds are better than reality, that's for sure.

I won't post a new chapter for at least a week. I also won't be blogging as much for this upcoming week or two.

Let's just say. School is a pain in the butt. It's stressful.

I have standardized testing nearly every day for this upcoming school week. It starts tomorrow.

On top of that, I have projects to do during the week too.

So yeah. Fun, fun, so freaking fun! I die lol.

I got less sleep than I usually get. Gotta make that sacrifice to make the chapters keep coming.

Well, this post seems too boring. Here, I'll bring up some more Twinkle's Story talk.

. . . . . .

(bad language, very bad, kill me lol, swear words are here, huehuehueh)

This is me after posting any chapter in the 60s arc: Wow, I love my son. I love my daughters. Fierdan, my boy! Wow, I love Fierdan. Wow, wow!

Then it proceeds to me singing and crying "Danny boy" at midnight.

:'^) 

This 60s arc was all about Fierdan. At least kinda. Lots of him in these ten chapters, huh guys? All about that past. Fierdan, Dawn, flashbacks, the human world.

The 70s arc is going to be emotional. Whew, I'm not sure if I'm ready to start typing chapters in the 70s.

That's why I'm not gonna post a new chapter for at least a week. Haha.

Omg just watch me make this cursed story have 100 chapters. Oh god please no. Just don't, Cutepups. Do not.

My 60s arc aesthetic: Twinkle knowing things before Duke, Twinkle punching Duke in the face, Twinkle insulting Duke

Wow, I love Twinkle. My blue daughter.

But come on, girl. Tsk, tsk. You're frustrated with Duke and yourself. You're frustrated because you're still attracted to him.

Damn it, Twinkle. Just go be with Dawn already.

In Chapter 68, Twinkle is basically telling Duke he sucks because she still unfortunately loves him.

And what does my blue daughter do? She kisses him.

I'm crying. Twinkle why.

Oh, that's right. My aesthetic is also Twinkle and Duke in Chapter 69. She's basically wearing him out lol.

But, oh man, Dawn. I love my green daughter so much, guys. Like dang, I love her.

Whew, she went through so much. Zios's bullshit in the human world, Fierdan's bullshit in Jamaa.. like geez, give my daughter a break.

Don't take everything I'm typing here literally. I'm wording things out as my own personal jokes. I'm the writer lol.

Who do I love more? Dawn or Daniel (Fierdan)? Tough call.

I'm drawing the two of them as humans. As little children. My precious flower children.

I drew their faces and thought they both looked so cute.

They're so cute as human children.

Gosh okay, I love them.

Don't get me wrong. I love Ardere too. I love my light boy. Sunshine boy. Happy boy.

Oh yes, Fierdan. Wow, what a boy.

I'm crying because of everything about him. Gosh okay, everything's so emotional.

About emotional, Duke is basically an emo now.

Damn it, Duke.

Know what really gets me? After a little over 100 years, he's standing up for himself against Soulless's bullshit and abusive behavior. Like I know I haven't really said it, but Fierdan/Daniel has been abused/manipulated all his life. I might get more into it in the 70s arc though.

Not to reveal too much but. As children, Zios (I really should change the name because in my story Zios is such a shitty person and he's a good character thing in AJ and like what if AJ is like fu cutepups the fool.. ahem) is in one way or another abusive and/or manipulative (more like both) to the three.

Perhaps Fierdan killed Zios because he was so done with the bullshit he made him, his brother, their mother, and Dawn go through.

Yeah idk where I'm going with this.

Know what I find so cute? Fierdan basically rescuing Fauna in Chapter 67.

This is basically Fierdan lol:

Someone: *talks about how much Fierdan is an evil killer (I mean he technically is, it's just that he's kinda very misunderstood)*
Fierdan: okay
Someone: *says the word "zios" in a positive way*
Fierdan: *goes up to the person in a threatening way before hurting them* what did you say, you little bitch?

I find how Fierdan was with Fauna was so cute because of what Duke was thinking a few chapters before that. Duke was thinking about how he'll hurt anyone who dares hurt Fauna even though he kinda caused her to die. And since he can't really go to Fauna, Fierdan did instead. And Eternal was being mean to Fauna. So Fierdan hurt him (basically just choking him).

Taurel is growing more and more messed up. He thinks of Risak as an idiot, he's obsessed with torturing Fierdan (he thinks Duke = Fierdan but that's not exactly true), he even chops his own paw off.

He's mad crazy.

Sparkle and Taurel aren't exactly on the same page. They're thinking two completely different things.

Who am I missing? Oh yeah. Ardere, my boy.

Ardere is so pure. My little child. He stayed by Duke's side for the entire time he was screaming. He thought he was inadequate because he's a wolf. But then Dawn, Duke, and Twinkle tell him about all the good he's done and how he affected their lives for the better in Chapter 66. I think that part was so sweet. Aww.

Now have some word clarifications:

paw: hand
In the story, paw is the substitute word for hand. Paw doesn't mean like an actual dog paw or whatever. It's like the same thing as a human hand. It's just that they call hands, paws.

Foxes in the story are more like humans than actual foxes. I think of all the characters as being humans. Foxes are just like humans but they have tails and triangle ears instead. That's basically it.

claw: nail
Paws have claws. Like how human hands have nails, fox "paws" have claws. Claws are what they call nails. And unlike paws, claws are shaped differently than nails. Claws are actually shaped like dog claws. At least kind of.

freaking (in context of: "I freaking hate you"- Ch. 60, "you freaking reynard"- Ch. 68, "how freaking dare she"- Ch. 69, etc.): fucking (adj!)
It's like. To show more emphasis.

reynard: bastard
Reynard is basically the fox word equivalent of bastard.

vixen: bitch
Vixen is basically the fox word equivalent of bitch.

So yeah. Haha. Ha. Ha.

I'm a cryptid. Bye lmao.

*vanishes away into the night*

Twinkle's Story: Chapter 69

*content may be disturbing*

DAWN

Must please him. Must be a people pleaser. Must make sure he's happy. I will only be liked if I act that way. 

No, no, no.

I sit up in bed when I hear knocking at my bedroom door. Glancing at the clock on my nightstand, I see the numbers 4:36 am. 

I must have imagined it. No one's really here. 

When I'm about to lie down again, I hear Duke.

"Dawn? Can I come in? I want to talk to you," he says. 

I sigh when I get out of bed. While I open the door and he walks into the room, I rub my eyes.

"What do you want, Duke? It's four in the morning. Go back to sleep," I say and then yawn. 

He paces back and forth near the door. I go back to my bed and sit on it.

"I just had the weirdest dream," he says. "You told me that you and Fierdan are half-siblings."

I arch an eyebrow. "That wasn't a dream. I really did tell you that."

He approaches the side of the bed. He laughs but it's only making things more awkward. 

"That was only a joke, right? You were just joking, right Dawn?" 

I press my paws together. "Look, I'm not completely sure if it's true. Believe me, I would feel a lot better if I know my theories are false. But, well, I don't know, Duke. These human memories Fierdan and I have recently gotten back just seem to add up that we could be halflings."

Duke joins me on the bed. When he glances at me through the corner of his eye, I bury my face in my paws. 

"Well, quit thinking that ridiculous theory. You and Fierdan don't have the same father. You look nothing like him, so you two can't be related."

He looks directly at me. I close my eyes.

"I'll make you some of that tea. I hope you're okay, Dawn."

I feel water trailing through my fingers. Am I really crying? 

"That won't be necessary. I'm fine," I say. My voice sounds so muffled. 

I feel his right paw on my left shoulder. He's trying to comfort me. Nothing will comfort me. Nothing ever can.

"Besides, we kissed. Fierdan, you, me. We can't be--"

I remove my paws from my face; my claws dig into my palms. My knuckles make markings on my thighs. 

"I know that! We kissed; Fierdan and I kissed. So many times. I... I..."

I move over so his paw isn't on my shoulder anymore. I feel more tears.

"Don't touch me!" I say, raising my voice a little too much. 

Duke takes a deep breath. "You're so creepy and weird. Do you know that, Dawn? I can barely trust you and my full self. This thing is on a whole new level of creepy." 

"I didn't know until a few days ago. Back when I lived with Fierdan and when we kissed, I didn't know that there is a small chance that we could be related. About that kissing thing though, I was brought up in a way that taught me some pretty nasty stuff. Zios taught me that the only way for people, especially males, to like me was if I... if I..."

"If what?" Duke asks. 

"If I please them. I was taught that the only way for me to be loved was if I acted flirtatious around new people. That the only proper way for me to greet people was if I gave off the vibe that I was lustful and had to kiss people," I say and bury my face in my paws. "I was just a little girl. He- I mean Zios- manipulated us into thinking certain ways. He was so, so evil. I was lost and confused. I had nowhere else to go. I woke up to find my parents were gone. Zios took me in. Danny was so nice to me." 

"Fierdan was called Daniel or Danny in the human world, right?" 

I nod my head. Then the flashbacks come.

Fierdan and I are in the castle. We're in our late teens or early twenties. 

"Do you know why I pronounce my name the way that I do?" he asks me.

I answer him. "You want others to fear you. You want to be feared. Fear Dan. Fear Dawn. Fierdan."

He places his folded paws on the table and smiles. "I see that I have taught you well. I will make Zios fear me. The whole world will fear me. I even fear myself." 

Then another flashback.

We're a few years older. We're definitely in our twenties here. 

It's late. I confront him in a room that's like an office. 

"You have to stop this. You're getting out of control," I say.

Fierdan places a sword on the shelf. He doesn't even face me when he asks me why.

"You're killing innocent people. None of them know about the hell we went through. They don't know that Zios was a terrible person."

He faces me. "That's why I have to kill them. I always hear people outside glorifying Zios as if he's the god of Jamaa. That's not acceptable." 

"Zios is dead! Your father is dead! D-e-a-d dead."

"That doesn't mean anything."

"You killed Zios, Fierdan! He can't hurt us anymore. You had your revenge on him, so there is no reason for you to let out your anger at other people." 

I take a deep breath before saying, "Do lives of people mean absolutely nothing to you? Are people worth nothing? Lives have value, Fierdan! You can't just continue throwing people's lives away!"

Fierdan approaches me with a look of mad hysteria all over his face.

"Father taught me that people's lives are meaningless. People live only to die. You sure are one to talk. Zios threw our lives away and left us to die!" 

The flashbacks drift away from me when I hear Duke calling my name. 

I rub my eyes to find Duke wiping away the tears that stain my cheeks. 

I don't bother to push him away this time. I decide to continue my explaining. 

"Daniel- Fierdan- always looked more similar to his father than his mother. Think of yourself, Duke. You look more similar to your father than your mother. Fierdan and you both hate your fathers, but you both look more like them than your mothers."

I pause before continuing. 

"You don't know how different his mother looked as compared to his father. She looked nothing like Zios. What I'm trying to tell you is I think it's possible that Daniel and I have the same mother but very different fathers. Because of our fathers, we look like we couldn't be related. But we really could be." 

"Why didn't you ask Zios why he took you in? Why didn't you ask him why he called you 'daughter'? Why didn't you question anything?" Duke asks.

"How was I supposed to know that we had the same mother? Before she died, I never heard of Zios and his children. Zios never told me or them that I was their half-sister. That she left him behind his back to be with another man." 

I watch Duke close his eyes and say, "So Fierdan has a long-lost brother and sister then? How... interesting. What does his human mother look like, anyway?" 

I close my eyes too, so I can focus on concentrating better. "She had paler skin than Zios. She had gray-hazel eyes. She had dusky brown hair- the same shade of brown that mine is." 

We open our eyes. 

"That still doesn't explain why you acted so creepy and lustful when we first met each other," he says.

I sigh. "You were acting creepy and lustful back at me, Duke. I just told you that I grew up learning to flirt when meeting new boys. I think I might have influenced Fierdan to do the same. Well, with girls. I mean... I don't know. And besides, I never was actually interested in you romantically or anything like that when we first saw each other. You equating kissing to romance made you believe that I was creepily obsessed in falling in love with you. Haha, blame society for that. I'm isolated from society here because of its stupid ideologies." 

"You sure are a mystery, Dawn."

I laugh. "Haha, that's right. Add the fact that I have magic abilities in addition to my Elemental Power, and I wouldn't blame you if I was seen as creepy. Fierdan didn't explain anything about his magic abilities and the things he did to you, so I must have been a very weird girl in your eyes."

"About magic, how do you know Fierdan also has magic abilities like you do?"

"We use magic in very different ways. I use simple and less harmful magic while Fierdan uses very complex magic that could have painful consequences. This might have nothing to do with anything, but I'll tell you anyway. Zios, no matter how evil he was, lived as a genius. You, nor I, know how complicated it must have been to create a whole new world. His children were like child geniuses. All three of them were very smart individuals. Just in different ways, that is. When I hung out with the brothers, I always viewed myself as inadequate. Even now in Jamaa, I think Fierdan- technically you too I guess- is way smarter than I'll ever be. He could do magic more powerful than I ever could, than I ever can. The only reason I think I could be smarter than him is the reasoning behind my use of magic. I used magic to remove memories of the human world from Fierdan's brain, which then made you lose those memories too. I blocked your ties from Fierdan for so many years. I finally knew something that Fierdan knew nothing about. Because I stole it from him. I'm a deceiver." 

I glance at the clock. I see the numbers 5:21 am. 

I look straight at Duke. 

"You look more like Fierdan than you ever did before," I say while looking at his hair. It's nearly the same length as Fierdan's, and it's nearly black too. 

The dawn is almost upon us. It's almost morning. A new day. 

"Ever since I saw you in person, I really have been interested in you. Fierdan had a major part in creating you by using magic. He re-created himself. He created a living person- you. Of course I was so interested in seeing all of you," I say. "Think of it this way, Duke. Fierdan used magic to create and destroy; I used magic to deceive minds and bodies. If it wasn't for me, all your cuts and scars would be visible."

I must have said something wrong because as soon as I mentioned his scars, he got off the bed and left the room. 

TWINKLE

I run from room to room. We can't leave the building, so where is he?

Then I reach the artillery room. I open the door to see Duke practicing some training techniques. Dawn is also there.

I quietly growl. Duke is with her again.

He's wearing the same outfit that he wore yesterday when all four of us were aiming shots at targets using bow and arrows. Except his hair isn't tied up this time. 

It's early in the day. How long were they in here? 

Strangely enough, I don't see Duke using any fire. I go up to Dawn.

"What are you doing?" I ask, referring to her sitting on a bench watching Duke leap into the air and make punching and kicking motions while in midair before falling back to the floor. 

Dawn, still focusing on Duke, says, "Attack and defense techniques."

I smirk. "Attack and defense techniques? He's not even using any flames." I take off my black jacket and drop it on the bench. "I'll show Duke how it's done." 

I don't even give Dawn enough time to switch my clothes into a training outfit. I don't care about that though. I feel fine. 

I leap into the air without using any flames just like how Duke is doing. Except when Duke reaches the short height up when he does one punch and kick and falls back down, I let my blue wings come out. I'm twice as far from the floor as Duke is. I also let out twice the amount of punches and kicks in midair before falling to the floor. And instead of Duke's boring moves, I shoot blue ice-flames out from my fists and feet. They shoot out a few feet. And with a flip, I land on the floor. 

I grin as I look up at Duke. "That's how it's done."

A few seconds later, Duke lands on the floor. He rolls his eyes. 

"I wasn't using fire on purpose, Twinkle. I can use fire though, so watch me." 

I laugh. Sure he can.

He almost has it done the same way that I did it. The only difference besides the different colored flames is that he never could shoot the flames off his fists and feet as far out as I did. 

I fly up to join him in the air. 

"Like this," I say as I demonstrate a punch-kick. 

His flames are weak compared to mine. 

"No, try again. Put more force into it," I tell him.

This next time around, it looks like he put more strength in his punches and kicks. Which means the orange flames shot out further.

"Good. Go again."

I look down at Dawn. 

He doesn't need you to teach him. Because times have changed. I can teach him about the element of fire. 

DUKE

I feel like I'm covered in sweat. I've been in here for at least two hours. 

"Again," she repeats. 

If I met myself from four months ago when Twinkle and I first started hanging out, I wouldn't believe myself if I said Twinkle is stronger than me. Than I'll ever be, it feels like. 

But then again. If I met myself from two months ago, I wouldn't believe that Dawn and Fierdan are half-siblings. I'm still skeptical about it though. Dawn could be lying. She lied before.

I think of the Tall Tower and feel nostalgia. On the roof, I taught Twinkle how to make flames appear at the tips of her claws. 

And now here we are. Except this time around, Twinkle is teaching me about fire abilities far more bigger and complicated than just summoning flames to claws. 

And the next time I'll go to the Tall Tower is to be tortured. I know I will be. It's inevitable. I just don't know when it'll happen. 

I'm not even scared about the idea of getting hurt. I'm only scared because I don't know how I'll be caught. I'm scared because I have the feeling that everyone else will get severely hurt in the process of them capturing me. 

I'm scared because I don't want any of my friends to die due to my identity as the Duke Fierdan. 

"You can relax now," Twinkle tells me. 

I land on the floor and let my head drop. I feel sweat roll down the back of my neck and down my back. 

I grab the water bottle on the bench and start chugging it. 

I don't stop drinking until the bottle is empty. 

Frustrated at how Twinkle could do something better than me, I set the bottle on fire. 

Without another word, I leave the room. 

How dare she. How freaking dare she. 

ARDERE

I'm surprised that none of them found out yet. I left the building several hours ago. I've been outside ever since.

I look up to see dark clouds. 

A storm is coming. 

I smile as I cast lightning into the sky. 

I'll be the light in the dark. No matter what happens to us. 

I promise. 

Twinkle's Story: Chapter 68

DUKE

Her face is full of aggression. She takes another step closer to me.

"Why did Dawn want you alone before?" she asks, pointing a finger at me as if she's accusing me of having committed a crime. 

"To talk about some things. It's nothing that should concern you," I reply.

"I'm already on the border of trusting you or not. Don't try and lie your way out of this."

I take a step back. "It was nothing, Twinkle, I swear." 

"What did you two do in the kitchen after I left it?"

"She just applied a herbal remedy to the back of my neck. That's all that happened."

I see that her paws are in fists. I gasp and take a large step back when I see blue light cover both of her paws. 

"Stop lying! Tell me the truth, Duke!" 

I cross my arms. "I am telling the truth. Why do I have the feeling that you hate me now?" 

"No, I know you aren't. You and Dawn were alone in the kitchen for quite a while."

"I blacked out not too long after Dawn used the green substance. I didn't know how long Dawn stayed in the room before she left."

Seeing that she still doesn't look convinced enough, I sigh and put my arms down. 

"Okay fine. If you want to know every detail so badly, Dawn wanted to know if Fierdan had communicated with me recently. She wanted to know if I knew about the human world because Fierdan recently got human world memories back. She told me that she wiped certain memories from our brains." 

I watch Twinkle's lips turn into the slightest hint of a smile. Thoughts about her being calm again vanish a few seconds later. 

She says, "I know you still have feelings for Dawn. I see how you act when you're with her."

I frown. "If you want to say something, then say it. Things between Dawn and I are very complicated. I have the feeling that you think we always kiss when we're alone together. But guess what, Twinkle? We don't. We can talk in private without turning it into a make-out session."

I didn't even realize that my paws are also in fists. "You've been acting so different ever since I came here with Ardere. What's your problem? I'm not asking you why Dawn is telling you important things before me. Except if I made a mistake, and I should ask." 

Then I see all the bright blue. Those blazing blue eyes, tiny blue flames shooting out of all claws, the blue wings. 

"I don't want to fight you," I say. When I wave my paws in front of me, I'm surprised to see that all my claws are shooting out tiny orange flames. 

She smirks. "Fight me? Oh please, I could defeat you so easily. You have to stop living in your head thinking you're the most important person and that everything revolves around you. Here's a newsflash, Duke. Not everything is about you, and you're not the best." 

It's hard. My mind is telling me not to fight back, but my body is craving the action and possible pain. 

Before I know it, I look like the orange fire equivalent of Twinkle. 

I don't... I don't want to... Hurt her! 

I kick off the ground with my right foot. A second later, I'm lying on the floor. 

What are you doing? Your Elemental Power is obviously more powerful than Twinkle's. You can use black flames; she can't. You can kill her if you wanted to. Who is she to say that she's stronger than you? You're the Duke Fierdan for crying out loud. You're not even a real living fox. You're better than that. 

Unlike me, Twinkle has no difficulty letting the flames shoot off her body. The blue light turns into shards of bright blue ice. It's as if she's shooting glass at me. The only reason why I don't get hit with them is because I move out of the way right before they would have hit me.

She's fast. When I fly up again, she slaps me with the back of her left paw. It feels like the area below my right eye is burning yet it feels so cold. 

Who am I to complain? I'm finally getting what I deserve. Come on, give me the pain. Hurt me, hurt me, freaking hurt me! Exorcize this demon. 

I killed you and your family. I cheated on you. I drugged you. I did bad things to you. 

Obliterate me, vixen! 

"Why are you smiling?" she growls.

I go back to the floor. When both of my feet are firmly planted on the tiles, I press my paws together and bow. 

"Thank you, Twinkle." 

When I get up, she pins me to the nearest wall. Her paws hold back both of my shoulders, so my wings are spread out flat against the wall. Her feet are on top of mine.

I'm trapped here. She won't let me escape.

Hair covers my eyes. I can't see. I can only feel.

"Twinkle? What are you doing? You're, uh, getting close." 

I hear her laugh. "I hate myself. Did you know that, Duke? I really do freaking hate myself."

Twinkle moves the hair out of my eyes. The strands of dark brown hair are still between her fingers. 

"Please don't hate yourself," I say. I sound so awkward right now.

I can now see that her eyes are completely blue. Her wings are still out, looking just as powerful as ever.

Her laughing is making me uncomfortable. I gulp.

"Want to know why I freaking hate myself?" she says. "You're driving me crazy. You ruin everything. I have every right to hate you. However, here's the catch. Even though I hate you, I'm finding myself still in love with you. I mean as more than a friend."

Our eyes lock. I can even feel my eyes turning completely orange. They're not brown or amber like they usually are. They're the same color as my flames.

"I love you, you freaking reynard," she says as she slaps me across the face with her right paw. 

The same strands of hair cover my eyes again. 

Can't see. Only feel. 

A few hours ago, I wanted the forces of fire and ice to collide. 

They collide. 

Then she stops holding me back. My wings shoot me straight up into the air. When I open my eyes again, I see that she was waiting for me. 

Blue fire wings cross over orange fire wings. 

We dive in a half-arc shape closer to the floor. We face each other. We hold each other. 

Just like in that dream Twinkle described, we kiss while our wings are out and the floor is feet away from us. 

Except there is no mystical piano music playing in the background. 

The background sound is Dawn's voice. 

"I have something else to tell you. It's about time I explained to you my relationship with Fierdan." 

TAUREL

I press my paw against the door. 

I'm here. I made it back. 

After taking a deep breath, I open the door to the Tall Tower. 

"Taurel, you're okay!" Risak shouts. 

A big wolf and Sparkle follow him. 

Only after the greetings does anyone notice my bloody and broken left paw. 

"Whoa, what happened?" Risak asks. He's trying too hard to pretend he's surprised.

"I had to break it in order to escape from that place. Since it holds no use to me now, I want to chop my paw off."

Sparkle steps forward. "You want to chop off your own paw? Wouldn't that hurt a lot? Can you just wait for it to heal?" 

I let out a long sigh. 

All these stupid people I have to deal with. 

"Risks will have to be made. If something is serving no purpose, then there is no reason to keep and wait for it."

I roll my eyes. 

"Now that we're together in the Tall Tower with the wolf leader, let's get down to work." 

I lead the way to the artillery room. Weapons, tools, and all different types of contraptions are organized in the room. 

I point to one in particular. 

I grin. "Risak, please bring that one out." 

A few minutes full of pain, swearing, and blood later, my left arm ends at my wrist. 

I get my left wrist bandaged up. 

Test run complete. Next test will be if it will work for the Duke Fierdan. 

I turn around to face the wolf and my two loyal followers. 

"It's getting late. We'll head out on our search for Duke first thing tomorrow morning." 

I'll finally get my revenge on Fierdan for you, father. I'll finish the job you started.

And to Eternal, I promise you that I will capture and kill the Duke Fierdan. 

I won't let you down. 

 

CALLIAH

I look over my shoulder. Finny runs up to me. 

"There's no use. We're too late," I whisper. 

Finny squints his eyes. "It's not too late. Taurel might have returned to the Tall Tower, but we can still save Duke and his friends. Right? Right, Calliah?" 

I close my eyes. "No, Finny, we can't do anything to stop them now. My last shot at protecting Duke was injuring them and stealing their car. That doesn't mean anything now that he's back." 

"You can't give up that easily!" 

I face Finny. "Just because we're too late to stop Taurel from reaching the Tall Tower doesn't mean we're too late to stop them from starting their hunt." 

Tears roll down my face. I smile. 

"I don't know about you, Finny, but I'm not giving up on Duke. And even if they do get him, I won't lose hope that he'll make it. He is, after all, Fierdan." 

Finny nods. 

TWINKLE

Dawn paces around the room. Every few feet, she points a finger at herself, at myself, and at Duke. Our outfits alternate between our main ones and our training ones. 

When Duke has on the red T-shirt with that black fire design, he whispers in my ear. "Did she tell you how she can do this?" 

I shake my head. No, she hadn't really explained it. 

Dawn must have been able to hear us because she switches us back to our main clothes. She faces us and says, "I'm guessing that you want to know how I'm able to switch our clothes we wear just by pointing at each of us." 

Duke says, "Yeah, Twinkle and I are curious on how you could do that. I know you told the both of us that you are a herbal witch, whatever that means. That's what confuses me. Changing clothes and removing memories has nothing to do with nature."

She smiles. "Yes, exactly that. My ability to change clothes in that way and my ability to remove memories has nothing to do with my Elemental Power. My Elemental Power only has to do with nature in the forms of plants and the earth." 

Dawn tells us to take a seat on the couch. Duke and I sit down on opposite ends of the couch. 

Dawn stands in front of the center of the couch. Her green eyes are so bright. The gaze she gives us is intimidating. 

"For the past few days, I got flashbacks of the human world," Dawn begins. "Now I'm beginning to piece the puzzle together."

I look over at Duke. He's staring at Dawn so intensely. 

I feel out of place, so I try to stare at Dawn like how Duke is. But no matter how hard I try, I can't look at her the same way that Duke is. 

Of course you won't be able to. He's Fierdan. They shared a past in two worlds together. They are closer to each other than you ever will be. You're the outsider compared to them. Nothing can ever change that. 

"The reason why I am able to do those things is because of magic. Elemental Powers are different than magic. Not every Extraordinary Other is a witch, or should I say warlock, and not every warlock is an Extraordinary Other. I know I'm not the only Other who also possesses the ability to use magic."

Duke interrupts. "What exactly do you mean by magic?"

Dawn continues. "By magic, I mean having the ability to do supernatural things that are even more special and complex than the works done by any Elemental Power."

Duke speaks up again. "Who is the other warlock?" 

"To be completely honest, I'm not even sure if I'm calling it the right word. What do you call someone with the ability to do magic like cast spells, body-shifts, and supernatural rituals?" 

"Body-shifts?" I ask.

"It's when a body is in one place but the same body is also somewhere else," Dawn explains. 

"If you want to say something, then say it," Duke says.

Dawn takes a deep breath and continues talking. 

"Fierdan is the other person I know for sure that has magic and supernatural abilities far more advanced than any Elemental Power ability."

She points at Duke. "How do you think you came to be?"

Duke and I look confused. 

"What do you mean?" he asks. 

"You are Fierdan, but you aren't exactly him. You two are different people. Your heart contains Soulless. Now tell me, Duke, how could that be?"

"I... I don't know, Dawn." 

"That's okay. I'll tell you what I know," she says. "When Fierdan wasn't in Cincernum for long, Soulless got Fierdan into thinking he had to be immortal in the eyes of the public. So what did he do? Using very complex magic, Fierdan was able to fuse a part of himself and Soulless together. Years later, he met with a female fox who surprisingly also had phantom characteristics like he did. Using another form of complex magic, he was able to make Calliah's baby- which is Duke- get injected with the fused  Soulless and Fierdan. That is why Duke can not get rid of Soulless. Soulless is a part of his identity just like how Fierdan is."

My eyes shift from focusing on Dawn to Duke. Then the cycle repeats again and again.

"I'm trying to explain this in the simplest way I can. I don't want to complicate things more," Dawn says.

"Ugh, just get on with it," I mutter.

"Fierdan also used his magic abilities to create Night Crow, a black goop sculpture into an actual bird. He uses magic to communicate with Duke sometimes as well. The same as with Fauna."

"Wait, Fauna and Fierdan talk to each other?" I ask, my eyes widening. 

Dawn smiles. "As of recently, yes. How they communicate to each other is slightly different than how we would communicate to each other right here. Ever since Soulless had been better controlled, Fierdan had been able to make it so his spirit could go communicate with Fauna while his physical body stays in Cincernum. This is for the first time that Fierdan can communicate with other people- besides Duke- without having Soulless with him." 

She focuses on Duke again. "And that ritual Fierdan had told you about where your physical body dies and your soul combines with Fierdan's is another example of magic."

Duke sighs. "I feel like you are avoiding the fact that you are missing the point. Tell us it already. Please tell me." 

"Those dreams I had taught me some things. My parents were executed on Zios's command for being against what he stood for. Fierdan's mother was killed because she stood against what her husband stood for. Not too long after my parents were killed, Zios took me in to live with him and his two sons. In the human world, I was adopted and called the "new daughter" and "new sister" by them. Fierdan and I forgot most of our human memories when we were in Jamaa. Everyone besides us died."

"What is the point, Dawn?" I hear Duke say with urgency in his voice.

Dawn takes a deep breath and looks at Duke differently.

"This might be totally crazy, but I think it could be true. There could be a reason for this. We definitely didn't know here in Jamaa because we lost our human memories. But perhaps we also didn't know when we were in the human world."

Dawn closes her eyes.

"Fierdan and I are halflings." 

Duke and I look at her confused. 

"Many assume that we had a romantic relationship. However, that wasn't exactly the case. The reason why I acted the way I did when we first met each other is because of how Zios raised me in the human world. How he raised me as well as Fierdan and his brother. We do things a lot differently than what, uh, normal people would do," Dawn says. "By halflings, I don't mean in the ways of Elemental Powers like how you and Twinkle are with the entire fire element."

Dawn opens her eyes. 

"Our mother was killed because she knew magic and was involved in witchcraft. Fierdan and I were sent to Jamaa and not his brother because we had inherited her magic abilities while he did not. In other words, Zios never was my father, but we share the same human mother." 

Twinkle's Story: Chapter 67

*just in case anyone needs it- warnings for blood and violence*

FAUNA

One breath. Two breaths. Three breaths. 

Zero breaths.

Where is air? Why is it so hard for me to breathe? 

Then his voice. I open my eyes.

"Face it, Fauna. You and your kind can't win. Justice will not let anyone with supernatural abilities to survive," he says as he looks up at me with his bright orange eyes.

No, no, no. You can't win. You can't take all of us. There's too many of us. We exist across two realities. 

Suddenly, I'm able to breathe in air again. I glare down at him.

"Eternal," I spit, "I have a question for you. What justice is there in wanting to exterminate anyone who is different?" 

He grins up at me. "Silly girl, we are going to exterminate you along with the rest of them because your so called differences are a threat to the Jamaa civilization." 

Eternal, you are no angel. You don't belong here in heaven. I once thought you were a good father because you didn't abuse Duke. Now I know the truth. Calliah isn't the evil parent. You are.

"I'd rather be blind, so I won't be able to look at your ugly face again," I snarl. 

He steps closer to the chains.

I'm a chained-up angel. Set me free. I know you'll return again.

"Oh, so you want your blindness back? I think that I can make that arranged," he says, making sure that I see his fangs. 

"Than see you again? I'm all up for it," I reply. I grin when he reacts to my unexpected words. 

He steps even closer. His fingertips brush the side of the shackle that holds down my right ankle. The chain above it seems to almost flow down his wrist. 

"Allow me to explain some things about myself and my family," he begins. "I worked as a high-ranking official in the fox government. I could have even became leader since my ranking was so high up. I never trusted my wife to know about my real job. For Duke, however, I felt like he was too young to understand and appreciate my job. My job made me so busy that I didn't have time to take care of Duke when I got custody of him after my unofficial divorce with Calliah. I believe it was two or three years ago when I found out that in a nearby central-territory district, we had family living there. So what did I do? I sent him away to live with his cousin, Sparkle, and her parents. For most of my life, I loved my son. I wanted the best for him. I was a good father."

What does this have to do with anything? 

"Not too long before my death, I have finally learned why I didn't trust Calliah. After all these years, I found out why I disliked her. It wasn't because of her cruel behavior. It was because of this secret she kept from me. I give her credit though. It would be tragic for me to have found out about her secret sooner." 

What are you trying to tell me? 

"Fauna, as you are well aware of, I am radically anti-phantom. Those evil creatures are terrorists, and what do they do? They terrorize the community. They increase in size, and then they are terrorizing the entirety of Jamaa. I work for the fox government, and in doing so, I work to protect the lives of our citizens from harm. You should know how dangerous phantoms are. Especially given the fact that a phantom floating by caused your death in what should have been a simple dispute between fox and arctic wolf territories. And if that doesn't paint a good enough reason for you to hate phantoms, then think about how a phantom attack nearly got your sister killed two times." 

He pauses. Probably to catch his breath. I glare at him. 

When I get out of here, I'll remove your ability to breathe in air. Let's see how much you would like that.

"The secret Calliah had been keeping from me for so long was that she and Duke had phantom blood. What does that exactly mean, you ask? It means that if you dig into them deep enough, their normal red blood would run out and be followed with black and purple blood. This has given me speculations about people with phantom blood. Calliah and Duke could very well possibly have twice the amount of total blood in their bodies as compared to a normal person. Which then in turn means it would be harder to kill them."

You're here. I sense your spiritual presence. Eternal calls me one with supernatural and magical powers. But compared to you, I have none. 

"If that hadn't upset me enough, I found out more about Duke. I discovered that he was the reincarnation of Fierdan. Calliah had been keeping the secret of us being the parents of a new Fierdan from me. Perhaps Fierdan had somehow met with Calliah to discuss some things. Like how Calliah would give birth to a boy with a hidden identity of being the new Fierdan. I had been tricked into being the father of a mentally corrupt individual who tortured and killed hundreds of people."

Luckily, Eternal doesn't know that he's right here with us. Fierdan is here.

I see Fierdan- in his dark spirit form- sitting in the lotus position in mid-air. His appearance is nearly transparent. The only way I can figure out he's here is the difference in the light and air density. It's darker and denser where he is. I'm the only one who can see and hear him when he comes up to visit me in heaven. Ever since he trapped Soulless, he would visit me. We would usually talk about the foggy barrier, Jamaa Mist, located above heaven. However, I get the feeling that he didn't come here for us to talk about humanity and that world, which is on the other side of the misty barrier. 

"If Calliah did not murder me, then I would have been able to kill Duke. If I stayed alive a little bit longer, then Duke would be dead. That would have meant no more threat of Fierdan, of the three flames, of phantoms, of violence. The Night of the Black Flames was the night when Duke got connected to Fierdan, learning he is the same as him. It was the night Duke obtained his ability to use black fire, the same fire that Fierdan had used to kill people. Ever since then, Duke had a brain that shared both his memories and Fierdan's. That was just the start of Duke's concealed violent nature. Perhaps Duke could be even more violent than Fierdan ever was. I didn't want this to ever happen, so I planned on killing him before that day. Since Calliah killed me in her most defiant act of protecting Duke, I wasn't able to end his life." 

I watch Fierdan shift his focus from the chains to Eternal. 

Eternal moves a little away from me. When he is walking, he continues to talk. He sure has a lot to say.

"I like to think of myself as Zios. I'm doing good for the world. Our wives kept deep secrets about themselves from us. Their identities were bad and not tolerable in our societies. I also believe I look similar to Zios himself, haha." 

"You're similar to Zios because just like how he betrayed me, you committed the ultimate betrayal to your son," I hear Fierdan say resentfully. 

Our eyes meet, and we slightly nod at each in the shortest moment. 

Fierdan moves toward Eternal, who of course, is unaware that he's the third person in the room. 

And that's when it starts becoming interesting. 

"You dare call yourself the equivalent of Zios, you old reynard?" Fierdan snarls as he walks around Eternal in mid-air. "You sure do look proud of yourself. Let me guess a fact about you. You admire Zios as a god and hero. You think Zios was a good man who treated people well and did good for the world."

Fierdan holds up a thin index finger with a long black claw and holds it less than an inch from Eternal's lips. 

"There's no need for you to say a word. You can't hear me, and I already know I'm right. Shh, shh. It's alright, you freaking idiot. Stupid people of course aren't aware of how terrible Zios, my own father, was. Not many know that he killed lots of people, and that he abused and neglected his children."

Then I watch Fierdan move his paw, so Eternal's mouth is covered. 

"Not many know that Zios psychologically and physically left hundreds of scars on his children. My father messed me up real bad. He nearly killed me by sending me to Jamaa. And what do you say? That you nearly killed your son, Duke? Haha wow, talk about the coincidences. Unfortunately, I can not let people that remind me of Zios go without paying a price. And now, Eternal, it's your time to pay." 

I don't say anything as I watch Eternal get a surprise attack from Fierdan. 

 Fierdan has one of his elbows digging into Eternal's chest, a knee into his stomach, and his left paw wrapped around the front of his neck as his right paw continues to cover his mouth when he turns his head in a way that makes my own neck hurt. Our eyes meet again. 

A few minutes later, Fierdan steps away from Eternal. To outsiders, Eternal looks like he mysteriously got a few bruises and started choking out of nowhere. 

How does it feel to not be able to breathe, you sick excuse of an angel? 

Then Fierdan holds the chains at each side of me. The metal chain links dig into his palms. After squeezing a little bit harder on the pieces of the chains in his paws, they both snap in half. 

After taking off the shackles from my ankles and wrists, I'm able to escape. 

Even though Fierdan is more spirit in this state, he takes me away from the chains before I can do so myself. I'm in his arms when he opens the door and exits the room. 

For a guy who just harmed someone, his touch is gentle. 

TAUREL

I look down at my left paw that is covered in blood. 

I look at the knife in my right paw. 

Things that serve no purpose deserve to get eliminated. My broken paw serves no legitimate purpose to me now. 

I look at the blood all around my wrist. 

Unfortunately, a knife can not cut through bone. 

When I join Risak and the wolf leader in the Tall Tower, I'll finish the job. 

What's wrong with giving one of the contraptions a test run on myself before using it on Duke? 

I have to get there. 

I run, creating a trail of blood with me. 

The next time I take a pause from running is when I can spot the Tall Tower. 

I smile.

Perfect timing.