Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

He slowly walked through the forest. Leaves rustled with each of his steps. He didn't have a destination in mind, all he knew was that he needed to leave. His sister's voice echoed through his head. 

‘We'll have to start from scratch again. Please don't screw it up again, Sunny. We have to make things perfect. We wouldn't want to disappoint them, would we?’

He raised his hands and examined them. The scars that ran across his fingers caused him pain anytime the cold breeze brushed past him. He almost wishes they still were blisters, but he couldn’t do much about it now.

‘Sunny, what is wrong with you! Our friends saved up to get you that violin, why would you break it!?’

He felt the soreness of his legs as he aimlessly walked. It was beginning to be too difficult to ignore the pain. He felt himself tumble a bit, landing next to a puddle. The light from the moon pierced through the foliage, letting Sunny see his reflection. He could now fully see his damaged right eye.

‘Don't you dare run away!!’

He remembered the next few events vividly. Sunny tried to run from Mari but was halted by her grabbing him with both of her hands. He tried to wrestle out of her grip but couldn’t, as he was repeatedly lambasted. He began to bawl, muttering apology after apology. Mari's anger died quickly as her grip loosened, letting Sunny break out of her grip. He pushed himself off of her and stumbled back, not realizing he was position near the stairs. His eyes shot open as he tumbled back, plummeting down the stairs. He tried to cover himself as his body hit the steps, causing the blisters on his hands to break open. When he reached the bottom, he fell face-first onto the violin, his vision from his now only working eye saw lots of blood. He turned to look at his sister, who looked at him, stunned. Her eyes were wide with terror as she had both of her hands over her mouth.

‘S-Sunny I didn't mean to-’

Before she could finish, he turned to the doorway and sprinted off. A chaotic overload of different emotions rushed through his mind, but all of them told him one thing. He needed to run now. He ran as fast as he could out of his home and into the trees to the right of his house. He could hear a painful cry for his name behind him, but ignored it, pushing deeper and deeper into the vast forest with tears in his eye. 

He didn't know how much time had passed between then and now, but such things were probably unimportant compared to fixing his eye. He slowly took deep breaths as he moved his hand towards the area of his right eye. He began attempting to remove some of the violin shards embedded within his skin. He winced in pain as he slowly took out each piece. Slowly but surely, he managed to get all of the prominent pieces out of his body, aside from one particular one. A bigger piece that was currently stuck in his eye, he knew removing it was going to hurt to no end, but he couldn't let it just stay there. He slowly gripped the piece with both his hands. With a swift motion, he yanked it out, screaming in pain. Blood poured into the puddle as he squirmed from the sharp pain. After what felt like hours, the pain started subsiding, letting him sit back up and stare into his reflection.

As he examined his eye, he began thinking. Would his friends miss him? He wanted to believe so, but a part of him told himself it was wishful thinking. Maybe they would at first, but after a while, they probably would move on. They had Mari after all, she would help them get through it. But what about her? Would she miss him? She looked scared after he fell, maybe she would be distraught with him gone. His mind then flashed to the violin as more sinister thoughts flooded it. Maybe all she felt was fear for her image of perfection. How could she uphold it after what she had done? She lashed out at him for ruining her recital, she didn't even notice the blisters. Why would she care about him now? He shook his head. He felt sick thinking of his sister like this. He decided it would be better to push himself a bit more than to continue to wallow in misery here.

He sighed as he got up, stepping on the puddle as he continued to walk through the forest. He wished he had planned running away more. He sometimes thought about it…alongside more extreme actions. He knew there was a city in the direction he was going, but not how far it was from Faraway. Once he got there, he probably should get something to eat or get someone to help check on his eye. He would have to work to pay for it, though, given that he didn't have any cash on him. Meaning actual medical help was off the table. Figuring his situation out is going to be a nightmare, but anything will be better than walking aimlessly like he was currently.

He'll probably need to get a job, work to buy the essentials for the day. Eventually, he could get enough to rent an apartment and do more than simply live, but thrive. While there, he could improve on himself, becoming more outgoing and stronger. Maybe just maybe, he could become someone who was worth admiring. Just like his sister. He shook his head at that silly thought. There is no point in speculating about the future until he actually reaches the city.

He then stumbled a bit as he tripped on a branch, noticing something. Up ahead of him, there seemed like some sort of clearing, so he swiftly jogged forward to further examine his surroundings. He moved past the end of the forest that surrounded Faraway and saw a grassy field. There were a few buildings close by,  but they all looked worn down and abandoned, with graffiti marking a few of them. But what mainly caught Sunny’s eye was a city in the distance, and the light from the nightlife shone brightly. He was almost there, almost at salvation. But right now, he couldn't continue his expedition. He was exhausted from his journey through the forest, and his body was barely able to stand as is. He decided he needed to rest, then in the morning he would continue his walk to the city. He slowly trekked to one of the abandoned buildings and found a comfortable spot to rest. He let his legs give out as he slumped his back against its walls. He sat there staring at the night sky, the stars glistening in the night sky. A sight that once filled him with wonder and awe was only met by emptiness as he watched them. It was a painful reminder of happier times he had with his friends. But he couldn't continue to wallow in misery, he was too tired for that.

As he began to doze off, he was caught off guard by a loud sound. He jumped up, trying to find the source, only to be met with a strange feeling. He was being watched. He noticed movement around one of the abandoned buildings right ahead of him. Sunny felt his legs shaking in fear as he tried to stand firm. He then saw two red eyes glare at him, which only intensified his fear. The silhouette that the two eyes belonged to slowly approached, and as it got closer to Sunny, he was able to identify that they were at least a person. Sunny slowly stepped to his left and into a small, narrow pass between two of the buildings. The silhouette started to speak.

“W-Wait, there's nothing to be alarmed about. I mean you no harm.” The silhouette spoke. Sunny didn't trust the red-eyed stranger and continued to back away. The stranger followed still, the silhouette only becoming larger as they crept closer to Sunny. As the stranger slowly stepped towards Sunny, the boy was able to fully view him thanks to the moonlight above.

The man in front of him had cold, pale skin, with short blond hair that was slicked back. He had a long face that looked like it had taken a beating. He wore a black leather jacket with black pants. His hands didn't look natural, almost more akin to claws. The most striking thing to Sunny was that he was clutching his body with one of his arms. Maybe that loud sound caused him this injury. Should he help him? Sunny's mind raced, thinking about what his next actions should be.

The man was a walking contradiction. His outward appearance looked at best menacing and at worst inhuman. But he attempted to carry himself as if an innocent bystander, whether he was or wasn't Sunny, couldn't tell right now. The only thing Sunny could tell was that whatever had happened had caused this man to become desperate. If he truly was running away from something, then what if that thing catches up to both of them? No matter how Sunny looked at it, he could tell he was in danger. Whether from this stranger or the thing that presumably hurt him.

“Just come here child, I just need someone to help me patch this injury of mine. That's all, I promise.” The man tried to make his voice sound like scenery, but it wasn't working. Almost as if those emotions were foreign to him. This was the confirmation needed for Sunny, his movements began to quicken as he knew he needed to get out of here as quickly as possible.

That's when Sunny realized something, a sense of terror came over him as he noticed that he had backed himself into an alleyway. He had practically caged himself for the sinister man in front of him. His terror was noticed by the man, who quickly disregarded his attempted false comfort, in its place was a sinister grin. “Took you long enough.” He cackled.

The man then dashed forward at incredible speed, grabbing Sunny with his right hand and slamming him onto the cement wall. The slam knocked the breath out of Sunny as he found himself coughing hard as the man laughed at his victory. “Hah, my luck has finally come around, to think I would have stumbled onto a way out. Rejoice, runt, for you'll be aiding in something truly great!” the man chuckled.

Sunny was desperately trying to break out of the man's hold, but even if he were healthy, he would barely be able to put up a decent fight. Sunny noticed the man raised his left hand towards him, positioning it right in front of his bad eye. “Before I feast on the main course, how about I dig into an appetizer~.” He joked before launching his hand towards the boy.

Sunny screamed in agony, shutting his remaining eye in the process as he felt a deep pain around his right eye, much worse than the fall he had hours prior. He was terrified of opening his last eye to see what had happened, but curiosity took over him as he slowly opened it. There he saw the man examining his right eyeball, all before he chucked it into his mouth like a candy. If it wasn't clear to Sunny now, it was undeniable now. This creature wasn't human. They were a monster that was going to kill Sunny, and all he could do was watch it unfold.

The monster smiled at Sunny. “Don't look so scared, runt. Your pain will only last a moment. I'm sure you'll have someone waiting for you after everything.” He sarcastically remarks. The beast then lets his mouth hang open, showing off his two fangs as saliva drips from them. The monster was clearly hungry and was getting ready to strike one last time. Sunny tried his best to do one last stand, trying to use his body to push the monster's hand off his neck. But once again, he couldn't do anything.

“What a disappointing second wind, oh well~.” The monster cackled once more before quickly biting down on the boy's shoulder. The boy wailed in pain at the initial impact of the fang piercing his flesh. He felt himself being drained, his consciousness quickly leaving him. There was nothing more he could do now. He thought back to his friends, to Mari. Despite what he thought earlier, he wasn't truly ready to leave them, to never be able to see them again. That small voice was always there, but now it was screaming to him harder than any of his prior thoughts had before. His final thoughts before he succumbed, ‘I don't want to go.’

Sunny awoke lying down to a scenery he was unfamiliar with. A white room that stretched so far that he couldn't see an ending, if there even was one. He shifted up to a sitting position, noticing he was on a white carpet. Besides him were a tissue box, a sketchbook, and a laptop.

He was then hit with recollection. Remembering both the accident that caused him to run away, as well as his death at the hands of a monster. He shifted to holding his knees with his hands as he began sobbing. He really wasn't ready to let the real world go in hindsight, but he knew there was not much he could do about it now. But then he heard a familiar noise, it was a piano playing a song that he and Mari had practiced.

“M-Mari?” He quickly got up and turned to see if it truly was her.

What stood before him wasn't Mari on the piano but someone else. A person in a purple suit, their most notable feature was that they didn't actually seem to have a head, but rather in its place was a theater mask which had a constant grin.  While strange, the man didn't seem that threatening, at least compared to what he just had to deal with. “I regret to inform you that I am not your sister.” 

“O-Oh…s-sorry for assuming.” Sunny tried to quickly explain. “I've b-been practicing that song with my s-sister recently, so I'd assumed you were her.”

The masked man chuckled a bit. “There’s no need to apologize, Sunny.” The mention of his name took him by surprise. How did this man know him? “I am fully aware of who you are and the tragedy that has befallen you. You have my deepest sympathies.” 

Sunny looked down after hearing what the man said, so it was real. He did die.

“In fact, it is that very misfortune which has brought me here.” The stranger said as he quickly finished the song he was playing, before the piano slowly disappeared, and the piano seat quickly changed into a more luxurious chair.

“S-Sorry if I'm b-being rude. But, where is ‘here’? And who are you?” Sunny questioned.

“Oh, where are my manners? I’ve yet to offer you a proper introduction, have I? My name is Gerome. Currently, you will find yourself in whitespace. It is a projection, if you will, of your own subconscious.” Gerome bowed as he waved his hand at the vast white emptiness.

“Please, do take a seat. There is much for us to discuss.” Before Sunny could finish registering his previous statement as he felt himself fall back onto a chair similar to the stranger's. He was now much closer to the masked man with a table between them. Somehow, he had only just realized the strangeness of the situation in front of him, but decided not to think much about it.

“Before we begin, might I offer you any refreshments? Perhaps a beverage or a light ?” The man politely asked.

“...m-maybe some milk and cookies if you have any.” Sunny requested sheepishly. As soon as he mentioned them, he noticed that both of his requests were on the table, to which he happily started munching on. Even in the afterlife, he felt starving and parched. “It's nice to meet you, Mr. Gerome.” Sunny's comment made Gerome chuckle a bit. His last partner wasn't as polite as the boy in front of him, this surely will be interesting.

“I'm more in favor of biscuits and tea. I've heard there’s a charming little bakery in your hometown. Faraway, if I’m not mistaken?” He asked as he drank from a teacup that was now in his hands. The mention of his hometown made him a bit sad, but there were more pressing things that Sunny needed to figure out at the moment.

“So why are we in my…subconscious?”

“To put it plainly, I took the liberty of pulling a few strings to assist in your decision-making. Death, after all, is a rather startling event. Particularly when it's brought about by a vampire.” Gerome remarked. This caused Sunny to cough up the milk he was drinking. Despite his strange circumstances, he never considered that the monster was a vampire. How could he? Those things were supposed to be fictional. Right?

“Vampires are real?!”

“Indeed. In truth, many beings once dismissed as mere myth or fiction are, in fact, quite real. However, such matters are of little consequence. Unless, of course, you choose to awaken.” 

“Awaken?” Sunny remarked in confusion.

“The process of learning and embracing what lies beyond the veil of the ordinary. You see, our world possesses two facets. The mundane and the extraordinary. The latter is kept hidden, safeguarded by the mutual interests of several influential powers.” He set his tea cup onto the table as he adjusted his posture. “Those unaware or unwilling to embrace this hidden aspect of reality are referred to as dreamers. Those who can perceive and mold it are considered awakened.”

“What do you mean by embracing it? Are those who awakened turned into monsters like a vampire?” Sunny was worried about turning into someone like the man who killed him. Even if it did bring him a second chance at life.

“Not necessarily. While it is possible to become such a creature, 'monsterhood' is not the inevitable fate of those who choose to awaken. Rather, to embrace the awakening is to forge a bond with forces that defy the natural law. To bring miracles into reality.” Gerome shifted his position to a more serious pose. “To speak plainly, you would become a mage.”

“L-Like a wizard?” 

“Correct. What you choose to do with such power is entirely your own choice. However, be warned. The path of awakening is one of great hardships. It will most likely mean you must leave your former life behind.”

The implications of what Gerome just said caused Sunny to sit up in the chair. “You mean I wouldn't be able to see everyone ever again!” Gerome responded by simply shrugging.

“In theory, you could be with your loved ones again. But doing so would place them in considerable danger. You see, the act of performing miracles leaves a sort of echo. A resonance that draws the attention of the unnatural. And that is to say nothing of the factions who might see your very existence as a threat to their carefully guarded secrecy and retaliate accordingly.” 

Sunny pondered for a bit. He didn't like the implications of being forced to never see his friends or family again. But if his return meant threatening their safety, then he had no choice in the matter. He was still curious about the alternative, though. “What would happen if I declined awakening?”

“As things stand, your journey would simply end. Your soul would pass on to whatever afterlife awaits. I regret that you’ve been afforded so few choices. Fate, it seems, has dealt you a particularly cruel hand.” Gerome acknowledged sincerely.

Sunny was afraid of that answer, but he figured that was the only alternative. “I guess I don't have much of a choice. How do I awaken?” 

The masked man seemed to be delighted with his response. “Fortunately, the process is quite simple if a bit rigorous. Simply follow me.” Gerome got up from his chair and began to walk to his right. Sunny followed, noticing the set of chairs fading away. “The door just up ahead leads to a realm between life and death. Once within, you must press forward to truly awaken.” Almost on cue, a white door seemingly faded into existence.

As the pair moved towards the door, the man tilted his mask towards Sunny. “Before you take your leave, may I trouble you with a question?  It's something that has lingered in my thoughts ever since your arrival.” 

“Will I not be allowed to awaken if I answer this question poorly?” Sunny asked, concerned.

“Good heavens, no. There is no right or wrong answer. Simply speak from your heart, as best you can.” The man then grabbed a clipboard out of nowhere.

“Ahem…if I may. How do you feel about Mari?” Gerome inquired nonchalantly.

Sunny tripped for a moment before looking at Gerome in complete shock. “W-What?”

“It's a simple question. You see, while it’s evident you hold deep love for your sister, I can’t help but sense a shadow of resentment. Were your feelings of inadequacy formed from your own beliefs or through the comparison with her? And then there’s the matter of her failure to recognize your suffering. Not until it had already reached its breaking point. A failure which, however unintentional, played no small part in your demise. Tell me… can you truly forgive her for that?"

He looked at the ground for a moment. He wanted to believe he held no ill will against Mari, that he still viewed her as his perfect big sister. One who cared for him immensely and would do anything for him. But if that was true, why did he still feel a sense of unease when Gerome mentioned her name? Gerome seemed to be correct in how she only recognized how badly he was hurting once he was groveling at her feet. If she truly cared, wouldn't she realize how badly he was hurting? And then there were Gerome's other words. He did feel himself inferior to Mari and had a feeling that others shared the same sentiment, but did he resent her for that? Was he an awful brother for having such feelings? He decided to speak from the heart to answer Gerome, maybe he could find his answer in it.

"I don't know. I want to love her like I've always had, but after everything that has happened, I can't look at her the same. It feels wrong, but anytime I think back to her, I'm reminded of all the times she yelled at me. No matter what I do or how hard I try, I'm still not good enough for her. And a part of me even feels bitter about it, that I'm always deemed worse than her in every regard. By my colleagues, my friends, my parents, and by her. And what she did to me tonight...it reinforced these feelings of resentment, maybe even increased them. I can't hate her despite everything, but I don't think I can forgive her just yet...Am I a bad person for having these feelings?” Sunny turned to Gerome, who was stroking the chin of his mask.

"Thank you for your honesty. The willingness to confront emotions so raw and difficult is quite a rare strength. As for your question, I don’t believe a complete absence of resentment would be entirely healthy. To feel wounded by neglect, especially from one you hold dear, is a deeply human response. Still, I hope that, in time, you'll find it within yourself to forgive. Or at the very least, to find peace with what has passed." He paused as they reached the door. “When you feel prepared, you may step through the door. I regret that I cannot accompany you on this particular trial, but knowing you… I’ve every confidence you will prevail.”

Sunny examines the white door. If what Gerome said was true, then he needed to brace for everything. He then remembered something. “What about the vampire? Wouldn't he just kill me again?”

“I appreciate your concern, but no. A vampire of his caliber is profoundly unlikely to best one during their  moment of awakening.”

“I see…” Sunny thought for a moment before asking his next question. “You mentioned that you pulled some strings to help me. If it wasn't for you, would I not have awakened?"

Gerome pondered for a bit before responding. “Unlikely. It was possible for you to set the stage yourself, but the circumstances weren’t in your fav-” Before Gerome could finish his thought, he was pulled into a hug by Sunny. 

“Thank you for giving me another chance.” Sunny said with tears in his eye.

The masked man rustled the boy's hair. “It's no trouble at all, Sunny.”

“Will I see you again, Mr. Gerome?” Sunny tilted his head towards the masked man.

He chuckled. “Should you so desire, of course. I shall be watching with great interest. All you need to do is call. Whether in your dreams or as you walk the waking world.”

Sunny then left the embrace and marched forward to the door. He looked back one final time, watching Gerome stand still, anticipating Sunny's next step. Sunny turned back to the white door, turned the knob, opened the door, and exited into the unknown.

Chapter Text

Sunny found himself on a rocky black bridge, the stones that formed the bridge were uneven and weathered. He looked to the side to gauge how high the bridge was elevated, but found that the depths were shrouded in an eerie fog. Making his attempts feutile. He tried to take his attention elsewhere, as his fear of heights caused him to hyperventilate at the idea of being up this high. In the vast, far distance, he could see jagged black mountains that clawed at the horizon. Their harsh silhouettes were illuminated by streaks of lightning that occasionally lashed out from the dark, cloudy blue sky. 

The path ahead was blocked by a raging storm. It’s core coalesced into a monstrous vortex, a twisting goliath that clawed at the earth as it twisted into itself. The wind shrieked with a voice that was a mixture of an anguished scream and a cruel cackle. Lightning slashed through the sky like jagged teeth flashing a grotesque grin. Each bolt was accompanied by a guttural roar of thunder that rattled the bones. This storm wasn’t simple weather. It was something alive, something beyond human. Even beyond the monster that killed him, this was a true nightmare. And it was beckoning him to make a move, to step forward and dare challenge it. As if tormenting Sunny for even daring to defy his faith.

Sunny felt his legs tremble at the sight of the monster ahead of him, he could practically hear his own heartbeat. Every instinct screamed for him to run, but he didn’t. He couldn’t, his only chance of returning was through that storm. He clenched his fist, forced a breath into his lungs, and began to walk towards the beast. If this is what it takes to awaken, then he’ll face it, no matter how scared he is.

As he moved towards the base of the storm, he could feel the wind lash at his face, the thunder roared above him, and raindrops began to pelt him. The sensations were manageable at first, but as he moved closer, they intensified. Still, he moved forward. Voices rose from the chaos of the storm, echoes carried by the wind and thunder. At first, they seemed vague and distant, almost foreign. But as Sunny pushed on, they became clearer and deliberate. They pleaded, then berated him, then screamed. They only began to become more and more prominent.

They were all urging him that this was hopeless and to turn back. Even began to mimic the voices of people he knew, twisting their voices into something cruel. Sunny’s breath got caught in his throat, and his vision began to blur. Overwhelmed by the onslaught, Sunny dropped to his knees. He clutched his head in both hands, desperate to block it all out. The thunder, the wind, the rain, the berating, the fear. But it was too much. It was everywhere. And he couldn’t run from it now.

He began to believe the voices that he couldn’t make it. That he was weak. He was only a child, how could he overcome the presence in front of him? And then, cutting through the sounds all around him, came one familiar voice. Unlike the chaos, it was quiet, soft, comforting.

‘Sunny, take a deep breath. Don't be afraid, it's not as scary as you think. Steady yourself and remember how to calm down .’

He latched onto the voice like it was his only hope. He took a deep breath, breathing in and out. Again. And again. With each breath, the voices that tormented him retreated in strength and dominance. The roar of thunder dulled until it was only faint echoes. The whirlwind and rain still raged, but inside him, a fire began to burn. He took one more deep breath before opening his eyes. Then, he slowly rose from his feet with a clear mind.

He pressed on, bracing himself against the relentless wind and rain. With each step, the world around him darkened. The storm shifted from deep, shadowy blues into a sickly shade of green, as if the storm itself had decided to stop playing around. The air felt heavier. Thicker. More hostile. 

The rain intensified into a downpour, pounding in violent sheets of water that blurred his vision. He lifted his arms to shield his eyes, but it served him very little help. Water pushed against him from seemingly every direction. His footing faltered as the ground turned treacherous thanks to the sheer amount of rain.  He slipped more than once, catching himself only by instinct. He could barely see. His body was drenched and trembling. The cold crept into his skin, then his bones, seeping deeper with every second.

He clenched his jaw, trying to hopelessly push through it. But he knew he couldn’t withstand this onslaught much longer. But then came the voice once again, the gentle voice that was able to cut through the chaos. 

‘This is getting nowhere fast huh, Sunny? It seems like there's a lot going on. You need to block out the little things and figure out what's important. You clear your mind and remember how to focus .’

He froze for a moment before following along. He closed his eyes and focused. As he did, the rain intensity gradually ceased. One by one, each distraction that clouded his mind was cleared out. Letting go of everything that could stop him. The doubts, the fear, the pain. He reminded himself of his mission. To awaken and live once more. 

As he focused on that one goal, he felt the chaos around him begin to fade. He removed his arms that shielded his eyes and opened his eye. He found that the rain had stopped in its entirety. He began to continue on his path, now with only one remaining obstacle to face.

Sunny moved forward with cautious determination as the wind swept around him. The storm shifted from that sickly shade of green to a deep, violent red. The color of danger, the monster was tired of Sunny and was now ready to annihilate him. The tornado that had encircled him throughout now seemed more alive than ever, a howling force pressing inward from all sides. But Sunny didn’t care, he had to push against it no matter what.

He could feel it fighting his attempts to move. At first, he managed to lean into the resistance, digging his heels into the slick stone beneath him. Each step forward was a battle, but he was holding his ground. That is, until the wind surged. One brutal gust slammed into him like a wave, knocking the breath from his lungs and sweeping his body off its footing. He staggered back but somehow didn’t fall. Then another gust came. Then another. Each one struck like a hammer blow, his attempts to block them became futile. One final gust slammed into his stomach, causing him to fall over onto his back. Where he lay against the cold, unyielding ground. He gasped for air, but the force had stolen it from his chest. He lay there, staring up at the red-tinted whirlwind around him, heart pounding in panic.

Then he heard her voice.  Mari’s voice. Almost like a whisper, she reminded him.

‘Steady your heartbeat.’

‘Don't be afraid. It's not as scary as you think.’

‘You have to keep going.’

‘Don't give up. No matter how impossible it seems, you can persist .’

He slowly rolled onto his side, then to his knees. He pressed his hands to the stone beneath him and pushed himself up from the ground. He was trembling, but his spirit burned brighter than ever. He planted his feet firmly, quieted his racing heart, and lifted his arms, bracing himself for the storm's next move. Wind once again crashed into him, wild and furiously. But unlike before, he didn't succumb. Again and again it came, each gust even colliding into him with more force than the last. And again and again, Sunny held strong.

He narrowed his eye as he stared deep into the mouth of the beast. It roared in fury one last time as it collided against him. Sunny gritted his teeth as he held his ground. And at last, the wind began to fade. Dissolving into nothing more than a breeze, the crimson storm that had once caged him was gone. Dispersed as if it were smoke into a night sky. He had done it, he had weathered the storm. Sunny felt himself start to collapse, and he quickly gripped his knees for support as he hunched over. His lungs burned as he struggled to breathe. Slowly but surely, he was able to manage his exhausted state to see what lay past the storm. He looked up, examining the far end of the stone bridge. Waiting in silence was his true final test.

A violin rested gently beside a set of weathered sheet music, the pages fluttering slightly despite the still air. The instrument looked almost identical to the one Mari and the others had gifted him for his birthday. Practically a replica in color, strings, shape, and size. However, it bore scars, almost as if it were the exact same violin that he threw down the stars, now repaired and awaiting the return of its owner. 

Sunny sighed, realizing the implications of this trial. Awakening came with the possibility of needing to leave everything behind, so it was only nature that the final hurdle was to accept and move on from what he believed was his greatest mistake in life. Sunny knelt and lifted the violin with care, as if it were sacred. He took the bow in his right hand, nestled the violin against his shoulder, and looked down at the sheet music beside him. 

He closed his eye, let out a trembling breath, and began to play into the quiet night alone. The song that was meant to be played at the recital. One that he now would never be able to share with the ones he loved. His first notes wavered, as his hands shook. The scars across his fingers reacted with each of his motions. But he persisted. Slowly and carefully, the melody unfolded. Stronger, steadier.

He could almost hear his sister playing alongside him with her piano. Harmonizing with him. As the song continued, he felt himself relax. Playing their song not to prove he could do it right, but to embrace the melody. He let go of his fear, of his guilt. He reminisced, not pondering the what-ifs, but to cherish his time with his friends and family. He smiled faintly with tears falling from his eye, as he played one final note.

He stood there for a moment, taking everything in. Then he hesitantly opened his eye, finding nothing different aside from a white door now at the edge of the bridge, as if it had always been waiting. He turned to see if there was a piano somewhere, but alas, he found no one else. Just him and the violin. Maybe it was his imagination. Maybe it wasn't. It didn't matter in the end.

He lowered the violin and gently placed it back where he found it, along with the sheet music. Then he walked to the door. His hand hovered on the knob for a moment before gripping it tightly and turning the knob. The door creaked open, and a soft light poured through, washing over him in gentle waves. As it enveloped him, he allowed himself to remember all their shared memories together. 

And then he stepped forward. From somewhere beyond the light, a voice whispered a simple phrase.

'Awaken.'

As Sunny regained consciousness in the mortal world, he felt different. He felt powerful, almost like he could make almost anything happen at the snap of his fingers. He turned to his side, where the Vampire bit him, and found the wound had completely healed. Almost as if he was never bitten. Sunny then checked his right eye and found it still missing. Despite the power he felt, he had a feeling he wouldn't be able to recover his eye, and he was beyond irritated about that. Good thing he had something to lash his anger out on.

He turned his attention to his attacker, the vampire was now on the floor, slowly trying to pull himself away from the small boy. It seemed like, while unconscious, the awakening had manifested against his killer. The monster’s legs were smeingly smashed to mush. He looked like he had been repeatedly smashed against the floor, judging from the dirt on his jacket and the divots that were now present around the floor. He might as well finish the job…

Sunny found himself instinctively muttering under his breath the phrase “Red Hands,” as he raised his left hand towards the vampire. A swarm of red hands appeared from the ground around the vampire, trapping its feeble attempt to escape. The vampire realized the situation quickly and turned his attention to the now awakened Sunny.

“Wait, wait, wait, hold on a second kid. Let's not do anything hasty.” The monster pleaded. Sunny felt himself become furious. How dare this monster beg for mercy now? After he coldly murdered him, and most likely murdered several others before him. He’ll show this monster what he truly deserves. He slowly tilted his fingers, causing the red hands to move towards the vampire and grab hold of him. The monster's eyes widen as he could feel the grip of the red hands tighten by the moment. It only dawned on the creature just then that this boy was intent, or more accurately, a zealous aspiration to end him.

“PLEASE, I'LL DO ANYTHI-” before the vampire could finish, Sunny closed his hand into a fist. Several loud cracking sounds can be heard as the body of the vampire was crushed into a distorted mess. Sunny kept his fist closed for a moment, admiring his handiwork before letting his hand fall. Causing the various red arms surrounding the vampire to dissipate, dropping the monster’s body onto the floor. Sunny looked right into the monster's eye, now cloudy with no hint of thought behind it.

The vampire was dead.

Sunny felt himself relax a bit now that the monster was truly gone. He slowly walked out of the alleyway, not before kicking the corpse in a bit of spite. Despite his newfound power, he was still extraordinarily tired. He positioned himself on the spot he had earlier and let himself slowly doze off. As his subconscious began to rest, another stranger began to walk towards the boy. He stepped towards the boy and examined him for any other injuries aside from the eye. He muttered to himself as he picked up the boy and carried him to somewhere much safer.

Joseph had an awful night. It was already terrible that he wasn't able to get any information from those vampire gangsters. But now he had the death of a kid on his hands. Or at least would've if it wasn't for the fact he stumbled upon the supernatural form of a lottery winner. While he was glad he didn't have to add ‘child murder’ to his resume, he was still worried as hell about the kid. To have seemingly unlimited power even for a brief moment fucks with the brain a bit, ‘absolute power corrupts absolutely’ or however that overused quote goes. And that's not even factoring in their avatars being the absolute worst or something interfering with the process. Fuck he hoped it wasn't the latter, he really didn't want to deal with a Dreamwalker right now. 

This would've been all avoided if he hadn't listened to that damn traveling salesman, blessed bullets at that price were too good to be true. It's going to be a pain in the ass to try and dispose of everything he bought from that asshole. If he ever finds that conman ever again he swears he'll @%#$& %#!^$@ ^@%$# and !&$%$# ^×$@^#@ !%%#&@ until ^$@&^#% %&* @#^%&# to the point it would make a war criminal think what they do is tame in comparison.

He hoped that today would be better, but with how shitty the kid looked, he doubted it. This kid clearly had issues, even ignoring the awakening. Considering he was in the middle of fucking nowhere made it pretty clear he was running away from home. And there was a good shot he faced abuse at home, given the non-vampire-related injury. While he was applying medical treatment to him, he noticed scars that seemed like they existed before his encounter with that damn vampire. 

It sucked having to be responsible for once. If it wasn't for the fact that the kid who was currently sleeping in his RV was a reality-warping mess, he probably would be drinking the events of yesterday away. But liquor had to wait, this kid needs help and by the decree of the Hunter he'll make sure he gets it.

He got up from his chair, he might as well cook up both of them a nice breakfast before they discuss the annoying details. He stepped around the mess that was his RV and towards his fridge, taking out some eggs and sausages. He took out a pan from the storage space and started to cook on the stove. As he started working on the kid’s food, the scent of the sizzling meat and egg combo filled the camper. The smell seemed to begin to stir the boy from his slumber. Joseph chuckled to himself, ‘of course, he would wake up through food.’

Sunny wiped his eye for a moment as his vision slowly came back to him. It then dawned on him that he wasn't lying down on the grassy fields that he had fallen asleep on last night, but on a worn-out bed. He also now had a bandage wrapped around where his right eye used to be and around his hands. Confused, he hastily examined his surroundings. He seemed to be in a camper, it was a bit cramped, but it seemed almost cozy. An example of this was the pillow he had lain his head on. While it looked faded and didn’t match the bed he was using, it still provided comfort, almost like a second home. The only thing Sunny could criticize was how messy it was, from crumbs on the counter to papers seemingly haphazardly lying on the tables and floor. It was as if the owner only made a half-hearted attempt to clean it every now and then, but still had things organized, even if no one else could make sense of it.

He then turned his attention to the man, whom he assumed was the owner and the person who brought him here. The man looked like he was in his late 30s, his brown hair and beard were similar to his camper in that they were somewhat messy but functional. He wore an old green military jacket with dark blue pants and hiking boots. The man was staring at Sunny with his amber eyes. Sunny was somewhat worried despite not feeling any hostile intentions from the man. After yesterday, he couldn’t help but find anyone he didn’t know extremely frightening. Before he could assume the worst, the man brought a plate of eggs and sausages close to him with accompanying utensils.

“Hope you don’t mind your eggs over easy, kid. You're not allergic to eggs, right?” 

“N-No, I'm n-not allergic.” Sunny said as he took the plate and utensils from the man. His fear of the possible dangers of this man was overpowered by his current hunger.

“Good. Last thing I need is you pukin’ on my floor. Anyway, what’s your name?” The man asked.

“S-Sunny.”

“Sunny, huh? Neat name. I’m Joseph. Sleep well?”

“I s-slept fine, the bed was a 4/10.” Sunny flatly stated

“4/10!?” Joseph remarked, flabbergasted. “Picky fucker, ain’t ya? What’s wrong with my bed, your highness ?”

“W-Well, it’s just the mattress feels uneven and lumpy. The pillow is a bit worn out and does not match the sheets. And the bed reeks of coffee.” Sunny critiqued, he probably would’ve gone on a full tangent about the nuances of a nice bed if he didn’t have at least some self-awareness about how much of a weirdo he’s being. 

“Didn’t expect some stray I dragged off the street would turn out to be a goddamn mattress critic.” Joseph joked a bit. “Well, that and being able to slay a vampire.”

Sunny dropped the fork he was currently using. How did this man know that thing was a vampire? Did he know he had awakened moments prior and killed that monster? Was this man secretly a monster and planning to kill him? Sunny’s fear quickly rose to similar levels to the previous night.

“Hey, I just cleaned that!” Joseph snapped, unaware of Sunny’s current panic. “Damn it, you dirty any more of my shit and you’re scrubbin’ it clear, you hear me!”

“S-Sorry…” Sunny whimpered as Joseph picked up the dirty utensil and set it into the kitchen sink.

“Ugghh, it’s fine…” Joseph begrudgingly grunted, trying to calm Sunny down after noticing his panic. “I’m guessin’ you’re confused as hell ‘bout last night. I got answers. Some. But I got questions too. So here’s the deal. You ask me something, I answer. Then I ask you something, and you answer. We ping-pong this thing 'til we're both satisfied. Sound fair?"

“D-Deal.”

“Good, ‘cause I sure as shit need to know what the hell happened last night. But you go first.” Joseph requested as he found his way to a chair near Sunny, settling down with his arms crossed.

Sunny decided to get the big question out of the way. “Ok-kay. A-Are you h-here to k-kill me?”

“Are you planning on world domination?”

“No.” 

“Then no. Besides, if I wanted you dead, you'd have bled out in the alley and I’d be havin' a quieter breakfast." Joseph notes, his causal admittance to being fine with murder didn’t help Sunny’s worry at all. “So, how’s your eye? You need anything, like painkillers?"

“No, I’m f-fine actually…”

“Hmm, guess I oughta let Desmond know, turns out pain relief is another perk of Awakening.” Joseph then pulls out his phone and types something. Sunny was initially shocked by his mentioning his awakening but remembered Gerome’s words of its aftershock. He began to wonder how this person knew about both vampires and the awakening, to the point that he found them casual topics. “Anyway, what’s your next question?”

Sunny began to think for a moment before asking. “A-Are you awakened? You seem f-familiar with the magical world and didn’t s-seem shocked finding the vampire dead. Or that I…k-killed it.” Sunny was still a bit shaken by the fact that he actually killed something. But that thing deserved it in his mind.

“Me? Nah, not in the way you did. I didn’t get some fancy ass powers. Just got the reality check that this fantasy bullshit is real…and a dead girlfriend to go with it.” Joseph muttered coldly.

“...I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Don’t sweat it kid, happened a decade ago. It’s old pain. The point is that after that nightmare, I swore nobody else would go through that same crap if I could help it. Did some digging, found a group of equally insane bastards who knew about everything, and convinced ‘em to let me join in. Took a while, but eventually they agreed. Now it’s my job to hunt monsters, lunatics, and any paranormal sacks of shit that even try to lay a finger on good people.”

“Was the vampire that attacked me one of the…hunted?”

Joseph seemed a bit startled at that comment as he coughed in a bit of surprise. “Yeah… sorry about that mess. That particular bloodsucker was actually a job of mine. His crew was runnin’ some back-alley drug operation around these parts. My job was to scope it out and ultimately shut it down.” Joseph gritted his teeth slightly. “Shit, of course didn’t go as planned. One of those bastards slipped through. And the next thing I know, I find him dead next to you, napping. If I hadn’t screwed up, you’d still have both eyes. Or at least, that was the theory before I started connecting some dots.”

Sunny was confused about what Joseph implied with that last comment. Did he find out about his family and his fight with Mari? How else would he have found out how badly his eye was before the vampire attacked?

“Now it’s my turn. Why’d you run off? Problems at home? Bad blood with your folks?"

Sunny was relieved that he didn’t know the story since it meant he hadn’t contacted his parents yet. But he was still confused by how Joseph deduced his situation. “How did you know I ran away?”

“Look, kid. I found you stuck in the middle of nowhere with fucking woodchucks around your right eye. Doesn’t take a genius to figure out shit wasn’t sunshine and rainbows back home. And for the record, it was a pain in the ass to pull those little bastards out. You’re probably going to owe me something just for that alone.”

“S-Sorry about t-that…” He was having trouble answering Joseph’s question, mainly since he didn’t want to give the wrong impression of those he cared about.  “I ran away because of a fight I had with my sister, Mari. It was about a recital that we were going to do for everyone. I wasn’t that great at playing the violin since I only got it this year. Meanwhile, my sister has been a prodigy with the piano that she has had for a couple of years now. I kept making mistakes when we practiced, which started getting on Mari’s nerves. My family has always been…not the best when it comes to things not going perfectly.”

“Ahhh, I got it. Those kinds of parents. The ones who have impossible standards for their kids and get all uppity when they aren’t able to meet them. Must be real fun at parties. Guessing that trait rubbed off onto your sister too, didn’t it?” Sunny simply nodded in response. “Figures. You’d be surprised how common that shit is in my line of work. Happens more than you’d think. Parents push and push ‘til the kid breaks, then wonder why their baby’s out makin’ deals with shit that belongs six feet under. You could imagine how fast shit hits the fan there.”

Joseph leaned back as he went on. “It’s fucking idiotic, really. No room to breathe, no room to fail. When the kid finally snaps, it’s always the same tune of ‘where did we go wrong?’ Like they weren’t busy hammerin’ their expectations into your skull since you were in diapers."

Joseph realized he was on a tangent. He grunted as he tried to remember where Sunny’s story left off. “So let me guess. Your sis kept the pressure on, you cracked like an egg and did something stupid, she then panicked and did something even stupider. Then you ran off, yeah?” Sunny once again nods in response, though with more hesitation. “Two for two. Shit, I’m on fire today. Alright, kid. Cards on the table. What exactly went down?”

“W-Well…as the date of the recital got closer and closer, the practices became more e-extreme as I was still m-messing things up. My hands started getting b-blisters, but I was too afraid to mention it to h-her. So I tried my best to hide and w-work through the pain. Yesterday was my b-breaking point. I never t-truly cared about the recital, it was just an excuse to s-spend time with Mari. But it became too m-much for me to h-hide any l-longer, so I t-threw the v-violin down the s-stairs. M-Mari got r-really u-upset with me and…p-pushed m-me down t-the stairs.” He felt himself hiccup in fear, recounting everything. Tears started forming as he thought about it once again. Sunny turned his attention to Joseph, who was just staring blankly at the window. 

The man sighed before rubbing the back of his neck as he turned back to Sunny.  “You got any more questions, kid?”

Sunny seemed to have forgotten the deal they made, he hadn’t thought of another question to ask him. Then his thoughts wavered to a specific person. “W-When I w-was ‘awakening’, I met a strange man. He called himself Gerome, he had a mask instead of a head, and wore a purple suit. Do you know anything about him?”

“Hmm, don't think so. I'm guessing that's your avatar.” Sunny tilted his head in confusion. Joseph noticed this and rolled his eyes. “Right, should’ve figured you wouldn’t know what the hell that means yet. Alright, listen up, since I’m not repeating myself. An avatar is …well, it’s something. It’s a guide, more or less, for folks who’ve awakened. Helps push you to the next level, teaches you how to pull power outta places you didn’t know existed. I call them ‘something’ ‘cause they could practically manifest as anything. Gods, monsters, childhood pets, or a random toy that talks in rhymes. I heard of one case of an avatar being the fucking color orange, stupidest shit I’ve ever heard. Now, what did yours tell you?”

Sunny then recounted his conversation with Gerome. 

“Well, shit…that’s promising. Weird but promising.” Joseph stroked his chin for a moment.  “Usually, avatars are scheming two-faced assholes. Plenty of stories out there with poor suckers getting guided right into body swaps, eternal torment, or worse. Trust me, there’s a hell of a lot of things worse than a typical death. So the fact that yours ain’t askin’ for anything is rare. Doesn’t mean he’s clean, though. Keep your guard up. He may have given you the push to awaken, but that could just mean he’s playin’ the long game.” Joseph warned. “Then again… from your point of view, I’m just another shady asshole with a nice truck and a bad attitude.” Sunny nodded, which caused Joseph to laugh.

“Hah! Smart kid. Some paranoia’ll keep you breathing longer. My time hunting taught me that monsters get creative as hell in finding breaches that put them at risk. All about survival at the end of the day. Speaking of survival…” Joseph then looked straight into Sunny’s eye, and a serious scowl replaced his lighthearted expression. “I know Gerome already gave you the ‘don’t go back’ speech. Hell, he’s not wrong. It’s dangerous, no doubt. But here’s the thing. I still think you should go back.”

"You told me you care about your family. Your friends. That kind of love? That doesn’t just vanish ‘cause some monster took a swing at you. They’re probably scared outta their damn minds, wondering where the hell you disappeared to. You should go back and make things right.  And if something nasty tries to follow you back, I’ll be right there with a shotgun ready to send that sucker back to its grave. How’s that sound?"

Sunny pondered the offer for a bit. He could go back and fix everything?  He could make things right with his parents and Mari and continue life with his friends as if nothing bad had ever happened. That should be the right choice. But his heart told him otherwise. 

“I…c-can’t go back…not right now.” Sunny finally responded quietly, almost like a whisper.

Joseph raised his eyebrow, waiting for Sunny to continue.

“I-I want to, I really do.” Sunny’s voice cracked a bit. “B-But if I do…I could only imagine the worst happening…” 

“ I’m scared w-what would happen if I were a-around them. I don’t t-trust myself anymore. N-Not after what I’ve seen, not a-after what I’ve done.” He looked down at his bandaged hands, the memory of his hand in the air as forces he commanded crushed the vampire flashed in his mind. “I killed someone. He deserved it, b-but at the moment I barely thought a-about that. I only felt relief seeing its corpse…that scares me…”

Joseph leaned a bit back. “Do you honestly think pushing them away is the best way to protect them?”

"Maybe not." Sunny muttered. "But being near them might get them killed. I-If I go back and s-someone I loved got h-hurt, whether by a monster or by my o-own hands. I don’t think I could live with myself."

Sunny took a deep breath, looking at Joseph with newfound determination. "But I can help people. Out there. People like me. People who don’t have someone to show up when the monsters come crawling out of the dark. Maybe I wasn’t strong enough to protect myself before. But now I have power. Now I can be strong."

Joseph's eyes widen in shock before trying to put up a poker face. The man didn’t expect Sunny to have any desire in the world of the unnatural, especially in becoming a Hunter. He thinks to himself about the possible reasons Sunny would want to join him before ultimately realizing one. But he needs to question Sunny further to confirm his belief.

“Now, why the hell would you want to become a hunter? It ain’t like the movies, y’know. There’s no parade when you save the day. Just you, some scars picked up along the way, and maybe some nightmares. Every hunt, there’s a solid chance you die. Half the time, you’re covered in blood and wondering if it’s your own as you desperately fight against shit twice the size of you. It’s a job not for those who can’t stomach the hard calls that you’ll have to eventually make and learn to live with the rest of your life. And between you and me, kid…you don’t exactly have the build for a fighter. Not judging, of course, just sayin’. So what changed to make it so you would want to do something this stupid?”

“You told me how you became a hunter due to a tragic event…one that was caused by the unknown world. How you wanted to prevent that tragedy from happening to someone else. Well, I feel similar…” Sunny paused as he looked towards the window before continuing. “I don’t know how to describe it. I feel a desire…no, a need to use the powers I received. So please, let me do what you do. Teach me how to fight. To protect. To survive. To make sure that no one will be forced away from those they love, just like how I was…” 

Sunny sat there in silence, he didn’t want to face Joseph in case he was angry with him. He felt like he just spat in the face of a kind stranger, one who was offering him safety. But those fears quickly subsided with laughter. He turned to see Joseph with his hands over his head, leaning back on his chair, and heartily laughing to himself. The man slowly calmed down before putting his hands on his knees.

“Well, I’ll be damned, you little shit.” Joseph said, sporting a wide grin. “Maybe you got what it takes after all!”

“W-What?”

“You’ve got guts. Real guts. And not the fake kind people put on to impress others. You’ve been through the ringer, and instead of crawling back to safety, you’re choosing to charge back into the unknown.”

“I-It’s not like I want to…” Sunny turned, unsure if he should feel guilty or proud. “… I just don’t want anyone else to pay the price for me.”

“And that’s what it means to be a hunter.” Joseph remarked. “Making the tough choices. Choices that most grown men aren’t willing to even consider. But you, you’re the exception. You ain’t doin’ this for glory. You ain’t doin’ this for revenge, even if that asshole sure as hell deserved it. You’re doin’ it ‘cause you give a damn. About people. About protectin’ them. That’s the difference needed to become a hunter. We take the hit so others don’t have to.” Joseph stood up from his chair and walked towards Sunny.

“What I’m sayin’ is I like your decision. You’ve got a rough road ahead. It’ll be a pain in the ass, but I think you've got what it takes.” He stretches a hand out towards Sunny. “So kid…are you ready to join the hunt?”

Chapter Text

“Okay, but would their weaknesses like…stack? Or do they cancel each other out? Like boom, no more weaknesses?”

“...What? No. That’s not how it works, dumbass. They’d just get all the weaknesses. Sunlight, silver, garlic, the whole cursed buffet.”

Sunny found himself constantly reminiscing over the day he became a hunter and those he had abandoned. He knew it wasn’t healthy to constantly go through what-if scenarios, but it was one of the few childish habits he’d never outgrown. Even after telling Joseph that his old life was behind him, he couldn’t stop thinking about them and their life without him. He told himself they were strong enough to move on without him. He hoped they were, at least. If the past five years could turn him from a weak and scared boy into the so-called ‘ One Eyed Raven’ , then surely the people he left behind could find peace in his absence…

‘Raven’, that was his hunter's name. The only name he’d been acknowledged by for the past five years. Unlike other aspects of his old life, his name was easy to leave behind. He never had much attachment to it. After all, his birth name never quite fit if you asked him, it was a walking contradiction. Nothing about him exclaimed ‘Sunny’ back then, and especially not now. Raven fits better. Closer to who he is, for better or for worse. However, learning that the name partly came from his boss’s strange obsession with birds left a weird taste in his mouth. Not as weird as when it started catching on…

“Okay, but then would they count as undead or beast? Like, on the official Hunter data?”

“If it's still got the dead look and no heartbeat, probably undead. But if it starts shedding or howling or some crap. Who even knows? The whole classification system is trash anyway.”

His name had spread not long after his third year hunting. Among his fellow hunters, ‘Raven’ meant results. Someone who got things done even when the odds were stacked against him, someone who came back from missions others didn’t. While others hesitated, he was often the first to volunteer, drawn to the danger that sent most running. Some found honor in fighting beside him, while others saw it as a warning sign of which missions not to join. The monster told a similar story. He started catching whispers around the same time hunters began throwing his name around. ‘Raven’ became a name that strikes fear in the beasts that he hunts, almost like their own boogeyman. Some even found thrill in the idea of testing themselves against him. To be the one to vanquish the so-called One-Eyed Raven . And he hated it.

He hated the sick grin those foolish monsters gave him, like they’d waited their whole lives just to see if they could claim his head as their prize. He hated how even veterans of the hunt saw him as some kind of prodigy, like he had earned this reputation. But he didn’t, not in his eyes. He only ever sought out the deadly missions his fame came from because he believed that deep down, his life was more expendable than most around him. It wasn’t talent or smarts that got him through them, as those around him believed. It was simply dumb luck and a stubborn refusal to die. He’d seen hunters that were actually worth the praise, those who were smarter, faster, stronger. Hunters who should’ve had their names written in the hall of the greats. But they died and were forgotten. That fact hurt him more than any beast ever could.

“There are too many questions and not enough answers! We need an expert in the field. Like a monsterologist!”

“Monsterologist’s not even a real word! Tch, Raven, can you please explain to Owl here why she’s a moron? Uh…Raven, you there? Crap, he’s doing that thing again.”

The irony of the situation was that his so-called fame only brought him more danger. The monsters he had to deal with got stronger, smarter, meaner. Missions became more complex with higher stakes. Fights couldn’t be done clean, they always became messy. Each one pushed him harder than the last, yet he got them done all the same. Because if someone had to do the dirty work, it might as well be him.

But the more he was pushed, the more he felt himself change. He started seeing combat differently. A rush like no other. It terrified him how natural it was now. The need to throw himself into danger, to protect others by being the one to bleed in their stead. But these feelings, the thrill he had on the battlefield, weren’t saving lives. Not really. It felt more like an addiction. He wasn’t the protector that he dreamed of becoming all those years ago. Mari would’ve hated seeing him toss his life away like this…

“RAVEN!!”

Sunny’s train of thought was interrupted by the two hunters in front of him. Owl was practically bouncing in place from excitement, her bright grin only growing wider as she waited for Sunny to focus on the present. She wore an outfit that would make seasoned hunters wince, a simple black skirt and white shirt under an oversized wizard robe that dragged slightly behind her. Hunters were trained to blend into society. Naturally, Owl did the exact opposite. The bob-cut blonde-haired girl looked like she was on her way to a fantasy-themed frat party. Ever since her awakening, she has embraced the chaos of her new life with an alarming amount of cheer. Probably helped by the fact that she was still in contact with her parents, who were now one of the key sponsors of their hunter organization, Garuda.

Standing beside her was Hawk, arms crossed with his usual scowl. He wore a worn-out blue tank top with a faded snowman mascot on the front and jeans that had clearly seen better days. His clothes didn’t offer much protection, but that wasn’t why he wore them. Sunny knew all too well that Hawk didn’t have many options. He had given up school, dreams, and everything else when his mom got sick. And after she passed, fighting monsters just became the next thing he could throw himself into. 

The three of them were a part of a small group of eight. It started with Hawk. After he joined Garuda, he persistently annoyed Sunny till he let him tag along on some of his missions. Sunny eventually relented and let him join him in a hunt. Eventually, others joined in, like Owl. Some by choice, others by circumstances. Despite each of their unique situations, the group turned into something that resembled a real unit.

"...Good, got you attention finally. Can you weigh in on this whole freak-show hybrid thing? She’s been asking what would happen if a vampire turned a werewolf." Hawk remarked. 

“Yeah, Hawk and I need your help! I have at least three more ‘werepire’ questions and one of them may or may not involve romance. I need answers!” Owl chirped.

“First off, you’re both idiots.” Hawk rolled his eyes like it was a compliment, Owl took it as one. “Second, a ‘werepire’ couldn’t exist. The curse of the werewolf is inherently tied to beast magic. A vampire turning is done via death magic. They don’t mix. Owl, you should know that firsthand. You’re supposed to be a better mage than me, after all.”

“Well, first, your answer is boring.” Owl groaned, crossing her arms. “Second…don’t remind me. Here I thought that magic would make learning actually fun. Instead, I’m stuck in a dusty room for hours while a bald guy lectures on about another bald guy. Even here, I can’t escape boring old academia. Boredom really is humanity’s greatest predator.”

“Speaking of dull lectures,” Hawk chimed in, “how’s college treating you?”

“Absolutely awful! I swear, if I learn how to time-travel, I’m blasting the guy who decided math needed letters. I swear, without my tutor I’d be roadkill by midterms.” Owl paused, as if remembering something. “Oh! Speaking of, my tutor seems odd to me. Raven, can you give me a vibe check? I think he might be a monster in disguise. Possibly.”

“Sure,” Sunny replied flatly.

“Okay, hear me out. He’s too perfect. Like, supermodel-tier look, his teeth actually sparkle when he smiles. Freaky smart, I mean, he’s my tutor, so, duh. He’s funny in a way that screams like he’s hiding something. He’s polite and gets along with everyone he meets. He also seems to be good at everything. And he is a crazy good chief. He brought me cookies once and they were amazing. No one that flawless is human, right? Right?”

“Wow, truly horrifying. Sounds like a real nightmare. Or, hear me out. Maybe just a dude who likes cooking. Dumbass.” Hawk remarked uninterested.

“I’m serious, Hawk!” Owl retorted. “No one is that perfect unless they’re hiding something! I’m telling you, he’s definitely not human.”

“You also thought my old notebook was haunted because I used invisible ink on it a few times.”

“Okay, but the first time you saw writing appear out of nowhere, you were probably freaked out as well!”

“Nope. I didn’t care. Like a normal person. And I definitely didn’t toss it in a fire like a lunatic.”

“Hey! I replaced it. Why are you still so butt-hurt about it?” She whined. “I swear, one day I will be right and then you’re gonna feel real dumb when your soul gets stolen by some hot demon tutor who’s playing the long game.”

“Unlike you, I never needed help in math.” Hawk quipped back.

The two were back at it again with another dumb argument. Sunny barely acknowledged them as he reflected on what Owl had just said. ‘Perfect. Sparkling smile. Absurdly smart. Good at cooking.’ Those traits all reminded him too much of one of his friends back in Faraway.

He shook the thought away.  He was being too hopeful again. It was just a coincidence, nothing more. His eye flicked back to his two companions. Owl was now on some rant that was about a topic that someone his age definitely shouldn’t be around for, while Hawk looked like he regretted every life decision that brought him here.

His eye then shifted to a pale figure slowly approaching the group. Neither Owl nor Hawk seemed to notice her as they continued their bickering. The girl was a member of their group, named Shade. She was relatively new to hunting, but with a supernatural background that was unorthodox even for the supernaturally gifted hunters. Sunny didn’t know all the details, but what he did know was that she was a half-spawn who was trained from childhood and worked as a bounty hunter. Her old group fell under mysterious circumstances a year ago. Joseph took her in afterward.

The girl reminded him of himself, a little bit too much. She was practically the twin of his younger self, but with the same quiet eyes of a killer as his current self. He found a strange sense of comfort with her in that while she excelled in the messy side of hunting, she still struggled in a very human way, like how she was now trying, and failing, to get the group to notice her.

“...Uh…h-hey gu-”

“You’re being ridiculous,” Hawk snapped at Owl. “Not everything weird is a monster. Sometimes weird is just, well, weird.”

“...um…I-I h-hav-ve som-”

“ I only assume that hot weird people are monsters. That’s reasonable!” Owl shot back, louder.

“...I-I uh-”

Sunny watched her stammer, shoulders pulled in tight like she was trying to fold into herself. He decided that enough was enough. Without a word, Sunny reached over and pinched both Owl and Hawk’s ears.

“You’re absolutely hopeless O-OW!”  

“Hah, serves you ri-OUCH!”

They both recoiled in sync as Sunny lectured the two. “CHILDREN, Shade is trying to talk. Now, go ahead.” Sunny's eye shifted to the girl.

Shade hesitated a bit, fiddling with her pigtails. She then found the resolve she was looking for and quickly nodded.

“...S-sorry. Just…I have news, the Chief is calling for you, Raven.”

Sunny, in shock, released Hawk and Owl. Both grumbled in tandem as they rubbed their ears. “W-What, why?” 

“S-She didn’t tell me why…said it was c-classified…” 

“Wowey, look at you, Raven! Getting hand-picked by the Chief. That’s awesome!” Owl exclaimed with stars in her eyes.

“I’ll be damned, that is pretty cool.” Hawk scoffed, crossing his arms.

Sunny blinked. This was beyond abnormal. The Chief was a mysterious figure, seemingly rarely leaving her office. Most hunters went their entire careers without ever speaking to her directly once the initial paperwork was done. Orders were relayed through personnel and certain prominent hunters, such as Joseph. Sunny had interacted with her more than the typical hunter, but it was still only a handful of times. All were very brief and a bit unsettling. She was always calm and unreadable. And now she would call for him?

“This is…weird,” Sunny muttered to himself.

“Weird?” Owl chimed. “It should be an honor! You’re getting called up for something super top secret! That’s like, having hall of fame material dropped right on you!”

“Or a death sentence,” Hawk said bluntly. “Depends on the mission.”

Sunny didn’t respond, he was too busy trying to wrap his mind around how fucked he was. She would only have called someone if something was truly high-stakes. Which meant either something was going very wrong… or it was about to. And it apparently might be related to him in some strange way.

“Maybe I’ll just argue with her,” Sunny muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. “Tell her to send someone else to clean up whatever mess is going down.”

“You? Argue with her?” Hawk gave a short laugh. “ Want me to prep your eulogy now, or…?”

“Shut up.” Sunny snapped back as he sighed in defeat.

“Y’know it kinda sucks,” Hawk remarked under his breath. “We’re supposed to be a team now. You shouldn’t have to go solo anymore.”

Shade glanced over at him, noticing his sadness. She opened her mouth, hesitated, before pulling a folded paper slip and offering it to him.

“Um… I-I was about to go on a mission,” she stammered. “An Oni disturbance out a few hours from here. F-Figured I’d handle it myself, but… we could go together. I-If you want.”

“Oni huh? Never fought one of those yet. Sounds interesting.” Hawk mentioned as he skimmed through the paper. “Guessing you need a ride there?” 

Shade nodded in response. 

“Alright. Let’s go punch a horned yokai.” Hawk said, now renewed with energy as he practically dragged Shade away.

“Hey! You better not let her get hurt!” Owl yelled as she jogged after the two.

“The hell do you mean, she’s tougher than both of us combined!”

“That wasn’t what I asked, did I!”

“Stop following us!”

Sunny watched as the chaotic trio wandered off, presumably to the bounty board to accept the mission officially. Sunny was now alone once again. He exhaled as he started marching his way towards the Chief’s office. It was going to take a bit, given how large this building was. He had a gut feeling that whatever the Chief had planned for him was going to be extremely awful.

The office was quiet, aside from the soft scratch of a pen against paper and the occasional flutter of wings from a small green bird, the only breath of personal touch in the cold office. The Chief sat behind her desk, moving with mechanical precision, as she signed off a stack of forms while flipping through a series of mission debriefs. A few reports were scattered to her left, each detailing a gruesome incident that she’ll have to look into after she's done with her current work. She hadn’t slept in nearly two days, not that anyone could tell. Fatigue was irrelevant. The world didn’t stop, so neither did she.

The small budgerigar in the corner of her desk chirped at her. The Chief paused, just a moment to glance its way. 

“No need to worry, I’ll be alright.” She muttered, almost too quiet to hear. The bird tilted its head curiously and fluffed its feathers in response. Blinking up at her before turning away and hopping towards its cage. A brief flicker of softness passed across her face. The kind she rarely allowed herself. Then, a couple of knocks from the door ahead of her. She didn’t need to look to know who it was.

“Enter,” she called while examining a document in her gloved hand.

The door opened slowly as a black-haired boy stepped into her office. She looked up from her work to briefly examine him in silence. The boy once called Sunny was nearly unrecognizable compared to the fragile child she had met all those years ago. He stood taller now, lean but hardened, his once small and unassuming build replaced by one shaped through survival. Long, unkempt black hair fell to his shoulders, a far cry from the short and clean style he once had. His black jacket made a poor attempt at hiding the scars that traced his body. From the outside, he looked like the kind of person you would cross the street to avoid. The two reminders left of his older self were the black gloves and eyepatch over his right eye, still covering the lasting damage from the accident like it did all those years ago.

But none of that was what caught her attention. It was his singular eye. It looked hollow, empty, but not quite dead. The spark of passion that used to sit behind it had burned out long ago. What remained was just ashes. The first time she met him, he couldn’t even speak above a whisper. That terrified, soft-spoken kid could barely deal with a slight cut during training. Now, he looked like he couldn’t even register pain.

“You called for me,” he asked, arms folded.

“I did,” she then gestures to a folder on the edge of her desk. “Read.”

He stepped forward and picked up the file without hesitation. The Chief watched in silence as his eye moved across the pages with a familiar sharpness, but she could see unease growing as he continued going through each line of the file. The mission detailed an abnormal cluster of paranormal activity, with multiple notes of high-level entities present. All localized around a town far too small to be dealing with this level of chaos. But it wasn’t the threat that made him freeze. It was a name that shocked him to his core.

“…Faraway?”

“Indeed,” the Chief replied.

A suffocating silence filled the room with the revelation. Both understood the weight of the implications of what she was asking him. To return to a place he’d sworn never to set foot in again. The town he left behind when he chose this life. The place haunted by the faces he’d abandoned. His fingers tightened around the edge of the file.

“You’re joking,” Sunny muttered at last. 

“I’m not.”

“…No.” His voice sharpened. “Send someone else. Anyone else.”

“I would have,” she replied. “But no one else knows Faraway like you did. We need that insight to eliminate the sheer quantity of incursions there quickly. We’ve identified over 200 alerts, and that number is still climbing. One even showed signs of a group you’re… very familiar with.”

She leaned in slightly, “Reports say the Death Eaters have been found in the region.”

The change in Sunny’s expression was immediate, rage took over him. Of all the gangs that played a role in the paranormal world, the Death Eaters were among his most hated. Not because they were smart or dangerous. In fact, it was their incompetence that was always Sunny’s main concern. They were loud, brutal, and reckless. They didn’t wage wars in the shadows. They craved chaos in the open. Civilians in the crossfire were just fuel for their twisted rituals. It is for that reason why Sunny helped with the various raids that would be that group's downfall. Or so he thought.

“I watched their headquarters burn,” he said through clenched teeth. “We ended them.”

“They went underground,” she replied. “You know their leader. Idiotic, but persistent. And as dangerous as they are, they’re nothing compared to the things we haven’t even identified yet.”

She gestured for him to turn the page, he complied and examined the next half of the file. He must’ve realized what she was talking about, judging by the look on his face. There were an unusually high number of reports with a danger level above three. One report even had a danger level of six. A level two monster could kill a human with ease. A six could wipe out an entire modern army with that same ease. 

Despite the information, she could still see he was hesitant about returning.

“What if I say no?” Sunny asked, though his tone said he already knew the answer.

“You won’t. Because no matter what you tell yourself, Faraway still matters to you. You wouldn’t let it rot, not if you can stop it.”

Sunny stared down at the folder for a long moment. Then exhaled a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding, and closed the file with a soft snap. Not in defiance. Just quiet resignation. The decision was made the second he saw the town name.

“Fine, I’ll leave tonight.” He muttered. “You told Joseph?”

She nodded in response. With that, he turned toward the door, shoulders tense and rigid.

“Sunny,” she called just as he reached it. The name stopped him dead in his tracks. He didn’t turn around, but the stiffening in his spine told her that name still cut deep.

“…Try to talk to them,” she said gently. “I won’t force you. But you owe it to yourself.”

He didn’t answer. 

The door shut behind him.

And silence reclaimed the room.

The Chief let out a sigh as she moved Sunny’s mission file into a growing pile of folders. She then leaned back in her chair, staring up at the ceiling. Wishing, for the hundredth time, that she had kept him far away from all of this. That she had told Joseph no. That she had buried his request form from five years ago.

But she hadn’t.

Despite her outward stillness, the green bird in the office knew better. It fluttered onto her desk again and nudged its tiny body against her hand. The Chief glanced down at the avian’s gesture of affection. She reached out and gently traced a finger down the bird’s back. Her face softened briefly as she pet the green bird.

“I only hope they can reach him in time,” she murmured. “He deserves to be selfish. Just once…”

Her gaze shifted to the scattered files on her left. Slowly with her free hand, she reached over and nudged them aside. For a moment, her gloved fingers hovered over a file she made sure Sunny didn’t see. She drew it toward her, slowly examining it once again. The name printed still hadn’t gotten any easier to read.

SUBJECT: MARI SUZUKI 

ESTIMATED DANGER LEVEL: 7

‘ Life really is playing a cruel joke on him ,’ she thought to herself.

The elevator doors sealed shut as the hum of its motor pulsated through the small interior. Sunny’s eye fixed on the glowing floor numbers as they dropped, each one dragging him closer to a future he wanted no part of. He was beyond irritated over his circumstances. Of all the places for a mass flood of paranormal activity, why did it have to be Faraway? He would’ve rather gone to any hellhole on Earth over this. Encounters with eldritch abominations made his skin crawl less compared to the thought of facing his old friends and family.

His annoyance twisted into anger at himself. ‘Five years of bloodshed and I’m still too pathetic to confront them all. What the hell do I even say if I run into them? “Sorry, I abandoned you and pretended it was for your own good?” No excuse fixes me running off for five years.’

The floor ticked down another number. His chest tightened. He tried not to picture the people he’d left behind, but their faces pressed in anyway. Their disappointment, anger, and fear. If they saw what he’d become, they’d be horrified. He shut his eye and leaned his head back against the wall. The hum of the machinery seemed louder now, the air heavier. For a moment, he almost wished the elevator would jam and trap him here between floors forever.

Then his thoughts turned darker. If monsters were crawling around Faraway, were they already in danger? Already being pulled into the world he’d tried so hard to keep them from? Maybe…his cowardice had already cost a life? He swallowed hard, panic sparking before he forced it down. ‘ No…the Chief would’ve told me if something happened. She wouldn’t keep that from me. ’ The self-reassurance did little to calm his fears.

Another number ticked past. He let out a sharp exhale. ‘It’s funny, isn’t it.  I left them so monsters could never touch them. Tore myself out of their lives so they’d be safe. And now? None of it mattered. I gave them up, and the nightmare still found its way to their door.’

The elevator beeped one last time. A sharp chime cut through the silence. He opened his eye to see the illuminated number at the top had been replaced with a single letter, notifying him that he had reached his destination. ‘Better if they didn’t recognize me at all. Better they believed Sunny had died the day he left.’

The doors slid open, spilling a wash of cold garage air into the box. Sunny stepped out slowly. “Here’s hoping a monster tears me apart before the reunion,” he muttered dryly, forcing his legs to carry him into the shadows of the facility.

The garage was mostly empty with a few trucks and cars scattered about. Most decked out with survival gear, as if this were some kind of convention for camping hobbyists. Some sat damaged, likely from whatever monster their owner came to blows with. The garage air was pungent with gasoline and cold concrete. Tools clinked somewhere in the distance, and the rhythmic scrape of a wrench could be heard echoing against the walls. 

Sunny slipped a cigarette from his pocket and, with a muttered chant under his breath, lit it as he walked toward the sound. He found Joseph crouched beside the battered camper, sleeves rolled up, one arm buried deep in the engine. The front bumper was dented, and the side paneling had claw marks from the Orthrus they had put down on their last job. 

Joseph grunted as he twisted a wrench. “You planning on actually talking to them while we’re there, or you gonna keep pretending they don’t exist?”

Sunny slowed his steps. “…You already know what I intend to do.”

Joseph glanced at him, sweat streaking the grime on his forehead. “Figures. You’re a stubborn little shit, you know that?” He then went right back to tightening a bolt. “We’re most likely stuck there for more than a year. You’re really gonna spend all that time dodging your own people? Sounds masochistic.”

Sunny’s gaze stayed low. “I’ve managed worse odds. Keeping my head down is easy.”

Joseph snorted. “Easy, my ass. But hey, if ghosting them your whole damn life’s what gets you through the night, I’m not gonna rip it out of you.” He slammed the hood shut, the metal clanging through the garage, and finally looked Sunny dead in the eye.

“What if your friends don’t stay on the sidelines, huh? What if they get roped into our shit?”

Sunny said nothing. His silence stretched, heavy, broken only by the faint tick of the engine cooling.

Joseph sighed, rolling his shoulders like he’d expected that answer all along. “Yeah. That’s what I thought.” He reached over to the workbench, grabbed a half-empty flask, and took a quick swig before pointing at Sunny with it. “And put that fucking cigarette out. You’re what, seventeen? You’ll hack up your lungs before a monster ever gets to you.”

“Replacement organs exist,” Sunny remarked, rolling his eye as he disposed of the cigarette. “Besides, you’re one to talk, old man. You drink more whiskey than water.”

“Difference is, I’m old enough to make bad decisions,” Joseph smirked, tucking the flask back.

For a moment, they stared each other down. The tension cracked all at once as both broke into an ugly laugh that echoed through the garage. It's been two years since they started trading the same damn argument. Almost like a running joke in an ongoing show. For a moment, the weight pressing on Sunny’s shoulders loosened.

Sunny turned to the camper. “…I’ll do a supply check before we head out.”

Joseph chuckled as he began to clean up his tools. “Don’t break anything, kid.”

Sunny ignored the comment as he pulled open the RV’s side door, its hinges groaning like everything else in the garage, and stepped inside.

The camper interior had changed somewhat since he started working with Joseph. The frequency of hunting expeditions had turned the camper into a clutter of random hunter equipment, books on various supernatural topics, and Sunny’s various logs of monster profiles. Sunny still made sure it was cleaner than Joseph's lackluster standards, as well as making damn sure their beds were at least a 9/10. It was one of the few personal expenses Sunny actually spent his cut of hunter pay on.

Before Sunny could sink too far into memory lane, a faint sound tugged at his attention. Soft crunching. Munching. Coming from one of the cabinets toward the back of the camper. He froze, listening. The rhythm was too steady for settling wood, too deliberate for rats. His hand slid into his jacket, fingers curling around the hilt of one of his knives. With slow steps, he moved toward the sound, careful not to make the floorboards creak. Whatever it was had gotten into the camper, and judging by the chewing, it was making itself comfortable.

Sunny let out a quiet breath, then in one smooth motion yanked the cabinet doors open, blade ready to strike.

Instead of teeth or claws, he was greeted by just fur…and a scattered mess of crumbs. A familiar raccoon dog sat nestled in the cabinet, happily tearing into a half-eaten bag of Joseph’s favorite chips. The creature wore its little blue happi coat and a crooked leaf hat, its beady eyes lighting up with mischief. A Tanuki, one of Sunny’s spiritual companions.

Sunny pinched the bridge of his nose, sliding the knife back into its sheath. “Of course,” he muttered.

The Tanuki paused mid-crunch and, realizing it had been caught, sheepishly held out a chip like a peace offering. Crumbs dusted its whiskers. Sunny’s eye twitched. Instead of taking it, he fished a small metal rod from his jacket. With a twist, the end hissed as smoke unfurled from its tip.

“Return.” His voice was calm, firm.

The smoke rushed forward, curling around the Tanuki. The creature let out a squeaky protest, scrambling back into the cabinet in a desperate attempt to flee. In the process, it knocked over several other bags, spilling snacks all across the floor. Blue light swallowed it whole, and in the blink of an eye, the cabinet was empty. Aside from the wreckage it left behind.

Sunny stared at the mess. He never understood why a bonded spirit was able to just wander around without its summoner’s approval whenever it felt like it. If those moments were counted as 'incidents', the daily tally would’ve quadrupled.

“Hey Joseph!” he called out through the door. “You’re gonna need to buy more of those chips you like. Think Tanuki ate through half your stock.”

The clatter of a wrench hitting the floor was followed by a string of cusses echoing from outside. All unmistakably aimed at Sunny’s troublemaking spirit. Sunny couldn’t help but snicker under his breath.  He then grabbed a broom from another cabinet and started sweeping up the crumbs. For a brief moment, the irritation eased, and a small smile tugged at his lips. If nothing else, getting back to Faraway meant one thing he couldn’t run from. ‘…At least I’ll finally get some decent pizza from Gino’s.’

Chapter Text

A boy sat with his legs crossed on a faded green rug, his backpack lying open before him. Everything was arranged in neat rows, a habit drilled into him by long practice. He held a notebook in one hand, reciting the name of each piece of equipment softly as his pen hovered above the checklist.

“Water bottle, check… snacks, check… first aid kit, check… flashlight, check… map, check… lighter, check… journal, check… camera, check… multi-tool, check…”

His pen tapped against the paper on the last item. He paused on it for a moment before reaching towards it. He held up the worn photograph, its edges curled with age. The photo depicted a group of children sprawled across a picnic blanket beneath the sun, laughing as though nothing in the world could touch them. His thumb brushed the corner where he sat smiling alongside a black-haired kid. For an instant, he felt as if he couldn’t breathe.

“…Sunny,” he whispered to himself, as though calling for his best friend’s name would soothe him. He then slipped the photo carefully into his backpack along with the notebook and closed it shut. As he stood up, he could've sworn the bag felt heavier than it should.

He decided to ignore it, moving out of his room and towards the end of the narrow hallway, stepping through it carefully. At the end, he paused at a door, raising his hand. A few coughs answered him before he even knocked. Then, a raspy voice called, “It’s open.”

Basil slowly opened the door.

The room had once belonged to his grandmother, traces of her still lingered in it. From the scent of orchids that persisted in the old room to a quilt draped across the bed. But the space had changed since her passing. Newer additions were added to the room, such as the posters that clung to the walls in mismatched clusters, a brown bat with nails that leaned against the dresser, a photo frame sat on the nightstand, and a small enclosure that housed a little bunny.

On the bed lay a girl, propped against her pillows. The blanket was pulled high around her shoulders, but her arms still shook faintly beneath the fabric. Pink-dyed strands of hair clung to her cheeks, plastered there by a sheen of fever sweat. Her skin had lost its usual warm color, leaving her pale in the dim light that filtered through the half-closed curtains. Even her eyes, once so sharp and restless, looked dulled by exhaustion. Still, when she noticed him in the doorway, she tilted her chin up, her lips tugging into something that might have been a smirk if it weren’t so unsteady.

“Well? Today’s the big day, huh?”

The sight made his stomach turn, fingers curling against the doorframe. Aubrey was the toughest person he knew, typically unshakable. When the world had turned cruel, she was the one who stood between him and it. Fiery, stubborn, aiming that bat of hers at anyone dumb enough to push him around. She had been the anchor he clung to when everything else slipped away. But now, that same anchor trembled beneath a mound of blankets, her voice cracked and thin, her body betraying her strength. Seeing her this fragile, almost breakable. Made something inside him ache with helplessness.

“…Aubrey,” he uttered softly, the name seemed to sink into the still room.

She scoffed weakly. “Don’t look at me like that. It’s just a cold. I’ll be fine.”

But Basil had heard those words before, in this very room. Whispers from lips that had gone pale in their final weeks. Promises that things weren’t as bad as they looked. A smile that tried to convince him there would be more time. His grandmother had told him a similar story, again and again, trying to protect him from the truth that crept closer each day. ‘Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll be better tomorrow.’ Those words had been the last he heard from her. Remembering it now, watching Aubrey force the same mask of reassurance, made his stomach twist even more.

“You’re not fine,” he trembled, stepping closer. His voice shook. “You’re—”

“Seriously, Basil, I’m fine. If someone here needs help right now, it’s you. You look like you’re about to faint.” Aubrey began to chuckle, but it cracked into a violent coughing fit. She doubled over, clutching the blanket. Basil’s panic surged as he dropped to her side.

“See?” His words tumbled out in a rush. “You’re not okay. Maybe I should stay, I can skip today, I—”

“Basil.” Her hand caught his wrist, warm but shaking. She forced a crooked grin through her shallow breaths. “Don’t. You’ve been waiting for this all week. I’m not gonna be the excuse that keeps you home.”

“But…” His throat tightened, grief rising. “I can’t lose you, too.”

The words hung heavy on the girl as her smirk faltered. She looked away for a moment, then back, softer now, her facade lowering.

“You won’t,” she stated, voice low but steady. “If I need anything, the others will help. You know that. I’ve got Polly, Kim, the rest of the Hooligans…Even Kel to check in on me. I’m not alone. You don’t have to worry every second.”

Basil hesitated, his grip on her wrist loosening. The shadows under her eyes looked too much like the ones he remembered from his grandmother’s last nights. But Aubrey was still here, still fighting. Still Aubrey.

He exhaled shakily and nodded. “…I’ll be back before it gets dark.”

Her eyes softened, and for once her smile wasn’t a mask. “Yeah. And I’ll still be here waiting.”

Basil stood there a moment longer, memorizing her face in the dim light before stepping back into the hallway.

As he shouldered his backpack, his thoughts wandered to the night she first came to live here, just about a year ago. He remembered the way she had shown up at their door with nothing but a battered duffel bag and Bunbun in their cage. Even then, she tried to hold out her tough persona, insisting she only needed a place to stay for the night and nothing else. But while that mask held strong against Basil, it cracked the instant it had to face Polly's compassion, which was almost motherly. Something the girl desperately needed.

He remembered how she had sobbed then, shoulders shaking as though the weight of everything she had carried finally broke her down. She had tried to call herself a burden, had tried to pull away even while tears streaked her cheeks, but they hadn’t let her. They embraced her. Polly told her she was safe now. Basil told her that she could stay as long as she wanted.

Over the past year, in the quiet rhythms of dinners shared and late-night talks, and in the harsher storms of grief and guilt weathered side by side. They had built a bond like no other. She became his sister in every way that mattered, not by blood, but by the life they carved out together. Bound not by choice, but by survival. Bound because, after everything they had both lost, neither could bear to lose each other.

Basil lingered in the hallway, a heavy knot winding tight inside him. The muffled sound of Aubrey’s coughs still carried faintly from behind the door, each one cutting like glass. She’d been fine only weeks ago, hanging out with him and the rest of the Hooligans. It didn’t make sense how quickly it had weakened her. How sickness could root so deep, so fast. He gripped the strap of his backpack tighter. The first to leave his life was Sunny, then it was his grandma. And now Aubrey…fading before his eyes just like the rest, and here he was just letting it happen once again.

‘I can’t keep losing them’

His breath came unsteady, and he pressed a hand to his face to steady himself. Tears started flowing from his eyes. That’s when a soft voice broke the silence. “Basil?” A soft voice broke through his panic. He looked up to see Polly standing in the doorway, worry written across her face. She must’ve heard him hyperventilating. She stepped closer, her hands warm and grounding as they rested gently on his shoulders.

“She’ll be alright,” she reassured him, as if reading the mess that is his thoughts. “You’ve taken such good care of her. More than anyone could ask.”

Basil swallowed hard, his voice trembled. “…But what if I leave and something happens? What if it’s like…like before?”

Polly shook her head, firm but gentle. “You can’t live your whole life afraid of the past. What happened wasn’t your fault then, and it won’t be your fault if something happens while you’re gone now. You can’t chain yourself down with fear. Aubrey wouldn’t want that for you.”

Basil’s lip trembled, but her words slipped into the cracks in his panic, easing it just enough.

“You’ll come back tonight,” Polly promised softly, brushing a strand of hair out of his face. “And she’ll still be here. That’s something you can hold onto.”

Basil sniffled, wiping his sleeve across his eyes before managing a shaky smile. “…Okay. I’ll be back.”

Polly’s smile was warm and steady as she pulled him into a brief hug. She lingered by the dinner table, watching while he slipped on his shoes and stepped outside. The door clicked shut behind him, leaving the house in silence. Polly whispered under her breath. "You’re stronger than you think."

Basil gave one last glance towards his home as the summer air washed over him. It met him with a sticky warmth, heavy and clinging. He adjusted the straps of his backpack, trying to draw strength from the simple act of moving forward. Each step down the walkway felt heavier than it should.

“Hey, Basil!”

He turned at the familiar voice. Kel was jogging up the sidewalk, almost tripping over himself and slightly out of breath from rushing. His grin was tired but warm. The boy’s eyes flicked to Basil’s backpack almost immediately. “You’re…heading out?”

Basil hesitated, then nodded. “…To look for him.” He swallowed. “…Aubrey’s fever hasn’t gotten better. Only worse. She keeps saying she’s fine, but…I can tell she’s not.”

Kel’s expression softened. “Basil…” He stepped closer, laying a hand on his shoulder. “Aubrey’s tough. Tougher than any of us, honestly. Remember when she used to take on those older kids by herself? She’s not going down that easily. She’ll pull through. I know she will.”

Basil shook his head, voice trembling. “…I just hate it. Sitting by while she’s sick. It feels like I can’t do anything. Like I’m useless.”

Kel’s grip on his shoulder firmed. His tone turned steady, unshakably certain. “Going to find Sunny isn’t useless. It’s not nothing. It’s something only you can do right now. And it matters.”

Basil blinked at him, and a strange sense of relief spread through him. Kel’s simple faith in him almost hurt.

“Besides, when you see him, tell him he still owes me a basketball game. Don’t let him weasel out of it.”

Basil forced himself to nod. “…I will.”

Kel’s grin returned, wide and boyish. “Make sure he also tells us everything. I bet he’s been on the craziest adventures. Fighting monsters, solving mysteries, maybe even being some kind of superhero.” He laughed, shaking his head. “I want to hear it all. Every single story.”

For the first time that morning, Basil almost smiled for real. “…Yeah. I’ll make sure he does.”

They exchanged goodbyes, and Basil set off down the sidewalk, his shadow long in the sunlight. Kel’s voice still echoed in Basil’s ear, with the same brightness he always had. Somehow, even after everything.  Basil couldn’t decide if it was admirable or downright foolish. 

Back when Sunny left, that endless energy had felt like an insult. Basil could barely hold himself together, and yet Kel still found reasons to laugh, to joke, to smile. For years, Basil convinced himself it meant he hadn’t cared as much, that maybe losing Sunny didn’t cut him the same way. But Basil had been wrong. He’d seen it in the cracks that showed after Aubrey broke his arm. Kel felt just as deeply as the rest of them. He just refused to let the pain swallow him whole. And despite everything Basil had said to push him away, Kel never stopped trying to reach him and Aubrey. That persistence… it still lingered with him.

The guilt of what he'd done still weighed on him sometimes. Kel didn’t deserve how cruel they’d both been to him. But at least now, things were better. Not perfect, not the same, but…better.

Hero was another story. He didn’t make any attempts to help them like he did with Mari. He just accepted it. Accepted their hatred, as if he thought he deserved it. Or worse, as if it didn’t matter. Basil remembered the one time when Hero let go of that calm facade, and the memory still made his hands tremble. It should have helped but instead, it left him hollow.

Three years after Sunny ran away, he was gone, following Mari to college. He didn’t come back even after Kel got hurt. Basil told himself not to care, but the truth was, he hated that silence more than any argument they could’ve had. Kel had stumbled through the fallout with them. Hero had simply walked away.

Now, as Basil thought of Aubrey pale and shivering in his grandmother’s bed, something in him twisted. Leaving her today, even with Polly and Kel nearby, stirred up that same fear. The fear of being like Hero. The fear of leaving behind those who need their support the most.

But this wasn’t the same. He wasn’t walking away. His hand tightened around his backpack straps as he forced himself onward. ‘No. I’m not abandoning her. I’m fighting for her. For all of us.’

The thought barely settled before he was poked on the cheek. Basil yelped as he stumbled forward, nearly tripping over his own feet. He spun around to find a familiar girl with red glasses there with her usual smirk, hands shoved into the pocket of her oversized blue hoodie. “Earth to Basil. You’re gonna set the pavement on fire with how hard you’re glaring at it.”

His face flushed. “I-I wasn’t glaring…” he muttered, fumbling for composure.

“You totally were.” Kim leaned closer, squinting at him. “You always look like you’re worrying over something. What is it this time, you get grounded or something?”

He hesitated, then admitted softly, “…It’s Aubrey. She’s sick. I just… I can’t stop worrying.”

Kim’s smirk slipped, if only for a second. “…Yeah. I figured. Haven’t seen her around for days now, so I guessed she was holed up after all. I saw that nerd Kel heading her way, he’s on nurse duty, right?”

Basil nodded faintly.

“Then chill. She’ll be fine. Aub’s tougher than half the guys I know.”

Her tone was blunt, but steady, grounding. Basil let out a slow breath, some of the tension easing.

Then Kim’s grin snapped back in place. “Besides, we both know what’d really cure her.”

Basil blinked. “...Huh?”

“Sunny, duh.” Kim jabbed him again in the shoulder this time, grinning wider. “Drag that boy back here. Tie him up in ribbons, slap a bow on his head, and drop him by Aub’s bed like a birthday present. Bet she’d be cured instantly. Especially if those ribbons were all that he had on.”

Basil’s face went crimson. “K-Kim!”

She doubled over laughing, wild and unapologetic. “Oh, come on! Tell me I’m wrong. Girl’s still hung up on him. Five years gone, and she’s still waiting like he’s gonna come waltzing back and sweep her off her feet. Makes me wanna barf honestly.”

Basil’s blush lingered, but his voice was quiet when he responded, “…You’re not wrong.” Because she was right. Aubrey had always liked Sunny, and those feelings had only grown into something deeper with time. And Basil… would always support her, no matter what.

Kim gave him another playful shove. “So? You’ll find him and drag him back, right? Do her a solid.”

“…Yeah.” Basil’s voice was soft, steady despite the unease. “I will.”

“Sweet. Problem solved.” She stretched, turning to go. “You really should thank me more often, y’know.”

Basil muttered under his breath, “…I do…” but she didn’t hear it.

Kim waved over her shoulder. “Later! Vance is waiting for me. We’re gonna make a big score today!”

“Wait, Kim! You shouldn’t—” Basil started, but she was already jogging off, laughing over her shoulder.

Left alone on the sidewalk, Basil sighed, but there was the faintest smile tugging at his lips. Kim’s teasing lingered, strangely comforting as his steps carried him forward. Morning sunlight dappled the pavement of the neighborhood through tree branches, their leaves stirring with a low hum. The town felt so small when he walked like this. Rows of modest houses, nearly identical aside from small sprinkles of personal touches. 

His feet slowed as a sagging “FOR SALE” sign came into view. The paint on its letters was chipped. It had been planted in that same patch of grass for nearly two years. The house that it belonged to had seen better days. The shutters hung crooked, with the lawn being filled with weeds. The paint on the siding peeled in long strips, revealing wood beneath, like the house itself was shedding skin. The Suzuki household, once alive with memories, now lingered as a shell of itself.

Basil always felt uneasy anytime he came near the house. Every time he passed it, it felt like staring at his best friend’s gravestone, even before the truth came to light. The home once used to feel like it was the center of his world, but now it was only a quiet reminder of everything she’d broken. Every time he looked at the empty windows, he could still hear her voice. That night, when Mari finally broke her silence. He closed his eyes. The memory clawed its way back to the surface whether he wanted it or not.

4 Years Ago

“I have to tell you something.”

Mari stood in front of them, her fingers knotting and unknotting the edge of her dress. The room was silent, practically suffocating. She opened her mouth a few times before her voice finally came out as a dry, crumbling whisper. It was a far cry from the bubbly cheer that radiated from the Mari he once knew.

“I…It’s all my fault,” she whispered, her voice cracking with every word. “H-He… th-threw the violin down the stairs, a-and I got s-so angry. I-I grabbed onto him and…s-screamed in his face until he c-cried.” Her breath hitched. Her chest convulsed as though speaking was tearing her apart. “H-He broke free… and fell d-down the stairs. Then h-he…he ran. He ran out the d-door before I could stop him…”

The words dissolved into sobs. Mari buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking violently. “I-I was supposed to p-protect him… I was supposed to b-be his sister… and I… I failed him. I failed Sunny…”

Kel staggered back, eyes wide. His hands hovered uselessly at his sides. Aubrey pressed her hand to her mouth, tears welling, but she said nothing.

Hero went beside Mari, his hand gently resting on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. His voice was low, coaxing. “Mari… look at me. You’ve held this by yourself for too long. You don’t have to keep punishing yourself. We’re right here. I’m right here.”

But before Mari could answer, Basil’s voice cut through the air. “No. That’s not all of it.”

Everyone turned. Basil stood stiffly, fists trembling at his sides. His gaze burned into Mari.

“I… I saw it,” he said, his tone heavy. “The violin. It wasn’t just broken. It was covered in blood.”

The words slammed into the room like a stone through glass. Kel froze. Aubrey gasped sharply, covering her mouth. Hero’s hand tightened on Mari’s shoulder. Mari’s sobs grew louder, her body folding further in on itself.

“Mari…” Hero’s voice shook. “You don’t have to—”

But Basil stepped closer, his voice rising with each word. “Don’t lie to us. Don’t you dare lie again. What really happened?”

“I-I…” Mari shook her head frantically, but the words spilled out in pieces. “I just… I wanted…the recital…t-thought it h-had to be perfect. Made him p-practice and practice, e-even to the point his fingers… even when they blistered…”

Kel winced, staring at the floor. Aubrey turned away, squeezing her arms tight against herself.

Mari’s eyes squeezed shut, tears streaming. “And t-that day, when h-he fell on the violin. It—” Her breath hitched in jagged sobs. “It cut his face. His r-right eye. There was so much b-blood…”

Basil’s whole body shook. His face twisted into something caught between grief and fury, as tears began to blur his vision. “You pushed him until he broke! And then you let us—” His voice cracked, rage spilling over. “You let us believe it was OUR fault! That WE weren’t enough! All because of that stupid recital?!”

Hero rose quickly, grabbing Basil’s arms, trying to steady him. “Basil, please! Stop, she’s already—”

“No!” Basil wrenched violently against him, his voice hoarse with fury. “She hid this from us for a whole year! She lied to us, even now! And Sunny…he’s gone! Do you get it?! He’s gone because of her!” His scream tore through the room, sharp and bitter.

Mari staggered back, collapsing to her knees, her arm clutching together like she couldn’t breathe. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” She uttered as she sobbed uncontrollably.

But Basil wasn’t finished. He shook against Hero’s hold, spitting out words like venom. His throat bobbed as though he might choke on them, but the fury forced them out anyway. “It should’ve been you! Not him! If anyone deserved to fall, it’s YOU!”

Aubrey flinched so hard she nearly stumbled into the wall, her face pale and wet with tears. Kel grabbed at his own shirt like he couldn’t breathe, eyes wide, shaking his head as if to deny the words. 

Mari collapsed further into herself, sobs tearing out of her. She pressed her forehead to the floor, rocking, her fingers digging into her hair. Her words dissolved into broken fragments, too quiet and choked for the others to catch.  “He’s right—he’s right—should’ve been me—I pushed—pushed too hard—I broke him—I ruined—Sunny, I ruined you—” She dissolved into choking gasps, the words tumbling out without shape. “My fault—my fault—I killed him—I killed him...”

Hero’s composure finally cracked. “BASIL, STOP!” His voice thundered, louder than any of them had ever heard, and his grip tightened. Basil thrashed once more, but Hero pulled him close, pinning him against his chest, no longer restraining but holding.

“Don’t say another word,” Hero gasped, his own voice breaking. His shoulders trembled, breath hitched as tears slipped down onto Basil’s hair. “Not like this…please, Basil.”

Basil froze, stunned by the quiver in Hero’s tone. His strength crumbled, the fury spilling out of him in raw sobs. “I just…I just want my best friend back…” His fists went limp against Hero’s shirt.

Hero’s arms only tightened their hug, desperate and shaking. “I know,” he whispered, the words breaking apart in his throat. “I know. I want him back, too.”

For a moment, the room was quiet but for the sound of Mari’s sobbing. She reached a trembling hand toward them, then stopped short, curling it back to her chest as though she had no right to touch them. She whispered through sobs words no one caught,  “It should’ve been me—It should’ve been me—It should’ve been me…”

Kel shoved himself up, pacing a few frantic steps before running a hand through his hair. He looked between Basil and Mari, desperate to find a way to fix what had happened somehow. But the strength went out of his legs. He sank to the floor, burying his face in his hands.

Aubrey slid down the wall, covering her ears, tears streaming. “Make it stop…just make it stop…” she whispered to herself over and over, rocking slightly as if she could drown out the last few minutes.

Basil wiped his eyes, the memory bleeding away as he stared at the crooked shutters of the Suzuki household. His breath was still uneven, his hands trembling like he had just been shouting. Five years. It had been five years since Mari broke Sunny, five years since everything fell apart, and still the fire in him hadn’t cooled.

He clenched his fists until his nails dug into his palms. No matter how much time passed, he couldn’t forgive her. Mari begged, she wept, she promised she was sorry… but every word only sharpened the wound. Sunny would want him to forgive her. He could almost hear Sunny’s quiet voice. ‘ Please don’t hate her, Basil. Please don’t stay angry forever.’ But when Basil tried to listen, all he felt was the rage clawing at him. No… he couldn’t. He couldn’t give her what she didn’t deserve.

Sunny had trusted her. Sunny had loved her. And she had ruined him. That was wrong. Things were supposed to be simple like that. Good people didn’t hurt the ones who loved them, only bad people chose to do that. It didn’t matter that she cried now, or that she wanted forgiveness. All that mattered was what she had done. But if it was that simple, then why did everyone else still look at her like she deserved forgiveness?

The thought caught in his throat. Because wasn’t he the same? He told himself Mari was unforgivable, but hadn’t he done just as much harm in his own way? He hadn’t been there for Sunny when it mattered. He hadn’t seen how deep the pain went until Sunny was already gone. He told himself he was Sunny’s best friend, but what kind of best friend only realized too late?

And Kel… he had never given up on him, had always tried to bring him back from his own pit of despair. And how had Basil repaid him? With silence. With cold looks. With walls so high, Kel could only wear his smile sharper and louder to climb over them. Basil had told himself that Mari was the cruel one, but wasn’t pushing Kel away, it's own kind of cruelty? Hadn’t he left scars, too, even if they didn’t show the same way?

His breath shuddered, guilt sweeping over him, heavy and suffocating. He had failed to protect Sunny. He had failed to trust Kel. He would not fail again. Basil straightened, forcing air into his lungs. He wiped his eyes, though tears still threatened. “Not this time,” he whispered. “I’ll fix it. I’ll find him.”

His gaze lifted toward the treeline beyond the house. The forest stretched dark and endless, branches knitted tight overhead, but there was no fear in him anymore. Not here. Not after the years he’d spent pushing deeper and deeper into its paths, searching, learning every twist and hollow as if they belonged to him. Once it had been a place of shadows and dread. Now it was something else, a reminder of how far he was willing to go. 

He took one deep breath and then stepped into the forest.

Chapter Text

Sunny woke to the sound of the RV’s engine going quiet. His good eye cracked open, vision swimming until Joseph and the interior of the camper came into focus. The man sat slouched in the driver’s seat, sipping coffee from the mug Shade had made for him. Sunny groaned and pushed himself upright on the couch, rubbing grit from his eye. His joints popped as he stretched, soreness lingering from hours spent curled in an uncomfortable position.

“You nap like a corpse,” Joseph mentioned after downing the last of his drink. He shot Sunny a lopsided grin. “Almost thought I’d have to poke you with a stick.”

“Very funny, old man,” Sunny muttered, voice rough from the nap.

Joseph chuckled and shoved the camper’s door open, stepping out with a grunt. “Well, we’re here, kid. I’ll go set up camp before you start whining about ‘civilized living conditions’ again.”

Sunny dragged himself toward the window, another groan escaping his throat. Outside, the familiar trees of a small town’s outskirts loomed, swaying lazily in the summer breeze. A road sign stood just beyond the clearing, its paint faded but still cheerful, carrying its cheery greeting: Welcome to Faraway. Despite his five-year absence, the sight was almost identical to the one he'd seen on the day he left.

Sunny tightened his grip on the windowsill as he stared deeply at the sign for a while, as if his glare alone could erase the words and send them anywhere else. Of course, nothing changed.

He knew it was just cheap paint on a rusting metal. But as he stared at the sign, he felt every warm memory he had of the town resurface from the depths of his mind. He turned away before the nostalgia could sink its claws in any further. Instead, he decided to focus on the laptop sitting on the table. He flipped it open and tapped in a code. The login screen blinked away, replaced by a black terminal with green text crawling across it: Garuda Hunter Database.

His fingers moved through menus until he reached the anomaly scanner. With a click, the menu was replaced with a map of his current location. A soft ping sounded almost immediately. A red dot pulsed on the map, about a thirty-minute walk from the campsite.

Sunny leaned closer, eyes narrowing at the projected data. The characteristics it picked up on were akin to something with a beast classification, but certain details made it seem more akin to a classification of a demon. From the physical projections of the monster, it most likely had a danger level of three. In short, this was going to be obnoxious to deal with.

Sunny exhaled through his nose, then called out toward the open RV door. “Joseph! Get your ass back in here. The radar’s picking something up!”

From outside came the crunch of boots and a groan. “What, already? We just parked! You ever think about anything besides work?”

Sunny didn’t bother to respond. He simply turned the laptop so Joseph could see as the man stepped back inside. Joseph leaned over, squinting at the glowing red blip, then let out a low whistle.

Joseph let out a low whistle at the red blip. “Well, at least it’s not just some dumbass bear again.”

Sunny didn’t even look up. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

"You're not wrong," Joseph chuckled. “Y’know, this gets me thinkin'. Five years ago, you wouldn’t even touch the computer. Now you’re running point before I can blink. Guess you grew up when I wasn’t looking.”

Sunny’s brow twitched. “…Don’t get sentimental.”

Joseph snorted. “Sentimental my ass. You’re the one barking orders at me, always on my ass like some grumpy bastard. Hell, I’m starting to think you're the old man between the two of us.”

Sunny pinched the bridge of his nose. “…Should’ve stayed asleep.”

Joseph leaned closer to the laptop, scanning the text like the answer might magically appear. “Hmm. Beast signs, but traces of a demon too. Level three. Doubt it’s a werewolf. Wrong time of day. Could be a cryptid. Chupacabra, maybe?”

Sunny shook his head. “Not a Chupacabra. We would’ve smelled the stench of blood, rot, and wet dog already.”

Joseph raised his brows. “Fair point. So what’s your big guess, then?”

Sunny tapped the trackpad, scrolling through the data. “…Could be a Barghest. Attributes fit. Demonic affiliation with a canine body. They’re usually scavengers, but some hunt if they’re bold enough.”

Joseph hummed, then shook his head. “Nah. This behavior doesn't match a Barghest. They don’t exactly do stealth.” He leaned back with a grin. “Maybe it’s a jackalope.”

Sunny gave him a long, unimpressed stare. “…Really.”

“What? You’ve seen Monty Python, right? Think that rabbit, except with antlers. Hop right for your throat.” He commented as he mimed horns with his fingers. Sunny could tell the man was having too much fun at the moment. “Funny as it sounds, don’t laugh too hard. I’ve seen ‘joke’ cryptids take down full squads of hunters.”

Sunny groaned. “You're insufferable.”

Joseph barked out a laugh, clearly pleased with himself. But as his chuckles faded, his expression sobered. “You should pack some exorcism tools, just in case. Scanner’s fuzzy, could swing either way. Last thing we need is you trying to stab a demon that can regenerate.”

Sunny stood up, his expression hardening. “It doesn’t matter what it is. I’m teaching it a lesson for daring to come here.”

He reached for the black jacket draped over a chair and slipped it on. The weight was almost comforting with its familiarity. The fabric that tugged at his shoulders was almost like a second skin. The inside lining wore smooth where his hands had slid knives in and out of its pockets countless times. Faint cuts and burns scarred the material, each mark a reminder of close calls. The hidden layer of Kevlar woven into the material stopped them from being worse. He really needed to repair it one of these days. 

From there, he crossed to the closet bolted into the back of the RV. A metal handle gleamed dully, secured with a combination lock. Sunny tapped in a few digits, 0-5-2-3. Rumbling shivered through the small door for a moment before releasing with a heavy click.

He swung the door open. The interior looked more like an armory than a storage. Rows of polished blades hung neatly on magnetic strips on the doors, their steel catching the light. A rack of crude-looking explosives, only a lunatic, a hunter, or a mix of both would call reliable. Above them, boxes of ammunition were stacked in order, marked with scribbled labels. The opposite wall was lined with a different mix of hunting gear, from leather satchels of charms and wards, smoke bombs, tripwire kits, stakes, coils of rope, and even a battered crossbow.

Sat neatly in the middle of the closet was a trio of firearms, each one modified to improve their effectiveness against the monsters that lurk in the shadows. 

First, a Glock 19. At a glance, it looked ordinary, the kind of sidearm anyone might carry. But a closer inspection revealed faint burn marks etched into the slide, where the steel had been fused with fragments of a silver-plated holy relic. The work was crude, the kind that left scars in the metal, but effective. The binding gave its rounds the ability to wound things that would usually be unaffected. A reliable firearm against lesser threats.

Beside it sat an AR-15 short-barreled rifle, compact enough to maneuver through hallways or underbrush without snagging but chambered for rifle rounds with real stopping power. Its stock bore reinforcement plates that let it take the recoil of specialty ammunition in case the situation called for it. A good option during his operations against groups of enemies.

And leaning against the far rack was the heavyweight: a customized Remington 870 shotgun that had been rebuilt so many times that little of the original remained. Its stock was reinforced with steel plates, the barrel cut shorter for faster handling, every surface scarred from wards and makeshift repairs. Each modification carried one intent. To break through skin that was supposed to be unbreakable. Ugly, but devastating in execution.

Sunny worked quickly, pulling the equipment he needed from the closet and laying it out across the table. He first took several throwing knives and two heavier combat knives, slipping them into the inner pockets of his jacket. Next came the pistol, he clipped it into a low-slung holster at his hip. He paused at a tray of vials, each sealed with wax and runes, before taking out six. He grabbed a container of holy water, some herbs, and incense. Last was the steel case. He flipped it open, revealing the compact landmine etched with faint wards. He checked the trigger mechanism with practiced fingers before closing the case and taking it. 

From the table, Joseph glanced up. “You trying to hunt this thing, or blow the whole damn forest sky-high?”

Sunny didn’t look back towards him as he replied. “Better loud than dead.”

Joseph rolled his eyes as he turned back to the laptop. “Kid’s got a fuckin’ death wish and a noise complaint waitin' to happen.”

Sunny rolled his eyes before he shoved the incense into one of his pockets, the faint smell of smoke rising off him.

Joseph leaned lazily as his eyes scanned the screen. He then noticed something interesting. Another opportunity to make a jab at Sunny. “…Hah. Well, I'll be damned.”

Sunny glanced over. “What?”

Joseph tapped the glowing red dot. “That’s right around where I dragged your sorry ass outta the woods five years ago.”

Sunny froze. Almost dropping the vial of holy water that was in his palms. The air between them went still for a short period.

A smirk tugged at Joseph’s mouth. “At this point, it ain’t a coincidence. Could be fate. Maybe the universe is tellin' you to stop being a little bitch and finally face your old friends.”

“I’m not doing that,” Sunny snapped, shoving the vial into his pocket harder than he needed to.

Joseph raised a brow. “What, still think they’ll hate your guts?”

Sunny’s eye flicked away. For a moment, he debated keeping quiet. But Joseph was going to be on his ass about this until he tells him what's on his mind. He couldn't lie about it either. Living with Joseph had given the old bastard the ability to see through any of Sunny's lies. Something that annoyed him to no end. If they're going to stay here, he might as well get this conversation out of the way. “...No. Afraid they won’t. If they’re happy to see…I don’t know what I’ll do. We're not supposed to have that kind of life.”

The admission hung in the air as silence pressed between them. Joseph didn’t answer right away. Instead, he stepped over and roughed up Sunny’s hair like he had when Sunny was a kid. “Kid, you’re overthinking the shit outta things again.”

Sunny scowled and batted him away, cheeks flushed. He didn't know whether to be happy that Joseph dropped the subject so easily or angry that his spiraling was waved off with a simple one-liner. Joseph just laughed in response. “World’s been fuckin’ with you since the boat incident. Odds are you ain’t got a choice in the matter.” He leaned back, smirk returning. “Tell you what. Bet you a week’s worth of chores you run into one of ‘em during this hunt.”

Sunny glared back at him. “…Fine. Bet’s on. No reason for any of them to be near.”

He slammed the closet shut, the lock clicking back into place with a heavy thud. He then crossed to the RV’s fridge. From the back shelf, he pulled out a palm-sized wooden cube etched with faint runes. He turned it over once, then slipped it into his pocket.

“That’s about everything,” he muttered.

Joseph stretched, joints popping, before shoving a window open with a lazy flick of his wrist. “Then go get your feathers ruffled, kid. Try not to have too much fun.”

Sunny ignored the jab and closed his eye. Energy pulsed in his palms, a dim blue light crawling up his fingers. 

“Morph.” 

The word left his lips like a command. The spell flared to life as smoke swirled around his frame. The shape of his body twisted until it collapsed into a flurry of black feathers. When it cleared, all that remained was a raven perched on the back of the chair, wings stretching wide. With a sharp cry, he shot towards the window. 

Just then, he felt a prickling buzz, an instinct of something amidst. His wings locked mid-beat as his talons braced the impact. He felt the pane of a window, still closed. He flapped back and turned sharply towards Joseph.

Joseph stood there already doubled over laughing, phone raised, ready to capture the moment. “Aw, come on. You almost gave me gold. One little clip for the scrapbook!”

Sunny let out a furious caw and dive-bombed him, jabbing with sharp little pecks.

“Shit! Ow—hey! Quit it!—It was Owl’s idea, not mine!” Joseph stumbled back, swatting uselessly with one arm while fumbling the window open with the other.

Sunny hopped onto the ledge and fixed Joseph with a death-glare far too human for a bird. Joseph only grinned, rubbing the fresh peck marks on his forearm.

“Yeah, yeah, love you too, kid.”

With a final ruffle of feathers, Sunny launched himself into the sky, wings cutting through the air as he headed toward the glowing signal on the map.

Hours passed quietly beneath the forest trees. Basil’s footsteps fell into a steady rhythm, crunching over dried leaves and roots.  When he first started searching for Sunny, the woods had been nothing more than a terrifying obstacle. The silence and shadows that surrounded him threatened to swallow him whole. But somewhere along the way, that changed. 

He’d found himself drawn to the quiet trails, how the singing of birds filled the silence, the little discoveries tucked between roots and stones. The soft breeze rustled through the trees, carrying the scent of earth and wildflowers. Sunlight broke in fragments through the branches, painting the forest floor in shifting patterns. Whether tending to flowers, taking a long walk through the forest, or camping under the stars. His passion for nature had grown incredibly.

That wasn't the only thing that had changed about him. Sunny’s absence left him hollow, a hollowness Basil had been forced to fill in ways he never expected. He was still quiet and shy, but he had learned to speak his mind more often, even if his voice wavered at times. 

The road to that point hadn’t been smooth. Basil winced faintly at the memory of his short-lived “emo phase.” A whole year of trying too hard to project a darkness he didn’t really understand, even dying his hair entirely black when Aubrey dyed hers pink. While he didn’t look back at that awkward time fondly, he could admit it pushed him to step out of his shell. Even if he wanted to forget it, the black tips in his hair were always going to remind him of that period. The only reason he kept them was because Kim thought they looked good, and she knew more about style than he ever would.

Basil's step slowed as he thought about Kim and the rest of their group. He’d never expected to spend so much time with the Hooligans, much less call them his close friends. After Mari’s confession had torn everything apart, trust had become a fragile thing for him. He clung to Aubrey like a shipwreck survivor, terrified of reaching out for anyone else. She had been the only person he could believe in, the only one he was certain would never stab him in the back.

Then Kim stormed into their lives like a cyclone. Brash, loud, and impossible to ignore. At first, Basil kept his distance, wary of the way she picked fights so easily. But Kim was able to do something that he thought was impossible after everything that happened. She made Aubrey happy again. He fondly remembered seeing her genuinely laugh for the first time after the confession. That alone was enough for Basil to give Kim and the rest of the Hooligans a chance.

And she hadn’t let him down. Kim teased him mercilessly, poked at his quietness, but it never felt mean. If anything, she was the one who helped him step outside the boundaries he’d built. Sometimes when she’d looked at him with that mischievous grin, he’d even feel heat rise to his cheeks for reasons he still couldn’t explain.

Through Kim came Vance. He was more grounded than Kim, but encouraged her antics in ways that always meant trouble. Basil found him surprisingly kind, the type to notice when Basil was falling behind during a walk, or to silently hand him a drink when he looked tired. Small gestures, but they stuck with him.

Charlene had been the easiest for him to get along with. She loved plants almost as much as he did. They could sit together for hours in her backyard, tending to her small garden. She was quiet in a way that felt deliberate and calming. She reminded him of the quiet safety he used to find with Sunny. That thought hurt sometimes, but he never pushed her away from it.

Angel was a strange one. He could be reckless, dramatic, and always two seconds away from dragging the group into trouble more than Kim's antics. Basil had lost count of how many times Angel had gotten into fights and ended up limping back with bruises. It was exhausting to see, but it made it apparent that Angel was loyal, in his own messy way. Basil couldn’t deny there was a strange comfort in that kind of devotion.

And then… Mikhael. Or, as he insisted on calling himself, the 'Maverick'. Basil had rolled his eyes at him more times than he could count. He was dramatic, egotistical, and always talking about himself like he was the star of a big movie. But beneath all that bluster, Basil had seen glimpses of sincerity. Mikhael went out of his way to make sure the others laughed, even if it meant being the butt of the joke. In his own strange way, he cared. And Basil had grown to appreciate that more than he’d admit out loud.

He let out a small breath. For all the chaos they brought into his life, the Hooligans had given him something precious, a sense of belonging. Not the same as the one he’d lost, but something that kept him from collapsing into the same lonely silence that used to eat him alive.

Still, none of that dulled the gnawing ache that had dragged him into the forest. He’d been searching for so long. Five years of combing Faraway’s forests, sometimes alone, sometimes with the others, sometimes at night with nothing but a flashlight and determination. No matter the trail or distance, his search always came short. No closer to finding Sunny than the day he disappeared. The woods had grown beautiful to him, even comforting. But no matter how much peace he found in its peacefulness, it never silenced the desperation that burned in him.

How much more forest was there left to cover? How many more nights could he spend chasing a shadow, hoping for a clue that he never found? He couldn’t let himself give up, not after coming this far. But the weight of failure gnawed at him. If he couldn’t find Sunny, then all he’d have left were empty trails and the ache of questions without answers.

Basil’s thought broke as he saw the thinning of trees up ahead. He pushed forward until the dense wall of forest gave way to open space, a grassy field bathed in the sun’s heat. At its edge stood a cluster of buildings, their walls cracked and sagging with age, windows broken into jagged teeth. Faded graffiti sprawled across the concrete like scars. Beyond them, in the distance, was a city he believed to be Nearby City.

Basil took a step forward, gaze dragging over the ruins. Something about this place felt wrong. The air felt heavy, as if something horrible had occurred here. He moved toward one of the buildings, weeds curling up its foundation. That’s when he noticed something small and metallic catching the glint of daylight.

He crouched down trying to examine it. It was a small object that was half-buried in the dirt. When he brushed away the soil, his stomach turned cold.

It was a button. Worn with cracks at the edges, stained with something dark and dried. Blood. His breath stilled. Recognition coursed through him. He had seen his button before. The stitching, the color, the shape. It belonged to Sunny’s shirt. His hand shook as he lifted it.

For years, Basil had searched for any trace of Sunny, desperate for something, anything, to prove his friend was still out there. But now, holding proof in his hand, all he felt was horror. The blood on it told a story he didn’t want to hear. His throat closed up, breath shallow. The world spun faintly around him.

He clutched the button so tightly it dug into his palm. Part of him wanted to scream, to collapse to his knees. He had to accept the truth he wanted so desperately to deny. That Sunny hadn’t made it. That this hopeless search hadn’t been for someone living, but instead for someone who had already been buried years ago.

And yet… beneath the grief, there was a strange and terrible stillness. A whisper in the back of his mind that maybe this was closure. That maybe the endless searching, the five years of wandering empty trails, had finally reached its end. Not the ending he wanted, but an ending nonetheless.

But even as the thought formed, Basil’s mind recoiled, lashing against it. ‘No. It doesn’t have to mean that. Maybe it’s not his. Maybe it just looks like his. Or maybe the blood isn’t his. It could’ve been an animal. It doesn’t mean…It doesn’t mean you’re gone.’

But his mind wouldn’t let go. He knew.

Tears welled in his eyes, blurring the ruins into a smear of gray and green. He shook his head violently, fingernails digging into the button. “No… no, I can’t—I won’t—”

The words dissolved into a sob he couldn’t stop. His chest convulsed with it. Somewhere inside him, a voice whispered that this was the end. That the search was finally over. And Basil hated himself for believing it.

Then a new sound tore through his grief. A wet, tearing noise of bones cracking and flesh being ripped apart.

Basil’s head snapped toward the alley between the two nearest buildings. The noises were coming from there. Animalistic and grotesque. Something eating. His pulse roared in his ears. His common sense told him to get out of there, but his curiosity proved stronger. His legs carried him forward in halting, cautious steps. Each step closer twisted his stomach tighter. He peered around the corner.

What he saw made his blood run cold.

A pig’s carcass lay sprawled across the concrete, its body torn open, ribs jutting like broken white spines. But it wasn’t the pig that made Basil clamp his hand over his mouth to keep from screaming. It was the thing crouched over it, something that shouldn’t exist.

A creature unlike anything he had ever seen, a Frankenstein mesh that shouldn't be alive. Its frame was sickly, every bone jutting beneath skin that clung to it like parchment. Its limbs were grotesquely long, ending in talons that sank into the pig’s flesh with shocking ease. Leathery wings jutted from its back, torn and riddled with holes, twitching as though they carried too much weight for its skeletal frame. When it shifted, the wings dragged faintly, scraping against the floor with a dry rasp.

Its head was horse-like, elongated into a narrow, bony snout. When its head lifted, Basil saw its eyes. Not just red, but sunken into deep sockets, glowing faintly like embers burning inside a skull. But its eyes burned red when they flicked toward movement, catching the light with an unnatural glow. Each breath it drew was ragged, wheezing, rattling like air forced through a collapsed lung. With every exhale, the stench of rot seeped into the alley as the creature pulled strings of bloodied meat from the carcass into its jaws.

Basil staggered back, heart hammering so loudly he was sure the creature would hear it. His fingers clenched the bloody button, as if holding onto it might somehow keep him safe. His first instinct screamed at him to run, to bolt back into the trees, but terror rooted him to the spot.

‘No…if I did, that thing would notice me. I can’t let that happen.’

He forced himself to draw a shaky breath and began to ease backward, one careful step at a time. The monster’s head was still bent over its meal, the wet crunch of bones masking its movements. It’ll take a lot of steps, but he could make a break for it if he could reach the trees, disappearing into the forest.

But as he took another step back, his heel came down on something brittle.

Crack.

The sound shattered the silence like thunder. Basil’s heart sank. The creature froze mid-bite, then slowly lifted its head. Its crimson red eyes locked on him, glowing hot with hunger. A low, guttural roar rattled up from its chest, vibrating through the alley walls.

Basil’s body locked up instantly as he stared at the beast. His instincts screamed at him to run, but his legs refused to answer. It was as if invisible chains coiled around his limbs, rooting him to the ground. His breath came short and shallow, chest heaving, yet no sound escaped his lips. The very air pressed down heavy and suffocating, like the monster’s gaze alone had pinned him in place.

It began to advance. Each step was deliberate, hooves clopping against the pavement like distant war drums. But it wasn’t graceful. It's stepped unevenly, like its bones ground against each other beneath its skin. Wings twitched and flared as though the weight of carrying them was agony. With every shift forward, its joints cracked faintly, a body too broken to move yet still dragging itself onward, savoring the paralysis of its prey.

Basil’s vision blurred with tears. His lungs convulsed as panic fully overtook him. He begged his body to move, but nothing happened. His muscles quivered uselessly, caught between the command to flee and the unseen force holding him in place. All he could do was stare as the monster closed in.

The monster’s growl deepened, filling the air until Basil could hear nothing but it and the thunder of his own heartbeat. In the middle of his spiraling panic, one thought stabbed through the haze like a blade…

‘Was this what happened to Sunny?’

Had Sunny stumbled into this same nightmare on the night he disappeared? Had these eyes, blazing with hunger, frozen him to the spot? Had his will bled away just like Basil’s, leaving him helpless as the beast closed in? Basil’s chest seized with a sob he couldn’t release. The thought carved itself into him, the image of Sunny staring down death, just as helpless as he was now. Terror in his last moments.

The beast crouched low, its body coiling tight like a spring. Its wings flared wide, stretching with faint tears. The motion looked agonizingly painful, yet the burning in its gaze told him it would gladly endure pain to slaughter. Basil’s heart slammed against his ribs. He was next. The beast had devoured Sunny, and now it had come for him.

But just as it was about to leap forward, a shadow crashed down from above, slamming into its head with brutal force. A knife drove straight into the creature’s skull.

The creature let out a shriek that split the air, a roar so horrid Basil would’ve instinctively tried to shut it out. It thrashed violently, wings beating the air in a storm of leathery strikes as it bucked against the stranger clinging to its back. Basil stumbled backward, barely comprehending the blur of the chaos in front of him. But in the chaos, he caught small glimpses. Of pale skin, of an eyepatch, of the sharp focus in that lone eye.

The stranger wrenched the blade sideways, ripping a jagged chunk of flesh as he spun off the creature’s back. Rolling across the pavement before landing in a crouch. Blood sprayed across the alley walls as the monster reeled in agony, staggering like a puppet whose strings had been yanked too hard. As the beast faltered, the stranger quickly dashed towards the monster and pressed a hand against it, blue light surging from his palm.

“FORCE!”

The word cracked through the air as an invisible shockwave blasted outward from the stranger’s hand. It hurled the beast across the alley and into the far wall, bricks splintering on impact. It collapsed in a heap, bloodied but still twitching.

Tick. Tick. Tick. BOOM!

Basil barely had time to flinch before fire bloomed beneath the beast. The explosion roared, rattling the ground, painting the alley in smoke and flame. Basil, now free from the monster's influence, shielded himself with his arms to block out the wave of debris.

As the ringing in his ears dulled, Basil’s vision came back into focus. Smoke poured across the alleyway, curling in waves that blotted out the walls and sunlight. The scent of burning flesh and ash stung his nose. And through the haze, Basil could see the stranger moving with sharp precision. His knife glinted as he shifted into a stance, his back still turned toward Basil.

Basil’s breath faltered as he examined the stranger. The brief glimpse of his face told him an achingly familiar story, though he couldn’t place why. Then he saw it, the eyepatch that sat across their pale skin. Basil’s heart lurched. It was on their right eye. The one Mari had said was damaged that night. His hands trembled as he stumbled a step closer. ‘No. That’s impossible…’

The stranger’s voice cut through his thoughts. “This place is dangerous. Get the hell out of here!”

Basil froze. That voice…it was rougher than he remembered, but unmistakable. His heart skipped as the fragments aligned. 

“…S-Sunny?”

The stranger stiffened. His head turned, just slightly, enough for Basil to catch the shock of his lone eye through the thinning smoke. The silence between them was deafening, and in it, Basil found his answer. There was no denying it anymore. It was him. 

His hands shook at his sides, his whole body trembling with the unbearable relief and terror of it all.“I-It’s you… It’s really you! I-I thought…” His voice cracked under the tears, choked with years of grief unraveling all at once.

Sunny flinched at those words before turning back toward the smoke, panic lacing his every movement. “Dammit, Basil. This isn't the time for this. You need to run. Now!”

But Basil couldn’t move. His body quaked with too many emotions at once. Fear from the monster, relief from finally seeing Sunny alive, and anguish from being told to run away after searching for so long. His heart screamed at him louder than his fear as he stumbled closer to Sunny. “No! I won’t leave you again! Not after all this time!”

Before either could speak again, a thunderous roar tore through the smoke and echoed through the alley walls. The ground seemed to vibrate beneath it. Two blazing red eyes cut through the haze. Not the hungry gleam from before. These burned with fury, a wrath at being defied.

Both Basil and Sunny turned toward it, the moment between them crushed beneath the monster’s return. Sunny tightened his grip on the knife, bracing himself for what might come next.

Chapter Text

‘Of fucking course. Outta everything that could be roaming around here, it had to be a freak that walks away from a goddamn landmine. And a Jersey Devil no less.’

The creature’s silhouette lumbered forward through the smoke. Sunny’s lone eye watched as each step dragged shards of brick and ash from the alley’s wreckage. Its corpse-like body, while extremely horrid looking, appeared as if it hadn’t just been stabbed through the skull and blown halfway to hell. Despite how it looked, that was a good sign, as it meant that one of its lives was down.

Not that it made things significantly better. Even without its multiple lives, a Jersey Devil was already bad enough to deal with. Its cunning and abilities made it a nightmare. But with Basil glued to his back? That made it catastrophic. He couldn’t go all out without risking collateral. Throwing out his bigger tricks would only turn the boy next to him into a stain on the pavement floor. 

He cursed inwardly, eyes flicking once toward Basil, who was frozen in fear only a few feet back. Of his old friends, Basil had always been the worst under pressure. And now here he was standing in the middle of a hunt like he belonged. Sunny could already hear Joseph's god-awful laugh in his head about his cover already being blown.

'He’s never gonna shut the fuck up about it. Not for weeks. Maybe even months. And the second this fight is over, I'm going to have to deal with Basil. He's definitely going to want answers. Which is the last goddamn thing I wanted. The only bright side is it might make disappearing again somewhat easier if he knew how much of a lunatic I am...Seriously, why the fuck is he out here?!' 

His thoughts were cut short by the faintest curl of smoke slipping from the monster's snarling mouth. Sunny’s eye went wide, knowing what was coming. ‘Shit—’

His knife clattered back to its sheath as he bolted toward Basil without another thought. Before Basil could react, Sunny hefted him up with one arm, slinging him over his shoulder like he weighed nothing. Basil’s cheeks went a shade of pink as he clutched at Sunny’s jacket in shock.

“W-wha—!”

“Not the time,” Sunny grunted as he sprinted for the alley’s entrance. Sunny pushed out his free hand behind him as magic surged from his palm. “FORCE!”

An invisible shockwave blasted the pair forward just as the Jersey Devil opened its maw. Basil’s muscles stiffened as he saw smoke bursting from its jaws, as embers seemingly sparked between its teeth. A powerful roar erupted as a torrent of fire blasted through the alley, swallowing everything in sight. Basil screamed at the top of his lungs as the wall of flame chased them. Before the flame was able to scorch the pair, they cleared the alleyway. Hurling sideways, away from the path of fire and crashing onto a mix of grass and pavement. Basil tumbled from Sunny’s shoulder, rolling until his side slammed against the concrete.

When the world finally stopped spinning, he pushed onto his elbow, as his chest heaved for air. He looked up to see the walls of the alleyway sagging, glowing as fire chewed it hollow. Across the street, the building on the opposite side collapsed in on itself, melting under impossible heat. The smell of burning tar and twisted steel clawed at his nose. His stomach lurched as he stared at the melting buildings, ‘This shouldn’t be possib-’

“Fucking hell,” Sunny spat, forcing himself upright.

The words snapped Basil’s head around. Sunny was already on his feet, pulling a short, gleaming metal rod from his pocket. For one disorienting moment, he couldn’t decide what terrified him more. The monster that had just tried to incinerate them alive. Or the fact that Sunny, the quietest kid he’d ever known, had just cursed and seemed only mildly peeved over what that monster did.

“…Sunny, p–please tell me what’s going on?!” Basil’s voice cracked, his words tripping over each other. His hands shook as he pointed back at the burning alley. “That thing, it melted an entire building! You—what have—how are you even—”

“We don’t have time for my autobiography, Basil.” Sunny cut him off, his tone was flat, but there was a small amount of sharpness to it. As if amused by Basil’s panic. “As for what’s happening right now? Short version, I’m killing that ugly bastard back there so it doesn’t roast all of Faraway. Longer version…again, we don’t have time for that.”

“You can’t just—Sunny, that’s not an answer! You’ve been—”

“Look,” Sunny cut him off once again. “Unless you’ve got a pack of explosives hidden in that bag of yours, you babbling to me isn't helping.” Sunny then spun the metal stick in his hand before lifting it forward. “And on that note, Tanuki!”

Light shone from the metal rod, and with a pop of smoke, a small canine appeared. Its plump belly wobbled as it stretched like it had just woken from a nap. Its beady eyes immediately lit up when it spotted the fire, and it clapped its little paws together like it had been waiting for this all day.

“Tanuki, you’re on taxi duty.” Sunny barked as he pointed his finger at Basil. “Get him out of here.”

“What?!” Basil staggered back, eyes wide. “Sunny, you can't be serious about fighting that monster! Are you insane?!”

“Yes, but that's besides the point.” Sunny remarked, returning his attention to the alley as smoke began to shift again, “The best way to help me is by staying out of my work.” He smirked over his shoulder.

“That’s not—” Basil started, but Sunny’s look silenced him.

“Relax. Think of it as teamwork. You help me by leaving. Oh, and by not being scared of heights, too. That would be really helpful.”

“Heights? Wha—” Basil didn’t get to finish as Tanuki puffed its chest up with smoke swirling around its body before exploding outward in a rush of feathers. In seconds, the spirit had morphed its body into a massive bird, its shadow blotting out the light from the fire. Its eyes sparkling mischievously as its talons clamped down on Basil’s shoulders.

Basil let out a strangled yelp as he was lifted clean off the ground. “Wait—WAIT, SUNNY!?” He flailed helplessly as he was hoisted into the air. “SUNNY! TELL HIM TO PUT ME DOWN!”

Sunny cupped his hands to his mouth. “Enjoy the flight! And try not to squirm too much. Wouldn’t want a hard fall to ruin that nice ass of yours!”

Basil froze mid-flail, face turning as red as a tomato. “S-SHUT UP!!” he shrieked, kicking wildly as Tanuki carried him higher. 

His indignant yells vanished into the sky as Tanuki carried him away. Sunny snickered, ‘No wonder Mari teased us so much…this is fun.’ His smile quickly vanished as he turned back to watch the Jersey Devil limp out of the alley. Its burning eyes narrowed on the retreating figure.

“Hey! Eyes on me, freak!” Sunny’s shout cracked through the air.

The monster’s gaze shifted back down. Sunny was already planted firm, knife drawn, stance sharp as a blade. His lone eye burned with the same fury that lit his weapon.

“Your fight’s with me.”

The Jersey Devil stepped fully into the open, its ragged wings twitched, shedding flecks of ash. Parts of its flesh hung half-burnt along its frame, yet it walked as if pain meant nothing. Its crimson eyes glowed hot with hate. Sunny didn’t flinch. His grip tightened on the knife, shoulders lowering as he slid into a stance. The world shrank to the space between them, nothing but predator and prey. Neither was willing to admit which was which.

The beast’s chest rose, a guttural hiss rattling from its throat. Smoke curled from its teeth. Its hooves scraped the pavement in slow, deliberate steps, circling wide. Sunny mirrored the motion, circling with it, his lone eye never leaving the monster’s.

For a moment, their surroundings were silent but for the crackle of fire and the scrape of hooves. Both hunter and devil poised, waiting for the other to break first.

Then the world snapped back into motion as the Jersey Devil lunged with startling speed. Its hooves clattered across the pavement as its claws swiped for Sunny’s head. With his knife, he parried the claws, but the sheer weight of the blow still sent him staggering sideways.

“Bastard.” He hissed, whipping his pistol from his coat and firing three times into its chest. The shots hit, jerking the creature back, but the beast only pushed its assault harder. Snapping its jaws inches from Sunny’s throat. Sunny ducked under its maw as he dropped his knife and raised his hand towards the monster. “Red Hands!”

Spectral arms clawed upward from the pavement, grasping the Devil’s body and yanking it back in a violent arc. The monster was then smashed into a dumpster, metal folding inward with a loud crunch.

Sunny picked his knife back up and slowly approached the beast. It should’ve stayed down after that. But instead, its form warped with its bones and skin twisting. Its limbs lengthened unnaturally, contorting into a swipe that Sunny narrowly dodged, with only his shirt getting torn. Sunny tumbled back as the beast jumped out from the wreckage of the broken dumpster towards him.

Sunny snatched a vial from his belt and smashed it against the concrete, holy water hissing into acrid steam. The Devil screeched as its skin burned in the mist, its red eyes blinking rapidly as smoke curled around its skull. With his knife, Sunny acted quickly. Lodging several stabs into its shoulder. The monster lurched as Sunny aimed his pistol up and fired into its skull.

In an instant, the monster dissolved into a black haze with the bullet cutting into nothing. Its form re-solidified to his side, away from the steam as its wings expanded. Its roar split through the sky as a violent gust ripped down the street. Sunny braced himself as the razor-sharp wind slashed at him. He could feel cuts around his legs and the unguarded parts of his head.

Before Sunny could lower his arms, his body instinctively moved on its own to the side, narrowly avoiding a charge from the beast and giving him a shot at its side. He slashed at the monster, cutting deeply into it as it screeched in pain. Its neck then contorted with the monster's head slamming into Sunny and sending him across the pavement.

Sunny was able to quickly turn the tumble into a roll. His boots hit pavement hard as he then surged forward, knife leading. The Devil lashed out with another swipe from its claws, but Sunny slipped inside its arc, blade carving shallowly across its arm. It reared back, wings flaring wide. For the first time, it was wide open.

The world around him moved slowly as Sunny drew in a long breath. “Raijū.”

Lightning crackled across the blade, coiling into a snarling beast of storm and fangs. Electricity split the air as he swung upward in a brutal arc. In an instant, the Jersey Devil’s head tore free in a flash of light. Its body staggered, wings thrashing before unraveling into thick black liquid sizzling against the floor.

Sunny’s chest heaved as the black blood soaked his side. He kept his knife raised, watching the decapitated head slump and melt away. He expected its expression to be one of anger, hatred etched in its final snarl. But instead, the thing’s ruined face twisted into a grin. A guttural laugh rattled from its dissolving skull, bubbling into liquid that hissed across the pavement. The sound dug into his ears, low and mocking, like a promise left unfinished.

Sunny held his knife firmly as he examined his surroundings. He was sure the monster wasn’t gone. When a Jersey Devil truly gives up its hunt, its body tends to stick around for a few hours before dissolving into sludge. This one had vanished too quickly. It must’ve repositioned itself, but where was the question?

He had to be cautious, as it could strike from anywhere now. His eye swept toward the alley, then the buildings. Every sense stretched thin searching for a sign of activity. But he found nothing. Sunny’s grip tightened. The silence pressed in on him. Then he felt it.

A sudden tug hollowed out his chest. His bond to Tanuki snapped like a brittle twig. Something attacked it and forced a recall. His blood ran cold. The Devil wasn’t after him anymore.

‘It already reached Basil...’

Basil had stopped struggling a few minutes ago. Not because he trusted the giant bird thing carrying him through the air, but because the ground below looked miles away, every frantic kick only made Tanuki’s talons flex harder into his shoulders. One wrong move and he’d slip free and plummet hundreds of feet. Better flustered and intact than falling.

So he stayed put, stiff as a mannequin, trying not to hyperventilate as the world he knew reached heights greater than he had ever seen. Metaphorically and quite literally, as the trees beneath him seemed like tiny toys from this height. His hair whipped in the wind as his eyes stung from the breeze at this height. He never went this high up in the sky before, but a newfound fear of heights felt minor compared to everything else.

'Monsters are real. Magic is real. I almost died at the claws of a monster. Sunny’s alive. Sunny saved me. Sunny’s been fighting these things like it’s normal. Sunny also grew a lot over the past five years. He’s way more expressive. Taller. Buffer. Hotter. Like really hot. And apparently thinks I have a nice butt.' Basil’s face went hot as he slapped both hands over his cheeks, wishing he could disappear into the clouds. 'No, no, shut up. SHUT UP. This is not the time to drool over Sunny. Bad bisexual brain. We need to focus.'

After calming himself as best as he could, he glanced up towards the giant bird hauling him through the night sky. “Um...Tanuki, right?" he croaked. "Could you maybe, I don’t know, put me down? On the ground somewhere? Safely?”

The giant bird answered with a series of chirps. Somehow, Basil understood them, which he decided not to question till later.

"No ground. Ground dangerous. Flying fun. Wheee!"

“What? No! Not ‘wheee’! Safe! I said ‘safe’!”

"Safe later. Higher now. Higher fun!"

Tanuki tilted gleefully in the air, banking so sharply that Basil screamed and clung tighter to the talons.

“D-Don’t do that!” Basil wheezed as his heart raced. “You’ll drop me!”

"Don't drop? Shouldn't drop. Won't drop. Ooh, shiny lake!"

Basil smacked his forehead with both palms. “Why am I even trying…”

Keeping Tanuki focused was impossible. Every question was answered with nonsense, every plea derailed into a tangent about clouds or rivers or some frog it had spotted earlier. It was like arguing with a hyperactive child who had wings and no sense of mortal peril.

Then Basil felt something shift. He froze as the air around him felt like it thickened, buzzing against his skin. A cold ripple crawled down his spine, as if the world itself had turned its eyes on him. He twisted in Tanuki’s grip, peering over his shoulder.

There was something following them quickly through the forest.

“Tanuki…” His voice cracked. “Something’s there. Behind us.”

With a grunt, the yokai flapped its wings harder, hammering the air in a desperate surge of speed. The forest blurred faster below them. Suddenly, branches twisted unnaturally, bark groaning as limbs writhed upward like spears. They lashed toward the sky, snapping with impossible length.

“LOOK OUT!” Basil shrieked.

Tanuki dodged left, then right, their massive wings straining against the hostile forest. One branch scraped along its flank, another narrowly missed Basil’s dangling legs close enough for him to feel the rush of air. He tucked his knees up instinctively, a panicked scream ripping out of him. One spike the size of a tree trunk shot forward and slammed into Tanuki’s side. The yokai screamed in pain. Basil felt its talons slip from his shoulders as he suddenly began to fall.

Wind roared in his ears. The world spun. He opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out. 

Despite the wound, Tanuki dove after him.  Smoke rippled around its body mid-descent, feathers shrinking and limbs shifting as it got closer to him. Basil felt a massive bulk of fur had caught him against its chest as the bear that was once a bird braced for impact. Basil shut his eyes, bracing for the ground. Only to feel a heavy, furred bulk catch him against a broad chest. The bear that had once been a bird curled protectively around him as they smashed through branches. Wood splintered against the pair until they finally hit the earth with a bone-shattering crash.

Basil blinked his eyes open and gasped. Miraculously, he was alive, if shaken and a bit bruised. Relief lasted only a moment before horror hollowed him out. Beside him, the massive bear lay broken, blood-stained, its fur. Its form was flickering, fading into pale blue wisps.

Basil clutched fistfuls of its pelt, with tears in his eyes. “Stay with me, Tanuki!" 

Tanuki's eyes glimmered faintly, almost apologetic, before unraveling completely. Dissolving into smoke against Basil’s arms. He was left clutching nothing but empty air. “No, no, no…” 

His breath hitched as the sound of the earth splitting open pulled his gaze. Roots began to slither from the ground and towards him. He tried to scramble backwards, but the roots were able to catch up to him, lashing around his legs. Basil shrieked as he fell to the floor. He tried to thrash wildly against the vines, but was ultimately unable to break their grip. The vines then began to coil tightly around his arms and neck before hauling him against a tree. Bark bit into his back as his whole body was restrained against the living bonds.

There, he saw in the depths of shadows, two glowing red eyes. The Jersey Devil prowled into view, its body rippling as though smoke and flesh couldn’t agree on their shape. It moved slowly towards Basil as its growl echoed through the trees. 

His heart started pounding so loud it drowned out everything else. He wanted to scream and run, but his body could only jerk in small, frantic movements. The vines creaked as he twisted against them. Somehow, his hand was able to worm into his bag, his fingers fumbling blindly through its contents.

The Devil crept closer, its glowing eyes locked on him, savoring every shiver in his body.  Seemingly unaware of the subtle shifts in the vines. Its breath washed over his skin, reeking of ash. Smoke curled between the monster’s teeth, jagged as knives. The beast leaned closer, maw splitting wider as though it wanted him to see every detail before it tore him apart.

Basil's struggle for breath as he watched the monster's jaws loom inches from his head. His trembling fingers inside the bag brushed something metallic. Reflex made him clutch it tight, feeling the shape of a nozzle under his thumb. Without thinking, he immediately yanked the canister free and pressed down towards the beast.

Pepper spray hissed a fine mist at the monster’s face. It screeched as it reared back, clawing blindly through the air as smoke curled off its burning eyes. The vines that bound Basil wither into ash. He collapsed forward onto his knees, gasping for air.

He scrambled upright with shaky legs, frantically fumbling into his bag again. His grip closed in on the handle of his multi-tool. Without thinking, he swung at the monster. His current terror gave him strength, but it wasn’t enough. As the blade struck the Devil’s chest, it snapped in two. Basil stared at the broken tool in his hand, blood draining from his face.

The Jersey Devil was now absolutely livid. Its roar shook the ground as it then proceeded to slam its skull into Basil’s chest. Pain coursed through him as he hit the ground, the air crushed out of his lungs in a choked cry. Before he could get up, a massive claw pressed against his chest, pinning him flat. Basil couldn’t breathe or move. All he could do was watch as the beast’s jaws opened wide above him. The Jersey Devil’s eyes burned hotter than they ever had as smoke churned from its throat, heat spilling over him in waves. Flames licked at its teeth, slowly building up.

Basil screwed his eyes shut, praying that Sunny would come and save him.

As the monster was about to expel its flames, it paused as it could hear in the distance the sound of something flying closer. Its eyes snapped to the side as a raven hurtled towards it, feathers slicing the air like a knife through butter.

With a furious roar, the beast reared back and spewed a torrent of flame toward the bird. The inferno tore through the trees, branches exploding into embers. But the raven darted around them, weaving through trunks and flame with impossible precision. Basil opened his eyes in disbelief to see a bird doing this. What shocked him more was when, during the middle of a dive, the bird dissolved into smoke. Reforming into Sunny. His boots skidded across the dirt as his hand swept forward, glowing bright.

“Aegis!” 

Light flared in his palm, forming a transparent and luminous shield that shimmered like bronze. The beast's fire slammed into it, heat surging in waves. Basil shielded his eyes, his vision blinded by the flames that broke against the barrier. The ground trembled beneath the onslaught.

Sunny gritted his teeth, muscles straining as he held the shield firm. His lone eye gleamed with fury as he raised in his other hand the metal rod towards the sky. “Raijū!”

The heavens answered his call. Thunder roared from the sky as clouds swelled into existence, swallowing the daylight until the forest lay under a dark sky. Wind howled as rain hissed down to smother the flames creeping through the undergrowth. Lightning danced wildly across the black canopy. And from that storm, a creature descended.

A wolf, pale as bone. Its fur intertwined with blinding arcs of electricity. Its twin tails lashed behind it, each strike cracking the air like a whip. Sparks dripped from its claws with every step across the sky, and in its eyes burned the wrath of the storm itself. 

It struck like a comet, thunder echoed from the very roots of the trees. Raijū slammed into the Jersey Devil, with lightning tearing across the creature’s body. The impact hurled it sideways, breaking its grip on its prey.

“Basil!” Sunny let the shield in his hand dissipate and sprinted to his friend’s side. He crouched next to him, his good eye scanning Basil’s face and body in frantic detail. “Are you hurt?”

Basil coughed, scrambling up on shaky legs. “I-I’m fine. But Tanuki. H-He got hit—” His voice cracked with guilt. “He just…vanished. Sunny, are they-”

Sunny grabbed his shoulder, squeezing it firmly. “Hey, breathe. It’s alright. Familiars like him don’t die. Worst-case scenario, he’s sulking about the attack. Probably plotting how many snacks he’s going to guilt me into giving him tomorrow.” 

For a second, Basil could only blink at him. But shortly after, relief flooded him as he whipped a tear from his eye, his lips trembled between a laugh and a sob.

Sunny smirked faintly before turning away. “I should’ve realized it was a bad idea letting you out of my sight. Separating just gave them the choice of target.”

Basil shook his head quickly, words tumbling out. “No, I would’ve slowed you down. This isn’t your fault, Sunny.”

Sunny didn’t argue, but his eye softened as he gave Basil’s shoulder another squeeze. “Maybe. But what matters now is that you gotta stick to me. No wandering, no heroics. It's the only option for getting out of this in one piece. Got it?” Basil nodded in response as both turned towards the clash of the two beasts.

Raijū and the Jersey Devil were locked into a furious clash in the clearing. Sparks and thunder ripped through the trees as their claws met. Raijū’s strikes cracked open the earth, electricity spiderwebbing through the soil. But the Jersey Devil was able to contort its body to weave out of the way of any truly dangerous strikes. Each counterblow it strikes at Raijū seems to push the wolf back step by step. Sunny could tell Raijū was losing the war of attrition.

Energy coursed through his palm yet again as he waited for the right moment. He soon found it as the Jersey Devil’s chest swelled yet again. Smoke poured from its maw as it reared back, fire gathering like a furnace set to erupt. At that moment, Sunny snapped his fingers towards the monster, “Ignite.”

The heat in the Devil’s throat flared violently. Detonating in its own mouth, blowing embers and blood across its jagged teeth. The creature howled, staggering into Raijū’s snapping fangs.

The thunder-beast wasted no time pressing the advantage. It ripped forward, storm-tails cracking like whips as it drove the Devil onto its back foot. The monster was now having trouble dealing with Raijū's assault, barely being able to stop the blur of white and lightning.

Sunny watched the monster distort itself once again to narrowly avoid Raijū’s grasp. His hands glowed again as he used another spell.

“Cripple.”

Spectral spider legs stabbed upward from the muddy ground, piercing the beast’s joints. For the first time, the beast froze, its movements stuttering as though its very strength had been cut in half. 

The thunder-beast pounced at the opportunity, and its fangs sank deep into the Devil’s shoulder. Lightning coursed through the monster in snapping waves, sparks racing over its frame. Then, with a howl that shook the storm itself, Raijū dissolved into a single colossal bolt of lightning, striking down into the monster. The clearing shattered with light. The Jersey Devil convulsed, every vein lit from within, before its body was ripped apart into smoke and ash. The air reeked of charred flesh as the remains faded into the same black liquid Sunny saw earlier.

Basil shielded his eyes, then lowered them slowly as the haze cleared. His voice was shaken. “I-Is it…dead?”

Sunny exhaled hard, knife still ready at his side. His eye never left the settling smoke. “Not yet.”

Basil’s head whipped toward him. “What do you mean, not yet? It got fried by that wolf!”

Sunny shook his head. “When it truly dies, it doesn’t morph into that black stuff. The body sticks around, rotting like any other corpse. This…” He gestured toward the dissipating smoke. “…this means it’s still playing its game. Another life used, nothing more.”

The duo's surroundings then darken, almost as if the world around them collapsed into shadow. The only thing either could see was the small clearing and the trees in their close proximity around them. But then came the eyes. Shimmered into existence one by one, like embers scattered in an endless void. First a dozen. Then a hundred. Then thousands of red eyes, glowing faintly in the mist. They surrounded the duo on every side, suspended in the dark.

Basil trembled as he pressed against Sunny’s side. “There’s… too many…”

“Don’t trust it,” Sunny muttered, pistol steady once again. His eye shifted across the shadows. “It’s just smoke and mirrors. Nothing more”

But the silence gnawed at them. The longer it stretched, the more real it felt. The air vibrated with claws scraping bark, with leathery wings unfurling, with ragged breaths that seemed to come from everywhere at once. The sound swelled into a grotesque rhythm, one that made Basil’s chest heave in time with it. 

That’s when he heard it. Not the illusion or the false rhythm. Something else, cutting through it like a clear note against dissonance.

“Not with your eyes.”

A voice rang inside his head, calm but resonant. 

“Help him.” 

Basil staggered, clutching his chest. ‘Wha—?’

“Help him. You’ve already felt it. The echo. The melody that brushed against you when you were carried through the sky. Find it again.”

The false rhythm of the illusions threatened to drown him, but he forced himself to listen past it, searching for the ‘melody’. His thoughts reached into the dark, ears straining for a note that didn’t belong to the Devil’s choir. That’s when he noticed something.

A sound. A faint one, hovering between a set of eyes. A single true note amidst the deafening cacophony. The creature that was behind it all.

Basil’s eyes flew open, his body trembling as if the note itself hummed through his veins. “Sunny!” Basil choked out, pointing with a trembling hand. “There! I–It’s there, I feel it!”

Sunny didn’t hesitate. His fingers brushed the grip of his pistol as his hands glowed once again.

“Enchant.”

Magic flared along the barrel of the gun, a white glow racing down the steel like quicksilver. He pointed the weapon where Basil’s trembling hand pointed, even while doubt tugged at the back of his mind. He didn’t see any signs of the monster yet. No subtle sign, whether it be sound, sight, or even pressure of magic. Just the walls of endless eyes. But Basil had. That was enough for him.

Sunny exhaled, steadying his arm. Then fired three shots into the endless darkness.

The first two shots ripped into the dark, cutting through the illusory haze, scattering red eyes like sparks in the wind. But there was no contact, just smoke. But with the third came a sound. A piercing screech tore through the darkness, loud enough to be mistaken for gunfire. The eyes disappeared in an instant as the suffocating black folded back like a curtain. When it fully cleared, all that remained was the proof of the beast’s presence. A severed arm. The taloned claw twitched, black ichor dripping in rivulets, the bone burned at the edge where the enchanted round had ripped it free.

Sunny lowered his pistol into its holster, his lone eye narrowing at Basil. The kid was still shaking, his chest heaving, but his expression told the truth. He’d known where to point before Sunny himself could have guessed. Not luck. Not instinct. He had sensed it.

His lone eye flicked sideways to Basil. The boy was still shaking as he lowered his hand, but Sunny was more puzzled by the truth plain on his face. He hadn’t guessed. He hadn’t been lucky. He had sensed it, faster than Sunny himself could.

‘That shouldn't have been possible. Not for him. Had he awakened while I was gone? No, that can’t be it. He wouldn’t have been so shocked by the monster if he had. Something isn’t adding up.’

“…Basil,” Sunny said quietly, his voice cutting through the boy’s panic. He slowly approached him to try to ease him. “What you just did…did you—”

His words died in his throat as every nerve in his body screamed at once. The hairs on his neck stood on end. The air itself felt like it shifted, pressure dropping like a storm breaking. 

“Shit—!”

Out of the treeline, the Jersey Devil surged forward, its form pulling itself back together from blood and shadow. Its red eyes fixed not on him this time, but on Basil. Sunny moved before thinking. Shoving Basil hard to the side as the Jersey Devil collided with him instead. The impact tore through him like a freight train. Jagged fangs clamped down on his arm, ripping through skin and muscle until bone ground beneath them. Sunny’s scream ripped out as the beast barreled onward, dragging him off his feet, blood painting a path in streaks of red.

“Sunny!” Basil’s voice cracked, horror spilling from his lungs.

“Run to him.” The voice cut into Basil’s head.“Don’t hesitate, move.”

Basil staggered forward, legs moving before his mind caught up.

The Jersey Devil sprinted through the forest, dragging Sunny like a rag doll. His body was then slammed into a tree with a sickening crack, His body was then slammed into a tree with a sickening crack. Splinters rained down as his ribs gave way. His breath wrenched out of his chest in a wet gasp. Before he could suck in another, the beast swung him into another trunk, harder. Something deep inside him tore loose.

“Fuck—!” Blood burst from his lips. His free hand fumbled for his knife. As the monster carried him into yet another trun, he drove the blade down, again and again. “I’ll split your rotten skull in two, you bastard!”

Black blood sprayed across his face with each stab, but the Devil only roared louder, fury growing with his resistance. It proceeded to swing him in a wide arc and hurled him through the air, dropping his knife in the process. Causing him to crash into a boulder. The impact shattered stone and body alike. A crack tore through the rock as Sunny’s back broke against it. For a moment, his vision flashed white, then red, then nothing as pain crackled like static through every nerve. 

He crumpled into the broken stone, his ruined arm hanging uselessly at his side. Blood ran down his body, pooling beneath him. He tried to rise but was only able to push himself upright. Through the haze of pain, his eye lifted.

The Jersey Devil loomed in front of him, its wings half-spread, a low growl vibrating out of its chest like thunder caught in its throat. Slowly, like a predator savoring the kill, it began stalking toward him. 

Sunny grit his teeth, his good hand dragging his pistol up from his belt. He leveled it with trembling precision, only for the ground beneath him to split. Roots erupted, coiling tight around his wrist, his chest, his legs, and his good arm. The gun slipped from his grip, clattering to the ground.

“Son of a bitch…” he hissed, thrashing against the binds as the beast drew closer.

Basil finally caught up to the two, but quickly stopped in place in shock. The sight stole the breath straight from his chest. Sunny was pinned against the shattered stone, blood pouring down his body, the monster closing the distance with every step. 

“Basil.”

The voice came to him once again, like a ripple in his skull. “Listen. Do as I say. If you falter, you’ll lose him.”

His heart hammered. But still, he nodded, raising a trembling hand as if pulled by invisible strings.

“Good. Now breathe. Feel it in your pulse. Let it move through you. Let the melody flow.”

Something stirred. A vibration beneath his skin. Basil’s veins thrummed as warmth spread through his body, light pooling faintly at his fingertips. His breath quickened, his hand rising higher.

Meanwhile, Sunny’s lone eye narrowed. He could feel the roots grinding tighter, pinning him against the split boulder. His knife was gone. His pistol was useless on the ground. And his summoning rod was stuck in his pocket. ‘The only way out is a spell. Has to be one of the heavy ones. But with these bindings, I don’t have the angles. Can’t risk a half-shot. If it misses, I’m done. My body’s wrecked. I’ve got one chance to end this unless I risk blacking out.’

His eye tracked the Devil’s shifting weight, the slow, taunting steps as it closed the distance. ‘What’ll lock it down?... The only option is its fire breath. That’s the only thing it’ll need to commit to. If I can bait it into that, I can take it down without risking it dodging. But how—’

The thought clicked. His lips split, blood seeping between his teeth as he forced out a hoarse, mocking laugh.

“You’re pathetic,” he rasped, glaring at the beast. “All those tricks, and you fight like a damn mutt. Can’t even finish the job with me strapped down?”

The beast growled, its chest swelling as its wings twitched.

Sunny barked a cough, then spat blood onto the roots binding him, grinning despite the crimson streaks down his chin. “Come on! You think I’m scared of your smoke and mirrors? I’ve gutted uglier bastards in my sleep. You’re a poor excuse for a demon, much less the devil!”

The Jersey Devil roared, its fury boiling over. Smoke billowed from its jaws. The glow of heat pulsed deep in its throat, building fast.

Sunny’s smirk widened into a sharp, grim smile. ‘That’s it. Focus on me. Show me everything you’ve got.’

Light sparked faintly against his palm as he steadied his hand, forcing his body still, hiding the glow beneath the roots even as the air grew hotter around him. The beast reared back, fire gathering in its maw—

“Flower Crown!”

Basil’s voice rang out as if from the ground, thick vines bristling with thorns surged, ensnaring the Jersey Devil’s limbs and throat. The monster screeched, its wings beating furiously as it staggered under the sudden weight. For a moment, its focus wavered as the roots binding Sunny loosened.

Sunny’s eye widened. ‘What the hell—?’

To his left, Basil stood with his arm raised. Light streamed faintly from his fingers, the glow wild and uneven, as if he barely understood what he was channeling. 

His breath hitched as he desperately tried to keep the vines he’d conjured from dissipating, something that proved to require a strenuous amount of effort. He didn’t know how long he could hold it. He didn’t even know ‘what’ he was doing. But if it saved Sunny, then it must have been the right choice.

The monster’s roar pitched into a guttural scream. Its muscles bulged, body thrashing against the vines. Then, its head unnaturally snapped with terrifying precision towards Basil. His whole body seized up as the beast’s jaws swung wide. Flames gurgled in its throat, the light growing brighter and brighter. Aimed directly at him. Basil’s life flashed before him like fragments of a song coming apart at the seams.

“I won’t let you!” Sunny screamed at the beast.

Pain echoed through Sunny’s body as he ripped his good arm free of the weakened binds. Light burst down his veins, his palm igniting with raw power. His voice cracked from both fury and pain as he thrust his hand forward.

“ERASE!”

The spell detonated from his palm in a torrent of raw, searing power. A beam of red and black surged forth, tearing through the Jersey Devil’s skull before it could unleash its blast. Basil flinched, throwing his arms over his face as the world erupted in a red light in front of him. For a moment, it was like standing in the heart of a volcano, the heat even more intense than that of the monster’s.

Through his fingers, he saw the monster’s head dissolving under the torrent, flesh and bone incinerating into dust. The beam carved clean through, splitting through the air. The Jersey Devil shrieked one final time as its upper body disintegrated. The vines snapped loose as what was left of the beast crumpled into mangled flesh. This time, it didn’t dissolve into the black liquid to rise again. The monster had been slain.

Sunny sagged against the shattered rock, smoke still curling off his fingertips as the spell guttered out. His good hand braced weakly against the stone, his broken arm hanging limp at his side. His chest heaved with every breath. His eye darted to Basil. Alive, shaking, but mostly unharmed. Relief softened his expression for a fraction of a second before it hardened again. He didn’t say it, but the thought gnawed all the same. ‘There’s no mistaking it. He used magic, must’ve had it in his blood with how things played out. Tch. Just my luck. Joseph’s gonna have a field day with this shit.’

“Sunny!” Basil fell to his knees beside him, eyes wide and wet. His gaze skated frantically over the twisted arm, the blood streaking his sides, the rock dust in his hair. “Your back—your arm—you’re—oh god, you’re—”

Sunny cut him off with a grunt. “Relax. It’s nothing I can’t fix. Just… let me sit here a bit before I start patching up. I need a fucking breather.”

“Nothing you can’t—Sunny, you look like you got run over by a truck!”

“Yeah, well, I feel like it too,” Sunny muttered, slumping deeper into the rock.

“You’re bleeding everywhere, your arm's hanging the opposite direction it should be, your back might—” He stopped himself, voice trembling. “You shouldn’t even be moving right now. A-And you really need to stop swearing so much on top of that!”

Sunny turned his head slowly, giving him a flat look. “…Seriously?”

Basil’s face went pink as his words tumbled out. “I-I mean, I’m serious about the injuries, that’s what matters! But also—you’ve been cussing like a sailor since I found you, and—” He cut himself short, puffing his cheeks in frustration. “I don’t know! You just shouldn’t!”

Sunny just stared at him for a bit. Then, despite the blood and pain, a rough laugh broke through his chest, shaking his whole wounded body. 

Basil pouted, “…Don’t laugh at me.”

“Can’t help it,” Sunny rasped, smirk widening even as pain laced his voice. “You’re—hah—still you.”

Basil froze, before the corners of his lips twitched into a reluctant smile as he also began chuckling. “...Yeah, I guess I am.” 

Seeing that smile. Despite its broken state, it gave him an odd sensation. One he hadn't felt in years. Like the knot of fear in his chest that he had been carrying for the past five years had finally started to loosen. And so, amidst the smoke and fading storm, they sat together. They were bloodied and battered. But for the first time in years, they were together.

Chapter Text

For a while, the two long-lost friends let time slip by. Neither spoke as the storm had thinned into a soft drizzle, pattering against the foliage and hissing faintly when it struck ash. An earthy scent clung to the air, breaking through the stench of the smoke and blood from their battle with the monster.

Sunny closed his eye, letting the droplets tap against his skin. Rain always had a way of putting him at ease. There was something about it, the calm but steady rhythm. The refreshing cool air surrounded him. The gentle patter of the drizzle that washed things away, offering a peaceful withdrawal from the world. Or at least, it would’ve, if not for the heavy dread that pressed against him, reminding him of his latest failure.

It was almost comical how quickly things had gone to shit the moment he set foot back in Faraway. The fight with the Jersey Devil had been a disaster from start to finish. He’d been extremely sloppy, letting himself get tossed around like a rookie fresh out of training. Almost every choice he’d made had been a dumb one. From rushing in to landing himself in a trap of a wild animal. His body still ached from every mistake. He was lucky his sheer stubbornness let him push through despite his injuries. He had already experienced worse in the past. Today’s injuries weren’t new to him.

Then there was Basil's involvement in all of this.

He’d promised himself he would never let that happen. That he’d keep all his former friends and family out of this. Away from the danger of the unknown. That was one of his highest priorities as a hunter, if not the highest. And here he was, sitting next to one of them, who’d nearly gotten killed multiple times in the span of a couple of minutes because of him. Just another broken vow to add to the pile of others he’d failed to uphold.

What made things worse was the revelation that Basil was likely to stumble onto the unknown world on his own, even without the mass surge of anomalies. As he was one of the 'gifted'. The signs were clear as day now. 

Unlike standard awakenings, which required a traumatic event with the supernatural to occur, usually temporary injuries or even death of the candidate. Bloodline awakenings only needed the barest spark of supernatural presence and stress to trigger. However, this caused the usual temporary surge of power gained during the awakening to be drastically lessened. But not needing to play a mythical lottery by getting ripped in half by a werewolf was a pretty big upside, at least from Sunny’s perspective. The tradeoff, however, had another glaring weakness, at least for someone in a similar position to Basil anyway. 

With the sheer density of mana woven into their veins, bloodline sorcerers were already quite formidable, even if they couldn't use a single proper spell. But that came with its own danger, one unique to a newly made bloodline awakened. Without the proper training, the body wasn't likely to be able to adjust. Mana would overflow and tear the vessel apart from within. If Sunny hadn’t been here, there was a very real chance Basil would’ve just… combusted one day. Burned alive from the inside out before he even realized what was happening.

And that was the part that gnawed at him most. Basil never should’ve been in that position in the first place. Only a handful of people were even eligible for this type of awakening in the first place, even among hunter families. But that was the main issue here. Basil’s family wasn’t exactly ordinary. 

He’d never met Basil's parents. Hell, almost no one in Faraway had, but he remembered certain things they left behind for him. The camera Basil always carried everywhere wasn’t some random low-end one. It was the kind of model professionals used, the kind that cost more than Sunny’s whole wardrobe back then. And his garden… Even as kids, Sunny remembered the endless stream of rare seeds and strange flowers that didn’t belong in a town like theirs. Basil never even seemed to realize how unusual it was. 

It was clear enough in hindsight. Basil’s family had money. A stupid amount of it. The kind that came with strings attached. And yet here Basil was. Abandoned in a quiet town, with no connections to his parents. Sunny didn’t like the picture that was being painted. If they’d gone out of their way to keep Basil at arm’s length, it was probably for a reason. A reason that would come back around eventually. Something Sunny would have to deal with later.

But right now? He only cared about keeping Basil alive.

Protocols for dealing with a friendly bloodline awakened went as follows. Report the awakened candidate to the board, get them registered, have a background search on any leads to their family history, and then train them to control their mana flow. Depending on the results of the search as well as training, the results of this process could be widely different. From being able to reintegrate themselves back into society relatively easily to being taken out during the training process. Sunny had seen the protocol play out for strangers before, but Basil wasn’t a stranger. He was his former best friend, one who seemingly would support him in fighting beings from actual hell. Dragging him deeper into this world was simply a no-go, especially with the worst-case scenario of Basil being stupid enough to join him on his lifelong mission.

Still… he couldn’t leave things as they were. At the very least, Basil needed to know the basics of everything. Needed to know how to do specific things to keep himself from burning up, exploding, or any comically violent ways excess mana can kill someone. That much would have to come soon. But it would have to wait. First things first, Sunny needed to do something about his broken back and arm.

With a quiet breath, he took out his summoning rod as it glowed with magic.

“Nisse. I need your help.”

Smoke curled from the metal staff, folding in on itself until it condensed into a tight sphere. Basil flinched, his eyes darting between the rod and the strange cloud. The sphere unraveled in a puff, revealing not a monster or some legendary hero, but a stout figure no taller than Basil’s knee.

The newcomer looked like he had stepped straight out of a fairy tale. A white beard so long it almost touched the ground, a neat brown coat with brass buttons, and a red cone-shaped hat that tilted to the side. A thin pipe dangled from his mouth, sending up faint wisps of fragrant smoke. His other hand folded neatly behind his back. 

The creature tilted his head toward Basil with a twitch of his mustache. “It is,” the newcomer began, “a touch rude to stare without a proper introduction.”

Basil jolted as though he was caught in an embarrassing act. “O–Oh! I–I’m sorry,” he stammered, his cheeks warming as he tried to form an earnest smile. “My name is Basil. It’s… nice to meet you.”

The figure gave a dignified bow, beard swaying as he dipped. “Nisse, at your service. And no offense taken, newbloods often are at a loss for words.” His tone softened slightly, though it sharpened again when he turned on Sunny. “But you, master, are another matter entirely. Look at you! It is most distressing to see you in such a state again. Honestly, have you no regard for—”

“Less scolding. More mending,” Sunny cut in, his voice tight with pain.

“Always so brash,” Nisse muttered, straightened his coat, and lifted his small hands. They glowed faintly green, the light flickering like sunlight through the forest leaves.

Sunny shifted against the rock and looked at Basil. “You’re going to want to look away from me for a bit. This part can look a bit…disgusting.”

Basil hesitated, glancing worriedly at him. “How disgusting?”

“Just do it, Basil. Trust me. You really don’t want to see what’s about to happen.”

The weight in his tone left Basil no room to argue. With a hesitant nod, he turned his face away, though not without one last anxious look at his friend.

The hum of magic started before it made a violent shift with the cracking of bones shifting under skin.  Wet pops rattled like knuckles snapping in disgusting patterns. Cartilage squelched as joints slammed back into alignment. Muscle fibers twitched and pulled with the sound of a rope being strained to its limit. A faint, grinding scrape followed, as vertebrae wrenched themselves into place. The sounds were making Basil’s stomach lurch violently. He clenched his eyes shut and pressed his hands onto his ears, doing everything to try not to vomit. Unlike the encounter with the Jersey Devil, he didn’t have an overwhelming sensation of fear to distract him from the sickened display behind him. ‘Think happy thoughts, Basil. Happy thoughts!’

Behind him, Sunny’s breath hitched sharply. He pressed his hand against his mouth, biting into it to stifle the groans, but muffled sounds still forced their way out as his body contorted. Shoulder bulging grotesquely before snapping back into shape, ribs rippling beneath his skin like something alive crawling under the surface, a jagged tear in his arm knitting together with a slow pull. His whole frame shuddered with each correction, as though every nerve in him screamed at once.

The sounds of snaps and grinds stretched on, unbearable in their grotesque rhythm. Until, at last, silence fell. Broken only by the faint hiss of Nisse’s pipe. 

“Alright,” Sunny huffed after a while. “You can turn back now. You’re also dismissed, Nisse.”

Basil slowly opened his eyes and turned, only to freeze in place. Not because of the cuts that littered Sunny’s clothes and body or Nisse disappearing in the same strange way Tanuki had back in the woods, but because of the thin wisp of smoke curling from between Sunny’s lips. A cigarette dangled between his fingers, held so causally that Basil knew this wasn’t his first time using one. 

“...S-Sunny,” Basil whispered, his voice breaking as he blinked at the smoke. Then, stumbling louder in disbelief. “You’re smoking?!”

Sunny took a slow drag, the ember at the tip flaring faintly. He didn’t look at Basil when he exhaled, just let the smoke drift upward against the drizzle. “Yep…”

“Sunny, you shouldn’t be doing that…” Basil blurted, in a mix of confusion and terror. “It’s not good for you!”

Sunny chuckled under his breath at the comment. “Basil, you just watched me stab a horse monster that breathes fire. I’m pretty sure that’s way worse for my health.”

Basil frowned as he crossed his arms. “Y-You shouldn’t be joking about it either…”

Sunny simply shrugged in response, the gesture maddeningly casual to Basil. This carelessness that Sunny displayed was so different from what Basil remembered, almost like looking at a stranger. The reserved boy who used to rarely, if ever, speak was gone. In his place stood someone who carried himself with a rougher edge. One who seemed to barely care about how people perceive them, swearing and smoking as if it were second nature. Compared to him, the Hooligans seemed harmless, like kids playing pretend rather than any kind of real gang. Which, to be fair, they kind of were, but Basil would never tell Aubrey or the other members that.

It was so far removed from the Sunny he remembered that Basil felt a bit uneasy by it. And yet…a small, traitorous part of him didn’t think it was entirely a bad change. This new Sunny carried himself with a confidence the old one never portrayed. Dangerous, sure, but also magnetic in a way Basil didn’t know how to process. He realized his eyes were lingering on Sunny’s frame and quickly looked away in embarrassment, hoping that Sunny didn’t notice him tracing the lines of muscle that hadn’t been there before. He’d been trying not to stare at him much, because every time he did…he got distracted.

But when he finally risked another glance and had a proper look at his best friend, the illusion cracked. The nonchalant attitude wasn’t able to cover the truth. There was a subtle dullness in his eye, a hollowness that expressed something deeper than words ever could. The boy in front of him wasn’t just exhausted. Sunny was broken. Worse than broken. Like something inside him had burned out, and all that remained were the ashes left behind.

His pout melted back into worry. “Look, Sunny… can we talk? About everything? Please?”

Sunny exhaled a thin wisp of smoke, a thoughtful expression plastered on his face as though weighing the request. For a long while, only the drizzle and the soft hiss of the cigarette filled the silence. Finally, he answered, “…Fine. But only if you answer my questions too.”

Basil gave him a small nod in response. “O-Okay. I promise.”

Sunny’s gaze lingered on him for a moment before taking another quick puff from the cigarette. “…How is everyone doing?”

The question caught Basil off guard. For a second, he only blinked at him. Of all the things Sunny could’ve asked first, he somehow hadn’t anticipated this. But he pushed past the surprise, taking a careful breath before answering.

“W-Well… if I’m being honest, we all haven’t been doing the best since you disappeared. Aubrey took it really hard, especially after we found out about…why.” Something about Basil’s last words struck a nerve with Sunny. He didn’t want to ask as there was some obvious baggage with it, but he worried about how Mari explained what happened that night. ‘Hopefully she didn’t take the blame for what happened, everything was my fault in the end…’

Basil’s gaze drifted to the grass, his fingers fidgeting with his shirt. “She… she was really depressed for a while. She would barely leave her home, and even spoke less. I-I was really worried about her. But then she started hanging out with some new people. It… actually helped her a lot.”

He hesitated as his lips curled into a small but uncertain smile. “Though, um…if I’m being honest, they weren’t exactly the type I ever pictured Aubrey getting close to. T-They’re kind of like a gang, I guess?” Basil let out a nervous chuckle, remembering the first chaotic afternoon he’d spent around the Hooligans. When his eyes flicked back up, he noticed Sunny’s expression had turned into a hardened glare. 

“B-But they’re good people!” Basil blurted quickly, hands raised in a flustered defense. “Really! At worst, they do stupid things like stealing candy from the candy store in Othermart or picking fights with other kids. A-And they really care about me and Aubrey. They’d never let anything serious happen!”

“...Right,” Sunny muttered, unconvinced, as he exhaled a stream of smoke. It was difficult to picture Aubrey, the girl who used to scold Kel for stealing extra cookies, being a gang leader. Even if her gang sounded like it barely fit the vision of one, at least compared to the various gangs he had to fight over the years. It felt jarring. Mari never would’ve tolerated that. Mari expected better from all of them, especially Aubrey. 

Basil continued, though his voice grew heavier. “It didn’t help that her home life got worse while you were gone. Her parents divorced not long after you disappeared, and she ended up living with her mom here. T-That woman did…terrible things to her.” He paused, guilt flickering across his face .“She lives with me now. B-But… I don’t think she’s ever shaken off what her mom did to her.”

“...I figured something like that might’ve happened,” Sunny muttered softly, flicking ash to the ground.

Basil's eyes widened in surprise. “You… you knew?”

Sunny didn’t meet his eyes. The faint ember of his cigarette glowed in the drizzle, reflected in his tired eye. “She told me one day while we sat at the swings.” His voice tightened with a faint tremor threading through it. “Even showing me a bruise she got from her dad after getting caught in the middle of one of their fights.”

Basil stared down at his hands, a mix of horror and shame consumed him. “She never told me that… I-I thought things only got bad after the divorce…” He whispered as the weight of Sunny’s words sank deeper within him. “I-I should’ve gotten her out of there sooner. Maybe if I had, she wouldn’t…” 

“Stop.” Basil was jolted back to the present with the weary command from Sunny. “You did what you could, Basil. We both should’ve done better. But it’s too late for what-ifs. Trust me, I would know.”

The drizzle filled the silence between them for a long moment before Basil spoke again. “…You know, she always supported me when I went looking for you. Even if most thought it was a lost cause. But… more than anyone else, she believed you were… g-gone.” His voice trembled faintly. “S-She visits your grave a lot. Sometimes she stays there crying for hours.”

Sunny’s grip on the cigarette tightened until the paper crinkled. He stared off into the distance, pondering what Basil had told him. Even after hearing Basil’s story, he found it hard to believe that Aubrey wasn’t able to move on from his disappearance. What’s worse is that none of his friends were able to help her grief, even Mari. 

“…What about Kel?” he asked after a brief pause, his tone now rougher than before.

Basil’s shoulders eased a little, seemingly grateful for the topic shift. “Ah, Kel… he’s uh good, I think. He’s grown a lot since you last saw him. He’s been getting more serious about basketball these days. It helps that he got way taller. Though… you’re probably still taller.”

A faint huff of amusement slipped from Sunny’s throat. “…Heh, you remembered how obsessed I was about our height, huh?”

A small smile flickered on Basil’s face as he nodded his head, though it didn’t last. “H-He uhhh, took your disappearance hard too. But… despite that, he tried to hold everyone together, to stay happy for us. I guess that’s just… who Kel is.”

“That does sound like him,” Sunny replied as his dull eye examined the slightly broken cigarette in his hands.

Basil hesitated before continuing. “You know, it’s kind of funny. All those silly stories Kel made up about what you might be doing after you… disappeared. Turns out, he was closer to the mark than any of us.”

Sunny made a sound that was somewhere between a scoff and a laugh. “Of course. He’d probably be the only person who wouldn’t be surprised to find out monsters are real.”

Basil let out a nervous chuckle, but his eyes soon drifted elsewhere. “Yeah… that’s Kel, I guess. Always trying to find something bright in everything, even when he shouldn’t. He still tries to be positive like that, but… It’s different now. Especially when he’s around me and Aubrey.” His voice dipped, just slightly.

Sunny glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, reading more in the hesitation than Basil meant to say. He could tell Basil wasn’t telling him everything. There was weight behind those words, a tension carefully tucked away. But he didn’t press on. He’d learned long ago that some truths only hurt more when dragged out into the open.

He let the silence sit for a moment. Then, with a low breath, he asked, “…What about Hero and Mari?”

Basil flinched at the second name, his entire body tightening before he even realized it. “I… I don’t really know,” he admitted. “We weren’t… talking much before they left for college. I don’t think I even saw Mari outside her house during her last year here.”

Sunny pondered Basil's last words before it suddenly clicked. The way his voice trembled so much more with the mention of Mari’s name, as well as Basil's description of everyone, made things crystal clear. Mari’s confession over what had happened must’ve gone extremely poorly. The aftermath must’ve caused them all to split apart, with Kel stuck in the middle trying to mend that rift. 

Basil’s voice was barely audible as he spoke again. “I said t-things to her I shouldn’t have, really a-awful things. And the w-worst part is… even now, I don’t think I can forgive her. Not for what she did to you.” He swallowed, guilt flickering in his eyes. “I know it wasn’t on p-purpose, but every time I think about it… I j-just… I get so angry.”

Sunny’s expression softened. “You have every right to feel that way. What happened… it wasn’t right. But everyone makes mistakes, even someone like Mari.” He looked down at the cigarette between his fingers. “You should still forgive her, Basil. If it helps you out, I already forgave her…on the night I ran away.”

Basil’s head snapped up. “You w-what?”

Sunny nodded faintly. “Don’t get me wrong, a part of me was definitely angry at her. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t. But… I didn’t want to carry those dumb feelings with me. It would’ve been a shame if my last memories of any of you were so…awful.”

Basil stood there in a mix of shock and disbelief. He knew Sunny had always been forgiving, but to this extent? It sounded absurd, borderline impossible. “But what she did to you! Y-You didn’t deserve—”

Sunny quickly interrupted him. “Maybe not. But I’m not exactly a victim, either. It was my choice to bottle everything up. And when I finally tried to do something about it…I ended up destroying a gift from you all.”

The drizzle around them had faded completely now, leaving behind only the fresh smell of wet dirt hanging in the air. A few drops still clung to Sunny’s hair, catching the light as he spoke. “Besides, it’s not like I was someone worth a damn anyway. I was just Mari’s tagalong. You guys weren’t missing much once I was gone.”

Something in Basil proceeded to snap at those words. He could feel his entire body shake in uncontrollable anger. “That’s not true!” Basil shouted, his voice cracked with raw emotion. “You think you didn’t matter? That no one would care that you were gone? You’re wrong, Sunny! Dead wrong!”

Sunny’s head lifted slightly, caught off guard by the sudden outburst. But Basil wasn’t done. He couldn’t stop as years of grief and helplessness came spilling out.

“Do you have any idea what it was like when you disappeared? Mari shut herself away from the world. Kel couldn’t even look at us without breaking down. Hero spent all his time either trying to hold everyone together or finding you. And Aubrey—” Basil’s voice faltered, but he forced himself to speak again. “She became…b-broken. Sometimes she’d just sit and stare at nothing for hours.”

Sunny’s expression hardened, but Basil still pushed on as his eyes became glassy with tears. “And me?” His voice cracked again, smaller this time. “I could barely eat or sleep. No matter what I did it I felt empty knowing you were gone. And I kept thinking, if I’d just done something different, maybe—just maybe you’d still be here…”

Sunny opened his mouth to say something, but he found that no words came out. Meanwhile, Basil continued, fighting through his cracking voice. “Every single one of us fell apart because of you, Sunny! Because we loved you! You weren’t just Mari's brother. You were our friend! My best friend! How can you sit there and say you didn’t matter!” Tears streamed freely down his cheeks as he shouted at Sunny. “D–Did our time together mean nothing to you?!”

Sunny’s normally dull eye flared intensely as he stood up from the rock. “Of course it meant something!” he snapped. “Every single day, minute, second I spent with you all! I wouldn’t have traded it for anything. It meant everything!!”

Unintentionally, Sunny’s rage began to manifest itself in the cigarette between his fingers, causing it to suddenly burst into flames. Basil froze, his tear-streaked face lit by the brief flash of fire as Sunny swore and threw it down before crushing it beneath his boot. The ember hissed till it died out in the wet dirt beneath them.

Sunny’s hands trembled as he stared down at the faint black smear of ash at his feet. When he finally looked back at Basil, his expression had softened into one of exhaustion. “It meant everything, Basil,” he repeated quietly. “But that’s exactly why I can’t come back.”

Basil blinked through the lingering tears. “W-What? What are you trying to say?”

Sunny's voice grew quieter than before, similar to a whisper. “On the day I ran away… something happened. Some would probably call it a blessing. But I think ‘curse’ is more fitting.”

Basil’s breath hitched as confusion was plastered across his face. “C-Curse? What do you mean, a curse?”

Sunny let out an exhale as he stared off in the distance. “I gained the ability to perceive and manipulate forces that are invisible to the naked eye. Magic tends to be the common name for it, but you can use whatever word you want to describe it. Though it came with a cost.” He glanced down at his hands, flexing his fingers as if they ached. “My presence… draws in others who share that nature. Monsters, mages, and more. We’re unintentionally pulled together like magnets.”

“B-But… that doesn’t explain why you…” Basil mumbled, partly to himself, trying to figure out Sunny’s story. His voice came out trembling, almost akin to pleading. “T-Then why were you so ready to kill that–that thing back there? You didn’t even hesitate…”

“Because that’s what I do now,” Sunny replied in a flat tone. “I learned to make the best out of a really shitty situation. I became what’s called a Hunter.”

Basil’s mouth fell open slightly, struggling to process the words. “A… hunter?”

“As the name implies,” Sunny said, voice seeming to have a small smidge of pride behind the exhaustion, “I hunt the things that threaten humanity. The monsters. The corrupted. Whatever’s stupid enough to attempt that."

“S-Sunny, that’s insane! And d-dangerous!”

“Exactly,” Sunny responded.“So you understand now. If I came back, I’d just be painting a target on your backs.”

Basil shook his head violently, stepping forward towards Sunny. “N-No! That’s not— You're not just disappearing on us again! What if something happens to you?”

Sunny’s expression didn’t change at the comment.“Then I die. And half of our friends’ assumptions about what happened to me would finally be right.”

Basil glared at Sunny intensely, to the point that it even matched the intensity of Sunny’s when he fought the Jersey Devil. “Sunny…”

“Look,” Sunny muttered, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I’ve been doing this for five years now. In this line of work, that makes me practically a veteran. If I screw up and get myself killed, it’s either because I was careless… or because someone who wants me dead finally managed to finish the job.”

Basil froze as he registered the last bit of Sunny’s words. “W-Wants you dead? Sunny, what the hell do you mean by that?”

“Let’s just say… when you stick around long enough, your name starts getting thrown around.” His eye drifted towards Basil as he continued. “There are plenty of monsters who’d like to tear me apart for all the things I’ve done to them and their kind.”

He paused for a moment, reflecting on whether he should even tell Basil what was on his mind. Ultimately deciding to push on. “But it’s not just them. Hunters don’t exactly get along with each other either. Everyone’s got their own idea of what justice looks like, and most of the time, that means stepping on someone else’s. And well, it’s not like I'm that much different than the things I hunt.”

Basil took a shaky breath. A mix of confusion and anger blurred together within him. “That’s… that’s absurd. You’re not a monster, Sunny. You said you're trying to help people, right? How can you compare yourself to them?”

Sunny laughed softly, but there was no warmth in it. “If only it were that simple. If you knew the whole story, you wouldn't be saying that.”

Basil took another uncertain step forward. “Sunny… what are you talking about?”

“I didn’t want to tell you this. But maybe it’s better if you know. So you can finally let go of whatever memory of me you’re still holding onto.” Sunny looked away and into the dense forest for a moment before returning his gaze to Basil.  “You said I’m not a monster. But that’s bullshit. The things I've done, the things I've killed. There's no better description.”

“What else would you call someone who left behind enough bodies to fill a small country? And not just monsters, but humans. Some were just innocent bystanders, caught in the damn crossfire. Someone who doesn’t just fight because they have to, but because they’ve started to crave it. Someone who relishes in the blood that's spilled, whether from their enemies or their own.”

He clenched his fists. “So tell me. If that’s not what a monster is, then what the hell is one!?”

The words echoed into the woods. The forest itself seemed to fall silent, even the insects and birds pausing after the outburst.

Basil stared at him wide-eyed and trembling. He looked down for a moment, breathing shakily before whispering, “...Even if all that's true.” 

He took another step forward, steadying himself. “You're still my best friend, Sunny. The same Sunny with whom I spent some of my happiest moments. That person is still there.” 

Sunny’s composure began to falter. “How can you still want me in your life after everything I just told you? I’m a monster, Basil!”

Basil shook his head in response. “No, you’re not. You said it yourself, Sunny. You’re a hunter. Someone who fights nightmares to protect others. Someone who keeps going, even if it hurts. That’s not a monster, Sunny. That’s someone who’s still trying to do good…”

Sunny’s face twisted in frustration, a flicker desperate behind his eye. “Basil, seriously. Think for once! Don’t you understand that everything about me is dangerous? My presence, my power, my very existence puts you all in harm’s way. I’m cursed, for crying out loud!”

There was a long pause as Basil fought against the weight of Sunny’s words. Finally, his expression hardened into something strangely calm. “…And so am I.”

Sunny froze mid-breath. “What?”

Basil met his gaze head-on, unflinching. “You thought I forgot, didn’t you? The vines and that voice whispering in the dark. It’s a sign, isn’t it? The same curse.”

“Basil, that’s—”

But Basil didn’t let him finish. “Even if you left, the monsters would still appear, wouldn’t they? And given you didn’t come here just to see us again, that means there are already monsters around Faraway.” His eyes narrowed, the logic clicking piece by piece. “So tell me, Sunny. Wouldn’t it be more dangerous for you to leave us behind? For an experienced hunter like yourself to just abandon us all.”

Sunny went silent. For once, he didn’t have an immediate comeback.

“You can’t have it both ways,” Basil continued, voice rising just slightly. “You can’t claim you’re protecting us by staying away and admit there’s danger here right now. If you really wanted to keep us safe, you’d stay until it’s gone.”

Sunny exhaled sharply through his nose, rubbing at the bridge of it like he was trying to smother the frustration building inside him. “…You’re at least correct on that,” he muttered. “ If all goes according to plan, the surge of monsters in this region won’t be permanent. I’ll take care of it all, then leave before I accidentally draw in something worse."

Sunny’s tone turned robotic, almost like he was forcing himself to sound composed. “Once this area’s stable again, I’ll make arrangements before I leave. The guild I work for has mana suppressant pills. They’ll mask your energy and keep anything from tracking you after I’m gone.”

“…That’s it? You just fix everything, hand me some pills, and disappear again?”

“Even if I wanted to, I can’t stay here. I have responsibilities now. The less time I’m on the front lines, the more likely there’s a death I could’ve prevented.”

Basil looked down in disappointment before returning to the calm he had before. “We could at least spend the time you do have here together. Isn’t that better than pretending none of this happened?”

Sunny could only put his hands on his face. He was getting exhausted arguing. “You’re being really stubborn, y'know that?”

“And you’re being dumb!” Basil snapped, tears forming again despite his anger. “You finally come back, a-after years of us thinking you were dead! And all you can think about is how fast you can leave again?!”

“Oh, I’m being dumb, huh?” Sunny remarked, his tone edged with irritation. “Then tell me, Basil… How is it that you can accept me for what I did?  For running away, for killing people, for becoming this. But you couldn’t forgive Mari?”

Basil's eyes widened at his words.

Sunny took a step closer, his voice rising. “She did something terrible, yeah. But compared to me? What I’ve done makes her look like a saint. And yet you hate her, but not me. Why?”

Basil’s lips parted, but no sound came out. The question hit harder than anything the Jersey Devil had done to him. He wanted to deny it, to shout back that Sunny was wrong. But when he opened his mouth, the only thing that came out was a choked breath.

“…Because I missed you, Sunny,”  Basil finally managed, his voice trembling but steady enough to hold. “I can’t be angry with you since part of me was just so happy to know you were still alive. Even like this.” He met Sunny’s eyes again, tears streaming freely down his cheeks. “I don’t care what you’ve done, or what you think you’ve become. You’re still Sunny. You’ll always be Sunny to me.”

Sunny stood there, speechless. The words hit deeper than he wanted to admit. Any anger he had left drained out of him as quickly as it had come. 

“…Basil, you don’t understand,” he muttered, shaking his head. “You shouldn’t—”

But Basil continued as he took another step closer, now right in front of Sunny. The clouds above began to thin, a faint light cutting through the canopy as if the world itself was listening to them.

“So please, Sunny. Even if it’s just for a short time here. Let’s make some new memories together, okay?” Basil asked softly with a small, hopeful smile forming through the tears.

Sunny felt his body tremble. “Basil, stop—”

“It’s alright.”

“I’m not who I used to be—” 

“Then I’ll get to know the new you.”

“You don’t know what I’ve done—”

“I don’t care.”

“I’ll only hurt you—”

“Then I’ll forgive you.” 

“But—”

Before Sunny could finish, Basil took one more step forward. The smaller boy threw his arms around him, gripping his soaked shirt tightly like he was afraid Sunny might vanish if he let go.

Sunny couldn’t fight back the tears anymore as he reciprocated the hug, breaking down in Basil’s embrace. The walls he’d built upon layers of guilt, pain, and quiet self-hatred had finally caved in. The last clouds from the storm had drifted away, and a faint orange glow from the sunset shone on the pair.

“I missed you,” Basil whispered, his voice barely above that of the breeze around them.

“…You’re such an asshole,” Sunny muttered as he pressed his forehead against Basil’s shoulder.

Basil laughed softly through the tears. “Well, I guess I learned from the best.”