"And THAT'S how you make a bed!"

"What did she do to you, anyway?" asked Billy, walking in the woods along with Beatle.

"Hm?" Beatle asked, poignantly. He avoided eye contact, sensing an uncomfortable question to leave Billy's pale lips.

"Aurora. Your ex?"

"Eh. Sometimes relationships don't work out and cause a war that killed billions of people. No biggie."

"You KILLED BILLIONS OF PEOPLE!??"

"No. But our fight did. Been tryna make up for it a while now."

"Why... Why did Aurora... kill them?"

"Y'know. She's kinda a big deal. Heheh... She throws her tantrums every now and then."

"'Tantrums'? Who... is she...? I've heard she was the Devil, right?"

"Okay. Look around you. What do you see?"

"Grass. Um... animals... trees... bushes... shrubs... woods... more bushes... leaves..."

"Anything else?"

"Snow."

"Precisely. She caused that."

"She... invented snow?"

"No. She caused something called the Ice Age. Basically, places that weren't supposed to be cold got really cold. A lot of people without proper resources to survive, well, died. Call it mass genocide."

"Wow... That's pretty... Bad... Are you... evil...?"

"No. Been tryna stop her."

"Why'd she do it in the first place then?"

"I broke her heart. I chose my purpose over her. She's a cold, calculated, and insane creature that has no remorse. Cold. Ruthless. Most of my friends and loved ones died because of her. Like I said. She's kinda a big deal."

"Ha! Her soldiers are nothing compared to you! She probably can't even fight you!"

"The people we've been killing aren't her soldiers at all. They're a cult who sport her badge so her army would stop to care for them. Cheapshot was their leader. He was quite literally just the equivalent of a protestor in our nation. He's not even her soldier."

"Then... Um... We haven't-...?"

"Nope. I've lost majority of my power after our last fight. Kinda made me weaker. She sucked me off with her fork."

"What!?"

"Yes, Billy. Her trident. I know. Terrible."

"So... Is she a demon...? Or-...?"

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Okay. Remember the Emperor of the Country that's been pillaging yours for years?"

"The Emperor of the FILTHY FALLEN!!!"

"Well... Yeah. We are the Fallen. Those are called Filipinos."

"HUH!?!? Wait, WHAT!?!? You're... OUR ENEMY?!?" Billy points his gun at Beatle.

"Doesn't kill me, remember?"

"SO!!?"

"I have a good heart."

"Ah, yeah. Wait, there are... FACTIONS!?!?"

"I am a Crusader of Christ. We're the actual Filipinos who fought for this country for years. The guys I'm fighting are a cult that pray to the soldiers of Aurora, called the Antichrists. Or the Antichristians. Or whatever. We just call 'em Antis."

"Aunties."

"Antis."

"Gesundheit."

"Yes." Beatle sighs as the fog forms from his breath. He squints his eyes. Silence falls between the pair.

"Was... the world not supposed to be this cold?"

"Your species adapted to the cold. Back in my day, Humans can't stand this temperature. They die, Billy. From something called Hypothermia. There is no such thing as a real Human anymore, sadly."

"I'm a real person, though."

"Well, genetically speaking, you're a Human. You can't evolve from a clade, after all. But... you've evolved into something different. Though, you're still a Human, we just call you guys Snow People."

"Wowie... I have a slur!"

"You're welcome, Billy."

"What does she look like?"

"Hm?"

"Aurora. No one in my country has ever seen what she looks like."

"Satan. Think of the unholiest smile on Earth that pisses you off every morning when you wake up next to it."

"Like marriage?"

"Uh... Yes..."

"So, if their star is upside-down, they're one of 'em Antis. Is that why you have those triangles on your chest? Supposed to be a star?"

"We already talked about this."

"Yeah. But... I didn't know it's supposed to be because you guys were the original. Thought you guys were just being melodramatic."

"Describe her."

"She's... an idiot. She may seem like a complete child who only wants to make things right who wants nothing but your attention and unconditional love..."

"Concerning."

"I gave in because she was like me."

"Oh. Sorry."

"Buuut unlike me, she tried killing me. And everyone."

"Because... tantrums?"

"Uh... Kinda... No. She killed people because it's her only way to spend time with me."

"Wow."

"Eh. I used to do it."

"Dude..."

"Not anymore. I grew up. She didn't."

"How did you do it?"

"Kept 'em hostage by being myself... Obsessive, sad, pathetic. Self-deprecative jokes that made people uncomfy. Didn't know I was making 'em uncomfy. That's what my friends used to do to me, and I just laughed along with them. So, I thought it was okay..."

"Weird... I used to... I didn't... Wow... How did you not do it anymore?"

"I found a new purpose. Protect. Serve. For my purpose is to protect all life since its right is respect, autonomy-..."

"Yeah, yeah. Heard of it before. But... Why...? Why'd you choose that purpose?"

"At first I thought it'd make people like me. But I realized that without it, I'll have no purpose. Had no friends. Real friends. So... I fought for this world..."

"Why?"

"Because it's right. It feels right."

"But... You don't want... I dunno... revenge... for all them bullying you like that? Abusing you like that?"

"Nope."

"Why...!?!?"

"Because that is wrong."

"So, Aurora is wrong, because you're right?"

"And she wants to be wrong, to continue being my opposite. By burning our only bridge we had left of each other, she continues to be with me. To connect with me. Her last piece of effort to connect is by hating me."

"That... is depressing."

"Sorry. Oops... I did it again. I made you uncomfy. Made you feel terrible for me. I'm sorry... Uh... Hey look..." Beatle points to a turtle. "Turtle. Wow. This is why we don't talk about my past! Sorry for shouting."

"It's okay, Beatz. I don't find it depressing! I find it normal..."

"How so?"

"The way I see it, people sometimes get that desperate to try to connect with others. Because they're afraid of being alone. Because people fear them because they're different. But you, you compromise. That makes you better than her. You sacrificed parts of yourself to protect people...

What... did you want to do... If you weren't the Earth's Protector?"

"I wanted to be a writer-dancer-YouTuber-superhero."

"Wow. Same."

"Heheheheh... You're alright, kid." Beatle sighs, looking up to the Neon sky while gently brushing his fingers over the "triangles" on his chest. "Before all this, I was just a modest humble writer... A regular everyday joe... I really wish I chose her... She was the only one who... loved me... for who and what I am..."

"If you did... Would you have met me?" smiled Billy.

Beatle smiles and pats his head. "I doubt it, kid."