Fallen Stars

Mystery Twenty-Four

Light Without Darkness

**Inside Draco’s Head**

(While he’s unconscious.)

Draco: ….

Anti: Ha Ha Ha Ha!

Draco is sitting in front of Anti, who is chained up. His inner world is completely black, from the sky to the ground. Darkness covers everything.

Draco: What is so funny?

Anti: You lost to Hamal! Ha Ha Ha Ha! The person you hate the second most, you lost to him!

Anti continues laughing. Draco has a silent expression.

Draco: ….

Then Boom!!! One of Anti’s chains breaks off into the sky and disintegrates.

Anti: I should thank Hamal.

Draco's expression changes to anger. Now Anti only has three chains wrapped around him.

Anti: I told you… you need me. Stop trying to kick me out!

Draco: I don’t… need you.

Anti: I saw you asked for a star. What is Light without Darkness?

Draco remains quiet.

Anti smiles while moving his arms fiercely but the chains stop him.

Anti: Answer me!

Draco has such a defeated look.

Draco: I don’t know.

Anti: Did Caffua tell you what I said?

Draco: I didn’t even know you two met.

Anti: Ah, yeah. I had to lie to him a bit. There’s nothing wrong with lying, right, “Draco?” You’re still lying to your friends. Ha Ha Ha Ha.

Draco just sits quietly.

As the darkness spreads above Draco, spreading even more, covering the sky. Then bright stars start shining.

Anti: See that? I can help you shine brighter. Let me out!

Anti continues smiling. His teeth are so white compared to the darkness surrounding him.

Draco, looking up at the stars. An image starts to be shown, of events that haven’t happened yet.

Draco: ...

Anti: You know you can’t look away.

Draco can’t turn his head away and sees a quick glimpse of Vega and Wrath talking to little creatures, even seeing himself walking over bridges, going underneath a bridge, and talking to two creatures of the same size, but with different features.

Anti: Oof. Too bad what happens to them.

The last thing Draco sees is Wrath looking around, but he spots something, grins, turns into electricity, and comes down onto someone.

Anti starts getting loud, in Draco’s head.

Anti (pushy): “Draco!” Light cannot exist without Darkness. You need me!

Draco looks at Anti, who is sitting there, smiling hard. But Draco looks directly at him with a contemptuous look and asks a question.

Draco (confident): Who determines that?

Anti: ? Determines what?

Draco imitates Anti’s voice.

Draco: “Light cannot exist without Darkness.” Who confirmed that?

Anti gets quiet now, not smiling as much.

Anti: ….

Draco stands up. Dusting off his pants, and stretched.

Stolen novel; please report.

Draco: Ah. I don’t need you, Anti. Light is good enough without you. I’ll beat Hamal on my own.

Draco forms a star in his hand. He throws it up into the sky, clearing out all the darkness, still shining.

Draco: See, no darkness, and the Star still shines.

Draco starts smiling at Anti and laughing.

Draco: You’ll stay chained up here, I’m leaving.

Draco walks off, giving the peace sign to Anti behind him. Anti begins smiling again.

Anti: Ha Ha Ha Ha! You’ll be back here, asking for me. I guarantee it!

As Draco continues walking out, he starts to wake up on Vega’s back.

Draco (dazed): Ahhh….

Vega: Draco?

Vega comes to a complete stop.

Wrath: You want to stop? We’re almost out of the forest. I can see something up ahead.

Draco gets off of Vega’s back and Vega turns to him.

Vega: Want to tell us who Hamal is?

Vega crosses his arms, his eyes looking serious.

Draco: He’s someone I knew from High School.

Draco wipes off his face.

Vega: A bully?

Draco: Nah, more like a nuisance.

Wrath: Why not just beat him up?

Draco (sighs): I couldn’t make any 'moves' in High School. I couldn’t do it.

Vega: Hmmm.

Wrath: You could’ve tried to beat him up after school.

Draco stands up.

Draco: Nah, I couldn’t. I was being watched too carefully.

Vega: By who?

Draco: My dad. He started working at the school, until my senior year. But, Hamal left before our last year so I couldn't hand it to him.

Draco holding up a fist.

Draco (serious): But I will handle him.

Vega looks directly at Draco sternly.

Vega: Draco.

Draco: Yeah?

Vega: What was the first lesson Caffua taught us?

Draco sighs again.

Draco: Always. Stay. Calm.

Vega hands over Draco’s sword, hitting his chest with his fist, sword in hand. Looked directly into his eyes, vehemently.

Vega (severe tone): Stay. Calm. You can’t go running into everything. We’ll die like that.

Draco: Ahhh. You’re right, Vega. Just seeing Hamal made me mad. I’ll control my anger.

Wrath looks around.

Wrath: Uhh, we should get out of this forest, before it burns us.

Draco and Vega get their swords. Vega gives Draco his bag.

Draco: (Good, I still have my journal.) Ready.

Vega: Same.

All three start to run out of the forest. Animals all follow behind.

Apocalypse flies up close to Draco.

Apocalypse: (Are you ok, Draco?)

Draco: (I’m good. You know better than anyone else, I don’t want anyone asking me stuff like that.)

Apocalypse: (Yeah, I know.)

Apocalypse flies back to where Enma and Deimos(wolf form) are.

Deimos: (What did he say?)

Apocalypse: (That he’s good.)

Enma is still sending fireballs violently at trees while it runs.

Enma (still mad): (We still lost!)

Deimos: (Is this how Vega acts, he just covers it up?)

Enma: (Vega will stop hiding it soon!)

They continue running and Vega tells Draco about the Commander.

Draco (confused): A purple suit?!

Vega: Yup. That’s what I saw.

Draco: So weird…

Wrath: What else did you hear?

Vega: The guy I fought, said it was a “Commander” and his squad. So they took off running, so that’s when I took the chance to get out.

Draco: Smart thinking.

Vega: He yelled out something about “Avenging some fallen soldiers”.

Wrath: Could that have been about us?

Vega: Maybe, I don’t know. But, Hamal and his group took off just after seeing him.

Draco: He must be strong, to have all 4 of them running.

Vega: But. The one you fought, Draco.

Draco: Hm? Hamal?

Vega: Yeah. He said something about killing us for our powers.

Wrath and Draco (surprised): What?! They can do that?!

As Vega thinks.

Vega: That’s what he said, but it doesn’t make sense.

Draco: How come?

Vega: I killed those 3 soldiers, but I didn’t receive their powers. We all killed people with powers and didn’t receive those powers either.

Draco thinks about it.

Draco: You’re right.

Wrath: What could they have done to get our powers?

Vega: I didn’t hear them talk about it. It seemed Hamal was trying to convince the others as if he knew how.

Draco: Hamal… Wanted to kill me for my power, huh?

Vega: That’s the thing too. *annoyed* He said he just wanted to kill Wrath and me. Not you.

Draco: What?

Wrath raised an eyebrow.

Wrath: Why me?!

Draco: Hamal… He just wants to troll me…

Wrath: He would kill us, just to troll you?!

Draco: Knowing him. Yes…

Vega shakes his head.

Vega: You have some terrible enemies, Draco.

Draco: Imagine having to deal with that for three years. I know…

Vega: If he’s after us, we’ll take him out.

Wrath: Right! I’m not dying to a troll!

Wrath agrees with Vega, getting mad.

Vega: But, a “troll,” huh? That reminds me of someone…

Draco: Haha, yeah. Just like “him”. (Just like Hamal…)

Draco suddenly starts to think internally, looking like he’s going insane. Holding his face with one hand.

Draco: (God damn it!! I met Anti!! That’s another loss, and it had to be to Hamal!!!)

Being heated, Draco takes a second to look at the forest.

Draco: So long colossal forest. Fuck this place.

Wrath: Glad you burned it, Vega.

Vega: You all should’ve seen the giant birds.

Draco: Whoa.

Wrath: What…

Vega: ….

Their creatures all stop behind them, looking ahead.

Apocalypse: (This place…)

Deimos: (Whoa.)

Enma: (.....)

As they walk forward, the city has a rock formation covering it, doing a curvature. No sunlight hitting the town. Just like a dark cave.

Draco: So this is the city covered in darkness, Stephano.

Vega: Apparently.

Draco, thinking about Hamal and the forest. His face gets serious!

Draco: It will be different here!

Draco yelled out, clenching his fists!

Vega and Wrath walk beside Draco.

Vega (readied): Right.

Wrath (locked in): Yup!

Apocalypse roaring, Enma making a sinister noise, and Deimos howling.

Apocalypse: (It will!)

Enma: (It better!)

Deimos: (Mhm!)

As the gang walks forward into the dark cave!

[The Ending of the,

Challenged By Hamal Arc!!

Next, The City Stephano!]

Mystery 24 Fin

“The more mysterious, the more imperfect; as darkness is, in comparison with light-- so is mystery, in comparison with knowledge.” - Benjamin Whichcote