The walk along the main road to where the most of the cat people live was silent. Everyone is feeling the weight of silence from Kuro's absence and the feeling of dissolving is present.

Aussie growls in annoyance "Can't you even keep up with the rest of us human!" he snaps as Martha has slowed down after having accidentally hurt her ankle. It wasn't broken but it did hurt and she hadn't told anyone.

She glares at him but says nothing having resorted back to silence.

"Would you leave her alone already, Aussie!" Mooncaster growls glaring at him "She's fine at the speed she's going"

"Cht, maybe to a mutt but to me, she's slower than any other animal! Even a turtle could outwalk her!" he snarls. The two are almost ready to fight each other while Tim and Martha watched this.

"Are they going to try to kill each other?" Tim asks looking up at Martha who could only shrug.

Mystery man watches and he's about to get involved, to prevent the two males from killing each other in front of Martha when a Kuro lands between the two, although he seems to wince a little.

"Wow...I'm gone for one day and you two are already at each other's throats with your teeth?" Kuro asks laughing a bit.

"Kuro!" Mooncaster says shocked before suddenly looking very serious "Are you alright?" he asks.

Kuro looks at him before smiling a little "I'm...fine" he says "No need to worry about me!"

The rabbit appears to mystery man and Martha looks at the rabbit, only able to see the bunny. It relays a message to mystery man that Kuro was in fact hurt but not as badly as it could have been. It's certain it's just a small bruise that he shall have on his arm.

"Seriously Mooncaster, I'm fi..." he starts to say before the ground gives way under his feet, causing a huge hole to appear forcing all of them to fall down, sliding down several different paths until they are all separated. Kuro and Martha wind up together while Tim ends up with Aussie and Mooncaster in a separate area of the underground tunnels. Kuro grips his arm and looks around.

"Are you alright Martha?" he asks when he sees Martha. She nods and he shouts "Mooncaster! Tim! Aussie! Are you guys there?"

A few seconds later, the two hear Mooncaster's voice shouting back "Kuro? We're fine! Is Martha with you?"

"Yes I am!" Martha shouts not alright with Kuro speaking for her.

"Are you both alright?" Tim's voice shouts out.

"Ye..." Kuro begins but Martha cuts in.

"Kuro's hurt his arm...or at least he's been holding it since standing up"

"I'm fine!" Kuro snaps shooting her a slight glare "Just landed on it wrong...Anyways we'll have to try to find each other...I can see a pathway over here so try to find one as well and we'll meet up at the cat village"

He and Martha set off down the tunnel but it's clear Kuro's arm hurts more than he claimed it did as he doesn't stop holding it. The tips of his ears start turning black slowly as the pain has him starting to lose control. Martha stops walking staring ahead of them as a man appears wearing a cloak, hood and mask that hides everything about him. A purple rabbit is sitting on his head watching Kuro worriedly.

"Who are you?" Martha demands.

"Just someone who wants to help." He rubs his two hands and his eye glows purple, a string flows but it's more pink he points to them both and the string is above them and heals them. He walks back into the shadows vanishing.

Kuro's ears return to their normal color as he regains control of himself "Who was that?"

"Those strings..." Martha whispers before looking at Kuro "What was happening to your ears? They were turning black..."

"......Nothing" he answers untrusting after his past and choosing to keep it quiet for now.

Martha frowns but says nothing.

The man walks back but is now invisible. He pats both of their heads, they feel it and he says knowing they can't hear him "...I'll protect you all.."

Kuro touches his head but feels better oddly enough. Martha smiles as she wonders if this is her mysterious stalking guardian angel meanwhile the man made strings glow down the tunnels guiding them to safety.

"Looks like someone is looking out for us...or you at least" Kuro shrugs and the two set off down the path.

After a while of walking, Martha finally says "You can tell me what's bothering you...I won't tell anyone, I promise"

The man sips his tea and also the strings handed them a snack and tea to enjoy as well.

Kuro looks at her before looking down "Even if you did, no one would believe you anyways...which isn't fair to you in the end but it is how it is..." he stays silent for a moment longer before finally saying "I...have a type of magic that everyone says is dangerous and that I shouldn't have..."

The man shows himself with his tea. He says looking at Kuro "I believe you. Your string is darker but it isn't fully black. Your magic isn't dangerous. If it was you would've destroyed everything by now...and be turned on by others' anguish and pain.." he says as his tea drops to the ground to distract them and he's gone just like that but in reality he's just there with them invisible.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Kuro goes quiet for a bit before finally turning around and growling "Forget it...I shouldn't have said anything...everyone uses it to their advantage in the en..."

Before he finished his sentence the man hugged him reappearing "Your not alone in this..."

The man says and shows a darker string that he made.

"Your not alone in this at all...you shouldn't be upset that your special and you, Martha as well...your human, no one else is here. You, Kuro, you're strong, smart, and kind, you're not alone in this.." He says tightening his hug.

Kuro shakes a bit before he breaks and clings to the mysterious man, crying hard.

Martha watches sadly before asking "Does that guy, Vlad, know about this? Is that what you meant by "everyone uses it for their own advantage?"

"Oh we are talking about him now...?" He says holding an amazingly carved pumpkin he's holding to represent Vlad's face if he decapitated Vlad.

"I plan on doing this to him.." He says creepily calm.

Kuro ignoring how creepy mystery man is at the moment who keeps holding kuro and singing softly in his ear to calm him, nods at Martha's question "Yeah...I told him when we started dating...before he started getting..." he goes quiet again but his ears are flicked down sadly and he hides his face in the mystery man's chest.

The mystery man keeps singing and holding him and holds his hand out and brings Martha into the hug knowing she needs it.

She clings to him as well, letting herself have this moment to truly feel safe and cared for.

After a while, Kuro finally pulls himself away from mystery man "Maybe we should take a break here...get some sleep. I didn't sleep much since yesterday...Vlad....let's just say I had a job to do and it didn't allow me much sleep"

Martha nods and they set up a little campsite type of place. Kuro is asleep within seconds, low purring can be heard from him as he sleeps. Martha, however, watches the fire.

"Who are you?" she asks, eyeing the mystery man.

"I am no one of importance..."

He says sitting next to Kuro, rubbing his head to comfort him.

"Why are you here then?" she asks "What do you want? What are you? You're not an animal person like the others..."

"...hm what do you think you are?.."

She looks back at the fire "....I don't know...they say I'm human but not what a human is"

"..I see..do you wanna know what I am?"

"I'll let you think about that but why am I here? All you know is I have a plan and also to help you and your friends the hero's.."

"....Are...Do you think humans are monsters?" she chooses to ask secretly worried about that.

"No. I think humans are very interesting, fragile for sure but very interesting. Honestly, I think humans are more cooler than mystical beings besides I don't see what's so special of being mystical. They're just a bunch of weak beings that exist here and.." he pauses time suddenly and looks at the readers.

"Out there shush readers I know what my goal is~" he unfreezes time.

"That's my opinion on humans. What do you think of them, Mrs human? Also if you're so curious, I'm human as well but I'm a special human. I'm an ancient due to my strings ability. If someone else had this ability they would be referred to as ancient, but I'm the only one..."

Martha says nothing, unsure if she can fully trust him but not willing to not trust him a little either "What is an ancient?"

"Ancient, the ones who can change realities and time and snap the realities to come and alter them...that's what I am. I guess you can say it's overpowered but it's honestly not because we ancients would need the book to be at full power but only if you mastered the strings, you can go full power."

"....I had a dream once where a human woman called me the child of ancients...it doesn't make any sense" she says shaking her head "There were humans with animals but no animal people..."

"Heh you had said dream aye? Yeah there were more of us but they were erased by one ancient who went rogue and stole MY BOOK! and hid it away..the first person to take it passed down to the humans ...I chased it for so long and I'm here now..and I say my book since I wrote it but it was also to increase the power of my fellow ancients.."

"Hmmm" is all she says before yawning yet she doesn't lay down.

"You should get some sleep.."

The man says looking at her and he sees her glow with the moonlights shining. His heart beats quickly but looks away.

"....Don't want to" she whispers "Someone needs to make sure someone doesn't come by and try to hurt us or anything"

"I'll do night watch, I don't sleep anyways..."

Kuro suddenly clings onto the man's hand due to the head rubs, purring louder at the comforting feeling.

Martha chuckles at this before yawning "Alright...just for a few minutes" she says leaning against his shoulder and falling to sleep, comforted by the feeling of safety she feels from this man.

The next morning comes, the man having been watching out the entire time. He laid Martha down to rest well on the ground and head rubs her. With his eye, he controls the strings around the place to make some breakfast for them and gently pokes them both.

Martha groans lightly and wacks at him lightly as if to stop him. Meanwhile Kuro just rolls over and curls up tighter, easily ignoring the poking.

"Heh...aren't you two adorable" he says blushing as he realized he said that out loud.

Martha groans again and slowly opens her eyes "Where...?" she begins before shaking her head lightly as she remembers where they are.

"Morning! Breakfast is ready, how did you sleep?"

"Morning...I slept alright I guess..." she answers looking away before coming over to eat breakfast. As she takes a bite she points at the sleeping Kuro "We should wake him up..."

"Yeah!"

He pokes kuro harder to wake him up.

Again, Kuro expertly ignores his attempt to wake him up clearing used to being poked by people in his sleep. So he gently uses his string and flicks it to wake him instantly.

Kuro yawns "I was having such a nice dream..."

"What was it about!" mystery man asks.

"I was a really powerful fox facing down a dangerous foe to protect a fair maiden" he says happily, tail wagging "It was really cool!"

"Nice! Very cool dream"

He gets up but doesn't see Martha so he flicks a string and follows it and sees her but she's sitting down but from this angle looks like her mouth is covered.

She's staring out into the darkness of the tunnel, wondering about the future and why she's starting to see more things.

The man watches her before he leaves her alone and checks on Kuro but he placed a bunny. It jumps to her lap, laying on it so she calms down and focuses on something else.

She pets it and smiles "He's an interesting man...isn't he?"

The bunny nods but it snuggles her.

With Kuro, he's packing up the makeshift tent, tail flicking gently from side to side although it seems puffier than before.

The man interested, he gently rubs the puffier tail. It's even softer than it already was.

Kuro spikes a little at the sudden feeling of someone touching his tail. He looks over his shoulder at him and tilts his head "Is something wrong with my tail?"

"Why is it more poofy?!"

"Probably because I just washed it?" he suggests, tilting his head a little.

"Very cool!"

"Is it? It's just a basic hygiene thing all foxes have to religiously follow" he says not sure how that was cool to wash one's tail.

"Just that it gets poofy!"

"It's supposed to get poofy" he says looking insulted "If it doesn't get poofy then I've done it wrong and that's a terrible crime!"

"Just sorry..never seen a poofy tail"

He feels hurt since he hurt Kuro he thinks "why do I care so much...I'm a villian supposed to forget and hurt this world yet..there good people.."

Kuro shakes his head "No...it's alright. I often forget that none foxes wouldn't know about this" he looks away a bit "Honestly the crime thing is a bit of an overkill for a simple washing your tail wrong in my opinion"

"That sounds like a lot of work."

"It is a lot of work just to attract a mate...it's so stupid" he grumbles. After a while they set out while the mysterious man turns invisible once more.