I came out in an unknown forest. By the time I got back to my feet, the RiftRipper was already leaving me.

I rushed after him. “Wait up!”

He turned to face me. His face was a void.

He’s not the same one who took Mommy away. That’s good.

I took a step back and shuffled my feet. “Thanks for saving me.”

He approached as if his body was gliding across the ground. His head tilted in an unnatural way. A bladed tendril came out from his cloak.

Wait…what if he saved me to capture me?

The blade patted my head gently.

“It’s my pleasure, dear.”

Oh, so he’s nice like Mr. Sickle.

He turned away.

I reached out and grabbed onto his cloak. “There’s a big cloak guy like you! He has my little sister. Do you know where he is?”

“No. I am searching for him too.”

“If you find him, can you bring her back.”

He crouched down over me. “I would not dare make a promise I cannot keep. What I can promise you is I will lay down my life to retrieve her,” he said, shaking a bit.

I went on my tip toes and patted his head. “You’re a good guy. What’s your name?”

“I discarded my name when I took up this duty. My enemies call me the Broad Spectrum Assassin.”

“Oooh, fancy, hee-hee,” I said with a big smile.

“Staying near me puts you at risk. I must go,” he said as he sank into his own shadow.

Welp. I’m alone now.

I hold my hand to my chest.

But I don’t feel alone. I should see how Ruiz is doing!

I focused my thoughts on my friend, but images of him telling Flam to kill me kept popping up. The journal half-materialized before vanishing.

Okay, let’s try Luna.

I focused on her but nothing came up. I turned my attention to the sky. The moon was only a crescent.

If I’m going to find Tumble, then I’m going to need to wait for a full moon. Till then, I’m staying put.

The wind whooshed by and made me shiver.

I’ll find a nice place to rest for the night.

I went through the forest. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. The trees were covered in some sort of sticky sap. I kept turning around because I felt like I was being watched. There were no creatures in the area, minus a few buggies. I found a kinda comfy log and rested my head against it.

“Don’t worry sisters. I’m going to find you both.” I closed my eyes, bathed in the moonlight.

The next couple days I stayed nearby and gathered Rain Berries. I found a spot with tons of berries and…

What happened here!?

Empty armor with rust or blood was stuffed behind one of the bushes. I looked behind another bush and there was more empty armor.

Someone must have killed these heroes.

I stuffed the berries into my shirt and surveyed the area.

The trees were no longer slimy. When did that happen?

I went into a panic and rushed out of the area. I tripped over something and fell.

The berries scattered all across the grass.

My foot was stuck in a puddle of goop. My foot was being dissolved. It stung like crazy.

Okay. Take a deep breath and figure a way out of this, Annie. Your sisters are counting on you! Okay, this creature must be a Goopy. I never wanted to meet one in person. Think about what Mommy’s journal said. What was their weakness?

A young man suddenly rushed up, holding a torch. “You finally showed up!” he yelled, holding the flame to the Goopy.

Fire! That was it!

The Goopy released my leg and rushed along the ground to a hiding spot.

The young man chased after it while I healed my foot with my saliva.

Goop fell from the trees around the young man.

“Yeah! Bring it on! I’ll kill you all!” he yelled, waving his torch.

The Goopies rose up and took human shape.

“Oh, I know what my comrades looked like and don’t think I won’t hurt you when you’re wearing their faces!” he rushed at one of the Goopies and burned it.

I’m a Guardian Angel so I have to give this hero support!

The jewel on the goopies’ heads turned a violent red color as their body became jagged.

“No! You’re not taking me too!”

Two lunged at him and bit onto his arms.

I pulled out Yu-ki’s fiery dagger and ran to help him.

“Don’t be an idiot! Get out of here! Warn the others about this place!” he yelled, swinging his dagger at the enraged goopies.

“I will!” I yelled back. “I will make sure these bad creatures never hurt another hero!”

I ran off with tears in my eyes.

I have to get stronger to keep my word.

Night came and the moon was full.

This was my chance!

I closed my eyes and focused on Luna, holding out my pinky. I thought of the pinky promise we had made and when I opened my eyes, there was a long pink string of energy.

The string went past the trees in the distance.

It would lead me to Luna.

I held out my other pinky and thought of Tumble.

Sure enough, another pink string appeared.

Yay! I’m going to rescue them!

I ran off toward that direction all night long, leaving the forest entirely.

When morning came and my strings vanished, I collapsed.

I woke up to the sound of a Cuckatrice. I could tell from the pitch that it was a girl and based on the volume of the song, she was close by.

I’m going to find her!

Mommy was a brave adventurer who chronicled every creature she met. So, I had definitely seen her drawings of the magical bird, but I still really want to pet one!

Using my mega good hearing, I followed the sound all the way through the prickly forest to the bird.

She had beautiful green and purple tail feathers, with swirls that looked like fearsome eyes. Her wings were short and stubby which was super adorable!

I rushed to the bird as she sang and grabbed her in my arms. “Heya, I’m Annie. Nice to meet’cha,” I said, petting her affectionately.

She responded with a “Buckaw” and snuggled my chest.

Cuckatrice’s are the prey of so many predators. They have little wings and chubby bodies which makes it hard for them to escape. But they also posses powerful magic that weakens the predators. It’s said that their songs can turn an Ebony Panthera as docile as a newborn KitCat. Not only was this Cuckatrice ultra cute, she was a powerful ally.

After spending a couple days with my new bestest bird buddy, our bond went to the next level. I could understand her completely now. What once sounded like “Bock Bock Buckaw!” now was easily understood as “I love you too.” Her name was Phoenix and she was looking for her family too. Apparently, some bad heroes took them away from her when she was out foraging. I told her that I would ask anyone I found if they had seen her kids and husband.

My charm power without Tumble at my side, couldn’t pacify most of the creatures. But I wasn’t alone anymore. The two of us had each other’s back. Phoenix would weaken any predators and I would then scare them off. We were an awesome team.

It was almost a whole month before the next full moon.

Once it came, we traveled together. I carried her in my arms and ran to my destination with newfound energy.

The forest got darker and more prickly as we ventured in deeper but we stayed focused.

The next morning I awoke to someone grabbing my butt.

I grabbed their hand. “What are you doing!?” I yelled.

I recognize her! It’s the Gobli girl. The one who stole Yu-ki!

I backed up and looked over my shoulder.

Phoenix was still asleep in the leaf bed I had made her. And there were at least ten Gobli.

They were wearing human clothes, I think. They had pretty pink dresses that kinda clashed with their scary looking thorny maces. I was taller than even the tallest one of them.

“Where’s Yu-ki?” I reached for my dagger, but it was missing.

The Gobli girl pointed and laughed at me, showing off the weapon she stole.

Nasty girl! Took Yu-ki and my keepsake. Not on my watch!

I rammed into her and grabbed the blade. I pointed the burning tip at her. “Go away or I will hurt you,” I said, puffing out my cheeks and standing on my tippy toes to look bigger than I was.

A Gobli rushed up and slammed her mace into me.

I coughed up blood and my vision went hazy.

Phoenix rose to attention and rushed in front of me. She spread out her wings and warned them to back off.

Aww. She’s the best.

The Goblis left, along with Yu-ki’s sword.

Phoenix is great, but I’m going to need a powerful hero if I’m going to rescue my family.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

We were extra cautious the next couple of days but the danger died down once we were out of the prickly forest. When the next full moon came, it brought us all the way to the top of a small mountain.

No way. What am I supposed to do now?

The string went out past the massive body of water.

When I was teleported, I got sent to a completely different island!

I fell to my knees and sobbed.

Phoenix nuzzled me. She told me that I needed to move on. That both our families were already dead.

We cried together that night, staring out beyond the endless ocean.

In the morning we were both thinking clearly. We decided that finding a village was our best bet. It’s likely that’s where her family was taken and maybe I could find a RiftRipper that could teleport me back to Sunny Village so I could find my family. Problem is, we couldn’t see any villages from the mountaintop.

If I only I had saved that hero.

With no clue where a village was, we decided to just hug the shoreline and make our way across it. We were so happy when we met with a merchant.

“Hello, Sir?” I waved at him.

He turned, his eyes golden nuggets and his hands coated in silver. “Yes, little missy.”

Oh no. He was a MounTroll.

I took a step back.

“No need ta be alarmed. I’m a merchant not a bounty hunter,” he said with a golden grin.

“Sorry. I uh, had some bad experiences at Street Trash,” I said.

“I’m impressed ya made it out of there, little angel,” he said, eying my clothes.

“We were wondering where the closest village is. And also, is there a way to cross the big lake?” I asked.

“You’d need a ship, a crew and a captain, none of which comes cheap.” He grinded his fingers together, creating dust.

“Well, how can I make money?” I put on a pouty face.

“You could waste years of your life doing quests for the villages and get your CatCoin from raiding corpses. Or…” He leaned in and his eyes got big. “We could work out a deal.”

“What is the deal?” I asked with a scrutinizing look.

“Angels sell for a lot of coin. I’ll give ya twenty percent.”

“I’m not letting you sell me off to some random person!” I yelled.

“No random person can afford angels. It takes an entire village to come up with enough coin. You wanted to go to a village. Why not makes some money while yer at it? It would be more than enough to get yerself across the sea to the next island.”

I looked at Phoenix. She shrugged.

The idea makes sense, but can it really be that easy.

“Actually we’ll just, uh, walk to the village. Which way is it?”

“Information is not free. Look, ya got nothin’ ta lose. You could even leave the village after I sell you.”

Ugh. He’s right.

“Okay, but I want my money up front!” I stood tall. “Um, how much was it?” I ask, still keeping my proud posture.

“Gheheh! No worries, little angel. We MouTrolls, the real ones, believe in the force of Karma! Cheatin’ ya out of yer money would only cause me harm. I didn’t get rich by swindling people. I got rich from word of mouth and corpse raiding. Thank the ethers that we don’t take all that shiny baggage with us when we move on,” he said, wiping away a tear.

“The coin?” I asked, opening my palm.

“We don’t know how much we can go for until we get the buyer. Hop on my cart and I’ll bring ya to the village.”

“Thanks, mister MounTroll.”

“Merchant will do just fine for a name,” he said, flashing his shiny teeth.

I allowed merchant to cuff me, all the while Phoenix glared at him.

He rang the bells on his cart, creating a terrible sound that was meant to keep monster’s away. I covered Phoenix’s ears every time right before he hit the gong.

“So, this island…does it have a name?” I asked.

Merchant slowly turned to us and smiled. “Abandoned. Pleasant name, isn’t it?”

I will make it out of this place.

Merchant was suddenly blasted off the cart.

My ears bled and my head got dizzy. When my eyes came into focus, there was a beautiful young lady with short red hair, freckles and a black hood. The numbers fifty eight and a heart was on her left cheek. She was holding my shoulders.

“Are you okay, kid?” she asked.

I noticed an emblem on her belt.

She must be a hero.

“Yeah. I’m fine. Just a bit dizzy,” I said, wobbling a bit.

“Sorry about that. I use too much power when I get emotional.” She clenched her gloved fist. The tension left when she looked back at me and she offered her hand. “I’m Racheal by the way.”

I shook her hand. “I’m Annie. Oh, and that guy you blasted is merchant. He was just taking me to the village.”

“In chains?” Racheal rolled her eyes. “You can’t be that oblivious.” She crouched down. I looked at her chest and noticed a bunch of numbers had been tattooed across it.

Just like Braven said. The hero’s are branded.

“Are you staring at my boobs? Geez, you angels really are always horny, aren’t you?” she asked with a grin.

“No. That’s not it at all,” I said, waving my hands with a blush.

“No worries, I’m not upset.” She turned around. “Get on my back. Dark and Broody isn’t far. I can take you there.”

“Okay, but I need money for a boat and a captain and a crew,” I said, counting on my fingers.

“Oh, a little adventurer, are you? When you leave, I’m coming along.” Racheal picked me up and plopped me onto her shoulders.

Phoenix hopped onto my head.

“Sure, you can come too,” said Racheal, looking up.

Merchant got up. “Are you really stealing from me?” Crystals came out from his hands and aimed at Racheal.

“She’s just a kid, you creep!” Racheal put her hands together and sent out a sound wave.

The projectile mineral and Merchant were both sent flying. Merchant smashed into his carriage.

“He really wasn’t trying to hurt me,” I said, shaking Racheal.

“You can’t trust anyone. Especially not merchants,” she said, running off with me.

The atmosphere changed when we stepped into the new village. It became heavy. The air was harder to breath. The dark blue and black buildings all drooped, adding to the negative atmosphere.

“Isn’t this place cool?” asked Racheal, skipping down the snow-covered streets.

“Can I speak with the guy in charge?” I asked.

“Ooh, you’re focused. That’s good. Yeah, I’ll take you to her.” Racheal lowered her head solemnly and groaned to greet the other somber villagers.

This place is the opposite of Sunny Village. Why can’t I just go to a normal village?

“Phoenix wants to know if you eat Cuckatrice’s here.”

“Yeah. Sometimes they send us out to bring back food for the village. I personally haven’t been able to eat meat since I got here,” said Racheal with a shrug.

“We gotta go rescue the animals!” I exclaimed.

“Hold up, there are rules here. If you have a grievance, you have to bring it up to the elder.”

Don’t worry Phoenix, we’re going to rescue your family!

We were brought to the graveyard.

“Hey everyone! You won’t believe what I found!” Racheal picked me up and introduced me to each tombstone.

“Did you know all these people?” I ask softly.

“Eh, only a few. But I love graveyards. So creepy, right?” she gave me a big smile. “I have a special power to talk to ghosts. Problem is they never talk back. Maybe I’m too pastel for them.” Racheal put her hand on the tombstone. “Look Annie, a Crimson Spider!”

“Those are incredibly deadly!” I exclaimed, pulling back.

“Yeah! I know, right?” she placed the spider on her nose. “And they tickle too.” Racheal giggled.

Suddenly this place doesn’t seem so sad.

“So, this is where the village leader is?”

“Nope.” Racheal points to a sleeping bag lying on the ground near some particularly creepy trees. “It’s where I sleep. Just wanted to show you around the place.” She opens a bag and tosses me some Banana Berries. “Sometimes I hear groans in the middle of the night and get so excited that I lose sleep! Haha! This place is amazing!” she exclaimed with wide eyes.

“Where you born here?” I asked.

“Nope. I was born in Ontario Canada, nineteen ninety so I’m twenty-two now. Single mom, never knew my dad. No siblings either. No boyfriends. I actually came across this place at an anime convention. I was selling my critically ignored independently created horror comic ‘the Missing Piece.’ I’m wearing the cosplay for my main character, Amanda.” Racheal points to the metal puzzle piece shoulder guards on her and the emblem on her belt. “The plan was for me to reinvigorate the horror genre like Saw did! But, at the last convention I was boothing at, things got a bit hectic.” She scratched her head.

“You were killed?” I asked softly.

“Yeah! Blood everywhere! But these things need buildup!” Racheal took out a flash light and crouched down to me. “It was just another day of below average sales and above average enthusiasm. I had recently seen Saw five in theatres and oh man did it inspire me! I was on my fourth comic, it was where I would introduce these creatures that feed off misery called the Barren. See, to me, true horror isn’t the threat of dying, but losing who you are! Feeling trapped or broken! So as I’m sketching out a creepy forest, I hear a scream. Some guy’s in a Batman outfit got his head sliced off. It was surreal. I was freaking out, and I didn’t run. Funny cause I always hate when the victims don’t run. But I was frozen in terror completely. The dude in the cloak, with bloody knives coming out from his cloak and just floating in the air- crazy shit, I know- he kills a whole group of people as they run by. Literally their bodies just fall to the ground in bloodied segments.”

How terrifying. Yu-ki, Braven and all the heroes had to go through the same thing. It’s too awful.

Racheal wiggled in excitement. “I was freaking out! I always wanted to witness something crazy and man was this crazy. The creepy shadow man approached my booth. I couldn’t look into his eyes because he had no face. It was the most unsettling thing. I made a mental note before I pissed myself in terror. Mmm, it was such a rush! I kinda just stared at him with an open mouth. Racheal leans in close to me and deepens her voice. “‘Racheal Summers, you have been selected.’ I feel the metal blades brush up against my leg.” Racheal bites her lip and glides a single finger up my leg. “Mmm, I was so turned on. Anyways, so I mustered up all my strength and spat out a response. ‘I get to live?’” Racheal suddenly brings her fingers to my face. “His blades brush up against my cheek. ‘You must die.’ I blacked out immediately. But when his knife pierced my chest I came to again. At that point I was no longer excited. I was sobbing. Some guards came in and opened fire on the creature but the shots passed straight through him. The creature’s head tilted and saw my open comic. He made some sort of otherworldly sound. He followed my panel plan and sliced my skin off bit by bit. I was crying and screaming. I didn’t know what was going on. It felt so fake but the pain was so real.” Racheal bounces up and down in excitement. “He legit skinned me alive. I mean, I died somewhere in the middle of it, but holy shit my death was epic! The scariest thing I’ve ever witnessed for sure! But yeah, after that, I awoke in this village and got trained to be a hero.”

I hug her tightly. “I’m so sorry you went through that.”

Racheal points to my wet legs. “Ha! You pissed yourself. Looks like I still got my knack for storytelling.”

I crossed my legs and lowered my head in embarrassment.

Racheal gripped me. “Don’t you feel that adrenaline! I wish I could live ever moment like this! Hyper aware, fully conscious and pumped with energy. Now, lets go to the creepy swamp out back, and get you cleaned up for your big important talk with the village head.” She lifted me up.

Racheal is a funny girl. But she’s nice.

She took me to the creepy swamp. The trees in the area creaked and there were bizarre animal noises.

“No shame in being afraid. And no worries. I will protect you,” she said, taking off her clothes.

Wow. She has freckles on her chest too. That’s super cute!

“Staring at my boobs again, huh?” asked Racheal, covering her chest.

“How many years have you been in Dark and Broody Village?” I asked.

“Four years and not once have I failed a mission. See, I was a scared little girl so I took self-defense, Tae-Kwan Do, even Kendo. I wanted to meet a crazed killer but I also wanted to be prepared to beat his ass down if he broke in the house. Nobody is hurting my mom,” said Racheal, punching the air.

Wow! She’s super cool.

“Who, branded you?” I asked, looking away.

“The cheek tattoo is what my character wears. Amanda Panda was supposed to be the fifty-eighth victim of the killer, but she ended up kicking his ass. It was her girlfriend’s idea to add the heart.”

“Do you channel her courage by dressing up as her?” I asked, stripping down.

“Yeah, you could say that. Fear is such a rush, and a true hero uses that rush as fuel to kick ass.” Racheal suddenly hops out of the bath grabs onto my wings. “You have butt wings! You’re like a little Dante. That is the cutest thing ever! Why did you hide these from me?” she asked, beaming when my little wing hands grabbed her finger.

“I didn’t want anyone to know I’m an angel. We’re kinda a target apparently.”

Racheal takes off my hat. “You have horns too! Demon horns!”

“Angel horns!” I yelled.

Racheal bows down. “Oh, dark emissary, I humbly pledge my allegiance to you. Grant me the power to destroy those bratty popular girls at my high school.”

I poke her nose and slip into the swamp.

Oooh. The water is cold and mucky.

Racheal slid in and then pulled me close to her chest.

Her skin is so soft and pretty.

“Do you see it?” She points at the branch. “A Blood Bat is right above us!” She squealed and squirmed in delight. “I gotta try this.” She took her fingernail and cut her palm.

I don’t think I’ll ever meet anyone like her again.

The bat came down from his perch- you can tell it’s a boy since his ears are less pointy- and cautiously landed on her hand.

“Sooo cute,” said Racheal wiggling with joy.

The Blood Bat bloated up like a toad and then flew off.

Racheal came up and tickled me.

“What are you doing?” I asked, trying to fend off her assault.

“You are magnetic! I had heard angels attracted creatures but I have never seen a Blood Bat in all my years here. Poppy gets the guys for sure, but not too great at attracting monsters.”

“Wait, there’s another angel here? Can I meet her?”

“Yeah, sure. But she likes being the center of attention. Didn’t like it when I tried pig tails because I was too cute. You’re waaaay cuter than me so don’t let her bully you, okay?” said Racheal, stretching her arms out.

“No worries! My big sister taught me to stand up for myself.” I punched the water, splashing Racheal’s face.

“She is so lucky to have you. With a cute, brave little sister like you cheering me on, I bet I could double my page count.”

“You still write?”

“Yeah. This place is awesome, but I have to get back home and continue my series. My mom is waiting on me…and I did write my own ending to the Saw franchise, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to see it for myself. Some new kid that showed up nearly spoiled it for me!” yelled Racheal “I broke his nose” She said with a grin.

“As your Guardian Angel, it’s my job to protect you so your dreams can come true, big sister!” I exclaimed, hugging her.

Racheal embraced me and cried. “You’re so cute and sweet. It hurts!” she exclaimed, thrashing me around in the swamp.

“And you’re so pretty,” I smiled. I looked at her bare chest again.

“Fine you can touch them,” said Racheal, rolling her eyes.

“How did you get those numbers?” I asked softly.

“We’re expandable, little sister. Oh my Cthulhu, can I call you little sis?” she asked with shimmering eyes.

“Well, that is what big sisters are supposed to call their little sisters,” I said with a sunny smile.

Racheal hugged me tightly. “You’re sooo much better than Poppy.”

“And you’re the prettiest hero.” I leaned in and kissed her lips.

Huh? Why did I do that? I like boys!

My face flared up like a tomato.

“I’m so sorry! I’m sure you have a boyfriend and I’m your little sister not your lover and I don’t want to scare you off. Can’t we just stay friends forever?” I asked, grabbing her hand and sobbing into it.

“Whoa. Calm down. Sister’s kiss each other all the time, right? And no…” Racheal’s shoulder’s slumped. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“But you’re so pretty,” I said, rubbing the freckles on her cheeks.

“I’m also…you know, weird,” said Racheal with a nervous chuckle.

I kissed her cheek. “I enjoyed that kiss. So…I guess I’m a little weird too,” I said, hiding my flushed cheeks.

Racheal pulled me out of the swamp. “Let’s get dressed and meet with the village chief, little sister.”

After we got dressed, I wiggled in place. “Can we uh, kiss again?” I asked, shifting my hips.

“Aww, you want practice? That is so cute. Wow, I’m like a real big sister now. With our powers combined, we can surely get boyfriends!” she exclaimed, lifting me up in her arms. She kissed my lips.

It was such a sweet and soft kiss. Like the one’s Mommy gave me.

“I still can’t believe you never had a boyfriend,” I said.

“Well, I did date once, tried to do a blood pact so we’d be together forever. I went just a biiiit too fast,” said Racheal with a nervous chuckle. “Hey, don’t feel sorry for me. You haven’t had a boyfriend either,” she said, poking my belly.

“Actually, I had three.” I stuck out my tongue.

Ruiz kinda counts and Braven was clearly into me, so yeah, three.

Racheal’s head slumped. “Ugh. Losing to my own little sister.”

Phoenix nuzzled her foot. “Aww, thanks, birdie. You’re right, it’s not too late for me!”

“Wow! You understood Pheonix?” I asked.

“Not a word, but Amanda does. Can speak to ghosts and animals. She’s the best!”

“Nope.” I scrunched her cheeks with my hands. “You’re the best.”

Racheal smiled. “The elder is right down this path.”

A wretched scream came from behind us.

“Stay here. I’m going to see what happened,” said Racheal, setting me down.

I grabbed her hand. “No way, Big Sis! I’m going with you!”

We arrived at the house and heard all sorts of banging.

“Okay, I’m going in!” Racheal kicked the front door open.

A hero was on the ground, his neck was black and his arms were sliced off. Looming above him was a RiftRipper.

Oh no. It’s him. The one who took Mommy from me!

“It’s unfortunate you witnessed this,” said the murderer, his blades turning to face us.