Mogwai (IC)

Shaun's eyes opened wide when he heard the shriek. Lod screamed, and an antique lamp appeared. Mortos opened his eyes and Pajak hissed with rage. The intruder was near. He got up. His hand immediately flew to Diabel's Matrix, but his hand relaxed. He didn't need it.

"Mortos!" he called out. The skull rose up and muttered something about baking cookies "We need some light". The skull smiled and hissed with a sound like flames crackling. The fire got brighter. He could now see the half-mandrill, half thorny devil,and he smiled.

"Mortos," he said, his slack jaw twisting into an evil smirk. "Fire". The skull made an evil laugh that sounded like a crackling inferno and hissed. A massive burst of fire shot forth from it's mouth on a b-line to the Thordrill.

Thordrill had been trained for many situations, and was often sent repeatedly after the same opponent until he could overcome them successfully. As it were, he never allowed himself to exit the one-mile radius, and Shaw never tried to force him. Together, the M.L.A.F. Team had captured a total of five Masters in the course of three years. It might not seem like a lot, but it was actually a major achievement. Thordrill battled without the assistance of other Mogwai, and they did not move on to a new target until they had eliminated their current one. As a result, the more the opponent tried to fight them, the more Thordrill learned about his enemies' weaknesses. It was by no means easy, he often frequently lost the first few times, but each loss was actually another victory. More information gathered.

When the new opponent, Mortos, attacked, the glow and smell had indicated fire. This was by no means the first fire-breathing Mogwai Thordrill had battled. In an instant, the creature knew what to do. It would use its environment to protect itself. He jabbed his arms and legs into the snow, charging them with electricity. The lightning made a crack as it melted the snow, and water traveled up Thordrill's body, soaking his fur. This was the advantage of being part Thorny Devil, as the normal lizard could drink water from any part of its body, thanks to the special design of its anatomy. Thordrill held up his arms just as the flame hit.

The flames singed his fur, and he sent a wave of pain to his Master, but he was still standing, the burns rather minor, thanks to the now-evaporating water. He looked up, and produced another shriek. His fists charged with energy again, and he started running, at a pretty good speed. Once more, melt water wet his fur, which would decrease any fire-related damage that was inflicted. He jumped in the air, and let loose a wicket bolt of electricity at his opponent.

The blast of electricity struck Mortos and it cried out in pain. It began to glow orange from its helium contacting the electricity, and steam began to rise from it. It shook it off, though, and attempted to get back into the fight.

Meanwhile, it was Lod's turn. The kindergartner-sized cat was angry, and when Lod was angry, stuff went flying.

Literally.

There was a 'poof!' noise, and a bowling ball, a golf club, and a gallon size jug of milk appeared in front of Lod, all of which flew towards the Thordrill at deadly speed. Shaun smiled, his eyes covered by his top hat. He liked challenges, and this Mogwei would be quite a fight.

Thordrill had to think quickly to react to the three objects hurtling towards him. Due to his great size, the worst that they could do was leave a painful bruise, but pain was pain. He managed to grab the bowling ball in one hand, but the golf club struck his side, and the gallon of milk grazed his shoulder, hitting a nearby conifer and bursting open. Angered by the poltergeist impression, Thordrill pulled back, and threw the bowling ball right at the target that had summoned it, while grabbing the now-bent golf club in the other hand and throwing it at the other enemy. Being as it were, he was a kind of primate, and his throw was very good. If either one hit, it would leave a mark. He unleashed random electricity in every direction, and it was attracted to anything metal, including the golf club.

New information, one of the Mogwai breathed fire. The other one, while small, could make things appear, and throw them. Thordrill committed these facts to memory, and somewhere hidden in the distance, his Master also memorized this. It did not matter if they lost this round, because each time they fought they would learn just a little bit more about this target.

Lod screeched and a metal trashcan full of compost appeared, blocking both the golf club and the bowling ball. He rolled to the side and summoned a small television, which it shot at the Thordrill.

Pajak was getting restless. It scuttled around the creature, waiting for a distraction. The flying bowling ball was a distraction enough, and Pajak silently scuttled under the thordrill and drove it's massive stinger up towards the creature's vulnerable belly.

Meanwhile, Shaun was beginning to tire of this beast. He grabbed his Fourth matrix.

"Farewell, my adversary!" he whispered "Oh Diabel!" The Matrix barely left Shaun's hand by the time that the grey blast of energy materialized into a fifteen foot tall winged demon. Diabel beat his chest and let out a terrifying roar. It grabbed a nearby tree with both hands, yanked it out of the ground, and swung it like a club at the Thordrill.

Thordrill knew he was beaten when he saw them ganging up on him, and when he felt the stinger plunge into his stomach...but no, he wasn't going to let them have a total victory. The target beneath him had made a mistake. He had gotten close. His last act was to drag one of them down with him. He knew it would not be a total death. Both Mogwai were within a mile of their Matrix. Nobody would turn to stone as of yet.

With a final cry, he bashed the Mogwai beneath him into the ground with a ferocious punch, discharging what could be considered a fatal amount of electricity into him. There was no escaping the attack. Climbing beneath Thordrill to sting him had also left the target trapped between his legs, therefore, in no position to escape. When the tree hit, Thordrill dissolved into Olive Green energy, which shot out of the area and into the frozen forest, to be received into the Matrix of his unseen Master.

Walter Shaw held up the Matrix as Thordrill returned to rest. It would be a while before the Mogwai would fight again. However, even though he still felt the pang of loss and sympathy for his beaten friend, he smiled in secret. "Good work, Thordrill." He whispered to the Matrix. The loss was not much of a loss, because of the information gathered. First, this target so far had revealed four Mogwai in his possession. He had not held back when it seemed that Thordrill was posing a challenge. He had summoned all his Mogwai, without considering that part of the fight waged by his opponent was simply to gather information on attacks. Oh, yes, this target had won a battle, but it was merely the tip of the iceberg. Thordrill would recover, and would come back, stronger and more knowing, until the mission was complete.

He spoke into a handheld radio, "Call for backup, Thordrill's O.O.A." He said. With this, he turned and ran. The target would have seen Thordrill's marking colors. He would know the backup was coming, and would have to run, before a group of Masters arrived with enough Mogwai to overwhelm his team, which would be tired out to a degree from fighting already, except for the fourth Mogwai, perhaps.

Diabel roared in anger and tossed the tree a few feet, where it crashed into several more trees, all of them reducing to a pile of splinters. It roared again, but Shaun sent it back to his matrix, where it filled his head with it's rage. Mortos went back to his matrix was well, and Lod was the only one still out. Shaun heard the sound of the rotors, and slowly began to walk off into the night, a wry smile on his face.

"We shall meet again!" he yelped to Shaw as he walked off into the night.

"AH FELL SO CLOAS TO YOU RITE NAOW!" the radio bursted out as Red's hand fell on the volume turn, causing it to skyrocket.

His eyes snapped awake and he turned, only to realize he was sleeping on a tree, and fell off. In mid air, he flipped around, landing on his back.

"Oof." groaned as he fell back to the ground. The impact knocked the wind out of him. His radio falling soon after and landing on his chest. Despite being small, it still hurt.

He switched the small device off, and laid down to recuperate. Ghentisis Rex, who had be awoken by the sudden sounds, growl/laughed and grabbed Red's backpack from the tree and placed it next to him. Red nodded in thanks and paced the radio inside.

The Mogwai and man looked at each other for a moment, as if talking to one another.

The Rex nodded, and Red stood up, making their way back to the Ranch. He needed to confront Iris about what had happened, otherwise he would find himself returning to that mountain with guilt written all over him.

Iris was sitting in the kitchen now, drinking a mug of hot chocolate. Bell sat next to her, and Tasok was at her side, nuzzling her arm. She had pretty much gotten over Jordan by now. He was a whining jerk who she'd only really been dating because she had been struck with sudden desperation. He was cute, but had the personality of a walnut.

She finished the hot chocolate, and walked out of the sliding door to go and find Red.

Jack woke with a start when something tiny hit him in the head. They had traveled for most of the night, until everyone had been begging Rachel to let them rest. Her response had been an irritated mutter, "Can't you go any further?" before he had personally spoken for the group that they couldn't function without sleep. She relented, and everyone had set out camp. Everyone had fallen asleep immediately, exhausted. But now, something woke Jack up, and he felt for whatever had fallen on his face. His discovery was that it was an acorn. While he was staring at it, another one hit him on top of his head. "Ow!" He put a hand over where he had gotten hit. For something so small, the acorns stung.

He looked up from where it had fallen, to discover Rachel was standing in the fork of an oak tree, one hand full of acorns. He frowned, perplexed, "I ain't too witty when it comes to words, so I'm just going to say 'Mornin'!' and skip the cliches." She said, plucking another acorn from her hand and throwing it, this time aimed at Gale, who was still asleep. Mark and Tabitha were already awake, watching with a mixture of humor and confusion. The acorn struck him between the eyes, and much like Jack had, he shot up, not sure what was happening. He looked at Jack with shock. Jack just cleared his throat and pointed, as though to answer the question.

Rachel dumped the acorns out of her hands, and they all rolled down the tree trunk, "Well, it's about time everyone was awake. Come on! The angler who wakes up at dawn catches the most fish!" She said, jumping out of the fork and landing. Tabitha snorted, "What?" She said. Rachel looked at her, "I said I wasn't very good with words, but it's true, most fish bite at dawn." Mark frowned and shook his head, "Welcome to the club, you are officially in the same boat as me and Jack. We can't tell jokes if our lives depended on it." Rachel folded her arms, "What boat? At least I'm trying."

Jack got out of his sleeping back and put it back into his backpack, while Gale got up and muttered something about insane girls and crazy people. "Seriously, did you have to do that." Jack asked, looking over at her. She shrugged, "It keeps you from getting too comfortable. You need to learn to live with tension, because otherwise, I guarantee you'll go insane by the end of the month." Gale shot up, "What!?" He cried. Rachel shrugged, "Well, you never know when someone is going to ambush you. I assure you, though, that I'm not overreacting, because the M.L.A.F. really does show up at the worst opportunities." Gale threw up his arms, with a frustrated sound, "You people are crazy!" He cried, before stalking off to the far side of the clearing, for peace and quiet, Jack supposed.

Red opened the front door, looking in. Iris was most likely mad at him for having little control over his Mogwai. Which was not the case. He ordered Ghentisis to charge, but he neglected to remember that it's hard to stop a train.

He would have to talk to Jordan too if he ever saw him again.

He felt a bit like scum. He promised himself to not ruin Iris' relationship, yet he managed to do it less than an hour after seeing Iris again.

What a great way to make up for the near three years of being stuck on a MOUNTAIN.

Oh well, it was time to face his demons.

Iris wasn't sure what to do. Her relationship was crushed, but she really didn't mind that part. Jordan was a jerk, and he wouldn't last five minutes out there by himself. After pondering it over for a moment, she decided that she was tired and went upstairs to her room to take a nap.

Jack wasn't sure what to do. Although he was positive that Mark and Tabitha had no trouble working as a team, he wasn't so sure that Rachel and Gale were getting along very well. It was clear the two had a very big conflict in personality and interests. It was making communication difficult for everyone, and everyone was stressed enough as it was with the M.L.A.F. chasing after them. It didn't help that Gale was new and seemed to be sulking or muttering all the time, or that Rachel tended to be incredibly harsh and ill-tempered. Really, the two of them were the most ornery people Jack had ever met. He knew he had to get them to reach some sort of understanding or common ground before something bad happened and everything fell apart. It was already pretty bleak, considering that Jack didn't know either one of them, in reality.

He walked over to where Tabitha and Mark were sitting by a fire, eating beans out of a can. He looked around, surveying the area. With the campfire in the dead center of the clearing, it was clearly where everyone should have been in the Morning. However, with Gale at one end of the clearing, leaning against a tree, arms folded, with his gaze downcast and sullen, and Rachel at the other, sitting at the base of another tree and drawing figures in the dirt with a stick, the distance between the group was obvious.

Jack sat down on the opposite side of the fire, silent for a moment, staring into the flames as the morning sun rose. Eventually, he looked up, to see his two friends staring. "Is it really bugging you that much?" Tabitha asked. Jack sighed and nodded, "What are we going to do about those guys? They haven't even been near each other for an entire day, and they already hate each other. Neither one of them is listening to the other." Mark nodded, pushing his glasses back onto his face, "Well, from what I can tell, both of them are still getting used to being in a group. Don't forget, neither one of them were working with other people before meeting us."

Jack looked up, "Well if they aren't used to it, then why aren't they trying to communicate, and get to know everyone? They're not talking to anyone else, it's like they don't even care if the team falls apart." Tabitha took this time to speak, "Well, not exactly. Just because you don't see it doesn't mean they don't feel concerned about the rest of the group. I'm not sure about Gale, but I'm pretty positive Rachel cares, even if she seems like she doesn't want to be here." Jack raised an eyebrow, "How?" He asked. Mark frowned, "She attacked Gale yesterday and bit him, when he tried to steal your Matrix. I don't care if she went mad, but if she was so upset about someone else' Matrix being stolen other than hers, then I'm pretty sure she cares." Jack frowned, "I still don't quite understand that. There's not much of a logical explanation for why she did that, turned all vicious, like she was going to rip out his throat." Tabitha sighed, shaking her head, "You really are clueless, you know that? She said that the last time someone tried to take her Mogwai away from her, she wasn't herself. She knows when she loses control, but she can't do anything about it. It's not a matter of why, it's just action. If you lose control, then you do something instinctively." Mark scooped a few more beans out of the can he and Tabitha were sharing, "She didn't just attack because she cared, she attacked because she was instinctively protecting you from a threat."

Jack frowned, shaking his head, "But that doesn't make any sense. I don't need someone to protect me." Tabitha now huffed with frustration, "I know that, but I'm saying that people don't normally have to deal with an animal sixth sense, and I'm guessing that happened after she got her Mogwai. She probably doesn't understand it any more than we do. All I know is, that for whatever weird reason, she's now protecting all the members of our group." Mark cleared his throat, clearly becoming uncomfortable with the topic, "Well, that aside, we still need to focus on the problem at hand, we can think about why she did that later."

Jack nodded, "Right, so how do we get the team to function?" Mark shrugged, "Well, first of all, what do we know about them? We already know lots about each other, but Rachel and Gale haven't really opened up to us that much, so we don't have a lot to go on." Tabitha took a sip from her water bottle and set it down, "Well, let's think about what we know about them so far. Gale's been a Master for three days, yet to be attacked by the M.L.A.F. He's probably still coming to terms that he's not a normal person anymore, not that there's such a thing as 'normal'." Jack nodded, "Anything else?" Tabitha frowned thoughtfully, "Well, Rachel, as we said earlier, is a bit more instinctive than the rest of us, she seems to occasionally do things impulsively, remind you of anyone we know? She also sometimes acts like a wolf, from my perspective. She doesn't like to be challenged, and she seems to hate when we try making eye contact, and if you get too close, it's like you can see her bristling."

Mark frowned, "Well, I think she's also dealing with a great amount of stress. The moodiness, irritability, negativity, not wanting to stop and rest, the nervous habit she seems to have of picking at her fingernails, and the fact that she refused to eat breakfast this morning, all point to it. That, and stressed people tend to isolate themselves from others. Technically, both of them are stressed, but Rachel seems to have it worse." Jack frowned, and nodded, "And Gale?" Tabitha seemed to smile a little at this, "He got beat by a girl. I'm sure you can figure out the rest."

Shaun walked through the dark woods, the flames of the injured Mortos his only light. He was tired and hungry, but he didn't trust that the MLAF were going to stop pursuing him. Lod walked next to him, holding his hand like a child, his parka pulled down over his eyes. The cold wind blew, and Shaun covered his face with an arm and Lod shivered in the cold. They eventually found a seemingly abandoned log cabin, which they went into, where they found a trapdoor that led them to a room full of firewood, which they slept in for the night.

Rachel had been drawing figures in the dirt when Mark and Tabitha grabbed her. "Hey! Y'all let me go!" She cried, struggling frantically as they wrestled her to the edge of the fire in the center of the clearing. They deposited her roughly on the ground, next to Gale, who was wearing an angry expression on his face. When they were done, the two retreated to the far side of the fire, where Jack was sitting. Rachel got the feeling that she was not the only person who had been forced there. She started to get up, but Jack's hand flew to his belt, hovering over Keystone's Matrix. "Don't, or I'll have no choice." He said. He looked grim, as though he weren't enjoying this.

Rachel had no doubt that Daymare or Geoclaw could easily beat Keystone, but still, she was loathe to risk conflict that might attract unwanted attention. "Fine!" She hissed, looking at Jack with renewed distrust. She should have known they would think she was crazy. But what did they really know about her? Paranoia was perfectly logical, in her opinion.

"Now, I know that neither of you really deserved to be dragged to the fire like that, but still, we had to get you here somehow, and we weren't really going to wait for your consent." Jack said. Gale huffed and looked away, clearly hating this. "Look, I know you two aren't used to being in a group, but you're not helping anything by sulking, or snapping at people and walking off." Jack looked at both of them. Gale looked down, not wanting to meet Jack's gaze, but Rachel met his eyes with her own, defiantly. "So, with that in mind, what's the problem?" He asked.

Gale continued to sulk, so eyes went directly to Rachel. She hated being put on the spot like this. Being singled out was bad. It only meant being easier prey to bring down. Rachel said nothing at first, before her voice came out, dangerously quiet, "I don't think I have a problem at all." She said, anger boiling up from a deep, venomous place in her that she didn't know she possessed. "Maybe you should re-evaluate your ideas of survival and friendship, before trying to accuse me of being at fault." Her voice, this time, had little trace of a Southern accent. Instead, it was cold, calculating, and formal.

Deep down, Rachel knew she was being too hard on everyone, but she didn't care. She wasn't a friendly person, and she had never thought of herself as such. Her lack of trust wasn't unreasonable, and neither was her refusal to stay in one place. If they had a problem with it, then the M.L.A.F. had clearly not been doing their job. The M.L.A.F. that Rachel had been running from were relentless. They would have attacked at the soonest opportunity. "You're either with me, or against me. There is no room for compromise." She said.


Jack frowned. Rachel was a lot more difficult than he had first thought. Somehow, she had managed to reply to his words, even before he had spoken them. Clearly, she had been dealing with intense stress for a long time. She wasn't looking at him the same way she had looked at his group when they were riding their Mogwai. Now, her eyes were guarded, as though his words had been a threat, and as though she had been betrayed. Most likely, that was what she thought they were doing. He realized that he couldn't handle the situation gently. He was going to have to be stern. "You either compromise, or you can leave." he said. He saw recognition dawn in her eyes, and her glare darkened even more. She knew all too well survival was easier in a group.

Gale took this time to try to speak, "Well, I don't know about her, but I don't think I have a problem-" Rachel's head snapped in his direction, "Would you just get over it?!" She hissed, "Not everyone wins all the time, and you can't always predict how people are going to react! Quit moping about what's already happened and start thinking about what's important!" Jack's eyebrows shot up, and Gale looked at her, shocked. The group sat in stunned silence. Clearly, Rachel was sick of Gale's behavior, too. "What are you talking about?!" He exclaimed. "I'm talking about your whining and complaining! Look, I don't care how crazy you think we are, and I don't care if you think I'm insane! So what if I am? I've been a Master longer than all of you, and I shouldn't have to put up with this! I've been chased for three years by the M.L.A.F., and if you aren't careful, you can spend the rest of your life in a cell and see if that doesn't make you lose every bit of sanity you have left!"

Gale, unable to reply, looked away, while everyone stared at Rachel with shock. Had it just been Gale's attitude she had been trying to correct, or was she partly angry with everyone else? Jack tried to imagine how she saw everyone. She had been pursued by people who wanted to throw her in a cage for three years, and evidently, they hadn't left her alone. She had been stressed so much that at times she had refused food or rest, choosing to continue running instead. Now, she was in a group with four other people, who wanted to eat regularly, and get to know each other. But in order to do that, they had to take their time and stop to eat and socialize. Rachel wouldn't be able to handle that. But yet, if she were being dragged down, then why did she stay?

"I don't want to fight you, but if you don't calm down, you'll only make it worse." Jack said. Rachel turned to look at him, and for some reason, his words had brought out such a look of raw vulnerability and terror that he was hardly able to believe it was the same person. He suddenly realized, perhaps for the first time, how fragile her state truly was. "It's not that simple, and you know it." She said, her voice very quiet, barely audible. Before he could respond, she darted away to the edge of the clearing, disappearing around the trunk of a large tree. She didn't make a sound, but he knew she was still there.

Red's hand stopped as it reached for the handle to Iris' door.

No, he had already screwed up once, and he left because he had messed up.

His restlessness should have to put others in danger. It was time for him to go. He turned around, his head tilted down. He began walking into the kitchen almost immediately, and grabbing a sticky note from the counter, and a pen.

'Dear Iris and Professor... I am sad to say that I will be returning to the mountain. By the time you read this, I will already be gone... I'm sorry.'

It was short, sweet, and to the point. He was never one with words, and even his writing showed it, as it was little more than chicken scratch.

He remembered that up on the mountain, deep inside one of it's caves...

Something didn't feel normal...

He sighed, grabbing his monster inside his hoodie pocket, left the building, to settle back in to his mountain hermit lifestyle.

After all, there, he wasn't a failure.

After awhile, the group had proceeded to travel again, but without the characteristic discussions. This time, the quiet was a presence in itself, and it loomed over them all. All of them wished someone would speak, to break the silence and tension that was steadily building up. That all changed, however, when a rustling in the bushes ahead alerted them. They all halted, frozen in their tracks, as they watched an unusually large hen walk out of the brush. It was pure black, covered in red markings. The claws on its feet, along with its noticeably sharp beak, were clearly dangerous. It continued to walk along, clucking and bobbing its head, before it seemed to notice them, and turned to look at them. It's feathers ruffled, and it became silent, practically glaring at the five.

"Don't. Move." Rachel said, barely audible, "That Mogwai looks hostile." She almost jumped when the hen gave a sharp screech, and two more, just like it, came out of the bushes. Along with the other two, moments later, a fourth chicken arrived, but it was different. Clearly a rooster, it had the ornamented feathers, and incredibly long spurs on its feet. "Oh, dear, this is bad. If we aren't careful, that Rooster is going to rip us apart." Rachel could barely be heard by the members of her group, and the rooster cocked its head to one side, watching them closely.

Then, the rooster began to do something strange. It puffed out its feathers, and extended one of its wings downward towards the ground, beginning to walk in a semicircle. The hens ran a distance away, but the rooster wasn't watching them. It was watching the humans standing before it. "What's it doing?" Jack asked. "It's the Cockerel Waltz. He's trying to see if we'll submit to him, or if we'll fight for dominance. Turn your back and speed walk away, and we might not have to fight him and the rest of the pecking order." Rachel whispered.

With this, they did as she said, but they continued to watch over their shoulders. The rooster, seeing this, and satisfied that he was still dominant, folded back up his wing, and called the hens back to him. Rachel sighed with relief, "Good, it looks like these Mogwai are similar to normal chickens. As long as we don't upset them, we should be safe. Maybe we can follow them back to their owner, the rooster won't mind, so long as we don't offend him."

(here's a good jumping-on point)

The Shadowfowl walked through the woods, the rooster at point, and the hens following him, throwing suspicious glances behind themselves to see if the humans were following. The black chickens walked across the road and through the gates to the lab, a masked Masquerade member on each side. One of the masked men sighed as he saw the new chickens coming.

"What is up with everyone's Shadowfowl running away?" One of the men said, gazing over at hos own Shadowfowl, who waddled over to the newbie fowls to meet them. They followed this Shadowfowl to the Chicken Queen, who sat in the middle of the battle circle, the other Shadowfowl waddling around her, making odd clucking noises, as if chanting. The new Shadowfowl arrived and the circle widened to include them, after which they continued to chant.



Iris soon awoke from her nap, and walked over to the door, which she lazily pushed open. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, and her mascara ran down her face. She walked into the kitchen, fancying herself a snack. Then she saw the note, and her mascara ran anew.

'Dear Iris and Professor... I am sad to say that I will be returning to the mountain. By the time you read this, I will already be gone... I'm sorry.'


Iris' heart busted like a water balloon. She shuddered as she read the note, and a blob of black mascara landed on the y in "sorry".

"Jesus Christ," she mumbled through her shudderings "these boys are trying to kill me". That's when she felt a cold darkness enter the room. She turned around to see Axel standing there, his masked face staring blankly into space. He walked a little closer, and sat down on a stool, having already read the note.

"So, the kid left, eh?" he mumbled to her.

"He left without saying goodbye". Iris cried out. "after all these years, he won't even say that he's going". Axel chuckled, earning himself a death stare from Iris, which only made him chuckle more.

"You know," he said "The kid was probably under a lot of pressure. He did just almost kill your boy-"

"Ex-boyfriend, old man." she muttered, nearly smiling.

"Fine. EX-boyfriend. Good lord women are picky. Anyways, maybe he just felt as if he was unloved, having upset you".

"yeah, but he could have given me a proper goodbye. What do you know a-"

"You loved him, didn't you?" Axel interrupted. Iris paused, and punched the countertop with rage.

"Why the H*ll should I tell you?" Iris yelled, spinning on her heel to face Axel "Why am i even talking to YOU? All you give ME is trouble! You have chased me halfway across the world trying to steal my Mogwei! We're worst enemies, yet you're trying to be my friend! Why?" Axel fell silent a moment, as if concocting exactly what to say, but decided that action would be his best option. His right hand rose into the air, slow as the grave, and came to rest on his mask. he paused a moment, as if in pain, and unstrapped the mask. it fell to the ground. For the first time in twelve years, Axel revealed his face to another human being.

Axel's face was white as the mask that had covered it, having not seen the sunlight in twelve years. He was simple, yet almost attractive, and looked as if he was only in his mid twenties. His eyes were a burning copper color that shone in the light, and he blinked heavily, as the mask had obstructed light before.

"Because I am a man." he said, with surprising clarity. Iris was shocked. She simply stared blankly at Axel almost as if she was wearing the mask, and the tears stopped.

"I need to find him." she said "I need to stop him from doing this".

"Then why are you still here?

Jack walked ahead of the group, and stopped everyone when they saw the circle of chicken Mogwai who gathered around what appeared to be some sort of queen. "Uh, okay, anyone else feel like we're not supposed to be here?" Mark asked, barely audible. "I don't know. They've got red markings, but that big one has pink ones. I don't get it, either!" Tabitha said. "Maybe we should just sit here and watch, but let's be careful, I don't know what they'll do if we make the big one mad." Jack replied. With this, everyone emerged from the bushes, being careful not do disturb the chickens from their ritual. "How is it we always wind up in these messes?" Tabitha asked, annoyed. "Well, obviously, it's because we're no longer using the roads, and running into other Masters." Rachel stated flatly. She sounded like she was angry, although there was definitely less venom in her voice than there was earlier.