When Yune, Jack, and Mary got home, they all went straight to sleep, even though it was morning. Yune especially felt like she had no choice but to stay with them, now. They each slept for three days before waking up. And they hoped that it was just a dream, but it wasn't. They worried that whatever happened to them can happen again. They tried not to think about it, but feeling all that power and seeing their horrid forms gave them polar-opposite feelings. They felt good with all of that strength, but felt disgusted after seeing what they've become.
However, during this night, their feelings over that would change.
At around six thirty in the afternoon, Yune was preparing a small dinner, but she didn't feel like making anything.
So, Mary suggested ordering a box of pizza. Jack was disgusted by the idea of having another slice of pizza, but after three days of eating nothing, she didn't mind.
Tasha slept in a corner.
Mary discovered how to order pizza online to be delivered. As soon as she finished the order, she said, "And done. Now, we wait for them to bring it at our doorsteps."
And immediately after, a knock occurred.
"Ooh. Now, that's fast delivery," Mary said as she ran over to the door.
However, both Jack and Yune knew that delivery services weren't that fast. Both of them immediately suspected it to be Light Guardians.
Jack and Yune both yelled, "Wait!"
But it was too late.
Mary opened the door innocently with a child-like smile and said aloud, "Pizza time?"
Suddenly, a yo-yo slammed straight at Mary's forehead pushing her away to the ground as she held her bruised forehead.
Jack and Yune instantly transformed and expected a fight.
However, instead Venomion showed up outside and said, "Wait! Wait! We're not here to fight!"
And when Cainus saw Mary rolling on the floor, she apologized, "Sorry. We thought that this place had some Night Demons guarding it or something. And it was Venomion's idea that I should just attack if something spooked me."
But now they no longer sensed any Night Demons. Not even Tasha who was now wide awake also expecting a fight.
"Why are you here?" Yune asked curiously as she motioned Jack to keep calm. Fortunately, Jack was able to keep her emotions in control even while in her guardian form. She didn't feel any hostility coming off of them.
"Don't worry, Yune. We're here as friends. Can we come in?" Venomion said as both Cainus and herself transformed out of their Light Guardian forms.
Yune reluctantly agreed. She didn't see any other Light Guardians, but she was still cautious. Jack and Mary were also very cautious about the situation. They didn't know these two, but Yune did, so they trusted her.
Yune placed a bandage over Mary's bruised forehead. There was a slight sniffle from Mary, but she tried to hide the tears. Yune transformed into her normal human form, but Jack remained on guard and stayed as a guardian. However, Jack did take off her mask.
Venomion and Cainus could still remember those monstrous forms they were in. But now, they didn't feel that sense of fear. They wanted to come and reaffirm whether they were monsters, but it didn't feel like that now.
Meanwhile, the three girls thought it was some kind of trap.
Venomion tried to lighten the tension and said, "Nice house. Looked a lot creepier on the outside."
"We get that a lot," Jack replied.
Mary asked, "So, you said your name is Venomion, right?"
"Yes. How many times do I need to say it?" she replied.
"I don't believe you," Mary replied, "Shopkeeper. Shopkeeper. Shopkeeper. Come here."
The shopkeeper appeared and Mary continued before he could speak, "Use one of my reserves to tell me that girl's name."
"Her name is Venomion Venomion," the shopkeeper said before disappearing.
"You used a black coin for that?" Yune and Jack exclaimed.
"Hah. I told you," Venomion replied.
"Yeah. She changed her name to that," Cainus said.
"Alright, but who the hell calls themselves Venomion for a first and last name!?" Mary asked.
"What's wrong with that name?" Venomion asked defensively.
"It's dumb. If you wanted a cool name, why didn't you call yourself Venomsnake or just plain Poison?" Mary asked.
"Those names are taken! And Venomion's a very cool, super-hero name," she said.
Venomion never truthfully told anyone why she changed her name in the first place. She hated her family. Her father abused her, and her did nothing about it. While the two argued, she would read her comic books outside of the apartment to pass the time. They gambled and drank all of their money. Eventually, she ran away from home. She lived by herself for months before she turned into a Light Guardian. She stole to survive, but never thought of herself as a villain. And when she got her first black coin, she changed her name based on her favorite hero, Venom-Man.
Cainus, on the other hand, had a different story. One that she also kept secret, but even if you'd ask her, she wouldn't know about it. She became a Light Guardian to protect her family. She was considered a delinquent, and she didn't get along with many people. The closest friend she had was Venomion. One day, while smoking in her room with the window open and the smoke detectors disabled, she sensed a Night Demon nearby. Her cigarette dropped to the floor and she went to fight it. She fought the creature alongside Venomion. It was quick and easy. Cainus took the black coin and the two of them walked back to her home. And as soon as they got to her house, it was set ablaze. Her parents were asleep, but when they realized that a fire broke out, they tried to escape. Unfortunately, they ran out of air before they could get out. Venomion and Cainus both transformed and went in. However, they were too late to save her parents.
The fire department had got there and the fire was put out. Cainus mourned her parents' deaths. She had no idea what had caused the fire. But once the police were done investigating, they found that a lit cigarette was on the floor that started the fire. They assumed that it was one of the parents, but Cainus knew who it belonged to. Her parents never smoked, and she kept it a secret. She felt so responsible for her parents' deaths, that she tried to commit suicide. Fortunately for her, Venomion saved her in the last moment. She was aware of Cainus's guilt, and called the shopkeeper to save her. She healed her wounds. When Cainus awoke, she still felt the guilt of her parents' deaths on her shoulders. She begged the shopkeeper to get rid of it - to get rid of this guilt. She gave him a black coin and begged him to erase the guilt. The shopkeeper obliged, but not in the way she or Venomion thought.
The shopkeeper erased Cainus's memories of that past and replaced it. For all she knew, her parents died in a random, but unfortunate car accident. And he even created and changed reports to say those facts in case she decided to investigate. Cainus mourned her parents, but felt no guilt from it. The next day, Cainus was the same as usual. She even bought a new pack of cigarettes since she threw her old ones out. Venomion knew her real past, but felt like it would do no good to mention it to her.
Venomion and Cainus both had their own pasts, but the two of them had been considered partners and friends for a long time.
But that was all in the past for them. They began to laugh and have a good time. Then, the pizza arrived. Venomion offered to pay for it, and Mary agreed even though she was just saying that to be polite. Cainus ended up paying for the pizza as Venomion begged her.
But it was good pizza.
They ate it happily together.
Venomion saw Tasha and said, "Now, that I get a good look at you, you're pretty cute."
But Tasha remembered the first thing that girl said to her when she saw her in Annie's gallery was to kill it.
As Venomion went in for a head rub, Tasha growled angrily, but Venomion didn't care. She petted and rubbed it gently like a cat. Tasha even purred like a cat after receiving those gentle pats. She soon forgot all about what Venomion said.
Venomion and Cainus also mentioned to the three girls that they got jobs.
Yune was surprised by the news. Apparently, Mirey hired Venomion and Cainus for her new bakery opening up. Jack didn't know that was. And Mary was only aware of her. However, Yune was even more shocked. She was the only one interested in that. She thought those two would have been a bunch of vagabonds forever. That was until, Venomion mentioned that they were also hired to steal from and do other illegal crimes to Mirey's rivals across the streets. And then, Yune understood with a bit of disappointment.
Then, while they were eating pizza, Cainus said that she could still beat Yune even at that point. Then, the two of them got heated.
Yune shouted, "My chains are still better than you're yo-yo strings! Go to hell, Cainus!"
Jack and Mary were surprised by Yune's sudden change in demeanor. She was far more aggressive than usual over nothing.
Jack said, "I didn't think you had it in you to shout like that."
"You go to hell, too, Jack!" Yune shouted.
"Woah!" Venomion and Mary said at the same time.
"And you, Mary...!" Yune shouted as Mary jumped up in shock, "You're fine. And so are you, Venomion."
"Oh," they both replied.
Then, all of them began to laugh louder. It became a small party. Even, Jack transformed into her human form.
The three of them had a good time, but Jack was still unsure of their motives. Yune, however, knew those girls and didn't want to fight them.
But the three girls knew that they needed to know why they came eventually.
Jack asked them both directly, "So, why are you here?"
It was sudden, but effective.
Cainus decided to speak as Venomion wasn't good at serious talks.
She replied, "We came because we were worried about Yune. We thought that she became some kind of monster. But now that we see you. We realize we were only partially right. You three are monsters. But that doesn't mean that you are mindless animals. I don't know you, Jack or Mary. But I do know Yune. I remembered seeing her stop the big red guy from attacking us. Now, that we spent some time with the three of you, I can tell that you all are more like a nice family."
"Family!?" Yune exclaimed angrily standing up slamming the table. She didn't want to hear that. She still wouldn't consider Jack a friend let alone a member of the same family. The room went silent for a brief time.
"What's wrong, Yune?" Jack asked.
Yune began to calm down.
"We're... not a family," she said as she looked straight at Jack.
Then she looked back at Venomion and Cainus and apologized, "I'm sorry. Lots of stuff happened. You're right about one thing. We are monsters. It would be best if you left."
They nodded their heads.
As Venomion and Cainus were escorted out, Venomion mentioned, "It was nice seeing you, Yune. Don't worry. We don't think you're a monster."
"Thanks," Yune replied coldly as Mary and Jack stood by her.
"If you ever need us, you can probably find us at the bakery," Cainus said, "Though, you can just visit if you want me to prove to you how strong my threads are."
Yune smiled knowing that those two girls would still be her friends.
The two transformed into their guardian form and vanished. There was no ulterior motive. Not plot against them. They were just two friends who wanted to make sure that Yune was safe.
However, Yune had a feeling that she wouldn't meet up with them again.
And there was an even worse feeling. She couldn't bring herself to visiting Eli without the fear of suddenly transforming into that creature. And she felt ashamed about it.
The three of them have stopped going to school for a long time, but now they feared for the safety of the other students by being near them.
They usually secluded themselves at home. They went out together to occasionally hunt Night Demons who were causing trouble, but for the most part, they seemed to find them more intelligent rather than animalistic. However, that didn't change the fact that some were still evil even if they could talk.
Yune and Jack would continue to work together on a more professional level - as just necessary partners. But while Yune spent her time near Mary, she didn't mind acting like a big sister to her.
Mary was happy that the whole team was back together. Even if Yune or Jack didn't consider it a family, she did.
And Jack finally felt a sense of relief from having found and killed Annie. She didn't care if the team was a family or not. She was just glad that she could sleep better at night knowing that she did something good in this world. Although, she still held the guilt of what she has done in her past.
And so, the three girls, now known as Dark Stars or as the Dark Star Empresses to Night Demons, continued to work together.