Author WARNING!
I may have gone a little overboard on the word count this chapter. Its just shy of twice as long as any of the chapters before and breaks past 5000 words(Sorry!)
That being said, I actually really need your input on where to take this story. As I've said before I'm totally new to writing. The chapters I've posted so far are all I've ever done as far as story telling.
I'd originally wanted this story to be a little more lighthearted(Think 4-kids yugioh)...but as I wrote, I found myself wanting to take it into more and more mature direction. To the point it quickly lost that original plan. This is one of the main reasons my upload schedule is so chaotic. So my two questions to all readers are simple.
Should I update the tags and take the story in a more 18+ direction?
and follow-up question: If I do take it in a more adult direction, what tags would you like me to consider going forward?
I really want your input on this. It's something I've been fighting back and forward on for nearly a month, so I can't stress this enough. Every comment counts! Even if someone else said it already, repeat it if you agree!
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Clever Little Monsters- Start:
It'd been several hours since I learned the truth about Red and Blue medicines, and it goes without saying that I don't think I'll be going anywhere near that stuff again unless I'm at deaths door.
As I trailed behind Elder Metrognome and his daughter towards the outskirts of the village, I could only hope to distract myself from the horror by focusing on the passing spirits. To my surprise, I could recognize quite a few of them. Most of the spirits could be considered ultra classics from the very beginning of the series. Monsters such as the 'Happy Lover'. A round yellow ball of fur with four wings and several heart markings on its face. Although it had a pair of serpent like blue eyes, it didn't seem to observe me with any ill intent. More of a certain curiosity that I couldn't help but return.
This spirit was actually fairly familiar to me, since it was commonly known as one of Tea Gardner's favorite cards. It sort of acted as a reminder that I really was in the world of duel monsters. Which actually excited me a bit now that I was out of that cave. I couldn't help but think about what I'd do if I ever found myself in the human world.
Would I be encountering the main cast of yugi, Joey, and Kaiba? Or did I miss my window and have to settle for some of the arcs further along? Regardless, I may not even be able to interact with them. Considering I'm a spirit and all, maybe I would act more as a ghostly aid, of sorts?
I suppose it doesn't really matter at this point. There's some more pressing things to worry about, for now. Like how the Elder was currently guiding me toward Marionette Mite, who was just outside the village. Apparently, although I'd been aloud to pass thanks to the young miss vouching for me, the same couldn't be said about Marionette. Who was now being held down by a seal cast by a Spellcaster that recently arrived at the village.
Speaking of the young miss, it seems that this is the closest I'll get to a name for the little Gnome girl. After I finally got the chance to introduce myself properly, It was revealed that since she was born from a weak human Ba, she bared no name. This offered me two useful pieces of information. One being that spirits(Ka) really were born from human souls(Ba) as the original story stated. Additionally, I learned that similar to the series about a certain charming slime, monsters could bare no names.
As we continued down the village, I wanted to admire the strange blend of Egyptian and Tribal village architecture, but my attention was always drawn back to all the spirits that continued to steal glances my way as we passed. Many I don't believe were shown in the story or card game. Though they bared a lot of similarities to fantasy creatures I was familiar with. Such as Elves, Gnomes, Pixies, and even angels. Some spirits seemed human, though I didn't place too much interest in them. I was honestly far more interested in seeing how many of them I could recognize from the card game.
'I think that pixie in blue was called "Key Mage"....oh, that looks like "Spirit of the harp"...! and is that "D.D spite"...?' As my mind wondered from spirit to spirit, I couldn't help but grow more excited about the other spirits I could actually meet in person. The legendary 'Dark Magician', his beautiful apprentice 'Dark Magician Girl', the epic 'Black Luster Soldier', and the ultimate 'Blue-eyes White Dragon'; but as I was beginning to enjoy the thought, A gruff voice from behind jolted me from my fantasies.
"Hey, keep your eyes forward. I don't need you upsetting the villagers..." Glancing back at the massive figure of 'Indomitable spirit Lei Lei', who'd been following behind to keep an eye on me, I couldn't help but show my displeasure.
He was still very openly distrusting of me. I tried not to take it to heart, however. At the end of the day, he was just doing his job. If anything, I found it a bit odd that the elder was so quick to trust me. All he had to go on was a journal and the word of a child who'd only just met me. He even insisted my equipment be returned and I be given a chance to wash up. Though Lei lei allowed me to use his bath and returned most of my equipment, he kept my staff and knife stored away. Insisting the elder not make things difficult for him.
The negotiations payed off, since it meant that I was now back in the classic 'Dharc' outfit(excluding my staff) as opposed to oversized villager wear.
Turning to look back at him as we walked, I decided it would probably be in my best interest if I could put him at ease; if only a little.
"I regret to admit I just don't get many chances to enter villages, so you'll have to forgive me for being a bit curious about the culture and people." I replied with a solemn smile. Pushing the point by raising my hands and rattling the chains attached to my cuffs a little. Earning me a rough "Hmmth" as a response as he opted to look past me, towards the path ahead.
'Should I consider that a small victory?' I wondered silently as I celebrated the minor change. At least he wasn't trying to stare a hole into the back of my head anymore.
"Oh don't be so hard on young Damien here, he's done nothing for us to distrust him yet and I already said I accept full responsibility." Came the elders cheery response as he continued to guide us forward, not even bothering to look back. As I turned to look forward again, I noticed the young miss turned back to look at me, offering a solemn smile of her own before, she too, faced straight ahead. She hadn't said anything since we left to meet with the Marionette Mite. Though I couldn't really blame her. After all, Marionette was the main reason so many of her people had died recently. I imagine it was like heading to court to finally stare your family's killer in the eyes.
However, Although this all seemed reasonable, there was still this nagging feeling there was something 'wrong' about all this. Like there was a piece of the puzzle I wasn't seeing. It was honestly a bit unnerving, though there was nothing I could really do about it now.
As we finally approached the outskirts of the village, I was broken out of those thoughts as I spotted a small gathering of Gnomes standing behind a woman with long blue hair. She wore a gray robe with some green trimming around her wrists and a white Victorian era shawl with two green stripes at the end. Several ruby red gems decorated the crown and necklace she worse; with one particularly large red gem decorating the center of her crown. In her hands, she held a small golden staff that seemed to depict two comets orbiting a crystal ball at the center.
Just ahead of her was the collapsed body of Marionette Mite. It seemed to be in no worse condition than it was after our last encounter, though now it was being held down firmly by several ethereal chains of gold that seemed to radiate a white light. As our small group closed in, the woman, who I presume to be the Spellcaster Elder Metrognome had mentioned, spotted us. She offered a light bow to the elder and the young miss. Them exchanging simple "Hellos" before the two Gnomes turned to look at the collapsed Marionette. The Spellcaster offering me nothing more than a sideways glance before turning her attention back to Marionette.
Marionette Mite seemed to have picked up on the new observers as well. Glancing up at the elder leading our group. As soon as it made eye contact with him, its bloodshot eyes seemed to somehow grow redder as it began to fight against the bindings restraining it. The blue haired woman tensed her expression as her staff began to glow. Seemingly reinforcing the restraints binding Marionette. It almost seemed like it was succeeding in its resistance, but just then, it turned its attention to me. Freezing in place momentarily. The Spellcaster didn't miss the opportunity and quickly sent a stronger force of magic into the chains. Causing Marionette Mite to collapse violently onto the floor.
"Oh! A good sign, Damien. I think it recognized you!" came the cheerful voice of Elder Metrognome.
'Um, yeah; I'm pretty sure it recognized you a lot more...' I thought helplessly as I silently observed Marionette. Noting how it hadn't yet taken its eyes off me. It almost looked...scared. Like a literal deer in headlights.
"To be honest, I'm not too sure how to proceed here. What should I do now?" I asked. Choosing to ignore his comment for now as I kept my eyes on every detail I could gather from Marionette's body language.
"Hoho; Well, I leave it up to you, young Damien. All that's needed is to see if we are facing a threat to our people." Came Metrognome's simple instructions. Though, I felt like that 'Wrong' feeling was somehow getting worse.
'Wouldn't it be far simpler to just release it and see what it does...?' I thought as I silently returned Marionettes gaze. As I considered my option, I noticed Marionette avert its eyes from me. looking just past the elder and I. It's tense body relaxing somewhat.
'Looking away? Is it a trauma response...? Do bugs get trauma?' I thought as I continued to watch. After a moment, however, it turned back to look at me. Only this time, it seemed a lot more at ease. Like a huge weight had been lifted. Confused, I turned to look back to see what could have calmed its nerves. Seeing only the young miss; who was glaring back at Marionette. A mix of fear and resentment in her eyes.
'Her? but why?' I tried to gather any details I could about what happened before I blacked out, but with little success, I could only ask the Gnome girl what she remembered.
"Hey, Young Miss. Can you tell me everything that happened during the fight?" My call seemed to startle her a bit as she took a moment to process my words. Seemingly forgetting about her sour mood as she excitedly began to spin her tale.
"U-Um, Yeah! So, after you jumped on that monster, it trashed around for a while. Trying to shake you off in the ground and trees. I hid away for as long as I could, but it was starting to look really serious! I knew I had to find a way to get it to stop! So I used that spear you left stuck in the ground near me for the trap! As soon as I picked it up, it started burning me! but that monster seemed to recognize it and gave me a really scary look! I wanted to run, but my legs wouldn't budge! It started walking towards me, and I thought I was a goner! Thankfully, you whispered something to it and suddenly, it stopped!
Um...After that, I tried to get you down, but you wouldn't let go! So I told it I really needed it to follow me to the village so I could get you help, and it listened!" Finishing her story, I could tell she was genuinely excited she got the chance to tell it. I can't blame her, sounds like she may very well have played a bigger role that I thought. So giving her an honest smile, I responded lightly.
"Sounds like I should be thanking you, then. If it wasn't for you, I may not be here now."
My words seemed to cheer her up a great deal. She was now radiating happiness at having done something in that situation. I couldn't help but feel happy for her. I imagine she's felt pretty powerless most of her life. Playing the hero must have given her a huge confidence boost; but as I tried to enjoy the positive mood, I still couldn't shake the unease in my heart.
Glancing at the blue haired mage, who seemed to be stealing glances at me all this time, I noticed how tense she seemed to be, even though the conversation had been positive overall. Truth be told, she seemed to be the most on edge out of everyone here. Based on how she struggled against Marionette Mite earlier, I'd imagine she's about equal in strength to it, So it would be normal to be a bit nervous about it getting loose. However, she seems less worried about Marionette and more so, me.
This complicates things. Why is a newly arrived Spellcaster looking at me like I'm a loose cannon? Was I really here to prove Marionette was trust worthy? They didn't even seem convinced I, myself, was trust worthy...
Even Lei Lei was already positioned at my rear and hasn't spoken a word since we arrived. Which, as you can imagine, does wonders to put me at ease(s). That whisper of unease I was sensing before was starting to sound more like a distant scream at this point.
Trying not to dwell on it too much, I started thinking back to the young miss' recollection. suspecting it could be one of two things:
A: Something was said to make the marionette comply.
B: Once it was converted into a familiar, it was smart enough to associate her as an ally.
Either of these options seemed reasonable to me. So I decided to probe further and see what else I could learn.
"Elder, How did marionette behave when it was approaching the village? Did it seem aggressive in any way?"
"Oh, quite the opposite. It seemed awful attached to my daughter. Though, I can't say she felt the same! hoho. She was a little bundle of nerves the entire time it followed her. It acted more like a lost animal she'd fed scraps to."
"And what about when it was bound by these chains?" I probed further as I gestured to the golden binds.
"Well, It became rather upset, as you could imagine. It lunged and trashed about for a while. Even clawing its way back towards my daughter. Frightened her quite a bit, but after we pried you off their back, it suddenly shifted focus to myself and Eldeen here." The elder continued, gesturing toward the blue haired mage.
'So option: A then?' I mentally noted as I figured a familiar would always prioritize their master above a single ally. Especially one that it had no attachment to.
Resting my head on my left thumb and pointer finger, I decided to present my theory to the elder.
"So it had a vested interest in your daughter until I, presumably the master, was in danger. My guess is that I had the awareness to command Marionette to safeguard your daughter before I lost consciousness. It seemed pretty tense when we first met eyes, but was noticeably relieved when it spotted her. It was probably worried it failed to follow my instructions...well, this is all speculation, I can't say I spend too much time reading homicidal bug monsters...but what's your opinion, Elder Metrognome?" I commented, lifting my head slightly off my hand to look his way.
At my words, the elder seemed to ponder silently for a while. Observing Marionette intently. After some time, he turned his attention to me and did the same. Seemingly trying to take in every detail from my expression.
After a few more moments, he finally let out a small hum and nodded before giving an overly jolly reply.
"It's certainly plausible. How do you intend to prove it?"
Just then, a cold chill ran down my spine. Something about his peppy tone unsettle me greatly. That 'Wrong' feeling I'd had all this time finally started to make sense. I had placed Lei lei at the top of the danger list for some time now. Seeing as the the Young Miss was completely harmless, the blue haired mage(now known as Eldeen) was about as strong as Marionette, and the elder seemed like just an overall good natured grandpa.
I couldn't have been more wrong. He's by far the scariest thing I've met so far. More an old Demon than Gnome. He knew I had almost no way to prove Marionette wasn't an enemy. He's been playing me since I woke up.
As I looked to where the villagers had been standing, I noticed they'd left at some point without my noticing. At this time, it was just Lei Lei, Metrognome, his daughter, and Eldeen. My mistake was thinking I was trusted by anyone besides the young miss. There was little I could do to prove, without reasonable doubt, that I wasn't dangerous.
I could try to infuse my darkness into Marionette and see if there's any resistance, but it would be up to them to trust me at my word, and it's painfully clear that wasn't an option. I can simply abandon Marionette to be killed now, but that still wouldn't prove I can be trusted.
Running is an option, but with the elder and Lei Lei here, I doubt I'd get far. My chances may go up if I can kill Eldeen and free Marionette first. Regardless if they're on my side or not, they could at least buy me some precious seconds.
Noticing I'd essentially been turned into the frog in a boiling pot, I couldn't help but let out a tired sigh.
"I gotta say, Elder; you got me good." Came my honest, yet exasperated response to it all.
"Hoho whatever could you mean, Young Damien?" Elder Metrognome replied, a cold glint flashing in his beady little eyes as the discomfort I'd been feeling quickly climbed into a full on danger signal for the first time. I knew for certain that escape was impossible. The moment I made any sudden moves, I'd die. There went my plans to run, but I couldn't let myself just end up a prisoner again, so I had to make a call sooner rather than later.
"Alright, alright..." I began with a tired expression. Raising my hands up into a non aggressive stance.
"I have one thing I can check. If it works out, I can be sure he's on my side." I was intentional with my word choice. I could prove right now if Marionette was on my side, but that was only half the answer.
Elder Metrognome let out a curious hum. Showing his interest in what I had to say, but not taking any further action. Lei Lei was still in my blind side, though I could feel his eyes on me sharpening. Eldeen tightened her grip on her staff as the young miss just looked back and forward between us. Clearly no even noting the tone change. I could feel the tension on Marionette. I wasn't sure how truly smart it was, but I could be sure at least its instincts were telling it something was wrong.
"May I be aloud to touch the Marionette?" I finally began.
"By all means. Do what you must." replied the elder. Gesturing toward Marionette with his hand.
Without further ado, I approached the monster, who seemed to still be feeling the tension. Though it made no hostile moves toward me. As soon as I got within reach, I slowly raised my hand and lightly placed it on Marionettes leathery hide. Drawing upon my darkness and preparing to apply force when I felt a resistance.
However, as my darkness made its way out of my palm and into Marionette, I noticed there was nothing pushing against me. It still felt like the darkness was Marionettes and not mine. However, Marionettes darkness was no longer pushing against me. Simply letting me invade like my darkness belonged there. As I continued to push my darkness into Marionette, It seemed like Marionettes wanted to reach into me. Though it lingered just outside my palm. Almost like it was waiting for permission.
'I'll have to look into that later...well, if I make it out of this...' I thought as I drew my darkness back in and pulled my hand away.
"Well, young Damien? Did you find your answer?" Came Metrognome's cheerful question.
"Yeah, I have it. Firstly; Marionette Mite, I'm giving you a direct order." As soon as I said those words, Marionette seemed to give me its full attention. Eldeen and Lei Lei, on the other hand, entered a battle stance, with the elder swiftly raising his hand to stop them. Indicating they were not to move yet. As I glanced back at the Elder, I gave him a thankful nod before finishing my instruction.
"No matter what happens. You are forbidden from moving. You are to remain in your current position. If you move so much as an inch...I may die" There was a violent reaction to those words, but after that, Marionette stood eerily still. If its blood shot eyes weren't wide open and glancing around, you'd think it was dead. It didn't even seem to be breathing anymore.
'Well, Hopefully its not so dedicated it actually suffocates...' I thought as I turned away from Marionette and faced my three potential executioners directly. A solemn smile on my face.
"I request that you unbind Marionette...If he moves, you can consider it a failure."
The tension was now palpable. No one spoke for what felt like an eternity as even the Young Miss seemed to finally catch on. She was now very visibly panicking. Her head darting around desperately trying to find a way to help me out.
The elder eyed me closely for a few more seconds before he finally spoke up.
"Now, young Damien. Please walk me thru what you think is happening right now."
I was a little surprised by the question. I'd have thought he'd ask why he should release Marionette or something to that effect. It seemed like a redundant question at this point. We both knew it was a set up. Though, I was still in the dark on some of the details. Like why now and not off me while I was chained to the bed.
'What? Am I suppose to present my project for the class now?' I thought lightheartedly, trying desperately to quiet the pounding in my chest. Never the less, I felt it really didn't make a difference if I answered honestly. So taking a few deep breaths to call my nerves, I began my response.
"You lulled me into a sense of security by making me feel like at least two out of three people were on my side. You played the part of the friendly grandfather and lured me into the outskirts of town away from most of the citizens using my familiar as bait. You even used Lei Lei's distrust of me to make it seem like you did your best to get back my equipment and weapons. Knowing full well he wouldn't have budged regarding the latter."
As I began explaining my findings, he simply nodded along. Still eying me curiously. All the while the young miss seemed to be listening intently. Looking at her father with a look of sheer shock and terror. Seeing that he was satisfied with my answers, I continued.
"You don't care if marionette is on my side. whether I can control Marionette or not is a bonus round. The question still remaining is whether or not I could be trusted. As a Diamond, I'm the most important piece in this investigation and Marionette can be discarded as far as you're concerned." I concluded. Giving him everything I'd found so far.
The elder seemed to ponder something for a moment before reaching into his leather pouch. Drawing out a small stone on a string before asking another question.
"Very impressive, Young Damien. Now, here's my final question for you. What would you do if we decided you were a threat that should be eliminated?"
The young miss looked like she wanted to say something, but the elder seemed to predict that and raised his finger. Seemingly making it clear he didn't want even one word from her.
As I glanced at her, I noticed the sheer worry in her expression. I was honestly relieved to see that at least one person seemed to have actually been on my side. Well, Not counting the bug monster behind me. Who was still sitting eerily still, like it was trying to blend into the environment.
Thinking about his question deeply, I couldn't help but sigh again in exhaustion.
'I've been doing that a lot lately, haven't I...? Well...best not keep him waiting.' I thought as I took another deep breath to calm the pounding in my chest.
"If I'm being totally honest, I'm not much for violence. I wouldn't mind just living a quiet life and never being in another fight again...That being said; I'm not one to just lie down and die, either. So to answer your question, I'd have to make sure to take you down with me."
At this point, Lei Lei looked like he was ready to strike me down in an instant. Eldeen, noting Marionette's lack of resistance was already priming a different spell from her staff. Locked and ready to send my way. All the while, the elder seemed calm. There wasn't an ounce of tension to be seen. Like my blatant threat to his life hadn't even registered to him.
After what felt like literal eons, the elder let out a puff of air. Almost instantly followed by a light chuckle that steadily turned into a hearty and jolly laugh. His happy mood was so out of left field that I could feel the tension in the air lose all stability. Like a curtain that had come loose and was falling off during a tense stage play.
As he continued to laugh, he took the stone he'd drawn out and placed it back into his pouch. Turning to face away from me and walking toward his daughter. Giving her a light pat on the head.
"Hohoho very good Young Damien. Miss Eldeen, You are free to release his familiar." As he finished, he simply took his daughter's hand and began to walk back into the village. Given her expression, she'd long short circuited. Not even remotely understanding what had just happened. Could I blame her?
To my surprise, Lei Lei didn't say anything about it. Simply turning around and following the elder as he walked away. Like it was the most natural thing to do. Before he got too far away, however, the elder let out a casual 'Ah!' like he'd just remembered something. Turning around to speak once more.
"By the way, Young Damien. You're welcome to continue to stay at sir Lei Lei's guest room. I noticed you were very interested in the town. I invite you to have a look. We have a chef from another realm that's set up shop in the east side. Makes some amazing seafood dishes! Just let her know It's my treat to you." He added casually, Which gave me a chance to try to figure out what just happened.
"W-Wait a moment! I don't understand! I didn't prove anything?!" Came my helpless response.
"You proved plenty, young Damien. There's no need for further concern."
"I kinda threatened you life, though?!" I couldn't help but counter. My logical brain had left the building and I was reaching out for any kind of explanation. Thankfully, he seemed to get a kick out of my struggle. Laughing his hearty laugh before finally showing mercy and throwing me an olive branch. Turning to face me again before responding.
"I'm old...Damien. Very old. I've seen all types throughout my life. You may have thought you were being clever, but you're a few thousand years too young to hide something from my eyes. You're keeping a lot of secrets. Things that aren't even in your journal. In fact, I'm not even convinced it's YOUR journal, but that's of little importance. What's important is that you meant no harm. You showed a great deal of sincerity when you spoke to my daughter and you meant what you said about not liking violence. If I'm being honest, I quite admire that quality.
I'll leave you with this...I know you don't like to fight, but you should learn how. If I'm being honest, I think you have the qualities for quite an admirable Spellcaster. I even know someone who'd be happy to help...Give him a chance, at least." With that, he finally walked away.
I wish I could say I was angry; but to be honest, I couldn't register anything other than the burning in my face. I felt like a toddler who just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He strung me along and I barely even noticed anything was wrong.
My sixteen years of life experience amounted to nothing more than a margin of error compared to his thousands of years. He'd probably been leading and reading people for longer than I could even begin to fathom.
'I never stood a chance...' I finally admitted as I felt all the energy drain out of me. I wanted nothing more at this moment than to crawl back into the bed I came from and sleep today away.
As I watched him disappear back into the village, I was left standing there in silence. It took several seconds for me to finally snap back to reality and look to my side. Seeing that the Spellcaster Eldeen was also stuck in place. Slack jawed and seemingly still trying to process what had just happened. I had to say, I felt a bit happy that someone was sharing in my struggle...though I really just wanted to finish this up and go back to bed. So I decided to speak up to her for the first time.
"Um... Eldeen, right? Could you maybe release my familiar now...it...it's kinda been a long day."