“O MY GOD, THE LEAGUE IS BEING ATTACKED!!!” shouted out Eric, aka Mr. Steal Your Girl, to the rest of the league.
“What, Who, How is this happening?” the leader of the league thought to himself. Suddenly, a shadowy figure came up to him and said,
“This was all your doing, and now the consequences are coming back to haunt you!” An eerie grin popped up on his face that could send shivers down a grown man's spine.
* * *
What you can only see darkness, in the damp forest with heavy sparkling rain shining down, a rotten, moldy, and decaying tree is over a stylish wooden house in the front of it. There are no other tall trees surrounding it, within 10 kilometers, except that one giant tree branching over the house from behind and the grass looks like a newly cut one and seems to be designed by God himself. The grass is so vibrant even in this darkness, and shiny from the rain, but that only enhances the look of the grass, which is complemented by warm and loving bushes that make up the front in an astonishing fragrance with a circular starish shape in the center. As seen by a figure covered in bright, fiery red suit and pants, with a solid black tie and the shoes decked in black leave behind scorched footprints, as he just sits outside of the house. All the figure can see in the house is a grown man and a five-year-old child. As the figure covered in red walks to the house with swagger, elitist, and confidence; while stopping the rain and burning the lush greenery in the area as well as the sigils, castings, and bubckous.
“Here's Johnny, your friendly neighbor down the lane.” While breaking down the sturdy metallic door.
“Eeeeeerrrrr pow zzzzzzzzznnnnnn B” The door falls and the old man’s gun revs up shooting him it seems to be effective and killing him, but in the end, it doesn't do anything.
“ You're not going to get this kid.” replied the father, while shaking in his boot.
“How are you Tigger? We are going back soon. I just have to deal with what’s keeping you here.”
“STAY BACK!!!”
“move.” being firmly planted on the wall, with just using his eyes.
“JOAN RUN AWAY, DON’T LET HIM GET YOU.” screamed Tigger while the child tries to run away to the back door. As this is happening the figure teleports in front of the child before she can even move.
“NOOO!! PLEASE DON’T DO IT!!!” as the figure kills his child shrieking and yelling.
“WHY?” as he lets him down and tigger runs to his mutilated little girl.
“Tigger, it’s time to go home. There is now nothing left for you.” the figure smiles while glaring at Tigger with contempt.
“LEAVE ME ALONE!.” whaling in agony.
“You desire by others, so you don’t need to be here, just leave with me. We can bury her in under the tree.” as he replied.
“You took me from my family. I will never go with you or do what you say.” with the looks of animosity being directed at the figure, as the figure smiles.
“Do you need help? For when you leave with me.” as still smiling, and walking around the cabin. Noticing the freshly smelling wooden chairs, smoothed wood and carefully crafted sheets to small for tigger himself.
“I already told you I’m not leaving with you.” replied tigger, while still cradling his dead child.
“This was for the best. It’s your destiny is to come with me. She was going to one way or another, from the moment I talked with you yesterday. A monster, witch, mortality, or from your own hands.” as the figure picks up the photo of Tigger and his child. He burns it right under his fingertips.
“LEAVE NOW.” being shocked that he burned the photo.
“Listen I know you're mad, but I’m going to burn this whole cabin down and all the things from your past and there's nothing you can do about it, but if you want to stop me from doing this to you or any other family then you will come with me. So you can learn how to kill me.” with the smile gets ever bigger, as Tigger is swaying in his convictions with that promising offer.
“How do I even know you're a man, monster of your words?”
“If I happen to break our agreement, then I’ll die, and if you just so happen to win our agreement my death will bring back your daughter.” as Tigger’s eyes widened with shock, he seems to be more intrigued in the deal.
“If I’m going to do this, we’ll need some ground rules. I get to bury my daughter. You don’t hurt any more families nor mine. I want some of your powers. I’m too old to be fighting, you’ll need to make and keep me young. You stop calling me Tigger, that isn’t my name. Stop with your smiles. Also, last you tell me why you chose me, killed my family, and somehow made my life chaotic in less than 24 hours.” with instant regret as the words left his mouth.
“I have some counters to some of your rules. I can’t stop tormenting families this is just the bill, people come to me for a deal or something else, and unless you stop all the people from making deals, I can’t stop. I won’t make you younger, for that will not be necessary for you to learn my powers. What you see is just what you want to see, I’m not really smiling, so I’m not gonna stop smiling until you want me to. For your last rule I didn’t choose you, we just met and I felt bored so I did this, you strike me as a go-getter and I was fascinated, also about the chaos it’s my lifestyle I can’t do anything about it and from now on that same chaos will follow your life as well. Is this all right tigger. If yes then I agree to the terms of our arrangement.” replied the figure.
“Fine, so we have a deal. Also, I said to stop calling me tigger, my name is Malik.” as the tension eased.
“All right, so let's get going tigger.” as the figure moves ever closer to Malik, and sets his hand on his shoulder. Malik picks up his daughter's mutilated body and goes under the big tree behind the house. As the burial is Malik switches into a little ceremony for his daughter. Sung twinkle twinkle little star, that was her favorite song, and put the carefully sewed sheets on top of her grave as the tombstone and cuts off a piece as memorabilia. Then, the figure raised his and yanked them back down, then a glorious burst of flames erupted, burning so bright, brighter than the sun you can barely even stare at it and the heat of it is starts to melt the clothing and cooking Malik alive.
“What happens next?” as Malik turns over to the figure.
“What happens next, are you getting my strength and power to kill me and get your family back. By making some friends.” with Malik having a confused reaction to his statement.
“What friends. I can do this myself, I don’t need anyone else.” then suddenly, Malik is transported to a new place, with new clothes. Scanning his new surroundings, his very lost. It’s a dry and barren land where precipitation doesn’t occur. He walks for many hours in a disorganized direction, backward is down, upwards is back. He feels like he has been walking in a circle. He becomes disillusioned with the deal he made and the desert.
“Hello, Malik. How are you.” as a voice replied from nowhere.
“Who is that, where are you?” as Malik is about to pass out.
* * *
Malik suddenly wakes up, sweating with a wet durag on his forehead. A little girl comes inside from outside. Malik is shocked and crawls to the little as she looks exactly like his daughter. A woman follows inside from behind her daughter.
“Can you please don’t touch my daughter like that. Jellybean go upstairs and grab your favorite book for bed okay. I’ll be up there shortly.” then looking back at Malik.
“I’m sorry I didn’t try to hurt or take her. She just brought back some memories for me. My name is Malik Miller. Where am I?” the lady goes to the kitchen and makes some tea.
“My name is Angela Garcia and my daughter's name is Shenel Garcia. You are in Castinova, the capital of Axeis.” as Angela gives Malik a cup of tea and sits down on the barren and rocky ground.
“What is a Axeis? And why are you sitting on the ground? You don’t have any chairs, stools, or footstools?” He sips on the cup listen very wary of what she would say.
“Axeis is a paradise. No hunger lies, and everyone is always happy. We don’t believe in material objects such as chairs. We sit on the barren ground to be closer to our god Hullah.” as Angela is saying this, her voice starts to rise and she starts to put on a giant smile.
“Okay lady, I’m sorry that I was a problem I’ll get out of your hair immediately.” while Malik tries to get up from the ground.
“No lay back down, everything will be all right.”
* * *
“Hello again, Malik how was your nap.”
“I back asleep?”
“Yep, but you can stay with us as long as you want. We don’t have that much company.”
“Who are you?”
“I already told you. Angela Garcia.”
“No, I mean your backstory.”
“Oh, nothing all that tragic. My parents were loving and caring towards me and each other. Very good at school, never had a bad grade. Found a boyfriend, we had a little bundle of joy, Shenel. And now we are here. What is your story?”
“ Wow. Really. My life is starkly different. Raised by my stepmother, I named my daughter after her. They both ended the same way, dying because of a loved one. She let someone in our life, and he turned out to be a serial killer. Murdered her in cold blood. I know I shouldn’t have adopted my daughter from my ex.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, but you can stay for a while to get your mind together from that tragic event.” Malik squints his eyes as to Angela’s responses. Angela gives Malik another cup of tea. Everything goes black again after that.
* * *
“AAAAAHHHH!”
“Are you all right. How are you?”
“Fine, but better than before now.”
“Great, now do you feel like staying we need help around the house, this will be payment for everything we did for you.”
“Um, I am grateful, but I'm kind of on a mission, so maybe can I do like one thing for you.”
“Ah, sure please spend some time with my daughter she wanted to talk with you before you left.”
“Okay, that sounds like something I can do.”
“She is upstairs.” then Malik goes upstairs to see the girl.
“Knock Knock, hello kid you wanted to talk to me.” as Shenel stepped back and shivering. Nodding. She made him read a book to her titled “Acostado”. A book about a child named Mort leaving a family in need.