CH 10: Under the GraveSnow crunched underfoot as Grey and Oaken wandered through the Long Woods. Every breath the two kids took were visible puffs. And the snow seemed endless. Although monsters have joined the side of good, the real threat to them were Zompos, zombie moles who live underground, and only fight when they're disturbed. Unfortunately, the only way to get rid of them is to whack them with a huge hammer. The only one who has a big mallet was Oaken, given to him by Bachi in case of emergencies. But the merchant knows that the disguised princess would make better use of the weapon than him. Grey gently kicked his toes to the manor steps, knocking the snow off his red boots. Walking inside, ghosts were hovering back and forth with underhero business or hanging out with friends. The human children waved to the specters passing by. Oaken felt chills down his spine and looked at the ghosts nervously. He knew they're harmless now, mostly, but ghosts always made him anxious. He wasn't sure why. Back to treading through the snow, now was the time to really be careful. "Watch the ground as you step." Grey warned. Oaken nods. "If a Zompo pops up and grabs you, whack it with a hammer!" "And if you get attacked?" Oaken asked. "Toss it to me so I can whack it, of course." Grey answered. "Right." The brown-haired boy nodded. "Um... Hey, if you don't mind me asking, where did you get the name Grey?" Grey paused for a moment, thinking back on his first battle with Mouse and Elizabeth. *"Hold it right there!" Grey Kid snapped. He held his rapier to Mouse's throat. "You are the one who took the legendary weapon of the hero! Give it to me, immediately!" Mouse gulped, feeling a shudder go down their spine. "Ah! Do you know what this means, kid?!" Elizabeth asked. The smaller masked kid tilted their head in confusion. "You have a rival now!!! You're one step closer to becoming a true hero!" "SILENCE! I'm no one's rival! You're not strong enough to even be called MY rival!" Grey sneered. Elizabeth was clearly amused by this kid's attempt to be tough. "He's so full of himself, too!" Elizabeth joyful demeanor changed, as she sobbed happily. "I'm so proud of you, kid." "Enough!" Grey snapped. "You will give me the weapon or you will die here!" Elizabeth scoffed at this. "Sure, bring it on, Grey Kid. Let's see if you're 'worthy'." The hilt then proceeded to laugh. "Um, excuse the intrusion, but are you perhaps... fighting, by any chance?" A chubby ghost asked. Grey, unphased and unmoving just shouted, "Stay out of this, you blob." "Just like I thought! AHEM!" The ghost turned to the ghost party and shouted, "YO! YOU GUYS!!! THERES A FIGHT OVER HERE!!!" A huge cluster of ghosts gathered and started chanting "FIGHT!" over and over. Grey lowered his weapon and groaned with annoyance along with Elizabeth.* "Elizabeth called me Grey Kid when I blocked their path, and... I guess the name stuck." Grey explained. Suddenly, a hand popped out of the ground and grabbed Grey's ankle. The Zompo emerged and groaned, holding on to Grey's leg with both claws. Oaken grabbed his hammer and slammed it on the zombie mole. The undead creature let go, leaving a scratch in the process. Grey and Oaken ran for the trees as the monster was dazed. Sitting high in the branches, Oaken and Grey were able to catch their breath. Blood was dripping from the Grey Kid's wounded ankle. He noticed this and wrapped a bandage around it and downed a potion. "Thank Fate those things don't carry a deadly virus." Grey sighed. He looked at his bandaged ankle. "Think it'll leave a scar?" "If it's deep enough." Oaken said, scratching the back of his neck. "... Do you... want a scar?" Grey smiled and nodded. "They're cool! It shows how tough you are, and that you're a survivor." "I never thought of scars like that before." Oaken said. "I always thought they were just marks, not a symbol of bravery." "Whether it's surgical or from a fight, all scars have a story." Grey though aloud. Grey got up on the branch he was on and looked around, trying to remember the path he took for the icy pond. "This way!" The Grey Kid pointed, then he started jumping off branch after branch, and motioned Oaken to follow. The scarfed boy did, the best he could. I was never good at climbing trees. He thought to himself. Maybe I did when I was the hero. But, I don't want to think about that. I make a good living with Mr. Bachi and I don't want to ruin it with unwanted memories. As Grey jumped off the last tree, landing on his feet, and Oaken fell on his face. Thankfully, the snow cushioned the impact. He got up, wiping the snow off, and followed Grey to the lake. Bright flashing lights could be seen and blaring music was heard as the duo got closer to the Oblivion Party. "I'm sorry, kiddos, but only ghosts and bats are allowed in this party." The bouncer ghost said. "Princess! Oaken!" Bella exclaimed. The little candle held by a disembodied hand flew over to the ghost. "You can let these two in they're my friends!" "We're not here to party," Grey waved his hand. "We just need to pass by to the lake." "Permission to pass, granted!" The ghost moved out of the way. "The lake is dead ahead." "Thank you." Grey bows his head. The two children walked past the flashing lights and blaring music. Some ghosts were chatting happily and loudly, and others were singing horribly. Grey steps on the lake, and immediately starts slipping! "WHOA!" He shouts as he falls on his hands and knees as he tries to pick himself up, to little success. The brown-haired boy hops down, and the same thing happened! Except Oaken falls on his butt. "You- whoa..." Oaken tried to stand up as he spoke. "You fought Mouse and Elizabeth here?! How-?!" He feel on his face. "I d-didn't have this hard a time when I was here ab-bout almost year ago...!" Grey said as he slid to the other side of the lake. He sighed with relief as he got back on the non-slippery ground. "Grey! GREY!" Oaken screamed as he slid towards the Grey Kid. Slamming straight into him. "Sorry..." The former hero chuckles sheepishly. "It's fine, wasn't the first time you fell on top of me, I don't think it'll be the last." Grey got up and dusted himself off. "R-really?" Oaken looked at the rogue in surprise. "Yeah." Grey said. "But, that's a story for another day." The disguised princess started walking to the mausoleum. "How do you know that T. Bur and Stitches are under there?" Oaken asked, following him. "Best to search the obvious spots first." Grey replied. "If they're not here, we search under the bleachers near the ice skating rink." He clears his throat and speaks firmly. "This is Princess Cereza Castana, sole heir to the Chestnut Kingdom. I have a guest, Oaken the former hero." The kids waited... and waited... and waited... "Maybe you didn't say it loud enough." Oaken suggested. "Oh, maybe they're not here." Grey sighed. And as the two were about to leave, there was a loud rumble and stone grinding noise as the stone coffin moved to the side, revealing a set of stairs. The grey hooded child looked closely down the stairs. He heard a door open, followed by a voice. "Princess?" That familiar voice... That voice belonged to the once evil monster that used to terrorize the Chestnut kingdom. Of course, that was not of Stitches' choice, as he peered out of the stairwell. "T. Bur knew you'd be coming." "I found his encrypted note." Grey nodded. The patched up monster turn to Oaken. "I just didn't know you'd bring the former hero." "I didn't know it was a crime for my friend to make sure I didn't get hurt." Grey smirked. "Though..." He shows the former evil beast his bandaged ankle. "Too late for that." Mr. Stitches stepped out of the way, gesturing to the stairs. "We have a lot to discus. T. Bur suspects he's close to finding the kid and Elizabeth's location." Grey and Oaken walk down the stairs, followed by Stitches as the grave slowly shut, as if it never moved.Chapter 6: DespairGrey walked quickly, pulling the scarfed boy by the wrist, practically dragging him along. "Prin- Grey, I think we can slow down." Oaken suggested. "The guards are probably far enough that we can rest." But the suggestion fell on deaf ears, Grey didn't slow down, nor did he want to. Because he knew that if he were caught, then it's all over. He'd be found out and never allowed to be by himself again. The duo crossed cold rivers and carefully slid down slopes. Grey's feet started to get sore, so he led Oaken to a bundle of bushes, perfect size for two children to hide under. Now, this was the proper spot to rest. "Where... where are we going again?" The brown haired boy asked. "The Stitched Castle. I want to find at least a clue on where Stitches and T. Bur went." Grey explained. "If we find those two, we find Green Boots and Elizabeth." "Wish they at least left us a hint to where they're going." The brown-haired boy panted. "Then again, those two probably didn't plan on or want anyone following them." "They left... thinking they could do it themselves. But they've been gone for nearly a year!" Grey added. His face was slowly getting more pained. As Oaken spoke about how Stitches and T. Bur could find Mouse and Elizabeth by themselves. As Grey's mind spiraled further and further into despair. Doubt started to outweigh his hope. Maybe he can't find them. "Grey...?" The disguised princess didn't respond. "Hey, we'll find-" "IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME!!!" Grey finally snapped. "If... if I had taken Elizabeth, Green Boots wouldn't have gone missing... They would have... But why them? Of all people... why did it have to be them..." Grey's hands started to shake along with his voice. Not knowing what else to do, Oaken held on to Grey's hands. "You would've been the one who was lost. Now, I may not know or remember what happened between you guys, but what I am absolutely certain of, is that those two are safe and alive." "How could you know that...?" Grey asked between sobs. "Because like you, I have complete faith that they're okay. And you losing faith like this doesn't match who you are." Oaken said. "This isn't like you! Not too long ago, you were determined to find the Masked Kid and Elizabeth. You can't give up now!" Grey felt like she was slapped in the face from what Oaken said. "Y-you're right..." He sobbed. "I'm sorry... I'm just... so tired..." He was indeed tired, not just tired of waiting, but also physically exhausted. He just rested his head on his knees. Oaken rubbed Grey's back to comfort her. The brown-haired boy looked around one more time to make sure that they weren't being followed. Knights would probably have search dogs hunting them down. Oaken looked for a path that would guarantee a secure hiding place. However, this led him to fall into an unexpected hole with a yelp. "Oak?" Grey looked around and fell in the same hole his friend fell in. He fell with a reactive squeal, but at a certain point, he felt gravity shift as a trapdoor opened up. "Where are we...?" Oaken asked. Grey blinked a few times as memories flooded back. "We're in the old minions shortcut!" The dark-haired child motioned for Oaken to follow. An aminoguana looking at a clipboard marched through the halls. The three bumped into each other. "Be careful, young ones!" He grumbled. "Oh, sorry, Francis!" Grey apologized as he helps the old lizard up. "It's fine, just be careful, masked... princess..." Francis was about to say 'kid' but he quickly changed the word and tone, upon seeing the young princess' face. "Sorry, it's late, and you kids should get some rest. There's some space in the apartments if you wanna sleep. Children like you two need as much rest as you can get. Again, sorry for bumping in to you." "It's alright, I wasn't paying attention." Grey laughed. Now that Frankie mentioned it, he and Oaken were getting tired. He looked at the elevator and lead the brown haired boy there and pressed the first button. The two waited in silence as the elevator slowly descended. Once the doors opened the two walked out and headed to the left. Grey opens the door marked 1-A, and Oaken heads to the door marked 1-B. "Good night, Grey." Oaken smiled. "Night." Grey responded. He shut the door behind him. "Hope you don't mind me using your room, green boots. I have to be at my best to find you and Elizabeth." He looked around the room, there wasn't much in the way of decorations. There were a few posters, and some hoodies hanging from a steel rack, and shoes just piled underneath. The sheets on the bed were tossed to the side, as the last time the owner of this room was here, they were on their way to battle Grey from a letter falsely signed by Stitches. Looking back, he did feel bad for tricking them and nearly killing them. Grey finally laid down on the bed, feeling pained but hopeful. With a tear roll down his face, he shut his eyes, and finally fell asleep.