Runaway (first 8 chapters)

Chapter 3

 The Lemon Demon's arm, a shadow detached from its surface, lightly tipped the edge of the wheel forward. The wheel slowly spun, so slowly that the Halloween duo were about to die of curiosity. "Ugh, come on!" Skod whined as the huge spinner slowly came to a stop. After a few more agonizing seconds of waiting, the dial ended up pointing to a lightning bolt. "Make it rain," the Lemon Demon grinned darkly. "With lightning, and thunder. I've seen the blue boy's worst fears." "Ooh, I like where this is going," said Psump. "And I know he has a deathly fear of thunder," the monster continued. "But...how can we control the weather?" Skod asked. At that, their leader scoffed. "Figure it out."

Right on cue, Skod and Psump could hear the pitter-patter of rain drops falling outside, heavy but quiet enough to keep the humans asleep. "Aren't there any leaks in this place?" Skod blurted out. "Of course there are, you fool," the Lemon Demon snapped. "Then why is there no-" "Don't ask unnecessary questions! Focus on the task at hand." "Yeah, Skod," Psump retorted, happy to one-up his friend. "I'm curious to see how you two will change the weather," the Lemon Demon mused. "Don't worry, I'll give you some help." The wheel collapsed into a pile of pink ashes that exploded to reveal the pink mist encased inside, now freely whisping around the air, twirling and crossing until they formed something of a ribbon knot. Then a heavy claw slashed the mist and the bow broke apart, shimmering from the middle to the sides into more dust, which again evaporated. A huge monster made of wood and stone, pink mist fuming from his tough, metal jaw, surrounded by the airy material. And he had that dangerous glint in his eyes, one that the Lemon Demon had added specifically after what he had seen in Benjamin's mindscape. The Hallowen-loving duo was taken away by the wondrous transformation. "This is another illusion of mine. I call him, the king of lightning!" said the creator of the monstrosity. "Or simply the hate monster." "Woah..." Psump gasped. "Amazing! The king of lightning is before us!" Skod cheered. "I...make...light-ning," the hate monster breathed, his voice rough and low, barely intelligible, "i-if you...give...te-ars...and...batte-battery, a-an-d I...make...lightning." Seeing his henchmen's confused expressions, the Lemon Demon let out a tired sigh. "Do I really have to spell it out for you? If you want him to make lighting, give him the tears of the main victim and a battery, dead, used, alive, new, whatever. Just something that used to hold electricity." "Psump, I think you should go get the tears from the blue-haired guy, his scary friend might recognize me..." Skod chuckled nervously. "Then, I expect you to be ready to search the entire "scary" mansion for a single battery," said Psump, not missing a beat. The Lemon Demon appreciated how the kids were always ready for action. "I hope my entertainment tonight does not disappoint me," he rumbled, setting enough fear in the friends' hearts to quickly disperse and carry out the mission.

The two humans looked so peaceful in their sleep. Psump almost felt guilty about what he was going to do. Almost. He couldn't resist the Lemon Demon's control over him though. Shaking his head to get rid of his self-doubt, he stood over the victims, thinking of a plan to get the blue-haired one to start crying. Apparently he was really sensitive, and got scared at almost anything. "Yes, you can engage in a rap battle. But don't let them see your face." Remembering the Lemon Demon's words, Psump had worn his costume hood, making him look like a real pumpkin that had been carved out by an expert who could make the most spooky faces. Although he was still a little hesitant, he continued with the plan and harshly pulled the boy's hair. The poor human's face scrunched up in pain, his eyes fluttering open. "No..." he whimpered. Psump let go of his hair. "Boo," he said, but that was all it took. The boy immediately got up and started screaming. His emo buddy also woke up and held the blue-haired boy close to him, his can of spray paint ready to attack. "Another trickster," he mentally groaned, seeing the stranger's size. "Let's have a rap battle," said Psump, not wanting to waste any more time. "What are you going on about? Leave us alone," the red-head growled, pulling his boyfriend closer. The shy artist had tears at the corners of his eyes. Perfect. "Just one," Psump pleaded, though with that sickening smile on his face. "And then I'll leave you two alone! Or..." Psump second-guessed his seemingly perfect plan. He could take a risk and follow through with it, but what if he was the loser? He would be a disappointment and possibly weaken the Lemon Demon further with the strong wave of happy soul emotions. But there was another way, a much faster, but much more daring, way. He could just snatch what he wanted as it appeared right in front of him. He lunged to grab the boy, but Pico pressed on his graffiti can, spraying purple paint right in Psump's face. "Agh! My eyes!" he cried. "This is too much," said the dangerous thug, getting up while bringing his beloved with him, "we have to get out of here." As Psump was rubbing the pigment off his face, he heard the thug's last sentence. "No no no!" he panicked in his mind. They couldn't leave! He still had to get those tears! And if they hurried, maybe they could enact the lightning storm before the humans got too far so they would be forced to come back. Imagine what the Lemon Demon would do to him if he failed! "NO!" Psump growled. He would not be as incompetent as his friend, he would not lose to Skod! No way in a million years! As he was much younger than the humans, he was also much faster, speeding up and taking the two by surprise. He jumped up impossibly high, placing his hand roughly over his victim's forehead. This is when he noticed that his skin was a strange, translucent shade of purple, and his claws were painted pink and white. His whole body was slowly starting to transform into a different texture with that pattern. Yet he wasn't scared. In fact, his brain told him that this was a good thing and that he should accept it as the new version of himself. He didn't hesitate to use the ancient magic the Lemon Demon had taught him. "Viscera!" he screamed, a blast of dark magic traveling from his hand to the bluenette's mindscape. Time seemed to slow down as Psump tried to suck out as many tears as he could, while taking a sneak peek at the poor boy's fears, intrigued by the Lemon Demon's explanation of it. Sure enough, he saw shining red eyes, similar to the hate monster's. Except the owners of these eyes weren't just scary monsters meant to kill him and finish him quickly - they were there to haunt him and torture him for life. Even Psump felt a shiver down his spine when he felt the empowering gaze of those ruby red eyes, ones the human associated with fear. Psump removed his hand and stood back. The blue-haired boy stumbled back in shock, caught from falling by his boyfriend's sturdy arms. He was given a death-glare from the taller one. "I'm only letting you go now because I don't have my gun on me," he snarled, protectively covering his lover from Psump's sight. Psump cupped his hand. Seeing it filled almost halfway with tears, he was satisfied with his work. He dashed away to the shadows, having completed the mission much faster than he would have with his original plan. He congratulated himself for his quick thinking. And his mask stayed up the entire time. Psump held out his hand to the hate monster, who put his own huge claw on top of it. The tears shimmered away from Psump's hand into the other's. The hate monster drank up the tears like it was a cup of fresh orange juice. The pink smoke engulfed him like roaring flames, visibly forming a metaphysical fire hotter than the sun. Psump glanced worriedly at the couple, who were breaking into a run for the exit. He had done his part - now it was up to Skid to find the battery and quickly return in order to create the anticipated thunderstorm. He could only hope his friend wouldn't mess things up like he always did.

"God, these hallways are so confusing..." Skod whimpered, slowly walking along the long, dusty, red carpet, its floral pattern long since faded. He hated to admit it, but he was completely lost. He knew how to go back to the underspace of the stairway - all he had to do was become one with the shadows and backtrack to the origin. The problem was, he had no idea where to find a battery. Hyped up for the mission, he had run through a doorway missing its door without thinking. "I wish I had Psump with me..."