It looked like some horrifying amalgamation of creatures designed only to elicit fear and disgust. However, its face was familiar to Augustus and Cinderella. Though slightly deformed and grotesque it reminded them of the man who nearly killed them 200 years ago on that spaceship. This caused them to try and run even more however the creature flung two more cars in their direction. Not just trying to stop them but everyone else running nearby. 

A few people tried to fly away, only for the creature to open its mouth and spew globs of acid at them. This was to burn their wings down to the bone causing those flying away to fall out of the sky to their death.

Realizing the creature would kill them if they tried to fly away, their only choice was to try and run to some form of cover that they could use as a way to cut off the line of sight and make a quick escape. But with all the thrown cars blocking most of the way that was harder to actually do. After another car was thrown and smashed into a building not far behind them the group started ducking behind nearby vehicles for safety. 

Augustus ducks behind a car about 10ft further down the road than his sister and niece. Meanwhile, Cuddles tried to take up a defensive protective stance over the ladies. As they coward and fear, the creature started massacring everyone close to it with its pincers and its acid spit.

As people started screaming and crying out for help Augustus started having a panic attack and flashes back to what happened on the spaceship come to him and vividly thinking about the monster's face.

In an instant he is a little boy again, barely 90 years old. His father and mother are sitting next to him in his little sister as they are in their cabin on the spaceship. The same ship that is going to be taking them to the moon resort for their family vacation.

His mind flashes to the moment that they heard knocking on their cabin door and their father went to go see who it was. He hears while playing with his sister the sound of several men forcing their way into the room. He hears his mother screaming as she watches their father get forced to the ground with a laser gun pointing at the back of his skull.

His blood runs cold as he had told his family he had a bad feeling about things before they got on the ship, but his family tried to assure him that everything would be fine. Now there are six armed people pointing laser guns at them and forcing them to get on their stomachs with their hands behind their backs if they want to live. Leading the group of armed thugs is a man who is part of a race of bat-like humanoids with four snake-like eyes called a Kantanarii. This man was someone he could never forget as that man was called, Donkuulii Yos. He was a wanted mass murderer who was in charge of a small gang of serial killers and former drug dealers known as the Moon Rats.

They handcuffed them and dragged them off to the spaceship's storage area. Where they had set up cameras that would create a live feed to whoever they were going to try and blackmail. The Moon Rats had kidnapped them to use them as burning chips with very powerful people they just didn't know who yet.

Augustus remembered his father asking Donkuulii, "Why are you doing this? We have nothing you could want."

Meanwhile, the man responded by smacking his father in the face and telling him with a sadistic smile, "Well that's not exactly true. You see you all are members of the Volcanus royal family. This means that the Emperor of the Divine Empire will pay a pretty penny for his clan members' safe return home."

Hearing that Augustus watched his father laugh at the man and then correct him on his grave mistake, "You're wrong.... The Emperor doesn't care about me and my family. We are a bunch of people they don't even know. My grandfather left them long ago."

Donkuulii asked him giving a very annoyed frown, "What's that supposed to mean?" 

Augustus saw his father smile at the man even though the situation was grim, "It means they aren't going to give two shits less of a fuck about members of the clan that cut off ties with them. So they won't pay you a damn thing. At least I'm telling it to you straight. You and your people just wasted your time." 

Donkuulii slapped him so hard that he knocked him over onto the ground. Donkuulii put his foot on the man's jaw and told him, "We'll see about that. Now shut up or I'm going to put a couple of laser rounds in your pretty little wife's legs."

Despite the threat, everyone could see that the look on Cornelius's face was the same. However, Augustus started to realize that his father was making that face purely because he knew that they were as good as dead and he had accepted his fate. Despite that Augustus and the rest of his family were scared not wanting to just lie down and die.

Soon though they sat Cornelius back up in the chair that he was tied to and made sure the entire family was on camera. As a holographic screen appeared it showed the Emperor of the Divine Empire sitting on his throne ready to see which of his family had reportedly been kidnapped. As the live feed of the kidnappers showed Augustus and his family the Emperor simply looked at them annoyed.

Donkuulii proudly declared with a million-dollar grin on his face, "As I said, me and my crew captured some of your kin. Now, are you ready to listen to my demands or do I have to start putting beams in the bodies of your clansmen?" 

The Emperor simply looked at them all with an expression that not only conveyed power and disgust, but also one that conveyed annoyance and uncaringness. He responded almost seeming like this was a chore rather than a serious hostage negotiation situation, "You honestly think that I am going to adhere to your demands...? What pathetic bajasha shit! I don't know those pathetic weaklings."

Donkuulii saw that the emperor was not playing the part he thought he would he pulled out his laser pistol and started pointing it at Cornelius. Then he shouted back, "You think I'm bluffing?! I'll fucking kill your kin right here, right now, in front of you!!!"

The emperor simply look down at him with cruel indifference and told him almost waving his threat off as if it had no meaning, "Go ahead. I thought I fucking told you, I don't know them. Do you think I would give two fuck about a bunch of Volcanus from some branch family that might have left the clan or are so far removed their practically commoners? At this moment you are wasting my time. If you have nothing else then do whatever you like. I have better things to do." 

With that Augustus' mother begged that the emperor save her children if nothing else, "Please your majesty have mercy!! Me and my husband may not be worth anything but our children don't deserve to die like this!!! Please, your holiness, reconsider...." Tears poured down her face as she pleaded. 

However, the Emperor gave her the same look. He nonchalantly rolled his eyes at her request, "I will not let it my decision be swayed by the simple idea of saving your children. Do you think the deaths of a couple of no-name kids that I have no connection to will actually affect my conscience......? You are even more fool than them for thinking that such a trifle would make me help. Whether you got yourselves in this situation or not I don't care. You all can die for as much as I give a damn."

Lucinda hearing the emperor's words looked back broken and petrified at the cruelty of someone who is supposed to be blessed by God. Before anyone could say anything else the Emperor ended the transmission leaving Augustus and his family to their fate.

Even Donkuulii was confused and assume that confusion turned into anger. As he began pacing back and forth cursing loudly it woke up a sleeping pokka in a cage nearby. That pokka was called Clawdad and he was Cuddles' father who passed away from natural causes a few days before Cuddles was born. Clawdad was a very protective alpha pokka who defended and watched over Augustus and his family with perfect precision. As he came to consciousness seeing the situation his intelligent mind started allowing him to realize that his owners were in danger. 

Donkuulii however did not notice and instead continued his tirade of slurs and swears. When he finally stopped he walked up to Cornelius's face and pointed a gun straight at his head. He held it there staring Cornelius in the eyes, who stared back without fear already knowing that he and his family were most likely going to die here. 

After a moment Donkuulii faltered and lowered the gun and started thinking to himself. After a moment of processing his frustrated thoughts criminal told Cornelius, "Well at least you were honest. I knew this chance had to be too good to be true. Normally I'd kill you and you're family, and just be done with it. But I see that look in your eye. Last time I saw that look it changed my life. So tell you what...... I'll let your kids go on one condition......" 

In an instant, he took out a knife and cut Augustus free from the bindings that held him tied to a chair, and then snatched him with his other hand and pulled him away. He then shoved Augustus into one of the other criminals and held out his gun at the young boy's head.

"I'll let both of your kids go but not before we have some fun here. See I want to watch someone break. So I'm going to have your son here play a little game with me. I'll let him and your little girl go so long as he takes this gun and he puts a beam straight through your skull. However that pretty little wife of yours we get to keep her in exchange for the two of them walking free," he then handed the gun to Augustus already ready to fire and then he walked back over to the rest of Augustus' family. 

Donkuulii put another gun that he had on him towards the back of Cinderella's head, "However if he doesn't do it within a minute of me starting my countdown I'm going to put a beam straight through your daughter's head. Got it." 

Seeing the situation, Clawdad began putting some distance between the entrance to the cage and to the back of it. He was going to get into a position to break the cage open. However, he was going to wait for a moment when it would be advantageous to do so.

At the same time, Donkuulii activated a timer on his holographic watch. It was for one full minute. And the second it started he looks straight at Augustus and gave him an evil grin. 

"Come on kid. Shoot him," said Donkuulii.

Cornelius realizing that in this situation it was either his or his daughter's life easily willingly gave up his own, "It's okay Augie. Shoot me. You can't let them hurt Cindy." 

"Yeah, that's right kid. Shoot your daddy. Save your sister. Shoot him," he said with delightful glee as his smile got bigger.

Cornelius told Augustus trying to help him be okay with killing him, "It's okay son. You have to just let it happen. Pull the trigger. Kill me. Don't let them kill your sister." 

"You heard him, boy. Shoot! Kill him," exclaimed the madman as his criminal friends laughed.

The timer was already on with 30 seconds remaining and Augustus was shaking violently with fear and indecisiveness. He was only a little boy but he knew very well that if he killed his dad he would forever live with that. But if he didn't his sister's death would also be on his hands. 

He tried to think of what was the best thing to do in this situation but as he listened to his father try to comfort him into being okay with murdering him and hearing the psycho shouting orders to shoot he began to have a panic attack. In that same instance in the present day, Augustus is having a panic attack remembering all of this. The creature that has almost the exact same face as the man who made him decide whether or not to let his dad die or his sister was getting closer. He was so afraid that all he could do was hyperventilate and curl up behind the car that he was using as protection for now. 

Augustus seemed like a grown man acting like a scared little boy as people around him try to run for their lives only to die one by one as they passed. He could hear his niece crying not that far behind him as the creature was getting closer to them. Her crying reminded him of his sister's crying in the moment when he had held that gun all those years ago on that spaceship.

The memory hit him like a strong right hook against his temple. The pain of remembering it after he had spent so long trying to ignore it or repress it or just simply hope to forget about it felt like hell at that moment. 

In an instant, he's back as that little boy with 15 seconds left holding that gun shaking nervously pointing it towards his father and unable to pull the trigger. He can remember how his tears were falling from his face and he was a sobbing mess. He heard them shouting clearer and clearer.

"Shoot him," roared Donkuulii.

"Just shoot me, Augustus," shouted Cornelius. 

"SHOOT HIM!!!"

"SHOOT ME!!!"

"SHOOT!!!"