I worry about her. About us. That we'll change so much we won't recognize each other anymore. I cling to our old memories. The good. The bad. And everything in the middle. I need to see her. I need to see Maya.

Mable and I follow the dog through the halls. I trust Mable’s judgment. I have to. Despite her questionability, we’re on the same page. If for some reason she’s looking for revenge on that Dr. Wess guy, then… Well, I hope she gives me a chance to ask for directions first.

We arrive at the trial. Our scientist is being held for judgment. A large spectacle with an audience of only children chanting and yelling. The younger children reside behind the rails while the older kids act as the guards. The judge, the leather-jacketed boy, from before. The prosecutor, the fairy from earlier. The defendant, the lone Tendy. With no one at her side. 

“Are you serious? What kind of kangaroo court room crap is this!?” Tendy protests. The tween judge slams his fist on his desk, “Shut your mouth, traitor! This is under MY law! All children must follow the prod…ce…-.” “Procedure.” “QUIET, WOMAN!” the judge shouts. The bickering between the two resumes with the occasional jingling of the fairy. Mable steps forward, letting out a sigh.

My guide shouts over, “Recess time, children! Big boy playtime is over.” She continues, “This courtroom parody is tiring. If you wanna fuck over someone in a court of law with questionable evidence and even more questionable testimonies, then you'd better leave and sell your soul in the grown-up world.” The leather-jacketed boy slams his desk as he verbally retaliates, “Bailiff, get this corpse out of my court.” A few of the older kids look at each other, confused, almost hesitating before one of them steps up.

BANG! The older kid stops. The dog with us flinches. My tall guide’s gun remains pointed up. My eyes meet with Mable’s. She mouths out to me quietly, “I know what I’m doing.” I look down at my hand, realizing I instinctively was holding it out. 

“I was gonna pick up my kid from school. However, if you chucklefucks want this to continue, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to hear from Wendy. Especially without that fairy or greaser talking over her,” Mable asserts. “If anyone has a problem, then either my gun or bodyguard will take care of it.” I would prefer not harming children; however, I’ll keep quiet.

The four-legged animal rushes to the defendant’s side. Tendy speaks up, “Pete’s claims of my 'treason' are incorrect. I did take samples of the Shadows, yes. But it was to help with researching ways to stop them.” The judge taps on his desk impatiently.

The tiny world around her glares at her. The prosecutor skims through the papers on her desk that are larger than her body. The scientist takes a moment, readjusting her glasses before resuming, “I’ve discovered what looks to be human memories mixed with an altered form of fairy dust. Memories that end with Pete staring down at them. Meaning-.” 

“Pete’s killing us!” Yells over one of the older boys, interrupting Tendy.  “I knew it! Marcus didn’t go missing!” Another shouts over. Among the children of Tendy's age, they erupt. Their claims spread to so many names. Going straight for Beat’s throat with their accusations. 

Bang! Bang! Mable fires her rounds at the ceiling, “Let her finish!” She certainly has a way of handling things. However, I’m a bit interested in hearing the rest of the girl’s findings. “My theory is that either Pete’s fairy dust corrupted them, or lack of faith did. I believe our king did something intentionally to the Seniors. All memories end similarly,” Tendy resumes her claims. The older children glare at Beat intensely while the younger kids frantically scan the room.

The young scientist progresses her testimony, “It’s probable that Seniors killed by Pete without faith became Shadows. No. It’s the only option.” Beat hunches over his desk, gritting his teeth as his face points down. She finishes her statement, “The Neverborn King creates the very monsters that haunt us.”

Everything tightens. For a couple of moments, no one dares to open their mouths save for the fairy. Many eyes scatter through the court, scanning around. The younger ones transform from bliss to dread. The older kids remain the most composed. However, their narrowing eyes shift to the judge. Their supposed “king”.

The tiny prosecutor slams herself onto the desk up and down. I surprisingly can hear the thuds in her frustration. “Bastard” and “idiot” leak from her bell ringing. 

Laughter disturbs the silence, crackling as it draws on. This ‘King of Nevermore’ raises his fist before cracking the desk in front of him. Yellow particles spring from his body upon impact. His laughing lingers with that forced grin on that crooked face of his.

The leather-jacketed boy known as Beat summons his response, “S-So what if I killed some ungrateful dipshits? So what if they turned into monsters?” The ‘king’ continues as his fist digs into the splinters of the desk, “And I hear what you little shits have been saying about me behind my back, too! And don’t think I haven’t heard rumors of me overusing fairy dust.” His hands shake, glowing bright gold. His voice cracks as he presses on, “You think I’m some kind of f-fucking fool!? That I don’t know this revolution building up!?”

Beat rips the desk apart from the top, holding it up as he speaks, “I will admit it! I did all that! I killed them all. I made sure of that. I get off on that fairy dust shit. No, I won’t share it with anyone. Only I deserve it.” He hurls the top side of the desk at the back of the court, shattering upon hitting the wall. The tween resumes his rant, “I deserve something nice! After all, I’m keeping this family alive by having those monsters guard the exit. We’re stuck here together. Forever young.”

As this cult-like boy rambles on, the fairy rushes over to him. He grabs her at an instant, preserving his speech, “Don’t shut me up, Tink. You love it, too. You made sacrifices to keep us here. The many fairies I watch you bury…” I always assumed it was just one fairy. ‘Kind of explains a lot. He flicks her away before proceeding, “This revolution that you Seniors are planning, it’s not gonna work. You can come and try to stop me, but remember that you’ll make things harder on yourself. I’m not afraid of creating more of those Shadows right in this courtroom.” 

He snickers to himself before fully committing to a more broken laughter that fills the room, “I am freaking untouchable. I am God! I COMMAND THIS LAND! I shoot lighting from my fingers!” The audience freezes. A moment before, they all mumble to each other, trying to find something. A way. A solution. 

Before any of them start accepting this overlord’s ultimatum, Mable glances over at me. She mouths to me with her bottom lip lowered, “Ugh. Doesn’t he make you want to snap his head off?” I ignore her rather violent question.

We walk through the crowds, passing by the murmurings. As we get to the center, Beat attempts to interrupt us, “Wh-Where do you think you’re going? Wendy stays here. I need a lawnmower.” “Go mow your own grass, junior,” Mable shuts him down before he can finish his sentence. She reaches for Tendy as the scientist freezes. 

The overlord holds tightly to my tall guide’s wrist. Mable, without turning back, responds, “I don’t like being touched. Release me or the vampire kills you.” Beat’s grin grows in a crooked twist. With a tight grip comes a quick snap.

The wet snap of flesh and bones echoes through the courtroom. Blood splatters across the room, like a paint spill. It stains the floors red. Mable’s disconnected arm flies across the courtroom, landing on some poor child. The surrounding kids scooch away from the already red zone. 

She clenches her shoulder, kneeling as she conserves the blood dripping from her exposed limb. Her teeth grit with a sharp k-sounding hiss, refusing to allow a cry. That woman mutters an “asshole” under her exhausted breath.

The girl with her remains frozen as if she knew this would happen. Her dog hides behind the desk, tucking its tail underneath its body. The room silences with only a few murmurs, gasps, and cries, afraid to break the moment. Beat’s presence commands the audience to stay put, as if this act of graphic violence is routine.

I remain here, doing nothing. Why did I allow this to happen? A woman lost her arm because I let all this happen. What good am I if I let something like this happen?

Why? Why? Why? Everything is fuzzy. Like needles striking through my brain. My head spins, and the need to counteract my mistake swarms over me.

 I thrust my hand up at Beat’s collar before slamming him down onto the ground. The floor craters around his body, leaving him planted. His arms linger in the air, twitching. 

The fairy from before swoops in, trying to help pull the boy up. The tween’s hand regains life before snatching the tiny woman. Her golden shine radiates brightly as she struggles. The cracks in the floor emit the same golden light. Yellow particles swirl around Beat and the fairy, ripping parts of the ground as his body rises.

The leather-jacketed boy hovers above the courtroom, spreading his arms out as the fairy drops to the ground like a rock, her glow extinguished. His lids reopen with a bright yellow as his smirk visibly cracks. He speaks once more, believing his assertion, “Ahh. I hold the power of the greatest faith… My own Godliness! Bwahahaha”

His laughter breaks as his joints twitch erratically into the air. His excitement radiates before locking onto me, “I will punish thee!” His golden body zooms at me. The impact forces me to one knee before I swat him away with my other hand.

The boy recovers in the air as the audience runs off in terror, not wanting to get caught in all this. Beat sparkles as he soars through, ripping the surroundings around him just from his presence. He rockets back at me, pushing me further back. I dig my feet into the ground, preventing myself from losing my balance.

The glittering emitted from his body continuously scratches my raised hands. I hold tight, refusing to let him budge any further. We lock in this clash. His big smug grin erupts as he confidently spouts, “What’s wrong, old man? Thought you folks were used to worse things. Heheh!”

I pull his arms around into a swing. Spinning and spinning before launching him into a statue. His golden sparkles rip the statue like paper, shredding it as pieces explode all around the room. The pieces destroy nearby support pillars as more of the children run off. 

The chaos spikes as the sun-like boy tackles me once more. His light shines brighter and brighter. My eyes struggle with this radiance. His grip intensifies, challenging me. I remain up, but my hands struggle. 

His knee collides with me. He slams his head against me. The boy throws every known limb at me, hurling himself at me to push me back. I keep still, refusing to back down.

The glittering power of his emits as it swirls like a tornado, continuing to reach for the rest of my body. The dust splinters across me, applying pressure. The air around us tenses.

I catch a glimpse of Mable, who’s tending to her own injury. Her face sharpens in determination, and her eyes catch mine. She mouths something, but I immediately turn away. I can’t be distracted.

I grapple with Beat, attempting to restrain him. I pull the hyperactive kid down to the ground, mustering the strength that I believe is enough to stop him. Still, he remains relentless as the sparkles around him continue getting stronger and stronger.

He breaks free of my grasp, hurling himself at me. His shoulder powers through, pushing me further and further. I attempt to hold him back with my left hand, failing to push him away. I raise my other hand, ready to strike at his chest.

My hands bleed. My eyes are blurring. He’s growing. I know he is. Any moment, and he will overwhelm me. My head swirls. I have to control myself. I have to be smart about this. 

I thrust my right hand of destruction at this boy. My fist digs into the arrogant kid, powering through. I shatter through the glittering mess surrounding him.

I have to keep going. I have to stop it. I have to make sure that I continue. So I can see her. I need to apply just enough to stop him without- oh. It’s too late.

Beat’s small body rips apart. Floating despite the lack of life in that boy. His eyes whiten from the golden glow passing over. His face freezes, fading the smug into nothing. His frame drifts in the air, sliding from the arm I used to puncture. His life, no more. 

He looked to be younger than the boy I bloodied my hands with. I cannot truly confirm how long his life passed on this island, but it doesn’t matter either way. It didn’t matter if he was a cult leader murdering other children. It doesn’t make me better. I committed another sin.

It doesn’t matter if the world cheers or repulses. I can’t face anyone like this. I hear the echoes of the courtroom. Their stomping rings in my ears.

I grip my head as I channel everything into the longest yell I can muster. The world echoes my frustration. My sin. My guilt. Everything rings. My head swivels. It breaks, and I can’t keep it. I throw and throw my voice at the world.

I can’t stop. Everything needs to go. Everything, including my throat and the food I had. I curl into the mess I’m in. Surrounded by the blood and destruction. I try to cling to something. Anything. 

I remember what Maya told me. She told me about the therapist who told her to take breaths. I counted as I inhale before exhaling. The cold exits and returns to my body. I keep going. And going. And going. And going. I don’t stop. I can’t stop. I won’t stop.

The world around me doesn’t matter as long as I can get my shit together and find Maya. This was just an obstacle after all. No matter what I tell myself, I’m still overwhelmed with my emotions and can’t stop myself from shutting down.