'So, I did see something green before...I knew it!'

Shortly after the thought, Darren realizes that he is currently in some kind of threatening pose, and as usual, Black is muttering something unhelpful, this time about grammar. 

'Wait, there is just one goblin. I can...I can smell it.... ugh' Shaking her head to clear her mind of those thoughts, she slowly and reluctantly lowers her ankles and resumes a more...'normal' pose. Really, as much as being on all fours is a normal pose.

"Oh yeah, the goblin," Black says, finally seeming to be paying attention to the threat in front of them rather than what said threat had just said, "We should probably do something about that."

The goblin doesn't look to be a threat, and she even called out to them first, but Darren still remembers the recent ass-kicking and utter humiliation she got from them. She can't help but perceive this one as a threat.

Black, perhaps sensing something amiss, turns and looks at Darren and comes to the conclusion that she probably is too riled up to hold a proper conversation with the goblin. Once again, it seems it is up to them to fix things.

"Hey, missey. You might want to just, I don't know, sit down or something. Yer kind kinda didn't leave a good impression on us, and especially her."

Luckily, it seems the goblin takes their advice since she sits down crisscross applesauce style. 

"Oh thank...no wait, don't thank them," Black reminds themselves as the tension in the air seems to die down.

And just like that, an awkward silence set in. Despite what one would think, the best way to describe what is happening is that Darren and Black are akin to that one special guy in Of Mice and Men. In less kind words, but truer, retarded. To be more precise, this is like the scene where that big guy wants to feel a girl's dress since it is soft and, in the process, makes him look like an absolute creep and potential rapist. Only, in this scene, the two big special "guys" are stopping the girl, aka the goblin, from leaving yet have no clue what they are doing, just knowing that they don't want to let the young goblin girl go.

And another difference in this scene is the fact that said girl is also retarded as well, as she is sitting down in a relaxed position despite seeing Darren go into a threatening stance upon seeing her. Even if that stance is gone now, she should have taken off running or at least showed some more fear than she did. Actually, currently there is not even an ounce of fear on her face.

And, also another difference, Black is more like the big guy's friend who shoots him in the head to save him, only now he's also retarded as well as, while he is aware that what is happening is kinda messed up and is weirded out by the goblin girl's lack of fear and Darren's awkward expression, like she has no clue what to do but prevent the girl from leaving, Black themselves is doing nothing and, in fact, is also on the side of preventing the girl from leaving.

Luckily, the not-so-right-in-the-head goblin spoke first, saving the two hopeless idiots from even more awkward moments.

"Are you the Raptor?" She asks, her black eyes gaining stars in them.

"Th-the what now?" Darren asks back, trying to understand just what the girl was talking about. She may not be a bird or dinosaur guy, but she knows that she looks nothing like the two. No wings, feathers, tail, scales, eyes... (actually, she has no clue what her face looks like, so she isn't sure about that) and, more importantly, no big toe claw or talons.

"The Raptor!" Unaware of Darren's plight, the goblin girl says it again, this time with even more excitement and awe. 

"Umm, no," Shaking her head, Darren slowly sits down into a relaxed pose, one Black did not say anything about less Darren realizes that she is sitting like a dog would.

"B-but" Pouting, the goblin leans forward, "you look like one, a-and even the Raspairs description of you is exactly what you look like!" 

"Think she's talking about those elite-looking goblins we fought," Black chimes in before Darren could ask who the Raspairs are.

At this point, something clicks within her mind. 

"Wait a sec... She is talking about me" she said, looking at Black hoping to explain what she just figured out.

"Yeah, no shit, dipshit," Black shook their...head, "What did you think she was talking about? A dinosaur? I thought you were doing a joke before or just refusing to be called by a nickname of your species name."

"I mean, seriously? Pharraptor. It quite literally has raptor in it, and goblins, as we found out a bit ago, are not that dumb. I mean, they are hunters and all too! How da hell did you seriously think they would confuse a dinosaur raptor, or even a bird of prey, for you? Just rea-"

Ignore those two, sweety.

The goblin girl, Fresh, nodded, ignoring the odd voice as she watched the floating black ball fall from the crater the infamous Raptor caused by whacking them into the wall. Then, as the Raptor proceeded to lunge at the ball who, after floating up, somehow "jumped" into the air before proceeding to flee around the room, with the Raptor right behind them yelling some weird words she doesn't recognize, but knew they were probably na'na words.

Ignore that too, sweety. Those two have their own set of problems that they are dealing with. Doesn't help that they are dumber than a bag of bricks either.

"Understood... Say, you talk funny, misses. Why is that?" 

The voice giggled as she responded.

My, aren't you a sweet little thing. I just knew that I was right about ya. As for your question, sweety, I talk like this because that's how the people around me talk.

Fresh pointed at Darren and Black, stifling a giggle as she sees Black avoid one of Darren's swipes and counterattack, aka ramming into her chin which, by the looks of it, didn't do much. Least Black thought it did, since they gave an enthusiastic "Whoop!" as he dodged the blow.

"But they don't talk like that... in fact, I don't understand them very well. They speak a lot of strange words."

Hahaha. Oh no, sweety, those two speak a similar, but different language to the one that you're speaking. As for the other question... people who used to be around me...

The girl nodded once, paused, then looked to her left at where the voice is coming from, "I still don't understand."

That's alright. Let's just say that the people who used to talk like me aren't around anymore.

"Oh. Alright then." and with that, she turns to look back at the "fight".

"Are you going to... break them up?" Fresh asks, now getting a bit concerned. One of Darren's claws nicked against the wall and left a mark, something Fresh has never seen been done before. 

Nah. They're about done. Besides, now is not the moment.

"Moment?"

Why yes. It is not the time to reveal myself. Don't worry, I'm sure it'll be real soon.

"Hmmm," Fresh nods her head once, before noticing the sound of the fight has stopped. 

Darren is currently pinning Black to the floor with one "hand", but that isn't why they stopped. They are, despite Black having no facial features at all, both staring at Fresh with a heavy look of confusion on their faces.

What happened? Well, the two stopped yelling at each other enough to hear the goblin girl talking. Curious, and a bit tired of trying to whack each other, they turned to look only to see her talking to... no one.

"Is she... mentally retarded?" Black whispers, still looking at the goblin girl.

"What the Fu- ... Fudge is wrong with you? She's a kid, dimwit!" Darren hissed back before promptly smacking Black away.

Darren couldn't help but let out a sigh. She allowed her-him-whatever self, to get so scared and worked up over a kid. No matter what he has against those adult goblins, this one is a child. A child for crying out loud, and she actually thought about killing them. 

'Just what kind of bastard of a person did I almost just let myself become?'

Without wasting a second longer, she turned and walked straight up to the goblin girl, ignoring the fact that she did so on all fours since she didn't even think of standing up after she pinned down Black, and ignoring the blush on her cheeks she has from that realization. 

With her face straight and only two feet away from the goblin, she sat down. 

Now, to the goblin girl, she was actually a bit intimidated by this and backed away a bit before she could stop herself. Darren may be small, only two inches taller than the goblin herself, but she has very long arms. Because of this, when she sits down on all fours a bit like a dog would, she was actually near the height of what she would be standing up. In other words, at the moment she towers over the goblin girl.

Her natural stern, looking like she is pissed about something expression, didn't really help either.

Then, Darren offered the girl her hand. 

Fresh took a couple of seconds to respond, and when she did, she looked down at the hand that was being offered to her. It is large and resembles a skeleton hand with red patches that look like little slivers of flesh or blood, and there were only four fingers, one of them being the thumb. The fingers are also long and clearly end in sharp claws that curved in a bit, like hooks. 

She hesitated. She came here to find the Raptor, yes, and while they are intelligent like the guards, she heard most of the rumors from said they are, but at the same time...

She hesitated for a bit longer before she reached out and grabbed the Raptor's hand.

..     ..

"Say, why are we following a random girl without knowing where she's taking us?" Black asked again, though this time their words carried a bit more of an impact to them. 

Why? Well, the goblin led them to an area with a wooden door. Upon discovering it, Darren felt a sudden spike of annoyance. How the Hell did they miss this when they were searching for a way out? They literally have been in this room twice in the past day!

(Please note that both Darren and Black have no way of telling the time in here. They are just being optimistic... or pessimistic... or something... uhhh.... This is the part where ya forget about this)

Then the girl opened the door. Inside, it can best be described as-

"Yeah, no. That room looks darker than Black," Darren took a step back, her eyes scanning up and down to try and look for any sign of a light switch, as absurd as it sounds, inside the pitch-black room. 

After saying that, Black decided to pipe in, once again asking why they were following a random goblin girl. 

Like before, instead of answering, the girl only beckoned them forward before stepping in. 

Of course, Darren didn't miss the line of sweat on the girl's face, nor how she stopped only a couple of inches inside the room.

'Fuck it' She thought to herself before following after the kid. 

The darkness felt cold and alive. She can feel it squirming against her skin and the sensation sends constant shivers down her spine. Next to them, Black is shivering as well, only one can actually see them shivering since their body is so small.

"I'm right behind you, kid," Darren hopes she is being comforting. She never knows how to talk to children. Hell, she's sure those she rescued from that damn household probably only remember her old face and that alone. Her words must have sounded like someone who doesn't know English trying to tell them that they are safe.

Or maybe they remember her for beating up their "father and stepfather" right in front of them. Yeah. that household was all kinds of fucked up. Thinking back on it now, it was seeing that sorry fucking excuse of a father give a mean right hook to his daughter of eight years old that really made him snap for the first time ever. Maybe that's why she is cursed with this feeling of being pissed off all the time, since she let herself go and fall into her rage.

'Even if that's the case,' Darren looks at the girl in front of her, barely making her out in the darkness, 'If I were to see something harm this kid in front of me, I'd probably still fall into the same rage as back then.'

'But this time, if I ever fall into such a rage, I'll probably kill her rather than protect her.'

"Pssst. Darren," Black gently nudges her on her cheek, getting her attention, "You need to stop it with the negativity."

"Wha-?" Darren begins, but Black stops her before she could finish and draw attention to them.

"Your eyes are glowing grey." Black points out, causing Darren to close her mouth and focus back on the kid.

"W-was it always this dark?" Fresh asks, though it sounded more like a question to herself. 

"Didn't you come through this way to get here?" Darren asks in return.

"W-well, yeah b-but... normally we'd have torches or shamans with their light spirits, or mages..." She trails off, sounding a bit... guilty.

"They don't know you came out here, do they?" 

The girl could only let out a whimpering cuu in response.

"A-and I dropped my torch b-because I was t-too excited," Fresh adds, looking down at where her feet would be if she could see them. With how dark it is, she can't even see four inches down despite having night vision.

"Well, that's alright. Mistakes happen," Darren reaches out until she felt Fresh's shoulder, which she gently taps, "As long as nothing bad happens, then it's alright to make as ma-"

"Skrrrt"

"Oh, Fuck No!" Black nearly shouted at the noise. The best way to describe it is some big insect just made a sound. Worse, they can hear the sound of insect legs moving, and by the sound of it, this thing has a lot more than six.

Darren, for once, is glad that her body seems to be undead. Otherwise, she is sure that she would have pissed herself. As it stands, she felt a massive shiver go down her spine. It is one thing to be in a pitch-black room knowing you have to go through it as it's the only way forward... and it's another thing to know that there's some kind of giant monster insect in said room with you, or worse, more than one.

"We're going out, kid!" Darren said grabbing Fresh and turning around to head back through the... door.... way......

"I hate fuckin' fantasy nonsense," Black mutters upon seeing the obvious lack of a doorway. 

"Agreed," Darren seconded, defeat thick in her voice. 

"I'm just gonna..." Darren begins, reaching out towards where the door is, "see if the door's still there at least..."

Was. Reaching to where the door was.

"Ahh, fuck this stupid fantasy dungeon haunted house bullshit."

Another monstrous yet insect-like roar, this time much closer, snaps both Darren and Black out of their 'fuck life' state.

"Shit! What are we gonna do, what are we gonna Do!?" Black starts yelling, which did not drown out the sound of the legs of the thing coming closer and closer towards them.

"Uhhhh... I-I don't know. Ugh, w-why can't Pharrators have night vision!" Of all the "cheats" she has, night vision is not one of them.

"Maybe I can take them!?" She doesn't believe she can beat that thing for even a second. Instead of any kind of anger, she's just feeling pure fear. Pure, icy and freezing, fear.

Well, she does feel some annoyance when she senses the look Black is giving her after her suggestion.

"I-I know what to do!" Fresh calls out, getting both of their attention.

"Y-you do?" Black asks, hope thick in their voice. 

Fresh looks back and forth between where she thinks they are before, after taking in a deep breath, yells out in the most Sencere and sure voice she has ever done,

"WHITE POWER!!"

Despite the fear and looming dread that the two feels, at that moment they both did the same exact thing, which is to make a sound half between a gasp, a "WHAT!?", a snort, and a chuckle. Of course, since Black lacks a mouth, Darren ends up being the only one spitting out a load of saliva and nearly choking.

The next moment, however, surprises the two even more. A brilliant white flash fills the air, finally allowing the three to see-

"My Eyes!"

- ... 'cept not really. Who would have thought that a bright light suddenly appearing in a pitch-black room would have the opposite effect of being helpful when it appears? 

It didn't take long for their eyes to adjust, however. Looking around the somewhat earthy room, aka a room that looks like it's made out of dirt, Black instantly spots what, right now, is their best chance at survival. A mysterious, big gaping hole in the ground.

"Quick! In that definitely not sinister giant hole!" Black shouts, getting Fresh's attention.

She took one look, then nods once and proceeds to jump headfirst down the hole. Her cry of surprise, which kept on going as if she's sliding down some kind of slide, actually fills Black with relief. They're glad that, as of right now, their quick-thinking decision didn't cost an innocent kid their life. They'd feel horrible if it did.

"Darren, come on!" Black snaps, turning around to look at what's taking her so long, "We are Not staying around to see what th-"

They trail off, seeing that she isn't even looking at them. Instead, her eyes are locked on to something in the darkness the light can't breach, her eyes entirely grey, her skin somehow even paler than it has ever been.

Black has a strong feeling they know what she saw, and if it was bad enough to freeze Darren in place out of fear, they are Not waiting for whatever it is to come back. So, thinking fast again, they did the thing they are best at.

Ramming an undead loli in the face really hard.

The hit doesn't even make Darren let out a sound, but it does knock her down into the hole. If the hole was just a bit further away... Black doesn't want to think about it.

Taking one last glance behind them at the darkness and the now rapidly diminishing light, Black joins their two companions down into the hole.

Western42

True Fact: This chapter was re-written three times. Also, I thought of naming it White Power but decided against it... for now