{"sf1_id":849098,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Twisted Reflections: Reflection 1","author":"_Scales_","words":9697,"posted_at":"2015-04-18T17:19:00.000Z","tags":["Action","Anthro","Bat","Panther","Ryuki","Superheroes","Tokusatsu","kamen rider","monster"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/849098-twisted-reflections-reflection-1","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/849098","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=849098\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"Twisted\nReflections\nReflection 1\nThe Knight in Shining\nArmor\n***\nWarmth. \nThat was the first thing the male\nfur felt as he awoke. When his eyes finally opened, he found himself wrapped in\na blanket. As his blurred vision cleared further, he saw the ceiling of what\nappeared to be a cabin. He blinked in confusion; he didn't remember coming\nhere. He didn't remember even going to\na cabin. This was all wrong; he hadn't brought himself here. He tried to think\nback to where he had been prior to this. \nThen a feeling of dread filled his\nbody. \nHe couldn't remember anything. His\npast, who he was, his name, nothing. The closest thing to a memory he had at\nthe moment was the memory of waking up wrapped in blankets and trying to\nremember his past. \nHe calmed himself. Now was not the time to panic. Doing so wouldn't\nhelp anyone, least of all himself. \nCautiously, he lifted his head and\nlooked around. He froze as he spotted another individual in the room. He\nappeared dressed in casual attire. His back was turned to him, so he couldn't\ntell who he was, only that he had black fur. Looking at the long, slender tail,\nhe guessed him to be feline. The stranger's ear twitched at the sound of\nmovement, and he turned to face him. As he did, he felt the urge to set his\nhead back on the pillow and feign unconsciousness. However, the feeling soon\nfaded as he saw the pleasant expression on the confirmed feline's features. \n\"Ah, finally up are we?\" he said to\nhim in a gentle voice, \"I was beginning to worry that you wouldn't wake up. I'm\nglad I was wrong.\" He opened his mouth to speak, but he found difficulty in\nfinding his voice. The stranger simply smiled, kneeling down beside him. \"Do\nyou remember anything that happened?\" Reluctantly, he shook his head in\nresponse. \"Oh dear... Well...I can't say I'm completely surprised...\" \nAt last, he found his voice and spoke\nup. \"...What...happened to me?\" His voice was light yet strong, and it stunned him\nfor a minute. \n\"Well...\" the stranger sighed,\nscratching the back of his head, \"I can't tell you what happened to you,\nprimarily because I don't know. But I can\ntell you how I found you.\" He didn't say anything as he stared up at the\nstranger, who had paused as he thought over how to start. \"My daughter and I\nwere taking a stroll in the woods when we found you.\" The stranger gently\nplaced a paw on his shoulder. \"We found you...unconscious...at the bottom of a\ncliff.\" \nHis heart nearly skipped a beat.\nWhat the hell had happened to him? \n\"It appeared that you had fallen\noff of it,\" the stranger continued, \"but I found it hard to believe considering\nthe only injuries you had on you were a couple of bad bruises.\" The stranger\nchuckled slightly, probably to lighten the mood a bit. \"I suppose those wings\nof yours weren't just for show, huh?\"\nWings?\nHe looked down on himself, slowly\nraising the blanket off of his body with a paw. Once it was off, he was able to\nsee the wings traced along his arms. He flicked his ears slightly, which were\nrather long and large for their size. He was a bat-morph. He added that to the\nbarren list of things he knew about himself. \n\"Well, either way,\" the stranger\nsaid, breaking the bat out of his thoughts, \"you should consider yourself\nlucky. When we found you, you still had pretty much all of your belongings.\"\nWith that thought in mind, the stranger moved off to the side, opening a shelf\nand rummaging through the various objects inside. When he returned, he held\nthree things in his paws. The first thing he handed the bat was his wallet.\n\"Don't worry, I left every bill and penny there, so no need to worry about me\ntaking anything from there.\" He smiled again, still trying to keep a light mood\nbetween them. He gave a weak smile back before turning his gaze to the wallet.\nHe opened it up and quickly found what appeared to be his driver's license. The\nfirst thing he noted was his picture. Yes, he was a bat, and yes, he was a\nmale, both clearly printed on the plastic card. What he was interested most in\nthough was the name printed on it. \nRen Akiyama.\nAnother item to add to his list of\nthings he knew about himself. Yay. He glanced at some of the other info on the\ncard. He was 18, apparently drove a motorcycle, lived in California, and his\nspecific species was a fruit bat. He spotted an address too, but unfortunately,\nmuch like all of the info on the card, it didn't mean much to him. Nothing was\nringing a bell. Despite the amount of info he had recently learned, he still\ncouldn't remember a thing. \n\"I was considering taking you to\nthe address there,\" the stranger spoke up, \"but I decided that we ought 'a care\nfor you until you woke up. Thankfully, you've only been out since yesterday.\"\nThe stranger's head tilted slightly. \"Also, I kind of guessed that you lived\nalone, considering no one's been calling you on this.\" At that, he held up the\nsecond object, a smart phone. He gently handed it to Ren, and he took it in his\npaws as well. \"I would've checked this as well for any info, but the dang\nthing's password protected, so my paws were tied...\" \nWith the screen off, the front\nappeared to be just a mirror. Upon closer inspection though, one could see that\nit was just the screen protector. Ren clicked the big button on the front and\nturned it on, quickly confirming the stranger's words. To make matters worse,\nwell, on top of the fact that he didn't know the password among other things,\nthe only photo displayed on the lock screen was what appeared to be a default\nphoto for the device. No pictures of beloved friends or family to hint more at\nhis background. Ren sighed. Well, it was a step forward. And if anyone ever did call him, he would be sure to\nanswer. It wasn't as though he could take a step backwards. He was sure of it. \nBut then he looked at the last\nobject. \nThe stranger glanced down at it\nbefore handing it to Ren. \"I can't say that this'll help, but it was with you\nwhen we found you, so I figured that you'd want it anyways.\" Ren took it in his\npaws and looked over it. The thing was some sort of plastic...cartridge or\nwhatever. It wasn't any bigger than his phone, and was painted entirely black\naside from the strange insignia at the front of it, which was painted in gold.\nHe shook it slightly, and he heard a slight rattle from within. Turning it\nsideways, he spotted an open slot at the shorter end of it. He reached in with\nhis thumb and slid out a couple of intricately designed cards. At this point,\nthe bat was entirely lost. The cards didn't have any words or numbers or any\nsuch thing, only pictures of weapons, one with the symbol from the cartridge,\nand the last one with a weird, monstrous bat creature. \nOh gods, was he one of those people? \nHe shuddered at the thought. Maybe\nhe was beaten up for having such a childish thing in his possession. Maybe he\nwas beaten up for the thing. He shook\nhis head; he felt even more lost than he already was. The stranger smiled\nwarmly. \n\"Don't worry,\" he assured the bat,\n\"I won't judge. I used to like those kind of things myself. Heck, I still enjoy them from time to time. But\nthe life of a single father doesn't exactly leave much room for spare time.\"\nHis head tilted slightly. \"I'll tell ya though, the things you kids get these\ndays... Makes me wish I had this kind\nof stuff as a kid.\" He sighed with a smile, once again trying to keep the bat's\nmind at ease. \"You know, my daughter's into that kind of stuff as well. She was\nalways more of a tomboy ya know.\" \nRen faked a smile in return to his\nstatement. He already didn't savor the idea of himself being some weirdo, and\nbeing told all of this wasn't exactly brightening his mood. Sighting\ninternally, he slid the cards back into the cartridge. He had more questions he\nwished to be answered, but he at least answered some of the ones he wanted\nanswered the most. \nA soft knock at the door\ninterrupted his thoughts. The stranger looked up towards the door. He smiled\nagain. \"Speaking of my daughter,\" he cupped his paws around his muzzle, \"come\nin sweetie.\" The door opened, and a girl that seemed around the age of 6\nstepped into the room. \n\"Is he up yet, papa?\" the cub asked\nhesitantly, still clinging to the doorknob. The stranger nodded. \n\"Yes he is, come and say hello.\"\nThe girl smiled with glee and rushed over to her father's side. He laughed\nslightly and hooked an arm around her daughter. \"Ren, this is my daughter,\nAngelica.\" The girl smiled and waved at him. \"Angelica, this is Ren.\" \n\"Hi Ren!\" she greeted him, still\nwaving with her paw, \"Papa was really worried when he found you. He nearly\nfainted when he saw you.\" \n\"Angelica,\" he said in a stern\nvoice before lowering it into a whisper, \"he didn't need to know that.\" He\nsmiled slightly as Angelica giggled to herself. Ren smiled as well; no doubt he\nhad intended for him to hear. At the very least, he was being set at ease.\nSure, he woke up not knowing a single thing about himself, but he was thankful\nthat he hadn't woken up in some weird guy's basement. These people seemed to\ngenuinely care for him, and none of them seemed to wish to take advantage of\nhim in any way. These panthers, as Ren realized they were, were genuinely nice\npeople. \nIt felt...in contrast...\nIt almost reminded him of\nsomething...possibly someone...less\ncaring. Less kind. More...bloodthirsty... \n\"Well not that you're up,\" the\nstranger spoke up, snapping Ren out of his thoughts once more, \"how about we\nfetch you something to eat, huh?\" He patted his shoulder again before standing\nup and making for the door, his daughter following close behind. \"Just come out\nwhen you feel you're ready, alright Ren?\" At that, the panther left the room\nand closed the door behind him, leaving him to his thoughts. \nNow he had something to work with. \nHis first memory. Though he hadn't\nactually remembered anyone specific, it was a memory none-the-less. There was\nsomeone out there that he needed to be wary of. Someone dangerous. Someone...he\nhad to stop? Maybe that person was the one that had sent him to the bottom of\nthe cliff. Maybe that person had knocked him unconscious, leaving him with the\nstrong belief that he was dead. The thought gave him a frightening mix of\nrelief and dread. This was definitely a step forward, but now he wasn't sure if\nhe was okay with this step. \nHe shook his head. No, this was\nstill a step forward. It didn't matter if he liked it or not. Now set with that\nresolve, Ren gingerly sat up. A few sore muscles flared up with aches, but he\neventually got himself up to his feet. He looked over himself briefly. He wore\na black vest with several zippers, probably to allow room for his wings. The\nwings themselves reached down to his feet, which were bare at the moment. He\nlooked around the room. It was fairly nice. Nothing fancy, and no computers or\nanything, at least in this room. He walked over to the window nearby and opened\nup the curtains. Wherever he was, it was set up on a hill, overlooking a huge\nexpanse of trees. He turned slightly and saw what appeared to be a small town\nnot too far off in the distance. He looked up at the sky. It seemed to be\naround morning time, with fog hovering over the area, and the sky having yet to\nturn from gray to blue. \nHe turned away from the window and\nwalked over to the door, opening it and stepping through. He walked into what\nappeared to be a makeshift dining room. Seated at the table was Angelica, and\noff to the side preparing breakfast was her father. He glanced over to Ren and\nsmiled at him before getting back to work. \n\"Go ahead and take a seat,\" he said\nto Ren, \"I hope you like pancakes for breakfast, cuz that's what I'm whipping\nup at the moment.\" The bat looked over to the empty seat at the table, which\nwas the only open seat. Ren looked\nback at the stranger in confusion. Despite the fact that he wasn't actually\nlooking at him, the panther could tell that Ren hadn't moved from his spot.\n\"Don't worry about me. I'm alright with standing.\" Ren glanced back and forth\nbetween him and the chair. Anjelica looked to him and patted the seat cheerily.\nReluctantly, the bat went over and sat down beside her. The girl began to\ngiggle to herself and swung her tail behind her. Ren returned his gaze to the\nfather, whom he still had yet to learn his name. \n\"Um...\" Ren began, still a bit unused\nto his voice, \"mister...\" \n\"Oh dear,\" the stranger said with a\nsmile, \"all of this and I haven't shared my name yet.\" Cheerily, he turned to\nthe bat. \"Just call me Arnold, or Mr. Arnold if you prefer to be formal.\" Ren\nnodded, and Arnold turned back to the stove. \"And if you're going to ask about\nthe chairs, as I said, don't worry. We're just not used to having visitors\naround the house, so we never really needed to get any more than we already\nhave.\" He plopped one finished pancake onto the plate next to him and began\ncooking the next one. \"It's not like we're poor or anything like that, but we\nare pretty...limited in funds.\" He looked up from his cooking to look at the\ntable's occupants. \"Heh, if you haven't already noticed, we don't really have\nmuch in terms of technology outside of the essentials. We've got our phones,\nsure, but not smart phones. We've got a computer, but it's mainly for work and\ncan't handle anything beyond that, and the closest entertainment we have\nclosest to a T.V. is the newspaper.\" \nRen looked around. He was right;\nthere really wasn't much here. There was furniture, there were lights, pretty\nmuch all of the essentials to the place were there. That was pretty much it\nthough. No fancy décor, no televisions, and no fancy pottery or anything of the\nsort. \n\"I'm not saying that we need those\nthings though,\" Arnold continued, catching Ren's attention, \"if anything, we've\nbeen fairly content with living without them. Besides, when you live next to\nthe woods, it gets difficult to be completely bored around here.\" He gestured\nbriefly to his daughter. \"Of course, the little one deserves more, so every now\nand then, I take her to town and we have some fun. Movies, plays, you name it.\"\n\n\"I got to see the Power Fighters\nonce,\" Angelica spoke up, smiling at Ren happily, \"and papa says that I can see\nthem again if I'm good.\" \n\"That's right,\" Arnold nodded,\nturning back to work on the pancakes, \"so you better keep those grades up,\nalright?\" \n\"Mmhm,\" Angelica replied, nodding\nher head almost furiously. Ren laughed a little. The cub leaned down from her\nchair and slipped out a newspaper, presumably their newest one. Her eyes\nscanned through the articles before stopping suddenly. She brought the paper\ncloser to her face as she read through it. Once she was done, she shot her head\nback up and lowered the paper to her lap. \"Hey papa!\" she shouted, making the\nolder panther turn, \"Another one happened again.\" \n\"Again?\" he replied with a raised\nbrow before making his way to her side of the table. The girl handed the paper\nto him, and he read through it carefully. \"Huh...that's the third one so far. Ren\ntilted his head slightly, now rather curious as to what it was they were\nreferring to. Arnold's ears perked and he turned to Ren. \"Oh how rude of me.\nYou're probably wondering what it is we're talking about, right?\" Ren nodded,\nand the panther handed him the paper. \"There's been reports of some people just\nsuddenly gone missing,\" Arnold explained as he read the article he had pointed\nout. \"And the strangest part was that those people had been seen by others only\na couple of minutes before. It's a curious little event, really. I hope those\npeople do get found eventually.\" \nRen suddenly felt paws pat at his\nbare shoulder. He turned and saw Angelica making grabby paws at the paper.\nBeing that he was done with it anyway, he gave it back to her and she eagerly\nflipped through the pages. Arnold laughed at this and looked back to Ren. \"Heh,\nI guess we should be glad that whoever's responsible for this didn't get to you huh?\" He nudged him lightly,\nlaughing lightly. Ren faked another smile in response. Something about this\nstory was...unsettling. More unsettling than he would have liked. And not because\nof the fact that people were disappearing. \nBecause of the fact that it was\nfamiliar to him. \nYet another feeling of recognition,\nand yet again, the feeling was anything but comforting. Why was it that he was\nonly remembering things that did nothing but make him dread? Who the hell was\nhe? \n\"Papa?\" Angelica spoke up, \"Why do\nI smell smoke?\" \n\"Hm?\" Arnold's head tilted. He took\na sniff at the air before abruptly spinning around. \"Oh the pancakes!\" \n***\n\"Going to to-own, go-ing to town,\" Angelica sang as Arnold drove the\nthree of them...well, to town. Despite Ren having a motorcycle license, it seemed\nthat he lacked the motorcycle itself. Arnold hadn't found one nearby at the\ntime, and Ren hadn't had any keys on him when he had found him. \n\"Hey Ren,\" Arnold spoke up, looking\nat the bat through the mirror, \"just so you know, you're free to stay with the\ntwo of us while you get yourself back on your feet. I know that not remembering\nanything must be scary for you right now, and you're probably gonna need the\nsupport. If not, I'm perfectly alright with taking you back to your home.\" \nRen nodded. \"Thank you Mr. Arnold,\nI'll be sure to keep your offer in mind.\" Arnold smiled and nodded back, eyes\nfacing the road again. \n\"Papa?\" said Angelica, pausing in\nher song, \"can we go to the fun house today?\" \n\"Of course,\" her father replied, \"but\nwe've gotta pick up some groceries afterwards, okay.\" \n\"Awww,\" she grumbled back, \"okay...\" The\nolder panther chuckled.\n\"Tell ya what,\" he said to her, \"I'll\nget you some candy when we do, alright?\" \n\"Candy, yay!\" she replied,\ninstantly cheering up. The two males in the truck laughed, with the feline\nlaughing louder. The rest of the ride was relatively quiet, aside from Angelica's\nsong. Within a couple of minutes, they were parked and were unbuckling their seatbelts. The small cub looked up at her\nfather excitedly. \"Can I go in now, Papa? Can I can I can I can I can I?\"\n\"Go on ahead, sweetie,\" he finally\nreplied, \"Ren and I will catch up with you eventually.\" With a squeal of glee,\nthe girl rushed into the building with a giant sign at the front reading \"Biggin's\nPlayhouse.\" Arnold turned to Ren with a smile. \"Kids, huh? So full of energy\nnow a days.\" Gesturing with his head, the panther lead them both inside the\nlarge building. Once the doors opened, the bat's sensitive ears were bombarded\nwith the sounds of squealing children. He stepped back a bit as he was\ntemporarily stunned. Arnold glanced at him and smiled at him, his own ears\nflattening against his head. \"Yeah, sorry about that. Living in a quiet\nhousehold like ours kinda makes you sensitive to loud sounds.\" Ren held back\nthe urge to glare at the older male, instead deciding to try and find the\nquietest place to sit down. But before he could, a small paw took hold of his\nwrist. A quick look and he found it to be Angelica's. \n\"Come on Ren!\" she giggled\nexcitedly, \"Let's go to the mirror room!\" Before he could protest, the girl\ntugged him along with surprising strength for her age. As he was pulled away,\nRen looked to Arnold for some kind of support. But the older panther merely\nsmiled and waved as he disappeared from view. A couple of seconds later, Ren\nfound himself in a dark hallway with lights shining on the oddly shaped mirrors\nlining the walls. Angelica looked up at the bat with a smile. \"C'mon,\" she\nsaid, \"let's keep going.\" She tugged him along again, and he merely followed\nalong. The good thing was that the place was marginally quieter than the other\nrooms, so he wouldn't have to worry about going deaf for a good while. He\nlooked around; the place wasn't exactly empty, but there were less kids running\naround here. The few that were walking around here were mostly staring at the\nmirrors in front of them, making funny faces and moving around as the distorted\nreflections entertained them for the time being. He suddenly felt another tug\nat his wrist. \"Hurry,\" Angelica said excitedly, \"I wanna show you something!\" \nNot really bothering to resist this\ntime, Ren followed the cub until they reached an open doorway. At the top it\nread \"Mirror maze.\" Once they stepped through, he was stunned to see a huge\nroom filled with mirrors, each of which were placed immediately next to the\nother, creating an illusion of multiple pathways and walls. It took a moment\nfor him to recover. He suddenly felt a tap at his hip, and one again found\nAngelica responsible. \n\"Race you to the end!\" she shouted\nbefore dashing off. Before he could so much as speak up, she was gone and he\nwas left with a few other kids who were looking around the room in fascination.\nHe took in a breath and let it out slowly. There was no point in getting mad. He\nmight as well enjoy this trip while he was here. Tucking his wings in so that\nno one, including himself, would trip over them, he began to walk down the\nhalls. It was a bit disorienting at first, having to try and differentiate what\nwas a mirror and what was a passage, but he steadily made his way through. He\nbriefly wondered how Angelica had been able to find her way through so quickly,\nbut then he realized that she had probably gone through here multiple times. \nUsing the floor to guide him, he\nprogressed through the maze at an even pace. His mild fear of getting lost soon\ndisappeared after realizing that it was a maze built specifically for kids. He\neventually came across a large open room, much like the one he had come across\nwhen first entering the maze. There were a few more kids crowded around here,\nnone of which were Angelica. Deciding to take his time, he looked around and\ntook in the place. It was definitely stunning, with the mirrors giving off the illusion\nof the place being much larger than it actually was. He couldn't help but admit\nthat it was pretty cool. With a bit of a smirk, he glanced around a bit more,\nspying himself amongst the crowd, along with several of the kids, and a--\nHe froze.No...it couldn't be. It had to be an illusion\nof the mirrors. The bat rubbed his eyes to make sure. And to his dismay, it was\nstill there. Standing hidden amongst the crowd appeared to be some bizarre,\narmored...thing. It was hard to tell what it was, as it was distorted by the\nshape of some of the mirrors. Ren looked around and tried to find the beast,\nbut all he saw was more kids hopping around, some accompanied by their parents.\nThat couldn't be right. He whipped his head back to try and look at the\nreflection again...only to find nothing. Ren wasn't sure what to do. Run? Hide?\nCall for help? None of those options seemed right to him. Who would believe\nwhat he had seen anyways? But he needed to do something. He hadn't just seen\nthat thing...right? He frantically reached into his pockets, trying to figure\nsomething out. He went through everything he had, his wallet, his phone, his...His paw touched the cartridge.\nLooking back, he wasn't exactly sure why he had brought it in the first place. He\nsupposed that if it belonged to him, he might as well have kept it. But as he\nheld it now, he felt a feeling that he hadn't experienced since waking up in\nArnold's home. The feeling of comfort. The feeling of safety. It was strange,\nreally. Even then, when it had been handed to him, he had felt calmer. But at\nthe time, there was just a bit too much going on for him to notice. He didn't\nunderstand why. Maybe it had to do with what he was. Who he was. But who was he?\nAnd what the hell had he seen? Was he some sort of psychopath? Was he imagining\nthings? Clearly no one else had seen it. He shook his head; far too many\nquestions were filling his head, and he couldn't come up with an answer to any\nof them. For now, he'd keep this to himself. No point in sharing what hadn't\nreally done anything. But even as he progressed through the maze, he held on to\nthat cartridge, and nothing else. ***\"There you are!\" Arnold greeted Ren\nas he exited the maze, \"Got lost at all?\" Angelica giggled, hopping around\nbeside her father. Ren only shrugged and left it at\nthat. \"Well, don't feel too bad. Angelica's gone through this course more times\nthan I can remember. I don't doubt that she'd be able to run through it blind\nif she had to.\" He patted his daughter's head. \"Anyways, we'll be staying here\nfor about an hour, so go ahead and keep looking around if you want.\" For a\nsplit second, Ren considered going back to the maze. He quickly pushed the\nthought out of his head and went to sit down. Arnold shrugged and told his daughter\nto keep playing. But before she could run off, the sound of a worried voice\ncaught the attention of the occupants of the room.\n\"Has anyone seen my son?!\" a\nworried collie mother asked, \"He hasn't come out of the maze for almost half an\nhour!\" Ren's heart skipped a beat. Panicked, he scanned the crowd, hoping that\nat least one person would answer. But, to his dismay, as well as the mother's\nno one did. They all looked amongst one another, exchanging worried glances and\nasking the other if they had seen the boy. Distressed, the mother rushed over\nto one of the employees. With a nod, she was led into the maze. Ren stood up,\nalmost starting for the door himself. But instead of going, he stood frozen in\nplace. Arnold noticed this and looked to him.\n\"What's wrong Ren?\" he asked the\nbat, \"Do you think you saw him?\" Ren didn't respond for a moment, mostly\nbecause he felt that he had just lost his voice. \n\"I...I don't think so,\" he replied\nwith a shake of his head, sitting back down, \"I...must've been thinking of\nsomeone else...\" \n\"Oh...I see...\" said Arnold. The older\npanther sighed. \"I do hope that she finds her son. I'd hate to know that my own\nchild might have been added to the number of missing people around here...\"\nAngelica looked up at her father, clasping his paw tightly. Arnold rubbed his\ndaughter's shoulder with the other paw and looked down to her. \n\"Papa...\" she said, \"...I don't feel\nlike playing anymore...\" \n\"You sure?\" he replied in a soft\ntone, \"Not even for a few more minutes?\" Angelica shook her head. \"Alright\nsweetie, we'll get going then.\" He then looked over to Ren and nodded to him\nbefore motioning to the door. Ren immediately stood up, all too eager to leave\nafter what he had seen. Within moments, they were out the door\nand getting into the truck. As everyone buckled up, Arnold watched Ren in\nconcern. \"Hey Ren,\" he spoke up, \"are you alright? You look like you've seen a\nghost.\"\nFuck's sake.\n\"Sorry,\" he apologized, \"I'm just...thinking...\"\nArnold frowned a bit at this, but dismissed it with a shrug. The ride to the\nstore was a quiet one, but thankfully a short one as well. The place hadn't\nbeen far, but it was definitely farther than anyone in the group would have\nliked to walk. And soon enough, the group was walking down the aisles of the\ngrocery store. Whilst Arnold went off to pick up some things, Ren stayed with\nAngelica as she browsed the candy aisle. All the while, Ren thought long and\nhard about what he thought he had\nseen. \n\"Hey Ren,\" Angelica spoke up\nsuddenly, \"what's your favorite candy?\" It took a bit of time before Ren even\nbothered to think of his response. \n\"I...don't think I remember,\" he\nfinally answered, earning a frown from the cub. \n\"Right...I forgot. Sorry,\" she apologized\nsheepishly. Ren only shrugged and looked at the arrangement of sweets. \n\"But...if I had to pick...\" his eyes\nscanned the assortment, \"...I...I think I would pick...jelly beans?\" Sounded about\nright.\nAngelica giggled. \"I like those\ntoo,\" she said before looking back to the candy. She looked through them\ncarefully before picking out a chocolate bar as well as a bag of jelly beans.\nShe held it up to her face. \"You can have some too.\" Ren smiled lightly and\nthanked her with a silent bow. The little girl giggled incessantly before\nhurrying off to find her father. Ren took his time in following and eventually\ncame across the both of them waiting in line for checkout. Once he came into\nview, Arnold smiled at him.\n\"You don't need anything, do you?\"\nhe asked the bat, \"I'm fine with waiting if you need to grab a few things for\nyourself.\" Ren shook his head and Arnold shrugged. \"If you say so.\"  As soon as they had checked out their items,\nAngelica was already halfway done with devouring her chocolate bar. After they\nhad set their bags in the truck, Arnold looked to Ren. \"Hey,\" he said to him, \"what do ya\nsay we...walk around for a bit? Just for like...ten minutes, ya know? I didn't get\nanything that needs refrigerating, so I don't really have to worry about that.\"\nRen thought about it for a moment; he still wanted to get that...sight out of his\nhead, but staying at a home he wasn't entirely familiar with probably wouldn't help\nhis case.\n\"That's fine,\" he finally answered.\n\nArnold smiled and turned to his daughter.\n\"What about you, honey?\" \n\"Okay,\" she replied with a stuffed\nmouth, \"but den I wanna gow to da touy shap.\" Arnold couldn't help but laugh\nand patted her shoulder. \n\"If you swallow before you speak\nthen maybe,\" he replied with amusement. Angelica followed his instructions and\nsmiled, revealing her chocolate stained teeth. Once again, Arnold began to\nlaugh. Even Ren couldn't help but smirk. \n\"Okay, okay,\" Arnold continued, \"come\non then, let's go.\" \n\"Yaaaaay!\" the cub cheered in glee\nbefore rushing off. \n\"Don't run too far off!\" the older\npanther shouted out. \n\"Okay!\" Angelica shouted from afar,\nrunning in circles in a far too energetic manner. Arnold sighed. \n\"Should've held on to that\nchocolate bar until we got back home, huh?\" he said with a smile to Ren before\ngesturing with his head, \"Come on then, can't let her run off on her own.\" After\nlocking the truck up, the both of them walked off and eventually caught up to\nthe sugar crazed cub, only for her to rush off again. \"Well,\" Arnold said with\na chuckle, \"I guess now's a good time to talk one on one, seeing as the little\none's intent on rushing off.\" Ren shrugged. \"Hmm, not one for words, huh?\"\nAgain, Ren shrugged. \n\"I probably used to,\" he replied, \"but...who\nknows...\" \n\"Come on, don't be like that,\" Arnold\npatted the bat on the back, \"Your memories will return to you eventually.\" \n\"I guess...\" Ren looked down, and\nArnold frowned. \n\"Man, you've been feeling down,\nhaven't you?\" Ren only nodded. \"Well, can't exactly blame you. I'm sure this\nhas been hard on you.\" \nMore\nthan you realize, Ren thought to himself. With some memory of someone\ndangerous on top of what he hoped to be a hallucination, he felt far too\nvulnerable everywhere he went. \n\"Well like I said,\" Arnold\ncontinued, \"you're welcome to stay with us for as long as you need to.\" Ren\nbowed slightly in silent appreciation, continuing to look down at his feet. He\nstuffed his paws into his pockets, idly fiddling with the plastic cartridge in\nhis pocket. Suddenly, he felt a paw on his shoulder. He looked up and saw that\nit was Arnold's. \"I'm serious Ren. You don't need to worry about overstaying\nyour welcome.\" Ren blinked in surprise; that had come out of nowhere. Arnold\nlaughed nervously. \"Sorry if that was a bit sudden. I just couldn't help myself...\"\nHe let go of his shoulder. \"Your face just now...it reminded me of how my\ndaughter was when my wife left us...\" Ren bit his lip; that had...sure explained\nthings. Arnold turned away from him and faced forward, watching Angelica hop\naround. \"You see...after she left...the two of us learned a thing or two about sticking\ntogether. We helped each other get through the hard times that came along,\nthough sometimes I think she helped me far more than I helped her.\" He returned\nhis gaze to the bat. \"We may not know exactly what it's like to be you right\nnow, but we're definitely familiar with what it feels like to be alone. And\nneither of us want you to feel that way. That's why I want you to know that you're\nnot alone.\" \nRen couldn't help but smile. He\ncouldn't tell if it was because he was holding on to the cartridge, or if it\nwas because of the panther's reassuring and kind voice, but he could definitely\nfeel all of the tensions from today gradually fade away. \"Thank you Mr. Arnold,\"\nRen replied, \"it...does make me feel better knowing that you've got my back.\"\nArnold smiled back at him.\n\"No problem Ren,\" he said with a\nlight nudge to his shoulder, \"Now come on, no need to feel mopey anymore. Let's\njust enjoy our time out today.\" The two males faced forward again, seeing\nAngelica jump around impatiently. Ren looked around a bit. The place was a bit\nodd. The walls were reflective to the point of being mirrors, and the same held\ntrue for the pillars in the middle of the area. He wondered what purpose the\nplace would hold before realizing that they were walking by some artistic\nsculptures. \"The stuff people call art now-a-days, huh?\" Arnold said in\namusement, \"I could never understand those kind of artists.\" Ren nodded in\nagreement, smiling and looking more intently at the sculptures. But one he did,\nthe smile he once wore was wiped off of his face as he caught site of what he\nhad hoped he would never see again. \nThe monster. He frantically glanced around, but\nno similar being walked in front of them. It was only in the reflection, and it\nwas rushing towards Angelica. Without even thinking, Ren broke into a run in an\nattempt to beat the thing to her. But it was far faster than him and soon began\nto close in on the helpless girl. \"Ren?!\" said Arnold, \"What's\nwrong?!\" \"ANGELICA! RUN!\" he shouted at her\ndesperately, waving his arms to get her attention. \"Huh?\" she said, pausing and\nturning to him, \"Wha'cha mean ru--AAAAAA!\" Closing the space between them, the\nmonster suddenly burst out from one of the pillars and pounced on the cub,\ntaking hold of her with its long, sharp claws. Ren slid to a stop, horrified at\nwhat he was seeing. \"Angelica!\" Arnold cried out in\nhorror, running after Ren and catching up to him, \"What in the blazes is that\nthing?!\" Ren wasn't too sure himself. When\nhe had first seen it, its image had been too distorted and misshaped to tell\nwhat it was for sure. But now that it was out in the open, he was able to get a\nbetter look. The thing was covered in a hard armor-like shell. It was a bizarre\ncreature, very vaguely resembling a bipedal cheetah, but with far longer claws\nand long, saber-like teeth. It snarled and glared at the two males with glowing\nred eyes. As Angelica screamed and struggled, it tightened its grip on her,\nprompting cries of pain from her. \"LET GO OF HER!\" Arnold roared out\nbefore charging at the beast, Ren unable to react quick enough to try and stop\nhim. The monster snarled threateningly, but Arnold didn't yield. He tackled it,\nbut it barely budged an inch. He threw a right hook to its face, but as his\nfist connected, the only one to feel any pain was Arnold himself. Irritated by\nhis invasion, the beast batted Arnold away with a free claw, sending Arnold\nflying backwards. He hit the ground hard several feet away, right back next to\nRen. Arnold groaned but immediately scrambled to his feet, absolutely refusing\nto surrender his daughter to some...thing. \"PAPA!\" Angelica screamed out,\ntears streaming down her cheeks. \"I'M COMING ANGELICA!\" Arnold\nshouted back. Again, he charged forward, and again, the same result. All the\nwhile, Ren stood there frozen. His mind was reeling, he wasn't sure of what to\ndo. His body wouldn't respond, his feet wouldn't move. Could he even do\nsomething against something like that? What would the Ren with his memories do\nif he were in this situation? Fight. The word echoed in his head. Fight?\nAs he was now? How could he? But he still felt he had to. But he needed something,\nanything. Slowly, his paw slid down into his pocket and slipped out the plastic\ncartridge. He raised it up to his face. Yes, the feeling of comfort was\nreturning to him, but as he held it in his paw, he began to feel something\nelse. The urge to fight. The need to fight. The power to fight. He closed his eyes. It was coming back to him. All\nof his memories were returning to him, all flooding into his head at once. The\nsheer amount of them confused him at first, two things remained prominent, and\nhe remembered them as easily as one remembered to breathe. An action, and a\nsingle word.\"Grk!\" Arnold cried out as he hit\nthe ground one more time, struggling to rise back. As he stood back up, he\npaused at the sight of Ren slowly walking forward, his plastic cartridge held\nin paw. Arnold watched him in confusion. He appeared so determined, so sure of\nhimself. But what was he doing? Once he reached one of the reflective pillars,\nhe stopped. Holding it in his left, insignia out in front, he thrust it out in\nfront of him and towards the mirrored surface. A light flashed from his\nreflection, and a strange silver belt suddenly wrapped itself around the bat's\nwaist. That was the action. Now there was only one thing left to do. Slowly, he\nwalked forward, crossed his right arm in front of him, and uttered that one\nword. \"HENSHIN!\" At that, he swung his\narm back and slotted the cartridge into the front of his belt. It responded and\nemitted a loud ring. A bright light shined out, blinding the beast as well as\nthe two panthers. When it finally faded, the figure that remained left them in\nshock and amazement. Standing there was Ren, but not in the way that they had\ngotten to know him. This one wore a sleek, rubber-like under suit beneath his\nnew armor which covered his shins, arms and torso. His wings were completely\ngone, leaving his body completely bare of anything that remotely resembled\nanything animalistic. Even the long ears he once had were gone, his entire head\nencased by a sturdy looking helmet. The visor at the front of it matched up\nwith the insignia of his cartridge, which was still slotted in place at the\nfront of his belt. His visor was slitted vertically, giving off a knight like\nappearance. Hilted at his left was a long, slender rapier, with a hilt design\ntaking on the appearance of a bat. The way his new armor shined in the sunlight\nalmost made him appear as if he were glowing. A knight in shining armor. Suddenly, Ren shot forward and\nclosed the space between him and the monster. Before it could react, Ren\npunched it straight in the face, stunning it with enough force to cause it to\nloosen its grip on Angelica. He immediately took that opportunity to shove it\nback and slip the cub out of its grasp before backing up, keeping his arms\naround her in a protective manner. The beast hit the ground, making it growl\nout in fury and jerk about on the ground. Whilst it was scrambling to get back\nup, Ren knelt down to Angelica's level and placed his hands on her shoulders. \"Are you alright?\" he asked her,\nlooking her in the eyes through his visor. Still in shock, she could barely\nmanage a nod before she was finally able to respond. \"Y-yes...I'm okay.\" \"Good,\" Ren replied before standing\nback up and gently pushing her towards her father, \"Now go! Get somewhere safe!\"\nAngelica only continued to stare at Ren's armored form before she suddenly felt\nthe strong arms of her father scoop her up. \"Thank you Ren,\" the older panther\nsaid with gratitude, \"but...what are you going to do?\" Ren turned towards the\nbeast, which was now back on its feet. \"I'm going to finish what I\nstarted,\" Ren replied before drawing his rapier and charging forward. \"HaaaaAAAAAAA!!!!!!\"\nWith a battle cry, he lunged at the beast, striking it in the chest and sending\nit careening backwards. Ren ran after it as it hit the ground, making sure that\nit never left arm's reach. Before it could stand back up, Ren hoisted it up. As\nit struggled to free itself from his grasp, he ran towards the reflective\npillar. Just as they were about to collide with it, a bright light flashed out,\nand the both of them vanished from sight. Confused, Arnold looked closer and\nwas surprised to see the two of them still there, only as a reflection. It was\nalmost as though the mirrors...were a window. On the other side of the mirror,\nRen and the monster fought viciously. Claws met armor, and blade met shell.\nNone of them were holding back, and none of them would. \"Ha!\" Ren cried out\nwith an upwards swing, knocking the cheetah beast high in the air. As it fell,\na blue blur shot by and struck the beast again and again, sending sparks flying\neverywhere. It was only when the monster hit the ground again did the blur\nfinally stop. Circling around and flapping at Ren's\nside was a strange, monstrous feral bat, far larger than any feral bat could ever\nbe and far more armored than one would. Ren smirked under his helmet. It was\nthe bat on one of his cards. \"Sorry for being absent, professor,\" Ren said to\nthe bat, which only continued to eye the other monster, \"You're probably hungry\nafter all of that waiting.\" It screeched in response and shot forward, striking\nthe cheetah again as it tried to rise. As it kept the beast occupied, Ren\nsheathed his sword and slipped a card out from his belt. He checked it before\nopening up the hilt of his blade, causing the bat on it to open up its wings\nand reveal a hidden compartment, sized perfectly for the card that he slotted\nin. He closed it up, and it responded. « SWORD VENT »The giant bat wheeled around again,\nswooping towards Ren before dropping something off, a large lance that he\nimmediately grabbed out of the air. With the large weapon now in hand, Ren\ncharged at the beast and lunged at it again, striking it in the shoulder and\nmaking it cry out in pain. Ren continued his assault, spinning around and\nswinging at it with the side of his lance. The attack connected, and the\ncheetah was once again sent flying into the air. It stood back up and began to\nback off, clearly this wasn't a winning battle. It would have to find prey\nelsewhere. With that in mind, it turned tail and ran in the other direction,\ndashing off at blinding speeds. Sighing, Ren turned to the giant bat and\ngestured towards where it had run off. Without even having to utter a word, the\nbat shot off and trailed the beast. Ren tossed the lance aside and folded his\narms. Any minute now, is ride would catch up to them and...The sound of a powerful engine cut\noff his thoughts. He turned to see a large pod-like motorcycle swerve to a stop\njust in front of him. The cockpit at the front opened up, and the seat raised\nand allowed him access. Nodding to himself, Ren boarded the vehicle and\nstrapped in. Once he was properly seated, the pod began to close up and the seat\nlowered back into the cycle.  Once it was back down, he wasted no time in\ntaking hold of the controls and shooting off at top speed after the monster,\nusing the giant bat as a guide. It was mere moments before he caught up to the\nmonster. Seeing that Ren had caught up, the bat swept down and struck the\ncheetah until it slowed enough for him to ram into it. It slammed into a nearby\nwall as Ren screeched to a stop. He clicked on one of the buttons on his\ncontrols and the pod popped open. He quickly stepped out of his vehicle and drew\nout his rapier. The monster snarled as it got back up to its feet. Then its\nbody began to twitch randomly before tensing up. A moment passed, and two other\ncreatures similar to it ripped themselves out of its body. Ren tilted his head\nslightly.\n\"Neat trick,\" he said in amusement,\nslipping a card out of his belt and opening up his blade's hilt, \"but I can do\nthat too.\" He closed up the compartment, and it responded. \n« TRICK VENT »\nHe felt a slight tingle wash over\nhis body as two of his own doubles stepped out of his body. The doubles charged\nand rushed the monster's copies. As they fought, one of Ren's doubles was\nstruck down and faded away. However, this didn't concern him in the slightest,\nas two more came out of his body to take its place. Ren simply stood there and\nwatched as his doubles combatted with the monster's copies. It took two of his\nown to strike down the monster's one, however it too merely summoned more to\ntake its place. Ren clenched his fist; he knew that he had a limit to eight\ndoubles, but he didn't know if the monster had a limit as well. He decided not\nto take the chance and slipped another card out of his belt. He opened up his sword's\nhilt and slipped the card inside. He slammed it closed, and it responded. \n« NASTY VENT »\nSuddenly, Ren's monstrous bat shot\nforward and opened its maw. It stopped just in front of the horde of battling\ncopies and let out a loud, high pitched screech. The sonic attack was strong\nenough to shatter all of the copies and reduce them all to dust. The real\nmonster snarled in anger and confusion, swiping at the air and backing away\nslowly. Just as it turned to run again, Ren loaded in another card. \n« ADVENT »\nThe bat moved in again, moving at\nincredible speeds and striking the cheetah long enough to subdue it and keep it\nin place. This gave him enough time to slip another card out of his belt, his\nlast one. Once again, he opened up the hilt of his blade and loaded it in. \n« FINAL VENT »\nRen's giant bat swept away from the\ncheetah for a moment, allowing it to collapse to the ground weakly. As it did,\nRen's lance shot out from the sky and landed next to him. He grabbed it up and\ncharged. As he neared the beast, his bat wheeled around and latched on to his\nshoulders, its wings flowing behind him almost like a cape. Just as he was\nabout to reach it, the bat's wings flapped once and lifted him off of the\nground. He flew upwards in an arc, stopping in a half circle before he shot\ndownwards, aiming his spear down at the beast as his bat's wings whirled around\nhim in a cone like cocoon. \"HAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!\" Ren drilled right through the\nbeast, causing it to shatter into pieces before erupting into a neon green\ncloud of smoke. The smoke eventually cleared to reveal Ren standing there, his spear\nstill stabbed into the ground. He stepped off of his lance and his bat detached\nitself from his back. He slung his lance over his shoulder and let out a\nsatisfied sigh. Suddenly, a bright orb of light rose out of the remains of the\nbeast and began to float up into the air. He glanced over to his bat. \n\"Well?\" he said to it, \"eat up\nprofessor. Before someone else takes it.\" It didn't need any more instruction.\nIt swept forward and snatched the orb out of the air before stuffing it into\nits maw. Ren nodded to himself. \"There ya go...\" Trailing off, he glanced down at\nhis hand. Looking closely, he could see tiny particles begin to drift off of\nhim. He clicked his tongue. \"Looks like I've overstayed my welcome...\" He quickly sheathed his rapier and\nrushed to his bike. He hopped in and shot off, driving back to where he had\noriginally entered the strange, empty realm.\n***\n\"Papa?\" Angelica spoke up, still\nheld in her father's arms, \"Do you think Ren's gonna be okay?\" Arnold looked at\nher daughter, meeting her worried eyes. The cub had finally stopped trembling,\nbut the feeling of fear still hadn't left her. Arnold squeezed her shoulder\ngently, trying to comfort his daughter. \n\"I'm...sure he'll be alright,\" he\nreplied, unsure whether he even believed himself or not, \"You saw what he could\ndo, didn't you?\" Angelica nodded and turned back towards one of the pillars.\nArnold looked back as well, eyes darting from reflective surface to reflective\nsurface. A small crowd had come by earlier to find out what all the noise had\nbeen about, but after finding nothing of concern, the crowd dispersed and went\nabout their day. He understood why they had left, but he couldn't understand\nwhy he himself hadn't left with his\ndaughter. Maybe because he didn't like the idea of not knowing where the\nmonster had gone. Maybe because it was difficult to feel safe knowing such a\ncreature like that could exist. \nMaybe because he still cared for\nRen. \nSure, he was surprised at seeing\nhim transform and vanish into the reflection, almost frightened by it. However,\nit was still Ren, and he had rescued Angelica from that...thing. Just as Ren had\ntrusted Arnold, he had to trust Ren. Suddenly, he caught sight of something\nreflected off of the pillar. Immediately, he recognized the man in the strange\nsuit. His reflection came closer and closer until he practically stepped out of\nthe sculpture. Angelica smiled with glee and rushed off to meet him, followed\nclosely by her father. As they approached, Ren removed the cartridge from his\nbelt, causing his armor to fade and his body to return to normal.\n\"That was so cool Ren!\" Angelica said as she hugged him, \"How did you do that?!\" Ren smiled, hugging her back\nlightly. \"Can you do it again? Please,\nplease, please, please, please?\" He\nlooked up and met the watery eyes of Arnold.\n\"Ren...\" he began after a moment,\n\"you have no idea how grateful I am. I'll never be able to thank you enough for\nsaving my daughter.\" Ren smiled at him and nodded. \"But...please tell us...just\nwhat was that thing?\" Ren let out a\nsmall sigh. \n\"A mirror monster,\" he answered, \"They're\nmonsters that live within reflections, or what I call the mirror world.\" \n\"The...mirror world?\" Arnold said\nslowly, taking the info in. Again, Ren nodded. \n\"They can't be seen by the naked\neye. They're invisible to others unless they come into contact with something\nfrom that world. In most cases, that would be when the monster reaches them,\nwhen it's too late.\" \n\"But...that thing never touched me,\nat least I think,\" Arnold replied, scratching his head, \"How come I was able to\nsee it when it came out?\" Ren held up his cartridge. \n\"Because you touched this,\" he told\nthe panther, \"I guess you didn't notice it initially, but you were definitely\nable to see them once you picked it up.\" Arnold put a paw to his chin\nthoughtfully. \n\"How long have these things been\nrunning around? And how many are there?\"\n\"From what I've seen,\" Ren began,\n\"there doesn't seem to be many. Probably because they preyed on each other to\nsurvive up until they started coming out. But as for how long they've been\naround, I can't say for sure, but there's a possibility that they've been\naround for just as long as we have.\" Arnold's maw fell open in shock. \n\"So...what are we supposed to do to\ndefend ourselves against them?!\" he exclaimed, \"And why hasn't anyone else been\ntold of this?!\" \n\"Because there's no need to make\npeople worry about something that can't be helped,\" Ren answered, \"If the\npublic knew about this, then there would be mass panic. It's best if they just\nleave it to us to deal with them.\" \n\"Us?\" Arnold said in confusion, \"So...there\nare more like you then?\" Ren nodded. \n\"You shouldn't have to worry about\nany more of them attacking here,\" he continued, \"It was the only one I found.\nAt least before you found me the way I was.\" \n\"Well...that's good to hear I guess,\"\nArnold's eyes suddenly widened, \"Wait, so do you remember why you were there\nthen?!\" Again, Ren nodded.\n\"I do. And that's why I need to go.\"\n\nAngelica gasped and looked up,\ngiving him a sad look. \"You're...leaving?\" \n\"I'm afraid so,\" he answered,\nsqueezing her shoulder gently, \"There's someone out there that I need to put a\nstop to. If I don't, a lot of people are gonna get hurt.\" \n\"Do you need a ride then?\" Arnold\nasked, \"I can still drive you if you need.\" Ren shook his head. \n\"You've already done enough.\nBesides, I don't want to endanger you anymore than you've been already.\" \n\"But will we see you again?\"\nAngelica asked worriedly, tugging at his shirt. The bat sighed. \n\"I...can't say for sure...\" The cub's\nears began to lower. \"But...that doesn't mean I won't try to.\" At that, her eyes\nlighted up, and she smiled broadly. She held on to him for a few more moments,\nbut eventually let him go. He stepped back a few steps and bowed politely to\nthe two again. \n\"Ren,\" said Arnold, \"please...be\ncareful. Alright?\" \n\"I will,\" Ren replied, \"Don't\nworry.\" At that, he turned and walked the other way, slipping his paws into his\npockets. \n\"Wait!\" Angelica suddenly shouted\nout, running after him. Ren turned back and the cub stopped in front of him. She\nreached into her pockets and pulled out the bag of jelly beans before holding\nit out to him. \"Take these with you. You like them, right?\" Ren couldn't hold\nback his smile. With a nod of thanks, he took the bag from her paws and\npocketed it. Angelica giggled as she ran back to her father and jumped into her\narms. The two panthers smiled to him and waved, and he waved back. With that\ndone, he turned away one final time and walked away. \n***\nRen tossed the bag of jelly beans\nup in the air lightly before catching it. He did this again and again as he\nwalked down the road. A smile was still spread across his muzzle. He tossed it\nup one more time before catching it and opening it up. He picked out a bean and\ntossed it in his mouth. He chewed it lightly. Figures; he actually hated jelly\nbeans. But today, he didn't hate them as much. His thoughts were interrupted as\nhis phone began to ring. He fished it out of his pockets and checked the caller\nID, reading Abyss. He smirked and answered. \"Hello? ...Yeah it's me... Yeah I'm alright. No need to\nworry about me hun... The monster? Took care of it... Uh-huh...alright. Meet you\nthere then.\" He hung up, causing the screen to blank out and the mirror like\ncover to come up. He blinked and saw the large bat fluttering just behind his\nreflection. Ren smirked again and pocketed his phone. \"Well professor,\" he said\naloud, \"I think it's time we got back to work...\""}