"There they are," Travis whispered, gesturing towards a small tent at the edge of the woods. Hal now glanced over, a scowl forming on his face. "Filthy anthros!"
Despite the threat of the One Humanity, it appeared that the populace was unimpressed. Gazing out at the small tent, the two humans now beheld a trio of preteen anthro boys enjoying a quiet night camping in the suburban Park. "You'd think these mongoloids would learn by now that showing themselves in public was a death sentence," Hal hissed. Travis simply chuckled, the hood of his robe bobbing up and down from his actions."Perhaps we teach these brats a lesson."
This was the duty of the One Humanity, eliminate creatures that polluted the human population. For now they worked in secret, striking at night while their more charismatic leaders encouraged the populace to turn away from the lifestyle of the animal/human hybrids that now increased around the country. Their leaders were making headway, convincing humans that anthros were based solely in debauchery. Their culture based solely on fulfilling their carnal needs. It was a message that was catching on, with plans to turn humanity even further from the fantastical that polluted the human race.
For Hal and Travis though, these plans were beyond them. They were simply the muscle, blunt instruments used to inflict pain on the anthro population. Tonight these three children would be their targets.
The two men beheld an anthro wolf boy, his body lanky ashe had only taken his first steps into adulthood. The grey wolf child couldn't be more than 12. Soft grey fur, a skinny body that appeared to have started a growth spurt, and large innocent eyes. With this boy was an anthro puma boy and an anthro squirrel. Like the wolf child, these two had barely exited childhood, the pumas dark fur appearing incredibly soft while the squirrels grey fur appeared patchy as he shed the downy softness for a more adult oriented fur covered body. It sickened these two men to even look at them. Humans twisting their bodies in such unnatural forms and even forgoing the natural predator/prey dynamic as the trio laughed and talked. Tonight, they would show these children why it was unwise to pervert nature in such a way.
"Did you hear something?"
Hal and Travis paused, glancing behind them as they gazed into the inky darkness. The two men thought they had heard movement amongst the trees. Squinting their eyes they now surveyed the darkness, an uneasy feeling rising in the pit of their stomach.
Without warning the shadows now seemed to shudder. The inky blackness seeming to twist and ungulate as if it were alive. Startled the men gasped, only for a hand of pure blackness lunge from the shadows, gripping Travis in a vice like embrace. Travis could do little more than scream, Hal noticing the man's eyes wide with fright even under his mask. Before Hal could even move, Travis was dragged into the inky abyss, vanishing from sight. All Hal could hear now was the sound of something being squished.
Hal shivered, listening to the sickening sound of something splattering to the forest floor. The closest thing he could compare the sound too was that of a piece of fruit being squished. This though wasn't fruit. Hals imagination forming a vivid picture of Travis's fate. "W..whos there," he stammered, fearfully gazing into the endless shadows.
Hal whimpered, backtracking slightly as the shadows seemed to part. What emerged was almost nightmarish, the shadows seeming to give birth to a figure. The figure itself appeared to be that of a woman, or least what Hal believed to be a woman. Long auburn hair descending from its scalp, a curvy body that seemed to meld with the very darkness itself. The womans body at least seemed attractive with a generous amount of curves but it was impossible to tell, her body seeming to meld with the very darkness itself as she glared at him. At least Hal thought she was glaring at him.
Hal stared in abject terror at the plague mask covering the womans face. At first he had thought the pointed face and goggles were simply this monsters deformed features. At a second glance though he realized this was simply a mask, a mask though that was as black as the darkness with dark reddish highlights to accent it. "W..what, wh..at are you?"
The creature/slash woman now darted forward at supernatural speeds, Hal letting out a terrified shriek as a hand of pure darkness now formed from the shadows, dangling the man by his throat. Terrified Hal now stared into the eyes of the mask as she whispered her name.
Misery.
Misery now released Hal, the man falling into a terrified heap as he fearfully looked up into her mask. "Tell your people," she whispered, her voice ethereal and menacing. "That the anthros and all others who are different are under MY protection. Any who commit crimes against them shall know nothing but Misery!" Hal now scrambled to his feet, terrified beyond words as he sprinted away from this creature.
As Hal departed, Misery sighed heavily. Reaching up, she now removed her plague mask, revealing her face. Mary Elise took a breath, pushing back her long auburn hair as she gazed at the anthro preteens enjoying a fun night together. "Those kids have no idea how close they came to death," she grumbled. Taking her leave, Mary Elise now began to ponder her life and her recent past.
After inheriting the Ring of Change from Morgan Lefay, Mary Elise had briefly found herself at odds with Kellie Pendragon and her friends. At first she was their adversary, only for the girls to grow closer. For a time Mary was happy, she had friends, she had magic, everything was finally going well. Then the war happened.
Mary Elise was thrust into a war between timelines that she could never prepare for. A war made worse when her best friend Karen died. Mary hadn't been there when it happened but she saw the aftermath. Karen lay in a coma for two years, Mary watching as her friend withered away before finally passing. She had been heartbroken, angry, and it was an anger made worse after the girls graduated from high school.
For a time, her friends had been there to comfort her. Kellie and the others saying they would always be there. That Karen would get better. That they would always be friends. Mary Elise knew better though.
Life continued to move forward, Mary, Kellie, and their friends graduating from high school and moving onto college. Only Mary and Kellie had remained behind but Kellie found herself far too busy more often than not with her duties.
The others proved to be even busier. Lisa and Katie were going to school across the country, Samantha had left for the South, Mika and Claudia had merged with their doppelgangers from the other timeline. Even Kumiko was nowhere to be found, the girl marrying Cole Harris after graduation and moving from base to base. For a time, Mary had tried tobstay in touch with her own doppelganger but had been too frightened to see her confined to a wheelchair. Now, Mary Elise found herself isolated and very much alone.
Approaching her destination, Mary now paused as she knelt down at Karens gravestone, a sad smile upon her face as she placed her hand on the cold marble.
"Hey Karen," she said softly. "Its me again. Know I've been bugging you alot lately but I've had alot on my mind." Taking a deep breath she could do little more than read the gravestone over and over again.
"I miss you," she said sadly. "More than I ever thought I would. Its crazy but things have just been so crazy lately. Magic, anthros, the whole One Humanity thing. Its just bonkers." A small smile now crept across her face as she gazed at the headstone. "Whats even crazier is I finally embraced my nickname," she smirked. "Misery is now a name I use as a source of strength."
Mary now stood, her Ring glowing slightly as she gazed at the grave. The auburn haired woman now watched as vines began to entwine around Karen's grave, blooming into beautiful white roses that seemed to brighten the young womans mood. "I'm trying to do right," she said softly. "I'm trying to protect the innocent...like you did. You were a hero to me Karen, you gave your life to protect that kid and the baby. I promise...no matter what life holds. I'll live up to what you did. Love you Karen, I miss your friendship so, so much."
Mary Elise now turned, venturing off into the night leaving only the decorated grave of her friend behind. Karen had sacrificed herself to save others. For Mary, she would strive to do the same.