Nugomi

The final dance

Orchestral Music, the sound of shoes tapping on wooden surfaces, and the clinking of glasses all intertwined in euphonic Candace, creating a mood of festivity and euphoria. However, to me, the sound is something more than a facade, an image created by these monsters to appear human. For what reason, I don't know. I, however, do know that if don't get out of here this instant, only the divine gods will know what will happen to me. After Mr. World left the stage to a little door on the side of the stage, the oppressive, strangling sensation on my heart had lessened, returning my limbs to my authority. Unfortuanately, a deep pit had formed in my stomach, one which twisted and churned every time I remembered the words that thing uttered. "Community's pet?" The words rang in my ears. Whatever that means, I'm not staying here to figure it out. As the strength in my legs slowly returned, I wobbled sneakily down the staircase, trying to avoid the eyesight of the dancing mass that had formed in the middle of the ballroom right in between me and the exit. However, no matter how hard I tried, the eyes of these monsters were all on me, sizing me up, looking down on me as I wobbled myself off of the stairs.

Hand in hand while swirling around the dance square in synchronized movement, the mass gave me no space to pass through the barrier they have created.

They are preventing me from leaving.

As tried to weave myself between the dancing creatures, through bumps; pulls; kicks, I get pushed back to the stair where I was crowned as their little pet. Snickering and laughing resound throughout the hall as I vainly continued to try and try to traverse the infernal dancing.

"Come now little mouse, is this not of your pleasure," said one of the dancing creatures. As the others creatures, this one was also dressed in white but sown to his white tuxedo, like a sash, were various celestial bodies of different colors. "You're ours now, so wherever you go, where you hide or run to; we'll be there," said the masked man as he slightly began to grow in size, stretching and distorting his clothes in the process.

If I Had anything to drink in the last couple of days, I'm sure they would have happily ventured out of in ways too embarrassing to mention. But it is an understatement to say that I've never been so scared in my life as I witness the man in front seemingly and without effort transform into something inhuman. Little yellow bulges, like oversized pimples, began to inflate on every part of his face, growing and growing until they burst, revealing pure scarlet eyes. The strength on my legs betrayed me, leaving me to fall unapologetically on the floor. "'Hahaha, Is little boo-boo scared? I'll let you on a secret, I'm the boogeyman you're mother warned—" Slap! With a hollow and squishy sound, the man returned to normal, rubbing the back of his head.

"What are you doin' scarin' the poor man half to death," Said a bronze woman. Her head was adorned by the night sky weaving to and fro neatly in a top-knot. "Sorry for that, that man ain't happy if he isn't showin' off to someone," said the masked lady. The white dress she wore fervently clinched to every curve of her body, accenting the underlying structure. Planets of all shapes and sizes orbit around her Firm legs; wide hips; broad shoulders and long, straight clavicle. If big Mac got a look at her, he'd be telling her all of his achievements during the "War ", and showcasing his spearhead.

"Hun', I'm sure you've done enough showin' off for tonight. Let's go give our respects to Mr. Krunishna, you know how he gets. See you later, little pet" said the lady dragging the man by the ear

"This is not the last time we'll see each other, prepare yourself for the most horrible ...." the voice of the white-dressed man was consumed by the music and dancing.

What was that about? I hate to admit, but that little rouse he pulled has let me a bit shaky, so standing up has been rather difficult. My legs muscles still twitching and trembling as they try to support my feeble existence, I noticed that I'm still in the same place, I haven't moved a single inch from where I started. How am I supposed to get out of here? From the looks of it, the dancing doesn't seem to be stopping anything soon, so It looks like I'm stuck here for a while.

As I reflect on my situation, I see a bouncing yellow orb moving towards my direction, moving from side to side, up and down as if it's trying to get through the crowd. It's quite hard to make its up shape due to the dancing people, but as it's pushed, pull, and tossed around—to which I felt a sense of sympathy— until it spectacularly flops to the ground with a soft thud. From a closer, the Yellow orb appears to have a human shape it stood up just like a human, brushed up its bright white tuxedo with stars sown on is its surface.

Not this kid again.

" That was amazing," said the kid with a whole ceramic tile Imprinted on his face.

What part of that was amazing.

"Hey you there Tortus Mones, it seems that you..." I slowly move away from the boy as he began to talk avoiding any sort of eye contact.

"Hey! I'm talking to you. How dare you ignore the heir of the seven stars, the most prestigious house in all the continents....." I increase the speed as he began his little discourse, trying to get as far away as I could, however, this proved a futile effort. Due to the dancing mass that prevents me from getting anywhere, there was little room for me to move. So escaping the brat was impossible.

" Hey! I'm talking to you! I'll have you know that we have associates all over the continent and..." He continued with the same speech he had given last time word for word, it's as if he's rehearsed it or something. I can just imagine it, him standing in front of a mirror proudly reciting the lines every morning after waking up.

"Sorry young master, it's just that it's hard to hear with the music, so I didn't notice your excellence was addressing this humble servant " I interrupted

"Is that so? then it's fine. Say, you look quite familiar. Have we met before?" Said the masked boy eyeing me closer, his mixed eyes looking straight into mine. After a while of staring, mumbling, and spinning in place, his eyes shined brightly as if the single functioning neuron in his brain fired.

"Aja! We met on the streets the other day, did we not? You are the one from that one place on that one day. What was your name again? That's right Sartus Mojones!"

Aaand his single neuron stopped working, also He keeps getting farther and away from my name.

"How did you get into the reunion? Only people related to the family can Enter " He suspiciously inquired circling me, inspecting every inch of my clothes and body. " You do not even have an insignia of your attire. How on the seven stars were you able to get so close to Mr. World, and not only that, be given a position directly from him. That's unheard of."

"No no sir, that wasn't me, I'm a new addition to the family recruited by the house of Zagnor. You may have me confused for someone else since I'm from Duermos myself. You know what they say, we Duermosians all look the same"

Nobody says that.

"That true," Said the boy contently. Giving the widest smile I have ever seen. His cheeks blushed as something in his head seemed to click.

He's an i***t and a racist.

"Well Farcus Motones, seems we'll be family from now on, so formal introductions are in order" The boy stood straight as an arrow with feet together and an arm on his chest. The red tips from his wavy hair cling to his face as he gives a slight bow. "I'm called Alexandreastrial Krunishna the third, son of Alexandreastrial Krunishna the second, and Mistrialias Krunishna, heir to the house of the seven stars. Like everyone else, you can call me Alexandre. A pleasure to have you as a new brother" said the boy politely showing an elegance completely different from the dopey boy that was in front of me a couple of minutes ago.

Family?

That word sounded foreign. Like the word had just been invented by the blabbering of an idiotic kid, an arbitrary utterance that in some past life may have meant something. What does it mean to family? , and more so is it even possible to form some kind of relationship with these monsters? No, Marcus. Stay focused don't be deceived by this monster, this is how they get ya, by exploiting some insecurity you never knew you had. I know, I've done it countless times to swindle people

I won't be tricked.

"Don't give me that bullshit..." I whispered

"H-huh? W-hat" the boy gasped looking up with eyes wide opened.

"What what, sir?

"Didn't you say something "

"No sir"

"I swear I heard you say something"

"No sir must have been the music "

"If you say so"

Idiot

The boy inclined his head again as if waiting for an answer.

Maybe I can use this kid to get out of this mess somehow. For now, just swallow it and play along.

I bite my lip, reciprocate the gesture and say "My name is Marcus Jones and I am the family's pet. I hope my humble self can be of service to you and the house"

"Marcus Jones? What a complicated name, I think I'll call you Marc for short and a sign of a hopefully long friendship" said the boy returning to his normal posture, and smiling, regaining once again that dopey smile he usually wears.

Yes a long and beautiful relationship

"As you wish Sir Alexandre" I bit my lip harder

"You know you don't need to-"

"ALEXENDREASTWRIAL, COME HERE RIGHT THIS INSTANCE" a voice boomed throughout the hall, interrupting the festivities for a brief moment.

"Yikes, that's father calling for me. See you around Marc " said the boy jumping into the mass of dancing people, going through the motions of being pulled, pushed, and squeezed until the yellow-headed boy disappeared into the crowd.

What an annoying kid.

But still, a weird warm sensation raised around my chest as the boy called me Marc. The words that came from his red lips gave me a nostalgic feeling, a seemingly forgotten memory. The warm arms of someone—I don't know who— around my body, caressing lightly the top of my head and singing a soft tune. A Slight tear formed on the corners of my eyes as the unknown feeling traverse throughout my whole body.

But after a while, the phantom memory once again dissipates leaving behind a sensation of longing and loneliness.

I've never had any family before.

................

As the situation hadn't changed much since the talk with Alexandre, I decided to climb back up the stairs and head to the area where Mr. World had disappeared to. To the left of the grand chair, tucked away in a little corner and hidden by a long scarlet curtain, was a door. The door was slightly ajar. A Slightly agitated, but somehow quiet voice, was streaming out of the small opening. Getting in closer I could very faintly make up some of the words

".... to convince them to join us.....ran away...... " As the agitated voice carried on speaking, I could scarcely make up another more voice, but this one was calmer, softer even.

"...cannot go any longer... The time..... eradicate them"

Eradicate? Do these things plan to exterminate the whole island? If so, why? And why now? The nugomi have been viciously killing and harassing our small community for as long as could I remember, but never to this scale. This whole situation doesn't make any sense. Why come here in the first place? The questions only kept piling on as the voices grew fainter and fainter beyond the wooden door until only the smallest of whispers could be heard. There's not a lot of information to form any reasonable conclusion. Maybe its time to pay another visit to tha—

My train of thought was interrupted by the full opening swing of the door. Emerging from the door was the person I last I would want to see: Mr

World.

Startled and frightened, I tumble down pathetically on the hard floor, every inch of my body trembling and squirming. Under the golden mask, two menacing eyes glared at me with a hint of disdain.

"Looks like our little pet here requires some training on manners and etiquette. " He said while slowly closing the door behind him.

"How much did you hear?" Voiced Mr.World

"My benevolence I have no idea wh—"

"HOW much did you hear " the voice repeated.

Again. This feeling of losing all control of my body slowly crept its way into my lips, articulating words that I had no intention of uttering.

"You monsters plan to eradicate us. Why?" I squeal

"Monsters? Us?" Mr. World howled at full force, stiffening my muscles

"That is a rather peculiar assertion from someone who does not have honor, a shred of integrity, or even a purpose for existence. A facade of a man trudging in an illusionary dream, a farce that even the devil himself could not concoct. You, a piece of filth that lives like a worthless maggot, obliviously squirming and rotting away on a pale dot without even knowing a thing about what goes on beyond your little world, dares to call ME a monster" Mr.World yelled grinding his teeth. His mixed color eyes were dominated by the scarlet hue encompassing his whole iris.

Before I noticed, the whole ballroom had gone quiet, only the faint whispers and shy chitter-chatter could be heard from the bottom of the stairs. Mr.World grows in size as he steps closer to me while staring me down with glowing, orbs of fire.

"Looks like this mutt requires a more strict training than I had initially thought," He said as he got closer and closer.

It was physically impossible for me to tremble any harder. Every joint, muscle, fat, tissue, fiber, or whatever the hell else the body is made of incessantly shook, making it impossible to stand up and run. He bent down meeting my eyes with his.

"You see, today is a very important day for us 'monsters', and I will not desecrate this sacred tradition by spilling the blood of some mutt. Stand up"

I stood up.

"Down the stairs"

I went down the stairs. He carefully followed behind, unbuttoning his white tuxedo jacket and throwing it down on the steps.

The wall of dancers that had once been impenetrable, opened up as I made my way to the center of the dancing space. The mass of "people" began to surround us as Mr. World approached the center as well. The tip-tap of his shoes echoed throughout the room as he comes closer to me.

"We monsters here have a strict code, we don't kill, every life is precious; we don't deceive, the rules of justice and righteousness are etched into our very core; We care for one another, we are all family of the great progenitor, and above all else, we don't stray from the path we are given" Mr. World raised one hand and at the click of a finger, a tune from a distanced saxophones rings.

Soon after it's joined by the harmonies of pianos, drums, and light singing.

The unified tune filled the ballroom again, however, this time No one danced. The tensed mass was focused on the man in the center, their eyes glued to the magic figure of Mr. World. The mountain man grabbed me by the waist with one hand, and the other held my chin up.

"I'll teach you to respect me," he said while releasing my chin and reaching for my willing hand. My entire body had lost all of its loyalty towards me and gave full control to this beast.

He began with simple slow steps forward, then to the side and spin, following closely to the melody and rhythm of the music. My body instinctively reacted to every movement, closely matching every turn, every step, and every breath. It felt as if the music had entered my entire body through the hands of Mr.World. While we dance through the space, a slight electrifying shock ran through my whole body, leaving me breathless. However, Mr. World would not stop, in fact, He quickened his pace as the music began to crescendo, sending more intense jolts through every part of my body.

"Please...Stop..." I breathlessly muttered

However, he doesn't respond. he only stares directly into my eyes reaching deep into my very being.

As the music began to reach the climax, he forcefully shoved his waist to mine completing the last connection. His everything was touching my everything, continuously thunderous electricity permeated to every inch of my body.

I can't breathe. I vainly tried to mutter as everything began to rub against everything intensifying the severity of the pain. A long hard rod pressed against my most vital areas, leaving me weak and incapable of autonomy. I tried everything, from screaming to pushing, to begging, but my body wouldn't respond, it was consumed by the dominating feeling. Pools of drools were forming on the edge of my mouth, Mr. World pressed harder, grinding our two bodies as if trying to morph into one.

Slowly my mind began to blank as the overwhelming feeling finally reached my brain, utterly destroying every reason and every logical thought I had. Everything was replaced with: This feels good. Those were the last words that I was able to formulate as my consciousness slowly drifted into a sea of pleasure.

"Now that's a good mutt " were the last words I heard until I finally lost consciousness.