Episode 14: One Squeak Ahead
1244 Words
[Opening Scene – IMP City Alleyways, Night]
The camera sweeps over IMP City — neon glowing, crimes festering, the kind of place where shadows eat shadows. Perched high on a rusted clocktower is Elderion the Micesassin Ranger. His cloak and hood wrap him in darkness, leaving only the faint twitch of his mouse ears visible. His body is lean but wiry with the unmistakable stance of a predator — or prey — ready to strike.
Narrator (low, dramatic):
“Some say the city breeds its monsters. But others… bring their past with them.”
Elderion pulls his hood tighter, speaking to himself in a voice raspy and melodic, almost like a whispering bard.
Elderion:
“Once, I was a brother in arms. A ranger alongside the Wildcat Archangel. Now… I walk the cracks of sin itself. And tonight… the Goetias will squeak my name.”
His red-glinting eyes focus on the distant spires of the Goetia Mansion.
---
[Scene Two – The Goetia Mansion Break-In]
The mansion is quiet. Moonlight filters through tall windows, silvering the marble. Guards stand at posts, unaware that a shadow is already darting past their lines. Elderion moves with inhuman grace — scaling pillars, swinging from chandelier chains, vanishing behind curtains.
He whispers:
Elderion:
“Valuables… artifacts… coins. Just enough to keep me on top in this vermin city.”
His gloved hands reach for a locked case of shimmering gold coins near the west hall. With a flick of his daggers, he snaps the lock and smirks.
But as he turns — something catches his sharp ears.
Running water. A door ajar. The faint sound of humming.
---
[Scene Three – Queen Octavia’s Bath]
Through the half-open door, Queen Octavia — Stolas’s gentle mother — rests in a steaming marble bath. Rose petals drift around her as she leans back, her regal feathers shimmering faintly in the candlelight. For once, the Queen looks not like royalty, but like a woman at peace.
Elderion freezes, tilting his head. His hood hides his expression, but his ears twitch in amusement.
Elderion (whispering to himself):
“…Damn… that body’s fitting for a Queen.”
He takes a slow step forward — but fate plays its cruel prank. His boot snags on a loose decorative pillar base. CRACK. He stumbles.
The noise makes the Queen jolt upright, water sloshing. Her eyes land on the shadowy hooded figure — a stranger staring where he never should.
Queen Octavia (furious, horrified):
“You— you perverted rodent!! GET OUT!!”
Her scream echoes through the halls. Guards rush immediately as she shields herself in the bath, feathers bristling, tears of rage and humiliation forming at her eyes.
---
[Scene Four – The Chase, “One Squeak Ahead”]
Elderion panics, then smirks.
Elderion:
“Well… when in doubt, sing it out.”
With that, he bursts into a raucous parody of One Jump Ahead, vaulting over guards while belting out in mocking tone:
Elderion (singing):
“One squeak ahead of the swordsmen,
One squeak ahead of the guards!
I steal only what I can’t afford—
(That’s everything, my regards!)”
The halls erupt in chaos. Guards swing halberds, but Elderion dances between them. Stolas himself appears from a chamber, feathers bristling, while King Paimon storms down with a blazing staff. Princess Vaude hurls conjured chains, and Prince Oberon nearly trips over a chair in his haste to join the chase.
Meanwhile, Elderion tumbles across tables, flings stolen coins in guards’ eyes, and vaults over balconies, singing verses with glee.
Elderion (mocking Stolas as he dodges):
“One squeak ahead of the Prince bird,
Two squeaks ahead of the throne!
Sometimes the price of survival,
Is leaving royals all alone!”
He finally crashes through a stained-glass window, showering the courtyard in shards.
---
[Scene Five – The Aftermath in the Mansion]
The courtyard is chaos. Guards scatter, searching every shadow for the mouse. Inside, Queen Octavia still trembles in her bath, clutching a towel to her body. Paimon rushes in, face twisting between fury and worry.
Paimon:
“My love… what happened?! Who dared—”
She breaks, sobbing into his chest as he kneels to embrace her, shielding her with his wings.
Queen Octavia (crying):
“He looked at me… like prey. Like—like I was just—”
Paimon (rage trembling):
“He’ll pay. I swear on my crown, he’ll pay.”
At that moment, Stolas, Vassago, and Via appear at the doorway, all with varying levels of anger and dread.
Stolas:
“Mother! Are you harmed?”
She shakes her head, feathers damp from tears.
Vassago (scowling, voice sharp):
“A rodent thief dares humiliate the Queen herself. Disgraceful. No trial should be spared — his punishment must be absolute.”
Via (furious, protective):
“If I see him, I’ll shred him myself!”
The royal family gathers close, shielding their matriarch as servants scramble to guard her chamber.
---
[Scene Six – Elderion in the Alley]
Later that night, Elderion lands gracefully in a dark alley, his cloak singed but his grin wide.
Elderion:
“Ahh… still got it. The mouse outruns the hawks once more. Shame about the Queen, though. A peek’s a peek, but even I didn’t mean to rattle the cage that hard.”
He chuckles, then freezes.
A shadow falls over him. Heavy, armored. The sound of steel gauntlets flexing.
From the darkness emerges ARCH DARK CRUSADE — Daniel in his towering plate armor, hood drawn, cat ears pricked like blades. His glowing eyes burn through Elderion.
Elderion stiffens, but smirks.
Elderion:
“…Well, well. If it isn’t mi viejo amigo. The Wildcat Archangel himself, turned Hell’s crusader. Long time no hunt.”
Daniel steps forward, every movement like thunder held in a cage.
Daniel (low, dangerous):
“You’ve crossed a line, Elderion. A line I can’t ignore. The Queen was never yours to look upon — and you know it.”
Elderion tilts his head, unfazed.
Elderion:
“Still the noble one, huh? Tell me, Daniel — when did you forget what it was like to live in the cracks? To steal just to keep your claws sharp? Don’t pretend you weren’t a beast before Heaven caged you in feathers.”
Daniel’s tail lashes.
Daniel:
“I was a warrior, not a thief. You chose this path — and I’ll stop you before you drag anyone else down with you.”
For a tense moment, they stare — predator and prey, wildcat and mouse, once friends, now enemies.
Elderion steps back, dagger glinting in torchlight.
Elderion (grinning):
“Then catch me, gato. If you can.”
With that, he vanishes into the shadows, leaving Daniel standing alone in the alley, fists clenched.
---
[Closing Scene – Goetia Mansion, Later]
Back in the mansion, Queen Octavia sits wrapped in robes, sipping tea with trembling hands. Paimon never leaves her side, his wing curled around her shoulders protectively. Stolas and Via hover nearby, Vassago pacing in fury.
The family murmurs quietly, trying to comfort her. But outside, the camera pans upward — toward the rooftops, where Daniel watches silently, cloaked in shadow. His glowing eyes follow the skyline where Elderion vanished.
Daniel (internal):
“Elderion… I thought you were better than this. But if you want to play the rat in the dark… the cat will hunt.”
The screen cuts to black, the title flashing in bold letters:
“ONE SQUEAK AHEAD”
- Writer
