The Christmas Mystery Of The Missing Tuna

A Dangerous Encounter: Chapter 20

7 years ago…

There was a break-in.

Scylla didn't know how it happened, it just happened.

She was downstairs, sweeping the dust off the shelves when she heard her grandmother shriek and smelled blood. Helios closed his book, eyes widening. "There's an intruder!"

"What?!" Scylla gasped, dropping everything and teleporting into the room upstairs to see Diana's dead body. Her claws were painted with someone's scent - she'd put up a fight, Scylla realized. Shaking with grief, she used a blanket to cover the body, so at least Diana can be warm.

Something snapped in Scylla, something that forced her out of control of her body. Sniffing the unknown blood, Scylla tracked it to a person wearing a violet cloak. She attacked. As they fought, one of the daggers missed Scylla and hit…Helios.

The fight ended as Scylla threw the intruder onto the wall behind her and zapped them with lightning for good measure, before rushing to Helios's side and doing medical procedures. "You're gonna be okay, uncle, j-just don't leave me." Scylla whispered. "Where's the -"

"I'm not going to make it." Helios grimly told Scylla. She froze.

"No," Scylla hissed. "You're going to live. I'm not going to let another one of my family die on my watch. I-I wouldn't live with myself if I had."

Helios's heart broke for the thirteen-year-old, but he said, "That dagger, it was poisoned with a toxin that is incurable."

Scylla grit her teeth, growling as she replied, "Then I'll work harder to save you."

Helios shook his head. "I love you." He whispered, then fell limp.

Scylla felt her uncle's soul leave his body. She sat there, processing the death of her family. She shook, tears dripping onto Helios's cold chest. Fire licked her power reserves, begging to be released. So she let it out.

She'd let her past burn.

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Present

She wasn't able to sneak past Zielo.

Scylla knew she should've expected this, but honestly? He looked so peaceful that she couldn't possibly bear to bother him (that was a lie, of course).

"Trying to steal from me?" Zielo asked.

Suppressing a groan, Scylla asked, "Well, hi, Mr. Baddie, are you trying to break my spirit?" She smirked as she turned to face Zielo. "But really, what do you think I'm stealing from you?"

Zielo's face stayed cold and unfeeling, but Scylla could feel the waves of annoyance coming off of him. It made her giddy with excitement. "My spark." Zielo simply replied.

Scylla laughed at him, taking a few seconds to calm herself down. With a shrug she said, "Oh, Sonic? Yeah, he's not your puppet, nor is he the 'spark' you're claiming him to be. He is his own person, and you shove up an apocalypse up the world's nose, expecting the hedgehogs, no, the world, to bow down to you."

Zielo snarled, "DON'T DISRESPECT -"

"I disrespect whoever I want, bucko. Guess what? You wanna stay a god? Act kinder." Scylla snapped.

"APOLOGIZE!"

Scylla growled, "Fine! I'm sorry that I will not treat you like a god. Is that what you want me to say? I'm sorry that I won't treat you like the 'perfect' person you claim to be, like all your followers do!" Scylla chuckled. "I'm just an inconvenience to you, a pest, a PROBLEM to you!"

"How dare you!" Zielo tried and failed to break Scylla's soul in half.

"Do you want to know something?" Scylla glitched behind the god. "I'm a god, too. But I'm a demon, a computer virus, and it hurts to not feel recognized, doesn't it?" She chuckled, glitching away from his swipe at her. Scylla transformed into her EXE form, hissing, "Well, I shouldn't have to justify what I'm doing to you, and I won't make it up to you, you low-class ruler!" Zielo lashed out at Scylla, trapping her in his telekinesis. Scylla cut through it easily with dark magic. "Well, I'm sorry that an abomination like me exists!"

"Scylla!" Sophia called out, taking Zielo's next attack, which was to grab her by the neck and lift her up.

"Sophia!"

Mango's Adventures in Angst-Land: Chapter 9

(Author's Note: Can I ground my own characters for what they did?)

Mango slammed onto the floor with a huge "OOF!" The cellar had closed right above her. As Mango got up, Kiui said, "Alright, now you have...A few min - I-I mean, hours! HOURS! - before they figure out you're missing."

Mango grunted as she hoisted herself up, her body sore from the jump. "Okay, now I gotta find -" Mango paused, staring down a familiar woman on a throne in front of her...In her EXE form. Mango gasped in shock.

"Mango? Mango, talk to me, what do you see?" Kiui said worriedly.

Mango pulled up enough strength to ask, "Sc...Scylla?"

"WHAT?!!" Kiui shouted.

Scylla only glared at Mango, her neutral expression hardening as she hissed, "You were NEVER supposed to be here."

A Dangerous Encounter: Chapter 12

The Ini Pyramid crumbled.

Sonic had cut off a large piece of Zielo's quills.

Scylla woke up to see Adam, Sophia, and Diana worriedly staring at her. Scylla touched a feather on her face; which was located near her eyes.

Scylla panicked, asking urgently, "Where's Aite and Ajal? Are they here?"

Adam shook his head. Diana answered timidly, "Aite and Ajal went to the Ini Pyramid. When the pyramid collapsed, they didn't come back."

Scylla's eyes widened, and she sat up quickly, only to feel the blood rushing to her head. Scylla turned towards the destroyed Ini Pyramid and growled, "Then we need to get over there quickly. Aite and Ajal may be in trouble."

Sophia asked, "But how are we going to get there without the Soulless spotting us?"

Scylla thought about it, sparking a tongue of fire in her hand. Looking into it, Scylla smirked.

Extinguishing the flame, Scylla said, "I think I have an idea."

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Scylla made another illusion, but this time, it was of a couple of demigods engaging in battle with the Soulless. Before the Soulless could come to the scene, Scylla, Adam, Diana, and Sophia ran toward the ruins quickly.

As they reached the wreckage, Scylla saw a mix of violet cinders and blood on the ground. Signaling to the others to stop, Scylla knelt down, trying to drown out the doubts, fear, anger, and despair that welled up, pricking her tears with a dangerous guilt as Scylla tried to blink the tears back. Her eyes were blurry, and she felt like she was going to burst into flames.

Please be okay, Ajal and Aite. Scylla transmitted, not expecting anything to happen.

"Scylla, we should be helping with exterminating the Soulless." Adam gently whispered, helping Scylla up.

Scylla nods. "Their deaths won't be – ACK!!!!"

Scylla held her head, feeling dizzy, but she felt something coming from the north. It felt familiar, but she was in too much pain to walk towards it.

"Scylla, are you hurt?" Adam asked.

"Are you okay?" Sophia asked urgently.

Diana started, "Maybe we should take her to the -"

ENOUGH!! Scylla transmitted.

The Blizzard: Chapter 7

(Author's Note: All warnings are mentioned in Chapter 6. That's all.)

"Hey, sis?" Poketiggy called. "Grandma sent us another chapter!"

"Then read it!" Charlotte called back.

"Alright..."

December 5

"Holy Soulless, this is a huge snowstorm to get through." Scylla muttered, climbing over heaps of snow and ice that used to be buildings, animals, even PEOPLE. After climbing over another body, Scylla said, "Wooow, going through this makes me feel like I'm in the apocalypse again, and that's not a good feeling."

Eventually, Scylla reached the castle, which was the heart of the storm. Literally.

Staring down the sparkling, ice-covered castle, Scylla sighed. "This generation s going to give me a headache one of these days." She muttered, using her frostbitten hands to shove the door open.

An ear turned at Dasher and Glimmer's call for staff from upstairs. Assuming that is where Demetria could be, Scylla teleported in front of the two rulers.

The pyrokinetic instinctively wrapped her arms around Demetria protectively, picking her up and leaving, but not before she heard:

"Hey! That's our -"

"Let them go."

"But -"

"We'll find them again. She'll be a powerful asset to our army."

Scylla teleported home.

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"-Scylla? Hey, Scylla?" Kiui bugged.

"Yes, small one?" Scylla asked, despite knowing the answer.

"What was it like out there?" Kiui asked.

That knocked Scylla off guard. She...wasn't expecting that. Considering her options... Yeah, she might as well come clean.

"It was...devastating." Scylla starts. "It was like the apocalypse all over again." She hugs herself tightly. "To think that I saw all those frozen -"

Kiui said, "You don't have to talk about it. I was curious. That was all."

"No."  Scylla insisted. "I have to." Inhale. Exhale. "There was a lot of snow, I'll admit that. But... I smelled blood and decay as well. There was the palace; it was covered in ice as well, it was in the heart of the blizzard. The buildings and such that made up the capital city were heavily covered in snow and ice. Demetria... I'd never look at her the same way ever again."

Kiui stood there, processing as she looked at the comatose form of Demetria. From her expression, Kiui would never look at her big cousin the same way again, either.

"When do you think Demetria will wake up?" Kiui whispered.

"HOPEFULLY when Sylvia comes over, because she's going to be over for ten days." Mango said, stepping into view.

"MANGO!" Kiui shrieked. Scylla didn't have the heart to tell the Mercat to lower her voice.

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When Demetria woke up, she was faced with Sylvia - in a lab coat. That means Dr. Sylveon is in the house. Ugh, feelings.

Demetria groaned and slowly got up, pain flashing across her body. And then a kitten with banana-yellow scales and kiwi-green eyes stared at Demetria, the cat's grey, fluffy fur on end as its tail swiftly moved back and forth nervously.

"Kiui?" Demetria croaked. "What happened?" The cat literally lunged towards the Froster, transforming back into the form of Kiui as she shouted:

"DEMETRIA! YOU'RE OKAY!! I THOUGHT WE LOST YOU!"

Demetria hugged the the sobbing girl tightly, while giving her aunt a quizzical look.

Sylvia sighed. "You froze the kingdom. Congratulations, you're a Froster now."

"And that's bad because...?" Demetria inquired.

Mango stepped into the room. "First of all, you COMPLETELY missed the part where Aunt Sylvia said that you froze the kingdom."

"I'm sorry, I DID WHAT?!"

"Second, you created a blizzard."

"WHAT?!"

"MANGO!"

"Third," Mango winked at Sylvia. "You nearly killed your friend and the crown princess."

"HOLY -"

"MANGO DRAGONFRUIT MOCHISOLAR!!" Sylvia barked.

Mango let out a fake sigh. "You never let me have my fun." She sarcastically said.

Demetria looked like she was processing everything. "Wow, I did some very bad things."

"Well, we're telling everyone we meet about how you froze an entire castle." Kiui said mischievously, sniffling quietly. Demetria groaned.

"Please don't."

"You traumatized Scylla too." Mango said.

"I WASN'T TRAUMATIZED!" Scylla shouted from the other room. "THERE'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TRAUMATIZED AND TERRIFIED!"

Mango rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, well Merlina said that she's grounding you for the next month for the stunt you pulled."

"Figures." Demetria muttered. Kiui let out a throaty chuckle.

"Can I burn it this time?" Elsa the Dragon asked. Charlotte handed her the paper.

"Nothing's worth it." Sissy the Dog mumbled sadly.

"Aaaaand this is why I'm not giving you anymore stories." Creator drawled out.

"Rude." Conrad grumbled.

A Dangerous Encounter: Chapter 7

Scylla jumped at the voice, turning around to see a Mobian Coyote - with the aura of a demigod. Scylla grew angry, spitting out the words, "So, your one of those DEMIGODS."

The coyote calmly tried to speak, confirming this before Scylla made an illusion and quickly left, hearing the coyote demigod "defeating" Scylla's little illusion.

Several hours later, Scylla transformed into her wolf/Dark Gaia hybrid form at night. Her ruby red eyes turned a gentle orchid color, her fur turned a navy blue, and her face had blue and violet markings, signifying that Scylla was a servant of Dark Gaia, not Zielo.

As per usual, Scylla's pack appeared in thin air, eager for the hunt in the desert tonight. Scylla's paws sunk into the desert sand like a pile of worms, and Scylla raised her head to the new moon, took a deep breath, and howled. The other Dark Gaia wolves joined Scylla's howling. To them, it meant that the hunt has started.

The Dark Gaia pack then ran off, the wind cooling their fur to a raven's feather-point. Scylla had never felt so alive before. It's like she actually belonged in the pack, and she wasn't discriminated because of her DNA.

Scylla was the alpha of the pack, guiding the pack away from the Soulless whenever possible. The hunt only lasted for a few hours, but by then the Dark Gaia pack were exhausted and needed a place to sleep. Scylla spotted a pyramid about ten miles east of where the wolves were standing, but the place felt like Zielo.

Scylla was concerned about her pack's safety, so she led the Dark Gaia pieces north, towards a dune where they could rest peacefully.

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A few months (?) later...

Scylla had ran. And ran and ran. That's all she knew how to do right now. She tripped over a rock, falling on her stomach. Black eyes darted to a cyan-eyed hedgehog. Zielo. Scylla's black eyes swiveled towards a horde of Soulless behind Zielo. For the sixth time this month, this nightmare actually scared Scylla. Flipping onto her back, Scylla whispered in a distorted, scared voice, "Please, just let them go. You could have chosen something else to be your minions."

Zielo held no expression, saying in a bored voice, "Did you forget that I'm your God?"

Scylla grew enraged, blue-violet lightning striking the ground as Scylla shouted, "I am not your little puppet, and you do NOT reign over me, you psychopath!"

Zielo shouted in a very enraged voice, "YOU WILL NOT DISRESPECT GOD!!"

Scylla's voice distorted into a very unrecognizable voice as she shouts back, "THEN WHY DO YOU DISRESPECT YOUR PEOPLE? IS IT BECAUSE OF THAT PARASITE SSSSSIIIIIIIIIIINNNNN?"

"SILENCE!"

"NO! ANSWER THE QUESTION, ZIELO THE HEDGEHOG!"

Scylla saw what looked like tainted versions of Sonic, Silver, and Shadow, and it shook her to the core. These...Tainted...versions of the hedgehogs had sharp teeth, claws with blood on them, and looked particularly insane.

Scylla went from rage to concern and fear. Turning to Zielo, Scylla shouted, "WHAT DID YOU DO TO THE SONS OF HEEPHIS?"

Zielo smirked. "I didn't do anything. They only did it to themselves."

Scylla stood up and backed away from them, her EXE form overpowering her instincts. She fell deeper and deeper into the overwhelming rage and fear.

Unable to take the pain of it anymore, she screamed.

A Dangerous Encounter: Chapter 21

20 years ago…

The two EXEs laid their baby on the rocky cliff gently, being careful to be quiet and make sure their child stays comfortable. Once the baby is settled, the female EXE kissed the baby on the forehead, whispering, "My bittersweet baby, I'm so sorry for leaving you without any parents to support and love you physically, but we will always be there for you physically." The EXE choked on her loving words, tears streaming down her face.

The male EXE held the female close, while stroking the baby's cheek gently but firmly. The male chuckled as the baby attempted to bite his hand off, murmuring, "My fierce and beautiful daughter, always be watchful and strong even in the most hopeless moments. We love you so much, Scylla." He slowly took his wife's wrists and asked her, "Are you ready, Diamond?"

Diamond nodded, "I'm ready, Quartz." The two EXEs shapeshifted into diamond-clear and quartz-black ravens, flying into their very last battle in the sky. Baby Scylla wailed for hours, the screams growing loud as a huge blast took out many EXEs in the sky, including her parents.

It was only moments after her parents died that a goddess took the baby EXE under her wing. Her name, Scylla later learned, was Helias.

Scylla would remember the traumatizing moment forever.

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Present day…

"Sophia!" Scylla shouted, a hint of fear flashing in her expression. That fear soon turned into anger, allowing her to fiercely spit, "Let her go, Zielo!"

Zielo chuckled. "Or else what?"

Scylla hissed, "Don't test me."

Zielo inspected Sophia closely, watching as she struggled to escape his grip. Zielo looks at Scylla, who was about ready to burn the god down. "How about a deal?" Zielo asked. "Your friend will be free, and in exchange, you become my slave."

"Don't listen to him! Run, Scylla!" Sophia pleaded, letting out a pained strangled sound and Zielo tightened his grip on her. Dang, the caring traits of werewolves are sometimes a bad trait in a dangerous situation.

Scylla thought about it. "How do I know that you're not going to break that deal? If anything, you could break her in half as soon as I start walking to seal the contract." Zielo squeezes Sophia's neck, making Sophia squeak in pain. Scylla jumped at the sound, raising her hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, fine! I give myself up! Just… Don't do anything to her."

Zielo let Sophia go, allowing her to leave as Scylla lowered her head slightly, secretly planning something under her somber expression.

So, what is she planning?

A Dangerous Encounter: Chapter 9

Aite gasped, pulling Ajal closer. Adam's expression went blank in shock. Ajal's expression was filled with an unreadable amount of anger.

Scylla's ears flattened in fear of what will come in the future. Scylla looked at the glass walls of the watch post and whispered, "Where's Diana and Sophia?"

Ajal pointed below the watchpost. Scylla sighed in defeat, walking towards the trapdoor and pulling it open. Climbing down the semi-dark ladder, Scylla was greeted by Sophia.

"So, guess who came to this dimension." Sophia said cheerfully.

Thinking that this was another joke, Scylla replied darkly, "The Sons of Heephis."

"WHAT??!!!!!" Sophia gasped in shock, covering her mouth. As Scylla walked towards the first room, Scylla ground out angrily, "Yeah, apparently the Sons of Heephis came back for their first mission."

Sophia shook her head fearfully, saying in a subdued voice, "I don't like where this is going."

Diana ran out of one of the rooms in this basement, asking, "What's happening? I heard Sophia shout-" Diana looked at Scylla's serious face, and physically cringed at her expression.

Scylla said darkly, "The Sons of Heephis are back."

Diana sucked in a breath, muttering, "I presume we're going to go upstairs talk about this."

Scylla nodded.

Five minutes later, Diana, Scylla, and Sophia had climbed upstairs to see Adam, Ajal, and Aite looking at them fearfully. The pack sat down in a circle. Aite, Adam, Sophia, Ajal, and Diana finally started speaking their minds.

"Why are they here?"

"What are their intentions?"

"Have they changed?"

"Are they even themselves?"

"Shouldn't we be keeping an eye on them?"

"What should we do?"

"ENOUGH!!!!!" Scylla shouted. Everyone went silent. Scylla took a deep breath, and said calmly, "As much as I don't like this as much as you do, I have made my decision long before this had ever been brought up." The pack looked at each other fearfully. Scylla closed her eyes, and said in a dark growl, "We're leaving this territory at dusk."

Mango's Adventures in Angst-Land: Chapter 12

(Author's Note: I'm ready to actually get to the arc of the comics I made. Tis the chaos in my head is gonna break me someday. Welp, here goes nothing. *Hands over the next short chapter* Enjoy!)

A few moments after the fight (in which Queener broke up), Scylla said as she smiled, "Alright, fine. I'll go home, on one condition."

Mango crossed her arms, her messy fur sticking out as she asked in a sassy voice, "Then what's your condition?"

Scylla turned serious. "Let me bring the Abstractions."

"HUH?" Kiui asked in alarm.

Mango raised a paw to rest on her cheek as she thought about the deal. "Hmmm..."

Kiui growled. "Just say yes!"

Mango sighed, making up her mind. "Well, I've made my choice. I've decided that you can -"

The Blizzard: Chapter 10/Epilogue

(Author's Note: IT'S TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIME!!!!!!! Oh, and Ajalia belongs to a different story yet to be written, but she is very much a part of the story.)

Luckily, this wasn't a city or a castle, like it was a year ago. It was more of an accident, the trigger for it being the animatronics and the surroundings affected was a forest.

Demetria will never make fun of Ashley, Serenity, Ajalia, and Amaris's fear of animatronics ever again. She understood that feeling now, Demetria ran and ran, never looking back to see if the animatronics are following.

Meanwhile, the blizzard above storms over to other areas, frosting them in ice.

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Mango looked outside groggily. "Uhh... guys? Should it be snowing at twelve a.m. in the morning?"

"What?" A very-awake Kiui asked, also looking through a window. "HOLY SALMON, IT'S SNOWING OUTSIDE!"

Hikari walked into the kitchen, asking groggily, "What's all the fuss about, girls?"

"It's snowing outside, about 20 miles away from us." Mango reported.

"What in the name of the heavens have I gotten myself into?" Hikari muttered. "It's winter, I'm sure everything's fine." Mango gave her sister a knowing look, which Kiui understood immediately.

Kiui gasped, whipping her head to look at the blizzard. "Demetria made the blizzard?! But she only does that if..."

"She's fearful," Mango muttered.

Kiui looked at Mango. "What?"

THE END OF THE BLIZZARD.

The Blizzard: Chapter 4

(Author's Note: Short chapter again. It was worth it!)

"My glass shoes are miiiissiiiinnnng!" The woman on the phone sobbed, making Demetria's mood drop. The one day she was supposed to be hanging out with her aunt has been interrupted and hands-down ruined by this one customer. But fake it 'till you make it, right?

So Demetria faked a cheery voice as she replied, "Ma'am, we're a hotel, not a detective agency. If you're not booking a reservation, please look for someone else."

"B-b-but I asked all the other detective agencies in town b-b-but they w-w-wouldn't heeeeeelp!" the wailed, nearly bursting Demetria's eardrum.

In a desperate attempt to save both her eardrums and her sanity, Demetria finally said, "Fine! Fine, we'll help you, just pleease stop whining like you're a bull calf!"

"Thank you! I'll be right over!" The woman said, hanging up quickly.

"Who was that?" Sylvia asked as she came into the office. "I can feel your annoyance from the pool."

"Some woman kept screaming about her glass slippers being missing, so I told her that I could help." Demetria replied. Sylvia's face paled. Demetria sighed and asked, "What did you do? Did you steal those shoes?"

"Ididn'tdonothingIgottagobye!" Sylvia ran.

"HEY! RETURN THOSE SHOES RIGHT NOW OR-"