Chapter 7

As the weeks went by, Peanut became more and more like his usual self. He began waking Grape up from her naps again, and was as playful as ever. Until one day, Grape found Digredior talking with Mr. and Mrs. Sandwich in the kitchen. Peanut was also in the room, smiling and wagging his tail happily.

"I have fixed the doggy." Digredior replied cheerfully, patting Peanut on the head. "He has successfully recovered from his trauma and is now able to move on with his life." He turned and smiled at Peanut. "It was great meeting you again, I hope we meet again." He lightly tapped his finger on Peanut's nose and nodded to the others as she made out the door.

"Until next time, servus."

As Digredior entered his apartment door, he realized that the door was already unlocked from the inside. He quickly formed a dagger in his hand and swung the door open.

He instantly noticed a black haired man, sitting in a chair in the middle of his living room. He twiddled a white, bone-shaped dog tag between his fingers.

"Hi."

Digredior looked from the man to the dog tag and scoffed, his arms crossed.

"So, this is your, 'trump card'?"

The man giggled and placed the tag between his teeth. "Yeah, I thought I would be best to end the game in a somewhat ironic fashion."

Digredior raised an eyebrow, his curiosity was piqued. "So… You're going to rape him… Again?"

Dreizehn giggled. "No silly. I'm going to kill him. I'll simply kill him. It's that easy."

Digredior gave an expression of mock anger. "If it's so easy then why didn't you do so in the first place?"

The man laughed loudly. "Because it wouldn't be fun that way."

Digredior chuckled, and looked up at the ceiling. "Ah, yes. You made him slash his wrists, right? That was a masterpiece. Very nice."

The man bowed slightly in his seat. "Why thank you." He replied happily, before leaning back and grinning, followed by Digredior, who sat in another chair.

"So how are you going to do it?" Digredior asked. "I mean, you can't just walk into Babylon Gardens. The police are still after 'you'."

The man pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Digredior. On it, it said that Babylon Gardens was celebrating its annual summer festival and that there would be all sorts of fun activities and music. "No worries, I just need a simple distraction, that's all."

Digredior smirked. "Well, I'll admit I'm impressed." The paper suddenly burned into nothing.

"Alright, I'm in. I'm through helping that pathetic mutt. How can I help?"

Grape clung onto Peanut's arm as they approached the tents that were plotted around the cul-de-sac that they lived in. As the sunlight faded, the din of the people increased as the festival roared to life.

Grape looked up to Peanut, who was happily enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of the festival, then down to his arms. Even though it was barely noticeable, Grape could see the remnants of a scar where Peanut slashed his wrist. Grape held on to Peanut tighter, which the canine noticed.

"Grape?" Peanut looked at his purple friend, who suddenly stopped him.

"Peanut…" She spoke, her voice cracking slightly. "Could you promise me one thing?"

Peanut gave a confused smile and nodded it head. "Alright."

Grape lifted Peanut's wrist between the both of them and gave Peanut's scar a kiss as a single tear fell down her cheek. "Please don't leave me again."

Peanut gasped as Grape suddenly burrowed her head into his chest and began sobbing. "Promise!" She choked. "I can't bear the thought of losing you. Promise you'll never leave me."

Peanut smiled and he put his arms around Grape and rested his head on hers.

"Yeah, I promise."

As the festival roared on, Grape and Peanut spent the majority of their time playing the festival games and enjoying the festival food. As they approached the center of the festival, they were greeted by Fido, who was making sure that nothing dangerous happened while the festival went on.

"Aw man…" He sighed, his ears drooping. "I wish I could join in the festivities, but…" He looked around before quickly snatching a caramel apple off a nearby stand and consuming it vigorously.

As Grape and Peanut watched the horror that was Fido eating a caramel apple, Grape turned and gestured to Peanut that they should get back to the parents if they were to see the fireworks. They both agreed and were about to get going when a sudden bang caught Peanut's attention.

He turned to see a man shooting a BB rifle at one of the stands.

A man with black hair.

The man looked towards Peanut, smiled, and mouthed the word, "Hi."

Peanut froze, his legs felt as if they couldn't move. Grape looked at Peanut with a confused expression.

"You ok Peanut?"

Peanut said nothing, but immediately ran off in the opposite direction as the man.

"Peanut!" Grape called out, but Peanut kept running. As Grape wondered why Peanut freaked out she felt the presence of a figure walk past her.

She looked and saw a man with long black hair and dirty matted clothes walk past her in the direction that Peanut ran off.

And then she noticed that he was holding a white, bone-shaped dog tag in his right hand, a BB rifle in the other.

Grape's eyes widened as she realized that the very man who abused her friend just walked past her, and something inside her said that he was after Peanut.

She turned to Fido, who was now wiping caramel off his face.

"FIDO! HE'S HERE!"

"Who?"

"THE GUY!"

"Uh, Grape? I'm gonna need more tha-"

"THE GUY WHO…"

Fido's eyes widened in realization. Grape turned to where the man was walking, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"You guys need to find him. I think he's after Peanut again! He had a gun!"

Fido nodded. "I'll call back up. You should try and find Peanut."

At that instant, Grape darted as fast as she could, heading in the same direction as Peanut and the man.

Fido pulled his walkie-talkie and clicked it on.

"Yeah, I have a possible trace on the suspect regarding the sexual assault on Peanut B. Sandwich seven months ago. He is armed with a wea-"

Suddenly, a man with blonde hair and a white coat stood behind him, and placed his hands around Fido's head.

"Oh no you don't. You fools aren't getting involved with my fun."

Fido froze for a few seconds before speaking again.

"False alarm, please disregard that first report, over."

The man laughed.

"Good boy. Now, didn't that apple make you sick? VOMITO!"

And with that, Sdraiarsi Digredior vanished into thin air as Fido kneeled to the ground and began throwing up.

Peanut ran as fast as he could out of the festival. His legs began to hurt and his eyes blurred with tears, but he continued to run.

He didn't stop running until he reached the edge of the forest. He paused and leaned against a tree to catch his breath.

Suddenly, there was a loud crack and the tree he was leaning on exploded into splinters of wood. Peanut turned immediately to see the black haired man standing there with a rifle aimed at Peanut.

"Sorry, it was fun watching you squirm, but I think it's time for you to die."

Peanut's body quivered in fear as he stared down the muzzle of the rifle. The man walked closer towards Peanut.

"Get on your knees." He said quietly. "Just like last time."

Peanut, tears streaming down his cheeks, quietly got down on his knees.

"This was it." Peanut thought as the muzzle of the rifle dug into Peanut's forehead. He knew that this man was going to kill him. Peanut would never see Grape, Fido, King, Max or any of his friends again.

He made a sigh and closed his eyes.

"Until next time." The man said, his finger on the trigger. "Serv-AUGH!"

Peanut's eyes snapped open to see Grape in front of him, claws extended, as the man was sprawled on the ground, covering his face.

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HIM." Grape hissed.

The man got up and staggered for a few moments only to get tackled down by Kevin, followed by Ralph, Fido, and a few human police officers.

"Don't you dare move, pervert!" Ralph shouted.

King and Tarot watched as the black haired man was carried into a police car before joining Peanut and Grape as they talked with Fido.

"Yeah, turns out his name was 'Pezzo Tredici'. He had no real criminal record before your 'incident', but he'll be in the big house for a long time."

Peanut immediately hugged Grape. "Thank you." He said quietly, before looking towards the others.

"Thank you."

As the festival dispersed, King quietly sat on the curb, staring at the street. Tarot looked at his face with an expression of curiosity.

"You look upset." She said.

King gave her a slight glare before getting up. "Yeah, I was just thinking about 'Digradoo' or whatever he was called."

"Digredior. His name was 'Sdraiarsi Digredior'. "

"Yeah." King knocked over a can that lied on the street. "It's just… I saw how he and that other dog treated Peanut like he was a pathetic toy, and I felt so angry yet so helpless at the same time."

Tarot paused to process what King said. "What would you do if you weren't 'helpless'?"

King hesitated for a moment before speaking. "I would make sure that those two would never cause anymore suffering again."

Tarot looked at King with a slight hint of amusement. Perhaps it wasn't just his appearance that changed…

Tarot smiled. "Fine, let's go."

King gave Tarot a bewildered look. "Wha- Where are we going?"

Tarot grinned, which was strange even for her, and grabbed King by the arm.

"To grant your wish."

And with that, the duo vanished.

The next thing King saw was Kistune.

King looked around before growling in frustration.

"Fuck! I'm back here again, aren't I?" He shouted, looked from Kistune, to Spirit Dragon ,to Pete, and finally to…

Dreizehn.

King sputtered at the sight of the border collie who was about the same size as the other galactic nerds.

"HANG ON! What the hell is he doing here? I thought it was Digredior that was pulling the shots!"

Dreizehn laughed. "No, Sdraiarsi Digredior was nothing more than an avatar I used to both manipulate Peanut and deceive Kistune at the same time. "

King stared at the giant dog in surprise. "So he's like Tarot?" He asked, gesturing towards SD.

Dreizehn shook his head. "Nope, I just created him from scratch, along with Peanut's 'special' friend…"

King didn't even flinch.

"Not surprised."

"Nope, I knew you were involved directly with that guy since I met you."

Dreizehn nudged Pete and chuckled. "Sharp game piece you go there."

Pete however said nothing in response, which surprised even King.

"Pete is still upset about our last 'meeting'." SD explained. "So Dreizehn is taking his place for a while."

King looked at Kistune. "Is that even legal?"

Kistune nodded. "If Pete allows it, which he did, another player can substitute him for a while."

Dreizehn laughed, and suddenly shrunk to the same size as King. "So, what business do you really have here?" He sat on one of the other game pieces.

King gestured toward SD.

"Um…" SD began. "I was requesting that King would be able to challenge Dreizehn to a 'match'."

Kistune paused for a moment before nodding. "Approved."

King looked around the room in confusion. "HUH? What's a 'match'?"

Dreizehn suddenly jumped off the game piece he was resting on and landed on King, sending both of them straight to the ground. Dreizehn laid on top of King, face-to-face. Dreizehn grinned mischievously.

"Hey, dO yOu remEmber hOw mE and DigrEdIor wEre playIng that onE game with PEANUT'S life?"

Dreizehn's face suddenly began to twist up. His eyes became more narrow and bent and his mouth became bigger. King gulped.

"WeLL, NoW You… gEt… To… plAy… IT!"

Dreizehn got up and faced the other galactic nerds, his face returning to normal. King rose his body up, but did not stand.

"I HAVE A PROPOSITION! If King wins the match, then I will wander throughout existence and never return. But if I win the match, then I get to become game master and challenge Kistune to a match."

The 3 superior beings muttered to each other before Kistune nodded his head.

"Fine, I will restart the game so Peanut never meets the 'perpetrator'. Therefore, you both will have equal leverage."

As the game board began to glow, the last thing that King saw was Dreizehn laughing as everything suddenly faded to black.

"Today feels like a good day!"

Peanut smiled as he acquired another perfect score on another video game. He had spent the last few weeks preparing to beat Joey at "Ultra Negima Zetta Fighter 2", and the all the late nights of caffeine and playing until three in the morning finally paid off. The hound grinned and arose from the beanbag chair he was sitting on and stretched, ready to prove his gaming skills.

But before the master gamer could defeat the worthless n00bs who challenged him, he would need to stock up on energy drinks. Peanut sighed, he remember that ever since the Milton ferrets visited the cul-de-sac, energy drinks weren't allowed in the house. And since Grape wasn't around, he couldn't ask her for money. The hound paced and paced until he concluded that Joey probably had drinks already stashed at his house, so Peanut decided to leave a note before walking out the front door.

Peanut walked at a slightly hurried pace. Looking up, he noticed that the sky was turning grey. "Hm, it's gonna rain soon. I hope Joey doesn't cancel…" He was about two houses down from Joey's house when he noticed a relatively young male human with long, wavy, black hair unloading boxes from a dark-red van. The man looked over his shoulder and formed a warm smile. "Hey there.?" He said. "Would there be a chance you could give me a hand? I'll pay you."

Peanut hesitated. He thought over the fact that he could make a few bucks before clobbering Joey at his favorite game, but he knew Mom and Dad told him several times not to talk to strangers. "Sorry mister, but I'm really busy. Have a nice day!" The dog replied cheerfully, and left in such a hurry that he didn't even realize it was raining until he arrived at Joey's house.

Chapter 6

At first, all i can see is darkness.

I can't see where I am, or anything around me.

Then I hear their voices.

"Serves you right. You totally deserved that." Says Bino.

"Why'd you leave yourself vulnerable like that? You're totally pathetic for not defending yourself." Says Tarot.

"You know, normal pets don't act this way. Do you understand that word, normal?" Says Max.

"Get away from me, I HATE YOU!" Says Fox.

Every sentence that they speak forms into a blade and stabs me. I usually end up covered with my own blood. But despite my injuries, despite my pain, I don't succumb to it.

Then, she appears. She appears right next to HIM, she talks to HIM and laughs and laughs, and laughs. But as she turns away from HIM and looks at me, her cheerful demeanor changes to one of pity, if not cruelty.

"My god." She says to me. "What a nuisance you turned out to be."

Another blade stabs me in the back.

"After what you went through, you actually tried to have us bear your burden for you? You're weak."

Another blade stabs me in the leg.

"You're even incapable of ending your own life. Are you really THAT stupid?
Another blade stabs me in the shoulder.

"Get away from me. I hate you, and I've always have."

I let out a gasp as a rather large blade stabs me in the chest. She simply giggles and turns her back towards me.

HE doesn't even let a second pass as HE approaches me and grabs the blade in my chest.

"I'm sOrrY, bUt YOu hAvE sOmEthIng thAt bElOngs tO mE…"

HE rips out the blade, as well as my heart, which is impaled onto the blade. I cry out in pain, just as I did before.

HE removes the heart and examines it. It is still beating and connected to me.

HE looks at me with HIS eyes, just like before. Then, HIS mouth grows wide, exposing pointed teeth and a serpentine tongue. His eyes turn pure red, and he dangles the heart above his head and he tilts it back.

"THiS iS MiNe NoW!"

He eats the heart in one gulp, and I look desperately at her, who is now facing me again, laughing.

She is laughing.

Laughing at me.

"Goodbye Peanut, I'll make sure the others forget about you…"

Digredior scribbled into a notepad before talking. It had been several months since Peanut's accident, and he was now getting counseling by Digredior three times a week. Dreizehn was nowhere to be seen.

"He got hit by a train that carried milk." Digredior explained. "Fortunately he's alive, but all of his limbs are broken. He'll be absent for most of the time."
Digredior was with Peanut in the living room of the Sandwich household. Digredior chose to sit in a lounge chair while Peanut simply sat on the couch. A box of "Tiss-You's" was between them.

"Does anything happen afterwards?"

Peanut's darkened eyes looked down at the carpet.

"N-No, I usually wake up afterwards."

Digredior added that note.

"I see. I don't have to guess who HE is, do I?"

Peanut said nothing, he continued his staring match with the floor.

"And the girl is Grape, I presume?"

Peanut's eyes welled with tears. Digredior let out a slight "tch", and muttered something under his breath.

"Need a tissue?"

Peanut looked up and grabbed a tissue, whipping his eyes and nose with it as Digredior looked at his watch.

"Why do you think that everybody hates you Peanut?" Digredior asked the sobbing dog. Peanut gasped for air and coughed. Digredior approached the dog and was about to pat him on the back when the dog decided to cling to him and continue to weep.

"Because… Because I could've prevented this. Mom said I shouldn't talk to strangers, b-but I didn't listen. I'm weak, I don't even deserve live."

Digredior looked down at the crying animal that clung so helplessly to his jacket and smiled. He wrapped around him and squeezed him gently in a hug.

"Peanut, you're not weak. You have a strong heart, you shouldn't think that this in entirely your fault."

Peanut lose his head in confusion and sniffed. "Huh?"

"There are things that people cannot control in their lives, but they do what they must to live from their mistakes. True, you should've listed to your "mother". But you also proved to be polite and respectful by choosing to help someone who asked for your help."

Peanut pushed himself away from Digredior and stood upright. A look of realization appeared on his face.

"Sure, rape a horrible scenario." Digredior spoke bluntly. "But now, you should come out of it stronger. Don't let it take your life away. Learn from it and become a better person than you were before."

As Digredior finished his speech. Grape and Mr. Sandwich walked in the room.
"Mr. Digredior, is everything alri-"

Grape froze as she looked at Peanut, who now looked like he finished carrying something heavy. He looked at Grape and smiled.

This time, it was real and warm.

"Hi Grape."

Grape's eyes instantly began tearing up as she embraced her friend, who after all this time, finally returned. She looked up into his eyes, they were bright again.
Digredior observed Peanut again.

NEW DATA ENTRY: Victim has gained understanding of the problem before him. Analyzing data based on new entry:

Possibility of [SUCCESSFUL] suicide based on acquired data – 15%

Current victim mortality status based on acquired data – FINE.

Victim has [HOPEFULLY] recovered meaning in life.

Current course of action: Despite this miraculous recovery, I will recommend two One-hour therapy sessions a week to monitor the victim's condition. Hopefully, this change will be permanent.

Digredior sat in a folding chair in his apartment as he heard a knock on his door.
"Open." He shouted.

He looked over to see Tarot and King enter the doorway.

"Ah, well if it isn't my client and her friend. I trust everything's going well?"

"It is." Tarot said. "Thanks to you, Peanut is almost back to his original self."

Digredior smirked. "No, not yet, but at least he's finally starting to let it go."

"Indeed." Tarot said, bowing. "I must go now, have a good day."

Tarot vanished instantly, leaving King behind.

"Wait Tarot, no… damn." He swore and he looked at Digredior, who was staring back at him.

"What are you looking at?" He snarled at the blond-haired man, who leaned back in his chair and put a hand to his chin.

"Which one of them changed you?"

"What?"

"Which one of those three fools changed you? Just tell me that."

"How did you-"

"Are you actually going to ask me that, or are you going to answer my question?"

"Uh… Pete, the blue griffin…"

"Ah, yes, Pete. He's a rule-breaker, like me."

"Huh?"

"Say, how's about I turn you back to a human? Hm, does that sound good for you?"

"Um… No thanks, I don't think it's good for me to turn to a human at the moment.
What with that I was a convict and all that before Pete showed up…"

"I could remove your record…"

"AND I'm kinda in a… 'relationship' at the moment."

"I know, 'Fox' right? Hmu, you guys make a cute couple."

King was about to protest when he felt a presence behind him.

"Dreizehn." Digredior muttered.

Dreizehn stared at King for a few moments before speaking.

"Isn't he the queer one?"

Digredior nodded, and Dreizehn giggled as he sat down in another chair, leaving a now embarrassed King between the both of them.

"Oh, King. Feel free to enjoy yourself to the kitchen; we're just going to talk."
King walked into the kitchen and began making himself a sandwich.

"So." Dreizehn began, "How's Peanut?"

"Fine, but overall, he's STILL an utterly annoying creature."

King stopped spreading butter on a piece of bread, a look of surprise on his face. Did Digredior just…?

"But when he began crying about Grape, it took almost every fiber in my body not to laugh."

"Really? That's terrible!" Dreizehn let out a whooping laugh while Digredior
smirked. A cup of tea formed in Dreizehn's paw and he began taking large gulps.

"Go on."

"And then, just to make things better." Digredior said, now beginning to giggle. "At the start of our session, be began whining about some stupid nightmare he had."

Dreizehn spat out a mouthful of whatever he was drinking and began giggling. "ARE YOU SERIOUS? WHAT WAS IT ABOUT?"

Dreizehn blinked and a tiny figure of Peanut appeared on the small coffee table between them, it looked around and stared at the both of them. King suddenly walked into the living room, without the sandwich.

Digredior looked toward King.

"Oh, you're still here, I almost forgot."

He snapped his fingers.

"Watch closely, or you'll miss the show."

King watched in horror as Peanut's nightmare unfolded on the coffee table, like a tiny horror show. He watched as Peanut was stabbed with those blades, and he watched as his heart was ripped out by a mysterious blacked haired man, who turned into a demon and ate it afterwards.

Throughout the horrific spectacle, both Digredior and Dreizehn were laughing, unable to contain themselves.

When it was over, the figures that stood on the table vanished as instantly as they appeared, except for the Peanut figure, which Dreizehn picked up and examined.

"Huh, I see he 'found a reason to live' right?" He handed the figure to Digredior, who glared at it.

"Yes, that means I've won, you have nothing left to use. I win this game, despite how tedious it was at my part."

"Hey, at least you weren't the bad guy, getting your plans shot down like that."
"If I was the 'bad guy'…" Digredior crushed the figure in his hand, which gave out a loud cry before turning into glittery dust. King felt sick to his stomach.

"He would've been dead long ago."

King suddenly stepped between them. "What are you saying, is this some sort of game to you?"

Digredior stared at him with a confident expression. "Yes." He said calmly. "It is a game between the both of us."

"YEAH, SO BUTT OUT!" Dreizehn shouted at the corgi before getting a stern look from Digredior.

King glared at the blonde sorcerer that sat before him. He was worse than Pete!
"What's wrong? I thought you 'hated' pets."

King clenched his fists.

"Yeah, I used to think animals card only about themselves. That they were mean and would betray you in a second." King closed his eyes. "But then, I met Fox, Sasha, and Peanut, and they changed me. I found out more about myself as King them than I ever did as Joel."

Digredior stayed silent as he listened to King, his eyebrows raised in interest.

"And now I see that you guys are even worse than Pete, playing with Peanut's life in some sort of twisted game."

"Yeah, so?" Digredior asked.

King's ears flattened as Digredior brought his face close to his, and cupped the corgi's muzzle with his hand.

"You know, you should be grateful that I'm at least on your side." He whispered, smiling warmly. "Because I'll gladly change sides at any minute."

King growled. "You damn…"

Digredior released King and giggled. "Anyway, the endgame is approaching soon, so goodbye."

And in an instant, King vanished.

Dreizehn smirked. "He's funny."

Digredior sighed. "Alright, since you have no more tricks, I conclude this game ov-"

"WAIT!" Dreizehn shouted, his paws in the air. "I have one more trick left!"

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, I saved the best card for last."

"Will it be worth it?"

"Oh, you have no idea…"

Meanwhile, at the edge of Babylon Gardens, a man stepped out of a crimson red van. His black hair blew in the wind as he looked at the sign that said, "WELCOME TO BABLYON GARDENS!"

In his hand, he held a dog tag shaped like a white bone.

"I'm back, my friend." He muttered, as he got into his van and drove towards Babylon Gardens.

"I'm back, and this time, I'll be sure to silence you for good."