Slowly, Star walked towards the stakes. In that moment, everything else seemed to blur into irrelevance.
Sarah had been badly shaken by the sudden monster attack, and truthfully, she still was. But the moment Star approached, that fear was quickly overshadowed by a burning desire to drive her fist into his face.
"Y-you." The word came out as a low mutter, her entire body trembling with rage.
Star exhaled. "Yeah." He looked at her, guilt written all over his face. "Me."
"Look, I know what I did, and I know that I need to—"
"Cut us loose from this damn thing," Zuru completed for him arrogantly. "Yeah, point made. Now get to it."
Star sighed tiredly. "I was going to say we shouldn’t dwell on what happened now..." He glanced towards the enormous creature trapped within the crimson cage. "But on that..." The urgency in his voice returned. "I say we take it down, and that way we take a huge step towards redeeming ourselves and—"
"Yeah, blah, blah, blah. I hear you. Now would you just—heh, heh..." Zuru tugged against the ropes. "CUT ME LOOSE!"
Star flinched at the sudden increase in volume. "Okay... Universe!"
"No."
The two froze.
"Huh?" they both turned towards Sarah.
"We’d rather be eaten by... by w-whatever that thing is than be released by you." Sarah glared at Star. "Not like you weren’t the reason we’re here in the first place."
Zuru turned towards Star, forcing his voice to harden. "Yeah, you were the one that—" He paused. It was as though Sarah’s words had finally entered his ears. He spun his head towards her.
"Wait. What?"
The Skarthrax released a deafening roar.
"AAH!"
Zuru flinched so hard that the ropes rattled. He glanced at the monster, still trapped inside the crimson pillars, then back at his sister.
"S-Sarah... I don’t think I’m siding with you this time."
"Yes, you are!"
"Look, there’s no time for this..." Star cut in. "This monster is strong. I can feel it. My matter smithing will only hold for so long. We need to figure out how to take it—"
"There’s no ’we,’ Star!" Sarah snapped, her voice rising.
The words struck him harder than she probably intended. It was like a blade to the heart.
"I don’t even know you anymore!" She shook her head, frustration and hurt mixing in her eyes. "You’re a prince! A High Prince of the entire Seven Kingdoms, while we are just..." Her teeth clenched bitterly. "We’re just thieves!"
She exhaled and lowered her head. "Just leave."
Something inside Star slumped. Maybe she was right. Maybe he had built their friendship on lies. And even if he hadn’t lied, would they have accepted him if they had known who he really was? He swallowed the thought. It didn’t matter now. He needed another chance to set things right.
"Please. I can’t do this alone. There’s more danger here. You need to trust me."
"Well, I did." Sarah cut him off sharply. "Would you say it turned out well—"
"I HAD NO CHOICE!"
Star’s roar exploded through the ruins. In his sudden rage he stamped his foot into the ground.
CRAAAAK!
The earth trembled, and cracks spiderwebbed outward from beneath his feet.
"Universe!" Zuru flinched violently.
Sarah was no different. But she had seen enough of Star to recognize that look. Whenever his anger became this destructive, it wasn’t simply frustration. There was something heavier underneath it, something he seemed to be fighting alone.
For the first time, she gazed upon him with tender eyes.
"What do you mean?"
Star took a slow breath, forcing himself to calm down.
"Everything was a setup. The earlier robbery, Janine..." His jaw tightened. "Hell, tonight was a setup."
Sarah and Zuru exchanged bewildered glances.
"They knew everything. And if you had walked into the Red Queen’s estate..." Star’s voice faltered. He breathed out, forcing the rage lower. "It wouldn’t have been an ordinary death."
Zuru frowned deeply as he studied Star, doubt evident in his eyes. "But why not kill us earlier when he had the chance? Why let us escape?"
"I guess it’s because then you could deny any claim that you were the Night Raiders," Star replied. "Since the Night raiders operate at night rather than during the day."
"So it’s better to get us at night instead," Zuru muttered, piecing it together. "And what better way to do that than make our heist easy? Give us more courage to come back at night."
"Exactly," Star replied.
Zuru’s face twisted. "T-that... that smart... annoying little piece of shit."
Star breathed out before looking at Sarah again. "I couldn’t lose you two. So I thought maybe the villagers would pass a better judgment. Something that wouldn’t end with you being tortured to death. So..."
"So you brought us in front of the magistrate," Sarah finished.
A small, reluctant chuckle escaped her.
Star nodded, his voice turning apologetic. "And I guess that didn’t turn out well either." He lowered his gaze. "I’m sorry."
Sarah stared at him for a moment. "Well, you could have led with that."
Star looked up. The surprise in his eyes was almost comical, and he did a terrible job of hiding the tiny spark of happiness that had suddenly appeared there.
Sarah noticed it and smiled. "Come on. Cut me loose before this damned monster eats me."
She deliberately glanced towards Zuru.
"Yeah, I know the reaction you’re expecting from me," Zuru replied carelessly, closing his eyes. "You ain’t getting it."
Star laughed as he cut Zuru loose, then moved over and freed Sarah.
"Comfort at last," Zuru croaked, stretching his stiff limbs.
Sarah stretched as well before rubbing her wrists where the ropes had dug mercilessly into her skin.
"Hey," she called softly.
"Hmm?" Star answered, stepping closer.
"I just wanted to say thanks... for having our backs." She said gently. She looked slightly shy. "And for this...!"
BAM!
Her fist connected brutally with Star’s face. His cheek rippled from the impact, and he staggered backwards. For a second, he simply stood there, blinking. The pain was there, but the shock was doing most of the work.
"Maybe next time, you just tell us the danger we’re in," Sarah said with a pout before turning towards the ruined remains of the house. ’Haah... That was more satisfying than I thought.’ She glanced sideways at him. ’Punching a prince. Hmph.’
"Heh-heh-heh." Zuru laughed, patting Star on the back. "You’re lucky."
Star slowly turned and gave him a stare that was 10X harder than the punch.
"Hey, it means she forgives you. Don’t be such a baby." Zuru chuckled again. "You’re lucky I don’t punch to forgive."
Star exhaled. "Yeah, right." He sneered. "I sure am."
The three stood together amid the wreckage, surrounded by broken stone, splintered wood, and the scars left behind by the Skarthrax’s emergence. The monster remained trapped only a short distance away, its massive body struggling against the crimson pillars. For the moment, it almost looked harmless.
"So..." Zuru asked, staring up at the enormous creature. "How do we kill this thing?"
Star looked up at the beast, anger for his uncle still vivid in his eyes. "I have an idea." He turned towards the siblings. "Zuru?"
Zuru immediately smiled and dropped into a dramatic fighting stance. "Reporting for duty, sir."
Star nodded. "Good. You’re the bait."
Zuru’s shoulders dropped. "I don’t think I heard you correctly." He croaked. "But I think I heard ’bait.’"
"Exactly."
Sarah couldn’t help but chuckle.
"You’re the one with the biggest mouth," Star continued. "So I’m going to need your expertise in pissing it off."
Zuru’s mood plummeted even further. "Aww, come on, guys. I thought I was going to have a huge share of the fight."
"Yeah," Star replied. "You would have, if you had powers... don’t be such a baby." He retaliated.
Sarah chuckled lightly before sympathetically patting her brother on the shoulder.
"Don’t worry, big bro. Maybe next time."
Zuru’s shoulders slumped even lower. "Great. That’s very comforting."
Sarah ignored him and turned towards Star.
"But it’s trapped and seems vulnerable now. What’s the need for a bait when we can just deal the killing strike?"
Star nodded apprehensively. "That precisely is what I need you for."
He reached into the side of his clothes and pulled out her dagger before handing it back to her.
An awkward silence fell between them. Sarah stared at the dagger, then at Star. After a moment’s hesitation, she slowly stretched out her hand and took it.
Zuru’s grin immediately returned. "Well, now I see what you used to stab us in the back." He looked between them before spreading his arms proudly. "See what I did there? Huh? Huh? With the dagger and stabbing in the back thing?"
Sarah’s brow furrowed while Star stared at him blankly.
"Oh, come on, guys." Zuru grimaced. "You two can’t possibly be this dumb."
The two couldn’t help but laugh.
However, Star had deliberately played along with the stupidity, but he couldn’t have been happier that Zuru had managed to lighten the mood. The guilt that had been drowning him earlier had already begun to ease.
He turned towards Sarah. "...Now, to answer your question. Zuru acting as bait is a backup plan should something go wrong while we try to deal the killing strike."
Sarah shrugged. "Well, I don’t see the need. This big-for-nothing already seems defeated to—"
VWOOSH!
She didn’t get to finish.
The entire atmosphere changed. It was as though the temperature had suddenly plummeted, and all three turned instinctively towards the monster.
"Universe!" Zuru cried as raw fright now crawled into his body.
Sarah froze as well, the confidence that had returned to her moments ago dissolving instantly.
The Skarthrax’s four crimson eyes had turned dark blue. The ridges and cracks running across its body glowed with the same eerie blue, while frost began spreading across the ruined ground around it. Star’s breath even misted in the sudden cold.
Then the tips of the crimson pillars changed. One after another, they turned ice blue, and the frost raced down their length.
Star’s eyes widened.
"No..."
CRACK!
All ten pillars burst apart into chunks of ice.
The Skarthrax threw back its head and released a deafening roar that shook the ruins around them.
Zuru stared at the now-free monster. "What was that you were saying about the monster being defeated?"
Sarah ignored him.
The Skarthrax opened its enormous circular mouth. A tiny blue light appeared inside. At first, it was no more than a spark, but then it began to condense upon itself. The light grew brighter and bigger, filling the creature’s maw with an eerie blue glow despite the freezing air surrounding them.
The creature slowly leaned backwards as the blue energy continued gathering inside its maw.
Star’s eyes widened as he noticed what was about to happen.
He spun towards Sarah and Zuru, horror flashing across his face.
"RUUUUUUN!"
SHRAAAAAAAAAAM!
A torrent of icy blue energy explo
ded from the Skarthrax’s mouth, tearing across the ruins with such force that the ground beneath it cracked apart.
Sarah and Zuru barely had time to react before the freezing blast came crashing towards them.
KRAA-BOOOOOOM!