Chapter Twenty-Four: Wrath of the Reptile
MARIO
A loud rushing came from my lungs as the gargantuan head rose from below and sunk its enormous jaws into our boat. From the overall weight shift the boat capsized and there was a large splash. My body was thrown underwater and I saw Lucy shrieking and passing out. I sunk slowly into the swamp. I opened my eyes, struggling to see against the intense conditions. Out of the distance I saw two red eyes coming right at me. I swam in the other direction. I looked to see it only an inch behind me. I swum upward from the creature, and brought my hammer down on the creature’s skull. It roared, before turning to look at me. It seemed a bit scared.
I looked in horror as the creature swam toward Lucy's unconscious body, jaws open menacingly. I swam forward and kicked the creature's jaws. Then I swam to the surface, took a breath, then swam down to the monster. I bashed it several times in the mouth with my hammer. Blood seeped from its reptilian mouth. I took a good look at the beast good for the first time. It was large, probably as long as a town block. It had orange tinted spikes that went down its back and had black tips. The skin was green, with a reddish hue to it and beastly inhuman eyes. The creature, for something so large, was extremely fast. It had short arms and legs with two talons at the end of each that were a silver color.
I swam to the surface and back down. I was curious, because it looked as if the creature was looking at me, as if it was studying me, in the same inquisitive way. I didn't wait. I started to charge a fireball, but all that appeared was a ball of superheated water. It would have to do. The ball flew into the beast, making a large amount of steam rise to the top of the water. There was a great rippling of water and a cloud of smoke, but all that was seen when it cleared was the creature, with rage in its eyes. I looked over at Lucy. Bubbles were coming from her mouth. She needed air, fast. I swam up to her, but was pushed hard against some underwater stone when the creature grabbed my legs.
I smashed at its hands with my hammer and rose to Lucy as the beast growled in pain. I picked her up and put her on the island. She started coughing. "...Mario..?" She said weakly. I smiled. Our time was cut short as an enormous claw reached from the water and snagged me underneath it. I struggled against the creature’s claw, but it was unflagging. A second claw grasped me from behind and pulled me hard to its chest. My head hit rough scales and it reared back in pain. The creature held my head in both hands and seemed as if to rip it off. And it would have done just that if I had not loosened its grip and smashed it in the belly with the brutal hammer.
It then grabbed my waist and started shaking me. I realized I would soon run out of oxygen. I tried to pry myself free from its grasp to no avail. The creature's eyes were mocking me. Mocking me... Breaking free I split into several duplicates which wounded the creatures eyes. I escaped just long enough so that I could return to the surface. My head broke the surface and I let out a huge gasp, only to be pulled under once more. The claw threw me roughly into a wall. It slashed at me, angered every time I dodged. I kicked it in the face and pummeled it with my fists. The creature's own fist came down on me, knocking me to the swamp floor.
It landed upon me, knocking a multitude of bubbles out of my mouth. I uppercut the creature's jaw, which was retaliated with a slash to my stomach. Blood ran into the water. The creature just looked at me, unmoving. At first I was confused, but then I understood. It had me right where it wanted. I wasn't going anywhere. My vision was getting blurry and more bubbles escaped my mouth...
Lucy was on the marshy land sobbing. She desperately wanted me to be okay. The water started rippling and she gasped. Could it be me? The giant beast leaped from the water and onto the ground. She screamed.
I jumped up from behind him and shot several fireballs at his tough hide. The beast roared impatiently, thinking he had finished me off. His fist collided with my head and I hit the dirt. I escaped from under his hand and shot up into the air like a vengeful rocket. I kicked him in the face, igniting his snout, causing him to bellow. This roar shook the trees, and we looked at each other with great distaste. He hurtled forward, knocking us both into the murky depths. I kicked and punched and headbutted the fowl thing. He slashed at me, cutting deeper into my stomach. I shoulder rammed him, and he flicked his tail about, bloodying my nose. I hit his snout hard with my mighty hammer, and when he shrunk backwards, I continued the assail, hitting hard and fierce.
His jaws closed around me in a deadly embrace. The razor sharp dagger teeth clamped around my body, compressing me. He was tearing me apart, and it was dark. I conjured heat, and sent a ball of hot water down into the creature’s throat. It roared and let go of me. I smashed it again in the head with my hammer. The eyes of the creature looked bloodshot and it was breathing heavily. I swam back to the surface, before jettisoning down to the creature. A heavy claw was swung at me, but I swum backwards a bit to dodge this. Another claw was swiped at my head and I dodged again. I kicked and punched the creature, causing it to retreat. I swam forward, the creature with a slightly startled face.
I pounded my fist again and again into the creature's snout. It was getting angrier and angrier with each passing minute. I watched the thing’s tail fly up too late. It struck me in the jaw, knocking me back several feet. It grabbed me and pushed me against the wall. I retaliated with a hammer blow that made him back up. He grabbed me and dragged me several feet into a large hole in the rock. I was surprised when I hit the earth hard. It was a sort of underwater cavern. This was odd, in the middle of a swamp. Long, dripping stalagmites hung from the ceiling and water dripped from them. I thought about this for later. I had little time to think, for the creature had followed me inside. It roared, which made the cave walls shake and me cover my ears.
Seeing me distracted, it galloped over towards me, only to see I had jumped over him. I grinned. Down here I could make fire. I brought my arms upward, conjuring a wall of flame that engulfed the beast as it growled. It started coughing. I hoped it was from the smoke. No. A huge ball of acidic goop, similar to the ones from the smaller creatures, was hurled at me. I lost my balance, and when the cave floor dissolved a bit I fell into the water. The creature came over and looked down into the hole, staring intently. It saw bubbling, and then a fiery tornado came from the water and punched him in the jaw. It flipped over backwards, roaring. Its eyes locked against mine and I jumped into the air, bottomfisting his stomach. The creature bellowed, once again shaking the cave walls.
It retained itself back on its hind legs and snapped at me. I did several backflips before sending a fireball downwards. It growled before whipping its tail at me again and only hitting the wall. I kicked it hard, knocking the creature several feet backwards. It pawed the air, repeatedly trying to hit me. I sent a long, winding blast of fire at the creature and it jumped up and over the blast, landing behind me. It was getting crafty. I leaped over several blows and slid underneath its stomach, creating fire as I did. It roared again, in pure frustration. I slid under him again, causing a great deal of pain. The enraged creature slipped into the hole it had made. I tensed. Waited. Watched.
Then from beneath me, the rock cracked and it came up underneath me. Its jaws snapping wildly, I repelled it only with a rapid shower of fireballs. This only enraged him more and he flew towards me, faster than anything I had ever seen. Then, it had me cornered. I was gasping for air as it had me crushed into the wall with its mouth open wide. I stretched my arm up, the creature following my gaze. Another claw sent my arm to my side. I sneered at it. Opening my mouth, I let a large fireball hit a stalactite. It shook violently for a couple of seconds, then fell. The creature stepped back hastily.
I shot more fireballs at the other stalactites. They too rumbled, before falling a great distance. He continued dodging until he had no room left. The creature let out a low whimper and a glare of hatred at me, before the stalactite fell, and impaled him through the head. The blood splattered onto the ground. I gasped and breathed heavily. I then swam from the large hole and went back to the ground, Lucy lying there. I took her over my shoulder and leaped into the water, using my fire to propel us. We were taken to the shore after a short time...
Chapter Twenty-Five: Fragments
BOW
I looked into the face of my rival as I split her into two and shattered her evil spirit. From the fragments came a brilliant, blinding light as the angel I had seen not so long ago appeared, garbed in nothing but the wings on her back. She smiled at me. She looked at my sword. "This is my true form... That sword," she started, "is the one weapon you will need to bring down her evil. It was crafted by the gods themselves..." Her head had a halo of light around it.
I looked at my sword in awe and amazement. I held it up in the air as it gleamed with a heroic aura. I breathed deeply and found myself staring at the blade. It seemed only an ordinary blade. "Wait, tell me. How do you use the golden fang?" I asked.
The angel smiled. "It is simple. You must hold on to it, and imagine where you want to go.
"Clara?" I asked.
"Yes?" she replied.
I held out my sword heroically as I stared her down. "I want to fight you. To truly train hard."
The angel was a bit surprised at this, but took out a large, golden-encrested sword from her back and thrust it forward challengingly. "Come, Bow. Fight me."
I yelled ferociously as I went into battle, striking against her sword and defending and parrying against her blows. I breathed in, and ran forward, unleashing a flurry of blows. The swords held together and we pushed upon one another. I slashed at her leg and she jumped backwards, landing on her feet. She swung her blade at me and I blocked. "Good. good! Stop my blows! Retaliate!" I swung and slashed and cut, meeting sword every time. I was getting a bit flustered, but I strained myself to stay calm. A blow from above knocked me on the head with the flat part of her blade. I sprawled over onto my side. She laughed. "In a real fight you would have been dead."
She came over to me and helped me up. She instructed me to get into a fighting stance, and I blocked another fierce blow. She swung her blade from side to side. "Learn the ways of deception, skill, and fierceness. These three things will help you defeat Alexandria." I parried again, and aimed for her head. She blocked and sent me backwards. I landed right side up, though, and continued.
I slashed at her midsection, yet she blocked it. She then parried again, and knocked me over. She waited until I got up and ready before swiftly attacking again. I then got hit again. As she came over, I leaped up and stuck the sword against her neck. She smiled. "Very good, Bow." I smiled too, having overcome something like this.
"Another thing. This sword...it is powered by memories.... fragments, if you will. Fragments are the key. Those who love you. Their love will power your sword... Fragments," she said, before slowly disappearing...
The group of small, purple Mushroom creatures turned towards us, glowering. They opened their mouths to reveal sharp, pointed fangs. One leaped at me. I punched it in the stomach and it fell over. The others looked at me. The group of creatures came forward, attacking us. I ran from the room into the open corridor, here there was green goo underneath us. I braced for battle as did my green friend. Several pulled out small, green-barreled devices with a strange design on them... A large, pink laser hit the ground only a couple of feet away from me. I leaped back as another laser just missed me. I pulled out my blaster and aimed it at a creature. It growled, and then jumped out of the way as my Bullet Bill went harmlessly under it. I smirked, as the projectile was coming right back. It backflipped and sent it right back at me. I had no time to dodge, I was blown back by the explosion. Mewtwo90 and I hit the wall hard, me rubbing my sore head.
I breathed heavily. "What are those things, dude?" I asked.
He stared at them. "I don't know....I've never seen anything like them... yet, they seem oddly familiar." I grit my teeth. That didn't help much.
I shot another two rounds at them, careful to see their actions. Once again they sent them back at me. With a swift motion I cut the Bills in half with my sword, sending sparks everywhere. Mewtwo90 mentally grabbed them and hurled them at the creatures. This time it was there turn to be surprised. The pieces blew up, sending two of the purple Mushrooms sprawling into the acidic goop. The others looked at us with a great hatred. They pulled out laser blasters and started firing at us. I pulled out many shuriken from my pocket and threw them at the creatures. They dodged with agile grace. Then from behind, a large, red creature rumbled out. It looked a lot larger then the others, and it had four sharp horns on its bulbous head. It ran forward towards us, bellowing insanely. Out of its clawed hands, two large fireballs were formed and thrown at us. I jumped to the side and shot a Bill at him, but he put his claws in front of him, then took the explosion and was unharmed.
It roared and two more fireballs were fired. It was firing fireball after fireball, not letting up. We kept dodging, then it stopped, and before we knew it, two glass prisons were formed around us, keeping us from escaping. The creature whipped out a large steel ball and swung it about viciously. I hopped and noticed I could move. "HOP FOR YOUR LIFE!" I called to the alien besides me. We hopped but then I turned to see the ball hurtling towards my face, it would take my head off if I didn't jump, so I jumped.... and it hit me in a much more unpleasant place. My glass prison shattered and I fell to the floor, writhing in agony. My voice was a bit squeaky. "Ow..." I said weakly. But then I saw the red horns coming towards me and I was knocked into the wall. "GOOD DAD!!!" I screamed. "There goes my freakin’ offspring..." I muttered.
Wincing, I pulled out my Bill Blaster and fired several rounds at the red creature. The blasts exploded and it staggered back. I jumped over to him and pulled out a large mallot. "This is for before, ya jerk!!!" I swung the mallot at him and he was knocked several yards backwards, spraying alien blood across the floor. It got up and looked at me in fury and rage. Its body started shaking and its eyes grew slitted like a snake’s. The creature started fuming, and then it grew large, larger than it had been before, much larger. I stared at this new threat, then got ready to face it head on. I rushed forwards, shooting Bullet Bills at its tough hide. It winced a little, but not much damage was dealt. It turned on me and brought a gigantic fist down, which just missed me.
Bellowing, the enormous alien creature opened its mouth. A large, golden orb appeared inside. Then a large beam of golden light struck the ground next to me. I ran, avoiding the blast of light, then blocked it with one of my swords. I swung it towards it, reflecting the ray, making him stumble backwards several feet. I sliced it with my swords, making it roar. From overhead two small spaceships came and shot beams of pink at our feet. Mewtwo90 concentrated, and the two spaceships blew up. I then shot more Bullet Bills at the red beast, causing explosions that rocked it. It tottered, then fell, causing a loud thwump. From behind, a medium-sized robot walked out behind it, pincers whirring mechanically. I groaned. These things were not giving up.
But then again, neither were we. I jumped forwards and stuck my sword straight out. It was grabbed, and I was flung across the room. Mewtwo90 tried to slice it in two with his tail blade but was smashed roughly with a pincer claw, and was sent sprawling across the room. I raised my Bill Blaster and shot several at an angle. This blew up the floor it was standing on and sent it flying into the ceiling. It came back down, creating a shockwave and knocking us over. From my position on the floor, I shot several Bullet Bills at the face of the robot, knocking it backwards. My companion slashed him from behind, cutting off an arm. I shot across the room viciously, slashing at the robot’s front. It blocked several times before punching me across the face hard.
I staggered back, blood dripping from my snout. I bellowed and threw a bomb at the robot, and its legs were blown off. I jumped for joy but cursed when it just flew into the sky, via jetpack. One of its long, metal pincers turned into a cannon which glowed and pointed at me. My eyes narrowed. The blasts of lasers bounced off the ground at my feet while I was backflipping, desperately trying to avoid every shot. Then I resorted to using my sword once more, as a shield. I deflected the blasts, but the robot dodged out of the way and was not hit with his own blasts. A large, spinning disk of metal protruded from its chest and fired at me. Mewtwo90 sent it flying off somewhere else and I flashed him a quick thumbs up before holding up my firearms once more and blasting at it.
The robot swerved but was not suspecting the quick assault from my friend. He was quick and brutal. His tail whipped about menacingly while he was in the air with it. The robot backed up and tried to dodge. Laser fire was shot at the green alien, but he did not retreat. His tail whipped forward, lightning fast, cutting off his remaining arm. It struck again, slicing off the robot’s head, then once more, cutting it completely in half. The two parts crackled with electricity before my friend fell to the floor and the robot exploded. There was a tremendous cloud of smoke, so using this distraction, we ran from the exit. We ran out of the woods and back to the mansion, where Bow and her father were waiting.
"Where were you knuckleheads going?" Bow asked.
I scratched my head and tried to explain. "I honestly don't know... but I do know that we saw this shack, and inside these strange, purple creatures that looked like Mushroomers..."
King Boo frowned. "Shroobs?" he asked.
"Boo-what?" I asked.
King Boo sighed and brought out a small pipe. "The Shroobs were an evil alien race that came here over 30 years ago. But they have been gone ever since they were defeated by Mario... and his future self. It's very confusing, and hard to explain, so I won't. But I don't think they would return now. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get some sleep."
He went off into the mansion and disappeared.
Bow looked at me. I could
tell her old man didn't believe me.
I just hoped she did.
Chapter Twenty Six: Hot Dates and Cataclysmic Battles
The sun was slowly rising on a new day, and a tall, frail, female Boom Boom lay down on a beach in the barren plains of Dark Land. This was very rare, there was hardly ever a beach in Dark Land. The sun glowed with a brilliant red and orange color as it rose over the sea. This Boom Boom sat up and sighed, thinking of the strange occurrences that had happened to her only the day before. She had long, red hair, long horns, a green face, and intimidating but relaxing red eyes. Her name was Clawdia Koopa. She had a large, green, spiked shell that covered her back and her front, covering up most of her body, which was quite beautiful to most. Especially to him. She remembered, the knight in shining armor, her knight in shining armor. He was a bit harsh sometimes, but everyone had there flaws. Bowser. She remembered when she had lay there next to him. How he rubbed her stomach and caressed her body... How he would flip her hair and kiss her soft lips. How he would purr in her ears words of love and reassurance.
But... alas, she also remembered the bad times they had together… When she was pregnant, and there first born child, Ludwig was born. She remembered looking upon his face and stroking his puffy, blue hair, and smiling as he giggled childishly. She remembered... her hatred and distaste at Bowser every time a new child was born... the way he treated them. He would control them and punish them harshly and teach them the ways of evil. And she remembered that night when she argued quite harshly and both of them were very mad. She remembered how Bowser had accidentally hit her. How she was outraged. How she had not talked to him for days, locking herself up in her room. She did not want him to force his evil on his children. And there was that day... when she ran away. She could not take the abuse to herself and her children. She had left a note explaining why, and telling them sorry. She never saw there faces, but... she could guess they were in a great deal of emotional pain.
She sighed again, lying back again, upon the sand and closing her eyes. She did not know how long she was lying there, but at some point she heard a small shuffling behind them, a pitter-patter of feet upon the sand. She raised her head and looked into the eyes of Bowser. Bowser looked into them, then turned his head shamefully. "You still hate me, don't you?"
She looked at him pitifully. Clawdia patted the ground and looked at him. "Sit beside me..." was what she said. Bowser was surprised but nonetheless lay down next to the one who used to be his lover.
Bowser started talking. " Clawdia... I'm sorry... for everything I've done to you... in the past." Clawdia seemed to take in these words for a very long time. It seemed like hours, days even. He stared at her beautiful graceful figure...
Bowser cleared his throat before speaking again. "Please..." His words seemed to hang in the air as Clawdia watched intent. "Come home... with us… We all miss you…"
Clawdia put her head in her hands. "I'm sorry... I can't..." He could see she was crying.
"Then please," he said as he grabbed her hands gently in his as he pulled them away from her face. "Just spend one more night with me..." She looked into his enchanting eyes, and gasped. He pulled her close and kissed her. Her eyes flew open, but then they closed, as his were. He stroked her long, red hair as he held her tight in his muscular arms and tears ran down her face. And Bowser's. He released her hold of her mouth and kissed her neck. She lay on him, as he caressed her face gingerly, as if handling something extremely fragile. There ritual of love...
As the sun rose above the orange sky, the two kissed and Clawdia remembered and wished that it was truly like this again, but sadly it was not.
As Bowser's lips left Clawdia's for the final time, she held his face in one of her hands. "I love you, Bowser... but we can't be together..." And Bowser sighed.
"I love you too, Clawdia..." Then, without another word, the angel of Bowser's dreams stood up, and walked away .
Bowser let out a deep sigh and collapsed upon the beach, the wind slowly blowing his red hair. He would change for her...
There was a ringing and Bowser picked up his communicator. Morcious's panic-stricken face showed up. "Report," Bowser said sternly.
"Milord, there is a bit of a situation over here which might slow my progress a bit."
Bowser growled. "And what might that be?"
The hunter sighed. "It seems we've stumbled upon the nest of a huge Dry Bones. It's mother is not too happy. But do not worry, I will handle it. Morcious, out."
The communicator just went blank, like Bowser's glowering face. The hunter had better not mess things up.
~
Morcious the hunter stood poised with a half a dozen other troops staring into the face of the enormous Dry Bones before them. It stood taller than a building, with glowing red eyes. A small Koopatrol was right in front of it, unable to move. The large creature picked up the terrified armored Koopa, ripped off its armor as if it was a tin can, and ate the small creature, blood dripping from its mouth. The others started running, but the hunter bellowed. "Stop running, you cowards! If that thing doesn't kill you, then I will!!!" He raised his glowing spear menacingly and the soldiers stopped running. The hunter noticed several puddles of yellow and stepped back. "Ignoring that, but attack the creature!" the hunter commanded.
The Koopas preferred to deal with the enormous beast than Morcious himself, so they charged into battle. One Koopa was crushed with an enormous oversized claw. The others at this point tried to run but were barbecued by the breath of flame. Morcious slapped his face. "If you wanna do something right, ya gotta do it yourself." The hunter stepped forward and raised his spear.
The monster snarled but it noticed that the hunter only looked amused and was a little irked by this. Nevertheless, he was only a human with a glowing weapon. He would make a fine snack to the mother and good revenge for the destruction of her children. She lunged forwards, stomping a large claw where the hunter had been standing a second before. He jumped into the air and the creature watched in horror as he brought down his spear. The spear hit the creature with great force. The eyes dimmed, small cracks rippled throughout her body, and then the body was splintered into a million small pieces. Morcious grinned. "Pathetic."
~
KARMA
The mayor laughed a spine-tingling laugh. He smiled devilishly at us. "Did you really think I'd let you leave here alive? Laughable. I might not have not absorbed enough souls to reach full strength, but this is enough to beat you."
I growled and spat in his direction. "Bring it on, psycho!"
He grinned. "Thank you, but it's no time for complements. It's time... for you to die."
The wind started whirling faster around us all and the roves rocked back and forth on their shackles. A glowing green aura surrounded him and he started to grow. "Yes! That's it! THAT'S IT!!!" he roared as his body grew to immense proportions. The wind stopped, and the green glow died down. "ALL RIGHT," He said. “WHO WANTS TO DIE FIRST?"
We gasped in shock at this creature that had once seemed like a nice, old man. Ludwig growled and shot forwards in his shell, slamming into the stomach of the mayor. He then uppercut him, knocking his large body over. The mayor roared and swung a fist at Ludwig, hitting him in the face and knocking him to the ground. He then walked over to Ludwig and pounded his face into the ground. I rushed to help him, but the mayor's tail smacked me in the face, and I fell over hurt. Ludwig stood up and breathed a great deal of fire at him. He staggered back, swatting at the fire on his bulbous face. Ludwig tripped him while he was stumbling. "SMART GUY, EH?" yhe mayor asked, bellowing. He pounded the ground with his two huge fists, which made it ripple, causing Ludwig to fall over. He picked himself up again, and attacked the larger reptile with a fierce determination.
Slashing at his face, Ludwig snarled and roared with fury and rage. This was for me, I realized. He was protecting me. I shot out my long tongue around his neck and brought him to the ground. Then I jumped over him and ground pounded his underbelly. The Koopa grabbed my leg and slammed me against the ground. I rubbed my dirt-stained face and got up. The Koopa looked at Ludwig for a long time. He saw the rage and determination in his eyes, and in mine. He seemed to be a bit frightened, and staggered back, but then all traces of that vanished from his face. He bore down upon Ludwig, and jumped into the air. Ludwig rolled out of the way quickly and shot fire at the beast. He landed on the ground hard, face burning. He swung a fist which Ludwig easily dodged. Ludwig ran around and grabbed the Koopa's tail. He roared with pain and anger and was thrown several feet.
The Koopa got up, glowering at Ludwig with an intense stare. He smashed the Ground, making a large shockwave that both of us jumped over. He flew forward, claws slashing. Ludwig grabbed them, held them apart, then kicked him. The Koopa fell backwards and we ran for a building to hide in, for he had blocked the exit. We ran up the stairs and watched from inside the large Koopa getting on his feet. Several seconds later, the ceiling splintered and he fell onto the wooden floor. Surprisingly he didn't break it.
"YOU... YOU LITTLE... I'LL KILL YOU!!!" The Koopa's eyes were filled to the brim with insanity and he was raving mad. A leg sweeped under Ludwig. He jumped over it and kicked the oversized Koopa's face.
Ludwig breathed fire but the large Koopa retracted into his shell and bounced off the wall. He knocked into me, and I sailed into the window, breaking it, and leaving me hanging on to the window pane. "LUDWIG!!!" I screamed. Ludwig was horrified, but he was knocked into the far wall. I looked down. A fall from this height could either kill me, or break all my bones. I gulped.
The large Koopa looked down at me. "HA HA. PATHETIC MORTALS. YOUR GIRLFRIEND WILL BE THE FIRST TO DIE!!!" Ludwig ran over and tackled the Koopa. Both contenders went flying out the window and onto the ground. Ludwig hung on as the giant tried to throw him off, but could not. Ludwig growled and bit into the Koopa's neck. "AAARGH!!!" it bellowed.
I pulled myself up and ran downstairs and out the door to help Ludwig. The Koopa growled and knocked Ludwig off him, getting to his feet. The creature staggered a few feet, before falling over dead. "Noo..." he muttered, before being heard no more. His body glowed green, and thousands of souls flew from inside him.
We stood there breathing heavily, before Ludwig turned and whispered to me. "You’re safe now." Then he kissed me...