A sinister shadow got attached to Momotaro. The young man had a new companion, one he didn't ask for. With utmost care the penumbra kept crawling inside him, one particle of darkness was enough to start the infection and they were faster than his defenses.

The shadow talked to him, voices he hadn't heard before whispered suggestions to his ears. They showed him the screams of his brothers and sisters, they reminded him about his failure.

He should take revenge for the death of his people, his power should be used to honor them. He wouldn't be the one at fault, the traitor was the first one to strike and he has the right to respond.

Momotaro couldn't separate his thoughts and the whispers. Where was the limit? His common sense asked him to keep calm, the pain embedded in his heart demanded to see Casimir suffer in exchange for the agony he caused.

As he got closer to the barn the screams asking for justice got louder. The surroundings were unnoticed by Momo; once he entered the place, he didn't care about the accumulated dirt on the floor or the leaks in the ceiling, his only priority was the traitor.

Casimir was tied to a chair in the middle of the room, a piece of cloth restricted his mouth. Momotaro walked towards him, ignoring the member that had been watching their prisoner. He didn't even notice when the other guy left.

"Did you enjoy your stay?" The tattooed boy asked Casimir. He didn't get an answer. "Oh, sorry, I forgot that you can't talk."

Momo dragged a chair in front of the blond, he sat in a relaxed position, spreading his legs.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way, either you cooperate with me or I use you as my punch bag. Personally I would love it if you choose the second option." Momo started talking. "I have a pen and a notebook, I'll ask some questions and you'll write the answer. If I see you trying to escape or trying to take off the cloth on your mouth It won't be nice for you. Am I clear?"

The prisoner nodded his head which gave Momotaro the signal to reach for the needed elements and free Casimir's hands.

"Do you have something to say?" He asked once he returned to his seat.

The blonde wrote his answer as fast as he could, his handwriting was a bit messy. "How was the funeral?"

"That's not the right answer. " Said Momo in a low tone.

He got closer to the traitor, then with firm steps, he surrounded him. When the young man got to the back of his prey for the second time he yanked his hair throwing his head back.

"I don't think you understand your situation," he commented next to the boy's right ear. "What do you have to lose? Are you afraid of the demons? I can assure you that I can be worse than them, and I brought my knives with me."

Casimir gulped, his eyes were avoiding the look of his captor. He wrote once again.

"I don't doubt it, your powers are taking control of you, soon you'll be like a demon."

"What did I say about trying to be funny?" Momotaro took a knife out of his pocket and stabbed the blonde's left shoulder.

The blonde let out a scream that was intercepted by the cloth in his mouth as he tried to defend himself, but he didn't have enough strength after the day and a half he passed without food.

"Are you going to write what I want?"

"I'm writing what you need to know. Our powers aren't for free, there's more about them than what you think. They're related to the shadows, if you don't learn to control your darkest emotions then your power will control you. They take out your worst side, why do you think people are going crazy?"

"Is that the reason why you helped them?"

"I won't tell you my reasons, that's not of use to you. But no, I knew exactly what I was doing." Casimir wrote. "What you experienced was only the beginning, the members will know that there was a traitor between them and they'll stop trusting each other. The more resentment they have, the worse the control of their mind will be, soon the inside of your little group will be contaminated. You can say goodbye to your family."

Momotaro pulled the knife from the shoulder and plunged it into the blonde's thigh. The traitor started shaking.

"Who do you work for?" He asked.

"Borbala and her close circle. Cadoc, he's the one that can control darkness. Odessa controls animals and Dabria has telekinesis.  There's one more but I don't know much about him."

"Seems like we're on the same page now. What are they planning to do?"

"I don't know," answered Casimir. Momotaro twisted the knife. With trembling hands, he wrote once again. "I swear I don't know, they're not stupid, they won't tell the humans about their plan. All I know is that they're looking for that light, and they'll do anything to end the Protectors."

"What about Peters? What do you know about him?"

"He's being used by the demons, when they no longer need them they will get rid of them. There's some of them between your group."

The tattooed young man kicked the chair next to him. "Why should I believe you?"

"Because you had your suspicions even before I mentioned it. I can feel your anger, you should be careful, you remember me to those demons. "

Momotaro retreated his knife and saved it inside his jacket's pocket. He took the notebook and the pen from Casimir before tying his hands.

"Enjoy your silence." He said to the boy.

The blonde signaled the object in the other male's hands, incomprehensible sounds came out of his covered mouth.

"What do you want?" Asked Momo. Once he realized that the traitor won't stop trying to talk, he eyed the paper.

A message was written there "Give this to Flora" under it was an address.

"This better not be one of your tricks."

Reality crashed against him as he exited the barn, he barely registered the member that entered in his place. The wave of uncertainties exceeded what he was able to confront, in the end, he drowned in his fears and worries. This shadow he kept feeling was the darkness Casimir talked about?

The snake that was squeezing his heart was getting stronger and stronger, the young man's anger worked as the fuel. A part of him he didn't know surged as the result of the terror he experienced, he hoped to be capable of controlling it.