Austin remained in his hiding spot for a long time, unable to bring himself to move. He needed to find Jan, to go, to move, do something...

But all he did was stand there, staring.

He had doomed her.

He could only hope that the creature would not make her suffer like he had. But whether or not it would, he could never know...

His eyes widened, and he trembled, keeping himself in his hiding place, as the beast emerged from the cave. Even in the late moonlight it appeared impossibly dark, like a black hole, taking in even light. As it stood up erect, Austin trembled, the creature easily the size of a small skyscraper. It stretched its tentacles outward, and its arms upward, surprisingly not hitting the clouds.

But as Austin looked away from the creature's height, he saw something that made his heart leap.

Angel.

Austin ran out from his hiding place, running up to Angel quickly, and he hugged her tightly. She started from surprise, but hugged him back gently...

"A-Angel, lets go!"

"What?"

"Before it sees us," Austin urged. He would not leave her behind again. Now that the creature had lost track of her, it was the perfect blessing to escape...

"Please note that I can not only see, but also hear you," the creature said in its soft voice. Austin woofed, his ears pulling back with dread. He had probably blown it again.

"There is no need to fear. No longer have I the intention of consuming you. Evil does not define me, and help I can provide in that which you seek." 

"Y-you can help...? What do you mean...? How do you even know what we're looking for?" Austin couldn't help but tremble, but he had to hear this. The potential for an ally was too great, and any help was worth what it cost, besides Angel's life.

"Repairing the neural connection of the other one," the creature said, pointing at Angel with one of his tentacles. Austin looked over at Angel, confused.

"When we fell, it broke my back. He fixed it," she stated, matter-of-factly. Austin's eyes widened with horror, realizing that he might very well have killed her that way. 

"Don't worry about it, okay? Its not important right now," the Sylveon said. "What's important is finding her."

The creature quietly watched the two of them discuss, and waited until they finished to continue. "Repairing the neural connection informed me of your objective. Finding the Scourge, which was my race's objective, is also yours. But death struck all of us down, and only two are left. We now watch only to avoid the Scourge, for she will be our demise."

Austin's ears perked up, listening to the creature speak. Despite his vast size, his voice trembled whenever he mentioned the 'Scourge.' Presumably that was what his species called the creature.

"Alright, well, if you know where she is, let's go and find her," Austin said quietly. But the creature shook his head.

"First the other one. ¶£¢€ will come with us. I will not face the Scourge without her."

"Uh, who's... that?" Austin woofed softly.

"And how much security is she covered by that a giant like you needs backup?" Angel asked. "I mean, c'mon, we're wasting time!"

Austin woofed in agreement, and the creature scooped the two of them up in his palm. Austin started, keeping close to Angel, nervous.

"Trust me in that if you seek my help, I will not survive without ¶£¢€ to help me," the creature said. "It will not be long to find her."

"I guess," Austin said softly. "So, uh... what is your name...?"

"Me? I am ¶∆¥∆€¢£. However, you seem unable to understand this, so you may call me Wonder."

Angel scoffed softly. "Real humble." Austin woofed softly...

"Thank you Wonder..."

--

Jan laid on the floor in her room, trying not to feel miserable. She had eaten only three sandwiches, but now she felt incredibly full, much fuller than she ever had before. She had eaten plenty of things much larger than a meager trio of sandwiches, but now her stomach felt unpleasantly overfilled. She had always thought a full belly would feel marvelous and wonderful and perfect, but here she was, for the first time in her life struggling to keep food down.

Jan whimpered softly, pawing at the collar. It was, perhaps, a relief not to have her powerful temptations. However, she had had enough of the struggle, and was quite finished with being held down by these evil creatures. She panted softly, the collar locked on in such a way that she couldn't undo with her paws.

She looked over at the window sill. The window didn't open - indeed, it wasn't even an actual window, for a board laid over its surface, fastened securely - but the sill was still the most solid thing in the room. She padded over to it, her ears trembling, her stomach groaning with discomfort. What she was planning to do was dangerous.

It might very well kill her.

But if it succeeded she would be free again.

Jan swung her head and neck down, and beat the lock of the collar against the sill. It sent the collar pressing into her neck, not enough to pierce her skin, but enough to make it feel so much worse. She panted, and reared back, doing it again. And again, and again.

The door burst open as Razia ran in, snarling, her fangs bared.

"What the hell is going on in-"

Jan slammed her neck down one final time, and the collar broke off.