Chapter 20: The Creature

"So, how do they not know their identities?" King asked. "I mean! It's super obvious!"

"She doesn't change her voice, her hair, all she did was slap a suit on!" Willow exclaimed.

Gus nodded. "Yeah! They can't be THAT stupid! Even an idiot could figure that out!"

"The King of Demons demands this be turned off!" King exclaimed. "...after the next 34 episodes..."

Willow giggled and tickled his tummy a little. "Alrighty then!"

"Say, King-"

"Shh! I'm watching!" King said before sighing. "Okay, it's just the fight. I know how this will end."

"Ummm, are you ACTUALLY the King of Demons where you come from?" Gus asked, tilting his head. "Luz told us that she found you as a baby."

"Oh! Well...I-I'm not ACTUALLY the King of Demons." King said, a little embarrassed. "There was no King of Demons until Belos showed up. All of us roamed free to cause as much mischief or destruction as we wanted! Some of us were strong, some were smart, others were totally harmless."

Willow then tilted her head, now curious. "So, why did she call you King?"

"Hmmm, I dunno! Probably due to me wearing this collar like a crown!" King smiled, looking at the golden medallion with his mother's sloppy four year old handwriting. "I think I loved the idea so much that I declared myself King! And one day! I'll be a better ruler than Belos ever will be!"

Gus smiled and pet his head. "Considering Belos is an evil psycho? You'd do a thousand times better than him."

"Speaking of Luz though, I wonder if she's having any fun on her date." Willow smiled.

"Ah, they're gonna call us Matchmakers. I'm calling it." Gus said.

"Shh! We're back to the plot!" King said before there was a small rumble. King whimpered and hid in Willow's lap.

Willow scratched her chin and looked out the window. It was completely clear, no dark clouds. "Maybe something just fell." She then petted King. "It's ok."

King took a breath of relief before he sat back down.

Then? The rumble was heard again.

"Eh, a lot of stuff falls." Gus said.

And then it was heard again.

"Maybe Luz flew in the window?"

And then it was heard AGAIN.

After the fourth time, the group could immediately sense whatever was going on wasn't good and held onto each other, shivering.

And then, they heard footsteps walking down the stairs.

"L-Luz?" Gus whimpered.

But instead of Luz, it was an incredibly tall creature of some kind. It looked like a bunch of rocks being held together by some strange crimson substance. The creature than turned their head towards the group, showing their blue eyes.

Willow, King, and Gus all screamed and quickly ran to hide. The creature groaned and started to chase them, revealing they had claws on one of their hands.

Willow then grabbed an umbrella and swung it into the creature's gut, wherever there wasn't stone.

The creature groaned in pain before suddenly making an axe with his hand.

"RUN FASTER!" Willow cried as she hit in the same spot, weakening the creature just a little more and dodging the swing of the axe.

The group kept running and running until Gus and King hid inside a closet, while Willow hid in the bathroom.

The creature slowly stepped out, groaning like a zombie as it searched for them.

But the questions that ran through Willow's mind other than complete and utter panic was: What was this thing? Where did it come from? Didn't Luz say all the monsters were dealt with?

Then? She slowly peeked out and saw the creature begin to open the closet door.

Willow gasped before seeing a houseplant, which she grabbed a threw at the creature.

The creature groaned again, rubbing the back of their stoney head.

Gus then set King down and tackled the creature to the floor, but quickly getting off it.

"CALL LUZ!" Gus cried.

Willow reached for her phone and then quickly called Luz's number and held it to her ear. "Come on, come on!"

The creature slowly sat up, but then looked at King, who was cowering and whimpering in the closet.

"You've reached Luz Noceda! Sorry if I can't make it to the phone right now! I'll call you back as soon as I can! Have a great day!'" Luz's voicemail said.

"DANGIT!" Willow cried before gasping. "KING!"

The creature then extended one of its arms and grabbed King, holding him up in the air.

King screamed. "HELP ME!!! SOMEONE HELP-"

But then...the creature cradled King's body and started...rocking him? Like a parent would to their baby. The creature then let out multiple zombie like groans as he rocked King back and forth.

Gus and Willow blinked before looking at each other. "King...? It's not poisoning you?"

"Uhhh, no!" King said, very confused.

"Is it trying to eat you?"

"It doesn't have a mouth." King said. "Hey...I think I understand what it's saying!"

"It's just groaning." Willow said, tilting her head.

"Maybe it's actually a language in The Boiling Isles?" Gus asked with a shrug.

"It's singing...a lullaby!" King said.

"Hmmm, maybe it thinks your its cub or pup?" Willow asked.

"No, that doesn't seem right." Gus said.

"Whatever it is...I'm getting real...sleepy..." King yawned.

The creature then tilted its head before standing up and then walking back over to the couch, and then laying King down. It then grabbed a blanket and draped it over King's little body, before putting a pillow beneath his head.

King yawned before snoring softly, showing he was asleep.

The creature then turned to a very confuse Willow and Gus, and let out another groan.

"We, uhh, can't understand you." Willow said.

The creature groaned again before walking over to the counter and finding a pencil and Luz's notebook. The creature grabbed those and then started to draw something.

Gus and Willow just patiently waited before being shown a bunch of drawings.

The first was of a mighty demon similar to King holding an egg, and with the creature bowing before the mighty demon.

The next was of the demon building a tower of some kind, and pointing at the egg, with word bubbles saying 'FOR YOU' written above.

The next drawing was of the demon having a sad face, as it carried a spear, and walked out the exit, waving to the egg and the creature.

The next was of the egg hatching, with a tiny little King popping out.

The final was of the creature holding King close, seemingly taking care of him.

"Wait...I think I get it!" Willow said. "That's King's father! And that's how King was born! Inside an egg!"

"You're a friend of his, aren't you?" Gus asked the creature.

The creature nodded before pointing at the next drawing.

"He built King...a castle! A nursery!" Willow smiled. "Right before he hatched! But...then he had to leave? Why?"

The creature groaned, but shrugged at the same time.

"The next one is King hatching...and then you taking care of him?" Gus asked. "So...you're his bodyguard?"

Willow scratched her chin. "Feels more like his nanny."

"Wait, then how did King end up with Luz?" Gus asked.

The creature grabbed more paper and started drawing again before showing them.

The first drawing was of a tiny little King wandering off and away from the tower.

The next was of the creature trying his very hardest to leave, but a barrier was keeping him there.

The final drawing was multiple at once, almost like a comic. The first panel showed the barrier being broken, the next showed the creature finding a broken horn, and the final showed the creature entering a portal.

"Ohhhh! I get it! King must've accidentally wandered off, tripped and broke his horn, and was then adopted by Luz!" Willow smiled.

"And you couldn't leave until the barrier was broken, so then you got here the same way Luz did?" Gus asked.

While most definitely not knowing who Luz was, the creature nodded.

"So, he's not a bad guy! He's just King's nanny." Willow laughed. "Wow! We were afraid of that."

"To be fair, he has an axe hand." Gus said.

"Touché."

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