The door shuddered with every slam, sugar glass splintering across the frame. Mandibite’s screeches echoed through the chamber like nails dragged across metal.
“COME HERE, KITTY!” he howled, his ratlike fangs scraping against the window slit. “I’LL CRACK YOUR BONES LIKE SWEETS!”
The group recoiled as cracks spiderwebbed across the barrier.
Ray snarled, planting Heartbreaker into the hinges of the side door. With a grunt, she pried the candy-welded lock apart until it gave way with a CRUNCH.
“MOVE!” she barked, charging out first.
The group sprinted into the sewer corridor, their breaths ragged. Arcade risked a glance back at the camera feed on his pad—only to see Mandibite melt straight through the door, dragging his grotesque body into the room.
“He’s in! He’s in!” Arcade shouted, panic spiking.
Mezzo zipped ahead, then froze, pointing upward. “Oi—rope! That’s our ticket outta here!”
A line of rope dangled down from the cracked street above. Their salvation.
But Mandibite was barreling after them now, sugar-rat jaws snapping.
Ray turned on her heel, slamming Heartbreaker into the ground. The shockwave rattled the walls and staggered him back a step. “Climb! Now!” she ordered, bracing herself.
Mezzo scrambled onto the rope, panting with effort. “Oh, gods, oh, gods—bloody cardio, why didn’t I practice pull-ups?!”
Arcade wheezed as he climbed, every muscle shaking. “Statistically speaking, rope escapes are—hrrgh—a terrible survival method!”
Skye hauled himself up with silent determination, though his tail twitched anxiously with every creak of the rope.
Celeste leapt for the rope—clawed it—and instantly slipped back down into a puddle with a squeak. “Oh stars, oh no, oh no—!” She tried again, clinging with all fours, only to slide halfway before dangling like a sad ornament.
Mandibite lunged forward, shrieking, “MINE!”
“Hold on, blondie!” Ray snarled. With one arm, she hooked Heartbreaker behind her back, grabbed Celeste by the waist, and hurled her upward like a ragdoll rocket.
“AAAAH—!” Celeste shrieked, flailing wildly before landing face-first on the pavement above with a graceless smack.
The others yanked her the rest of the way out just as the sewer ceiling gave way. Chunks of sugarcrete and pipes collapsed onto Mandibite, pinning his writhing body in a storm of debris.
“NOOOO!” he roared, his rat face glaring up through the dust. “I’LL FIND YOU, CAT! I’LL EAT YOU ALL!”
The street shook as his screams faded back into the tunnels.
Above ground, the group collapsed in a heap, gasping for breath.
Celeste sat up, rubbing her head, cheeks pink with embarrassment. “I—I meant to do that.”
Mezzo, still heaving, flopped onto his back with a groan. “Right. Note to self—really need to work on upper body strength. Maybe… maybe less sandwiches.”
Arcade wheezed, lying spread-eagle on the ground. “Not likely.”
Ray leaned against her hammer, sweat streaking her brow. “We’re alive. Barely.”
Skye adjusted his satchel with shaky hands. His ears twitched as he realized something. “…Where’s Hughes? And Lumina?”
The relief shattered. The group looked at each other—faces pale, breaths still ragged.
They weren’t all out.
Across the ruined courtyard, a voice rang out.
“Celeste!”
She spun, relief flooding her chest. Carys, Pitch, and the handful of survivors spilled into view, faces lit with shock and joy. Pitch’s grin was ragged but real.
“Thank the bloody stars,” he panted. “Thought we’d lost you for good, kitten.”
Celeste started toward them—only for the ground to quake.
CRACK.
Mandibite tore through the cobblestones, his grotesque body erupting in a spray of dust and shards. His rat-face split in a grin, jagged teeth gnashing as his voice ripped through the air:
“I’M NOT THROUGH WITH YOU YET, ASTALLAN! YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU LET ME AND MY BROTHERS ENDURE!”
Everyone froze.
Celeste’s ears flattened, her stomach twisting. “H-how—how do you know my name?”
Mandibite’s many eyes gleamed. “I know your kin. And that’s enough.”
Then he lunged.
Celeste barely had time to gasp before Mezzo shoved her aside. “Move it, Princess—!”
Mandibite’s claws closed around him mid-dash. Mezzo yelped, clawing at the stone floor, his boots scraping furrows in the rubble as panic cracked his voice.
“NONONO—WAIT—!” He wrenched free for half a second—only for Mandibite to snatch him again, this time with Gordon the penguin in tow.
Gordon’s voice shrilled in terror. “Unhand me—this is unlawful!”
Mezzo’s howl split the air. “Oh, COME ON—!”
Both were yanked into the writhing dark.
Celeste’s heart seized. She sprinted forward, blades bursting into her hands. “MEZZO!” Her scream cracked with desperation.
Mandibite’s face loomed one last time from the shadows, eyes glinting with cruel amusement.
“If you want them…” His words slithered across the broken courtyard. “…come get them. On my terms.”
Then, with a final guttural laugh, he vanished into the tunnels below.
Dust settled. Silence followed.
Celeste’s swords shook in her grip, her chest heaving, her heart breaking in her throat.
He had Mezzo.
The courtyard was silent but for Celeste’s ragged breathing. Her claws dug grooves into her hilts, her chest burning as Mezzo’s scream echoed in her skull.
“No…” Her voice cracked, small. “No, no, no—”
Pitch swore under his breath, snapping his knife shut. “Damn it! Kitten, I told you—he’s faster than you think.”
Arcade shoved his glasses up, frantic. “He took Mezzo and Gordon. That’s two signals gone in seconds. Two! My readings can’t even keep up with how fast he moved—”
Arcade’s comm crackled in his paw, Bracer’s voice cutting through the static.
“Arcade. Listen carefully. I’ve got eyes on the tunnels. Hughes and Lumina—aye, they’re alive. Cornered, but alive. Crystal’s feeding me the routes. I’ll guide what I can.”
Arcade’s jaw clenched. “Copy that.” He turned to the group, pale under his goggles. “They’re still down there. Hughes and Lumina… and Mezzo.”
Celeste’s heart twisted so sharply it almost dropped her blades. Her ears folded back, her throat tight. “No… no, it should’ve been me. I should’ve been the one he—”
“Don’t,” Ray snapped, her voice sharp as steel. She stepped forward, looming. “Don’t start that guilt-drivel. You dying would’ve ended us all. Like it or not, you’re the key here.”
Celeste’s eyes widened. “Ray—he’s Mezzo. He’s my friend. And Lumina—my sister. Hughes, too. I’m not—” Her voice cracked, almost breaking. “I’m not leaving them to die.”
Ray’s expression softened only a fraction, but her tone stayed harsh. “You think I don’t care? You think I don’t wanna tear down there right now and rip that rat apart? I do. But it’s suicide. You’re the one holding us together, Celeste. Not him. Not Hughes. Not Lumina. You.”
Celeste’s hands trembled. She dropped her gaze, staring at the cracked sugar-street beneath her boots.
Carys pressed her paws to her nose, voice wavering. “He… he said your name. He knew you. Why would he—?”
Skye’s quiet voice cut through, blunt and plain. “Because he’s not just a monster.” His ears twitched, his gaze steady despite the shake in his hands. “He remembers what he was.”
For a long beat, no one spoke. Only Mandibite’s distant roars echoed from the sewers below.
Finally, Celeste inhaled. Shaky. But sure. She lifted her head, tears stinging her eyes.
“Then… then stay. Guard the survivors. Keep them safe if that’s what you believe.” She looked at each of them in turn, her voice barely above a whisper, but steady. “But I’m not leaving my sister. Or my friends. I have to get him out.”
Silence pressed down like a weight.
Mezzo’s absence ached in the air.
Arcade looked away first, fiddling with his device. Skye’s ears flicked nervously, his paws tightening around his deck. Even Carys, standing awkwardly at the edge, pressed her hands together as if to stop herself from trembling.
Ray clenched her jaw, saying nothing—just staring at Celeste like she was both furious and… proud.
And Celeste stood there, small and shaking, but unflinching.
For a long, tense moment, no one moved. The courtyard still hummed with the echo of Mandibite’s threat, the ground trembling faintly where he’d burrowed below.
Ray finally broke the silence with a long, exasperated sigh. She shouldered her hammer and gave Celeste a sharp look.
“Fine. Come on, blondie,” she muttered. “Let’s go get your boyfriend back.”
Celeste went crimson to the tips of her ears. “He—he’s not my boyfriend!” she stammered, hands waving uselessly. “He’s—he’s just Mezzo, and he’s loud and ridiculous and—”
Pitch chuckled, adjusting Lady Luck over his shoulder. He leaned close just long enough to wink. “That’s good to know, kitten.”
Celeste blinked at him, utterly dumfounded. “W-what?”
Celeste turned to Arcade, soft but firm. “Arcade, can you watch the others? Keep them safe?”
Arcade froze, then scowled like she’d just asked him to scrub toilets. “Babysit? Really? I am an unparalleled strategist and inventor. My talents are wasted on juice boxes and nap time.”
Ray’s mouth quirked in the faintest smirk. “Keep the engine warm too.”
“Perfect,” Arcade muttered, throwing up his hands. “Next thing I know, I’ll be fetching snacks. A true tactical use of my brilliance. Nope i'm coming too.”
A soft tug on his sleeve stopped the rant. Skye stepped forward, clutching his card launcher, eyes peeking out shyly from behind his bangs.
“You… you don’t have to go in alone,” he mumbled, words low but certain. “I, um… I’ve got a plan. Sort of.”
He slid three cards into his launcher, clicked, and with a burst of light, three spectral soldiers flickered into being. Their weapons were absurdly candy-themed—cane-swords and lollipop shields—but the stance was disciplined, solid.
Celeste’s eyes widened. “O-oh! Skye, that’s… amazing! When did you—?”
“I read the rules. And then the rules behind the rules,” Skye said quickly, almost too fast. Then, quieter: “They… talk to me. Not out loud, but… it makes sense in my head.”
Arcade tilted his head, amused. “Adorable and mildly terrifying. I approve.”
Cosmo, the young dragon, scratched his neck awkwardly, his blonde mane shimmering faintly with mana sparks. “I can… cover it. Use my mana to shield them. Better me here than out there.”
Celeste exhaled, relief flooding her chest. She offered him a grateful smile. “Thank you, Cosmo. We’ll… we’ll hopefully make it back.”
Ray snorted. “You’d better. I didn’t survive this sugar-coated hell just to die babysitting either.”
Pitch spun his shotgun once and grinned. “Then let’s stop yapping and start hunting.”
Celeste looked once more at the group they were leaving behind, her hands curling into fists. Her stomach twisted with guilt and fear—but beneath it, something stronger.
Resolve.
“Alright,” she whispered, then louder: “Alright. Let’s go.”
And together—with Ray at her side, Pitch swaggering close behind, and Skye quiet but steady—they jumped back into the hole.
The dark swallowed them whole.
