The Little Child that Could - Tatum's Awakening :: Night

Earlier that night...

"Dad, I'm fine!" she insisted, "I got my homework done and everything!  I've been getting straight A's all month!  I just thought, maybe, I could ask for a little extra this week?"

"Honey, we give you enough, every week, so that you can provide for yourself.  If you're fine, then why do you need the extra money?  Four more minutes, darling."

She hated that timer.  Four more minutes and then Daddy would have to go back to work.

"Well, I thought... since I've been doing so good... maybe I could reward myself with a little something extra?" She said, trying to put on her sweetest voice.

There was a silence for roughly half a minute.

"Ten extra, and not a cent more," he replied.

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you, I promise this is the last time I ask!" She nearly cheered.  I can get a bread from the Heartfelt Bakery now!  Or maybe I should spend it at he Maid in Heaven?  Could be worth a try?  No, I'll do both!  A bread at one and strawberry milk at the other!  Win win!

"Just keep up the good work," her father stated, "As long as you have that, you've earned it, okay?"

"Promise!" She replied cheerfully, "So... are they gonna let you out early tonight?  I think Mom gets out early.  If you get ou-"

"Oh, change of plans," her father stated, "Someone called in sick today, so Mama has to do their shift to help everyone keep up."

"Oh..." said a disappointed Tatum.

"And that means-"

"You have to stay too to make sure the last person gets out safely, right?" Tatum said grumpily, "You guys never get a day off anymore!  I'm okay if you can't visit me, but you two need each other!  You can't just keep letting your work get between you two!  I worry about you..."

Another silence...

"Times up, sweetie," her father said regretfully, "We'll pick this up tomorrow night, okay?"

"Hoookaaaay," she sighed in defeat.  No matter what, it seemed they were doomed to always be apart.  "G'night Daddy, I love you!"

"I love you too.  Kiss kiss!"

"Kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss-" she repeatedly chanted until she was sure he hung up.  Then she stuck out her tongue in disgust.  "Why do you always make me do the gross sappy things," she complained.  It was time for bed, now.  She would simply get in her night clothing and go to sleep, just like clockwork.  Then she would wake up in the morning, go to school, get work done, explore Endymion, race home, do more work, get a call from Dad, go to bed.

She was beginning to hate this pattern.  She thought she may have earlier broke free when she started sneaking out just to explore.  But this was, in its own way, a new pattern.  Worse of all, it was always in her small little room.  It was just barely enough for the amenities and a TV.  For most people, this would have been enough, but for Tatum...

It was always a struggle trying to ignore how small the room was.  Normally she could handle it, but the constant disappointment was always building up, and the anxiety that made the walls seem to close in on her was no better.

Ugh... I just... I need to sleep............ can't sleep, too much on my mind... what can I do?  I want Mommy and Daddy to be happy again, but is there anything I can do?  Ooooh, just sleep, do your work, be a good girl.  Just be a good girl...  She turned out the light and tried to sleep.  The rain had been pouring for a while.  It was comforting rain.  

Oh rain, I haven't played out in your for a while now... I wish I could be with you and be happy again like when we were little... but I have responsibilities now.  I could get in trouble for going out this late just to play.  I'd need a really good reason...

... I have a reason...

Present time...

"THIS WAS A BAD IDEA, A VERY VERY VERY BAD IDEA!!!" Tatum shouted to herself as she rain through the night.  After quickly getting change, she had made a run for it.  She was tired of not having to see her parents for so long.  She missed them and she knew they missed her.  Even if it got her into trouble, if it meant she could see them just for a little bit, if it meant she could make them happy just for a moment, it was worth all the risk in the world.

"Oh, Back Light, I thought we were friends! Why are you making it harder for me to find the Stretch! Oh, right, it's dark, you're forgiven Back Light!" The rain definitely made it harder for her to run, with the weight of the rain pounding down on her, but that didn't matter. Her little heart poured strength and energy into her feet. The rain would not stop her.

"Excuse, I need an excuse! What can I say that will get them to see me? Oh!!! Daddy forgot something important and I'm bringing it to him! That should work! There it is! There's the Stretch!" The child found herself laughing the moment her goal was in sight. She was going to get to see her family again.

Her laughter was almost abruptly stopped at the sound of someone calling out to her. She skidded to a stop, facing in the direction of the voice. Seemed to be a girl, maybe a bit older than her, rushing to her with all of her might.

Okay, whoa, get a load of this one! I know those eyes, those are the eyes of someone in panic! What the heck happened to this girl that's gotten her so incredibly spooked? She found herself hesitating for a moment.

Okay, I know she needs help, but what about Mommy and Daddy? I was just on my way to meet them... She took a second look at the terrified girl that was coming towards her.

"... oh fudge buckets..." she said to herself, pulling her jacket collar up and running over to meet the girl. "Okay Miss, calm down, we'll have this all settled out. What seems to be the situation?" She had never gotten a chance to play Cadet before. If she could help, might as well play the part for fun, right?

"A thing, huh?" she replied with a smirk, "That doesn't give a lot to go... on..." It was only now that she noticed a pair of red eyes coming closer. That was all the warning that she needed.

"Oh fudge buckets, fudge bucKETS FUDGE BUCKETS!" she cried out, grabbing the girl by the wrist and making a mad dash for it, pulling with all of her might.

Okay, now I know why she's scared! she thought to herself, What is that thing?! Wait, is it one of the demons that wander this place?! Since when do they have red eyes?!?! And aren't they supposed to be kind of invisible! Police station, I need a police station! No, they probably would get slaughtered by that thing. Oh, where's the nearest Cadet station! Do they have cadet stations?! A place to hide, I need a place to hide! C'mon short cuts, don't fail me now! There was a problem, however. Many of the short cuts are literally locked off. For those places, it's actually closing time. Wasn't there a place that she could use?

The bank?! No, closed. The cafe! No, closed! Maid in Heaven? THAT'S SOMEWHERE ELSE, ISN'T IT?!

"This way!" she cried out, pulling the girl and ducking into an ally way.

Please let it be here, please let it be here, please let it be here!!! she cried out mentally. Right now, she didn't have enough clarity to remember which ally she ran into. All she knows is that one of them has a dumpster. Lots of ally ways have a dumpster to hide in, right? The girl may not like it, but if they could hide in it, then hopefully demon will just walk past them.

A DUMPSTER!  OH BLESSED TRASH HEAP, THY NAME IS SALVATION!!!  She did not waste any time pulling herself or the poor girl into the dumpster, closing it quickly before anyone had a chance to see them.

"Not a sound," she whispered, though that was largely unnecessary.  Definitely not one of her better plans, but if it kept her alive, that was all she cared about.  It may have been a rancid smell, but it was quickly overpowered by a very oppressive presence.

"Hokay, ju-just what is that thing?!" she whispered.  She decided to risk a peak.  She instantly regretted it.

Meat cleavers?!  MEAT CLEAVERS?!  Is that thing a Slasher?!  Like in the horror movies?!  No no no no no no no, I don't wanna die!  I'm not ready to die like thi-  Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a cacophony of voices.  It caught her off guard and blurred her vision for a bit.  Though she was able to recover, she was left very very confused.

And now I'm hearing voices in my head.  I'm going insane, aren't I?!  This is absolutely cra- what's on my feet suddenly?  Reaching out, she felt at her ankles.  It felt like metal... connected by a chain... shackles?!

I HAVE SHACKLES NOW?!  BUT WHAT IF I NEED TO RUN AWAY!!!  WHAT IF WE NEED TO RUN AWAY!!!  I NEED TO BE ABLE TO RUN!!!  W-wait... didn't those voices say...

Her mind drifted back to what the voices said, about how she was this close to true freedom.  All she had to do was seize it.


Those words would echo in her mind.  She doesn't understand how, and she doesn't understand why, but she felt like she could trust those words.  It was as though she now knew that she would be able to fight back.

She had found her resolution.  First, the girl.

I bet she's only gonna be all the more confused by this... she thought as she began to bury the girl more in trash.

"Stay still, stay quiet, and wait for me to tell you it's safe," she whispered.  She sat down, making sure her feet were right on the lid.

"I'm going to save our butts." she whispered.  Making sure her left leg was firm, she sharply kicked up with her right, breaking the mysterious chains that held them together.

It seemed as though blue flames suddenly engulfed her body as she jumped out to meet with her foe.  If anything, said flames made it impossible to see Tatum's form hidden underneath, and the flames were suddenly taking solid shape.  The flames around her head became a helmet.  The flames would travel along her arms and down her torso, forming gloves an a new outfit.  The flames would also travel from her feet and go up, meeting with the flames from her arms while creating boots and new pants.  Once the flames met at her chest, it seemed to fly off and ram straight into her neck, producing a small explosion that would form into a long flowing scarf.

All the while, a voice seemed to speak to Tatum's conciousness as this transformation took place.


A mental visage appeared in Tatum's mind as this single voice introduced itself.  It made her think of a cross between a magical girl and a sentai super hero.

She stood, ready to face the challenge ahead.  She just needed a moment to be distracted.

"Holy Smokes, where did all that come from?!" she thought aloud to herself, surprised by her apparent transformation sequence.  "Those blue flames, that voice, what looked like a Sentai Sailor Mercury?!  I really have gone insane!"


"Okay, that is clearly in my head, and I am going to listen to it!" she said aloud.  The distractions were over.  It was time to face this thing head on.

Though he had had no time for it the last two days, Selenus had still not abandoned his self-sworn duty of protecting the people of Endymion from criminals. He'd moved on to much bigger foes with his ascension into being a Persona User (Such as freaking demons), but he still felt that it was no excuse to drop the whole vigilante thing. Petty criminals, however, certainly felt like quite a step down now that he fought demons.

Either way, Selenus had been making the most of his spare nighttime by roaming the city in the shadows, clad in his Psyche Terrorist disguise. Though he'd operated without it before, he'd always made sure that nothing but his sillhouette could be seen (which is why the few people who claimed to have seen him referred to him as a wolf instead of a robot), but now that he had a guise he could afford being more abrassive in his course of action. Not to mean, of course, that he should abandon stealth altogether. Having identity protection was simply a nice plus.

This night in particular he had no specific target in mind. He'd just roam the night, keeping an eye on suspicious individuals, but so far no one had done anything that merited his intervention. For now, he'd continue roaming, dead set on being on duty for at least a few more hours.

In an odd sense, she was kind of glad that she had a helmet on. It felt like it completely covered her face.

"Huh, so I can," she replied staring at the cleavers... yes, Tatum was aware of the person before her. The mask, the messy purple hair... the cleavers... she could not keep her eyes off of the cleavers. The mask only added to the rather unsettling visage.

So this is what a demon looks like? Well, one of many Demons, at least.

"So, if you don't mind my saying," she stated, holding her ground firm. "You are aware that it is illegal to be carrying such dangerous looking weapons like that with the intent to harm, right? I mean, that's gotta be a violation of a few codes! So, how about you drop the knives and come quietly and we won't have to have any unnecessary trouble."

Are you seriously partaking in witty banter?

Oh, let me have this, I get to play super hero! How is that not the most awesome thing in the world?!

Okay, you got me, it is pretty cool. Just don't lower your guard. You have no clue what you're up against!

Hey, if joking helped the Arachnid, it's gonna help me! I already feel a little less terrified of this situation... also, I'm talking to a voice in my head. You are a clear sign of insanity and you have no right to talk!

Eh, that's fair if you wanna see me as that. I won't judge.

The cold night breeze, though lost in Selenus's lack of physical senses other than body presence, would still remind him that this place (like many other places in Endymion) was not safe to roam at night. He wasn't worried about common criminals, but rather demons that he was painfully aware were going to show up without question. He was confident that he could take a single or even a few demons on his own without major problems, but if a group of demons decided to gang up on him, or if he ran into a big one like King Frost... he'd have to make a run fo it. For now, he'd listen closely for any unusual sounds that met his ears.

Speaking of unusual sounds, Selenus was unfortunate enough to hear the sound of a creature skittering away while laughing. Though that wasn't exactly the most clear sign of a demon he'd ever seen in his relatively short exposure to demonkind, he decided not to take any chances and follow the sound of giggling to wherever it was going. After all, Selenus knew that where there were hunters, there was prey.