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The day had nearly drawn to a close. A dusty rose hue tinted the sky above as the sun gave its last farewells. It seemed as though the day would end pleasantly without a hitch. However, that was before a certain frei turned ink monster made her way to the small park downtown.

Her search for ink had been unfruitful; additionally, her desire for mischief was far from sated. Newly found energy prickled at LuLu's skin and left it twitching irritatingly beneath layers of ink. Her fight with Xiu had left the frei in need of an outlet. She busied herself with finding her next target.

Who would be fun to mess with?

Who could she let loose on?

LuLu chuckled wickedly to herself. She realized there was no point in searching someone out. The next person she saw would be a good enough toy to toss around.

LuLu's face split into a crooked grin, ink seeped from the corners of her lips. What an interesting question. Was she okay? To be honest, the rabbit had no idea what exactly was wrong with her. There were plenty of options. It may have been another fel virus, she may have caught a rare disease, or maybe it was just her destiny to become this monster. No matter what it was, the fact remained that LuLu was cloaked in layer upon layer of ink. The viscous fluid covering her body shifted and twisted. A wet tendril reached out towards Cruz. LuLu's outstretched hand followed after it.

Her fingers slipped into the spaces between the croc's own digits. With a moist squelch she closed her hand around his. LuLu gave his palm a soft squeeze. She felt powerful, too powerful, and it was not right. It was as though LuLu could erupt at any moment. The tendons in her hand itched to coil tighter. She wanted to snap his flesh and bone in one quick movement.

But back to the question at hand, was she ok? LuLu giggled wickedly, "No."

LuLu's smile faltered with each question Cruz tossed her way until it nothing more than a hopelessly lopsided crescent, tinged the slightest bit with desperation. Her hand snapped up and snatched the croc's wrist. She squeezed it ruthlessly, "You can't." Ink dripped from her clenched fist and down Cruz's wrist. Her glossy eyes bore into him.

The rabbit was past help now. Where had this frei been weeks ago when the sickness was only a few splotches across her arms? Where was he when there was still hope? He was nowhere to be found then. Just like everyone else. Sevilin, We'rika, and even Josh had let her down. They spent day after day with her yet each one had been oblivious to her ailment. However, she was most pained by the fact that she had failed herself. LuLu had been unable to conquer this on her own and now she was paying the price.

LuLu seethed, "Nobody can."

Cruz's roar served as the push that sent LuLu over the edge. She felt a tingle run down her small spine. It was one of both fear and excitement. Did this frei want to challenge her? She hoped so.

Her grip was firm on him and refused him twisting free. The rabbit wanted him captured and close. She wanted to relish his expressions as they shifted from terrified to determined. This was different from her run in with Xiu. She had no history with Cruz to distract her from taking pleasure in testing out her newly discovered powers... on him.

She released one hand and gripped the back of the croc's head. LuLu reeled the boy in close, probably straining his neck in the process of bring him down to her eye level, then she spoke. The words practically moved between their lips. Her tone was neither guttural nor growling. "Make me."

Lu's throat released a low chirp as Cruz latched into her. Her reflex was to tighten her hold in his green hair. His long locks were already being pulled from his neatly set ponytail and were splaying down his back. LuLu's pigtails were in equal disarray from her previous fight with Xiu and, now, Cruz's own fingers twining their way into her ink coated tresses.

Cruz had given Lu the painful lesson that teeth were not just for show or to give him a cute little lisp. Each pointed fang had pierced past her ink and was sunk into her wrist. Pain radiated down her arm and she had to struggle to not show it in her face. Nevertheless, LuLu was not some hot fudge sundae with a ribbon attached, a drippy coating was not the only function her ink served. The rabbit still had some tricks up her sleeve. Some she did not even know about.

Cruz could probably feel it on his tongue and in his gums as LuLu made her next move. The flesh between his lips was softening, nearly gummi in consistency. His teeth sank further and further into the gooey flesh until his jaw completely clamped closed with a harsh snap. LuLu's wrist continued to liquefy until it was merely ink sitting in the croc's maw. The frei pulled her dismembered forearm away from Cruz. She turned the limb over and inspected it. LuLu tilted her head towards her opponent to gauge his shock as well. Her glossy eyes were wide in wonder. LuLu amazed herself with her own feat.

The frei turned monster willed her skin, tendons and bone to reform. Her inky coating quivered and took shape, but it was unable to solidify into anything functional. At least, not instantaneously. LuLu was stuck with one hand laced in Cruz's hair and the other left as a messy stub.

Cruz's reaction was better than anything LuLu could have anticipated. Fear. There was so much fear and horror in his green eyes they looked like they were about to jump right out of his head and run away. Lu felt a twinge of pride. That was the response a proper monster should receive. Nonetheless, the younger frei's voice also held a detached hum of aggression that chilled Lu to her core. It was a predatory noise that threatened the girl to her very soul. The mixed signals were leaving LuLu in a fog of amusement. While Cruz bellowed for his guardian, the rabbit giggled to herself. The sound verged on psychotic.

LuLu was dead set on keeping her one useful hand latched in Cruz's hair while her lame limb recovered. Progress was being made even as they struggled. A skeleton had been regenerated which gave her new hand some structure beneath the layers of ink coating it. Nevertheless, the new tissue was still numb and delicate. LuLu would not use it against her opponent just yet.

LuLu's movements ebbed and flowed with Cruz's. As he pulled back she would lean forward. When he eased she would take the slack. Together they were twisting and thrashing as though they were caught in some bizarre tribal dance. She barely noticed the distance they were covering either or how close the fountain behind her was looming. What she did notice was the numbness in her injured arm turning into a tingle then a radiating burn as its nerves reformed from ink. LuLu gave her restored hand a flex to insure all its synapses had healed correctly. She fought through the pain caused by the use of her raw nerves, skin was still absent under the ink. Her fingers each curled in time all receiving the signals from her brain in tandem as they ought to. LuLu could not wait any longer. She had enough dancing around. She wanted to get another response from Cruz. The rabbit reared her still incomplete hand back then struck the croc in the jaw.

LuLu immediately regretted the decision. Every nerve screamed at her for her hastiness. She could not help but emit a scream of her own. Her amusement was quickly overshadowed by the echo of her tortured hand. An agony filled tear oozed from her empty eye, but it was lost in the ink on her face.

LuLu would have screamed and thrashed as she was pulled down to the bottom of the fountain with Cruz. She would have, if she wasn't so stunned. The rabbit's ears buzzed with pain as they were used to hoist her into the clear blue water. As soon as she entered, ink flowed and dissipated into the pool like sheer grey ribbons had spooled around her body.

She tried to choke back the water that had infiltrated her nose and mouth when she had been dunked unprepared. LuLu unlaced her fingers from Cruz's scalp to cough into her hand. A gummy trail of ink connected her palm to her lips like a tether before it faded away into the water. LuLu suddenly froze in place as she noticed what was happening. The sensation ran to her core. The ink on her skin was becoming watered down. The frei could feel herself weakening by the second as the water sapped strength from her overblown essence.

LuLu broke water's the surface. She slung her wet hair back in a glorious arc. Diluted ink splattered the spectators who had ventured too close and they released a few cries of shock. The rabbit cocked her head at them .Yet, everything was blurred and mucky. Her vision looked as though she was seeing everything from behind a glass of water. Lines wiggled and bent until definite shapes were impossible to discern. Cruz was forgotten for now. The water was doing much worse thing to her than the croc could.

LuLu needed to get out of that fountain fast.