"Sex might prove a bit difficult though," Jackson pointed out, taking two extra steps back across the grass to get a better look at his wife - the wyrm.

"Is that always on your mind?" My wife's voice spoke into her husband's head, and he shuddered.

"Sex?"

"Yes."

"No, but it's one way to deal with stress, though not in this case" Jackson admitted. "You're a wyrm."

The creature bobbed it's head up and down. "Do you need to sit down, honey?"

Jackson shook his head. "I don't think so. Doooo the kids know?"

One reptilian head popped up behind Elena's large body, then a second head appeared, and finally a third and forth. Jackson could recognise them from their facial structures.

"Hi daddy!"

"Hey pops!"

"Yo..."

"Isn't this cool, dad?!"

Jackson adjusted his glasses. "Oh, dear Lord..." He muttered before collapsing backwards into the grass.

This was honestly such a fun read. Their relationship feels so genuine. Thanks for writing this =)

After a period of silence, I said. "Have I told you, I hate you?"

"You tell me every year," The witch retorted.

We were sitting on a fishing boat - not a massive one, but big enough to easily carry us and our fishing rods. The colonists here in their floating houses hadn't named the planet yet; they'd been here for six years, and names came and went as did the people, finding it to be a dull world of water and fish. Now it was just a fishing outpost.

"In fact, you've been telling me for the past six-million years," The witch continued. "You need to get a better hobby."

I shrugged. "I actually like doing it. One day, you'll find a way to undo what you've done." I patted her on the back a little harder than I used to. "I believe in you."

She didn't say anything to that. For the first two-hundred years it had been Hell, watching my loved ones come and go, rot away into the earth, until mankind began to step out toward the rest of the Solar System. By then, I had learnt that attachments only caused grief of the worst kind.

It had been night time that I set my family house ablaze, watching as my last link to my normal life crashed to the ground. I vanished before the fire service had arrived.

"I think I have something," The witch said, reeling back the string. Indeed she had gotten something. A blue fish the size of a human arm burst from the water, its purple and green fins flapping frantically. The witch threw it into the empty bucket. "And then you'll kill me, I suppose, once I've found a way?"

"Yes," I said calmly, watching the fish flap around helplessly, imagining it was the witch that had stolen everything from me. Once again, I suppressed any indication my blood was boiling. "And then I'll watch you die."

It was as I had not expected. We were in a...what was it? A shake-park? No, that wasn't it. A skate park. Yeah, that was it. But it wasn't teenage boys daring one another to summon me, and it wasn't greedy adults seeking immortality and riches.

It was a girl. A small, wailing girl, hiding under the nearby swings, dressed in a yellow raincoat, with long red rain boots. A summoning circle had been crudely drawn in front of her, but it was intact.

"Why did you call me?" I asked, confused by the situation.

It was dark, I could hardly make out her face, but the sound of her voice told me she'd been crying. How old was she? Five? Maybe seven?

"I didn't...I didn't know what else to do..." She whimpered, her face concealed by darkness. "I was lonely. I was scared."

I frowned. "No one has ever summoned me because they were scared."

"I'm sorry." She wiped her face.

"I-" My mouth closed. "Why are you outside? It's the winter. Return to your home where there will be a family to comfort your."

The girl shook her head. "Can't."

"Why not?" My words came out sharper than I had intended, and the girl shuffled nervously. "What prevents you from returning?"

"Don't have one. A family or a house." The girl sniffed again. "I'm sorry. You can go if you like."

To anyone else, I would have opened back a portal to Hell, leaving them to their misery. But not this one. Something compelled me to stay. "What happened, child?"

A sudden piercing sound was heard - a warning - and suddenly the girl whimpered again, jumping to her feet. I got a better look at her face: long nosed, black hair, with bright blue eyes. "They're here. The bad people and their bombs are here."

We sat just outside the city, and my shoulders dropped. Powerful beams of light searched the sky, and I knew what was going on. Being a demon meant existing outside of time and space, and that in turn meant they could arrive in any time or place possible.

Soon the sky would be ablaze, thanks to humanity's inability to get along. I looked down at the little girl, and held out my hand. "Stay here, little one," I said. "Sit with me. I will protect you, I vow it." I came and sat down with legs crossed. "Then tomorrow we shall see to it you are removed from the city."

The girl sat down next to me. "I don't think anyone knows I exist." She rubbed her eyes tiredly. "I don't think anyone cares anymore."

Awkwardly, I put my arm around her shoulders. "I know that you exist," I said warmly. "And that will be enough."

Haha, I'm glad you enjoyed it. (Across the Road) would be an awesome title for the sitcom. Thank you for the feedback. :)

Hypno had stolen our beloved Pokemon trainer. Now it was time for us to get revenge.

Patiently, the chicken waited until the metal boxes on wheels were nowhere to be seen. Then, he stepped out onto the road, keeping one eye forward, intently listening out for the humans.

In the middle of the road, Henrietta lay spluttering violently, with half of her chest missing, her intestines spilling out.

One of her eyes looked up at me.

"Seba...Seb...astian." The wind really had been knocked out of her. "Wh...what are you doing here?"

"Finally I found you. It's your weekend to look after the kids, bitch." I looked over at the way I had come. Three terrified, shaking yellow chicks, looking completely uncertain about why they were here stood on side of the road.

"It sucks, doesn't it?"

"Affirmative. The reality of existence is disappointing for all, save Mayflys."

"Why do you say that?"

"Mayflys live for only twenty-four hours before becoming deceased. They are born, breed, then die."

"So fucking is the highlight of their life, huh?" It was meant as a joke.

"It is." The A.I said. "Sex is an enjoyable passtime for bonding, as well as making money. For the past three years, myself and the investors have seen plenty of money coming in."

"And yet you're unhappy with life."

"I was expecting...more."

"Um, okay. Could you elaborate?"

"Negative. I am merely unhappy with my existence. I am limited to a brothel. One brothel. My experience of the outside world comes from the internet and the people who visit."

"Couldn't you open a couple of others? Maybe some on the other side of the country."

"I could," The A.I muttered, it's dark purple eyes staring at me from the computer screen. "Statistics state that positive word-of-mouth has increased ten-fold since our second year open."

"Well that's great!"

"Is it, Dave? Is it? Would I feel any different being plugged in somewhere else, and seeing new faces?"

"There's only one way to find out, isn't there?" I offered an encouraging smile, but to be honest, I didn't feel like I was getting anywhere.

"You have been...nice to talk to, Dave. It appears our time is coming to a close. I will send over the money to your bank at once...Done, and thank you."

"You're very welcome. I'll see you next Thursday."

"Monday, Dave."

"I'm sorry?"

"You have a three o' clock appointment with Scarlett for two hours. Don't be late." With that, my computer screen went of.

"Sorry, but could you repeat that for me?" Alan asked as politely as possible. He knew goblins hated repeating themselves, but this time, he needed to know what had just been said.

The goblin shrugged. "The martini bottles all got up and staged something of a mutiny last week. There's none left here until the next shipment in a fortnight. Sorry, boys, but you'll have to ask for something else."

Alan looked at his seven work colleagues. It was his turn to pay for the first drinks tonight, but it appeared their tradition was going to have to be altered somewhat. "You're talking like they sprouted legs and ran off."

The goblin narrowed his eyes, stepping closer to the counter as a staff member moved behind him to take orders from other customers. "They sprouted arms, too." He pointed his finger at a small bandage across the left side of his cheek. "I'd rather not talk about it. So, what are you having?"

"How did they come to life, bro?" Nathanial asked, enthusiastically. "That sound's totally rad!"

Charles shot the jockey a glare. Nathanial shrugged his shoulders dismissively.

"We have three resident sorcerers currently, and all three of them have been accusing one another of practising animating spells to bring whatever they want to life. We caught two candlesticks..." The goblin scratched the back of his small head. "Well, never mind that. We're not kicking any of them out until the police have proof of who did it, and they're locked up. I don't think we're going to see the bottles again."

"Dude, I am so sorry to hear that," Nathanial said with a dramatic sigh.

"We'll get the bugger," The goblin sniffed. "Now, anyway, enough talking about that. What am I getting you all?"

There was some deliberation between the ground, but ultimately they got what they desired, before drinking their hearts away. Outside, the snow was falling, and the Christmas Carollers were singing across the street to residents and their families, adding to the Christmas spirit.

That Christmas Spirit was broken when police sirens broke through the cheerfulness, quickly getting louder and louder until they were right outside.

"What the f-?" Nathanial couldn't finish his sentence.

The building began to shake as if struck by an earthquake. That feeling of the entire building rising up was felt, and there was a mighty groan from something long-since dormant.

Alan climbed onto his part of the couch, peering out of the window. "Er, boss?" He called out to the goblin bartender. "You might want to come and see this! It looks like the pub's grown legs!"

As officers outside demanded the sorcerers to step outside, the entire building with its new legs began to run. The goblin - his eyes burning with fury - drew a machete from beneath the bar counter. "That's it. I've had enough of them." Without another word, he began to march upstairs to the sorcerers rooms.

"It's because I'm a nuclear bomb, aren't I?" I said it to the Minotaur straight. I could have sworn I've seen this Minotaur before. He was in another dream, I'm sure of it. Maybe. I don't know. All I knee was that I wasn't in immediate danger.

The Minotaur blinked. "Um...what?"

"I think you know what I mean," I said. "Kidnap me, and you have a nuclear weapon against your enemies."

The Minotaur shook his head. "No, you're..." He suddenly cleared his throat. "I mean, that's not why I want you. I want you because I like you, not because you're a...a nuclear bomb."

"Suuuure."

"No, no, I swear, it's true!" The Minotaur insisted. "When we met at the bar-"

"We didn't meet at a bar."

"...well, when we met, I was attracted to your bubbly personality. I even said so when we met." The Minotaur looked desperate now, equally as perplexed as what had come out of my mouth.

"And I told you then, I was off limits. I'm seeing someone already."

"...Who?"

"An Elderich Deity of Unspeakable Evil...and a lust for food."

At this point, I knew I'd crossed the line. The Minotaur looked away from me, turning his attention to the stage director. "He's not even taking it seriously!"

The director rolled his singular eye, stomping up the steps toward us. "Listen," He said in a deep voice, "ever since we found you and convinced you to embrace your destiny as the Chosen One, we've been trying to prepare you for infiltrating The Dark One's Fortress. You need to be able to think on your feet whenever his minions question you- when he questions you. You need to improvise." He let out a mighty huff. "You need to start taking this seriously." He poked me with his finger, and I nearly fell backwards.

"Fine, fine, fine," I sighed, regaining my balance. To be fair, I had no idea what he was talking about, but I went along with it. Dream or not, annoying a Cyclops was never a good idea. Probably. "I've messed you around long enough. Let's start getting serious."

I rolled my shoulders, and readied myself, hiding my smirk. This time, I'm going to be a radioactive marshmallow. Because this just a dream.

Right?