Disclaimer: I do not own Dust: An Elysian Tail. Dust: An Elysian Tail is property of Humble Hearts and Microsoft Studios.

The Cruel Threads of Fate

"Oh man, why did I get stuck with this job." Fidget complained, pouting as she sat on a pedestal and peered over at the sacred blade she had been assigned to protect.

Being a guardian of one of the Sacred Swords of Elysium was supposed to be a great privilege and honor, but she knew she only got picked because the others didn't want to do it themselves. It was a dull job. No one had tried to steal the swords in ages, she doubted anyone even knew they existed anymore. But it was her tribe's sacred duty to protect the blades, so they continued to carry out their assignment, no matter how pointless it may have seemed.

For an entire hour Fidget sat there, kicking her feet, humming, and just generally fidgeting. She tried counting the number of birds that flew by, guessing which leaf would fall from the trees next, and seeing what shapes she could find in the clouds; anything to try to keep herself entertained. The restless nimbat let out an exaggerated yawn "Soooo boooorrrreeeed." she droned. It was such a nice day, it was a shame she had to waste it here. What she wouldn't give to stretch out her wings and take a flight around the forest. The sun did feel nice on her fur though, and a gentle breeze created a calm and peaceful atmosphere.

Fidget's eyelids grew heavy as the combination of boredom and relaxing surroundings took its toll on her. "A short nap couldn't hurt. What's the worst that could happen?" she asked, lying back on her seat and letting slumber take her...

"Ugh, just five more minutes." Fidget mumbled, a strange sound reaching her ears. The noise started to grow more distant, but lasted long enough to rouse the nimbat from her rest. "Okay, okay, I'm up." she said, rubbing her eyes. But when she opened them, her jaw went slack at what she saw... The sacred sword Ahrah was missing! The ancient blade, which had stood there for generations was gone, and it had happened on her watch! "Oh nononononono, I'm going to be in so much trouble!" She took flight and looked around, frantically searching for any sign of the missing blade. As fortune would have it, she managed to spot the tip of the blade, just as it disappeared into the forest. "Oh no you don't!" she shouted, quickly giving chase to the absconding sword.

Fidget darted through the forest in pursuit of the unknown thief. Who or whatever it was, they were fast. Ducking under branches and weaving through trees, it was all she could do to keep sight of the stolen blade. Every time she reached a spot where it had disappeared from view, she would see a glimpse of the sword moving deeper into the woods. The trees and foliage grew thicker the deeper she progressed, making it harder to keep up with her target. Her goal was getting further and further from reach, until finally it happened, she reached a crossroads where the blade was no longer in sight. Fidget looked around frantically, her head darting to each of the various paths she could choose from. Which way had it gone? With every moment she hesitated her chances of finding Ahrah grew slimmer. Fueled by adrenaline, she made a hasty choice, and shot down the route at top speed.

However after a full minute of nonstop flying, the sword was still nowhere to be seen. Had she taken too long? Had she chosen the wrong path? The panicking nimbat began to question herself. She took a quick look behind her, contemplating whether or not she should turn around. What should she do? What was the right decision...?

"Wah!" Fidget yelped as she suddenly collided with some unseen barrier. The unknown substance was highly sticky, but also highly elastic, stopping the unsuspecting nimbat in her tracks without causing her any serious harm. In a moment of panic, she struggled frantically against the unseen snare, tangling more of her fur in the sticky substance until she could barely move at all. Unable to struggle further, Fidget was forced to stop and take stock of her situation. Her breathing still frantic, the frightened nimbat looked around, trying to figure out what had captured her. At first she couldn't find anything, like she was simply suspended in the air by an invisible net. But slowly she began to notice it, the light reflecting from its fibers, the small bits of dew clinging to its strands. It was a web! She had flown straight into a massive web!

This horrifying realization sent Fidget into another frenzied struggle. She had heard horror stories about nimbats who had gotten lost in the woods and never returned, their bodies found days later, shriveled and drained of life. She strained against the sticky threads, but it was no use. Paws, feet, wings, tail; all were thoroughly ensnared within the fiendish trap. With all her attempts to escape proving futile, the distressed nimbat resorted to the only other option she could think of "Help!" she cried out desperately "Somebody! Anybody! Please help!" Unfortunately the only response she received was her own voice, echoing feebly through the surrounding forest.

However unknown to the nimbat, her frantic struggles actually were attracting some attention... The wrong kind of attention. The vibrations from her struggles and sound of her voice had alerted the web's mysterious owner. Its numerous eyes peered down at its latest catch with interest. She was a large one, much bigger that the usual insects or occasional bird it caught. With a bit of caution, the unknown creature began to descend upon its unsuspecting prey.

Fidget had nearly exhausted herself with all the struggling and shouting, leaving her panting and sweating heavily. She had to find a way to get free quick, otherwise she would be... A chill ran down her spine at the mere thought of it. Wait, that wasn't a chill... No, vibrations were dancing along the web around her... She wasn't alone. The terrified nimbat looked around frantically, try to find the source of the disturbance. When she finally looked above her, her eyes widened and a shriek of utter terror escaped her throat. Crawling down towards her was the largest spider she had ever seen, nearly the same size as the hapless nimbat herself.

"No! Stay away from me!" Fidget screamed at the terrifying creature approaching her, but it was undeterred by her pleas. Instead it skittered around her body as if inspecting its prize. Fidget watched the spider fearfully, her eyes particularly drawn to the arachnid's mandibles and fangs. She shivered whenever they got close to her flesh, fearing they could sink in at any moment. But they never did, and after a nerve wracking minute, the spider seemed satisfied with its inspection. It moved over to Fidget's side, looming over the helpless nimbat. "No... No..." Fidget shook her head back and forth, tears forming in the corner of her eyes as she truly believed this was the end of her.

The spider reached out with its long spindly legs, and with surprising speed and accuracy began to twirl the ensnared nimbat rapidly. "Hey! What are you doing?!" Fidget yelled as her world was sent spinning. She couldn't really see what was going on, glimpses of the ground, forest, spider, and sky flashing across her vision, but she could feel something sticky and slimy encasing her feet. Then the horrific realization struck her. She was being cocooned! The spider was storing her away for a later date! "Ewww! Disgusting! No! Stop!" she protested. But again her pleas were ignored, the arachnid simply going about its task of securing its prey.

Despite its speed, it was rather meticulous with its ministrations, even managing to bind the nimbat's wings behind her back so they wouldn't get in the way. Slowly her body was encased in webbing, spreading up her legs, belly, and chest before finally stopping at her neck. "Let me go! Please! Hel...!" Fidget's cry for help was cut off as a final shot of webbing sealed her mouth, almost as if the spider had grown tired of her constant whining. "Mmph! Mmph!" Muffled cries were all the imprisoned nimbat could muster. With its work done and its energy exhausted, the arachnid took its leave for the time being, leaving the poor nimbat to dangle helplessly within her new silken prison. Fidget struggled desperately against her bonds, squirming, wriggling, and writhing with all her might. She thrashed about until all of her energy was spent, and still the sticky threads held firm. At this point she could do nothing but cry pitifully as the hopelessness of her situation started to sink in.

Hours passed as Fidget wallowed in terror and despair. Heavy shadows started to fall over the forest as the sun set over the horizon. The fading light caused Fidget's anxiety to grow even greater. I'm not afraid of the dark. I'm not afraid of the dark. She repeated to herself. It was the things in the dark that scared her. But that was the issue, she knew exactly what was waiting for her in the dark. A vicious nimbat-eating spider was lurking within the darkness. It was probably just waiting for her to let her guard down, so it could sweep in and devour her in the middle of the night. This constant nagging fear kept her awake throughout most of the evening, but eventually even paranoia couldn't keep up with her exhaustion, and the worn out nimbat finally drifted off to sleep.

Fidget felt the warmth of sunlight across her face. Her eyes scrunched shut as she shunned away from the light that threatened to interrupt her slumber. But she couldn't seem to avoid the golden rays shining right upon her, and slowly she returned to the waking world. That was some nightmare she had last night, she thought as she tried to move her arms for a morning stretch... Only they didn't move, in fact none of her body could move! Her eyes shot open to find herself still in the middle of the forest, still stuck to that awful spider web. No! It hadn't been a nightmare! It had been real! It had all been real! With her energy replenished from the night's sleep, she immediately began to struggle and thrash again. "Mmmph! Mmmmph!" she cried out around the makeshift gag covering her mouth. She did everything within her power to try to break free from her prison, but it was all futile, and only served to exhaust her strength once more.

Tears welled up in her eyes again and she started to whimper pitifully. She didn't want to die, especially not like this. She knew what spiders did to their prey. She didn't want to be digested alive! And just how long would it be before that happened? Her eyes darted around, nervously searching for the spider that had trapped her here. It was nowhere to be found, but that did little to comfort the terrified nimbat. In fact every moment was filled with the dread that her captor would return. Her breathing hastened and her body trembled as panic set in. She shook her head back and forth. No! This couldn't be happening! This wasn't happening! For a brief moment her terror turned to rage. Stupid spider! Stupid forest! Stupid Sacred Sword! If it weren't for their stupid archaic sense of duty, she wouldn't even be in this mess! If she ever saw her tribe again, she would... she would... Her anger melted back into sorrow. She would never see them again. Her family, her friends, she would never get to say goodbye to them. She was going to die here frightened and alone. She wept bitterly as this cruel truth slowly settled in.

The rest of her day was pretty much the same cycle of events. Every time she had the energy, she would struggle and scream until her muscles failed and her voice gave out. The rest of the time was spent either cursing her rotten luck, or dreading her horrifying fate. How much would it hurt? How long would it take? These were things she didn't want to think about, but try as she might, she couldn't drive these distressing questions from her mind. The thought of suffering a slow and painful death was almost too much to bear. She didn't deserve such an awful fate. It wasn't fair! She broke into tears again as fear and sorrow overwhelmed her.

By the end of the day, Fidget had all but given up on any hope of rescue. The forest was vast and dense. What were the chances of anyone actually finding her all the way out here? But just as she seemed ready to surrender fully to her fate, a faint glimmer of hope appeared on the horizon. A green furred canine wearing an elaborate assassin's garb emerged from the woods. He seemed to be in a hurry, but stopped for just a moment to talk to... was that Ahrah?! Fidget struggled and shouted harder than she ever had before. "Mmmph! Mmmhp! Mmph MmMm Mhph!" But her green furred savior didn't seem to notice her muffled pleas for help. He finished whatever he was saying to the blade, and dashed out of view just as quickly as he had entered. No! No! Don't go! Please! Come back! Please... Fresh tears ran down her cheeks as she watched her one chance at salvation slip away. Why was fate so cruel?! Dangling hope in front of her, only to rip it away like that?! She swore and cursed into her gag until she was completely out of breath. And as her rage subsided, despair moved in to take its place. She wanted to hug herself, to just curl into a ball and shut out her sorrows, but even that was denied her by the her insidious prison. The defeated nimbat wept tears of complete and utter despair. She had never felt so helpless or alone.

That night, slumber took Fidget much easier, the physically and mentally exhausting events of the day having taken their toll on her. Unfortunately the escape that dreamless sleep granted from her waking nightmare seemed all too short, and soon the light of dawn shone through the forest once again. Fidget felt something brush lightly against her cheek, but still lost in peaceful slumber, she merely shied away from the irritation. But the feeling persisted, and she tried to reach up to brush the annoyance away. Only, her paw wouldn't move. It was stuck uncomfortably close to her, like she had tucked herself in too tight. Slowly her senses returned and her eyes fluttered open... And what she saw nearly stopped her heart. The spider she had been dreading for so long was looming over her, prodding her body with one of its disgusting chitinous legs, as if checking that she was still alive.

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!" the horrified nimbat shrieked at the top of her lungs. But the sudden outburst had little effect on the experienced arachnid. That reaction simply confirmed that its quarry was alive, and prime for consumption. The spider moved over to Fidget's side, placing its mouth distressingly close to her exposed and helpless body. Fidget shook her head back and forth frantically, tears of absolute terror staining her fur. "Mph! Mph! Mmmphp! Mmph!" she pleaded, desperate not to become the arachnid's breakfast. But unfortunately for the poor nimbat, the spider had no interest in her wants or needs. It was hungry, and she was nothing but food to the heartless predator.

Without any hesitation, the spider clamped down with it fangs, piercing the web and sinking into the nimbat's tender flesh. "Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!" Another shriek tore from Fidget's throat as excruciating pain shot up her spine. She thrashed about wildly, trying to get away from the source of pain. But the webs restricted her movement, and the fangs remained firmly lodged in her side. Despite the seeming futility of her actions and the addition pain they caused her, the desperate nimbat continued to flail, her instincts screaming at her to escape, no matter the cost. However her frantic struggles died down quickly as she was overtaken by an unexpected and unnatural exhaustion, almost as if the strength was being sapped straight from her body. Why did she feel so weak? Had the spider injected her with some kind of venom? No, it didn't feel like anything was being pumped into her. In fact, it sort of felt like the opposite, like something was being sucked out of her. If she listened closely, she swore she could hear faint suckling sounds coming from where the fangs pierced her flesh. Her eyes grew even wider in terror as her mind put two and two together. The spider wasn't digesting her, it was feeding on her! Feasting on her blood like an oversized tick or leech! Suddenly the shriveled up corpses from the stories made sense... And she was about to become one of them!

Although the initial torrent of agony Fidget felt had subsided, it was replaced by a relentless stabbing ache that throbbed painfully with every ounce of blood the arachnid stole from her. Tears of fear, anguish, and sorrow ran down her cheeks, and she began to whimper pitifully as her life force was drained away. It was a horrible process to suffer through. The poor nimbat trembled violently from pain and weakness, while her body broke out in a cold sweat and her breathing hastened from pure terror. Her fur began to dull, losing its vibrant hue and her skin grew pale as she was robbed of precious life giving fluids. Even more horrible, was the way her muscles atrophied and her body became emaciated, as if her very vitality was being consumed.

But most horrifying of all was that it was not a quick death. No, Fidget's torture was dragged out for hours as the heartless spider savored every drop of delicious blood it leeched from her body. And the poor nimbat was completely powerless to stop it. All she could do was suffer under the effects of the arachnid's insatiable appetite, and pray to any gods who might be listening to please just let it be over. But fate was cruel, and it seemed that she was destined to suffer for several more hours to come.

The sun was starting to sink under the forest canopy, and still the arachnid was enjoying its catch, its abdomen bloated and swollen from all the blood it had gorged from its victim. But it was clear that its feast would soon come to an end. Poor Fidget was barely clinging to life. Her breathing was labored and ragged. Her tears had dried up long ago, but one look into her pitiful eyes would tell you of the pain she had endured, and the fear that she felt. She knew that she was going to die. Even if the spider left her alone now, her body had withered well beyond recovery. You could practically see her heart beating in her emaciated chest, the sad shriveled organ struggling feebly to pump what little blood she had left through her nutrient starved body.

With each passing moment, the beats grew slower and fainter. A deathly chill enveloped Fidget as her body slowly succumbed to blood loss. Darkness crept in from the edges of her vision, and swallowed her consciousness. Soon after, her lungs breathed their last and her emptied heart gave out. As the sun set on the horizon, so too did it set on Fidget's life. The poor nimbat just another victim of nature's harsh and often cruel designs. And with the death of that seemingly insignificant nimbat, Elysium had unknowingly lost a great hero that day.