This story is a return to writing after many years hiatus.

A few of you may have noticed that I have updated this story, the general story is still the same. I have basically gone through the entire thing to clean it up a bit, parts that where confusing or awkward before are fixed. Also I am not a great editor, although I have done my best I can't promise that I haven't missed a mistake here and there. Hopefully however it is enough that for those of you that let grammar grind your gears, this story is more tolerable for you now. I have also rearranged some chapter around to make them longer. If you are looking to skip straight ahead to the knew content you should be good to start with Chapter 12. Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoy! :)

Chapter 1

The Stranger

There was always this light at the edge of the cul-de-sac, that inexplicably I have been leery of ever since I was a kid. My dad and I live in an older part of town where the branches of knotted oak trees curled over streets, and the forest seemed to run right up to the houses. On some of the older houses vines have started to creep, disrupting brick and siding in their wake. A few of the houses in the neighborhood look as though mother nature swallowed them back up, and are now derelict with branches of baby trees bursting out of the windows, moss invading the concrete. There was never any kind of fairy tale that was classic for these kind of conditions, no rumors of an old witch, there were no Indian burial grounds. The reason these houses where abandon wasn't because of some haunting, or murder. I once asked my dad about why nobody lived in those houses, and he has explained something about the housing market, and the recession. However, the occupied houses in the neighborhood where lovely, in like 50's kind of way, with detailed porches and well-kept lawns. In the summer time kids ride their bikes around and play basketball in driveways like any other upper middle class suburb. The only thing I ever found strangely out of place was this old street lamp at the end of the cul-de-sac that glows a dim orange light, and emanated steady hum. The pole itself was somehow over looked, it's still some kind of rotten wooden from the late 70's or early 80's, while the rest of the lamp posts in the area have been upgraded to metal in the early 2000's. I think my irrational fear began because whenever somebody walks under its beam, the light will flicker. I remember being a kid, maybe 8 or 9, walking back to my house after playing at a neighbors all day and having to walk past this light. I could hear the steady electrical hum from a distance, a hum that never wavered in frequency, a light never flickered, until I walked under it. When I walked under it the hum and the light seemed to go haywire, and as soon as I passed the light's beam it would go back to being steady just as before. Multiple trips to my friend's house later, I often walked home in the winter well after dark, I would purposefully walk on the other side of the street, so that I didn't have to experience the eerie, flickering orange light. I never really told anyone about the light, figuring my dad would just offer some rational explanation that downplayed my fear.

On a night the summer between my junior and senior year of college I came home from my usual summer waitressing job. The street I lived on, Abby Ave, was cluttered with cars, evidently there was some underage party going on and some asshat had decided to park in my driveway. I was having one of those nights, the ones where you can't seem to catch a break. Customers had either been rude, ordered something complicated, or grossly under tipped. Exhausted, I just saw all these cars as the last straw to my already sassy attitude, the only place in the whole street left to park was, you guessed it, at the end of the cul-de-sac.

I was too burnt out to be worry about my old irrational fear of the lamp post anyways. I was pretty much an adult after all and didn't have time anymore for inconsequential child hood fears anymore. So I parked my basic bitch white Nissan Ultima, scooped my belongings into my purse and stepped out of the car. I stared intently at the light, thinking surely, it wouldn't flicker this time. Convinced it had been the imagination of my child self. My sneakers scuffed the loose gravel on the pavement, the only noise except for the loud base coming from a few houses down. Still fumbling with items in my Louis, I looked up to noticed a shadow from beyond the light walking soundlessly towards me. As any moderately attractive girl, alone, in the middle of the night watching a dark figure approach, my heart began to race and I casually put a hand on my whip holster. The figure continued, and like some cheesy movie, I could make out more detail the closer he stepped towards the light. It was a man about 25 or so, with the most peculiar pink hair. It was long and stuck out in odd places, he was wearing strange cloths as well. He was shirtless except for an elegantly embroidered wool vest, his hairless chest and washboard abs would have been a sight for sore eyes under normal circumstances. He wore a black leather belt that looked expensive and black ripped jeans with Nike high top sneakers. Was this a costume party? And if so, what kind of costume was this? Is that a wig? In all my wonderings and awe, trying to make sense of this strange man walking towards me, I forgot all about the light.

I was directly under it now, the flickering going haywire, the electrical noise started to sound like static. Suddenly I felt this shadow above my shoulder.

"Look out! Above you!" The man with pink hair shouted as he started to sprint towards me.

As I turned to look there was an ink black hand, that dripped a metallic black substance that evaporated into a purple gas. The arm was somehow coming from the space between the lightbulb and the pole. The flickering was really going nuts now. I reached for my whip, but before I could do anything, the hand, quick as a flash, grabbed my leather pouch containing my most prized possessions holstered to my belt. As fast as my reflexes would allowed I lashed at it with my whip, it glowed like the aurora borealis in the night, glittering and magnificent, but in my haste I missed. I lashed my whip and the light pole, thinking this was the source of the strange thing that stole my pouch, with the added magical power of the celestial whip I pulled the lamp post to the ground. Nothing happened. The only thing I was rewarded with was the stupid light finally giving up and flickering off for good. Whatever the thing was had retreated back to where ever it had come from, and WITH MY KEYS!

"COME BACK HERE YOU COWARD! I'LL GET YOU FOR TAKING MY KEYS!" I screamed at night sky brandishing my whip.

"Huh, what was that thing anyways?" Said the man with pink hair, who was now standing next to me, a hand casually at his hip.

"How should I know!? How am I ever going to get my keys back?" I snapped at him, flailing my arms about.

"Um, what are you wearing anyways?" Teased the man as he frowned at me, rubbing his right hand on the back of his neck. I did NOT have the patience for this tonight.

"Uh! What!? I should be asking you the same question!? What are you supposed to be? Pink Aladdin? And for your information, this is my uniform! Not that it's any of YOUR business." I retorted smartly. Okay, maybe he did have a point. In this summer I worked at some sleazy sports bar that all the waitresses wore plaid miniskirts and white oxfords that where way too small. But hey, I'm a poor college kid. While you got it, flaunt it am I right?

"Whose 'Aladdin'?" Asked the pink haired man.

"Wait, you don't know who Aladdin is!?" Who was this guy? Evidently someone who grew up under a rock. He looked about my age, a little too old to be going to a high school kid party. At least he wasn't some creepy old man, and he didn't appear to have a weapon on him.

"Nope…. Hey what did that thing take from you anyways."

I blew out a big breath. Why not tell him, they're gone anyways? "My keys! I'm a celestial wizard. I only had two, but still, those guys are important to me." Panic started to rise in my chest again and a lump started in my throat, but I wasn't going to cry, especially not in front of this weird stranger. I would get them back, I was determined of that much but right now I had no lead, no idea where they are or how to even begin to get them back.

"Oh I see…. Well how are you going to get them back, Lucy?"

"…I…I have no idea where to start." I said defeated. "All I know is I have to get them back. Hold on a second! How did you know my name!?" The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as suspicion about this man spiked.

"Your name tag." He pointed lazily at the badge dangling off the side of my right breast.

"Perv!" I said crossing my arms over my chest, which only served to make my cleavage test the integrity of the buttons on my shirt even more, but whatever.

"I know what that thing was." Confessed the strange pink haired man casually. Immediately my sassy attitude melted away, he could stare at my boobs all he wanted if it meant I got my keys back.

"You do!? What was it?"

"…I could tell you. And I could help get them, back but it will cost you."

"Ew! How dare you suggest…."

"No, no, nothing like that. But I am pretty hungry."

I let out a breath. "Oh, yeah I think I can manage that. Come on, my house is just down this way."