[ WP ] Begin and end your story with this sentence : `` And yet , the city remained . ''

And yet, the city remained; 
 
 our bodies laid slain, crimson stains on concrete, 
 
 our spirits dancing where the seven monsters meet. 
 
 On the first night, our Hero came and he saw: 
 
 The Puppeteer, fingers around our hearts, tugging, 
 
 kissing, fucking, hugging; diseases in our bedsheets. 
 
 We loved each other through eyes of fire, 
 
 souls rent asunder with blind desire, 
 
 until our Hero tore open the Puppeteer's toothy maw. 
 
 On the second night, 
 
 He followed our plates, always full, wasteful; 
 
 until he found The Cherub, a child, hateful; 
 
 fat, engorged; spewing vile bile down our throats. 
 
 Our Hero set him alight. 
 
 The Cherub had a brother, monster number three, 
 
 A metal fiend of gleaming silver He called The Skitterer. 
 
 It lived in our ears, and in his, too, whispering dreams 
 
 easily attainable if we'd only collect reams 
 
 of his poisonous green leaves. 
 
 Our Hero left his eight legs in the sky for all to see. 
 
 Then came the Monkey King and his grinning staff, 
 
 and his screeching laugh, half mad, half glee. 
 
 Compared to him, we had no purpose, no drive, 
 
 no motivations with which to strive -- 
 
 instead our willpower powered that beast, 
 
 until our Hero strangled him with his tail, at least. 
 
 The skies cleared and we saw the sun of our sisterland, 
 
 a light so bright it lit our streets at night -- 
 
 why did n't ours shine with such luster? 
 
 The Midas Demon, our Hero said; mustering 
 
 what strength he had left. 
 
 That monster's severed tail still hangs in our sky, 
 
 a golden reminder of envy gone awry. 
 
 At this, our city wore a bright, clean sheen, 
 
 attracting a host of magpies and crows. 
 
 The Flight loved the streets and so did we, 
 
 but we stood caught in splendorous throes, 
 
 distracted while they pecked at our fingers and our eyes. 
 
 Our Hero tore the wings off every single one. 
 
 Then he stood before us and regaled us, 
 
 tales of monsters and perils and danger and evils, 
 
 gruesome and loathsome until our hearts seethed, 
 
 our knuckles screamed and our weapons breathed, 
 
 and then we lay at his feet, rage fading, blood drained, 
 
 and yet, 
 
 emptied of all its monsters, 
 
 the city remained.
