It was noon on a Saturday in Daredevil City. Sana, Rey, Neil, and Heer were at their local park where they were playing a game of basketball. Well, Heer was just watching from the comfort of the bench, working on a knitting project.
“This is what happens when you play two against one, Neil,” Rey said.
“He’s right,” Sana said.
“Heer, are you sure you don’t want to play?” Neil asked.
“I honestly wouldn’t be of much help,” Heer said as she continued knitting. “Besides, I’m almost finished with this scarf.”
Neil sighed and said, “Fine. It’s fine. Things will be even better once I actually kick your asses.”
“Keep dreaming, buddy,” Rey said.
“Come on. One more round,” Neil said.
“I’m fine with that. You’re getting ice cream for us after this,” Sana said.
Sana, Rey, and Neil commenced in another round of basketball. As they were playing, Heer went back to her knitting. As she was finishing up the ends of the scarf, she heard a buzzing sound. She looked down and saw Neil’s phone was ringing.
“Hey, Neil, I think someone is calling you,” Heer said.
“Who is it?” Neil asked as he got ready to block the shot Rey was about to make.
Heer picked up the phone, looking at the caller ID. She said, “It’s your mom.”
Neil became stunned. He turned to Heer and said, “Huh?”
And at that moment, the ball hit Neil in the head, and he fell down. Sana turned to Rey, who had a look of shock on his face. He rushed to Neil and said, “Are you okay, man?!”
“Huh?” Neil said. “I’m good. I’m good.”
“Are you sure? That was quite a hit,” Sana said.
“Um, yeah,” Neil said as he got up. “Can we go now?”
“Go?” Heer asked as she got up from the bench. “I thought you wanted to finish the game.”
“I’m good with heading out,” Neil said as he got his phone from Heer.
“Do you at least want to get ice cream?” Rey asked. “I’ll buy for you…since I hit your head.”
“No, I’d rather just go home,” Neil said as he began to head off.
“What’s with him?” Rey asked. He started to follow Neil, saying, “Hey, man! How can you say no to ice cream?!”
“Heer, who did you say was calling him again?” Sana asked.
“It was his mom. What are you thinking, Sana?”
“I’m thinking that was the reason for his sudden change in behavior.”
***
Later in the day, Neil was in his room at the boys’ dorm house. He was trying to find something to do. Something other than look at his phone. After the call from earlier, he got two more missed calls and five text messages from his mom. He didn’t open or check any of them. And staring at the assignments on his laptop didn’t help with distracting him from thinking about his mom. He got out of his seat and landed flat on his bed, sighing. Before he could figure out something to do, he heard a knock on the door.
Neil got up and hurried to the door. Once he opened it, he saw Rey was standing outside.
“Hey, man. What’s up?” Neil asked.
“Hey! We were planning on hitting up that new bowling alley at the mall. Are you coming?”
“Oh, sure thing. Let me freshen up quick.”
Neil quickly headed to the bathroom while Rey came inside. Rey looked around and said, “So, are you okay? You kinda just took off during our game.”
“Oh, I’m fine. I just had a headache,” Neil said as he washed his face.
“Must have been a hell of a headache,” Rey said as he looked over, seeing Neil’s phone ding. It was a message from his mom. Rey noticed several missed calls and messages from Neil’s mom on his phone. He’s still ignoring his mom, Rey thought. I wonder what’s up with that.
“Okay, I’m ready,” Neil said as he got out of the bathroom.
“Dude, is everything good with you and your mom? She’s texted and called you a dozen times.”
“Oh…it’s no biggie. I’ve been so busy today. I’ll call her back later.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, let’s go!”
Neil immediately walked out of the room, leaving Rey puzzled. He had a feeling something was up, and Neil wasn’t telling him everything.
***
Later on, Rey and Neil joined Sana, Krystal, Prince, Heer, Zayn, and Akira at the bowling alley. As they were playing and munching on mozzarella sticks and churros, Rey could see Neil was still troubled. It wasn’t long till Sana and Heer both came up to him while Zayn was up to strike.
“So, did he say anything to you?” Sana asked Rey.
“No. He says it’s nothing,” Rey said.
“Do you believe him?” Heer asked.
“No,” Rey said. “He’s clearly got stuff going on in his mind. I don’t know why he’s acting like this.”
“Well, family has always been a touchy subject for him,” Heer said. “You can’t blame him for not wanting to talk about it.”
“But there’s a difference between not wanting to talk about it and acting like you’re completely fine,” Sana said.
“Hey, Neil, you ready for your turn?” Krystal asked.
Neil turned around to Krystal. He was pretty distracted, so he didn’t even hear what Krystal said. He asked, “Sorry, what did you say?”
“She asked if you want to bowl now,” Prince said.
Before Neil could say anything, his cellphone rang. He could feel the irritation boil up inside of him as he looked to see it was his mom again. He walked away and answered the phone, saying, “Can’t you understand that I don’t feel like talking, Mom?!”
“How dare you talk to me like that?! Your behavior is getting worse!”
“My behavior?!”
“Yes. You were so much better when you were younger.”
“What do you want?”
“If you read my texts, you would know. Have you figured it out yet?”
Neil sighed. He didn’t read the texts, but he knew exactly what his mom was talking about. What he couldn’t stand was his mother bringing up this conversation over a phone call.
“Hello? Can’t you say something?” Neil’s mom said.
“Isn’t this the kind of thing you talk about in person?!”
“No matter what time it’s brought up, you don’t say anything. You know people keep asking me what your future plans are. What am I supposed to say?”
“I have to go, Mom.”
“We’re not done talking, Neil!”
“Well, I am.”
Neil ended the call. He felt like throwing his phone. Then he remembered how expensive it was to get a new one. He turned around, seeing the others were looking at him, seemingly concerned. Neil grunted, feeling like he was being a damper on everyone’s fun. He went up to Rey, handing him his cellphone and said, “Take it and throw it somewhere. I’m heading back.”
As Neil took off, Krystal said, “Hold on! Neil!”
“Too late,” Prince said as Neil left.
“Whoah. That was intense,” Akira said. “I knew something was off with him, but I never guessed it was this bad.”
“You think he’s heading back to his room?” Zayn asked.
“Looks like it,” Heer said.
“No, he’s not just going back to his room,” Rey said. “I think he’s leaving the school.”
Sana was surprised to hear what Rey said. She could tell everyone else was equally surprised. She asked Rey, “What makes you say that?”
“I have a feeling. Look, I’m gonna go follow and catch up to him before it’s too late,” Rey said.
“Shouldn’t we come with you?” Heer asked.
“No, it’s better if I go alone,” Rey said as he started heading out. “I’ll keep you guys updated!”
***
Back at his room, Neil was starting to pack his backpack. Rey was right. He was leaving school. He didn’t know where he would go. He just knew he had to leave. As he packed a pair of socks in his backpack, he heard multiple knocks on his door. He sighed, knowing Rey probably followed him.
Neil opened the door to see he was right. Rey was there, sweating and panting like crazy.
“You seriously ran a marathon, didn’t you?” Neil said as he let Rey in.
“Well, duh! I had to stop you from leaving! Why won’t you just talk about what’s going on?”
“You know I hate talking about my issues!”
“Dude, that’s exactly what the problem is.”
“Oh, like you’re one to talk!”
“Dude, not cool.”
Neil sighed. He realized he was letting his emotions out on the wrong people. He turned to Rey and said, “I’m sorry. I…I just feel stressed out.”
“So, let me help with that.”
“How? Unless you can have your parents adopt me, I don’t think anything can help me right now.”
“Well, I can’t do that, but I may have something in mind.”
“What?”
“Just trust me on this. We’ll go out tomorrow early in the morning.”
“You know I hate early mornings on Sundays!”
“Well, make an exception this time around.”
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see. Just know that we’re going to go somewhere to help you clear your head.”
Rey began to head out while Neil stood by and watched him go. He was confused as to where Rey would want to take him. Rey stopped as he opened the door and said, “Don’t even try to leave before morning, or I will find you and beat your ass.”
Neil grunted at the thought of Rey challenging him. Rey left, leaving Neil alone. The anticipation of waiting till morning was annoying. But Rey was his best friend. He figured he should go ahead and trust him.
***
Early morning, Neil got ready to meet up with Rey at the front of the academy. Rey told him to only bring a few essentials with him and nothing else. He still had no idea where Rey was taking him. As he got to the front doors of the academy, Rey was already there, talking to Zayn and Akira. Sana and Heer were there as well.
“Thanks for letting me borrow your hoverbike, Zayn,” Rey said.
“Just don’t break it,” Zayn said.
“What?! You don’t trust me?!” Rey questioned.
“His hoverbike is pretty precious. I’m surprised he’s even letting you borrow it,” Akira said.
“Yeah. Why are you letting him borrow it, Zayn?” Sana asked as she held onto a hoverboard.
“Look, I’m not heartless. You said it was important, so I’m letting you borrow it,” Zayn said.
“Well, thank you,” Rey said. “Neil, are you ready?”
“Uh, yeah,” Neil said. “You still haven’t mentioned where we’re going.”
“It’s a surprise. Just know that it’ll be a safe space,” Rey said as he got on the hoverbike. “Now, hop on.”
“Are the rest of you guys coming?” Neil asked.
“Sana and I will be tagging along on hoverboards,” Heer said.
“We would come, but we got homework to catch up on,” Akira said.
“All right, we’ll see you later then,” Sana said.
With that, Sana, Rey, Neil, and Heer took off, riding into the sky. Zayn and Akira waved bye to them. As they were waving, Akira looked at Zayn and said, “So, what was the real reason you lent it to him?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t act clueless with me. Prince told me that Krystal practically twisted your arm to lend it to them.”
“Nonsense. So, she said something. It doesn’t mean anything.”
“Sure, sure.”
“Are you mocking me?”
“You should know by now. Come on. Let’s get some breakfast.”
***
Later in the morning, Sana, Rey, Neil, and Heer arrived in Salaar, a prominent town in the state of Aroma. It wasn’t too far from New Iris, so it didn’t take that long for the group to reach there. Neil was new to this area of the country, so seeing it for the first time was a sight to behold.
“So, can you tell me where we’re going now?” Neil asked
“You’ll know soon enough,” Rey said.
“How much longer till we land?” Sana asked.
“Coming up in a few minutes,” Rey said.
And in a few minutes, Rey led the group to land right in front of a brick red house that was amongst other alike houses in a small community. They landed right in the front yard and Rey was happy to see his parents and his sister, Alicia, standing right outside.
“Hey, Rey!” Alicia exclaimed.
“Hey, sis!” Rey waved as he parked the hoverbike.
“Wait, is this your family?” Neil asked.
“You bet,” Rey said.
“Nice to see you all again,” Sana said.
“Same to you, Sana,” Araceli said. “When Rey said he was visiting with friends, I was more than happy to accommodate.”
“Son, introduce us to your other friends,” Royce said.
Rey got off the hoverbike, immediately being hugged by Alicia. As he hugged her back, he said, “All right. I want you guys to meet Neil and Heer.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” Heer said.
“Very nice to meet you,” Araceli said.
Neil was surprised. Of all the places to go to, Neil was surprised that Rey brought him to his parents’ house. Then again, it was better than visiting his own parents right now.
“Neil, are you good?” Rey said, seeing Neil space out.
“Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” Neil said. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Murgatroyd.”
“Same to you, Neil,” Royce said. “Rey, bring your friends in, and we can start brunch.”
With that, the group went inside to eat brunch with Rey’s family. Araceli had made eggs with chorizo along with tamales. As they were eating and conversing with each other, Neil couldn’t help but pay attention to how nice the atmosphere was. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had a nice family meal.
“Neil, is the food okay for you?” Araceli asked.
“Oh, yeah! It’s been a while since I had tamales this good,” Neil said. “Thank you, Mrs. Murgatroyd.”
“You’re very welcome,” Araceli said.
“I’d argue she makes the best tamales in our family,” Royce said. “Then again, some might say I’m biased.”
“Is it true that this whole community here is just your extended family?” Heer asked.
“Wait, seriously?” Neil asked.
“That’s right. We also have some other fellow Tiger Clan members here. We’ve always been a tightknit pack,” Royce said. “Though Araceli’s side of the family lives in their own community back in Mexico.”
“Wow. It’s amazing how close everyone is,” Sana said.
Hearing all of this made Neil realize how different his family was from Rey’s. It made him understand Rey’s excited nature better.
“Rey, let’s go play outside,” Alicia said as she tugged on Rey’s arm.
“Alicia, don’t you want to wait for your cousins?” Royce asked.
“Oh, who’s coming over?” Rey asked.
“Thiago, Carmen, and Triana are visiting,” Araceli said.
“All right then!” Rey exclaimed. “Ready for a piggyback ride, Alicia?”
“Yeah!” Alicia exclaimed.
Alicia immediately got on Rey’s back and he held onto her, rushing outside to the backyard as she laughed with glee.
“Be careful, you two!” Araceli exclaimed.
“We should go outside, too,” Sana said.
“You coming, Neil?” Heer asked.
“Oh, yeah, sure,” Neil said.
***
Later in the day, after Rey and Alicia’s cousins arrived, it was a complete madhouse at the Murgatroyd residence. Rey and Royce were keeping Alicia and the other kids occupied. They were playing all sorts of games while Araceli was cooking dinner. Sana, Neil, and Heer were watching them have fun.
It was taking Neil back. He remembered the times that he would play such games with Aiden and Shuto after a long day of training. He took himself back to one day in a quiet winter. After completing their training, Neil and Aiden were having a snowball fight to themselves. Neil was in the middle of creating the biggest snowball he could ever make. When he got it ready, Aiden struck with three snowballs to his face, making him fall.
Neil got up and said, “No fair!”
“Ha! It’s not my fault you’re slow!”
“I’m not!”
“Yes, you are!”
As the two bickered, Shuto came in and struck them both with snowballs. Neil got up and said, “No fair, Uncle Shuto. You never said you were playing.”
“How else would I get you two to shut up?” Shuto asked.
“Neil, let’s team up and take him down!” Aiden exclaimed.
“Yeah, good idea!” Neil said.
“All right. Bring it on,” Shuto said.
Neil couldn’t believe how long ago that memory was. Sometimes he thought about how it was hard to believe there was a time where he and Aiden got along.
“Neil, are you thinking about something?” Heer asked.
“Oh, yeah. I was just remembering something from my childhood,” Neil said.
“Something good?” Sana asked.
“Actually, yes,” Neil said. “I guess seeing Rey and his dad having fun reminded me of a time in my life where things didn’t feel so bad. I’m sorry. I’m being a downer, aren’t I?”
“No. After all, there’s a reason Rey made us come here today,” Sana said.
“What is that?” Neil asked.
“He knew that you were having issues with your mom. So, he wanted to bring you to a family environment that was warm and welcoming,” Heer said.
Neil watched Rey joyfully play with his cousins. After understanding his gesture, it made him see just how great of a friend Rey was.
“Rey really takes after his dad, doesn’t he?” Sana said.
“Yeah, the resemblance is uncanny,” Heer said. “Do you think Mrs. Murgatroyd needs help in the kitchen?”
“You could go ask her,” Sana said. “I’m going to join Rey and the others.”
“Uh, Heer, I’ll come with you,” Neil said.
Heer nodded. Neil and Heer went inside the house while Sana played with the others. Once they got to the kitchen, Heer helped Araceli with cutting vegetables while Neil stood by. He wanted to talk to Araceli, but he wasn’t sure what to say. Araceli herself noticed Neil was aloof. She said, “Rey told me about your mother.”
“Oh, yeah. I figured as much.”
“He didn’t go into detail. He figured that it was up to you on how much you wanted to share.”
“It’s fine. I’ll be honest. Part of me thought that seeing you all so happy would make me jealous. But I know Rey. He wouldn’t want to make me feel that.”
“You’re right. My son has a good heart.”
“He sure does.”
“Mrs. Murgatroyd, I finished cutting. Is there anything else I can do?” Heer asked.
“No, that’s it. Thank you, Heer,” Araceli said.
Heer nodded and headed out of the kitchen to go back outside. As Neil watched Araceli get hold of the cut vegetables, he said, “Seeing them outside, I remembered this time I was playing with my brother in the snow.”
“Aah. Rey mentioned you had issues with your brother.”
“I do. Though I’ll admit…a lot of it might just be projecting…from me. I don’t know.”
“Is it related to your mother?”
“Look, I don’t know what moms are supposed to be like, but with mine, she’s always on my back. It wasn’t like that when I was a kid. It was so much easier. Now that I’m in the academy, she’s always harping about my future and how I have to have a plan. She always talks about how my brother and all my cousins know what they’re doing. And I don’t. I just…I can’t take it…”
“Do you think she’s worried and trying to help you, but ultimately it’s not helping you?”
Neil was surprised to hear Araceli ask him such a question. In his life, it felt like most of the adults he encountered never asked such thoughtful questions.
“Yeah,” Neil said. “That’s exactly how I feel.”
“Look at that. You were able to share how you felt.”
“Yeah, I did do that. So, do you have anything else to say?”
“Well, I’m a mother myself. Rey is growing up, and I think after what he’s been through, he’s trying to focus on the present.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“While the future is important, you can’t spend too much time on it. There are so many unknowns. You’re a good kid, Neil. You may not know the answers to your mother’s questions now, but you’ll figure them out in your own way. On your own pace.”
Neil could feel a lightness in himself that he hadn’t felt in a while. It was almost overwhelming. He looked at Araceli and said, “Mrs. Murgatroyd, this might be an odd request, but…would you be okay with giving me a hug?”
Araceli smiled and did just that. She hugged Neil, and the warmth of this gesture gave him peace. This was something he desperately needed.
As Araceli let Neil go, she said, “If you ever need somewhere to go, you’re always welcome here.”
Neil wiped a few small tears that came from his eyes and said, “Thank you.”
“Now, I should finish preparing dinner,” Araceli said. “How about you go outside and play with the others?”
Neil nodded, leaving the kitchen. As he went outside, he saw everyone was continuing to have so much fun. Rey stopped, looking at him. It didn’t take long for Rey to go up to him, put his arm around him and say, “You coming to play?”
It was a quiet afternoon at Ringmasters Training Academy. This wouldn’t be normal for someone like Rey or Neil, but it was the norm for Aiden. At least when Rey and Neil weren’t randomly trying to jump him during the day. Aiden got up from his office desk. He got together a bunch of papers and placed them in a file folder. Once Aiden exited his room, he headed over to Headmaster Devil’s office. As soon as he walked in, Headmaster Devil was alone to his surprise. He was instead more occupied with a book in hand.
“Is this the Tatia effect?” Aiden asked.
“What do you mean by that?”
“You seem to spend less time with women in here.”
“Since no one knows how to knock around here, this is no longer a good place to invite the ladies over.”
“When was it ever a good place for that?”
“Enough bickering. What do you need?”
“I have the one file you wanted me to put together for you.”
Aiden handed the file folder to Headmaster Devil. “Nice work,” Headmaster Devil said as he briefly flipped through the folder’s contents. “So, you’re with Shuto tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah.”
“How are things going over there?”
“Not much has happened yet. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Well, I’m sure it’s a nice break from all of the work you do here. Anyway, I’ll see you next week.”
“Yeah. See you.”
Aiden left the office and let out a deep sigh.
***
The following day, Aiden reported to the Ringmasters Society building early in the morning. He grabbed an egg and cheese sandwich from the cafeteria for breakfast and headed upstairs to Shuto’s office. Before he could knock on the door, Shuto stepped out of the room and said, “Good morning, Aiden!”
“Good morning.”
“Did you already eat?”
“Yeah. I got a sandwich. What are my duties for today?”
“About that…I have a rather simple task for you today.”
“Okay. What is it?”
“Today, your task is to have fun.”
Aiden found himself puzzled. He was wondering if Shuto was messing around with him. He questioned, “Is this a joke?”
“No, it actually isn’t,” Shuto chuckled. “You see it’s been a while since I took Yashi out. Work here gets pretty hectic. So, I thought I’d take the misses for a nice day out.”
“That’s cool, but what about me?”
“That’s why I’m telling you to take the day to enjoy yourself and relax. You hardly take any time off, so here’s a chance for you to do that.”
“And do what exactly?”
“Seriously, boy? You need to get out more often. Catch a movie. Go roller skating. Anything. Just go have some fun.”
“But…”
“Look, I really have no work for you today. I’m sure you’ll be fine. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
Shuto headed off while Aiden watched him leave. He couldn’t believe he had a whole day to do whatever he wanted. Normally, anyone would be elated for a day off, but he was stumped. He didn’t have a clue as to what he would do today. Aiden took the elevator and headed down to the lobby. As he was about to exit the building, he heard a voice say, “Hey, Aiden.”
Aiden turned around to see it was Haruka. She walked up to him and said, “How are you this morning?”
“Uh, I don’t know. Master Shuto gave me the day off.”
“Oh, that’s nice. It’ll be good to enjoy yourself today.”
“Not really. I have no idea how I’m going to spend my time today with no assignments or tasks to do.”
“Sweety, you’re fifteen. Save this energy for your thirties.”
Aiden sighed. He really had no idea how he was going to spend the day.
“Here’s an idea for you. Take yourself back to Daredevil City. I’m sure a bus ride there can help you pass the time.”
“I guess so. I’ll see you later then.”
As Aiden left, Haruka watched him leave. She shook her head, thinking, That boy…he really is something.
***
And so, Aiden took a bus to Daredevil City. As he was on board, he thought about what he would do while in the city. He could go to the city library, or he could go to a local coffee shop and read. Though he did think that Shuto would give him an earful for not adhering to the concept of “having fun” today. Aiden realized the best way to go about this was to treat it like an assignment. He looked at the bus schedule in his hand and noticed the next stop was Orchard Springs Park. He figured that would be a good place to start.
After some time passed, the bus stopped at Orchard Springs Park. Aiden got off and headed inside the park. As he entered, he realized it wasn’t your average park. With springtime, there were flowers blooming within all of the trees. Fallen petals covered the grass like beautiful jewels forming a necklace. Aiden thought a stroll around a peaceful place such as this would be a nice way to pass the time.
Aiden began walking around, taking note of how quiet the park was. There weren’t many people walking by, which was fairly normal for the time of day. As he continued to walk along the pathway that went through the park, he found himself at peace, but as time passed, he was bored. It wasn’t the scenery that bored him. It was the fact that he was all alone in a decently vacant park.
Aiden sat down on a bench and sighed. With no responsibilities at hand, he had no idea how to spend an entire day’s worth of free time. This sucks, Aiden thought. Is my life so bland that the only thing that I can think of doing now is work? I wonder what Neil’s doing now. It’s Friday, so class probably won’t be all day. Then again, that doesn’t stop him from skipping or anything.
Before he could get lost in more thoughts, Aiden was smacked in the head with a soccer ball. He fell off the bench as the ball rolled further away from him. As he got up, irritated, a kid about his age with short brown hair and brown eyes ran toward him with some other kids behind him. The kid shouted, “Hey, what did you do with our ball?!”
“Nothing, considering I was hit by it,” Aiden said.
“I don’t care about that. Thanks to you we lost it!”
“How exactly does that make sense?”
“If you weren’t in the way, it wouldn’t have gone so far!”
“Well, that’s a pretty stupid argument.”
“What did you say, kid?!”
This is absurd. I’m arguing with this kid over nothing. I should just go, Aiden thought.
As Aiden was about to leave, the kid shouted, “Hey, punk! Where do you think you’re going?! I’m not done talking to you!”
“Kid, I’m no punk. I certainly don’t want to waste my time with a useless argument.”
“Useless?! HA! You’re just afraid of me!”
“Listen, I’m now in a very irritable mood. So, if you want to agitate me further, you’re not going to like it. You don’t know who you’re dealing with.”
The kid got his fist ready and aimed to swing at Aiden. But before he could land his punch, Aiden caught his fist, surprising him. Aiden said, “I’ll say this once. You threw the ball that hit me. Therefore, you’re responsible for losing it. Not me. Your second mistake was trying to blame me for your incompetence. And thirdly, you tried to throw a punch at me when I told you I’m not to be messed with. What does that say about you? You’re a foolish little boy. Now, leave and don’t make things worse.”
Aiden released his grip on the boy’s hand. The boy looked very shaken and began to scurry away along with the other kids. Aiden sighed. He turned around and was stunned to see Shuto with Yashi at a bench not too far from him. While Yashi was seated at the bench, Shuto was standing and very clearly looking at him. Aiden couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but he could certainly tell he had something to say.
***
After seeing Aiden, Shuto took him to an ice cream shop called The Scoop. He was still set on spending the day with Yashi, but she didn’t mind some time away, so he agreed to meet with her at a different park. While they stood in line, Aiden couldn’t help but wonder why Shuto had to take time away from Yashi to talk to him.
“So, what are you ordering?” Shuto asked.
“What?”
“I brought you to get ice cream. So, you’ll need to tell me what you want.”
“You brought me here to talk about me almost getting into a fight with that kid. Can’t we just get to it already?”
“Boy, I’m helping you out with this “having fun” thing since you clearly suck at it.”
Aiden was stunned. He sighed while Shuto put in an order, saying, “Hey, can I get a small scoop of Ube ice cream?”
Shuto looked over at Aiden, waiting for him to place an order. Aiden sighed and said, “I’d like a medium scoop of strawberry ice cream…with cheesecake bites.”
After getting their ice cream, Shuto and Aiden took a seat at one of the tables inside the shop. Aiden was eating the ice cream, and he was quite fond of it. He hadn’t had ice cream in ages and tasting it again felt rewarding. As he ate, Shuto said, “Enjoying it?”
“Yeah, it’s pretty great. How’s yours?”
“Very nice. You can never go wrong with Ube. So, do you want to talk about what happened back there?”
“Not really. It was simple. A stupid kid got in my face, and I told him off.”
“I know. You’re not to be blamed for how you handled it, but it seems today’s assignment is harder than anything that’s been given to you in the past.”
“Well, you’re not wrong about that.”
“Do you know why that is?”
Aiden sighed. He hadn’t really given it much thought. He took a few seconds to think before giving an answer.
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I’ve never really done the typical fun things kids do. From when Neil and I were kids, all I focused on was training.”
“Are you sure that’s it? Or do you just not remember what it was like to have fun?”
“What?”
“You don’t seem to remember that Haruka used to take you and Neil out for ice cream all the time back in those days. If they didn’t have strawberry, you’d get cookies and cream.”
“With the extra chocolate chunks. And Neil would get mad because he’d want the same thing and they only had enough for one person.”
“Yup. Haruka would make you flip a coin to see who gets it.”
“How could I have forgotten all of that? I’m like an old man.”
“Hey, respect your elders, boy!”
“Sorry, it’s just…I didn’t know how much I’ve been missing out on.”
Aiden let it all sink in. It was a lot for him to think about. And as he was processing it all, another surprise came walking in. Krystal, Zayn, and Neil walked into the shop. As soon as they walked in, Aiden could see Neil stall upon making eye contact with him. Shuto turned around to see the group and said, “Well, I think now is the perfect time for me to take off.”
“Seriously, old man?! You leave when I come in?!” Neil exclaimed.
“It’s not about you, boy,” Shuto said as he got up from the table. “Have a good day, kids.”
As Shuto left, Krystal said, “So, Aiden, what brings you here?”
“Shuto took me out for ice cream,” Aiden said. “I’ve been having a rough day.”
“Oh, yeah?!” Neil said.
“Neil, come on,” Zayn said.
“It’s okay, Zayn. So, why are you guys here?” Aiden asked.
“I was going to take Zayn out for ice cream, and Neil decided to tag along,” Krystal said.
“Why do you sound like you wanted to just go with him?” Neil asked.
“Zayn, let’s get in line,” Krystal said as she quickly got in the line with Zayn following.
Aiden was left with just Neil. He could tell Neil didn’t want to say anything. He figured he’d try to say something himself.
“So, what are you going to get?” Aiden asked Neil.
“Cookies and cream.”
“With the extra chocolate chunks?”
“You remember that?”
“I was just talking about it with Shuto. Those were the times when I used to actually have fun.”
“Geez, you sound like an old man reflecting on the mistakes of his life. Get a grip. You’re fifteen not fifty.”
Neil went in the line while Krystal sat down, holding a spoon and a cup with a scoop of raspberry swirl in it. She said, “So, what’s going on?”
“I was supposed to be doing internship stuff today, but Shuto decided to give me the day off to go learn how to have fun.”
“That’s a bad thing?”
“Well, considering all I did was walk in a park, get bored, and almost get into a fight with some annoying kid, it’s been pretty bad.”
“To be fair, I think we tend to forget you’re our age.”
“That’s the problem. I don’t even act my age. Hell, Neil just told me off for acting like an old man.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say you act like an old man. Maybe you’re just very mature for your age. You’re also quite the workaholic.”
“Yeah.”
“Lucky for you, I can help you.”
“You can?”
“Yeah! Not to brag, but I’m slowly helping Zayn out of his loner boy phase. He hasn’t thanked me yet, but one day he will!”
Zayn and Neil came back to the table with their ice cream. Seeing them come back, Krystal said, “Hey, guys, why don’t we go to the beach after finishing our ice cream?”
“I’m cool with that,” Neil said.
“Same,” Zayn said.
“You coming?” Krystal asked Aiden.
“If you’re fine with it,” Aiden said.
***
And so, later on, Krystal, Zayn, Neil, and Aiden took a bus that eventually stopped at a small beach called Onyx Beach. Once they got there, Aiden could feel just how loose everything was. The way the breeze gently waved over the water, the way the shells popped out in the sand like little sparkling specks, and the way the others took in the atmosphere was all so freeing to him.
“You like it, Aiden?” Krystal asked.
Aiden turned to her and said, “It’s beautiful.”
Aiden walked closer to the water, hoping the waves would touch his feet. While Krystal and Zayn slowly walked in the sand, Neil stopped and watched Aiden. This may have been the calmest vision of him he had ever seen.
The water finally splashed at his feet. He could feel it caress him ever so gently. He let out a deep breath and thought, So, this is what peace feels like.
As he basked in the freedom he was feeling, Krystal called out and said, “Aiden, after this, do you want to go see a movie?”
Now recognizing he certainly had the time and the energy, Aiden said, “Sure.”
“Rey! How dare you eat my Marigold Surprise?!” Krystal shouted.
It was a casual Wednesday at Ringmasters Training Academy. In the afternoon, Sana, Rey, Krystal, and Prince were hanging out in the sophomore lounge area during their break time. Of course, things weren’t casual for long.
“I didn’t know it was yours,” Rey said as he finished eating the Marigold Surprise.
“I left it on the table to go get some water. Did you not hear me say that to everyone?”
“You sure you said that?”
“Ugh! Even so, you just eat food left on the table that you clearly didn’t buy?! Like a heathen!” Krystal exclaimed. “And why did you two not do anything about it?”
“I was in the bathroom,” Sana said.
“I just didn’t care,” Prince said.
“Ugh!” Krystal exclaimed. “You owe me another one!”
“What is happening?” Neil asked as he came up to the group in the lounge.
“Rey ate my Marigold Surprise,” Krystal said.
“Big deal. You can get another one,” Neil said. “Anyway, Devil apparently wants us in his office.”
“What?! Who told you that?” Rey asked.
“My brother casually dropped that while I was walking by in the hall,” Neil said. “Quite rude if you ask me.”
“You guys better not have done anything,” Sana said.
“Knowing them, trouble is their best friend,” Prince said.
“Oh, shut up, Prince!” Krystal exclaimed. “Let’s just get this over with!”
***
Rey, Krystal, and Neil headed straight to Headmaster Devil’s office. Once they went inside, they found Headmaster Devil wasn’t alone. He was with Professor D’Sena.
“Professor D’Sena?” Krystal said.
“Hello, kids,” Professor D’Sena said. “Should I stay for this?”
“No, Arun,” Headmaster Devil said. “I’ll take it from here.”
Professor D’Sena nodded and headed out of the office. Krystal was confused and could see Rey and Neil were as well.
“So, what’s going on?” Krystal asked.
“You three should probably know,” Headmaster Devil said.
“Know what?” Rey asked.
“Professor D’Sena just informed me that you three didn’t do so well on your recent exam,” Headmaster Devil said.
“What?! I actually studied this time,” Rey said.
“Hold on. He didn’t even hand them back to us yet,” Neil said.
“I know. But he informed me that you all are now on the verge of not passing the class this quarter,” Headmaster Devil said.
“What?!” Krystal exclaimed. “That’s impossible. I had a B this quarter.”
“Yeah, and now you currently hold a solid seventy,” Headmaster Devil said. “Needless to say, it’s not looking good for you three. You know that Combat Strategies I is a crucial class to pass this year.”
“We’re not getting kicked out of the academy, are we?!” Neil asked.
“No, but I did talk to Professor D’Sena just now. He’s giving you three an opportunity that could ensure you three don’t fail this quarter,” Headmaster Devil said.
“Okay, what is it?” Rey asked.
“Well, he wants you three to write a six-page paper on the importance of combat strategies and how they’re applicable to real life scenarios,” Headmaster Devil said. “That shouldn’t be too hard.”
“Six pages? When is it due?” Neil asked.
“Professor D’Sena wants it by class tomorrow,” Headmaster Devil said.
“Ugh! How can I write a six-page paper by tomorrow?!” Krystal exclaimed.
“That’s why he wants you to write it together,” Headmaster Devil said. “A group paper.”
“Suddenly it gets worse,” Krystal said.
“It’s a pretty fair opportunity. As long as you get at least a B on the paper, you three will pass this quarter,” Headmaster Devil said. “You three can work on it at the library after school. Shouldn’t be too hard, right?”
Krystal sighed. Rey looked at Neil and could tell he was feeling just as irritated.
***
After school, Rey, Krystal, and Neil went to the library to begin work on their paper. Krystal was going through the many sections of books to find relevant materials, Rey was going through the bits of lectures he recorded on his phone, and Neil was staring at his laptop screen. As Krystal arrived back to the table with the books, she sighed and said, “What are you two doing?! The laziness here is unacceptable.”
“Hey, I’m actually doing something here!” Rey exclaimed. “I’m looking through the lectures I recorded in class.”
“Those blurry videos with poor audio?” Krystal said.
“It beats trying to learn from a book,” Rey said. “I’m a visual learner. The only reason I did bad on that exam was because I forgot to study.”
“And your excuse is what?” Krystal asked Neil. “I told you to start writing the intro, and you’re just staring at the screen.”
“I have writer’s block,” Neil said. “And since when are you such a taskmaster for school? Isn’t that Sana’s thing?”
“Because of you guys, I’m missing out on the release of the new Reshawna Fruit Fest bag collection,” Krystal said as she sat down at the table. “I was going to snag the Strawberry Milkshake bag at the mall, and now it’s probably sold out! Ugh.”
Krystal sighed. She looked at Neil’s laptop screen and said, “I don’t even know how to start this paper.”
“I would’ve rather gone on some mission where we kick some ass,” Rey said. “Writing about fights isn’t exactly as fun as actually fighting.”
“Well, we can’t sit here and complain all day,” Neil said. “The sooner we finish this, the better.”
Krystal got ready to crack open one of the books. As she opened one, she noticed one of the books fell on the floor. She got up to pick it up but was puzzled. It didn’t look like a book that she picked up from the shelves. It had a lavender cover and gold writing on the front that was in a language she didn’t recognize. There was a small golden fairy in the top right corner as well. She knew she had to focus, but she couldn’t help but be intrigued.
“What are you doing, Krystal?” Rey asked.
“Oh, I just picked up this book by mistake,” Krystal said as she put the lavender book on the table. “It looks really cool though.”
“What language is the writing?” Neil asked.
“Not sure,” Krystal said. “Maybe we can open it and see what’s inside.”
“I thought we were supposed to focus on the paper,” Rey said.
“We are. This is just a quick peak,” Krystal said.
Krystal opened the cream pages of the book. As soon as she opened it, the book emitted a golden glow that stunned her, Rey, and Neil. Suddenly, she could feel herself being pulled into the book along with the others.
The three of them screamed as they were pulled into a golden portal. After a few fleeting moments, they fell onto a ground. Krystal could feel her back was hurting from the fall. She quickly grabbed her wand, which had fallen on the ground. As she grabbed it, she noticed something different. Her clothes had been changed. She was now wearing a long-sleeved orange dress with intricate gold embroidery.
“Damn, what the hell just happened?” Rey asked as he got up along with Neil.
“Your clothes! They changed,” Neil said to Krystal. He looked at Rey, seeing him in a white long-tunic, blue billowy pants, and brown boots. He looked at himself to see he was dressed in the exact same outfit. “I changed clothes! What the hell just happened?!”
“I just asked that,” Rey said.
Krystal was puzzled. She couldn’t understand what was going on. The more she pondered over it, the clearer it became to her.
“I think…we maybe got transported into the book,” Krystal said.
“What?!” Neil said.
“Wait, she might be right. Things went whack when she opened the book,” Rey said. “What did it say on the cover?”
“I don’t know. I couldn’t read it,” Krystal said. “Though there might’ve been a fairy in the corner of the cover.”
“Fairy tales! We must be in a book of fairy tales,” Neil said.
Krystal couldn’t believe it, but the more she processed it, the more she realized how true it was.
“This can’t be happening. So, what fairy tale involves clothes like these?” Krystal asked.
Before anyone could answer, Krystal heard the sound of loud thumps. She turned around along with Rey and Neil, horrified at what she saw. A giant three-eyed dark beast that had the form of a bear was coming towards them. The creature roared at Krystal, Rey, and Neil.
“Maybe we should run and discuss this later,” Rey said as he took off.
Krystal and Neil followed Rey, running off as the dark beast chased them with its loud thumps. It didn’t take long for the dark beast to start launching dark energy beams their way. The trio kept running, dodging each one.
“I thought you two were always in a fighting mood,” Krystal said to Rey and Neil.
“Not when we’re being chased by a giant bear!” Neil exclaimed.
“Look! There’s a little cave thingy!” Rey pointed out.
Rey quickly led Krystal and Neil towards the cave he found. He pushed the green branches away and headed inside with Krystal and Neil, making sure the dark beast didn’t see them. They sat down and Rey took a deep breath.
“That was scary as hell,” Rey said. “Man, I’ve never seen anything like that.”
“I’m confused. I’m scared,” Neil said. “What the hell is happening?!”
“Neil’s the one that said we’re in a book of fairy tales,” Krystal said. “What fairy tale is this?”
“I don’t know,” Neil said. “First off, none of the fairy tales I’ve read mentioned dark beasts in them.”
“Wait a sec. Krystal, was there any writing on the book?” Rey asked.
“Yeah, but it was in another language,” Krystal said. “Why?”
“Well, our clothes and the giant monster remind me of this Indian fairy tale that Sana told me about once,” Rey said. “I don’t remember the Sanskrit title, but it translated to Three Kids and a Giant.”
“So, we’re in an Indian fairy tale book?” Neil asked.
“I guess so,” Rey said. “But it doesn’t explain why we got sucked into the book. Also, the monster in that tale is a ten-headed giant. So, why the change?”
“I don’t know what’s worse between the monster we got and that one,” Neil said.
“Okay, so, does this fairy tale book have some kind of spell on it? I mean how else can you explain us getting sucked into the book,” Krystal said. “Whatever spell was cast on it must’ve transformed the creatures in the stories into dark beasts.”
“Creatures?! Let’s deal with the story we’re in right now,” Neil said. “Rey, what do you remember about this story?”
“Ugh, it’s kinda fuzzy,” Rey said. “There were three characters that were being chased by the giant. That’s all I remember right now.”
“Well, that’s certainly not helpful,” Krystal said.
“Krystal, it’s something. Anyway, we should be focusing on getting out of here,” Neil said. “Maybe there’s some passageway that leads us out of the book.”
“It’s worth a shot,” Rey said. “Maybe the end of this cave can lead us out somewhere.”
Krystal nodded as she got up along with Rey and Neil. The three kept moving through the cave till they reached the other side. Once they stepped outside, Krystal took in the surroundings. The scent of fresh jasmine flowers was in the air and the trees were covered in a variety of greenery.
Rey looked ahead, seeing the sun was still bright as ever. He wondered how time worked within the world of the story they were in. There were hundreds of other questions on his mind as well, but he had to focus on getting out.
“I don’t see the giant bear in sight,” Rey said. “Maybe if we keep walking, we’ll find an exit.”
“Sounds good. Let’s go,” Neil said.
Krystal was about to follow Rey and Neil until she could feel her foot press down on something. She looked down, seeing what looked like an arrow imprinted within the grass. She fell through the ground, screaming as a bright glow surrounded her.
“Krystal!” Rey shouted as he turned around with Neil. It was too late. Krystal had disappeared.
“Damn it. Where did she go?” Neil asked.
“I don’t know.”
Before Rey could even think of what to do, he heard the same giant thumps from before. He looked up along with Neil to see the giant dark beast had returned. As it roared at them again, Rey and Neil ran forward. They ran as fast as they could until they smacked into something that made them fall back. Rey was puzzled as he didn’t see anything in their way. He got up, trying to run again only to fall back again.
“What’s happening?!” Neil exclaimed. “Why can’t we keep going?!”
“I don’t know! It’s like there’s some kind of barrier!”
“So, we’re trapped?!”
Rey could barely think as the dark beast was getting closer to them. He could feel the pressure as he didn’t know what to do.
***
Krystal opened her eyes, feeling the heaviness of her pounding head. She sat up, finding herself to be more confused than ever. She was now in a soft pink bedroom that had intricate paintings hanging on the walls along with the usual essentials like a dresser, nightstand etc. What was jarring to her were the steel bars on the window that looked like they were in place to keep her locked up. She looked at her dress, seeing it had changed again. This time she was wearing a bejeweled lilac blouse with a matching skirt. The thing that made her most confused was her hair. It was now incredibly long, tied in a braid that reached all the way to the floor.
“What the hell is going on here?!” Krystal said.
***
Back at Ringmasters Training Academy, Sana was heading over to the library. As she walked towards the door, she saw Zayn was heading there as well.
“Hey, Zayn,” Sana said as she walked up to him.
“Oh, hey, Sana.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to check out some books here before they close. What about you?”
“I came to check on Rey. I tried calling him, but he didn’t answer.”
“He’s probably just busy, but we can check.”
Sana and Zayn entered the library. The two walked around to find Rey but couldn’t find him anywhere. Then, Sana saw something that caught her eye. She walked over to a table, seeing a bunch of belongings left behind.
“Do any of these belong to them?” Zayn asked.
“Yeah. I recognize Neil’s laptop. It has the same blue cat sticker.”
“Is it possible that they stepped out for a bit or something?”
“If they did, it’s clearly been a while. His laptop is on lock mode.”
“What’s that book on the ground?”
Sana looked down, seeing the book Zayn was referring to. She picked it up, seeing the writing on the front. She recognized it to be in Sanskrit.
“It appears to be a book of fairy tales,” Sana said as she opened the book. “This actually looks similar to the fairy tale book that my dad gave me when I was younger.”
It didn’t take long for the book to give off its golden glow. Sana was stunned, and she could see Zayn was equally surprised. Soon, Sana and Zayn were sucked into the book, and it closed, falling to the floor.
“No! No! No!” Krystal cried. “Sana, how many times do I have to tell you?!”
It was a regular morning at Ringmasters Training Academy. In the gymnasium, Krystal was directing everyone for a stage rehearsal. The next circus show was coming up and Krystal was made lead ringmaster. Sana, Rey, Prince, Neil, Heer, and Akira were all present for rehearsal amongst other students.
“Krystal, I’m literally doing everything you want me to do,” Sana said.
“No, you’re not!” Krystal exclaimed. “In step three of section one, you’re supposed to pivot your foot to the left. You keep starting with your right! It’s ruining the flow of the routine!”
“It’s really not that big of a deal,” Prince said. “Who the hell is gonna pay attention to her foot going wrong?”
“Well, if I can see it, anyone can,” Krystal said.
“Aww, Miss Perfectionist is throwing a tantrum,” Rey said to Neil, chuckling.
Krystal turned to Rey, annoyed, and said, “Rey, I’m this close to smacking someone, so you better hope it’s not you!”
“At this rate it could be you,” Sana said, quietly.
Krystal looked at Sana, trying to think she didn’t hear what she heard. Akira could see Krystal was getting angry and said, “Okay, Krystal. Let’s not create a scene.”
“What was that you said, Sana?” Krystal questioned.
“Krystal, I really think you should take a breather,” Heer said. “Let’s just get back to rehearsal.”
“No! I’d like to know what she said!” Krystal exclaimed.
“Damn. This is gonna get ugly,” Neil whispered to Rey.
“Krystal, I’m already annoyed. Let’s just move on,” Sana said.
“No! You can’t just say something about me and get away from the situation!”
“This is so unnecessary.”
“Please. The only thing unnecessary around here is your inability to comprehend basic dance steps! One would think a bookworm such as yourself could at least do that.”
Before Krystal could say anything else, Sana smacked her on the head, and she fell to the floor with a thud. Rey looked at the others and could see everyone including the gang were shocked. Krystal immediately got up, appalled.
“How dare you smack me, Sana?!” Krystal shouted as she was about to go up to Sana with her hands ready to fight back. Heer and Prince quickly grabbed hold of Krystal by her arms to prevent her from escalating the scene.
“Krystal, you have to calm down now,” Heer said as she struggled to hold down Krystal.
“Ugh! Let me at her! Just let me at her!” Krystal exclaimed.
“Ugh. Quit embarrassing yourself,” Prince said, rolling his eyes.
“You’re the one who basically asked for it,” Sana said to Krystal.
“Damn, Sana. You seem to go off on anyone,” Akira said.
“Man, this really did get ugly,” Neil said to Rey.
“Okay, everyone! Why don’t we call off rehearsal today?” Rey exclaimed. “Let’s all head out now!”
Rey tried to get everyone else to leave while Heer and Prince took Krystal away.
***
Later on, at lunch, Rey, Neil, Prince, Heer, and Akira were seated at their usual table. Once Zayn arrived with his lunch, he sat down and said, “So, it seems I missed quite the drama this morning.”
“You heard?” Neil asked.
“People couldn’t stop gossiping about it when I was in line,” Zayn said as he took a bite of his grilled cheese sandwich.
“You never said why you didn’t show up to rehearsal,” Akira said.
“I didn’t show up because I didn’t feel like it,” Zayn said. “So, what happened?”
“Krystal got on Sana’s case. Sana smacked her. There was almost a brawl. End of story,” Prince said. “It’s really not that big of a deal.”
“You’re taking it quite lightly, Prince,” Heer said.
“Well, yeah. Sana smacking people when they piss her off isn’t new,” Prince said. “Just ask Rey.”
“To be honest, I thought she was improving,” Rey said.
“Is it really any different from you and Neil jumping Aiden all the time?” Akira asked.
“Hey! We would give him a heads up before attempting to battle him!” Rey exclaimed.
“Failed attempts are more like it,” Prince said.
It didn’t take long for Sana to arrive at the table. And right after her, Krystal arrived. The two sat across from each other and Rey could see them exchanging scowled glances. To break the awkward silence amongst everyone, Rey said, “So, did anyone do the homework for D’Sena’s class?”
“You didn’t do it, man?” Neil asked.
“Interesting coming from you since you’re not one to do homework,” Prince said.
“But I did do it…last period,” Neil said.
“So, Sana, did you do the homework?” Heer asked.
“Why are we talking to her like she didn’t smack me in front of everyone today?” Krystal questioned.
“The same way no one wants to tell you how annoying and bossy you are,” Sana said.
“You take that back!” Krystal shouted as she got up from her seat. As she got up, she threw her sandwich at Sana’s face.
The act got Rey and everyone else on edge. It didn’t do much to Sana, but Rey looked at her and she was visibly pissed. He watched her stand up from her chair. She looked like she was close to giving Krystal another slap. Instead, she grabbed one of the slices of pizza on her plate and smacked it directly onto Krystal’s face. Seeing this, Rey could see it was far worse. The sauce and cheese were all over Krystal’s face. It didn’t take long for her to shriek, “Not my makeup!”
“Oh God,” Prince said, shaking his head.
“Sana J. Malik, if my face wasn’t melting right now, you’d be dead!” Krystal exclaimed.
“Yeah, right,” Sana said, rolling her eyes.
Rey watched Sana and Krystal throw one comment after the next at each other like ammo on a battlefield. He looked at the others and could see how annoyed they all were. Except Heer, she just seemed concerned. He thought he would have to take matters into his own hands.
***
At the end of the school day, Heer and Akira were at their lockers, chatting while getting their stuff together. As they were talking, Heer turned to see Rey was coming up to them. She looked at him and said, “Hey, Rey. What’s up?”
“Can I talk to you guys for a sec?” Rey asked.
“Is this about the Sana and Krystal fiasco?” Akira asked. “Because while entertaining, that whole thing is a mess.”
“I know. And we need to do something about it,” Rey said. “As stubborn as they both are, they’re friends and need to move on.”
“Even I think something needs to be done,” Heer said.
“Did you talk to the guys about this?” Akira asked.
“Yeah, and they don’t want to get involved,” Rey said.
“Even Prince?” Heer asked.
“He said they should figure it out themselves,” Prince said.
“Well, he’s not wrong,” Akira said. “I could expect this childishness from Krystal, but Sana, she’s typically above this…when she’s not being overly aggressive.”
“Well, we should give them a push. That’s why I’m coming to you both,” Rey said. “Can you two plan something to get them to confront each other civilly?”
“That could be a good idea. If we get them together in a calm environment, we could get them to talk things out,” Heer said.
“That sounds good!” Rey exclaimed. “Have fun with that!”
“Hold it! You come to us asking for help and you’re not going to do anything?” Akira asked.
“I did my part,” Rey said. “I was the messenger.”
Rey walked away before Akira’s piercing glances could scare him into staying. Akira shook her head and said, “Boys just love not taking responsibility sometimes, I swear.”
“I think I have an idea that could work,” Heer said.
***
The next day, Heer and Akira set the plan in motion. Well, it was pretty much Heer’s plan. Heer invited Krystal to Sage Park downtown and Akira did the same with Sana. They brought both girls to the park right after school. Once they all ran into each other, Heer could see Sana and Krystal were instantly heated.
“What is she doing here?!” Krystal exclaimed.
“I could ask the same to you,” Sana said.
Akira rolled her eyes as she watched Sana and Krystal have a literal glare competition. Heer said, “Now, now. It’s a nice day out and the park is looking lovely. Why don’t we just enjoy the scenery?”
Sana sighed in frustration. “Fine, I’ll be civil,” Sana said as she walked ahead. “I can do that better than some people.”
“Oh, please! You are the last person that should be talking about being civil!” Krystal exclaimed as she started walking as well.
“You sure this will work?” Akira asked Heer.
“We’re in the presence of nature. It should calm them both down,” Heer said and then walked with Sana and Krystal.
“If you say so,” Akira said as she shrugged her shoulders and followed.
As the girls walked around the park, Sana and Krystal were keeping their distance. Heer could feel that there was an unusual amount of silence as they all walked together. She looked at Akira, who was visibly frustrated. She knew she had to do something to get Sana and Krystal to talk like normal. Heer looked at the array of pink tulips in the field. She said, “Aren’t these some beautiful flowers, Krystal?”
“Hmm? Oh yeah, they are nice,” Krystal said as she looked at the tulips. “They’re so bright and beautiful!”
“Do you like them, Sana?” Heer asked.
“Heer, why do you care about her opinion?” Krystal asked. “After all, it’s not like a brute such as herself could appreciate nature.”
“You know, I was going to say they look beautiful,” Sana said. “Maybe I should add that they’re prettier than your face.”
Once again, another argument ensued between Sana and Krystal. Heer began to whimper, seeing her plan was failing miserably. Akira looked at her and shook her head, thinking, They are fighting over flowers. It’s time to put an end to this.
“Okay!” Akira intervened, silencing Sana and Krystal. “Since you guys aren’t enjoying the park, I have another place in mind for us to go.”
***
Sana was stunned, Krystal was shocked, and Heer was surprised. Akira led the girls inside Splash Attack, a paintball center in Daredevil City. Heer would’ve never picked such a place for them to handle the situation, but she acknowledged Akira’s methods were probably going to be different from hers.
“Um, why are we here, Akira?” Sana asked.
“You guys clearly need to blow some steam,” Akira said as she stepped up to the counter. “If you can’t do it peacefully, you might as well come here. Krystal, give me your credit card.”
“What?!” Krystal exclaimed. “Why would I give you my credit card?! This wasn’t my idea.”
“That’s true, but if you don’t want me to smack you harder than Sana did, you’ll give it to me,” Akira said.
Terrified at the thought of Akira smacking her, Krystal quickly handed her credit card to her Akira handed it to the receptionist. After paying, they were directed to a room to get their gear and suits. As Sana and Krystal went ahead, Heer asked Akira, “Are you sure about this?”
“They want to be aggressive,” Akira said. “This is how you get out aggression.”
The girls got suited up and loaded up their paintball guns. They went outside to the actual park where people were already commencing in paintball fights. While Sana and Krystal were in the field, Akira went in blazing. She was having a grand time, striking one person after the next. She took a moment to stop as she looked at Heer, who looked like a frail deer amongst a pack of lions. She went up to her and said, “Heer, why aren’t you shooting?”
“Um, I’m not sure if this is my scene. I don’t really like hurting people unnecessarily.”
“Oh, come on, Heer. They’re just paintballs.”
“I know. But this is pretty aggressive.”
“That’s the point. Hey, we should check on Sana and Krystal.”
Akira and Heer went further into the field to look for Sana and Krystal. As she squared off with a few people amidst the lookout, Akira stopped upon seeing Sana and Krystal engaging in a shootout with each other. Aside from them having bad aim, it seemed like they were both pretty angry.
“You know, I should thank Akira after this,” Krystal said.
“After what?” Sana asked.
Krystal struck Sana in the stomach three times with her paintball gun and said, “That.”
Sana immediately got up and started hitting back. This time, she hit Krystal at her shoulders. They both started angrily shooting at each other. Heer was afraid of what would ensue, and Akira was borderline amused and annoyed.
“You know, only someone as immature as you would resort to smacking people for everything!” Krystal shouted at Sana.
“Immature? That’s rich coming from you. You’re the spoiled crybaby that whines whenever Prince doesn’t want to wear a stupid matching outfit with you.”
“That has nothing to do with this! And you wish you had my sense of style!”
“Oh, please. I don’t need fashion advice from a designer brand billboard.”
“You take that back! You’re just jealous! No wonder you ruined my dress at Headmaster Devil’s birthday party!”
“Oh, get over it. You took it to the dry-cleaners.”
“Yeah, but the resale value plummeted thanks to you!”
Sana and Krystal continued to argue and strike each other with paintballs at the same time. Heer looked at Akira, who was more frustrated than ever. Akira handed her paintball gun to Heer and walked up to Sana and Krystal. She took both of their paintball guns and they turned to her, saying, “Hey!”
“What are you doing?” Sana asked.
“You know, I should smack both of you right now,” Akira said. “But I’m not going to stoop to your level.”
“I haven’t done any smacking this whole time,” Krystal said. “I was the one that was wronged here.”
“Honestly, you both need to shut up,” Akira said. “I’m gonna say this to your faces, so that you two can stop embarrassing yourselves. Sana, you don’t need to smack every person who pisses you off for the slightest thing. It’s unbelievably childish.”
“Um, Akira,” Heer said.
“And Krystal, you’re bossy, rude, and you shove your perfectionist ways down everyone’s throat to the point where it’s annoying,” Akira said. “Heer and I took it upon ourselves to help you guys make up since Rey asked us to. Now we understand why he didn’t want to get involved because you two are irritating as hell. I’m done dealing with your stupidity. So, do everyone a favor and just shut up and sort this out yourselves.”
Akira walked out, leaving Heer, Sana, and Krystal. Heer could see Sana and Krystal were speechless and in disbelief.
***
After some time passed, Sana, Krystal, and Heer got cleaned up and sat in the lobby. After storming out, Akira went back to the field to play some more paintball. Heer figured she needed it to blow off some steam from her earlier lecture. Heer looked at Sana and Krystal, who were awfully quiet and clearly down. She wanted to say something to lighten the mood, but thought it was better to wait and see if one of them would talk.
“She really went in on us,” Sana said.
“I’m not bossy and rude,” Krystal said. “Am I, Heer?”
“Well, I wouldn’t have framed the way Akira said things so bluntly,” Heer said.
“So, you agree with her?” Sana asked.
“I agree with the notion she was going with. You both are wrong in this situation. One of you wants to feel more justified than the other, but neither of you are,” Heer said. “I know you’re both better than this. You two have been friends for so long that you can’t let something like this drag on.”
Sana couldn’t help but think that what Heer was saying was true. She couldn’t believe how far things had gotten. She looked at Krystal and could tell she was feeling the same way.
“You know, if it was put this way, it probably would’ve landed better,” Krystal said.
“Maybe. But Akira’s method certainly made you guys listen,” Heer said.
Sana and Krystal chuckled. They looked at each other and Sana said, “I’m sorry for smacking you that day. And for all the insults that I didn’t mean.”
“I’m sorry for being harsh on you at rehearsal and my share of insults. I guess I should work on not bossing people around like a crazy person.”
“I should probably work on not smacking people.”
“I know some people that would love that,” Heer said.
The three of them chuckled. Akira entered the lobby and upon seeing the three girls, she said, “So, you two made up?”
“Yeah, we did,” Krystal said.
“As much as we hate to admit it, you certainly made us wake up a bit,” Sana said.
“Good. I should be blunt with you guys more often,” Akira said.
“Or you can hold back next time,” Krystal said.
“Anyway, do you guys want to head back?” Heer asked.
“Well, since Sana and Krystal made up, we should do something fun to celebrate,” Akira said.
“I agree,” Sana said. “You got something in mind, Krystal?”
“Actually, you can take the reign on this one, Sana,” Krystal said.
Sana was surprised, but happy with Krystal’s gesture. She said, “Well, I did want to check out the new indie bookstore that opened downtown.”
“Books A Plenty?” Heer asked.
“That’s the one,” Sana said. “And maybe afterwards, we could go to Devil’s Diner for dinner.”
“Yes! I can treat everyone to Marigold Surprises!” Krystal exclaimed.
“You guys okay with that plan?” Sana asked.
“It sounds good to me,” Heer said.
“All right. Let’s head out then,” Akira said.
With that, the girls all headed out together for grand night ahead.
Hello! Normally, I’d post a story every month revolving around the characters of The Ringmasters Society. This time though, I wanted to do something different. I wanted to take the time to talk a little bit about one of my favorite characters in the series: Heer St. Hale.
When it came to creating Heer and the other characters, the most important thing was showcasing a range of characters that varied in personalities. Heer’s was certainly one that stood out amongst Sana, Rey, and the others for her softer nature (as you can hopefully see in this illustration). I won’t give too much away for those who are yet to delve into the series, but one of the things that I can say about her is that she represents strength in a way that we don’t recognize. There is much beauty in vulnerability and I think Heer represents that. Because of which, she’s one of my favorites amongst the large cast of characters in the series.
Want to learn more about Heer? Definitely check out my series, The Ringmasters Society, by clicking the Books tab on my site. And follow the site for more content! I post bonus stories with the characters and will try to post more of my illustrations and other work!
“So, any ideas what he could possibly want us for this time?” Krystal asked the others. She along with Rey, Sana, and Akira were all heading towards Headmaster Devil’s office. They were in the middle of class when they were called and if anyone wasn’t in the mood to go, it was Krystal.
“I have no clue,” Sana said.
“More specifically, why us four?” Krystal asked.
“I was thinking the same thing,” Rey said.
“Well, we’ll find out,” Akira said. “Maybe he just needs to talk to us.”
By the time they reached the door of Headmaster Devil’s office, Sana went ahead and opened it. She entered along with the others, seeing Headmaster Devil was actually not at his desk. He was watering some plants that he had sitting by the window.
“Hello there, kids,” Headmaster Devil said as he turned towards the group.
“Uh, hi,” Akira said. “Since when did you keep plants?”
“For a while now. It’s a new hobby I’ve developed,” Headmaster Devil said.
“Well, that’s nice and all, but why exactly did you call us four?” Sana asked.
“Oh, right,” Headmaster Devil said. “I have a mission for you four.”
“Mission?” Krystal asked. “Why us four specifically?”
“I’ll get to that if you let me talk,” Headmaster Devil said.
Krystal pouted as she gave a side-eye to Sana, Rey, and Akira who were seemingly chuckling at her. Headmaster Devil put his watering can down and said, “In Ringling City, there have been a strange number of disappearances occurring within Ringling High School.”
“You mean disappearances related to dark beast activity?” Sana asked.
“That’s what signs are pointing towards,” Headmaster Devil said. “The scene of every disappearance at the school has involved the discovery of residue from a spider’s web.”
“Eww. Clearly someone needs to get an exterminator,” Krystal said.
“Krystal, try to see the bigger picture here,” Headmaster Devil said, shaking his head.
“Are they all kids?” Akira asked.
“Yes. Six students have disappeared in the past two weeks,” Headmaster Devil said.
“So, what are we supposed to do then?” Rey asked.
“I want the four of you to go undercover in the school as students and investigate the situation. See if there really is a dark beast behind all of this,” Headmaster Devil said.
“Hold up. I understand going undercover, but why us four specifically? Can you at least answer that?” Krystal asked.
“Part of it was availability. But mainly I felt all four of your skills would work well together,” Headmaster Devil said. “When you get to the school, you’ll meet with the other student you’ll be working with.”
“Other student?” Sana said.
“You four will be working with a student from Crimson Phoenix,” Headmaster Devil said.
“What’s the student’s name?” Rey asked.
“The headmaster didn’t tell me,” Headmaster Devil said.
“Why?” Akira asked.
“Let’s just say she likes to mess around with me. She’s all about surprises,” Headmaster Devil said. “She did say she sent one of her best though.”
“Don’t tell me she’s one of your exes,” Krystal said.
Headmaster Devil rolled his eyes and said, “You better get going. Your mission begins tomorrow morning.”
Krystal shook her head as she walked out of the office with Sana, Rey, and Akira. Yep. Definitely one of his exes, Krystal thought.
***
The following morning, Sana, Rey, Krystal, and Akira took off to Ringling City in West Viridian. Traveling didn’t take as long thanks to the hoverboards they got from school. The group landed near the building of Ringling High School. It was your average school building with a brick exterior, certainly not as big as Ringmasters Training Academy. Sana watched the students go inside the building. She turned to the others and said, “Okay, what’s the game plan?”
“Uh, aren’t we supposed to meet with the student from Crimson Phoenix?” Rey asked.
“But we don’t even know what the student looks like,” Krystal said. “Sheesh. Sometimes I wonder if Devil knows what he’s doing.”
“Honestly, I feel like the student is going to find us,” Akira said.
“How do you know?” Sana asked.
“Look,” Akira said.
Sana turned around to see a boy coming right up to them. He had dark hair with indigo highlights that was tied in short braids and golden clips on both sides of his head. He had sharp, dark eyes as well. He looked rather muscular and wore a blue tank shirt with a silver medallion over it, gold wristbands, gray trousers with golden trim, and gray boots.
“You must be Sana, right?” the boy asked.
“Yeah,” Sana said. “Are you the student we’re supposed to be meeting?”
“Yup,” the boy said. “I’m Rainer. Rainer Driskell.”
“Rain or drizzle?” Rey said.
“That wasn’t close, Rey,” Akira said.
“You’re a funny one,” Rainer said to Rey. “So, you’re the famous Rey.”
“Famous! I’m famous?!” Rey exclaimed. “Oh, hell, yeah!”
“And you two must be Krystal and Akira,” Rainer said.
“You seem to know us pretty well,” Krystal said.
“Headmaster Carmine knows how to gather intel,” Rainer said.
“How come your headmaster wouldn’t tell us about you?” Sana asked.
“Uh, let’s just say she’s an eccentric one,” Rainer said. “Anyway, I’m sure your headmaster told you guys about the job, right?”
“Yeah. Do you have a plan in mind?” Sana asked.
“Uh, I’m more of a one step at a time kind of guy,” Rainer said.
“Okay. You don’t have a plan,” Sana said.
Rainer could feel his cool guy act die in seconds. He knew Sana was right. After all, Headmaster Carmine didn’t give him too much of a plan. He also felt overwhelmed with working with RTA students. He had already heard all the stories about them.
“Sorry, that was a bit much. Maybe its best we come up with a plan together,” Sana said. “I mean that’s why we were chosen to work together, right?”
“Oh, yeah! You’re right!” Rainer said. “That’s a good start.”
“First thing we can do is figure out a way to get into the school,” Akira said.
“I got that covered,” Rainer said as he took off his backpack. He took out a few sets of uniforms. “We’re gonna need to change into these.”
Rainer handed everyone a uniform. Krystal looked at the uniform, which consisted of a white button-up shirt, red necktie, and a khaki skirt. She said, “They really make their students wear this? Why can’t schools take note from anime? At least the uniforms in those shows are cute.”
“Krystal, this is not the time to complain about fashion,” Sana said, rolling her eyes.
***
Sana, Rey, Krystal, Akira, and Rainer went inside the school and changed in the bathrooms. Once they had changed, they stepped out into the hallway. Krystal had gotten a good look at herself in the uniform, and she said, “You know…as tacky as this uniform is, I certainly pull it off.”
“Okay, now what?” Sana asked.
“Now, we just slip into one of the classes,” Rainer said. “Based off the intel I got from Headmaster Carmine, four out of the six students were from the sophomore class. The other two were juniors.”
“Okay. Maybe we should split up then,” Akira said. “One group can join a sophomore class and the other will join the juniors.”
“That’s a good idea, Akira,” Sana said. “Rey and I can join the sophomores and you guys can join the juniors.”
“Actually, I think I should team up with you, Sana,” Akira said. “I have a feeling that’ll work better. Also, Rainer, you might need to babysit these two.”
“Babysit?!” Rey exclaimed.
“You two have been known to make dumb moves every now and then,” Akira chuckled.
“Hey! I am not dumb!” Krystal exclaimed. “I happen to know five languages!”
“I never said YOU were dumb. Just that you make dumb moves,” Akira said.
“Let’s just go with that plan. I’ll go with these two,” Rainer told Akira.
Akira nodded and went off with Sana. As Krystal walked in the other direction with Rainer and Rey, she said, “I think everyone underestimates my intelligence.”
***
After Rainer figured out where the junior classes were, he led Rey and Krystal to classroom 3C right when class was about to begin. Rainer could tell the teacher, Ms. Robinson, was looking at them suspiciously. However, he managed to convince her that they were indeed new students and she had them sit all the way in the back.
Rey couldn’t help but feel a need to daydream during class. Classes at the academy were far more fun than the calculus class they found themselves in. He saw Rainer was taking notes, trying to go along with the act. He thought he should do the same, but he looked over at Krystal, who was just retouching her lip gloss. Instead, he thought about what Sana would do. She would focus on the mission and look for any clues in her surroundings.
One of the students was called by Ms. Robinson to the board. Rey immediately took note of how slowly the brunette-haired girl was walking. He couldn’t see her face as she wrote on the board, but even her hand movements were slow. What was striking was he could faintly see a strange marking on her right leg. It was miniscule, yet noticeably squiggly.
Rey looked over at Rainer and whispered, “Hey, the girl at the board has something on her leg.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It’s some weird marking.”
“Rey, do you have something you wish to share with the class?” Ms. Robinson asked.
Rey gulped as the other students turned towards him. “Oh, nothing. I was just discussing the equation,” Rey said. “Calc is so fascinating.”
“Ms. Krystal, are you paying attention to the board or your makeup?” Ms. Robinson asked.
Before Krystal could even say anything, the bell rang. Students started getting up and Rainer signaled to Rey and Krystal to get out as quickly as possible.
“Honestly, what’s her deal?” Krystal said as she headed out with Rey and Rainer. “Everyone needs a touchup here and there.”
“Well, let’s not focus on that,” Rainer said. “What’d you see, Rey?”
“There was a strange marking on that girl’s leg. Plus, her whole body was acting so slow. Almost like she was drained out of energy,” Rey said.
“Okay. But how does that have to do with the disappearances?” Krystal asked. “How do we know she didn’t just pull an all-nighter?”
“The marking could be a clue though,” Rainer said. “Sophomore lunch is supposed to be after the next class. Maybe we can watch her there.”
“That sounds solid,” Rey said. “What do we do till then?”
“Till then, we can slip into sophomore chemistry,” Rainer said.
“Can’t we pick a fun class for once?” Krystal asked.
***
On the other hand, Sana and Akira had exited out of the English class they were in. As they walked down the hallway, Sana stopped upon hearing her phone ring. She took it out from her backpack and saw she had received a text from Rey. Akira turned to her and said, “Something up?”
“It’s Rey. They found a girl in their class with a suspicious marking on her leg. He said we should look out for anyone with a similar marking.”
“Strange marking? Did he say anything else?”
“He also mentioned she was very low on energy.”
“Hmm. Strange markings and low energy.”
“What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking the disappearances are probably linked to a dark beast. But I don’t know what kind. Though if spider web residue was found in the disappearances, that could be it. This almost reminds me of Madame Naga.”
“You’re right. I hope its not as serious as that.”
“All right. What do you think we should do now?”
“I think we should let Rey and the others follow their lead. In the meantime, we can snoop around and look for clues.”
“Don’t you think that isn’t wise considering some faculty member could be lingering around the halls?”
“True. We just have to be stealthy about it.”
***
After a few minutes passed, Sana and Akira headed downstairs to the first floor. They hid behind a section of lockers and Akira subtlety checked the hallway. Seeing no one was around, she said, “Clear.”
Sana and Akira stepped out into the hallway. As the two walked, Sana looked around everywhere to see if anything was out of place. Her searching came to a halt when she noticed something on the floor. She bent down and picked up what appeared to be a spider web.
“Akira, check this out,” Sana said.
Akira bent down and looked at the spider web that Sana was holding in her hand.
“Well then. Either this school has a bug problem, or a dark beast of the spider variety is behind this.”
“How do we find out for sure?”
Before Akira could answer, she could hear the sound of footsteps coming near. “Someone’s coming,” Akira whispered. “Quick. In the bathroom.”
Sana and Akira quickly headed into the bathroom before they could be seen. Once inside, Sana found more spider web residue on the bathroom floor. Seeing the residue herself, Akira said, “Okay, this is definitely not just a bug problem.”
“Let’s check the stalls,” Sana said.
Sana went to the end of the bathroom, looking at each stall. Akira went to one on the other end. She saw nothing, but as she turned to head back, she could feel something strange on the floor. She stepped on the floor again, hearing a creaking sound.
“Sana, get over here,” Akira said.
Sana walked over to the stall that Akira was at. Akira looked at her and said, “I think there’s something up with the floor here.”
Sana looked down at the tiled floor where Akira was standing. She pressed her foot against it, feeling an odd shaking sensation from it. She bent down and looked closely at the tiles. The more she looked at them, the more she noticed they weren’t fully pressed into the floor. Sana pulled at the tiles, taking them completely out. What was left was a big hole that seemingly led to the basement.
“So, does this qualify as a clue?” Akira asked.
“I would say yes. Unless this school is seriously behind on maintenance.”
“Well then…I say we go down and see where it takes us.”
Akira nodded. Sana slowly got down and jumped through the hole with Akira following her. Sana was about to walk ahead till Akira said, “Wait. We could be walking into enemy territory.”
“Yeah?”
“So, we should make ourselves discrete. I’ll transform into my siren form and carry you. No one will hear our footsteps then.”
“Aah, I gotcha. Sounds good.”
Akira proceeded to transform. Her golden glow enclosed her body and faded once she was in her siren form. She flapped her wings and began to fly, carrying Sana by holding onto her shoulders. Now they had a real search ahead of them.
***
Later on, in chemistry class, Rainer, Rey, and Krystal were seated in the back. They all continued to blend in, working on an experiment just like the rest of the class. Rainer was in the middle of mixing a solution when he asked Rey, “Hey, can you give me some water?”
With no response, Rainer turned to Rey, seeing he looked distracted.
“Rey, what’s up?”
“I smell something weird.”
Suddenly, puffs of smoke were emerging around the classroom. The smoke alarm went off and the teacher seemed to be caught off guard.
“Everyone! Exit the classroom and evacuate the building,” the teacher ordered.
Students began following the teacher out of the classroom, one after the other. Rainer, Rey, and Krystal headed towards the door. Rey tried to open it, but it was seemingly locked.
“Rey, lets go!” Krystal exclaimed.
“I can’t. The door won’t budge,” Rey said.
“Hold up. Why do I have a feeling there’s something in here with us?” Rainer asked.
Rey could feel what Rainer was feeling. He turned around and realized he was right. “Guys, look,” Rey said.
Rainer and Krystal turned around. Before Rey and the others was a woman. She had dark hair tied in a top bun, purple eyes, and a devilish smirk. Her pale gray skin glistened in the sunlight from outside along with the black gown she was wearing. The most eye-catching thing had to be the shiny red pendant she was wearing.
“So, you’re the kids snooping around on what I’m doing here,” the woman said.
“Damn. She found out what we were doing, and we’ve never even seen her,” Rey said.
“Who are you and what do you want?” Rainer asked.
“I don’t owe you my name, but I can tell you what they used to call me back in the day,” the woman said. “They call me the Spider Queen.”
“Uh, not in that outfit, honey,” Krystal said.
“As for what I’m doing, your friends downstairs seemed to have gotten the idea and I don’t like repeating myself,” the Spider Queen said.
“She got to Sana and Akira,” Krystal said, preparing herself by drawing out her wand. “She means business then!”
“Well, I say we show her a thing or two, guys!” Rey exclaimed.
“Don’t mind me if I do as well,” the Spider Queen said as her eyes glowed bright red.
Suddenly, several large spiders emerged from the sinks of the desks. The sight of them made Krystal shriek, “Eww! Spiders are one thing. But spiders in water is just nasty!”
“This is gonna be hard without Sana by my side, but we gotta attack!” Rey exclaimed as he transformed into his tiger form.
As the spiders made their way towards them, Krystal and Rey got into action. Krystal launched one sound beam after the other towards the spiders while Rey launched fireballs. It was all seemingly going just fine till Rey stopped and looked at Rainer. He had transformed his wand into what looked like a winged sword. But he was just standing there, seemingly frozen as he looked at his sword. Rey transformed back and said, “Rainer! What’s up with you?”
Rey immediately got attacked by a swarm of spiders. As he tried to fend them off, Krystal rushed in to help. But she too was ambushed by them.
“Ugh! Get these nasty things off me!” Krystal cried as she tried to hit them with her sonic bell.
The Spider Queen held out her hand turning it to signal the spiders. They started shooting webs at Rainer, enclosing his body. She began to head towards the door, and she said, “It seems my work is done. It’d be best if you leave yourselves out from this point.”
With the Spider Queen gone, Rainer realized he had to get out and help Rey and Krystal. He quickly tried to raise his arms and said, “Come on. Come on.”
His golden wristbands began to glow brightly. As he emerged from the webs, he concentrated the energy in his hands, and he created a giant sphere of water. He launched the sphere towards the spiders, washing them away. In the process, Rey and Krystal got wet as well. The spiders had all disintegrated one after the other. Krystal slowly got up and said, “You know, for once, I’m not mad that my outfit is ruined.”
“Uh, you hated the uniform anyway,” Rey said as he got up. “Damn. We’re soaking.”
“Sorry, guys,” Rainer said. “I messed up.”
“No, no! You just saved us right now!” Rey exclaimed. “Also, that move you just did was really cool! How’d you-”
“Guys, we need to get to Sana and Akira!” Krystal exclaimed.
“Oh, right! Let’s go!” Rey said.
The trio headed out through the door. By the time they got to the hall, Sana and Akira were right there. Rey was shocked to see them both. Akira was holding onto Sana, who was seemingly injured.
“Sana! Are you okay?” Rey asked.
“We’re fine, honestly,” Sana said.
“Fine?! That Spider Queen injured her leg,” Akira said. “Judging by the way you guys look, it seems she got to you as well.”
“Damn it! My hair is frizzing, isn’t it?!” Krystal cried.
“Look, we need to get out of here and find a safe spot to retreat,” Akira said.
“There’s a small park down the street. Its usually not crowded,” Rainer said.
“Let’s go there then!” Rey said as he helped Akira with holding Sana.
***
Rainer led everyone to Rowling Park. The park was indeed quiet. Hardly anyone was present there. Once they were there, Rey and Akira helped Sana sit down on one of the benches. Krystal took a spare scarf she had with her and used it to tie around Sana’s leg.
“How did it happen?” Rey asked.
“The Spider Queen used one of her spider legs to pierce Sana’s leg in combat,” Akira said.
“Hold on. She can transform herself?!” Rey exclaimed.
“We found her in the basement of the school. There’s an abandoned room where she’s keeping the missing students,” Sana said. “It looks like she’s using their energy to fuel her powers.”
“What the hell?” Rey said.
“This is absurd. I’m gonna call Devil and find out if he has any intel on this Spider Queen,” Krystal said as she started dialing Headmaster Devil’s number on her phone. “There’s gotta be something we’re not getting here.”
Krystal’s call was indeed answered. But instead of Headmaster Devil appearing on the screen, it was Zayn.
“Zayn?!” Krystal exclaimed. “Why are you answering?!”
“Uh, hi to you, too,” Zayn said.
“What’s up, man?” Rey asked as he walked over to see Zayn on Krystal’s phone screen.
“Uh, nothing much. I just needed to get something from the office,” Zayn said.
Zayn handed the phone to Headmaster Devil. Once he was on, he said, “Krystal, how are things going with the mission?”
“Well, a lot of stuff has happened today,” Krystal said. “I need to know if you know anything about someone named the Spider Queen.”
“The Spider Queen? You ran into her?” Headmaster Devil asked.
“So, you know her?” Rey asked.
“Yes. But her name hasn’t come up in a long time. She went off the radar years ago,” Headmaster Devil said.
“Who was she?” Krystal asked.
“She was a notorious dark beast. Not as powerful as Madame Naga, but definitely similar in abilities. After she was defeated by a ringmaster from the Ringmasters Society, she was never heard from again,” Headmaster Devil said.
“Wait. Maybe this ringmaster that defeated her took away a lot of her power,” Sana said. “That’s why she’s using the kids to fuel her power. She’s trying to regain it.”
“But how could she do that?” Akira asked.
As the others were pondering, Rey thought on it for a moment. He suddenly remembered something and said, “Maybe it has something to do with that red pendant she was wearing.”
“Oh! The pendant must be what draws out the energy from the humans,” Krystal said. “But why go after regular kids?”
“It’d be easier for her to swallow energy from normal humans than ringmasters or human-beasts,” Headmaster Devil said.
“Are the kids still in the basement?” Rey asked Sana and Akira.
“They are. But their energy has already been taken. We need to find her and break the pendant. I’m pretty sure that’s the only way we can restore their energies,” Sana said.
“Well, you’d have to find out where she’s heading to do that,” Headmaster Devil said. “Krystal, send me her description details and I can see if I can get any intel on her location.”
“Sure thing,” Krystal said.
Headmaster Devil ended the call. While Krystal was preparing to send details, Rey took note of Rainer. He was sitting on a bench by himself, and he was awfully quiet for a while. He noticed Rainer was looking at his winged sword. Rey wondered why he didn’t use it when they were fighting the Spider Queen. Something about it seemed to bother Rainer.
“Rainer’s been pretty down,” Rey said.
“I noticed. Do you know what’s wrong?” Sana asked.
“Not exactly. But he keeps looking at the sword,” Rey said.
“I wonder why he has it if he doesn’t even use it in battle,” Krystal said.
“Well, someone should go talk to him,” Akira said. “To work better as a team, we have to understand each other’s emotions.”
“Akira has a point. I’m gonna go talk to him,” Rey said.
Rey got up and walked over to where Rainer was sitting. He could tell Rainer wasn’t even aware that he was coming. Rey said, “That’s a nice sword you got there.”
“Oh, thanks,” Rainer said, startled upon hearing Rey’s voice.
“I gotta ask…that trick you did back there was really cool. Do your wristbands allow you to control water?”
“Yeah. They help me concentrate my water energy.”
“That’s cool. If you don’t mind me asking, why didn’t you use your sword back there?”
Rainer wasn’t surprised that Rey would ask this question. After all, he couldn’t stop looking at his sword. Rey sat next to him as he pondered over how to respond.
“I understand if you don’t wanna talk about it,” Rey said. “I wanted to ask because it seems to bother you. I know we just met and all, but you’re a cool dude and I really think we could be good friends.”
“And we want to help you if we can,” Sana said.
Rainer looked up to see Sana, Krystal, and Akira had come by as well. Seeing all the support around him, he felt as though he could trust the others.
“Okay. This sword isn’t any ordinary ringmaster weapon,” Rainer said. “It’s the legendary sword of Shango.”
“Sword of Shango?” Sana said.
“Yeah. According to my ancestors, the sword belonged to Shango, the ultimate thunder ringmaster,” Rainer said.
“Thunder! You have water and thunder powers?!” Rey asked.
“Yeah. This sword has been passed down in my family for generations. For every generation, a worthy successor is chosen. This time it was me. My dad gave it to me recently. We had a whole ceremony as per tradition,” Rainer said.
“I see. So, it’s a lot to handle, isn’t it?” Akira asked.
“The power of this sword brings a lot of pressure along with it,” Rainer said.
“By any chance, do you mean family pressure?” Krystal asked.
“Oh, yeah. The elders had a lot to say about my dad’s decision. Of course, nothing beats the fact that my mom was against it,” Rainer said.
“Your mom?” Akira said.
“Yeah. There’s some history there. Not the good kind,” Rainer said. “Even though she and my dad aren’t together anymore, I still see her. And every time, it just gets worse.”
“That bad, huh?” Rey said.
“She didn’t even speak to me at the ceremony,” Rainer said. “And she waits a whole week later to send me a message explaining why she didn’t speak to me.”
“Wow. Mother of the year,” Krystal said.
Hearing the little bit of Rainer’s history with his family made Rey put things together. He looked at Sana and from the way she looked at him, even she could understand where he was coming from.
“So, your mother and the pressure from your family is making you doubt your worthiness of wielding the sword?” Rey asked.
“Pretty much. I haven’t even talked to the sword,” Rainer said.
“The sword talks?” Akira asked.
“When Shango died, he sealed his spirit in his sword so he could live on with every swordsman after. Kinda like a guide I guess,” Rainer said.
“Hey, isn’t that similar to your zodiac wand, Krystal?” Sana asked.
“I guess so,” Krystal said.
“Rainer, I may not have known you for long, but I think you’re a cool and capable guy,” Rey said. “You gotta believe in yourself, man! You got this!”
“You really think so?” Rainer asked.
“Definitely. You totally saved us back there. It may have messed up my hair, but a bad hair day is worth it when you’re still in one piece,” Krystal said.
“Your headmaster sent you here for a reason. She believed in you. You just have to have faith in yourself,” Sana said.
“I don’t know how this sword works. But if you trust in yourself, I’m sure the sword will trust you,” Akira said.
Rainer looked back at his sword. The golden wings on its hilt and its shiny sheen captivated him. He felt something different when looking at the sword this time. It was elation. He felt a sudden drive in him that he didn’t feel before.
Rainer stood up from the bench. He could tell the others were looking at him, possibly wondering what was on his mind. He turned to them and said, “Thank you, guys. I’m ready to get down to business.”
“Yeah! That’s what we like to hear!” Rey exclaimed.
“All right. We have to figure out where the Spider Queen is heading,” Akira said. “Sana and I didn’t get much insight from when we ran into her. That means we’ll have to use our brains and figure this out.”
“Well, let’s start with the basics. Why would she go to this school in the first place?” Sana asked. “One thing I can think of is that this school has the largest student body in the state. That aside, students are easy victims.”
“How so?” Rainer asked.
“They’re easier to get to. Remember those spiders she summons? I’m pretty sure she’d have them bite the students she chose as victims. Once they were bitten, they’d be vulnerable enough for her to abduct them and drain their energy,” Sana said.
“Those are good points,” Akira said. “But why did she leave the school entirely then if it was her perfect pool for victims?”
“Maybe because we caught onto her plan?” Rey asked.
“Seems too simple,” Rainer said.
As the others were trying to figure things out, Krystal said, “Oh my gosh! I got it! I know where the Spider Queen is!”
“You do?” Akira asked.
“Yes! I know the exact place she’d be heading,” Krystal said. “You said the reason she came to this school was because of the large population, right?”
“Yeah,” Sana said.
“Well, I happen to know that Akshay Arora is having a show tonight in Ringling City to showcase his upcoming summer collection,” Krystal said. “It’s the perfect place to nab victims.”
“Why would the Spider Queen go to a fashion show?” Rey asked.
“Hello?! Plenty of young celebrities, socialites, and personalities are all seated in one area. Its an easy way for her to get a bunch of victims all at once with her spiders and snuff out their energy,” Krystal said.
Sana looked at the others, who were just as surprised as her. She couldn’t believe it. “Krystal, you may actually be on to something,” she said.
“I always knew my knowledge of fashion would get me somewhere,” Krystal said as she flipped her hair.
“So, we just go to this fashion show and stop the Spider Queen,” Rey said.
“Its not that easy, Rey. You have to be invited to those shows,” Akira said.
“And we need a proper plan,” Sana said.
“Well, when it comes to fashion, I have my ways,” Krystal said.
“And I think I can come up with a plan,” Rainer said.
***
In downtown Ringling City, the Akshay Arora show was being held at 21st Tower. Attendees were entering one after the other. And Krystal was determined to get the group in. The plan was in motion. While Rainer was planning to enter the building from the opposite side, Krystal was in charge of getting the others inside the show. It only took her a few hours prior to the show, but she was able to make a legit invitation for them to get in and she went the extra mile by creating matching outfits for them all to wear. The outfits had a red and teal color palette with variations on the same design. Krystal’s was a dress with over-the-knee boots, Rey’s was a set with a jacket and shorts, Sana’s was a one shoulder jumpsuit, and Akira’s was a cropped jacket with a matching skirt. The four of them were standing in line to enter the building for the show.
“I gotta hand it to you, Krystal. I’m liking these outfits,” Sana said.
“Though why do we look like a band?” Akira asked.
“That’s because for tonight, we are,” Krystal said, handing the invite she made to Akira.
Rey looked over to see what was on the invite. After reading it, he said, “We’re Ringmaster Pop? What kind of dumb name is that?”
“Its not dumb!” Krystal exclaimed. “It’s not like you have my creativity, Rey.”
“What creativity?! The name sounds like something a bunch of wannabe kids trying to act like pop stars would come up with,” Rey said.
“Dude, let it go. We need to focus on the task at hand,” Akira said.
“Rainer just messaged me,” Sana said, looking at her phone. “He says he’s in the building.”
“Good. Once we’re in, things will really go into motion,” Krystal said.
“You mean IF we get in,” Rey said.
Krystal put her annoyance to the side as she stepped forward in line with the others following. She handed the invitation to the security guard. After looking at it, he said, “Ringmaster Pop?”
“We’re very popular in France,” Krystal said.
“Oh, I’ll have to check you guys out,” the security guard said. “You can come in.”
Krystal smirked as she led the others inside the building. She turned to Rey and said, “What was that you said, Rey? You eating those words now?”
“Shut up,” Rey said. “Now what?”
“We have to be on the lookout for the Spider Queen,” Akira said. “I’m guessing she’ll be in the audience.”
“Rainer needs us to signal him when we spot her,” Sana said. “I think we should split up to cover the area of the room.”
With everyone in agreement, Sana, Rey, Krystal, and Akira split up, going in different directions to cover the whole space. Sana headed to the far-right corner. As she walked by, she stopped, seeing the Spider Queen was seated in the back at the end of the row. She quickly typed a message on her phone for everyone that read, “Found her. Stay in your positions.”
Sana notified Rainer of the sighting. Rainer was waiting in the balcony. He looked down at the audience, finding the spot where the Spider Queen was at. He bent down and drew out his wand, transforming it into the winged sword. The show had just started. Music was playing and the first model started walking the runway.
Rainer kept a close eye on the Spider Queen. He had to wait and see her make a move. He held tightly onto his sword. He looked at it and said, “Shango, if I need you, are you there?”
After a few seconds, Rainer wasn’t sure if Shango could hear him or if he was just talking to himself. But he wanted to put all his doubts aside. Suddenly, the sword’s blade began to glow. He also heard a faint yes. Rainer looked back at the audience and could see that the Spider Queen was getting ready to move, her pendant beginning to glow. Before she could summon her spiders to do their dirty work, Rainer raised his sword and a bright bolt of lightning emerged from the blade, hitting directly at the ceiling lights. The lights in the room went out and everything went dark. Audience members began to murmur amongst themselves. It didn’t take long for people to exit the area in masses. Once everyone was gone, Rainer raised his sword again, using the massive electric sparks from the blade to light up the space and bring back the electricity in the room. He could see Rey, Sana, Krystal, and Akira were together, standing on the runway. And not too far from them was the Spider Queen, who looked directly at Rainer.
“I should’ve made sure you were dead back there,” the Spider Queen said.
“Bet you didn’t count on this,” Rey smirked.
“There’s nothing to count on with a bunch of weaklings like yourselves,” the Spider Queen said.
“Let’s see if you still say that when we beat your ass this time,” Akira said.
“Everyone, go!” Sana exclaimed as she transformed her wand into her trishula.
Krystal got out her sonic bell while Rey and Akira transformed. The Spider Queen’s eyes glowed red and she unleashed her spiders towards Sana and the others. Sana turned to everyone and said, “Remember the goal. Don’t get too distracted by the spiders.”
Everyone nodded. Sana and Rey joined together taking on as many spiders with their fire combinations while Krystal used her sonic bell on them. Akira noticed Rainer still standing at the balcony. She flew over to him and said, “Aren’t you coming down?”
“You heard, Sana. We have to focus on getting that pendant,” Rainer said as he looked at the Spider Queen.
“We can’t all go after her at once. Not with those spiders.”
Rainer noticed that Sana, Rey, and Krystal were trying to take down spiders and get to the Spider Queen, but she just kept summoning more to get in their way. It seemed like they would keep coming no matter how many times they try to get to her. But then, something clicked.
“I have an idea. You’ll have to trust my lead.”
“Go for it.”
Rainer raised his sword up again, knocking out the lights in the room. The Spider Queen said, “This trick is an old one.”
“Is it?” Rainer asked.
Rainer illuminated the room again with his sword with Akira flapping her wings and launching a strong gust of sand towards the Spider Queen. “Now, guys!” Akira called to Sana, Rey, and Krystal.
Krystal launched a sound beam from her sonic bell at the Spider Queen. The Spider Queen deflected it with a dark energy beam from her hand. Rey went ahead and attacked her directly by pouncing at her. The Spider Queen pushed him off, making him hit into Sana.
Rainer once again turned off the light with his sword. This became a back-and-forth tactic he used so the others could continue to attack her directly. It didn’t take long for her to get agitated. She unleashed her spider legs from her back. Suddenly, she became a much larger presence.
“Damn,” Rainer said.
Along with the Spider Queen’s upgrade, there were still many of her spiders surrounding the group. The Spider Queen pinned Krystal to the ground by one her legs. Sana wanted to help her, but she knew she had to do something about the spiders. She looked at Rey, who nodded back at her. The two charged towards the spiders with Sana charging her fiery trishula through them and Rey launching one fireball after the other. Rainer looked at Akira, who nodded back at him.
“Krystal, I know its hard, but you have to ring your sonic bell,” Akira said.
“Ha! Like that’s going to stop me!” the Spider Queen laughed.
“Worth a shot,” Krystal grunted as she rang her sonic bell.
With the sonic bell’s sound, Akira aligned with it using her singing voice. The sound waves of her voice and Krystal’s sonic bell were able to freeze the Spider Queen in her tracks. It was just what Akira needed. Akira released the ribbons from both her arms and tied them around the Spider Queen’s legs, bringing her down to the ground. As she fell, the ribbons released and got back onto Akira’s arms, and she kicked the Spider Queen in the face.
With the Spider Queen down, Rainer took this as the opportunity to make a move. Seeing Sana and Rey taking out spiders and Akira and Krystal getting up, he said, “Guys, I need you to take cover!”
They quickly got out of the way and Rainer concentrated his energy through his wristbands. He launched a massive stream of water from his hands that hit the Spider Queen and all her spiders. Using this as a distraction, he grabbed hold of his sword and jumped off the balcony as the wings on the sword began to glow. He was flying. The sword allowed him to make his way towards the Spider Queen. With a clear shot at the pendant, he channeled everything into the blade, the electricity building up on it. Once he got near, he plunged the sword into the Spider Queen’s pendant, breaking it and sending a shock of lightning into her body.
The Spider Queen screamed in agony as she was struck by the lightning and the energy from her body began to get pulled out. Rainer stepped back along with the others as the spiders, the pendant, and the Spider Queen all disintegrated at once.
Shocked at his victory, Rainer fell to his knees. He felt pretty tired. Rey transformed back into his human form and said, “Way to go, Rainer!”
“Yeah, you totally saved the day!” Krystal exclaimed. “I can’t believe your sword lets you fly.”
“Great job,” Sana said.
“No. We all did a great job,” Rainer said as he got up. “I definitely couldn’t have done this without you guys.”
“Aww, come here!” Rey exclaimed as he gave Rainer a tight hug.
“Guys, the moment is nice and all, but we should really check on the students back at the school,” Akira said.
“That’s right!” Sana exclaimed. “Let’s go!”
***
After some time had passed, Sana, Rey, Krystal, Akira, and Rainer headed back to Ringling High School. They found the students in the basement, and they all had their energy restored. With them safe, they helped them get back to their homes safely. To treat themselves to a job well done, they decided to go to a restaurant called Bobby’s. Rainer chose it as he was a big fan of their chicken wings.
“Damn. How many wings have you had already?” Krystal asked Rainer.
“Oh, come on. He deserves it for how well he did today,” Akira said.
“Believe it or not, this is the way I like to treat myself,” Rainer said. “Well, this and a good night of gaming.”
“No way! Dude, we should totally game together sometime!” Rey exclaimed.
“I’m down,” Rainer said.
“You know, as crazy as this job was, it was great having you on board, Rainer,” Sana said.
“Same here,” Rainer said. “We’ll definitely be seeing each other again.”
“We wouldn’t have it any other way,” Rey said.
“And hey, next time, you guys will have to meet my partner back at the academy. She’s awesome,” Rainer said.
As the group were laughing and talking amongst themselves, Rey was feeling stoked. Him and the others now had a new friend in Rainer. And he had a feeling there was more to look forward to in the future.
“You…got me candy canes?” Neil asked Prince. It was almost time for Christmas and that meant that the students of Ringmasters Training Academy would be going on winter break soon. Before going off for the holidays, Sana, Rey, and the rest of the gang agreed to do a Secret Santa exchange amongst themselves in spirit of the holidays. They all randomly picked names from a hat and whichever name they got would be the one they’d give their gift to. Everyone had to give their gifts by Christmas day. And seeing Prince hand a jumbo box of candy canes to him, Neil assumed Prince was his Secret Santa.
“Ho ho ho,” Prince said.
“What’s going on here?” Krystal asked as she came up to Neil and Prince by the lockers along with Akira.
“Apparently Prince is my Secret Santa,” Neil said as he held the box of candy canes.
“Prince, seriously? You got him candy canes?” Akira asked. “Way to be thoughtful.”
“Hey, be thankful I’m willingly just giving you my candy canes. I never give candy canes to anyone,” Prince said.
“Sheesh, Prince. Where’s your Christmas spirit?!” Krystal exclaimed.
“I’ll have it once we’re on winter break and I can nap for two weeks straight,” Prince said.
“Well, you’re lucky I like this gift,” Neil said.
“You do?” Akira asked.
“Yeah! Now I don’t have to spend money on candy canes! And these are the flavored ones!” Neil exclaimed. “Thanks, Prince.”
“Don’t mention it,” Prince said.
“Neil, you can’t just settle! You deserve a meaningful gift!” Krystal exclaimed. “Prince, you need to step up your gift giving game!”
“To hell with the drama,” Prince said, rolling his eyes.
“Krystal, who did you get for Secret Santa?” Akira asked.
“I got Zayn,” Krystal said.
“Oh, interesting,” Akira said. She looked at Neil and Prince, who were grinning as much as she was.
“Who did he get by the way?” Krystal asked.
“Why are you so interested?” Akira asked.
“I just asked a question! Nothing of it!” Krystal exclaimed. “Anyway, I’m going to go to class. I’ll see you all at lunch.”
Akira remained with Neil and Prince, watching Krystal walk off. As she turned to them, Neil asked, “So, do you know who Zayn got?”
“I do. He got Krystal as well,” Akira said.
“Oh, interesting,” Prince said. “A direct switch.”
“Hopefully he’s more creative than you,” Neil said to Prince.
“You just said you liked my gift,” Prince said.
***
Later in the day, Sana and Krystal were grabbing lunch in the cafeteria. As they chatted amongst themselves, they walked towards the table where Rey, Prince, Neil, Zayn, and Akira were seated. As they were about to sit down, Sana went up to Prince, drawing out a jumbo-sized candy cane with a red bow wrapped around it from her backpack. “Merry Christmas, Prince,” Sana said, handing the candy cane to him.
“Seriously?” Neil said.
“Sana, how did you get this?” Prince asked, admiring the candy cane. He admired the pristine shape of the candy cane, and the peppermint smell was more defined and poignant, probably because it was way more peppermint than a normal candy cane. “The jumbo-sized candy canes are not even in any of the candy stores near here.”
“True, but they are in this shop all the way in Doveland. Thankfully, they ship here. Pretty quickly as well,” Sana said.
“Wow. This is the best gift I’ve ever gotten. Thank you,” Prince said.
“Hold it! You’re being thankful?!” Krystal exclaimed. “I’ve gifted you so many nice things and all I’ve gotten in return is your annoyance!”
“Yeah…but that’s different,” Prince said.
“Well, sugar really speaks to the guy,” Rey said.
“Only a specific kind of sugar that is,” Akira chuckled.
“Where’s Heer?” Krystal asked as she and Sana sat down.
“Coming right this way,” Zayn said.
Rey turned around to see Heer was coming their way. She was holding on tightly to a shiny red gift bag that had a snowman on it. He guessed it was her Secret Santa gift. He was curious to find out who was the recipient among the gang. Seeing her come directly to him, he said, “Are you my Secret Santa?”
“I am. It took me a while, but I finally got your present together,” Heer said as she handed the bag to Rey. “Be careful though. It’s quite fragile.”
“Eek! I’m excited!” Rey exclaimed as he carefully took the gift bag from Heer. He gently placed it on the table. He removed the tissue paper and took the object inside, which was wrapped in more tissue paper. As he carefully unwrapped it, he was astonished to see what it was. It appeared to be a snow globe, but it wasn’t an ordinary one. Inside the globe was a running tiger figurine and instead of snowflakes, the flakes appeared to be fiery. Rey was in awe of the globe. Before he could say anything, Sana said, “Wow, Heer, this is amazing.”
“Did you make it yourself?” Akira asked.
“Yeah. I’ve been working on it after school in the art room,” Heer said.
“Whoah! You made the figurine yourself?” Krystal asked. “It looks so good!”
“This is why I keep telling you to show off your work,” Neil said to Heer.
“Thanks, Heer!” Rey exclaimed as he got up from his seat and gave Heer a big hug.
“Aww, well, I’m glad you like it, Rey,” Heer said as she sat down with the others at the table. Rey wrapped the globe with the tissue paper and carefully put it back in the bag. He was stumped because he wasn’t expecting Heer to be his Secret Santa. Especially since he was also hers. He wondered what he could possibly gift her to compare to the thoughtful gift she gave him.
He wasn’t alone. Zayn was also stuck, thinking about what to gift Krystal. She seemed to be the hardest person to get a gift for. She has it all from designer clothes, jewelry, bags, shoes etc. What could you possibly give the girl who has everything? Zayn thought.
***
After school, Rey had Sana come with him for gift shopping. They stopped at every place possible from a small gift shop to the downtown Reshawna store. After much browsing, they stopped at Lola’s, one of the popular retailers in the country. As they were looking around, Rey brought a giant purple teddy bear to Sana’s attention.
“Really? That’s what you want to give her?”
“It’s cute! You’ve seen Heer. She definitely likes cute things!”
“You’ll need to get a little more creative.”
“Oh, come on. I’ve tried everything. I can at least afford something here. The only thing I could afford at Reshawna is a pen and even that was fifty dollars.”
“Look, your gift should be something meaningful. Something that comes from the heart. Heer put a lot of thought and care into her gift, so you just have to do the same for her.”
“Well, well, nice to run into you guys here.”
Sana turned along with Rey to see Akira walking towards them. She had a cart with a bunch of items in it and a bright red gift bag in her other hand.
“Hey, Akira,” Sana said. “What brings you here?”
“I wanted to get in on some shopping,” Akira said. “And since we’re here…here you go.”
“Wait, you’re Sana’s Secret Santa?” Rey asked.
“That I am,” Akira said.
“Oh, I wonder what this is,” Sana said as she took the bag from Akira and started to look inside. She pulled out a red velvet box. Once Sana opened it, she was astonished to see a gold locket with a fiery red diamond as the pendant. She remembered seeing a similar necklace in a jewelry shop a while back.
“Akira, this is beautiful!” Sana exclaimed. “It looks exactly like the one in this jewelry shop downtown.”
“That’s because it is the same one. I was with you and Krystal, remember? I had to get it,” Akira said. “I knew you liked it so much because the diamond reminds you of your own fire. So, I thought it’d be the perfect gift.”
“This looks expensive though,” Rey said.
“It was. But I bargained quite a bit and exchanged some of my old jewelry that I don’t wear anymore,” Akira said.
“Aww, thank you!” Sana exclaimed as she hugged Akira.
“No problem, girl,” Akira said as she hugged Sana back. “So, Rey, who are you shopping for?”
“I’m trying to find a gift for Heer,” Rey said.
“And you think she’s going to like a purple teddy bear? That’s cute,” Akira said.
“I said the same thing,” Sana said.
“What the hell?! You guys don’t think giant teddy bears are cute?!” Rey questioned.
“It’s not that they’re not cute. You just need to get something meaningful to her,” Akira said.
“That’s kinda hard,” Rey said. “She’s the most selfless person I’ve ever seen. I don’t think a simple gift is gonna cut it for her.”
“Well, its time you get creative,” Akira said.
“Hey, guys. Is that Zayn over there?” Sana asked.
Akira looked over the aisle, standing with both Sana and Rey. She did indeed see Zayn. He was in the jewelry section, seemingly looking at necklaces. Knowing that he never wore any jewelry aside from the same stud earrings he always had on, she assumed he was looking for a gift for Krystal.
“I wonder whose Secret Santa he is,” Rey said.
“He got Krystal,” Akira said.
“Really?” Sana asked. “I wonder what he’s going to get her.”
“She also got him. This’ll be interesting,” Akira said. “I’m gonna go surprise him. I guess I’ll see you guys later then.”
“Yeah. See ya,” Rey said.
As Akira left, Rey sighed. He spent hours looking for a gift and couldn’t find anything. Christmas was only a few days away. He knew Sana and Akira were right, but he didn’t even know how creative he could possibly get.
“What’s up with you, Rey?”
“Sana, this Secret Santa thing is hard. At this rate, I’ll never get a gift for Heer.”
“Don’t sweat it. Come on. Let’s go to the bus stop. Maybe you’ll think of an idea on the way back.”
Rey shrugged his shoulders. He followed Sana out of the store. On the other hand, Akira walked up to Zayn and said, “So, still looking for a gift?”
Zayn was startled upon hearing Akira’s voice. He turned to her and said, “Seriously?! What are you doing here?”
“Chill out. I’m just doing some shopping. What’s the matter? You don’t want anyone seeing you shop here?”
“I’m not buying anything from here anyway.”
“Why?”
“There’s nothing here that she’d like. I’m out of options. She’s just not an easy person to get a gift for.”
“Oh, come on. It can’t be that hard to find something she likes.”
“It’s not so much about what she likes and more so about what she has. She has practically everything. And whatever she doesn’t have, she has the money to get it herself.”
“Well then. I’ll tell you what I told Rey. Get creative. Maybe what you’re looking for is something that can’t be bought in a store.”
“That’s easier said than done.”
Zayn sighed as he exited the store, leaving Akira to finish her shopping. He wasn’t much of a gift giver himself. This Secret Santa thing felt more challenging than any battle or training he had ever done. And the worst part was he was running out of time.
***
The next day, it was an early morning at Ringmasters Training Academy. Sana was at her locker, getting her books for the first class of the day. As she was getting her stuff, she noticed Rey walking toward her. He looked incredibly tired which was quite unlike him. “What happened to you?” Sana asked.
“I stayed up all night trying to make a present. And I failed.”
“What exactly did you try to make?”
“All kinds of things. I tried drawing and nothing came out right. I even tried knitting and I poked my finger way too many times.”
“Did you think getting creative meant making something from scratch?”
“Well, what else could it have meant?!”
“Hold that thought. Hi, Heer!”
Rey shrieked as Heer came up to him and Sana. He didn’t want her to find out that he was her Secret Santa.
“Hi, guys. How are you all doing?” Heer asked.
“We’re doing just fine. And you?” Sana asked.
“I’m doing good,” Heer said. “Rey, are you alright? You look very tired.”
“I stayed up a little too late last night,” Rey said.
“Oh, I see. Hopefully you can get some sleep,” Heer said. “It’ll be nice once we’re all on break.”
“Yeah. Speaking of break, do you have any plans?” Sana asked.
“Well, I’m planning to visit Runa at St. Tulip’s. I thought I’d see her in the spirit of the holiday,” Heer said.
“Aww, that’ll be nice,” Sana said. “When are you going?”
“I’m heading over there tomorrow. Tomorrow’s her last day there before the holidays,” Heer said. “Anyway, I have to go talk to Aster and Tina before class. I’ll see you guys in a bit.”
“See ya,” Rey said.
Once Heer left, Sana noticed Rey’s fatigue disappear in an instant. He had a smirk on his face. It was as if he had stumbled on an idea of sorts.
“What’s with you?” Sana asked.
“I think I just got an idea for Heer’s present.”
“Really?”
“Yeah! And I’m gonna need you to help me!”
“Me? What am I supposed to do?”
“Just come with me and I’ll tell you,” Rey said as he pulled Sana by the arm, walking with her down the hallway.
***
Later in the day, at lunch, Krystal was sitting at the gang’s usual table, waiting for everyone else to arrive. As she was eating her chicken salad, she wondered what was taking everyone so long to show up. By now, at least a few of them would be here. As she kept eating, she stopped upon seeing Zayn approach the table. He looked at her and said, “Hey.”
“Hey. Where’s everyone else?”
“Well, Sana and Rey had to work on something. And Neil, Heer, Prince, and Akira are finishing up that writing assignment for Power Coordination.”
“So, it’s just us?”
“Pretty much. Is that okay with you?”
“Yeah. Yeah. Totally fine.”
Zayn sat down next to Krystal. He took a sip from his bottle of orange juice. It was getting close to Christmas, and he still had no idea what he was going to get her. He tried to think of ideas the other night and couldn’t come up with anything. Since he was with her, he wondered if talking to her could give him an idea. Before he could say anything, Krystal said, “The holidays are so nice, aren’t they?”
“Uh, yeah, I guess.”
“Really? You guess?”
“Come on. What do you want me to say?”
“I don’t know. I guess I should expect it from you by now that you’re not one to get excited about this time of year.”
“I’m not one to show excitement about anything to begin with.”
“That’s something we can agree on.”
Zayn found Krystal’s nonchalant attitude surprising and irritating. He knew he wasn’t one to show excitement, but he had his own way of feeling it.
“You know what does get me excited during this time?”
“What is it?”
“My mom’s favorite holiday is Christmas. Every Christmas morning, she likes to play songs on the piano.”
“Your mom plays the piano?”
“Yeah. Quite beautifully also. When I was a little kid, playing the piano early in the morning was the only thing that could get me up on Christmas morning. So, it’s become a tradition now.”
“Is there a favorite song of yours that she would play?”
“Actually yes. A very old song. Heavenly Stars.”
“Aww! I love that song!”
“It never gets old every time I hear it.”
As Zayn got back to eating his lunch, Krystal could feel an idea coming to her head. She had been struggling with figuring out a gift for Zayn. And now, she knew what to do.
***
The next day, Rey and Sana were on their way to St. Tulip’s after school. It certainly wasn’t an ordinary visit. Rey was dressed up in a Santa Claus outfit. He had the red hat, the red suit, and the black boots to match. He even made Sana get an elf costume. Of course, she wasn’t exactly ecstatic to wear it. Especially since Rey was making her carry a bunch of things along the way.
“You know, you could carry some stuff as well,” Sana said.
“I’m Santa. The elves handle all the carrying.”
“Well, Santa at least carries the sack.”
“Only when he delivers the presents to the good children. So, quit complaining and keep walking. When is Heer getting to the school again?”
“Around five. Which means we have a little less than hour till she gets there.”
“That’s perfect! We’ll be there in no time! Now, pick up the pace!”
“That’d be easier without all this baggage!”
“Quit complaining. We’re almost there.”
As annoyed as Sana was, she put her irritation to the side. She found Rey’s gesture was rather sweet. Of course, his nature was as such. But this act felt unlike anything he had ever done before in her mind.
It didn’t take long for Rey and Sana to reach St. Tulip’s. Once they entered the school, they went to the playground where Runa was at. Two kids were waving bye to her, leaving her by herself. Rey watched as Runa turned to him. Her eyes looked at him with awe. He could tell she was mesmerized.
“Rey!” Runa exclaimed as she came dashing towards him.
Rey bent down, opening his arms as Runa rushed and embraced him. He lifted her up, happy to see her.
“Look at you!” Rey exclaimed. “Do you know who I am?”
“You’re Rey.”
“No. I’m Santa! Don’t you see what I’m wearing?”
“You’re Santa?”
“Yeah! And I’m here to brighten your day! Oh, little elf, could you bring out the sleigh?”
Sana dropped the sack on the ground, pulling out a red mini sleigh. She placed the sleigh on the ground and Rey carried Runa over, seating her in it.
“All right, elf. Take her out for a ride.”
“Shouldn’t you be doing that? You’re Santa.”
“Yeah. But as an elf, it’s your job to help Santa.”
“How about we just push her together?”
“Okay, fine. But this is coming out of your paycheck, elf!”
Runa giggled as Rey and Sana got behind her, putting their hands behind the sleigh. Even Sana found herself amused, seeing Rey was taking his character seriously. With both their hands on the back of the sleigh, Rey said, “All right! Let’s go!”
Rey and Sana quickly pushed the sleigh around the playground through the nicely thick blanket of snow. As they looped around, Runa laughed as she found herself enjoying the ride. Rey couldn’t help but laugh with her as he was having just as much fun. And Sana found their joy contagious. Even though they kept looping around the playground, she didn’t find herself dizzy or tired. She was consumed by the joy that Rey and Runa were feeling.
Once they stopped, Rey went up to Runa and said, “You had a lot of fun, didn’t you?”
“Yeah!”
“Would you like some candy?”
“Candy! Yeah!”
“Alrighty! Elf, get me the candy!”
Sana went and grabbed the sack, taking out a candy cane and handing it to Rey. He presented it to Runa, and she took it, quickly nibbling on it.
“I got an idea,” Rey said. “Would you like to go on the swings with Santa?”
“Yeah!” Runa exclaimed.
Rey gave his hand to Runa, and she took it. The two dashed to the swings and sat on them, swinging back and forth together. Sana watched them and couldn’t help but smile. The warmth in their smiles was on full display. As she watched them, her attention turned to Heer, who had just arrived. Sana could tell from the look in her eyes that she was overwhelmed with joy.
“What’s all this?” Heer asked.
“This…is Rey’s Secret Santa gift to you.”
“Rey’s my Secret Santa?”
“Yeah. After you gave him such a special gift, he was struggling to figure out one for you. He dragged me to every store possible and couldn’t find anything. But when you mentioned you were visiting Runa before Christmas, he finally got an idea. He knew something from any store wouldn’t mean anything to you. And that’s because there’s nothing that brings you more joy than seeing those you love happy.”
Heer was astonished, seeing Rey and Runa swinging back and forth with merry. She understood what Rey’s gift to her was. It was bringing Runa joy for the holiday. Sana was certainly right about one thing. No gift could top the joy of seeing her loved ones happy.
As Heer was lost in her thoughts, she looked up as she felt a snowflake touch her cheek. It was starting to snow. The sight of it made her smile. She looked at Rey and Runa, who also stopped to admire the snow.
Rey quickly grabbed Runa’s hand and the two grabbed snow and quickly started packing them into balls. It didn’t take Sana long to realize what the two were doing. Rey and Runa threw snowballs at Sana and Heer. Sana laughed despite falling flat on the ground and Heer was giggling as well. Sana quickly joined in along with Heer and all four of them started a snowball fight. Sana could feel her face getting cold from all the snow, but she didn’t care. She was just in the moment.
After some time had passed, Rey quickly took Runa to the side, getting the sack from Sana. Heer watched Rey whisper something to Runa. He drew out a giant purple teddy bear from the bag and Runa grabbed hold of it. Runa dashed to Heer with the teddy bear, handing it to her.
“This is for me?” Heer asked.
“Rey told me to tell you it’s from Santa,” Runa said.
“Well, tell Santa that I like it very much,” Heer said.
“See, Sana! She does like it!” Rey exclaimed as he walked up to the others. “I told you the teddy bear was cute!”
“I thought I was your elf?! We’re using names again?!” Sana asked, chuckling.
“What’s going on here?” someone asked.
Heer turned around to see Aiden had arrived. She knew he was coming to pick up Runa. She didn’t realize how fast time had gone by.
“Well, as you can see, Santa has come to pay a visit to little Runa with his elf,” Rey said.
“Really? That’s cute,” Aiden said. “Did you have fun, Runa?”
“Yeah!” Runa exclaimed.
“That’s great,” Aiden said. “Are you ready to go?”
“Okay,” Runa said as she grabbed hold of Aiden’s hand.
“Thanks for spending time with her,” Aiden said.
“Our pleasure!” Rey exclaimed.
“What are your plans for Christmas, Aiden?” Sana asked.
“My parents are hosting for Christmas. Heer is planning to be there,” Aiden said.
“Prince is joining as well,” Heer said.
“Well, that sounds fun,” Sana said.
“It will be. Even if Neil will be pouting the entire time,” Aiden chuckled. “Happy holidays to you guys.”
“Happy holidays!” Rey exclaimed. “Bye, Runa!”
Runa waved bye to the others as she headed out with Aiden. As they were leaving, Heer turned to Rey and said, “Rey.”
“Yeah?”
“This was very thoughtful of you.”
“Aww, I just wanted you to see her smile for the holiday.”
“The teddy bear is a nice bonus as well.”
“Yes!”
Heer embraced Rey and said, “Thank you.”
Rey smiled as he hugged her back. It didn’t take long for Sana to say, “Can we make this a group hug?”
“Get in here, my little elf!” Rey exclaimed. Sana joined in, hugging both Rey and Heer. She laughed along with Rey and Heer.
“Okay, let’s get out of here before we freeze,” Rey said as he let go of Sana and Heer.
“Do you guys want to get hot cocoa?” Heer asked. “There’s a coffee shop not too far from here.”
“Sounds good to me,” Sana said.
***
On the other hand, Zayn was taking a walk by himself at Auburn Park. Once it had started snowing, he basked himself in the cold snowflakes. It made him forget why he was even here. He came for a walk, hoping that it would help him figure out an idea for Krystal’s gift. But sadly, no idea came to mind. He was just about to leave the park, feeling like he wasn’t going to get any idea whatsoever. Then, he stopped as he saw a familiar face seemingly running towards him. It was Krystal. He was surprised to see her run so frantically to him. Once she reached him, she stopped, catching her breath. He asked, “What’s up with you? Why are you running so fast? And why are you here?”
“Geez. Let me catch my breath before you ask me so many questions.”
“Oh…sorry.”
As soon as Krystal regained her breath again, she stood up straight in front of Zayn and said, “Akira told me you’d be here, so I thought I’d get here as quick as I could.”
“You wanted to see me?”
“Yeah. I have something for you.”
“Wait…are you my Secret Santa?”
“Guilty is charged! Now, this wasn’t easy to get done. But I finished it!”
Krystal drew out a bright green gift box from her bag that had a red bow on it. She handed it to Zayn, waiting eagerly for him to open it. He looked at the gift, curious to see what she had gotten him. Seeing the eagerness in her eyes, he removed the bow and opened the lid of the box. He took the gift out. It was a circular-shaped music box. The box was in a light shade of green with intricate beading and baroque work all around it. He opened it and a beautiful array of stars emerged along with the tune. He recognized it immediately. It was the melody to Heavenly Stars.
“How did you do this?” Zayn asked.
“Well, I went to the music shop in town. Normally it takes at least a week to finish a customized music box. But I helped the guy in the shop with finishing it.”
“Is that why you missed class today?”
“Don’t tell any of our teachers that I skipped.”
Zayn couldn’t believe it. He was astonished that Krystal went through so much just to get him a gift. He looked at her and said, “Thank you, Krystal. This might be the most thoughtful gift anyone has ever given me.”
“Well, I’m glad you like it! You’re certainly not an easy person to shop for.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Nice day for snow, isn’t it?”
“Certainly is. By the way, what are your plans for Christmas?”
Krystal didn’t answer this question quickly. And Zayn noticed that instantly. As she tried to find the words to explain, she simply said, “I’m staying around here.”
“Oh, your family is coming here?”
“Oh, no. I mean I’m just going to be at my penthouse downtown.”
“You mean…you’re not spending Christmas with anyone?”
“Well, my parents are actually separated. My mom doesn’t really talk to us anymore and my dad is always busy with business around this time. So, he’s usually traveling.”
“So, how long has it been since you spent Christmas with anyone?”
“Wow. I didn’t think about that. When I was little, my nanny used to spend Christmas with me. But that’s probably been a few years now.”
Seeing Krystal talk about this made Zayn surprised. He was even more surprised to see her talk about this in such a normal manner. It was like she was used to it.
“Krystal, I’m sorry.”
Zayn could tell Krystal didn’t know what to say. He even felt like he could see her eyes become glass-like. It was like tears wanted to come out, but she was holding back. She looked away for a moment. Zayn thought it was probably so she could wipe her eyes. She quickly turned back, smiled, and said, “Hey, it’s okay. I’m used to the holidays being like this. Really. It’s no big deal.”
Zayn didn’t say anything. He didn’t really know what to say. It seemed like Krystal was trying to hide her pain from him.
“Anyway, I’m glad you like your gift,” Krystal said. “I have to catch up on work that I missed the other day. I gotta hand in those assignments in the morning. I hope you have a nice Christmas.”
“Oh, yeah, thanks,” Zayn said.
With that, Krystal took off, leaving the park while Zayn watched her leave. He felt sad for Krystal. This whole time he thought that she had everything one could possibly imagine in her hands. But he realized he was wrong. This realization did spark an idea in his mind. He quickly got out his cellphone and dialed Akira’s number. It didn’t take long for her to answer.
“Akira,” Zayn said. “We’re going to need to rearrange Christmas plans.”
***
It didn’t take long for Christmas to arrive. And on Christmas morning, Krystal woke up from her slumber and got ready for the day. She brushed her teeth and headed down to the penthouse kitchen to make breakfast. She decided to make scrambled eggs. After she finished cooking, she plated her food and sat down at the dining table to eat. The moment she started eating, she thought, Damn. These don’t taste great. Wow, I can’t even make basic scrambled eggs properly.
Krystal put down her fork and looked over the dining table. Seeing how wide and empty it was overwhelmed her. Before she could dwell on it further, her cellphone rang. She looked over, seeing it was Zayn calling. This surprised her, considering he never really called anyone. She picked up and said, “Hello?”
“Hey.”
“Hey. What’s up with you calling?”
“Can you come over?”
“Why? And where?”
“It’s important. Come to my dad’s house. I’ll send you the address.”
“But why?”
“I’ll tell you when you get here.”
Zayn quickly ended the call. Krystal was puzzled, not sure what Zayn could possibly want on Christmas morning. Especially since Akira mentioned she was spending Christmas with Zayn and his family.
Krystal went upstairs to her room, rummaging through her closet to figure out what to wear for an unexpected visit. As she went through the many clothes, she found a cute green dress that had billowy sleeves and a red bow and sash around the waist. She looked at it and thought, Well, this may be a good time to break out this dress.
***
After she got ready, Krystal walked to one of the bus stops, and took the bus heading towards the upper portion of Daredevil City. Once the bus stopped, she walked for a bit towards what was Headmaster Devil’s home. Well, it was one of his homes. Krystal walked to the doorstep of the red brick home and rang the doorbell. As she waited outside, she was amused at how festive the home was. There were inflatable snowmen on the front lawn and snowflakes hanging around the house.
Finally, it was Zayn who opened the door. Krystal was surprised to see him look so festive. He wore a wine-red suit with a snowflake brooch pinned on the black turtleneck he was wearing. He said, “Hey.”
“Hey. You look festive.”
“As do you.”
“So, what was so important that I had to come out here? I mean aren’t you celebrating Christmas with your folks?”
“Come inside and I’ll show you.”
Zayn gave her his hand. Krystal was amused. She took it and he brought her inside the house. As she entered the home, she was welcomed by Sana, Rey, Prince, Neil, Heer, and Akira, who all said, “Merry Christmas!”
Krystal was taken aback by this surprise. They were all here in their most festive outfits. Wreaths, ribbons, and decorations were hanging everywhere. Stockings with all their names hung up above the fireplace. A beautiful tree with colorful lights and ornaments stood tall with an array of gifts underneath.
“What is all of this?” Krystal asked.
“It’s Zayn’s Secret Santa gift,” Sana said.
“Hold on. You’re my Secret Santa?” Krystal asked Zayn. “How did you do all of this?”
“Zayn told me that you were alone for the holidays. So, he wanted to bring everyone together to spend Christmas with you,” Akira said.
“But didn’t you guys have your own plans?” Krystal asked.
“We rearranged them so we could spend the day with you,” Prince said.
“We couldn’t just leave you alone for the holidays,” Rey said.
“And the decorations?” Krystal asked.
“I took care of the stockings and everything else around here,” Heer said.
“I helped put up the tree,” Neil said.
“This is amazing,” Krystal said. “I actually might cry!”
“Well, you should be thanking your Secret Santa,” Akira said.
“You’re right,” Krystal said. Krystal threw her arms over Zayn, giving him a tight hug. “This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me!”
“Okay, lovebirds. Don’t get too mushy in front of us,” Rey said.
“Shut up!” Krystal and Zayn shouted in unison.
“Aww, they told me to shut up at the same time,” Rey said.
“Okay, okay. Let’s get this party started already,” Sana said. “I’ll get the hot cocoa.”
“And I’ll get the cookies,” Heer said.
As the others were getting settled, Krystal turned to Zayn and said, “Thank you once again. It really means a lot to me.”
“Well, you’re welcome,” Zayn said. “Don’t get used to this soft side though.”
“Ha. Sure. Whatever you say.”
Sana and Heer brought in cups of hot cocoa and chocolate chip cookies for everyone. As they sat around the tree, Neil handed a green gift box to Akira. She assumed it was his Secret Santa gift. She opened the box, discovering a bright green suede jacket.
“Hold on, is this THAT jacket?” Akira asked. “The one I saw when we went to the mall that one time.”
“Luckily they had one left by the time I got the money together for it,” Neil said.
“Wow, that’s cute!” Krystal exclaimed.
“This is so nice. Thank you, Neil,” Akira said.
Prince pulled out one of the gifts, handing it to Neil. Neil opened it, discovering it to be an Artie Archer figurine, a character from his favorite TV show.
“You got me the Artie Archer figure?!” Neil exclaimed.
“I thought your candy canes were your gift to him,” Akira said.
“Well, I figured I didn’t put much thought into your first gift. So, I decided to get something else,” Prince said.
“Aww, Prince!” Neil exclaimed as he gave Prince a hug.
“You’re hugging me,” Prince said as he rolled his eyes.
Krystal laughed alone with the others. She felt great to be among her friends. The laughter, smiles, and pure joy were beautiful for her to be around. This was indeed a joyous Christmas.
It was early morning at Ringmasters Training Academy. Rey made his way into the school happier than ever. He was all dressed up in an attire far different from his usual getup. He wore a straw hat that bore a skull emblem on it, an eyepatch, a thick red jacket with gold accents, white shirt, gray pants, and black boots. That’s right. It was Halloween and he was all dressed up for the festivities. As he strolled down the hallway, he stopped once he saw the rest of the gang near the lockers. He could see they were astonished at his appearance.
“Rey, you know the Halloween dance isn’t until tonight, right?” Sana asked.
“So?! Who says I can’t get into the spirit early?!” Rey exclaimed.
“Dude, your costume is sick!” Neil exclaimed.
“I have to say…I may not be the biggest fan of your fashion sense, but you look nice,” Krystal said.
“What are you talking about?! I’ve got great fashion sense!” Rey retorted.
“Before I gave you a makeover, you were sticking to basic tees and a cheap leather jacket,” Krystal said.
“So, you’re really just gonna wear that around all day?” Zayn asked.
“Hell yeah!” Rey exclaimed. “I would’ve brought the matching sword with me, but I don’t feel like carrying it around. You guys are going to the dance tonight, right?”
“Of course, we’re going,” Krystal said. “I have the cutest outfit planned. And they’re holding a contest for best costume! Yours truly has to win!”
“I’m not going,” Zayn said.
“What? Are you serious, dude?” Rey asked.
“Why not, Zayn?” Heer asked. “All the dances at our school are pretty fun.”
“Come on, guys. This is Zayn we’re talking about,” Akira said. “You all know he’s about as much fun as a math textbook.”
“Oh, shut up,” Zayn said.
“What excuse could you possibly have?” Prince asked. “Even I’m going.”
“Look, we can talk about this later,” Zayn said. “We gotta get to class anyway.”
With that, Zayn walked on ahead. Rey pouted and said, “That guy. I swear, sometimes I wonder if he has the soul of an old man in him.”
“You know, I’m sure there are old people that can loosen up more than him,” Sana said.
“I mean, we all know who his dad is,” Akira said.
While the others were talking and walking over to class, Krystal watched Zayn head off. She too was just as frustrated as Rey was. Probably even more. And she wanted to do something about it.
***
It didn’t take long for the day to go by. And once Power Coordination class was over, Ryan dismissed his students. While Sana, Rey, Prince, Neil, Heer, and Akira headed out, Krystal got to Zayn before he could leave.
“You need something, Krystal?” Zayn asked.
“Where are you going now?”
“Back to my room. Why?”
“Were you serious about not going to the dance tonight?”
“Yeah.”
“Why not? And don’t tell me you don’t have time because that’s your most overused excuse.”
“Dances are boring. Besides, I just like to chill on Halloween.”
“But this dance is gonna be fun! Costumes, candy, desserts, and there’s a chocolate fountain! You can’t say no to a chocolate fountain.”
“She’s right, Zayn. Your dad hosts few dances and parties at the school. But the Halloween one is his absolute favorite,” Ryan said as he finished erasing the chalkboard. “He goes all out for it.”
“See! Even Mr. Malik insists you go!” Krystal exclaimed. “You can’t just sit in your dorm while the rest of the gang goes out tonight.”
“Look, I don’t even have a costume. So, it’s not like I can go if I want to,” Zayn said.
“Well, lucky for you we have time! And the costume shop downtown is still open! Come on!” Krystal exclaimed as she grabbed hold of Zayn by his hand. “See you tonight, Mr. Malik!”
“Bye, guys,” Ryan said.
How do I always end up getting dragged into things with her? Zayn wondered as Krystal continued to take Zayn by the hand.
***
After some time had passed, Krystal and Zayn arrived at Spooky Style, the city’s one-of-a-kind Halloween shop. Once they went inside, Krystal searched the entire store for costumes that Zayn would like. Once she compiled a few options, she gave them to Zayn to try on. She made him try on a range of things. From superhero to ninja, he wasn’t satisfied with any of the options. After he put on the pumpkin costume, he stepped out of the dressing room and said, “What made you think I’d like to dress up as a pumpkin?”
“I mean…you put it on.”
“That doesn’t mean anything!”
“Aww come on. I think it looks adorable on you!”
“Look, this is pointless. None of these costumes are right for me. I look like a fool in everything.”
“Oh, you don’t have to take yourself so seriously! Its Halloween. Besides, I have one more option for you,” Krystal said as she handed Zayn his next costume to try on.
Zayn sighed as he took the costume from her and went back inside the dressing room. Krystal waited outside, wondering why Zayn had to be so self-conscious. Of all the times to not take yourself seriously, Halloween was certainly one of them. After some time had passed, Zayn stepped out of the dressing room and Krystal found herself astonished at what she saw. He was all dressed up in a detective costume. He had a black fedora on, black necktie, white collared shirt, tan jacket, gray pants, and black shoes. To her, he looked rather nice in it. And considering he wasn’t hating on it instantly, she thought he liked it as well.
“So, what do you think?” Krystal asked.
“It’s…it’s not bad. I actually don’t hate it.”
“Come on. Admit it. You like it!”
“Okay, fine. I like it. Happy?”
“I’m just happy we found something you like! Now you have no excuse to not go to the dance!”
“Look, I may like this costume, but I don’t know about going to the dance.”
“Oh, come on! You didn’t come all the way here with me to try on these costumes just to not go, right?!”
“To be fair, you dragged me.”
“And to be fair, you could’ve taken off long before we made it here.”
Damn. She has a point, Zayn thought. Why did I even come here? Zayn turned around to the mirror and looked at himself in the costume. He actually didn’t mind it. In fact, he found himself quite liking the getup. It was different, but not too far off from costumes he wore as a child when he went trick-or-treating.
“Okay, fine. I’ll go. But only for like an hour or so,” Zayn said.
“You may say that now. But I’m sure you’ll be staying the whole night,” Krystal said.
***
In the evening, students and faculty were gathering in the ballroom of Ringmasters Training Academy for the Halloween dance. Sana and Rey entered the ballroom soon after. Sana was amazed at the arrangements made. There were huge pumpkins in every corner of the room and ghost balloons flying high near the ceiling. Spider webs were draped across the walls and fun ghost-shaped lights were flashing over the dance floor. She stopped looking around upon seeing Heer, Neil, Prince, and Akira in a corner by the snack table. While Rey was still dressed in his pirate costume, Sana was wearing a ladybug outfit. She admired the costumes her friends were wearing. Heer was dressed as a pink princess, Akira was a cowgirl, Neil was a vampire, and Prince was Santa Claus.
“Wow, you guys look great,” Sana said.
“So do you, Sana,” Heer said.
“I’m loving the wings on your ladybug costume,” Akira said.
“Neil, you’re rocking the vampire look,” Rey said. “And Prince, I’m surprised you put effort into your costume.”
“I said the same thing when I saw him,” Neil said.
“I only wore this to have an excuse to eat candy canes tonight,” Prince said.
“Do you really need an excuse to eat candy canes?” Sana asked, chuckling.
“I wonder where Krystal is,” Heer said. “I know she likes to be fashionably late, but she’d be here by now.”
“She took Zayn out for costume shopping, so they’ll be here a little late,” Akira said.
“Zayn’s coming?” Neil asked. “He made it sound like he had no interest in this.”
“Well, you know, Krystal. She has her ways of persuasion,” Sana said.
“You know, she’s always into persuasion when its with Zayn,” Rey said as he started eating one of the ghost-shaped sugar cookies he picked up from the snack table.
“Hello, students!” Headmaster Devil exclaimed into the microphone as he got up on the center stage. He was dressed up in a zombie costume and he was standing beside Ryan, who was dressed up as a werewolf, and Aiden, who was dressed up as a vampire.
“Oh, I didn’t know Aiden was coming,” Sana said.
“He stole my costume!” Neil exclaimed.
“Oh please. It’s not like you told him what you’re wearing,” Prince said.
“Maybe its like a twin telepathy thing,” Akira said.
“Yeah, right,” Neil scoffed.
“I hope you all are having a good time!” Headmaster Devil exclaimed. “At midnight, we’re going to declare the winners of the costume contest. So, be sure to have all your votes in! Have fun!”
With that, students got back to dancing and eating snacks. It didn’t take long for Rey to notice the chocolate fountain at the end of the snack table and go, “Oh yes! Chocolate heaven!”
Sana chuckled along with the others as Rey headed over and got his sugar cookies sprinkled with the chocolate from the fountain. The others stopped by and helped themselves to some candy from the giant candy bowl.
***
Outside the front steps of the academy, Zayn was waiting, all dressed up in the detective costume he got from Spooky Style. Krystal asked him to wait outside the academy for her before going inside to the party. He kept checking his phone for the time, wondering when she’d arrive. He heard the sounds of heels going clickety-clack against the ground pavement. He knew it was her. Zayn looked up and saw Krystal walking towards him, dressed in a bright orange fairy costume with golden wings. She seemed brighter than ever, which seemed impossible considering how colorful she looked every day.
“Sorry, I’m late, but I had to get the finishing touches on my wings done,” Krystal said. “So, what do you think?!”
“You look…beautiful.”
Whoah. Did he really say beautiful?! I didn’t even expect him to compliment me, Krystal thought.
“Wow, you’re a lot more forward than I thought!”
“What does that mean? You want me to say you look horrendous instead?”
“Oh, lighten up! I’m just surprised you could be so nice, that’s all.”
“Remind me again why you wanted me to wait before going in.”
“The others are already there. And I didn’t want to enter the party alone.”
“Right. Can we go in now? The sooner I’m in, the sooner I can leave.”
Geez, he’s already being such a grump, Krystal thought, shaking her head.
Krystal and Zayn went inside the academy. As they were walking inside and heading towards the ballroom, Krystal had a weird feeling. It was a sensation she was feeling from the chills up her skin. At first, she thought she was just cold. But it seemed like something weird was going on.
“Is it just me or is something feeling kinda off?” Krystal asked.
Suddenly, the hallway was completely dark. Krystal and Zayn stopped in their tracks.
“Were you referring to the lights?” Zayn asked.
“Okay, this is creepy! If this is their way of adding the spooky factor for Halloween, I’m not amused.”
“Damn it. If only there was some light.”
“Wait! I got it!”
Within a few seconds, Krystal’s wings started to glow a bright yellow color. Zayn was surprised to say the least.
“Your wings light up?”
“Pretty cool, right?!”
“As fascinating at that is, I think we should focus on figuring out what’s going on here.”
Before Krystal could even respond, she heard a growling sound coming right behind her. She looked at Zayn and could tell he heard the same. They both turned around at the same time. Krystal found herself terrified as a catlike dark beast was right before them.
The beast lunged towards Krystal. Zayn grabbed hold of her and got them both out of the way. Before he could grab his wand from his jacket, someone shouted, “Rey, attack with a fireball!”
Sana and Rey stepped in and Rey, who was in his beast form, emitted a fireball from his roar towards the dark beast. The fireball scorched the dark beast’s skin, burning it to a crisp. Rey transformed back into his beast form and the lights began to come back on in a flickering manner.
“Are you guys okay?” Sana asked.
“Yeah, I think so,” Zayn said as he helped Krystal get up.
“Okay, what is going on here?!” Krystal exclaimed. “Is this some kind of sick joke?!”
“It was horrible!” Rey exclaimed. “We were just dancing, and I spilled punch on myself. So, Sana helped me clean out the stains. See, I borrowed this shirt from my dad, and he’d kill me if I got it ruined. It was passed down by my grandpa and-”
“Is there a point to this story?” Zayn asked.
“Oh, right! When we were about to head back inside, this weird smoke thing started filling up the ballroom and we got attacked by two dark beasts,” Rey said.
“Thankfully I had my wand on me,” Sana said.
“Were the beasts that attacked you the same kind as this one?” Zayn asked.
“Yeah. Same kind exactly,” Sana said.
“Where are the others at?!” Krystal asked.
“They’re in the ballroom. We were going to check on them till we saw you guys here,” Rey said.
With that, Sana, Rey, Krystal, and Zayn headed back into the ballroom. There was no smoke, but something else was definitely amiss. Sana was stunned to see all the students and faculty were frozen in gray-colored ice. Neil, Heer, Prince, and Akira were all frozen as well.
“What happened here?” Sana asked. “I really hope they’re all okay.”
“They should be. I’m not even sure if this is real ice,” Zayn said.
“Neil being frozen. Now that’s irony,” Krystal said. “Aww, Prince dressed up as Santa! I think I’m rubbing off on him in the fashion department!”
“Uh, Krystal, we need to focus. Our friends and everyone else are in danger,” Rey said.
“Not us,” a voice said. Sana and the others turned to see Headmaster Devil with Ryan and Aiden.
“Dad, how did you guys make it out?” Zayn asked.
“Aiden was quick enough to use his wind powers to create a barrier around us when the smoke appeared,” Headmaster Devil explained.
“Okay, what’s going on?! This isn’t some trick, is it?!” Krystal exclaimed.
“I assure you its not,” Ryan said. “We’re just as confused as you all are.”
“Whatever it is, I don’t think dark beasts alone are responsible for this,” Aiden said. “There has to be some mastermind here.”
“You’re correct,” a voice said.
Sana was just as stunned as the others. It didn’t take long before multiple dark beasts entered from all sides of the ballroom, cornering the group. They all had the same catlike appearance as the ones from before. Their eyes glowed a demon red as they all looked hungry.
“Okay, we’re doomed,” Rey said.
“There’s no time to waste then,” Ryan said as he pulled out his wand and transformed it into his pistols. “We’re gonna have to fight them all.”
“But there’s so many of them!” Krystal exclaimed. “And we don’t know who that voice was just now!”
“Aiden, get the others out of here and find out who is behind this,” Headmaster Devil ordered as he transformed his wand into his scepter. “Ryan and I will stay behind and take care of these beasts.”
“But, Dad, there’s so many! How can we just leave you here?!” Sana asked.
“We’ll be fine, Sana. Just get out of here!” Ryan ordered.
“Guys, follow me!” Aiden told Sana, Rey, Krystal, and Zayn. He concentrated the wind energy in his palm and allowed it to surround them all as a protective barrier as they made their way past the other beasts and left the ballroom. Aiden used all his willpower to get everyone past the doors. Once the doors were shut, they stood in the hall. Sana could hear the snarling beasts in the ballroom combined with shots firing from her dad’s pistols. As worried as she was, she knew her dad was going to be okay.
“What do we do now?” Rey asked.
“We have to figure out what that voice was. These beasts must be under the control of whoever froze everyone. Once we find that person, we can take them down and everything should go back to normal,” Aiden said.
“Okay, how do you suggest we go about that?” Sana asked.
“We’ll have to split up to cover more ground. Krystal and Zayn can take this floor and the basement. I’ll go with Sana and Rey upstairs,” Aiden said.
“Split up?! Are you kidding me?! That’s like a horror movie no-no!” Krystal cried.
“Well, we have no choice, Krystal. We have to cover more ground if we want to find whoever’s responsible for all of this,” Aiden said.
“You two will be fine. Just give us a call if anything goes wrong,” Sana said.
“You guys can do the same,” Zayn said.
With that, Sana, Rey, and Aiden took off, leaving Krystal and Zayn by themselves. Zayn went ahead and Krystal followed him. They ended up walking towards the staircase that led to the basement. Krystal gulped. Going to any basement in the kind of situation they were in was frightening. She followed Zayn down, who was seemingly okay. As they made it to the basement floor, Krystal shrieked at the sight of a spider crawling on the ground. She grabbed hold onto Zayn’s arm in the moment.
“It’s just a spider,” Zayn said. “Do you really have to freak out over that?”
“Listen, I don’t like spiders, okay!”
“I’m just saying you’ve seen all kinds of dark beasts and creatures. Does a spider really have to scare you?”
“How rude?! We’re in a scary situation here and you’re out here questioning what I should be afraid of?!”
“That’s not what I meant…I…”
Seeing Krystal turn away made him realize she was pretty scared. He even admitted to himself that he too was feeling a little unsure and restless. He sighed and said, “Listen…if you’re okay with it, you can hold my hand if you want.”
Krystal was surprised to see Zayn be so considerate. She felt a little more at ease. She grabbed hold of his hand and they kept walking down the basement floor. They passed the few cellars that would hold inmates and the old brick walls. It was astonishing just how ancient the basement looked in comparison to the rest of the academy. Once they got to the end of the floor, Zayn said, “Well, it looks like this place is clear.”
“So, do we head back to the first floor then?”
“Guess so. There’s nothing here to be concerned over.”
Krystal suddenly felt chills go up her back. This sudden shift was noticeable to Zayn. She turned around along with him, and her fear was proven right. Something was indeed there. Before them was a tall catlike dark beast that stood on its hind legs. It had several red eyes, and it opened its mouth, letting out a mighty roar and showing off its sharp, blood-thirsty teeth.
The beast launched red beams from its eyes towards Krystal and Zayn. The two got out of the way, landing on the ground.
“You will be mine,” the beast said.
“It talks?!” Krystal exclaimed.
“It sounds like the voice from before,” Zayn said.
The beast roared again and launched a dark energy beam towards Krystal and Zayn. Zayn immediately drew out his wand and transformed it into his clarinet. But before he could attack, the beam struck him in his chest.
“Zayn!” Krystal cried.
Before Zayn could get up, the beast pounced on him, pinning him down with its paws. His clarinet fell to the side, and he was helpless. Krystal drew out her wand and transformed it into her sonic bell. She plunged her sonic bell to the ground and shouted, “Sonic Boom!”
The sonic bell emitted a strong sound wave towards the dark beast. The beast was seemingly shocked by the sound wave, putting its paws on its ears. As the attack was doing its thing and distracting the beast, Krystal helped Zayn get up and grabbed his clarinet. She held onto him as they quickly got past the beast and began heading up the basement stairs.
Once they made it back to the first floor, they stopped, allowing themselves to catch a breath. Krystal handed Zayn’s clarinet back to him. As Zayn relaxed, he looked at Krystal and said, “Thanks for helping me back there, Krystal.”
“Oh, yeah. No problem. I wish I knew what the hell that thing was.”
“Whatever it is, its an unusual dark beast. It spoke in its beast form.”
“Yeah. Its definitely different from Madame Naga and those other dark beasts. Maybe there’s a human in the beast’s body?”
“Even then, it doesn’t explain why its randomly attacking the school.”
“Hey, are you guys okay?!” Rey asked as he ran up to Krystal and Zayn along with Sana and Aiden.
“We’re fine. How’d you guys find us?” Zayn asked.
“We could feel an intense pressure coming from the lower level,” Aiden said. “Did you run into a dark beast?”
“Not just any dark beast. We think we ran into the one that’s behind all this. It started talking in its beast form with the same voice we heard back in the ballroom,” Krystal said.
“No way. A dark beast was talking in its beast form?! So, does it possess a human form then?” Sana asked.
“We don’t know. We were attacked and Krystal was able to distract it with her sonic bell for us to escape,” Zayn said.
“You know, this actually sounds like something I’m familiar with,” Aiden said.
“What’s that?” Sana asked.
“Well, I’ve heard stories about a talking dark beast that terrorizes people around Halloween. From what I heard, its targets were always random, and it only seemed interested in obtaining human flesh,” Aiden said.
“Okay, that’s totally creepy!” Krystal exclaimed. “How did you hear about that?!”
“I’ve only heard about it once or twice. It always sounded like one of those made-up horror stories people tell to scare others,” Aiden said.
“Honestly, nothing should sound far-fetched to us anymore,” Sana said. “So, I guess this beast is able to control other beasts then as well. Even though this story explains who were dealing with, it still doesn’t explain a motive.”
“Sana, you really think a dark beast that eats people on Halloween needs a motive?!” Rey exclaimed.
“Eats people?! So, did it freeze everyone else in the ballroom because it plans to feast on their flesh?!” Krystal exclaimed.
Sana was about to answer Krystal. But she froze at what she saw coming from the basement. Soon, the others turned to see the dark beast rising from the staircase.
“Eww, just when you thought these things couldn’t get uglier,” Rey said.
The beast let out a thunderous roar as it fired the red beams from its eyes. The group dodged the beams, all jumping back. Rey and Aiden transformed into their beast forms.
“Rey, try to use your Ember Paw on it!” Sana called out.
Rey prepared the fiery claws of his paw and tried to jump onto the beast. Aiden tried to take a hit at the beast as well, assisting Rey in pinning it down. The beast broke free from their grips and fired its beams at them. After the beams hit them, the grayish ice started to form from their feet. Sana acted quickly and plunged her trishula into the ground, unleashing fiery flames that melted the ice before it could freeze Aiden and Rey.
“The beams cause the freezing! Don’t let them hit you!” Sana exclaimed.
“Easier said than done,” Zayn said as he drew out his clarinet. “B-flat major!”
Zayn played his clarinet and sand swirled out from it, twisting into a tunnel that struck the beast at its chest. As the beast was seemingly pushing through the sand, Zayn kept going, trying to push himself harder. It didn’t take long for the beast to grab hold of Zayn, piercing the claws from its paws into his jacket. Zayn’s clarinet fell to the ground. He couldn’t believe he got himself in the same position again. The beast was preparing its red eyes to zap Zayn head-on.
Krystal rung the bell from her sonic bell and the beast let go of Zayn. It puts its paws on its ears again, unable to bear the sounds from the sonic bell. Krystal rushed to Zayn, helping him get up.
“So, that’s it!” Sana exclaimed. “This beast is sensitive to sound! I think I know a way we can take it down!”
“Okay, well you better explain it quick before it gets back up again!” Krystal exclaimed.
“Aiden, start by using your wind powers somehow to hold it off. Krystal and Zayn, you need to combine your sound powers to keep it occupied,” Sana said. “When I give the signal, you guys stop, then Rey and I will deliver the final blow.”
“That sounds pretty solid!” Zayn said.
“Aiden, go!” Sana called out.
Aiden nodded and unleashed a wind howl, emitting a strong gust of wind tunneling towards the beast at its chest. As Aiden was using all his power to hold off the beast, Zayn turned to Krystal and said, “You ready?”
Krystal nodded and said, “Let’s do this!”
Zayn and Krystal stood side-by-side. They got themselves in mirroring stances. Krystal rung her sonic bell and called out, “Sound Beam!”
Zayn prepared his clarinet and said, “A major!” He played his clarinet and unleashed a mighty sound wave that collided with Krystal’s sound beam. The two forces combined into a hyper sound wave and spun their way through Aiden’s wind tunnel. Once they hit the dark beast, the sound wave and winds blasted the beast towards the wall, pressing it further into it.
Sana eyed Rey and he nodded in response. He rushed to her side, aligning with her. Sana plunged her trishula into the ground, powering her fire energy into it. Rey concentrated his fire energy within to prepare for their attack.
Once she felt ready, Sana shouted, “Okay, guys, stop your attacks!”
Aiden stopped his wind attack while Zayn and Krystal released their sound attacks as well. Krystal dropped to the floor, feeling tired from using all her energy. She could see Zayn and Aiden were out of breath as well.
Sana plunged her trishula further into the ground. A fiery circle began to form around, enclosing the dark beast in its range. “Ring of Fire!” Sana called out.
Rey launched a mighty fiery roar towards the beast as the flames from Sana’s fire circle united and attacked the dark beast all at once. The dark beast let out a demonic scream as its body began to burn from the fire. It didn’t take long for the beast’s body to be completely burnt as the fires faded. Sana got to her knees, tired from the attack. Rey transformed back, feeling breathless as well.
Aiden transformed back into his human form and said, “I can’t believe we did it.”
As Sana panted, she noticed something odd. While the beast’s body was down and burnt, something appeared to be coming out of it. Rey noticed this as well and was weirded out by the sight of it.
It appeared to be a young girl with short brown hair and a pink dress on. But the girl wasn’t just any girl. She appeared to be a ghost.
“Okay, I’m confused now,” Sana said.
“What the hell are you?!” Rey exclaimed.
“Oh, this must be weird for you all,” the ghost said. “My name is Marie. My soul has now been released from the beast’s body since you defeated it.”
“Released?! You mean you were trapped in that thing?!” Krystal asked.
“I perished many years back. The beast you defeated took my body as its new vessel to survive in this world and it feeds off humans every Halloween to live,” Marie said. “But now that you’ve defeated it, I’m free to rest in peace now.”
“Wow. Those stories were pretty damn true then,” Zayn said.
“So, what about the dark beast’s voice?” Aiden asked.
“Yeah. We were surprised it could talk. Was that you?” Sana asked Marie.
“Once the beast took my body, it could use my voice as well. That’s how it would scare its prey,” Marie said.
“Really? I’m pretty sure his appearance would do the job on its own,” Krystal said.
“Well then. I’m sorry you had to endure all that for so long. It must’ve taken a toll on your soul,” Aiden said.
“I’ve waited long to be free. And now I finally can be. Thank you for giving me that chance,” Marie said.
“No problem. Just doing what we do best,” Rey said with a smile.
As Marie waved bye to the group, she faded along with the beast’s body. Rey said, “Well, that’s something you don’t see every day.”
“We should go check the ballroom and make sure everyone is okay,” Sana said.
“Agreed,” Aiden said.
Sana, Rey, and Aiden ran and headed towards the ballroom. As Krystal was about to get up, Zayn offered her a hand and she took it as he helped her get up. She noticed the tears on the shoulders of his jacket from the beast’s grip. She said, “Sorry about your jacket.”
“It’s no big deal. Honestly, it goes with the theme.”
Krystal giggled at Zayn’s comment as the two went off and followed Sana, Rey, and Aiden.
***
Back in the ballroom, all the students and faculty were returned to their normal selves. With all the mayhem over, the party was back on. Everyone went back to dancing, eating, and laughing. As Sana, Rey, Krystal, and Zayn filled Neil, Heer, Prince, and Akira on what happened, Neil said, “You mean to say I was frozen?! ME?!”
“I know. I too thought it was funny,” Rey said.
“Aww, Neil, it’s okay,” Heer said, seeing a whimpering Neil. “I too was frozen.”
“To be fair, it wasn’t your typical kind of ice,” Sana said.
“I’m just mad I missed out on all the action,” Akira said.
“I’m not. I welcome a good nap,” Prince said.
“Of course, you would say that, Prince,” Krystal said. “I just can’t believe Devil canceled the costume contest because of this!”
“Oh, come on. A little fun is needed after what went down,” Rey said. “Come on, guys! Don’t just stand here! Let’s go dance!”
Sana, Rey, Prince, Neil, Heer, and Akira headed over to the dance floor and started dancing amongst the other students. Krystal was about to join them till Zayn said, “You want to dance…with me?”
“Hold up. You’re asking me this?!”
“Well, you saved me twice back there. I figure I owe you one.”
“Well then. The dance covers one saving. I’ll have to get back to you on the other one.”
“Yeah, yeah. Come on. Let’s join them.”
Zayn offered his hand to Krystal, and she took it, taking him over to the dance floor with the others. She got Zayn in hold and started dancing with him, twirling him around while he went along with it. She knew he wouldn’t admit he was having fun. But she didn’t need him to. She just knew. The gang were all together and it was the perfect way to close an eventful Halloween night.
The Ringmasters Society 