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The Tree Of Winter WonderBy the morning when the winter sun had appeared in the sky, Kimene and Amaru left the small northern settlement where they had stayed the night. The friendly folks of the village wished them good luck on their journey as the duo headed even further north. Winter had come suddenly in these parts, which wasn't really anything surprising to the individuals who lived here, and the snow had fallen and covered the land only a few days ago. The road Kimene and Amaru followed was coated in snow like everything else around them, but luckily there had been enough travelers so they had left a clear trail in the whiteness that seemed endless. Heavy snowfalls could make traveling difficult, but at this time it wasn't a problem and the duo could walk through the woodlands without it costing too much effort. They hadn't wandered far away from the previous village when Kimene started blabbering. “The kingdom in the north is an interesting place, I tell you”, he said excitedly. “For example, there is a garden with flowers and trees that you won't find anywhere else! And they bloom even in the middle of winter! It's said that a lot of spiritual energy has gathered there and sometimes you can even see celestial creatures visiting the garden. In addition, the castle is an ancient one with many mysteries concealed within its walls. Like, there's treasures that are rumored to have strange powers no one understands. Oh man, I've been wanting to visit the place for so long and see all these marvels myself!” Amaru was a bit amused by his partner's enthusiasm. But Kimene was cute when he was like that, always curious to see and learn new things. His passion for wanting to experience all sorts of mysteries was a remarkable one and it was one of those traits Amaru liked about him. “So, how long is the journey we have ahead?” Amaru asked. “Umm…” Kimene seemed to ponder something, tilting his head slightly. “I'm not sure. But I think we just need to stick to this main road and we'll eventually reach the place. It just makes sense, right? That the most used path leads to the biggest towns? Oh, maybe we should have got a map…” “Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find our way to this kingdom for sure”, Amaru tried to assure him. Kimene gave him a little awkward smile. “Yeah.” He squeezed the collar of his puffy winter coat a little bit and shivered, not necessarily because of the cold but because of anticipation. But it definitely was a little chilly, too, even though the morning was beautiful. Kimene and Amaru had bought winter coats about as soon as they had reached the snowy northern lands, since their usual clothes wouldn't keep them warm and shielded from the freezing temperatures. Now they could traverse the cold region more comfortably. The beautiful morning eventually turned into a lovely day. The sun was shining brightly in the sky and its golden rays made the snow glimmer. There was certain beauty in such sight and Kimene and Amaru walked through the woods with joyful minds. Kimene was once again retelling the stories of the north that he had learned from his mother and Amaru happily listened, enjoying how his partner was sharing his passion. In the winter, days are short, and the sun begins to set sooner than what the two travelers were used to. The snowy world is silent, but as the light was fading away, it seemed like the woods were becoming even more silent as the darkness was settling in. But Kimene and Amaru didn't let the lack of natural light stop them just yet and when it was too dark to see around, Kimene snapped his fingers to create a sphere of light that would grant them illumination. From his command, a white glowing orb appeared before them, being about the size of an apple, and it swirled and bounced around in the air in a playful manner as if it possessed the mind of a child. But it did its duty well and showed Kimene and Amaru the way in the darkness. “Look, it's actually a bright one this time”, Kimene commented on his little creation; he was able to use magic, sure, but he wasn't exactly great with this ability, unlike his father who happened to be a royal court mage. Amaru knew about the complicated relationship Kimene had with his father and it was likely that creating a source of light when nothing else was available was just one of the many things they had practiced together, but Kimene had never mastered it, no matter how simple of a trick it was. Wanting to be supportive, Amaru said: “You did well, it's a good orb of light.” Kimene smiled a little, pleased by his partner's compliment. “Thanks.” His creation banished the darkness well and the two travelers were able to continue wandering through the snowy woodlands a little bit longer after the sunset. But exhaustion kicked in eventually, and they decided it was time to rest and resume their journey tomorrow. They made a little camp by the side of the road, cleared a patch of snow out of the way and sought some firewood nearby. A dead tree that had fallen on the ground a long time ago appeared to be a perfect source for wood they needed and with a little clumsy axe made with magic, Kimene harvested some logs from it, Amaru then carried them to the spot where they had set their camp. Once there was enough firewood for the night, Kimene lit a campfire with a little fire magic and so they had a warm source of light; the little white orb wasn't needed anymore and it faded away, disappearing into the cold winter air like a ghost. Kimene crouched near the crackling fire and held his hands close to it to warm up; it felt so good after traveling in the cold all day. Amaru sat down a little bit further away, but still close enough that he could feel the warmth too. He generally didn't like fire, but understood the necessity in this situation; they would probably freeze to death since the temperature had dropped after the nightfall. After a while Kimene decided that he had warmed up enough and moved toward Amaru. He sat down in front of him and Amaru wrapped his arms around him gently and held him like that. Kimene let out a content sigh and watched how the flames danced in front of them. It was hypnotic, in a way, and eventually it made Kimene drowsy, he almost drifted to sleep while being embraced by Amaru. A sudden noise brought him instantly back to this time and place. It was like a loud yell of a child, echoing through the forest. Kimene's ears perked up as he waited to hear the sound again. “What was that?” he whispered to Amaru. “Could be a spirit of some kind”, Amaru replied; he had lifted his head to listen as well. Now that Amaru mentioned that, Kimene was able to connect the dots. It had indeed sounded like an otherworldly noise. But was it a good or a bad sign? Kimene and Amaru weren't strangers to spirits, they had encountered both benevolent and malevolent ones, but often you don't know beforehand which one you're dealing with. So, this one could also be either. Without communicating with words, Kimene and Amaru were on the same wavelength, just listening carefully. The sound repeated itself again, this time coming closer. In addition, other similar noises joined in, it was almost like a whole chorus of high-pitched voices that eerily resembled cries of children. Terror tiptoed into Kimene's heart and he squeezed Amaru's arms tightly. Amaru tried his best to calm him by holding him tightly, but Kimene couldn't stop worrying; even though Amaru was able to deal with spirits, if these were malicious ones and there was a whole pack of them, it would give trouble to Amaru. And Kimene couldn't do anything about it. All of a sudden, something jumped through a snow-covered bush and right in the vicinity of Kimene and Amaru's little camp, startling the travelers. It was a blue little creature, resembling a frog with transparent wings and had huge yellow eyes. And the more Kimene and Amaru stared at it, the more they got the feeling that this thing wasn't hostile. It was also eyeing the two travelers with great curiosity, tilting its head. Soon it gave them a weird sound, like a yap, and it jumped back to the bush where it had come from. Kimene and Amaru were left to wonder what the critter had been – until it came back. It repeated its yap again and signaled with one of its front limbs at them. Then it made another bounce to the bush, but its head was peeking out, intently watching the duo. “I suppose… it wants us to follow?” Kimene said, however unsure of the little critter's motives. “Seems like it”, Amaru responded. “Should we do it?” Kimene pondered this for a minute, but his adventurous side was taking over. So he said: “Yeah, let's see where it wants to take us.” He slowly got out of Amaru's warm embrace and stood up. Amaru heaved his body off the ground as well and kicked some snow on the fire to extinguish it, the flames died with a hiss. For a second the world was utterly dark, but Kimene used his magic again to create a source of light. A glowing orb appeared out of nowhere, but this time it was blue and a bit less radiant. “I guess it's good enough”, Kimene surmised, although being a little disappointed in himself. Amaru patted him on the shoulder. “It certainly is good enough.” Kimene decided to leave it at that and he took a step closer to the weird creature. Its head disappeared and rustling noises told Kimene and Amaru that it was going somewhere. For a brief moment they lost the critter from the view, but then noticed it again as it took flight. It made sure that the two travelers saw where it was going and began to fly deeper into the forest. Kimene and Amaru glanced at each other and went after it. They followed the creature for a little while when Kimene asked: “What do you think it is?” “I don't really know”, Amaru replied. “But it's not definitely a spirit.” “Maybe it's a fairy”, Kimene guessed and seemed to be very pleased with this idea. “Oh, there are so many stories about fairies, it would be great to tell one myself!” Amaru chuckled a little. There it was again, that enthusiasm. “Well, let's hope so.” Every now and then the little creature glanced back to make sure that the two travelers were still following. It was a little tough terrain to walk through because of the blanket of snow and the vegetation was dense. But Kimene and Amaru managed to push through and the critter continued to show them the way. Still, they had no idea where it was taking them. Somewhere ahead of them a sudden light burst out, like a warm fire. It faded slightly, but didn't vanish. Kimene and Amaru didn't know what it was, but the little creature was flying towards it. It appeared to become more vigorous after spotting the light and hastened its pace, not looking behind anymore to see if the two travelers were still there on its trail. Kimene and Amaru struggled a little to get through this part of the forest, it was so dense, and the little critter managed to get further and further away from them. But at least the duo knew where it was heading, so it didn't really matter that much. Suddenly, however, the forest somehow became easier to traverse, almost like the slumbering plants had made way to Kimene and Amaru, although they didn't see them actually moving. But they were still grateful for this, and soon enough they reached the place where the light was shining. Both Kimene and Amaru were speechless. There was a ring of fire surrounding a huge spruce tree, but there was something magical about the flames; even though they radiated warmth, they didn't appear to be able to burn living things. The two travelers saw this with their own eyes as little creatures, similar to the one that had led them here, were going in and out of the fire, not harmed by this at all. They were dancing and letting out the strange noises similar to cries of children; so these beings were the ones Kimene and Amaru had heard earlier. Some of them were flying around the spruce, a magnificent tree that stood taller than any other in this forest. Sparkling balls of light, glowing in different colors, decorated its snow-covered branches. There was also golden dust sprinkled around, giving the tree a holy look. Kimene and Amaru had never seen anything like it, but it was gorgeous and definitely worthy of being mentioned in Kimene's book, much to his delight. It was a secret celebration of some kind and Kimene and Amaru noticed their little guide having fun with the rest of its kin. The two travelers had apparently earned a special invitation, which Kimene was happy about; he could have his story about fairies. He sat down on the ground, in front of the fire and watched how the creatures celebrated the winter and the grand tree. Amaru sat down by his side and silently they observed this magical and possibly rare festivity. Side by side they followed the winter celebration, until sleep started to take hold of them. Leaning against each other, they fell asleep, but still, the little critters continued their festivity, lasting even to the moment when the sun would rise. Then they disappeared, scattering into the woods to hide again. Their magical fire faded away as they left the spot, and so did the decorations on the great spruce. When Kimene and Amaru woke up soon after the celebration was over, there was nothing left except the grand tree. And so they were left to wonder; was it all just a dream?GiftsgivingThe cold winter air along with the aroma of the cinnamon apple candle calmed Dakota as he flopped onto his bed. Thoughts raced around his mind as he tried to keep himself from spiraling. Tomorrow was going to be overwhelming, sure, but he could handle it! He could stay cooped up in his room, away from all the noise! Dakota sighed. No. That wouldn't work since he did want to go out there and eat Giftsgiving food, and open presents. A sound made him jump, and he quickly got his phone out. Just a notification from one of the games on his phone again. Dakota sat up, and messaged Lucia. "Hey, are you doing anything tomorrow? Is your family going to come visit or anything?" It didn't take long for Lucia to message him back. "Nope. Nothing's been planned this year. Why? What's up?" "I wanna get out of the house tomorrow. Found out we're having Giftsgiving over here and I really don't wanna deal with all the noise, or socializing with family." "The forest has a pond, right?" "Yeah, but it'll be frozen over because of the snow." "Perfect! I'll see you tomorrow!" Dakota tipped his head, wondering what Lucia had planned. Outside in the snow would be better than inside with all the noise at least. The next day, Dakota was cuddling Mocha on his bed, smiling as he listened to her purring. She was kneading his sweater as he pet her. The door opened, making him flinch and causing Mocha to jump off the bed. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw Lucia. "Scared ya? Sorry. Guess I should've knocked first, huh? But look!" Lucia beamed as she held out a pair of ice skates to Dakota. "I thought we could go ice skating on that pond!" "Isn't that dangerous?" Dakota sat up, taking the skates and looking them over. He'd gone to the skating rink with Lucia before, so he knew how to ice skate, but he still wasn't very good at it. "Well, kinda? But with my help it'll be fine. Ice magic and all that. I can put a strong layer of ice over it, so the pond shouldn't melt after that. Plus it's chilly enough to stay frozen!" She beamed. "I don't know about this. Are you sure it'll be safe?" Dakota frowned, tipping his head. There was always a chance that the ice would break. "Positive! I promise I won't let you get hurt." Dakota nodded, bundled up, and headed out with Lucia. Outside, the snow sparkled in the sunlight. It was calm and quiet until Lucia ran ahead, pointing out how beautiful the forest looked covered in white. As she yapped on, Dakota balled up some snow in his hand, quietly got closer to Lucia, then threw the snowball at her! Lucia shivered, wiping off the snow that got on her coat. "Hey!" She quickly started making her own snowballs as Dakota made a run for it! Laughter filled the air as the two of them chucked snowballs at each other on the way to the pond. Once at the pond, Lucia knelt down, pressing her right hand to the solid ice, and using her magic to conjure up a thick extra layer to protect it from any cracks. "There! We should be fine now!" She took off her backpack, put on her skates, then held out her left hand to him. After putting his skates on, Dakota took her hand, smiling. "I didn't know you could still use your magic with your prosthetic." "Mmhmm! It comes in handy if I ever need to use this hand, but it kinda sucks needing to do this in the winter. It's really cold right now. Ember can do the same thing with her magic, too!" "Why didn't you leave it at the house and use your other hand? Wouldn't the glove have been enough?" Lucia tilted her head, thinking. "I'm gonna be honest. I didn't think about that, but yeah I should do that next time, huh? Hey, speaking of magic, can you use yours during the winter?" Dakota held on to Lucia's hand as he skated. He was trying to remember the things Lucia taught him, but that didn't stop him from wobbling. "Kinda? The plants don't last very long in the snow." "Can you make different kinds of plants? Like ones that bloom in the winter?" "I haven't tried since I'm use to vines and vining plants, but I think the Celestialites can? I never actually looked into how to do more." He was perfectly fine with his vines. "I don't really use it for much other than vine swings and growing sprouts into blooming flowers. How often do you use yours?" Sparkles of curiosity shined in Lucia's eyes. "Not as often as I did when I was a teen. When I'm bored I like trying to make little ice sculptures, but I'm not really good at those." She smiled. "I've used it to freeze water like this though~" "Is that why you say it's safe?" "Yep! You know I wouldn't let you get hurt!" She gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Dakota blushed, smiling. "I think I'm ready to try this on my own." "Don't worry about falling, okay? You'll be fine." She let go of his hand. "I'm here to catch you if you fall." Dakota nodded, and skated off! The two of them spent about an hour at the pond. Lucia showed off all kinds of tricks she could do, and gave pointers to Dakota whenever he needed it. Once they got cold, they headed back to the house and cuddled on the bed, eventually falling asleep under the warm blanket.A Prelude To Destruction - Chapter 1Chapter 1: Lost in the woods It was a cursed forest where very few dared to enter, but nonetheless, a winged woman was walking in between the great tall trees that thrived, and these kings of the plant world didn't care at all about the place's haunted reputation. But then again, they had grown there long before the forest became blighted. All sorts of creatures avoided these woods, but the winged woman wasn't one of them. She defied the hidden darkness that resided in here just with her presence; this wasn't her first time wandering together with the shades which the thick branches and their foliage casted. However, her defiance came with a price, for her once pure white wings had taken the color of dark blue instead, though there was still some light blue in the tips. Who knew when they would turn dark too, if she continued to visit the forest. The decision wasn't hers to make. Though light wings or dark wings, she still retained an angelic look, for she had a slender body and long white hair with a little bit silver in them. She had golden eyes with a strong look in them. A powerful aura surrounded her and undoubtedly there was a sense of authority in her appearance, especially her beautiful blue clothes that were a telltale sign of someone who wasn't an ordinary person. It wasn't hard to believe for an individual like her to risk their life in a place like this. As she calmly walked further into the woods, a horrifying sound reached the woman's ears. It wasn't anything strange to her, but no matter how many times she would hear it, it never became easier to bear. It was the disturbing and heartbreaking cry of a ghost child, left abandoned in the forest right after their birth. They never had a chance in life, they never grew up or learned about the countless things this world had to offer. All they could do was cry and yearn for a proper burial – which would never come. The woman felt sorry for all the little ones that had been abandoned in the forest, but there was nothing she could do for them. The woman was approaching a part of the woods where the vegetation was more dense. The sunlight was barely able to touch the forest floor, but a few sneaky beams of light managed to slip through the branches and leaves. Carefully she kept her eyes on the undergrowth, for what she was seeking could be found around these parts, based on her experience. Keeping a keen eye on the plants, she eventually spotted some she was looking for: a blue herb with white berries that resembled cloudberry. She picked all of them from the spot, gently putting them inside the bag she was carrying. Once she had harvested them, she continued her travel even deeper into the woods, hoping to find even more of them. The need for these precious herbs was getting increasingly dire. She was familiar with the woods and with its few critters and sensations; she was probably the most knowledgeable person in the world when it came to this forest. And yet, as she proceeded to even deeper parts of the woods, a weird sensation was pestering her mind like an annoying insect. There was a presence somewhere nearby, something she wasn't familiar with. She had to check it out, it was her duty. Guided by this sensation, she ventured towards the part of the woods that was probably the darkest and most dangerous one. For this reason, she had to hurry, because if there somehow was someone who needed aid, the likelihood for them getting devoured by the forest was growing minute by minute. Something was rippling in the air, a powerful impression that felt almost electrifying. The woman was able to recognize it as a form of magic. It was a rather strong one, too. Whoever had ended up in this part of the woods wasn't an ordinary person. While there was a chance that they were capable of doing alright on their own, the woman wanted to check their condition. She had to help them if needed. Thanks to the mysterious ripples that traveled through the air, the woman could easily pinpoint the location of the foreign presence she had been sensing. She came to a small clearing where all these sensations were mixed in together, swirling around like a whirlpool of energy. A shred of a sky could be seen above, something that wasn't possible in most parts of the woods. It was clear to the woman that something had fallen from heaven, crashing into the trees of the forest and hitting the forest floor. On some of the branches and on bushes and other plants were having light purple wisps of magic dancing around, as a remnant that something magical had happened here as the power still lingered. All that now remained were three unconscious creatures whose kind the woman hadn't seen ever before. A white raven, a black cat and a mostly green deer-like creature. The woman could see that they were bipedal since they all possessed fingers. All of them were about the size of a human child, making the raven and the cat larger than the animals they represented, while the third one was smaller than a deer. The cat and the raven had strange markings decorating their bodies, the cat having white marks while the raven had purple ones. The third creature diverged in this trait as well, as their body was partly covered in green scales while the front had a pale color. But all three of them shared one feature: they all had horns. There were two purple horns on the head of the raven, two blue horns on the head of the cat and one horn on the head of the deer-like creature, gradually turning from a shade of green to darker green. The woman had no idea where these beings had come from; she had never heard of such creatures as these three. But she knew she couldn't just leave them here, she could learn their story later. She walked to them, crouched a little bit and placed her hand lightly on the side of the closest critter, the cat. They were breathing normally and the heart was beating. The woman did this brief inspection on all of them, coming to the conclusion that they all were doing alright, they just had been knocked unconscious by something. It was desired that they would stay in a good state, so the woman began to wake them up. Blue little swirls were circling around her hand as she moved it slowly near the heads of each creature. These twirls would gently touch them, beckoning them to awaken. The woman's magic worked and one by one the three creatures opened their eyes and sluggishly raised their bodies from the moss bed to a sitting position. They looked very much confused, clearly not recognizing their surroundings at all. But the woman noticed that there was also something else: they didn't identify who they were. However, this wasn't the right place to resolve these things. “Can you all stand?” the woman asked from the trio as she got on her feet again. The creatures still were puzzled; it was as if they had slumbered for centuries and had no knowledge of the world around them. They glanced around, then looked at each other with great perplexity; it seemed like that they didn't know each other, but at the same time, they did. For a little while they tried to understand what kind of bond they had between each other, but failed. This also confused the winged woman, because it only deepened the mystery how these three had ended up here. But again, this wasn't the right time and space for figuring these things out. “Are you able to stand?” the winged woman asked again. The trio shifted their gaze at her, trying to identify her. But just like with everything else so far, they had no idea who she was. Time for proper introductions would come later, even these three seemed to understand this, and they started to get on their feet. Their movements were wobbly, like with baby animals, and it gave an impression that they hadn't stood for a long time – if ever before. Eventually, however, they managed to find some sort of balance and not for a moment too soon. A terrible howl echoed through the forest; it was hollow, hungry and suffering. It was the most dreaded creature in the whole place, the reason why most people would stay away. While the winged woman was well aware that such abominations were on the prowl continuously in the forest, she really had hoped that they wouldn't encounter one. “Dammit”, she muttered to herself. “We have to go. Follow me.” The three creatures just nodded to her and hurried after her as she began to show the way and guide them out of the forest. Even more of those eerie howls joined in with the first one; whatever being it was, it hunted as a pack. Usually they were after the many souls of children that still lingered in these woods, but whenever possible, they preferred fresh souls. The winged woman was afraid that they had already got the scent of her and her little surprise companions. She wasn't too worried, however, she had dealt with such beasts before; she was a much more powerful entity than them. But never before had she had little beings with her that needed her protection. The woman tried to be as swift as possible while passing through the forest. Unfortunately, she was unlucky today and even though they had managed to move quite a distance without any conflict, suddenly a dark critter appeared from the shadows right in front of them. It resembled a huge and hideous wolf, its fur had a dark purple color. Its tail was thin and had some lavender feathers at the tip. These same feathers were also poking out from various other parts of its body, such as in the neck, elbows and lower thighs. Its bright red eyes were fixed at the small group and a deep growl was coming from its insides; it saw the winged woman and the three creatures as prey. Fearlessly the winged woman stepped forth while the trio remained in the background, not really fazed by the danger in front of them. A magical energy started to surge around the woman's right arm, engulfing it in a white glow. The dark wolf-like being got closer to her, measuring her with its red eyes. Then the woman raised her hand towards the beast and a white blast got shot from her hand, a holy light, hitting the monster in the head. It fell to the ground, but was it dead or just unconscious, it was hard to tell. Nonetheless, there was no need to kill it right now, the winged woman just wanted to get past it. “Come, quickly”, she said to the three creatures and pressed onwards, the trio continuing to follow her. The eerie howls sounded more and more distant; perhaps they had decided to go after the poor souls of the children trapped in the forest. This was a good sign, the winged woman thought, and while they still were in a danger zone, they weren't in immediate peril anymore. Confidently she dared to slow down her pace now and so did the three creatures she had found. The trees around them started to gradually thin out and more daylight managed to get through the branches, blessing the plants on the forest floor. The winged woman was feeling relief, for they would soon get out of the cursed woods. The whole world seemed brighter when the small group reached the tree line. The sunlight was absolutely radiant, something the three pairs of eyes weren't used to and they shielded their eyes with their hands. The beautiful songs of birds could be heard, an indication that things were well. A slight breeze was gently stroking the leaves of the trees, sounding a bit like humming. It was strange how different the world was outside the cursed forest. As the three creatures followed the winged woman out of the shadows of the trees, they couldn't help but notice that there were statues made from pale stone standing by the edge of the forest, having quite a bit of distance between each other. They were rather tall, almost as tall as the trees, and they depicted a feminine humanoid figure with four arms and strange antennas on her head. There was something holy in her appearance. All three of them stopped to stare at the closest one and it invoked strange familiarity within them. It was almost like they knew who this woman was, but had no memory of her. The winged woman noticed that the trio wasn't following her anymore and that their gazes were fixated on the statue. “Who… is she?” the black cat asked, much to the surprise of the winged woman. So, these little creatures could talk. The cat had just spoken with a female voice, but it also sounded like she wasn't used to talking, like she hadn't used her voice ever before. “This is the Mother Goddess”, the winged woman answered as she took a step closer to the trio. “These are the holy statues of her that guard the forest, preventing any evil escaping as long as they are standing here. Haven't you heard of her before?” The trio gave quick glances at each other as if trying to find out who had the answer. But then they just shook their heads. “We don't know…” said the raven and although the voice sounded a bit raspy, perhaps having the same case as the cat, it clearly was a female voice as well. “We don't know anything. Not even who we are… We seem to have a connection with each other, but that's all.” “That's… interesting”, the winged woman muttered thoughtfully. “Well, I'll guide you to the nearest village. We can talk about your situation more there.” She turned around and headed towards a small path that was going through another set of trees. It clearly wasn't used much, but it wasn't overgrown either. Oddly, it seemed like the trees around it were bent a little bit, guarding this little path. The three creatures were all glancing around with a child-like wonder while following the winged woman. The sensation of these woods was so much different than in the cursed forest where they had woken up, of course they would find it fascinating. The winged woman got the feeling that they were like children, not being familiar with the world around them at all. It was strange. And now that they had left the cursed forest, she noticed something else about the three creatures. Now that the tainted energy wasn't suppressing them anymore, they were emitting power that reeked of divinity. But what did that mean, the winged woman wasn't sure and she was lost deep in thought while walking forward, barely paying any attention to the trio. Usually the winged woman would just fly this part when making her trips to the cursed forest, it was much faster. But now, as she had a small group of odd beings following her, she had to walk, since probably only one of them had the ability to fly. But the journey to the nearest village wasn't a long one and soon enough the path guarded by trees started to brighten up and the trees were moving out of the way. Only a little bit away the group could see the village, a tiny settlement in the middle of woodlands. The buildings were cozy ones, although a little bit old, white with dark wood decorating their frames. The folks were walking around and doing their chores, and the three creatures noted that most of them looked like the winged woman, except they didn't have wings. There was a lot of curiosity in their little eyes as they got closer, having lots of questions popping in their minds, but the winged woman wasn't the one who would provide answers. Even now, she had closed herself inside her head and didn't seem responsive to the outside world. When they reached the first buildings, a little strident female voice then made its way to the little group's ears: “Lady Ihtiriekko! Lady Ihtiriekko!” A small creature hurried towards them and she looked much different than the few individuals the trio had seen so far. She resembled a mole, had dark grey skin, pale blond long hair tied to a bun, huge green eyes, a little strange snout with whiskers on it and her hands were broad, possessing big claws. She was wearing a pink dress with a headpiece. She huffed a little after her sprint and bent over a bit. “Lady Ihtiriekko, you're back! Oh, I didn't know you would return so soon, I'm not quite finished with the task and – “ The winged woman pushed her aside coldly and continued moving forward. “No matter. Take care of our guests.” Then she just walked away, leaving a group of confused creatures behind. “Our guests?” the being with the whiskers said quietly and looked at the trio and it seemed that only at that moment she registered their presence. “Oh… Oh! Hello there, haven't seen you before! Who might you be?” The three creatures shared glances with each other once more, as if one of them had somehow acquired the knowledge about their identity during their travel from the woods. But of course, all three of them were just as clueless as before. “We don't know who we are or anything, really…” said the deer-like creature, speaking with a male voice, and he too sounded like he wasn't used to talking. “That winged woman… She found us and brought us here.” “I see, I see…” The trio's new acquaintance appeared consumed by thoughts for a minute and she observed the group with her green eyes. Then she spoke again: “Well, you better follow me, then. You obviously are a little confused so let's shed light on some things, shall we?”Recovery begins at the heart EpilogeIt had been what felt like hours to everyone there in that theater. They felt so happy that Balan was back to normal and feeling better. His wide grin never disappeared for a second as he celebrated with his old friends. It never even donned on him that he didn't wipe their memories clean after they left the first time. But at that point, he didn't care. If anything, he was glad he preserved their memories. Without them, who knows what could've happened to him. Both Leo and Emma stood close to the maestro. Although he was feeling better, they were still concerned for his safety. "You 100% sure you're doing better, Bal?" Leo asked. Balan smiled gently and ruffled his hair. "The pain is gone, and I no longer feel sad. Rest assured, I am free from all the bad feelings I had." Emma snickered at his rhyming. "He's definitely feeling better. But you know Balan, you don't have to keep up with the rhymes every time." Balan looked down and scooped her up with a smug grin on his face. "Oh, I see how it is. You get all worried when I stop rhyming, and now you say I don't have to do it anymore? Make up your mind! I can't win with you people!" He said playfully as he nuzzled his face into Emma's chest, which made her giggle as a result. Leo's eyes started wandering the theater until he heard a slight noise. A sound as if someone was sniffling and sobbing. He tugged on Balan's pants, trying to point out the sign of the crying. "Balan... Balan!" He called. He looked down at the boy. "What's wrong, Leo?" He wondered. "Do you hear that? I thought we fixed everything. So why do I hear someone crying?" Leo pointed out. Balan followed where the sound was. It sounded raspy but light in tone. A sound he thought he never would hear. "... Lance?" Balan said, turning a corner to see him leaning against the wall. Lance was caught off guard when Leo, Emma, and Balan showed up. He quickly tried to wipe the tears away to make it look like he wasn't crying. "Lance?" Leo called out. "You were the one who was crying?" Lance tried his best to look stoic. "Of course not! I just had something in my eyes. Don't think you can... Uh..." He trailed off as he couldn't find the correct way to rhyme. Balan shrugged it off. "Come on now, Lance. If you can't keep up the rhymes, you don't have to do it." He gently said. Lance let out a heavy sigh, feeling defeated, and stood up from against the wall. "Now tell us... Why are you feeling this way?" Emma asked. He twiddled his thumbs before answering. "I guess... I feel jealous..." He replied. "I was once the maestro of Wonderworld until it was all taken away from me by the negative force. I told Balan there was no escape... But you proved me wrong and stopped what could've been a cycle... The truth is... No one has ever looked out for me as you looked out for him." Everyone's eyes widened. It hit them like rocks. Lance was like this because no one was there to help him. No one could drag him out of negativity, and that's why he became king of the negati. This broke their hearts, and they honestly felt bad for the negative maestro. "Oh, Lance." Emma whimpered. "I'm so sorry... I never knew." She wanted to hug him, but he backed away, refusing the affection. "Maybe I'm not the only one who needs help. You need help too." Balan said, offering his hand. But Lance sorrowfully shook his head. "I'm sorry... It's useless in my case. You can't fix what's already gone too far. You were able to save Balan because you caught it early. But for me... It's already too late." The three stood there sad. Since Lance was already full of negativity, there was no way to bring him back to the maestro he once was. But he took a big breath and heaved a long sigh. "I have no change in my future... But I'm still part of Wonderworld. And although I'm like this, I still have a job... If anything, I'll accept this role as the negative maestro. There is no balance with just positive." The teens and Balan just stared at him. "Lance... Are you sure this is what you want?" Balan asked, putting his hand on Lance's shoulder. Oddly enough, he accepted the touch. "I don't have a choice of the matter... But I'll take this as a lesson. Sometimes you need others to help keep you above water. I learned this the hard way... If anything... I'm thankful you two helped Balan. Thank you, Leo and Emma. Thank you." He bowed respectively. To his surprise, Leo and Emma hugged him. Both thinking he wasn't really a bad guy... Just misunderstood. After the celebration was over, it was time for everyone to head home. Balan kissed the hands of the ladies and shook hands with the men. As they were leaving the theater, he took off his hat, revealing his natural face. Everyone smiled and waved off as they decided to return home. Balan waved back, feeling hopeful once more. He no longer had anything to worry about.Recovery begins at the heart part 4It took about two days for everyone to arrive. Haoyu was the first to make it on his aircraft while everyone else had to take a long car ride or by plane. Everyone kept in touch with the screen chat app on their phones, constantly sending DMs to each other. Everyone was announcing their arrival and were currently waiting for the two teens. "You think they got our message that we arrived?" Iben asked. "They should've." Added Eis. "They must be on their way now as we speak. After all, we don't know what those kids do in their lives." As the man finished his sentence, he saw that Leo and Emma were rushing towards them. "There they are! Right on time." Jose said with glee. "Sorry for the wait. We had to get some things prepared." Leo huffed. "I had to print out the sheet music. There should be one for everyone." Emma said, carrying a large folder. She handed everyone the sheet music of the song they all agreed on. Lucy flipped through the pages of the music sheets. She heard this song a few times, but she never memorized the lyrics. She also didn't consider herself a good singer when she looked at the notes. "So, Emma," She called. "What if we're not good singers? I don't think the performance would be good if someone sang like a goat." Emma held her arm in a comforting manner. "There's no need to worry. I've had vocal lessons for years, and I've had the best teacher teach me all the ins and outs of one's voice. I'm sure I can help with that. It may not be perfect, but I'll help the best I can." "And what about dancing?" Haoyu asked. "I've been told by everyone, even my own family, that I'm a clumsy nut." Leo put his hand on Haoyu's shoulder. "I've taught the rest of my friends how to dance. I can do the same for you. I'll try my best to keep it simple." He explained. Leo and Emma stood in the middle of the yard when all was said and done, announcing their plan. "Alright, everyone!" Emma exclaimed. "We've only got three weeks to make this the most fantastic show Balan has ever seen. We're doing this to save him. Not for the glory of the stage. We want you to throw your whole heart into it, project all of your positive emotions. We're going to keep a big smile on our face and save our maestro!" The crowd cheered. "Me and Emma will take the lead roles. She'll be the foreground singer, and I'll be the choreographer. Any questions you have, just ask us. We'll help you the best we can." Leo announced. Emma clapped her hands, calling everyone for practice. The days passed by as everyone practiced their show. Emma did her best to teach the others how to sing without sounding like a perfectionist director, and Leo taught the others how to dance without acting like a snappy jerkwad. They admit teaching wasn't easy. But it was all worth it in the end. Some even helped with the teaching. Iben surprisingly had a beautiful voice and Attilio had some fancy feet. Eventually, people started becoming more confident in their abilities and kept their eyes on the ball. Yuri copied Leo's dance moves step by step, finding it a lot more fun than she had anticipated. "Was I good?" She asked. Leo patted her on the back before they both saw Haoyu trip again. Leo rushed over to pick him back up. "Take it easy, buddy. You almost got it." He reassured. "I almost got it. I just need to keep practicing." Haoyu said. Leo smiled with his sentiment. "That's right. You got this! I'll be there to help you through it. Just keep the beat." He danced the same way Haoyu was dancing before. The green-haired boy nodded and tried again. "How did that sound?" Sana asked. Emma clapped her hands and smiled widely. "You sounded great! I knew you had it in you." She cheered. Lucy suddenly pulled a vocal chord that did not match up with the melody. "Hold on a minute, Lucy." Said Emma, rushing over to help. "The piece goes like this." She started singing the chorus as Lucy listened. She then pulled up her phone and sent her the song they were singing. "This will help you memorize it. Listen to it as many times as you need. Keep practicing. You can do this!" She cheered. Lucy nodded, reassured that she could sing the song. In those three short weeks, which felt like forever, the group agreed they have finally perfected their performance. "I think we've just about got it." Cal said. Fiona nodded with glee. "Yes! This will surely turn the tables for Balan and Lance." Leo looked at the time on his phone. "We better hurry. If we think our show is good enough, we should head that way. Who knows how worse he's got." "The theater should still be around here someplace. It popped up quite often for us. The tims like to wander the streets too, which should make it a bit easier." Emma added. The two gestured to everyone to follow them to where they expected the theater. Low and behold, it was in the same place they found it. Cass gazed at it in wonder. "Oh my... It's been so long." She said. "Yep. This brings back memories." Jose added, tipping his hat. Emma was hesitant to knock, unsure of what she would find inside. When she finally knocked on the door, Floaty Flower answered. Her face looked worried or frightened. "H-hello? I'm sorry, I'm afraid the theater is closed." She told. "Wait, it's us. We're the previous inhabitants of Wonderworld. We've come to help Balan." Leo explained. Her face lit up with relief. "Oh, Leo! Emma! It's you! Thank goodness! I'm so glad you came! Things have gotten so much worse!" Everyone's faces showed a shocked or worried expression. "How much worse?" Leo asked. The flower girl lead them inside, revealing an army of negati. The shadowy creatures swarmed the hallways of the theater. They looked bigger and more threatening due to the negative corruption throughout the building. One approached Leo, and on instinct, he kicked it halfway across the hall. "What is with all these shadowy creatures? Did Lance take over the place?" He wondered. "The negati can sense the negativity from Balan. They've been multiplying at a breakneck pace. And with that, they've gotten stronger!" Explained Floaty Flower. One of the tims came up, weak and tiny. Cal picked one up and held it in the palm of one hand. "What's happened to the tims?" He asked. "The tims haven't had drops to eat in a while. The negati keep scarfing them up. They're weak and hungry." She whined. The tim in Cal's hand rubbed its tummy, indicating how hungry it was. "The poor little things." Emma mourned. "We're running out of time. We have to get this show on the road now! Come with us! We'll take you to the stage." Both teens rushed through the hallways as the others followed behind. Leo halted end turned back to the flower girl. "Floaty, I want you to fetch Balan right now. Tell him there's a new act he needs to see. No matter how much he struggles, no matter how much he refuses, bring him to the stage. Got it?" He commanded. The flower girl saluted as if it were a battle plan. "Yes sir!" She claimed as she rushed to get Balan. Balan looked at himself in the mirror. The nega has spread all the way from his chest to his torso. His hair was darker, and he started getting the same markings that Lance had. There were no signs of tentacles... Yet. But he knew it would soon change. He could barely hold himself together as the negative power grew more and more painful. He thought about letting it go until there was a knock at the door. "Maestro Balan!" Called the voice. "Leo and Emma have returned with some friends. They want to help you." He rubbed his eyes that were red from the tears. "I'll be right there." He called back. He put his suit back on and grabbed his hat. "I don't know if this is going to work, but I have to pull it together. Leo and Emma are desperate to help me, so I must give them a chance." With that, he put his hat on and walked out the door. Negati swarmed the area like a beehive, snarfing every drop they could find. The tims chirped with desperation, looking to find some positive droplets somewhere. This worried Balan. He didn't think it would've gotten this serious in the span of only three weeks. He hoped his friends had a good plan to get him back into shape. When he walked into the auditorium, Leo had pulled out a chair for him and gestured him to sit down. With a deep breath, he sat down in front of the stage. Leo rushed back behind the scenes as Emma came out from behind the curtains. "Ladies and gentle maestros of Wonderworld! We come together to perform for our one and only, Balan. This is a performance to show how much we care and how grateful we are to him. Although it may not be the best act in the world, we're doing this at the bottom of our hearts. So we hope you enjoy it." She said as she turned to the side, giving a thumbs up. With that, the music started. Oh, why you look so sad?Tears are in your eyesCome on and come to me nowDon't be ashamed to cryLet me see you through'Cause I've seen the dark side too When the night falls on youYou don't know what to doNothing you confessCould make me love you lessI'll stand by you I'll stand by youWon't let nobody hurt youI'll stand by you So if you're mad, get madDon't hold it all insideCome on and talk to me nowHey, what you got to hide?I get angry tooWell I'm a lot like you When you're standing at the crossroadsAnd don't know which path to chooseLet me come along'Cause even if you're wrongI'll stand by you I'll stand by youWon't let nobody hurt youI'll stand by youTake me in, into your darkest hourAnd I'll never desert youI'll stand by you And whenWhen the night falls on you, babyYou're feeling all aloneYou won't be on your ownI'll stand by you I'll stand by youWon't let nobody hurt youI'll stand by youTake me in, into your darkest hourAnd I'll never desert youI'll stand by you I'll stand by youWon't let nobody hurt youI'll stand by youTake me in, into your darkest hourAnd I'll never desert youI'll stand by you When the song was over, everyone stood in a finishing position. The spotlights shined on both Emma and Leo, who stood in front of the stage. Balan stood up and clapped his hands. Smiling the biggest grin he ever had in a long time. "BRAVO! BRAVO! That was beautiful! That was the most magnificent performance I've ever seen! And all of this was for me?" The teens stood down from the stage, approaching him. "Of course it was." Emma told. "You've helped us all so much. Now it was our turn to help you. So we gathered everyone and put on the best show we could to cheer you up. We would hate to see you succumb to negativity... Not our maestro." Leo preached. Balan dabbed at his eyes with his ascot. "I... I don't know what to say." He stopped suddenly as he felt something in his chest. Everyone got worried as they thought the show didn't work to bring him back to positivity. But when he pulled down the neck of his suit, the negative corruption had stopped... In fact, it started to disappear. What started at his heart had begun to change for the better. The purple shading had disappeared along with the markings. The pain that he once felt was quickly melting away as if it was never there in the first place. And in less than a minute, it was gone. "It worked!" Leo cheered! "He's back!" Emma jumped for joy. The rest of the crew cheered too for Balan's recovery. It pleased them that they didn't have to lose their maestro friend. Balan, his eyes still filled with tears of joy, knelt down to the two. "I am so proud. You've done so much to help me make amends. I am forever grateful for your efforts to help me... Thank you, my friends." "Balan! You're rhyming again!" Leo cheered as both he and Emma felt the tears swell up in their eyes. They both hugged the maestro, letting the tears spill from their cheeks and onto the floor, turning into drops. Even some of the inhabitants on stage began to get tearful and let the tears fall. Tims immediately swarmed the area, eating the drops that fell to the floor. They grew larger in size and fought off what was left of the negative atmosphere. The negati began to disappear as they no longer had any more drops to eat. The theater itself finally started to feel warm and vibrant again, bringing back its whimsical charm. And low and behold, guess who was watching the entire thing... Lance. He stood behind a wall, watching as the whole crew crowded around Balan, hugging him. At that moment, he too, almost felt something... He almost felt... Positive. Once the tears had finally stopped, Leo and Emma held both of Balan's hands. "I don't suppose you'd want to join us for our grand finale?" Emma offered. Balan beamed in response. "Would I? Why would I say no? I'd be most honored if I was part of the show!" He stood up from his chair as the teens dragged him to the stage for one more musical number.Recovery begins at the heart part 3Haoyu Chang, The boy who would be one with the wind After Haoyu got the message from Leo, he immediately went to work on printing out the SOS document. One for every person he's known in Wonderworld. Even printing out extras in case some get lost. He also pinpointed the location of everyone he knew, so he would learn how to fly there quickly. This was a state of emergency, after all. "Balan won't become the new Lance as long as I am living and breathing!" He exclaimed to himself as he grabbed a folder from his desk and stuffed the fliers into the pockets. He put it into the compartment of the plane for safekeeping. After that, he opened the garage door, boarded his plane, and took off. "I'm closest to Fiona. I should deliver the message to her first." He flew over the sea to find her. Fiona Demetria, The dolphin and the diver Fiona was sitting on the beach. Her toes were in the water as she enjoyed the cooling sensation of the breeze. The sound of the waves soothed her as the squawking of the seagulls flew above, looking for scraps of food to eat. She opened her eyes to a sound of an airplane piercing through the wind. She put her hand over her eyes to block out the sun and get a closer look at it. It was a boy, about highschool age, flying through the sky. It was Haoyu! She smiled widely and waved at him. "Skygazer! Hi!" She called. Ever since being trapped in Wonderworld, Fiona and Haoyu went by different names. They didn't have to go by that anymore, but she figured it was a fun nickname to call him. "Hi, Seagazer! I've got a message for you!" He called back as he folded one of the fliers into an airplane and threw it down for her. She caught it just as it was about to hit the water. She looked back at Haoyu, going to ask what it was, but he just flew off and yelled, "It's an emergency! Read the letter!" So Fiona unfolded the paper airplane and read the message. An SOS saying that something was wrong with Balan. "Oh no!" She cried. "Poor Balan! I have to do something!" She looked at the contact information for Leo and Emma. "Looks like they've already thought of a plan. I better call them right away!" She stood up, dried her feet that were in the water, and rushed away. Cal Suresh, The former champion obsessed with past glory Cal was sitting outside of a coffee shop, enjoying the light breeze and a cup of cappuccino. All was quiet as he watched the people roam the streets with their friends or pets. It took him by surprise when a paper airplane landed right on the table he was sitting at. He looked up and saw Haoyu waving overhead. "Read the letter!" He yelled before flying off again. He opened the paper airplane and read the message. He felt like his heart skipped a beat. "Balan... In trouble? We can't let that happen. I better make sure we have a plan to set this straight." He stood up and grabbed his coffee, calling the nearest taxi to get home. Attilio Caccini, The man who fell for a princess & Cass Milligan, The girl and the kitten Attilio and Cass were taking a walk through the park, talking to each other as they shared an ice cream cone. "I'm so glad we decided to take a walk today. It's so lovely outside." Cass happily said. Attilio nodded, agreeing with her. "We just need a day where we don't have to do anything." He replied. Two paper airplanes flew right over Attilio's head. He looked around to see where it came from. Cass then looked up and saw Haoyu's aircraft. He signaled them to read it as he flew out of sight. Cass picked up the airplanes and unfolded them. As she read one of them, she gasped and covered her mouth. "What's the matter?" Asked Attilio worriedly. "There's something wrong with Balan!" She announced. The man rushed over to read the letter over her shoulder. "What's happening to him?" He asked. "I'm not sure. But there's some contact information right here. It must be Leo and Emma." "We better head back. If this is our friend we're talking about, it must be serious." The two ran off, dropping the ice cream cone as they ran. Lucy Wong, The artist with painter's block Lucy was staring at the river over a bridge. The sun glared over the water, but she didn't mind it. She was nearly done with her newest masterpiece. With one final stroke of her paintbrush, it was done. "Beautiful. Marvelous. Absolutely perfect." She said to herself. She was about to set up a new location until a paper airplane landed in her kit. "Oh? What's this?" She picked it up and unfolded it. "SOS. Balan is in trouble?! Oh my! What kind of trouble?" She looked at the screen chat usernames, assuming that she had to get in contact with them. "This just won't do. I'll have to put my work aside and get to the bottom of this." She put all her tools away and hustled back to her home. Iben Bia, The lady too scared to love Iben was sitting in a chair crocheting. The TV was on as her husband and son were sitting with their father watching cartoons. She held the baby in her lap as she was pulling the stitches of her yarn. The window was left open for ventilation, and she was enjoying life. But through the window flew in a paper airplane. Iben's husband looked at it. "Where did that come from?" He asked. Iben gently gave the baby to her husband and set down her crochet project. "Let me take a look." She took the paper and unfolded it. Her face showed instant worry as she read it. "What? What is it?" Her husband asked. "Remember that friend I mentioned a few months ago?" "Yeah, why?" "This letter says that he's in some sort of danger. I have to go take care of this, honey. I'll be right back." She rushed through the halls and to the computer. Bruce Stone, The man seen by no one Bruce was in the street picking up trash again. He was happy it wasn't as much litter as it was before. Some of the bypassers also dropped by to help. It made the old man happy, knowing that some people cared for the environment and what was best for everyone. A young boy, about 10 years old, found a paper airplane and brought it to Bruce. "Hey, mister! Check it out! A paper airplane!" He held it out in his hands. Bruce looked at it and realized it had Haoyu's handwriting. "May I see it, young man?" He asked politely. The boy handed the paper airplane to the old man. He unfolded it and read the message. "Oh... Oh my." He murmured. "What is it, sir?" Asked the boy. "An old friend of mine is in some sort of trouble. I need to help them." "Oh! If your friend is in trouble, you can go ahead, sir. Me and my friends can take over from here." "You'd do that for me? Why, thank you, young man." He patted the boy on the head as he took his cane and walked off. Sana Hudson, the lady filled with avian adoration & Eis Glover, The firefighter who longs to be a hero Sana and Eis were hanging out in the forest. She was helping him spot different kinds of birds and pointing out their fun patterns. "Look," Sana whispered as to not scare the birds. "Those are the lazulibirds I've been talking about." She handed him the binoculars so he could get a better look. "Oh, yeah. They are a beauty, aren't they?" Eis suddenly heard an airplane overhead. He looked up with the binoculars and saw Haoyu waving at them. "Hey! Look!" He handed the binocs back to Sana. She looked through them and saw that the boy folded something and threw them down into the forest. "What could that be?" She wondered as she picked them up. Upon unfolding them, they became worried as the message read about their maestro friend being in danger. "What's going on with him?" Sana asked. "I don't know. But if Haoyu's going all over the place to deliver these messages, it must be something serious. We should get going. You can show me more birds later." She nodded as she followed Eis out of the forest. Yuri Brand, The girl who's gaga for bugs Yuri was out bug hunting in the grassy field. She was hoping to look for grasshoppers or a praying mantis. It would've been great for her school project. She swung her net through the air to catch something but caught a paper airplane instead. "Oops. Where did this come from?" She wondered as she took it out of the net. She looked up and saw a white plane soaring through the sky. She smiled, assuming it was Haoyu. But why didn't he stop to say hello? Was he in a hurry? She opened the letter and dropped her net in shock. "Oh no! Poor Balan. He can't be in trouble. What's going on with him? I better call Emma and Leo about this." She took off, completely forgetting her net in the fields. Jose Gallard, The man who rages against the storm Haoyu's final stop was Jose's farm. It was easy to find with the crops being lined up as such. He folded the last message into an airplane and threw it down before flying away. Jose was on his porch, sitting in a rocking chair and playing his banjo. A large gust of wind blew through the air. He saw a little paper airplane flying towards him. With one quick swoop, he snatched it out of the air with one hand. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?" He opened the letter to read what was inside. "Oh, golly." He said allowed. "Ol' Balan's down in the dumps? I reckon the chillin' already have something planned. I better get on that computer." He stood up, put the banjo down, and went inside. Leo and Emma stuck on screen chat, waiting for the others to call. Leo was impatient, pacing around his room again while stopping to tap his fingers on the table. "Where is everybody?" He spoke. "Haoyu should've been back by now. What if they didn't get the messages? What if they really don't remember? What if-" Emma spoke up before Leo spiraled out of control. "Leo, please. Calm down. It's only been 3 hours. I'd imagine that Haoyu is going to need more time than that to send a message." "But every moment we waste is Balan getting worse and worse! We need to assemble the others and execute the plan now!" He slammed his fist against the table, knocking over a cup of pencils and pens. Emma held her hands up. "Leo, relax. We still have time. Remember, we found it in the early stage. Which means we have a head start. Once we put our plan into action and gather everyone together, we can make things right. There's no need to worry." Leo slumped in his chair and sighed heavily. "Alright, alright. You're right... I need to get it together. We still have time." Suddenly, there was a ringing on screen chat. Leo didn't hesitate to answer. Haoyu was on the other line. He was tired and sweaty. "The SOS documents have been sent. The others should be calling soon." He huffed. "Yeah! Way to go, man! You did us a huge favor!" Screen chat started ringing multiple times as if a whole crowd was calling. Emma was surprised; she didn't expect everyone to call that quick. But she answered them anyway. On twelve different screens, the previous inhabitants of Wonderworld were online. "I got your message. What's the issue?" Iben spoke up. "Yeah. Tell us what's wrong with our maestro." Fiona added. "Sorry I'm late. Had to get a taxi back home. What's happening?" Cal's screen popped up. This pleased Leo and Emma, knowing how quick everyone reached and how concerned they were for their friend. "We'll give you the short story," Emma started. "Balan is falling into negativity, and we have to save him!" Several people gasped. "Oh, poor Bally boo. How is this happening?" Sana questioned. "Is there any way to reverse it?" Bruce added. "We do have an idea. What Balan needs is a surge of positive energy. We were lucky we caught it when it was just getting started. Emma will tell you the plan." Leo explained. Emma nodded, taking over the call. "For this, we need to think theater. Music, dancing, performing. Balan has always entertained us, so that's how we're going to tackle it." "But some of us don't have any performing experience. Some of us can't sing or dance to save our lives." Lucy announced. "We're going to need a lot of practice to pull something like that off." Attilio added. "Then how long should we take to practice? Remember that it can't take too long." Leo said. Cal scratched his chin, thinking of a good time to both rehearse and be quick about it. "Normally, performances and musicals take months to practice and rehearse. But since this is a state of emergency, I'd say we give it about three weeks if no more." He suggested. "If we plan to make it a musical number, we need to pick a song we can all agree on." Iben pointed out. "We'll need someone to teach us the steps of the dance," Cass announced. "That's where I come in" Leo pointed out. I've taught some of my other friends how to dance, and they've gotten pretty good if I do say so myself." He said with a proud grin. "And I've been taking a lot of vocal lessons, so I've picked up a thing or two. We may not be perfect, but as long as our hearts are in the performance, I'm sure Balan would feel great about it." Everyone nodded on their screens. "So, what song do we want to do?" Yuri asked. Everyone kept suggesting songs, but none of them seemed to fit the performance they were going for. This was a lot trickier than they thought. Until Emma got an idea. "Hold on, everyone! Wait! I think I have the perfect song." She downloaded some sheet music and sent it all in a group DM. The others smiled. "It's perfect!" Lucy exclaimed. "Yeah! This will show him how much we care!" Haoyu added. "I agree. This song is the bee's knees." Jose pointed out. "Great. Then this is the song we'll sing when we do our show." Emma said. "We'll need a place to meet up." Said Attilio. "Where can we meet for this performance?" "We'll meet up right here." Leo sent a map of the location. The same park where he liked to dance. "I'll copy the coordinates and head that way as soon as I can." Haoyu announced. "I'll get a plane ticket, no problem. I should be there relatively soon." Cal said. Everyone agreed on the other lines to meet at the same place. "Great! We'll see you there. Remember, this is for Balan. Everything we're doing is to help him get back on his feet." Leo said. Everyone agreed and hung up.Recovery begins at the heart part 2After leaving the theater, Emma and Leo racked their brains to figure out how to bring Balan back to positivity. They thought they were extremely lucky they found it before it spread too far. Especially after Balan was so focused on hiding it. If they caught it too late, who knows what would've happened to their maestro friend. They ambled through town, thinking of what they could possibly do to save him. They kept exchanging ideas, and each one seemed like a flop. "What if we have Balan leave the theater? If he steps outside, it might relieve some of the stress." Leo explained. But Emma shook her head. "Balan can only leave the theater for a short amount of time. I don't think two hours would be enough to get the stress off his back." They continued to think. Emma then told Leo her plan. "How about we spend the night at the theater? Have a slumber party? We could spend the whole day playing games, telling stories, eating snacks, and watching movies. Balan could use the company, don't you think?" Leo cocked an eyebrow. "As fun as that sounds, I don't know how that would fix the problem. We're dealing with negativity here. We need something more than a simple slumber party." "Yeah, you're right." They roamed all the way to the park, the place where Leo liked to hang out and dance to himself. They sat at a bench, gears turning in their head to figure out what they could do. "Maybe we're thinking about this the wrong way." Emma pointed out. "We're clearly thinking of bandaid solutions for just simply being sad. This is a different situation entirely. It's about balance! It's not just emotional, but it's about willpower too." Leo nodded at the notion. "Yeah, you're right. We need to think outside the box on this one." He scratched his head as he thought. They both stood silent, processing what they could do differently. "Let's think about this in someone else's shoes. What would Balan do?" Emma suggested. Leo placed a finger under his chin. "Well... Balan is a theater guy. He likes to perform just to make us smile or laugh first. In the end, we encounter our problems head-on to restore balance... But his cause of imbalance is a fear of turning negative due to absorbing everyone's negative emotions." Emma snapped her fingers. "That's it! He's afraid of becoming like Lance. Lance said that he too loved humans until he fell prey to the nega. We need to have the opposite effect. Like, projecting out positive emotions to him." "And how are we gonna do that?" "... I have no idea." Emma's phone suddenly buzzed in her pocket. She took it out and looked at the notification—a reminder she had for vocal lessons at 2:30. "I better go, Leo. I have vocal lessons to get to." Leo paused and blinked. "Wait, vocal lessons? You mean you sing?" He asked. "Yeah, I like singing. So?" "I never knew you could sing. You never told me." "Well, I've been having private vocal lessons for a long time now. I'm even in the school choir. I've been told I have a great voice, so I decided to take some lessons." "Huh. Nice. You know, if you think about it, singing and dancing are kind of like performances for theater." Emma's eyes widened as a lightbulb lit overhead. She smiled and jumped up from the bench. "That's it!" She exclaimed. "I just got the perfect idea of how we could help Balan!" She turned around and hugged Leo tightly. "Leo, you're a genius!" The sudden hug caught Leo by surprise. He blushed bright red and felt like his heart was going to fly out of his chest. When Emma let go, she ran off. "I'll tell you the plan when I'm done with my lessons! We'll talk on the computer!" Leo stood there speechless, breathing heavily and sweating. Did it just get hotter out here, or was it just him? Leo was back at home, pacing around his room. He left his computer on with screen chat open, waiting for Emma to call. He didn't know when she would be done with her voice lessons, but he hoped it was soon. He thought every second they wasted would be Balan succumbing to negativity. It was hard for Leo to feel close to anybody. And to lose Balan would be like losing a good friend. He didn't want to go through that again. The screen chat made a beeping noise, signaling that someone was calling. He rushed over, sat down, and answered the call. Emma was on the other line. "Can you hear me?" She asked, checking if everything was working. "Loud and clear. How about you?" Leo asked. "Yeah, I can hear you." "So, what's this plan you were thinking about?" He asked. "Well, you mentioned that singing and dancing was a bit like theater. And Balan loves to put on a show for everyone. So I figured we could put on a show for him." "Hey, that's a nice idea. Putting on a show for him would send a massive surge of positive energy towards him." Emma held up a finger. "Of course, we can't do this alone. We'll need a crew." "You mean the previous inhabitants of Wonderworld?" "Well, I once thought we could bring all the previous visitors back with us, but then I also realized they wouldn't remember." Leo paused for a second before he spoke up. "No, wait. Yes, they do!" Emma cocked an eyebrow. "What? They do?" "Yeah, believe it or not, I've kept in touch with some of the others. Haoyu and I are actually pen pals. I once asked him if he remembered. He told me he thought it was a dream, but knowing that someone else knew the place, he remembered too." A smile lit up on Emma's face. "Wow! That's amazing! That must mean that the others remember too." Leo pounded his hand into his other. "Great! So here's what we'll do. I'll send a message to Haoyu, and he can go inform the others. He can get to them in no time with his flying bike." Emma nodded her head, agreeing with the plan. She clicked on another program and started to type something out. She then sent it to Leo through a DM. It read, "SOS!!! Balan is in trouble and needs our help. Call us on our screen chat to join the plan to save him." Just below the text read Leo's and Emma's screen chat usernames. "Send that to Haoyu. Tell him to make copies and send them to everyone we knew in Wonderworld." Leo nodded firmly. "Gotcha. I'll call him right now. I'll see you later." He pressed the button to hang up and looked through his other contacts for Haoyu. Once he found it, he called him, hoping he would pick up. On the other line, Haoyu was tinkering in the garage until he heard his computer beeping. When he answered it, Leo was on the other line. "Leo! It's been a while." He greeted. "Hey, Haoyu. I wish I was calling you on a happier note, but we've got a serious issue." Leo informed. "Why? What's the matter?" "You remember Balan, right?" "Of course I do. For some reason, my memory wasn't wiped upon exiting the theater." "Well, he's in trouble. I need you to send out a message so we can gather everyone to help him." Haoyu's eyes widened. "Balan's in trouble? How? What's happening?" He asked worriedly. "He's falling into negativity. If we don't do something, he'll become just like Lance." Leo explained. "Oh no! We can't let that happen! Lance trapped us and turned us into monsters the last time we were there. Ok, I'll send the message and tell the others." Leo nodded and sent the message to him by DM. "Print all those out and send them to the others. Our screen chat usernames are in the message." Haoyu gave a thumbs-up as he downloaded the image and began printing several copies. "Have no fear, Leo. Balan's in good hands. He helped us in our time of need, so now's the time to return the favor." "Great. Thanks a lot." Said Leo as he ended the call.My Guardian BeastDreams of his homeland had guided Akruul back to the north. Longing had found its way into his heart, which eventually led to him making the decision to visit his hometown. Years had passed when he walked out of the little settlement, turning his back to the place that held his roots. How long had it been, maybe even ten years? It was about time for Akruul to return and see how the town was doing nowadays. He had left it in hopes of adventure and becoming a heroic warrior. Now he had seen many corners of the world and had grown quite a swordsman, slaying monsters. He had achieved all he had dreamed of, and maybe that was one more reason for him to return to his hometown, just so he could share his success and stories with the people that had belonged to his childhood. Winter had come early in the north, Akruul noticed as he slowly moved through the lands. It almost felt like in one moment there was a green and lush world around him, but suddenly everything got covered in pure white snow. But growing up in these parts, Akruul knew it was nothing unusual for the winter to sneakily arrive ahead of time. As he wandered through the snowy landscape, he felt a strange warmth in his heart. Perhaps it was because he was getting close to his old home and was feeling sentimental already. It was alright, however, and even though he was an experienced warrior honed by many battles, he allowed himself to feel soft emotions. And so Akruul smiled slightly as he walked on the path that had recently formed into the snow; now, there had never been too many foreigners visiting this northern land, but sometimes merchant caravans remembered the existence of the settlement and would come to pay a visit there. It seemed like this was the case right now as there were multiple tracks in snow. Well, at least it would make Akruul's travel a little easier, although the heaviest snow blanket was still yet to come. It took Akruul a couple of days traversing in the snow before he reached his destination. Surrounded by a silent white forest, Akruul climbed on the hill and from there, he could see the little town. He stopped for a moment and observed the settlement that had formed downhill, right by a black tall rock. It was like nothing had changed during these years he had been away; everything looked exactly the same when he had last seen the town. Smoke was coming out from most of the chimneys, rising higher into the air, giving a sign that there was still life bustling under the snow-covered roofs. The exterior of the town seemed the same, but how were the people? To get an answer for this question, Akruul began to walk down the hill, and there wasn't much distance left between him and his old hometown. As Akruul stepped on the grounds of the town, he almost felt like he had walked back to his childhood. His sentimental feelings were growing stronger now as he strolled among the little buildings, the cozy homes of the townsfolk. He hadn't encountered anyone yet, but he wasn't worried; anyone would rather be sheltered in the warmth of their homes rather than being out in the cold. Though he remembered the people being resilient, it was needed in these rather harsh conditions. Snow, ice and cold were something that didn't discourage the townsfolk, they still were able to thrive. So, as Akruul made his way further into the town, he started to get an odd feeling when there was no one around. Until he finally spotted someone. In the fading daylight a hunched figure came to his view, a thick coat covering their body, like one would expect. It was an old woman and Akruul actually recognized her; she was the lady Imasan, one of the village elders and a known storyteller, Akruul and other children had enjoyed her stories back in the day. “Imasan!” Akruul said loudly to get the old woman's attention, rushing towards her. She turned to face him after hearing her name and for a brief moment she was squinting her eyes as she tried to figure out who was talking to her. Eventually she did recognize the man and a joyful expression spread on her old wrinkled face. “Akruul! My goodness, you have grown into such a handsome young man! It's been so long since the last time I saw you, how are you doing?” “I've been doing good, thank you”, Akruul replied as he stepped closer to the old woman. “Where is everyone? It's not that much of a cold day.” A shade appeared on old Imasan's face and she shook her head. “Well, things have changed a little after you left… You see, a beast has been plaguing our lives for about ten years. It's time for our annual winter celebration, but ever since the beast appeared, we haven't really been able to celebrate… It's almost like it loathes the festivities, attacking our village in frenzy if we gather around and rejoice together. So now the folks celebrate indoors and only with their families. It's a sad thing, really… It does come to the village other times too, but especially when we join together to have a good time.” “Oh, I almost forgot the winter celebration”, Akruul said and glimpses of childhood memories quickly flashed in his mind. “Do you know where the beast makes its lair? I can try to slay it.” “Well, you certainly look strong”, Imasan responded and there was a little trace of a smile visiting her otherwise worried face. “We don't know exactly where its nest is, but it always comes from the north. I'm sorry, but that's all I know.” “It's alright, Imasan”, Akruul replied and tried to assure her with a smile. “I can track it down. I'll come back soon.” “Good luck, my dear boy”, the old woman said and for a second she grasped Akruul's hand firmly. The man nodded and he squeezed her hand. They both let go and Akruul walked past her, heading to the north. The old woman watched him go, keeping her eyes on him for as long as she could. At that moment, snow began to gently and softly fall and it didn't take long before Akruul had disappeared behind this white curtain. Imasan tried to send good luck to Akruul through her heart and then she waddled away, heading home, her hope on the young man. Akruul walked across the snowy lands like a lone spirit. The world around him was completely silent and there was nothing but pure whiteness all around him. It was almost like he was wandering through a dream world, completely detached from reality. The snowfall was hindering his movements a little bit and if it was going to last for long, then it would make it really hard to push through all that freshly fallen snow. It would also hide all the possible trails made by the beast. However, there were many other ways to track a monster or an animal, you just had to keep your eyes and ears open on your surroundings. Akruul had learned a few things during his travels and developed keen senses. He let his gaze wander in the surrounding trees, monsters often left claw marks on them or if they had the ability to fly, there would be lots of broken branches on top of the trees. So far he hadn't noticed anything, though. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching him, observing his every move through the snowy woodlands. Perhaps it was the beast he was hunting. The problem was, he didn't see anything abnormal around him, just complete whiteness. He tried to focus on hearing, but there was nothing but silence. The feeling was almost haunting, like he got trapped in a dimension where there were only him and the beast, hunting each other. Akruul didn't like it at all. But he could only move forward. A sudden roar tore apart the silence of the white world, resonating in the winter air. It was a fierce and powerful roar, Akruul hadn't heard anything like it before. He felt a strange familiarity with it, which confused him. He pushed this bewilderment aside, however, and focused on locating the beast. It didn't seem like the roar had come from far away. Before Akruul was even able to begin this part of the hunt, he saw something in the distance, a creature of some kind that was looking at him among the trees. It was weird. This thing wanted to be found. But it didn't appear hostile, not yet at least. Akruul stopped for a moment to stare at the beast. It was quadruped and mostly white, so no wonder it could blend in with the snow. It had cerulean stripes decorating its body, like the ones of a tiger. The strangest part was that it appeared to have three heads: one of a tiger, one of a horse and one of a dragon. The being was a weird mix match of various creatures. But to Akruul, a beast is a beast, no matter what it looks like. The man was ready to draw his sword while still maintaining eye contact with the monster. He slowly got his trusty weapon out, but the beast wasn't really reacting at all. It continued to watch him for a moment, but then it leisurely turned around and started to walk away, but its horse head made a movement that signaled him to follow. Akruul was greatly baffled by this, but also extremely curious. He lowered his weapon, but didn't put it back to sheath, just in case he would need it. He decided to do what the beast wanted and started to follow it. Maybe this was a trap. Maybe he should just turn around. But he wanted to figure out what was going on with this creature. Perhaps he could find out why it has been attacking the village. Akruul maintained a safe distance while tailing the beast, just in case, although it still hadn't shown signs of aggression towards him. It kept going straight forward for a good while before it decided to take a turn to the left, starting to climb uphill. Akruul was sort of grateful for the beast to show him the way, because the trail it left on the snow made it easier for him to move. Occasionally he was left behind a little bit, but he noted that the beast would keep an eye on him and it would stop just so he could catch up. Where was it leading him? Akruul had no idea. It was such a tiring task to walk uphill that Akruul was grateful when they were traveling on an even surface again. They pushed through the snowy woodlands for a while before a tall black rock suddenly came into view; it was almost like it had just emerged from the ground, thrusting towards the sky. The beast started to circle around it, like it was looking for something. Then Akruul noticed a mouth of a cavern in the rock, which was probably what the beast was searching for. His hunch turned out to be right as the monster disappeared inside it. Akruul stopped at the entrance and hesitated. Why had the beast led him here? What could possibly lurk in this cave? He still had the chance to turn around. But he would never get answers to his questions if he didn't enter. His grasp on the hilt of his weapon tightened and he stepped inside the cold and dark cave. He walked through a tunnel for a while, almost in total darkness, but then a blue light appeared in the distance. It was an eerie light, but it also became his guide. He could see the figure of the beast standing in the far end of the tunnel, right by the chamber where the light was coming from. It followed the man with its gaze, all three heads staring at him. It was rather unsettling, but Akruul walked closer until he finally reached the chamber. Akruul wasn't sure what he had expected to find from there. Maybe a treasure of some kind. Maybe a litter of similar beasts or some kind of other creature this monster was taking care of. Maybe even a human. The last part turned out to be right, but in a way that confused Akruul the most. He was staring at himself. Not exactly who he was now, but a child version of him. Akruul didn't know how to respond to this and just stared at the little boy whom he had once been. The same black hair, the same blue eyes. Akruul was so baffled by this that he almost lost the grip of his sword. “What the hell is this…?” Akruul muttered. His younger self didn't say anything. The beast, on the other hand, stepped closer to the man and gently pushed him in the back with its dragon head, guiding him towards the little boy. All of this was so strange and Akruul glanced at the beast that just nodded to him. It wanted him to get closer to the little boy for some reason. He shifted his gaze back at his younger self. How was this possible? Was this some magic trick? The boy didn't move or show any emotion, which made Akruul a little terrified. But he wanted to know whether the boy was a real living thing or just a mirage, so he reached for the child, touching him to the shoulder. A flood of memories and sensations filled Akruul's head, it was like they had been locked away – or maybe even erased – from his mind. But now, he was reliving the most horrible years of his life. How his parents had fallen into ice, swallowed by the dark freezing waters, just because Akruul had forgotten his favorite fishing rod on the ice. How his big brother became resentful toward him because of this, blaming him for the demise of their parents, and hated that he had to take care of him now. How the brother started to spread venomous lies about him so all the other children would exclude him from everything and remind him that it was his fault that his parents had died. How the winter celebration he had loved to spend with his family became just utterly miserable to him, because his brother neglected him. All the hatred and grudge were coming back to him, something that had been sealed away for ten years, because he had split himself into two entities; one was the child filled by hate and the other one was the heroic warrior he had dreamed of becoming. All the horrible memories were carried by the child, while the adult Akruul remained completely oblivious to what he had experienced in his younger years. But now, it was time for them to merge, to become one. Akruul opened up his heart and took in all the horrendous memories, all the hatred and grudge. The child version of him turned into an entity of white blinding light and this light sunk into Akruul's chest, disappearing inside him. He understood it all now. Why the beast was attacking the village, what its role was. It had simply taken care of the part of him no one else wanted. Akruul turned to face the beast. With his hand, he reached for the dragon head and petted it tenderly. “Thank you for showing me the truth”, Akruul said. It was time to raid the village one last time. Akruul hoped that his brother was still alive.trophySnowed OutWith a gentle breeze the snowflakes fell, becoming one with the sea of white that had made up the forest floor. Surrounded by the mighty cedars as she watched the powder dance and sway, Jac was reminded of a scene from a Christmas movie. A far cry from the storms that had whipped through the town the night before. Jac let out a foggy sigh. Long after the holidays have come and gone, the frosty weather had more than overstayed its welcome. In particular, Jac was left stranded outside after the previous night's blizzard, which had only validated her frustrations further. With this part of the Beanstalk Society largely buried underneath this icy menace, and her workplace being closed for the day, the young woman was left with nothing but to kill time. As she added the finishing touches to her snowman, Jac paused for a bit to admire her work. A standard effort, not too shabby. The doldrums were about to set in however, her eyelids drooping on occasion as she continued to be on the look out. If she was going to do nothing all day, then she might as well rope her best friend into this so they can spend the day doing nothing together. After all, she did happen to be staying over at his house when the blizzard passed through. For a giant like him, this was nothing that a couple of hours of shoveling couldn't fix. But any knee high snow pile for these gargantuan folk would be enough to completely engulf any dwelling within the human district, with Jac's apartment being no exception. Despite repeated reassurances from the townsfolk themselves, Jac could not help but let her mind wander. How were her neighbors doing? And what would she be doing at this very moment if she was trapped along with them? At that moment Jac had snapped back to focus as she heard a rumbling sound, a low growl that echoed in the winter air. Luckily for her, it came from a familiar voice. Sure enough there was Richard, who was making an effort to roll a massive snow ball nearly half his height up the hill. With every shove, extra clumps of snow added more to its size and weight, yet it somehow managed to maintain a perfectly rounded shape throughout. Jac couldn't help but be struck with internal laughter, for to her it appeared as though the Wile giant was pushing a mountainous boulder by the way he was panting. After what seemed like a tremendous amount of time (for the Wile giant at least) Richard brought the snow orb to a designated spot on flat, stable ground. As soon was taken care of, he immediately flopped down on his back red in the face as he huffed entire blimps worth of air in and out of his lungs. Jac clicked her tongue and shook her head, having to fight back from expressing her amusement further. "Who are you trying to impress?" Richard opened a single eye to side glance the woman as she made her way towards his head. His look held a playful glint. "I have no one to please but myself." He said in a fox-like tone. Jac was near his cheek at this time. "But why go through the trouble? You're not competing for some award or making something that could land on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens." "I'll have you know, I have good reason to make a perfectly round snowman bottom. Just... give me a minute..." Richard had to stop for a moment, for he was still recovering from exhaustion. He soon continued. "At least the hard part is over with." "If you aren't having fun, then what's the point? I made mine without using much elbow grease." Richard turned his head to the side to get a better look at Jac's creation. He watched it in silence for a good minute. "What is that?" "What do you mean what is that?" "I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" "Tell me the truth, Richard. What do you think?" "The truth...?" "Yeah! Doncha think it looks pretty good?" "It's decent." "Of course!...Wait, huh?" "Pfft" "Rich!" "I didn't say it was bad. I said it was decent." Said the giant as he perked his lips. "Ohh, go finish your own dang snowman. Let's see what you got, Biggs." With that, Richard steadily pulled himself up and back on his feet with renewed vigor. In less than a minute, his entire frame towered over the human, taller than any of the buildings in her local district. This same titan of a man gently lowers his hand with his palm face up on the snow. "Since you're not busy, do you want to tag along?" Without hesitation nor a reply, Jac climbed onto Richard's hand, and bolted for his shoulder as soon as he lifted her gingerly onto that spot. She dove straight into the loose opening between his neck and scarf, and quickly settled into the giant's warmth. With a small smirk, Richard waited for Jac to eventually poke her head out. They then began to play a little game of hers that she always does whenever she's tucked away like this. "Onwards!" Jac commanded, pointing out to the great beyond. "Aye aye, captain!" Richard replied. And off they went. . . . . . . . It didn't be long before Richard returned with the second snow clump in his hands. He stacked it atop the first, then went to work fine tuning the spherical shape as he made it appear like a shining bald head. After a while however, Jac noticed her giant had stopped moving for a few minutes. She peeked out of the shelter of Richard's scarf to investigate. As suspected, the Wile giant had already moved on to decorating the second piece with stones. "Oh? So tired that you're resorting to putting the face on his torso?" Jac teased. "No, I wanted to create a Snow Daruma instead of the standard one." "A Da..? What is that?" "A snowman based off of a Japanese wishing doll. My dad used to make them with me when I was a small kid. Ah! Wait... I need to explain that concept to you, too." "As you can see, I have time." Jac said plainly. Richard then went on in textbook dialogue about daruma facts. All this talk of a sitting Buddhist monk that the snowmen resemble and the history behind the curious paper machete dolls that also took to the monk's likeness was enough to make Jac's eyelids heavy. At least until he came to the part where he spoke of their ability to grant wishes. "-- their eyes are blank, see? So if you make a wish or set a goal in mind, you draw an eyeball on one of the daruma's eyes and place it on the shelf for the household to see." "And then the daruma helps you grant your wish?" "Yeah.. according to tradition anyway. After the wish comes true, you draw the other eye in. And send it off to a shrine to show thanks for its support." "I see. So it's like a genie." Richard's tone of voice grew disheartened somewhat. "It's not that foolproof." He reached for his pocket to pull out his phone, but stopped short after recalling his battery was nearly dead. "I could show you, but..." At this very time, something lit up like a fire in Jac's mind, a remnant of a small memory that has clicked into place. "Didn't you have a white, rounded face object on your shelf in your living room? It had a bunch of facial markings and it only had one eye!" "That's the one!" Pausing for another moment, Richard then replied with a softer expression. "I'm surprised you remembered it at all." "Of course! I can't forget that gigantic face that scared me half to death! I was nearly startled off on your shoulder that time." "For someone your size who isn't used it, I'm not surprised. I was afraid of it too before I knew what it was. When I was like, five.” Richard chuckled under his breath. "By the way, whatever happened to it?" Richard had expected this. He continued to pat down his snow daruma, as he seemingly tried his best to not let Jac's question get under his skin. "Is something wrong?" That got Richard out of his trance. "Oh? Oh. No, you see..." He hesitated a bit, as he struggled to come up with the best course of action; eventually he settled on being blunt without spilling all of the details. "I wasn't able to get my wish granted... so after a while, I gave it up." Jac gasped. That lit flame ignited into a blazing passion. "They still only had one eye, right? Why didn't you let them do their job? I'm sure that doll was working hard for you!" Those last words stung a little. If only she knew that Richard's daruma could never grant his wish. It was impossible, so it was better for him to not be reminded of it. He spent the next few minutes without saying a single word, as he covered his emotions under the illusion that he was engrossed in crafting his snow creation. Jac didn't question it, but she did finally speak when the silence became unbearable for her. "Are you okay?" She asked meekly. A half-startled Richard replied. "Huh? Yeah! I'm fine. And I'm just about to wrap this up." He knew if he changed the subject, Jac would likely forget about it, and sure enough this was the case. With a final pat, Richard backed up to give Jac a full view of his work. The girl gave the snow daruma her honest review: she had to admit, this snow person was picture perfect with two clean spheres that made up the head and body. The face was simple, yet effective with a cute emoticon-like smile. It definitely fits the bill as something you would see on a holiday postcard. And yet, Jac felt as though something was missing. "Hm?" Richard knew that look in her eyes. After a tidal wave of brainstorming, a spark coursed through the human's mind. And upon processing it, she couldn't help but give out a smile that shined brighter than any of her surroundings. She whispered into Richard's ear; since they were alone, there was no point in doing this except to get a silent reaction. And there it was, that smile was contagious. Richard spontaneously perked up the side of his lips, slightly showing his sharp canine teeth. "That's perfect." He whispered back. He made his way towards Jac's snowman and carefully lifted it up onto his palm. With precise and delicate accuracy, Richard slowly sets it down on the left shoulder of his snow daruma, adding just a tad more snow to the base of the miniature to keep the latter stabilized. The giant then backed up to let his friend marvel at this sight. The result was a perfect giant and tiny person snowmen pair. “I call it Beanstalk and Beansprout united!” "Eh, that works. Mine does compliment yours perfectly I must say." "So, Rich. Think my snowman is only decent now?" "No. Truth is, I thought my efforts were pretty decent as well. The standard round body, round head approach. Nothing fancy. I just got carried away with the first piece. But together? I think they increased both of their marks by at least a hundred percent." "You think?" "Am I wrong?" Richard turned his head to look at the young woman on his right shoulder with a smile as wide as she was tall. Noticing the giant's willingness to express his glee (something that isn't too common for the Wile these days), Jac returned with a large grin of her own. "Nope. Not at all. And I couldn't have made such a perfect work of art without ya, of course." "Likewise." So with that, the two friends continued to look at their accomplishments for some time. As the snow, while still light, was increasing by the hour, Jac watched as her thoughts began to drift away once more. Being lost in her own ponderings, she remembered something she forgot to ask Richard before. "Do Yu...um. Snow darumas? Do they grant wishes, too?" "I've never heard of it." "It wouldn't hurt to try I guess." Jac asked the giant to hold her in front of the snow daruma's face. She then clapped her hands together, before she broke the momentum and asked Richard. "Aren't you going to make a wish?" "I don't bother with these types of things anymore. Besides, I don't really have anything to wish for right now." "Ok then!" With that, Jac closed her eyes and thought about what she wanted the most at this very moment. She then reached and with a bit of trouble she pulled out one of the stones that made up the snow daruma's eye. She then handed the heavy rock to Richard, who placed it in his coat pocket without effort. The Wile giant was puzzled by this. "Aww. The snowmen look less than stellar now.." "Don't worry. I'm sure the Da-roo ma–” "Daruma." "Right. I'm sure they'll get it back soon. Sometime today, hopefully." "What exactly is this wish now?" "It's a secret." "You can tell me..." "Well...hmmmm... nah. Wanna make sure I get my wish, so I don't want to ruin it by saying it aloud.” "Suit yourself." Richard shrugged, with Jac teetering slightly on his shoulder. This got her to respond with a cheeky laugh that the Wile wasn't sure what to make of. But he chose to refrain from any further questioning about it. As the quiet snowfall continued to coat the landscape in a sea of white, the two friends continued to take advantage of this free time. Hopefully Jac will be able to return to her apartment by day's end. If not however, she would have Richard to give her a home away from home.

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