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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.Recovery begins at the heart Pt 1Balan did not feel like himself. It had been only a few months since the previous twelve visitors had their balance restored. Still, he felt as if something was still wrong. He was in his room with his hat off. Looking at himself in the mirror. He recalled what Lance said to him. "Before you became Balan, it was my part to play. But I grew too close to the humans and their sorrows and sadness I fell prey." "No..." Balan said to himself. The voice continued to echo through his head. "But now you're falling in love with them too. Be careful, Balan-or Lance they'll soon call you." "Enough!" He yelled to no avail. "Face it, you don't stand a chance. It's only a matter of time until you become Lance." "NO! THAT CAN'T HAPPEN TO ME!!!" Balan yelled in a fit of rage as he threw a bottle of cologne across the room. It shattered against the wall, spraying what was left of the liquid all over the place along with tiny glass shards. He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to settle down and breathe until his hand jerked to the left side of his chest. A piercing sting that felt like a needle through his heart. He thought he let himself get too angry until he noticed that part of his skin was turning a shade of purple. In a panic, he took off his cloak and pulled down his tux with a finger. The purple shade spread from his chest up to his neck. He even noticed slight markings that looked precisely like Lance's. Is this what negativity feels like? "Oh no... It's starting already!" He wailed. He felt tears swell up in his eyes. Is this what Lance had to go through when he was being consumed by negativity? It hurt... The sharp pain in his heart didn't go away. The spreading negativity felt like pins and needles from his pecs to his neck. He pulled his tuxedo further down to see how far it spread. It was already on his shoulder blade, and it looked like it kept growing. "Wh... What do I do? How can I stop it?" He asked himself. He heard a knock at the door and jumped. "Maestro Balan." Called a voice. Sounded like frost fairy. "Leo and Emma have arrived. They wanted to see you." Balan took a deep breath and adjusted his suit. "J-just a minute! I-I'm sprucing up." He called on the other end. He grabbed his cloak off the floor and tucked it back, trying to hide the markings that reached his throat. He looked at himself in the mirror one more time before grabbing his hat. "I have to pull myself together. Right now, I'm just proving that Lance was right. I have to put on a brave face and calm down." He took a deep breath and put his hat back on, showing his elusive identity. He forced a smile before leaving his bedroom. Leo and Emma roamed the theater. It felt cold for some reason. Every other step they took creaked the floor, and the lights flickered eerily. Something in the atmosphere didn't feel right. It didn't have that fun, whimsical charm as it always did. Either he was letting the place go, or something was happening. "Hello, children! I wasn't expecting guests. But I'm glad to see you again. I won't protest." He started again at his usual rhymes. Leo and Emma looked up to see he was on the balcony of the lobby. "Balan!" They both called. "We saw the theater and decided to stop by. If you have the time, that is." Leo said. Balan sighed gently and jumped down to the floor. "You know you two visiting is something I don't mind. I am happy to have you here, my friends. You're both very kind." He put on the most humble smile he could muster. But there was something in his demeanor that didn't sit right with them. Balan's supposed to be excitable and energetic, right? Today, he seemed slow or out of character. "Please, come inside. We can talk backstage. You can tell me what's going on in your life. Tell me what's all the rage." They ambled through the lobby of the theater to the stage. A chill in the air sent a shiver down Emma's spine. The place seemed... Dimmer and less vibrant than usual. "Excuse me, Balan," She started. "Does the theater seem a bit colder to you?" Although he didn't show it, Balan was surprised to hear this. The theater was meant to match his or Lance's heart wherever they stood. The building was reflecting his heart. "Is it? I didn't realize. Though changes in the air is not a big surprise. Sometimes it's warm, sometimes it's cold. The building reflects our auras, so I'm told." He explained. "Reflects the maestros auras?" The teens thought to themselves. Was Lance hanging around somewhere? Or was Balan hiding something? They finally entered the main auditorium. And just like the rest of the theater, it was less vibrant and gloomy in the atmosphere. "Leo, you can feel it too, can't you?" Emma leaned in to whisper to Leo. "Yeah. Something's off about this place. And Balan too. Is he sick or something?" He whispered back. But Balan's ears were burning. He could hear the two talking right behind him. "Excuse me." He announced. "I'm standing right here! Is there a reason you two are whispering in each other's ears?" Both of them froze a little. Balan looked on edge or irritable to them. "Yeah. We got something to ask of you, Balan... Are you feeling ok?" Emma asked. Balan felt a giant lump form in his throat. He was a professional actor. How could they see right through him? "M-me? Of course, I'm fine! Why would I not be... Fine?" He covered his mouth, realizing that he didn't rhyme properly. And the kids noticed it quick. "Balan," Leo called. "That wasn't the right way to rhyme. What's going on with you?" "No, no, it just merely slipped. I... I... Uh..." Balan started tugging on the brim of his hat, struggling to find the words. He was sweating profusely and shaking while biting the tip of his thumb. The act was finally dropped when Emma stomped her foot. "Alright, that's it! You can't even make up rhymes on the spot anymore! Something is clearly on your mind. Come on, Balan. Tell us what's wrong." Leo also stepped in. "Yeah. We're your friends, right?" The jig was up. He could no longer hold his composure. His smile dropped and he lifted the hat off his head, revealing his white face and seafoam green hair. "Very well. You win... I've had a lot on my mind lately... Please, sit anywhere you like." The maestro solemnly placed his hat on a nearby table. At the same time, Leo and Emma scooted two chairs over to the center of the auditorium. Balan sighed sadly. "Let's just say the last time you two were here, Lance and I had... An argument." "Doesn't that usually happen? I thought you and Lance hated each other. Aren't you two like, worst enemies?" Leo spurted out. "We don't... Hate each other. But we never really got along great. Lance had mentioned that he was the one who was previously running Wonderworld... But... He fell into negativity after becoming too close to the people... Their sorrows and sadness affected him and turned him into who he is now." Balan tried to fight back the tears that were filling up in his eyes. Leo and Emma were both stunned and confused. Lance was the one who ran Wonderworld previously? If so, how did Balan come to be? "I think we need a little more context, Balan." Emma stated. "What exactly does this have to do with you?" Balan tried to inhale carefully without hitching his breath. "Because... He warned me that the same thing will happen to me!" He raised his voice. Small tears started slipping from his eyes. This news disturbed both Leo and Emma. "What?!" Leo shouted. "That's ridiculous! How could any negative emotion affect you? You're too peppy for that stuff!" "He's right!" Emma added. "Lance couldn't be right about that. You're the funny, energetic maestro that you'll always be." Balan shut his eyes tight as more tears jerked from his eyes. "No... You don't understand... That's what's wrong... It's already started." Balan pulled down the left side of his suit, showing the purple shading all over his chest. Leo and Emma thought their eyes would pop out of their skulls. "I don't know how it started. And I don't know how to get it to stop. I fear it's already too late. I... I..." He stopped mid-sentence. Falling to a sitting position, and tears spewing from his eyes like a broken faucet. "I won't be the same Balan you know and love before you! Lance was right... He was right about everything!" He buried his face into his hands, crying hard. The tims showed up and started nuzzling against his legs and sides. Even the teens stood up and rushed towards Balan to comfort him. Leo and Emma stood by both of his sides. Leo put his hands on Balan's shoulder and back, rubbing the tension away. "Hey, hey, take it easy, Bal. Relax. There's no need for the waterworks." He said. Emma knelt down to meet him at eye level. She tried in vain to wipe Balan's tears away with her hand. "Come on, Balan. Don't cry. This isn't like you." She said. But Balan continued to sob and sniffle while hiccupping as he tried to catch his breath. One of the tims came in, carrying a tissue box on top of its head. "Oh, thank you." Said Emma as she pulled out the material. "Here, Balan. Blow." She commanded as she held the tissue to his nostrils. Following suit, he blew his nose as Emma told him to. When he was done, she crumpled up the tissue and stuffed it into her pocket. "There we go. Good man." She said. Balan rubbed his index finger under his nose. "There has to be some way we can reverse this." Leo said. "It hasn't spread out through your entire body yet like Lance. There must still be a chance to stop it while the nega is still in its... Early-stage." He couldn't think of any other way to put it. Early-stage was the closest he's got. "It's the same way of how it works with us, right?" Emma spoke out. "There must be some sort of cause of imbalance. This whole negativity thing is driving you up the wall. Which means that's what's causing you to be imbalanced." Balan opened his mouth to say something but didn't get the chance as Leo suddenly spoke up again. "Yeah. Yeah! Everybody deserves balance. Even magical people like you. What you really need is a surge of positivity. There's still a chance we can fix it before it's too late!" Balan rubbed his eyes. The tears slowed down, but they were still dripping from his face. "How..." He stopped to sniffle. "How do you plan to do that? Lance wasn't able to avoid it. How can I?" The teens stood for a moment, processing what they could do to keep their friend from turning into someone like Lance. "We'll need to figure that out first. But right now, let's focus on here and now. What you need right now is a mental health break." Emma said. Balan blinked, unsure of what she was meaning. "A... Mental health break?" Emma took his hand and held it in her other. "You've got a lot on your mind right now. So you should relax and just have a day to do nothing." "But I can't... Th-the theater. I-I still have visitors I need to help. I have to restore their balance. That's my job!" Emma covered his mouth, stopping him from talking. "It'd be hard to restore anybody's balance if you can't do it yourself. You need a day off. The people can wait. We have to worry about you first. Until we can somehow reverse this negativity, you need some downtime. Trust me. It'll be good for you." Leo said. Balan couldn't say anything else. He could tell that the kids really did care for his well-being. He finally stood back up, rubbing the rest of the tears out of his eyes. "Ok..." He murmured. "I'll take your word for it. If it makes you happy, I'll take a break. I'll trust you to do the right thing. I believe in you." He hugged the two teens, finally feeling warmer again. When they let go, they decided to leave the theater. "We'll check on you often, Balan. Just hang in there for us, ok?" Leo said. "We'll find a way to reverse this negativity in you. You be strong for us. Keep that smile on your face." Emma added as she handed the maestro back his hat. He graciously took it, holding it by the edge of the brim. "I'll... I'll try my best. Thank you... Both of you." He could finally feel a real genuine smile return to his face. He escorted the two out the door, waving them off. But right behind him loomed was the shadowy aura of Lance. Tentacles exposed and markings glowing. "Don't put too much faith in their efforts." He said. "Once it's already started, it can't go back. It's too late for you, Balan. Just face the facts." Balan rolled his eyes and glared back at his counterpart. "Don't try to humor me with your rhymes, Lance. I told you I wasn't going to end up like you. And so help me, if I ever end up the same way you are now, I'll give up my position as maestro and throw myself out of this theater." Lance smirked at him, getting closer to his face. "Is that a bet?" He hissed. "Don't hold your breath." Balan retorted. "I still stand by my statement that I'll NEVER end up like you!" Lance only snickered and backed away. "You'll see I'm right in the end. You'll become the new Lance in due time." He walked away, leaving Balan at the foot of the door.Sushi Pack Reimagine Chapter 2 Chapter 2High Tide, Low Tide Ben's alarm clock began its obnoxious honking as it was time for him to wake up. He grumbled while slamming his hand on the nightstand to press the "snooze" button.He then dragged himself out of bed and to the kitchen for breakfast.Quietly eating his omelette, Ben couldn't stop thinking about the bizarre stuff he saw yesterday. It all felt so much like a weird dream he couldn't believe it."Is something bothering you?" His mother asks, showing concern for her son."Mom, everything's cool," Ben replied, "there's just something to do at work later." A couple of minutes passed, Ben was dressed, teeth brushed, and lunch packed up ready for work. He followed his dad and all it took was ten minute walk to the Green Donut to get started with work. As they entered, they saw Francis and Heidi with shocked looks on their faces."Oh, hello sir! How uh... Have you been?" Francis asks, trying to compose himself."I've been well Mr. Huffman," Mr. Mizuyama answered in his usually blunt way. "Thank you."Then, business resumed like usual as Mr. Mizuyama went inside his office to do paperwork and check on the security camera footage.Meanwhile with Ben, he was standing by the counter and staring at the ceiling as today's shift is certainly not as busy as yesterday. Then, he saw someone so strange and yet so familiar, it was that fish woman and she brought company with her."Oh, it's you!" Ben exclaims, surprised to see her."We meet again I see," the fish woman remarked, smiling at Ben as she sits down with two of her companions, a blue octopus person and another fish person in an orange suit sitting with her while another companion, a pink crab was stuck at the door."Come on, stupid door!" The pink crab barked "lemme in!"The fish woman sighed. "Kani, you can walk sideways."Kani realized her mistake and moved sideways, going inside with ease.Heidi was genuinely surprised to see them in person. She too, was convinced they weren't real but today seemed to have changed her mind.The fish in orange then explained that they came to Wharf City out of fear that a (apparently) notorious crime group would cause further harm to the people of Wharf City and maybe even Cascadia as a whole.It was a lot to take in more or less. Then, Mr. Mizuyama came out of his office to go do something but the fish people have caught his attention. His eyes widened and he let out a confused "Oh" before walking into the kitchen. "Benjamin, I would like to have you come to my office," he said to Ben. "You're not in any trouble, I just need you to take a look at something."Ben gulped as he went inside his father's office, worried and unsure of what he's exactly talking about.He sat down as he watched his dad look through the security footage from yesterday and stopped at a clip from 2:30 PM, and Ben recognized what happened; it was that rabbit who stole a donut!"What is that...?" Mr. Mizuyama commented under his breath, trying to figure on Earth he's looking at. "Ben, can you ask one of those weird people to come and take a look at this?"Ben then got up and asked the fish woman, Maguro to look at something. She shrugged and followed him to his father's office where she was asked about the rabbit on the computer monitor. Maguro tensed up, like she also knew who that bunny burglar is."That's Mochi Mocchiato," she explained, "she's a part of the Legion of Low Tide, a crime group infamous for their kidnappings, scams, and petty thefts all across the galaxy. Once you face their wrath, abandon all hope."Neither Ben nor Mr. Mizuyama knew what to do with this information but their thoughts were immediately interrupted by a loud bang from outside. Maguro quickly ran out of the room, possibly to investigate the noise.Mr. Mizuyama gave his son a look, the type of that meant, "Do you seriously want to take this risk?" However, Ben decided to run after her, and what he saw sent him chills down his spine, there was this large creature standing at the entryway. Like Maguro, it resembled a tuna but its teeth were sharper, was much more muscular, and wore armor of some kind.The creature smashed its fist through the glass and then ripped the door off its hinges, making the pieces fall down onto the floor and sidewalk.Then, the large creature moved out of the way, allowing their own group of companions to go inside, with yesterday's guest Mochi being one of them!"Looks like those detective brats can't get enough of us!" A yellow eel cackles, "Still following us on our trail, huh?"The rest of the group cackled, amused by the eel's remarks.Maguro shook her head. "Just leave," Kani groaned as she didn't want to deal with them.The blue octopus vanished in thin air and climbed up to the ceiling judging by the sounds that were made.While the fish people traded their insults, Ben snuck into the closet near the restrooms and grabbed out a crowbar in a case where he would need to defend himself and/or the people dear to him. As he walked back to the main area with the crowbar in hand, Mochi managed to spot him."There he is!" she squeaked, "the man who ruined our plan!"Ben tried to run away but the large fish man managed to shove him to the ground, holding his captive down. Ben couldn't move and he never felt so scared in his entire life as he looked at that huge beast's angry eyes and drooling mouth."Get away from him, Toro!" A voice yelled out. It was that blue octopus man dangling from the ceiling! Toro was in shock, allowing Ben to give him a crowbar to the knee.The blue octopus continued to stare down at Toro, and eventually dropped a smoke bomb and fell back down to the floor.Ben navigated around the ink-like smoke, hoping to find anyone. "Ben! Ben, where are you dude?!" Heidi started yelling from the distance, hoping she could get him to follow her voice.Ben continued to explore and then heard Francis's voice, "Ben, are you still there? Lemme get my arm out and you can grab on it!"Then, Ben accidentally bumped into the counter but luckily, he reunited with his coworkers, who were happy that he was unharmed. For nearly an hour, they hid in the under the prep table in total silence.Time has passed, the smoke had faded away, though no one is sure if it's safe to leave.Maguro floated into the kitchen and was looking at them. "You're all mostly safe now," she told them. "However, the Legion of Low Tide are still an active threat but we, the M.A.K.I Group will protect you no matter what."She then gave Ben, Francis, and Heidi each a pager-like gadget in case of emergencies.Mr. Mizuyama came in to check on his son and employees. He saw Maguro too."Hello everyone, are you well?""We're alright sir," Heidi responded, still unsure of what is going on. "The Sushi Pack have definitely saved our tails back there."Although Maguro was confused about the "Sushi Pack" comment, she more or less tried to ignore it.The Green Donut ended up closing early due to everything that happened. On the walk back home, Mr. Mizuyama would occasionally freeze in his tracks every couple of steps with his face all scrunched up, trying to hold back tears.Ben would ask him if he was okay but alas, his dad refused to answer the question even after being asked about it thrice.Though, it didn't take long for Mr. Mizuyama to break down crying."I thought... I thought," Mr. Mizuyama could muster out of the blabbering, "I thought I was gonna lose you today!"He still continued to cry while Ben hugged him."Dad, I know," Ben replied, empathizing with his dad. "I really thought I was a goner too. It was so scary.""Ben.""Yes, Dad?""You know your best friend, Samir? Please, go to the al-Khalidis if this Low Tide Legion ever tries to hurt you again."Ben nodded, accepting his Dad's request. Back home, Mr. Mizuyama went straight to bed while Ben sat down to watch some TV. He would sometimes switch to the news to see if Channel 5 covered anything about the Legion of Low Tide. They did but no one talked about the Green Donut. He sighed, turned off the TV, and went into his room. He grabbed his phone, texting Heidi to see if she's okay and gave Francis a voicemail for the same reason.Although they were mostly fine, the event made Heidi think about quitting her job.Ben didn't blame her one bit, those two days of their life were some of the most eventful and terrifying they ever experienced.Now, all Ben can do is lay down on his bed and think.Heart of the Storm - Chapter 5 - Ninjago Fanfic“LLOYD HAS A DATE!” Jay yelled, running into the living room, where Kai and Nya were watching TV. Neither of them paid him any attention, instead craning their necks so they could look around him. “WHY AREN’T YOU GUYS HYPED ABOUT THIS?” Nya shrugged. “Because he just turned nineteen and it’s not a big deal?” ‘It is a big deal!” Jay bent down and grabbed Nya’s shoulders. “IT MEANS HE IS IN LOOOOOOOVE!” “JAY! KNOCK IT OFF!” Lloyd yelled from down the hall. When he walked into the room, he held his arms out to show off his button up shirt and nice jeans. “How do I look?” Kai stood up and circled him with a proud look on his face. “You clean up nicely! I taught you so well.” “Um, hellOOOOooooo?” Jay said, pushing in between Lloyd and Kai. “He obviously got his style from me.” Lloyd laughed. “Okay that’s enough from you guys.” “So, where are you going on your date?” Jay asked. Lloyd slid his arms into his brown jacket. “It’s not a date! We are meeting up at an arcade to exchange our books and then maybe grab dinner or something.” “Huh uh, yeah because everyone wears nice button ups to hang out at an arcade,” Kai teased, rubbing his hand into Lloyd’s hair. “DUDE, STOP!” Lloyd yelled irritated, yet amused. “It may not be a date, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to look good! I’ll see you guys later tonight, okay?” “Come on, I’ll walk you out,” Kai said, leading him towards the outer deck. “I don’t need an escort, dad,” Lloyd joked. Outside, Cole was quietly training, throwing punches at a training dummy. His fists glowed every time he swung, but the light would vanish before his punch landed. He took a few steps back and reached for his water bottle while wiping sweat from his forehead, finally noticing the two others approaching. “You look fancy!” he said, gesturing to Lloyd. “You guys are acting like I’m wearing a suit!” Lloyd laughed. “When all you wear are ripped jeans and oversized hoodies, you may as well be wearing a tux!” Cole clapped Lloyd’s shoulder. “Have a good time tonight, alright? And don’t forget to use protection.” “Oh my GOD I’m leaving now.” And without another word, Lloyd repelled down from the ship. “You getting some training in?” Kai asked Cole, the two of them now alone. “Yep. I need to stay sharp.” “Why were you pulling your punches?” Kai asked. “What are you talking about?” “When you were punching the dummy, you were using your super strength, but you’d stop using it right when you landed the punch.” “Oh, that!” Cole took a sip from his water bottle, then put it down, taking his fight stance again. “Two reasons. One, I don’t wanna break our dummy again. And two, it’s important that I always have control over when and where I use my strength. I never want to actually hurt anyone.” “But if you never use your strength, how will you know what you can do?” “I’ve got a pretty good idea of what my powers do.” Cole threw a punch, but Kai caught his fist before it landed. “Cole, I want you to hit me.” Cole took a step back, confused. “I’m assuming you mean with my full strength?” Kai nodded. “You have the potential to hit harder than the rest of us combined, but you always take a more defensive position. If you can learn to play more offensive, you’d be a force to be reckoned with.” Kai put his hands up. “Okay, punch me.” “Kai, I really don’t think-” “DO IT!” Cole wound up for a punch, but as he threw it, Kai perfectly dodged and retaliated with his own hit, landing against Cole’s chest. The heat from his knuckles felt like he was going to burn a hole right to Cole’s heart. Kai shook his head. “You are too predictable and too heavy with your stance. You gotta loosen up and be more bouncy on your feet.” “I’m not as quick as you, twinkle toes.” Kai motioned for Cole to try again. “Come on, you got this.” Cole threw another punch, but Kai easily batted his arm away. Kai groaned and stepped behind Cole, grabbing his waist, his warm, calloused hands gently pressed against Cole’s skin. “Relax your hips,” Kai said calmly, “and let yourself feel all that energy flow through you.” His hot breath against the back of Cole’s neck sent tingles down his spine. Cole tightened his jaw, doing his best to focus. “Feel the wind on your skin.” Kai’s voice was soft and light. “Flow with it.” Cole closed his eyes and felt the wind, letting his body move with it. Whenever he went too far in one direction, Kai would tighten his grip and guide Cole back the other direction. Cole was melting into putty under his touch. “Yeah, you got it!” Kai said excitedly. “This is where you want your balance to be when you’re on offense. You want to stay loose and relaxed and ready to move without moving too far in any direction. Hold that position, I’m going to do something.” Cole suddenly felt Kai run his hands down his arms, grabbing Cole’s hands. Cole’s skin burned under his touch, making Cole shudder. Kai moved his hands, one held out in front of him and one held closer to his body. You want to be ready for anything. You can’t afford to tank hits like you normally do, you have to be ready to feel the natural push and pull in a fight.” Kai finally let go of Cole and circled him. “Now, I want you to throw a hit at me at full strength this time, but make sure you stay light on your feet.” Cole nodded. He bounced from foot to foot and rolled his shoulders back. He then took up the stance Kai had taught him, earning an encouraging nod from Kai. Cole felt the wind pick up as he raised his fist to punch. To his surprise, Kai didn’t dodge. Kai grabbed Cole’s wrist and pulled him forward, making him stumble out of his stance. Kai jumped and wrapped his legs around Cole’s torso, his momentum knocking the two down. Cole landed against the deck, Kai still on his torso. Kai put his hands down on either side of Cole’s head, beads of sweat dropping off of his face as he breathed heavily. He gave Cole a cocky smile, but Cole couldn’t smile back. His chest was tight with anxiety at having Kai so close to him like this. “I gotta work on my form, I guess,” Cole mumbled. “No, no, your form was good. You just trusted me to play fair, and I didn’t. That’ll be the next lesson I teach you.” Cole looked up at Kai, wide-eyed, his heart beating out of his chest. Kai sat up slightly, cocking his head at Cole. “You good?” “Am…. I interrupting something?” Jay asked, appearing just off to the side. Kai quickly jumped up as if he didn’t just take down another man who towered over him. “DUDE! YOU MISSED IT! IT WAS EPIC!” Kai grabbed Jay by the gi. “I was teaching Cole some pointers and he left himself open for a takedown! It was so AWESOME!” Jay looked over at Cole, who was still laying on the deck, trying to catch his breath. He narrowed his eyes. “Uh huh. I see.” “Did you need something?” Kai asked. “Zane wanted me to tell you guys that he has dinner ready.” “Sweet! I can’t wait to tell everyone else about this!” Kai ran into their living quarters, the biggest smile on his face. Jay lingered for a moment, but followed Kai inside. Cole couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. All he could do was lay there for a few more minutes, missing the feeling of Kai’s touch. Cole closed his eyes to take a deep breath, his lungs filling with the scent of a campfire in the middle of a cold Summer’s night. — Lloyd nervously waited outside the arcade, fidgeting with Akita’s comic book. When he and Akita agreed to meet, Lloyd had no expectations whatsoever. But since the other ninja kept calling it a date, Lloyd became stressed. Was this a date? Am I dressed up enough? Am I too dressed up? Should I have brought a gift? What if it’s not even a date anyway? What if…it is? Do I want this to be a date? I’m not sure I’m ready to- “Lloyd, right?” A sweet voice asked behind him. Lloyd turned around to find Akita wearing a cute green dress, making her brown eyes pop and perfectly pairing with her olive skin. She held up his comic book. “I believe this is yours, kind sir.” Lloyd smiled and offered her comic book in return. “And for you, m’lady.” Akita playfully cringed. “Eww no, don’t ever say that again.” Lloyd laughed. “I won’t! I regretted it as soon as it came out of my mouth.” The two exchanged books and Lloyd lit up, seeing the autograph he was given. “Thank you so much for this Akita!” “Of course! And to say thank you, you can take me to dinner!” “But I also brought your comic. Aren’t we even?” Akita’s smile faltered. She waited for a laugh or a punchline, but was surprised to see Lloyd was dead serious. “Lloyd, This is me asking you to take me on a date.” Lloyd went pale. “I am so sorry. I sometimes struggle in social situations. I had an unconventional upbringing, so I’m sorry if I ever misunderstand things.” “What? Were you raised by wolves?” Akita joked. “Honestly? I sometimes think I would’ve been better off if I was.” Lloyd pulled out his phone. “So, uh, where do you want to go for dinner?” “I’m new to the area, so I was hoping you’d maybe have a place in mind that you’d like to share with me?” Lloyd thought for a moment, then smiled. “I know a place.” — “Chen’s Noodle Shop?” Akita asked as the two walked into the restaurant together. “I can’t say I’ve ever heard of it!” “It’s a pretty nice place. The owner is actually a friend of mine,” Lloyd explained. And as if right on cue, a friendly face walked up and pulled Lloyd into a hug. “Lloyd! Hey! How are you doing?” “Skylor! Hey! I’ve been pretty good. How are things here?” Skylor looked around her restaurant, busy as ever. “Well, I’d say things have been pretty amazing!” She then looked at Akita and offered out a hand. “And you are?” Akita smiled and shook her hand. “Akita!” “I can’t say I’ve seen you before, Akita.” “I’m new in town.” Skylor raised her eyebrows and looked at Lloyd. “Well, you’ve got a pretty solid tour guide.” “I’m going to freshen up in the restroom,” Akita said, handing Lloyd her comic book. “Hold this for me?” Lloyd carefully took the book and watched her leave, waiting till Akita was out of earshot. “She doesn’t know,” Lloyd whispered. “Know…what?” Skylor asked. “That I’m the Green Ninja.” Skylor stared at him. “Wait, really?” Lloyd nodded. “She didn’t recognize me and I haven’t told her yet. Just please try to keep ninja stuff to a minimum tonight, okay?” “Just be careful there, Lloyd. You’re playing a dangerous game,” Skylor warned. “Don’t let this come back to haunt you, okay? I’m honestly shocked you were ready to be dating right now.” “It’s complicated, I’m not sure I’m ready either.” Skylor blinked slowly. “So you’re hiding your identity from a girl you don’t even know if you want to be on a date with right now?” “Yep.” Skylor’s demeanor changed as Akita approached. “Table for two, right this way,” she said with a smile. As they two followed her, Akita saw the conveyor belt and excitedly asked, “Is this one of those revolving sushi type places?” “Yeah, but they have so many more dishes than just sushi! You’ll love it!” Lloyd responded. Skylor sat them down at their table and left to grab them their drink order, leaving the two alone for a moment. “This place is so nice! Thank you for taking me here!” Akita said. She tapped her nails on the table as she watched a few of the dishes go by. “What do you recommend here?” Lloyd shrugged. “That’s a tough one. I’ve never had a meal here I didn’t love. Noodles of any kind are a staple of this place, but I also love their fried rice. It’s simple but still a classic.” “These choices are going to kill me!” Akita playfully complained. Lloyd smiled at her, but from where he was sitting, he could see the restaurant’s entrance. These two rougher looking guys walked in and seemed to be having some sort of argument with Skylor, but the noise from the other restaurant goers drowned them out. Lloyd couldn’t help but watch them. Akita noticed Lloyd was no longer looking at her, so Akita turned around and saw the men too. “They seem angry.” “Akita. Something’s wrong.I need you to trust me.” “Lloyd, you’re scaring me now.” “Akita, get down.” “Do you know those guys?” “Listen to me and get down.” “Lloyd, what’s going on-” A gunshot rang out. “GET DOWN, AKITA!” Lloyd screamed as he dove across the table. He didn’t know what he was doing, all he knew was he had to protect her without being the Green Ninja.Heart of the Storm - Chapter 4 - Ninjago Fanfic“FAMILY MEETING!” Following the day’s events, everyone needed to take a moment to settle down and process it. But Jay’s idea of “processing it” was forcing everyone to stay put in the living room so they could watch him pace around and complain. Cole and Lloyd sat by each other on the couch, faces still covered with their face masks. Kai sat on the other side of Lloyd, basically attached to him at the hip. Zane sat on the ground in front of them, his eyes following Jay as he paced. And Nya was on her feet, following behind Jay, trying to get him to calm down. “Calm down? Calm down?” Jay asked her. “Calm? Down? That THING made it onto the BOUNTY and ATTACKED!” “But it didn’t attack, it just kinda took up space,” Nya pointed out. “It didn’t cause harm.” Kai scoffed and mumbled, “Physical harm.” “It also left as soon as I hit it with water!” Nya grabbed Jay’s shoulders, stopping him in his tracks. She tilted his head upwards slightly so that she could meet his eyes. “We are all still okay. We’ve dealt with worse.” Jay leaned into her touch, melting in her hands. “I’m scared, Nya. What do we do if it comes back?” “I hear pans work great!” Cole teased. Nya shot him a dirty look, then turned back to her lover. “Then we will cross that bridge when we get there.” She pulled him into a hug. “We will be okay, I promise.” Cole raised his hand. “Can Lloyd and I be excused? This face mask is starting to burn a little.” Lloyd nodded in agreement. Finally noticing, Jay stopped and looked between Lloyd and Cole. “Why are you guys wearing face stuff?” Nya turned his head to face her again. “How about you come stay in my room so that you aren’t alone? Would that help put you at ease?” He sadly nodded, then laid his head on her shoulder. “I just want everyone to be okay.” “And we will be. I promise.” Nya wrapped an arm around him to guide him down the hall, offering a friendly smile to the boys as she left. “This is a truly confusing….thing we have on our hands,” Zane said quietly as he stood up. “I’m going to spend some time tonight studying the information we have and hopefully by morning I can have some sort of answer.” Lloyd stood up behind him and grabbed his shoulder. “Don’t overwork yourself, okay? We’re in this together and we can figure this out together too.” Instead of any sort of comforting words, Zane responded, “You should go wash your face before your skin burns.” He then left quietly, his mind obviously already distracted. Lloyd and Cole silently separated, headed towards their own respective rooms. Lloyd opened his door and stepped into his small bathroom to wash his face. He bent down and cupped his hands to fill them with water, then dipped his face in. When he stood back up to look in the mirror, Kai was leaning against the bathroom door, his arms crossed tightly and his head hanging low. “I’m okay, Kai,” Lloyd reassured, “really. I promise.” Kai didn’t respond, he just continued looking at the floor. Lloyd continued washing his face, the two standing in silence. He finished and dried his face off, then looked back at Kai. “Dude, I promise. You should go get some rest.” “I saw things when the mist touched me,” Kai whispered. “It wasn’t like you and how you were just blinded. I saw you as a child. I saw how scared you were. I was reliving that moment at the volcano before I found my true potential.” His sniffling started again as he tried to hold back tears. “I tried to save you, but I dropped you on my way out. I begged for you to come back to me, but you were just…gone. It all felt so real.” “I get it, mine felt real too. I can’t even imagine having to see visuals of all that.” Lloyd guided Kai towards his bed and the two sat down together. “We could hear you mumbling while you were in the mist. We heard everything you said. I figured out that you were seeing a memory quite fast, but my experience didn’t include a memory at all.” “It’s good to know that we’d be able to hear each other if this were to ever happen again,” Kai responded. “Having one-way communication is better than none at all.” Lloyd looked at Kai, grabbing his hands. “These were a problem, though. When you used your fire in the mist, you used it in real life too.” “I figured when I saw the rug was charred.” “We’ve got to come up with a way to get through the mist without using our powers. Or at least, lethal powers, like fire.” Kai started counting on his fingers as he made his list. “So Cole can use his strength, Nya can create puddles, Zane is still incredibly intelligent, and you can use your shield and levitation.” His face fell. “Jay and I are screwed. Offense is kind of our whole thing.” “We’ll figure it out, okay? We don’t need all of the answers. Zane is spending some time looking into all of this and I’m sure he’ll come at us with some wisdom tomorrow.” Lloyd squeezed Kai’s shoulder. “Until then, get some sleep. And remember, we are both safe and okay.” Kai nodded, giving a forced half smile. “See you tomorrow, kid. Sleep well.” Kai left the room stoically, but Lloyd heard him begin to cry again as soon as he left the room. Lloyd didn’t go after him. Kai was always trying to be tough and unshaken, but he was hurting. And he needed space to feel that hurt without feeling the need to protect everyone else. —- “Hey I’m off to the coffee shop!” Lloyd called out, stepping out of his bedroom with his boots in hand. After last night, he just needed an excuse to get some fresh air and go on a walk. As he sat down on the couch, he caught a glimpse of Kai eating cereal straight from the box. When Kai saw him, he tossed the box onto the counter and reached for the cabinet to get a bowl. Lloyd smiled to himself and rolled his eyes. “Can I get an iced mocha with an extra shot of espresso?” Kai asked, his mouth still full of cereal. “Oh, I was going to take a quick walk-“ “You’ll be back quick? Awesome!” Kai poured his cereal into a bowl and Jay walked in, stretching and yawning. “Thanks for getting me coffee!” “Lloyd’s grabbing coffee?!” Jay asked, suddenly wide awake. “Caramel latte. Whipped cream. Sprinkles!” “Guys I’m just-“ “NYA!” Jay yelled down the hall. “LLOYD’S GETTING COFFEE! WHAT DO YOU WANT?” “ICED AMERICANO WITH VANILLA!” She yelled back. Jay turned to Lloyd. “She’ll have an iced ameri-“ “I HEARD!” Lloyd shouted. He finished lacing his boots, irritated at everyone, but not enough to correct them. He walked out onto the deck shielding his eyes from the sun, running into Cole in the process. “Oh hey, I was just looking for you!” Cole said happily. “Kai texted me saying that I needed to give you my coffee order. I’ll make it easy for you and just ask for a black coffee. No sugar. No nonsense. Just a coffee.” Lloyd glared. “How kind of you.” Cole gave him a friendly smile in response as he wandered back towards their living quarters. Behind Lloyd, Zane was writing in a notebook, leaning against the ropes they all used to repel down the ship. As Lloyd approached, Zane’s eyes darted up for a moment, then back down at his notebook. “Going somewhere?” he asked. “I just wanted to go for a walk and somehow got suckered into buying everyone coffee.” “How unfortunate it is to be misunderstood,” Zane giggled slightly. “I’m sorry your morning has been thrown off.” Lloyd shrugged. “With this group? It happens. It is what it is. I don’t remember their orders, though, so they probably won’t be too happy.” Zane ripped the paper he was writing on out of the notebook, folded it up, and handed it to Lloyd. “It’d be a shame if the orders were wrong.” Zane then marched off in the same direction as Cole. Lloyd unfolded the piece of paper and found it contained everyone’s order, finished with a “Flat White :D” at the end of the list. He couldn’t help but smile at the note before grabbing the ship’s repel gear and jumping off. Lloyd landed gracefully on a rooftop and peeked over the edge to see if he was spotted. The Destiny’s Bounty is kind of hard to miss if you’re in Ninjago, but Lloyd always tried to make sure he could make a quiet exit to avoid crowds of people swarming him. And thankfully, there was a nearby alleyway empty, allowing him to jump down and silently sneak out. Lloyd took a deep breath and put his hands in his hoodie pockets, enjoying the bustling ambiance around him, as he walked towards the nearest coffee shop. He loved the little moments like this where he could just be a normal person and not have to worry about saving the world again. And with this new mist shit, his much needed break was still way out of reach. Lloyd pushed the coffee shop door open and got in line, fiddling with the note Zane had given him. He tried to memorize the note, but he was so scatter-brained in that moment that it just wasn’t working. By the time it was his turn, he had given up. The barista offered him a smile. “Hi, there! What can I get started for you today?” Her short brown hair framed her face and her smile had a warmth Lloyd hadn’t been expecting. “Can I get a-” “WAIT!” The barista yelled. Lloyd braced himself, ready for her to publicly out him as the Green Ninja, but she instead said something he wasn’t expecting. “I HAVE YOUR COMIC BOOK!” “You what?!” Lloyd squinted his eyes at her. “You were the fox?” “A wolf, but yeah!” She became extremely giddy. “I’ve been asking around to try to find someone who got their autograph swapped by accident, but I couldn’t find you.” “Okay! Wow, I honestly have been so busy that I haven’t had the time to even try to find you.” “Oh I was so broken up about it! I wasn’t even upset that I didn’t have my own, I was just sad that I was keeping someone else from having something so special.” She tucked a tuft of hair behind her ear. “God I was just having a bad day yesterday. First you, then my brother, then the Green Ninja-” Lloyd hesitated for a moment. “What happened with the Green Ninja?” “I got him caught in that smokey stuff!” Her face grew bright red. “After you ran into me, my brother and I went to see a panel, but suddenly everyone started running and screaming. My brother and I got separated in the lobby area. I turned around and he had vanished in the cloud stuff. I tried to run to him, but the Green Ninja had his shield stuff up. I begged for him to go help my brother, but I think I threw off his focus or something because his shield fell and the smoke got him. I got away before it got me, though.” “Did he get out okay?” Lloyd asked, playing dumb. “Yeah!” The woman smiled. “His friends saved him. And my brother got out okay too, he was just confused why everyone seemed so scared. He said he was scared, but people around him were utterly terrified.” She stopped speaking and grabbed a cup. “I am so sorry! What would you like?” “Can I get a medium matcha latte, please?” The woman wrote it down. “Okay! Anything else?” Lloyd looked down at his note. “Can I just hand this to you and you tell me what I owe?” The woman laughed at the list. “You grabbing coffee for your coworkers?” Lloyd nodded. “Yeah, something like that.” The woman wrote down all of the drink orders, then slid the note back to Lloyd. “That’ll be $44.50.” Lloyd cringed and dug his wallet out of his pocket. “Damn, okay, they owe me.” The woman giggled as she ran his card. “Want a receipt?” “Please! I need to make sure they pay me back.” The woman laughed, printed his receipt, then walked away to make the drinks. As he walked away, Lloyd took one last look at Zane’s note, but felt his face getting hot when he saw what was written on the note- Call me for comic book swap! 555-6324 <3 AkitaHeart of the Storm - Chapter 3 - Ninjago Fanfic“So…” Lloyd started, “I can’t say I was expecting that.” Nya, still applying Cole’s facemask, mumbled, “Lloyd, come up with a better response.” “Sorry! I don’t have a problem with it at all. You being gay, I mean.” Lloyd hoped the correction was to Nya’s liking, and going off her silence, he figured it was good enough. “So, who is the lucky guy then?” Cole tightened his jaw. “That’s where things get tricky.” “It can’t be that bad!” “It’s Kai,” Cole whispered. Despite his face being covered in his face mask, Lloyd could still tell he was feeling bashful based on his voice. “Ew.” “Lloyd,” Nya warned. “Better response, please.” “Nono I don’t mean it in a ‘ew gay’ way, more of a ‘ew Kai’ way.” Cole laughed. “What’s wrong with Kai?” Lloyd gave him a “seriously” look. “Have you met the guy? He uses way too much hair gel, winks at himself in mirrors, and thinks ‘NOT SO FAST’ is a valid, serious catchphrase to use in battle.” Cole smiled quietly to himself. “I know.” Nya nudged her cosmetic box over towards Lloyd with her elbow, her hands covered in face mask goop. “Pick a headband. I’m doing your face next.” Lloyd reached for the box and found it filled with various cosmetics, none of which Nya used as far as Lloyd could tell. He reached in a grabbed a white headband with fluffy cat ears, putting it on without protest. “Why do you have all this stuff?” Nya stifled a laugh, positioning herself in front of Lloyd to do his mask next. “It’s all from Jay. He likes to get me gifts.” “But this doesn’t seem like the kind of gift you’d enjoy.” Nya looked over her shoulder at Cole, who was sitting contently, his confidence having returned to his body. “Well, it started with one headband and a few face products. They sat in my closet forever. When Cole first came to me about his sexuality, he seemed stressed, so I told him he was welcome to try out my stuff. Turns out, he loved it.” Nya broke out into little giggles, shaking her head playfully. “Jay noticed that the items he bought were being used, so he kept buying more because he thought I’d like it.” Nya’s voice lowered to a whisper as she said, “Don’t tell him he’s funding our self-care spa nights.” “I would never!” Lloyd jumped as Nya pressed the face mask against his face, not expecting it to be so cold. “I want to hear more about Kai, Cole.” Cole’s grip around his pillow tightened. “I don’t really know what to say! I mean, he’s cute.” “That’s it? You just like him because he’s cute?” Lloyd asked. “He’s incredibly protective and passionate about the things he loves,” Cole started, closing his eyes as he got lost in thought. “Like, when he talks to you two, his voice gets all soft and sweet because he cares so much. He’d give anything to protect you two, and I’d give anything to hear him talk to me like that.” His eyes opened with excitement as he continued. “And have you ever noticed he’s the literal embodiment of fire? When the light hits him just right, it looks like he’s a glowing ember. He gives off this constant heat that just makes you feel so comfortable in his presence. AND! He smells amazing when he doesn’t douse himself in cologne like a damn middle schooler. It’s like-” Cole took a deep breath, “-a campfire in the middle of a cold Summer night.” Nya smiled, still facing Lloyd. “He’s smitten.” Cole threw his pillow at Nya. “Oh, shut up. I don’t give you shit when you gush about Jay!” “Yes you do!” Nya laughed. Cole smirked. “Okay, yeah, I do.” Nya scooted back from Lloyd, finished with his face mask. “Alright, boys, leave them on for a bit and then I’ll have you both rinse your faces.” “You aren’t doing your face?” Lloyd asked. Nya shook her head. “Like you said, not my thing.” Lloyd looked back to Cole, warmly. “I appreciate you feeling safe enough to share this with me.” Cole smiled back. “Thanks for giving me the room to figure myself out.” He grabbed his pillow and pulled it back up against his chest. “So, you wanted to talk about the Rumi stuff?” Lloyd’s smile faltered. “I feel bad, though. I don’t want to take over boy talk.” “Oh, dude, don’t worry,” Cole assured him. “I promise it’s okay. Nya?” Nya nodded in agreement. “Go ahead, we’re listening.” Lloyd took a deep breath. “Okay, so, Rumi-” “BOO HISS!” Cole yelled. Lloyd shot him a look, making Cole laugh. “Okay, okay, sorry, go ahead.” “When I touched the fog, I heard her yelling for me. I followed her voice and then I started suffocating.” Nya nodded. “And I’m assuming you thought it was her?” Lloyd hesitated. “I don’t know.” “Do you want it to be her?” “I…don’t know.” Lloyd felt a pit begin to form in his stomach. “That’s why I wanted to talk about it. I know I don’t exactly do ‘feelings’ or anything, but this was something different. I mean, I was being choked by nothing. That’s not normal.” “Was it maybe a hallucination?” Nya asked. “It’d have to be,” Cole figured. “Maybe we can talk to some of the other people who were caught in it tomorrow?” “Zane already spoke to a few people today, though,” Nya pointed out. “Everyone saw or felt something different. One lady said she felt bugs crawling all over her, but a man he spoke to said he heard the screams of his wife in pain.” “What do those things have in common?” Cole asked. Before anyone could answer, a scream echoed down the hallway, followed by Jay pleading for anyone to come to his aid. Cole jumped to his feet, dragging Lloyd and Nya up behind him. The three followed the yelling into the living space where Kai and Jay were playing video games to find a puff of black mist swirling at Kai’s feet. Jay was a few feet away from Kai, outside of the mist, attempting to swat him with a pillow. “KAI! WAKE UP! GET OUT OF THE SCARY FOG!” Jay yelled, chucking the pillow at him. The pillow bounced off of Kai and landed in the mist, the attack doing nothing to make Kai budge. Jay threw his hands up in the air. “That’s just GREAT! I don't know WHAT TO DO HERE!” He seemed to be put at ease slightly when his eyes fell on Nya, who grabbed his hand to pull him away from the mist. “What happened?” Nya asked, pointing at her brother. Kai was standing, slightly slouched, and was mumbling to himself as his fingers twitched with little embers. “Come…on……why won’t….my….power unlock?” Zane busted into the room, panting, with an ice attack ready, but when he saw the cause of the commotion, he stopped in his tracks. “This is exactly how we found Lloyd.” Cole shook his head. “Not exactly, he seems more talkative.” “LET’S GET HIM OUT OF THERE!” Jay screamed, reaching for another pillow to throw. He threw it directly at Kai’s face, but Kai didn’t react to the hit at all. It was as if everyone was looking at something that didn't exist in the same realm of existence as themselves. “The pillows are too soft. I’ll be right back.” Jay shook off Nya's grip and walked out of the room. “What do we do?” Lloyd asked. “How did you guys help me earlier?” “Cole used his element of Earth to remove everyone from the mist while Nya and I contained it,” Zane responded. “Okay, then let's do that! COLE, GO!” Cole tilted his head. “And how do you expect me to do that on a flying ship?” “Well, we can still do the containing thing, right?” Lloyd asked. “And freeze my brother with it?” Nya shook her head. “No way.” “Come on…..let’s….get….out of….here.” Kai mumbled, small flames now circling his fingertips. Lloyd held up his hand, silently signaling everyone to stop talking. They watched as Lloyd took a step closer to the mist. His eyes narrowed as he quietly said, “But, the fangblade-” “Forget it…..this place…..is coming… apart.” Kai’s breathing staggered and stuttered as if he was doing something physically taxing. “It’s a memory,” Lloyd realized. “The day he saved me. The day I became one of you guys.” “You didn’t see a memory, though,” Nya pointed out. “Why is he?” “You think I know? I’m in the dark just as much as you guys.” “We gotta pull him out of there before something dangerous happens,” Cole said, starting to head back to his room. “I may be able to move him with my scythe. Hang on.” Zane watched Kai closely. “This is truly extraordinary.” He took a knee to watch Kai’s hands. “Is it possible that whatever this is, it’s trying to make us use our powers?” “I don’t think so,” Lloyd responded. “I didn’t use my powers to claw at my neck.” “I’M COMING KAI!” Jay screamed, running into the room, wildly swinging an iron skillet. Nya caught Jay’s arm before he could throw it at her brother. “DROP IT!” “I’M HELPING!” “You are NOT!” Nya looked over her shoulder to yell down the hall. “COLE HURRY!” Cole came running into the room, his weapon in hand. Jay broke free from Nya and threw the pan. Lloyd dove for it to try to keep it from hitting Kai, Cole diving after him to make sure Lloyd didn’t dive headfirst into the coffee table. Not watching out for his own weapon, Cole accidentally swung his scythe, hitting Zane behind his knees and taking him down. And to make matters even worse, Kai’s hands fully ignited in flames that overtook the entirety of his arms. Still entranced, he started screaming, begging for an invisible force to “Come back” to him. He fell to his knees, setting the rug in the middle of the room on fire, choking out violent sobs that were nearly incoherent. “Watch out, guys!” Nya yelled as she sprayed water across the room. She had expected the mist to spread across the room, but it instead floated out the window and dissipated into the night air. “That was….weirdly easy.” The water had put out Kai’s fire, leaving him on all fours in a puddle. He breathed heavily, sniffling while he tried to regain his composure. Lloyd pushed Cole off of himself and crawled over to Kai. “H-hey, man. You okay?” Lloyd’s heart shattered when he saw the look on Kai’s face. He was broken, his lower lip quivering as he tried to regain his composure. Kai had lost every ounce of color from his face, leaving him as pale as a corpse. His hands trembled as he wiped his face of tears and Nya’s water. Kai opened his mouth to speak, but couldn’t form anything. All he could do was tightly wrap his arms around Lloyd, his nails digging into Lloyd’s tee shirt. Lloyd reached his arms up to hug him back and, as his fingertips brushed his shirt, Kai broke out into sobs. He buried his face into Lloyd’s shoulder, not to try to hide his emotions, but to feel closer to him in any way he could. Lloyd didn’t fight him. Kai needed this. Nya caught Lloyd’s eye, looking just as concerned as Lloyd felt inside. It wasn’t every day you watch someone like Kai fully breakdown. Lloyd started to move his hands back down, but Kai whispered, “Please don’t let me go. I need to know this is real.” “It’s real, Kai,” Lloyd assured. “I am real.” “I saw you die.” The air in the room felt heavy as everyone processed what Kai had just said. “We were at the volcano and I lost my grip and you-” “I’m right here, Kai.” Lloyd tightened his hug. “I’m okay.”Heart of the Storm - Chapter 2 - Ninjago Fanfic“This would go by quicker if you held still,” Zane said simply, holding a clean rag and a bottle of antiseptic. Lloyd was laid on his bed, his head positioned in a way to give Zane easy access to his neck. The bleeding had stopped, but cleaning it burned more than Kai’s own fire. “I’d stop moving if you stopped hurting me.” Zane poured some of the antiseptic onto the rag. “I’ll stop hurting you if you stop moving. Hold still.” Zane gently pressed the rag to Lloyd’s neck, causing him to yelp and instinctively move away from Zane. “Lloyd, this is basic procedure. Please hold still.” “C-can I help at all?” Kai rambled, looking over Zane’s shoulder. “I can get you more rags or I can hold a flashlight so that you can see better or I can-” Zane lets out a breath. “Kai, you’re pacing again.” Kai stopped moving, realizing he had been in motion for a few minutes. “You couldn’t even see me.” Zane looked over his shoulder. “Your pacing makes Lloyd anxious, which causes his heartrate to elevate. His heart rate was elevating, therefore you were pacing.” Kai rolled his eyes and pouted. “I don’t cause anxiety.” Zane smirked slightly. “It also sounded like a hippo was stampeding through the room. You’re heavy footed.” “AM NOT!” Jay walked into the room holding a blanket, Nya following close behind him. “Hey, I grabbed you a blanket because I-” Jay stopped talking when he spotted a bloodied rag on the ground beside Zane. “Yep. That’s blood. Neck blood. Wow. I don’t like that.” He placed the blanket at the foot of the bed and quickly rushed out, shouting, “Good luck with the neck blood!” as he left. Nya shrugged. “He’s had a weird thing about blood lately. Don’t mind him.” “Can I please have quiet?” Zane asked, patiently. “Lloyd needs to be cleaned and the distractions aren’t helping.” “A distraction is exactly what he needs,” Cole responded, walking into the room with a warm teapot and a teacup. He placed them on Lloyd’s bedside table and took a knee, getting on his level. “You know we’re supposed to fight the bad guys, not ourselves, right Greenie?” “It’s a long story. I didn’t do it on purpose.” Seeing his opportunity, Zane pressed the antiseptic against his neck again, but Cole grabbed his head before he could move away. “Hey, just look at me, tough guy. Don’t be a baby.” Lloyd closed his eyes to try to keep tears from falling down his face. “Easy for you to say,” he whined. “You can’t feel it.” “If these scar over, what story are you gonna tell people?” Lloyd opened his eyes, confused. “Story?” “Well, you can’t just tell people you lost a fight with the air,” Cole joked. “You gotta give them something like, ‘Oh these scars? It was a big ass cat. If you think this looks bad, you should see the cat!’ I like that idea.” “I’m not going to tell people a cat attacked me.” Cole nodded. “Fair…we’ll say it was an armadillo.” Lloyd choked out a pained laugh, wincing as Zane touched his neck with the rag again. “What the hell are you talking about?” “Um, I very clearly said armadillo, did I not?” “He did!” Kai chimed in. Cole smiled at him. “Thank you, Kai. Lloyd, giant armadillos have shockingly sharp claws.” Lloyd rolled his eyes. “You’re not helping.” “All cleaned,” Zane said. “The worst is over.” Cole winked at Lloyd. “I kept you still, didn’t I? Sounds like I helped plenty.” “You better be nice Lloyd,” Kai laughed, “Or else Cole will have to use his big muscles to hold you down next time.” Cole took a step back, his confident shoulders sinking slightly. He looked away from the group as he said, “Oh, yeah. I’ll uh…do that…next time.” He took a breath before turning to leave. “Just holler if you need me.” Nya’s eyes followed Cole as he left the room. “I’m going to head out too. I gotta make sure Jay didn’t faint in the hallway or anything.” Zane offered a hand to Lloyd to help him sit up. He reached into a first aid kit he had with him and pulled out a tube of ointment. “Keep the area clean and uncovered and apply this twice a day - once in the morning and once at night.” “Thank you Zane.” Zane smiled warmly. “Don’t move next time and I will be done sooner.” Lloyd laughed. “Yes, doc, I’ll do better next time.” Zane patted Lloyd’s shoulder. “I’m glad you’re okay.” He then stood up, grabbed his medical supplies, and left the room. Lloyd grabbed the blanket and wrapped himself up, doing his best to get comfortable. Kai sat down silently next to him. The two existed in each other’s peaceful quiet, until Kai got up and poured the tea into the teacup and handed it to Lloyd. “So, are we going to talk about it?” Lloyd took a sip from his tea. “Talk about what?” Kai gave him a doubtful look. “Lloyd. You call us for backup and we arrive to you attacking yourself.” He took a deep breath. “I was scared, Lloyd. I’ve been fighting by your side for years, but I’ve never seen you like that before.” Lloyd shifted uncomfortably. “There was something wrong with the black fog.” Kai nodded. “Yeah, that mist looked nasty. I would’ve gotten stuck in it too if Nya hadn’t stopped me.” “Why’s that?” “I saw you in trouble,” Kai admitted. “Nothing else mattered. Nothing was going to keep me from saving you. Nothing.” Lloyd laughed. “Nothing, except Nya.” Kai playfully punched Lloyd’s arm. “You get what I mean.” The two sat for a few more moments in silence, before Kai started speaking again. “Can we talk about what happened to you in there?” Lloyd nodded, placing his teacup down. “Well, I was entirely blind. The second it touched me, it was like it swallowed me in darkness. I then heard a voice, calling out for me, so I tried following it. Right when I thought I found it, it felt like something wrapped around my neck. I felt like I was suffocating-” “Which is why you clawed at your neck,” Kai finished. “That makes sense.” “The weirdest part about the whole thing was the voice,” Lloyd admitted. “Why’s that?" Lloyd hesitated for a second. “I could’ve sworn it was Rumi calling out for me.” Kai’s expression soured. “Of fucking course.” “I’m serious, Kai!” “I know, and I’m not doubting you, but god this chick just doesn’t know when to quit it.” “Do you really think she’s behind the attack?” Kai shrugged. “I can’t say for sure, but it wouldn’t surprise me if she survived that building collapse.” As his anger built, Lloyd could feel Kai’s natural heat he gave off burn hotter. Lloyd pulled his legs up to his chest. “Can we not talk about this?” Kai snapped out of his anger, his temperature returning to normal. “Oh, yeah, of course. So besides the attack, how was the con?” Lloyd groaned. “It was great until my autographed comic got swapped with someone else’s.” Kai’s expression dropped. “NUH UH!” Lloyd nodded, pointing to his backpack. “I got stuck with someone else’s damn comic book.” “That sucks!” Kai thought for a moment. “Any chance we could find this person and get the book swapped?” Lloyd shrugged. “She was in full cosplay. I have no clue what she actually looks like.” “I wish you the best, brother,” Kai said, standing up. “Jay and I have our gaming marathon tonight, so I should get going so I can beat his ass. But you come get me if you need anything, okay?” Lloyd nodded. “Thank you.” As Kai stepped out of the room, he yelled over his shoulder, “AND MAKE SURE YOUR DISHES MAKE IT TO THE SINK!” “WHATEVER, MOM!” “WhAtEvEr, MoM!” Kai mocked, his giggling vanishing as he made his way down the hall. Lloyd finished the rest of his tea, breathing slowly in the silence as the Bounty swayed beneath him, her floorboards creaking ever so slightly. He tried to let his mind rest, but he couldn’t shake everything going through his head. Lloyd drifted between sadness, guilt, and fear, while reliving today’s events. He wasn’t sure if he believed it was Rumi. Part of him wanted it to be, but he didn’t know why. Everything felt like it was weighing him down, making his head feel heavy. Not knowing what else to do or where else to go, Lloyd slid out of bed and wandered out of his room, his blanket still wrapped around him. Lloyd went down the hall a few doors, stopping at the room at the end of the hall. He knocked on the door and crossed his fingers, smiling when Nya opened the door. “Oh! Uh, hey, Lloyd.” Nya seemed nervous to have him at her door, but Lloyd didn’t notice. “Hi! I’m glad Jay is busy tonight. May I come in?” Before Nya could respond, Lloyd walked into her room. “You said previously that if I needed girl help that I could come to you.” Nya smiled awkwardly. “I did.” “And tonight, Jay and Kai are pulling their video game all nighter.” “They are.” “So that means you’re available to chat for a bit!” Nya shook her head. “Sorry Lloyd, but I have plans.” Lloyd gave her a confused look. “This late at night? And in your pajamas?” “Oh, am I interrupting?” Cole asked behind Lloyd. Lloyd turned around to find Cole shirtless in his pj pants, holding a pillow tightly against his chest. “I can come back later.” “No!” Nya shouted. “Lloyd was just leaving.” “I was?” Lloyd asked. Nya grabbed Lloyd’s arm, dragging him towards the door. “Yes. I’m doing-” Lloyd grabbed the door frame, stopping Nya dead in her tracks. “Cole? You’re doing Cole?” “NO!” Nya yelled, trying to hold back laughter. Cole giggled, still standing in the hallway. “Kai and Jay have their thing, so Nya and I have ours.” “Oh! Perfect! The more the merrier!” Lloyd turned and walked back into the room, pulling Nya along with him. Nya released his arm. “Lloyd, really, can we please do this another night?” Cole shook his head. “Nya, it’s okay.” Nya gave him a worried look. “Are you sure?” Cole hesitated, studying Lloyd’s face, then nodded slowly. “I think I’m okay with this.” He then took a seat in the middle of the room while Nya pulled out a box from her closet filled with various skincare products. “Awesome, thank you!” Lloyd said, taking a seat on the ground beside him. “It’s about Rumi.” Both Cole and Nya froze. “Wait, seriously?” Nya asked. Lloyd nodded. “Yeah. That fog stuff earlier made me think I heard her.. “Do you think she did this?” Nya questioned, rummaging through her box. “I’m not sure. I was telling Kai about it and I don’t think he quite knew how to take it.” Nya tossed a spa headband with brown bear ears to Cole, who slid it onto his head. He then used a hair tie he had around his wrist to pull his remaining hair into a bun. Lloyd stared at him for a moment, giving him a weird look, before continuing. “I could’ve sworn I heard her yelling for me, but when I tried to follow her voice, an invisible force started choking me. It’s why I scratched up my neck - I was trying to breathe and remove whatever was choking me.” Nya grabbed a small pink container and sat in front of Cole. She popped it open, dipped her fingers in, then started coating Cole’s face with it. “I’m not normally one to judge, but what is this?” Nya looked over her shoulder. “Cole’s needed some destressing time, so this is our routine. We have a spa night where we pamper ourselves and talk.” “Talk about what?” Lloyd asked. Nya looked at Cole, silently letting him guide the conversation. “Well,” Cole started, “I’ve got a lot of personal feelings I’ve been working through, too. Feelings that I’m not comfortable sharing with any of the guys.” “Dude, you know we’re all always here for you, right?” Lloyd reminded him. “Oh, of course! I’ve just got some more personal things going on.” Lloyd watched as Cole, a tall muscular man, sunk into himself, looking small and unconfident. “Nya’s been helping me work through my feelings.” “What kind of feelings?” Lloyd asked. “Like, relationship feelings?” “You…could say that, I guess.” “OOOOooooOOOO,” Lloyd teased. “Who is the lucky girl, huh?” Cole tensed up, almost like he was preparing himself to be punched. He swallowed hard, gathering every ounce of courage he could find, before saying three words Lloyd would’ve never expected. “Lloyd….I’m gay.”Heart of the Storm - Chapter 1 - Ninjago Fanfic“NINJAAAAAGOOOOO!” A little kid dressed as Lloyd went running down the Ninjago Convention Center hallway, swinging his plastic sword over his head. “Watch this, mom!” The kid threw down his sword and attempted to do a flip, but tumbled into the oncoming traffic of people walking around him. Before he could be trampled, a hand grabbed him off of the carpet. The kid got into a fighting stance, preparing to take on the stranger that grabbed him, but stopped when he met the eyes of his savior. Standing before him was the real Lloyd, dressed in casual clothing with a backpack slung over his shoulder. Lloyd offered the kid a friendly smile, then turned and continued down the convention hall, hoping he didn’t call too much attention to himself just then. The ninja had promised Lloyd he could have the day off, with it being his birthday and all, and he decided to spend it at the Ninjago Comic Con. He’d purchased some art pieces inspired by some games he played and ate a little too much junk food, but he didn’t care. To him, this was the life. And now here he was, on his way to meet his favorite actor, Cliff Gordon, star of the Starfarer series. He happened to be signing autographs and Lloyd just got the latest issue of the Starfarer comic, so it couldn’t have been more perfect. Navigating the convention center was a bit harder than Lloyd had anticipated. If it hadn’t been for the “Ninja Cosplay Contest”, there wouldn’t have been an issue. But he was utterly surrounded by people dressed up as himself and his teammates. If even one person recognized him, he’d be swarmed immediately. Any other day, he wouldn’t have minded, but not today. So Lloyd wore a basic hoodie, sweatpants, and a hat to try to blend in as much as possible. Shockingly, he’d be blended in just as much if he truly showed up in his armor. Somehow, he was able to make it all the way to Cliff Gordon’s line without being recognized or stopped. He excitedly took his backpack off his shoulder to retrieve his comic book. Once the zipper was opened, he cringed seeing his suit in the bag as well. Kai insisted Lloyd take it “just in case”, but it annoyed him to no end. Just give me one damn day. He rolled his eyes and slid his comic book out, zipping his bag up before anyone saw his gi. He slid the comic out of its plastic sleeve and excitedly shifted, unable to hold still. As Lloyd got closer and closer to the front of the line, he could hear Cliff’s laugh as he interacted with everyone. Lloyd had no idea how he so effortlessly spoke with his fans. Whenever Lloyd got recognized in public, it’d be followed by an awkward exchange or pure panic. But Cliff seemed so genuinely happy to interact with those around him. Once it was Lloyd’s turn, he stepped forward, comic book in hand and smile on his face. He gentle placed it on the table as Cliff greeted him. “Hey there, son! Having a good con day?” Despite hearing him interact with every single person in front of him, Lloyd was still caught off guard by Cliff speaking to him. “O-oh! Uh, yeah I guess so.” “Are you here for the Ninja cosplay contest? That seems to be a highlight for a bunch of people I’ve met so far.” “No. Uh, no sir.” Cliff looked up at Lloyd. “Are you okay?” Lloyd nodded. “Yeah, just not mentally prepared for the chat, I guess. Sorry.” Cliff gave a knowing look. “Don’t worry, I understand. So just an autograph today?” Lloyd nodded. “Okay! Who am I making this out to?” Lloyd thought for a second. “Just a fan.” Cliff gave a weird look. “Just a fan?” “Yeah. You’re my hero, but I don’t feel comfortable having my name on it.” Cliff looked at Lloyd then, as if noticing him for the first time, slowly nodded. “I see. Okay! But no peeking!” He slid Lloyd’s comic book closer to him and covered it with his hand as he wrote. When he finished, he handed it back to Lloyd with a smile. “You have no idea what an honor this is.” Lloyd gave him a puzzled look, then looked at what Cliff wrote: You’re my hero! Keep fighting and remember that fear isn’t a word where we come from! ~Cliff Gordon Lloyd marveled at the comic. “Wow, thank you Mr. Gordon!” Cliff shook his head. “Please, just Gordon is fine.” “Well, thank you, Gordon.” “This world needs more heroes like you.” And with a wink, he welcomed the next person in line up to his table. Lloyd held it close to his chest and smiled. This was one of the few times he didn’t mind being recognized. But before he could fully process the autograph, he ran straight into someone and tripped. He tried to stabilize himself as he went down, but it ended with him pulling the person he tripped over down with him. He spun them to make sure he fell first and that they landed on him, knocking the wind right out of him. Lloyd groaned as the person he tripped over yelled. “Dude, what the hell is wrong with you?!” He looked at the person on top of him and found it was a young woman in full cosplay. She looked like some kind of fox with a bunch of tails and red accents. She panicked for a second. “Where’s my comic?!” In the ruckus, Lloyd hadn’t even noticed he’d dropped his comic. Just to his left were two identical comics. The woman followed his eyes and scoffed, grabbing one of the comics. “Watch where you’re going next time,” she complained. “I’m truly sorry. I just got an autograph and-” “So did I, but you don't see me bumping into people.” She stood up and brushed off her outfit. “Just…watch where you’re going next time.” And with that, she stormed off. Lloyd grabbed the other comic and scrambled back to his feet. He looked at it and smiled, wanting to read it one last time before putting it away, but his heart sank and he read the autograph: For justice! For freedom! FOR THE STARS! ~Cliff Gordon The girl had grabbed the wrong comic book and wandered off into the sea of people in the convention hall. Lloyd began weaving in and out of the crowd to try to find the girl, but was having no luck at all. If only he had Zane here to help him scan the crowd for her. As Lloyd continued his search, he stepped into one of the exhibit halls to scan the crowd sitting at a panel that just started. Lloyd almost kept walking, but stopped when he noticed the odd amount of discolored fog floating around the stage. Lloyd's initial thought was that it was smoke from a fire, but this was different. It was almost purely black and almost looked…wet? And then, the screaming started. Lloyd flinched when the first blood-curdling scream happened, but as the fog cloud began to touch more people, more began to scream. It wasn’t your usual screams, though. These were screams of pure terror - the kind of screams that haunt your nightmares after you hear them. The screams rippled through the crowd, affecting everyone the cloud touched. Lloyd groaned and ran out of the hall and towards the nearest bathroom. Lloyd pushed past the line that had formed and stopped a man from going into the only available stall. He grabbed the man by his shirt collar and yanked him back. “Sorry, official ninja business!” Lloyd yelled as he locked the stall behind him. The man began hollering obscenities, but Lloyd paid him no attention, his mind focused on changing his clothes faster than he ever had before. Lloyd ripped his armored gi out of his backpack, the metal clinking against the ground and stall walls, making a sharp, piercing, metallic sound. He cringed at the noise, but continued on, sliding his arms into the robe and adjusting his shoulder armor to sit perfectly in its place. He tightened his belt and shoved his pant legs into his boots before lacing them up. Lloyd felt that though he was ready in record time, it wasn’t fast enough. He stuffed his street clothes into his bag, slung it back over his shoulder, then kicked the stall door open, nailing the still yelling man in the face. The man opened his mouth to continue yelling, but stopped and stared in awe when he saw the Green Ninja standing before him. In fact, everyone in the bathroom froze and parted themselves, giving Lloyd a clear path out. With a thankful nod, Lloyd made his way out of the bathroom, green specs of energy flickering around his fingertips. When he stepped out of the bathroom, he noticed that the fog was now spilling into the main hall. Most people were running from it, but the few that were touching the fog were frozen in place with blank expressions. Whenever the fog touched a new person, they’d scream, then freeze. Lloyd pressed his fingers to his ear, activating the earpiece Zane made all the ninja wear 24/7. For the first time in a while, he was thankful to have a direct communication line to his team. “Hey, anyone listening?” Lloyd asked, raising his voice to make sure he was heard over the chaos. “Hey, Greenie!” Kai’s voice boomed. “Enjoying the con?” Cole asked. Lloyd took a few steps back, the fog starting to get too close for comfort. “We’ve got a situation here-” “Too many people line up for your autograph?” Jay teased. “YOU’RE GIVING AUTOGRAPHS?!” Kai shouted. “I KNEW I should’ve come too!” “I don’t see how your assistance would modify anything,” Zane chimed in. “Um, people LOVE ME? If I was there, everyone would be lined up!” Kai argued. “GUYS!” Lloyd shouted. “How fast can you guys get here? I need your assistance. There’s a weird fog thing that’s making people scream and then freeze in place.” Kai groaned. “Dude, if you just wanted a ride, you could’ve asked.” “Kai! I’m being serious!” Lloyd groaned. “So am I!” Kai responded. “You don’t need to-” Kai was cut off, followed by a pained yelp. "Why'd you punch me?" “Ignore him, Lloyd,” Nya assured. “We will get there ASAP! Just hang tight!” Lloyd looked around and tried to identify where he could help. He had no clue how to stop the fog, but he knew he could help save anyone who hadn't been inflicted with fear yet. The first thing he noticed was that people were struggling to funnel out of the few exit doors there were. If Lloyd didn’t act fast, it was only a matter of time that someone would get crushed to death against the lock glass doors. Lloyd took a deep breath, surrounding himself in a green aura, lifting him up into the air. He glided towards the exit and yelled for everyone to stand back and brace themselves. He pointed his hands towards the row of closed glass doors and focused his energy, firing off a blast that shattered the glass, giving more people a way out. Everyone in the main hall began flooding out even quicker than before. Lloyd then changed his focus towards the black fog. He landed behind the crowd of people exiting and held his arms up, forming a thin shield, blocking the fog from spreading. Looking at the fog against his shield, Lloyd noticed it was leaving little black streaks as it moved. And could he hear … a heartbeat … coming from it? “BROTHER!” A woman yelled from behind Lloyd. He turned around and found it was the fox woman from earlier, violently crying, pointing beyond Lloyd’s shield. “MY BROTHER IS OUT THERE! PLEASE SAVE HIM!” “I promise you, I will do my best, but I need to make sure everyone else makes it out first!” The woman shook her head. “HE’S STUCK OUT THERE!” “I know, ma’am, but I need to help the others first!” The woman pulled at Lloyd’s right arm. “PLEASE HELP HIM!” “STOP! I need you to-” “DO SOMETHING!” Lloyd could feel his focus begin to wane, his shield flickering, as the woman continued pulling at him. “MA’AM I NEED YOU TO STOP!” And with one final tug, Lloyd was completely thrown off, knocking his shield down. The fog swarmed around his feet. He tried to run away, but it swarmed up his body, blocking him from being able to see. He tried blinking quickly, but there was nothing but darkness. “Lloyd?” A voice whispered in his ear. Lloyd turned his head to the voice, but still, saw nothing. “HELLO?” he yelled out. “ANYONE THERE?!” “You know you can’t save them,” the voice whispered. “Just like you couldn’t save me.” “What? I- Who are you?” He felt a chill run down his spine. “It’s me Lloyd.” “I-I can’t see you! Where are you?” “I’m right here!” The voice called back, full of desperation. Lloyd turned around, walking in the direction the voice was leading him. “I can’t see anything!” Lloyd yelled out, holding his arms out in front of him so he wouldn’t run into anything or anyone. “Just tell me where you are and I can help you!” “I’m right here, Lloyd!” Lloyd felt something tight wrap around his throat as the voice hissed, “RIGHT. HERE.” The sudden pressure sent him into a panic. Lloyd fell to his knees and clawed at his neck, trying to get whatever was around him off, but there was nothing there. Instead, his nails dug into his own neck. Lloyd tried to breathe, but couldn’t, no matter how hard he tried. He fell to the floor, growing weaker and weaker as seconds passed. Lloyd wanted to scream out for help, but only strained, quiet cries came from his mouth. Then, the ground beneath Lloyd began to shake, filling him with a sense of peace. A large pillar of stone grew from under him, raising Lloyd above the fog. Once he was out, he could see the world around him. More importantly, he could finally breathe. He pushed himself up as he coughed hard, trying to refill his lungs with air. Without even having to look up, Lloyd shouted, “Thanks, Cole!” He looked around and saw that every single person who had been caught in the fog had been lifted to safety by their own pillar. And, in the middle of them was the Master of Earth, standing on the tallest pillar of all. Upon healing his name, Cole turned around, spotting Lloyd. He waved and pointed to the end of the expo hall where Nya was using water to flood the hall, Zane following close behind her, freezing it as she went. The water mixed with the fog and the ice held it all in place, stopping the spread. And in the areas where the fog hadn’t been contained yet, Kai and Jay were holding the line, using their respective powers to keep the fog back. By the time Lloyd caught his breath, the team had finished the job, leaving the hall covered in a thick sheet of ice. Cole jumped from pillar to pillar until he made it to Lloyd, offering out a hand to help his friend up. “Hey! Are you okay? Sorry we didn’t get here sooner.” Lloyd offered a friendly smile. “You got here just in time. Thanks for saving me back there.” “Don’t mention it, Short Stack!” Cole started to leave, but he stopped when he noticed Lloyd’s clawed neck. He craned his head down to take a better look. “Shit, the fog do this to you?” “I’m not quite sure what happened, actually,” Lloyd admitted. He reached up and held his neck, feeling small trickles of blood falling from his self-inflicted wounds. Cole wrapped an arm around him as he terraformed the side of Lloyd’s pillar into a staircase. “Don’t worry, we can talk about it more on the Bounty, okay?” Lloyd nodded as he allowed Cole to safely guide him down to the ground.Chapter 1: The CullNimble phalanges skillfully weave several threads thinner than silk into a series of complex yet delicate-looking patterns and images. A lovely teal trench coat with a realistic silver, gold, and black apple tree adorned on its back is slowly being woven into existence as the threads dance. The trench coat is a superbly made piece that reaches just below the knees, with sleeves embroidered with silver ivy, and a small crest of a black apple with a silver moon circlet embellishing the left lapel quite beautifully. The one creating such an exquisite piece of garment had a soft yet focused look in his gaze as he worked. Soon, the trench coat was finished with a barely noticeable gleam of magic. A soft hum could be heard from the one inspecting their work with a satisfied sparkle in their eyelights before they carefully wrapped the article of clothing in black muslin and stored it away in their inventory. Threads were then summoned once again as he went about using them to clean up his little space and store away his collection of books and grimoires that he had collected over the eons back into his inventory, along with a variety of collections and miscellaneous items. Cleaning relaxes him, keeps him calm, and grounded as it preoccupies his broken mind away from his worries, his anxiety, his responsibilities, the voices, and... the pain. "Meow~" A small white ball of fluff bounded towards him, purring and rubbing against his dusty pants, covering its lovely, pristine white fur with a hint of gray. "Tsk tsk, Nieve, look at what you've done! You got yourself dirty again. I know you want cuddles, but this isn't the time for that, you silly gatita," Error said with a sigh passing through his teeth as he picked up the kitten into his arms and proceeded to clean her up with pet wipes. "I wish we were at Nightmare's castle. I would have been able to give you a proper bath there," he said, feeling disappointed in himself for not being able to provide better for his little companion, who had brought him comfort when he was at his lowest in recent months. "Don't try to rub against me yet, I'm just going to get cleaned up and change into something cleaner, okay?" He says as he finishes cleaning up the monster dust off the kitten's fur. He then removed the rags that were once his clothes from his body before using some wet wipes to clean his bones. It was the best he had to clean himself with when he wasn't at either Nightmare's castle or Swap's home. The antivoid is nothing but an empty white space with no resources after all. He could only make do with whatever he collected over the years from the AUs he destroyed in the past. Soon, he put on a fresh pair of clothes that he had made the other day. Truthfully, it was only recently that Error even bothered to create new clothes for himself. He usually only repaired and wore the same pair of clothes for eons. It was only after he found Nieve when she was only a day old beside her dead mother that he tried to improve his own living conditions. After all, one can only take care of another life when one can take care of oneself first. Life from Reapertale helped him in that regard. The only thing that bothered him was Reaper's intense stare full of longing. Reaper had been trying to get close to Error for a past that he could never remember. A past before he became the God of Destruction. "Meow," Nieve pawed at Error's toes, bringing Error out of his thoughts as he gave the kitten some attention. "Okay, okay, let's give you those cuddles you want. Geez, you're one greedy little gatita, you know that right?" Laughing wholeheartedly, Error picked up the kitten into his arms before kissing her forehead softly. The kitten purred loudly at the affection while curling up comfortably in his arms. Kitten and skeleton bonded with each other in a comfortable silence for a bit. It wasn't long before Error felt a stabbing pain in his soul as his vision spun, his mind unfocused, and his hold on the kitten became more protective. "Sh-shit! AGH! That darn squid really doesn't know how to stop. FUCK! This pain... The AU he's making, it's fucking huge! It's tipping the balance way too much. I need to destroy it before he finishes it! Nieve... I'm sorry, girl, I can't leave you with Life this time; there's not much time." Error says through gritted teeth as he puts his little kitten inside one of his inner coat pockets. The kitten purred against her owner as she curled inside his pocket while kneading biscuits against his ribs. This brought a small smile to the destroyer's face despite the pain he was going through. Error then brought up the codes and searched for the new AU. Ones and zeros danced in front of him in a way only he could decipher as his eyelights scanned the codes at a rapid pace before landing on a set of particularly unfamiliar growing string of codes, a tattle-tale sign of a new AU being created and had not yet synced with the very fabric of the multiverse. It was large, far too large for the multiverse to handle. "DAMN IT!" Error cursed as he tore through the codes of reality, creating a rift through time and space before summoning his threads to create a tether to the new AU, which would facilitate portal creation. Nieve softly pawed at Error's ribs to calm his simmering anger. She meowed softly with concern as she peeked out of Error's pocket to look at him. Error controlled his breathing, trying to calm his raging emotions while gritting through the pain that attacked his soul in waves. Error began to focus; he needed to, or else the multiverse would collapse as the AUs would collide. "Thanks... Nieve." Error says as he steps through the newly created portal. The moment Error's sandal-clad feet stepped into the AU, something felt off to Error's senses; something was wrong with this AU; it looked normal on the surface, but his instincts were screaming out in alarm that danger was coming and that it was coming in hot and fast. Error quickly hid among the foliage, using his strings to blend with the surroundings by altering the color to match that of the flora in his vicinity. He slowed down his breathing, his soul beats became falteringly slow as he extended his senses to determine what was heading in his direction. He could sense several thousand hostiles inching closer to his location, which led him to check the codes again to assess and analyze his overall situation. He doesn't like what he sees. Both the originals and the copies alike, all of whom were a part of the council that sided with the star Sanses, were closing in from the north. This made Error realize that things were becoming quite dicey, as his analysis indicated that the situation was escalating in both difficulty and level of danger. Things were definitely not looking good. The opposition was looking around for the glitchy skeleton, but Error doesn't plan on making it easy for them. 'Those fools should have done their research on me, not like it matters since they've lost the element of surprise.' Error thought as he used his camouflaged state to his advantage by summoning more strings and letting them burrow into the earth. His mind focused on their coordinates through the codes as he controlled his strings to slowly tunnel through the dirt, to make their way to the originals' locations before using his strings as a medium to remotely open portals to send the originals back to their respective AUs inconspicuously without the copies or the star Sanses noticing. He did it quickly while also deleting the originals' communication devices as he did so. "That'll thin out the numbers a bit but not by much... I need to do something else to make the playing field go in my favor." Error whispered to himself as he stared at the codes. His eyes lit up as he recalled something from a medical book he collected in the past. He grinned unperceptively as he summoned his strings once more. "Meow." Nieve poked her head out of Error's pocket, tentatively pawing at his chest. Error looked down at the kitten with a soft gaze. "Nieve, I'll be careful. Go back to hiding in my pocket, my sweet little gatita." He said reassuringly to the little feline while using one of his strings to lightly caress her head. Nieve did as told, while purring softly, her tail flicked lightly to show her compliance. He pulled away the string he used to pet her, though it lingered on the tuft of fur in her ear for a second. Error's sockets slowly narrowed as he looked away from his little furry companion. 'Hopefully this'll put the odds in my favor.' He thought to himself as he slowly made the color of his strings disappear, turning them transparent as he maneuvered them towards the copies' souls, tying their souls up without anyone noticing. With apprehension in his own soul, he then sent the ends of his strings to painlessly penetrate the core complex of their souls, paralyzing them. "Looks like it worked. Now it's time to cull this herd of stubborn sheep."Alpha V Corp Secret File 1Power Rangers: Evolve Aura Drive Files Computer screen turns on showing text asking to type in access code: Type in Code: POWERRANGERS Alpha V Corp logo appear Female voice: “You had accessed Alpha V Project Power Ranger files 1: The Aura Drive Evolver. The transformation device used by each of the pokemon rangers. It closely resembles the pokemon ranger fine capture styler and functions like a capture styler.” Image of Aura Drive Evolver appear on screen* Shadowy figure appear with with aura drive evolver on wrist putting in a card Aura Drive Evolver: “Axess”. * word scanning appear on screen* “scanning” *card image appear” Female voice: The Axess card is inserted in the evolver allowing access for the transformation, the aura drive evolver is scanning for the pokemon DNA of the user. The Axess card does have other uses, but it’ll be classified for now. Aura Drive Evolver: “Infernape DNA detected, ready.” Female Voice: “Now we began the transformation. Shadowy figure: “EVOLVE AXESS!” The word EVOLVE flash on Aura Drive Evolver screen, capture disc spinning showing infernape image on center* Shadowy figure glow red becoming red ranger, begin and swinging and twirling staff, a infernape side image appear in center of suit breast plate Female voice: Transformation completed, here is Aura Drive Infern Red, donning the special red Poke’protecter armor, master of fire aura and fighting art of the Infernape, wielding specially weapon,Ember staff, capable of splitting in two Jitte like batons, His pokemon partner Kiki the Monferno, though not a Infernape, he tougher than he look Kiki appear using flame wheel and mach punch on punching bag, then stand next to InfernRed Male voice: The identity of Aura Drive InfernRed is Gon Soku Sunwu, Age 18, pokemon ranger who specialize in controlling forest fire, rescuing pokemon from poachers and aiding pokemon trainers. He owns a Wartortle, Grumpig, buneary and a Shiny Altaria he rides. His hobbies are cooking, pokemon riding, skate boarding and martial arts. He competed in three Pokemon Leagues, won Honen League, didn’t appear in the Johto and Sinnoh Finals. He learned the Art of Infernape being very skillful with a staff and mastered the art of aura. *Video end show Alpha V Corp Logo” Female voice: This end Alpha V Project Power Ranger File 1, We hope to see you again for the next file. *The computer screen shut down.”Let Me Care - Mustang Sally x ReaderLet Me Care - Mustang Sally x Reader You sighed – through your mouth, since your nose wouldn’t let you. You sat at your table in your tiny apartment as you pulled out your phone and opened the texting page. You scrolled to the name Mustang Sally. You were really looking forward to seeing him for lunch, so this was the worst day to get sick. You texted, (Y/N): Sorry Mustang, but I’m not gonna be able to make it to (favorite restaurant) today, I’m sick. Can we postpone? You sighed once more as you waited for a reply. Logically, you knew it wasn’t a big deal, but you couldn’t help feeling tense when you couldn’t follow through with something. Anything, really. You got up to get some orange juice, and just as your glass was full, you heard the notification sound. You set your glass down on the table then checked your phone. Mustang: Of course. Sorry to hear you’re sick. How about Friday? You smiled as you texted back. (Y/N): Sure :)Mustang: Okay, I’m coming over.(Y/N): Wait, what?Mustang: You said you’re sick. I’ll take care of you for today. I’ll see you there, I’m about to drive and I don’t plan to lose my license, so I won’t be responding. You tried not to sigh a third time, and for once, your nose allowed it. You decided to treasure this moment of nasal freedom before taking a sip of orange juice. You had only gone on two dates with Mustang after knowing him a short time, and now he was heading for your home to take care of you. Did he like you that much? But then again, Mustang was always such a gentleman. Maybe Mustang was doing this out of obligation? You hoped not. The last thing you wanted was for somebody to feel obligated to care for you. “I can take care of myself.” you grumbled, “I SHOULD be taking care of myself, not being somebody else’s prob-” Your thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. You dragged your feet as you got up and answered. The mutant seahorse smiled as he looked down at you. You couldn’t help but smile back. Mustang just had that effect on you once you were in each other’s presence. Mustang just had a certain warmth in those mascara-clad eyes. “Hi.” said Mustang. “Uh, hey.” you replied. “Can I come in?” asked Mustang. “Oh, right, of course.” you replied, stepping aside. It was only once Mustang stepped inside that you remembered why he was here in the first place, “I mean…” “Hm?” said Mustang, turning to face you. “Uh...it’s just…” you stammered, “Don’t feel obligated to do this.” “Do what?” asked Mustang, “Look after you?” “Y-yeah…” you replied, “I mean, I appreciate it, but you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.” “Why not?” asked Mustang, “I’m not going to make physical contact, so I won’t get sick.” You couldn’t help but chuckle. “What is it?” asked Mustang, “Please, can you tell me?” You took a deep breath before speaking. “I just...don’t want to become someone else’s problem. Especially when I can take care of myself.” Mustang just smiled. “What is it?” you asked. “You’re not a problem, (Y/N).” said Mustang, “I like taking care of people. You’ve seen how I love taking care of little ones. And most importantly, I care about you.” You were silent for a moment. “That’s true. Oh, and thank you.” “No need to thank me for caring about you.” said Mustang, “Now, how about you get some rest? The fastest way to get better is if you go to bed and let your body take care of itself.” “Alright.” you smiled with resignation. “Have you had lunch yet?” asked Mustang. “No.” you replied. “You have any chicken noodle soup here?” asked Mustang. “Yeah.” you replied. “Alright, I’m going to cook some for you.” said Mustang, “You go to bed.” “Yes, sir.” you said teasingly. You went to your room, flopped onto your bed, and proceeded to cough quite a bit from the impact. You turned onto your back and stared up into the ceiling. You couldn’t help the nagging feeling in the back of your mind. Did Mustang really want to care for you this bad? He didn’t just feel obligated? You tried to remind yourself about Mustang’s words, that they liked caring for others. Still, it bothered you to let someone else take care of you. A knock on the door pulled you out of your thoughts. “(Y/N)?” said Mustang. “Come in.” you said. Mustang walked in with a tray for breakfast in bed. On the tray was a bowl of chicken soup, a spoon, and a glass of orange juice. “I saw you had an empty glass of orange juice, so I thought I’d get some of that for you, too.” said Mustang. You couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks, Mustang.” “Of course.” replied Mustang as he put the tray over your lap, “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to let me know.” Mustang winked. “I mean it.” Mustang said softly. “Alright.” you said with a smile. “That’s good to hear.” said Mustang, “Alright, I’m gonna clear the kitchen counter.” Mustang got up and walked away. His pink tail was the last thing you saw before Mustang shut the door. You took a sip of orange juice, then a noodle from your soup. Maybe you’d allow this for a day, if for no other reason than to have Mustang around. It wasn’t very long until you began to nod off. You let your eyes droop shut.Sushi Pack Reimagine Chapter 1 Chapter 1A Strange Customer Today, The Green Donut was unusually busy for a Saturday, many customers (primarily tourists) were visiting in droves.Although this is certainly great for business, the number of customers became quite overwhelming, especially when there were only three employees: Ben, the Green Donut's owner's son, Francis Huffman, and Heidi Yip. While Francis took over as the cashier for noon, Heidi and Ben were juggling trays full of donuts just to keep up with the sudden increase in demand. "Ugh, I'm so tired!" Heidi moaned, and her arms ached from carrying so much in a short period of time. "I agree, dude," Ben replied "let's just hope we can close the place for lunch."A simple hour flew by and then, the Green Donut now only had two customers much to the trio's surprise, relief, and delight. Finally! They can take that needed breather!A couple of minutes later, the customers have since left happy with their donuts."That was the best matcha donut I've ever ate!" One of the customers yells out, "thank you all so much, I'm coming back here for sure!"Francis gave them a thumbs up whilst quietly mopping the floor and Ben grabbed the keys to close up shop for now.In the break room, the three enjoyed their lunches with the TV turned on as entertainment/background noise.As a joke, Heidi picked up the remote and switched to Channel 5 to see what news stories to laugh at this time. Then, the most absurd one they've ever heard was beginning."This just in," Sophia Tucker announces "we got reports of two fish people gangs attacking each other in Downtown Wharf City!"The employees were intrigued but skeptical. A video clip was shown of those fish people knocking one another into buildings and cars with some of them having superpowers to boot."This just has to be a real good marketing scheme," Francis commented "I mean, this looks like people with amazing costumes with special effects mixed in."Heidi agreed with him. "Yeah, this is so ridiculous." Ben shook his head with amusement, joining in with the comedy.They began to laugh about the whole fish people story, from the nonsense premise to how Sophia took the whole thing seriously and with a straight face no less. Unfortunately by 1:30, it was time to open back up for the afternoon and not as many customers were coming in. On one hand, it was back to the store's normal, slow pace but on the other, it got super boring. Heidi was cleaning the floor this time but would often stop and check her phone every ten minutes.Whilst texting a friend of hers, she heard the bell ring but then saw something peculiar; a light green rabbit wearing a blue tracksuit."Hi, welcome to the Green Donut! What would you like?" Ben said, greeting this rather odd customer. The rabbit gave Ben this sweet, innocent look, eyes twinkling pure cuteness with their arms reaching out to him."Aw, you're so adorable!" He cooed, "Do you want a donut?" The rabbit nodded cutely and pointed to a jam-filled donut."Fantastic choice, that'll be $4.75 please."The rabbit stopped and stared at Ben, no longer doing the puppy dog eyes. He flinched a little but clarified that they still needed to pay for the donut. However, it seems this rabbit did not take no for an answer as it immediately climbed on the counter and crawled into the display case, shoving some of those trays down to the floor. "Hey, you can't do that!" Ben yells but to no avail. No amount of "get downs" or "stops" well, stopped the rabbit from grabbing the donut and running out of the Green Donut."Catch that thief!" Heidi shouted, and Ben began chasing after the thieving bunny. Running from one street to the next, he tried to keep up but the thief was much faster and had a heading start.Then, Ben saw something both amazing and strange at the same time; it was those same "fish people" he saw on the news earlier today, and he could not believe it."I guess these fish dudes are real after all," Ben thought to himself, "or possibly what Francis said, a really good live performance and I'm seeing it all in person!"As he approached the scene to find that scoundrel thief, he was halted by an invisible force and was now a few feet off the ground.Then, he saw this fish woman wearing purple and pink clothing walk closer to him with one of her arms being lifted up in place."What is someone like you doing here?" The woman asks Ben, "this is far too dangerous for a civilian to get tangled up in. Please just get back to a safe place."She gently placed him back down, which still surprised Ben greatly. "Thank you miss, I'll go now," he said to the woman as he ran back to the Green Donut.As Ben returned, Francis greeted him. "Yo man, what happened to our donut thief?"Ben explained everything to him, or at the very least tried to. He was impressed to know that the news story had some truth but wasn't fully convinced just yet. Though for the rest of the afternoon shift, everything went back to normal like nothing ever happened.When he came back home, his mom greeted him and asked how work went. He explained to her about the waves of tourists visiting the shop and how many customers in general arrived that day, intentionally not bringing up some of the weirder stuff that went down today.His dad also greeted him and was quite proud of his son for the amount of work he did."Not too shabby for dealing with visitors coming for Sakura Season," his dad remarked, "you have promise with running the Green Donut when you become an adult."Ben felt this was a compliment but had his worries regarding that future.The Mizuyama family ate their dinner for the night and Ben went to his room preparing to go to bed.Unfortunately, he couldn't sleep at all with all that he saw today but after a few glasses of water and a good book, he finally fell asleep.The Wallet: Fanfiction“EEEEEEEEE!!!!” exclaimed Stimpy as he pressed his face against the glass window. His eyes bulged with delight as he stared at what lay behind the transparent barrier. “Steempy, what’s up with you? We’re going home remember?” inquired Ren Höek as he ambled over to Stimpy’s side. He waved his hand in front of Stimpy in an attempt to capture his attention. “Looooooooooooookkkkkkk!!!!” the cat chirped, pointing his finger to the object he had his eyes on. Ren’s eyes followed the finger’s direction before landing on a plush brown mouse that stood proudly amongst the crowd around it. “That mouse? But Steempy, you already have dozens of catnip mice,” Ren said as he turned away from the toy store. “But, Ren! Don’t you see? I must have it! It’s so fluffy and cute and other adjatives!” Stimpy replied before resuming his gawking. “Awhhhh no, not this time!”snapped Ren, his face reddening.”You have plenty of mice at home. This one ain’t so special. ‘Sides, it’s 30 fucking dollars! Who in their right mind would pay that much for a toy? It doesn’t even talk or light up or anything!” “Please, Ren! I’ve never wanted anything as much as this! Please please pretty please with coconut shreddings and bacon strips and gumdrops on top?!” pleaded Stimpy as he kneeled to meet Ren’s gaze. “The answer is no, you twit! We’re already having problems paying bills and buying food! We don’t need to spend any money on some stupid rodent!” Ren retorted as he pointed at the rags both of them were wearing. “But…But…” blubbered Stimpy in total disbelief. I do everything for Ren. Why can’t he get me a lil toy? “Let’s go, ya big blithering bag of sand,” groaned Ren as he grabbed hold of Stimpy’s left arm. Stimpy struggled against Ren’s grip, but it was no use. Ren could be surprisingly strong despite his short stature. He just didn’t like to show it often. Probably so Stimpy couldn’t nag him to do more chores around the house. They arrived home shortly after. Stimpy’s left arm was raw and sore from Ren squeezing it so tightly during their walk. He whimpered in pain, but Ren didn’t respond. Typical. Ren guided him to the living room sofa, which was frayed and torn in many places. Stimpy was made to sit in Ren’s lap, which was made even more awkward due to their size differences. Ren wrapped his arms around Stimpy’s midsection, anchoring him to the spot as he rocked back and forth. “Ren?” Stimpy shyly asked, his eyelashes fluttering. “Yes, my simpleton?” replied Ren, tightening his hold on the cat on his lap. “I still really want that toy…” Stimpy confessed, immediately flinching afterwards. “And I still really want more money, but that’s not how the world works. You see, us poor people are purposefully kept in this state so that we don’t get rich. No being rich, no being happy. It’s simple science, Stimpson,” Ren answered while patting Stimpy on the back. “Yeah, well. The world should change,” grumbled Stimpy, crossing his arms like a spoiled toddler. “If only, Stimpy. If only. Now, go get ready for bed and bring some snacks over from the cabinets. We’re eating junk food for dinner tonight,” ordered Ren, reaching to gently grasp Stimpy’s face. “Okay, Renny…” whispered Stimpy before he stood and retrieving a large bag of chips from the pantry. The Manx cat then traveled towards the bedroom, chips in hand. He sat on top of the downy blankets beneath him, the soft material putting his mind more at ease. If only there was one way I could get that toy, Stimpy thought to himself. The 5 cents I get every weekend from Ren would never be enough to buy the mousey… Unless… Stimpy’s eyes snaked over to the dresser. On top of it laid Ren’s wallet, which was crusty and old with age. He approached it, the floorboards creaking with every step he took. Do I dare? Stimpy went over his choices. To take or not to take, that was the question. If he took it, he would have his new toy. Sure, Ren would be mad, but he’d still have it. Ren usually never broke things that cost money. He had his limits. But if he didn’t take the wallet… well, he didn’t even want to think about that. Right then and there, the feline snagged the wallet from its resting place. He tucked it into his fur, which enveloped the wallet like a thick blanket. Suddenly, he heard the telltale sound of Ren’s footsteps outside the door. Trembling, the cat pulled the covers over himself and squeezed his eyes shut. “Awwwww, sleeping like a lamb,” Ren cooed as he walked over to the bed. Before Stimpy knew it, he was enveloped in Ren’s embrace. Ren’s fur felt even more sweltering than ever, and Stimpy cringed as the Chihuahua’s hot breath lingered on his face. “I love you, Stimp. Tomorrow awaits us both. Until then, sleep tight,” Ren whispered while simultaneously stroking Stimpy’s soft fur. He planted a wet kiss on Stimpy’s cheek before he closed his eyes, strengthening his hold on his lover. Stimpy felt sick to his stomach, and not just from the putrid smell of the dog hugging him. The guilt clawed at his chest like a ferocious beast, ready to devour him whole. Just to be safe, he gently tapped Ren’s forehead. No response. It’s now or never. Stimpy wriggled himself out of Ren’s arms, sweat pouring down his trembling body. He tiptoed out of the room, careful not to press his feet to deep on the floorboards beneath. Before he knew it, he was at the front door. He looked behind him, fearing that Ren was somehow watching him. Seeing no one there, he grabbed hold of the brass doorknob and stepped outside. The gentle breeze whispered to him, beckoning him to wander further from his residence. He chose to listen to this conscience. He took this time to look around the almost-empty streets. He had never before noticed how… bleak it looked. Rubbish overran every corner, its presence creating a foul odor that was impossible to mask. A thick blanket of smoke smothered the sky, a result from the constant output of factories and machinery nearby. Stimpy couldn’t help but cough as the smoke entered his nostrils without his consent. Just then, he found it. The toy store shone like a beacon, its bright colors sticking out amongst the gray and black that the town had to offer. Stimpy’s mouth drooled with excitement, a child-like grin etched upon his face. He ran into the store hurriedly, not wanting to waste any time. Thankfully for him, the plush mouse was still available, its soft fur awaiting his touch. Stimpy rushed to the counter, where his gaze fell upon a balding old man. “Dahhhhh, I’d like to take this liddle mouse to frolick with and play with until I can no longer roam!” Stimpy said, the mouse held up to his chest. “Okay, that’d be… let’s see now… 30 dollars,” grumbled the old man, his eyelids heavy with exhaustion. “Ooh! Gimme one sec!” Stimpy chirped. He reached down into his fur and retrieved the wallet burrowed inside. He pulled out a handful of dollar bills from inside the wallet and then placed them on the countertop. “They’re all yours, now, Take care of em,” said the man, a small smile on his face as he watched Stimpy raise the mouse high above his head with glee. “Bye, sir!” Stimpy beamed before exiting the store with his loot. As he made his way to the house with the mouse in hand, he couldn’t help but feel a tad wary about how Ren would react to the whole thing. But that was later and this was now. “STEEMPY!!!!” Stimpy snapped back to reality in a flash, his eyes wide in horror. There was Ren, his teeth barred and his hands clenched into fists. He stood out in the front yard, looking as if he would maul Stimpy right then and there. “What in the ever loving FUCK are you doing out of bed?! It’s way past curfew!” snapped Ren, pointing to his handheld watch. “I was… just uh… nothing,” Stimpy mumbled, taking care to hide his new toy behind his back. “You… wait a goddamn minute. What do you have behind your back?” Ren interrogated, stomping closer to Stimpy’s shivering frame. “It’s nothing! Really! I just feel like putting my hands behind my back, haha,” Stimpy whined. Ren pulled Stimpy towards him, forcing his hands into his own. “Why do you have that mouse?! You little THIEF!!! You think you could just run off to that kiddie store and steal it! Not on my watch, bucko!” Ren yelled. “Um, I didn’t actually steal it, Ren. I… uh… bought it…” Stimpy confessed, his face reddened with shame. “YOU WHAT?! WITH MY MONEY?!” screeched Ren, his blood boiling with indescribable rage. “Yeah… I’m so sorry, Ren! Honest!” Stimpy began to sob, fresh tears dripping down from his eyes. “Oh you’ll be more than sorry once I’m done with you! Lemme show you what happens to kitties who don’t play by the rules,” Ren snarled, ripping the toy mouse from Stimpy’s arms. “Ren, what are you doing?” Stimpy dared to ask, his teeth chattering together rapidly. Ren didn’t answer. Instead, he brought the mouse closer and closer to his face. Then, without warning, he ripped his teeth into the mouse’s fur. He pulled with all his might, his face straining with the effort. “REN!!! STOP!!!!” Stimpy screamed. Ren paid no attention as he continued tearing the mouse to shreds. Pieces of fluff and fur fell onto the pavement, a gross reminder of how far Ren was taking this. “There! All gone!” Ren announced, a smug grin implanted on his wrinkled face. “No! How could you? I… I…” Stimpy wailed. He kneeled down to touch what remained of the mouse. “Must… put it… back together…” “Oh, no you don’t! Inside with you! You will pay for this, you ungrateful swine!” yelled Ren as he hoisted Stimpy over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “No. No. My… my mousey…” whispered Stimpy before the front door slammed shut, closing off his view of the outside world.

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