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mermaidfantasy05 · 2 years ago

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Cosmic - Chapter Four

Chapter Summary: Sally gives her daily report on the happenings around Riverview High. Later on that night, the girls discover something incredible when Lyra begins to sleepwalk.

Author's Notes: Hello everyone and welcome to the fifth chapter!!! In this chapter, lots of plot setup!!

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Selene, Estella, Rhea, Maia, Lyra, Juno, Callisto, Halo, Skye, Vela, Nova and Faye were all gathered around their usual table. It had been three days since the glion monsters had attacked and the girls were still a little on edge, wondering if Lady Adira would send more or if she had decided that Earth didn't have what she was seeking and moved on. The sound of a book slamming down on the table startled them all out of their thoughts. Mindy sat down, setting her lunch tray down on the table as she dropped her purse on the ground next to her. Mindy opened the brown leather bag and took out a pencil and opened the book on the table. Callisto raised an eyebrow.

"Are you doing your homework?" Callisto asked, incredulously. Mindy nodded as she took a bite out of her grilled cheese.

"Yup. It's my Advanced Literature." Mindy said, starting to fill in answers. Jack and Marcus set their trays down as they approached the table. Jack rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

"I see you're already started on your homework, Minds." Jack said as he sat down. Mindy rolled her eyes.

"Yale doesn't accept just anybody." Mindy said. Marcus rolled his eyes.

"We're sophomores, Minnie. College is like light-years aways." Marcus said. Mindy glared at him for his use of her childhood nickname.

"One, I told you to stop calling me Minnie. We're not seven anymore." Mindy said, pointing the end of her perfectly sharpened pencil at him. Marcus smiled a shit-eating grin.

"And two, college is two years away, genuis." Mindy said, pulling out the wrinkles in the right sleeve of her rust red sweater. Marcus shrugged.

"Exactly, light-years." Marcus said. Mindy rolled her eyes.

"That attitude isn't gonna get you into Harvard, Marc." Mindy said, scratching down answers in her homework textbook. Sally had arrived and set her tray down as she plopped onto her seat.

"I thought you wanted to go to MIT, Marcus?" Sally asked, scrunching her eyebrows as she adjusted her light pink headband before throwing a strand of strawberry blonde hair over her shoulder. Marcus shook his head.

"No, I said I wanted to go to either MIT or Harvard." Marcus said. The girls, who had been watching the exchange between the four friends in amusement became interested to learn about the kinds of colleges on Wishworld.

"What kind of school do you want to go to, Sally?" Nova asked. Sally looked thoughtful as she munched on a ranch-dipped fishstick.

"Hmmm, I always wanted to go to Julliard or The Art Academy of Cincinnati." Sally said. Selene looked at Jack.

"What about you, Jack?" Selene asked. Jack folded his arms and tapped his chin.

"Either Columbia or Stanford." He shrugged. "I wanna become either a doctor or a psychologist and help people." Mindy snorted.

"If you go the doctor route, you'll definitely need a psychologist." Mindy muttered under her breath. Callisto raised an eyebrow.

"Then what about you, Mindy? What college do you hope to get into if Yale doesn't work out?" Callisto asked. Mindy narrowed her eyes at her before looking up at the cafeteria ceiling as she thought Callisto's question.

"Steven's Institute of Technology." Mindy said, nodding. She went back to doing her homework.

"I am going to Yale, though." Mindy said, resolutely. Halo nodded.

"Confidence is a great first step to making your wishes come true." Halo said. Mindy smiled proudly. Marcus took a bite out of his tamale and frowned.

"These always taste rubbery whenever the cafeteria makes them and yet I still get them everytime." Marcus mumbled.

"Fishstick?" Sally asked, holding a ranch covered fishstick to Marcus. Marcus shrugged and took it from Sally and took a huge bite out of it.

"Thanks, Sal." Marcus said. Sally adjusted her headband again before picking up another fishstick.

"Okay so, Riverview Report," Sally began. Ever since Sally, Marcus, Jake and Mindy had started sitting with them at lunch three days ago, Sally had started doing reports on what was happening around school. At first, the girls had thought that it was Sally's way of keeping them in the loop, only for Jack to reveal that Sally had been doing the reports ever since they were kids in the first grade. Still, the girls felt honored that Sally was comfortable enough to share her reports with them and always listened closely to what she was saying. Nova especially, since Sally's Riverview Reports were great for learning about all of the latest gossip.

"You guys remember the student council president elections that were announced?" Sally asked. Jack scratched the back of his head.

"Wasn't that supposed to start on Tuesday?" Jack asked. Mindy rolled her eyes.

"No genuis, it's supposed to start today." Mindy said. Jack scratched his head.

"So, what was happening Tuesday?" Jack asked. Marcus looked thoughtful.

"I think we're getting in new lab equipment on Tuesday." Marcus said. Halo nodded affirmatively.

"I heard Mr. Walters talking about it." Halo said. Maia looked at her.

"Any idea what the new equipment is?" Maia asked. Halo tapped her chin.

"I think it's supposed to be new beakers, new bunsen burners, new lab safety equipment and more test tubes." Halo said. Vela looked thoughtful.

"Wonder if any new orders are coming in for the computer lab?" Vela muttered.

"Anyway," Sally said, going back to her report. "The presidential elections are supposed to be starting today. I don't know who the candidates are this year, but I'm sure we'll find out soon." Mindy sighed.

"You know, I'm gonna miss Taylor as the student council president." Mindy said. Jack stared at her, deadpan.

"That's only because she got in new book shipments and upgraded the seats in the library." Jack said. Mindy held her chin up.

"And my back thanks her for it." Mindy said. Marcus smirked.

"And you also thought she was cute." Marcus said. Mindy shrugged.

"Just because I choose to focus on my studies, doesn't mean I can't appreciate beauty when I see it." Mindy said.

"Well, whoever gets elected, I hope they do something about the menu." Rhea said, staring at the sloppy, watery mac-and-cheese on her tray. Lyra nodded.

"Yeah, the lunch menu could do with some upgrades." Lyra said. Juno clapped her hands excitedly.

"Maybe they'll upgrade the auditorium and get in a sound stage and a special effects system!" Juno said, excitedly. Jack blinked.

"I don't think the school budget can afford that." Jack said. Juno pouted.

"Shame." Estella looked thoughtful.

"Maybe, they'll add a book request to the library. I know we already got new books, but i still can't seem to find the books I want to check out and when I do, turns out someone else already has it." Estella said. Selene nodded.

"I second that. We need a book request system." Faye stared at her lunch tray.

"Maybe we can get them to add desert to the lunch menu." Faye said.

"Or new sports equipment." Rhea said. Marcus nodded in agreement.

"I second that."

"Comfier chairs in the computer lab?" Vela suggested. Jack threw his hands up.

"Thank you! I've been saying that for years!" Jack yelled.

"Ooh, maybe they'll upgrade the art room?" Skye suggested. Maia shrugged.

"Anything's possible." Nova nodded rapidly.

"There are so many possibilities! Like, more greenery in the front of the school, more decorations, a new school flag, lockers that don't get stuck at least once a day, chairs that actually adjust themselves to your height and shape so you can be comfortable for once and not have to deal with an aching-" Faye put a hand on her sister's shoulder.

"Breathe, Nova, breathe." Faye said. Nova took in deep breaths.

"Thanks." She looked at everyone sheepishly. "Sorry. Just that stuck locker of mine really gets on my nerves." Marcus lowered his voice.

"You mean, your lockers don't get stuck on Vis?" Marcus asked, eyes wide. The girls all shook their heads.

"Nope." Halo said.

"Never." Callisto said.

"Not as far as I can remember." Maia said. Marcus, Sally and Jack's jaws dropped. Even Mindy looked up from her homework.

"Wow. I'm honestly jealous. I once almost threw my back out trying to open up my locker when it got stuck." Mindy said. Jack nodded.

"Stuck lockers are the worst." Jack said. Marcus and Sally nodded in agreement.

"Oh! There's also a new girl in school. I haven't met her yet, but there's rumors going around that she's a bit.... well, mean." Sally waved a hand dismissively.

"But I'm sure it's nothing. After all, she's new to this school. I'm sure she'll open up once she gets settled in." Sally said. Mindy had since returned to her homework.

"Or maybe she is a jerk. Rumors can be true after all." Mindy said, back to writing down answers. Sally frowned at her and threw a fishstick at her head.

"Throwing food at me doesn't make me any less right." Mindy said, still jotting down answers. "Also, that's wasteful." Sally rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, that's all the major things going on." Sally said. The school bell rang out, signaling that lunch was over. Sally, Jack, Marcus, Estella, Selene, Vela, Halo, Skye, Callisto, Juno, Maia, Nova, Faye and Rhea all started picking up their trash. Mindy finished the question she was on and started packing up her stuff as well. The only person not packing up anything was Lyra.

"Hey, Lyra, the bell rang. Lunch is over." Rhea said. Lyra didn't say anything. Callisto squinted.

"Ly, you heard her? Lunch is over, it's time to go to class." Callisto said. Again, no response. Everyone looked at each other and then back at Lyra, concern washing over them. Mindy finished packing up her bag and slung it over her shoulder.

"Is she okay?" Mindy asked. Skye tapped Lyra on the shoulder before leaning over to look at Lyra's face. Lyra had a vacant expression on her face, eyes glazed and unmoving as she stared off into the distance. Skye shook her.

"Lyra? Lyra?" Still no answer. Before anyone could try something else, Lyra snapped back to the present. She blinked a little, her hand going to her forehead as she mumbled something under her breath. Vela squinted.

"Huh?" Vela asked.

"We need to go somewhere." Lyra mumbled. Callisto groaned.

"Not this again." Callisto groaned. Sally, Mindy, Marcus and Jack did double takes.

"Again?!" The four teens exclaimed. Juno nodded.

"She's been doing this for three days now." Juno said.

"She'll suddenly stop in the middle of doing something, stare off into the distance and then she'll snap back and go back to whatever she was doing before." Selene said. Estella nodded.

"She freaked Miss Wright out when she did it while helping her in the garden." Estella said. Nova nodded furiously.

"Miss Wright almost took her to the hospital! Which, good thing Selene and Faye managed to talk her out of it. That would have been bad, like really, really bad. I mean, could you imagine the doctors taking blood tests and seeing glittery-" Faye slapped a hand over Nova's mouth again.

"Short version, Lyra didn't have to go to the hospital." Faye said. Lyra began packing up her stuff as well, a crease between her brows as she appeared to think hard about something. She mumbled to herself again before seeming to remember where she was.

"Does anyone have any plans for after-school?" Lyra asked as she picked up her lunch tray. Jack groaned.

"I have to pickup the twins after-school and take them to ballet practice afterwards." Jack groaned. Mindy rolled her eyes.

"I'm on babysitting duty." Mindy said. Sally raised an eyebrow as she placed her empty tray in the tray return.

"Isn't your little brother in daycare?" Sally asked. Mindy gave her a wiry smirk.

"My mothers temporarily suspended his daycare service as part of my punishment." Mindy explained. "I have to pick up the little squirt after-school and babysit him." Though by the fond look in Mindy's eyes, everyone could tell that she didn't mind it as much as she was pretending to.

"What about you, Marcus?" Skye asked. Marcus slumped.

"I got benched from football practice for the next three weeks. And I have to clean out the shed and reorganize the garage." He shuddered.

"My mom loves the flea market a little too much. Pray for me!" Marcus said, a haunted look in his eyes. Sally patted his back comfortingly while Mindy and Jack gave him looks of ssympathy. Nova was wide-eyed.

"You mean, you weren't joking about that?!" Nova exclaimed. Marcus shook his head.

"No, i was not." Marcus said, shuddering. Lyra, Skye, Rhea, Faye, Juno, Callisto, Selene, Nova, Estella, Halo, Maia and Vela all looked at Sally, wondering what fate she had been given. Sally sighed and pulled at her pink-and-blue ombre ruffle top.

"No gymnastics practice for a few weeks. And my dads have me on cleaning and restocking duty at the store." Sally said, blowing a strawberry blonde strand from her face. The girls all winced.

"We are so sorry, you guys." Selene apologized again, for the umpteenth time. Jack waved a hand dismissively.

"Nah, it's fine. Ruby and Amethyst aren't too much trouble. Besides, the looks on their faces when they finally nail a ballet move is so adorable to look at." Jack said. Mindy nodded.

"Danny's a pretty chill little guy. All he does is ask questions." Mindy said. Callisto raised an eyebrow.

"That doesn't annoy you?" Callisto questioned. Mindy raised an eyebrow, confused.

"Why would that bother me?" Mindy asked, confused. Callisto just blinked at her. Evidently, Mindy had the patience of a saint. Callisto hadn't been expecting to learn that about Mindy. Sally nodded.

"And I don't mind helping out at the store." She shuddered. "I just hope I don't find another spider in the storeroom." Marcus shuddered as well.

"You and me both, sister. I really hope I don't find a spider in the stuff my mom gets from the flea market." Marus and Sally both shuddered at the thought of the creepy-crawly.

"So many legs." Sally muttered.

"So many eyes." Marcus shuddered. Everyone stared at Marcus and Sally before returning to throwing away uneaten food and putting their trays in the tray return. The girls all pocketed the packaged snack food on their trays and hid them in pockets and purses.

"It's for the pomeranians." Skye explained when she saw the confused looks on Sally, Jack, Marcus and Mindy's faces. Marcus, Jack, Sally and Mindy all looked at each other and shrugged. The teens all started heading to the cafeteria's doors.

"Enough about our punishments for staying out so late, what are you guys doing after-school?" Jack asked, looking at the girls as he brushed off his jeans.

"Miss Wright has us helping out in the garden and cleaning and reorganizing the attic." Estella said. Mindy raised an eyebrow.

"Speaking of Miss Wright, does she know about-"

"Us being princesses from another planet hiding from an evil conqueror?" Nova interrupted. "Nope! As far as she knows, we're ordinary teenage girls from a far-off country that's currently under a coup and we were sent here as exchange students to protect us and we had our luggage stolen at the airport, which is apparently a thing that's super common here on Wishworld, I mean, are there just people that make it their profession to just stand around and wait for unattended luggage to arrive at the airport just to steal it? That seems like an unproductive way to spend your day. Super rude too. I mean what if-"

Faye slapped a hand over Nova's mouth.

"The short version, no, she doesn't know." Faye said.

"Will you tell her?" Jack asked. Nova, Faye, Skye, Vela, Halo, Rhea, Lyra, Maia, Juno, Callisto, Selene and Estella all looked at each other.

"We're really not supposed to reveal our identities to anyone." Rhea said. Marcus scrunched his eyebrows in confusion.

"But, you told us." Marcus said, gesturing to Jack, Sally, Mindy and himself. Callisto smiled a wiry smile.

"Well, we kinda had no choice since Mindy seemed dead set on becoming negative energy monster food." Callisto said. Nova looked thoughtful.

"We really need a better name for those things." Nova said to herself. Everyone looked at her before turning their attention back to the conversation at hand.

"Well, if someone told you that they were an alien princess from another planet, would you believe them without proof?" Mindy asked. Callisto looked thoughtful.

"That depends. Was I being chased by smoke monsters before the reveal?" Callisto asked, a smug smirk on her face. Mindy rolled her eyes and folded her arms as she staunchly refused to dignity Callisto with a response. The bell rang, signifying that it was time for class. Sally clapped excitedly.

"Yes! English, here I come!" Sally cheered, running off to her locker to get her books. Mindy shrugged her bag up to her shoulder. She pulled up the left sleeve of her sweater to expose a slim black wristwatch.

"I have a couple of minutes before AP Biology." Mindy opened her locker and took out a couple of library books.

"I'm going to go drop these off at the library and inquire about that copy of The Girl In The Locked Room." Mindy said. Jack shuddered.

"I have no idea how you read those books." Jack said, putting his hands in his pockets as he headed off to his next class.

"Come on, Marc, we got history class." Jack yelled.

"I'm already way ahead of you!" Marcus yelled from the down the hall. Jack startled and looked behind him before looking ahead of him to see Marcus waving.

"Huh. So you are." Jack said. He shrugged before running to catch up with Marcus. The girls also began splitting up to head to their next classes, dodging and pushing their way past other students.

After saying goodbye to Jack, Mindy, Marcus and Sally, the girls all began the twenty mile walk home. They passed Mister O'Malley's yard and the tiny pomeranians immediately ran off the porch to the fence. The girls all took out their leftover snacks from lunch and unwrapped them before throwing the treats over the fence. The pomeranians happily gobbled up the treats, yapping happily. The little doggies looked up, hoping for more treats.

"Sorry, all out!" Faye yelled. The tiny doggies all sat down, seeming to understand. The girls continued on their way to their house. They walked up the porch steps and after unlocking the door, walked in. Miss Wright was in the living room, lifting up couch cushions and looking underneath furniture. Miss Wright was wearing a turtleneck cream cashmere sweater paired with jeans and cute, comfy looking canvas shoes.

"Hi, Miss Wright." The girls all said as they set their bags down. Miss Wright looked up from where she had been on the floor looking under the couch.

"Hi, girls." Miss Wright said, standing up and brushing off her sweater. "How was school?"

Multiple variations of "Goods" and "Fines" were voiced. Skye tilted her head.

"Are you looking for something, Miss Wright?" Skye asked. Miss Wright scratched her head and pushed a few strands of hair that had escaped from her bun out of her face.

"My wallet. My book club is meeting at a cafe for this month's meeting." Miss Wright explained, scanning the room for her elusive wallet. Faye, Nova, Skye, Vela, Halo, Selene, Estella, Maia, Rhea, Lyra, Callisto and Juno all started looking around as well. Skye dug her hand in the back of the overstuffed armchair. Her fingers brushed against something small and square. Skye stretched her arm as far as she could, fumbling around until her fingers closed around the small object. She lifted out a brown leather wallet embossed with floral details. Skye held it up.

"Is this it?" Skye asked. Miss Wright looked up from where she had been looking underneath a throw pillow.

"There it is!" Miss Wright said, relieved. She fluffed out the throw pillow and placed it back down on the couch before walking over to Skye and taking her wallet. She gave Skye a big hug.

"Thank you, dear." Miss Wright said, slipping her wallet into the back pocket of her jeans. Miss Wright picked up her purse and grabbed the book next to it and placed it inside her purse before zipping it up. She shrugged her purse up her shoulder before turning to address the girls.

"I should be back no later than eight pm." Miss Wright looked thoughtful. "Unless Aggie brought the wine, in which case, it'll be eleven." The girls all looked at each other. They still had no idea what that meant.

"There's leftover vegetarian chili in the fridge, but I also left some money and a couple of takeout menus on the counter if none of you want chili." Miss Wright said. The girls all nodded their understanding.

"There's a pizza place that makes a really good pescatarian pizza. There's also a really good burger place that makes a delicious salmon burger, a taco place with good fish tacos and there's a cafe that has some really good pescatarian options. If you order from the cafe, I recommend the lobster ravioli. It's really good." Miss Wright held her arms.

"Come on, hugs before I go." All the girls gave Miss Wright big hugs. Once all the girls had received their hug, Miss Wright picked up her keys and grabbed her phone.

"Now remember, no one open this door for anyone. I have my keys. If any of you girls need anything, call me."

"Yes, Miss Wright." All the girls chorused.

"Enjoy your bookclub!" Skye yelled. Miss Wright smiled.

"I will. Make sure you all do your homework."

"We will!" Vela yelled. She received several glares.

"What?" Vela asked. Miss Wright waved goodbye and walked out the front door. Selene locked it behind her.

"So," Rhea said. "Are we having leftovers or takeout?"

One intense debate later, the girls had all settled on pizza. After ordering, they had gotten started on their homework, tending to the garden and reorganizing the attic. The pizza arrived twenty minutes later and the girls all dug in. Miss Wright had been right, the pizza was good. The sauce was delicious and the cheese was nice and gooey. The crust was delicious and the salmon was nice and flaky. The jalapeños added a nice spiciness to the pizza and the crème frâiche balanced out the smokiness of the salmon and the scallion added a nice crunch.

"I was thinking, what about Juno and The Jams?" Juno said. Callisto rolled her eyes.

"Pass." Juno hmmped. She took a sip out of her can of root beer.

"Hmmm, Juno and The Jubilees?" Callisto raised an eyebrow.

"Every name you've suggested for this band so far has your name in it." Callisto said. Juno folded her arms and held her head up, haughtily.

"I don't hear any other suggestions." Callisto rolled her eyes.

"Because you haven't given anyone else a chance." Callisto said. Junk pouted.

"Fine. Skye, Selene, Vela, you have any band name ideas?" Juno asked. Selene looked thoughtful.

"What about The Shooting Stars?" Selene asked. Skye waved her arms around wildly.

"Galaxy Rock?" Skye suggested.

"The Vortexes?" Vela threw in.

"What about Darkside?" Callisto asked. The other girls threw in name suggestions as well.

"What about The Luminaries?" Nova suggested.

"Nebulus?" Maia suggested.

"The Dazzling Pulsars?" Rhea suggested.

"The Radiant Comets?" Halo said.

"The Sparking Rays?" Lyra said.

"The Stellar Constellations?" Estella suggested.

"The Glowing Cosmics?" Faye suggested. Juno groaned and thunked her chin down on the table.

"None of those have that glow I'm looking for." Juno said. Callisto rolled her eyes.

"Well, you can't have a band without a band name." Callisto informed her. Juno whined.

"I know!" Juno groaned. Vela grabbed another slice of pizza.

"Well, we have until this Friday." Vela said. Maia's eyes widened.

"Which means, i only have three days to come up with a new song." Maia breathed. She immediately stood up and piled her plate with two more pizza slices and picked up her soda can.

"I gotta get started." Maia turned and fled the room, the sound of her footsteps pounding on the stairs as she hurried to her and Rhea's room. The other girls all stared after her.

"Well, that happened." Callisto said, shrugging as she took another slice of pizza. Nova chewed on her slice of pizza.

"Next time, can we try that taco place? I wanna see how good their tacos are." Nova said. Faye nodded eagerly.

"Ooh, and maybe we can convince Miss Wright to mark down a pescatarian week on the meal planner, so we can try all kinds of pescatarian recipes." Faye said. All the girls could practically see the drool building up at the corners of Faye's mouth. Halo looked up at the large antique wall clock Miss Wright kept on the wall in the dining room.

"It's almost time for bed." Halo said, finishing up her last slice of pizza. Nova gulped down her final slice.

"I call dibs on the shower!" Nova yelled. Skye sighed as she ate her crust. All the other girls began finishing up their pizza and sodas as well. They all cleaned up, putting the plates in the sink, breaking down the pizza box and putting it in the recycling bin and throwing their empty soda cans in as well. Once the dining room was all cleaned up, the girls all headed upstairs, either to finish up homework or start getting together pajamas and toothbrushes for baths.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Selene's eyes fluttered open. She lifted her head up a little and then shrugged and laid her head back down when she didn't hear anything, thinking she had just imagined it.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Selene's head shot up, her eyes wide open. Okay, so it wasn't her imagination. The tapping noise started again. Selene threw off her comforter and padded over as quietly as she could to the door. Estella was sound asleep, an open book on her chest and her glass askew on her face. Bitty was happily curled up on Estella's pillow next to her head, snoring away. Selene quietly opened the door.

"Lyra?" Selene whispered, extremely confused. Lyra was dressed in a pretty seafoam green nightgown made of silk and lace that fell down to her ankles. Her long dirty blonde hair spilled to the floor and her seafoam green sleep mask was pushed up on top of her head. Lyra's eyes were closed and she was breathing deeply, almost as if she were still asleep.

"She's sleepwalking." A voice said. Selene startled to see Vela across the hall, leaned against her and Lyra's bedroom door. Selene almost didn't recognize Vela for a moment. Vela's usually perfectly immaculate hair was all tangled and frizzy from sleep. The left side of her mouth had a line of drool coming out and her usually alert brown eyes were crusty and droopy with sleep. Vela's pajamas; a dark blue sweater with a black hole on it and lighter blue pajama shorts, were rumpled and full of wrinkles.

Selene was certain that Vela would appreciate her keeping her comments about her appearance to herself and so she did.

"What's going on?" Selene put a hand to her heart as she whirled around to see that Estella was awake and rubbing sleep from her eyes. She readjusted her glasses and threw her covers off as she got of bed and stretched. Estella pulled down her pinkish-white sweater and pulled at the hem of her star patterned silver pajama shorts before joining Selene at the door.

"I think Lyra's sleepwalking." Selene said. Estella yawned.

"She is?" Estella asked, poking her head out the door. Vela, Selene and Estella watched as Lyra made her way over to Juno and Callisto's room and tapped on their door. A couple of taps later, the door was violently ripped open as a very peeved Callisto stuck her head out, a groggy Juno right behind her. Juno's already messy mane of curls was even messier and Callisto's short hair was sticking up all over her head. Callisto was wearing a black oversized hoodie with the name of some rock band she'd gotten into since they'd been on earth and black sweatpants. Juno was wearing a pale yellow t-shirt emblazoned with a golden, sparkly eiffel tower and the words Ooh, La La!! under it and dark yellow sweatpants.

"You have fifteen seconds to come up with an explanation for this or so help me Sol-" Juno lightly smacked Callisto's shoulder.

"I think she's asleep, Calli." Juno said, studying Lyra's face. Callisto turned her sour mood on Juno.

"So?" Callisto asked, arms folded as she glared at Juno, groogy and pissed at being woken up. Lyra moved across the hall and tapped on Skye and Nova's door. A sleepy Skye poked her head out, ponytail a mess and her light pink frilly nightgown ruffled. Nova was still sound asleep.

"What's going on?" Skye questioned, sleepily. Callisto folded her arms and glared at the sleepwalking Lyra.

"That's what I'd like to know." Lyra moved down the hall and tapped on Rhea and Maia's room until they came out, tired and groggy. She moved to Halo and Faye's room and tapped on the door until Halo opened it, exhaustion written all over her face. The other girls all hoped she at least got a few hours of sleep before being rudely awoken. Nova, seeming sensing that a party was going on without her, came out her and Skye's room. Her mini buns were a mess and her bright orange Creamsicle shirt and pale orange sleep shorts were all rumpled.

"What is happening?" Nova asked, yawning hugely.

"Ask her." Callisto grumbled, pointing at Lyra. Faye stumbled out of her and Halo's bedroom, looking like she was about to fall to the ground and continue her slumber. Her long thick braids had flyaways escaping from them and her emerald green cake emblazoned tanktop and blue cupcake shorts were all wrinkled.

"Is it morning?" Faye asked, groggily.

"No." Callisto answered her. Maia rubbed sleep out of her eyes as she tugged at the hem of her purple music note shirt and tightened the drawstring on her white music note pajama pants.

"Is she sleepwalking?" Maia questioned. Rhea yawned and scratched at her messy braided crown.

"Seems like it." Rhea said, pulling at her red-and-white sleep shorts. Halo pulled at the hem of her sky blue science pun shirt.

"Is she going to wake up Miss Wright next?" Halo asked, nodding towards Lyra, who was currently sleepwalking down the hall. All the other girls did double takes and immediately whirled to look where Halo had gestured to. Lyra turned and began heading down the stairs instead of continuing down the hall to Miss Wright's room.

"Sh-should someone stop her?" Estella questioned, tugging nervously on her braids. Nova scratched her head.

"Is that safe?" Nova wondered outloud.

"Doubt it." Callisto said, folding her arms. The girls all hurried over to the bannister and watched as Lyra sleepwalked to the front door and slid her shoes on. All the girls looked at each other, eyebrows raised before plodding down the stairs as quietly as they could. Lyra turned and headed for the kitchen. Selene scratched at her bun, strands of long brown hair escaping it and falling in her face.

"We should stop her, right?" Selene asked, smoothing out the wrinkles of her moon emblazoned lavender tanktop. Juno looked thoughtful.

"Are you supposed to stop sleepwalkers?" Juno questioned. Murmurs of apprehension and dubious shrugs were her answer. Rhea pulled down her white basketball tanktop and pulled on her shoes.

"Does it matter? Lyra's sleepwalking and could really injure herself! We have to follow her." Maia, Nova, Faye, Vela, Skye, Halo, Selene, Juno and Callisto all looked at each other before pulling their shoes on as well. All eleven girls ran to the kitchen to find the sliding glass door open. They immediately ran outside to find Lyra standing next to the back gate, almost as if she had been waiting for them. Lyra opened the backgate and walked out of it. The girls all immediately followed her, Faye closing the backgate behind them.

The girls followed the sleepwalking Lyra all through the neighborhood, wondering where she was going. Estella shivered.

"Girls, I think we should get Lyra and head back to the house. It's kinda cold out." Estella said, hugging Bitty a little bit tighter as if to absorb some of her warmth.

"Does she even know where she's going?" Callisto asked as they followed Lyra through lawns until they came to a path. Lyra turned off of it and headed into the woods. Maia groaned.

"Seriously, i thought we were done with this woods." Maia groaned. Halo blew a few strands of hair away from her face.

"Looks like we're not." Halo said. Rhea, Faye, Halo, Maia, Nova, Skye, Selene, Callisto, Estella and Juno all followed Lyra into the forest.

"On the brightside, no negative energy monsters are chasing us this time." Juno said, nervously. Callisto glared at her.

"If one shows up, I'm leaving you here." Juno immediately clung to Callisto's arm.

"Please don't!" Juno pleaded. Callisto's entire face blushed at the close proximity. Skye ducked under a branch.

"I can't even see where I'm going." Skye said. Vela nodded.

"It is super dark." Vela said. Halo nodded.

"We should have brought our phones." Halo said.

"Don't worry, I've got us covered." Estella said. She rubbed Bitty's belly and the yellow star began to glow softly as the Glowfur began singing.

"That's better." Faye said. The girls pushed branches and leaves out of their way and stepped over roots as they followed Lyra deeper into the forest. Lyra walked into a stream and crossed to the otherside, soft splashes sounding through the forest. The girls all stared at the stream before sighing and crossing it as well. Selene squinted in thought.

"Hey, Stell? Does this path we're taking feel familiar to you?" Selene asked. Estella looked around, narrowing her eyes as she studied the trees and plants around them.

"I... think so." Estella said. Callisto looked at them.

"You know where we're going?" Callisto asked. Selene narrowed her eyes in thought.

"I think so." Selene said. "But i can't be too sure." Lyra pushed past some branches and bushes, the other girls following her. Nova pointed ahead of them.

"Hey, look! There's a giant gate." Nova said. All the girls looked to where Nova was pointing, their eyes widening as they saw the gate. Selene gasped and pointing.

"Stella! It's the park!" Selene exclaimed. Estella nodded, mouth agape.

"It is." Estella said. Juno looked at them.

"That gate leads to a park?" Juno asked. Selene and Estella nodded.

"This is where we and Jack hid when we were running from the glion monster." Selene said. Estella nodded rapidly.

"It's also where we fought it." Halo tilted her head.

"So, why did Lyra sleepwalk here?" Halo asked. Selene and Estella both shrugged.

"Star if we know." Selene said. The girls followed Lyra up the overgrown trail leading to the gate. Lyra pulled it open and all the girls clenched their teeth and clamped their hands over their ears at the horrible sound of screeching metal. How that hadn't woken up Lyra, the girls had no clue.

"I think my ears are bleeding." Nova whined. Faye immediately grabbed her sister's face and began inspecting her ears.

"I don't see any blood." Faye said.

"It's probably internal." Nova said.

"How is she still asleep?!" Maia asked, incredulously.

"Must be a heavy sleeper." Vela said. Juno scoffed.

"My older brother is a heavy sleeper and he wouldn't have been able to sleep through that noise." Juno said. Rhea nodded her head.

"My brother either." Rhea said. Lyra walked through the gate and the girls followed her. They walked up the cobblestone walkway and through the overgrown main entrance and into the park. Rhea, Maia, Nova, Faye, Skye, Vela, Juno, Callisto and Halo all gasped as they took in the park.

"It's... gorgeous." Skye breathed as she took it all in. Juno nodded in agreement.

"It's a bit overgrown, though." Juno said, shaking her foot to get rid of the ivy vines that had gotten tangled around her shoe. Callisto scoffed.

"What did you expect? Looks like no one's been here in years." Callisto said, turning around to take in all the foliage around the park. Nova immediately ran over to the carousel.

"Wow! I've only seen pictures of these things on Google! Never thought I'd get to see one in person!" Nova exclaimed, climbing on the unicorn mount. Faye chuckled as she walked over.

"I don't think it gets power anymore, No." Faye said, patting the side of a Pegasus. Vela inspected the carousel while Halo stood back so she could look at all the mounts.

"Hmm, wonder if there's a power source for this nearby." Vela wondered outloud, her eyes scanning the ground for cables or wires. Maia laughed.

"Good luck trying to find it! This whole place is so overgrown that the power station could be right in of us and we wouldn't know." Maia said.

"And if we did find the power station for this thing, would it be in any state to supply power?" Halo questioned. Selene shrugged.

"Jack said this place has been abandoned for four centuries." Selene said. Estella nodded.

"Four full centuries." Estella clarified. Nova clicked her tongue.

"So, that's a no, then?" Nova asked. Faye, Halo, Maia, Selene, Estella and Vela all nodded.

"Ah, stardust!" Nova groaned. Faye patted her shoulder sympathetically and then helped Nova get down.

"Guys!" Rhea yelled a couple of feet ahead of them. "Over here!" Selene, Skye, Vela, Estella, Halo, Juno, Callisto, Maia, Nova and Faye all turned their heads to see the large Victorian Era gazebo in the center of the park. All ten girls walked towards it, as if in a trance, feeling a strange pull towards it.

"Woah." Nova breathed as they arrived at the gazebo. Rhea nodded, staring at the gazebo as if she were also in a trance. All eleven girls stared at the gazebo, taking in all the details that had managed to stand the test of time. The trance was broken when Lyra pulled open the glass French doors. She headed inside and the girls all silently followed her. They headed through the entranceway and into the main area of the gazebo.

"Wow." Juno said, once they were all inside. "It's part greenhouse, part cafe."

Halo hummed thoughtfully as she ran her fingers over an old chaise.

"I believe Wishlings called them coffeehouses back then." Halo said. Nova pointed at the jars behind the counter.

"Ooh, think there's anything in them?" Nova asked.

"Probably slime and mush." Callisto said, toeing a dead root. "I wouldn't open those if I were you." Nova shrugged and went over to the antique grandfather clock. Skye noticed it as well.

"Think it still works?" Skye questioned. Vela walked over to the grandfather clock.

"Might be in the same boat as the carousel." Vela said. Skye and Nova both whined in disappointment. Faye bent down and picked up an old menu off the floor and scanned its contents.

Lyra let out a yawn as her eyes fluttered open. Vela, Skye, Selene, Estella, Halo, Callisto, Juno, Nova, Faye, Maia and Rhea's heads all whipped to look at her.

"Hi, girls." Lyra said, yawning. "What's going on?" Callisto folded her arms and narrowed her eyes at Lyra.

"We were hoping you could tell us. You woke us all up and then sleepwalked all the way out here." Callisto said. Lyra looked around the room.

"I saw this place in my visions!" Lyra said. A smile appeared on her face. "Looks like I was seeing this place for a reason."

Juno raised an eyebrow.

"What reason?" Juno questioned. Lyra shrugged.

"I don't know. I started trying to decipher it by writing a poem, but I must have fallen asleep before I could complete it." Lyra said. Vela nodded.

"You did. I had to float you over into your bed." Vela said. Lyra blushed.

"Oh, star apologies, Vela." Lyra said, embarrassed. Vela waved a hand dismissively.

"It was no problem." Vela said. Lyra began carefully picking around items littering the floor of the teahouse. All the girls looked at each other and shrugged and started helping.

"You have a vague of idea of what we could be looking for?" Callisto asked as she opened the grandfather clock and looked inside. Lyra shook her head as she carefully put a china dish back down.

"No, I don't." Lyra said. Juno picked up a small oil painting of a rose in a gold picture frame.

"What about this? Getting any psychic-y feelings from this?" Juno asked. Lyra tilted her head as she looked at the painting. She shook her head.

"Nope, nothing." Lyra said. Juno carefully set the frame down and headed over to another part of the gazebo. The girls carefully sifted through all the decorations, furniture and paintings inside the gazebo. Lyra didn't get a single intuitive feeling about any of them. Some of the girls took the time to set the decorations back up as best they could.

"We've looked through just about everything in here." Halo said, placing a dusty throw pillow on an armchair. Skye used her wish energy manipulation to right an overturned armchair.

"Could we have missed something?" Skye asked. Maia looked over at Lyra as she and Rhea pushed a table back up.

"Are you sure we're in the right place?" Maia asked. Lyra nodded.

"Positive." Callisto looked around.

"Well, we've looked through just about everything in here." Callisto said. Selene put her hands on her hips as she surveyed the sitting room.

"Maybe, we'll find whatever Lyra's sensing in the another room?" Selene suggested. Faye held up a hand.

"Wait a minute, Lyra, you said we're in the right place, but are we in the right room?" Faye asked. Lyra closed her eyes.

"Hmmmm, I can't tell." Lyra said, opening her eyes and putting a hand to her forehead.

"Sorry, still kinda sleepy." Lyra apologized. Rhea yawned.

"I'm still kinda tired too." Rhea said. Estella nodded as she yawned as well, rubbing the top of Bitty's head.

"Maybe we should come back tomorrow?" Estella suggested. Halo nodded.

"That's a good idea. We should come back when we're less tired and Lyra's powers are working better." Lyra looked around the room and sighed before nodding.

"You're right, Halo. We should head back." Nova nodded in agreement.

"Besides, we also have school tomorrow and we have to get up for that in like.... actually, what time is it? I don't have my phone on me and i'm gonna take a wild guess and say that that grandfather clock doesn't work anymore since it's been here for so long and no one's been fixing up on it. When was that thing even made anyway? And how old is it exactly? Actually, come to think of it, everything in here must be way older than the gazebo itself, that's honestly-"

"Nova's right. We have school tomorrow and we should head back so we can at least be decently rested." Vela said, interrupting Nova's ramblings. All the girls started back towards the entranceway. Skye bent down to pick up a glass figurine and turned to find somewhere to put it. Skye's eyes landed on a silver star shaped button installed into the wall. Skye put the figurine down on a dining table and walked over to it. The button looked new. Far newer than everything else in the room. Every object in the room was either dusty, faded from old age, had tears or holes in it or had some kind of damage. Skye tilted her head.

"Hey, girls! There's a button here." Skye said. Lyra, Rhea, Maia, Vela, Halo, Selene, Estella, Juno, Callisto, Nova and Faye all turned to look at her. The girls all walked over to where Skye was standing and crowded around her.

"Whatsit do?" Nova questioned. Skye shrugged.

"I have no idea." Skye said. Vela looked around the gazebo.

"It doesn't fit in with the rest of the decor in here." Vela observed. Halo nodded.

"And it looks new." Juno scratched her head.

"What purpose would this button even have? It doesn't look connected to anything from what I can see." Juno said. Callisto shrugged.

"Might just be there for decoration." Callisto suggested.

"Or maybe it used to power something?" Selene said.

"Jack said that he, Mindy, Sally and Marcus used to hang out in this park as kids. If they managed to find this park, someone else could have as well." Estella said. Selene nodded in agreement.

"Jack did say that he, Sally, Marcus and Mindy had never been inside the gazebo." Selene said. Rhea scratched her head.

"So, someone installed a button for...?" Maia looked thoughtful.

"It could open something." Maia said.

"But what?" Faye questioned.

"Oooh, what if it opens a secret passageway? Like in those mystery shows?" Nova asked. Lyra stared at the button, a strange feeling coming over her.

"I'm getting a powerful feeling that we should press that button." Lyra said, her voice sounding far away. Skye lifted her finger and pushed the button. The girls waited with baited breath. Nothing happened. Nova scratched her head.

"Well, that was anticlimactic." A soft sparkly blue glow slowly began to radiate out from the button. The girls all stared with wide eyes.

"Nevermind, I spoke too soon!" Nova said as the sparkly light began to wash over the room. The girls watches in awe as the whole room was consumed by the light. The light slowly began to fade and the girls all gasped. The inside of the gazebo no longer looked as rundown as it did before. The sun-and-water rotted floor had been replaced by a familiar rainbow floor made out of starmarble. The mildewed, moth eaten rugs had been replaced by star shaped and galaxy patterned rugs of all shapes and sizes. The dirty, cracked decorations had been replaced by beautiful, sleek looking decorations that brought to mind the decor of Starling Academy. The ripped, sun bleached furniture had been replaced by sleek, comfy looking seats and new, futuristic looking tables.

The girls all looked up. The broken glass ceiling was now shiny and new, not a hole in sight. Golden light began to flow down from somewhere in the ceiling, filling the empty crevices in the floor and lighting the room up. Selene, Estella, Vela, Halo, Skye, Lyra, Maia, Rhea, Nova, Faye, Callisto and Juno all looked around in stunned awe. Even Bitty looked astonished at the room's transformation.

"Oh my stars." Skye breathed.

"H-how?" Faye asked.

"That button... it's Visian tech." Halo muttered.

"But... how? Wh-who put it here?" Vela questioned. Selene touched one of the chairs and immediately snatched her hand back.

"It's...interactive." Selene said. Callisto walked to a chair and sat down in it. The chair immediately adjusted to her body. Juno's jaw dropped.

"No way." Juno said, shaking her head. Callisto shrugged her shoulders and smirked.

"I'm sitting in a comfy chair right now, aren't i?" Juno immediately ran over to a chair and plopped down into it. The chair instantly adjusted to her body as well.

"Oh my stars, it is an interactive hologram!" Juno said. She let out a happy squeal and fully slumped down in her chair.

"Oh comfy chairs, how I've missed you." Juno sighed, sinking even further down into her chair. Nova spun around.

"Oh my stars, you guys." She threw her arms out. "It's like.... someone packed home into a hologram and then imposed it over the gazebo." Nova said. Callisto raised an eyebrow.

"That's exactly what happened, Nova." Callisto said. The girls looked around the room to fully take in the transformation. The entire gazebo had been replaced by what appeared to be the inside of a Wish-House. Maia headed for the door.

"What are you doing?" Rhea asked.

"Checking something." Maia called back. She exited the gazebo and came back in a few minutes later.

"Looks like it's just the inside that got a facelift." Maia said. Lyra spotted a large white table in the center of the room. The table had a large star embedded in it's center. The star pulsed bright blue. The girls all looked at each other and then they all approached the table together as a group. The star burst to life, a bright blue light radiating upwards from it, projecting an image into the air. The girls all gasped, their hands flying to their mouths as their eyes welled with tears.

The image was of Lady Celeste. Their headmistress was every bit as lovely as the girls had remembered her. Lady Celeste's olive skin was every bit as sparkly and luminous as ever and her pink highlighted white hair gleamed ever so brightly. Even her clothes were neat and crisp; a long white gown with a purple-and-pink turtleneck corset that had a pink gem attached at the top and a glowing white cloak with gold trim. Lady Celeste's usually kind, open face was somber and her usually warm light grey eyes were solemn. The holo-vid began to play and the tears that had been welling up in Lyra, Maia, Rhea, Vela, Halo, Skye, Nova, Faye, Selene, Estella, Callisto and Juno's eyes fell as the voice of their beloved headmistress began to fill the room.

"My radiant Star Darlings, if you are seeing this holo-vid, then that means the worst has come to pass." Lady Celeste began. The girls' tears fell full force as they were once again reminded of That Day and it's horrors. Lady Celeste took a deep breath before continuing.

"Vis.... Vis has been taken over by the evil conqueror, Lady Adira. For quite some time, Positive Wish Energy levels on Vis have been dropping. The brightest minds on Vis had been trying to come up with a way to stop it. We were getting nowhere. Then, I had an idea. As you girls know, the highest levels of Wish Energy come from wishes granted by young Wishlings. I theorized that if wishes from young Wishlings were granted by young Visians, the resulting amount of Wish Energy would be astronomical. The plan was for Starling Academy Students to go down to Wishworld and test this theory."

The girls mouths all fell open in shock. Starling Academy students going down to Wishworld to grant wishes before graduating? It was unheard of! Even if Lady Celeste's theory had merit, someone would have had to sign off on it. Right? Was it President Andromeda Glint? Or was it their parents? Had the royal families of Vis signed off on this? Why didn't their parents tell them? Before the girls could really spiral into questioning, they tuned back into the holo-vid.

"I feared that the situation would worsen and that Lady Adira would begin her attack before I could begin to test my theory. So, I and a few trusted faculty members with the backing of the royal families and the help of Vis's top Wish Energy Scientists and Wish Granters headed down to Wishworld to scout out a location for a Wish-House in the event that the worst should happen." The girls all wiped at their eyes. The worst had happened. All of Vis had been overtaken. Lady Celeste took a deep breath.

"While the construction of the Wish-House was underway, I turned my attention to finding the best candidates to test my theory." A warm smile came over Lady Celeste's face. "My search led me to you girls.

"Selene Liara, Princess of Lunara." Selene stood up a little straighter and wiped her eyes.

"Skye Volill, Princess of Virga." Skye smiled tearfully.

"Juno Sabe, Princess of Solaris." It spoke volumes to Juno's current emotional state that all she could manage was a little wave.

"Vela Allana, Princess of Void." Vela smoothed down her hair as best she could while fighting back more tears.

"Callisto Azan, Princess of Stye." Callisto gave a short nod of acknowledgement, wiping away tears from her eyes.

"Estella Rosneath, Princess of Stellar." Estella pushed her glasses up her nose a little to wipe at her eyes before burying her face in Bitty's fur, soaking it in tears.

"Lyra Vorian, Princess of Cosmia." Lyra's hands were covering her mouth and nose as tears fell from her eyes in a steady flow.

"Rhea Najan, Princess of Gamma." Rhea buried her face in her hands to hide her tears.

"Faye Galdina, Princess of Quasar." Faye held a hand over her mouth as she cried.

"Halo Galzar, Princess of Aura." Halo stood still as a statue as tears silently streamed down her face.

"Maia Soala, Princess of Alea." Maia wiped at her face and turned her head away from the holo-vid as she tried get her emotions under control.

"And Nova Galdina, Princess of Quasar." Nova hid her face in Faye's side and hugged her sister tightly. Faye's arms wrapped around Nova and rubbed her back soothingly.

"You girls displayed amazing wish granting potential. I and a few trusted staff all began drawing up a lesson plan to teach you girls everything you would need to know to prepare you for Wishworld." The girls all nodded as they recalled the fateful message they had all received just weeks before That Day happened. Lady Celeste sighed and her face turned somber.

"I know that this is a massive weight to put on your young shoulders, but I believe that my theory could still work." The girls whirled around as a bright glow materialized behind them. Twelve bright Wish Orbs stood in front of the girls. The girls all stared in wide-eyed astonishment as the Orbs began to swarm around them.

"If you girls grant these twelve wishes, the resulting Wish Energy should be powerful enough to save Vis." Lady Celeste said. The girls looked at each other, wide-eyed. Could they do it? Lady Celeste opened her mouth as if to say something, but then thought better of it and closed her mouth. She sighed and then looked up, a warm smile coming over her face, though it looked fragile.

"I believe in you girls. Trust in yourselves and each other and your abilities, my Star Darlings. I believe that I will see you all again soon." The holo-vid stopped and then turned off. The girls stood there in numb shock, even as the hologram began to shut down, the Wish-House reverting back to its original state. The girls stood there in the gazebo in silence for several long minutes as they processed everything they had just learned.

Out of all the one thousand and eight hundred students Lady Celeste could have chosen, she had chosen them. They were the ones Lady Celeste had entrusted with this mission. The girls all looked at each other. They were all thinking the same thing. Lady Celeste had sent them down to Wishworld to grant wishes and gather up enough Positive Wish Energy to save it. The only question was: could they do it?

The girls stared at where the hologram of their headmistress had stood just moments before and wipes their faces as a new resolve came over them.

They had to. Their families, their kingdoms, their friends and all of Vis was counting on them. They knew what they needed to do. Grant the twelve wishes and gather up Positive Energy and then Vis would be saved.

"Girls, let's head home." Selene said, wiping away her tears. "We've got work to do." Together, the girls all filed out the gazebo. With one last look back at it, the girls all headed out the park.

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mermaidfantasy05 · 2 years ago

Text

Cosmic - Chapter Four

Chapter Summary: Cornered by the energy monsters, the girls have no choice but to fight back if they want to protect themselves and their new friends.

Author's Notes: Hello everyone and welcome to the fourth chapter!!! In this chapter, monster fight at last!!

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Selene, Estella and Jack stared at the glion monster, pure fear coursing through them. They were trapped. The only way out of the gazebo was back through the front doors they had just come through. And with the glion monster right outside, the three teens had no delusions about being able to simply run out the door and find another hiding spot. They were hopelessly and helplessly trapped. Cornered like terrified gazelles on the African savanna. The glion monster began to circle around the gazebo, staring in at the trapped teens as they hid behind the counter.

"Selene Liara, Estella Rosneath, give up. You have nowhere else to run. Surrender and Empress Adira may show you leniency." The glion monster said. Selene glared over the counter at the monster, trying to gather up as much courage as she could.

"We are never going anywhere with you." Selene said, voice steely. The glion monster glared right back.

"Very well. As I am reasonable, I will give you forty Starmins to make your final decision." The glion monster said. It stalked away into the shadows, leaving the three teenagers alone in the gazebo. Selene, Jack and Estella all sunk behind the counter to the floor.

"What do we do?" Selene hissed. Estella's fingers tugged on the pinkish-white skirt of her dress.

"I don't know! We can't run. It's right outside!" Estella whispered back.

"I know." Selene said, looking over the counter, trying to spot the monster. She couldn't see it, but something in her told her that it wasn't far. Estella looked over the counter with her, fingers nervously wringing her skirt. Both girls were scanning the area outside the gazebo for the glion monster with no success.

"Is it gone?" Selene and Estella both startled and whipped their heads to see Jack peeking over the counter as well. Suddenly, the direness of their situation dawned on them. Jack. He was just as stuck in here as they were. And what was worse was that he had never even asked for this, none of his friends had. They had just been trying to be nice, show the new kids that no one had bothered to get to know around and now they were paying for it. The two girls ducked back down and Jack followed them.

"What? What's wrong?" Jack asked, when he saw Selene and Estella's faces. Estella sniffled, eyes welling up with silver, glittery tears.

"Woah! Hey! There's no need to cry." Jack attempted to soothe. Estella sniffled again.

"We're so sorry, Jack!" Estella sniffled. Jack's blue eyes grew wide.

"What for?" Selene flung out her arm.

"For all of this! You and your friends were just trying to be nice to us and show us around and we repay you by getting you chased by negative energy monsters hellbent on bringing us back home to an evil dictator." Selene said.

"Well, you guys didn't ask for this either." Jack said. Selene wiped at her eyes.

"No, we didn't." Jack nodded.

"Right. So, let's find a way out of this. I'm guessing forty Starmins are equivalent to forty Earth minutes?" Jack said. Selene and Estella both nodded.

"Right. So, we have forty minutes to come up with a plan." Jack said. Selene, Estella and Jack all looked thoughtful as they tried to come up with something.

"Okay, so what do we know about those things?" Jack asked. Selene huffed.

"They're super persistent for one thing." Selene said.

"And they can split themselves." Estella added. Selene nodded.

"That too." Jack looked up and tapped his chin as he thought.

"They also seem to be able to control if they're solid or smoke." Jack said. Jack's eyes widened as an idea occurred to him.

"They can control if they're solid or smoke." Jack said. Selene and Estella looked at each other, eyebrows raised.

"You just said that." Selene said. Jack shook himself and threw out his hands.

"They can control if they're solid or smoke!" Jack shouted. Estella and Selene stared at Jack, wide eyed.

"Jack, are you okay?" Estella asked in concern as she adjusted her glasses. Jack nodded.

"Totally! I know how we can get out of this." Jack said.

"How?" Selene asked.

"They can turn solid or smoke, right?" Jack said. Estella and Selene both nodded, wondering where Jack was going with this.

"Yeah, that's how they were navigating the forest so easily." Selene said. Jack nodded rapidly.

"But, everytime it tried to take a swipe at us, it had to turn solid." Jack said.

"Jack, where are you going with this?" Estella asked. Jack smiled, widely.

"We're gonna do a little thing we call in the world of entertainment media, I surrender, suckers." Jack said. Estella and Selene both blinked at him. Jack realised that maybe he shouldn't have used a Wishworld term to describe his plan.

"Sorry, I meant we'll fake a surrender." Jack said. Selene raised an eyebrow.

"And do what?" Selene asked.

"You'll use your powers to drive it off." Jack said as if it were the simplest thing in the world. Estella was wide eyed.

"And you think it'll work?" Estella asked. Jack nodded.

"If there's one thing I know about bullies, is that they're all big and tough until someone stands up to them." Jack said. Estella and Selene looked at each other. Could they really do it? Could they go outside and face the glion monster? Send it back to Vis where it came from? Estella and Selene looked to Jack and came to a decision.

"Alright," Selene said. Jack sat up straighter.

"Let's do it." Jack fist pumped.

"Yes! Always wanted to do this in real life but Mindy always said that we'd never wind up in a situation where it'd be necessary. I'm sure she's eating her words right now." Jack said. Selene and Estella stood up.

"We'll do it." Selene said as Jack stood up to go with them. Jack blinked a few times as the words processed before erupting into protests.

"But, it was my idea!" Jack protested.

"And this is our mess. We have to deal with it." Estella said. Jack blinked.

"I mean, technically it's not your mess." Jack said. Selene put her hands on Jack's shoulders.

"We're getting you home, Jack." Selene said. Jack huffed out a breath.

"Fine. I guess I'll just sit in here and come up with a plausible excuse for why I'm three hours late getting home. I guess I could tell my mom that Sally got distracted by a store at the plaza and dragged us all in with her. Sounds like something Sally would do and she's already done it before, so my mom might buy it." Jack said to himself. Estella and Selene both looked at the window while Jack continued to mutter to himself and pace behind them, trying to pysch themselves up.

Selene took a deep breath and let it out.

"We can do this. It'll be a piece of pie." Selene muttered to herself. Jack stopped pacing behind her.

"Cake." Jack said. Selene turned to look at him.

"What?" Selene asked.

"You said it'll be a piece of pie. The saying is actually a piece of cake." Jack said. Selene's eyes widened.

"Moon and stars, I've been saying it all wrong." Selene said.

"And you had us saying it all wrong too." Estella said. She looked thoughtful. "No wonder the rumor we were actually aliens from another planet got started. We've probably been going around saying normal Wishworld sayings all wrong and not realizing."

Selene shook herself to get herself back on track.

"Okay, let's do this." Selene said. She and Estella headed towards the entranceway. Estella nervously wrung her fingers.

"Selene, are you sure we can do this?" Estella asked, adjusting her glasses nervously. Selene bent down to remove the coat hanger from in between the door handles.

"We have to do this, Stell. Jack is counting on us." Selene said, moving the coat hanger against the wall. She held out her arm to Estella.

"You with me?" Selene asked. Estella took a deep breath and linked her arm with Selene's.

"Always." Estella said, a soft smile on her face. Selene nodded at her, an equally soft smile on her face and the two walked out the doors together. They walked into the open and away from the safety of the gazebo, relying on each other's presence to keep them brave. The darkness around them seemed to shift and swirl. Estella and Selene felt goosebumps break out across their skin as a cold feeling settled in them as the blue-and-black energy seeped out from the shadows and coalesced into the glion monster. The glion monster was huge and imposing, feeling both girls with a cold sense of dread. Estella and Selene squeezed each other's elbows tighter for reassurance.

"So, I take it you've made your decision?" The glion monster asked. Selene swallowed while Estella squeaked.

"We have." Selene said, nodding. The glion monster's tail flicked about.

"You've finally seen reason, then?" The glion monster asked. Selene lifted her chin up high.

"Actually, we've come to make a counteroffer." Selene said. The glion monster's eyes narrowed, the glittering white pin-pricks cold and harsh.

"Which is?" The glion monster asked, its voice hard. Estella gulped.

"You'll... leave us and our friend alone and go back to Vis and tell Lady Adira that you failed in your mission to capture us." Estella said, trying to keep the nerves out of her voice. The glion monster stood on all fours.

"And if I refuse?" The glion monster asked. Selene glared.

"Then we'll send you back to Vis. The hard way." Selene said, voice steel. The glion monster growled lowly as it began to circle.

"Then, I guess we'll do this the hard way." The glion monster said. That was all the warning it gave before lunging at Selene and Estella. Estella and Selene both screamed as they threw themselves to the ground to avoid the attack. The glion monster dug its claws into the ground to stop its momentum, coming dangerously close to the gazebo.

"Oh no! Jack!" Estella yelled. She turned to Selene.

"We have to keep it away from the gazebo!" Estella exclaimed. Selene stood up and immediately threw a blast of moonlight at the monster. It roared as the blast connected. Selene cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled.

"Hey! Over here!" Selene yelled. The glion monster snarled and charged towards them. Estella and Selene immediately took off running, trying to get it as far away from the gazebo as possible. The two girls turned left, following the cracked cobblestone path further into the park. They passed old rusted carts and bathrooms overgrown by plant life. Old benches with weathered and splintered wood with ivy covering them lined the path as well as old trash bins filled with dead plant matter and debris from storms.

The two girls stopped running once they were deep enough into the park where the gazebo and Jack were no longer in danger. Selene and Estella both took in deep breaths as they tried to calm their racing hearts and burning lungs. Selene straightened up to see where they were. This part of the park looked like it had been a garden of some sort. Milkweed, asters, petunias, zinnias, columbines, lavender, sunflowers, verbenas and a plethora of other colorful flowers were planted all over the garden, interspersed by weeds of varying heights. There were white marble benches with slight cracks in them situated throughout the garden as well. Pretty, ornate birdbaths that were overflowing with dirty rainwater stood in patches of tall weeds. There was a fountain in the middle of the garden that had a statue of a woman on top carved from white marble. The statue had tiny hairline cracks on it and was crumbled in some places. Vines with tiny flowering buds grew over it. The statue's features had also been worn away by the weather and time, though Selene thought she glimpsed a vague impression of a serene smile on the woman's face. A large glass atrium was situated at the back of the garden, the glass broken in multiple places and overgrown foliage spilling out.

Selene felt sad to see the state of the garden now. Clearly, it had been a very beautiful garden back when the park had been open. Selene turned back to Estella who had since caught her breath.

"I think we lost it." Selene said. Estella wrung her hands nervously.

"Are you sure?" Estella asked. Selene nodded as her eyes continued to scan the garden. There were old dilapidated birdhouses and rusty bird feeders hung up in the trees. The garden looked like it was built to attract birds and butterflies. Selene wondered if any still came by, considering the state of the garden now. Selene turned in a slow circle to admire the garden while Estella walked over to a tree to inspect the carvings on it. Selene suddenly felt a cold, prickling feeling in the pit of her stomach and turned around. The garden was empty, her and Estella were the only ones there. Selene shook herself.

"Get a grip. You're just freaking out. You're fine. Nothing's out there." Selene muttered to herself. But the cold feeling didn't go away. In fact, it got stronger, putting Selene even more on edge. Selene looked all around the garden, turning in large circles as she tried to identify what was making her so uneasy. She thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye and whirled. Nothing but empty space. Selene let out a deep breath. She was just being paranoid, nothing was happening. Then, she saw another flicker of something wispy just at the edge of the garden, hidden in the milkweed. Selene walked over to the milkweed and pushed back the flowers. Still nothing. The cold, prickly feeling of dread intensified, so much so that Selene thought she was gonna be sick. She whirled around and her eyes immediately widened in horror as she saw the glion monster leap out from the trees and charge towards Estella.

"STELLA!!" Selene screamed, sprinting towards her as fast as she could. Estella startled and whirled around, letting out scream as the glion monster lunged towards her just as Selene shoved her out of the way. The glion monster's massive paws slammed into Selene and knocked her down to the ground. Selene scraped her arms and her cheek on the cobblestone, gaining light scratches in the process.

The glion monster towered over her, snarling down at her, it's sharp teeth glinting in the moonlight. The glion monster snarled loudly in Selene's face and Selene instinctively brought up her hand to protect her face. The glion monster let out a loud yelp and Selene looked up to see that some of negative wish energy was leeching off of the monster..... right into her hand. Selene let out a startled cry as the blue-and-black wish energy flowed towards her. But then, something inexplicable happened. The blue-and-black negative wish energy turned into rainbow colored positive wish energy as it flowed into her.

Before Selene could question what was going on, the glion monster was hit by two bursts of pink-white light that exploded in a bright burst. The glion monster was knocked off of her with a pained yelp. Estella ran over and immediately helped Selene to her feet.

"Oh my stars, are you okay?!" Estella cried, immediately checking Selene over for injuries while rambling. Selene was too busy looking down at her hand in shock to hear her. Estella noticed and immediately began bombarding Selene with questions.

"What? What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Estella asked, worriedly. Selene's mouth opened and closed a few times until she managed to find the words.

"I..... I absorbed some of the Negative Wish Energy off of that monster." Selene said, voice sounding dazed. Estella's pink eyes grew wide.

"Oh my stars! What? How! Th-that's not good! Oh no! Starf! Do you feel anything? Are you getting sick? What's-"

"I think I'm fine." Selene said, slowly. She brought up her hand.

"It just.... started flowing right into me." She looked at Estella. "But, it turned into Positive Wish Energy as it absorbed into me." Estella's mouth fell open.

"Wh-" But before Estella could get the words out, the glion monster came back for another attack, lunging at them. Estella and Selene both screamed and threw themselves to the side. The glion monster just barely brushed against Estella's arm as she and Selene dodged. Estella shrieked as the Negative Wish Energy absorbed into her, turning into Positive Wish Energy as it did. Estella and Selene stared at Estella's arm in shock.

"You can do it too." Selene breathed. Estella looked up at her, eyes wide with fear and confusion. But before either girl could question the unprecedented turn of events, the glion monster roared as it came back to confront them.

"How?!" It demanded. "Only Lady Adira can drain Wish Energy." Selene and Estella both looked at each other. Though the new ability was widely unexpected, the two girls immediately realised that they could use it to their advantage.

"It doesn't matter how we can do it, all that matters is how much trouble you're in!" Selene yelled, voice strong. Estella, realizing what Selene was doing, immediately backed her up.

"Yeah. We can absorb your energy." Estella said, nodding and trying to make her voice sound as strong as Selene's.

"If I were you, I'd head back to Vis and tell Lady Adira that you failed. Otherwise, we'll absorb your Wish Energy until there's nothing left of you." Selene said, resolute in her declaration. The glion monster snarled.

"There are only two of you. It will take much more than that to destroy me." The glion monster growled. Selene raised an eyebrow.

"Do you really want to find out?" Selene asked. The glion monster snarled and charges. Estella let out a shriek as she clutched Selene's arm tighter.

"I think that's a yes!" Estella yelled.

"Move!" Selene yelled, pulling Estella with her as she moved out the way of the glion monster. The glion monster spun around and went at them again, raising a sharp-clawed paw to slice at the two teen girls. Selene immediately fired a blast of moonlight at it, the glion monster roaring in pain. Estella followed it up by blasting two bursts of starlight that exploded upon hitting the glion monster. The two girls scrambled out of the way as the glion monster charged again, blasting light at it as they did.

"We have to get in close!" Selene yelled. Estella looked at her as if to say, "Are you crazy?!". Selene looked at her and pointed at the glion monster.

"I think if we keep blasting it as well as absorb enough of its energy, maybe we can drive it off." Selene said. Estella looked at the glion monster and back at Selene as she chewed her lip. Finally, she adjusted her glasses and nodded determinedly.

"Cover me." Selene said, running towards the monster. Estella fired off blasts of starlight, each exploding in bright pink-white bursts, either hitting the glion monster or blinding it. Selene ducked out of the way of a swipe and slid under it. She brushed her hand along its underbelly, startling a little as the Negative Wish Energy began to flow into her, turning into Positive Wish Energy as it did. The glion monster growled as it felt itself being drained and immediately leapt away before spinning around and trying to swipe at Selene. Selene immediately brought her hands up on instinct to defend herself. A lavender shield made out of Wish Energy materialized in front of her, the glion monster's claws slashing off of it harmlessly. Estella threw another burst of starlight at it, the light exploding in the glion monster's face and sending it stumbling away as Estella rushed to Selene's side.

"With the extra Wish Energy we absorbed off the glion monster, we can use our powers now." Selene said in realization. Estella nodded.

"We should still conserve it though. The other girls might need our help." Estella said. Selene nodded.

"Right. First, we send this glion monster packing. Then, we go help the others." Estella nodded in agreement. She helped Selene up and the two girls faced the glion monster once again, determination on their faces. The glion monster roared, angry at the open defiance and charged towards them again. Selene and Estella began blasting it with light, dodging out of it's way as best they could and using their Wish Energy manipulation to conjure up shields or levitate branches or rocks to throw at the monster. The girls also made sure to absorb Negative Wish Energy off it whenever the glion monster left itself open. Eventually, Selene and Estella managed to reduce the glion monster to a small wisp of blue-and-black smoke.

"This isn't over!" The wisp yelled, voice raspy from how weak it was. "There are more of me and then will not stop until they've captured you!" Selene and Estella both raised their hands, their powers charging up and illuminating their faces.

"Well then, I guess we'll take the fight to them." Selene said. She and Estella blasted the smoky blue-and-black wisp until it was disintegrated into nothing. Estella and Selene both sunk to the ground, exhausted. Selene hugged Estella.

"We did it! We beat that glion monster!" Selene said, big smile on her face. Estella nodded and readjusted her glasses.

"Yeah, we did." She gasped as she saw the glittery lavender blood that had begun to seep from the cut on Selene's cheek.

"You're bleeding." Estella gasped. Selene reached up her fingers to her cheek. They came away bloody.

"It's fine. I mean, it's just a scratch." Selene said. Estella opened up a pocket on her skirt and pulled out a white handkerchief and started dabbing at Selene's cheek.

"Star salutations." Selene said. Estella nodded.

"No problem." Estella said. Selene dusted herself off and held out an arm to Estella.

"Let's go get Jack." Selene said. Estella nodded as she took Selene's arm.

"And find the others." Estella said. Selene nodded.

"Right." Selene and Estella began walking back to the direction of the gazebo, walking quickly. They had to get Jack and then go find their friends. Hopefully, everyone was okay.

Callisto peaked over the rock again. The glion monster was still outside, staring right at them. Callisto glared right back.

"Is it gone?" Juno asked. Callisto raised an eyebrow and looked down at her.

"What do you think?" Callisto asked. Juno huffed.

"Why won't it leave?" Juno whined. Callisto shrugged.

"Star if I know." Callisto said. Mindy meanwhile was sitting on the ground, hugging her knees and rocking herself.

"My mothers are gonna kill me." Mindy muttered to herself. Juno patted her knee.

"I'm pretty sure they'll understand if you explain what happened." Juno said. Mindy rolled her eyes.

"Oh right, I'll just tell them what happened. Hi moms, I know I was really late getting home but it was because I was being chased by weird, lion smoke-things because the girls my friends and I took out are princess refugees from another planet that's currently under control of an evil dictator." Mindy said, sarcastically. She rolled her eyes again.

"Give me a break! There's no way they'll believe that!" Mindy hissed, burying her face in her knees.

"Well, I'm not hearing any ideas on your end." Callisto said. Mindy glared at her.

"You're the ones with powers. Why do I have to come up with a plan? Can't you just fight that thing?" Mindy said. Callisto scoffed.

"And how do you propose we do that?" Callisto questioned. Mindy shrugged.

"I dunno. Go out and blast it, I guess." Mindy thunked her head down on her knees. "I just wanna go home and sleep in my nice warm bed and cuddle with my cat." Juno's eyes were wide.

"Wait a minute, you're seriously suggesting we go out and fight that- that glion thing?!" Juno questioned, fear beginning to creep into her voice. Mindy didn't say anything, she just continued to rock herself back and forth as a way of self-soothing. Callisto gestured with her head to Juno. Juno stood up and followed Callisto a little deeper into the cave.

"Juno, we have to fight that thing." Callisto said. Juno's golden glow paled with fear.

"B-but, it's.... negative energy." Juno breathed, fearful. Callisto rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry, you want to stay in the cave?" Callisto asked, eyebrow raised. Juno squinted at her.

"No, of course not! It's cold, dark and damp in here, my clothes are dirty, my hair is all messy, I have dirt all over my hands and my feet are starting to hurt!" Juno complained. Callisto blinked at her a few times as she processed Juno's complaints.

"Then, I'm not quite seeing the problem here." Callisto said. Juno looked at her, wide-eyed.

"Negative Wish Energy is toxic to us!" Juno exclaimed. She began pacing.

"That thing out there is made out of it! And it has orders to capture us by any means necessary! What if poisons us with its negative energy? What if it-" Callisto placed her hands on Juno's shoulders and looked her dead in the eyes.

"And what about Mindy?" Callisto asked. Juno raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you didn't give a star about Mindy?" Juno questioned. Callisto rolled her eyes.

"I never said that. I said I didn't give a star about what she thinks." Callisto said. Callisto motioned with her head towards Mindy.

"Besides, she's obviously terrified and just really wants to go home." Callisto said. Juno looked at Mindy who was still balled up into a little ball, clearly trying to imagine herself anywhere but her current situation. Finally, Juno sighed.

"Fine. But if I get poisoned by negative wish energy, I expect you to carry me all the way back to Miss Wright's." Juno said, arms folded as she looked at Callisto haughtily. Callisto groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Fine." Callisto groaned. A mischievous grin broke out over Juno's face. Callisto narrowed her eyes at her.

"What?" Callisto asked, suspiciously. Juno shook her head, mischievous grin still in place.

"Oh, nothing. It's just that under that tough girl front you put up, you're nothing but a big softie, Calli." Juno said, poking Callisto's cheek. Callisto pursed her lips at the nickname. If it had been anyone else, Callisto would have either blasted them or read them the riot act. Instead, Callisto just glared at Juno with pursed lips while Juno giggled. Finally, Callisto looked away, glow bright with embarrassment.

"I have no idea what you mean, JuJu." Callisto said, turning back to Juno. She smirked in satisfaction at the little spasm Juno's smile did at the nickname. Callisto snickered under her breath at Juno's pout. Then, Juno's face became solemn as her glow dimmed considerably and began rubbing her right arm as she stared at the mouth of the cave. Callisto, noticing Juno's change in demeanor, became equally as solemn and joined her in looking at the cave entrance. Juno took a deep breath.

"So, we're doing this?" Juno asked. She looked at Callisto, glow still pale and dim with fear and worry. Callisto nodded, somberly.

"We have to. If not for us, then for Mindy." Callisto said. Juno nodded, curls bobbing wildly with the motion.

"Right, Mindy." The two girls headed for the cave entrance. Mindy looked up.

"Where are you going?" Mindy asked. Juno and Callisto stopper, still staring at the cave entrance.

"We're getting you home, Mindy." Callisto said. Juno nodded, determinedly.

"Stay here and no matter what happens, don't leave the cave." Juno said. She and Callisto took.deep breaths and looked at each other before nodding and heading out. Mindy sputtered as she was left behind.

"Stay in th- What?!" Mindy yelled. Juno and Callisto exited the cave, the glion monster sat a few feet ahead of them. The monster stood and Juno and Callisto immediately charged up their powers.

"We're giving you two options here." Callisto said, dark matter pulsing out from her clenched fists.

"You can go back to Vis and tell Lady Adira that you failed or the two of us turn you into yesterday's news!" Callisto said. The glion monster glared and let out a low growl.

"Please pick the first one." Juno pleaded, the golden light in her fists jumping and pulsing wildly in response to her fear. The glion monster stared at the two teen girls before letting out a noise of derision.

"Two little girls dare to give me an ultimatum while trembling like two terrified little lunarine." The glion monster sneered. Callisto glared right back.

"Who's trembling?" Callisto gritted out. The glion monster's eyes cut over to Juno. Callisto looked to her left to see that Juno was trembling, clearly trying (and failing) to hide her terror. Before Callisto could even try to talk Juno down, the glion monster launched its attack. Juno screamed in terror as the giant beast came thundering towards them. Callisto gave the golden girl a hard shove before jumping out of the way herself and firing off a blast of dark matter at the monster. The glion monster roared in pain as the blast connected. It turned its attention towards Juno, who was on the ground, desperately trying to back away. The glion monster's cold eyes gleamed with malice before it charged right at Juno.

"JUNO!!" Callisto screamed just as Juno scrambled to her feet and took off, screaming in terror. Callisto took off after them, throwing blast after blast of dark matter at the glion monster, trying in vain to get it to chase after her instead.

Juno pushed low hanging branches out of her way as she fled through the forest, the glion monster crashing through behind her. She turned a corner as fast she could and stumbled as she lost her footing briefly from the fast turn. She heard the glion monster roar in frustration behind her as it overshot. Juno didn't stop to see though, she kept running, singularly focused on getting away as far from the glion monster as she reasonablely could. Juno's foot caught on a root and she went tumbling to the ground, shrieking as she rolled down hill and smacked her back against a tree. Juno scrambled up into a seating position, eyes widening in terror and her golden glow paling even more as the glion monster crested the top of the hill. It let out a terrifying roar as it began charging down hill. Juno screamed and looked around desperately for somewhere to escape to. There was super-thick overgrowth filled with thorns and sharp, prickly branches all around her and the tree behind her had no cracks or grooves or anything else that Juno could use as a foothold go climb up. She was trapped.

With the glion monster rapidly approaching her, Juno did the only thing she could do. She turned her face and brought her left arm over it to defend some part of herself from the glion monster and squeezed her eyes shut and braced for the worst. Instead of feeling the glion monster's negative energy bearing down on her, Juno heard a loud yelp as a warm feeling came over her. Juno opened her eyes and looked up, letting out a loud cry of horror as she saw the glion monster's negative energy flow into her arm. The glion monster ripped itself away from Juno, the trail of black-and-blue energy tearing away from it and turning into rainbow colored positive wish energy as it flowed into Juno. Juno could only stare in fear, astonishment and confusion as the newly turned positive energy finished absorbing into her.

The glion monster whirled around, a horrifying snarl tearing from its throat. A burst of dark matter slammed into it and sent it tumbling before it could enact its revenge. Callisto let out a massive sigh of relief, breathing heavily from how fast she had been running. She immediately ran over to Juno.

"Are you okay? You're not hurt? Did it scratch or bite you anywhere? How many fingers am I holding up?" Callisto asked, rapid firing questions at Juno as she inspected her for any damages. Juno grabbed Callisto's jacket and began sputtering out half formed words and waving her left arm around wildly. Callisto squinted at her.

"What? What's wrong?!" Callisto asked, feeling concerned take over her as well as an intense anger towards the glion monster for hurting Juno.

Juno began pointing with her right hand towards where the glion monster had previously stood and then back at her left arm.

"I... negative energy... absorbed it...!" Juno sputtered out.

"What?!" Callisto questioned, not being able to make sense of Juno's nonsense ramblings. Juno gripped Callisto's leather jacket with both her hands and leaned all her body weight onto her, staring Callisto dead in the eyes. Callisto had to fight to keep her glow from brightening and the fuschia blush from breaking out over her face.

"Ithinkiabsorbedtheglionmonster'snegativeenergy!" Juno rushed out. Callisto squinted, feeling slightly annoyed now.

"What? I can't understand you, you're talking too fast." Juno let go of Callisto's jacket and threw her arms up in the air, flaring them around wildly. Callisto felt concern for Juno's mental state. Juno pointing at her left arm again.

"I absorbed the glion monster's negative energy!" Juno yelled, eyes wide. Callisto was pretty sure her jaw had just fallen off from how low it had dropped open in shock from Juno's news.

"You did what?!" Callisto shrieked. She pointed in the direction the glion monster had once stood.

"You absorbed that thing's negative energy?!" Callisto shrieked, feeling uncharacteristically freaked out by the news. Juno nodded rapidly.

"And i-i-it turned into Positive Wish Energy!" Juno yelled. Callisto felt even more freaked out and more than a little confused.

"Wait, what?!" Callisto yelled. Juno nodded once again.

"It was so freaky! This big stream started leeching off the glion monster into me and it turned into Positive Wish Energy as it did! I have no idea how it happened!" Juno yelled. Callisto threw her hands up.

"So, you're just a negative energy vacuum now?" Callisto asked, sarcasm dripping from the statement. Juno shrugged.

"I guess." A cheeky smile washed over her face.

"I guess that means I can suck up all of your negativity and turn it into positivity, Calli." Juno said, leaning into Callisto and batting her gold lashes. Callisto folded her arms and grumbled as she turned away, her face blushing fuschia.

"Shut up, Juju." Callisto muttered under her breath, glow bright with flusteredness. Juno laughed and Callisto's glow brightened in response to the sound as Juno carried right on laughing. Juno straightened up, bright smile still on her face only for all traces of it to instantly vanish as her glow turned pale with fear once again. Callisto noticed and immediately turned around to see whatever Juno had saw. The glion monster had recovered from getting some of its energy drained and the dark matter blast it had received and had decided that a round two was in order.

Callisto immediately shoved Juno out of the way and brought up her arm to defend herself. The glion monster's claws sliced through the sleeve of her jacket. Her poor, genuine leather jacket. The blue-and-black negative energy of the glion monster began to leech off of it and until Callisto, turning into Positive Wish Energy as it did. A blindingly bright burst of gold light smashed into the glion monster's face, sending it flying backwards when the burst exploded. Juno placed a hand over her heart in relief before practically stumbling over to Callisto.

"Are you o- Oh my stars, you're bleeding!" Juno shrieked, hands flying up to press against her face. Callisto looked down to sew the remaining strands of negative-turned-positive energy flow into her as well as a light cut that had glittery, magenta blood rapidly pooling out of it. Juno immediately began patting down her tights.

"Oh, why didn't i wear the tights with the inside pockets?!" Juno lamented, smacking herself in the forehead. Callisto stared at her torn sleeve, disbelief and anger swirling around in her.

"This was genuine leather." Callisto muttered, not seeming to care that she was currently bleeding. Juno's head whipped to look at her in disbelief. Juno opened her mouth, about to say something (although whatever she would have said would have been hypocritical, considering her own vain tendencies) when she saw the glion monster getting back up. The monster leapt towards them. Juno shrieked and Callisto turned around and immediately pulled Juno to the ground with her. The glion monster crashed into the overgrowth as Juno and Callisto scooted backwards.

"Okay, that's it. No more running." Callisto said, getting up to her feet before extending a hand down to help Juno up. Juno raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?" Callisto brushed off her skirt.

"We've got some extra positive wish energy, we have our powers and we can absorb that thing's negative wish energy to get more positive energy. We're sending that thrice damned thing back to Vis." Callisto said. Juno did a double take.

"Wait, what?!" Then she paused as something occurred to her.

"Wait a minute, did you just use a Wishling term?" Juno asked, scratching the top of her messy mass of curls. Callisto shrugged.

"Seemed appropriate." Callisto said. She looked at Juno, seriously.

"That thing's spent the whole night terrorizing us, June. Time for some payback." Callisto said. Juno's mouth opened and closed a few times as she looked at Callisto and then at the glion monster as it slowly stalked out of the overgrowth. Finally, Juno sucked in a deep breath before nodding, a look of steely determination coming over her face.

The glion monster shook itself as it stalked out of the overgrowth, growling lowly at the two girls in front of it. It lunged and Juno used her wish energy manipulation powers to levitate a giant log to throw at the monster. Callisto threw a burst of dark matter at it and Juno followed it by throwing a burst of sunlight at it that exploded in the glion monster's face. The monster stumbled, discombobulated by the attacks and shook itself to reorient itself. The glion monster snarled fiercely and lunged. Callisto immediately created a shield using her wish energy and Juno added her own to the shield to help stay strong against the glion monster pressing down on it. The glion monster let out a furious snarl, drool dripping from its maw. Juno and Callisto both let out loud battle cries as they shoved the glion monster using their shield backwards before blasting it with their powers.

The glion monster was undeterred, singularly focused on the teen girls as it fought against the powerful blasts. Callisto and Juno didn't let up for one moment, increasing the power of their beams as they vaporized the glion monster into nothingness with loud cries. Juno and Callisto both dropped their hands and panted, Juno falling to the ground on her bottom as she took in great gulps of air. Callisto reached a hand down and helped Juno back up once Juno had caught her breath. The two girls stared at where the glion monster had once been.

"We did it." Juno said, a grin slowly breaking out across her face. Callisto nodded.

"It's gone now. It can't terrorize us anymore." Juno let out a loud squeal and glomped Callisto in a massive hug. Callisto squawked and flailed her arms around as Juno practically squeezed the life out of her in a huge bear hug.

"We did it, we did it, we did it!" Juno cheered. Callisto smacked Juno's upper arm.

"Yeah, yeah, you already said that!" Callisto yelled, squirming in discomfort. Juno let go of her, hands still clasped onto Callisto's shoulders. Juno's whole face and glow were bright with joy.

"We just took down a monster made entirely out of negative wish energy!" Juno let go of Callisto and pumped her fist in the air.

"It makes me wanna just sing!" Juno yelled. Callisto brushed herself off.

"Please don't." Callisto said. Juno whirled back to look at her, eyes wide.

"We gotta find the others! We gotta help them." Callisto was busy dusting off her denim ruffle tiered skirt. Callisto looked up.

"Come again?" Instead of repeating herself, Juno lunged forward, grabbed Callisto's arm and pulled her after her as she sprinted back towards the hill.

"We gotta go help the others! And get Mindy!" Juno yelled. Callisto squawked indignantly behind her.

"Okay, okay! At least slow down before you pull off my arm!" Callisto yelled as Juno continued dragging her back to the cave.

"Ow!" Rhea and Marcus's heads shot up to look up at Lyra. Lyra shook her hand out.

"Sorry, the branch stuck me." Lyra apologized. Rhea turned her attention back down to the glion monster on the ground. She, Lyra and Marcus had been stuck up the tree for well over an hour now. The glion monster hadn't moved a single inch. It knew that eventually the three teens would have to come down. It was literally waiting them out. Rhea glared down at it.

"Gah! Can't that thing just go away!?" Rhea hissed. Marcus looked down at the glion monster.

"Evidently not." Marcus said, hugging the tree trunk tighter. Lyra hummed.

"Well, surely it must realize that we don't plan on coming down anytime soon." Lyra said. Marcus looked up at her.

"I think it knows and doesn't care." Marcus said. Rhea leaned against the tree trunk, shifting her feet to keep her balance as she folded her arms and stares down at the glion monster. Rhea wasn't used to standing still and just waiting things out, but so far, ever since That Day, that's all she ever seemed to do. Well, not tonight.

"I'm going down there." Rhea said, determinedly. Lyra and Marcus's heads whipped to stare at her in shock.

"What?!" They both cried. Rhea kept her gaze focused on the glion monster.

"I'm going down there. I'm tired of running. All we've done so far is run. We ran from Lady Adira and now we're running from her lackeys. Well, I'm sick of it. It's time to take a stand." Rhea said. Lyra looked down at the glion monster and then at Rhea and then at Marcus. She took a few deep, calming breaths and then nodded.

"Alright. Let's do this." Lyra said. Rhea whipped to look at her in surprise.

"Wait, you're coming with me?" Rhea asked. Lyra nodded, a small smile on her face.

"What kind of friend would I be if I let you go in alone?" Lyra asked. Rhea smiled. Marcus hugged the tree trunk tighter.

"You two are seriously going down there?" Marcus asked. Lyra and Rhea nodded.

"We'll lead it away." Rhea said. Lyra nodded.

"Once we're far enough, you can climb down and run for safety.... well, safer than being up in a tree." Lyra said. She made a shield symbol with her hands.

"May Aspi protect us." Lyra muttered under her breath. Before Marcus could ask who Aspi was, Rhea and Lyra clambered down the tree. Lyra adjusted the large wide brimmed sun hat on top of her hand and brushed down her long sleeved silk blouse. How she hadn't lost the sun hat during their run, Rhea had no idea. The glion monster stood up and stretched.

"Finally, I thought I would have to claw the tree down." The glion monster said. Rhea rolled her eyes and folded her arms.

"No need. We're here." Rhea said, glaring at the glion monster.

"Well then, the time for games is over. You will be taken in and brought before Empress Adira." The glion monster said. Rhea dropped her arms.

"We'll go with you, on one condition," Rhea said, motioning with her left hand to Lyra in an attempt to secretly tell her to blind the glion monster with her cosmic rays. Lyra stared down at Rhea's hand in confusion for several long seconds, furrowing her seafoam green brows before her face suddenly lit up with understanding. Lyra's palms crackled to life with seafoam green sparks and Lyra hurled the sparks straight at the glion monster's face. Rhea grabbed Lyra's hand and tugged her after as Rhea took off sprinting, just as the sparks exploded in the glion monster's face, the monster letting out a loud roar of pain.

Rhea stopped a few feet away from the glion monster. The glion monster shook its head and whirled around, a furious snarl on its face.

"You have to catch us first!" Rhea yelled. The glion monster let out a ferocious roar before charging at the two girls. Lyra screamed and Rhea grabbed her hand and pulled her after her as she took off running again. Lyra's hand flew up to secure her hat as she and Rhea sprinted over the rocky, root-ridden terrain of the forest with the glion monster close at their heels. Rhea and Lyra jumped over roots and rocks and ducked under branched as they ran deeper into the forest. Lyra tossed a look behind her and paled at how close the glion monster was.

"We're not going to be able to outrun it!" Lyra yelled. Rhea stared straight ahead.

"Yes, we will! Have a little faith, Lyr!" Rhea yelled. The two girls ducked under a branch as they ran. Rhea's foot cut in a root and she tripped, falling to the ground with a loud cry. Lyra immediately stopped and started trying to help her up. Rhea waved her away.

"Go! No use in us both getting caught!" Rhea yelled.

"But-" Lyra tried to protest, eyes flicking up at the rapidly approaching glion monster and back down at Rhea.

"No time, just go!" Rhea yelled. Lyra looked at her, back at the glion monster and back down at Rhea again, clearly trying to figure out what to do. The glion monster let out a terrifying roar, causing Lyra's fight-or-flight response to kick in and carry her off. Rhea looked down at her knee, seeing the rip in her black tights and the cut that had rapidly pooling glittery red blood. Rhea looked up and immediately ducked as the glion monster jumped over her, singularly focused on Lyra. Evidently, it was very pissed off about being blinded by cosmic rays.

"LYRA!!" Rhea screamed. Lyra tossed a look behind her and let out a scream as she saw the glion monster charging towards her. She pushed herself as much as she could to run faster, but Lyra had never been a very athletic person. She preferred meditation and yoga for her athletics, thank you very much. That combined with her attire; an emerald green long sleeved silk blouse tucked into a long, flowy seafoam green midi skirt made of delicate lace and tulle and comfy strappy wedge heeled sandals as well as a large, floppy sun hat with a seafoam green ribbon wrapped around it on perched on top of her head and well.... you get the picture.

Lyra's foot got caught up in the bottom of her skirt and sent her stumbling. She just barely managed to catch her balance against a rock wall, scraping up her palms. She placed a hand to heart and breathed a sigh of relief before quickly realizing she had reached a dead-end and the glion monster was still coming. Lyra screamed, throwing up her left arm and ducking her head under it as the glion monster lunged at her. The glion monster let out a loud roar of surprise and Lyra looked up, startling to see the streams of Negative Wish Energy rolling off the glion monster and flowing into her, turning into Positive Wish Energy as it did. Two big bursts of bright red gamma rays bursts slammed into the glion monster and exploded, knocking it away from Lyra.

Rhea sprinted towards her and grabbed her arm, a little winded from the mad dash she had made to get to Lyra before the glion monster did something.

"Are you okay?" Rhea asked, checking over Lyra. Lyra was too fixated on the streams of Negative Wish Energy that had broken off from the glion monster and was now flowing into arm, turning into Positive Wish Energy, to hear her. Rhea noticed and looked down to see what Lyra was looking at and let out a cry of horror as she saw the streams of Negative Wish Energy still flowing into Lyra.

"Oh my stars!" Rhea yelled, batting at the streams of Negative Wish Energy as if that would help. The tiny ribbons of Negative Wish Energy started flowing into her too and Rhea yelled in horror as she flailed her arm around. Lyra grabbed her arm before Rhea could hurt herself.

"It's okay. I don't think it can hurt us." Lyra said, voice calm. Rhea looked at her, face clearly screaming, "Have you lost your stars?!". Lyra nodded at Rhea's arm.

"Look." Rhea looked down at her arm to see that Lyra was right. The Negative Wish Energy had started turning into Positive Wish Energy as it flowed into Rhea while she had been panicking.

"H-how?" Rhea asked, looking at Lyra wide-eyed. Lyra shrugged.

"Maybe Aspi heard my call." Lyra said. Rhea stared at her, deadpan. Unfortunately, neither of of the girls were paying attention to the glion monster that was slowly recovering from Rhea's attack. it pushed itself up to its paws and whirled around, letting out a low growl as it spotted the two teen girls that had outplayed it twice now. Lyra looked up and saw the glion monster standing. She let out a loud gasp and pointed at it, Rhea turning around to see what had gotten Lyra's attention. The glion monster roared and lunged at the two girls again. Both girls let out loud screams as the glion monster charged at them. Suddenly, a bright burst of purple light slammed into the glion monster, exploding into beautiful shades of violets and purples.

Lyra and Rhea whirled around and their eyes widened when they saw who their savior was. Maia adjusted her black leather, rhinestone studded cabbie cap on top of her head before hurrying over.

"Oh my stars, are you two okay?" Maia asked, wrapping Rhea and Lyra up in a hug. Rhea and Lyra hugged her back.

"We're fine." Rhea said.

"Your timing was amazing. Aspi really heard me!" Lyra said, looking up at the starry sky as if to thank the protection Goddess. Rhea just shook her head while Maia just nodded in agreement. The glion monster got up again and let out another furious roar. The three girls whirled around.

"No time to thank her, Ly! Right now, we've got even bigger problems!" Maia yelled, pointing at the furious glion monster. Rhea charged up her gamma ray bursts.

"Come on! There's three of us and one of it!" Rhea said. Lyra and Maia both nodded.

"Right!" Lyra said, palms sparking with seafoam sparks.

"How hard can it be?" Maia said, purple nebulas materializing in her hands. The glion monster charged and all three girls threw themselves out of the way. Rhea threw a gamma burst at it while Lyra fired a cosmic ray. Maia followed up the attacks by throwing both of her nebulas. The glion monster roared in anger, frustration and pain as the attacks connected. It reoriented itself and charged at the girls again, swiping and clawing at them. Rhea, Lyra and Maia did their best to avoid the attacks while trying to fire off attacks of their own. Lyra's foot got caught up in the hem of her skirt again and she went falling to the ground with an oof.

"Lyra!" Maia yelled, running over to help her up. The glion monster took advantage of the distraction and swiped at her, it's paw connected and sending Maia flying towards a tree trunk.

"Maia!" Lyra yelled, throwing out her hand towards her. Seafoam green wish energy materialized around Maia, stopping her from crashing into the tree. Lyra and Rhea immediately ran over to her, Lyra gently setting her down using her wish energy manipulation powers. Maia let out a loud cry of horror as she saw the stream of negative wish energy funneling into her.

"It's fine! Look!" Lyra yelled, grabbing Maia's hands before Maia could do anything crazy. Maia looked down and her breath hitched in surprise to see the blue-and-black negative wish energy turn rainbow colored as it flowed in her.

"What on Cassiopeia's glowing Vis?" Maia asked, staring at the negative-turned-positive wish energy flowing into her. Rhea nodded.

"I know. Lyra and I can do it too." Rhea informed her. Maia threw her hands up.

"How?!" Maia asked. Rhea shrugged.

"No idea." Lyra tapped her chin thoughtfully. Before she could even voice her opinion, Rhea stopped her.

"No, I don't think it's Aspi, Lyr." Rhea said. Maia nodded in agreement.

"Besides, she's the Goddess of protection. I don't think she'd be letting negative wish energy touch us at all, if that's the case." Rhea said. Lyra nodded.

"You could be right." Lyra said as she pondered Maia's observation. Suddenly, Lyra's eyes widened right before she turned around and created a seafoam green shield just in time to stop the glion monster from chomping down on them. Maia and Rhea stared, gap-mouthed. They quickly gathered themselves and dashed forward to help Lyra, who was struggling to keep the shield up against the glion monster furiously bearing down on it. All three girls strained against the glion monster's ferociousness.

"Come on, we can do this!" Rhea yelled. Maia and Lyra both grunted with the effort.

"It's really strong!" Maia yelled. Lyra nodded rapidly.

"And very, very angry!" Suddenly, a blue blackhole opened up a couple of feet away from the glion monster. A ball of bright pink plasma shot out and exploded against it in beautiful shades of pink. The glion monster roared in pain as it was knocked away. A large gust of sky blue wind slammed into it, knocking it away even further. Another blackhole opened up and the glion monster flew through it and fell out another portal several feet away. Vela, Skye and Halo came rushing up as Lyra, Rhea and Maia dropped their shield.

"Are you all okay?" Skye asked as she fretted over her friends' well-being. Rhea nodded.

"We're fine now that you're all here." Rhea said. Maia nodded as she readjusted her cap.

"Nice timing." Maia said. Halo nodded.

"We were a couple feet away when we saw you guys. Vela opened one of her blackholes and Skye threw her plasma through it." Halo explained. Lyra dusted off her skirt.

"Did you guys shake off your glion monster?" Lyra asked, tilting her head. Vela scratched the back of her head, sheepishly.

"Yeah, about that-" A loud roar sounded throughout the forest as the glion monster that had been chasing Skye, Vela and Halo rocked up.

"Yeah, it's still chasing us." Halo said. Skye wrung her hands.

"I mean, it's like that Wishling saying when you really think about it, you know? The more, the merrier?" Skye said, nervous smile tugging at her lips. Maia blinked at her.

"I don't think Wishlings meant that when they first thought up that saying." Maia said. Skye slumped.

"Figures." The glion monster charged at them and all six girls whirled around, their powers materializing in their hands to fight it. Suddenly, a bright orange flaring light slammed into the glion monster, knocking it off its feet as it exploded. A beam of blue-and-green light blasted the glion monster immediately after. Nova, Faye and Sally came running out from the tree line. Sally stooped over, panting.

"Oh God, I have never run that much in my entire life. Wish I had my fit bit, I should be up by like a hundred thousand points by now." Sally panted.

"What's a fit bit?" Lyra asked. Nova began wildly flailing her arms around.

"Oh my stars, you guys! First off, everyone okay? No one hurt? Second of all, that was actually pretty awesome! Like, oh my stars! Did you see me? That glion monster was all, "Rooaaarrrr!" and I was all, "Pew, pew, pew! Shoosh, shwzoom!!" and it was all, "Arrrggghhh!" and then Faye-" Faye immediately smacked a hand over her sister's mouth.

"Not the time, No." Faye said. Nova shook herself and nodded.

"Not the time, right!" Nova said, nodding to herself. Nova instantly straightened up as something occurred to her, orange eyes wide.

"Oh yeah, also there's a glion monster still chasing us." Nova said. The aforementioned glion monster roared loudly as it approached. All six girls whirled to stare at Nova, exasperated.

"You couldn't have led with that?!" Halo yelled, greatly annoyed. Sally had since straightened up.

"Uh....oops?" Sally offered, a sheepish smile on her face. The glion monster thundered into the field only to get blasted in the face by a dark magenta light. Before it could reorient itself, a bright golden light exploded in its face, knocking it off-kilter. Juno and Callisto rushed up, Mindy staggering behind them. Halo held up her hand.

"Hold on, you three aren't bringing anymore negative energy monsters with you, are you?" Halo asked.

"Yeah, we're kinda set on those at the moment and we really can't accept anymore shipments." Maia said. Rhea, Lyra, Skye, Vela, Nova, Faye and Sally all nodded in agreement. Callisto shook her head.

"No, we defeated ours." Callisto said. Juno nodded, her messy golden curls bobbing with the motion.

"It's gone." Juno affirmed. Vela wiped her forehead.

"Phew, I don't think we could have taken on four." Vela said. Rhea nodded.

"It's like Coach always said, "Know your limits." Rhea said. Mindy was slumped over, breathing hard while Sally rubbed her back.

"I.... was not.... made... for.. running!" Mindy gasped out. She took in a great gulps of air as she straightened up.

"The most exertion I have ever experienced was trying to answer a triple stumper for Riverview's annual Academic Decathlon off of three hours of sleep freshman year." Mindy said, wiping the sweat off her forehead. Faye tilted her head.

"You were nervous the night before?" Faye asked. Mindy shook her head.

"No, I was up all night writing essays. One for my AP history class, another for my AP biology class and another for my AP chemistry class." Mindy said. Nova furrowed her brows.

"They were due? I know that feeling. I get so caught up doing other things that I forget to finish my homework as well. Like this one time-"

"No," Mindy interrupted, shaking her head. "They weren't due, I just wrote them." Skye blinked at her.

"All in one night?" Skye asked, brows furrowed with worry. Mindy nodded. She let out a little snort.

"I also finished four pages of my AP physics homework before I fell asleep." Mindy said, smiling at the memory. All seven girls blinked at her, astonished.

"Wow." Maia said, having no words for the story she had just heard.

"Oh... my stars." Nova said, speechless for once.

"All in one night? And you still participated in the Academic Decathlon?" Rhea questioned, floored. Faye pressed a hand to her forehead.

"I can't even imagine completing that much homework when it's not even due." Faye said. Lyra nodded in agreement.

"Mindy seems to be in desperate need of some good relaxation techniques." Lyra said. Juno scratched the top of her head.

"Woah, this girl takes her academics seriously." Juno muttered. Vela and Halo on the other hand, were very impressed.

"Teach me your tricks, please." Vela pleaded. Halo nodded.

"I am honestly extremely impressed. Did you guys win?" Halo asked. Mindy nodded, proudly.

"Yup. I answered the question." Mindy said.

"What even was the question?" Callisto asked. Mindy smirked.

"It was an AP chemistry question." Mindy said. She proceeded to recite the question off as if she was reading the textbook it came from.

"Dinitrogen pentoxide decomposes in a first- order reaction with a half-life of seven minutes at two hundred and thirty degrees celsius according to the equation above." All eight girls looked at each other and shrugged as Mimdy continued since there was no equation for them to look at.

"If N2O5 is added to an evacuated flask to a pressure of eight hundred torr at two hundred thirty degrees C, what is the total pressure in the flask after fourteen minutes?" Mindy answered before anyone could start working it out in their heads.

"The answer is D. Two half−lives occur in fourteen minutes, thus one-two two equals one-fourth of the starting material remains, or two hundred torr. Also, six hundred torr of N2O5 have decomposed. For every two moles of N2O5 decomposed, seven moles total of N and O are produced or six hundred-twoth times seven equals two thousand and one hundred torr. Because the partial pressures are additive, the total pressure would be two thousand and one hundred plus two hundred equals two thousand and three hundred torr." Mindy said. Callisto shook her head.

"Why do you insist on torturing yourself?" Callisto asked, genuinely flabbergasted by Mindy's seemingly gluttonous appetite for academic punishment. Mindy was completely unbothered though, still preening in satisfaction from the memory. Another loud roar broke out as the glion monster Vela, Skye and Halo had distracted returned. All the girls whirled around in it's direction as the glion monster came charging towards them. A beam of pale lavender light blasted it, followed by two bursts of bright pink-white lights exploding in its face. The glion monster roared as it stumbled, disoriented.

Selene, Estella, Jack and Marcus all joined the group.

"Jack, Marcus!" Sally yelled, hugging her friends. Jack and Marcus both hugged her back.

"Hey, Sal." Jack said. Lyra tilted her head.

"Marcus, I thought you headed for safety?" Lyra asked. Marcus shrugged.

"I was going to, but I realized I couldn't just leave you guys with that thing. So I took off after you and that's when I bumped into Jack, Selene and Estella." Marcus said, gesturing towards the three teens. Jack nodded.

"Yeah, Marcus told us what the two of you were doing, so we immediately headed off to find you." Jack said.

"Seems like we got here just in time." Selene said. Estella nodded concurrently. The three glion monsters began regaining their bearings, turning towards the teens with fury. Sally eeped while Marcus, Mindy and Jack all paled.

"They seem really mad. Well, as mad as three beings made out of smoke can be." Sally said.

"On a scale of one to ten, how bad do you think those claws and teeth will hurt?" Jack asked, nervously.

"Related question, how much can lions eat?" Marcus asked, uneasily. Mindy whipped to look at her friends, disbelief written on her face.

"Why would you want to know that?!" Mindy cried. Jack threw his hands out.

"I think I deserve to know just how much pain I'll be in before I die!" Jack yelled. Sally and Marcus both nodded in agreement. Selene, Estella, Lyra, Rhea, Halo, Skye, Vela, Nova, Faye, Maia, Callisto and Juno all looked at each other and nodded resolutely. Together, all twelve girls stepped forward, putting themselves in front of their new friends and stared down the glion monsters with matching looks of determination.

"Sally, Marcus, Mindy, Jack, find a really tall tree and climb up it." Selene said.

"Preferably one far away from here." Faye said.

"Make sure it's super sturdy as well." Skye added.

"Why? What are you guys gonna do?" Jack asked. Mindy smacked her forehead.

"Goddangit Jack, now is not the time to be a blond! They're obviously gonna fight those things, duh!" Mindy admonished. Jack stared at her, deadpan.

"Well, excuse me for being a bit too frazzled to follow the plot properly!" Jack protested. Mindy rolled her eyes.

"Now is not the time, you guys." Sally informed the two squabbling teens. Nova smiled at them over her shoulder.

"Don't worry, guys. We got this!" Nova said, giving the four teens a thumbs up. Sally and Jack nodded, turning around and heading off for safety. Marcus scratched the top of his head.

"Wait a minute, they're gonna fight those things without any help?!" Marcus exclaimed. Mindy rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips.

"Oh, I'm sorry Marcus, I was unaware that you also had superpowers." Mindy said, sarcasm dripping from the statement. Marcus looked thoughtful.

"You know, I did always want super-strength as a superpower." Mindy facepalmed.

"Goddammit Marcus, you're a straight A student." Mindy muttered under her breath before grabbing Marcus's arm and tugging him after her as she ran after Jack and Sally.

The glion monsters all snarled at the twelve girls before them. Some of the girls took deep breaths and others tapped their elbows for good luck while the more spiritual girls (like Lyra) sent up calls to the twin gods, Dyna and Xiphos for strength.

"You have been nuisances long enough! It is time to surrender!" One of the glion monsters yelled. Callisto scoffed.

"Oh yeah? What do you think you are to us?" The other eleven girls nodded in agreement. The glion monster snarled.

"We'll give you one last chance. Surrender and you may be granted mercy." Selene rolled her eyes.

"I think we'll take our chances." Rhea nodded.

"We've run from you long enough." Faye nodded as well.

"And we're sick of it." Nova spoke up next.

"Your Empress chased us from our home. Which was extremely rude of her!" Nova shouted.

"And you terrorized our friends and made them have to run for their lives all night!" Maia yelled.

"You've taunted us and cornered us." Vela said.

"Chased us and tried to hurt us." Skye added.

"Well, no more!" Juno said.

"We're fighting back. You will not intimidate us anymore." Estella said.

"Tell your Empress that we will never go back to Vis." Callisto said.

"Not until she's dethroned and the planet is saved." Halo said.

"And we'll spend the rest of our lives to make sure that happens if that's what it takes." Lyra finished. Silence reigned for a few moments and then the glion monster laughed darkly while the other two snarled.

"Look at you, princesses without kingdoms and all on their own, pretending to be brave glions when they're really just terrified lunarine." The glion monster said. Halo clenched her fists.

"I think you'll find that you're the lunarine in this scenario." Halo said. The glion monster snarled furiously. The other two glion monsters were similarly enraged.

"Enough talking!" The glion monster snarled. Suddenly, the three glion monsters dematerialized into blue-and-black mist. The mist swirled wildly, creating a strong gust of wind before rematerializing into a giant glion monster. The glion monster wasn't as huge as it had been when it had first began to terrorize the girls but it was still huge. It's teeth and claws were every bit as sharp and deadly as they had been before. The glion monster roared loudly, causing birds to flee their nests and tiny forest critters to scamper for safety. The girls steeled themselves and charged up their powers as the glion monster's cold, black eyes narrowed at them.

"I will bring you back to Vis in pieces if necessary!" The glion monster snarled. It lunged and the girls immediately moved out of the way. Lyra threw a cosmic ray at it and Juno hurled a burst of golden sunlight at it. The glion monster roared in pain as the attacks connected and whirled around to charge at them. Vela opened a blackhole in front of it and then opened up another one a few feet away. The glion monster fell out and was immediately hit by a gamma ray bursts and two bright bursts of starlight. It was quickly followed by a beam of moonlight, a pulsar beam slamming into it, followed quickly by a nebula and a plasma ball exploding in its face.

The glion monster shook its head to reorient itself before it charged back into the fray, swiping and batting at the girls. Nova hurled a supernova at it and Halo followed up by blasting it with solar wind, sending the glion monster flying back. Callisto hit it with a burst of dark matter, sending the glion monster tumbling even further. The glion monster shot to its feet and roared in rage before charging at the girls again.

"Stars, it's persistent!" Rhea yelled. Faye nodded.

"I'd actually admire it's persistence if it wasn't trying to kill/capture us!" Faye yelled.

"How are we going to beat this thing?!" Estella cried. "It's super determined and it seems to be taking our attacks much better now that it's combined!" Halo narrowly ducked under a swipe.

"There's gotta be a weakness, we just have to find it!" Halo yelled. Lyra's eyes widened.

"I know! Rhea, Maia and I can-" The glion monster lunged at her and Lyra immediately created a shield. The other girls immediately ran over to help her. All twelve girls summoned up every ounce of positive wish energy they had and poured it into the shield, struggling to keep it up against the glion monster's furious attacks.

"What was your idea, Ly?" Vela yelled as the glion monster batted down at the shield particularly hard. Lyra grunted as the glion monster attacked again.

"I was trying to say that Maia, Rhea and i-" The glion monster swiped hard against the shield, destroying it and sending the girls flying. Selene instantly used her wish energy manipulation to soften all the girls' landings.

"Owwie!" Nova groaned, sitting up. All the other girls groaned as they sat up as well. Lyra pushed herself up and immediately hurried to speak before the glion monster could interupt her again.

"Rhea, Maia and I can absorb Negative Wish Energy!" Lyra rushed out. Vela, Halo, Skye, Nova, Faye, Juno, Callisto, Selene and Estella's heads whipped to her in shock.

"What?!" They all cried. They immediately looked to Maia and Rhea for confirmation. Maia and Rhea nodded.

"She's telling the truth. We can absorb Negative Wish Energy." Rhea said. Maia nodded rapidly.

"And turn it into Positive Energy too." Maia added. Selene gasped.

"You mean, you guys can do it too?" Selene asked. Rhea raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean by too, Lynn?" Rhea questioned.

"Selene and i can also absorb Negative Wish Energy and turn it into Positive Wish Energy!" Estella shared. Juno gasped.

"Calli and I can too!" Juno breathed. Callisto rolled her eyes at the nickname but nodded her confirmation.

"We found out while fighting our glion monster." Callisto revealed. Selene's violet eyes were wide.

"Me and Estella too!" Lyra nodded rapidly.

"That's how Maia, Rhea and I found out as well!" Vela held up her hands.

"Hold on, hold on. You're saying that all seven of you found out that you can absorb Negative Energy, which is supposed to be toxic to us by the way, and turn it into Positive Energy?" Vela asked. Maia, Rhea, Lyra, Selene, Estella, Callisto and Juno all nodded. Nova's eyes were wide.

"That is honestly.... really, really cool." Nova said. Faye stared at her, deadpan.

"Maybe now's not the best time to think about how.... cool absorbing Negative Wish Energy is, Novs." Faye said.

"Or ever." She added under her breath. Skye looked at all her friends in concern.

"And no one feels sick or anything?" Skye asked, worriedly. Maia, Rhea, Lyra, Estella, Selene, Callisto and Juno all shook their heads. Halo placed her finger to her chin as she processed the information.

"So, if the seven of you can absorb Negative Wish Energy without any ill effects, maybe Vela, Skye, Faye, Nova and I can too." Halo muttered. Skye, Nova, Faye and Vela's heads whipped to look at her.

"Say who to the what now?" Vela asked. None of the girls pointed out the Wishling term she had just used, too in shock by Halo's observation to notice.

"D-don't you think that's a huge leap in logic to make?" Callisto asked, eyebrow raised. Juno, Selene, Nova, Skye, Faye, Estella, Maia, Rhea and Lyra all nodded in agreement.

"Maybe. But it's also not unreasonable." Halo said, standing up. She brushed off her coat and glared at the glion monster, determination written across her face.

"Only one way to find out." Halo said. She strutted across the field and stood there, throwing her arms out.

"Well? Come on, then! I'm right here!" Halo yelled. The other girls were absolutely floored.

"What is she doing?!" Juno exclaimed in pure and utter bewilderment.

"I think all that time in the Chem lab has fried her braincells." Callisto muttered.

"Is she crazy?!" Vela yelled.

"Evidently, yes! One might even go as far to say that she has lost her-"

"Not now, Nova!" Faye cut in.

"She might get hurt!" Estella fretted.

"Someone has to stop her!" Selene yelled. The glion monster charged at Halo. All the girls sat there frozen, too in shock to get their limbs to move. Suddenly a pink blur zoomed across the field and slammed into Halo, knocking her to the ground.

"SKYE!!!" Selene, Callisto, Nova, Juno, Faye, Maia, Vela, Rhea and Lyra all yelled, simultaneously. Halo looked up just in time to watch in horror as the glion monster's massive paws connected with Skye's chest and sent her flying backwards. Skye just barely managed to create a shield in time to cushion the blow as she slammed into the bark of a tree. She heard a snap and her eyes immediately shot down to her white heart-shaped crossbody purse. The silver chain strap had completely snapped, the purse hanging off of one end. Skye gasped as she saw strands of negative wish energy absorb into her. The blue-and-black energy turned rainbow as it did, confirming Halo's hypothesis.

"Oh my stars." Skye breathed. Halo, with a furious cry, blew the glion monster away using her cosmic power and ran over to Skye. The other girls regained use of their facilities and also hurried over as well. Halo immediately helped Skye up, completely unheeding of the strands of Negative Wish Energy still absorbing into Skye.

"What on Vis were you thinking?!" Halo yelled, shocking the other girls, Skye included. Halo rarely ever lost her temper, believing that emotions got in the way of logical thinking. Each girl could count on one hand the times they had seen Halo's emotions get the better of her and that was That Day included.

"Well, i-" Skye started but Halo didn't seem to be in the mood for explanations.

"You could have gotten hurt! I said there was a possibility that the rest of us could absorb Negative Energy, not that it was a sure thing! That's why hypotheses exists and why you're supposed to test them!" Halo yelled. Skye's eyes widened as she saw the few strands of Negative Energy latch onto Halo and begin absorbing into her while she ranted.

"Uh, Halo?" Skye attempted. Halo steamrolled on, completely heedless to the girls trying to get her attention.

"What would you have done if my hypothesis was wrong, huh? Do you have any idea how bad that could have been?!" Halo ranted.

"Halo?" Selene tried.

"And further more," Halo continued on. "I chose to be the test subject to test my hypothesis! I didn't need you coming in like some... some.. gah! What's the Wishling word for it again?"

"Halo!" Callisto yelled.

"What?!" Halo yelled, frazzled from the events that had transpired. Lyra pointed.

"Your wrist." Halo looked down and her eyes widened as she saw the strands of Negative Wish Energy turning into Positive Wish Energy as it absorbed into her.

"Oh my stars." Halo muttered, staring at her wrist. Nova looked thoughtful.

"So.... if Halo can absorb Negative Wish Energy and Skye can too as well as Estella, Selene, Callisto, Juno, Rhea, Maia and Lyra.... does that mean Faye, Vela and I can as well?" Nova questioned. Vela tapped her chin in thought.

"Well, we're nine for twelve right now, aren't we?" Vela said. Faye did a double take.

"That is... i.... gah! Stop making sense!" Faye yelled, looking about ready to tear her hair out from all the stress. Unfortunately, she was only going to get more stressed. The glion monster roared loudly as it charged back in. All the girls immediately whirled around as the glion monster broke through the treeline. It roared once again as it barreled towards them. The girls charged up their powers and immediately moved out of the way of its attacks, firing off their own attacks and doing their best to dodge. Vela opened a blackhole when Skye's plasma ball narrowly missed the glion monster, opening another one when the plasma ball went in the first one. The plasma ball shot out and slammed into the glion monster and exploded. It roared in pain and anger and immediately turned its attention to Vela.

It roared loudly before charging right at her.

"Vela, watch out!" Lyra yelled. Vela startled, breaking her concentration and she whirled around to see the glion monster heading straight for her. Vela let out a scream and opened a blackhole on the ground. The glion monster swiped at her just as Vela jumped in, it's claws managed to slice her sleeve. The blackhole closed and another one opened, Vela dropping out of it and landing on her bottom. Vela immediately checked her arm, noticing the long scratches on her sweater sleeve as well as the slight scratch from the glion monster's claws knicking her arm. But more pressing were the strands of Negative Energy absorbing into her skin. Vela watched in astonishment as the blue-and-black energy turned rainbow.

"Oh my Asteri." Vela breathed as she watched the rainbow colored positive energy absorb into her. She looked up.

"I can absorb Negative Wish Energy too!" Vela yelled.

"Ten for twelve!" Nova yelled, throwing her fists up in the air. Faye facepalmed. The glion monster roared angrily and charged. The girls continued blasting it with their powers. Nova threw supernova after supernova at the glion monster, dodging it's attacks as best she could. The heel of her white mary-janes slipped over a rock and Nova crashed to the ground, getting even more dirt and grass stains all over the tulle skirt of her dress. The glion monster lunged and Nova screamed.

"NOVA!!" Faye screamed, sprinting across the field and using every ounce of positive wish energy she had left to boost her speed so she could reach her sister. Faye threw herself over Nova just as the glion monster beared down on them in wispy smoky strands of Negative Wish Energy.

"Faye, Nova!!" All the other girls screamed. They immediately blasted the glion monster with their powers, knocking it away from Nova and Faye. Nova looked up and immediately startled when she saw the streams of Negative Wish Energy absorbing into her sister. She watched in amazement as it turned into Positive Wish Energy.

"Woah." Nova breathed. Faye slowly opened her eyes and let out a short scream of horror as she saw the streams of Negative Wish Energy absorbing into her baby sister. Nova raised an eyebrow at Faye's reaction and brought up her hands and her eyes widened in surprise as she saw the Negative Wish Energy absorbing into her. Some of it must have rolled off of Faye and into her. Nova watched as the blue-and-black energy gave way to rainbow colored positive energy. Nova cracked a grin.

"So cool." Nova muttered as she turned her hands this way and that. Faye looked about ready to burst a vessel from how hard she was glaring at the top of her sister's head. Evidently, Nova and Faye both had differing ideas on what constituted as cool.

"We can all absorb Negative Energy." Lyra said. Maia nodded.

"But how?" Juno waved a hand dismissively.

"Forget that, what I want to know is how does this even work?! Negative Wish Energy is toxic to us, yet we're able to absorb it with no ill effects whatsoever!" Juno yelled.

"Well, I wouldn't say we're absorbing the Negative Energy." Vela said. "It seems like we're somehow turning the Negative Energy into Positive Energy and absorbing that." Juno threw out her arms.

"But how?!" Callisto rolled her eyes.

"Does it matter? Right now, we have bigger things to worry about than wondering about the logistics of this new ability we've just discovered." Callisto said. Halo nodded.

"Callisto's right. We can worry about this later. Right now, we have to take down that glion monster." Halo said. Estella was wide-eyed.

"But how? You've seen how it's been tanking our attacks." Estella said. Skye looked thoughtful.

"I wonder if our ability to absorb Negative Wish Energy can help here." Skye wondered outloud. Halo snapped her fingers.

"That's not a bad idea, Skye." Halo said. Rhea scratched the back of her head.

"But in order to absorb that thing's energy, we gotta get close to it." Rhea said. Lyra nodded.

"And I don't think it seems too keen on letting that happen." Lyra said.

"Think, there has to be some way to get in close." Faye said, arms still wrapped protectively around Nova. All the girls assumed deep, contemplative expressions as they all thought hard for a way to get close to the glion monster to absorb its enegy. Selene's eyes widened as an idea came to her.

"What if we combined our powers into one massive attack to blind the glion monster using Vela's blackholes? Once it's blinded, we use Vela's blackholes to get behind it while it recovers and absorb its energy before it even realizes what's hit it!" Selene asked. Vela nodded as she ran the idea over in her head.

"That's not a bad plan, Lynn. But our timing would have to be perfect. There would be no room for error, everyone would have to be top of their game." Vela said. All the girls looked at each other. Finally, Rhea shrugged.

"I'm game if all of you are." Rhea said. Maia nodded.

"We can do this." Lyra nodded.

"We just have to focus and think positive thoughts." Lyra said. Skye nodded in agreement.

"Lots of positive thoughts!"

"Besides," Juno said. "It's twelve of us and one of it." Callisto nodded.

"Juno's right, we outnumber it. No way it'll be able to handle a bunch of bright explosions at once." Estella nodded slowly and adjusted her glasses.

"Well, it is our only plan." She took a deep breath and then nodded determinedly. "Right, let's do this."

"Between the twelve of us, we should be able to absorb that thing's energy before it realizes what's happening." Faye said. Nova nodded eagerly.

"It's like mom always said, "Lots of hands make light work." Nova said. Faye nodded in agreement. A sad look briefly passed over both sisters' faces as they remembered the many days they spent on their mother's family's farm during the Time Of Lumiere growing up. They both quickly shook it off and replaced it with looks of determination.

"We only get one shot at this, so let's make this count." Halo said. Selene nodded.

"Right." She put out her hand. All the other girls raised their eyebrows. Selene blushed, glow turning bright with embarrassment.

"Oh, uh... i thought we'd do that thing people do on those Wishling cartoons right before they enact a daring plan. Y-you know... when they put their hands in the middle and then throw them in the air and yell "Team!"?" Selene asked, feeling very awkward. All eleven girls looked at each other before shrugging and putting their hands in the middle. Selene brightened at seeing all the other girls going along with it.

"Okay, on three, team!" All the girls nodded.

"One!" Selene yelled.

"Two!" Lyra yelled.

"Three!" Maia yelled.

"Team!" All twelve girls yelled, throwing their hands up. They all giggled a little afterwards. Juno looked thoughtful.

"You know, if we plan on making that a habit, we're gonna need a team name." Juno said. Callisto rolled her eyes.

"Now's not the time, June." Callisto said. Juno simply shrugged. All the girls turned to where the glion monster was still collecting itself, looks of determination coming over their faces. Halo used her solar wind to stir up some dirt and then formed two large spheres of dirt-filled wind with it. Selene, Estella, Lyra, Rhea, Faye, Maia, Nova, Juno, Skye and Callisto all charged up their powers. Vela took in a deep breath and then put out her hand, preparing to make a blackhole. The glion monster collected itself and shook itself off before letting out a loud roar. It turned back to the girls with fury before charging at them.

"Wait for it..." Selene said. The glion monster charged towards them, tearing up swaths of dirt, grass and roots as it approached.

"Wait for it...." The glion monster let out a terrifying roar, saliva flying from it's mouth. It lunged.

"Now!" Selene yelled. Vela opened a blackhole and Selene, Estella, Lyra, Rhea, Faye, Maia, Skye, Halo, Nova, Callisto and Juno all hurled their powers through it. Vela opened another blackhole, rotating it just so, so that the girls' powers would hit the glion monster directly between the eyes. The bright bursts and beams of light and wind flew out the blackhole and slammed into the glion monster's face. A huge bright, multi-colored explosion went off right in the glion monster's face, blinding it as it let out a loud roar of pain.

"Go, go, go!" Selene yelled. Vela immediately opened another blackhole and all the girls ran into it. The blackhole closed and another one opened behind the glion monster, the monstrous beast shaking its head and rubbing at its face with its paws in an attempt to clear its vision. The girls all ran out the blackhole and immediately charged towards the glion monster, lunging towards it with loud cries. The girls grabbed hold of the glion monster's legs and tail, the Negative Wish Energy immediately beginning to leach off it and into them, turning into Positive Wish Energy as it did. The glion monster let out a loud roar as it felt itself being rapidly drained.

It whirled and blindly swatted, desperate to destroy the girls that had dared to defy it. The girls immediately threw themselves back and blasted the glion monster with their powers, letting out loud battle cries as the glion monster evaporated into nothingness. The girls all panted as they stooped over, trying to catch their breath.

"We did it." Estella breathed. Skye let out a loud squeal.

"We did it! We defeated the glion monster. All of them!" Skye cheered, throwing her arms around the two girls who happened to be closest to her (which was Maia and Callisto). Callisto squawked as the life was practically squeezed out of her while Maia just patted Skye's elbow. All the girls celebrated.

"I can't believe it! We actually won!" Faye yelled. Nova did a double take.

"You had doubts?!" Nova exclaimed. Faye rolled her eyes, good-naturedly.

"Of course, I did, little sister! You did see what we were up against, right?" Faye said. Nova shrugged.

"I guess you could say that I had Fayeth that it would all work out." Nova said, elbowing her sister. Faye stared down at Nova, deadpan.

"What have I told you about making puns out of my name?" Faye said.

"We did it!" Juno yelled. She drew in a deep breath.

"Please, don't start singing!" Callisto yelled. Juno just rolled her eyes, good-naturedly and started humming a little tune under her breath instead as she did a little victory dance. Lyra and Rhea were hugging each other while Vela and Halo high-fived. Vela turned to Selene and fistbumped her.

"Great plan." Vela said. Selene blushed, glow bright with pride.

"Thanks. But I couldn't have done it without you. Any of you." Selene said, sincerely. Nova wiped at her left eye.

"Awwwwe, group hug!" Nova yelled. Callisto began sputtering protests as all the girls gathered together in a massive hug.

"Help! I am drowning in affection and I do not like it!" Callisto yelled. Juno just patted the top of her head.

"Shhh. Just feel the love, Calli." Juno said, serenely. Callisto just sighed and grumbled quietly as she allowed herself to be hugged. The girls eventually broke apart, all staring at each other with huge smiles, glows bright with accomplishment.

"That was totally wicked!" A voice yelled. All twelve girls yelped and whirled around, powers at the ready, only to immediately dispel them when they saw Jack, Mindy, Marcus and Sally. Sally waved, Marcus was clapping, Mindy's arms were folded and Jack looked sheepish. Jack scratched the back of his head, sheepish smile on his face.

"Sorry. Probably should have occurred to me that it wouldn't be a good idea to surprise a bunch of girls that just finished a fight." Jack said. Mindy rolled her eyes.

"Instead, you almost got blasted twelve ways to Sunday." Mindy said. Jack rolled his eyes.

"Yes Mindy, I'm aware." Jack said. Mindy smirked.

"Just making sure." Selene smiled at them.

"You guys are safe now. The glion monsters are gone." Selene said. Nova nodded rapidly.

"Yup! They're all gone now! Poof! No more! That was awesome! And scary! But mostly awesome! We were like real life action heroes! I mean, did you see us? We were all like, "Pew, Pew, Pew!" and the glion monster was all like, "Waugh! Grr!" and we were all like-" Faye slapped a hand over her sister's mouth.

"Thank you, Nova, for that rousing reenactment." Faye said, deadpan. Jack looked down at his watch.

"It is soooo late." Jack said. Mindy, Sally and Marcus looked down at Jack's watch. Marcus let out a low whistle when he saw what time it was while Sally chewed on her nails nervously. Mindy shook her head.

"We are all so grounded." Mindy muttered, a wiry smirk on her face. Jack winced.

"Think they'll buy the ol took a wrong turn on Mainstreet?" Jack asked, scratching the back of his head. Mindy rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"Yeah, sure. What, did you take a wrong turn on Mainstreet and wind up in a zoo?" Mindy asked, referring to everyone's filthy clothes and scratched up appearances. Mindy looked down at her boots in distaste.

"These were new." Mindy grumbled. Marcus squinted.

"Didn't you get those at Payless?" Marcus asked. Mindy scoffed, offended. She gestured at Marcus's jacket.

"Didn't you get that from Walmart?" She pointed at Sally's jeans.

"She got those from Target!" She whirled on Jack and pointed at him.

"And I know for a fact that you got that shirt from Hot Topic." Mindy said. Jack's eyes darted around.

"I have noo idea what you're talking about." Jack said, closing his jacket to hide the shirt. Mindy puffed.

"Yeah, and I'm the queen of England." Mindy said, sarcastically. Sally shook her head at her.

"Too soon." Sally said. Mindy threw her arms out in a "What?" gesture. Marcus looked up at the sky.

"Well, if we start walking now, we should make it back just as the sun starts rising. If we're lucky, our parents will have hopefully exhausted themselves worrying and they're in their bedrooms knocked out." Marcus said. Mindy snorted.

"Trust me, my moms are still up." Mindy said. Sally nodded.

"My dads too." Jack nodded as well.

"I know for a fact that my mom's still up. Dad more than likely is out driving around trying to see if he can find me." Jack said. Marcus shoved his hands in his pockets as he looked thoughtful.

"My parents might still be down at the police station filing a report." Sally squinted.

"But your dad is the police." Sally said. Marcus's eyes widened.

"Oh. Right. Man, he's probably gotten some serious overtime by now." Marcus said. Mindy shrugged.

"He should be thanking you." Mindy said. Marcus scratched his cheek.

"He'll thank me alright. After he's finished making me clean out the shed and reorganize the garage." Marcus said. Estella tapped her fingers together.

"Well, we might have a way to get you back home quicker." Estella said, softly. Marcus, Sally, Jack and Mindy all tilted their heads.

"How?" The four teens asked, intrigued. All twelve girls looked at each other as matching grins broke out over their faces.

"Remember when we said that we could fly?" Skye asked. Sally's eyes widened as she realised what was happening.

"No way." Sally said. Callisto rolled her eyes and smirked.

"Way." Sally began jumping up and down, squealing.

"Let's go, let's go!" Juno grabbed her arm and Callisto took the other one.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's fly!" Juno said, striking a pose. Callisto rolled her eyes. Selene and Estella took Mindy's arms, Skye and Halo took Marcus's and Lyra and Rhea got Jack.

"Hang on, here we go." Selene said. Using their wish energy manipulation, Estella and Selene levitated their bodies.

"Oh god." Mindy breathed as she rose off the ground.

"Just look up. See, there's Ursa Minor!" Estella said, drawing Mindy's attention to the sky. Mindy's head immediately snapped up.

"What, where?!" Mindy questioned, brown eyes scanning the sky for signs of the constellation. Sally whooped as she, Juno and Callisto rose into the air. Marcus was equally giddy while Jack stared down at the ground.

"Huh, it really does look small down there from up here." Jack muttered. All twelve girls began heading off back towards the neighborhood with their passengers. As the teenagers flew away, a tiny, thin wispy strand of blue-and-black smoke peeled itself from out of the shadows, watching the teens leave.

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mermaidfantasy05 · 2 years ago

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Teen Heroes Masterlist

Started: 12/28/22

Updated: 1/23/23

Status: Ongoing

Ao3

Description: Teen Heroes is a series that combines four series on my Ao3 account that I was writing for the other Fandoms I'm in combined with the MCU and DCU (Well, they're still trying to get their legs under them so I guess it'll mostly be the DCAU, the video games and the characters from the old DCEU before James Gunn stepped on board as well as the characters that are still left in the DCEU after James Gunn took over).

The series From My Ao3 Account Involved In This Series:

Ninjago (Which Will Hopefully Be An Anime One Day)

World Of Light

The Little Club Adventures

No Matter What Your DNA Is, You're A Hero

I am basically rewriting all these series through this one. Because the original ones are...... meh.

Warnings: This series is going to get Riverdale and The Amazing World of Gumball levels of crazy. There will be many hijinks, wacky adventures, chaos, (hopefully a lot of laughs) and dimensional travel. So if crazy, off the rails (and sometimes emotional) adventures with bleeding heart (I mean this in a positive way), super-powered teenagers are your thing, you've come to the right place. There will also more than likely be crackfics. Lots of them. Memes too. Whole stories dedicated to them.

Notes:

The Timeline is also more than likely fucked. I make references to media that shouldn't even exist yet by the MCU's timeline and some characters are younger than they should be (Like Jason) while still having their backstories (Like Jason). All in all, the timeline is fucked, nothing matters, characters (like Carol and The Guardians) show up way before they're supposed to but we're gonna ignore it all in the spirit of fun.

P.S. when I say nothing matters, I mean canon. Canon doesn't exist in this series, we're all just along for the ride. Welcome to fanfiction, baby! Hope you all enjoy this goofy, sometimes serious, sometimes emotional, sometimes utterly ridiculous series!

P.P.S This series is also gonna be full of original characters. Lots of them. And running gags, brick jokes, theater references, musical references, movie references, and tons of other references! Fanfiction, woooooo!!!!!

P.P.P.S Civil War did not happen. Everyone's braincells turned back online and they talked things out like ADULTS!!! Also, NO ONE IS DYING!! Tony's not dying, Vision's not dying, Pietro didn't die (and will continue not to), Natasha won't die, Gamora won't die, Loki also will not die (to everyone's eternal suffering), Coulson also didn't die, Steve's not gonna go gallivant around in the 40's and Aunt May WILL NOT DIE AND I WILL FIGHT ANYONE THAT SUGGESTS IT!!!! That is all.

P.P.P.P.S Also the Sony-verse is part of this. Which means Eddie the living human disaster fire will show up and become "The Hobo Uncle". Venom will be "Fun Uncle".

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Main Stories

The Girl & The Spider

What was supposed to be a normal Sunday morning (Spider-Manning notwithstanding) quickly turns into the beginning of a cliche love story when Peter Parker meets a girl in Mr. Delmar's Bodega (the girl breaking into the place later on notwithstanding). The romance cliches amp up (to the Avengers, May, MJ and Ned's teasing and amusement) when Peter discovers that the girl is actually a transfer student as part of a program Midtown's doing for the next six months. As Peter learns more about the girl and falls even more in love with her (to his annoying family's joy), he begins to sense that she has a secret she's not telling him......

Oneshots, Crackfics, Stories Inspired By Memes or Video Skits I've seen On YouTube Or Inspired By Cartoons I've watched

Multiverse Shenanigans & Adventures

AUs

Movie Adventures

Video Game Adventures

Book Adventures

Adventures In The Simulation Room

Chatfics, Texts, Incorrect Quotes & General Mayhem

#mcu fandom #original character #dc universe #video game characters #mayhem #peter parker x oc

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mermaidfantasy05 · 2 years ago

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Cosmic - Chapter Three

Chapter Summary: Monsters made out of negative wish energy attack the girls and their friends.

Author's Notes: Hello everyone and welcome to the third chapter!!! In this chapter, we get some background about Vis and That Day at last.

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The monster stood ahead of them, black and blue energy seeping off of it in great billows of smoke. The monster looked like it was supposed to resemble a glion, a gentle, rainbow colored version of a Wishling lion, but it was all off. It was way too big for one thing and it's teeth resembled sharp daggers, far sharper than a glion or even a Wishling lion for that matter. The creature stared, it's cold, black eyes burning into the teens ahead of them.

"Selene Liara of House Liara, Skye Volill of House Volill, Juno Sabe of House Sabe, Vela Allana of House Allana, Callisto Azan of House Azan, Estella Rosneath of House Rosneath, Lyra Vorian of House Vorian, Rhea Najan of House Najan, Faye and Nova Galdina of House Galdina, Halo Galzar of House Galzar and Maia Soala of House Soala, you are fugitives of The Adirian Empire and Empress Adira has created me to bring you in." The negative energy monster stated.

Marcus, Sally, Mindy and Jack's mouths fell agape in shock. Halo, Maia and Skye had all paled. Vela, Selene and Estella had looks of shock and fear on their faces. Faye had pushed Nova behind her, protectively while Juno was trembling with fear. Rhea and Lyra both looked afraid. Callisto meanwhile, sneered at the creature.

"She's named it what?!" Callisto yelled, outraged at the new name of her kingdom. The creature spoke again, ignoring Callisto.

"Surrender peacefully and Empress Adira may see it fit to grant you mercy." The creature said. Now Selene was outraged.

"Mercy?! Did she grant us mercy when she attacked our homes and chased us from our school? Was that mercy?" Selene yelled. The creature glared.

"The Great Empress is not beholden to your feeble sensibilities." The creature said. Juno barked out a humorless laugh.

"The Great Empress? Is that what she's calling herself?" Juno asked. "How pretentious." The other girls looked at Juno as if to say, "You'd probably name yourself that if you ever became queen."

The creature narrowed its eyes.

"You will come with me. You will not be asked again. I was given orders to bring you in with force if necessary." The creature said. Callisto narrowed her eyes at the creature.

"We're not going anywhere with you. And we're certainly not going back to that madwoman." Callisto said. All the girls nodded in agreement. The creature stood still, taking stock of them.

"Very well." The creature then suddenly split into eleven more versions of itself, each as imposing and terrifying as the original.

"Capture them! But try not to hurt them too much. After all, Empress Adira wants to to take care of them herself." The twelve negative energy monsters lunged, negative energy billowing behind them as if it were smoke.

"RUN!!" Selene screamed, grabbing Estella and the still shocked Sally's hands and dragging them after her. Rhea grabbed Marcus and pulled him after her while Lyra got Jack. Callisto groaned as she yanked Mindy after her. The girls pulled their Wishling companions after them as they fled from the negative energy monsters, leaping fences and dodging lawn obstacles. The monsters chased behind them, shrieking and growling as they tried to swipe at them. Sally shook herself out of her stupor and spoke up.

"There's a woods near here! It's pretty big! We should be able to lose whatever the hell those things are in there!" Sally yelled.

"Where is it?" Vela asked. Sally pointed ahead of them.

"Follow me! I know the way!" Sally yelled, letting go of Selene's hand to lead the way. Everyone followed Sally over the terrain of the neighborhood as she led them past houses and streets. She turned off a path and led everyone into a heavily wooded area.

"There's an old shed around here! It's hidden by the forest's overgrowth! We can hide in there!" Sally yelled as she led everyone deeper into the forest. The teenagers ducked under low hanging tree branches and splashed through streams and leapt over rocks and roots. Sally pointed ahead of them.

"There it is!" Sally yelled. She ran ahead of everyone and opened the door and hurried everyone in before getting in and slamming the door behind her. The teens all held their breath as the negative energy monsters ran past them. All the teens breathed sighs of relief after a few minutes of not hearing anything.

"That was too close." Selene muttered, sitting down on an old bucket. Mindy whirled around to glare at her.

"What the hell was that!? What were those things!? Why were they chasing you?! And just who the hell are you guys?!" Mindy yelled.

"Well, considering that that lion.... thing said that they were of houses, I'm gonna take a wild guess here and say that they're royalty or nobility at the very least." Marcus said. Callisto scoffed.

"Well, you're not far off from the truth." Callisto said. Sally, Mindy, Jack and Marcus looked at them, waiting for an explanation. Nova took a deep breath.

"We'realienprincessesfromanotherplanetthat'skindaundertheruleofanevildictatorcurrently." Nova said. Jack, Sally, Mindy and Marcus raised their eyebrows.

"What?" The four teens asked, simultaneously. Faye put a hand on Nova's shoulder.

"What she's trying to say is, we're princesses and we come from another planet." Faye said. Silence rang out in the shed. Then, Mindy started laughing.

"That's absolutely the most absurd thing I've ever been told in my entire life!" Mindy cackled. Estella flushed a deep pink.

"It's true! We are! A woman by the name of Lady Adira took over our entire planet and we were sent here to protect us!" Estella said.

"Against our will, I may add." Callisto grumbled under her breath. Mindy only laughed harder. She laughed for several more minutes until finally stopping and wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Prove it." Mindy said, folding her arms. The girls all looked at each other.

"Well, you see.... we weren't supposed to tell anyone, let alone actually show anyone." Skye said. Mindy scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"How convenient. Come on guys, let's go home." Mindy said, turning on her heel and heading for the door. Sally, Marcus and Jack stared at her, wide-eyed.

"But, those things are still out there!" Jack yelled. Mindy let out a short bark of laughter.

"This is all an elaborate prank! They're trying to pull a joke on us. Well, I won't be falling for it." Mindy said, heading for the door. Halo raised an eyebrow.

"Are you really going to take that chance and risk your life and your friends' lives on the off chance of this being a prank?" Halo asked. "Look at the evidence in front of you. We've all been chased into the woods by monsters made out of glowing energy that want us specifically. How would we go about pulling off a prank like that?"

Mindy paused halfway to the door. She groaned and turned around and stomped her foot.

"Well, I still don't believe you!" Mindy yelled. "You're not gonna sit here and tell me that you're aliens from another planet without some kind of proof!"

Selene held up her hand.

"If we tell you, you'll stop trying to leave until we're absolutely sure that those things out there have given up looking for us?" Selene asked. Mindy rolled her eyes.

"Fine. Prove it and I won't go." Mindy said. Selene sighed and stood up.

"Fine." Callisto held up a finger.

"Sorry, we need to have a quick meeting really quick. Just a starsec." Callisto motioned all the girls into a corner.

"What are you doing?! You're not seriously going to reveal our identities just to appease one Wishling girl that walks around acting like she's all that and a bag of glimmerchips." Callisto hissed.

"You heard her. She's only gonna stay if we show her proof." Selene said. Callisto rolled her eyes.

"Who cares if she leaves? It's us they're after!" Vela shook her head.

"They saw her with us. They might capture her and try to use her to lure us out." Vela said. Halo nodded.

"Exposing our identities will keep Mindy in here where it's safe, it's the only logical solution." Halo said. Callisto looked around the circle to see the other girls nodding in agreement. She rolled her eyes.

"Fine. But if she starts asking us questions, you're all answering." Callisto said. Vela nodded.

"Deal." The girls all turned back around. Mindy, Sally, Jack and Marcus were waiting, Mindy with her eyebrow raised and her left foot tapping impatiently. Selene took a deep breath, closed her eyes and placed her hand on the star pendant of her necklace.

"Star light, star bright, the first star I see tonight: I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish i wish tonight." Selene recited. A warm glow came over Selene, coursing through her body from the ends of her hair to the tips of her toes. She heard four loud gasps and opened her eyes. Sally, Jack and Marcus were staring at the girls, astonished. Mindy had a look of pure shock on her face.

"You-you're all.... glowing." Sally said. Jack nodded.

"And sparkly." Jack said. Marcus nodded rapidly, at a loss for words. Mindy continued to stare, amazed. Callisto leaned over to whisper in Selene's ear, a smirk on her face.

"Looks like we found something that shut her up." Callisto said. Selene and the other girls shot her a disapproving glance to which Callisto just shrugged. Mindy's mouth opened and closed a couple of times before she finally spoke.

"Wha-what are you guys?" Mindy asked, voice low in amazement. Selene looked at the other girls. They all nodded.

"We're Visians. We come from a planet called Vis." Selene said. Sally's eyes widened.

"Wait a minute, that's what you said your home country was! No wonder it's not on any map or considered a country, it's not even on this planet." Sally said. Sally's eyes widened as a thought occurred to her.

"So, you really are princesses?" Sally asked, pure wonder in her voice. The girls all nodded.

"Selene Liara of House Liara, Princess of the Kingdom of Lunara." Selene said, smoothing down her sweater dress.

"Maia Soala of House Soala, Princess of the Kingdom of Alea." Maia said, adjusting her cabbie cap.

"Nova Galdina of House Galdina," She gestured to Faye. "And that's my sister, Faye Galdina, also of House Galdina."

"We are the princesses of the Kingdom of Quasar." Faye finished for her. Halo went next.

"Halo Galzar of House Galzar, Princess of the Kingdom of Aura." Halo said, smoothing down the lapels of her coat. Juno dusted off her sweater.

"Juno Sabe of House Sabe, Princess of the Kingdom of Solaris." Juno said, striking a pose. Callisto rolled her eyes and shoved her hands in her skirt pockets before speaking.

"Callisto Azan of House Azan, Princess of the Kingdom of Stye." Estella brushed a strand of hair away from her face.

"Estella Rosneath of House Rosneath, Princess of the Kingdom of Stellar." Lyra smoothed down her flowy midi skirt and then clasped her hands in front of her before speaking.

"Lyra Vorian of House Vorian, Princess of the Kingdom of Cosmia." Vela went next.

"Vela Allana of House Allana, Princess of the Kingdom of Void." Rhea shoved her hands in her jacket pockets.

"Rhea Najan of House Najan, Princess of the Kingdom of Gamma." Finally was Skye.

"Skye Volill of House Volill, Princess of the Kingdom of Virga." Skye curtsied afterwards, ever the proper princess. Mindy, Jack, Sally and Marcus all sat down.

"Tell us everything!" Sally said, bright smile on her face. Mindy flicked a pebble away from her and brushed off her skirt.

"You might as well, we might be stuck here for a while until those.... things out there give up the hunt." Mindy said. Jack nodded.

"Besides, I love a good story." Marcus nodded rapidly.

"And I love space and hearing all about it! Tell us, please!" Marcus said, clasping his hands together. Selene looked thoughtful.

"Well for starters, on our planet, everything is powered by this magical energy called Wish Energy." Selene said.

"What is it? How is it made? What does it do? Why is it called Wish Energy?" Marcus asked, rapid firing out his questions. Mindy rolled her eyes.

"Maybe if you stopped with all of the questions, they could tell you." Mindy said. Marcus blushed, though it was hard to see with his dark complexion.

"Sorry," Marcus apologized to the girls. "I'm a huge space geek and Sci-Fi fan." Halo spoke up.

"Your world and our world are connected. You ever wonder what happens after you wish on a wishbone, throw a coin in a fountain, blow out your birthday candles, wish on a star or blow on a dandelion?" Halo asked. Marcus, Sally, Jack and Mindy all shook their heads.

"Nope." Jack said.

"Never." Mindy said.

"Sometimes." Marcus said.

"All the time." Sally said.

"Those wishes all become Wish Orbs. They're invisible to the human eye and there are three types of Wish Orbs." Halo ticked them off on her fingers.

"The first type are Good Wish Orbs. Good Wish Orbs are wishes that are helpful and positive and come from the heart. They're nurtured in climate controlled Wish Houses and when the time is right, they're presented to a Visian for Wish Fulfillment. Bad Wish Orbs are selfish, mean-spirited or negative. They don't sparkle like Good Wish Orbs and are all around bad news. When a Bad Wish Orb arrives on Vis, it is immediately taken to a special containment facility as they are very dangerous and must not be granted. Lastly are Impossible Wish Orbs. They are impossibly bright and are for things like curing diseases, world peace and other unattainable requests that Visians simply can't grant. They're stored in a special area of the Wish House with tinted windows to contain their glare with the hope that one day, they can be turned into good wishes that Visians can help grant."

Marcus, Sally, Jack and Mindy all took in the information.

"Huh. Half those Impossible Wish Orbs probably belong to me." Sally said.

"I think a few Bad Wish Orbs might be mine. Who knew wanting to be the best at academics was considered selfish?" Mindy said, shrugging. Marcus looked at her.

"Knowing you, Minds, you were probably wishing for it for either a selfish reason or at someone else's expense." Marcus said. Mindy just shrugged.

"So, I'm guessing these Wish Orbs produce the Wish Energy that powers your planet?" Jack asked. All the girls nodded.

"Wish Energy is extremely important to our planet's way of life." Vela said. "It powers our homes, our transportation, our machines. It's even responsible for our powers." Sally flailed her arms around wildly.

"Hold on, hold on!" Sally pointed at all the girls. "You all have powers?" All twelve girls nodded. Marcus and Sally's eyes practically turned into stars.

"Ooh, please tell us!" Sally exclaimed, clasping her hands in front of her. Marcus nodded rapidly.

"There are two types of Wish Energy on our planet. Positive Wish Energy and Negative Wish Energy." Vela explained. "Vis and Visians rely on Positive Wish Energy. Negative Wish Energy is toxic to us."

"Well, if the countless amount of Star Wars media Marcus has made us all consume over the years has taught me anything, it's that alien species all have different biological aspects that make them superior to humans." Mindy said. She waved her hand in a go on gesture. "So, spill. What kind of powers and abilities do you have?"

Estella spoke up.

"Well, all Visians are born able to do perfect mathematics from birth." Estella said. Mindy made a face that plainly said that she would have been spraying water everywhere if she had been drinking any. Lyra continued for Estella.

"We're also immune to Wishling sicknesses and diseases thanks to our Wish Energy." Lyra said. Mindy's jaw dropped.

"Ooh!" Nova spoke up. "And we also study by recording our lessons and playing them back while we sleep." Mindy's whole face was the perfect picture of shock. The girls all looked at her in concern.

"Uh... is she okay?" Rhea asked. Jack waved a hand in front of the unresponsive Mindy's face.

"Eh, she's fine. Maybe a little miffed at the injustice though." Jack said. Mindy snapped out of her stupor and immediately started checking her skirt and cardigan pockets for something. Callisto raised an eyebrow.

"Uh.. what are you doing?" Callisto asked. Mindy kept patting herself down.

"Trying to see if I have anything to make a wish on. I could have sworn I had a nickel leftover from paying for our food. Guess it must've fallen out while we were running." Mindy said. She folded her arms and pouted.

"Wishing outloud or in your head works just fine." Halo said. "But if you're wishing for what I think you're wishing for, I should probably warn you that it'll likely be an Impossible Wish."

Mindy grumbled to herself.

"Well, like my mother always says, you don't know until you try." Mindy said, before squeezing her eyes shut. Everyone stared at Mindy.

"Did it work?" Mindy asked. Sally, Marcus and Jack looked at the girls. The girls all shook their heads. Mindy grumbled.

"Dang."

"So, you guys are super-smart, can't get sick and can learn stuff just by listening to it while you sleep." Sally summarized. "Anything else?"

"We can live an extremely long time." Juno supplied.

"We can use Wish Energy to do things like levitate objects, open doors, flying, stuff like that." Callisto said. Sally looked like she was about to cry.

"You can fly?" Sally asked. All twelve girls nodded.

"I always wanted to fly." Sally said. Jack's eyes widened as something occurred to him.

"Wait a minute, earlier tonight, when Marcus was talking about stars being our ancestors looking down on us, you guys mentioned that when people die in your country, it's believed that they turn into stars. Knowing what we know now, I'm guessing that's an actual thing." Jack said. Estella nodded.

"It's called Afterglow. When a Visian dies, they turn into pure light and join the constellation of ancestors above Vis." Estella explained.

"Woah," Sally said, eyes wide. "Some scientists say we're made of stardust, but in your case it's actually true. That's.... really cool." Callisto scrunched her eyebrows.

"I wouldn't call dying cool." Callisto said. Sally squinted.

"You know, I always took you for a goth." Sally said. Callisto rolled her eyes.

"People have been telling me that for a year and i still don't know what they mean." Callisto said. Marcus spoke up.

"Can you show us? Your powers, I mean." Marcus asked. Selene held the star pendant of her necklace up.

"Our Wish Pendants store the Wish Energy granted from wishes until we can get back home." Selene explained.

"They also supply us with enough Wish Energy to help us on our Wish Missions." Skye said. Nova nodded rapidly.

"They're also supposed to grant us each a unique power that only works on Wishworld. But none of us have discovered what our power is yet. But to be fair, it's not like we're here on a Wish Mission either, so-" Once again, Faye slapped her hand over Nova's mouth to stop her rambling.

"If we use up all of our Wish Energy, we'll start feeling weak and tired." Vela said. Jack nodded.

"And with no way home, that wouldn't be a good thing." Jack said. All twelve girls nodded.

"Damn." Mindy said. "Looks like you're all caught between a rock and a hard place." Callisto huffed out a bitter laugh.

"You can say that again." Mindy raised an eyebrow.

"Why would I repeat myself?" Mindy asked. Callisto blinked at her.

"Do you guys have any other powers besides the ones you just told us?" Marcus asked. All twelve girls looked at each other. Sally's eyes widened.

"You do! Tell us, please!" Sally pleaded, green eyes wide like a puppy's. Marcus, Jack and Mindy joined in. Selene, Skye, Juno, Vela, Callisto, Estella, Lyra, Rhea, Faye, Halo, Maia and Nova all looked at each other, silently daring the other to go first. Finally, Rhea decided to be the first one up. She opened her hand and Marcus, Sally, Mindy and Jack eagerly stared at it. A red light materialized in Rhea's palm, the shape and pulsing of it reminding Marcus of those videos of gamma ray bursts that they were shown in science class.

"Gamma ray bursts." Rhea said. "That's my power." Oh. That's why Rhea's power reminded him of gamma ray bursts. It's cause they were. Sally, Marcus, Jack and Mindy all leaned back.

"I'm gonna assume you guys are immune to radiation and whatnot, considering you're technically living stars. Radiation is deadly to humans." Jack said. The girls all stared at him in horror. Mindy nodded her confirmation.

"Too much exposure to radiation causes cancer in humans. UV rays too." Mindy said. Juno's eyes widened.

"So, that's why Miss Wright is always on our case about sunscreen." Juno said in realization. Sally nodded.

"Yup. We had to look at pictures of people with skin cancer for biology and let me tell ya, it's not pretty." Sally said, grimacing at the memory. Rhea scooted back a little.

"Is this better?" Rhea asked. Mindy scrunched up her face.

"Preferably, we should be wearing lead blankets right now, but since we don't have lead blankets in this shack, I guess you moving back a little more towards the wall behind you will suffice." Mindy said. Rhea nodded and scooted back some more. Lyra went next. She scooted to the back of the room next to Rhea and then opened her palm. Seafoam green sparks materialized in her hand.

"My power is cosmic rays." Lyra said, the colorful shower of seafoam green sparks jumping around in her palm. Skye went next. Skye joined Rhea and Lyra at the back of the room and opened her palm. Pink astrophysical plasma materialized in her palm, swirling around in beautiful shades of pink.

"My power is plasma." Skye said. Sally stared at the pink light, wide eyed.

"It's so pretty!" Sally breathed. Skye giggled a little.

"Thank you!" Nova went next. She joined the other girls at the back of the room and opened her palm, an orange light materialized in her hand, the different shades of bright orange reminding Marcus of a flame. Nova wiggled her fingers, the bright orange light pulsing and flaring a little.

"Supernovas." Nova said, proudly. Her nose gave a cute scrunch as something occurred to her. "You know, I just realized that my name is Nova and I can make supernovas. How did I not get that? Didn't one of you also point that out to me? I think it was Callisto, right? This is kinda-" Faye walked to the back of the room and once again, slapped a hand over her sister's mouth as she sat down. Faye opened her other hand and a pulsing blue-and-green light materialized in it.

"Mine is pulsars." Faye said. Maia joined the other girls at the back of the room and opened her palm. A beautiful violet light materialized in her hand.

"My power is nebulas." Maia said, the nebula swirling in a gorgeous mix of violet purples in her palm. Halo went next. She walked to the back of the room with the other girls and opened her palm. Pretty sky blue wisps materialized in her hand.

"I can make solar wind." Halo said, demonstrating her power by blowing a scrap of paper that had been stuck to the floorboards across the room. Sally, Mindy, Marcus and Jack's eyes widened in delight at the display. Vela joined the girls at the back of the room and opened her palm. A small blue black hole materialized in her hand.

"I can create black holes." Vela said. She picked up a pebble and dropped it in the black hole and then opened another one above her other hand. The pebble dropped out into her waiting hand. Mindy's jaw fell open.

"H-how?" Mindy asked. Vela shrugged.

"No idea. It's always worked like that." Vela explained, the black hole disappearing. Callisto walked to the back of the room and opened her palm. A light that was such a dark magenta pink that it looked black at first glance appeared in Callisto's palm.

"Dark matter." Callisto said. Marcus's eyes were wide.

"So cool." He muttered under his breath. Juno headed to the back of the room and with all the flare of a stage performer, opened the palm of her hand. A bright gold light materialized in her palm, pulsing and flaring in a way that called the sun to mind.

"I can create sunlight." Juno said. Marcus thought it was more accurate to say that she could create literal mini suns. Selene walked to the back of the room and opened the palm of her hand. A pale lavender light materialized in her palm.

"I can create moonlight." Selene said. She looked around the shed and spotted a bucket with rainwater in it. She dragged the bucket over and held her palm over it. The water in the bucket floated up to the pale light in her hand. Selene extinguished the light in her hand and the water splashed back into the bucket. Again, Marcus thought it accurate to say that Selene could create mini moons. Finally, it was Estella's turn. Estella walked to the back of the room and brushed a strand of hair out of her face and readjusted her glasses before opening her palm, a pinkish-white light materializing in it, twinkling and shimmering in a way that reminded Marcus of stars.

"I can create starlight." Estella said, softly. She focused on the light in her palm and the shimmering light sparked slightly, reminding Marcus of those videos of supernovas he watched on YouTube. Once again, he found it more accurate to say that Estella could create mini stars.

"Wait a minute, aren't you using your Wish Energy to do that?" Mindy asked, recalling the information from earlier. All twelve girls shook their heads. Sally's eyes were wide.

"Can all Visians do that?" Sally asked. Once again, all twelve girls shook their heads.

"No. Just us." Selene said. She looked at her hands.

"I've been able to create moonlight for as long as i can remember. No one else in my family can. Just me." Mindy looked thoughtful.

"And I assume it's the same for all you?" Mindy asked. She received eleven nods in response. Mindy tapped her chin thoughtfully as she thought everything over.

"Hmmm, interesting." Mindy muttered to herself. Jack took his phone out of his pocket and looked at it.

"You guys think we should poke our heads out and see if those lion monsters are still out there?" Jack asked. Everyone looked at each other.

"We have been in here a while." Halo said. Everyone shared a look and then moved to the door. Sally cautiously opened it and everyone poked their heads out. They looked left and right and then left again. They listened hard for any unusual sounds but heard nothing. Slowly, the teenagers all began to file out of the shed, Sally quietly closing the door behind them once everyone was out. Everyone looked around again, trying to see if they could spot anything indicative of the Negative Wish Energy monsters still being around. The coast looked clear. Sally waved with her hand and started walking.

"Follow me. I know a shortcut back to our neighborhood." Sally said, leading the way. Everyone followed after her, keeping an eye out for anything unusual. After a while of quiet, Jack spoke up.

"I know that you guys probably don't want to talk about it," Jack said, ducking under a branch. "But what exactly is That Day? And does it have something to do with why you're here?" Callisto growled under her breath as she pushed a low hanging branch out of her way.

"It's exactly what we're here!" Callisto growled, stepping over a log.

"Lady Adira attacked at our school at night. Our headmistress, Lady Celeste sent us a message on our Star-Zaps telling us to report to her office." Estella said, softly.

"She said that all of Vis was under attack and that we would be sent to Earth for our safety." Maia said, ducking under a branch.

"We protested, of course, but in the end, we had no choice." Callisto grumbled. Jack, Sally, Marcus and Mindy all wore matching looks of horror.

"We are so sorry." Jack said, genuine remorse in his voice. Sally's hands were clasped over her mouth.

"That sounds horrible. I.... I don't even know how I would feel in your shoes." Sally said, sounding like she was trying not to cry. Selene wiped at her eyes.

"She attacked the entire planet. But, for whatever odd reason, she was super fixated on Starling Academy." Selene ssaid. Vela nodded.

"And Lady Celeste never said why she was attacking Starling Academy or what she wanted." Vela said.

"And before any of us could try and pry the information out of her, Lady Harmonia showed up with our backpacks so we could blend in on Earth better." Rhea said.

"And then before we knew it, we were escorted to our rooms by Bot-Bot guards and then we were rushed to pack up our important belongings and then we were rushed down the hall to the Flash Vertical Mover and then we were on the Wishworld Surveillance Deck, waiting for the Star Wranglers to lasso shooting stars for us. It all happened do fast! Before we knew it, we were zooming away from Vis to Earth faster than we could say, "Moons and Stars." and then we had to use our Star-Zaps to change into Wishworld friendly clothes and then we had to disguise ourselves and then we were touching dow-" Faye slapped a hand over Nova's mouth.

"Nova!" Faye scolded. Nova looked sheepish.

"Sorry." Nova said. Jack's eyes widened in realization.

"So, then... the rumors were right! All of them. Just not in the way everyone thought they were." Jack said. Idly, he could hear the few kids that had theorized that the girls had been aliens from another planet yelling I told you so and laughing. Callisto smiled sarcastically.

"Congratulations, you're all regular detectives." Callisto said, sarcastically. Before anyone could say anything else, a low noise rang out in the forest. All the teens stopped.

"You... don't think it's those... lion things, do you?" Sally asked, looking around nervously. Her question was answered by the Negative Wish monsters exiting the shadows ahead of them, growling and snarling as they glared at the teenagers.

"You just had to ask, didn't you?" Mindy said, as the teens slowly began backing away. The monsters all snarled as they began slowly stalking forwards.

"I think we should split up. They can't chase all of us." Jack muttered to the others. Maia, Rhea, Selene, Estella, Lyra, Callisto, Juno, Nova, Faye, Skye, Sally, Mindy and Marcus all whipped their heads to look at him, incredulously. Halo and Vela both considered what Jack was saying.

"He is right." Vela said. Everyone whipped their heads to stare at her, wide-eyed. Halo nodded her agreement.

"It's logical. They'd also have to split up to chase us. We'll have an easier time losing them if we each only have to deal with one monster each." Halo said. The monsters all roared and lunged forward. The teens all shrieked.

"Splitting up it is!" Selene yelled, grabbing Estella and Jack's hands and pulling them after her. Faye grabbed Nova's hand and took off in a different direction, Nova managing to grab Sally as they ran. Juno grabbed Callisto and practically yanked her after her in the other direction, Mindy following after them much to Callisto's chagrin. Lyra and Rhea dragged Marcus after them as they ran while Skye, Halo and Vela ran in a different direction. The Negative Wish Energy monsters all roared as they split up to give chase.

Jack, Selene and Estella ran further into the woods, trying to lose the glion monster. Jack ducked under a branch as it swung back from Selene pushing it out of the way. The glion monster charged after them, roaring and growling, the terrain being no trouble for it to traverse thanks to being made out of Wish Energy.

"We need to lose this thing somehow!" Jack yelled.

"Y'think?!" Selene yelled back, ducking under a branch. Estella pushed a branch out of her way.

"Do you know anywhere we can run to to try and lose it?" Estella yelled, jumping over a jutting rock. Jack scrunched his face up, trying to think.

"I think there's a park near here!" Jack yelled. Selene jumped over a log and ducked under a branch.

"Well then, lead the way!" Selene yelled. Jack sped up to overtake Selene and led the way to the park.

Juno, Callisto and Mindy crashed through the woods, the glion monster hot on their heels. Mindy nearly tripped over a rock and quickly caught herself, stumbling a little in her stride.

"Why did I choose to follow you two?" Mindy asked, outloud. Callisto shot an irritated look back at her.

"I don't know. Why did you?" Callisto asked, muttering a "We certainly didn't invite you." under her breath. Juno wiped her forehead.

"I was not cut out for running long distances." Juno whined. Callisto rolled her eyes, used to Juno's aversion to exercise.

"Do you want to get captured?" Callisto asked her. Juno huffed and flipped her curls.

"I am much too pretty for this." Juno said, haughtily. Callisto rolled her eyes.

"You're also much too pretty to be complaining all the time, but that's never stopped you." Callisto snarked. Juno's gold eyes widened and she pointed at Callisto, a smirk on her face.

"You didn't deny it this time." Juno sang. Callisto's magenta eyes widened as she realised her slip up.

"Shut up." Mindy looked back and forth the two girls, idly wondering what was going on between them. Juno pointed ahead of them.

"Look, a cave!" Juno yelled. Callisto and Mindy's eyes widened as they spotted it. The three girls picked up their speed, sprinting across the sticks and rocks scrambling inside the cave. The three girls tumbled into the cave and immediately threw themselves behind a large rock, trying to catch their breath. The girls could hear loud crashing sounds as the glion monster neared the cave. All three girls held their breath, hoping the monster would past the cave. Quiet rang out. They stayed like that, silent and still for a few minutes before Callisto chanced a peek from behind the rock. She immediately pulled her head back behind it, glow pale with fear.

"What?" Juno whispered. Mindy looked at Callisto, waiting for her answer. Callisto gulped.

"It's out there. Waiting for us." Callisto hissed. Juno's eyes went wide as Mindy sank to the ground as the situation dawned on them. They were trapped.

Lyra, Rhea and Marcus all ducked behind a tree to catch their breath. The monster crashed through the woods, stopping as it realized that it couldn't see the teens anymore. It put its nose to the ground and began sniffing around, trying to locate them. Lyra, Rhea and Marcus all held their breath as it searched. Marcus pointed above them.

"Let's try and get higher up." Marcus whispered. Lyra and Rhea nodded in agreement. Marcus was right. They were pretty much sitting ducks on the ground. At least climbing up the tree would put some distance between them and the Negative Energy monster. The three teens located foot and hand holds and practically scrambled up the tree as quickly and quietly as they could. The tree had large branches covered in big leaves, providing them camouflage. Lyra sat down on her branch while Rhea grabbed the branch above her for balance and Marcus hugged the tree's trunk.

The three teens looked down at the lion monster as it methodically searched for them. The monster sniffed the ground and then paused, a few feet away from their tree. Rhea, Lyra and Marcus all held their breath, silently urging the monster to move on. Instead, the monster laid down, tail flicking lazily behind it as it stared right at the tree. It had found them and by the looks of things, was fully prepared to wait them out.

Sally, Nova and Faye pushed branches out of their way as they ran. Faye ducked under a branch that had whipped backwards after Nova let go of it.

"Where are we going again?" Faye asked, wincing as the glion monster's roar sounded closer than before. Sally pointed ahead of them.

"We're almost there!" Sally yelled, pointing at a rickety looking bridge ahead of them.

"That doesn't look very safe!" Nova yelled. Faye nodded in agreement.

"Looks like it'd break if we try to cross." Sally shook her head.

"We're not gonna cross it. There's some stones sticking out of the dirt wall leading down into a ravine!" Sally yelled.

"And what's in the ravine?" Faye asked.

"A tree!" Sally yelled back. Nova looked at her, incredulous.

"How's that gonna help?!" Nova yelled.

"There's a hollow in it. It's big enough for a person to crawl inside." Sally said. Nova and Faye looked at each other.

"Just a person?" Faye asked.

"We'll have to make it work." Sally said. She led the two girls down the rock wall and into the ravine. Sally pointed ahead of them as the tree came into view.

"There!" Sally yelled. The three girls sprinted to it. Sally climbed up into the hollow and then leaned out to help Nova and Faye in. Faye helped Nova lift herself up before climbing in herself. The three girls squeezed together, breathing heavily. Sally was right. The hollow was big enough for one, maybe two people. Three was really pushing it. Nova sniffled, eyes beginning to well up with orange, glittery tears.

"Faye, I'm scared." Nova whimpered. Faye immediately wrapped her arms around her sister and rubbed her hands up and down Nova's back to soothe her.

"Shhh, it's okay. We're gonna be okay." Faye assured. Nova wiped at her eyes.

"Are we?" Faye didn't answer. She just rocked herself and Nova back and forth as best she could in the tight space. Sally looked out the hollow. It was quiet. Too quiet. Sally's green eyes darted back and forth as she scanned the woods for any sign of the lion monster. She squinted when she saw something just at the corner of her vision and turned her head as best she could to look. Sally's eyes widened in fear. Just past a small stream, hidden in the shadows was the Negative Energy monster, it's cold eyes glittering in the darkness.

Vela, Halo and Skye were hiding under a cluster of rocks. Halo shushed Skye when she made a fearful sound at the sound of a twig snapping.

"Sorry, that was me." Vela whispered, shifting her foot a little to wake it back up. Skye looked outside the cluster, before pulling her head back in.

"I don't see anything." Skye whispered. "You think it's safe to go out?" Halo shook her head.

"Give it a few more minutes." Halo said. Vela pulled at the wrinkles in her tights to busy herself while Skye twirled the tulle fabric of her dress's skirt to distract herself. Halo leaned back against the wall of the cluster, hands shoved into her coat pockets as she listened for any noise. A few minutes passed with nothing happening. Halo, Vela and Skye all leaned their heads out of the rock cluster. They slowly crept out of it, looking around for any signs of the glion monster. All three girls breathed a sigh of relief when they saw nothing.

"Okay, we need to find the others." Vela said. Skye turned to look at her.

"How? I don't think any of us have signal bars." Skye said. Halo turned on her phone and held it up to confirm.

"Skye's right. No bars." Halo said, turning off her phone and putting it in her coat pocket. Vela tapped her chin.

"And none of us have our Star-Zaps." Vela said. Skye looked thoughtful.

"Have any of us checked to see if they worked? Like I know we can use them to change our outfits and look at photos of home, but has any of us tried to see if we can call or text each other?" Skye asked. Vela and Halo assumed similar thoughtful faces.

"That's an experiment for when we get back home." Halo said, nodding to herself. Vela looked around.

"That's if we manage to get home." Vela said. Skye lightly bumped her.

"Hey, think positive. We will get back to Miss Wright's and Halo can run her experiment to see if our Star-Zaps can make and receive calls." Skye said, nodding affirmatively. Vela shrugged.

"If you say so." The three girls began walking, trying to find the others. Everything was quiet for a little while. Then, a low growl rang out. Skye, Halo and Vela all froze.

"Maybe it was a bear?" Skye said, nervously. Halo shook her head.

"That did not sound like a Wishling bear." The glion monster stepped out of the shadows in front of them, negative energy billowing from it and covering the ground around it in a thin mist of smoke. Skye, Vela and Halo all began backing away.

"Run again?" Skye squeaked out. Vela and Halo both nodded.

"Definitely." Vela said. The glion monster stalked towards them.

"And on that note," Halo said, turning around. "Run!" She grabbed Skye and Vela's hands and the three girls took off running, the glion monster tearing after them.

Selene, Estella and Jack ran through a stream, their splashing being drowned out by the lion monster's much louder splashing. They ducked back into the woods and ducked under some branches. Jack pointed ahead of them.

"There!" Jack yelled, pointing at a large black iron gate covered in vines and ivy. Selene and Estella followed him up the overgrown path to the gate. Jack pulled it open, the rusty gate making a loud screeching noise that set Estella, Selene and Jack's teeth on edge. Jack waved them in and the two girls ran inside, Jack darting in behind them and closing the gate. He motioned with his arm and Selene and Estella followed him up the walkway, through the main entrance and into the park. Jack led them through the park, stepping over roots and cracked cobblestone.

"What is this place?" Selene asked, untangling a vine from around her shoe.

"Riverview's first park." Jack explained. Estella looked around, running her hand along the rundown carousel.

"Looks.... abandoned." Estella said. Jack nodded.

"It opened in the late eighteen hundreds, when Riverview was first founded. People used to come here all the time with their families. As Riverview grew bigger, better parks were opened and eventually...people just stopped coming to this one." Jack said. Estella shook her head.

"That's a shame. This park is so pretty!" Selene nodded.

"Look at all the flowers! How could anyone let this beautiful park fall into disrepair like this?" Selene asked. Jack shrugged.

"No idea. Marcus, Sally, Mindy and I used to come here when we were little. We'd spend hours running around, pretending we were back in the eighteen hundreds." Jack said. Estella looked at him.

"Why did you stop?" Jack scratched the back of his head.

"Our parents found out. They were super upset and forbade us from coming back here. We thought they were overreacting at the time, but now that I'm older, I see where they were coming from. This woods is home to all kinds of animals that woulda loved to have four naive ten year olds as a snack." Jack said.

Estella and Selene both paused right in the middle of the park. In front of them, was a beautiful glass gazebo. The gazebo was large and situated right in the center of the park. It was victorian style with two large French doors in the front. It looked like it had been painted black at one point, but years of sun exposure had faded it to an extremely pale grey. It looked like there was still furniture and decorations inside it as well. Estella and Selene headed towards it as if in a trance, feeling a strange pull from somewhere inside the gazebo. Almost as if it was calling to them. Jack looked over at them and jogged over.

"What? What's wrong?" Jack asked. Selene pointed at the gazebo.

"Has that always been there?" Selene asked. Jack looked at it and nodded.

"Yup. Sally wanted to turn it into a clubhouse but Mindy vetoed that idea hard. She was right to, looking back on it. No telling how structurally sound that gazebo is, considering it's been here for literal centuries." Jack said. He looked thoughtful as he did the math.

"Four full centuries to be exact." Jack said, nodding to himself. Selene and Estella were still staring at it.

"Can we go in?" Estella asked. Jack shook his head.

"I wouldn't. That gazebo's been here for centuries. Roof might fall in any day now." Jack said. A loud screech rang through the air, shattering the quiet. Jack, Estella and Selene all whirled around to look at the entrance to the park. The Negative Wish Energy monster had found them.

"On second thought," Jack said. "It's stood standing for this long, so it can't be too structurally unsound." Jack, Selene and Estella sprinted to the door. Selene pulled the French doors open and Estella and Jack ran inside. Selene dashed in behind them, closing the doors and shoving a gold coat hanger through the handles before running into the main area of the gazebo.

The inside of the gazebo looked part lounge room, part teahouse and part conservatory. There were plants everywhere, vines and dead branches littering the ground and covering the furniture. The glass ceiling was broken in some places, glass shards littering the floor. There was a long counter with a huge shelf full of jars behind it, no doubt where the leaves for tea was stored. Jack, Estella and Selene decided to not even bother opening them, positive that the tea leaves inside the jars were nothing but slimy mush by now.

"We should be safe in here." Jack said. Selene was about to respond when a cold, prickly feeling broke out all over her body. She saw Estella rubbing her arms through her white-pink cardigan and knew that she felt it too. Slowly, the two girls turned to the windows of the gazebo and let out startled cries as they backed away. Jack raised an eyebrow and looked behind him, letting out a yelp as he darted behind the counter with Selene and Estella.

Outside was the glion monster, staring in right at them. The three teens stared back, a cold feeling of dread filling their bodies as they realized that the only thing between them and the monster was panes of glass.

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mermaidfantasy05 · 2 years ago

Text

Cosmic - Chapter Two

Chapter Summary: The girls get invited out to a popular hangout by a group of kids. Problems arise on their way home.

Author's Note: Hello everyone and welcome to the second chapter!!! In this chapter, we get singing and more character introductions.

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Selene slammed her locker closed and startled to see a boy behind it. The boy had tan skin, blue eyes and light curly blond hair. He looked nervous and kept glancing back behind him. Selene raised an eyebrow.

"Can i help you?" Selene asked. The boy took a deep breath and then stuck put his hand. Selene stared at it before remembering that humans shook hands when they were introducing themselves. She stuck out her own hand and grabbed his.

"My name's Jack Henri." The boy introduced.

"Selene." Selene said. Jack nodded.

"That's a nice name." Jack said.

"Sta- I mean, thank you." Selene said.

"So, uh... I was just wondering- you don't have to say yes or anything! But uh.... my friends and I were planning on heading to this sushi place after-school and we were wondering if you and your friends wanted to come." Jack said, toeing at the ground with his beat-up sneakers. Selene blinked. It was pretty much an unspoken rule in the school for no one to interact with them. Why this boy decided to break that unspoken rule, Selene had no idea.

"I'd have to check with the other girls, I'll let you know after lunch." Selene said. Jack nodded.

"Right. Again, you don't have to say yes, just thought I'd extend the invitation." Jack said. He turned around and walked to his next class, hands shoved into the pockets of his jean jacket. Selene turned around and headed off to her next class.

Selene carefully dodged students as she made her way over to the table the girls all sat at ever since they had first arrived at the school. It reminded Selene of their old table back at the academy. Selene set her tray down and sat down. Lunch today was grilled cheese, pizza and burgers with side servings of fries, tomato soup or broccoli. All the girls had lemonade, cause well... lemonade was delicious. The girls were all talking about their classes and class assignments. Selene waited until Nova had stopped talking about one of the kids in her class who had drawn all over the whiteboard when the teacher wasn't looking (which considering Nova's penchant for long winded stories was quite a while) before saying anything.

"So, this boy came up to me in the hallway and invited us out with his friends to this.... sushi place after-school." Selene said. The whole table froze. Estella, who had been lifting her pizza to take a bite out of it, froze mid-bite. Faye almost spat out her lemonade. Callisto raised an eyebrow while Skye's jaw fell open. Whether it was surprise or shock, Selene didn't know. Vela nearly choked on her soup and Halo almost spat out her grilled cheese. Juno, Maia and Rhea all had looks of equal parts surprise and shock while Lyra blinked a few times in surprise.

"This boy extended an invitation to us?" Callisto asked, skepticism in her voice. Selene nodded.

"Yeah. To sushi." Selene said. Lyra scrunched up her face in thought.

"Is that the rice stuff wrapped in seaweed with fish?" Lyra asked. Selene nodded.

"Pretty sure." Faye nodded affirmatively.

"It is." Faye said. Halo, Juno, Callisto, Vela, Rhea and Maia all nodded as well.

"Well, he invited us with him and his friends there and I told him I had to talk it over with the rest of you. So... what do you think?" Selene asked, looking around the table. The other girls all looked at each other. Estella had recovered enough to chew on her pizza thoughtfully.

"Did he mention anything else? Like where it is? What time is everyone going? Is anyone from school gonna be there? Are we gonna have to bring our own money or is he and his friends gonna pay for us? Do we meet him outside the school or is he gonna send us the directions? Also, when he says after-school, does he mean after-school after-school? Like, as soon as school's over, we'll all gonna head there? Or does he mean that we give him our address or he sends us the directions where we're all gonna meet up and we all head there together?" Estella asked. Maia nodded thoughtfully.

"Those are important questions." Maia said.

"To the first and second questions, no, he didn't. He just said that they were going after school and asked if we'd be interested in joining. To the third question, no. Fourth, no idea. Fifth, also no idea but it couldn't hurt to bring some with us if we decide to go. Sixth, seventh and eighth questions, again no idea." Selene said. Callisto rolled her eyes.

"That's a lot of, "I don't know." in those answers. Are you sure he was even serious?" Callisto asked. Selene shrugged.

"I mean, he looked serious about it." Selene said. Callisto scoffed.

"We've been here for a whole year and no one's invited us to anything. Now all of a sudden, a guy comes up and tells you he wants to invite us to a sushi hangout and you believe him without further questioning? For all you know, he could have been playing around." Callisto said. Lyra gasped and put a hand over her heart.

"That'd be an extremely cruel joke to pull on someone." Lyra said. Callisto shrugged.

"It's happened before. Remember that kid from english?" Callisto asked. All the girls winced. Some cringed as well. Everyone remembered that incident. A popular girl in school had asked one of the kids in the robotics club to go to a movie with her. The next day, the boy showed up and asked the girl why she wasn't there for the girl to reveal that the whole thing had been a prank. Her friends and a few other kids had all laughed. Most of the student body was in agreement that that was an extremely jerk move, especially since the kid had been crushing on the girl and she was fully aware of the fact. All the students in school had all silently agreed to shun the girl afterwards. No one deserved a cruel joke like that.

"He just seemed sincere, that's all." Selene said. Nova looked thoughtful.

"Speaking of that girl, I was honestly surprised when she said the whole thing was a massive joke. She seemed pretty excited about the date to me. I mean, of course you can fake emotions, but there was literally no one else around and I was coming out of the bathroom and she didn't see me so there was really no need for her to pretend to be excited about it if she actually wasn't. And I think I saw her crying later on in the library about it so there might be-" Callisto smacked her hand on top of the table.

"Nova! Now is not the time for more of your stories and/or theories." Callisto said. Nova mumbled an apology under her breath. Vela spoke up.

"I say, we go. If he's sincere about it, we get to finally see what other Wishling teens do for fun around here. If he isn't, then we know to avoid him in the future." Vela said. All the other girls nodded. Even Callisto seemed to be considering it. Skye nodded ethuastically.

"And maybe, they have one of those uh.... one of those... ooh, what were they called again?" Skye asked, looking around the table for help. Rhea raised an eyebrow.

"A karaoke machine?" Rhea suggested. Skye nodded.

"That's it! The sushi place might have that." Juno brightened.

"I have always wanted to sing on one of those! I vote we go!" Juno exclaimed.

"All in favor?" Selene asked. Rhea, Maia, Nova, Faith, Skye and Lyra all raised their hands. After a bit of thinking, Vela, Halo, Estella and Faye also raised their hands. All the girls looked at Callisto. Callisto groaned loudly.

"Fine! But if it turns out to be a joke, no one get upset about it cause I warned you." Callisto said, folding her arms. Selene nodded.

"Then, it's settled. I'll go find Jack and tell him we're interested." Selene said. The conversation soon turned to what songs they would sing if there was a karaoke machine and what outfits they would wear. Maia was super excited to see if there would be a dance floor and DJ booth while Faye was more excited for the sushi and beverages. Nova and Skye were just excited to get out the house while Estella wondered if there would be a lounge to just relax and read at the sushi place. Rhea was hoping that there was an arcade with one of those dancing games there.

"I've always wanted to play that dancing game! What was it called again?" Rhea tapped her chin as she thought.

"I think it's called Just Dance." Lyra said. Rhea nodded ethuastically.

"That's the one! It always looked so fun on YouTube." Rhea said.

"I don't know. I've also seen the videos. Some of those moved seem impossible to accomplish unless you were a.... what do they call it here? A uh... oh! Got it. A world class contortionist." Halo said. Rhea shrugged.

"Still seems fun." Rhea said. The bell rang, signaling that lunch was over and that everyone should start throwing away their trays and getting ready for the next class. The girls all stood up, grabbing their trays as they headed over to the tray return, still talking about the sushi place. For once out of all their time on Earth, the girls were genuinely excited about something.

After-school couldn't have come fast enough. After tracking down Jack Henri and telling him that they were interested in going and giving him their home address, the girls sat through the rest of their classes filled with giddy glee. After the last class of the day was over, they practically bolted out of the school building to get home. Vela had suggested that they all get started on their homework so they wouldn't have to deal with it when they got back and all the girls had begrudgingly agreed. Once homework had been completed and they had freshened up and changed into clothes that seemed suitable for a sushi hangout, the girls all charged downstairs and had pretty much crowded in the living room to ask Miss Wright if they could have some money to go out. The older woman had been a little skeptical, asking them questions about Jack and where the sushi place was and what time they would be back before giving them the money and telling them to stay together and look out for one another.

Miss Wright then went outside to go tend to her garden, leaving the girls in the living room to wait.

"Do you think they'll have a disco ball?" Juno questioned. Callisto rolled her eyes.

"How would I know? This is my first time going same as yours." Juno rolled her eyes in response to Callisto's statement before turning to talk with Estella. A knock on the front door brought all conversation to a halt and Selene got up to answer it, the other girls all crowding behind her. Jack Henri was outside, along with three other kids.

"Nice house." Jack said.

"Thanks." Selene said. Jack stepped back to introduce the other kids.

"These are my friends." He pointed to a girl with strawberry blonde hair held back from her face by a white headband, dressed in a light green blouse, jeans and cute flats.

"That's Sally Greentree." The girl in question waved. Jack motioned to the boy behind her. The boy was tall, had dark skin and curly black hair in a fade and was wearing a black jacket over a red shirt, shorts and sneakers.

"That's Marcus Wilson." The boy gave a big grin and thumbs up. The girls had to remind themselves that that was a positive thing on Wishworld. Finally, he pointed to the second girl. She had long, straight black hair with multicolor hairclips and pale skin and was wearing a pink top, green cardigan, a black skirt, purple stockings and black ankle boots.

"And that's Mindy Lewis." The girl rolled her eyes at being introduced. The girls all waved and introduced themselves.

"Can we get moving? By the time we get there, all the good booths will be taken." Mindy said, arms folded while she tapped her foot impatiently. Sally shoved her and gestured towards the other girls in a silent, "Be nice." Mindy rolled her eyes at that too.

"She is right. Seats get taken up real fast there. Come on." Jack said, walking back down the porch. The girls all followed behind him, shouting goodbyes to Miss Wright as they did. The teens all set off down the sidewalk, walking in silence. Finally, Jack spoke up.

"So, how have you guys been finding Riverview so far?" Jack asked.

"It's nice. Nothing at all like we're used to." Selene said, the other girls nodding in agreement. Mindy scoffed under her breath.

"You can say that again." Mindy muttered. Callisto raised an eyebrow at her.

"Pardon?" Callisto asked, glaring at Mindy. Mindy flipped her hair.

"Sorry, it's just.. what country are you from exactly, you've never said." Mindy said.

"Mindy!" Sally admonished, looking at the girl with a mixture of shock and embarrassment. Jack facepalmed while Marcus sighed.

"What?" Mindy said, innocently. "I'm simply curious is all."

"We-we're from a uh...." Rhea trailed off.

"A far off country!" Halo finished for her. Nova nodded rapidly.

"Like, really far off! Extremely! So far off, I'm sure that it's probably not on any map, let alone documented. Heck, I don't think we're even considered a country! Which is, you know, ridiculous because we are clearly a country. I mean, we have people and cities and an economy so I don't know why we aren't considered one. That's kinda-"

"What my dear sister is trying to say is, we come from a far-off country that's not considered an official state in the eyes of the government." Faye interrupted. Mindy squinted at her and huffed.

"Hmph. Convenient." Mindy said. Callisto squinted at her.

"I'm sorry, do you have a problem here? Because, it's not our fault that your government and all the other governments considered our country too little to be recognized as one let alone not worth putting on any map." Callisto said. Maia sighed.

"Callisto-"

"No. It seems like Miss Investigator here is trying to find a lie or something in our story for whatever odd reason and I'm not appreciating that." Callisto said. Mindy looked at Callisto as if she were a child being unreasonable.

"All I'm saying is, that it's a little convenient that you all show up out of nowhere from a country that you claim is undocumented and is so tiny that it isn't worth putting on any map, yet your friend here states that you have cities, plural, so it must be big enough for that." Mindy said, nodding in Nova's direction, who blushed at accidentally discrediting their story. Callisto scoffed.

"So? Obviously, our country is big enough to house a couple cities but is still small enough to be considered not a country. It's not that unheard of." Callisto said. Mindy opened her mouth to retort when she was interrupted.

"You ever wonder if stars are really our ancestors looking down on us?" Marcus voiced outloud. Callisto and Mindy turned to him, wide-eyed.

"What?" Mindy asked, squinting at him.

"Pardon?" Callisto asked.

"Do you think that stars are our ancestors looking down on us? I've always wondered that." Marcus repeated.

"That's a popular opinion back home." Estella said. Marcus turned to smile at her.

"Really?" Marcus asked. Estella nodded.

"Yeah. We call it Afterglow there." Estella said. Lyra nodded.

"It's believed that the people who start their Afterglow become stars up in the nightsky." Lyra added.

"That's so cool!" Marcus said. He looked up at the sky. "Wonder if my grandpa is up there, watching down on me right now?" Sally breathed a sigh of relief while Jack shot Marcus a grateful expression. Mindy, who had been shut up by Marcus's question, pouted in silence with her arms folded.

"What is your country called anyway?" Sally asked, making light conversation. Her green eyes widened as she thought about her question.

"Oh God! Hope that didn't come off as insensitive, considering that you guys aren't recognized as an official country which I agree with Nova is stupid. If there's people living on it and they have towns and cities and an economy as well as an official language, why not call them a country? It's not hurting anybody." Sally said. Vela shook her head.

"It's fine. We call it Vis." Vela said. Sally nodded, eyes bright.

"Did you know that Vis means Wish in Latin? I guess the first settlers there must have come from Vatican City." Sally said. Vela and the other girls nodded, even though that was the farthest thing from the truth.

"So," Rhea said, speaking up. "What's this sushi place like? Is there an arcade? Dance games? A dance floor?"

"Is there a DJ booth?" Maia asked.

"Is there a karaoke machine?" Skye asked, excitedly.

"What about a disco ball? Ooh, or a stage?" Juno asked.

"They have live bands that play there on Fridays." Jack said.

"Isn't today Friday?" Selene asked. Sally nodded excitedly.

"I can't wait to see who's playing!" Sally said.

"Think they might get that rock metal band back?" Marcus asked, also sounding pretty excited. Mindy rolled her eyes.

"God, I hope not. Thought my eardrums were gonna burst." Mindy said. Callisto scoffed.

"Sounds like there's a lot of things you don't like." Callisto muttered. Mindy whipped to glare at her before Nova spoke up.

"What kinds of food is on the menu? I mean, obviously sushi cause you said it's a sushi place, but do they have anything else? Like soup or pizza or burgers or sandwiches? Ooh, and what about drinks? Do they have lemonade? And what kinds of bands play there? I know Marcus just mentioned rock metal, but are there other bands? Like pop or country or-"

"Well, they have other foods like Ramen, dumplings, fried rice, fried biscuits, pepper steak... things like that. Yeah, they have lemonade but they also have teas, sodas, juice.. that kind of thing. As for the bands, lots of different bands playing different genres come through. They're all teenagers from schools from all over Riverview. This place is a pretty popular hangout among teens." Jack explained. He then began talking about the different bands and their music with Sally and Marcus throwing in a few comments of their own. Even Mindy started talking about her favorite bands and their songs. The rest of the walk was filled with band talk as the teens headed to the hangout.

As it turned out, Sushi 4 U was a pretty nice looking place. The outside was a pretty medium sized building with large glass panes, an outdoor area with swanky furniture and a huge neon sign above the establishment with a platter of sushi and a boba tea on it. The inside of the establishment was cozy and lit with ambient lighting and had comfortable, swanky furniture. There was a large stage at the back and there were a few wall TVs around the place and a boba bar as well. And yes, there was a karaoke machine as well as a few cabinet games. Selene could see why teens loved this place. It was the Wishworld equivalent of the Lightning Lounge and the Celestial Cafe from back home. Maia gasped loudly.

"Is that.... a DJ booth?" Maia asked. Jack nodded.

"Yup." Sally hopped in to explain.

"A DJ plays here on Sundays through Thursdays." Sally said. Maia nodded.

"Right, because Sundays are before a school day and obviously Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are school nights." Maia said. Sally nodded.

"That's right!" Marcus pointed at a booth by the window looking out into the plaza outside.

"There's a good booth right there!" Marcus said. Mindy face palmed.

"Say it louder for everyone else, why don't you?" Mindy grumbled, heading over to claim the booth before anyone else. Jack scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry about Mindy. She can be-"

"Rude, assuming, a know-it-all?" Callisto interrupted. Jack lightly toed at the floor.

"I was gonna say standoffish. I promise, once you get to know her, she's actually quite nice. Sarcastic, yeah. A bit of an overachiever, of course. But she's a really loyal friend once you get past the prickly exterior." Jack said. Sally nodded.

"Yeah, she's like a sour patch kid. Sour at first, but sweet once you take the time to get to know her." Sally said. Marcus nodded.

"We've been friends since we were kids. Mindy's always been a little hostile to new people. She doesn't like change." Marcus explained. Callisto rolled her eyes. Faye nodded.

"I can respect that." Faye said. Everyone headed over to the booth. Mindy was busy looking at what appeared to be a menu. The menu was laminated with bright neon colors on it. The menu had the food and beverage names printed on it in neat little rows in their own sections as well as specials for the day, platters and desserts. On the bottom of the menu was a list of the bands playing tonight.

"Ooh," Mindy said, eyes bright. "Looks like Phoenix Way is playing again." Estella looked at her.

"Phoenix Way?" Estella asked.

"It's a pop band. They're actually quite good. I hear that they're looking into expanding from regular pop into other kinds of pop as well." Sally said. Mindy slapped down the menu.

"What's wrong with the sound they have now?" Mindy said, looking put out. Sally shrugged.

"I guess they don't want to be pigeon holed as just a pop band." Sally said.

"Or, they want to try out different pop subgenres." Marcus suggested. Jack nodded.

"They also might want to challenge themselves." Jack said. Maia nodded.

"They could also feel like their regular sound is getting old and they want to change it up a bit. Honestly, good for them. They're not letting themselves become stagnant. All artists should keep pushing themselves, it makes music fun!" Maia said. Juno nodded in agreement.

"Playing the same old songs gets stale after a while and can become boring. Not to mention also make making music feel like a chore." Juno said. Mindy rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Hopefully, they play some of their old songs." Mindy muttered. A waiter came by to take their order. Mindy, Jack, Marcus and Sally all ordered while the girls heavily scrutinized their menus. There were over hundreds of different types of sushi in the sushi section of the menu alone. California rolls, spider rolls, spicy tuna rolls, sashimi, dragon rolls, unagi, Philly rolls, uramaki, temaki, the list was endless. None of the girls even knew that there were this many different types of sushi, let alone what they all looked like. If only the menu came with pictures.

"So uh, what sushi would you recommend?" Faye asked. The waiter looked thoughtful.

"The maki rolls are my favorite." The waiter said.

"What are maki rolls exactly?" Halo asked.

"It's rice and filling wrapped in seaweed. It's what comes to mind when people think of sushi." The waiter explained.

"Ooh, the dragon rolls are pretty good too!" Sally said. "It's what I'm getting." Vela raised an eyebrow.

"Dragon rolls?" Vela asked. Sally nodded rapidly.

"It's an inside out sushi roll that typically has eel, imitation crab and tempura shrimp with cucumber or avocado on the outside with this delicious sauce drizzled on top." Sally said.

"I like the California rolls." Marcus said.

"Isn't that a state?" Estella asked. Marcus nodded.

"It's wildly contested where it originated, but most accounts insist its from Los Angeles while one chef says it was made in Vancouver. It's still delicious all the same. It has crab, either normal crab or imitation crab, and avocado." Marcus explained.

"The spicy tuna roll is good. Especially the sauce." Jack said. Everyone turned to Mindy. Mindy rolled her eyes, which Selene was starting to think was her trademark, before speaking.

"The spider roll is pretty good." Nova scrunched up her nose.

"Spider roll? Why's it called that? Makes it sound like there are actual spiders in it. Unless, there are actual spiders in it, but that wouldn't be sanitary. Or safe, considering how venomous some spiders are. Who came up with that name anyway? Sounds like a-"

"As I was saying," Mindy interrupted, shooting Nova a look. "The spider roll is pretty good. It's a type of maki roll that has breaded or battered soft shell crab in it as well as other ingredients like cucumber, avocado, daikon sprouts or lettuce, topped with spicy mayonnaise. It gets it's name from it's appearance when it's served in a restaurant. The soft shell crab legs are made to hang off the end of the rolls which give it a spider looking appearance."

"Ohhh. Okay, I can see why they would call it that now. Still weird though. Also, kinda triggering to anyone that has arachnophobia. It's probably not a good idea to order that if you're-" Faye smacked her hand over Nova's mouth.

"I think I'll get the spicy tuna roll." Faye told the waiter. The waiter nodded.

"The rest of you?" The girls all told the waiter what kind of sushi they wanted. Skye, who had a hard time deciding between spicy tuna rolls, spider rolls or California rolls, just decided to get the platter that included all three items. The waiter then asked if anyone wanted a beverage and the entire table ordered boba tea. The girls had been meaning to try the beverage that they had heard so much about and now seemed as good a time as any. The waiter returned with their food and drinks and everyone dug in.

"You were right!" Rhea said to Jack. "This spicy tuna roll is pretty good." Jack beamed.

"Told ya." Estella picked up a spider roll with her chopsticks, only for it to fall back on her plate.

"I can never figure out how these stupid things work!" Estella grumbled. Mindy rolled her eyes.

"Watch me." Mindy said. Mindy demonstrated how to properly hold a pair of chopsticks and how to pick up food with them, explaining what she was doing and how to do it. Estella tried again.

"Hey! I did it!" Estella cheered. She looked at Mindy.

"You're a good teacher." Mindy smirked and tossed her hair.

"Course, I am. I do get all straight As." Mindy said. Callisto rolled her eyes. Before Callisto could make a snarky comment to that, an employee came up on stage to announce the first band of the night. Four kids wearing black leather and spikes walked out on stage.

"Hey, they did get Holy Doom back!" Marcus said. Mindy rolled her eyes and groaned.

"Oh, god." Mindy groaned. One of the kids walked up to the mic. Selene guessed he was the lead singer of the band.

"Are you guys ready to rock!" The boy yelled into the microphone. All the teenagers cheered.

"Yeah!" Marcus yelled.

"Let's rock!" Sally joined. Jack just cheered and whistled. Mindy sunk further down in her seat.

"No." Mindy grumbled under her breath. The boy grabbed his guitar.

"This first song is a cover of The Killers' song, Somebody Told Me." There was more cheering and yelling. Mindy looked even more resigned now. The music started and everyone began singing along to the lyrics. Some of the girls cringed at just how loud and aggressive the music sounded. At least Callisto looked like she was having fun.

After Holy Doom finished their set, a jazz group called Serenade Hair came on the stage. Selene had to admit, they all had nice looking hair. She wondered how they all got their hair so shiny and luxurious looking. They played a mix of songs they had written themselves as well as covers, including a cover of Careless Whisper by George Micheal. Another band got on stage, a blues band by the name of The Weeping Willows, and did all original songs. They were followed by another band that did all covers. Finally, the employee came back onstage to announce the next band.

"Finally," Mindy said. "Phoenix Way is playing next." The employee turned to address all the teens.

"Uh oh." Sally said. Mindy looked at her.

"What?" Mindy asked. Sally pointed towards the employee.

"Look at his face. I think something happened." Sally said. Mindy rolled her eyes.

"You're always trying to read a situation by people's faces." Mindy said, scoffing. Lyra shook her head.

"No, she's right. I can sense his regretfulness from here." Lyra said. Mindy looked at Lyra as if she had grown three heads.

"Wha-"

"Attention, everyone!" The employee said. The whole lounge quieted. You could hear a pin drop in the silence.

"I regret to inform everyone that Phoenix Way, our last band of the night, will not be playing." Whispers and mutters immediately broke out in the lounge. The employee continued.

"Unfortunately, their drummer isn't feeling well and hasn't been all night. She finally had to go home after her stomachache got too bad." The employee said. A girl stood off to his side. The employee motioned her over. The girl had tan skin, long blonde hair and shimmering blue eyes and was wearing a pink and green sparkly dress.

"Uh, hi everyone. My name is Abigail Strauner, the lead singer of Phoenix Way. I am so sorry that we are unable to play tonight. I promise next week that we'll be back at a hundred percent." Abigail looked thoughtful.

"Actually, I probably shouldn't promise that in case Emily's stomachache turns out to be a bug and the rest of Phoenix Way gets it." There was laughter as everyone laughed at the unintentional joke Abigail had just made.

"Anyway, sorry again. I hope everyone has a great night." Abigail said. Maia groaned.

"Aw man, I was looking forward to hearing then after how much Mindy hyped them up." Maia groaned. Mindy folded her arms and pouted.

"Of course, my favorite band would be unable to play tonight." Mindy grumbled. Juno's eyes widened.

"Wait, I have an idea!" Juno yelled. Callisto groaned.

"For Andromeda's sake, please do not do what I think you're gonna do." Callisto groaned. Juno just smiled at her, a bright twinkle in her eyes before taking off for the stage. Callisto groaned and sunk down in her seat.

"Who's Andromeda?" Jack asked. Callisto's eyes widened as she realised her slip up.

"Oh.. uh... she's a.." Callisto began.

"A Goddess from back home!" Rhea said. All the other girls nodded.

"She's the queen Goddess. Wife to Sol." Skye explained. Sally and Jack nodded as they took in this information. Mindy just squinted at them.

"And no mythology buff outside your country has heard of them?" Mindy asked. Callisto rolled her eyes.

"Here we go again." Callisto muttered, glaring at Mindy. Luckily, before an argument could start, the mic whined again.

"Since Phoenix Way is unable to play tonight, I have given Juno and.... what did you say their names were again?" Abigail asked. Juno leaned down to speak into the microphone.

"Selene, Callisto, Vela and Skye." Juno said. Abigail nodded as she went to speak again.

"Right. Juno and her friends, Callisto, Vela, Selene and Skye are going to play for you using our instruments." Abigail said. Selene and Vela's mouths fell open in shock. Skye looked torn between being excited or wanting to run into the nearest restroom to hide and/or throw up. Callisto just rolled her eyes and groaned.

"Knew it." Callisto muttered under her breath. The other seven girls (as well as Marcus and Sally) were busy looking back and forth between the stage and Selene, Callisto, Vela and Skye. Mindy rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"You all know how to play instruments?" Mindy asked. Jack gave Mindy a look. He turned to Selene, Callisto, Vela and Skye with an encouraging smile.

"Ignore her. She's just upset that her band can't play tonight. I'm sure you guys will do great!" Jack said. Callisto rolled her eyes as she stood up.

"Oh, I know we'll do great. But thanks for the encouragement." Callisto said as she marched her way to the stage. Vela, Selene and Skye all stared at each other before getting up and following her.

"Okay, so we're doing this. Just hope I'm not too rusty." Selene said. Vela looked thoughtful.

"I imagine that it's like that old Wishling saying. You never really forget." Vela said. Skye nodded.

"Besides, you saw how disappointed everyone was that Phoenix Way couldn't play tonight. This'll cheer everybody up and maybe help Mindy lighten up a bit." Skye said. Callisto rolled her eyes.

"I couldn't give a star about Mindy. I'm doing this because she's not gonna sit up and question our music skills when she probably can't tell a rhythm guitar from a bass guitar!" Callisto said.

Callisto, Vela, Selene and Skye all walked up the steps to the stage. Juno beamed brightly at them as the girls all moved to grab instruments. Selene grabbed the guitar, Skye got the keyboard, Vela got behind the bass and Callisto sat at the drums.

"Do you even have a song to sing or did you just do this to be in the starlight?" Callisto asked, eyebrow raised. Juno waved her off.

"I got a song, alright. We're doing Up." Juno said. She turned to Abigail.

"Thanks for letting us do this. Hope your drummer feels better." Juno said. Abigail nodded and smiled.

"No problem." Abigail headed down the steps to go sit with her other band members. Vela, Selene, Skye and Callisto began playing while Juno started to sing.

I can hear you whisper

Even though you're talking low

Catchin' every word

But I'm just gonna let 'em go

Let 'em go

Taking every arrow

You've been aiming at my heart

Spin 'em all around

And turn 'em into shooting stars

Shooting stars

Gonna give it all that I got

Shining when you tell me to stop

I'm a girl on a mission, makin' wishes

Living out my dream

You can try to steal my air

I'm not going anywhere

But up, up

Anywhere but up

Your rain is coming down

I'm not gonna drown

Gonna rise up

Yeah, I'm gonna light up

Never gonna give up

My sun is coming up

Turn the music up

Up, up, up

All the teens started dancing along to the song, clapping and cheering loudly. Selene could see the remaining members of Phoenix Way clapping and dancing along. Some teens had their phones out, waving them back and forth while others were recording the performance. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. Selene could see the other girls were also dancing and singing along. Jack, Marcus and Sally were also clapping along to the music. Selene couldn't quite see Mindy with how Mindy was positioned, but she thought she saw Mindy's head bobbing a little.

Tearing up the past

Don't want your negativity

Choosing different thoughts

So you'll never get to me

You won't get to me

Any kind of stone that you throw

I'm just gonna make into gold

I'm a girl on fire, flyin' higher

Than you ever dreamed

You can try to steal my air

I'm not going anywhere

But up, up

Anywhere but up

Your rain is coming down

I'm not gonna drown

Gonna rise up

Yeah, I'm gonna light up

Never gonna give up

My sun is coming up

Turn the music up

Up, up

Juno was in her element. Selene was sure that if Juno had been in her Visian form, she would've been glowing brightly with joy and happiness. She was sure that if she and all the other girls were in their Visian forms, they all would've been glowing brightly as well. Even Callisto. It had been so long since any of them had felt genuine happiness that Selene had almost forgotten what the feeling felt like.

I'm finally waking up

Yeah it's time to shake it up

Things are looking up

Up, up

Gonna give it all that I got

Shining when you tell me to stop

I'm a girl on fire, flyin' higher

Living out my dream

You can try to steal my air

I'm not going anywhere

But up, up

Anywhere but up

Your rain is coming down

I'm not gonna drown

Gonna rise up

Yeah, I'm gonna light up

Never gonna give up

My sun is coming up

Turn the music up, up

Never gonna give up

Juno took a deep bow as soon as the song was over. Everyone was cheering, clapping and whistling. Everyone was clamoring for another song. Juno turned to Callisto, Vela, Selene and Skye, eyes bright.

"What do you girls say? Another song?" Juno asked. Selene, Vela, Callisto and Skye all looked at each other and nodded.

"Let's do this!" Selene said, big grin on her face.

"Ooh, can we do Wish Now next?" Skye asked.

"I was thinking Starlight." Vela said. Callisto shrugged.

"Doesn't matter to me." Callisto said, spinning the drumsticks in her hands.

"We'll do Wish Now, then Starlight after." Juno said. Vela, Selene, Callisto and Skye all looked at each other and shrugged.

"Works for me." Vela said. The girls started up the music again and Juno started singing.

"Oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh, take a deep breath, gotta find your own light. Watch all the petals of a dandelion fly, let a shooting star run across a midnight sky."

They did several more songs after Wish Now and Starlight. By the end of their set, the whole lounge was full of bouncy energy. Juno was busy soaking in all the cheers and praise. Vela looked up at the glass clock above the front entrance.

"Uh guys, we should probably head back. It's getting really late." Vela said. Selene, Skye and Callisto all looked at the clock. Vela was right. It was getting really late. Callisto stood up and walked up to Juno and whispered in her ear. Juno turned to look at her with a pouting expression. Callisto rolled her eyes and grabbed the microphone from Juno.

"Unfortunately guys, we have to go. We should've been home by now. Thank you for listening to us and thank you to Phoenix Way for allowing us to play in their place. Goodnight and I hope you all have an awesome weekend!" Callisto said. She put the microphone back on its stand and then grabbed Juno's hand and dragged her off the stage with Vela, Skye and Selene following after them. Juno blew kisses and waved to the audience with a bright smile as she was dragged away, yelling out Thank yous to the audience.

"You guys were awesome!" Jack yelled. Marcus nodded.

"The songs were amazing too!" Sally nodded furiously.

"The first song was my favorite! What's the name?" Sally asked.

"Up." Juno said.

"It was awesome!" Sally praised. She elbowed Mindy.

"Right, Min? Don't try and lie, we all saw you mouthing along to the songs." Sally said. Jack, Marcus, Nova, Faye, Estella, Maia, Rhea, Lyra and Halo all nodded. Mindy rolled her eyes.

"Fine! The songs were really catchy." Mindy said. She folded her arms. "Who wrote them?" Selene threw an arm around Maia who blushed.

"Maia here did." Selene said. Maia shrugged bashfully.

"I just like writing songs. It's fun." Maia said. Mindy nodded.

"You're a very talented song writer." Mindy said. Maia smiled.

"Thank you." Maia said. Vela looked at the clock again.

"Thanks for inviting us to hang out with you guys. We all had fun, but we gotta go." Vela said. Jack stood up.

"We can walk you all home." Jack said. Selene held up her hands.

"That's very nice of you guys, but its fine. Really." Selene said. Marcus shook his head.

"Nonsense. We invited you out, it's only fair that we walk you back home as well." Marcus said. Sally nodded on agreement.

"That's just being a good person." Sally said. Mindy rolled her eyes but stood up. Mindy walked to the counter to pay for their meals while Marcus left a tip. The teens all then headed out the front entrance and into the plaza and began walking back to Miss Wright's.

"That was so much fun! And you guys were awesome! Did you play back home too?" Jack asked, walking backwards as he addressed Callisto, Vela, Selene, Juno and Skye. Selene nodded.

"Yeah, we were a band back home." Selene said.

"Cool! Did you guys ever play any gigs?" Jack asked. Skye looked at her wedges as she answered for everyone.

"No, we didn't. We never got a chance to. When.... That Day happened." Skye said. All the other girls fell silent and somber as they walked. Sally looked at them concerned. Marcus scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Mindy glared at Jack while Jack looked apologetic.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I guess we all got so caught up in wondering where you transferred from, that no one stopped to think about why you had to transfer in the first place." Jack said.

"What..... happened if you don't mind us asking? I understand that whatever happened that caused you to have to come here to Riverview must have been horrible and you absolutely don't have to tell us if you don't want to. Just....it helps to talk about it, you know? That's what my therapist suggested I do after my grandpa died." Marcus said.

Selene took a deep breath.

"It's-" Suddenly, Selene felt a splitting headache. She didn't know what was causing it. Could it have been all of that boba she had drank? It was pretty sugary and she was pretty sure she had overheard Miss Wright reading about sugar and the effects it had on the human body. Maybe it could affect Visians similarly as well?

"Are you all okay?" Sally asked, concern in her voice. Selene barely heard her. Something in her was telling her to look up. Mindy let out a loud shrieked of horror and pointed at something ahead of them.

"What the hell is that!" Mindy yelled, finger trembling a little. Selene looked up and almost passed out from fear. Just ahead of them, was a giant monster made entirely out of negative energy.

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