The air was heavy with... Robert wasn't exactly sure. But something definitely felt odd about the air that day. The smell of freshly cut grass tickled at Robert's nose, but that wasn't it. He bit on the inside of his lip, attempting to discern the sensation he felt. He was knocked out of his thinking by the sound of Cory panting up the hill. He chuckled "C'mon Cory. You can't be this out of shape. Eli's been making this walk every day the past few days. I can't imagine he's in any better shape than you are."

Cory hunched over, wheezing. Robert held in another laugh, seeing his hunched over roommate gasping for air, looking like a worn-out scarecrow. "Eli's scrawny but he's actually," Cory huffed, "pretty in shape. He plays a lot of HDM."

Robert raised an eyebrow. "HDM?"

"Hop Dance Mania."

"Ah."

"Yeah, he doesn't look like much but he's got pretty good stamina." He wiped a bead of sweat out of his eye. "Damn it, why did Eli have to get a job at the very top of the hill?"

Robert shrugged and pressed the button to the crosswalk. "Hell if I know. I only met you two a week ago. You're the one who has known him since kindergarten." Robert scratched at his chestnut brown hair. "Why were you so insistent we go bug him at work today anyway? We haven't gone any other day he's been working."

It was Cory's turn to shrug as they crossed the street and continued their accent up the hill. "I don't know. Last day before classes started. Plus bothering Eli is always something I'm up for. Though this walk is making me really regret moving into Billot Hall."

"Oh please. From what I've observed of you two, you're bored when he's not nearby for you to pester."

Cory chuckled. "And you've only known us for a week. You catch on quick."

The hill leveled off as they approached Loose Change, an arcade on near Schuyler Adamson University campus. "I wonder if the owner thought Loose Change was a clever name for an arcade," Robert mused.

Cory smirked as they walked through the arcade's parking lot. "I bet he just had a kid in middle school who came up with it."

Robert inspected the yellow-painted building as they approached. It's exterior was stucco and didn't have a single dirty mark on it, unlike all the other aged, bricked buildings that tended to surround campus. He had been told it was recently renovated, but he didn't realize how recent it was. The building looked as good as new. "I wonder how someone actually gets into the arcade business. I mean, I just can't see some Mr. Moneybags type saying, 'Ah yes, a small building filled with video game machines. This is a good investment.'"

Cory opened the door, flicking some sweat off his bangs before walking in. "You analyze things too much. Now where's Eli?"

As Robert followed Cory in, a coldness scratched at his bones. The air, once again, felt heavier. It wasn't painful, mind you, but he gasped nonetheless. He shook his head, unsure of what had just happened. He glanced at Cory, but his dormmate quickly went back to scanning the arcade for Eli. Was Robert getting sick? If he was sick though, why did he feel fine except for brief moments?

Cory's entire body perked up and he pointed to a short, stout employee of the arcade wiping down the screen of a fighting game. "There he is."

Even though Cory had only spoken at a normal volume, Eli's head immediately lifted at the sound of Cory's voice. Robert momentarily forgot about the chill he felt and chuckled as Eli turned and looked right at Cory from across the arcade. Cory and Eli may have been friends, but at times they responded to one another as if they were twins, having a keen sense of what the other was about to do from the years of hanging around one another. "Oh no. What are you doing here, Cory? I don't have time to goof around. I'm working."

Cory casually strode over to his friend. "Here for you? What makes you say that?"

"Because you love to torture me."

"Nonsense," Cory dismissed. ",we're just here for the ample entertainment that your place of employment provides!"

Eli rolled his eyes. "Whatever, liar. You were just bored and dragged Rob here so I'd entertain you."

Cory's look of confidence melted into desperation. "You don't understand! All he was doing was playing that stupid MMO he always plays! It was so boring!"

Robert took his turn rolling his eyes. "First of all, it's called Aspect Realms and it's the most played computer game in the world right now. Secondly, Eli, I was the one who did the dragging. I practically had to carry him up the hill. How did you let him get in such poor shape? You really need to feed him more often and take him on a walk once in a while."

Eli smirked and pointed at the sweat-marks on Cory's shirt. "Maybe I should. Geez, how can you be sweating so much? It's not THAT big of a hill."

"Maybe not to you, but it's a pretty damn big hill if you ask me."

Robert opened his mouth to chime in but quickly found himself sucking in heavy air. He shivered as the chill filled his bones again. Strangely, this time the cold coming from somewhere. As he turned towards the source, the sensation faded again. It was difficult to make out, but he felt as if it came from a corner of the arcade. There were some dull voices coming from that end of the store.

It was only then that Robert realized that Cory and Eli were staring at them. "Rob, you okay?"

Robert quickly faced them. "What? Yeah. I'm fine."

"You really looked zoned out there for a moment."

He waved them off dismissively. "Was just thinking."

Cory chuckled, eager to get the subject away from his lack of any sort of conditioning. "While wincing?"

Not wanting to dwell on the icy sensations, he deflected the comment away. "I was just wondering why there aren't too many people here. I'd have figured the day before classes start this place would be full."

Eli groaned. "Yeah. You would, but these stupid middle-schoolers are ruining everything."

Cory raised an eyebrow. "Middle-schoolers? How? They being obnoxious or something? Can't you kick them out?"

Eli shook his head and nodded towards a corner of the store, the corner Robert had felt the sensations come from. "No, they haven't been obnoxious. They've just been, well, creepy. We got this new game today named Zombie Mansion and..."

"Sounds like another cookie-cutter horror shooter."

"It is."

"Figures. Creativity is taking a nosedive in the industry."

"Not everything can be an indie film, Cory."

"I'm not saying it has to be but these generic cloned games are..."

Robert wasn't interested in hearing the duo argue. He wanted to hear about the game. "Anyway," Robert interrupted, "what about this group of kids?"

Eli turned away from Cory. "Yeah, anyway, they aren't doing anything wrong. They just, sort of, I don't know, look sickly. And they will play another game for a minute or two but they keep coming back to Zombie Mansion after a while. They don't talk or anything. They just, shamble about. Like zombies. And it has weirded out more than a few customers." He gave Cory an annoyed look. "Including that HDM girl I told you about a week ago."

Cory raised an eyebrow and gave a wide grin. "So she came back, huh? Find out her name yet?"

Robert squinted and frowned. Cory and Eli were very tight and could, without realizing it, easily exclude him from their conversations. "And who are we talking about?"

Both turned, both with apologetic expressions. Eli turned to the next machine and started cleaning the screen. "Sorry, the day before you arrived in the dorm I was working. It was my first day and this gorgeous girl with blue hair was here..."

"He loves naturally blue hair," Cory interrupted.

"But not blue hair. A sort of sky blue color. Anyway, she played HDM for like an hour before leaving and... damn, she's hot."

Robert scratched his head. "Naturally blue hair? I don't think they come blue naturally."

Cory raised an eyebrow. "Of course they do. They're just rarer. We had a blue haired girl in our grade for a few years before she moved away in eighth grade."

"I was crestfallen."

"He was. True story."

Robert thought about it for a moment. He had seen more than a few people with blues, greens, and purple hair. There couldn't be that many people using hair dye. But then again he wasn't from around here. Maybe they could get more exotic hair colors back west? Though he still felt something was off about that, he decided to play along. "Oh, well, we didn't have any at my high school then."

Eli shrugged. "Makes sense. You're further from the coast and mountains."

Robert wasn't sure why that would matter but decided to play along. "So, basically she's your dream girl?"

Cory chuckled and ribbed Eli with his elbow. "Yeah, according to the story last week, she's got quite the ass."

Eli smiled guiltily. "More leggy, but yeah. She does."

Robert wasn't as worried about the HDM girl. "So what does this have to do with the middle school boys you were talking about?"

"Oh, right. Yeah, so she was here an hour last week but this week she came, danced for only a few songs, then started watching those boys and got weirded out. She left after only like one round of stomping on the pad!"

Cory chuckled. "Wanted to ogle her some more?"

Eli frowned, though Robert noticed a slight blush. "I was going to try to talk to her. She looked like she might be around our age."

Cory took a step back and folded his arms. "Woah! Seriously? You're normally much shyer than that. What's got you so bold all of the sudden?"

Eli shrugged. "I don't know. It's college. Time for a change, maybe?"

Robert moved from behind the row of games that had hidden these middle-schoolers from view. On first glance, Robert decided Eli was a bit quick to say they were middle-school age as they could pass for high school freshmen. But everything else Eli had said was dead on. They were all pale and sweating, as if running a fever. A few were playing other games, but they leaned against it, as if needing the support to be upright. Those that weren't playing games sat languidly around an enclosed arcade booth.

Robert squinted at the booth. It didn't look that impressive. Generic, bloody letters spelled out the title of Zombie Mansion. Other than a few simple zombie images splattered on the side, there were no other decorations to differentiate the game. A dull green light glowed beneath the curtains into the gaming booth. What was it about this game that made these boys get sick but keep going into play?

Another wave of cold flowed through Robert. The icy chill in his bones pointed towards Zombie Mansion like a compass. The wave passed and Robert exhaled, unaware he had been holding his breath.

"Dude, you okay?"

Robert jumped a little, having forgotten about his friends talking to his side. "Yeah, I... was just wondering why those guys look so sick."

Cory glanced over and scoffed. "Yeah, I mean, if they're all sick why are they playing some stupid rail shooter." Cory blinked and his eyes went wide, as if a light bulb had just gone off. "Unless it's actually awesome!"

Robert shook his head and squinted. "What?"

Eli stopped wiping down the machine he was cleaning. "You must be joking."

"Think about it. What kind of game do you play over again if you're sick: one that is awesome or one that blows?"

Eli frowned. "It's just a generic horror rail-shooter."

Robert watched two boys stagger out of the game. They looked paler than the rest and sweat stained their shirts. Their breathes were labored, as if they breathed the same heavy air Robert did during his chills. One of the boys fell to the ground but picked himself up. A thought occurred to Robert, "Just to make sure, they aren't getting high in there, are they?"

Eli chuckled. "I thought about that too. But I checked, no funny business going on in there. No smoke, no smell. Still, a better theory than Cory's good game theory."

Robert nodded. He didn't think these boys were lighting up either. It wouldn't have explained the chills. Then again, what would explain chills that kept pointing in a direction? Maybe the machine reacted strangely to people around it? Then why didn't it seem to affect any of the employees that had been around the machine like Eli? Regardless, Robert felt a need to figure it out. He pulled a few quarters out of his pocket. "Regardless, let's test Cory's theory."

Cory slapped his hands together and approached the game with Robert. "That's what I'm talking about."

"You're just wasting your money," Eli shouted after them.

Robert stepped over a boy crouched against one of the neighboring arcade games. It was only as he pushed the curtain aside to step into the arcade booth that Robert started analyzing whether this was a good idea or not. Something was definitely wrong with these boys and something about Zombie Mansion was the cause. And if he wasn't imagining these cold spells, then the same arcade game was also causing him issues. Being in the belly of the machine that was having these odd effects probably wasn't smart.

"Something wrong?" Cory asked.

Robert slid into the booth. "No. Just examining the setup." There was no point in going back now. It made no sense that this game could make him sick along with these kids. He didn't show any of the same symptoms of whatever sickness they had. At least he didn't think he did. Besides, why would his bones feel cold and why would they be "pointing" him in the direction of the machine? There was no logical explanation that Robert could think of and he was certain just sitting back and watching younger, dumber boys play the game wouldn't solve the problem.

He tried to find a comfortable position in the rigid seat. Logically, Eli or some other Loose Change employee would have turned the game off by now if something was wrong with the game. Eli had already examined it and just determined these kids were acting weird. Logically, he knew if an arcade game had been making these kids sick, they would have stopped playing it. But they kept coming back for more. Logically, he knew a video game couldn't be behind the odd chilling sensations he'd been feeling. After all, that wouldn't make sense. But despite all the logic of it, Robert knew something was going on with this game.

He could feel it in his bones.

What could it be though? Robert was not superstitious nor a hypochondriac. He prided himself in dealing with the cold reality and keeping calm under pressure. But he couldn't explain what was going on with any phenomena he knew. So it was time to do the only thing he could think of. It was time to try an experiment.

Robert put in enough quarters for both him and Cory. "Oh, thanks dude."

He nodded, picking up the gun and taking slow deep breath, unsure what would happen. "No problem. Easier than both of us fumbling through our pockets." His muscles tensed in anticipation. He reminded himself to relax, not wanting to look too intense should Cory glance at him. Though he had made fast friends of Cory and Eli, their friendship was still young enough that he knew he could set bad impressions.

Cory took a deep breath. "Yeah, no smell whatsoever. I was sure those kids were smokin' something."

Robert smirked, eager to let Cory's jokes ease some of his tension he felt. "Is that why you were in such a rush to get in here?"

Cory clutched at his heart as if wounded. "I'm surprised you think so little of me!"

"Then why?"

"Because I'm a sucker for schlocky rail shooters. Guilty pleasure." Cory winked and pressed the start buttons for both players. "Let's get this train a'rollin'!"

Robert smiled, leaning back against the still uncomfortable seat. Blood dripped from the top of the game's screen. A woman's shrill scream spilled out of speakers with all the sound quality of a broken walkie talkie. The title popped up with pixelated, bloody letters. "Wow, can't get much more generic than that."

Cory chuckled. "Yeah, this is going to be awful!"

As the blood trickled down the screen, a pair of blue, feminine, polygonal hands parted the blood like it was a curtain.

Cory scoffed. "Wow? Um, these graphics are a touch dated. I don't think I've seen stuff this bad since I was in elementary school." Robert nodded, but wasn't as confident as Cory. Something looked off about these boxy hands. He could almost swear they were actually coming out of the screen.

The blue woman's elfin voice filled the booth, clear as a bell. "Welcome to Zombie Mansion. I'm Polygal. Thank you for playing." The hair on the back of Robert's neck stood on end. Something was wrong with this.

Cory chuckled and shook his head. "Wow, I thought this game might be bad but... Polygal? Seriously? And what the hell is up with this intro? I thought this game was about zombies."

"Just remember, my children, this is not a simulation." Her voice didn't belong. It didn't 'fit' the game at all. But why?

Her hands reached out, and for a moment, Robert could almost swear they were coming towards him. Cory seemed equally impressed. "Well, okay, I take it back. That's kind of authentic looking!"

"Everything you see from here on out, is no delusion, my children." It hit Robert; the reason her voice didn't fit was the other game sounds were coming out of very low-quality speakers. Her voice was pitch perfect and authentic. And her hands really did look like they were getting closer.

"Cory, we need to..." Robert froze. 'Polygal' caressed his face with her unnaturally flat fingers.

Cory went as stiff as Robert. "Okay, this... this is different."

Oddly, Robert's first thought was that he hadn't shaved that morning as he felt this... thing dance it's box-like fingers on his stubble. Why was that his first thought? He should be swatting the hand away or calling for help or running or...

"Now, give Polygal your energy." Polygal grinned viciously, her teeth a jagged-mess of sharp triangles with no width to them. Stunned, Robert marveled as a green light effervesced out of her right hand, enveloping Cory.

Robert watched a dopey smile overcome his friend's face. The icy sensation returned to his bones with a force as cold as a blizzard's fury. The arctic shock shook him from his stupor. He struggled against Polygal's grip, but her flat fingers wouldn't budge, holding his head in place like an iron vice. He felt as if a pieces of icy, steel wool grated against every joint in his body. He tried to howl in pain, but the air in his lungs was as thick as sludge.

Unable to move from the pain, unable to scream, Robert could only watch as green bubbles seeped out of Cory. They hung in the air until they popped and swirled in the booth like watercolor paint. The green wisps flowed into Polygal, who moaned delightfully. She faced Robert. "Now your turn, little boy."

The same green glow that had enveloped Cory enveloped him. He could feel Polygal reaching for him, but not in a physical sense. She already had him firmly in her grasp. No, Robert wasn't certain where, but it was reaching for him in a different place. This part of him was no less real than his physical body, though it felt further away.

What was happening? How was this possible? He needed air. Women didn't come out of arcade screens. They couldn't touch him. His bones felt like they were being ground into dust by a glacier. This wasn't possible. There was no way that...

No, panic was not a luxury Robert had right now. He cleared his head of all the emotions that tried to take hold of his faculties and pushed them aside. As his mind cleared of the haze of panic, he focused on this other piece of him that Polygal was combing over. "Ah, here we are. Yours was hidden well."

Polygal's reach seemed to clutch at a part of Robert, trying to pluck it like a weed. As she did so, Robert became distinctly aware that whatever it was she was grabbing, it was some Facet of himself. A surge of energy burst through every fiber of Robert's being. With that surge, he cut through the sludgy air, and sucked in a deep, desperate breath. "No!" Acting on instinct as natural as pulling his hand from a hot flame, Robert willed the ice in his bones into action.

The ice melted and gushed towards the Facet that Polygal picked at. "What?" The monster's eyes narrowed into a mix of confusion and anger, as the current of water washed Polygal's presence away from the Facet. "What did you just do, boy?" She tried again to grab hold of the Facet. Robert imagined in his mind the current of water enveloping the Facet and freezing into a spiked ball. The monster howled in pain her presence impaled itself against the frigid mace. She tossed Robert down as if he were a spider that had just bit her.

His head struck the back of the booth. Dazed, Robert could no longer feel the ice, the Facet, or Polygal's presence in that other place. His awareness of that other place's existence seemed to fade to the back of his consciousness. Noises were dulled slightly as he tried to sit upright. His vision blurred. Strangely, it was the tired, addled voice of Cory that refocused him. "Dude, your forehead is glowing blue."

"Huh?" He then remembered the danger they were in. Cory's words of a glowing forehead made no sense to him, but at the current moment, little did. He only knew he had to escape. "Right!" He tried to jump out of the booth, hopefully dragging the languid Cory with him. But before he could even twitch a muscle, Polygal clasped her fingers around Robert's head and squeezed.

The monster's eyes were aflame with rage. "You resist me? How? How do you keep me from what is mine?" He was once again all too aware of Polygal's presence in that other place as she tried to wrest control of the Facet away from him.

Her nails dug into the skin on his face a little, drawing blood. The air started to thicken in his lungs. A chill stung at his bones. But Robert knew he couldn't focus on the pain. Pain was a distraction. He pushed it aside, and focused on the other place; the place where Polygal was focusing on his Facet with renewed vigor. "That. Isn't. Yours." Robert again summoned the ice in his bones to the Facet's defense. This time, he imagined in his mind the water spinning wildly. Polygal's presence was immediately met by a vortex of movement.

Polygal began to shake Robert about, pounding his body against the arcade booth interior. Robert saw this for what it was: a distraction. Though his body was being shaken like a ragdoll, he kept himself as calm as the eye of a storm. The game screen cracked. Polygal tried again and again to snatch the Facet from from the whirlpool. The cracks in the screen spread, beams of green light pouring out. Again and again she was met by his will, as solid as forged iron. The cracks shook, as if something behind the screen desperately wanted out.

Robert was so focused on the battle in that other place that he didn't even notice the cracks. Cory shook his head, still obviously tired. "Oh. That can't be good." Robert felt Polygal's presence growing. She was penetrating deeper and deeper into the vortex. But at the same time, he felt her presence growing unstable. He had the distinct impression something big would happen soon.

"What are you two doing in there?" The agitated voice of Eli seemed so far away. Polygal's presence shook violently, as if the presence itself was having a seizure. The screen pulsed, the cracks stopping just long enough for Eli to part the curtain to the side. "It sounds like you..." Eli blinked. First at Robert being shaken violently. Then at Cory, slumped over. Then at the blue woman coming out of the game screen. "What the f..."

Polygal screamed. Her presence from that other place disappeared. A wave of green energy threw Eli away from the game entrance, and Cory and Robert against the back wall. Robert could feel energy from behind the screen about to burst outward. He slammed his eyes shut and turned away from the screen just as it exploded outwards.

The back of the booth gave way. For the faintest of moments he felt like he was in freefall, though the illusion was quickly ended by his feet scraping the carpet, rolling half-a-dozen times and banging his left shoulder into something hard. "ARGgggwrrr." He held his breath for a second and exhaled as he opened his eyes and surveyed the arcade.

Several arcade cabinets had been knocked over and a dozen or so younger boys groaned on the floor. A freshly formed rug burn throbbed at Robert's left elbow. He was quickly losing count of all the bruises on his body. Where were Cory and Eli?

He found Cory slumped over the remains of a knocked over fighting game. Ignoring his wounds, Robert pushed himself off the floor to go and help his friend. He hadn't noticed it in the dark booth, but Cory was just as pale as all the sickly boys they had encountered before starting to play themselves. Before Robert could get there, Eli was walking over the game and helping Cory up. "Cory? Cory!" He smacked his friends cheek five times. "Snap out of it, pal! What the hell just happened?"

"That game." Robert shook his head, trying to sort it out himself. "There-there was a monster inside it."

"That blue woman coming out of your screen? That was real?"

Robert nodded and surveyed the boys sprawled across the arcade floor. What was 'Polygal' doing to everyone? Why was he able to escape the same fate? His concentration was broken by the sight of shards of Zombie Mansion vibrating. They floated off the floor and melted into green globules that hung in the air like oil on water. With a flash, half of the globules flew into all the boys on the floor. A single globule flew into Cory's chest and the black-haired man gasped like a corpse woken from the dead. "That. That was the worst!"

Eli sighed. "Of all the games you play, you pick the one filled with a real monster?"

"Robert picked it, not me!" Cory winced and pushed Eli away. Groaning, he rose to his knees. "I'm at worst indirectly culpable!" The color was returning to his face. "Why does your arcade have possessed games? An arcade should not have possessed games!"

All the boys who had been sickly looking before stopped sweating and, like Cory, began to regain their color. They started standing up, looking around with scared expressions worn all over their faces.

Robert frowned. Half of the globules had reinvigorated the victims of Polygal. The other half were coalescing into a single blob. He wiped a streak of blood off his chin and snorted. "Guys, I don't think we're out of the woods yet."

The blob started taking shape, growing legs and hands. The kids, as if all having the same thought, scattered. They screamed and flailed as they swarmed towards the exits. The few who kept their heads followed the Loose Change employees out of the emergency exit. Robert knew he should follow them, get out of the arcade. But something else made him stay.

Something in his bones.

He could sense it, the malice that blob had for him. It was Polygal and she wanted him. After all, Robert had denied her his Facet. Whatever it was, she felt it was hers to have and he denied her. With all her hatred pointed at him, he knew if he ran that he'd pull those who had already escaped the arcade right back into the conflict. But if he stayed...

Shouldn't he be nervous? The monster-woman might kill him after all. Yet he wasn't nervous or even scared. Something told him if he remained, if he stood his ground, that everything would turn out just fine. He wasn't normally one to go off of instincts or hunches, but this one he was sure of.

Eli, the only employee who hadn't scurried away, helped Cory off the ground. Cory staggered, as if his legs had fallen asleep and were just waking up. "That was trippy."

"What is going on?" Eli demanded.

"Hell if I know! Monster woman poured out of your screen, touched my face, and I suddenly needed a nap. Then it blew up. This is not how I thought this day would go!" He leaned up against one of the few games that hadn't been knocked down and glanced at the blob. "Uh, Eli. I think we should get the hell out of Dodge."

Eli nodded and supported Cory on his shoulder. "That I can agree on." He started walking, then turned and waved Robert to hurry up and follow him. "Robert! C'mon! We need to get out of here before—before—what the hell?" Eli stared directly at Robert with his mouth completely agape. It was as if he was an alien.

Cory turned around and sighed. "Yeah, he was doing that in the game booth too."

"I mean, I saw it when I opened the curtain but I thought it was the blue woman doing that!"

Robert raised an eyebrow, not sure what they were talking about. "Guys! Just get back! Don't worry about me. I got this!"

"Dude," Eli yelled, "you're glowing blue!"

"Huh?" Robert glanced down at his hands. All thoughts of the blob disappeared. A neon blue aura completely enveloped his hands. As he further examined himself, his entire body had the same blue glow rippling outward. Did Polygal cause this? Even more confusing was the fact that, no matter how he turned his body, he could see the glow coming out from the edges of his body, rather then pulsing out of his skin. It was as if the aura started at the edges of his silhouette, regardless of what angle he looked at himself.

A sound similar to an old computer monitor turning off, only much louder, cut through the air. Robert's fascination with the aura disappeared and his attention was right back where the blob had been. Now there stood a woman with blue skin. It was the woman who had come out of the screen: Polygal.

She was much less pixelated now, her feet covered with thigh-high combat boots. She wore shorts and a midriff-exposing breastplate made out of the same plastic as the game booth. Where her abs should have been, there instead were coin slots embedded in the skin without any hint that they didn't belong there. Two wires snaked out from her back and lead to holstered, cheap, arcade pistols on either side of her hips. Ticket dispensers were mounted seamlessly into her wrists. Her hair was a dark green, came down to her shoulders, but was flat and boxy, as if it were an origami wig.

Her entire biology seemed too fantastic and alien to be real. Anyone could have stared at these odd features and been completely justified, but what Robert couldn't look away from was Polygal's eyes. Where there should have been white there was instead black. Her red iris's smoldered against that dark backdrop, a mix of curiosity and barely-tempered rage. Her left eyelid twitched. "You. You should have run."

Cory and Eli, with uncanny unison, took a step back. "Robert..."

Robert dropped his chin down, but did not break eye contact with the monster. "What are you?"

Polygal laughed. "I think I should be the one asking that question. I drained dozens of boys. No one fought against me or complained. They just gave up their energy as good boys should and left. Some came back and gave me more even! But you," she took a step forward, "somehow defied me. What are you?"

"Energy?" Robert squinted his eyes and bent his knees. He didn't know when he'd have to move, but he knew he'd need to move soon. "Is that what we were fighting over?"

Polygal stopped walking towards him, and lifted her chin as if she was examining him for the first time. "You don't know? Oh interesting. How interesting. And here I thought you must be some ally of theirs."

"Ally of who?"

The monster stopped and squinted incredulously. "You really do have no idea." She began to laugh. "Oh my! I wonder if you are supposed to be an ally of theirs. Maybe you're even meant to be their aloof protector or-or-or perhaps just a simpler, non-combat ally. Either way, you're absolutely radiating Ardent Resonance. That means you're special. And if you're special, that means Lord Platicore will want you." A chain of tickets slithered out of the dispensers on her wrists.

Robert needed to delay her. Keep her talking. Help was on the way. He could feel it. "Special? Who is Lord Platicore? What would he want with me?"

"Robert get out of there!"

Neither Robert nor Polygal paid Cory or Eli any attention. "If you don't know what it means that you're special then you'll know soon enough." She flicked her wrists, the wave of movement traveling down the ticket streams. "As for who Lord Platicore is, he is your soon-to-be master." She flicked her wrists a second time, the ticket stream growing to easily six feet in length. "And as for what he wants with you, someone as 'special' as you would make an even better servant than I am!" She flicked her wrists a third time, but this time, Robert knew an attack was imminent. "Ticket Snare!"

He was never really sure why, but Robert always felt the calmest during times of great stress. His uncle had told him it was because he always felt antsiest before a decision was made. Now that he new he was being attacked, he no longer had to worry about what happened. He could just react.

He became all at once, aware of the fact his two friends were out of Polygal's reach and he was not. A little twitch of her right wrist gave away that the whip-like tickets were going to come from above. He jerked to the side. The air cracked just to his left. He was shocked how quick the attack had come. No human could have moved that fast. Her right wrist twitched. This attack would be horizontal.

He tried to duck, but Robert barely had time to think about dodging before tickets wrapped around his chest and forearms. He stretched his arms out, trying to break the tickets. Instead of tearing as they should have though, they constricted tighter. Robert gasped as the other ticket stream wrapped around his legs. Against gravity and all reason, the tickets lifted him into the air, supporting his full weight as Polygal approached him slowly, a wicked smirk across her blue face.

"Let him go!" Cory and Eli rushed Polygal. One of the guns holstered to her hips sprang to life, it hung in the air like a charmed cobra. Robert sucked in a deep breath as the trigger drew back, as if being fired by a ghost.

"Gah!" The flash of black energy burned the ground right in front of Eli's left foot. He staggered and Cory stumbled over him. As the two fumbled on the ground to get back on her feet, the other gun came to life. Each one pointed at Robert's new friends.

Cory backed up. "This wasn't the best idea we ever had."

Eli sighed, his hands in the air. "Yeah."

"No! Leave them alone!" Robert struggled against the tickets, his aura burning brighter. Yet his tbonds would not budge.

"Oh? Leave them alone? I'm afraid not, little boy." Robert stared straight into her soulless, black and red eyes. "You see, all that energy I drained from all those pathetic little rats got ruined by you. Trying to get at yours caused some horrible feedback and caused me to lose containment. I'm back to nothing and Lord Platicore will not be happy with that. So I'm going to drain them and kidnap you so he can empower you. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

Cory gulped. "No."

Eli sighed. "Jokes? Now? Really?"

"It's a defense mechanism."

Robert glared at her. He had, up until that point, been able to hold back his anger and fear. But threatening his friends let the fear and anger crack his calm exterior. He wasn't frothing at the mouth or screaming, but it was there on his face. "Leave my friends alone."

Polygal laughed at Robert the same way an adult laughs at a child. "Or else what, boy? Do you think you can..."

Something broke the monster's train of thought. At first Robert thought it was his glare, but he knew that made no sense. He was under her power and there was no question about that. Next the thought maybe she was searching in that other place again where she had tried to take his Facet. But he felt nothing there so that couldn't be it. No, she was staring straight at his forehead. "Can I help you?"

"You have a symbol glowing on your forehead. I was warned about what that meant. But that can't be right unless you're—ARRK!" A flash of yellow pierced the air. The sensation of falling briefly disoriented Robert, but hitting the floor squarely on his back fixed that. On instinct, the tried again to break his bonds. Surprisingly, they tore as simply as normal tickets should.

Glancing up, he saw Polygal facing the entrance of the arcade. Her ticket streams were burned at the end. Had that yellow flash been a bullet? No, there would have been a gunshot. Was it Cory or Eli? No, they would have used a gun already if they had a concealed weapon.

Regardless, Robert knew an opportunity when he saw it and dashed to he feet and put some distance between himself and Polygal. As he ran, Polygal growled. "You! You just had to show up!"

Robert slid over the counter to the register. He fell right on top of Cory and Eli.

"Gah!"

"Crap!"

The trio untangled themselves. "How did you two get over here before me? I never even saw you run."

Cory scoffed. "You kidding? Moment the super cheer-team showed up, we were gone! And why the hell you still glowing?"

"Super cheer what?"

A proud, female voice echoed over the counter. "Of course we showed up! This establishment was designed as a joyful place where diversion and challenges brighten the spirits of all who walk in!"

"The hell?" Robert pushed off of Eli and poked his head over the counter. Though he had been attacked by a video game, the sight before him was the craziest by far.

"But you seek to defile it with your tainted investiture!" A gorgeous, blonde, pigtailed cheerleader in a purple top and skirt leveled a sword and shield straight out of a fairy tale at Polygal.

Robert rubbed his eyes, still unsure what it was he was staring at. "Guys, am I crazy, or is a purple cheerleader lecturing the video game monster at swordpoint?"

Cory and Eli popped their heads over the counter. "Nope, I'm seeing it too."

"Thirded."

"We are the Spirit Guard and it is our duty to let you know that this is 'game over' for you and your evil deeds!"

A very tall, athletic brunette with hair swept to the side strode behind the blonde. Her gait was confident and her eyes were filled with determination. At nearly six feet tall, the woman had the look of an Amazon. She wore a similar cheerleader outfit, though hers was red and exposed no midriff. Her most distinctive feature though was the sword that rested on her shoulder. It looked to be nearly as tall as herself though she carried it like a normal person would a shovel. "Valor," she muttered as she leaned in closer, "I want to make sure those two stay safe."

'Valor' nodded. "I know, Tenacity. We'll keep them safe. I promise.

'Tenacity' cleared her throat. "And the third one—you notice the..."

Valor cut her off, her voice trying to be quiet. "Yes. I saw the mark." Polygal had referred to a mark on his forehead. He rubbed it, but it didn't feel odd in any way. He studied his hands and saw that, while very dim, the neon blue aura that glowed around him was still there.

"What does this mean?"

"I don't know." Valor shot Robert a quick glance but did not linger as she made sure to keep her eyes trained on the monster in front of her. "Regardless, we can sort that out later. Right now, I know you want to stay back but I might need your offensive power on this. If Felicity would just show up on time for once maybe we could..."

A voice squeaked above the red and purple duo, "I can go on defense. I'm better better suited for it anyway." Robert looked up and found a girl with feathered, sky blue hair standing on top of the Hop Dance Mania machine. She was in a two-piece cheer outfit similar to Valor's but hers was a bright yellow. She held a recurve bow in her left hand with the bowstring drawn back by her right. Strangely though, the arrow the girl was holding seemed to be made of pure light. Robert realized it was likely one of these arrows that had cut through the tickets that had held him.

Tenacity gave a sigh of relief. "Thanks Charity." Why was Tenacity more concerned with protecting him, Cory, and Eli? She seemed more worried about that than the monster.

Charity hopped off the Hop Dance Mania machine and landed in front of the counter. She gave Robert a curious look but, not wanting to appear as if she was staring, she smiled warmly. "Everyone doing okay back there?"

Eli stuttered, obviously not sure how to approach the situation. "Yeah, uh-uh-uh just fine Ms. Spirit Guard."

She giggled. "Spirit Guard Charity. And I'll protect you three." She gave Robert a look that just reeked of motherly concern. "Just stay behind me and nothing will hit you, okay?"

Robert had no clue who these three were. But he remembered that his instincts had told him help would come. He could have never have predicted that the help would come in the forms of three attractive cheerleaders wielding medieval, possibly magical, weaponry, but given the situation, he was not going to get picky.

Polygal screamed, obviously not happy with how casually everyone was chatting. "Now is NOT friendship time! You think you can take me so lightly?" She snapped her wrists and the ticket streams spewed out to over twelve feet in lengthand the pistols came to life. "Ticket Snare!" Nearly faster than Robert could see, Polygal charged at the cheerleaders.

Valor braced behind her shield. "Tenacity?"

Tenacity lifted her humongous sword over her head, bringing it level with the ground. "Right behind you."

Robert blinked and the pair of cheerleaders were upon the arcade monster. They split onto opposites sides, moving with such speed that they somehow surrounded the inhumanly quick Polygal. She kept them at distance with her ticket-whips, but they kept prodding her defenses with exploratory attacks. To say their motion was a blur wouldn't have been accurate. Robert had no problem watching or comprehending the fight. But they moved faster, way faster, than they should be able to. Burdened by their heavy weapons, they still somehow flipped, dashed, stabbed, parried, twirled, blocked, dodged, and attacked at speeds that couldn't have been achieved if it had been choreographed for a film.

Tenacity's movements with her sword showed her confidence. Her attacks were bold and powerful. With the sheer size and force of the swings, Polygal was forced to stay defensive and start utilizing the pistol blasts to keep Tenacity at bay.

That's where Valor charged in. She absorbed a hit on her shield and charged forward, trying to cut off one of the pistols. Robert saw the briefest of openings for Polygal to counter-attack, but doing so would have opened herself up for the oncoming strike with Tenacity's much bigger sword. Polygal didn't take the bait, instead opting to leap into the air. She flipped upside down and , improbably, landed on the ceiling as simple as landing on the floor. "Very clever girls! But I'm not falling for that ploy! Quarter Jam!"

A flurry of quarters spewed out of the coin slots in Polygal's abdomen. As thick as a winter storm, they rained down upon the ground-bound cheerleaders. "Scatter!" Valor hunched under her shield to avoid the barrage of currency. Tenacity's sword, oversized as it was, performed well as a shield. They ran in opposite directions, Polygal choosing to keep the deluge of quarters on Tenacity. Using her increasingly longer tickets, she whipped at Valor, trying to keep the blonde on the defensive.

Charity raised her bow and tugged back on the bowstring. A luminescent arrow materialized, but before she could let go, Polygal opened fire upon the yellow-clad cheerleader with her pistols. It was obvious from the trajectory she was trying to shoot the counter behind the girl and endanger the boys that Charity had promised to protect. Robert was initially horrified to see her lift her bow in the air, as if about to allow the shots connect. "Altruistic Barrier!" A dome of sparkling yellow light enveloped Charity and the black streaks of laser light glanced off the ethereal shield.

Polygal grumbled. "You pests are annoying. Yet still you three can do no better than to stay defensive! What do you think you will do now?"

Robert caught sight of movement by the arcade entrance. A diminutive girl with hair as black as night kicked the doors. She was wore a bright pink cheer outfit and had her bangs dyed to match. She twirled a staff in the air, pink fire dancing on each end. She wore a grin befitting a Cheshire cat. "Sorry to disappoint you, bytes-for-brains, but this is a four player game! Encircling Joy!" She twirled, her knee-length hair wrapping around her as she did so. A chain of pink flames snapped out of the staff. They tumbled through the air, right at Polygal.

"No!" The chain of fire looped around Polygal like a bola. The monster screamed and she fell off the ceiling. The tickets burned and pistols melted. The stream of quarters continued out of her abdomen, but they were all singed black. "NOOOO!"

Before the monster could even hit the ground, Tenacity charged forward. Red lightning danced across her enormous sword. "Nice timing, Felicity! Intrepid Blade!" Robert could feel his hair standing up on end as the blade cut through Polygal cleaner and quicker than a hot knife through butter.

Polygal screamed in agony as pink fire and red lightning consumed her body, leaving nothing but a pile of ash. Robert thought that would end the screaming but it continued. A single black pearl floated out of the ash. It hovered six feet in the air, cracked, then shattered. Polygal's screams were silenced.

Tenacity held her striking pose for a moment before sighing and relaxing. She clapped her hands together and her sword turned into a pair of red pompoms. "Glad that's over. Thanks again, Charity."

Charity smiled and clapped her hands together. Her bow became yellow pompoms. "The least I could do, Tenacity."

The girl in pink marched up to Tenacity and poked her finger into her chest. Robert almost laughed at the sight. If she was even five feet tall, Robert would have been surprised. Seeing her crane her neck to stare up at the Amazonian brunette. "You! You totally stole my kill."

Tenacity chuckled, apparently finding the small girl's antics as funny as Robert. "I totally confirmed your kill. Besides Felicity, if you'd show up when summoned instead of..."

Valor held up her hand to hush Tenacity. "Not the time for this." She pointed at the three boys behind the counter, though Robert felt she was pointing specifically at him.

"Oh right."

Felicity turned to see where Valor was pointing and jumped a little. "Woah! I didn't even notice they were here."

Cory sighed. "Beautiful women not noticing us. That's all too familiar."

Eli shook his head. "Arcade destroyed. Monster-video-game-woman-thing attacking. Robert glowing. If there is a time for them not to notice us, this is the time." Robert examined his hands. The aura had almost faded.

Felicity placed her hand over her heart in a display of mock-coyness. "Beautiful. Oh you're such a flatterer!"

The past few minutes had been absolute chaos. Polygal and these cheerleaders obviously understood something about his glowing. He needed answers. He slid over the counter towards the color-coded, weapon-wielding cheerleaders. "Yes. Eli is a regular ladies' man. But more to the point, thanks for saving us."

Tenacity and Charity gave Valor looks of concern to Valor. Felicity stepped right up to Robert and stared at his forehead. She was entirely too close for his comfort. "Say, your forehead is glowing." She turned and waved the other girls foreward. "Have you guys seen this? His forehead is glowing. Sort of like how—ack!"

Tenacity yanked the long-haired girl away from Robert. Valor stepped forward.

"Your certainly welcome, citizen. We were happy to be of service and..."

Robert eyes narrowed. They definitely were hiding something. "Yeah. Thanks and all but I had some concerns."

Valor winced. "What concerns?"

"Yeah, you see, everyone seems to be very interested in the fact that I'm glowing." Valor nodded but her eyes were darting everywhere, obviously searching for the next thing she'd say. "I'm actually rather interested in the fact I'm glowing as well."

"Yes, well, that certainly is understandable."

"And you seemed to be quite familiar with it. Plus Polygal said some interesting things about me that I didn't know what she was talking about. Maybe you can clear this up for me?"

Valor wrung her hands together. "Who is Polygal?"

"That was what the blue video game woman called herself."

"Well, I mean, it's really impossible to trust fully the word of a minion of Platicore and..."

Robert stepped forward. "You see, Ms. Valor, that monster-woman told me that she was very surprised I didn't know what she was doing. She told me, and I think I'm getting this right, that she 'thought I was an ally of theirs.' Now, I didn't know who 'they' where at the time but I now suspect it's you ladies."

"Oh, well, I don't know why you'd suspect that."

Robert held up his hand. "Look, I know you're hiding something. I heard you when you walked in comment that my forehead was glowing and that you'd have to deal with that later. You seem to have some idea that it means something."

Valor bit her thumbnail. "I... so you heard that, huh?"

Nodding, Robert continued. "Look, you saved my life and I'm grateful. I really am. Actually, to tell you the truth, when I walked in here, I had a really bad feeling. Like, ice in my bones bad feeling." Robert pointed at the empty spot where Zombie Mansion used to be. "That bad feeling lead me to that game."

Cory hopped over the counter. "Wait, you mean you lead us to that death trap on purpose?"

Eli elbowed Cory. "Not the time."

Cory grumbled. "Well if I develop some sort of psychosis, he'll hear from my lawyer."

Eli shook his head. "No one would be able to tell the difference. You already suffer from something undiagnosed."

Tenacity groaned and rubbed her eyes. "I can't believe I have to hear this."

Valor squinted. "Wait, so you're telling me you sensed the monster was in the machine?"

Robert shrugged. "Well, I didn't know it at the time but, I guess so. Yeah. Come to think of it, the sensation came in waves. I think maybe when she was draining those boys?"

Valor nodded, obviously confused and impressed. "That... is certainly possible."

"Polygal said something about me being your 'aloof protector' or a non-combat ally. What was she talking about."

Valor shook her head. "I don't think that's right."

"Okay then, what DO you think is right?"

Valor looked away. "Hard to say. We'd have to conduct some research... tell me. The monster, did she try to drain you of investiture?"

"Investi-what?"

"Energy. Did she try to take your energy and couldn't?"

Robert nodded slowly. "Yeah. I think she basically said that word for word." Valor glanced back at the other three cheerleaders. All of them had confused looks. "So this means... what?"

The entire 'Spirit Guard' was silent. The sound of police sirens in the distance broke it. Valor cleared her throat. "We might have a theory but, given what has transpired it's impossible to be sure. Given the nature of what this is, it might be best if you let us do some research and get back to you."

Robert rolled his eyes. "Oh, so what, I just give you my number and you'll get back to me? Sorry if I'm less than trusting that this will actually happen."

Eli tapped Robert on the shoulder. "What?"

"Have you really not heard of these girls before? They're kind of famous."

Robert raised an eyebrow. "Kind of famous? I think I would have heard about magical cheerleaders that fight monsters. Seems like something that would get out on the news."

Cory shook his head. "No, seriously, they've been doing this for over a year now. They have saved a lot of lives."

"You must be kidding." Robert glanced back and forth between the two and saw they were completely serious. "You're not kidding! How has this not gone national."

"Sir," Valor looked very eager to leave, "we have put a lot of resources into keeping a low profile. But rest assured we will contact you when we know if it means anything. I am not given the name Spirit Guard Valor for no reason."

The sirens grew louder. Robert stared down Valor. He had always been a good read of people. Her deep blue eyes didn't betray a hint of a lie. He groaned and pulled a pen out of his pocket. He hastily grabbed a stray napkin that must have fallen off one of the tables during the fight off the ground and wrote his phone number. "Here. Not sure why I'm doing. My name is Robert Dreese." He held out the napkin but held it back a little bit. "I expect to hear back very soon, Ms. Valor."

She nodded her head. "My word is as sure as stone. You will hear back from us." The police sirens were nearly at the entrance of Loose Change. Valor grabbed the napkin. "That's our cue." All four of them dashed to the emergency exit. "You'll hear back from me, Mr. Dreese! You have my word!"

Charity bowed a little towards Eli before exiting. "Hope it doesn't take too long for you to get this arcade fixed up!"

Tenacity adroitly spun around the stationary Charity. "Yeah, hope you have a job next week!"

Felicity giggled. "And good luck with that psychosis thing, black-haired guy!"

As the door shut, Robert sighed. "So. That happened."

Cory hurried over to a stream of quarters. "Quick, line our pockets before the cops come in!"

Eli glared. "We just met the actual Spirit Guard and this is what you think about. Cops are about to come in here."

Cory rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and it's completely unlikely a guy has a pocketful of quarters in an arcade. They'll never buy that. Given our recent ordeal here, we've earned a little spending money."

Eli scanned the arcade and his shoulders slump. "I don't think I'm going to be getting anymore hours to work this week. I hope they give me hazard pay for this."

Robert stared at his hands. The aura was now gone. "Guys. Did you get a good look at the thing on my forehead everyone was so interested in?"

Cory glanced up from the stream of quarters. "Yeah. It was just a bunch of blue circles and I think a semi-circle attached to it."

Robert nodded. "When we get back to the dorms, I'll want you to show me what it looked like. I want to know everything I can."

---

Hello everyone. I posted my Mother Raven story here a long time ago and promptly never did anything else with this account. I've been posting my Magical Girl Policy chapters on my own website and a friend suggested I post them on fictionmania to get more eyes on it. The folks there in turn suggested I post here so... uh... here I am!

If you're looking for more in depth commentary I have that over on my website. I always have the latest chapter up there at taralynn.sincomics.com. I also have some of my other storys and art that fans have done! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Cory shook his head. "You're incredible. I know I won't be playing video games for a little while."

Robert snorted as he sat at his desk. "I'm not playing. I just missed my guild's PvP night. I'm one of the better players. I can't just ditch without an explanation."

"Kind of missing my point."

Robert logged into Aspect Realms. His character, a female Deviling Windwhisper he named Bluster, loaded onto the screen. People always asked him why he played a female character. Though he felt like a lech for it, it was because he rather stare at that exaggerated, unrealistic depiction of the female body than a male avatar."It's my computer. If it was going to try and kill me, it would have already."

The details of the game-world Bluster lived in took a long time to load up. The capital city always took a long time to load. His graphics card was outdated two years ago when he built the computer. In gamer terms, it was just ancient. "Besides, worrying about the fact that one arcade game tried to kill us makes no sense. There are handhelds, cell phones, and consoles all around campus, let alone the dorms. You worry about that and you'll become a paranoid basket-case. What's done is done. Worrying about it won't make it go away, so why worry?"

"So you're not shaken up. Not even a little bit? We almost died, dude!"

Robert began typing up a quick message to his guildmaster. Obviously he'd leave out the part about a monster attack and magical cheerleaders. A simple witness of a robbery would do. Easy to explain why he never showed up for PvP. "But we didn't die. We just have a bunch of cuts and bruises. Those heal." Mentioning the cuts made Robert think about the deep gash Polygal had cut into his own face. Thinking about it made it sting a little.

Cory shook his head again. "Yup. You are incredible."

Eli hurried into the room. "I drew up the image of what was on your forehead when you were glowing. I tried to find a blue pen but I couldn't find one."

Robert sent the message in his mailbox then logged out of the game. "Thanks Eli. Black ink will be just fine." A dot encased by a circle. Part of another circle enjoining the smaller circle.

Cory leaned forward. "What do you think it means?"

Robert wondered that too. He squinted, looking as if he was trying to will the scribbled image to give up its secret meaning. "Not sure. Never seen anything like it. You?"

"Not me."

"Doesn't look like anything I ever saw."

Robert bit on his thumbnail, a bad habit he always resorted to when he was thinking. "Well it meant something. At least it meant something to Polygal and the Spirit Guard." Robert still had a hard time believing gorgeous cheerleaders that turned weapons into pompoms and battled with fantastical monsters wasn't a story he had heard before. "So tell me, who are these so-called Spirit Guard? You said they've been here for a year. How come I've never heard of them?"

"You're from across the country, dude. They're a Kessia City thing."

"Yes, but they can manifest, by my count, arrows of pure light, energy shields, pink fireballs, red electricity, and are super-humanly fast! Oh, and they run around in tight revealing cheer uniforms and are absolutely stunning. That's got to at least make the 9 o'clock news somewhere!"

Eli nodded. "I thought the one in yellow was the hottest. I think she's Charity."

Cory gasped. "Charity? You blind? The one in red! Tenacity! Her legs went on forever!"

"Guys..."

"Tenacity? No way. I mean, yes, I'll admit she is attractive but I didn't think she was 'hot' per se."

"You're blind man!"

Robert groaned. "Guys! Let's focus here. Regardless of which is hotter, they should be national news, right? We agree on that?"

Cory and Eli paused, thinking about it. "You know, I guess I never really considered it. But yeah, they should be bigger news."

"Especially when you consider all the destruction their battles with the monsters cause."

Robert nodded, obviously glad they moved onto that subject. "Yes, and on that note, these monster attacks are common enough you know about them. How often do they happen?"

"Every few weeks or so, I think."

Eli plopped down on the empty, uncovered bed of Robert's yet-to-arrive roommate. "Yeah, and I think every monster has been some sort of weird, female monster that's fused with some item or theme."

"So, where do these monsters come from? The one that called herself Valor said something about 'minions of Platicore.' That ring any bells?"

Eli shook his head. "Not a one."

Cory crossed his arms, thinking. "I think it sound familiar, but that might be because he sounds like a poorly named Saturday morning cartoon character."

Robert sighed. "Guess that was a far stretch anyway. Let's focus on what Polygal said than." He stood up and started pacing. "She said she thought I was their 'aloof protector' at first, but then she saw the symbol and said I was something else. Something she thought was impossible."

Eli nodded. "So then the glowing meant one thing, but the thing on your forehead meant something more."

"Yeah," Cory said with a disbelieving tone, "and Polygal said something about you having an 'Ardent Resonance' or something."

"No," Robert corrected, "it said that I was 'radiating Ardent Resonance.'"

Cory shrugged. "So maybe 'Ardent Resonance' was what you were glowing or what the glowing is called?"

Eli nodded. "And Valor asked if Polygal drained," he made quotation marks in the air, "your 'investiture.' When you responded a little confused she changed it to 'energy' that you were drained of. Maybe this investiture is what the monster was after and when we lose it, we get all slow and tired."

Robert bit his thumbnail again. "Yeah, but whether we call it glowing and energy or Ardent Resonance and investiture, it doesn't really explain what it is. It's just different names for the same thing we know nothing about." It galled Robert. The more he tried to figure it all out, the more questions seemed to come up.

"Maybe not," piped up Cory. "I mean, let's think about this one word at a time. Ardent just means passionate or intense or something like that. When something resonates it, I don't know, is in-tune with it. So your glowing means something about maybe being passionately in-tune with something."

Passionately in-tune with something. That would indicate there was another thing that he was resonating with. So what was that thing? Eli interrupted Robert's thoughts, "And investiture is, at least in a legal sense, the power an official of the government has. Or at least that's what I think it is. But if that's the case, maybe there is some sort of, I don't know, investiture or power every person has that the monsters are after. And without it we get sluggish like those kids and Cory were. That would explain why Valor changed the word to energy as that would be how people feel it."

"A good theory." Eli's and Cory's ideas had some meat behind him, but something kept nagging at him. The image on his forehead. "But Polygal commented on the Ardent Radiance before she ever saw the thing on my head so they aren't connected. And if this 'investiture' is what the monster was after, and Cory and a bunch of kids got drained of it, that means everyone has it and it's not what made Polygal or the Spirit Guard react to me in such a strange way. The symbol on my head must be something else entirely... so what is it?"

Eli and Cory shrugged in unison. It made Robert chuckle inside himself. They were so different yet so similar at the same time. "So maybe the answer lies in what is different. Cory, when Polygal drained you, what did it feel like?"

Scratching the back of his neck, Cory walked forward and looked at the picture Eli had drawn. "But, what was it that happened? I mean, when she touched me I just instantly felt tired and..." He trailed off, obviously not sure how to explain it.

"And what?" Eli inquired.

"I don't know. Just... I just felt... meh. I mean, yeah, I knew she was taking something from me but I didn't care. I think I even kind of liked it."

Robert turned around, examining Eli's drawing. "You liked it?"

"Not in a, 'this is awesome' kind of way, but just a, I don't know, like a bug being drawn into a bug zapper's light kind of way. What about you?"

Robert frowned. "When she went after my, I guess, 'investiture' I could feel Polygal inside me. Like, her, I'm not sure how to describe it, presence was in my body or something. But not my body, but some part of my body that wasn't physical but still my body." Cory and Eli blinked at Robert. "I know, makes no sense."

Cory nodded. "Yeah, I didn't feel anything like that."

Eli tapped his chin. "But you could feel her. So, what was that like? What was she doing in that part of your body that wasn't your body but still part of your body." He paused. "Wow, that does sound ridiculous."

Robert laughed again. "It wasn't like anything I've felt before. She was looking for something, that I'm sure of. But she, after a quick search, found it."

"And what was 'it' that she was looking for."

Robert shook his head in dismay. "It's the damnedest thing. I still don't know. It was a piece of me, some... some Facet of me that she wanted. But when she went for it... remember how I told you that I was having waves of icy chills in Loose Change?" Cory and Eli nodded. "Well, I, and again, I know this doesn't sound normal at all, I somehow took control of that icy feeling in my bones, turned it into water, and defended my Facet with it."

Silence hung in the air as each boy blinked at the other. Cory finally breached the silence. "Yeah, I didn't have any of that happen."

Three sharp knocks echoed through the front door. Before Robert, Cory, or Eli could get up to invite the person on the other side in, the door opened. "Elijah? Cory? You here?" The voice was concerned and female.

Eli groaned. "Crap. It's my sister." Robert gave a reproving eye. "I didn't tell her anything about the attack!"

Cory seemed to forget all about the serious conversation they had been having, chuckled, and hopped out to the door, his limp noticeably absent. "Mallory! What's the occasion?"

Robert smirked. "Lot of pep in his step for someone who was gimping around earlier."

"Oh he was totally milking the injury for all it's worth. He's a drama queen." Eli shuffled off the other bed and headed out of Robert's room. "Mallory, what are you doing here?"

Robert sighed and glanced back down at the picture of the icon that had been on his forehead. One blue circle with a dot in it. Another circle interlocking the smaller one. It sort of reminded him of ripples in a pond. But what did it mean?

"What am I doing here?" It was clear that Eli's sister was not happy. "Elijah, I heard about a monster attack at an arcade. An arcade that you work at. On a night I knew you had a shift! And then you don't answer your phone! I came here to make sure you weren't killed by a monster!"

Robert thought about going into another PvP match, but realized that Eli's sister probably would ask about the attack. Cory and Eli had been smart and not mentioned the glowing or the symbol to the cops when they asked them questions, but he had learned family can loosen tongues really fast. He exited the room and saw Eli blushing sheepishly. "Oh, um, I think I may have dropped my phone in all the excitement." He coughed. "Sorry I made you worry, Mallory."

Mallory shook her head, her high, brown ponytail swaying with dismay. "Dad's going to kill you if you lost that. That is if I don't kill you first for making me worry myself sick over if you were alive or not!" Robert had never met Eli's sister before and was impressed at her height. She was around six feet tall and had a well sculpted body. His eyes lingered on her long, athletic legs and...

Robert hadn't noticed but there was another girl behind Mallory. She was so short that until Robert had let his eyes dwell on Eli's sister's beautiful legs, he hadn't noticed a second pair right behind her. He moved over a bit more and saw this girl was maybe five feet tall and that might have be generous. Regardless, she was very cute with shimmering black hair that hung straight down to the back of her knees. Cory chuckled. "I think monster attack would be an acceptable excuse for a lost or broken phone Eli. Even with your father." Cory put on his most dashing smile. "But I'm sorry Mallory, I didn't get a chance to introduce myself to your lovely friend. My name is Cory Frost, and who might you be?"

The girl giggled and glanced up at Mallory, practically craning her neck to do so. "Wow, you were totally right."

Mallory's face lost all hints of anger and she smirked. "I know Elijah and Cory like the back of my hand."

Cory grinned nervously, obviously uncomfortable not being in on the joke. "What do you mean?"

The raven-haired girl stepped forward, each stride as confident as a cat. "Oh, Mal here told me you'd be the first to try to introduce yourself and give a cheesy compliment. I told her that you and her brother have two other roommates that might beat you to the punch but she guaranteed you'd be first." Cory slouched a little and that caused her to giggle more. She had a really cute laugh. "It's okay though. I like cheesy compliments. My name is Vivian Joyce. But my friends just call me Viv. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." She bowed in a mock display of formality.

Cory straightened right back up. "The pleasure is all mine, madam." The pair shared a laugh and he relaxed. "So how do you know Mallory?"

Mallory pulled a chair out from the table and sat down. She gave Robert a glance, her eyes lingering on him for a second. It wasn't long, but it lasted long enough that Robert could tell she had been sizing him up for something. Vivian shrugged. "My parents and I attended a lot of volleyball games last year. We actually met though after a set of matches and got to talking and started hanging out." Vivian giggled seemingly for no reason. "Made senior year of high school a lot more fun to be hanging out with a college girl!"

The conversation didn't involve the arcade attack at all. He should start doing some research on the Spirit Guard. Wasting more time with idle chit chat wouldn't be productive. He needed to know more about who these mystical cheerleaders were. Robert pushed off the wall and turned towards his room.

"So what about you Twinkle Toes? What's your name?"

Robert froze. How did she... no, it was because he was sneaking back to his room. That's why she had called him Twinkle Toes. "Robert Dreese." He decided that sounded to abrupt and stand-offish. There was no way calling him Twinkle Toes would have made him get so tense. He needed to soften up his introduction. He decided to add in, "Nice to meet you. Both of you I mean." He winced internally, he had waited too long to throw the last line in. Sounded stilted and fake. He hated sounding fake.

Mallory shot Vivian a quick glance. She still wore her smirk. "Robert, huh? So were you at the arcade too?"

Robert nodded. He was surprised how much he tensed up at being called Twinkle Toes. He could tell the girls had noticed he tensed up too. Deciding to borrow a page from Cory's playbook, he attempted to act casual and throw a joke in. "Yeah. Wild times. Didn't know you people grew video game monsters out here."

Vivian pointed at Robert's face and practically skipped towards him. "Wow, you have quit a few nicks and bruises! What did you do to piss the monster off?"

Robert stepped back, not comfortable with how close she was. He was less comfortable in how interested she was in his injuries. "It's nothing really."

The short girl rolled her eyes. "You were attacked by a monster. I can see your battle scars, dummy. So spill the juicy details!"

Eli tried to ease the pressure off of Robert. "There was a lot of debris that cut us up."

She held up a finger. "Indeed, but he has bruises and a large gash on his cheek that says he received it much harder than you two. This indicates he was more intimately involved than just getting cut up by debris."

Cory frowned. "Hey, I was in the machine when Polygal attacked too!" Robert shot Cory an angry look. "What? She wasn't going to let it go. Might as well just admit it."

"Aha!" Vivian pumped her fist triumphantly. "I knew you were hiding something!" She circled Robert like a shark. "So the monster called itself Polygal! What else are you hiding?"

Robert sighed. "Why are you so interested?"

Mallory leaned forward, her elbows on the boys cheap table. "Because if you had a close encounter with a monster, as close as your cut on your face suggests, that means you met the Spirit Guard."

Robert shrugged. "Yeah, they showed up and saved the day. From what these two tell me," Robert gestured to his friends, "that's old hat around here."

"Old hat?" Vivian seemed indignant at that suggestion. "How can magical cheerleaders that destroy monsters be old hat? That is, by its very definition, awesome and can never get old!"

Mallory leaned back. "I'm more interested in the monster myself. What did you do to piss it off so much?"

Robert paused, unsure of a good explanation that avoided the glowing subject. Eli butted in, "Well, Robert's too modest, but he taunted the monster."

Mallory raised an eyebrow. "Taunted the monster?"

Robert squinted at Eli, not sure what he was playing at. Luckily, Cory jumped in, recognizing where his friend was heading. "Well, I mean, I don't want to put words in your mouth, Rob, but I kind of got the idea you were doing it to let those kids escape."

"Right, the kids..." Robert had forgotten that was originally why he held his ground. Even at the moment he knew it was stupid, but had felt like the right thing to do. Now he hadn't taunted the monster, but it would at least keep the story going and sate this Vivian girl's curiosity. "Well, I mean, there were a lot of kids the monster could have gone after that ran away. So, I may have talked back to Polygal to get the thing to focus on me and not them."

Mallory nodded her head, her eyebrows furrowed high in on her head. She looked blown away."Wow." She scratched her cheek. "That, uh, yeah. That takes some stones."

Vivian seemed to explode with excitement. "Were you scared?" She hopped on her feet with a level of enthusiasm Robert only thought children had. "Did you panic at all?"

"No." Robert response came quicker and with more force than even he expected. His words hung heavy and seemed to ground the buoyant attitude of Vivian. He chastised himself for responding so curtly. Still, he now realized he really wanted to make sure they knew he wasn't afraid. Why was that so important to him? But there was no time for introspection. He could do that later. "I mean... well I wasn't scared. I mean, I was worried for sure, I knew that I could die but..." Why had he stood up to the monster even though it was sure death? He was worried about keeping the kids safe. That was true. But something else had helped him to stand tall in the face of that danger. "...I just knew everything would turn out all right somehow. I knew I was doing the right things."

Mallory and Vivian shared a look that Robert had no idea how to read. Something was communicated in the look but what the message was, Robert couldn't hazard a guess. "That's really impressive. To stare down danger like that I mean. Hard to stay..." Mallory paused on her next word. She looked at Robert, obviously unsure if what she'd say next was wise.

Robert leaned forward a little. "Hard to stay what?"

She bit on her tongue and side. "I guess... I guess it's hard to stay... serene under that type of pressure." She put extra emphasis on the word "serene" and squinted her eyes, as if that should have some meaning.

Robert squinted his eyes back. What on earth was she trying to get at? "I wouldn't say serene... I admit though, looking back that is, that I am surprised at how I kept my cool." He leaned against the wall. This conversation had gotten a lot heavier than he anticipated. Why was he telling this to complete strangers? Sure he knew Mallory was Eli's older sister and that probably meant she was trustworthy. But this Vivian was an unknown quantity. Why did he feel comfortable talking about this in front of her? "I suppose you never know how you'll react under those types of circumstances until you are there."

Mallory sighed and looked away from him and out the window. "No, I suppose you don't."

Vivian chuckled. Robert swore he could hear a nervous tinge to the chuckle but he might have been imagining it. "But still, pretty huge gamble, buster. What made you feel like everything would turn out right? You knew the Spirit Guard were coming, did ya?"

"No. Not at all."

Vivian's giddiness deflated out of her like air in a balloon. Eli stepped in to explain, "Rob here hadn't even heard about them until today."

"He's not from around here," Cory added.

Robert nodded. "Yeah, I'm from back the South. Regardless, I don't know, maybe they have some weird calming effect or something around them. Because I just felt that help was coming."

Mallory gave Vivian a quizzical look. "Huh, I had never heard that in any of the stories I read."

Robert tossed up his hands. "Well, hell if I know anything. The entire ordeal made as much sense as a screen door on a submarine."

Vivian giggled and the vibrant attitude returned. The girl was like a ever-flowing fountain of spunkiness. "A screen door on a submarine. I like that! Where did you hear that?"

Robert smiled despite himself. He always thought his Uncle's saying were so corny, but now that he was away, here he was, using them himself. "Something my Uncle always says. Guess I just picked it up."

"Well," Mallory said leaning back and facing Eli and Cory, "What I want to know, is what you two chuckleheads did when the monster showed up?"

Cory puffed his chest out a little. "We didn't run." Mallory raised an eyebrow. "I mean, we didn't taunt the monster the way Robert did but..."

Mallory's eyes darted from Cory to Eli. They narrowed menacingly. "You didn't run? You're idiots! That thing could have killed you!

Eli backed up defensively. "Hey, we were worried if we ran she'd come after us. Plus, we couldn't leave Robert behind to fend for himself. A man has to stand by his friends."

Mallory rolled her eyes. "First of all, you two are barely men at all, and only by a legal technicality saying you're men at the age of eighteen."

Vivian winced comically. "Ouch!"

Cory winced, but not with any humor. Through clenched teeth he pleaded with Mallory, "Kind of cutting us down in front of your cute friend, Mal."

"Secondly," Mallory continued, "You do not stand behind your friend if he's an idiot who has more guts than brains." She turned to Robert and nodded her head. "And I try to mean that in the kindest way possible. No offense intended."

Robert smiled and waved her off. "I've come to terms with the fact it was a dumb thing to do."

"Friend or no friend, you let the Spirit Guard handle the monsters. We clear?"

Cory shrugged. "Doesn't really matter. What are the odds we'll ever see one again anyway?"

Eli groaned. "Must you tempt Fate like that?"

"What? I'm just saying the odds are extremely low that we'll ever see one again."

Eli smacked his forehead. "And there you go again! Begging the universe to prove you wrong! You do realize we hang out a lot. When the universe proves you wrong I tend to be in harms way."

"You're being paranoid again."

Mallory rubbed her temples. "Robert, you sure you can handle living with them?"

Robert smiled. "You have been putting up with them since their kid years and you seem to come out all right."

Vivian stamped her foot. "Okay, enough chit chat! You have to tell me, what did you think about them?"

Cory and Eli stopped their bickering. "Them?"

"The Spirit Guard, dummies!" She tossed her hair back with a huff. "We've spent a lot of time talking about Robert here but he's not the interesting one. No offense intended."

Robert snorted. "I'm beginning to notice a pattern here."

"But you saw the Spirit Guard." Vivian was practically bouncing like a basketball. "Tell us what they were like!"

Cory cleared his throat. "Not to sound like a complete pig..."

Mallory rolled her eyes. "And here it comes."

"In a word: absolutely gorgeous! A shame they never can seem to get video on them because I could watch them all day. I don't know whose idea it was to fight evil in cheer outfits but I definitely approve."

Vivian giggled madly while Eli sighed. "And that was you trying not to sound like a pig?"

"Oh, right, because they fight evil in tight cheer outfits that cling to their curves I'm a pig for noticing."

"You're a pig because you're talking like that in front of..."

Robert decided to interrupt them. "While they were, all four of them, quite beautiful, I was more interested in how they fought with logic-defying weapons and abilities."

Mallory squinted, a wry twist of the left side of the mouth indicating she was amused. "Logic-defying, eh? Most people just say magical."

Robert shook his head, obviously a little annoyed. "There is no such thing as magic."

"Said the boy saved by magical cheerleaders," giggled Vivian.

"No," Robert stated firmly, but tried to keep his tone neutral, as he didn't intend to offend anyone. "Magic is a word for the unexplainable. Once magic becomes understood, it can't be magic anymore because you understand the underlying principles or techniques behind it. 99% of the world doesn't really, not really, understands how a computer works. But we don't call that magic because we know that, though we can't explain it, we understand the system's underlying principle of zeroes and ones and know how to utilize the technology even if we don't understand it."

Robert thought to the Spirit Guard staring at his forehead, Valor saying it had a meaning but being unsure of what it signified. Like some sort of mystic error message. They didn't know what it meant because they weren't masters. No, someone else had given them their technology and abilities. Why didn't he figure that out before? "There is clearly some system they know and use. The technology and principles behind it don't defy science, but rather there must be some underlying facet of reality we don't understand that they take advantage of. Maybe they don't understand it either. Either way, that's what I'm intrigued by. Whatever the system is that lets them shoot pink fire and red lightning."

Mallory smirked. Did she know something? "You a scientist or something?"

"Mechanical engineer. Well, I'm studying that anyway. It's why I came here to Adamson U. One of the better ME programs in the nation."

Vivian chuckled. "Well, you certainly sound like one."

Mallory pulled her phone out of her pocket and sighed. "We better get going. Girls aren't allowed in the boy dorms after eleven and I have early morning practice."

Vivian stretched, exposing her midriff a little as she did so. It didn't escape the notice of any of the boys. "Eh, I have early morning film class anyway."

Cory perked up. "Eight o'clock with Dr. Wallace?"

She smiled. "Yeah! You in it too?"

"Darn tootin'. Should I save you a seat?"

"Well that would be just divine." Vivian turned to leave. Cory hurried past the girls and opened the door for them. Vivian laughed and performed a mock curtsey. "What a gentleman. See you in the morning then, Cory."

Making sure he was as cheesy as ever, Cory bowed. "Looking forward to it, madam."

Mallory stood and gave Eli a hug. "Glad your safe, Elijah."

"Me too, Mallory."

She let go of the hug and abruptly smacked him across the back of his head. "Ow!"

"Next time run from the monster, you dingbat!"

"Fine, okay. Next time we'll run."

She chuckled and turned towards the door. She gave a casual two-fingered salute to Robert. "Sorry I said you were an idiot."

Robert shrugged. "Facing down a monster is kind of idiotic."

She paused at the door. "Maybe. But then again you did it for the right reasons. You were trying to help." She grinned. "Who knows, maybe you'll be able to help more with that cool as a cucumber mindset."

Without another word, she departed and Cory shut the door behind her. He was grinning from ear to ear. "I've got a date with a hot girl!"

Eli groaned. "And that, after all the stuff that has happened today, is the strangest thing of all. Besides, it's just class. I wouldn't call it a date."

"Whatever. You're just jealous because with the arcade blown to smithereens you probably won't be seeing the Hop Dance Mania girl for a while."

Eli rubbed his eyes. "Don't remind me of that. I have no job and no chance now. That's just depressing."

Robert rested his chin on his left fist. "Maybe I'm onto something with comparing what happened today with a computer. What if the thing on my head was, I don't know, like, an error message or something."

Cory squinted. "Error message? Error message for what?"

Robert shrugged. "No idea. But error messages pop up all the time with vague numbers that nobody knows what they mean. I think the Spirit Guard are using their weapons and super abilities the same way we know how to use a computer. We don't know how it truly works, but we can still use the tool. That way, they would still think of it as magic. And it would explain why they didn't know what it meant when the symbol on my forehead glowed. Glowed? Is that the right word? Glew? Gleamed?"

Cory looked at his feet, pondering. "I think it's glowed."

"Regardless," Eli interrupted, "what does this magical error message mean? That you're allergic to magic or something? Just seems a bit of a stretch?"

Robert held out his hands, obviously at a loss for what to say. "Any more of a stretch than a woman coming out of a video game, trying to kill us, being burned alive by mystical cheerleaders, and Cory getting the attention of a hot girl?"

Eli nodded. "Touché."

"Hey!"

---

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Robert reached into his back pocket and pulled out a map of campus. He rubbed his eyes and studied the map. Despite not sleeping well, he couldn't help but smile. The early morning crowd of students, bustling about to classes made him feel energetic. No more high school drama and worrying about who is dating who and what people did in their spare time. He could just be one of twenty thousand students and no one would give him a second look. He was truly free.

Consulting the map, he trudged north towards the building where his world history class would be. He was surprised he couldn't see the building yet, as the map made campus feel so small. Robert shook his head and chuckled at himself. Of course a map made campus feel small. That's what maps did.

Tucking the map back into his pocket, he continued walking. Taking a deep breath, he filled his lungs with the crisp, early-morning air. It could almost make him forget about the gash along his face and bruises from the monster attack. He had tried to act unaffected around Cory and Eli, and truth be told, he wasn't really all that shaken by the attack. But the glowing on his forehead continued to nag at him. What did it mean? And why did everyone around here treat monster attacks and magical cheerleaders like that wasn't strange?

As if the universe wanted to let him know it knew what he was thinking about, a pair of cheerleaders walked past him in full uniform. He blinked, and turned his head to follow them as they passed. Why did they not have to abide by the dress code like everyone else? Every other girl was having to wear a blouse and skirt combo. Not that Robert was complaining. He enjoyed the sight of a bare-midriff as much as the next man. And as he thought about it, he was certain he had seen a football player or two sporting their jerseys. Maybe if you were on one of the athletic teams you had permission to wear your uniforms and not adhere to the dress code? He decided he'd ask Eli's sister about that next time she came over. Being a member of the volleyball team, she was sure to know.

Robert, unlike the loud and vociferous Cory, didn't mind the dress code. It had, in fact, been one of the reasons he chose Schuyler University. He felt it helped maintain a more professional atmosphere. He intended to fully enjoy his college years, but he didn't want a college where every night was like a scene out of a fraternity film. He was here to learn what he needed to, get a slip of paper proving he knew his stuff, make a few, long-lasting friends, then get on with the rest of his life. If the Board of Directors thought a dress code would help him get that degree, he wasn't going to complain.

Robert entered the Humanities building, glad he decided to head up to campus fifteen minutes early. The building looked like it had been constructed thirty years ago, undergone half of a renovation, then the renovation was halted. The result was a mishmash of hallways and stairs that made Robert feel like a rat in a maze. After a few minutes of walking down wrong corridors, he found the large, heavy double-doors of the auditorium his lecture was in.

The walls were simple brown bricks with rectangular holes cut in a regular pattern. Judging from the worn seats and lack of an overhead projector, Robert decided this must be part of the older half of the building. He wondered to himself what the holes were for. No one was in room but an older, female student writing some things up on the chalkboard at the front of the room. Probably the teacher's assistant. The TA glanced up from the board, gave Robert a friendly hello, then went right back to her writing without giving Robert a chance to even reply. Guessing she was too busy to answer any questions, Robert went looking for an outlet to power his laptop.

After a fair bit of searching, he found one along the wall near the back. He hoped the newer sections of campus had more power outlets as he did not want to have to fight for outlet space every class. As he sat down and started connecting to the campus wifi, a girl walked through the class doors. She was cute. Her wavy blonde hair hung just past her shoulders. She wore a tight, pastel purple blouse that displayed her trim figure. Instead of a backpack, a shoulder bag that hung at her hips.

She scanned the room with a smile. Her eyes fell on Robert and she blinked. The after a second blink the smile disappeared. She stared at her feet intensely, as if fearing eye contact with him. Nervousness practically radiated from her body.

Unsure of what that was about, Robert looked down at his computer screen, making no sign that he had been eying her. Maybe she had felt he was ogling her and she was embarrassed by it? Whatever it was, she was uncomfortable and that made him uncomfortable. Averting his eyes was probably a good idea. Still, he kept watching her from the corner of his vision curiously.

She pulled out a little notepad from her pocket and thumbed through it. She muttered to herself as she read and shook her head. She put the notepad back and looked up towards the ceiling and muttered something else, as if asking the heavens a question. Scratching her golden locks, she sighed and affixed her gaze on Robert. She proceeded to march straight towards him, each step filled with grim purpose.

He figured she would just take a seat near the front, far away from him, and pretend the awkward staring had never happened. Instead, she was now standing right in front of him. Unsure of what to do, he kept staring at his screen, clicking the mousepad occassionaly to keep the illusion of distraction up. She, in turn, bit her bottom lip, and made a show of sitting next to him and looking straight ahead at the TA. It was apparent she wanted to say something but didn't seem to know what that was. Conversely, Robert knew she could see he was intentionally avoiding her gaze. It only made the silence between the two, more awkward and Robert knew it. He knew he should greet her in some way but felt the moment had already passed. If he just stayed quiet, maybe the awkward moment would go away.

She cleared her throat and put on an apologetic smile. "Good morning."

No such luck. Now he had to deal with the awkwardness he had helped create. "Morning."

She reached into her bag and held a power chord in front of her as if it were a shield from the nervous tension both felt. "Excuse me, hate to be a bother, but mind if I use that power jack too? My computer doesn't have much of a battery."

Was that what this was all about? Robert had taken the only power jack in the entire room? Why had she looked at that notebook? Even if it was a strange way to go about it, he decided he could do much worse than sitting next to an attractive blonde on the first day of classes. "Sure."

He took her power chord and plugged it. She exhaled as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

"Thank you so much."

"Don't mention it. Didn't plan to hog all the current to myself anyway."

She held out her hand. "My name is Angela Warrant. A pleasure to meet you." She smiled ear to ear, but Robert could see it was a mask. He wasn't sure what it was exactly masking, but it was there. Perhaps she was still nervous from the awkward beginning to their conversation. Maybe she was a freshman like him and was just a little excited about the first day of classes.

He shook her hand, smiling back, but more than a little confused. Why was she insisting on shaking his hand like they were business partners? He was just another student. "Robert Dreese." He handed her the computer-end of her power cord as she pulled out a laptop smaller and even more beat-up than his own.

"So, uh, Robert..." She glanced down at laptop, tapping at her keys. "It's okay if I call you Robert?"

She was worked-up, that much was certain. What was she so skittish about? It felt like she was treating this before-class introduction as if it was one of the most important interactions ever. He didn't have the slightest idea why, but he thought he'd try to cut the tension and gave her a quick grin. "Is it okay for me to call you Angela?"

She bit her bottom lip and pushed some of her hair to the side. Was she actually having to think about this? She gave a barely audible gasped and smiled, like she just understood he was making a joke. "Oh! Hehe, yes, you may call me Angela."

She sat down and scratched her elbow. She stared very intensely at her computer screen. She hadn't even hit her power button. She nervously pulled out her notebook and wrote something down. "So, um, Robert how have you..." She trailed off, her voice filled with worry.

Robert blinked at her. The longer this conversation, if you could call it a conversation, went the more confused Robert was. "Have I--what?"

She shook her head. "Sorry, I was distracted by your, um, cuts on your face." She swallowed hard on her next sentence. "May I inquire as to how you got them?"

Robert sighed. He had known he'd get this question. You don't have a couple of deep gashes along your face without a few question. And he wasn't about to tell her the truth. She was acting strangely enough without having to hear about monster attacks. And he didn't like how she was holding that little notebook. A lie was definitely the best choice here. The truth would only invite more questions. "I fell into some thorny bushes. Cut me up pretty bad."

She nodded, and to his surprise didn't write anything down. She did grin however. "They did indeed cut you up a lot. And fairly deep. How recent was this?"

"Yesterday," Robert said casually as he faced his screen again. He tried to deflect the topic towards the blonde. "So what are you taking this class for? General history credit?"

She smiled, "No. I'm a law major but I'm going for an archeology minor. I'm in love with ancient cultures. So I have to have a lot of history courses."

Robert nodded his head turning back to his screen. He was glad the conversation was away from him. His uncle had always told him the way to a great conversation was finding what someone was passionate about, then letting them go off. "Really? Archeology? Doesn't really fit with a law minor. What makes you so passionate about archeology."

Angela smiled and shrugged, looking a little guilty for some reason. "Well, I guess I just love knowing how ancient cultures lived. Especially mysterious ones."

Robert raised an eyebrow at that. "Mysterious ones? Like, mysteries like how were the pyramids built?"

She shrugged. "Kind of. Like, you heard of the stone circle on top of Standridge Hill? The one built by the Atsah?"

Robert nodded. The Standridge Hill Stone Circle was a famous landmark that was on the outskirts of Kessia City. No one knew how, but somehow a group of people had erected it despite the fact that when it had been erected would have been somewhere around when humans were just starting to use tools. Though most of the outer stones had fallen over, a giant, nearly spherical bolder stood in the center, supported by three other, smaller stones and had somehow lasted the test of time. He had never heard of these "Atsah" before as he had heard that it would have been erected long before there was any record of the ancient tribes ever moving into the area.

"Of course I know about them. Hard not to. They're one of the greatest mysteries on this hemisphere. But I didn't know the Atsah built them. Never heard of them before. They some sort of tribe?"

Angela sat up rigidly, as if making a realization. "Huh? Oh, I mean, it's just an ancient tribe. Yes." She giggled nervously. "That just fascinates me! Why would a group that was, most likely, struggling to just get enough food to survive, erect a giant stone monument?"

Robert shrugged. "Maybe it was of some sort of religious item. Maybe for sacrifices or something."

Angela held up a finger. "Possibly, but if it was for sacrifices, why put a sphere in the middle? Why not something flatter and less tall. The top of the stone is nearly five feet high. Not very convenient for sacrifices."

Robert shrugged again. "True, but it could maybe have some sort of seasonal or astronomical significance?"

Angela nodded. "I have heard the astronomical argument. There is some evidence that the shadow on the center stone could have cast some shadows on certain stones during equinoxes."

Robert bit his thumbnail, a bad habit of when he was thinking. Though he had never pondered the Standridge Stones much before, he was growing curious as he noticed one very large problem with his statement. "Yeah, but they definitely could have made something to predict astronomical events with something easier than a one-ton boulder."

Angela laughed. "I agree."

Robert continued his thought. "The only reason you would erect something that difficult would be for religious reasons or as a sign of power."

Angela grinned and Robert thought he saw a twinkle in her eye that seemed to suggest she knew something he did not. "A sign of power? What do you mean by that?"

"Well," Robert knew what he meant but struggled to put his meaning into words, "like, people go and climb the highest mountain not because it's easy but because they want to show they can conquer anything. I mean, how many people died before someone finally got to Mount Everest? But, no, that's not a good comparison. The point is you don't spend time pushing stones around unless you have the free time to do it. You don't have free time unless you are adequately fed and defended. So if these Atsan or whatever-you-call-thems had that free time, they could have sort of used the stone circle as a sign of, 'hey, look at this! Look at what we can do. While you're scrounging up crops we can get all these super heavy stones up a hill and arrange them in a neat way. Can you do that? I don't think so. We're both strong enough and smart enough to do this. You are not. Don't mess with us.'"

Angela grinned from ear to ear and looked about ready to laugh. Robert frowned at this. "Well I didn't say I could solve all the mysteries of antiquity."

Angela put up her hands defensively. "No! No. I wasn't, I mean, I wasn't trying to be derisive. I just, well it's just how you said that. It was funny to me."

The corner of Robert's lip curled up, his pride somewhat placated. "What about it was funny?" He immediately chastised himself for asking that. He hated it when he sounded like he was fishing for compliments, even if it was exactly what he had just done.

Angela giggled. "I don't know. I guess just the thought of a Neolithic people telling saying, 'Don't mess with us!' is kind of funny." She leaned back in her chair. She nodded to herself, as if she had come to some form of a decision. "But that's not quite what I think it is."

Robert could tell she obviously wanted him to hear her theory. He really hated it when people tried to manipulate you into getting you to do or say what you wanted. Then again he had just unintentionally fished for a compliment so it probably wasn't his place to judge. Plus there was just something in the tone of her voice that made it sound like she might know something that no one else did. "What's your theory then?"

She lit up with excitement. "Well, I think you're onto something that they were trying to impress someone. The center stone is far too big to just be something simply for astronomical purposes. But at the same time, the precision with which the stones were stacked indicate a level of sophistication. So if not a tool, the Standridge Stones must have been to impress their..." She quirked her jaw to the side, pondering her next word.

"Their gods?" Robert offered.

"I, well, I suppose so. Their gods. Yes." She nodded her head and wrote something down in her notebook. "But I don't think it's just trying to impress. I think it was designed in such a way that it was meant to catch their attention. Like, draw them to that spot. Why else build it with such precision?"

Robert raised an eyebrow. "You mean like some sort of godly beacon?"

She nodded with a smile. "Yes. That's a good way of putting it!"

Robert shrugged. "Neat theory and all, but it still doesn't explain the bigger mystery of how they did it." Angela flashed a guilty grin. Robert rolls his eyes. "But of course you have a theory on that too."

She shrugged, seemingly not wanting to give away much. "Well, not really an explanation, but a theory nonetheless. There are only three real explanations on how you could move stones that big and that precisely during that time period. One would be they had access to tools that predated their history. There would be evidence of those tools somewhere if that were the case. Another would be they had access to some technique with known tools at that time to get the stones up the hill. There have been several theories of how they could manage that, but none have proven fruitful."

Robert nodded. "And correct me if I'm wrong, whatever tools they had in this time period, they would have been limited to things like hammers and such. I don't think they had pulleys and other lifting tools at that point in history, yeah?"

"Precisely. So that leads me to the only other theory I can see... magic."

Robert blinked. "What?"

"Magic!" She said more enthusiastically.

"No, I-- I heard you just fine. It's just... um... seriously? That's what you're going to go with? Magic? Not very academic."

She laughed. "No? I guess you're right. Consider it more of a hunch I guess."

Robert sighed. The conversation had been going well despite the rocky start. "A hunch. That it's magic? Not exactly following proper research protocols here, are you?"

She leaned forward, her blue eyes teeming with excitement. "It's just a theory I'm thinking about. But I think there is a connection to the Spirit Guard and the the Stone Circle."

"Of course you do." The Spirit Guard. Why did it always come back to the Spirit Guard? "Why wouldn't you equate random, monster fighting, over-monologuing cheerleaders spewing fire from staffs to ancient wonders of the world?"

His sarcasm didn't seem to penetrate the way it had intended. "I know! I've mapped it out and, do you realize, that each of those monster attacks," she puffed herself up a little, "and subsequent defeats by the Spirit Guard are all within eleven miles of Standridge Hill? And when you plot it out, they actually center around the circle itself. I find that..." She trailed off, and Robert chuckled to himself as he saw his words had finally sunk in. "Over-monologuing?"

Robert's chuckle faded as he realized that detail implied a bit more than what you could read in media reports. "Uh, yeah, I read in some of the stories that the cheerleaders had a flare for the dramatic speech before fighting the monsters."

Angela's eyes narrowed. Robert couldn't decide if that was a sign of anger or suspicion. He decided for the time being it was probably safest to assume both. "I've been following the Spirit Guard very closely. I don't remember reading anything about speeches."

"You don't?" Robert replied, his voice not changing pitch at all. "I swear I read that somewhere."

Angela's eyes remained fixed on Robert. She was deciding whether to follow this thread at all. He had gotten under her skin with that line. Why would she take seemingly so personally. A thought occurred to him, "Have you ever seen them in action yourself?"

She opened her mouth, then froze, as if she hadn't been prepared for that question. "Oh." She tapped her desk. "Uh, yeah, you could say that."

Robert congratulated himself. The reason she would respond so defensively was if she was a fan. The most logical fans of the Spirit Guard would be those they saved. And since he had been in town for only a week and been rescued, it wasn't ridiculous that someone else could have been. Then again, Eli's sister had been here an entire year and never been in an attack. If not Eli, Cory would have definitely brought it up during last night's conversation if she had. "I could say that? Were you at a monster attack or something?"

She scratched her elbow. "Uh, yes. Yes I was. The, uh, the fight against Saturationa." When Robert didn't give a knowing look she leaned in, a little annoyed. "Saturationa? The water monster at the campus swimming pool? It's the only monster attack that ever happened on campus?"

Robert shook his head. "Sorry, I'm not familiar with that one." He thought for a second and decided to try the excuse Cory and Eli had used for him last night. "I'm from out of town so this Spirit Guard thing is a little new to me. I've only read about their more recent exploits."

"Ah." She nodded her head. "I see then." It still bugged Robert that everyone from around here seemed to think that was a valid excuse. This wasn't a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that only locals should know about it. It was super-human cheerleaders fighting actual monsters! "Well, basically I was swimming in the campus pool for exercise..."

"You can do that?"

"Sure. They have open time between six-thirty and eight A.M. Anyone can swim during that time."

Robert recoiled a little. "Sheesh. I thought I was a morning person."

Angela smiled. "Well, I was there and everyone was sort of... I don't know, there was a normal group of us who would come in and everyone was just sort of," she paused and considered her words, "milling about aimlessly."

Robert sat up straight. "Sort of like zombies?"

"Well, I wouldn't put it in such fantastical terms..."

Robert smirked. "Said the girl who equates the Standridge Stones to magical cheerleaders."

She pouted at that, but didn't rise to Robert's goading. "...but yes, they were sort of zombie-like. I called a friend of mine when a bunch of the," she sighed, "zombified people attacked me and tried to force me into the water."

Robert bit at his fingernail. "That's different." Angela narrowed her eyes again. "Different from the stories I've read I mean."

Angela snorted. "Uh huh. Anyway, I fought off being drowned for a while, trying to get to my bag to get my Spir... er... pepper spray. That's when Spirit Guard Fortitude showed up." Her eyes lit up. "She had such speed and power. I was free in a second, but she didn't hurt any of the people trying to attack me, just knocked them out. That's when Saturationa emerged from the water. She created a tidal wave from the pool and dragged all her unconscious puppets into the pool. Fortitude was able to grab me and save me from being dragged in but with everyone else in the pool."

Robert nodded. "Clever move by the monster. Pulling hostages in the water prevents Fortitude from using her lightning attacks. I mean, I guess she could, but she'd risk killing everyone in the pool along with the monster. And the girls in the Spirit Guard seem unlikely to do that."

Angela frowned. "It was not clever. It was dastardly and cowardly."

Robert shrugged. "Of course it was. But it was also clever."

"Don't compliment an evil monster," she protested.

Robert smiled, trying to keep his tone playful, but also communicating that he didn't appreciate being bossed around. "I'll compliment who I want to. I'm an adult now. Legally, at least."

Angela pouted. He had expected, from her previous tone to be upset. Instead she looked worried. Very worried. Like something was incredibly wrong. "I-- how can you say that?"

"That I'm an adult?"

"No. That it was clever. Saturationa was willing to let others die so that it could live. That's evil!"

Robert squinted and shook his head. He rolled his eyes and chastised himself. He was normally better at hiding dismissive tones. "Something can be both clever and evil. If not, no one would ever buy the evil genius motif they use in cinema all the time.."

"True enough, but," Angela's pleaded, "don't you find it at least disgusting that the monster would do that?"

Robert held his hands and shrugged again. "I mean, yeah. It's terrible to take hostages. I just don't see why disgust matters at all. Emotions cloud up your ability to think objectively. In the middle of a fight, emotions don't matter. All that matters is tactics. What will be efficient in rescuing the hostages and what will be effective in taking down the water woman."

Angela responded with more force than Robert expected. "Emotions certainly do matter! Emotions are what drive people and give them power. Cowardly acts like that rob you of dignity and power."

"I disagree. At least on the power part. By that monster's cowardly act, it gained a ton of power. Suddenly Saturationa had robbed Spirit Guard--what's her name again?"

Angela frowned. "Fortitude."

"Right, the monster had robbed Spirit Guard Fortitude of a valuable offensive weapon and now put her under time pressure because even if she doesn't use the lightning, the people in the water now are beginning to drown. If her goal is to save them, she is going to have to put herself in a compromising position."

Angela's shoulders sagged. Her face was a mask of confusion and disappointment. What was up with this girl? It was obvious she had high moral standards but it was absurd to expect everyone to get their panties in a twist over the battle strategies employed by a water monster. There was reason it was called a monster. Why was it so important to her that Robert be shocked and appalled? He tried to ease the tension. "So how did it end? I'm assuming since you're sitting before me, Fortitude saved the day?"

Angela blinked. She sighed, "Fortitude alone didn't solve it. Spirit Guard Valor showed up." Her face brightened a little. "Using her Plateau of Nobility attack, Valor summoned a giant rock from beneath the pool, lifting the hostages out of the water. At that moment Fortitude struck Saturationa with her Intrepid Blade and killed it, thus saving the day."

Robert nodded. "Ah, teamwork then. Divide the problems up and work in tandem. I'm assuming this 'Plateau of Nobility' was made of some kind of stone?"

Angela nodded. "Yes, Valor uses the element of earth in battle."

"Another good move. Even wet it was probably a good resistor so any stray electricity from the lightning attack wouldn't end up traveling up to the hostages."

Angela tapped her chin. "I had never considered that."

This girl obviously had a bad case of heroine worship. Robert figured it wouldn't hurt to throw in some kind words to smooth over the conversation. "Yeah, well, I'm sure the Spirit Guard did. They are heroes after all."

Angela bit her lip nervously. "Yeah, I--I'm sure they did too."

"Still," Robert continued, "I don't see how any of this ties to the Standridge Stones and you thinking they are made by magic or some such."

Angela glanced up, seemingly having forgotten all about her theory. "Oh. Right. Well, as I was saying, at the center of all the attacks are the Standridge Stones, geographically speaking. We obviously don't know the exact motivations of whoever the monsters' master are, but you would think if it was some sort of invasion or attack, you'd center the attacks on what was most important."

Robert nodded. "Sound logic as far as the monster attacks go. But have the monsters made any moves on the Standridge Stones themselves?"

Angela pouted. "No, but their location is at the center of all the attacks. I've plotted it out. I think location and proximity have something to do with the Stones and the monsters are trying to weaken its magic."

Robert lifted an eyebrow. "So you believe the Stones themselves are magical?"

Angela shrugged. "Magical, maybe channeling the magic, it doesn't matter really. The point is the Spirit Guard use magic and so do the mosnters so there is clearly something magical going on. If so, then it would stand to reason the Stones have some magical property that make them important. If they were magically important, they were probably moved with magic as well."

Robert shook his head. Class was ready to start and this girl had already given him a headache. "Still a lot of stretches for that to be true. And that's assuming all these monsters and cheerleaders are using is mystic stuff when I think it's more logically explained as exotic technology or techniques that we don't yet understand."

Angela smiled. "Arthur C. Clark."

"What?"

"Any system of technology suffiently advanced enough is indistinguishable from magic. That's what you're referring to, right? Arthur C. Clark's quote?"

"Huh? Oh, um, not really but I guess so. I feel calling something magic is lazy. Even if magic were a thing, we'd call it science because it'd work on simple principles that, even if we couldn't explain them, would be existing in our universe. Working with forces that we don't fully understand but can harness isn't called sorcery but, rather, engineering. And I think the Spirit Guard and their monster enemies must have some pretty impressive engineers working with them."

Angela smirked as the teacher walked into the now full classroom. "That they do." Robert raised his eyebrow one more time. "I'm willing to bet you're dead on the bullseye with that one, Robert. Who knows, maybe we'll all know more about them soon enough."

Robert sighed. Though he thought he might have imagined it, he could have sworn his forehead itched. "I hope so. A lot of things need to get cleared up."

---

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Eli trudged up the hill, grimly examining his paycheck. It wasn't big enough. It was bigger than he expected thanks to the hazard pay he got for handling the monster attack "well" but not big enough. With the arcade closed the next month for repairs, he needed to make this paycheck stretch out for about six weeks until the next paycheck came in.

He sighed and scratched his head. How was he going to make this work? At least he had room and board paid up to start the semester so food and shelter were already taken care of. This would just severely limit him as far as any snack food or entertainment was concerned. He supposed he could live on cafeteria food for the next six weeks but that thought did not appeal to him. Not that he had much of a choice.

One thing Eli was sure of though was he wouldn't be buying a new graphing calculator for his calculus class. He couldn't afford paying eighty or so dollars for a new one if he wanted any semblance of a social life for the next few weeks. As he tried to come up with a solution, he remembered that his sister, Mallory, probably still had his old one she "borrowed" from him when she left for college a year ago. She had justified it because he hadn't taken a math course his senior year and she needed one for her math class. Eli didn't think she had a math course this semester and her apartment happened to be between the arcade and the bank. Maybe he should pay her a visit.

A few short minutes later, Eli was walking down the hallway of a small apartment complex. The hallway was short and narrow, making Eli feel slightly claustrophobic. He wondered how Mallory, who was nearly six feet tall, could stand living here. "Eleven, nine, seven, here we are. Number five." He almost knocked on the door, but stopped when he heard voices on the other side.

"...just don't know. It's like he didn't seem bothered by it at all. He was almost completely dispassionate."

A bright voice giggled. "But isn't that part of being serene? I mean, that's kind of built into her--his--whatever's name."

"I think her--his--her name implies tranquility or peaceful. In the conversation he didn't come across that way at all. He just came across as... cold. I just don't get how that can be serenity."

"I think you're reading too much into it, Ang." Eli recognized his sister's voice. "Right now it's all academic for him. A curiosity. He has no stake in this yet. Things will change once he's more involved and gets to be around us." What the hell were they talking about?

Another girl's voice piped up, "Besides, Kunapipi already confirmed what we thought we knew. All that matters going forward is whether or not he is trustworthy enough to bring in."

What on earth were they talking about? A fifth female voice, this one with a slightly foreign accent, added, "And my research already confirms that you all can indeed trust him. He is one who keeps many secrets, keeps them well, and appreciates others who do the same. On that front there should be no concern."

Eli heard another door in the hallway open. Jerking back, he pulled his ear from the door, not realizing he had started leaning against it. He must have looked like quite the creep. He rapped on the door three times, trying to look like he had reason to be there. The door opened and a cute blonde narrowed her eyes at Eli. Did she know he had been eavesdropping?

"Hello?"

Eli cleared his throat. He stood tall and tried to look as innocent as possible. "Hello. My name's Eli Drake. I'm here to see my sister, Mallory."

"Oh." The blonde glanced back into the apartment. "Mallory, it's your brother." As the door hung open, the scent of delicious baked goods tickled his nose. Something delicious was happening in his sister's apartment, but Mallory was no cook so one of the other voices he heard must have been doing the baking.

A hand reached over the blonde and opened the door wider. Mallory looked down and smiled. "Elijah, what brings you to my humble abode."

Humble was an understatement. The hallway went straight into a living room so small that if Eli sat on the couch his feet would almost hit the TV. There was a steep staircase along the right side that led to the bedrooms upstairs. The kitchen was further in and Eli wasn't completely sure you could open the oven and fridge at the same time. The apartment somehow felt even more cramped than the hallway. "Hey Mallory. Sorry for popping in unannounced but I need to know if you still have my graphing calculator. I need it for my calc class."

"Oh. That." Mallory grinned guiltily. "Forgot I borrowed that."

Eli sighed. "Yeah, borrowed."

"I'm sure it's somewhere in my room. I'll go find it. In the meantime, Elijah, this is my roommate, Angela." Mallory gestured to the blonde girl who answered the door.

She smiled apologetically. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Elijah."

He nodded. "Likewise."

Eli recognized the short, raven haired girl sitting on the couch. "You already met Viv last night."

She waved and grinned from ear to ear. "So, we meet again! Where's Cory?"

Eli blinked. That was her first question? "Uh, Cory? I don't know. Probably at classes or something."

She lay back down on the couch, her hair splayed over the side and onto the floor. "Boring." Eli was impressed; Cory had left an impression on this girl and it appeared to be rather favorable. That was rather different.

Mallory chuckled and pointed to the table. "That's my other friend Noriko."

Eli turned and was quite surprised to see a short Asian girl with her hair tied up in a bun at the table. He could have sworn it was empty a second ago. "Greetings, Elijah."

He cleared his throat, trying not to act surprised. "H--hi."

Gesturing over to the kitchen, Mallory finished. "And last but not least, the girl baking is Kara."

Eli looked at the oven and practically nearly let his jaw hit the floor. She was on the shorter side with straight blue hair that came just past her chin. She wore a short skirt that exposed her legs. Legs he had stared at a lot as the stomped on the Hop Dance Mania pads back at Loose Change. "HDM Girl?"

She turned around, a quizzical expression on her face as she pulled cookies out of the oven. "I beg your pardon?"

"I mean, hello!" Eli winced. He couldn't believe his luck. He thought with the arcade closed he wouldn't see her for a long time, but she was somehow friends with his sister! The universe was not usually this kind to him. He couldn't blow this.

She squinted at him. "Wait, do I know you?"

He swallowed a lump in his throat the size of a baseball. "Uh, kind of. I think, maybe that is. Do do do you come to, uh, Loose Change at all? Play Hop Dance Mania maybe?"

She paused for a second, as if thinking how to react. Then her eyes went wide as she put the tray of cookies on top of the oven. "Oh my gummi! Yes! That's why I recognize you! You work at Loose Change, don't you?"

Oh my gummi? No! Eli wasn't going to let that derail his train of thought. He might not get this chance again. Eli pushed his shoulders back. "Yes, yes I do." This was great. He had the perfect angle he could work to keep the conversation going. "Or did." He held up his check. "My last paycheck for the next while."

Mallory smiled and rolled her eyes. "I'll go up to my room to check for that calculator, Elijah. Be right back." She strode up the stairs. He noted the blonde girl following. Wonder what that was about.

Kara took off her oven mitts and approached him. She was even prettier up close. God she had amazing legs, though he was doing his best to make sure he kept his eyes connected to hers. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I heard about the attack from Mallory. I actually was there right before the attack."

Eli nodded. "I thought I had seen you that day." He left out the part where he had rather openly complained to Cory and Robert that he didn't get to ogle her that day when she had been creeped out by the zombified kids.

Kara blushed. "I didn't realize when Mal said you were there that you were an employee. I thought she meant you had been there playing games or something. Had I known you were Mal's brother I would have been a lot more conversational."

She laughed and Eli laughed with her, trying to mask his nervousness. "Yeah, so, how do you know Mallory?"

"Oh," she idly chatted while scraping cookies off the sheet with her spatula, "Viv and I knew one another in high school. We both were on the Yearbook Staff and hung out from time to time. So when we went to college, we decided to room together. Noriko is our other roommate and, long story short, all five of us started hanging out."

"Oh, wow." Eli scratched his head. "What a small world."

"I know, right?"

"Yeah, so, you're baking?" Eli was desperate to keep the conversation going. "You bake in other people's apartments often?"

Vivian popped up off the couch, sending a wave down her knee-length hair. "Oh yeah! Kara's always got something in the oven or on the stove. Girl loves to cook and she's great at it!"

Kara chuckled. "I'm baking, not cooking, Viv."

"Oh, whatever. It's all foodstuffs and you cook as well as bake."

Kara shrugged, obviously trying to be modest. "I do like to cook and bake. My dad was quite the chef himself and always let me, even when I was a little girl, help and he'd ask for my opinion on things as he cooked them. Guess it just carried over. I just love seeing what kinds of flavor I can bring out."

"Ah, heh, I'm more of a boxed-pasta-with-canned-chicken kind of guy. I can't cook to save my life."

Kara frowned. "Well you'll need to improve that. You're missing out on a lot more delicious and healthy options than that."

Vivian chuckled. "She said as she just finished baking cookies."

Kara waved her spatula with mock-menace. "Oh hush you."

Noriko glanced down at her phone. "Vivian, it is nearly time for our Biology class."

Vivian groaned. "But I don't want to go to Biology. It's boooooooring."

Kara chuckled and tossed a cookie to Vivian. "Life can't be an adventure twenty-four seven, Viv."

Vivian caught the cookie and comically engulfed the whole thing in her mouth. "Idf fould be!" Vivian slung her bookbag over her shoulder.

"Would you like one as well, Noriko?"

"Yes, please." Kara tossed another cookie at Noriko. Only issue was Noriko wasn't looking. Eli was about to shout a warning when she snatched the cookie from the air. Eli blinked. Did his eyes deceive him? She had been looking away, right?

She took a bite and nodded. "Excellent, Kara. What is this flavor of cookie? I recognize chocolate but that is not the only flavor I detect. And I like the mixing in of butterscotch chips."

Kara nodded, obviously impressed. "Dark chocolate actually. And I'm pleased to see you tasted the espresso powder I mixed into the dough."

"Most excellent," Noriko said without any hint of actually being impressed. "Thank you for another delicious confection." If she liked it so much, why didn't she smile at all? Eli tried to read her but she was as stone-faced as the Sphinx itself.

Vivian swallowed. "Uh, yeah, I totally picked up on all those complex flavors as well, too. Also. As well." She not-so-stealthfully took another cookie before heading out the door. "See you later, Kara!"

Noriko was right behind her. Before stepping out, she gave Eli a slight bow. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Drake. I hope we meet again in the future."

Eli raised an eyebrow as she left. "Pleasure was all mine."

As the door shut, Mallory and Angela returned down the stairs. "They just leave?"

Kara nodded, scooping her cookies onto a plate. "Yes, they had Biology class."

Mallory casually snatched a cookie off the plate and took a bite. "Mmm! These are great!"

Kara giggled. "Help yourself, Mal."

Mallory smirked. "Oh, you were going to offer them to me anyway. You can't help but let everyone taste how savory your creations are."

Eli cleared his throat and leaned in, trying to look as polite as possible. "They smell great. May I try one, as well or is it a female only thing?"

Kara handed him a cookie. "Of course."

He took a bite and for a moment he forgot where he was and let out a small moan. "Wow. I mean, wow. Now I really regret that we never talked before. These are amazing!" He turned to his sister. "You've been hiding her from me so you can hog all the treats for yourself."

Mallory huffed and punched him in the shoulder lightly. "Yup, you got me. I'm secretly trying to plump myself up and make you thin and stringy."

Angela smiled as she took a cookie of her own. "Is this a bad time to mention we're out of milk, Mal?"

Mallory's eyes went wide. "Really? Donut, we're running low on a lot of stuff actually. Maybe we should go grocery shopping."

Eli squinted. "Donut?"

Mallory waved him off. "Did I say, 'donut?' Wow, that's weird. I meant to say, 'dang it.' Wonder what caused that."

"Uh, yeah."

Angela held in a giggle. "Well, I guess with everyone else gone maybe we should shop now before they get back from class since we have, uh, stuff to do afterward as a group."

"Good point." Mallory licked her fingers and then grabbed her keys. Eli made a mental note not to ask to borrow her car. "Sorry to leave in a rush and kick you two out."

Kara covered her plate in cellophane and shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I'll see you two tonight anyway."

Eli could feel the moment ending. He needed an excuse to hang out with HDM Girl a little longer. Maybe he could find a way to get her number if he just had a little more time. Though he hated doing it, he was going to pull a page from Cory's book. "Yeah, I'll see you later too Mallory. Nice to meet you Angela." Grabbing a plate of cookies, he practically plead, "Would you like some help taking this back to your dorm?"

Kara blushed a little. "Oh, sure. I'd love that. Thank you for offering." She smiled and Eli had a hard time not pumping his fist in celebration.

Mallory rolled her eyes. "Gee, Elijah. You're such the gentleman. Cory teach you how to be so chivalrous?"

Eli coughed. "Shutupmallory."

Kara chuckled to herself as she gathered her bags and cleaned up the cookie sheet. "Well I for one appreciate the help, Elijah."

He grinned, opening the door for his summertime crush. "Please, just call me, Eli. Only my family calls me Elijah."

As Kara walked passed, Eli couldn't help but flash a dopey grin to his sister. Mallory smiled back, shaking her head.

Even if it had included a monster attack, losing his income for over a month, and cryptic messages from magical cheerleaders, as Eli walked beside the cute blue-haired girl next to him, he couldn't help but feel the semester was starting off just fine.

* - * - *

Robert stretched, staring at the page before him. Review of Vector Math. First day of college and he already had homework. He had figured his physics class would be the most intensive of his classes for the semester, but didn't realize it would get going so quickly. He also hadn't thought it would begin with a math lesson but he assumed it would be used later. Still, it was mildly depressing to have a homework assignment on the first day of college. He decided whoever made all those movies showing college as a lazy, party-all-day-and-night with no consequences atmosphere must not have been in a technical major.

Overall though, he had enjoyed his first day of classes. Though a couple of people had given him odd looks with the cuts on his face, no one intruded. He could just blend in and take his classes. Outside of that Angela girl's weird Standridge Circle theory talk and someone with fliers promoting the next volleyball game no one had even bothered to say one thing to him. Back at Deepwater High, had he shown up with cuts on his face, there would have been questions, poking, prodding, and rumors would fly. Here, he didn't get much more than a passing glance and that suited him just fine.

Sitting down at his desk, Robert thought about just skipping the homework for now and playing some Aspect Realms. The homework wasn't due for another two days and after the Polygal incident, he probably deserved to get some relaxation. He even missed out on the guild-wide PvP last night. As the best Windwhisper in the guild, they'd miss him two nights in a row.

He was about to turn his computer on when he heard his Uncle Taylor's drawl in his own head saying, "Procrastinating is like eating a diet of only cookies, it's sweet right now but is a lot less fun when it's time to visit the dentist." With a sigh, Robert left the computer off and grabbed his pencil and notebook. As he was pulling his physics textbook from his backpack, his phone rang a familiar, country tune.

He smiled and picked up the phone. "Think of the devil and he shall appear."

Uncle Taylor chuckled on the other side of the line. "Thinkin' about me? I'm touched. Only good thoughts I hope, Robert."

Robert leaned back in his chair. "Nah, you were just lecturing me to get my homework done with one of your famous witticisms. The one comparing procrastination to a cookie diet."

"Aw, homework on the first day? That's a shame. But that witticism is a good one. Very wise." Robert could practically hear his uncle grinning.

"I don't know," Robert teased, "I always thought that analogy would work better with alcohol and a hangover. No one goes on a cookie only diet."

"I'm a dental hygienist. I like the cookie comparison better. So how was the first day of classes, college boy?"

Robert smiled. "Great."

"Even with the day one homework?"

"Eh, I could've gone without that but I guess they just have a lot of material to cover in physics."

"It is a somewhat large, all-encompassing topic."

Robert plopped his feet onto his desk. "You don't say?"

"Well, given you want to be an engineer, I'd tentatively recommend you keep up in that class. It might be important."

"Heh. I'll try to keep that in mind. So what are you calling for?"

"Just checkin' up on my favorite nephew. Gets a little lonely without you here."

Robert felt a pang of guilt. His uncle had wanted Robert to go to a closer college. Robert had wanted to get as far away from Deepwater as possible. When Robert had made his decision, he knew it'd hurt Uncle Taylor some. Gulping, Robert tried to lighten the mood. "Favorite nephew? I'm your only nephew."

"Then it's a good thing that you're my favorite. It'd be mighty embarrassin' for you otherwise."

Robert sighed to himself, happy to change the subject. "You have a point there."

"So, other than homework on day one, anything else interesting happen the past few days."

Robert bit on his bottom lip. He hadn't told his uncle anything about the monster attack. How would he react? What were the odds he had heard anything about the Spirit Guard and monster attacks if he hadn't? More than likely it would just confuse him and make him scared. He didn't want to stress him out any further.

But he also didn't want to lie to his uncle. So he instead focused on the only other interesting things he could think of. "Had a very weird conversation in my world history class with this blonde girl."

"Oh? Weird how?"

"Well, she was just, I don't know, a little off. Like I think she was all there but she had these strange theories on the Standridge Circle being magical and stuff. Like the lack of solid theories of how it was done was evidence of why it had to be magic."

"Wow." Robert could hear his uncle moving some pots and pans. "That's... neat. How did you get into this conversation?"

Robert shrugged. "You know, I came early for class, got the electrical socket for my laptop..."

"I trust you were using it to take notes, not to surf during class."

"Oh c'mon, uncle. I'm a responsible student. You really think I'd just surf the web during class?" Robert was very careful to craft his response. He had logged into his guild's forum to see how PvP went the night before.

"Just checkin'."

"Anyway, so she sat next to me and, really, I don't remember how on earth we got onto the topic. It was just weird."

"Well, you're going to see plenty of weird things at college. I imagine this will be pretty low on the ladder by the time you get done." Robert almost laughed at how correct he already was. "How you getting along with your roommates? What were their names again?"

"Cory and Eli."

"Yeah, them, how things goin' with them?"

"Great!" Robert leaned farther back in his chair, nearly toppling over before righting himself. "They are awesome! Fun guys, play games, into a lot of the same movies and jokes as I am. I really lucked out. Oh, and this Dale guy who was supposed to be my roommate still hasn't shown up. Our RA said every year there are one or two guys who end up getting their own room when someone's plans change at the last minute. I'm holding out hope I luck out."

Uncle Taylor chuckled. "Ever the recluse."

Robert was about to defend himself when his phone beeped. "Just one sec, I'm getting another call."

"That's fine."

Caller I.D. didn't reveal who the number belonged to, but the number was identified as something on Schuyler University campus. "Uncle, someone from the University is calling. I probably should take it."

"That's fine. I'll talk to you later, Robert. Love you."

"Love you too, Uncle." Uncle Taylor hung up and Robert sighed with a smile. He let the other call ring a little longer before picking it up. "Hello, this is Robert Dreese."

The voice of a cheerful woman answered. "Hello Mr. Dreese. My name is Ms. Kuna from the Campus Counseling department."

Robert raised an eyebrow. "Campus Counseling?"

"Yes, it's my understanding that you and your roommates were attacked by a monster at the Loose Change arcade yesterday." The legs of his chair slammed down. It must have been rather loud the woman on the line sounded rather concerned. "Um, is everything all right?"

Robert immediately bit his thumbnail. "How did you hear about this? That fact was not supposed to be published."

The woman sounded rather shocked. "Um, well the report said that new students at Adamson Schuyler University were at the attack. The owner of the arcade is actually one of our donors and after I asked him, he let me know the name of his employee who was working during the attack and it really wasn't that hard to figure out you were there as well after that."

Robert cursed himself. Of course Eli's employer would have asked who it was Eli was with during the attack. Why wouldn't he? He'd be concerned about his story and, assuming he was even a decent boss, his employees. Of course he would spill some info. Come to think of it, Eli and Cory had said they could trust Mallory not to spill, but what about that Vivian girl? They knew nothing about her. She seemed like a regular chatterbox. Maybe his anonymity wasn't as secure as he originally thought.

"Robert? You still there?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry." Robert rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Was just thinking. Have you talked to anyone else about the attack?"

The woman sounded confused. "Other people?" It was obvious this wasn't the direction she had anticipated the conversation going. "Um, no, not really. Though I was going to try to talk to your roommates, Cory and Elijah as well."

"Good." Robert nodded. "I don't want it to get out that I was at the monster attack at the arcade."

"Oh, okay. May I ask why?"

"May I ask why you're interested? As far as I can tell this wasn't really school business."

Silence. "I--" the woman was obviously flustered now, "well--you see--whenever a student goes through a potentially traumatic experience and we know about it in the Campus Counseling department, we try to reach out to them and offer our services. You know, a person to talk to, in case they need it."

It hit Robert how accusatory his tone must sound. He scolded himself. "Oh, I'm sorry, miss... what was your name again?"

"Ms. Kuna."

"Ms. Kuna. Yes, as I was saying, I'm sorry. No, I won't be needing any counseling or anything. I apologize how I came off at the start. I'm just more concerned about the idea that I was at the attack getting out."

"Why is that?" Normally Robert would consider such questioning nosy but her tone sounded genuine.

"I'm just a private person. I don't really want a lot of attention."

"Oh." Another momentary pause over the phone. "I see. Well I suppose there is no harm in that. But still, how are you doing after that attack? It'd be more than normal for you to be feeling some anxiety knowing anything might be a monster."

"I'm doing just fine." Robert pushed aside his homework and turned his computer on. He had a feeling this conversation was going to go on a while and if he was going to properly tune Ms. Kuna out, he needed some Aspect Realms. Certainly wasn't making him itch to do any homework.

"Really? No, concerns or worries about the monster attack? As I understand it, you were attacked by an arcade game."

How did this woman know about specific details? "What sense is there in worrying, ma'am? I was there, it happened, and it's done. The odds of me ever seeing another one of those monsters is rather low. It'd be more sensible for me to be worried about being hit by a driver while going over a crosswalk than another monster attack."

He could practically hear this woman smirking. "I see you took the statistical approach. Guess that makes sense. Your transcript says you're a mechanical engineering major, is that correct?"

Robert logged into Aspect Realms. Selecting his sneaky, Deviling Windwhisper he had named Bluster, he prepared himself for some boring conversation with this Ms. Kuna. "Uh huh."

"But, you seriously aren't affected at all? Nothing occurred during the attack that concerned you?"

Robert's eyes glanced down at Eli's picture of the symbol on his forehead. What did it mean? "Why would I be affected? No offense, Ms. Kuna, but do you expect I just, what, locked myself in my room after the attack and am just shivering with fear?"

"Respectfully, Robert, it's not as unlikely as you want to make it sound. Everyone responds to stress differently than others. Some people get shaken up by experiences like the one you had."

Robert inwardly groaned. "Well, you don't have to worry about me or my roommates responding like that. We all went to classes today and are pretty unaffected."

"I'll have to call them to make that determination for myself, but I appreciate the information on them. I have to say, according to the owner, you personally grabbed the attention of the monster to allow all the other patrons to escape. That was very brave of you."

Robert winced. "It wasn't bravery. I was just doing what I felt had to be done. Please don't make me out into a hero."

Ms. Kuna chuckled. "I promise not to make you into a hero. That, unfortunately, is not what is happening."

"Unfortunately?"

"What I mean to say is, it's not my job to promote you as some sort of local celebrity. I'm here to be a person you can talk to if you need it. Nothing more."

"Yes, well, I don't ever anticipate needing that but thanks for the offer."

"Try to have an open mind. You may find yourself needing someone to talk to in the near future. You never know what life might bring."

Robert remembered Spirit Guard Valor's promise: "My word is as sure as stone. You will hear back from us."

"No, you really don't, but if I need to talk to someone, I have friends to talk to. I'm not some lonely, uh, loner who has no friends. That could've sounded more intelligent."

Ms. Kuna laughed. "It's no matter then. I'm glad to hear you have friends to talk to. A lot of students who come in from out of town don't have the same support group they had back at home. It is one of the more common problems we find here at the University. It leads to a lot of cases of depression."

Robert scoffed. "Yeah, you don't have to worry about that with me."

Ms. Kuna's voice grew very interested. "Oh? Not many friends back home? Family problems?"

Robert hated being psychoanalyzed. "Let's just leave it at I'm glad to be here at college."

Ms. Kuna's voice dripped with disappointment. "Well that's very good to hear."

Robert wondered what this woman was like. The fact she took a counseling job meant she probably looked for opportunities to actually counsel people. That also meant someone like Robert was going to be annoying for her as he really didn't feel any need for her help.

"Listen. Schuyler University seems a great place for me to grow and make lifetime connections. Even with the monster attack, my opinion on this has not changed. You really don't need to worry about me."

"All the same," she interjected, "would you be willing maybe to come by my office and chat a little bit? If not for the monster attack then just to discuss your college plan?"

Dear god this woman was tenacious. Robert sighed. A couple members of his guild, the Mayhem Templar, started greeting him, trying to get him to join them on some PvP matches. He wanted to end this call. "What office are you in?"

Her voice brightened right up. "Twenty-one thirty-seven in the Billot Building. I'm here all day tomorrow. When do you want to stop by?"

"I may or may not stop by. If I do, it's in the morning. But don't plan on me coming. I'm kind of busy these days."

"I look forward to seeing you, Robert!"

"Yeah. Thanks. Good bye." He hung up rubbed his eyes. "Well, I deserve a PvP break now." He grabbed his headphones and pulled down his microphone. Signing into the guildtalk channel, he smiled and announced his presence. "Bluster reporting in."

"Hey Bluster! Missed you last night!"

"Yeah, where were ya buddy?"

"What's going on?"

Robert chuckled. "Sorry about last night, everybody. Heard we got roflstomped."

"Ugh, yeah, last night wasn't good."

"Yeah, without you the enemy's healers weren't going down. Glad to have you tonight. We need some pro-stalking."

Robert smiled wide and cracked his knuckles. "Well, pro-stalking is in session. What do you say we kill ourselves some 'Cords?" Cheers and hoots sounded over guildchat. Robert thought about his homework and shrugged. He could do that tomorrow.

---

Like this story? I always have the latest chapter up on my website at taralynn.sincomics.com. Go there for my other stories, fanart, commentary, and news! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Robert laughed as he admired the picture of the blue-haired girl on Eli's phone. "You have to be kidding me? She's friends with your sister?"

Eli nodded with a wide grin. "Yeah, her and that Vivian chick are both friends with Kara."

Cory shook his head and snatched the phone from Robert's hand. "This doesn't bode well for us."

"This doesn't bode well for us? You have to be kidding me! I just found the girl I've been crushing on all summer."

"I know."

"And you just got done telling me that you and Vivian hung out a bit after your theater class and just talked!"

"I know."

"So we both have an in with two cute girls on the first day of college! How does this not bode well for us?"

Robert chuckled and went back to his PvP match. A lone Gargoyle Shadewarden, cornily named NightKnight, approached the control point; the Gargoyle seemed unaware that Rob's Deviling Windwhisper was cloaked right by the point he needed to capture. With a smirk, Robert de-cloaked Bluster and planted her daggers into the Shadewarden's back, scoring several critical hits. NightKnight spun around to fight back, but before he could even swing his massive hammer, the Gargoyle was down to zero hit points.

Before Robert could even re-cloak Bluster, NightKnight was spewing his frustrations into the game's chat. "You camping WHORE! Try actually fighting!"

Robert could only roll his eyes and smile. Though he wasn't one of those die-hard players who were big in the Accord vs. Pact rivalry, he did enjoy making Accords rage nonsensically. He was playing a stealth class. He'd be an idiot to fight a tank head on. More importantly, it was a control point map. What was Robert supposed to do? Not protect the objective and hope the Accords left their control point alone? He just didn't understand people who lost their cool and spouted such stupidity in a game.

"It doesn't bode well because of karma, man!" Cory wagged his finger at Eli. "Think about it. We've never had luck like this before. It means something terrible is probably around the corner!"

"Unless," Robert cut in, "this is karmic repayment for having to go through the monster attack yesterday."

Eli grinned. "Now, you see, I like Rob's interpretation better."

Cory tapped his chin. "I admit it is an angle I hadn't considered. A much more attractive angle."

"And," Eli noted, "it also makes sense since we both are making progress with women we had contact with yesterday; I saw Kara at the arcade, you met Vivian last night."

Cory shook his head. "But wait, by this logic Robert should be making progress with some girl he met that day too."

"Don't drag me into you two's little social, karmic fantasy." Robert leaned forward. Off in the distance he saw NightKnight had re-spawned and was coming back for Robert's control point. This time he was coming with backup though: a Seraphim Cloudmender.

Eli nodded. "You're right, Cory. Means we need to set Rob here up with some girl he saw that day."

Robert bit his bottom lip. He hated it when his enemies learned from their mistakes. Trying to take down a tank and a healer simultaneously was not going to be a piece of cake. Robert tiptoed Bluster past the Shadewarden to get behind the healer. His plan was simple: go nova on the squishy Cloudmender and then try to take NightKnight one-on-one. Any plan that required him to face a tank in single combat wasn't an ideal one, but with no other teammates at the control point, it was the best one he had. Robert readied his ambush.

Cory flashed his most wicked grin. "What, you mean like your sister?"

Robert exploded with laughter. This resulted in a costly misclick, causing him to walk through the Cloudmender and reveal Bluster's position. He tried to recover, but he was laughing too hard to maneuver well. Without the element of surprise, NightKnight was already slamming his hammer into Bluster's back before Robert could kill the healer. He tried to use Galestep to sprint away, ceeding the control point to them, but NightKnight was ready for that. He cast Gripping Shadow to roote Bluster in place. It wasn't long after that before Bluster was down to zero hit points.

"No, not my sister, you twit!"

"Well I was with Rob the entire day, pretty much. He was just playing his dumb game and chatting with me so the only females that came over here were Vivian and Mallory. Seeing as I have dibs on Viv, that means Rob is pretty much destined to hook up with your sister. Fate has spoken! Who are we to argue?"

Eli huffed. Robert's laughter did not seem to improve his mood. "You forget some pretty obvious candidates that aren't my sister, Cory. The Spirit Guard were there at the attack. They qualify in this scenario."

Robert regained his composure as he re-spawned. "Excuse me?"

"Ooo! Good point, Eli! So which one should he pursue?"

"I say Spirit Guard Charity."

"Of course you do! She's a bluenette. You're obsessed with bluenettes."

Robert quirked his eyebrow up. "Bluenette? What's a bluenette?"

Cory responded by raising his own eyebrows up. "What's a bluenette? A girl with blue hair? You seriously have never heard that term?"

Robert still couldn't figure out how people could have blue hair in this region. Luckily, Eli was too defensive over that accusation to let Cory continue his inquiry. "It has nothing to do with that, though she is absolutely gorgeous. No, she's the one who protected us. That was very kind of her, and I think Rob deserves a kind girl. Don't you?"

"Yeah, yeah, it was nice of her to protect us and all, but that girl had this major motherly vibe thing going on. And, besides, Rob's more about offense. I think Spirit Guard Felicity is much more his type. She's lively, funny, and excitable. I mean, look at Rob, he just plays on his computer all day. He needs a girl that will drag him around and get his blood flowing."

Robert glanced at the score, the Pact was going to defeat the Accord with or without his help at this point. They were too far ahead not to. Rather than try to scrounge up a few more kills in the waning seconds on the match, he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Don't I get a say in this?"

Cory made a shooing motion with his hands. "Not now, Rob. Eli and I are busy trying to marry you off."

Robert chuckled. "That's kind of what I'm afraid of." A short sequence of 8-bit sounds filled the air as Robert's phone let him know he had received a text.

"Rob's never going to go for someone that hyperactive. Felicity is a terrible match for him."

"Fine, fine. I recommend Tenacity then. She was every bit as offensive-minded but still wanted to make sure someone was protecting us. Plus," Cory added with a wistful look, "I could stare at her legs all day."

Eli shivered. "I'll admit she was attractive, though just not as hot as the others."

"Dude, she was just as hot as the other three. I don't know why you're so adamant she's not."

Eli shrugged. "I just don't see it. But she is the most athletic looking one there. Rob could use a little more activity."

Rob smirked as he turned his phone's screen on. "First of all, it's Cory who could use a little more activity. Not me. Secondly, you guys do know I was on my high school's football team, right?"

Cory and Eli both performed a double-take. "What?"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. I was the backup running back before I quit sen..."

"Wouldn't that be a running backup?" Eli punched Cory in the shoulder. "Ow!"

"Terrible pun. You deserved it."

Robert nodded as he opened his new text. "He's absolutely right, Cory."

"You both just don't appreciate great humor."

Robert checked his caller ID. He squinted as he recognized the number the text came from. It was his phone number. "This is weird."

"What?"

"My phone is telling me I just texted myself."

"Weird."

"Yeah." Robert opened the text to see what the glitch was:

Robert, we figured out what the glowing meant. Be at the Standridge Circle at 8pm tomorrow. Don't worry about park security. Just walk in. Please come alone -SGV

Robert pushed in his desk's keyboard tray and leaned forward. "It's the Spirit Guard."

"What?"

He handed his phone over to Eli. "The text. It's the Spirit Guard getting back to me."

Cory chuckled. "Wow, speak of the she-devils. Looks like we can resolve your female companion issue quicker than thought. What do they want?"

Eli handed the phone to Cory. "They want him to meet them at the Standridge Circle."

Cory started laughing. "Seriously? Robert, didn't you tell me that weird girl in your History class was going on about the Spirit Guard and the Circle?"

Robert groaned. "Angela. Yeah. I'm sure if she heard about this she would be further convinced it means something."

"Couldn't it actually mean something? Maybe there is a connection."

Robert rolled his eyes. "What it means is that the Spirit Guard recognized I was from out of town since I made it a point to say I wasn't even aware of their existence. Thus they picked a location that even someone from out of town would know about."

"Fair enough. So, the important question is how are we going to get you a date out of this?"

Robert's eyes narrowed as he exited Aspect Realms. "A date?"

"Yeah, since you're destined and all to get one of these girls. Frankly, given we're ceding all four mega-hot super heroines to you, I feel you should be more grateful."

Robert rubbed his temples. "Guys, I'm more worried about what they might do at this meeting."

Cory and Eli raised eyebrows in unison. "What?"

"Look, I know you two say they are heroes and everything..."

"Because they are," Cory added.

"Yeah, but all your stories are about them swooping in and saving the day." Robert clicked open a few stories he had saved on the Spirit Guard as he had been doing research. "I've been going through these stories and not a single one mentions one of the kids glowing and what the Spirit Guard do with them. Polygal made it sound like my glowing meant something. Hell, the Spirit Guard affirmed it was important in some way. The fact that they want to meet me and let me know what it means, means that it means something."

"I don't think you could have said the word 'means' any more in that sentence."

Eli shrugged. "Yeah, it means something. But you're talking about this like they should be distrusted."

"I do think we should go as far as NOT trusting them." Cory and Eli looked skeptical. Robert tapped his screen for emphasis. "Yes they've been rather heroic, stopping monsters, saving lives. That kind of thing. They also are somehow always there before police and ambulances. Doesn't that seem a bit odd?"

Eli shrugged. "They ARE superheroes, Rob."

Robert nodded. "Even allowing for that, you'd think out of the seventeen attacks there have been, you'd think there'd be at least one where the monster attacked, the police responded, and the Spirit Guard saw the news, showed up, then saved the police's asses, right? In every witness account except for three of them, four if you include Polygal, the monster hasn't appeared until the Spirit Guard have shown up. That seems a little suspicious to me."

Eli threw his hands in the air. "Well, what are you saying Rob? That the Spirit Guard are causing the monster attacks?"

"I'm saying that we don't know what is causing the monster attacks. We only know that they started a little over a year ago. We can't just make assumptions that they are the benevolent heroines in our little fantasy story. What if something deeper is going on?"

Cory scoffed. "Deeper how?"

Robert sighed. "I don't know, but there aren't very many pictures or videos of these girls' fights. Someone has gone to a lot of trouble to keep the public from, by and large, seeing them."

Eli rolled his eyes. "Right, because why would they want to keep their identities a secret? Must be something nefarious!"

Robert held his hands up defensively. "I know. Believe me, I know. I read just as many comic books as you do."

Cory bit his bottom lip. "I'd wager more, Rob. I don't know anyone other than yourself who actually collects them."

Robert frowned. "I only collect the Collider series."

Cory smirked. "One more series than anyone else I know."

Robert groaned. "Anyway, I'm saying there are perfectly legitimate reasons for wanting to stay out of the public eye. There are also illegitimate reasons. What if they are part of some government project? What if they are a distraction for a larger, worse epidemic than monsters and this whole magical cheerleader angle is just some way to keep us from looking at what we should look at?"

Eli rolled his eyes. "Rob, I hate to say it, but you're starting to sound like a conspiracy nut."

Robert took a deep breath. It was important in these types of discussions to not let emotions get ahead of logic. "Eli, think about what it is we are a talking about." He started counting on his fingers. "These are, one, very attractive women who fight monsters. Two, they do so with some form of unexplainable technology that might as well be magic. Three, they do so while dressed as cheerleaders, for God's sake. Four, no one can seem to take a picture and video of them. And five, no one outside of Kessia City has seemed to have heard of them."

Eli and Cory leaned back while they considered Robert's points. He continued his argument. "If you look at this objectively, how can you not be convinced that something is going on? It's pretty god damn weird if you ask me! And now, for some reason, at a monster attack, I started glowing blue, had some sort of beacon shining on my head. That drew the attention of monster and cheerleader alike. That means the MONSTER and the COMBAT CHEERLEADERS thought I was the strange thing! I'm somehow stuck in the middle of this entire nonsensical intrigue, and, yes, I'm a little on edge about this. And though they seem, for all intents and purposes, a decent, heroic lot of cheerleaders, I don't want to walk into this with blind optimism."

Cory and Eli glanced at one another before Eli sighed. "Well, when you put it like that, I think you have a point. Maybe we aren't being paranoid enough. Maybe we shouldn't just take everything at their word."

"But," Cory added, "what is it you're specifically worried about Rob? I mean, what do you think the Spirit Guard will do?"

Robert slumped back into his chair. "I... don't know. That's what bothers me. I mean, let's say they are completely heroic and have pure intentions. What if that glowing means I could become a monster or something weird like that?"

"Become a monster?"

"Just follow me here. Polygal was after my 'investiture' and the Spirit Guards protected it. They compared investiture to energy. What if it's the energy needed for this Platicore dude to make more monsters? Could you not see, maybe, a scenario where a hero might try to get rid of something his enemy could use?"

Eli winced. "You're worried they are going to off you?"

"Not really, because, as dorky as it sounds, they seemed genuine. I typically have a good feel for that. But let's say they have a way to make it so I can't be harvested for energy. Could you see the heroes of this story doing that?"

Cory nodded. "To protect you, yes. I could see that."

"Now what if that process had some side effects? Could you still see them being able to justify it?"

Eli shuffled uncomfortably. "Depending on the side-effects, yes."

"So you can see why I'd like to figure out what is happening and prepare for it."

"Still," Cory interrupted, "you came up with that entire scenario on your own. You have no idea if you should even be worried about this or not. I mean, you could come up with a billion different theories for what investiture is, what you can do with it, and what the cheerleaders might do about it."

Robert smirked. "I know. I've been worrying most of the day about it. So I did some research."

Eli gulped. "Dare we ask what the research turned up?"

"Check this out." Robert pulled up a spreadsheet. "This is a spreadsheet I made covering all the attacks."

"What a nerd."

Robert ignored Cory. "Remember how I said only four of the attacks had the monster appear before the Spirit Guard did?" Cory and Eli nodded. "Check this out. The first time this happened was roughly ten months ago during the attack of the weightlifting monster, Barbella."

"And yet another lame monster name."

"This was the first sighting of Spirit Guard Tenacity. Before that it had only been Spirit Guard Valor."

"Tenacity. Neat. Your future girlfriend."

"You two really aren't going to let go of this idea are you?"

"It's a fun bit."

"We like fun bits."

"Plus, we can tell it annoys you a little."

"Anyway," Robert groaned, "the next instance was seven months ago at an outdoor theater. When the monster attacked, Spirit Guards Valor and Tenacity showed up, but the one who saved the day was Spirit Guard Felicity. Coincidentally, this was her first appearance as well."

"What was that monster's name?"

Robert gave Cory a flat stare. "Does it really matter?"

"I like hearing the terrible names."

Robert sighed and looked at his screen. "If you must know, it was Dramatica."

"Wow, that's worse than Barbella."

Eli chuckled. "You'd think that a theater monster could have been more creative."

"Maybe she was, but it's still probably this Platicore guy who names them."

Robert tried to continue his point. "Next time a monster attacked before the Spirit Guard arrived was four months ago, at the local Kessia City High School bake sale fundraiser. The monster," Robert pointed to Cory, "before you can ask, was named Confection Cathy."

"Thank you."

"The monster was attacked, and we got the first appearance of..."

Eli sighed and finished off Rob's statement. "Spirit Guard Charity. But you said there were four times. And the fourth time..."

"The fourth time was Polygal. But we know one thing for certain; there wasn't a new Spirit Guard member who showed up. Something about the Polygal attack broke the pattern."

Cory scratched his brown hair. "So what does this mean? You trying to say you're the new Spirit Guard or something?"

Eli rolled his eyes. "No, because that would be stupid."

Robert chuckled. "I don't think people at the attacks are becoming cheerleaders. If that was the case, it'd be easy to narrow down who was at what attack and figure out who the Spirit Guard are. Personally, I don't buy the secret identity theory anyway. Their faces are completely exposed. Someone would recognize them."

"Did anyone else glow at these attacks? You know, like you did?"

Robert shook his head. "No. Not according to the stories. But, then again, our story didn't mention me glowing either. We certainly didn't tell the cops and if there was any surveillance footage of it, the Spirit Guard already got to it. If people are glowing, they aren't broadcasting it to the world."

Eli tapped his chin. "So the question is, why didn't a new Spirit Guard show up at our attack and is the glowing connected?"

"The monster implied you might be some ally of the Spirit Guard," Cory pointed out. "Maybe it's because Robert isn't a Spirit Guard but some other ally. The Spirit Guard have to maybe awaken that ability though."

Robert gave Cory his best incredulous look. "Oh, and, what? I'm some super hero destined to fight by their side for the sake of justice, righteousness, and the power of love?"

Cory frowned. "Don't be an ass. In each of those other examples the Spirit Guard got more allies. What if you're just another ally somehow? Like it's your destiny or something?"

"You know how I feel about the magical, mystical angle of this."

"Just TRY to keep an open mind about something you can't explain, Rob. You were the one just lecturing us about this being a ridiculous situation."

That one hit Robert pretty hard. "You're right. Sorry."

Eli cleared his throat. "So the question is: are you going to Standridge Circle tomorrow?"

"Hell yes." Robert stood up. "I need to find out what that glowing meant. But I got to find a way to sneak you two there to watch."

"What?"

"Us?"

"Yeah, you."

"Why us?"

"Because," Robert explained, "you two are the only other people I trust who know about the attack. In case they are duplicitous I need someone who has my back."

Eli snorted. "So, in case they try to steal your soul we'll, what, stop the superhuman cheerleaders? Us? Might I point out a flaw in that plan?"

"Yeah, Rob, our special abilities are being snarky and being good at Hop Dance Mania. We're about as badass as a cucumber."

Eli shook his head. "A cucumber?"

Cory glanced at the floor. "Yeah, I don't know. It was the first thing that came to mind. Can I get a do-over?"

Robert tried to get the conversation back on track. "You're my friends, and if something does happen, I want someone I trust to know. Besides, I don't think they have any right to hide what happens from you two any more than they do me. You guys were attacked as well. I think you deserve answers too."

Cory smiled. "I like your attitude."

Eli shook his head. "Yeah, I appreciate the sentiment, but you were still told to come alone."

Cory held up a finger. "Technically he wasn't 'told' to come alone. They said to 'please come alone.' Technical difference."

Eli ignored Cory. "If we show up, they probably won't show. And it's not like we're ninjas who could hide from them."

Robert shrugged in dismay. "I don't have any ideas at the moment."

Cory swallowed hard. "I may have an idea."

"Oh?"

"Eli, remember in middle school when I... borrowed... that camera from my dad's business."

Eli narrowed his eyes. "You never returned that?"

"Oh right, what was I going to do? Put it back into the warehouse I borrowed it from? How am I going to get an excuse to go back there? It was a fluke my dad took me back there that one time. Plus, that thing is so out of date now I doubt he has any more of that model. It'd be more suspicious if it turned up again rather than stay missing."

"Uh," Robert held up a finger, "what are you two talking about?"

Eli was disgusted. "In middle school, Mr. I'm-So-Suave here wanted to try and sneak video of the girl's locker room." Cory's face slowly turned beet red. "So he stole from his dad's private security business."

"Borrowed. I still intend to give it back. I just have to figure out how to do it in a way my dad won't find out I 'procured' the item. Because he'd kill me if he found out I borrowed from his company."

"Give it back? Cory, it's been six years since you did this! Not to mention it was a disgusting goal to try back when you did it."

"I was a pubescent boy who wanted to see boobs and be a hero to the other pubescent boys! So sue me!"

Robert held his hands out, trying to stop the argument. "As interesting as this 80's teen flick drama is, what did Cory steal?"

"Borrowed!"

"Fine, borrowed."

Cory shuffled his feet for a second and took a deep breath. "A high resolution, fiber-optic digital camera with video and photographic capabilities that can wirelessly pair with a computer at a range up to five hundred feet."

Robert let out a low whistle. "Holy shit. How expensive is this thing?"

"I totally intend to give it back."

Eli did not look happy. "You promised me you'd get rid of that."

Cory backed up defensively. "I promised not to take pics of your sister. And I didn't. And that was six years ago!"

"The only reason you didn't get pics of Mallory was because the cinderblock walls were too thick for you to get your signal."

"I wasn't trying to get video of Mal naked! Honest!"

"You were totally crushing on her in middle school! Who else would you be trying to get naked pics of?"

"Every other female athlete and cheerleader! Duh! I was twelve! I wasn't exactly getting picky!"

Robert stepped between the pair. "Guys! Let's not fight about what happened six years ago." Cory and Eli glanced up at Rob. They seemed surprised to see him there in the midst of their age old argument. "Whether or not Cory was a letch as a teenager isn't important. What's important is how we use this camera." Robert smirked and faced Cory. "Tell me, you sure this camera still works?"

---

Like this story? I always have the latest chapter up on my website at taralynn.sincomics.com. Go there for my other stories, fanart, commentary, and news! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Robert sighed as he trudged through the campus grounds and kicked himself for blowing two easy quiz questions in his Calculus class. Had he just paid closer attention he would have seen his mistakes. Robert’s mind was just elsewhere; he kept on thinking about tonight’s plan. He thought it was a good plan, but when the people you were trying to fool were superhuman cheerleaders, it was hard to be confident.

He probably shouldn’t worry about it. Sure, he was skeptical, but in the end, these were the monster-fighting heroines of Kessia City he was worrying about. They had promised to give him information on his glowing. They had, as promised, gotten back to him promptly. Isn’t that exactly what he had wanted? Why couldn’t he shake this feeling that something was amiss?

With a sigh, Robert shoved his hands into his pockets. Part of him wanted to scrap the entire plan altogether. Was it okay to involve Cory and Eli in on this? If he had any misgivings, shouldn’t he try to discourage their participation? However, both were adamant about being involved and “having his back.” Cory especially encouraged their involvement. Robert suspected he wanted to be able to finally justify “borrowing” the camera to Eli, but Robert didn’t feel he was in any position to judge.

Robert shook his head, trying to dismiss his paranoia. Cory’s “borrowed” fiber-optic camera had a range of 500 feet under ideal conditions. The plan would get them about 350 feet away in case the conditions weren’t ideal. That was over a football field away with plenty of treeline for cover. Plus, they were taking a back route to get to their spying area. They’d be fine.

But then again, the Spirit Guard had already displayed superhuman strength, speed, and reflexes. What if they also had super hearing? Or infrared vision? Or x-ray vision? Or telepathy? There were too many unknown variables. He needed information. He needed to prepare. He needed to not feel like he was blind as a bat. With a grunt, he punted a pebble to release his frustration.

A high-pitched shriek cut through the air. Robert jerked his head up and watched two cheerleaders dart backwards from the pebble he had kicked. Papers flew in the air as one lost her grip on the fliers she had been holding. Robert grimaced and hurried forward, his backpack bouncing up and down as he jogged. “Sorry! Sorry! So sorry! I–I didn’t mean to kick that so hard. Sorry.” He immediately started to help pick up the fliers that were scattered about.

The cheerleader who hadn’t dropped her fliers, a brunette with shoulder-length hair, attended to her partner. “Lily! Are you okay?”

Lily leaned down to start picking up her fliers and gave Robert a dirty look. At first, Robert thought she had platinum blonde hair, but upon a second look, he saw it was pure white. He wondered if Cory and Eli had a name for this hair color too. The first idea that came to his mind was “whitehead,” but he had serious doubts that was correct. “I’m fine, Stacy. The hell is your deal?”

Robert blushed. How could he have been so careless as to kick a rock on a crowded campus? He really was out of it today. “Sorry. I just wasn’t thinking. I didn’t hit you, did I?” Robert stacked all the fliers he picked up back together. Across the top in a bold, jazzed-up font were the words “Club Week!”

Lily huffed and accepted the fliers back from Robert. “No. You didn’t. Just, I don’t know, watch where you’re going or something.”

“I’m really sorry. I’m not normally so careless.”

Stacy nervously cleared her throat. “So, um, have you heard about Club Week?”

Robert would have been more than happy to scuttle away from the awkward scene without another word, but a change in subject was his second best option. “Uh, no, I have not. What is it?”

Lily pouted; she was obviously not happy that Stacy had engaged the ruffian that had kicked a rock at them in conversation. Still, Lily did her best and forced a smile on her face and push the event they were promoting. “Next week all the SAUSBA approved clubs will have booths in front of the Billot Building and be recruiting. There also will be other entertainment there: music, food, games, and all that stuff. We’re encouraging all the students, especially if you’re a freshman, to attend and find something you’d enjoy.”

“SAUSBA?”

“Schuyler Adamson University Student Body Association.” Stacy handed Robert a flier. “Yeah, so, like, you a part of any clubs?”

“Uh, no. I’m a freshman,” Robert said as he let his mind wander. He was in front of the Wride Science Center which was on the far south end of campus. He would have assumed that if the cheerleaders were promoting school events they would have just stuck to the main central plaza around the Billot building. As he thought about it, he remembered seeing pairs of cheerleaders in front of the other buildings on campus as well. There were well over thirty buildings on campus. Could there even be sixty cheerleaders? There was no way Cheer Squad could be that big, could it? And how out-of-it had he been that he had practically ignored all the cute girls in tight, two-piece cheer outfits spread throughout campus?

“Then you should totally come! I’m sure there is a club just for you!”

Robert nodded. “You promoting this all over campus?”

Lily raised an eyebrow. “Well, we do promote all over campus. Why do you ask?”

Robert shrugged. “It’s just that I’ve seen cheerleaders in front of a lot of buildings today. I guess I didn’t think the cheer team would be that big.”

Stacy giggled. “Oh, well, yeah, I guess. Mostly we’re just trying to do a better job at promotion this year.”

“Cool.” Robert held up the flier as a sort of wave and started walking. “Thanks for the heads up. You’ll probably see me there.” Under his breath he added, “Assuming things go better with the other cheerleaders in town.”

“Great! Have a good day!”

As he rounded the corner, Robert heard Lily get in her own under-the-breath comment. “Try not to assault anyone else, moron.”

Robert shook his head. He was so out of it. Those two cheerleaders were really cute and he had been so wrapped up in his thoughts that he kicked a rock at them! He really needed to find a way to unwind. His thoughts drifted to that woman from Student Counseling who had called. What was her name? Ms. Kuhn? Ms. Cone? Ms. Cola? Maybe he did need counseling.

Robert chuckled to himself. Yeah. Right. What would he say? That he glowed a light blue after he got into a fight with a video game-woman hybrid? That he was rescued by vigilante super-cheerleader, and has a meeting with them tonight? That he’s stressed out because he, despite the super-heroines’ instructions, won’t come alone? No, that was ridiculous. If he wasn’t going to talk about it with his uncle there was no way he’d talk about to some random…

A pang of guilt stabbed at him. He probably should tell Uncle Taylor. It wasn’t like he didn’t deserve to know, but there was no way Uncle would believe him. Even if Uncle Taylor did, he’d get scared of his nephew being in a place that was relying on super-cheerleaders to defend the populace from hidden monsters. He’d want to drag him back to Deepwater.

Robert had to see this through. However, if he was going to make the plan work, he couldn’t be stressed out. That would tip off the Spirit Guard that something was up. He needed to relax. Robert made a left turn and headed down the hill, back to his dorm. He could afford to skip the first day of Technical Writing. It wasn’t like he was going to be using the have-to-deal-with-super-cheerleaders-drama card that often. A few rounds of PvP would settle him down, and if he put off his Physics homework until tomorrow, then he’d be nice and relaxed to deal with whatever it was the meeting with the Spirit Guard might bring.

* – * – *

Jodi sighed as she looked at her notes. In normal years, the Promotion Squad Cheerleaders would have handled passing out all the fliers on campus, but this year was different. Cammy decreed that the Pep Squad Cheerleaders would be helping out this year. The Peppers weren’t happy to be doing work clearly meant for Promoters, but Cammy had put them in their place. She always kept the other cheerleaders in their place. The Peppers agreed to help with the Club Week fliers. After all, Cammy would be handing out fliers too, and if Cammy wasn’t above doing it then they definitely weren’t above it.

That didn’t stop them from whining though, and as Cammy’s right hand girl, it was Jodi that had to deal with all their whining. She tried to placate them; Peppers were deployed near the high foot-traffic buildings and athletic facilities. Peppers would either get their fliers passed out quicker or get to flirt with the jocks. Their choice.

Meanwhile, the Promoters were sent out to the edges of the campus. All of the Peppers had finished passing out their fliers, reported to Jodi, whined about having to do promotions, and left. Several of the Promoters still had yet to report, and Jodi was anxious for them. Cammy was still hopping mad about the Skateboarding Club fiasco and was adamant they needed this Club Week to be the biggest one yet.

Jodi spotted two cheerleaders approaching in the distance. They were easy to pick out with every other girls on campus dressed in business casual. The green and black skirt and top combo made every cheerleader stand out like a flower in a desert. Additionally, since Cammy’s policy was that only a 7 or above on the hotness scale could join the Cheer Team, it made each cheerleader an instant attention-getter.

Jodi squinted and recognized the pair were Lily and Stacy. Jodi liked Stacy a lot. Stacy was a real positive force and seemed to really enjoy being part of the Cheer Team. Most importantly, she seemed to like interacting with everyone on campus and pushing events. It was one of the reasons why Jodi had assigned Stacy to be in front of the Wride Science Center, which housed the Physics and Geology departments. The science buildings were always the hardest to push fliers at since the nerds seemed to be intimidated by the hot cheerleaders. You had to have Promoters who would practically chase them down to give out the fliers.

Jodi waved to them. “Stacy! Lily! How’d it go?”

Stacy held her hands out to display that they had passed out all their fliers. “Went great! I think we’ll really see more attendance from the Physics and Geology departments this year!”

Lily huffed. “Geology is fitting. I almost got hit in the face by some idiot kicking a rock!”

Jodi groaned. Lily was an 8 and, by Cammy’s rules, had a chance to be a Pepper in the future. While she loved getting to wear the uniform, Lily didn’t like the work. The last thing Jodi wanted was to deal with another high-maintenance Pepper next year. Jodi had hoped Stacy’s exuberance would rub off on Lily, but apparently her hopes were too much. “Someone kicked a rock at you?”

Stacy fidgeted. “Well, it was an accident. Besides, it wasn’t really that close to your face.”

Lily pouted. “Well he should have been more careful!”

Jodi rolled her eyes. “Well, you’re fine now. So tell me. You got the fliers out, what about the other goal? Did you find any 7’s in disguise?”

Lily was lazy, but she had a great eye for fashion. If anyone could find a nerd girl who was secretly a hottie, it was Lily. A few in disguise and even a few 7’s pure and simple but none of them were actually a part of the Physics or Geology departments. They were part of a Child Development lecture in one of the WSC’s lecture halls. Sorry, Jodi.”

Jodi’s shoulders sagged, but she nodded her head. “It was a long shot anyway, I guess.”

Stacy leaned in, her eyes inquisitive. “Why is Cammy looking for a hot nerd girl anyway?”

“That’s our business, Stacy. Don’t you worry about it.”

Jodi snapped to attention and spun around. “Cammy! I wasn’t expecting you back so soon!”

Cammy played with her violet curls with a smirk. “Got Leah and Wendy to take care of a few errands for me. I wanted to hear these reports myself.” As Cammy passed by, Jodi tried to hold back the pangs of jealousy she had whenever Cammy was around. Jodi was, by Cammy’s own words, a 9, and Cammy was very stingy with that number on the hotness scale. For Jodi’s entire life, she had always been the hottest girl she knew…

That was until she met Cammy. She had long, perfectly sculpted legs that went from the east coast to the west by way of the scenic route. As she walked, Cammy swayed with a rhythm that demanded men stare and take notes. The cheer uniform’s skirt hugged her wide hips perfectly. Every boy on campus would die for one chance to wrap their arms around her impossibly small waist. Her cheer top was immaculately fitted to give men the most teasing hints of the perfect breasts it contained. It was a body befitting Aphrodite herself.

While Cammy’s body was impressive, it was her face that Jodi admired most. The first thing everyone noticed was how it was framed by the curliest hair anyone had ever seen. The fact that Cammy was a violette on top of that only furthered its amazing look. Her lips were full and pursed out naturally, and her smile was practically electric, sending chills down any man’s spine. And her eyes. God her eyes were gorgeous! Blue as an ocean and just as deep. She was perfection.

However, the think Jodi wished she could copy was Cammy’s confidence. It was absolute. She knew what she wanted and never doubted herself. Every girl Jodi had ever met had some worry or some lingering vulnerability that nagged at them. Not Cammy. She was clever too. She always seemed to know exactly what to say and when to say it. People were clay in Cammy’s hands.

Cammy smiled down at Lily and casually leaned on her hip. Jodi could practically feel campus spin from all the heads turning to admire Cammy. “So no luck on the nerd girl front? That’s a shame.” Her voice was a smooth, husky tone that reminded Jodi of dark chocolate.

Stacy and Lily stared up at Cammy with awe. “We–we could go looking again, you know, if you want. I’m sure if we try a little harder…”

Cammy waved Stacy off the way someone would a younger sister. Jodi smiled. She didn’t know how Cammy did it, but everyone around her just wanted to impress her. It was just part of her charm. “No. You two have worked hard today. Especially given where Jodi assigned you. You two did great work. Go enjoy the rest of your day.”

Lily and Stacy grinned at one another, thanked Cammy, and scampered off like puppies happy they had pleased their owner. Cammy waved as they left, her smile as vibrant as the sun. Once the pair rounded the corner though, the smile vanished. “Jodi, please tell me some of the other pairs had better luck.”

Jodi shook her head, her blonde tresses fluttering about. “I’m afraid not.” Jodi really hated to disappoint her best friend like this. “A couple pairs found a girl that might meet your standards but in those cases the girls either were too shy to accept the offer or wouldn’t give them any contact information. Either way, we’re striking out here.”

Cammy groaned. “You’ve got to be kidding me! How can it be that we can’t find a SINGLE nerd girl who meets our needs for infiltration? There are over fifteen-thousand girls on campus! You’d think at least ONE would match our criteria!”

Jodi hated seeing Cammy upset like this. “Well, even if we can’t get someone to infiltrate them for us, we’ve done really well in promoting Club Week. Maybe we can just grow the Majority Clubs enough to make them not matter?”

Cammy bit her bottom lip. “I don’t like it.” She scanned the main campus square like a hawk looking for prey. “I don’t like it at all. I don’t want to have to rely on growing clubs that have been around the same size for nearly a decade.” She sighed and shrugged. “But, at this rate I might just need to rely on that.” Cammy grunted. “If only that little bitch Angela had just stayed in her place and not interfered.”

Jodi shuffled her feet uncomfortably. “We don’t have any proof that she was involved in the Skateboarding Club’s loss of university approval, Cams. She’s not magic.”

Cammy snorted. “Oh, she was involved, Jodi. That little bitch did it. I don’t know how, but she did it. I guarantee it!”

“Regardless,” Jodi tried to get the topic off of Angela, “we need to focus on the here and now. Four more groups still haven’t reported in and one of them was in front of the Chemistry building. Maybe we can find ourselves a Chemist girl who can meet our needs.”

“I hope so, Jodi.” Cammy pushed her hair out of her face. “Because these nerds could upset everything.”

* – * – *

It tasted awful. Why was Robert surprised? Had he ever had a good-tasting energy bar? He chastised himself for losing track of time while playing Aspect Realms. Had he paid attention to time, he would have just gotten food for free at the cafeteria. Instead he had to hurriedly grab something from the gas station and was now biting into a bitter brick of something that tasted nothing like the cookies and cream flavor it had promised. Cory and Eli had grabbed the taquitos off the rollers instead. Robert had scoffed at their choice initially, but now he felt like an idiot.

All three were silent with only the sound of the road and Cory’s playlist to accompany them. Robert would have preferred some classic rock, but he wasn’t going to complain when Cory was giving him a ride. Robert fidgeted nervously. This was a really dumb thing to do. Though none of them would discuss it, Robert knew Cory and Eli agreed with that assessment. They were going to defy the instructions of super-humans. The only person he had seen do that and win was Roger Urbane, The Merchant. But since The Merchant was a genius, billionaire, extra-planetary, black market kingpin from the pages of the Collider comics, Robert figured that example wouldn’t really help him at all.

Robert leaned back and adjusted the oversized headphones Cory had rigged up. The fiber-optic camera ran along the inside of the headband. Robert’s part of the plan was simple: he just had to walk up, listen to music, then take off his headphones when the Spirit Guard showed up. Resting the cable on his shoulders would give the perfect angle to get a clear picture of the Spirit Guard and what they were doing.

Though he knew it was dumb to disregard the orders of super-humans, Robert did feel the plan was a good one. Cory and Eli both thought Rob was being paranoid with how he went about setting it up, but he still felt it was the best plan they could have given the circumstances.

“We’re here,” Cory announced as he stopped in the vacant parking lot in front of the main gate to the park.

Eli turned around and faced Robert. “You ready for this?”

“Nope.” Robert zipped up his jacket as he stepped out of the car. “But I can’t let that stop me now.” Though it was still technically summer, the nights were getting colder and colder. Kessia City never got so cold it would snow or anything, but it did start to get rather cold during the nights. Robert shut the door and Eli cranked down the passenger-side window.

Robert plugged in the headphones to his phone and sighed. “Guys, I’m not sure about this.” Robert felt like someone was watching him, but then again, that was to be expected. That’s why they had come up with the plan.

Eli squinted. “What do you mean.”

“Your part in the plan. I think maybe we should cancel that.”

Cory clenched his teeth in a show of obvious frustration. Good. For this to work he really needed the duo to sell this and Cory was the better actor. “Cancel it? You’ve got to be joking! We spent all night on this plan! Trying to find the old software to get it to work on my laptop alone wasted more than an hour by itself!”

Robert sighed, hoping he wasn’t over-acting. “I know. I know. I just, you know, think it will be all right. I’ve got a good feeling about this now.”

Eli scoffed far more convincingly than Robert expected. “Oh, now you have a good feeling about it? We’ve spent the past two days telling you they’re trustworthy heroes. You don’t believe us then but now that we’ve done all this work you have a good feeling about it! Yeah, that makes sense.”

Robert shoved his hands in his jacket. “Look, I had a bad feeling at the arcade and it turned out bad. Now that I’m here I have a good feeling. I’m going to trust it.” He glanced down at his feet. “Besides, if something does go wrong,” he paused for dramatic effect, “I don’t want you two getting involved.”

“Dude,” Cory protested, “we know the risks going in. That was part of the plan!”

“None of us know the risks!” Robert worried that came across as too strong. Would his unseen audience, if there indeed was one, buy that? “We don’t know what I’m walking into.” Robert slouched his shoulders and pulled his headphones on. “So for that reason, the plan is off.” He didn’t like how awkward that last sentence came out.

Eli cut in. “So while you wait to see whatever it is the Spirit Guard need you for what are we supposed to do? Sit here and twiddle our thumbs?”

“Just,” Robert did his best to sound frustrated, “head back and have fun or something. I have no clue how long I’ll be.”

Cory huffed and turned his engine back on. “Sure, have fun while you go into negotiations blind. Sounds like a plan. A much better one than we came up with.” Eli shook his head and rolled the window up and the pair drove off in the direction of the dorm. Robert sighed and set his phone to his Creed of Charisma playlist; they were one of his uncle’s favorite bands. Phase one of the trio’s plan was now complete. Robert briefly pondered on why he thought of that as “phase one” when they hadn’t really outlined any phases to their plan.

Taking his focus away from Hollywood planning conventions, Robert turned and faced the hill. At the very top he could see the Standridge Circle vaguely lit by the light of a half-moon. It looked eerie out of the daylight. Something about how the stones almost seemed to faintly glow made it feel like something else was up there. Something unnatural.

Placing one foot in front of the other, Robert started the climb. For Robert, there was something up there: answers. He was finally going to find out what the entire scene at the arcade was all about.

Robert saw that the light inside the guard-post was still on. He crouched to the side of the window and snuck a peek inside. The guard’s face was planted firmly on the desk. Was he naturally asleep at his post, or did the Spirit Guard also have sleep-inducing abilities? The more curious part of him was tempted to see if he could wake up the guard to find out, but he knew to let sleeping guards lay.

The trail up the hill wasn’t steep, but it was long. Eli and Cory had, throughout their elementary school years, visited the Circle more than a few times and told him it took about ten minutes to climb from the parking lot. Robert felt the pit in his stomach grow deeper with each step. He tried to focus on his music, but it did little to ease his nerves.

This was the opposite of what he expected. Normally Robert felt more nervous before a decision and felt fine once the decision was made. It didn’t usually matter if the decision was good or bad, just that the decision was made–his mind was made up. Robert would meet the Spirit Guard at the Circle. So why were his hands still shaking in his pockets?

What would Uncle Taylor say when you have no idea what’s coming? He probably would have a little saying for it and everything. Robert had a few minutes before he expected Cory and Eli to give him a call. Maybe a talk with Uncle would help calm his nerves.

Robert’s music was interrupted by his uncle’s ringtone. Robert stopped in his tracks, pulled the phone from his pocket, and checked the caller ID just to be sure. “You have got to be kidding me.” He held the phone up to his mouth, leaving the headphones on, and answered the call. “You have one amazing sense of timing, Uncle.”

Robert’s ears filled with his uncle’s delightful chuckle. “What makes ya say that?”

“I was literally about to call you.”

“Aw shoot, wish I would’ve waited.”

“Why is that?”

“I love gettin’ phone calls from ya. Makes me feel important. What were you gunna call me ’bout?”

“Uh,” Robert staggered for an answer, “just, wanting to relieve some stress I guess.”

“Robert, ya only been up to college for two days now. What could you be stressing about?”

He wanted to tell his uncle, but he couldn’t just talk about it openly. He’d think he was crazy. So he’d just tweek the story. “Oh, just meeting up with some girls for a project I have.”

“Wow. Second day and ya already got group projects?”

“Well, more like a presentation. We just, uh, you know, trying to get ahead.”

“Yur gettin’ ahead and yur stressin’ ’bout it? Why?”

“Well, I let the girls in my group do all the research themselves,” Robert lied. “And they are about to tell me their results. I’m just nervous about who these girls are. Don’t really know them that well, sort of assigned to me, so I don’t know how good their research will be.”

“Well why didn’t ya get involved with the research yourself?”

Robert sighed. “Well, it was something that they sort of took it upon themselves.” It wasn’t a total lie. “You know, before I even really got in touch with them.”

“Ah, then these girls really got after it then, sounds like.”

Robert, thinking of their dramatic entrance into the arcade, chuckled. “That they did Uncle.” He scratched the back of his neck. “Anyway, it turns out this presentation is going to be really important. To my grade, I mean. Yet, I have no idea if it’ll work out. I’ve sort of been put in this position without doing anything to get into it.”

“Well, here’s how I see it.” Robert could practically hear his uncle scratching at his beard as he thought. “It’s as the ol’ sayin’ goes: there ain’t no use in cryin’ over milk that hasn’t been spilled yet.”

Robert chuckled. “I’m pretty sure that’s not how the old saying goes.”

“But,” his uncle countered, “it is a good sayin’, Robert. So ya been put in a group with sum girls ya don’t know and they went off and started without ya. While ya didn’t ask fer it, it’s where ya are, and worryin’ ’bout it ain’t gonna do ya a lick o’ good. Worryin’ is what people do when they can’t think o’ any other way to settle their minds. They think if they worry enough they’ll be prepared for a situation. But awl their worryin’ won’t amount to a hill a beans. The only way to prepare is to actually do something. To actually prepare. You going to this meeting unprepared? Ya do sum research of your own?”

Robert smiled, thinking of the camera hidden in the headphones and Cory and Eli setting up elsewhere. “Yeah Uncle. I’ve prepared for this meeting the best I can.”

“Then don’t worry.” Uncle Taylor’s voice was as calm as a summer’s breeze. “I’ve seen you turn lemons into lemonade on more than one occasion. You’ll do it again.” The pit in Robert’s stomach seemed to fade with his uncle’s praise.

Once he reached the top of the hill, Robert dimmed the light of the phone. The Standridge Circle was a lot wider than he anticipated, though the stones were shorter than he imagined. They reached into the air with each one just barely taller than himself. The stones became narrower at the top and leaned inward slightly. In the dark of the night, the stone silhouettes looked like fingers mocking the sky.

There was no sign of the Spirit Guard.

“Thanks, Uncle.” Robert took a deep breath and stepped into the Circle. He was immediately blown away by center stone. It was a few heads taller than Robert and carved into a near perfect sphere. How many tons must this thing way? How on earth did any culture make this and move it before the use of modern tools?

“Don’t mention it. I’m always here for you.”

“I know.” Robert sighed contently. “You always have been. Thanks.”

Something moved in the corner of Robert’s vision; a shadow beyond the edge of the stones stepped forward. He saw a curvaceous figure approaching. Definitely not one of the security guards.

Robert’s phone beeped, letting him know Eli was calling. First his Uncle and now Eli. What was it with people Robert knew and their impeccable timing with phone calls? “Hey Uncle, I have to go, I’m getting another call.”

“No problem, Robert. Good luck with your presentation.”

“Thanks, though I hope I don’t need it.”

“Me too. Love you.”

“Love you too. Bye.”

“Bye.”

As Spirit Guard Valor marched into the Circle Robert clicked his phone to switch it to Cory and Eli. He quickly shoved it in his pocket to give the duo the sound-feed they’d need for this recording. To the Spirit Guard, it would just look like he hung up on his Uncle and no one was listening in. Robert took off his headphones and hung them around his neck. He tilted them back a bit to make sure Cory’s camera was centered on Valor. He prayed she couldn’t see the fiber-optic lens in the pale light.

Robert breathed in deeply as he saw the other three Spirit Guard file in behind Valor. He was amazed at how, even though there wasn’t much light, Valor’s blonde hair still seemed to shimmer in the moonlight. “Who was that you were talking to?”

Robert shrugged. “My uncle called me.”

“You didn’t tell him about our meeting did you?”

“Naw, he’s not from around here. Even if I had, he’d think I was crazy for claiming to have a meeting with super-hero cheerleaders at a spooky historic sight.”

Valor smiled and glanced up at the sky. “Spooky? I find it rather enchanting the way the moon reflects her light off the stones.”

Robert waved his hand. “To each their own. It is beautiful, but in a haunting kind of way, if you ask me.”

“But we didn’t really ask you though,” Spirit Guard Felicity giggled.

Spirit Guard Tenacity, who was over a foot taller than Felicity, had to lean down to elbow her. “Not really the time for that.”

After she pushed some of her blue hair from her eyes, Spirit Guard Charity’s smiled. “We’re glad to see you sent away your two friends.”

Robert smirked. “I thought I felt someone watching me in the parking lot.”

Valor raised an impressed eyebrow. “You sensed us? I must say, you seem to be very good at that.” She turned to Charity. “Could you give us a little bit of light? As much as I like the moonlit conversation, I think everyone would be at more ease if we could see everyone’s faces.”

Charity nodded and clapped her pompoms together. Her bow immediately formed and she pulled back an imaginary nock. She let go and a golden arrow of pure lot shot into the ground between Robert and the Spirit Guard. It bathed the Standridge Circle in light.

“Huh.” Robert leaned down and picked up a discarded stick. He prodded the seemingly immaterial arrow only to find that the stick passed straight through it. He waved the stick a few more times, finding the arrow maintained its shape. “Amazing. How does it work?”

Charity shrugged. “It’s part of my magic.”

Robert snorted. “So then I was right. You are using tools that you yourselves didn’t develop.” He knew Cory and Eli were rolling their eyes.

Valor squinted her eyes. “What do you mean?”

Robert stood back up and dusted his knee off. “If you all knew the principles behind how this arrow was made, you’d be able to explain it. But you can’t. That means you didn’t develop these weapons. Someone else made them for you.”

Tenacity pursed her lips out; Robert could see she was trying to hide that she was impressed. “Or we could understand how our magic works and we just don’t think we should tell you how.”

“Maybe. But If you knew how this so-called magic works,” Robert said, thinking aloud, “then I would think you would have known what me glowing around Polygal meant. Or what that symbol on my forehead meant.”

Felicity let out a whistle. “You’re quite the thinking man, Robby.”

Robert tried to shrug nonchalantly but had trouble hiding his smirk. It was hard to prevent his ego from getting to big when the compliments came from girls this attractive. He almost chuckled at the thought of Cory and Eli having to listen to this. He could already imagine Cory decrying how it would be impossible to live with Rob after this. “I try. But I am quite curious about the glowing stuff so let’s get on to the heart of this. What did it all mean?”

Valor cleared her throat. “Well Robert, you’re right about one thing: we are not yet experts in the field of our abilities. For that same reason, we weren’t one-hundred percent certain what your glowing meant. So we had to contact an expert in the field.”

Robert laughed. “Expert in the field? Do you cheerleaders have a phone number you can just call for this stuff?”

Valor grinned. “Something like that. Regardless, we brought her.”

“Really? Where is she?”

An amused woman’s voice answered Robert’s question. “Right behind you, Mr. Dreese.”

Robert spun around, but the only thing behind him was the Standridge Stone. Oddly enough, that woman’s voice sounded kind of familiar. He glanced up to the top of the stone and met the eyes of who had been speaking.

“My name is Kunapipi, and may I just say, it’s my a pleasure to finally meet you.” Standing on top of the stone, talking in a voice as clear as a bell, stood what looked to be a miniature kangaroo.

“What the hell?”

Eli bounced up and down in the passenger seat while Cory navigated the dirt road as quickly as he could with his car lights off. "You sure you can drive safely on this dirt road in the dark?"

Cory responded with a tone far more confident than his words. "Almost sure. I mean, I’ve seen it before."

Eli groaned and steadied Cory’s laptop as he swayed side-to-side. "I really don’t know if I would have committed to this part of the plan if I had known that.'

"Hey," Cory said defensively, "I didn’t exactly have the easiest time articulating any part of the plan with Robert being super-paranoid and demanding any part of the plan we use be submitted on paper only."

Eli sighed. It had been very annoying. Halfway through their planning last night, Robert had gotten worried the Spirit Guard might be listening in. "Yeah. I mean, I get not using electronics to plan because of the Spirit Guard already displaying that they could hack his phone, but, I don’t know. Felt a bit extreme."

"And slow! It takes so long to write an actual note! I mean, the last time I hand wrote that much was--" Cory's thought was interrupted by the sound of his car bottoming out on the dirt road. "I think this road was meant more for trucks than my car."

Eli laughed. "You think? Maybe we should just foot it the rest of the way. We can’t be too far away from that shed you were talking about."

"Yeah." Cory brought the car to a stop. "I'm just surprised I even remembered this road for the plan. And that we're doing this."

Eli tucked Cory's laptop into his backpack, stepped out of the car, and slung the backpack over his shoulder, with Cory’s laptop over his shoulder. "Yeah, how did you know about this road. Typically all the weird stuff that you know I know as well. How did you discover this?"

"Remember the Summer of Abandonment?"

Eli groaned as the duo marched down the hill. "That wasn't my fault. What was I supposed to do? Tell my parents to take you on the summer cruise and the tour of Europe?"

"You could have tried."

"You're nuts. Not to mention dramatic. I can't believe you still refer to that as the Summer of Abandonment. We were still in middle school."

"Regardless," Cory said with a grin, "I spent a lot of time with James Renson that summer."

Eli raised an eyebrow. "James 'The Hoodie' Renson? The creepy kid who wore the same grody, white hoodie every single day?"

"Hence why I call it the Summer of Abandonment."

Eli rolled his eyes, though he knew his compatriot wouldn't be able to see it. "How does this relate to the dirt road?"

"Oh yeah! Anyway, his dad worked for the grounds crew for the Standridge Circle park. He was taking us to a movie and left his wallet at work so we went to this shack at the back of the park where they keep all the lawn maintenance stuff. I just thought it was so cool there was a sort of back entrance into the park so it always stuck with me."

Eli smiled, deciding to rib at Cory a bit. "How is my backup the Hoodie? I feel I should have had a higher quality backup."

"Hey, it was slim pickings that summer. All our other buddies were either too far away to be within walking distance or were too busy trying to be cool and pretend they were above playing video games and watching cartoons."

Eli sighed. "I guess it's always been you and me."

The sound of crickets filled the air for a moment as neither of them spoke. "And now Robert, maybe?" If Eli hadn't known Cory for so long, he would have thought Cory's sentence was a statement, but he could hear just the right tone where he knew he was being asked a question.

"Maybe. It is rather weird how quickly he's fit in with us. No one else has ever just accepted our antics like this." Eli sighed. "I worry people find it intimidating or something."

Cory chuckled. "I just can't believe we're disobeying the Spirit Guard for a guy we've only known for little over two weeks."

Eli nodded. Why were they doing this? Rob had just so naturally fit in with them that he didn't really question what they were doing. "This kind of is the opposite of what my sister told us to do."

"Told us what to do?"

"To avoid these dangerous situations for our idiot friend's sake."

Cory scoffed. "First off, since when have we listened to your sister? Secondly, Rob, my good man, is no idiot. He's taking classes I wouldn't dare take. And thirdly, if I recall correctly, her instructions were more specific towards monsters and letting the Spirit Guard take care of those. Rob is no monster, therefore, this doesn't apply to her advice."

"Yeah," Eli snorted, "I'm sure that explanation would go over great with her." They approached the grounds crew's supply building. The moonlight glinted off the two windows the building had. In the dead of the night, Eli thought about all the horror he had seen that were set in the woods. While it certainly wasn’t likely there was an ax murderer in the woods, he didn’t mind knowing that there would be superheroines in the park tonight. Just in case.

As they approached the building, Cory lowered his tone. While they were now a good four-hundred to four-hundred-fifty feet away from the Stoneridge Circle, they didn’t want to risk being loud and getting caught. "Please! What are the odds she'll ever know about this? Let's fire up that laptop."

Eli plopped onto the ground and leaned against the building. He pulled Cory’s laptop out of his backpack and turned it on. "You sure we'll have a good enough signal to get video?"

"Yeah, the video signal will be fine." Cory handed the connection cable from his phone to Eli. "I'm more worried about the Spirit Guard seeing us. We're well hidden behind the shack but they might have heard us drive up."

With a few clicks the screen came on, and after fiddling with the settings for a little bit, Eli was able to get the video feed from the fiber-optic camera lining the inside of Robert's headphones. The picture was a dark gray that probably was Robert's jacket. "Well he hasn't seen the Spirit Guard yet, I guess."

"Here goes nothing." Cory dialed Robert's phone to get their audio feed. Eli held his breath as Robert answered and the sound of clothes ruffling emanated from the laptop speakers. The camera flipped from a close up view of Robert's shoulder to the sight of four very attractive cheerleaders approaching Robert from the outside of the Standridge Circle.

"Looks like we're in the clear. I count four Spirit Guard."

Eli let out a drawn out sigh of relief. "That's a load off."

Spirit Guard Valor's lips voice exited the speakers before her lips even moved.. Eli guessed the video was lagging about a second behind the audio. "Who was that you were talking to?"

Eli sat straight up in a panic. Did she know? "My uncle called me."

"You didn't tell him about our meeting did you?"

"Naw, he's not from around here."

Eli relaxed and noticed Cory do the same. "Nearly gave me a heart attack."

Cory half laughed, half exhaled. "I'll be a lot calmer when this is over."

* - * - *

Robert stared, despite his uncle's lessons on what was and wasn't polite. Some sort of kangaroo rat thing was standing on an ancient monolith and, apparently, talking. Robert was sure an exception was allowed in this situation.

He glanced back at Valor and the other Spirit Guard before he pointed to the kangaroo rat with his thumb. "So is this a thing? Like, this is really happening? I'm not taking crazy pills here?"

Valor shrugged her shoulders; she was obviously trying to hide her amusement. "You'll get used to it pretty quick."

Robert remained dubious. "You sure? Because this meeting got a lot weirder than I expected it to be, and that's saying something since I'm talking to super-hero cheerleaders."

Spirit Guard Felicity giggled, "We bring in our expert on the matter and now you're complaining?"

Robert rubbed his eyes in frustration. "I guess I didn't expect your expert to be a talking marsupial."

"As I said before, my name is Kunapipi," the marsupial groused. "And I'm not a kangaroo rat. I'm a wallaby."

Robert turned around and faced the talking animal. "Right. A wallaby." Robert snorted, "That makes much more sense than a kangaroo rat."

Kunapipi responded with a mixture of annoyance and amusement. "Sarcasm is unbecoming of you, Mr. Dreese."

Robert chuckled. "Get to know me and I think you'll see it becomes me just fine."

Kunapipi laughed and Robert winced a little. There was something disturbing about seeing a live animal laugh like a human. It didn't escape Kunapipi's notice. "I'm sorry, Mr. Dreese. Maybe my real form was inappropriate for this meeting. I'm sorry if the sight of myself talking disturbs you somewhat."

Robert held his hands up. "I wouldn't say disturbing but, well, I don't know. It's definitely surreal."

Kunapipi jumped off the Standridge Stone and, as she fell, her body morphed into a human shape. With a brief flash, the shape took the form of a woman with hair the color of rust that hung past her shoulders. She was tall enought to look Robert right in his eyes. If he would only judge her by appearance, Robert would have guessed her to be in her late twenties or early thirties. She wore a business suit and had a thin pair of glasses framing her eyes. She was quite pretty. "Perhaps you will find this form a little less surreal."

Robert took a step back. "A little." He swallowed down a huge lump in his throat. "Neat trick."

Kunapipi took a cloth out of her suit pocket and began cleaning her glasses. "I had hoped this wouldn't be our first meeting today, but it seems you didn't feel the need for any counseling."

Robert squinted his eyes. "Excuse me?"

"We've spoken on the phone before. I am the one who called yesterday offering you counseling on behalf of the University."

It clicked. That's why her voice was familiar. But why was a college counselor a transforming animal? "You're Ms. Kala?" How were the Spirit Guard not the strangest thing here?

She smiled. "Ms. Kuna, but, please, call me by my actual name, Kunapipi. I get called Ms. Kuna all day while I'm counseling students."

Robert nodded and feigned that any of this made sense. "Which begs the question of why a transforming wallaby has bills to pay, needs a job as a student councilor, and what the blazes it has to do with me glowing at a monster attack."

"Direct and to the point. Just like you." Robert narrowed his eyes. What was this woman talking about? "But let me actually just answer your original question."

"That would be appreciated."

"Are you familiar with Fate?"

"Fate?" The meeting had again taken a turn he had not imagined. "Like the concept, the mythological creatures, or is this a person we're talking about who is named 'Fate'? Because my answers in order are: I don't believe in it, yes, and I haven't had the pleasure."

Ms. Kuna put her glasses back on. She pushed her chin out, thinking. "It's actually a little bit of all three. Fate is a..." Ms. Kuna shifted her hands up and down as if weighing her words as she spoke, "...being. She is an answer to the Chaos of the void. She brings order to the multiverse in her own way."

That answer raised so many questions in Robert's mind he didn't know where to begin. A lifetime of reading comic books made him want to ask about the multiverse thing first, but he knew that wasn't the most important thing. He needed to figure out his connection between himself and this Fate being Ms. Kuna spoke of. "So Fate is is like a god or something?"

"No. Not a god. Think of her more as a force, though she is a being with a personality. More importantly, it's how she acts that matters to your situation."

Robert folded his arms. What was all this meta-physical mumbo-jumbo leading to? "Uh huh."

"She acts through others. She does not intervene herself as that would rob the mortal beings of their will, their freedom to act. She instead sends Guides to find her Champions. Her Champions help bring the order she seeks."

"Neat." Robert leaned back against the Stone. "So, what are you?"

Ms. Kuna smiled warmly and held her hand to her chest. "I am a Guide. Fate created me to be her agent here on Earth. I have lived for thousands of years by your reckoning, seeking out her Champions. In times past my natural form of a talking animal was more accepted by the Champions of humanity. But as time has gone on, I've had to often take the form of a human to be accepted."

Robert wondered why on earth this alleged Fate would make her Guide a wallaby, but that wasn't what most interested him. "So you seek out Champions." He pointed to the Spirit Guard. "Are they the Champions you've been seeking out?"

Valor nodded. "We are among the Champions that Kunapipi has been seeking. But we aren't the only ones."

Four cheerleaders and one human-shaped wallaby stared at Robert. Their eyes were filled with expectation. It took him a moment to decipher it, but Robert soon thought he knew what they were trying to communicate. "Wait." Robert stood up straighter and scanned all the women in front of him like a gazelle looking for predators. "Are you implying I'm some sort of Champion?"

Charity beamed. "Yes, indeed we are."

Ms. Kuna cleared her throat. "Each Champion has been selected for some reason. Your soul is brimming with serene investiture.."

"Say what?" Robert could feel his heart begin to pump faster, but he forced himself to breathe slow. His heart slowed. He would not let his emotions take over, though he prayed Cory and Eli were getting all this. Robert idly shifted his phone in his pocket to make sure the phone's receiver was pointing the right direction and getting all the noise it could.

"Essentially Robert, you have been marked for the tasks ahead of you. Much like you can tattoo the skin with ink, there are ways to sort of 'tag' someone's soul."

Robert shook his head. This was getting out of hand. He couldn't be a Champion of Fate. He was just a guy from Deepwater. The only thing he was a champion of was of his guild in Aspect Realms. "I'm sorry. So you're saying some meta-physical being who orders the cosmos has tattooed my soul? Is this soul-tattoo the investiture y'all keep talking about?"

"It is a sign of your investiture but not the investiture itself. Your investiture actually comes from another but that is very complicated very fast."

Robert scoffed. "And this isn't?"

Ms. Kuna sighed. "It's a lot to take in. But let me just say your investiture is a power that you have been endowed with from your very foundation. I was told by the Spirit Guard you could feel Platicore's minion draining the power from others from a considerable distance. Is that true?"

Robert shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. I felt this... hard to describe, it was an icy stab in my, I don't know, my investiture I guess."

"That is an ability granted to you from your investiture. The symbol that glowed on your head was an emblem made to look like ripples in a pond. Those icy stabs you felt were your innate ability to feel Polygal harvesting the investiture of others. All people have some investiture, though in most people the investiture is a small one of simple will."

Robert clenched his teeth. All these weird terms were making it difficult to make sense of what he was being told.. He tried to boil it down. "So if Polygal could steal other people's investitures, why not mine?"

Charity stepped forward, warmth worn guilelessly on her face. "Platicore's minions are living tools designed to harvest investiture. But these tools, these monsters, are like hammers to nails. There is no finesse. Most individuals have a trace amount of investiture. Your investiture is complicated, woven into your very being like a tapestry. With brute force, Polygal kept trying to force something out that requires a much more surgical process."

Robert bit down on his thumbnail. "When Polygal was trying to get at my energy I was able to take that icy feeling I had and, still not sure how to describe it, but turn it into some kind of force to wash her away from what she was grabbing at."

Ms. Kuna nodded. "As Charity said, she's a simple tool. She wouldn't, at first, notice how complex your investiture was. Polygal wasn’t looking for anything complicated. She'd just see the same common investiture that she had pulled from all others: the simple investiture of will. You were able to spring your other investiture to action, your investiture of serenity. That is how you fended her off."

"Okay." Robert leaned back and scratched at the back of his head. "But why? What’s so important about all this investiture anyway? What does this Platicore dude want with it?"

"Power," Ms. Kuna said dramatically. "All living things have some amount of investiture of Will. Plants. Animals. Fungi. But sentient beings are the only ones that have enough will to be worth harvesting. Platicore creates monsters to rob sentients of their will so he can use it in his quest against Fate herself."

Robert raised an eyebrow. "Platicore is fighting against a near godly being?"

"Platicore was once much like myself, an agent of Fate, though his knowledge in magic is much greater than my own. After a while, Platicore grew arrogant in his power. Started making decisions that were against the will of Fate."

Robert held his hands out in confusion. "And didn't Fate see this coming? I mean, with a name like Fate, she shouldn't really get surprised much."

Ms. Kuna chuckled. "She did see it coming, though Fate is not omniscient. She is simply far-seeing. She can see what decisions people will make and extrapolate the consequences far into the future, though the further out it gets, the less accurate her sight becomes. In the case of Platicore, she saw his treachery and cast him out long before he could have been a threat to her cause of Ordering the multiverse."

"What was Platicore so pissed about that got him kicked out?"

Ms. Kuna hung her head. "He became obsessed with Fate's ability to see further. How she'd subtly use her influence to guide events. He started asking questions about choice and wondered if he had any choice at all if she was pulling all the strings. As he mulled that thought over and over, it slowly drew him mad. He decided that the only sane thing to do was to fight Fate; to him it became the only true decision one could make."

Robert mulled that thought in his mind. "Is he wrong though?"

Ms. Kuna jerked back as if Robert had just taken a swing at her. "I beg your pardon?"

Robert glanced up at the sky, searching for his words. "I mean, if she is subtly influencing things, do we really have any choices?" Robert wasn't much of a philosopher, but questions like this had always fascinated him. "If she's just fixing the situation to be something she knows we'll do, it seems our life would just be like a train on a track with no real..."

Ms. Kuna urgently waved her hands and cut Robert off. "No, you have a choice. You always have a choice. Robbing a sentient of choice is an abomination in Fate's eyes. She may know of your decisions, yes, but it is you who decides where you go. Fate simply lends her influence to those who go where they are needed." Ms. Kuna held her chin up. "And uses her influence against those who seek to rob sentients of choice."

Robert nodded. He realized he upset her and feigning trust probably would the best way to calm her down. He didn't like the idea of being manipulated, be it by Fate or anyone. But he also didn't really put much stock in the mystical or fantastic. It wasn't his business what this wallaby-woman believed so why quibble further about it. Besides, she could transform into a wallaby. If there was ever a time to give someone a bit of slack with the magical nonsense it was now. "Let's get back to this extra investiture I have. Why do I have this investiture of--what was it again?"

"Serenity"

"Yes, that. Why do I have it and what does this have to do with me being some sort of Champion?"

Ms. Kuna pushed some hair from her face. "Well, that story begins a long time ago."

Robert rolled his eyes. "And I suppose it takes place in a galaxy nowhere near ours?"

Ms. Kuna chuckled. "In a manner of speaking. This story begins in another universe."

Robert tossed his hands into the air. "Of course it does. Makes about as much sense as the rest of tonight."

"Fate, though she does take interest in individuals, typically uses her influence on larger scales, on races and nations. One such people who who held Fate's favor for a long season was the Ardent Empire. The Ardentia were a people who had pioneered the study of emotion and the power it had."

Robert shut his eyes tightly. So much for skipping over all the mystical stuff. "The power of emotion?"

"Indeed." Ms. Kuna explained, "Emotion is what motivates a person to do or act on something. The Ardentia royalty were quite fascinated with that concept and commissioned much research on the topic. Their scholars soon discovered that emotion wasn't just an abstract concept to describe how one feels, but an actual force that could, with the right tools, affect the physical world. They called this new field of magical study empathokinetics. Well, they called it something else because they obviously did not speak English but that would be the equivalent."

Robert bit his bottom lip. Ms. Kuna used words like magical to describe it but the way these people discovered this "magic" sounded a lot more scientific than he anticipated. "Empathokinetics. How exactly did it work?"

"I'm not exactly certain myself." Robert's shoulders sagged. "I was never anywhere near the Ardent Empire. I was stationed here on Earth. But what I do know is those who could actually use the magic were few and far between. It required intense training and focus that few had time for. Thus it was mostly something for the royalty, military, and academics to toy with. Over the course of the centuries, they learned not just of the power of emotion but the existence of investiture. Eventually, they learned how to create tools that, in the case of people with extremely large investitures, could make use of both investiture and empathokinetics. They referred to these tools as "foci" and they were extremely powerful, making it possible for the right people to summon forth the elements, augment their strength and speed exponentially, heal wounds, and convey knowledge."

Robert glanced at the Spirit Guard. Speed. Strength. Summoning forth the elements. Were they somehow in possession of these foci? "For a long time, the Ardent Empire was a favored nation of Fate. They expanded their power through the cosmos and spread order. They did so, at first, not as conquerors but as teachers. They found peoples and species throughout the multiverse and taught them their ways. Eventually, they discovered Earth and ancient humanity."

"To Earth?" Robert held back a laugh. "You mean like extra-planar aliens? How?"

"They did not ever come to Earth. They had made plans to, but we'll get to why not later in the story. But they would always find extraordinary individuals whom they could pass messages to through the planes. They would instruct these people to how to construct a powerful focus that would act as a gateway between the planes. That is what happened here on Earth."

"Really? Where was this gateway. Does it still exist?"

Ms. Kuna gestured around herself. "You're standing in it."

Robert's eyes went wide. He stopped leaning on the stone. "This? But it's just a bunch of rocks!"

"To most of Humanity, yes, it is. But in the hands someone with the right magic, empathokinetic magic, and with the right focus, it is a gateway to another world."

Robert rubbed his eyes. If Angela knew about this, she’d flip out with excitement. She had been sort of right after all. Empathokenesis was very scientific from the sound of it, but she had basically been right. "So, they teach ancient humans how to build gateways. The humans go to all the time to build the gateway. So why did they never come through? The Ardent Empire I mean."

Ms. Kuna sighed. "Nothing can last forever. The Ardent Empire died before they could ever travel to Earth."

"How? If they had this powerful weapon in empathokenesis, what could stop them?"

"Well," Ms. Kuna walked back and forth, obviously choosing her words carefully. "I told you the Ardentia had discovered investiture, which is part of your soul. They started experimenting with it. Fate sent them warnings to not tamper with souls, but they did not heed her warnings. Some of the royals and scholars began experimenting with ways to use their magic to imprint their souls over others as a way to cheat death."

"Imprint their souls?" Robert adjusted his headset, making sure Cory and Eli had a good angle on this. "You mean, like overwrite them? Use someone else’s soul like a canvas to just paint over?" Robert hadn’t given much thought to his own soul before, but the thought of having it overwritten disturbed him.

Valor spoke up with venom dripping in her voice. "Is it such a surprise? It is the nature of mortals to fear death, and even the greatest among us can fall to that fear’s sway."

Ms. Kuna closed her eyes tightly. "Fate had, up until that point, leant her influence the Ardent Empire, but once a significant portion of the Empire began supporting these abominable experiments they had to be stopped. It is not the destiny of mortals to never taste death. It is part of the design. All things have a time and a season. To run from death is to defy Fate herself, and she could not stand idle."

Robert felt that this was building up to something. "What did Fate do?"

"Nothing, actually." Ms. Kuna glanced at her feet. "As I told you, Platicore had been more and more obsessed with the idea of Fate pulling all the strings. He decided to rebel against Fate. His decision to rebel lead him to deciding to destroy the civilization Fate had, up to that point, most favored."

"The Ardent Empire."

"Exactly." Ms. Kuna smiled. "He went to the Ardent Empire, seeking to destroy them. He sought to destroy them using their own magic. He became a very strong empathokinetic. For he was willing to openly experiment with magics that were forbidden in their culture."

Robert squinted. "Such as?"

"I don’t know the full extent of how, but what what emotions you use to fuel your magic are very important. They can change the body and mind. Early on in their experiments, the Ardentia learned that negative emotions such as anger, fear, sorrow, and such would warp and twist the body and mind."

Robert rolled his eyes. "So cliche."

"I’m sorry?"

"It’s cliche. Like something you’d see in a childrens’ cartoon."

Valor frowned. "You don’t believe Kunapipi is telling the truth?"

"I believe that this story is completely nuts. But so is the situation. I’m merely pointing out that what I’m being told is hitting several traditional themes. Like someone is writing a script or something. It's not meant to be a comment questioning anyone's sincerity. I just think it's funny and ironic."

Felicity shook her finger. "If it fits what you'd expect it's not ironic! It's the opposite of that!"

Robert chuckled. He had never really let that bother him but he knew somewhere Cory was nodding his head. "You're right of course. I should know better." It seemed a bit odd that a superheroine would worry about that kind of thing but he was quickly learning just how human they were. "What would be a better term for something that isn't what you'd think because it's just too predictable?"

Felicity tapped her finger to her chin then shrugged with a grin. "Cliche, I guess."

Tenacity gave the diminutive Spirit Guard a disapproving look. "Really?"

"What? He's not wrong. It is an overused trope. It just happens to be reality too. They become cliches for a reason."

Tenacity sighed. "It's just not the time for a literary critique."

Robert waved off the discussion. "But back to the topic at hand, why would Platicore want to destroy the Ardent Empire? I mean, they were starting to defy Fate with their soul overwriting stuff. Wouldn't he encourage that?"

Ms. Kuna glanced at Tenacity and Felicity momentarily before explaining further. "Well, first of all, Platicore did not know all that was occurring with the Ardent Empire. Had Platicore known what the royals were up to, he would have definitely changed his tactics."

"The royals? They were the ones doing the experimentation?"

Ms. Kuna nodded. "I said the Ardentia had outlawed the practice of using negative emotions to fuel their empathokenesis but that didn't stop experimentation from happening. Long periods of prosperity and power lead to feelings of superiority and arrogance. They felt above their own rules. They felt above everyone's rules, including Fate. This was especially true the higher up you went in the Ardentia royalty. Had Platicore just known that one fact, maybe he wouldn't have attacked them but tried to use them against Fate. Instead he tried to crush them."

"How do you mean?"

"Platicore despised the Ardentia Royalty. He viewed the Empress and her family as Fate's favored pets. So Platicore tried to tear them down. As I said before, due to the nature of empathokenesis, it was an activity reserved for those who had both ability, time, and money to master it. This meant that the average citizen had little access to it. Even if you had great potential, you had to have some sponsor of some kind who could afford to pay you to take the time to master it. And if that was the case, you ended up somewhere in the power structure of academia, the military, or the royalty anyway as you'd be indebted to them. Before Platicore showed up, such patronage wasn't viewed in a negative light as that was just the way the system had worked."

Robert snorted. "So that was how Platicore played it? Rich vs. poor? Talk about cliches."

"You have to understand Robert, because of their history, the Ardent Empire lore was full of tales of Guides like myself inspiring people to greatness. Some of their greatest triumphs were the appearance of a Guide who encouraged one action or another, tossing aside their evil foes. Platicore played on this cultural fact, just substituting the Ardentia establishment as the evil that needed to be vanquished. Thus, without realizing it, Platicore was doing Fate's bidding by helping her punish those who would defy her."

Robert sighed. "Seriously though, what does this have to do with me?"

"We'll be there soon enough." With a huff, Robert gestured for Ms. Kuna to continue. "Platicore's ranks swelled quickly in power. He perfected a process, using his knowledge from centuries as an agent of Fate, by which he could draw upon the investiture of others and transplant it into another. He would then fuse their body with some sort of focus that channeled negative energy. That process would twist the persons' body, mind, and soul and turn them into a twisted human-focus abomination."

Robert immediately thought about the Polygal's body: ticket dispensers in wrists, coin slots where abs should be, tubes coming out of her hips. "Like Polygal? She was a human at one point?" This thought disturbed Robert as it would mean the Spirit Guard had killed a victim of Platicore's experiments.

Ms. Kuna shook her head. "Similar, but no. While it's not clear, the monsters that Platicore uses now are definitely different from his minions back in the days of the Ardentia Civil War. While they were powerful, they were still free-willed and untrained warriors. Even with a power up they were at a disadvantage against the trained soldiers of the Ardent Empire. Plus, his mortal/focus hybrids couldn't turn into objects as we have seen. These monsters seem to be more akin to the mythical golems as they seem to be mundane objects brought to a lower level of sentience via an unknown process of filling them with stolen investiture. They also can steal investiture from others, unlike Platicore's past minions."

This news calmed Robert, even if he still was somewhat skeptical. He didn't trust easy answers. "So Platicore went to war with the corrupted Empire. Who won?"

Valor winced. "No one."

Robert raised an eyebrow. "No one?"

Ms. Kuna nodded. "Though better trained and better equipped, the Ardent Empire was dealing, for the first time, with an internal enemy. Their power structure was fractured by constant worry over who might betray their side. This caused the Civil War to be fought to a dead standstill for over a solid decade. As they spent more and more energy fighting one another, both sides grew weaker. Less formidable. That was when the Other Power struck."

Robert tossed his hands into the air. "Other Power? How many side-plots does this war have?"

Ms. Kuna scowled, looking rather annoyed for the first time. "The Other Power is not something to make light of. This isn't something that Fate foresaw."

Robert squinted. "Say what?"

"We don't know what the Other Power is. And when I say 'we,' I mean myself, the Ardent Empire, Platicore, or even Fate. Whatever the Other Power is, it seems to somehow operate outside of our multiverse's normal rules. Fate has no idea what it is or where it will show up. All we know is that wherever it shows, everything perishes."

Robert paused as he digested the new information. So far, Fate had been presented as a benevolent, magnificent puppetmaster. She pulled on every string just right to get what she thought was needed. The thought of Ms. Kuna, a loyal agent of Fate, admitting that her nigh-deific boss couldn't see something coming was very unexpected. In a strange way, he found himself less skeptical of her story now that Fate was not being presented as completely infallible. "So you don't know anything about," Robert made quotations marks in the air, "if the 'Other Power' is an army, a being, an anomaly or anything?"

"None whatsoever. All we know is that it mows through whatever is in its path, and leaves very little trace of what's left."

Robert's mind was drawn to the unused gateway that he stood in. "Is that why the Ardent Empire never came through then? To spare Earth?"

Ms. Kuna's annoyance disappeared. Her face beamed with approval. "It's a little more complicated than that, but for the most part, yes."

Robert shook his head and stared at the sky. "Of course it's complicated."

"The final days of the civil war went from a conflict about power to one for survival. At the center of the conflict were the gateways to the various multidimensional worlds the Ardent Empire had expanded to. What would typically happen is one side would claim a gateway, get to the other side, then destroy it from the other side to make sure the Other Power could not follow them through, leaving the enemy to be crushed."

"All the gateways had been claimed save for one. The one to Earth. The reason for this was that it had not yet been completed by the workers on Earth's side of the gateway. The early humans were blissfully unaware of the fact that the people on the other side were not the benevolent gods they thought they were building gateway for. It was the highly powerful, but also very corrupt Empress herself."

"Of course it's the Empress herself," Robert scoffed.

"Earth was very young, rich in resources, and had a large but undeveloped population of sentients who would be a perfect working class: humans. It was, from the Empress's perspective, an ideal location to start rebuilding the Ardent Empire. But she wasn't the only one who sought to control the last gateway."

Robert glanced at Felicity. "Platicore?"

Felicity grinned and shrugged. "Platicore."

"Giant, epic battle between Platicore and the Empress?"

Felicity giggled. "But of course."

Robert rolled his eyes and laughed. "Straight out of a comic book."

Ms. Kuna groaned. "It's not quite as simple as that but-- oh, fine. Let me just get to explaining the role the Princess plays in this tale."

Robert tried to stifle a laugh. "Princess?" He was struggling, but he kept it in. "You gotta be shittin' me! This story also includes a princess?"

Ms. Kuna did her best to muscle through Robert's amusement. "The gateway to earth was nearing completion. Somehow, Platicore had discovered this and then, with the last of his forces, attempted to take control of the gateway which was the last hope for anyone to escape the Other Power. To compound the conflict, the Other Power was quickly moving in on the gateway."

"Sounds chaotic."

"It was." Ms. Kuna affirmed. "The biggest risk though wasn't to those there, but to humanity. You see, if either side made it through with the intent to destroy the gateway from the Earth-side of the gate, they might have been too weak from combat to do so. If they could not destroy it from the other side, the Other Power would move through the gateway and spread onto Earth. Thus, they would condemn not just themselves to destruction, but the everyone on Earth as well."

Robert tried to remove the smirk from his face. "But from what you are telling me, it doesn't sound like the Empress or Platicore would care about risking an entire planet to save their own necks."

Ms. Kuna held up her finger for emphasis. "Exactly! But the Empress' daughter, the Princess, was concerned about exactly that. She was, unlike most other royals, keenly aware of how corrupt their society had become. For that reason, she didn't really see the destruction of the Ardent Empire as a bad thing. She knew their time was up so she made it her job to be sure that humanity wouldn't have to pay for her kingdom's sins."

"She sounds like a pretty perfect Princess." Robert couldn't resist the temptation. "Was she also really beautiful?"

Robert caught a glance at Valor blushing for some reason. What was that about? Ms. Kuna groaned, but answered. "From the visions that Fate has granted me on the subject, yes, she was quite beautiful. Yes, it's cliche. Can we move on from that point?"

Robert smiled but held his hands out apologetically. "Okay. Okay. I'll stop."

"Thank you." Ms. Kuna sounded worn out. Robert felt guilty for giving her such a hard time when she was obviously just trying to do her job. "She hatched a plan with her closest allies. Though I know none of their names, I do know who they were."

Robert raised his eyebrows. "How can you know who they are if you didn't know their names?"

Ms. Kuna shrugged. "The visions that Fate grants me are usually quite light on specifics. She tends to communicate via archetypes and feelings. Specific data isn't the easiest thing to convey via visions."

Robert quirked his lips to the side, thinking. "She can't give you specific intel? Why is that? Are there bandwidth issues in visions or something?"

"I... well..." Ms. Kuna was flustered. To Robert, it seemed that maybe she had never asked this question before. Likely business had been conducted like this for so long she never bothered to think it wasn't normal. "I... I don't know." She slumped over and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Can I just finish the story and get you the information you need?"

Robert paused and pondered. Was she avoiding giving him information? He glanced over at the Spirit Guard to search for a tell. Valor seemed a little annoyed. Tenacity and Charity glanced at one another, both seeming a bit confused. He couldn't decide if they were confused about Robert asking these questions or why they hadn't asked these questions before. Felicity just smiled, apparently tickled by Ms. Kuna's response. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I guess I'm just curious as to how this whole Fate thing works. Please, continue." As skeptical as Robert was, he recognized that he was getting off the beaten path with his questions. There'd possibly be time to worry about Fate's upload speeds later. He needed to know why he had glowed.

"Thank you." Ms. Kuna pushed her hair back and sighed. Robert would have to make a mental note to ask more in the future. "The Princess had allies. Her first ally is the Soldier." Robert noticed Tenacity round her shoulders a little. "The Soldier had been assigned as her bodyguard since they were young. She was tall and used her empathokinetic skills to augment her physical strength. Of all her allies, the Soldier was the least dedicated to the Princess's cause, yet the most dedicated to the Princess herself."

"Next was the Scholar." Felicity flipped her hair back a little, her frosted pink bangs bouncing playfully. "Amongst the academic sector of the Empire, she was considered quite a prodigy. She understood, in large detail, the nature of foci and how to make them. She and the Princess had befriended one another when they were originally learning how to employ empathokenesis, though the Scholar advanced in her understanding empathokinetics much quicker."

"Next was the Mender." Charity smiled shyly and shuffled the tip of her heeled boot in the dirt. "A very specific branch of empathokenesis focused on using your emotions to heal wounds and create barriers of protection and warding. The Mender, though young, was one of the best at it in the entire Empire. But more important than her skills was her heart. She was truly a selfless person and it was the Princess's discussions with her that helped the Princess come up with the resolve to stand up to her mother and protect humanity."

"The last of the Princess's allies was the Shrine Maiden."

"Shrine Maiden?" Robert asked. "Like a priestess or something?"

Ms. Kuna nodded. "Very similar, though the title of Shrine Maiden or Shrine Master in Ardentia signalled something more akin to a bishop or cardinal on Earth. Each Maiden or Master had responsibilities to a specific shrine. Though I don't know the specifics, the Ardentia religion had access to some of the more powerful magic empire in the Empire due to their ability to inspire strong emotion in others. It represented the only segment of the Ardent Empire that had mostly escaped the corruption of the society though not completely. Of their religious hierarchy, the Maiden I speak of was one of the most zealous about ferreting out the corruption wherever she could find it. But upon recognizing that the Empress herself was corrupt, the Maiden came to the conclusion that there was little hope for the Empire. So she turned her attention to the only royal she knew to be untainted by the darker emotions."

Robert shrugged. "The Princess."

"Indeed." Ms. Kuna paced back and forth as she spoke. "While the Mender was the one who helped build up the Princess's resolve to do the right thing, it was the Maiden who was the soul behind these five young women's efforts. Spirits would go up and down, but the Maiden kept their hearts and minds upon their righteous task."

Robert thought about these five characters. Each came from a different segment of the Ardent Empire's power structure. It was like something straight out of a anime. Robert didn't want to belabor that point further though. "And what was this scheme they came up with. I mean, trying to keep out the Empress, Platicore, and the Other Power is no small task it sounds like."

"Quite true. Their plan required the work of all five girls to pull it off. First thing you must know, is the girls' main concern was not letting anything through. But as the Scholar pointed out, even if nothing got through, the existence of the gateway would alert the Other Power to the presence of Earth, and that it might eventually find its way there. So their plan wasn't just to protect Earth at that time, but for all time."

Robert let out a low whistle. "Geez. Ambitious little bunch."

"Quite. At the center of the plan was the Shrine Maiden performing a ritual seeking the favor of the gods on their souls to allow them to reincarnate as humans at a future time when they would be needed."

Robert waved his hands about like a referee signalling the end of a play. "Hold on! Timeout here. I thought that reincarnating thing is forbidden, dark arts stuff. I thought Fate looked down on that."

Ms. Kuna grimaced. "Well, it is a gray area. You see, Fate abhors those who try to cheat death. The soul overwriting we talked about earlier is an example of that. Reincarnation though is not cheating death. You still die. And plus you never reincarnate into the exact same person. When someone is reincarnated, they are a new person, with a portion of their previous soul as part of the makeup. Typically that old portion of your soul is represented by your investiture."

Robert shoved his hands into his pockets. "Seems like a technicality to me."

Ms. Kuna gave a conciliatory nod. "Well, to be honest, that point has been up for debate amongst the agents of Fate for millennia. One common thought is that Fate allows it because other divine beings, the gods I spoke of before, are the ones who approve it. It's sort of outside her jurisdiction, if you will. But whether that's the case or not is unknown as Fate hasn't seen fit to let us Guides know."

Robert bit his bottom lip. That made some sense; however he was a little concerned that the heavens would have such a bureaucracy that there would be jurisdictions. He would have hoped that higher beings could keep everything straighter than mortal politicians. But a different fact bothered him more. "So, what, the Maiden just made a simple prayer and, boom, reincarnation?"

"No," Ms. Kuna said flatly, "though I don't know who or what gods the Ardentia worshiped, the gods are notoriously picky with their miracles. If the gods were to grant this request for divine aid, it would have to be due to a lifetime of service and faith far beyond that of any ordinary clergyman."

Robert shrugged then shoved his hands back into his pockets. "Okay, whatever. Did the gods honor her request? How would someone even know something like that?"

"Well, the girls went forward with their plan as if they knew the gods would honor it. So the Maiden must have received some sort of confirmation. The next part of the plan was that when they were reincarnated, they would need powerful foci to use as weapons against the Other Power. That fell to the Scholar. I don't know the specifics, but apparently the months leading up to the final battle were groundbreaking in terms of the empathokinetic interfaces she created. They were like nothing the Empire had ever seen."

Robert wanted to ask, to get more details, but he had to focus on what was important. "So the Maiden gets them reincarnation. The Scholar gets them weapons. What is everyone else's role in this?"

Valor cleared her throat and spoke up. "Everyone else's role was to help in preventing anyone from getting through the portal. And that would depend entirely upon the Princess."

Robert raised an eyebrow. Valor had, up to that point, been rather quiet. "How so? She going to fight off the forces of the Empress, Platicore, and the Other Power all by herself?"

Valor smiled but shook her head. "No. Though she indeed had the most powerful magic of those on her team, she was not as strong as that. And she definitely was not as strong as the Empress herself. The Princess had to convince the Empress to let her be the last line of defense. It was the only way her plan would work. The Empress did not fully trust her daughter though. They had been in scuffles before over the daughter recognizing the corruption of the Empire. Ultimately, the Princess was only able to convince the Empress with the help of another. The Knight."

Robert rolled his eyes. "Of course there is a knight."

Valor frowned but didn't let Robert's sarcasm deter her from continuing. "He was the head of the Imperial Guard and had the Empress's ear. Though the Knight didn't know what the Princess was up to, he seemed to have some sort of intuition that the Princess was up to something and needed help. As one of the few morality-minded royals he offered to lend the Princess aid in defending the gateway. Furthermore, he reasoned with the Empress that as the most powerful empathokinetic, the Empress was the only one who could stand up to Platicore himself. It would be better to draw the fight away from the gateway and let a smaller, but very skilled team defend the gate from whatever snuck through the front lines."

Robert tried to start piecing the story together. "And this influenced the Empress?" The Shrine Maiden had gotten them to be reincarnated as humans... somehow. The Scholar was leaving them foci. Where did the Mender and Soldier fit into this?

"Indeed." Ms. Kuna picked up where Valor left off. "The Empress entrusted the gateway defense to the Princess's team, the Knight, and a few of the Knight's most trusted lieutenants. The final battle came, and the Princess set her plan into motion. The first thing they did was have the Mender erect a defensive barrier around the gateway." Ms. Kuna spun around and waved her hand in large circles. "That was why the Mender was chosen. She was one of the most powerful healers in the Empire and her barriers were some of the most robust."

Charity blushed. "But the problem with barriers is that each time you increase its size, the barrier gets exponentially weaker."

"Makes sense," Robert said, "As you increase sphere's radius, you increase its surface area by the radius squared. Assuming the empathokinetics has the same power behind it no matter the size, the intensity of the resistance would decrease by that same factor." He thought back to the Polygal fight. Charity had jumped in front of himself, Eli, and Cory and erected a spherical bubble of light around her to protect them from attacks. Just like the Mender apparently did.

That's when it hit Robert: the Spirit Guard were the reincarnated girls from the story Ms. Kuna was telling, or at least they thought they were. Regardless, it was the reason they were telling him this long tale that seemingly had no connection to the Polygal fight. It had to be. It suddenly made sense why Spirit Guard Charity would speak so much about the barriers. She had some sort of memory of them from back then.

Charity blinked, obviously taken aback by Robert's explanation. "I um, well, never had thought of it in such... mathematical terms but, yes, that is the general principle behind barriers."

Valor had only spoken up once the Princess was brought up. She appeared to be the defacto leader of the Spirit Guard, just like the Princess's was the leader of her team. It stood to reason she was the Princess. So who were Tenacity and Felicity supposed to be? And according to the story, there were five girls and this Knight-character. Where were they? No, the Knight might not get to fall under the same reincarnation guidelines the girls did. Or would he?

"With the barrier up, it was the Scholar's job to get the foci through to the earth-side of the gateway."

Robert scratched his head. "But I thought the gateway wasn't open yet." He thought further and then pointed at Ms. Kuna. "And wouldn't it be irresponsible anyway to throw such powerful weapons through the other side of a gate with prehistoric humans?"

Ms. Kuna grinned. "It would be, if that was what they were doing. There are two pieces to each gateway." She spun around, gesturing to the stones that stood around them. "These are the first part of the gateway, referred to as the 'eye' of the gateway. These are the method of actual transit. Once activated, they would transport the being that activated them to the other side of the gate."

She then pointed to the stone sphere behind Robert. "That is the other part, called the 'iris.' You can think of it as a interdimensional lockbox that can only be opened by those who have been given the correct key. It's here that the foci were placed."

Robert turned to stare at the stone. "What type of key opens a stone? And could someone like Platicore forge a key or something?"

"Unlikely, as he'd have to fake the exact investiture of one of the Princess's team."

"Is that impossible?"

"It isn't impossible, but it is extremely difficult, and you have to start with some piece of that investiture to even begin."

Robert nodded his head. "Okay, so I'm assuming the team can, what, just reach in and pull their focus out of the iris once they are reincarnated?"

"Exactly."

"Reach through the stone? Like, through solid material?"

Felicity nodded. "Yup! Though technically it's only a stone when it's not acting like a lockbox."

"Uh huh." Robert turned back to Ms. Kuna. "So the Mender kept up the barricade. The Scholar placed the foci into the iris. What did the rest of the team do exactly?"

"They fought," Tenacity said with grave tone. "There's a fair deal of time and care that goes into depowering a gate."

Felicity butted in. "A gate uses a lot of energy. If you don't turn it off right, the energy will build up and create a slightly nuclear explosion on both sides of the gate."

Robert blinked. "Slightly nuclear?"

"Uh huh." Felicity held her thumb and index finger a apart. "Just a little bit. The rest of the explosion is the empathokinetic energies getting released. And creating irradiated, empathically charged craters on other people's planets is very rude. So after putting the foci into the iris, the Scholar had to deactivate the gateway."

"So the Scholar essentially had to disarm a bomb."

Felicity nodded. "A good comparison, only this bomb could also teleport people. So, like, a tele-bomb." Though her terming of things was quite juvenile, Robert could see Felicity's knowledge of the gateway probably meant she was the Scholar.

Tenacity rolled her eyes but smiled at Felicity. "The Soldier and the Knight coordinated the effort to defend the barrier, striking down anyone who tried to enter the gateway. At first they were just killing off the sneakier members of Platicore's forces. Then, as the battle raged on, some Ardentia would try to sneak in since they wanted to escape the hell of battle and the inevitable destruction at the hands of the Other Power. The team would turn them away, telling them the gateway was not yet ready on the other side. That was a lie of course, the gateway had been completed around the start of the final battle. But they bought the story and would leave for a while."

"But as the battle continued, and the Other Power drew nearer, it got harder and harder to keep up the ruse. Soon, as more learned empathokinetics started asking tougher questions, their lie was discovered and all hell broke loose."

Tenacity moved her hands as if placing chess pieces. "Not far away, the Empress and Platicore had engaged one another in single combat. Normally both would not be amongst the ranks of their own armies, but these were desperate times. As the most powerful empathokinetics on the field, they naturally cut their way through the enemies' forces until they found one another." Robert looked Tenacity over. Of all the Spirit Guard she was the most well built and athletic looking. He wasn't sure if he could judge by looks, but if he had to guess, he would say she was the Soldier. So if she was the Soldier, where were the Shrine Maiden and the Knight?

"Their might crashed against one another like tectonic plates, scarring the battlefield. It wasn't long before all who had been engaged in battle around the Empress and Platicore had been tossed aside or slain by the collateral damage the fight between these two titans created. Though evenly matched at first, as the fight wore on, Platicore began to falter. He could match the Empress in terms of raw power, but he didn't have the endurance she had. She was about to lay the killing strike to him when word of her daughter's betrayal reached her. Furious, she forgot all about Platicore and headed straight for the gateway."

Robert snorted with amusement. "When will people learn you have to always confirm your kill?"

Valor ignored Robert's quip and picked up where Tenacity left off. "The battle at this point was pure chaos. The Other Power had made its way onto the edges of the battlefield and was slowly, but methodically, cutting its way to the gateway. When the Empress arrived, her fury was made evident by the black aura that surrounded her. She focused that entire fury upon her daughter, the Princess."

"Though normally not up to her mother's magic, the Empress had expended much of her strength fighting Platicore." Valor's voice shook a little. "This, combined with the Princess being buoyed by her own feelings of righteous resolve, allowed the Princess to fight the Empress to a very emotionally charged standoff." Robert could see Valor fighting back tears. Charity put her hand on Valor's shoulder to support her. Did Valor actually remember this fight? Was the reincarnation thing more literal than he originally thought?

Ms. Kuna interrupted, sparing Valor from having to tell the rest herself. "As Princess and Empress fought, the forces of the Knight, the Soldier, and the Shrine Maiden defended the Mender's barrier. The Scholar worked feverishly, but time was running out. The darkness of the Other Power started to dim the light around them. It was that moment that Platicore made his final move."

"He had saved what little strength he had left and made one, last, hatred-fueled attack against the Mender's barrier. Though Platicore didn't break the barrier, he did weaken it just enough for him to pass through it. With literally his last ounce of empathokinetic power, he activated the gateway. As he collapsed to the ground, he flickered from view like a firefly putting its light out."

Robert nodded. "Hence why he's here? Did anyone else get through?"

Valor shook her head. "Not that we've seen. After Platicore escaped, all we know is the Scholar succeeded in closing the gate." Valor took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "After that, the Empress goes into a murderous rage, fueling the entirety of her magic with it's violent power. She proceeded to strike down everyone at the gateway. The Princess's team, worn out from battle and emotionally drained from achieving their goal, no longer had the emotional fortitude to stand against her. The last thing we've seen is her dealing the killing blow to her own daughter as the blackness of the Other Power overtakes the inert gateway."

Robert nodded his head. These girls must have seen previous versions of their past lives in visions or something. He couldn't imagine Valor being moved to near tears if she hadn't seen it herself. He allowed her a moment for her to gather herself before he spoke. "So," Robert said as he leaned against the stone once more, "you're the Princess in the story, Spirit Guard Valor?"

Valor blinked in surprise. "E--excuse me? How did you..."

Robert shrugged. "I don't know if I believe in all this reincarnation mumbo jumbo, but whether or not it's real or not doesn't matter. You've somehow inherited the Princess's power. It seems kind of logical that you wouldn't bother telling me this long story if this wasn't the case. Am I right?"

Valor, still surprised, grinned from ear to ear. "You, well, yes. Yes you are correct."

Ms. Kuna seemed rather impressed. "How did you surmise she was the Princess?"

"Well," Robert pointed at Valor, "she spoke a lot about the Princess herself. Pinky there spoke about the Scholar's efforts so I'm assuming she's the Scholar?"

Felicity put her hands on her hips angrily, but her smile instantly told Robert she was faking it. "My name is Spirit Guard Felicity!" She flicked her hair back with mock arrogance. "But I am the reincarnation of the brilliant Scholar, true."

Robert gestured to Charity. "You waxed on about how the Mender's barrier worked. I also recall, and I thank you again for it, you creating a barrier in front of my friends and myself at Polygal's fight. Seems to reason then that you are the Mender?"

Charity said nothing but nodded her head as if to salute Robert's deduction. He grinned. He know he shouldn't let it go to his head as he felt these were rather obvious conclusions to draw from their story, but it was great to have cute girls giving him praise for being smart. He turned to Tenacity. "And I can't really tell from your story if you're the Soldier or the Shrine Maiden, though since you didn't go on about the reincarnation thing, and because being a built, six foot tall Amazon wielding a big ass sword doesn't really mesh with the idea of some priestess taking care of some shrine I'm going to say you're probably the Soldier."

Tenacity smiled, but there was a nervousness to it that Robert hadn't noticed before. "Well, you got me there." What was she nervous about?

Whatever it was, at this point Robert didn't really care. He'd gotten done with story time, and now was the time for answers. "Given all that long time ago in a universe far, far away stuff, what does this all have to do with me?" He then pointed to his forehead. "And what does it have to do with the glowing on my forehead?"

All three of the girls and Ms. Kuna looked to Tenacity. The brunette sighed and stepped forward. "Robert, remember how we said the iris would only open for people with the right investiture?"

Robert raised an eyebrow. Why was Tenacity the one speaking? He had fully expected it to be Ms. Kuna or Valor who would give him the lowdown on this part. "Yeah. What about it?"

"Put your hand on the stone behind you."

"Why?"

"Just do it," Tenacity grumbled.

Robert frowned but turned to face the stone. Their story implied the foci were in this very stone. But it'd only open for the Princess's team. What would him touching it do? It wouldn't open unless...

Robert pressed his hand against the large stone. He felt something reach into his very being. It reminded him of Polygal when she was trying to steal his investiture, however this sensation felt more like the feeling he got when he thought someone was watching him. As quickly as the sensation came, it left, and the stone flashed, briefly bathing the Standridge Circle in sky blue light. The light from the stone quickly coalesced into an image: A dot encased by a circle with part of another circle enjoining the smaller circle. The exact image Eli had drawn. The symbol on his forehead during the Polygal fight. "What the hell?"

Though he could clearly see the stone before him, he could feel it wasn't a stone at all. This thing was only a stone when it was closed. Now that it was open, he could clearly feel this object was indeed an iris, and even though it had spent millennia pretending to be a stone, that was the exception to the rule. He could feel the iris had something intended for him. He began to understand how serious he should be considering the empath part of empathokinetics. It definitely was doing something to him emotionally, though he couldn't figure out what.

He reached through the iris as easily as if the surface of it were made of water. He felt something long and smooth slide itself into his hand. It's texture was metallic, and he could feel groves around the shaft. His fingers traced the grooves until he felt a rubbery texture. With a deep breath, he slid his hand out of the iris, and once more, it stared at something that was just a stone.

Robert blinked as he stared at the object in his hand. "It's a baton?" He had expected something mystical or majestic. A wand or some kind of weapon. But this looked like a very fancy baton a cheerleader would toss into the air. This was one of the foci that were created and placed by the Scholar? This was the powerful weapon to fight Platicore and the Other power? This?

Robert tried to push aside the silliness of a baton being a weapon. He tried to focus on what was important. They said only the members of the Princess's reincarnated team could reach into the iris and pull out their foci. So that meant...

Robert stared at the baton as if he was interrogating it's surface for answers. The only people left in the story who weren't here were the Shrine Maiden and the Knight. They had never said the reincarnation policy would cover the Knight, but now that he thought about it, Polygal had said Robert might be the Spirit Guard's aloof protector. That sort of sounded like the Knight in their story.

"So," Robert sighed, "what does this mean?" He looked up and scanned each of the women in front of him. His eyes locked with Tenacity who looked like she did not want to be here at all. "Are you trying to tell me I'm the Knight from the story or something?"

Tenacity bit down hard on her bottom lip and closed her eyes. She exhaled through her nose and grimaced. "Um, the Knight?" She scratched at her elbow and stared at the ground. "No, not the Knight. Close. Really close. But, yeah, not so much..."

---

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Robert stared at the baton he held in confusion. "If I'm not the Knight, what's the point of telling me that long story? Polygal said I'm your ally in some way." His mind started running through the possibilities. They had talked about the Knight's lieutenants being there. Maybe that was possible? Would they be covered under the reincarnation plan? How far sweeping were gods with those sorts of claims?

Tenacity nodded. "And you are our ally."

"But not the Knight?" The Shrine Maiden had gone unclaimed, but since he was male, that seemed just seemed stupid. And on top of it she was supposed to be the "soul" of the Princess's team. And apparently she was quite religious, too. Soulful and religious weren't words Robert would use to describe himself.

"Correct."

Robert crossed his arms and sighed. "Then what?" The Empress was the only other named character in the story, but that idea was even crazier than the Shrine Maiden. He definitely wasn't a megalomaniac. But then maybe they thought he was someone who wasn't reincarnated but going to be taken over by soul overwriting. That certainly seemed like something the Empress from their story would do. But then again, why the hell would an Empress choose some powerless guy from Deepwater for such a vessel? And there was still the issue of him being a guy.

Tenacity opened her mouth but no words came out. Robert rolled his eyes. Finally, words came out, "When we saw the mark of serenity on your forehead, we told you we didn't know what it meant." Why was this so hard for her to just say it? He hated it when people beat around the bush. "That wasn't entirely accurate. We knew exactly what it meant but, well, we just thought we must have had it wrong,"

Robert threw his hands into the air. "And what is the 'it' we are talking about? What did the symbol mean? Spit it out already." Maybe the story had been pointless after all and the mark wasn't anything with the Ardent Empire. Maybe it was something to do with Fate only. Maybe they thought they needed to tell the whole Ardent Empire thing to give him background on who the Spirit Guard were.

Tenacity winced. "It means you are the reincarnation of the Shrine Maiden."

Robert quit pondering and payed closer attention. "I--what?" Did he hear her right? "The Shrine Maiden?"

Tenacity bit her bottom lip. "Yeah."

"Um," Robert stammered and held up a finger, "I-I-I don't know if you have noticed, but, um... I'm kind of a dude."

Tenacity opened her palms, as if trying to show a dog that she had no treats. "We noticed. It's kind of why we thought the glowing on your forehead had to mean something different from what we thought it meant."

Charity timidly stepped forward. "It is kind of why we decided to consult Kunapipi first. It made very little sense to us."

Robert could feel himself scowling. He tried to stop, but whenever something he didn't like also didn't make sense, he tended to scowl. Before he could regain control over his face, Valor interjected with a panicked attempt to explain. "It wasn't exactly the way that we would..."

All the talking wasn't letting Robert think. He needed to slow down and think. Robert shook his head and waved his hands, cutting off Spirit Guard Valor. "Now--now just... just hold on for one second." He took a deep breath and stood up straighter. He needed to balance himself mentally and emotionally before he continued with his inquiry. Standing up straight, even if it was only physical, helped restore that inner balance he was looking for.

"Okay." His mind slowed down, and he felt ready. He looked Valor in the eyes. "Let's start over. How did you know what that thing on my forehead meant?" He planned to be thorough in his examination of these girls. Luckily for him, he was recording and he'd be able to go back and see if there were any inconsistencies in the story he was being told.

Valor pointed at the baton in Robert's hand. "As the reincarnation of the Princess, I had access to all of our foci. I left them in the iris for safekeeping of course, but I did take time to study all the emblems on each one. In the visions of my past life..." Valor gave a hesitant smile. "Or rather, our past lives, I saw these same symbols on the Soldier, Scholar, Mender, and Shrine Maiden."

Robert pointed to the emblem on the baton. "So this here is some sort of, I don't know, crest for the Shrine Maiden?"

Valor looked up and swayed her head side to side. "Well, sort of. I don't know the specifics, but I think crest is a good way of putting it. I just know that in the Ardentia culture, that emblem means 'serene.'"

Valor then pointed to a small design on the waist of her skirt. It looked like a diamond with a dot in the center. "My emblem means 'valorous.'" Robert hadn't noticed it before; when he stared at the lovely Spirit Guard, he wasn't exactly admiring the embroidery of their uniforms.

"Valorous?" Robert asked. "As in Spirit Guard Valor?"

"It's where my title comes from. Yes."

"And you're absolutely certain that only the reincarnation of the Shrine Maiden could have access to this emblem?"

Felicity shook her head. "The emblem isn't what is important. The iris is unlocked by the right kind of investiture. The only reason you could open the iris is because you have the Maiden's investiture, hence, you're the reincarnation of the Maiden."

"Yeah, but why would the Shrine Maiden reincarnate as a guy? Wait," Robert paused as a thought occurred to him, "none of you are guys, are you?"

All the girls but Tenacity gave a quick giggle. "No."

"Nope. Nope."

"Un-uh."

"Though I can see why you'd ask that."

"Though, technically speaking," Miss Kuna said clearing her throat, "reincarnation doesn't have to preserve gender."

"Yeah, but," Robert countered, "you all are approaching this as if this is rather out of the ordinary or unexpected in some way."

"True," Ms. Kuna said apologetically. "It was quite a shock when we found out that the Shrine Maiden was a boy."

"Why is that?" Robert asked. "I mean, I'm not a reincarnation expert, but most religions I know that believe in it don't seem to have any restrictions placed on who or what they could come back as."

"It is difficult to explain without full background knowledge. It's mostly a surprise the gods would make this mistake."

Robert raised his eyebrows. "Mistake? You're claiming this was a full blown mistake?" Robert chuckled and rolled his eyes. "What? Some angel misfile the reincarnation request and then, poof, I was born a guy?" He was surprised how little this revelation bothered him. As he thought about it, he wasn't sure if he believed all this reincarnation stuff. But even disregarding that, he just didn't think it mattered. So what if he was supposed to be born a girl? He wasn't, and he was enjoying life just fine. What did mistakes of so-called deities matter?

Valor clenched her teeth. Her frustration was heard clearly in her voice. "This isn't a joke, Robert. You should take this more seriously!"

"I should? I'm sorry but this is just getting plain crazy. I've got cheerleaders telling me gods made mistakes, and I was supposed to be born a girl. How much sillier can we get?" Robert regretted his tone the moment he said it. They were trying to be honest and sincere. The least he could do is stop being snarky for a moment. Robert sighed and stepped back as he tried to look apologetic. "Sorry. I should be less wisecrack-y. It's just a lot to take in, and it seems so surreal. And besides, whether or not I was supposed to be born a girl or not doesn't matter to me. Reality is I'm a guy, it's not going to change, so why sweat it."

The Spirit Guard glanced at one another nervously. "Uh..."

Robert squinted. "What?"

Tenacity cleared her throat. "Well, have you considered what the emblem on your forehead and you being able to pull out that focus means?"

"You mean other than it means I'm the Shrine Maiden from your story?"

"Yes."

"Not really. But... well, let's think about it" Robert looked down at the focus. He started to think aloud. "You said that these were sent here to protect humanity from the Other Power." Robert raised an eyebrow. "But you guys are fighting Platicore. Where is the Other Power?"

Felicity shrugged. "Not sure. But Platicore escaped to this realm and opening the iris seems to have awakened him somehow. We can't just ignore him."

"True enough. But if he's such a powerful empathokinetic, why isn't he attacking you girls directly? I mean, he's only sent monsters right?"

"He burned out his empathokinetics in the fight with the Empress and escaping here. That level of combat has permanently damaged him so much that he won't ever be the same again. Like injuring a limb in combat."

Robert shrugged. "Yeah, but why isn't he just creating more people-monster hybrids somewhere in Siberia then bringing them all here to overwhelm you? Why is he creating non-hybrid monsters, that are less powerful according to your story, and attacking where you are strong?"

Felicity held up a finger. "One, creating people-monster hybrids takes very fine-tuned empathokinetic skill that Platicore no longer has." She held up a second finger. "Two, the gateway acts like a beacon for people with lots of investiture. So since he needs investiture to make more monsters, Kessia is the most fertile field to pluck from."

Robert squinted. He had been unusually passionate about the idea of coming to SAU for college. And according to Polygal and the Spirit Guard, he had a lot of investiture. The beacon theory did explain that very well. "But why does he need his old empathokinesis to make people-monster hybrids? That doesn't seem like a brute force of power thing but more of a technical skill thing."

Charity shook her head. "Empathokinetics isn't about brute force of energy like some super powered comic book hero. It's more of an art. How to apply emotion, to shape it, to turn it into something useful. When Platicore burned out the last of the emotional strength left, it was similar to a potter burning his hands. Without that fine-tuned control, he can't make the complicated foci and constructs he needs to make the hybrids."

Tenacity sighed. "I think we're burying the lead here though by focusing on Platicore."

Robert nodded his head. "Right. Sorry. My mind runs off on tangents sometimes." Burning out his empathokinetics didn't make sense to Robert. It was also rather convenient Platicore would awaken when the iris opened. But those were topics he could pursue later. Tenacity was indicating he was missing something. He had to think. "Okay, so the foci were put in the iris for humanities defense." He started pacing as he mused. "The Shrine Maiden was given a focus for that purpose." Robert stopped pacing. Were they implying what the thought they were?

"Wait." Robert held up the stick. "I'm supposed to use this? Be a defender of humanity? Like you?"

Valor exclaimed with a voice filled with a mix of excitement and relief, "Yes! Like us! You understand!" Robert wasn't sure why she she seemed so excited about it. He also didn't think he fully understood yet.

Tenacity leaned forward and looked very confused, yet slightly relieved. "You don't have an issue with it? That doesn't bother you?"

"Uh," Robert scratched his chin nervously. That was a loaded question. On one hand, ever since he started reading comics as a kid, the concept of having super powers and being a hero had fascinated him. He was being put into a very unique position he would have killed for as a kid. But that, he realized, was a power trip he'd eventually get used to. At least he assumed he'd get used to it.

The other factor was he also realized that some huge responsibilities and risks were getting foisted upon him without his consent. If the fight with Polygal showed him anything, the job would not be easy, would be rather dangerous, and other people's lives would hinge on his decisions. That was not a thought he was comfortable with.

Then there was the issue of having to maintain a secret identity and balance his life with being a super hero. It was the topic every super hero eventually dealt with. Would he be able to attend college and do this at the same time? Was there training? How was he even supposed to fight with no actual combat experience?

Robert sighed and shrugged. "I don't know." He held his hands up like scales. "On one hand, it'd be neat to have super powers and all, but being like you guys also means my decisions will affect a lot of people. Plus there is the minor fame issue. I like my privacy."

Tenacity bit her bottom lip and sighed. All the relief on her face disappeared. Robert got the distinct impression he was missing something important. "The line about being exactly like us wasn't just about having super powers and fighting monsters."

Robert quirked his eyebrow upward. "Is it about the cheerleader theme? I mean, I can't say I'm on board with that. As a football player I thought the male cheerleaders always looked like complete dorks. I mean, maybe this isn't the time for it but why are you all dressed like cheerleaders anyway? It's more than a bit silly to fight in skirts and heels. Flak jackets and body armor would make a lot more sense. What you all wear is, well, kind of the opposite of that."

Charity shook her head. "We're trying to make you guess what we're thinking. That's probably not fair to you." She glanced over at Valor and Tenacity. "Maybe it'd be better if we were more direct?" It wasn't being a monster fighter. It wasn't the cheerleader theme. So what was it?

Valor nodded, looking frustrated that Robert hadn't figured it out. "You are most likely correct, Charity. It is rather out of the norm for him to connect the dots."

Robert didn't like being talked about when he was right in front of them. "So then what am I missing."

Again, all the girls looked to Tenacity. She glanced back at them, obviously uncomfortable, but began speaking anyways. Why did she have to be the one to explain everything? "Well, the spirit sticks..."

Robert blinked and held up the focus. "Spirit sticks? You actually call the foci 'spirit sticks'?"

Valor blushed. "Well, it makes sense. We are the Spirit Guard."

Robert wanted to further point out how stupid that was, but he had to discipline himeslf to not get sidetracked on such tangents. "Yeah, let's get back to that topic later."

Robert and Valor both stayed silent. Tenacity held her tongue for a bit, seemingly begging for someone else to derail the conversation. When no one did, she sighed and continued. "The spirit sticks help unlock the empathokinetic potential we had in our past lives by altering not just our minds so that we understand some of the subtleties of using abilities we had in a past life, but also our bodies. For example, my body isn't quite this tall or muscular normally. Also my hair is definitely not in this swept style."

Robert pursed his lips out, thinking. "So wait, you're saying that these sticks actually changed your forms some?"

Tenacity nodded. "I had to explain to my family that I had one last growth spurt. The effects do persist at some level when we aren't transformed."

So, the Spirit Guard did have lives outside of being super heroines. He'd need to get more information on that later. "How so?"

Felicity ran her hand through her long hair. "As she said, the spirit sticks try to keep us in alignment with our past lives somewhat. The effects are more pronounced while we're actually transformed. For example," she pointed to her pink tips in her hair, "these don't appear in my hair until I transform. But when I'm not transformed, my hair is always trying to get back to this length. If I cut my hair, before I wake up the next day, it'll be back to this length again. Apparently that was the length of the hair of the Scholar and the foci tries to get my body back into that state.."

Robert nodded. "Interesting." He scratched the back of head. All this talk about hair made him think about the fact that his was beginning to get long and would need to be cut soon. "But how would that work for me? I mean, according to your story, my past life was some priestess but I'm a guy."

The girls glanced from one to another nervously. Robert squinted. "Wait." Valor had said that he'd be exactly like them. He shook his head. "No. No way. Tell me it's not that stupid."

Tenacity cleared her throat. "Um, well, I guess how stupid it is depends on what you think 'it' is."

Robert pointed at Tenacity, almost as if to accuse her. "Are you saying that if I use this focus it will turn me into a chick?"

Tenacity winced and searched for something to say. "Uh, well, I'm afraid then, in that case, it is that stupid."

Robert tried to laugh, but it mostly came out as a laugh-cough hybrid. "You gotta be shittin' me."

Tenacity sighed. "I'm afraid not."

Robert shook his head. "So if I use this stick, to transform into hero mode, it'll turn me into a chick? Like plumbing change and everything?"

Valor stepped forward to defend Tenacity. "It's just how the spirit sticks work. They have to bring your body into alignment with your past life's investiture."

Robert glanced at Felicity. "Can't you fix it? You built these things, right? Greatest empathokinetic mind or something like that."

Felicity stopped smiling for the first time all night. "Woah, that was what I knew in my past life. I only got flashes of that knowledge now. I certainly don't know how to fix it, how to create anything even remotely similar, or if that is even something that can be 'fixed' considering that's how these things were intended to work."

Robert shut his eyes and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "And would this be a only-happens-when-I'm-transformed-thing or would being a girl be an all-the-time thing?"

Ms. Kuna sighed. "Well, there is a remote chance we could be wrong and it might be a transformation only thing... but if that were the case the much greater likelihood is that your body would slowly use your passive healing factor to try and 'heal' you back to womanhood."

Robert scoffed and laughed. He had come up with some crazy ideas on what the worst case scenario for tonight's meeting was. Of all the things he came up with, this was something he hadn't even considered. He vaguely recalled Cory saying something about Robert being the next Spirit Guard, but he was pretty sure that had been a joke. He hoped Cory didn't remember that he had said that. Robert knew that he and Eli would never hear the end of it. But how could they be blamed for rejecting the thought out of hand? It was too ridiculous.

As ridiculous as monster-fighting cheerleaders.

"So, let me see if I understand you correctly." Robert began pacing like a prosecutor addressing a defendant. "You're, first, asking me to take on additional responsibilities. Dangerous responsibilities that require me to fight emotionally charged monsters that threaten the lives of innocent people. Responsibilities, I might add, that I never wanted."

Valor tried to defend the responsibilities. "Well, technically you did agree to them in your past life." Her words sounded like she was asking a question, rather than making any sort of definitive statement.

"Yeah," Robert scoffed, "let's get this out of the way. I'm not going to be held responsible for anything an alleged, magical past life of me that lived in a dead, extra-planar civilization agreed to. I'm my own man, who makes and accepts his own responsibilities."

Valor scowled and looked to argue. "But..."

Tenacity held her arm out in front of Valor and shook her head. "He's had no visions. We can't hold that against him, Val."

Valor's scowl morphed to confusion. "But..."

Tenacity shrugged and leaned back. "You're welcome to go at this point if you want, but I can nearly guarantee it won't get you anywhere. He's not the type to believe in this sort of intrinsic responsibility like you do." A lot of the worry that was on Tenacity's face disappeared when she started advising Valor. She felt comfortable in that role and seemed to understand Robert better than Valor did. He wasn't sure what she meant about "intrinsic responsibility," but she did understand what didn't motivate Robert pretty quick. How did she read him so well?

"Very well," Valor sighed. "You'd know better than I on this one." So Valor trusted her opinion too. That was useful. If he could convince Tenacity not to pursue this, maybe she could convince the group to drop the subject entirely.

"Responsibilities aside," Robert interjected, " I also have zero combat training. I played football and got a level 85 Windwhisper in Aspect Realms. Now, granted, I totally kick ass in Aspect Realms, but I don't think that's the combat expertise you're looking for." Robert hoped the prospect of having to train him would turn Tenacity, the reincarnated Soldier who would no doubt have to train him, off on the idea of Robert joining.

Charity smiled. "Oh, none of us have any formal training outside of Tenacity."

Robert squinted. "You don't?"

"Well that's not entirely accurate to say I guess. We have the training we got in past lives. It sort of, well, comes to us, I guess, when we transform. It's not reliant on what we know in this life alone."

Tenacity smirked. "And I can throw my little Taekwondo black belt training in the mix." She shrugged. "For what it's worth when you fight with a giant sword."

Robert was slightly disturbed by this news. "Wait, so you guys are defending the whole of humanity and not even training? You're just, I don't know, sitting back and letting it come to you and hoping your past life will take care of it?"

The Spirit Guard glanced at one another, sharing sheepish glances. Felicity bit her bottom lip. "Well if you put it like that, sure, we sound irresponsible."

Valor put her hands on her hips. "Where would we go for training? I fight with a sword and shield."

Robert shrugged. "I don't know isn't there like a Renaissance Faire club on campus or something? They should have people that know something about it."

"Yes, but they are learning from manuscripts. The Princess was trained for combat since she was a child by the best the Ardentia Royals had to offer. Plus her combat training utilized her empathokinetic skills, enhanced strength, and speeds. "

Charity nodded. "It's true that fighting with the weapons we do looks similar to mundane combat, but it's different in practice. I had the thought, as you did Robert, that training would help. I spent some time at archery ranges but found the practice fruitless due to the simple fact that shooting an actual arrow affected by aerodynamics with a taut bowstring and a normal girl's strength is quite different from shooting a near massless arrow of pure light with an empathokinetic string while fueled by superhuman strength."

Robert didn't like the direction this was going his argument on training was getting weaker he needed to change topics. "Getting off that subject, what about my life? You know, I'm kind of partial to it and changing genders would kind of put a wrench in that."

Tenacity looked at the grass and sighed. "We don't have an easy answer for that."

Robert was about to make a snarky comment about not having answers for any of the difficult questions, but Valor jumped in before he could even open his mouth. "We're prepared to offer any support you need though. We know it won't be easy."

Robert scoffed. "Yeah, that's putting it mildly. What am I supposed to tell my Uncle? 'Hey Uncle Taylor, yeah, I spontaneously changed gender. No don't call the hospital, this is perfectly normal.' Oh yeah, that would go well."

Ms. Kuna tried to calm Robert down. "Obviously how we break this news to your Uncle would be the first thing we need to figure out. Then there is the rooming situation..."

"Rooming. You know, I hadn't even thought of that. I currently live in a boys dorm. With two roommates I like. We've connected immediately. What are we going to tell them? That I just up and left?" Robert definitely wanted to get this discussion going. With Cory and Eli watching, it would make sure they were on his side.

Tenacity sighed. "I would love for you to be able to stay in their lives, but they'd probably be better served by not burdening them with these secrets. I mean, not that you wouldn't get to be part of their lives anymore. It's just, well, it's complicated."

"They're my friends! I'm not just ditching them." Robert decided to fold his arms and look defiant. He hoped the pose made him look resolute, though he worried the tone he had taken made him sound more petulant than resolute.

"It's not about ditching them or sticking with them. It's about keeping them and us safe. It's just... you'd still be getting to see them regularly. They are..." Tenacity trailed off and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Look, maybe I'm not unbiased enough." Tenacity glanced at Valor and the other Spirit Guard. "Maybe it's time we let him know."

Robert glared. "Let me know? Let me know what? You been holding something out on me?"

Valor nodded. "I still don't know how I feel about this."

"Look, he's going to find out anyway. At least he'll know where we're coming from... me more so than the rest of you."

"Hello. I'm still standing right here."

Charity cleared her throat. "Excuse us one moment, Robert. We have to all agree on this before we move forward. Please just indulge us for one moment."

Robert grumbled and leaned against the rock. "Would think you'd have made all your big decisions before coming here."

Charity smiled, but grimaced. "We didn't know how you might react and wanted to guage the situation first. We'll be only a moment, I promise."

Robert shrugged and the girls, plus Ms. Kuna, huddled together. As they whispered to one another Robert adjusted the camera to make sure it had a good picture of the entire group. Whatever it was they were deciding, Valor sounded against it. No, Robert decided he was being too harsh. She merely sounded concerned about it. Ms. Kuna seemed to share that concern judging from her face when she spoke.

Robert still couldn't believe that they wanted him to just throw away his life for this. Why did he have to go bug Eli at his arcade that day? Had he just stayed home and been his normal, antisocial self, he wouldn't be going through this. Then again, maybe Fate had somehow intervened. Maybe Fate had made sure they'd be roommates and that Eli would get that job so...

Robert shook his head. He now saw how Platicore could go mad thinking about it. If you ascribed omniscience to Fate, then what action could you take that you assume Fate hadn't already planned for? No. Robert wouldn't fall into that trap. To think that Fate was manipulating him into making that choices she wanted was to assume he had no control over his life. It would resolve himself of all responsibility. If there was anything Uncle Taylor had taught him, it was that he was in control of his own life.

Even if events beyond his control were happening, and they certainly were at the current moment, he was the one who decided how to respond. Fate could try to set up her dominos, but in the end, Robert would decide which ones he'd knock down. Though, as he thought about it, maybe dominos were a bad example. Maybe a maze was a better metaphor.

Robert stopped his metaphor hunt when the Spirit Guard unhuddled. Valor stepped forward. "We've decided it's best, if you will swear secrecy, to reveal our true identities to you."

"True identities?" Robert hadn't really considered the fact that the Spirit Guard would have secret identities. He had considered that if he joined the Spirit Guard that he would have a secret identity, but for some reason, it hadn't occurred to him that these girls were already in that situation.

Felicity laughed. "You didn't think we walked around wearing this getup twenty-four/seven did you?"

"Frankly, I hadn't given it much thought." Something bugged Robert though. "But how can you even have secret identities though? It's not like you wear masks or something that disguises your bodies. Two of you expose your midriff for crying out loud." Charity blushed a little at that remark. "I'd assume the empathokinesis does something to morph your looks completely but you just told me that it tries to get you back to the same form as your past lives so..."

"It does disguise us," Valor interrupted. "Just not by making us look remarkably different."

"How does it work then?" Robert was hoping if he got them talking about this long enough, they'd forget that he never met Valor's demand to swear secrecy. As Cory and Eli were watching, any oath of secrecy would be a lie. Robert didn't know if it was his upbringing or his copious consumption of Collider comics, but he didn't feel comfortable lying to these super heroines.

Felicity poked her own head. "You recognize people with your brain. You see an image and your brain connects a name to a face. In some cases that name is something simple like, 'John' or something more vague like 'that one guy who is in like every movie.' The point is, somewhere in your brain you've got a name for everyone you see."

Robert nodded, it made sense so far. "So the focus makes it so you can't connect your name to your face?"

"Kind of. You see, the brain also makes connections." Felicity pointed to Tenacity. "So you'd see her on campus and you'd assign her the name 'that tall, cute brunette I saw near the quad.' Naturally."

Robert chuckled. Why was everyone trying to set him up with Spirit Guard Tenacity? "Of course."

"Then you'd see her at the Arcade during the Polygal fight, and instead of your brain making the connection of 'Hey! That's the tall, cute brunette I saw near the quad,' the empathokinetic aura we emit instead prevents you from making that connection so that the only name you assign her is 'Spirit Guard Tenacity.' I call it the Disconnection Effect."

Tenacity groaned. "Why did you make me the example?"

Felicity giggled. "Because I knew it'd bug you."

One thing about that explanation didn't make sense to Robert. "But what about images? They have pictures of you and yet no one has figured anything out."

Felicity shrugged. "Somehow the aura affects cameras as well. I don't know why but it does."

"But a camera is an object, not something with a brain."

Charity followed Felicity's example and shrugged apologetically. "Platicore's empathokinetic techniques somehow infuse emotion into objects and bring them to life. Though we don't understand it, objects can fall under the same effects as things with natural emotion."

Robert would have pursued it further but a thought occurred to him. "Wait, you mentioned campus. You all attend SAU?"

Valor nodded. "Yes. Fate, it seems, has brought us all together in some way."

Robert raised an eyebrow. "Really?" What females had he gotten to know during his short visit on campus?

Before he could mull the thought over too much all four Spirit Guards clapped their hands together in front of their chests. One by one, they closed their eyes, exhaled, and were enveloped in flashes of colored light.

The first light that resolved was Charity's bright yellow. As soon as her light disappeared, the arrow she had shot to light up the circle disappeared. A rather cute, but not gorgeous girl with straight blue hair stood in Charity's place, lit up by the purple, pink, and red lights of the other girls.

Though he didn't know why, she looked a bit familiar to him. He had seen a few girls on campus with blue hairs. Bluenettes. He remember Cory and Eli explaining to him that exotic hair colors around here had their own... then it clicked. This wasn't just any girl with blue hair. "HDM Girl?" She was the girl Eli had been crushing on. The one that had turned out to be friends with Eli's sister and that short, hyperactive girl Cory liked. What had Eli said her name was? He could have sworn it started with a K. Regardless, the fact that Eli's crush was a Spirit Guard and friends with two people involved in Cory and Eli's life definitely complicated things.

The pink light disappeared and a short girl with really long black hair posed. "Ta-daaa!"

Robert blinked. The short, hyperactive girl Cory liked. "Vivian?"

"What a twist, right?"

"Yeah," Robert said nervously. "though a lot of your questions the other night now make more sense." Cory and Eli were watching. There would-be girlfriends were part of the Spirit Guard. He really regretted having them watch this. Having to hide the fact that they knew they were Spirit Guard would no doubt hurt their relationships.

The yellow light disappeared, and Robert rubbed his eyes. Spirit Guard Valor's golden blonde pigtails fell down and framed a cute face Robert found a familiar face. "Angela?"

Angela smiled and blushed. "I kind of cheated in our earlier conversation. I knew a lot more than I was letting on."

"That's putting it lightly!" Robert cursed himself for not seeing it. Of course she was a Spirit Guard! How else would someone logically make an connection between the Standridge Stones and magical cheerleaders? They wouldn't ever logically make that connection. So if someone made that connection, they'd have to be a nutball or a Spirit Guard. But it seemed the Disconnection Effect made it so the only thing he had considered was that Angela was a nutball. His World History class was going to be a lot more awkward now.

Tenacity's red light disappeared, leaving the six of them in the complete darkness. Robert's eyes started to adjust, but all he could make out was Tenacity's slightly different silhouette. Without her empathokinetic aura she seemed less imposing and gorgeous. In fact, now that he thought about it, all the Spirit Guard seemed less beautiful now. They were still all quite attractive, but not the supermodel-level of attractiveness he had come to associate them with.

"You know, I wish you would have told me to bring a flashlight." Robert would have pulled out his cell phone to illuminate Valor somewhat, if it weren't for the fact that it would show he was still on a call with Cory and Eli.

"Sorry," Tenacity apologized. Robert recognized that voice. Where had he heard it? "We should have thought of that. I think we sort of get used to having our heightened senses around this place at night." Robert squinted, trying to will his eyes to adjust quicker. He could make out that Tenacity's hair was now in a ponytail. Had he met any tall females with ponytails?

Tenacity shuffled for something in her pocket. When that something lit up with a screen, Robert realized it was her own cell phone. She turned it around and held the light to her face. Robert's eyes practically bulged out of his head.

Mallory Drake, Eli's sister, nervously smiled back at Robert. "Yeah. It's me."

Something she had said the other night immediately came to Robert's mind, like a piece of a puzzle fitting into place. "Hard to stay serene in those situations."

Robert kicked himself for not guessing this as soon as Vivian revealed herself to be Spirit Guard Felicity. That was the real reason both of them visited the night of the attack. It had nothing to do with making sure Eli and Cory had been safe. It was all a scouting mission to get a feel for who Robert was. His character. Whether or not he could be trusted.

"Sorry for all the shadiness, Robert." The pale light coming up against her face made her look a little spooky, though he could sense how sincere her apology was. "As you can imagine, this has gotten very complicated very fast. I definitely didn't expect the fifth Spirit Guard to be my brother's and his best friend's dormmate. I think you can understand now why I said I don't want to have to bring Eli and Cory into this though. Don't ever tell them I said this, but they are good guys. I just don't want to burden them with the secrets this life brings. You can understand that, right?"

"Yeah, I get it." Only they were now burdened with this secret and Mallory had no clue. What would happen when she found out? And Robert was now convinced it wasn't a matter of if she would find out, but when. Robert would trust them to keep the secret of complete strangers, but he didn't trust their ability to act natural in front of Mallory anymore.

Robert shook his head and sighed. He glanced up at the stars and mentally cursed his luck.

Eli leaned forward and turned his head. Cory's phone had good speakers, but he really wanted to be sure he was hearing everything he could. "HDM Girl?" Eli froze.

"Did he just say 'HDM Girl?'" Cory asked in amazement.

Eli gulped. "Yes. He did."

Both glued their eyes to Cory's computer and waited for the video to catch up. The yellow haze of light faded, and a familiar bluenette smiled at Robert.

Eli stared at the screen, unsure how to process what he his eyes had just seen. Kara Balmer, the girl he had crushed on all summer, was standing where Spirit Guard Charity had been.

She was a super hero.

"Huh," Cory said as he rubbed his chin, "that complicates a few things for you."

"No shit," Eli gasped. How could this be possible? Eli was just a normal guy. Weird stuff didn't happen to him. Not like this anyway. Then again, he normally didn't get cute girls who were regulars in his arcade and who were bluenettes and who were friends with his big sister and who were in his grade and who were amazing cooks. Why not throw "and who were super heroes" on top of that dogpile?

"This, this is unreal." Cory chuckled. "I mean, dude, you're dating a super hero!"

Eli sighed. "I'm not dating her. I walked her home once."

Cory waved him off. "Details. We totally can swing this to where you're her spunky female investigative reporter to her superpowered city protector. You just leave it to me."

Eli narrowed his eyes. "I-- the female reporter? What?" He shook his head. "There is so much broken with that statement that I hesitate to even begin to pick up the pieces."

A perky female voice crackled over the speakers. “Ta-daaa!”

Robert's confusion sounded much clearer. “Vivian?”

Cory stopped his prattling and his eyes were glued to the screen. "Did Rob say Vivian?"

"I think so." Eli swallowed hard as he waited for the video to catch up to the sound. He wanted to believe there was no way this could be the same Vivian that Cory had been hitting on. But what were the odds that Rob knew another Vivian?

Sure enough, the pink light faded and a short girl with long black hair and a cat-like grin posed for the camera. “What a twist, right?”

“Yeah,” Robert said nervously. “though a lot of your questions the other night now make more sense.”

Cory and Eli blinked. "Well, I think this complicates your pursuit as well."

Cory said nothing for a moment, but then his usual bravado returned. "I say this only enhances things, my friend. Now I'm the one dating a super hero."

Eli sighed. "You sat next to her for one class! You aren't dating!"

Cory wagged his finger at his friend. "You have no sense how this dramatic structure plays out. Seriously Eli, it's like you don't study movies at all."

"We aren't in a movie! Life is not some sort of play!"

Cory gave a conciliatory nod. "Normally I'd agree with you, Eli. But," he pointed to the computer screen, "it turns out the girls we want are superheroes. We're at least now in some sort of B-list comic book plot now. Maybe a Japanese cartoon if you want to push the magical girl angle."

Eli wanted to argue, but the longer he watched, the more the universe seemed to bend in Cory's direction.

“Angela?"

They both exchanged confused looks before Cory asked, "Well?"

Eli raised an eyebrow. "Well what?"

"Who is Angela?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know?"

"Well, we knew the first two."

"That doesn't mean we know the others."

Cory sighed. "I suppose that's right."

It was silly to have thought they'd know all of the Spirit Guard, especially given they had made the opposite assumption heading into this ill conceived plan. Part of him wanted to poke fun at Cory's assumption how life was turning into a comic book movie, but something about the name Angela nagged at the back of his mind. If there was one thing Eli had learned in his years of being around Cory, it was that waiting to gloat was never a bad idea.

“I kind of cheated in our earlier conversation. I knew a lot more than I was letting on.” When the video finally caught up, Spirit Guard Valor stood, was replaced by a very attractive blonde. A very attractive blonde that Eli was pretty sure he recognized.

Cory let out a low whistle. "Yeah, I'd remember that face."

Eli was sure glad he had decided to hold back on gloating. "I do remember that face."

Cory's full attention turned away from the screen. "You do? I thought you said you didn't know her."

"I said I didn't know who 'Angela' was." Eli grumbled, making Robert's response difficult to hear. "And it was true. But seeing her face... I've met her."

"Where?"

"When I was returning my sister's calculator. She's my sister's room..." A thought sparked through Eli's mind. "Vivian came over with my sister to check up on us after the monster attack."

Cory shrugged. "Yeah? So. Mal was just checking on us after a monster attack. A perfectly normal thing for a sister to do."

Eli shook his head. "Why did Mallory bring Vivian?"

"Because Vivian was obsessed with the Spirit Guard," Cory replied before Eli smacked him on the head. "Ouch!"

"Vivian IS Spirit Guard, you moron," We just heard her admit that she had come to check on Rob."

"Oh right." Cory puffed his cheeks out. "I forgot that Vivi being a Spirit Guard is a thing now."

Eli sighed through grit teeth. "You're not getting my point. My sister showed up with a Spirit Guard. My sister is roommates with a Spirit Guard. And when I was over at her place yesterday, the other Spirit Guard we've seen, Kara, was hanging out at her place."

Cory sat upright and held his hands out in a stopping motion. "Tap the breaks here, dude. Are you suggesting Mallory is the last Spirit Guard? The only one that's left is Tenacity, and she looks nothing like your sister."

That was true. They did look nothing alike. Sure, they were both tall, athletic, and had brown hair, but they didn't look similar at all. She was far too... pretty? No, that wasn't true. Elijah wasn't attracted to Tenacity at all. Of course he could appreciate the fact that she was a rather stunning woman, yet Elijah wasn't attracted to her.

But Cory was.

"Cory," Eli asked, "you've always thought my sister was cute. You spent the entirety of middle school and half of high school pining after her."

"Yeah? So?"

Eli leaned in to accentuate his point. "I didn't think Tenacity was gorgeous. You do."

Cory opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. Eli enjoyed these moments. But the moment was short lived, as a voice over the speakers, no matter how modulated it was, confirmed what his brain couldn't process but his heart already knew. “Yeah. It’s me."

Mallory's phone screen lit up her face as she looked at Eli through Cory's camera hidden around Robert's neck. Eli shook his head. His sister was Spirit Guard Tenacity.

"Sorry for all the shadiness, Robert. As you can imagine, this has gotten very complicated very fast. I definitely didn’t expect the fifth Spirit Guard to be my brother’s and his best friend’s dormmate. I think you can understand now why I said I don’t want to have to bring Eli and Cory into this though. Don’t ever tell them I said this, but they are good guys. I just don’t want to burden them with the secrets this life brings. You can understand that, right?”

"What?" Cory's voice burst over Robert's response. "We can keep a secret. We've done it a bunch!"

"Pff! Doesn't want to burden us?" Eli said with a bit more venom in his voice than he expected. He was mad at his sister. That surprised him. He had just found out his sister was a hero. So why did it piss him off to find this out?

"This is bullshit! I can't believe she didn't tell us!"

"Me neither." Yes, that was the reason he was mad. Because she never told him. But why? It was a perfectly logical thing to tell no one, even if you trusted them to tell no one. The less people who knew, the safer the secret. But it still bothered him.

A thought stopped Eli's introspection. "Cory."

"Says we can't keep a secret." Cory crossed his arms and hunched over. "What?"

"When I went to my sister's place. There were five girls there. My sister, Kara, Vivian, that blonde, and an asian chick."

Cory stopped hunching. "An asian chick? Yeah. Okay, so?"

"That room was filled with four Spirit Guard. And they're saying that Robert is the last Spirit Guard."

"Yeah. That's messed up."

"Yeah. It really is." He shook his head. "But my point is, Cory, who was that asian chick?"

Cory bit down on his bottom lip. "Maybe she's not invol--"

Smoke erupted between the pair. Eli's eyes watered. His throat burned. Coughing followed immediately. The burning sensation reminded Eli of the time Cory had accidently hit him with pepper spray when they were fooling around with Cory's father's emergency preparedness kit in the seventh grade. It wasn't as bad as that, but the air tasted spicy. It was difficult to breath. He had to get out of this cloud. In the back of his mind, he knew that was exactly what whoever created this cloud wanted. But that didn't matter at the moment.

Eli pushed himself off the tool shed to get up. He tripped over Cory as they both fumbled their way out of the cloud. They stumbled a good ten feet before finally tumbling over one another completely. Eli gasped for air, surprised to find his lungs no longer burned. Whatever was in that cloud, it didn't seem to have the staying power pepper spray did; however, his eyes and nose still ran like a faucet and he found himself short of breath.

"What. The hell. Was that?"

"I. Don't know."

The duo untangled themselves and looked back at the cloud. The figure of a small woman was enrobed in the smoke. The figure leapt from the cloud, a puff following her incredible leap from the ground to the roof of the tool shed. Eli rubbed his eyes, though more from disbelief than a need to wipe away his tears. That was easily an eight foot jump.

The silhouette of this woman now stood against the stark white light of the full moon's glow, as if she was the iris of a giant cat, deciding whether or not the two friends would be tonight's dinner. As his vision cleared, Eli realized she wasn't looking at them at all. Instead her back was turned towards them as she examined something in her hands.

Eli coughed out a few words, his throat still dry. "We should. Book it."

Cory's voice sounded equally hoarse. "What about. My laptop?"

"Screw. Your laptop! We need to. Get out of here."

The figure's right hand snapped behind her back and brandished a previously unseen blade partway from it's invisible sheath, as though it had been drawn from the shadows itself. But the blade was no shadow. It shined in the moonlight like a perfect mirror. Eli forced down the giant lump in his throat. Her message was clear. Eli kept his feet planted where he stood.

Cory sighed. "It didn't. Make a. shing sound?"

"Shing sound"

"You know. Like. In the movies."

Though he was out of breath, Eli was still able to somehow muster up a disbelieving sigh. "Seriously? That is. What you're worried. About? Sound effects?"

"It would make the shing sound if it was kept in a metal scabbard." The figure's voice was surprisingly mousy. Eli had expected something darker, but he had to keep reminding himself, despite Cory's constant instances to the contrary, that life wasn't a plotline of convenience written out by someone for entertainment. "But a metal scabbard dulls the blade. Makes it weak. Only a showman would keep a sword in a metal sheath. My blade is kept in a leather scabbard. Not for show. Are my words plain enough for you?" The voice was slightly accented, hinting that English was not her native language.

Cory laughed nervously. "Uh, yeah. Plain words. Staying right here."

The figure turned, revealing what she had in her hands: Cory's laptop. But what Eli noticed most was the only feature he could see on her: her dark, penetrating, almond-shaped eyes. Though her mouth was covered in some sort of cloth, Eli could plainly read her frustrated expression. That's when Eli recognized her.

Cory glanced over at Eli. "She the asian chick?"

Eli nodded. "Yup."

"We boned?"

"Maybe."

"Why does your sister have a ninja?"

"Who knows?" Elijah scratched at his eyes, thankful that whatever made that smoke sting so much, it wasn't anywhere close to as long-lasting as pepper spray. "Makes about as much sense as everything else tonight."

"Really? I don't think the ninja thing makes sense at all."

"And you think any of what has happened so far tonight makes sense?"

"I don't know. Everything was kind of following a magical girl plot until this ninja thing."

"Dear god, Cory. This isn't a movie!"

The asian chick sheathed her sword and closed Cory's laptop. She slipped it into some sort of satchel bag on her back that blended perfectly with her skintight... Eli really didn't' know what to call it. Morphsuit? He doubted ninjas would call it a morphsuit.

She jumped off the roof and landed on the ground as silently as a leaf falling from a tree. She marched up to Eli with all the authority of a drill sergeant, but was struck by how small she was. If she was even five feet tall, he would have been shocked. "You are Elijah Drake and Cory Frost respectively. Correct?"

There went all hope of his sister not finding out. "Yes."

"You two are to walk in front of me. We will be approaching the Standridge Circle. I will explain what I've caught you doing. I will take this laptop to get any trace of this video wiped from its memory. What happens from there will be determined by the Spirit Guard."

Cory held up a finger. "When you say wiped, you don't mean, like, a complete wipe, do you? Because, I mean, I got files on there that I haven't backed up and..."

"That will be determined by our computer expert."

"Can you at least back up my files that..."

"Your files are not my concern. The integrity of the Spirit Guard's secret identities is."

"Well could you put it in power save mode? I don't want to use up all the battery on..."

Eli smirked as the asian chick shut her eyes and groaned. It made him feel good that he was not the only person that Cory could wear out just by simply talking. "Let me make myself clear, Mr. Frost. I don't care one whit about you or your computer. If I were to follow the edicts of my clan, you would already be dead because you are a security risk to my clients now. You are rather fortunate that my clients are much kinder than I and connected to you. Otherwise we would not be having this conversation. You would be dead, and I would be deciding where to hide your body. Am I plain?"

Cory opened his mouth, but no words came out. He simply shrugged and nodded his head. The asian chick said nothing else, but turned and marched away from the forest, towards the Circle. She didn't seem to doubt that they would both follow her as instructed.

Eli trudged after her, staring at the moon with resignment. Cory, who Eli figured was still stunned that murder had been on the ninja's mind, paused for a moment before he hurried to catch up. "Dude, what are we going to say to Mal?"

Elijah shook his head, keeping his gaze afixed to the moon. Half-an-hour ago, they were there to find out why his roommate had glowed. Now his roommate was apparently a priestess of a long dead empire. He was following a ninja that had admitted that killing him would be more her style. His summer crush, Cory's would-be girlfriend, and his sister were combat cheerleaders who risked their lives regularly to save the populace from monsters. His sister had known all this and never said a word to him. "I don't know, but I intend to get some answers."

"I just don't see an urgent need for me to jump into a skirt." Robert folded his arms.

Angela sighed. "I really wish you'd quit minimizing it like that. This isn't about gender."

Robert rolled his eyes. "Maybe to you it isn't. To me, it kind of is."

Angela held her hands out as if to plead. "Robert, this is about the well-being of mankind!" She cast her hand about, gesturing to Kessia City below. "An entire population that has been drawn here by the Circle's empathokinetic properties! A field ripe for the dark harvest of Platicore's minions! You've felt their touch on your soul. You've seen what they can do, draining the very essence of life from a person!" She paused ,and if her eyes weren't so filled with desperation, Robert would have sworn she had practiced this pitch. "Surely you can see they need you, that we need you if we are going to fulfill our promise to protect humanity as a whole."

"The promise of an alleged past life." Robert shook his head. "I'm not going to be held to that. Whether or not I'm a reincarnation of some dead priestess is a moot point. This life is mine, not hers. I decide what to do with it."

"I... but..." Angela looked like she had been slapped across the face. Superheros or not, Robert wasn't about to let them manipulate him. He hated it when people tried to guilt him into things.

Still, he did feel guilty. Not for refusing to join them, but for filming them. It had seemed like such a smart idea. He hadn't considered that maybe these would be women he knew and that he'd be learning who they really were. He should have stopped them when they were about to tell him who they were. Why didn't he ever think of these things before they got out of hand?

He'd need to tell them. Mallory would figure it out anyway; there was no way Eli and Cory would be able to act natural around her or their respective crushes after this big of a bombshell. But now wasn't the time for revealing that. Tensions were high enough as it was. He'd see Angela at class tomorrow. That'd be when he'd do it. Or after. When they could talk without worry of others listening. He'd play it by ear.

As Angela tried to compose her thoughts, Robert was surprised that Vivian was the one to speak up next. "Rob, none of us want to ruin your life. We know this isn't some simple inconvenience for you."

"So glad you noticed."

Vivian shrugged with a grin. "We're observant like that." Her grin faded. "But all joking aside, every single time one of us has joined up, it was just in time for a big fight where the additional member was needed. And I don't mean that in a metaphorical 'we needed your morale support and cookies' kind of way. Not that we'd be against cookies or morale support if you felt like sharing. Especially cookies. But I mean, each time one of us has discovered who we are, we would have died without the additional member."

"You all seemed to do just fine against Polygal. Hell, seemed to me like you hardly broke a sweat."

Mallory chuckled. "That might be, in fact, because of you."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You gave her indigestion, right? After she tried to eat your Investiture she got some sort of feedback and it got released back to those boys she drained. A monster with no Investiture is much easier than ones who do. So, yeah, thanks for the assist on that one."

Robert rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I was a real big help from behind the counter."

"You stood up to a monster when you shouldn't have. That bought enough time for us to get there," the blue-haired-girl-Eli-was-crushing-on said. Robert really needed to learn her name. "You were an immense help. Without your actions, many others might have gotten hurt or worse."

"If I hadn't shown up," Robert countered, "Polygal would have stayed dormant, then when you four would have shown up, you would have waxed her with no one getting hurt. Instead there was a ton of property damage, myself and my roommates almost got killed, and now I'm having to deal with this..." Robert trailed off and chuckled to himself. Had he really just listed property damage before his own possible demise? He really needed to work on his brain's priorities.

Mallory shook her head. "If you hadn't shown up, Polygal might have been a lot stronger. Maybe strong enough to fight all four of us. There is no way of knowing that though. More importantly, because you caused that feedback, all that Investiture she had collected went back to those boys. If we destroyed her the traditional way, you know, killing it, a large portion of that still goes to Platicore. At the very least, you made an entire monster of Platicore's totally useless to him. It's going to be a big setback at the minimum."

"Fine," Robert conceded. "Maybe I was a huge help. That doesn't change my answer. I'm not throwing my current life away. I don't know what plans we did or did not make in this hypothetical past life, but I do know that I don't care. I'm going to live my life. I'm sorry, but I'm not throwing away everything I've built up to for some mythical reincarnation crap." Robert chastised himself. That came off too strong. "Again, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to find someone else for the job."

"There is no one else," Angela insisted. "Your Investiture is the only one the Spirit Stick is keyed to. There is no other option."

"Respectfully, you haven't even tried to look for one. You've gone through your entire plan assuming the fifth Spirit Guard would be on board with the plan and female. So you've never had to look for alternatives. You'll need to start."

Robert turned to walk off. He knew he wasn't going to get far without them protesting. But he felt it important to see that he was done.

Sure enough, he heard Angela rushing over to him before he took his first step. "Wait. You don't understand."

"I understand just fine, Angela." Robert kept walking. "It's you who doesn't seem to get it. I'm out. Sorry, but this is your responsibility. Not mine."

"It's all our responsibility!" Robert felt Angela grab his arm. He jerked away, not at all pleased at getting his personal space violated.

"Don't touch me."

"I'm sorry, I just-"

Robert made sure his eyes were as cold as he could make them. "Don't touch me. I don't like being touched."

"Again, I'm sorry. It's just that... we need to work this out."

Robert groaned. "There is nothing to work out, Angela. I've made my decision. It's not the decision you expected, but it's the one I made. You're going to have to just deal with that."

Angela clenched her teeth together, her eyes a mix of frustration and confusion. "But you..." She trailed off, obviously completely at a loss.

Robert sighed. "Angela, how did you expect this to go?" Robert tried to keep his tone even, but his incredulity was coming out in full force. "You're not just asking me to turn my life upside-down; you're asking me to quit my life in favor of a new one for vague reasons about some past life I have no way of verifying. What did you think I would say?"

Angela bit her lip. "I knew what the Priestess would have said." She sounded like she was pleading Robert. "She would have said..."

Robert had had about just enough about all this Priestess talk. He opened his mouth but Mallory cut him off. "Oh, you have got to be joking. You must be joking!" At first, Robert thought Mallory was talking to Angela, but as she stormed off in the direction opposite of the blonde, he knew that wasn't the case.

Angela turned around very confused. "What?" Both she and Robert stared at where Mallory was storming off to. Whatever had caught the tall Spirit Guard's attention had her very upset.

A very diminutive, female figure approached the circle. Squinting his eyes, Robert could have sworn she was wearing a ninja outfit. But that couldn't be right, could it? Upon further inspection, he reassed his opinion. That was definitely a ninja outfit. Was Mallory about to fight the ninja? What was going on?

No, Mallory stormed off past the ninja. The ninja,in turn, walked past Mallory and pulled something rectangular out of what looked to be a courier bag. She handed it to Ms. Kuna and muttered something that Robert couldn't hear a single word of, but the kangaroo-woman seemed to hear her just fine. The ninja girl then gave Robert a quick yet piercing glance. She wasn't happy with him. What was that about? Did he know her too? With his luck it'd be the cheerleader he had kicked a rock at.

"But they left." Angela stammered. "They left. We saw them leave."

The pieces came together. The ninja-girl was some kind of scout for them, as silly as it sounded. The rectangular object was a laptop. And "they" clearly could only be two people. Robert's gut sank.

Mallory and Eli were at one another's respective throats. Cory kept his distance, as if either one of them could combust at any moment. Kara and Vivian looked mortified. Angela seemed unable to process how everything was unraveling so quickly. So much for coming clean tomorrow when sentiments had tempered.

Robert winced and took his headphones out from around his neck. Now was not the time for secrets. Now was the time for damage control. "They faked leaving. I knew the Spirit Guard would make sure I was alone. I hadn't accounted for there being a ninja though."

Angela spun around. "You knew about this?"

Robert nodded as everyone but the Drake siblings walked closer to him to get the explanation. "It was my plan. I didn't know you all were going to expose your secret identities to me. I wouldn't have done this if I had known that."

Vivian's casuawitticismsms had been fully replaced by a mask of disbelief. "You were recording us? Why?"

Robert shrugged. All his reasons for doing it had proven unfounded. This was going to look bad. "Because I had no clue what was going to happen. I didn't know what that glowing meant, and I wanted there to be someone watching in case something bad happened."

Kara held a hand to her chest. "What bad could have happened? We're heroes."

Robert took a step back. They were the ones asking him to cancel the rest of his life and now somehow he was on the defensive? "Yeah, that's your public profile. But I didn't know where these monsters came from or if this glowing thing I had was a danger to you all. You all acted like it was scary or wrong in some way. I had no idea what to expect. I just wanted another set of eyes on what was going on, just in case."

Angela couldn't have looked more betrayed if Robert had been Judas himself. "Just in case? Did you think we were going to kill you or something?"

Robert threw his hands in the air. "I just said that I had no idea what I was expecting! That was the problem. I went into this entire scenario blinder than a nearsighted bat! A smidge more information could have helped me feel a lot more comfortable!"

Angela clenched her fists. "A little more information might have exposed us. We had our secret identities to consider! We entrusted that information to you and you broke that trust within ten minutes!" He could tell Angela was fuming, but he got the distinct impression from her face that she was more confused than angry.

"Okay, you know what, the concept that you all had secret identities didn't even enter my mind until you mentioned it," Robert admitted. "Your disguise charm thingy worked a little too well in that regard. Should I have tilted the camera away when you mentioned that? Yeah, probably. But I wasn't exactly thinking about the fact I was rolling tape in the middle of the conversation. You sort of laid a metric ton on top of me and didn't even really give me a chance to set my feet, you know."

"But why didn't you trust us. Us!" Angela seemed to be stuck on the trust issue. "How could you of all people not know we meant you no harm?"

Robert scoffed. "And by 'you of all people' you are actually speaking about the Priestess, I assume? You don't seem to be able to comprehend that even if I was her, I'm not her anymore."

Angela opened her mouth, but she was cut short when Kara put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Angela, we're getting nowhere."

"But--"

Ms. Kuna stepped in, holding Cory's laptop under her arm. "She's right, Angela. We can sit here and go back and forth on him not trusting us and us not telling him enough. The point is moot now. Mr. Dreese, Mr. Frost, and Mr. Drake all know our secret. That is the topic we should focus on."

Robert preempted anything Angela could say. Maybe this Ms. Kuna wasn't so bad now that she was just getting to the point rather than telling a story. "And what exactly do we need to focus on there? I mean, it's not like we're going to tell anyone. Eli is Mallory's sister and Cory has known them since he was a kid." Robert untangled the fiberoptic camera from the headphones. "And there is no way I'm telling."

Vivian raised an eyebrow. "And why is that? You could make a pretty penny off this info."

Robert returned her raised eyebrow with one of his own. "You mean other than if I did, my connections would begin to get looked into as well? I know the camera sort of undermines what I'm about to say, but I'm a man who likes both his privacy and anonymity. Ignoring all the moral reasons to not reveal your secret, I wouldn't reveal it because I'd lose my ability to just be left alone to do my thing."

"And we just have to trust you on that even though you already broke your word on not revealing our identities to anyone?" Angela, it seemed, was not going to let that go.

"Look, I don't normally like using stuff like this, but, technically, I never gave my word to not do anything. I just asked questions until you all forgot I never gave my word." Robert groaned at his defense. It was the exact lawyerly and childish defense he hated.

"So I guess it's a stupid argument. Technicality shouldn't matter. I can use the stress I felt as an excuse but I expect better from others so I should have expected it from myself. I guess today is my day to be a hypocrite." Robert didn't feel like a hypocrite. Looking back at everything he still felt this was mostly their fault for keeping him so in the dark, But he needed to smooth this over and. Plus, he really should have been thinking more clearly and moved the camera when the Spirit Guard said that they would reveal him their secret identities. He was at least partially responsible. "So let me be clear and say, as God as my witness, I won't tell, say, or in any other way communicate to another soul your secret. I'll take it to my grave."

"Well," Angela's face softened, "I guess that will have to be enough." Robert relaxed some. "But we need to work this out. We really need your help as Spirit Guard Serenity." Robert tensed back up. Here came the return of the circular argument.

"So, you all aren't going to have us whacked, right?" The entire group turned to find Cory ambling towards them. "I just want to be sure that's the discussion we're having over here." Robert was more than glad to have Cory distract the conversation away from Spirit Guard Serenity.

Angela rolled her eyes. "'Have you whacked?' It seems everyone in your dorm has entirely too wild an imagination. Of course not! We're heroes, not the mafia!"

"Oh," Cory chuckled nervously as his eyes darting towards Vivian. "Because that would have been a really sucky way to end the night."

"Yeah," Vivian agreed. "A real bummer." She looked away from Cory; her normal buoyant personality had completely evaporated. Robert's heart sunk as he saw Cory struggle with what to say to her. Sure they had only known one another for a few days, but they had seemed to have a mutual interest in one another. Was that going to be a casualty of tonight's events?

Angela stepped forward. "I'm assuming we have your word you'll speak of this to no one as well?"

Cory looked over to the blonde leader of the Spirit Guard. "Huh? Oh, that's even a question? There's no way I'd ever betray Mal like that!" He glanced back over to Vivian. "Or anyone."

Angela grimaced and nodded. Seemed she was finally coming to accept the reality of the situation. "And I don't think Mal's brother would be anything for us to worry about."

Cory nervously pointed behind him. "Well, saying anything? No, I don't think so. Though I think we should make sure they don't kill one another."

Everyone turned to find the siblings on the other side of the Standridge Circle gesturing wildly and barking at one another angrily. Robert sighed. This was his fault. Had he just not involved Cory and Eli, they could be blissfully in the dark. But there was no point in dwelling on what you can't change. All he could focus on was what he could control. And though Robert wanted to interrupt them and break up their fight, his gut told him that they needed to get whatever it was they were saying off their chests.

* - * - *

"I just can not believe you did something as stupid as this!"

"Me?" Eli scoffed. "I'm not the one who has been hiding their superhero career behind their family's back, Mallory!"

Mallory didn't seem to listen to his argument. "I told you to explicitly stay away from the Spirit Guard. And what's the first thing you do? You ignore me!"

Eli stepped forward, his anger boiling hotter. "Oh yeah. Because that had soooo much to do with my safety. All you were worried about was whether or not I'd figure out you're moonlighting as a combat cheerleader with delusions of some past life."

Mallory grit her teeth. "Don't you dare try to claim I didn't care about whether you were in danger."

Eli knew he shouldn't, but he kept pressing. "Really? Tell me, Mallory. Would you have even come over to check up on me if I didn't live with Robert, or would you have stayed away from me because you'd be worried I'd put two and two together."

Mallory shoved Eli back, giving her some space between them. Eli wanted to push back but contained himself. "I didn't have to worry about you putting two and two together until this little stunt you pulled. I can't believe you'd be this stupid!"

Eli rolled his eyes. "Tell me how stupid I am, Mallory. What? Now that I know your secret your little ninja has to kill me or something?"

"Don't be an idiot."

"Then tell me why was this stupid? The only reason Cory and I did this was because we wanted to make sure everything was on the up and up. Had you just told me who you were, we could have avoided all the stress Rob has gone through. Could have called you when something weird was going on at my arcade..."

"You don't have any spiritual skills. You just would have thought the kids were acting funny. You wouldn't have known there was a monster."

"No spiritual skills? Is this because I'm not part of your secret sorority of the Emoticon Kingdom or whatever it was?" Eli winced. Emoticon? Why the hell was that the word he said?

Mallory's anger seemed to wane as she gave him a flat stare. "Emoticon Kingdom?"

Eli looked off in the direction of Robert and the others. They seemed to be embroiled in their own conversation. Looked like it was going about as well as his judging from all the arm flailing and defensive postures. "I meant to say 'emotional.' I-- I don't know why Emoticon came out."

Both refused to look at the other. It was always like this when they fought. The fire before. Then the silence as they cooled off for a moment. Pretty soon Mallory would open her mouth and...

"He was never in any danger. I can't believe you'd think he was. Didn't you see us at the arcade? We protect people."

"If he was never in any danger, then neither was I." They locked eyes once more. She had their father's stern green eyes. Always so much force behind them. Then again, his mother had said the same about him. Maybe that was why they usually looked away from one another when talking.

"But you didn't know if you were in danger. The fact that you went to getting Cory's perv camera proves that."

Eli tensed up for a second and glanced around, making sure Cory hadn't heard that. Cory was under the impression Eli had told no one about the camera. But he had warned his sister, if, for no other reason, to be on the lookout for anyone else with similar aspirations. "Not so loud!"

Mallory smirked, though he could tell she was still mad. "So you thought you were in danger. Why did you come."

Elijah sighed. "I didn't think we were in danger. I know the Spirit Guard is... that you... are heroes." Eli looked away. "But Rob didn't and wanted someone else to watch just in case."

"You should have refused."

Eli shook his head. "I don't turn my back on a friend. We don't' turn our back on friends. You would've done the same thing if the roles were reversed."

"If roles were reversed, it would have been different."

"Oh, and why is that," Eli growled. "Because it's okay for you to have secrets and not me? Or is it because it's okay if you're in potential danger because you, apparently, have super powers?"

Mallory avoided the questions altogether. "Situations like this, you never know how they'll go. You need to stay away from all this stuff. It's..."

"Dangerous?" He locked eyes with her again. "Do mom and dad know about this?"

She glared. She glared so hard Eli found himself inching back some. "No." She stood up straighter. "And they better not."

Eli tried to stand firm. "We all deserve to know, Mallory."

"This is my business, Elijah. You weren't ever supposed to know about this." She planted a finger in his chest. "And you better not tell Mom and Dad. I mean it."

Normally this was where Eli, like a good little brother, said okay and they moved on. But not tonight. "How many times have you almost died?"

Mallory blinked, obviously not ready for that question. "What?"

"How many times have you almost died?" Eli closed his eyes. "Have all your fights been as easy as the one in the arcade?"

"Uh, no." Mallory's shoulders slumped. "There, well, there have been a few close calls."

"If you had died, would we ever have found out?"

The wind blew gently. Mallory's ponytail swayed in the breeze. "I don't know. We've never discussed it."

"So every day, for the past year or so... every day could have been the last day I ever got to see you?"

"That's true of everyone, Elijah."

"It's much more true for you though, isn't it?" Eli took a deep breath. This was why he had been angry. He didn't figure it out though until until he said it aloud. "I could have never seen you again and thought you just died from something simple or, maybe worse, maybe not found out at all."

"I didn't want you to worry about me."

"Isn't it my right to worry about you, Mallory? Good God, you're my sister! That is what family does! It worries about and helps one another."

The wind died down. Mallory bit her bottom lip before shaking her head. "It... promise me you won't tell Mom and Dad."

Eli put his hands in his pocket and stared at his shoes. Could he promise that? Was it okay for him to not tell his parents? Certainly if he had a right to worry about her didn't they?

"Promise me, Elijah!"

Eli rolled a loose pebble underneath his toe. "Why won't you tell them? Why are you so intent on keeping this a secret? I mean, you're a god damned super hero. Shouldn't you, you know, be proud of that? I know mom and dad would be proud."

Mallory puffed up, somehow standing even taller than she normally did. "I am proud of it!"

"Even the costume?"

Mallory shrank down a bit. "Okay, well, the costume is ridiculous." She shook her head and her ponytail bounced back and forth. "That's not the point. I'm not ashamed. Nor do I think mom and dad would be. But dad has always been overprotective of me. He didn't even want to let me take taekwondo as a kid. He was against me even living away from home for college even though we live in town! If he's worried about me just going to college, how would he react to me fighting monsters, swinging a giant sword, and going out in public wearing that cheerleader getup?"

Eli frowned. She had a point. Their father had always been irrationally protective of Mallory. It had always bugged him too. Mallory got a new car when she turned sixteen; Eli was told to save up for his first car like his Dad had as a teenager. Dad paid Mallory's rent for her; Eli had to get a job like Dad did in college. It really wasn't fair as far as he was concerned.

Eli sighed. Now wasn't the time for jealousy. Besides, he had parents who could afford to pay his tuition for him; all he had to handle was his monthly expenses. It just made him sound spoiled.

"I just have no clue how he'd react. Would he get used to it? Would Mom talk him down? Or would he fly off the handle like the time I got in the fight with Roger Finley and start talking to the other Spirit Guards parents?"

He hadn't considered that fact. "Are the other girls' parents in the dark too?"

"Yes. You are the first of anyone's family to found out."

She wasn't wrong to be concerned how their father might react. This wasn't exactly a normal situation. He felt it was a little unfair to couch their dad as reacting irrationally thought. The situation was what was crazy, not dad. A parent alerting other parents that their children were in danger would be a perfectly normal thing for a parent to do.

But he also understood why the Spirit Guard were hiding that fact. What could their families do? Stop them? Someone had to slay these monsters, and, though he didn't buy all this past life stuff, it didn't seem like anyone else could do it. While the families had a right to be concerned, the Spirit Guard also had a right to shelter them from worrying about something they could do little about.

Eli glanced back at the girls, Cory, and Robert. He caught Kara glancing back at before she looked back down at her feet. He wished he could read her face from this distance. "Okay Mallory. I won't tell Mom or Dad."

Mallory exhaled as though a giant weight had been lifted from her chest. She leaned down and gave Eli a hug "Thank you, Elijah."

Eli stood up on his toes and hugged her back. It really wasn't fair that she got all the tall genes. "But you have to promise me something."

"What's that?"

"No more hiding secrets from me." Eli let go and locked his gaze with her own. "We've never kept secrets. I don't like that you started. Got it?"

Mallory grinned her usual grin that let him know she thought he was being a sentimental dork. A good sign. "Got it."

Apparently, the siblings had been watched because as soon as they hugged, the entire group walked over to them. Cory was, of course, the first one to open his mouth. "So you two good now? I hate it when you two fight."

Mallory rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Cory. We're good now."

"Good, because if you two got a brother-sister divorce, I'd hate to watch you two fight over who got custody of me." Cory glanced over at Vivian. She didn't crack a smile. Looks like this night was going to have some repercussions for their love life pursuits.

Mallory groaned. "You got it backwards, Cory. We'd be fighting over who had to have custody of you. Not who got custody."

Cory clutched his chest. "You wound me, Mal. Right to the heart. Words hurt, you know."

Eli watched the blonde's face sour. Vivian and Kara were looking at everyone who wasn't Cory and Eli. The kangaroo-woman studied Cory with a face that was a mix of annoyance and confusion. The ninja-girl, well, Eli couldn't read anything from her, but he could tell Cory's antics weren't exactly welcome at the moment. Knowing Cory, he'd be the last one to find out. Luckily, Eli didn't have to do anything as Robert acted first.

"Look, it's been a long night for everyone. We're just going to head back to our apartment." He tossed the powder blue baton he had been holding at the kangaroo-woman. She caught it with her freehand. "Sorry about the trouble, but I hope you find someone who is a good fit for that."

The blonde's eyes went wide as Robert walked away. "You can't just leave your Spirit Stick!"

Robert sighed and his shoulders slumped. Yeah, their conversation definitely hadn't gone as well as his and Mallory's. "I can damn well do as I--"

Vivian cleared her throat. "Rob, what I think Angela means is that you literally can't leave it behind. It has some kind of magic or empathokinetic quantum something-or-other that makes it so the stick is always in reach for us so we can transform at a moment's notice."

Robert raised an eyebrow. "Uh huh. Yeah, why don't you all hang onto it then. I'd hate for someone to steal it or something."

The kangaroo-woman shook her head. Eli was really going to have to learn her name at some point if they were getting involved in all this nonsense. "That's not how it works. I can hold onto this, sure, but the moment I'm unaware of it, it'll return to you."

Robert didn't seem to buy it. "Then you better keep a close eye on it. You all are the ones with super powers, not me. You'll be better at guarding it than I could be."

"You'd be perfectly capable of guarding it if you'd just--" the blonde cut herself off. She pouted, but Eli could tell she was frustrated with herself as much as she was with Rob.. What was her name again? He should know this. She was his sister's roommate. He had met her in person. Didn't VIvian just say it too? Why was he so bad with names?

Robert just rolled his eyes and turned to walk away. "Whatever. See you in class."

Eli and Cory exchanged glances and then both looked to Mallory. Mallory shrugged. "Crazy night." She then looked at the blonde. "I think we all could use some time to just cool off after this."

"But he's leaving without his Spirit Stick," the blonde protested.

Cory chuckled. "Still can't believe you're seriously calling them that."

Mallory shot him a glare and Cory shut his mouth. Mallory always had been able to get him to be quiet when it was necessary. As far as Eli was concerned that qualified for a super power in and of itself. "He'll find out soon enough that he can't just leave it."

"I suppose you're right," the blonde relented. "Let's get headed out, ladies."

Eli watched as Kara put a comforting hand on the blonde's shoulders. This probably ended all hopes he had of getting to know her better. He now knew her deepest secret and had found out about it by videoing her without her consent. Eli felt like a creep when he thought about how seedy that sounded. How creepy must it feel to Kara?

The girls all started heading towards the edge of the Standridge Circle. The kangaroo-woman handed Robert's Spirit Stick and Cory's laptop to Mallory. With a flash of light, the woman returned to her kangaroo rat-form. This was seriously going to take some serious getting used to.

The kangaroo rat jumped up into the blonde's hands, then up to her head, and finally stopped on top of the stone. From that vantage the animal peered over Kessia City. "You all met at Angela and Mallory's apartment, correct?" Eli shivered. No amount of children's cartoons prepared you for how wrong it was for an animal to talk.

Mallory nodded. "Yeah, that's right."

"Very well then." The kangaroo rat said some words that sounded like gibberish. All the girls looked away. Why were they all looking away? The stone burst into a velvety red glow that made Eli see spots.

Eli shielded his eyes. "Gah! A warning would have been nice." Cory grunted in agreement.

Robert sighed and rubbed his eyes. "What is with everything glowing tonight?"

"Do not forget the words I said, Robert Dreese. The Hush Corps will be watching." That was the ninja-girl's voice. When had she gotten behind them. Eli turned around to try and see her, but was still only getting spots.

Robert, as usual, didn't respond well to someone bossing him around. "Oh don't get your morph suit all in a twist. I'm not going to be trying to get the secret out. I already gave my word on that."

Eli's eyes adjusted long enough to let him see the small silhouette walk past him. "Given your recent actions," the ninja-girl countered, "I don't exactly trust your word. More importantly, trust is not in my job description. Good night."

Robert waved her off. "Yeah, pleasure meeting you too, Cupcake."

"When did you two have a conversation? When did she get behind us."

Robert grit his teeth. "Freaking ninja snuck behind me somehow and threatened that they were going to monitor everything now. Something called a Hush Corps. Whispered the entire thing until the end there."

Cory chuckled. "What? Did the flash of light make her deaf? Just temporarily blinded me. Maybe ninjas are wired backwards."

Eli watched in fascination as Vivian walked into the stone as if it were a small crack between two buildings. They had portals too? No fair! They still had to hike up to Cory's car. And he didn't get to experience a portal. He now made it a goal of his to, at some point, get to travel through one of those things just to say he did.

Mallory turned to the side to squeeze in. She looked at Eli and grinned, "Have a fun drive, Elijah." She disappeared into the crack.

Kara squeezed in next, the ninja-girl walking over to join them. Eli was distracted by Robert's ponderous tone. "Yeah, wait. Her volume did only go up after the flash." What was Robert getting at? His friend squinted and tapped his front pockets.

Robert's face morphed into an odd mixture of amusement and anger. "Oh, that is clever." He dashed after the ninja. "Oh that's really smooth. I didn't even feel it."

The ninja kept walking as if nothing was going on. The blonde stopped halfway through the portal. "What is going on, Robert?"

Robert put himself between the rock-portal and the ninja.

"What's going on is your little ninja errand-girl here picked my pocket and stole my phone." Eli had to give it to Robert; no matter how strange the night got, he seemed to keep his cool.

The ninja girl remained motionless and didn't allow for a hint of body language. Then again, Eli was behind her so maybe her face was giving something away. Though that seemed highly unlikely.

The blonde squeezed back out of the red fissure in space. "Is that true, Noriko?"

"It seemed prudent. They used the phone as the tool for recording the sound of your conversation. I needed to have a look to make sure there was no recording on the phone."

Robert chuckled though Eli could tell he wasn't amused. Rob didn't like people invading his personal space one bit. "Wow. You could have just asked, you know?"

"At this point, Mr. Dreese, I have neither the luxury nor the inclination to trust your word."

"Oh that's rich," Robert scoffed. "A ninja, sneaking around, picking my pockets and threatening my friends with a sword, doesn't trust my word. Because there's nothing sketchy about you."

The blonde sighed. "Noriko, please give him his phone back."

Noriko didn't budge. "I haven't determined if it has any incriminating data on it yet."

"Robert will delete it if there is. Won't you, Robert." The blonde's eyes were pleading. Eli got the feeling she wasn't asking this to make the ninja feel better, but to hear it from Robert himself.

Robert didn't let his eyes move from Noriko. "I already told you, I'm not telling anyone. I'm telling you right now I have no data on that phone. So give it back."

They stared one another down for a solid three or four seconds before the ninja dropped her first hint of emotion and sighed. "Your decision." She reached behind her into her travel sack. She pulled out Robert's phone and handed it to him. "We have the laptop anyway. We will find out if there was anything recording elsewhere through that, I'm sure."

Robert wasn't done staring down the ninja. "Yeah, get that video deleted. But Cory needs that laptop for classes and homework. He better be getting it back with all his files intact tomorrow."

"We will take as long as we need and do what we must," Noriko said coldly.

The blonde swallowed down a huge lump in her throat and put her hands on the diminutive ninja's shoulders. "What Noriko meant to say, of course, is that the Hush Corps will endeavour to get it done quickly, effectively, and with minimum damage to his files, and that he should have it by tomorrow afternoon."

"I meant no such thing," Noriko defiantly muttered.

The kangaroo rat cleared her throat, "Noriko."

The ninja was not pleased. "It will be returned to him early tomorrow."

Robert held his face straight. "Thank you, Noriko."

Eli couldn't help but chuckle as Robert walked past the ninja and his face exploded into the biggest smirk. He had just won a staring contest with a ninja. And though it would have scared the piss out of Eli, it seemed Robert got a lot of amusement at feeling the cold glare of the ninja on his back.

The blonde tried to encourage Noriko with a kind pat on the shoulder but it it didn't seem the ninja-girl wasn't having any of it. Without a word or demonstration, Noriko stepped through the portal. The blonde sighed. She opened her mouth as if to say something to Robert but quickly decided against it and squeezed back into the portal. The kangaroo rat shook its head and followed through. Once again, the Standridge Circle stood dark.

"Wow, have you got a pair on you or what" Cory exclaimed.

Eli could practically hear the shrug in Robert's voice. "What is she going to do? Kill me to keep me quiet? They say I'm the only person who can be this stupid Spirit Guard Serenity thing. Besides, I doubt Eli's sister would participate in anything that has a hitman as part of their team."

"Well she scared the hell out of me," Eli admitted.

"Well in our defense, Eli, she brandished her sword at us, and we aren't warriors of past-life-fate-reincarnation-destiny-kingdom-land. So we don't have Robert's plot armor."

Normally, Eli would fight Cory on the concept of plot armor, but tonight he would not be arguing from a position of strength. Between ninjas, talking animals, and, of course, magical cheerleaders, the universe was throwing a lot of weight behind Cory's worldview.

"I do have to admit, that was rather clever of her," Robert snorted. "She knew the stone would flash so she put herself between me and the stone and whispered to me so you two wouldn't turn around when it flashed. That way all three of us were temporarily blinded." Robert started walking away from the Circle. "And I never even felt her hand reach into my pocket. I don't like it, but that's damn impressive."

Cory pointed back to the stone that had been glowing. "Seriously? That's what you found impressive? The stone that they just walked through to get from point A to point B, I thought, was a little more impressive than that."

"Yeah, well, I've seen a lot of things glow tonight. And apparently they think I'm some sort of holy woman in a past life that will join them on their magical pep squad. So, yeah, that's a thing now." Robert sighed and looked Eli in the eye. "I'm sorry for bringing you guys into this. Had I known your sister and those girls you liked were in this I--"

"Don't be sorry." Eli definitely didn't want Robert kicking himself over this. He had enough to worry about without thinking he was a bad friend for involving them. "I'm glad I know now. At least I can now know if my sister is in danger or not. I was completely in the dark."

Cory smiled. "Yeah dude. No regrets."

Robert looked up at the sky and took a deep breath. "Thanks guys. Not to get all sentimental or anything, but I really appreciate that you guys did this for me. I don't know what I would have done if they got what they wanted and I had no one to talk about this with."

Cory grinned from ear to ear, "D'aww, the Tin Man does have a heart!"

Robert rolled his eyes but grinned back. "I'm just not looking forward to my history class tomorrow. I have that Angela girl in it." Angela! That was the blonde's name. "I have no doubt she's going to try and continue to impress upon me the importance of..." Robert squinted and turned around and scanned the circle.

Eli followed suit, trying to see what Robert was looking for. "Rob, what is it?"

"I... I'm not sure. I feel something."

Cory took a step back. "Like with the monster at the arcade?"

"No. This different it's..." He walked up to one of the stones and knelt down. "Wow, they were not exaggerating."

Eli and Cory glanced at one another and shrugged. They both then hurried over to find that Robert was looking over a stick about two-and-a-half feet long with rubber ends. It was the "Spirit Stick" the girls said Robert couldn't leave.

Cory scratched his head. "How did it get there? Could the ninja have left it there?"

"No," Robert sighed as he picked up the stick. "I saw the wallaby hand it to Mallory. She walked in with it and Cory's laptop. I could feel it there. Like it was watching me."

Eli didn't like the thought of inanimate objects watching someone. Sounded like something from a bad horror flick. "They did say you couldn't leave it."

Robert shook his head as he examined it. Eli got the distinct feeling he was going to be hearing a lot of complaining about this stick. "This is going to get really annoying really fast."

Robert plopped into his chair and rubbed his eyes. He couldn't believe how early he was to his History class. He had fully intended to show up as late as possible and prevent himself from giving Angela a chance to talk to him, but given how his night had gone, that plan had changed since he needed to get something straightened out.

The TA gave him an odd look as she walked in. How often did students get into the room before the TA? Probably wasn't often. He buried his head into his palms and sighed. He was just so damn tired and on edge. He could still feel it. It was under his seat now, like a trapdoor spider waiting to strike its prey.

He heard the door open and the clacking of heels. He looked up and saw Angela walking up the steps. She averted her eyes and squeezed her bookbag against her chest. Seemed the night hadn't done anything to help calm her nerves either.

She approached him, her eyes glued to her shoes and her blond hair covering her face. She let out a long breath through her nose and looked up. Her bloodshot eyes told Robert she must have had nearly as little sleep as he had. Though he wagered it was for completely different reasons.

Angela tried to mask her nervousness with a smile. "Morning Robert." As she sat down it seemed she got her first real look at his body language. "Oh, dear. You don't look well at all. Did you sleep at all last night?"

Robert kept his face forward, watching the TA. He wanted to point out the wasn't the only one who looked like hell, but that wouldn't been right. She looked like her normal, well-kept self. Or what he assumed was normal for her. She always seemed so well groomed in all of the three times he had seen her. Well, four if he counted the arcade. But her face told a different story. No amount of showering and makeup could hide the anxiety on her face.

"No. I didn't. It's that damned stick."

Angela sat down, pulling her laptop out of her bag. "The Spirit Stick?" she whispered.

"It's like it's watching me." Robert said as he reached under his seat and held the stick in his to his side. "No matter where I go or what I do, I can alway feel it in reach. Like some sort of inanimate stalker. It's like something straight out of a horror book."

Angela's eyes widened and she tried to snatch it out of his hands. "What are you doing," she demanded in a panicked hush. She only succeeded in knocking it out of his hands. It bounced down the stairs before it rolled out of sight and he could feel it's presence return to his backpack. That seemed to be its favorite nesting spot.

The TA glanced up but whatever she saw, obviously she didn't think it was of much importance because she went right back to marking stuff on slides for the professor. "People could find out that..."

Robert shook his head. "That a dude is a Spirit Guard that no one has seen yet? I doubt they'd connect the dots there, Angela. Plus I think they'd be forusing more on the fact that a guy had a baton."

Angela grimaced. Her tired eyes pleaded with Robert. "Please, don't be so flippant about this, Robert. We're entrusting you with our secret. We don't know what minion of Platicore or other mystic players could be watching at any time."

"I'll tell you who is watching--that stick." He slouched in his chair. "I can feel it pressing against my... it feels like that--" He trailed off. He reallly was being a bit to casual with Spirit Guard stuff. It was stupid that he was involved in this at all, but he had to honor his word about keeping their secret. "It feels like that thing I felt at the arcade."

Her voice was barely audible. "It feels like Polygal to you?"

Robert nodded. "Yeah. I can just... when I approached the arcade I felt something was off. At first the air got heavy, but as soon as I got into the building..." Robert trailed off, temporarily lost in the memory of that day that shouldn't have felt as long ago as it did. "I could feel it in my bones." He shook his head. "LIke some sort of icy sensation. I don't know how else to describe it.

"But that stick, it feels the same. I mean, well, not like the ice in my bones, but I can feel it pressing against me. Sort of. It's kind of like that thick air feeling I got as we approached the arcade."

Angela furrowed her eyebrows. "I just find it so odd you could sense the monster. I mean, none of us were that sensitive until after we transformed the first time." She shook her head, "But that's not important. It is sort of weird when you get your Spirit Stick, but it's not the stick; it's our latent empathokinetic sense kicking in."

Robert rolled his eyes. "More magical empire stuff?"

Angela grimaced and Robert regretted his words. This was her life. In some ways it was more her religion. Either way, it was near and dear to her and he kept putting it down. Uncle Taylor had taught him better. "Our old bodies did empathokenesis all the time. When we awakened it in our new bodies, the additional sense, our sixth sense if you want to be dramatic like Vivian... well, it's weird. Imagine a blind person suddenly having sight and being asked to describe the color red."

Angela reached into her bag and pulled out her Spirit Stick just enough for Robert to see it. She grinned like a child that was sharing a secret. "But then suddenly we feel things like monsters and our Spirit Sticks. They are things that trigger on our extra sense." She tucked it back into her bag. "Your first experience with your empathokenesis was a traumatic one where there was an attack. It makes sense that you'd feel nervous about anything else that has the sense going off. A lamp without a lampshade hurts your eyes, but a beautiful sunset is pleasing to them. It's not the sensation that is the issue here but your inexperience with having it. Give it time and you'll know how to differentiate the 'flavors' of it."

Angela's eyes were aflame with passion. Robert suspected that she had made this comparison with the other members of the Spirit Guard. "You come up with that speech all yourself?"

Angela blushed. "Actually, it was Vivian who made me think of it like that. She's very thoughtful like that."

Robert nodded. It did make sense, but her explanation didn't make him feel any less tired. Nor did it make him feel any more comfortable with the sensation of him feeling the stick having teleported to his backpack. "Does it always move with you? Like this?"

"Yes. It's to make sure that it's always within reach but out of sight. You don't have to ever worry about being unprepared for a fight because it will be there in any moment of need."

"Can we turn it off?"

Angela opened her mouth to protest, but instead winced then swallowed hard. "I can see the desire to do that given your... unique situation." She tapped her finger on the armrest of her chair. "But we don't fully comprehend how these work. You must understand, these foci are the most intricate ones ever created by one of the most brilliant minds the Empathic Empire had ever produced. We only know the very basics of empathokenesis. Asking us to tamper with these devices, which I'm not sure how we would even do that, is like asking a high school physics student to operate a nuclear reactor."

There went that idea. "I don't suppose there is any way I could ask Vivian to give it a try then? Since she was the Scholar."

Angela gave an apologetic smile. "No such luck, I'm afraid. Not even she's crazy enough to try."

Robert sighed. What good was all this emotion-tech if nobody knew how to actually do anything new with it? Then again, when the only things you had to experiment on were, supposedly, centuries old artifacts with no user manual and necessary for the defense of the planet, could he really blame them?

"You'll get used to it."

"Huh?"

"The feeling. The empathokinetic sense. You'll get used to feeling the Spirit Stick all the times. Sort of like how when you walk into a room with an unfamiliar smell. You notice it at first, but after a while, you can't even smell it anymore. That's how your empathokinetic sense behaves too. You'll get used to it. I promise."

Robert leaned back and considered her point. It made sense. Noses filtered out scents that hung in the air long enough. Ears filter out white noise. This new sense might behave the same. "So it didn't bother you at all? The new sense I mean."

"Oh, well, not really. But given the fact that I saw my new role as a blessing and you..." Angela trailed off. "Well, I wanted it, and you did not. So I guess I understand that it's a sensation you're not exactly welcoming."

Robert nodded. "And you are sure there is no way you could take this thing back for me?"

Angela shrugged. "I'm afraid not. It synched to you the moment you touched it. We don't know any way to undo that."

Robert sighed. "You'll get used to it" wasn't the solution he wanted, but it was the only solution being presented to him at the moment. As his uncle would say, "You can't pump oil out of a dry well." So he'd just get accustomed to it... for now.

More students began to trickle into the class. "Well, I guess that will have to do for now."

Angela nodded but twiddled her thumbs together. "Yes, well... true." She took a deep breath. Robert braced himself; this was definitely leading into something he wasn't going to like. "Any chance you'd have any interest in eating lunch with Mallory, Vivian, and myself today?" He hated being right. "You know, maybe to just clear the air from last night's little--"

Robert held up his hand. He had to be careful with how he handled this. "No thank you. I appreciate the little convo we've had here. Helpful stuff. But I don't want to give you the wrong impression about anything. I'm not a Spirit Guard."

"It's not a recruitment thing. I just don't think there should be--"

Robert shut his eyes. "Angela. Don't. Even if you truly mean to quote-unquote clear the air, there is no air to clear. Both of our positions have been made very clear. I hold nothing against you, and it seems you and your friends, minus your ninja, hold nothing against me. Let's just let it be, okay?"

The enthusiasm drained out of Angela's face like air out of a tire. She slumped into her chair and pulled out her laptop. "Yeah. Okay then."

Robert let out a sigh and pulled his own laptop free from his backpack. Why had Destiny,Fate, or whatever disembodied, would-be deity chosen him? Now he had to deal with all this drama. Getting away from drama was the whole reason he left Deepwater.

He felt bad about having to shut Angela down like this. She was just trying to do what she thought was right. If only none of this had never happened. She was very attractive and seemed really nice, if a bit overeager. He briefly entertained the thought of what he might have done if the situation had been different.

Robert dismissed the thought from his mind. She likely would not have sat right next to him and had a conversation with him on the first day of classes if he wasn't involved with the Spirit Guard. She would have probably kept her distance from him to be sure he wouldn’t figure out that she was Valor.

Robert shook his head and shrugged to himself. Such was his luck with ladies.

* - * - *

Eli just focused on the arrows and moved his feet. With his homework done, the Arcade closed for who knows how long, and his roommates out, Hop Dance Mania was the best way to occupy his mind. He wished he was on the solid pads of the arcade instead of his slippery console pad. But he wasn't going to complain about Mallory's Christmas gift.

The music blared words in a mixture of Japanese and English that likely made no sense to someone who spoke either. Not having his roommates around had the added benefit that he wouldn't annoy them with this music. It also wouldn’t let them see that he mumbled the words as he danced. Annoying or not, the songs were catchy.

A knock came from the other side of the dorm’s door and Eli sighed. If this was another club person trying to recruit him, he would be very annoyed. They had already interrupted him twice, and when he wasn't staring at flying arrows as they rolled down the screen those were seconds his mind would dwell on the fact that his sister was a superhero, and he would feel like a creep for learning Kara's secret with a hidden camera.

Eli grabbed the top of his shirt and wiped the sweat off his forehead as he opened the door. A gorgeous bluenette stood in the open doorway. Eli felt very self-conscious about his sweaty aroma. "Oh. Uh. Hey Kara."

She didn't meet his eyes. "Hello Elijah."

"You can just call me Eli," he reminded her. Eli let himself hope for a second that maybe he hadn't completely blown it last night. Maybe, she liked the idea of having someone who could understand her and whom she could confide in. He was, after all, the sibling of a Spirit Guard. What would she have to hide from him? He'd keep her secret safe.

"Oh, well, then hello Eli."

He mentally scolded himself. No, she was probably here to talk to Robert. He was the grand Shrine Maiden of destiny or whatever. Kara just probably wanted to see if he could get him to reconsider. Their job was to protect the world from Platicore, so it made a lot of sense that she'd give it another go. "So Robert isn't here right now. I don't know if..."

"That's fine," she said casually. "I actually was wondering if Cory was here."

Cory? He had not expected that. "Oh, no he's not. He's at classes still."

"Ah." She nodded her head before setting her backpack on the ground. As she knelt down and unzipped it, Eli found his eyes lingering on her well-sculpted legs. He had stared at them a lot as she stomped on the Hop Dance Mania pad at Loose Change.

"What am I doing?" Eli scolded himself. Here he had just been lamenting what a creep Kara must think he was and what does he do? He leers at her legs. He wasn't some pubescent teenager with raging hormones anymore. If he didn't want her to think he was creepy, he needed to act more mature.

"I was just coming by to return Cory’s laptop. Noriko was going to bring it by but--"

Eli decided to blurt out the first thing he could think of. "I'm sorry."

Kara glanced up, confusion all over her face as she removed Cory's laptop. "Come again?"

"I'm sorry for last night." Eli's father had always told him that even if he didn't completely know what he did wrong that it had never hurt his relationship with Eli's mother to apologize anyway. Eli hoped his dad's advice worked. "I thought we were helping Rob. If I had known what we'd find out..."

A door a couple of rooms over opened, and Kara glanced at it nervously. "Do you, uh, mind if I step in for a second?"

Eli realized the stupidity of what he was doing instantly. What was he thinking? Talking about this with the door open? No privacy? Thankfully he hadn't said anything with any detail to it. That wasn't going to help him build any trust.

Eli blushed. "Sure. Of course." He opened the door wider and Kara hurried in. "Sorry. That was stupid of me."

Kara walked past him and set Cory's laptop on the counter. "So," she said with a hint of caution in her voice, "you were talking about if you had known what you know now?"

"Huh? Oh, right. Well, you see..." Eli trailed off as he shut the door behind him.

"I was under the impression that you didn't regret it."

"What? Why do you have that impression?"

"Didn't you tell Mal you felt you had a right to know about her being a Spirit Guard?"

Eli was surprised Kara knew about that. He had thought that he and Mallory were far enough away that no one would have heard their conversation. Then again, Mallory probably talked with them afterwards about their discussion. Of course she did. They'd all want to compare notes and make sure everything was fine. "I, well, I do. I mean, I do think I should know that."

"But you also seemed like you were going to say that you would have done things differently. But if you did things differently, well, you never would have found out about your sister."

"That's true," Eli said, "but, I guess, what I'm trying to say is I..." What the hell was he trying to say? What was the point of this conversation? He just wanted to say he was sorry and leave it at that. This plan to apologize wasn't seeming so smart anymore.

Not that she didn't have a good point. He did deserve to know his sister was in constant mortal peril, but he still felt like a creep for finding out about the rest of the Spirit Guard's secret. Eli decided that point was where he'd start. "I'm trying to say that I did have the right to know about Mallory, but I did not have the right to know about everyone else."

Kara raised an eyebrow. "So you're more concerned about the fact that she's in danger than the fact that she kept a secret from you?"

"What? Of course. Why would I-- wait, does Mallory think I’m mad she kept a secret from me?"

Kara blushed. "She did seem to give me that impression from our conversation, though maybe I misinterpreted her words."

Eli sighed. He was going to need to clear this up with his sister. "No. I doubt it. I mean, I did say that it bothered me that she hid being a Spirit Guard, but I was definitely more mad that she was in danger and didn't tell me."

Kara nodded her head. "I get that. I was furious when one of my brothers joined the Marines. I can only imagine how mad I would have been had he joined them and not told me."

"Yeah. I guess this is rather similar to that. You know, only my sister and you dress in cheer uniforms and heels rather than camo and body armor."

Kara blushed but chucked. That was probably a good sign. "It is an odd hobby, I'd admit."

"But, I don't know, Kara." Eli scratched the back of his neck. "My only goal that night was to help out Robert. I had no clue what was going to happen. Part of me wishes Robert had listened to me when I said he had nothing to worry about and didn't involve us because then I'd never have learned all your secret identities."

"But if you hadn't," Kara said, "you'd never have known about Mal being Spirit Guard Tenacity."

"Probably." Eli struggled with his own tongue. He wanted to say the right things. But when it came down to it, that was all that really could be said. He wanted some of the consequences of his actions but not all of them. But that wasn't how life worked. "I guess I can't have it both ways. All I can say really is that I'm sorry and I'll take your secret to my grave, Kara."

Silence hung in the air for the briefest of moments. On a whim, he tried to lighten the mood with some humor. “And may a ninja strike me down if I don't."

The moment the words left his lips he regretted it. Humor wasn't right for the moment. It had been a serious promise. Why did he say that? He didn't know that ninja girl. What if she and Kara were close friends. It sounded like he was poking fun at her. He had blown it.

Kara laughed. She laughed? She laughed hard enough that the cutest little snort escaped. It was adorable. He hadn't stuck his foot in his mouth. And he got to hear her snort-laugh. He was in love.

Kara blushed and calmed herself. "Please forgive Noriko. She's..." Kara bounced her head from side to side, weighing her words, "She's from a very different upbringing. We went our whole lives told how special we were and how we had this infinite potential. She's had her whole life set out in front of her and told how it will go and the way the world works. I think working with us challenges a lot of those ideas, and she still has no idea how to reconcile that."

Eli felt that was a very generous painting of the girl who had threatened him and Cory with a sword. Then again, he really didn't know anything about her, and he really didn't feel like contradicting Kara at this point. Things seemed to be turning around. "I have to ask, where did you all find yourselves a ninja?"

Kara sighed. "I'm not entirely sure myself. Ms. Kuna apparently had some favor to call in with Noriko's clan. Apparently, it’s a favor that goes back a few centuries. Noriko offered her services as fulfillment of that favor. Neither Ms. Kuna or Noriko are in a hurry to tell us the details."

"Ms. Kuna," Eli asked, "she's the kangaroo rat, right?"

"A wallaby. Though that's just her spirit animal form."

"About that..."

Kara shook her head. "Apparently all of Fate's messengers are, in their natural form, animals of some kind. Seems a bit silly."

"Well, it’s not so much that she's an animal, but why is she a marsupial? I mean, if she was going to appear to ancient heroes, why would she not pick an animal that they were more familiar with and had some significance in their culture?"

Kara smiled and shrugged. "Vivian thinks Fate picked a harmless but, from every other culture's angle, fantastical looking animal to impress without intimidating."

"Well, why have Vivian theorize?" Eli asked. "Why not just ask Ms. Kuna outright?"

"She doesn't know herself," Kara said. "It sort of surprised us."

"Sort of?" Eli scratched his head. "Did she never ask?"

Kara leaned against the side of the table. "Well, when we asked she seemed to indicate that you didn't ask things like that to Fate. You just ran with it because she is Fate and probably knows what..." Kara got distracted and tilted her head as if she recognized some sound. That was when Eli realized he hadn't turned the TV off. He had just lowered the volume a lot, but he could still faintly hear the music of Hop Dance Mania.

"Lucky Justice, the Voltage Remix? You have your own Hop Dance Mania pad?" She smirked. "And I thought I spent too much time playing the game," she giggled. "Your sister did say you were a nerd, so I shouldn't be--"

"Now hold the phone for one second." They talked about him? That was good news. Maybe. Or maybe it was bad news. Girls talking about boys was a subject he tended to not be an expert on. "I may be a tad nerdy, but let's get this straight. It was my sister who got me the dance pad last Christmas, so she can complain all she wants, but if she gives me stuff like that as presents, well, then she's clearly sending a mixed message."

Kara laughed harder. She snorted again. She was so cute! "She didn't tell me that part."

"Yeah!" Eli's confidence surged. Things were going so much better than he could have ever hoped. "She also buys me a lot of my printed t-shirts. She's at best an enabler."

Kara gave a conciliatory nod. "The evidence does seem to back you up there."

Eli shrugged. "She tried to pass the dance pad as wanting me to get more exercise."

"Well it is a great way to work out. I burn more calories and have more fun doing that than any jog I could go on. Or did. Seems the closest arcade got wrecked by a monster and some cheerleaders fighting."

"Yeah. It was rather tragic." Eli grinned. He had the perfect thing to say. "Though I'm sure the cheerleaders did their best to minimize damage. One even saved my life from a the monster's laser gun blasters with a shield of light or something. I was very grateful for that gesture but never really got the chance to thank her."

Kara's smile was as pure and genuine as a smile could be. "You know... we don't ever really get to hear thank you's. It's always such a rush in and out. By the time a fight is over, the entire battlefield is barren because everyone has rushed away from the crossfire."

This was his chance. This was the opening he had been waiting for. "I know you wanted to keep your identity a secret. As you should. And I'm sorry. But of all the weirdness and uncomfortable conversations this thing has caused, I hope there is a positive to come out of this. Maybe it could be nice to have a normal person who knows your secret."

"I hope so too." Kara nodded and glanced back to his dance pad as an excuse to break eye contact. "Tell you what, Eli. You let me borrow your dance pad and GameStation until Loose Change is open again and your unintentional breach of privacy is completely forgiven."

Eli didn't have to think twice about that arrangement. "Sounds completely fair to me." He hurried over to get everything unplugged for her. He could also use transporting the pad as an excuse to walk Kara back to her dorm again.

He had smoothed things over with Kara. He couldn't believe everything had gone over so well. Now the only thing Eli had to worry about was explaining to Cory that he had agreed to lend out Cory's GameStation to Kara.

But details like that could be dealt with later. Right now, he just wanted to celebrate being in HDM Girl's good graces. That would always be worth listening to Cory complain.

---

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Robert was surprised with how crowded the mall already was. Sure it was a Saturday, but it was eleven in the morning, and it wasn't a holiday weekend. Holidays were the only time the mall back in Deepwater ever got crowded. Then again, to compare that small shopping center back home to the Rale Valley Mall was a mistake. This thing was enormous.

Eli groaned as he exited the car and said, "Do you always have to park so far away?"

"These malls are littered with stupid high school drivers," Cory pointed out. "I don't want them dinging my car."

As Robert stepped out and stretched, he felt a hum with his extra sense. He paused and considered the sensation. It was unlike anything he had felt before with his new sense. Then again, the only sensations he had felt that he understood the meaning of were the icy, chilling in his bones caused Polygal draining people and the annoying, consistent looming of his Stalker Stick.

He had experienced other sensations intermittently over the previous days, but nothing that was similar to this hum. Robert tried to focus on whatever was humming, but it was too far away to make out. It reminded him of a cricket's chirp because though he could tell that it was far away, the actual direction of the feeling was impossible to make out.

In any case, the humming didn't feel anywhere nearby or threatening, so he decided to not worry about it until one of those two conditions were met. If he freaked out at every small tingle this new sense produced, he'd go insane. Instead, he's just enjoy hanging out with his friends. "Dude, weren't you a stupid high school driver not more than four months ago.?"

That got a chuckle out of Eli. Cory instead pointed at Robert. "I was never a stupid high school driver. No wrecks. No tickets. No dents. I have a perfect record." Cory puffed his chest out. "Besides, now that I'm a mature college driver I can look down on high school drivers."

Eli rolled his eyes. "The mature college driver said as he went to buy more Invoker cards."

"Hey!" Cory protested, "there are plenty of adults who play Invokers. You go to the same tournaments I do. You've seen them." Cory paused and then shrugged. "Besides, you're buying my Invokers cards this week as recompense for your trespasses."

"Trespass. Singular. I only gave away one game system," Eli groaned.

Robert just shook his head and smiled. "I just can't believe you guys have a comic book store here in your mall. I had to drive to the next town over whenever I wanted to get the latest issue of Collider."

Eli looked surprised by that. "Next town over? Just how small is the town you're from?"

"Deepwater only has a little over ten-thousand people in it, and that was after the town boomed," Robert said as he idly kicked a pebble across the parking lot. "Bremhaven is the big city near us. They got nearly a hundred-thousand people there. That's where I'd go to get comics and such. I think they had Invoker tournaments there too, though that was never my thing."

"Huh." Eli rested his arms behind his neck. "I guess I just didn't realize you lived that far in the boonies."

"I don't live in the boonies."

"Compared to here you do," Eli chided. "I'm surprised your accent isn't thicker."

Cory raised a finger, "But onto the more interesting topic of Invokers. While it currently isn't your thing Robert, it could be your thing if you wanted. Eli and I have enough cards that we no longer use that I'm sure you could build a decent deck of your own."

Robert held the door open for a pair of middle-aged women. They casually thanked him with a smile and Robert continued the conversation. "Yeah. While I'm interested in the game as a concept I'm really don't see me getting into it. I already spend enough money on Aspect Realms and comics as is. If I get into card games on top of those, I'm going to break my budget, I'm sure."

Eli nodded. "I hear you. I'm not sure if I'm buying any of my own packs today. I'm saving up some cash in reserves in case I get lucky and Kara's willing to go on a date with me here soon."

"Must be nice to get back into a girl's good graces by giving away someone else's GameStation," Cory groused.

Eli shook his head. "Dude, I said I'm sorry. You've been on about it since Thursday. I agreed to buy your booster packs today to make it up to you. Would you please let it go?"

Cory grinned. "You haven't actually bought me the booster packs yet though. That means I still have about fifteen or twenty minutes of justified belly-aching."

"I really hate you sometimes."

Robert smirked. "You're going about this all wrong, Cory. By letting him buy the packs you're letting him off. I'd just loan Eli's computer out to Vivian for a month and see if that gets you back in her good graces."

"Really, Rob?" Eli sighed, "Don't you think he's hard enough to deal with right now without your help?"

Robert thought Cory would eat up a chance to plot against Eli like this; instead, he turned the conversation back to Vivian. "Yeah. I just don't know. She wouldn't even talk to me at class yesterday."

Eli put his hands in his pocket and shrugged. "We found out a secret of hers that she didn't want anyone to know. It must feel really invasive to her that you snuck behind her back and found it out."

"I didn't do it on purpose," Cory grumbled.

Eli nodded. "Preaching to the choir, but regardless of intention, we know something they didn't want us to know. They just aren't going to be okay with that. Especially since we were sneaking around doing stuff they felt we shouldn't be doing."

"Yeah," Cory said as he shoved his hands into his pockets and trudged forward. Robert didn't like being around Cory when he got into these mopey moods. He couldn't blame Cory for being a bit depressed though. Cory had met a girl who seemed to be into all the same things as him, laughed at his jokes, and seemed just as interested in him as he was in her. But suddenly, due to the strangest of circumstances, she was giving him the cold shoulder.

"So, not to change the subject," Robert said, trying to change the subject away from Vivian, "but you sure about this place having comics, right? I mean, you guys make it sound like its more of a board game, tabletop RPG, gaming type store. And if it's in a mall it can't be that big."

Eli smiled. "It's bigger than you'd think, and, yeah, I'm pretty sure they'll have the Collider series. I mean, they might not have some of the more off-brand comics, but Collider, even I know who she is. You should be fine."

Cory nodded. "Yeah, I seem to remember they also had some super hero tabletop tournament something or other a while back where they were giving away comics for winning stuff."

"You know," Eli said with a grin, "it'll be interesting to go to the tournaments now that we aren't high schoolers. Aren't some of the guys who go to these Invokers tournaments attending SAU?"

Cory nodded. "That's a good point. I think there are. In fact, I know there are. I just don't remember their names. We should find out if..."

Robert let his mind wander away from Eli and Cory's conversation as he felt the Spirit Sti-- empathokinetic focus move again. He refused to call it a Spirit Stick even if it was easier to say. As he honed his new sense in on the focus, he started to feel a little paranoid. Like there was another monster nearby that might attack him.

Angela had explained that as he got used to having an empathokinetic sense, his mind would stop associating anything tripping his new sense with a monster attack, but, for now, the more he thought about the focus, the more he felt like a monster was nearby. Maybe that was why he had felt Polygal's presence despite not being a Spirit Guard. At that point, he hadn't had his focus to distract his empathokinetic sense. He'd need to remember to bring this up with Angela later to get her thoughts on it.

"Here we are," Eli announced.

Robert followed Angela's advice and pushed his worry aside. He needed to focus on the task at hand: buying Collider #187. The store didn't look very big to him. No bigger than your average mall storefront. Above the door hung the words "Dungeon Direct" in gothic lettering. Robert thought the name was kind of silly for a gaming and comic book store, but, then again, the comic shop he went to back at home was simply named "Ben's Comic Book Shop." At least this location was trying to have some kind of flavor.

As they walked in, Robert felt the stick teleport into the poster bin in front of the front counter. Behind the counter was a cashier that had the body frame of a praying mantis. The cashier's eyes didn't move from the clipboard he was going over. "Hey boys. Looking for anything in particular today?"

Eli gave him a casual wave. "We'll be fine, Devon. Just going to the back to pick up some booster packs."

When he heard his name, Devon glanced up, and his eyes flashed with recognition. "Oh. You two." Devon's eyes lingered on Robert for the briefest of moments before he corrected himself, "Er, three. That's new." His eyes went straight back to the clipboard. If this Devon guy had any curiosity about Robert, it seemed rather limited. "Don't mind the mess back there. We had a big LoreThunder event last night and we still haven't cleaned up. I'll be getting to that later today."

"When do you guys ever clean up back there?" Cory chuckled.

Devon only responded with a grunt.

Eli grinned and turned to Robert. "Devon's worked here for years. We’re pretty sure he can't remember which one of us is Cory or Eli, so he always just refers to us as 'you two' as if we were one entity."

Robert smirked. "It makes sense. At times I wonder that myself." Robert glanced around. He didn't see a door to this mythical back area Devon had spoken of. Then he realized it was because their wasn't a door; just a wall divider that was open at the sides. It prevented whatever was in this back area was from being seen from the store entrance. Given how shy nerds tended to be and how sweaty they could get, Robert thought it was a good way to keep it open air without losing the privacy they'd all want.

Cory walked around the large divider to the back room. "Hardy har har. You're a regular comedian."

Robert followed him and was greeted by more than just a bit of a mess. He had thought they hid this area for privacy, but he could now see it was because the back room was a pig pen.

Four tables had a mishmash of LoreThunder miniatures, paint, terrain, and food strewn about them. Rulebooks from a menagerie of different tabletop systems were piled in random stacks between the tables and forced Robert to step over them to get anywhere. Board game boxes were piled into corners without any hint of organization. And to top it all off, the floor was littered with enough crumbs and soda cans that you would have thought it was a kindergarten class room after snack time.

Robert shook his head. "Ugh! He wasn't kidding." The shelving in this room looked like a home improvement project that had been abandoned halfway through. A lot of the shelves were sagging under the weight of the books they were holding up. Worst of all, the comic book section just had the comics in various cardboard boxes along a wall. Robert was going to feel lucky if they were in anything close to alphabetic order.

Eli shrugged. "This is how it normally looks after a big event."

"I'm not talking about just the food and the figurines," Robert clarified. "I mean, look at this." He pointed to the nearest sagging shelf. "You have Keeps and Kobolds rulebooks mixed in with Argentum adventure modules and a couple of Invokers card catalogs. How do you guys find anything?"

Cory and Eli looked at one another and just shrugged. "We don't do any of the tabletop or comic stuffs," Eli explained.

Cory nodded. "Yeah, we just get the stuff for Invokers here." He pointed towards the wall of various card decks. "They can't really mess up the things that just come in pre-packaged boxes." He ran his index finger along the top of the Invokers selection of booster pack. "Now, to find which packs feel the most lucky."

Robert rolled his eyes with a smile as he trudged over to the comic book section while Cory and Eli argued. "Do we have to do this everytime?" Eli complained.

"Hush, Eli. My power to detect which packs have key cards is, indeed, potent, but I can't focus my power whilst I'm being nagged at."

"You don't have that power, and even if you did, it'd be the lamest power in the history of ever."

Robert was used to comic books being aligned on the wall with their covers displayed proudly, separated by printing company, and organized in alphabetical order. Here, they were on a table all in cardboard boxes where you couldn't see the covers. They looked like they used to be in alphabetical order, but that had been abandoned over time.

After a frustrating search, Robert finally found the Collider section between the Knightmare and Portent comics. It did make sense in a strange way: both were heroes Collider had been romantically involved with at some point, though the Portent storyline had been dropped almost a decade ago. Knightmare was the better love interest anyway given how they both--

Robert felt the hum set off his extra sense once more. It was closer than before but still distant. Though, as he examined the hum, maybe not as far as he originally thought. Could it be inside the mall? It felt too far away for that, but, then again, the mall was huge, and they were on the far north end.

He shrugged to himself and hoped that whatever had caused the humming was a non-issue. He really didn't know what this extra sense was good for other than detecting monsters and feeling where his empathokinetic focus was. Were there other things that could set it off? If empathokenesis truly dealt with emotions, could those set it off? He really wished he had thought of those questions on Thursday when he was talking with Angela.

Robert decided to ignore it for now. Freezing ice didn't run down his spine like it had when Polygal had drained people at Loose Change. If it had involved a monster, Robert figured it would have been painful in some way. Once he convinced himself everything was fine, Robert grabbed his comic and walked out of the back room to the front desk.

Robert plopped down the copy of Collider #187 in front of Devon. The scruffy-faced cashier examined the comic for a moment before he put down his clipboard and finally scanned it. "I would have thought you'd be here for Invokers stuff."

"Not really my thing," Robert said as he fished for his wallet.

"You a friend of theirs? I've never seen those two come in with anyone else."

"I'm their new roommate," Robert explained. "When I asked about a place to buy the latest issue, they suggested we go here."

Devon glanced up with surprise in his eyes. "Wait, they're in college now?"

Robert handed over his debit card. "Well, I'm living in the dorms of SAU with them, so, yeah. Seems to be the case."

Devon shook his head and swiped the card. "Crazy. When I started here, they were the annoying junior high kids that always showed up to Invokers tournaments that everyone wanted to kick out for being annoying junior high kids. Time flies, I guess."

"Guess so." Robert really wasn't sure what else he could say to that.

Devon handed Robert his card back along with his receipt. "You know, if you think you'll be doing this monthly, I could put the comic on hold for you so that when it comes in..."

Robert stopped listening to him as he heard a familiar voice outside the storefront. "...doesn't seem to be in this wing either. Did it move again?" He turned and saw Angela looking around the mall with Mallory by her side.

"Sorry," Robert apologized as he left Devon's sales pitch dangling, "but I just saw someone I recognized."

As he walked towards the exit Mallory caught sight of Robert. She sighed, "Please tell me that my brother is not in that store again."

Angela looked quite shocked to see Robert. "Robert! What are you doing here?"

Robert held up his comic in an attempt to answer both questions. "Just came here to buy the most recent issue. Eli and Cory are in the back just grabbing some booster packs for that Invokers card game."

Mallory scratched the bridge of her nose. "They are such hopeless dorks. They are supposed to be adults now. Why do Kara and Vivian have any interest in them at all?"

Angela put her hands behind her back and shuffled her feet. "So... you didn't come here because you, uh, felt anything out of the ordinary?"

There was only one reason why Angela would ask a question like that. Robert used his extra sense to probe around and see if he could feel anything. All he could feel was his focus in a nearby garbage can. The hum had seemed to fade away too. "Well, I don't know if it was out of the ordinary," Robert said as he glanced around making sure no one was listening in on their conversation, "but I did feel a slight, uh, humming while I was looking for my comic. What's this about?"

"Humming," Angela pursed her lips and considered Robert's description. "That's a good word for it. We all came here this morning for some shopping and we felt a--" Angela glanced around, picking her words carefully, "humming as well."

Robert really didn't like where this was going. "My understanding was that these presences don't normally show up so close to one another."

"Not usually." Angela winced. "But once or twice we have discovered presences soon after another. Though we aren't really sure if there is a presence here. We haven't felt anything other than the humming."

Mallory eyed Dungeon Direct suspiciously. A glint of dark hope sparked in her eyes. "Say, Rob. Did, uh, did you feel this 'humming' inside that place?"

Robert thought Eli's sister looked a little too eager for him to answer in the affirmative. "No. No. Not in there. I definitely felt it off in the distance. Though I really couldn't get a feeling for a location other than, well, far away. Probably the other side of the mall or further."

Mallory blew her bangs away from her eyes. "There goes the solution to that problem." Robert had severe doubts that the problem Mallory was referring to was related to a monster.

Angela sighed. "We just can't seem to get a bead on this one at all. I hope Kara and Vivian are having better luck."

Robert held his hands up. "Hold the phone here. Could this be something else? I mean, I never felt anything like this at the arcade."

"It could very well be something other than a presence," Angela explained. "The Standridge Stones attract many people with strong, well..." Angela searched for a word that worked in public.

"Personalities?" Robert suggestions.

Angela smiled. "Yes. Personalities. Very strong personalities. Sometimes these strong personalities can set off our unique talent. I'm again surprised you can feel it as well given your, uh, situation."

"You keep saying that, but the main question should be 'is there a risk to the people here?' Like, should we be pulling the fire alarms or something?" Robert asked.

Mallory glanced around, apparently searching for a sign of the source. "Maybe. Maybe not. Things like this are usually nothing. I mean, it is a bit odd that it’s the exact same feeling repeated in different locations, but we don't want to go in guns blazing and causing a scene if it's nothing."

Robert nodded. That made sense. More people could get injured in a stampede if people thought there was trouble. Still, he was in a rather unique position. "Do you need help figuring this out? I could act as another set of eyes... ears... well, you get it."

Mallory smirked. "Cute."

Angela examined Robert thoroughly as though she was trying to see into his soul. "I thought you didn't want to be involved with this."

Robert stepped back and looked at his feet for a second. He needed to say this the right way. He didn't want them to think he was waffling on his earlier decision. "I haven't changed my mind on... on the issue of turning my entire life upside down. That's something I've got no interest in." He glanced up and looked Angela and Mallory in the eyes. "I didn't say I was unwilling to help where I could. I mean, it may be nothing, or it may be something that could get more people drained or hurt. I don't want to just turn my back on those people if I can help."

Mallory raised her eyebrows, seemingly surprised by Robert's words. She and Angela exchanged glances, and Robert could tell a conversation's worth of information was shared in those looks. Mallory sighed, "Robert, thanks for being willing to help."

Angela beamed with pride. Robert prayed he wasn't getting her hopes up. "It's really comforting to know that."

"But, if it's all the same," Mallory continued, "we'd appreciate it if you'd leave this to us and get out of here as soon as possible."

This wasn't the response Robert had expected. "Really? I guess I thought that since you all couldn't find where this humming was, you'd want all the help you can get."

Mallory gave a conciliatory nod. "Another set of eyes would be nice, but that's not my main concern at the moment. I'm worried about Eli and Cory."

Robert squinted in confusion. "Eli and Cory wouldn't mind helping. Especially now that they, you know, kinda are aware of the situation."

"That's exactly the problem," Mallory explained. "Robert, those two have been inseparable since kindergarten. As long as I've known them, they've done everything together, oftentimes at the exclusion of their other friends. It's never on purpose, but it's always been Eli and Cory."

Robert shook his head and asked, "What does that have to do with the humming?"

Mallory put her hand to her forehead and sighed. "They have always been loyal to one another. Stupidly so. They'd risk their lives for each other, and somehow, in the short time you’ve known them, you've penetrated their tight knit friendship and become part of that. Part of that loyalty. When the incident happened earlier this week, they should have run as fast as they could. Instead, they stayed and tried to help you."

"Noble as that is, it could have gotten them killed had we arrived a few seconds later. They don't need to be taking those risks," Mallory said as she put her hand on Robert's shoulder. He really didn't like her touching him, but he had long since learned that not everyone shared his distaste for contact. "Pompoms or not, you're part of this. Your willingness to help us at least shows us that you get that.You're willing to take those risks. But my brother and his friend aren't part of this. They just know a lot of people who are part of this. I don't want them taking those risks, and if you involve yourself, they might. So I'm begging you, please, get your nerd crap together and take them with you out of here. On the off chance that something is going down, I want them away from the danger this time."

Robert wanted to protest. Cory and Eli clearly had a stake in this game as far as Robert was concerned, but he held his tongue. He knew what Mallory meant, and more importantly, that she said what she said out of love and concern. He just didn't appreciate that she had made it sound like it was a bad thing that Robert had made fast friends with Eli and Cory, but that was just Robert taking things personally that weren't meant to be personal. You had to be able to separate such things. "Yeah. That makes sense."

Out of the corner of his eye, Robert saw Eli and Cory exiting Dungeon Direct. Robert could see concern on Eli's face. "Fancy running into you two here."

Cory's face was equally concerned, but it seemed that he couldn't resist taking a shot at Eli. "'You two?' You forgot the blonde one is named Angela, didn't you?"

"Can it."

Mallory tried to feign nonchalance. "Coming out of Nerd Central? How much money did you waste this time?"

Eli didn't take the bait and cut right to the point. "Is something going on?"

Mallory sighed since she obviously had hoped her ribbing would change the topic. "Probably not. But maybe."

Cory stepped up, "Does that, uh, does that mean Vivian is here?"

Mallory rolled her eyes at him. "I wouldn't go there if I were you, Cory. It's still a fresh wound."

Cory slumped forward. "Yeah. Okay."

Mallory smirked and shook her head. "Just give her time, dude. I think she'll come around."

Cory's posture immediately corrected itself as he popped up like a prairie dog out of its hole. "You think so?"

Mallory gave him a supportive nod. "Just be patient, kid."

"You’re one year older than us, Mallory. We're hardly kids," Eli protested.

Mallory took a step back and held her hands out as if to defend herself, though her smirk told Robert that she was anything but on the defensive. "I'm just saying not everyone can give away a friend's stuff to make good with their prospective girlfriends." Robert had to hand it to Mallory; she sure knew how to change the subject.

Cory grinned from ear to ear, and Eli's shoulders sagged. "How do you know about that?"

"Easy. All Cory's SpaceLook page talked about yesterday was complaining that someone gave away his game thing. Kara's mentioned how sweet you were to let you borrow yours. It's not rocket science. I keep telling you to quit being stubborn and get a SpaceLook of your own," Mallory teased.

Robert chuckled, but noticed how annoyed Angela looked. At first, Robert thought she was bothered by Mallory stopping their search to tease her brother, but as he examined her expression further, Robert could see he was wrong. Angela wasn't annoyed; Angela was tired.

She had mentioned that they had been searching for this humming for an hour. That was an hour of uncertainty whether they'd be going into battle or not. She and her friends had wanted to take a break from a stressful week and just go shopping, but they were having to deal with humming. Then, on top of having that pre-battle anticipation working on them for an hour, Robert, Eli, and Cory show up to further complicate things by arriving in a potential battlefield.

If Robert couldn't help with scanning the mall, the least he could do was help by getting out of the Spirit Guard's way so they could go back to worrying about their jobs. "Ladies, as pleasant and informative as this chat has been, we probably shouldn't keep you tied up given the task at hand. We're just going to get out of your way."

Mallory gave Robert an appreciative nod. "Thank you, Rob."

Angela also visibly relaxed some. "Indeed. Thank you for offering to help though."

Cory and Eli gave Robert a sideways glance as the girls hurried off. "What was that about?"

"Yeah, they didn't explain anything, and they made it sound like..."

"I'll explain on the way out." Robert let Cory and Eli lead him and after a few steps he lowered his voice. "When we arrived I felt a 'hum' on my special radio station."

Cory froze at that news. "Like when you felt something as we walked towards the arcade but said nothing and we almost died?"

Robert pushed Cory forward. "No, not like that. Look, this station gets a lot of weird signals. That day was just the first time I felt anything on it, but that sensation was painful, like an icy hand along my bones. This is, well, it's just a humming."

Cory pouted. "The hum of our demise?"

"No. Not the hum of our demise. Just, like, a hum." Robert clenched his teeth and breathed out a long sigh. How did he explain this without making them worry. "I asked Eli's sister about it. They've been trying to find the hum for about an hour or so but it keeps moving around. When I pressed her and Angela about it, they said they don't think it's dangerous. It's just, well, new. For them too apparently. And whenever they feel something new they just have to do their due diligence."

Eli didn't seem fully convinced. "If it's not a, well, you know, a 'person of interest', then what could it be?"

Robert threw his hands in the air. "Hell if I know. I've had plenty of random things pop up now and again, all at some distance. The stuff is related to emotion. Maybe super large outbursts of emotion can trigger it? Your sister doesn't seem to fully understand it, and she's been using it for a year."

Cory sighed. "Well, can you at least explain better what this hum is then? I mean, like, how does it feel? Is it like a constant low droning like being near power lines or something?"

"No," Robert said, "it's not like that. Like I can't feel the hum right now. It's more like... it's more like how when you ring a bell. You know how like when you ring a bell there is that initial ding sound and then there is the faint ringing sound that emanates afterwards but slowly fades. The two times I've felt the hum, it's sort of been like that. Big hum followed by a quickly fading small hum."

Eli nodded. "Sort of like a blip on a radar. Do you know where it's coming from?"

Robert shook his head. "The girls seem to think its here in the mall but, I didn't really get a location. It just felt sort of far away. Given the size of the this mall though, it might very well be someone in here."

"Yeah, this is the biggest mall in the state," Cory added.

Eli sighed. "It just doesn't seem like a good idea."

"What? Not letting me help out with the search?" Robert had to agree with that.

"No," Eli said. "Why put a... well, you know, a thing here? If you were the bad guy, wouldn't you want to hide your monster as best as you could? Like, an arcade makes sense because what were the odds a girl would be there? But a mall? That's like a drug ring setting up a meth lab in a donut shop. The cops are gonna find it."

Cory scoffed. "Sure, go straight for the cops-donut stereotype."

Robert paused and considered Eli's point. "Yeah, that's a good question, Eli. I mean, there are really only two explanations I can think of. One is that there isn't a 'presence' here at all and the villain is aware of that. If there is though, it must be that something about this location that makes it a prime target."

Cory chuckled. "Or maybe the villain is just an idiot? Why doesn't anyone ever consider that?"

Eli punched Cory in the shoulder. "Because that would imply my sister can't beat a moron."

"Ow!" Cory rubbed at his shoulder. "I guess you're right though."

Robert laughed as they turned right towards a long hallway. The exit stood at the end, the bright sunlight reflecting off the cars in the parking lot. Robert chuckled at the thought that this was the light at the end of the tunnel. "Yeah, I just can't imagine that anyone would be able to present the threat to an entire empire like the girls were talking about if they were that tactically stupid. Besides, the easier explanation is that it's not a presence at all. Why would a bad guy put a monster where it would be easily found by the--"

Robert felt the hum directly to his left. He stopped dead in his tracks and scanned the area. The only storefront to his left was a large womens' formal clothing boutique with various mannequins posed in a variety of colorful dresses. A gaggle of high school girls walked by, discussing how cute the dresses were and how they could never afford them. However, one mannequin in particular had caught their eye. The one in the little black dress.

The one that was humming.

Cory turned around with a raised eyebrow. "Robert?"

Eli turned as well. "Everything okay?"

Robert shook his head while his eyes were glued to the mannequin in the black dress. "No. That mannequin is humming."

As if on cue, Robert felt every bone in his body seize up with icy chills. He felt the familiar feeling of something reaching for his Investiture, and by instinct, he once again swatted the attempt away. This time he could feel a light welling up inside of him. He desperately tried to suppress it and hoped this monster wouldn't notice him.

Robert fell to a knee and focused all his efforts on preventing the light from breaking through. Despite it all, Robert felt the light burst through his forehead, which he was pretty sure was now displaying a radiant blue symbol of Serenity. "Shit."

Adrenaline surged through his body. He became keenly aware of the gaggle of girls who suddenly seemed very tired. He couldn't help them now. He could feel their investiture being siphoned off and feeding into the mannequin.

He was in public. He couldn't be seen glowing in public. He pushed aside his panic and focused only on the Serene Investiture inside him. As he calmed down, he found the strength to to push the light back within himself.

With the light suppressed and his nerves calmed, Robert now had to focus on the next issue: the mannequin in the window that ceased posing and turned it's head to look directly at him.

Eli swallowed down a giant lump in his throat. "This is bad."

Cory grabbed Robert by the shoulder and helped him to his feet. "Mannequin’s staring at us. Yup. It's official. We are now in a horror story."

There were a billion ideas racing through Robert's mind. The monster had moved right next to him; was that a coincidence? Mallory was going to kill him for getting her brother involved again. Where had he dropped his comic book? Why did he have the ability to push the light back this time? Why the hell had he insisted they get food before leaving?

With the myriad of thoughts running through his head, Robert knew only one thought mattered. That would be the one that would maximize their chance of escaping. Just as he pushed the light back into himself, he pushed unhelpful thoughts away. When he was done, only one thought was left: the exit is so close.

"Move!"

Robert sprang to his feet and Cory and Eli were right behind him.If they could just get outside, the Spirit Guard could catch up with their insane maneuverability. Here in this low-ceilinged hallway, the monster had the advantage. He just prayed the Spirit Guard felt the same icy chill he did.

Glass shattered behind the trio. Against his better judgement, Robert looked over his shoulder. People screamed and scrambled away from the shattered glass. The drained girls fell to the floor as they were sprayed with the window's shards. Despite the spray of glass, Robert couldn't see the mannequin anymore.

Robert felt the wind burst over his head. A distinct click echoed in front of him. Robert faced forward. There stood the mannequin; it was a mere ten feet away from them and directly in front of the backlit exit. The light of the end of the tunnel was an oncoming train.

The mannequin's little black dress morphed into a black leotard with a turtleneck, and its strappy heels snaked up and formed into thigh high boots. It robotically ran it's greyish-pink hand through its false hair as it's face morphed, gaining more expression which served to make it even creepier.

It pointed at Robert and scowled with it's almost human eyes. In an over-the-top French accent, the mannequin asked,"Where iz eet zat you zink you are going, glowy boy?"

The monster had jumped over them to prevent them from getting out, but there wasn't much clearance between Robert's head and the ceiling. It was six feet at most. This thing could move quickly and precisely. Maybe just as quick and precise as the Spirit Guard.

The Spirit Guard. Robert wasn't getting past this monster. But the Spirit Guard could create an opening. So he'd have to get closer to the Spirit Guard, but the girls could be anywhere in the mall. Still, how far could Mallory and Angela have gotten? They couldn't have been walking more than five minutes. Their best bet would be to backtrack.

"To the comic book store!" Robert spun on his heels and booked it as fast as he could. He thankfully heard Eli and Cory rush after him. He was glad to see they weren't paralyzed by fear.

The mannequin laughed behind him and yelled after them, "Jou cannot escape Day LaMode here, boyz. Zis iz my world!"

Robert, Eli, and Cory came up on a t-junction where the ceiling raised and opened into the part of the mall that had two levels. Just ahead of them was a sporting goods store with a few mannequins in various tight sportswear. Two of their mannequins faced the boys and their outfits and body frames morphed into copies of the Day LaMode mannequin; however, they were without the almost-expressive face she had.

As they turned left, Robert noticed all down the hallway, various mannequins were facing them and morphing into Day LaMode copies. Glass shattered all across the mall as the army of mannequins leaped from their stands and onto the ground floor. Robert counted seven in front of them and with a quick glance behind him he found four more. They all started marching towards the three young men.

Cory took a step back. "Yup. Definitely a horror film."

"Quit saying we're in a horror movie!" Eli shouted.

"It's a coping mechanism," Cory sighed.

Robert split his attention between the mannequins advancing on them and the one that had called itself Day LaMode. She was chuckling to herself and walking towards the trio while the mannequins were quickly forming a circle to prevent their escape. This was bad.

That's when Robert felt two new sensations on his extra sense. Strangely, they didn't remind him of sounds like he had recently been experiencing. This time they felt like scents. Like two fragrant candles being lit. Two more scents followed the first pair. Robert was glad to know he wasn't the only one who had felt that gaggle of girls getting drained.

The Spirit Guard were on their way. That was good, but Robert, Cory, and Eli were about to be surrounded. That could pose several problems for the Spirit Guard's approach. The girls would have a hard time keeping the boys out of the crossfire if they had to engage all these mannequins encircling them. Plus, with enemy eyes looking in all directions, there wouldn't be a single angle of attack the girls could take and have the benefit of surprise.

So Robert decided to improvise and do something that could be potentially very stupid if the girls couldn't arrive fast enough. "I have an idea! Follow me!" Robert dashed into the nearest storefront, a newly evacuated Current Subject. That store at least had no mannequins in it.

"I hope this plan involves a theoretical escape route," Eli grunted as he chased Robert into the store.

Robert stopped at the entrance and faced the approaching army of creepy mannequin women. "Sorry, but it doesn't. We're standing our ground here."

"What?" Cory staggered into the store and panted as he rested on a display of band shirts. "Standing our ground? This is the worst plan ever! You're banned from plan making from here on out!"

A haunting chorus of laughter erupted from the hallway.The hairs on the back of Robert's neck stood up as the vacant faces of each mannequin giggled at the boys' predicament. Though he didn't want to say it outloud, he was starting to wonder if Cory wasn't right about the horror movie thing.

"Now zat iz funny. Ztand your ground?" The lead mannequin stepped through her army and laughed again. "Really? Zat iz zee best plan you can fashion? Fight Day LaMode? You don't ztand a chance against Day LaMode." The monster pushed a strand of stringy, fake black hair behind her ear, her smile growing wider by the second. "Whezer or not you fight iz of no conseequence. You zomehow rezeesteed Day LaMode's attempt to drain you. Zat means az far az Day LaMode iz concerned you are zee belle of za ball. You are comeen wiz Day LaMode, glowy boy. Whezer or not you like eet, you have just scheduled a photo zjoot weet Lord Plateecore."

Cory stood up straight. "Talking in the third person with that horrible French accent? Well that is already annoying."

Eli backed himself up against a rack of clothing. "Please don't antagonize the monsters, Cory."

"What? I'm just saying, I took a semester of high school French and my accent is better than that!"

Robert grit his teeth together. He counted twelve total mannequins, including the main one with the expressive face that was doing all the talking. Despite Cory's prattling, all twenty-four of their vacant eyes were on him. He needed to keep it that way. He let the light welling up inside him escape out of his forehead once more. Hopefully that would keep their attention for a good sneak attack when the Spirit Guard arrived.

They just really needed to arrive soon.

---

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Mallory shoved her hands into her pockets as they passed the fountain in the middle of the food court. She didn't like it. This Robert guy shows up, Eli and Cory end up at a monster attack at Eli's work. Robert is supposed to be alone with the Spirit Guard to explain his glowing, Eli and Cory end up watching from the shadows. Now, Robert goes to get a comic, there could be a monster in the mall, and, of course, Eli and Cory are accompanying him. "Something feels off about Robert."

Angela stopped scanning the mall and glanced up at Mallory. "What? He seemed like his usual self. Frankly, I was encouraged by his willingness to help us."

"It's not that," Mallory sighed. Maybe she was just being paranoid. "I just, I don't know, he always seems to find himself in trouble, and for some reason, my brother and his idiot friend always seem to be there with him."

Angela raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying he's leading your brother and his friend into danger intentionally?"

"No, I'm not saying that." However, Mallory knew that, basically, that was kind of what she was saying. She was blaming Robert for her brother being in danger. Blaming Robert only made sense if he was doing that on purpose, and he clearly wouldn't do that. Robert was, in the end, a Spirit Guard after all. Spirit Guards wouldn't endanger anyone on purpose.

"Then what are you saying?" Angela asked.

"I guess... I don't know," Mallory admitted. "I just don't like that Eli and Cory have been near so much danger. I know Robert's not trying to... but I feel like he's endangering them just by being with them. It's kinda like he's somehow attracting it. Like a... danger magnet or something."

Angela nodded, a hint of a grin at the corner of her lips. "You have a point. For someone who doesn't want to deal with all our issues, he sure does seem to have a knack for finding himself in the middle of things. I feel as though this could be Fate's way of trying to nudge Robert in our direction, maybe."

Mallory didn't like to think about "Fate" all that much. While, yes, Mallory had been given magic powers based upon some past life reincarnation stuff, she didn't enjoy the concept that some super being from the beyond was guiding her life.

When Mallory first became Spirit Guard Tenacity, Angela was bursting with enthusiasm about their destiny. It made Angela feel important that someone so powerful was taking an active role in her life. To Mallory though, it made her feel smaller. Like she was just a pawn in some bigger game.

For that reason, Mallory could completely identify with Robert's decision to not join the Spirit Guard. She couldn't begin to imagine how insanely weird all this talk must be to him. It was strange enough for her to find out she had been a Soldier of the Empathic Empire millennia before her time and would be defending the Earth from Platicore in a cheer uniform. Robert was finding out he was a Shrine Maiden of a now dead religion and needed to drop his entire life in order to do battle armed with feelings and pompoms. How could someone be expected to even begin to wrap their heads around that, let alone accept that as their destiny?

It was stuff like this that really made Mallory second guess the things Kunapipi had said about Fate being so "wise" and "far-seeing." If she was so donuted smart, why did she go with a plan that reincarnated a girl into a boy and then require him transform back into a girl. It was so convoluted, so unfair to Robert, and, in her eyes, more than a little silly.

Then again, if their dreams of their past life were to be believed, and Mallory had no reason to disbelieve them since all four girls' dreams had matched up so far, then it was the Shrine Maiden who had been in charge of this whole reincarnation thing to begin with. So, it was technically Robert's own fault that this situation was so awkward since it was his past self that mucked it up in the first place. As if the issue couldn't get any stranger. Maybe it wasn't Fate's fault after all.

Angela spun around broke Mallory out of her reverie. "Did you feel that?"

Mallory turned in the direction Angela faced and felt the same hum they had been chasing for the past hour. Donut. Why did she always feel this stuff after Angela, Vivian, and Kara. Honey, Robert seemed to have a keener feel for it than she did, and he hadn't even transformed at all. "Yeah. I feel it."

A pit settled in Mallory's stomach. That was in the direction Eli and Cory had gone. And they were with Robert the Danger Magnet. As if to justify the bad vibe, a shock of electricity shot down Mallory's spine: the sure sign that always accompanied someone being drained by one of Platicore's monsters.

The pit in her stomach sunk deeper as the shock was followed by a scent of a flower in the same location. The vague aroma of a flower was the same feeling that radiated off of Robert when he glowed at the arcade. Robert was at ground zero, and those two dweebs would, of course, be right next to him.

"Couldn't even stay out of danger for fifteen minutes? Seriously? We have to move now, Ang," Mallory insisted.

"Indeed," Angela agreed as looked around for somewhere to transform.

Elijah was in danger. They didn't have time to be picky about where they transformed. Anything with even a little privacy would have to do. Mallory made a beeline for the bathrooms.

Angela hurried after her. "You sure? What if people are in there?"

"It's my brother, Ang," Mallory snapped. "I have to take that chance." She ran past the men's and handicapped bathrooms and was about to dash into the woman's' when she felt someone grip her wrist and yank her backwards. "Ack!"

Mallory spun around and glared at Angela. "What was that for? We have to hurry!"

Angela ducked into the handicapped bathroom and waved Mallory to follow her. "This door will have a lock and is less likely to be occupied. Hurry!"

Mallory berated herself as she ducked into the handicapped bathroom and locked the door behind her. Why didn't she think of that? She had such terrible tunnel vision when she stressed out. This was clearly the faster and safer choice. Thank Fate that Angela was able to keep a clearer head.

Angela reached into her oversized purse and pulled out both her and Mallory's Spirit Sticks. Mallory was grateful that Angela always carried around something big enough to hold a Spirit Stick. Mallory didn't like reaching into things like garbage cans to find hers.

Angela tossed Mallory her red-hued Spirit Stick. Mallory deftly snatched it out of the air and swung it over her head. Mallory gripped both ends of the stick, she yanked it apart in synch with Angela. The small bathroom was bathed in a burst of violet and red light.

"Foundation of Valor, Spirit Guard Power Up!"

"Charge of Tenacity, Spirit Guard Power Up!"

* - * - *

Robert had to keep Day LaMode and her army of mannequins out of the Current Subject storefront. If they got inside, quarters would be cramped, and the odds of the Spirit Guard being able to get the boys out wouldn't be very good. But Robert also needed to buy the Spirit Guard time to arrive.

With the blue symbol of Serenity glowing on his head, Robert stepped towards Day LaMode. He had to delay her. So, though he was loathe to admit it, he decided to dip into the bag of tricks used by damsels-in-distress since the dawn of comic books and movies. He was going to try to distract the villain with a conversation that let the villain gloat and feel superior.

"All right, you have us cornered. What do you want with us?" Robert asked.

Day LaMode raised her left eyebrow slightly and grinned. Well, she tried to grin. Robert's skin crawled as this thing attempted to mimic human emotions with it's plastic face. Polygal had been unsettling with it's strange biology that involved arcade game components seamlessly integrated into its body, but it hadn't ever looked human enough to Robert to truly freak him out. It had blue skin for crying out loud.This mannequin woman, on the other hand, was just human-looking enough to give Robert a major case of the willies.

"Us? Us, glowy boy? No no no, glowy boy. Just jou. Zee othzer two are of no eenterest to Day LaMode. Jou, on zee othzer hand, somehow eegnored Day LaMode's attempts to take jour Investeeture. Lord Plateecore will be so pleased wiz Day LaMode when Day LaMode brings jou back to heem for study."

"Dear God," Cory exclaimed behind Robert. "The words are I, me, and my! This Platicore dude obviously programmed you with second and third person pronouns because I've heard you use them! Why in the blinking blue blazes do you obsessively use your own name instead of pronouns?"

Eli pleaded for silence, "Cory, I will buy you so many booster packs to stop talking right now."

"I'm legitimately curious," Cory explained. Robert glanced backwards, careful to not lose sight of the mannequins. There was a mischievous glimmer in Cory's eyes. He couldn't be sure, but Robert had a feeling that Cory understood what it was that Robert was trying to do. "I mean, if Platicore is making these monsters, why would he give them verbal tics? That can't be on purpose because this is as annoying as hell. It has to bug him too."

Robert nodded. "Yeah. Uh, I mean, Polygal also made all those video game puns too. Is Platicore contractually obligated to put a verbal tic in all you monsters." Day LaMode squinted her eyes and almost frowned. What was that emotion she was trying to convey? Confusion at what they were talking about? Anger at what Cory said? Disgust at them sullying Polygal's name? It was so hard to read that face.

Day LaMode's voice dripped with scorn. "Monzterz? Day LaMode iz zee only soldier zat Lord Platicore haz."

Robert paused to consider her words. Could Day LaMode be be implying what he thought she was? "You mean that he has currently. Because the Spirit Guard killed another one of you on Tuesday. A video game one. At an arcade. She called herself Polygal."

Day LaMode's plastic face scrunched further. "What are jou talkeen about? Day LaMode iz zee only one zat zat zee master has created."

Robert smirked. So Platicore let his minions think they were the only ones. This was interesting. Did the Spirit Guard know this? It made sense though. Each monster had failed. If the monsters knew that they were the next in a long line of failures, they might hesitate to fight the undefeated Spirit Guard.

Now was not the time for theorycrafting. He had to delay the monster further. It seemed the best plan was no longer to get the monster to gloat, but to attack it's ego directly. "Well, unless there is someone other than Lord Platicore making monsters in Kessia City, then you're wrong."

The monster contorted it's face into a full scowl. "Day LaMode iz not wrong, glowy boy."

Cory chuckled. "Day LaMode is wrong. We were there. We saw it."

Eli's fists shook with nervous anticipation. "Stop doing that!"

Robert shot Cory a look that told him to back off. While Robert was now basically taking Cory's idea of antagonizing the monster, Robert didn't want the monster to go after Cory. If someone was going to get attacked, it should be him. "He speaks the truth, Ms. LaMode." Robert stepped forward, the mannequin woman's hateful eyes moving away from Cory. "And Polygal isn't the only other one either. There have been well over a dozen fellow... constructs such as yourself created by Platicore for the purpose of wiping out the Spirit Guard."

"Stop wiz jour lies," LaMode demanded. The monster stepped within arm's reach of Robert. He swallowed hard and tried to estimate how far away the "smells" of the Spirit Guards' transformations had been. With their heightened speed he would have thought they should be here by now. Maybe they had gone to where Day LaMode drained the girls instead of their current location? That wasn't that far away, they would have noticed the walking mannequins. Whatever the holdup was, Robert would send them a signal to make sure they arrived.

Robert focused on the symbol of Serenity shining on his forehead. He attempted to make it "burn" brighter. He wasn't sure if he could do that, but he could swear that as he focused, his vision became slightly obscured by blue light. "It's not a lie. The Spirit Guard have been active for over a year now. They have been taking down Platicore's constructs one by one."

LaMode snarled and Robert thought he could sense something triggering his extra sense nearby. He wasn't sure what it was, but he had to keep all eyes on him, so he kept talking. "All you are, Ms. LaMode, is just another in stream of constructs that have been defeated. The Spirit Guard will come, they will use their weapons to separate your consciousness from your mannequin body, and you will die a screaming, shattering crystal."

"No," Day LaMode protested.

"Yes," Robert insisted. "You're just corpse number nineteen waiting to happen." Robert wasn't sure exactly how many monsters the Spirit Guard had actually defeated, but nineteen sounded about right. At the very least, judging from Day LaMode's barely restrained rage, it was having the effect he desired.

Day LaMode screamed and picked up Robert by his biceps. She lifted him off the ground as if he weighed no more than a pillow. She yelled in his face, "Day LaMode will not be corpse numbar nineteen! Day LaMode iz ze peeneecle of ze Master's work! Jou will explain what jou are to Day LaMode, glowy boy! Zen, after Day LaMode haz brought jou to ze Master, Day LaMode will..."

A shock of determination tickled Robert's extra sense. It was close: across the walkway, up a floor, somewhere to his left. That was Tenacity; he could feel it. Robert knew he shouldn't look, but instinct got the better of him, and his eyes flickered in that direction.

Spirit Guard Tenacity, her brown hair flapping behind her, shot off the second floor like a bullet from a gun. Her comically oversized sword sizzled with red lightning. Her face was a mask of implacable, righteous fury. Big sister had come to protect little brother.

The head of the mannequin at the back of the pack spun around. Was it the only one that had noticed Robert glance away? Without seeing Tenacity's oncoming attack, the army of mannequins jumped into action. A couple leapt at Tenacity without even turning their heads to look at her. The others hopped between Day LaMode and Tenacity, then braced for impact.

"...crush ze Spireet Guard and zen ze Master will 'ave no need for..." Day LaMode stammered on, unaware of Tenacity's presence. She hadn't notice Robert glancing away. More importantly, she didn't sightlessly react to Tenacity's presence like the other mannequins had. What did that mean?

"Intrepid Blade!" That snapped Day LaMode out of her monologue and her head swiveled around just as Tenacity cut through the mannequins that leapt at her. The monster's eyes went wide as Tenacity slammed into the ground. The Spirit Guard's momentum caused her to skid across the tiles. She cut through the first line of defensive mannequins. Day LaMode let go of Robert and tried to pivot away from the oncoming attack, but before Robert had even hit the ground, Tenacity's swing had cut through the entire mass of mannequins blocking her way to Day LaMode. Her blade had sliced into Day LaMode's right shoulder by the time Robert landed.

Day LaMode grimaced and yelled, "Follow ze Trend!"

In a blink of an eye, Day LaMode was replaced by the original mannequin that had drained those girls in front of the store front. Another hum scratched at Robert's extra sense somewhere above him and to the right. Tenacity's blade crashed into the lifeless mannequin and it shattered to pieces.

Behind Tenacity, the trail of defeated Day LaMode clones were consumed by red lightning and burned to ash. Tenacity came to a stop and spun around to look directly at Eli and Cory. Her eyes had a spark of anger to them that put the lightning dancing across her blade to shame. "What the honey are you all still doing here? Run, you idiots!"

Cory didn't hesitate to dash out of the storefront. "For the record, not my fault!"

"Totally your fault," Eli insisted as he staggered out of the store. "As soon as we got cornered you started antagonizing the monster. Again!"

The sound of glass shattering echoed down the hallway. More mannequin soldiers. Robert needed to make sure he relayed what little intel he had. "Tenacity, I think the other mannequins share sight or have some sort of telepathic communication thing going."

Tenacity threw her free hand in the air. It seemed to Robert that tactics weren't on her mind at the moment. "Get out of here! Now!"

Robert turned to run, but Day LaMode dropped right in front of him, trapping him in the store once more. "Jou are not going anywhere, glowy boy! Day LaMode's fashionistas will kill ze Spireet Guard and you..." Her second monologue was cut short as one of her mannequin soldiers slammed into her and sent them both skidding across the floor.

Spirit Guard Valor landed beside Robert with her shield in her left hand and Eli and Cory being carried like sacks of potatoes under her right arm.

"This is so undignified," Cory whined.

Valor dropped her shield, which faded from existence. "Robert, I'm sorry for this." She then grabbed Robert around the waist and bounded for the second floor. Robert saw three mannequin soldiers rushing Valor from the left. There had to be about a dozen more following them.

Valor unceremoniously dropped the boys on the floor, and pompoms formed in her hands. With a clap, she was rearmed with her sword and shield. She faced down the second wave of enemies and commanded the boys, "Head to the food court! No mannequins there! Hurry!" With that, she jumped back into the fray.

Cory rubbed his neck. "Ugh! I think she gave me whiplash."

Eli shoved Cory off of him and stood up. "You heard the woman! Let's get to the food court!"

Robert paused a moment and surveyed the battlefield. Day LaMode was trying to slip past Tenacity, but the Eli's sister kept getting in Day LaMode's way and cutting off her advance towards the boys. Valor stood in the middle of a group of mannequins as she tried to keep them at bay with her sword and shield.

The mannequins didn't move as individuals, but as if they were all part of the same organism. One would sacrifice itself to Valor's sword to open up a blind spot. Another would slam itself into Valor's shield to stop her momentum while another kicked her in the shin. This was nothing like the Polygal fight.

"Generous Barrage!" Four arrows streaked across the hallway opposite the boys, and each one struck a mannequin that was assaulting Valor. Robert followed the trail and found Spirit Guard Charity standing on the railing of a walkway with her bow drawn back to release more arrows. Despite the urgent need to escape, Robert couldn't help but wonder how she balanced on the railing so effortlessly in heels.

Before she could even release the other arrows, more mannequins crashed out of their displays. She turned left and shot down two mannequins. That left her back exposed though, and three more tackled her off the railing, sending them her crashing to the floor below.

Spirit Guard Felicity burst onto the scene. "Inferno of Happi..." Pink flames danced at the ends of her staff, begging to be released as if they were children waiting for a school day to end.

Felicity pulled the flames back in. Felicity dropped down and kicked away a mannequin as she attempted to extricate Charity from the bottom of the pile.

A voice in Robert's head screamed at him to move his legs, but as the chaos unfolded before him, he found himself unable to move. The Stick buzzed at his extra sense. Eli shoved Robert in the shoulder and brought him out of his trance. "Robert! C'mon! We gotta move!"

Robert shook his head and willed himself to follow Eli and Cory. The Spirit Guard were super heroes. They had mystical powers from an ancient civilization. It was as he had said to Day LaMode: they had never lost. She would just be another corpse.

Yet Angela's words from that night at the Standridge Circle lurked in the back of his mind. The Spirit Guard always received their next member when they needed them. And at that moment, the girls didn't exactly look like they were winning.

More glass shattered. More copies of Day LaMode jumped into action. Robert crouched, ready to dodge. Instead, the mannequins completely ignored the boys and went straight into the fight. Could Day LaMode only set them to one task?

As he sprinted towards the food court, Robert felt a hum in the far distance. Then another hum in a hallway to his right. Then another hum a floor down and in the hallway behind them. The hums came one right after another like blips on a radar all over the mall. The hums he felt before had coincided with Day LaMode jumping from one mannequin to another. Why was she suddenly jumping around so much? Was she trying to escape her fight with Eli's sister?

No. She wouldn't need to jump so many times to escape. She had already proven she could project herself to a mannequin across the mall. She'd only need one jump to do that. The only other reason Robert could think of was she might be looking for something.

Or someone.

A hum buzzed directly to Robert's right. Acting on instinct alone, he dove to the ground and tackled Eli and Cory. Glass sprayed over them as something jumped right over them. It crashed through the railing and fell to the floor below.

"The hell is it this time?" Eli shouted.

Robert got off his friends and stood up, dusting the spray of glass off of himself. Though he was pretty sure he knew what he'd find, he looked over the now broken railing anyway. Sure enough, Day LaMode was picking herself up off the ground. "Oh hell." He had just barely avoided being speared by her. He had a feeling he wasn't going to get far.

Eli helped Cory off the ground and the pair booked it. Eli glanced down and saw Day LaMode and groaned. "Not her again."

The trio tried to run, but before they could even take three steps, the mannequin monster landed in front of them. Robert noticed a "scar" on her right shoulder where Tenacity had struck her with her blade. But that didn't make sense. Day LaMode had moved into at least two different bodies since then. Did her form somehow retain damage?

"Glowy boy. Jou 'ave been a terrible pain in Day LaMode's ass."

Cory and Eli stepped away from her. Robert stood his ground. "Gee. Really sorry about inconveniencing you."

Day LaMode smirked. "Now zat Day LaMode's seesters 'ave your precious Spireet Guard contained, glowy boy, jou shall be comeen wiz Day LaMode to meet Lord Plateecore."

Robert had to hope that Day LaMode was wrong about being able to contain the Spirit Guard and that they'd be able to follow the hums of Day LaMode's rapid fire projections to this location. Without their help, the boys were trapped like rats. So, it was time to go back to stalling. "That's a real neat trick you got there. Projecting yourself into various mannequins. That work just here or could you do that anywhere?"

"Ze mall is Day LaMode's domain." The monster reached for Robert as if that explained everything he needed to know. He had to continue the conversation. Guess he'd resort to picking at a scab.

"If the mall is your domain, then how would you know there are no other monsters? You've never left here. This is all you know."

Day LaMode hesitated. "Ze Master said Day LaMode iz ze only one."

"And that's it? Platicore says something and there is no way he'd ever lie? He's the god damned villain crusading against Fate herself. You think there is no way he'd ever lie to you?"

Day LaMode grit her teeth. "Ze Master makes ze only sane choice. To fight zose who would seek to control his destiny."

"And who controls your destiny, dummy?" Robert smirked. "It sure as hell ain't you. Face it, you're a toy soldier. You are expendable. You are as expendable to him as your little mannequin minions are expendable to you."

Just as she had before, she grabbed Rob by his shoulders and held him above her. "Jou take zat back, glowy boy!"

Another spark of determination tickled Roberts extra sense: one floor lower and a bit behind him. "You know, I really don't think I will."

"Determined Arc!" Lighting cut through the floor below Robert, narrowly avoiding his feet. It sliced through Day LaMode's arms and curved towards her face. The monster staggered backwards and barely escaped but lost its nose in the process.

The cut floor groaned, and Cory and Eli jerked Robert back before it could give way and drop him down a story. Despite the cut, the walkway remained steady.

Tenacity, battered and bruised, didn't give Day LaMode a chance to recover. She was above the monster before it could stand. Her sword crackled like a thundercloud.

"Follow ze Trend!" Day LaMode shouted as Tenacity buried her sword into the chest of a lifeless mannequin. The resulting hum of Day LaMode's escape from another doomed body sounded from the storefront across the gap across second story walkway.

Day LaMode punched through the glass and glared at Tenacity. The monster's nose had scar that completely encircled it. "Jou beetch. What 'ave jou done to Day LaMode's beautiful face?"

Tenacity said nothing as she pulled her giant sword free from the floor as easily as pulling a weed. She stepped in front of Eli and raised her blade above her. "Just find a way out of here, guys. I've got this."

"Sparky girl! Jou really want Day LaMode's attention, don't jou? Day LaMode wuz content to let jou fight through an army of Day LaMode's fashionistas. But jou could not leave well enough alone. Fine. Day LaMode will geev you all ze attention jou deserve, sparky girl. Jou can have glowy boy. All Day LaMode wants now iz jour head!"

The monster bounded across the gap. Tenacity swung the blade directly in Day LaMode's path, but the mannequin was somehow able to twist her body and kick off the flat of the blade. LaMode jumped straight towards the ceiling and flipped over. The monster "landed" on the ceiling feet first. Tenacity was still trying to regain her balance when LaMode rocketed downward like a comet. She crashed into Tenacity and the floor collapsed beneath them.

* - * - *

Tenacity a rib crack. When she fought this mannequin earlier, it hadn't moved this fast. If only she had been a fraction of a second quicker earlier. She would have gotten the monster's head instead of just its nose.

She could feel Day LaMode standing on top of her. It was probably just as dazed from the crash as Tenacity was. She couldn't see a thing in the dust cloud of wreckage. If she could just get free, maybe she could...

Three swift jabs to her gut made it clear to Tenacity that the monster was not dazed. Where was her sword? No time. Tenacity caught a fourth punch with her hands and kicked Day LaMode in the chest. She tried to hold the monster's wrist firm and hoped she could separate Day LaMode from her arm. Despite her hopes though, Tenacity lost her grip and Day LaMode flew out of the cloud.

Tenacity felt around the wreckage and finally felt the familiar hilt of her sword. She pushed herself to her feet and lifted it off the ground. It felt heavier than normal. Each breath came with a stab of pain. This was bad. Eli and Cory better have started running.

Tenacity blundered her way out of the dust and saw Day LaMode snapping her mannequin arm back into place. At least she had done that much. The monster did not smile. She just held her plastic face in something that resembled a snarl. "Day LaMode will not be corpse number nineteen. Jou will be corpse number nineteen!" What the honey was she she blabbering about? She suspected Cory or Robert knew the answer to that.

Day LaMode charged forward. Tenacity moved to block with her sword, but her cracked ribs sent a stab of pain across her entire chest. Tenacity flinched and the monster punched her square in the jaw. Her entire body lurched to the side, but before she could hit the ground, she was yanked back towards LaMode by her hair. She gasped as a knee buried itself in her side.

Tenacity's sword was too slow. She couldn't swing it like normal in her injured state. This monster was faster than anything she had ever fought. She dismissed her blade and two pompoms formed in her fists. Day LaMode hesitated. An opening. Tenacity jabbed Day LaMode in her left armpit. That dislodged the monster's arm just enough to allow Tenacity to rip her hair free from the mannequin's surprisingly strong grip.

Day LaMode popped the arm back in place and smiled a terrible smile. "What iz ze matter, sparky girl? Can't ztand ze spotlight?"

"Screw you." Were Cory and Eli running like they should? She swore to herself that if they weren't, she'd kill them herself.

"Zuit jourself." Day LaMode charged again. With her hands gripping her pompoms, Tenacity would be unable to do any grappling. She was limited to blocking with her forearms and punching. But she needed the pompoms in hand to summon her blade. Without her blade she wouldn't be able to land a finishing blow on this thing. She'd have to hope that she could create an opening, summon the blade, and end the fight with a...

Day LaMode didn't come at her in a straight line. It instead traced a curved path to Tenacity. She tried to twist her body into the path of the attack. but her ribs screamed in pain. She once again flinched. That's when she felt her rib fully snap as LaMode punched her right in the chest.

She thought breathing had been painful before this. Now, each breath brought not only a horrible, biting pain, but a lack of air. Her lung was punctured. Where were her pompoms. Had she dropped them with the punch? Two open palms crashed into her ears. Her vision blurred and she fell backwards.

She felt a hand wrap around her ankle. What was happening? Was she spinning? No. She was flying. Dear God she hoped Eli had escaped.

* - * - *

Robert was supposed to run. They were all supposed to run. That was what Tenacity had told them all to do. But he couldn't make his feet move. He could only watch as Day LaMode grabbed Tenacity by the ankle, spun around twice, and threw her across the mall. Robert winced as he Tenacity crashed into the food court, sending a spray of table and chairs into the air.

Day LaMode chased after her prey, leaving the boys alone for the first time since she appeared. "Mallory," Eli whispered.

"What do we do?" Cory asked.

"I... I don't..." Eli rushed forward as if he had forgotten about the collapsed walkway in front of them. Luckily, Robert reacted quickly enough, grabbed Eli by the shoulder and yanked him back.

"I gotta help her!" Eli protested as he thrashed against Robert's grip.

Robert pinned him to the wall. "Help her how, Eli? That thing she's fighting is not human! We can't do a damned thing to it!"

"She's my sister!" Tears began streaming down Eli's face. "I have to do something!" Robert's friend choked back as he tried to stop himself from bawling. "I can't... I can't watch her die, Rob."

Die. The word hit Robert like a linebacker. Spirit Guard Tenacity was about to die. Eli's sister was about to die. Somewhere along the way, Robert had convinced himself the Spirit Guard would win the day. Bruised, yes. But not beaten. They were heroes after all.

But this wasn't a comic book. Justice didn't just prevail in the real world. The real world was messy, cruel, and unfair. Villains could win here. Heroes could die here.

Behind him, he could hear Cory choking back his own tears. "Why are we so useless?"

Robert stared into the turmoil of Eli's sobbing eyes. They were eyes that begged Robert to let go. To let Eli chase after Mallory. To let him do something. To try.

But Cory was right. They were useless. They were just regular guys in a world of malevolent arcade games, super cheerleaders, and living mannequins. That was why they couldn't do anything. They were just normal.

"But that's not true," Robert could almost hear his Uncle say in his mind. Eli and Cory were just normal. Robert wasn't.

Robert let go of Eli and ran into the nearest storefront he could find without a mannequin. He didn't think Day LaMode could see through the eyes of her mannequins, but he didn't want to chance it.

"Rob?" Cory hurried after him. "Rob where are you going?"

Robert found a shoe store that they had passed and ducked into it. "Hello? Anyone in here?" No one answered. Good. It was empty. Last thing he needed was there to be some person hiding in here.

Eli and Cory followed Robert into the store. Robert's sudden sprint seemed to have broken Eli from his suicidal drive to fight against a supernatural being. "Rob," Eli said, still fighting through his tears, "what are you doing?"

Robert focused on his extra sense and found the annoying buzzing that had been bugging him for days. He tossed aside several boxes of high heels off their shelf and pulled his Spirit Stick from behind them.

Cory's eyes went wide. "Woah. Rob. Don't... you know... l-let's think about this."

Robert shook his head. "I've spent far too much time thinking. It's time to act."

Eli wiped his tears away. "Rob. I'm not asking you to do this. I just..."

Robert nodded his head. "I know you aren't, Eli." Robert could feel tears welling up in his eyse now. He turned away. "But your sister is gonna die. None of us can do anything to stop it... except me. I'm the only one who can do anything."

"My uncle always told me that a man's gotta make the decisions that allow him to look himself in the eye when he looks in a mirror. If I let your sister die, Eli, knowing I could have done something about it... I'd never be able to live with myself."

Robert stared down at that stick. It buzzed at him as though it was demanding him to release its power.

"But Rob... you'll never be able to go back." Robert could hear the conflict in Eli's voice.

"We play with the hand we're dealt, Eli." Robert, Eli, and Cory said nothing for a few moments. They let the generic pop music the shoe store played fill their silence.

Robert swallowed down a lump in his throat the size of a baseball. "Your sister told you to get out of here. Plus, I kind of want to be alone for this. You guys should find another way out of here. The mannequins are busy with the other Spirit Guards and that monster..." Robert squeezed down hard on the Stick. "Well, she's goiing to have to deal with me."

Despite his words, Robert didn't hear Eli or Cory move an inch. "Guys. Please. Go."

More silence.

Cory cleared his throat. "Rob... give her hell." Cory took a few quick steps before stopping. Eli hadn't moved.

Robert finally turned around. Eli's eyes gushed like a waterfall. There was a sea of emotions in those eyes: regret, gratitude, anger, shame, love... he could see Eli searching for words that would somehow convey them all.

Robert didn't have the time to wait for Eli to find the words. "It's my choice." They were the only words Robert could think to say. Eli looked at the floor and simply nodded. His friend then turned around and faced the exit.

Cory waited for Eli, who stopped at the exit. "Rob," Eli whispered so quietly Robert almost couldn't hear it, "thank you."

Robert watched his two best friends sprint off. How had they become his best friends so quickly? He couldn't make sense of it. But nothing made sense anymore. Robert pushed aside his emotions and tried to focus. Eli's sister was about to die. He stared at the Spirit Stick and searched for the words he needed to unlock its power. The words he needed to become a hero.

But Robert needed to be serene for that to work. He was anything but serene at the moment. He was a whirlpool of emotion. His mind was clouded. This wasn't serenity. Serenity was staying calm amidst the chaos. It was the eye of the storm.

He had to find something to focus on. So he focused on his anger.

He cursed Fate for forcing his hand. He cursed his Uncle for raising him right. He cursed Angela for saying all the things that let him know, in his heart, that this was the only way. He cursed the Spirit Guard for being unable to find Day LaMode before she found him. He cursed Tenacity for losing to a mannequin. He cursed himself for setting foot in that damn arcade.

But that had been his choice. He had felt terrible things. He had known something was wrong the moment he felt an icy chill in his bones. And yet, instead of walking away from the danger, he went towards it. That had been his choice.

No one had forced him to do anything. Talking wallabies, Spirit Guards, monsters, nor Fate herself could ever force him to do a thing. He wasn't some powerless victim. Sure, circumstance conspired against him, but he was the one grabbing this stick. He was the one who was sacrificing to save the day. But he wasn't sacrificing himself. No matter what, he wouldn't sacrifice who he was. He'd always make the decisions because they were his to make and no one else's.

The words came to him. They were like a song he had heard long ago but never forgotten. Robert held his Spirit Stick above his head. He pulled at both ends. The stick burst with a sky blue light that flooded the shoe store.

"Fountain of Serenity, Spirit Guard Power Up!"

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Spirit Guard Valor desperately needed to get to Felicity and Charity. Their entire battle formation was backwards; Valor and Tenacity should be on the front lines warding the mannequins from getting anywhere close to their ranged fighters. Instead, Charity and Felicity were surrounded, and Tenacity was off trying to protect Robert, her brother, and the other guy from Day LaMode. If only Valor could find a way to get free of her circle of attackers. How was she supposed to make progress when these mannequins would sacrifice themselves to her sword just to create another opening for a different mannequin to attack?

Valor narrowly avoided a punch to her jaw only to take a shot to her kidney. She grimaced but fought through the pain. They moved as a swarm; there were no openings. Plus, they fought tactically; they isolated Valor from the other two girls, but they kept Charity and Felicity bunched up, preventing Felicity from being able to use some of her more explosive attacks without hurting Charity. On top of all that, they seemed to share vision which precluded any form of sneaking away.

Where was Tenacity? Valor had felt the spark of Tenacity's Determined Arc a bit ago but nothing after that. If she was still fighting Day LaMode, she would have expected to feel more attacks. If she had defeated Day LaMode, why were these mannequins still attacking? Valor's heart sunk as she pondered the alternative.

No. The Princess didn't let the chaos of battle cloud her vision so neither would she. The end goal was to kill Day LaMode. Valor couldn't worry about Tenacity right now. Tenacity had been fighting by her side for over a year and was the best fighter they had. Valor would just have to trust that Tenacity could handle herself. She had to get back to Charity and Felicity first. Then, once she freed Felicity up to use her bigger attacks, she could help Tenacity... wherever she was.

"Please be okay," Valor whispered.

How was she going to get free of this swarm? She had tried jumping away twice now, but both times there had been mannequins in the back ready to intercept her and knock her back to the ground. Valor supposed the girls could try to turn this into a battle of attrition and simply slay all the mannequins in the mall, but there were well over two-hundred storefronts. Even if there were only an average of one mannequin per store, there was no way they had even cut through even a third of Day LaMode's potential army. Attrition would be a very time consuming plan. No. Valor would have to try to cut a path through her enemies and get to her friends' side.

She parried away two mannequins’ punches and aimed her shield at the biggest cluster of enemies she could find. "Avalanche of Truth!" A spray of diamonds spewed from her shield. The attack sliced two mannequins to ribbons, but the rest were able to jump out of the way. A path. Valor leapt through the opening and twisted herself around. She slid along the floor on her back and aimed her shield at the swarm to fire more diamonds. With luck, she'd be able to cut up even more mannequins as they pursu--

Valor grimaced as she was yanked off the floor by one of her pigtails. What was happening? Something swung her in the air like she was a nunchaku; some other mannequin had grabbed her. Of course. They all shared vision. The moment she escaped her swarm, one of the mannequins from Charity and Felicity's swarms jumped into action. Why hadn't she thought of that?

The mannequin tossed her back to the circle she had just escaped. As Valor hung in the air and watched the gaggle lifeless automatons ready to pounce on her, she got the distinct impression that this was what a worm felt like being dropped into a nest of baby birds.

But she wasn't a worm. Valor held her hands out and righted herself so that she'd land on her feet ready to fight. The Princess didn't give up when she was beset on all sides by the forces of Platicore, the Queen, and the Other Power. Valor certainly wouldn't give up to a bunch of stupid mannequins.

Valor's empathokinetic sense flared with the scent of fresh cut roses. Odd. The only time her empathokinetic sense ever triggered smells was when the Spirit Guard transformed. But none of the girls' transformations smelled like roses and they had all completeed their transformations. As she thought about it, the "smell" sort of reminded Valor of the feeling she got when Robert's symbol flared up. But this was much more intense than...

Valor smiled. Tenacity would be just fine. Guilt tainted her sense of relief and joy; she knew what kind of sacrifice had just been made on Robert's end. However, for the moment, she'd push the guilt aside and fight. She felt reinvigorated by the assurance that Tenacity would be safe. The team was complete. The cavalry was coming. This day would be won. Spirit Guard Serenity was coming to save the day.

* - * - *

The shoe store was gone. Though Robert couldn't be sure of where he stood, he felt like he was inside a bubble: a vast, sky blue bubble that had waves crashing against it while stars, comets, and galaxies whizzed about the surface as if it was some sort of psychedelic combination of a new age album cover and a screen saver. He also swore he could hear some stringy music just beyond the edges of the bubble.

"What the hell?" He glanced around, trying to get his bearings. He could stand just fine, so it seemed gravity was behaving normally. But then what was he standing on? The surface rippled like water, but he wasn't sinking and his feet weren't wet. Was he even still in the mall?

All thoughts of his location disappeared as he examined himself. His body was glowing the same bright, sky blue color as the symbol of Serenity on his forehead. And he was naked. Well, naked-ish. He didn't feel like his junk was exposed, though he couldn't exactly see himself wearing any boxers either. Was the Scholar a prude or something so she designed the empathokinetic focus so it kept its users decent? Who were they being kept decent for? He was the only one here.

Robert shook his head. He couldn't afford to waste anymore time wondering about his paradoxical nudity. "Just add it to the pile of all the things that don't make a lick sense." He was in the bubble... now what? Nothing was happening. He needed to become Spirit Guard Serenity somehow, but the Stick hadn't come with an instruction manual. He could feel his extra sense screaming at him; the power he needed to save the day was all around. So how did he get it?

Robert focused on the string-music lilting off in the distance. As he honed in on the music, he could feel the power there in the music. The tune struck him as being somewhat familiar. Soothing. Graceful. Serene.

These empathokinetic foci, these... Spirit Sticks, were tools forged by the Scholar. She was supposedly one of the greatest minds of the Empathic Empire. Emotions were their weapons. Robert had thought of the Spirit Guard's swords, bows, and staves as their weapons, but Angela seemed to indicate that was incorrect. It was their emotions they wielded. So if he was a super-smart academic who made emotion-weapons, what would be the process you'd come up with to equip an emotion? A password? A speech?

No. Robert could feel that wasn't the case. He couldn't be sure how, but he definitely could feel the the power was tied to the music. Robert racked his brain. What was a way someone could "wear" an emotion that tied in with a song?

Then it all seemed so clear, like someone had just told him the solution an obvious riddle. "Oh this is so ridiculous." A dance. Dances were an expression of human emotions in physical forms. A dance, he figured, was a reasonable medium where you "wore" an emotion all over your body. It made sense; Robert hated that.

"If this was a weapon meant for the Shrine Maiden," Robert mused to himself, "the dance would be something she'd be familiar with." Despite Angela's insistence, Robert was not the Shrine Maiden. Even if Angela was right and Robert was some sort of reincarnation of the Shrine Maiden, they still weren't the same person. They had different life experiences, educations, and genders. Assuming he was even right about his dance theory, he wouldn't know the Shrine Maiden's dance moves. This was a problem.

He had to empty his mind. Right now he was just too Robert to save Eli's sister. He had to find the piece of the Investiture that supposedly connected him to this mysterious priestess from a long dead empire. He had to let himself go long enough to find the Shrine Maiden... whatever that meant.

Robert closed his eyes, forced himself to forget the immediate danger, thought of nothing but that music.

It was definitely some kind of string instrument that played that music. But it wasn't the plucking of a guitar or a harp. It was more like the sound of a bow being drawn across a violin. But not quite a violin. It wasn't an instrument that Robert was familiar with. It was an alien sound yet, strangely, it also seemed familiar. Hauntingly familiar. Like he knew both the instrument and the song intimately well.

The tune sounded outwardly hopeful and triumphant, but there was regret sewn into the melody. Resignation. Sadness. In that moment, as he truly examined the music for the first time, he could feel his connection to the Shrine Maiden.

This was a song that celebrated a glorious purpose but mourned for a damned people. It was an expression of confidence that the Shrine Maiden was doing the right thing. That her actions would, in the end, be correct and righteous, but that thought did little to console her troubled heart.

Platicore fought them to the brink of extinction. The Other Power was coming. To escape their hell, her corrupt people were fleeing to other worlds. There, they would not enlighten the local inhabitants but enslave them. They had abandoned the noble path for petty tyranny. It hurt the Shrine Maiden so much to see a once beautiful, righteous people become so self-absorbed and callous.

But this tune was only tinged with sadness. The Shrine Maiden saw the end goal. She was sure of her purpose. The tune, much like Robert, pushed aside the distracting thoughts and focused on the eventual triumph. That was the Shrine Maiden's eye of the storm. She focused on what had to be done to achieve her goals.

"She wrote this for me," Robert realized. He wasn't sure how he knew that, but he knew it was true. He could feel it in his bones. She wrote this song for him. She wanted to remind Robert of her purpose. Their purpose. Robert had to forget his troubles, insecurities, and doubts, then get to work.

Robert raised his hands high in the air and turned his wrists so that the backs of his hands faced one another. The Shrine Maiden's song wash over his mind. Robert let go of the indignity and frustration inside him and simply flowed with the current of the music.

He dropped his left arm parallel to the ground. The power crash against Robert's hands, running along his forearms. For a moment, the liquid-like power rippled before it solidified into fingerless evening gloves. The power sunk into his arms; Robert could feel his biceps shrinking, yet feeling impossibly stronger. Robert had to remind himself to keep his mind on the music as his body changed. He had to stay in step with the song.

He kicked his left foot behind him and somehow balanced all his weight on the very tip of his right toes. The power gushed up as if from a geyser. It snaked up his legs and formed thigh high socks. He could feel his legs, the thick legs of a running back, shrink and reshape into something you'd see on a female gymnast; still very strong, but definitely not what you'd see on a football field.

The music pulsed faster, remaining calm but also stressing an urgence with its beat. The power bubbled around his feet. He pranced to his left, impossibly keeping all his weight on his toes with each increasingly more dainty step. After the fifth step, the music burst into a dramatic melody. Robert leaped into the air and thrusted his legs as high as they would go. Impossibly, they lifted not just parallel with the ground but even higher. The power fit hit feet into new shoes, lacing them up past his ankle. Robert landed on the ground, his weight on the balls of his feet. He was wearing a heel of some kind, though he didn't dare open his eyes. The music still sung with power.

The music lifted into a joyous refrain. He lifted all his weight onto his left toes and kicked his right foot out. He pirouetted like a toy ballerina in a music box. The power swirled around his waist like a whirlpool. His waist shrunk and his hips expanded, as if he were a piece of clay on a potter's wheel being molded to the shape of its sculptor's desire.

The music paused for the briefest of moments. Robert froze with it, perching himself on his left toe, leaning forward and holding his arms aloft like a swan landing on a still lake. The power around his waist solidified and formed itself into a simple skirt that was entirely too short for Robert's tastes. A discomforting sensation of something shifting within himself accompanied the skirt.

Robert had the distinct impression she didn't need to worry about her junk being on display anymore and it had nothing to do with the skirt. No. Thinking about it was breaking her out of the flow of the music. She knew that this would be a consequence of her decision. No sense in dwelling on it.

Robert pushed against the floor like an ice skater, propelling herself forward in step with the flow of the song. She skated in a small circle as the power crashed around her chest. She arched her back and extended her right arm behind her, like a lovesick soul reaching wistfully for the hand of her lover. Her chest exploded outward with a new weight that Robert found disturbingly familiar.

The power around Robert's new chest crystallized and wrapped her torso in cloth. It exposed both her midriff and some cleavage. Robert reminded herself to stay serene but she couldn't help but feel at least a little angry that she was in a two piece outfit. She hoped her uniform would be a single piece of cloth like Tenacity's or Felicity's outfit.

The music carried into a triumphant finale. Robert leaped into the air and pulled her arms close to her chest. She spun like top and her hair whipped out dramatically. With each turn it spiraled around her body like thread on a spool.

After three complete turns Robert landed on her left foot. The momentum of her spin carried her right foot past her left. She firmly planted it on the ground, stopping the rotation. Her hair unwound itself from around her body. When it finished unraveling, Robert was surprised to feel it resting just past her much posterior, which felt much rounder than she remembered. A long tuft of hair spilled over her face as she opened her eyes for the first time. Her left eye's vision was completely obstructed by the hair. "This will be inconvenient," Robert thought.

The music reached it's conclusion. The power splashed against Robert's face, reshaping it, though exactly how much Robert couldn't be sure. She finished with a twist of her waist. Robert glanced over her left shoulder as the power settled in Robert's hands. She gripped the power as it shaped itself into two blue pompoms.

The music stopped and the blue light gave way to the shoe store. Spirit Guard Serenity felt the glowing of her body wane. Strange. She felt the glowing wane before she saw the glowing wane. That wasn't all she felt, too. Her extra sense hummed with a clarity she hadn't fathomed before. It was like she had finally gotten over a cold and could truly smell for the first time in ages. Serenity could feel three bright presences contending with an entire army of frozen contempt. The valorous presence struggled against a sea of coldness. The generous and cheerful presences stood side by side, abetting wave after wave of ice.

A final presence, one of grim determination dimmed against a growing glacier of frigid rage. They were in the direction of the food court. Tenacity. Serenity didn't have much time.

Serenity ignored the urge to inspect her new body, though she couldn't help but notice her new hair. It covered her left eye and was red. Not the orange-ish natural red hair Serenity was used to though. This was a red as deep and vibrant as a rose in full bloom. "Wonder what name Eli and Cory have for this color?"

Serenity recoiled at the sound of her voice. She now had breasts and hair the color of blood but the most startling change was her voice. It was... a girl's voice. That shouldn't have shocked her. But the sound of someone's else's voice coming from your own throat was jarring. Plus, she could hear a faint country twang to it. Robert had always been told that he had a very slight accent. He could never quite hear it but given the thick drawl of his Uncle Taylor, it had never surprised him that people heard something a little country in his voice. With entirely different vocal cords though, Robert could finally hear her faint accent as clear as bell. That was going to take some getting used to.

Serenity clapped her pompoms together, eager to exchange them for actual weapons. They evaporated into two identical daggers. Serenity smirked. "Just like when I play Aspect Realms." Serenity decided to spend a quick moment examining them. She had to know exactly what she was working with if she was going to win. They were finely crafted. The blades were angular, and perfectly balanced. A simple blood groove ran along the full length of the blade. Near the hilt, the blade's edge was serrated. The metal itself had a strange, almost watery sheen to it, but was otherwise very simple in design. The only ostentation the daggers bore were the the deep sapphire hilts engraved with intricate, foreign symbols.

She tested the daggers' weight by twirling them in her hands. Serenity let out a low whistle. Despite never holding them before, these daggers didn't feel awkward in her hands. Their heft was perfect. It was as though they were extensions of her hands. Without any training in dagger combat, Serenity knew these weapons as well as a mother knew her child.

That made sense, though. These daggers were made for the Shrine Maiden. "No," Serenity corrected herself with a grin, "these were made for me."

It was time to move out. Serenity turned on her heels as if she had worn them her entire life. She dashed forward. The world became a blur.

She stopped. The speed was incredible. All at once she felt the power this body possessed. It was as if every muscle was a compressed spring begging to have its potential unleashed. Yet it moved with the precision of a cat. She felt invincible. It was almost enough to make her not notice how much bigger the doorway to the shoe store looked. Just how much had she shrunk?

No time for that. She let her supernaturally quick body get to work and the world once again blurred past her.

Serenity stopped again. This wasn't right. Charging forward was Tenacity's tactic. Tenacity lost. Also, if Serenity charged headlong into battle, Day LaMode would see her coming, allowing Day LaMode to easily teleport to a different mannequin's body. Or maybe give the monster enough time to stop simply beating Tenacity and go for a killing blow before Serenity could save the day.

A different tactic would be necessary. Serenity considered that she had seen three attacks connect with Day LaMode: Tenacity's bullrush from behind to start the fight, Valor knocking a mannequin into Day LaMode, and Tenacity's lightning cut through the walkway. All three had been surprises. Serenity nodded to herself. Sneak attacks were Robert's specialty in Aspect Realms and, though she wasn't sure how, she could feel that subterfuge and stealth were how the Shrine Maiden preferred her combat.

Serenity crossed her daggers in front of her. Two words entered her mind. "Placid Mist!" Water sprayed from her daggers then curved back towards her. The mist wrapped around her body like a blanket. In an instant she could simultaneously see through herself yet see herself clearly. It made no sense logically but her brain was somehow able to process the conflicting information her eyes and extra sense were giving. Serenity chalked it up to empathokinetic nonsense and rushed towards the food court.

The concealing empathokinetic mist peeled off of her body like a snake shedding it's skin. She was visible and close enough to the food court she could make out the figure of Day LaMode. Serenity dove to the ground, hoping the railing would conceal her and the mannequin-woman hadn't seen her.

Serenity held her breath, wanting to be as silent as possible. She heard the sound of plastic hitting flesh and Tenacity scream in pain. Serenity snarled. The empathokinetic mist finally caught up to Serenity and her invisibility returned. Day LaMode would pay for hurting Tenacity, but she couldn't rush forward at full speed if she wanted to stay invisible. This was stupid. Why did nobody ever design a stealth mode you could run full speed in? It was as if whoever designed empathokinesis had the same balance philosophy as the the programmers of Aspect Realms.

Serenity crawled to her feet and shuffled forward. When the mist didn't relent she increased her speed to a regular walk. Still invisible. So she began jogging lightly. She could feel the mist on the edge of peeling away again. This was her limit. "Strange," she thought, "this jog would be a dead sprint for me normally." But as Spirit Guard Serenity, with this curvy but supernatural body, she moved as quickly and quietly as the wind. Her speed and dexterity were far beyond what she could even have fathomed. Even with her heeled boots, she didn't make a sound. It was everything Robert had dreamed being a comic book hero would be like... minus the heels.

She was almost to the food court. Serenity could see more than few upended tables and chairs. Tenacity sat in the fountain at the center. Serenity wasn't close enough to make her out perfectly, but Tenacity looked like crap warmed over. Tenacity's entire body posture was that of a wounded gazelle.

Day LaMode loomed over Tenacity. Her face, that terrible, almost expressive face, was a mask of psychotic joy. Tenacity's right hand was pinned under Day LaMode's left heel. Tenacity weakly punched Day LaMode's stomach with her pompom, but it was having no effect. Tenacity was simply too battered and broken for that punch to have any force behind it.

Day LaMode laughed and said something that Serenity couldn't make out. Then the monster woman lifted her right foot and aimed her stiletto-heel at Tenacity's eye. Serenity felt the presence of determination Spirit Guard Tenacity wither to a mere spark. Tenacity stopped punching and let her arm fall to the ground.

The Spirit Guard's paragon of persistence, Eli's sister, had given up.

Serenity gave up all pretence of stealth, unleashed every ounce of supernatural strength her legs had and shot herself at Day LaMode feet first like she was a bullet from a gun. She screamed from the top of her lungs, "No!"

* - * - *

Tenacity tried to breath. A trickle of air came in. It wasn't enough. It was like she was drowning in open air.

Tenacity crashed to the floor again, this time feeling her body slam into something wet. The food court fountain maybe? It was difficult to be sure because every time Day LaMode tossed her somewhere else or punched her she'd see stars.

The mannequin chuckled as she splashed into the water fountain. Gummi how Tenacity hated that sound. She glared up at at the monster with her left eye. Her right eye had long since swollen shut with bruises. "Oh eef only jou had just let well enough alone, sparky girl. Zen Day LaMode would have just takeen ze glowy boy and left jou alone."

"Whatever," Tenacity wheezed out. Day LaMode was lying. Not that it mattered. Her head pounded with the worst migraine ever and her entire sense of balance was completely gone. Tenacity was pretty sure she could add "concussion" to her list of injuries. But she couldn't let that distract her. She had to think of something.

"Do jou regret what jou have done to Day LaMode's face yet?" The monster loomed over her with an almost-grin. Tenacity couldn't believe it; after all the insane, surreal monsters she had fought, she was finally going to finally lose... to a mannequin. That just wasn't going to fly with her.

Her only options were to wait here for a rescue from the other Spirit Guards or to make something happen. Earlier, Tenacity thought she felt something with her empathokineitic sense, but no one had ever shown up. Given how battered she was she wouldn't have been surprised to find out whatever organ it was that helped with that extra sense was somehow injured too. With no hint that the cavalry was coming, she'd have to make something happen herself.

Mentally, Tenacity dismissed her pompoms. She had no clue where they were; she had long since lost them. With the pompoms now dismissed, she could resummon them into her hands for her last ditch attack. She wheezed and mumbled something barely audible, trying to make her noise sound like a potential answer to Day LaMode's question.

"Hmm?" The monster leaned in close, turning her ear to Tenacity. "Jou'll have to speak a leettle louder, sparky girl. Day LaMode cannot hear jou when you're chokeen on jour own blood like zat."

Perfect. This was her best chance. Tenacity summoned her pompoms to her hands. She would clap them together right next to Day LaMode's chest. The Spirit Guard's huge sword would form inside the monster, instantly impaling it. Then her Intrepid Blade attack would finish her off.

Tenacity groaned and clapped her hands together. Only problem was her right hand didn't move. As Day LaMode cackled, Tenacity glanced down at her right wrist with panicked confusion. Her right wrist pinned between the toes and stiletto-heel of ithe monster's boot. "Oh poor zweet leetle, sparky girl. Jou are truly deserveen of jour title. Jou do not geev up. Day LaMode admirez jour spark. Eet wuz a good idea, but jou're far too slow and weak now. Eet ees over."

Tenacity tried to wrest her arm free. It wouldn't budge. She had to settle for trying to punch Day LaMode in the gut with her left hand. The monster didn't even bother to block it. Tenacity punched with every ounce of strength she could; she might as well have been punching stone. Day LaMode was right. She was far too spent to muster any kind of force.

Day LaMode continued to cackle. "Eet has been fun beating jou like a rug, sparky girl. But Day LaMode haz wasted enough time on jou. Day LaMode really does need to track down zat glowy boy jou were dieing to protect." The monster lifted her right leg and pointed her heel a few inches above Tenacity's non-swollen eye.

Mallory stopped punching. This was it. She was going to die. She couldn't believe it. She always felt so invincible when as Spirit Guard Tenacity. But Mallory had finally bit off more than she could chew. She should have stuck with the girls. They had always won when they stuck together. But she had been so worried about Eli and Cory that she...

Eli. She hoped he made it out. What would he tell Mom and Dad? He'd have to give them the news of what happened. Guilt overwhelmed her.

"Au revoir, Spireet Guard Tenazity. Eet eez as Day LaMode told you: jou would be corpse number nineteen, not Day La..."

"Nooooo!" Day LaMode stopped talking and turned to face a screaming voice. Who was that? Definitely a female voice but that wasn't any of the Spirit Guards. It was too high for Valor and Charity and not nasally enough to be Felicity. If it wasn't one of those three, who would be stupid enough to try to attract the attention of a monster?

A flash of blue and red crashed into Day LaMode feet first. The mannequin woman crumpled around the foot of this girl before rocketing away. The noise of dozens of tables and chairs toppling over echoed through the food court, punctuated by the sound of something solid collapsing.

The red streak that had trailed behind the girl caught up and crashed against her back like waves on a beach. Wow, this girl's hair was beautiful! She wasn't just a redhead, but a scarlette whose hair reached past her butt. Odd, even though she held still now, her hair seemed to flow and ripple like a stream. The mystery girl turned and and looked down at Tenacity with a pair of pretty green eyes.

Donut but this girl was gorgeous. She was short but this girl had more curves than a race tack. She leaned over and propped Mallory up against the edge of the fountain. In doing so, Mallory was looking straight at this girl's chest. This girl was stacked like she belonged in a Hollywood blockbuster film... and wearing a two-piece cheer uniform? "Sorry I'm late."

Who would be stupid enough to try and attract the attention of a monster? The same idiot who had already done it twice today. Apparently third time was, indeed, a charm. Tenacity had a lot of questions for Serenity but only had enough breath to huff out one. "Eli?"

"Should be safe," Serenity assured her. "Got them away from me, after all."

"Good." Tenacity couldn't believe it. Robert had actually made the sacrifice. It had been way too much for Fate to ask of him. But he did it anyway. Guess he was made of tougher stuff than she realized. Tenacity closed her eyes and leaned her head against the edge of the fountain. She could finally rest.

Tenacity felt a hand tap her on the cheek. "Hey, don't go to sleep now. You look injured. Probably not a good idea to fall asleep."

"Yeah." She forced her one good eye open. Serenity was probably right. She just needed to stay awake and focus on her breathing. It hurt, but it'd keep her awake and make sure oxygen kept getting into her system.

"Good. Just, whatever you do, don't fall asleep." Serenity got up and pulled two daggers from the bottom of the fountain. Strangely, despite being in the fountain with her, Serenity nor her daggers looked wet. Weird. The new, impossibly dry girl flashed a grin. "Besides, if you fell asleep, no one would witness me kick this mannequin's angelcake. I mean... angelcake?" The sound of rubble shuffling in the distance stopped Serenity's introspection. "Nevermind." Serenity bounded away.

Tenacity silently chuckled, not daring to test how much laughing would hurt. Her brother and Cory were safe. She was alive. And Robert actually used his Spirit Stick to transform into Spirit Guard Serenity. That possible solution had never once occurred to her. Now she just had to hope the rookie defeat a monster that had beat her like a drum. She wasn't out of the woods yet.

Still, Tenacity's brother was safe. She was still breathing, though not very well. Plus she'd now have someone to commiserate with over the lack of therapeutic profanity. With the exception of her black eye, body littered with bruises, concussion, cracked ribs, and breathing that was both mind-blowingly painful and unsatisfying, things were looking pretty good to Spirit Guard Tenacity.

* - * - *

"Angelcake? Why did I say angelcake back there? I don't kick angelcake; I kick angelcake. It's..." Serenity paused and considered her words. "Did I actually just say that?" Something beyond weird was going on in her head and at the back of her mind a little voice told Serenity that either the kangaroo rat or Spirit Guard Valor was to blame.

She dismissed the thought. Serenity had to focus. Day LaMode was picking herself out of the wreckage of what used to be Kung Pao Kwik. Donut. Why couldn't she have aimed better and destroyed the Ándale Taco storefront? Kung Pao Kwik was greasy, sure, but it at least tasted good. Ándale Taco used meat paste and it deserved destruction a lot more than cheap, unhealthy, yet delicious Chinese food did.

The mannequin's leotard hung loose around the right hip, as if an entire portion of its body had caved in. Serenity smirked at seeing the monster's attempt at a frustrated face. Upon meeting eyes with Serenity, the expression of anger morphed to something that approximated confusion. "What? Who are jou? Zhere are only four Spereet Guards!"

Serenity knew she should just attack. Right now Day LaMode was confused and likely disoriented. But something inside Serenity pushed her to monologue: a side effect of the transformation maybe? She guessed it didn't matter since she was going to ignore what she knew she should do and instead do what she wanted to do: banter like Collider would. "Me? Oh, I'm from the other team of supernatural cheerleaders, the Pep Knights. Yeah, we work just a few towns over. Spirit Guard needed some help so they gave me a call."

Day LaMode's scowl deepened. Serenity could feel that cold anger growing. It was incredible how much clearer the extra sense was in this form. "Day LaMode asked who jou are. Ze Master told Day LaMode zhere are only four Spireet Guards. Where deed you come from, wavy girl?"

Serenity rolled her eyes and idly twirled her daggers between her fingers. She wanted to look as unconcerned as possible. Plus she loved the feel of twirling daggers. It made her feel hardcore. "I see first-person pronouns are still quite the hurdle for you. And, again, you believe every single detail Platicore tells you? You really are ridiculous. You know that? I mean, I've met pastors with less faith in their boss than you."

Day LaMode tried to narrow her eyes, but its plastic face only allowed for a slight scrunching. Serenity had been too focused on surviving as Robert to notice how odd the creature looked when it talked; it had no lips, so it had to move its entire jaw like some sort of puppet or animatronic robot just to make any sounds. Plus, it had no teeth to speak of. Just how did the biology of these monsters work? "Are still quite ze hurdle? Have we met, wavy girl?"

"Oh yeah. We've met." Serenity pushed the hair out of her right eye. Her hair responded by dropping her bangs in front of her left eye. Serenity sighed and pushed the hairs now obstructing her left eye back, only for her right eye to get covered again. It seemed her hair was empathokinetically predisposed to obstruct her vision. She sincerely hoped her heightened extra sense could make up for the hit she was taking to depth perception.

"We have met? Zat seems unlikely."

Serenity felt something on the edge of the food court. She glanced over and examined what she felt. It was an aura of a guilty conscience centered on top of a garbage bin. Serenity squinted, trying to piece together what this was, but she saw nothing. "Yeah. Unlikely. But we have."

Day LaMode glanced over to see what Serenity was looking at. "So who are jou then?"

The guilt fled from the food court. As it did, the strength of the impression grew weaker until it disappeared entirely. Something was happening but she couldn't piece out exactly what that something was. Day LaMode didn't seem to be reacting at all to it so it either was some trick of hers she was trying to play off or Serenity's empathokinetic sense giving her an impression of... something. She'd keep that feeling in mind as she fought. "The name is Spirit Guard Serenity."

"Day LaMode told jou, wavy girl, there are only four Spireet Guards. You cannot be one of them."

"Count again," Serenity smirked as she decided to throw the monster a hint, "Number Nineteen."

Day LaMode took a step back. "Number Nineteen?" The mannequin leaned forward, examining Serenity as if she was seeing her for the first time. "Qu'est-ce que c'est? No. Zis cannot be."

Serenity's smile widened. "So the dummy starts to figure it out." So what was that guilt she felt? She better not give away too much. Maybe there were eyes on her.

"Zat is not posseeble. You were a..."

"Yeah. I know. But as a wise man once said, 'things change.'" Serenity lowered herself into a crouch. "And the biggest change is that I'm more than capable of fighting back now."

Day LaMode laughed. "Please, ze beeggest change are ze two giant changes on jour chest." Serenity grit her teeth; that wasn't what she wanted to hear. "Besides," Day LaMode mused, "jou land one zurprise keeck and zuddenly jou zink you stand a chance? Day LaMode just feenished adding some nice black and blue to jour sparky girl's look and she eez ze best ze Spireet Guard had to offer in terms of fighting. What chance do you have?"

"Please," Serenity scoffed. "Haven't you been paying attention, Nineteen? Every time one of your monster friends shows up and overwhelms the Spirit Guard, that always happens to coincidently line up with the Spirit Guards getting their newest member. Now you're here, giving the four Spirit Guard too much to handle, so I show up to punish you for what you did to Tenacity."

"Zhere have not been ozhere constructs! Ze Master told me zat..." Day LaMode stepped forward, dropping out of a combat ready stance to yell at the new combat cheerleader. This was exactly what Serenity had been waiting for.

Serenity charged forward, running low to the ground like she was some character from an anime. Each step was short and quick. That distance would have taken a few seconds to cross as Robert; as Spirit Guard Serenity she closed the gap in the span of a heartbeat. Day LaMode staggered back into a defensive posture. Serenity pulled her left dagger up to Day LaMode's throat.

The mannequin slapped the strike away as Serenity had anticipated. She didn't want to get a killing blow off the bat; if she did, Day LaMode would just teleport away to another body. If she was going to kill this thing it'd have to be with a blow she didn't see coming.

With instincts born of the Shrine Maiden's training, Serenity turned and exposed her back to Day LaMode. She could feel the monster go in for a blow to the back of her head. She was beginning to see how the Shrine Maiden could fight with this ridiculous hair in her eyes; she didn't need to rely on them nearly at all.

Serenity waited until she could feel the fist of Day LaMode grazing her hair. In a flash of motion, Serenity spun away from the attack, her hair whipping behind her. Using the momentum of her spin, Serenity became a whirl or daggers striking up and down Day LaMode's entire right side partially dislocating the monster's right arm from it's shoulder joint.

Day LaMode had obviously not anticipated this fight. The monster had been able to overwhelm the slower, stronger Tenacity with its speed. Serenity smirked, knowing that she had turned the tables. Her blade nearly cut through Day LaMode's neck, but her prey leaped away.

She was in the air and wouldn't be able to dodge easily. Serenity needed a ranged attack. Words formed in her mind. She pressed her daggers together and simply let her voice flow with the words. "Geyser of Tranquility!" She thought of her quiet rage at having to see Eli and Cory suffer through watching Tenacity get the living sugar beat out of her.

A torrent of steaming water gushed from her daggers like they were a fire hose. It was too slow. Having to say those three words didn't take up much time, but it was just long enough that it let Day LaMode land and easily dodge to the side.

Serenity kept her mind on those thoughts of quiet rage and separated the two daggers, creating two streams with less power. She flicked her daggers as if they were whip handles. The water-whips cracked through the air, tearing up tiles, tables, chairs, and Andale Taco but Day LaMode carefully danced between the twin streams, moving further and further away until Serenity could no longer reach her without moving.

With a sigh, Serenity let go of her quiet rage and Day LaMode laughed. "Jou scared Day LaMode for a moment zhere, girly boy. But jou have ze exact same problem az sparky girl. Jou can't feenish Day LaMode off without jour special attacks. No matter how fast jou are, jour special attacks are just too slow to keel Day LaMode."

Her opponent was right. The restriction of having to speak the attack name was crippling. Why on earth would they design empathokinetic attacks that were activated vocally? And even if it was an unavoidable design flaw, why on earth would you use a polysyllabic word like "tranquility" as part of the phrase? The more Serenity thought about it, the less sense it made.

Sense or no, she needed a plan. The only saving grace was the fact that Day LaMode's teleporting required her to say something as well. But even with that silver lining there was a gray cloud: if Serenity was able to get in at point blank range and surprise Day LaMode with an attack, the monster had a much shorter phrase to complete and the teleportation was instantaneous. Serenity likely would need some way to shut Day LaMode up if she was going to kill it.

A plan formed in Serenity's head. This was like fighting any caster in Aspect Realms; he had to silence them before attacking. And in Aspect Realms, he'd never start a combat out in the open. "You're right. My special attack is too slow. But I have something that will help with that." Serenity crossed her daggers in front of her; Day LaMode took a defensive stance, ready to move at the slightest hint of an attack.

"Placid Mist!" Just as before, mist sprayed from Serenity's daggers then enveloped her body. Along with it came the odd duality of not being able to see herself with her eyes but "see" where she was with her empathokinetic sense. Concealed by the mist, she retreated towards the fountain, just to make sure she was between Tenacity and Day LaMode.

Day LaMode stared at the spot where Serenity had been standing. She could practically see the gears turning in the monster's head as it started looking around, trying to figure out what was going on. "Inveesibileety. Cute. But zat will not zave you from Day LaMode."

Somehow, Serenity knew that talking wouldn't give away her position. Logic would have dictated the opposite be true, but Serenity had long since passed the point where she'd ignore the instincts the Spirit Stick had given her. "Save me from you?" Serenity's voice echoed throughout the food court as if she was a ghost. The sound seemingly came from from all over. "You have it backwards, Nineteen. You're not the hunter here. I am the hunter, and you are the prey."

Day LaMode's inhuman head spun 360 degrees, scanning the room for any sign of Serenity's location. "Zis eez a parlor trick. Nozing more." Serenity had to be careful how she played this. She inched closer to Day LaMode, careful to not step on any rubble or discarded food.

"Not a parlor trick, dummy. This is strategy, pure and simple. Trust me. I know strategy. My attacks are too slow to kill you so I need the element of surprise to finish you off." Serenity moved to within a few steps of Day LaMode and waited to see what Day LaMode's next move would be. She had to hold back a chuckle at how exhilarating it felt to be right in front of her opponent's eyes without them knowing.

"Puh, zink you can surprize Day LaMode? Jou are funny to me." Day LaMode was trying to play it cool but her tone oozed with concern. The monster had no idea how to approach this kind of problem.

"Then why is your head on a swivel? No, you know this is a huge threat to you. I've got you totally figured out."

"Do jou now?"

"Oh yes." Serenity needed to start fanning some panic into this creature. "You see, Platicore programmed you for a very specific type of fight. You use your mannequin minions to swarm all but one opponent. Then, you isolate that opponent and use your teleporting every time you make a misstep. It's like having extra lives in a video game. You trial-and-error your way through single combat."

"What are jou babbleen about? Vijeo games? Zis eez no game jou play wiz Day LaMode." The monster kept her head spinning, but began to kick tables and chairs around the food court. Serenity moved with Day LaMode, deftly avoiding being hit by the debris of the monster's flailing attempts to find her. As she flowed with her opponents movements, Serenity was surprised how much the dodging felt like a dance. A dance with an incredibly violent and erratic partner to be sure, but the principle was the same.

Serenity smirked. "Not like a video game? Then why are you behaving exactly like it is? Whenever someone in an MMO is stealthed and the caster can't find them, it's time to blindly AoE all over the place."

"MMO? AoE? What are zees letters jou are spouteen?"

"I'd explain them but you're going to be dead in a few moments. Why waste my breath? The point is that the only way you find me is by getting lucky with one of your thrown objects. But we both know I'm too fast for that. I do a lot of PvP combat so I know when it's time to say 'good game' and we're rapidly approaching that." Serenity smiled as she watched Day LaMode flail about more.

"You see, dummy, right now the only way for you to find me would be for you to bring a few mannequin minions over here to help you. But I'm pretty sure you can't do that, otherwise you would have done that by now. I think maybe they have shared processing power or something like that. That would mean you can only activate so many at a time and have them remain effective. It would explain why you cycled through about thirty or so at time rather than just attack with every mannequin in the mall. At any rate, they aren't coming.."

Day LaMode screamed and threw around the contents of the food court with feracity. It looked to Serenity that she hit the nail on the head with that one. The monster was becoming unglued. Good. "So if you can't get help, that means you're on the defensive. And I could be anywhere. Behind you. To your side. Above you." Day LaMode's head darted in each direction as Serenity listed each angle of attack off. That gave Serenity a mischievous idea. "Honey, maybe even below you. You really have no way of knowing I couldn't become intangible with this attack. And, given you haven't hit anything with that temper tantrum you're throwing, that possibility is actually more plausible than you first thought, isn't it?"

The mannequin panted. Even with the monster's face not being fully expressive, Serenity could see fear its eyes. Day LaMode jumped backwards, landing on one of the few tables that remained standing. Serenity hadn't thought Day LaMode would buy the intangibility angle. It seemed too much of a stretch, but at this moment the mannequin clearly wasn't thinking straight.

"Even eef what jou say eez true, girly boy, zen zis is a stalemate. You cannot keel Day LaMode and Day LaMode cannot keel you."

"Correct." Serenity found herself nodding her head, even though her opponent couldn't see her. "But you see, I am in no rush to kill you. There are only so many mannequins in the mall. I just need to wait for the other Spirit Guard to go through all your possible minions. Then you'll have no bodies to jump to. At that point, my daggers end you. I just have to draw this out until then."

Day LaMode gave a scoff that projected more confidence than the monster's eyes did. "Bah! Zhere eez no way my seesters lose to jour pazetic allies!"

"Oh spare me the bravado, dummy. They have killed eighteen other monsters and you don't think they can off a few hundred minions?" Serenity hoped she was right on that point; the fight with the minions hadn't looked like it was going too well when the fight started. It was too late to back off now though. She needed Day LaMode to make her fatal mistake.

"Day LaMode eez ze only construct ze Master has made!"

"So you keep saying, Nineteen. But we both know that's not true. Let's face the facts, I'm just going to keep you busy here until you run out of extra bodies to retreat into. You have no way of hurting me or forcing me to show myself. I have nothing to lose by just dragging this out longer and longer."

Day LaMode's eyes filled with pure terror; then that terror stopped. An almost smile crept over her face. Serenity hoped the monster was coming to the conclusion she wanted it to. "Notheen to lose jou zay?"

Serenity moved to just out of arm's reach of Day LaMode, staying between the monster and the fountain. With the mannequin standing on the table, this was going to be an excellent angle of attack. Serenity made sure to make her voice sound slightly confused to help sell Day LaMode on the idea that the monster knew something that the Spirit Guard didn't, "Uh, yeah. Nothing."

"Well zen, Day LaMode zinks zat jou forgot about jour friend I broke earlier!" Day LaMode crouched and leaped straight for the fountain.

Serenity thrust her left dagger up to intercept the mannequin woman just as her feet left the table. Now airborn, Day LaMode had no way to dodge. The concealing mist evaporated from Serenity's body as if the act of attacking was abhorrent to it. Day LaMode's eyes shot as wide open as her inflexible plastic face would allow. "Follow ze Tr-"

Serenity stabbed straight through Day LaMode's jaw, snapping it shut. She had noticed earlier that the monster had no lips; Serenity's theory was that in order to talk, Day LaMode had to move her entire jaw like a ventriloquist's dummy. For a heartbeat, Serenity held her breath, praying that she was right about Day LaMode having to speak in order to teleport. When no hum sounded on Serenity's extra sense, she knew that this match was over.

Kicking her left leg over her head, Serenity struck at Day LaMode's the arm that her dagger had slightly dislocated earlier. The arm dislodged from the socket and flew harmlessly behind the pair. With her free hand she ripped Day LaMode's other limb clean off.

With a grunt, Serenity took a kick from Day LaMode's flailing legs. Time seemed to stand still as she absorbed the force of the monster's jump, pushing her backwards. Serenity dug in her heels and after a few feet stopped Day LaMode's momentum and shoved her armless, silent foe to the ground, pinning it's thrashing legs with one knee.

Serenity leaned down and whispered, "Good game. Well played." She then focused her mind upon Eli's and Cory's faces as they watched Day LaMode rain blows down upon Eli's sister. Serenity focused on the quiet rage that scene brought to her mind. "Geyser of Tranquility."

Scalding hot water erupted out of Serenity's left dagger. The plastic shell that was Day LaMode's head exploded into dozens of pieces. Over the sound of the gushing stream of water, Serenity could both hear and feel the screaming of Day LaMode. The new Spirit Guard watched as a black pearl rose from the monster's body. Just like it had with Polygal, the pearl hung in the air for a moment then shattered.

The screaming stopped. The day was saved. Spirit Guard Serenity had won.

---

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Eli wiped his tears from his eyes as he ran. Rob had told them to get out quickly; the least he could do was comply. He had to focus getting out; if he let his mind drift, he knew the tears would return.

He had been so worthless. While his sister was dying, all he could do is cry. Even now, as Rob was sacrificing the entire life he had lead up until now, all Eli could do is run. Worse though was the fact that this thought brought Eli comfort. He wouldn't dare say it out loud, but Eli knew in his heart that the moment Day LaMode started beating his sister was the moment Eli silently begged for Rob to transform and fight.

The shame burned like it was a hot coal that Eli had swallowed. The tears welled up once more. He tried to will them down and remind himself that he couldn't have done a damn thing to the monster. He was only human after all, but that thought did nothing to assuage his guilt.

"Almost there," Cory muttered. The only exit that was nearby and didn't have any fighting mannequins was the movie theatre entrance. It'd be a long jog back to their cars, but they were almost free from...

A shadow dropped from the ceiling and fell directly in their path. Panicked thoughts raced through Eli's mind as he tried to stop himself. Was this a mannequin coming to collect them as collateral? Was someone else getting involved? The panicked thoughts ceased when Eli realized Cory's attempt to stop his own momentum had caused him to trip. Eli grimaced knowing he was about to trip over Cory's falling body.

The shadow darted forward. A small hand gripped Eli's elbow and used his momentum to spin him to the left towards the movie theater entrance. Eli stumbled, full-speed, towards the ticket kiosk, but slowed himself enough that when he crashed into it, he didn't injure himself. He spun around in time to see the shadow holding Cory up by the back of his shirt collar.

Now that the shadow wasn't a blur of motion, Eli saw this wasn't a shadow but a diminutive girl clad in clingy, all-black clothing that revealed nothing but her intense, almond-shaped eyes and the physique of a gymnast. Eli instinctively took a step back from the ninja-girl. He racked his brain, trying to remember her name.

Ninja Girl let go of Cory's collar and let him drop to the ground. "Mr. Frost, get to your feet. We haven't much time."

"You again?" Cory grumbled. "What are you accosting me for this time? I didn't record anything."

Her voice remained even despite Cory's accusatory tone. "I am confident you did not. More to the point, we need to get you two out of here."

Eli rubbed the arm that he slightly bruised. "Yeah, we had that covered. This is the exit."

Ninja Girl removed her mouth cover, though she left the rest of her head concealed in her... Eli wasn't sure what to call it. It certainly wasn't a shawl, but that was the only word Eli could think of. "Yes. This is an exit. But an exit the police are watching."

"The police?"

"They are surrounding the mall, cutting off all the exits. They are following standard protocols, meaning they intend to interview everyone who witnessed the events unfold."

Cory sighed. "Last time they did that with us we didn't get home until super late."

Ninja Girl rolled her eyes. "That isn't the main concern."

Eli rubbed the bridge of his nose since he understood what Ninja Girl was getting at. "Cory, if the cops interview us again we'll have to explain why we have been at the past two monster attacks."

Cory's shoulders sagged, "Oh."

Ninja Girl nodded her head, a tinge of disapproval in her voice, "Which would not be as big a deal if it weren't for the fact that you both now know things you should not."

Eli wanted to argue with her on whether or not he should know that his sister was in constant peril, but he knew now wasn't the moment. "How do we get out of here without being seen?"

Ninja Girl pointed to the movie theater. "Go inside, through theater number six, and out it's emergency exit. A few people already went through it so we need not worry about it sounding an alarm. Once outside, you will find a large, dark grey van with tinted windows. The doors will be open. Get in and there you will meet the Siekert twins. Answer any questions they ask to the best of your ability as it will help us keep the Spirit Guards' identities safe." She then held up her left hand, displaying Cory's keys. "Also, I will be taking your car after we are done here. I promise to drive it responsibly."

"What the..." Cory fumbled through his pockets. "How did you..."

"If the cops find your car still here when they finish their interviews they will no doubt get suspicious. We do not wish anyone to take a long look at you two ever again. I'll sneak in with the people they interview, and, after they dismiss me, I'll drive it back to your dorm and return it to you. Now you two must be off. The window of opportunity for you to get to the HushMobile without being seen is closing." Without another word, Ninja Girl darted away from the pair, ran up the wall, swung around on a few hanging light fixtures, leapt up to the rafters, and then bounced out of sight.

Cory stood there with his mouth open. "First my laptop. Then my GameStation. Now my car! Why is everyone taking my things?"

Eli wanted to chuckle, but Ninja Girl had made it pretty clear what needed to happen. Frankly, Eli was happy for the mental distraction. "Cory, come on. We need to get moving." Eli rushed towards the movie theater knowing Cory would follow.

Cory huffed behind Eli as the pair barreled through the movie theater doors. "This is stupid. She's stealing my stuff again. Why are we trusting her? And what the hell is a HushMobile?"

"We're trusting her," Eli reminded him, "because Mallory trusts her. That's good enough for me."

"Fair enough." Eli was glad to hear that Cory didn't object to that logic. "And I guess she did return my laptop."

Eli ducked under the ropes that blocked off the concessions area from the actual movie theatres. Eli did a quick scan and found theatre six at the end of the hallway. It was apparently showing some film that Eli could only assume was a low budget horror flick called "It Came From Beneath Mortis Lake."

Eli got to the entrance and waited for Cory to catch up before going in. "That title bugs me."

Eli shook his head, opened the doors, and jogged in. "Not right now, Cory." As he turned the corner, he was greeted by the sights and sounds of a chesty blonde screaming while she ran away from a shoddy, CGI merman-monster.

Cory bounded down the stairs a step behind Eli. "See, this is what I'm talking about. The monster is clearly aquatic in nature. Thus, it didn't come from beneath Mortis Lake but from within Mortis Lake."

"Really? That is what you're worried about?" Eli asked as his thoughts drifted back to Mallory's situation. He normally would be okay with Cory's inanities, but right now they were just stressing him out.

"Well, I mean, the fact that they expect us to believe someone named a lake Mortis Lake is really the lead story here but--"

Eli stopped short of going through the emergency exit. "Not right now, Cory!" Eli was surprised by how sharp his voice was. When was the last time he yelled at Cory?

Cory took a step back, confusion in his eyes. "I was just trying to lighten the mood, dude."

Eli sighed. "I know, Cory. I know. I just-- I can't take it right now."

Cory put a hand on Eli's shoulder and smiled. "Hey, don't sweat it. Rob's got this. He's going to save Mal. He wouldn't let us down."

Eli winced at the mention of Rob again. "It should have been me."

"What? What does that mean?"

"The responsibility shouldn't have fallen on Rob." Eli pushed his hair back and shook his head. "She's my sister. I've known her my entire life. I'm the one who should be having to make this sacrifice. But instead, it's Rob. Someone who we've known for a little over two weeks and has known Mal for only a few days. It's... it's just not right."

As if to punctuate his sentence, the busty blonde in the movie screamed in terror. Both Eli and Cory glanced up to see her get tackled and dragged off-camera where she was presumably devoured with a spray of chocolate syrup and stock munching sound effects.

"Wow. That's bad," Cory chuckled. He turned back to Eli and smiled sheepishly, "Well, this is an odd backdrop for this conversation but... well... Eli, Mal and Rob had to do what they thought was right. It doesn't matter who it should have been; reality is for whatever reason, Fate didn't choose us, but we chose them. We chose to be Rob's friend and Mal's... okay, so maybe we just chose Rob. So we just gotta do whatever we can to help him and Mal. It's as simple as that."

Eli let out a long breath. "Yeah. I guess."

"C'mon, pal." Cory walked past Eli and opened the door. "Right now the best thing we can do is find this van and not blow our friends' covers." Cory flashed an impish grin. "But if this van has 'free candy' written on the side, I'm going to take my chances with the cops, personally."

Eli gave a half-hearted smile. Cory was trying really hard to break him out of his self-loathing. If Eli was honest, it had kind of cheered him up. "Probably a good policy." Part of Eli wanted to keep hating himself; making himself suffer felt, in some odd way, appropriate punishment for being so useless. Yet beating himself up wasn't helping Rob or Mallory. He needed to find the so-called HushMobile and the twins the Ninja Girl had talked about.

The emergency exit led to an alley that had loading bays into some of the mall's larger stores. Various semis and delivery vans lined the narrow street. Cory scratched his head as he scanned the street. "What color van did Swordy Suzuki say we should be looking for?"

"Gray." Eli walked down the steps of the emergency exit and searched for a gray van. "And Swordy Suzuki? Isn't that kind of racist?"

"How is that racist? I can't remember her name, and the only two character traits I know about her are that she's threatened us with a sword and is Japanese. Suzuki is a common Japanese name. Plus, alliteration."

Eli rolled his eyes. "Alliteration isn't a good point." There were no gray vans in sight, but there were a lot of parking space hidden between the various semi trucks. "Plus, how do you know she's Japanese? She could easily be Korean or Chinese or something, and then you've offended her because you're saying all Asians look the same."

"She's Japanese," Cory insisted.

Eli sighed, "You're saying that because she's a ninja, right?"

"Yup! Cinematically it only makes sense."

"Need I remind you we aren't in a movie?"

"Counterpoint: Super-cheerleaders and mannequin-monsters."

Eli could only groan in response; he really hated how good of a point that was. He walked past a row of semi-trucks and checked between each one for a gray van. "You're going to be impossible to deal with."

"I'm just hoping the Secret Twins are hot like the rest of this group."

"The Secret Twins?"

"Isn't that what she said? 'Go in the van and talk to the Secret Twins?' I mean, to be honest, I was just excited for the prospects of twins, so I might not have been paying close attention."

Eli bit his bottom lip and thought back as he tried to remember her last words. "I think she said the Sigurd Twins or something like that. I'm pretty sure it was a last name. Not Secret Twins though."

"A shame," Cory shouted, his voice echoing in the alley. "Secret Twins sound hot."

"What is wrong with you?" Before Cory could answer, Eli cut him off, "Don't answer that."

"Damn. Had a zinger that time."

"My point is, why would Secret Twins be a hot idea? And aren't you sweet on Vivian?"

Cory frowned. "Yeah, but she hasn't talked to me since the incident at the Standridge Stones. I'm worried I might have blown my chances there. But with twins so hot they have to keep them a secret, well maybe I could take some chances there."

"You're insane." Eli rounded the corner of another semi and found a large, dark grey van with tinted windows hiding behind the trailer. "Cory, I found it."

Cory jogged over and the pair approached the vehicle. It wasn't quite the size of a delivery truck, but it was a big vehicle nonetheless. If Eli wanted to look through the rear windows, he would have to stand up on the rear bumper. Even if he did stand on the bumper though, Eli wouldn't have been able to see in because the windows were completely opaque. It was apparent Ninja Girl had completely undersold just how tinted the van’s windows were.

Eli scratched the back of his head. "So, do we knock or something?" As if a response, Eli heard the tell-tale click of the doors unlocking.

Cory clapped his hands together. "See how inviting the Secret twins are? This is already boding well for my chances. With luck, they will have an experimental and inquisitive side."

Eli rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't give up on Vivian just yet."

Cory rolled his eyes back as he gripped the door handle. "Please, my history with women leads me to believe it's a good idea to have a backup plan." He grinned lecherously. "Or two backup plans if you get my meaning."

Eli buried his face in the palm of his hand. "Yes. I get your meaning."

"You see, it's because they are twins."

"Just open the door."

Cory dramatically flung the door open. The scent of sodas, pizza, and body odor immediately reminded Eli of every Invokers draft tournament he had ever attended. It was just about as cramped too; the left side of the van had a thin but long desk that held three monitors splayed across it and two large computers underneath. Yet the most interesting sight was who was manning that desk: a gangly, sweaty, scruffy, bespectacled, emeralde guy with his hair pulled into a ponytail.

Another guy who looked like a much cleaner cut version of the first popped his head around the driver's seat. "Hey guys. Welcome to the HushMobile. Hurry in. Cops are driving around looking for stragglers."

Eli couldn't help but smirk at Cory. "Nice backup plans. Totally your type."

"Well this is disappointing," Cory grumbled.

The twin at the computer chuckled. "Noriko didn't mention we were male twins, did she?"

Cory climbed into the van. "Noriko! That's her name! It's been bugging me the entire way here."

"Yeah," Eli chided. "It's not Suzy Suzuki or whatever you called her." Eli didn't feel the fact that he had been mentally calling her Ninja Girl was pertinent to his teasing of Cory.

The twin in the front seat joined in on the fun. "Yeah, if we had a dollar for every time someone met us hoping we were hot fantasy twins, we'd have... like, I don't know, maybe eleven or twelve bucks by now."

Eli followed Cory into the cramped van and shut the door behind him. "Hi. So you guys the rest of the Hush Corps then?"

The twin up front nodded. "You got it. I'm Nick Siekert and the one typing away on the computer is my brother, Will. He's having to hack into various cameras around the mall."

Will nodded and downed a can of Thundercrest soda. "Yeah, sorry, not going to be really social." He adjusted his glasses and squinted at the screen. Eli tried to make sense of it but the coding was far beyond anything he had done in his high school web design class.

"Don't worry about it. We understand completely," Eli assured Will as he twisted and shuffled along the floor of the van, trying to get comfortable.

Nick pointed at Cory. "Tall guy, why don't you sit up here so we can make more room?"

Cory happily squeezed between the driver and passenger seats to get a cushy chair. "An excellent suggestion. Shorty will be much more comfortable on the floor than I ever could be. Name's Cory by the way."

Eli grumbled and moved to the spot near the front Cory had vacated. There he found two boxes of pizzas, one already empty. "I'm 5'5". I'm not that short."

"Keep tellin' yourself that, buddy."

Nick's tone turned more serious. "So if he's Cory, you must be Eli. You're Mallory's brother, right?"

Eli felt the pit in his stomach return. He had been distracted long enough that he hadn't been thinking of his sister's body being broken by that monster. "Yeah."

Nick nodded and took a deep breath. "Look, I know this is a lot to take in at the moment and you're going through a... hold one second." Nick turned away from Cory and Eli and held a finger up to his left ear. Eli hadn't noticed it at first, but Nick was wearing a bluetooth earpiece. "Yes Noriko, they got here just fine... yes, I'm asking them now." Nick turned back to Eli and Cory. "Sorry, there's going to be a lot of this. Noriko needs to know; did Robert go through with it? Did he transform?"

Eli and Cory glanced at one another. Eli felt the guilt return. Cory nodded, "Yeah. He went to save Mal."

"Where did he do that? Noriko needs to know so we can start hiding evidence and such."

"The Kickers Outlet near the food court on the second floor," Eli answered. He'd never forget abandoning his friend there.

Nick held his finger back up to his ear. "You get that Noriko? ... good. Let me know as soon as you need anything else." He smiled and reached between his door and his chair. "Sorry, I have a feeling she will be interrupting us a lot." He pulled a tablet computer and turned it to face Cory and Eli; it displayed a map of the mall. "We'll need to start by finding out what stores you went into. We'll need to know so she can remove any evidence you were there."

Cory raised an eyebrow. "You mean like fingerprints and stuff?"

"What? Fingerprints?" Nick chuckled and pushed his glasses up. "No, not really. I mean, what would they do? Dust the entire mall for prints? I don't think they have enough dust or time for that. I mean electronic records. Did either of you buy anything at any stores? Did you leave anything there that could be evidence of your presence at the mall? The devil is in the details and remember that the electronic evidence could be a bigger deal than anything else."

Eli shrugged. "The only place we bought anything was at Dungeon Direct. And I paid cash so we don't have to worry about a money trail left from our end. Dunno about Rob, though. I mean, he bought his comic there but I don't know what he paid with."

"Dammit," Cory exclaimed.

Nick leaned forward. "What? Did you think of something? Did you connect to the mall's wifi maybe?"

Cory shook his head. "No. Well, I mean, I did leave something but I don't think it's going to incriminate us or anything."

"What? You forget your wallet or something?"

"No, but it's almost as bad." Cory sighed. "I dropped those Invokers cards Eli bought while we were being chased."

Nick blinked incredulously. "Invokers cards?"

"Yeah, now Eli loaned out my GameStation and I got jack squat out of it."

Eli once again buried his face into hands. "So yeah. Rob might have paid with a credit card. You might want to check on that."

* - * - *

Serenity took a step back and surveyed the damage her fight with Day LaMode had caused: two destroyed storefronts, countless shattered tables and chairs, and deep gouges that scarred the tiled floor wherever she had missed with her Geyser attack's whip form. She really hoped insurance covered monster attacks.

A smile crept over her face as she turned away from Day LaMode's lifeless shell. She had been completely hardcore in that fight. She had identified the monster's strengths and weaknesses quickly. She came up with a solution to the teleporting problem. The mannequin woman had come completely unglued at all of Serenity's verbal barbs. Serenity had completely goaded the monster into doing exactly what she wanted. And then she went for the killing blow, complete with the quip to end it.

As Serenity thought about it, perhaps fighting these monsters was less like the player versus player combat she was used to in Aspect Realms and more like fighting bosses. You had to identify the boss mechanics and then attack appropriately. It was an interesting--

No. She didn't have time to ponder. The danger had not passed; Tenacity was still clinging to life in the fountain. She couldn't allow herself to get distracted, even if she had been pretty awesome.

Serenity turned on her heels and headed back for the fountain. Rather than jogging, she took a quick step and jumped into the fountain. It was strange but felt much easier to move around by jumping rather than running now that she did not need to be stealthy.

The water did not splash when she landed in the fountain but merely rippled. The water didn't seem to cling to her skin either; instead, it glided around as though she were standing in a pool of mercury. Maybe it had something to do with water being her elemental power? Did Valor never get dirty?

Tenacity took long, gasping breaths. Her eyes were shut, but Serenity could tell she was awake by the pained grimace that accompanied each breath. The eye that wasn't swollen fluttered open. Tenacity smiled then shut it once more. "Dead?" she wheezed.

Serenity nodded and leaned down to inspect Tenacity's wounds more closely. "Dead as disco."

Tenacity let out a pained sigh. "Nice one, Ace."

"You probably shouldn't be talking. Save your strength." Something was definitely wrong with Tenacity's breathing. Exactly what was wrong was completely beyond Serenity. All this power and she had no idea what to do. It really made her regret not listening to her Uncle and dropping out of scouting. She was certain they would have given her some first aid training there.

"Yeah," Tenacity winced.

"I'm going to get you out of the water. Sorry if this hurts."

Tenacity nodded. "'Kay."

Serenity looked at her daggers, unsure how to get rid of them. She had clapped her pompoms together to create the weapon. She clapped her weapons together and they morphed back into pompoms. Now she just had two pompoms though instead of daggers. She thought back to the night at the Standridge Circle and didn't remember the Spirit Guard having their pompoms. Serenity let go of the pompoms' handles and thought hard about not needing them. The balls of bright blue evaporated from existence.

"Neat." Serenity knelt down and put her hands under Tenacity's knees and neck. She lifted the drenched Spirit Guard from the fountain. Tenacity bit hard on her bottom lip and, though she tried to muffle it, whimpered like a child at the dentist's office. She was in so much pain. Serenity needed to do something.

The hospital didn't seem to be a good idea if they wanted any hope of keeping their identities secret. She needed to find the other Spirit Guard. They had been doing this hero thing for a while; certainly this couldn't be the first injury they had, right? Perhaps they had a member of their Hush Corps who was a doctor or something. It seemed a bit farfetched, but, then again, they had a ninja too. Everything seemed like it could be possible once that was brought into consideration.

Serenity reached out with her extra sense and felt her impressions of the other three Spirit Guard rapidly approaching. Odd. She hadn't felt them move at all. Maybe her extra sense wasn't that good when she focused on other things. This would need more testing.

Spirit Guards Valor, Charity, and Felicity popped over the guardrails of the food court and landed next to the fountain. Valor's eyes shot open at the site of the new Spirit Guard. "Serenity?"

"Something is wrong with Tenacity's breathing." Serenity did her best to hold Tenacity as still as possible; every little movement seemed to bring a wince. "What do we do?"

Charity dashed forward, and her normally squeaky voice sounding a lot more authoritative than Serenity remembered, "Put her down gently on that table." She pointed to one of the few dining tables that hadn't been overturned by Serenity's fight.

Serenity, surprised that it was the quietest girl of the group taking charge, gently laid Tenacity down on the table. Charity slung her bow over her back; strangely, despite not having an actual string, the bow remained in place. The bluenette closed her eyes and rubbed her hands together. "Giving Hands!"

Balls of soft yellow light sparked in her hands. She then pressed the spheres of light into Tenacity's body and ran them up and down the broken Spirit Guard's body like she was smoothing out a sheet. Serenity marveled as she saw her pause at certain spots to change how deeply she pushed the balls into the skin. As Charity pushed, Serenity could see into Tenacity's body. It seemed the depth controlled what organ system would be revealed by the ball. Sometimes odd symbols of lines and dots would spark around the balls, though Serenity could only guess what they meant.

Charity’s hands settled over Tenacity's right breast. She pushed deep. Muscles, nerves, and veins flashed until settling on three cracked ribs. Charity shook her head and pulled her hands away. "This is very bad."

Valor and Felicity approached the table. Both openly wore their fear on their faces. "What is it, Charity? What's wrong?"

Charity pulled her bow into her hands and nocked an arrow. Serenity raised an eyebrow but said nothing. They were the veterans. Surely, they knew what they were doing. "By my examination, she has a mild concussion, two cracked ribs, one broken rib, a punctured lung, internal bleeding, and a sprained ankle."

"Can you fix her?" Felicity pleaded.

Fix her? How could Charity... that's when it dawned on Serenity that Charity had been known as the Mender in their past lives. They didn't need a Hush Corps doctor. She was the doctor. "I can, but it's going to take at least half an hour of surgery, and I'm going to be completely drained."

"That could be an issue," said a monotone voice from behind the girls.

Instinctively, Serenity summoned her pompoms to her hands and spun around. There stood the same ninja from the night at the Standridge Circle. With a sigh, Serenity dropped and dismissed her pompoms again. "Don't do that!" Even with her heightened senses, Serenity hadn't heard or felt the ninja's approach. What was this girl?

Valor took a step forward. Serenity noted that the step moved herself slightly between the ninja and Serenity. "Why would that be an issue, Noriko."

If the ninja was worried that Serenity would have attacked, she didn't show it. Her eyes didn't show anything. "The Twins tell me the cops are about to enter the mall. We have about two minutes before they will be swarming the place for evidence."

Felicity groaned. "Why are they always so inconvenient?"

Valor tapped her fist to her lips, lost in thought. "Charity, can we move Tenacity?"

Serenity turned and was shocked to see Charity pointing her arrow at Tenacity. With her unnatural speed, she darted forward and grabbed Charity's wrist. "What the honey you doing?"

"She needs anesthetic," Charity looked unusually frustrated with Serenity. She never had seen that expression on the bluenette’s face before.

"With an arrow?"

"Yes. With an arrow. That's how my powers work! Now let go!" Charity shrugged off Serenity and fired the arrow straight into Tenacity's chest. "Clement Pierce!"

To Serenity's surprise, Tenacity didn't scream in pain but gasped with relief. She still sounded short of breath, but each inhale and exhale weren't accompanied with a grimace. Tenacity sputtered her appreciation, "Thanks."

Serenity glanced at Valor and Felicity with a panicked and confused look. Valor shrugged sheepishly, "It is how her powers work, Serenity."

Felicity scratched her chin, "Though, to be fair, now that you bring it up, we really should have probably questioned that more the first time she used that to help relieve our pain."

Noriko cleared her throat, "Need to have a decision in about a minute, ladies."

Charity bit her lip. "I can save Tenacity, but I have to start operating on her now. We don't have time to move her." As if to demonstrate the point, she rubbed her hands together once more. "Giving Hands!" The orbs of light returned and she proceeded to run them over Tenacity's body again.

Valor sighed. "This is bad then. We'll need to delay the cops some. Maybe there is someway we could hide Charity too."

Hide. Serenity paused and thought about her Placid Mist ability. Could that be used to hide others along with herself? Something in her bones told her the answer was yes. "I can hide them."

Valor stepped back. "You can?"

Noriko narrowed her eyes. "How?"

"I just... can. Stealth seems to be my thing. I can make myself invisible. Something called Placid Mist. It made me completely invisible to the monster."

Felicity let out an impressed whistle. "That's going to be useful. Think of it! We can actually scout ahead now!"

Valor waved Felicity off. "Not the time for that." She put her fist up to her list again, thought for a second, then nodded. "Good. Then Serenity, I don't mean to heap this all on you since we all know what you just sacrificed to be here, but you remain here with Charity and keep her and Tenacity concealed." She turned to Felicity. "Felicity, think you can make a small distraction to delay the cops slightly?"

Felicity grinned. "Would me shooting a giant pink flamethrower with the fire looking like a heart qualify?"

Noriko gave a conciliatory nod. "I believe it would."

Valor patted Felicity on her shoulder. "Get on it, Felicity. Meet me at Kunapipi's office so we can debrief."

Felicity winked at Valor. "On it." The short girl then smiled at Serenity. "I know this isn't the best time, but welcome to the insanity, girlfriend."

Noriko cleared her throat as Felicity bounded away. "Spirit Guard Valor, there is the other matter of the disappearance of Robert Dreese and the appearance of a new girl. The Hush Corps is getting pulled in a lot of directions. Assistance will be appreciated."

Valor nodded. "Anything you need, just tell Kunapipi and we'll get on it."

"Excellent. Thank you." Noriko made eye-contact with Serenity for the first time. "For what it is worth, Spirit Guard Serenity, I can confirm your friends are safe, and though the situation isn't ideal, it appears Spirit Guard Tenacity will be safe as well. Your sacrifice was successful and, more importantly, noble. You have my respect."

Without another word she dashed off, using some fancy parkour moves to pull herself up to the rafters. Serenity wasn't sure of much, but she was definitely sure that their little ninja unsettled her somehow. At least she now had her respect. It wasn't much, but it was something. Hopefully she could parlay that into her not threatening to kill anyone else. "She's the one in charge of keeping our identities safe?"

Valor nodded. "Indeed. And if I know Noriko, she'll be keeping us busy." Valor put a hand on Serenity's shoulder. "You probably should get to hiding Charity and Tenacity. The cops will be here soon."

"Are they really a danger?" Serenity asked.

"Physically? No. Their weapons have no magical charge. They can't pierce our auras."

Serenity raised an eyebrow. "We're bulletproof?"

Valor smiled. "You could put it that way. But the bigger worry is while we do have our while the Disconnection Effect we generate will prevent them from positively IDing us, repeated exposure can cause the Effect to weaken. Cops see us more than anyone else."

"I see." Serenity nodded. "Yeah, I'll get on hiding them." She turned towards the table. Valor tightened her grip on Serenity's shoulder. Serenity gulped since she was afraid that she was about to be hugged.

Valor hugged Serenity tightly from behind. "Thank you so much for saving my friend. For sacrificing so much. Thank you."

Serenity shifted uncomfortably within Valor's arms. The fact that one of Valor's arms was under her breasts made her suddenly much more aware of them than she had been before and did not help with her uncomfort level. "I just did what anyone would do." Out of the corner of her eye, Serenity could see Valor was crying.

"No they wouldn't," Valor insisted. "What you did, few would ever do. Don't ever minimize your sacrifice." Valor sniffed, finally let go of Serenity and wiped away her tears. "If you need anything, and I mean anything, to help you get through, this just say the word. Okay?"

Serenity rubbed her arm as she looked everywhere but at Spirit Guard Valor. "Sure. Yeah. Thanks."

Valor paused, looking like she wanted to say something more before she sighed. "I must be off. Head to Kunapipi as soon as you are done here. She'll help you with the, well, logistical matters of your... I'll see you later tonight." Valor turned and, like Noriko, jumped up into the rafters before she hopped away.

Serenity sighed and walked over to the table where Charity was working on Tenacity. Charity had at some point tied her hair back into a tight ponytail with a string of pure light as a hair tie. Charity glanced up for a brief moment as Serenity approached and smiled. "Not much for touching are you?"

Serenity summoned her pompoms back into existence. "How could you tell?"

"The fact that you went stiff as a board as soon as Valor hugged you was pretty telling. Ahead of time, let me just say, 'I'm sorry,' to you."

"Why is that?"

"Because we girls like to hug. Especially me. At some point I will hug you when you don't want it, and I'm sorry for that." Charity pushed the orbs of light in her left hand deep into Tenacity's chest. Serenity could see the cracked and broken ribs. Charity pushed deeper, and Serenity could see what she thought was Tenacity's lung, but it looked shriveled.

"Can you bring me a straw?"

Serenity raised an eyebrow. "A straw? Shouldn't I be making us invisible?"

"You're my nurse for this operation. I really need a straw. Grab one, quick."

Serenity shrugged and hopped over to one of the nearby and intact fast food places and grabbed a straw. With another quick hop she returned to Charity's side. "Here you go?"

"Thank you." Charity didn't take the straw yet though. She held her left hand at the exact depth where she could see the collapsed lung. With her right hand she made a squeezing motion. Serenity felt waves of generosity flow from Charity and into Tenacity. Serenity watched in awe as she saw the gash in the lung close.

Charity though didn't look impressed at all. Her eyes were focused on the image and sweat started to form on her brow. Serenity then realized that, even after a stress-filled fight, she had never broken a single sweat. But Charity started sweating as soon as she started healing. Just how draining was this process?

The sounds of voices off in the distance reminded Serenity she was supposed to be hiding them. She clapped her daggers into existence then clinked the blades together. "Placid Mist!" She focused her thoughts on hiding all three girls and the mist sprayed over them all. She was surprised that she didn't need to concentrate too hard to keep it over three people. She suspected there was likely a tradeoff, though.

Charity paused her healing for a moment to examine her hands the same way Serenity had the first time she went invisible. Charity whispered, "Wow," and to Serenity's surprise, Charity's voice didn't echo throughout the food court the way her own voice had during the Day LaMode fight.

Serenity tried to whisper as well to test how the voice amplification worked, "Will this cause problems with your operation?" To Serenity's delight, her voice didn't echo.

"Not at all," Charity went back to work. "This only seems to affect visual sight, and, thankfully, the way I look into the body is all magical in nature." Charity leaned forward and whispered into Tenacity's ear, "You're going to feel this through my anesthetic. Try and bear with it."

Serenity leaned on the table and "watched" Charity as she went to work on Tenacity's ribs. The bluenette kept her left hand steady to give her a firm view of the broken and cracked ribs. With her right hand, she would flex her fingers like she was gripping a baseball, and then she would set the bones back in place. Tenacity bit her bottom lip and groaned as she did this. Serenity had to hand it to her; Eli's sister was tough as nails if that was all she was doing. Rob had screamed like a doctor reset his dislocated knee his freshman year of football.

After setting the ribs, Charity closed her eyes. She took deep breaths and made a motion with her right hand that reminded Serenity of a painter working on a canvas. Some yellow... stuff appeared between the breaks and cracks in the bones. When she was done filling in the gaps, Charity gave a few labored breaths and supported herself with the table.

A cop walked walked up the escalators and surveyed the food court. Serenity held her breath as he surveyed the carnage. Instead of settling on the three Spirit Guards, his gaze passed to the headless corpse of Day LaMode. He grabbed his walkie-talkie and radioed his findings unaware of the heroines there with him.

Serenity gave a sigh of relief and turned her attention back to the panting Charity. "You all right?"

Charity wiped some sweat from her brow with her forearm. "I am fine. It's just that, well, the way my healing works is that I use up the energy I have to heal others. It's normally not this intensive, but none of us have ever been this injured before. Normally we can let our enhanced healing take care of any small injuries we have."

Serenity stood upright. "Wait, you mean we have a healing factor?"

Charity smiled and removed the straw Serenity had grabbed earlier from its plastic wrapping. "A very super-hero movie way to put it, but yes."

Serenity gave an amused snort. "So the healer restores life by spending mana, and we regenerate hit points out of combat. This is like Aspect Realms."

Charity raised an eyebrow. "Let's get back to the task at hand. Now that I've sealed the punctured lung and set the broken bones there is no more risk of further injury but we still have to remove all the air in the chest cavity." Charity held her right index finger up and a short yellow laser extended from it like it was a needle.

"Neat trick."

Charity smiled and handed Serenity the straw. "Thanks. It seems precision was a particular specialty of the Mender's order." Charity carefully took aim with her laser-needle then burned its way through the skin. Charity twitched her thumb and the laser-needle's width increased, burning a larger hole. "Can I have that straw back?"

"Sure." Serenity gave her the straw back and watched as Charity slid it through the small hole before she healed the burn-wound so that the skin formed a seal around the straw. With her right hand, Charity created a barrier of light around the top of the straw that had an opening at the top. Serenity thought the small barrier looked similar to the Altruistic Barrier that Charity used to protect Robert, Eli, and Cory back at Loose Change. Charity squeezed the barrier and the hole at the top sealed up. She let go of the barrier and, then, the hole returned. A scent like a pile of meat filled the air.

Charity repeated this process several more times and the smell got stronger. It wasn't foul smelling but it wasn't exactly appealing either. Serenity watched through the lens of Charity's orb of light and saw the collapsed lung gradually reinflate. "You're using your shields to create a pump."

Charity nodded, looking even more tired. "Yes. My shields can't do anything complicated, but simple tasks like this make them a godsend in the field." After the lung had fully inflated, Charity carefully blocked off the air hole the straw created, removed the straw, and hastily healed the hole back up. She wiped even more sweat from her forehead. "We're through the most dangerous part. Can you hand me those napkin dispensers?"

Serenity looked where Charity pointed and found some napkin dispensers on the floor. She picked them up and handed them to Charity who propped them up under Tenacity's feet as she explained, "With all the injuries she has suffered, Tenacity is going to go into shock. She's in Spirit Guard form now so a lot of the effects will be muted, but as soon as she powers down, we need to get her wrapped up and keep her feet elevated. Her face is already looking a bit too pale for me to be comfortable."

Serenity pursed her lips, considering Charity's words. "Why don't we just keep her in Spirit Guard form then?"

Charity shook her head and resummoned her light orbs. She began searching for spots of internal bleeding and healing the wounds. "Not our call. The moment we lose consciousness we fall out of form."

Serenity stood up straight. "Wait, you mean Tenacity is still conscious right now?"

Tenacity slowly grinned. "You got it, Ace." Tenacity gave a contented sigh, "Charity just has some really good sugar."

Charity frowned. "No talking. I just repaired your lung. I won't have you tearing at it while the healing is still fresh."

Tenacity grinned wider. "Okay Mom."

Serenity chuckled. Charity gave an exasperated sigh and continued her search for more internal injuries to heal. "So we have an empathokinetic healing factor? How does that work?"

"Why not just say magical? It's a lot easier."

"Because it isn't magic. There is a process. We could say magical instead of electromagnetic but that wouldn't accurately describe it."

Charity smiled, but Serenity could tell she was getting worn out. "Such a scientist."

"Engineer."

"Whatever." Charity waved off Serenity. "I don't know exactly how the healing works. It appears to use our own natural healing processes but just accelerates them. For that reason, if we need to heal a lot, it's advisable that you eat a lot more calories since the energy has to come from somewhere."

Serenity folded her arms and leaned against the table. "At least that law is consistent."

Charity snapped her finger as if she had almost forgot something. "That reminds me, before I power down make sure I drink a lot of fluids."

Serenity raised an eyebrow. "You don't look that beat up."

Charity shrugged and moved from treating internal wounds to healing all the surface cuts and bruises over Tenacity's body. "I took enough of a beating from those dumb mannequins that it wouldn't have been a bad idea for me to drink up a bit regardless. But, as I said, the energy to heal has to come from somewhere." Charity let out another tired sigh. "Tenacity doesn't have the energy to heal this up. So the energy is coming from me. That's the secret of the Mender's sect. That's what charitable emotions can do. They allow us to transfer energy from us to others. It's why precision is so important for me. If I'm frivolous I can quickly drain myself."

Serenity nodded. It made sense. Frankly it relieved her that the energy was coming from something; had it been free energy, she didn't know if her brain could handle it. "So when you power down, you're going to be drained?"

Charity nodded and pulled some napkins out from the dispensers she placed under Tenacity's feet. She wiped even more sweat off of her face and increasingly sweaty hands. "I'll be surprised if I don't collapse on the spot and fall right asleep." She smiled. "Maybe stand where you can catch me before I power down, okay?"

Serenity nodded, pushing her annoying bangs out of her left eye experimentally. Just as it had before, her right bangs fell in front of her eyes. She pushed both bangs back to see what would happen; she felt some sort of force pushing against her left hand, wanting to cover her eye. After a few moments she relented and let it cover her face. "I really hope my hair isn't this annoying when I power down."

Charity glanced up, smiled, then went back to work. "I doubt it will be. All of our hair changes some when we transform."

Serenity raised an eyebrow. "How do you mean?"

Charity pursed her lips as if trying to figure out her words. "It seems magical..." Charity paused and grinned, "or rather empathokinetically charged hair was a fashion thing in the Empathic Empire. Your hair waves as if it were water. My hair never moves. I mean, seriously, the amount of hairspray I'd have to use to get this feathered look to hold during a fight would cause a hole in the ozone itself. And I'm sure you've noticed how Valor's hair practically glows it's so shiny."

Serenity shrugged. "What does this have to do with it being less annoying in civilian life?"

"Huh? Oh, right. Well all of our hair changes. Valor's hair goes up into pigtails. Tenacity's hair falls down into a more formal style instead of her normal ponytail. My hair actually gets shorter but all, you know, all done up. Felicity's hair is the one that is least affected as she only gains her pink tips. Your hair is by far the most elaborate so far so it stands to reason you'll have the biggest difference between your powered up hair and your casual hair."

Serenity tugged at her flowing locks. "I hope so... gummi donut why did it have to be red?" Gummi donut? It happened again. "And why can't I fudging swear?"

Tenacity chuckled but Charity sighed with exhaustion. "No laughing either. Keep that lung breathing and nothing else. We can't have you strain it. I'm spent and don't have enough left to heal it again if you re-injure it."

"Can I power down then?" Tenacity grumbled. "It's taking a lot of focus to stay powered up."

Charity shook her head. "Not yet, Tenacity. We still need to get some food in you before you sleep. Just hang on a bit longer." Charity breathed heavy and lifted herself off the table. "Can you carry Tenacity?"

Serenity forgot about her swearing issues. "Sure. Do I need to carry her a special way?"

Charity waved Serenity off. "Just be gentle. A bridal carry should be enough."

Serenity scooped up the lanky Spirit Guard, careful to not jostle her too much. "Where are we going?"

Charity turned and started walking. "You know how we walked through one of the stone pillars in the Standridge Circle a few nights ago?"

"Yeah. That was a fairly neat trick."

Charity nodded. "We have a few companion stones scattered about the city. They allow us to use the Standridge Circle as a sort of travel hub."

"Convenient for getting around. But what if someone is at the Circle?"

Charity kept staggering forward. "Because the Circle is protected, no one can be there without one of the park guides. It's usually unoccupied. If it is though, the stones will warn us."

"What happens then?"

"Then we have a long walk ahead of us."

Serenity sighed. "Great."

"Serenity, before I forget, can you let Kunapipi know to tell Noriko to bandage up Tenacity's ribs? We don't want to risk her bones re-breaking while she is healing up."

Serenity nodded. "Can do."

The pair walked by a gaggle of cops examining the destruction in front of Current Subject. Though Serenity was fairly certain the Placid Mist would prevent them from being heard, she didn't risk speaking. They stayed silent as they exited the mall. If any cops noticed the doors opening on their own, they didn't show it.

Serenity glanced around. There was a large amount of cops here but no news helicopters. There were only two or three news vans at all. The cops interviewed people beside the mall but otherwise looked rather calm. A monster had just attacked; shouldn't everyone have been more high strung about all this?

Charity lead Serenity through the middle of the parking lot towards the nearby industrial district. Luckily, with the cops blocking off traffic, they were able to cross what would have normally been very busy streets without incident. Serenity wondered what would happen if a car hit her now. Would it even hurt? She was bulletproof apparently, so why not car-proof? In any case, she decided it probably wasn't a good idea to test it out.

Charity cleared her throat. "Serenity. Thank you for what you've done."

Serenity didn't want to have this conversation. If she could just keep avoiding conversations like this, she wouldn't have to deal with the reality of her decision. "You don't need to thank me."

"You've sacrificed your life for us. Well, not your life but, your way of life. It's all going to change. In some ways that you don't even know yet. I just... I want you to know that you did the right thing."

Serenity nodded. "I sure hope so."

"I know so." Charity stopped walking and gave Serenity a small hug from the side. "And I know Eli and his friend agree with me." Serenity tensed up, but not from the contact. It just hit her she was now shorter than Charity. This was going to take some getting used to. "You're a hero, Serenity."

The generous aura of Charity was a soothing force. Amidst all the turmoil of the past hour or so, it helped make Serenity feel better. She had done the right thing. Her Uncle would be proud. If she ever could come up with a way to explain all this weirdness, she knew, deep in her heart, he'd agree with Charity and say she was a hero.

As the hug lingered, Serenity grew uncomfortable. She just didn't like all this touchiness. To be fair, Charity had warned her that moments like this would come, but it didn't persuade Serenity to be any more comfortable with it. She came up with the first excuse she could think of to break the contact. "You're all sweaty."

Charity gave a tired, but wry smile. "What? You afraid of a little sweat now? Don't be such a girl."

---

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Eli sighed as he opened the door to his dorm. He still didn't know what was going on with his sister or Rob. It was nearly dinnertime, but dinner was a long way off. It seemed wrong, but the Hush Corps was already planning on how to move Rob out.

Eli knew it made sense; this was a men's dorm, and if Rob wasn't male anymore, it would attract attention. Attention would garner questions that could prove troublesome to keeping the Spirit Guards' identities secret or maybe cause complications with keeping Rob in school. It still felt wrong. Shouldn't Rob get one more night with the guys or something?

That was stupid, too. After all that Rob had gone through, there was no way he would want "one more night with the guys." She. Damn it. Pronouns were going to get complicated. He could already feel Cory getting ready to correct him.

Cory shut the door behind him as he entered. "So... where do we start?"

Eli shrugged. "I don't know, man. I guess his clothes, maybe?"

"Does he have, like, luggage or something we can even put his stuff in?"

Eli sighed again and trudged into Rob's room, feeling like a trespasser as he did so. "I guess we should look."

Rob hadn't left yet, and his room somehow already felt empty. Eli opened the closet and found some luggage with other assorted boxes that were obviously meant to house Rob’s computer and monitors. "Well, I guess we can start here."

Cory sat on the floor and started carefully pulling cables out from the back of Rob's gaming rig. "On the bright side, at least our fourth roommate never showed up. Imagine how complicated this all would have been to explain."

Eli nodded. "That would be a nightmare."

A knock came at the front door. Eli glanced over at Cory who had a worried expression. Eli rolled his eyes. "It's not our other roommate showing up right now just to make things complicated."

"You sure about that? I mean, I remember you saying something about Fate liking to prove me wrong just a few days ago."

Eli put Rob's luggage down and left his room. "If it was our other roommate, he'd just walk in with his key. He'd check in first." Eli checked the peephole and saw a very attractive and very concerned blonde girl that he instantly recognized as his sister's roommate. He noticed she was holding something under her arms, though he couldn't quite make out what it was through the peephole's limited view.

Eli opened up the door, relieved it wasn't their other roommate; if it had been, he'd never be able to convince Cory he wasn't living some sort of sitcom where everything was timed for maximum laughs. "Hey, didn't expect that you would be coming ov..."

Mallory's roommate rushed into the dorm room with a stack of folded up cardboard boxes under her arms. She shut the door with her foot and gave a sigh of relief. "That was close."

Eli racked his brain, trying to remember this girl's name. Why was he always forgetting it? "What was close? And, sorry, did I miss something? Why are you here?"

The girl pushed her hair back and dropped the folded boxes on the table. She began assembling one. "I think an RA saw me in the hallway one floor down. He looked like he wanted to ask me what all the boxes were for, but I was too far along the hallway to ask. I'm hoping he just gives up. I don't know if we have a cover story for Rob's departure yet."

"Eli, who’s here?" Cory shouted from Rob's room. Eli swallowed hard; this was where his memory’s betrayal would be exposed.

"Angela Warrant," the blonde, to Eli’s relief, shouted back.

"Who?"

Eli affected his most judgemental voice. "Mallory's roommate. You know, the one who picked us up and jumped to the second floor earlier today? You already forgot her name?" No one could know he forgot her name. Again.

"Oh! Spirit Guard Valor."

Angela froze. "Don't say that!"

Cory walked out of the room as he wrapped up Rob's ethernet cable in his hands. "Don't say what?"

"Don't talk about our other lives. What if someone was listening in on the door?"

Cory rolled his eyes. "Relax. You're among friends here. We're not going to blow your secret."

Angela bit her lip in obvious frustration at Cory's cavalier attitude. Eli tried to deflect the attention away from Cory. "You still didn't explain what you're doing here. No one told us you were coming over."

Angela turned away from Cory and went back to assembling boxes. "Once Vivian and I finished debriefing with Kunapipi, there wasn't much for us to do. But I knew Rob would have to be moved, and it was unlikely he'd have adequate moving supplies, so I got a bunch of boxes and thought I'd come over to help." She paused her assembly for a moment, but kept her eyes on the boxes. "Figured you could use some help."

Eli could hear something else in her voice; this wasn't just because she wanted to help. Something else was on her mind. Eli decided to cut to the chase. "Any word on my sister?"

"I..." Angela looked up into Eli's eyes. "No. Not as of yet. She'll be okay though. Spirit Guard Charity is working on her, and Serenity is keeping them concealed from the police while she works."

Charity was working on Mallory? Charity was Kara. But Kara was a Nutrition major, not a doctor. "What do you mean Kara is 'working on' my sister?"

"And Rob is concealing them? He can make stuff invisible now? Wish we had that at our disposal a few nights ago," Cory added.

Angela ignored Cory and returned her attention back to the boxes. "Spirit Guard Charity has the ability to heal injuries, though it takes a lot out of her." Angela groaned and put her hands on the table. "Mallory is receiving the best care she could get."

"You sure about that?" Eli questioned. "You absolutely sure a real doctor might not be--"

"You honestly think I'd have left her if I didn't think that?" Angela snapped. "You think I could have abandoned my best friend if I wasn't absolutely certain the people I was leaving her with weren't capable? That's what you think of me?"

Eli took a step back; he hadn't expected this outburst at all. "I... I just thought..."

Angela looked back down to her boxes. "The first time Kara joined us in a fight, I got my elbow pulled out of its socket. She was too terrified to fight. But seeing my injury and seeing Tenacity and Felicity fight back while I tried to pop my own elbow back into place... it motivated her, and she transformed."

Angela scratched at her right elbow as if talking about the experience brought back the pain. "We were fighting in a hospital of all places. Kara was volunteering that day. When she transformed, Charity shot an arrow into the monster's eye. Thankfully, it only had one, and that provided the opening Tenacity and Felicity needed to finish it."

"Charity then knelt down and treated my injury. It's difficult to explain but she pours herself into you when she's healing you. Her kindness and warmth, it flowed into my elbow, dulling the pain. She popped my elbow back into place and gave even more of herself, and I felt my damaged ligaments and nerves mend themselves."

"The experience drained her, and she slept pretty heavily that night and needed to eat a lot the next day to regain her strength, but, other than some minor soreness, my elbow was completely healed. As if nothing had happened. But I'll never forget that feeling of her giving herself over to heal me... not only healing my wound but making me feel like everything would be better."

Angela looked back up into Eli's eyes. "I wouldn't have left Mallory's side if I didn't know that was the kind of treatment she was getting." Eli felt bad for questioning her. It was stupid. She and Mallory had been fighting together over a year now. They lived together. Of course they would be close. Of course she'd want Mallory to be as safe as she could be. "I wouldn't have left if I didn't think she wasn't getting the best treatment there was."

Angela sighed then added, "I'm not that terrible of a leader."

Eli heard something in that last sentence. Angela felt like she had let the team down somehow. Cory cleared his throat and made sure the tone of his sentence sounded more like a question than an accusation as he asked, "But you think you are a terrible leader?" Eli was glad he wasn't the only one who picked up on the self-loathing in that last comment.

Angela stopped all pretext of trying to work on the boxes, placed her elbows on the table, and buried her face in her hands. "I just... I just keep coming back to what a waste this was. Tenacity didn't need to get injured. Had I just been a better leader, I could have gotten her to stick with us to fight together. If I just had said the right things, maybe I could have gotten Robert to be more willing to fight with us. Had I just..."

Eli couldn't stand hearing Angela berate herself; he had been hating himself all day, and if he let her keep going, the room was going to flood itself in the pair's self-loathing. "You couldn't have stopped my sister from flying off to our defence anymore than you can stop a charging bull. Mallory's always been overprotective of me. She once punched a tooth out of a kid's mouth in my third grade class when he gave me a black eye. Mallory tends to go overboard when her little brother gets threatened."

Angela looked up with misty eyes and a genuine look of surprise. "Really? Mallory never told me that story before."

Eli scoffed. "Of course she didn't. She's ashamed of it. I mean, Mallory didn't intend to knock a tooth out, obviously. And she got suspended for a month."

Cory grinned at the memory. "Yeah, but it wasn't like Ryan Quaid didn't deserve it, though. He was a bully, and for whatever reason, they wouldn't ever expel or suspend the kid. And, hey, he sure didn't mess with anyone after that."

"Huh..." Angela pursed her lips as she considered a side of Mallory she had never seen before.

Eli smiled encouragingly. "So yeah, her rushing off had nothing to do with you being a bad leader or anything. That's just Mallory being Mallory, and there was no realistic way you were going to stop her coming to my rescue."

"As for Rob," Cory interjected, "Yeah, he wasn't going to change short of seeing someone about to die."

Angela let out a long sigh, "I don't know. I mean, he was the Shrine Maiden and from what I know of her she--"

Eli rolled his eyes and cut her off, "That Shrine Maiden stuff was precisely the problem."

"What do you mean?"

Eli grabbed one of Angela's unfolded boxes and began to assemble it. "Rob doesn't like feeling manipulated. Rob seems to be someone with a firm background of doing what is right and wrong but he has to feel like it was his choice. I know all this Fate stuff really bugs him."

"Really?"

Cory nodded and began to assemble a box as well. "Well yeah. I mean, he came here to this University because he thought this was a good spot to get his degree of choice and because his parents went here. Now he's being told that it was secretly because of some destiny decided for him from the gods above or some mumbo jumbo."

Angela frowned. "Fate isn't a god, she's just..."

Eli held his hands up to slow her down. "You have to admit that it is a little creepy to believe that some force you can't even comprehend has secretly been trying to lead you down a specific path."

"I don't know, I find it rather inspiring," Angela protested.

Eli raised an eyebrow. "Inspiring? Inspiring how?"

Cory nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, it's really creepy if you ask me."

Angela looked utterly confused by their protests. "Creepy? No. Fate is a great and powerful being and she looks down on the whole of humanity and says, 'You. You are special. You are destined for great things. You can be trusted with that responsibility. I have foreseen it.' How can that be anything but inspiring?"

Eli shook his head. "And what if you don't want that? I'm with Rob and would just want to not have alien entities meddling with my life."

Cory shrugged. "I don't know. When you put it like that I could see why maybe you'd think of it as inspiring."

A knock sounded at the front door. Before Cory or Eli could turn to answer it, the door burst open and a short girl with long black hair down to her knees popped in. "Hey boys. I brought you some dinner since you have to do so much..." Vivian trailed off upon seeing Angela in the room. "Oh, Ang, when did you get here? I figured you were staying over at your place to wait for Mal."

Angela completed another box. "Oh, yes, well... I couldn't just sit there. I got really antsy so I came to help. Besides, probably would just get in the way of Mallory's healing. I'm sure she'll need a lot of rest." Angela paused for a moment before adding, "And it wouldn't be fair for me to expect Mallory's brother to move all of Robert's stuff while I sat next to Mallory."

Vivian nodded. Eli noticed she was pointedly not making eye contact with Cory. "That's a good idea. Help make it faster."

"Exactly," Angela nervously agreed.

Vivian lifted the two plastic bags she held into the air, their shapes and smells indicative of some form of Chinese food. She glanced at Eli, again not making eye contact with Cory. "So, what do you boys want? The orange chicken or the kung pao chicken? You don't get both as the others are for the the Twins. They have an even longer night ahead of them what with all the records they're going to have to doctor and forge for Rob."

Cory cleared his throat, "Really nice of you to think of us, Viv. Thanks for the food."

Vivian finally looked over at Cory before quickly looking away again. She was obviously nervous about being here. "Yeah, well, you guys have been through a lot. Which one you want?"

Cory's shoulders sagged as she looked away from him. "Orange chicken will be fine." Eli sighed for his friend. She was still mad at him for discovering her secret, it seemed. As far as Eli was concerned she needed to get over it, but he wasn't about to interject himself into that mess. Getting involved with Cory's lovelife beyond letting him vent never brought anything but trouble.

Vivian set one of the bags down on the table without a word. Angela broke the awkward silence, "So are you planning on helping us out here for moving Robert's stuff?"

Vivian shook her head. "Nah, I have some, uh, other things I need to get for Rob. Plus deliver the rest of this food to the Twins."

Vivian was just ditching out to evade Cory some more; Eli was sure of it. He wasn't going to let her just get off scott free without giving a good reason for not helping out and avoiding her friend. "What kinds of things?"

Vivian scratched her nose a bit nervously as she turned around. "Uh, well... some... feminine care products I sort of doubt girl-Rob doesn't currently own."

That took the wind right out of Eli's sails. "Oh. Yeah. Good point."

Vivian headed for the door. "Good luck with getting everything packed. I'll give you all a ring if I hear any updates on Mal." The door shut behind her.

Cory sighed and dejectedly went back to assembling boxes. "So... free food. That's nice of her."

Angela nodded and smiled. "Vivian's great like that." She obviously didn't get what had just happened. Did she even know Cory and Vivian had been interested before all this?

Eli shrugged and opened up the box of Chinese food. "I'm starving. The packing can wait. Let's eat."

* - * - *

Serenity was amazed how casual walking through a stone portal was. Other than the tight fit, it was no different than walking through any other doorway. It had simply been an ordinary, if not tall stone against a fence in the trainyard... or in this case a decorative stone Mallory and Angela's living room. Spirit Guard Charity followed Serenity through, still looking tired and completely worn down. "Kunapipi's office's stone is that one there." Charity pointed to the stone across the Standridge Circle.

Serenity nodded and walked in that direction. "How do you link them? The stones, I mean?"

Charity shrugged. "I'm not too sure actually. This was all set up before I joined the team. I do know it takes a similar stone on the receiving end to link them. Fortunately, with Valor having earth powers and all of us having super strength..."

Serenity nodded, "Makes the masonry aspect of this a lot easier for sure. You activate them with knocks though. I've noticed a different rhythm for each one."

Charity smiled, "Yes, that's the activation code... though it might be harder for you to remember the code than the rest of us."

"Why is that?"

"Valor knew there would be other girls joining her so she decided to make the rhythm of each knock something we'd likely know." Charity gave an apologetic shrug, "So she sort of made it knocks to the beats of Lyric Victory songs."

Serenity raised an eyebrow. "Lyric Victory? Like the boy band that was big five years ago?"

Charity shrugged again. "Well, their 'Satisfaction Guaranteed' album more specifically."

Serenity rolled her eyes. "Kind of not the point of what I was asking. Why Lyric Victory?"

"I think it makes sense, you know, as long as you were under the assumption the other Spirit Guard would be in town and around the same age. I mean, I didn't know a girl in middle school that didn't have the 'Satisfaction Guaranteed' album. It was everywhere."

Serenity scrunched her face up, "I mean, yeah, it every girl around here had it. But..."

Charity raised a weary eyebrow, "But what made her think every Spirit Guard would be from here or a girl?"

Serenity snorted, "No. Assuming all five of you would be girls was a logical assumption. My current situation is just plain insane. But why would you assume everyone was from around here? I mean, what if Noriko or someone like her had been Spirit Guard? I doubt she knew that album."

Charity rubbed her eyes again and gave a not so subtle groan. "I don't know. Better to ask Valor. I don't wish to be rude because I know your day hasn't exactly been a peach but I'm literally on the verge of collapse. Like, the moment I detransform I'm going to be sleeping for a long time. Can we do a quick rundown on what you need to tell Kunapipi?"

"Sorry," Serenity apologized, "I can bug Kunapipi with these questions."

Kara patted Serenity on the arm. "It's fine. I get it. Under normal circumstances I'd be perfectly willing to answer everything."

"Yeah. These aren't exactly normal circumstances."

Charity chuckled, "That's quite the understatement. So, what are you telling Kunapipi needs to happen?"

Serenity started numbering off the items on her fingers. "First, that Noriko needs to go by Mallory's place with some medical bandages and tightly bind her chest to make sure she doesn't aggravate that broken rib. Second, Vivian needs to buy food for Mallory's and your recovery. Only healthy, nutritious stuff. Not junk food like last time... which I'm still interested to hear about."

Charity smiled, "A story for another time. The last thing?"

"Coordinate with Angela and Noriko to make sure the volleyball team thinks that Mallory has got the stomach flu and will be out for about a week."

"Perfect." Charity sighed, steadying herself before continuing. Every waking moment she seemed more and more ready to just drop straight into a deep sleep. "Okay, hopefully Kunapipi can help you with the rest."

"I'm sure she can," Serenity lied. Regardless of whether Kunapipi could help her, Serenity knew Charity needed to rest.

Serenity watched, trying to figure out how these rocks worked. Just like she had seen Charity do the last two times, Charity placed her palm flat on the stone then knocked in a jerky rhythm. Now that she knew it was a Lyric Victory song, Serenity recognized the beat. "Was that 'One Look At You'?"

Charity raised an impressed eyebrow. "How do you know that?" She pressed her palm flat to the rock again, and the pillar of stone glowed.

Serenity rolled her eyes. "I may be a guy, but that song was played nonstop for about a year. No matter your gender, you knew that one. Besides, it's a boy band. They put the group together based on market research and and come up with songs that are scientifically proven to be catchy."

Charity smiled and gave Serenity one more hug. "Wish I could do more for you today. When I wake up tomorrow I promise to help you any way I can."

Serenity gave a nervous grin. This girl liked to hug a lot. "Thanks."

Charity let go and trudged to a different stone. Serenity gave a deep breath and stared down the glowing rock. After a moment, she stepped through it.

Again, the pass through the rock was completely normal. It was the normalness of it that disoriented Serenity so much. She had been in the Standridge Circle. Now she was in an unusually spacious office with no windows. It was ornately decorated with various important looking documents, artwork, and, surprisingly, weapons on the left and back walls. A bookcase filled with books from a variety of languages occupied the right wall.

Strangest of all, Serenity did not see anyone in the room. This was supposed to be Ms. Kuhn's office, so where was she. With a sigh Serenity turned around and admired the still glowing stone. It was just barely big enough for someone her now diminutive size to fit through. On a hunch she placed her hand flat on the glowing stone as she had seen Charity do. Instead of passing through, her hand pressed against the rock and the glowing stopped.

"Huh? Someone here?" Whose voice was that? Serenity spun around in the direction of the voice. A pair of fuzzy, long brown ears popped up from under the deck. Then a brown kangaroo rat jumped on top of the desk.

Serenity lowered her daggers. Odd. She didn't even remembering summoning them. "Don't do that."

"Sorry," apologized the animal-woman. "When I'm in this form it's easier to work under my desk. I have a monitor and keyboard down there and everything." Serenity shivered as Kunibobi or whatever-her-actual-name-was spoke. It was the opposite problem of Day LaMode: her face was too expressive. Too emotive. Too human. It was just unsettling. "Uh. Wow. Angela wasn't exaggerating."

Serenity scratched the back of her neck. "Exaggerating about what?"

"I know you're probably not comfortable with this but, well, there is no other way to say this. You turned out to be quite an attractive young woman."

Serenity dismissed her daggers with a groan. "Yeah. Let's not talk about this. Look, Charity had several things she needed you to relay to others."

"Oh? What kinds of things?"

Serenity ran down the list. The kangaroo rat chuckled when she mentioned Vivian had to get healthy food, but otherwise seemed unsurprised by the list. "One moment, I'll just pass that info along." She hopped below the desk and Serenity could hear the clicking of a keyboard.

She rolled her eyes and examined some of the items on the wall: a shield that looked to be from Medieval times, a scroll in some sort of script he didn't recognize, a katana, a rather ancient looking spear... what were all these? She had said she was the mentor of several heroes for a long time. Were these from some of her past heroes and heroines?

"I'm glad to hear Charity was able to patch Tenacity back together," said the muffled voice of Kunibobi under the deck. "With these kinds of powers, I often don't know the full limit of what everyone is capable of." She hopped back onto the desk unusually chipper. Serenity really wasn't in the mood for chipper.

"Yeah. That seems irresponsible of..." No. He didn't want to sit here and debate Fate's tactics with her personal spokeswoman. He might as well talk to a wall. He just needed to get things sorted out. "Never mind. Look, what is it you need to talk to be about? Let's just get started with that, Ms. Kuhn."

Ms. Kuhn shook her head. "No, it's Ms. Kuna in my human guise. Kunapipi in this form."

Serenity raised her hand dismissively. "Sure, Ms. Kuna. Sorry."

Kunapipi frowned. It still gave Serenity the willies. There was something just wrong about it. "You can just call me Kunapipi. It's my real name."

"I'm sorry, but can you switch to your human body?"

Kunapipi took a step back, "What for?"

"This," Serenity waved her hand up and down in Kunapipi's direction, "this talking kangaroo rat thing is kind of weirding me out."

"I'm a wallaby. Not a kangaroo rat." Kunapipi held her hands out plaintively, just like a human would. It wasn't helping to ease Serenity's discomfort. "You'll get used to it. It's no weirder than..."

Serenity was done adjusting for one day. She didn't want to be polite anymore. She was willing to do it for Eli's sister. She could tell Charity was trying to be helpful. For some reason though, Serenity just didn't have the patience for this... thing’s insisting that Serenity needed to make yet another adjustment, "My entire body just changed on me. I had to save someone's life and throw my own away. I'm terrified to look in a mirror because I don't know who the person looking back will be." She tried to hide it, but Serenity could feel all the pent up pain of the day just coming out. "Don't you think I've got enough 'to get used to' on my plate right now?"

Kunapipi said nothing for a moment before giving a conciliatory nod. "Of course. I apologize." She hopped onto the chair and in a flash a mid-thirties woman with burgundy hair was sitting in the chair. "I find being in a human body uncomfortable and unnatural. I should have been more more accommodating though. It's not like your body situation is that comfortable either."

Serenity gave a sigh of relief. It had felt good to vent some of that pent up anger. "Thank you."

"Well, you've been through a lot today. If I may ask, why did you do it?" Kunapipi fussed with her hair. "Transform, I mean. You sounded rather reticent to do it before."

Serenity shook her head. "I wasn't going to let Eli's sister die. Not when I could do something about it."

Kunapipi gave a proud smile, "That's rather noble of you."

"Just how my Uncle raised me." Serenity bit her bottom lip. How the honey was she going to break this to Uncle Taylor?

"Fate chose well then. You saved her life and maybe this entire war against Platicore. Who knows how the Spirit Guard would react to..."

"Let's not talk about Fate," Serenity interrupted. "She and I aren't on the best terms right now. Can we just get to the task at hand? What needs to happen now?"

Serenity could tell Ms. Kuna wanted to say something about Serenity's relationship with Fate. What was Fate to this woman? Her boss? Her god? Serenity decided she'd stop mentioning Fate in Ms. Kuna's presence to avoid a fight.

Ms. Kuna though, pushed past what she wanted to say and addressed Serenity's question. "Well, I suppose first you should consider powering down, Spirit Guard Serenity. Let us get a look at you when you don't have your disconnection affect active."

Serenity nodded. "Seems like a good place to start." She paused, waiting for instincts to take hold to show her how to power down as her instincts had shown her how to power up. No such inspiration came. "Uh, well, how do I do that exactly?"

Ms. Kuna gave a delighted smile. "Let's actually start by having you sit down?"

Serenity raised an eyebrow but plopped herself into one of the two chairs Ms. Kuna used for students when she was actually counseling. "Is sitting down part of powering down?"

"No, but it's wise to do so for your first few transformations. Right now your body is supernaturally strong, is being guided by the instincts and training of the lithe Shrine Maiden, and boosted by heightened empathokinetic senses. When you power down you have none of these. It's a bit of a crash coming down from that power. Throw in the fact that you will be in a completely foreign body... well, I recommend sitting for this."

"I'm in a completely foreign body right now," Serenity pointed out.

Ms. Kuna nodded, "But right now the instincts of your past life have been brought to the surface by the Spirit Stick. I think it will be very different."

"'I think?' I'm sorry but did you say, 'I think?'" Serenity really didn't like those two words.

Ms. Kuna put up her hands apologetically. "I've been the mentor in a lot of very interesting situations. Never before have I had body metamorphosis, super powers, and past lives rolled all into one. And I've certainly never had a situation where gender flipped itself on a person. I have a lot of experience with this, but at the moment you're getting my highly educated guess. However that is a subject for another time. Would you like to proceed with powering down?"

Serenity tapped on the chair. She hadn't considered how she'd feel without out all this power. It made her slightly nervous. "Yeah. Sure. How do we do this?"

Ms. Kuna stood up and paced behind her desk. "If you're anything like the other girls, the art of powering down involves you letting your unconscious mind know you are no longer in danger. It seems to be a defence the Scholar put into these Spirit Sticks so that you didn't accidently power down the moment you thought you were out of danger. The unconscious mind is much better at sensing these kinds of things."

Serenity closed her eyes and focused, telling herself that the danger had passed. Day LaMode was as dead as a doornail. She had made sure of it. "Did the other girls have trouble with this?"

A wistful tinge overtook Ms. Kuna's voice. "It took Angela a fair bit but that is to be expected as she and I had to figure this out with no previous experience. Mallory took over an hour; her mind just didn't want to let go of that power. She is Tenacity after all. Vivian had no problem; I wonder if her being the Scholar's reincarnation has something to do with it. Charity took a few minutes to not be overwhelmed by anything before..."

Serenity felt the power rush out of her and into her other place; if she remembered correctly, they referred to that place as her Investiture. She gasped as if she had been punched in the gut. Rob felt as weak as a child; her muscles didn't reverberate with untold power, her movements felt slow and clumsy, and in that moment the world felt so much bigger than it had in years.

"Oh wow, you powered down even quicker than Vivian. Then again I guess you are Spirit Guard Serenity."

Rob became aware of new sensations that he had only been tangentially paying attention to before; the Shrine Maiden's instincts had helped make her new body feel normal. Now, without those instincts, Rob was keenly aware of an uncomfortable weight on her chest. Her hips felt too big. All along her back was the odd sensation of hair between her and the cushion of the chair. That sensation was on the seat of the chair too; she was sitting on her hair. "Ugh! All this hair is so annoying!"

"If it helps at all, it at least looks great. Being a scarlette really suits you."

Scarlette. Great. Another made up haircolor. And now she had it. "Well it's annoying. I don't want hair this long." It was no longer covering her eye like it had when she was Spirit Guard Serenity, but it was still infiltrating the edges of her vision. Rob pushed the strands of crimson out of her face and wrestled the locks that she was sitting on out from under her. That just seemed to bunch them unevenly around her waist. She was getting a haircut as soon as possible, that was for sure.

Her jeans felt horribly uncomfortable as well; they were far too tight and the denim material felt much rougher than usual. It took her a moment to realize this was because her legs were hairless now; the denim material was the same texture it always always had been but now she didn't have a layer of hair between them and her skin. So then why were they so tight?

Rob looked down and forgot about the jeans. "Ms. Kuna?" Rob took a deep breath, her chest heaving a bit with it. "Do my... breasts... look as big to me as they do to you?"

Ms. Kuna adjusted her glasses and blushed. "Uh, well... I certainly don't envy you."

Rob scowled. "How carefully worded. Let me be more specific: you don't envy me because they look heavy or you don't envy me because they aren't that big and I'm blowing things out of proportions?"

"You uh... well... you are larger than most." Ms. Kuna's voice affected a positive tone that reminded Rob of a mother trying to calm a child down before taking them in to see the dentist. "But not to a ridiculous degree I should add. Just... quite large."

Rob glared at her chest as if she was accusing it of betrayal. This had been one of her favorite shirts. It had a simple "p+" with a white circle on the chest, the symbol for a proton and just the short phrase "Stay positive" written underneath. The irony of that phrase being displayed across her too-plentiful torso wasn't lost on her.

What was nearly just as bad though was how the shirt seemed to be cut in a babydoll style, hugging her curves more tightly with material that seemed to be thinner and more stretchy. As she examined her legs she realized her jeans were suffering the same problem. She was wearing skinny jeans. That wasn't acceptable. "As if I needed any more bad news. And why are my clothes now fitted to me as if they were a second skin?"

Ms. Kuna again nervously adjusted her glasses. "Well, if I had to guess, I'd say your Spirit Stick simply was trying to help you blend in."

"Blend in? You guess? You are not exactly inspiring a lot of confidence with your tone." Rob was trying to cut down on her sarcasm. She really was. However it was just taking every ounce of control she had to not freak out.

"Maybe I should elaborate." Ms. Kuna put her hands together and took a deep breath. "Have you wondered why the Spirit Guard are cheerleaders?"

Rob held his fingers close together. "Just a little."

"Angela, when she fought her first monster, didn't know what would happen. Frankly, neither did I. I had never dealt with artifacts of the Empathic Empire before. Angela described the feeling her Spirit Stick asking her questions on a subconscious level. The questions came too fast and too, for the lack of a better word, subliminally for her to process everything but one of the questions she distinctly had an impression of was it asking her for an image of something that inspired others, buoyed spirits, and lifted the emotions of large groups of people."

Rob's mouth hung open for a moment. "And her first thought was cheerleaders?"

"She had just been at a football game, in her defense."

"But... cheerleaders?"

"As I said, it was doing all this scanning subconsciously. You can't control the first thought that comes in your head."

"Okay fine," Rob conceded. "Haven't you tried to fix this? And what does this have to do with me wearing skinny jeans right now?"

Ms. Kuna let out another sigh. "We tried to see if we could change the... template you Spirit Guard have but, as I have stated before, I don't have any experience with this type of empathokinetic focus. I had hoped when Felicity came around we'd get somewhere but remembering how to modify these devices doesn't seem to be on her list of things she can do."

"As for why you're wearing skinny jeans," Ms. Kuna continued, "each girl, when they powered down for the first time, found their bodies not quite the same as when they powered up. Angela found her figure improve slightly and her hair went from a more dirty blonde color to her current golden blonde. Mallory gained an inch in height, a cup size, and got more muscle definition, especially in her arms. It certainly helped her volleyball career."

Rob let a sarcastic, "Yippy," escape from his brain out of his mouth. He chastised himself for being childish. She was trying to answer. He had to stop with the sarcastic jabs if he wanted this conversation to get anywhere helpful. "What happened with Vivian and Kara?"

Ms. Kuna paused for a moment. He could see the school councilor side of Ms. Kuna wanting to examine his sarcastic tone. Fortunately, she moved on. "Vivian's hair lengthened to the height you now see; it had been merely to the small of her back. She wasn't happy about it. But on the plus side her vision corrected itself so she no longer had to wear glasses and her skin completely cleared up. She used to have terrible acne."

Rob tried to imagine the cute little Vivian with acne and glasses. Then again, with her personality, he couldn't see those things really keeping her that down. She was a constant ball of energy. "And Kara?"

"Her body changed the least... or maybe the most depending on how you look at it. She gained an inch or so in height but the biggest change was her asthma went away."

Rob folded her arms but nearly immediately unfolded them at the unfamiliar feeling of that slightly squeezing her breasts together. "Great. So everyone else go their situations improved by powering down while I just got screwed by this."

Ms. Kuna seemed to pretend to not notice Rob's brooding. "As to how this relates to your skinny jeans, well, each girl, when they powered down, their clothes shifted to fit their upgrad...updated bodies. It seems your Spirit Stick did the same to your clothes but maybe did something akin to a scan of the surrounding mall to figure out how best to cut the clothes you had on to make you fit in."

Rob stared at the floor. She held her right leg straight, examining her foot. It was still a the same, normal, white and black tennis shoe Rob had walked into the mall wearing. The only difference was that it was so much smaller than she remembered. Her feet were tiny now. "Spectacular. Has it changed my entire wardrobe?"

Ms. Kuna straightened with surprise. "No. How could it do that?"

Rob shrugged. "I don't know. How could it change the clothes I was wearing? I have no idea where the boundaries on this Stick's powers are."

"I..." Ms. Kuna stopped her sentence and seemed to consider Rob's point. "Fair enough, Ms. Dreese."

Rob shivered at hearing a Ms. put before her last name. "Don't call me that."

Ms. Kuna raised an eyebrow. "Why not."

"Just... doesn't feel right." Rob folded her arms again. She didn't like the feeling of slightly squeezing her breasts together but she'd just deal with it. She couldn't go through this ordeal without needing to convey her displeasure. She'd just get used to the awkward feel of boobs getting in the way.

Ms. Kuna nodded. "Maybe we should start there then.."

"Start where?"

"Your name. You can't very well stay Robert Dreese. The Hush Corps. has to make Robert Dreese disappear from school in such a way that no one asks questions. If a mysterious girl with the same name appears at the same time, questions will get asked."

Rob nodded. It made sense. He wasn't going to let himself reject ideas that made sense. "Yeah, okay, so what are you thinking?"

Ms. Kuna reached under her desk and pulled up a keyboard. Rob guessed that's where she normally kept it when she was in wallaby form; she wondered though how she typed without fingers though. "I'm thinking we likely have to change your entire name. Dreese is uncommon enough that even that could raise some flags in admissions. We need to make them think these were two clerical errors that happen to coincide but aren't related."

Rob frowned at that thought. It was his family name after all. "I'm not just dropping my family name."

Ms. Kuna nodded. "I understand your hesitation but... well, sorry, just one second, I'm reading some stuff I just got from the Twins."

"The Twins?"

"Yes, of course the... right, sorry. I forget you haven't met them yet. The Hush Corps. consist of Yukimura Noirko, whom you have met..."

Rob scowled at the mention of that ninja girl. She didn't like people threatening her friends. "Yeah, we met."

Ms. Kuna seemed oblivious to Rob's snarling tone. "The other two are a pair of identical twins named Nicholas and William Siekert. They handle a lot of the technical aspects of keeping your identities a secret and your lives private. Right now Nicholas is looking into your family history to see what all we need to get changed."

"Ah," Rob was frankly a little surprised to hear that anyone involved with the Hush Corps. was male. She had been getting the impression the entire group was an Amazon squad.

"So I know you want to honor your family legacy, so why not just take your mother's maiden name I see here."

"Darling?" Rob asked with a chuckle. "I have this body and you want me to be a Darling? That's just setting myself up, don't you think?"

"You said you didn't want to drop your family name. Staying Dreese raises too many flags with paperwork. I thought this a good compromise."

Rob leaned back in the chair, her too-long hair tugging on her head a bit as she stared at the ceiling. It probably was a fair compromise.

"Realistically," Ms. Kuna added, "it's not like you're going to go around with a jersey on your back that says 'Darling.' No one outside of those who need to know will be using your last name."

"Fair enough. Yeah, okay. Let's go with that."

"And if you want to honor your father, we could make his first name your middle name."

"Sure," Rob casually agreed. "Ellis seems fine as a middle name." She doubted the middle name would matter much.

"Now onto the big question. Your first name."

"Yeah."

"I somehow doubt you want to be Roberta."

"No," Rob snorted. "I don't exactly look Hispanic."

"Didn't think so." Ms. Kuna leaned forward, scanning her screen more intently. "You know, looking over this information, your paternal grandmother was named Robynne. By chance is there a connection between her name and yours?"

Rob sat up. "Grammy was named Robin?"

Ms. Kuna nodded her head towards her monitor. "If 'Grammy' is your paternal grandmother then that's what I'm reading here."

Rob paused and thought about it. "Wow. No, that is her name. I just, well, she was always Grammy to me." The more he thought about it the more he remembered. "In fact, I think I was named after her. My Uncle and I don't ever really talk about Grammy. She died when I was about seven or eight." Rob sighed, remembering why they never talked about her anymore. "She was the last family Uncle and I had left."

Ms. Kuna bit her bottom lip, looking unsure what to say. "So, maybe this is a good way to honor her?"

Rob nodded. "Yeah. Sure. Robin. Seems good enough. Plus, Eli and Cory can just keep calling me Rob without it getting weird for anyone."

"Robynne it is," Ms. Kuna said definitively as she typed into her computer. "So, Robynne..." the woman said Rob's new name with a tinge of excitement that slightly annoyed her. "Maybe we should move onto the topic of lodgings."

Rob winced. "I take it this is where you tell me I don't live with Eli and Cory anymore?"

Ms. Kuna gave an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Robert... I mean Robynne."

Rob rolled her eyes. "You can just call me Rob."

Ms. Kuna shrugged. "I figure I should try to get you used to the name."

"Whatever." Rob slunk deeper into the chair.

"It's a boys only dorm you're currently living in. And even if it were co-ed, I wouldn't recommend staying."

"Why is that?"

"Being a girl, especially one who has your curves, attracts certain attention. If you were in a co-ed dorm a lot of that attention you wouldn't be able to escape. At least in a girls only apartment, you have some privacy you wouldn't have otherwise."

Rob rolled her shoulders and examined the wall. "Do I have any options?"

"Two options. The first would you move into the dorm currently occupied Vivian, Kara, and Noriko. We've manipulated some things to keep Noriko's roommate position open in case the fifth Spirit Guard showed up."

Rob scowled. "Live in the same room as the ninja-girl who threatened my friends at swordpoint? Probably not."

Ms. Kuna put her hands together and pleaded, "Robynne, please don't dismiss these ideas outright. I think Noriko and you would make excellent roommates. You have a lot in common."

"A lot in common?" Rob scoffed. "With a murderous ninja?"

It was Ms. Kuna's turn to scowl. "First of all, she is not murderous. Whatever her clan's policy's back home she is operating under our rules here. She hasn't murdered anyone. She said what she thought she had to in order to get Mr. Drake and Mr. Frost to come along without a fight. She didn't want to hurt them. Second of all, she saved their butts today as they were about to escape into the questioning arms of the police. Without her they would have been questioned, the cops would have figured out they have been at two straight attacks, they would have been cross-examined, and at that point it would mean they get caught in a lie and put in jail, tricked into giving up secrets, or we have to break them out and they can't go on with their normal lives. So in light of those facts, please stop treating her like she's the enemy."

Rob pouted. She hadn't known all that had gone on. It made sense. Of course the cops would have been there. Why didn't she think of that when she sent Eli and Cory away. She had to quit missing obvious stuff. "So why do you think we'd get along as roommates?" Rob asked with a tinge of skepticism.

"For one," Ms. Kuna said with a sigh of relief, "you both seem to be people who want their privacy. I can guarantee she'd not be one to poke into your business. Also, you both are outsiders in the world you're about to join. Her because her clan raised her... different and you because..."

Rob rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. What's option number two?"

"Angela and Mallory. Their apartment, though small, has two bedrooms. One is for a single person and that's Mallory's so you'd be rooming with Angela. It's off-campus housing so, you know, less rules but because it's smaller it's quite cozy. Angela and Mallory really like their neighbors."

Rob bit her bottom lip. "So I'd have to sleep in the same room as Angela?"

"Correct." Rob considered this. Angela was nice. Yet, he had gotten the distinct impression in their conversations that they just didn't "click." She seemed to let the Spirit Guard side of her life rule her thoughts.

On the other hand, she had never threatened her friends' lives. Rob decided he needed a tiebreaker or two. "How's the desk space?"

"I'm sorry. What?" Ms. Kuna obviously didn't expect that question.

"I do a lot of homework and spend a lot of my free time on the computer. So I'm asking how much desk space there is? Like are there two separate desks or something like that?"

Ms. Kuna squinted her eyes. She didn't seem to think this was the most important line of questioning. "Well, I mean, no. The room is small enough that they just have a shared desk space in between the closets."

Rob shook her head. That wasn't good. She had two monitors. If they had to share desk space that would mean she wouldn't have enough space for herself when she was doing homework. "And how about the internet? Do you know what speeds they get there?"

If Ms. Kuna thought the desk question was unimportant, her face told Rob she thought that this question was downright pointless. "No. I don't know what speeds they get. Why does it even matter? Don't you think how you get along with your roommates is the more important question?"

Rob shrugged. Murderous ninja or not, she knew she'd get her own desk and good internet speeds in the girls' dorm. It was in the same complex of dorms she was leaving after all. Plus she'd get to stay close to Eli and Cory. In fact, the more she thought about it, she realized living with Kara and Vivian would give Eli and Cory more excuses to come by. "I do think it's important, but I'd also like to know that my hobbies are still doable. I can't do my hobbies without high-speed internet."

Ms. Kuna leaned one arm on the table and massaged her temple, "What hobbies are you talking about?"

"I play Aspect Realms. I'm a part of one of the best PvP guilds on our server."

"Aspect Realms?" Ms. Kuna clearly had no idea what he was talking about. "PvP? Guilds? I'm sorry Robynne but I have no idea what you're talking about."

"It's a computer game."

"Oh," Ms. Kuna's tone seemed to indicate a lack of approval, not that Rob cared. "I see. Well, I guess you wish to be Noriko's roommate then?"

Rob didn't want the situation to be misread as a desire to live with the ninja-girl. "The way I see it, those dorms are more familiar to me. I'll be closer to Eli and Cory so I can interact with them more often. And, as an added benefit, I don't lose any of the private space I had before."

Ms. Kuna nodded, seemingly happy the conversation was away from Aspect Realms. She picked up her phone and began texting something. "Very well. I'll message Angela and have her move your stuff there."

Rob sat straight up. "Angela is moving my stuff?"

Ms. Kuna smiled. "We didn't want to bother you with moving again given that you just moved in and, no doubt, still need time to adjust to your new body. More accurately though, Angela volunteered to help Mr. Drake and Mr. Frost. They obviously have gone through a lot today as well."

Rob didn't like the sound of this. She felt like her private space was being violated. She didn't like people touching her stuff without her permission.

No. It wasn't right to feel that way. These were friends and teammates; they were trying to help her and give her one less thing to deal with. They were trying to help each other get through the trauma of seeing their friend and sister get beaten and being unable to stop it. Rob needed to recognize that she both needed the help and that her friends needed a distraction like this to help them through their own pain.

"Yeah. That's... awesome of them." Rob really hoped they were careful with her computer. If they dropped her gaming rig the situation of today would become even more awkward. "So what are we doing about classes?"

Ms. Kuna nodded and began typing on her keyboard. "Well, I don't think it wise for us to just place you in the same classes you were. It could..."

Rob waved her hand dismissively, "raise eyebrows. Yeah, yeah. I get it."

"Plus," Ms. Kuna added, "it looked to me like you were taking a rather heavy workload."

Rob shrugged and shifted in the chair, trying to get comfortable. No matter how much she shifted though, her body just didn't feel right. And all this hair tickling the back of her neck and ears and bunching up between her and the seat was still pissing her off. "Yeah, well, I wanted to graduate in four years without summer classes. You gotta load up in engineering majors if that's your goal."

"True," Ms. Kuna agreed, "but Platicore doesn't take summers off. You're likely stuck here during the summers anyway. Why not lighten your load now, when you're having to do a lot of adjusting anyway, and just take a class or two every summer?"

"Yeah, but if I do that I won't get to go home during the summer to see my..." Rob paused, suddenly remembering the topic she had purposefully avoided, "Uncle Taylor."

Ms. Kuna cleared her throat. "Yes. Your Uncle. Perhaps we should address that subject."

Rob nodded grimly. "Yeah. What are we going to do?"

Ms. Kuna stood up and paced behind her desk. "Well, Robynne..." she turned and faced the wall, eyeing a few of her items on the wall, "I've been in this hero business for a while. Experience has taught me nothing can throw a wrench in a plan quite like a parent concerned for their child's safety."

Rob sat up straight, "Wait, you're not seriously suggesting I don't tell him, are you?"

"No," Ms. Kuna assured her, "I'm merely just framing my reluctance to involve any parent in this business. I have seen parents move heaven and earth for their child. Sadly, I have seen a great many lives lost because a parent has decided to get involved to 'protect' their kid. They can cease to behave rationally once all they can think of is their child's peril."

Rob nodded in agreement. She had seen parents do all sorts of crazy things. Given how long Ms. Kuna had supposedly lived, she would have seen even more. "So what are you suggesting?"

"Your Uncle, unlike all the other parents, cannot be convinced everything is normal because, as you well have guessed, your metamorphosis has been too extreme. We can't hide your changed gender." Ms. Kuna sat back down in her chair. "There are is one easy to do this and a multitude of hard ways."

"What's the easy way?"

"I can concoct, for the lack of a better word, a potion that will make your Uncle, if he drinks it, go into an extremely suggestible state where we could convince him your gender change is normal or just a phase or some other such nonsense."

Rob glared. Potions? She suddenly had a very different idea of what it was Ms. Kuna's job was. "I'm not drugging my Uncle."

Ms. Kuna nodded with a sigh. "I figured you'd say that. Besides, the concoction might not even work. If a lie is too big, even my skills can't smooth that over."

"Do you drug people often?" Rob asked with an edge to her voice.

"What? Oh, heavens no. My concoctions are meant to be very last resort, extreme measures types of deals. I haven't used this option for a couple of centuries. It's too heavy handed for my tastes. I just consider your situation extreme enough that it warranted at least asking you if you wanted to consider it yourself."

Rob eased back into her chair. She'd have to watch what she drank around this lady. Who knows what else she could do. "Good. So now what?"

"That leaves us with the hard choices. One option, not one I would recommend but it is an option, is faking your death and just separating."

"No." Uncle Taylor was the only family he had left and vice-versa. Rob would not separate herself from him. "That's not an option."

Ms. Kuna nodded with an expression that made Rob think she approved of that decision, "So that leaves you explaining all this to him."

Rob bit her bottom lip. "Yeah. I don't suppose we could do this over the phone?"

"I wouldn't recommend it," Ms. Kuna advised. "I mean, other than your slight accent you really have no proof anything you said would be true. Plus he'd be having this conversation far away from the Standridge Circle."

Rob raised an eyebrow. "What does the Circle have to do with it?"

Ms. Kuna sighed, "I guess I shouldn't say that. It's just a theory of mine."

"I'm all ears," Rob insisted.

"Well," Ms. Kuna said with a smile, "I guess you might get this. You are, like myself, an outsider to the Kessia City area. I think the Empathic Empire's stone-magic alters perception somewhat."

Rob leaned forward, ignoring how strange it felt to have her shirt stretch across her new assets as she did so. "Go on."

"Everyone here seems to accept monsters and a special team of combat cheerleaders as normal. Even their hair colors, far more vibrant in shades than elsewhere, are seen as normal. In my human form, my burgandy hair normally draws raised eyebrows but here, it just blends in. I find it odd that everyone's inquistiveness seems to be so tempered here on subjects that, I think, directly relate to the Circle."

"Even the Circle itself," Ms. Kuna continued, "draws relatively little academic scholarship. It's every bit as curious as something as ancient as, say, Stonehenge. Yet, very few professors, either inside or outside of Kessia City, seem interested in studying it too closely. It's as if the stones themselves manipulate people into just ignoring what happens here."

"Equaly as curious, people here seem to have much higher empathokinetic potential. And not just the people born here, but the people who move here. You yourself said you felt drawn to this university, correct?"

Rob nodded. "Yeah. It just, well, I mean, my parents went here but, yeah. I felt drawn here."

Ms. Kuna nodded. "I cannot sense empathokinetic potential but you girls can. Mallory travels with the volleyball team and, though her sense isn't as keen, she has said she feels no magical connections when she's further away."

Rob thought it made sense the Empathic Empire would have a device constructed that encouraged others to not examine it too closely. If they were as big into conquering other civilizations as the story of the Princess made it seem, you'd definitely not want your subjects examining your tech that allows you to do so. Yet one thing didn't make sense to Rob, "So how does that cause the hair color stuff?"

Ms. Kuna threw her hands into the air. "That I haven't got a clue on. I think they are connected though. It'd make sense."

Rob nodded in agreement. It did seem related somehow, though she wasn't sure how altering perception would change hair color. "Regardless, you're suggesting getting my uncle here would somehow make him accept this more?" Rob wasn't exactly ready for a face-to-face meeting. What would she say?

"That's my theory." Ms. Kuna snapped her fingers, "I know how we could get him here!"

"Glad to hear it. I had no ideas."

Ms. Kuna typed on her computer some more. "Every year, for the homecoming football game, there is a contest run by one of the local sponsors of the team where people can win tickets to show up for the game. Not just game tickets but plane tickets too."

"Wouldn't that normally be for alums? And how can we guarantee my Uncle wins?"

"Well, how you win is we simply have Noriko rig it somehow. Or maybe the Twins? Not sure. But between the three of them I'm sure they could figure out a way. We get him to come into town and you will have had some time to figure out how you want to approach him."

"The homecomeing game," Rob mused to herself. "When is that again?"

Ms. Kuna hurridly started typing on her keyboard again. "I don't remember exactly. Though I think they start this year with a lot of road games so we might be in, ah, yes here we are. Wow. Really late this year. Week five. So they are playing in the opening game right now..."

Rob knew she should be worried about other things but the fact that she wasn't watching the opening game on the TV really bugged her. "So I have 28 days."

Ms. Kuna nodded, "Yup. 28 days."

Rob bit her bottom lip. "He calls me, you know. Like two or three times a week. What should I do in the meantime?"

Ms. Kuna shrugged. "Say your phone is broken?"

"That excuse will only last so long."

"It just has to last a month."

Rob had her doubts Uncle Taylor would buy it that long. "My uncle is too smart for that. Honey, I think he..." Rob scowled. "Gummi donut! Why the honey can I not swear anymore?"

Ms. Kuna grimaced and steepled her fingers. "Ah. So you've noticed that quirk."

"Quirk? I sound like a fudging moron and you call it a quirk?"

Ms. Kuna sighed, "Honestly, we... don't know what is causing that."

"So this is happening to all the other girls?"

Ms. Kuna nervously tapped her desk. "Yes. Well, I mean, we did not discover this until Mallory. Angela never swears so... yeah."

"What is causing it?" Rob demanded.

"I'm not sure, Robynne. But it does affect all five of you. We don't know if this is some sort of cross-up that happened when Angela's brain got scanned by her Spirit Stick or if maybe this is something instituted by the Scholar. It is something I've been working to try to find a way to remedy."

Rob made sure to give his most incredulous look he could. "Why would the Scholar replace profanity with sweet foods?"

Ms. Kuna took her glasses off and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "A lot of cultures have strange taboos. Some cultures think taking a picture is the work of the devil. Others find burial of the dead to be a punishment meant only for murderers. Others have thought stealing a loaf of bread is deserving of dismemberment. We don't know much about the Empathic Empire's taboos at this point. Maybe swearing in their culture was akin to peeing on someone's grave."

"My gut tells me this is more likely involved with Angela's brain scan," Rob grumbled.

Ms. Kuna groaned. "Even if it was Robynne, there is no way she did this on purpose. Censorship? I could see a way that happens. Confections in their place? Why on earth would she do that on purpose?"

Rob had to agree with her on that point. Even the most stalwart censor wouldn't replace swear words with candy words. It was just goofy. "You said you were working on a solution? You've been at this over a year?"

Ms. Kuna tried to keep a straight face but Rob could tell she hated this question. Whether that was because Ms. Kuna wasn't interested in solving the problem or had put forth considerable effort before and gotten nowhere, Rob wasn't sure. "Yes Robynne. It has proven to be a perplexing issue."

Rob couldn't decide whether he should let this go or not. On one hand, this task really should be low on this woman's priorities list as it had little to do with assisting them in defeating Platicore. On the other hand, it was as annoying as honey to be censored like this. "When was the last time you worked on it?"

Ms. Kuna frowned; Rob figured she wouldn't like one of her wards asking so many questions. "Admittedly a few months. It's not exactly on the top of my to-do list given all that needs to be done. But, for you Robynne, I'll give it another look."

Rob smiled. "Thanks."

"Can we now get to the more pressing topic of what classes you'll be taking?"

Rob pulled some strands of scarlet out from behind her back. Her hair glistened as if it were a river of wine. In the back of her mind, she knew there were girls who would kill for hair like this. Instead this hair and these curves were wasted on someone who had been born a man. Uncle was right; life really wasn't fair. "Yeah. Classes. Lighter load. Let's get started."

---

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Cory kicked the door frame to Rob's new room twice before he crossed the threshhold. Eli groaned. "It wasn't booby trapped the last three times you walked into it. Why would it be booby trapped now?"

Cory rolled his eyes at Eli and spoke in his preachiest tone he could muster. "The ninja girl lives in this room- she is a ninja. As in ninja-ing into a room and booby trapping it in the the short time we went down to Angela's car to get more stuff out is something she could do."

Eli shook his head as he followed his paranoid friend into the room. "But why, pray tell, would she do that since she knows someone has to move Rob in."

"She's a ninja," Cory continued to lecture. "Her ways are unknowable, mysterious, and sharply metallic yet somehow they don't make a 'shink' sound and... uh... we should be on our guard at all times in this place."

Eli put his box down and rubbed his temples. "This was a bad idea."

"What was? Moving Rob?"

"No. Ever becoming friends with you. You've got a screw loose."

"Ha!" Cory snickered. "Don't delude yourself. You need me."

Angela walked into the room with another box and a grin. "You two are so odd. Nothing like what I expected."

Eli could almost swear he saw Cory's ears perk up like a dog's at Angela's last line. "Like what you expected? Pray tell, what did you expect?"

Angela shrugged. "I'm not sure, I suppose. Mallory said that Elijah was more responsible than herself. So that comes to mind."

Eli unboxed Rob's various computer peripherals, knelt down, and began attaching them to Rob's gaming rig. He failed to hide his smirk; knowing that Mallory couldn't help but admit that he was more responsible than her made him happy. "Just call me Eli. Only my family calls me Elijah."

Cory chuckled. "I sometimes call him Elijah just to annoy him. Feel free to do it as well. But more to the point Blondie, what did you expect of me?"

Angela glanced up at the ceiling, racking her brain for an answer, "Please call me Angela, and, sorry, not anything that I can recall specifically."

"What?" Cory asked with the tone of a deflating balloon.

"I mean, I know she's said a thing or two about 'Eli's weird friend,' but I guess I never associated that with you until now." Eli snickered from under Rob's desk; Cory glared at him. "But I guess I just expected less... banter. Your conversations, if I can say this without offending, are really quite odd. You get sidetracked on the most mundane of issues quite easily. And you make mountains out of molehills, though I think you do it more for comedic effect than out of any seriousness."

Eli poked his head out from under Rob's desk. "Yeah. Sadly, that does sound like us."

"The exaggerating for effect is mostly my bit, if I may defend Eli," Cory added. "And in my defence, even you have found it mildly amusing, Blondie."

Angela opened her mouth to protest being called "Blondie" again, but the words didn't come out. Eli figured she couldn't decide if Cory had ignored her request just to bug her or if he hadn't heard.

"Don't take him too seriously," Eli reassured Angela as he finished putting together Rob's computer. "I never do. It's the only way to remain sane around him."

Cory nodded in support, "It is probably best if you follow his advice."

Angela kept silent for a moment before she shrugged with a resigned smile. "So very, very odd. But if Robert can get used to you I'm sure I can too."

Eli grinned and crawled out from under the desk. "Yeah, well... yeah." Eli scanned the room for any other items to set up or pack away. "So we've got his computer stuff set up, bed made, clothes put away--"

"For all the good that will do," Cory scoffed as he pulled another pair of Robert's pants out of its box. "I have a feeling these won't really fit anymore."

Eli shrugged. "Who knows, maybe Robert will be about the same height and some of it will work."

Angela pushed her hair back behind her ear nervously. "Well, not really... Robert's kind of on the short side now. Among other things."

Cory sighed and put the pants back into the box. "Really wish you had mentioned that before I put most of his clothes in drawers."

Eli hadn't even thought about the fact Robert would need a new wardrobe. Where was that money coming from? "Okay, well then, what else is there left in the car then?"

"Nothing," Angela chirped. "I just put away the last bit of Robert's food that we found at your place. We're all done."

"Really?" Eli asked.

Angela nodded. "Yes. Really."

"Huh, guess I'm just surprised." Eli scratched his head and tried to figure out where all of Rob's possessions had gone. "Felt like Rob had more stuff when we started."

Cory shrugged and dusted his hands off. "We spent a lot of time back at our place assembling boxes. Much easier to unpack than pack, I guess."

"So," Angela said, "do you two want to head back to my apartment to check on Mallory?"

Eli perked up at the mention of checking on his sister. "Really?"

Angela raised an eyebrow, "Of course. I mean, you're her brother and her..." she trailed off as she looked at Cory.

"Basically brother," Cory announced.

Eli rolled his eyes, "Don't flatter yourself."

"Whatever. You know your dad totally has some piece of his vast fortune carved out for me in his will."

Angela pushed past the banter, "Elijah, why did you seem surprised that you could come by and see her?"

"I guess..." Eli trailed off as he tried to come up with a tactful way of expressing himself. "I guess at this point we've been left out of the loop for so long, got held at swordpoint by a ninja merely for trying to help our friend out... I guess I'm just trying to say it's weird to suddenly be in the loop."

"Well you have to understand that..." Angela trailed off and held up a single finger, "Wait, did Noriko actually hold you at swordpoint?"

"Well, not technically," Eli admitted, "but she did brandish it and make it very apparent that..." A blue light flashed in the living room.

"Hey!" Cory yelled with excitement, "we've got company!" Cory rushed past Angela and practically knocked her down.

Angela steadied herself along the wall as Eli walked past her. "He's rather excitable."

Eli shrugged. "Teleport rocks are kind of cool." Eli ran his finger along the wall as he walked out of the room. The girls' dorm's walls were smooth drywall as opposed to the rough brick of the boys' dorms. It figured that they'd remodel the girls' dorms first.

Eli expected Vivian to walk through the stone. She had stated that she was getting "feminine care products" for Rob, after all. The woman who came through the portal instead had his friend's jaw nearly on the floor.

She was a short scarlette with waves of red cascading hair that ended just past her curvaceous ass. The scarlette was nearly as short as Vivian, yet she had a figure that could have rivaled any of the girls pictured on Eli's Invokers cards. Girls weren't supposed to be that hot in real life unless they were super models or something. Her waist was so tiny that Eli swore an appetizer tray might have a bigger circumference. And her chest was...

This was Rob; Eli made eye contact and knew in an instant that this short, stacked scarlette was Rob. The eyes were different to be sure: Rob's eyes had been blue... or maybe a greenish-blue. Eli really had never paid attention to the exact color of Rob's eyes, but this hottie, despite having a deep, inviting shade of green, had the same firm, piercing, always-observing gaze that Rob did.

This stone-cold fox that Eli had instinctually been checking out was his friend. The guilt he had been pushing pushing bubbled up to the pit of his stomach. What had he gotten Rob into?

* - * - *

Rob tried to hide the stab of betrayal she felt. It was to be expected, of course. Fate had cursed Rob with a body most women would diet, exercise, and possibly kill for. Cory's and Eli's eyes did what any healthy, heterosexual male's eyes would do when encountering such a specimen. They examined it; they drank in her curves with a quick but noticeable glance. It was completely normal for guys to do that to a girl they had just met. Perfectly normal.

So why did Rob feel like someone had just stabbed her in the back?

Rob let go of the decorative rock and the glow disappeared. Angela appeared from one of the bedrooms, stopped, and gave Rob an appraising glance. Rob had seen girls give each other the once over before. Maybe it had been sexist of her to think it, but Rob always thought girls couldn't help but compare themselves to one another. Despite the fact that Angela had seen Rob as Spirit Guard Serenity, the blonde seemed surprised by the girl in front of her. Did the disconnection effect extend somewhat to the Spirit Guards themselves? And was that a hint of jealousy in her eyes?

Rob was thankful that Cory finally broke the awkward silence. "Wow... Rob... uh... you're really short now."

Rob decided she wasn't that thankful Cory broke up the silence. "Yeah... it's really weird looking up at everyone."

Eli cleared his throat. His eyes, once more, were full of guilt. "You're a scarlette too. Guess it figures you end up with one of the hair colors native to here, huh?"

Eli had to stop feeling guilty over this. None of it was his fault; the blame rested at the feet of Fate... and maybe the Shrine Maiden if she botched this reincarnation thing. Either way, Rob needed to put Eli at ease and let him know she didn't blame him. If she could just get her friends to act naturally around her, and they no longer checked her out like she was some... babe, maybe she could have a shred of normalcy "Yeah, well, my mom was a redhead. I guess maybe... I don't know. I guess the shrine priestess emotion black magic brought this out, maybe?"

Angela tapped her cheek. "I don't remember my dreams perfectly, but I think maybe the Shrine Maiden's hair was this color too."

Past life talk. So much for normalcy. "Of course it was." No. This conversation wasn't relieving the tension. She had to change the subject away from the insanity of changing genders and past lives. "Mallory is going to be okay. I mean, she wasn't doing well, but Kara was able to do some light show with her hands, and... it was really cool to see how she healed her up."

That brought a small smile to Eli's face. "Yeah, Kara told us a little bit before zonking out."

Rob raised an eyebrow. "Zonking out?"

Cory's impish grin returned. "Yeah!" He pointed to the couch in the corner of the room. A short bluenette was curled up with a blanket over her, sleeping peacefully. Short? Rob had to remind herself Kara was now taller than she was. "She came in, said, like, maybe five sentences, then was out like a spent light bulb."

Rob nodded, remembering how tired Spirit Guard Charity had been powered up. Sounded like she hadn't been exaggerating how drained she'd feel when powered down. "Wow. Just like that, huh?"

Cory nodded and huddled over Kara's sleeping body. "Yeah. Check this out." Cory started clapping over her ear and whistling, "Hey sleeping beauty. Wakey wakey. Hey! Can you heeeear me?" Kara didn't twitch a muscle.

Eli and Angela both gave disapproving scowls. "Would you quit being obnoxious and let her sleep?" Eli grunted.

"It really is quite unnecessary and sort of disrespectful of the effort she just put forth to heal Mallory," Angela added.

Cory gave Rob a plaintive pout, "C'mon! It's like she's in a coma! That's amazing! I wish I could sleep like that."

Rob shook her head but couldn't help but grin a little. "Let her sleep. I need her later tomorrow."

Angela raised an eyebrow. "What will you need her for tomorrow?"

Rob sighed and pushed some stray strands of crimson out of her face. Her hair wasn't as obnoxious powered down as it was powered up; it wasn't like the hairs were actively trying to get into her vision's way. Yet her hair was entirely too long and inconvenient. Why a girl would ever want hair this length was beyond Rob. "Ms. Kuna suggested I take her with me tomorrow to... get a wardrobe together."

"Oh," Angela said with a bit of disappointment. "Well, if she's not feeling up to it tomorrow, I'd be happy to help."

It dawned on Rob that Angela was feeling excluded. Odd that amongst all the chaos of the situation that Angela would feel isolated over something as simple as skipping a shopping trip. Rob knew being forced into shopping for women's clothing would make herself especially surly, and she doubted Angela would be the best person to be around while her sarcasm was on full blast. "Ms. Kuna figured you'd be busy enough tomorrow caring for Mal. I mean, with as stubborn as she seems to be, we'll need someone to be watching over her at all times to make sure she doesn't try to overdo it and rips out her stitches... well, not stitches since Charity used empathokinesis to put her back together, but... someone should be watching her."

Angela squinted and considered Rob's words. "Oh. That's a good point." Angela nodded her head and gave a small chuckle. "That would be just like her."

Eli nodded with his own slight grin. "Yeah. I once saw her play nearly an entire game on a high ankle sprain. Just gutted right through it. She isn't the best at taking care of herself after an injury." Eli nodded and turned to Angela. "If you need someone to tag out with while she's bedridden, let me know. She's my sister after all."

"Thanks, Elijah. I know your sister will appreciate that, and I know I'll appreciate some help."

Rob gave a sigh of relief. If she had to go shopping for clothes for her new body, Rob didn't want a lot of people getting involved. It was humiliating enough without a bunch of people offering their opinions. Plus, Rob felt Kara would be the most understanding; her title was Spirit Guard Charity after all.

Rob felt her stomach gurgle; she hadn't eaten a thing since the fight. Everyone else seemed to notice the sound too. Angela giggled and pointed to the fridge. "We moved all your food from your old place here, and Vivian brought some Chinese food for us. There is still a bit left if you'd like me to warm it up for you."

"Speaking of Vivian," Cory sighed, "I think we should give you fair warning that she hurried off to get something else for you."

Rob didn't like the tone in Cory's voice. "What kind of something else?"

Cory and Eli exchanged nervous glances. "Well, she said she was getting you some," Eli made finger quotation marks in the air, "feminine care products."

Rob winced. That wasn't what she wanted to hear. Feminine hygiene was a topic Rob had planned to put off as long as possible. Vivian didn't seem the type who would let Rob just ignore the issue. "Well that's just peachy."

Angela didn't seem to want to talk about feminine care products any more than the boys or Rob, "So, did you want me to heat up that food for you?"

Food sounded great, but Rob felt drained mentally. Between the fighting, rescuing, conversations, cover-ups, and awkward socializing, Rob just wanted to be alone, eat something unhealthy, and play some Aspect Realms. "You know, thanks Angela, but I just kind of need to be alone for a bit. I'll heat it up myself."

Angela leaned forward, locking her eyes with Rob. "You sure, Robert? I don't know if it's the best time for you to be alone. It's a lot to take in and..."

Rob waved her off. "No. I'm sure. I just, well, I don't recharge well with others around me. I just... I just need some time to myself to try and process all of this, you know?"

Angela nodded, seemingly placated by that answer. "Well, if you insist then. But if you need anything, and I mean anything, don't hesitate to give me a call. I can use the stones to be over in a few seconds if you need anything, Robert."

Robert. It felt weird to be called Robert with the world feeling so much bigger and so many red strands periodically invading her vision. "Oh, just a heads up, we worked on my cover some, and Ms. Kuna and I decided Robert probably isn't a good name for me to keep."

Cory and Eli stood up straight at that news. "Really?" Cory asked. "You got a new name and all?"

Eli's guilt returned to his face. "Makes sense, but if you're not Robert Dreese, then who are you?" Rob would have to find a way to cure Eli his guilt. It made Rob feel guilty too. Emotions made no sense.

"Decided to keep it simple. I'm Robin Darling now." Cory's and Eli's eyebrows furrowed and Rob could tell what they were thinking. "Darling was my mom's maiden name. I didn't want to stray too far from family. Robin was my grandma's name. It's close enough that it shouldn't bug me, I think."

Eli scratched the back of his head and spoke with a careful tone, as if he was dipping his toe in a pool to check its temperature, "So... do you want us to call you Robyn now?"

Rob shrugged and tried to make it look like she didn't care. "Whatever you want. I don't think it'll be too weird for you two to call me Rob for short."

Angela put her hands behind her back nervously, masking her unease with a helpful tone, "So do you want all of us to just call you Rob, Robert?"

Rob bit her thumb nail as she considered the question. "Maybe? I mean, I guess I should get used to the new name. I suppose, for now, you girls should call me Robin. You know, to adjust... or... something."

Angela nodded and visibly relaxed some. "Okay then. Robynn it is."

"I've gotta ask," Cory interjected, "You're not worried about the last name Darling at all? It's sort, you know, comic book-y. You know, attractive girl with a last name of Darling." Rob was glad Cory had used comic books as the example and not something more crass.

Rob shrugged again. "I mean, yeah, it's a bit girly, but I've known a few athletes with it. It can't be that bad. Plus, it's part of my family. I'd like my name to have some tie back to my parents. Besides, how often is my last name going to come up?"

Angela started counting on her fingers. "Well, every time you fill out a form, introducing yourself, dealing with TA's, teachers in small classes handing back papers, Spacelook profiles..."

Rob waved her off. "Okay. Okay. Yeah, a lot but not in any embarrassing way. And I don't do Spacelook anyway but, yeah. Okay. I get your point. A girl at my high school had the last name Titterington and another had the last name Bootie. They didn't have the best time, but we're in college now. How many people walking down the street will know my last name?"

Cory stuck his tongue out. "Titterington? Seriously?"

Rob nodded with a smirk. "Yeah. Middle school wasn't fun for her." She was at least proud to say that the teasing never came from Rob's direction.

"I'll bet," Eli concurred. "So then, name is different. Anything else we need to know about your cover story?"

Rob rubbed her eyes. She was getting tired of having to answer questions. She just wanted to have some time to herself. "Just that I was late arriving to school because I had to help my Uncle finish the harvest, and you met me because you two know Kara and Vivian and I'm their roommate. We then hit it off as friends."

Angela stood up straight. "Your Uncle owns a farm?"

"Not exactly," Rob snorted. "He does have a garden with corn in it, but Ms. Kuna thinks with my accent people might buy it if they got curious. Plus, farming is a boring topic, and I probably won't get asked too much about it."

Cory grinned wickedly. Eli tensed up. "Whatever you're about to say, don't."

Cory tried to hold in a chuckle and sound innocent. "What? I was just going to say the key to this corn farming story is its 'kernel' of truth."

Rob didn't want to dignify Cory’s terrible pun with a laugh. She really didn't. Had Angela herself not allowed a short, yet guilty, giggle to escape, Rob was confident she could have resisted. But Angela did giggle, and Rob, despite herself, started to laugh.

Rob knew what her laugh sounded like, but the sound that came out of her mouth wasn't Rob's laugh. It was high pitched, nasally, and had a staccato rhythm. Then again, Rob's laugh had always been somewhat high pitched and nasally with a staccato rhythm. His uncle had always called it the "baby walrus laugh." Not that Uncle Taylor had any clue what a baby walrus sounded like. It was just what Uncle called the laugh.

But this laugh was even higher pitched. The nasally sound was accented with a slightly sweet drawl. The staccato rhythm was even more pronounced. It wasn't Robert's baby walrus laugh. It wasn't even a laugh. It was a giggle.

That's why Rob realized it sounded so wrong. Guys could giggle as much as girls could, but Rob's old laugh had definitely been a laugh. This was unmistakably, undeniably, definitely a girl's giggle though.

To add insult to injury, Rob's giggle mixed with Angela's giggle accentuated how girly this giggle was. Both of them had tried to hold their giggles back to avoid giving Cory the satisfaction his horrendous pun didn't deserve. The pair sounded like cheerleaders stifling chortles as they walked down the high school's hallway and talked about which football player was the cutest.

But of course it sounded like a pair of teenaged girls' giggling. That's what Rob was now. A teenaged girl. Pompoms, skirts, twangy accent, new name, long hair, new dorm, shortness, tight clothes, breasts... all these things had hammered away at the point that Rob's life would never be the same. Yet for some reason, at that moment, hearing her own, brand new cheerleader giggle was the strike that finally drove the nail in his masculinity.

Robin would never hear the baby walrus laugh again. It had been as much a part of Rob's identity as his face. That was gone. Forever.

Eli shook his head and buried his face in his hands. "Awful. That one was just awful."

"Come on," Cory pleaded. "Admit it! That one was good. Even Blondie laughed at it!"

Angela tried to push her smile down, but her face betrayed her. "Wait a minute! What does that mean?" They all laughed, unaware of Robin's sudden existential crisis.

Had Robin felt anything close to normal, she would have participated in the back-and-forth. But she didn't feel normal. Surrounded by smiling friends, Robin felt as cold and lonely as an iceberg drifting at sea. She had to get away from everyone. Robin needed to think. She couldn't get emotional. Not in front of Eli. That'd make him feel guilty. She didn't want that.

Fortunately, Robin was still smiling from the giggle. She tried to freeze that expression on her face. "Okay. Yeah. That was bad. Thanks Cory." Then she lied. "I needed that."

Cory smiled. "Always here to help."

Eli opened his mouth to protest but Robin pressed forward and kept her frozen smile on. "Thanks again for moving my stuff, guys. I appreciate it."

Eli squinted. Could he see through her act? "I... yeah, no problem, Rob."

"It was our pleasure," Angela affirmed.

"Look," Robin let the smile fade slightly, "it's been a long day and I'm famished. I need to eat something." Robin walked over to the kitchen, trying to ignore how weird it felt to walk with her much shorter legs. She hoped to get used to them soon. "I also need to sort some things out. Thanks for all the help again, but I just need some time to myself. To think."

Robin pretended to not notice, but she could see Cory, Eli, and Angela exchange confused and worried glances. Cory cleared his throat. "Yeah. Sure. We can do that."

Eli stepped forward. "You sure, Rob? I mean..." Eli trailed off, the guilt filling his eyes once more.

Angela stepped in. "We'll clear out if you need us to, Robe... I mean, Robyn. But are you sure that's wise? I mean, when times are hard I find the company of others to be..."

Robin turned away from the three of them and opened the fridge. She didn't want to make eye contact with Eli at the moment. "Yeah. I'm sure." She tried to project more confidence than she felt. "I just need some me time. Haven't gotten any today."

Robin found the leftover chinese food in some tupperware. The girls' fridge... her fridge was much cleaner than the one at the boys' dorm. It also had more food. Eli had mentioned that Kara liked to cook stuff and even shared some food with him. At least there was one silver lining to having to change roommates.

"They keep their plates two cupboards over," Angela said.

"Thanks." Robin opened the cupboard keeping her eyes away from them.

Silence hung in the air while Robin spilled the contents of the tupperware onto a plate. Angela's sigh broke the silence, and she heard her shuffle away. A few soft taps to the beat of Lyric Victory's "You're My Life" preceded the flash of a soft blue light in the corner of the living room. "If you need anything Robyn, please don't hesitate... I'm just a short teleport away, you know."

Robin nodded without looking back. "Thanks, Ang. I won't forget." She could feel her eyes beginning to well up. Stupid emotions. Robin was usually so much better and controlling stuff like this.

The glow disappeared, and she wiped her eyes with her thumb and index finger as she attempted to feign simple fatigue. She finally chanced a glanced in Cory's and Eli's direction. Both wore expressions of concern. Robin tried to change the subject. "You know, she probably would have let you two go through the rock with her. I mean, if you're going to go see your sister, why not do it in style?"

Cory gave a casual nod. "That would be pretty snazzy." He was much better at faking this stuff than Eli was.

Eli didn't seem interested in faking anything though. "You sure about this, Rob? Like, really sure?" Gummi donut. Why did Eli have to make this hard?

Robin fired up the microwave. "Maybe not," she admitted. "But I know that I feel like being alone." Robin composed herself and risked eye contact with Eli. "I'll be fine. Seriously. I killed a monster today. I think I can handle a little dinner by myself."

Eli pursed his lips and met her gaze for a few seconds. After what felt like an eternity, he nodded his head and looked down. "If you say so. Okay. Just remember, even though you may be in Butterworth Hall now," Eli pointed out the window towards the field in between all the dorms, "Burton Hall is just across the field. And we don't care where you're sleeping. Cory and I still consider it your place as much as this one. Come over whenever."

"Or just give us a call, and we'll be over," Cory added. "I mean, thanks to Captain Casanova here, my GameStation is already here. Gives us an excuse to play it and visit, right?"

Robin smiled. She still felt cold, but at least she didn't feel abandoned. "Thanks guys. I won't forget." She turned back to her food spinning in the microwave.

Her friends seemed to take that as their cue to leave. They pattered and thumped their way to the door. It squeaked open, and Robin winced at how shrill it sounded. She'd need to fix that. The door hung open for a few seconds. "Remember," Eli said, "call us if you need anything."

"Anything," Cory echoed.

"I will." Robin didn't turn around. A few moments passed before the door squeaked shut.

Robin stood in the kitchen with only the dull hum of a microwave and the faint, spiced aroma of Chinese food as her company. She hunted around for utensils and a paper towel. The microwave dinged right as she found the utensil drawer. A few short moments later, she stood at the living room window sating her grumbling stomach.

She watched Eli and Cory trudge across the field towards Burton Hall. The setting sun cast a long shadow across the field. Sunset? Just how long had sorting through her new life with the animal-woman taken? And why were the blinds open anyway? Sure the teleport stone was out of view of the window but wouldn't occasional flashes of light attract attention?

As she watched them walk, neither Cory nor Eli were talking. Their postures were that of tired men. Sure, her day had sucked the worst, but it wasn't like it had been kind to them. They had nearly been drained by monsters. They had nearly lost Mallory. They had, in some ways, lost their roommate. Sober thoughts like that had a tendency to stress anyone out.

It was just stupid. It was all so stupid. Monsters, questions, and rules kicked her from where she wanted to be. The genesis of Robin's new life would begin here in Butterworth Hall, room two-eighteen. Thanks to the efforts of her friends and Angela, her stuff was here, but this wasn't her home. She should have been walking with Eli and Cory. Instead, Robin was watching the long shadow of night reach over campus from a foreign window angry and alone.

Kara snored from the couch. Robin jumped slightly, having forgotten the bluenette was in the room. Kara snored again. Could Kara, through her slumber, sense Robin's melancholy? Their powers worked on an emotion-based system. Did it work when you slept? Was Kara such a giving soul she could feel the need to reassure Robin even in her sleep?

Probably not. The odds were much more likely that Kara had simply snored, as many people do, in her sleep, and it just so happened to correlate with Robin's feelings of loneliness. Reality was made of matter, energy, cause, and effect. It was a dangerous path to start ascribing mystical causes to every coincidence that happened in her life. If she began doing that, who knew what else she might begin to expect?

Robin shut the blinds. Staring at Eli and Cory didn't improve her mood, but she knew something that would. She marched into the room she had seen Eli and Angela emerge from figuring it was where they moved her stuff. When she rounded the corner, she found her bed, desk, posters, and pennants arranged just as they had been in Burton Hall. If it hadn't been for the pastel yellow paint, Robin would have thought she had stepped back into her old room. She smiled, happy to have this little slice of familiarity.

Robin casually flipped the door shut behind her. Kara may have been asleep, but she wanted to be completely alone and that, in her mind, required a shut door. Robin took a step forward and was rewarded with the sensation of something yanking her head backwards.

"Sugar!" Robin steadied herself and turned around to find her all-too-long hair had been caught in the door. "Rrrg!" Robin retreated back to the door, opened it, and extricated her crimson locks from its clutches. Suddenly unconcerned with the napping Kara, Robin slammed the door shut. "I hate this hair!" She was going in for a haircut first thing tomorrow.

With a huff, Robin stormed over to her desk, leaned over, and powered up her computer. She inspected her monitors and peripherals; everything turned on as it should have. Robin sighed; she was grateful Eli and Cory had managed to reassemble her rig correctly.

As her computer booted up, Robin surveyed the half of her room that belonged to her new roommate: Yukimura Noriko, the ninja girl. Just thinking about her left a sour taste in Robin’s mouth. Ms. Kuna's claims of her not being murderous did little to dissuade Robin from disliking her, but, in the end, Robin would have rather roomed with her for better internet and privacy than share a room with the supportive but potentially intrusive Angela. That didn't exactly speak highly of Robin's priorities or taste in people.

Noriko's side of the room had nearly zero personality. Her bed had a single white pillow with plain black sheets that were folded so tightly Robin would have sworn an army grunt had made it to pass the drill sergeant's inspection. Her desk was so clean you could have used it for an operating table. The only thing the desk had on it were a few textbooks, a simple laptop, and a polished black stone the size of a tangerine. Robin was tempted to pick up the rock and examine it, but decided against it; if Robin expected privacy from her sword-wielding roommate, then Robin needed to give her the same.

Most girls Robin knew had a collection of photos pasted to their wall with pictures of their friends, family, and a sea of smiles that let the world know how fun their life was. Noriko had no pictures or posters on her wall. The only thing breaking up the soft yellow paint of the room was a single black and white painting that depicted some sort of mountain scene. The style of art looked Japanese. A few japanese symbols adorned the side of the painting. A momento from home, maybe?

Robin shook her head and decided to leave that mystery for another day. Still, it mystified Robin that Noriko would have so few things to personalize her space. She had figured a ninja would at least have a cool display of weapons or something. At this point, if Robin had told someone she still didn't have a roommate, some people might believe her.

Robin turned back to her comparatively ostentatious side of the room. She thought about how odd she thought it was that Noriko had no photos like other girls did. Would other people find it odd that Robin had no photos? Whatever. It wasn't like she was hosting parties, and heavens knew she wasn't taking any boys back here. The question wouldn't likely ever come up.

She typed in her password and logged into her computer. Out of habit she opened up Aspect Realms and signed into the Mayhem Templar's GuildTalk channel. A couple of rounds of PvP would be a great way to get her mind off of... well, everything. In fact, if she remembered correctly, Bluster was only seven more wins away from being able to afford the Battletested upgrade for her off-hand--

GuildTalk flashed and the voice of Tantrall, the best healer in Mayhem Templars, filled her speakers. "Heya Bluster. How goes it tonight?"

Robin grinned. Tantrall had been in the guild long before she even joined. He was one of the few who was around Robin's age. Almost everyone else was older. They had seen many a digital battlefield together, were about the same age, and more than once vented about crap in their lives to each other. Robin had never talked to Uncle Taylor much about his friendships with his guildmates; he would have found it odd that Rob considered them friends. Rob had, after all, never met them. But when you shared battles, laughed at one anothers' jokes, and complained about girl problems night after night you didn't need to see someone to become their friend.

Robin pulled her headset on and lowered her mic to greet Tantrall. Her mouth opened, but no words came out. What was she thinking? She couldn't talk to her guildies. What would they think if they heard some chick talking on Bluster's mic? They'd ask questions. Questions that had no good answers. Monsters, rules, and questions. They were now even ruining her hobbies!

She took off her headset and rubbed her eyes. There had to be a solution. Fake a bad mic and just keep playing? Sure, that would remove the fun part of being in a guild but at least she could play, right? But the entire reason she had joined the Mayem Templar had been because they were a good PvP guild with a GuildTalk channel. The conversing had been the entire point.

Maybe she could get a character name change and just join as a supposedly new guildie? But then she'd be starting over and... and she'd be the first girl in the guild since ColderTurkey joined a year and a half ago. Turkey left the guild within two months. It hadn't been anything big as far as Rob had been able to tell. Just a lot of little things. Poor jokes that were tasteless. Comments about her gender. Picture requests. Well meaning individuals that acted like she needed protection. A few jerks who'd stay idiotic sexual stuff to her and then get their hands slapped by the guildmaster. And then there were the dudes who wouldn't normally say a single word in GuildTalk who suddenly got very chatty when she was around who seemed dead set on becoming her best friend.

When she left, she kept the drama to a minimum but had talked about how she always felt like an outsider to the boys' club that was the guild. Rob had always felt she integrated fine, but the sausage fest and little things just added up to her feeling isolated. If Robin attempted a name change on Bluster and tried to rejoin as a girl, would she have to deal with guildies making stupid comments? Would she get overly interested lonely guys chatting her up? Would she get asked for pics? Would she...

"Bluster? Can you hear me? I'm not hearing anything on your end?" Robin winced. She could figure out a long term plan later. For now, she realized, Aspect Realms wouldn't be a chance for her to just hang out with friends the way it used to be. She quickly typed a hurried excuse about having mic problems then logged off.

What was she going to do? She hadn't realized until now how much she used the Mayhem Templar's chat to just shoot the sugar with fellow gamers and relieve stress. How much frustration had Rob vented across GuildTalk? With her frustration level going through the roof, she needed someone she could just...

Her phone rang. It was a classic rock tune. She knew exactly who was calling. Dread overtook her. Uncle Taylor was calling. She knew she had to let it ring and go to voicemail. It'd only be a month's time, and then she could then explain everything to him in person. Ms. Kuna had said that getting him close to the Standridge Stones would make him more likely to believe this story. Her logic was sound. That was what "had to happen."

But at that moment, Robin didn't give a rat's angelcake about what "had to happen." She needed to talk to the only person who had been there for her throughout her life. She couldn't go on with this charade. She needed Uncle Taylor's help.

Robin tried to fish the phone out of her pockets. The skinny jeans' pockets were far too small. Any normal girl Robin's age would be wearing these style of jeans for how they look. Girls didn't put anything in their way-too-small pockets because they had purses. But the transformation had left Rob's phone in Robin's resized pocket, and now she had to hurry to get to the phone before it rolled to voicemail.

With a frustrated grunt, Robin stood up and yanked the phone free from its denim prison. Her finger hovered over the answer button. She wanted to hit it so badly. Why was she hesitating?

A few more seconds passed. It rolled to voicemail. She collapsed back into her chair. She had let it roll to voice mail. She couldn't answer. She wanted to answer, but Robin knew she couldn't answer. She could probably get him to believe her if he'd listen; she knew things that only Robert could know after all, but there was a chance Uncle Taylor might not believe her story. And the thought of him not believing her... it would break her fraying composure.

The phone beeped and notified Robin that her Uncle's voicemail was available. Against her better judgement, she hit play:

"Heya Robert. Jist callin' to find out how that project you were stressin'bout with them girls went. Call me back when ya git a chance. Real lonely here without ya. Love ya. Bye."

Robin placed her phone on the desk. Uncle Taylor missed her... him... whatever. She didn't care about pronouns at this point. He was lonely. She was lonely. Both of them wanted nothing more than to just talk and she couldn't do a donut thing.

He was just checking on her. He wanted to see how she was doing. To offer advice. And to just hear Robert's voice. To have contact with the last family he had. Why hadn't she just listened to him and found a closer college? Why did she have to insist on going somewhere halfway across the country? Because she wanted to get away? Because Mom and Dad met here? What had she been thinking?

Had she just listened to Uncle Taylor, they'd still be together. Neither would be lonely. And Robin would have never had to do this. She would have never moved in with Cory and Eli. She never would have walked into that stupid arcade. She never would have had to deal with fudging monsters and cheerleaders. She should have just listened to him, and she could still be Robert and be free to talk to the only person she truly loved.

Robin couldn't remember the last time she cried. As her eyes welled up, she couldn't think of a time she had cried since her Grammy had died. She was seven or eight back then, but that couldn't have been right. That had been over ten years ago.

As the tears welled up, Robin wondered if the fact she hadn't cried in ten years meant she was uncommonly composed or dead inside. Normal people cried from time to time. She wasn't normal. She was a gender-flipped super cheerleader sharing a room with a homicidal ninja and couldn't even talk to her loved ones without being terrified what might happen.

Robin pushed her keyboard aside and quit fighting the tidal wave of emotion. She wallowed in her forsakenness and sobbed. What the honey was she going to do? Eli and Cory were just as confused as she was. Ms. Kuna was worthless. The other Spirit Guard had no idea what she was going through. Uncle Taylor would be the only person who got her and understood her, but she couldn't say a fudging word to him.

Robin hadn't been a girl for even half of a day, and she was already bawling like a baby. How the honey was she going to last a month without Uncle Taylor? Her sobbing deepened as her heart sank under the weight of her isolation. One month had never seemed so impossibly far away.

* - * - *

Cory kicked the door open to Burton Hall's entrance. Eli rolled his eyes. He never understood why, his friend felt the need to visibly demonstrate his anger. It was childish. The door, predictably, slammed into the adjacent wall. Cory grimaced and gave Eli a sheepish glance. Eli shook his head. "It leave a dent, moron?"

Cory examined the spot it hit. "There's a dent here, but... I think it was there before. This building has been up for a few decades, after all."

"Smooth." Eli shuffled past Cory in a huff.

"What's your problem?"

"Why do you need to show the world how pissed you are when crap like this happens?" Eli huffed. "You always start banging doors open and stomping around."

"Do not," Cory protested. Eli response was a flat, incredulous stare. "Okay, so maybe I do a little. I just... this bites."

Eli shrugged. "It really does." He glanced around the Burton Hall commons area. There wasn't much going on: just a few guys and girls chatting around the pool table and lounging on couches. Eli doubted they could hear the pair's conversation, but there were eyes on them after Cory's demonstrative entrance. "But maybe we should talk about this elsewhere."

Cory looked around and realized what Eli was hinting at. Cory nodded and followed Eli through the door to the stairwell. "Hate that we have to talk about all this in secret. I feel like we're drug dealers or something."

"Yeah," Eli agreed. "I still can't believe that... this... is happening." Eli paused as the stairwell door closed to be sure that he couldn't hear anyone else's footsteps. "I mean... Rob."

"Yeah."

"Cheerleader warrior."

"I know."

"And my sister too! And the girls we have the hots for."

"It's kind of nutty."

Eli ran his hand through his short brown hair. "She was this close to dying, Cory." Eli swallowed down the huge lump in his throat. "I mean, I almost lost her."

Cory put his hand on Eli's shoulder. "But she didn't."

Eli leaned back and let gravity sit him down on one of the stairs. The steps were cold cement slabs with chips pocking the surface. The Burton building would be one of the last of the dorms on this side of campus to be renovated. The building was really showing the wear and tear of the years."Yeah. Only because of Rob. Nothing we did."

Cory followed Eli's lead and found a seat against the wall. "The way I see it," Cory started, "our job was to become Rob's friend."

"Job?"

"I mean," Cory lifted his hands in the air as if weighing his words, "you think about all this Fate stuff they talk about. I don't know about all of it but, I mean, come on. It's more than a little convenient that Rob happened to room with the guys who were related to one member of the Spirit Guard and had some form of contact with the others."

"I guess," Eli muttered as he rested his chin on his knees.

"I mean, let's say everything unfolds as normal, but Rob has no idea who we are. Does he ever go to Loose Change? Or the mall? Spirit Guard might have died without him."

Eli snorted. "Counterpoint: Rob would have never woken up psycho-mannequin. Spirit Guard find her and don't start the battle on unfavorable ground. We have no clue what would have happened. Your theory makes us sound more like the omen that preceded Rob's damnable bad luck."

"Maybe," Cory capitulated, "but all this Fate stuff? I don't know. Rob was feeling off on the walk to Loose Change. More of that emotion magic stuff. I think Rob would have sniffed his way into trouble with or without us. He's far too curious, and we've already seen that his self-preservation instincts suck."

Eli gave a begrudged chuckle. "Yeah. The idiot keeps running towards the danger."

Cory shrugged, "Though we ended up following his lead both times."

"Yeah. Guess we're not that bright either."

Cory rested his head against the wall and looked up the stairway. "No. We're not. But, I guess my point is, I think Rob would have found his way to the danger with or without us. So why put Rob with us?"

Eli leaned back, "we're assuming Fate took an active hand in this?"

"That's the assumption."

"How would she have done that? Did Fate herself go into the room assignments for Burton Hall and..."

Cory waved him off, "Look, I don't pretend to know how all this stuff is supposed to work. I'm just saying if Fate is using all this power to get Rob here, she obviously wanted Rob to meet the Spirit Guard before actually getting his skirt on."

Eli wretched, "Ugh. How much money do I have to give you to make sure you never say 'get his skirt on' ever again?"

Cory grinned. "Regardless, I feel like Fate put us with Rob so that Rob would become our friend. Not just to have an excuse to meet Mal. Because, Rob could have met Mal any number of ways. I mean, apparently Rob had a class with Blondie. So Fate didn't need us to arrange a meeting."

Eli nodded. Cory had a point there. He started to try and work through Cory's logic. "So, assuming Fate is taking an active interest in us, which is a big if--"

Cory smiled, "Really big if. I mean, yeah, obviously I'm awesome, but you're a nobody."

"Obviously," Eli chuckled, "but if Fate gives a crap then, we had to become friends with Rob because, what? He needed to be emotionally invested?"

Cory nodded. "That's my thought. I mean, maybe Rob could turn down helping out some random strangers he met in class, but his friends' sister? Much harder to turn down."

Eli's face hardened. "No."

Cory glanced back at Eli in confusion. "No what?"

Eli thought back to that shoe store. Rob wanted to be alone as he transformed. Rob knew exactly what he was about to give up. Eli had to push another lump of guilt down. "No. I don't think Rob only went because Mal's my sister. Rob would have done that for anyone."

"I don't know," Cory waffled. "I mean, it's just so much to ask of..."

"That's just who Rob is," Eli stated. The discussion was no longer up for debate. "He's that kind of guy." Eli stood up. "Furthermore, we aren't Fate's pawns to push around the board. We became Rob's friend because we get along with him and share a lot of interests. Pawns don't make friends. People do." Eli winced the moment he let those words escape his mouth.

"Thanks for that, Mr. Saturday Morning Cartoon Public Service Announcer," Cory snickered. "You want me to go ahead and print that up on a t-shirt for you?"

"Yeah. That came out way more schmaltzy than it was in my head," Eli admitted.

Cory grinned, "You make a good point though with the pawn analogy, though. After all, Fate's dealings with Rob shows she turns pawns into queens."

Eli winced again. "Too soon."

"What? Queen is gender specific. Pawn is not. It's funny."

"Just... too soon."

Cory threw his hands up. "Fine, different awkward subject. Rob's new body, or should I say Robin's new body. Go."

Eli buried his face in his hands. He simultaneously needed to vent and never talk about this subject. Venting won out. "Ho-lee shit."

"I know. I mean... Fate's kind of a dick, right?"

Eli slapped his palm on his knees. "Exactly! Why would you do that to poor Rob? I mean, dude, seriously. I checked her out! I didn't know it was Rob when I started, but I checked her out! How messed up is that?"

"Completely messed up... but yeah, I kind of did that at the start too."

"We're horrible friends."

Cory held up a finger, "In our defense, we had no idea that was Rob when we started."

Eli nodded, happy to have someone justify his mistake. "That's true."

“How were we supposed to know Rob, our Rob, would turn out to be a smokin' hot scarlette with more curves than a math lecture about conic sections?"

Eli's shoulders sagged. "Conic sections?"

"Yeah." Cory scratched his nose. "Because... curves?"

"Conic sections?" Eli asked again with more emphasis.

Cory stood firm. "Yeah. Conic sections. Math lectures. What? My humor too sophisticated for you?"

"You know," Eli lamented as he shook his head, "you really used to be one of the funniest people I knew."

Cory smirked, "That sounds like a compliment, but I kind of get the feeling that it isn't."

"Nice catch. Nothing gets by you," Eli joked. His mind drifted back to that short scarlette with the perfect figure. In his mind's eye, he lingered on her shirt. It had been so tight and so thin. "Really isn't fair. What was Fate thinking making her so... so..."

"Busty?" Cory offered.

Eli sighed. He didn't like how casually Cory used the word to describe their friend but it wasn't like it was an improper descriptor. "Yeah. I mean, I guess I just figured Rob would turn out a female version of himself. Same reddish-brown hair. Same height. Same overall build. Just, you know, with boobs and a thinner waist. Not that. That's just... that's just cruel."

"It's almost like," Cory mused, "Fate's trying to make up for all the years of Rob not being a girl by just shoving eighteen years worth of femininity into his body all at once."

Eli squinted, trying to process Cory's point. After a few moments he gave up. "Those clothes sure didn't help things either. I doubt Rob picked them out himself. Herself." Eli groaned. "Whatever."

Cory snapped and nodded enthusiastically. "I know, right? Those jeans were so tight that--" The door behind Cory creeped open and a black-haired guy about their age staggered in walking backwards. Eli froze and prayed Cory would do the same. Sadly, Cory had built up too much verbal momentum. "--when she turned around you saw her ass was so..." Cory's brain finally caught up to his senses and he turned to face the interloper.

The guy continued to inch backwards through the doorway. On his back was a backpack so full it looked ready to explode. In his left hand was a guitar case. His right tugged on a large, rolling luggage bag, with three boxes balancing precariously on top. His hair was a mess of black that looked a little too perfectly messy to have not been intentionally styled that way. He turned his head slightly and grinned at the pair. "Hey man, don't let me end the story. I was really looking forward to hearing the end. Her ass was so... what?"

Eli stood up, eager to change the subject. Why had they stopped in the stairwell where they could be interrupted? Idiots. Mallory, Rob, and Kara were depending on them to keep their identities secret! "You, uh, need a hand with that buddy?"

"Huh?" the guy glanced at Eli, "Oh, yeah. Sure. That'd be a huge load off."

Cory followed Eli's lead and snatched two of the wobbling boxes off from the luggage. "Woah, these are heavier than I expected."

"Yeah," the guy handed Eli the other box and the luggage case. "Sorry about that. Those are all my pots and pans and stuff. Thanks a bunch guys."

Eli's box didn't seem nearly as heavy as Cory's. He carried it easily in his left hand and rolled the luggage up the steps. "Pots and pans? Just buy a set or something?"

"Naw man," the guy said with an easy smile, "just barely moving in. Was in the Caribbean with my family, and we got stuck a few days heading back because of that hurricane that rolled through."

"Just barely moving in?" As far as Eli could think, none of the other people he knew in the dorm had any roommates that hadn't shown up. Just their apartment. Cory glanced at Eli with a look that let Eli know Cory was thinking the same thing.

Cory cleared his throat. "Your name wouldn't happen to be Dale, would it?"

The guy stopped walking. "Woah. That's freaky. Yeah. How did you know that?"

Eli grinded his teeth together. "Because we've had an empty room mate slot for a while and we knew it was reserved for some guy named Dale." Of course their mysterious fourth roommate would wait to show up mere hours after Rob had tragically left. Why wouldn't he?

Dale lit up, "No way! You guys are seriously my roomies?"

Cory smiled back and extended his hand. "Name's Cory Frost."

Eli tried to muster up a smile but failed. "Eli Drake." Was this guy getting stuck in a hurricane part of the plan to make sure there were fewer complications with Rob's departure? Now that he was accepting that Fate could intervene, Eli couldn't help but regard everything as a possible Fate-driven ploy. Obviously he didn't agree with Platicore's goals or methods, but he was really starting to see how the Spirit Guard's enemy could have been driven mad.

Dale vigorously shook Cory's hand with a laugh. "Dale Bridges. Awesome to meet you two!" Cory and Eli lead Dale up the stairs to the third floor where they lived. "Can't believe I just happen to run into both of you here in the stairwell. Must be, like, fate or something."

Eli clenched his fist. "Must be."

Cory gave a nervous chuckle. "So you play guitar, Dale?"

"Oh, yeah." Dale lifted his guitar case as if to demonstrate the point. "I'm actually in a local band: Free Unsecured Network. Nothing big, of course. Just playing in cafes and bars and stuff." Dale chuckled to himself. "Maybe someday though we'll hit it big though. Play in arenas, have roadies, and the sweet, sweet groupies. I'm not holding my breath though."

Cory raised an eyebrow and wedged open the door from the stairwell to the third floor. "Free Unsecured Network?"

Dale shrugged. "We wanted a name that made for a good acronym and was something that symbolized something everyone loves but doesn't think too much about. Unsecured wifi hotspots are a reason a lot of people go to the cafes we play at. Our drummer came up with the idea of adding 'free' to the front of Unsecured Network so our acronym is 'fun.' So, you know, there you go."

Eli shrugged, not really caring too much about band names. He had never been too into music. "Not bad as far as band names go."

"So what about you guys?" Dale asked with a tinge of self-consciousness. If Eli had to guess, he would have thought Dale felt uncomfortable with how the conversation had been about him so far. "What are you all into?"

Cory opened his mouth but Eli cut him off at the pass, "We're gamers." This was the true litmus test. Rob had lit up when he saw Cory's GameStation for the first time and was eager to have a conversation about the merits of consoles and computer gaming. It was time to see how Not-Rob reacted.

"Gamers? Seriously? Cool!" Dale said it with a casualness that had Eli guessing he didn't care. "What all do you play? Any Crosshair Eclipse by chance?" Eli guessed wrong.

Cory put the boxes down in front of their apartment and hunted in his pockets for his keys. "Crosshair Eclipse? I have it but we're not really big on it. Too much no-scope twitch shooting for my tastes."

Eli smirked. "Whatever. Cory got big into it a few years back and just got super frustrated with online play. He'd rage so hard."

Dale laughed. "I hear ya, man. I'm not very good either. I mean, I thought I was good but you play online enough you'll find all the ten year olds who do nothing but play the game and don't seem to understand how not to shoot you in the head."

Cory wrestled the door open and nudged Dale's boxes in with his foot. "I wouldn't rage that bad, Eli."

"Whatever," Eli scoffed. "You started referring to the laser sniper rifle weapon as the douche cannon, and your mother took away your headset so you'd stop getting in shouting matches with people."

Dale laughed hard at that. "The Parallax Rifle was pretty overpowered. I was glad when they toned down the one-hit kill potential on the thing to headshots only in CE 2."

Eli sighed and placed the boxes he'd been carrying on the table. Maybe he had been too hard on Dale. Had he met this guy a week ago under normal circumstances, Eli totally would have given him a fair shake. He shouldn't hold it against him that he was Not-Rob. "I take it you play a lot?"

Dale shook his head and removed his backpack. "Nah. Ever since I started doing more band stuff I got away from playing. My buddies still invite me to a few system linking parties every once in a while, but sadly I only played the campaign for CE3." Dale glanced around the dorm with a gleeful smile. "So this is the place, huh? Bit run down but not bad."

Cory frowned. He obviously wasn't happy about how Eli had characterized him, though it was difficult for Eli to be certain if that was because he implied Cory had difficulty keeping his cool or that he wasn't very good. "It's been nice to us."

"So," Dale pointed to the two bedroom doors, "Which one am I in? And the RA said I was living with a dude named Robert. He here? What's he like?"

Eli froze. He glanced at Cory who looked similarly panicked. They hadn't discussed the reason for Rob's disappearance. They only had worked out Robin's sudden appearance. This wasn't good. "Oh. Yeah. Rob."

Dale squinted. "Something wrong with Rob? Is he a real tool or something?"

"No!" Eli exclaimed with a bit more anger than he intended. Dale backed up and Eli cleared his throat, "I mean, no. It, uh, Rob is awesome. The best really." Eli thought back to Rob standing in that shoe store, holding his Spirit Stick. "You couldn't have asked for a better guy."

Cory thankfully was thinking clearer. "You actually just missed Rob. He left for home earlier today."

"Home? Semester just started." Dale opened up his box of pots and pans and began to put them away.

"Yeah, well," Cory continued, "Rob's dad sort of... died."

Dale stopped looking for places to fit his cookware and turned back to the pair. "Say what? You serious, man?"

Eli nodded. It was a good idea. Rob's dad had died... fifteen or so years ago. Still, it wasn't a lie and worked well for their purposes. Why hadn't Rob used that excuse to explain why Robin was late arriving to school? Seemed more plausible than the weird working on the harvest excuse. "Yeah. Car accident. Rob went home to be with family and get everything in order. We actually just got back from getting all his stuff mailed back for him."

Dale shook his head. "Wow. That's... that just sucks."

Cory nodded. "It really does."

Dale let out a slow breath. "Feel bad for the guy. Don't even know him but... damn. What a sucker punch!" Dale shook his head. "That's a downer."

Eli nodded. "It's been a downer kind of day."

Dale sighed and went back to putting his stuff away. "And here I thought the worst news I'd hear today would be that monster attack at the mall downtown." Dale stuck his head in the cabinet and shuffled Cory's and Eli's unorganized mess of pots and pans. "You two hear about that? I mean, I guess you've probably been too busy helping this Rob-dude get his stuff together, huh?"

Cory coughed, "Uh, yeah, we heard a little about it."

"I heard a little rumor," Dale's voice was muffled until he pulled his back out of the cabinet, "that there may have been a new Spirit Guard show up."

Eli bit down on his lip. How had that gotten out? "You don't say?"

Dale examined the space he cleared, nodded, then put his pots and pans away. "Yeah. I mean, no one saw her but supposedly some cops said there is a few seconds of security camera footage that showed one in a blue uniform with really long scarlette hair that they had never seen before. Really weird how these monsters seem to disrupt cameras, right?"

Eli almost chuckled. He and Cory had been in the poorly-named Hush Wagon and watched as the Twins coordinated with the ninja to corrupt or delete all but a few seconds of the security camera footage. He got an odd thrill knowing something he shouldn't. "Yeah. Weird that."

"But, man, they maybe now they got a scarlette, huh?" Dale grabbed his guitar and backpack and trudged to the too-empty room. Eli felt a stab of anger. How could Not-Rob so casually walk into Rob's room like that? Eli knew it was nonsensical to feel like that, but after all that Rob had sacrificed, that room felt hallowed.

Dale smiled and, thankfully, put his stuff on the other bed. Eli really would have had an awkward time explaining to Dale why he couldn't use Rob's unoccupied bed. "Yeah. Maybe so."

"Hope that footage goes public at some point," Dale mused. "Would love to get a look at her."

Cory grabbed the other boxes and followed Dale into Rob's room. "Yeah? Why so?"

"Well, for one, every bit of video we've seen of the Spirit Guard shows a group of very lovely ladies." Eli tensed up. His sister was one of those lovely ladies. Dale gave a guilty grin. "Plus I kind of have a thing for scarlettes."

Eli winced. He looked up and glared, as if to accuse Fate herself. "Of course you do."

---

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Robin sulked on the faux wood of her desk. She had gotten past the initial heavy crying phase and had moved on to a protracted whimper. It was pathetic that she felt that was progress. She sniffled, her face on her desk, too listless to get up and grab a tissue. She didn't want to move. She wanted to blame all this crying and illogical behavior on a sudden onset of female hormones but knew that was a cop out. She was just being a miserable pile of self-pity and just wanted to wallow in her sorrow.

How long had she been crying? Ten? Fifteen minutes? It wasn't exactly the dignified behavior of a superhero. Heroine. Superheroine. Not just any superheroine, but a cheerleader superheroine. A fudging cheerleader. She had finally achieved her childhood fantasy! She had superpowers. Yet, in a literally cruel twist of Fate, she had to wave pompoms and wear a dumb-angelcake skirt to use them.

The front door to the apartment clicked open, and Robin ceased her whimpering. She held her breath. Her bedroom door would hide her presence only if whoever entered didn't expect Robin to be there. Was it Noriko or Vivian? Either way, she didn't want to let anyone see her like this.

"Anyone here?" Vivian hollered. "Anyone? Ang? Hmm... maybe they... oh! Hey Kara!" Silence. Then a clap. "Oh wow. You're out like last year's fashions! You really drained yourself this time, girl." Robin hoped the revelation of Kara's near-coma would get Vivian to be quiet and stop interrupting Robin's pity party. And Kara's sleep.

Robin heard the fridge open up. "Well, I'll have you know I got you healthy food for tomorrow." So much for her shutting up. Donut but her voice carried! How could someone so small be so loud? "But I'll have you know I bought generic brand chicken soup because I'm disappointed you don't see the genius in taking advantage of our metabolisms and eating like pigs while we can. Or, you know, maybe because the generic stuff was 20% cheaper. It made good financial sense, but the narrative is more fun if I'm being spiteful."

Did this girl normally talk to herself? Why did she feel the need to-- three quick knocks came on Robin's door. "Robyn? You in here?" Robin, face down on her desk, didn't dare move a muscle. Like prey being stalked in the wild, Robin hoped that if she held perfectly still then her predator wouldn't notice her. If that door opened, Vivian would try to suck all the misery away with her exuberance. Even if it made no sense, Robin felt like being sad.

The door opened despite Robin's possum impersonation. "I know you're here. Ang texted me." Vivian's tone was bright and cheerful, and Robin wanted none of that right now. "I brought something for you."

So much for that plan. Robin didn't look up while she cleared her throat. She tried to project composure, but her voice still shook like a newborn fawn. "I want to be alone right now, Vivian." She couldn't let Vivian see that she had been crying.

"But Robyn," Vivian pleaded hopefully, "I brought you a present."

Robin clenched her teeth, her face still buried against the desk. "I don't have the patience to deal with leg shaving or tampons or whatever girly health stuff you got for me right now. Just leave me alone!"

Robin heard Vivian give a plaintive whine. Her voice morphed to a tone that was a strange mix of amused, disappointed, understanding, and consoling. "No. No. No. I didn't tell the boys I was buying women's health products. I told them I was buying feminine care products. See the clever difference?"

Robin didn't budge an inch. If she said nothing, maybe Vivian would go away.

"Come on," Vivian pleaded more fervently. "I promise this is really funny and will cheer you up. And you really need this. Trust me! I'm awesome with this stuff."

Robin wanted to yell at Vivian to leave but couldn't muster the energy to do so. She finally gave in; if Robin humored her, she might be rid of this accursed pixie. Robin sat up and wiped her eyes. What was the point in pretending she hadn't been crying? Only a complete idiot wouldn't notice? What was Robin protecting? Her pride had already been completely shattered today; what would a few more broken shards hurt?

Robin swiveled her chair around and found Vivian holding two pint-sized containers of ice cream. The left one read "Caramel Fudge Brownie Cake Blast" with the right reading "Triple Chocolate Chocolate Chip Party." Vivian's face blended concern and excitement in a way Robin had never thought possible. "Get it? Feminine care products?"

Robin sniffed and rubbed her eyes. She didn't want to smile. She did anyway. It was legitimately clever. "I don't want to justify stereotypes on my first day, Vivian. It feels sexist."

Vivian grinned and practically danced into the room. She jumped onto Noriko's perfectly folded sheets and perched herself on her knees. "Stereotypes? No way! We are women of science, Robyn! This is an experiment!" She weighed the two containers as if her hands were a scale. "Which one you want?"

Robin wanted to send her away but something about Vivian's entire demeanor made her feel like she should be welcome. Was this part of her powers? Was she really just like this? Either way, Vivian clearly wanted to cheer Rob up. Even if Robin couldn't be with her Uncle, she knew he'd prefer her to be with people who cared about her well-being rather than crying by herself. "Give me the caramel one."

"Dang it!" Vivian teased. "I wanted that one." She tossed Robin the pint of ice cream and a spoon. Robin easily caught the ice cream but missed the spoon. She leaned over and picked it up off the floor.

Vivian let out a low whistle. "Ang wasn't kidding about your hair. I've never seen a scarlette with hair like yours. Or a body like yours. Fate isn't pulling any punches."

Robin tried to ignore the comment. "How are you a woman of science? I thought you were a film person?"

Vivian waved her off then opened her ice cream. "I love film, yeah, but my major is actually developmental psychology. I'm just getting a film minor."

Robin raised an eyebrow. "How do those work together."

"They don't!" Vivian said cheerfully. "But I'm getting my money's worth from my degree." This surprised Robin. Her short time as the university had shown her she was one of the few students whose focus was their education. She really hadn't expected Vivian would be the type to take it seriously. "Besides, psych makes perfect sense when you factor in my past life being some super emotion scientist lady. And film makes perfect sense if you consider the contrivance that is our lives. Especially your life. It's written like a gummi donuted tragedy!"

Robin could help but smirk. "I see you miss swearing too?"

"I wouldn't say I miss swearing, per se," Vivian said. "I just miss having the option. Though, to be honest, I never really swore before. I do so occasionally now as a form of protest and also because it's considerably funny. It even made you smile despite the emotional wreck you obviously are right now." She grinned at her last line.

Robin wanted to take offense at that, but somehow she couldn't. That callous sentence wasn't the thing Vivian should have said. Given Robin's recent tribulations, Vivian should have been consoling and comforting. Vivian clearly knew that. But instead she just poked at the sore spot because common decency said you shouldn't, and in the oddest way, that was comforting to Robin. It made her feel like she was talking to the always irreverent Cory again, albeit a much more bubbly and cuter version of Cory.

Robin rolled her drying eyes. "So what's your experiment, woman of science?"

"Oh!" Vivian bounced on the bed, further messing up Noriko's sheets. "The way I see it, you are the ultimate case study right now for gender studies. As women of science, we have a duty to take advantage of that."

"Uh-huh?"

"Think about it! Right now you are a mess of unfamiliar hormones."

Robin sighed. "I'm not a mess of..."

"Of course you are!" Vivian insisted. "Men and women's brains produce similar chemicals but in different quantities, and, thus, you are due to be dealing with emotions and sensations that are foreign to your life experience as a male." Robin was surprised to hear how... scientific Vivian was sounding. Maybe she wasn't the space case Robin had assumed. "As such, we are going to test a classic female coping mechanism and see if its results are effective due to nature or nurture."

"The coping mechanism being eating chocolate ice cream?"

Vivian held up a finger. "Ah! Eating chocolate ice cream while complaining how sugary the world is! You really can't discount the half of the therapy session that is biscuiting and moaning about how stupid Fate is."

Robin smirked at that. "LIke how stupid it is that our speech is censored?"

Vivian wagged her finger at Robin. "Nuh uh uh! You have to take a bite first then start complaining! Come on! It's like you don't even understand how an experiment works! I thought you were a physicist."

Robin smirked and demonstrably opened the pint of ice cream to appease Vivian. "You're like a tiny, sugar-addled dictator. And I'm a mechanical engineering major. Not physics."

Vivian took a big bite of her ice cream and shook her head. "Whatever. All you so-called hard science people are booooring. Oh, and the other experiment here is to find out if women really do like chocolate more than men."

Robin picked up her spoon. She hated to admit it, but this conversation was a welcome diversion from the self-pity she had been slogging through alone. "First of all, I'm a sample size of one. Hardly a scientific data set."

"That's the beauty of calling it a case study!" Vivian exclaimed. "Besides, if you think about if, Fate mixed you up really good. I mean, putting aside gender and your oh-so-curvy-I'm-getting-jealous body, she made your hair redder than a busful of nuns driving past a nude colony, gave you a voice that will make boys swoon, and I'm really not used to anyone being close to eye level with me. I think it's not too crazy to assume your taste buds might have changed along with all that."

Robin really didn't need another reminder about what an apparently smoking hot body she had. Cory and Eli checking her out when she first arrived had been more than enough to communicate that concept. Yet for some reason, the callous, careless tone of Vivian put Robin slightly at ease. Maybe she was just grateful to have someone not walking on eggshells around her. Maybe Robin was just too emotionally worn down to care. In any case, she examined the sinful combination of caramel and fudge brownie chunks swirled into chocolate ice cream and had to admit that it looked wonderfully enticing. "I've never really been a chocolate kind of guy. I always preferred vanilla."

"Even better for the experiment!" Vivian took another bite. "Now dig in and let's find out if you're a chocolate kind of girl, Rosy!"

Robin wiped away the remnants of her tears, though she was sure her eyes were still puffy. "Please don't call me Rosy."

"Well I'm definitely giving you some kind of nickname with your hair. Most girls have to dye their hair to get that shade of scarlette. I'm going with Rosy because of that and because of your oh-so-vibrant personality. Now eat up, Rosy!"

Robin rolled her eyes once more. Stubborn and absurd; Robin really was talking to girl-Cory. Robin dipped her spoon in, mining for the perfect bite that mixed the ice cream, brownie chunks, and caramel in even portions. Having mined the perfect scoop, she took a bite.

For a moment, Robin forget where she was. "Mmm." It was as if that bite of ice cream had been created to make her forget about all of her problems and savor only the pure deliciousness. "Mmmmm! This tastes divine."

"I knew it!" Vivian leapt to her feet and bounced on Noriko's bed. "Women do love chocolate more than men! This proves it!"

"It proves nothing," Robin said with a smile. Despite herself, she took another bite of the heavenly food. It wasn't as good as that first taste, but Robin didn't care at that point. "I'm just a case study, remember? Besides, I could just like it more due to that taste buds changing theory rather than your crazy hormone theory."

"Now that," Vivian said while pointing at Robin with her spoon, "is sexist. I didn't say you had crazy hormones. I just said your brain chemistry has been altered. You just assumed crazy hormones because you're a girl now." Vivian shook her head and took another bite. "Dats just vewy misogyniftic of youf."

Robin shrugged. "Either way. There is no way to tell if it's taste buds or brain chemistry."

Vivian nodded and plopped back down to her knees. Noriko's bed was officially a mess. Robin had the distinct impression this wasn't the first time Vivian had ever done this to Noriko's personal space. "Fair enough. Now let's get to the part where we complain about stuff! Sit on your bed though like I do, on your knees and stuff. Or, you know, lounge on your pillow."

"Why do I have to do that?"

"Uh, hello?" Vivian grinned. "It's the only proper way for choco-phagial communication therapy to work. I should know. I'm the psychologist here."

Robin gave her a flat look. "You are one week into your four year developmental psychology degree. To say nothing of having to get your PhD. I doubt your claim of expertise."

Vivian swallowed another bite pointedly. "Technicalities! I'm the expert. I've been practicing being a woman for eighteen years now. You've done it for, what, eight hours? By comparison I'm a freaking Einstein! Trust me!" Vivian gestured to her face. "Growing up, I had the worst acne, and let me tell you I used many a choco-phagial communication therapy sessions with my mom to get through that. Knees. Bed. Now."

"I thought I could lounge on my pillow?" Robin stood up and humored her self-appointed supposed therapist. "And choco-phagial isn't a word."

"I would have allowed the pillow but it seems your case is too severe. Also you kept complaining. But let's pretend it's because your case is too severe. You need to perch on your knees like a proper lady now. And choco is the latin root for chocolate. Phage is latin to eat. Choco-phagial: eating chocolate. Communication therapy: talking through your problems with another. Ta-daa! Choco-phagial communication therapy."

Robin climbed onto her bed but ignored Vivian's instructions and lounged on her pillow. Sitting on her knees felt far too perky and girly for how she felt. If Vivian minded she didn't let on. "I thought communication therapy was for couple's counseling."

"Oh quit worrying about what I call it. You suck all the joy out of it if you do that! This is why you hard science people are boring. Now," Vivian paused to take another bite, "I think I know just the subject for us to start this mondo-whining session with."

Robin followed Vivian's lead and took another bite, careful not to let any melting chocolate spill on her bed. "Oh doof you now?"

"Yup! Hair! Tell me having hair that long isn't driving you absolutely bat-sugar insane!"

Robin nodded her head and swallowed hard. "Yes!" She sat up and lifted up her strands up for critiquing. "I got it caught in the door walking into this room! Yanked my head straight back!"

"Tell me about it!" Vivian held her even longer strands of jet black up. "Did you know I used to keep my hair nearly as short as you did as a boy?"

Robin raised an eyebrow. Wasn't this session supposed to be about Robin's problems? "No. I figured you liked your hair long."

"Nope! I had totally cute short hair! Then my aunt got cancer, went through chemotherapy, so all the women in my mom's family decided to grow our hair out for a year and then we'd shave it all off and donate the hair to cancer societies. Solidarity, right?

Robin nodded. "That's a nice thought."

"Yeah, so week before we're supposed to cut it all off, bam, monster attack and I become Spirit Guard. Not only does my hair get even longer but now I can't go bald!"

Robin sat up with a panic. "Wait, you mean we can't cut our hair?"

Vivian smiled grimly. "We can but it doesn't last more than a day. When you wake up, bam, it's like this again. All part of our super healing, I think."

Robin slumped against her pillow. "You kidding me? I was planning on getting this stupid mop chopped up first thing tomorrow!"

"No dice!" Vivian slammed Noriko's bed for emphasis. "I mean, I still got my head shaved with my mom but last month was the first time I could go home without a haircut to simulate slow but normal hair growth. And let me tell you, all that hair cutting makes you hungry!"

"Hungry?" Robin asked.

"Yeah, so, like, if we shaved your head tonight, by the time you wake up, bam, you'd have a full head of lucius crimson in the morning. This is because, I think, it uses the same healing as our regular bodies heal. It's like the Spirit Sticks have a template of what we should be at healthwise and it just burns fat or energy or something until it gets to that point."

"Interesting," Robin nodded. "Have you tested this a lot then?"

"Like I said, I was cutting my hair every time I knew I'd see my folks. I just had to pretend I just," Vivian affected a voice of super excitement, "really liked how my hair looked that long, so I'm growing it out again!" Vivian frowned and stuffed her face with another bite.

"So you don't like your hair this long?" Robin decided to throw a hint. "Cory really seems to find it quite attractive on you."

It was Vivian's turn to roll her eyes. "I see what you did there. But, yeah, more to the point, I do think it looks great. I mean, especially with the first transformation clearing out my acne and making my plain black hair this shimmering mane of ebony. I mean," Vivian ran her hand down her mane, letting the light glisten off each strand dramatically, "look at this. I'm like a hair commercial's dream spokesman. Or, you know, would be if I was taller. Anyways, yeah, sometimes I'll just throw my head back dramatically because, seriously, it looks so freaking cool!"

Vivian let her hair drop and continued her point. "So yeah, it looks just great. Especially with how short I am. I don't know why, but really long hair on short girls like us... just looks amazing. Maybe it does something to make us seem taller or something. I don't get the aesthetics of it." Vivian pointedly shoved her spoon into her container. "But do you know how annoying hair this long is, Rosy? It's a pain in our angelcakes!"

Robin laughed. Again, it wasn't Robert's baby walrus laugh like she expected but the giggle of some unknown girl. Someone who could have been a cheerleader at her high school. But this time it wasn't such a shock to her system. She hated her cheerleader laugh, but she'd just have to deal with it for now. On the plus side, she realized she now had a great excuse to avoid high school reunions.

"Yeah, I think I'm getting some idea how annoying it is." She held up her wavy hair to accentuate her point. "Caught in the door, remember? Plus it bunches up any time I sit down." Just mentioning it made her realize it bunched up again. She sat up but her too-tight shirt shifted with her, exposing some of her back. The feeling of hair brushing against the small of her back was so alien it made Robin shiver.

"Yeah, you definitely have to slow down going through doors now. If you let your hair trail behind you too far it gets caught in all sorts of thing. Trees, bushes, and zipper on your book bags or clothes." Vivian took another bite then raised a finger as if she had just remembered something. "Youf weally gotta watch outf fer," Vivian swallowed to clear her throat. "the doors in the Petrus Checker Building. I swear those things snap shut like a mousetrap. Only, you know, for hair."

"Petrus Checker Building? Which one is that?"

"South end of campus. Lot of the artsy classes. Just got a big howdy-doody renovation. I swear it's a maze meant only for the artsy-farts. It takes their alien brains to comprehend its corridors."

Robin gave an amused snort. "And you, a total film junkie from what I can gather, aren't an artsy-fart?"

"Nooo," Vivian scolded. "I'm a woman of science. Like you. Remember? Or did all that mass from your brain go into your boobs?"

Robin grunted. "These boobs suck!" She poked one for emphasis. "I can't even cross my arms anymore without them squeezing together a bit."

Vivian nodded appreciatively. "This is the complaining I was talking about! And I bet, given how upsetting the past few hours have been, you'd like to cross your arms in a display of displeasure a lot more."

"Exactly!" Robin took an angry bite. "What does Fate have against me that she does this to me? I would have been the only woman on the planet happy with a stick-like body and a flat chest. Instead I'm... this!"

Vivian tapped her spoon to her chin. "You know, the other girls didn't seem as interested but I have a theory on that too."

Robin threw her hands up. "Of course you do."

Vivian grinned. "Well, on one side, we have emotion powers. We end up in cheerleader outfits because Angie, bless her literal-minded subconscious, gets asked by her stick to find some sort of template that inspires positive emotions..."

Robin found that tidbit interesting. Vivian's version sounded slightly different from the way Ms. Kuna had explained it. "Ms. Kuna told me that you all weren't sure about Angela being the source of the cheerleader outfits."

Vivian rolled her eyes. "Ms. Kuna is always nice about it but, come on, that's clearly what happened. I know there is some doubt but, please, Angela was a stinkin' cheerleader at the time." Robin nearly spit out her bite of ice cream. "Of course, it's Angela's fault. Her subconscious naturally went there first. I mean, Angie can't control her subconscious of course but, yeah, she's still responsible."

Robin sat up straight suddenly very uninterested in the Spirit Guard's template. "Angela was a cheerleader?"

Vivian grinned maliciously. "I have said too much."

"You're not joking?"

Vivian bit her bottom lip, but couldn't hide her grin. "It's not my story to tell, but, yes, our pure-of-heart, innocent, rule-minded, and sometimes stick-up-her-caboose leader shook her pompoms and cheered the boys onto victory part of last year and all throughout high school."

Robin thought about it and, visually at least, it worked. Angela was one of the prettiest girls he had ever seen. She was, in fact, gorgeous. Yet he just couldn't see her actually being part of a real cheer squad. "So, like, she wore the uniform around campus? Midriff bare and everything."

Vivian nodded. "When I first saw her she was cheering at one of Mal's volleyball games. She looked great. As she always does."

"What happened?"

Vivian swayed her head side-to-side. Robin could tell she was deciding how much to say though Robin could tell the tiny brunette wanted to tell all. "It's not my story to tell but suffice it to say there was some drama, as there is wont to be with cheerleaders, and Angela also felt she needed to focus on her other cheer team more."

Drama with cheerleaders. Boy was that ever familiar. Though Robin couldn't imagine Angela, who seemed to be as pure as the wind-driven snow, would start drama. "I just can't believe Angela would be a cheerleader. Ever. Seems so... not her personality."

Vivian shrugged. "Angela likes to be a part of something. Plus, she naturally gravitates towards leadership roles and being hyper involved. At her high school she apparently was Class President twice, involved in several clubs, and, as a cheerleader, would be involved in lot of the planning and carrying out of student activities and pep rallies. I think it makes lots of sense."

Robin hadn't considered that at all. "Never thought of it like that."

"I have to say," Vivian chirped with her trademarked impish grin, "this therapy session is going great! Not even ten minutes in and I have you gossiping like a proper young woman!"

"I'm not gossiping!"

"We're talking about the private affairs of another girl and discussing character defects. You're totally gossiping with me."

Robin scowled. "I am not!"

"Please," Vivian teased, "the only way to make this gossip session more cliche better is if we were both wearing booty shorts and tanks and ended the discussion with a giggly and sexy pillow fight."

"I thought this was a choco-phagic communicative whatever therapy session," Robin countered.

Vivian tapped her spoon on her chin again. "And you bought that?" Robin grunted and Vivian giggled. "But you're right. Sorry. I can be a bit of an insensitive jerk when I'm trying to be funny." She took another bite and pushed Noriko's pillow to her side. She spread her legs out and lounged in a similar position to Robin. "We're supposed to be complaining about how unfair life is and stuff. And I was about to tell you about my theory about your ample bosom and our great looks in general."

Robin shivered. "Never call it my 'ample bosom' ever again."

"What do you want me to call them? Funbags? Melons? Hooters?" Vivian teased.

Robin groaned, hoping that Vivian picked up that this line of humor was starting to grate her. "We're women of science, so let's try calling them breasts."

Vivian stopped smiling and cleared her throat. "Sorry. Yes. Of course. So, yours are large. Mallory told me hers grew too. Along with her muscles. My figure improved and..."

Robin rolled her hand around to indicate for Vivian to move forward. "Yeah. Ms. Kuna told me you all got some kind of visual improvements to make you more attractive."

"Oh, good. That simplifies things. Anyway, I started looking at myself after I changed and I found out I resembled my grandmother on my mom's side a bit more."

Robin raised an eyebrow. "Meaning?"

"Like, it wasn't just my acne and my cup size. My face shifted a little and I just looked a lot more like her. She was a beautiful woman."

"Still not catching the vision here, Vivian."

"Well, I think the Spirit Sticks look for visually appealing traits in our genes and bring them out more. Like my grandmother's perfect skin. Angela let me look over some of her old photos of her mom and a few of her other family members. A few of them had that same shade of golden blonde hair. Exact same as her mother. She had been more of a dishwater blonde before that. As for figure, and her figure is well put together I might add, very similar to one of her aunts on her paternal side who did some stripping back in the day."

Robin leaned back and stared at the ceiling. Stripping in Angela's family? That didn't seem like the type of background Robin would have thought Angela came from, but Robin wasn't here to talk about Angela's life. "So, what? You're saying the Sticks sort of comb our DNA for attractive female features? For what purpose?"

"Ah yes! You ask the important questions! My thought," Vivian said with her spoon held high, "is that people's emotions respond more readily to attractive people. It's why companies use them in commercials to act as their spokesmen and spokeswoman. So the idea is the Sticks take some of our better genes, mix them up slightly to make us the most beautiful they can, and then that creates a more dramatic empathokinetic connection between us and those around us."

Robin bit down on her thumbnail. "But I thought our empathokinetic power came from ourselves - not others."

Vivian nodded. "Very true, but sympathy is a real thing. When you feel one way, whether the effect is strong or not, people tend to somewhat mimic that emotion. It's that way for most mentally healthy humans. It's nature. We're emotional chameleons to a degree. So if more attractive people get a bigger emotional response..."

Robin finished off the thought. "Then inspiring stronger emotions in others might, in turn, boost our own empathokinetic power by reinforcing our own emotions."

Vivian clapped. "I love this! No one else thinks about this stuff like I do! The other girls are willing to just leave it at ‘it's magic.’"

Robin scoffed. "Didn't you just call it magic back at my dorm?"

"This is your dorm."

"My old one, you angelcake!"

Vivian brushed Robin's retort off with a giggle. "Magic is so much easier to say and explain than empathokinesis. Plus, talking about the mechanics of all this gives the other girls a case of bored eyes." Despite the dismissal of magic versus empathokinetics verbage, Robin could see Vivian was being sincere about being really excited to have someone to bounce theories off of.

Robin smirked. "Bored eyes?"

"Yeah, like when someone's eyes glaze over because they are bored of a topic of conversation? Bored eyes."

Robin could only shake her head and smile. She had compared Vivian to Cory but, in truth, this girl really was unlike anyone else Robin knew. She was, completely to Robin's shock and dismay, the exact type of person she needed at the moment to brighten up her otherwise gloomy night. "Seems like a big expenditure of effort. Creating a team of beautiful warriors by searching through their DNA just for a small boost of power."

"It's war," Vivian justified. "You go for every edge you can get. The military tries all sorts of hair-brained ideas to get any edge they can in a battle."

"True," Robin conceded. "Very true. So have you looked to Mallory and Kara to confirm this further?"

Vivian pouted, "Mal refuses to help because, I think, she likes spiting me for her own amusement."

Robin grinned. "Gee. I wonder why she finds that amusing? You don't ever push other people's buttons for your own enjoyment."

"Hey!" Vivian protested. "That is... almost not true!"

"Almost."

Vivian grinned guiltily, "Anyway, I guess this is the long way of asking if any of your relatives were hot like you."

Robin sat back up. "What?"

"Like your mom, maybe? Or a grandmother or aunt? I'm willing to bet you have a strong resemblance to someone there in family."

Robin laid back down and considered Vivian's point. "I don't know. Maybe?" Robin sighed, afraid to divulge her next detail. "My mom was, apparently, a cheerleader here at SAU back in the day."

Vivian bounced with excitement. "Cheerleader? Oh that's perfect! Following in your mother's footsteps already! Got a picture?"

Robin sighed. Talking about her parents was never easy for her. "I have one of my mom and dad from their wedding day."

"Can I see?"

Robin hesitated but Vivian's excited grin won her over. "Okay, yeah." She struggled to pull the wallet out of her tiny pants, finally having to arch her back to wrest it free. Robin opened the wallet and found the picture. "But I know her hair wasn't..."

Robin blinked at the picture. This couldn't be right. Her mom's hair was the same, vibrant, impossible shade of red as Robin's hair. But how could Robin's mom be a scarlette? Every other picture Robin had ever had ever seen of her mother showed a normal, if not beautiful, redhead. Even this picture, which Robin had looked at a thousand times, had always shown a regular redhead. What was going on?

Robin flipped through the two other pictures she had of her mother. One was a christmas photo with her mom posing with Grammy and a much younger Uncle Taylor. Her mom's hair was crimson red again. The other last one showed her mom holding a tiny, baby Robert in the hospital. Her mother's hair was still crimson red. This made no sense.

Vivian leapt over and snatched the wallet from Robin's hands. "Let's compare notes." She examined the pictures and then glanced back at Robin. "Wow. What did you mean your mom's hair wasn't what? I mean, it's the exact same shade. Yeah, her hair is a lot straighter but..."

"That's what I meant," Robin lied. "Her hair wasn't wavy like mine." Robin didn't want to discuss the strange hair color change in the photos with Vivian. She had already been reluctant to talk about her parents with Vivian. She was barely comfortable asking Uncle about them. It was stupid. Vivian probably would have been a good person to examine the mystery with, but, for the moment, she couldn't do it. She'd research this mystery herself.

"Ahhh." Vivian nodded in ignorance of Robin's lie. "Well, I have to say, wow. Your dad scored all right. Your mom was a straight up hottie!"

Robin's shoulders sagged. "Please don't call my deceased mother a hottie."

Vivian winced at her faux paux. "Sorry. That was in poor taste." Vivian handed back the wallet to Robin who in turn placed it next to her headphones. "But you definitely have her figure and face structure. Not sure why you're so short and stacked though. Your mom was nearly as tall as your dad, and, while she definitely was curvy, she was nowhere near as busty as you."

Robin winced. Even though it was true, she really didn't like being referred to as "busty." Vivian seemed to sense she had, again, gone too far and quickly moved away from the topic of cup-size. "But perhaps those are traits from your paternal side. How tall do they tend to run over on that end of your family?"

Robin paused and thought about it. "Well, my dad, as you saw, was tall but my Uncle sure ain't. He's only about 5'7" or something like that. As I think about it, I think that my Grammy was pretty short."

"Interesting. Well, any chance you have your Grammy's photos around? I'd love to see if I could further nail this theory down."

Robin shook her head. "Not in my wallet. I left her stuff back in Deepwater."

Vivian sighed. "Shame. Well, at the very least, I'll bet your charming drawal comes from her."

Robin rolled her eyes. "Come on, Vivian. You know that speech isn't genetic." And while Robin knew that was true, she couldn't deny that she too thought her accent seemed a bit stronger post-transformation.

"True," Vivian agreed, "but your accent wasn't as noticeable before this transformation. Something happened to your voice that just accents your... uh... accent more. Sure wish I could English better."

Robin chuckled then continued her point, "But, again, it's not a genetic thing to have an accent. So what changed?"

Vivian grimaced. "I'm not sure." Vivian paced around the room. "I mean, it could just be an example of interviewer bias; I might just be more predisposed to notice a feminine twang to a male one."

Robin shook her head. "I don't think it's that. I noticed it too." Robin shrugged. "Frankly I'm kind of relieved to hear I'm not the only person who noticed it."

Vivian smiled and jumped back on Noriko's bed. "Oh good. Though that doesn't preclude us both from having the bias. But discounting bias as the reason, it could just be the new register, pitch, tone, or whatever of your new vocal chords resonate better with the vowels that you naturally draw out, thus accentuating your twang more than it did before."

Robin grimaced. "How thick does the accent sound to you?"

Vivian gave a reassuring smile. "It's not that thick. You don't sound like a hayseed hick or anything as cliche as that." Robin gave a sigh relief. "However," Robin wasn't happy to hear that qualifier, "it's noticeable enough I think some boys will be imagining you wearing either a belle's dress or the stereotypical farmer's daughter look."

Robin groaned. "Why couldn't you have just stopped at the 'not a hick' line?"

Vivian smiled but held her hands up defensively, "Hey, I don't want to be held accountable for not telling you this at some later date. I'm avoiding any and all conversations that start out with the words, 'why didn't you warn me about this?'"

"Right. Cover your own angelcake, why don't you?" Robin stuck her tongue out then took another bite of ice cream. At least caramel, brownies, and chocolate couldn't disappoint her. She really was understanding the appeal of chocolate ice cream now. "Any other potential pitfalls you want to warn me about so I can't blame you later?"

Vivian tapped her cheek. "Did I warn you about the Petro Checker Building doors?"

Robin nodded. "Snap shut like a mousetrap and grab long hair? Yeah."

Vivian nodded proudly. "Oh good. So yeah. Watch the doors. Of course, we'll have to teach you proper super-long hair care but at least we can abuse our cheer-hack to..."

Robin swallowed down another bite. "Cheer-hack?" Robin liked the sound of that.

Vivian's impish grin morphed into an almost evil smile. "Ang and Kara hate it when I do this. It especially worries Ang."

"What does?"

Vivian popped back up to sitting on her knees. "So, like, notice when you powered down how clean you were?"

"No."

Vivian's shoulders slumped. "No? Come on? Like, you should have been all sweaty and grimy from battle. You didn't notice you were as clean as a baby?"

Robin gave her a flat look. "You may not have noticed but I was focusing on other changes a bit more. I was more concerned with my body than what was on it."

"Oh." Vivian blushed. "Right." Vivian coughed then continued. "So, you were squeaky clean. Trust me. Even your hair right now, I mean, look at it. Just like I said earlier, it looks like we belong in a shampoo commercial. Our hair is long, has amazing volume, no frayed ends, and both shine like a freshly mopped kitchen floor. Plus, your hair, wow it has just a fabulous amount of bounce that--"

Robin groaned. "The point, Vivian?"

"Right, sorry. Got sidetracked." Vivian took a slow bite of ice cream and savored the taste for a moment. "Mmm! Anyway. Point is, and I've studied this, each time we power up then down our bodies are refreshed sort of. Like rebooting a computer."

"How do you mean? Other than just being clean I mean?"

"Well, for example" Vivian mused, "notice all the cuts on your face during the Polygal fight? Of course you didn't, because they are gone with the wind! Those got rebooted for you."

"You sure that's a good example?" Robin gestured to her full body. "I mean, I lost a lot more than a few cuts. About a foot in height disappeared too, to say nothing of my plumbing."

Vivian erupted into a fit of a giggles. "Plumbing. Wow. Awesome." She wiped a tear from her eye and sighed. "Yeah, okay, you're a poor example." She snapped her finger. "I know, so, like, my acne got cleared up when I first transformed but I still sometimes wake up with zits. One quick power up then power down and, voila, skin so clear you'd swear I had a facial made of angels' kisses."

Robin squinted. "Angels' kisses?"

Vivian shrugged. "Yeah. Angels kisses would be, I don't know, super soft or someth--point is, you doofus, the zit is gone. I also haven't shaved my legs in months."

Robin reflexively rubbed her thighs together. The tight jeans against her hairless legs still felt completely weird. "So you do this every morning?"

Vivian grinned evilly. "Well, I try not to overdo it. Every day Kara leaves before I do, and it's a real time saver if I can avoid having to shower. Hair this long takes forever and a day to dry. Ang feels like it's an abuse of power or something like that. Responsibility in restraint or honor - some silly notion for the valiant types."

Robin was glad to hear not everyone was as wired for Spirit Guard duties as Angela was. "Angela worries about abuse of power? You're just using it to skip a shower."

Vivian’s smile deflated to a slightly guilty grin. "I'm painting a horrible picture of her. Angela's just far more sincere and earnest than I'll ever be. She looks back on our past lives in the Ardent Empire and sees the abuses of power that lead to societal erosion and blah, blah, blah. She fears small steps of abuse might corrupt us as it did the Queen."

"I, on the other hand, just think Fate sort of owes us a solid, you know? Using magical power to avoid having to shower and saving money on hair care sounds like a fair tradeoff to me. Because, seriously," Vivian held her hair up again, "look at how long our hair is! Do you know how much shampoo and conditioner we'd have to use to keep our hair looking presentable? If she's going to force us to have long hair, I say it's fine to abuse our abilities just a little bit." Vivian leaned back against Noriko's bed clearly satisfied to speak her mind on the issue.

Robin smirked. "But as the Scholar didn't you make the Spirit Sticks? Isn't the being stuck with long hair thing kinda your fault and not Fate's?"

Vivian sat up with a pout, "That's exactly what Mal said! Why are fingers getting pointed at me? Doesn't everyone see that I'm a victim here? Can't we get back to the part where we talk about what a bossy ninny Fate is and blame her for our problems? I liked that better."

Robin chuckled. "Why does Kara not like it?"

Vivian sat back up. "Oh, Kara just feels like it's cheating. And if people next to her are cheating and don't feel guilty about it, Kara will start feeling guilty for them. She's adorable like that. It's why I wait for her to leave first. That way she doesn't have to feel guilty."

Robin was beginning to understand what the various empathokinetic blips she was feeling might have been. If Vivian was transforming nearly once a day to avoid a shower and leg shaving... Robin glanced down at her own legs. "So I can't get my haircut, but I can at least avoid having to shave my legs?"

Vivian pursed her lips and considered. "Probably." Then she shook her head, "I mean, I'd recommend we show you how at least once. I mean, it'd be suspicious if leg shaving or waxing came up and you didn't really have any good opinion on it."

Robin stuck out her tongue. "Shaving versus waxing? How the honey often does that conversation come up? Is that an actual frequent topic?"

Vivian nodded sagely. "More often than you'd think."

"How perfectly vague of you," Robin grumbled.

"Brilliant, right?" Vivian chuckled at her own joke then shrugged. "But seriously, yeah, with the cheer-hack, you and I can get around a lot of annoying little things, but it'd probably be a good idea if we walk you through it anyway. I mean, just so you can fit in better if you are ever in an all-girl situation that doesn't involve other super cheerleaders or a ninja that knows your tragic backstory."

"Yeah. You're probably right." Robin grumbled again and took a consoling bite of her ice cream. Why on Earth did this taste so good? Could it really have been something as stereotypical as girls just loving chocolate more? Robin preferred to think it just so happened to be a flavor that really agreed with her new taste buds combined with the self-indulgent need to devour her feelings. But Robin couldn't lie and say Vivian's cooky arguments weren't having an effect on her.

Vivian took another large bite and let her satisfied moans fill the air. The discussion of shaving her legs brought to mind another topic Robin wasn't comfortable talking about. "So... it helps with zits and leg hair and stuff?"

"Yup!" Vivian began licking the inside of her carton. How could she already be finished? And how could she be so... undignified? Maybe girls weren't as clean as life on the other side of a Y chromosome had lead Robin to believe.

"And it seems to use up calories to regenerate your hair and wounds?"

"You've got it now, Rosy."

"So hypothetically," Robin took another bite before continuing her conjecture, "if we just cut our hair, we could burn whatever calories we want?"

Vivian's chocolate-colored eyes lit up with an excitement she hadn't seen yet. Robin feared the burst of energy that was about to wash over the room. "Finally! Someone sees the beauty of it!" Vivian triumphantly jumped on Noriko's bed. "You get it!"

Robin scooted back an inch. "Um, I'm not sure if I do, apparently."

"We can burn whatever calories we want!" Vivian landed on the ground and saluted like she was a gymnast. "We don't need to eat healthy at all! Our bodies are constantly healing. And, I've tested this, each transformation uses up a small but significant expenditure of energy. If we transform often and cut our hair once in a while, we'll burn off anything we could possible eat! So why not let everything we eat be greasy and delicious?"

Robin's conscience told her there was something morally wrong about this attitude, but she liked where this train was going, so she decided to ignore it. "You cut your hair often then?"

Vivian nodded happily. "And I wake up the next day famished, but it's worth it to be able to justify eating donuts and pastries each morning. Plus, I can keep donating my gorgeous locks to cancer societies." Vivian tossed her hair back for effect. Robin had to admit that Vivian really did look like she belonged in a shampoo commercial when she did that. "So, you see, really if you follow my lead on this one, we're just being super charitable to people in chemotherapy."

Robin shook her head and laughed. "How often do you do that?"

Vivian fussed with her hair to get it all back into place. "Well, not as frequently as I'd like to. I found out if you donate too often people start worrying where you get all this hair from and you can tell their appreciation letters are tinged with the fear that you might be some weirdo who cuts people's hair off. I now use fake addresses and names and such. Mostly claiming to be phony hair salons and such."

Robin let another giggle escape. She may have hated the new sound of her laugh, but she couldn't pretend that Vivian's hair donation antics weren't hitting her squarely in the funny bone. "Wow." Robin nodded. "It does kind of sound creepy when you put it like that."

"I know, right?" Vivian tossed her empty pint of ice cream in Robin's garbage can. "But back to the point at hand. Each transformation seems to try to reset us back to the body we had when we did our first power down. That being the case, I don't see why I should eat healthy other than I'd get tummy aches if I ate exclusively junk food."

Robin dipped her spoon into her pint, contemplating the thought of getting to just eat whatever. As a football player, Robert had always paid at least some attention to his diet. That habit hadn't stopped when he quit the team. "I assume from your tone the other girls don't see it your way?"

Vivian pointed her finger out the window. "I'm certain Mal uses it. She talks about health food like she's all nuts and berries and protein shakes, but I don't see any of that stuff in her pantry. Well, I mean, not as much as you'd think you should. But there is no way Mal doesn't transform on gameday to make sure her body is at its peak."

Robin gave Vivian a flat look. "You go through her pantry?"

"Not the point," Vivian coughed.

"Uh huh."

"Point is, she's pretending not to for the sake of Ang who..."

A thought permeated Robin's mind. She suddenly felt very nervous. "Yeah. You mentioned Angela and Kara's opinions." Robin swirled her spoon nervously around the edges of her ice cream. There wasn't much left. Where had it all gone? She certainly couldn't have eaten that much, right? "Vivian. Uh, the transforming healing stuff... does it have a similar effect to... uh... well..."

Vivian gave an apologetic smile and let Robin struggle for a few moments to find the words she wanted before Vivian finished Robin’s sentence. "Menstruation?"

Robin winced. Even the word sounded disgusting. "Could you not have just said 'periods?' Is that too much to ask?"

"You were taking too long. Frankly, I'm surprised it took you this long to ask about this. It would have been question number one if I had been a guy." Robin could feel herself blushing. "And, yeah, menstruation is a gross word, but, come on, everyone else has probably been all tippy-toe-y around you all day. You seem to be okay with my irreverence so far. I'll bet it's nice to get someone who doesn't make a big deal about it or, gasp, even is willing to laugh through the stupidity of it all. Because, seriously, this is so stupid that you're having to go through this."

Robin took a deep breath. "It is a breath of fresh air," she admitted. "But... that subject? I don't know." Robin let out a long breath before pushing forwards. "How about you just give me the answer."

Vivian's shoulders slumped. "Well. Sorry. No. My cycle has been nearly unaffected by transforming."

"Nearly?"

"Well, I mean, after the first transformation I skipped a month. I think, and it's merely conjecture here, my body needed to sort of fully reboot in the new form. But after that, I've been just as frequent as before." She gave another apologetic smile. "Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Rosy. But, yeah, you'll likely have to deal with the big red monster just like everyone else with the double-x chromosome."

Robin groaned. Her body seemed to ache at just the mere thought of a period. "Is it as bad as TV and movies make it out to be?"

Vivian giggled. "Almost absolutely not."

"Again with the qualifiers," Robin grumbled. "Why almost?"

"Well," Vivian leaned forward with excitement, "if you think about it, most scripts are written by men. Fact is, Hollywood is really bad at being a men's club. Please note that, like a men's club, only women who look hot can get in and they are there only to be looked at."

Robin rubbed her temples. "The point, Vivian?"

"Right. Sorry." Vivian giggled at herself and continued. "But let's think about it. When you write about something you don't have first hand, you tend to exaggerate the parts you don't know. So periods in cinema tend to get exaggerated. Especially the mood swings. But that's not even the biggest point."

"What would that be?"

"It's different for each woman. Some girls cramp up horribly and feel like vomiting all day. But for most of us it's like having a mild flu. You're achy, feel bloated, and yeah, have a rush of hormones you don't normally have in such high quantities, and, yes, that can lead to some mood swings. But really it's just like any other sick day except you leak down there." Vivian shrugged. "My aunt apparently gets it really bad and has to save sick days for Aunt Flo's visits, but, for me, I can go about my day just fine. I'm just a little grumpy because everyone is grumpy when they have to work on a day they feel sick. Very few people have good attitudes when their body is acting up."

Robin gave a sigh of relief. That didn't sound as bad as she had feared. "Then again," Vivian added, "given your luck so far, you'll be cramping up like a marathon runner without water."

Robin flopped onto her pillow. "Thanks for the pep talk."

Vivian giggled apologetically. "I'm just saying, so far, everything about your change seems to be an outlier. I guess, though, you could go the other way too and barely notice. There really is no way of knowing until it happens."

Robin shook her head and stared at the ceiling. "Holding pattern. Seems par for the course for me."

"Yeah. It really bites." Vivian followed Robin's lead and flopped onto Noriko's pillow. Noriko's bed, in a few short minutes, had transformed into a disaster zone. There were spots of ice cream here and there and the sheets were ruffled like a potato chip. Robin decided that the short brunette was a walking cleaning hazard.

Robin wanted to change the subject to something that didn't seem to upset her stomach. "Won't the ninja be pissed you messed up her bed and got ice cream on it?"

Vivian smiled. "She'll be annoyed, yes. But I think she likes it."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I'm fun!" Vivian popped back up. Like a puppy, she seemed unable to stay in one position very long. "Plus, when I mess with her stuff it's the closest she'll come to showing any emotion."

"Aren't you worried she'll take it wrong and think you're picking on her?"

Vivian dismissed the thought with a wave. "She gets that I just like to ruffle everyone's feathers. I mess with everyone who is my friend. I'll probably rearrange your stuff too just to bug you at some point. Also, if you get a random, unmatched sock in your laundry... that's likely me. Unless it's Kara trying to to pretend it's me and get me in trouble. She's sometimes really sneaky."

Robin sat up on her elbows. "You'll put an unmatched sock in someone else's laundry? Why?"

Vivian demonstrably groaned and blew some tufts of black out of her face. "You don't see the genius of it either? Sheesh. You and Mal both need to smell the roses, Rosy. I mean, Ang not getting it. That makes sense. Ang doesn't have the sense of humor required to appreciate my genius. But you and Mal. For shame."

Robin rolled her eyes once again. She was starting to see how Eli felt dealing with Cory by himself for years. "Help me catch the vision, Vivian."

"That's the attitude!" Vivian clapped. "So you know how annoying it is to have one sock that has lost it's partner?"

"Uh huh?"

"So when you get one, you just put it in someone else's hamper and, tadaa, not your problem anymore! Now they have to wonder where it's partner ran off to or, if they are perceptive, where on earth this sock came from! It's hilarious!"

Robin had to admit there was a certain comedy to the idea. She just didn't have to admit it out loud. "Seems mildly amusing at best. I mean, you don't ever see them struggle with it."

"Well yeah," Vivian admitted. "But the thought of them having to deal with it is funny enough. I get at least two chuckles each time I do it. Though, over the summer, I did it to Noriko often enough that she was able to return two and a half pairs of socks to me."

Robin giggled again and reminded herself to not focus on the alien sound that came from her mouth. "You sound like you’re terrible with losing socks."

"Psh. Whatever. They just are intimidated by my intelligent and quirky charm."

Robin squinted. "Who are intimidated? The socks?"

"Finally! Someone understands! It's not my fault the socks are such scaredy cats!"

"You are so wei..." Robin froze as a pure black silhouette jumped onto the window ledge, just over Vivian's head. Instinctively she used her extra sense to reach and and feel for her Spirit Stick. It was under her pillow if she just...

Vivian noticed Robin's reaction and spun around with a grin. "Oh! Heya Spooky!"

Spooky? It dawned on Robin that, of course, the black-clad silhouette would be the ninja-girl returning home. Because of course she wouldn't use the door. Or teleport stones. Windows surely made the most sense.

Noriko wedged the window open and squeezed into the bedroom. No sooner was she in than she shut the blinds and removed her mask. Her short black hair spilled out. Her face was nearly as expressionless as the mask she had worn. The only hint of emotion came from her brown, almond-shaped eyes. They seemed annoyed. "Vivian, you have spilled food on my bed. Again."

"Did I?" Vivian asked with mock surprise. "Oops! I did! Sorry about that!" Vivian grinned from ear to ear, seemingly overjoyed that she had been caught.

"I doubt your sincerity." Robin was glad that Noriko at least wasn't naive. A naive ninja would be very dangerous. "Could you not have just as easily sat on the other bed and eaten ice cream?"

Vivian pouted. "Why would I do that? Your bed is so much more comfy."

"Our mattresses were bought from the same mattress wholesaler last January. They were all made in the same factory. The odds of one bed being more comfortable than another are minimal." Robin thought about the amount of bouncing Noriko's bed had endured and decided Noriko was wrong on that point.

Vivian shrugged. "Say what you will, but yours is so much comfier than the others."

Noriko sighed and glanced at Robin. It was the most emotion she had seen on the ninja's face yet. It was a face that quietly asked, "Do you see what I have to deal with?" Robin on the other hand was amused by Vivian's teasing. The fact that she teased a ninja, something comics had taught Robin you should never tease, probably was the biggest reason.

Noriko bowed slightly towards Robin and greeted the scarlette. "I understand you and I are to be roommates now, Robynne?"

Robin decided she'd jump on the teasing bandwagon with Vivian. Noriko had threatened Eli and Cory after all. "Nah. Just decided to move all my stuff in here for the fun of it."

Noriko gave another sigh. She obviously didn't appreciate the sarcasm. "Indeed." She removed her satchel from over her shoulder. The ninja, seemingly unconcerned with Rob's presence, peeled herself out of her morph suit. In moments, Noriko stood only in a black pair of brief panties and a sports bra.

Robin blinked. Had a woman just casually undressed herself just right in front of him? No. Her. In front of her. Robin chastised herself. Of course Noriko undressed herself in Robin's presence. Robin was a girl too. She just needed to hide her surprise before--

Vivian laughed like a hyena. "What's the blush for, Rosy?"

Noriko opened her dresser but paused to observe Vivian's giggles. "Rosy? I thought she decided to go with the name Robynne after her grandmother."

Robin desperately tried to stop blushing, but she was unsure how exactly to do that. "I did." Why was she blushing so much? It wasn't like he hadn't seen worse in movies or on the internet. Then again, it had never been done in front of her before. Robin was starting to realize that growing up in a house with only her Uncle had left her a tad bit more sheltered than she originally anticipated. The only undressing she had ever seen was in the football locker room, and that was a bunch of dudes. She was going to have to rewire her brain for what was and was not proper states of undress for the respective genders.

"Then why did... nevermind. I forgot Vivian's proclivity for nicknames." Noriko fished out a pair of black sweats and a simple, pastel green tank top from her dresser.

Vivian made the motion of shooting a pistol. "Pow! Bullseye, Spooky! You got it. Feel free to call her Rosy too. She loves it!"

Noriko stared at Vivian for a moment and just blinked. It was as if was trying to piece together how Vivian existed. It was unlikely there was anyone like Vivian back in her ninja village or wherever she was from. Then again, Robin was fairly certain there was no one like Vivian back in Deepwater either.

The ninja gave up on solving the puzzle of Vivian and quickly got dressed. She separated her short sword from her satchel and hid it in her dresser. Every movement she made was quick and purposeful. Despite how fast the movements were, it seemed clear to Robin that this ninja was not rushing her motions but rather was moving with intense purpose.

In a few short moments, she had put everything away except her satchel. Noriko paused and examined it. The pause was just long enough to seem out of place compared to her other motions. "Got something on your mind?" Vivian chirped as Robin shoved the last bit of her ice cream into her mouth and savored its flavor.

Noriko took a deep breath before she said, "Indeed." Noriko approached Robin. "Robynne Darling. You made a tremendous sacrifice today. Such a sacrifice is rare." Noriko's face remained passive but Robin could see sincerity in her eyes. "I... apologize... for judging you, your intentions, and your friends so harshly a few days ago. I was... wrong. Please forgive me." Noriko gave another slight bow.

Robin sat there, spoon still in her mouth, unsure of what to say. She really hadn't expected this. Part of her really didn't want this. There was a small bit of solace she could take in holding a grudge against Ms. Kuna's prized ninja. Uncle had always said it was petty to hold grudges. He was right, of course, but it didn't mean it didn't sometimes feel good to hold them anyway.

Robin fished the spoon out of her mouth and sighed. Sure, she couldn't talk to Uncle Taylor, but she knew exactly how he'd want her to react. "Don't worry about it. You were just doing your job." Robin really didn't want to admit her next line. "We all misjudge people at some point."

Noriko nodded and unzipped her satchel. "I am pleased we resolved that." Robin squinted. What was she fishing around for? "Now, at the mall I did my duty as a member of the Hush Corps to eliminate every trace of evidence that you, Elijah Drake, or Cory Frost had been there. In my search, I found something I think you might want."

Robin leaned forward and tossed her pint of ice cream in her garbage. "Something I might want?" Robin searched her mind. Did Noriko get her a present? Or did Robin forget something at the mall? She still had her phone and wallet. What else was there?

Noriko removed what looked to be a rolled up magazine from her satchel. "I apologize if it got ruffled in my carrying case. It is a rather tight fit, and this was the only way I could wedge it in. I regret to inform you most of the damage was done before I touched it. Seems it got stepped on a lot by stampeding mall goers." The ninja unrolled the magazine to reveal that it wasn't, in fact, a magazine at all. It was a comic book. Robin recognized and accepted it with near reverence.

Collider #187. The issue Robert had bought inside Dungeon Direct earlier that morning. The cover was, indeed, dirty and torn from being stepped on. The entire book was folded in half, and that wasn’t even mentioning the circular warping from Noriko's method of delivery had created. No doubt the collection value of this specific comic was shot.

Yet, to Robin, it was the most valuable comic she had ever owned. Much like her self-identity, it was battered, bruised, trampled, and torn, yet it was still intact and still hers. And Noriko had spent the time to bring it. "I can't believe you bothered to pick it up."

Noriko shrugged. "It was evidence of your presence there. It was my duty to remove it."

"D'aww!" Vivian jumped up and attempted to hug Noriko, "you just wanted to make Robyn feel better! You do have a heart!"

Noriko ducked Vivian's hug, spun around to Vivian's back, and with a simple light push, redirected Vivian's momentum to carry her out the door. The moment she crossed the threshold of the doorway, Noriko snapped the door shut and locked it. The entire combination of moves had been a single fluid motion as if Noriko had been dancing with Vivian as an unwitting partner.

Vivian pounded on the other side. "Hey! That's so not fair! You cheated and used your judo-fu on me!"

Noriko's tone remained even and poised. "I have been quite busy today and did not have magically augmented strength and endurance to accomplish my tasks. I require rest. I shall see you in the morning, Ms. Joy."

"But Robyn needs more therapy! She'll clearly go crazy without my help!"

Noriko walked away from the door. Robin thought she could see the vaguest hint of a smirk on the ninja's face, but it was hard to tell. "In my estimation, Robynne seems of quite sound mind, especially given today's ordeal. I find your concern to be unwarranted."

Vivian remained uncharacteristically quiet for a moment. Then she pounded on the door again. "Rosy! You're locked in a room with an evil ninja! You'll need rescuing! Open up the door!"

Robin grinned and relaxed against her pillow and opened up her comic. "Sorry Vivian. Noriko has me trapped with a comic book. Can't escape."

"Sorcery!" Vivian exclaimed.

Noriko raised an eyebrow and lowered her voice. "I'm sorry if you wanted to talk with her more. I know you haven't had the easiest day either. I just grow weary of her unmaking and spilling things on my bed for the sole purpose of bothering me and amusing herself."

Robin shrugged. It hadn't been a few minutes ago that she hated this girl, but it was amazing what a sincere apology and returning a comic book at the right time could do. Plus, Robin suspected this ninja was deriving as much joy from locking Vivian out as Vivian got from messing with Noriko's things. "Don't worry about it. This day has been tough on everyone except whoever gets the contract to repair the mall's damage. We all could use some rest." Robyn left out the part where keeping Vivian locked out meant she could finally read her comic.

"Rosy? Spooky? You gonna let me in now?"

Robin grinned. "Thanks for the talk, Viv. I needed that, but now I got to read my comic. It's even more important for my therapy."

The muffled Vivian dismissed Robin's claim. "Bah!" Despite her words, Robin could hear Vivian was amused. "That room is occupied by a ninja and a transgendered super cheerleader, and yet it's still filled with the most boring people ever!"

"Night Vivian," Robin chuckled and turned to the first page. Last issue, Collider had figured out she had been trapped in Virtually's electronic reality simulation for seven issues. She had been running around in circles for his amusement. Now, Robin was eager to find out how Collider would escape.

---

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Trace liked the dark corner booth of Rusty's Tavern. It felt like her own personal guard, pushing unwanted people away. Any time someone looked like they might try to start a conversation, she could just glare up at them and look as menacing as possible, and they normally would leave. The dark allowed her to drink in peace.

Platicore was going to be mad. She hadn't gotten his latest failure's empathic capacitor. It wasn't her fault, but he'd be mad anyway. That new Spirit Guard, the scarlette, had spooked her. Trace had been completely cloaked by the stealth band Platicore had given her, yet that bitch had looked straight at her. None of the other Spirit Guard seemed to notice her before. Could this new girl see invisible things? Was that her power?

Trace was just glad the girl had been too busy with Platicore's toy to bother investigating. Without any augmentations of her own, Trace would've been completely at her mercy. She really didn't like feeling helpless. Platicore said he'd get her some empathokinetic armor or whatever when he had enough spare investiture, but there never seemed to be enough investiture for anything other than another one of his freaky golems. Trace suspected he didn't trust that she'd follow him once she had power of her own. He was probably right.

Rusty, the old man who owned the bar, placed a small glass with ice on her table. Without saying a word, he filled it with some Johnny Rider 18. She liked that he never had to ask what she wanted to drink anymore. "You want me to leave the bottle here tonight?"

Trace was tempted. She really liked this brand of scotch; it reminded her of the old Triays'e White Barrel she used to drink back home. However, she knew that if she had to deliver bad news to Platicore again then she didn't want to do so whilst being a bit tipsy. That could trigger one of his "moods"...

Trace could have just shaken her head but she liked practicing her English with Rusty around. The old man never seemed to judge her when she'd mess up or ask where her accent was from. "Would be better if you did not do."

Rusty nodded and put the cap back on the square bottle. There was so much more artistry to drinking here. The bottles back home were just bottles. Here the bottles were all sorts of shapes, colors, and sizes. "Just let me know if you want more later." He turned and started to walk away.

She had returned empty handed after the Polygal incident. She didn't have Day LaMode's capacitor yet. She would have it. She'd just get it later tonight. However, if she returned to Platicore with nothing other than news of a new Spirit Guard, he'd be livid. She didn't want to put up with his whining. "Rusty. One thing more."

"Yeah?"

"I need an fruity beer in the bottle." Trace couldn't remember what those types of alcohol were actually called. She hoped Rusty would understand what she meant.

Rusty raised an eyebrow, "You mean like a wine cooler?" Trace nodded intently and Rusty folded his arms. "I thought you hated that stuff?"

Trace nodded again. She had tried one once, after seeing a bunch of drunk sorority girls drinking them. Truly, that entire branch of alcohol was worthless, but it wasn't like she was getting it for herself. "Not for mine consumption. For... friend. To go."

Rusty shrugged and walked off, "Got a flavor in mind?"

"Green one."

Rusty shrugged and shuffled off. She needed to keep Platicore off her back, and if there was one thing life had taught her, it was that booze was a great way to soften someone up. She had brought him a bottle of scotch once to try and loosen him up. Instead Platicore just complained about how strong the taste was. Well, if he couldn't handle the stiff drinks, maybe he needed something only sorority girls could handle.

Rusty returned with a green wine cooler, "Lime good enough?"

"Is fine," Trace affirmed.

Rusty smiled but looked like he might want to ask something. "You uh... enjoy your drink, miss." Trace was grateful that he didn't act on his curiosity. She was pretty sure he didn't even know her name. Trace liked a barkeep who just let her be.

Trace's pager buzzed and she groaned. Looked like she wasn't getting any alone time with a bottle of scotch today. She downed what was left of her cup of Johnny Rider 18 with a grunt and slammed her fist on the table. She probably should have just nursed it a bit longer and told Platicore she was a bit further away from a stone. However, she wasn't bringing him any Investiture tonight. She wanted to be as prompt as possible to avoid a bitch-fest.

As she stood up, a nervous, college-aged looking man peeled away from his circle of friends and walked towards Trace. She groaned once more. This wasn't what she needed. The guy wore a tight, button up shirt designed to show off his moderately well built muscles. "Uh, excuse me, miss."

Trace glared. She tried to look as put out as possible. Maybe the guy would just take a hint. "What you wanting?" She walked past the guy and returned the bottle of scotch to the bar for Rusty.

The guy cleared his throat, "Sorry to intrude, but I've seen you over in the corner a fews times. It's very rare that a girl as lovely as you drinks something as stiff as Johnny Rider and I just had to ask..."

Trace pushed her lavender hair back and sighed, "I am busy."

The guy took a step back and she could hear his buddies at his table stifle giggles. The guy, now hesitant, didn't give up just yet. "I was just wondering if I could get you a drink and..."

She didn't get guys like this. She obviously had no interest but he kept trying. Why? How blunt did she need to get? "No. Leave myself alone. Buy dumb sorority girl a drink. I am not of interest." Trace made a beeline for the door.

As she walked, she could hear his buddies chuckle and wince with a mix of amusement and sympathy. One of them muttered, "That bitch is cold."

Trace stopped at the door. She turned and stared at the table and their laughter fell silent. Trace had been told her glare could stop someone's heart. She may have liked this culture's drink selection, but if there was one thing she hated about this place, it was how she had to hold back.

Back at home she could have decked that guy, and no one would have thought twice. Here, no, there were so many more rules. Someone could insult you but if you didn't show "maturity" and "restraint" you were somehow the asshole. She didn't asked to be bothered. Point of fact, she had actually done everything to make it clear that bothering her was something one shouldn't do. But now she was the bitch because she didn't humor someone who had clearly ignored all the warning signs. That's not how it was back at home... not on the Triays'e side of the tracks anyway.

The fact of the matter, though, was that she wasn't on the Triays'e side of the tracks. She was here, and she needed to keep a low profile. It didn't matter if she had made it clear she didn't want to be bothered, this society would find her at fault if she let things get physical. Then, if she made headlines by starting a barroom brawl, she'd have to ignore another of Platicore’s lectures. Plus, that would also cause trouble for Rusty, and he didn't deserve that.

Trace settled for extending that table her middle finger and storming out. She still wasn't quite sure what that gesture meant, but she had gathered it was quite rude. She probably should do more research of such things on the internet, but that would require asking Platicore for either a computer or credentials to use some public locale, and she hated asking him for things.

Trace stomped her way across the back alleys until she came to the back door of an unused and rundown office. The alley was empty tonight. Good. She hated having to chase off hoboes. She knocked four times on the bricks to the left of the door. Just as they had before, a small, green portal opened. It was just barely big enough for her to fit in. She squeezed through, and the portal closed behind her.

Platicore's lair was unlike anything she had seen before. The ceiling was a sea of stars and galaxies, but she could breathe the air just fine. The walls were a mix of neolithic stone carvings and high-tech science equipment she couldn't begin to understand. The place made no sense but what did in this business? Trace found it best not to dwell on these things.

She could hear the loud crashing of Platicore's "feet" on the other side of a wall. The bowl-shaped head of Platicore's power armor peered around the corner. His robotic, wheezing voice betrayed his surprise. "You came rather quickly."

"I was in the neighborhood." Trace was relieved that she didn't have to speak English around Platicore; the translator he built into his suit took care of the obvious language barrier the two would normally have.

"No doubt at your booze house, like normal." Platicore rolled his eyes, and Trace shivered. She tried to never look at Platicore's actual, scarred, animal form in the bowl helmet of his power armor. Fate's Guardian's freaked Trace out. Animals, especially ones as bizarre and as injured as Platicore, should not be that expressive.

Trace decided to test his mood by giving him both a verbal barb and a gift. Depending on his reaction, she'd know what type of mood he was in. "Don't be like that, Platy." Trace placed the bottle of lime wine cooler in front of him, "I brought something for you. They call it a wine cooler. It's made from fruit. You might like this one."

Platicore growled. "Do not call me Platy! I am Lord Platicore."

Trace held her breath, waiting to see if he'd snap. "Most people give thanks when they are given a gift."

For a moment, Platicore looked like he might snap. Instead, Platicore opened a fold on his armor's chest, opened the bottle and poured some of the green liquid in. Trace let out a sigh of relief. He was in a good mood. Numbers and letters in a foreign language flashed over his helmet. He nodded, "Well, it is at least not poison."

Trace raised an eyebrow. "You are familiar with what alcohol is, right?"

"I'm well aware, smart ass. I just mean you aren't actively trying to poison me."

Trace groused at the accusation. "Platy, if I wanted to kill you, you'd see it coming. I don't stab people in the back."

"How very reassuring," Platicore's voice oozed with sarcasm. Trace watched as the wine cooler flowed into a feeding tube within the helmet. Platicore craned his neck and sipped at the liquid. "Mmm. How very delightful." Trace gave a sigh of relief as he poured more liquid into his chest compartment. "It reminds me of some of what we'd... liberate from the Ardentia royals’ stores during the war. What do they call this?"

"Lime wine cooler."

Platicore put the cap back on the bottle. Trace never stopped marveling at the delicate tasks Platicore could perform in his suit. The former guardian never left it's confines. Without it, he had indicated that he'd be unable to do much of anything due to the injuries he sustained while fighting the ever-so-mysterious Queen. "Well, it tastes wonderful. Much better than that swill you brought last time."

Trace shoved her hands in her coat pockets and glowered at Platicore. If the creature noticed her anger at his dismissal of her drink of choice, he didn't let on. "Enough diversion. It's time for us to get to the messy business." Platicore placed the rest of the wine cooler bottle in his chill box. "My data indicates Day LaMode has gone offline. Those meddlesome Spirit Guard have managed to kill two in one week. This is very troublesome. Since Polygal mysteriously got no yield, we are running dangerously low on Investiture. If Day LaMode did not gather enough Investiture, I might not have enough energy to recharge your stealth band. Please tell me my creation had a plentiful harvest."

Trace looked away. Here it came. "I don't know yet. I wasn't able to swipe the capacitor after the fight. I..."

Platicore turned and his suit stood up to its full height. It towered over Trace. This was bad. He had been in a good mood. She had forgotten how quickly his switch could flip. "You didn't get it?" Before Trace could even move, Platicore squeezed her shoulder and slammed her back to the wall. Her vision blurred slightly but she could still make out the pure rage that burned in his eyes. "When I freed you from Fate's holding cells, it was on one condition! Just one! I forgave you for your lack of intel with Polygal, but now you fail me twice in a row! If I didn't know any better I'd say--"

Trace tried to squirm out of the mechanical hand's grip, but her shoulder wouldn't budge. She'd definitely have some bruising. She had to calm him down. "It's not my fault!"

"Not your fault?" Platicore sneered. "Pray tell, whose fault is it then, you worthless--"

"The fifth Spirit Guard showed up!"

"Come again" She felt the grip loosen; she ripped herself free and rolled away from Platicore. She needed to keep him calm before his temper flared up again. "The fifth... arrived?"

Trace wanted to yell at him for being a psycho. His mood swings were awful. She figured he had a screw or two knocked loose by that fight with that Queen person he wouldn't talk about. However, she knew that'd just set him off again. And until he made good on getting her some enhancements, she knew she couldn't afford to take on that powered armor in a fight. For now, she'd just have to continue to placate his curiosity. "Yeah. I got to the mall right as she started fighting your stooge. Short, curvy little thing. Super long scarlette hair. Wore a blue cheerleader outfit... and she looked right at me."

She could see the embers of his anger stir in his eyes, "And that stopped you from gathering the Investiture after the fight was over? Because she saw you before you activated stealth?"

Trace shook her head, trying to look confused. He liked feeling like he knew everything. Like he was the smart one in the room. Playing dumb often calmed him down. "No. She looked at me while I was stealthed. I approached the battlefield with the stealth band active, and she looked straight at me in the middle of the fight. Like I was more interesting than your little minion."

Platicore folded his machine's hands behind it's back. "Now that is curious... though not entirely surprising in retrospect."

"Care to fill me in? 'Cause that surprised the hell out of me."

The anger was gone as quickly as it had arrived. Trace gave an inward sigh of relief, though she was very careful to not rub her shoulder. Blaming him for his outbursts tended to cause more outbursts. "Yes. The fifth member of the Spirit Guard, the one yet to be seen, was a Shrine Maiden in the Ardentia clergy. She was practically an avatar of tranquility. Such tight control of yourself yields excellent clarity that can border on telepathy if mastered."

Platicore rushed to his toolbox and pulled out a few gadgets whose purpose perplexed Trace. "Your stealth band doesn't actually bend light; it plays tricks on one's perception so that they simply assume you aren't there, and their brain just, as a result, filters you out. I'm willing to bet this new Spirit Guard actually couldn't see you but rather sensed your emotions. I'll need to upgrade your band."

Trace groaned, "Yeah, so I ditched when she looked at me. I didn't want her to try to figure out what she was feeling."

Platicore nodded. "Wise of you. She's new, so she likely is unsure what it was she felt when she looked at you. Best not to leave an impression." Trace was tempted to ask for an apology, but she knew she wouldn't get it. "What were you able to learn, Trace?"

"I learned that she called herself Serenity. And that your monster almost killed Tenacity."

Trace put his hands flat on the table. "Almost? Almost how?"

"She was about to end the bitch's life when Serenity arrived to save her."

Platicore growled and punched through his work table. "Damn them and their accursed sense of timing! Can I not rid myself of one of them? No doubt Charity was there to heal her as well. I could have capitalized on the recovery time... if they hadn't just destroyed the two constructs I had in the space of a few days."

Trace took several steps back. If he needed to get his anger out, she didn't want to be within arm's reach. She needed to distract his mind. "At least it explains what happened to Polygal's capacitor. Probably tried to drain whoever this Serenity girl is and shorted out."

Platicore breathed slowly through his nose and tried to regain his composure. "Yes. You are likely correct."

"Maybe I could use that intel to try and figure out who the new girl is?"

Platicore waved her off. "I've told you it's a complete waste of time."

"I don't see how it..."

"Of course you don't," Platicore derided. "What do you understand about the disconnection effect? Nothing. It's a waste of resources and time. I've told it to you a thousand times. I'm not getting into this again!"

Trace thought that was stupid. Sure the Spirit Guard had disguise fields that warped your perception. But if she just kept that in mind as she researched, Trace was sure she could figure out who they were. In the end, they had to be around the same height, build, and had to be there at the time of the attack. Enough detective work should be able to fight any magical shenanigans. However, she wasn't about to argue with Platicore when he was dancing on the edge of his rage. "You're the expert."

"Yes. I am," Platicore seethed. "Regardless of intel, I still need that Investiture. I barely have enough energy to keep my suit active. Now I also have to modify your stealth band while also making another construct. If I don't..."

Trace made a beeline for the exit. Showing some initiative would give her an excuse to leave and should calm his temper. "The cops should be winding things down. I should be good to stealth in with no risk of alerting their Hush Corps to my presence. I'll have it within three hours."

Platicore nodded, opened up his chill box, and poured more wine cooler into his armor’s chest. "Yes. Of course. Run along. It's best if you get it quickly."

Trace couldn't have agreed more as she exited through the portal. The quicker she found a way to rid herself of this psycho, the better.

* - * - *

Robin scratched her head as she examined the jeans in the mirror. Thankfully, with her hair in a high ponytail, she could actually see her backside in the mirror without her mane of red blocking view. On the downside, that meant everyone else in the mall would be able to examine her backside as well. "Can we seriously find something less tight around my angelcake? I mean," Robin groaned, "my butt?"

Kara sighed and took another bite of her protein bar. It was her fourth one of the day, and it wasn't even noon yet. She really hadn't been kidding about how much her appetite would be affected by having to heal Mallory. "These are loose fit jeans, Robin. I do not wish to be the bearer of bad news, but those jeans aren't tight around your backside. I think they just feel weird because you aren't used to your new body yet.."

Robin grumbled. They had driven two towns over since Kessia City’s mall was still closed because of ongoing monster cleanup and repair. They had been combing through various cuts of jeans for nearly forty-five minutes already. Robin was already beginning to be worn out by all this shopping, and it had barely begun."What about going through the men's section? Maybe something there could work? And all the numbers are standardized over there, it would take less time since I wouldn’t have to make sure each pair of pants fit because a thirty waist is a thirty no matter who makes it."

Noriko shook her head. "I'd advise against it. Plus your waist is nowhere near a 30 anymore."

Robin grumbled again. Noriko's inclusion on this shopping trip had been a last minute addition. So far, she had been nothing but a finger popping Robin's soap bubbles of hope for comfortable clothing. "Why so?"

"Well Robynne, you said you want clothing that is comfortable. Men's clothing would be looser, yes, but they also wouldn't be tailored to your body correctly. You'd no doubt find them far less comfortable than clothes cut for a woman."

Kara nodded, "She makes a good point."

Robin didn't like it when she made good points. Yet, she had to admit, these jeans that she currently was trying on felt much better than the ones she had started the day with - ones she had arrived in Kessia City as a man with. "Fine. I guess this will have to do."

Kara gave Robin a conciliatory smile. "I'm telling you, your discomfort is likely more from how different pants feel on your, uh, new equipment down there. I'm sure you'll be quite comfortable in loose fit once you get used to your new body."

Robin shivered. "Let's just get two pairs of these then and agree to never reference my 'equipment' ever again."

Vivian stumbled around the corner with a giant stack of tank tops, short shorts, miniskirts, and dresses. "We're getting equipment now? I thought we were just getting Rosy here a new wardrobe."

Robin was seriously regretting letting Vivian tag along. She had let their "choco-phagial therapy session" lull her into a false sense of security. This girl was having way too much fun while Robin struggled with her new clothing issues. Robin pointed to the aisle Vivian had just come from. "Everything in your arms can go back where it came from. I am not a dress-up doll."

Vivian pouted. "But Kunapipi gave us her credit card and said the budget was as big as it needed to be! Plus, if we don't dress you up in things we have no intention of buying but you look great in, we're missing half the entire purpose of going on an apartment shopping trip!" Her eyes plead for Robin to relent.

"Back from whence it came!" Robin commanded with a air of drama she hoped Vivian would respect as a film buff.

Vivian grinned but made sure to arch her back and let out a long, loud, and pained groan. "Fiiiiiiiine, Commander Buzzkill! Cancel Christmas while you're at it!" Vivian chuckled and returned to the aisle she came from. Robin was not sure if she would ever understand that girl. She was even more confused with how Vivian was treating Cory with a cold shoulder now. The two would obviously get along great. For some reason it hadn't bugged her too much the night before but the little brunette's antics were increasingly reminding Robin how well Cory and Vivian had gotten along the night of the Polygal attack.

Kara smiled and took another bite of her protein bar. "I'm surprised you brought her along."

"Yeah. Not sure what I was thinking." Robin rolled her shoulders as she tried to discreetly adjust the bra she had borrowed from Angela. Despite their claims to the contrary, this had not made her more comfortable. She would never borrow a guy's underpants, so why were girls okay sharing bras? Plus the straps kept digging into her shoulders. Kara had said it was likely because she needed a bigger bra.

Robin didn't like that Kara had said that.

Kara gestured at the pile of jeans. "I noticed you said two pairs though. Surely you mean more than that."

Robin shrugged. "Why would I need more? They're jeans. You can wear them a week at a time."

Noriko stood up and thumbed through a selection of jeans with the same measurements as the ones Robin currently wore. "You need more because no girl who wanted to blend in would go around in the same pair of jeans for a week at a time."

Robin rolled her eyes. "I'm not worried about people thinking I'm a little messy."

Kara looked like she wanted to say something, but her mouth was full with another nutrition bar. Noriko spoke in her stead, "That should not be your concern."

Robin folded her arms, careful to keep herself from pushing her breasts together. She still wasn't used to that sensation, though she was amazed with how quickly she was getting used to the shift in body weight. "It shouldn't? Then what should be?"

"Clothes fit a function. For most people, that function is to appear attractive to the opposite sex or to express something of their individuality. In the short time knowing you, however, I get the impression you mostly wear clothes just to keep warm and be comfortable."

"Yeah," Robin snorted, "I'm not exactly trying to catch the eyes of other people."

"Then we are looking for clothes that make you comfortable, but if you dress too comfortably and without any hint of paying attention to style or fashion, that would make you stick out. Disregarding my concerns about any of the Spirit Guard standing out, I gather you want as little attention on yourself as possible, yes?"

Robin squinted her eyes. "Yeah. But, if I dress sloppy, won't that get people to leave me alone?"

"Maybe," Kara answered. "But unfortunately with your new body people might instead wonder why you're slumming it. Girls in particular examine things closely for the girl who doesn't fit in 'the box' of fashion. If you dress sloppy, you'll likely have a lot of eyes on you and people wondering, 'what is wrong with that girl? She's got a great body, yet she dresses like a hobo cat lady.'"

Robin didn't like the idea of people staring at her. "Okay. I get that, but other than judgemental looks, what other kind of attention would that get me? If it's just the judgemental eyes I don't care."

Vivian popped back around the corner. This time she carried a smaller, more reasonable collection of practical blouses and business skirts. Robin was relieved to see Vivian was starting to address the clothes she would need to meet the campus dress code. Vivian appeared eager to rejoin the conversation, "Some of that attention would just be girls who want to help a fashion disaster. Girls love making other girls feel pretty. It comes from a childhood of playing with dolls." Vivian dumped the pile of clothing at Robin's feet with a grin. "On that note, here are some clothes to make you feel pretty."

Robin gave her a flat look, "I sincerely doubt that you put away all those clothes you previously had."

Vivian stood up straight and puffed her chest out, "You have no proof I just dumped them in a dressing room."

Robin shook her head and opened her mouth to speak but Kara beat her to it, "Seriously Vivian? You just dumped all that in a dressing room? You're going to make employees clean it up?"

Vivian raised a finger. Without a witty rejoinder she just sighed. "Okay, yeah, gotta be honest... I didn't really think of that. Kind of a dick move on my part when you put it like that." Then she retreated back to the aisle in shame.

Kara shook her head but continued on, "But she is right. If you are a fashion disaster, you'll receive more attention. In addition to the overly helpful girls who would want to fix you, you'd also get attention from mean girls who boost their self-confidence by tearing down."

Robin snorted, "Yeah, I could care less what they think."

Kara gave a conciliatory nod, "You also have to consider the attention from boys who have been taught by movies that a girl who has a good body but who dresses frumpishly just needs a guy to make her confident in her body and he'll have a hottie for a girlfriend."

Robin scowled. "Okay, you know what, as a subject expert on being a dude, I can say I didn't have any such fantasies and never knew a guy who did."

Noriko kept her face impassive but reproof was in her voice, "Respectfully Robynne, from what I can tell, you aren't the most outgoing. Kara likely has a better handle on this than you do."

Robin's scowl deepened. "What exactly do you know about me? We've roomed for less than a day."

Noriko shrugged, "After the... incident at the arcade happened I had to run a background check on you. There wasn't much I could find. You didn't participate in any clubs in high school, though you were an active football player from middle school up through your junior year. You graduated number seven in your class. Your social media footprint is miniscule; the only place you post anything online is on your Aspect Realms guild's forum, and it took Will a good while to find even that. If you had friends in high school, it's curious that you didn't seem to attempt to go with any of them to college since you submitted no applications for any other colleges. This combined with your sudden non-participation in football your senior year suggests--"

"I get it," Robin interrupted. She did not like how perceptive her ninja-roommate was. "But that still doesn't explain why, if these looking-for-an-ugly-duckling-to-turn-into-a-swan guys exist, how I never ran into them."

"To be fair," Kara admitted, "a lot of it could just be guys who are too scared to ask out the attractive girls so they ask out girls who aren't as confident in themselves. Then, as time goes on, and the girl has a guy who is into them, the girl gets more confident and starts to dress accordingly. It might not be the guys doing it on purpose."

"Still," Robin countered, "it doesn't explain why, if it's so common, I have never noticed it."

Noriko glanced around the store as if she were checking for assassins in the shadows. "In my observations, women tend to think about relationships in a lot more depth than men. Perhaps it's societal; perhaps its biological. More to the point, maybe you're right and there aren't as many as Kara and I assume there to be. But I have seen them. They exist, especially in the pickup artist community. They are always looking for an angle to work. Add in the attention girls would be giving you as well, I'd say dressing out of style would garner more attention than I think you are anticipating."

Robin scoffed, "Yeah, so what are you suggesting then? I'm telling you right now dressing up like your average coed isn't going to get me any less attention and it's the type of attention I don't want."

Kara finished off her protein bar and shook her head. "That's not what we're suggesting."

"Then where are you going with this?"

Noriko approached the pile of skirts and blouses Vivian had left behind. "You're on campus most days and during school hours students have to abide by the business-attire dress-code. You simply have to look 'nice' rather than great to help you blend in."

Robin rubbed the bridge of her nose. "What exactly does 'nice' entail?"

Noriko held up a thin green blouse with short sleeves. "Most girls on campus would wear something like this. Most girls on campus want to catch eyes. The thin-material and tight cut of this top would be an example of what most girls wear to meet the letter of the dress-code but still get second looks."

"I am not most girls," Robin reminded the ninja.

"Indeed. I'd recommend something more like this." Noriko held up a long-sleeved dark orange blouse. "The material is thicker and designed to fit looser, hiding some of your figure without being baggy."

"But I want it to be baggy," Robin protested. "I don't want to show off any hint of my figure. Not even a rumor of it. As far as the rest of campus is concerned my figure should be an urban legend. A myth."

Kara giggled but shook her head, "But that doesn't help you with your actual goal."

"Enlighten me."

Kara stood up and stretched, "Well..."

"When a creature wishes to not be seen, it uses camouflage to blend in with it's surroundings," Noriko explained as she cut Kara off. "Your clothes are your camouflage. If you refuse to wear clothes that are at least somewhat similar to what other girls wear, you will stand out. If you stand out, you will get looked at and examined closer."

"On the other hand," Noriko continued, "if you wear something that looks like what other girls wear but isn't as showy, you're more likely to have eyes pass over you."

"Except I have," Robin grumbled, "and I can't believe I'm saying this, a more traditionally attractive physique than most girls. If I dress with the same rules, I'll stand out in the other direction."

Kara put a comforting hand on Robin's shoulder. Well, Robin knew it was meant to be comforting, but she instinctively shivered away from the contact. Kara frowned, but the look in her eyes told Robin she understood. "Not necessarily Robin. I think Noriko is onto something here. You simply need to dress 'like' other girls but wear styles that don't accent your, uh, natural aesthetic advantages."

Vivian popped around the corner and returned to the trio of girls, "Wow. That was the most tactful way I've ever heard someone say 'you're hot,' Kara. I'm legitimately impressed. You use lawyer language really well."

Kara shrugged and blushed, "One of my older brothers is a defense attorney, so I've picked up a thing or two." Her eyes narrowed, "You put away those clothes?"

Vivian held her hands up defensively, "Yes, Mom. I put them away."

Kara smiled and nodded her head, "Glad to hear it."

Vivian chuckled, "You're a regular slavedriver, you know that?"

Robin gave an amused snort, "All she did was make you take a look at your moral compass. You're the one who actually followed its directions."

Vivian pouted, "Hey, she doesn't need your help."

Noriko cleared her throat, trying to get the group back on topic. "Kara, other than looser fitting clothes, what other things were you suggesting for clothes that won't accent Robynne's natural aesthetic advantage?"

Robin cringed, "Is 'natural aesthetic advantage' going to be a thing now? It's kind of wordy."

Vivian shrugged, "We could just refer to it as your 'hotness' if you want it to be quicker."

Robin tossed her hands into the air, "Natural aesthetic advantage it is."

Kara ignored the semantics of Vivian and Robin's conversation and gestured to Robin's hair. "Your most striking feature is your hair. Scarlettes are fairly rare, and your hair is the most vibrant shade I've seen."

Vivian scratched her nose nervously, "You sure her most striking feature isn't lower? Like, you know, maybe in the torso region maybe?"

Robin gave Vivian a flat look, "Subtle."

Vivian shrugged, "What? I thought we were trying to be tactful. I'm just not as good at that as Kara."

"In a crowd," Kara intoned, "her hair will be what get people to take a second look. That's what stands out. So we need to pick out colors that mitigate and downplay her hair."

Noriko nodded. "That makes sense."

Robin raised an eyebrow, "What colors would those be?"

"Well," Kara said as she started thumbing through the selection Vivian had picked, "green compliments your hair amazingly well. So no greens. Same goes for blues."

Vivian nodded. "Plus, white and black go great with scarlettes. So not those."

Kara pursed her lips. "I agree with you on white but I'm not sure on black."

Vivian bounced on the balls of her feet. "You kidding? Black and red is like the best evil color motif! She'd practically have to beat off every guy with a 'bad girl' fantasy."

Robin raised her hand like she was in class, "Uh, as a former guy, let me just say, that's not how 'bad girl' fantasies work. You need a bit more than a black blouse to make that your look."

Vivian waved Robin's logic off, "I'm sure the black would corrupt you anyway. One week in and you'd be smoking cigarettes and underage drinking for sure. Clothes change people."

Robin rolled her eyes, "I'm pretty sure you can't use underage drinking as a verb."

"Psh. Maybe you can't. I refuse to be bound by your petty grammar."

Vivian's antics kept reminding her of Cory. She decided to change the subject to see if she could both do her friend a solid and make Vivian uncomfortable at the same time. "Okay, Vivian, let me ask you this then: why are you avoiding Cory?"

Vivian's grin faded and Robin could almost see her shrink back. "I... what?"

"Ever since the night at the Circle, you've been avoiding him. All your little jokes and jests you make tell me you two are perfect for one another. So why are you avoiding him?"

Vivian bit her bottom lip, "Uh... I don't like this change of subject."

Kara smirked and folded her arms, "Vivian speechless? I'm impressed."

Vivian cleared her throat. "Uh, that's uh..."

Noriko raised an eyebrow. "I had assumed it was because she was mad that he found out about her secret identity when she wasn't comfortable with him knowing about it."

Robin nodded, "Yeah. I could see that if it were his fault, but it's my fault. I'm the one that asked them to watch. So why are you treating me fine but ignoring him?"

Vivian glanced to Kara as if she was begging for her to intervene. Kara shook her head, "Don't look at me. I'm curious to know this as well. You were talking about him like you thought he was the funniest guy ever after your class and lunch with him a few days ago."

"I don't know," Vivian whined. "I just... I don't know."

Robin nodded her head towards Noriko, "Is it what she said? Because he knows your secret?"

Vivian shrugged, looking uncharacteristically uncomfortable. "I don't know. Maybe. I mean, I really... I guess I just imagined that I'd never reveal that except to... you know. My soulmate or something."

Robin frowned. She hadn't thought of that. A secret this big was supposed to be meant for only those who were special. They hadn't even shared it with their families yet. Eli could be written off as Mallory's brother. He might have eventually known. But Cory, even if Vivian was interested in him, wasn't "special."

Well, he wasn't special yet. Robin would see if she could help her friends out. "Look. It's my fault. Not his. Cut him some slack. Plus, who knows, maybe he is your soulmate."

Vivian chuckled and looked Robin up and down, "Isn't that a little too magical for your tastes?"

Robin shrugged and smirked, "Hey, just 'cause I don't buy into your girly malarkey doesn't mean I can't make observations. I'm a 'woman of science' after all."

Vivian shook her head and smirked, "You're just trying to get me to hook up with your buddy. Your boobs can't fool me! I know you're still secretly a dude!"

Robin grimaced at the boob comment but tried to power through, "I said nothing of hooking up. I just think you two have a lot in common. Don't hold it against him that he saw things he shouldn't have."

Vivian pursed her lips. Her lips slowly curled into her familiar grin. "I'll think about it."

Noriko stepped in, desperate to move the conversation along. "Speaking of Robynne's bust, what would we do to mask it's size?"

Vivian giggled, "Sheesh, Spooky. Put a tarp over her why don't ya?"

Robynne grumbled, "Can we stop talking about my chest like I'm some sort of anime character? I'm not so big that I'm a fudging cartoon."

Noriko cleared her throat. If she didn't know any better, Robin would say the ninja looked a little guilty. "My job is to keep your identities safe. I just want to minimize anything that would get you unwarranted and, I believe, unwanted attention."

Robin smiled. "And I'm completely on board with that."

Kara rested her chin between her thumb and index finger. "You know, we could go a step further for Robin's look on campus. If we give Robin a suit jacket to accompany her look that'd hide some of her bust."

Vivian clapped her hands together. "That's brilliant! It'd give her a more no-nonsense look that will scare off some of the boys."

Robin liked the sound of that. "Okay, I like where this is going, but I thought I had to 'blend in.' If none of the other girls wear a jacket won't that make me stand out?"

Noriko nodded. "A fair point, but female professors and some of the graduate students have to wear the suits as well. There are enough of them around you shouldn't stick out too much. There could be a potential benefit, since graduate students tend to be older, some of the students your age might think that you are actually older than you look and might avoid you altogether."

Robin considered Noriko's logic. It did make sense that it'd make her possibly seem older. After all, what eighteen year old girl would wear a suit jacket if she didn't have to? Most girls her age were more worried about having a good time than their education. "Okay. So, that makes sense. What about this skirts thing?" Robin frowned. "I'm not exactly excited about that part of the dress code."

Vivian grinned. "What's the matter? Not okay with the dress code anymore now that you have to wear a skirt?"

Robin held her hands up defensively. "The dress code was one of the reasons I chose this school. I liked the idea of a school with a more business-like atmosphere. But I thought, and still think, it's weird that skirts are a requirement for girls. I would have thought they would have modernized some."

Kara groaned, "Yeah, that doesn't make much sense to me either. I would have thought the Student Association would have overturned that a while ago, but I guess they think it's a slippery slope or... something."

Robin perked up, "Student Association? They are the ones who vote on this stuff?"

Noriko started picking out a selection of suit coats. "Yes. It's one of the draws for people who want to go into some form of leadership. The Student Association here at SAU has a lot more power than most Student Associations. A few people have run on a campaign to overturn the dress code but they never seem to win."

Robin squinted. "Really? I'd think that'd be something the student body would go nuts over."

Vivian shrugged, "Students are notoriously bad about actually bothering to vote. Plus, even if they get a President who wants to change the policy, the Association members who actually get to vote on it are all the representatives from the various frats, sororities, and clubs. Given how steeped in tradition the frats and sororities are, not much ever changes."

"Still..." Robin shook her head. They needed to get back to the task at hand. "Nevermind. We need to focus. We drove to a mall two towns over and are wasting our Sunday. I want to get this over with so I can go home and play games. We got jeans. We'll get suits. Then we need to get me some more casual shirts and" Robin sighed, "underwear."

Vivian rolled her eyes. "You'll like underwear, especially with girls your size. When you get a proper fitting bra, you won't have to borrow from Angela and feel all weird."

As if in response to Vivian's joke, Robin could feel Angela's bra straps digging into her shoulders again. "So you say."

Kara smiled, trying to offer Robin some hope with her eyes. "They'll have something in your size, I'm sure. Plus, then you don't have to wear that thick undershirt to keep you decent. That will be a lot more comfortable."

Robin shrugged. This day just kept getting longer and longer. "Yeah. Probably. Anyway, let's go find some colors that don't match me."

Vivian sighed, "For the record, this goes against every fashion instinct in my body."

Robin smirked, "Duly noted. Now let's get to work."

---

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Eli took a deep breath and knocked on the door quietly. Cory would be mad that Eli had gone without him, but the lout wouldn't get up. Eli wasn't going to sit around and wait for his friend to wake up around noon.

Angela opened the door, heavy bags around her eyes. "Oh - Elijah! Sorry. I forgot you were coming. Come in. Come in." As the door hung open, the faint aroma of a brothy soup wafted out of the apartment.

Eli waited a moment before walking in. He had called her only half an hour ago, yet she had already had forgotten? "I told you Angela, you can just call me Eli." She looked completely worn out. Had she slept at all? "Sorry if this is rude, but, uh, you don't look so good."

"Huh?" Angela took a quick look at herself in a small mirror on the fridge. She sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Oh, yeah. You made the same observation as Robyn."

Eli squinted. "Rob came by? When?"

"Earlier. She and the rest of her new roommates had to go shopping for a new wardrobe. She came by to borrow a... nevermind."

Eli let a humorous snort escape his nostrils. "A bra?"

Angela's droopy eyes shot open. "H...how did you guess?"

Eli rubbed the back of his head. "That thin shirt she wore last night really accentuated that she wasn't wearing one."

Angela scowled. "Oh. You noticed that?"

Eli groaned. "I feel like an ass, but yeah. Kind of hard not to. I mean, it's horrible but I am guy."

Angela nodded and rubbed her eyes, "I suppose that is true."

Eli shook his head. "Forget that though. Why are you worn out? You sleep at all?"

Angela shook her head and sighed, "I had a lot of trouble sleeping last night." She glanced up at Eli with a weak smile. "You look like you haven't slept well either."

Eli did feel tired. He slept some, but he kept thinking about Rob's sacrifice and his sister's brush with death. He could never sleep with heavy things like that on his chest. "No. I really didn't. Our new roommate showed up."

Angela sat up. "New roommate? They replaced Robyn?"

Eli decided to sit down at their small, coffee-stained kitchen table. The table was barely bigger than his desk. Eli knew the stipend their father gave Mallory plus her volleyball scholarship would cover a much nicer place than this. Why was Mallory living in a place that was so run down? "They didn't technically replace Rob, but it sure as hell feels that way. He's just our fourth roommate that never showed up. He just so happened to move in about an hour after Rob moved out."

"Oh, uh, well, that is... rather awkward," Angela stammered.

Eli nodded, "Yeah. I mean, he was cool and all. Really friendly. But..."

Angela rubbed her eyes again. "But it just wasn't a good time."

"Exactly." Eli groaned and decided to move the topic along. "So, is my sister awake yet?"

Angela glanced back at the mirror on the fridge and fussed with her hair. "She woke up briefly but fell back asleep." She smiled weakly. "First thing she asked about was you though."

Eli sat up straight in his chair. "Me?"

"Yeah. She wanted to know how you were doing. I think she forgot having asked Robyn the same thing last night after the fight. She didn't seem to remember much after Spirit Guard Serenity's arrival."

Short-term memory loss. The sign of a concussion. "I thought Kara's healing was going to take care of her injuries."

"And it did," Angela affirmed, "but these things take time to sort of, I don't know, stick. Charity's healing put her body back together, but there's still more healing to be done by our naturally augmented healing."

"I think you mean unnaturally augmented healing," Eli scoffed. "There isn't anything natural about what you girls do."

Angela chuckled. It made Eli feel good. He may have been pursuing Kara, but it always boosted a guy’s ego when he could get a girl to laugh - especially one as attractive as Angela. "You may have a point there," Angela conceded, "but the fact remains that she will be healing on her own as long as we keep her fed."

Eli leaned back in his chair. The leg wobbled and he immediately let it rest back on the ground. Was everything in this place rickety? "Why do we have to keep her fed?"

Angela shrugged, "Vivian theorizes, and her experiments seem to back this up, that our healing uses calories as it's fuel. If we need to do a lot of healing, well, our body has to have extra calories or it starts burning up fat and muscle."

Eli grimaced. "That doesn't sound pleasant. Has Mallory eaten anything yet?"

Angela sighed and shook her head. "I tried to feed her when she was awake earlier but she just grumbled and rolled over and fell back asleep."

Eli laughed. "Yeah, she's never been much of a morning person."

"In her defense, she did just have her ribs broken and her lung punctured."

Eli hopped out of his chair. "Well, she needs to start eating it sounds like. That soup still upstairs?"

Angela looked nervous. "You're going to wake her up? She needs to rest."

"From the sound of it," Eli countered, "she needs to eat too. She's been sleeping for, what, fifteen hours now?"

"Something like that."

"Then," Eli continued, "it sounds to me like she has gotten enough rest for the moment and needs to eat if she's going heal properly."

Angela seemed to shrink back, "True, but she..."

Eli smiled. "I'm her little brother. Annoying my big sister and waking her up against her will has been my job for quite a while. All my life in fact." Eli dropped the levity in his voice. "Plus, again, she needs to eat and you need a break. Just lay down on the couch and get some shut eye."

That stopped Angela in her tracks. "I... what?"

"You've been up all night worrying about her and Rob. You need some sleep too."

Angela straightened her back and tried to look as tall and alert as possible. "I'm the leader of the team. I can't just sleep while my teammates are recovering and needing to deal with..."

"You're a human being," Eli interrupted. "You have limits. Being a leader means knowing when to be there for others and when to delegate to others. You can't do everything yourself. You know this. It's why you have the Twins and..." Eli trailed off as he had, again, forgotten the ninja's name. Started with an 'N'. Or did it? Maybe he was just thinking "ninja" and the 'n' was popping in his brain because of that. "...and a ninja. To do the things that you can't do for yourself."

"I... but..." Angela folded her arms as her mind obviously searched for some point to argue with. Her lack of rest was clearly affecting her brain more than Eli. Then again, looking at her closer, Eli figured he had gotten more rest than her. "That's the Hush Corps. That's different. It's their job."

"And this is my job," Eli proclaimed. "She's my sister. Family takes care of one another."

Angela opened her mouth but nothing came out for a few moments. Finally she sighed and looked at the ground. That's when Eli remembered how she was the night before. While helping Cory and himself move all of Rob's stuff, she had been frustrated she couldn't be there for Mallory and Rob in person. She was the type of personality that had to be everywhere at all times. It was probably killing her that the other girls had gone shopping for Rob's clothes while she stayed to watch Mallory.

"Did you sleep at all last night?" Eli asked.

"I don't think so," Angela admitted. "Then again, maybe I drifted off for a few moments here and there."

Eli put his hands in his pockets. "Thanks for watching her while I couldn't. But if you really are the leader, you need to know when to let the other people do what they can. Now is one of those times. Go sleep. I'll take care of her."

Angela's eyes were, for a moment, filled with defiance. However, in a moment he could see her body language soften, as if she finally was just letting her exhaustion come over her. "You're right." She rubbed her eyes once more. "Sorry for being stubborn."

Eli shrugged and made his way to the steep, narrow stairway. "Hey, you fight with rocks or something, right? I think you're supposed to be stubborn."

Angela smiled. "Maybe so. Never thought of it that way." She turned to the window and closed the shutters to block out the sunlight of late morning.

Eli chuckled. "Maybe I've just been hanging around Cory too much and his logic is starting to infect me."

Angela reclined onto her love seat, having to bend her knees slightly in order to fit herself comfortably. "I'll just take a short nap. Wake me up in twenty minutes."

"Sure thing," Eli lied as he ascended the stairs. It was obvious she needed a lot more rest than that. He'd stand watch over his sister and let the blonde recover. Angela may have been the Spirit Guard's leader, but blood was thicker than water. Or magic. He really needed to improve his metaphors. Or uses of sayings in general.

The upstairs was somehow smaller than the downstairs. Eli found only two doors. One was open and led to a tiny bathroom that barely had enough room to fit both a toilet and a shower. How his sister, who was over six feet tall, got clean every morning was beyond him.

He didn't bother knocking on the other door. He just waltzed right in. The bedroom was a bit better than the bathroom. While not the biggest, it had a high ceiling that allowed enough space for a bunk bed. Eli's sister snored under the covers. Each breath sounded difficult. A twinge of guilt hit Eli right in the chest. She wouldn't have needed to get that punctured lung if it wasn't for his inability to get them out of that mall without the monster finding them.

He found the bowl of soup Angela had mentioned by the sink. Odd that the sink was in the bedroom and not the bathroom. Why not just make the bathroom slightly bigger and put the sink in there? Eli shook his head, "Nothing in this dump makes sense."

Mallory groaned, and Eli smiled as he touched the bowl of soup. It was still slightly warm. It hadn't been long since Angela had tried to feed Mallory. He grinned. Angela really did care for his sister. Eli knew he was dopey for thinking it, but he couldn't help but feel better knowing his sister had found someone that truly was her friend.

Eli grabbed a chair from the desk and pulled it beside the bottom bunk. The sheets on the bottom bunk were obviously Angela's. Purple with polka dots definitely wasn't Mallory's style. He cleared his throat. When Mallory didn't stir he cleared it louder.

Once again, she didn't stir. Eli groaned and nudged the bed with his foot. "Mallory. Wake up. You need to eat something before your muscles eat themselves... or however that super healing works."

That elicited nothing more than a protracted groan. Eli responded with his own groan then kicked the bed harder. "Mal! Wake up!"

"Son of a biscuit!" Mallory's eyes shot open and glared daggers at Eli. "Nnnnng! You angelcake! I have broken riiiii... Eli? What are you doing here."

Eli raised an eyebrow. "I thought Kara fixed your broken ribs."

Mallory's eyes filled with panic for a moment. "How did you..." She trailed off and sighed. "Oh, right. You know."

Eli took a deep breath. Just how badly damaged was her memory? "I also thought she took care of your concussion."

Mallory waved him off. "She did. I'm just tired. I sort of got my but kicked from here to Sunday."

"Here is Sunday, Mallory."

Mallory rubbed her temples. "I have a killer headache. Please don't use your Cory Fu on me."

"Sorry. Need any painkillers? Or, I, well, I guess I expected all that magic stuff to take care of it."

"I have some ibuprofen in that drawer. Hand it over." Eli happily obliged his sister's request. "As for the magic, yeah, it helps out with it, but when you get yourself this hurt, I guess you still feel it as your body finishes it up. Not really sure what to expect. No one has ever been this thrashed by a monster before."

Eli nodded. He tried to hide his nervousness. Talking about how badly his sister, the toughest person he knew, got beat up made him worry for her safety. "I guess being a superhero doesn't really come with a guide, huh?"

"Supposedly it does," Mallory snorted, "but she doesn't seem to know enough to be more than vaguely helpful."

Eli handed her two tablets and a glass of water he found on Mallory's nightstand. Or was it Angela's nightstand? "You talking about the marsupial?"

"Kunapipi?" Mallory swallowed down the two tablets. "Yeah. I mean," Mallory sighed, "in her defense, she wasn't really given much to help us. I mean, from what I gather, we are very much different from her past heroes because of our connection to the Ardent Empire. Because of that, it feels like Fate is leaving us mostly to our own devices and amusing herself by watching us flounder." Mallory glanced up at Eli and frowned. "I'm sorry Eli."

Eli sat up straight. "Sorry? For what?"

Mallory pushed some stray strands of her brown hair out of her eyes. It was weird seeing her without her ponytail. "For making you worry. Can't exactly be comforting to see me bruised up and complaining about flying blind."

Eli averted his eyes. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit disturbed to hear you are getting no help from the... wallaby?"

Mallory nodded. "Yeah. Wallaby. But, I mean, it's not like she's unhelpful. She's been invaluable in getting the Hush Corps together and covering for us when we are off fighting something. I mean, I've had to miss two volleyball games. That is not something I could get done without serious help. I just wish she had something a little more helpful for us fighting all these monsters instead of relying on all our past lives' battle experience."

Eli smiled, trying to lighten the mood and give the impression he wasn't that worried. "Well no one has died yet."

"I should have," Mallory said with the subtlety of a dropped pot. "If it weren't for your buddy..." She trailed off. "How is he doing?"

"She is shopping with her new roommates for clothes." Eli, try as he might, couldn't keep the venom from his voice. "And wearing one of Angela's bras apparently."

Mallory closed her eyes and shook her head. "Still can't believe he did it. Threw his entire life away to rescue me. Someone he didn't even know."

Eli could feel his heart sinking into his gut. Would he ever be rid of this guilt? "Rob’s an amazing... person."

Mallory swallowed down a lump in her throat. "I didn't see much of her. And she was in super-mode anyway. I gotta know... was she as attractive as I thought she was?"

Eli buried his face in his hands. "When Cory and I saw her for the first time... she wasn't wearing a bra."

Mallory grimaced harder than when Eli kicked the bed. "Wow. That's just... wow."

"Does Fate hate Rob or something? I mean, isn't it enough that they made him a smoking hot scarlette? Did she have to make her so juggy and then deny her a bra to start?"

Mallory rubbed her temples. "Fudging awkward. Only way it could have been weirder for you would be if this somehow happened to Cory and he came out a beautiful bluenette."

Eli's eyes shot open. "Do not tempt Fate! Literally! Don't tempt her! So far she seems like she just wants to watch us squirm."

Mallory let out a laugh that instantly warped into a pained groan. "Okay, yeah, those ribs are still tender."

Eli smiled, happy to get his complaints off his chest. "But, yeah, Rob is hot. I hate that I have to say that and that I'm not exaggerating."

Mallory shut her eyes and leaned back into her pillow. "She's going to need help. From all of us. I'll bet she puts on a great face, but no matter how cool you are..." Mallory trailed off, looking like she'd fall asleep again.

Eli poked her in the shoulder. "Hey, no sleeping. We got to feed you or you're going to wither away."

She groaned again and opened her eyes. "Okay Mom. Give me my food then." She winced as she sat herself upright against the headboard. As she peaked over the covers Eli could see she wasn't wearing a shirt, but rather just some tight bandages around her chest. Eli instinctually averted his eyes.

Mallory glanced down. "Huh. Thought it was a bit cold. Wonder when I got this."

Eli raised an eyebrow and handed her the bowl of soup. "You don't remember Kara doing that?"
Mallory shook her head and dug into her soup. She didn't bother to avoid talking and eating at the same time. "No. I don't fink she did fis. I mean, if she had, the tape would have difappeared with my Fpirit Guard outfit." Mallory swallowed a down her food. "I think this was done after I transformed. Probably while I slept."

Eli raised an eyebrow. "Ninja?"

Mallory nodded. "Noriko doing it would explain why I didn't wake up."

"Noriko!" Eli exclaimed.

Mallory grinned. "Forgot her name?"

"Constantly," Eli lamented.

Mallory chuckled and took another bite. "Grab me a sweatshirt. I should have one in that closet there." She pointed to a small, cabinet that barely qualified as a closet.

Eli hopped up and grabbed a green sweatshirt with SAU's logo emblazoned on the front. He handed it to his sister and was careful to keep his eyes averted. Seeing his sister wearing nothing but bandages wasn't exactly a comforting sight.

"Thanks." As she pulled the sweater on, she let out a small wince at lifting her arms over her head. Still, once the sweater was on, Eli let out a sigh of relief. She responded with a small chuckle and continued to eat her soup.

Eli sat back down and hunched over in his chair. As Mallory ate her soup, he thought about seeing her getting swung around like a rag doll at the mall. Seeing her now, wincing slightly at small stabs of pain she felt here and there, he thought of the sounds of her snapping bones and his sister's quiver-inducing screams of pain. She had nearly died yesterday. If it hadn't been for Rob, his sister might not be sitting here. Eli began to wring his hands together and stare at the floor. It had been far too close.

The quiet of the room was only interrupted by the sound of the air conditioner kicking on. Mallory took another bite. Eli continued to wring his fingers together. Mallory sighed and put her spoon down. "What is it?"

Eli tried to look innocent. "What is what?"

"You're wringing your fingers together. You only do that when you have something on your mind but don't want to say it. Spit it out."

Eli bit his bottom lip and thought for a moment. She really did know him. He sighed and leaned back in his chair. He stared at the ceiling, not wanting to make eye contact. "How close were you to dying yesterday?"

"It's not important," Mallory said in an attempt to dismiss the conversation.

"It is to me," Eli insisted, meeting her eyes with a determination that matched her own. "I nearly lost you."

It was Mallory's turn to wring her hands together. For a few moments, she didn't say anything. She didn't even breath. Then, with a long exhale, she told a story. "I thought I had her, you know. Like, she was wailing on me in the fountain, but I thought I had the perfect plan. Monsters like to talk, right? I was going to draw her in with the perfect opportunity to gloat over me. Then, with a clap of my pompoms, will my sword into existence right in her face. Then, bam, Determined Arc before she could hop away."

Eli nodded his head. It sounded like a good plan. One that would work in a movie anyway. "What happened?"

"It's the donutest thing. I mean, I went to do it but my right arm wouldn't come up. I looked down and she had pinned my wrist to the floor. There it was, trapped between the heel and toe of her stiletto. I didn't even feel it. That's what is so amazing. I was so punch drunk I couldn't even feel my own arm properly. I've been in some bad fights but, nothing like that."

Eli frowned. "What happened then?"

Mallory shrugged. "I guess, in the end, the monster's need to gloat saved me just as much as your buddy. I mean, if she hadn't bothered to sit there and lord her victory over me, she could have just ended me there. But she did gloat." Mallory smirked. "That's when I heard the squeakiest, shrillest voice yell, 'Noooooooo!' at the top of her lungs! Seriously, full blow scream of 'no' just like in the movies. Day LaMode hadn't even turned her head before Serenity had buried her foot in that freak's back."

Eli nodded. "Were you scared?"

Mallory took another bite of soup. Eli could see she was considering her words. "Scared? I don't know. Maybe a little? I was more, what's the word, embarrassed?"

"Embarrassed?"

"No. It's the wrong word. I was, like, you know, worried I guess."

"Worried? Worried about what? Death? That sounds a lot like scared to me."

She waved him off. "No you idiot. Not worried about death. I wasn't worried about me." She cast her eyes down into her soup bowl. Eli thought he could see the hint of some tears beginning to form in her eyes. "I was worried about you."

Eli sat up. "Worried about me? Why?"

She shook her head. "It's stupid... but all I could think of... was what you'd have to tell Mom and Dad. That I was going to die and it was you that was going to have to tell them why I suddenly disappeared. Because the news wouldn't know. They'd just know Spirit Guard Tenacity died. So you'd have to be the one to carry the burden of my secret and loss. All yourself."

Those words hit Eli like a kick to the nuts. What would he have done? What would he have told his parents? During the entire crisis, all he could think of was Mallory's safety. Eli now felt retroactively terrified of the thought. He found it suddenly hard to breath just thinking of how impossible it felt.

Mallory reached over and placed her hand on her little brother's shoulder. "I thought about what you said, at the Circle, about Mom and Dad."

"Huh?" Eli looked up.

"You talked about how they deserved to know that I'm in danger. Now, I still don't think they need to know I'm in danger. However," Mallory's eyes, normally so intense and cold, were uncharacteristically warm. "if something were to happen to me, I don't want to have to have it fall on you to explain everything. Up until now, even with the close calls, I felt invincible. It's why I didn't feel any need to let anyone know what I was doing. But this fight..." Mallory trailed off. She squared her jaw and frowned.

"What are you saying?" Eli hoped she was saying what he thought she was saying.

"I'm saying I'm going to tell Mom and Dad."

Eli felt a weight that he didn't know was there lift off his shoulders. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Won't Nagano be pissed?"

"Noriko."

"Close enough."

Mallory gave an amused snort and shook her head. "Yeah, but, after this, if she raises a fuss I'm just going to tell her to go pound sand. It's my decision, not hers."

Eli smirked. He could get on board with any plan that involved telling that bossy ninja to pound sand. "Glad to hear you're not afraid of her."

Mallory rolled her eyes. "Why would I be afraid of her? I'm a super-powered heroine. What she does is amazing, but I'm the one who shoots lightning."

"What if she has some sort of ancient ninja mastery that lets her shoot lightning?"

Mallory rolled her eyes again. "You've been watching those weird Japanese cartoons with Cory again."

Eli chuckled. "It's called anime. You can just call it that."

Mallory said nothing and just shook her head before she took another bite of food. Eli took a deep, relieved breath. The heaviness that had been in the pit of his stomach was gone. Somehow, knowing Mallory would be telling their parents, put Eli completely at ease. Mallory smirked and swallowed. "You're grinning like a dope again."

That only caused Eli to smile more. Mallory had always said he had a dopey grin. "So when did you decide all this? I mean, you've only been awake for a few minutes."
"When I was on that operating table," Mallory explained between chews. "While Kara worked on me she sedated me a bit so I didn't feel too much pain. Still hurt like honey though. Having bones set in place, not much you can do to sedate that! Had to focus my mind on something while Kara did the medic work." Mallory smiled wider and raised an eyebrow. "And why is it that as soon as I mention Kara that you somehow manage an even dopier grin?"

Was Eli grinning wider? He couldn't be sure; he didn't have a record for keeping a good poker face. He attempted a weak denial, "What are you talking about?" He cursed himself. Now he could feel himself grinning even bigger.

Mallory shook her head and took another bite. "You patch things up with her after the spying fiasco?"

"Yeah. I did." Eli left the part out where he gave away Cory's Gamestation for a month.

Mallory nodded, "Good."

"Good?"

Mallory nodded again. "Yes. Good."

"Why good?"

"Because, you're both dopes." Mallory gave him a playful punch in the shoulder, though she winced slightly when she extended herself. She quickly pulled back and tried to cover the wince with another bite of her soup. "But despite your dopiness, I think you two could be adorable."

Eli rose up to defend his would-be girlfriend's honor. "Kara's not a dope."

"She's a total dope," Mallory countered with a laugh. "But one that I like. She's nice. She's selfless. She's a honey of a cook. And she's into that dorky hopping game you like. You two go well together. Plus I know you like blunettes."

"The game is called Hop Dance Mania," Eli explained in a transparent attempt to steer the conversation away from his fondness of blunettes. It was weird that his sister knew his kinks. There was something just disturbing about discussing that with your sister.

"Regardless," she said with a dismissive wave of her spoon, "I think you two are adorable together."

"I'm in college now, Mallory," Eli whined, "I shouldn't be adorable. It's emasculating."

Mallory leaned over and ruffled his hair. She winced again, but the pain seemed worth it to her; teasing affection always would always be worth the pain to Mallory. "You're my little brother. You'll always be adorable to me."

* - * - *

Platicore was going to be pissed. Trace had to figure out a way to smooth things over once she got back. Hopefully he was calm when she returned. It wasn't her fault her stealth bands were drained. It was that stupid scarlette that had chased her off before she could harvest Day LaMode's Investiture haul. If she hadn't seen her everything would be fine.

Trace skulked across the food court. It had taken her all night to find a way into the Rale Valley Mall. Normally these buildings had one or two doors unlocked by lazy employees, but it seemed Day LaMode's attack had limited the usual security flaws. She could have picked the door locks, but almost all the the exits were electronic locks as well.

Though she had hated to do it, she finally got in by throwing a rock through a window on the other side of the mall to set off alarms so she could sneak through the door the cops were using while most of them went to check out the disturbance. It had taken a long time to move through the parking lot without being seen, but in a way it was exhilerating. Having Platicore's stealth band had made her grow soft; it felt good to get back to some classic sneaking.

Now in the food court, Trace checked all her angles and made sure there wasn't a soul who could see her. Trace realized she was taking cover behind the same trash bin she had been behind when that scarlette pompom found her. That reminded Trace to check the rafters; Trace well knew that the Spirit Guard would have had someone who destroyed evidence for them, and those types tended to be even sneakier than herself. Even if Trace knew that whoever the cheerleaders' obfuscator was would have logically been long gone, Trace felt much better checking every nook and cranny first.

Once she was satisfied that no eyes were on the food court, Trace hurried to the center of the carnage. A headless mannequin was sprawled across the floor, cordoned off by yellow police tape. Bits and pieces of melted mannequin splattered across the tile like blood from a bullet to the head. Why were the pieces melted? Didn't the pink cheerleader already have the fire angle covered? From what Trace knew, these magically empowered Amazon squads tended to avoid doubling up on powers.

Trace crouched over Day LaMode's corpse and shook her head. "Wish I could have seen how you went out." This new girl couldn't be using fire. Fire wouldn't have blown the head open like this. Though the bits of LaMode's head were melted, they were also separated, like the head cracked into a thousand pieces before the individual pieces melted. What could cause that fracturing? Maybe ice freezing her head and shattering it? But then why did the plastic melt? She was going to need some way to figure it out.

Trace pushed back a few strands of her lavender hair and fished Platicore's Investiture collector doodad from her pocket. Trace mentally groaned as she did so. The device looked like a sex toy with a tuning fork attached to it. Platicore had insisted that it didn't look anything of the sort. Platicore was wrong.

She turned the unfortunately shaped device on and a black pearl phased into existence. This never ceased to amaze her; Trace thought she had seen it all, but little magical touches like this always seemed to amaze her.

Trace pushed the tuning fork end of the gadget into the pearl which rippled as if it were a drop of water. The device hummed and pieces of the pearl flaked off. The flakes fell before they floated into a small vent on the side of the device as if it were vacuuming the flakes up. The device took on a soft yellow glow. Trace only hoped it was glowing purple by the time she was done. Though she didn't quite understand the scale perfectly, she knew that as long as it glowed somewhere between purple and blue, Platicore would be happy.

Trace forced herself to stop watching the mystical pearl interact with the gizmo and scan the food court again to make sure no one was sneaking up on her. Her eyes lingered on Day LaMode's remains once more. As she thought about it, the Spirit Guard didn't tend to leave much of a corpse. Their powers usually consumed the entire body. But this Serenity chick had somehow left a body. How would that have worked?

Trace mentally put herself back in the scene. The scarlette bimbo had been using daggers, right? Whatever she did, she probably stabbed Day LaMode in the head first. That would explain the reason the rest of the corpse was intact. Stab the mannequin in the head then use your magical attack. No chance to miss that way, plus whatever element she used, it'd build up inside the head then explode out. Water maybe? Boiling water would explain both the spray pattern and the melted plastic.

Trace couldn't help but grin. Stabbing your enemy's face then blowing it up was so unlike the Pompom Posse. For one, it would look amazingly badass. The Spirit Whores didn't do badass. They did long-range, surgical attacks stuff. But this... this was so up close and personal. Messy. Visceral. Hardcore. Serenity might have looked like your standard hot-to-trot cheer slut, but maybe Trace was wrong to judge the girl by her curves and hair. Maybe she had a bit of badass to her.

Trace rolled her eyes at herself. A badass cheerleader. The phrase itself made her want to laugh. What a notion. Still, going for an attack like that had to mean that this girl was either sneaky or fast. You don't get to stab someone in the face if they could see you coming. Trace made a mental note to relay this to Platicore. It could affect the design of his next goon.

Platicore's device stopped humming and Trace sighed to see what color it glowed. To her surprise, it glowed an almost greenish-blue. She had never seen it glow that color. Was that good? Blue tended to be good. She had never seen greens. trace had a feeling this was a very good sign.

Trace touched her stealth band to the back of the device. Some of the green bled away to the regular blue. Her stealth band was completely charged and it was still in the blue range? This was a very good sign. She might not get yelled at tonight.

Trace gave a content sigh as she activated the stealth band and went invisible once more. She truly had taken for granted how much she relied on this. She'd need to be more judicious with her use in the future. But with cops crawling over the mall now wasn't the time to start.

Trace didn't bother scanning the food court anymore. Even if the Spirit Guard's obfuscator was here, she'd be unable to see her now. She pocketed the device and casually strolled to the exit.

Her mind lingered on the idea of the cheerleaders having an obfuscator. Platy had said it was pointless to try to figure out their identities because the disguise field would prevent her brain from putting it all together. If that were the case, why would they go to such great lengths to hide their identity? As far as Trace could tell, all teams of super-females had someone similar helping them hide stuff. Platicore's claim and that fact seemed to be in direct opposition.

Trace decided she'd ignore Platicore and try to figure out their identities. She wasn't sure where to begin but that college campus was probably the best guess. That or the high school. Regardless, if she did it during her free time, of which she had a lot, Platicore couldn't complain. The way Trace saw it, if Platicore was right then she'd never have to tell him he was right. If Trace figured out who they were, boom, Platicore would have to admit he was wrong and they'd be done with his stupid vendetta, and she could be free of him. Either way, she was in the clear.

Plus, if Trace found their identities out, maybe she'd get to meet this new Serenity chick and find out just how badass the bitch really was.

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Sorry for the long silence over here. I'm not very good about updating in multiple places. If you're interested in reading all of MGP, at the time of this writing I'm up to chapter 49 over at my website. Also, if you're interested I have a lot of art there and on my patreon. Once a month I publish cannon through the generous donations of my patrons. We also have pin-up art if that's your thing that is non-cannonical in nature. Here is a link to the cannon images and here is a link to the non-cannonical images.

I also have a new story I've started called Villain-in-Distress that I'm working on over on my Patreon. Patrons get early access but Issues 0-5 are available for free. Why issues and not chapters? Well, not to spoil everything but the story takes place on a world where super heroes and super villains are a thing. It takes a lot of inspiration from golden and silver-age comic books and might be something you all enjoy. I plan on starting to post them here when I have the time but... well... I've not been the most diligent about that so let's not get our hopes up too fast ;)

I want to give a special thanks to Erin for being so supportive and helpful. Hopefully I can use that as motivation to stay more current over here. XD

Thanks for your patience,
Taralynn

Robin was happy Eli had given Cory's GameStation away to Kara. Given her current situation, she couldn't very well chat with her guildmates in the Mayhem Templar. Without GuildChat going, she found she just couldn't enjoy playing Aspect Realms like she used to. She'd have to find a solution for that eventually, but for the moment, she just felt like playing a game she had no ties to. Thus, a sci-fi shooter like Corona Forge was the exact type of game she was in the mood for.

That, however, wasn't to say she wasn't still gritting her teeth in frustration. The game itself wasn't frustrating; Cory had been flabbergasted when Robert had topped the leaderboard in a match of Corona Forge despite not being a huge shooter guy. Robin was proving to be just as talented as Robert had been. She had the high score again. She was just barely beating out a guy named Fretribution though she doubted the guy was fully trying.It seemed to her like he was just patrolling out in the open trying to coax people into attempting to ram him with vehicles. Those noobs tended to end up as charred corpses when he would lob grenades directly into their passenger seat. Regardless, Robynne was number one for the moment and it felt good.

The first thing that was frustrating Robin was Cory's headset. It wasn't sitting on her head correctly. She had adjusted it about a dozen times, but nothing felt right. Granted, Cory had a melon-sized head, and Robin's new head was considerably smaller, but it wasn't the size issue that was irking her; it was how her hair sat underneath the headset. It just bunched up weird.

It was a small issue, really. It was just hair after all. But it nagged at her brain that something was wrong. When you wore a hat or something similar on your head, you just knew how it felt. Robin didn't. Everything felt off. Jeans sat on her hips funny. When she took a step, her new body would shift the wrong way and create a slight but unwanted bounce in her chest. When she chewed food, it felt like she had taken too big of a bite in her smaller mouth. When she laughed, she sounded like some dumb cheerleader. And now headsets didn't feel right. Plus, on top of the irksome way it sat, she had to deal with her hair which was so much longer than she'd ever want. It dangled over the back of the couch and created a very slight but noticeable strain on her neck. It was infuriating.

Robin dismissed her discomfort from her mind and tried to focus on the game. Red team was capping points A and C. They already had point B. It didn't matter how high Robin's score was if the other team capped all three points. Robin descended down a hill, pulled out a plasma thrower and decimated a red team hovertank. She approached point C with caution swapping her weapon to the scatter laser. Once she got into the point, it'd be close quarters combat.

A random red player poked his head around the corner and peppered Robin with some bullets that dropped her shields by about half. "Sugar!" Robin ducked behind a large boulder and lobbed a grenade. If he was stupid, he'd jump towards her to avoid the explosion. Luckily for Robin, if there was anything she had learned, it was that most gamers weren't that bright.

Her grenade detonated. He predictably jumped forward. Robin smiled and leapt over the boulder and at him. The red guy didn't seem to expect that. Before he could even respond, Robin had blown him away with two shots of her scatter laser. As his body ragdolled, she landed and scanned the ground to see his gear. She smiled. He had a flash grenade; perfect for assaulting a room of unfriendlies.

Robin ditched her normal frag grenades and picked up the flash grenades. She tepidly approached the doorway her recently deceased friend had emerged from. C was only 25% captured. She had time to coordinate with her teammates. She flipped the microphone on, "I'm about to charge into C. If you're sniping, please warn me if you see more reds coming in."

"Is that right, Blustery? You want reds cumming into you, you slut?" Robin groaned and checked the upper right corner to see who was talking. She had received comments like this all morning. The voice belonged to some dude with the handle PwnTang827 followed by a string of characters designed to look like male genetalia. Classy.

"Wow, dude," Robin responded while looking for option to mute the guy, "you sound super smart. I'm sure the ladies love you."

Another voice, that of ChaosBucketz piped up, "Wow. Busty. You hot? You sound hot."

Robin ground her teeth together. This was the third oh-so-creative person to make the same blustery-busty joke. The internet seemed full of all kinds of really original people this morning. "The name is Blustery, angelcakewipe." Robin grimaced. Her uncle had been right; she had gotten too comfortable swearing. And now she was likely going to pay for it.

ChaosBucketz sounded confused, "Angelcakewipe?"

PwnTang827 surprisingly moved past her weird wording. "Hey, the man asked you a simple question. You too fuckin' stupid to answer it, bitch?" All Robin had done was say stuff she would have said to coordinate with teammates. As a guy, they were normally met with some sort of acknowledgement, silence, or some profanity laced insult telling Robert to mind his own business. As Robin though, she had to add oddly sexual insults or come ons to the list.

Robin groaned and said nothing. This was her sixth match of the morning. She had endured crap like this in two other matches. She had seen her guild's treatment of their only female member, ColderTurkey. That stuff had mostly been unfortunate, but well-meaning or just stupid commentary. But this? This stuff was beyond anything Robin had seen ColderTurkey go through. Is this what being a girl on the internet was going to bring Robin? Was opening her mouth going to engender this kind of moronic stupidity all the time? And where the fudge was the mute option in this menu?

PwnTang827, seemingly uncomfortable with the fact that he couldn't hear the sound of his own voice, spoke once more. "What's the matter Busty? Don't feel like talking? Is it that time of the month?"

Robin glared at the screen and shook her head. She checked the scoreboard. PwnTang827 was near the bottom. Robin smirked. Fine. If this guy wanted a flame war, then he'd get his flame war. "What was that, Pwn? Sorry, I have a hard time hearing you all the way up here at the top of the leaderboard. You might have to speak up."

With that comment, the entire team started talking into their mics at once:

"Oh snap, son!"

"Burrrrrn!"

"Shots fired!"

"Oh ho ho! She made you the bitch!"

The uproarious laughter gave Robin a surge of confidence. She stopped looking for the mute button in the menu and instead just tossed her flash grenade into point C. She couldn't hear it going off over the sound of all the laughing. Despite not hearing it go of, she charged into the point. Three reds. All of them were firing wildly as their screens likely were all blurred due to the grenade. Robin made quick work of all three with her scatter laser and started capping C.

The entire time everyone was talking, she could see ChaosBucketz's wasn't saying anything. PwnTang827, on the other hand... his icon was lighting up. He was saying a lot but couldn't be heard over everyone else's laughter. Finally he screamed into his mic. "Shut up, you cunt! I'm right below you! You can't talk you camping dyke!"

Robin opened her mouth but the guy named Fretribution beat her to the punch, "Right below her? Did you think everyone in the lobby suddenly had an aneurysm and forgot how to read a leaderboard? Or a map? We can all see her capping the point, not camping as you oh so eloquently alluded to."

PwnTang827 didn't take kindly to that. "Stay outta this, ya fuck."

Fretribution laughed, "You sound like you have a really big vocabulary, dude."

"Suck my dick, ya fucker! Suck it! Suck it! Suck it!" With that soliloquy, PwnTang827 left the lobby.

The entire lobby lit up again. "No! Don't go PwnTang! We neeeeed you!"

"So good."

"What will we ever do without him?"

"Capping A now."

"What a fuckin' idiot."

Fretribution laughed with the group. "Yeah, he was MVP for sure. Nice cap of C, Blustery."

Robin gave a relieved sigh. At least everyone on the internet wasn't an insufferable idiot. "It was no problem." Two blues walked into point C and helped Robin fend off some red attackers. "How is point B looking?"

"No problems here at B. You guys gonna cap A?" Fretribution asked.

One of the random yellers responded, "Yeah, no reds in sight. We've got this." A few seconds later, point A turned blue and Robin's team won. As the team cheered an emblem popped up on Robin's screen, announcing her as the game's MVP. A couple of her teammates congratulated her but she was already taking the headphones off.

Though she felt good for getting on top of the leaderboard once more and cutting down that PwnTang dude in epic fashion, she didn't like the direction the interactions with her fellow gamers had gone. Her hair wasn't even completely dry from her shower and she was already worn down by all the insults and creepy come-ons that she had endured. Then again, her hair now took forever to dry and it wasn't like the people on the GameStation Network were known for being the most poli...

"Why do you go by Blustery?"

Robin jumped off the couch. "Son of biscuit!" She spun around but tripped on the controller cable and fell to the ground. Her hair, annoyingly long and full, wrapped around her face like thread around a spool. The taste of wet hair and shampoo filled her mouth and she spat the invading locks out with disgust.

Robin parted the curtain of her moist, red mane from her face and looked up to see Noriko standing behind the couch with a raised eyebrow. "You are jumpy."

Robin glared. "Don't do that!"

"Do what?"

"Sneak up on me like that."

Noriko crossed her arms behind her back. "How did I sneak up on you? I merely walked into the apartment."

Robin shook her head and tried to stand up. Halfway up she was yanked back to the ground by her head. "Donut!" In standing back up she had stepped on her own hair. "Rrrg! A billion for real curses upon Fate for this stupid hair!"

Noriko hopped over the couch and offered her hand to help Robin up. Robin grumbled and accepted the help, careful not to step on her own hair this time. "Thanks."

Noriko gave a polite nod, though Robin could swear she could read an amused smirk on Noriko's constantly deadpan face. "I see you are still adjusting to your new hair. And that you didn't go to class as you had planned on last night."

Robin grabbed an offending lock and held it up like a lawyer displaying evidence. "My hair is still wet. How? How is that possible? I showered two hours ago!"

Noriko shrugged. "You have rather full and long hair. Without aid of some form of dryer I would expect you to weigh nearly five kilos heavier out of the shower and it'd take approximately three hours to dry on its own."

The mention of kilos had Robin pause and mentally do the conversion to pounds in her head. "Around 11 pounds? That sounds about right. Was practically straining my neck when I got out."

Noriko nodded. "I'm surprised you didn't transform like Vivian normally does. Saves a lot of time and hassle, especially given how long your hair is."

Robin sighed. "Kara suggested I try showering and getting ready like a normal girl would for a few days, just so I could get used to it."

"Really? Kara did not take issue with the fact that you were planning on powering up then down to get ready?" Noriko asked as she walked into the kitchen without any of her steps making a sound.

"She did but I basically told her there wasn't a snowball's chance in Hell I was putting up with it every day. She suggested this just so, I don't know, I could cover for myself in any girl on girl conversation or something." Robin pointed at Noriko's feet. "And there, you did it again. You sneak around everywhere."

Noriko squinted, "How was I sneaking just now?"

"Your feet," Robin explained, "they don't make any sound as you walk. When you opened the door. No sound either. I didn't hear you come in at all and you nearly gave me a heart attack."

Noriko nearly rolled her eyes. It was slight, but Robin could see it. "I doubt the seriousness of this medical claim, Robynne."

Robin threw her hands up, "Whether you meant to or not you creep everywhere. It's freaking me right the honey out."

Noriko reached into the fridge and pulled out a small bowl of nuts and berries. "A basic tenant of ninjutsu is to remain quiet and unseen." Noriko took a handful of the mix and offered the bowl to Robin.

"Thanks," Robin said, grabbing a handful for herself and popping them into her mouth. "And, yeah, you need to be quiet and stuff when you're on a mission. But when you're walking into your dorm you really shouldn't be sneaking in and scaring your roommates half to death."

Noriko took a bite of her food, chewing carefully before speaking. "What would you have me do? Stomp around like an elephant?"

"When you're doing non-ninja things, it would be appreciated if you at least didn't move like a ghost and made sounds when opening a door. Point in fact, I have no evidence you don't just phase through doors like a ghost you make so little sound."

"You ascribe far too much mysticism to my training." Noriko sighed, "However, if it would calm you down I will be louder."

Robin popped another mouthful of nuts and berries into her mouth. "Fat's awl I cin askf."

Noriko took another small handful and put the mix back in the fridge. Robin got the impression she took more than Noriko had intended to offer. "But back to my question, last night you were implying you'd be going to classes today. You had mentioned the possibility of meeting up with Mr. Drake and Mr. Frost to inspect all the clubs who would be recruiting in the courtyard since this week is Club Week. Yet you are here. May I inquire as to why?"

Robin swallowed down the rest of her nuts and berries and sighed, "Just wasn't ready."

"And yet you were ready last night?"

"I just... while I was in the shower I realized I wasn't ready."

Noriko leaned forward on the kitchen counter. "What caused this?"

Robin shook her head. "It's stupid."

Noriko somehow managed to give Robin a flatter look than usual. "Given your situation, Robynne, I doubt very little to be quote-unquote stupid. You are in an unprecedented situation with stresses no one in the world is capable of fully understanding. What happened?"

Robin raised an eyebrow. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate the understanding tone; it felt great to have someone who seemed to "get it." It was just that this was the same person who brandished a sword at her friends and tried to steal her phone. However, ever since Robin's transformation, Noriko, seemingly emotionless Noriko, had been the person who seemed to understand the depth of Robin's sacrifice.

Robin decided to stop analyzing Noriko's motivation. What evil motivation could the ninja have for being a shoulder to lean on? Plus it was just exhausting to constantly be skeptical of your roommate's good intentions. If there was ever a time to let her guard down, now was it.

"There are things," Robin explained, "that you don't realize you are used to. Every little thing is reminding me of my situation. The shower, back before all this, was my refuge. I'd take long showers and just think. There, in the shower, I was free from all distractions. No music. No people. Maybe, to some extent, no clothes too. Just me, the cold water, and my thoughts."

"Not today though," Robin said with a scowl. "Today I stepped into that shower and got hit with even more reminders of who I'm not anymore. For one, the shower is too big. Everything is too big. I feel like a fudging dwarf at this size! I looked down on Cory and Eli before all this and now I'm looking up at Kara and Angela!"

"Then there is the water itself. It was hitting me too hard and it was too cold. My skin is practically hairless and sensitive as all get out. Plus the water runs down my body all wrong. It's the weirdest, most surreal thing! You don't think about how water runs down your body until your body changes and it feels like something sinister is going on?"

Noriko raised an eyebrow. "Sinister? Sinister how?"

Robin groaned. How did she say this. "Like, well, again, it's stupid, but it was almost like someone was watching me. Feeling me up or something."

"Feeling you up?"

Robin waved her off. "Not really but... it felt like I was being touched. Like I wasn't alone."

Noriko squinted her eyes, "But you were in the shower. How could you not be alone?"

Robin shrugged. "Like I said, it's stupid. I know I'm alone but I couldn't help shake that feeling that I was being watched and touched."

Noriko nodded, "I was just making sure you didn't think something more nefarious was afoot. You Spirit Guard tend to get into some rather... odd situations."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Robin snorted.

Noiko opened her mouth then paused, seemingly trying to decide if Robin literally wanted Noriko to explain the situation. "So, if I am to understand this, you didn't go to classes because you felt like you weren't alone in the shower?"

Robin shook her head. "No. I didn't go to classes because I got freaked out in the shower, alone, with no one looking at me. I just wasn't as ready for the day as I thought. I need another day."

Noriko cocked her head to the side, "And what makes you confident you'll be emotionally ready tomorrow? I apologize if I sound skeptical, but your situation is such an extreme I wonder how one can ever feel 'ready' to face the day."

Robin shrugged, conceding Noriko's point. "I may never be ready. Yeah. You're not wrong there. But, I don't know, I think tomorrow... I don't know. I just feel like I'll be mentally ready tomorrow."

Noriko nodded. "Well, your past self was serenity-incarnate. I probably shouldn't doubt your ability to cope."

Robin leaned on the counter, curious. "You believe all this Ardent Empire sugar?"

Noriko gave a simple shrug. "The other Spirit Guard have had visions of their past lives. Kunapipi indicates it's true. What reason would I have to doubt its veracity?"

Robin sighed. "I don't know. Something about it just feels... off."

Noriko gave a look that almost seemed like she was worried. Then again, it was always hard to read her. "Off how?"

Robin shrugged once more. "Don't know. Just does. My gut I guess. Just sounds too... storybook. Maybe it's the engineer in me but when something sounds like something a team of writers came up with, I guess I just am skeptical."

Noriko gave a dismissive wave, slightly more expressive than usual. "Well, I'm sure once you have visions of your own it'll feel less 'storybook' to you."

This piqued Robin's interest. The other girls had mentioned visions but no one had really discussed them in any detail. "These visions... all the other Spirit Guard have received them?"

Noriko nodded. "Yes, though they seem rather infrequent."

"How soon after transformation?"

Noriko shrugged. "Not sure. I mean, I know Angela had hers soon after but the others haven't really discussed their visions with me."

Robin raised an eyebrow at that. "Why not?"

Noriko shrugged again. "I do not like to pry."

"Don't like to pry?" Robin scoffed. "You're a ninja. You spied on me, Cory, Eli and I'm assuming a lot of other people. Prying is what you do."

Noriko groaned. That was the most emotion Robin had ever seen out of her. "That was business. I do not sneak around looking for everyone's dirty details at all hours." Noriko tried to turn the conversation back to the visions. "But I expect you'll get visions as well."

"Any clue what they'll be about?"

"Angela's," Noriko explained, "were all about her time, in her past life, as the Princess. We actually didn't know all the details of the war between Platicore and the Ardent Empire back then. We definitely didn't know about the other Spirit Guard. Apparently, between everyone's visions we've been able to piece together all the important details... other than whatever it is the Third Power was."

Robin nodded. "So when did Kunapipi put together the Hush Corps anyway? I mean, it sounds like you've been with Angela from the beginning."

Noriko walked to the table and opened her bookbag. "There was some time between Platicore's awakening and Angela becoming Spirit Guard Valor. During that time Kunapipi prepared for when Platicore made his move. I had already moved out here by the time Angela took up the mantle of Valor. The Twins joined me soon thereafter."

Robin folded her arms. "Good thing she did so; otherwise Angela might have been exposed from the start maybe." So Kunapipi had some heads up. Robin decided to file that away for later questioning as Noriko fished a binder out of her bag.

Noriko nodded her head. "Indeed. Though you never answered my first question... if you don't mind me prying slightly. You used the name Blustery when you were playing that video game. I am curious; why Blustery?"

"Because Bluster was taken so I had to change it slightly. Sort of surprised Blustery wasn't taken on the Corona Forge servers but..."

Noriko shook her head, "No, I mean, why Bluster at all? I noticed your name was Bluster in Aspect Realms when I was..." Noriko paused, trying to come up with a word that didn't bring up the fact that she had, in fact, spied on Robert last week.

"Prying?" Robert suggested with a playful but arrogant smirk.

"I was going to say research. Regardless, why Bluster?"

Robin raised an eyebrow, "You want me to use my real name?"

Noriko stood up straight. "I'd advise against that strongly! Using your real name over the internet is..."

Robin chuckled and held her hands up to slow her down, "I know of the security risk. I'm asking what is surprising you about me using the name Bluster?"

Noriko's body language relaxed. "Oh. Well then, I suppose it's not a matter of surprised as much as curious. I have never much dealt with online stuff, especially video gaming, but in my... research I found an impressive and confusing variety of names. Some would be some sort of pun, innuendo, or, strangest of all, a random string of letters and numbers."

Robin smirked. "Sounds like the internet, though what do you mean a random string of letters and numbers? I don't think I've ever seen that."

Noriko put her hands behind her back and looked up, appearing to concentrate. "For example, I remember reading an argument with someone who took exception to you killing them several times in a row. I believe they called you a 'noob stealthing whore faggot.' I only understand three of those four words but I'm fairly certain they don't make sense together at all."

Robin laughed. "Oh man! I remember that! That D3m0n51ay3r guy. Wow. What a moron."

Noriko pursed her lips in confusion. "DemonSlayer? I think you are mistaken His name started with d-three-m-zero... and then the rest were a bunch of other random characters and numbers. I can't remember it exactly."

Robin shook her head and held her hands up. "No. You're reading it wrong. Sometimes, on the internet, people can't get the name they want because someone else already has it. They can get around it by using numbers in place of letters. So like a three will be an E, zero an O, five an S, and so on and so forth."

Noriko squinted her eyes, "That strikes me as... stupid."

"I agree."

"What is a noob anyway?"

Robin chuckled again. "Internet speak for newbie. It's typically used as an insult. Saying someone has no skill. Sometimes it's spelled with zeros instead of O's. If you want to really be insulting, then you say nub instead."

Noriko held up a finger. "But in your interaction with," Noriko paused to let out a small sigh, "DemonSlayer, you had killed him several times in a row. By calling you a," Noriko made finger quotes in the air, "'noob' isn't he essentially insulting himself?"

Robin nodded. "Isn't the internet a fun place?"

Noriko grimaced. "No. My short time having to go through your interactions has lead me to believe it is not a fun place. It seems to be a place where people go for entertainment yet come out angry and bitter and typing copious sexist, bigoted, and homophobic insults to try to cover for their own sense of inadequacy."

Robin took a deep breath and sighed, "Wow, that is depressingly accurate."

Noriko looked down at the binder she held and nodded silently. "Back to my question though, why Bluster? Why is that the name you choose?"

Robin folded her arms and leaned back. The subjects that intrigued this ninja fascinated Robin. "Why are you so curious about the name thing?"

Noriko shrugged. "We go through life with the name our parents gave us. Picking an online handle lets you pick a name that says something about you. Though I hesitate to guess what a name like D3m0n51ay3r is meant to convey about that reprobate, I'm intrigued by the idea of picking your own name."

Robin laughed and mused, "What D3m0n51ay3r's name says about him is that acne and middle school are being rough on him and he wants everyone else to think he's an internet tough guy. As for me..." Robin trailed off, "well, what do you think it means?"

Noriko frowned, "Deflecting my question back at me. How evasive."

Robin gave a conciliatory smile, "Just humor me."

Noriko sighed but played along, "Well, the word bluster refers to speaking in an aggressive manner that has little effect. That doesn't seem like you. You seem to have a high opinion of your skills in these games so a meaning that implies that you are having little effect likely isn't what you're going for unless this is some sort of ironic statement."

Robin bit her bottom lip. High opinion of herself? Did she come across as that arrogant? "Well... you're not wrong."

"My only other thought is that it might be some sort of reference to wind, as in blustery. You certainly are evasive enough in personality to identify with that classical element."

"Wow," Robin said, "you've definitely thought through this more than I did."

Noriko frowned, "How do you mean?"

"You're right," Robin explained. "It was a reference to just wind in general. But I actually didn't think about what my name said about me. My Aspect Realms character is a Windwhisper." Noriko raised an eyebrow. "Oh. Right. You don't play the game. A Windwhisper is a type of class that focuses on stealth tactics and burst damage. Basically I play a ninja who uses wind magic to do ninja-things."

"Ninja-things," Noriko snorted with a tinge of amusement.

"Well, you know, in a fantasy sort of way."

"I see."

"Point is," Robin said, "she has wind powers so I chose a name that fit that."

"Oh." Noriko nodded. "I guess I just assumed you were expressing yourself a bit through your name."

Robin shook her head. "Nah, but it's a moot point anyway," Robin sighed. "I need to change my handle now."

Noriko raised an eyebrow. "Why is that? Of all the things that could give away your identity I'd think your handle is the least of your concerns."

Robin groaned, "It's not my identity. It's just that... you know the game I was just playing? The moment these geniuses hear my voice they start calling me Busty instead of Blustery because they rhyme and I'm a girl."

Noriko frowned. "Busty and blustery do not rhyme."

Robin rolled her eyes, "Close enough."

"So, to be sure I understand, it does not bother you when someone calls you a whore or faggot but it bothers you when they say 'busty' instead of 'blustery'?"

Robin really didn't like how silly it sounded when Noriko put it like that. "It's different. Everyone on the internet gets called a whore or faggot. That's just dumb people who don't know any other way to vent their frustration that doesn't involve hurling insults with their limited vocabulary. I just... I could play games with voice chat before without incident. Now, I'm discovering that when I talk on the internet now, to some people it's like it's a special event."

"How so?" Noriko asked.

"Well, okay, like, for example, that game I was just playing, Corona Forge, I played, I think, about seven matches. In three of them I got accosted by some angelcakehole the moment I opened my mouth. I didn't say anything negative or anything like that. Just simple things like saying where I've seen a group of enemies go or something and suddenly the jokes start coming in."

Noriko nodded, "And this Busty joke annoyed you the most. Is it because of your issues with your endowment?"

Robin shivered, "Let's not use the word endowment, okay?"

"Why so?"

"It just... please?"

Noriko shrugged, "Very well... though my question still stands."

Robin groaned, "I don't know." She ran her right hand over her face and just sighed, "Maybe. Maybe I'm just overreacting to my first internet session as a chick. A different handle probably won't change the treatment by these types of morons. They'll just make different jokes. I guess I just don't want to make it easy for them, you know?"

Noriko nodded. "It might be an overreaction, but it's probably a good idea to choose a name that isn't so easy to make sexist commentary on. At the very minimum these people aren't likely that bright so making them reach for an insult will at the least slow them down."

Robin smirked, "They really aren't bright."

Noriko stepped forward and handed Robin the binder she had been holding. "Well, perhaps this will cheer you up. This is all the documentation you'll need for you new life."

Robin suddenly paid a lot more attention to the binder. "Seriously? Why is it so thick?"

"The paperwork isn't exclusively for you. Some of it might be necessary for your Uncle at some point in the future. We wanted there to be a very easy paper trail that proves Robynne Darling has always existed. The Twins took the liberty of updating things like your parent's will, your Uncle's guardianship papers, and other past documents that would have referred to Robert Dreese instead of Robynne Darling."

Robin opened up the binder, "I see. Didn't realize there were that many documents with my name on them."

First thing Robin noticed was a driver's licence with a photo that Robin couldn't remember taking. She was looking into the camera with a big smile. And looked younger. And had her hair up in a ponytail. And had braces. "The honey?" She took the driver's licence out and showed it to Noriko. "What is this?"

The barest hints of a grin curled up on Noriko's lips. "I told Nick he was going too far but he insisted."

"Who is Nick?"

"Nick Siekert. One of the Twins. He's an artist. I took a quick picture of you yesterday while you weren't looking. Nick insisted that, since you got your licence at 16, just using that picture would not be enough. Plus I think he wanted to see what he could do."

Robin plopped down in one of the kitchen chairs, stunned at the mastery of his imaging. "How did he make me smile? Or make me look younger? And how the honey did he make braces appear on my teeth? I look..."

Noriko kept almost-grinning, "Like you would have if you had been in high school? Yes. Nick is a master at digital manipulation of photos. And fake ID's. If you ever get pulled over only the most insanely well trained fraud experts would know that's not a real driver's licence."

Robin kept staring at the image of her supposed high-school self. This was incredible. So incredible it took her a few moments to notice another detail on the driver's licence. "Noriko... what is this?"

"What is what?"

Robin pointed to the spot on the license where her first name was. "This. Why is my name spelled like that?"

Noriko squinted, "Is there an error?"

"I'll say," Robin exclaimed. "Since when is Robin spelled with a y, two n's, and a silent e at the end?"

Noriko frowned, "Kunapipi told me you chose this name because it was your grandmother's name."

"Yeah. I'm not going as Rob-win. I'm..." Robin trailed off. Robin came to the sudden realization she didn't really remember Grammy's name written down anywhere. She had barely remembered that Grammy was named Robin in the first place when Ms. Kuna had brought it up. She was just Grammy to Robin. "My grandmother didn't spell her name like that did she?"

Noriko gave Robin the kind of slow nod normally reserved for placating a crazy person. "Yes. She did."

A pit formed in Robin's stomach. How was she an adult and she didn't even know how Grammy spelled her name. Sure, Grammy died when Robert was young but it was something she should have known. She felt like a lousy grandson... or granddaughter as it were. "Oh."

Noriko coughed, "I also don't think you pronounce the Y in the name like a W. It's still pronounced rob-in."

"Yeah, I know. I just... it looks so stupid when you spell it out!"

Noriko nodded, "I share your aversion to needlessly complicating names. It seems surprisingly common over here. Made learning the language trickier with all the words that can be spelled different but sound the same." Noriko shook her head, seemingly trying to get herself back on topic. "I was surprised when I saw the name's spelling. I didn't think you'd approve of a spelling that was so..." Noriko paused, searching for what, Robynne could tell, was a delicate way of putting it.

"Girly?" Robynne asked with disdain.

"I was going to say flowery or effeminate but, well, I do suppose girly fits as well."

Robynne groaned. "Is there any way to change this? I mean, I'm all for honoring my Grammy but I have to write this the rest of my life."

Noriko sighed, "It'd be unadvisable to change it. For one, while Will Siekert is a wizard with manipulating the local government databases, he had to do stuff at multiple state levels and the federal level for this one. I'm no expert on digital covert operations but the way he explains it you can break in once and stay safe because any tracing information they get off of you is limited to one data point. If you go in multiple times, well, I guess it's like triangulating a signal or something like that. To borrow one of your culture's idioms, we'd be liable to get our hands caught in the cookie jar."

Robynne sighed and collapsed onto the couch, her blood red locks splashing around her as she landed. She immediately regretted it as she felt the slight wetness of her hair seep through her t-shirt a little bit. She sat back up with a sigh. Why did girl tshirts have to be so donut thin? "What about through legitimate channels then? Like just apply for a name change on the level."

Noriko followed Robynne and leaned on the back of the couch. "I could ask Will but my instincts say no. We don't want government agents snooping around your records any more than they must."

Robynne gave another sigh, grabbed the throw pillow form the corner of the couch and held it over her face for a bit. "Yeah. You're likely right."

"Well, most people will never know the spelling and you are honoring your grandmother's memory so... well... there is that."

Robynne nodded and let go of the pillow, letting it hit the floor. "There is that."

Noriko coughed, clearly trying to change the subject away from Robynne's frustration over her name's spelling. "Well, if you are changing your gamer handle, what do you think you'd change it to?"

Robynne inhaled deeply, "Not exactly sure. Never thought about it before."

"How about Angelcakewipe?" Noriko offered.

Robynne quirked her eyebrow. "Angelcakewipe?"

Noriko shrugged, "I heard you refer to someone as an angelcakewipe as you were playing earlier. I think you were attempting to say, 'asswipe,' but... well, you know. I just thought it'd be an ironic name because it would be a name that only you knew was actually an intended insulting curse."

Robynne smirked. There was more mischief in Noriko than she let on. "An interesting thought. But if I did that I think I'd go with Angelcakehole. Better ring to it. Even then, people tend to shorten long names and I don't want anyone calling me 'Angel' and getting away with it."

Noriko nodded. "Ah. Yes. Of course. We can't just pick a name but it has to be one that isn't easily used to hit on you or insult you."

"That's the general idea, yeah."

Noriko rested her chin between her thumb and index finger. "Hmm." The turn of the conversation was fascinating to Robynne; she never would have guessed Noriko would take such an interest in something like gamer handles. "Well, your last name was based upon the element of wind because of your character. Why not, given your newfound abilities, you base your new name on the element of water?"

"Huh. I would have thought you'd try to dissuade me from that. I mean, you're all about stopping me from revealing myself and such."

Noriko shook her head. "This really isn't of concern. I of course am not suggesting you name yourself SGSerenity or... what was your attack name that you killed the monster with again?"

Robynne rolled her eyes. "Geyser of Tranquility. Really wish I could shorten it."

"Ah, yes." Noriko nodded. "At any rate, I'm not suggesting a name like SGSerenity or TranquilGeyser or something like that. I'm suggesting something more along the lines of... I do not know... Liquidate? Riptide?"

Robynne considered Noriko's suggestion. "Okay. Well, not Liquidate. That has date in the name. Riptide isn't bad, though a touch too D3m0n51lay3r for my tastes though."

"I am not suggesting you use numbers," Noriko said a touch defensively.

"No. I don't mean that. I mean it just sounds like the name of someone who has to prove something."

"Ah." Noriko leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. "I see what you mean, now."

"This is going in the right direction though." Robynne mused as she joined Noriko's ceiling-gazing. "So what do I want a name to say? Something about my interests maybe? Maybe a play on words or terms?"

"SplashZone? That feels like a term I have heard before."

"Yeah, a splash zone is a thing but," Robynne made a disgusted face, "no. Creepers will think of something very different with that name."

"Must everything be sexualized?" Noriko sighed.

"It's the internet so, basically, yeah. Though that gives me the idea of the name SplashDamage."

"SplashDamage?"

"Gaming term. When you cast a spell or ability that hits a target and the area around them. The damage that happens around the target is called 'splash damage' because it's like throwing a rock in some water."

"Ah," Noriko said with as slightly impressed tone, "that is a good way to describe it."

"But I wouldn't count on that name being available anywhere since it's such a common term."

"True," Noriko agreed. "Then let us instead focus on what you want the name to say about you. You personally or your interests?"

"Not sure. Let's go with interests I guess. I'm in mechanical engineering. The only water related thing I can think of off the top of my head would be the Fluid Dynamics course I have to take my junior year."

"Yes, but, for the same reason SplashZone is a bad idea I don't think FluidDynamics or DynamicFluid would be a good choice."

Robynne chuckled, "Yeah, that's a no go."

"What about waves?" Noriko suggested. "Waves happen in water and are a property of physics you no doubt deal with somewhere in your education."

"Waves. That's a good idea." Robynne smiled and bit down on her thumbnail as she thought about it more. "Really good idea in fact. Some good double meanings we could find there." Robynne wrestled her hair from between her body and the couch and flipped the mess of tangled red behind the couch. She then settled further into her seat and rested her hands behind her head. "Waves. Okay. So what are some good wave words?"

* - * - *

Eli couldn't believe the mess Club Week was creating. The courtyard was a mess of people, music, games, and free handouts as every club, frat, and sorority tried to recruit the entire student body to their ranks. Naturally, Cory had immediately set about to score as much free swag as possible, with an emphasis on food. At the moment his friend seemed to be talking to some squat but burly looking men and women accepting what looked to be some sort of candy. Normally, Eli wouldn't have bothered with such a crowded mess of people. Not even Cory could drag him to something like this.

Kara accepted a flier from someone hocking for the Pre-Law Club. "Certainly is quite the spectacle here."

Eli smiled like a dope. Cory couldn't drag him to something like this, but a certain attractive bluenette could practically drag him anywhere and he'd be fine with it. "Yeah. Who knew there were so many clubs?"

Cory hurried back to the group. "Okay, I scored us some rock candy!" Eli's friend made it a point to hand some over to Vivian first.

Eli rolled his eyes. "Do you even know what club that was?"

"I don't know. I sort of went over, let them talk at me long enough that I got candy." Cory shrugged. "Geology I think."

Vivian snorted, "That was the Hiking Club, you dummy. Did you not even notice the sign?"

Cory straightened with concern. "Hiking Club? Okay, well, yeah. Me and hiking? That's not going to happen." Cory took a lick of the candy and smiled. "Good rock candy though."

Vivian rolled her eyes and smiled. Eli didn't know what to make of these events. A few days ago she was icing Cory out. Today, she seemed... she definitely wasn't being as flirty as when she first met Cory but she wasn't trying to get him to back off either. What had gotten her to come back around? Did Rob say something?

Eli tested his own sample of rock candy and, he had to admit, it was pretty good; though how could something composed of pure sugar not be delicious? "So, you going to join any of these clubs Cory or are you just getting all the free stuff you can?"

Cory puffed up. "I'll probably join something. I just need something to catch my eye."

Vivian scoffed, "Unless they give you food it doesn't seem like they can catch your eye."

Cory's grin was as wide as his face. "Hey, I'm just being responsible. To not hunt for free stuff would be like throwing money away."

Kara pointed and asked, "What's the group over there about?" Eli scanned where she pointed and found a booth barely visible around the corner of the Billot building.

"I thought all the clubs were in this circle," Eli mused. Something was different about the group around that booth too. Everyone else was flitting about from booth to booth; at that table everyone was staying and conversing. They all seemed to be watching something on a flatscreen, though it was impossible to make out what was on display from that distance.

Kara smiled. "Come on. Let's go check it out." Kara pushed some strands of hair out of her face and lead the quartet through the sea of people. Eli would have gladly followed her anywhere.

"Maybe it's the Film Club," Vivian offered. "I haven't seen them in this chaos, yet."

"Could be," Cory agreed. "Though I'm not really sure what a college Film Club does. They show classic films?"

"Eh," Vivian sighed, "Mostly just popular tripe that the awards show people like. But I've heard a lot of their members organize get togethers at some of the smaller, local theatres to see indie stuff."

Cory perked up, "Indie stuff you say?"

Eli rolled his eyes. "Hipsters." Kara giggled but said nothing. That only buoyed Eli's spirits further.

The group finally escaped the bubble of the inner circle and Eli felt like he could breath. Eli's eyes wandered from the goal and he slowed down his walk. Directly to his left was a small group of cheerleaders handing out fliers, all cheerful and standing out from the crowd with their tight green uniforms, exposed midriffs, and smooth legs. All of the cheerleaders were hot but one in particular, a leggy blonde who seemed to lead the group, had caught his...

"Enjoying the view?" Eli froze at Vivian's question and turned around slowly.

Eli was quite relieved to hear Cory stammering, "Huh? What? Oh, I was, uh, I was just..." Vivian had been talking to Cory. Better he get in trouble than Eli.

Vivian had a smirk on that was simultaneously disappointed and amused. "Just what?"

Cory coughed, "Doesn't, uh, you know, anyone think it's weird the cheerleaders are here? I mean, they aren't a club really."

Vivian bobbed her head side to side, "Eh. Your save attempt was passable but could've been better if you hadn't sputtered it out like a prop plane running out of fuel."

Kara teasingly poked Vivian in the shoulder, "Go easy on him. Boys brains short circuit at the sight of a cheerleader. Besides, it's not like you didn't take advantage of wearing your cheer uniform on game days back in high school."

Vivian threw her hair back demonstrably. Eli had to admit she looked very attractive when she did it. "Well of course I did, but you should know that as girls we are predisposed to hate cheerleaders if we aren't one of them." Vivian's joking tone faded, "Plus, you know, what that biscuit did to Angela."

Kara sighed, "Yes. That."

Eli raised an eyebrow, "What now?"

Kara deftly changed the topic, "As for why cheerleaders are here, a lot of the frats and sororities sponsor a sports team. Like they will invite them to their parties and such as a way to both boost involvement in their group and support the team."

Cory nodded his head, "That explains why I saw those football guys at that one booth for that frat."

Vivian grinned. "Ah yeah. The Alpha Sigma Epsilon boys. I sure noticed them." She turned to Kara with a conspiratorial tone to her voice. "Did you see the muscles on the magentine guy?"

Kara giggled, "I love it when magentine guys keep their hair as is and don't dye it or anything. Love them being secure enough to just let the pink exist."

Eli felt a tinge of jealousy. Cory pouted, "Wait a minute? We get in trouble for glancing at cheerleaders..."

Eli may have been jealous but he didn't want to get lumped in with Cory. Some battles just weren't worth dying for. "You got into trouble. Don't drag me into this."

"Whatever, you were looking at the cheerleaders too." Eli glared at Cory for divulging that fact. "So we get in trouble for that but you two can oogle football players and that's okay?"

Vivian rolled her eyes. "Uh, doy. Yeah. You don't seem to understand how this double standard works." She flashed her impish grin, "I thought you watched enough movies you'd know this by now."

Cory pouted, "Stupid cinematic logic."

"Hypocrite," Eli muttered under his breath to Cory.

Kara giggled, "What I was trying to say was that if we look, I'd bet that we'd see the cheerleaders are being sponsored by some sorority and are trying to get girls to show up for some sorority pledge drive or come to some party."

Vivian leaned to the side and examined the sign behind the cheerleader. "You're right. Mu Nu Chi. Huh. That actually has a pretty good ring to it."

"You thinking of joining then, Viv? Gonna be a sorority girl?" Cory teased with too much hope in his eyes.

"In your dreams," Vivian scoffed and poked Cory hard in the chest with her finger.

"Ow!"

Vivian raised an eyebrow, "Seriously? That hurt? Buddy, work out and get some meat on those bones!"

Cory opened his mouth to retort but nothing came out. Though Cory hid it well, Eli could see Vivian's playful jab had actually hit a bit of a nerve some. Eli needed to change the subject to give Cory's wounded pride a moment to recover, "So we checking out that club or not?"

Kara seemed to pick up on Eli's attempt, "Yeah, let's go."

As the quartet approached the group, Eli was surprised to find the gaggle of people around the booth was nearly a solid block of dudes. There were a few girls but, sadly, it was difficult to tell from the back. The body types ranged from string beans to doughballs with very little in the middle. It reminded Eli of any Invokers card tournament he and Cory had ever gone to.

Cory piped up with excitement, "Are they playing Tour de Rock over there?"

Eli couldn't see over the group. He cursed his lack of height. As they neared the booth though, Eli heard the springy-clicking of faux rock instruments and the classic rock music that characterized any Tour de Rock session. "I think you're right."

"Tour de Rock?" Vivian contorted her face. "Is that the dorky game where you fake being a rock band."

Kara put her hands on her hips, "Hey! I like the game!"

"Me too," Eli agreed.

Vivian nodded sagely and flashed her usual, teasing smile. "As I said, dorks."

Eli watched a collection of nerds plinked away to the beat of the music. Most of the people were quietly waiting their turn to play the game but a few chatted with one another. Eli scanned the booth itself and saw two people manning the booth:a lanky, brown-haired guy and a short, chunky sunlock girl with glasses. The girl's voice was enthusiastic as she chatted up some of the visitors. "-not either of ours. The equipment actually belongs to our President. He's big into Tour de Rock. Buys all the DLC and such."

The lanky guy nodded. "Yeah, and he's awesome enough to lend his equipment."

The blond guy they were talking to gave a forced over-laugh that made Eli wince. It was the kind of laugh you only give if you were socially awkward and weren't quite sure how to let everyone else know you were amused. "Wow. Yeah, he sounds cool."

Cory didn't let the over-laugher's awkwardness phase him; he confidently moved forward to the front of the booth. "Chintzy setup he has. What is this club exactly?"

The girl's eyes lit up with excitement. Eli could already tell that whatever this club was, this sunlock girl was a true believer in the club's cause. "We, my good man, are Spheres!"

Vivian walked up behind Cory with a bemused face. "Spheres? You're a club that celebrates round objects?"

"Uh, well, uh..." The lanky guy stammered, obviously not ready for a cute girl with a quick tongue to approach their group. Clearly he wasn't as well versed in recruiting as the girl. "No. We aren't round object enthusiasts. We are, uh..."

The girl rolled her eyes in a manner that reminded Eli of Mallory. "It's an acronym." She gestured to the front of the booth. Eli glanced down and splayed across the length of a the table was a banner that spelled out 'SFEERS' in a blue, futuristic font. "It stands for the Science-fiction, Fantasy, and Electronic Entertainment Research Society."

Cory nodded his head back and forth, "Shouldn't there be two F's in the acronym then? One for Fiction and one for Fantasy?"

Vivian grinned wider and joined in with Cory's mild teasing, "I think you're right. Seems a little slipshod."

Kara and Eli exchanged looks of exasperated amusement. Kara stepped forward, "Ignore my mischievous friends. I think it sounds great."

The bespectacled girl shrugged, "Eh, the club was founded two decades ago by someone who, apparently, really wanted the acronym to spell something while not sounding like all we do is read books, watch movies, and play games. We just stick with Spheres for convenience."

The lanky guy seemed to regain some of his composure, "Though some call us 'Nerd Club' for simplicity... or sometimes as an intended insult. Though it's not something we really run from." Eli nodded. He already was liking the cut of this club's jib.

The girl extended her hand to shake Kara's, "Name's ergoAwesome. What's yours?"

Kara shook her hand but squinted, "Uh, Kara... I'm sorry. Your name is ergoAwesome?"

Eli stepped up, eager to show Kara that he knew what was going on here. "You all go by your handles in Spheres?"

The guy nodded and shifted about nervously. "Well, we conduct most of our club business online so everyone sort mostly gets used to handles rather than actual names. You can call me Zemiron... or Jeff. Either way I'm cool."

Vivian nodded with amusement. "So a bunch of code names. Neat. But what do you guys do in Nerd Club exactly?"

ergoAwesome took a deep breath and flashed a grin that Eli could swear was wider than Vivian's most mischievous smile. "What don't we do? We have several weekly activities! I myself am the club's Writing Officer and hold a weekly writing group where members get together and discuss whatever projects they are currently working on. We also have a weekly anime watching group, book group, board gaming..." ergoAwesome trailed off and pointed to Zemiron, "The board gaming group is all Zemiron's brainchild over here."

Zemiron scratched the back of his head and looked a little embarrassed. "I wouldn't say it was my brainchild. But we do meet every Tuesday night in the mezzanine of the Billot Building and just play whatever board games people bring." He cleared his throat, obviously uncomfortable with having to speak to random strangers. "Though uh, well, we also have several pen and paper RPG groups if that's more your thing."

Eli noticed a few boys who had been watching the game were now nervously checking out Kara and Vivian. Eli smirked and inched a bit closer to Kara. He knew it was stupid but there was some primal joy he derived in "marking his territory" in front of other guys. "Would your board game night have anyone playing Invokers?"

Zemiron's eyes lit up and all hints of nervousness left. "Oh yeah. I mean, well, a few of the people who were playing it with us graduated last year but I'm pretty sure there will still be plenty of people bringing their decks. I myself have a Yellow Tax deck I have been meaning to test out. I was actually hoping to run a few tournaments for the club this year if you're interested."

Eli grinned. This Spheres group was really starting to interest him. "I'd say Cory and I are interested. Invokers is our poison for sure. Though, Yellow? Seriously? I'm not sure if I can be your friend if you play a Yellow deck."

Zemiron laughed. "You play Purple I'm assume?"

"Indeed he does." Cory agreed. "I'm a Grey player myself though. Love infinitely spawning creeps." Vivian yawned and Eli realized the particulars of Invokers weren't going to be of any interest to the girls. They needed to change the conversation.

"Now, I assume that," Eli nodded his head towards the group playing Tour de Rock, "this is not your only offering of electronic entertainment? I mean, you put Electronic Entertainment in your acronym so I assume there is more?"

ergoAwesome practically jumped with excitement, "Oh hells no! We have a lot of gaming stuff. I mean, it's not as well organized as Zemiron's board game group but gaming falls under the purview of our Video Gaming Officer, SaltStorm. We have a lot of people who are really big into Corona Forge. There is actually a group of four that play that competitively in tournies across the state, including our President and his brother."

Cory let out a low whistle. "Seriously? Geeze, they might be too hardcore for us, Eli."

Eli shrugged, "We'll see." Eli tried to hide his arrogance but he had been the best Corona Forge player at his high school. He'd wait to see how good these competitive player were. Then a thought occurred to Eli, "What about Aspect Realms? Do you guys have an Aspect Realms group?"

ergoAwesome let out a laugh, "Do we ever! That's probably the most active group we have on a day-to-day basis." She pointed two thumbs at herself. "You're looking at a level seventy Gargoyle Cloudmender here. Do you play?"

Eli shook his head. Gargoyle Cloudmender? He really had no idea what went on in that game, "No, but we have a friend who is heavy into it. Like, super heavy."

Kara's entire face brightened. "That is the game Robynne plays, isn't it?"

Vivian nodded, "We'll have to drag her here to see this booth."

ergoAwesome's smile somehow widened further. "Another girl? Finally! I'm tired of me and GalleyGirl being the only girls in the guild."

Kara nodded, "I think Robynne would like that as well."

Zemiron tried to push forward a sign-sheet with a clipboard. "So do you all want to sign up? I mean, nothing is official until you sign up on our club website itself but this gets you signed up for the newsletter to let you know about what events are going on."

Cory happily snatched up the sign-up sheet. "There any dues?"

"Ten dollars a person per semester. We use it to throw our opening and closing socials."

"Mostly to pay for pizza," ergoAwesome giggled.

Cory nodded, "Money well spent then!" He quickly started writing his information. "Well, I, CannedBurrito, am happy to lend my aid!"

"CannedBurrito?" VIvian chortled.

Cory nodded enthusiastically, "It's been my handle since middle school."

Vivian laughed harder, "You're so weird."

ergoAwesome leaned forward on the table and looked Vivian in the eyes. "So you signing up then?"

Vivian shook her head, "Not sure this is really my thing. I might show up to a few anime nights though."

"Come onnnn! You know you want to."

Eli didn't know what to make of this ergoAwesome girl. On one hand, she was kind of pushy. On the other hand, she wasn't that attractive but still surged forward with confidence. It was hard for her enthusiasm not to rub off on you a little.

Vivian shook her head. "Tempting, but I'll have to pass."

Kara took the clipboard from Cory. "I think I'll join. Though I don't have a code name yet. Is that a problem?"

Vivian straightened. "You're joining, Kara? The only game you ever play is that dancing one."

Kara shrugged, "I could branch out." She smiled meekly, "Plus, I kind of have a feeling Robynne will be joining this club too so..."

Vivian nodded, "Ah. I see." She looked back down at her shoes and sighed, "Well, when you put it that way, I guess I probably should join as well. Someone has to keep an eye on her to keep her from breaking all the nerd boys' hearts."

Kara rolled her eyes, "Oh stop it, Viv."

Zemiron cleared his voice, and tried to answer Kara's original question, though Eli could tell he was now curious about this breaking of hearts business. "You don't need a handle yet." He stressed the word handle, as if Kara calling it a code name made him feel awkward. "You won't need that until you sign up online."

"Oh good," Kara said with a chipper tone. Eli could see even more heads examining her. "I'll have to come up with one."

Vivian took the signup sheet from Kara. As she wrote down her information Eli smiled at Kara, "It's really nice of you to think of Rob like that." Liking Hop Dance Mania was a good gateway to gaming but Eli figured Kara had very little actual interest in a "nerd club" outside of being there for Rob.

Kara shrugged nonchalantly but Eli could see the hint of a blush, "Oh, well, I think anyone would do it for her given her... situation."

"Plus," Vivian said handed the sign-up sheet to Eli, "someone has to keep an eye on CannedBurrito over here."

Cory stood up straight, trying to sound and look as regal as possibly, "M'lady I get the sense that you are besmirching my honor!"

Vivian touched her hand to her breast in shock, "Why, Lord CannedBurrito! How couldst thou assume such a thing when thou hast a most noble name."

ergoAwesome smiled and leaned over to Zemiron, "I think they'll fit in just fine."

Kara chuckled and turned to Eli, "You think Robynne will like this club?"

Eli nodded, "First thing I'll do is convince her to join. It's right up her alley. I guarantee it."

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Sorry for the long delays between chapter posts here at BigCloset. If you're interested in reading all of MGP, at the time of this writing I'm up to chapter 50 over at my website. Also, if you're interested I have a lot of art there and on my patreon. Once a month I publish cannon through the generous donations of my patrons. We also have pin-up art if that's your thing that is non-cannonical in nature. Here is a link to the cannon images and here is a link to the non-cannonical images.

I also have a new story I've started called Villain-in-Distress that I'm working on over on my Patreon. Patrons get early access but Issues 0-6 are available for free. Why issues and not chapters? Well, not to spoil everything but the story takes place on a world where super heroes and super villains are a thing. It takes a lot of inspiration from golden and silver-age comic books and might be something you all enjoy.

I want to give a special thanks to Erin for being so supportive and helpful. Awesome as always, Erin. Thanks for the help.

Hope you enjoyed this,
Taralynn