“You’ve been making that face all day,” Liliana poked him on the cheek. “The brooding kind.”

“It’s nothing,” Ocean quickened his pace so that he walked ahead of her. They turned down a side street.

“Is it that Fae girl?” Liliana asked.

“Yes,” Ocean said. “I’m worried about her, alright?”

“You like her, huh?”

Ocean didn’t answer her.

“Hey, just because she’s missing doesn’t mean that she’s… involved in this,” Liliana caught back up with him. “Maybe she just ran away. I bet she has a lot of pressure from her parents to do well in school with grades like hers.”

“Fae’s not like that,” Ocean looked over at Liliana. “She… she wouldn’t run away.”

“You act like you actually know her or something,” Liliana scoffed. “She could be a total wild child behind closed doors and you’d never even know it.”

“Wild child?”

“You know,” Liliana waved her hand. “The, ‘I never thought they’d do something like this, they always just kept to themselves’ thing.”

“Uhh, sounds like you’re calling her a murder.”

“I’m just saying that you never know,” Liliana said. “And there’s always her brother too. He didn’t seem all that worried.”

“Jaden, that asshole,” Ocean clenched his fists. “His sister’s missing and all he can do is talk about Sadie Quasar.”

“I wonder if being sociopathic is genetic,” Liliana said. “If so, you might want to reconsider your crush.”

“Will you stop calling her my ‘crush’?” Ocean sighed.

“What? She’s not?”

Ocean wasn’t even sure anymore. With everything that had happened over the last four days, love was the furthest thing from his mind. He was preparing to do something so dangerous that it would probably be best if he didn’t get too hung up on it. The last thing he needed was to think about how he didn’t want to die single.

“Hey, Clown Frogfish,” Liliana tugged on his sleeve. “I’m taking your silence as admittance.”

“Just drop it,” Ocean pulled his arm away from her. “…Clown Frogfish?”

“Look it up,” Liliana flashed a smile.

“You two sure are… in a good mood,” Celeste’s voice came from behind them. She was walking along a few feet behind them with Ruby. “Given the circumstances.”

Liliana still had a faint smile on her face.

“I’ve spent a lot of time feeling sad. So sad that I thought my guts might burst,” Ocean looked back at her. “I just felt like I needed to channel that somewhere else. That’s all.”

Celeste’s eyes widened a little. “When did you start acting all mature all of a sudden?”

“Ouch, now you’re saying I wasn’t mature?” Ocean looked forward again. “A guy’s heart can only take so much, Celeste.”

“You hurt his feelings,” Ruby gasped. “You gotta apologize.”

“Oh stop, he’s just faking it,” Celeste said. “Don’t let him emotionally manipulate you.”

“And now I’m a manipulator too?” Ocean made sure to ham it up.

“Celeste,” Ruby cried.

“Hey, you roped me into this so I’d say you’re pretty manipulative,” Celeste said, quieting her voice. “I’m sure you pressured Ruby into telling you about the whole magician thing too.”

“Hey, that was all Ruby,” Ocean said. “She came to us.”

“As much as I’d like to throw Dumbo Octopus under the bus,” Liliana got a slight skip in her step. “It’s true. Ruby showed us herself.”

Ruby made a sound like a small dog. Ocean looked back to see her in a headlock.

“I can’t believe you,” Celeste dug her fist into Ruby’s scalp. “You’re lucky I don’t tell your dad.”

“No, please,” Ruby whined. “Anything but that. I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

“You two have to keep this a secret,” Celeste said. “Seriously, this is stuff you aren’t supposed to know about.”

“Why though?” Liliana asked. “Why keep it all a secret?”

Ruby started to say something, but then grunted like Celeste had put her in another headlock.

“No questions,” Celeste said. “What you already know is all you’re getting, got it?”

“Got it,” Ocean said.

“Good.”

The four of them continued through the empty side streets just outside of downtown.

“Anyway, you’ll help us, right?” Ocean asked.

“You’re going to need someone there to make sure you don’t do anything stupid,” Celeste said. “That’s not to say that this whole thing isn’t stupid already though.”

“Yeah, trust me,” Ocean took a deep breath. “I know how risky this is.”

Liliana suddenly turned around, and Ocean’s eyes followed. She jumped onto Celeste and gave her a hug.

Celeste’s face turned beat red. “W-What are you doing?”

“Thanking you, silly,” Liliana separated from her. “And here’s one for you too, Ruby.”

Ruby seemed much more receptive to the hug. Celeste’s face was still red, and she looked flustered. Was she always like that? He couldn’t really think of a time he had seen her show any PDA at school. Ocean decided he would have to try to hug her later to see. The potential kick in the shin was more than worth it to see her that rattled.

“Anyway,” Celeste seemed to have recomposed herself. “I’m not worried. I really doubt we’re actually going to find them.”

“I guess we’ll just have to see about that,” Ocean said.

They turned another corner and reached their destination. They opened the door to the small café and went inside.

Like last time, the place was completely empty. As they came in, the middle aged owner poked his head out from the back room. They walked up to the front counter.

“Hello,” Liliana put a ten dollar bill down. “Can we just share a large pot of caramel milk tea?”

The man took her money with a grunt and gave her the change. Then he disappeared into the back.

“Let’s sit down,” Liliana smiled.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

The four of them moved to the table in the corner, as far away from the front counter as possible. Ocean didn’t feel like he needed to worry about the man hearing anything, but he supposed it didn’t hurt to play it safe.

A few minutes later, the man emerged from the back with a pot of tea and four teacups. He set them down on the table and gave them a silent nod. He returned to the back room without a word. The sound of a television told them that they could talk in peace.

“Alright, let’s get down to business then,” Liliana scooted in her chair next to Ocean. “What’s on the menu for today?”

“Well Pietro should be here any minute,” Ocean said. “He said that he had some important news. Quinn and Xavier are going to be a little late though.”

“Quinn and Xavier who now?” Celeste didn’t hide the distaste in her voice.

Ruby slapped her hands over her mouth as if she had just realized something catastrophic. “Uh-oh.”

“You didn’t tell her?” Ocean sighed.

“I…forgot,” Ruby said.

“Ruby,” Celeste made sure to draw out the ‘y’ at the end.

“They’re abnormals,” Ruby whispered. “But they’re really nice, I promise.”

“Abnormals?” Celeste huffed. “Where the heck did you meet abnormals?”

“We met them actually,” Liliana picked up the pot of tea and pour some into one of the cups. “They’re KPW.” She slid the cup over to Celeste.

“Oh, I see,” Celeste picked up the cup and took a sip, but immediately choked. “Wait, what?”

“Jeez, and I thought I was dramatic,” Ocean laughed. “They’re really good people, don’t worry about it.”

“You really are lucky I don’t tell your dad about this,” Celeste poked Ruby in the arm. “He’d ground you forever if he knew you were getting involved with people like them.”

“This is for Cory,” Ruby pouted.

“I know, but…”

“Hey, I don’t know what’s going on between magicians and abnormals, and I won’t ask,” Ocean said. “I just want to know if you can work with them or not.”

Celeste crossed her arms. She glanced over at Ruby and then back to him. “I mean, I guess I can… as long as they don’t do anything stupid.”

“Good,” he took the teapot and got himself a cup of tea next. “This can be your rebel phase against your parents then.”

“Yeah right,” Celeste rolled her eyes. “Not like I ever see them anyway.”

The door of the café opened and Pietro came inside. The owner peeked out again.

“I’m with them,” Pietro said. The man retreated, turning up the television even louder.

“Pietro!” Liliana threw her arms up.

“So how did it go?” Ocean asked. Like everyone else, he had seen the news about the most recent murder. Of course, he didn’t know that it was an acquaintance of Cory’s uncle until Liliana told him.

“Our situation is finally looking up,” Pietro held up his arm to reveal a black wristwatch.

“No way,” Ocean almost fell out of his chair. “Is that what I think it is?”

Celeste’s jaw went slack. “You can’t mean…”

“Did he get a new watch?” Ruby tilted her head.

“It’s the real deal,” Pietro could barely contain himself, betraying his usual calm and cool appearance. “It stops time just like you said.”

“Oh my gosh, where do you get that?” Liliana jumped up and grabbed her brother by the hand.

“Promised I wouldn’t say,” he pulled it away, holding it high into the air so that she couldn’t reach it. “I also have some news from uncle Luca.”

“Is… he okay?” Liliana sat back down.

“He’s his usual depressing self,” Pietro said. “Can’t say that I blame him this time though. Anyway, he’s been doing some investigating, and he heard that the killer might have a burn mark on their hand.”

“A burn mark?” Ocean asked.

“Yeah, a pretty fresh one, apparently,” he went on. “There’s no way to know if it’s true, obviously. Plus he could always just wear gloves to hide it.”

They all looked at each other like they expected to someone to start talking. It seemed like none of them knew what to make of the news.

“Not sure how useful that is, but yeah,” Pietro added. “Might want to keep an eye out of burn marks as well as watches.”

“I guess it’s a start, right guys?” Liliana looked around the table again. Everyone nodded reluctantly.

“Hey, Pietro, do you mind if I test out something with the watch really quick?” Ocean asked.

“Uh, sure, I guess,” Pietro slid the watch from his wrist and handed it to him. “Be careful though. You should only use the lowest setting for now, and make sure you don’t use it for too long.”

“Yeah, Cory told me,” Ocean said.

“Hey, you better not be thinking of trying anything perverted,” Liliana covered her chest. Celeste and Ruby quickly did the same.

“Perverted?” Ruby’s face turned its usual color.

“Jeez, you really expect the worst from me,” Ocean sighed. He pressed the button down. His ears started ringing. The sound of the television in the back room was gone. It really worked. This was the same feeling he had when he used the watch in Cory’s house.

He looked at Liliana, who was still stuck in her chest covering pose. If it weren’t for her, he didn’t think he would be able to stay so strong through all this. No, he was sure of it. He would have broken down by now if it weren’t for her.

“Thanks,” he said.

He picked up one of the empty cups from the table and tossed it upward. It went up for a moment, and then stopped midair. Then it just stayed floating there.

“Hmm,” he poked at it. It moved slightly, but it didn’t fall.

He picked up his cup filled with tea next. He tilted the cup, and the tea dripped down like a waterfall before freezing

“Interesting.”

He couldn’t be sure, but it seemed like things would only move when he was interacting with them. When they got too far from him, they stopped. He suddenly had an idea.

Ocean reached up to press the button, but stopped himself. If he did it now, the cup floating in the air was going to fall onto the floor. Likewise, the tea would go everywhere. He hurried to put them back in their normal positions and finally pressed the button.

“You aren’t to be trusted,” Liliana whined.

“I already used the watch,” Ocean said. “So stop worrying that I’m going to do something because I’m not.”

“You already did it?” Ruby asked. “I didn’t even notice.”

“Yeah, it stops everything around me so it probably didn’t seem like any time passed for you.”

“That’s so cool,” Liliana said.

“More like scary,” Celeste looked less excited. “I can’t even imagine how something like that works.”

“So did you test what you wanted to?” Pietro asked.

“Yeah, but I thought of something else I want to test,” Ocean took off the watch and handed it to Pietro. “I’ll be right back.”

He rushed over to the café door and pulled it open.

“Wait, where are you going?” Liliana called after him.

“To a convenience store,” he yelled back. “It’ll just be a minute.”

It took a lot longer than expected. The old woman working there moved at a pace that would frustrate snails. Once he bought what he needed, he rushed back to the café.

When he got back he heard a booming voice coming from inside. He knew who it was before even opening the door.

“And so we faced each other in the street, both of our swords drawn,” Xavier said. “The sun was setting behind us.”

“I assure you,” Quinn spoke up. “This did not happen.”

“Ocean’s back,” Liliana smiled.

“I know I was gone a while,” Ocean walked over to them, plastic bag in hand. “But was I really gone long enough for them to come, introduce themselves to Pietro and Celeste, and then start a story?”

“Men work quickly, my friend,” Xavier laughed.

Quinn lifted her hand like she was in a classroom. “He started the story almost immediately after we arrived.”

“We’ve already been filled in about our new weapon too,” Xavier said. He was talking about the watch.

“Thanks to yours truly, of course,” Liliana put her hands on her hips.

“That reminds me,” Xavier reached into his kimono and pulled out two long boxes made of hard cardboard. “I brought a gift for you and the young lady.”

“For us?” Liliana took one of the boxes. Ocean took the other.

“Go ahead and open them.”

“Wow!” Liliana said.

Ocean lifted the lid to find what looked like a knife. No, it was more like a really short sword. “What… is this?”

“It’s called a tantou,” Xavier gave a self-satisfied grin. “I want you two to have them. For self-defense.”

“For the record,” Quinn adjusted her sundress. “I told him that it was a bad idea to give weapons to children.”

“Yeah, I think I’m taking that,” Pietro reached out, but Liliana pulled away.

“No, this is mine,” she stuck out her tongue. “You’re just jealous that I’m an samurai now.”

“I’m taking that later whether you want me to or not,” Pietro said.

Xavier laughed again. “She’s got a soul of fire, that girl.”

“Thank you,” Ocean put the lid of the box back on. “We really might need these.”

“Did you get what you needed, Ocean?” Ruby asked.

“Oh yeah,” he reached into the plastic bag hanging from his arm. “I did.”

Celeste narrowed her eyes. “Air… freshener?”

“That’s right,” he held a can of air freshener spray. “Pietro, let me borrow the watch again.”

Pietro gave it to him. Ocean put it on and pressed the button. Everything stopped again. He shook the can and pressed down the trigger to spray it. Mist came bellowing out, but then hung in the air.

“Perfect,” Ocean said. He deactivated the watch and felt his ears pop.

“Ugh, that stuff stinks,” Celeste said.

“It works just like I thought,” he gave the watch back to Pietro. “I’m still not sure what will happen if Celeste and Ruby are frozen while trying to hold someone, but we can figure that out later. All of this is coming together perfectly.”

“What’s coming together?” Liliana put the lid back on her box.

“The plan,” Ocean said. “We’re going through with the plan tomorrow.”

“Huh?” all six of them said in unison.

“That’s right,” Ocean could feel a smirk forming on his face.

“Uh, I think you’re forgetting one little thing,” Celeste said. “We can’t do anything if we don’t know who they are or where they’ll be.”

“Exactly,” Ocean said. “I know who the killer is, and I know where he’ll be tomorrow.”

“What?” Liliana grabbed onto him and pulled herself up. “Since when?”

“Since this morning, actually,” he said. “I just wanted to wait until everyone was together to say anything.”

“You idiot,” Celeste glared. “How did you figure out something like that?”

“All in due time, my dear,” he tried to sound British, but did a terrible job of it.

“Ocean, you’re serious?” Pietro asked. “You’re one hundred percent sure about this?”

“Well I don’t know about one hundred,” Ocean put his hand on his chin. “But I’m pretty sure. Actually, tomorrow might be our only chance.”

The six of them were on the edges of their seats.

“We’re meeting tomorrow at Sadie Quasar’s autograph session,” Ocean set down the box and plastic bag on the table and pulled his phone from his pocket. “That’s where this all ends.”

“Who… is it?” Liliana looked up at him.

“I’ll show you,” he clicked onto Clock Link. “But I have to post something first.”

“Post something?”

“Yeah,” he said. “I’m going to see if we can get a couple more watches.”