Chapter XXV

Tonight!

> I've been writing this story for you for twenty-five chapters. Though I won’t be around to hear any feedback, I appreciate the thought of entertaining some. The walls close in around me, whispering the end is near. Worry not! It is not the end of this story. That is far from over. It's merely the end of me. But back to why you are here...

> The chess pieces this story established move towards meeting each other. The children training to save their friends are ignorant to the powers playing against them. Maria Sciron is locked in a stalemate with the cleaners breathing down on her neck while a dagger is slowly approaching her son's throat. And the one holding this dagger, Master Puppet. Facing the world with his own ideology in mind, he risks everything for the opportunity of a lifetime. It is soon that these pieces collide, and we will have our first fallen soldier. A moment that will change Ren's life forever. Right now, the children are in shambles, as all of them pull in different directions. Half-baked plans and impulsive actions aside, it could be worse. It will be...

>

> -W. 2032

The weekend was eventless for the children. All of them behaved or tried to the best of their abilities. And so when Monday came they could finally meet each other again. Maria's car pulled up with Ren and Niel jumping out of the backseat. They entered the school grounds to see their friends gathering at the entrance. From a distance they saw everyone's attention gathering around Sun as he talked. The boy was slowly getting used to his role as leader. Ken stood in the shade observing them, and when he noticed Rosa running to Ren he took one more step into the darkness.

"Oh, finally some company! I was so done with being at home all day!" Ren sighed as he entered the conversation with Niel on his side.

"Ever since we got our powers, we didn't miss a day of meeting up in the Second Reality!" Marco exclaimed.

"Still, it feels weird that we miss it this much!" Niel rubbed his chin as he tried to shake the yearning off.

"I didn't think they would take this hourly check-up so seriously! One time I went to the bathroom and mom barged in to check on me." Vhiz scratched his head as he reminisced.

"Why were you in the bathroom for an hour?" Marco asked nudging his friend on the side, teasing him.

"I wasn't, you idiot! My mom checks on me every hour on the hour and I was in the bathroom when the next checkup was due." Vhiz turned bright red as he explained.

"How is your mom, Ren? She seems like a strict person." Sun asked concerned for his friend

"Huh? Yeah... she can be sometimes." Ren yawned almost swallowing Sun's head whole.

"Jeez with those bags under your eyes I wouldn't be surprised if she checked on you at night too."

"Is it that apparent? My night was terrible! I felt like someone was watching me." Ren rubbed his eyes thoroughly.

"Like the bug man?" Luna straightened her posture.

"Similar. It did not feel malicious. But it was enough to keep me up at night." Ren explained, trying to calm Luna.

"That's what we were missing another mystery!" Sun rubbed his head worried.

"I think it was just my heightened senses acting up. At least I could spend the night researching." Ren tried to shrug it off, not to worry the others, even though he himself was flustered by the implications.

"Research? Like what?"

"I looked up the Mad Carnival, prior footage from them, their members, that sort of thing."

"Did you find anything? I tried too but nothing came up. Not just to the carnival but to overhumans, and the Second Reality!" Sun took out his phone as he explained his failed attempts.

Ren eyebrows jumped at the sudden realization. "Oh, wait I didn't tell you about those sites!"

"What sites?" All his classmates turned to look at him confused.

"What are you keeping form us Sciron?" Ken walked out of the shade and approached him.

"We were so busy the last couple of days that I completely forgot! Rosa showed me first. Ever since our village has been opened to overhumans we have these new websites."

"Rosa showed you, huh?" Ken side-eyed the two of them.

"Yeah but it seems you need a link invitation to see those sites." Ren pulled out his phone to show them the websites he used.

"I see. Could you send us the link?" Sun requested.

"Sure. More eyes could find more about them."

They walked to their first class on the second floor of the school, and sat down in a circle before the teacher arrived. Ren shared the link in the group chat so that everyone could access the overhuman web. Sun suddenly raised his head and walked over to Ren. He showed the short video clip he found. In the video a child about ten years old was setting up his drone. He let go of the device with a wide smile getting farther and farther. He directed the drone at the tents when a flurry of ribbons appeared around the camera and made the drone crash. Sun then slowed the footage down and stopped it when the tents were the most visible.

"We can use this to create a map." He suggested while sharing a serious look with Ren.

"Navigating the tents would be a cakewalk. Nice one!" Ren complimented him. "While you were looking for that I was searching for footage about the tiger they have."

"Why? Do you think it's an overhuman?" Sun's question was answered by a silent nod from Ren.

"Luna, do you think the tiger was the beast you guys saw in that cage?" Ren addressed her.

"That thing was no tiger! It stood on its hind legs and had claws the size of my forearm." Luna remembered all the details she could see in the dark.

"But he could be the guy who knocked me out." Niel chimed in.

"That's wat I was thinking. Maybe that guy can turn into a tiger. That would be all the members accounted for." Ren agreed.

"Let's hope Hook will reach out today and we can raid the carnival tonight!" Sun looked at his phone, but Hook hasn't sent a message back for days now.

"I followed their social media, maybe they'll use this time to do a show somewhere else. If they post about it, I'll let you know." Faul declared quietly.

"Good thinking!"

"Couldn't you spare me of the danger? I feel my stomach churning just from the thought!" Terry wiped the sweat off his forehead, piling a mountain of napkins next to him.

"No way Terry! We will follow you as close to the tents as possible, but you need to enter alone!" Niel declared, making his classmate sweat even more.

"Considering your clothes do turn invisible, maybe you can turn people invisible as long as they are touching you and you all move." Ren pondered out loud about Terry's power.

"That sounds like those conditions Hook talked about." Sun added.

"It is worth a try." Niel was ready to touch Terry, but he jumped back.

"Maybe we should try it in the Second Reality!" He suggested stuttering. "Our powers are stronger there, after all." H

"Alright!" Sun agreed.

"You guys do it quickly. We'll keep the teacher out of the classroom in the meantime." Ren said nodding to Luna and Marco who walked up to the entrance and looked out to the hallway for the teacher.

Sun, Niel, and Terry walked through their separate gates and disappeared. Seconds of waiting turned into a full minute while the kids anxiously awaited their return. Meanwhile the teacher approached the classroom.

"Someone, go over and tell them to hurry the hell up!" Luna shouted to her classmates waiting in the classroom.

"Alright." Vhiz took a confident step forward, but before he could vanish Ren jumped up and grabbed his hand. Vhiz looked at him confused while a bead of sweat ran down his face.

"What is it Ren?" They all looked at him confused.

"We are on the second floor, but in the Second Reality there is no school." Ren explained. A moment of silence was followed by everyone slowly realizing what this meant.

"Shit!"

On the other side the three kids landed in the dust. Niel and Sun jumped up immediately keeping their guards up, but Terry was left on the ground. "Well... this is troublesome." Sun looked at Terry who was rolling around on the ground, moaning in pain.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! My ankle!" Terry turned his body around teary-eyed looking for help from his classmates.

"Don't tell me!" Sun gasped as he looked at Terry's ankle. It was getting bigger by the second swelling and filling up his shoe.

"God damn it! You fell on your leg intentionally to get out of the spy mission!" Niel charged at his suffering classmate.

"How unhinged do you think I am! I hate pain!" Terry screamed as he held his ankle.

"Well then, let me end your suffering!" Niel clenched his fist letting his fury take over.

"Guys! Both of you, chill!" Sun touched them alleviating their frustration. Both of them went silent. Their muscles relaxed. Even Terry's pain faded a bit.

"So are we stuck here?" Niel sighed as he looked back up at where they fell from.

"Our gates are about six to seven meters high. We could try jumping to them, but we do not know where they are exactly." Sun also looked up at the sky trying to guess where their gates should be.

Meanwhile in the human reality Luna and Marco stepped in front of their teacher, before she could reach the classroom door. She looked at them confused and tried to go around them, but Luna stepped in front of her.

"What is it Luna?" The teacher tilted her head.

"We have a question for you." She said the first thing that came to her mind.

"Well out with it!" The teacher grew restless as she awaited their answer.

"Uhm... Mr. Field is looking for you. I think he wants to ask you on a date!" Marco declared, with Luna turning to look at him astounded.

"What?" The teacher was caught off guard by the declaration.

"Yeah! He just wanted to know if you are interested." Luna played along with the ruse, letting a coy smile form on her face.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"Yes! I mean... sure I am, but right now we have-" The teacher flustered by the sudden news had a hard time putting a sentence together.

"He's in the classroom, I'll send him out." Marco ran inside the classroom and turned into their P.E. teacher. A second later he walked out and approached the teacher. "Oh Deidra! Did the kids tell you, my intentions?" Marco tried to imitate the p.e teachers’ rough way of speaking. The small-framed woman turned bright pink and nodded. "Come! Let's talk about where we should have our first date!" Marco grabbed her hand and pulled her away.

"But, but, I have a... class right now!" She stumbled over her own words simultaneously trying to do her duty, but also wanting to go with 'Mr. Fury'.

"Do you think these rascals deserve your attention?" She was taken aback by his confidence and followed him. As they passed Luna, Marco whispered to her. "I can buy you some time but I cannot stay in this form for long!" As Marco left with the teacher, he felt a sneeze coming. "Hey what's that outside?" He directed her gaze to the window while he sneezed and fell out of Mr. Field's form for a second.

Inside the classroom Ren peeked his head in the Second Reality. He was almost struck by Terry flying past him. Niel tried to locate the whereabouts of the gate by throwing Terry in the sky, and when he did not disappear Niel ran and caught him before he plummeted. "Jeez Niel! Wait a second Taran will go through and help you guys!"

The three of them let out a sigh of relief, especially Terry. Soon Taran dropped down and made pillars of rock rise to the gates. Niel carried Terry in his arms to his desk, but the boy was still too scared to open his eyes and let go. Niel groaned and shook his body until Terry fell into his chair letting out a small scream as the impact moved his broken foot.

"Did he fell on his leg?" Ren sighed as he looked at his classmate.

"Yeah..." Sun said defeated.

"First being grounded, now our trump card is injured. Might as well accept defeat!" Vhiz said kicking a chair in anger.

"Or we should fight them head on! Screw the subtlety!" Ken slammed a desk demanding attention.

"This just might work out." Ren rubbed his chin as he measured their options.

"What do you mean?" Everyone raised their heads.

"This might be a bit more dangerous but maybe we should send in Marco." Ren suggested looking at his classmates' approval.

"You mean he should turn into someone from the Carnival and just walk in? He'd get caught immediately! Marco is my best friend, but he cracks easy!" Vhiz objected the plan.

"It is risky but still a better option then running in like headless chickens." Sun took the side of Ren.

"But that would mean you and Niel cannot follow him in. It would be all up to Marco... Marco of all people." Luna said with a mixture of disappointment and disgust in her voice.

"What’s up to me?" Marco asked panting as he held himself up by the doorframe.

"What happened Marco?" His classmates turned to look at the tired boy.

"Oh, me and the teacher broke up. We could not agree on the place of the fist date. I suggested the arcade, the pizzeria, but she wanted to go to a fancy-schmency restaurant. I ain't got that kind of money, I told her. I'm a teacher." He declared, catching his breath.

"But you broke up with her as..." Luna led him to end her sentence.

"As Mr. Field, of course." He was offended by the thought. "Though as soon as I left the room, I let go of his form immediately. The bigger the difference in body the harder it is to keep the shape."

"Good thing both you and Karma have a similar build." Ren's observation was answered by a deadly look from Marco.

"Wait? You want me to go on the spy mission?" The realization hit Marco so hard, he forgot to be offended by Ren's comment.

"Terry hurt his ankle so he's out." Sun explained.

"Lucky bastard! He did it on purpose for sure!" To Marco's assumption Niel nodded in agreement.

"Stop saying that! How could I break my ankle on purpose?" Terry held a cold can of soda to his foot, that he got from Ginna.

"Can't Ginna just heal it?" Ken asked confused.

Everyone turned to her, but she crossed her arms forming an x.

"Her power is good at stopping bleeding, and healing tissue, but broken bones are a bit too much for her." Rosa explained, before her friend could write down her reasoning. "Maybe she'll be able to do it one day."

"So here is the new plan!" Sun slammed the desk gaining the attention of everyone. "Marco, Niel and I will infiltrate the Carnival. Marco will go in there alone, turn into Karma and try to talk to someone. As soon as our suspicions are confirmed. Marco comes back to us and we book it home." Sun laid out the plan. Marco tried to interrupt but Sun continued. "To clarify we thought of a couple of possibilities on how Karma's power works. Let's go through them together." Sun went to the chalkboard walking past Marco who tried to stop him.

"Assumption one: To break the silence she put on Ginna we have to knock her out. Maybe this could turn her power off, but we disregarded this option with Ren, as this would mean she cannot sleep either or she'd lose concentration.

Assumption two: She can choose when she gives back her voice, so even if she were to, let's say die, Ginna would stay silent forever.

And finally assumption three: Her name is a clue. Karma refers to her condition on herself. We assume that as long as she keeps Ginna silent she cannot speak either. This condition would make her ability more powerful, making it work from long distances and even when she sleeps." He drew all the options on the board. "We need to confirm it is option three before we make a move. They expect us to give one of us up. But what they don't expect is ut to kidnap one of them." Sun's classmates all nodded as they understood the plan. "We kidnap Karma and make her talk no matter what."

"But if you guys are pretty sure about it already, why do you need to risk getting caught?" Iiwa chimed in.

"An assumption is good, but confirming it is the best. We don't want to be caught off guard when we are face to face with them." Sun

"The slight road bump in your plan is that I have never met Karma." Marco said already afraid of everyone's reaction.

The children fell silent. Gloomy darkness fell on the classroom.

"Why are we so bad at this?" Luna hit her head against wall.

"We should stick to being human." Vhiz kicked a bottle cap on the ground.

"I prefer Ginna silent, anyway." Faul groaned, turning away from everyone.

"What is wrong with all of you?" Niel slammed a wall in his anger. "Even if we have some holes in our plan, it is still a plan! I would help any of you if you were in the same situation as Ginna. But it seems some of you don't have that conviction. Why even call us friends if you would abandon one of us like that?" He lashed out at his classmates as he looked for someone who understood how he felt. Ginna held back tears as she felt the tension rise because of her.

Sun was ready to calm him down with his powers, but Luna grabbed his hand and shook her head. Sun took a second to appreciate her sister's maturity before addressing his classmate. "Niel... You are right. Though I don’t expect the same mentality from everyone, I get being afraid. I am too. And if I had Marco's power I would do it instead of him, but none of us have it but him. So Marco, you wanted more friends, that was your dream... please help Ginna, so we can all stay friends. Together." Sun held out a hand in front of Marco. The chubby boy looked around and accepted the handshake.

"Alright, but it will cost you"

Meanwhile...

The training grounds in the hidden lair of the hooded ones were filled with the grandiose sounds of battle. Anvil was fighting two on one against Mantis and Secretary. He had to train twice as hard, now that he lost an arm to Firecracker. Mantis and secretary overwhelmed him with a flurry of blows and cuts, but his thick skin protected him. He wasn't fast enough to dodge them but with his power it was not necessary.

"You've put together a strong team here Puppet!" Firecracker grinned at the man while adjusting her thin orange scarf.

"It would be even stronger, had you not blown off Anvil's hand." Puppet's annoyed remark did not shock the young woman.

"My presence makes up for his weakness and more. You should be thankful someone like me has come to keep an eye on you. Not everyone in the family can be bought." Sofi explained.

"I appreciate your confidentiality, believe me." Puppet lowered his head and changed his tone to a more comforting one while Secretary jealously watched the two of them talk.

"Are you up for a bit of sparring?" Sofi grinned at Puppet inviting him to the arena. Puppet looked up flabbergasted by the invitation.

"I don't think that's a good idea. Our power could alert cleaners to our location." Master Puppet explained while kept himself composed in front of his underlings.

"Come on MP! We will hold back. Or are you too rusty to fight?" She dragged his arm as a cheeky smile slowly formed on her face.

"MP? I said no! It's too risky!" Puppet ripped his hand free from her hold and stood his ground with a deep command.

"Buzz off small fry! Off the battlefield or you'll be caught in the crossfire!" Sofi disregarded his pleas. The three green hooded ones were conflicted on following her orders as Puppet was against the idea, but they also didn't want to be killed by their new superior so they obeyed her command and walked to the sidelines.

Before Puppet could blink Firecracker appeared in front of him with her hand aimed at his throat. Puppet quickly parried the attack with his forearm resulting in her flying into a wall.

"Even if you say no, I can still attack you!" Firecracker leaped out of the rubble, lunging at Puppet. "Just give me five minutes"

Puppet dodged. "Damn it!" He raised his voice. "Alright."

The next punch Firecracker sent his way was too fast for Puppet to dodge, thus he opted to guard it. Firecracker used this connection to slide her fist down Puppets forearm from his wrist to his elbow. Resulting in a spark that lit his arm on fire.

"Taking it easy, huh?" Puppet looked at his arm, slowly burning away.

"The longer the fuse the longer the countdown till the explosion. You have about four and a half minutes to get me to turn it off." She explained while savoring the feeling of igniting Puppet's arm.

"Interesting... though the burning does hurt, it doesn't leave any mark. I guess the dragging from point a to point b, and the ignition itself being harmless are both restrictions on your ability, that make it stronger."

"I just told you have minutes till your arm explodes and you stop to analyze my power?" While Sofi asked flabbergasted, Puppet loosened his tie and threw away his suit jacket.

"In a fight there are two kinds of victories. The winner who defeats their opponent and the winner who gets what they wanted. Usually these two coincide, but not always. When you are unsure of coming out as the victor, you should strive to gain something you need. But I suppose losing an arm would be problematic. So, I will entertain your idea of a fun time, for the next three minutes." Puppet dashed towards Firecracker with sparks following him. They exchanged blows, with Puppet being careful not to let her drag her hand across any part of his body.

"That's what I like to see! A boss who can walk the walk! Not just sit behind a desk and talk shit!" She tore the concrete of the floor up like it was weed and threw it at Puppet to distract him.

"It's all about timing. When my time comes, you will be impressed." Puppet effortlessly caught a bigger one and crushed it into dust.

"You are already impressive! I looked into your application, and promotion!" She confessed while closing the distance between them.

Puppet's eyes widened as he heard words.

"From yellow striped hooded one to a blue in a year! I needed to see your exam results!" She continued while her grin widened.

Puppet's expression darkened as Firecracker continued to talk. Puppet's underlings felt the horrible aura surrounding him and chose to leave the battle grounds. As she got close Puppet threw the dust of the crushed rock into her eyes but she powered through and grabbed his other arm. Puppet kicked himself out of the hold with haste.

"Your written exams were perfect, and your physical evaluation was also on the level of a blue striped one, but your ability..." She dodged blow after blow as she felt Puppet's attacks become more predictable with each detail she shared. "You can give people minor suggestions on what to do! With a weak power like that you should be an orange one at best!" She cackled as she awaited for an answer from Puppet.

He once again closed the distance between the two of them and let out a couple of predictable blows. She confidently dodged them, with her arms at her sides, getting cocky.

This is when Puppet directed the sparks on his arm into her eyes blinding her for a moment. He kicked her in the stomach making her slide on the ground. By the time she looked up he stood over her stepping on her wrists. He leaned over her and jammed his arm in her mouth. With his other hand he tightened his tie. "Considering what one exploding finger could do to Anvil's hand, I wonder what the pyrotechnics an entire forearm would result in. Shall we see?" Puppet locked eyes with her.

Sofi was in awe looking at him, but this quickly turned into an impressed smile. She bit down on his arm until blood dripped into her mouth, and the sparks disappeared. Puppet stood up holding his arm. "Was that necessary?"

"No. I just wanted to taste you!" She smiled at him.

Puppet tore off the scarf she had on and wrapped his arm with it. "You got your sparring. I hope you’re happy." He groaned

"Happy? That was awesome! So have you stopped advancing up the ranks because you feel comfortable in your situation?"

"You know I'm disappointed in the Family, that someone like you is a purple-striped candidate."

"Just because I’m a bit hot-headed?"

"You're a borderline barbarian."

"That’s not how you woo a girl! Though I did like how you pinned me down!" She chuckled,

Puppet just sighed frustrated. As they left the battle grounds Wellit was kneeling next to the door. They both looked at the man who was too afraid to look up at them.

"What is it Wellit?"

"I do not mean to disrespect Firecracker, but I want to discuss something confidential, just the two of us."

Firecracker offended by the request was ready to strike down the young man, but her hand was stopped by Puppet.

"Please." Puppet showed some humility. Which surprised her more than his combat skills. She shrugged and left them alone.

"Sir, have you heard that the Mad Carnival made contact with the children?"

"Yeah. They are gunning for the Fwl."

"Shouldn’t we intervene?"

"I played around with the idea, but they are not a threat. Even if they were to win, the cleaners, and Maria Scriron will keep a close eye on him and save him. I wouldn’t even be surprised if Maria would use the opportunity to neutralize me if I were to make a move."

"I guess the best thing we can do is wait on the sidelines."

"It seems. But be vigilant Wellit. If things were to go south, have Mantis be on the lookout to neutralize any threat to my plans."

"Yes sir!"

Back with the kids. Their school day came to an end without a call from the Five Champions. They were all walking out the door when Faul stopped in his tracks.

"Guys. Did you know the neighboring village is called Youren?" He asked nonchalantly. The others turned to look at him.

"Sounds funny. Almost like Ren's name." Niel chuckled.

"Yeah." Faul looked up and put his phone away. The look in his eyes became more sinister as he readied himself for his announcement. "And that's where the Carnival is having their next show. Tonight!"

The kids looked around with a cold gust of wind blowing among them. They all knew it was no turning back. They would have to do it tonight.