The West Side of Starlight City.

It’s definitely a place that’s seen better days. When were those better days? Nobody quite knows. The setting sun casts the empty train station in orange hues as a train makes its way into the station. The train doors swing open as a few people all exit.

“Man that was so much quicker than the car ride to the east was,” one of them remarks as they stretch.

The person who said that is none other than Ronnie Everst. For today he’s wearing a yellow tracksuit with a black t-shirt hidden underneath the almost fully zipped up jacket.

To the left of him is his fiery rival and friend, Alex Smith. He’s wearing a black tracksuit with a light blue undershirt hidden beneath.

To the right of Ronnie is another of his close friends; Elizabeth Thi Moore. She’s wearing a fully zipped beige tartan tracksuit.

“Been a while since I’ve been here,” Elizabeth reminisces.

“Since when were you here?” Alex questions.

“I lived here,” Elizabeth corrects him.

“Oh right, I kinda forgot,” Alex admits.

As the three continue into the train station, the two in the back of the group stand confused at the sight they’re seeing. The first is Marcus Veridan who’s wearing a light blue quilted jacket with brown buttons, a white undershirt, a black cross-body pouch, khaki pants, and white sneakers. The second is Marcus’ foster sister; Selina Gulvonac. She’s wearing a red bandana across her forehead, a black leather jacket over a white hoodie, blue bedazzled jeans, purple sunglasses, black shoes, and a toothpick in her mouth.

“Did you guys plan this?” Marcus asks.

Ronnie, Alex, & Elizabeth turn to the two.

“Plan what?” Ronnie asks.

“Your outfits! Why are you all wearing those tracksuits?!” Selina yells before pointing at two others, “Even they’re wearing ‘em!”

The two she’s pointing at are Sammy Becken – who's sporting a red tracksuit – and Randy Buzz, who while he has on an orange tracksuit jacket, is wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans.

“Now that you mention it, it is odd we’re all wearing these,” Ronnie admits.

“Don’t tell me, you all heard I was gonna wear a tracksuit jacket and you tried to copy my style, my flow, my charisma!” Randy Buzz says as he tries to run his hand through his hair.

The whole group stares at Randy before proceeding to ignore him.

“I mean, Christopher isn’t wearing one,” Ronnie remarks.

Christopher Wrinkle, who’s wearing a gray t-shirt & green shorts nods at the comment.

“So bros, you guys know where those Maryland Buddies even are?” Christopher asks.

“It’s Massachusetts Boys,” Marcus corrects Christopher, “And as for that, I was hoping we could get that from…”

Marcus looks further down the train station to see a person has been standing posted up by a pillar waiting for them. That person being Starlight High’s rebel; Hunter Huntingson…who’s wearing a half-white half-black tracksuit.

“So, looks like you guys figured out how to get here by yourselves,” Hunter remarks coldly.

“Hey, I thought you’re on our side for this one!” Ronnie grits his teeth.

“That was supposed to be a compliment,” Hunter admits.

“Oh,” Ronnie apologizes.

Now that Hunter’s closer to the group, Ronnie alongside Alex & Elizabeth finally get a proper look at Hunter for the first time since the end of freshman year, and the scar across his face that he’s received since then. The three are all silent at the sight but for different reasons.

Seeing their looks, Hunter remarks, “Didn’t Marcus fill you in?”

“He did but-” Ronnie begins to say.

“Then there’s not much else to say,” Hunter states as he turns and begins to walk out of the train station, “We don’t have time to waste so let’s get moving.”

_____________________________________

The group of nine makes their way down the empty streets of the west side of town, flyers blow through the wind as the group make their way down the cracked streets.

“So, you guys got a plan?” Hunter asks as he’s walking.

“Yeah, we’re gonna bust into their base and take em all down Club Azure style!” Ronnie says.

“Okay, you know where their base is?” Hunter questions.

Ronnie stops walking, causing the rest of the group to stop too.

“Uhhhh,” Ronnie tries to say.

“You’re joking,” Hunter groans.

“I thought you knew where they were at!” Ronnie says in defense.

“I only know one of their hideouts but when I went by earlier they weren’t there!” Hunter groans.

“Well maybe someone else here knows!” Ronnie remarks as he looks at the others.

“According to google it’s a 15 hour drive,” Christopher says as he shows everyone his phone.

“Christopher, that’s how long it takes to get to the state of Massachusetts,” Sammy corrects him.

“Oh, my bad guys,” Christopher apologizes.

“No don’t worry bro you’re good,” Alex says nicely before looking at Elizabeth, “Didn’t you say you grew up here?”

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“Yeah when I was like a toddler Alex, haven’t been here since!” Elizabeth says.

“Well, did toddler you hang out with those Massachusetts Boys?” Alex questions.

“What do you think?” Elizabeth retorts.

“Y’know, if we need to find them, I could make a pipe bomb,” Selina recommends.

“How will that help us find them?! And how do you know how to make a pipe bomb?!” Marcus yells.

“Well they’d run over to see why there was an explosion. And I read how to make one from a book at the store,” Selina explains, “Surprisingly not that hard if you have the parts-”

“We aren’t making a pipe bomb!” Ronnie yells.

“Okay fine,” Selina pouts before compromising,”What about a firework?”

As the group continues to yell about the predicament they’re in, Hunter stands back a bit watching all of the chaos unfold. As he does so, he notices that there’s two people walking down the street towards them.

“Well I’ll be damned,” one of them remarks.

The group stops bickering and look to see that walking down the street toward them are two teens from Seastar – Vanessa Deli & Blanko Deck. The ginger Blanko is wearing a black tracksuit with diagonal white accents while the stoic Vanessa is wearing the t white-purple windbreaker jacket over a black t-shirt, black baggy sweatpants, and white fingerless gloves she wears to the gym.

“The hell are all these chumps doing over here?” Blanko asks with a smirk.

“This guy again-” Hunter grimaces ready for a fight.

“Don’t worry bub, we’re cool with ‘em,” Alex explains.

Hunter relaxes a little while Ronnie begins to open his mouth only for-

VROOM VROOM!

Everyone looks down the street to see three motorcycles racing down it. As they get closer though, the riders on them see the group there and come to a screeching halt. As the trio make their way over to the group, their eyes widen with recognition.

“Of course, I should’ve suspected you ‘lot would be sticking your noses here,” one of them remarks.

“T-TIM-TOM?!” Ronnie questions.

That’s right, The Three Ts are also in the west side of town on their motorcycles. Timothy McGee is wearing a black hoodie and a pair of gray shorts while Thomas Dolby is wearing a beige baja hoodie, black sweatpants, and black construction boots. Lastly, Tim-Tom Pitt has on a red parka jacket over a black hoodie, brown cargo pants, & black air forces.

“Let me guess, you’re here for the Halloween party?’ Tim-Tom questions.

Ronnie, Marcus, Alex, Elizabeth, Selina, Randy, Sammy, Christopher, Hunter, Vanessa, & Blanko all begin to respond to Tim-Tom at the same time, each of them speaking over one another.

“Hey hey! One at a time, one at a time!” Tim-Tom tries to yell out over the drowning voices.

_________________________

“So,” Tim-Tom remarks as he points to the north side kids, “You’re all here to take down The Massachusetts’ Boys while Vanessa & Blanko are here to grab a photo that The Massachusetts Boys have in their possession.”

As the groups nod, The Three Ts get into a huddle to talk amongst themselves.

“So, you guys think that photograph our client was talking about is the same those two Dirty Fang kids want to get?” Tim asks in a hushed tone.

“Obviously,” Tom remarks in a hushed tone, “So what’s the plan Tim-Tom?”

“Let’s help them out for a bit,” Tim-Tom theorizes in a hushed voice, “The Miracle Clinic and those two kids are certainly strong, but they’re gonna need our help if they want to stand a fighting chance against The Massachusetts Boys.”

“What about our job?” Tim asks in a hushed voice.

“Easy, we just need to find that polaroid first and then pretend we don’t have it,” Tim-Tom remarks in a hushed tone.

“And if they find the photo first?” Tom asks in a hushed tone.

Tim-Tom is silent, however the look in his eyes is all the confirmation the two need as to what his intent is if Vanessa & Blanko get to the photograph first.

“Then we take it with force if needed,” Tim-Tom utters in a hushed tone.

The three break out from the huddle and turn to the rest of the group.

“Well, you’re in luck kiddos,” Tim-Tom remarks, “Since our goals all align, how about we all help each other out.”

“We aren’t even that far apart in age dude,” Alex tries to say.

“I don’t know,” Vanessa says as she walks over to Tim-Tom, “Our boss said not to be too trusting in you. Said betrayal runs in your blood.”

“My blood?” Tim-Tom remarks as he glances down at Vanessa with a coy smirk, “I thought you were there when I helped send my old man to the slammer. My loyalty resides in what’s best, after all I am Starlight City’s Brightest Boxer.”

Vanessa cringes at the mention of that self-proclaimed title while Tom & Tim try to stifle a laugh.

“Besides, I bet none of you know where the Massachusetts Boys are now,” Tim-Tom says as he side-eyes the group.

The others fall silent.

“Thought so,” Tim-Tom remarks before beginning to explain, “The Massachusetts Boys have several hideouts in all the abandoned spots on the west side. Lucky for us, almost all of their forces are going to be gathered in just one spot tonight; the old abandoned August Leaves Mall.”

“Really? What for?” Selina asks.

“It’s simple really,” Tim-Tom remarks, “For a halloween party.”

The group is taken aback by the answer, however The Three Ts continue talking.

“Most of us here have made a name for ourselves so we can’t just walk in like we are now,” Tom remarks.

“But luckily,” Tim adds as he rubs his chin, “I know just how we can go undercover.”

The group all look to where Tim is glancing to see a pop up halloween store filled with costumes and masks.

“And don’t worry about the money, I’m gonna cover it,” Tim remarks as he lifts up a credit card.

“Woah really? You sure man?” Ronnie questions.

“Yeah don’t mention it, I just won the $50 bowling tournament with Mesto, so I’m sure the winnings can cover something small like this-” Tim begins to say.

_________________________

With all of the masks and costumes having been scanned, Tim stands next to the minimum wage cashier.

“That’ll be $349.56, sir,” the cashier remarks.

“H-h-h-how much?” Tim asks as the hand he’s holding his credit card in begins to shake.

As his card is scanned, Tim sheds a few tears while Tom pats him on the back, all the while everyone else in the group is looking at the costumes they bought.

“I see you’re going for an old classic, aye Eli?” Ronnie says before realizing his mistake, “Wait- no- I meant-”

“It’s fine,” Elizabeth remarks, “You guys can call me whatever you like.”

The members of the miracle clinic that have been around since the beginning all look at Elizabeth shocked.

“Who are you and what happened with the real Lizzy?” Alex asks.

“Very funny Alex,” Elizabeth sighs before explaining, “But I figured you guys have known me long enough that you deserve getting to call me whatever.”

“So I can call you Eli?” Ronnie asks.

“Yeah,” Elizabeth confirms.

“And I can call you Lizzy?” Alex remarks.

“Sure thing,” Elizabeth responds.

“And I can call you Elizabitch?” Randy asks with pure wonder.

The group all stare at Randy once more with shame.

“Is McBeth better than?” Randy asks.

“Yes,” Elizabeth sighs.

“Great,” Randy groans.

“Well, thanks for the chance Eli,” Ronnie says with a smile before looking at the whole group, “Now then, you guys all set to show them we mean business?”

Randy is a bit hesitant but puffs out his chest after seeing the determined looks of the mourning-over-his-savings Timothy McGee, Thomas Dolby, Tim-Tom Pitt, Vanessa Deli, Blanko Deck, Christopher Wrinkle, Sammy Becken, Selina Gulvonac, Hunter Huntingson, Elizabeth Moore, Alex Smith, & Marcus Veridan.

“Guess that settles it,” Ronnie proclaims as he walks out of the store, “Let’s head on out for something a bit bigger than just some trick-or-treating!”

__________________________

Inside the old abandoned August Leaves Mall, several of the members of The Massachusetts Boy are inside enjoying themselves.

No. 10 Trisha “Amherst” Bernstein & her boyfriend No. 9 Victor “Lynn” Dunnerman are dressed as a cheerleader & basketball player respectively and are dancing in a crowd.

No. 7 Parker “Plymouth” Duggar is dressed as a mummy and is trying to scare No. 8 Quinn “Quincy” Overton who is dressed as Hatsune Miku. The attempts to scare do not work.

No. 6 Frankfurt “Fall River” Schulz is dressed up as the godfather and is talking to the low-ranking C.J. and No. 5 Kimberly “Lowell” Masterson. Kimberly is dressed in a full astronaut costume and isn’t paying much mind to Frankfurt while C.J. – who’s dressed in a fully inflatable shark costume that hides his face – is really interested in all that Frankfurt is spewing out of his mouth.

Lastly looking down on all of them is the No. 3 Chao “Cambridge” Huang and No. 4 Willy “Worcester” White. Chao’s dressed in a baseball uniform with black face paint lines and a backwards baseball cap while Worcester is wearing an all white vampire outfit. On Worcester’s outfit is a belt that has several weapons – including Hunter’s baseball bat – dangling off it.

“Still upset about last weekend?” Worcester remarks, “Or are you unsure I can pull it off?”

Cambridge makes no response.

“Well don’t worry Cammy,” Worcester says as he takes out the metal bat and points it to the broken glass ceiling, “I don’t have my sights set on just being the leader of the Massachusetts Boys or the one who slayed Dirty Fang.”

Worcester looks toward the moon as he utters, “I’m gonna be known as the one who unified the night!”

Cambridge stands there, letting Worcester bask in the moonlight.

And he waits.

See You Next Chapter!~