Breaking Light

Chapter Four: Poppy and Lulu


Lux held her books close to her chest as she walked down the hallway leading towards the library. Just a few kids were left on campus after the bell rang. They chatted as they walked passed the pink-haired girl, mentioning something about the upcoming dance. The two female students gushed over how a boy one had a crush on had asked her. She sighed, noting she'll probably be busy finding the rest of the Star Guardians instead of looking for a dress to wear. She was alright with that— Lux knew no one was going to ask her anyway.

As she opened to door to the library, she saw Miss. Whisperday on her computer. It was only Wednesday so maybe she wouldn't kick her out too early. Lux hurried down to her favorite seat near the back of the building but someone was already there. She stopped dead in her tracks when she recognized the person. Her lilac eye twitched in anger at the older teen lazily flipping through his book. She stomped over to him and slammed her textbooks on the table in front of him.

"What are you doing here, Kayn?" She growled.

"I'm trying to study. What does it look like?" He snapped back.

"You know," Lux started. She looked over her shoulder to the librarian to see if she was watching them. Thankfully, she kept her eyes on the screen in front of her. The teen glared back down at Kayn, "I was here at lunch the last two days and you didn't bother to show up for tutoring! Do you realize you're costing me my grade?!"

"Look, Lucy…"

"Lux."

"Look, Lux." Kayn snarled, "I didn't come because I had to gather some extra credit." He grabbed a thick packet from underneath his textbook and showed the girl. "I have to finish it by Friday to get the grade up."

"Okay, I guess I'll leave you to it." Lux shrugged as she picked up her books and began to walk away. In her mind, she knew that Kayn was going to stop her. She smugly grinned as turned around. As she got further away from Kayn, she realized he wasn't going to beg for her help like she hoped. The girl turned around, now even more annoyed. "You're not going to ask me to help you?"

"You said it was your grade, remember. If you leave me on my own, I'll be sure to let Mr. Caulfield know." Kayn answered without looking up from his work.

Lux huffed as she set her belongings across from him and took a seat. She brought out her pencils, trying to keep her anger down. As she shuffled through her bag for her things, her hand bumped into the baton. She watched it glimmer before zipping up her backpack. The young girl could feel him looking at her. She glanced up and saw his yellow eyes watching her unpack. Lux suddenly felt hot.

"Alright, Brains. I hope you can finish this by Friday." Kayn said as he tossed her his packet of work.

"What?" Lux chuckled dryly. "I'm not doing your work for you."

"Alright, name your price. A hundred bucks? Oh, I know. You'd like a date with me. I can tell you like me because you blush every time you see me. I have that effect on girls." He snickered, "As soon as you finish it, I'll take you out."

Lux couldn't help but laugh when he said that. Her having a crush on him? The only reason she turned red was because she was filling with blood boiling anger when she saw him. She would admit that he was good looking but him just being totally unlikeable is what kept her away. She didn't even know why he teased her. Was it because she was a junior in his senior class? Was it because she was exceptionally smart and he was lazy? She couldn't tell.

"I don't want your money or you…" She said as she threw the papers back at him, "I'll help you because my grade is riding on yours."

"Then why don't you just do it. It's not like you got anything better to do. Everyone in this school knows you just sit in here every day."

"Ugh!" The pink-haired girl scoffed as she jumped up. She unzipped her back and shoved her things back inside. Lux hastily threw it over her shoulder before glaring at him, "You can forget about me helping you. I'll take a lower grade than ever having to speak to you again!"

"Wait, Lux…" She heard Kayn say behind her but she was already storming off.

Lux hurried for the exit as she felt a burning in her eyes. She didn't know why it bothered her so much but Kayn telling her that made her feel worthless. He was right. She did spend most of her time in the library. Even if she had been talking to Janna and Jinx more and more each day, she really couldn't say they were friends. Jinx had ditched school again today and Lux didn't know how to get ahold of her. Janna, much to her surprise, was also absent today. The pink-haired girl pulled out her phone. Her finger hovered over her contacts, debating if she wanted to call Janna.

"Maybe she's busy… or sick…" she sighed. Just then, her watery eyes caught a flashing light coming from across the road. Lux sighed, knowing it had to be one of those monsters again. She hurried for the front entrance of the school as she pulled her baton out from her backpack. She looked down at her phone again, pressing Janna's number. It just kept ringing and ringing. "Janna, pick up. Please!"


"Lulu, be sure not to wander too far." A blue-haired girl said to her curious friend. The two girls would come to the park after school— it was convenient since it was just across the street. Poppy, the oldest of the two, knew he friend liked walking around after being cooped up in class all day. Lulu, was an odd girl, and no one really understood her like Poppy does. She would talk to plants and animals and claim she could taste colors.

"I know, Poppy. I just wanna see where this butterfly is trying to lead me!" Lulu called back to her.

"Butterfly?" Poppy mumbled as she looked over her shoulder to the other girl.

She saw her green hair enter a empty log. Rolling her eyes, Poppy followed her. She waited for her on the other side of the log, holding her hands on her waist. Not to her surprise, a yellow butterfly flew out of the log. It seemed to want to get as far away from Lulu as it could— the poor thing flapped its wings harder than it should have. Lulu poke ever head out and saw Poppy.

"Aw, I wasn't fast enough."

"It's okay, Lulu." She held out her hand, "Now, hurry and get out of there before the worms crawl up your dress."

"Oh, do you see that!" Lulu pointed a she grabbed her friend's hand.

She hurried to get to her feet, pulling Poppy behind her. The two girls caught a glittering light coming from the playground. Inside the tube slide, they heard an animal purring. Lulu looked inside the slide, giggling loudly.

"Hello, new friend!" She laughed, "What's your name? Pix? I'm Lulu!"

"Lulu, who are you talking to?" Poppy asked, playing along with her imaginative friend. She heard a squeaking sound but she assumed that was just Lulu too.

"Pix!" Lulu said as she crawled out of the slide. "He said he needs me to help him."

"With what?"

"There's a monster. He said he needs your help to. Just stick your head inside the slide," Lulu urged her.

"Okay, Lulu." Poppy chuckled.

She hopped on the slide and stuck her head inside it. Expecting to see nothing, Poppy saw a green little fairy fluttering before her. She gasped as tried to hurry out of the slide. But, the fairy flew through her. Poppy tumbled out and rolled on the foam playground flooring. She looked down at herself, seeing her school clothes transform into a dark blue skirt.

"What the heck?!" Poppy glanced up at Lulu, who was dancing around as Pix flew over her. He dusted his fairy dust on her, turning her clothes into something similar to Poppy only green. Poppy looked down at the star glowing on her chest. It flashed a bright blue before shooting into her palm. The light formed into a giant hammer, almost making Poppy lose her balance.

"Okay, Pix said the monster is this way!"

"Wait, Lulu. How do we know that fairy isn't the monster?!"

"Oh, Poppy. You know I can tell when someone is lying!"

The green-haired freshman lead her friend near the bushes that seperated the park from a thick collection of trees. Poppy could feel her palms sweating when she heard a rumbling coming from the trees. In the shade, she saw a single glowing eye. She yanked Lulu in the opposite direction but her hammer was weighing her down.

"Lulu, I don't like the way that thing looks!"

Then a beam of light shot for them.


Janna kept her head low as she peeked outside her passenger side window. She lowered her sunglasses while looking for him. Janna had pretended she was sick so she could avoid Yasuo in school. The day before she saw him sitting on her bench near the gymnasium during lunch. She knew that he was looking for her but she couldn't speak to him. If she was trying to avoid him, why was she at his dojo after school?

She worked up the nerve to try and speak to him. Janna wasn't going to skip school just because she was afraid of one boy. She did the math in her head. If she were to skip everyday just to keep him from talking to her, she would fail her classes within a month. Then the school would try to get in touch with her parents. It just wasn't worth it on her part. Just then, she saw Yasuo walk by her car with his wooden sword. She gasped, panicking to turn on her car but she flung them somewhere on the floor. The noise coming from inside her car made Yasuo stop.

"Oh, no!" She whispered to herself. He tapped on her window, making her jolt up and hit her head on the roof. She rubbed the top of her head, "Ow…"

"Hey, you're Janna, right?" He asked from the window. Janna sighed as she rolled down the glass to hear him better.

"Yeah… T-That's me." She said.

"I never to to properly thank you for the other day." He said with a rugged smile. Yasuo leaned on her car door, "What was all that about anyway. Did you follow me into the alley that day?" He laughed most likely joking.

"I, uh, not really." She blushed.

"Do you mind if we talk?" Yasuo asked, his voice soft.

"S-Sure!" Janna was internally freaking out as she unlocked her door. "But don't you have some training?"

"I can miss a day." He said while sitting in her car. The teen boy rested his wooden sword on his lap, "How did you know this was my dojo?"

"I just happened to park here! Funny how fate works, huh?" Janna lied.

"Janna, I have something to ask you." He started. Yasuo scratched the back of his neck as he looked for the right words. Janna could hear her own heart beating at the silence grew. What was he planning on asking her? Was he going to ask her to be his girlfriend? No, that was too sudden. Was he going to ask her to stop following him around? That was more likely. Yasuo looked over at her, "I know we don't know each other that well but… are you like a witch or something?"

"It's a lot more complicated than that." Janna sighed as she reached for her book bag in the backseat. She brought it to her lap and took a breath before she unzipped the bag. Her hand reached for the star-shaped emblem that Zephyr rested in. The purple-haired girl pulled it out and showed to the boy sitting beside her, "This came from the sky. It's a long story."

"I have time." Yasuo smiled, "Maybe you can explain it to me over a cup of coffee."

"Oh, Yasuo." Janna could feel her face turning ten shades redder than she was already. "I'd like that. There's actually a place I go to after I…" She was going to say after she watches him practice in the dojo but she caught herself, "After school is over."

"Oh, cool. Let's go."

"Sure, let me just get my keys. I dropped them by…" She saw her glittering keychain near Yasuo's feet. Her brow twitched as she thought about reaching over and practically putting her face in his lap. She could feel herself beginning to sweat. "So lewd," Janna whispered.

"What was that?"

"I said 'Oh shoes'. Th-they're by your shoes." She pointed.

"Oh, I'll get them." Yasuo reached down and picked up her keys by the cat-shaped charm. She had more charms than keys on the chain. "As I expected, you like cute things."

"Thank you," She smiled as he handed her the keys. As she stuck them in the ignition, she heard her phone ringing. Janna pulled it out from her bag and saw that Lux was calling. She sighed, "Do you mind if I answer this really fast?"

"Go ahead." Yasuo said as he leaned back in his seat. His curious eyes looked around her car as she opened the call.

"Yes, Lux?" Janna asked. She listened while staring at Yasuo. "Are you sure it's one of them?" Her strained voice made him glance at her. Their eyes met and for a moment he saw something bothering her. "I… I'm on my way. Try not to get too hurt." Janna sighed as she turned on her car, "Yasuo, I'm sorry. I have to go."

"Does it have something to do with those powers I saw the other day?"

"Yes."

"Let's go. I wanna see you in action, girl!"

"O-Oh. Okay!"

Janna revved up her car before bolting off into the road. The pop music was in tune with her driving— fast and unpredictable. She heard Yasuo laughing as she almost drove up onto the sidewalk. The teen girl couldn't help but chuckle at her own delinquency along with him. She had never done anything this reckless. She glanced over at Yasuo grinning widely as he hung on to his seat. It made Janna wonder why she didn't talk to him sooner.


Poppy tackled Lulu out of the way of the laser, both of them landing in the sandbox of the playground. She shook the sand from her pigtails, glaring up at the one-eyed monster. As it crept out of the trees, she saw that it had three long tentacles. Poppy ran for her hammer that was lying between her and the monster. A tentacle shot out for her but she slid along the grass, grasping the handle, and swung with all her might. The soft underside of the monster burst open, spraying the young teen with green goop.

"Ew," she groaned.

"Hey!" An unfamiliar voice called from behind them. Poppy turned and saw a pink-haired girl running for them. She was dressed just like her and Lulu, so Poppy trusted her to approach. The girl was short on her breath as she came closer, "Are you two okay?"

"Other than being covered in gross slime, I think we're okay."

"I'm Lux. I bet you and your friend have a bunch of questions." Lux said, sticking out her hand to Poppy. She lifted her up when Poppy grasped her hand. "We call our— AHHH!" The monster they thought was defeated lifted its tentacle and wrapped it around Lux's waist. It lifted it up to its eye. She saw her reflection in the giant iris, and she growled. "In the name of..." Lux was going to swing her baton but she dropped it when it grabbed her. She looked down at it resting on the grass under her, "Crap."

"Lulu, what do we do?!" Poppy shouted back at her friend picking flowers behind them. Lulu glanced up at the monster holding Lux. She went back to picking flowers before standing and walking over to Poppy, showing her the tiny bouquet. The sophomore smacked her hand over her face, "LULU!"

"Oh, easy." The green-haired girl swung the staff that was bigger than her and transformed the monster into a cute little squirrel. It scampered in a circle, confused with its new size. Lux screamed as she came crashing down from the air. Lulu waved her staff again, letting a glittering cloud catch Lux as she came towards the earth. She weaved the flowers she picked into a small crown as she came closer to Lux. Lulu placed it on her head, "That polymorph isn't going to last forever, by the way."

Just as she said, the squirrel blew up into the monster again. It seemed to be angry now. It swung for Lulu and Lux but Poppy came charging for it. The monster glared down at the young teen and lifted its tentacle over her head. Lulu swung her weapon and Poppy grew ten times her size.

"Whoa!" She chuckled. "Alright, baddy! Time to punish you!" Poppy shouted as she lifted her hammer over her head and slammed it down over the monster. To her surprise, it exploded. Its body flew off into different directions, more green goop covered the girls, and the impact left a crater in the ground. Poppy blinked, "I... guess I don't know my own strength!"

"Nice!" Lux cheered, "You two did great!"

"Oh, it was all Lulu." Poppy blushed. Suddenly, she decreased in size. "Aw, I was enjoying the view." She walked over to Lulu and Lux with her hammer. Lux looked through the slime and found her radiant baton underneath an unknown organ of the monster.

"Ugh, that's so gross." Lux groaned.

"I'm Poppy and that's Lulu." Poppy introduced them. Lulu waved up at Lux, who waved back with a grin. "So, you said we had questions. I have one I'd like to ask: uh, what the heck is going on?"

"I'll explain in a moment. How did you get your weapons?" Lux asked.

"From Pix!" Lulu answered, showing the older girl her staff. The star-shaped emblem turned into a fairy, purring at the sight of Lulu. "He gave us Poppy's hammer and my cute new dress!"

"To put it shortly, we're Star Guardians. Girls with magic powers." Lux started, "About a week ago, I got a message from a woman. She said I needed to find the other four of us before things got bad. Monsters like those have been appearing and it looks like we're the only one who can stop them." She explained.

"Where are the other two?"

"Jinx... is always ditching school, so I rarely know where she is and Janna—" A car's tires screeching interrupted Lux. The three girls looked behind them and saw two doors fly open. Janna and Yasuo ran over with their weapons in hand. Lux sighed, "That's Janna. You're late. Poppy and Lulu already defeated the monster." Her lilac eyes glared over at Yasuo standing beside Janna, "What's going on?"

"I'm sorry, Lux. When you called..." Janna glanced up at Yasuo, a little blush appearing on her face. "I was a little busy."

"It's my fault," Yasuo started. "I kept Janna away too long."

"Obviously," Lux growled while crossing her arms. "You know, if we didn't have Lulu and Poppy, something bad probably would have happened to me. Jinx is never around and now I can't count on you too?"

"What's with the attitude?" Janna mimicked her tone.

"I'm just saying you getting distracted by him could have ended worse than it did." The pink-haired girl pointed at Yasuo with her baton, a light glowed angrily from the end. "Where were you even today? I was alone."

"Nothing new, huh?" Janna frowned as she grabbed Yasuo's arm. Lux's eyes widened in surprise. She didn't think the older girl was capable of such harsh words. Janna pulled Yasuo back to the direction of her car, "Let's go."

Lux watched the two older teens walk back to her car, hearing Janna say something to him about her. She felt the burning in her eyes again. Lulu tugged on her skirt, making her look over at her and Poppy.

"I'm sorry, girls." She apologized, wiping her eyes. Lux faked a smile, "I'll explain this more tomorrow. Can we meet here after school?"

"Sounds good to us, right, Lulu?" Poppy asked her friend glancing up at the teary-eyed girl.

"Okay." Lulu sighed, "Can we get some ice cream?"

"Sure thing." Poppy chuckled as her and Lulu walked away from Lux.

Lux watched them get as far as possible before she let her tears run down her cheeks. She thought Janna was her friend. The young girl walked off, unknowingly still in her Guardian's outfit. She looked up at the sky, seeing the fall clouds rolling it. It was bound to start snowing soon. Lux sighed, feeling her tears drip off her chin. Was she that foolish to think that she could trust some girls she barely knew? What was the woman in the shy thinking? Were they chosen at random or was there more to this? Lux assumed she wouldn't know until the time comes. She sniffled as she looked at her baton, the light was was shinning angrily was now dim. Lux waved it, hiding her outfit when she realized she had walked out into the open in it.

"Hopefully, no one saw."

"Lux?" A familiar voice asked from across the street. In horror, she turned and saw Kayn staring at her. He jogged across the street towards her. She was frozen in fear.

"Oh, no."


Notes: Sorry for a late update. I got a new job!

See you next chapter!