Hey Folks! Thanks so much for the kind words last chapter! I just wanted mention before we begin that the story that inspired this was written by GoldGuardian2418 AND Kawaiilover0878 from DeviantArt! Please go check it out! Also, trying new section blockers out…Fanfiction ate the last ones I used.
Anyways, let's draw back the curtain, and begin!
NOTE! The timeline is a bit messed up, but at this point in time, Cass is an adult, and Married to Attilio! Also rhyming is hard, so I only have Balan do it rarely-
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Leo has been Makin a pretty decent living for himself, all things considered. He danced in the afternoon and spent the rest of the time either hanging out in the park, or purchasing cheap supplies. He had traded his basketball uniform for a white shirt, red vest, and black denim jeans from a garage sale further in town.
This morning, he woke up early, checking his small can of money "…Five dollars Could probably buy some decent breakfast at the youth center today!" He smiles, and rolls up off his sleeping mat, wrapping it into a bundle with his blanket, and other clothes "…could maybe wash these if I'm lucky this afternoon too!" he grins "…and I thought I wouldn't make it out here!"
TIMESKIP*
Emma's first day of school hasn't…gone well. She's in the bathroom, behind a locked door, and trying fruitlessly to get some glitter glue out of her hair. The girl who had sat behind her ,Vanessa had thought It would be funny to see what happened when she squirted her bottle all over Emma's head. She's shivering "…this is the worst school I've been at." She muttered, running through her hair with a water soaked comb, finally getting a little bit of the glue out.
It takes nearly thirty minutes, but her hair is finally free of most of the glue. She tentatively walks into the hall, trying to avoid Vanessa…and her friend group "aww, did the country hick not like our present?" Emma looks up, and notices the other girl, who's giggling "I-it was really rude to do that." Emma glared, looking at her. Vanessa giggles "I don't care about being rude to you, peasant. I heard you don't even have parents who would stop me!" She pushes Emma Against the locker, and looks ready to punch her.
"What's going on over here?!" a voice rings out. Emma looks up as a plus size woman walks over to her and Vanessa. She has red hair, done up in a long ponytail, with bright brown eyes. Vanessa cringes, and lets go of Emma "..Mrs. Wong, please, this is just a-"
" A misunderstanding?" Mrs. Wong huffs "you've had gotten misunderstandings since you've arrived here, Vanessa…head to the principal's office, no stops.." the girl mutters something, and wanders in the direction.
Mrs. Wong turns to Emma, a soft smile replacing her annoyed expression "hello, dear. She didn't hurt you, did she?" Emma shakes her head no. "Good, she likes causing trouble, but she never receives so much as a slap on the wrist." She huffs "…anyways, My Name is Mrs. Wong! I teach art class here."
Emma's eyes widen "that's my next class!" she smiles. Mrs. Wong giggles "well, we can walk together then, if you like?" Emma nods, and follows the older woman into her room, talking about her experience with art as they walk.
Leo was held down on the ground by a much larger teen. He looks up, eyes wide with fear "..lemme…Lemme Go!!" He kicked and struggled, but another teen held his wrists down. The one pressing on his knees smirked. "Well, this one made a nice little haul.." he takes the money out of Leo's pocket, who struggles more "that's mine!! Give it back!!" the older teen laughs "you'll find out the hard way kid…the weak provide for the strong. Still, I don't want you talking…" he suddenly grips Leo's neck, hard. The boy gasps, and the other lets go of his arms. He kicks, and tries to pry the older teen's hands away, but can't seem to get a grip.
Just as his vision starts to go black, a man suddenly pushes the teen off. The teen gulps, and the man, a dark skinned person with purple hair, glares "…I thought I told you stay out of this side of town.* The teen nods, and grabs his buddy, running after and yelling apologies.
The man turns to Leo "Easy, easy kid…take a deep breath…there we go." He smiles " what's a kid like you doing out of school?" he tilts his head. Leo looks down, a little bit distrustful "…can't afford to go." He muttered "…they took all my money."
The man helps him to his feet, and hands him a fifty "here. Those assholes come here all the time looking for easy prey. I'm sorry they only found you " Leo nods "…who are you, Mister?" the man smiles softly "Cal Suresh, at your service."
Leo nods "…thank you, Mr. Suresh…" he bows quickly, and before the other can say anything, takes off down the alleyway, surprised that he managed to get Fifty whole dollars. He runs all the way to a Lord's Diner, and unrolls his matt, hiding his money safely.
Cal tries to follow, but he ends up losing him "…I hope that kid has somewhere to stay…" a light chuckles is heard behind him, and he turns around "Worry not, my dear friend!" the tall being from the train steps in front of him. Cal smiles "…hoping to have him as a resident soon, Balan?" The being nods his head "I saw enough of his situation, to decide that he must come to Wonderworld with us." He smirks. Cal chuckles "well, if you take care of him as well as you take care of us, I'm sure it'll be great."
Balan nods "one can only hope he agrees. Would you like to join me in gathering our remaining friends?* He offers his hand, and Cal takes it, following the other to a theatre door. He leans against the frame, taking out his phone, while he waited.
It takes a little bit, but soon a Young woman with tan skin and pale blue eyes walks up. She's wearing a wetsuit, and has her dark brown hair in a pony tail. She smiles at Call, who ruffles her hair "Hey, Fiona. How was work?" " it was good!" she grins "the sanctuary has a new baby whale!" Cal grins. " you'll have to show me some pictures!" the two of them talk with Balan, until Eis walks up, holding his son Cecil. He had recused the boy from a fire, and upon finding out he was alone, had adopted him. "Hey, Fi, Cal!" he grins. Cecil signs a hello.
It takes about thirty minutes, but soon the group has grown to include Haoyu, Yuri, Cass, and Her Husband Attilio, Sana, her Parents Savanna and Arin, Iben, her husband Lucius, their children Isiah and Maryanne, Bruce and his Husband, Michael, Jose and His wife, Erin, and Lucy herself.
Balan smiles "good evening my friends. I assume we are all ready to go home?"
"Yep!" "yes." "please." "yeah!!"
Balan chuckles., And opens the theatre door.
Cal looks over at Haoyu "how was school today, Kid?" the boy shrugs " it was okay! No one smashed my model this time." He grins, holding up a small plane, showing it to Yuri and Isiah. Iben is talking with Dana, while rocking Maryanne in her arms ".. she's a pretty quiet baby…I'm almost grateful for it after Isiah." She giggles, and Sana laughs " Isiah is rather loud. At least we usually know where he is." She smirks, and the boy sticks out his tongue, grinning.
The group talks among themselves as they walk through the door, Yuri picks up her favorite Tim as usual "hey, Catty." She grins, and pets them. Jose sits on a chair " having a bad run with harvest this year, I'm afraid.." he sighs. Erin hugs him "just keep trying, love…" they kiss, and wait for the actual portal.
Balan steps in front of the group "alright, everyone! Before we go through, I have an announcement for you." He smiles "two new residents will be coming to Wonderworld, a girl, and a boy, if they agree, they'll be joining the family. I think two of you have met them, yes?" Cal nods "I met the boy. Seemed nice enough, a little quiet. Got him out of downtown." He smiles. Lucy looks up "I think I've met the girl. She was so sweet! She's all alone though.." she sighs
"When are they coming?" Yuri asks "if it's tonight, we should get ready!"
Balan nods "a splendid idea, my dear. I'm sure if they're welcomed, it will reduce their fear."
The other's nod, and as the gate opens, they talk about ideas to make the new Visitors, who may just become inhabitants.
It's late at night, and Emma can't sleep moving into her mother's house was…nice, but all the maids and servants went home after dinner, and it was far to big for one person. She sighs, and realized she's probably not going to get any sleep. She gets out of bed, and heads to her closet…she realized it may be dangerous to go out but…she decided she was going to look for Leo. She changes into a red tank top, black jeans, and a jean jacket. She smiles, and grabs a bag. She's heard people in the halls talking about a blonde boy who dances at the park. She heads to the front door, and steps out into the night.
Leo himself had just set up his can for his evening session, the money Cal gave him tucked away in his pants pocket. He turns on a small radio, something he bought from a pawn shop, and starts dancing. He closes his eyes, letting the rhythm guide where he goes. He hears a crowd start to gather, and he made sure to clean his dancing outfit.
He's only brought out of his groove at the sound of a familiar voice "Leo!" he opens hers eyes, and spots Emma in the crowd. He grins, and turns off the music, running to her. "Emma!" they hugs each other tightly, Leo spinning her around a little. "I heard you'd been here!" Emma grins, and Leo nods, sitting her down and taking her hand "…hungry?" he offers. The crowd slowly leaves…some taking their money, but he's too happy to care. Emma grins "a little! Maybe we can head downtown?" he nods, and takes her hand, following her out of the park, and talking with her on the way
"I really like my Art Teacher. She helped me out today!" He looks up "oh?" Emma nods "yep! Saved me from this mean girl and her friends. She's so nice!" He giggles "..someone helped me out today too…he was nice… I hope I didn't scare him." He sighs. Emma nods "well, either way, at least we found each other again." He takes her hand "…yeah, always that."
As the two of them start walking downtown, something catches their eye. A small, pink puffball of a creature wanders over. Leo's eyes widen "..what is…that?" he tilts his head. Emma's already following it. "Hey, wait up!' he runs after her, now both following the puff ball.
The creature leads them to a relatively new looking theatre, with a Sign out front. Emma kneels down to read it "…tonight only…Balan Wonderworld.." she mutters "…I don't have any cash for tickets." Leo looks to "…free admission?" the both stare, but as they puffball enters the door, they shrug " i guess we better go in. Besides, it looks like it may rain.." Emma mutters, pointing to the sky. Leo nods and opens the door.
The theatre itself is rather dark inside, the only light coming from a few chandeliers on the ceiling. Emma runs her hand along the wall "…I don't think I've ever heard of these shows before…'The Man Who Rages Against The Storm'…'The Champion Obsessed with Past Glory..'
Leo shrugs "maybe they're brand new?" Emma nods " probably…hey, it's the puffball!" she points, and the small creature is seemingly waiting for them at the end of the hall. They both get up, and follow.
The main theatre door opens, and a tall figure sits at a table. His back is turned to the kids, and he's drinking tea "oh, my? What's this I see?" he stands up, and the kids trembles "h-hey-?" Emma starts. Balan pets her hair "no need to fret, dear hearts, it's only me." Leo backs up a little "..who are you?" Balan grins "the Maestro of this theatre! And this Wonderworld's Creator!" he grins "Balan is my name, and if I may guess, my show is the reason that you came!" he suddenly pulls them over to a couple chairs, more puffballs getting into there laps. Leo looks a bit nervous, but Balan winks "have no fear, my boy, this trip will help you rediscover your joy.* With that, the whole theatre lights up, and Balan takes to the stage. Both children are amazed as he performs, with larger puffballs coming out beside him.
At the end of act, he picks both children up "now, to your temporary home we go! Sit tight, and enjoy the show." He whispers, and both kids suddenly feel a safe, warm feeling. Settling into the touch, he carries them through the gate, and then shuts it.
End of Chapter Two
Thanks for reading, Folks! Please, Review after, and if you have any ideas, I'm always open to them!