I'm a bit disappointed with this chapter to be honest. Not much happens story-wise. To compensate, I've added some feely moments in the text, an extra character, and some deviance at the end. Let's just say that this chapter is mainly filler, I just wanted to get some side quests out of the way. I try to integrate that into the story as well. If you notice, Emily's POV consists of background events more than the foreground story events. I'm a little cruel in making Genevieve important off-screen. Despite this feeling a lot like a let's play, you can tell me what you think of the other stuff. Enjoy.

[First Person, Emily]

What do you want me say? Do you want me to give you a reflection of my situation? Well I don't exactly have one. We were on my sister's street; so she has more to think about than me. Of course, after all we discussed earlier, I do have a few thoughts. For starters, my sister thinks storm magic tops them all, and Duncan thinks death is the best. Only really I see that there is a plus in all types of magic. I guess taking all secondary schools wasn't such a mistake.

As for the sibling talk, I really don't think I'll turn evil even though I have the background of a villain or anti-hero. I guess I'm just a good person who desperately needs support. As for our situation on the street, that's something else.

This is the first difficulty I faced, I felt like I needed to rely on Gen. I felt helpless because my magic was dampened, but I wanted to change that. That's way I was acting a bit strange, I felt like I needed to better prepare myself.

Still, we had said we were going to check the other side of the street before dinner. We approached the portal to take us to the other part of the street. I wondered why the street even needed a portal to get around; I also wondered what would entering a portal feel like.

"Maybe I should go first," said Gen. "It is my street after all."

"Be my guest," I said. Gen entered the portal and nothing happened.

"I wonder if we need a code-word or some-" She was gone, just like that; disappeared into blue mist.

"I'm going to be fine," I said to myself. "It's just a portal." I stepped into it. After a few seconds, I felt myself being transported via magic. It felt a lot like a teleportation spell. After my vision cleared of blue mist, I found myself on a different part of the street, Genevieve standing in front of me.

"Not that bad, huh," said Gen.

"It still feels a little weird, considering we don't have this at home."

"To answer your question as to where the other part of the street could be Em, I figured it out." Genevieve gestured off the cliff side. I looked down and saw the portal below us.

"Huh, it's a layered street. What about that?"

"I think I see some cattails over there," said Gen pointing to the water stream. "I'll go pick some."

"I'll go a little bit ahead," I told her. "See what's up there."

"Alright." She waded into the streams to get her cattails. Well the undead won't be touching her. To be fair, they wouldn't be touching me either since I had to wade through some streams to get to the Smith. Now we were both wet, but I could dry us off later; I just wondered how this would affect my magic for the time being. With that thought, I hoped we would be leaving soon.

I ascended the stairs and the first thing I saw was a quaint little mill with a weird machine in the front of it. I went to go check it out. I flicked it, because that's the only logical thing you can do in that situation. The next logical thing to do would be to tap it a few times.

"I sure am glad to see a fresh face," said an Irish man's voice from beside me. I turned and saw a middle aged man, probably the owner of the mill. He was wiping his hands on an apron he wore.

"Hello," I said. "I was just wondering what this thing was."

"Oh that," he said. "That's my resonating audio-graph."

"I've never seen one before," I commented.

"Hey Em," I heard behind me. "Who's this?" Gen had got her cattails and now was soaking wet from the waist down just like me.

"Oh, I didn't introduce myself," said the man. "I'm Blad Raveneye, owner of the Four Falls Mill."

"You must generate a lot of power here."

"Yes, enough for the entire city," said Blad. "Triton Avenue has the responsibility to generate all the power we need." So the dead were probably trying to take out the city's power as well. The more I was there the more I realized why Triton Avenue was a good street to target.

"Is that why you haven't evacuated?" I asked.

"Someone has to take care of things here. Of course, I've got a lot to do here, and it doesn't look like it's going to be easy, especially with everything going on."

"Well Gen can help out in the mill. She learns stuff like this in school."

"Yeah, but not a lot," said Genevieve with a look that screamed 'how dare you volunteer me for this.'

"I don't need help with the mill," said Blad. "At least not right now; I mostly need help in the fields."

"Fields?" both Gen and I said at the same time.

"Yes, the Undead have brought along crows that are spoiling our crops. We need to build scarecrows to scare those crows away."

"Well, we can definitely help with that," said Gen.

"Great! First thing we'll need is some cloth to make the scarecrows bodies. The cloth can be gathered from Scarlet Screamers. Can you go get some for us?" Gen and I looked at each other in disbelief.

"Scarlet Screamers: are they the red headed banshees in dresses?" I asked.

"Yes, they are."

"Can't you get your cloth from a safer place?" asked Gen.

"Not at the moment. With all the undead around most stores are closed. There could be cloth in people's homes, but I wouldn't want to break and enter when they're not there."

"Fair enough," I said. "I guess we could fight some Scarlet Screamers until we can get some cloth. Can you tell us anything about them? It might help."

"Hmm, I know that Scarlet Screamers mostly use conjuring magic when they fight."

"Oh great," said Gen, "that explains why I had trouble against one. I won't be able to handle these. Em, do you think maybe we can split up for this. I'll check the cave for Artur and you can fight the Scarlet Screamers."

"Sure," I said. "Tell me if you find him." We headed off. As we crossed over the bridges we intended to go our separate ways until Genevieve spotted something of interest.

"Is that what I think it is?" she said when she saw a creeper on street. She took out the list Penny gave us. "It is…it's a Rotting Fodder! We can get some more research done for Penny!"

"Doesn't it feel like we're doing the work for her?" I asked.

"She can't traverse these dangerous areas. This is a good way for her report to be done without her getting hurt. I'll just fight these rotting fodders before I head to the cave."

"You don't know anything about them."

"Well, I'll find out about them myself." She then ran into the chaos. I would've joined her but it was getting late and I wanted to get everything done before I ate. I went to fight the Scarlet Screamers.

While fighting the Screamers, I noticed a similar situation to when I was fighting Skullsplitter. I used a lot of my mana while fighting. The only spells that seemed to work for me were fire spells, while the Screamers mostly threw leprechauns and dark fairies at me. After fighting three Scarlet Screamers I figured I had gathered enough cloth for the scarecrows. I ran into Genevieve on my way back to Blad.

"Hey Gen," I called out.

"Hey," she said shakenly to me.

"I got the cloth, so what did you find out about Rotting Fodders?"

"Oh, I know that there's around…maybe fifty on the street."

"Wow," I noted.

"Yeah, I could beat them pretty easily, (in two moves) which was strange because I noticed that they mainly use Storm magic."

"I guess we did run into corrupted diviners. I also guess that the nullification isn't a problem because storm magic is still pretty powerful." I noticed that Gen looked pretty blanched.

"Gen…did you go to the cave?" She nodded. "What did you find there?" She reached into her bag, and held in front of me…the broken pieces of a wand. I took them from her.

"Where did you find this?" I asked.

"At the entrance of the cave," she said, "the innermost entrance."

I tried to piece together what that could mean. It definitely meant a wizard went inside the cave…but could this be Artur's wand? It didn't look like Gen's. Gen also said she found it at the very entrance, so he could have been deeper in the cave, and you don't need a wand to do magic…I was fighting without a wand the entire day. Still, Gen and I could be a special case, so to go in the cave without some way to defend himself… the conclusion was screaming in my face. I mean if his wand was broken at the entrance, it could have meant he was in a scuffle. What predicament he was in in that moment I didn't know, but I did know I was feeling really guilty about leaving this for five days.

We approached Blad and gave him the cloth for the scarecrows.

"Most excellent!" he said. "These will do just fine. Now I need you two to gather some straw. I think I saw some Field Guards hiding out in the Haunted Cave. You can go collect some straw from them."

"Field guards," said Gen, being slightly distracted from the shocking news. "We also need some information on Field Guards for Penny's project."

"Maybe tomorrow," I said. "It's getting late and we need to tell Susie what you found."

"Alright," said Blad. "I'll start sewing up the bodies." Out of context that would have been very creepy. Gen and I shivered.

"See ya, Blad," I said as we started towards the portal.

"You can tell Susie what happened while I go and get some more cattails," said Gen.

"What!? Why are you ducking out of this?" I asked as we exited the portal and were making our way back to Susie.

"I don't want to be the one to tell her something has happened to her brother."

"We're not telling her that! We'll just tell her you found a broken wand in the cave."

"What else do you think it means, Em?"

"You're still doing this with me, Genevieve. If I'm relaying bad news, you're going to be there with me." We passed Duncan on the way back.

"How was your trip?" he asked.

"Busy," said Gen curtly, and we climbed the stairs to Susie. When we approached Susie she immediately started talking.

"Did you find him?" Gen and I looked at each other. Gen went to pull out the wand, but then we realized I still had it. I pulled it out, and showed it to Susie with remorse. She gasped with horror.

"This is his wand!" she said taking it from me and clutching it tightly. "Something must have happened to him. I'll bet he was right about the haunted cave being the source of evil!"

"Well maybe the dead did come from there," said Gen. "When I checked it out the gate was pried open and in the cave I saw a bunch of Rotting Fodders roaming around. I think all the Fodders came from the cave."

"Then everything else must have come from there too," I commented.

"All I know about it is it's one of the places in wizard city where the dead like to roam," said Susie. "There used to be a town in there a long time ago, but it's a ghost town now."

"Well that would explain the buildings," said Gen.

"There's a more important issue right now," I reminded them. "How are we going to find out what happened to your brother?"

"I may have an idea but I don't like it," said Susie. "Could you talk to Duncan Grimwater? He's a Death Student studying the events here, trying to piece together what's going on."

"Well that's nice of him."

"Why can't you do it?" asked Gen.

"He refuses to co-operate with me," said Susie. "Also, I can't stand working with him. He's a little snobbish…"

"Can't argue with you there."

"Still…he may have a clue as to my brother's whereabouts. From what I can see, he seems to co-operate with you just fine."

"Hardly."

"Can you check with him? Please?"

"Sure," said Gen. "Of course if we are to do this, Em has to do it alone because I can't stand the guy either."

"That's not fair," I told her.

"I can get some cattails while you do that, have fun!" She ran off. I guess I was doing this on my own. I made my way down the stairs to Duncan; might as well do this before we leave; my stomach was starting to grumble.

"So what's going on?" said Duncan as I approached.

"Look, we've been assigned to help Susie and her brother with the problem here, and since we found his broken wand in the entryway of the Haunted cave, we figured that maybe you can help us locate him," I said.

"Merle Ambrose sent some more students to help out? I guess he thinks that Susie and her brother can't handle this situation. Well, that's what happens when you send Storm students to do a Death student's job."

"Yeah, well I think they want to help out because this is their street. Can you focus on the situation please, Susie says something's happened to her brother and he's missing!"

"Susie says her brother is missing? Ha! I think he is hiding back at Ravenwood. But I'll check around and see what I can find out." This guy was irritating. "In the meantime, I could use some help with my field studies. I need to find out the fighting tactics of the Undead. Knowing how they fight may give me some insight into how we can defeat them. I would do it myself, but…uh…I ran out of Treasure Cards. It shouldn't be too hard."

"So much for the great Necromancer," I said while I noticed Genevieve coming back from her cattail picking.

"Just defeat some Haunted Minions and Rotting Fodders," he said slightly irritated. "Report back to me afterwards."

"We would get right on that," I told him as Genevieve arrived. "Of course, maybe tomorrow; it's late, I'm hungry and I want to brush up on my skills a bit before I head back out there."

"What are you saying?" said Genevieve.

"Gen, we're going back to school tomorrow."

"NOOOOO!" said Gen. I'm not sure if she was playing around or not.

"Come on, Gen," I said pulling her along.

"You want to go to school tomorrow, when this is going on?!"

"I've been struggling out there. If I'm to help you out in your weak spots I need to get better."

"We've already left them alone for five days!"

"We won't be able to help out anyone if we strain ourselves to much."

"Em…My Street…Fifty Rotting Fodders at least!"

"You can stay if you want," I told her, letting go of her arm. "Don't come crying if you're hungry."

"Fine, you win," she said crossing her arms and following me back to the dorm.

"Hey dorm," I called out.

"We're home," finished Genevieve.

"You're back," we heard the voice cry out happily. "It's been very lonely without you here. That's what happens when you get two occupants, you get twice as attached."

"We missed you too, voice," said Gen.

"Do you have supper for us, we are a bit hungry," I said.

"Oh," said the dorm. "You do know how late it is, right?"

"Yes," we said in unison.

"I guess I can get you some leftovers." Two plates then appeared of hastily put together sausage and beans. We sat down and began to dig into our food. "Why are so late anyway?"

"Well, do you know what's happening on Triton Avenue?" asked Genevieve.

"I suppose," said the voice.

"Well, we decided to help out. Of course, Emily thinks we should go to school tomorrow to brush up on our skills."

"Well it's not a bad idea," said the room. "You don't want to hurt yourself out there. It's also a good way to catch up with missed work."

"How are we going to catch up with nearly two weeks of missed classes?"

That problem was solved for us the next day. We contacted our teachers to explain our situation and they gave us each a simple solution for our problem. Genevieve had to complete a science project in exchange for learning a new spell. As for me, my teacher said she would tell me a way that I can learn some new things fast, all I had to do was go speak with her.

I wished Genevieve luck with her science project and then went to go meet my teacher.

"I see you're ready to really learn Pyromancy," said Madame Falmea.

"Really learn it? Then what was I doing the past couple months?" I asked.

"That was for novices," explained my teacher. "Emily you are a very exceptional student. You have already exceeded your classmates, which why I agreed to the free-lance teaching."

"Gee, thanks," I said blushing. "So if I don't need to catch up with my classmates, I still need to find a way to better myself. You said you knew something that might help?"

"Yes, obtaining some knowledge of the Grandmother of Dragons is a good way to start your real training."

"So, I just need to study up in the library?"

"You won't find it in the library."

"I won't? Then how will I obtain it?"

"You'll need to summon the Servants of the Dragon."

"I can't summon any dragons."

"Not dragons, just their servants."

"I didn't even think dragons had servants."

"There is much you don't know. To summon the Servants of the Dragon, you'll need this Bloodstone," she said, handing me said stone. I held the small, perfectly cut, Bloodstone Ruby in my hand. Knowing the Bloodstone could summon the Servants of the Dragon added extra weight to it.

"What do I do now?"

"Go seek the ancient sanctuary known as the Dragon's Mouth hidden in a cave behind Golem Tower. When you find the fire within, hold the Bloodstone tight and whisper the name of the creature you seek."

"What is that name?"

"Do you know the incantation of your first summons?"

"Yeah," I said. I would have said what it was, but I was holding my wand at the time and I didn't want to bring a Firecat into the room at that moment. "I just do that?"

"Not exactly," said my teacher. "This cat is different than your own. It has a different way to summon it."

"I didn't know there was more than one way."

"You'll know what to say when the time comes, now go before class starts." As students started to file in, I bolted out of the room. Genevieve was probably off to work on her project at that moment, so without hesitation, I headed to Golem Court.

I had made my way inside Golem Court, going behind the tower to find what I was looking for. I remembered seeing it before when locating the Smith. Of course, just like in my memories, it was blocked off by a gate.

I thought maybe there was a spell or word to get past it. I tried saying 'Open up, I'm a Pyromancer who demands entry,' of course that was too easy. I tried knocking on the gate, but nothing happened; also too easy. I jiggled the gate, and it didn't budge; again too easy. This was an ancient sanctuary…what was I expecting?

Maybe, the gate needed proof I was a Pyromancer. I ignited fire in front of the gate. When that didn't work, I pelted fire at the insignia. When that didn't work, I kept pelting fire at the gate to break through it.

I next tried getting help from my summons. I cast a fire elf, who fired arrows at the gate, bursting them into flames; nothing happened.

"Sorry Emily," said my elf. He then disappeared. I next summoned my Firecat. He swiped at the bars and breathed fire at them, but again nothing happened.

"I guess I'm not strong enough Emily," he said.

"Argh," I groaned. "How am I going to get in? I'm never going to use this thing!" I pulled out the Bloodstone. It grew warm in my hand, like a fire ignited inside of it. It's like it knew we were at the sanctuary. It glowed a little.

"Maybe you should use it," said my Firecat.

"But Madame Falmea said I'm only supposed to use it once I find the fire inside the cave."

"Well, if anyone is going to get you in it will probably be the Servants of the Dragon. I'm certainly not getting you anywhere."

"I don't want to misuse it," I said, looking at the Bloodstone. "I don't know how many times I can use this thing."

"Well you have to get in somehow," said my Firecat before he disappeared. I looked back at the Bloodstone. It continued to glow warmly in my hand. I held it tightly, thinking about what to do. It was almost if the fire's essence flowed into my being. I heard a voice whisper in my head 'Felidae Pyronus.' The name of the creature I sought.

I had a crazy theory that maybe the Bloodstone wanted to be used. It obviously knew we were at the sanctuary, so maybe it knew what to do to get in. Well, I needed help getting in, and this was the only lead I had.

I held the Bloodstone as tight as I could and whispered the name… "Felidae Pyronus!" The Bloodstone then started to heat up intensely. In a burst of flames, a Firecat appeared before me, of course I knew it wasn't mine; it was one of the Servants of the Dragon.

"We hear your call and answer, Pyromancer. You may enter the Dragon's Mouth!"

"Great, um…will you help me when I'm in there?"

"No need," said the cat. "Just look into the Fire of Destiny and the secrets you seek will be revealed." The Firecat then ran into the gate, smashing the bars in and making an opening for me.

"Intense, but it works." So I had to look into this Fire of Destiny? Seems like my teacher is throwing me in the deep end for this introduction to Pyromancy. With those thoughts in mind, I entered the Dragon's Mouth.

Stepping inside the Dragon's Mouth, I could see how this place was special. The first thing I saw was a statue of a dragon, with a fire blaring in front of it. I noticed how warm the cave was; looking around, I saw the flame wasn't the only thing creating the heat. The dragon insignia floor was circled by streams of lava. I was thanking the fact I was a Pyromancer for the result of me not cooking alive in there.

I was in awe to be in such a sacred place. I gazed forward at the flame; the servant said I just had to gaze into it to receive my answers. I was gazing at it, but I didn't feel any different. Something told me I needed to be closer. I approached the flame, and peered into the Fire of Destiny.

At first I saw nothing but fire, but then waves of flame moved and shifted around to create images. The more I peered into the flame, the clearer the images became. It soon dawned on me that the images I was seeing were of a great battle, and as soon as I saw who was partaking in it, I knew which one it was.

"The War of the Titans," I gasped.

Of course I was mostly seeing it from the Dragons' side of things. I saw them horde in the sky as they organized their attack on below, breathing fire and coming down to attack their enemies. It was almost as if I was in their heads, thinking what they thought and feeling what they felt. I felt the Giants were strong and vengeful, and the Tritons were sly and wicked. What happened to cause them to fight? I don't even think the Dragons knew.

I watched the battle continue on. I don't know how long I was staring into that fire. As the battle continued, I saw the Dragons' numbers go down, bit by bit. It kept going and going like that until one Dragon remained. Old and alone, she pulled herself into deep slumber.

"Grandmother of Dragons," I whispered. The watched the time pass; for centuries, she slumbers.

From this, I could feel new knowledge enter my brain; knowledge on Dragons, the War, Fire magic, and the Grandmother, I felt myself coming to a new understanding. What did this have to do with Destiny? My question was soon answered.

In the vision, I saw a shadow loom over the Grandmother of Dragons. I felt anxious for the Grandmother; what was this shadow? The vision cleared, and I saw where the shadow came from. It came from a man, a wizard, who seemed familiar to me. The vision cleared some more, allowing me to see his cold fiery eyes and wicked scowl. I knew this man.

"Malistere!" I said panicked. As soon as the name escaped my lips, the man changed his focus. He turned and looked at me right through the flames. My fear rose, and I stumbled back with a yelp as the flames erupted and the vision disappeared.

My breaths were shallow, and I shook with tremors of fear. I got off the ground and brushed myself off. I looked at the flame again to see if there was something else; it showed me nothing. I then slowly turned around and left the cave.

I knocked on the doors of my school. Bernie had asked me what was wrong, but I said nothing. My teacher answered the door.

"Emily, you're back," she said exiting the class. "So, my young student, what did you see in the Fire of Destiny?"

"I don't know how to explain it," I said.

"Just tell me what you saw," said Madame Falmea. So I did, I told her to the best of my ability, everything I could make out. After telling her, she looked deeply concerned.

"Oh my! It seems Wizard City has a powerful enemy! You must practice your lessons immediately!"

"I have been practicing," I said. "The main spells I use are Fire."

"Yes, but that won't be enough, you'll need to know more! Here," she said handing me a card. "Start with this Fire spell. Wizard City may need all the protection it can get!" I read the card.

"Fire Prism? A spell that turns fire damage into ice damage; it should help me against other Pyromancers."

"Yes, you need to make sure you know it-" My teacher probably noticed my state of being. "Emily, how about you take the rest of the day for yourself: study the spell, collect yourself, and process what you've seen."

"Thank you, Madame Falmea." I nodded to her and headed to my dorm.

I practiced the spell, of course, it was a little hard considering every time I produced a flame I was reminded of what I saw. I spent two hours working on it, and thinking about my vision. Every time I stopped to think about it, I would get tremors. Why was I acting like this?

Genevieve came in around one 'o'clock.

"Emily," she said relieved. "I was a little worried when your teacher said you entered the Dragon's Mouth."

"I'm fine," I said somberly. She looked around the dorm.

"Hey, you hung up your school's banner."

"Yeah, Madame Falmea gave it to me."

"I have a banner of my school too. I'll hang it up next to yours." She used a spell to get it up in the air, but she had to hammer it in manually. As she was doing that, she told me about how she made the Leyden jar for Mr. Agrleston.

"…A Thunder Snake appeared right in front of the library. It offered to charge the jar for me. To do that, it breathed lightning at me, or more precisely the jar I was left aghast for a few seconds after that." She then told me as a reward Professor Balestrom taught her how to use the Storm Prism: a spell that could turn Storm magic into Myth magic.

"I don't understand how Myth is the opposite of Storm," I said.

"It's probably because they come from two different lines of insight. One is more for ingenuity, and the other is imagination."

"Huh," and then I was silent.

"Are you in shock from everything that happened?"

"I guess." I started to shake again. Genevieve climbed on my bed to comfort me.

"Em, just tell me what happened; you might feel better if you do."

"Okay," so I told her everything I could; everything that happened while she was away.

"Did you eat?" asked Genevieve. I nodded. "Did you practice the spell?" I made a prism appear in my hand and ignited a small flame; it immediately turned to snow and ice.

"This might be helpful considering I'm not that strong with Ice magic."

"And I don't know any Myth spells. I should probably eat. Hey room, I know it's late but can I eat now?" A simple bowl of pasta appeared on the table for her. "I was training with my teacher; surely I should get more than this. Can I have some milk at least?" A glass of milk filled up beside the bowl. "Thank you." She began eating her pasta. "Sounds like some serious stuff your teacher put you through. Meanwhile, mine made me make a jar…"

"Well, school is never easy. I just don't know why I'm like this. I already knew I would have to face Malistere one day, so why did learning that again make me so…"

"Beats me," said Gen, shoveling in some pasta. "I'm as confused as you are. You should know though that you don't have to go through this alone."

"Yeah, well that's how I felt in the cave. I felt like something bad was going to happen and I would have to deal with it on my own. I felt like…he knew I was watching. From that I thought he was either going to do something, or he figured I was no threat at all."

"You thought he was coming for you."

"No," I realized. "I was just intimidated by that close encounter. I knew he was my enemy and I was…helpless. I couldn't handle the idea of facing him, it was overwhelming. I'm not sure where my limits lie, or what I'd be able to handle if you weren't around." Genevieve set down her pasta for a moment and came over to hug me.

"I am with you. You are not alone. Let me tell you this, you take on so much by yourself, it amazes me. I still worry about you, it's the least I could do for you in school for the most part, so I can't help it because it's all I know I can do. You are getting better though, so I don't need to be there so much. It's hard to get used to, but it is still amazing, knowing what you are capable of. You should know however, that when you feel helpless, I will be there for you. You don't have to fight your battles alone…not anymore." I smiled.

"Thanks; little sappy, but thanks."

"It's just, I don't feel like I've been entirely good to you, so saying these things makes me feel better. You may feel helpless, but I feel I can't even hold a candle to you."

"I'm the one trying to catch up to you."

"Magic wise, yeah, but I feel like the lesser of the two where it really matters."

"You're there for me, and I'm there for you; we may not have been great in the past, but we're bettering ourselves here."

"I'm glad you can notice that," said Gen returning to her noodles. As Gen continued to eat her noodles, I tried to find a way to change the atmosphere.

"Hey, I have the rest of the day to myself…let's do something for a couple hours. I heard some pelican named Lucky Hookline is teaching fishing."

"Like I would want to fish," said Gen, finishing her noodles.

"But this is magic fishing," I reasoned. "Can you give it a try? For me?" I smiled and she looked at me flatly.

"Fine," she said. "But I'm not doing it again if I don't enjoy it."

So, we went to Lucky and he told us how to cast special magic lures into the water. These fish we were fishing, we learned they were magic fish with special schools like us wizards, so the type of spell lure would best catch fish of the same school. To start off, he made us catch two types of Ice fish: Icecuda and a Frost Dekoi. It was pretty easy, caught them on the first try. The real test was being patient, which really wasn't Genevieve's cup of tea.

He then explained to us that fishing requires energy and time; no doubt about that. He then gave us each an energy potion and gave us a list of fish for us each to catch if we wanted to improve our skill. Of course, in order to catch these fish we would need more lure spells, which are really freaking expensive! So, I agreed with Genevieve that we would mostly catch fish and sell them as a way to earn money, mainly to buy more lure spells, but other stuff as well. Hopefully we could catch all those fish. Genevieve fished herself a Catfish and a treasure chest with a storm lure spell that she bought. With the money in the chest, she bought another lure spell. With a balance lure spell, she caught the other fish listed to be in the commons, the Mainstream Dekoi.

As for me, I fished up both the fish on the list with my fire lure spell; I guess fire magic is just my calling. After fishing up an ice shark, I also fished up a treasure chest. After buying a couple lures with the money, we changed our fishing spot to Unicorn Way with hopes of catching a Bonefish, and we did. Genevieve also fished up a couple of Owl-eyed pikes along with a magical necklace. I then changed my fishing spot to Olde Town and caught a Sharkspeare and a Garrfish. We fished so much that Lucky suggested we be apprentices. We fished until the school day was over and I was calmed down from the vision in the cave. We decided to head back to Triton Avenue to help out some more but on our way we ran into Gamma.

"Emily, Genevieve," said he.

"Hey Gamma," I said.

"We were just on our way to Triton Avenue," said Genevieve.

"Before you do, the headmaster wants to see you two" he said before flying off.

"Wonder what it could be about?" I asked.

"Only one way to find out," said Gen.

"Headmaster, you wanted to see us?" I said once we entered his office.

"Yes," he said, getting up from his desk. "I have a couple tasks for you two."

"What are they?" asked Gen.

"First," he pulled a potion from his robes. "I brewed up this potion especially for Bartleby, the tree in the center of Ravenwood. He hasn't been feeling well lately. He has trouble remembering things since his Eye was stolen."

"I was wondering why he only had one eye," I said. "Who or what stole it?" The headmaster didn't answer my question, instead handing Genevieve the bottle of bubbling blue elixir.
"Take the potion to Bartleby and see what happens. Take note of anything he says." Genevieve put the bottle in her bag.

"What's the second task?" she asked.

"Oh," said the Headmaster, his tone shifting from grave to friendly. "Well, have you two had a chance to visit the new Pet Pavilion in the Commons? It's a wondrous place where pets can be trained, hatched, and even race against their friends."
"Sounds fun," said Gen, probably wondering the point of bringing it up in the first place.

"No we haven't been there," I said.

"It's quite easy to find," said the Headmaster. "Just head towards the library."

"Now that you say that," said Gen. "I think I've seen the entryway."

"I might've as well," I added.

"Good," said Ambrose. "I was wondering if you two might do me the favor of delivering this parcel to Milo Barker, the ringmaster of the Pet Derby. Have a care not to crush or drop it…that wouldn't be at all pleasant!" He then handed me a box with some air holes punched in the top. It had to be a pet. It made some slight grunting noises when I shook it. "Please convey this package to Ringmaster Barker, post-haste. He shall reward you handsomely for your efforts"

"There's no need for reward," I said, putting the box under my arm as it continued to grunt. "We'd do anything for you headmaster. So Gen, what are we going to do first?" I turned to her.

"Here's an idea," she said. "How about we split up? I'll take care of Bartleby and you can deliver the package."

"Why?" I was curious of her choice besides the fact of the objects we were given.

"You've had a stressful day," said Gen. "You need a pick-me-up more than anything. The Pavilion sounds fun; it can help ease the tension. Besides you were a little interested in having a pet."

"That was a maybe," I said.

"Go have fun." Genevieve put a hand on my shoulder. "I'll take of this." There was Genevieve worried about my well-being again. Hopefully it would be over by tomorrow.

"Okay," I said, clutching the package tighter and it continuing to grunt. "I'll see you in the Pet Pavilion."

I entered the Pet Pavilion with the package and approached the large cat-man who looked like a ringmaster, for I assumed that was who Professor Ambrose was talking about.

"Why hello there, my fine young friend!" he said after I got his attention. "Have you by chance participated in the dynamic display that is the Wizard City Pet Pavilion?"

"No, not-" I started.

"It's a captivating cavalcade of prodigious proportions! Near this very spot are fine vendors of pets and pet provender. That splendid structure over there is the Hatchery!"

"Listen, I've got-"

"The Pet Derby offers all manner of enticing entertainments and delightful distractions for Wizard and pet alike!"

"I'vegotapackagefromAmbrose!" I blurted out.

"What's that…something from Ambrose? That old rascal…let me see what you've brought, then!" He took the package from me. He looked it over, sniffed it, the shook it. From inside the box came an outraged, muffled oink.

"That sounds like a pig… (a pig wouldn't fit in there)…a piglet!"

"Yep, I'd wager my reputation that this is a piggle of some sort."

"Piggle?"

"Yep," he said. He then looked a little confused. "I'm not sure what Merle thought we'd do with it… we're overstocked as it is. How about you keep this one?"

"Me?! I don't know if that's a good idea; I mean, I don't think I can handle the responsibility of owning a pet, especially whatever a piggle is."

"Why don't you take a look at her and see what you think?"

"Her?" I didn't question it further as I opened the package. Once I did, I saw a little piglet with wings. "Aww, she's just the cutest little thing." I picked her up out of the package and held her.

"Hi there," I said cutely. I nuzzled her snout with my nose. "Hi, you're so cute. How did you know it was a girl?"

"Her name is Baby Lexi; said so on the box." I looked on the box. Sure enough, there was the name Baby Lexi, clear as day.

"Alright Baby Lexi, we'll see what Gen thinks of you. If she likes you, I guess we're keeping you."

"Might I be of some service, educating you in matters relating to pets and their profound possibilities?"

"Sure," I said, grasping on to Baby Lexi under my arm. "That would really be helpful."

"The Wizard City Pet Pavilion has experts aplenty. They'll merrily monopolize your concentration with a wealth of useful information! So speak, if you will, to all of them. You can start with my little green friend here, Sir Nigel Higgenbottom. He'll tell you more, and can set you upon the right path!" I looked at the frog man cleaning up the Pavilion.

"Come on, Baby Lexi." With an oink, Baby Lexi and I headed over to speak to Nigel.

"Why hullo there, Wizard," said Nigel after I introduced myself and Baby Lexi and explained the situation. "You may address me as Sir Nigel Higgenbottom, of the Marleybone Higgenbottoms. Our reputation no doubt precedes us." I was getting the feeling that Marleybone was a lot like Britain where I'm from. "I say…with no humility whatsoever…that pets are capable of an amazing variety of tasks. This very Pavilion is the ideal place to learn about them!" He gestured to the Hatchery. "In the Hatchery, Doctor Purreau is an expert in Pet hatching. Speak to him and he'll explain the astonishing ways your pet can grow and change." He gestured in the other direction. "Near here are two shops. Young Tennent and Lowe sell a variety of Pet eggs in one shop; and in the other, two ladies named Dusty and Jackie provide all manner of exotic pet foods." He then gestured to himself. "In addition to keeping this Pavilion clean, I have the honor of selling items for Arena Tickets earned from the Pet Derby."

"That's very nice," I said. Baby Lexi squirmed in my arm and I adjusted my hold on her.

"You should go visit each shop to learn more, and when you're done you can come back here and I'll explain more about Arena Tickets and the Pet Derby… then you can speak with my associate, Mr. Barker."

"Alright, we'll get going then," I said.

The first place we stopped was the pet food store. Seeing as Baby Lexi was a pig, she got a bit excited seeing all the food in the store; my mouth even watered a little. All the food looked outrageously delicious. They had food that was mundane to extraordinary. I went up to talk to one of the girls.

"Ooohhhh…a customer! Come right in! We have all manner of snacks for your pet…whatever you need!" The other girl spoke up.

"After your pet completes a training game, it will be hungry! You can reward your pet with a tasty snack. The type of snack you feed it will increase its abilities in some fashion. The exact ability and how much it improves depend on the type of snack and how much your pet likes it. Different pets like different snacks, so you should try a variety of snacks and see what your pet likes best…" The first girl perked up again.

"And you won't find a better selection of snacks anywhere in the Spiral…guaranteed!"

After picking up a few snacks and leaving the shop, I turned to Baby Lexi.

"Alright Baby Lexi, where do you think we should go next?" She squirmed, bucking her head and squealing in the direction of the hatchery. "Hatchery it is then."

Stepping inside the hatchery was a bit freaky. I was expecting something a bit cuter, and instead I got a bunch of loud whirring machines with the pets in the chairs, like they were experiments. I hoped that wasn't the case. Baby Lexi squirmed and squealed in my arms. I stroked her to reassure her everything was okay. If they wanted this adorable little piggle piglet, they would have to go through me.

I stepped up to the skinny cat-man in the lab coat, assuming he was Doctor Purreau. He should be the one to explain the craziness.

"Um…excuse me," I said.

"Hmm," he didn't look up from his clipboard. "What are you waiting for? Take a seat in the hatching machine and we'll get started…where's the other pet?" I clutched onto Baby Lexi protectively, but then registered what he was saying.

"Are…you talking to me?" He looked up from his clipboard and saw a young wizard holding a baby pet, both not suitable for hatching methods.

"Oh…my mistake! You're not a pet!"

"You were talking to me," I said, freaked out at the realization.

"Serves me right for not paying attention…that would have been a disaster!"

"Umm…" I decided to get right down to the point. "What's with the scary looking machines? I thought this was a Hatchery?"

"This is the Hatchery, where pets can hatch new pet eggs. It's a remarkable process! Just place two of your adult pets in the chairs of the machine, attach the brain wave modulators to their noggins, stand on the sigil, and then press the "Hatch" button. If two Wizards want to collaborate, both must stand on the sigil. Each can contribute a single adult pet. When you've both pressed the "Ready" buttons…Voila! A new egg! If two Wizards work together, they'll hatch two eggs!"

"It's not… painful, is it?"

"Of course not," said Doctor Purreau. "In fact, I have two pets in a machine already." He gestured to the machine behind him. The animals in the chairs did not seem to be in any torment as their brainwaves got sent into the big egg in the middle. "It's quite safe."

"You hear that Baby Lexi, we got scared for nothing." She stopped trembling in my arms and gave a friendly oink. Doctor Purreau continued,

"The egg will take after one of the original pets. Which pet and which traits… who can say? Once the egg has hatched, your new pet is just a baby, and needs to be trained and fed. You can train your pet with the activities offered in the Pet Pavilion. As you train your pet, it will grow older and will develop new Talents and Powers. Pet Talents help you in magical duels, while Derby Powers are used in the Pet Derby. Some rare pets are extremely powerful, with astonishing abilities! Now I really must get back to my work, so unless you're ready to hatch a pet…"

"I'm good," I said; finally glad to be out of that place. Personally I wasn't a fan of the hatching idea, and it would also be a little bit before Baby Lexi wasn't a baby anymore. Of course, that place just gave me the creeps. That left the last store.

"Welcome to our shop!" said one of the boys as I entered. "This is the finest assemblage of exotic pet eggs you'll find! We have an inventory that ranges all across the Spiral!"
"Indeed!" said the other boy. "You'll not find a better selection of Pet eggs anywhere in Wizard City!"

"The Spiral, that is! Anywhere in the Spiral!" corrected the first boy.

"Really? I had no idea!" I had a feeling that boy was a bit slow. Still, I looked around the shop. I was excited to see that they had dragon eggs! Unfortunately, that's where my visit had to end. I just got a pet, I couldn't think about getting another just yet.

"I trust that your tour of the grounds and its services was as entertaining as it was educational?"

"Yes, it was," I said upon arrival.

"As I mentioned previously, it is my honor to offer a wide variety of fine and unique items in trade for Arena Tickets."

"Why are you…oh yeah," I remembered. "You said you were going to talk more about that."

"Yes," he said. "You earn Arena Tickets if your pet does well in the Pet Derby, or you'll receive gold as a consolation prize. You can use Arena Tickets to buy things here or from my friend Diego on Unicorn Way."

"I was just there today," I said. "He's doing fine."

"Glad to hear it," said Sir Nigel Higgenbottom. "Mister Barker will no doubt wish to regale you with information about the wonderful world of the Pet Derby, so I won't detain you any further."

"Nice talking to you, Sir Nigel Higgenbottm." I then left to go talk to Mr. Barker.

"It's a good thing that Gen wasn't here, or she'd be making fun of his name," I told Baby Lexi. "I still wonder what she'll think about you," I said as we approached Mr. Barker.

"Well there, my prodigious prestidigitator! What did you think of our Pet Pavilion? I trust that my admirable associates bent your ear enough?" I noticed he used a lot of alliteration.

"Yep, my ear is pretty bent on pet care."

"Now that you've seen what wonders the Pet Pavilion offers, I encourage you to take advantage of the ample assortment of delightful diversions to train your pets." Gen would definitely make fun of the way this guy talks. "Your Energy governs how often you may train your pet. It returns over time, but if you need more energy and cannot abide, you may purchase an Energy Elixir."

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, Lucky gave us crystal balls to measure our Energy and an Energy Elixir so we wouldn't overfish, so I knew what he was talking about already.

If you don't train your pet, it won't grow and mature, so it's very important to pay attention to your pet and train it as much as you can."

"I'll do that then."

"You'll do what now," said a voice behind me. I turned abruptly and there was Genevieve.

"Gen, you startled me!"

"Sorry," she said. "Well, I'm done delivering the elixir to Bartleby and…Em, why is there a winged pig in your arms?"

"Piggle is the accurate term," said Mr. Barker.

"This is Baby Lexi," I said, holding her in front of Genevieve. "She needs someone to take care of her, so I volunteered."

"Well, I figured this might happen," said Gen rolling her eyes. "Of course I thought you might have got a dragon."

"I don't have enough money for that; I spent it all on lures."

"You do know that Pigs are noisy, right?"

"Of course, but she's so cute, I couldn't get rid of her like that; she's just a baby."

"Also, 'Baby Lexi?' I could come up with a better name than that."

"I can't change it. We'll just have to live with it."

"I guess we're not eating pork?"

"We'll substitute."

"I thought it was bland anyway, and I guess we're also throwing 'when pigs fly' out the window?"

"We'll adjust."

"Alright, you can keep the pig."

"And you're helping me take care of her."

"What? Why?"

"She's living with both of us; we both need to have the responsibility. Of course I promise that if I get any dragons, I'll take care of them myself."

"Okay, that's fair; can she even fly?"

"I don't know," I admitted. I set her down on the ground. "Can you fly Baby Lexi? Come on, you can do it?" Baby Lexi squealed as she flapped her tiny wings very fast, and the only thing it accomplished was getting her to sit on her rump.

"I guess not. We'll have to train her," I said picking her up again. "I was just about to find out about the Pet Derby."

"Okay," said Gen. "Listen to what I have to say first."

Genevieve told me about her trip to see Bartleby. She told me what he said after giving him the elixir, about the saviors needed to save the city. I already knew about it though, of course it was a little troubling with the 'comes at night to torment' Bartleby part.

"You don't think he actually comes at night, right?" I asked.

"If he did, he won't anymore, not if we know about it."

"I don't know, there's not much anyone can do, except for Ambrose, but he's getting old."

"I still don't think Malistere wants to be caught. Oh yeah, Malistere was the one who stole Bartleby's eye."

"Why?" I asked horrified.

"His eyes were gifts from the Grandmother of Ravens, Lady Nightstar, his sister."

"So they're special?"

"One saw the past, and the other the future." It dawned on me.

"Bartleby can only see the future; Malistere stole the eye that can look into the past."

"The Eye of History; Malistere is looking into history; he probably thinks something from the past can aid him."

"Well, now we're a step closer to figuring out his plan; so much for no stress." Gen went to cheer me up.

"Don't be so sad, we have a new pet to look after."

"I guess you're right." I said. "Let's find out about the Pet Derby."

"If you've an interest in participating in the Pet Derby, I am just the fellow you need to speak to. Just a moment, though! Before I set your precious pet upon the perplexing paths of our Pet Derby, I must ask that you avail yourself of the information provided in the two rulebooks nearby."

"You mean those," said Genevieve, pointing to the two scrolls behind him.

"Yes those," said Mr. Barker. "One of the books is generous with guidance about practice matches, while the other volume summarizes those that are ranked. Go and pursue them at your leisure and stroll on back to me when you're sufficiently schooled." First we went and read the scroll on the right.

"In the Pet Derby, you can race your pet in practice matches with nothing to gain or lose," I read.

"The practice Pet Derby is a good way to learn the course and obstacles for each different track, and see which track your pet is best suited for," finished Genevieve. We then went over to read the other scroll. "In the ranked Pet Derby, your pet will race against other pets, with prizes such as Arena Tickets or gold. The last place pet receives gold while the other pets receive Arena Tickets."

"Your Pet's wins and losses are measured on your character sheet, and your pet will gain ranking in the Pet Derby based on its performance." After reading we went to go talk to Milo Barker.

He told us about the Derby, on how we had to cheer for our pet, watch out for bombs and banana peels, exploit our pet's powers, and aim for stars on the track to help aid our pet. After hearing everything though, I decided I didn't want to put Baby Lexi through that.

So, I then told Genevieve about the tour I went on, making fun of what I thought she would. She informed me the headmaster gave her a painting for our dorm which is why she was a little late; she was hanging it up. We decided that we needed to teach Baby Lexi how to fly at most. So we checked out some of the activities in the Pavilion.

We only had a few snacks on us, and checking out the activities, only two seemed interesting. So, we first put her through the way of the ninja pig (an obstacle course from Mooshu) and then we shot her out of a cannon to knock down some makeshift fortresses (She wasn't hurt; she was protected by a magic barrier). By the time we were done, Baby Lexi couldn't fly per-se, but she could follow us by flying above our shoulders, albeit slowly.

After training her all we could, we decided to spend the rest of our evening fishing, to calm our nerves over the events of today and introduce Lexi to the activity. Gen fished in Olde Town where she caught a Garrfish and a new necklace. I fished in the commons, where I fished so many rare fish Lucky said I should become an Initiate. Luckily, after explaining everything to our room, we did not have pork for dinner.

I honestly don't remember what I dreamed that night. I don't know if I slept well or badly. Still, with what happened the next morning, I wouldn't be surprised if my dreams held some sort of warning.

Baby Lexi slept on the edge of my bed that night, so she was the first thing I woke up to. In fact, the first thing I woke up to was her squealing. I knew she wouldn't be squealing unless something was bothering her. Was she hungry, or was it something else…

I opened my eyes and what I saw was frightening. The lights in the room were flickering on and off. The voice was trying to get something out, but it was coming out in scattered words. Breakfast was on the table, two muffins and partially full glasses of milk, the rest was splattered on the table.

I climbed out of bed, picking up Baby Lexi and stroking her to calm her down. I made my way over to the table and ate what was available. Baby Lexi cleaned up the milk spill.

"I guess it's good that you're here," I said petting her.

"Em," said Gen panicked. "What's going on?"

"I don't know. I just got up." She climbed out of bed and ate her breakfast, analyzing the situation. I did so as well as I fed Baby Lexi her Harvest Corn.

"Hmm," said Gen scratching her chin. "The lights, the voice, the food…" She pulled out her wand and tried casting a simple storm spell. It fizzled before the spell was even finished. "That doesn't usually fizzle."

"Let me try?" I tried a simple fire spell. With it, I levitated the crumbs and let them burst to ashes. "My magic works fine."

"I think I get it."

"Get what?"

"What's going on," clarified Gen.

"What would that be?"

"Em, we really need to get to Triton Avenue; the situation there is getting worse."

Dun Dun Dun! A bit of a slight cliffhanger, things will be a bit more exciting in the next chapter. Of course I will be a bit cruel and focus on the background a bit more than foreground once again. I'm trying to stick true with the characters. Most mundane stuff like this will be used for filler, and if the game mechanics are mentioned a bit too much I will just not talk about it. Still, now they have a pet and will probably get another one. They have a way to earn some money. I'll try not to be like this too much. Just had to get this out of the way to get to the interesting stuff, plus I really liked the fire school quest and had to put in here. I always thought if I had to go through that, I would be a bit shocked afterwards; very story-esque. Anyways, tell me what you think in reviews. Until later...-Admiring