Hey everyone, here's chapter 3 of The Misadventures of Vee. This chapter was co-written with my friend I Write Big. This chapter will be more or less center around Vee and Dani. Just in case you were curious or if I didn't clarify in any of the previous chapters, Dani is the one that gave Vee the tarot card reading in Yesterday's Lie.

Btw, when Vee's with her friends, she'll speak with Luz's voice (for now), but when she's with Camilla or not with her friends, she'll speak with her normal voice.

Anyway, on with the chapter.


Vee didn't have big expectations for the "Magic Creature Hunting" business. Sure, her friends seemed really into learning more about mystical beings, but it wasn't like they were professional hunters like the Emperor's Coven. This was all just an innocent club that served as a perfect cover for Vee to find the origins of the portals those imps had used and hopefully discover a way to bring Luz home. There was no way her friends would ever be able to catch any magical creatures.

That's what Vee believed until she arrived at the usual coffee shop.

"Luz!" Dani called excitedly to Vee. She, Beth, and Lance were digging through an open cardboard box at their customary table. "Come check out this enchanted cage my aunt and uncle built for me."

"Enchanted cage?" Vee held back a snicker.

Dani's family thought this was all roleplaying. Her parents didn't exactly approve of her love of the occult and acting out fantasy adventures, which was why she was sent to Reality Check Summer Camp. Alas, the lessons on tax filing and bill management didn't take, and the pile of Dani's suits of cardboard armor and pvc-pipe magic staffs continued to grow. The "cage" was probably nothing more than a cat carrier covered in glitter. Vee had to see this.

"Alright, yeah, show me the enchan—" Vee stopped cold.

"See?" Dani held up not a cat carrier but a wire cage that could barely fit a small dog. It wasn't covered in glitter. The rusted metal was striped with… markings, "My aunt calls these glyphs," Dani explained, completely missing Vee's distress, "She says they're the root of all magic. These particular glyphs on the bars can trap any magical creature. Cool, right?"

"No, not cool!" Vee thought. She could feel the magic emanating off of the cage's glyphs. Dani hadn't been kidding when she said her aunt knew mystical stuff. A terrified shiver ran up Vee's spine as she pictured herself being confined inside that tiny prison, just like she had been locked up by that crazy conspiracy theorist.

"Whoa, I feel like Van Helsing," Lance chuckled, donning a horned Viking helmet from the box.

"I'm not so sure, Dani," Beth said, inspecting a glyph-covered knight's gauntlet with heavy skepticism. "How do we know this junk even works?" Beth gave up her inspecting and tossed the gauntlet to Vee who wasn't quick enough to dodge. The moment the metal touched her arm, the glyphs glowed and her human skin morphed against her will into her real basilisk arm.

A yelp caught in Vee's throat and she quickly hid the green, scaly appendage behind her back. The gauntlet clattered to the floor, causing the gang to whip around and stare at her.

"Oops! Sorry, butterfingers…" she excused. When everyone turned away, Vee scarfed down a Hexes Hold 'em card and fixed her disguise. "Guys," she carefully said, "Listen, I know I said I was into this whole "hunt magical creatures" thing, but maybe we… shouldn't?"

"You're absolutely right, Luz," said Dani.

"Really?" Vee sighed in relief.

"We shouldn't hunt down the magical creatures invading our town…" Dani smirked, "Without matching t-shirts!"

From the bottom of the box, Dani produced four identical shirts, all had the words Magic Creature Hunter Inc. scrawled across them in bright letters.

"Oh my god! They're eco-friendly and everything!" Beth gushed, hugging her shirt.

"Nice, this'll go great in my summer-wear closet," Lance bragged.

Beth gave him an uncertain look. "Wait... you have more than one closet?"

"You only have one?"

Vee didn't hear any of this. She was too busy hunching over, panicking over her friends' arsenal. This was far more dangerous than she had anticipated. With these real magical hunting tools, the once harmless after-school hangout could suddenly expose Vee's true form. And then what? Would her life go back to the way it was on the Boiling Isles? Nothing but endless experiments and tests in a human lab conducted by faceless doctors? Camil—Mom had sworn she would never let that happen to Vee, but that didn't stop the nightmares.

"Luz?" the touch of Dani's hand on her shoulder jerked Vee out of the dark place, "Are you okay?" her friend asked softly.

"U-uh, yeah!" Vee smiled brightly and took her shirt. "These look great, Dani, but I was saying maybe it's a bad idea to be starting out so aggressively. Don't you think we might hurt someone if we use these, um…" Vee glanced nervously at the glyph-covered crossbow Lance was aiming. The boy sneezed and the crossbow fired. After a few heart stopping ricochets, the bolt embedded itself in the floor near Vee's foot. She scooted away from the ammo before its glyphs could begin to glow. "Gadgets?" she finished with a gulp.

Dani blinked at her. Then understanding flashed across her face. "Oh! I get what you mean."

"You do? That's great!" Vee beamed.

"True monster hunters don't need fancy toys!" Dani leaped onto her chair and struck a heroic pose.

"M-Monster?" Vee sputtered. "Since when are we calling them monsters—"

"We'll hunt down those magic invaders the old-fashioned way," Dani powered on. With dramatic flair, she pulled out and held aloft like swords… a pair of plain metal rods.

Everyone stared blankly at the underwhelming reveal.

"Boring," Lance scoffed and loaded another bolt.

"Not boring," Dani scoffed back. "Dowsing rods are the original magic trackers. The tools my aunt and uncle made would just do all the work for us. Too easy. We won't be able to call ourselves real hunters unless we track a monster down like my ancient ancestors did. Watch."

Dani hopped to the floor and held the rod handles in her fists. Like someone who didn't know where she was going, she blindly wandered around the shop, checking in every direction to see if the dowsing rods would cross. Since her sights were laser-focused downwards, she bumped into several tables along the way, accidentally knocking over a couple of glasses.

"You're paying for those," called a nearby waitress.

Beth and Lance exchanged glances, somewhat annoyed by Dani's habit of suddenly changing her mind.

"What do you think, Luz?" Dani asked.

Vee squinted at the dowsing rods. Despite Dani's claims, she couldn't smell any magic on them. As far as she could tell, these were nothing but metal tubes. Just to be sure, she gave one a cautionary prod with her pinky. Her finger remained human. A smile broke across Vee's face. Perfectly safe.

"I think these are exactly what we should use," Vee said. "But about calling the magical creatures monsters—"

A haunting scream ripped through the air! It was so loud and sudden that the entire gang dropped to the floor and clamped their hands over their ears. The sound shook Vee to her bones and rattled the windows.

"What's happening? What is that?" Beth shouted, but she could barely hear herself over the wail.

Just as suddenly as it began, the shrieking stopped and a ringing was left in everybody's ears.

"Did everybody else hear that?" Dani asked.

"Huh?" Lance shouted back, deaf.

No one heard the jingle of the coffee shop's doorbell as a terrified man burst into the building. "Monster!" the man cried. "Ghost! Demon! It tried to kill me!"

"Kill you?" Vee shot to her feet. She had a hard time believing that claim. It was true that the residents of the Demon Realm weren't exactly timid but very few would attempt to kill a human. Not without tasting them first, that is.

"Calm down, sir," Dani said, pulling on her MCH shirt and taking an eager step forward. "We are the Magical Creature Hunters of Gravesfield. We'll track the beast."

"Yeah!" cheered Beth.

"Beast? Really?" whimpered Vee.

"What was that?" Lance asked, still deaf. "It's quieter than my place when my parents aren't home. Which are most days."

"Can you describe the foul thing?" Dani asked, pencil and paper in hand.

"It looked like a woman but its skin was gray and rotten. It had claws for hands and every tooth in its huge mouth was razor sharp." The man explained.

"Wait…" Vee cautiously stepped in, recognizing the description, "A banshee?"

"A banshee?!" Beth and Dani gasped in horror.

"A what?" Lance asked, digging a finger in his ear.

"A banshee! Yes! That must've been it," the man agreed. "The banshee appeared out of nowhere and let out this ghastly roar. I was sure I was going to—"

"Excuse me," Vee said. "But what exactly makes you think it was trying to kill you?"

"Oh, that's the worst part," the man answered. "Because of the roar, I nearly stepped in front of a speeding car."

Again, Beth and Dani both gasped. Lance, still deaf, did not react.

Vee was too confused to speak.

"I can't believe it," Dani said. "An actual banshee in our town and it's going around trying to scare people to their deaths!"

"What? No!" Vee finally managed to say incredulously. "Banshees don't—"

"We need to split up and catch this banshee before it puts more people in danger." Like a military general, Dani dealt out her orders. "Beth, you and Lance take the gear and check uptown. Luz and I will cover downtown. We'll meet back here in an hour."

"Got it," Beth saluted.

"Ah, finally, I can hear again," Lance said. "What did I miss—Whoa!" the boy sputtered as Beth dragged him outside along with the cardboard box.

"Wait, guys, no! Stop!" Vee begged but they were already gone. "Dani, you don't understand, banshees aren't—"

"Don't worry, Luz." Dani gave her a reassuring pat and drew out the dowsing rods. "We'll find the vile banshee the old-fashioned way, just like you wanted. Let's go!" Before Vee could stop her, Dani sprinted out the door.

Vee let out a frustrated groan. Where humans got the idea that banshees were dangerous, she had no idea. But if her friends caught the banshee and imprisoned the poor thing, the banshee would face the same fate Vee did on the Boiling Isles. She wouldn't let that happen. Vee needed to find the banshee before everyone else.

And she knew just where to look.


Gravesfield Swimming Pool…

The public pool. The place where people come to cool off on a hot summer's day or just to have some water time fun. Hell, some just came to show off their new swimwear. This was also one of a few places where people were in constant danger. Vee knew the banshee would be in a place like this due to the variety of ways people could hurt themselves. From getting a stomachache from swimming after not waiting a full hour after eating, to slipping on water from running around the pool, to potentially drowning. A place like this? A banshee was bound to show up.

"Alright, she's got to be around here somewhere..." Vee muttered as she arrived at the swimming pool. A second later, Vee saw several people in swimwear fleeing the scene. Ahead, she saw the banshee, just as the man from earlier described her, floating above the water of the pool, "Huh. That was easy. Now to get her attention before I have to meet up with Dani and the others"

Vee approached the pool. Near the edge, she stretched a leg out as if she were going to step in the water. As fate would have it, that's when the banshee turned to her a released a screech that made her take a step back in slight nervousness. Vee cleared her throat.

"Um, excuse me, Miss. Banshee?" Vee called out to the creepy, floating spirit.

"Oh, call me Liv, dear" the banshee, ironically named Liv, said in a surprisingly sweet, grandmotherly tone.

"Uh, ok..." Vee replied a bit awkwardly, "Liv, could I speak to you in private for a moment?" she asked. The banshee flew over to Vee, the basilisk in disguise leading her away from the swimming pool. A block away, Vee had led her to an alleyway. "Ok, I know you're a banshee—"

"Yes, and you're a basilisk" Liv cut Vee midsentence with a smile, making Vee's eyes go wide.

"How did you..." Vee started.

"I'm a ghost, dear, I can sense your spiritual energy. Looks like I'm not the only one that came from the Demon Realm," Liv told her, playfully booping her nose which made the girl blush with embarrassment.

"Look, I know you want to help prevent people from harming themselves, but you're kind of... freaking people out," Vee said while rubbing her arm, "So, could you maybe... go back to the Demon Realm?"

"Leave? But the human world is so dangerous, dear. They fly in metal birds, eat peanuts, and those wet humans had no idea that a thunderstorm was coming. You can't swim in a storm, dear. Not safe. Who else is going to protect them?" Liv countered.

"Well, my friends have apparently effective demon hunting gear and if they find you, they're going to capture you. Is that reason enough for you?" Vee informed her, "Trust me, if anyone knows how it feels to be captured and imprisoned, it's me" she added.

"Well, that's a risk I'm willing to take to keep these humans safe" Liv said, making Vee groan in frustration.

This was one stubborn spirit. Vee was about to say something more when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. It was the alarm that she had set to go off when the hour was up.

"Ugh. I've got to go meet up with my friends" Vee said as she turned off the alarm, "Just please take my suggestion into consideration. The last thing I want is for another demon to be imprisoned" she said before running off, heading back to the coffee shop.

"Such a sweet girl" Liv smiled before flying off and vanishing.

Vee was almost to the coffee shop when her phone rumbled again. It wasn't another alarm. It was a video message from Dani.

"The dowsing rods worked, guys," Dani whisper-shouted to the camera. "I've found the banshee."

"What?! No!" Vee croaked.

"I'm gonna corner the monster. Hurry and get to the construction yard, bring the cage." A familiar, ear-splitting, banshee shriek nearly destroyed the phone's speakers just before the video ended.

Vee could feel the world collapsing around her. It was happening. Her friends were closing in. There was only one construction yard in Gravesfield and it would take Vee half an hour to run there. Not fast enough. Just then, Vee heard the rumble of an engine. The bus was idling on the corner. Gravesfield was a small town, but just barely big enough to warrant a single bus.

"Perfect!" she said.

The bus pulled away.

"No! Come back!" Vee shouted.

Without thinking, Vee threw her arm forward and it morphed into a leviathan tentacle. The long appendage whipped across the street and stuck to the back of the departing bus.

"...I didn't mean to do that," she managed to say before she was abruptly yanked to the vehicle. Like a bug, Vee splatted against the metal and stayed there. "Never doing this again, never doing this again, never doing this again," she sniveled to herself in fear. Vee morphed her tentacle back into a human arm and scrambled aboard the bus at the next stop.


Even though it was the fastest way to travel across town, Vee felt the bus was moving at a snail's pace. Her attention kept flitting back and forth between her phone and the passing sidewalk, anticipating the worst. Would she be too late? If Dani didn't get Liv, would that crazy conspiracy theorist?

"Holy cannoli!" the bus driver exclaimed and the vehicle came to a swerving halt. Vee and the rest of the passengers gawked at the front of the bus in time to see Liv fly past the windshield. "What is that?" the driver demanded as Vee jumped out of her seat. By the time she exited the bus, Liv was gone. She instead found Dani stomping in circles on the sidewalk, the dowsing rods clenched tightly in her fists.

"Come on, come on," Dani muttered, her attention fully on the rods. "Where are you, guàiwù (monster)?" Just as she had blindly wandered around the coffee shop, Dani blindly wandered toward an open manhole!

Vee was about to warn her but then Liv burst from the life-threatening pit and roared at Dani. The girl screamed and leaped back but didn't run away. Liv vanished into thin air again.

"No! Get back here! Ugh!" Dani groaned.

"Dani!" Vee said.

"Luz! There you are. Stay back." Dani aimed her dowsing rods in multiple directions, searching. "I've discovered that I can corral the banshee with these. It must be scared of their magic or something."

The rods seemingly appeared to cross when Dani faced a flower store, however Vee still smelt no magic coming from them. The moment Dani stepped toward the store, Liv popped out the window and screeched, forcing Dani back just before a large flower pot crashed to the ground mere feet from Dani. Once again, Liv vanished.

"Oh my gosh!" Vee cried. "Are you okay?"

"See?" Dani growled, unimpressed by the near injury. "The thing is trying to get rid of me, but I'm smarter. Once Beth and Lance arrive, meet me at the construction yard with the cage. I'm leading it there. We'll put the monster away for good."

This was a clear misunderstanding; Vee could see that. Dani was so convinced the magic-less rods were guiding her in the right direction that she was stumbling into danger every minute. No wonder Liv kept appearing.

"Dani, wait," Vee said hurriedly. "That isn't what's happening. You're making a huge mistake."

To her relief, Dani actually stopped focusing on the rods and looked at her. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"I know you think you know what banshees are… but you're wrong." Vee told her.

"Wrong?" The word had an effect on Dani. She was suddenly… stern.

"Yes, wrong. I get it, you've been studying magic for a long time. But this isn't like one of your fantasy games." Vee told her.

"You think I don't know that?!" Dani exploded. She reared on Vee, anger pouring out of the girl. "Do you know how long I've waited for this? My entire life, Luz. I've dedicated my entire life to magic. My parents always called it "childish notions," always said I had to grow up, always "it's no way for a proper lady to behave". Wǒ fán sǐle! (I'm sick of it!) Well, guess what! It's all real! Magic is real, monsters are real, and I can finally show my mom and dad that I'm not "wasting my potential"."

"N-no, I'm sorry, that's not what I—" Vee blabbered, unsure how to salvage this. Her words were meaningless, though, Dani was already walking away.

"I'm not playing games," Dani finished coldly. "I'm catching that banshee and saving Gravesfield with or without you, Luz. If you're too scared, then don't follow."

And then she was gone.

Vee couldn't bring herself to chase after Dani. Dani was right, Vee was scared. She was terrified. Having spent most of her life imprisoned, keeping quiet and hidden was what had kept her alive. The basilisk knew how to not draw attention to herself, but that also meant she wasn't good with words or bravery.

"What would Luz do?" she heard herself ask. Luz. Her sister. She pictured that fun-loving maniac who was brave enough to explore the Demon Realm. What would she do?

A banshee shriek followed by a human scream echoed in the distance.

Vee had her answer.


Construction Yard…

When Vee arrived at the construction yard, there was no sign of Beth or Lance yet. In fact, there wasn't a sign of anybody. A half-finished house stood by its lonesome on a massive square of tilled dirt. The bulldozers and cement mixers were not being attended to by any construction workers. Based on the dark and stormy clouds that were gathering overhead, the workers probably got the day off.

"Good, maybe I'm not too late," Vee muttered, then she called, "Dani? Where are you?"

A banshee shriek was the reply, followed by a human scream.

"Dani!"

Vee raced into the building's skeletal wooden frame. Only a couple walls were up, the rest of the openings were draped with thick plastic sheets that Vee couldn't see through. An ominous rumble of thunder echoed in the sky. Another scream made her jump.

"Dani, I'm here." Vee called out to her friend.

"Luz?" she heard from above. "I told you not to come."

Vee didn't listen to any of that. She frantically searched the lumber maze until she found a set of unfinished stairs. A few steps actually cracked and splintered under her foot. This place wasn't safe at all. When Vee reached the top, she was greeted with a patchwork floor. Entire sections were just holes that fell directly to the hard unforgiving ground.

"Dani?" Vee approached the girl.

"I told you to stay away, Luz." Dani told her.

The voice still came from above. Vee craned her head back and her throat went dry. A third floor of crisscrossing beams made up the ceiling. Dani was wandering across those narrow beams, all of her attention on the dowsing rods.

"What're you doing up there?!" Vee shouted.

"I've got the banshee right where I want it. Keep back," Dani ordered.

Focused entirely on the dowsing rods, the girl made her way along the beams, blind as a bat. Vee nearly fainted when she bumped into a wall and wobbled. Another thunderous boom shook the house, making Dani almost lose her balance. Immediately, Liv burst out of nowhere and let out an otherworldly shriek, forcing Dani to jump back onto the middle of the beam. A step to the right or the left and the girl would plummet. No wonder Liv was focusing on her.

"We're here, Dani," a pair of voices called out and Vee went cold.

Lance and Beth appeared at the top of the stairs, crossbow and cage in their respective hands.

"Great timing." Dani turned on the spot, pointing her rods in every direction for Liv. "I'll draw the banshee out. You guys take her down."

The two got into position, Beth opening the cage, Lance aiming the crossbow. Instantly, Vee's mind was transported back to the Boiling Isles. She saw her fellow basilisks being shoved into cells with weapons pointed at their backs. It was starting all over again here on Earth. Ice-cold fear filled Vee's veins as history repeated itself before her eyes.

"LISTEN TO ME!" Vee screamed at the top of her lungs.

There may have been a little magic in that scream because everyone and everything stopped. Her friends stopped in their tracks and even the storm became as silent as a lamb. They all gawked at her, stupefied by the unnatural power of her voice.

"Banshees are kind," Vee said at last. "They are the spirits of those who died in easily avoidable accidents that don't want others to end up like them. They don't scare people to death, they scare them from death."

"From death?" Dani said, unconvinced.

"Who told you that?" Beth asked, just as doubtful.

"Yeah, Luz," Lance agreed. "Everyone knows that banshees are super dangero—" His crossbow fired! Everybody watched wide-eyed as the bolt bounced off floorboards and support beams and window sills. It seemed to impossibly gain speed with every hit until it rebounded off of a light fixture and barreled straight for… Dani!

"Look out!" somebody shouted, then Liv was at Dani's side and the banshee let loose the loudest screech anyone had ever heard.

On instinct, Dani jumped away from the ghost with a scream and she tumbled off the beam. Quick as lightning, Vee dove under the girl and they both collapsed in a heap of limbs. Vee was the first to recover as Beth and Lance dashed to their side.

"Dani?" Vee said, shaking her. "Are you okay?"

She was alive. Dazed and scared, but alive.

"That…" Dani whispered, "what happened?"

The solemn moment was broken by Liv aspirating in their faces. "Oh my! Are you hurt, dear?"

The humans screamed!

"No, no, no! She's nice," Vee quickly said, quieting them down. "Everyone, meet Liv."

"L-Liv?" Dani said.

"Nothing twisted, dear? Any sores or bruises? I'm terribly sorry about that fall. I was trying to stop that from happening, I swear." The juxtaposing of Liv's warm, grandmotherly tone with her morbid appearance was unsettling. She inched closer, voicing concern after concern with her piranha teeth, backing the trio into a corner.

"Whoa, easy on the smiling," Vee said, blocking Liv from getting nearer. She spoke softly to her friends, "See? She isn't going to hurt you."

Nobody moved. Beth, Lance, and Dani's faces were frozen in terror and for a moment, Vee thought they were going to run away. Then… Dani's gaze drifted upward.

"That could've been me," she murmured in awe. Everyone else followed her petrified eyes to the bolt embedded in the wooden wall where she'd stood not thirty seconds ago. "Fèihuà, (Crap,) I nearly died…" she said as if she'd just realized it. "You…" Dani looked back at Liv and got to her feet. She considered the banshee, Vee noticed, without any fear.

"You're not a monster, are you?" Dani asked.


The Coffee Shop…

A day or two after their little mishap with the banshee, the MCH were at their usual hangout. They shared a large plate of donuts and each had a drink to wash them down. The only one that got coffee was Beth since the others either thought it was disgusting due to the bitterness, even with cream and sugar, or decided not to get it due to the drink making them jittery... Lance fell into the latter category. So, instead, the other three just got hot chocolate which was really rich in chocolatey flavor.

"I'm so glad you agreed to let Liv go, Dani" Vee said, taking a bite out of her donut.

"Yeah, she really did save my life" Dani said with a small smile, "I guess not all magic creatures are monsters or have bad intentions…" she admitted while rubbing the back of her head.

"We'll try to give magical creatures more chances from now on" Beth said sincerely.

"Yeah" Lance chimed in agreement.

Vee couldn't help but sigh internally with relief. At least now she could trust that her friends wouldn't try to capture every magical creature that they came across. At least, that's what she hoped.

"Plus, we were able to put Liv's abilities to good use. We were able to get her a job as a crossing guard" Beth mentioned while dunking her donut into her coffee before taking a bite.

"Which I'm still surprised we were able to pull off" Lance added.

"Speaking of which…" Vee spoke, she and the others looking out the nearest window.

From a certain distance, they saw a car driven by someone on their phone. That's when they saw Liv appear and released a powerful scream, forcing the driver to come to a screeching halt. As funny as it may have sounded, this allowed a family of ducks to cross the street.

"I'll be right back, guys" she told her friends as she got out the booth.

"Why'd we get plain donuts?" Lance asked, examining the donut in his hand.

Vee was at the door, when she was grabbed by the wrist.

"Dani?" Vee looked back and saw her friend.

"Hey, Luz, I just wanted to say… I'm sorry for blowing up at you earlier" Dani started with an apologetic look, "Given our little banshee adventure, it turns out I don't know as much about magic and monsters as I thought" she said, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head, "Sorry I about not listening to you about Liv. Next time I'll try to listen more when others speak"

"Thanks, Dani" Vee smiled, "And you don't need to prove anything to your parents. If they can't accept your hobbies or interests then that's their problem" she told her.

"Thanks" Dani smiled back, "And don't worry. The next time we run into a magical creature, I'll give them a chance to prove they're dangerous or not before trying to hunt them" she said reassuringly.

"Heh. I appreciate that more than you'll ever know…" Vee she said with a small, amused shake of her head. She then looked down at her left arm as it changes into her basilisk arm, "Dani, there's something I've got to tell you—"

Vee was cut off by Dani interrupting her by throwing her arms around her in a big hug.

"I'm so glad to have such an understanding friend like you" Dani told her.

Vee sighed lightly through her nose. The fact that she was still being called Luz. In this moment, she realized that she still isn't ready to reveal her true form to her friends. Not yet anyway. She looked back at her arm and reverted it back into its human state before returning the gesture and hugging Dani back.

"So, what were you about to say?" Dani asked as she broke the little embrace.

"Oh, uh, it's… nothing important" Vee said with a small grin, "Be right back" she said as she stepped out.

Vee walked out to the sidewalk where she met the banshee lady. Once the coast was clear, the two were free to talk.

"Hello, Vee. Thank you again for getting me this job... and not imprisoning me. Now I can help the inhabitant of this world" Liv said with a smile, having quickly learned not to show her teeth not doing so.

"Oh, no problem" Vee waved as if it were no big deal, "Um, you'll keep my secret about me being a you-know-what, right?" she asked cautiously.

"Wait… do your friends not know?" Liv tilted her head.

"Uhh… No, they don't" Vee admitted, hanging her head with an expression of slight guilt.

"Oh, dear!" Liv said with surprise. "Well, you know, from what I've seen, most humans can be surprisingly accepting" she told her, and then waved her grotesque, clawed arm at a few pedestrians across the street… who proceeded to run away screaming.

Vee couldn't help but wince at that.

"Don't get me wrong. I trust my friends and everything, it's just… I'm not entirely ready to tell them yet" Vee said while rubbing her arm.

"Scared?" Liv guessed with some concern, to which Vee gave a confirming nod, "I guess I can understand. Don't worry, dear, your secret is safe with me" she reassured with that grandmotherly smile and tone of hers.

"Thank you" Vee replied gratefully.

"But I should warn you not to keep your secret friends for too long, dear. Secrets can be a dangerous thing and, if kept for too long, might do more harm than good" Liv said, spouting some words of wisdom to the young basilisk.

"I'll keep that in mind" Vee replied, glancing off with some guilt. That's when a thought came to her. "So, now that we've got all of this cleared up, can I ask you something? Could you tell me about the portal you used to get here? My sister's trapped in the Demon Realm and I'm trying to get her home and need to know how they work and to locate them" Vee explained.

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that, dear" Liv said with a voice of guilty, "You probably aren't going to like hearing this, but I have no idea how I got here. There was a light, and then boom! Next thing I know, I'm here on Earth" she told the girl, "So, I have no idea to how to get back or go back and forth between both worlds"

"Aw, man…" Vee said, hanging her head in disappointment.

"I'm sorry, Vee" Liv said apologetically, "I wish you the best of luck trying to get your sister back" she added before flying off.

Vee looked up to the sky, "Luz..." she muttered her sister's name. What was she going to do? How was she going to find a portal and get Luz back now?


Alright, that's the end of this chapter. This marks the club's second encounter with a magical creature from the Demon Realm and their first with one that's kind (not including Vee, depending on how you look at the situation).

So, yeah, this was Dani's chapter… sort of. We kind of switched between her and Vee more or less. Considering her design, I figured she might be Asian, so I've decided to make her Chinese… or at least half Chinese on one of her parents' sides. Haven't decided which side though. As with this chapter, expect her to speak some Chinese occasionally (I used Google Translate, so chances are it won't be 100% accurate).

We'll get more chapters delving into the personalities and home lives of Dani, Beth and Lance in the future. Vee's the main character of this story, so chances are we'll see her character develop the most, especially her relationship with Camilla.

If you have ideas for future chapters or just what kind of creatures the MCH should/could run into, say it in a review or feel free to message me.

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