Hey everyone, here's chapter 12 of The Misadventures of Vee. Btw, I forgot to say this in the previous chapter, but Vee's acid spit will be the last of her natural powers. Anyway, this chapter is going to be a big one. Brace yourself.


The concept of a Guidance Counselor was a novel one for Vee. There was an entire branch of study where humans dedicated themselves to helping others deal with their personal and emotional problems. Miss Canis, having lived in the Human Realm for years, was an expert of that study. She'd done wonders for Lance, so Vee had figured she'd be able to help Vee. Unfortunately, therapy was harder than it looked.

"Hello, my real name is Vee Noceda and I'm a—" An icepick of fear gutted her, lodging the words in her chest where they refused to budge.

Across from her in the Counselor's office, Miss Canis hummed gently and removed her half-moon glasses. "Vee. That's a very pretty name, honey. What was the other thing you wanted to say?"

Vee fisted her legs and clenched her teeth, unable to speak. She hunched over on the sofa that should've been comfy but it felt like she was sitting on hard steel. Dani, who sat next to her, rested a hand on her arm. The touch allowed her to regain some composure and she decided to attack at a different angle.

"I ran away from where I was born, where I was imprisoned, and came here. I found a family, friends, a way better life than in the other world where I was hunted by the Emperor's Coven because I'm a—" Again an insurmountable wall halted her charge. Frustration mounting, she tried again. "I didn't know if humans would accept me or hunt me too so I disguised myself because I'm a—" She ripped at her hair. "I've been fueling my disguise with magic-infused playing cards but now I'm down to my last one and if I try to transform again, I'll reveal to everybody that I've been lying to them for months that I'm aaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAHH! Why can't I say it?!"

"Whoa, take it easy, Vee," Dani said. "You're safe here. Miss Canis is a magical creature like you, you know she won't tell anyone. You were able to tell me, you can easily tell her."

"It's not easy, sugar," Miss Canis lightly chided. "Everybody has a secret they're terrified of telling the wrong person, a secret so bad that, if it got out, it would ruin their life forever. Everybody has one of those. Even you."

"Dani? Scared?" Vee scoffed. While she agreed that the idea of confessing to the MCH was petrifying, there was no way Dani was a coward like her. "Don't be ridiculous, nothing scares Dani. She speaks whatever is on her mind as loud as a manticore without caring who hears. Right, Dani?"

Vee turned to Dani and was struck by her nervous pale face. "Well, not exactly," she mumbled.

"Really?" Vee asked incredulously. "But what?"

"I may have…" Dani fidgeted and tugged at her locks, avoiding Vee's gaze in shame, "...neglected to tell my parents that… we're dating…?"

"...Oh…" Vee was surprised by how disappointed she felt. "Because you think they wouldn't like me?"

Dani sighed. "They would use you, Vee. That's what they've always done. My mom and dad are obsessed with controlling every second of my life, even though they are always working abroad and I only ever talk to them on the phone. They chose what I wore, what I ate, where I went. Since before I could walk, I had tutors teaching me every subject from math to mandarin to vertical integration economic theory. It was only after my aunt and uncle took over my education that I finally got some freedom, I learned about magic and actually got to have fun. But then my parents found out and they started controlling that as well: scheduled fun hours, weekly lectures on how magic is not real and therefore not profitable." Dani let out a bitter laugh. "That's why. I'm scared that if I told them we're dating, they'd do the same to you."

Dani hung her head, unable to look Vee in the eye. Her girlfriend attempted to process all that. Dani was hiding just like her, afraid that if the truth was revealed, she'd lose everything she'd come to hold dear. They were the same. To know that she wasn't alone, the burden didn't feel as heavy. Vee took Dani's hand, squeezed, and screwed her eyes shut.

"I'm a basilisk." She'd forced the words out before the fear realized what was happening. Dani's eyes went wide.

"Basilisk, huh?" Miss Canis remarked, impressed. "My money was on doppelganger. Coulda sworn you guys were extinct."

Vee breathed heavily, lightheaded as if she'd just finished a marathon. "Yeah, I'd morph and show you but… cards," she murmured in a daze.

Dani was awestruck. "Vee, you said it. You said it!" She jumped to her feet and pulled Vee into a hug, who flopped like a limp noodle in her hold. The girl gasped and asked Miss Canis, "Does this mean she can finally tell everyone else?"

"Slow down, sugar," Miss Canis replied. "Telling someone who basically already knew and telling others who have no clue are two very different situations. But it appears we may have found a method."

Finally descending from the dizzy place, Vee glanced curiously at the woman. "We did?"

"The two of you are stronger together, that much is clear. In fact, from what I see, you inspire each other. Dani, your natural command pushes Vee to brave what she normally runs from, and, Vee, your sweet and kind nature rubs off on even the nastiest folk." The girls blushed at the compliments. "So, here's my proposal: both of you reveal the secret that frightens you most and be there to have each other's backs when it goes down."

Vee blinked, trying to figure out in her head what Miss Canis was suggesting. "So… wait… I tell the MCH I'm a basilisk and…"

Dani continued the thought in a hoarse whisper, "I tell my parents we're dating."

"Bingo," Miss Canis finished.

Vee and Dani looked at each other, both seeing the hesitancy in each other… but also a glimmer of hope.

"Would that work?" Dani asked. "If I told them, would you…?"

For the first time, Vee wasn't worried about whether or not she could scrounge up the courage to tell the MCH. All she felt was the bottomless determination to stand by Dani's side and help her face her parents. In that moment she truly believed that, together, they could survive anything.

"Yeah," Vee said. "I think I can."

Lance's House…

Once school ended, Vee and Dani joined the rest of the MCH, calling a rather important MCH meeting. And there was no better place to hold the meeting than at Lance's house. There were so many rooms in that place, it didn't matter where they held it.

"I'm glad you guys wanted to come over. It's been a while," Lance said as they walked down one of the many halls. He quickly opened the door to the game room, "Hey Ash, the rest of the MCH is here," he told the shadowy creature who was busy playing a video game online as they stepped inside.

"Yeah, hi," Ash greeted half-heartedly, not even bothering to turn to face them.

"He's been playing against people for the past 36 hours straight," Lance told his friends rather nonchalantly.

"I still find it odd that a shadowy spirit can play video games to begin with," Vince commented.

"So, what's this about, guys?" Beth asked, looking at the couple.

Vee felt Dani nudge her in the arm with her elbow. She looked at her girlfriend who nodded.

"There's something I've been meaning to do for a while now..." Vee said, reaching into her pants pocket, and grabbing ahold of the training wand that she had brought. She was planning on using it as a temporary backup source of magic to morph just in case they didn't believe her when she told her she was a basilisk. "You see, I... I-I, uh..." she stuttered nervously. She quickly pulled out the wand and held it out to Lance, "I wanted to give this to you, Lance. As a sign of our friendship."

"Cool, a wand!" Lance took the wand, "Thanks, Luz. Now let me give you something."

Lance reached into his pocket, pulled out a small box, and tossed it to Vee. Vee opened the box and was astonished to see what it was. A golden ring with markings embossed on it.

"Thanks, Lance," Vee said, placing the ring on her right middle finger.

"Wait, did you just carry that ring with you all day?" Vince asked.

"I—"

"He was going to give it to that sexy guidance counselor of yours, but I'm guessing he chickened out," Ash said without looking away. The comment made Lance blush harder than ever before. The fact that Beth and Vince snickered didn't help much.

Dani leaned into Vee, "What the hell, girl?" she whispered with a cocked eyebrow, making sure only Vee heard.

"Can you please go first? I'll tell them after. I promise," Vee whispered back.

"Fine," Dani sighed, "You're lucky you're cute," she said, kissing Vee's cheek which made the basilisk blush.

Dani pulled out her phone and set up a three-way video chat between her and her parents. It took a minute, but her mom actually picked up, the woman being in a CEO office in a completely different city. Her dad, though, did not appear.

"Make it quick, Dani," her mom ordered, shuffling through paperwork, "this is eating into your scheduled computer programming hour."

"Hello to you too, mom," Dani grumbled back. "Wait, where's dad?"

"Had to reschedule. He's in a different time zone and your 'emergency' meeting was too sudden for him to make it. Whatever you have to say, I'll relay to your father when I get the chance," Dani's mom told her. "He did leave a message though."

"Listen to your mother, Dani," the voicemail said, and nothing else. It might've been Vee's imagination, but the message sounded eerily identical to the one Vee vaguely overheard at Reality Check Summer Camp. Dani growled in slight annoyance.

"Well, call dad back right now then. It's imperative that he hears this from me," Dani told her in a demanding tone.

"Dani, I don't have a time for this!" her mother replied.

"Well, get dad on the video chat! The sooner I tell you guys what I need to tell you, the sooner this'll be over!" Dani countered, getting a little annoyed.

"Dani!" her mom was starting to get annoyed as well.

"Take it easy, Dani. Relax," Vee placed a hand on her girlfriend's shoulder, getting into the shot of the camera.

The sight of the other girl made Dani's mom's eyes go wide in disbelief. This was the time where her daughter was supposed be computer programming, and she was hanging out with friends? This was unbelievable. She did not schedule for this.

"Danielle Chang! Are you spending time with your friends? You're supposed to be studying, not playing your childish make-believe magic games!" Dani's mother yelled.

Dani growled, her face turning red. All of her life, her mother had looked down upon her interests. All she cared about was making Dani into a perfect, obedient robot with a perfect status, not actually caring about Dani herself. In other words, she was a typical Asian tiger mom. Her dad wasn't much help either, often keeping quiet and just agreeing and going along with what her mom said. Dani then turned her head to Ash. It was time to prove herself to her mom once and for all.

"It not childish! Magic is real and I'll prove it!" Dani said, making Vee go wide-eyed. Knowing her girlfriend, she was obviously going to follow through on that. However, given the vibe she was sensing from Dani's mom, the basilisk felt that was a bad idea.

"Dani, no!" Vee grabbed Dani's arm with her left hand and covering the screen of Dani's phone with her right. This put the ring she was wearing into view. That's when they heard a voice.

"You! How did you obtain a genie's ring?" the voice asked

A puff of dark purple smoke appeared beside Dani's mother. When the smoke disappeared, there floating beside Mrs. Chang was a rather muscular figure with dark purple skin, blue markings on the sides of his torso, red eyes, and short hair. He wore white baggy pants and pointy shoes that curled inward.

The MCH all stared with their jaws dropped. Dani's mom had a genie. Seeing their reactions, Mrs. Chang chuckled nervously.

"Dani, have I told you about my new secretary, Djinn?" Mrs. Chang said with a nervous grin as she gestured to the genie beside her. Djinn then snapped his fingers.


Chang Industries…

In a puff of smoke, the MCH were transported to Mrs. Chang's office. The office that was on the other side of the country!

"Dude, what hell?" Lance said, looking around.

The abrupt change of the sun's position from high in the sky to resting on an unfamiliar horizon was… disorienting to say the least. Vee stumbled a bit, catching herself on the glass wall. There she got a bird's eye view of hundreds of cars, never-ending streets, and towering buildings that the head of the Construction Coven could only dream of making. Vee had thought Gravesfield was impressive but this… how did humans make all of this without magic?

"Whoa…" she whispered. Understatement of the year.

"Where are we?" Beth shouted. "LA? Seattle? HOW?!"

All eyes fell on Djinn and, more specifically, Dani's mom who was trying and failing to not look like the guiltiest person who had ever lived. "Aren't you children lucky!" Mrs. Chang happily said, obviously making up the words as she went along. "You get to-to-to experience firsthand our brand new uh… holographic video chat, yes! Still in the prototype phase, very new! I know it looks like you just poofed thousands of miles in an instant but this is all a hologram. You're actually still back in Gravesfield."

Everyone frowned at her, not buying it, except Lance. "Cool, I got a holodeck in my basement too," he said and attempted to wave his arm through an expensive-looking vase. It fell and shattered. "Oops."

A new level of anger Vee had never witnessed overtook Dani. Her arms trembled, her cheeks burned, her eye twitched. The entire gang took a cautious step back.

"You lying…" Dani growled, marching toward her mom.

"Okay, nice talking to you. Djinn, it's time to turn off the hologram," Mrs. Chang quickly said.

"...manipulative…"

"Now! Djinn! That's a wish!" she ordered. Djinn, though, did not acknowledge Mrs. Chang. He only kept his stern sights on the ring on Vee's finger.

"HYPOCRITE!"

Mrs. Chang gasped in astonishment at the insult. "How dare you speak to your mother like that, young lady."

Dani exploded. "For years! Years! You've made me sit through stupid lectures, hammering into my head that there's no such thing as magic when you've had a genie this whole time!"

"What? Don't be ridiculous, I never said magic wasn't real," Mrs. Chang scoffed. "I said your silly magic games were childish and unbecoming of a future businesswoman. Genies, on the other hand, are perfectly legitimate investments. With Djinn's help our family has been very profitable."

"Fèihuà! Nǐ shìtú ràng wǒ bù xiāngxìn mófǎ, nǐ zhīdào de! (Bullshit! You tried to make me not believe in magic and you know it!)"

"Bié gēn wǒ yòng nà zhǒng yǔqì, Danielle. Wǒ wèi nǐ fùchūle gèng duō— (Don't take that tone with me, Danielle. I have sacrificed for you more—)"

"Xīshēngle ma? Gèng xiàng shì bèi jiānjìn! Zhídào shí suì, wǒ cái chīguò bīngqílín! (Sacrificed? More like incarcerated! I never tasted ice cream until I was ten years old!)"

"Bīngqílín?! Shíbā suì zhīqián bùnéng chī bīngqílín. Shéi gěi nǐ de— È, wǒ de Jiějiě kěyǐ zhème bù fù zérèn. (Ice cream?! You're not allowed to have ice cream until you're eighteen. Who gave you— Ugh, my sister can be so irresponsible.)"

On and on the shouting match went, the mother and daughter overlapping each other in a Mandarin mess. None of the MCH could follow but Dani's distress hurt Vee. She was supposed to have Dani's back right now so she wouldn't have to do this alone, but with the language barrier she was a useless bystander.

"Oh Titan, I wish I could help," Vee whimpered.

"No!" Djinn boomed but it was too late.

"Your wish is my command," a new voice sang.

Smoke, ethereal and transcendental, burst from Vee's ring. The room shook as the smoke coalesced into a female figure, garbed in a sexy belly dancer outfit. She had pink skin, long white hair with light pink highlights, and cyan-colored eyes.

"Holy Toledo…" Beth gawked.

"Remarkable…" Vincent whispered in awe and took notes.

"Hey, uh, Luz, could I get that ring back?" Lance asked.

The lady genie smiled at Vee. "Such a selfless first wish, you are truly noble, Master. I, Meera, the genie of the ring, shall gladly grant your request." Meera waved her arms and purple smoke washed over Vee.

Stunned by all of this, Vee patted herself, trying to find what had changed. She didn't sense any new powers and her magical reserves were still as low as they were before. What had Meera done?

"Nǐ de péngyǒu yěyǒu jīnglíng? (Your friend has a genie too?)" Mrs. Chang asked Dani. "Rúguǒ nǐ gàosù wǒ, nǐ zhīdào wǒmen néng zhuàn duōshǎo qián ma? (Do you know how much money we could have made if you told me?)"

"Dāngrán, yīqiè dōu shì wèile qián, (Of course, it's all about the money,)" Dani grumbled.

Vee gasped, "Wǒ míngbái! (I understood that!)" and covered her mouth.

The shouting stopped.

Beth sputtered. "Luz, that was—"

"Did you just speak Mandolin?" Lance asked.

"Mandarin!" Vincent excitedly corrected. "She's learned one of the most complicated languages on Earth in an instant? Inconceivable!"

"You are too kind, young man," Meera preened.

Dani came to Vee, any trace of her rage replaced with wonder. Gingerly, she pulled Vee's hands from her mouth. "Zhè shì zhēn de ma? (Is it true?)" Dani asked. "Nǐ néng lǐjiě wǒ ma, Vee? (Can you understand me, Vee?)"

Vee flinched at the use of her real name, but the rest of the MCH only stared blankly at them, none the wiser. They couldn't comprehend what Dani was saying… but she could.

"Wǒ kěyǐ. Wa, zhè tài qíguàile. Wǒ shuō de shì lìng yī zhǒng rénlèi yǔyán, wa. (Yes, I can. Whoa, this is so weird. I'm speaking another human language, wow.)" As she spoke, the once alien tongue flowing like water, Dani listened, eyes glistening with rapt attention. There was a connection now between them, a connection Vee had only felt once before when she had her first fully Spanish conversation with her mom, and it filled Vee with a joy that grew stronger every second. "Nǐ yě hěn kě'ài, (You're cute too,)" she said without thinking.

"Ń? (Huh?)" Dani blushed.

"Pēi! Wǒ shì shuō— (Gah! I mean—)" Vee blushed just as hard and babbled, "Nǐ zhīqián qīnle wǒ, shuō wǒ hěn kě'ài, wǒ xiǎng zài nǐ qīn wǒ zhīhòu mǎshàng shuō chūlái, dànshì tài túránle, wǒ shuō shíhuàle, suǒyǐ wǒ juédé xiànzài shìgè hǎo shíjī. Xiāngtóng de yǔyán. Tèbié de shíkè. Wǒ gǎo zále ma? Rénlèi bù huì zhèyàng zuò ma? (You kissed me earlier and said I was cute and I wanted to say it back right after you kissed me but it was so sudden and I had messed up telling the truth so I thought now was a good time. Same language. Special moment. Did I screw it up? Do humans not do this?)"

A silent awkward moment passed.

Then Dani began to laugh. "Nǐ zhēn de xūyào nǔlì tiáoqíng. (You seriously need to work on your flirting.)" Dani wrapped Vee in a fierce hug, laughing her head off. Vee had never noticed before how Dani's laugh reminded her of the ringing of a beautiful bell.

Meanwhile, as this tender moment was going on, Djinn floated over to Mrs. Chang and spoke urgently. "Master, heed my warning, with a genie under your daughter's control, she possesses the power to undo everything you have built."

"Don't be silly," Mrs. Chang waved off his suggestion. "My daughter is not that spiteful."

Djinn arched an unconvinced blue eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?"

Evidently not, because Mrs. Chang almost immediately said, "Fine, she is. What do you want me to do about it, wish the genie away?"

"That would be futile. Genies are forbidden from interfering with who is Master over other genies. You must get the ring."

Mrs. Chang cracked her knuckles. "Easy."

Back on the other side of the office, the MCH were watching the couple still hugging and whispering sweet-nothings in Mandarin to each other.

"You pretending that's you and Miss Canis, Lance?" Beth teased, elbowing the poor boy.

Vincent made a kissy-face for good measure.

"Shut up!" Lance whined.

Suddenly, the floor beneath their feet was engulfed in purple smoke. What was once solid marble was now quicksand. The teens immediately sank to their waists in the goop and couldn't escape. Mrs. Chang stood over them, chuckling.

"Careful, sweetie, don't stain your blouse," she sassed.

Djinn hovered beside Mrs. Chang with a satisfied smirk, catching Meera's attention for the first time.

"Djinn?" Meera gasped. "How are you free? No, human, stop, he is a deceiver—"

"Human? That's Master to you." In one swift motion, Mrs. Chang grabbed Vee's wrist and plucked the ring from her finger. She showed it to her genie. "Djinn, I wish for you to put this where nobody will find it."

"Your wish is my command, Master." A snap of Djinn's fingers and the ring vanished in a puff of smoke.

Meera was stunned by the action. "W-Why would you do that…?"

"And you," Mrs. Chang jabbed an authoritative finger at Meera, "I wish for you to take my ungrateful daughter and her friends back to Gravesfield and make sure she sticks to her schedule this time."

"Mom!" Dani roared. "You are the worst! I hate you!"

"Behave yourself!" Mrs. Chang scolded. She looked at Meera expectantly but the genie did nothing. "Well, what are you waiting for? I made my wish."

"You are not my Master, you do not possess my ring," Meera said, tendrils of fear slipping into her voice. "Nor do you possess Djinn's lamp."

"What does that matter?" Mrs. Chang said, impatiently tapping her foot. "Both are in my private vault; they belong to me. That's good enough."

"No, it isn't, mom," Dani cut in. "You can't just keep a genie lamp in your closet. Genies only obey the ones who physically hold their enchanted homes. Don't you ever listen to āyí?"

"Don't be so dramatic, Danielle." Mrs. Chang rolled her eyes. "That isn't true. Djinn has granted all my wishes." A detail suddenly stood out to her. "Well… except when I wished for him to send you all back just a minute ago. Hold on, that doesn't make sense. Why did that happen?" A shadow crawled over the woman. She turned and gazed up at Djinn, who appeared much more sinister than before.

"I was hoping to carry on this ruse a bit longer, but you were bound to find out eventually, Maaasteeer." Djinn dragged out the title in mockery.

Mrs. Chang backed away. "What are you talking about?"

"I have never met a mortal so hungry for power," Djinn chuckled darkly, "and so easy to control."

"Control?" Mrs. Chang spat. "Listen here, I control you!"

Snap went Djinn's fingers and the woman joined the MCH in the quicksand. "You did control me, until I suggested you lock away my lamp for 'safe keeping.' Then it was all a matter of 'granting' your wishes and slowly taking control of your empire piece by piece with subtle wording. You wished for the greatest security for the strongest company the world has ever seen. Why, who better than I? Now I can conjure any magic I desire, in the name of protecting the company. Thousands of years and the same trick still works as it did on the sultans. Yes, Maaasteeer, I manipulated and molded you this whole time, my perfect little puppet."

Mrs. Chang's jaw hung open in absolute horror.

"Yeah, doesn't feel so good, does it, mom?" Dani mouthed off.

"Now the only thing I require from you, Maaasteeer, is for you to live, so that I may remain free." Djinn snapped his fingers again and smoke swarmed Mrs. Chang and the MCH. Everybody strained against the quicksand, trying to break out, but it was useless.

"Let us go, you giant purple smurf!" Dani screamed. "Mom, you're closer to the edge, can you reach it?"

But her mom only stared blankly ahead, the shock overwhelming her. "I was duped," she whispered hollowly.

"Mom!"

Nothing.

"Meera!" Vee called desperately. "Help us, please!" But she knew that the lady genie was powerless, without a Master to make a wish her magic was locked away. She could only look on with pity as the smoke took them.


The MCH and Mrs. Chang were out of the quicksand, and that was good. However, they soon found themselves in an even worse situation. They were in an empty hourglass that was on its side. If that weren't bad enough, they were floating around in outer space!

"Oh, dude... this is so cool!" Lance smirked.

"Cool?!" Vince repeated with slight annoyance, "We're floating in outer space! On any other day, I'd probably agree with you, but right now, this is anything but cool!" he said in a panicked tone.

"Yeah! There's an evil genie out there and we're trapped in hourglass without any way out!" Beth said with the same amount of worry.

"Calm down, guys," Dani said, stepping forward, "Remember, we're the MCH, we've been through worse. We'll find a way out of here, I'm sure of it," she said with that usual determination of hers. And that's why she was the team's leader.

"She's right." Vincent agreed, he and the others calming down, "There must be a weak point somewhere. Beth, Lance, I require your assisstance in the calculations of the area of the hourglass for escape routes,"

"We gotta do math? Ugh!" Lance groaned as he and Beth followed their genius friend.

Vee looked over to Mrs. Chang. The woman hadn't moved since they had gotten here. She was just frozen with a petrified look on her face. It was like she was a statue or something. Vee turned her head to her girlfriend and approached her.

"Dani, your mom is petrified. I think you should go comfort her," Vee suggested.

"Comfort her? Hell no! It's that manipulative, life-controlling hypocrite's fault we're in this mess in the first place!" Dani replied vehemently, "After everything she's done to my life, I'd rather rot in here for eternity than ever speak to her again, let alone comfort her!" she said in huff, folding her arms.

Vee then had a sad expression on her face. Despite only knowing her for a few months, Vee would say she had good relationship with her own mom. However, the basilisk knew that there were some kids, like Dani, that didn't have good relationships with their parents. Some kids even preffered not to talk to their parents at all once they became adults. Some kids even had parents that wanted nothing to do with them, which made Vee wonder why those people even became parents in the first place. Some parents even went so far as to physically or emotionally/psychologically abuse their kids, beating their kids to the point of... well, Vee preferred not to think of end results of that.

"Dani?" they heard a voice call out to the MCH leader. "Over here."

Dani and Vee looked over to the neck of the hourglass. On the other side was a man wearing a business suit, though the suit seemed to be worn out, wrinkled, and falling apart at the seams. The man also had a long, thick beard. Dani looked at the man with surprise.

"Dad?" Dani cocked an eyebrow with a tilt of her head before she and Vee ran over to him. "What are you doing here?"

"I don't know. One minute, I'm doing my work for the family business, and then the next, this purple guy showed up and said I was a security risk. The next thing I know, I'm here in this hourglass," Mr. Chang explained.

"Djinn," Dani and Vee said in unison, glancing at each other for a brief second.

"I'm glad to see you and your mother. I knew you guys would find out I was missing and come save me. I never gave up hope" Mr. Chang smiled.

"Heh heh. Yeah, we totally came to save you, dad," Dani with a nervous grin, going with her father's assumption. In reality, she had no idea her dad was missing. She couldn't believe she tricked by a stupid voicemail. "How long have you been here, dad?" she asked, noticing the length and thickness of the man's beard. Last time she saw him, his face was shaved.

"I'm not really sure. Last time I saw you, you were just starting to read chapter books. You've grown so much since then..." Mr. Chang gave a small smile before realization hit him, "Oh god... I've missed so many of your birthdays..." he muttered with tears filling his eyes. Dani watched as her father covered his eyes with a hand, the man breaking down in sobs, "I'm so sorry, Dani. I wasn't there for you when you needed me," he looked his daughter in the eye, "I know I wasn't a good father to you, but there wasn't a day that went by that I didn't think about you, princess," he said while sobbing, pushing his arm through the neck of the hourglass which was narrow and fist-sized.

Hearing this, tears formed in Dani's eyes as well.

"Aw, daddy," Dani reached for her dad's arm, touched at the man's words as she started to cry with him.

Seeing the father and daughter cry their hearts out, Vee turned her attention to Mrs. Chang. The woman was still frozen in her trance. Letting Dani have her moment with her father, Vee walked over to Mrs. Chang.

"Uh, hi, Mrs. Chang. It's me, Luz. You probably don't remember talking to me on the phone at camp. I'm Dani's "first" friend," Vee introduced herself. However, Mrs. Chang had no response, "Uh, you know... Dani's one of the smartest and bravest people I've ever met. She's a good person that I think you'd be proud of... even if she doesn't always listen to you," Vee told her.

Still, no response.

"Besides me, she's made four other friends. She's even the one that started our club, the Magical Creature Hunters of Gravesfield- or the MCH for short. She's often the one that we turn to for leadership. I mean, why not? With that headstrong determination, that confidence, that loyalty... that cute smile, cute hair, cute dress, that cute face she makes when she's giving tarot reading," Vee trailed off during the latter half of those compliments which were more like all the things she found attractive about her girlfriend in a lovestruck trance.

Vee quickly shook her head, snapping out of it. The basilisk cleared her throat.

"What I'm trying to say is Dani may not be the obedient honor roll student you wanted but she's still amazing and your daughter. Can't that be enough?" Vee asked.

After however long of getting nothing out of her, Mrs. Chang finally spoke.

"Who are you to my daughter?" the woman asked.

Vee blushed and looked away. "That's something she should tell you herself."

Finally out of her state of shock, Mrs. Chang noticed Dani with her father. She looked over to Vee, who nodded. Mrs. Chang walked over to her husband and daughter.

"Evelyn, I've missed you. Oh, you're still so beautiful." Mr. Chang said, smiling happily at his wife.

"And you're, ahem… healthy, Raymond," Mrs. Chang replied stiltedly with an awkward grin.

In reality, like Dani, Mrs. Chang had no idea her husband was missing as well. She was disgusted at the sight of her husband's raggedy appearance, but she'd keep that to herself.

"Danielle..." Mrs. Chang called her daughter's name, the girl looking over her shoulder at her, "I've never done this before, so I'm not very good at it, but... your friend told me about some of the stuff you did and after hearing that, I just want to say... I'm sorry," Mrs. Chang said.

Dani blinked at that. Did her mother just apologize?

"I'm sorry for controlling your life all these years. If we get out of here and somehow defeat that genie, I promise to give you the space you need from now on," Mrs. Chang said, one hand slightly raised while the other was on her own chest.

Dani stood there in surprise. Did her mom seriously just apologize? That being the case or not, Dani furrowed her brows.

"As much as I liked hearing that, I... I can't accept your apology," Dani faced away, "Not yet anyway,"

Mrs. Chang hung her head in slight sadness.

"Guys!" Vincent said, cutting the family moment short, "I think we've found a way out," he told them.

"You serious?" Dani looked at the group's scientist.

"Yes." Vince opened his notebook, showing a sketch of the hourglass, along with various mathematic calculations, "If we can strike the hourglass' weak point with enough magical force, it should break and set us all free," Vince explained. Behind him, Lance and Beth were holding their heads as if they headaches… which they did.

"Dude, I never want to see another plus sign for as long as I live," Lance groaned.

"Same here," Beth said in agreement.

"So, where's the weak point?" Dani asked.

"The neck of the hourglass," Vince said, making Mr. Chang retract his arm and step back a little.

"But the only source of magic we have is..." Dani started, looking at Vee.

The basilisk sighed, knowing this was the only way.

"Lance give me the wand," Vee told her rich friend.

"Alright. I have a better aim with guns and crossbows anyway—and I don't just mean in video games," Lance said as he pulled the wand out and handed it to Vee. He saw the looks his friends gave him, "My grandpa takes to firing ranges and skeet shooting whenever he visits… which is rare," he informed them.

Vince Marked the spot that needed to be struck. Vee bent the wand until the battery attached to it cracked. She aimed the wand at the marked spot and broke the battery which shot a ball of magic at the spot, hitting it. At first it did nothing, but then...

*crack*, *crack*, *crack*... *BOOM!*

The glass shattered.

In that briefest of moments when the hourglass cracked open like an egg, a question occurred to Vee: how exactly were they supposed to survive in the unbreathable vacuum of outer space? She knew of a few magical creatures that she could transform into who had the ability to survive without oxygen, but none who could simultaneously shelter everybody else. Indeed, as they were collectively ripped off their feet and thrust out, it appeared that in their haste they had sealed their own doom.


Chang Industries…

Vee fell flat on her face, her nose buried in a carpet, the hum of electric lights in her ears. Woozy, Vee lifted her head to find herself back in Mrs. Chang's office, surrounded by the woman, her husband, and her friends, all splayed on the floor. Standing over them, on Mrs. Chang's desk, was a freshly punctured snow globe surrounded by glittery water that dripped onto her sock. Vee gaped at the tiny object.

"We—did we—were we in…" Vee couldn't finish the insane sentence.

"Haha! My hypothesis was correct!" Vincent said, fists raised in triumph. "Math is power!"

"Ugh, my head, what happened?" Mr. Chang groaned, rubbing his head.

The Alexa on the desk chimed and answered, "You escaped from a magical pocket and may be suffering from interdimensional aftereffects. Would you like to learn more?"

Mr. Chang's eyes sparkled at the smart device. "Aiya! Who said that? What is this miraculous machine? How long have I been gone? How far has technology advanced? What is this?!" he demanded, hysterically waving a random object.

"That's a pen, dad. Take it easy," Dani said.

"Oh. So, it is."

"The vault is in the basement," Mrs. Chang offered delicately, almost like she was afraid to speak, a stark contrast to the mean boss they'd met a few minutes ago. "But you'll never make it. If Djinn really has taken over, then there's bound to be magical traps in the way."

"We can handle him, mom," Dani replied a bit too harshly and stomped toward the exit. "What are you even scared about? Djinn needs you alive to keep him free. Just stay here if you're too afraid."

The insult silenced Mrs. Chang. She wilted and watched her daughter go, without any more protests. Her husband gave her a quick kiss and said, "She needs time. Don't worry, Evelyn, I'll keep her safe," and went after their child.

Vee tensed at her girlfriend's anger. Even though Mrs. Chang was clearly regretting her past actions, Dani couldn't let it go. The basilisk regarded the broken woman with sympathy before following the MCH and Mr. Chang. They stepped out of the office and entered a private elevator with a TV and Chinese decorations.

"Dani, I think you should give your mom—" Vee started to say but her words were drowned out by Djinn's face appearing on the TV.

"Heed my word, puny mortals," the genie growled. "There is a new head wearing the crown of Chang Industries. Today marks the beginning of my conquest, none of you shall rest until my influence is felt across every square inch of this world. All will fall to my glory! AHAAHAAHAHAAH! Also, Casual Friday is canceled!"

The TV shut off and annoyed groans about Casual Friday could be heard throughout the building.

"Chang Industries?" Mr. Chang remarked. "Your mother really expanded while I was gone."

"Uhhh, Djinn does know that this is a company not an empire, right?" Beth asked.

"Actually, businesses in today's economy are strikingly similar to ancient kingdoms and are mostly run on a variant of the feudal system," Vincent pointed out. "If Djinn did expand this company to world-wide status, corner the right markets, squash the competition, buy enough politicians, it would be the equivalent of world conquest."

"Totally," agreed Lance. "My family owns only an eighth of the world and I'm basically a modern-day prince."

Beth blinked. "Why is that a thing? That shouldn't be a thing."

"Ugh! Come on, you stupid— Why won't you go?" Dani snarled as she punched the elevator button marked with the letter B over and over. But the machine wouldn't comply. Her dad took her gently by the shoulder.

"Calm down, princess, the basement level requires a fingerprint scan." He slid open a panel under the buttons and pressed his thumb to the screen hidden there. Green lasers rolled over his finger, only for purple smoke to leak out and a red "ACCESS DENIED" message to flash. "Aiya, that's not supposed to happen."

"Djinn must've already sealed it with his magic so nobody can get down there," Dani said.

"Is there another way? Stairs? Service entrance?" Vincent asked.

"No, this is the only way," Mr. Chang answered.

As they all talked amongst themselves, trying to solve the problem, the purple smoke passed Vee and her nostrils flared. Magic, as sweet and savory as her strawberry-pop-tart-sancocho sandwiches. She got an idea. Making sure none were looking her way; Vee hunched over the finger scanner and opened her mouth. It was suddenly like she'd become a black hole and every wisp of smoke was siphoned down her throat. Vee felt the magic in her body replenish itself an ever so tiny amount.

Ding!

The scanner flashed a thumbs-up and the elevator began to descend. Everybody stopped pitching solutions.

"Oh, I guess it fixed itself," Mr. Chang said.

Dani, though, noticed a trickle of purple float out of Vee's nose. She put two and two together and softly gasped. "Did you eat that magic?" she whispered.

Vee stifled a gag. "Uh, yeah, I figured it might work. Yuck, genie magic tastes smoggy. How is smoggy even a taste?"

"Oh my gosh, do you know what this means?" she looked Vee in the eye and beamed. "Nǐ shì wǒmen de mìmì wǔqì. (You are our secret weapon.)"

"I am?" It took a second but Vee realized the truth. "By the Titan, I am."

A second later, the elevator doors opened. Before them was a rather long hallway, at the far end of which stood a massive vault door like one would find in a bank. Other than that vault door the hall was empty, brightly lit, and remarkably free of danger.

"Huh, I guess there was no need to worry," Mr. Chang said and took one step forward. Immediately, the floor under his foot morphed into the head of a giant crocodile! The carpet beast latched onto the man's leg with its teeth and tried to drag the rest of him down its gullet! Screams of panic erupted as the MCH grabbed Mr. Chang's arms and pulled desperately. Vee scrambled under the crocodile and opened her mouth. The smoggy genie magic drained into her belly. Like a balloon losing its air, the croc deflated and the once voracious carpet harmlessly collapsed on Vee.

Everybody fell back in the elevator trying to catch their breaths.

"Okay, maybe we need to worry a little," Mr. Chang admitted.

"Right," Dani got to her feet. "We need to stick together and move slowly. Luz and I will take the lead, do not leave each other's side for an instant, we do this as a team."

The entire MCH readily agreed, Mr. Chang with a proud smile.

Dani scanned the room. There was no sign of Djinn or Meera. "Looks like nobody has noticed us yet. We need to get our hands on Djinn's lamp."

As Dani instructed, they moved in a clustered group with Vee at the front, ready to eat any magic that reared its smoggy head. They managed to get three steps into the hall this time. Then everything went wrong. Vee felt gravity suddenly pull her to the left and she fell sideways, smacking into the wall. Mr. Chang, Vincent, and Beth fell with her but kept going further than her, tumbling to the ceiling. In that moment, the wall Vee was laying on didn't feel like a wall anymore, it felt like a floor, as if the planet had shifted its gravitational field. When the disorientation had settled, she saw that the hall now had six surfaces instead of the usual four. On each one stood a member of the recovering group, isolated from the rest.

"So much for sticking together," Vee muttered.

Staplers burst from the ground in front of her, coming right at her head, snapping like hungry piranhas. She drained the magic out of them in half a second and the office supplies dropped, lifeless. Everyone else wasn't so lucky. The rest were being attacked by an onslaught of monsters made from common items you'd find in a corporate building. Slipping off her shoes, Vee jumped onto the wall next to her, her basilisk feet easily clinging to the surface. She sucked dry a snake made of long fluorescent bulbs before it could strike Dani.

"Thanks, I'll get to the vault," Dani said. "You save the rest." Vee nodded and jumped to the next surface. It was a kinda weird sensation, her inner ear insisted she was almost upside-down and even her hair was hanging away from her scalp, yet Lance was there next to her as if he was right-side-up and his only concern in the world was the golem made of roller-chairs that was about to crush him.

Vee made short work of that and sent Lance on his way. She repeated the process, stopping a tornado of sticky notes, a mummy made of memos, and a paperclip swarm. By the time she and Beth had made it to the vault, Vee was positively stuffed with magic.

Everybody panted next to their goal, trying to wrap their minds around what had just happened. The hallway was back to perfectly normal again. Two walls, one ceiling, one floor, and tons of office supplies strewn about, but not a trace of the magic mishaps they'd barely escaped.

"How did… Luz, how did you do all that?" Beth finally asked. Everybody else listened, eager to know.

Vee blanched. "Um, I, uh—" She shot a wordless plea for help at Dani. Her girlfriend's face fell and Vee knew she was disappointed in her.

"It was a spell!" Dani answered Beth, masterfully hiding the pain from lying to her friends, but Vee could still hear it. "A draining-spell actually. My aunt taught it to me, didn't know whether it would work or not. Lucky us, huh? Hehehe…"

Naturally, everyone was ecstatic to learn Dani had actually performed magic and heaped praises and questions at her feet. Dani was able to take it all in stride, but Vee could see the strain in the girl's smile. Vee had pushed her into this, all because she had been too afraid. Again.

"Alright, alright, we'll talk more about Dani's spell later," Mr. Chang said. "First we take care of the genie." He turned to the vault and typed a code into the keypad. A harsh beep told him he was wrong. "Huh, strange, coulda sworn it was our wedding anniversary."

"Too obvious, I changed it." Everybody whipped around to find Mrs. Chang.

"Oh, look who finally decided to join us," Dani grumbled with a heavy eye roll. "Let me guess, the code is the day you took over this company you love so much."

"Your birthday," Mr. Chang said morosely and typed in the date.

Click! The vault unlocked.

Dani went rigid for a moment, clearly not having expected that. She bit her lip and forced an angry face.

Grabbing the massive metal wheel at the door's center, Mr. Chang hefted the vault open. Inside were rows upon rows of metal boxes and documents, but at the center, shining under a spotlight was the mystical ring Vee once wore and a gold lamp embossed with indecipherable runes.

"Jackpot!" Lance cheered.

From the ring emerged Meera, who waved joyfully at Vee. "Master, you found me! Glorious! Come, you must hurry before Djinn realizes you are here."

Vee sensed something wrong but only after it was too late. Only after they all entered the vault did her nose detect the pungent odor of so much magic it made the hall traps look like cheap parlor tricks.

"It's another trap!" she shouted.

Too slow.

The vault door slammed shut behind them and locked tight. The lamp, the ring, Meera crumbled to sand. A wind carried the granules into the air where they solidified into Djinn, muscular arms folded, a boasting smirk on his blue lips.

"Not even an hour and you managed to get out," the genie cackled. "I must say that is impressive, Maaasteeer. Much more impressive than that fool I stuck in there."

"Djinn, what is the meaning of this?" Mrs. Chang demanded. "Why aren't the lamp and ring here as I wished?"

"Here?" Djinn asked mockingly. "Why would I hide them here? You wished those treasures to be hidden where nobody would ever find them. So, I did. HAHAAAHAHAAHAH!"

"Ooh, he's good," Mr. Chang said. "We should get him on our legal team."

Snap went Djinn's fingers and Mr. Chang was engulfed in purple smoke. The man vanished and a gold coin appeared in Djinn's hand. In the face of that coin could be seen Mr. Chang, silently pounding on the coin's surface as if it were his cell.

"Dad!" Dani cried. Her mom held her back.

"Enough child's play," Djinn said. "This time I think I'll imprison you all separately." Everybody scattered, screaming, searching for a way out, but there was none. Djinn languidly watched. He focused his red eyes on Vee, the only one who hadn't moved. Her legs trembled in pure fear so much that she fell back against the vault door. Djinn enjoyed her terror as he snapped Beth and Lance away. Their voices cut off mid-scream. This was a nightmare. Vee wanted to wake up, to get away, to flee, to—

Vee fell backward. She was back in the hall with the clutters of office supplies. "Huh? How the—What?!" She noticed that her body was see-through. "Am I… did I get so scared that I transformed into a ghost?"

"Vee! Help!" she heard Dani yell.

Quickly turning back to human, Vee punched in Dani's birthday and yanked open the vault. Dani dove through just as Vincent was taken by the smoke. Djinn floated after them, sneering.

"Amusing trick," he said, raising his fingers. "But not enough to save yourselves."

"Djinn! Stop!"

The genie lazily turned. Mrs. Chang was at the back of the vault, her suit ripped and her hair in a disarray, and angrier than Dani had ever been. "Say goodbye to your offspring, Maaasteeer," Djinn advised. "You won't be seeing each other ever again."

"I said stop!" Mrs. Chang raised two halves of a freshly broken wire. Behind the woman, an exposed electrical panel filled with nests of wires could be seen. A massive arc of electricity thundered between the ends in Mrs. Chang's hands.

Djinn tensed. "What are you—"

"You're only free for as long as I live."

"You wouldn't dare—"

Mrs. Chang brought the exposed ends dangerously close, another arc erupted and there was a tang of burning plastic in the air. Mrs. Chang furrowed her brow, "Let them go."

The demand made Djinn growl. His sights flicked back and forth and he worked his jaw. Vee could tell he was weighing his options. He could magic Mrs. Chang away from the wires, but was genie magic faster than electricity? Vee didn't know. Neither did Djinn. Furious, he spread his snapping fingers in surrender.

"Dani, listen to me!" Mrs. Chang called. "My office, corner furthest from the door, under the floorboards."

Both Dani and Vee were confused by that statement but it made Djinn grit his teeth.

Dani asked, "What are you—"

"Nobody would ever find it and it's the one place I'd never look. Go!"

The girls sprang to their feet and dashed for the elevator.

"Master, reconsider, please," Djinn begged, his mocking tone gone. "If you banish me, you will lose every wish I have granted you. Your family will go back to the gutters. Did you not build all of this for them? For her?"

Dani stumbled and looked back, stunned by what Djinn had said. Vee had to practically carry her girlfriend into the elevator and hammer the button. As the doors slid shut, Dani's wide eyes locked with her mom's.

The woman smiled. "I love you."

"I…" Dani's throat hitched. "I—" The doors closed. Motor whirred and gears grinded as they were carried up.

"Dani?" Vee asked gently. "Are you…"

"I'm sorry, Vee," she said, tears in her eyes, voice breaking. "This is all happening because of me. Dad didn't have to be part of the call, I was just stalling for time so I wouldn't have to— I kept arguing with mom, pretending to get angrier and angrier so I could avoid— Mom said she was sorry but I couldn't forgive her because then I'd have no excuse not to tell her…" She hugged Vee tightly and cried and cried and cried. "I waited so long and now she could be— Why couldn't I say it? Why is this so hard?"

Vee hugged her back, taking every sob and tear and ounce of regret. "We'll tell her together, her and your dad," she promised. "And then we'll tell Lance, Beth, and Vincent, together."

Dani had run out of tears by the time the elevator arrived at their destination. Vee walked Dani back into the office where this all began and followed Mrs. Chang's instructions to the far corner. A little investigation revealed a hidden panel that she pried out open with her nails. Inside they found the lamp and the ring… but also something they could have never predicted.

"Is that you?" Vee asked.

"It can't be…" Dani pulled out the stack of photos and shuffled through them. They were old, wrinkled, yellowing in the edges, and they were all of her and her parents, together, happy. One showed the entire Chang family around a birthday cake that burned a candle shaped like a six. "This isn't right. My parents didn't come to my sixth birthday, they haven't come to any of my birthdays, they were too busy. And where are we? That's not my house? Is mom not wearing a suit? This doesn't make any sense."

Vee slipped on the genie ring and Meera appeared.

"Meera, what is this?" she asked.

The genie sighed. "Djinn is one of the most powerful of our kind. He knows how to entice Masters to make wishes so grand they change the world. Promising one where all of their dreams come true, he tricks his Masters into leaving their old life behind."

Dani shuffled to another photo that showed her and her family posing outside a rusty trailer home with a dirty mailbox labeled "Chang." The prim and proper business style was nowhere in sight. Instead, they wore clothes so shabby they'd probably bought them in a thrift shop. Dani couldn't look away.

"You're saying this… used to be my life?"

An unsettling tremor shook the entire building and the lights flickered. "Uh oh, I think we're running out of time." Vee turned to Meera, "Quick, I wish Djinn was gone."

"I can't, Master. You must banish him with his own lamp."

Vee reached into the hidden compartment only for Dani to snatch the lamp first.
Her girlfriend stepped away, entranced by the lamp and the photos.

"Dani?" Vee started to follow her. "What are you waiting for? Make the wish—"

A column of purple smoke burst through the floor and became Djinn. Seeing the lamp in Dani's hands he quickly schooled his grimace and forced a submissive grin. "Ah, my new Master," he greeted Dani with an elegant bow. "I see you have discovered my handiwork. Yes, it is within my power to grant you the life you always wanted, one where your parents are always there. No more arguments, they will accept you, allow you to be who you are."

Dani didn't respond but she also didn't say no either. She only kept staring at the photos.

"Don't listen to him, Dani," Vee said cautiously. "He's just trying to trick you."

A snap of Djinn's fingers and wall of smoke blocked Vee from getting closer. Djinn leaned down to Dani's level, flashing his sharp teeth. "This time you can control your life, Master. You need only wish it…"

"...wish…" the word croaked from Dani.

"No!" Vee cried.

"Tell me, Master," Djinn crooned. "What do you wish?"

Dani clenched her fists, crinkling the photos, and glared spitfire at the genie. "I wish you'd shut up!"

Djinn jerked. Against his will, he snapped his fingers. Purple smoke flowed over his face and his mouth was gone. He clawed at the smooth skin that was left behind, grunting and moaning. Dani pointed dramatically at him.

"I wish you to free my friends and family!"

Again, his fingers snapped without him wanting to and her parents along with the MCH appeared in puffs of smoke. Dani thrusted the lamp at Djinn.

"And I wish you to live out the rest of eternity trapped in your lamp, never to return and to never serve another Master ever again."

A ray of powerful light fired from the lamp and struck Djinn in the chest. As if his magic had been stolen from him, he fell out the air and collapsed to the floor. Convulsing, sparks of many colors raced across his body. Galeforce winds lifted the genie into the air and flung open the lid of the lamp. Whatever Djinn was saying during all this, appeals for mercy, negotiating to serve at Dani's whim with no tricks, swears of revenge, were lost behind his missing lips. A cyclone of light dragged Djinn down into the lamp and he vanished. The lid shut with a clink.

Then everything was still. Absolutely still.

"Is it over," Vee dared to ask.

"Yes, Master," Meera answered. "He is gone."

The MCH tackled Dani in a group hug, congratulating her on victory. Dani, who looked shaken by the showdown, managed to smile. That is until her parents approached.

"Well done, princess," Mr. Chang said.

"Yes, Dani," Mrs. Chang added. "I'm so proud—"

Dani nearly knocked her mom off her feet with her hug. "I forgive you, okay? I forgive you!" she wailed. "Just don't ever do that stupid self-sacrifice thing again."

Tears brimmed on Mrs. Chang's lashes and she held her daughter, her husband joining the hug. The warm family moment moved everybody and Vee was glad that there was hope for Dani and her parents.

Then the office door burst open and a portly man wearing a suit waddled in. "Excuse me! Who the devil are you and what are you doing in my office?"

"Your office?" Mr. Chang asked. "This is my wife's company—" He stopped when he pointed at where the Chang Industries logo should've been on the wall. In its place was a foreign pyramid logo.

"Your wife's what?" the portly man scoffed. "You're trespassing in the office of the Head of Marketing of UniSwitch. Security!" He waddled out, arms waving.

Mrs. Chang sniffled at the sight of the new logo. "It's gone," she said. "It's really all gone. We lost everything."

Dani squeezed her. "No, not everything."

Taking in a shuddering breath, Mrs. Chang held back the tears and clung to all she had left. The Changs would have to rebuild but this time they would have help. Vee and the MCH would never abandon their friend no matter what, and it didn't hurt that Lance was god-tier rich. As long as they stuck together, the Changs were gonna be fine.

Vee turned to Meera. "I think we're done here. Meera, I wish for us all to go back to Gravesfield."

"Your wish is my command, Master." Meera waved her arms and they were all covered with smoke. Moments later they were gone.

"Right in here, these ruffians and their dirty children broke in," the portly man returned with several guards only to find the office empty. "Blast, where did they get off to?"

"They wished themselves to Gravesfield, Connecticut with the power of a genie," chimed the Alexa on the desk. "Would you like to know more?"

"Ugh, bloody contraption is broken."


Gravesfield…

After returning to Gravesfield, Mr. and Mrs. Chang, along with the MCH and Meera, gathered in front of their home. Sadly, the house they used to live in was due to Djinn's magic, which meant it reverted back to what it previously was. A crappy, run-down trailer home. Dani and Mr. Chang were disgusted at the sight of such a place. Did they actually live in this dump?

"No wonder you wished for a better life, mom," Dani commented with a cringed face.

"Yes, this is why," Mrs. Chang said, shuddering at the horrible memories of this place, "But don't worry, I'm sure we'll manage."

"Yeah, I can't stand to see you guys live in this place," Vee said then turned to her genie, "Meera, I wish the Changs had a nice house," she asked the genie.

"As you command, my master," Meera said with waves of her hands.

In a puff of pink smoke, the crappy little trailer had changed into a house. It wasn't a mansion like Lance's, not even close, but it was a nice two-story house. It was kind of like Vee's house, complete with a garage, backyard, attic, and basement.

"Ooh! Could you also wish us up some nice cars and cushy high-income, low-workload jobs?" Mrs. Chang asked excitedly while clapping her hands.

"Take it down a notch, Mom," Dani quickly rebutted, "The house is enough. Thanks," she smiled at Vee.

"No problem," Vee waved it off.

Dani approached Vee and took her hand, squeezing it lightly. She then faced her parents.

"Mom, Dad, there's something important I have to tell you..." Dani started. She looked at her girlfriend who nodded with a supportive smile. She inhaled deeply then exhaled, "Luz and I... are dating."

There was a brief pause from the parents.

"I missed your "kissing is gross" phase and now you're already dating? Where has the time gone?!" Mr. Chang said with a distraught tone, making the two girls giggle.

"That's so great, you two!" Mrs. Chang beamed, "Tell me, girls, when's the wedding?" she asked, making them blush.

"Mom, that's years from now! We're going at our own pace!" Dani groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose with her other hand.

Mrs. Chang rolled her eyes in amusement. She thought the lack of a wedding date was inefficient, but this was her daughter's life. She agreed to give Dani her boundaries and she was sticking to that agreement.

The young couple then turned to the rest of the MCH. It was the moment of truth. Dani kept her side of the deal, now it was Vee's turn. Vee swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Ok, you can do this, Vee. You have no magic to consume to maintain your disguise, so it's now or never," Vee muttered to herself. She opened her mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by Meera tapping her shoulder. The basilisk turned to the genie.

"Forgive me, master, I couldn't help but overhear. If you need to consume magic, I can give you all the magic you could want" Meera offered in a whisper.

"Really?" Vee beamed.

"All you have to do is wish for it," Meera winked at her master. Dani's jaw dropped in shock.

"I wish I had infinite magic," Vee told her genie.

Meera waved her hands. In a puff of smoke, the broken wand from earlier appeared in the genie's hand. She waved a hand over the wand, making glitter rain over it. When the glitter vanished, the wand was restored to normal, as it had never been broken in the first place. Not on that, but it had changed in color and material as well. It had changed from wood to a harder material that was a mixture of plastic and metal, changing from brown to white. The battery had changed from plastic to solid gold, and the battery bar symbol had changed to a green infinity symbol.

"A wand with infinite magic or you to consume. Unbendable and unbreakable," Meera presented the wand to her young master.

"Thanks, Meera," Vee smiled as she took the wand.

"Congratulations, Vee, you got what you wanted..." Dani said with a small smile, "You don't have to tell the others anything if you don't want to..."

Vee looked at her girlfriend with a straight face. She had been around Dani long enough to know when she was hiding her true emotions. The basilisk could tell her little action had hurt the girl she loved. She looked at the wand then at Dani. She glanced at the MCH for a brief second then back at Dani and sighed. No, this wasn't right. If Dani kept her side of the deal, the least Vee could do was keep hers. She put the wand in her pocket and approached the MCH, making Dani smile for real.

"Guys..." Vee began, getting their attention, "There's something important I need to tell you..." She braced herself for whatever would come next… and transformed.


And that's the end of this chapter. This chapter was co-written with my friend I Write Big.

Looks like Vee's finally done with keeping her secret from the rest of her friends. How will each of them take it though? Will they be like Dani and instantly be cool with it, feel hurt and betrayed, or somewhere in the middle? Only the next few chapters will tell.

And it seems the MCH have a genie on their side now. Well, Vee does at least. Don't worry, she'll only use Meera's magic if it's necessary, so it won't be OP.

A genie of the lamp and a genie of the ring with the former being evil. Yeah, feel free to guess where that idea from.

If you have ideas for future chapters or what creatures Vee and her friends could run into, feel free to message me or say it in review.

Remember to Read, Review, and Favorite/Follow.