Note: I do not own Mysticons. Also, the curse mentioned is the one that Tazma gave Zarya in "A Walk in the Park", so if you haven't seen that episode, I highly recommend that you do so. Also, this chapter was updated due to typos.

Zarya Moonwolf woke up to a soft chirp, and a paw touching her shoulder. She opened her eyes to see Choko sitting beside her, concern in his eyes. "What's wrong, Chokster?"

Choko gave one more chirp before looking at Zarya's arm. She followed the Foz's gaze, and she felt her heart stop when she saw a thin purple line on her arm. "No," she muttered to herself.

She forced herself to take some deep breaths to calm herself down. There was no way that it was the life-drain spell that happened nearly a year ago. Aunt Yaga reversed it, and there was no sign of the curse reappearing since the incident.

It's some kind of prank, Zarya decided. One of the others must have thought it would be funny to draw on her. Maybe it was either Em or Doug, since anyone else would decide to draw more than just a single line. Em or Doug, on the other hand, could have decided to play a prank, only to regret the choice and hastily leave after only drawing a single line.

As she took a closer look at the line, she realized that it wasn't marker, It was exactly the same line that appeared on her skin during the curse. And if that wasn't enough proof, her arm was beginning to hurt right where the line was.

Choko jumped off of Zarya's hammock and walked to the bedroom door. He looked right at Zarya before chirping once more, Zarya knew that he wanted Zarya to tell the others.

She thought about it for a moment before shaking her head. "I don't wanna worry the others, especially since they been through something like that already.". Arkayna lost family before when she saw her parents turned to statues, and she really didn't want to put her through that again. Piper was like a younger sister to her, and she already put the young elf through enough. Normally, she would go to Em, but when Zarya initially got the curse, Em blamed herself. She didn't know if Em still felt bad about the incident, but she really didn't want to risk re-opening that emotional wound.

She wanted to go to her mom, After all, parents were supposed to look after their kids, and she knew that no matter what her mom had planned today, she would drop everything to help. But after years of looking after herself, she wasn't used to running to a parent for help. Besides, Queen Goodfey may tell Arkayna, and she didn't want that.

Choko crossed his arms as he gave her a sharp chirp, which Zarya took as a scold. "I can handle it myself."

Choko said nothing, but the glare he gave Zarya made him think about what she said. She didn't understand why the curse was coming back, and neither magic nor research were something she considered herself an expert of, so finding new information would take a while. And if the curse was coming back, she probably wouldn't have much time to figure it out. As much as Zarya didn't want to admit it, she could use some help.

She thought about who she could ask. She couldn't go to Doug or Malvaron. Doug would not be able to keep a secret for long. And while it is possible for Malvaron to keep the secret, it was also possible that he chooses to tell Arkayna. And it's not like Zarya could ask Malvaron if he would keep the secret before telling him, or else he would get suspicious. Proxima may be able to help, though. She was great at research, and once she explains that she doesn't want Arkayna to worry, Proxima may agree to keep the secret.

Zarya quickly got dressed, ensuring that her arm was completely covered before leaving her room. She was glad that they had the day off training. She didn't know how she would hide the mark with the short sleeves of her Mysticon outfit. Just as she reached the kitchen, she saw Piper eating cereal while watching something on her phone. As soon as Piper saw Zarya, she smiled.

"Zarya!" Piper said. "Are you excited for the demolition derby to?"

Bugbears, Zarya thought. She couldn't believe that she almost forgot about the demolition derby. She and Piper had been looking forward to it for weeks. She wanted to cancel the plan, since she knew that curse would likely get in the way. It when she saw Piper's green eye shine with excitement, she couldn't bring herself to cancel the plan.

Zarya forced a smile. "Yeah. I have some stuff to do around this afternoon, but I'll be back in time to head to the stadium."

"I thought you said that it will be a relaxing day," Em said.

Zarya jumped. She didn't notice that Arkayna and Em were in the kitchen as well. They seemed to have just finished their breakfast.

"Kitty just glyphed me," Zarya said quickly. "The Pink Skulls are in town, and Kitty wants me to meet her at Magi-Mall."

Arkayna raised an eyebrow. "Magi-Mall? I didn't think Kitty went there."

Zarya's mind went blank. Of course they'd see right through the lie. Kitty was never a big fan of shopping malls, preferring small markets if she had to shop.

Em shrugged. "Makes sense to me. Kasey's birthday is coming up, and she probably wants to get a gift here."

Zarya grabbed a bagel and sat down with the others. "Yeah, and she wants me to help, since she's not used to the mall."

Arkayna smiled. "Sounds like fun." The smile seemed forced, and Zarya didn't know whether or not Arkayna completely believed her.

Zarya took a bite of her bagel as she looked at the other Mysticons. Em was cleaning up her dishes, and Piper was continuing eating her cereal. They both seemed to believe Zarya.

Zarya ate the bagel as quickly as she could and left the stronghold. A wave of pain washed through her arm, making Zarya grab it.

"I hope you can help, Proxima," Zarya said as she headed towards the Astromancer Academy.