A story that bit me and wouldn't let go. :)

Balan Wonderworld belongs to Square Enix. Jamie belongs to pokemonsora01. I only own Rachel.


Their Maestro Friend

Rachel sighed in relief when she got out of work. "Finally. A week away from this place," she said to herself.

Just then, her coworker, who seemed to always be angry, came charging out. "And where are you going?" She snipped.

"I'm done my shift and going home to start my vacation," the young woman said patiently.

"And who approved of your vacation?"

Rachel narrowed her eyes. "The manager did," she said firmly. "If you have a problem with it, take it up with her."

The other woman scoffed. "I don't know why they still keep you here," she said, her voice tinged with contempt. "You can't even attract a man with the way you dress. All you do is work, read, and do boy things."

The young woman looked at her coworker and sighed. "Have a nice day," she said and turned to walk away.

"Enjoy your vacation because when you get back, you'll be working for me!" The lady said snobbishly and in a singsong voice. "I'm looking forward to it!"

Rachel went to her car and drove away, but as she did, she felt tears come to her eyes. Ever since that lady had started working for the company, she had been rude to everyone and seemed to have it out for Rachel, who had done nothing but be nice to her. She sighed and headed for the school to go pick up Jamie, who was staying with her.

She pulled up to the school and saw the boy run out, the bullies on his tail. Narrowing her eyes, she got out of her car and walked towards them, but they still went after Jamie. One had just snagged his wrist to pull him back when Rachel grabbed the bully's wrist and pressed her thumb hard into the boy's wrist, making him cry out and let go as he tried to get her to release him, but her grip was firm. The other two looked at her worriedly and she glared at all three of them.

"Stay away from my brother," she said, her voice hard. "Or else."

She let the bully go. "Now, scram," she told them.

The three took off and Jamie looked up at his cousin/big sister, seeing her take a deep breath to calm down. He looked saddened. "Sorry, Rach," he said softly.

She turned to him. "What for?" She asked. "That wasn't your fault, bro."

"Yeah, but you look like you had a rough day at work. That snobby lady again?"

Rachel nodded. "Yeah," she said. "She's saying I'll be working for her when I get back from my vacation."

Jamie sighed. "The bullies tell me that they'll get me one day and you won't be there to help me," he said.

The young woman sighed. "Come on," she said. "Let's get home. We can get some pizza later for dinner."

He nodded. "That sounds good."

Later that afternoon, they were walking down the sidewalk when they saw a strange creature in the road up ahead of them and it was hopping in an odd movement. "What is that?" Rachel asked.

Jamie gasped at seeing a truck coming and the little creature wouldn't make it in time. Instinctively, he ran, ignoring Rachel's startled yell and dashing into the middle of the street where the creature had stopped and was chirping in fear. Quickly, he scooped up the small creature and a second later felt arms surround him and lift him up as someone dashed with them to the other side of the street. Horns honked as the truck driver stopped in shock and people began yelling at him for nearly hitting two people.

Jamie took a deep breath and turned to find Rachel behind him, as she had been the one to grab him and run out of the street. She sat up. "Are you okay?" She asked him.

He nodded. "Sorry, cous, but I just couldn't let this little guy get hurt," he said, holding up the creature.

It was blue and fluffy with small little nubs for wings and a beak and two bright eyes. It chirped happily and snuggled in Jamie's arms, making him smile and Rachel smiled too.

"I'd normally say something about dashing into the road like that, but you did save this cute creature," she said. "Just please warn me next time that you're going to do that."

"Okay," Jamie agreed.

The small creature jumped over to Rachel, who held it in her arms and she chuckled as it chirped at her cutely. "He's really friendly," she said. "I wonder if he's someone's pet."

"You think his owner's nearby?" The boy asked.

"I've never seen someone with this kind of pet before, but we'll have to ask around," the young woman said.

Suddenly, the creature jumped down from her arms and floated through the air a bit before hopping along the ground again and turning to look at them. Jamie cocked his head to the side. "I think...he wants us to follow him," he said.

The creature chirped and Rachel smiled. "Maybe he knows where he lives," she said. "Animals are smart that way."

The two headed off to follow, turning the corner and stopping in awe.

In front of them was a wooden building that looked a bit worn down. The two cousins looked at each other before looking back at the building. Rachel glanced up to see a sign that looked like it would have light-up letters. "B-A-L-A-N W-O-N-D-E-R-W-O-R-L-D," she read aloud. "Ba-lan Wonder-world." She paused. "Balan Wonderworld?"

Jamie moved closer to the doors and saw a floor sign, kneeling down to have a better look at it. It was a silhouette of what looked to be a tall figure with a wide Cheshire grin. "Maybe it belongs to this guy," he said. "It says 'Balan' on here."

Rachel came closer. "I don't think I've heard of this place before, or even seen it before," she said. "And believe me, I've roamed these alleys a lot."

"Really?" The boy asked. "Why?"

She shrugged. "Sometimes it was too noisy at the house with all the traffic going by, so I would come here for the quiet," she said. "And to help the homeless that live here. They're decent folks that have had a hard lot in life."

Jamie nodded before they saw the small creature hop up the steps and look at them before it somehow nudged the door open with its beak and chirped happily, hopping back to nuzzle Jamie's leg before hopping back to the door and looking at them. "You want us to go inside with you?" The boy asked.

The creature chirped and nodded, to the cousins' surprise, and headed inside. "Did that creature...just nod like he understood you?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah," Jamie said before stepping closer to the open door, peeking around it before looking back at her. "What do you think?"

She took a deep breath before looking at him. "Well, there's no way I'm letting you have all the fun," she said jokingly, making him chuckle. "Come on. Let's check this place out."

They went inside, coming to a hallway filled with posters. Jamie stopped at one and cocked his head to the side. "The Dolphin And The Diver?" He asked curiously. "I've never heard of this movie before."

Rachel pulled out her phone to check it out and cocked her head to the side. "Huh, nothing pops up in movies or anything," she said before taking a closer look. "Hey, maybe it's a live play."

"Must have been from a while back," the boy said. "But why isn't it listed on the internet?"

"I don't know," the older girl admitted as they looked at the other posters, seeing they weren't anything they had heard of before. "You know, for its outward appearance, in here actually looks pretty much brand new."

"Yeah, except for that," Jamie said, pointing to a mirror that was cracked.

Rachel gazed at it, seeing her warped reflection and the boy stood beside her, looking at his warped reflection too. The older girl suddenly noticed something behind her and gasped, whirling around in shock, but there was nothing there. Jamie jumped in surprise. "Rach? What's up?" He asked, wondering what had startled her.

She took a deep breath. "Someone was behind me," she said. "I saw their reflection in the mirror."

He blinked. "Are you sure?" He asked.

She nodded. "There was someone there," she said, looking around.

All of a sudden, a white top hat with a red hatband appeared on the floor right before their eyes before it began rising as something rose out of the floor, spinning rapidly as laughter filled the room until a tall being stood before them and bowed. His red and white suit looked like something a ringmaster of a circus would wear and his hair was a light sea green. "Welcome!" A voice said in a friendly way before the being raised his head, his eyes opening and his grin huge on his face as he observed the two cousins in front of him.

Jamie blinked before seeing Rachel instinctively move in front of him protectively, her face a look of surprise. The boy stayed behind her, not really sure about who this person was as the being straightened, his hat pulled down over the upper half of his face like a mask so that his golden eyes were in the red hatband.

Just then, the same creature Jamie had rescued came up to the tall being and chirped happily, hopping in place. The being smiled and scooped him up before seeming to listen and his eyes widened in surprise. "These two rescued you?" He asked.

The creature nodded and pointed a wing nub at the boy hiding behind the girl, chirping again. "I see," the being said, his smile growing. "We must help them then."

Rachel gently laid a hand on Jamie's shoulder and pushed him gently backwards. Getting the hint, he nodded and turned, breaking into a run and his cousin was right behind him. They ran to find the entrance and were about to open the door when two voices stopped them cold.

"That girl always saves her whimpy cousin," said the voice of the bully that had grabbed Jamie before Rachel intervened.

"I know and she really isn't needed at the office," said the voice of her coworker.

"Do you know how you're going to get rid of her, Mom?"

"Oh, I'll just talk to the boss about it. I'm sure he'll see things my way."

Rachel was shocked. "That bully is the son of my snobby coworker?" She asked in a shocked whisper.

Jamie looked nervous. "What do we do?" He asked in a whisper.

Just then, laughter broke out and both jumped, diving to the side into an open door. Seeing it was a closet, Rachel stood up and helped the boy up, pulling him inside and shutting the door, hoping it would keep them hidden until they could get out.

The lady and her son turned to find a tall being with a huge smile on his face and he turned to them. "Ah, volunteers!" He said happily before snapping his fingers, two cannons appearing in front of him. "Climb inside! Everyone's waiting to see the human cannonballs!"

The lady looked at him in horror. "Absolutely not!" She said in horror, grabbing her son's hand and quickly walking away, only to walk right into two policemen who held up handcuffs.

"Ma'am, we've been looking for you," one said. "You and your son are under arrest for trespassing and theft."

"What?!" The woman said. "We weren't trespassing! You can ask him!" She gestured behind her.

One officer looked. "Who?" He asked.

"That tall creep!" The lady said before looking over her shoulder and seeing he wasn't there. The theater was gone too. "But...he was right there! Along with that old building!"

"What building?"

"You're just trying to get out of trouble, but we got a call about you two trespassing at someone's home as they have a restraining order against you and your boss called us and said he found out you've been skimming money from the company," said the first officer. "He wants to have a word with you."

Rachel, who was listening to this through an open window, was surprised that the officers seemed confused about what the woman was talking about. She looked at her cousin, who looked at her in confusion before the officers left with the two protesting. When it was quiet, both breathed sighs of relief. "That was strange," the older girl said. "It was like they couldn't see the building."

"But how?" Jamie asked. "We were right here. How did they not see us?"

"Because I made the theater invisible to them."

Both let out startled yelps at hearing the voice behind them and they whirled around to see the same tall being smiling at them, his hands held up in the gesture meaning he meant them no harm. "The Tim you rescued saw that you two were bullied by that mother and her son and he was looking to guide you two here when you rescued him," he said.

"To...guide us here?" Rachel asked, calming down a bit.

The being nodded with a smile before bowing again. "Welcome to my theater," he said. " I am Maestro Balan, but you can call me Balan."

"Balan?" Jamie asked before blinking. "Wait...this theater is Wonderworld?"

Balan chuckled in amusement. "No," he said gently. "The theater is a portal of sorts to Wonderworld."

He kneeled down by them and reached out his hands to them for a handshake. Rachel took his right hand with her own left hand while Jamie took the tall being's left hand with his own right hand. Balan gently gripped their hands and stood up carefully, gently pulling the two cousins to their feet. "Thank you," Rachel said, straightening out her light jacket she was wearing.

"Yeah, thanks," Jamie said in surprise.

The tall being grinned again. "What are your names?" He asked.

"I'm Rachel," the young woman said. "And this is Jamie, my cousin/younger brother."

Balan's eyes lit up. "The Rachel and Jamie?" He asked, looking as excited as a kid on Christmas. "I've heard so much about you two!"

"You have?" Jamie asked in surprise.

"Oh, yes," he said. "I often go by the school to watch the children and I've heard a your art teacher say what a good student you are, Jamie."

The boy looked bashful and Balan looked at Rachel. "The homeless people often speak of you and your kindness to them," he said. "They call you an angel."

The young woman blushed, making the maestro laugh warmly before he suddenly vanished and appeared behind them, his long arms wrapping gently around the two cousins' shoulders. "Come," he said, guiding them down the hallway. "And don't worry. That lady and her son won't bother you two again."

"I hope so," Rachel said, frowning a little. "I don't like it when bullies bother Jamie."

She felt fingers wiggle into her side and she laughed, turning to escape when Balan wrapped his arm around her, his fingers scribbling over her sides to make her laugh more. Jamie chuckled before feeling the maestro tickle his sides and stomach with his free hand, his chuckles turning into laughter as Balan chuckled in amusement.

"That's better," he said, letting them up and they looked at him. He gently pinched the left side of Rachel's face and ruffled Jamie's hair playfully. "No more sadness now."

Rachel smiled and hugged him, to which he chuckled again and hugged her back. Jamie followed his cousin's example and hugged the maestro too, feeling the tall being hug him back. "Now, let's go enjoy the feast," Balan said.

"Feast?" Rachel asked.

Nodding, he led them to a set of doors and opened them to reveal a banquet hall and there were pizzas, fries, and other yummy-looking foods on the table. The Tims chirped happily as the tall being led the two cousins to the table and pulled out a chair for Rachel to sit down. "Thank you," she said, smiling at him as she sat down and he gently pushed the chair in for her. He then pulled out a chair for Jamie, who smiled.

"Thanks," he said, sitting down before they all began eating, Balan telling them stories and they telling him stories in return, the three of them laughing heartily as the Tims chirped happily, the one that Jamie had saved coming up to them and nuzzling the boy's shoulder in a friendly manner, to which the boy gently pet the Tim.

Seeing the two cousins were feeling better, Balan nodded with a smile while Rachel and Jamie felt better at seeing that they had a new friend who was there for them just like their other friends.


This one took off on me. :)

Please leave a review, but no flames! :)

GoldGuardian2418