Disclaimer: I don't own PJ Masks, Disney and Romuald do. I only own my OCs and mentioned places on this, except for Tarabiscoville.
Chapter 4: Sunlight holds problems, but does Moonlight?
Greg was painting and was holding himself against a tree. He doesn't know what happened that he was so agitated, he just had a feeling that something was wrong, that someone was in danger. He could still feel it, but he couldn't remember what happened before reaching the tree he was currently standing on.
Around him, tree pines were surrounding the place, and the sky was barely visible. The leaves that were scattered in the ground started to crunch as if someone was approaching Greg as if someone was running with hurry. Something was happening but Greg couldn't picture what it was. Was some kind of dangerous animal chasing him? Or some dangerous person? Only three persons that were qualified as dangerous came to his mind, and he shook his head to get them out of it. No, the paw-steps sounded near him, but suddenly they sounded as if they ran past him.
In the dim air sounded a different kind of screams, high pitched screams. Something was happening, and Greg didn't know what it was. Someone was terrified or hurt, and Greg couldn't do anything but listen while his heart pounded hard on his chest. He could feel the pain and horror these voices were experimenting. Someone they love just died. Greg felt a sudden grief, a grief he's only experimented once in his life.
Someone he cared about just died.
Out of nothing, he finds himself falling in which seemed like a cliff and going underwater. Help me! I'm gonna drown! I'm sorry! What was he sorry for? He didn't felt like himself, he felt depressed and scared. He felt as if something important was being left behind; Something important and someone important.
I'm sorry!
A hand grabbed him from the ankle and dragged him down, he looked down to the eyes of the person, deep as the raging water that was drowning him. The person talked.
I forgive you. But those soothing eyes transformed into a stare of pure anger and rage and started to drag him more violently; Greg yelped and all of his lungs were filled with water.
Horror surged through him...
He woke up screaming and moving his arms aimlessly just like in his dream, just that now he wasn't underwater, he was on his bed all sweated. He sat up, feeling strongly the hot atmosphere of his room and decided to open the window. Once he opened, he pocked his head out of it and felt the chill breeze on his sweated face; it was a nice feeling. Though when he opened his eyes, he spotted Connor's mother pacing to one side to another with her cell phone on her ear. I wonder what's wrong with her, she seems worried.
A knock on his door made him come back inside. He looked at the door and said: "Come in!"
The door opened and revealed the person who's been knocking on his door: Amaya. She was wearing a red t-shirt with light yellow stripes and dots on the edge of the sleeves, light blue shorts, and white sneakers. Her hair was in half up and half down style, which made her light brown highlights stand out. "Good afternoon, Greg." She laughed.
Greg looked at his nightstand clock which read 13 PM. He grunted. "I hate waking up late, which is hilarious 'cause I had a nightmare. Shouldn't I have woke up early?" He finally laughed, but a little freaked out of the nightmare.
Amaya laughed. "Probably," She closed the door behind her and sat on Greg's comfy iris yellow couch chair. "But what was your nightmare about?" She asked, though kinda suspiciously.
Greg raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "I don't know, it was weird. I was in this forest I never seen before. I heard yelling and people, or animals, running. They were all scared and desperate! And I had a feeling of fear and sadness and everything combined, then I fell into this strange looking water and someone started to drag me down... they were angry at me for some reason..."
Amaya looked thoughtful. "Do you have an idea of what could've caused that nightmare?" Greg only shook his head. Amaya proceeded. "Maybe you dreamed of a forest because we use to fight crime in the park, and maybe you dreamed of Connor..." She suddenly said, making Greg frown.
"What does this have to do with Connor?"
"Well, Connor is scared of water, and mixed with the feelings of Tuesday's afternoon..." She sighed. "Maybe we should've gone with him... I mean, he seems lonely and sometimes-" She was cut off by Greg.
"Well, he brought that to himself, he should've thought about the consequences of siding with a villain." He said, clearly hurt.
Amaya stood up and clenched her fists in front of her "Maybe we should give him a chance to explain-"
Greg, now sitting on his bed, interrupted Amaya's sentence."-To explain why he sided with Miss Masquerade, ruined Luna and I's relationship, helped to build the Great Masks War and lied to us about it for over a year with no intention of telling us ever?" Amaya only stared for a few seconds before looking away with a slight frown. Greg looked away too, hurt. "Yeah, I think it explains it by itself...he's a traitor."
Amaya sat on the couch chair again, melancholic. "We've been friends with him for so long... I just don't get why he would do it..." She slammed her fist on the couch. "I just wanna know why!"
Greg sighed and lay down on his bed. He put his arms in his chest as if it was aching as much as his heart. He didn't get why Connor did it either, and that hurt him the most. Connor's the person he most trust or trusted, so it didn't make sense for him to ruin things for everyone, yet again, when Connor first found out that him and Luna were dating, he stormed out and gave him an ultimatum to end it or else he couldn't be part of the team. In the end, Connor accepted it and told them it was okay for them to be together, even though he didn't like the idea. Maybe he still didn't like it and that's why he did it. Miss Masquerade was his way to end it all, surely? That's why he helped her too?
"Greg!" His mother yelled through the house. He's been so lost on his thought that he didn't hear anything around him for a few minutes.
"Yes, mom?"
"Someone's on the door, can you see who it is?" He approached his window once more and looked outside to see who it was. When he saw Miss Katrina on his door, he sensed that something was wrong. He remembered seeing her early pacing outside.
"Mom is Ms. Katrina!" He heard the bathroom's door open and steps on the hallway, and then Lina stepped into his room. Lina was a tall and slender woman, with lighter skin than Greg. Her hair was short, wavy and blonde, and she had beautiful reseda green eyes that matched with her natural long black eyelashes. She was wearing a Sea Moss shirt and light blue jeans. Her hair was wet, indicating that she just got out of the shower.
"Kat? Well- Oh, hi Amaya! -let's go and see what she needs." She headed downstairs, with Greg and Amaya following close behind. When both of them got to the end of the stairs, they heard how Lina opened the door to greet Katrina.
She faces Katrina with a smile "Good morning, Kat... what's wrong?" Amaya and he exchanged a look and then approached.
"Connor's gone! Missing!" She cried. Lina stood there shocked at that, then grabbed Katrina's hand.
"Come in, Kat." She said gently, leading Katrina to her kitchen. Greg closed the door and fastly joined them. Katrina was sitting on a chair and Amaya was handing her a glass of water. "Calm down and tell me what happened."
She took a sip and started talking. "Well, Connor told me three days ago that he was going to my mother's house to spend the vacations and well, you know how independent he is... he told me that he already called my mother and knowing he could handle himself properly, I believed him. Oh, why did I!? I should've checked! What kind of mother am I?!"
Lina sat in front of her and put her hand on Katrina's shoulder. "A mother that believes in her son. Now, how do you know he is not there?"
"W-well, this morning I called her to ask for Connor, and she told me he wasn't there... When I told her what Connor told me, she said that he never called! It's been two days, Lina! He never arrived!" She cried loudly, sobbing. "He never went there for starters! My baby!" Tears rolled down her cheeks, black because of her make-up.
"Have you tried calling him to his phone?" Amaya said softly, rubbing her back.
"I have!" She cried. "I have but each time it cuts off instantly! Oh, my baby!" She sobbed hard. "What could've happened to him?! Did he run away? Was he kidnapped? What if-" She gasped, scaring Lina and Greg at the same time. "No! That couldn't have happened!"
Lina hugged her and tried to comfort her. "Now now, Kat. Connor wouldn't let anyone touch him, or put himself in situations that could harm him, you know that... Connor is a clever kid, he is probably out there..."
Katrina pushed her slightly. "If he is out there, where!?" A small thought seemed to cross her mind. "He's been sad lately..." She stared at Greg for a second then back at the floor. "What if he left to... you know..." The thought scared her to death, but Greg bursting in so suddenly surprised everyone in the room.
"No! No, he couldn't have done that! He would never do that! That thought would never, but never, cross his mind!" Greg said. Amaya was staring at him surprised, his mother and Katrina were looking concerned, Katrina with a small sparkle of hope in her eyes.
A small thought crosses his head. Federico. Federico is the only one that has been talking to Connor lately, he surely knows something?
Amaya walked to Greg and stood by his side, facing Katrina and Lina. "Greg is right, Connor would never think of that. Greg and I are going to see if the others know something about Connor." She smiled softly to Katrina. "Why don't you call Fidelite and see if he is with Connor, or if he saw him?"
Katrina nodded and sighed. "Yes, I will do that..." She sobbed. "Please-" She looked at both of them. "-If you find out something about my baby, tell me... I cannot think that something happened to him, I simply cannot..." Greg and Amaya had pity for her.
"Don't worry, we'll tell you right away..." Said Amaya as they both exited the house. Greg closes the door, but keep his hand on the lock.
"What if she's right though?" Amaya stared at him worried. "What if something bad happened?"
"Greg..."
He shook his head. "No..." He whispered to himself soothing words and thought. If something ever happened to him, I don't think I'll ever forgive myself. He let go of the door knock. "Come on Amaya, Federico must know something about Connor."
Amaya followed him without a word.
-At Federico's-
"You look as if someone had died. What happened?" Federico said, handing them soda.
"Connor's mother came into my house, she found out that Connor left but not to his Grandmother's. She doesn't know where he is." Greg said. He sighed and tried to think that nothing really bad happened and that Connor was just out there fulfilling his duty.
"Don't you? He told me he tried to talk you into the mission but turned him down." There was a small cold tone coming from Federico, like a small frost, but Greg let it pass; right now that wasn't important.
"He didn't tell me where he was going!"
"You probably didn't give him a chance to tell you." Federico accused.
Greg scratched his head knowing that that was true. He went for the point. "Whatever. Do you know where he is?"
"Yeah, he texted me yesterday. He was going to Milennia Town but seems there was an accident on the route and he had to take another way. He stopped in a place called Courant City. I'm sure that by now he already arrived at Milennia Town." Federico said, showing Connor's texts to Amaya and Greg.
Amaya looked up. "Then we are heading there," She said to herself. "We should've have gone with him in the first place." Greg looked away as if everything that was happening was his fault, and it was. If he hadn't turned down Connor, none of this would've happened, but if it did, then it would've happened another way. Either way, everything was his fault and he couldn't stop thinking about it. He sighed.
"Let's go with Riley and Silver and tell them." He looked at Federico, who was scratching the black nail polish from his nails. "Meet us at HQ tonight to leave."
Federico looked at him in the eyes, then looked down once more, looking how he was scratching the nail polish. "Fine, but try not to be so stubborn on the way."
Greg felt offended by Federico's words. He was being cold to him, which was kind odd knowing the boy. He was gonna say something but bit his tongue and kept it to himself; he didn't need more trouble, they didn't need more trouble. He only scoffed and head to the door with Amaya, Federico behind them.
Federico opened the door and let them pass. "See ya tonight!" He greeted.
"See ya!" Said Amaya.
"See you tonight, Federico." Greg waved.
"See you, Greg." Federico said, half-heartedly before closing the door. Greg ignored the sinking feeling he was experimenting and left, texting Silver and Riley on the way.
"Poor Miss Katrina, she's a good woman... She doesn't deserve to be worrying so much." Said Silver, with a pitiful voice for the woman, and an angry one for her last statement. They were all in the park, talking about what happened at Greg's house two hours ago and what Federico told them about the mission Connor left for.
"Sooo, Connor left to an unknown town for a mission which we don't know what it's about and you want us to go after him because he made his mother upset after lying to her? In my point of view, Greg, that is not our problem." Riley said.
Greg scratched the back of his head. "Well, it kinda is our problem too..." Riley and Silver shared a look and looked questioningly at Greg. "He asked us to go with him... but I refused... so we kinda knew about it..." He laughed nervously.
Silver shook her head annoyed and Riley facepalmed and sighed; he looked at Greg. "So if something happens to him then it's on us, great." He made a fake smile and extended his arms. "That means we are going on a trip, woo-hoo! So much fun." He said with sarcasm. Looking serious as always, he proceeds to ask Greg: "Does Federico know we are going?
Silver replied bitterly. "He just told you that Federico was the one who knew all of this. Thanks to him is why we are going." She blamed Federico, and Amaya was about to answer to that sharp response, but it was Riley who answered first.
"It's not Federico's fault, Silver, Connor should know better than to do that."
Amaya spoke now, with her arm's crossed. She looked from her peripheral vision to Greg. "It's not Connor's fault either."
Greg only sighed. "Let's just go, not like we have another option, and talking about past decisions won't change the situation either." He said tiredly. His day wasn't going exactly how he thought it would. He woke up late -a thing that he hated- and the nightmare he had just made it worse, but the fact that they need to go and clean up Connor's mess made everything just so frustrating. Couldn't he make a better excuse?
Silver huffed. "Fine. Let's just hope that Federico isn't too much of a nuisance, the 'Connor' subject makes him annoying. Oh wait, nevermind, he's always annoying." Greg knew what was going to happen next, so he covered his face with his hands grunting.
Riley shot her a death glare. "You complaining about everything couldn't be worst than Federico. He's at least positive about things, unlike you who are always bringing bad energy to people."
"Did you got mad because I talked stuff about your crush?" She said, clearly mocking Riley, which made him mad than he already was. Both started arguing about Federico and at some point, which Greg wasn't sure when it was, they trailed off and started arguing about stuff that wasn't even related to Federico, the mission or Connor.
"We'll meet at HQ." Was the only thing Greg said and left with Amaya walking by his side.
"Today is a very moody day, huh?" She seemed tired and worried at the same time.
Greg nodded without looking at her. Connor... why did you do that to us...?
Greg was mad at Connor, yeah, but he was slightly mad at himself. His proudness is what caused all this in the first place, maybe he should've listened to Connor? Ugh! This was all his fault, it always was! He seemed to have a thing with making people feel terrible. He wished it could be the other way around.
He felt a hand grabbing his arm and realized that he was almost going to cross in a green light. He looked at Amaya who had a worried expression. "Are you okay...?" She was rubbing his arm comfortably.
Greg frowned. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Amaya didn't even flinch at Greg's response. "Because you are crying."
Greg changed his expression to a stunned one. He rubbed one side of his face, touching his cheek and eye and realizing that they were both wet. He sobbed slightly and proceed to clean his face with the sleeve of his sweater. He looked straight forward and ignored everything for the rest of the way. He hoped that all of this would end up soon, he hoped that all of this would drown deep into his memory and never think of it again. He wanted this 'mission' to be over.
A few hours before, in Milennia Town...
Connor stood there shocked holding the crystal cat in hand. He was making sure that he didn't mishear what Hope just told him. Did they have the same crystals? Well, that was his cue. These kids are surely the ones he is looking for.
He shook his head slightly. "Sorry, I don't think I heard you well. A crystal? Like this one?" He said, showing the three of them the crystal cat. Hope was gonna answer but Unità stood in front of him and cut him off.
"Well, not exactly like that, duh. But they are all animals and they are all made of crystals, just like yours! But we don't have them here to show you, hehe..." She said, rubbing the back of her head when she ended. Hope behind her was looking annoyed at Unità, and Connor had sympathy for him. He approached Hope, and when Hope realized, he slightly jumped with a small blush.
Connor asked. "Why don't you carry it around with you? Those things are valuable." Hope looked at him for a few seconds without not knowing what to answer, then he shook his head and answered stuttering.
"W-well, those men you just, uh, beat up tried to, uh, stole them from us..." He then said something under his breath and Connor couldn't listen to what it was.
"Sorry I didn't hear you..." He said.
Hope let out a small gasp, barely heard. "Sorry, I-uh, I said that we hid them in our..." He looked at Unità as if he was waiting for her approval. She rolled her eyes and nodded. He looked at Connor once more. "...in our hideout..." Hope was holding his own hands, and brushing his thumb on his index finger. Connor smiled slightly, this boy reminded him of the first time he met Greg. Greg wouldn't even say a word, or if he did, he did it nervously and stuttering.
"May I see them? 'Cause I'm pretty sure we are meant to do something with them." He said to the three of them, smiling while shaking with his hand the crystal cat. Unitâ and Vita nodded vigorously, while Hope nodded gently.
"Follow us!" Unità said. He got a hold of his Rover again and carry it with him, while Vita came to hold his hand again.
Hope was closely walking to the side of his Rover, at the same time he was inspecting it. He put his hand on it, and then Connor's rover started shaking. Connor looked shocked and then at Hope, Vita hid behind him and Unità looked at Hope.
"What did you do?!" She said.
"I-I did nothing, I just touched it!" He said, his voice cracking.
The Rover now was shaking crazy, the lights turned on and off. Some of the buttons that it had in its panel were pressing themselves as if someone were pressing them. The compartment that had Connor's stuff opened and closed, and the rover moved backward and onwards. The light blue markings it had started glowing, and the eyes of the cat that were the front lights, instead of glowing bright yellow glowed bright blue; a really bright blue. Then it went off.
They all stared at the Rover expecting for something to happen, but nothing did. Vita and Unità looked at Hope questioningly, so did Connor. The skinny boy was shaking crazy with tears in his eyes: "I swear I did nothing, I just, I just," He swallowed. "I just put my hand on it!"
The Rover turned on again and this time a cat's hiss was heard. From the crystal cat that Connor had, a lightning bolt hit the Rover, and the blue light started circling it. They all stepped back slowly. Connor had a small idea of what was happening but didn't know why.
"Be careful!" Vita yelled, and the blue light that circled the Rover head straight to Hope. Connor gasped and run to his help, but the blue light parted in half, and one went back into his collar, and the other circled a very frightened Hope. The way it went back into Connor's crystal cat made Connor fell backward. He sat instantly to see that the other blue light started to change colors.
It changed to deeper blue, then at a violet, then at a light pink, then to all the colors; it was like a rainbow. All the lights shot to the moon and started spinning not so far above them, rounding the shape of the moon. At some point, they turned white and the lights were becoming too bright for their sights. Hope was gripping into Connor so hard, that he thought that the little boy would misshape his arm.
Connor heard a boom above him and the white light became light orange, lilac, and yellow. The lilac and yellow lights head another way, and the orange went down again and headed directly to Connor and Hope. Connor hugged the little boy embracing for the impact, and when it hit them, Connor felt as if he was being taken away from his body and becoming part of the light; but that didn't happen. When Connor opened his eyes, he was still sitting on the ground, gripping into something that was no longer there.
"It took him! It took him!" He looked at Unità yelling desperately and signaling the light.
Vita burst out from behind her. "The light took Hope!"
Connor realized frantically that he was gripping into nothing because Hope was no longer in his arms. He stood up instantly and took from his Rover his helmet and his old one with the cat ears, from the compartment. He put them into the girl's heads and sat them in his Rover, shortly after he sat in it too. "Grab tight!" He felt Vita gripping into him, and when Unità told him they were ready, he drove.
"Where are you?" He said to himself. Just behind a few houses, behind the slope that covered the houses, he saw a flash of orange light and sped up. "Don't worry Hope, we are coming!"
The moment Hope saw the light coming at him, it was the moment he knew everything was terrible. He wanted his parents, he wanted Big Brother with him. He missed them dearly and wished he could've been able to do something the moment he saw someone taking them forcibly into the big white truck. He was gonna follow them, but Big Brother's expression told him not to. Oh, how much he wished he would've. If he would've done it, he probably would be with his family, and this strange, stinging light wouldn't have kidnapped him right now.
He was so scared, he felt like screaming of fear, maybe cry too. I want my parents, I-I want Big Brother! He was surprised that his thoughts were echoed around the light, which was an empty sparkly orange place; he was floating in it.
He felt a feeling of care and love, and a soothing voice echoed. Don't worry, Hope. Everything is gonna be alright. I'm not gonna harm you.
Hope hugged himself, feeling scared. Y-you are not...? Who a-are you?
The stinging feeling of before now felt smooth and relaxing against his body, as if it was reassuring him; it reminded him of his mother's hugs. The name's Crash, my boy, but not let this be our first meeting. I shall see you again in dreams, but do not be scared, this is gonna be alright.
Hope was still scared, but not as much as before. I want Connor! His voice suddenly echoed. The need of being with the really tall brunette boy was intense, Hope felt safe with him, Connor made him feel at home, he reminds him of home.
I know you do, my boy. He's here to help you, belief. The stinging feeling came back again, but it didn't last long when the lights flashed into his eyes and he flew out of it, crashing against something big and soft at the same time.
Connor wouldn't be so frantic if it were one of his friends being taken away by a light like those, he knew that those were spirit animals. But this were kids he just recently met, and one of them being taken away by an orange light in a place he's never been before, yeah, it freaked him out. The thought of the light dropping the kid was one of his fears, other, the thought that the kid would be taken away and he wouldn't be able to find him. The feeling of protecting these kids was strong, the feeling of keeping them safe.
He slowed down when he reached the slope and stopped. He turned the Rover off and jumped off it, then grabbed the girls and sat them on the ground. They took their helmets off and they all raced up the slope. When they reached the top, they looked down to the hill that extended into the forest. He saw the orange light circling a small rock ahead of them and Connor raced down, tripping and falling in the process, with the other girls behind him. He stood up without shaking the grass on his clothes and raced for the light.
"You stay there!" He yelled at the girls while running. The light exploded, sending him flying away a few meters and landing with a loud thud. His back ached crazy, but he ignored the pain and sat up on time to see the orange light expulse Hope from it. The boy was sent flying to him, and Connor opened his arms in time to catch him. Hope opened his eyes and as soon as he did, he put his arms around Connor and Connor put his around the boy protectively. Hope was shaking madly and Connor looked at him then at the light.
The rock the orange light was circling had a weird shape. It was like a spike coming from the ground, but it's point wasn't a peak, it was flat. It had two spikes coming from the sides with the same end, and the rest of the rock was jagged. It had weird markings as if some kind of animal with claws made it.
"Connor, look out!" He heard Vita say, and he turned around to see the Lilac and Yellow light from before coming straight at him. He turned around and his back faced them, all of his body over Hope, protecting him. The two remaining lights passed him with the speed of a lightning, creating a strong wind to stroke them both. The Lilac light rounded the left spike that peaked out of the side of the rock, and in there, it deposited another crystal like his, but Lilac, with an animal he has seen before but couldn't remember the name.
The Yellow light went on the right side, to the spike that piked from that side. It circled the spike a few times, and as it did, the spike's markings started to glow utterly yellow. After that, with a small boom, the light deposited a yellow crystal Caracal on top of the spike. It was shining, and Connor felt as if he was hearing roars.
Now the Orange light from before circled all the rock, from it's bottom to its top, making the marks also glow, but instead of Yellow, Orange. It deposited on the top of the main spike, the one from the center, another crystal. This was Orange, and Connor didn't think he ever saw the animal the crystal was supposed to be. It was small and had pointy ears, also a large muzzle with a round nose on the tip.
Now the three lights circled once more the rock, and it started to lift from the ground, making the whole area shake. The lights stopped and stood there as if they were looking at the lifting rock and expecting something to happen. Then, they flew to Connor's direction once more.
The Orange one embraced Hope once more, separating Connor's from him harshly. The Lilac one embraced Vita and lifted her up one meter from the ground. The Yellow one did the same to Unità. As soon as they did that, they all finished and headed for the moon, dancing around it for a few more times before disappearing with a loud boom.
When the kids were deposited on the ground, Connor ran to Hope and carried him to the side of the girls. He was about to ask them all if they were okay but noticed a ring in each of them. Hope had an Orange one with the face of the same animal the crystal was based on. Vita had a Lilac one, similar to Hope's but with some lighter markings on the sides. Unità's ring was the same as Vita's.
They all looked behind Connor and Connor did too, the rock that was lifting started glowing of the three said colors the crystals were. It started to break, forming a light show in the place, Connor was scared that thing would explode and sent rocks flying all around. But it didn't, it exploded and the remainings of the rock dissolved, replacing it with a huge crystal similar to the one back in HQ.
On the bottom of the crystal was a Caracal, sitting gracefully with its head up and chest inflated, proudly showing. On the center at the top of the Caracal's head, was a Bandicoot, now that Connor remembered. It was sitting there, between the ears of the Caracal, with his head facing one side with its eyes closed. In the top, there was Chinchilla, also as Connor's remembered; It was sitting, like the Bandicoot, but the tail was fluffed and was looking straight at him with its eyes shining.
"What is that?" Vita asked, clearly impressed. The Crystal was deposited on the ground with a loud thud and was there.
"It's a crystal, a magic crystal," Connor said, without taking his eyes off it. He looked at the Crystal, then at the rings, the kids have. They were now white, because they lacked power, and Connor knew exactly what was meant to happen. He knew exactly why the Crystal was there, and why he was called to do this. He knew it all. "Kids, come over here, there's something I need to tell you."
The three looked at him, then at the Crystal, then back at him. They all approached, listening carefully to what he had to say. Now that they've seen it all, they knew that Connor was no ordinary teenager. Not like they thought he was before since they saw him using powers, but they wanted to mess around with him a little bit and since this all happened, maybe messing around wasn't the ideal. They needed to listen to him.
Connor sat on the ground, and so did the kids. He had his legs crossed, and the kids imitated him. "This may be hard to believe for another person, especially if I'm telling them like this, but given all the circumstances-" The kids looked at him as if they didn't understand. "-given the weird stuff that just happened with those lights, I know you are gonna believe me. I was sent on a mission, my Animal Totem or Spirit, Catboy, told me that there were three Animal Spirits that sought for my help so I could train their kids to become PJ Masks, like me."
Vita raised her hand, slowly. Connor nodded. "What's a Stirip Animal?"
Connor laughed. "A Spirit Animal, Vita." She blushed slightly embarrassed. Connor smiled. "It's an animal that only walks in your dreams, they are there to protect you from nightmares and bad stuff."
Hope seemed thoughtful, but when Connor mentioned that, he burst out surprised. "I've heard mine! I've talked to him! He told me in a weird way that I'll meet him soon!"
Connor smiled at the boy. "Those lights, like the one that took you, Hope, it's them. I didn't know which kids I was looking for when I arrived here, but before leaving home, Catboy had told me that I'll recognize them right away. And I did, when I saw all of you, well, kind of."
"Us? Why?" Unità asked, excitedly and curious.
"First of all, you saw me transforming into my other form, Catboy!" He laughed. "Second of all, you were the ones I was looking for when you offered to help me and when you mentioned that you had this kind of crystals." He said, showing his crystal cat again. "No one has them but superheroes, like me."
"Really?!" The three of them exclaimed excitedly, even Hope. Connor smiled and nodded.
"See the rings you have?" The kids took a look to their ring fingers in their right hand, then look up to Connor once more. "They are like the bracelet I have here," He showed quickly his bracelet. "They transform you into a superhero, like me! But they don't work unless they are full of magic. Spirit animal's magic."
The kids were watching intensely at him now. "Where do we get it?" They asked in unison.
Connor laughed, but then looked at the crystal briefly before looking back at them again. "The crystal you see there is for that. You need to touch it."
"We will!" Jumped Vita and Unit.
"I won't!"
Connor, Unità, and Vita looked at Hope, who was looking upset. Connor went to the side of the boy. "Why not, Hope?"
"That light kidnapped me, that light made that crystal, I'm not touching it." He said, crossing his arms and looking to the ground with small tears on his eyes. Connor understood how Hope felt, well, sort of. When he was his age and found out about the crystal, he was slightly scared of it too, and if it weren't because he lost his powers and were against Night Ninja, he wouldn't have touched it.
"I know you are scared, but it's for the greatest good, I promise." That last statement made Hope looked shocked, then he looked at Connor to the eyes intensely, clearly grieving. Connor found himself looking into a fragile zone, where any word he might say might screw all up, so he carefully chooses his next words. "I promise you that nothing will happen, I'm right here if you need me."
Hope looked so lost that Connor thought that the boy was gonna faint at any moment, but he found himself surprised that the smallest boy hugged him and grabbed him tightly. "Okay... but don't leave, Big Brother."
When Hope called him that, Connor realized that the ginger boy was not talking to him but to someone else that wasn't there. Connor only hugged back feeling pity for Hope. Vita and Unità were looking at him, waiting for him to say something. He sighed. "Why don't one of you go first? I'm sure you are pretty excited about being a superhero."
"Oh, oh! I will! I will!" Unità said. She stood up and raced for the crystal, and slowed down once she was near it. "So I just touch it?" She yelled from her place to Connor.
"Yes!" He yelled back.
Unità smiled and decided to study the crystal first before touching it. She looked at the big yellow cat that was in front of her. "Pretty." She pressed her hand in the muzzle of the Caracal, and the crystal started glowing. The yellow light from before burst from the eyes of the crystal feline and into the arm of the girl, racing through her body like a lightning and knocking her to the ground.
Unità was standing in an empty place full of stars floating around. "Woah!" She exclaimed surprised, this was nothing like anything she has seen before. She started jumping and playing with the stars, trying to catch them as they floated away. She jumped and jumped around until she leaped higher than anything she has jumped before. She made a clap! and thought she caught something in her hand.
She had her hands together, seeing as a light was coming from the cracks free of skin. She opened them slightly and a star floated slowly out of her hand and into a circle of light in front of her. Unità was looking carefully at what was happening.
The circle of light that was on the ground started to rise up and taking shape, it varied from several shaped. Small, medium and even bigger shapes, she counted them all, nine of them were! When only one of them remained, she approached the shaped light and spoke: "Hello? Are you my- uh- something, um, Animal?"
She heard a laugh, then the shaped light transformed into a big Freesia colored feline with large, tufted ears, a short tail, long legs and big paws with a short muzzle. She had white sparkly eyes that were looking at Unità lovingly. She laughed once more and with a deep female voice, she said: "You are right, Unit, I'm your Spirit Animal. The name's Black Ear."
"Woah! You are so pretty and cool! I've never seen a big cat like you before!" Unità exclaimed, amazed. Black Ear approached the girl and started nuzzling her, purring in the process. Unità pressed her hand against Black Ear's head and petted her. Black Ear stepped back.
"That's because I'm a Caracal, 'Nit." She laughed. "I'm guessing Connor sent you here." Unità nodded happily. "Then let's make this quick, so you can test your powers."
"Powers?! Cool!" The Caracal sat in front of Unità and signaled her to extend her hand, where she had the ring.
"When I give you this, everytime you transform, your name won't be Unità, but Black Ear. Understood?" Unità nodded in understatement and Black Ear put her nose on the tip of the ring and started to sing.
I have watched over you, times and times before
Now that we come face to face, I wanna say that I love you
Take this as a present, from the bottom of my heart
Unità, as your name says,
You are the union of our lives.
Another light, this time brighter, embraced Unità and lifted her up a little bit. Some of the stars on the place felt attached to it and began to fusion with the yellow beam. Black Ear sat on the glimmery ground and watched Unità relieved and with love. When Unità started disappearing, Black Ear stood up and yelled. "We are gonna meet up again, 'Nit! Lead with your heart and rise hope with your smiles!"
A faint and distant reply sounded in the place. "I will! I promise!"
Connor was sitting beside the crystal, with Unità's head lying on his knee while she slept. Vita and Hope were playing tic-tac-toe on the dirt, each of them with a stick, Hope was winning and Vita was begging for him to teach her how he did it, he agreed to it at the end. Connor smiled at the sight but looked at Unità once the ring and her hand started to glow.
He lays her on the ground and watches as her body is consumed by the yellow light from before. A loud hiss could be heard and Unità landed in the ground in two paws.
"Woah." Was all that Connor said. He was impressed, he's never seen someone else transform the first time into a PJ Mask, only himself and didn't even get to see himself doing all of this, but now that he has seen it he was amazed. Unità wasn't wearing his ragged dress anymore, it was replaced with a full animal costume. A Caracal. Connor thought.
She has long, pointy, tufted ears, and their insides were almost white; the tufted fur on the tips was black and the back of them was black with a white border. She had a half-long tail with a black tip, and her chest was of a Golden Haze color. She had Cream claws which were tufted on the bottom. Her costume had a fur texture and she had fur on the sides of her face.
She looked behind, into the crystal, and saw her own reflection. She let out a gasp of joy. "Look at me! Look at me! I'm like you!"
Connor laughed but coughed. I think I'm getting a cold. "Awesome, Unità! Once Vita and Hope get their powers, we are gonna test them."
"Yes! I won!" Vita yelled in the background, Connor turned to look at her with an eyebrow raised. She stammered. "U-uh I just won a Tic-Tac-Toe game." She laughed nervously.
"It's okay, Vita. Come to get your powers, winner." Connor said. Vita smiled, stood up and trotted over to him. He looked at Hope. "You are next, are you ready for that?" He smiled a little bit sad at the little boy, but Hope smiled sweetly and replied.
"I think I am... only if you are here." Connor nodded and Hope showed a bigger smile. "Then I am." Connor nodded affectionally and turned to look at Vita, who was about to touch the crystal. Connor looked at the sky that was starting to look a little bit more brighter and realized that dawn was coming soon. They need to hurry up if we don't want to be found. Connor walked over to Vita and sat on the ground once the girl fell to it. He put her head on his knee like he did with Unità and waited.
It was getting late back in Tarabiscoville, and Greg was organizing his stuff on his luggage. He was getting ready to part tonight so they could go and find Connor. Outside was silent except for a few persons talking and some birds singing. It was kind hot outside with a few chill breezes passing through. Once he ended to package, he grabbed a map from one of the sides of his luggage and looked at it.
Milennia Town.
It was far, was passing at least two cities before arriving, and having in mind that Federico said that Connor had trouble getting there because of an accident on the route, they'll probably have to take another way. They could all take the bus, or just go with their or any of the vehicles, but using any of those vehicles (didn't mind which kind) would give their team away. So he decided to see which bus could take them directly there.
"What are you packing for?" He cringed at the voice of his mother, Lina. He closed the map and turned around trying not to smile.
"I, uh, thought that I could, uh... go and-"
"Let me see that map." She said authoritatively. Greg bit his lip and handed her the map with a deep blush on his cheeks. She examined it for a little bit before raising an eyebrow with a frown on her face. She looked at him questioningly. "Where are you planning on going?"
Greg sighed frustrated. "None of your business." He replied. She looked at him with a mad face and he shrugged a little bit. "Just want to check out where Connor might be, we all agreed that we should help to look for him."
She looked at him confused. "Who else is going?" Greg told her that his group of friends talked this afternoon after what happened with Katrina and decided to look for Connor by themselves, even if part of it was a lie. "And do their parents know? Does Alexander know that his daughter, Amaya, is going to places that might be dangerous? Where are you starting?"
Greg shrugged and Lina closed the map harshly. "Greg, if all of your friends would jump from a bridge, would you too?" He looked down, not daring to look at her face. "I'm sorry Greg, I know that you are worried about Connor, but no, I'm not letting you go to any dangerous place. He didn't even answer his phone, you have no idea what might have happened to him. If your friends want to go, fine, that is not my problem, but you are not going." Greg was about to protest but Lina cut him off. "You are not going, did I made myself clear?" Greg nodded with a frown on his face and Lina spoke again. "Did I made myself clear?"
Greg grunted. "Yes."
"Yes, what?" Lina asked again, angry.
"Yes, mom." Once she exited the room, Greg jumped on his bed and picked up his cell phone to call Amaya. He was about to touch her phone number but received a call from Riley before. He answered.
"What?"
"Woah, calm down, dragon. I have bad news." Answered Riley on the other side, making clearly with his tone of voice that he had bad news as well, and Greg could already guess what they were.
"Let me guess, your parents didn't let you either, yeah my mother too."
"Really?" Riley said.
"Yeah, you know how she can be. Oh wait, I'm receiving a call from Amaya." Greg said, looking at his screen in which appeared Amaya's name on it alongside her phone number.
"I'm getting one from Federico," Riley said, and after that, there was a click. "You are both on."
Before any of them could talk, Greg cut them off laughing half-heartedly. "Your parents didn't let you either?" Two affirmations from Amaya and Federico could be heard on the other side of the line. "I think we should've thought of something else."
Amaya spoke up now. "More lying? After watching what happened with Katrina today? Seriously?"
Greg only grunted. "If you have a better idea, tell me."
She didn't have time to answer as Federico interrupted them all. "Let's just go, they'll never let us and if something happens to Connor-"
"Then it'll be on us. He's right, let just go." Riley finished. Amaya and Greg agreed, but with a pang of guilt for even lying to their parents. Greg knew how protective his mother was; her husband died and her daughter moved to another country with her baby and her husband. Now he was leaving her behind her back to a dangerous place in which he could easily be harmed and she'll be left behind worried about him. He loved his mother, dearly, but the others were right. If something happens to Connor it'll be on them, for knowing where he was and not helping; it'll be on him because he refused to help Connor. He needed to do this, even if he didn't really want to.
"Fine." He said, and Amaya agreed as well. They all hang up and Greg put his phone down. He extended his arms on the bed and sighed. His day was definitely not going the way he wanted. He pondered Connor. He wanted to forgive him, he really did, but every time he thought about what he's done, anger boiled in him and ran through his veins. Part of him was confused, part of him was clear about what he was doing. There was something that wouldn't let him hate Connor fully, something that he wasn't sure what it was. He sat on the bed and walked to his desk and opened the drawer.
He smiled at the sight of the photo he was holding, and going back to his bed, he talked to it. "Dad, why is everything so confusing and upsetting?" The photo was a picture his mother took when he was a baby. In it, there was his father Daniel, who died when he was twelve, playing with him on the park. "I wish you were here, you knew everything, you knew how to help everyone. None of this would've happened if you would've lived." He sighed and a small sob escaped. He hugged the photo and fell asleep a few minutes later.
He woke up five hours later when the moon was already up in the night sky. His room was dark and he could barely see, he could see a few things thanks to the moonlight illuminating inside. He picked up his phone that was under his pillow and saw that he had several lost calls and texts from his friends. He read them:
[23:09, 17/4/2024] Silly Owl~: Greg, where are you?
[23:09, 17/4/2024] Silly Owl~: We all are in HQ waiting for you
[23:09, 17/4/2024] Silly Owl~: Greeeg [23:09, 17/4/2024] Silly Owl~: What the hell are you doing?
[23:19, 17/4/2024] Silly Owl~: You probably overslept
[23:25, 17/4/2024] Silly Owl~: Yes you did
[23:27, 17/4/2024] Silly Owl~: If you don't wake up I'm gonna call you
[23:30, 17/4/2024] Silly Owl~: I called you twice, come onnnn
[23:43, 17/4/2024] Silly Owl~: Okay now everybody called you, what are you? A bear in winter?
[23:47 17/4/2024] Silly Owl~: COME ON GREG
[23:30, 17/4/2024] Riley:P: Dude, come on, wake up already
[23:43, 17/4/2024] Riley:P: It's really hot outside and here in HQ is worst now that the air conditioner doesn't work anymore
[23:47 17/4/2024] Riley:P: Dude I'm gonna kick your ass pretty hard when you get here
[23:47 17/4/2024] Riley:P: If you get here of course
[23:50 17/4/2024] Snow: Greg, we are waiting for you for another few minutes, if you don't show up in thirty, we are leaving without you.
[23:50 17/4/2024] Snow: If that happens I'm gonna be so pissed at you when we go back
[23:51 17/4/2024] Snow: So hurry up
Greg jumped from the bed hurriedly, he fell asleep and now he was getting really late. He picked up his luggage and other stuff that might be useful and, giving old Lionel a treat and a goodbye, he left. He found that the whole house was dark, and at the top of the stairs, he found a note from his mother.
Emergency at the Hospital, gonna come back tomorrow morning. There are salad and fish in the fridge. Goodnight honey. -Loves you, Mommy. Greg smiled sadly at the note. His mother was going to come back at morning and not find him in his room sleeping, and she was gonna freak out. He picked hurriedly a paper and a pen and wrote:
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do this. But I really need to find Connor. You are in your rights to be mad at me when I come back. -Loves you more, Greggy. He stuck it on the fridge, and using his keys, he unlocked the door and left, closing and locking after. He hurried up to HQ.
He arrived gasping for air at HQ, where all of his friends were looking at him annoyed. Silver spoke up first, voicing all of their thoughts. "Did you finished sleeping? Can we leave now?" He only nodded and gasped for more air. He almost runs the whole way so he could make it on time. He was used to running all over the place, but as Gekko, not as Greg and full of stuff that was heavier than his lizard pet.
"We are taking the bus, let's go." Amaya said.
Greg stood up straight at that statement. "Who decided that? I could've met you at the bus station!"
They all laughed, and Amaya spoke. "I did, but we all thought that making you come all this way would be a good punishment for letting us wait for two whole hours. It's not funny, right?"
Greg grunted. "No, it's not. Can we leave now?"
Riley approached with an amused expression and with a water bottle on his hand. "Yes, but first have a little bit of water, you seem as if you just ran a marathon."
Greg grabbed the bottle and before drinking it, he said: "Yeah, something like that." After Greg was finishing drinking his water, they all left with passports on hand and waited for a taxi to pick them up. The bus station was far away from the park, almost at the ends of the city, so walking there wasn't an option. Once the taxi arrived they all got in, with Greg sitting on Riley's lap due to them being too many to fit in there, and since Greg was the smallest, he was the chosen one for that task. Their luggage was on the back of the car, and now they were all quiet on their way to the bus station.
He was looking out the window, watching markets and houses pass by. At some point, he laid on Riley's shoulder, and since the other boy didn't say anything, he stayed there. He wanted dearly for this to be over, for all of it. But he knew that this was just barely starting and that so many stuff was waiting for them. Many stuff that he knew, wasn't going to be easy.
All around the clearing were laughter and running steps from little children. Connor was watching Unità, Vita and Hope playing in their new forms. Once they finished receiving their powers from their animal totems, they all told Connor that their animal totems ordered to call themselves different names than his real ones. Connor had told them that they told them that because bad people could find them if they knew who they really were. When he asked for their new names, Unità answered that her animal totem said that she should call herself Black Ear; Vita told him that her new name was Cotton, and Hope told him his new name was Crash.
"This is so fun!" Crash exclaimed before Black Ear and Cotton jumped onto him laughing. They all laughed when they fell to the ground and started chasing each other again. Connor saw that the sky was almost clear now, and he decided that it was time for them to return to their normal selves. He thought that they could practice their moves. We'll need to wait for tonight to practice them.
"Okay, playtime's over kids." He heard protests coming from them, but he shut them down. "We need to keep ourselves a secret from others, and the sun is starting to rise. Let's find a place where we can all sleep and later let's go for food, does that sound good?"
"YES!" They all shout. "How do we go back to normal?" They asked in unison. Connor laughed and said:
"Only touch the symbols on your chests, that should allow you to go back to normal." They did as told and when they did, they were suddenly surrounded by their lights and back to normal in a flash. Vita spoke first.
"Let's go to our hideout and sleep! It's not that far from here!" They all ran up to Connor and helped him up, leading him to the hill that leads up to the town. Once they left the place, and the crystal, Connor saw his Rover behind a house and thanked the City of Stars that no one stole it from him. They led him past the houses that were near to the slope, avoiding trash and other stuff that might damage the Rover, and when they finally stopped, it was at a half-demolished house. It was small, it only had four cemented walls, one of them half demolished, and a ceiling made of fabric that was sustained by ropes on the extremes. Connor wondered how did they even got it up.
When they all entered, there was stuff scattered around, like broken toys and some plastic dishes. Three plastic cups were also in the ground, beside a pond that formed in a hole that was on the ground.
"Sorry about the mess, we didn't know we'll have guests in here!" Vita apologized.
"It's okay Vita, it's not that messy." He didn't mind the mess at all, especially because it wasn't mess, it was the only stuff they had. He made a note to himself to buy a cuddly for them, and clothes.
"Connor, come over here! It's a comfy place where you can sleep!" Hope said. "I sleep usually here, but you can have it for tonight." He stated. Connor thanked him and tried to adjust himself in the small ragged cushion which they called 'comfy'. It wasn't for him, but for them, it was, as they probably never slept on a proper bed. Once he adjusted himself, he signaled the kids to sleep beside him, and they all cuddled with him until the afternoon.
It was 3 PM in the afternoon when Connor woke up, his back ached crazy, but he didn't dare to complain as this kids tried to give him a place where he could sleep comfortably. Hope and Unità were still cuddling his legs, but Vita wasn't with them. When he looked around, he saw her washing her face on the pond that he saw last night. "Good afternoon."
She stopped washing her face when she heard Connor talking. "Good afternoon! Have you slept well?" He nodded, even though his back and neck ached madly, and she smiled. "Are you gonna take us to eat something? I'm really hungry!"
"Yes, let's wait for Unità and Hope and we can all go eat something, but before that, we are gonna make a stop on another two places."
"Okay!" They both waited to Unità and Hope to wake up, talking about the events of last nights, with Vita making most of the questions. Once the other two woke up, they left their hideout and headed for the main part of town, where there only was a small number of people. Connor thought there would be more, but surprisingly enough, it was almost empty. Before leaving the hideout, Connor had made a research two look for places where he could buy stuff for kids, he found several of them in the main center of the town, and there is where he was heading to. He stopped in front of a place that had a big colorful sign on the outside that read Les enfants cœur!
"Where are we?" Unità asked, looking confused at the place.
"In a clothing store." Connor said a lead them inside. He knew that they needed clothes, clean and proper clothes, so the first place he decided to stop by was a clothing store for kids. Thanks to his job, he had a decent amount of money that could actually afford this. When they were in there, he said: "Go, see stuff, and if you like something, come back and tell me." The three of them nodded and ran into the store. Connor yelled. "Don't touch anything!" He sighed and decided to explore the store himself.
****
Vita was exploring this huge, colorful and shining place. There were shirts and dresses all over the place, and she wanted it all! But she knew that Connor couldn't buy everything, so she paced around until she saw a beautiful dress that was white on the top part, had a red and black ribbon in the middle and had a red skirt with white dots. It was the most beautiful dress she has ever seen!
She listed it in her head so she could later tell Connor. She kept exploring the place and found herself looking at some Rosey pink long socks and some shiny pair of black shoes that had white ribbons on the top. She wanted this too, she wanted it all! But mostly the dress she earlier.
Vita looked around, searching for Connor, but didn't see him so she started walking, hoping that she could find him. She suddenly bumped into someone, and saw a brunette girl, taller than her, looking at her confusedly and frowning. "Can't you watch where you are going, peasant?" Vita was gonna stand up and leave apologizing, but the other girl spoke before she did it. "And what with that ugly look? Did you got lost on your way to the junkyard?" The brunette girl mocked.
Vita only stood there, without replying to anything. She felt a sinking feeling in her chest but ignored it, this girl didn't know anything so she ignored her a left; though she was gonna tell Connor about that silly brunette girl.
She kept walking around the place until she saw Connor's familiar jacket and silhouette. "Connor!" She ran to him, and he spun around at the sound of her voice and smiled.
"Did you found something you like?" He asked.
She nodded vigorously and said: "Yes! Yes! Follow me!" She remembered this time the place she came from and guided Connor through it. She finally found the dress, the socks and the shiny shoes she saw before and told Connor she wanted those. Connor checked a small ticket that was attached to those things and smiled, he grabbed them. Vita smiled and followed him to some fancy but small houses that had shiny fabrics hanging from a pole.
"Go in there and try it on, so we know that it fits you." Vita did as told, and when she tried it on, not only fitted her but she thought it made her look like the prettiest girl on the whole world. She also tried to shoes and when it fitted her too, she told Connor. She handed Connor, sticking her hand from one side of the small house, the stuff and changed into her normal clothes.
She saw Connor talking to a girl as tall as him. "We are gonna take these."
"As you wish." She looked at Vita, then back at Connor. "Is she gonna put it on now?" Connor shook his head. "Are you... sure...?"
Connor had a not so happy face and replied with a hard tone. "Yes, I am sure." The other girl shrugged and left with her clothes on hand.
Vita talked to Connor. "Where are Hope and Unità?"
Connor, looking from one moment upset to another smiling at her, replied. "They are waiting in the door, they already found what they wanted."
Vita nodded and followed Connor silently to the front of the shop, where there was the same girl that attended them before, putting her stuff (and other things) inside colorful bags. She saw Unità and Hope playing with two new toys, soft and clean ones. "Woah! Where did you get those? I want one too!" She approached the and short after Connor appeared behind her.
"Do you?" He said, and when she spun around, Connor had another toy like the one Unità and Hope had, but hers was a fluffier, even softer, kind of mouse that had shiny Lilac eyes. She gasped happily and hugged her new toy.
"She looks like Cotton!" Vita exclaimed. "Thank you!" She hugged Connor and joined her friends.
Connor saw the three friends talking about their new toys and he smiled warmly. The second place he was looking for was a Toys Shop, but since he saw those cuddly in here, he decided to buy them like a gift for them. Now that he bought clothes for them, he decided to take them to lunch, even though it was already 4 PM. He knew that they were hungry, so he made a stop on a Hotdog's Cart and bought three for them.
He was right, they loved it, and once they finished, they headed back to their hideout and hang out in there until nighttime. The kids kept playing with their new toys until he decided to take them for training.
"Petit Masks, it's time for testing your powers!" He said, excitedly in some way. He felt cheerful about them, and he surely was hoping to give them lessons and teach them everything he knew. He knew that if the others were there, it would've been easier to train them in every aspect, but since it was only him, this would take more effort.
Unità asked. "Petit Masks? Why do you call us that?"
Connor laughed heartedly. "Because you are PJ Masks now," And brushing her hair with his hand he says: "And because you are small."
She laughed and grabbed his hand. "We are small because you are really tall! That's not fair!"
They all laughed at Unità's commentary then left for the training.
Sorry for the late update, was the end of the trimester at my school and I had a lot of tests and homework to do, especially because I got delayed because I was ill. Hopefully, this long chapter made it for the long wait. Hope you liked and don't forget to leave a review!
-Dapple