Shion charged towards the driver's seat of their car. The car, which was quite dilapidated from months of Shion's driving, was crashed up a tree. Shion shoved a low hanging branch out of the way of the lock in order to insert her key. The branch snapped back and hit Allen in the stomach. Shion looked up from forcing the key into the rusted hole to see the branch still in motion and Allen sitting on his butt.
"Allen! Don't play with dirty branches around my newly painted car." Shion scolded. She ran her fingers over the smooth paint. While she was distracted, Allen pushed her back.
"Ha! I'm driving! Looks like we get to keep our lives after all." Allen allowed himself a moment to savor his minor triumph. He turned the key, but it cracked in half leaving them locked out. Shion stomped her feet and shook Allen.
"What have you done? The wind is ruining my hair" Shion held her hands over her head to protect her hairstyle. Allen watched the trees above. They were perfectly still.
"Let us in!" Shion began banging on the windows as if they were trapped inside a car sinking in the ocean. Allen patted her on the head.
"Are your imaginary friends inside?" He asked. Shion scowled at him.
"Yes and they're laughing at you." In a last stitch attempt, Shion simply tried opening the door. "Well what do you know? It was unlocked all this time."
Allen mentally beat himself up. He should have known. If Shion didn't even take the time to park in a proper spot then what would make him think she would spend the extra second to hit the lock switch. She slipped past him behind the steering wheel and slammed her hand on the horn. The piercing sound yanked Allen back to reality. He sighed. His brief lapse of judgment might cost him his life.
Allen settled himself into the well-loved passenger seat. Shion sat next to him studying every button and gadget on the dashboard. She had quickly learned how hard it was to start a car without the key. Allen stared her down.
"Well you said you wanted to drive. Why aren't we moving?"
Shion slowly turned to him. Allen shielded his face with the visor. He knew Shion was about to explode. Surprisingly the blast never came. Instead, Shion cried into her hands.
"Why is everything out to get me? What have I done to desire this?"
Allen opened his mouth to go down the list of all the things Shion had done that might call for revenge, but decided to remain silent at the last second. Some how he had escaped her wrath why should he risk it now?
Allen leaned back in his seat and let his hands fall to the sides of the chair. His hand hit something cold and hard. Shion's tear filled eyes gazed at the tree in front of them.
"I'm getting a strange sense of déjà vu. I vaguely remember this happening before and also that we hid a key somewhere in the likely hood of us repeating our past mistakes." Shion said.
"This key" Allen held up a shiny new key. Shion plucked it from his hand and stabbed it into the ignition. She revved up the engine and Allen ensured that both their seat belts were securely fastened. Shion took the car out of park, they lurched forward scrapping against the side of the tree, and rolling down the hill on which they were parked. Allen covered his eyes the moment he saw they were on collision course with another tree. Shion turned sharply to right barely avoiding it. By the time, Allen dared peak through his fingers a stoplight loomed over them. No sooner then Allen let out a sigh of relief did Shion floor it again. Their car zigzagged through the lanes passing the cars that were obeying basic road laws. Allen covered his ears so the horns wouldn't deafen him. Shion took one hand and both eyes off the steering wheel to adjust the radio. Allen grabbed the wheel and pulled them a little to the left to avoid plowing down two teenagers playing softball under a street lap. Shion returned her focus to driving just in time to make the final turn at 90 miles per hour. Allen eyed the ditch they had almost tipped into. Shion slammed on the breaks in the farthest possible parking spot.
"I don't want anyone to hurt my car." Shion said stepping out. When Allen didn't join her she attempted to pry the white knuckled man from his seat. His knees shook should much he collapsed in front of Shion.
"You can't keep doing this Shion." She pulled him up and dragged him towards the entrance.
"I thought you were a man. And all men love fast cars." Allen was too exhausted to explain her mistake to her.
At the front door Ziggy who donned a tuxedo and top hat greet them. Shion looked around at the entrance hall and scowled.
"When they raised our taxes they claimed they were building a new community center. They just repainted the old school." Shion kicked the neon green wall, which crumbled under the force.
"I'm surprised they still let you in" Jin said emerging from the room that doubled as a concession stand. Shion peeked through the door.
"That used to be the principal's office. I remember it well." Shion reminisced.
"So do I," Jin said. He pulled Shion away from the room. Kosy's turkey cookies were selling well and he didn't want to run the risk of Shion starting any fires. Ziggy and Allen watched this scene in awe each wondering how the building survived years of Shion.
Ziggy handed both Shion and Allen pamphlets containing information about the evening events. Allen tucked his away for a souvenir and Shion made a paper hat out of hers.
"Good luck Allen," Jin said.
"Why are you saying good luck to him? It's not like he's in the pie baking contest." Shion darted away from her friends, but Jin pulled her back by the straps of her dress.
"No running in the halls remember?"
Allen tightly grasped Shion's hand as he led her in the direction the smell of burnt pastries wafted from. Shion hesitated.
"I had my cooking classes here. I started my first fire at that station right over there," Shion pointed to the stove where chaos was working. Shion brushed a tear from her eye before dashing forward to glomp chaos. Shion's hug knocked chaos into the back wall. A stack of old books landed on the pair. Shion giggled. chaos groaned. The cherry filling he had been making was no black crust on the bottom of the pan. A laugh that resembled a hyena echoed through the room. Shion and chaos looked up to discover a girl with a white chef's hat and a badge that read "Judge" pinned to her Kakshi hoodie. She tapped a strange shaped stick on the desk to get their attention. They stared at the judge and the laughter began again.
"I'll have no non-canon love scenes in my contest. That's rule number 69." The judge pointed to the list of rules printed in illegibly small font on the place mats. chaos dumped his pan in the sink and replaced it with one from the side burner. He had taken into account Shion visitation and made loads of extras. Shion stood baffled by the Judge's words. Allen pulled her away by the ear. The judge's attention perked when she saw him. She drove her stick into his back.
"What'd you do that for?" Allen asked.
"To hear your voice," The judge moved on to observe other contestants still laughing manically. Shion shrugged even she had no any explanation. Shion sat down on a desk to observe the rest of the competition.
"I thought they were baking pies not making volcanoes." Allen said watching someone in third row pouring baking soda and vinegar into his or her crust.
The judge approached tasted one pie, which had been finished suspiciously early. She poked a pixie stick into the crust and poured it contents into the filling.
"Pixie stick pie" she squeaked.
In another corner, a girl picked chunks of fallen food of the floor and ate them. The judge put her arm around her and handed her a bottle of diet soda. The girl dropped the cupcake she was licking and gulped down the liquid. The judge fingered her remaining pixie sticks.
"I wonder what it would taste like if we mixed them together."
"Not too much…I want to drink that you know."
The judge poured some of the sugary candy into the bottle. Immediately it frothed over flooding the area with diet soda.
"I'm going to go swimming in it," the girl said. The judge doubled over in mirth. Two pies blew up spewing lemon custard on the chefs who baked them. Shion cleared her throat feeling excluded. The girl looked up and saluted Shion.
"Sorry I digressed, but you deserved it after you stole my identity." She skipped out the door.
"You did what!" Allen screamed. Everyone's attention returned to them.
"Honestly I have no idea what the heck just happened, but let's never speak of it again."
A bell rang signaling the end of the contest. The contests brought their creations to the front table for judging.
"The results will be announced at the end of the play…or maybe later since my assistant seems to have sulked off to the computer lab. I wonder what she had to type so urgently.
The winning pie will be present to the person pre-choose by the winner. The losing pies will be devoured in the pie eating contest." The judge said in her best authoritative voice.
chaos joined Shion and Allen. "Shall we go to the theatre?" he asked. Shion leaped up.
"I've been waiting all day to see Jr. in his costume"
They took the only remaining three seats together. "I didn't know Thanksgiving pageants brought such a crowd." Allen said. A woman in the row ahead of them turned around.
"They don't, but someone pulled the fire alarm and they herded us in here."
Both men glared at Shion. "Why am I always the one blamed for everything? You have been with me the whole time. You know I haven't pulled any fire alarms." chaos and Allen kept their mouths shut.
On stage, the curtain rose revealing a browned-haired girl. She saw the crowd and broke down in laughter. "Damn you Shion. Where'd you go?"
"Stop accusing me," Shion screamed.
"Welcome to the first annual Second Miltia Thanksgiving Play. I implore you to turn off all connection gear during the performance unless the asparagus spears will get you." She looked skeptically at her cards believing that she had read wrong. She hadn't. The spotlight started going around in circles. Shion looked up to see if the light operator was under attack. Shion rolled her eyes at the operator who was playing with a miniature skateboard over the switches.
Shion fanned herself with her hand to keep herself awake through the boring parts of the play. Allen sat at the edge of his seat eating up the suspense. chaos's teeth clattered and he clutched the armrest. Shion slapped his hand away.
"You can't have your arm their. I get two armrests." Shion said.
"Be quiet," Allen snapped, "Jr. and Momo are on stage."
On the left wing of the stage, stood an irregularly shaped pink object. Jr. approached it from the other side.
"Oh what will we hungry pilgrims eat?" he sang. Jr. tripped over what was supposed to be a ham. The moment Jr. touched it the ham sprang to life.
"I am a ham," the ham said. Shion exploded out in laughter disturbing the audience.
"Oh ham, I implore you to lend your aid to us hungry pilgrim." Shion was truly amazed that Jr. was able to recite his lines with a straight face. She knew if she were the one acting, they would have had to cart her off stage.
"What can I a lowly ham do to help you oh brave pilgrim?" Momo said.
"Eat her!" Shion blurted out.
Allen nudged her. "You know that is Momo in that costume."
The people in front of them turned around and gave them a glare that could turn even the softest objects to stone.
"We are immigrants from a distant land. All we know how to do is sail. No food source do we have." Jr. took his hat off and faced the ocean backdrop.
"Immigrant Fleet! Where?" Shion leaped out of her seat and into her battle stance. She knocked a boy who just so happened to be passing them to his feet and pinned him to the ground. His mother shoved Shion off and carried the shocked boy back to their seats. Shion ducked back into their row to hide from the security guard the perturbed mother had called.
"I'm going to have to ask you to come with me" The guard tapped her wand on chaos's chair. chaos pointed to Shion. Shion pressed her body against her seat hoping to melt into the fabric. The guard wrenched Shion's hand hauling her from her seat. As they were leaving, Jin walked right into them.
"Jin, save me. This man attacked me. He's with the Immigrant Fleet. They're attacking." Shion informed her brother. Jin looked from the audience who were all turned around enjoying the show to the ham and the pilgrim that were patiently waiting on the stage to the security guard who was dangling his sister by her collar.
"This scene hasn't happened in awhile," the guard said. Jin shuddered when he realized the same person worked security now as did when it was a school and she still wore as much scary makeup. Shion's face was turning red.
"Let her down. She's harmless," Jin tapped his shoulder.
The guard tightened her grip on Shion. "She attacked an innocent minor not to mention they're sitting in the seats directly under the balcony and can be heard from above."
"She was dropped on her head a few times in battle"
The guard grunted and dropped Shion. "If you must stay here chain her to a chair and gag her for the safety of the bystanders here."
Allen snacked on a bag of popcorn. He knew there was a reason he agreed to come to the show. chaos sat on the edge of his seat.
"I want to know what happens to the starving pilgrim" Jr. and Momo were playing cards on the stage. They as well had learned always to come prepared.
Just as the audience was settled and the play was about to restart, the announcer burst onto the stage clapping.
"What a wonderful heart-warming story" She obviously had watched the wrong show. Jr. and Momo exited the stage happily. Even if they had been had to finish they would have had to improvise. During all the waiting, they had forgotten their lines. The audience gave them a standing ovation. Shion supposed they thought everything that had happened was all part of the show.
"And know it is time to announce the winner of the pie contest" The announcer continued once the round of applause died down. chaos bounced in his seat.
"Down boy," Shion said petting chaos's head. The actors from the play carried out a table full of pies. chaos waved to Jr. The announcer read off every contestant's name and the place they had scored which was quite boring considering the vast number of pies there were. Shion was pulling apart the cushion on her chair until she heard chaos's name.
"chaos with his Cheery Wraith Pie…dun dun dun FIRST PLACE!!!"
Shion, Jin, and Allen erupted into cheers. chaos nearly fainted.
"Would the winner please come to claim his prize…at least I think it's a guy…is there even a chaos or was this a joke entry?" A shoe flew from offstage and hit the announcer's ear.
chaos fumed to the stage and stole the trophy from her grasp. Juli snapped a picture of chaos with his award. "I taught him well," she said.
"I would like to thank Shion and Allen for allowing me the opportunity to practice at their home, Juli for actually teaching me how to bake, and most of all Jr." chaos presented his winning pie to the red haired ex-pilgrim.
"I love you too chaos," Jr. embraced the master pie chef. Music blared in the background and the announcer tapped her microphone causing an ear popping noise to resound through the theatre. The judge stood over Allen's chair drooling at the two men hugging. Juli snapped her finger.
"A mother always knows"
Jin cried. "Why don't I get thanked?"
Shion rushed to the stage to sample the losing pies. Allen joined her for lack of anything better to do. Jin lingered. Someone had to remain sober for the drive home. Kosy strolled in.
"We ran out of cookies so the stand had to close. The profits are going toward fixing the wall Shion kicked." She said sitting in one of the now vacant seats next to Jin.
"Good I feel like we accomplished something today."
Kosy watched as masses of people left their seats and ate the pies on the stage.
"Those should have gone to charity…"
"My sensors read that the vast majority of those pies are not safe for human consumption."
"But…Shion and Allen…ahh…after eating Shion's cooking for so long I'm sure they both have stomachs of steel."
"Concurred"
Someone rolled in another table of pies. "We're going to be here for while" Jin leaned against Kosy's shoulder to take a nap. He had just closed his eyes when the fire alarm sounded and the sprinkler system activated. Jin jumped to attention. Smoke was pouring in from the direction of the kitchens.
"Everyone remain calm," The judge said, "There is absolutely nothing to be alarmed about. It just seems that in the excitement someone left the stove unattended."
"Burn burn! I finally get my wish after so many years." Shion danced on the stage. She tripped on an empty tin and flew off the stage.
"All clear! The fire burned itself out at the loss of only those stoves we were going to donate anyway." A random voice said.
"Of course they burned," Kosy said. Her eyes darted back and forth. Jin sighed. He was happy he had locked his closet before they left. He couldn't afford to lose the storage space.
"This festive event is officially over. Vacate the premises before we start a real fire. Thank you very much and we do hope you had a very enjoyable time." The announcer said. Most of the crowd had left to escape the sprinklers so only Shion, Allen, Jin, Kosy, Juli, Momo and a few others remained. Shion was stuffing water lugged pies into a bag. Juli was admiring the pictures she had taken and Allen was splashing in a puddle.
"Where did chaos and Jr. go?" Momo asked.
"The coatroom I think," Shion replied, "Jr. said he wanted to give chaos his Thanksgiving gift early." Juli covered Momo's ears.
"I think its time to call it a night," she said eyeing Shion who was building a castle out of pie.
"Shall we take our leave too Kosy? If we leave now we'll still have time to finish reading those last thousand pages." Jin and the android left through the emergency exit.
Shion and Allen eventually took the hint. While they were inside the tempature had dropped quite a bit so the pair huddled together to keep warm on the long walk to the car. Shion dug in her pocket for the key.
"Oh no Allen…I used our key as a window in the castle."
Allen curdled up behind a tree accepting they were going to make it home that night without a fight. Shion kicked him.
"I was just kidding you know. I'm not that stupid."
Allen didn't move. He was so exhausted he almost welcomed sleeping right where he was.
"Come on Allen, I want to get home to watch my favorite television show."
He warily rose and stumbled to the car.
"I'm pooped. You can drive." And that was the best thing Allen heard all evening.