Chapter 1: A Sky Full of Star Flowers

XX

Roland stopped dead in his tracks. "I think we're too late," he pointed out. "The fireworks have already started."

"You idiot!" Karen insulted Roland. "That's just a test before the real show begins! It starts in ten minutes. I'm going and I'm not waiting for you!"

"Just out of curiosity," Rasche said. "Why do you even like fireworks? Didn't your childhood friend lose her parents and her home in a fire or something?"

"Well that's her, not me," Karen replied. "Besides, fireworks don't count as fire. They're like rainbows at night!" Her expression was suddenly grim. "The fire that killed my friend's parents didn't have any color… it was just black."

"Is that even possible?" Roland asked.

"Yeah, of course it is! I saw it with my own two eyes! Now will you two morons stop questioning me about this so we can get Ace?!" Rasche sighed.

"Fine." Karen took off running. "She's really into this, isn't she?"

"Well, it's her first Star Flower Festival." They were interrupted by a shout.

"Hurry up, you slowpokes!" Karen yelled.

"All right already!" Rasche yelled back. Karen stood outside his lab.

"Ugh, where is he?!" She ran forward, out of Roland and Rasche's sight. As soon as she disappeared, they heard a scream.

"What do you think you're doing?!" a girl asked. "Let me go now!"

"What's going on over there?!" Rasche yelled angrily. Suddenly, he was knocked down by a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. The girl slowly stood up.

"Ugh…" she groaned. "Crap." Rasche followed suit.

"What the hell was that for?!"

"What?!" Roland gasped. "Where did she come from?!"

"What happened?" Karen asked.

"Ow…" the blonde girl groaned. "That's going to leave a mark…" She suddenly noticed Rasche's presence. "You call yourself a man?! You're supposed to catch me!"

"What kind of girl goes around knocking guys down and yelling at them for not catching her?!" Rasche angrily shot back. "You just came flying out of nowhere!"

"It's because of weaklings like you that the Golems are winning!" Rasche glared at her.

"Wanna run that by me again?!"

"Hey, settle down you two!" Roland tried to break up the fight. He directed his attention towards the blonde girl. "So what happened?" The girl pointed behind her.

"That jerk over there threw me!"

"Who are you talking about?" Karen asked. There was suddenly a loud screech as a Kopin made its way over to the group.

"What?!" Roland gasped. "A Kopin?! What's it doing here?!"

"Excuse me, kind sirs," a young boy's voice said in a British accent. "I really must speak with that Witch-in-training."

"Kyaa!" Karen screamed. "It's a talking Kopin!"

"Oh, my apologies for this little misunderstanding," said the boy's voice again. The source of the voice finally revealed itself: a young boy with bright red hair and blue eyes, wearing a chef's hat and carrying a large whisk. "The Kopin did not speak, ma'am. That was me."

"What?!" the Witch-in-training screeched. "This kid put me through all this trouble?!"

"Please forgive me," he said hastily. "My name is Phillip, but you can call me Pip. I'm training to be a Wizard! I'm here on orders from my sister, Potpourri, the Verdure Witch. According to Pop, that Witch-in-training wishes to deliver something to the Queen. May I please see it?"

"Not a chance!" the Witch objected. "I can't let Miss Althea down now! There's no way I'll ever hand this over to you!"

"I'm sorry," Pip apologized. "But I really must have this letter. I guess I just have to steal it then. Have at you!" The Kopin floated towards them and screeched.

"It's coming this way!" Roland yelled.

"Everyone!" Karen yelled. "In the lab! Now! There's no way that Kopin will even make it inside!"

"Right!" Roland agreed as he and Karen took off running toward the lab.

"You're not just going to stand here, are you?" Rasche asked the Witch. "Come on!"

"All right!" she replied as she and Rasche made their way over to the lab.

Inside the lab…

Karen sighed in relief. "We should be safe now." Roland looked around.

"Wow…" he mused. "I always wondered what Ace's lab looked like." Karen kicked through piles and piles of scrap metal.

"What's with all this junk?"

"Hmm…" the witch mused. "This is strange. I can't feel any magic."

"What are they trying to do in here anyway?" Rasche asked. Karen gasped at this large robot sitting on the table. It was yellow and red with flashing eyes and a wide smile.

"What is that thing?" Karen asked, poking it.

"Wow…" Rasche mumbled. "It looks… odd…" The Witch sighed.

"My life officially sucks right now," she grumbled. "What was Miss Althea thinking?! She said this was an easy job!"

"What was that?" Roland asked, as if he hadn't heard a word. "Never mind. What's your name?"

"The name's Dia," she replied. "I'm a Witch-in-training at Rev Magic Academy."

"The Magic Academy…" Roland mused. Suddenly, there was a loud crash. Pip ran into the room, followed by two Kopins.

"Oh!" he gasped. "There you are!"

"How did they make it inside?!" Roland asked.

"What can we do?" Rasche asked. "There's nowhere to run!"

"With all due respect," Pip broke in, "if you had just surrendered the letter earlier, this would have been easier."

"Don't you dare underestimate me just because I'm an apprentice!" Dia threatened.

"But those are just words, Miss Dia," Pip replied. A Kopin floated forward and growled cutely. Karen's eye twitched at it.

"Really?" was all she managed to say. "That's all you've got?" But the Kopin tilted its head forward, and there was a large explosion. Karen screeched as the ground rumbled.

"What are we going to do?!" Roland yelled. "The building's going to collapse!"

"Will you hand over the letter now?" Pip asked. He pointed his whisk at the group. "Have at you!" But before he could do anything, a voice interrupted them.

"Hold it right there!" it ordered.

"Wh-who said that?" Pip stuttered.

"It is I, Ace, leader of the Rosetta Rosso." Ace stepped out into the open. "You'll pay for what you've done to my lab!"

"Ace!" Rasche gasped.

"About time…" Karen grumbled.

"Any injuries, Karen?" Ace asked.

"I-I'm fine!" she snapped back. "Why do you have to worry so much?!" Ace turned his attention back to Pip.

"I see you and the Kopins work for the Verdure Witch," he continued.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Pip asked.

"What are you doing here?!" Ace asked angrily. "This is the Queen's territory!"

"With all due respect, I'm not here for you humans. My sister sent me here for the Witch-in-training."

"Was trashing my lab part of your sister's orders?!"

"I-it was collateral damage!"

"'Collateral damage,' huh? Don't even think about dragging us into your catfights!"

"B-but if you fight with them, you'll be joining forces with the White Flame Witch!"

"So?"

"Will you please hand her over now?"

"Absolutely not!"

"I guess I have to fight you then. But be warned: Kopins are cute, but they're extremely dangerous."

"We'll see about that. It's your own fault for choosing to battle here. Thanks to my genius, we can stop the Witches' fight."

"What's this about stopping the fight?" Dia asked.

"Rasche!" Ace ordered. "Hand me that large piece of machinery on the table!" Rasche picked up the red and yellow… thing… and handed it to Ace.

"Machinery?" he asked. "This weird thing?

"As weird as it looks, it's my secret weapon. The Destructobot!"

"Wow… you really blew it this time, Ace."

"Sh-shut up!" The Destructobot rumbled, skated over to Rasche, and rubbed against his leg.

"What's it doing?" It started running its drill-like arm up and down his leg. "Ace, it's your invention, MAKE IT STOP!"

"What?" Ace gasped. "Why's it reacting to Rasche?"

"GET IT AWAY FROM ME!!" It rumbled again and all was silent.

"What happened?" Karen asked. Rasche jumped up on the table, and the Destructobot smiled up at him.

"What's it doing?!" he yelled. "It won't leave me alone!"

"He's bonded with the Destructobot?!" Ace mused.

"Ace, this isn't funny!" Rasche yelled. "What the hell is going on?!"

"How should I know? The Destructobot's never been tested!" He glared at Rasche. "You're trying to upset my plans and steal my work, aren't you?!"

"Why the hell would I do that?!"

"Well…" Pip mused. "Whatever it is… I think the Destructobot is officially a failure! Do I still fight you now?"

"How dare you?!" Ace yelled as he effortlessly picked Pip up by his shirt. "The Destructobot's not a failure!" He quickly scanned the room for Rasche. He didn't have to look very long; he was practically running laps around the lab, the Destructobot hot on his trail. "Rasche! You have to fight!"

"What?!" he yelled. "Why me?! This thing won't leave me alone!"

"The Destructobot's bonded with you! You can use it to fight now!"

"How?"

"Defeating the Kopins should be a cinch now. Just take that controller on the table and use it to control the Destructobot." He pointed to a grey box with a large joystick and a white button on it.

"Are you kidding me?!"

"You don't have a choice! We have to defeat them!"

"Geez…"

"Count me in too," Dia volunteered. Rasche moved the joystick up, and the Destructobot skated a few feet forward, to one of the Kopins. Rasche pressed the white button, and the Destructobot ran its drill through the Kopin. The battle was over when all the Kopins and Pip were defeated

"H-how dare you…" Pip stuttered. "How could you hurt the Kopins like this?" He stared at the floor. "I guess this means the humans and Althea are plotting together to fight us… I have to tell Sister about this right away!" And he took off sprinting.

"What's up with that kid?" Roland asked before shrugging. "Oh well. At least we defeated him and his Kopins."

"Wow Rasche…" Karen mumbled. "What happened to you?"

"Despite the minor setbacks," Ace stated. "My experiment was a success."

"What?!" Rasche groaned. "You mean I was your lab rat?!"

"Don't get cocky," Ace replied. "This wasn't by design! I had absolutely no intention of letting you, of all people, test it. But why…? Never mind. Give it back! It's mine!"

"It's your thing, right? Then make it stop following me." Ace sighed exasperatedly.

"Little Destructobot, come to your master." It didn't even respond to Ace's command; it was too absorbed in Rasche. "Ugh… it's completely bonded with you. Why did my Destructobot…?"

"Care to explain what it is exactly, Ace?" Moose suddenly burst into the room.

"What happened here?!" he yelled, frantically running around. "It looks like a train wreck! What was wrong with the Destructobot?"

"Calm down, old man," Ace said, patting him on the head. "The experiment was a success. We just fought a Kopin in here."

"A Kopin?"

"Apparently, the Verdure Witch is after this Witch here."

"I'm here to deliver a message from the White Flame Witch, Miss Althea," Dia told Moose.

"Oh, so you're the messenger Queen Elicia was waiting for!"

"Don't blame me for the Kopins though. I had nothing to do with them."

"I guess we should see the Queen to sort this out. Let's all go to the castle!"

"Can we take Rasche too?" Ace asked. "Look behind him." Moose gasped.

"What happened?! That's the Destructobot! Ace, I thought you were…"

"We must report what has happened to My Lady at once!"

"Well this is odd… I guess Rasche can come too…"

"Queen Elicia?!" Rasche gasped. "No way!"

"Consider it an honor," Moose replied.

"Hey!" Roland butted in. "We're coming too! Right Karen?"

"You have to ask?" she asked. Moose sighed.

"Fine. All of you can come." Ace motioned for the group to follow him.

"Off we go then!" he said before grabbing Dia's hand.

"What do you think you're doing?" she yelled. "Let me go!"

"It's your fault we're in this mess," Ace replied smoothly.

"Hey!" Rasche yelled. "That's not fair! She just came to deliver a letter! The kid with the Kopins wasn't part of the package!"

"I still don't like this…"

"Stop it, Ace," Karen ordered. From outside…

"Are you coming or not?!" Moose yelled.