Chapter 6: Challenge on the Court

"THWACK!" Was a sound everyone heard around the schoolyard during their lunch break.

Eagerly bounding around a tennis court, Serra whacked whatever balls were lobbed her way, beating player after player until she had taken them all down.

And every outcome was the same, with a ball drilling through the air past her opponent with enough force to make them drop to their knees and flop their tennis racket onto the ground.

"N-No way…!" Uttered her last victim, a girl who was determined to be the one that would stop the blue-haired menace in her tracks.

Serra jumped in place and cheered over another victory without a hint of remorse, but at the same time no cruelty towards her opponent.

While off to the side, Leo and Damian were at the edge of the fence with a crowd of other students gathered around them.

The situation with Serra had gotten so bad that she now had a bounty placed on her organized by the richest guy on the teams, currently standing at 1,000 dollars and rising fast.

And speaking of money, bets were being organized among the students in private, using things like coupons, gift cards, and a meager fraction of their allowances to fill the pool.

Nobody had much faith that Serra could lose, so the bets were split between whether or not Serra would lose a point against other players.

Needless to say, Leo and Damian have managed to get a little extra dough from this event. Though not without a little guilt on Damian's part as he flipped through the bills.

"You know…we shouldn't make a habit out of this." He uttered.

"It's not going to last, so might as well make some money to help out around home." Leo pointed out.

Damian sighed, then raised a smile, "Yeah…and I guess I have been looking to buy a new tablet."

Serra finished her celebration and then ran up to her dejected opponent, who shivered at the sight of her extending her hand.

"That was a fun match! You have a great serve!"

The girl's jaw went slack as she uttered, "R-Really…?"

"Yeah! Keep practicing! I'd love to play you again sometime!" Serra then helped the girl onto her feet and gave her back her racket, making her hold it tightly.

All the while, still smiling bright enough to make the girl want to smile too.

See, what gets lost in the shuffle of Serra's dominance is that she's always polite to her opponents.

Leo hopes that eventually the rest of the students will get that side of her.

For now, this was yet another sports team that had been utterly defeated by the "blue-haired nightmare".

"Oh come on!" And sure enough, this caught the attention of Bang, the star quarterback, who grabbed hold of the fence and shook it while gritting his teeth, "Are we really going to let this sweaty chick get away with this?!"

Damian snickered, "If you got a problem with Serra, you could challenge her, and lose again."

This snuck into a few students' ears, causing them to go "OOOOO" and leave Bang blushing in frustration.

He shoved his way closer to him and shook his fist, "Wanna say that again, paint sniffer?"

Damian flinched hard and shrieked, but Leo put a hand on his shoulder to praise him and then turned to Bang with a smirk, "You should learn to let this go."

Bang looked like a vein was about to pop out of his forehead, "Don't pretend like you know me! Only I know me!"

He then turned towards the rest of the crowd and threw his hands up, "C'mon! ONE of you guys has to be good enough to knock this chick down a peg!"

The greasy creak of the court door drew everyone to silence.

Serra felt a twitch in the back of her neck she'd never experienced before and turned to the door with an inviting smile.

HERE COMES A NEW CHALLENGER!

"Sup cuz?" In strutted Erin, cocking one hand on her hip and taking a moment to blow some stray hairs out of her face.

Alex was the one who had opened the door, and with his job done he waded through the stunned crowd to Damian and Leo and slowly raised his hand.

"Hey." He whispered before facing the court.

Leo had his worries and before things escalated he asked his cousin, "Alex, can you fill us in on what's going on here?"

Alex sighed and craned his head back, "It's what it looks like. Erin's challenging Serra."

Leo kindly retorted, "I can see that, but WHY?"

Alex offered a mild-mannered shrug, "Beats me. She just said she's going to do it and I left it at that."

Damian shook his head and stuttered, "B-But she's never been the sporty type!"

"True, but honestly?" Alex had a tiny smile growing on the corner of his face as he rubbed the back of his head, "I kind of like my new sister."

Erin propped her chest up with her arms and smirked for a few moments, then walked on up to the paralyzed tennis player and snatched the racket right out of her hand, "Mine now."

"H-Hey!" The player blurted out, while Erin ignored her to twirl the racket around.

Serra blinked a few times, with Erin smiling and trying to come across as polite, "So, wanna go a round?"

That was enough to trigger Serra's adrenaline as she exclaimed with glee, "You bet, Pal-in!"

As Serra ran to the other side of the court Erin, trying to get into position, was accosted on the shoulder by the tennis player.

"Give me back my rack-"

Erin coolly used her grip to her advantage to slip out of her jacket and reveal what was underneath.

Nothing but a black top with one strap to cover both of her breasts, which were spilling out slightly. A skull adorned the front. But nobody cared about that.

The students fell into disbelief at how stunningly gorgeous she was. She was even turning a few of the girl's heads as well.

The poor tennis player, faced with a looming, bouncing sense of inadequacy standing in front of her, was reduced to a blubbering mess as her face turned beet red, "Rack-rack-rack-RACK…!"

Erin leaned in and stroked her finger along the girl's face with a subtle but alarming smile as she told her, "Be useful and take that to my brother."

"Y-Yes, mistress…!" The player scurried to the gate and was heard heaving as she left to do her duty.

Erin then turned around and performed a stretch, sending a clear message to her onlookers over what she's got.

Serra, oblivious to the concept of "feminine wiles", simply focused on her cousin's athletic build, "Wow! You've been working hard!"

"Hah, you're damn right!" Erin declared, fanning her fingers over her chest, "Though THESE were a gift from my mom."

Serra chuckled, "Wow, how much did it cost her?"

Erin winced slightly and then chuckled back with a bit more bite, "Ha, you still have a zeppelin's worth of air in your head."

She then pointed her racket at Serra's head like drawing a sword, "There's no point in facing an unarmed foe in a battle of wits. I came to beat you on your turf, cuz!"

"Heh heh heh! You're welcome to try, Pal-in!" Serra hunched over and twirled her racket with a lick of her lips, "Well? Serve 'er up!"

The students scrambled to get another bet going, and this time there were some odds leaning in Erin's favor.

Damian was about to put his faith in Serra's complete domination when Leo held him by the wrist and whispered, "Wait."

He focused closely, seeing that Erin's aura was rising as she prepared the serve.

In a flash, Erin suddenly swatted the ball down and Serra widened her eyes to chase after it, only to miss by mere centimeters.

The ball landed legally and then bounced off the fence before rolling to Serra's feet.

The students were left in utter shock. Having already been captivated by this black angel's beauty, now they had a personal reason to herald her as their savior.

Erin pointed her racket and her cousin and performed a taunting strut across the court, "15-0."

Serra picked up the ball, her whole body trembling.

Leo and Damian both closed their eyes and synchronized their exasperation, "Hooo boy…!"

Bang rubbed his presence in their faces with a meaty grin, "Ha! Serves you fanboys right!"

Damian opened his eyes partway and sighed, "You don't get it…"

Serra slowly turned to Erin and hunched over, her eyes sharpening just slightly, with what appeared to be a flicker of blue fire coming off her back.

The students had this feeling that they needed to back away from the court, NOW.

"Oooooh ho ho ho!" Serra uttered gleefully, "It's ON now, Pal-in!"

With no further pause Serra positioned herself properly and served the ball, but the moment her racket whacked it a light shockwave hit the students past the cage.

Erin flinched and lost the time to return the serve.

Serra landed the moment the ball did and pumped her fist in celebration, "Woo-hoo! 15-15!"

Erin clicked her tongue and then blew some hairs back up while picking up the ball.

Bang collapsed against the fence and let out a shrill "Bwuuuuuuuuuuh?" while it looked like his eyes would bulge through the fence gaps.

Damian then finished his comment, "Now...she's going to try."

Alex spoke up, "Come on sis, show her your improvements!"

Erin dryly replied, "I'm WORKING on it."

That competitive scowl adorned both players faces as the game picked back up again.

The ball kept getting swatted back and forth across the court, the two seeming to be even in skill.

Points earned came down to the tiniest of errors, but neither side got an overwhelming advantage over the other.

The crowd was getting larger and larger until the entire court was surrounded. Students were now confident in placing bets on the highest payout, "Serra Whiter defeated", which Alex put a few bucks down on for the heck of it.

Serra had something of a reputation among students in prior grades she was involved in, but barely anybody knew who Erin was.

That was rapidly changing with her stunning display of skill on top of her enviable beauty.

Serra was sweating enough facing down her best pal that she was beginning to bat the sweat drops when she returned the serve.

All the while she danced around the court with a huge, focused grin on her face, remembering how easily exhausted Erin used to get when she was younger.

"C'mon Pal-in! Let's go out and have some FUN!"

"W-Wait…Hold on…S-SERRA! I don't want to get sunburnt!"

Just two young girls enjoying the outdoors, and now they're all grown up and enjoying the fierce fun of competitive sports with an onlooking crowd around them.

Serra was really getting fired up, putting her twitching hands on the gearshift, ready to ramp it up to the next gear.

But Leo's intrusive voice got in her head reminding her that they have to TRY and hold back in public.

"Augh! This sucks! I want to have more fun!" Just that momentary distraction caused Erin to land a deadly lob shot past her.

The score got lost somewhere among the roar of the crowd and the sheer adrenaline rush both were experiencing.

Erin took a moment and heaved heavily, "N-Not bad…cuz!"

Serra was breathing heavier too, "Yeah…! Yeah…! Same to you, Pal-in!"

"You're not going to win this though. Give up."

"Ha! I ain't heard no 'GSM' yet!" Serra went and scooped up the ball.

Erin pointed her racket at her and made a bold declaration, "One last serve, and I will crush you decisively, Serra."

The first name call-out triggered a loud heartbeat in Serra's chest. Getting giddy at the thought of putting it all on the line in a tight, final duel, she firmly nodded and declared, "You got it!"

Leo had long since retreated to his music player while waiting for this to finally end. Alex meanwhile, did his best to shout out to his sister, "Take her down, Erin!"

Damian, merely a small presence in a thunderous crowd, gulped tightly and grabbed hold of the fence right as Serra was about to serve.

"YOU CAN DO IT SERRA!"

Serra felt a jolt go up her body and grinned, "HECK…!"

She SLAMMED that ball full force, "YEAAAAAAH!"

Erin lost her haughtiness as the ball went speeding straight at her, "Shit…!"

She grabbed the racket in both hands and took a swing. The ball slammed into it and Erin planted her feet into the ground, making cracks form around her.

But it was futile.

The racket's snap was a signal for deafening silence from the entire crowd. The ball burned into the ground like a meteor, while the broken racket flung out of Erin's hands and impaled itself in one of the cracks.

And Erin was left feeling her hands twitching uncontrollably, looking aghast at Serra hunched over, not realizing that she had won yet.

Serra perked her head up and her smile and positivity broke through the long silence, "Woo-hoo! I won!"

She ran around the net and extended her hand, "That was an AWESOME match, Pal-in! I knew you had it in you!"

There was a flicker of anger on Erin's face before she reluctantly grabbed tightly onto Serra's hand and shook.

She then whispered to her, "Look forward to our next match…Serra."

Serra's eyes narrowed with a competitive spirit, "You betcha!"

Erin then quickly turned around and exited the court, with Alex waiting for her.

"And hey!" Serra got one last remark in, "We should hang out again!"

Erin tightly held onto her jacket as Alex helped her put it on.

As the Dark siblings left this court behind, Alex rubbed the back of his head and gazed up at the sky, "Well…you almost had her."

Erin grabbed onto her clearly pained wrists and grit her teeth, "Damn her…"

"Would you relax?" Alex muttered, "It's not a total loss…"

He gestured at the crowd's gaze following them out, and upon seeing that Erin's mood lifted with a cocky smirk.

"True. Now everyone's attention is where it should be. On me…as I rise up to the top!" She then zipped up her jacket and made one last remark in confidence, "I'll run this back another day. Time to get to class."

Serra, meanwhile, rejoined Leo and Damian outside the court, having definitively beaten every person who could play tennis in school.

But to her, she was basking in the afterglow of a fun series of matches.

"Whew, I'm beat!" She then raised her hand towards Damian, "Hey buddy, let's get some water and then run some laps together!"

"U-Uhhh, sure!" Damian was blushing over his earlier blurting out.

Leo, however, took out his air pods and calmly remarked on what went down, "Serra, I think you should be careful with how you handle yourself around Erin from now on."

Serra gave him a vacant stare, "Eh? Why?"

"The friend you knew is gone." He tried to speak gently.

Damian added his input, "Yeah uhhh, I agree with Leo. It's not just a matter of looks. Erin's flaunting her uhhhh…"

There were certain adjectives he had in mind, but with a heavy blush he looked away and rubbed the back of her head.

Leo closed his eyes and sighed, "Point is, five years is more than enough time for someone to change."

"I know that! And yeah, Pal-in's made a lotta changes to herself. But we're still friends!" Serra grinned and pumped her fists with excitement, "Actually, I guess we've become rivals now! But what are rivals if not friends you compete against?"

"Hmmm…!" Serra reaffirmed her resolve with a nod, "She's chosen to step up her game and face me on my turf! I gotta respect that, Leo!"

Leo simply chose to wave his hands to shrug and remark, "I don't know why I was ever worried."

Damian looked at their attitude regarding this topic and fell forward in an exhausted slump, "I envy how unfazed you guys can be sometimes…"

Serra then looked past him and saw Bang on his knees weakly grabbing onto the fence.

She waved at him and shouted, "Heeey! I didn't know you were watching? Was that good enough to get me on the team now?"

Bang shivered and as the life faded from his eyes he collapsed onto his side unconscious, making Serra flinch with worry.

Before she tried to reach out, Leo tapped her on the shoulder and remarked, "Let him be."

And so, the rest of the day went by without a hitch, and Leo and Serra returned home after parting ways with Damian.

There, their father was waiting for them on the couch, leaning back and enjoying a sitcom.

"'Sup kids! Did you kick some more academic ass?" He asked.

Serra paraded through the house to her room to put her stuff away while declaring, "Yep! I even got to face Pal-in on the tennis court!"

"Good! You're finally starting to make up for lost-" Mew's eyes bulged and then he sat up and leaned around down the hall, "Wait, we're talking about Erin right?"

"Yep!" Serra cried out.

"The same Erin with the-" Mew cupped his hands around his eyes and twisted them.

"And the-" He pulled back, grabbed a magazine, and cuddled it against his chest while swiveling around.

"THAT Erin?!" He said while standing up.

"Dad, there's only one of my pal out there!" Serra said sincerely.

Mew crossed his arms and sounded utterly baffled as he remarked, "...Unbelievable. Is this how she decides to get on my nerves now? Through generational warfare?"

He then put a hand on his chin and murmured, "Well no, wait…maybe Julius got her interested in sports. But then again…"

Leo interjected, "I'll repeat what I said to Serra. It's been five years. That's a long enough time for someone to change."

Mew turned around and nodded, "Oh yeah, wow. Really hasn't felt that long either."

"Why, sometimes it feels like it's only been two years and nine months since your mom finally confessed her love for me."

Leo raised a brow, "That's an oddly specific number."

Mew's pupils shrunk as he felt a little awkward now, "Huh, true."

He then grinned and remarked, "Still, next you'll tell me that Alex has started going to church!"

"Wouldn't know, I haven't gotten much time alone with him." Leo mentioned.

Mew took on a slightly more serious tone as he asked, "But he's still behaving normally?"

"He seems to be fine."

Mew nodded, "Good. Try to reach out to him. You've always been a good influence for him."

He then smiled and returned to his carefree ways, "So! School has been going good for you both otherwise?"

"I have nothing new to report." Leo said.

"Neither do I!" Serra yelled from her room.

"Well good! Now how about a meal from the master, and some good ol' TV?" Mew said with a clap of his hands.

"I want hamburgers!" Serra shouted.

"That sounds nice. As usual, hold the onions." Leo remarked.

"Three hamburgers, coming right up!" Mew sped off to the kitchen to get grilling!

Leo then slid his way over to the couch to change it to the news and see how his mom is doing. And while he's at it, might as well browse through the guide for stuff to watch later.

It didn't take long for him to catch something of interest to report to his dad, "Uh oh, I have some bad news."

Mew leaned over the counter and hissed with a hint of worry, "Don't tell me, did something happen to your mom?"

Leo shook his head and then craned it back, gesturing the remote at the TV, "No, it's worse than that."

Mew saw that a concert was going to air live later tonight, and with a dry scoff he remarked, "Oh goodie, she's back on the air…"

And then his eyes widened, sounding far more offended by what this meant, "Hey WAIT…! The season premiere of my favorite sitcom was supposed to air tonight!"

He tightened his fist before his face and grit his teeth, "That witch…! She took this time slot on purpose!"

"...But you and Serra will still watch it?" Leo remarked calmly.

Mew crossed his arms and huffed, "...Yeah. I mean…it's good music."

"And this is why she's still living in your head." Leo pointed out.

"Haaaa, I just miss when she took everything literally and could barely reach the top of the fridge. Those were the good ol' days, can we go back to those?"

Leo then looked over the counter, "The meat?"

Mew sniffed and then flinched "Shit! Sorry!" before running back to his cooking.

They enjoyed some juicy hamburgers, caught the tail end of Kairi's latest news coverage, watched a few different shows, and then when it was time for the concert Leo retreated to his room to practice the violin and flute.

Mew threw his legs on the table and stretched back comfortably into the couch, a bowl of popcorn dividing him and Serra.

"You don't have to stick around if you don't want to." He offered.

"I haven't seen Aunt Rosey in ages though!" She replied.

Mew stretched his shoulders and grumbled, "Yeah, cause that girl's always living life her way. No forewarning, not even a 'hello'. Haaa…"

The concert was starting on a grand stage somewhere in the mideastern part of the country. It had all the trappings of her usual concerts, lots of blood red and violet colors splattered around the near black curtains, rose dotting the edge of the stage, and a walkway for her to strut out onto, surrounded by flashy fuchsia spotlights.

The curtains started to pull apart, the overflowing stands of people erupting into cheers and whistles as the host set the stage for the main singer, "For the next hour, keep your voices down and your heads up, as our Seductress of Song makes your souls shudder!"

The spotlights pivoted towards the stage, hitting a tall and striking lady with long purple hair, blunt bangs and red eyes. She wore a shoulder-bearing purple dress with a subtle spider web pattern, draping sleeves, and exposed legs, both of which had dark brown stockings and heels. A mesh covered her obscenely sized chest, again having a spider web pattern.

The spotlights managed to make her silhouette hit the backdrop, a graveyard wasteland filled with dead roses and upside-down crucifixes. And the lights were manipulated in such a way to add six pointed wings to her silhouette.

The audience went silent as the woman walked, a steadily growing louder melody of drums and guitars at her back.

The stadium was bathed in a rose-red hue as she laid one hand on her chest and curled her other fingers towards the audience.

"Come to me. Do you hear it?

That rhythmic, hypnotic, romantic beat…

I want you closer. Feel my heartbeat pulse harder.

Take your hand in mine, let our tongues intwine.

Spit that deceit from your liar's tongue!

I want only your truth, a taste oh so divine!"

The woman slowly fell to her knees, pretending like she had someone embraced in her arms, gripping them with a force that wouldn't break.

It was such a powerful gesture that the audience felt like they were that special person in her arms.

"You are a wreck in my arms.

I will fix you. And make you…miiiiiine.

Give in to that sinful feeling.

You desire this love and ALL that I'm giving!

Your heart tightens with every word I utter.

Surrender to this feeling…my seductive…shudder."

The lights dimmed in the stadium, wrapping it all in pitch black save for her. She stood up and waltzed as a slow guitar solo began.

"What is love but the torture of the heart?

Am I worthy to take what I want into my grasp?

Does pain end when it's taken away

Or when I finally choose to let it go

The darkness finally encapsulated her, with a frantic piano picking up in volume, only to suddenly stop as a bloody rose covered black coffin appeared where the woman stood.

A drum beat in tune to the coffin shaking, getting louder and louder as cracks broke it apart.

Finally, the woman broke free and lurched back, jutting her chest towards the sky as six demonic wings emerged from her back, and a crimson twilight erupted across the stadium, with that graveyard backdrop looking a lot more three-dimensional than it did before.

Now the guitars and drums were really kicking into overdrive, joined by a powerful piano melody.

The woman rose from the coffin's remains and her eyes glowed brightly with a distinct hypnotic hue as she glided around the stadium and wailed her siren's song.

"I want you closer! Feel my heartbeat pulse harder!

Take your hand in mine, let our tongues intwine!

Spit that deceit from your liar's tongue!

I want only your truth, a taste oh so divine!

You are a wreck in my arms!

I will fix you! And make you…MIIIIIIIINE!

Give in to that sinful feeling!

You desire this love and ALL that I'm giving!

Your heart tightens with every word I utter!

Surrender to this feeling…my seductive…shudder!

Let this be our banquet of passion!

Anguish and misery will be a murder of our making!

Until the moon falls and the sun rises!

Let the sweat of our love making crest our bodies and glisten our souls!

Hear my voice of liberation beating in your chest!

Become worthy of your own validation, and dissent with the crowd!

What is love but the torture of the heart

Yet the comfort of thy soul

Let it go and start living!

Pain…should not be your cross to bear."

The woman descended upon the graveyard and sat atop the jagged fence, crossing her legs and wiggling a finger at herself with an inviting smile as the melody faded out, and the curtains fell upon the stage.

The audience erupted into cheers and this was only the first song of the night.

Serra laughed and clapped because she enjoyed the effects more than the music.

Meanwhile Mew crossed his arms and begrudgingly admitted, "Alright Alura, I admit it, that was pretty good…"

He bit his teeth in a scowl and mumbled, "In SPITE of all your cheating…"

Yes, you heard him right. THAT was Alura. That demure girl Joe Dark rescued before? Yeah, she grew up to be quite the bombshell.

Don't try and ask for an explanation of how the hell THAT happened, nobody knows the truth. One day, 'BAM!' she was six feet tall and had breasts nearly rivaling Auris'.

It's assumed she's using her illusions to add a few extra inches all around for show, but nobody can confirm it.

What they DO know though, is she's using her illusions to cheat on the special effects for her shows.

It's made her a mega hit among metal music fans these past few years and also helped her rake in extra profits, but given the great pains a lot of them have gone through NOT to try and use their powers to get advantages in their jobs her disregard for that has been a subject of controversy among the adults in their group.

Of course her argument boils down to "It's illusions, so nobody's going to figure it out, silly!" which Mew thought of in a mockery of her current, jollier tone.

Thinking of the kind of problem Alura's become with her unrelenting jolliness and added pride in her looks, Mew took a brief moment to glance at Serra and ask her, "Hey, I know Erin's gone through some drastic changes. Are you two still friends?"

Serra sat up and exclaimed, "Of course! Well…"

She pumped her fists and looked very excited to say, "We're more or less rivals right now! Which is even better!"

"Heh…!" Mew smiled with relief.

A father who has gone off to be President. A mother traveling worldwide as a famous singer. It wasn't too hard to piece together where this was all heading.

"Promise me, Serra. When the chips are down and Erin seems lost, be the one special person who'll remind her she's not alone." He then raised his knuckles at her.

"Huh?" Despite her vacant stare, the swiftness of her smile made him feel comfortable entrusting her with this responsibility.

"You got it, pop!" She bumped his knuckles and Mew's smile widened.

"That's my girl!" He said with pride.

He then leaned back on the couch and continued to enjoy the concert.

He knew he'd have a part to play in this whole mess later down the line, but for now, the kids could handle things themselves.

Next Time: Leo's Mistake