Chapter 9

"Everything is all set up, sir," said one of the workers.

"And our stars? Are they well rested?" The manager asked.

"Yes, sir. And the pods are being charged so that they are ready for when the kids are ready for bedtime."

"Good," the man said. "All is going well and we are raking in the money we deserve."

Elsewhere in the botanical gardens were they were set up, Yuri had been practicing her routine when she saw a butterfly and it was so pretty she had to pause and gaze at it. As she did so, she felt as if she had just woken up and she blinked, noticing her vision was blurry. "Huh? Where am I?" She asked herself before realizing her glasses were gone. "Where are my glasses?"

She then saw some contact lenses nearby and noticed a piece of paper someone had dropped. She picked it up and held it close to her face to read it. It was an order for contact lenses with a note at the bottom that contact lenses would make her look better than with her glasses.

Frowning as she was already getting bad vibes from the place, she began moving quickly. Though her vision was mostly blurry, she would still see obstacles somewhat and it wasn't long before she got to a door, opening it to find it led to outside. Looking around briefly to see there was no one around, she began to run as realization sunk in.

"I've got to find Balan," she said to herself as she kept running, hoping the theater was nearby.

The manager went to check on the kids and he was quick to notice one of them was missing. "The purple-haired girl is missing," he said.

"We didn't see her anywhere, boss," said one of the guards.

"Well, go find her," the manager said. "Bring her back unharmed and on the double."

"Yes, sir."

Back at the theater, things were a bit tense as they all were waiting for when the next show would start. "What if our plan doesn't work?" Sana asked, wringing her hands in worry.

Lance gently took her hands in his own, gently squeezing them. "It will work, Sana," he said, his tone reassuring. "You all have put so much thought into this plan. It's sure to work."

"He's right," Jose said. "If it comes to pass that we can only save a couple of the kids at a time, then we'll adjust the rescue plan as needed."

"Might not hurt to do that now," Attilio said. "Have a backup in case one plan need to be altered fast."

"Attilio makes a good point," Fiona said before feeling like she needed a break. "How about we all take a break and get some fresh air? We can come back to making extra plans when our minds are a bit clearer."

"A walk sounds like a good idea," Lucy said.

Balan nodded. "Partner up and be careful," he cautioned.

Lance gently took his counterpart's arm. "Come on, Balan, you need a break too," he said to him.

"But Lance...,"

"Nope, I'm not taking 'no' for an answer," the dark-haired being said. "You're my brother, Balan, and you need a break too." He paused and looked at the top-hatted Maestro. "Please, Balan. If not for your sake, do it for Emma and Leo's sakes."

Balan gave him a look. "No fair using my own children as leverage," he said without heat.

"You gave me no choice," Lance countered back playfully. "And I wouldn't call it 'leverage'. I'd say it's more reminding you to hold on for them."

He said this part gently, to which the top-hatted Maestro nodded. "You're right, thank you, Lance," he said before looking curious and then smiling at realization hit him. "Am I detecting that you are exchanging the role of guardian angel for the role of uncle for my children?"

"Who's to say I can't be both?" His counterpart said with a smile. "I do hope that is alright with you, brother?"

"Of course it is, brother," Balan said, hugging him. "I've known from the time you went with us to rescue Emma when she had been kidnapped. And when you encouraged Leo to talk to me when he was unsure about asking me to borrow the stage to keep dancing. You were taking the role of uncle without realizing it."

Lance shrugged, but smiled. "I guess you could say Emma and Leo grew on me," he said. "It was refreshing to me to see them look at me without fear. I know I've been working to earn everyone's forgiveness and trust, but...,"

"Emma and Leo didn't know about your prior actions before meeting you," his counterpart finished gently. "You got to show them the you that became a better person after that ordeal."

"Yes," Lance said with a nod. "I...I know they are a bit aware of my past, and if they ask me, I won't lie to them. I will never shatter their trust in me, Balan. I promise."

"I know you won't, Lance, but I doubt Leo and Emma will change their minds about you being someone they can trust. They have seen that you are protective of them and they judge you based on your current actions, not the actions of who you were before they met you."

Balan's words make his tendriled counterpart smile before he blinked and looked up as if hearing something. "Lance?" Balan asked.

"I...I think I hear Yuri," Lance said, closing his eyes and they opened a moment later. "She's nearby and...I think she might be in trouble."

Lance's intuition was actually correct. At that very moment, Lucy and Cal were walking down the street, both feeling down. "I'm so worried about the children, Cal," the painter said.

"I am too, Lucy," the chess player said.

Just then, a shout startled them and they looked up and gasped at seeing a familiar child stumbling around in the busy street. "Yuri!" Cal called out, already breaking into a run to get the child out of the street before she got hit by a car.

The purple-haired girl gasped at hearing the chess player's familiar voice. "Cal?" She called out, looking around for him.

"Yuri! Stay where you are!" Lucy called out, seeing Cal had almost reached the child.

"Lucy?" Yuri called out, hearing the painter's voice.

Just then, two arms scooped her up and moved her out of the busy street. "Yuri! Are you okay?"

She turned to realize Cal was the one that saved her. "Cal!" She said, hugging the man who was like an uncle to her, tears in her eyes.

He sighed in relief that she was okay. "You're safe now, kiddo. I've got you," he said, holding her like a parent would a child and carrying her back across the street to where Lucy was.

"Yuri! Thank goodness you're alright!" Lucy said, hugging both the child and the chess player. "We were so worried about you."

"What happened? And where are your glasses?" Cal asked.

"We were captured before we could get to Leo," the girl who loved bugs said worriedly. "The manager...he did something that made us forget who we were. And my glasses were taken away and exchanged for contacts."

"Do you know where you and and others were?" Lucy asked.

"At the botanical gardens," the child said.

Cal nodded. "Come on. We need to get back to Balan," he said.

Moments later, they were at the theater. "Everyone! We found Yuri!" Lucy called out as they entered.

The others gathered around, hugging the child, who hugged them back happily. "Yuri, are you alright, my dear?" Balan asked after Fiona handed the purple-haired girl to him.

"I'm okay, Balan, but I can't really see right now," she said.

"I have just the thing," he said, snapping his fingers and a pair of glasses appeared in his hand, which he gave to her. "I always have a few spares around in case someone needs them."

Yuri put on the glasses and blinked, able to clearly see again. "Thank you. That's much better," she said.

"Yuri, where were you? And where are the others?" Balan asked.

"At the botanical gardens," she replied.

"How did you escape?" Lance asked.

"I saw a butterfly and...I felt like a woke up from a bad dream. I couldn't remember anything until I saw the butterfly. It was like my mind was in a fog."

"And the butterfly helped you regain your memories?" Balan asked.

"Yeah," she said. "I...I didn't think about getting the others because I was alone and I felt like I was in danger, so I ran."

"You did the right thing, Yuri," Cal said.

"I agree," Lance said. "It would have been terrible if you had gotten caught while trying to find the others before escaping whoever had kidnapped you."

Balan looked thought before smiling. "The way Yuri escaped gives me an idea," he said. "If she was able to snap out of being 'hypnotized', for lack of a better term, by seeing the one thing she loves the most, perhaps that is the key to rescuing the others."

"We know Haoyu loves airplanes," Jose said.

"And Cass loves cats," Lucy said.

The top-hatted Maestro nodded. "Fiona, would you be up to drive Haoyu's plane and bring Cass' cat along for the rescue mission?" He asked.

She nodded. "Tell me when and I'm there," she said.

"I'll accompany you to keep an eye out for danger," Invisible Man said.

"I'll come too," Merry Ghost said. "Never know if we'll run into the people we're rescuing the kids from."

"She's got a point, Balan," Lance said.

"Then it's settled," Balan said. "I'll get Haoyu's plane ready. Fiona, Invisible Man, Merry Ghost, be ready to go in fifteen minutes."

They nodded and the others felt hope that soon, all the kids would be rescued.

Will Fiona, Invisible Man, and Merry Ghost be able to save Cass and Haoyu? Stay tuned to find out! :)

And please leave a review, but no flames!

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