Murder of Excellence

Back at school, the students say that the fountain water is gray. "What does this mean?" Jared asks. "She is out of the fountain," Hiroshima said. "She's here, but not weak." "That means we can stop her." "Not yet. At this point, we have to stop her at her strongest. She will only get stronger if we try to stop her." Allison touches the water, and it feels like tar, and she gets a phone call. "Good morning. Am I speaking to Princess Alicinda?" "Yes, who is this?" "Lady Thanda." "It is a pleasure to hear from you again." "Wait, that is what I came to tell you. The woman you, Lord Jeremiah, Lady Hiroshima, and Rosé meet was not me." "Not you?" "No. I believe Kaante attacked me and took my place. She told you everything, but she also gave you nightmares. I saw it from the cameras. She tricked you into gaining a sense of who you all are." Allison is in shock. "What is going on?" Ash asks. "Lady Thanda. When we met her, it was Kaante." "What? It wasn't a test. Kaante did that to us!" Rosé exclaims. "She did," Jeremy said. "She wanted to bait us, and we took it." "Now, it's personal," Hiroshima said. "War," Ulrich said. Daah stops walking and holds her head. "War. They declared war! They know what we did." "Now, I have to up the game with those flies," Kaante said.

"Hold on, I'm lost," Odd said. "Omar, the woman our friends spoke to after our beach trip, was an imposter," Sajin said. "I know that. I want to know what we are going to do. At this point, we don't know where she is and what we need to do." Cressila reaches inside the fountain and pulls out the cotton ball. "It looks untouched," she said. "Place it in this test tube," Jeremy said. When Cressila does, the cotton ball expands to fit the shape of the tube. "It didn't do that before." "Now, I want to study it more," Jared said. "Leave me out. Last time, someone went to great lengths to bring the cotton ball back to the fountain," Dawn said. "Well, I want to another crack at it," Aelita said. "Then, Jared, Aelita, and I will examine the cotton ball again after school," Jeremy said. "Good. Please keep it away from me," Rosé said. Ash looks up and sees Sangharsh blowing a raspberry at him. "Is everything okay?" Allison asks. "Yeah. I am wondering when this all started?" "With Sangharsh's memorial," Brock said. "I think someone was trying to use Kaante to bring him back." Sangharsh gasps. "I am not getting blamed for this," he said as he caused a light fixture to fall. Ash sees this and pushes Brock out of the way. "Whoa, what was that?" Alexis asks as she helps the boys up. "How did you know the light fixture was falling?" Brock asks. "It was a split decision," Ash said as Sansharsh smugly shook his head.

Meanwhile, Johanne and Haru walk by the fountain. "The hallway looks dead," Haru said. "I want to look inside," Johanne said. "I am not going in there. What if she is still there?" Haru asks. "I don't think so. I felt a shift in the magic around here." Haru stares at her. "I guess a fairy hybrid can't feel it." Haru tries to walk away, but Johanne stops him. "Yes, you can." She grabs his hands and places their heads together. "Take a deep breath," she said. Haru breathes and notices a shift in the air. "I feel it. It feels like a weight has been lifted, but an elephant is still in the room." "Right. That's it." Haru opens his eyes. "Alright. How do we get into the fountain?" "With our Inteleons," Johanne said. "Good," Haru said. They called their Pokemon out and gave them a camera. "Okay, we want you both to swim around the fountain and record everything you see," Johanne said. "We'll watch from the camera," Haru said. The Inteleons understood. They jump and swim around. "Everything looks normal," Haru said. "Hold on, what is that?" Johanne asks. She points to a piece of cloth with a symbol on it. "Inteleon, get close to the cloth," Johanne said. As Johanne's Inteleon gets close to the piece of cloth, Daah senses it. "They are close to the connection. I need to protect her!" Daah uses her knight spell to block the Pokemon. "Inteleon?" Haru asks. "What the fuck is that black shadow?" "Swim back so we can bring you back to your Pokeballs," Johanne commands. The black figure grabs the Pokemon. "No! I'm jumping in," Haru shouts. Before he jumps in, the fountain shoots water and drenches Haru and Johanne. The Pokemon came out and collapsed into their trainers' arms. "Inteleon!" Haru cries. "To the nurse," Johanne said. Daah smiles. "I pleased her!"

In the lab, Jeremy looks at the cotton ball. "It has someone's magical DNA," he said. "Whose?" Jared asks. "I don't know. How do we find out?" "With this plant," Aelita said. "the plant that the administration used to find out who killed Mrs. Temp," Jared said. "Yes. If we can use the plant to find out whose DNA is on the cotton ball, we can get closer to stopping Kaante," Aelita said. She places the plant close to the cotton ball, and two different lights emerge from the plant. "One Light is about a deceased fairy. The other is from," Jared starts. Daah waves her want, and the cotton ball starts to expand. "Why is it growing?" Aelita asks. Jeremy raises his sword and starts cutting the cotton ball down; however, it regenerates. "It grows back," Aelita says. "We need to help Jeremy," Jared said. They take out their swords and the trio battles with the cotton ball. "They are good, but I am better," Daah said. Kaante takes over and increases her power. The cotton ball starts to block the doorway and windows. "It is going to block the airways," Aelita says. "We need to get out of here," Jeremy said. The cotton ball grabs the two and starts to choke them. At the same time, Allison and Ash J were talking about the Royal Presentation. "We have to present ourselves to the public to let them know that we are going to be taking on more royal duties," Ash J said. "It is not that bad. We can pick the music and food and not invite Dean Kathin," Allison said. "Yeah, right. He has to be invited. He can sit in the back." The womb-mates joke until they sense something. "I think something is wrong with Aelita and Johanne," Allison said. "Jimmy texted me. Johanne and Haru got into trouble at the fountain," Ash J said. "Okay. Aelita is at the lab with Jeremy and Jared. They could be in trouble." "Let's go!" Moxie calls at the same time. "Hey, Moxie. I am with my sister. Our cousin and friends are in trouble. If you want to help, we're in the lab," Ash J said. Moxie rolls her eyes but sees Dean Kathin walking towards the lab. "Good afternoon Dean Kathin," Moxie said. "Good afternoon Mabel; what do you want?" "Sir, I want to show you two ideas for an outside graduation." Moxie whisks Dean Kathin away. Allison and Ash come across the door to the lab. "The cotton ball is taking over," Ash J said. "The door is locked," Allison said. "Can we do that thing we did on the beach trip?" "What thing?" "The one Rosé talked about. the power of twins." Allison nods. The twins bring out their swords, and the tips of the blades glow. "The cotton ball is huge," Ash J said. "If we hold hands, the Everlasting Silver Crystal can give us power," Allison said. Ash J nods as they hold hands. They feel the power of the crystal charging up their magic, and they connect the tips of their swords. "Thandar Krasis!" Silver lighting strikes the door, breaks the cotton ball, and reduces it. Aelita, Jeremy, and Jared fly out of the room. "Thank you," Jared says as he gasps for air. "You're welcome," Allison said. Moxie sees this and says, "Fuck them." She runs to Ash J. "I saw what happened. Is everyone okay?" "Yeah," Jeremy said.

Later that evening, in the rec room, Jimmy retells his sister and friend's ordeal. "It was like when they got close to something, Kaante blocked them," Jimmy said. "The same thing with us," Aelita said. "We know that one DNA is a dead boy, but the other, we got Kaante mad." "I wonder what they saw," Ulrich asks. "It was a symbol of two swords crossing," Jimmy said. "What?" Sajin asks. "If they got closer, it would have a heart behind it." "Is that something?" Rosé asks. "Yes, it is the Knight's crest. A pink one is a First Class Knight. Red is for Second Class Knights," Cressila said. "I think it all leads to Sangharsh," Odd said. "It does. Why?" Apin asks as he walks in. "The day of his memorial." "Well, I think a trip to his grave will help." "His grave?" Allison asks. "We should leave him alone." "If someone is trying to use him, his spirit may not be at peace," Hiroshima said. Yumi notices Ash staring off into the distance. Sangharsh laughs. "Am I causing problems?" Ash growls. "Are you okay?" Yumi asks. "Yes. I haven't been to his grave since his first anniversary." "Neither of us has. It might be good if the Knights go," Cressila said. "Okay. The rest of us should see if we can find out about the other DNA on the cotton ball," Dexter said. Daah screams. "They're strong. I need to think stronger!" Kaante drops a picture on the ground, and Daah picks it up."I will use it soon," Daah said.

Mariam wakes up the following day and heads for the showers. She sees her sister and notices that her reflection is altered. "I should follow her around. She was in love with Sangharsh," she said as she placed a tracking spell on her sister. "It is for your good."