Party Preparations

Disclaimer: with Snugglemane's party getting started, I've included a few songs in the following chapters, none of which I own in any way, shape, or form.

Covered in dirt and grime from the long trek, Ashaki was nearing the end of her patience, but she finally made it, Pure Heart Valley. From where she stood, she had an excellent view over the wall that surrounded the kingdom. With a squint, her vision zoomed in on the goings-on on the other side of the wall, yet another of the numerous abilities that her contacts give her.

The denizens seemed to be setting something up in the town square. There was a large pink-maned lion standing on a makeshift dais with a megaphone shouting orders to a bunch of uniformed individuals. Ashaki already knew the lion—sort of—he had been in one of the visions she had, along with Mao Mao and some tanuki, inside one of Ashaki's barriers along with her.

Upon further inspection, there were some rather large boxes in the back. Focusing on them, Ashaki tried to stare through the boxes, much like how someone would stare through whatever was in front of them when they began to space out. As if the contacts understood what she was trying to do, she was able to see the contents of the boxes: streamers, strobe lights, and a turntable.

So the denizens were setting up for some kind of party. No matter; according to her mom, Cleo, her sisters, Minori and Violet, should already be here, if so, where?

Wrapping her cape tightly around her, Ashaki moved closer towards the wall, using the green of her cape as camouflage against the trees and grass. The wall measured to be about seventeen, maybe eighteen, feet tall. Staring up at the wall that loomed over her, Ashaki thought about the first thing her mother taught her when she was learning about the mystic arts: how to levitate.

"All living things have a life force," her mom had told her. "It has many names, varying from culture to culture, aura, energy, ki, but the most commonly used name, is chi. It flows through you, just like the blood in your veins. Imagine the feeling of those blood cells, turning and changing direction, and they've all decided to head towards the base of your spine."

Ashaki felt a sense of weightlessness as she remembered that lesson, from her point of view, it looked like the top of the wall was coming down to her, where in fact, she was going up to it. As soon as she was within arms reach of the ledge, she hoisted herself up and over.

Most people would ask her, "wouldn't it make more sense to channel your chi towards your feet, instead of the base of the spine?" In theory, yes, actually, no. The mystic arts were discovered and cultivated in a country that had already developed a system for harnessing chi, via through one of seven chakras that run along the center of a person's height. The base of the spine is where the root chakra, or Muladhara, is located.

Walking along the top of the wall, Ashaki examined the people as they rushed about the square. Was there some kind of anniversary, or maybe they're prepping for a local festival? No matter which way you slice it, this isn't what she's here for.

Ashaki cast her gaze upward, towards the spire, and the giant gem that sat at the top. Her current project lies up there. Channeling her chi back into her Muladhara, she levitated off the wall, and glided over to a rooftop, where she would continue to walk on in silence, wrapped up in her thoughts.

How coincidental that my siblings happened to find Mao Mao here of all places, Ashaki thought to herself. After she had jumped across several buildings, her focus broke as she noticed a black individual clad in red walking down the street. On second glance, Ashaki confirm that it was indeed Mao Mao himself!

Dropping onto her stomach, she rolled over so that she was on the other side of the angled roof. Wait a minute... why was she hiding? Eventually she would have to come out of the shadows anyway; the pact can't be completed otherwise. It was that damn nightmare, it's been messing with her head, giving her a sense of paranoia.

Peeking over the roof, Ashaki watched as her brother entered a building across the street. She stared at the building, eventually her contacts allowed her to see through its walls. It was then that Ashaki saw Mao Mao laying down on a chaise lounger, a small blue dog sat across from him with a clipboard.

Mao Mao's in therapy? What for? As much as Ashaki wanted to know the answer, it needed to be set to the side for now. Taking one last look at Mao Mao, she glanced down at her hands, and for an instant her vision flashed red. Rapidly blinking, Ashaki clenched her hands into fists, trembling from how tight they were closed. That nightmare was going to ruin her at this rate.

Mao Mao sat himself down on the lounger, resting his hands on his torso. It was Thursday again, that meant two things: that it was time for another therapy session, and that afterwards, Snugglemane's party was going to kick off.

"So," Blue said, clicking his pen as he brought it to his clipboard. "How have things progressed since our last session?"

"Well, it's had its ups and downs," replied Mao Mao, quickly recounting the events of the past two weeks in his head. "A few days after our last session, one of my other sisters showed up with Tanya Keyes."

"Now that's interesting, what would one of your sisters be doing with this Tanya?"

"Well," Mao Mao took a moment think about the story that Tanya and Violet told him. "It started with Violet overhearing that I was in Pure Heart, she then sought out someone who could take her, which lead to her finding Tanya, and the rest is history."

"I see," Blue quickly jotted a few notes down. "And did anything else happen?

"Hmm, I asked my sisters to help with my training with Adorabat."

Now this caught Blue's attention. He looked up from the clip board, with one of his brows raised. "And how did that go?"

"Could've gone better," Mao Mao's ears flattened against the top of his head at the recalling of the fight between the two siblings. "Minori and Violet don't get along that well, if it escalated any further, it would've gotten to the point where the HQ would've been leveled to the ground... again."

Blue jotted down more notes. "Yes, with a large family like yours, it was a given that a couple siblings wouldn't get along."

"Then there was the most recent thing to happen," Mao Mao started. "You see, in my family, eating cobbler is taboo, has been for as long as anyone can remember."

"Uh-huh," Blue leaned back in the chair, lowering the clipboard, to listen to Mao Mao.

"Well, I decided to become my own kind of hero, one where I make my own rules to live by, instead of anyone else's. This lead to me finally eating cobbler, and it was... relieving, like a huge weight was lifted off of me. But the other night, when we all sat down to dinner, my sisters didn't react too well."

"Oh?" Now this sounded like they were getting to the root of the issue.

"When they came here, saying they wanted to bond, I wanted to believe them. But when they berated me for eating it. It was like, all that weight came crashing back down on me," Mao Mao, as he said all this, replayed the memory in his head. "I just couldn't take it, so I got out of there."

Blue took a minute to process this new information, taking into account everything Mao Mao had told him before hand, seeing if something could be linked to this. But before that, Blue had to say something else first, "I'm sorry that you had to go through all of that."

"Don't be," Mao Mao said with a lighter tone. "It wasn't your fault. Besides, Tanya came out a couple minutes later and talked some sense into me."

"This Tanya," started Blue, wanting to know more about this female character that the Sheriff kept mentioning. This is far from the first time her name has come up in his office, but it sounded like she was tied into whatever Mao Mao and his sisters are going through. "Is she special to you?"

Mao Mao's cheeks turned a bright shade of scarlet. "Well, I, uh- it's a complicated matter."

"I'm sure," Blue turned back to his clipboard, taking quick notes of what he could recall as it was still fresh in his mind.

"Well as it turned out, I wasn't the only person she talked some sense into," as Mao Mao spoke, his voice became a little lighter, and softer. "When I went back inside, I saw that my sisters had eaten the rest of the cobbler."

"Well now that's interesting," Blue formed a steeple with his hands, taking notice of Mao Mao's change in his voice. "Tanya, she definitely has a way with you members of the Mao Clan doesn't she?"

"You have no idea. It was almost ridiculous, first my sisters berate me, then after they talk to Tanya, apologize for how they acted."

Taking a moment to mull things over, Blue thought of something that would be a bit... extra. "Mr. Mao Mao, I'd like to try something if you wouldn't mind. I want to do a group therapy session with your sisters, see if we can't learn a little more about what exactly is going through their heads."

Mao Mao shot up from the lounger, his eyes were wider than they've ever been before. "You. Want to talk. With my sisters?"

"Yes," Blue said simply.

Mao Mao's mind began to race, possible situations formed in his imagination. Some where they talked about his embarrassing moments, some where they said what they really thought about him. But if his sessions with Blue had taught him anything, it's that sometimes you need to take that necessary step. "I-I'll see if their up for it, but I can't give any guarantees they'll come."

"That's all I ask," looking at the clock, Blue was just about to call the end of the session. But the look in Mao Mao's eyes, how they seemed distant, like he was staring at something far off, told Blue that there was more. "There's... something else on your mind?"

"Yeah actually," replied Mao Mao, hesitantly, diverting his eyes. "When the cobbler incident went down the other night, I learned that one of my sisters, Hinata, has been missing for almost ten years."

"Why don't you tell me about your relationship with Hinata, and how that dynamic with her worked." Normally, Blue wouldn't push the time of the appointment, but he felt like they were making some real progress.

"Well, if you were to ask Minori, she'd tell you that Hinata and I were rarely seen without each other," Mao Mao joked with a chuckle. "But really, Hinata and I were pretty close. I remember when I was a kid, when all my other sisters were training, Hinata was the only one who would take time to play with me, and help me get started on becoming a hero—even more so after the summer I met Bao Bao."

"Sounds like your childhood was more than just trying to live up to your father," Blue said with a smile. "But how come this is the first I'm ever hearing of this?"

"Well, I started coming to you to talk about my father issues, I didn't think talking about my sisters would be necessary," Mao Mao said dismissively.

"Noted. But how did you feel when you learned that she went missing?"

"Scared. Powerless." Mao Mao paused. "I left home to make a name for myself as a hero, and this happens when I'm not looking. It just reminds me of the one thing every hero needs to know."

"And that would be~?" Blue said, drawing out the end of the sentence.

"That as a hero, you can't always save everybody," Mao Mao choked a little as he said that, tears forming at the corner of his eye. "If I'm saving people in one city, people could be dying in another."

"This sounds like heroing has a major effect on your psyche," Blue stated at the notes he had on his clipboard, coming up with a conclusion for Mao Mao. "Have you ever considered doing anything other than being a hero?"

"No, of course not, it's the family business, and it's all I ever wanted to be," looking at the clock on the wall, Mao Mao saw that he was supposedly have left already. "Look, if it's all the same to you, I'd like to wrap this up. I have meet up with the others to get ready for the party."

"Very well," Blue rolled his eyes, hopping out of his chair. "Remember what I said about your sisters."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll talk to them," Mao Mao waved his hand as he opened the door to Blue's office. "You going to go to the party?"

"No," stated Blue in his melancholic voice. "I'll be curled up with my book."

"Alright, you have a good day," said Mao Mao, shutting the door behind him.

"You too, Sheriff."

Hours later, just as the sun was beginning to set, Mao Mao and Minori were throwing on the last pieces of their tuxedos, just like Minori's was orange, Mao Mao's was his usual primary red. Violet walked out of the bathroom, wearing her purple cheongsam, smoke generated from Tanya's leaves fumed out from the room behind her.

"You look great," Minori said, loosening her tie a little.

"Thank you, sister," Minori replied, placing her hat on her head once more.

Behind Violet, Tanya herself stepped out of the bathroom, sporting a forest green dress with sparkling sequins. It was like laying on the forest floor, staring up at the canopy, and seeing the light that was able to break through the countless limbs of bark and leaves. Mao Mao was at a loss for words, and his face felt warm.

Tanya's ear flicked, catching notice of the music that was blasting in the background. "What is that?"

"Badgerclops! Would you knock it off with that loud music?" Mao Mao called out.

Badgerclops, who stood just outside of the room, turned the boom box at the end of his arm back into his normal hand. He had initially been playing L.E.T.S.G.O. (Cahio Remix) by Headband, while they were dressing up. "I thought we could use some music for a dress up montage!"

"I'm ready!" Adorabat came flying into the room, wearing a pink dress with frills, and a hot pink bow that wrapped around her waist and tied up into a bow on her back.

"Oh. My. GAAWWWDD!" Minori cooed. "You look so cute!"

"Okay everyone, gather up," Badgerclops motioned for everyone to bunch up together.

"What? Why?" Mao Mao asked, suspicious of Badgerclops' motives.

"For the group picture, obviously," said Badgerclops, extending his hand across the room, transforming it into a functioning camera.

"Picture?" Violet's voice cracked a little, but not enough for anyone to notice, thankfully. If the group photo of the six Mao's in front of the fallen monster wasn't proof enough, Violet couldn't pose to save her life. Even her personal photo album—an album dedicated to solely Violet—was littered with photos where Violet seemed to stage whatever she was doing.

Mao Mao stood in the center, with Minori perching her elbow on his shoulder. Tanya stood on Mao Mao's opposite side, with Adorabat hanging off of her. Badgerclops, being the tallest/biggest person in the room, stood in the back, standing next to Violet, who in turn stood straight, with an awkward smile.

"Everyone say, Pure Heart!" Badgerclops said, waiting for the group to echo it back.

"Pure Heart!" Everyone called out. A flash of light temporarily blinded the group. Retracting his arm, Badgerclops produced a Polaroid picture from his wrist, shaking it a few times.

"Alrighty y'all, I'm gonna head on down to the party to prep," said Badgerclops, walking over to the door.

"Prep for what?" Minori asked.

"Didn't I tell you? I'm DJing the party," Badgerclops said proudly. "I'll see you all down there."

Closing the door behind him, the rest of the group was left standing there in silence. It was a few minutes before anyone said anything.

"So~," Tanya placed her hands on her hips. "Are we going to take our Aerovehicles, or are we going to walk?"