Chapter 47
Ominous Words
AN: So it has been less than a year since I posted, so that feels like a win. I will admit I am still stuck on writing some of these chapters but still chugging away. I actually really like this chapter; it isn't a Nate-based chapter again but it follows our other main protagonists, Lucas, Lina, and Zoey! Along with a Katie side quest. Again, I hope anyone reading this enjoys the story, and thank you for coming this far!
Disclaimer: I still don't own yo-kai watch. If I was level 5, I would try to get more of their games out into the world.
Zoey loved teasing; it was fun for her watching people squirm, sigh, and blush. It was especially fun to do with boys, though that was mostly because she could only tease boys quite easily. They were like pawns in her hands, as she could easily tease them. Girls were much harder to manipulate like that, or maybe it was just her best friend Lina who was so hard to tease; after all, she did see how Maya was easily able to get Shelly to blush, but that was Maya; she somehow had a way into anyone's minds; she was a socially skilled master, and thankfully she used her wits for good, but she could manipulate quite masterfully, unlike Zoey, who seemed to dance around the truth but lacked the charisma to get away with certain things. Yet Lucas made things way too easy when it came to teasing.
He was a flipping simp after he told Lina he had a crush on her, and she told him she felt the same way. He would blush at any compliment Lina paid him and any attempt at teasing Zoey or Foiletta. Though he was not a complete simp, he wasn't worshiping Lina or anything; if anything, one would describe him as the perfect gentleman. Though Zoey supposed that was just how Lucas was, kind to everyone, not just Lina; it was just that he seemed so much brighter. Before, Lucas was mostly quiet and just let the two girls drag him anywhere. He would still get dragged around, but now he actually had suggestions; he didn't care if they were heard or not, but he had them. He also seemed more open and less quiet. Then again, maybe that was just because he didn't have to keep yo-kai a secret from them anymore, maybe it's because he hung out with Nate and his friends too now. Maybe it was all of these things, but he was certainly different from the quiet boy she came to know, and he was definitely happier because of Lina. His normally soft smile was a bit wider than normal, and his eyes gleamed. Lina, on the other hand, was seemingly normal, with no change in expression, the same body language, and the same obliviousness to teasing.
"So did you two see each other at Spring Tower?" Zoey asked with a knowing smirk.
Lucas blushed and said, "Uh yea, we saw each other at the entrance."
Lina said quite casually, "Yup, then we got to hang out with each other the rest of the day."
Foiletta said, "yea aside from the moments with their families in the picture, it was almost like a date." Lucas again blushed deeply while Lina was unphased.
Lina said, "I suppose, but our families were in the picture."
Zoey teased, "oooh too secretive with your families then? I bet you two tried sneaking holding hands a couple times."
Foiletta said, "Disappointingly no, at least not while I was watching." She finished with a wicked grin. Those grins were more common now for Foiletta and a bit more creepy, or in this case, mischievous.
Lucas quickly changed the topic to avoid his intense embarrassment and said, "Well, what about you and Eddie? I heard you guys hung out all day together."
Zoey quickly shot back, "Well, I hung out with Eddie, Bear, and the now disbanded treasure hunters club, which consisted of Andy, Mark, and Daniel. Yesterday was so much fun, especially messing with the boys thanks to Duhwheel and that so-called cursed box." Zoey knew Lucas didn't actually imply anything with his jab-like remark; he just knew that yesterday she and Eddie were together since that is what the two email the rest of the ghost club's members when it came to updating everyone on what was going on with the ghost club. No one could wait to go on their next adventure, so emails updating everyone were becoming even more frequent, and the day they had scheduled was coming up soon. That was another annoying thing Eddie was being distracted by Hailey quite often now.
"Speaking of those three boys, I think you would be interested in what they seem to be doing right now." Said Infour.
"Oh, what are they up to?" Asked Lucas.
"I say we find out, might be something fun or interesting to do." Lina said.
"Okay, then let's go." Said Lucas.
"Sure, maybe they found another treasure map," suggested Zoey. So the five went downstairs away from their library headquarters to see what the three boys, Andy, Daniel, and Mark, were up to.
"Hey guys," Zoey said.
"Oh, hello, our adversary!" said Daniel, noticing the three kids adopting a dramatic tone.
"Ah, it's the ghost hunters' club; are you here to challenge us?" Mark asked in a tone similar to Daniel.
"You dare approach us? So you must be braver than most to face us,
The Springdale!" said Andy, also overly dramatic.
"Detective!" said Daniel.
"Club!" said Mark.
After they all said that Daniel spun a purple cape around them, and the three boys were suddenly in costume. Daniel was wearing a dark purple cape with clothing that made him look like a British noble aside from his usual red, blue, and white collared cotton shirt. Mark wore an odd black hat that looked like a pirate hat aside from the fact it had a leap in the back again and a mask that was half silver on the left of his face that only covered one of his eyes and the other half a gold mask that covered the entire half of his face and had a smile on it. The fast runner was also sporting a frilly dark cloak that was topped with a fluffy guard for his neck. They could only tell it was Mark because of his slight tanned face on the left and his signature black lucky running shoes. Andy sported a long brown mustache and goatee. The mustache was so comedically large that it spanned across his face and out past his clothes, which today was a large red coat that had an extremely large protrusion that was only matched in largeness by his fake mustache.
"Wow, so you guys formed a detective club?" questioned Lina.
"So you are actually using those detective badges you found yesterday," said Zoey.
"Yes, and being masters of mysteries yourselves, as the ghost club, we your archenemies will face you in a battle of wits!" said Mark, tossing his cloak around his body with a wave.
"We are masters of trickery and deception, so you will stand no chance against us and our detective skills," said Daniel, putting his hand to his face in a pose while pointing with the other right at them.
"We won't lose; we are determined; we are the superior mystery-busting team," said Andy, crossing his arms between the middle of his teammates to show that he was the leader, or in this case, mastermind.
"Ohhh hooo, so they are challenging me ay; they don't know who they are up against truly. We will see who the true masters of mystery are." Infour said with a wicked gleam in her eyes.
"Yes we will crush these fools and beat them at this silly game." Foiletta said sharing her friend's enthusiasm and smile. These two cackled, not giggled.
"Guys, calm down; I think you are being more dramatic than they are," said Lina.
"They are really getting into it," said Zoey, not sure if she was liking this or annoyed.
"What do you two say, shall we accept?" Lucas asked, looking mostly at Lina with his smile.
"I say we go because it sounds like fun," said Lina, breaking a little smile.
"Sure, a Ghost Hunter's Club vs. Detective's Club competition sounds fun to me." said Zoey, cracking both her knuckles and a wicked grin uniquely her own with a glint on her glasses, "We're in."
"Yes! Okay, then let the competition begin!" said Andy, shooting his finger in the air.
"Here is our first riddle!" announced Daniel with a dramatic bow, holding up his cape with one hand.
"Between a pig and a lamb," said Mark.
"Underneath the white zebra stripes," said Daniel, "I sleep."
"Well there you go, our first riddle!" said Andy.
"Let's see if you can solve it," said Mark.
"Oh, this is simply child's play. I didn't even need to use my powers," said Infour smug as usual.
"Well, it is child's play," said Lina, looking at Infour, confused about why she was so overprideful.
"Well, what is it?" asked Foiletta, teasing her oh-so-smart friend.
"Wait, wait. I want to try to solve it myself first," said Zoey.
"We are a team, so we could do it together," said Lucas.
"Yea, put our brains together." said Lina, pulling in Lucas and Zoey into a huddle where the yo-kai got in close as well.
"Sure," said Zoey, "just as long as Infour doesn't spoil. So I am thinking that it will be the playground at the little kids' school since you know it has those paintings of animals. Maybe it will have a pig, a lamb, and a zebra."
"Hmm, well, I think the pig could be a reference to the bank since it is represented by a piggy bank," said Lina.
"That's an idea, but where does that leave the lamb and the zebra?" Zoey questioned.
Then Lucas did the thing that Zoey thought was simpy of him, "Um I agree with Lina. The bank is represented by a pig, and the post office is represented by the lamb. All that leaves is the zebra in between them. But since it is closer, we could stop at the kids' school first." Zoey thought that last part was added because Zoey began to give Lucas a death glare through her glasses.
"Okay, let's start looking, then first the kids' school, then the spot between the post office and bank if the clue does not lead there," said Lina.
"Oh! Hey you guys, what are we looking for anyway?" Zoey asked, "Those badges?"
"Why yes, what was once our treasure is now the key to your defeat," said Daniel.
"For if you cannot find them, your future as mystery hunters seems quite bleak," said Andy.
"Now let's see if you have the skills to achieve quite a feat," said Mark. Each boy was dramatic and used posing as they spoke.
"Urh," groaned Zoey to the boy's performance.
"Hey, let them have their fun," said Lina, chiding a little giggle out of her friend with her own.
"Yea, it is fun to play the supervillain every now and again," agreed Lucas with a slight smile.
"That's what us yo-kai live for," said Foiletta.
So the kids went over to the school for the younger kids first. It was a short walk from the elementary school.
"You guys have fond memories of this place?" asked Infour, "I mean, I already know, of course, but just to hear you say it aloud."
"Well, I actually don't know; I have never been to the younger kids' school," said Foiletta. "I think it will be nice to see for the first time."
"Yea, this is where I first met some great friends like Nate," said Zoey, recalling the red-shirted boy.
"I don't really remember this place that well. I mostly just found hideaways; I didn't really want to be with the other kids," said Lina, looking at her old hideouts.
"I wasn't allowed to go to school until elementary because of my parents," said Lucas. "So this is my first time seeing this place too, Foiletta."
"Yes, you three met for the first time in Springdale Elementary." said Foiletta, turning everyone's frown to grins. "I remember that."
"Well, since we are here, let's look for those animals," said Zoey, pointing her finger out in a commanding way. Lucas and Foiletta, who both wanted to explore preschool, went into the preschool past the gate to explore inside. Infour stuck around with Lina and Zoey to look at all the images on the wall.
"You're not going to spoil this mystery for us, are you Infour?" Zoey asked.
"Oh, I would never dream of it, Zoey; I didn't even spoil it for myself, so I don't even know," said Infour.
"I am not seeing any of the animals we need here, no pig, lamb, or zebra," said Lina.
"Me neither," said Infour. "Perhaps Lucas and Foiletta had better luck."
"Sorry, but nope." said Foiletta with a disappointed frown, "No sign of any animals in there."
"But it is quite nice of a preschool," said Lucas.
"Yeah, it was nice to see; too bad I can't haunt it," said Foiletta.
"Try not to give the kids too hard of a time," said Lucas with a soft smile.
"Fine, you're no fun," said Foiletta, crossing her arms with a pout.
"Well, I guess I was wrong, let's go with your idea, Lina," said Zoey, a bit frustrated by her defeat.
"Okay, I think it was still a good idea to come over here just to be sure, after all, it is super close by," said Lina, giving her friend a pat on the shoulder and a grin.
"Yea, it was no problem," agreed Lucas, adjusting his classes, "We have to check every nook and cranny."
"Shut up and let's just go," said Zoey, a bit grumpy now because of Lucas' simpy attitude.
So the ghost hunter's club main members went off to the post office.
"Wait before we head over to the investigation site, we should stop at the bakery, they are having a special sale," said Lina.
"Oh yeah, you mean the English cake thing," said Zoey.
"It is specially delivered from London right?" said Lucas.
"Oh, you mean the cakes shaped like the hands on Big Ben?" asked Infour.
"Either way, cake sounds delicious right now," said Foiletta, licking her lips with delight.
"Yea!" Everyone agreed. So the group took a brain break at Banter Bakery. A warm place because of both the people and the bread. Delightful smells lingered like ghosts welcoming those not to the afterlife but a different kind of paradice. The group of five waved to Grainpa and Punching Bagette, who were currently training Cereal Spiller and Buttered Blue.
"UMM!" Lina, Lucas, Zoey, Infour, and Foiletta all said as they all bit into their cakes.
"This is sooo good!" said Lina. She looked like she was about to cry tears of joy.
"Yeah, great idea, Lina," Lucas said.
"I wish we could go to England and not just for food," dreamed Zoey.
"Yes, a place that holds many great wonders and sites with a culture that is quite unique yet so similar to ours," Infour informed.
"Don't forget a place of mysteries and killings," reminded Foiletta.
"It would be great to try authentic English tea," said Lina.
"Oh yeah, I got tea for you too. Apparently the tea is also imported from England, and there are a ton of different types of tea brews," said Lucas.
"Wow, you are starting to act like a total dogsbody," mocked Infour.
"I know right," whispered Zoey.
"I got tea for all of us actually," said Lucas, handing Zoey and Infour cups of tea.
"Ummm! Thanks, Lucas, this is great, and it goes well with the sweetness of the cake. It not only enhances the sweetness, but it sorta shifts into a tingly spice I have never tasted before. It is kinda mysterious," said Lina as she drank her tea and then took another bite of her cake.
"Oh yea that brew is called dream spice," said Lucas. "I thought you would like it."
"Hmm, this is an interesting flavor," said Zoey, but in reality, Zoey thought, "This boy knows me too well!" Zoey then said, "It is slightly bitter, but it is more complicated than that. It somehow mixes sour and sweet. Each of the flavors are hidden, but it is fun finding each of them. Urm, I mean, it is kinda flavorful."
"I am glad you like it, Zoey; that brew is called bitter fruit," said Lucas with a smile as he explained.
"This is quite nice, a bit fruity with an interesting smoky flavor, oh, and what is this? leaves at the bottom?" questioned Infour.
"Oh yea, I got you the sugar smoke blend. The leaves at the bottom are supposed to tell you about the future love of your life. I thought you might like that blend since no one can predict your future. Maybe you might enjoy this," said Lucas.
"Oh well, that was an interesting thought. I like it." said Infour, "How amusing."
"So sweet! What is mine, Lucas?" Foiletta asked with an innocent, childish grin.
"You are drinking an Oasis berry blend. It is quite popular with females, but I saw a lot of boys get it as well," said Lucas.
"What did you get for yourself?" asked Lina, looking to Lucas.
"Oh me, I got this odd drink. It was, um, something elixir. It has an interesting flavor that I cannot describe as any normal taste," said Lucas. "Want to taste it?"
"Sure," said Lina before trying it, then gushing at the flavor. Lucas had a longing look in his one eye as he was happy Lina enjoyed his tea.
"I wonder what causes this unique flavor," said Lina.
"It might be the unique combination of ingredients; they don't use tea leaves; instead, this one used, I think, roots and a seahorse I think." said Lucas.
"Ooh, how interesting and unique," gushed Lina.
"Well, that is enough wasting time; let's go!" said Zoey, eager to start their brains up again and not their hearts.
"Since the bank is closer, let's head there," said Lina.
"Sure, that will save us some time," said Lucas. So the team went over to the bank.
"So where are we looking for this badge?" asked Zoey with a perplexed expression.
"Oh, not here," said Lina.
"What!?" said Zoey, Infour, and Foiletta.
"Then where are we looking?" asked Lucas.
"On this street, of course," said Lina like she was stating the most obvious thing in the world.
"Why though?" asked Foiletta as a student willing to learn.
"Because this street is between the bank and the post office. After all, they did say between the pig and lamb, so all we need now is to find the zebra between." Lina explained, "So let's get searching for that zebra." So the kids looked high and low for something that resembled a zebra. They looked at store signs in the windows for a potential sculpture or statue, and even paintings.
"Hmm, no sign of a zebra anywhere on this street," said Foiletta with a shrug.
"Hmm, what if I gave you guys a hint, It would only take a coin," said Infour.
"Um, no, thank you, no spoilers," said Zoey with a slight cross of her arms.
"Don't worry, I hadn't looked anyway," said Infour.
"Huh, I really thought it was here," said Lina, genuinely confused.
"Well, what if it doesn't mean something shaped like a zebra but something with black and white stripes," suggested Lucas with his hands holding a thinking pose.
"Hmm, maybe Lucas is on to something," Foiletta said, her spirits lifting literally.
"Wait, if Lucas is right, then I think I know where to look," said Zoey with a glint on her
glass as she had a flash of a thought.
"Where?" asked the four others.
"Just follow me," Zoey said before she ran off. The black-haired girl ran until she finally reached a crosswalk. There, in the middle of the road, she found a hint of glimmering gold. "Found it!" she exclaimed.
"Nice job, Zoey," praised Lucas with a smile of pride.
"Yea great thinking," said Lina, sharing the same smile.
"Huh, so the zebra was the crosswalk; those boys are clever," said Foiletta, amused by the game.
"Yes, very creative of them," said Infour, "but I suspect things are going to get even more interesting."
"Like what the town is gonna end up being fake?" questioned Foiletta. As the ghost hunters' club gathered around to examine the detective badge, they heard the turning of bike wheels. It was then that they became surrounded by the detective club.
"Oh ho ho, so you managed to find our first detective badge, did you?" said Daniel.
"Congratulations, or I would say that if you had truly bested us," said Andy.
"We have another riddle for you, but first you are gonna have to escape us if you hope to find the detective badge plus," said Mark. The boys then circled around Lina, Lucas, and Zoey with their bikes like sharks. This made it impossible for the other club to get past them.
"Hmm, this feels a bit like cheating, but okay," Zoey said with slight annoyance but mostly seemed unimpressed.
"Just think of it as another challenge," said Lucas.
"True, we could just curse our way through this," said Foiletta.
"But it is much more fun to treat it like a puzzle," said Infour, grinning at the new challenge.
"This does not seem like the situation for a puzzle, but I guess some crafty thinking could help us get out of here." Zoey agreed.
"So let's get to thinking," said Lucas.
"Yeah, so any bright ideas?" Zoey asked. Lucas, Foiletta, and Infour were stumped but tried to go into thought.
"Haha, just give it up," said Mark.
"It is hopeless; surrender now and save yourselves the trouble," said Andy.
"Our intellect is just that much more superior," said Daniel.
"Ah ha!" said Lina, "You know this kind of situation reminded me of a puzzle." who finally spoke after getting out of a deep thought, "Lucas, give me your bag of yo-kai equipment, Zoey, give me your bag for a moment as well." Both of her friends complied with the girl with banged blue hair. Moments later, Lina had in her hands a makeshift grappling hook made from a combination of yo-kai equipment and bag straps.
"Woah Lina impressive," praised Zoey.
"Yes, Lina's mind is quite something," said Lucas, his eyes bright with affection.
"Now let's get out of here," Lina said. Lina tossed her newly made tool and took down Andy's bike by grabbing the tire and yanking him off balance. The other two boys crashed into Andy, and thus all three were down for the count.
"Okay guys, let's get past them," said Zoey. After running off back to the school, the three kids and two yo-kai were met again by the detective's club.
"It seems your team's quick thinking got the best of us," said Daniel.
"Yes, a very creative way out," said Mark.
"Was not expecting that grappling hook," said Andy.
"Guys stay in character," said Daniel, elbowing both of his friends.
"Oh right, I mean, darn you sniveling ghost hunters," said Andy.
"You may have won this battle, but this is just the start of your challenges," said Mark. Both kids being super dramatic, with Andy making an evilly enraged face with his mustache and Mark taking an arrogant pose, holding his arms wide and his hands out in a grand gesture.
"Just get on with it and give us the next riddle," said Zoey, unamused by the theatrics.
"We can't wait to solve it," said Lina with anticipation and confidence.
"And beat you evil geniuses yet again," said Lucas, playing along a bit.
"Hidden in a tucked-away lot," said Mark, showing only the masked side of his face.
"Under red, under two wheels," said Daniel, twirling his cape.
"I sleep. Find me if you dare," said Andy with a wicked mustached grin.
"Hmm, a tucked away lot," repeated Zoey.
"Under red and two wheels," repeated Lucas.
"I wonder where it could be," pondered Lina.
"I think maybe it could be in one of the alleyways," Zoey suggested, unsure.
"But which one, There are tons of alleyways in Springdale. It could be any of them, and we don't have all day to search each one," said Foiletta.
"Wait, I think there is an alleyway called a tucked-away lot," said Lina realization on her mouth.
"Yea it is right by the watch shop near Granny Edna's," supported Lucas.
"Okay, then let's go," urged Zoey.
"This one seems a bit more oblivious than last time," said Infour, her eyes a mix between disappointed but also suspect.
"Yea a bit too easy," said Foiletta, more skeptical, having seen years of pranks.
"They are just a bunch of kids, don't expect them to give us too hard of a challenge," said Zoey with a laugh and a dismissive wave.
"I suppose, but still," began Foiletta. The group then made it to the tucked-away lot. It was not long before they found a red bike.
"That must be the red with two wheels," said Lucas.
"Thank you, captain oblivious," said Infour, rolling all four of her eyes.
"Let's just check it out," said Zoey. The club walked over to the red bike and examined it but found no badge; all they found were...
"It's just a bunch of bike locks," Lina pointed out.
"Hmm, what a curious contraption," said Foiletta in wonder. "In all my years of witnessing school pranks both of humans and yo-kai I have never seen anything like this." The group looked up and noticed that each of the bike locks was connected to a bungee cord of their own. Each bungee seemed to be connected to some other sort of contraption, but it was impossible to see what connected to what because each bungee twisted and turned like an overly intricate web.
"Hey look," said Lucas, pointing above to where seemingly out of reach of all the kids and above all the other things connected to the bungees.
"There is the detective badge plus," said Lina, following Lucas's gaze.
"I wonder what happens if we unlock the wrong lock," said Zoey.
"How are you going to open them?" asked Lina.
"Each of these locks have the exact same combination 1, 2, 3, 4, but right now the 1 is set on 0, so I think that all we need to do to open each lock is to turn the 0 to 1," explained Zoey.
"Now that means the only question is which one gets the badge," said Infour.
"Hey, Infour, you know what happens if we open the wrong ones?" Zoey asked.
"Oh, just a mix of different things like condiments of all kinds, melted candy, flour, tacks, and sugar," said Infour.
"Hmm so not too bad of a gamble but still pretty good for a prank," said Zoey, slightly impressed.
"Huh, this is more complicated than it looks," said Lucas, who seemed stumped.
"Not really, I think I may have already cracked this," said Zoey.
"Really. That is impressive," said Lina, surprised at the swiftness of her friend's brain.
"Okay and…" Zoey said as she turned one of what seemed to be a random set of locks. *click* The badge then fell straight down right into Lucas's hands, who waited to catch it.
"Nice job, Zoey," said Lina, giving her friend a high five.
"Yea that was impressive," said Lucas, handing her the badge.
"Yes, yes it was," said Andy with a sly grin.
"Shame you didn't trigger a single one of our traps," said Mark with a frown that contrasted with the smile of the mask.
"Good thing we got these," said Daniel as he threw a ball of gooey candy towards the club.
"Hrn." Lucas grunted as he blocked the ball of sticky candy with a trash can lid.
Lina said, "Thank you so much Lucas." in awe.
"Oooh, how romantic." teased Zoey, Infour, and Foiletta much to Lucas' embarrassment.
"Let's let them have it," commanded Andy as he tossed two more of the gooey candy balls. The boys then proceeded to attack the ghost hunters' club with a barrage of candy balls. Lucas, being quick on his feet, blocked each and every candy blob with his makeshift shield with surprising agility.
"I wonder what their plan is for escape," said Infour, genuinely curious and mildly excited to see what the three kids might come up with.
"I don't know; I am just glad we both floated up here to avoid the crossfire," shrugged Foiletta. "Of course it would be so easy if I could let loose a curse."
"But they would never go for that. Too bad," said Infour, finishing her fellow yo-kai's thought with a light smile.
"Okay, so if we hid behind Lucas in a single file line, then maybe we could head forward slowly," said Lina.
"I would be fine acting as your human shield," said Lucas.
"I got a better idea," said Zoey, "just give me a second." Zoey messed around with the locks on the bike, seeming to unlock each at specific intervals and sometimes two at the same time. She then spun the bike wheel and put it at an angle, simultaneously triggering the other traps.
"Lucas duck." Zoey called out as she and Lina both took cover. Zoey triggered the traps at all the right times to where the tacks fell into the candy, pushing the candy slightly, and those globs of candy were then coated in flour, sugar, and syrup. Rice seemed to be in the mix as well with trash and glitter, glue, and various others. These mixes became globs and bounced from bungee to bungee, the bungees seemed to vibrate with the spinning of the bike wheel, twisting is a large spiral that spiral then reversed, and with it launched all of the globs that were caught and bounced off of the bungees. Lucas ducked right in time, abandoning his shield. The tables were turned, and thus Andy, Daniel, and Mark were all pelted with globs of sticky goo from a concoction of their creation.
"Ahhh!" the three boys said in surprise before they were all hit, "Uhhh."
"Quick guys, now is our chance," said Lina. Lucas, Zoey, Infour, and Foiletta all followed suit and ran past the boys.
"That was brilliant, Zoey!" said Lina once they got far enough.
"Yeah, it really was," said Lucas, agreeing with Lina.
"I did not expect that. It was very fun to watch," said Infour, admiring Zoey.
"Yes, what a way to turn the boys' prank back onto them," said Foiletta, truly proud of Zoey.
"Truly and escape worthy of the ghost hunters' club," said Lucas, which made everyone smile.
"How did you figure out that lock puzzle anyway?" Lina asked.
"Oh, you know videos Eddie recommended," said Zoey, "plus I used to love to play pranks on and with Nate all the time."
"That was an elaborate little prank." Lina said.
"Yeah, a bit much for a game of detective," commented Zoey.
"What it is not like they made a fake town and made all the townspeople a bunch of robots," countered Lucas.
Soon the kids made it back to the school, yet by some miracle the boys beat them there, and they were all clean, costumes, and everything.
"It seems we have been bested yet again, my dear friends." Andy said with a mock sad face.
"We have brought great shame to our great club," said Andy, looking down and away.
"Fear not, my brethren; we still have chances to redeem ourselves," said Daniel. "With the next riddle."
"You guys ready?" Mark asked.
Andy continued without even caring if they were ready or not, "I sleep in the eighth spot."
Daniel added, "among 10 demons."
Mark finished, "That eat messy clothes."
"Okay, this one is so much more easy than the last one." said Infour, rolling her head back in disappointment.
"Cut them some slack; they seemed to put a lot of effort into the last one," said Foiletta, embowing her friend.
"Maybe they are losing material," suggested Infour.
"Well, this one seems super easy." Zoey said.
"We are both thinking the same thing, right?" Lina questioned.
"I think we all have the same idea in mind," said Lucas.
"Okay, we all say it on the count of 3. 1…2…3" said Zoey.
"THE LAUNDROMAT," all five said. The boys all cringed at having been found out so quickly.
"Darn it," said Daniel.
"Ah man, we just blew our cover." said Mark.
"I guess we made this one a bit too easy," said Andy.
"Well, let's go so we can get on to the next riddle," said Zoey.
"Yes, let's," said Lina with a satisfied smile. After a bit of walking for a while, the ghost hunters' club made their way to the laundromat by Flower Road. It was a rather dim place that had a somewhat creepy vibe. Mary's Coin Laundry. It was decently well-lit in the daytime, but it was somewhat disorganized yet seemed to be in use quite a bit as most of the machines were noisy with work.
"Okay, so we need to find that eighth 'demon''' Zoey joked.
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight." Lucas counted aloud, and he pointed at the last "eighth" washing machine.
"So this is the one," commented Lina, "Huh."
"Ah, so I guess they put more effort into the puzzles than they put into the riddles," said Infour, gazing at the machine.
"There is the detective badge EX," said Lucas, pointing inside the washing machine, confirming that the kids were right.
"Hmm, but there seems to be a sort of lock on the machine," said Lina.
"Yes, you have to admire their craftsmanship," said Foiletta, admiring the lock puzzle.
"Yeah. It has stuff about odd boxes, metallic apples, and twisted watches." examined Zoey.
"Well, that seems very random," said Foiletta.
"It seems to be some sort of slide maze puzzle," deduced Lucas. The sweatered boy then fidgeted with the lock, demonstrating how to move pieces.
"I think I know how to solve this," said Lina. "Move this there, slide that here, and connect these together." *click* Lina solved the puzzle and the lock was off.
"Splendid job, Lina." Lucas said with a soft smile and gleaming eyes.
"Yes, real good work," said Foiletta with a genuine tone and smile.
"Yea way to go," said Zoey,dding a thumbs up.
"Thank you guys." Lina said, "Now let's get this badge and get out of here." Lina grabbed the badge, and the group made their way out of the laundromat. However, when the club took a couple steps outside, they heard a group of cackles.
"Ah, so you managed to solve our riddle and puzzle.", said Daniel, standing from the roof of the laundromat.
"Well, you won't get off that easy.",said Andy, twirling his fake mastache.
"Yeah, let's see how you deal with this challenge," said Mark pressing a button, and suddenly from the top of Flower Road came rolling a giant ball of garbage.
"RUN!" shouted Lucas as he started to push the awestruck girls with assistance from the fleeing yo-kai companions. Soon all three humans and the two yo-kai were in a mad dash to get away from the garbage ball that was almost like a massive boulder rolling towards them.
"Quick turn here," directed Zoey as they reached the curb of the road. Yet as they turned, the ball hit a trash can and turned right with the fleeing kids.
"Darn it," said Zoey with frustration.
"We can't escape it like that," said Lina, "Maybe a smaller alley way."
"Those are blocked." Infour pointed out to their side while the group was running.
"I don't think we can keep out running this thing though." said Lina losing her breathe.
"Yea, I am already getting a bit tired." huffed Zoey, "Wish we had our bikes or something."
"Yea then I could hop in the basket and the escape would be so much easier." said Infour as the group made another turn.
"Guys, I got it if we run around the block in a slight circle, I believe we can get out of this garbage ball's path as long as we head back to the laundromat," suggested Lucas.
"Okay, I think that might work," agreed Infour.
"We have to try something," said Lina, growing desperate.
"I hope you are right," said Zoey, being careful not to drop her glasses.
"Okay, follow me."directed Lucas, taking the lead. After a bit more running and a few turns, the ghost hunters' club finally escaped and made their way back to the school.
"*huff* *puff* *huff*" gasped all of the ghost hunters' club, even the yo-kai.
"Well, *huff* we *puff* completed…" started Lina.
"*puff* your *huff* third *puff* case." breathed Zoey.
"*Huff* what *puff* is *huff* your *puff*... next riddle?" Lucas got out.
"Well we are quite impressed." said Mark adjusting his mask.
"As we can guess by the evidence of your lack of garbage stained clothes." noted Andy.
"You guys got past our ball of garbage." commented Daniel.
"How did these boys manage to get a ball of garbage that large?" questioned Infour.
"How did they get it up there is my question." asked Foiletta.
"That thing was the size of a car and rolled on the road. I wonder how they got permission for this." Zoey mused..
"Or where the ball went." added Lucas.
"Maybe they really do control the entire town and they manipulated a scientist obsessed with time travel because he lost the love of his life into helping create an entire fake town and all the townspeople are a bunch of actors and at their command Springdale could become a massive war machine and this is all just part of their master plan." Lina said extremely serious, "Or something." She said the last part in a casual tone.
"On to the next riddle," said Daniel with a flip of his cape.
"Beneath…" started Mark.
"The watchful eye," continued Andy.
"Of the orca and sunfish," added Daniel.
"I sleep," concluded Mark.
"Hmm, this one is actually slightly harder," said Foiletta, starting to think.
"Maybe to you but even without my ability, I believe I have figured this riddle out already." said Infour smuggly.
"I wonder, are we thinking of the same place?" Lina asked.
"I don't know, are we?" Infour reflected the question back.
"Why don't you both say the place you are thinking at the same time. Okay, on the count
three. One…Two…Three!" Foiletta counted.
"The aquarium near the mall." Both Infour and Lina said at the same time.
"Wow, your brain is quite sharp to keep up with mine." Infour said impressed with Lina.
"Thank you, Infour." Lina said with a little curtsie.
"Hmm, that seems a bit too easy to me." Zoey said with a scrunge of her face.
"I agree with you, Zoey, I feel like they really upped their game this time." Foiletta added.
"I think we should still check it out. It is worth a try." Lucas said with a shrug.
So the club made their way downtown. The ocean was beautiful. It shone bright reflecting the brilliant blue sky. The waves were soft and steady if the kids were not on a detective quest it would have been the perfect day to stay at the beach. The three actually did not like to be in the water all that much but to just feel the ocean breeze with a mix of salt and moisture would be amazing to all three of them. They all smiled as they looked at each other feeling the breeze.
"So we are here. I wonder where that badge is." Lina said, turning her gaze to search mode.
"Yea so far we made a couple circles around this place and there is no sign of that.
badge anywhere." Foiletta said, blanking.
"We checked the places for Orca and the sunfish and all of the places in between."
Zoey confirmed.
"Impossible, it has to be here." Infour said in distress at the possibility she was wrong.
"Think maybe this time the Springdale Detective Club has finally bested us," said
Foiletta floating down to ease her distressed friend's anxiety.
"Impossible, I am an all-seeing yo-kai, no way was I beaten by three elementary
students. Okay, I could accept defeat if it was to someone like Eddie, that Sarah girl, or Stephen; they are highly intelligent for their age, a loss to Zoey, Lina, or Lucas would also be fair since you three are all rather cunning and crafty. But to these boys I refuse to lose!" Infour said flushed with a fiery aura. Suddenly that vanished and Infour's expression dropped, "Oops."
"What?" Zoey asked with a gleam in her glasses, adding to her already calculating look.
"I accidently looked to see if we were right or not." Infour admitted now flushed with a
blush.
"Ah man." Zoey sighed out as she slapped her hand to her head.
"I am so sorry; we blame this on me for cheating." Infour said, bowing her head in shame.
"It's okay, Infour, you didn't mean to." Lina assured, patting the yo-kai on the back.
"Well, since you already know, were you two right or not?" Foiletta asked.
"What?!" Zoey, Lina, and Infour shouted in surprise.
"We might as well know since Infour already saw it." Lucas said, "I admit it is cheating a
bit but even so, I have a suspicion of what the answer is and I have an idea for what we should do next if the answer is what I think it is."
"So you already have another idea?" Zoey questioned.
"I am guessing you think that Infour's original deduction was wrong." Foiletta stated.
She received a nod from Lucas. Zoey thought, "Wait, Lina agreed with Infour, so Lucas isn't simping for once!"
"Well… uhhh, Lina and I were..." Infour choked out the words, "wrong." That last word hit.
the hardest for Infour.
"Well, I guess that makes things certain. Okay Lucas, what is our next move?" Lina
asked unphased. Zoey (and Lucas) liked that about Lina; she could easily accept that she was wrong and then move on. For Zoey, she had a harder time with that much like Infour.
"We are going into the Sea Breeze tunnel next." as he dramatically pointed to it, but then
he blushed in embarrassment at his little act.
"The Sea breeze tunnel?" Infour questioned.
"Huh, never heard of it." Foiletta said unphased.
"It is a tunnel right here near the beach. It connects Downtown Springdale to Breezy
Hills. I am impressed, Lucas. I never would have thought of there." Zoey explained.
"Yes, most of the time people who don't use it regularly forget it exists or that it is there."
said Lina.
"Hmm pays to get out of the school." Foiletta said. So the club ventured into the tunnel
and it was a long mural filled with sea creatures.
"Yes, I can't believe we never thought of this." Zoey said, lightly smacking her head with her palm.
"Yea this place is covered with different sea creatures." Lina observed.
"Oh look." Zoey said as she saw a familiar golden shine. She made her way through a
small crowd to get to the badge. "Found it." But as she grabbed it, the badge ripped off the wall and it turned out to be a sticker.
"Darn it. You were right, Foiletta; they did up their game." Infour complained, "It's a fake."
"Look." Lina said, also pushing her way through the crowd. It seemed along side all of
the sea creatures there were many other fake badges.
"How are we going to find the real one?" Zoey asked.
Lucas said, "I think I got this." Lucas with a determined look pushed his way through the
crowd as he looked around the tunnel. He kept rushing until he got to a seemingly random spot and grabbed at one of the badges. "Got it!" He looked back at the girls with a smile as he showed them the detective badge super.
"That's great!" Zoey said, tackling Lucas in a hug as she was joined by Lina, who said,
"Now we have the detective badge super."
"Now let's head back to the school." said Foiletta, waving her hand to beckon them.
"How did you figure out where the badge was?" Infour asked confused how she couldn't figure it out.
"Oh well, I found out where the Orch and the Sunfish were on the mural and I simply
looked between them." Lucas explained nonchalantly.
"Impressive, you are very observant." said Daniel, who stood in the way of the kids at the
end of the tunnel.
"Daniel?!" The three kids said.
"Yup, that's me." He said with his signature smile.
"What are you doing here?" Zoey questioned.
"What are you guys up to this time?" Lina asked.
"This is really just simple." Daniel said, "I am just going to stand in your way. Literally!"
"Hmm, using brute force is not an option. That would be an insult to our intelligence."
said Infour, closing all her eyes and holding her nose high.
"Not to mention this is Daniel we are talking about; he could manage overpowering all
three of our friends quite easily," said Foiletta, shaking her head in disappointment.
"Let's go to the otherside." Lina suggested. The two glasses wearing kids nodded and
followed Lina. Daniel didn't follow; he just stood in his place with a smile. The club ran through the crowd of people until they got to the other side of the tunnel but waiting for them there was Mark.
"Nuh uh uh." Mark said, shaking his head and wagging his finger, "Not this way."
"Darn it, they got this way too," said Zoey, shooting her fists down.
"I mean, we should have expected that but it was worth the try," said Lina with a shrug.
"I got another plan." Lucas exclaimed.
"Well then, let's go." Foiletta said. The kids then turned around and rushed through the
crowd once again following Lucas.
"Okay down here." Lucas said as he went under a manhole in the middle of the tunnel.
"Okay, let's go." Lina said, following Lucas. After they all went down they ended up in a
darker tunnel.
"Where does this lead to?" Zoey questioned, looking around in the darkness.
"Oh, this seems to be a storage room in the mall," Infour informed.
"Good way to escape," Foiletta commented.
"Yea, great job, Lucas." Lina praised.
"Thanks." Lucas said, "I bet none of the boys know about this place."
"I don't know what about Andy?" Zoey wondered.
"Let's just keep going; we can try to surprise him and catch him off guard if he is here to
stop us," Lina said. Luckily, no one was there to stop them when they exited the storage room and the mall. The ghost hunters' club escaped successfully from the tunnel and made their way to the school. Waiting for them, there were the three boys still in costume.
"Wait, what are you guys doing back here?" Lina asked confused.
"Don't tell me we just had to wait for you guys to leave," Zoey complained, exasperated from the boys' antics.
"No, no, we found out you guys escaped," Daniel explained.
"Yea so no point in staying guard," Mark said with a smile.
"How did you guys know we escaped?" Lucas asked curious.
"Easy, I was watching you guys," Andy said with a proud smirk.
"Wait, you were there?!" Zoey said with disbelief.
"Yup!" Andy said, "I was disguised and hid myself in the crowd to keep an eye on you
guys. Gotta say I never would have guessed you guys would escape underground like that."
"You really were there," Lucas said surprised, mouth agape.
"Well, that was all thanks to Lucas." Lina said with a smile as she grabbed onto Lucas'
back, making him blush.
"Yea so we beat you again," Zoey said prideful as can be.
"Personally I have failed to best our nemeses, so I have great shame," Infour said
before she sulked.
"Oh, give that a rest. Though I am very impressed with these boys using the tunnel to
their advantage like that maybe the townspeople are fakes like they are actors or something." Foiletta jokingly suggested with a fake face of concern.
"Maybe they are cursed or inspirited." Lina hypothesized
"Or they can hypnotize anyone and this whole town is under their spell," Zoey argued.
"Perhaps they conjured this town as a massive illusion." Infour mused.
"Well, what comes next, guys?" Lucas asked the boys before the girls could come up
with any more odd theories.
"This is our last challenge," Andy said.
"If you can beat us this last time, then we will admit defeat," Daniel said.
"Our club will be disbanded after that," Mark said, looking down.
"So here we go, The Springdale!" Andy shouted.
"Detective!" Daniel yelled.
"Club!" Mark cheered.
"The beautiful bird..." Andy started.
"On the water…" Daniel continued.
"I sleep within the white." Mark finished.
"This time we will beat you!" Daniel said determined.
"Yea, you will never be able to crack this one," Mark said matching his friend's determination.
"Well, I failed the last one; I refuse to fail again," Infour said matching if not exceeding the boys' determination.
"Yes, let's win this!" Foiletta cheered with a fist pump.
"Hmm, this is an interesting riddle," Lina said with curiosity to the answer.
"So we are looking for a place with water," Zoey said reviewing the hints.
"And it needs to have a white bird," Lucas added.
"I got it!" Lina exclaimed with a finger striking up and a light bulb going off.
"Where?" Lucas asked.
"How?" Zoey asked. Both were curious how Lina got the answer.
"Just follow me," Lina said, rushing off. The rest of the ghost hunters' club ran after her, following her all the way to Gourd Pond.
"Look over there." Lina pointed as she finally stopped at the edge of the pond.
"Ah!" exclaimed Lucas and Zoey. Out in the middle of the water was a white swan boat, unattended and adrift.
"White, on the water, and a bird! It fits all the pieces that has to be it!" Zoey said excitedly.
"How are we going to get to it?" Lucas questioned.
"Using another swan boat," Zoey said with a grin, pointing to the pink swan boats docked nearby. Using the swan boat and a bit of sweat from Lucas peddling the club made it to the white swan boat.
"Very creative of the boys." Foiletta said, "Got to give them props."
"Well, this has been quite the adventure they came up with," Infour said sharing a smile with her friend.
"What?!" Zoey said as the group of five looked into the swan boat. There was no detective badge ultra. "Where is the badge?!"
"Hmm, what is this?" Lina asked as she picked up a piece of paper alongside a water balloon cannon with three balloons in it.
"Looks like it is for firing water balloons," Lucas answered.
"Wonder why they left that but not the badge." Infour mused.
"Perhaps that is why," Foiletta said, pointing to the side as she noticed something. *splash* Water did not hit anyone but it sprayed, hitting the swan boat.
"Darn it, I missed," Andy said. The detective club was also on a pink swan boat identical to the one the rival mystery club was on. Each boy was in water gear and they had a single canon for launching water balloons that was being held by Andy.
"Haha, you thought our last challenge was going to be that easy." Mark chuckled.
"You got the first part right but now you have to face us," Daniel said, smiling, ready for a bout.
"I hope you guys are ready to be drenched," Andy said, preparing to fire again.
"I hope you guys are better shots than Andy." Daniel joked much to his friend's unamusement.
"Hey!" Andy protested.
"Yup, you have to hit each one of us with water and you only get three water balloons to do it," Mark said, slightly sweaty from having pedaled.
"Lucas, start peddling; we gotta get away," Zoey commanded. Lucas then started to peddle his feet off like, he was in a bike race. Zoey grabbed the water balloons canon and prepared to launch one. Lina tried stirring away from the detective club but she could not seem to outmaneuver the boys, who, with Mark as their engine, were steadily catching up to them. To stop them from docking, the boys fired water balloons at the edge of the water, making it impossible for them to stop.
"I can't shake them," Lina said in frustration.
"And I can't get a clear shot," Zoey said matching her best friend.
"Ooooh, this is getting good!" Foiletta said entertained by the showdown.
"Yes, it is, a battle on the water. Oooh and how are our heroes going to beat the villains with only three water balloons?" Infour mused just as amused as Foiletta. Yet as he was peddling, Lucas saw they were going under a tree and got an idea.
"Zoey, quick toss the balloon launcher to me!" Lucas commanded. Zoey, not knowing what the boy was planning but trusting her friend, tossed him the balloon launcher. As they were passing under the tree, Lucas fired the first balloon up into the tree. The water balloon burst into the tree and brought down a bunch of leaves and nuts. These all hit the detective club and the water from the balloon fell and hit Mark, distracting him from peddling.
"Ah, man," Mark complained, soaked with his hair covering both eyes now.
Lina saw her chance and called, "Lucas!" Lucas reacted quickly and tossed the water balloon cannon to her quickly. Lina then shot a water balloon right at Daniel, who was now holding the water balloon cannon because he had better aim. The balloon hit his hands, holding the balloon launcher, knocking the launcher out of his hands, and bursting on contact. This effectively disarmed the club and soaked Daniel.
"Darn it!" Daniel complained his sweater was all wet.
Zoey, knowing she could finish this showdown, said, "Lina to me!" Lina tossed the launcher to her best friend. Zoey caught it and fired right in front of her. The balloon hit Andy right in the chest, not only getting him wet but because he was standing, he was knocked into the water. Andy's fall disrupted the wait of the Springdale Detective Club's swan boat's balance and the boat turned over.
"Ah darn it!" Andy said with an enraged face of frustration.
"Yea!" Zoey said with a fist pump.
"Way to go, Zoey!" Lina said, giving her friend a high five.
"What a way to finish them off," Lucas said, giving a thumbs up to Zoey as he started pedaling again.
"Nice job to you too Lina the way you disarmed the boys, it was hilarious to see the look on their faces or with your shot, Lucas aimed at those leaves. They didn't see what was coming." Zoey said, giving Lucas a fist bump.
"Yea, great job, Lucas!" Lina praised Lucas.
"You were amazing too, Lina," Lucas commented. All three kids smiled having bested the boys.
"Great job you three." Infour commended.
"Quite the show you put on." Foiletta laughed, "I love when the underdogs win."
"Yes, and you won with intelligence! Aiming at the leaves to distract them, then disarming the boys by shooting their gun, and finally knocking them off balance with that last shot. Absolutely brilliant!" Infour proclaimed. The three kids blushed at the praise given to them.
"Well, let's go finish this thing!" Zoey said doing a fist pump along with the other four. The group then docked yet on the dock it seemed a large group of kids were waiting for them. It seemed like their entire class was there waiting aside from the absence of Eddie, Katie, and Nate. At the head of the pack was Bear and Alex.
"Hey guys," Lucas said but he was on edge despite giving a small wave. It seemed like the class was surrounding them.
"What are you guys doing here?" Zoey asked, suspicious as ever.
"Oh well, we are part of your last challenge." Bear chuckled.
"Yeah, we are gonna play a game of tag!" Alex said with a smile as big as Bear's.
"Yup, you guys are gonna have to avoid us around the whole city," Bear explained the game.
"But why?" Lina asked.
"Because it seemed like fun," Alex said with her signature grin and a hand on her cap.
"Well, you guys gonna give us a head start?" Lucas asked a little nervous.
"According to the detective club, we will not," Bear said, getting ready to tag.
"Yup, it is the end of the line for you guys," Daniel said atop the swan boat, somehow both dry now and in costume.
"No way you guys can escape this." Mark sneered.
"So you surrender?" Andy asked with a sly grin.
"Never!" Zoey and Lina said back with the technically silent support from Foiletta and Infour.
"You two get out of here; I will distract them," Lucas said.
"Wait, are you sure?" Zoey asked, concerned for her friend.
"Of course anything for you two. Now you got to solve this case and find the last badge. Otherwise, we have no right to call ourselves a mystery-solving club." Lucas said, "Now go."
"Let's go, Zoey," Lina said, pulling her friend to start running. Class 5-2 was about to go after the girls but Lucas immediately stood in their way. Lucas was by no means strong but he had a secret technique up his sleeve. Lucas waved his arms in a series of box-like motions that seemed to have no rhyme or reason, it looked almost like he was rearranging an invisible shelf. The move was so distracting that it stopped most of the kids in their tracks and that stopped most of the other kids from running after the fleeing girls. It was also far reaching so he stopped all the kids from running after the girls. He had a look of determination in his one eye that could be seen.
"Darn it, they got away," Bear complained.
"Guys, this is a game of tag; go get them," Alex shouted.
So the girls kept running. Where? They did not know yet. They just knew they could not let Lucas's sacrifice be in vain. They ended up running towards the museum to hide and regroup.
"Man, they got Lucas," Foiletta said out of breath.
"Who would have thought that they would have gotten almost all of your class in on this!" Infour said, "Oh so exciting! So juicy!"
"What do you expect, the truth is stranger than fiction," quoted Foiletta.
"Wow, Lucas was so nice sacrificing himself like that," Zoey said with a bit of surprise.
"Yea, Lucas is a really nice guy." Lina said, "Didn't you know this?"
"Really but he didn't just do it for you," Zoey said with a slight surprise.
"Of course, Lucas is both of our friends and a sweet guy anyway." Lina stated the oblivious, "He would do the same for anyone."
"Yea, I guess you are right. I guess he is not so much of a simp." Zoey realized.
"Yup, yellow sweater is a mighty fine chap," Infour said in a light accent.
"He is simply just a true gentleman," Foiletta said, mimicking the accent.
"Yes, yes, he is," Lina said with a bit of rose on her cheeks.
"I hope the chap is okay," Infour said with some worry.
"Oh, he is definitely okay. Those boys wouldn't do anything that extreme and Lucas is a bit more tough than any of us give him credit for." Lina stated, trusting in her boyfriend.
"So then let's get back to the task at hand." Foiletta said, "As long as this town isn't some sort of fake mafia controlled by those three boys or was constructed by them, then we still have a chance to solve this case."
"Wait, Lina, wasn't there a note on that swan boat too?" Zoey questioned. Lina nodded as she pulled out the note, "Then let's read it and see what it says."
"Well, it says... I sleep within the small sand dunes…" Lina started.
"Near 3 wise men..." Zoey finished.
"Ooh, those boys." Infour said, breaking out into intense giggling, "They are brilliant. A literary masterpiece. A bit cliche but still so good."
"What is up with you?" Foiletta asked, nudging her friend.
"Oh, she is just so happy with how this case turned out," Zoey commented with a knowing smile.
"She already figured it out?" Lina asked a little confused.
"Yea, after all, it is quite obvious knowing these boys." Zoey said with a slight grin, "Come on, let's go!" So the girls were much more sneaky now that they were not running and rushing; they kept careful watch of the streets to make sure they were not going to get caught by any of their classmates. Some of the kids were speeding on patrol for the two girls on bikes. Others were walking and being very thorough with their investigation, and others were easily distracted. Luckily for the two girls lurking in the shadows, it was right up their alley, as they used that stealth to move around town quite easily. Yet Lina saw something on their way around town once they got to Triangle Park.
"Look over there," Lina whispered as she pointed to the slide. Up on top of the slide was Lucas, who seemed to be a prisoner as he was guarded by two kids, Matt and Casey. "We gotta save him."
"Wait for all we know, that could be a trap." Zoey pointed out.
"Really you think those boys could pull that kind of thing off… oh…" Infour said reflecting on everything that happened in that day.
"Those boys could be up to anything," Foiletta said with a face that was suspicious of anything.
"Well, we have to try." Lina commanded, "Or at least I have to. Zoey, you know where the last badge is, you should go get it. I will join you at the school with Lucas."
"I am not going without you." Zoey stated with a look of loyalty, "Either of you.".
"If I get caught, you have to solve this case." Lina traded lines.
"Okay, fine," Zoey said, looking Lina straight in the face. Lina had a plan. She threw a soda can on the ground right in front of her. *clank*
"Hey, what was that?" Casey questioned hearing the sound, "I am gonna check it out."
"Wait, it might be a ploy by those girls. You know a diversion to get you away so they can sneak up on us," suggested Matt, grabbing Casey by the shoulder.
"Oh, you're right, they would try to pull something like that," Casey said, remembering how clever the opponents were.
"Hmm, usually in movies, a person throws a thing to the side of them to distract the guards so if we go to each side of the sound, then we are bound to find at least one of the girls," Matt argued.
"That sounds really smart. I think it might work okay. I'll take left, you take right." Casey said.
"Yea," said Matt and the two boys ran after the sides of the sound of the soda can. Lina then ran in the park and called softly to Lucas.
"We're here, Lucas. We are here to rescue you."
"Thanks guys," Lucas said as he slid down the slide to join up with his club again.
"Wow, I can't believe that worked," Infour said dumbfounded.
"I can, it was pretty clever," Foiletta said proud of her tricky friend group.
"Okay, now let's go," Zoey said waving to her friends to book it.
"So where is the badge?" Lucas asked needing to be caught up.
"We don't have it yet." Lina informed, "Still searching for it."
"We are actually heading for it." Zoey said with a signature grin and adjustment of glasses, "We need to get to the school."
"Why?" Lina and Lucas both asked.
"That is where the last badge is." Zoey answered, "The three wise men in the note refer to the boys themselves and the sand is the sandbox near them."
"Oh!" Lina exclaimed.
"Great job, Zoey." Lucas praised.
"Thanks, oh, and thanks, Lucas, for the save back by the lake." Zoey returned.
Lucas smiled and said, "Anytime, Zoey." The group made it to school right where everything started and Zoey grabbed the badge right from the sand in front of the detective club that stood with a satisfied grin.
"Congratulations!" Mark commended first.
"Not only did you find the detective badge ultra but you rescued Lucas too." said Andy with an impressed smile. "It seems you have bested us yet again."
"Yeah and this time for the last time." Zoey said a look of victory on her face.
"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that." Daniel said with a flip of his cape he really did like it.
"After all, you haven't faced the other half of the challenge." Mark informed the rival club.
"In fact, I believe our battle to have just begun." Daniel said as he pulled from behind his cape six swords that he then tossed into the air. Daniel, Andy, and Mark each caught one of the swords and then showed off their costumes yet again. Daniel showed off his purple cape, raising it up and flashing his jewelry. Andy stretched and twirled his fake mustache while reading his sword. Mark turned and posed his face several times to show off his mask of silver and gold, manipulating his sword in an odd fashion. As the three "villains" posed, the classmates from before came and surrounded Lina, Zoey, and Lucas, watching with anticipation, clapping, and cheering.
"Yea this is gonna be great."
"I can't believe they got away from us."
"I wonder who is gonna win!"
"This is so exciting!"
Lina, Lucas, and Zoey could not back down at this point.
"Wow, it seems you have brought quite the crowd for your little showdown." Infour said with a little chuckle.
"Kids can be so excited over anything these days." Foiletta said with some attitude.
"Hey, if you guys are gonna do this, you might as well do this all the way." Mark said tossing the three outfits of their own.
"Yea, we have quite the crowd so let's put on a show!" Daniel said. Lina, Zoey, and Lucas were hesitant at first, but then the ghost hunters' club dressed up for a final showdown. Zoey wore a yellow trench coat paired with a light pink bow tie. Lucas wore a blue vest and a tiny red bow tie. Lina wore a red dress with a black bow and a tan coat and a mini top hat that matched her coat in color. To not feel left out, Foiletta gave herself a cowlick and put her hair into a slightly loose ponytail, then wore a navy blue and red striped shirt with a lab coat. Infour used face paint to make herself look like a basset hound. The whole class cheered at the team's transformation. Their opponents nodded their heads with respect.
"Now you guys look the part." Andy said with a smile, "Now let's see if you detectives have more than just wits!" Andy then rushed forward and thrust his weapon at Lina but Lucas stepped in and blocked it with a parry.
"Look out, Lina," Lucas said.
"You look out too, Lucas." Daniel said as he appeared from the side, preparing a thrust at Lucas.
"Not on my watch." Lina said, stepping in front of Lucas to block the strike by moving her weapon upward.
Zoey, not wanting to be on the defense, charged Mark before he had the chance. She swung her blade downward with both hands. Mark, who was surprised but the sudden change in attack barrely deflected the strike by turning his blade to block. He was knocked back though. because he only had one hand to stop the attack and was lucky his grip was tight enough to hold onto his blade.
Each person had their own style of movement. Zoey was very aggressive with the offense, never letting Mark recover with rapid swings that seemed random but also controlled. She would swing down with both hands but then guide the blade down with only one hand. She then moved the free hand in an opposite motion that kept her balanced, making it hard for Mark to knock her off her rhythm, not giving him a chance to escape much less an opening for attack. Because of his situation, Mark was on defense. He stood sideways to make himself harder to hit at first but because he was caught off guard, he was facing forward toward Zoey, though this was not necessarily a bad thing. Most of his blocks involved angling his blade to manipulate the way her blade would move to make sure it would not hit him, so sometimes he would switch hands to get a better angle. This motion, however, left no room to launch a counterattack.
Daniel was focused a lot on footwork; he was constantly shuffling back and forth to keep Lina guessing. His movements could be back up to dodge or forward and block. The move forward could be going in for a strike or he could head back to prepare a counter. His side steps were the most powerful, as they would leave Lina open for counter strikes, which she could barely avoid. Lina, on the other hand, fell for most of his traps, swinging right into his dodges or blocks but luckily dodging or blocking most of his attacks. She knew that she couldn't keep this up forever and would probably slip up. She just had to wait him out though so he wouldn't be able to double-team either of her teammates.
Right next to Lina and Daniel were Lucas and Andy. Andy swung his blade in a rather fluid motion and held his sword with both of his hands. He did not really just slash or jab. His jabs would turn into slashes right after and vice versa. Andy just never stopped. You could tell he put his upper body into this as he kept moving his shoulder and his hips. He was rather stationary, though not moving his legs that much. Lucas, on the other hand, dealt with by mostly sidestepping. By simply moving out of the way, Lucas knew that Andy could not hit him. Lucas also knew that the power of Andy's swing was probably enough to knock anyone off balance, even if it drained him so he just kept dodging, occasionally swinging or jabbing to force Andy's blade to move in a different way than he wanted, disrupting Andy's flow. Lucas literally sidestepped circles around Andy. Lucas had figured out a weakness to Andy's swordplay. Andy's downward slashes were boosted by gravity but what goes down is hard to bring back up. Andy spent a lot of energy when he had to bring his blade up, even if that did happen to be in the form of a slash or jab. Once Andy's blade was down, Lucas knew there was an opening. He just needed to wait for it.
Lucas and Lina were both silent as they moved their weapons, Zoey and Andy grunted as they threw attack after attack. Daniel and Mark most could be heard by the way they were breathing, either sharply or heavily.
Class 5-2 was eating this up and cheering and clapping. It was quite the show, a great way to end a battle of wits, in their opinion, and a very dramatic way to things. It was like a play but this part was unscripted. Things were about to get more interesting, though.
Lina had an idea suddenly; it was risky but she knew she was getting tired and more sloppy, and despite learning a bit more of Daniel's patterns, she knew that he was probably going to get her the next time he sidestepped, which could have been at any moment. Lina needed to wait for the next time Daniel would go in for a thrust, as not even a sidestep could save him from her attack if it worked. Learning Daniel's body language, Lina saw the tells that he was going in for a thrust forward. As he was going forward, Lina ducked down quickly and slashed down at his legs as she was doing so. Her sword was about to make contact when Daniel jumped, pulling his legs up, dodging the slash at the last second. He then lightly bapped Lina on the head with his fake blade and she was out. The class went wild; not only did the first person fall but she fell in such a reversal after a daring move. Daniel then set his sights on Lucas, changing his stance to be aimed at him. Lucas had followed through with his plan though and landed a jab right on Andy as he tried to pull his blade up through a slashing motion. However, at the cost of his sudden movement to land the strike, Lucas had his back toward Daniel, making him the perfect target. *clang* Suddenly Zoey was between the two, however frozen in the moment Zoey was struck in the shoulder, not fully blocking Daniel's attack.
"Darn it, well, it is up to you now, Lucas." Zoey said walking to join the crowd next to Mark, whom she had just defeated because he was finally too slow to block her attack. Lucas and Daniel now faced each other. Things were quiet as they stared off.
The silence was broken, however, when Lina put a top hat on Lucas, much to his surprise and said, "For a true gentleman." Lucas smiled as he gripped the brim of the top hat with his free hand.
"Just you and me now." Daniel said a rival-bound smile.
"Yup." Lucas nodded.
"Let's finish this." Daniel said before he rushed to hit Lucas. Lucas blocked perfectly though. The crowd went wild again, as this was the most exciting clash yet. It seemed like both sides got a new burst of energy. To make things more exciting because of their footwork and freedom, now that the area was just the two of them, they moved freely. They were much like dancers given the spotlight. They had the space all to themselves, they were moving in almost perfect sync, and all eyes were on them. Sometimes the movement of the blades was slow as each took time to plan their next attack or respond to their opponent. Other times it was very fast, each swordsman trying to catch the other off guard and respond just as quick, if not quicker. The two were rather quiet but their expressions would change as they moved, telling everyone all that they needed to know; who was winning, who was losing, who had a plan and who was just reacting, times they got lucky, and times they failed to pull off what they wanted. Both boys were losing stamina with each attack and block. It was like a speed chess match where the stamina was the time limit for each player and they were just trying to avoid checkmate.
As things were reaching their climax, Daniel praised, "You are really good, Lucas."
Lucas replied, "Not so bad yourself."
Daniel said, "But you are not good enough." Daniel rushed forward, blade in hand for a jab turned slash. Yet he felt something stop him. Daniel looked down. Lucas's blade had hit straight on his chest. Daniel then looked back to Lucas in disbelief and saw the other boy's smile.
"I think I just might be." Lucas said with a light grin; he then held out a hand to Daniel, "Good game."
Daniel smiled and took Lucas's hand. "Good game." The class cheered again, loving how the match ended.
"Great job, Lucas." Lina said, hugging the boy.
"Yea you were great." Zoey said, giving Lucas a pat on the back.
"Quite impressive," Infour said.
"Yea didn't know you had that in you." Foiletta said.
"Hey, it was thanks to Zoey I could face Daniel like that." Lucas thanked.
"Well, I doubt I could have handled him like you did." Zoey admited.
"He did seem to have Lucas on the ropes the whole time." Foiletta jabbed.
"I think you mean he had Daniel on the ropes the whole time." Infour countered.
"Either way, we won!" Lina cheered. The ghost hunters' club then looked back and saw the Springdale Detective Club huddled up. They then turned around and shouted.
"We have an announcement." Andy shouted.
"The Springdale Detective Club," Daniel said.
"Is dissolving." Mark finished. Class 5-2 was in distress.
"What you guys can't quit." Zoey declared.
"Yeah, you guys were super skilled." Lina said with a light frown.
"We had a lot of fun today thanks to you." Lucas said.
"We are sorry but our decision is final." Andy said with his head down in shame.
"But good news!" Daniel said with a bright as day smile.
"We are now forming the New Springdale Detective Club," they shouted. Everyone then clapped.
"But I don't think we will be doing riddles." Andy said with a smile.
"Too hard to make," Mark said. Everyone laughed. They all had tons of fun today thanks to Andy, Daniel, and Mark. Now they could all share a love of mystery and adventure.
Katie, Frostina, Komasan, and Komajiro were walking around her neighborhood. It was a beautiful day to take a walk and all four were enthusiastic and filled with energy. The three yo-kai were happy to be going out. Komasan was naturally starry-eyed at everything, as he never walked around Uptown Springdale near Triangle Park. He was also purely impressed by Katie's bug collection. He loved catching bugs as well. It reminded him of the country; he did love watching all the young kids catch bugs. Frostina was also intrigued by the bugs, as she spent a good portion of her time in the yo-kai world, isolated from most things, especially humans. The only place she ever explored before in the human realm was the mountains. It was her first time in a human city when she met Katie. Komajiro just loved going out with friends.
"Wowwie Katie, you are quite the catch." said Komasan voice dripping with admiration, "All those bugs so fast, I can't believe you can catch them."
"Well for me, it's all about stealth; if the bugs don't know I want to catch them, I can get close then…" Katie swung her net and caught a scarab beetle, then released.
"You are quite swift, Katie," said Komajiro with his classic smile.
"Wow, I didn't know kids liked to catch bugs like that," said Frostina, curious as can be.
"Yea normally I would do this with my friends Nate, Eddie, and Bear, but it seems they are all busy," said Katie, continuing to swing her net.
"What are they up to today?" asked Komasan, ever so curious.
"Well, I know Nate said he wanted to actually start homework today; Eddie is assembling some model, and Bear is helping out his dad with work," listed Katie slightly disapointed.
"Hmm, that's a darn tootin shame but hey, we can still take advantage of this beautiful day," said Komasan, giving Katie and the others a thumbs up. Katie and the others smiled back.
"Yeah, you're right," said Katie, brightening up. "Besides, you guys are my friends too."
"So should we check out Mount Wildwood? There are a ton of cool bugs there," suggested Komajiro, who pulled out his yo-kai pad already checking out spots to check out at the mountain.
"Oooh, a mountain. I love mountains, especially if they are cold; just my element," said Frostina with a glowing expression.
"Sorry, Frostina, it's summer so it is not cold up there right now," explained Komajiro.
"Awe," said Frostina, her expression deflated.
"Well, why don't we head downtown, maybe we could get some food." Katie suggested to lighten the mood.
Komasan's eyes went wide and he rushed to Katie's leg before questioning, "ICE CREAM?"
Komajiro said, "No! You have an ice cream problem, brother; this needs to stop. Katie, please don't let him get ice cream."
"Oh, come on, please. Oh, please, Katie dearie. I really want ice cream more than anything." Komasan made a cute face to try to convince Katie.
"No, Katie, don't succumb to his cute face; he has an ice cream problem and needs to be stopped." said Komajiro, doing his best to come up with a cute face to counter Komasan's cuteness.
"Guys, stop; I can't handle the cuteness." Katie said, being trapped in the middle of their cuteness battle, "Frostina, help!"
"For sure. Here you go," said Frostina before freezing both the brothers in a solid block of ice.
"That's not exactly what I had in mind but it works," said Katie, who was stuck between the frozen brothers.
After the brothers thawed unfortunately for Komajiro, Komasan thawed first and convinced Katie to take them to Nom Burger to get ice cream.
"UMMM! Thanks a bunch, Katie. I do love ice cream. It's more delicious than sweet corn and vanilla beans. Vanilla is such a mighty fine flavor. It is so sweet and not too bold. It reminds me of the peaceful life in the country but also the simple joys of the city," said Komasan, glowing brighter than a lightbulb. His aura was bubbly.
"UHH, despite the fact you gave in to my brother, I do appreciate the ice cream, Katie. I suppose ice cream every once in a while is fun and okay." said Komajiro, finally accepting defeat.
"Well yeah, besides, it's not like Komasan is like Jibanyan." said Katie, "Nate told me that Jibanyan always gets him in trouble with parents eating all the choco bars in his house. At least Komasan has enough self-control not to eat all the ice cream in the freezer."
"Oh no," said Komajiro as he facepalmed.
"Oh, mah, swirls! There is ice cream in the house? I didn't know that!" said Komasan. "No, I must not eat it all." Komasan was already drooling beyond control.
"Darn it, you shouldn't have said that, Katie." said Komajiro with a look of panic. "He won't have any control of himself now that he knows."
"Oh no, wait, Komasan, you can't; that's my mom's ice cream too!" said Katie, who now was panicking over getting in trouble just like Nate. All the while, Frostina just slowly enjoyed her ice cream in small bites, each one giving her a smile.
"I can't believe I lost them," said a random man in the booth right behind Katie and the yo-kai.
"Huh." Katie said, who overheard the man and was concerned, "Oh, sorry for eavesdropping, sir but what's bothering you?"
"Oh, it's okay, young lady but I wouldn't want to trouble you," the man said, still rather solemn.
"No, no. You wouldn't trouble me at all," said Katie with a positive attitude. "If anything, I would want to help you if possible."
"I doubt you could but I lost some um 'important papers' and I don't know where they could be but it would be terrible if they got out." said the depressed man.
"Um, what are these important papers?" Katie asked.
"Uh, well, I can't exactly tell you but, um well let's just say I really need them back and I can't believe I misplaced them." explained the man.
"Do you have any idea where they could be?" asked Katie.
"Well, I don't actually; I cannot remember because I thought I always left them at home for safekeeping but I searched my entire house and I couldn't find even a single paper." said the man.
"Hmmm. That is curious," said Katie, a finger to her chin in thought.
"It could be a yo-kai." Komajiro speculated, "But I think it is most likely just a normal case of misplacing things. I have suspensions on what these papers are but I can't be sure."
"Well, how can we help Katie help this poor man?" asked Komasan.
"Don't look at me." Frostina said with a shrug.
"Well, what did you do today?" asked Katie.
"Um, well, I mostly just worked. After that, I went home to work on the bills," said the man, "I spent most of my sorry days like that."
"Well, where do you work?" Katied asked, "Maybe you left your papers there."
"Maybe but that would be just terrible; I would hate for my co-workers to find out those papers," said the man. "But I work at the construction site for your information. Though instead of hard labor, I mostly get stuck with the paperwork and all that."
"Wait, maybe you left your important papers at work," suggested Katie.
Realization struck the man like lightning: "Of course I probably mixed up my work papers with my important ones! But everyone will question me if I come to work again since I usually only go to work to get papers from our employers, turn those papers in, or get signatures. I never forget anything so it would be weird if I went to the site; they would definitely ask me what the papers are for. Then my secret would be revealed! I would be so embraced."
"Well, what if I went and got the papers?" Katie suggested.
"Oh, would you? That would be amazing, thank you." said the man.
"HMMMM!" Komajiro's aura grew inflamed. "I really don't trust this guy or his "papers," but okay."
"I think it is great that Katie here is helping out. It is as sweet as that ice cream," said Komasan.
"Sure, just another way to see more of the city." said Frostina, who just finished the last bite of her ice cream, "Let's go." They then headed over to the construction site.
"Okay, where would papers be stored in a construction site?" Katie questioned, "Huh Komasan, what's wrong?"
Both Komasan and Komajiro recalled their last experience at the unfinished building. Yet both had different experiences. Komasan was scared out of his mind last time and though he ended up with his greatest victories there, it was still incredibly scary for Komasan to recall. For Komajiro though, he just remembered it as the amazing place where his big brother was able to stand up to a nasty Kyubi and he and his brother, along with Nate and Jibanyan, were able to defeat a powerful boss, yo-kai that Kyubi was assigned to fight.
"Oh, my brother is probably just remembering the amazing experiences here," assured Komajiro, "after all, this is where he took down that bully, Kyubi, and we both powered up for the first time."
"Really?!" said Katie, "Wait so you are saying Nate went all the way up to the top of this thing? And you guys fought on this crazy unstable place?"
"Yo-u-u yo-u-u fought a Kyubi!?" Frostina questioned. Both girls were surprised and in awe.
"Well, actually, it is not that unstable; it is a well-built place and I assure you, we were quite safe, even Nate, since we were all there to protect him. Still, it was mighty kind of him to come with us. I doubt we would have been able to accomplish those amazing things up there without Nate." Komajiro explained, "And yea, my big bro didn't just fight a Kyubi; he defeated it and it wasn't just any Kyubi."
Frostina was even more surprised. "You don't mean... HE WAS THE GUARDIAN!"
Komasan said, "No, no, he was just the apprentice of the real guardian. I would have been beaten to even less than a pulp; in fact, I would have been incinerated and my flames would have been crisper than a fried cracker if he was the real guardian."
Frostina said, "Still, that is incredibly impressive. My kind, icy yo-kai fear Kyubis since they can essentially burn us out of existence with their power. They are said to be the strongest fire yo-kai."
Komajiro said, "Hmm, I don't think so; after all, he isn't even a legendary yo-kai. Sure, he is well known and revered but he still wouldn't compare to a legendary yo-kai, especially our ancestor Komashura."
Frostina exclaimed, "You both are descendants of the mighty Komashura!"
Komajiro proudly stated, "You bet your boots we are. His firepower totally dwarfs Kyubi's."
Frostina said, "Woah!"
Komasan said, "You would never have to worry a hair on your head about him, though. Komashura is a kind yo-kai. Though he is more powerful than a high-speed horse, he is also a former guardian, meaning he protects people and yo-kai."
Frosina said, "That's good, then. Nice to know I don't need to fear all fiery yo-kai."
Katie said, "Guys, I hate to interrupt your reminiscing and admiration but we do still need to find those papers."
Komasan said, "Leave it to me; I still know this place like the marketplace of my home town."
Komajiro said, "Yea, we are both super familiar with this area. We will find those papers in no time flat. You two won't even need to move a muscle." With that, the two brothers searched for a couple minutes, with Frostina and Katie helping anyway to speed up the process and Komasan found it.
"I found it, y'all," said Komasan as he waved the papers.
Katie said, "Great, now let's get them back to that man."
Frostina said, "Good thing we didn't even bother the construction workers that made things so much easier."
Katie said, "Yeah, it seems like they are all hard at work. Too busy to even notice us."
Komajiro said, "I question the safety of hanging around a working construction site but I suppose we did have a good reason and permission from someone who works here. I am curious though as to what those so-called "important papers are really"."
Komasan asked, "Why add the "so-called" brother? They seem like important papers to me. After all, he did give a mighty fine panic after losing them. Though I do have to admit I am more curious than a cat on a boat to know what those papers are."
Katie said, "I don't know; he seemed to not want anyone looking at those papers. I don't think we should be looking at them."
"I reckon you are right, Katie," said Komasan.
"Yea, I just can't help but be suspicious of a guy like him," said Komajiro.
"Maybe he'll tell us what they are when we give it back to him. It couldn't hurt to ask," said Frostina. So the four walked back to Nom Burger and the man was so delighted to get his papers back. Komajiro gave a glare at the man while Katie and Komasan gave kind smiles even though only one was visible and Frostina seemed to be staring into space.
"Oh, I cannot thank you enough for retrieving these papers!" said the man. "I can't believe I misplaced them and then you found them for me."
"You're welcome, sir; it was no problem." Katie said, "Oh but if you don't mind me asking, what are those important papers?" Komasan, Komajiro, and Frostina all snapped to attention, waiting to hear the man's response and learn the secrets of the paper.
"You were kind enough not to look? Wow, you really are a good kid. We need more girls like you. I bet it must have been hard fighting that curiosity. If I was your age, I would have looked to end my curiosity. Well, I guess I can tell you," said the man. Katie, Frostina, Komasan, and Komajiro all waited for the man and leaned closer to hear.
The man bent over and whispered, "They are my secret poems." In all four heads, "Secret poems!" was shouted but luckily they didn't say anything out loud. "Thank you for getting them back; it's almost like you retrieved my diary. I have a passion for poetry. You see, it is one of the only ways I can express myself. I even recently started taking professional classes for writing but it holds a lot of my personal thoughts so that's why it would have been super embarrassing for me if someone found these papers."
"Really poetry! I can't believe it; I guess this guy is pure after all," said Komajiro.
"What do you mean, brother?" asked Komasan.
"You don't know, brother? Well, let's just say I was surprised he sent Katie to get these papers." said Komajiro.
"What a wonderful way to express one's emotions. Too bad we can't experience any of his works. I would have loved to hear or read one of his poems." said Frostina here, hands together under her smile.
So the man left happy to have his poems back and safe. He even gave Katie a couple poetry books of his. Katie gave them to Frostina and they all went home. As they walked back to Katie's house, Frostina recited some of the poems in the books which Komasan, Katie, and Komajiro liked, and that made Frostina even more happy. For Katie, this was a great day for her and her yo-kai friends.
Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* the world could have ended to Nate because of just those sounds. The threat did not just loom over the average boy, it practically overshadowed him. Even being away, Nate could feel the power of the yo-kai after him. He was glad to have Jibanyan and Whisper there with him but he knew that none of them stood any chance against this new threat. This must of been what pure fear was.
Of course, unless you had yo-kai friends or were skilled in combat, any human should be afraid of terror time. After all, you were always facing a monstrous beast, the size of two houses at least, that was overwhelmingly strong and armed with a giant metal club that could be used to demolish skyscrapers. Nate, however, had powerful yo-kai friends up his alley, ready to fight for him and they had taken down three oni before. Yet as soon as he entered terror time, a wave of fear had already washed over him.
"NATHAN ADAMS, YOU SHALL BE PUNISHED!" Bellowed Orcanos like his brethren, Orcanos was massive and scary, with sharp teeth and claws armed with his iron club. However, this jet black yo-kai with his golden horns and blood-red eyes was not like his two brothers. "NO ONE HARMS MY BROTHERS AND GETS AWAY WITH IT! AND NO ONE ESCAPES JUSTICE!" Whisper did not need to explain that this was the most powerful modern day Oni that had already been around for centuries. He didn't need to explain that he only appeared when someone had been too much for Gargaros and Ogralus and was left unpunished or that he was stronger than both Oni combined. He did not need to explain that none of Nate's yokai friends could possibly compare to Orcanos's power.
This truly was a nightmare for Nate Adams. No one other than Whisper dared to make the slightest sound. Things were dead quiet with the slight exception of Whisper's explanations, Orcanos's shouts and Orcanos's stomps. Nate, knowing his only option was escape, tried to stealthily escape through the yellow door that was nowhere to be seen. Nate didn't even really know where he was. It did not look like Springdale; it was more rustic.
"Okay, just find a way to escape. Just need to find that door. Find the door. FIND THE DOOR!" Nate thought. His fear kept his mind frantic and his heart racing; it was so loud and fast Nate could have gone deaf from its beating. Paired with the massive Oni's stomps, it was a percussion symphony of horror for Nate. Oni were patrolling the area and their scanning eyes were peeled, almost like just their gaze would cause death, knowing what would happen if they alerted Orcanos. Nate made it close to the yellow door with Jibanyan spotting the door but it was Jibanyan shouting "Look, the door." that gave the three away. It felt like a thousand eyes were now all on them and the screech the oni released was horrible. Forget breaking glass; this might as well shatter walls of stone and cause eardrums to explode. Yet the group, out of pure fear, ran before the largest Oni could react. It was the fastest that Nate and Jibanyan had run in their lives (and afterlife for Jibanyan). Orcanos was fast, though he quickly sprinted and turned on his heel to catch Nate. His blood-red eyes finally locked on to Nate and he ran at breakneck speeds.
"YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE JUSTICE! NO ONE DOES! YOU SHALL BE PUNISHED, NATHAN ADAMS!" Shouted Orcanos as he gained more and more on Nate and his friends.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Nate, Jibanyan, and Whisper shouted as they were chased. Nate ripped open the door. Orcanos swung his club with full force. Nate looked back for a second but ran in. Nate felt his life flash before his eyes as the door closed. He felt like he knew what death looked like. Both Jibanyan and Whisper were reduced to wisps crushed by Orcanos's swing. If it weren't for their pushes, Nate would have been hit too. He was so grateful at that point to have those two friends. Yet he could not stay to thank them because as soon as he got through the door, he fainted on the floor of his room, which he was lucky enough to escape into.
Terror Time reached the final level of nightmares and fear and it was not holding back any punishment.
AN: Yes, the final Oni has appeared; Orcanos is here for nightmarish vengeance, and that is all you really see of Nate unfortunately. But beside that, I think that was a good way to start the final part of the Terror Time arc. Yeah, Katie's part of the story wasn't that interesting, but I felt like she needed her own story dealing with side quests for once. So yea also not a yo-kai filled story, I just wanted to explore another fun side quest series. And yes, I love the Professor Layton series so I had to make more cameos. I thought detective story perfect for Professor Layton references. I wonder if anyone can spot every single reference I made, please note in the reviews! I always thought Lucas would be kind and soft-voiced, like a certain assistant in the games. I also thought Lucas, Lina, and Zoey, as well as Foiletta and Infour, needed some more love, so this chapter is given to them. Zoey has been getting some more love in these last few chapters so I hope that makes up for her lack of backstory. I cannot wait for Professor Layton: The New World of Steam to come out, as I bet you all can't wait for my next chapter. Again, I hope you all enjoyed reading this!
