Hey guys. Sorry that this took as long as it did. Are we ready to get back to the festival? Let's go!
This is a heavy chapter so I'm going to just slap a blanket warning for everything. I'm honestly tired and ready to be done with this chapter as it's taken a few days to get this thing written.
So go ahead and strap into a 5 point harness and hold on tight!
That's about it. Enjoy!
5 minutes prior
You two stand right here and don't go anywhere. Tommy told the kids sternly. I have to change Mav's diaper. I'll be right back."
"Yes, Dad." Kayla said with a bright smile as she, Raine shared the funnel cake. Next to them, Kailen snacked on a meaty kabob. He wasn't a big fan of sugary stuffs, and he'd tried to join in on the funnel cake, but it was just too much sugar for his system. So, when he'd seen the bright colorful veggies and meat on the sticks, he'd been pretty happy! Now, he sat munching happily as he stood with his cousins, waiting for his uncle Tommy to come back out of the bathroom.
They'd been that way for a few minutes when they'd heard a scratchy voice.
"Hey, how would you kids like a puppy? It's free to a good home!"
Kayla looked up sharply and saw the man holding a very cute dog with long ears a wagging tail. She handed the thick paper plate to Rain and walked slowly towards the man. On closer inspection the puppy wasn't very healthy looking. It looked way too skinny and it was crawling with fleas.
"She doesn't look very good. What did you do to her?" She asked softly.
"She's just a runt, I don't want to waste money on her. if you come over here, she's yours forever.
Kayla, remember what Uncle Tommy said about stranger danger!" Kailen said softly.
"But this puppy looks sick." Kayla argued. "She needs a doctor."
"I'll take her, but you're a bad man for not feeding her!" Kayla accused the man.
"Well, sweetie, I'm a poor man. I can't afford to feed her."
"Fine, I'll take her."
The man laughed and his breath was repulsive. He held out the puppy and Kayla walked towards him. The moment she had the puppy in her hands, his dirty hand grabbed her arm.
"Let me go, asshole!" Kayla screamed.
"Stupid little girl." The man said in a gravelly voice. "You're my bitch now. We're going to have such fun!"
"No you're not!" Kailen said loudly and he thrust out his hands and the man immediately lost his balance. As he fell, he lost his grip on Kayla and she stepped back a little bit with the shaking puppy in her arms.
The man fell hard on the ground and the wind was knocked out of him. A second later, Kayla walked up to him and with her 6-year-old strength, kicked the man in the crotch and he rolled over cradling himself.
"That's for tying to kidnap me!" Then she walked over to his head and kicked him again. "That's for not feeding the puppy!"
"That's enough little ninja." Pyre said as he walked up to them. The little kids immediately walked over to the older teen and stood behind him. While all this happened, Rook walked towards the man on the ground.
"No more." The man whimpered. "You can have the puppy for free!"
"Yeah, the puppy is coming with us. You however have messed with the wrong kids."
"What the hell is going on?" Tommy demanded as he walked out of the restroom with Maverick in his arms.
"This bad man tried to take me, Daddy, but Kailen and I kicked his ass and we saved this puppy!" Kayla said as she showed him the sick beagle.
Tommy's face was unreadable; his eyes were a bright green as he handed his infant son over to Pyre. "Take the kids back to the others, they don't need to see this."
The teens immediately did as he said as they could feel the immense power coming from him. When they were a safe distance away, they stopped and sat the kids on a bench. Pyre handed the baby over to Rook and then knelt in front of Kayla. Her eyes were a watery green and they glowed faintly.
Pyre swore softly. "Hey Kayla, I know you're pretty upset right now, but I need you to close your eyes for me."
"They're glowing, aren't they." She asked softly. "That man made me so mad! He hurt the puppy!"
Of course, she would focus on the puppy. He silently snarked to himself.
"What's going on?" Kim said as she rushed up to him. Behind her, Rocky and Adam rushed past her on the way to find Tommy. Rook handed her the baby and she slipped him into her baby sling.
When the teens recanted what happened, she looked at her daughter, completely unsure what to say. Pyre looked at Rook. "We need to see to this little beagle; You mind getting Bonnie over here?"
"Yeah, I'm on it." Then he jogged over to the tent.
Pyre then focused on Kayla. "Ok, we need to get you calm again so that your eyes will stop glowing. Close your eyes and take a deep breathe with me." As he led her through her exercises, the other Miscreants arrived with Bonnie in tow.
They kept their distance and sat at a table a few feet away and Bonnie. Rook handed the puppy over and told Bonnie what happened. She said nothing as she gave the puppy a cursory look. She'd had some basic animal aid classes and knew what to look for.
After some time, she set the little puppy down on the table. "She should be okay, she's too tiny but that's to be expected when some asshole doesn't take proper care of her. She needs to be examined by a proper vet and get her puppy shots and to be checked for worms. A medicated bath is a good idea too."
Meanwhile, Kayla was sitting still with Pyre and feeling a lot calmer.
"Are you okay, Kayla?" asked a small voice. Pyre looked up to see a small boy with spiky hair and a silver chain. It was Jude Skullovitch, a boy in her class. He stood next to an older teenager that Pyre recognized as Creed from their class.
"Hey there, Kyle. We saw everything, it was pretty intense."
Pyre looked back at Kayla who was looking back at him. Her eyes were their normal brown color. When she looked at her classmate, she inhaled softly. It was very subtle and only Pyre noticed. "Yeah, I'm ok." She followed that with a small shy smile. The boy was grinning at her. "I saw you kicked that guy in the nuts, that was awesome."
Kayla grinned at him. "Thanks."
"We're good, Creed. Uncle Tommy is taking care of things. Everything should be fine."
In the next moment, she saw her dad walking towards them with a stormy look on his face. Her smile dropped and Creed noticed, when he saw Tommy, he picked up Jude's hand. "We better scatter, looks like your dad has something to say."
Jude was still smiling at Kayla, "I'll see you in class."
"Yeah, see you later."
Now, Kim and Tommy stood with Bonnie as she gave them the report on the Beagle. They conversed for a few minutes and then she gave him an embossed business card and then parted ways.
Kayla watched in trepidation as her parents spoke for a few more minutes. Her daddy looked up at her and then at the group of teenagers. "I need a moment with you miscreants."
When the teens were gathered around him, he said. "Since my sweet daughter was willing to risk her life for that dog, she's in charge of it. That means that she'll be the one who has to pick up after it and that means everything that dog messes up. I'm asking if you'll guys be up to supervising her. That doesn't mean that you do anything for her but show her the ropes."
"Yeah, we can do that." Pyre said. "Though I don't envy her at all."
Tommy snorted. "Yeah, me neither." He paused. "You teens go ahead and enjoy the fair, for now, we need to have a talk with out little Ninja."
Wyvern grimaced yet said nothing as she took her mate's and walked back to the changing rooms to switch into their street clothes.
When they were gone, Tommy and Kim approached their daughter. Kayla looked up at them, looking really nervous. "We need to have a nice long talk, young lady."
It took some time to get cleaned up, especially with Trent working on removing the body paint from Katsume's back. As he applied the hot soapy water, the teens spoke about the adoptions. Every dog that had been showcased had found a home and they were very happy with the results.
"So, what happened with Anubis?" Kyle asked as he slipped back into his t-shirt.
This rich old lady picked him up. She smelled like money but unlike the last lady we met, she was very nice. She and Anubis were a perfect match; even when he gave her a sloppy kiss, she laughed it off and scratched him behind the ears. I can definitely see them living out their golden years together."
The sisters were adopted by two sisters." Autumn said with a grin. "They don't live together but they'll be able to hang out more often.
"Those two girls will be spoiled rotten in no time." Sapphire added. "I can already see them wearing fancy pink collars and basking in the sun on thick fluffy pillows stuffed with down feathers."
Katsume grinned as Trent wiped the last of he paint from his back. "And what about Fiona?"
"Adopted by a retired couple. They travel the country in their RV and they fell in love with her on sight. She was wagging her whole body when she met them. Instant connection!"
"It couldn't have gone any better." Bonnie said as she walked in. We even had a few adoptions that weren't in the show. More than half of those kittens and cats got adopted along with a lot of the dogs and puppies. I couldn't' have asked for a better outcome."
She paused and wiped a happy tear from her eye. "Thank you guys for stepping up!"
Kyle grinned. "It was loads of fun. I wouldn't mind doing this again!"
I'll keep that in mind." She said. "Oh and I thought you all might like to know that I've heard back from the vet. Buttercup will be joining us at the shelter to continue her physical therapy till we can find her a forever home."
Rook was just beaming with satisfaction as Bonnie finished. "That's really all I wanted to say. I'll just let you guys go enjoy the festival. You've more than earned it!"
Once again, back in their street clothes, the teens stepped out into the mid afternoon sun. The lovely enticing smells of carnival food made the teens salivate and realize that they hadn't eaten since the morning.
"Let the feasting begin!" Kyle said rubbing his hands together. "Where should we start first?"
Katsume's eyes swept the grounds and landed on Elisa who sat at a picnic table. A second look clued him into something odd. She sat by herself but she wasn't in her wheelchair and her crutches were nowhere to be seen. "What the hell…" He mumbled to himself as he walked towards her.
She gave him a troubled smile. "Hey, Paladin."
"Hi, Elisa…um…where are your crutches?"
She gave him a rueful smile. "I got blitzed in the bathroom, I leaned them against the wall while I was washing my hands. One of Jezebel's minions snatched them and ran away with them. I was able to make it a short distance, but I only made it to the table." She held up her cellphone. The wheelchair is in my brother's car, but I can't get a hold of him. He wanted to ride the Zipper with Bridget, his girlfriend and he's spent all day taking care of me, I wanted to give him some time."
Katsume sighed and straddled the bench. "I shouldn't be surprised. Those lousy bitches have nothing better to do than to mess with you."
By then the other miscreants had caught up to them. Kyle sighed heavily. "I'm so freaking done with those plastic barbie doll rejects."
"What's the plan all mighty leader?" asked Rook as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"I'm hardly a leader, but we need to track down those plastics and get her crutches back…and let her brother know what's going on. I don't trust myself not to slap down those bitches." He looked up at the girls; he didn't even need to say anything, and they looked more than happy at the task. "I'll go with them." Leif said. "Just in case they need backup."
Rook exhaled softly. "I'll go track down Bradley and clue him in." He took off at a jog towards the massive ride.
"What about you?" Katsume asked as Kyle took out his wallet. "I'm sure you both are hungry. He paused and grinned at them. "There's a nice food stall over there. What are you guys hungry for? I'll go grab some grub."
Katsume looked at the stall. "I could go for a turkey leg, though I doubt they'll be as good as the ones at Universal Studios." He looked at Elisa, "What can I get you? The skies the limit."
"Actually, I've already eaten…but I could go for a funnel cake. I've been dying for one all day."
"Got it, do you want any special toppings on it?"
"Just the powdered sugar. Thanks so much!"
"Coming right up."
When he walked away, Elisa grinned at him. "That's a hell of a group you guys have. Are you all this gallant?"
Katsume grinned. "We try to be, though he's the most chivalrous of everyone. Kyle and Autumn were raised like that; it's just part of them."
They were quiet for a moment and then Elisa looked over at him. "That was an amazing costume you had on, did your dad do all that paint work?"
He paused. "Yes and no. I came to the Manor with the outline of the feathers tattooed on my back. Trent just filled them in; he took a picture for continuity just before he applied the setting powder. How did it look on stage?"
Elisa looked like she wanted to blurt out the answer, but she just pulled out her smartphone and showed him the video. He watched himself walk down the catwalk with Anubis, turn, and then walk back up with the happy looking canine; the light hit the feathers perfectly. Even he had to admit that he looked brooding and yet hot at the same time.
"Wow, I had no idea." He said to himself.
"You were hot. Like a brooding dark angel that saves people in the end." She said as if giving voice to his thoughts.
Katsume chuckled as he shook his head. "Huh, I had no idea. Not exactly what a paladin is supposed to be."
"Well, who says that a paladin has to be a knight in shining armor that reeks of goodness?" she answered. "I've always felt that a knight in shining armor is a squire that hasn't been tried and tested yet. Real knights have armor that is dented a little grimy and they'll most likely have some scaring that proves they've fought the bad guys and survived."
Katsue gave her a long look… and she blushed. "I'm sorry, I have a habit of waxing poetic."
"No, don't worry about it. I think that was more profound than poetic. I never thought about it that way." He gave her a small smile and hoped she couldn't tell how her words affected him.
A second later, her hand covered his. "Whatever happened, you can talk to me about it."
He shook his head. "Nah, I'm not ready for that yet…maybe someday. I'd rather focus on having fun." He exhaled softly and looked up at her. "This is our first official date and the last thing we need is painful pasts screwing it up." Then he looked up at Kyle who was just standing there holding a funnel cake in one hand and a turkey leg in the other.
"So, you guys still want the food or should I give you a few more minutes?"
"Nah, we're good and I'm starving."
"There they are." Autumn said as they saw the group of Plastics sitting at a table. They were laughing and in the middle of the table, was Jezebel. Autumn felt her anger rising up and she fought to remain calm.
"Maybe I should take the lead on this." Sapphire said. "You're not in control of your emotions."
"Oh, I'm in perfect control" Autumn replied in a soft deadly voice." Let's just get those crutches back."
Sapphire looked at her closely and then nodded. "Ok, let's go kick some ass."
Jezebel looked up at them as the girls approached. "Finally decided to approach us; I was sure for a second that you'd start making out with your demon slut."
"Nope, sorry. We don't swing that way." Autumn said with a roll of her eyes. "We're here for those crutches, we know you jacked them from Elisa, just tell us where you stashed them, and we'll leave."
"Why would we tell you? Are you that little freak's guard dog now?" She asked as her crew got up and surrounded them.
Autumn eyed them and knew immediately she'd just walked into a trap. Still, she gave them all a fearless look.
"Isn't this a bit extreme for you? Aren't you worried about wrecking those pricey manicures?"
"It'll be worth it." Jezebel said as one of her cronies took a baseball bat and swung. However, the blow never connected as Leif had grabbed the bat and tugged hard. The bat and the girl holding it fell to the ground. At the same time, Sapphire stood with her back to her best friend, guarding her from any more cheap shots.
Autumn didn't take her eyes from the girl in front of her, but had an idea about what had happened. "What the hell kind of move was that? Are you that much of a wuss to try a sneak attack?"
Jezebel sneered and slapped Autumn with a loud smack.
Autumn took the hit in stride; the hit didn't even have that much force behind it and the sting faded away almost immediately. A second later, she felt power flow through her as her inner dragon come to life. When she opened her eyes, Jezebel gasped. "What the fuck is up with your eyes?"
"Do you know who I am?" Autumn said in a powerful and dangerous voice. "I'm Wyvern, the dragon; you shouldn't have challenged me." With a lightning movement, she slapped the other girl down really hard. She fell to the ground with a grunt. Autumn knelt down in front of her and grabbed her by her hair. "Stop fucking around. Tell me where those crutches are!"
"We threw them away. That little freak needed to be dealt with."
Autumn gripped her hair tightly. "Elisa is under my protection now. You're going to leave her alone from now on, or I will do so much worse then this simple cat fight. You have no idea what power I have within me."
Just to make her point, she yanked hard on her pony tail. A second later, the hair fell out and Autumn snorted. "Really, extensions? Wow…you're even more of a fake than I thought!"
That's enough, Autumn." She paused as she heard her mother's voice. "You've made your point."
Still not taking her eyes off Jezebel. She finished. "I'm not going to tell you again. Stay away from Elisa or you'll feel the wrath of the dragon."
"Ok, ok. I'll leave the little bitch alone." Jezebel said with a look of real fear in her eyes. She got up the moment that Autumn got up and backed away.
When she walked away with her hussies. Autumn sighed and closed her eyes. A moment later, Tanya wrapped her arms around her daughter.
"Baby girl. Look up, show me your eyes."
When she did, Tanya gasped softly. They were those of a dragon and were a brilliant purple. A moment later, she recovered and simply led her daughter to another picnic table and sat her down.
Adam whom was just behind them turned his attention to Sapphire. "Ok, Nocturne, what just happened?"
"They snatched Elisa's crutches while she was washing her hands, we came here to confront Jezebel and her cronies, but they told us that the crutches had been tossed away. It was a trap to attack Autumn for that confrontation at the mall just before school started."
Adam nodded. "Ok. So, the first thing we need to do is find her brother and see what he wants to do."
"No need, I'm right here." Bradley said in a gruff voice. "What happened?" At his side was a beautiful teenager with thick curly red hair. She wore a stylish hoodie over a pair of hip huggers and sported some worn looking tennis shoes. Her bright green eyes were looking just as worried as Bradley about what had happened.
When Autumn told him, he cursed softly. "And we don't have a back up pair. We just got those last year and she's not eligible for another pair till next year. Those lousy bitches just can't leave her alone!"
"Did you bring her wheelchair?"
Bradley nodded. "Yeah, I brought it just incase she got tired from all that walking. She's trying so hard to be independent!" I'll have to find someway to get ahold of Hayden."
"We might have a way to do that, but first let's get her wheelchair out and make sure she's okay." He paused and looked at Sapphire. "Where are they?"
"Back by the bathrooms, Kyle and Katsume are with her."
"Okay. We'll just take things one step at a time." He paused and looked at Bradley. "We won't step on toes here. We'll keep an eye on her, if you want to go get that wheel chair."
"Yeah, thanks. I'll meet you guys back at the tables." When he was gone, Adam sighed heavily. Then he looked over at his wife who was talking softly with their daughter.
He turned to the teenagers. "You miscreants did good today. I need to talk privately with Autumn, Go ahead and go back to the others."
Yes, Sir." The teens answered almost in unison. When they walked off, he walked over to his wife and daughter. Tanya looked up at him. "We're okay, baby."
Adam knelt down infront of his daughter "How are those eyes?"
"Normal." Autumn said as she looked at her father. "Please don't be mad, we didn't know it was a trap, we were just trying to get her crutches back."
"What's done is done; let's not let those bullies ruin the day. If you want to go home, that's not a problem or do you want to stay a little longer?"
"I'm starving dad. We were planning to feast once we got into our street clothes again. This was a detour."
"Ok, then. Let's go get some food."
A few hours later
It was time to go home. The teens had done their best to enjoy the day, all drama forgotten. But now, the day was over and they were all hungry for some real food, so they were saying goodbye to Elisa as Bradley and his girlfriend had gone to get the wheelchair van.
"From now on, you're going to spend lunch with us in the Moon Racer." Autumn said to Elisa. "It's the only way they'll leave you alone."
"That's fine." Elisa said. I've never had lunch in a minibus. Is the bus hard to get into?"
"Nah, but if you have trouble, it'll be nothing to carry a folding table in the back of the jeep." Rook said. "We'll make it work."
"You'd do all that for me?" Elisa asked.
"Yeah, you're with us now." Autumn answered. "We don't mind making accommodations."
"Cool." Elisa said looking happily, though her eyes strayed to Katsume. He looked just as thrilled about the idea of not having to sit in the cafeteria anymore. He'd never tell her, but he missed sitting with the rest of the Miscreants.
When the van pulled up, Katsume bent down and pulled Elisa into his arms. "I'll see you on Monday."
I can't wait." She answered and pecked his cheek with a sweet kiss.
Katsume felt a warmth sweep through him and he hugged her a little tighter before helping her sit back down in her chair.
As soon as she was in the van and her brother pulled away from the curb, Rocky grinned widely. "So, where do we want to eat. it's still a little early so many of the restaurants should still be open. Name the place and we'll go."
"Let's go to Shenanigans." It's been a while since we ate there."
Katsume was still beaming with happiness. "Shenanigans?"
So, I know there was a lot going on in this chapter, but I want to get on to the next part of the story. What did you all think of everything that happened? Please leave me some feed back.
Till next time!