Part III - Hope

Disc 1

Track 1 - 0:00

This is Project Hope Effect

//Breathe, A Minute//

Lyric 1
8:30PM

Aiko Primavera stared out into the river.

Her hands held onto the gate that prevented her from leaning in too far. She let the wind carry her uneven hair forward, somewhat hoping it would lift her as well.

Breathe.

She could’ve made it to class on time if she got dressed faster. She even woke up a whole hour earlier than usual, but she still arrived ten minutes late.

Breathe.

She had received failing grades for the tests from last week… except for her Earth Science exam, to which she got an 86 on. She excitedly shared the news to her best friend, Emira, only for other classmates to immediately shut down her joy and state that this was the easiest exam of the semester.

In.

No one understood why Emira still hung around Aiko. This sentiment had been buzzing around in Aiko’s ear like a fly the past month, but today it really started to get to her.

Out.

Emira kept herself busy. She was social and extroverted. She was a bit of a nerd, but she was extremely smart. She did archery club and piano lessons after school. She was the perfect student, and for a junior, she was on top of her work. Everything Aiko wanted to be, and everything Aiko couldn’t be.

To Emira, Aiko was a childhood best friend and a family friend who she still wanted to help out. To most of the other students, Aiko was some annoying sophomore with a weird music taste whose grade average was a 70.

Barely passing.

And since there weren’t any teachers in the hall to tell the other sophomores to zip it, she would receive every bit of grief there was to get as she walked from each class to the next.

Slow down.

Enough reminiscing about the general situation.

Aiko watched the dusk get swallowed by the night sky, and she lowered her head. It wasn’t even being told the test was easy that got her down. It was her being told by her peers she wasn’t trying hard enough. And it was Emira hearing this and not saying anything that crushed her.

Miraculously, Emira didn’t have some extracurricular activity today, and invited her to go to the Spestyche Autumn Promenade after school. Aiko, however, just wanted to go home. Missing her train and needing to wait a bit longer was why she was still in the city.

The girl inhaled slowly, and then exhaled out again. Just breathe.

Breathe.

Breathe.

“Aiko!!”

She opened her eyes and jerked her head towards a tiny fox animal.

The critter was white with deer antlers and one black eye. It was short, but it stared aggressively at the 15 year old.

“What the hell are you?!” She yelled, pointing with accusation and fear. “I’M NOT SIGNING YOUR CONTRACT!”

“Wrong kind of alien! Listen- your friend Emira is in trouble!” He stood in a weirdly militaristic position.

“Emira’s in trouble??” Aiko let go of the gate that separated her from the river.

“The entire festival is compromised! There’s a bomber who’s blowing the city to bits! You’re the only one who can help the others!”

Aiko shook her head in disbelief. “You got the wrong person, dude! I can barely run a lap in PE!”

“We don’t have enough time for your self doubt! Emira’s my friend, and she trusts you.”

Aiko stepped back. “I’m sorry. I really don’t know if I’d help.”

Chrys raced towards her and grabbed her hands with his stubby little paws. There was a brief burst of light and energy.

Sparks.

Maybe she would make it in time after all.

//Catch Me If You Can//

Lyric 2

“7PM - We interrupt this program for an emergency broadcast.

Reports are flooding in of a terrorist, leaping from building tops, who is tossing what seem to be explosive balloons.

The attacker is wearing a pink dress, has long pink pigtails, a party hat, and an apparent clown mask.

There also seem to be a group of primary colored vigilantes chasing the bomber. Regardless of the sights, CLEAR OFF THE BLOCK ASAP. The promenade will have to be rescheduled. If you don’t want to get blown up, STOP FILMING AND LEAVE. WAIT FOR AUTHORITIES TO ARRIVE BEFORE RETURNING.”

You got that, right?

Was the television not clear enough?

Looks like it wasn’t.. okay. Here’s the gist.

Moyo Bal. Chieko Lucero. Konnie Ellis. Amber Hoff. Four students from the city’s high school. They all went about their day normally, Moyo and Chieko grabbed boba together. Konnie walked Amber throughout the city.

All four of them somehow missed the pink haired clown who brushed past them through the streets. Pedestrian traffic, some would say.

While no one expected the promenade or festival or whatever it’s called to get bomb threats, these four blew their one and only job - preventing any strange individual from declaring war on the human race. And she did just that.

You already got her description, you don’t need another repetition of pink descriptors.

Loki stood atop a building in the center of the block that was closed. She raised her axe and called out, “what’s up swines??”

The crowd murmured and stared.

Loki clasped her hands, and grinned mischievously. ”I’ve got some exciting news! A spectacle unlike any other is about to commence!” She pointed to a balloon on top of the boba shop Moyo and Chieko stood outside of. “See that balloon over there?”

Heads turned. Phones popped out.

“Alright, well, that’s a bomb! And if I press one of my silly buttons, it’ll pop! So to put this simply… I’m blowing up your city!”

Before any objections or disbelief could be expressed, the balloon did in fact have a mini explosion.

“Hey!” A girl with bright turquoise hair, dark skin, and crystal boots ran in. She readied to fire her bow and arrow at the fiend above. “Party’s over! I draw the line at endangering civilians!”

Emira Deryaoglu. Of course, no one knew this individual was her.

She was followed by puffs of colorful smoke and lights, and suddenly there were others with her.

One yellow haired girl. One black haired individual. One pink haired. And one red haired. This was the first time any of them had seen the rest of the others in the same setting. Some friendly banter broke out between them, and their ignorance of the clown seemed to discourage any growing threat. If these heroes weren’t afraid and were able to crack jokes upon meeting, why should civilians take her seriously?

But something struck a nerve with the clown. I thought the kid would retreat once she realized her grand plan wouldn’t stick, but it only agitated her, and she immediately set off more bombs. She then proceeded to single handedly out maneuver all five of the individuals I assigned the task to.

I ran into Emira earlier that day, and I warned her that Loki wouldn’t be so easy to defeat. Emira said that if all else were to fail, and if we really needed anymore help, there was one person who could probably get the job done. But that would be a final, final resort.

None of their abilities would hold out. All would have physically exhausted themselves too soon before they could properly chase the villain.

So I ran. I ran like my life depended on it. If I had to sneak onto the train I would’ve. But I realized very quickly Aiko would’ve likely missed this train. I made a gamble as to where she’d have gone, and I got lucky finding her by the water.

The light in her eyes had briefly been vacant. It wasn’t until I called her name that she seemed to snap out of whatever thoughts she was sinking into.

I trust Emira. She is smart. She is attentive. She is empathetic. She would’ve made the perfect soldier. We were on our last leg. And for many reasons, I promised myself I would not let Loki Ivanov win this battle.

I had no idea what to expect with entrusting Aiko with my energy. I had no idea what abilities she’d spur, or how her new form would manifest.

But it was somehow the best and worst decision I ever made in my life.

//Look Around//

Lyric 3

“Hey are you okay??”

The girl who had fallen raised her head to see who was asking. Amber “Amy” Hoff, but of course no one knew that was her name. She was unrecognizable due to the red hair, the brandless orange jacket, and the quality black shorts and boots. Amy did not dress like this at school - she didn’t even look remotely similar to her usual style.

She was on her knees, and she looked really out of it. For the past hour, she’d been running over to pops of distant smoke, throwing her hands forward to shrink the impact of the explosion. She had tripped over a pothole two minutes ago, and she decided it would be best to close her eyes if she wanted to forget how far away everyone else way. How quiet the city was now. So she was surprised when she heard concern expressed by the bright stranger, whose boots were the only thing visible to Amy.

“Here-“ A fingerless-gloved hand was offered to her.

Amy grabbed it, and got a glimpse of the girl. The helper wore a cropped indigo blazer over a blue top, with a white skirt to finish the look. Her lavender hair was loosely tied into a low ponytail, and it flowed behind her with the breeze. She had bright purple eyes, and a magenta streak on the right side of her face. Symmetrical, neat bangs. She looked friendly, but she wasn’t a familiar face at all.

“Who are you?”

The girl with lavender hair pulled over a nearby chair, and smiled. “I’m here to help!”

Amy sank into the chair and sighed, relieved.

“Could you tell me where the bomber went?”

Amy slowly pointed toward uptown. “We’ve been chasing her all night.. god, I think I’m gonna be sick.”

“Got it. You should stay here and rest.” She started jogging in that direction.

Amy called. “Please be careful!”

Aiko turned around and smiled. “I will!” Her smooth hair suddenly became much sharper and brighter. Before Amy knew it, she’d suddenly bolt off, only leaving sparks behind

--

Aiko stopped racing forward when she saw another colored figure in the distance. She rolled into a slow stop, her boots somehow not destroyed by the amount of friction she placed in them already. It seemed like the girl was shouting in the distance.

“What more do you want??”

Aiko stepped closer, quietly.

“No one’s taking me seriously!”

She tiptoed behind the pink figure. She was gonna tap her shoulder to ask something.

“What do I need to get some respect around here?? There never gonna see me as a —“

Suddenly, an axe was held inches away from Aiko’s face. Aiko froze before she could reach the other’s shoulder.

The girl lowered her weapon. “What.”

Aiko gulped. “I’m sure everyone takes your prescience seriously…”

The girl’s face was covered by a clown mask. She seemed to glare. “Who the hell are you?”

Aiko tried smiling. “Respectfully, someone who is intimidated — contrary to what you think!”

The clown suddenly, but very nervously, grinned. “Oh!” She lowered her axe completely. “You didn’t… hear all that…. Did you?”

Aiko awkwardly nodded.

The clown inhaled sharply, and turned her head away. “Gee… sorry for my breakdown then! Didn’t mean to startle ya or anything!”

Aiko started to stand less tense. “You’re good! Are you stressed about the bombs?”

The girl groaned, “yeah! I worked so hard for tonight to be a blast, and I built all of these bombs, and yet…” she noticed Aiko’s expression suddenly changed. “Did no one fill you in?”

“You’re the bad guy?!”

Loki crossed her arms, irritated. “Yeah. If you got a problem with me,” she turned away, “put an egg in your shoe, and beat it!!”

Aiko stuttered for a second, before breathing again. “Why’d you do all of this?”

Loki slightly turned her head back towards Aiko. “Cuz I have to?” She huffed. “I’ve been treated like a nobody for a long time and I…wanted to shine. Okay?”

Aiko stepped closer to her. “I get that—”

“Do you??”

“Yeah…” she sighed. “It sucks not being seen, or heard, but you can prove them wrong someday. You can prove you’re amazing. Without blowing up a city.”

Loki gripped onto her axe tightly. “You don’t know me at all. Why should I believe you?”

Aiko awkwardly shuffled. “I like to think you’re probably an awesome person, outside of all the misdemeanors you’ve committed. And you look cool as hell.”

Loki bashfully smiled. “Gee..”

Aiko smiled as well. “Do you know how to.. turn off the bombs?”

“Maybe..”

“Let’s do that. And after...” Aiko held out her helping hand. “Let’s become friends!”

Loki almost grabbed it, before hesitating. She stepped back. “You’re lying to me.”

Aiko frowned, confused. “What?”

“No one’s ever that nice or honest!” Loki readied her axe. “You’ve gotta be lying to me! You liar!”

“Hold on a sec--!”

Before Aiko could point out the redundancy of that statement, Loki pounced with her axe. Aiko suddenly zapped off to the left of her hit. Loki struck again, and Aiko dodged once more. This aggravated the clown even more. “How are you doing that?!”

Aiko shook her head, panicked. “I don’t know, I’m new to this!!”

Loki rammed at her with another hit from her axe, and a sword miraculously appeared in Aiko’s hands, blocking the attack.

Frustrated, Loki readied another balloon. “Quit evading me!”

Aiko tried running. “STOP TRYING TO KILL ME!!”

The blast from the bomb thrusted both of them high into the air, Aiko somehow not sustaining any injury. Loki continued to hit at Aiko, but the knock-back from her sword and the impact from Loki’s axe led to the two of them bouncing off each hit and higher into the air.

The other colored “vigilantes”, following the red haired one, came out of the shadows of the buildings, and watched the clashes between pink and purple in the air.

Aiko blocked off another hit, and bounced Loki up in the air. For a split second she thought she was in the clear until she noticed Loki literally winding up her arm mid-air. Suddenly the axe, spinning like a saw, collided with Aiko’s sword, but this time it pushed the both of them down.

Aiko had to think fast. She felt energy inside that was ready to surge, and the sword felt like the best conductor for the job. She didn’t want to swing. But this was the only way if she didn’t want them both to plummet head first into the street.

“I have something to tell you…”

“Huh??” Loki noticed what was happening, and her axe stopped spinning. She got a glimpse of Aiko’s eyes, which were now filled with electricity.

Aiko shut her eyes, and suddenly a blast of lightning from her body and sword struck.

“I’m sorry!!”

Loki panicked, yelling “wait!” But it was already too late. She was blasted off from Aiko’s electricity.

Now Aiko was the only one falling, the back of her head toward the ground.

Was this it?

She closed her eyes. Everything around her seemed to slow.

Of course, out of all the ways to die, it had to be a scenario that seemed physically impossible. Damn physics.

This is why Earth Science was easier. It was just concepts. No kinetic energy, no mechanics, no electromagnetic stuff, none of that. Just concepts. Ideas. Rocks. Like the moon in space.

It took her a minute to realize she was no longer falling. She opened her eyes and saw the moon above her, while she was in the arms of a girl with turquoise hair.

“Woah!” The turquoise haired girl wobbled for a sec before seeing Aiko was awake. Relief warmed her expression. “Got you.”

Aiko was gently placed on the ground, and she stood while all the other strangers ran toward her with their praises about how she kicked ass.

“Precisely!” A small creature exclaimed.

All of them were startled by his presence.

“Now that I’ve found our last member, it’s time you all reconvened on your school rooftop. Tomorrow.”

He clarified. “You all go to the same school.”

Emira raised an eyebrow. “And you didn’t tell us sooner, Chrys?”

Chrys shrugged. “I didn’t want to risk a mutiny if you all knew each other and had some grudge against me, but given that the Ace card pulled through… I think we’ll be fine.”

Aiko, still overwhelmed by everything that had just happened, bent down and shook the paw of the little fox.

He wasn’t expecting this, but he accepted it.

“Welcome to the team, Ace.”

--

- 0:45

From the Top of the Rooftops

//Can you see the faces?//

Lyric 4

7AM

Chieko Lucero shot awake at the sound of her phone’s alarm. It played a fast and upbeat chime, a tune she had selected because she knew she wanted to jolt up rather than her dreams be interrupted by some slow and calming tune. She knew out of all the melodies, this felt the most fitting.

She hated it.

As one does with any alarm.

But she sat up, stretched, and immediately stood on her feet. She stretched again, reaching her toes while standing as straight as she could. Then she walked to her dresser, which had her clothes picked out already from the night before. Today they’d have gym, so she made sure to wear a t-shirt and bring an extra pair of shorts.

She then walked to the bathroom to wash her face. She looked up and her black curls bounced up with her head. They were dyed blonde at the tips, but they didn’t look so fried at all. Her brown eyes complimented her black skin. She smiled at her reflection. It seemed to smile back at her.

She then grabbed some yellow eyeshadow. Perhaps to give the others a hint as to who she was when they meet. Her other form had some yellow marks under her face. She didn’t want to be super obvious, but then gave into her desire. She mixed her eyeshadow with primer to draw yellow stars under her eyes.

Morning routine, done-zo.

—

Moyo lit another cigarette in the girl’s bathroom. They stood in the stall that was closest to the window. The brown skin on their hands felt dry again. Holding the cigarette wasn’t helping. Neither was their light trench coat.

Another person came in. Moyo glanced under the stall and recognized the shoes. The same person was here yesterday.

“Hey,” they said. Their voice was fairly deep.

“Hi,” she said back.

“Think you could do me a favor again?”

The other voice hesitated. “I actually came in to ask you for something. Could you step out of the stall?”

“Okay..?”

Moyo unlocked the stall and stepped out. They saw a pale, freckled, ginger haired girl with headphones who wore a large graphic tee and black baggy pants. They glanced up at the window, remembering their interaction with her from yesterday.

This was Amy Hoff. She skips every fourth period and hides out in the bathroom for 20 minutes. The two had run into each other at the same time yesterday. Moyo had asked Amy to crack the window so the fire alarm wouldn’t go off, and Amy handed Moyo her headphones to complete a call or something. Who knows. It wasn’t Moyo’s business. What mattered was that she already cracked the window.

Amy awkwardly smiled at them. “Thank you. Just wanted to ask if you remembered the fair from last night?”

Moyo looked unimpressed. “What is this, the school newspaper?”

Amy shook her head. “No. It’s just that I recognized your voice from—”

“I know, it’s obvious, and I’m working on it.”

“No, not that! Last Tuesday— the twins!”

“Twins….” they tilted their head. “No way.”

“I knew I recognized you!” Amy covered her mouth. “Sorry. Got excited.”

Moyo almost grinned. “All good.”

“Well, that’s all I wanted from you.” Amy started walking toward the door.

Moyo flicked the ash off their cigarette. “So you were there last night.”

Amy paused in her tracks. “Yeah.”

“Thank you.”

Amy turned around. “What?”

Moyo took another drag from their cigarette. “There were two and a half white chicks last night, and one of them barely helped. We weren’t doing so hot before the lightning one showed up. But there was a girl with red hair who made sure each explosion wouldn’t hurt other people.”

Amy awkwardly leaned against the wall. “I just wanted to do my part.”

Moyo flicked at their cigarette again. “I’m just glad you weren’t complaining the entire time, and actually doing something.”

Amy smiled and gave a thumbs up. “I’ll see you with everyone after school?”

They gave a nod of approval. “See you.”

--

A fair skinned girl with honey blonde hair tried taking a selfie in the school’s garden. She tilted her head, then aimed the phone higher, then lower. She stood in front of the sun, then turned around so the sun would be in her face, then spun halfway. She couldn’t find a good angle. Shit. Maybe her mascara was dripping. Maybe she needed to reapply her make up. Carefully, and subtly, unless you wanna look caked.

Don’t look caked.

She rubbed her head. She was starting to sweat.

“Konnie! You coming??” A distant voice called.

Konnie seemed distracted. “Yeah.. just give me a minute!”

“Hurry up! We’re waiting!”

She slightly grimaced before catching herself in her phone’s camera. Okay. Just take the damn photo.

There. See? It looks great. It looks really great. You look kind of ugly in this snapshot— but you’re pretty. You’re too pretty for this.

Awesome. You did it.

Konnie posted in on her account, and immediately shut off her phone. She shoved it into her pocket, far away from her field of vision.

The other girls called after her. Konnie huffed, and squeezed her eyes shut until she could force a natural looking smile again. Then she made her way towards them.

--

“Moyooo!” The bright voice rang throughout the hallway of blue lockers.

Moyo immediately tossed the cigarette out of their mouth, and stomped on it. Yeesh, that’s a waste of money. But it’s for good reason, probably.

Chieko made her way over to Moyo and hugged them. Moyo awkwardly pat her back in return.

“Hey!! You excited for today?”

Moyo shrugged. “Sure.”

“Yay!” Chieko handed Moyo a cup of taro boba. “Got this for you.”

Moyo poked at the straw. “You keep it.”

“Nuh uh. We were supposed to get some yesterday, but the whole bomb situation threw us off. So I owe you.”

Moyo slowly took the cup. “Thank you, Chi.”

“Yeah, of course!” Chieko beamed once they started drinking. Finally! She got them to drink something other than black coffee. This wasn’t that rare of an occasion, actually, but it always made Chieko happy Moyo was willing to try her food recommendations at least once.

Moyo finished the cup. “Don’t skip class again, though.”

Chieko grinned. “Whatever could you be talking about?” She winked.

Moyo rolled their eyes, attempting to play into the joke more. “Don’t lie to me, girl. The boba store’s at least two blocks away from school. And this is fresh, so you didn’t get it during a study hall.”

Chieko gave an exaggerated shrug, and turned around.

“Where are you going now? Playing hooky again?”

Chi kept walking ahead. “C’mon, let’s go!”

Moyo caught themselves chuckling until they realized the other seniors were staring at them. They started to look back, and a bunch of heads quickly twisted the other way. Their smile disappeared, and they lowered their head.

Didn’t realize socializing was such a crime now.

They quietly and distantly followed Chieko as she pranced up the stairs.

--

Emira and Chrys sat on the school rooftop. Emira’s hair wasn’t in a voluminous turquoise ponytail with perfectly done bangs this time. It was black and straight with a slight wave at the ends - not tied up. Her eyes were brown, and she wore square glasses that she believed put too much emphasis on her nose.

Chrys sat with his head slightly poking out of her backpack. He looked like a creepy, second-hand stuffed animal if he stayed still enough. But he was busy turning his head left and right, rapidly.

“Where are they?”

Emira lightly gave a pat behind his antlers. “Calm down, buddy. They’re on their way.”

Chrys moved his head away from Emira’s hand. “Quit it, Emira. They’re gonna say I’m domesticated.”

“They wouldn’t do that.”

Chrys sighed. “One of them started calling me a ferret.”

Emira chuckled.

“It’s not funny.”

“Sorry, sorry.”

They waited in an awkward silence.

“Chrys.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you think we’d all make good friends?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I’m still sort of intimidated by them, and I don’t really know anyone. Just kinda nervous.” She pulled her bangs out of her eyes. “Haven’t you met everyone?”

Chrys scratched his ear with a paw. “It’s.. kind of hard to tell. You’re all strangers right now. And you all have very distinct demeanors.” He saw her push up her glasses, and shrink more into herself. “But—! I’m sure they all will really like you! And you already know Aiko!”

Emira sighed. “She already has a lot going on at home. I feel really bad I dragged her into this.”

Chrys shrugged. If he wasn’t an odd big eyed deer-fox, perhaps he would be smiling. “She seemed really pleased to assist, and her abilities manifested in such a fascinating way.”

“You’re right.” She tried sitting up straighter. Taller. “It’s gonna go great.”

“No mutiny!” Chrys chanted while he hopped out of her bag.

“Yeah!” Emira nervously laughed. “No mutiny.”

--

//Can you see the traces?//

Lyric 5

The 9th period bell had rung. Aiko lifted her head from her desk, realizing she had slept through her history class. Shoot. This is the second class she's nodded off in. She gently rubbed her eyes as classmates walked passed her. She bunched up her note book and folder into her bag, and started to pull the straps over her shoulder until a few students from behind budged into her arm.

"Watch it," one of them said.

She stepped back, and waited for them to pass before she left her desk. She heard the group snicker as they meandered toward the door. She felt something inside ready to spark up as her muscles tensed. Then words bolted out of her mouth.

"You guys are real jerks, you know that?"

They stared silently before laughing. Aiko's head sunk down, knowing she only gave more fuel for their amusement. That was stupid. Stupid. She put the bag on. She breathed slowly to herself. Breathe. The day's over. You have somewhere to be this afternoon. She made her way out of the door, and turned left toward the stairwell.

--

"There she is!"

Aiko opened the door to a bright area, the sun reflecting off the school rooftop's pavement. She squinted her eyes from all the light until she could make out the other figures sitting on the benches.

"Could you close the door?"

She did. As she stepped more toward the group, her eyes lit up when she saw Emira sitting with the weird little fox critter from last night.

"OH MY GOD??"

Emira gave a smile, and politely waved. "Hii."

"HI?!" Aiko's voice was filled with a confused excitement. "Oh my god, I know you!" Emira simply nodded in response. She stood to hug Aiko, and then sat back down. Aiko sat next to her.

Chrys stood from his spot, and lifted his paws for the gang to see. "Perfect! Now that everyone is here, let's introduce ourselves! Shall we?" He aggressively motioned his paws at Emira. "Do you want to begin?"

Emira nodded, and pushed up her glasses. "Hey! My name's Emira and I'm the blue one! Um.. fun fact about me is I do archery club! Oh, and Chrys lives in my bag apparently."

Chrys poked her. "Why are you sharing a fun fact?"

Emira leaned down and whispered. "It's one of those icebreakers we talked about. A way for everyone to get to know each other."

He nodded.

The rest seemed to stare, confused. Moyo glared at the animal. "Aren't we gonna talk about all the magic jazz and what's been going on?"

Chrys hushed them. "We'll get there when-!"

Emira cut in. "I think it would be good if we try to start normal before easing into all the crazy stuff."

The air felt less tense, and Chrys didn't argue. He motioned to the girl with the black, coily hair dyed blonde at the ends.

"What's up! I'm Chieko, and in case you couldn't tell already.." she pointed at the yellow stars drawn under her eyes. "Fun fact about me... I always bring a rubber duck to my volleyballs games! It's like my good luck charm."

The girl with honey blonde hair nodded silently to this.

The next person shuffled uncomfortably. "The name's Moyo. I would like to be referred to as they/them." The rest stared, expecting an add-on or another fun fact. "Um. I guess I play guitar and bass."

Aiko's eyes lit up once they said this.

The next girl finished braiding her ginger hair. "Hello.. My name is Amber, but I prefer to be called Amy. I'm the red one, and I draw sometimes."

Emira tilted her head. "What do you like drawing?"

Amy beamed. "Comic strips! Like the Calvin and Hobbes stuff!"

Then the girl next to her raised her hand and gave a mini wave. She spoke with a very bubbly voice. "Hi! I'm Konnie! I'm the one with the pink hair, and I collect phone charms." She held up her phone with a decorated case and little pink charms dangled.

Now was Aiko's turn. She brushed her bangs to the side and attempted to smile. "Yo," she peeped. She didn't really know what else to add.

"I am Aiko, and apparently I'm good at beating up clowns."

This got a chuckle out of mostly everyone. Aiko's face seemed to get a bit brighter as sunlight unveiled from a passing cloud. She jokingly flicked a longer piece of hair from her uneven style. "What can I say? I'm a professional."

"Aiko," Konnie exclaimed, "Out of all the people, I never expected you'd be the ace card!" She smirked. "You really are funny." It sounded almost sarcastic.

Amy chimed in before Aiko could think too deeply about that remark. "You really saved my ass out there."

Moyo also joined in. "Yeah, we honestly would've been done for if it wasn't for you."

Aiko held her hands together, and nodded with delight. "I'm really glad I could help out."

"Yes. Thank you, ace." Chrys stood, paws crossed. "If Aiko didn't get rid of the clown, who knows what could've happened?" He sauntered along the bench. "I knew I made the correct decision choosing her when she didn't have an aneurysm upon seeing me."

Aiko turned and tilted her head at Chrys. "What do you mean?"

Chrys sighed. "When I first interacted with all of them, I was accused of being a-"

"Soul sucking incubating alien that tricks teenagers into signing contracts where they have to fight evil witches if they don't want their bodies to die." Amy finished his sentence.

Chrys slumped down, his eyes conveying a moue. "Yep. All five of them," he stated, unimpressed.

Emira pondered. "Well the alien thing isn't that far off now, is it?"

Moyo shrugged. "Still. He's a white ferret, what did he expect?"

"I AM NOT A FERRET!"

Aiko scratched the back of her head. "Wait so..." all turned their attention to her. "What is Chrys, exactly?"

Chrys inhaled slowly. "My name is Chrysanthemum. And I am- or, well, I guess was-"

Chieko cut in. "He's an inter-dimensional fox that a lot of bad guys are beefing with!"

Aiko's eyes widened. "What?? This little guy? But he's so small."

"Which is exactly why everyone is trying to kill me." He sighed. "I have been on the run for the past three years. The fiends we have encountered are likely tasked with terminating me, along with terrorizing all of you."

Emira nodded. "So, Aiko, the gist is that we all are here to protect our world and each other."

Konnie seemed to think, pursing her lips to the side of her face. "Aiko.." she hesitated. "Why were you so good out there?"

Amy also raised her hand. "Yeah- how were able to do all of that?"

Aiko started to tap her finger tips together quickly, though she seemed unaware of these actions. "I think...I thought of this video game. Like, each button does it's own thing. But for me it was like using my mind and hands? Almost similar to taking down aliens with math."

Chieko bounced up. "You don't mean.."

Then Aiko met eyes with her. "Yes? Yes?" Then she and Chieko started excitedly nodding their heads, like both already knew the piece of media being referenced, and Aiko's hands began to stim even faster.

"Oh my god, this is incredible! I can't believe someone else knows that game!"

Moyo almost chuckled to themselves. "Yep. Her sister has a whole collection of retro games."

"Isn't that cute," said Konnie.

Emira smiled at the interaction. "I'm so glad we're getting along!"

Aiko got a good look at everyone. They all had normal looking hair colors, casual clothes, their own accessories- like any other person. Then she looked at Chrysanthemum. The odd creature who seemed very sensitive about being called a ferret. She felt a smile growing from ear to ear.

"This is amazing."

And before she could express anymore thoughts about the magic of this moment, there suddenly was a distant explosion behind them.

Oh, great.

//Can you free the laces?//

Lyric 6

Two figures stood on what looked like white, giant drones. One had a blonde ponytail tied with a pink bow, and the other had orange mid length hair with a leather jacket. They both wore pink ties.

Moyo and Amy glanced at each other, like they had already seen these two before.

“I guess the twins are back?” Amy frantically summoned a rapier.

Moyo groaned, and a claymore appeared in their hand. “Yep, it’s them alright. What a pain.”

“Hold on,” Chieko turned her head toward them. “You never told me about these ones.”

“Sorry,” they said, “kind of wanted to forget that encounter.”

“No kidding,” Amy added.

“I’ve never seen these ones before,” whispered Konnie.

“Yeah, me neither,” replied Emira.

“Enough!” Chrys yelled. “It doesn’t matter who has seen what! These guys have bombs! They’re a threat!”

All nodded and puffs of colorful smoke filled the school rooftop. Then, emerged five primary colored figures with weapons and outfits. Aiko watched as they leapt off the rooftop and into action, rushing toward the two teenagers on drones.

“Humans!” The blonde one announced. She was wearing a white dress shirt with a black, suspended skirt over it. “Today is the day you shall bend the knee to us! We have bombs!” If the initial explosion wasn’t enough reason to create commotion, the verbal threat lead to all the students running out of the school.

Emira ran to the frontline, along with Moyo. Emira readied her bow and arrow. “Enough!” She stepped forward slowly while Moyo’s claymore swung low from their right hand. “We will not allow you to harm anyone here!”

“Yeah,” said Moyo, “we already had to deal with this last night.”

Chieko summoned a bright and colorful spear, and she aimed at the two, prepared to throw.

The blonde smirked. “Well perhaps you’ll heed when—“

She was then pushed out of the way by the guy with orange hair. “I’m gonna steal your cat!” He proclaimed with such confidence.

Emira lowered her bow, confused. “I don’t have a cat.”

The orange haired one started to panic.

“Ty, you idiot,” hissed the girl. “I was gonna monologue!”

He aggressively whispered back. “I just wanted to follow Noah’s advice!”

“Oh, your stinky boyfriend??”

“He is not stinky!”

“You just threatened her non-existent cat!”

“Okay, well, Kira, you’re being homophobic.”

“Not my fault your boyfriend stinks!”

“Shut up, ya paper shaker!”

“I ‘oughta give you a knuckle sandwich, greaser!”

The heroes watched with confusion as the two twins continued to bicker with each other. Moyo and Amy both rolled their eyes. Chieko lowered her spear. “Yeah, I get why you’d want to forget this now.”

Emira turned to look at the others. “So, do I shoot, or…?”

Aiko watched from the school rooftop. She bit her lip and stepped from her left foot to the right. “What should I…” she muttered to herself. She cupped her hands together, her thumb intensely tapping her wrist.

“Ace.”

She turned around and saw Chrys approaching her. He looked concerned.

“I think I can help you out.”

She knelt down to his level. “Okay.”

“Allow me to articulate a hypothesis by starting with a question. If you’re in a dire situation with no clear solution, what do you do?”

She paused. “I guess I hope for a miracle.”

“Exactly. Aiko, hope is the drive for most human achievements. It is part of who we are. If we lack the tools, we utilize optimism and determination to reach a goal.”

“Uhm. Is this amount of arguing even healthy?” Amy asked.

The twins snapped at her simultaneously.

“Of course it is!” They yelled, crossing their arms defensively. “You just don’t understand!”

“Hm..” Chieko thought. “I suppose it is a way to communicate.”

Moyo turned to look at her. “Yeah, but you and Hina don’t fight like THAT, do you?”

Kira and Tyler both shook their heads. “God, these humans,” here and “They don’t understand buying these drones was a team effort,” there.

“Hey, losers!”

The twins turned their heads toward a girl with glowing pink hair, pink eyes, a light top tucked into a brown skirt, and black boots. She dragged her twin hooks along the sidewalk.

“I’ve about had enough of this charade.” She waved her right twin hook in a taunting manner. “So why don’t you pack up and go back to mommy?”

The twins looked at each other, then at the girl, then at each other again, offended.

Emira raised her eyebrows and called to the pink one. “Konnie! What are you doing?!”

Konnie rolled her eyes and winked at Emira. “Just letting them know they suck.”

“Ouch,” said Ty.

“Whatever,” said Konnie. “I’d rather get sunburnt than listen to your scratchy voices.”

Kira snapped. “What.”

Konnie grinned. “I said what I said, bitch.”

And before Konnie could make another uncreative jab, Kira hopped off the drone and launched at her with a baton. Gotta love melee weapons.

Aiko furrowed her eyebrows. The tapping of her thumb persisted, but it slowed down. “So then- what do I do?”

He walked toward the edge of the roof. “I believe that when I encountered all six of you, there was a certain type of thought running through your mind (despite the overbearing panic upon seeing me).”

“And what was that thought?”

He turned to look her in the eye. “A statement regarding what you’d hoped for in that moment.”

She tilted her head. “I don’t follow.”

“Aiko. When I told you of an impending danger, there was a sense of urgency you had that manifested into your other form.”

She nodded.

“So I believe you need to rekindle whatever you had hoped for last night in order to transform.”

She paused. “This is all very, very abstract…”

He nodded.

“But..”

She closed her eyes and imagined a gray cloud.

“I’m not the fastest runner…”

The cloud began to darken with red and blue.

“And the situation here isn’t super scary.”

She curled her fingers into a fist. The cloud suddenly began to look more pink and indigo.

“But I want to help before it’s too late— I hope that I can make it in time!!”

And suddenly the cloud bursted with colorful lightning, the energy of which she could feel throughout her soul and mind. When she opened her eyes, she saw the sparks and light again.

Aiko Primavera was now the ace card again.

“Thank you, little guy. Thank you so much for reminding me! It’s like— chemicals!”

“It’s Chrys. And… yes?”

She smiled, graciously. “I’ll never forget this feeling!” And she joined the rest of the vigilantes in front of the school.

Chrys nodded to himself, almost with a bit of pride until he heard a footstep behind him.

“Hey, rat.”

He turned around slowly and saw. Loki Ivanov, axe in one hand, rope in the other. Oh, dear.

//Can you cheer for greatness?//

Lyric 7

Kira gripped onto her decorated and sparkly baton, swinging relentlessly at Konnie, throwing her off guard and causing her to drop her twin hooks. Konnie, saw the incoming whack, and immediately ducked. She then hopped to the right, and started grabbing at Kira's blonde hair.

"Watch it!" Kira yelped as Konnie yanked on her ponytail. "You're gonna ruin my curls!"

Emira aimed her bow at Konnie and Kira, trying to steady her aim. She called out to the others. "I'll try to handle this one. You three go for the other one!"

Kira tried pulling her hair back with her free hand, and called out to the orange haired boy who still hovered in the air. "Tyler! Get off your ass!"

Tyler hopped off his drone, and slowly walked towards the team. Then he faced his sister. "You said Noah smelled bad."

Kira threw her baton at him. "I said he was stinky!”

He tossed it back at her. He turned to the three approaching him, and took out a deck of cards. They paused in their tracks. "I'm kind of mad at her right now, so I wanna take a break."

She growled with frustration and yanked at Konnie's high, pink pigtails. Konnie stumbled back, and pushed her away. Kira crossed her arms. "I'll have you know I can sing really well!"

"Huh?" Konnie raised her eyebrows, unsure where that came from.

Kira huffed, and reached for her baton. "You insulted my voice. You said it was scratchy."

Konnie stood, and picked up her twin hooks. "Yeah, you probably suck then."

For some reason, she was surprised when the blonde attempted another swing at her.

Chrys awoke and found that he was tied up against one of the bench legs. His ear flinched, and he realized the noise he had just made with a simple ruffle. He saw the girl with a clown mask turn her head to make sure he was up. He glared back.

Loki knelt down with a smirk. "Great! You're up."

"What the hell is this?"

"Oh, y'know. I got the twins to distract your little platoon of soldiers. No biggie."

The fox seemed to grimace. "What do you want, Loki?"

She grinned. "Just wanted to ask a couple of questions."

"And what makes you think I'll answer?"

"I'd kill you. Then my job here will be done." Her mask seemed to widen with the rest of her face. "I'm doing you a favor, vermin. You might as well cooperate before someone else skins you." She held the axe close to his neck. "And trust me. I know plenty of people want you gone."

He flinched as her axe moved in. "Fine."

Loki pulled the axe away. "Good."

For a weapon as dull as it was, there was a scary amount of force and knockback put into each of Kira's attacks. However, her aim was off. She lacked precision for where to hit.

Konnie knew this, but was still weary of possibly being whacked in the head. She dodged as much as she could, and crossed her hooks into an x as a makeshift shield. She positioned her left foot at an angle behind her, and kept skipping back each time she blocked another hit. Kira then lunged at her, and Konnie tripped over her own footing. She frantically tried to raise her hook as protection until a sudden purple flash came in.

The Ace card, once again, leapt into action and showed up right on time, punching Kira out of the way. Then she looked at her hands and winced in sudden pain. "Ow."

She then ran to Konnie, offering out a helping hand.

"Hey! You okay?"

Konnie swatted her hand away, and got herself off the ground. "Took you long enough to show up."

"Sorry." Aiko turned her attention toward Kira, who had marched off toward her brother.

She would see Chieko and Ty were in the middle of a spontaneous Uno match. Moyo seemed to disapprove, gently rubbing her shoulder to move her away from him. Amy seemed to be spectating their match, invested in the game of cards. They all raised their heads when Kira made her way over and poked Ty's shoulder. He looked up from his growing pile of cards.

"Dearest brother," she said, "I am sorry for being homophobic. Now help me avenge my crushed ego."

"Alright."

Amy smiled. "I'm so glad you guys finally talked it out."

"Me too!" He then threw his cards in her and Chieko's faces. Amy wallowed in pain while he scurried off with his sister.

Loki still held her axe, but kept it at a safe distance from the critters's face. "First question. Why'd you flee the crime scene?"

Chrys blankly stared at her mask. "What crime scene?"

"Don't play dumb, fox. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

He hesitated. "Because I knew the law. And if we were found there, we'd get beheaded."

"Right. Second question. How come one general survived an assassination attempt, but another perished?"

He tilted his head and squinted his eyes. "I don't know what you mean."

"I'm certain you know. It was rumored you warned one of them hours before an attack. You just pick and choose who you wanna help, don't you?"

"That's not what..." he lowered his head. "I just had a hunch that night."

"Or you were working with them."

"I was using them," he said. And then he regretted saying that immediately after.

Loki glared for a minute. It looked like years of rage were locked behind the barricade her mask set. She then inhaled slowly, and leaned forward.

"Last question then..."

The twins raced toward their drones and hovered over the team. Kira and Tyler looked at each other and nodded, picking up two small devices.

Ty cleared his throat. "This was fun and all, but I'm afraid we have to explode your school now!"

"I hope your grades tank!" Kira added while readying her aim to throw.

Arrows suddenly flew into one of the drones, and Ty started to lose his balance. Emira sprinted forward and shot a few more arrows at them. Now Kira's drone was flying out of control. The two of them began to panic.

"Hey??" Kira raised her voice. "These, like, explode on impact, so it'd be kind of bad if we-" she slipped off, and started to fall, device still in hand. The device Ty was holding had slipped from his hand as he tried to regain his stance. Emira motioned the team to fall back, seeing now there were explosives nearby, and all began to quickly back up.

Again, the Ace card came just in time to save the day. She caught Kira and placed her gently on the ground, then grabbed both of the devices and tossed them into the air, where they detonated away from everyone-- all within the span of three seconds.

Tyler hopped off his drone to check in on Kira, who was visibly shaken up. They saw that the others seemed far enough away, and started to run.

Aiko turned around and waved to Emira. "Hey!"

Emira hesitated before waving back. "How'd you do that so fast?”

Aiko smiled. "I just wanted to help" almost came out of her mouth before she saw the clown on standing on the rooftop. "Hang on."

"Wait!"

But Aiko had already sprinted off toward the school again.

Loki moved her axe towards him. "That's not an answer."

He tried to shake out of his constrictions. He struggled and fought at what held him in place. "How do you know that name?!"

She shrugged. "I know a lot, Chrys. I could try to get more out of you, but I think your time is up."

He started kicking his lower legs at her. "You don't know anything!"

"Yeah.. but I know enough."

Aiko jumped on top of Loki from behind, attempting to swipe the axe from her. "Leave my friend alone!"

"Friend?!" Loki shook her off, and hopped back. "If only you knew what this guy really was."

Aiko summoned her sword. "I don't want to fight you."

Loki rolled her eyes. "This again?"

Chrys still struggled where he was tied. "You gotta fight her, Aiko! She can't be reasoned with!"

"Aiko. That's your name?" Loki asked.

She nodded. "What do I call you?"

"Loki. Hey, tell you what." She lowered her axe. "Why don't we have ourselves a little chit chat? Head to where we met last night?”

Aiko nodded. She lowered her sword.

Chrys hissed at her. "What- you're just gonna agree??"

Loki noted Chrys's anguish, and smiled. "Alright. Let's talk there, then." She winked. "Toodles!" And she hopped off the building with a wave.

Aiko then raced to untie Chrys. "Hey- you okay??"

"Why did you go along with it? Do you have any idea what she could be planning?"

She bit her lip. "I'm sorry. I really didn't want to fight."

He calmed himself. "Okay. Aiko, you gotta be careful when you meet with her."

She nodded.

"And once she attacks, you can't be a pacifist about this anymore. Understood?"

She nodded. "I just wanna see what her deal is."

He looked at his paws. "You do have good timing. I'll give you that."

She smiled with a bit of exhaustion, and took off.

- 1:15

Here To Stop the Enemies

//Why?//

Lyric 8

Chrys demanded a status report from the teens as they walked home. However, Amy sprinted to catch the 6pm train. Moyo split from the group due to living in the city and Chieko followed them. Now, only Emira and Konnie were left, making their way to the train station. He knew Aiko would be confronting Loki already. So an update on that event would have to suffice.

Konnie watched Chrys crawl into Emira's bag as the next train approached the station's platform. She sighed. "Thank you for trying your best," she said gently.

Emira hesitantly nodded. "You're not mad?"

Konnie shook her head. "No, I appreciate that you didn't want to accidentally shoot me. That was a stressful situation."

Emira smiled. "Thank you." Chrys watched while the two stepped onto the train. He gently poked Emira's arm, and she almost turned her head back before she realized. "Um-- would you want to hang out?"

Konnie thought for a minute, and smiled. "Isn't that what we do as heroes?"

Emira nervously shook her head. "I mean like. Just in a calm setting that isn't so high stakes. Y'know?"

Konnie giggled. "Oh, Emira, I was teasing. Yes, I'd like to hang out."

Emira smiled. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that something felt weird. Why was she so...friendly now? This girl with honey blonde hair had an infectious smile, but the one with bright pink hair had an attitude.

But there was also some comfort as the sun set. Chrys sunk into Emira's bag, likely taking a nap. They each sat in silence as the twenty minute train ride took them home.

Aiko walked up the fire escape of the building she saw Loki express her frustration by last night. People stared out their apartments windows as she carefully kept her hand gripped onto the thin rail. What was this girl with purple glowing hair doing here so casually?

When she saw the grated stairs brought her to the top floor instead of the rooftop, she hoisted herself onto the edge of the railing, and attempted to jump onto the roof. She caught the edge of the building, and exerted enough force to climb up.

She almost slipped when she saw the clown had been watching her, sitting with her legs crossed as if this was amusing to her.

“Nice,” she said sarcastically.

“Hi-!” Aiko caught herself, and stood as tall as she could on the roof of the building.

The clown hopped up, and stood as well.

Aiko tried to fight hunching down. She kept her eyes focused on those pink shoes. “Are you gonna try to kill me?”

Loki laughed. “I asked for a chat, didn’t I?”

Aiko‘s eyelids remained fixed. “Are you mad at me?”

Loki noticed her nervousness. “No.”

“Really?” Aiko lifted her eyes a little.

“Yes, well.” She put her hands behind her back. “You’re an enemy. But you kind of saved me the other night.“

Aiko blinked repeatedly before finally looking up at her. Finally. She stood face to face with the pink haired girl again. She gazed for a second.

“I wanted to ask why,” said Loki.

Aiko snapped out of it. “Why, what?”

“Why you’ve been so nice to me?” Loki’s demeanor softened. “I’m not here to fight. At least, not tonight.”

Aiko smiled. “That’s great—!! Because I brought you something!”

Loki was handed a pack of gummy bears. “Is this bribery?”

“No, it’s just candy! I wasn’t sure what you liked so I just..”

“Does it have sugar?”

“Yes!”

“Amazing.” Loki stashed it into her dress’s ruffle pocket.

Aiko watched, and her head lowered as she contemplated her phrasing.

“Uhm. Loki, was it?”

“Yes?”

“Why did you try to hurt Chrys?”

Loki winced. “You can’t trust him.”

“Why? Are you trying to trick me?”

Loki shook her head. "Goodness, no! It's just.." She turned to think. “I'm debating if I should tell you what I was instructed to say, or what I really feel…”

Aiko tilted her head.

Loki looked back at Aiko. “Will you listen to me?

Aiko nodded slowly.

“I've encountered him once. He witnessed one of the worst turmoils in my life. He could’ve attempted to help. But he didn't.” Her mask furrowed with her eyebrows. “He’s always been out for himself.”

Aiko paused. “I’m sorry.” She looked off to the side, and watched the city quiet down from the view below.

Loki sighed. "I mean, ideally you'd ditch the fox, but I know that isn't how this will work. So. Just please don't take everything he says at face value.. alright?"

Aiko nodded. "I'll be careful."

Loki smiled. "Thank you."

Aiko turned to look at Loki, and slowly sighed with relief.

Loki tilted her head, and chuckled nervously. "What?"

"Your smile. It just seems so genuine right now."

Loki forced a mischievous grin, and winked. "Well, I hope it looked nice!"

"You do.." Aiko covered her mouth, and turned away. "Oh my god, I forgot about my homework." She walked toward the edge of the building top, and started carefully climbing down back to the stairs.

"Homework? Sounds like a fake excuse to leave."

"Oh it's real! And I better.. get.. going now!"

"Hey! Wait! You haven't agreed to be my official nemesis yet!"

"I'd prefer if we weren't enemies.." She started to make her way down the stairs.

Loki leaned over the edge of the building and called as Aiko descended further away. "We haven't gotten to do any nemesis activities yet!"

Aiko called back up. "We will soon! Just remind me!" And she sprinted off.

"Hmph." Loki crossed her arms as she watched the human disappear. Then she stared at her own shoes and started smiling again. Delight filled her face for this moment. Perhaps this would pay off after all.

//Why don’t we try?//

Lyric 9

Moyo and Chieko sat on a brown couch together while an action movie played on the television.