A/N: Photo of Maevis Deidrei, but with emerald green eyes and much chubbier :D

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The heat of the sun became as cold as the winter when her stomach revolted again. Zoe covered her mouth, forcing down the sour lump in her throat. She studied her surroundings, her heart thumping like a wild horse in her chest. There was no available weapon aside from the ball between her feet and the only exits were the Center's back door and the gate at the corner of the fence. And both were impossible to reach without running into Cookie Monter.

Although her instinct pleaded with her to run, Zoe shut the notion away. She must do something. She needed to save that kid, even though she could clearly see how hopeless it was. She couldn't even move from her spot, to begin with.

Good thing the other kids were gone. Nevertheless, it's only a matter of seconds before her fate changed into the next meal. But that didn't mean she would go down without a fight. Zoe seized the pink ball and willed her shaking legs to straighten, getting support from the well.

Zoe peeked at Cookie Monster from her peripheral view. It was looking at the sky, opening and closing its mouth as though testing its jaw. Nausea caused her to hugged the ball, pressing it on her upper stomach in hopes to block the sensation.

Just how one would approach such situation?

Her face wrinkled into a frown as she veered again at the creature, cold sweat trickling down the nape of her neck. This time, she focused her attention at its feet, noting that the creature didn't have a shadow. To her surprise, she didn't feel the urge to vomit.

Or perhaps, it was because of the small feet standing a few meters away from Cookie Monster. They belonged to a young boy, whose face resembled the pale moon. And based on his wet pants, Zoe assumed he must be seeing something far greater than a nightmare.

Cookie Monster suddenly stirred towards the boy. Panic kicked Zoe in the guts. She threw the ball and hit the creature right in the abdomen. The mascot stopped and spun. Before she could see his face, Zoe turned to the boy.

"Run!" Her voice sounded hoarse and shaky.

The young boy blinked away his shock and regarded Zoe with teary eyes. He opened his quivering lips, but no words came out. A tear rolled down his ashen cheek, followed by his brows waving into concern. Then he rushed towards the gate.

The motion caught the creature's interest and quickly went after the kid. Dismayed by the postponed celebration of her heroism, Zoe dashed to the field of vegetables and grabbed what looked like a cabbage and hurled it towards Cookie Monster.

CRUNCH!

It halted. The chunks of vegetable fell on the grass almost without a sound.

Zoe concentrated on its feet and prepared herself for the inclination to gag, but it didn't happen.

So I'm disgusted with its face? she thought with amusement.

The cherry blossoms cruised in the wind around them, as though sympathizing with the bloodshed to come. Cookie Monster overcame its confusion and faced her direction, taking a single step. The events unfold faster than the coursing blood in her veins. Only the rustling of leaves assured her that time didn't stop.

No brainstorming was needed to tell her next move. She had no weapon that could inflict any damage to Cookie Monster and her power was nothing but useless. Her best option was to run to Dilinjer and ask for help.

However, the blue creature was between her and the door.

Damn In Betweens, she thought.

Then Cookie Monster started skipping at her direction, closing their distance at an alarming speed.

Adrenaline, accompanied by the sinister inklings inside her, thrust her back into motion. Zoe whirled and picked every vegetable in her way. Nearly every size and color of vegetation sailed through the air, creating an orchestra of splats, crunches and deep thuds.

Whoever planted these, I'm deeply sorry, she thought. But these vegetables saved a life. Or would. Or will.

She pulled another green, carrot-like vegetable and examined the movements of her target's feet. When the creature was close enough, she launched her weapon, hitting it with a soft thud.

Zoe ran to her left, hoping to get a safe distance. Nonetheless, Cookie Monster was able to close in. Labored breaths left her. The warm glow of the sun only added layers of strains in her body. She eyed the door, but she couldn't turn now, the blue creature was too close. With just one wrong move, she could die.

CLANG! BOOM!

The soil behind her exploded.

Zoe was thrown into a patch of lettuce, her fingernails dug into the dirt. She spat some of the green vegetables and stared at the cloud of dirt. Soon enough, her mouth fell open as the smoke revealed a metal chain that pinned Cookie Monster on the ground. It cut straight through its hip, but there was no blood. However, with the way it wrestled the chain, she doubted that the metal could hold the creature much longer.

She followed the chain to its source, her eyes searching through the sea of cherry blossoms. But the metal was rooted deep into the forest. Although she was curious, she couldn't let this chance to slip. Without knowing who was her savior, Zoe sprinted for the door.

Her hand stretched for the doorknob.

BAM!

The door swung open and hit her on the forehead.

"Ow!" She rolled on the grass while rubbing the bump on her forehead, enumerating all foul words in her mind. "What just--"

A man skipped right over her and raced for the gate, a scream of fear chased him like a shadow. Not long enough, a few adults followed his example.

"Zoe!"

Warm hands helped her to her feet, his all-white attire only added blur to her dizziness. Dilinjer grabbed both her shoulders, steering her to face him.

"Sensei, the kid was--"

"Listen." The urgency in his voice blew away her dizziness. Then she realized that the healer's hands were glowing, healing the burning pain in her forehead. "Everyone is evacuating. Go with them."

"What? But why?"

"There's no time to explain."

She looked at him. Really looked at him through his eyes, espying the whirlwind of his emotions.

"No," she said, feeling uneasy at the sign of dread in his eyes. "I'm not leaving you. We're going out of this together."

"This isn't a battle you can fight."

BOOM! CLANG!

The sharp end of the chain hit the wall beside them, showering the two with dust.

Was her savior trying to attack them?

Or maybe he just caught the wrong fish earlier?

Before Zoe could regain her senses, the healer tossed her inside.

"Go!" His voice full of authority. "I'll rescue the kid and follow you on the other side of the portal."

"Wait!"

But the older man slammed the door behind him.

A white spell circle appeared in front of the healer, deflecting another chain. She watched as Dilinjer sped across the field just like a real ninja from movies. He used the spell circle as a shield, swatting every chain like measly flies. Clouds of dirt erupted in his wake, synchronized with his every block. Despite that, the wind carried them away as though not wanting the smoke to ruin the backyard.

Dilinjer ducked as Cookie Monster tried to grab him, then he ran the spell circle below it, breaking the creature's balance and tripping it over. With one swift motion, the healer touched the creature and a faint white light emitted through his hand.

Without blinking, Zoe gaped in awe as blue flames engulfed Cookie Monster. Soon, the creature turned into ashes, leaving a small, shaking figure - the girl it ate.

That was when she knew something was wrong.

Dilinjer helped the girl to her feet. His white scarf whipped around them as he convinced the kid. He pointed towards the back door. She followed his finger and nodded in agreement.

Zoe kept an eye on the kid as she darted through the devastated vegetable field, tripping every now and then but she never stopped moving forward.

For a moment, Dilinjer met her gaze and only one word left his mouth.

"Go!"

Then the healer went after the metal chains. He knocked down a few fences and disappeared in the forest of cherry blossoms.

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Dedicated to sensitive_af

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XOXO