Vidaj slowly made his way toward the massive creature, whose back was turned to him. He tapped him on the waist, which was the highest point he could reach, and nervously said, "Thanks for what you did just now. We're all grateful."

LOX turned around. His blue eyes filled Vidaj's soul with such a sense of tranquility that he was embarrassed to show the others this feeling. Once again Vidaj tried to read the creature's emotions, but by now he was convinced that LOX's detached expression was forever engraved on his face.

"You're all here just as it was foretold," LOX opened cryptically.

Vidaj felt sadness momentarily in his words. He wanted to ask him about the feeling, but knew it wasn't the time. Instead he looked at his opening statement. "What do you mean, all of us? Just what—or who—are you?"

"It's been a while since I've been in contact with human sprite holders this young," LOX said. "I believe it's customary for humans to greet each other with their names. You all look a little startled, so I'll begin. I'm Light Omega X, the fox. However, my friends call me 'LOX the fox.' I'm what you humans would categorize as an anthropomorphic fox."

Vidaj cringed. "I think LOX is fine."

The fox looked at him and nodded. "Very well."

Vidaj gave LOX a heartfelt smile; he felt as though he'd finally made a connection with him.

LOX, on the other hand, still maintained his stolid look. "Why don't you introduce me to everyone?" he asked Vidaj.

"All right," Vidaj said. "I'll start with the girls. The little girl over there with the ponytail is Lana. She's an illusionist... well, according to everyone else. For some reason, none of her antics work on me. The tall girl with the long, straight black hair is Mallory. She can read minds, which I've got to admit can get pretty annoying at times. Then there's Jane. She can heal all sorts of injuries, but don't get her mad, because she can easily flip that healing in reverse and do some serious damage.

As for the boys, we've got the twins, Lance and Blake. Lance can manipulate the ground, and Blake can manipulate the air. And here's our big guy... well, he's an average-size guy compared to you. His name is Ian, and he can create a mean wildfire. The spiky-haired kid is Briggs; he can manipulate gravity. Then we have that big kid over there. That's Felix. He makes ice cubes for us during the summer. And finally, there's me. I'm Vidaj. I can create shadows, as you can see."

LOX nodded respectfully. Vidaj wasn't sure, but he had a feeling that LOX already knew who they were. He found it weird that he was able to look at the children right away when he called their names before he could finish pointing to them. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you."

Vidaj felt as though it was safe for him to ask one of the many questions running through his head. "So what are these sprites you were talking about before?"

LOX eased himself into the conversation, lowering his voice into a soothing yet still raspy tone. "Sprites are the essence of your powers. I'm sure all of you are able to feel their presence."

The kids, smiling, exchanged glances; the thought of having a sprite inside them gave them a warm feeling. "It's an honor to have these powers, but don't be too flattered. You now have to deal with more of these corrupted sprite holders coming after you."

"Just who are these corrupted sprites and what do they want?" Briggs blurted out.

LOX rubbed his furry chin. "Well, the way a sprite works is that it chooses a host, based on the individual's innate traits. The person the sprite fuses with then becomes a sprite holder. As for corrupted sprites, that's a bit more complicated so I'll simplify it for you as best as I can. Corrupted sprites also select their hosts, but they feed off and intensify their mental instability. Once the host is corrupted, they completely lose themselves. These corrupted sprites are nasty and vengeful, much like the one you saw here today. They also like to torture victims they find entertaining with their words. Their main purpose is to destroy everything around them, but their secondary goal is to seek and destroy all of you. Natura Arbor might have seemed strong to you, but he's by far the weakest corrupted sprite. I guarantee you'll see much more of them in the future. They all have funny names because the sprites have taken on the Greek language from this world. I suggest learning a little of the language if you can. This one roughly translates to Natural Tree. It can help you identify their abilities right away. You'll find that they love to talk about themselves so use it to your advantage."

The kids all exchanged nervous glances, clearly worried about what the corrupted sprites had in store for them and whether they'd be able to beat them on their own.

Vidaj intently stared down LOX as he tried to think of what he should ask next. From the corner of his eye, he saw Felix make his way to the front, where he stared at LOX from several angles. Finally, Felix found the courage to chime in. "I think Vidaj has reached his speaking quota, so now it's my turn!"

Vidaj shook his head and rolled his eyes in disgust. "I don't remember anyone saying anything about there being a limit, but whatever... go ahead, Felix."

Felix looked deep into LOX's eyes, as though he were trying to stare into his soul. "My question is... are you really a fox or just a guy in a costume?"

LOX's stoic expression finally shifted as his thick white eyebrows and forehead rose. "What kind of question is that?" he roared. "Surely you have other questions that are of a higher priority, such as when the corrupted sprites might strike again or how many of them there are."

Felix laughed. "Yeah, yeah... those might be interesting questions to Vidaj and Briggs, but all that sprite stuff is boring. So are you going to answer my question or not? Is that a costume or not?"

"Just look at me. Do you think this is all makeup and strings?" LOX's eyes darted around the rest of the group. Most of them looked sheepish, embarrassed that Felix would even ask such a question.

LOX was still frustrated that he couldn't convince Felix. "You still don't believe me?"

"Yeah, I do! Whatever you say, fox costume dude," Felix muttered the last part.

The girls slowly approached LOX and gently poked and prodded him.

Jane giggled. "There's no way to deny it. You're definitely the real deal. You're so cute and cuddly too."

"I don't believe this. I'm nearly twice the size of all of you, with sharp teeth and a menacing stare—and by the way, I just killed that corrupted sprite with my bare claws—yet you think I'm some kind of a cute animal?"

Mallory gave the creature a big hug. "His fur is so soft. He's definitely cuddly."

Lana and Jane tightly gripped LOX, who finally broke into a smile. "Stop it, children!"

Felix shook his head. "Great, he's tricked the girls."

LOX's brow furrowed. "You've got to be kidding me."

"You're obviously an impostor!"

The fox stared at him, perplexed. "They're pulling on my fur right now. What more proof do you need?"

"Nope, I'm still not convinced!"

Jane grabbed Felix. "Shut up and come give this guy a hug. He just saved our lives."

Felix hugged and tugged on the beast wildly. "Hey, quit that!" LOX yelled.

"All right, fine," Felix said. "He's the real deal."

Vidaj finally interrupted the group embrace. "How long do we have before these corrupted sprites appear again?" he asked LOX.

"They'll be drawn to your powers and can appear at any time," LOX replied. "However, since your powers are fairly weak right now, only weak corrupted sprites will seek you out. Fortunately for you, corrupted sprites don't like working with each other, so they'll most likely come after you one by one."

"Is there any way we can prepare for them?" Vidaj continued.

"Perhaps, but until you do, I'll be on the lookout." LOX gazed at the sun, which was low in the sky. "I've been out here for too long—I don't want to risk anyone seeing me—but we'll meet again very shortly." As soon as he said those last words, he vanished.

The group silently looked around the ruined courtyard, which was filled with broken branches, gaping holes in the ground, and smashed tables, and realized just how powerful LOX was. Vidaj saw the looks of despair and gloominess on his friends' faces as the awkward silence continued.

He smiled as he approached Briggs. "You know this is your fault, right? You had to get all angry about not being able to fully use your powers."

Briggs looked up with a smirk. "If we're being real with each other, I think we were all a little bored up until today. Now we've got some real adventures to look forward to."

Out of everyone, Ian seemed to be the only one who wasn't scared at all. In fact, he looked angry. "Hmm," he said. "I don't see this as a problem. Sure, that plant guy caught me off guard, but I won't be making that mistake again. You can count on me taking out the next one of these freaks that comes after any of us."

Felix was standing nervously near the debris from the wooden tables where they'd just had lunch a short while ago. "You've gotta be kidding me," he griped. "Didn't you see what that guy just did? He wrapped vines around us in seconds. If it wasn't for LOX, who knows what would have happened to Vidaj? We're totally outmatched! You can all pretend that everything is all good and have that whole macho, brave attitude, but facts are facts. LOX even said it himself—Natura Arbor was the weakest of the bunch. What do you think will happen when the rest of them come after us?"

A loud thump echoed through the courtyard. Felix lay on the ground as all three girls held on to a textbook over his head.

"Oh, pipe down," Jane said. "No one said it was going to be easy. Yeah, we're outmatched, but it's not like we can take our ball and go home the next time we see one of these guys. We've gotta fight!" Mallory and Lana nodded in agreement.

Felix rubbed his head. "All right, maybe I'm being a downer, and you're right that we can't run if they come after us... my only question is... who brings a textbook on a field trip?"

Mallory grinned at him. "Well, you always have to be prepared for the worst."

Felix narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean... the worst?"

"Like when buildings have fire extinguishers in case of a fire," Lana said. "Mallory's textbook works the same way, but instead of putting out fires, she puts you out!"

Blake reached down and helped Felix up to his feet. "Maybe you should consider carrying a helmet, you know in case of emergencies."

"You might be able to put me down, but no one can ever put the great Felix out!" Felix exclaimed to the girls.

Laughing, Vidaj was looking at his phone when he realized how much time had passed. "As much as I'd like to stand around picking on Felix all day," he said, "we should head home." Though he still had the threat of the corrupted sprites in the back of his mind, his spirits were much higher than before. In fact, as much as he hated to admit it, everyone's spirits were higher because of Felix's antics. Without even realizing it, Felix had a natural way of breaking up tense situations.

"Hey, guys, you know who could have taken out Natura Arbor faster than LOX?" asked Felix. The group all paused, waiting for him to respond. "The Flower Bandit, of course!"

Exhausted, but in highspirits everyone made their way to the bus stop. Vidaj was excited to finallysolve the mystery of the large man in the trench coat. Now he had an evenbigger mystery to solve. The mystery of LOX.