Spooky month special, my pookies ~<3
Watch me struggle to write horror! :')
This is a super long chapter so sorry if that's not your thing!
I had way too much fun writing specific parts of this .

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Sunday 9:23 AM

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I yawned, still tired from the night before. "Remind me, why did we stay up till one in the morning just for spell practice?"

Only to go completely ignored by everyone except Mephisto who looked at me with the same disgust. "Beats me. I was just standing there half the time just cause blondie here wanted to see 'how good I can be in battle' or something I dunno." He said, whispering the latter and side eyeing Iris yet to go unnoticed as the Blonde, brunette and redhead walked ahead of us chattering on whatever they usually talk about.

"You just gotta get used to it to live here, I guess." I said, laughing at his statement before dragging Carissa into the conversation,"Yo, got much sleep last night?"

"No."

"Yeaa, -that's understandable, considering we all trained till like one in the morning-.. my arm still hurts from that impact punch." I groaned lightly, swinging my right arm clinically to loosen the stinging pain.

She yawned and looked at me unamused, frowning. "I'm not in the mood to talk. I'd recommend leaving m' alone to not get your lungs ripped out, Sciara." She said, in a cold and dead tone, very intimidating for her character.

"Oh- I- Okay. I like my lungs, spleen and everything else just as they are, madame-" I smiled, raising my arms in defence, but feeling eerily unsafe. "Promise me you're not gonna choke me in my sleep or poison me at dinner. Aha-..hah."

She groaned and held her head in her hands while we walked down further on the shadowed sidewalks of Sunnybae.

"Is.... That a yes?"

"Oh, just shut it, will ya?" She snapped, sharply back at me.. and walked ahead of us.. which side o'da pillow did she wake up on?

"Well dang. Giving emo vibes honestly. Guess someone gets grumpy without their beauty sleep. To be honest, I would too." I said as I raised an eyebrow in surprise.

" 'emo'? What does that mean?" Mephisto asked from beside me, stepping in.

"It- it's just a human humour term, don't worry about it." I waved it off. "Where are we going anyways?" I asked instead, realising we'd been walking for a good while now.

"I dunno. All I care about, is breakfast right now.." He sighed, grabbing his stomach which seemed to growl in hunger.

"Ugh. Honestly, agreed. And we're just getting more hunger deprived with this much walking! I'm gonna go nuts if this goes on.."

"...-princesses, I tell you! Don't care about hunger cause they're sOoOoO adjusted to having a perfect figure. Like cmon! We're tryna look alive here, ladies, not pretty-" He pouted and rolled his eyes, clearly upset on his stomach.

I looked at him in a slightly taken aback manner. He did not just unknowingly grant, no one in particular, a reality check..- yes, yes he did.

"Hey! Looks like we're here!" Iris' voice reached our earshot as we dashed to the front of the group. Supposedly, the trio had decided to visit a new cafe that'd opened up last week. Some rad looking mediaeval themed cafe at that.

" 'Sir Wafer's ' huh?... Sounds like the perfect name for a cafe inspired from the mediaeval times." I smiled at the thought of the name. It seemed quite fitting in my sense.

"A-greed." Auriana chimed in, emphasizing a break in the word as she looked up at the sign as well. "Ohhh let's go in already!!~" she squealed in unhinged excitement.

"C'mon then." Iris laughed wholeheartedly, leading the large group of starved and mildly sleep deprived teens into the cafe.

Walking into the store, I couldn't believe the beauty of it's interior! Wayyyy to fancy-dancy for a breakfast, but hey, I'm not complaining against an awesome pinterest board life! -even if it's just for a few hours..,,

"It's kinda spooky with the dark shades n' all but aesthetic at the same time,..even hard to look away from the scary stuff." I said, to myself, really.

"Heee... It's giving me the spooks..." Mephisto's voice shivered slightly as hw hugged his sides while we all sat down at a large table in the corner of the establishment.

I, sitting be the window, Mehisto next to me followed by Carrissa while the trio and Lyna sat across us. Talia smiled at me as we both sat face to face on the window sides, settling down the hyper active redhead with a small smack to her shoulder. Iris sat across Carissa as Lyna typed away on her phone, not paying much attention.

A few started small chatter as Mephisto maintained safe distance from Carissa and her dangerous vibes, head in her hands as she laid down her head on the table in exhaustion.

"Rain would've fit perfectly with the whole vibe. The Sun doesn't match feels! Not that I'm complaining,, it would've been much creepier.. hee.." Mephisto shivered at the thought and shook it off.

"It would've, yeah. Well, I guess we're not the only ones mismatched today. Considering The Jasper Triad would be signifying unity, and not one threatening to kill another under the influence of sleep deprivation." I looked over at the sleeping figure of Carissa who let out light peaceful snores, probably in a fantasized dream involving her lovely Dana. (Referring to the fact that the snores are light and peaceful, not earth-shattering trembles, because they just are, naturally.)

Mephisto snickered heartily at my observation. "I'm surprised we're alive and well, hah!"

I won't lie, making people laugh is one of the things I deeply love because it brings out their joys and interests, making them more fascinating to interact with. Overall, a cheerful conversation is my way to go, no matter of others' say.

And his sudden laugh actually lit up a smile on my face as well, in as scary as a cafe as this, with everyone looking tired, chattering in sighs or exhausted groans, a little laugh made everything seem a lot less serious and nerve racking... Just enjoyable.

"Guess we're on the same page, bud." I said, the tinge of laughter still faint in my tone.

"-Splendid day to you, my folks, welcome to Sir Wafer's Cafe,,, in which - we present a wide array of delightful delicacies or, if you're in a tad of a hurry, order our scrumptious to-go prepacked energy booster bundles...-" An automated female voice boomed throughout the building in a singsong tone, seamlessly blending into the surrounding noise as talking resumed.

A waitress came upto our table in the corner of the crowded, one of many, rooms. We all ordered the variant bunches food - Sandwiches, Pancakes, Toast, Waffles with Maple Sirup, and other what nots.

I personally, just went with what the majority, as in our Jasper Triad ordered, which was the cafe's specially made, sandwiches - somewhat special, cause I don't truly know how sandwiches can be made 'specially'. Also because of course I just had to be indecisive and get nervous whenever I needed to make n independent decision!

Our table buzzed with the continuation of words and phrases mixing into the crowded air. Just then, my eyes landed on the door through which we entered, where now a tall male stood talking to a waitress. Black hair tied into a high bun, and a sleeveless black turtle neck, obviously in attempt to flex his muscles and biceps. He was wearing a black mask and an earing on one ear.

Kinda attractive, I'll not lie. But you know what they say,, 'looks can be deceiving!'

Come to think of it, he looked familiar, in a way. Almost like that - that ,, Ephidian dark crystal magic user. His name.. uh,, - Kade, I think it was. But sure, Ephidians are from another planet, but they can't change their appearance, right? I mean, he had vibrant vermillion eyes! This guy has cat-like sharp yellow eyes and deep toned black hair, almost blue in the light. Not a great combination, but the outfit style makes it work, I guess. Nevertheless.. the aura he's emitting.. it's just-

We shared a moment of eye contact, his bright sunny eyes widening, before looking away, then in a daze, as if he's zoned out.

I shrugged, and disregarded the thought. Because if, in case, it were actually Kade, he'd have a different appearance (he could've dyed his hair, sure, but I doubt even Praxina would know of the existence of contact lenses) and maybe even an unalike personality, because this person seems to have just been a bit taken aback by the sudden eye contact. In contrast, Kade would've probably known of our presence here, which in turn would've been all the more reason for him to be here and, finding the right moment, attack us.

I sighed, convincing myself that we weren't in danger and forced my inner mind from being so darn paranoid all the time, especially in such a wholesome situation. I finally, clearing my mind of many external concerns, thanked the waitress who came by delivering our food - but, in the midst, i noticed a stain of purple on the apron she was wearing. I shook it off, because it was obviously just some stain. We're in a cafe after all, that too, at the busiest time of day possible.

"Ooh! This is actually reeeally tasty!" Mephisto commented, his face stuffed with sandwich fillings.

"A-greed!! Everything is good here! Can we come here all the time?!" Auriana giggled, maybe swallowing whole bites of her pancakes.

"No Auriana, we can't. We always go to the smoothie bar, remember?" Iris said while eating her toast.

"Wait, to be honest ,I kinda miss my smoothies too though. So, yeah, you're right!" Auriana clapped her hands together in confirmation.

"Auriana! Stop talking and laughing when you're eating your food, you'll choke." Talia intervened the conversation with a warning.

"Not that anyone would mind." Carissa grumbled under her breath, only loud enough for our side of the table to hear.

"Carissa, that's,, - you're just being mean now.." Mephisto accused, reasonably, in my opinion.

Carissa sighed and continued eating without another word or protest. What's happened? Did Dana say something to her last night? Was the training that exhausting?

"We should've prioritised health over strength. I should've interjected when we went overboard with training last night. Spells aren't easy for Carissa, and with that amount of restless practice, she was bound to be drained out and really just under the weather." I whispered to no one in particular, without even realising that I was audibly thinking. Thankfully no one heard, except Mephisto, because it just had to be him.

"Hey-Don't blame yourself, Sciara. None of us protested, and Carissa pushed herself overtime, partly because of Lyna's constant bickering, but that's another worry." Mephisto put an arm around my shoulder as we continued our breakfast. "She'll be fine! She's Carissa! The Calixian Warrior we know of."

I chuckled at his choice of words. "Fine. Fine. I'll stop worrying, but just.. keep an eye on her for me, okay?"

"Sure. That'll do. Now chomp down on this delicious human food of which I'm totally not jealous." He rolled his eyes at his own statement, stuffing his mouth with what was left of the sandwich.

10:47 AM

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We all stood just outside the cafe, complimenting all the delicious delicacies we had few moments ago. We all were offered some candy for the festivities of halloween, and in addition as a dessert of sorts from one of the waiters while exiting.

Mine was an iridescent green, matching Mephisto's usual theme. Everyone got different colours, and of course we (I and Mephisto) urged Carissa to take the red one.

"Okay, okay! We have to get back to the house, to practice for that big concert on Halloween. You guys can stay in the city, maybe make some fun out of it, it's a Sunday after all." Iris added into the conversation, as a reminder.

"Iris is right. We should get going now, girls." Talia acknowledged and stood beside Iris, waiting for Auriana to do the same.

"Ohh, yeah! Halloween!~ I need to buy my costumes!! Something original-.." Auriana walked over to the other two, before being yanked out of her audible thoughts by Talia.

"I'll join too,, I don't-..." Lyna raised a thought, still indulged in her phone from the beginning.

"Lyna, why don't you go along with them? You hardly even get out of house. It'll be fun!" Iris suggested while walking away with the other two.

"What-?! I- ugh, fine." Lyna grumbled before turning around us, finally sliding her phone into her pocket.

"You could always just, walk back home, if you don't wanna hang out with us, Lyna." I pointed out, unwilling to bare her whining on a Sunday.

"And also work on your attitude while you're at it, will ya?" Carissa mumbled from beside me, crossing her arms, which Lyna didn't hear, saving us from yet another unwelcome situation.

"Burn-" Mephisto snickered quietly before Lyna looked at him in confusion. "-uhm, nothing."

And Carissa surprisingly laughed at that. "yeah right, nothing. Inside jokes, plant lady."

"PLANT LADY?!- Puh-lease..! Not like I wanna stay here, but I also don't want to hear Auriana's bickering again-" Lyna pinched the bridge of her nose, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone.

"I'll just be back from the restroom while y'all, resolve this ..-more or less." I walked back into the cafe in attempt of escaping any other retorts from the two fre-enemies, especially not since Carissa's 'Fresh as a Daisy'.

"We'll be at the park the-!" I heard Mephisto out as I entered the cafe once again.

I was directed to the womens' washroom by one of the waitresses, only to walk into a completely empty one. Seriously, no one.

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Third person Pov

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Sciara sauntered into the washroom and entered one of the booths, walking out a few moments later.

The cafe itself was the definition of the arrival of halloween, not to mention the emptiness of this room the girl was currently in.

Dark. Dimly lit, and almost impossible to pass off as a cafe restroom. The spider webs from which the arachnids hung weren't helping.

Sure, she wasn't a girl to back out of anything, but she wasn't the type to decline her fears either. This lonely eeriness was undoubtedly sending shivers down her spine.

It was almost comparable to the loneliness she felt that day. The Gramorr took over Ephidia. When everyone died trying to defend the castle and it's royalty. No one around to treat her with hospitality, - except for Izira. The girl who sheltered and raised her, then on.

She shook her head, dismissing the thoughts. She didn't want them to haunt her. Not today. Not ever. Not- Not those visions of all that blood, sweat and tears which went into protecting Ephidia, and its purity.

"C'mon, Sciara- don't get emotional now. We've gone through this, we can get through it again. It's over. Now I'm here, with Iris, Mephisto and the girls. We're gonna save em this time. This time. We won't let it happen again. I won't let it happen again. Not to anyone. No one will have to see through what we've had to..- god, shut up. - cladsnick. Save the lecture for when it's time to battle. Now get out there!" She encouraged, repeatedly slapping herself lightly in attempt of uplifting.

"Oh for the love of-" she cursed, frustrated, hammering the sink faucet for water to rush out. But there was none. "-what? Sigh newly inaugurated cafe, huh? Pshh- where's the water supply around here, jammed-?!"

She muttered nonsense under her breath before giving up. She looked up at the mirror in front of her. Eyeing her own reflection. "-oh wow. I'm tired all right." She touched her cheek with her fingertips, leaning closer to the mirror.

Her eyes had dark circles, mildly visibly noticeable. Her usually bright face had an overall dull and exhausted look to it.

In a moment of blur, her head felt lighter. The surroundings started to spin. Swiftly, she lost her balance.

"-what the?- head's spinn-! Uhg-.."

She gripped to the edge of the basin. Supporting herself to stand.

Her strained vision saw the glimpse of a silhouette behind her, before collapsing to the ground.

Her body thumped to the floor as her senses blacked out. Unconscious.

"..Hhmm" rhythmic humming rang through the room ".. If I wasn't getting paid the large bucks, I'd actually admit you're too pretty for a dupe - maybe even have had an unbiased judgement." A voice scoffed. From the shadows, lurked the same Dark-haired young man Sciara'd seen earlier that day. He crouched down, taking a few strands of her hair, from her slumped body, in his hands, twirling them between his fingers "-too bad, too sad I guess. Get some shut eye, why don't'cha, doll?"

11:02 AM

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Mephito, Carissa and Lyna sat on a bench in Sunnybae Park. Mephisto in the middle to avoid the two lashing out at eachother any further.

"Sooo... Uh- I was wondering.. about um-" Mephisto struggled, trying to spark a conversation and escape the uncomfortable silence. "-oh! Yah, what are your favourite colours! Yah, yeah, that."

"Purple." Carissa said nonchalantly, twiddling with a rose stem, before accidentally pricking her finger and putting it in her mouth, cursing "Bloody-"

"Green, I thought that was to go without saying?"

"Yes, yes, uh. Of course. Purple.. green,, green- purple.. - whisper - I've officially lost the plot. Where's Sciara when you really need her?!" He mumbled, dragging his palm over his face in frustration.

That's when a thought hit him. A realisation.

"Hey, uh- hasn't Sciara been away for a while now? Or is it just me? I swear though, it feels like we've been waiting for a really long time." Mephisto probably voiced the girls' thoughts with the said statement.

"Look - he's concerned for his girlfriend, Sciara, the only one who doesn't perpetually bully him!" Carissa said in a sing-song voice.

Mephisto flared at the sentence (in more ways than one) "What do you mean - girlfrie-?! no one bullys me! Where is this conversation going?! I'm trying to be serious here!"

"Alright, alright, seriously now.. you don't think- I mean, I don't wanna assume anything happened. But, it's a possibility." Carissa said, her tone changing to a more serious one, "No. We're not letting anything happen to out girl, and we're going back there. This instant." She leaped off the bench and started marching towards the cafe, angered tremendously by her own thoughts.

Mephisto jumped up alongside her, followed by Lyna who hadn't said anything since the conversation began. The remaining members of the Jasper Triad had glistening teamwork and determination in their eyes, while they stormed across streets towards the cafe, making Lyna look awfully out of place beside them.

"Hey, but- wait! We- huff we can't just barge in there without a plan! - huff we-" Lyna panted, keeping up with the other two, who has turned around to face Lyna, and continuing, "We need a real plan - and right now, I'm only trying to help out."

Carissa looked at Lyna, her fists clenched before relaxing the next moment. She sighed and said, "She's right. We need a plan - all possibilities considered." She nodded to Mephisto who seemed to have some ideas up his sleeve.

Lyna let out a breath of relief, and smiled, "Look, we may be on opposite poles - have our differences, but we care for the same things, the same people. We can go back to being enemies after this dilemma. What d'ya say, Crissy?" She nudged her elbow in anticipation.

Carissa grumbled under her breath and said, *Fine, whatever. Don't call me that." She crossed her arms and looked away in embarrassment.

No one's really ignorant when the ones they care of most are no longer beside them.

"Right. Mephisto?"

"Done, and done! So here's the game plan-"

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First Person Pov

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Black. Everything black. I could see nothing. Was I unconscious for a while? Ugh, yes of course. Wait- that silhouette. Come on Sciara! What's the last thing you felt, heard, or maybe even smelt before you went blank?! Stupid. Stupid. Stupid! Why am I useless?! Can't even remember anything accurately. Let's see.. I can tell I have a blindfold on. Would make more sense.

And it's cold. Like almost freezing. It's almost like all of my senses are coming back now. How long was I out for? Oh cladsnick. Why was I born to endure such pain and this horrible journey to save the world?! Shut up! Stop. This isn't helping.

Am I tied up? I can't feel my lim- oh. My hands are some- cold, smooth hard surface, not tied up, but I can't move them. So are my feet. Wait, is this dark crystal? Of course it is. Obviously it's either Kade or Praxina's doing. Mayb-

"Looks like she's still out of it, huh? What a sleepyhead." A voice scoffed. A familiar voice. I can't place it though. Who is that? Maybe I'm wrong about this being Kade's doing. Maybe it's a bunch of idiotic bandits? No. They wouldn't get access to a cafe's interior. God, I'm stupid all of a sudden.

"Get away from her. She's dangerous. Heavy hitter for one. Here's the rest of the money. Don't involve anyone else into this, or pay the prices. Those earrings are no joke, and no fashion statement either." Another voice conversed. Wait, that's Kade's voice I think. Yeah probably. So no bandits. But who's the other guy, and what earrings? A thumping noise sounded beside me on the floor. Probably a bag with whatever money Kade paid this man to kidnap me.

"Must be difficult for you to say that. Since you're such a fashionista of sorts." The other voice continued in a mocking voice. Shuffling sounds could be heard beside me, before footsteps receded.

"Scram, human. Before I change my mind." Kade threatened and the footsteps quickened. Wait, wait, wait. Human?! Praxina's involving humans into this now? And that guy knew Kade. About his fashion sense and stuff. This is concerning. If humans get to know of the existence of Ephidia and the princesses, and- it's too dangerous. Earth will just go into full lockdown basically. They've faced many monsters, sure. But if they manage to find out that the creators of said monsters live amongst them? There would be no trust. Everyone would suspect eachother, accuse them of crimes they never committed. Almost like witch hunt mentality. Reminds me of the horrors I heard of Earth back in the sixteen hundreds..

Kade sighed in relief. He removed Sciara's blindfold. "Quit the act. I know you're awake, brat."

"Huh. So you're not all just glitter and glamour." I mocked when he removed my blindfold, opening my eyes to fall on the white haired man. The iconic veil, of course, shielding me from seeing any expression.

I looked down at myself and to confirm my theory, I was stuck in dark black crystal. The whole of my lower body and my hands were encased, leaving my upper body in free movement.

We were situated in an alley of sorts. Certainly not anywhere out of Sunnybae. Bold move if I may assume.

"Shut your snappy mouth, you won't live longer than a minute if you do. - now, I have brilliant news! - don't you love your motherland? Your very own birthplace? Why are you here? On this, pathetic planet? No magic, no mystical scenery. Everything's in ruins wherever the humans are. I have a proposal for you, a resplendent one, if I may." He bent down to my eye line, and just once without a fight, I could actually see those burning red eyes of his behind the veil. They were - anticipating something. Something fun and chaotic, for him maybe, but definitely something dangerous. And I was about to be part of it.

"Lemme guess, you want me to join your forces of evil no-good. Easy pass, grandma."

In a flash, his fist smashed into the wall behind us, before he took a step back with his head down and dissipated the crystal that entrapped me. "You- you call me that one more time-" His eyes met mine but with anger and fury that even made me shudder "-and we will get personal."

"Personal? Wha-"

"Oh you don't know, huh?!-" He stood to his full height, and laughed maniacally "-you-you don't even know! Maniacal laughter I know you're hiding something. Something from everyone. Even those puny princess punks on your team don't know something that you're hiding. And I'll find that out." He grabbed one of my shoulders and shook me as if to make me realise.

But I stood there in shock. How did he- I, what- I didn't- "how-"

"How did I find out?-" he laughed, slamming me into a wall as he continued laughing insanely "yo-you fighting without a transformation, and magic so strong that it rivals mine, it only means you aren't someone ordinary. That's how. I'll find out. Whatever youre hiding- your secret, it can't be something obviously imaginable, can it?" His arms squeezed at at shoulders at a tight, hurting grip, to which I winced.

"Whatever you're saying.. I- it's completely idiotic and unreasonable-" I tried to convince him. This time, my confidence swallowed in doubt and shock.

His posture and body language changed immediately to as if alter the subject. "The offer, I made, was indeed for you to join us. Join us in defeating those reckless princesses and finding a higher purpose!" He spat at me, with anything but anger. With reason.

"But then again, your declination doesn't affect the outcome-" he continued, letting go of my shoulders to leave me in a disoriented state. He laughed, yet again. "-yoir refusal, my worthy opponent, has no impact. Let's just say, It was mere-" he stared at me again with a maniacal grin "-etiquette."

He let out a silent whisper and pushed me back. I braised myself for heavy impact on hitting the wall, but that never happened.

I was, instead, sent flying into a whirlpool of powerful dark crystal magic. A portal. The chaos too overwhelming for me to keep my physical and mental consciousness. Too much overload of power, light, transcending the capabilities of my current disoriented and bewildered state.

And thus, my body, in order to keep me alive, shut down. A complete blackout.