Chapter Text
" Ally... "
A high pitched bubbly voice teases into Alvis's head.
“ Time to get up, sleepy… ”
His heavy eyes lift up to a giant rabbit kneeled on the bed in front of his view.
Once his eyes open enough, he sees the familiar face of Kia Van-Lee in the costume. Her knotty pink bun is hidden by the hoodie of her white rabbit pajamas. Her dark eyes are lit up in excitement and energy.
“Ally, they have cake, I told you! Get up!” She jumps off the bed and zips to the side.
Alvis Merchuino sits up, his straight and smooth pink hair dangling over his shoulders. He awakes calm and stiff. His partner is the opposite. She’s singing. “It’s a beautiful morning in Hiro, it’s a beautiful day in Hiro…”
He gets out of bed and puts up with the singing. He grabs a red hair tie from the nightstand and puts his hair up in a back bun. The whole time, Kia is near him talking away.
“Okay, okay, but for real, I’ve been thinking, if you’re gonna be the Weekling slayer, should I bring a weapon, or…?”
Alvis doesn’t answer.
“I mean, all I have is a few of these paint bombs, and even then, they’re toys. Maybe? Should I?”
No answer.
Kia takes no offense to his silence. She continues to talk to him about anything that comes to mind.
They both get dressed. Alvis wears a sleeveless maroon vest with silver trims, black pants, maroon boots, and black arm bands, with it all being in an Eastern style. Kia has a taller and curvier frame than he does, but it doesn’t stop her from attempting her lover’s footsteps. She has an Eastern style pink dress with black trims and a maroon belt, a bright yellow jacket, and long black boots with a yellow belt on one and a pink belt on the other.
He’s brushing his teeth and she’s brushing her hair and brushing her teeth at the same time. She points out, with her toothbrush in her mouth, “You gwad I dye ma hair? We match now. It’s gweat.”
She takes her toothbrush out. “I mean, you’re the perfect partner, and I’m… well… I’m whatever you ask of me.”
He doesn’t respond.
Alvis goes to their armor stand to grab his twin katanas to attach to his belt, and Kia grabs a little purpose to throw small paint grenades inside. She asks him as they go downstairs, “What do you think cake tastes like? Myth didn’t make it. But I want to know, it looks awesome from the magazines! Do you think a cake date would be nice? You know, I could earn it if I get myself in a tower today. And I stay there… should I try sitting still? Should I grow my hair? Should I lose weight? Should I try a cage, would that be better-?”
“ Kia, ” Alvis finally speaks up. His orchid eyes turn to her in a glare that’s hard to read. “ Qǐng, Dàngāo, zhèxiē dōu shì. ”
“Uh…” Kia doesn’t know what to read that as.
Then he says, “Just be yourself. Come too much, I’ll call it out.”
Kia grins. She throws him into a hug on the back and a peck on the cheek.
“Now please, let’s see about the actual cake,” He says as they head out the door of their place. There are quite a few people who didn’t get groceries yesterday, so they’re heading to a Mess Hall to get some pre-made food by the people of the palace.
Kia waves over to the Sue’s house, squealing, “Good morning, neighbors!”
The people in that house are still inside.. Charlie is in the bathroom putting on some eyeliner.
“Charlie?” Sheri comes in to lean on the doorway. She’s back in her purple scarf and blue jacket, which is buttoned up to hide her torso. “Fran and I are ready to go. You want me to take her to breakfast?”
“That’d be great, thank you,” Charlie accepts. “We’ll meet up again there. If you see Astrid, keep her around till I show up.”
Sheri gives him a finger gun and leaves. He can hear her say, “Fran, we’re leaving. Charlie will catch up. You got your ribbons? Priya! When did you become a newspaper girl?”
Charlie finishes up his makeup a few minutes later and puts it away on the shelf below the sink. They each have a shelf for their stuff, but Charlie’s the only one with makeup. He turns around to the door-
“YAK!” He jumps back at the sight of a ghost being face to face with him.
“Good morning, Sue! Did you miss me?” The ghost greets. His voice is dry and grating. He’s a lanky man with a curly white beard.
“I… don’t think I did…” Charlie tries to be nice. It’s hard.
That’s when Mary Sue, from behind him, pushes him to the side. She says, “Ryan, I asked you to wait outside. Leave the room.”
“Can’t I get a greeting like the rest of you? Ouch.” Ryan whines. “You try purgatory.”
He jumps through the floor and disappears, leaving Charlie and Mary Sue alone. She offers him a hand to take him downstairs to the living room. They take a seat on the couch, and she offers him a glass of tea and a small plate of raspberry cakes. Charlie takes the tea, but one sip makes him instantly recognize the flavor. Earl Grey. It’s a flavor he hates, but Mary Sue loves it, so she’s always giving him that flavor. He tries not to touch the cakes, as he doesn’t like cake either.
Charlie drinks it anyway to not be rude, but it’s a bit of a struggle. Seventeen years, and Mary Sue still doesn’t consider what kind of treats her descendant likes.
“How was your sleep?” Mary Sue asks him.
“Perfect.” Charlie gently answers, trying to hide his disgusted face from drinking the tea.
“Is the place okay?” She asks.
Again, he says, “Perfect.”
“I’m glad.” She says with pleasure, her sweet smile she always has never breaking. “By the way, you’re on the front cover of the newspaper today for your speech.”
She offers him the newspaper.
‘Charlie Sue makes a ground breaking speech upon arrival to Hiro’
‘“Hi.”’
“Darn it, Li.” Charlie mutters under his breath.
“Hm?” Mary Sue heard that.
“I-I mean, good for you.” Charlie puts on the act again. “...Me. I mean good for me.”
She asks, “I’m sure you know about the First Action Arc, correct?”
“Correct.”
“I wanted to ask regarding the Rosuto sisters staying with you,” Mary Sue says. “How are they?”
“I bought the elixir for Sheri. Any episodes occur, I’ll tell a doctor.” Charlie answers. “Fran’s doing fine, I don’t think there’s medicine to worry about with her.”
“We did a blood test regarding Fran and her place,” Mary Sue explains. “She wasn’t lying. She is Sheri’s sister.”
“You thought I doubted that?” Charlie raises an eyebrow. There’s a bit of sorrow in that line.
“Jubilee doubted, but she’s quickly proven wrong,” Mary Sue says. “You know I don't make mistakes, right?”
“I know.”
“This First Action Arc is meant to show off the capabilities of Hiro’s Chosen One residency and fill in space for collaboration,” Mary Sue explains. “And my suggestion regarding you is that if the time comes, you will be the star.”
Charlie nearly chokes from the tea. “Pardon? The First Action Arc is for everyone.”
“You’re a Sue,” Mary Sue states. “You must be the center, no matter what.”
She stands up and uses her telekinesis to clean up the tea set. She adds, “In the arena, there will be a real Weekling. Not a hologram one. You will slay it when it reaches the ring of stones, and every Chosen One there will watch. You’ll know where it is.”
“A real Weekling? That’s against the arc’s code.” Charlie calmly argues back. “That’ll put people in danger.”
“Which is why it’s in your hands,” Mary Sue says.
“It’s not fair to everyone else taking the test. Not only would I be cheating, but others could get hurt.”
“A Sue such as yourself cannot die without notice. Chosen Ones don’t die before Destiny is reached.” Mary Sue states. “Nobody will be killed, let alone hurt, so long as no Average sneaks in.”
“With all due respect, I would like to play fair.” Charlie says. “I can be on the same playing field as everyone else.”
“Would ‘fair’ assist you in taking out the final threat of this volume?” Mary Sue asks. Her eyes turn orange from her tense voice.
“Maybe me and the Rosutos can start ahead.” Charlie suggests. “With help from the princess, we could go after the Dark Lords and get the Diamonds back. I don’t see why not.”
Mary Sue claims, “You know, your mother attempted the same thing in her time. Most Sues have tried that, actually. It was always the same results. They got nowhere because Destiny doesn’t give worms to early birds.”
Charlie falls silent. Mary Sue notices. She approaches him and leans to his level, cornering him on the sofa.
“...I know it’s less to ask of you, but the truth is, those Rosuto girls are not on the same level as you, and never will be. They’re never going to be anything more than assistants to you, as without you, they’d fall apart as nobodies. When I fulfilled my Destiny, I lived forever. No one in my time is alive anymore. But I remain. So will you.”
Charlie sinks in what she says. He doesn’t think that way, but she’s trying to dig her mindset into him.
She tells him, as advice, “ Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice.”
“I don’t understand that,” He says.
“It’s old language, you’ll get it when you’re older,” She brushes off. “What I’m trying to say is, you’re the star. Give the people out there what they want to see in you. What do they want to see? They want to see perfection. They want to see you, from day one, slaying difficult monsters and showing it off that you are the best. Be the hero. Be what they want. Even if it kills you. Even if it empties you out until there’s nothing left but a body of raw power and light. No matter what, you don’t stop fighting until you give them exactly what they want to see. ”
Charlie hugs himself, feeling some uneasy bubbling in his stomach. It must be the tea.
He gives a shy, almost mute, “...okay.”
“Oh. If I may interrupt.” Kopf shows up through the wall.
“Were you listening to us?” Charlie asks.
“...of course I was. Are you kidding?” Kopf says with no shame. “I would like to escort our boy to breakfast before he heads out for the First Action Arc.”
He’s holding a busted fork, and his teeth are crooked and yellow.
“U-uh, I’m okay.” Charlie tries to deny it. He heads for the door. “Really, Kopf, it’s-it’s nothing, I know my way there.”
“Son, are you sure?” He asks. “Don’t you want to give your old man a hug?”
“Please don’t call me son, I’m good, I’m already out as we speak, thank you, goodbye.” Charlie shuts the door behind him.
Thankfully, Kopf doesn’t follow him.
“Well, we’ve only been dating for over four years, so naturally there’s a bit of rocks in that road,” Kia is yammering on and on at the breakfast table. “But rocks are stone, and the writing is in stone, so yeah.” She then takes the entire pancake and catches it with her mouth. With her mouth full, she adds, “Zhège dàngāo wǒ.”
“Right…” Fran, who is seated across from them, writes it all down in her notebook.
The Mess Hall is massive, with pillars surrounding three of the four walls, with the last wall having tables of a breakfast buffet with foods of all kinds. There’s several rows of tables laid out, and there’s a chandelier on the ceiling of the moon.
“So you never had pancakes before?” Fran asks.
Kia answers, again with the pancake dangling from her mouth, “Myth doesn’t have cake.” With a simple flick of the tongue, she swallows the pancake whole and adds, “It’s part of why we came here for training instead of home. Plus I was kind of expelled.”
“Expelled? What for?” Fran asks.
Alvis answers, “ Ashbel is filthy ash. ”
Fran doesn’t know what that means, but she continues to write down what she can get from their asian neighbors. These two are quite opposite in personality as far as Fran can see. Kia is going to town on her pile of pancakes, while Alvis is calmly eating a bowl of ramen and eggs.
She asks, her voice becoming more ecstatic and curious, “So what do you Chosen Ones do on a mission like this? Is it a food fight and some monster’s gonna show up? Is there gonna be a huge invasion soon? Are we trying to find a treasure? Are we gonna be blown to the side of the earth?”
Alvis answers, “The mission is called we’re hungry.”
Fran writes that down. “Chosen Ones eat?”
Charlie comes into the Mess Hall and doesn’t see the three, instead going for the buffet table. Sheri is there in line, and she waves over to him in greeting. He picks up a plate and greets back, “Hey. Did Astrid show up?”
“Not yet, but I’m keeping an eye out.” Sheri answers.
“Hello Charlie Sue,” Luchs Artemis, a curvy dark skinned man with bushy green eyebrows and elk ears greets. “Nice to have you here.”
“Luchs, nice to see you survived Glim,” Charlie greets back.
“Got some story left in me, boy,” He says back with a bit of laughter in his tone. “What can I get for you?”
Charlie’s about to say, “Oh, you don’t have to do that-”
Then he slaps Sheri in the wrist when she goes for a plate of fried chicken. “Do not put that in your mouth.”
Sheri backs off and goes for the sausage instead.
“Pardon?” Luchs gets his attention again.
“Um… I’ll just get some toast and gravy. Oh, and a mango.” Charlie answers. “Thank you.”
As Charlie gathers his breakfast, he notices a boy behind him in line saying, “I want what Sue got.”
Charlie tries to ignore that and walks to their table with Sheri. Sheri’s already digging into a sausage before they’re seated. They find Fran, Kia, and Alvis, and they take a seat next to Fran. Charlie greets, “Hey Fran.” Then he goes for the Soi Elixir and fills a full glass with it.
“Charlie Sue sitting with us?!” Kia exclaims in excitement. “Is this a crossover fanfiction?!”
“Hěn gāoxìng rènshí nǐ, sū.” Alvis greets.
“Wǒ zhīdào wǒmen shì línjū, méi ěr qiū yī nuò.” Charlie says back.
“Hěn gāoxìng jiàn dào nǐ. Jiào wǒ ā'ěr wéi sī, zhè shì wǒ de ài, qǐyà.” Alvis says. Kia waves at him, still with pancakes to spare.
“Um… translate? Please?” Sheri asks.
“Take your elixir,” Charlie hands Sheri the glass.
“ This much? Come on, man.” Sheri complains.
“Do not give me that,” Charlie stubbornly states. “We’re gonna be gone all day, in a forest.”
“You speak Chinese?” Fran asks in surprise.
“I took lessons,” Charlie answers. “I was actually born in Arsenal. Not exactly Myth, but in the reigns.”
“We… don’t.” Sheri sheepishly answers, trying to down as much of the elixir as possible. She has a nasty face as she does it. “Do you speak English?”
“Do you like cake?” Kia asks. That answers Sheri’s question. Kia goes for the elixir Sheri has when she takes a break, trying to taste it.
Charlie sighs, confessing, “No. I don’t.”
Kia chokes on the elixir, and Alvis has to put a napkin over her mouth. She exclaims, enraged and standing on her seat “What soul doesn’t like cake?! I ought to bust your skull, boy-!”
“He’s Charlie Sue,” Alvis tells her.
“Oh…” Kia takes it back and sits down. “Please forget I said that. Also, why do you drink that?”
“Why not?” Sheri asks.
“So you drink something disgusting every day because why not?” Kia doesn’t get that. “I would go for cake.”
“You want to hear a really funny story about that?” Sheri asks. “Okay, so you know Ryan Kopf, right?”
“That annoying ghost dude?” Kia brings up.
“You want to hear how he died?” Sheri asks, telling the story. “He was taking me and Charlie on a hike in the Hind-Lands, you know, the normal place to hike, we were about ten when this happened, and we were invaded by all these big Weeklings. What did Kopf do?”
“He died?” Alvis assumes.
“N-well, yes, but not there. What actually pursued was… I don’t know, something, something about him being some badass and his mentor status wasn’t just there for profit, though I still think that. And then this huge bear comes flying in behind me and Charlie, ready to slap us off a cliff! And then he jumped in front of us-”
“Then he died?”
“What? No, he blasted it off the topside. Sayonara.” She says. “And everything was defeated and good. We were all good, ready to head home… and then he saw some cake. ”
They can remember it clearly as day. It was cake on a stand in the middle of nowhere. Kopf ditched the kids and ran straight for it. “ Ooh, cake! Come on kids, there’s cake here- ”
And then an ax flew out of nowhere and sliced the man’s head clean off.
Charlie stood there traumatized. Sheri said with little care, “Yeah, that’s a fitting end for that guy.” And she walked away.
Kia burst out laughing, crying from how hard the story hit. Alvis gives little emotion and says, “That’s just sad.”
“I know, right?” Sheri points out. “Didn’t die of honor. Didn’t die of a heroic sacrifice. No establishment for a mentor's death. No. He died of cake. ” She snickers at her own statement. “And he wonders why no one takes him seriously?”
“And for the record, I already hated cake before that,” Charlie adds. “But you know…”
“Were you talking about me?” Kopf pops up out of nowhere and makes Charlie jump off his seat.
“No we weren’t, Ryan!” Sheri calls out. “Who gave you a ghost pin?!”
“I knew I was gonna die, then. That’s what the hike was for. So when I die, I don’t die.” Kopf says, laying on the table in between all of them. “It’s called being smart.”
Sheri hides her snicker with a fake cough. “Died of cake…”
“Did the cake taste good?” Kia asks.
“I don’t know sweet pink head, my throat was sliced in half,” Kopf answers, bopping her in the nose. “That’s kind of the downside of getting some ancient ghost pin from Glim. You don’t get to eat no more. But on the bright side, I can do this. ”
“Hm?” Fran looks up from her notebook in time to watch Kopf tap the side of his head. It comes off and he catches it in his hand near Fran.
The head, with no body, looks at Fran and greets, “Hello.”
“AAH-!” Fran slaps the head with the notebook. Or rather, she would, if it wasn’t phasing through the head.
“Well that’s just rude kiddo.” Kopf’s head says. “Wow. If I could slap this table, I would.”
Then he vanishes.
“Whoever gave that guy a ghost pin, but not Sershe, I want to sue.” Charlie says.
“Right? She was so much better.” Sheri mourns stoically.
Fran’s still freaking out. Alvis has to calm her down. Kia is looking around the table for Kopf. This leaves Charlie and Sheri to talk on their own. “Sheri, on the First Action Arc, when we’re out there, you want to come up with a plan to keep us together?”
“And Fran, right?” Sheri adds.
“Of course.” Charlie clarifies.
“You already cut me off of coffee, and we have to worry about Fran. When we’re gonna be split.” Sheri brings up. “We should come up with a team, people we can trust that can keep Fran safe as well.”
Kia’s body hits the bottom of the table. She says, “I found gum.”
“...and I don’t trust that one.”
“Well… how about Astrid? She’s relevant to the mission overall.” Charlie suggests.
“Sure?” Sheri is iffy on that side. “She doesn’t like Fran, but she’s not someone who does manslaughter… At least, I hope not. What about Miss Agatha Joyce?”
“What do you know about her?” Charlie asks.
“...that she’s not Astrid.”
Charlie slumps in his seat and finishes his breakfast. He says in hope, “I think the best course of action is to believe in Fran. I’m sure she can handle herself.”
“Of course.” Fran agrees, hearing that.
“ All Chosen One trainees, please meet at the front gate at this time. Bring your weapons. ”
With that, everyone makes their way over. Charlie has his shield and sword in hand. Alvis has his katanas. Kia has her bomb purse. AJ has a pale purple rifle. Astrid has her sword, and a little pouch on her belt. Sheri has no weapon, and only has her fists. Charlie tells her, “At some point, get a weapon.”
“At least I’m not hauling a big shield everywhere.” Sheri teases.
“Your face is not a shield.” Charlie argues.
Fran stumbles in the back to tie her shoes. She takes her ribbon and ties a massive bow in her hair. There’s so much ribbon that she has to make the ribbon big so the dangling ends don’t hit her feet. “Wait up, guys!” She tries to call out. The crowd is huge. “Charlie-!”
She trips over the end of her ribbon, crashing into the back of a massive bulky dude in bronze armor and an olive green belt scarf.
“Woah, hey kid.” He turns around, revealing his orange hair and olive eyes. He’s one of the largest people in the crowd.
“Ah, you’re not Charlie-!” Fran tries to step away from him.
“Wish, but no.” He says, looking away from her. “I would assume a tiny kid such as yourself wouldn’t be tripping over their own… hair thing? What even is that?”
“Uh… my weapon?” Fran tries to approach his rude response kindly.
He snickers. “That’s cute. Hey let me know when you need a knight to help you out. He’s got a real weapon.”
For example, he’s holding a massive ax. Cockily, he swings it at Fran, who ducks out of the way and falls back first on the ground.
“Or you could sneeze fire on my face, too.” He states as if it’s a nice gesture.
“Y-you know Astrid?” Fran stammers under her fear of that ax.
“She vented to me, and I put up with it as background noise.” He says. “Patrick got a good laugh, though. So congrats, you’re famous in the Brangus Knight Clan.”
“The…?” Fran doesn’t know what that is.
“ Fry Brangus. Leader.” He introduces. “Again, let me know if you need me to save you from screaming at a Weekling.”
“Fry, enough of this,” A smaller lankier guy with spiked blonde hair and blue eyes ushers. He’s in the same bronze armor as Fry, but his belt scarf is blue. Fran assumes that’s Patrick.
Fry backs off, with a lasting smirk at Fran on the ground. Fran stumbles to get up and rejoin the crowd. Hopefully, she doesn’t run into that guy too much.
“Charlie. Charlie!” Astrid is trying to push through the crowd to find him.
“Oh, there you are, Astrid.” Charlie takes her wrist to get her over to him.
Astrid has a chipper smile on her face today. “Hey, about last night…”
“It’s fine, we’re all good.” Charlie assures her.
“Really?” Astrid exhales in relief from his response. “Okay, thank you. I was worried I’d be an issue. Listen, I want to be of help to you, I really do, so hopefully I could redeem myself.”
“Of course, that’d be awesome.” Charlie says.
Astrid curtsies, “Of course, Sue.”
“Please, call me Charlie,” Charlie pleads.
“So what do you think? “ Astrid asks him. “You think it would be great if we teamed up?”
Charlie’s hesitant to answer. You’re the star. Give the people out there what they want to see in you.
“If you can keep up,” Charlie brushes off. “It’s rough out there.”
“I am not afraid to get my hands dirty,” Astrid claims.
Astrid turns away a bit and goes to her fiery place in her mind. On the inside, she’s unable to contain her excitement.
Yes! It’s all working out! Just think, Princess Astrid Vesta of Scoria paired up with The Invincible One, Charlie Sue! All of Hiro will be ecstatic! We'll be the most popular people! We'll be celebrities! Icons of the Universe! The greatest Chosen One to ever exist since Mary Sue will be fighting side by side with me, as a friend!! Nothing can stop me now-!
“Fran, over here.” Charlie finds her and pulls her over. Once again, she trips on her ribbon and crashes into Charlie’s arms.
“I’m sorry!” Fran whimpers. “A-are you Charlie this time?”
Charlie helps her on her feet. “Yes, it’s me. You’re all good.”
Astrid returns to reality and glares at Fran in spite.
Charlie says, “Is that your weapon? The bow in your hair?”
“Yeah…” Fran’s hair bow is her ribbon weapon.
“That is cute. And creative.” Charlie compliments.
“Thanks… Where’s Sheri?”
“At worst, she’s lost in the crowd talking to Priya. Best I hope is that she’s sane afterwards.” Charlie answers.
Oh not you again, Astrid thinks to herself, fire in her eyes.
“Hey, freak .” Astrid calls out.
“My name is Fran,” Fran says. Astrid ignores her.
“Every time you show up, something goes wrong, and you come here to disrespect this guy.” Astrid scolds.
“Huh?” Fran doesn’t get it.
“She’s not disrespecting me,” Charlie says.
“ Huh? ” Astrid mocks. She asks, “You know who you’re talking to, right?”
“Yeah.” Fran says. “Charlie and I have known each other for over a day now. We’re also living together.”
“Are you serious?” Astrid laughs, burying her face in her hand. “How stupid are you?”
“Uh… very?” Fran doesn’t know what else to say.
“He’s Charlie Sue. ” Astrid states.
Charlie steps back. This is it. This is where all of Fran’s friendliness goes away and she becomes another fangirl. This is the end of any interest in her-
“I know.” Fran says casually. “What’s your point?”
What?
She knew he was Charlie Sue the whole time? That’s not too surprising, but if she knew, why would she treat him like this?
“You knew he was a Sue the whole time, and you treat him like this ?!” Astrid exclaims. She’s surprised as well. “He’s related to Mary Sue.”
“Cool.” Fran says casually. Charlie and Astrid both look for any break in her tone. There’s none.
Astrid keeps trying to push it. “He’s going to be a new savior of all of Fate.”
Fran says, “So are all of us.”
Astrid says, “He won the Junior Destined Tournament in Myth three years in a row.”
Fran says, “Okay.”
Astrid says, “Top hero in Bridge.”
Fran says, “I met him there.”
Astrid says, “He was dubbed ‘The Invincible One’ by his graduation from Chosen Juniors.”
Fran says, “And you’re the Princess of Scoria, sounds the same.”
Astrid says, “His face is on the cover of every ad for Sweet Sunshine. The junk food restaurant.”
“ Why?! ” Charlie whines, his face flushed red in horror and embarrassment. “Why do you have to bring that up?”
“They only do that for cartoons,” Astrid defends. “You were the exception.”
“I was a live action cover!” Charlie shoots back.
Fran turns to Charlie and wonders, “You were a mascot for an entire restaurant brand?”
Charlie sighs, trying to calm down, but his face is still red. “Yeah… it was… how should I say it…? Cringe. ”
“I’ll say,” Astrid points out with a smile. She mocks, “ ‘The Invincible One as myself always knows perfection. We Chosen Ones never fight on an empty stomach, that’s why I always turn to Sweet Sunshine and their sweet protein deals.’ All with the stupidest smile over the most unhealthy looking biscuit. It was so cute.”
He leans over to Fran’s ear to whisper, “And between you and me, their food sucks. ”
“Oh…” Fran covers her mouth with her hands.
Charlie adds in the whisper, “I barfed every time after a commercial. It was only until a single gained pound that Mary Sue agreed to let me quit.”
Fran expresses, “I am so sorry that happened to you.”
“ Sorry? It was an act of fame !” Astrid shoots back at her. She points at Fran in her anger. “You ought to be disgraced !"
Fran puts her hands up. "What?! For-for what?"
"For being disrespectful to him!" Astrid exclaims. "You better treat this man like a king . Do you understand?!"
“Um…” Charlie’s about to speak up, but Astrid cuts him off.
She tries to take his hand and guide him away. “Sue, sir, I am so sorry you have to put up with this. You have my sympathy. Hey, maybe we should ditch this girl and talk more about that alliance-”
But Charlie backs away from her and towards Fran. He asks, “So… you knew I was a Sue… sorry, I-I should’ve told you, it was wrong for me to try and keep that, I just-”
“I just… we just met.” Fran states. “I don’t get it. Most I knew was that you were Sheri’s friend, and you saved me back at Bridge. I don’t see the issue… is there an issue?”
Charlie’s surprised. This is how she feels? She doesn’t care that he’s a Sue at all?
His face sheds a light shade of pink, and his shoulders loosen. “No… not really.”
Astrid, behind them, has her hair flickering. She’s caught in a wave of anger, confusion, and shock. They don’t pay attention to her stammering, "No matter how hard I try, no matter what I do to make the best impression, you always ruin it for me."
Jubilee and Mary Sue are standing by the front gate, eyeing the crowd of trainees.
“Before we all escort you to the First Action Arc, I wanted to hope you all had a good sleep,” Mary Sue begins. “You will be gone all day. You will be out there on the field all day. Please, for your own safety, take a moment to pray for Deus Ex Machina. ”
Most of the crowd put a palm on their foreheads as a prayer. “ Our savior in story be by name, our kingdom come, your will be done in Destiny as it is in death. Give us to stay in our daily armor, and forgive our peril as we protect those in such. And do not fail us or take our lives when likely, as we vanquish evil to place their wicked souls by your feet. By Destiny’s name, O Machina. ”
The whole time, Fran is mouthing it and going off of Charlie. AJ, an atheist, stands there in silence, refusing to do the prayer.
“Now, shall we proceed?” Mary Sue asks. She and Jubilee stand there.
Fran hugs Charlie’s side, asking, “We’re not walking?”
“Stay still.” Charlie tells her.
“Why?” Fran asks.
She gets her answer.
Mary Sue puts up her hand. It starts to glow white, as though she’s channeling power. Her fixed hair glows white and comes loose to fly around her head. His green eyes turn silver, and a white flame effect spews out of them. She uses her finger to draw a circle of light above her, which transitions to an even bigger magic circle below the entire crowd of Chosen Ones.
Everything around them fades to white sparkles, and wind blisters around them. Most of them are calm about the speeding spiraling wind and flashing white light. Fran is gasping in shock, holding back them becoming screams.
Soon, the wind starts to soothe, and the light starts to fade.
The courtyard of the palace is replaced with the edge of a woodland. They’re on a grass cliff with the view of a huge deep forest. Hiro is in view and quite a bit away. There’s a sparkling silver force field around the forest area that stretches for miles. There are silver squared devices placed across the edge of the cliff in a line.
“Chosen Ones, welcome to the Taiga of Trial.”
Fran raises her hand and says, “That’s not taiga, it’s temperate, taiga is a tree type-”
“ Okay, ” Jubilee cuts her off. “So, before we explain your mission, we should get you all sorted out on your springs.”
“Springs?” Fran realizes. “ You’re gonna throw us off a cliff?! ”
“Uh…” Fry is behind them. “You’ve done one of these before, right?”
“Well… my school didn’t.” Fran excuses, trying to brush him off. “Y-you’re helping, right?”
“Man can’t handle himself, he ain’t worth it,” Fry states as his belief.
“Brangus, hello,” Charlie turns around to change the subject and greet him.
“Sue,” He greets back. He asks, “She's yours?”
“No. She’s her own Chosen One.” Charlie defends. He gives a nod to Fran in encouragement. Fran looks away, but nods back.
“You wanna be a leader, Sue, you get them in shape,” Fry tells them.
“ Fry Brangus. ” Jubilee calls out.
Fry nods a farewell and walks over, taking his place on his launch pad.
“They really are throwing us off a cliff…” Fran mumbles. She’s stiff in stance.
Sheri gets back to them with the lesser crowd, immediately wrapping her arms around Fran. “Sheri…” Fran whines.
“Okay, how this works…” Sheri tries to talk to her. “Look me in the eye.” She does. “Those things launch us in the arena separately.”
“Separately?!” It’s not helping Fran’s panic. She hugs her sister tighter. “I don’t want to leave you…”
“Shh. It’s okay.” Sheri puts a hand through Fran’s hair to try and calm her down. “It’s going to be okay. We’re gonna come up with a plan, and you’re gonna do as I say, okay? You have your ribbons, right?”
“Yeah…” Fran says, referring to her bow.
“ Agatha Joyce. ”
“When you’re in the air, throw it at a tree, swing, slow your fall, and land on it.” Sheri instructs. “There’s a certain spot in the arena they’ll point out where we all need to go. We’ll look for you, but your target is to get to that.”
“ Sherilyn Rosuto. ”
Sheri looks over, and then back at her sister. “I have to go now. Be safe.”
Sheri lets go of Fran and walks to her spot. She repeats to Fran, “ Land on a tree, and meet me at the target spot. ”
She adds, “Charlie, she’s your responsibility too.”
“Don’t worry, we’ve got it.” Charlie assures her.
Fran and Charlie watch as more people get called up.
“ Kia Van-Lee. ”
“ Alvis Merchuino. ”
The two get on the ones next to each other. Alvis stands on his calmly, unphased by Kia’s excitement. “We’re doing this! We’re doing it!”
“Do not jump on the launch pads,” Jubilee tells her.
“Yes ma'am. Sorry.” Kia apologizes.
“ Astrid Vesta. ”
“ Patrick Ronald. ”
“ Charlie Sue. ”
Charlie parts from Fran and stands behind his launch pad. He stares at it in hesitation, unsure what to make of it. Then he sees Mary Sue’s glare at him. Not a glare of any emotion read, a glare .
He steps on his launch pad, adjusting his weight to balance on the wobbly spring. He takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He knows he’ll be okay, he always is, but there’s always some sort of nerve.
“ Francena Rosuto. ”
Fran stands there, not hearing the command. She’s about to get thrown into a forest arena full of Weeklings. Land on a tree, and meet me at the target spot. Land on a tree, and meet me at the target spot. Land on a tree, and meet me at the target spot.
“ Francena Rosuto, ” Jubilee repeats.
Fran winces, scared out of her mind. The others are giving judging looks. Some looks are of worry if she’s okay, and other looks are of judgment.
Charlie notices this, and he’s the one to speak up. “Fran. If you want my advice, you don’t hang on the cliff, you jump right off. Only then can you catch yourself and save yourself. You can hold your own, kid. You’re capable. And you’re brave. But you have to take the first jump.”
Fran looks up at him. He’s offering a hand. He assures her, “You can do this.”
Fran slowly walks to her spot now that everyone’s watching. She buries her face in her hoodie. She brushes off Charlie’s hand and steps on the launch pad herself, and she wobbles a little from her trembling feet.
They’re all stuck there as Jubilee calls out positions for the remainder of the trainees. From Charlie’s view, Fran is stiff and staring down the height of the drop. His other side has Pat Ron, Fry’s destined sidekick, hunched over and fixing his belt. Sidekick or not, they’re all on an even playing field. His own sidekick, Sheri, is far away and not in Charlie’s view. He can’t see AJ or Fry, either. Astrid is in his view, and she leans over to give him a smile of encouragement. She’s confident about this.
Sooner than he wishes it to take, everyone’s all set and ready.
“Okay, can I have your attention please.” Mary Sue announces, standing in front of the row. “Welcome to the First Action Arc. This is a test of your power and skill as a Chosen One against the premade Weeklings.”
“Pre-made?” Fran wonders.
Charlie tells her, “They’re holograms by the arena.”
“Thank you Charlie,” Jubilee says, holding up her Gram. With a swipe, she shows a tiny hologram of a monkey Weekling that roars at them. It’s clearly a hologram, as the ink black skin is replaced by a silver glitch texture. “They’re not real Weeklings, but their nature, traits, and attack patterns are real ones. The difference is the more… fatal elements of their blows are kept out in the form of a simulation termination.”
“So we aren’t gonna die.” Fran assumes.
“If you’re a Chosen One, definitely not.” Jubilee answers. “Anyone else… we’ll find your body.”
“What?!” Fran tries to hold back that gasp, making it come off as a meek and silent cry.
This is no place for Dark Lords or Averages.
Mary Sue continues. “Chosen Ones are capable of things no other kind of humanity is. They are saviors. They are powerful. They are strong. This test is for us to see what kind of training you will be put through, and thus your schedule going forward. After you get launched into a cliffhanger and arrive in the arena, your objective is to find a ring of stones hidden in the arena. There will be ancient treasure, macguffins , that will be waiting for you. That’s your ticket out of the test. Grab one, and return to this cliff with it on your person. There will be a transportation pad at the bottom that will take you back here, but only if you have a macguffin.”
“Do we keep it?” Kia asks.
Jubilee’s hesitant to answer, but she does. “Yes.”
“Yay!” Kia cheers, starting to jump in place on the pad again.
Mary Sue gives a brief glare at Charlie. There’s something she’s keeping out about this, and Charlie’s the only one who knows about it.
What will that mean for the others?
He doesn’t know, but his heart is pounding.
“Let’s get started!” Mary Sue announces. “Positions, everyone. Good luck!”
Everyone gets in position to be launched. AJ is crouched with her legs spread and her hands on the pad. Kia is still jumping in place. Astrid gets in position and fixes her feet placement. Everyone else besides Charlie and Fran get out their weapons.
Charlie, hesitantly, gets out his shield to put in front of him, and his sword out behind his back. Fran is struggling to find out her position, deciding on a running one.
“Are you ready to begin your stories?!” Jubilee asks them.
“ YES MA'AM! ”
Jubilee holds out a whistle. “ The First Action Arc begins in THREE. TWO. ”
The whistle is blown.
One by one, going from the end of the row down, the launch pads start firing people into the air and out of sight.
Charlie watches as familiar faces start to get launched.
Fry gets launched.
AJ gets launched.
Sheri puts on her headphones, and a pair of sunglasses. Then she gets launched.
You’re fine, Charlie thinks to himself. You will be fine. You always are.
“ Whee!! ” Kia squeals as she gets launched.
Alvis gets launched a second later.
You’re going to find Sheri. You’re going to find Fran. You’re going to find that Weekling and slay it as soon as possible. You will get out there and begin your training towards your Destiny. Your life.
Astrid gets launched.
Pat Ron gets launched.
No matter what, you don’t stop fighting until you give them exactly what they want to see.
The air shifts against him. He’s flung off the ground and into the air faster than he can process.
“Oh no-!” Fran forgets to take out her ribbon. It doesn’t matter, she’s launched as well, screaming with no words.
Mary Sue and Jubilee watch as everyone gets launched off the cliff and fly into the abyss of the arena. Jubilee admits, “I feel like I should say something about the cliffhanger, but I think I’m gonna get cut off-”