Mike and Ellie were talking and making each other laugh when we came to another fork in the road. “ Which way?” Mike said with great concern.  “Maybe left?” Ellie asked. Just then a low rumbling sound accrued. A car pulled up and stopped with a jerk. The window rolled down to reveal an old man. He had long white hair and a white beard. His eyes were kind and so dark that you could get lost in them. “Hello! Why are you youngsters out here? Come on. Get in.” He said with a kind voice, but behind it was the sound of concern and urgency. There was no hesitation between Ellie and Mike and jumped into the car. The cushions were warm and soft. The old man turned the car around and drove at high speed. “Sir? What is your name?” Ellie asked cautiously. “My name is Merriam, young lady. What may be your names?”

“I’m Ellie.”

“And I’m Mike.”

“Nice to meet you both. Where are your parents?” 

“Mine died in a fire.”

“Oh! I’m sorry to hear that! That was really random, but anyways, what about you Mike?”

“I’m trying to find mine. I ran away.”

“Well, let's try and find them.” Merriam said with a wry smile. They drove on and soon both Ellie and Mike fell asleep. 

“Hello? Mike? Can you hear me?” Mike woke up with a start “HELLO?!”

The car swerved and Ellie screamed.

Merriam stopped the car with a jerk and turned around. He looked at him. Merriam didn’t say anything, he didn’t need to, his eyes said it all. “Someone was calling me. I don’t know if that was a dream! It-it-it felt so real!” Ellie relaxed from her position by the window and sighed a sigh of relief, “Wow! All that screaming just for a dream?! What a laugh!” She said trying to help, but everyone else in the car just rolled their eyes and laughed sarcastically.

“Mr. Merriam?”

“Please call me M.”

“Ok. M? I know I shouldn’t ask because you have already helped a great deal, but how much longer? May we stop and get food somewhere?”

“Of course, you aren’t a bother, in fact I’m glad I found you.”

“Why?” Mike asked with confusion in his voice, but there was no answer. They continued in silence except the womble of the tires on the road going 60 MPH. 

They soon came to a small city and the smell of McDonald's filled their noses. M turned into the drive through as if he read their mind. He ordered 3 big Macs with large fries and drinks. They ate with content and thanked Merriam. They didn’t say thank you, but Merriam saw the thanks on their ketchup and mustard with pickled faces, and knew that they were thankful.

They soon dozed back off to sleep and awoke when the car jerked to a stop.  M got out of the car and opened the back door with a smile. “Come on. You are going to stay with a friend of mine. He is about your age.” Just then a boy came out who looked about their age, with brown hair and icy blue eyes just like Ellie’s. “Hi! I’m Will.”

“It’s nice to meet you Will, I’m Mike and this is Ellie.” Mike said and kicked Ellie to keep her from staring. Ellie snapped out of her trance and smiled a warm smile. “Nice to meet you also.” 

Will smiled back and Mike thought Ellie was about to faint. She made a strange noise and then asked, “Are we going to stay here?” 

“Yes. Why don’t you all come in? I put tea on the stove just before you all arrived.” Will said. “No, thank you Will. I need to go home and deal with a matter.” M said as if he expected Will to know what he was talking about. “Ok. Good luck!” Will said. 

“Would you like to come in now?” 

“Oh yes please!” Ellie said without Mike having to kick her. They went in and the aroma of cookies in the oven and tea on the stove filled their noses. Will must have heard their stomachs growl because he handed them each a fresh cup of tea and a cookie and showed them to the couch. “Thanks Will.” Ellie said in a small whisper as Will put a blanket around each of them and asked, “Where have you lived all this time?”

“In the woods.” Mike said as if it were nothing. Will smiled and laughed along with them. 

Mike and Ellie were asleep as Will was waking up. He snuck out of his window, bundled in coats. It was a nice morning, the only sound was the sound of his feet crunching in the freshly fallen snow. The light blinded him for an instant and when his vision cleared, he saw that he had arrived at the river where he saved his sister. He had a large family, but they all moved out and his parents had left the house to him, the 7th Son of the 7th Son. Little did he know that someone at home had suspicions of their own… 

Mike woke first to a door closing. He knew something was up. He got up and looked around for Will. “Will?” Nothing. “Mike, what are you doing? Where’s Will?” Mike felt his face go red and hot. He got angry and could not help it. “I DON’T KNOW!!!! WHY?! WHY WOULD I KNOW?! I HAVE WORKED SO HARD NOT TO BUST OUT, BUT YOU MAKE IT IMPO-” Ellie hated him already. “Fine. Don’t talk to me then.” She said almost in a whisper and ran to a different room with tears in her eyes. Mike immediately felt terrible. Did he just yell at his best friend? He had to make it up. 

******

“But please! I need to talk to you!” Mike said, but Ellie never listened to him. She kept on looking down at her biscuits and munching away like Mike didn’t exist. “Fine! If you won't look up, then I’ll just say it now.” Ellie heard this, it was obvious. She walked away and put away her dish after washing it. On her way upstairs she ran into M. “Oh! Sorry! I didn’t mean to run into you! Do you know where Will is?” Ellie asked. “Yes, I asked him to run down to the river and then to the market. Did you need something?”  M asked with confusion. “No.” Ellie stalked off and shut the door to a random room that must have been a brothers because it smelled like a wet dog. Ellie marched right out of that room to the next and smelled it just to be sure and walk right in.  Peppermints and roses. The smell was wonderful. Apparently Will, even though he was only 14 like Mike and herself, was able to keep everything his family had left, but he lived alone. She looked around and found some makeup to sample. Meanwhile…

“What’s up with her?” Merriam asked. 

“Well. She asked me about Will and I blew up.” Mike said with a giant eye roll.

“Oh dear. Did you want to find Will? He is down by that river over there..” He said, pointing to the east.

“Thanks! I’ll see you later!” Mike said and ran outside to see if he could find the river that Will supposedly had gone to. 

                          ******************

As he came up on the river, Mike smiled. The mist gently brushed his face, and the warmth of the morning sun gleaming beautifully like a large sunflower looking down, soaking into his skin, but as he looked around there was no Will in sight. Mike asked around if anyone had seen him, but no one did. Mike started getting restless by the time he got to the last person. The man smiled after Mike gave the description. “Is he lost?” He said

“No sir.”

“Good. I think I saw someone who sounds like that walking to the market.”

“Thank you sir.”

“Please, call me John.”

“Ok. Thank you, John.”

“No trouble.”  Mike walked away towards the  colorful market. ‘That guy was very nice.’ He thought. Little did he know that would not be the last time he saw him.

*************

Mike arrived at the market. It was a bright place, with banners, and music. ‘I wonder what kind of money they use here?’ Mike thought. He had around $50 in his allowance and wanted to get a souvenir. He had saved that money for food, but for now he could find some work so Will didn’t have to buy food for them. He kept on looking and asking people if they had seen him. 

****************

Will was buying bread in the Welsh village. The colors seemed to bounce off of the canopies.  *“Diolch Syr.” He said to the baker.  He turned to see Mike. “Oh! Hi Mike! You gave me a start.” He said with a hint of nervousness. “I can tell.” Mike said with a laugh used to cover what Will thought was suspiciousness. They walked back together in silence until John came up and said, “Oh! You already know each other.” 

“Yep! Mike and his friend came up yesterday.” That got Mike’s attention. “Yep, and no offense, it’s none of your business, Will. It’s my information to give, not yours.” He said with a huff that made even John wince. “I don’t need to know anything. You’re good.” John asked. Mike nodded. ‘At least someone gets it.’ He thought. John bid them farewell and went on his way. Will and Mike continued to walk together back to the house. “Mike, could you please tell me what you have gone through? I just want to help.” Will siad, trying to get Mike to listen. “NO! It’s none of your business like I said.” Mike said with anger and frustration. Will smiled. “Fine, I’ll ask Ellie. She will tell me.”
“STOP! WHY DO YOU WANT TO KNOW?!”

“Because I want to help. It’s fine. I’ll just ask Ellie.” Will reasoned.

“Ask me what?” Ellie asked. They had arrived at the house and Ellie was sitting on the front porch. “I was wondering if you would tell me what you guys went through?” Will asked. Mike shook his head hoping Ellie wouldn’t tell him everything. “Sure!” Ellie said. Mike couldn’t take it anymore. Everyone was against him. He burst into tears and ran back into the snow. 

Ellie didn't understand what was so bad, but she thought she wouldn’t tell Will since Mike didn’t want Will to know. It was nothing bad. Mike just didn’t want his past in the hands of Will. She smiled at Will. His eyes are ice cold blue like hers. They locked eyes and Ellie thought time had stopped. Ellie looked away, “Will, you know he is getting suspicious.”
“I know.”

“What happens when he finds out who we are?”

“I don’t know, but he doesn’t remember anything.”

“He did say that he didn’t remember why he had run away.”

“Good. So tell me what happened and what all he told you”

“Ok.”

***********************

The air is cold and brisk as Mike stepped out into the bright outdoors. The snow was blinding from the sunlight just like it was that morning, but with a little less snow. He trudged along with worry. ‘What if they are talking about me?’ The sound of his voice in his head were spinning. Mike shook the thought out and continued down the path to the village. He just needed some fresh air. He walked on the snow cover path as he listened to the birds singing a beautiful song that had a tinge of urgency. Mike didn’t notice the way the birds were singing until the chirping came to a heartbreaking stop. Mike heard a nerve wracking crunch. “Who’s there?”

“Mike?”
“Ho-how d-do you know m-my n-n-name.”

“Mike!”
“What d-do you want?” The last thing Mike saw was a black figure emerging from the trees and a stunning silver eye accompanied by a deep brown eye before his vision went black.

“Mike. Can you hear me?” 

“Shhh! You’ll wake him up if he really can hear us!”

“Good! I need him awake!”

“Jake! No you don’t! I bet he doesn’t even know he is our cousin.”

“But he might.”

“But he probably doesn’t.”

“But he might.”

“We are not going through this!”

“Ok. I’ll wake him up then!”

“N-!” The voices in Mike’s head were cut off with an ear splitting “SMACK!” There was no feeling, but the sound made up for it. Mike’s eyes jerked open and the darkness made his eyes hurt. It took him a little while for his eyes to adjust. When he could finally see he realized he was hanging from his ankles. “Now you’ve done it!”
“Shut up Jackson!”

“No you!” Mike guessed the other boy was Jake. 

Both of the boys looked about Mike’s age and looked similar. Short, choppy, black hair and brown eyes that almost looked black. Jackson was slightly taller than Jake, but Jake looked a lot stronger. “Both of you shut up.” A girl who looked about their age walked in. She had black, frizzy, and curly hair and she looked short and adorable, but when she looked at Mike, she looked as intimidating as a king cobra about to strike. Her eyes were dark brown with a glint in her eye. “You must be Mike. I’m Aly. Jazz and Tessa said that you were coming.” 

“Did someone say my name?”

“And mine?” 2 girls walked out from the darkness. “My name is Tessa and I guess you are Mike?” Mike nodded. Tessa was about as tall as Jackson and had silver eyes. She looked at the other girl who he assumed was Jazz and looked back. Mike was astonished, Tessa’s eyes were now green. She wore a hoodie that was white that looked like sea foam green fire came from the bottom. Unlike Tessa, Jazz had brown eyes and a face full of makeup. Her complexion was pale and she had freckles all over her face. “Mike. How are you?” 

“How do you know my name?” He tried to not sound completely terrified, but his voice started cracking. “See? He doesn’t know!” Jackson said. “You don’t know that! Mike, did you know that you are our cousin?” 

“Shut UP!!!! Now he obviously knows!” Mike was perplexed as he watched the twins fight. His sight started to blur and his head got dizzy. I’m their cousin? The thought swarmed his head as his vision went black once again.

*************************

Mike woke up in a soft bed. There was a smell of something sweet, but with a slight sour smell. He stood up as the door opened. It was Jackson, carrying fresh clean clothes. “Hey. Sorry you ended up blacking out because you were hanging from your ankles.” 

“Um… It’s fine?”

“Well, I wanted to bring you these.” 

“Oh. ok. Uh. Does anyone know I’m gone?”
“Oh. Heh. Um… No one knows you exist right now. So here are the facts now. You never ran away, you never met that girl or those people, and you never even existed. When your training is over, then you go back and then everyone will remember you, but right now they don’t know you exist.” Mike was stunned. It was a lot to take in. “Oh. So what about M.? Jackson's face went pale. “Uh. I didn’t realize you knew him. We thought you didn’t know anything about this stuff.”

“What ‘stuff’?”

“Um. I’ll explain after you eat. It’s lunch time anyways, and you’ll meet some people who can explain this better than me.” Jackson left so Mike could change. The clothes were soft, but cool in the heat of the room. Mike left the room in the blue and teal clothes and followed Jackson to the place where they would eat. “Ok, so before we go in, this is called The Den. Everyone loves the food here, but I suggest going to Ian’s Cafe. It’s the best and Ian is awesome.”
“Ok?” Jackson opened the door and so many colors flooded into the dull and dark hallway. 

Mike’s eyes grew wide as he looked around the lightly colored room. There were pastel blues and greens, bright yellows and oranges. He loved the colors, but most of all, he loved the smell of the food. He smelled sweet pumpkin pie that had just the right amount of spice. Chicken, beef, shrimp, and other meats drifted from one side of the room to the other. Jackson led Mike through the mass of people. “Here we are! This is Ian’s Cafe!”

“Umm… Where?” Mike didn’t see anything. He looked around but only saw people. In fact, he didn’t see any food. Jackson walked up to the wall in front of them and knocked 5 times. The wall opened up to reveal a boy with bark brown hair smiling. “Hi! Welcome to Ian’s Cafe and I’m Ian, how can I help you?”

“Could I get a cheeseburger and Fries?” Mike asked without thinking about the wall opening up. He was too hungry to think about it. Ian nodded and walked away and came back with one of those foam to-go boxes. “Thanks!” The smell drifted up from the box and Mike couldn’t wait. Without thinking, he opened the box up and picked up the burger, well, at least that’s what Mike thought it was. He looked at the shroom in disgust. “He new?” Ian asked.

“Yep.”

“Figured. What’s his name?”
“Mike.”

“Yo, Mike!”

“ARE YOU TRYING TO  POISON ME?!” Mike yelled. The whole Den went quiet for a second and then they continued their conversations.

“No! I thought my cooking was great, but you not liking it means nothing right now because you haven't even tried it.”

“WHAT?! Hold on. You want me to eat this-this-this mUsHrOoM?!”

“Look, I made it to where it tastes like a burger.”
“Well, fine.” Mike took a bite of the slimy mushroom. Mike looked up. “Well, it tastes like it, but did you get my fries?”

“Oh! Sorry. I’ll be right back.” Ian walked away again and came back with a small bag with a sparkly sticker saying “Ian’s Cafe  Come Again!” Ian smiled and handed Mike the bag. Mike opened it up. “They-They and actually french fries!!!”
“Uh, duh! We may live underground, but we are NOT barbarians.” Ian stopped off, but turned around. “Oh, save me a spot beside you.”
“O-ok?” Mike was confused. He thought Ian was mad, but he guessed he wasn’t. Jackson and Mike found a vacant table and brushed off the mushroom. When they sat down Aly came over with Jackson’s brother and someone new. She had short and choppy light brown hair and brown eyes. “Hi! I’m Mya. You are Mike I presume?” 

“Yeah.” Mike smiled. Tessa and Jazz soon came over. “Hi. I see you have already gotten used to the food.” Tessa said.
“Yep! I was worried you guys were trying to poison me.”
“What?! No! We are trying to protect you from those people!” Jazz said before Tessa slapped her.

“Let's try to explain slower tha-”
“What?! Mr. M took me and my... friend… in. I know Will is sort of suspicious, but I thought it was jus-”

“Will, M, He knows them. Even Ellie.” Tessa said to Jazz.

“What is happening?”

“Mike, you need to listen to me. They are not the good guys.”
“What? No you are lying!”

“No, they are trying to get you. You have a power that no one knows how to use, but you.”

“Jackson is your cousin and he doesn’t even know.” Jazz said.

“You must never go back. They have tried too many times to get you.”

“No! You're lying!.”

“Shhh. You're making a scene.” Tessa scolded. 

“Follow us.” Jazz said. Everyone at the table got up and left the gleaming room behind them as they walked into the dull hallway.

***********************************

They walked for what seemed like forever and then they came up on a door. Tessa opened the door and walked in. Her eyes were such a deep blue, you could get lost in them. They entered the dreary room and Mike stood in awe. There was a giant statue of Jake and Mike together looking at the west side of the room. A gleaming pillar stood there.  Jazz walked to the wall and tapped it 1-2-3 times. Tessa’s eyes turned a bright yellow as she chanted something in welsh, “Agorwch y wal a gadewch inni fynd trwy un gwych. Gadewch inni basio. Mae gennym gefnder seithfed mab y seithfed mab.”

Jackson joined in and chanted, “Fi yw seithfed mab seithfed mab y seithfed mab. Mae gen i ymwelwyr sydd angen eich gweld chi felly gadewch inni basio.”

Aly walked over to Mike with a shining blade. “Mike, we needed a sacrifice, that’s why you are here.” Mike was terrified. He didn’t know what to do. So they are the bad guys?! I thought they were my friends! It was all a trick!! All the thought roamed his head, but they came to a halting stop when Aly said, “HAHAHAHAHA. You should have seen your face! You were all like Ahhhhh and I was like, ‘we need a sacrifice’ hahahaha.”

“SHUT UP! Aly, you know better than to play pranks in her presence.” Jazz scolded.

“Yes, sorry.” Tessa and Jackson finished the chant and the room shook and the walls parted. They walked into a strange room with shining blue and green. 

“Why are you here?” A loud booming voice called out. 

“You have a visitor!” Tessa and Jazz called.

Black eyes peeked around the pillar. A small face accompanied by long brown hair. “Emily. This is Mi-”

“I know his name.” Her voice was no longer booming. She hopped down from the pillar she was hiding behind. “Hi. I’m Emily. Sorry about the voice, my dad says it’s a precaution, but I think he just likes sounding powerful.”

“Ha! I know that feeling. Somehow. I don’t know when I was powerful, but I remember liking the feeling.” Tessa and Emily exchanged worried glances. “Let's go and sit down.” 

“Ok?” Mike and the others went to go sit down on toadstools that were yellow with red and blue spots. They were as comfy as could be. “Ok. So you are from here.” Tessa began. When she said it, she knew she should have started with something easier. “WHAT?!” Mike was petrified. Ian was trying to calm him down as Jazz continued, “You came here and called it your own. You held the stone.” Jackson handed Tessa a blue stone that was strangely glowing. 

“It is called the Downfall.” 

“Wait, Ellie said something about a fire and her falling into a hole and it saved her life. She called it the downfall.”

“DID SHE SAY ANYTHING ELSE?!” Jazz was amazed that Ellie told Mike so much. Tessa’s face was blank, and Aly was, well, staring down Mike?

“What’s with the death stare?”

“Oh nothing, just trying to figure out how to kill you in your sleep.” This was no news to Mike. He had figured it was going to happen, but what was new to him was that he was from here, he was the leader, and Ellie and his friends were evil?! 

“Ok, look, there are 2 people who can help you find your powers.” Jazz explained. 

“Yep, Peirce and Allie.” 

“Jazz, why are you so straight forward?!” Mike asked. Tessa and Jazz looked to the horizon/wall and said together, “Simple and straight forward is what we need to do.”
“What?”

“It’s something we learned a long time ago in our past and now it’s a habit.” Tessa explained. 

“Um, should I be worried about this ‘past’?”

“Nah.”

“Ahem? Can I please explain more now?” Emily was obviously upset. 

“Sure…” Tessa said. 

“Ian will take you down the hall. They are room 208 in the earth hall.”

“I thought it was all earth.”

“Shut up.”

“Not nice.”

“We have water, air, fire, and earth. Earth is the biggest. Happy now?”

“Yep.”

“Let's go Mike.” Ian said. They walked down a dark hall and arrived at 208. Ian knocked on the door. It had flowing carvings and beautiful architecture. “What do you want?” A girl said. She had dirty blonde hair and bluish colored eyes. 

“Is Pierce and Allie here?”

“Who?”

“This is their room isn’t it? 208 on the earth hall.” Mike asked.

“This is the air hall. Come on, I’ll bring you guys to the earth hall. The door was a give away.” They walked down winding paths. 

“Here we are. By the way, I’m Eliza. You must be Mike.”

“Yep.” They were in front of a door that looked like a boulder. Before Mike even knocked, the boulder moved away. A boy about their age walked out. He had super dark brown hair that was long and brown eyes. A girl the same age was next door and she had light brown hair and brown eyes. “I’m Allie and that’s Peirce.”

“Ok? Your friends said that you could explain t-”

“Shhh. You are not supposed to talk about it. We can’t tell you anything, but while you walk around here, you should find something that will jog your memory.” Peirce explained. 

“Ok?” Mike was perplexed and puzzled. He didn’t understand, but they seemed like they knew what they were talking about.  Mike started walking around Pierce's room. It was dark, but with lighter greens and other shades of blues. There were paintings of him and the twins, but he didnt know why. Pictures of Tessa and Jazz hung across the walls and above the bed. They seemed important,  they seemed like they had to be there for a reason. Mike looked behind the painting above the bed and found a little safe door. Peirce opened it up and found a box. Mike opened this up and by now, he was anxious.  Inside was a single jelly bean. With that, everything flooded back to him. He was the leader of the cave and founded the place. He invented the things there and he was a mage. He defeated many villains, but M and Ellie erased his memories and sent him back to the surface and made him normal so they could get to him before the clan did. He could perform many spells and even one that no one else knew how to do. He could will fire to burn or will things to do something, anything. It just depended on the amount of power he needed to make it happen. He looked at the jellybean. He didn't know how the jellybean gave back his memories.  He willed the jellybean to turn from red to blue. The jellybean stayed in place and didn't change. Mike willed harder and it changed to a vibrant baby blue. Ian smiled and Aly rolled her eyes. "Finally," she said. She was tired of all of the dramatic stuff, but still smiled a bit. Tessa and Jazz entered alongside Allie. "Great job. We felt the pressure of the memories leave us and came rushing over. We split the memories evenly, but for some of the clan, they were too much to take in so we took them. You went through so much" Tessa explained. "I see that now." They smiled at each other and walked off.   

******************

“MIKE!!!” Mike’s eyes snapped open. The night before’s events were still a bit hazy. “Mike.” 

“Why does everyone have to know my name?” Mike thought. He looked up and saw 2 boys and a girl standing in front of him. The girl had long black hair and was about his height. “Hi! My name is Zoe.” She said with a smile. Mike looked over to the boys. They were both the same height as the girl. “I’m Brendan!” One of the boys said. He had short, choppy, dark brown hair with a great, big smile. He looked at the boy beside him and then back at Mike. “I’m Alexander.” the other boy said. He had light brown hair and a smile a bit brighter than the rest. They all looked happy.  “And why are you guys here?” Mike just woke up and he regretted it. He just wanted to sleep. “We were sent by Truck to get you.” Zoe said.

“Who?”

“Oh, sorry. I call Tessa, Truck.”

“Oh. Well, tell her I’m going back to bed.” Mike got back under the covers and closed his eyes. The trio looked at eachother and rolled their eyes. They all looked at Mike. “She said you would say that.” Alexander said. The trio looked at eachother again and nodded. They dragged Mike out of the bed while Mike said, “Noooo! I just want to sleep!” Mike was still yelling when he hit the floor. Tessa entered the room with Jazz not far behind. “Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty. It’s 2 in the afternoon. GET UP!” Tessa said. She was smiling all the while. “We need to strategize what we are going to do now that we know the location of M, Ellie, and Will. Oh, and we figured out that they go by ‘The Dragons’. Not obvious at all huh?”

“Yeahhh.” Mike said as he was getting up. 

“Oh and Aly and the rest of the guys are down stairs in The Den waiting on you.” 

“Oh. Is that so?”

“Yeah. Sooooo... GET UP AND GT DRESSED! We will leave.” She walked off behind Alexander, Brendan, Jazz and Zoe, but stopped before she left. Mike was about to get back into bed when she said, “Do. NOT. GET BACK IN BED!! U HERE ME?!”

“Ok, ok.” Tessa is slightly bipolar and she knows it. She walked off all happy and such to go join the rest of the group waiting in The Den. Mike got up and got dressed. He walked out of the room and down the spooky stairs in the grim light. He didn’t even flinch when he opened the door to The Den because he had seen it so many times. He walked over to the table here his friends and the people who woke him up were. “Miike.” Ian said this as if Mike was a kitten. Ian pushed a box of fries over to him. Mike gratefully accepted and ate. “Soooo, Miiike” 

“Oh no. What does he want now.” Mike thought. Ian looked at the rest of the people and they all nodded their heads at the same time. “We all wanted to know if you were willing to take over your rightful spot. I know, I know. It sounds cheesy, but I don’t know how to say it in a non-cheesy way.”

“Uhhh. I’m not ready to. I would need help.”

“We could find someone or like 2 people to help you!” Jazz put in.

“Yeah, but how?” There was a beat of silence until Mike got an idea.

“What about a contest?”

Everyone just stared at him. Mike got impatient and said,

“I’m glad you asked. The first person, or people if they want to partner up, to complete something gets to help me. We could do like a scavenger hunt with like 3 things they have to find that are hard to find and the first person, or group of 2 to find me and give them to me, get to help me.” Everyone sat there for a second in silence. “Ok.” Tessa said. 

“Works for us” The twins said.

“Sure, why not.” The trio said. They acted and talked like the twins, but not siblings. So they created the scavenger hunt and many people signed up, and by many, I mean 5. 3 of the people were alone, but Brendan and Alexander stayed together. Soon enough, a day had passed and the game ended. Alexander and Brendan had worked together and had won. It was sort of ironic, but Mike was glad that it was them and not some random person. Work started off great for the 3. Tessa explained the way things worked and what people to watch out for. She taught Alexander to navigate secret halls that only the 4 of them could go down. She explained to Brendan who were spies and how you know they are so they can go outside. She taught all of them the simple things that most people who were leaders knew. “Talk to me, Aly, or Jazz if you guys see something or have questions. I would rather you guys talk to me first, but if I’m not here, talk to Aly and Jazz. Don’t share ANYTHING you know with ANYONE. Don’t talk about it in The Den or around others. Got it?”

“Got it.” Mike said with a simple smile.

“Aye yi captain” Brendan said with a solute. Tessa rolled her eyes at this. 

“We got this!” Alexander said. Tessa walked out of the room triumphantly with no doubt in her mind that they would mess something up in the next week or so. 

The first 2 days were utter chaos. The boys allowed food fights, T.V., and people who didn’t need to go out, to leave. Tessa got them in shape and figured out how people could have fun, but not have chaos. Every Friday, there would be a game of some sort. Anyone could participate and after, they would do a dance that everyone knew, or so Mike thought. On the first Friday, June 12th, when it was time to start the dance, Tessa wanted to sit and watch. The dance started, but Tessa was distracted with a game of chess. When the game had ended, the dance was still not over, so she sat down to watch it. Aly and Mike were partners, Alexander and Brendan were partners (Of course), and a lot of others participated. Mike got tired of doing the dance and didn’t want to go down the line hooking arms with everyone and dancing briefly with each one, so he asked Tessa to fill in for him. “No! I don’t know how to do this dance. I never learned how to.” 

“It’s easy, you will pick it up.” And with that, Mike just left his partner. “Come back! It’s our turn!” Aly said. Tessa didn’t notice Aly said that, so she rushed in. Aly tried to show her what to do, but Tessa didn’t understand. She was still slightly shocked that she had made the choice to join. She was about to leave when one of the members came up and explained. “You and your partner link your left arm and walk in a small circle. Then, you go to the left and link arms with that person and do the same. Just continue that until you get to the end, and then everyone will make a bridge. You will run under it and then run back to the back. You, then, will be part of the line.” Tessa tried and soon got the hang of it. It was fun dancing with all of the different people. She got to the end and was out of breath, but she wasn’t done yet. Aly pulled her under the bridge everyone made and Tessa had to run through all of that.  She got back to the end of the line and smiled. She had done it. It turned out the rest was easy. The first part was dosey doe, then they would link arms and then get back in your line facing your partner and clap on beat until the people going down the line got to you and then you would link arms with them and do the same. This would continue until everyone had gone. Tessa smiled and laughed when Brendan and Alexander tossed candy back and forth. Tessa enjoyed this so much, and when it was over, she sat down and played uno with Brendan, Aly, Alexander, Zoe, and Nadia, a new girl. She had long brown hair and was beautiful. She had the sweetest voice and a pretty smile. Aly won and then Brendan was the runner up. The Den was dark in the night, it’s colors fading away for the night. It’s about 11 in the night at this point and Tessa and the 3 crazy, off task, and silly boys are getting ready to turn in for the night. “Good night you guys! Please keep out of mischief. I just want to sleep.” Brendan and Alexander looked at each other and smiled. “We won’t. Good night Tessa.” Mike said, rolling his eyes. Alexander and Brendan always seemed like they were going to do something. 

*********************

In the morning, Tessa woke up to a balloon popping. She jumped up and looked around. “What?” She looked around in astonishment. Her room was transformed into a seafoam dream. She thought she was dreaming as she looked around. Light green balloons floated around and Brendan, Mike, Aly, and Alexander were standing there. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY TESSA!” They all said at the same time. “Aww mann. Not again.” 

“I only did what they told me. I didn’t know it was your birthday until they told me.” Mike said innocently. “Get out so I can change.”

“Ok.” Aly said with a smile. Tessa got changed into some comfy pants and a hoodie. She opened her door to leave, but was surprised to see blue and green streamers coming down over the seal of the door. She pushed them aside and went to the Den. As she walked in, the room went silent other than the few whispers. “Hey guys. Anyone know anything about those streamers on my door?”

“Nope.” Aly said, picking a piece of streamer out of her hair. “Hey! Breakfast is served.” Ian said, energetically walking over with a tray. Tessa looked at the food in front of her. Banana pancakes sat in front of her, syrup on the side and vanilla yogurt sitting beside it. “You did this? For me?”

“Yep, and for lunch you will have tomato basil soup. Oh, and dinner is greek salad (No feta because we all know you hate feta). Your dessert will be pumpkin spice macarons.”

“You don’t have to go to all that work.”

“It’s your birthday, right? June 13?”

“Yeah but-”

“Andddd those are your favorite foods.”

“Yes, but-”

“Then deal with it.”

“Fine.” Tessa said with a huff. She hated being babied, but deep down, she loved the fact that people cared enough to go to this trouble.  She ate her favorite breakfast and thanked everyone. “Oh! Me and Brendan have a surprise for you!” Alexander said. 

“Uh, oh.” Tessa was very worried about this. She followed Alexander and Brendan and the rest of the group to a door that should have led to a meeting room that no one used, but when they opened the door, she saw seafoam green and teal everywhere. Hamilton posters hung on the wall saying “Not throwing away my shot” and “What did I miss?”. She slowly entered the room and looked around. There was another door in the back of the room that led somewhere. “What does that lead to?” She said as she walked up. “Don’t go in there!” Alexander, Brendan, and Mike said. They seemed like they were hiding something. Tessa looked at their faces. Brendan seemed a bit worried about something while Alexander was flat out pale. Mike was the strangest, he was smiling. A grin so big across no one could copy it. “Yep, they are hiding something” Aly and the rest of the group seemed to know other than Tessa and Jazz. They looked at each other and shrugged. She hung out with everyone and had a good time for the rest of the day. Ian hung out too, bringing the food and then played games with them. Tessa had a great birthday, but at the end of the day she was still curious on why they did this and what was behind that door. She pulled Aly and the boys off to the side and asked, “Ok, who decided to do this and what is behind that door. It is killing me.” 

“I decided to do this, ok? And that’s just Alexander, Brendan, and my bedroom. It smells bad, but back to this. I heard it was your birthday and you guys never celebrate it, so I decided to start doing something for everyone, but just in our friend group.” Mike said.

“Mike, you don’t have to do this.”

“Yes, I do. At least I want to.”

“Me too.” Brendan said.

“Me three.” Alexander said.

“Us too.” The twins said. 

“Us to-”

“Guys, this is too cheesy.” Tessa said.

“Yeah it is.” Aly said. Everyone laughed and finished the game of uno Alexander was winning. At the end of the day, everyone crashed, exhausted, into their rooms. Aly's eyes slowly closed as she drifted off to sleep. Tessa couldn't sleep on the other hand, she tossed and turned. She finally gave up and just reread her favorite book, Reverie, for the 5th time. She had so many other favorite books, but this was her favorite. She got up after finishing again and slumped down to the Den. Entered the now cool Den and knocked on the wall. A kind man was revealed. He had short black hair and looked like an older version of Brendan. "Hey, welcome to the night shift." He said without looking. "Hey, Aiden." Tessa said with a big grin. "Oh. Tessa. Can't sleep again?" Tessa shook her head. "Here." He said as he handed her a box of her favorite fruits. Watermelon and mango. "Thanks! I appreciate it!" 

"Good. What was the book this time?"

"Reverie."

"Again? You know, I have some really good books if you want. "

"I’m good, thanks. Good night."

"Night." Tessa walked back to her room and pushed the streamers, still hanging on her door, off to the side. She sat down and opened another book. "One of us is Next” the coarse spine read. She had read it many times before. Tessa sat back and relaxed as she started reading the engaging book, again.

Mike had dreams all through the night. He tossed and turned. In the morning he woke up to the sound of crashing. He jumped out of bed to see the problem. Pictures were shattered on the cold, wooden floor, his dresser was smashed and clothes were spread around. His walls were no longer gray, but green. Tessa followed by Jazz, Brendan, Alexander, and Aly darted into the room. They stopped mid-run and took in the incident. “I don’t know what happened.” Mike said as hot tears streamed down his red face. A single sweat bead dripped down his face. “I didn’t think this would happen.” Tessa said as she started picking up a single sock and smoothing it out until there were no wrinkles . Jazz ran over to Tessa and pulled her away from the clothes covered in broken glass “Stop. You need to stop that habit.” 

“What habit?” Mike said. 

“When Tessa gets stressed, she cleans.” Alexander explained. 

“Oh.” Mike said. Tessa calmed down. A single drop of crimson dripped from her finger. She whipped it off on her blue hoodie. “Mike, follow me. The rest of you, get people to help clean this mess up.” Tessa said as she walked out of the room. Mike and Tessa walked at a swift pace. “Mike, what did you dream about?”

“Just me running away from something in the woods.” Tessa stopped with a jolt, making Mike run into her. Mike looked at her face and saw that she was pale. “Tessa? Is there something wrong?”

“Yes. Come. Now!” Tessa grabbed Mike's hand and ran to a new hallway. They entered a room. “I have some friends that can help you. Emmie, Claire,  and Kylie. I think you used your magic in your sleep, causing the mess.”

“Oh.” They rounded the corner and entered a room. It was broad and open with more pillars. It looked like the room they met Ellie in but there were no booming voices. A girl with glasses, brown and short hair walked over. “Who is this Tessa?” 

“Mike. Mike, Emmie. Emmie, Mike.”

“Hi Emmie.”

“Hi.” 2 other girls came over. “Hey.” one of them said. She had medium length pink hair. She wore an Alex Myers hoodie and smiled slightly. “I’m Kylie.” She said, “And I’m Claire. Thanks for introducing me, Emmie.” The other girl said. She had long brown hair and was very tall. “Guys, enough chit chat. Mike is having the problems we talked about earlier.”

“Oh.” The three of them said.

“Look, this is how this will work. You, Brendan, and Alexander will come here every other day and Tessa and Jazz will take over for the day. You will learn how to take care of your magic so people don’t know about it. When you are ready, we will move our practices above ground.” Emmie explained. 

“Why are Brendan and Alexander coming too?” Mike questioned. 

“Because they will help you keep up with what you need to do.” 

“Ok, when do I start?” 

“Tomorrow.” Kylie said

“Now leave. Let us know in the morning if something happens throughout the day or in the night.” Claire replied.

“Fine.” Mike said and with that he left and walked to The Den. 

*****************

The first week of Mike’s training went well. Emmie taught Brendan and Alexander what to do to help Mike. Mike learned how to control his powers to the point where he could go outside and practice hiding them, but still using them. At The Den on the Friday after the first week, Jazz and Tessa made an important announcement to the table. “Mike, it is time for you and a few of us to go undercover to spy on The Dragons. Once you go up there, act like you never left,  because they don’t remember you leaving. Me, Alexander, Brendan, Jazz, and Aly will lay low in the village. We already have a spy. I think you met him. John?” Tessa asked.

“Yes! He helped me out!” Mike exclaimed. He was surprised. He was wondering why the man had said that he would see him soon. 

“We leave tomorrow.” Jazz said. “No one knows what we look like, but still lay low, but don’t make it obvious.”

“Ok, ok. Good night then.”

“Good night.” Alexander said.

“Yeah ‘good night then’” Brendan said, mocking Mike. Tessa punched him in the side. “Ow!”

“That’s what you get! You are not always funny.” She said, She was smiling though because it was a bit funny. Alexander started laughing a bit, so Tessa punched him too. “Ow! What was that for?!”

“For encouraging Brendan to continue making the dumb jokes.” Alexander didn’t hear her though because Brendan was behind her acting like her. Alexander was trying to not laugh, but Tessa caught him. “What?” She turned around and saw Brendan standing there, mocking her. “GET TO BED!” She turned around and saw Alexander mocking her. “BOTH. OF. YOU!” They laughed and left for their rooms. The rest of the table was laughing so much at that point. “Go get some rest guys. We will need it in the morning.” She said with a laugh and a roll of her eyes as she walked away to her own room to turn in for the night.

***************

Aly slowly woke up as the light of her sun lamp shown down on her sleep lagged face. She got out of her bed, stretched and went over to brush her teeth. "I'm missing something. What is it? Is there something I need to do? … Nope." She thought with a shrug. She rinsed her mouth with the mineral tasting water before getting changed. She walked out her door still feeling like she had something to do today, but couldn’t place her finger on it. She opened the door to The Den and stopped mid-walk. The room was empty except Alexander, Brendan, Tessa, Jazz and Mike. They were all glaring at her. “What?” 

“You’re late. We were supposed to leave 2 hours ago.” Jazz explained. Alexander and Brendan were sitting there quietly and it was freaking Aly out. “You guys ok?”

“Yep.” Brendan said.

“Never better.” Alexander said. 

“They didn’t sleep last night. Nor did I, or anyone else.” Tessa explained. “I did! I slept great! I-” Mike kicked her and shook his head. Aly looked around and saw that everyone was glaring at her again. “Ok, sorry. If it makes you feel better, I forgot what we are doing today.” 

“Well good, because you aren't coming.” Tessa said. 

“What?!” 

“You will get too tempted to join the other side.”

“My past doesn’t matter. I ca-”

“Fine. Do whatever then.”

“Now I don’t want to.”

“That was the point. Goodbye, or come on.” Tessa said as she led the others to the door leading out. Aly walked off in a huff and decided it was better to play it safe. The others walked outside. The sun was blinding. Mike looked around and didn’t see snow like the last time. “You know welsh, right?” Mike asked Tessa. “Nope, but I will.” She replied, pointing to Jazz and herself. “You see, we used to live here. This is our home town.” Jazz explained further. “Ohhhh.” They continued to walk in silence.  Mike looked at all the things around him. He tried out his ‘new’ magic by willing a vibrant green leaf to fall off a nearby maple tree and follow along gracefully with them for a few minutes. He concentrated on it the whole time until they got back to the village. “Ok, Mike, you go back to the house with some bread and something else. They think you went out to go and get food for the day. Act normal.” Brendan instructed. “Let me do the talking.” Tessa scolded. “What he said.” She said after a beat. She looked around the bright village booths and saw a pastel blue tent selling bread and fruits. She walked over to the table and spoke with the person there. “Mike, good luck.” Jazz said. Mike nodded and watched as Tessa pulled out money somehow in her pocket. She took the bread and walked back to the group. “Here, now go! You have been gone for about 10 minutes, or so they think.” She said with a wink. Mike nodded once again as a farewell. He was too nervous to think about what could happen to him if his so-called ‘friends’ found out he was only there to spy. He waved good-bye and trudged off. He felt like he was going to war. He smiled at the thought of seeing Ellie and M again, but it faded as he thought about the fact that they only took him in because of his powers. He walked up to the mansion with a huff. He looked at the outside of the house. It was a bit run down with white shutters. A swing on the front porch squeaked a bit as the wind blew it slightly to and fro. He was about to knock on the door when he remembered that he was supposed to be living there. He opened the door and was greeted by an old lady. “Mike! Croeso nol! Fe gollon ni chi! Beth ddaethoch chi â ni heddiw?” Of course Mike had no idea what she said so he handed her the bread and said, “Hello!” and walked away to go explore the house he hadn’t been in for the past year. He looked in his room and saw that his room was huge. It was lush and sent a bohemian vibe around. Blue was everywhere, camo was strode around in a few parts of the room. Ellie walked in with a smile on her face. “Hello Mike!” Eliie seemed older, her golden hair slightly lighter than he remembered. She smiled a sweet smile. “Come on! Let’s go exploring again! Please? I know we have looked around so many times, but again? Please?” Some how Mike knew that he needed to. “Fine.” He said, acting like he didn’t want to. They walked around, going up and down stairs and opening doors. They got to the attic, but it didn’t look like one. It was neat and tidy, something that looked like it would be the opposite of a horror movie. Everything was dusted and speckless. Mike picked up a book with a smooth spine reading, “The Condering's Masquerade” He opened it up with curiosity, but something fell out. Mike picked it up and brushed off the dirt. It was a replica of the photo Ellie and he had found in the burned down house. Mike put it in his pocket and continued to look into the book. “Now that’s a good book!” Ellie said as she walked over. She took the book from Mike’s shaking hands. He was still slightly shocked about the photo. “Ellie? When was this photo taken?” He asked, holding up the pristine photo of him being held down by M and Will while Ellie smiled at the camera. They were in front of the house while it was being burned. Ellie looked at it and a flush of worry and then calmness wiped over her face. “M will tell you about it” She said with simplicity. She motioned for Mike to come and they went back the way they came. M was sitting on a lush love chair. “Oh hello!” He said with a big grin. Ellie handed M the photo. “Ah yes,” he said, handing Mike the photo. “We need to talk. Ellie, Will, and I have known each other for years upon years. We are ‘The Dragons’. You used to be part of this.” As M was explaining, Mike held a pen and clicked the top twice. It started recording. M was talking about how Mike was in a trance and they had to bring him back. “We never hurt you. You had said ‘Save me! Help me in whatever way you need to! Help me’” He said. Mike was trying not to laugh as M acted out what happened. Mike was able to piece together what had really happened with the lies. He was fighting them, but he hit a force field and his fire bounced back to him, knocking him into the house which caught it on fire. His family burned along with his house. He was captured and was held down as the photo was taken to take his powers and give them to Ellie. He had broken free at the last second and ran off. His memories slowly faded and he made himself believe he was running away from home. Ellie had followed him into the forest and waited until it was time. Mike felt a tear roll down his warm cheek. Ellie hugged him hard. He had killed his family. He clicked the pen twice more and stood up. He nodded them farewell and walked away. “I’m going for a walk, I need to process this.” He said walking away. 

“Take as long as you need to. I know it’s a lot to process.” M called after. Ellie and M looked at each other and back at Mike.  

**********************

Silence. The group looked at each other. Mike had played back the recording and then explained to them what the truth was. “I think they are going to strike soon. I’ll ask them if I can join and then tell them a plan. I’ll lead them into a trap and we attack.” Mike explained.

“No. Not with them together. We capture one at a time over the course of a day.” Tessa said.

“Ok, I can get M away from everyone at a picnic tomorrow.  Brendan and Alexander will come with me and act like you guys have been my friends forever. Alexander, you get Will and Brendan, you get Ellie. Lead each away, one at a time.” Mike explained. He told them even more details about the plan and then they all said farewell. Alexander and Brendan came with Mike, dressed differently and acted differently too. Mike walked inside with the boys. “Hey, they are going to spend the night and we are going to have a picnic tomorrow if you guys want to come!” Mike said. “Who are your friends Mike?” Ellie asked. She was looking at the boys with confusion. After a proper introduction and a dinner the boys went upstairs, into Mike's room and talked quietly about their plan. After 2 or 3 in the morning, they fell asleep and woke up to M calling them. “Boys! Get ready to go on that picnic!” The boys looked at each other and bolted. They ran down the stairs, Brendan tripping and knocking Alexander and Mike over. M looked at them and laughed. “Are you guys ready?” 

“Yep!” The boys said in unison. They left with M, Will, and Ellie. “Hey Ellie, I saw something I thought you would like!” Brendan said, putting his plan into action once they got there. “What is it?” 

“You have to come and see.” Brendan said. He took her to where The twins were waiting. “Wh-” Ellie started saying, but the boys erased her memories right there and sent her to a house and the family took her in. Meanwhile, Mike asked M to come with him. “Sure. What do you need?” M asked Mike. Mike got to Jazz and Tessa and before M could fight back, they erased his powers and memories. He was taken to a nursing home while Will was left. Alexander erased his memories and teleported to the same home Ellie was put in. They had defeated The Dragons somehow without a fight. Mike and the team returned to his new home. 

Mike arrived in his room and collapsed onto his bed as his friends went to the dance and the game night. Tessa, Alexander, Brendan, Jazz, the twins, Kyilie, Emmie, Claire, Nadia, Aly, Allie, Peirce, Ian, and everyone else knew that Mike had found his home.  Everyone was glad that the mess was over and done with, but The Dragons were still out there, with their memories erased. Someone needed to keep an eye on them.  In the morning, Tessa and Mike ended up getting sick. They had worked themselves too hard. The only people still in there were Alexander, Brendan, and the twins. The rest were watching The Dragons. Tessa and Mike were able to walk around after about a week and were getting even better as the days progressed. They got to the point where Mike decided to throw a party. “Pizza, ferret racing, mangos, blue streamers, soap carving contest, tye-dye hoodie making, and those magpie colored plates will have their own section. Food is over there and the games are on the other side.” Mike said. “Why are we doing this?” Tessa asked as she was piking up one of the blue streamers that the twins dropped. She enjoyed throwing the party, but she was perplexed as to why they were doing it in the first place. “Because it’s fun and we don’t have to worry about anything.” Mike explained. Tessa smiled and nodded and continued putting up the blue streamers. They had their own family and Mike felt at home, truly, or so they thought. Brendan walked in with triumph, his new wardrobe showing that he just got a paycheck somehow. “Mike, could I speak with you?” 

“Sure, what is it?” 

“Come on.” Brendan said. He took Mike away and Tessa watched as the two boys walked away. Tessa was in the middle of putting up the ferrets which was not easy whatsoever when she heard a scream. She dropped one of the ferrets that darted away. ‘Man, that one would have won the race’ Tessa thought  before racing down the hall to where she found Brendan standing with Alexander, looking down at Mike, who was on the ground. Tessa looked at them. “Good job. He was getting on my nerves. I’ll call Jazz and tell her M, Ellie, and Will can give up the act now.” Tessa said, looking down at Mike. She kicked Mike on his side. He made a weird noise that sounded like a cross between a sheep and a cow. “Who got the powers?” Tessa asked, looking back and forth between the 2. “Me. I’m the richest person to live underground and now the most powerful! Are we ready to go home?” Brendan said with power. “We are. I’ll round up everyone.” Tessa said with a glint in her eye. She stepped out of the room and called Jazz. “Jazz, tell Ellie, M, and Will to let up, we got him… Mhm… Yeah… Oh, he won’t be in much pain much longer… Oh, Brendan got them… I know! It’s lucky that he got his powers back. FINALLY! Haha… Ok… Hurry, I want to leave this place before it’s destroyed… Ok, bye.” Tessa put the phone away and soon enough, everyone including M, Ellie, and Will were standing there with bags, ready to leave. Jazz had called the bus to take them home, so they all piled into the bus and sat down, watching Brendan with his powers back ‘will’ the world apart. He slumped back down into the soft, cushioned seat as a single sweat bead slipped down his face. They watched from above, the earth tear apart like a small marble. They all smiled because they got what they had come for. Brendan was still a bit mad about how he had lost his powers to Mike, so they stopped at Mars and Saturn so he could tear and rip the planets apart before he ripped them apart. They all sat back and waited to be home on their own planet. After 5 years of waiting, finally, they will be accepted back home.

Thanks to Brendan for giving me the idea for the ending! (It was boring until he added this) This is what he wrote-

“Brendan lived happily ever after, and became the richest person that lived underground or wherever they lived. He also got a lot of pizza, and he got ice cream and he became the king. He then stole Mike’s powers, and destroyed the world. After this he became the most powerful person in all the universe, and blew up Saturn. He also blew up Mars. Btw, After this he traveled to the ends of the universe and brought moon rocks back to the moon that definitely weren’t fake, and he gained millions of dollars for doing this incredible thing. Everyone thought he was the best king. He was the best king. He also made Alexander his slave, and probably sent Mike to jail. We don’t actually know where Mike went, but we think he just went to jail. Although we couldn’t find him down there… hm… well yeah. Brendan was great! THE END. -Definitely Tessa”

Thanks! =D