Crawling vegetation of roots and vines approached the trio who were just settling a dispute amongst themselves; everything in front of the rampant growth was quickly consumed, putting them in a tight spot of what to do next. Barry, swiftly choosing his next move, snatched Puck away to his side. Shaco’s attention directed back at him, shouting at him in frustration. “No! He’s mine! Not yours-” An eruption of roots intersected between Shaco and the two, blocking them. “BARRY!” He screamed.

  Barry pivoted around, placing a confused Puck on his back and sprinted away. “Wha- Barry! What’s happening? Why are you leaving Shaco!?”

  “He’s dangerous Puck, we can’t trust him. Shaco’s the reason for all the people who’ve gotten lost in this forest.” The truth sunk in, Puck processing what was being said. “The shadow people we’ve seen, the disappearances, they’re the same people. Shaco’s responsible for their transformations, and now he’s converted Kat and Anna into one of them.” While Barry was explaining, he headed in the direction of where a clocktower was in order to get to higher ground; the vegetation continuing to spread.

  It sounded almost unbelievable to Puck, he wasn’t sure if Shaco was honestly capable of such an atrocious act. Puck felt conflicted inside, thinking that there had to be more to Shaco than what was discovered about him. For now, they had another complication that needed handling. “What about the nature around us?” Puck questioned. “Do you know why it’s suddenly going crazy?”

  “Remember one of the bad guys we talked about in the past, I can only assume that one of the four villains is here. It has to be that flower woman that McGuinness yapped about.” Barry deduced. “She’s also the cause for Haglethorn’s downfall, so we have to be more careful from this moment onwards. Encountering her is inevitable, especially since her appearance clearly means that the fourth prism has to be here.”

  “Okay…” Upon digesting everything spoken in such a short time, Puck wondered about the others. “So if Anna and Kat are taken away from us, what about Ron and Luna? Where could they be?”

  “Good point…” Barry pondered on that thought, he hopped over the overgrowth land, soon reaching the top of the clocktower. “The system still won’t let me message anyone at the time, so we can only assume they haven’t faltered under Shaco’s influence. I’d like to think Shaco didn’t try killing them unlike me so…’

  A bright flash of blue fireworks appeared in the sky, especially now that the mist was dispelled; Barry and Puck caught sight of it. The fireworks then morphed into a sentence in the sky, spelling out the words ‘We’re right here!’ with a down arrow. Barry figured what this odd phenomenon could mean. “Well, I guess that has to be a sign of life coming from Ron and Luna. Let’s go-”

  Something grasped their attention, turning their heads in observation of all the wild plants sprouting to fruition. Vegetation such as exotic flower buds blooming. They watched new life take form in the shape of many different beautiful, yet deadly, flora creatures. “Oh no, more evil plants. We have to hurry, Barry!” Puck worried, he thought about how tall of a task he was going to have incinerating all this wicked wildlife.

  Barry wasted no time and booked it towards the flaring signal in the sky; Puck imbued Barry’s weapon with his draconic fire while he maneuvered them across the roofs of buildings, trying to avoid as many enemies wandering the ground below. Yet, even so, the two encountered them on buildings; bullets of acid, needles, and such were fired at them by ranged foes while close-quarter ravenous monsters tried putting a stop to the duo. Puck focused on blasting the obstacles that stood in their way, trusting Barry to focus on evading towards their destination. Puck’s draconic fire proved to be effective as expected, it reminded Barry the last time they fought against these foes during their escape from Haglethorn.

  Arriving near their destination, Barry spotted exactly who they were hoping to find. Ron and Luna were outside in front of a manor, defending against mobs of enemies closing in on them. Ron was tricking the plants senses by casting illusions of false allies and detonating frost runes to disable them, alongside Luna who cloned a squad of herself wielding axes to hack and slash hostile plants.

  Stomping onto the scene were two moss golems, protruding barbed vines that whipped around to ensnare those in their wake. “Luna!” Ron called out. “We need to retreat back to the manor or else we’ll-” Suddenly a ball of inferno impacted against one of the brutes, the golden flames igniting the whole backside of it.

  Ron and Luna glanced at the direction of where the attack came from and smiled. “They’re here!” The kindled hulk swapped its target on Barry and Puck, lashing its tendrils out at them but were diced by Barry’s enchanted greatsword before delivering a blazing sawblade attack that proved to be fatal, ending the beast entirely. Puck hopped off of Barry’s back to cause more mayhem like a pyromaniac towards the many flammable foes surrounding them.

  Barry confronted the next giant, his nimble movements making him seem almost untouchable by the raging vines attempting to snatch him. ‘My fleet footwork training with Thalia is paying off.’ The monster switched it up, jamming its arms into the ground, erupting a wall of thorns to swallow him whole. Barry did not back away, contesting the trap by cleaving his way through and pressing on. And with not enough time to react, Barry dismantled the monster limb by limb, his flaming sword preventing it from regrowing and finishing it off.

  Returning back to the others, Barry found that they were just finishing up the last round of enemies and helped out. It didn’t take long and the four huddled together to share their personal experiences since they were separated. “I knew you’d be alive during all this chaos going on, especially now.” Ron commented, as he recalled the disappearance of Kat and Anna. “But I can’t say the same about Kat or Anna; Shaco has been hunting us down and we think that he might have gotten Kat and Anna.”

  “I know, Shaco’s the cause of this cursed forest and he’s converted the two into one of his shadows.” Ron and Luna were surprised to hear the news.

  Luna became distraught, wondering if her sister was gone for good. “D-Does that mean we can’t turn them back to normal? Do you know if it's even possible to help them?”

  “I’m not sure, but I managed to take this away from Shaco; it seemed very important.” Barry then took out Shaco’s personal book from one of his pockets and flipped to the page where their names were written in. “I think in order to break Anna and Kat’s curse, along with everyone else under Shaco’s rule, it must be connected to their names written in here. Also, he’s tried doing this to me before; but Shaco has to have the book in hand and perform a seance or something in order to change someone into one of his pawns. I’ve tried smudging or crossing out their names, but I can’t change them in any way.”

  Ron tried brainstorming what must be done to help free the names inside, and as he did, the sudden thought popped in his head. “Okay, so the curse has something to do with the names jotted down in the book. I understand that, but…what about your name, Barry?” Luna and Puck realized that now that it was brought up. “You said Shaco tried transforming you into one of his shadows, and I recall him putting your name down in it during our first encounter; so why was his curse unsuccessful?”

  The question put Barry in a difficult spot, the only logical explanation he could think of was that his name wasn’t his true name and outright telling them that would raise more unnecessary questions. “I’m…I’m not sure myself.” Barry answered hesitatively. “He might have misspelled my name or made an error during his casting.”

  Everyone accepted his answer for now, changing the topic back to the scenario at hand. Luna spoke. “Okay, well, what should we do now? If these plant monsters suddenly appeared, then that flower lady must have arrived to find the prism like we expected. Do we go and search for the prism; or do we try to get Shaco to turn everyone back to the way they were?”

  It was a hard choice to make, getting Shaco to see reason and turn a new leaf seemed impossible given the broken state he was in. And they have yet to see the flower lady make a personal appearance. The prisms were always Barry’s main goal to retrieve, he didn’t want to give a lead to the villains whatsoever. But as they came to a decision of what to do next, a loud blaring noise shot throughout the air, vibrating their ears as they faced the direction it was coming from. “What the hell is that!?” Barry shouted against the ringing noise.

  Cutting around the corner of a street, breaching through a chunk of a building, was a black fiendish looking train spewing puffs of smoke as it chugged towards them. The group was completely astonished to see what had just appeared, it was almost cartoonish. A familiar figure balanced on top of the head of the crazy train, Puck pointing them out. “I-It’s S-Shaco!”

  “HAHA! Hi, friends! And there you are, Barry!” Shaco announced in rage; riding the train were a multitude of toy soldiers carrying various weapons. Anna and Kat at Shaco’s side. “I won’t allow you to take my one true friend away from me! And I will reclaim my precious book you have stolen; so please don’t make this more difficult than it has to be!” The train steamed rolled through the streets, projected to ram into the group. “Pardon me, Puck, but you would mind stepping out of the way please!”

  “Go!” Barry ordered, suggesting that they get to higher ground to avoid getting pulverized. Ron used a wind rune to send both him and Luna high enough to get on top of a building, Barry double jumping with Puck placed on his back. Though they were safe for now, Kat’s beams of magic, combined with flying arrows and javelins were thrown at them from the toy soldiers, keeping them on their toes until the very building they stood on was rammed through by the choo-choo train.

  The trembling building provided an opening for Anna to teleport behind Barry, delivering a two-hit combo at his shoulders. Flinching from the pain, he dashed backwards while spinning around; he didn’t want to fight her or Kat because of the possibility of what would become of them if they were defeated. Still, Ron produced a wind rune that pushed Anna away. “We need to make a choice now, Barry!” Ron urgently advised. “Find the prism or finish dealing with Shaco!”

  Just as he said that, flying razor winged plants resembling vultures arrived in town; the commotion going on had caught their attention and were heading their way. Gritting his teeth, Barry made the call. “Hop on this damn train; Shaco first, prism after.” He dropped down on the back end of the train, everyone else following his move. This would be the group’s first ever tour ride of destruction going around town.

  Their unauthorized train hop was welcomed by a series of projectiles, Kat’s inclusion as well behind Shaco’s long line of toy soldiers. Together, they pressed on; Barry focused on shielding the team from harm using his greatsword, while they retaliated back. The main problem Barry faced was Kat’s magic beams of arrows that were able to flex and bend around to try and land a hit on him; getting struck by a magic attack typically hurt more than being pierced by an arrow. ‘You’ve sure been taking your training seriously, Kat. Aside from Anna, you're the person I’d hate to go against in a fight.’

  “It seems we have some stow aways! No ticket, no ride!” Shaco mocked, pulling a level and swishing it around in a playful manner. This caused the entire vehicle to move erratically, wobbling everyone that was on it aside from himself and his forces. The plant mobs wandering about were either steamrolled or bashed into oblivion, “Out of the way! Who dares invade my sheltered place of joy!? I have unsettled matters that need attending to!”

  Caws and screeches coming from above were the first sign that the plant vultures had arrived, swooping down to pick off anything that moved on the train. Amidst all the sudden chaos, Barry felt like bolting ahead to deal with Shaco but also wasn’t sure if it was a good idea leaving everyone else behind. Luna saw how hesitant Barry looked, believing it to be exactly what Barry was thinking in his mind. “Go Barry!” She yelled, his face turning to hers. “We’ll be fine! Don’t worry about us and get to Shaco!”

  Taking her approval, Barry quickly nodded. “Then take care and survive…” He then activated ‘King’s Commanding Presence’, boosting everyone’s physical stats further as he prepared to bolt off. “...thanks.” Barry said, before propelling into the horde of enemies.

  Weaving in between attacks, flipping over the wild plant birds attempting to nip at him, using a dismembered toy soldier as a shield against everything in his path, his approach was relentless. However, Kat’s aggressive beams overwhelmed Barry’s cover, breaking it completely. She then manipulated her black magic, manifesting blockades of solid shields to slow him down. Barry challenged them all, swapping his greatsword for his trident, planning to penetrate through the defenses. Each attack required a bit more effort than Barry was expecting, making him more impressed by Kat's magic.

  Shaco checked the situation going on behind himself as the train's conductor, only to get startled from the sight of a persistent Barry assaulting forward. “Gah! So my toys and your former friend Kat aren’t enough to put you down! Then allow me to see your true colors by putting you through a test of morals.” Shaco then relinquished control of the train over to his toy assistant train conductor before leaving.

  Fighting his way through eventually led Barry up to a point where he finally demolished the last defensive barrier between him and the front section of the train. What he found on the other side made him freeze in place, focused on the person standing next to Kat. “Shaco…” The masked figure stood firm by Kat, his hand placed on Kat’s shoulder. Barry had come all this way to put a stop to Shaco, but was hesitant to do anything due to Shaco’s sudden unpredictable action. “What are you planning to do with Kat?”

  “Don’t give me that squabble, you don’t care about them at all; so why should you care about what I could do to her?” Shaco’s words frustrated Barry inside, he wanted to sock him in the face so bad. “Wow, are you actually worried for the safety of someone other than yourself? My, my, well this is the first that I’ve seen from you.”

  Barry’s focus shifted between Shaco and Kat, wondering what to do next. “Shaco, if you haven’t already noticed, this damn town that you claim as your own is under attack. There’s bigger things going on in this world right now that-”

  “So. WHAT!” Shaco lashed out. “When has the world ever shown me kindness!? All my life I have been treated like a disease, the laughing stock of this town, A DAMN FREAK OF NATURE!” His wails of anger were mixed with pure sorrows. “I care as little about what goes on outside as much as you care about your unwanted friends. If we could switch places, I would gladly take yours!”

  It seemed as though there was no convincing Shaco anymore, he tried reasoning and nothing was working…however, there was something written from Ophen’s journal that Barry was retaining from Shaco. Despite mainly skimming through the book, seeking out only the important stuff, he discovered a great deal of information in it before Shaco robbed the journal away from him. “Shaco, that book you took from me, I didn’t want to tell you before because you probably wouldn’t have believed me but-”

  “You're right! I wouldn’t believe anything you say! Barry isn’t even your damn name! So why would I listen to another word that comes out of your mouth!” Shaco berated; it was as Barry expected, there was no getting through to him. “Matter of fact, speaking of books, hand over mine! If you truly have a heart, you’ll know what will happen to poor Kat if you don’t do as I say. Though it would break my heart to end her existence, I’m willing to cut ties to get what was stolen.”

  Barry clenched his teeth, he knew doing just that was basically forfeiting all the names written inside the book back over to him. He wanted to tell him no but when he looked at Kat, he held back. ‘Fuck! What do I do!? I…I don’t believe he’ll actually end her. He has to be joking…right?’ He then saw Shaco’s hands conjure some of his chaotic magic, its essence floating around Kat’s silhouette. “Damn it, hold on! Don’t-”

  “The. Book. NOW!” Shaco demanded, his hands making threatening gestures at Kat’s still being.

  “Alright! Alright!” Barry cursed under his breath, as he reached into his satchel slowly. Suddenly, he saw the appearance of a toy train conductor approaching Shaco from behind. He wondered if Shaco was aware of it sneaking up on him, but it didn’t look like it. ‘What is that toy planning to do? Why is it-’

  “What? What are you looking at-” Shaco took a quick glance over his own shoulder, taking notice of the train conductor he had just put in charge of the train. “H-Huh!? I didn’t call you up here-” They were both surprised by what the toy did next; it abruptly began sprinting towards Shaco and full body tackled him off the moving train. “WHAT THE!?” Shaco and the conductor rolled across the ground below, where more plant creatures continued to roam about.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  Utterly confused by what just happened, he then thought about one possible reason why the toy was moving on its own. ‘Dusk, Kat’s ghostly familiar. It must have taken possession of the conductor in order to protect her.’ He then looked ahead of the direction the train was taking them, realizing something else that was critical now that no one was driving the train. ‘Ah shit, we’re about to crash!’ They were headed towards a row of brick buildings that would ultimately result in a total wipe out if they didn’t abort.

  “EVERYONE OFF!” Barry hollered back as loud as he could to the rest of his team. Kat remained motionless, presumingly awaiting an order from Shaco since she was under his control. He scooped her into his arms, her shadow figure feeling incredibly light, cold and hollow. Barry departed from the vehicle, hopping away moments before witnessing it ram into multiple buildings, toppling the coupled cars that disconnected and rolled around the town.

  Holding Kat close, Barry crashed through the window of an abandoned building on the third floor. He swiftly kicked a bedroom door open and laid Kat on its bed. ‘I hope the others avoided that like I did. And thank fuck that Dusk stepped in to help out. If he hadn’t…’ Barry looked at Kat’s emotionless form, how she was so devoid of life, he felt uneasy. ‘...I can’t let Shaco keep doing what he’s been doing. But I also know he’s hurt due to the way others have treated him growing up; if only he’d listen and read the damn ending of Ophen’s journal then maybe he’d see how wrong this all is…’ Taking one last look back at Kat prior to leaving, he sighed. ‘...and unfortunately only he knows how to undo this curse.’

  Upon exiting the house, he darted to where Shaco was last seen getting tackled by Dusk. Soon, he found Shaco fending off against the plant creatures with more of his animated toys. The train conductor that Dusk had possessed was dismantled, seemingly destroyed by Shaco’s unmaking. Barry swapped back to his greatsword, assaulting the plant creatures nearby as well. His entrance left a bad taste in Shaco’s mouth, though he was planning to find him when he had the time. “Barry, come to tell me how wicked my soul is? Or have you decided to forfeit yours.”

  “Neither. I’m here to make a truce.” Barry offered, while he assisted in the gardening work going on.

  “Ha! A truce? That’s hilarious coming from you, I can deal with these wretched weeds while putting you in your place.” Shaco used his weird paranormal powers to manipulate the objects from all around, targeting Barry at every angle, forcing him to focus on evading more than fighting.

  It pissed Barry off how Shaco was being so unreasonable. “No. You’re underestimating the forces being brought upon this town. We haven’t even seen the worst that can happen. These creatures, the pretty flowers that we see now, they’re just the first wave before she arrives. And when she does, this whole town's going to become one of her damn greenhouses!”

  What he was saying intrigued Shaco, it confused him of who he was referring to. Still, he continued to put pressure on Barry, playing with him. “Sounds like she’ll make a wonderful friend once I get to know her. I always wanted to liven up the town with a bit of gardening here and there.”

  “I highly doubt she’s someone that can be controlled, let alone be buddy buddy with. Shaco, if you care so much about the friends you’ve made up until now, then you’ll hate her knowing she’ll take them all from you in a pinch. Now choose! Truce! Or not!” Barry hoped he’d at least consider the possibility of loss, given how he considers friendship important.

  Shaco quit messing around with Barry, as he thought while tapping his chin, his ink-mask shifting to different facial expressions till it stopped. “Give me my book back and I’ll summon the rest of my friends to help us. I think even you’d agree that would be beneficial towards our great predicament.”

  Barry knew he was going to ask for it back, but he couldn’t deny that it would help in their fight against the invasion. Shaco noticed the internal conflict inside Barry and why, he didn’t like Barry at all given their past interactions but he also didn’t like these creatures intruding on his land. “How bout this, if you give it back to me, I’ll release the names of your party from my book. Anna and Kat will turn back to normal, and you can all leave my domain when this is over. How does that sound so far?”

  The deal seemed good to Barry from what was said; however, he knew there was a catch to it that he wasn’t telling him. “What’s the catch? I don’t believe you'd just let us walk out scott free, so tell me what else it is that you want?” Barry looked at him with suspicion.

  “Puck.” The name shocked Barry when Shaco said it. “I would like him to stay with me inside my domain. I’ve grown quite fond of the little Kobold, he appears to be the first person that I can relate to in what seems to be forever ago. And I’m sure he’ll listen to you if you tell him to do so.”

  “No!” Barry blurted out, angry at Shaco's request. He sensed Shaco's own personal frustration surfacing upon hearing him deny what he wanted; Barry didn’t wish to leave Puck behind, he cared about him not just as a person but also as the only link to potentially recovering his memories again. Biting his tongue, Barry tweaked Shaco's offer. “Puck isn't a bargaining chip, he's a friend…a really good one. So treating him as such is down right disgusting. I'll accept your terms, but Puck makes the decision for himself if he wants to stay or not. He should have a say in how he chooses to live his life.”

  Shaco mulled over the new terms, and that was when the two caught sight of Ron, Luna, and Puck in the distance fighting their way towards them. He glanced at Puck, thinking about what Barry just said about the little Kobold, before looking back at Barry with his answer. “Fine, I agree to a truce. We shall see what Puck’s decision is after we settle this mess. Now the book, please. You have my word.”

  Barry didn’t sense any sign of lying from his voice, his gut told him that Shaco meant to uphold his end of the deal and so he reached into his satchel, taking the book out. “One last thing, Shaco.” The masked figure eyed him in anticipation. “That journal you stole from me, in it is something important you should know about. I guarantee it.” He then tossed Shaco’s book back to him.

  Catching the book, Shaco said nothing in response to his suggestion, as he wondered what he was insinuating. When the other three arrived, they were puzzled about the standoff Barry and Shaco were seemingly having. Puck was the first to break the ice. “Shaco, Barry! What’s going on? Are you two still fighting or…”

  “No.” Barry said clearly, though they believed him, they couldn’t help but still feel a bit guarded from Shaco. “We made peace for now. And that means, we only have one enemy to fight, which is the flower lady and her forces.”

  “C-Cool, but does that mean we don’t have to fight my sister any more?” Luna asked in a concerned voice. She then eyed Shaco with disdain of what he had done to Anna and Kat. “Does that mean I can have both my sister and Kat back for what you’ve turned them into?”

  Her words stung Shaco, he felt her hatred eating at him, it bothered him but he sighed as he opened his book and flipped to a specific page. “Yes, that was what I was about to do. Now if you’d all please…” His negative energy began emitting from his position, channeling his chaotic powers into the book. “...I’m calling out to the rest of my friends to come and help.” The book in his hands radiated his ominous magic, washing over the group, causing their nerves to go off.

  Manifesting from all around the town, were dark swirls of smoke that built up and shaped various different silhouettes of beings. Barry and the group watched in awe, the emergence of all the names Shaco had jotted down from the moment he had cursed the forest uptill now. They then began roaming everywhere to fight back against the current invasion against the plant monsters. Suddenly, Anna and Kat’s shadow were recalled by their side. “As promised, I will return them whole again…” Shaco honored, though he was a bit reluctant to do so.

  Everyone watched the two shadow figures slowly recover their life again, no longer hollow husks bound by Shaco’s control. The team was both astonished and relieved to see the two return to the way they were. Kat and Anna stumbled upon regaining themselves again. “Wha- I-I’m a-alive!? Where…H-How-” Luna hugged Anna as she spoke, both puzzled and amazed at what had just happened. “Luna…” She hugged her little sister tight, worried that she probably would never see her again.

  Kat leaned against her staff, also exhausted by the sudden reappearance. Chills flowed all around her body, warmth returning back once again. “I-I’m back…” Puck went up and hugged her, happy to see her again as normal. She looked at Shaco, fearful of him because of what he turned her into but then glanced at Barry, who looked back. His stoic expression and calm eyes telling her that everything was fine. Not only was she relieved about being restored whole again, but she also thought about something else that occurred between Shaco and Barry moments again. Still, Kat was very appreciative towards Barry being able to convince Shaco to return her back to normal. “Thank you…”

  “Such a touching moment, I’m sure this is for you all.” Shaco broke the mood in a sarcastic tone. “Now, while my friends are giving these things a grand welcome, can someone please tell me why this flower lady is intruding on my land?”

  Ron took a quick look at Barry, who looked back and nodded as a sign that it was okay to tell him. “W-Well, we didn’t just come here to find out about the disappearance of those…lost in this forest. We also came here for the same reason this villain is; to find a prism that’s supposedly here.”

  “Prism you say…” Shaco repeated, his tone seeming as if he knew something about it or wasn't sure. “...like a gem? A colorful rock? What does it look like exactly?”

  “Um, well there’s more than one and they’re all different but the one here is apparently an emerald I believe.” Ron clarified.

  Upon hearing more context, Shaco realized he might know what it was they were seeking. “There's a chance that I might have it.” This got everyone's attention, if he was right then they'd be a step ahead of the villain.

  “You might? Alright, then where are you keeping it?” Barry wanted to know desperately where it was, prepared to take off to retrieve it. “The sooner we find it, the more leverage we have over the villain coming here.”

  Shaco tried snapping his fingers that produced a black waft of smoke, yet nothing happened. He snapped it again, and still not a zip occurred after. He grumbled to himself, causing the group to wonder what it was he was trying to do tell Anna asked. “What’s with the puffs? What is it that you are trying to do exactly?”

  “I’m trying to summon my wagon and steed, yet neither are manifesting like they should…” Shaco explained in an irritable manner while he kept trying until soon giving up. “Gah! This is frustrating, I had put the prism inside the wagon. I can’t think of any reason why I can’t summon it other than maybe it was destroyed? I’m not sure.”

  ‘So the prism was near us the whole time we met Shaco at first encounter. What the fuck…’ Barry felt so annoyed knowing this, but quickly got over it. “Okay, that shouldn’t be an issue, where did we last leave the wagon so we can-”

  And just when he asked for the whereabouts, everyone felt the earth tremble under their feet. Yellow snowflakes of spores began appearing in the air, hardly noticeable and small as they were at the moment. That was also when Barry and his team viewed a message from the system, another challenge for them to overcome, one that Barry was going to give his all.

  “This is…it’s officially starting.” Ron stated. “The wagon was probably taken away from Shaco by the moderators. That must be why he can’t bring it out. Winner takes all, we have to accomplish this task or else.”

  Shaco was confused by what they were talking about all of a sudden. “Moderators? What do you mean by that? Who are they, and what do you mean by task? I have so many questions.”

  “It’s like I told you, Shaco.” Barry tagged in. “There’s a world problem that needs solving ASAP and you’re just one of the many being caught in it, whether you want to be involved or not. What’s going on right now is an example. That’s why I was suggesting we team up until this is all over.”

  Grasping the information provided to him, Shaco was able to process how big of a deal this moment was; and that if he didn’t accomplish the mission given to Barry and his team, then that essentially meant the end of his own rule over the forest. “I get it now, at least the jist of it. So what is it that we must do?” They explained to him about the task assigned to them and quickly constructed a plan given the limited amount of time they had.

  The team didn’t know how many flower pits there were in the town, but figured that following the trail of spores would likely lead to all of them. Puck was considered to be the most key essential member in this event, since he was the only one capable of using fire magic, more importantly draconic fire since it was way more potent than average fire. And since Shaco was in control over his shadow friends, his powers allowed him to impersonate a couple at a time as a way of searching for the pits at a wider scale. Shaco also tossed some toy horse figures and enchanted them, transmogrifying them into synthetic horses that seemed realistic.

  Each person took a horse for faster travel, their plan being to split into two teams. The first being everyone but Barry and Shaco, who were their own separate group. Puck and the others were tasked with destroying the pits. Barry was wondering when the flower lady, Iris, would finally arrive since they hadn’t seen her and wanted to be prepared to distract her when the time came. Shaco was asked to join him by Barry himself, suggesting that his help was going to be needed to stall the villain. The masked being was hesitant at first, what he really wanted was to be near Puck and ensure he was safe but reluctantly agreed to follow Barry’s lead due to Puck’s suggestion.

  But before Barry and Shaco split off, Puck enchanted Barry’s greatsword, applying a good amount of his draconic fire to it and parted with some words for the two. “Puck worries for you two, Puck also knows that you two got off on the wrong toe, but that’s all in the past. Please look after each other and let’s beat the big bad flower lady!” The Kobold cheered, fistbumping each of them.

  The two teams went on to fulfill their goals, Barry and Shaco galloped away to the front entrance of the town; anticipating the arrival of the villain so they could give her a proper greeting when she did. Shaco’s shadows were certainly useful in their fight against the invasion, matching the relentless nature that the creatures had with the same energy and persistence. However, Barry noticed while passing by multiple fights, that the shadows acted very autonomous; and though each shadow was a different hollow husk of who they once were, it seemed like they weren’t fighting at their fullest because they were devoid of what made them whole.

  They cleared out the area near the town entrance, mowing down the plants. Shaco passed on information to the other team about the whereabouts of the flower pits by looking through the eyes of his shadow friends. And as he did this, Barry kept watch, patiently waiting for Iris to show up. He wasn’t sure exactly what type of person she was personality wise, but if anything, he expected her to be just as egotistical as McGuinness was when they met.

  Suddenly, after waiting a minute or two, from deep within the outer forest emerged a gaudy and vibrant flora float advancing towards the town. Exotic plants that grew out of the green float were things like hungry venus flytraps snapping at the air; pitcher plants that oozed sweet smelling, but acidic liquids; and even nightshades that expelled toxic purple fumes. But the most appealing and eye-catching part of the float was a large flower bulb that looked like it was about to bloom any second now.

  ‘If that’s the villain, she must really care about first impressions for putting in this much effort. What a fucking deva…’ Barry readied himself, tapping Shaco on his shoulder to get his attention. “That has to be her, I’ll try to waste her time by introducing myself. Just support me from the rear.”

  Shaco glared at the float, he couldn’t help but admit how great it looked despite it being deadly. “This lady has quite the affinity with nature; beautiful yet threatening like an Iris flower indeed…” He rose up, digging into his inner coat pockets and pulling out his childish flute. “Perhaps she will enjoy a performance from me, I’m sure it’ll be pleasing to her ears.”

  His comment made Barry snicker a bit, remembering that the last time he heard him play was completely diabolical. “Yeah, maybe…or maybe she’ll target you first because of how vile you’ll perform.”

  This made Shaco stare at him menacingly, he knew it was a joke but was a bit hurt. “Then I’ll be sure to engrave my music into your mind when this is all over. I promise all you will hear from then on is my resounding melody on repeat.”

  Finding the banter between them amusing, Barry genuinely laughed a bit which surprised Shaco; this being the first time he’s ever seen him express something other than being cold. “Sure, I’ll be expecting it.” Barry said, before marching his way to the upcoming villain.

  Following him from behind, Shaco felt that their interaction just now was nothing like it was in the past. No disdain, no hostility, he sensed Barry’s honesty. ‘What was that just now? Does he find small bits of banter humorous? Hmm…’ He wondered about Barry’s personality, if there really was another side of him that wasn’t distant to those around him.