A/N Enjoy the re-write of ‘The Many Tales of the 2-Souls Ninjas’. I hope it brings a bit of delight to your day, and by chance, if it does, please do leave a review. It’ll bring a bit of delight to my day. Thank you.

Nemo Farid:

The alarm on my phone goes off but I swipe the screen and turn it off. With my alarm off, I can focus on my work.

"Just need to add some lines," I tell myself. "Along with some shadow for depth."

I grab a thin brush with some black ink on it. Painting underneath the wavy lines, I put the brush down and admire my work.

"Yes," I say, giving the slime monster mask a nod. "This will work! But first, it needs a few more adjustments."

I work on the vital adjustments, trying to make the monster mask as best as I can.  I make the eye sockets wavy instead of oval-shaped. I draw a uvula in the back of the monster's throat but then erase it. I add more layers of plastic but also make sure to add air holes so the inside isn't so hot. I keep on working and working on my monster mask until someone screams my name.

"Nemo!"

I scream as the mask jumps out of my hands. Patting my chest, trying to make sure I don't die of a heart attack, I look to my right and see Akio floating beside me.

"What," I ask, finally feeling my heartbeats go below four digitals. "Akio, can't you see I'm a little busy?"

"Nemo," Akio starts, "While I will admit I am over 600 years old and haven't been fully caught up on everything, I do know this. School is about to start!"

Akio then points behind me. I follow his see-through finger, turning around to see the time on my clock.

"7 o'clock," I shout, slapping myself on the face. Immediately, I start to gather everything I need for school and throw it into my shoulder knapsack.

"I'm going to be late," I tell myself. 'I'm going to be late! I'm going to be late! Ahh! Akio, why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"You often tell me not to bother you when you're working," Akio answers, watching peacefully from the side as I run around my room. "I was respecting your wishes."

"Yeah, well," I say, trying to think of something to say. "Thank you for that!"

I sigh as I grab the slime monster mask and shove it into my knapsack. About to leave, I stop when I realize I almost forgot something very important. Running back to my bed, I reach underneath my pillow and pull out the green emerald dragon.

The green emerald dragon glows brightly when I pick it up. As it glows, I feel the magic flowing throughout it. I pocket the emerald dragon while throwing the knapsack over my shoulder. With everything packed and ready, I leave my room and head for the front door.

"Hi Mom," I say as I run down the stairs and past the kitchen. "Hi, Dad! No breakfast today! I'll eat after school! Bye, Mom! Later Dad! Best of luck at the museum!"

"Bye sweetie," my parents say, waving at me as I grab and carry my scooter through the front door and down the stairs. Putting my scooter on the ground and bringing up the handle, I then jump on it and kick against the sidewalk. Now, sailing through the busy city of Boston toward school, I stop only when I see a glowing red hand and cars driving in front of me. While waiting, Akio appears beside me again. He looks up at the blue sky.

"Do you think there will be any dakura tchingu today?"

"I really hope not," I answer. "Osca and I have plans today and I do not want to keep him waiting any longer."

"Yes," Akio says with a nod. "I do think you have been keeping your friend, Oscar, waiting for quite a while now. I doubt he is very happy."

"Yeah, well," I start, turning to face Akio. "Whose fault is that?"

"Donyokuna Yokubo," Akio answers. "After all, he is the one that summoned the dakura tchingu to transform innocent people into magical beings that serves him."

"Well, technically yes, but I was referring more to you."

"Me?"

"Yes. I would be lying if I didn't say sometimes, "I regret finding the emerald dragon."

As I look at Akio as he crosses his arms, I remember all of a sudden that I'm talking to a ghost. A ghost that no one except me can see or hear. When I was talking to Akio, it looked like I was talking out loud to a crowd of complete strangers. When I realize this, I also realize the crowd of complete strangers is looking back at me.

"Oh," I say, laughing and waving. "Uhh, hello. Beautiful morning. Am I right?"

Ovia Afternoon Encarnacion:

"Ovia Afternoon Encarnacion," my mother yells from the base of our grand staircase. "Public schools start in less than one hour. Hurry up, and do not forget. Afterward, you have your Chinese lessons, your ballet lessons, and the photoshoot for the upcoming spring catalog."

My mother then crosses her arms and taps her foot. She gives me about 30 seconds before yelling again.

"Ovia Afternoon Encarnacion, where are you?"

"I'm right here," I say, standing right beside my mother. My reply makes my mother jump as she turns to face me. Holding her hand over her chest, I smile. "Morning, Mom."

"Hello Ovia Afternoon Encarnacion," my mother greets.

"Mom," I sigh. "Please. I must have told you a million times already. Just call me Noon. I would actually prefer it if you did call me Noon. It's a lot easier than saying my whole name."

"Nonsense," my mother says, dropping to her knees. "Ovia Afternoon Encarnacion is the name your father and I chose for you. Hence, it is what I will call you. Besides, Ovia is such a unique and beautiful name. Noon is far too simple a name for such a wonderful daughter like you."

My mother smiles as she straightens my long brown hair.

"Anyway, do you have your---."

Before my mother can finish, I bring up my backpack. My backpack is stuffed to the point where I needed a pair of clamps just to bring the zippers together.

"Don't worry," I say. "I'm already prepared for everything. My Chinese textbooks are in my room and stacked in order of my lesson, my ballet uniform is already washed and folded neatly on my bed, and I already told my driver. He knows to pick me up right after ballet and take me to the studio for the string photoshoot. Also, bye Mom."

I nod my head before waving at my mother and leaving our mega-mansion. Running down the even grander stone staircase outside, I see my personal stretch limo ready to go with my personal driver holding the door. I smile at him as I jump into the backseat. He nods and smiles back before closing the door and getting into the driver's seat. Once there, he drives me to public school.

As I sit in the backseat and wait, Emica appears in the empty seat next to me with crossed arms and legs.

"I am sorry about last night," Emica starts. "I didn't mean to keep you out for so long. Especially since I know about your daily life."

"It's fine," I whisper, remembering that my driver can't exactly see or hear Emica. "And don't worry about it. I know about my daily life too but I don't care. You and Akio needed my help. Well, Akil needed your help. I just had to be there."

"Believe me when I say this," Emica says, smiling. "Akio needs you too. He doesn't know it but he does need you."

I couldn't help but smile at the very thought of Akio, the fearless and mighty Green Emerald Ninjas needing me, a sheltered teenage model with an overprotective mother. Turning away from Emica, I look out the tinted window.

"Oh no," I say as the limo slows to a stop. Looking outside, I see a long line of cars.

Akio Hisashi:

"Come on," Nemo says, tapping his foot repeatedly. "Come on. Come on. Why are you taking so long?"

I wait and watch as, after what seems like a while, the bright red hand finally turns into a person walking. The second it does, the metal boxes, as Nemo tells me are called cars, stop. The second they stop moving, Nemo pushes himself off the sidewalk and rides through the street.

"Excuse me," Nemo says as he rushes past all the people. "Pardon me! Sorry! So sorry, but I need to get to school! If I see you again, I'll stop and apologize for real but for now, I am so sorry!"

I shake my head as I fly right through the people.

"Come on," Nemo goes on. "Come on! I can't be late! I can't be late again!"

Nemo crouches down while still riding his scooter. He kicks against the sidewalk and gives himself another boost. He then jumps into the air. Taking off and flying through the air like a bird, Nemo lands back on the sidewalk. There, he pushes himself up and stomps on the ground. Skidding to a stop, Nemo and I look at a large stone building with many students surrounding it.

"Your school," I say, looking at Nemo. "Congratulations on not being late."

"Hey," a familiar voice yells, grabbing both Nemo and my attention. Turning around, I see Oscar standing near the school's gate with his hand high in the air.

Oscar is wearing a shirt and shorts, along with what I believe is called "headphones" around his neck. Nemo runs up to Oscar and the two greet each other.

"Hey man," Oscar says, the two of them shaking hands. "Hey, did you finish it? Please oh please tell me yes. Not to be mean or anything, but I feel like you've been ditching me way too much lately."

"Yeah," Nemo says. He grabs and reaches into his knapsack. "Oh, and by the way, I'm sorry about having to ditch you so many times. Believe me, it wasn't by choice."

Nemo then looks at me. All I can do is cross my arms.

Emica Kana:

"Finally," Noon says as her personal driver pulls up to the high school. Her driver gets out and opens the door for her. "Aw, man. We were cutting it a bit close there. Thank you for driving me, and for running that annoying red light. I'll see you after school."

Noon laughs as she says this. Her driver smiles and laughs with her before nodding his head and getting back inside the car and driving away.

"Ahhhh," Noon sighs. She closes her eyes, slams her fists against her hips, and smells the air. "Emica, do you know what that smell is?"

"No," I say, shaking my head. "I'm a spirit. I can't smell."

"Oh, right. Sorry. Emica, that is the smell of greasy foods. In fact, to be precise, I think it's pizza. Oh, I can't wait for lunch."

"I could be wrong about this," I say, floating in front of Noon as she walks toward the opened gate, "But doesn't your mother hate the idea of you eating the 'pizza'."

"It'll be fine, Emica," Noon says. "You've seen the pizzas here. The palm of my hand is bigger. Besides, it's normal food. It's normal, everyday food that normal everyday people eat. It's not some fancy, couple of hundred dollar pizza from some Michelin star restaurant."

I open my mouth to say something but someone else cuts me off.

"Hey," Nyssa says, shooting a wave at Noon. Walking right through me and up to Noon, the two hugs. "I am so glad to see you. How was your morning?"

"A little worrisome," Noon answers. "Traffic was long and I was almost late."

Nyssa snaps her head back and laughs, her short, brown hairs snapping back as well. Dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and long pants, Nyssa pulls her head back and wipes a tear from her eyes.

"Well luckily, despite the traffic, you were still able to beat the clock. Hey, uh, speaking of beating the clock."

Nyssa's eyes darting right and left, she then lends close to Noon.

"How long before you and a certain someone become a thing?"

Pointing toward the certain someone, Noon coughs before hitting Nyssa with her elbow.

"Could you please be a little more subtle," Noon begs. "I don't want Nemo to know."

"Oh please," Nyssa says with a roll of her eyes. "Nemo knows a lot of things but he doesn't know about you. It's kind of sad actually."

I lower my head as I look at Nemo and he and Oscar talk.

"Hey," Nyssa says, grabbing Noon's arm. "I have an idea. Follow my lead."

"Wait, what? Nyssa, what are you doing?"

Nyssa ignores Noon and drags her through me. The two walk toward the front gate and up the stairs.

"What are you doing," Noon asks.

"I'm helping you," Nyssa answers. "Also, for the record, I am really sorry about this."

"Sorry," Noon repeats.

Without any warning, Nyssa steps forward and pushes Noon. She falls through me and toward the stairs.

2: Chapter 2: Setting the Scene

Nemo Farid:

"I think this mask will work the best," Oscar says. Out of all the monster masks in his hands, Oscar picks my slime monster mask.

"Awesome," I say. I think back to when that mask was just a simple paper bag. I colored it black before cutting out three holes; two for the eyes and a third, larger hole for the mouth.

While Oscar examines my slime monster mask, I take back the rest of my masks and put them back into my shoulder bag.

"Okay," Oscar says with a smile. "I like this. Now that we have the monster ready, we can--"

As Oscar explains to me the plan, I hear someone yelling and look around. Only a few steps in front of us, I see Noon falling down the stairs.

"Noon," I shout, running forward. Opening my arms, Noon falls right into them. Wrapping my arms and catching Noon, I stomp my foot back and steady the two of us.

"Noon," I shout. "Hey! Noon. Are you okay? Noon?"

For some reason, Noon is out of breath. She's breathing fast and heavily. As I look at Noon with her bright green eyes and red face, I brush a strand of her long brown hair out of the way.

Ovia Afternoon Encarnacion:

As Nemo brushes a strand of my hair out of the way, we look at each other. I can see as clear as day Nemo's dark brown eyes. Combined with his neatly-combed, jet-black hair, I immediately feel my heartbeat run like crazy. It's beating so fast that I think it might actually burst out of my chest and run on its own. It only gets worse when I feel Nemo's cold breath against my burning skin.

"Hey," someone says. "Noon!"

I look to the right and see Emica.

"She's pointing at Nemo," I think. "Why is she pointing at Nemo? Wait, what's going on? Is Nemo holding? Oh, man. Oh, man! Oh, man! Nemo is actually holding me! What do I do? What do I say?"

I open my mouth to say something but whatever I wanted to say, it doesn't come out. It feels like the words are stuck in my throat. Instead, what comes out is a bunch of coughs.

Emica Kana:

"Oh dear," I say, watching as Noon coughs again. She coughs and coughs before finally standing on her own. As she coughs, Nemo and Oscar step back while Nyssa rolls her eyes.

"Sorry," Noon says in between her coughs. "So sorry! Uhh, Nemo. Are you okay?"

"Don't worry," Nemo says with a smile and a wave. He then dusts off his sand-colored jacket with many pockets. "I'm fine. In fact, I should be asking you that. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Noon answers with her own smile. She dusts off her pink jacket and white shirt with long blue pants. "I'm fine! Thank you for saving me! I...I really appreciate it!"

I think Nemo is about to say something but before he can, Noon grabs Nyssa's hand and pulls her away. Flying close behind them, I listen in as Noon yells at Nyssa.

"Brilliant plan," Noon says to Nyssa.

"I know," Nyssa replies with a smile.

"I do think it was a brilliant plan," I say, moving up to fly at Noon's side. As I do, Noon turns to me. From the way her eyes are looking at me, I think she's a little mad. I shrug my shoulders. "You have been looking for a reason to be close to Nemo."

"That's not what I meant," Noon whispers. "Besides, that's not even a reason. That was just Nyssa pushing me down the stairs."

"Yeah," Nyssa says, grabbing both of our attention. "I pushed you close to Nemo. In fact, I pushed you right into his arms."

Noon sighs and slaps herself in the face. She shakes her head before waving her hand. "Come on. Let's just get to class."

About to walk up another set of stairs, Noon stops and turns to Nyssa.

"You first," Noon says, stepping aside.

"Relax," Nyssa says, walking past Noon and up the stairs. "Nemo isn't here. I have no reason you push him."

I turn around and see that Nyssa is right. Nemo and Oscar are still near the front gate, talking with each other.

"They're probably talking about the short movie Oscar is trying to film," Nyssa says. "Wait! The movie!"

Nyssa turns around so quickly that she startles Noon and knocks her down the stairs again. This time, Noon manages to catch herself by grabbing the railing.

"Will you please stop that," Noon begs.

"Forget that," Nyssa says, grabbing Noon's arms. "Wow, are we idiots or what? Noon. Oscar's movie!"

"Oscar's movie," Noon repeats.

Noon looks at me but I don't know what Nyssa is talking about either.

"Noon, I have a brilliant plan," Nyssa says with a huge smile.

"Oh no," Noon says with a frown. "Will I need a football helmet?"

"Don't worry," Nyssa says, letting go. She puts up a hand and places her other hand over her chest. "It doesn't involve any stairs this time. At least, as far as I know."

Nyssa then leans in. She whispers something in Noon's ears. Now a little curious myself, I lean in too and eavesdrop.

Akio Hisashi:

"And that is it for today's class," Ms. Cato, Nemo's history kyoshi (teacher), says. She ends the presentation and turns off the machine. "Class, please don't forget about your project. You need to type a paper so I can review it. If I like it, then you can proceed to the next step. If not, then I'd ask you to please pick a different topic."

As Ms. Cato says all of this, the students, including Nemo and Oscar, are quickly leaving the room. Flying through the wall, I catch up with Nemo and Oscar as the two walk down the stairs and toward the crowded front gate.

"Finally," Oscar says, bumping Nemo with his elbow. "Come on, we're losing daylight. The sooner we get to the park, the sooner we can set things up and start shooting."

As the two walk through the gate and out of the gakko (school), Oscar pulls out what I am told is called a cell phone. With his cell phone, he starts to call someone.

"Hey, it's me," he says while nodding his head. "Yeah. We're ready. Nemo and I are heading to the park now. Can you be there? You can! Yes! See you there!"

Oscar cheers as he raises his fists into the air before shooting them down. He puts his phone into his pocket and turns toward Noon.

"Come on," Oscar says again, now running. As he runs, Oscar claps his hands. "Claire says she can meet us at the park. She manages to finish all her homework early and is meeting us there. Let's go!"

Nyssa Alva:

"Ahhh," Noon moans while shaking her head. "I hate Claire."

"Don't be rude," I say, hitting Noon on the back. We watch from a few feet away as Nemo and Oscar start to run somewhere. Based on what direction they're running, I think the two are heading to Peters Park.

"I'm not," Noon says. She sticks out her tongue and lets out a raspberry. "I mean, I'm not saying anything too bad. I'm just saying I hate Clarie. Oh, Ms. 'Excellent', who goes to a private school and is from a super rich family and has everything anyone could ever want."

"Hey," I say, tapping Noon on her shoulder. "Ms. 'Not-at-all-Rich'. Your limo with your own private driver is here."

"Oh, thank you," Noon says. For some reason, Noon then turns to the side and gives a nod. She runs off but before she does, I grab her hand.

"Remember the plan," I say, pointing a stern finger at my best friend. "Go to Peters Park. Remember. Peters Park. Got it?"

Noon smiles as she looks at me.

"I got it," Noon replies. "And thank you. I can't thank you enough."

"Just remember me when the 'big day' comes," I say with a wink. Almost immediately, Noon's face turns a bright red. It makes me laugh.

"Come on," Noon says. She pulls her hand back and runs to her limo. As she jumps inside, I watch from where I'm standing as the limo does a U-turn before heading to Peters Park.

"Oh darn it," I say, slapping myself on the face. "I should've asked to give the wedding speech. Oh well. I got years to spare."

Oscar Almo:

"Nemo," Clarie says the second she sees us. Laughing as she walks right up to Nemo, Claire then gives him a big hug. Her arms quickly wrap around Nemo and squeeze him before letting go a few seconds later. "I'm glad to see you two again."

As Claire says this, she adjusts her long red hair and straightens her red jacket.

"Claire," I say. I smile and give Claire a high-five.

"Claire," Nemo says, smiling. "How are you doing?"

Claire's smile turns upside down.

"Busy, busy, busy," she sighs.

"Oh," I say, turning away. "Uhh, I'm sorry. Hey, you know, if you can't do this, it's okay."

"No, no, no," Claire repeats, swinging her hands right and left. "I am busy. Busy, busy, busy with a bunch of stuff I don't want to do. This isn't one of them. This is something I want to do. Now come on. Let's get this film rolling before I'm called back for something else."

"Okay," I say, nodding my head. "Okay! Let's go! Let's do this! I got everything ready! You two need to prepare for your scenes!"

"Got it," Nemo says, shooting me a thumbs-up.

"No problem," Claire answers with a nod of her head.

"Nemo. You're going to play the monster. Here's the--hey wait. Where's the mask?"

I try to reach for the slime monster mask but as I do, all I grab is air.

"The mask," Claire repeats. "What mask?"

"The slime monster mask Nemo made for this," I answer. I look all over and even dump everything in my backpack onto the ground. "I swear I put the mask right here. Wait, did I leave it at the school?"

"Hey Oscar," Clarie says, tapping my shoulder. "By chance, is this monster mask black, wavy, and has two small holes and one big one?"

"Yeah," I say, jumping up from the ground. "Do you see it? Where is it?"

"Over there," Claire answers. She points to a small kid, a little boy, nearby. Besides wearing a pair of overalls with a white shirt, the kid is also wearing the slime monster mask. He's running around, chasing other kids with it.

"Hey," I yell, getting up. I start to run after the kid but stop. Moving fast, I dig through my backpack and give both Claire and Nemo a notebook. "Here are your scripts! Read them for now! I'll be right back!"

I then run after the kid as he keeps roaring.

"Hey," I start as I approach the little boy. "Hey, easy there, little man. Listen. That's my mask. Can I have it back, please?"

"What," the kid says, stepping back. "No! This is mine! I found it! It's my mask now! Mine!"

Before I can say anything else, the kid runs off. He runs off and disappears behind a bush.

"Hey," I say, now chasing after the kid. "Come on, kid! This isn't finder, keeper! That is my mask! Well, it's my friend but still!"

I sigh as I start searching the bushes for the kid.

Don' Yokuna Yokubo:

I open my eyes and take a step forward. As I step forward, I spread out my arms.

"I sense the birth of a new dark spirit," I say. "Greed. Desire. Combined together, they form a dakura tchingu."

I tap the floor with my magical staff and start drawing a purple circle. As I draw the circle, a rune stone on my staff glows with dark magical energy. The dark energy gathers in the circle before transforming into a large shifting shadow.

"Go," I order, pointing at the window. "Go and find the hosuto (host) and become one with him!"

I slam my staff down and watch as my shadow shoots through the window and toward the outside. Through the eyes of my dakura tchingu, I can see the new world, filled with moving metal boxes on wheels, large stone buildings, and thousands of people.

"The ancient world is gone. This new world makes me sick but once I have the souls of Akio Hiacsashi and Emica Kana, I will have enough power to bring back the old world."

Following the greed and desire as it leads my dakura tchingu to a small park, it travels among the shadow before coming upon a tiny green bush, and there hiding in the bush, is a little greedy boy with an interesting monster mask.

I smile as I watch my dakura tchingu tower over him. Even before he can turn around, my dakura tchingu engulfs him.

"Hello young man," I say, speaking to the little boy. "My name is Don'Yokuna Yokubo."

3: Chapter 3: Doro Monsuta (Mud Monster)

The Little Boy:

"This is so awesome," I say, looking at the monster mask in my hands. "It's mine. Mine!"

"Hey kid," the teenager from before says as he walks past me. "Come on. I just want my mask back. I need it for something. Please, can I have it back?"

"No," I yell, holding the mask close to my chest. "It's mine! Mine! Mine!"

I keep my mouth shut as the stupid teenager looks in the wrong bush for me. As I keep my mouth shut, I feel something over me. I turn around to see a large shadow. Even before I can scream, the shadow drops onto me, and the next moment, I see myself floating in some sort of empty black space.

"Hello, young man," a voice calls out to me. "My name is Don'Yokuna Yokubo."

"Don--," I try to say, "Don yok--Don yoku--"

The voice laughs and stops me.

"No need to say my name," the voice says. "Oh, that is quite a scary mask you have."

"It's mine," I yell, hiding the mask behind me. "Mine!"

"Of course," the voice says. "Why, I don't want the mask. I want to give it to you."

"You do?"

"Yes. In fact, I can give you more than just a mask. I can turn you into an actual monster. A scary, scary monster! And all I ask for in return are two little things. What do you say? Do you agree, young man?"

As I listen to the voice, I pull out the monster mask and look at it.

"Yes," I shout. "Yes! I want to be a scary monster! One that roars and scares people away! Even that means teenager!"

"Very well. Then with my magic, I grant you life! Be born! Doro Monsuta (mud monster)!"

As the voice screams, I see large shadows shoot out from the empty black space, first grabbing onto the monster mask before grabbing onto me. As the shadows grab onto me, I feel myself start to change.

I feel a cold slime run all over me over and over again. As it runs over and over again, I feel myself growing bigger and bigger.

Oscar Almo:

"Hello," I say, looking over a bush, hoping to find the boy with my monster mask but instead, seeing nothing. "Hello! Come on, where are you? Kid? Kid! Ahh, where could he have gone?"

I shake my head as I walk over to another bush. About to search this bush, some sort of black slime erupts from it. The eruption knocks me to my feet. As I try to get up, an earth-shaking roar pushes me back down.

"What in the world," I shout. Turning around, I see some sort of volcano with black slime running down from it. It grows bigger and bigger out from the bush before looming over me. Finally pushing myself onto my feet, I look up at the now mountain of black slime. I watch as the slime starts to move. The slime moves, splitting apart in only certain sections. From down below where I'm standing, it looks like the mountain made itself eyes and a mouth. I'm proven right when the mountain opens its mouth and roars, once again shaking the Earth.

"I couldn't be wrong," I say, stepping back. "This is probably the one time I wanted to be wrong!"

"Doro Monsuta," the black slime mountain roars as it looks down at me. The second it sees me, two massive arms explode from its side. It then slowly reaches down and tries to grab me.

I scream as I start to run.

Nemo Farid:

"Oscar," I say, looking around. Claire, who is standing right next to me since Oscar only gave us one script, gets up and looks around too.

"What was that," Claire asks. "Was that Oscar? Why did he scream?"

"I don't know," I say, putting Oscar's notebook down. As I look around, I see Oscar running toward us. I open my mouth to say something but stop when I hear Oscar's first word.

"Run," Oscar shouts, "Nemo! Claire! Run!"

Claire and I don't even have to ask why. Directly behind Oscar, crawling along the ground is some sort of giant, black, slimy monster. As Oscar runs, the monster grabs the ground and pulls itself closer to him.

"Oscar," I shout, watching as Oscar barely outruns the slime monster.

"Oscar," Claire shouts, stepping forward. As she steps forward, I step back. Taking a few steps back, I turn and look at Akio. He looks at me with cold eyes.

"A dakura tchingu," Akio says.

"Yeah," I say, nodding my head. "It must be that little kid who stole my slime monster mask. Don Yokuna Yokubo must have sent one of his dakura tchingus. It latches onto my mask and then onto him. The boy is the dakura tchingus's hosuto."

"We have to destroy your mask," Akio says, raising his fist.

"Oh man," I say, feeling my shoulders drop. "I spend all night working on that mask. Ahh. I guess we have no choice."

As I talk with Akio, we both turn our heads when we hear both Claire and Oscar screaming.

"Oscar, watch out," Claire says after Oscar reaches her. The massive slime monster raises one of its giant arms before throwing it back down. As it does this, Claire pushes Oscar out of the way. She screams as she drops to her knees and covers her head.

"Claire," I scream, running and jumping. Tackling Claire out of the way and onto the ground, we roll around for a bit before stopping. Laying side-by-side, we look back at the slime monster as it pulls its arm back up. As the slime monster pulls its arm up, we see all sorts of things stuck in the black slime: whole trees, entire benches, even part of the walkway.

"Are you okay," I say, helping Claire up while getting up myself.

"For now," Claire answers. She looks up and sees the slime monster as it raises its arm again. "But ask me again in five minutes."

"Go, go, go," I yell, grabbing Claire's hand and pulling her away from the slime monster as it slams its arm again and picks up more things. By now, everyone else in the park has seen the slime monster and they're running. Seeing Oscar wave his arms in the air, Claire and I run to him and regroup.

Running right into a crowd of people, I let go of Claire's hand and stop running.

"Nemo," Claire yells. She tries to stop running and comes back for me but the crowd of people pushes both her and Oscar away. Once they're gone, I pull out the emerald dragon from my pocket.

"Akio," I say, looking at my ghostly friend. "Are you ready?"

Akio nods his head. Taking a quick look around, I run and hide behind a tree. Once hidden, I raise the emerald dragon into the air.

"The noble dragon awakens," I chant. As I chant the magical words, the emerald dragon glows a bright green color. When the green glow reaches me, my jacket and pants vanish into thin air, replaced with a bright green ninja jumpsuit. Waving my hands, a mask appears that covers all of my head except for my eyes along with a belt and many pouches. Once the mask and pouches are done, next is a pair of bamboo wooden swords. They appear on my back, with straps going across my chest. Finally, I feel myself being pulled out of my own body. I watch as I fly out and Akio flies in. Screaming as soon as he's in control, Akio shoots out my hands and stomps on my foot.

Akio looks at my hands after the transformation. He then looks at me and smiles.

"Are you okay," he asks.

This time, I nod my invisible, see-through head.

With this, Akio reaches behind him and grabs one of his wooden swords. Now armed, the mighty Green Emerald Ninja walks out from behind the tree. Facing the large slime monster as he keeps on eating more trees, the Emerald Ninja pushes off against the ground and charges toward him.

Noon Encarnacion:

"Hey Noon," Emica says. I look up from my textbook and at Emica.

"Yeah. What's up?"

"I have a quick question."

"Sure. What's up?"

"Just to be sure," Emica starts, looking out the window. "In the modern world, it's not normal for the sky to turn black and for it to rain mud. Right?"

"No," I say. "What would you ask something like that?"

"I only ask because the sky is now black and it is raining mud."

"Wait, what!"

I crawl the window and look out myself. Emica is right. The once blue, cloudless sky is now pitch-black, and worst, it is raining giant mudballs. As one of the mudballs lands on the hood of the limo, it startles my driver. He swerves uncontrollably for a bit but thankfully, comes to a complete stop without hitting anything.

"What's going on," I yell. I move from the side toward the front of the limo to examine the mudball. It's massive and slimy but it can't be mud. It's black, not brown.

About to get out, my driver stops me by locking the door.

"Oh come on," I say, shaking the door as I try to open it. I look at my driver but he grunts at me. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Mother wouldn't want me to."

My driver nods his head before getting out himself. However, the second he gets out, he's hit with one of the mudballs. It hits and glues him to the side of the limo. Watching as my driver tries to pull himself free, an idea sparks in my head.

Reaching through the window and onto the driver's seat, I push the unlock button and unlock the door. Getting out, I look at my driver.

"I'll go and get help," I say, looking at my driver as he shakes left and right. My driver looks at me but I put my right hand and my left hand over my heart. "Don't worry. I promise I'll be careful. Just, stay here."

My driver sees no other choices and nods his head. I nod back and run away. As soon as I'm far enough away and hidden, I reach into my pocket and pull out the ruby rose.

"I did say I would go and get help," I say, looking at Emica. "And what better help than from the Red Rose Ninja. A beautiful red rose blooms!"

As I chant the words, I hold up the ruby rose and almost immediately, it glows brightly. The red glow encases me, covering me in magic before switching out my jacket, shirt, and pants with a bright red jumpsuit. Waving my hands around my waist and then up my back, a chain with a weight and a wooden bo staff appears. Now as I wave my hand over my mouth, a mask magically appears over it. Shortly after, my long brown hair turned black and tied into a ponytail. Finally, I feel myself begin to switch out of my body. Now the ghost, I turn around and see Emica take control of my body. Emica shoots out her hands once she's in control.

"I get the feeling a dakura tchingu is behind all of this," the Red Rose Ninja says.

"I get the same feeling," I say, slamming my invisible fist onto my invisible palm. "Or I would if I had any feeling in my hands.

Emica looks up before running. She runs and jumps onto a nearby building before quickly climbing up it. Once on the roof, she looks around.

"Do you see the hosuto anywhere," Emica asks.

"I can't be sure," I say, bumping Emica with my arm but of course, my arm just goes through her. "But I think the giant mud man dragging himself around over there may be the hosuto."

Emica turns and looks where I'm pointing.

"Yes, Noon," Emica says. "I think that may be the hosuto."

Emica gives herself a running start before jumping onto the next building over.

Akio Hisashi:

"Doro Monsuta," the slime monster moans as he slams his giant arm down. Backflipping out of the way, I run forward and hit his arm with my bokken. However, it appears to do nothing.

As Doro Monsuta pulls back his arm, he almost takes my bokken with him but I manage to pull it out in time.

"A plan," I say, looking at the floating Nemo beside me. "I could really use a plan. Do you have a plan?"

"Give me a few minutes," Nemo yells.

"We may not have these few minutes," I yell back as Doro Monsuta swings his arm and shoots out hundreds of black blobs. The blobs turn the blue sky black and start to rain down.

Looking up as I try to dodge the falling blobs, one still falls onto me. It pinned me to the ground and no matter how much Nemo screams, I can't get free.

"Doro Monsuta," Doro Monsuta says picking me up.

4: Chapter 4: Slime Everywhere

A/N I know it has been a long while but I finally updated my book, The Many Tales of the 2-Souls Ninjas. Thank you for taking the time to read it. I hope you enjoy it and I hope the new chapter brings a bit of delight to your day.

Don' Yokuna Yokubo:

With my magic, I can see everything through the eyes of the hosuto. I smile when I see Doro Monsuta pick up the tiny Green Emerald Ninja. He struggles inside Doro Monsuta's massive black arm as he sinks deeper and deeper inside.

"Do not forget about my reward," I say, speaking to Doro Monsuta.

"Doro Monsuta," Doro Monsuta moans as he brings the Green Emerald Ninja to his face. Still struggling, Green Emerald Ninja can't do anything as the slime around him starts to move. It sinks around him, pulling the Green Emerald Ninja deeper in while also searching for the emerald dragon.

"Soon, it will be min--What, wait!"

Sinking to the point where only one arm and his head are above the black slime, a chain shoots out from the side and wraps around the Green Ninja's arm.

"No," I scream. "Doro Monsuta, quickly! Destroy that chain!"

"Doro Monsuta," Doro Monsuta moans as he raises his other arm. He slams it back down toward the Green Ninja but before Doro Monsuta can hit him, he is pulled away, disappearing into the trees.

"Where did he go?"

Through Doro Monsuta's eyes, I look around the park but can't find the Green Emerald Ninja anywhere. Or the Red Rose Ninja.

"Find them immediately," I order. "Find them and bring me those magical jewels. Now!"

Doro Monsuta moans once more as he searches through the trees, pushing away all the leaves.

Emica Kana:

Watching from a distance as Doro Monsuta searches through the trees, I turn around and jump from branch to branch. Using my chigiriki, the chain wrapping around another tree branch, I swing down, landing on the ground besides Akio.

"Akio," I start, "Are you okay? Akio! Akio? Can you hear me?"

"Please give me a moment," Akio answers, scratching the sides of his head. "I have some slime on my ears."

"Eww," Noon says, flying back. I step back too as Akio throws the black slime away. When Akio is finished, and can hear again, he pushes himself onto his feet.

"Thank you for saving me," Akio says, shaking off the rest of the slime. Again, I have to step back but once Akio is clean, I step back.

"What's going on," I ask.

"It's Don' Yokuna Yokubo," Akio answers. "He had summoned another dakura tchingu and this time, it had taken over a little boy."

"Where is the dakura tchingu hiding?"

"In the mask."

"In the mask?"

Both Noon and I turn around to look at the giant slime monster as he keeps searching through the trees.

"Doro Monsuta," the slim monster moans as he rips out a whole tree and swallows it.

"Hey Emica," Noon says, still staring at Doro Monsuta. "Just to be sure. You don't see a mask, do you?"

"No," I answer, shaking my head. Noon and I turn back to Akio.

"I don't see a mask."

Nemo Farid:

"The mask must be buried underneath all the slime," I answer, "Somehow, you and Emica have to get rid of all of it before you can grab my monster mask and destroy it."

"Excuse me," Akio says, putting up a finger before stepping back. A few feet from Emica, Akio leans in close to me.

"How are Emica and I supposed to get rid of all that black slime," he whispers. "What? Are we just going to wash it away?"

"I don't know," I answer with a shrug.

Despite Akio's green ninja mask, I can still see his V-shaped eyebrows.

"What? I don't have any idea at the moment."

Akio sighs and shakes his head as he returns to Emica. I roll my eyes as I hover behind him.

"My hosuto tells me that the mask with the dakura tchingu must be underneath all the black slime covering Doro Monsuta. To get the mask and destroy it, we somehow have to get rid of all the slime first."

Emica turns and looks at Doro Monsuta as he picks up a few more trees and eats them.

"How are we supposed to do that," Emica asks.

"My hosuto doesn't have any idea," Akio answers. He turns slightly to look at me. I answer with another shrug of my shoulders.

"Does your hosuto have any idea?"

Emica turns to her side and talks with her invisible hosuto. Akio and I watch them whisper among each other. Eventually, Emica turns back to Akio.

"She doesn't have any idea either," Emica says. As Emica says this, I hear Akio take a deep breath through his nose. He then let out a big sigh.

"Wonderful," he says, shaking his head again. I try to bump Akio with my elbow but my elbow goes right through his arm.

"Instead," Emica says, "My hosuto is saying...behind you? Behind you!"

Emica pointing right behind Akio, he and I turn around to see Doro Monsuta pushing away the leaves.

"He found us," I shout. "Watch out!"

The second Doro Monsuta finds us, he moans his name and raises his arm high into the air. Swinging it down, Akio and Emica run. They run and run until Doro Monsuta's arm hits the ground. As it does, black slime shoots off of Doro Monsuta's arm and into the air, and once more, it rains slime.

"Incoming," I shout, flying behind Akio and Emica. Hearing my warning, Akio turns around and sees the raining slime. Grabbing Emica's hand, he pulls her close in.

"Watch out," Akio says. Emica turning around herself, sees the raining slime. Wasting no time, Emica pulls out her chain while Akio pulls out his dual wooden swords. Together, the two destroys slimeballs as they fall. Jumping and flipping through the air, Akio swings his wooden swords left, right, up, and down while Emica twists and turns with her chain, spinning it in all and every direction.

I watch as the two destroy countless slimeballs, turning them into nothing more than tiny droplets. As Akio and Emica keep destroying the raining slimeballs, I remember something important. Turning around, I see Doro Monsuta pulling himself closer and closer to them.

"Oh no," I say, quickly flying to Akio's side. "Akio! Akio!"

"I'm busy," Akio yells, dodging a falling slimeball and then destroying another one. "What is it?"

"Doro Monsuta," I answer. "He's getting closer and closer! Look!"

I turn around and point to the incoming Doro Monsuta as he pulls himself toward the four of us. Doro Monsuta is still some distance away but after another pull, he swings his arm and shoots out more black slimes. The afternoon sky turns even blacker as it rains more slimeballs. The slimeballs hit anything and everything; cars, trees, buildings, even some people. No here is spared. 

"Emica," Akio shouts, lowering his wooden swords. Sheathing one of them, Akio grabs Emica's hand and pulls her away. The two of them run out of the park and onto the street. However, they don't get very far into the street.

Emica screams as she accidentally steps into a puddle of black slime. It grabs her foot and pulls her in.

"I'm stuck," Emica screams. She tries to pull her foot out but can't.

"Hold on," Akio says. He sheathes his other wooden sword and takes Emica's hand with both of his. "Okay. I got you. Are you ready?"

Emica nods her head. Once Akio sees this, he pulls and pulls until finally, Emica is free. Stumbling forward a bit, Akio catches Emica in his arms.

Akio Hisashi:

As I hold Emica in my arms, I feel my chest heating up. I feel Emica's smooth skin on my hands. As I look into Emica's beautiful red eyes, I lost all my breath. All of this, this feeling, reminds me of ancient days, before Emica and I became spirits.

Oscar Almo:

"This is so awesome," I say while hiding behind a wall. Holding up my phone and filming, I capture everything. I capture the slime monster as it makes it rain slime. I capture the Green Emerald Ninja and the Red Rose Ninjas as they run away from the slime monster. I even manage to capture the moment where the Red Rose Ninja's foot gets stuck and the Green Emerald Ninja pulls her free and now, the two are holding each other.

Getting the right angle, and making sure the two ninjas are in the center, I cry out when something grabs me. Turning around, I see Clarie pulling and dragging me.

"Hey," I shout, struggling to break free. "What are you doing? You're messing up the frame!"

"Film later," Clarie says, "Run now!"

"We're safe here," I say. Claire looks at me with crossed arms. She shakes her head and sighs.

"Okay. Whatever. Have you seen Nemo anywhere?"

"No, but I have no doubt he's okay. After all, the Green Emerald Ninja and Red Rose Ninja are here! They'll keep us safe!"

Hearing an earth-shaking roar, Clarie and I look up to see the slime monster rising from the tree. He opens his mouth wide and begins throwing up. As the slime monster throws up, a wave of black slime rushes out. Like a tidal wave, it washes over the trees and onto the street. In less than a minute, practically the whole street is covered in slime.

"We're safe here," Clare repeats, looking at me. "Uh? Do you want to say that again?"

"Talk later," I say, getting a few final shots. "Run now."

Claire nods her head and together, we run further down the street.

Noon Encarnacion:

"Jump," I yell. Hovering as I watch Emica and Akio jump onto the roof of cars to avoid the flash flood of black slime, I hear another roar and turn away. Doro Monsuta is pushing himself toward the two again, but this time, it looks like he's moving faster!

"Oh come on," I shout, slapping myself in the head with my ghostly hand. "The black slime must have somehow greased up the street, making it easier for Doro Monsuta to pull himself."

Turning around, I see Emica and Akio jumping from car to car, with Doro Monsuta quickly approaching them.

"Come on," I say, looking around. "Think! Think! Idea! We need an idea! Think! According to Akio's host, the dakura tchingu is hiding in a mask! But the problem is the mask is buried underneath all that disgusting black slime, and in order to get the mask, we need to somehow wash the slime away! But how? How are we supposed to wash the slime away..."

As I swing and shake my arms around, I see something nearby that can help us. Stuck in the slime, the tire begins covered, it's immovable. However, the top of it looks very clean.

"Wash the slime away," I repeat. "Wash the slime away. Yes!"

Looking around for Emica, I see her swinging onto the top of a building. Not wasting a second, I fly to her as fast as I can.

"Emica," I shout, "I got an idea! Look!"

Emica running to where I am, looks over the ledge.

"What," she asks. "What am I looking at?"

"That," I answer, pointing at the street below. "Emica, turn your head slightly to your right. Keep going. Keep going. Stop now!"

"What, that? That big red car? How is that supposed to help us?"

"Easy. For starters, it's not just a big red car."

5: Chapter 5: Washing It Away

Akio Hisashi:

Reaching into one of the pouches around my waist, I pull out a smoke pellet and throw it at Doro Monsuta. A thick cloud of black smoke blinds Doro Monsuta and gives me a chance to get away even further.

"Doooro Monssssuta," Doro Monsuta moans as he covers his face.

Jumping from car to car, I stop when I reach the end of the street and see no more cars.

"Where to now," Nemo asks, still hovering beside me. I see no car but I do see a brick wall right in front of us.

"We go up," I answer, jumping from the roof of the car onto the brick wall. My fingers digging into the clay between the bricks, I pull myself up. Climbing up the wall, I reach the rooftop in a matter of minutes.

"Okay," Nemo says, flying after me. "We're on a rooftop. Away from the slime. Doro Monsuta still looks slightly blind. Now what?"

"I was hoping by now, you would have an idea," I answer.

"Uhh, I still got nothing."

"Nemo," I shout. As I shout, Nemo flies back slightly.

"What," he yells, flying back. "What do you want to say?"

"I want you to give an idea on how to get rid of the slime covering Doro Monsuta so we can get your mask and destroy the dakura tchingu hiding within. Therefore, freeing the little boy of Don' Yokuna Yokubo's dark magic. Come on. Look around! Do you see anything useful?"

"Give me a second," Nemo says, flying over to the ledge. "Give me a second."

As Nemo flies over to the ledge and looks around, I hear a familiar fierce roaring. Looking past Nemo, I see my smoke cloud gone and Doro Monsuta looks around.

"Oh no!"

Looking around myself, I waste no time and hide behind a metal box on the top of the building.

"Nemo," I whisper. "Nemo!"

"What," Nemo asks, flying over to me. "And why are you hiding behind a vent?"

"Doro Monsuta isn't blind anymore. He can see, and he's looking for me and Emica."

I point behind Nemo. Nemo turns around and sees Doro Monsuta as he picks up and looks underneath cars and on rooftops.

"It won't be long before Doro Monsuta looks right. Nemo. If you're going to get an idea, now would be the most ideal time."

"I'm trying! I'm trying! Wait, hold on. I see Emica. She's on a rooftop like us. I think she's trying to signal us."

"How can you be sure?"

"Well, did ninja teacher ever teach you or Emica jumping jacks?

"Jumping what?"

I look out from behind my cover and see Emica on a rooftop across from us. She's waving her arms left and right. When Emica sees me coming out and onto the ledge, she points at something below.

"What is she pointing at?"

I look at the streets below but I see nothing but cars stuck in black slime.

"I get it," Nemo says. "I know what Emica is pointing at."

"You do?"

Nemo and I then watch as Emica starts doing something else. She then bends her knees, holds her hands near her waist, and moves right and left.

"You do get it? Right?"

"Yes! I do! I know what she needs us to do! Wave back at her!"

Still confused with what Emica is trying to tell me, and now also with Nemo, I still wave back at Emica.

"Now nod your head!"

I nod my head. When Emica sees this, she jumps off the roof and back down onto the street!

"What is she doing?"

"It's a part of her plan," Nemo answers. "Now you have to do your part."

"What's my part?"

"Fighting Doro Monsuta."

"What!"

Emica Kana:

Landing on top of a car, I look at, as Noon tells me, the fire truck stuck in the black slime, I jump from car to car toward it. Unfortunately, it's closer to Doro Monsuta than it is to me.

"Hurry," Noon says, appearing beside me. "Hurry! Hurry!"

"Not helping," I say, pulling out my chigiriki. Swinging it around, I throw one end of the chain toward the truck. However, before it can reach the truck, Doro Monsuta catches it in his massive black arm.

Doro Monsuta:

"Doro Monsuta," my master says, appearing before my eyes. Hovering in my head, looking like a ghost in a hood and with a glowing staff, he raises his head and looks at me with glowing purple eyes. "Get it for me. Now! The ruby rose!" Or I will take the mask."

"No," I shout, slamming my hands against the ground. "No! The mask is mine! I will give you what you want!"

Pulling on the chain, I lift the red ninja high into the air.

Nemo Farid:

"Doro Monsuta," Doro Monsuta moans as he reaches toward Emica.

"Akio," I shout, looking back at Akio as he winds up his arm like a baseball player. Throwing the pellets, they explode all over the side of Doro Monsuta's head. Doro Monsuta cries out and covers his head with his arms, accidentally dropping Emica.

Growling as he slams his hands down again, Doro Monsuta pulls his way toward us. In only a few minutes, Akio and I are face-to-face with Doro Monsuta. Switching the pellets in his hands for bokkens, Akio holds them up while in Doro Monsuta's shadow.

"I hate my part of this plan," Akio says.

"So do I," I say.

"Doooorrro Monsutttoo," Doro Monsuto moans as he throws up more black slime.

Noon Encarnacion:

Watching as Emica uses her chain again to pull herself onto the fire truck, she lands with a loud thud.

"Okay," Emica says, pocketing her weapon. "I'm here. Now what do I do again?"

While Emica stands on top of the fire truck, I fly around it, looking for the fire hose.

"Here," I say, finding the long white fire hose rolled up on the side. "This is it! Grab it!"

Emica going to where I am, sees the fire hose and reaches down to grab it. Thankfully, the hose isn't completely in the slime. It takes a few pulls but Emica finally has the hose in her hands.

"What is this," she asks, holding up the hose.

"That's called a fire hose," I answer with a smile. "As you said before, we're going to wash the slime away. Right off Doro Monsuta."

"With this? How? I don't see any water inside."

Emica peeks inside the hose before looking back at me.

"The hose doesn't have water," I quickly answer. "The hose is for range and pressure. The water is coming from there."

I float over the side and point at a bright red fire hydrant half-buried in the black slime.

"Hold onto the hose," I say. Emica nodding her head, wraps the hose around her waist. Once it's tightly wrapped, she jumps from the fire truck onto another car and onto the hydrant. It's a tough landing, given how small the hydrant is, but Emica still manages to catch herself.

"I suppose the water is inside this," Emica asks, examining the fire hydrant. "But how do I open it?"

"Here," I say, tapping the side. "Use your chain to take off the value."

Despite Emica's tilting head, she still does what I tell her. Pulling her out chain again, Emica wraps it around the value and starts pulling. Despite how hard Emica is pulling, the value still won't come off. As Emica keeps pulling, I hear screaming and turn around.

"Akio," I scream, seeing Akio stuck in Doro Monsuta's hand again. Doro Monsuta is raising Akio, bringing him closer and closer to his mouth. "Emica! Hurry!"

Emica turning around and seeing what I see, raises her foot. While still pulling with her chain, Emica also starts stomping on the value. With one last stomp and pull, the value spins, coming right off in a few seconds. As the hydrant opens, sparkling water pours out and washes away all the black slime surrounding us.

"Quickly! Screw the hose in!"

Jumping off the hydrant and into the water, Emica unties the hose from around her waist and places it on the hydrant.

"Now. Place your feet firmly on the ground, push the trigger on the top of the hose, and wash away all this disgusting black slime!"

Now Emica, armed with a fire hose, smiles as she places her feet firmly on the street and grabs the nozzle on top. Pulling the nozzle, Emica unleashes a powerful steam of water that hits Doro Monsuta.

"Doro Monsuta," Doro Monsuta says as he quickly shrinks. Dropping Akio, Doro Monsuta turns to Emica. He pulls his way toward her and reaches out his arm but Emica doesn't stop shooting. She turns the water against Doro Monsuta's hand and in only a few minutes, his whole hand melts away.

"Yay," I shout, raising my invisible hands.

It doesn't take long for Emica to wash away the rest of the slime making up Doro Monsuta. The water carries away all the slime, and even when Doro Monsuta tries to grab it, it slips right out of his hands.

He moans the whole time as Emica washes him. Eventually, Doro Monsuta's moaning turns into crying, and after all the slime is gone, there, sitting in front of us is a little boy wearing a black monster mask.

The little boy, who is also soaking wet, starts throwing a tantrum.

"No," the boys shouts. "The mask is mine! Mine!"

He turns and starts running but Akio stops him.

6: Chapter 6: The Real Heroes

Akio Hisashi:

Grabbing the kid by the back of his shirt, I lift him. He's shouting and screaming, and his feet are running on wind but he's not going anyway.

"The mask is mine," the little boy shouts. "No! You can't have it! It's mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!"

As the boy goes on and on about how the mask is his and how he won't give it up, I turn to Nemo.

"Hello," I say. "I could use a little help here."

"What do you want me to do," Nemo asks. "I'm a ghost. Remember? My hands go through everything."

Nemo tries to reach for the mask with the dakura tchingu hiding inside it but instead, both his hands go right through the little boy. I try reaching for the mask myself but the little boy slaps my hand away.

"Ouch," I say, shaking my hand.

Thinking what I could do, Emica walks up to me.

"Let me and my hosuto handle this," Emica says. "Just keep holding onto him."

"Go right ahead," I say, pulling back my hand.

Emica Kana:

Dropping down onto one of my knees, making myself face-to-face with the little boy, I turn to Noon.

"Repeat after me," Noon says, kneeling beside me. I nod my head and Noon starts talking.

"Little boy," Noon starts. "Please give up the mask. I know how it looks. It does look very scary and very awesome, but you don't want to be a real monster. Do you? Emica, make him look around. Show him what he did."

I nod my head and step aside.

"Look at what you did," I say.

The little boy, still crying, looks around. He looks around and sees all the black slime everywhere. He also sees the cars that have been overturned, the messy buildings, and Akio and me who are still covered in the slime.

"Begin a scary monster can be fun," Noon says, "But please, don't be a real scary monster."

"But please," I say, looking the little boy in the eyes. "Don't be a real scary monster."

It seems Noon's words are taking effect. The little boy had stopped crying. Slowly, the boy raises his hands up to his head. He takes off the mask and gives it to me.

"I don't want to be a real scary monster," the boy cries. "I just wanted this mask. But I don't want all of this."

"Thank you," I say, taking the monster mask from the boy. "Akio, you can let him down now."

Akio nods and gently puts the boy back on the ground.

"Thank you for giving us the monster mask," Akio says. The boy smiles when Akio thanks him.

With the mask in my hands, I pull it apart, ripping and destroying it. When the mask is destroyed, Akio and I see a large shadow burst out from it. It flies into the air but the second the dakura tchingu sees sunlight, it shakes and burns before disappearing completely.

As the dakura tchingu disappears, all the black slime disappears too. It quickly fades away, the street returning to normal. As Akio and I watch the slime vanish, we hear screaming and turn around. The little boy who gave me the mask is on the ground with his hand on his forehead.

"Ahh," the little boy says, rubbing his eyes. "What happened? Where--Where am I? Where is my mom?"

Before Akio and I can do anything, the little boy starts crying again. He lowers his head and rubs his eyes.

"Uhh, Noon," I whisper, "I could use a little help here! Please!"

"You can't do anything," Noon answers, "But I can. I have an idea. Just follow plan."

Noon tells me her plan and I nod my head. Dropping down to my knee again, I place my hand on the little boy's shoulder.

The boy looks at me with tear-filled eyes.

"I have to go now," I say, repeating what Noon is saying to me, "But don't worry. My friend will be coming to help you. Just wait here. Okay?"

"Okay," the boy says.

Standing up now, I turn to Akio.

"Time to go," I say.

"What about him," Akio asks.

"Don't worry. My hosuto had a plan. Trust her. And me."

With that said, I place my fist against the palm of my hand. Akio seeing this, smiles and places his fist against the palm of his hand. We bow before turning around and disappearing from sights.

The second we're out of sights, hidden between two buildings, I pull out the ruby rose from my pockets.

"A beautiful red rose closes," I chant, my jumpsuit and weapons disappearing and turning into a jacket, a shirt, and a pair of pants. My hairs turn from black to brown, and I switch places with Noon.

"Come on," Noon says, pocketing the ruby rose. "Let's go help that little boy."

Nemo Farid:

"The noble dragon sleeps," Akio chants. As Akio chants the magical phase, his green ninja jumpsuit vanishes. His mask, belt, pouches, and swords all disappear, and are replace by my jacket and pants. Switching places with Akio, now back in my body, I feel a sharp pain and let out a cry.

"Ouch," I scream, rubbing my arm. "Ohhh, I hate that part."

Rolling my shoulders and stretching out, I breath through my nose before walking out from behind a building. Heading back to where Akio and Emica left the little boy, I'm surprise to see Noon there too.

"Noon?"

"Nemo," Noons says. She gets up from her knees and faces me. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm.....here.....to....help him!"

"Really?"

"Yes," I say with a nod. "I...heard him crying and rushed over here. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I'm.....uhhh....here to....help him too! Yeah! Totally! Yes! Come on, little man. Let's go find your mother."

The little boy is still crying but not as much as before. He smiles as he takes both my and Noon's hands. I smile when I see this and look at Noon. Noon, however, isn't looking at me. She's coughing loudly while looking to the side.

"Man," I think, "Noon need to see a doctor about that cold."

It doesn't take long for Noon and me to find the little boy's mother. We find her in the park, searching for her son. The second the mother and her son see each other, they run into each other's arm and embrace each other.

"Ahh," Noon says, "This is like something out of a movie."

I laugh when I hear this.

"Yeah. I guess that make us the hero."

As I say this, I look at Noon and Noon looks at me. Looking at Noon, I feel something in my throat and look away. Coughing to clear my throat, I look back at Noon.

"I should really get back to my friends."

"Yeah," Noon says, stepping back. "I have Chinese lessons and a photoshoot and something else. I have to go! I guess I'll see you at school."

"Yeah! Totally! Yes!"

I turn around and run to find Oscar and Clarie. I search the park and then the nearby streets. It takes a while but finally, I find the two walking back.

"Hey Oscar," I say, waving at the two. "Hey Clair--Ouch!"

Even before saying hello, Claire slaps me on my arm, and I feel my nerves shoot up in flames.

"Why? What was that for?"

"Where were you," Claire screams. "Oscar and I have been searching for you this whole time! I called you non-stop!"

"Ohhh," I say. I quickly reach into my pocket and pull out my phone. Turning on the screen, the first thing I see are 20 miss calls from Claire. "Claire. I am so sorry about that, but you know, giant monster! I had to hide and keep quiet!"

Claire seems a little less anger than before, but steam is still shooting out of her nose.

"Yeah," Oscar says, stepping forth. "We called you. You didn't answer. Suck. Nemo! Check this out!"

Bringing up his phone, Oscar shows me a video of Doro Monsuta as he pulled himself around.

"Oscar, you were filming? I can't believe that!"

"You can't believe me," Oscar repeats. "Seriously? Nemo, I have footage of an actual monster. A actual slime monster! Oh man! The things I can do with this footage! We don't even know your mask anymore! No offense."

"That's wonderful," Akio says from beside me. "In case you forgotten, Emica destroyed it."

I nod my head at Akio before facing Oscar again.

"None taken," I answer.

"Come on," Oscar says, nudging his head. "I have all the monster footage I need but I still nee some shot of you and Claire! Let's go! I want to be editing by tonight!"

As Oscar runs back to the park, I turn to Claire.

"You coming," I ask.

Claire sighs without any steam. She smiles as she follows me and Oscar to the park.

Noon Encarnacion:

"Sorry I couldn't find any help," I say, apologizing to my driver as he opens the door for me. The driver puts up his hand and shakes his head. He then smiles, nods his head, and closes the door. Getting back into the driver's seat, he starts up the limo and drives me home.

"Well," Emica says, sitting across from me. "You did find help."

"Yeah," I whisper, "But I think it would be better if my driver didn't know about the 'help' I found. Thanks though."

"Don't mention it. I am sorry about your driver. He seems mad."

"Oh, don't worry about that. My driver always looks like that. I think he's just happy I'm safe."

"He hides it well," Emica says with a laugh.

"Yeah," I say, passing the park on the way back to my mother's house. As we pass the park, I see Nemo and Claire and cross my arms.

"Don't worry," Emica says, patting my shoulder with her invisible hand. "You'll get him one day."

As Emica says this, I think back to Nemo and I look at each other in the park. I can't be sure, but I think I might have seen him go red a little.

"One day," I think, laying back and smiling. "That one day might be closer than I expected."

Don' Yokuna Yokubo:

Slamming my magical staff against the ground, I grind my teeth as the purple circle turns to dust.

"Akio Hisashi," I start, "Emica Kana. You two got lucky, but one day, your luck, and your hosuto, will run out! And when it does, then I will claim both your souls, regain my full power, and bring back my ancient world! Doro Monsuta was nothing more than a small taste of my dark magic. I still have many more spells."

7: Chapter 7: New People

A/N Thank you for taking the time to read my book, The Many Tales of the 2-Souls Ninjas. I hope this chapter brings a bit of delight to your day. If by chance it does, please leave a review. That would bring a bit of delight to my day.

Ovia Afternoon Encarnacion:

I smile as I look up and see thousands of beautiful stars in the night sky. The stars and the moon are shining so brightly, it's like they're lighting up the whole night, but even if they aren't, Nemo and I are still surrounded by candles.

I smile even more as I cuddle closer to Nemo. A cold wind runs by and it sends a shiver down my body. Hugging myself, I feel myself getting hot when Nemo hugs me. I can't help but blush. A lump forming in my throat, I swallow it before talking.

"Thanks," I reply. Nemo hugs me for a while before pulling back. A little sad when he does, I laugh a little when I see why he pulled back.

"I'm sorry," Nemo says, reaching into his many jacket pockets. It's a long search but finally, Nemo pulls out a sketchbook and some pencils and begins drawing. I watch Nemo as he draws every line and every curve. It takes him only a few minutes, less time than it took to find everything.

"Give me your hand," Nemo says. I don't waste a second and give Nemo my hand.

Nemo places in my open palm a small drawing. I happily cry when I see the drawing.

"This--This is us," I cry, covering my mouth. The drawing Nemo gave me is a drawing of us, cuddling together with the stars and moon above us and candles surrounding us. "It's beautiful."

Still crying, I wipe the tears from my face before cuddling with Nemo again and looking up at the stars. However, as we look up at the stars, I begin to hear something.

"Beep," the sound goes. "Beep. Beep. Beep! Beep! Beep!"

"What is that sound," I ask, looking around. "Ahh! Do you hear that?"

For some reason, Nemo doesn't answer me. A little curious, I turn to Nemo and see him with his mouth opening and closing. Every time it opens, I hear the beeping sound.

"Nemo," I shout, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him. "Nemo! What's wrong? What are you making that sound! Nemo!"

Nemo doesn't, or can't answer me. Every time he opens his mouth, all we hear is beep! He wraps his hands around his throat and looks at me.

"Beep," Nemo says. "Beep! Beep!"

Emica Kana:

I awaken when I hear Noon screaming.

"Noon," I say, appearing beside her. With my hands up and ready for a fight, I prepare for a quick switch. Looking around but seeing no one in Noon's room, I look around. Seeing Noon tossing and turning in bed, I lower my invisible arms.

"No," she cries, swinging her hands wildly. "No. Nemo."

I look to the side and see Noon's alarm going off. It's beeping and shaking and Noon, who is still asleep, seems to be trying to hit it. Her arms are swinging all around her desk but she keeps missing.

"Noon told me about this before. She told me not to hit it but to 'swipe' it."

I tap my head and try to think back to where Noon did.

"What exactly is a swipe again?"

Since Noon is sleeping, I can take temporary control of her body. I take a deep breath and slowly take control of Noon's left arm. I do my best not to disturb Noon as she is sleeping. With one quick 'swipe', I throw Noon's alarm to the floor. It not only cracks and breaks but it also wakes up Noon. She screams and shoots up to look around. When she sees her broken alarm, she turns to me.

"Uhh. I swiped it like you showed me."

"Emica," Noon cries as she throws her blanket off and turns to face me. "That wasn't a swipe. That was a throw! I never show you throwing my phone. Aww man. Now I have to go back to the phone repair store."

With a sigh and a shake of her head, Noon gets out of bed. She grabs her broken alarm and puts it back on the desk beside her bed before disappearing behind a set of doors. A few seconds later, I hear running water.

"I'm sorry about breaking your alarm," I say, leaning against the doors. "Again."

"I'm fine," Noon says over the running water. "I can ask Nyssa if she wants to come with me to the phone repair store. There's a smoothie place next door we can go to afterward."

I let out a sigh of relief knowing Noon isn't mad.

"One day," I tell myself, "One day. I will learn how to turn that alarm off properly. Without destroying it."

As I talk with myself, I hear the door to Noon's room open. Looking toward the door, I see a woman walk in. The woman, with black hair and a little bit of red, is tall and thin. She's wearing what I've been told is a grey business suit with a white shirt underneath. As she enters the room, she adjusts her glasses.

"Ms. Ovia," the woman says. "Hello? Ms. Ovia? Are you in here?"

"Oh no," I think. "An intruder!"

I remember what Noon told me but this is an emergency. I jump and fly through the doors.

Cara Dex:

As I look around for Ms. Ovia, I hear a scream coming from Ms. Ovia's private restroom. I drop my tablet and run to the double doors. Reaching the doors, I try opening them but can't.

"Ms. Ovia," I yell, banging against the door. "Ms. Ovia! Are you there? Are you okay? Please, answer me!"

A few seconds later, the doors slide open and I see a young girl with wet hair and a wrinkled shirt and pants standing in a steamy mist.

"Ms. Ovia," I say. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Ms. Ovia answers while drying off her hair. "I just wasn't expecting anyone to barge in while I was taking a shower."

"Apolgozie about that," I say, bowing my head.

"It's not you I'm talking about."

Ms. Ovia then looks to her side and growls.

"Wait a minute," Ms. Ovia yells after growling. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"Oh please excuse me, Ms. Ovia. My name is Cara Dex. I am your mother, Mrs. Encarnacion, new assistant. She asked me to come and get you. She told me you would be done with your morning routine by now. Again, my apologies for startling you."

"No apologies needed," Ms. Ovia says with a wave, "But what would mom send her new assistant to come and get me? Where is she?"

"Your mother, is in the dining room," I answer. "She's currently entertaining some guests and is hoping you can join them."

I then look at her still-dripping hair and wrinkled clothes.

"I'll tell her you'll be a few minutes."

"Thank you," Ms. Ovia says, going back into her restroom.

Thomas Freddy Benjamin:

"You two will see," Ms. Encarnacion says. "My daughter will be more than right for your son. She is smart. She is beautiful, and she is-"

"Late," my father says, cutting Ms. Encarnacion off. Pulling out his pocket watch, my father checks the time. "Your daughter is late. Unlike us, who have the decency to show up on time."

"Do not insult my daughter," Ms. Encarnacion growls. "My daughter is an Encarnacion, and we Encarnacion all have a strong sense of 'decency'."

This goes on and on for a bit longer, the whole time, I'm playing thumb war with myself. The two stop threatening each other when we hear footsteps. We all turn toward the grand dining's massive archway and see a young girl standing there. The girl is wearing a short-sleeved shirt and long pants. Despite her long brown hair being slightly wet, she is still very stunning.

"Ahh, here she is," Ms. Encarnacion boasts, "My lovely daughter. Thee brilliant, the beautiful, Ms. Ovia Afternoon Encarnacion."

The way Ovia's mother is boasting about her, it's like I can hear trumpets in the room with us. Stepping through the doorway, Ovai waves at us.

"Hello," she says, bowing her head. "My name is Ovia Afternoon Encarnacion, but please, just call me Noon."

Noon then rushes to take her seat, directly across from me. Seeing her sitting across from me, I swear I can feel my heartbeat spike slightly.

"Nonsense," Ms. Encarnacion says. "My daughter is named Ovia Afternoon Encarnacion, and you shall refer to her as Ovia Afternoon Encarnacion. Or at the very least, Ova."

"Hello, Ms. Ovia," my father says, nodding. As he nods, the sunlight from the tall stained window in the back of the room bounces off his white hair and suit and blinds me. "My name is Thomas Benjamin. This is my son, Thomas Benjamin II."

"But you can just call me by my middle name," I say, raising my hand. "Freddy."

I nod my head, smile, and wave at Noon. Noon smiles and waves back at me. Feeling something form in my throat, I have to clear my throat.

"Enough Thomas Benjamin II," my father says. Turning my head so my father can't see, I roll my eyes. "You should be proud to have such a name. The Benjamin name carries much weight with it."

"I agree," Ms. Encarnacion says. "Ad does the Encarnacion name."

For some reason, Noon starts laughing. She raises her hands and tries to cover her mouth but I can still hear her laughing. Hearing her laughing, something happens and I think I die for a few seconds.

Shaking myself alive, I hear Ms. Encarnacion claps her hands. As she does, maids come marching out from the kitchen. They all line up precisely behind us and put down trays with food. Before they disappear back into the kitchen, I make sure to thank every single one of them. So does Noon.

Fixing a small plate of cookies and a cup of tea, Noon takes a sip while Ms. Encarnacions talks with my father.

"Your daughter," my father starts, "Despite her sense of timing, is truly beyond excellent. She will fit the role just right."

"As I told you," Ms. Encarnacions says. "As for your son, he is quite well-mannered. A gentleman if you will. I approve of him."

I know Ms. Encarnacions is complimenting me, but the way she said it sends a shiver down my spine. I'm sitting in direct sunlight but still feel cold.

"I should have brought a jacket," I think, looking down at my blue and grey sweater vest.

"Well then. Shall we sign the contract?"

My father nods and pulls from thin air a yellow folder. Pulling out the contract, he places it in front of Ms. Encarnacions. Ms. Encarnacions reads over it before nodding and signing the contract.

"Congratulations," Ms. Encarnacions, turning to her daughter. "Ovia Afternoon Encarnacion. I just got you a boyfriend."

Noon, who is still sipping her cup of tea, hears this. The second she hears it, Noon splits out all the tea. The only thing I can do is close my eyes as it rains all over me.

8: Chapter 8: The Big Time

Cara Dex:

"Breakfast meeting at 10 for Mrs. Encarnacions and Ms. Encarnacions," I read, stopping in the middle of the staircase. "Check. A meeting with the mayor for Mrs. Encarnacion is next. Meanwhile, for young Ms. Encarnacion, she had a morning photoshoot. I must remember telling the chef to prepare a quick lunch for her."

As I organize the Encarnacions' schedules, tapping relentlessly on the tablet in my hands, I hear screaming from the dining room.

"Mrs. Encarnacion," I yell, "Ms. Encarnacion!"

I tuck my tablet safety under my arm before running down the stairs and into the dining room. Practically breaking through the double wooden doors, I look around, and the first thing I see is the Encarnacions. Across from them are their guest, a father and his son I believe. Mrs. Encarnacions, Ms. Encarnacions, and the father all seem fine. However, for some strange reason, the son is dripping wet.

"Ovia Afternoon Encarnacion," Mrs. Encarnacion screams, her voice coming close to breaking the stained-glass window behind me.

"Thomas," the father shouts. He turns from his son to Mrs. Encarnacion and slams his fist onto the table, shaking the plates of cookies. "Mrs. Encarnacion! What is the meaning of this!"

"I do not know," Mrs. Encarnacion answers. She turns to her daughter. "I have no idea how my daughter would do something so rude!"

"Geez Mom," Ms. Encarnacions says amidst her coughs. "You don't have the slightest idea? You really don't?"

Ms. Encarnacion grabs a nearby napkin and wipes her mouth. I can't be too sure of what the situation is or what exactly led to it, but I take a quick breath and keep calm. Breathing through my nose, I walk to the soaking wet boy.

"Excuse me," I say, tapping the son's shoulder. "There's a bathroom on the second floor. Would you like to take a quick shower while your clothes are being washed?"

"Thank you," the young boy says with a smile. He gets up from the table and follows me to the bathroom. About to leave the dining room, the boy taps my shoulder and stops me.

"Please give me one minute," the boy asks. He turns to Ms. Encarnacion as she picks up her cup and plate.

"Uhh, don't worry too much about this," the boy whispers. "Honestly, hearing what my dad and your mother said also threw me for a loop. I probably would have done the same thing if I was sipping some tea."

"Thank you," Ms. Encarnacion replies with a nervous smile. "Still. I am really sorry about that."

Ms. Encarnacion waves at the boy as I guide him up the stairs and to the guest's bathroom.

"Hi. I'm Freddy, by the way. What's your name?"

"My name is Cara Dex. I'm Mrs. and Ms. Encarnacion's new live-in assistant."

"Live-in assistant," Freddy repeats. "Wow. There's a job I've never heard of before."

"Yes," I laugh. "I'll admit. The 'live-in' part also threw me for a loop but once I saw the daily schedule for both the Encarnacions, I easily understood why 'live-in'. Still, I did like my apartment."

Freddy smiles and nods his head.

"Here we are," I say, standing before the guest bathroom. "You can leave your clothes outside the door. I'll call one of the housekeepers to pick them up and have them washed."

"Thank you, Ms. Dex."

While Freddy takes his shower, I call for one of the housekeepers to collect and wash his clothes.

Ovia Afternoon Encarnacion:

"Mom," I say after cleaning up the tea and cookies. "What do you mean by you just got me a boyfriend?"

"I mean what I said," my mother calmly replies. She stops to take a sip of tea. "I have found you a boyfriend. Thomas Benjamin II is a very smart and handsome boy. He-"

"Mom," I say, "I don't want a boyfriend."

Feeling daggers being thrown at me by Mr. Benjamin's eyes, I turn to him.

"No offense to your son, Mr. Benjamine. He does seem like a wonderful person, but I'm not interested in him."

"Why," my mother asks. "Are you interested in someone else? Oh no. Do you have a boyfriend already?"

When my mother asks me this, I immediately think of my dream from last night. I see Nemo and me cuddling together, shoulder to shoulder, looking up at the stars.

"Ye--" I say before Mr. Benjamin cuts me off.

"A little disappointed," he says, "But I am okay with your decisions."

"What," my mother asks.

"Besides," Mr. Benjamin goes on. "Your mother isn't referring to an actual relationship with my son. She's referring to a fake relationship."

"A fake relationship," I repeat

"I am so confused right now," Emica says from beside me.

"You too," I whisper. "So glad I'm not the only one. Mom. Mr. Benjamin. Please explain...everything. From the start."

"I can take it over from here," my mother says. "Ovia. Mr. Benjamin is a very famous movie producer and director. His son, Thomas Benjamin II, is a young and aspiring actor. They have come all the way here to shoot a movie."

"Okay," I say, nodding. "Mom. What you're saying now and what you've said before are two different things. What's the connection?"

"The movie Mr. Benjamin will be directing is one of those young romantic stories. As you may have guessed, his son is starring as one of the lead actors. Due to my connections, I was able to convince him to make you, my beautiful daughter, his son's opposite. You will be starring beside Mr. Thomas Bejamin II You and he will light up the entertainment industry as a new, young dashing couple."

"A couple," I repeat.

"I'm still confused," Emica says. "What is your mother talking about? And what is the 'entertainment industry'? And why would it 'light up' only because of you and that boy? Noon? Noon? Hello! Noon, can you hear me?"

Despite Emica waving her invisible hand in front of me, I still can't do anything. All I can do is sit and stare at my mother.

Emica Kana:

"Noon," I shout, waving my hand in front of Noon's face. I wave my hand. I clap them together. I even snap my fingers but Noon doesn't move at all. All she does is stare at her mother. "Noon, I am really sorry about this but you appear to be in a trance and as far as I know, this is the only way I can get you out of it."

Taking a deep breath, I focus on the connection between Noon and me. I feel our bond grows stronger. It grows stronger and stronger until finally, I can take over her arm. Using Noon's own hand, I slap Noon in her face.

"Ouch," Noon yells, breaking out of her trance. She looks at me when she realizes what I did.

"Sorry about that," I say, giving control back to her. "But it looks like you needed that. Do you remember where you are?"

I step to the side and show her her mother and the man known as Mr. Thomas Benjamin.

"Maybe I should rethink this," Mr. Benjamin says.

"Nonsense," Noon's mother shouts. "Ovia.Why did you slap yourself?"

"Uhhh," Noon starts, looking at me and then at her mother. "I just needed to know this isn't a dream, and this isn't. This isn't a dream. Mom, you got me an acting job?"

"Yes," the mother answers. "Oh. I get it. Honey. Ovia, sweetie. This is no dream. This is for real."

"Yeah, that's the problem. Mom, I'm a model, and while yes, I have starred in a few commercials, I don't know if I'm ready for the big time."

"That's silly. Ovia, don't you remember? You took acting classes before."

"Mom. Around the time I was taking acting classes, I was also learning how to use the restroom."

"No matter," Mr. Thomas Benjamin says after wiping his mouth. "Ms. Ovia. Despite everything that happened, I still believe that you're the girl I need for my next movie. Now, if you would excuse me, I have a few meetings to attend. I must go now."

"What about your son," I ask. "Freddy is still taking a shower and I doubt his clothes are done yet. I mean, our washer and dryer are the best, but they still need at least 20 minutes to wash and dry clothes."

"With your permission, Ms. Encarnacion, my son, Thomas Benjamin II, will stay here until he is ready. Once he is done-"

"I'll tell my driver to bring him and my daughter to the studio. Ovia, until Thomas Benjamin II is ready, please prepare."

"Mom, I can't. I have a photo shoot in an hour and Chinese lessons later today."

"I'll tell Ms. Cara Dex to move the photo shoot and Chinese lesson to another day. This is far more important."

"But Mom-"

"Ovia, you are excused. I advise you to go to your room and pack a bag for today."

9: Chapter 9: Bad Writing

Ovia Afternoon Encarnacion:

"What is this place," Emica asks with her face pressing right against the limo's window. "What are those? What's that? Who is that?"

"This is Golden Star Studio," I whisper, leaning in close to Emica. "It's where films, movies, and t.v. shows are made. Those are cameras. They're used for recording the actors and actresses. That's a trailer. It's where the same actors and actresses go when they're on break."

"Amazing," Emica says with wide, sparking eyes. "But wait. You didn't answer that is over there."

Emica points to a young man with short hair and a green T-shirt.

"Yeah, I have no idea who that is."

Despite not knowing who the young man is, Emica and I still wave at him as we pass him.

My driver stops in front of a large studio building with people coming in and out of it. He rushes out and opens the door for Freddy and me. I don't even put my foot on the ground before someone in a white suit runs up to the three of us.

"Mr. Thomas Benjamin," the man shouts as he grabs and shakes Freddy's hand. The man, a large elderly man with a grey mustache and a shining bald man then turns to me. About to grab me, my driver turns into my bodyguard and pushes the man back. Looking ready to punch the elderly man, Freddy runs and gets in front of him.

"Easy," Freddy says, holding out his hands. "I know this guy. He's...alright."

My driver/bodyguard looking at Freddy, calms down. He lowers his hand and steps back.

"You should be lucky I'm so busy right now," the elderly man says, adjusting his suit as he steps forward again. "Otherwise, you, me, and my lawyer would be having a long talk."

The elderly man's frown turns upside down as he steps forward again. Taking my hands, he not only shakes it. He crushes it.

"And you," he says, "Oh yes. I know you very well, Ms. Famous, Teen Model, voted one of the most beautiful teen models eight years in a row."

I smile as I fight through the pain that comes with a broken hand.

"Smiling," I tell myself. "Keep smiling."

"Even I can feel that," Emica says, patting my shoulder.

"Ms. Ovia Afternoon Encarnacion," the man goes on, pulling back his hand. The second he does, I hide my hand behind my back and make sure I can still move my fingers.

"Noon," Freddy starts. "Noon's uh...driver and bodyguard. This is Gunner."

"Mac Gunner," Mac Gunner says, taking over. "I'm one of the producers for your brand new movies, and already, just from looking at the two of you, I can tell this movie will be big. Big I tell you. Big! So big, the banks in Boston won't be able to hold all the money from the ticket sales alone!"

Gunner laughs as he turns around and walks into the building.

"Uhh," I say, looking at him and then at Freddy. "Are we supposed to follow him?"

"Yeah," Freddy says with a nod. "Come on."

With Freddy leading the way, Emica, my personal driver, and I all follow after Gunner.

"So Freddy," I say, walking beside my apparent co-star. "You've been doing this for a while now."

"Yeah," Freddy answers. "I've been acting since I was around six or seven."

"Funny. That's almost as long as I've been modeling."

"Am I right in guessing you didn't have a lot whole of childhood playtime?"

"Yes, and since you started it, am I right in guessing you didn't have a whole lot of childhood friends?"

"Yup," Freddy says quietly. "I was homeschooled since I started acting so I haven't had a whole lot of chance to meet other kids."

"I know how you feel. I was also homeschooled until a few months ago. It took a long while but I finally convinced my mother to let me go to a public school."

"I'm jealous," Freddy laughs. "You made some friends?"

"A few."

"Now I'm really jealous. Oh, wait, everyone, hold on."

Freddy shoots out his hands and stops the three of us. He points at Gunner as he's yelling at someone.

"I told you," Gunner shouts, grabbing a pile of papers from a young man and then shoving them back into the same young boy's chest. "No! No! No! No, and when I said no, I mean no!"

"But Mr. Gunner," the young boy says. "I'm telling you. This scene is brilliant. It will work in the movie."

"No, it will not," Gunner shouts, throwing his arms into the air. "We have been through this before, and I am tired of repeating myself!"

He takes the papers from the boy's chest and throws them to the floor, the papers scattering all over. With this, Gunner walks away.

"And speaking of tired, where the heck is that other boy! We need him now!"

Gunner goes on and on, something about another boy, but honestly, I don't care.

"Hey," Freddy says, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," they boy answers after coughing and clearing his throat. While Freddy talks to the boy, I help gather all the scattered papers. Taking a look at them, I see what I think is a script for the movie. I try to read them but Gunner stops me.

"Hey, hey, hey," Gunner says, running to us as we help the boy. "Come on, you two. I don't want to be rude, but there are people dying to meet you. Come on. Chop, chop!"

Gunner claps his hands before pushing Freddy and me. However, I break away from Gunner and give the boy the papers I've picked up.

"Sorry," I say, handing them over.

"It's fine," the boy whispers. "Just go."

I nod before running back to Gunner and Freddy.

Don' Yokuna Yokubo:

I open my eyes and stare out the window as it opens.

"Yes," I say, looking out. "Yes! I sense the birth of a dark spirit. I sense your humiliation and your spite at your work being thrown out. It is powerful. I can sense your desire for vengeance. I can sense it all coming together to form a dakura tchingu.

As the boy's desire grows stronger and stronger, I slam my staff down and cast a shadow. My dakura tchingu shoots out from my staff and out the window, toward its new hosuto.

Intern Scriptwriter:

Gathering the last of my scripts, I stomp my foot, kick the air, and shake my head.

"I can't believe he didn't allow the scene," I think. "Why wouldn't he allow it? There was no cliche! It was all new! It could have been huge! No! Instead, he wants to use cliche! Stupid, stupid cliches!"

Kicking the air again, I head back to the writer's room. Entering the hallway, I can't help but get the feeling something is coming toward me. Turning around, I jump when I see a shadow on the floor running toward me. I don't even have time to run or scream before the shadow jumps onto me. Suddenly, I find myself in a dark void, floating in mid-air.

"Hello," a strange voice echoes.

"Wh-Who are you," I yell, looking around. "What is this place? Where am I?"

"Who I am is not important, nor what this place is. What is important is your work. It's such a shame that man threw it away."

Hearing this, I feel my blood boiling. I close my hands and slam them down.

"I can grant you power," the voice goes on. "Magical power that will make your work come to life. Literally."

I feel a smile growing across my face. I look down at my script, still in my hands.

"Your work will come to life, and then, when people see it, they will know you as a brilliant writer. But know this power is not free. All I ask in return for this power are two trinkets. Do you accept?"

"Yes," I shout, "Yes! I accept! Give me power!"

I raise my script into the air as black smoke comes off the wall and surrounds me. It spins around me and I feel myself start to change.

"Then with my magic, I grant you new life! Be born, Jaakuna Sakka (Evil Writer)!"

Thomas "Freddy" Benjamin III:

"Granola bar," I ask, offering Noon and her driver/ bodyguard each a granola bar.

The driver/bodyguard smiles as he takes the granola bar and eats it.

"Wow," I laugh as he shoves the whole granola bar into his mouth and swallows it. "That was awesome. Were you a competitive eater before you became a driver?"

"No," Noon says, also with a laugh. "But while he may not have a past as a competitive eater, I do think he had a future as one."

Once more, we both laugh as we watch the big guy lick his mouth.

"Thanks but no thanks. I think my driver is still hungry."

I shrug my shoulders and give the extra granola bar to Noon's driver. We watch and laugh as we see him devour the whole thing in less than a second.

"There are some more snacks over there if you're still hungry."

I point behind me to a snack table covered from end to end with fruits, some baked snacks, and lemon water.

The driver/bodyguard looks hungry but before he goes, he turns and looks at Noon.

"You can go," Noon says with a smile. "I'll be fine."

The driver/bodyguard nods before leaving Noon to bite down on a mini cinnamon bun.

"Where is Gunner," Noon asks, looking right and left. "He had been gone for a while."

"I know. He said he only needed to have a short talk with the design crew."

"Design crew," Noon repeats. "Design for what exactly?"

"You know, background and settings, costumes. All that stuff."

"No. No, I didn't know. As I've told my mom, I've only starred in a few commercials. I've never done anything this big. I mean, from modeling to acting is kind of a big leap."

Noon's face screams worry. She's shaking. She's also sweating, but I think that's mostly because it's a little warm in here.

"Hey," I say, putting my hand on Noon's shoulder. "Listen to me, okay? I've been doing this for years, and if there is one thing I can tell you from all these years, it's this. You don't see the cameras."

"What," Noon says, pulling her head back.

"You don't see the cameras," I repeat. "Forget there are cameras there. Forget about the cameras and the microphones and everything else and be yourself. That's the ultimate secret to acting right there. Take it from me, Thomas Freddy Benjamin III."

I inhale to puff up my chest and put my hands on my hips.

"Thanks for telling me the ultimate secret to acting," Noon says.

"Don't mention it," I reply. I pose for a few more seconds but stop when I hear screaming and crashing.

"What was that," I ask. Turning around, I see a door burst open and Mr. Gunner running. Looking out of breath, Mr. Gunner stops running and rests his hands on his knees. He does this for only a few seconds before running again.

"Out of my way," he shouts, pushing Noon's driver/bodyguard to the side. "Out of my way! He's coming! He's coming!"

"Who," I ask.

Mr. Gunner doesn't answer me. My only answer comes when something shoots out of the door and wraps around Mr. Gunner's foot. It pulls Mr. Gunner and knocks him down. He screams and tries to pull whatever it is off but can't.

"What is that," I say, stepping back. "Is that, is that paper?"

"Paper can't do that," Noon shouts.

Still looking at the paper as it wrapped itself around both of Mr. Gunner's feet, we all hear footsteps and look at the door. We see a young man with a white-painted face and black eyes there. He's wearing a red robe and black hat, both looking like they're from ancient Chinese. In front of the young man is a floating wooden desk with a stack of papers, an ink bottle, and a feather pen.

"A dakura tchingu," Noon says, getting up.

"A dakura tchingu," I repeat, looking at the young man. "I heard of these. They're people that have been turned into magical monsters! Come on!"

Not wasting a second, I grab Noon's hand and pull her. We then run for a door as fast as we can.

"Hold on," the dakura tchingu shouts. He takes the feather pen and after dipping it into the ink bottle, begins to write something.

"A large paper guardian appears in front of Thomas Benjamin III and Ovia Afternoon Encarnacion, blocking their exit."

As he talks and writes, paper shoots off the desk and into the air. It transforms into a large paper man before landing in front of us.

"Watch out," Noon screams, grabbing and pulling me back. Falling onto my butt but out of the way of the giant paper man, I look at Noon.

"Thanks," I say.

"No problem," Noon replies.

"Yes problem," I say as the paper guardian reaches out its massive hand. The paper man is about to grab us but, Noon's bodyguard jumps out and onto the hand. He pushes it down and waves his arms.

"Go, go, go," Noon yells. She pushes herself up and drags me along as we run past the paper guardian as he throws the bodyguards back.

"After them," the dakura tchingu orders, "They're important to my story!"

With the bodyguard down, the paper guardian chases us. It throws and slams its way through the building as it tries to reach out and grab us. Taking a sharp turn, we hide behind a fake wall, As we're hiding, I see a closet nearby.

"In there," I whisper. "We can hide in there until help arrives."

"Yeah," Noon says.

Tip-toeing as fast as we can, I open the door as quietly as possible. However, something happens and I fall into the closet. The door slams shut, and I'm stuck in the dark.

"Noon," I whisper. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Noon answers, "But the door! It's stuck! I can't open it."

The doorknob shakes as Noon and I try to open it but can't.

10: Chapter 10: Jaakuna Sakka (Evil Writer)

A/N Thank you for reading my book. I hope this new chapter brings a bit of delight to your day.

Ovia Afternoon Encarnacion:

The second the door opens, I push Freddy inside and slam it shut.

"Noon," Freddy whispers loudly while tapping on the door. "Noon! What happened?"

"I don't know," I answer, throwing my whole body against the door. Looking at Emica as she hovers beside me, I wink. "The door! It's stuck! I can't open it."

I look around for something I can use and see a nearby folding chair. Grabbing it, I stick the chair underneath the door handle.

"I'll find another hiding place," I whisper. Considering Freddy is still banging against the door, I don't think he can hear me. I shake my head, shrug my shoulders, and leave.

"Yeah," I say, searching my pocket. "I'm sure Freddy is going to be safe inside there. Bingo!"

Finding the rose ruby in my pocket, I smile as I turn to Emica.

"A beautiful red rose blooms," I chant, raising the ruby. The rose ruby shines as Emica and I switch places. Her red ninja jumpsuit, wooden bo staff, and chain all appear in a spiral of red sparkles.

The transformation ends with Emica swinging her hand and summoning her mask while I appear by her side as a ghost.

"Are you ready," I ask. Emica pulling out her staff and spinning it nods her head.

"I'm ready," Emica answers. Bending her knees, Emica runs back to where we saw dakura tchingu. Floating beside Emica as she runs, I think back to what I saw earlier.

"Did you see what the person did?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The person being controlled by the dakura tchingu. Did you see what he did? He took a feather pen and wrote on that flying desk. I guarantee you the dakura tchingu is hiding in that desk."

"That makes sense. I have to destroy that desk."

"Remember to be careful," I say, "After all, did you see the size of that 'paper guardian'? It picked up my bodyguard and threw him like he was nothing. The dakura tchingu must have granted whoever it possessed the power to summon minions made of paper. That's an awesome superpower."

Emica stops running and looks at me.

"What? The power to summon minions? It is an awesome superpower."

Emica shakes her head and runs again. A few seconds later, we're back where Freddy and I were.

"Wow," I say. "This place seems better days."

In the short time I and Freddy were gone, the set had been turned upside down. The food table is turned over and the food is littered all over the floor. Light stands have fallen over and a few props are broken.

"Where is everyone," Emica asks.

"I don't know," I answer, looking around. "There were a bunch of people here before. They must have run out while that paper guardian chased Freddy and me."

"That actually works quite well. It means there are no people that can get hurt."

As Emica and I keep looking around, we hear roaring coming from above us.

"The roof," I say.

Emica nods her head and runs again. She runs out of the building before jumping onto the wall of an adjacent building. Using her chigiriki, Emica throws it into the air. Emica's chigiriki wraps around a railing. Once checking to make sure it's secure, Emica starts climbing up the building's wall.

"You know there's a ladder right there," I say.

"Hmm," Emica replies with a shrug. "This way is faster."

Jaakuna Sakka:

"Come on, kid," Max Gunner begs while hanging upside down. "What is it you want? Do you want money? Fame? Wait, no! Your script! I changed my mind! I like it! I really do! I'll put it in my movie! So, what do you say? Put me down and I'll put your script into my movie."

"As interesting as that sounds," I say, smiling and laughing. "I think I prefer this movie over yours. Here, the whole script is mine to write. Everything thing I want is put right in! I am in charge of everything! Everything!"

As I yell at Max Gunner, I hear a sound and turn around. Seeing something shooting toward me, I grab my notebook and jump out of the way. Landing a few feet away, I see the thing. It turned out to be a chain.

"Considering this the end of your book," the Red Rose Ninja says, standing on a nearby rooftop. Pulling back her chain, the Red Rose Ninja catches it.

Smiling, I grab my feather pen and start writing.

"This is not a book," I correct. "This is a movie! And I, Jaakuna Sakka says action!"

Emica Kana:

Pulling back my hand, I shoot it forward, also shooting my chigirki forward. It flies toward the air toward Jaakuna Sakka.

"The Red Rose Ninja throws her weapon at Jaakuna Sakka but before it can hit, paper ninjas appear and stop it."

As Jaakuna Sakka yells this, a long line of paper shoot off his notebook. It shoots into the air and folds itself, separating and splitting into a paper ninja!

The paper ninja deflects my chigirki using a paper sword. My chain bounces into the air before I pull it back.

"Uhh Emica," Noon says, "Do you remember what I said about the power to summon minions?"

"Yes," I say, catching my chigirki. "Why?"

"Well, while I do still think it's an awesome superpower," Noon starts, "I'm not really a big fan of it at the current moment."

"What are you talking about--Ohhh."

I see Noon pointing at something and when I turn my head, I see Jaakuna Sakka surrounded by more paper ninjas. As more paper ninjas appear, they land on the rooftop and pull out their paper weapons. Even from where I'm standing, I can see paper swords, spears, nunchucks, and even a few throwing stars. The situation only gets worse when two giant paper guardians appear, blocking Jaakuna Sakka from sight. Despite not being able to see Jaakuna Sakka, I can still hear you.

"Outnumbered by the mighty and brilliant Jaakuna Sakka's paper army, the Red Rose Ninja is forced to surrender her ruby rose."

"Surrender," I shout. "Never!"

"Oh, but she will. Especially after being attacked by my paper army!"

Hearing the order, Jaakuna Sakka's paper ninjas charge toward me.

"Incoming," Noon shouts as the first paper ninja jumps across the rooftop toward me. Pulling back its arms, it slams the paper staff it holding down toward me.

Pulling out my bo staff, I hold it up and block the paper ninja's attack. Once I block it, I then perform a roundhouse kick, hitting the paper ninja and knocking it back.

I barely have enough time after knocking one paper ninja down to counter another. This paper ninja rushes toward me with dual paper swords. It swings the swords around wildly, forcing me back.

While stepping back, I also pull back my bo staff. Seeing an opening, I throw my staff forward. It goes between the paper swords and hits the paper ninja in its chest.

The paper ninja falls off but a large paper guardian quickly takes its place. Shaking the whole rooftop as the paper guardian lands, it roars into the sky before swinging its hand.

"Watch out," Noon yells. Seeing the hand swinging toward me, I jump into the air. The hand swinging beneath me, I hear screaming and look up to see a paper ninja flying toward me with its leg stretched out.

Before I can do anything, the paper ninja hits me, knocking me back onto the rooftop. Screaming and moaning as I grab a railing and pull myself up, I see Noon floating in front of me.

"Are you okay," she asks.

"No," I answer, watching as the paper guardian and more paper ninjas approach us. "There are too many to fight by myself. I need help. I need--"

"Me," a voice says.

"What?"

Turning around, I see another ninja jumping through the air. Only this ninja is green.

Akio Hisashi:

Running across the rooftops, I throw myself into the air before landing on the same rooftop as Emica. Rolling to a stop, I pull out my bokken swords.

"Emica," I say. "Are you okay?"

Emica smiles when she sees me. Joining me, we slam our backs together and bring up our weapons.

"I'm better now," Emica answers. "How did you know I was in trouble?"

"Easy. My hosuto saw that you were in trouble with the little box in his hand."

"It's called a cell phone," Nemo says, his spirit floating beside me. "That little box is called a cell phone, and I saw that Emica was in trouble because the news is shooting this live."

"What's going on," I ask. "What are these?"

"They're paper ninjas, and that is a paper guardian."

"Paper?"

"Yes, paper," a young man says. This young man, dressed in a red and black robe and wearing a round wooden hat and, is no doubt being controlled by the dakura tchingu. A large paper guardian is raising the young man into the air. Also, for some reason, there's an elderly man tied up beside the young man. He's screaming and crying but none of us are really focusing on him.

"This is even better," the young man yells, "Now, instead of just one ninja, I have both of them! The Green Ninja and the Red Ninja! My story will be even greater with you here."

We watch the young man tap his pen into an ink jar before writing something.

"Now with the Green Ninja here, the brilliant Jaakuna Sakka must summon more paper ninjas! Come forth, my army!"

As Jaakuna Sakka shouts this, papers shoot up from his desk. All the papers transform in the air, folding and turning into more paper ninjas. The new paper ninjas land and surround Emica and me.

"Oh my god," Nemo says. "Minion summoning? That's an awesome superpower."

I turn and look at Nemo. Despite wearing a mask, I know Nemo can still see my V-shaped eyebrows.

"What? It is. I mean, not right now when we're surrounded by 3 dozen paper ninjas but still. Minion summoning is an awesome superpower."

11: Chapter 11: The End

Akio Hisashi:

"Incoming," Nemo yells, pointing at the sky filled with jumping paper ninjas. Throwing paper ninja stars at us, Emica and I jump out of the way. Jumping and flipping to dodge the paper stars, I reach into my pouch and throw a smoke pellet.

My smoke pellet hits the paper ninjas and explodes. Thick black smoke swallows all of the paper ninjas and they stop throwing paper stars.

Landing on a hand and my feet, I push myself up and look at the smoke.

Seeing nothing for the first few moments, I turn to Nemo.

"Are they defeated," I ask.

"No," Nemo shouts, pointing behind me. "No, they're not!"

Turning around, I see the paper ninjas falling out of the smoke. While a few did land badly and knocked themselves out, most of the paper ninjas landed on their hands and feet. Pushing themselves up, they pull out their paper weapons and charge toward me.

Pulling out my two wooden bokken, I block and counter endless attacks. One paper ninja running toward me with dual paper swords jumps into the air. It slams its swords, trying to hit me, but I jump out of the way and kick the paper ninja off the roof. As I kick this paper ninja off the roof, another one appears and attacks me with a spear.

"Akio, behind you!"

Turning, I barely have enough time to dodge this paper ninja as it repeatedly tries to hit me. Jumping to the left and then to the right, the paper ninja then raises the spear and swings it.

Jumping back and falling behind, I catch myself on my hands.

"Ahhh," I scream as I jump back up and attack this paper ninja with my bokken. Hitting the paper ninja on its shoulder, it bends where I hit it, folding in on itself. Because of the bend, this paper ninja is unable to move like before. About to kick this paper ninja off the roof, Nemo again warns me.

"Akio, straight ahead!"

Looking where Nemo tells me, I see two paper ninjas on their knees. Opening their hands, they reveal stacks of paper stars. Immediately throwing the paper stars, I have no choice but to fall back.

Swinging my bokkens, I manage to catch many of the paper stars, the stars sticking to my weapons. As the paper ninjas force me back, I stop when I realize I have no rooftop left.

Looking behind me, and seeing the drop, I turn back only to see three paper ninjas all running toward me. Simultaneously, they all jump into the air and shoot out their foot. I cross my bokken swords but it's not enough. Altogether, the three paper ninjas knock me off the rooftop.

Emica Kana:

"Akio," I shout, seeing my partner disappear over the rooftop ledge. I try to run to see if Akio is okay but before I can, a paper dart cuts me off. It cuts through the metal railing, and when the paper ninja pulls the paper dart back, it leaves a wide gasp.

"Talk about paper cuts," Noon says.

Turning, Noon and I see four paper ninjas, all armed with paper rope darts. Spinning them in circles, the paper ninjas then throw all of them.

"Emica," Noon shouts.

"I see them," I scream. Reaching behind me, I pull out my bo staff and spin. While I spin, I swing my wooden bo staff and hit all the paper darts out of the air. Falling to the ground, I rush toward the paper ninjas before they can pull the dart back.

Jumping into the air, I kick the first paper ninja to the floor. Spinning my bo staff around, I hit two more paper ninjas. The last and final paper ninja manages to pull back its paper dart.

Picking up the dart, the paper ninja throws it at me but I quickly block it with my chigiriki. Throwing my chigiriki, our weapons hit each other and they get tied together. I pull my chigiriki back but the paper ninja pulls its paper rope dart back. Now, the paper ninja and I are stuck together.

Noon Encarnacion:

Watching as Emica and the paper ninja play tug of war, I hear dozens of fast footsteps and turn around.

"Uhhh, Emica," I say, flying over to her. "Emica!"

"What," Emica asks, still fighting to keep her chain.

"We're about to have company," I answer. "A lot of paper company!"

Turning her head, Emica sees at least a dozen more paper ninjas, all armed and running toward her. Looking past the paper ninjas, I see Jaakuna Sakka still writing in that flying notebook of his.

"As the Green Emerald Ninja falls," Jaakuna narrates, "And the Red Rose Ninja is left alone, Jaakuna Sakka's paper minions will soon overrun her, and take her precious trinket."

"I am really starting to hate this story," I say, watching as the new paper ninjas get closer and closer. "Emica! I'm sorry to say this, but you're going to have to leave your chain behind! There's no other choice!"

Emica looks at me. Even though we don't say anything, she knows I'm right. With no other choice, Emica lets go. The second Emica lets go of her chain, the paper ninja jumps back. It hits a railing and falls over it before sliding off the roof, taking Emica's chain with it.

Spinning around, now armed only with her bo staff, Emica fights the dozen or so paper ninjas. They come at her from all angles but, somehow, Emica is still able to hold her own against all of them.

Raising and blocking a swing from a paper sword, Emica kicks this paper ninja down.

"To your right," I shout.

Turning her head, Emica sees a paper ninja charging at her with a spear. Shooting out her staff, Emica hits this paper ninja in the head. She stuns it before swinging her staff and hitting the paper ninja to the ground.

"Bow and arrows," I scream, pointing at a paper ninja as it reaches behind to grab a paper arrow. Loading the arrow into the paper bow, the ninja pulls the string back.

Raising the bow, the paper ninja fires. Seeing the paper arrow as it flies through the air, Emica jumps off a railing and dodges the arrow. However, as soon as Emica lands back on the rooftop, a bunch of paper ninjas jump her. They tackle her, coming from the side and knocking her off the rooftop.

"Emica," I shout, flying after Emica as she and some paper ninjas slide off the rooftop. I can only watch as Emica lands on the hard stone ground.

Flying over to her, I kneel down and place my invisible hand on Emica.

"Emica," I start, "Are you okay?"

Moaning at first, Emica pushes herself up.

"I'm fine," Emica answers. Shaking her head, Emica starts looking around. "My bo staff! Where is my bo staff?"

"Emica's bo staff," I repeat. "Oh no!"

I snap my head left and right as I look for Emica's staff. Somehow, it's gone. It must have rolled off somewhere but where?

I start looking for Emica's staff too. I go as far as I can and look all over for Emica's wooden bo staff but as I look around for it, I see a large shadow looming over me.

"Oh no," I say, looking up to see something flying in the air. It twists and turns as it flies down toward us.

"Emica," I shout. Hearing me, Emica pushes herself up and runs to where I am. Standing side-by-side, we both look as whatever it is lands in front of us, shooting dust into the air and knocking Emica back. 

"Oh, are you kidding me," I scream. There, standing before me and Emica is a long, massive, paper Chinese dragon. It looks like it's made from hundreds and hundreds of sheets of paper, all put together, and standing on top of the dragon is Jaakuna Sakka.

"It seems we have reached the ending," Jaakuna says and writes down. "Red Rose Ninja. You have lost your weapons. You have lost your partner. You cannot beat my paper dragon. Give me your trinket, and I will let you walk out of here."

Emica backs up but paper ninjas and even the giant paper guardian land behind her, blocking and trapping Emica.

12: Chapter 12: An Alternate Ending

Emica Kana:

Despite being disarmed and greatly outnumbered, I still put up my hands.

"Emica," Noon says, floating beside me and putting up her fists. "You have a plan. Right?"

"Reach the flying notebooks," I answer, "Destroy it and then destroy the dakura tchingu controlling the person."

"Uhhhh, got a plan B?"

I do not have a 'plan B', whatever that is, but I don't get the time to tell Noon. With the swing of his hand, Jaakuna Sakka orders all his paper ninjas and the one giant paper guardian to attack.

Charging from all sides, the paper ninjas are the first to reach me. Jumping and running at me, I throw my fist against the first paper ninja. Hitting it directly in the chest, this paper ninja falls back. As it falls back, it loses its weapon. Seeing a long paper bo staff just floating there, I reach out and grab it.

"Thank you for this," I say with a smile. Holding the newly acquired bo staff, I hear footsteps coming from behind. Turning around and swinging the bo staff, I hit and knock two more paper ninjas to the ground.

When three paper ninjas land in front of me, they start throwing ninja stars at me. Holding up the staff, I twist and turn as I block and dodge all the stars.

Jumping and flipping through the air, I slam the staff down as I land. The staff sends a shockwave that knocks all the paper ninjas to the ground.

Spinning the paper staff while moving it from hand to hand, I turn my head when Noon warns me of something.

"Emica, behind you! Paper guardian!"

Turning around, I swing the staff with all my strength. I hit the paper guardian but it doesn't seem bother.

Pulling back its massive arm, the paper guardian slaps me away. I fly through the air, dropping the paper staff, before hitting a metal wall and falling off it.

"Emica," Noon screams. "Emica! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I lie, holding my waist as I push myself up. Standing up now, I get into a fighting stance, spreading my legs while holding out one hand in front and one hand behind.

I try to hold my stance but Noon must have noticed my shaking hands.

"You're not fine, are you?"

"I am fine," I repeat. Looking at my shaking hands, I give them one last shake before steadying them. I then look up and see the paper guardian approaching me. Trapped in its shadow, I watch as paper ninjas surround us.

Jaakuna Sakka:

"Trapped and unarmed," I write, "The Red Rose Ninja is left defeated. She is outnumbered. She is overpowered. She had lost her weapons. There is nothing she can do."

As I keep writing the story, I hear a voice in my head.

"Excellent story," Don' Yokuna Yokubo says. "But do not forget our deals."

"Of course, Don' Yokuna," I say, "I will not. Once I collect the Red Rose Ninja's trinket, I will find the Green Emerald Ninja and collect his."

Watching as my paper ninjas approach the exhausted Red Ninja, I dip my pen in the ink jar.

"Out of option and left with no choice, the Red Ninja gives up her ruby rose. Her secret identity is exposed and I, Jaakuna Sakka, give both the ruby rose and the emerald dragon to Don' Yokuna. He then let me keep my powers, and because of my powers, I became the greatest writer ever! The en---"

Before I can finish writing, I hear screaming and turn around.

"Aahhh," the Green Ninja screams as he jumps off the rooftop and toward me. Pulling his wooden swords behind him, the Green Ninja throws them forward.

Screaming as he hits me, I'm knock off from my paper dragon and worst, away from my notebook.

"Nnooo," I shout while falling to the ground. "Ahhh!"

A few paper ninjas rush to help me up. Pulling me up to my feet, I look and see the Green Ninja standing on top of my paper ninja.

"Red Rose," the Green Ninja shouts. Everyone, including all my paper ninjas and even my paper dragon, all look at Green Ninja as he shouts. "I believe these are yours! Catch!"

Shooting his hand into the air, we all see the Red Ninja's staff and chain. Throwing them at the Red Ninja, the Green Ninja then looks in front of him.

"The notebook," he says. Raising his wooden sword into the air, the Green Ninja is about to slam it down but before he can, I shout.

"Dragon! Shake him off!"

My paper dragon does as I ordered and immediately, starts jumping around.

Akio Hisashi:

Screaming as the paper dragon starts jumping around, trying to shake me off, I jump back its neck and wrap my arms around it.

"Oh boy," Nemo shouts, watching from the side as I desperately hold on. "Akio, hold on!"

"What do you think I'm doing," I scream back. Barely holding on as the dragon keeps jumping and shaking, it then starts throwing itself against the building's walls.

I scream again as I am thrown into a wall myself. When my grip slips as I am thrown into the wall, I tighten my grip and tie my fingers together.

"Hold on," Nemo shouts. "Just hold on Akio!"

"You're not helping," I shout, barely seeing Nemo as the dragon runs past him.

"I'm a ghost, not a rodeo clown!"

"What is a rodeo clown?"

Nemo doesn't get the chance to answer. The dragon throws its whole self through a wall and into one of the buildings. My fingers come undone and my grip breaks. Slipping off the dragon, I fly through the air before skidding against the ground and hitting a bunch of things.

"Akio," Nemo says, flying to me. "Are you okay? Say something!"

"Ahh," I say, pushing a bunch of things off of me. "What are these?"

"Hmm," Nemo says, looking at what I'm holding. "Those are croissants. You were thrown into the snack tables."

Shaking my head and throwing the strangely-shaped piece of bread, I pull myself up. Once I'm back on my feet, I pull out my bokken swords.

"Uhh," Nemo says, looking at me and then at the paper dragon as it pushes itself up and turns to us. "No offense or anything, but I think we're going to need more than a pair of wooden swords to beat a whole dragon."

"What do you suggest then," I ask, holding my bokken swords in a defense stance.

Nemo doesn't answer right away. Instead, he spends the next few moments looking up. Looking up myself, all I can see are beams in the ceiling.

"Nemo, what are you looking at?"

Again, Nemo doesn't answer right away. Instead, he looks back at me.

"Akio, I have an idea."

Noon Encarnacion:

"A big thank you to Akio for getting your bo staff and chain back," I say, watching as Emica spins both her weapons in the air, keeping all the paper ninjas back. The giant paper guardian, however, doesn't seem too bother as he walks toward Emica. "But we're still outnumbered here."

"I know," Emica says, wincing as she tries to keep everyone back. She stops spinning her bo staff and places her hand over her waist.

When I see this, I place my invisible feet on the ground and stand beside Emica.

"I got your back," I say, putting up my fists. Emica smiles when she sees this.

We both watch as the massive paper guardian pulls back its giant paper arm. Throwing its arm forward, the paper guardian stops.

"Incoming," someone yells. Again, all of us turn our heads and we see Akio running out of a building. Running toward all of us very fast, we then hear an earth-shaking roar.

"The paper dragon," I shout, seeing the paper dragon running out of the same building as Akio. It chases Akio, even when he jumps, and starts running on top of the paper ninjas' heads.

Emica and I watch as the paper dragon crushes a bunch of paper ninjas, flattening them. The paper dragon doesn't even stop when Akio slides underneath the paper guardian. The dragon runs right into the paper guardian, and the two skid against the ground before crashing into another building.

"I will admit," Akio says, looking at his invisible host. "I did not think that would work. Yes, you did tell me. Yes, you did tell me. You can stop repeating yourself.

Turning his head, Akio waves at Emica.

"Emica," Akio starts, "My host told me he had an idea. Follow me!"

Emica and I look at each other before following Akio as he strangely leads us back into the building where he and the paper dragon first ran out of.

As the three, or I guess four of us, head toward the building, the paper guardian and paper dragon reappear. They come crashing through a wall and are back outside.

"Pick me up," Jaakuna Sakka shouts. "Pick me up! Put me back on the dragon!"

The paper guardian stops and grabs Jaakuna Sakka. It then gently drops him on the paper dragon.

"This is not the ending," Jaakuna Sakka shouts from on top of his paper dragon. "The story ends with both of you surrendering and giving me your trinkets. This is not the ending!"

"Call this an alternate ending," I shout, smiling as I fly behind Emica and Akio. Jaakuna Sakka and his paper guardian and dragon chase us into the building. They chase us until Emica's and Akio's backs are against a wall.

"No way left to run," Jaakuna Sakka says, armed with his notebook again.

"I couldn't agree more," Akio says. I watch from the side as Akio pulls out some pellets. Throwing the pellets toward the ceiling, they explode and trigger the sprinklers.

13: Chapter 13: Boston's Newest Stars

Jaakuna Sakka:

"Nnnooooo," I shout, watching as the sprinkles in the ceiling turn on and unleash an ocean of water. It falls onto me and my paper army.

I watch as my paper guardian, my paper dragon, and all my paper ninjas begin to fall apart. They try to escape. The paper guardian raises his arm to try and protect himself but it's no use. My paper dragon tries to fly but its wings are already too wet.

The dragon roars as it falls to the floor. My paper guardian's soggy arm breaks off. All my paper ninjas fall darken as they fall and break apart. Seeing this, I dip my feather pen in the ink jar and try to write something.

"Despite the water," I shout, writing as fast as I can. "Jaakuna Sakka will still win! He summons more paper nin--No! No! No!"

I try to write. I try to summon more paper ninjas but the ink won't stay. The water makes the ink run off the page.

"No," I shout, watching the ink runs off the page and onto the floor. "Come on! Come on! Come on!"

This time, I try writing harder, pressing the pen more firmly. However, this doesn't work either. The ink is still running, and worst, I rip a hole in my notebook.

"Nnnooo," I shout, dropping my pen and grabbing the paper. Holding it up, I look through the hole and see the Green Emerald Ninja and the Red Rose Ninja.

"The end," the Green Emerald Ninja says, running toward me. Dropping the paper, I step back as the Green Emerald Ninja jumps into the air. He jumps high into the air before flipping around and shooting out his leg. Kicking and knocking me to the floor again, I hold my chest and watch as the Green Ninja grabs my wet notebook.

Holding it with both his hands, the Green Ninja rips it in half.

Red Rose Ninja:

"Nnnoooo," Jaakuna Sakka yells as shadows fall off him and disappear. Noon and I watch as, after ripping the notebook in half, the dakura tchingu jumps from it. It jumps onto the ground and tries to flee but it's useless.

Quickly pulling out my chigiriki, I throw one end of my weapon at the fleeing dakura tchingu. It hits the dakura tchingu and the dakura tchingu jumps out of the ground. It freezes before turning to dust.

With the dakura tchingu destroyed, Jaakuna Sakka is destroyed as well. His robe and hat vanish and are replaced with a regular shirt and pants.

"Hey," Noon says, leaning forward. "It's the writer from before! The one that tried to show Gunner his script."

"But Gunner threw," I say, pulling back my chigiriki.

As he slowly returns back to his normal self, the writer, still on his knees, looks around.

"Ahh," he moans. "Wher--Where am I? Why am I on my knees? What happened?"

Moaning as he scratches his head, the writer pushes himself up. As he pushes himself onto his feet, the writer sees us and screams.

"Oh my god," he shouts.

"What," I scream, turning around. Pulling out my staff, I look around. "What? What is it?"

I look around but don't see anything.

"Uhh, Emica," Noon says, tapping my shoulder.

"What?"

When I turn to her, Noon points at the writer.

"Oh my god," the writer shouts again. "It's you! And you're here too! Oh my god! The Green Emerald Ninja and the Red Rose Ninja! I can't believe it!"

The writer goes on and on, saying how unbelievably it is we're standing in front of him. As he goes on, Akio and I look at each other. I then look at Noon as she hovers beside me.

"Well, at least the guy feels better now," Noon says. Akio, Noon, and I watch the writer go on for a bit longer before stopping. Walking over to us, the writer steps on something and looks down.

"Ohh," he says, bending down to pick up a piece of paper. "This is...a page from my script. The one I wrote for the movie I'm working on. I wanted this to be in the movie so much, but Mr. Gunner said no."

The writer then sighs and lowers his hand. As he lowers his hand, the piece of paper drops from it.

"Emica," Noon says, "Walk up to him."

"What?"

"Walk up to him," Noon says again. "And repeats everything I say."

Looking at Noon, I understand her plan and walk over to the writer. Placing my hand on her shoulder, I tell him what Noon says to me.

"Don't give up," I start. I look down and grab the piece of paper from the floor. I then give it back to the young writer. "This 'Mr. Gunner' person may not want it, but someone will. All you have to do is keep writing and keep searching. It may take a while but ask yourself this. Will it be worth it?"

"Now nod your head, smile, and leave."

I nod my head, smile, and leave. Turning around, I walk back to Akio.

"Those were some beautiful words," Akio whispers to me.

"Thanks," I say. "My hosuto has something to do."

"Understand," Akio replies. Smiling, Akio and I bow our heads before splitting up. While Akio climbs up and out through a window, I disappear through a door on the side of the building.

As I step outside and make sure no one is around, I pull out the red rose from my pocket.

"Are you ready," I ask. Noon nods her head. Holding out my hands, I chant the magical incantation.

"A beautiful red rose closes."

Noon Encarnacion:

Walking back into the studio where I was before the whole 'Jaakuna Sakka' event started, I jump a little when I see Freddy standing there, along with a bunch of paramedics.

"Ohhhh shoot," I think, mentally slapping myself on the forehead. I turn to Emica, only to see her looking at me.

"You forget about Freddy. Didn't you?"

"Hey, between all the paper ninjas and the paper ninjas and you begin disarmed and outnumber, it's a miracle I didn't forget this place."

"Noon," Freddy yells. I turn back to Freddy and see him running to me. Grabbing my shoulders, Freddy pulls me in.

"Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"

"I'm...fine," I answer.

Letting out a sigh when he hears this, Freddy raises his head.

"What happened to you? I mean, after I was locked in the closet, you just ran off. Where did you go?"

"I went to hide somewhere else," I answer quickly. "I hid in another building. I only came out after seeing the Red Rose and Green Emerald Ninja defeat the person being controlled by the dakura tchingu."

"You saw them," Freddy asks. "Oh, you are so lucky!"

"Yeah," I say, looking at Emica is who floating beside me. "Yeah, I am. But anyway, I'm fine. Are you okay?"

"Am I okay," Freddy repeats. "I'm fine. I was locked in a closet the whole time."

Freddy and I both laugh when Freddy said this. As we laugh, someone screaming interrupts us.

"I am fine," a familiar voice says. "I am fine! You can leave me alone now!"

It takes me less than a second to recognize the voice and I see Emica's shoulders drop.

"There you two are," Max Gunner says, walking out from the building and greeting Freddy and me.

"You two. Oh, I am so happy you two are okay. That means the movie can go on!"

Max Gunner then raises his arms into the air. While he does this, I lean to Freddy.

"He just got tied up and kidnapped by magical paper and all he cared about is the movie?"

"The shows must go on," Freddy whispers. I roll my eyes and shrug my shoulders.

"But wait," Max Gunner says, pulling his arms back in and rubbing his chin. "Shoot! We don't have the second boy!"

"The second boy," I repeat.

"The classic love triangle," Max Gunner answers. "Two boys but only one girl. Shoot! We don't have the second boy. We were going to hold auditions but with all of this, ahh. I need someone. I need someone who can be him. Wait, you!"

Nemo Farid:

"Are you lost," Akio asks me.

"No I am not lost," I answer. "I know which way the exit is."

"Then why are we still here?"

"Because instead of jumping from building to building and over the wall, you choose to switch in here! Now we have to walk out of here."

"You're the one that wanted to---"

Before Akio can finish, we both yell someone shouting and turn.

"You," some old, bald guy in a white suit says, pointing at me. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh me," I say. "I'm, uhhh, here for, uhhh...."

"Are you for an audition," the old guy asks.

"Audition? Audition! Yes! Yes. I am here for an audition. For your movie. You're making a movie, right? Or it is a commercial?"

While trying to imagine myself smiling while holding whatever it is I'm supposed to be holding, I hear a familiar voice and look around the old man.

"Noon?"

"Nemo," Noon says, walking up to me and the old man. "What are you doing here?"

"I am here for a.....movie," I say slowly. "And not a commercial."

"Wait," the old man says, "You two know each other? This is even better!"

The old man then grabs and shakes my hand.

"Young man. What is your name?"

"Uhhh, Nemo Farid."

"Well, Nemo Farid. My name is Max Gunner, and I have a question to ask you. How would you like to be Boston's new star?"

"What," I yell.

"What," Noon shouts.

"What," the person standing beside Noon asks.

"Well, maybe not on the same level as these two," Max Gunner says, "But still. The three of you, working together on this new movie, you're all going to be Boston's most famous love triangle."

"Love triangle," Akio repeats.

"Love triangle," I repeat. I then look at Noon. At the same time, Noon, and the person, are looking at me.

14: Chapter 14: Family Plan

Nemo Farid:

"Sweetie," my mom says. She looks away from the clipboard in her hands and looks at me. "I still don't really get it."

"Neither do I," my dad says. He stops setting up the museum's exhibits and looks at me. "How exactly did you get a 'starring role' in an upcoming movie? I mean, what were you even doing at a movie studio?"

"Uhhh," I say. I look to my side and see Akio just standing there with his arms crossed. When he sees me looking at him, Akio just shrugs his shoulder.

"Uhh, I was just...there," I answer, trying to be as truthful as I can. "And the producer, I think, saw me, and for some reason that I still can't really understand, he said I have potential to be 'Boston's new stars'."

I shake my head when I'm done talking. It's the day after I was "hired" and after my parents asked me if I wanted a sneak peek at the newest exhibit at the Boston Natural History Museum where both of them work as curators, our conversation somehow turned toward my new job.

"Potential," my mom repeats.

"To be an actor," my dad goes on. "Nemo. It's not that we don't believe in you. You're our son. We do believe in you, and you are a very smart kid."

"Thank you for all of that, Dad," I say, "But I sense a 'but' incoming. What's the 'but'?"

My dad sigh when I say this. His head bounces up and down like he's trying not to say what he wants to say but the words force their way up.

"But, do you remember your second-grade play?"

Almost immediately, I see a flash and I find myself back in the second grade, doing the play. I can't remember exactly what happened but I do remember my mom and dad, along with all the other parents, cheering, laughing, and taking pictures. Shortly afterward, I remember all of them screaming and running for their lives. Then the manager of the Franklin Park Zoo telling me and my parents we are forever banned from the zoo. The flashback ends with the zoo staff taking our pictures and thumbprints.

"Yeah, Dad," I say through my teeth. "I remember my second-grade play. They still have our pictures taped in the ticket booths. On the bright side, it's not like we go to the zoo a lot anyway."

"The second-grade play," Akio whispers. "What happened during your play? And what is this about a zoo?"

I wave my hand, motioning for Akio to be quiet.

"It wasn't my fault," I whisper, leaning to tell Akio without looking too suspicious in front of my parents. "At least, not entirely. The goat was the one that chewed the ropes. And I didn't know that myth about mice and elephants was true."

"What?"

I wave my hand again and turn away from Akio.

"Nemo," my mom says, "So what are you going to do? Are you going start acting?"

"I don't know," I answer with a sigh. "I honestly don't. I mean, for now, I guess I'll do it and see how things go."

"Really," my dad asks.

"Yes, really. Dad. Besides, I won't be alone. Noon will be with me."

"Oh, Noon," my mom says with a big smile. "The girl from your class? Oh, she's lovely."

"Yeah," I say, "She is. Anyway."

I look to the side at the exhibit my parents have been working on since early this morning.

"Mom. Dad. What is all of this?"

I take a step back to fully look at the new exhibit. When I do, I see a whole display of beautifully shining flowers behind a large glass window.

"Seriously, what is all of this? This looks amazing."

My dad laughs as he climbs down the ladder. Walking to my side, he places his hand on my shoulder and looks at the exhibit with me.

"This i the museum's newest exhibit," my dad starts, "Glass flowers."

"Glass flowers," I repeat.

"Glass flowers," Akio repeats.

"Glass flowers," my mom says. She joins my dad and me and looks at the exhibit with us.

"Why are we all looking at glass flowers," Akio asks.

"I don't know. Mom. Dad. What are we all looking at glass flowers?"

"Nemo," my mom says. Judging from her crooked eyebrows, she looked a little mad. "These are more than glass flowers. This is one of the museum's most treasured collections. These glass flowers are almost 100 years old. Made by Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, a father and son team of Czech glass artists, the two spent over 50 years studying almost 800 plant species to make these."

"Wow," I say, taking another hard look at the glass flower. "That's quite an accomplishment."

"It is," my dad says with a nod. "It makes you think. Could the two of us do something as amazing as Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka?"

My dad then looks down at me with teary eyes.

"Uhhh," I say, my eyes shooting around. They dart to Akio, then to the glass flower, and finally to the floor. None of which help me."Suurrreeee Daddd."

I grab my dad's hand and pull it off me.

"I--I need to go to the restroom. See you, Mom. Bye, Dad. I'll see you at home."

I wave at my parents as I run to the restroom.

Raymond Farid:

"Raymond," my wife starts. "Not to be rude or anything but I think that was a bit forced."

I sigh and lower my shaking head.

"I'm sorry Quinn," I say, looking at my wife in her eyes. "I know it was a bit forced, but, well, don't you think it had been a while since the three of us did something altogether? Or, I don't know, even just the two of us? I mean, when was the last time you and Nemo did something together?"

My wife opens my mouth to say something but all I hear is the sound of the museum's a.c running. I can tell my wife is racking her brain for an answer but she's having a very hard time.

"You can't remember, can you?"

Quinn shakes her head.

"Okay," Quinn says with dropped shoulders. "I'll admit, maybe it had been awhile since we did anything as a family, but there's nothing we can do about it. We're busy with work, and our son is growing up. He had other interests, other people that he rather be with."

Now I'm the one with the dropped shoulders.

"I guess," I say, shaking my head. "Still."

Looking at the glass flowers, handcrafted by Leopold and Rudolf, I raise my shoulders a bit.

"I can have a little bit of hope. We can have a little bit of hope."

Hearing this, Quinn steps up and kisses me on the cheek. I smile and look at my wife.

"Come on," she says with a wave of her hand. "We still have to get the rest of Blaschka flowers from the museum's basement."

"I'm coming," I say, following my wife.

Fox:

Throwing my orange and red hairs over my shoulder, I reach into my jacket pocket and pull out a stick of gum. Taking off the wrapper, I throw the gum into my mouth. I chew it while watching the two leave the glass flower display.

"Finally," I think with a roll of my eyes. "Took them forever to leave."

Turning around, I pat the security guard on the head as I take his ID badge.

"Thanks for giving me control of the cameras. I'll be leaving now."

The security guard tries to stop me from leaving but with hands, feet, and mouth all duck-taped, all he can do is jump up and down while moaning and groaning.

Leaving the security office, making sure to close the door before I go, I then look up at the ceiling. More precisely, a vent in the ceiling.

Jumping and climbing in, I make sure to close the vent before crawling through it.

"Let me see, let me see."

I blow a bubble as I pull out and look at my phone screen. According to the map I managed to get, this vent should lead me right to the glass flower display.

"Shiny, expensive, jeweled flowers," I think with a smile. "Here I come."

Akio Hisashi:

While Nemo is talking about something, I stop and look up.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what," Nemo asks. He walks to where I am and looks up. The two of us are looking at the ceiling but I don't see anything unusual.

"I thought I heard something," I say. I keep looking at the ceiling, scanning it thoroughly. I focus on a series of large metal pipes. The pipes seem to be leading to many different locations.

"Akio," Nemo says, waving his hand in front of me. "Hey, please. I could really use your help here."

"Why," I ask, still looking at the pipes. Your father wants to spend time with you. What is wrong with that?"

"Nothing," Nemo answers, "Excuse me, my dad and I, we're not exactly close. The same can be said about my mom. I mean, we have family dinner every night, but other than that, we really don't do much together. What am I supposed to do if my dad does ask me to do something with him?"

I shake my head before looking down at Nemo.

"Just do it," I firmly answer. "Your father wants to spend time with you. You should be happy."

"I'm not saying I'm not happy that my dad wants to spend time with me. It's more like, I have no idea what we would be doing if we did spend time together. I'm worried. My parents are smart. They like to attend lectures and learn all sorts of new things. The last lectures they attended together it was about jumpstarting their own business."

"That is funny," I say, "I wasn't aware your parents wanted to start their own business."

"They don't," Nemo replies. "They just went to learn how to jumpstart one. Akio, I'm an artist. I like to draw and create new things. As far as I can tell, my parents have never once attended any lectures having to do with art. We don't have any common interests. What am I supposed to do?"

"Listen, Nemo," I say, looking my hosuto straight in his eyes. "You are thinking too much about this. Your parents want to spend time with you. That is it. Now, please follow me. I think something is about to happen."

"Something is about to happen," Nemo repeats, following me. "Akio, what is about to happen?"

"I think the glass flowers from before are about to be stolen," I answer.

15: Chapter 15: The Trickster Fox

Fox:

Kicking the cover off, I move fast and catch it before it can fall to the floor. I put the cover inside the vent before crawling and dropping out.

Blowing a bubble, I reach into my backpack and pull out my glass cuter. Placing and pushing the suction cup against the display's glass, I extend the rod with the cutter and then draw a full circle. Once the full circle is drawn, I pull my glass cutter back, and a large glass circle comes with it.

"Beautiful," I say, admiring the sparking, shining glass flowers. Wiping a tear from my eyes, I place the glass circle down before reaching in through the new opening. My fingers carefully and gently wrap around a shining, glass-made lavender. Pulling the flower out, I reach into my bag again and pull out a small box. "Best not to break these."

As I reach for other flowers and put them in my bag, I hear footsteps and then a voice.

"I do not think those are for sale," the Green Emerald Ninja says, standing before me. He crouches down and reaches for one of his wooden swords on his back. "Put the flowers back now."

"Oh my god," I say, squeezing my cheeks. "Oh my god. Oh my god! You're the Green Emerald Ninja! Wait, what are you doing here?

"Uhh," the Emerald Ninjas says. He turns to his left for some reason before turning back to me. "I like museums."

"That makes sense," I say, laughing a little. "After all, you are old!"

Akio Hisashi:

"What," Nemo yells. "Did she just call me old?"

"Actually," I whisper, "I think she called me old."

"Well, yes, but it's my body you're using! My body isn't old! I mean, I'll admit, I have a few wrinkles but that's only because I stay up a lot of nights!"

"Nemo," I say, eyeing my hosuto while facing the woman. "Please. Be quiet!"

Nemo shakes his head and crosses his arms.

"I stay up a lot of nights," Nemo repeats.

I look back at the girl as she stays laughing and pointing at me. The girl doesn't look much older than Nemo. She is very tall and thin. The girl is dressed in a snow-white suit and has a small bag. Besides her clothes, the last thing I see is the girl's long orange hair.

"Give the flowers back," I demand, pulling out one of my bokken swords. The moment I speak, the girl stops laughing and pointing.

"Make me," the girl shouts. She reaches into her bag and pulls out a handful of round, black balls. I watch from a distance as the girl throws them against the floor, blanketing almost the whole exhibit in a thick black smoke.

"What in the world," I say, backing away as the smoke flies toward me. "This girl has smoke bombs."

"She has smoke bombs," Nemo says. "How? Wait, Akio! The flowers!"

"I can't do anything," I say. "Her smoke bombs have hidden her. I can't see through them. I have no idea where she is!"

I focus entirely on the thick smoke cloud, waiting for it to clear. However, since we are indoors, the smoke cloud is not clearing. Instead, it's spreading further and further.

As I wait for the smoke to clear, for anything like an opening, I hear something.

"Do you hear that," I ask.

"Yeah," Nemo answers. "What is that?"

Nemo turns around and then screams.

"Akio! Behind you!"

I turn around and see the girl with long orange hair only a short distance from me. She runs right up to me. As she does, I think about swinging with my bokken but stop.

"She isn't being controlled by a dakura tchingu," I think. "I cannot hurt her."

"Akio," Nemo shouts. "Incoming!"

The girl running toward me then jumps into the air. While in mid-air, she shoots out one of her legs. Sheathing my bokken sword, I raise my arms and quickly catch her foot in my hands. I then push her back.

The girl stumbles but manages to catch herself after a few steps. Like me, the girl raises her arms. Charging forth, she starts throwing punches. However, thanks to my years of martial arts training, I can easily dodge and block them.

Blocking a roundhouse kick, the girl then lowers her legs and tries a straight punch. I catch her punch in my hands. With one hand stuck, the girl reaches into her bag. She pulls out one of the boxes with the glass flower in it.

"The glass flowers," Nemo shouts.

The girl smiles as she throws the box into the air. I look up at it as it flies through the air. Reaching up to try and grab the box before the flower can break, something happens and I fall onto my back.

"Akio," Nemo says, kneeling down beside me. "Are you okay?"

"Ahh," I moan, holding my chest. "What happened?"

Before Nemo can answer, we hear laughing and look up. There, still on her two feet, is the girl. She's smiling, laughing, and holding the box in one hand and a wooden stick in the other hand.

"It was the girl," Nemo answers. "When she threw the box, it acted as a distraction. When you turned to try and catch it, she pulled out that baton and hit you with it.

"A tricky move," I say, "But, inefficient."

Placing my hands on the floor beside my head, I kick my feet into the air. My whole body follows and, in an instant, I'm back on my feet.

"That will not work a second time," I say, bringing forth one arm and pulling back the other. Now, in a fighting stance, I expected the girl to fight me again.

"Yeah," the girl says, shaking her head left and right. "That won't work a second time too. I can't fight you. I can, however, do this!"

Without any warning, the girl runs. She turns around and runs away.

"Hey, wait!"

Lowering my arms, I kick against the floor and chase after the girl.

The girl runs through the museum's hallway. She reaches into her bag and throws down even more smoke bombs. Wanting not to lose the girl, I have no choice but to run through the smoke cloud.

Seeing the girl take a sharp turn and then go straight, I follow in her path. I keep running straight, even when the girl throws down another smoke bomb.

"Watch out," Nemo shouts, pointing at an incoming wall. Seeing the wall, I stomp my feet on the ground and manage to stop myself in time.

"The girl," Nemo says. "Where is she?"

"I do not know! This smoke is impossible to see through!"

Waving my hand in the smoke, I hope to fan it away but it's no use.

"Akio," Nemo says. "Jump!"

"What?"

I turn to Nemo and see him pointing up. I look up and see a metal pipe hanging in the air.

"Jump," Nemo says again. I nod my head and jump into the air, grabbing the pipe. Pulling myself up, I can finally see things clearly now.

"Smart thinking," I say, looking at Nemo as I climb onto the pipe. "The smoke cloud isn't this high so we should be able to see the girl."

"Yeah," Nemo says, nodding. "Now be quiet and look! If you can't see through the smoke, then the girl can't either. She has to have slowed down, otherwise, she would have run into something."

Nemo and I look around. The smoke cloud is still covering most of the hallway so it is not easy searching but I do spot the thief.

"There," I say, pointing at the girl as she leaves the smoke cloud and runs into a different exhibit.

Jumping from pipe to pipe, I land on the floor and follow the girl into the exhibit. As I enter the exhibit, I stop and look around. This exhibit features many different birds and eggs of all shapes and sizes.

"Nemo, what is this?"

"This is the Nest and Eggs exhibit," Nemo answers, flying by my side as I walk. "It showcases all the different birds of the worlds, along with their nests, their eggs, and everything else.

"Hmph," I say. I look around again and see a whole shelf of eggs. "Are these eggs real?"

"What? No. The eggs aren't real. At least, I don't think so. Why?"

"This is supposed to be a place of learning, a place where one can acquire more knowledge. Right?"

"Yes."

"Well, wouldn't a real egg be more knowledgeful than a fake egg?"

"Akio, as far as I know, the museum can't keep real bird eggs. I mean, what would happen if something happens to the real eggs?"

I open my mouth to say something but as I keep looking at the shelf, I see the girl on the other side.

"Nemo. There!"

The girl smiles when she sees me. She then places both her hands on the shelf and pushes it.

Nemo Farid:

"Akio," I yell, seeing the girl pushing the display shelf. As she pushes it, all of the eggs roll off their stands and onto the glass. "Stop it! Please!"

Akio nods and runs forward. As the display case tips over, Akio shoots out his arms and catches the whole thing. He screams as he's forced onto his knees. Despite all of that, Akio still manages to save both the display case and all the eggs. However, Akio is now stuck. If he moves in any way, the glass case, and all the eggs inside, will break.

"Sorry about having to leave you like this," the girl says, waving at Akio as she steps out from behind the shelf. Walking around the leaning shelf and a trapped Akio, she heads for the exit. "But I got places to go with some glass flowers. Hey, congrats on saving the eggs. I'm sure the museum will be very happy."

The girl then sticks out her tongue before disappearing through the exhibit's exit.

"She's heading back for the rest of the glass flowers," I say, floating toward the exit. "Akio! Come on!"

"Nemo," Akio says, struggling with shaking arms and legs. "I can't move! If I do, then these eggs will break!"

I look between Akio and the hallway leading back to the glass flowers. I try to go into the hallway but after a few more feet, I hit my head on an invisible wall. Screaming as I hold my head, I try to go further but I can't.

"The magic of the emerald dragon is keeping me bonded to Akio. I can't go too far from him."

With no other choice, I fly back to Akio.

16: Chapter 16: The Prime Suspect

Raymond Farid:

"What was that sound," I ask, hearing something as soon as my wife and I return with more Blaschka flowers. "Did you hear that?"

Running through the museum's hallway, back to the Glass Flower exhibit, I scream when I see the display case empty.

"Raymond," my wife yells, running over to me. "What---Oh no."

Turning her head, my wife sees the same thing I see. A completely empty display case with a large circular opening on it.

"The Blaschka flowers," Quinn shouts. "Where are they? What happened to them?"

Before I can even think of a possible explanation, I hear that strange sound again.

"Follow me," I say. I look around for a safe spot. Looking at the empty glass display, I reach through the hole in the case and place the flowers down.

"Come on! Put the flowers down and then follow me."

My wife places the flowers down and follows me. Following the strange sound, we rush through the hallway. Entering the Nests and Eggs exhibit, I stop when I see someone holding up the whole Egg display case.

"The Green Emerald Ninja," I shout, not believing my eyes. I rub them to make sure I'm not seeing things but no, what I'm seeing right now is what I'm seeing right now.

"Why are you here? And what have you done?"

For some strange reasons that I can't even begin to understand, the famous Boston Green Emerald Ninja is trapped underneath the display case. He's struggling to keep it from crashing onto the floor. Wanting to keep the eggs safe, I rush to help the Green Ninja.

"I got it," I say, helping to hold one side up. With my help, the Green Ninja and I can start to lower the display case gently.

"Easy," I say, looking at the eggs as they move around. They're rolling all over the glass but thankfully, none of them have cracked yet.

"Easy. Easy!"

Gently setting the whole case down, the Green Ninja and I stand back up. As I stand straight up and catch my breath, I hear my wife's voice.

"Over here," Quinn yells. "Guards! Over here! In the Nests and Eggs Exhibit!"

A few seconds later, Quinn runs back into the exhibit with three security guards behind her. The guards freeze when they see the Green Ninja.

"It's the Green Emerald Ninja," one of the guards whispers.

"No way," another one says. "My son is not going to believe this!"

"Wait, what is he even doing here? The museum isn't open yet."

"Raymond," my wife says. She runs up and hugs me. As she hugs me, I waste no time and hug her back. We stay like this for a few minutes before pulling back.

"Don't worry," I say with a smile. "Not a single egg is cracked."

"I'm glad," my wife answers with a smile. However, her smile disappears a second later.

"While looking for the security guards," Quinn starts, "I checked the surveillance cameras. All of today's footage was deleted."

"What about the guard on duty at the time?"

"We found him tapped up. He said a girl with orange hair duck-tapped him before stealing his ID badge. She then crawled into the air vents and disappeared."

"So it might have been the girl who stole the glass flowers," I say. "Still."

"Still," Quinn repeats.

Turning away from my wife, I walk over to the Green Ninja.

"Mr...Green Ninja," I say. "One of our exhibits was robbed. A guard said that a young girl with orange hair did it, but nevertheless, I still find it suspicious that you're here."

Nemo Farid:

"Suspicious," Akio repeats.

"Suspicious," I repeat. "Oh no. Dad, come on. Don't jump to that conclusion. Please, please, please don't do it."

"Mr. Green Ninja," my dad says again. "Until we either find this girl with orange hair or the Blaschka glass flowers, I need you to stay here and wait for the police."

"The police," I scream.

"Guards," my dad says, turning to the security guards standing nearby. "Please escort Mr. Green Ninja to the security office."

Hearing this, the guards, clearly confused and hesitant, still approach Akio.

"Akio," I shout, grabbing his shoulders. "Run."

"What," Akio whispers.

"Just run. Now!"

Confused and hesitant, Akio nods and turns around.

"He's running," my dad yells, pointing at Akio. "Stop him!"

The guards lunge for Akio but Akio jumps into the air, dodging them and running down one of the museum's hallways.

"After him," my dad yells. The guards push themselves up and chase after us. While running down the hallway, Akio turns to me.

"Nemo. Please explain to me why I started running away from your dad and his guards."

"Easy," I say, flying beside Akio as he runs. "My dad said police."

"Police?"

"Yes, the police! You know. These people who asked questions like 'Who are you'! Akio, the Green Ninjas is famous but Nemo Farid isn't, and honestly, I really want to keep it like that. Besides, if anyone finds out who I am, or worse, what I have, who knows what could happen? People could try and take away the emerald dragon. They could break it in order to learn about the magic, destroying you! And without you, my family and I will be defenseless when Don Yokuna Yokubo attacks. Along with all of Boston! We can't let the police interview us."

Akio nods his head after I finish my explanation. As Akio nods, he looks ahead and stops, his feet skidding against the carpeted floor.

Standing in front of us are four security guards, blocking the hallway. Akio turns around but the three security guards from before catch up to us, surrounding us.

Slowly but surely, they approach us with their hands out.

"Akio," I say, looking at the approaching guards. "Please don't hurt them. They're just innocent people."

"Yeah," Akio says, holding out his hands. He gets into a fighting stance, spreading out his legs.

"I'll try not to hurt them too much."

Only a few feet from us now, one of the guards throws himself at Akio. Akio seeing this, jumps into the air. The guard misses Akio and falls to the floor. The second Akio lands back on his feet, two more guards lunge for him.

"Akio, watch out!"

"I see them!"

Twisting his body, Akio then jumps into the air. As he jumps, he pushes his hands and legs together and spins in the air. The two guards that lunge for Akio miss and hit each other instead. They fall back while holding their noses.

This time, landing on one hand and a knee, Akio looks up.

"Behind you!"

Akio looks behind him but it's too late. A guard rushes from behind Akio and grabs him. The guard grabs Akio's shoulder and lifts him up.

"Akio!"

"Don't worry," Akio says. "I got this!"

Swinging his legs up, Akio throws the guard off balance. He stumbles back, tripping on his own feet and falling. As the guard falls, Akio rolls back, landing on his feet.

"This is useless," Akio says, watching as all the guards that fell push themselves up and surround us.

"I know," I say, "But still. I don't want to hurt any of them."

"Neither do I but how am I supposed to escape if I cannot fight?"

I look at Akio as he reaches for his bokken swords. He grabs the handle but doesn't pull his wooden sword out. As I watch the guards approaching Akio, getting closer and closer, I look up and see some pipes.

"The pipes," I say, slapping myself on my ghostly head. "Akio! Look up!"

Pointing up, Akio sees the pipes and smiles.

"Remember the smoke cloud," I say with a smile.

Akio nods and lets go of his sword handle. He looks around and sees another display case, this one being tall. Bending his knees, Akio runs toward one of the security guards. The guard has his arms wide open. When he sees Akio running toward him, he closes them to try and catch Akio but Akio jumps. He jumps onto the guard's shoulder and onto the display case. Pushing himself up, Akio then jumps from the top of the display case to the pipes. Going from pipe to pipe like a kid on the monkey bars, Akio escapes the guards.

Jumping and swinging from one pipe, Akio throws himself into the air before landing on a pipe. Now, running on top of them, we look down and see the guards still chasing us.

"This way," I say, flying ahead. Pointing to the right, Akio takes the turn. "Now drop to the floor!"

Akio jumps off the pipe and lands on the floor.

"Now go through this door. It's an exit!"

Akio bursts through the red metal door. However, the second he bursts through it, the fire alarm goes off.

"Nemo," Akio shouts.

"It was the emergency escape door," I answer. "Akio. Forget it. Just run."

17: Chapter 17: Chases

Nemo Farid:

"The noble dragon sleeps," Akio shouts, raising the emerald dragon into the air. Switching places with him, Akio flies into the air while I take my place inside my body.

Quickly transforming, I poke my head out while pocketing the dragon.

"Okay," I whisper, "I have some bad news and some not-so-bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

"What," Akio asks, floating behind me.

"Never mind," I say, shaking my head. "I'll just pick for you. Okay, the not-so-bad news is that I think, for now, we're safe. No one knows that the Green Ninja, you, is me."

"Okay. What's the bad news?"

"The bad news is over there."

I point over the museum's entrance, where a bunch of police cars and even a few police vans drive up with their sirens flashing. The second they stop, the cars and vans open and a dozen police officers come running out. While half of the officers run into the museum, the other half stay outside and start stopping people to ask them questions.

"Time to go," I say.

Stepping out from behind the building, I force myself not to look back as I walk away.

"We need to get those glass flowers back," I whisper.

"But how," Akio asks, hovering beside me. "The girl vanished, and we have no idea where she went or which way she could have gone."

I let out a silent scream.

"You're right," I say. "We need a clue. A lead. Something to go on. I mean, it's not like she's just going to drive right past us and--"

"Nemo," Akio shouts. He waves his hand in front of me and points at something. Turning my head, looking at where Akio is pointing, I see the same girl from before, driving a dark-blue car past us.

"No way," I say. "That did not happen."

"Nemo!"

"Right, right, right!"

Keeping an eye on the girl as she keeps driving, I do my best to keep up with her.

"Sorry," I scream, pushing a tall man to the side. "Excuse me! Excuse me! Pardon me! Coming through! Move!"

The girl stops at a red light. I know the light can change at any moment so I try to pick up the speed but I feel like I'm already at my limit.

"Nemo," Akio yells. "Quickly! Switch!"

"We can't switch," I say while out of breath. "We're in public! And you're still wanted. Just a little more. Just a little more."

About five feet from the car, the light turns from red to green. The girl sees it and drives away.

"Nnoooo," I say, stopping to catch my breath. Gasping for air with my hands on my knees, I turn to the left and see Akio staring at me.

"You're the ninja," I whisper, "Not me. I just need a minute to catch my breath."

"You don't have a minute," Akio states. "The thief is getting further and further away. The only way we can catch her is if we switch."

"Can't switch. Too public. Need somewhere private."

As I catch my breath as fast as I can, I also look around and see something that sparks an idea in my head.

"Private," I say, pointing at a small but tall blue bin. Still out of breath, I wobble over to the blue bin. Grabbing the lid, I throw it open and look inside.

"Shoot," I think. The blue bin is full of empty bottles and soda cans. "Sorry about this, Mother Nature."

Grabbing an armful of bottles and cans, I throw them out and onto the street. Grabbing two or three more armfuls, I throw them all out and finally make enough room for me to jump in.

"The noble dragon awakens," I chant, raising the green dragon.

Akio Hisashi:

Jumping out of the blue trash can, I look up and see the, as Nemo tells me, 'car' further down the road. It's moving further away but I know I can still catch it.

Looking up, I see all the other cars on the road. Jumping and flipping through the air, I land on the roof of a car. The person who is driving stops his car.

"Sorry," Nemo says, waving at the person. While Nemo does this, I jump from car to car, quickly catching up with the thief.

"Got it," I yell, landing on the roof of the girl's car. As I land on the roof, the girl's head appears from the side.

"You," she screams.

"Give me the glass flowers," I demand. Instead of giving me the glass flowers, the girl disappears back into the car. An instant after she disappears, I hear a disturbing, screeching sound and smell something quite foul.

"What is that," I ask.

"Burning rubber," Nemo answers. "Hold on!"

Before I can ask why I need to hold on, the car throws itself forward. I almost fall off but manage to grab onto the side of the car.

"Akio," Nemo yells, flying beside me. "Hold on! Just hold on! Okay?"

I can't answer Nemo. Instead, I just hang on to the sides and scream as the girl tries to shake me off.

Noon Encarnacion:

Throwing a stick of bubble gum into my mouth, I chew it while doing my Chinese homework.

"Hello," I say. "My name is Noon. Ni hao. Wo de mingzi jiao zhongwu."

I give myself a few seconds to think about how I said it.

"Hey Emica," I say, blowing a small bubble. "How did that sound? Did it sound alright?"

The ruby rose on my desk glows and a few seconds later, Emica appears.

"Noon," Emica says. "I do not know. I speak Japanese. You're trying to learn Chinese. I cannot help you."

"Okay," I say, nodding my head. "You can't help me with my Chinese but can you help me with something else?"

"I guess," Emica replies slowly. "What is it?"

"Can you think of an excuse, any excuse, to get me out of here? I really, really want to get out of here."

"No," I say with a shaking head.

I sigh and drop my shaking head. While blowing another pink bubble, my phone lights up and shakes.

"A notification," I say with a smile. Grabbing and flipping my phone over, I unlock it and tap the notification. As soon as I see what it is, I feel my smile turns upside down.

"Uhh, Emica," I say, looking at my friend. "I think you should see this."

I turn my phone over and show Emica the screen. The second Emica sees the screen, the colors quickly fade from her and, somehow, she turns truly ghosty.

"What is this," she asks, looking at me. "Why is Akio on top of one of those, uhhh, what are called again?"

"Cars," I answer.

"Yes. Thank you. Why is Akio on top of one of those cars? And why is it saying underneath that he stole a bunch of flowers from a museum? Noon, what is going on?"

"I don't know," I say, splitting out my gum, "But I do know this. Akio needs our help. And I need to stretch my legs. You ready?"

I smile when I see Emica nod her head. Reaching into my desk, I pull out the ruby rose and chant the spell.

As I chant the spells, the magical red glow encases me. My clothes fade away and are replaced with a red jumpsuit.

"Let's go," Emica says.

18: Chapter 18: The Witness

Akio Hisashi:

"Hold on," Nemo yells repeatedly. "Hold on! Hold on!"

"I am holding on," I yell back, holding onto the roof of the car as it takes a very sharp left turn. Despite my body being thrown, I still manage to keep my grip. Pulling myself back onto the roof, I slowly climb until I'm lying against the window. Seeing the girl as she keeps driving the metal box, I tap the window.

"Pull over," I yell.

The girl doesn't listen to me. Instead, she does something and increases the speed of the metal box. Almost sliding off, I dig my fingers in and hold on. As I hold on, Nemo appears beside me.

"Did you really think that was going to work," he asks.

"I'm a gentleman," I reply. "I ask first, then I hit!"

Looking to my side, I let go with one hand and pull myself with the other hand. Falling off the roof, I find myself dangling from the door of the metal box.

"What did you do that," Nemo asks, flying beside me.

"So I can do this," I answer. Still holding on with one hand, I pull back my fist before throwing it forward. Hitting the metal box's window, I break it, cracks appearing all over it. The girl jumps when I punch the window. Pulling back my fist again, about to break the window and grab the girl, the girl starts moving to the side.

"Akio," Nemo screams. I turn to Nemo and he points ahead. I turn to where Nemo is pointing and see a long metal pole coming toward me.

Pulling and jumping back onto the roof, I watch as the metal pole scraps against the side of the metal box. It hits the tiny mirror and knocks it to the street.

"Akio," Nemo says, flying up to the roof with me. "There's a sunroof right here! You're lying on top of it!

"A what?"

"A sunroof! It's like a giant window!"

"Did you say window?"

Looking down, I see that Nemo is right. I am lying on top of a large window. Pushing myself up, I punch the window until it breaks. The girl screams as I break the window, the shards landing inside the car. About to jump inside, the girl stomps on something and the car stops.

Sliding and falling off the car, I'm about to hit the ground but jump and curl into a ball. Rolling onto the street, I catch myself and land on my feet. Looking up, I see a whole line of black and white metal boxes. Each of the boxes has flashing blue and red lights on them, and behind each one are two guardsmen.

Nemo Farid:

"Oh no," I say, watching as one of the police officers raises a microphone.

"Green Emerald Nina," the police officer in charge yells. "Surrender yourself now! Or we will use force!"

"Nemo," Akio says, stepping back. "What do I do? What do I do?"

"Uhhh," I say, racking my brain to think of a plan, any plan whatsoever. Hearing the sound of screeching tires, I turn my head and see the girl smile as she backs up.

"The glass flowers," I think.

"Akio," I say, flying and waving my hand in his face. Grabbing Akio's attention, I point behind him at the disappearing thief. "We can't let her get away."

Nemo," Akio whispers. "I think we have a bigger issue."

Turning back in front, I see a whole line-up of police cars and police officers. All the officers are wearing body armor and helmets and are equipped with shields and batons.

"Nemo," Akio whispers, slowly backing away while the police officers take steps toward him. "What should I do?"

About to suggest turning around and running as fast as Akio can go, I stop when I hear a loud sound coming from above. The wind picking up, grabs dust and trash from the street, and throws them all around us.

"Nemo," Akio says, "What is that?"

"It's called a helicopter," I answer. As soon as I answer Akio, I see the pilot driving the helicopter and another officer sitting beside an opened door.

"What did the guardsmen--"

"Police officers. They're called police officers."

"Okay. Why did your 'police officers' bring a--"

"Helicopter. I think it's so we can't escape this time. They have someone watching us from above."

"Oh. That's bad."

"Yes. Yes, it is. Akio! Behind you!"

Hearing my warning, Akio looks behind himself and sees a charging police officer. Charging with his shield in front of him, Akio bends his knees and jumps into the air. Backflipping over the officer, Akio dodges him. However, as soon as he lands, two more officers charge at him. Akio manages to dodge the first one but the second officer hits him. He hits and knocks Akio to the ground.

Watching as Akio falls to the ground, I then watch as three, maybe four offices run right through me. They jump onto Akio before he can get up.

"Akio," I shout, dropping to my knee in front of him. "Come on! You need to get up! Hurry! Hurry!"

"I'm trying," Akio answers. "I'm a ninja. We're not known for our strength."

Watching as Akio tries to shake himself free, he finally pulls out and raises one arm. Grabbing the ground in front of him, Akio tries to pull himself out but I stop him.

"Wait," I say, holding out my invisible hands. "Your pouch."

I point at Akio's pouch. Akio turns around and looks at it. Realizing what I'm trying to say, Akio turns to me and nods. He then reaches inside and pulls out some smoke pellets. Slamming them against the ground, a thick blanket of black smoke shoots out.

I scream, raise my arms, and back away as the smoke cloud spreads out. Reaching the limit, going as far back as I can, I stop and look around.

Despite how far I've gone, I'm still inside the smoke cloud. I can't see or hear Akio. All I can hear is the sound of police officers as they scream at each other.

"Where is he," one officer yells.

"I don't know," another officer answers. "I can't see him anywhere."

"Yes! They can see Akio! He can escape!"

Cupping my hands around my mouth, I shout.

"Akio! Now is your chance! Get out of here! Run!"

Lowering my hands, I look around and pick a direction. About to fly off to find Akio, I stop when I hear the sound of the helicopter. Looking up, I see the police helicopter lowering into the smoke cloud.

The helicopter's spinning blades slice through the smoke cloud. It grabs all the smoke and throws it to the side, revealing all the officers. It doesn't take long for me to see Akio.

"Oh no," I say. Akio isn't standing by himself. He's standing with two officers, both of which have their hands on Akio's arms.

"Akio," I shout, jumping and flying to him. Reaching him in almost no time, I look at the two officers holding him. "Akio. Wha-What happened?"

Akio doesn't answer. Instead, Akio shakes his head all around. Looking at the officer, I see them trying to grab and pull off Akio's mask.

"Oh no," I think. "If the officers pull off Akio's mask, it'll be my face they'll see. Akio knows this which is why he's trying to keep the mask on but it's no use."

Grabbing the top of Akio's ninja maks, one of the officers starts pulling it off.

"Nooo," I scream.

As Akio's mask starts to slip off and my face is revealed, we all hear someone screaming and turn around.

Noon Encarnacion:

"Hurry," I shout.

"I'm on it," Emica shouts back. While running, Emica throws her chigiriki and the end of it wraps around the helicopter's leg. Jumping off the rooftop, Emica swings through the air.

"Hey," the officer inside the helicopter yells.

"Ignore him," I say, flying beside Emica as she swings. Swinging and grabbing Akio, Emica pulls him free and carries him onto another rooftop.

"Emica," Akio screams.

"Akio," Emica yells.

Before Emica or I can do anything, Akio rushes forward and hugs Emica.

"Oh wow," Emica says, her face turning redder than her ninja suit. Trying to hide her smile, Emica hugs Akio back. The two stay hugging for a few more seconds before pulling apart.

"I'm sorry about that," Akio says, pulling his mask down. "I am just really happy to see you."

"No kidding," I say, trying to hide a laugh. "Emica, ask him. What's going on? Why are the police after him?"

Emica nods her head.

"Akio, what's going on? Why are the police after you? According to my host, it's because they believe you stole some flowers."

"Glass flowers," Akio corrects. "They believed I stole them from the museum but I didn't. Someone else did. A girl. I was chasing after her but lost her. I have no idea where she is now. Wait, what?"

Akio turns his head and starts talking to his invisible host. Emica and I can't see his host so we don't know what is being said.

"Wait, are you sure," Akio asks. "No. No, I am not doing that. That is--I don't care. I am not doing that. It is far too dangerous. We can find another way. We will. Yes, we will. We just need a little time."

As Akio talks with his host, the police helicopter flies into the sky above us.

"There they are," the pilot says, pointing at Akio and Emica. "After them!"

The pilot steers the helicopter toward us.

"There's no way you two can outrun a helicopter in broad daylight," I say. "We need a plan."

Looking around, I spot Akio's pouch.

"Akio's pouch," I say, pointing at it. Emica sees it and nods.

"Akio," she says. Akio turns and sees Emica pointing at his pouch. Akio nods and reaches into it. He pulls out some smoke pellets and throws them, blanketing the rooftop this time. Turning around to run, Akio grabs Emica's hand.

"My host had an idea," Akio says. "I don't approve of it but he said it's the only plan we have. Listen to me. Nearby, there are these two roads. Belmont and Washington. In front of them is a what again? An ice-cream store? Someone will meet you there. They can help us."

With that said, Akio leaves Emica and me. He disappears into his smoke cloud. The first to run out, Akio grabs the helicopter's attention, luring it away. Waiting until the helicopter is gone, Emica leaves the smoke cloud. She runs to the ledge and jumps onto another rooftop.

"Belmont and Washington," Emica repeats, landing on her knee and hands.

"I know where that is," I say. "Follow me."

Leading Emica to the intersection, we reach the intersection with Belmont and Washington. There, a few stores down, is an ice cream store.

"There's the ice cream store Akio mentioned," I say. "He said we'll meet someone here. Someone who can help us but who? Who are we supposed to meet?"

"That would be me," a voice answers.

Jumping and turning around, Emica pulls out her chigiriki.

"Hey, hey, hey," Nemo says, stepping back with waving hands.

"Nemo," I say. I jump in front of Emica and spread out my arms.

"Emica, don't! Stop."

"Calm down. Calm down! My name is Nemo. The, uhh, Green Emerald Ninja send me."

"Send you," Emica asks. "Why?"

"Why? It's because, uhh, I'm a witness."

"A witness?"

"Yes. A witness! I saw who really stole the glass flowers. And I saw which ways they went."