//------------------------------// // Arc I Episode IV: Time To Fight! // Story: Family Begins With You // by Jmaster49 //------------------------------// With newfound motivation, the trio started to come up with a plan. “My water blade...things can cut it,” Adagio mused, “But we need to keep it paralyzed long enough for me to break it open.” “But I can’t paralyze it unless it’s toppled over!” Sonata groaned, “How are we gonna do that?!” Which left it up to Aria. The pale-purple girl suddenly came up with a plan on the fly. “That’s it! You two--keep it distracted. I’m gonna knock its crap into next week!” SPLAT! “AH!” Sonata leapt backwards to avoid the lizard’s tongue. It struck the ground where she was previously standing. But to keep its attention, she would have to do a bit more than that. “Over here, ya big dummy!” she stuck her tongue out at it while running counterclockwise in the middle of the crossing. “Its eyes can look in two different directions!” Twilight shouted from the sidelines, “Grab its attention by running opposite of her, Adagio!” “Got it!” With her youngest sister on its right side, Adagio kept its left eye focused entirely on her. “No--over here, big guy! You clearly wanna eat me instead!” “Seriously?” Aria rolled her eyes from her sister’s antics, then started to focus. “Alright...I can control wind and stuff. Let me see if I can blow it away.” She took a few steps backwards to the southern side of the crossing. A crowd had formed on both sides that stopped to watch what was happening. “Just like in baseball. Just like in baseball.” Among the crowd, Wendy was still there. She took it upon herself to record the situation on her phone. “Irrefutable evidence that you’re shirking your job…” Moments after preparing herself mentally, Aria took off in a fierce sprint until she built up enough speed to let the wind carry her the rest of the way. “...Now!” And then…. “HYAH!” She performed a leaping kick with her leg surrounded by a dull-green, tornado-like aura. BWOOSH! And it landed--squarely upon the chameleon’s body. The kick was so powerful that the lizard was knocked back even further than before, sending it clear onto the other side of the intersection and slamming into the side of a brick wall of a building. It attempted to change its scales to a red and white brick-like pattern, but that did little to help its case... With an elegant flip, Aria landed perfectly on her feet, and glanced up at Sonata. “Your turn, sis! Give him a shock!” “Oh yeah!” Sonata ran towards the toppled lizard and put her hands in the air, “Take this!” But nothing happened at first, leaving the blue girl confused for a second. “Huh? Am I doing something wrong?” Adagio was sprinting after her, ready to follow up. “It comes from your hands!” “Oh, okay then…” Sonata threw a punch against the air which released a bolt of electricity just like before. It successfully shocked the lizard, and kept it from moving. “Aha! Got it!” She kept moving her hands back and forth, causing more lightning to sprout forth. “Come on, sis! Keep it going!” Soon enough, the lizard was shocked into submission, leaving it wide open to be attacked once more. But this time it would be different. Adagio kept running forward with the water blade flowing even more fiercely with serrated edges akin to that of a chainsaw. “Disgusting thing...this is what you get for putting your tongue on my sister! AAAAH!” SLICE! With a clean, horizontal cut, the chameleon demon would split in two and explode into a magical dust that slowly disintegrated over time… It was over. “Whew…did we...did we win?” Adagio looked up at the various particles that dissipated into nothingness. Sonata walked up next to her with Aria close behind. The former spoke first. “That was totes awesome! Aria was all wooooosh! And I was all zap-zap-zap! And then you were all splash-slice-smash!” she said while wiggling her hands to represent the different abilities they had acquired. Aria chuckled in response to her sister’s physically descriptive nature of the situation. “Heh...gotta admit, that was hella fun. Hopefully we get to do this more often.” “Hm, yeah,” Adagio replied, “I could get used to this. Er, where’s Twilight?” “I’m here!” she shouted with a loss of breath as she caught up to them. “Whew...wew...I am not a runner. Anyway...that was amazing! You all were amazin--” “Wait a second,” Aria interjected with a suspicious glare at the nerd, “You didn’t fight at all when you’re easily the most magically inclined out of all of us….was this some kind of a test?” And wouldn’t you know it? Aria’s prediction was 100% correct as evidenced by how Twilight blushed and stammered in response. “Well, I-I--I had to find out what you three were capable of. I knew that you all still had magic in you. But nothing like that!” “Hm...I have to admit,” Adagio spoke up while looking at her oddly dry hands, “It was certainly an experience.” “Plus, I would’ve bailed you out if I knew you three couldn’t handle it,” the nerd said with a triumphant armfold, “But I suppose you didn’t need my help at all, did you?” That was something they hadn’t considered. After all, Twilight herself was the element of magic--no matter how incapable she looked to the untrained eye, she would always be there to make sure things went smoothly. With that in mind, the sisters murmured about what they had just experienced to each other--each sounding rather positive about being able to fight again. Sonata in particular was already thinking ahead of herself--as per usual. “If this was a lesser demon, I can’t even imagine what a greater one is like!” “Er, you’ll...get there soon, hehe…” Twilight replied sheepishly, already knowing the dangers that her friends usually faced. “But since today’s Friday and I’ve got nothing going on, I’d be happy to help you three understand your powers at my place.” But then, a painful realization struck Adagio. “Son of a--my boss is gonna kill me!” She turned and started to run down the street, “We’ll meet up with you tomorrow, Twilight!” “Oh…” Twilight looked at the remaining Sirens. “...Did she have a prior engagement?” “Long story,” Aria sighed, “Long ass story.” About 20 minutes later… Adagio finally arrived at the vintage music shoppe, and quickly entered. She stormed through to the store where Blueblood’s office was located. “Blueblood? Sir? I’m sorry that I’m late. But something came up, and--” “Sit,” the young man interrupted her, and gestured his hand towards the chair in front of his desk. Adagio fell silent and took a seat, her teeth chattering from her anxiety. “Please don’t fire me. I really need this job…” Blueblood took out his phone and showed her a video of what recently happened. How her and her sisters fought off a lizard demon from seemingly nowhere. “I saw everything. There’s nothing for you to say.” “Don’t be rude...try to be earnest.” “Please, sir!” she pleaded, “It was an honest...lapse of time. It won’t happen again!” “...I’m sure it won’t,” he said with a small smile creeping onto his face, “Don’t worry. I won’t be putting this on your record...this time.” The yellow girl let out a sigh of relief. “...Thank you, sir.” But the friendly smile on his face soon faded. “But I don’t expect any more interruptions. We missed out on three high-paying customers from your absence.” He took out a clipboard, and started to flip through its pages. “Prestigious band players, instrumental managers, funeral drafters--these are important clients that can’t wait around on us forever.” Adagio’s eyes shot open. The fact that she missed out on earning extra business for the store was something that part of her felt a pang of guilt over. “...Ouch. I...I understand, sir.” “Good. Surely your sisters and your new friends can handle these threats themselves?” he said with that ever-so-friendly smile again, “At least when you’re working, that is.” “...Right. That’s reasonable,” she nodded in agreement with his proposition, “Should I get started on my shift.” Blueblood nodded in return. “You may. You’re dismissed, Adagio.” With a relieved sigh, Adagio got up from the desk, and went to put on her apron and start her shift at the register in the front of the music store. And as soon as she left, Wendy would appear from a different door that led into his office. “No punishments, sir?” “I’m...trying to kindle a positive relationship between her and myself. That’s why I was lenient on her this time.” Normally, Wendy wasn’t the type to question her master’s orders. She followed everything Blueblood asked of her without question. But in this instance...curiosity got the better of her. “If I may be so bold...what exact reason do you have for me spying on her and keeping her on her schedule?” “I’m glad you asked,” Blueblood then pulled out a file from his desk. It was a printed article from a website about Sirens. “You know who they are. They sing to charm the hearts of those that hear their voice. But what happens when the charmer…” he tapped his forehead with his index finger, “...becomes the charmed?” It took her a minute to figure out, but Wendy soon understood. “I get it...the longer she stays around you, the more likely she is to fall for you. Then her power will be yours.” He snapped his fingers and pointed at her. “That’s right. I knew you’d get it. For now, you need to return to your position and act normal. She won’t be the wiser.” Wendy stood at attention and bowed. “Understood, Master Blueblood. Your wish is my command.” As she left the room, Blueblood chuckled to himself. “...And they said that demon summoning was for Equestrians only.”