//------------------------------// // Arc XXVIII Episode VIII: Discount Kid Deals // Story: Family Begins With You // by Jmaster49 //------------------------------// With Wallflower… She exited the dressing room wearing the venus flytrap bodysuit, and looked at herself in the mirror. “...I dunno. How does it look on me, Sonata?” “Totes adorbs!” Sonata squealed with her eyes becoming hearts for a brief moment. “I think Micro’s gonna love it too!” “Yeah, he would,” Wallflower replied with a thoughtful smile on her face, “He’s into a lot of my botanical stuff more than I ever would’ve expected. I mean, he’s a tech guy so you never would guess how much he knows about plants….” Sonata giggled and sighed a wistful sigh. “Ah, to feel love like that. It must feel super great, huh?” “Oh yeah…very,” Wallflower said, then asked, “Have you ever felt that way towards anyone yourself, Sonata?” “Oh. Loads of ‘em,” she replied with a scoff, then tapped the side of her face with her finger while looking up. “Hm. Then again, that could just be because I’ve got little control of who I’m attracted to. I kinda fall for boys easily,” she explained with a nervous smile as she scratched the back of her head. Wafflower stared at her in disbelief with a flat expression. “...That’s just you lusting after the hottest guy you see. Not really the same as love.” “Okay okay, maybe I am a bit…on the ‘down bad’ side as they say,” Sonata replied with airquotes as she dismissed the rebuttal. “But it’s still a form of attraction. You can’t deny that.” “...Right,” Wall simply opted to change the subject. “Anyway…I think I like this costume, Sonata. It was a good recommendation. Now what about you? What do you plan on going as?” “Hmmm…?” Sonata looked around at the various costumes around the store. That is, until one of them in particular managed to catch her eye. “Oh! How about…” At the kids’ costume store nearby… The shopkeeper approached Coral and Skeedaddle with a smile on her face. She wore a black sweater with orange pumpkins on it, black yoga pants, and had a dull-gray complexion with long, blonde hair, and green eyes. “Can I help you two angels find anything?” “A good idea,” Coral mulled over the idea of ‘angels’ and eventually shook her head, “But nah. I’m looking for a Robin Hood style costume for my BF here. And for me? Well--I’m up to being surprised honestly.” “Just make sure she has something that looks good,” Skeedaddle added, “Coral deserves to look great alongside me.” “Hmm…I can handle that,” the shopkeeper woman replied with a wide smile as she tilted her head, staring intently at Coral. “Why don’t you follow me to the back room where I can help you pick out something nice, hm?” ‘What’s with that look giving me?’ Coral hesitated for a moment before agreeing with a low tone of voice. “O…kay. Hey, Skeedaddle, I’ll be right back, okay?” “Alrighty, I’ll be right here,” he replied with a nod as he continued to look through the rack of costumes. “Now let’s see…” “Great. Now come this way…” the shopkeeper walked towards a door located behind the register, which Coral followed her to. “So like I was saying, surprise me. I wanna look good in something I’ve never had on before,” she requested as she walked into the employee’s only door. The shopkeeper followed her in… Click. And immediately locked the door behind herself. “Oh don’t worry, I have lots of options for you--” Coral swiftly turned around, raring to press a button on a wrist-mounted device she had up her sleeve. “I knew--” But before she could do anything, the shopkeeper tackled her, bound her arms with rope, and covered her mouth with tape. “So what do we have here?” She pulled Coral’s sleeve up and found her special little watch device. “As expected. You’re not some normal brat. You work for the government, don’t you?” “MM-MM!” Wide-eyed and panicked, Coral squirmed fruitlessly under the woman. While she couldn’t speak, she was glaring daggers at her with a mean scowl. “Sure you don’t,” the woman took the watch and placed it on the counter nearby. “A kid like you is gonna be worth a lot of money. Oh don’t worry, I’ll give you right back to your family as soon as they offer up a decent ransom.” ‘She’s despicable!’ Coral thought to herself as she continued to squirm about, ‘I have to figure out a way out of here before Skeedaddle gets hurt!’ Unfortunately, she wouldn’t have to wonder for very long… Just outside of the door, Skeedaddle was still looking around for costumes. It had been about ten minutes since Coral had left, and he was starting to feel concerned as he looked towards the Employees Only door. “Hm…I hope she’s okay. Maybe I better go check for myself…” he would approach the door and knocked… Meanwhile, a few feet away at the other store where the girls were… Sonata had dressed herself in a mermaid costume and took a look in the mirror. “Hm…nah. Too obvious.” “I think it makes you look good,” Wallflower encouraged her. Just then, Sandbar appeared with a Halloween bag in his hand, interrupting their conversation. “...Ayo. You girls seen my sister anywhere? She and Skeedaddle were supposed to stick near this area with our mom.” “...No, sorry,” Wallflower replied, “But if I see her, I’ll let you know.” “Same,” Sonata added, “She can’t be too far away, righ--?” “HEL--” the voice of what sounded like a small child squealed before being quickly cut off, causing everyone to visibly flinch and whip their heads in the direction of the sound as soon as it reached their ears. “...What was that?” Sonata asked plainly. “...Might’ve been a rowdy kid,” Wallflower wrote it off, not wanting to get involved in someone else’s business. “I don’t think we should intervene.” But Sandbar wasn’t in the mood for standing on the sidelines. “Naw man. Somethin’s up. That sounded familiar…I’mma check it out.” He set his bag on the floor as he hustled over to the source of the noise… “Hey wait--crap--” Sonata hurried back into the dressing room to change back into her usual clothes and when she exited, she gave Wallflower a suggestion. “You might wanna stay here in case things get bad.” “...trust me,” Wallflower muttered as she watched Sonata run off, “I’m good at staying in one spot.” Unbeknownst to her however, a magical aura would work its way into her body...