hawkamalawka

[hawkamalawka]

The Moat

Everyone got together, celebrated for a moment, and then headed towards the moat.  They saw Felix the Ferryman in the distance but didn't think of approaching him - they didn't have any gold anyway.  And then they saw Live B's fortress, it was five miles away but visible, and shaped like a skull, with an eerie mist at its base.  It was dark and had two fires burning that appeared to be the eyes of the fortress. Hopefully, the anxious demigods would be able to see the fortress up close in the near future.       Serena jumped into the semi-murky moat to explore and saw all kinds of creatures with sharp teeth.  Serena got out of the water to join the others.  A fish followed her and suspended itself in the air, chomped its teeth three times, and went back into the water.      "What was that?" Wes said in a raised voice as he backed up. His face showed fear, and he stumbled a little while backing up. He shouldn't have said anything. "Did you hear that?" Purity said. She looked directly at the place where the fish suspended itself in the air. "I heard something. But it was kinda hard to hear because of those razor sharp teeth. Did you hear anything, Serena?" Canrun said through a slight giggle. The girls could see the fear growing on Wes' face. "Yeah, but I am not gonna tell," Serena said as she rolled her eyes. "Come on. Tell, tell," Wes said in desperation. "Come over here," Serena said and motioned with her index finger, like she had a very important secret. Wes took the bait (hook, line, and sinker), walked to Serena and leaned towards her. His head was inches away from Serena's mouth. Serena whispered, "He said, 'Rawr!!!' " Serena tickled his stomach as she said this; Canrun and Purity joined in and tickled his back. Everyone released some nervous energy and laughed uncontrollably. Wes even laughed; he actually enjoyed the attention. The demigod cousins enjoyed a special moment looking at each other while they laughed. They were all together, happy and not all worried about lay ahead. "Don't worry. If we stay connected nothing will bother us.  We can get a running start and dive in which will help," assured Serena.      Octave looked at Nero as he handed him his prized possession.  "Here, do me a favor, and fly this over.  Don't scratch it," Octave ordered.      Nero didn't like Octave's tone, "I didn't hear a please."      "Ok, pretty please.  Take my guitar," Octave said maliciously.      Nero took the guitar, "Whoa, this guitar is heavier than I thought."  Nero said just beginning to tease Octave.  Nero flew over the moat and dropped the guitar.  Right before the guitar hit the water, Nero swooped down and saved it.  Octave's heart was in his throat. No one knew how important the guitar was to their mission.      The demigods were ready; Wes, a sick-looking three sheets of green (he still didn't like the water, but he was better) wondered if Nero could fly him over. He really didn't want to do this; he figured Nero would probably drop him in the moat anyway.      Serena didn't give Wes much time to think as she took charge, "Just like we practiced on Utopia, line up:  Wes, Purity, Manny, Cheery, Octave, Canrun, and Ace.  Everyone back up about twenty yards so we can get a running start."      They all lined up in the designated area and grabbed around each other's waist.  Serena shouted, "On three - one, two, three."  The pull, surprisingly forceful, made Ace lose his grip and he stumbled.  Right before he entered the water, he dove and grabbed Canrun's legs.  On the first stroke, Canrun kicked Ace in the face;  by the third stroke, Canrun had kicked Ace free. Ace was now alone in the moat!

[hawkamalawka]

The Fortress

Ace started treading water, swimming was not one of his strengths; besides, the others would eventually come for him. Ace thought about what the clown said and got really scared. Ace didn't want to die: not this way, not this young. "Help!!! They are biting me," Ace yelled desperately. The others made it across the moat and got out of the water. Canrun screamed, "Get Ace, he is still out there!" Without a moment of hesitation, Serena went to help Ace. Nero, hearing Ace's plea, arrived seconds before Serena, and couldn't believe what he saw - Ace, surrounded by little fish, with a huge shadow in the water quickly approaching him. The huge shadow monster beat Serena and managed to bite of both of Ace's legs below the knee. Serena grabbed Ace under the chin and swam him back to shore. Ace looked and felt awful; then he began to go into shock.  He said in a muffled voice, "The clown was right. I am going to die."       His legs, upper legs, exposed muscles, tendons, ligaments, sinew, and a minor stream of blood.  Wes lifted one of Ace's legs up to show Cheery.  When he did, everything hung off the leg in a stringy mess.  "Hey Cheery, looks like some lasagna I ate one time.  Want a bite?"  Wes said as he made a biting motion toward Ace's leg.  Cheery ran off holding her mouth.  Ace groaned a little, but Wes knew he was gonna be ok - Nero was about to help him.       "Calm down. You are not going to die." Nero said as he handed Ace an energy bar. Ace's legs grew back and his wounds healed. The demigods figured it was time to talk about their plan to defeat Live B; but first all, they needed to figure out how to enter the fortress. Maybe they just walked in; they didn't know. They figured out that "Reflection is Golden" meant that Live B needed to see his refection, but how? Then, they thought about Cheery's compact mirror, "Manny, can you make that mirror bigger?" Ace said after his short recovery. "Sure." Manny said.      How can we get Cheery in front of Live B? Will it work?  pondered Nero to himself. Then something rustled in the bushes and out popped a small creature.  The four-foot creature was totally covered with hair, from head to toe; the Teens couldn't see a face or anything. "Don't be alarmed, I'm Harry. Live B sent me to escort you to the fortress," the straight-haired creature said. "Our fathers, do you know where they are?" asked Cheery expectantly. "I have them hidden in the dungeon of the fortress. Live B never goes down there. I have been feeding them, but more help is needed. I am surely glad to see you," Harry said. The demigods followed Harry through the mist, and the visibility was horrible. They heard low growling and Harry said, "Quickly, they're out!" Before the pace quickened, Cheery saw an opportunity to get some payback. She got behind Purity, "Grrrrrrrrrrr!" Cheery said as she grabbed Purity's shoulders and laughed.  "Oh, shoot! Don't do that," Purity said as she jumped forward and shook. Everyone laughed but quickly followed Harry. The mist dissipated revealing the fortress and two huge one-hundred-foot doors equipped with iron-hoop door handles. The walls, thick and black, contrasted the red ivy covering them.  Wes used his massive strength and opened one door, and then politely held it open for his female cousins. The girls played along, smiled at Wes, and bravely entered the fortress. The boys joined them and everyone followed Harry through a maze of hallways.  Harry stopped in front of a door, turned around with a solemn, concerned look on his face and said, "Live B and his elite jesters are in this room. He is excited to see you, but he thinks you will not leave this room. Just be careful," Harry cautioned. Harry pulled a rope and the hallway shook with a sound like thunder. The door was opened by a jester. The jester, 6'5" tall, dressed in black, had a black jester's cap on. His face, expressionless white, looked like a mask. The demigods entered an enormous room with a stage and a table full of food. There were ten visible jesters that all looked the same. One of the jesters flipped a gold card at Cheery. The card stopped in front of Cheery's face, "Thanks, Manny," Cheery said with a sigh of relief. A loud, raspy voice echoed throughout the room, "Enough!!!  Come here, that is no way to treat our guests." The jester, the one who threw the gold card, submissively went to the stage. He stopped in front of an humongous creature, the demigods thought, oh no, he's in trouble. Live B slashed at the jester but nothing happened; then, the jester's body slowly fell in two pieces onto the stage floor. The other jesters quickly cleaned up the mess. The Teens watched in horror. Live B was definitely more intimidating than the creature in the hologram. Live B, seven foot tall and about five hundred pounds, didn't have an ounce of fat on him. The frightened demigods wondered what was going to happen next.

[hawkamalawka]

The Guitar Battle

"Enjoy yourselves.  Welcome to my planet," Live B said motioning the demigod cousins towards the table. The food looked amazing, and the differing aromas slowly danced underneath the their noses. They took turns (they couldn't all go at once) lifting their forks up to their mouths only to grab the food with their opposite hand and slowly yet smoothly move their hand underneath the table and drop the food; they were so hungry - it was torture!      The demigods, mouths closed and moving, chewed liked they were eating. The succulent aroma of the food would not stop tempting them, but they remembered Grandfather's warning not to eat or drink anything that Live B offered.        Live B, on the stage in front of the Teens, moved some equipment around.  He kept staring at Octave's guitar; then Live B started staring at Octave.  The other Teens noticed the eerie exchange.  They knew something was coming, finally Live B said, "Hey, can you play that thing you are holding so tightly?"       "You bet, your royalness," Octave returned with an air of arrogance and a little insecurity.      "Good, come here," Live B said pointing to a place beside him on the stage.      "If you beat me then you live and get to take your fathers home.  You lose, all of you will die," challenged Live B.      Octave looked at the other smiling cousins with some hesitation.  Their lives were now in his hands.  They looked back at Octave displaying their confidence in him.  So Octave looked up at Live B and said, "Let's do this."      Live B got his guitar which was a powerful-looking instrument, shiny and blood red.  Live B plugged his cord into the amplifier and played so fast that little sparks leapt off his fingertips.  Octave grew worried and even scared.  Live B finished, and the demigods were impressed - NOW, it was Octave's turn.      The demigods figured this was their chance to kill Live B; they told Cheery to get up and cheer for Octave.  Cheery got up, "Octave, Octave, he's our guy; if he doesn't win, we will die."  Live B didn't pay much attention to Cheery and smirked at her efforts.       Octave wiped his sweaty hands on his pants as he slowly, methodically unplugged Live B's cord from the amp and plugged his in. He turned and walked to his own corner of the stage, started playing and felt a weird energy that made his whole body and the guitar glow fluorescent blue. Octave played louder and faster than Live B.  He started getting cocky and thought about ending this once for all.  He pointed his guitar at Live B and shot five lasers at him.  Live B calmly caught the lasers and made a big glowing blue ball.       Cheery saw an opportunity and got out her compact mirror.  Manny increased the size of the mirror.  Ace and Wes swiftly popped up to help Cheery hold the mirror.      Live B looked at Octave and said, in a thunderous, wall-reverberating voice, "You are good but a fool.  I always win."  Live B threw the laser ball and hit Octave.  Octave turned blue and slowly started to dissipate. The horrified demigods screamed, "Oct........ave!" And they helplessly watched their cousin fade away. Then, they blankly stared at the spot on the stage where Octave stood, for a brief second. They still had Live B and the jesters to take care of, so they shifted their anger, rage, and hatred toward Live B.

[hawkamalawka]

"Who Are You?"

"Look over here, you creep," shouted Cheery. Live B looked into the mirror. He saw the hideous creature that he had become; furthermore, he saw the word devil on his chest (just like Cheery and her demigod cousins saw on Cheery's forehead in bathroom mirror on Grandfather's spaceship). He roared in agony and slowly started changing - his horns slowly began retracting back into his head; he started shrinking; his skin changed to a pearly white. He transformed into the man he was before he became Live B. He was a type of man the demigods had never seen; he had a peaceful angelic glow about him. His face, strong and smooth, supported dark straight shoulder-length hair; his kind, gentle brown eyes, revealed his tormented concern as they slowly glanced from one demigod to the next, until he had looked all nine of them in the eye for the briefest of seconds.  The demigods started feeling ashamed and guilty. They were supposed to kill an evil monster, this man had tears running down his cheeks. Then the man did something that shocked them even further, he told his jesters, "Do not harm them." He quickly looked at the demigods, faintly smiled, and said, "Tell Grandfather that I am sorry, and I love him."  The man solidified into gold before the anybody could ask him anything - his face, frozen with a desperate, pleading look, and streams of tears on both his cheeks, was more than the demigods could stand.  "Who are you?" screamed a teary-eyed Purity. "It's ok," Manny said with moistened cheeks as he put his arm around Purity. "I hate feeling like this. And he just killed Octave," Serena said as small pools of tears formed in front of her crystal blue eyes. There wasn't a dry eye in the room, although the boys tried their best not to cry. The jesters didn't wait long, and like they were on queue, went up to the stage, grabbed the golden statue, and disappeared.  Everyone sat in silence for a while. They all wondered what was going on. Octave was gone, and they felt bad for killing the man that was Live B. They started thinking about their fathers, which lightened the mood. One question still remained - how did this man know Grandfather? They didn't even know the man's identity.   The man did kill Octave, but something didn't seem right.  They would have to ask Grandfather, when they got back to Utopia.       Nero quickly took charge, "Ok, Octave is gone.  We can't do anything about that. We all knew the risk. Octave did not have to die, it was his choice. We will have to use his guitar to pay the ferryman. We still have to finish the mission. Canrun go find Harry. I have five energy bars left, half a bar for each of our fathers. "We can all imagine what our fathers look like - NOT GOOD. They will need our help. There are eight of us and ten of them, so Wes and Ace you will have to help two fathers. I don't know exactly what the energy bars will do, but they will help. I just hope that our fathers can walk. We will put them all in the extra roller-coaster car.      "I have a few questions - Does anybody not want to see our fathers now? Does anybody want to ride with our fathers? Purity, will you contact Gracie and tell her to start getting the ship ready?" "I'm scared. I don't want to see them," Cheery whined. "Me neither. I will contact Gracie though," Purity said. "I'll help, but don't want to see them right now," Serena said with mixed feelings. "I'll ride with them," Manny offered. Cheery started crying. "What's wrong?" asked Serena. "Octave sat by me on the roller coaster." "You can sit by Canrun and keep her calm," Nero said this knowing that he could put a father next to him. "How am I going to carry two fathers and a guitar?" complained Wes. "Oh, can the big boy not handle it?" mocked Serena. Ace had to interject, "Ok, so we get our fathers, pay the ferryman, ride the roller coaster, get on the ship and go back to Utopia."       At that moment Canrun returned with Harry.  "Beware of 'The Wizard'," Harry said with his voice trembling. "Who is 'The Wizard?' Is Dinky 'The Wizard?' " questioned a frustrated Nero. "No, no one has ever seen 'The Wizard,' " Harry said with his voice still trembling. "Enough about 'The Wizard,' where are our fathers?" demanded Ace. "Follow me," Harry said as he waved the Teens on. "Are we coming back this way?" asked Wes. "Yes," answered Harry. Wes left the guitar on the stage and joined the others as they followed Harry down a long spiral staircase. Everyone noticed that the air became damp and had a funny smell. Once down the staircase, they stopped in front of a big door. Wes and Ace tried to push the open but couldn't budge it. Harry laughed and said, "Allow me." Harry pushed a button on the wall and the door slowly opened. Wes and Ace couldn't help but laugh at themselves. "Purity and Cheery stay here," ordered Nero. "No problem," the girls returned in unison. The others entered the room. The room stunk; it smelled like rotting flesh. The demigods' fathers got out of their beds and huddled together, obviously frightened. They looked awful - extremely skinny, rags for clothes, open sores all over their bodies, gray skin, and patchy hair. Their brains were not functioning at a very high level. The fathers saw Harry and relaxed. Serena assessed the situation and became extremely stressed, "What is going on here?" "Well, we are looking at our fathers or some zombie-like creatures," Wes said sarcastically. "That's not what I mean. Count our fathers!" Serena said angrily. "One, two..........nine. Yeah, so," Wes said without thinking. "Somebody is missing a father," Serena said with a touch of sorrow to her voice. "Maybe it's Octave's father," laughed Wes. "Not funny, I can't believe you," Serena said as she left to join Purity and Cheery. "What's the matter?" asked Cheery. "Nine fathers, only nine fathers," Serena mumbled in a daze. "Who is missing a father?" whispered Cheery.

[hawkamalawka]

Purity Gets Some Bad News

Nero broke the energy bars in half and divided them up between the other helpers - Ace, Canrun, Manny, and Wes.  Nero gave the extra half to Wes, "Eat this, I think that you are gonna need it."      "Thanks, I will," replied Wes.      The demigods tried to feed their fathers the energy bars, but they refused to eat.  They were moaning, groaning, and scared to death; Harry had always fed them.  Harry asked the Teens to follow him to a corner of the room.  The Teens followed Harry and saw a big pot of stew and nine bowls.  "Here, crush the bars up and put them in these bowls," Harry said as he handed the bowls to the Teens.      Wes pulled Canrun aside, "I need to talk to you."      "Ok.  What's up?"      "Remember when Grandfather hugged us?" Wes said this as sincerely as he could.      "Yes."      "He whispered something in my ear."      This was getting good.  Canrun was all ears, "What did he say?"      "He said, 'Purity is the one.'  I thought he meant that she was gonna die.  I think he told me, so I could protect her or something.  Now, I think he meant she didn't have a father."      "Have you told her?"      "Like she is gonna believe me," Wes laughed and added, "I don't think we need to tell her."      "I think she needs to know," Canrun said firmly.      "Ok, but I'm not gonna tell her," Wes said quietly.  He felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.      The demigods did as they were instructed, and Harry covered the crushed bars with stew.  The fathers gobbled up the stew with no hesitation.  Their sores healed and their color somewhat came back; the grateful demigods  gawked in amazement.  Canrun tried to communicate with their fathers, "We are your sons and daughters.  We are here to rescue you."      All of their fathers looked at Canrun and could comprehend what she was saying;  they still couldn't speak.  They managed to nod and produce partial smiles.  Canrun went out to get the other girls in the hall. "Cheery, Purity, Serena, come quickly and see your fathers," Canrun excitedly said.      "Yuck," said Cheery upon seeing them.      "They are our fathers, Cheery," said a sympathetic Serena.      "I know, but look at them.  Will they get better?" asked Cheery.      "They are better," Nero said in disbelief of Cheery's attitude.      The room became semi-emotional for a moment, the demigods still had to finish the mission.  Each demigod escorted a father up the staircase; Wes had the challenge of two fathers.      Purity used her telepathy, "Gracie, we have our fathers.  Fire up the ship, we will be back soon."      "First of all, are you ok?" questioned Gracie.      "Octave will not be coming back with us."      "(Silence).... What happened?"      "I will explain later."      "How are our fathers?"      "They are alive, just barely."      "We will be back soon; well, we still have to cross the moat and ride the roller coaster again."      "Be careful."      "Ok, see you soon."      Purity didn't want to upset Gracie with the news of the absent father; especially since they didn't know who was missing a father.      Everyone made it up the stairs and Wes grabbed the guitar.  The fathers all hugged Harry.  The demigods could see the respect and admiration their fathers had for Harry.  Harry, to say the least, had saved their lives; the demigods or their fathers could never repay him for that.  Everyone thanked Harry, each in his/her own way.  It was easy to thank Harry, he was such a friendly and lovable creature.  A tearful Harry said, "Good luck, go in haste, and always go right in the maze of halls.  Most importantly, be mindful of 'The Wizard.' "      The fathers, barely able to walk, looked like they could pass out any second; the fathers couldn't do the simplest of movements without the demigod's help. Wes gave Purity his backpack, because he had a father on his back, another on his side, and the guitar.  The whole group was quite a sight.      They all followed Harry's instructions and made it out of the fortress, as quickly as they could.  The mist was all gone which allowed them to see Felix the Ferryman.       With everyone's attention distracted waiting on Felix the Ferryman to pull the raft over, Canrun had time to talk to Purity; she asked Purity for something out of her backpack.  They walked away from the others, and Canrun broke the news that Wes had told her about Purity's father.  Tears streamed downed Purity's face.  Purity, knots in her stomach, felt like someone knocked the air out of her; she couldn't breathe. Why? It isn't fair, she thought to herself. "Look on the bright side, you still got us," Canrun said as she hugged Purity. "Thanks," Purity said through a sideways smile. "We need to get back. You ok?" Canrun asked. "I will be fine. It just really sucks. I really wanted to see my dad - hug him, talk to him; you know," Purity said as she wiped the tears off her cheeks. The girls started walking back to join the others. They saw a black-robed figure on a raft pulling a rope and figured it was Felix the Ferryman. Wes, horsing around acting like he was playing Octave's guitar, made the girls laugh. "Don't trip and fall in the water," Purity yelled. Wes, upon hearing this, immediately stopped dancing around and looked into the water. Then Felix the Ferryman and the raft stopped in front of Wes.

[hawkamalawka]

Where's Gracie?

Wes held out the golden guitar;  Felix the Ferryman, with a bony skeletal finger, pointed to a place on the raft where he wanted Wes to put it. Felix the Ferryman had on a dark robe with a hood that didn't reveal his face.      Cheery squeezed Canrun's hand with fright, "He's......he's a skeleton."      "Shh....thanks for the info," whispered Canrun.      Cheery calmed down and they all boarded the raft.  The trip was suprisingly quick, maybe because the demigods couldn't stop staring at Felix the Ferryman's skeletal hands pulling the rope.  Once across the moat, the demigods and their fathers headed for the roller coaster.      Purity tried to contact Gracie using her telepathy. No answer.      "Gracie, Gracie."      No answer, something was wrong.  Purity told the others that she couldn't contact Gracie.  "Nothing we can do about it.  We will find out what's wrong soon enough.  Thanks for letting us know," Ace said calmly.      The demigods loaded the first car with their fathers and Manny in the back seat.  Cheery hung on to her dad, "He can sit beside me."  Cheery thought that the father she had might be Octave's father.      The demigods sat in similar order as their first ride:  first row - Wes, Purity, and Serena; second row - Ace, Canrun, and Nero; third row - Cheery and the father.  Everyone pulled their shoulder bars down until they clicked.  "Ready?" asked Wes.      Everyone returned, "Ready."      Wes pushed the green button and off they went. The roller coaster made a big u-turn. The track was designed to go to and from the fortress.      The ride was very enjoyable:  the little loops, hills, twists and turns.  Then, as they were going up the biggest hill, they saw a bright flash of light; it was lightning.  Lightning struck the track at the bottom of the hill. Everyone horrifically screamed as the roller coaster approached the hole in the track.        Both cars just kept going into the abyss; good thing they were strapped in - the cars tumbled over and over.  All of a sudden the cars just stopped and suspended in the air.  The cars ascended and got back on the track.  The demigod cousins figured it out, "Thanks, Manny." Manny, relieved that he accomplished this feat, softly smiled.      The rest of the ride was short but gave everyone's heart a chance to slow down.  The cars stopped in their original places, Nero released the shoulder bars, and everyone stepped onto solid ground.  The demigod children walked their fathers to the place where they left Cheetah I:  Cheetah I was gone.  They heard a slight, pleading voice, "Over here." They looked over to see Gracie surrounded by twenty soldiers.  The soldiers had white uniforms, black helmets with tinted shields, and gold laser guns.  The fathers recognized the soldiers but couldn't tell the children; they were still unable to speak.      "Follow me," one soldier said.  The unwilling demigods were devastated but had no choice.  They had worked so hard only to get captured during the last phase of their mission.  They followed the soldiers to a hangar that contained Cheetah I, minus the force field.  The soldiers took the demigod children and their fathers to a red circle in the middle of the hangar.      "We have them and are in place," one soldier said loud enough for everyone to hear.      "Who are you talking to?  What is going on?" Ace demanded.      "Patience," returned the soldier.      Everyone started descending, like riding an elevator.  After about a minute, they stopped and a door opened.  The soldiers took everyone down a spotless white corridor to a room with a gold round table.  The soldiers made the demigods, just the demigods, sit at the table.  They felt that the soldiers had different plans for their fathers.      The demigods, overcome with ominous feelings, looked at their fathers.  A teary-eyed Cheery said, "We love you all.  Why is this happening?"  Their fathers looked strangely peaceful and almost serene.      Then they looked at one another.  "What are we going to do?" Ace said in a low voice.      "We can't just sit here," said Wes.      "Look for an exit," Nero said looking around.      "What about our fathers?" Serena questioned.      "I'm not going to leave them," Canrun said with conviction.      It was all so frustrating, the waiting was the worst.  The trapped demigods kept debating and decided they were stuck.  They had no idea what was going to happen, just sit and wait.      After an exhausting five minutes, a white-robed figure entered the room.  As the figure removed his hood the demigods heard, "Welcome, my grandchildren."

[hawkamalawka]

Emotions Run Wild

"You've got to be kidding me. What are you doing here?" Wes screamed. "Calm down, I will explain in a minute," Grandfather said.        A whole plethora of emotions raced through the demigods' veins - anger, rage, contempt, anxiety, and paranoia.  They were just really, really confused.  Before they could say anything, Grandfather said, "Soldiers, take my sons back to my ship, clean them up, and feed them.  Also, put Cheetah I on my ship."      The demigods wondered how big Grandfather's ship was, must be mammoth.  They felt better knowing that their fathers were safe.  Finally, Grandfather addressed the them, "Your fathers need rest and won't be fully functional for a while.  Please, do not disturb them."      The soldiers left with the fathers, and the demigods were alone with Grandfather, and had a bunch of questions. He knew this and quickly spoke again, "First of all, everyone in this room has a father.  Live B, Templar, was my tenth son.  He was Octave's father."      Purity, furious because she had been lied to, stood up and screamed, "Wes, you big jerk.  I hate you.  Canrun, you little witch.  Were you in on this?"      "NO.  I didn't know, I swear," Canrun screamed back.       "What about the lipstick on my forehead, Purity?  And why didn't anybody try to stop her?"  yelled Cheery.      "What about Nero?  He started this!"  Wes said as he pointed at Nero.      The girls looked at Nero, his eyes grew big showing his fear. The girls ran to Nero, and each girl got one good quick shot in.      Not wanting to be left out, Ace said, "What about that clown that said I was gonna die?"       The emotions had exploded to Grandfather's dislike, but he understood.  His grandchildren had been through so much grief and anguish.  Grandfather decided to let everything run its course, and do his best to answer some questions.      "No way, Octave was killed by his own father.  Did Live B know that Octave was his son?" said a distraught Wes.       Grandfather calmly replied, "No, none of your fathers knew that they had children on Planet Earth.  Templar, let's call him Templar because that is the name I gave him.  Templar must have recognized Octave's guitar, it was his at one point in time.  They both had a love for music, and a love for that guitar." The demigods were mystified.  They felt bad for Octave, but in a weird and selfish way, happy that they each had a father.      Grandfather continued, "Templar was such a beautiful boy, the youngest and the most willful and stubborn.  I had to send him to Planet Remainia where he was befriended by the Evil One.  Planet Remainia is the prison for our planetary system.  I loved Templar deeply, but he violated Utopian law;  sometimes we regret the decisions we have to make."      Grandfather was upset and had to leave the room.  Just before he left, he said, "I have someone that I know you will want to meet."      After a couple minutes of silence, Nero decided to speak, "Does anyone else have chills going up their spine?  Remember when Octave said that he wanted to meet Live B?  We all looked at him as if he were crazy.  I wonder if he knew."      "Somehow, I think he did," Purity said softly.      "That's so sad," Cheery said as tears rolled down her cheeks.      "At least we know we have a father," Wes said smiling.      "You just don't quit," said Purity as she hit Wes in the arm.      Gracie had not been with group but felt like she needed to say something, "No Purity, Wes is right.  I did not see Octave or Live B die, but we all knew the risk that one of us was going to die.  However tragic or ironic their deaths, we must move on.  We still need time to mourn.  Wes, you need to be more sensitive."      "I am still working on that. Sorry, everyone," Wes apologized.      Ace chimed in, "That's ok, Wes.  You just said what many of us were thinking.  It's been emotional for all of us:  I got my legs bitten off; your arm was mangled; Nero almost drowned and briefly died; Canrun was captured by the clowns; and Gracie was captured by the soldiers.  If it weren't for Manny, we all could have died on the roller coaster.  Purity treed the clowns and Serena saved me.  I don't have to tell you the importance of Cheery's mirror.  Octave paid the ultimate price; he died.  Wow! I would say:  MISSION ACCOMPLISHED."      The demigod cousins didn't realize how much they had been through until Ace told them.  They were happy but still wanted some questions answered - Who is "The Wizard?" Who is the Evil One?  How and why does one get sent to planet Remainia?  Where were the demigods going to live?  Manny volunteered to ask these questions.      Grandfather returned with a teenaged boy, cute and not very tall.  His toothy grin showed his big dimples.  "This is Dinky.  He was sent to Amusia by me to help:  Dinky gave you the first crystal, gave you gold coins, attached the extra roller-coaster car, and tested you at the Lake of Life.  He almost lost his life in the process,"  Grandfather enlightened the stunned demigods with this information.      They all stared at Dinky, especially Nero.  Nero had always been suspicious of Dinky.  All in all, Dinky had done his duty.  The demigods wished they knew, just knew.  So, basically, they didn't know how to feel.      Manny stood up and asked Grandfather their questions and added one of his own: where did the lightning come from on the roller coaster? Grandfather took his time and responded, "I am 'The Wizard.'  The Evil One is my nemesis and ruler of planet Hadia.  Our planets had a war over planet Amusia which we, the Utopians, won.  The crater you crossed on the roller coaster was a result of the war.  I secretly ruled Amusia until the Evil One got hold of Templar and transformed him into that hideous creature Live B.  The Evil One knew that I couldn't hurt my youngest son and regained control over planet Amusia.  "After Templar (Live B) captured his brothers, your fathers, it was time for him to go.  You had all come of age and your fathers needed to be rescued.  I am the one who sends people to Remainia.  I still loved my son, Templar, but couldn't love the monster that he had become.  You will have several choices of places to live;  we will discuss that later.  The lightning strike on the roller coaster must have come from the Evil One. For now, come with me and see what a real spaceship looks like.  Time to go home."      "Wait just minute, Grandfather.  We may just have a few things to tell you," Canrun said.      "Such as?"  Grandfather questioned.       "We all saw Templar as he died."      "You saw my precious boy?  Go on."      "Live B transformed into the most beautiful man that I had ever seen.  He looked strong yet gentle."      Grandfather started to get emotional, "Did he say anything?"      Remembering the moment made tears form in Canrun's eyes.  She tried to compose herself and said through a choked-up voice, "Tell Grandfather that I am sorry, and I love him."      Grandfather hung on to every word that Canrun said.  Single tears, one on each cheek, trickled down Grandfather's face, and he mumbled, "I love you, too, my son." Everyone slowly followed Grandfather to his spaceship. Time to go back to Utopia.

[hawkamalawka]

Do The Boys Know?

The demigods followed Grandfather and  through a door that made a "swoosh" sound and into Grandfather's enormous spaceship.  The main area looked like a mini-mall that surrounded an olympic-sized, pristine pool.  While the demigods were staring at the diving platform, Grandfather and Dinky snuck off to go to their rooms.  Grandfather's and Dinky's rooms were in a different part of the ship, and they wanted to lie down for a minute.      The unaware demigods barely had time to notice that Grandfather and  Dinky had left when a girl appeared in front of them.  She was about their age with beautiful dark pink skin and blue hair that went down to her knees.  "Hi, I'm Pinky.  Follow me."       She led them down a long corridor to their rooms.  Their rooms were very similar to what they had on Utopia:  spacious, comfortable, nice furniture, and huge beds.      Pinky led them into a room where they plopped down on the furniture and the bed.  They immediately started firing questions at Pinky:  Are our fathers okay?  When do we eat?  When do we get back to Utopia?  Where are Grandfather and Dinky?  Who are the people on the ship?      "Easy, one at a time," Pinky said as she held out her hands and smiled.      "First, your fathers are fine, but need to left alone.  Our journey back to Utopia will take a few days.  Grandfather and Dinky went to a different section of the ship.  The people are Utopians that live at Grandfather's castle;  they take care of Grandfather and the castle.  I can bring you anything that you want, just say my name,"  Pinky said and exhaled.      "Oh, just like Rupert,"  Cheery smiled.      "Yeah, he is my uncle," Pinky responded.      The demigods liked Pinky; she was about their age, at least they thought she was.  Pinky led the them into the spacious dining room. In the middle of the room was a silver, round table that could seat about fifty people.  On the table, were all the foods Grandfather had instructed Pinky to get, all the foods he knew his grandchildren would want - cheeseburgers and fries, fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, supreme pizza, various pops, etc.       "Pinky, I would like a salad with some vinaigrette dressing," Purity requested.      "Me, too," chimed Canrun.      "Me, three," added Cheery.      The demigods stuffed themselves and went to their bedrooms.  They slept and regained some strength.  Canrun awoke first and went to her closet. The closet, full of clothes and a gorgeous evening gown, brought a smile to her face. Right now, she wanted a swimsuit.  Canrun went to Serena's room and knocked on the door.  Serena answered.  Canrun said, "Let's go swimming."       "Let's get the others and eat breakfast first," Serena said through a semi-yawn.      After breakfast, emotions were still at an all-time high.  The demigods wondered about the condition of their fathers.  Unfortunately, they still didn't trust one another because of the pranks.  They trusted each other with their lives; nevertheless, the pranks were pretty cruel.        Wes, hoping to call a truce, said, "Are we cool?"      "Cool about what?" Purity quickly answered.       "I am talking to everyone.  About all the bull," Wes said.  "We need to stop."      "Oh, so you get the last laugh?" questioned Purity.       "Ok, ok.  I'm sorry.  Will that do?" Wes said  as he frowned trying to draw sympathy.      "Didn't you say you were gonna get me and Canrun? I will give you credit, your prank was spectacular; but, oh so cruel.  You really hurt me," Purity said this trying to make Wes understand her feelings, and also make Wes feel guilty.      "I was also hurt and embarrassed from your prank, Purity.  Did you forget about me?" Cheery snapped.      Gracie's head spun. "Boy, thankfully I missed a lot.  There seems to be a pecking order:  Wes, Purity, Cheery, Canrun, and Nero.  Manny, Ace, and Serena, we better watch out; we might be next," Gracie warned.      The demigods didn't mention their fathers.  They were absorbed in this foolishness.  They wanted to explore the ship and go swimming.  Nero made everyone agree to stop the pranks, and they agreed.  Everyone secretly knew the pranks weren't over, not yet.      The demigods went to their rooms and changed into their swimsuits; they met at the pool.  To their surprise about fifteen kids their age were swimming.  Ace, Manny, and Nero slowly climbed to the top of the high-diving platform.  Serena, Gracie, Canrun, Purity, and Cheery jumped in and briefly swam.  Then Canrun, Purity, and Cheery got out and sat at a table by the pool.  Gracie, who also loved the water, continued to swim with Serena.       Wes hung out in the shallow end, his hair wasn't even wet. He questioned his judgement of getting into the water at all. Then, he saw someone swimming towards him under the water, and waited with eager anticipation.  The person's head slowly broke the surface of the water revealing the most beautiful girl Wes had ever seen.  She had perfectly tanned skin and dark hair with dark seductive eyes to match.  She stuck out her hand and said with intriguing, somewhat raspy voice, "Hi, I'm Aurora."      Wes had a goofy, stunned look on his face.  He didn't know if he could speak.  He gently shook her hand, and said, as confidently as he could, "I'm Wes."      "I already know. We all know all about the demigods.  We take care of Grandfather's castle on Utopia.  I just wanted to meet the cutest one.  Got to go.  Bye," and Aurora swam off.       Wes had a sheepish grin on his face.  Aurora, in a few seconds, had made him feel pretty special.  It didn't last long as Wes' whole body immediately went underwater.  He surfaced to see Serena laughing at him.  He got out of the pool, all the while looking to see if anyone had noticed.  Wes sat down at Canrun's, Purity's, and Cheery's table.  "I am tired of Serena.  I want to get her," Wes pouted.      "What about our agreement?  I believe it was about twenty minutes ago," Canrun informed Wes.       "I know.  I just want to give her a good scare.  Cheery can you make me look like a clown?" Wes asked.      Cheery chuckled and touched Wes' nose, "Ok, finished."      "No, I'm serious.  I want you to make me look like a clown; then, I am going to jump out of her closet and scare her.  We haven't pranked her yet," Wes said as he laid out his plan.      Purity was in but Canrun wasn't.  "I am tired of this.  We just made an agreement.  I don't want any part of this charade; I'm just plain worn out.  Why can't you grow up?" she said this looking directly at Wes.      "Just don't tell Serena; Ok?" begged Wes.       "I won't," Canrun said and left.      Wes, Cheery, and Purity discussed what they were going to do; Wes smiled the whole time.  Cheery loved to do anything that involved makeup.  They made plans to meet after dinner.  Wes thanked them and left.       Cheery had a troubling look on her face.  She asked Purity, "Are you feeling ok?  My stomach hurts."      "Yeah, I feel fine.  What did you eat?"  Purity questioned.      "Same thing as you, but I have been drinking a lot of water.  Water shouldn't cause my stomach to hurt, should it?"       "Anything is possible."      Then....frrt, a little fart escaped from Cheery.  "Oh no, excuse me."      "Ew, Cheery."      Then Cheery farted again.  "This is serious!  Get the other girls!  My room two minutes!"  Cheery got up, and with as much dignity as possible, hastily went back to her room. Purity rounded up the girls and went to Cheery's room. The girls stormed into the room and sat down. They worried that something bad had happened to Cheery. Serena broke the silence, "So, what's up?" "Something is wrong with my stomach." Frt...frrt....frrrt..... FRRRRT.  "I can't stop farting," said a frustrated Cheery. "Pee-yew!" "Gross!" "What did you eat?" Gracie said. "Purity and I were talking, we figured it may have something to do with all the water I have been drinking, it has to be," Cheery explained. The girls weren't too concerned, just a case of bad gas. Cheery had such a desperate look on her face, they really wanted to try to comfort her, but at a distance, of course. Canrun took it upon herself to get Grandfather, this was serious. A few minutes later, Canrun returned with Grandfather and Pinky. Canrun filled Grandfather in on what was happening with Cheery. "Oh, ho-ho, come here my child," Grandfather laughed. Cheery went to Grandfather; he hugged her. "Not funny, you big jerk," Cheery said as she lightly hit Grandfather in the chest. "I'm sorry. You don't understand. Your body is going through the "purification process." It will happen to all of you," Grandfather said this looking at all of the girls, "This happened sooner than I thought." "What is the 'purification process?' " asked Gracie. Grandfather, talking to all the girls, but specifically looking at Cheery said: "The water you have been drinking is my water from 'The Spring' on Utopia. This water accelerates the process. Your body is releasing all its gases and bad toxins. Your body, on Utopia, will become a perfect machine and will totally metabolize everything: you won't have to excrete waste anymore." "Excrete waste, what is that?" "I believe you say, 'Go to the bathroom.' " Cheery still didn't understand, "What about checking my face?"       Grandfather, with his eyebrows raised as he rolled his eyes, looked at the other girls, and asked, "Could someone please explain it to her?" Purity jumped up, cupped her hand over Cheery's ear, and started whispering.  Cheery's face grew redder by the second and she said, "Oh, ok.  Silly me, now I understand. "You will see, Utopia is a wonderful planet," Grandfather said anxiously, thinking of going home. "When are the rest of us going through the 'purification process?' " asked Serena. "It should happen pretty soon and last 2-4 hours. I suggest you stay in here," Grandfather responded crinkling up his nose. He laughed as he hugged Cheery again. She had a pouty look on her face but managed a faint smile. "Is this going to happen to the boys? Do they know?" Purity asked with a huge, devious smile on her face. "No, they do not know. I didn't plan on this. I was going to tell you as a group. It will happen to them tomorrow," Grandfather informed the girls. "You don't have to tell them; we'll do it," Purity promised. Grandfather didn't see a problem and said, "Ok." He blew some white powder in the room, which acted as an air freshener, and told Pinky to do the same in all the boys' rooms, and left. The girls stayed in Cheery's room while they were purifying themselves. They couldn't help but tell Serena what Wes had planned for her. "That dumb jock. He has no idea what's coming," Serena said with revenge in her eyes.

[hawkamalawka]

The Dads

At breakfast, the girls kept glancing at Wes, they couldn't help it; they got worse during lunch, just being obnoxious and thinking about Wes' mid-afternoon snack: "Operation Get Wes" was about to begin. Wes, on the other hand, kept looking at Serena. Then Wes' and all the girls' eyes met producing huge smiles. Ace caught on to this, "Hey, what are you all up to?" They all went back to eating, and Wes said, "Nothing, just enjoying this great lunch." After lunch, Cheery and Purity called Pinky to Cheery's room. Cheery started, "We need some chips, extra-hot salsa, and two pitchers of Grandfather's water from 'The Spring.' " "Make sure the salsa is really, really hot," added Purity. Pinky grinned and said, "I have just the pepper, it's called the Red Devil. It comes from planet Hadia. Just looking at it will make you cry. The chef will probably have to wear thick gloves and a mask when he chops up the teensiest bit of it." "Perfect," said a giddy Purity. It took about an hour for Pinky to return. The girls took the chips, salsa, and water over to Wes' room.       Knock, knock. "Who is it?" grumbled Wes. "Cheery and Purity." Wes opened the door and saw the chips and salsa. He loved chips and salsa. Unbeknownst to the girls, Wes routinely ate jalapeños and ghost peppers, the hotter the better! "Well, well, come on in ladies. Bring your chips and salsa and take a seat," Wes said motioning towards the couch. The girls, with wide, toothy grins, sat down in anticipation.  Purity told Wes a little white lie: "Grandfather has a special dinner planned for us tonight. Wear your tuxedo." "We've invited Aurora. She can sit by you," said Cheery. "You mean the girl from the pool?" Wes said nervously. "You know another Aurora," Purity said with a touch of sarcasm. "Guess not. Hey Cheery, when are you gonna make me look like a clown?" Wes asked excitedly. "Thought I already did," laughed Cheery. She added, "We can do that tomorrow." "Ok, let's eat," Wes said as he took a chip and scooped a huge helping of salsa. He ate two more chips and asked, "Is this hot? Tastes kinda weird." "Just wait and see," chuckled Cheery. Wes ate a few more chips and stared at the girls. Little beads of sweat started forming just above his brow. Wes' face started reddening. He couldn't take it anymore. He jumped up and yelled, "Yeoow! What was in that salsa?" He continued jumping up and down waving his mouth. The girls laughed hysterically. "Here, drink this," Cheery said handing Wes a pitcher of water. Wes drank that pitcher and Purity's pitcher, too. Then he ate some semi-melted ice cream from lunch. "Man, that was awesome. That salsa really kicked my butt," Wes said still sweating. The girls got up to leave. "Don't forget about tonight, seven o'clock and wear your tux," Cheery giggled. "I'll be there, in my tux," assured Wes.      Purity told the others to show up to dinner at 6:30.  Wes entered the dining room to applause and cheering.  "Woo .... wee!  Doesn't he look fancy?  I should have worn my tux," laughed Ace.       "What is going on?" questioned a confused Wes.      "You are the guest of honor.  Here, sit by Aurora," a helpful Purity said as she seated Wes by Aurora.      Wes grew suspicious as he sat down and said "hi" to Aurora.  Everyone stared at him, but they were being awfully nice.  Maybe that was how a guest of honor was treated, Wes thought.  He had never been a guest of honor, so he didn't know.  Aurora looked great and so did the food, he really had no clue why he was the guest of honor, well, just go with it.       "Wes, how is the food?"asked Serena.      "Great," answered Wes.      One of the girls made a comment, under her breathe, which made the girls chuckle.  Then Purity whispered to Cheery, "When is it gonna happen?"      "Be patient," Cheery whispered back.      Wes finished dinner and was ready for dessert.  Then his stomach started to make some noises:  rrr......RRR, gurgle, gurgle.  He felt like a wrestling match was going on in his stomach.  Then Wes stood up and ran bow legged, while holding his butt, to his room.  Luckily, he made it to the bathroom.      The room erupted with laughter, especially the girls, all except Aurora.  She stood up and screamed, "What is wrong with you?  I don't think that is funny." She raced to Wes' room.      Aurora patiently waited on Wes.  He was still in the bathroom very embarrassed.  Aurora knocked on the bathroom door, "Wes, are you alright?"      "Go away.  I am such a loser."      "No, you are not.  It's gonna happen to all of them.  I think it has already happened to the girls."      Wes opened the door, and Aurora explained the purification process.  Aurora hugged Wes and kissed him on the cheek, "Feel better?"      Wes did feel better.  Aurora had a way of making Wes feel at ease.  "Thanks, now I'm mad.  They knew all along and didn't tell us, those sneaky little witches.  Oh, excuse me Aurora," Wes said this without thinking.      "It's ok, they're mean," Aurora said.      Wes, followed by Aurora, stormed into the dining room.  The laughter continued, then Purity said, "Wes, are you feeling ok?  Or, do you feel crappy?"  The laughter elevated, if that were at all possible.      Serena then asked Wes, "Do you really want to be a clown?  You don't need makeup for that."  The girls, laughing so hard, were almost to the point that they needed oxygen.  Wes figured that the girls must have told Serena about his plan, this made everything worse.       "Laugh all you want.  Boys, you are next," Wes said and then explained what Aurora had told him.       The boys immediately quit laughing, the joke turned on them.  The girls knew and didn't tell them; how could they?  The boys started fuming, their stomachs as well.      Grandfather entered the room.  He had eaten in his room by request of the girls; he knew something was up.  Nero filled Grandfather in about what was going on.  Grandfather felt upset and guilty.  He trusted the girls to tell the boys about the purification process.       "Boys, go to you rooms.  Your purification process has already begun," Grandfather ordered.  The boys got up and stared at the girls as they left.        Grandfather looked at the girls and continued, "I am extremely disappointed in you.  You used your knowledge and my WATER to harm others."      "But you laughed at me," Cheery said defensively.      "That was different, I wasn't being malicious.  You are going to meet your fathers tomorrow night.  In the meantime, you need to apologize to the boys, and try to gain their trust back.  I want you all to get along," Grandfather concluded.      "We're sorry.  It was only a joke. About the boys, I think we should wait until tomorrow," Cheery said as she pinched her nose.      Even Grandfather laughed at this comment.  He tried to remember how young they were.  Grandfather was excited about tomorrow night; finally, they would all be together. The boys felt rejuvenated in the morning.  The girls tried to make amends by serving the boys breakfast in bed:  Purity and Serena served Wes his breakfast.  The girls apologized, up and down, as they served breakfast.  The boys all seemed receptive and polite, but a huge plan was looming - time to get even, once and for all.      The girls left, and the boys met in Wes' room.  They came up with a plan but would need Grandfather's help; they sprinted to Grandfather's room hoping he would.  Wes explained the plan, Grandfather obviously displeased, crinkled his brow and said, "Are you sure this is going to end it?" The boys, grinning wildly, all nodded their heads.      The rest of the day flew by.  The girls did their hair, nails, and makeup.  The boys just barely managed to get their tuxes on, but they did.  The fathers got dressed, Grandfather as well - now the time had come!      Everyone met first in the dining room; they all looked spectacular.  Grandfather entered the room and went to the podium.  All he could do was smile as he looked at his beautiful grandchildren, then he spoke:  "I am extremely happy tonight.  You all look so wonderful.  I know you are anxious to meet your fathers, so let's get started.  When I call your father's name, well, come up and meet him.  SirPi, come out.  Nero, here is your father."      Nero ran up and hugged his father.       "Call me Sip, everyone does, or Dad; whatever you choose.  Have you been through the purification process?"  Sip asked Nero.      "Yes, why?"  answered a perplexed Nero.      Sip took Nero's glasses and broke them.  "You don't need these anymore, son," smiled Sip.  Nero's father was right, his vision was perfect.      "Next, Oxtar. Wes, here is your father.  Wes ran up and his dad put him in a front headlock.  Wes grabs his dad's legs and took him to the ground.  They both popped up smiling, and Oxtar said, "That's my boy!"      "Come here, Artaxar.  Ace, here is your father."  Ace's greeting was a little more subtle, he shook his dad's hand.       The girls were getting antsy and felt left out.  None of the girls' dads had been called yet.  They were wondering, whatever happened to ladies first.      Grandfather continued, "Plasmar, come out.  Manny, here is your father."  Manny got up and hugged his dad; he swore that the floor rumbled a little.      Grandfather looked at the girls, their hearts sank.  He started by saying, "I have some bad news.  We had to fly your fathers back to Utopia for a special mission.  They had a choice; unfortunately, they opted to take the mission."      The girls were crushed and started crying; it just wasn't fair.  Every time they saw a dad reunited with his son, they were elated expecting their turn.  They couldn't speak and ran to their rooms.  Each girl, once she opened her door, saw a smiling man behind it.  The girls hugged and kissed their dads and went back to the dining room to eat.       "Got you," screamed the boys.      "You jerks," said Cheery.  The girls weren't too mad because they had their dads now.      Grandfather interjected, "I agreed to this so the boys could get even.  Is this the last time?"      The girls thought for a second, looked at their dads, and nodded their heads.  The girls agreed, for now.

[hawkamalawka]

The Neon Moon

Everyone, the demigods and their dads, sat down and ate.  Grandfather asked all the dads to come up to the podium and speak.  The dads refused, saying they wanted to stay seated so they could talk to their son or daughter.  Zophar, Canrun's dad, offered to make a toast.  He was skinny, yet taller than Canrun.  He raised a glass and said, "To life, Grandfather, to our sons and daughters, and to our little brother, Templar."      "I am not toasting to that selfish sorry-excuse-for-a-brother," Tarry, Serena's dad, bellowed.  Tarry was unique-looking:  long, black beard, a little gut, and gold earrings.  He looked like a pirate, or at least a captain of a ship.  He was deathly afraid of water, but knew everything about the sea and all creatures in it.      "He tried to kill us all," Virdar, Purity's dad, said.  He was average-looking for a god.  He definitely had a dark mystique about him.       "I didn't like being in that dungeon," Master Hiya, Cheery's dad, said rather calmly.  His was thin and had a little go-tee.  He had a wiser-than-his-age presence.      "The Evil One controlled him.  He, himself, would never try to harm us," Sparktar, Gracie's dad, said.      Grandfather yelled, "Enough!!!  We all loved Templar before the Evil One turned him into that monster, Live B."      "Who sent him to planet Remainia?" rumbled Oxtar.      "I know, I know.  I take full responsibility and am truly sorry - to all of you and Templar. I made a huge mistake.  Templar's true love for Kikyana could have gone unpunished, but my pride got in the way. We will have to try to get along without Templar." Grandfather concluded with his eyes showing his shame. The girls were intently listening.  They wanted to know Templar's story, but now wasn't the time.      "No, we won't!  Oxtar and I are going to get his statue right now," Sparktar demanded.       Grandfather held out his hands for them to remain seated.  Then,  he began speaking once again, "I, not Templar,  am to blame for this diabolical situation.  Grandchildren listen, this is very important, more important than Templar - what I am about to say could affect us all.  Every fifty years, planet Utopia experiences a special lunar eclipse, like your Blood Moon on earth.  Utopia aligns between the sun and moon.  Our moon turns a bright pink, we call it the Neon Moon.  This is the only time, we in this room, are vulnerable.  We will land on Utopia one day before this happens: tomorrow we will land on Utopia."      Sparktar got up for a speedy exit; Oxtar followed.  Sparktar had a handle-bar mustache, shoulder-length hair, and slight above-average build.  He kept the fleet of spaceships on Utopia running.  Sparktar had his own, personal spaceship that was the fastest ship on planet Utopia.  He and Oxtar left in the blink of an eye, to planet Amusia and Templar's statue.      The demigods' mouths hung open; they didn't know what to think.  They were embarrassed and ashamed of their recent, petty behavior.  Their worlds just got immensely bigger.  For now, they began to focus on planet Utopia and the upcoming Neon Moon. They stayed up late talking to their dads. They found out they had stepmoms, the dads didn't know if their wives were still on planet Utopia; they had been a bit preoccupied lately. The dads did say, when on Utopia, they lived at the mini-castle near Sacred Island. The demigods sensed that their dads seemed to be hiding something; their answers were short and shallow. The demigods were very ignorant about Utopia; in their defense, they had only seen a tiny piece of the planet. The area they stayed in was huge but only a guest house to Grandfather's enormous castle. So they really didn't know what questions to ask, at least the important ones. The dads mentioned something about Utopian scooters to their demigod children. They laughed thinking that "scooters" sounded kinda funny. The dads knew the tone of the laughing, and gave the them a you-will-see-tomorrow look. Everyone started to grow tired, and the dads told their children to go to bed. They obeyed, and felt that the dads telling them to go to bed was weird but nice. The dads woke them up few hours later; the ship had finally reached Utopia. They told the groggy demigods to eat quickly and meet them at the end of the ship where the port was located. The demigods ate, put on their suits, and walked to the port. "Scooters, huh?" Sip said standing in front of eight super-sleek machines. The scooters, made of a shiny reflective, were a cross between a motorcycle and a small convertible car.  They had two seats, one behind the other, and had a full-length suit with footies and a helmet attached to each seat.  The scooters had a flat bottom and hovered two feet off the ground. One huge exhaust pipe, located at the back of each scooter, sparkled like chrome.  The steering mechanism, squared-off and u-shaped, had two red buttons for lasers, one on each side, along with one yellow button. The scooters could go up, down, sideways; their versatility was almost limitless. The amazed demigods stood in shock; they would never make a stupid assumption again. Then they turned to see Grandfather's vehicle, a car version of the scooter with the seats side by side. The demigods were also stunned to see Dinky driving. Before they could say anything, "zip," Grandfather and Dinky left in a rush. "What do you think?" asked Sip. "Very impressive, dad," Nero said as he put his arm around his dad. "Yes it is. This is my baby, I designed it," Sip said admiring his work. Sip went on to explain the riding situation, "Each demigod will ride behind his/her dad. The red buttons are for lasers; we shouldn't need them. The helmets are linked together for communication. The yellow button is to interrupt communication for personal communication with the person on your scooter. Once you release the button, you are again linked for everyone to hear. Wes and Gracie will ride together; Gracie, you will drive. If you are anything like your dad, the scooter will be begging for mercy," Sip winked at Gracie as he said this. Gracie smiled back; she appreciated Sip's confidence in her. Everyone put on their helmets, stepped into and zipped up their suits. The demigods felt that something was wrong, the suits were way too loose. Sip waited until he saw that everyone had their suits on and said, "Drivers, repeat after me - suits compress." The drivers did as Sip asked, and the suits shrank perfectly and comfortably to fit everyone's individual body-size. Securely fastened to the seats, everyone was now part of their scooter. The dads and Gracie pushed the steering mechanisms forward, and off they went. The scooters emitted a greenish blue contrail. The dads, since they had ridden the scooters before, zipped around everywhere. They did loops, went sideways, cut back, etc. Gracie and Wes could hear, through the helmets, the their cousins laughing and having a blast. Gracie puttered around, she was getting use to the scooter. Wes tapped her on the shoulder, and she hit the yellow button to hear, "Let's go!" "Ok, whatever you say," Gracie said as she pushed the steering mechanism forward. Wes, thrown back in his seat, laughed, "Alright Gracie." The scooter was incredible as it cut through the air; it was light, quick, and could turn on a dime. Gracie was meant to drive the scooter and proved it. She outflew everyone doing loops, dramatically close to the other scooters. Her adrenaline flew high, until she heard Sip say, "Everyone, over here." The eight scooters aligned, side by side, hovering twenty-five miles above the surface of planet Utopia. Dawn had just started to break. "Let's go to the castle. Follow me," Sip said enthusiastically. Within minutes, everyone safely landed in Grandfather's plush orchard, the demigods couldn't stop laughing - the ride on the Utopian scooters topped any thrill they had ever experienced.  The orchard, with hundreds of fruit trees in neat rows, was behind the most intense, spectacular sight the demigods had ever seen - Grandfather's castle.

[hawkamalawka]

Bonus Chapter - The Wedding

Author’s note - I had this chapter at the beginning of the book, but it was out of place.  So I decided to make it a bonus chapter again.  This wedding happened before the demigods were born, 18 years 9 months to be exact. Hopefully, you have read the book before you read this chapter.  I didn’t want to delete it, just need to explain. 

     Templar, back from planet Earth, snuck into Grandfather’s castle to find Kikyana. His trip, with his brothers, to Earth did nothing but reinforce his love for Kikyana. Once he found her and touched her hand, an unequivocal warmth swept throughout his veins to his entire body. Kikyana, after glancing around to see if anyone was watching, gave Templar a quick kiss on his lips. Templar and Kikyana ran, hand in hand, to an awaiting scooter outside the castle. Templar compressed the suits and flew Kikyana to the mini-castle. He took Kikyana to the meeting room where his nine brothers were discussing their trip to Earth. “Well…. Look what the cat dragged in,” laughed Oxtar. Upon seeing Kikyana, the mood in the room tensed. “What are you doing? You dumb, dumb boy,” Artaxar said as he shook his head. “Brothers, I love her and need your help. We need Father Friendia at Sacred Island. I want you all to be at the wedding, too."  Templar said this using the best begging voice he could. The nine brothers looked at their younger brother and Kikyana. The two looked so happy, so helpless, so desperate. "Oh, ok,” Oxtar grudgingly said. He knew what this agreement meant - defying Grandfather. Virdar, being especially close to Templar, secretly went to the attached cottage by the mini-castle where the maidservants lived. Sparktar took a scooter to the space port to get a passenger spaceship that comfortably seated fifteen people. He then flew to Father Friendia’s cottage to pick him up. Father Friendia put on his white-wedding cloak and willingly left with Sparktar. The anxiety rose high at the mini-castle. Master Hiya volunteered to take Kikyana to Sacred Island so the others could talk to Templar. “Have you given any thought, whatsoever, about Grandfather and his ritual? She’s not pure blood. This is not good. You know he will find out!” Plasmar said in an effort to make Templar come to his senses. “Believe me, I know. I can’t help it. I can’t breathe without her. She is like the pumping of my heart that feeds my body life. We will deal with the consequences. Please help us!” pleaded Templar. All the brothers looked at Templar’s desperately love-stricken face. They knew they were wrong but couldn’t deny their baby brother; they loved him. “So be it. You know that you will have to deal with Grandfather,” Artaxar said as he hugged his little brother and rubbed his head. The other brothers joined in playfully congratulating Templar as only brothers know how to do: they hugged and pushed Templar until they all laughed. They settled down and Sip said, “You have found your true love, I am proud. I wish you all the happiness that Utopia can provide. I hope it is worth it, Grandfather can be ruthless.” Templar fixed his messed up hair and said, “Thank you, and it will be. It means so much to me to have your support.” At that moment, Sparktar burst into the room and shouted, “Your chariot has arrived. Come on, we have a wedding to attend.” Virdar got a beautiful white, long-flowing wedding gown from the maidservants and flew it to Sacred Island, ahead of the others. Kikyana, upon seeing the wedding gown, beamed with excitement. “Where should I put it on?” “Right here is fine,” joked Master Hiya. Then he said, “Come with me.” Master Hiya led Kikyana to a boulder at the side of the mountain. He reached behind the boulder and inserted his index finger into a device that scanned his fingerprint. The boulder slowly moved revealing black, dark stairs. “You want me to go down there?” questioned Kikyana. “Looks are deceiving. This room is only known to us, it is quite beautiful,” Master Hiya said grinning at the look on Kikyana’s face. Kikyana could see a faint glimmer of light at the bottom of the stairs. She looked puzzled at Mastet Hiya, “Well, if you say so.” She apprehensively walked down the fifteen steps to see a wooden door, bright light gleamed out of every possible crevice. Kikyana slowly turned the doorknob and pulled the door open to see a mystical prism of light. The light sparkled off her delighted, pearly white smile. She felt as if she were inside a diamond. In the corner of the room, covered by hundreds of white pillows, was a gigantic bed. The clear walls reflected blue, white, red, green, and yellow light. She closed the door and blissfully put on her wedding gown. Her day was absolutely perfect and getting better with each approaching second. Sparktar flew the others to Sacred Island. Father Friendia lined everyone in front of the steps, four brothers on each side. Virdar went down to escort Kikyana. He knocked on the door and Kikyana opened it. She was a vision and the wedding gown was a perfect fit. “I have one more gift,” Virdar said as he placed a gold, ruby-laced tiara on Kikyana’s head. “Thank you. This is so perfect,” Kikyana said as she lightly touched the tiara with tears of joy trickling down her face. She took Virdar’s arm to make the walk to her beloved Templar. Kikyana slowly emerged from the depths of the stairs, her radiance illuminated the room. The brothers gawked silently at her beauty as she passed. She smiled at Templar who looked stunning in his white, gold-trimmed tunic. Virdar led her to Templar and Father Friendia and went to get another surprise. Father Friendia said the vows and the time had come to exchange the rings. Virdar stepped in and said, “One more present.” He gave Kikyana a gold wedding band and Templar an incredible pink diamond ring, about ten karats. The ring had a pure, clean glow as Templar slid it on Kikyana’s finger. The two kissed, the most beautifully perfect couple that Utopia had ever seen. The brothers congratulated Templar and kissed Kikyana. Sparktar elatedly said, “Time to go. I am sure that these two want to be alone.” Sparktar winked at Templar as everyone left. Kikyana and Templar immediately went down to the humongous, comfortable bed. They made love over and over again and became one. Their lives could not be more perfect at this moment. Kikyana looked lovingly into Templar’s eyes and said, “Templar, my dearest love, we need to talk.” “About what?” Templar said a bit puzzled. “I don’t want to ruin the most perfect day that I have ever had; but what about Grandfather?” Kikyana asked softly. “I really don’t care. I love you. I have given it some thought, and we will have to leave Utopia - tomorrow. It doesn’t matter as long as we are together.” Templar confidently kissed Kikyana on the lips, but he was worried. They fell into a deep, euphoric sleep. They awoke in horror to see Grandfather and ten soldiers at the foot of the bed. How did he know so soon? Templar thought to himself. “Get up and get dressed. I can’t express my disappointment in you,” Grandfather said with hurtful, sorrowful look on his face.       Grandfather and the soldiers turned around to give Templar and Kikyana time to put their clothes on.  Upon turning back around, they saw Templar passionately kissing Kikyana. Grandfather instantly separated them.  The soldiers grabbed  each young lover by the arms. “I love her,” begged Templar with every ounce of his being. “It doesn’t matter. It is forbidden!” Grandfather said loudly. “Soldiers, take them to the Chamber Room!” Grandfather ordered.