D&C FT- Toy Shop Trade-off

Different and Cool FT: Toy Shop Trade-off

By Reid M. Haynes

Note: Some elements of this story are influenced by Japanese Anime (characters with technicolor hair, etc)

The story so far:
8th grade student Andrew Champion knew he was in for a wild ride when he decided to befriend Tarah Reichardt, the nerdiest girl in school. But he could've never guessed how special his new friend was. Tarah is actually the gatekeeper of another world called Broodring, home of the tree of life, Yggdrasil. Now, with the help of his martial arts trainer Maru Mari, Andy explores his relationship with Tarah both in school and in the realm of the fantastic tales.

(Read the other “Different and Cool” stories for details)

*****

         Starlight City Westside was not only upscale, it was downright decadent, at least for a heartland town like this. Corporate skyscrapers punctured the clouds in a medley of silver and blue; they were imposing, though not quite ostentatious, due to their uniform hues. Dwarfing these structures was Bishop Towers, the twin black-and-white buildings that headquartered the Bishop Corporation, standing like high rulers above lowly serfs. The uneasy way the towers broke through the clouds made for a delusion of godhood, built upon the dreams of those that would ascend to greatness.

         Andy hardly knew what he was doing here himself. He had just wandered into this part of town on a Wednesday errand, knowing most of the high-quality stores were in these affluent areas. The boy adjusted his brown parka in the brisk February air, moving towards the crosswalk adjacent to the shopping plaza. His middle-class looks (and of course his sea-green hair) made him stick out among the wealthy citizens, and he hoped to be done here before long.

         Continuing onward when the signal turned green, another flash of green caught his eye, followed by the familiar jump in his heart that always accompanied this particular sight. Andy turned his head to find who he expected: Maru Mari, personal sensei and crush extraordinaire, conversing with two black-suited men in the middle of the shopping plaza. As he observed his green-maned dream girl from a predetermined distance, it dawned on him that her business with the men was less conversational, and more of a public incident. The normally easy-going young lass was now exploding into a hot fury, with flashing eyes and bared teeth, giving Andy pause on whether or not to approach her.

         He stood back and tried to make out some words of the argument, though he couldn't pick up anything that would help piece things together. All too soon, the men were heading back in the general direction of Bishop Towers, and Mari was storming Andy's way, her scowl like a tear in the sky. The girl was moving close enough for him to make out the blue of her angry eyes, and he fought to prepare an intelligible greeting. Andy needn't have bother, though, as Mari shot past him with barely a glance his way.

         "Don't talk to me now," she said with a chill to her voice, her long green mane trailing behind her like a burning candlewick. She turned the corner at the next intersection and disappeared among the buildings of Westside, leaving a few city folk to watch in concern at the very angry young female making her exit.

         Andy blinked a few times, his hands falling limp to his side. She wasn't acting like the usual Mari, but he could sense her anger wasn't directed at him. They had been friends for around half a year, and he knew outbursts like this were rare coming from her, the master of the Double Helix martial arts style. "I wonder what's bothering her?" he asked himself, as the rushing cars added background noise to his train of thought.

*****

         When he found Maru Mari next, she was hunched over on a stone bench next to a marble fountain, her fire having long since been extinguished. With eyes full of morose mist, she followed the flow of the fountain from the angel motif that emitted the water, an eternity of tranquility for the pleasure of its visitors. Her pout looked quite pretty, Andy figured, even though her more perky persona suited her better. Still, this was no time for mooning over a hopeless crush, and he willed himself to make his presence known to her.

         As he got within a few feet of her, Mari looked up from her worries and offered a wan smile. "Hey, Champ," she said. "Sorry about before. I just had to get away from those jerks before I blew a gasket. Whatcha doing out here, man?"

          "Uh, shopping, I guess," he said, his empty arms suddenly a reminder that he hadn't found anything so far. "Tarah has...bacterial pneumonia, I think, and I wanted to get her something while she's sick in bed."

         The green-haired girl cocked an eyebrow. "Didn't she just have that, like, two months ago?" she asked, a trace of suspicion in her voice.

         Andy shrugged. "It come in spurts," he supposed, his eyes rolling up to the sky. "I just thought some sort of novelty item might cheer her up. Something bug-related, probably."

         Mari lowered her gaze and smiled, more grim than grin. "Wish I could help ya," she said, shaking her head back and forth. "And I think I might've been able to help ya if all this junk wasn't coming up."

         "What do you mean?" Andy asked, leaning forward with more than a little curiosity. He had a feeling he was going to hear about that scene at the plaza now.

         Mari sighed, straightening up from the bench with a grunt. "My friend Phoebe owns a novelty toy store in Westside," she explained, fingering the bill of her demon-winged cap. "Nick-knacks, joke items, magic tricks, you name it, she has it. She makes about 60% of the merchandise herself, and runs the whole place even though she's only fourteen. It's actually a real popular place, or was until the suits started sniffing around."

         "Wow!" Andy's eyes widened in spite of himself; he kind of liked the types of odd-and-ends found at novelty stores. "So what happened?" he pressed her.

         Mari frowned, looking to the side with disdain. "The Bishop Corporation got wind of her operation, and wanted to buy her out and add another branch to their leisure business," she hissed, not bothering to keep the bile out of her voice. "She refused, and now they're hitting her legally, saying she's too young to operate a business unless she's part of a larger company. Phoebs was getting along just fine before those B-Co guys showed up." The girl let out a growl, and her fist clenched at her side. "Big Business plants its butt down, yet again."

         "Bishop Corporation, that's Justin's dad's company..." Andy pondered to himself, folding his arms and putting a hand to his chin. Justin had been his friend until late last year, when he had befriended Tarah and his life had changed. Since then, the rich boy had been causing trouble, and they had all kinds of confrontations over his choice of friends, and anything else, it seemed. "Were those Bishop guys you were arguing with before?" he asked next, putting aside the connection for now.

         "I tried to appeal to their better natures, but of course those creeps don't have any," she moaned, breathing into the brisk air. "Phoebe could make wind-up toys with more life than those guys. Anyhow, enough with my crap." She rounded on him with a fresh smile, looking much more like the Mari he knew and secretly loved. "Why don't you tag for a bit, Andy?"

         Andy blushed reflexively at her cheerful tone. "T-Tag?" he stammered, feeling the heat rise from his collarbone to his cheeks. Even after all she'd been through, she wanted to do something together with him...?

         "I'm headed to Phoebe's shop to see if she needs anything," she explained. "You wanted something for Tarah, right? She'll be able to hook you up with something good, if she hasn't been shut down already. Whadaya say?"

         "Oh." Andy's face fell when he realized she was only talking about his errand. "Yeah. that sounds fine," he replied, covering his disappointment with a mask of briskness.

         Mari grinned, tossing her hair behind her back as she prepared to leave the fountain area. "You gotta check out her shop, Champ," she said. "It'll knock ya into next year!" She looked towards the sky, as if trying to find the sun underneath a cover of clouds. "You gotta find some sort of silver lining, right?"

*****

         Phoebe's Toy Mill was everything Mari said it was, and more. Although it only had a small space to work with, its shelves were packed wall-to-wall with breakfast-making gadgets, electronic teddy bears, and conjuror tricks. The stacks upon stacks of toys and games gave the humble store the look of a child's dreamland castle, with enough color and majesty to capture the hearts of kids and adults alike. Yes, there were more than a few items that caught Andy's eye, and he was...well, like a kid in a toy store, to be honest.

         "All right!" Andy touched a small plasma sphere, whose electric tendrils slithered upwards to about a millimeter below his finger. "Just like the one I used to have!"

         Mari rolled her eyes, though she didn't fight the smile coming to her face. "I forgot how much this guy likes novelty nick-knacks," she muttered in a voice obviously intended for Andy's ears.

         Andy pretended not to hear, and set about exploring the shop. There were two main sections of the store: front and back, with a small alcove off to the side for storage. In particular, he noticed a collection of stuffed toys in a pile next to the door, the kinds that filled the rooms of young girls with a penchant for plush. "This is great," he said out loud, though he wasn't looking at Mari. "I'm sure I can find something for Tarah here, too."

         The girl smiled in turn. "Phoebs keeps this place pretty well-stocked," she told him, folding her arms with pride for her friend. "I'd have thought the B-Co guys would've told her to clear out by now, but maybe something good happened after all..."

         "W-wha-WHAAAAH!" A soft, squeaky voice sounded out from the back end of the shop, cutting off Mari mid-sentence. The two friends turned towards the direction of the cry, with the girl sighing with resignation. "Or not..." she finished up, and hustled into the next room. When Andy followed her inside, he found Mari inexplicably talking to a pile of packages that had toppled onto the floor. "Phoebs!" she yelled at the packages, which stirred as if possessed. "I told ya to stop doing everything by yourself all the time"

         The packages shifted once more, and a teenage girl with brown hair emerged from the cracks between the boxes. "I...I'm sorry, Mari," the girl groveled, "I just wanted to move the last few orders, then I'm done for a little while."

         Mari slapped her forehead. "Cheez!" she exclaimed. "Pull it together, Phoebe! You got enough on your plate without breaking your back over it. That stuff's gotta weigh a ton!"

         The girl tittered nervously, putting a hand to the back of her head.

         Andy joined the two and look down at the girl before him, still struggling under the boxes. Phoebe Mills was a pale, thin girl just around his and Mari's age, with stringy brown hair and an artist's beret atop her head. Suitable for a toy-store owner, she wore puffy, loose-fitting pants and a striped shirt, both with bright, eye-catching colors of yellow and blue. Her wide, brown eyes gave the impression of being permanently surprised, and Andy felt it hard to dislike her at this moment, finding it somehow reminded him of Tarah.

         Instinctively, he offered a hand to help her up, which Phoebe was none-too-shy on taking. "Uh, hi, I'm Andy Champion," he began, once he had brought her to her feet. "Mari says you're, um, having some trouble with the shop?"

         "Uh huh," Phoebe replied distractedly, looking past Andy at some unknown object. "Yes, you've arrived at a tough time," she started, and Andy had to scootch out of the way as the brunette moved toward the front of the shop with three boxes in her arms. "The men from Bishop Corporation will be arriving in about five minutes, and I want to get the shop looking as good as it possibly can.

         "B-Co guys?" Mari twitched her cheek in a quizzled expression. "Don't tell me you've worked out a deal with them?"

         "It's not them, but the city I've worked it out with," she explained, fiddling around with the key of a wind-up duck. "I talked with City Hall, and they said they'd give me a special permit to manage the shop if I could prove I could handle it along with my school work. I just have to keep it looking good for the inspectors on Friday. And maybe I'll scare away the Bishop people if I put up a tough front, show that I won't give up."

         She looked into a snowglobe, watching the little bits of white floating through the fluid. "My parents named their toy shop after me ten years ago, and I used to help out on the weekends," the young inventor told them, seemingly entranced by the decoration. "Ever since they died, I've tried to live up to their legacy, and keep it going like they would've wanted. My parent's will doesn't allow my aunt to run the shop, only me, and now even that's being questioned. I can't prove it, but I think the Bishop Corporation might've doctored it, written my aunt out of the will to give themselves the opportunity."

         "That's not right," Andy stated, thinking back to his own Aunt Mary. "Your aunt should've been able to help you. Can't you just sell her the show and keep it in the family that way?"

         Phoebe shook her head. "I'm locked out of the process until City Hall gives me the okay," she explained. "The Toy Mill is in kind of a no-man's land until Sunday, when it either goes up for sale or returns to me. That's the way it was set up."

         "Sounds more like they set YOU up," Mari pointed out with a glare, though the glare wasn't really meant for Phoebe. “Something smells, and it's not just the scratch-n-sniff stickers by the cash register.”

         "It's okay," the mousy teen offered a serene smile that belied the tough situation she was in. 'I can do it myself if I try hard enough. I just have to stay strong a little while longer. Things are always out of place when your parents die on you."

         Andy made a grimace. "I know the feeling," he groused, bad memories from three years back bubbling up in his mind. Tragedies had a way of pulling the rug out from under you, and it could be years until you fully recovered.

         Phoebe’s eyes flashed with new vigor. "But I know the Bishop Corporation is going to get in the way!" she cried, pumping her fists. "They want this property, and the deed to my shop. They've already tried to bribe City Hall. I know they are going to try again!"

         "Just keep cool," Mari said, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. "We wouldn't let anybody cheat you out of your dream. Right, Andy?" She turned to the boy with an expectant look.

         Andy nodded. "Yeah, I'm with you," he agreed. He then looked to the other girl, as a sudden thought came to him. "We'll do whatever we can, Phoebe. One condition, though."

         Phoebe blinked. "Is...Is something wrong?" she asked, seemingly hesitant in front of this stranger with a strange request.

         Andy walked towards the shelf with the plasma globe on it. "Sell me the lightning globe, and this," he requested, pointing out both the globe and a stuffed, green caterpillar he had his eye on earlier. "A friend of mine would love a doll like this. And...er...I broke my last lightning globe."

         "Oh yeah, that's easy enough!" Phoebe bowed to him in a rather formal way. "Thank you very much for the help!"

         Mari shrugged her shoulders. "The Nick-Knack King strikes again," she chimed, a ghost of a laugh in her voice. Andy just grinned toothily, putting his hand on his hips.

         But just as the mirth began to spread among the three, it was brought to a screeching halt as the loud squeal of tires broke through from the outside. Andy and the girls glanced at each other, then poured out the front door to get a closer look. A black limousine was parked right next to the toy store, taking up three spaces in a show of thoughtlessness. The passenger door was opening, and the three hung back as a shiny black loafer angled its way out of the vehicle and onto the sidewalk.

         Emerging from the limousine, in a graceful manner far outstripping his wide physique, was a heavy-set man in his forties with close-cropped, silver hair and a bushy mustache that had been very well-trimmed. His white suit with red accents looked every bit as expensive as the limo he was exiting, and somehow made him all the more imposing. Following in his wake was a familiar, silver-haired boy, now wearing a black-leather jacket to add menace to his casual, schoolkid look. Both Justin Bishop and his father shared the same narrow, violet eyes, shining like gemstones that reflected their own avarice.

         "A hearty greeting to all of you this Wednesday," Cornelius Bishop began, extending his hand in a thin parody of benevolence. "It's so nice to see the youth of my city contributing to our grand tradition of capitalism."

         "Spare us the sugar talk, Corny!" Mari shot back, not giving any credence to his jolly-old-gentleman shtick. "Just get to what you want to say already!"

         "You should keep quiet when you're in the presence of my father," Justin broke in, standing off to the side with his hands in his pockets. "Our family are wolves like no other." He looked towards Andy. "Champion," he addressed him curtly, with an almost imperceptible nod of his head.

         "Justin." Andy greeted him in kind, keeping his voice three degrees below Celsius.

         "Yes, I believe you two used to be friends back when." Cornelius made a show of stroking his chin, feigning unfamiliarity with Andy and Justin’s relationship, even though Andy had visited Justin at Bishop Towers many times before. "Such a shame things couldn't be worked out, but perhaps we can make another deal today."

         Phoebe took a step forward. "Mr. Bishop, why have you come?" she questioned him, bringing her hand to her mouth as if to nibble her fingernails. "I already gave you my answer a week ago. I want my store to stay independent."

         "Ah but being independent is so much work in this current economic climate," Cornelius argued, turning away from the trio and folding his arms behind his back. "The crime, even in this side of town, is quite imposing. Wouldn't you feel more comfortable with Bishop-brand protection? For instance, I have my fine men with me today, and they have always been quite reliable."

         He snapped his fingers, which served as a signal for the other occupants of his limousine. Pouring out single-file was a quartet of men wearing the same black suits as the men Mari was fighting with earlier, their formal apparel a stark contrast to their toned, muscled physiques. Their ties and cuff-links couldn't mitigate their malice; they were a rough bunch, more suited for the fighting circuits than the executive suites. Phoebe was positively cowed, and shrank back from the toughs like a frightened little mouse.

         "My Shadow Men are quite skilled in both protection and infiltration," Cornelius explained, and Andy could swear the man’s eyes had narrowed just a fraction. "If you would only partner with us, they could be on your side, help in any manner you wish. Your arrangement with City Hall only allows you to keep the rights if your store is kept up to professional standards. It would be a shame if sudden violence happened before that time."

         Cornelius didn't have to spell it out for Andy to get the gist. "So basically, you're threatening her, Mr. Bishop?" he said, fighting to keep his rage from showing any more than it already was. "Partner with you, or these guys tear up the place when we're not looking?"

         "You can take it any way you choose, dear Andy," Cornelius said coyly, with more than a hint of edge to his voice. "And believe me, it doesn't matter whether you're looking or not when bad things happen. You're a small concern, and so is your little girlfriend there. It’s nothing that a little well-applied muscle can't fix."

         "But, alas, I've dawdled here too long." The businessman regained his formal facade of decorum, turning away from Andy and company. "I have meetings in downtown about the urban renewal." Crawling back into the limo, he favored Phoebe with a slick smirk. "Ta ta, Ms. Mills," he said. "Do think about my offer."

         Justin gave the group one last smile of his own, one that almost seemed to have fangs. Then, along with the rough men, the Bishop Corporation retreated back into the limo, its tinted windows containing their dark energies from spilling out all over Starlight City Westside. With a burst of exhaust, the limo took off towards Bishop Towers, driving a little fast for the current midday traffic. Andy and Mari both scowled after the vehicle, as Phoebe turned towards the pavement, her bangs shadowing her deep, brown eyes in an unreadable expression.

*****

         Mari's abandoned planetarium was a nice break from the posh suffocation of Starlight City Westside, with dimmed lights and a host of constellations providing comfort for its occupants. Andy and Mari were aware that Cornelius and Justin were possibly watching them from afar, but opted to tune the world for a bit, gearing up for a quick training exercise. Mari had changed into a sleeveless, spandex suit, her demon-winged cap adding a dangerous accent to the edgy ensemble. Andy, for his part, has only taken off his parka, and was desperately trying not to blush at his friend's form-fitting outfit.

         "You damn brats are always biting off more than you can chew," the third occupant, a craggy, gray-haired old woman, was saying as she applied sports tape to Mari's knuckles for the upcoming exercise. "Why don't you just let the cops handle this, instead of butting in?"

         "C'mon, Nana!" Mari insisted, letting her benefactor fuss over her combat gear. "We both know that B-Co would just deny the threat ever took place. I gotta do what I gotta do."

         "And you dragged Puppy Dog Eyes in it with you." Nana motioned to Andy, who was chagrined at the (revealing, embarrassing) insinuation towards his crush on Mari, which the crone has apparently figured out just by watching him. "Fighters should know to keep their fan-club on the sidelines and out of the ring."

          "Well, Andy's a fighter now too!" Mari bubbled, turning to beam at the other martial artist in the room as Nana scuttled off to the side. "Right, Champ?"

         "Eh heh heh heh...!" Andy chuckled, putting his hand to the back of his head.

         The two were facing off underneath the model planets and moons that hung from the top of the planetarium. Mari's Nana, the proprietor of the establishment (or squatter, as the case may be), was on hand to administer First Aid in case the demonstration got a little rough. Underneath Nana's grumbling veneer was a restrained duty towards her charge; just a slight twinkle in her eye and a white-knuckled grip on her medical kit. They were not blood related, but Mari and Nana's bonds were as strong as cable ties, and it reminded Andt think of his aunt and uncle, how they has risen to the occasion when he needed them the most.

         "Alrighty!" Mari burst out, slamming her fist into her palm. "We're probably going to be facing off against Corny's Shadow guys tomorrow night, so we need to be in top form. I'm going to show you a new move in the Double Helix style."

         Andy blinked. "Is it gonna be as hard as the falling axe kick?" he ventured, grimacing. "I nearly broke my heel on that one."

         Mari took up the countenance of an exotic, foreign master, closing her eyes as if in solemn contemplation. "Ah, young caterpillar, you are slow, but you inch up the stalk as steady as the sun," she intoned in a mock-masculine voice. "You are ready, my son."

         Andy laughed quietly as Mari went into her fighting stance; right hand high, left hand low. Dropping the sage sensei act, Mari closed her fingers into fists, and started to bob back and forth in a steady rhythm. "Andy, this is an intermediate technique that allows you to fire your own chi as a projectile," she instructed in a business-like tone. "It's a concentration of life force that emits from your knuckles as you thrust them forward. I call this the 'Vital Gun!'"

         "Can you really pull off such a feat?" Andy pushed. "I heard the wise men on the northern mountains mastered chi manipulation, but I've never seen it in person."

         Mari gave the boy a certain smile, one Andy thought the tiniest bit dangerous. Turning away, the girl faced a sandbag she had propped up in the corner of the planetarium, just a little ways from the soda machine. Keeping her feet firmly planted on the hard concrete floor, she brought back her arms as if yanking on a pulley, a hiss of air streaming between her teeth.

         Then "Hyo!!!" she punched forward with both fists, and fired off an orange bolt of energy straight from her knuckles. Spherical in shape, it shot though the stale planetarium air like a bullet, blasting against the sandbag and knocking it flat on the ground like a crash-test dummy.

         "Whoa!" Andy took a step back, his hand shielding his eyes from the contained explosion. "That's incredible, Mari!"

         The martial master grinned, whirling back towards her student. "That's just a small one," she said, putting a hand to her hip. "With training, you can control your chi in more dynamic ways, and even create objects with it. But for now, try to do the Vital Gun just as I did."

         "What?!" Andy's mouth was agape, and he stepped forward with arms outstretched. "Just like that? I've only seen it once!"

         "It's a pretty standard move," Mari reasoned with him as if she were just asking for a cup of coffee. "You should be able to handle that much after four months training. C'mon, don't wuss out!" The girl added a bit of hardness to her voice. "You're tougher than this!"

         "But just in case you're not, we always have this." Nana's lip twisted into a yellow-toothed smirk, as she motioned to the medical kit she still held at the ready.

         Andy let out a beleaguered sigh, knowing it was do or die time now. He faced down Mari over the length of the chalk-line fighting ring they trained in, as the girl egged him on with a motion of her fingers. "Come on, straight down the middle," she crooned, her face screwing up in preparation. "Don't worry; you won't hurt me."

         Andy took one more glance offside, wondering if he really was going to fire a shot at his own mentor. Then, with a deep breath, he pulled back his arms just as Mari had demonstrated. He concentrated his very being into his fists, remembering all the lessons he had been taught about feeling his inner life-force. And then, almost involuntarily, he could feel a telltale tremor in his knuckles, his soul magnified as liquid fire.

         With Mari and Nana looking on, Andy built up the energy within his hands, tensing up as if working on a chain gang. He felt the pulse pick up tempo, and knew he would have to release his shot soon. With a strangled cry, he thrust his fists forward in his best imitation of Mari's Vital Gun.

         (B-BOM!!} ...and watched his dream crash into a million shards as the chi bullet self-detonated a mere two feet in front of him. Andy flew backwards from the force of the blast, ending up in a heap with only a floor-mat to break his fall. The boy groaned at his failure, feeling like he had been chopping wood all day. Raising himself on his elbows, he looked up to his trainer, waiting for her judgement.

         "BWAHAHAHAH!" Mari was clutching her chest in laughter, heaving like she hadn't had a breath of fresh air in five weeks. "You suck, Andy!"

         "Crash and burned, just as I thought." Nana crowed, her lined face soft with bad humor. "I'll get the gauze."

         "Hey!" Andy huffed, glaring up at the green-haired girl. "You're the one who said I could do it!"

         "Sorry, sorry!" Mari apologized, with a trace of laughter still in her voice. "That was a good first attempt, really. When I was first developing the technique, it took me a week before I could produce any chi emissions at all." She offered a hand down to help him up, which he took with a groan. "Okay, let's take a break for now," she said, hoisting him to his feet with surprising strength for a fourteen-year-old.

         Together, the pair headed over to the torn up couch Mari was aiming to have replaced when she got enough money. Andy was still a bit winded from his failed attempt at fireworks, but found he was quickly recovering, and was able to lower himself down on the cushions without Mari's help. Nana approached Andy with her medical kit, motioning to some smiley face bandages and Children's Cough Syrup. Sensing this was another joke as his expense, he shot her down with an annoyed look, and the old crone went wobbling away, chuckling to herself like some spooky old fortune-teller from a movie serial.

         Mari smiled at him from the adjacent seat, leaning her cheek on her fist. "Gotta say, Champ, you're holdin' up pretty good," she said. peering at him through the corner of her eye. "You used to get so winded from just a little bit of training."

         "Thanks to you." Andy blushed a bit at the compliment, and her close proximity, though he was used to her enough as to not devolve into stammering when she so much as looked at him. "Training here has really built up my endurance."

         "You'll need it for tomorrow night, when the Shadow Men show up to trash the Toy Mill," she told him. "That's their M.O., just like some cheap mafioso. Hate to admit it, but I think we're in for a fight."

         "What, don't think the Champ can handle it?" Andy boasted, puffing up his chest even as his tired body creaked in protest. "I'm at least the second strongest user of the Double Helix style."

         The next comment took the wind out of Andy's sails completely. "Actually, for the longest time, I wasn't sure I could train you at all," she said thoughtfully, putting a finger to her chin. "I thought you were a spineless jellyfish, like some faceless cypher from a two-bit adventure novel."

         "M-Mari!" Andy nearly fell off the couch.

         "Don't worry, Champ!" Mari laughed, waving off his concerns with her hands. "I know you're not like that, deep down. The way you stuck with Tarah even though everyone was against you guys is proof enough. Martial arts are one thing, but nothing's harder than peer-pressure in Jr. High."

         "Oh." Andy paused for a moment, It seemed whenever he got to talking with Mari, the conversation always drifted back to Tarah somehow. "Yeah, I guess."

         A moment of still silence passed between them, the conversation getting caught up in the gears of trepidation. "Well, I guess you're right, really," Andy began again, holding his shoulders down with the weight of humility. "It took me a long time to get here from where I was before, especially since..."

         Here, Andy seized up for a moment, as the thought stalled on its way to his mouth. "What?" Mari prompted, scooting closer. "What is it, Andy?"

         "Well...er..." Andy's next words were mumbled, and Mari's face knotted up as she struggled to catch them. She leaned forward, and Andy said them again, this time loud enough for her to hear.

         "WHAT!?" Mari exclaimed, making Andy rear back from the offending decibels. "You wanted to dye your hair brown?! What are you thinking? Your green hair's the best thing you have going for you!"

         "C'mon, it's not like I went through with it!" Andy retorted, running his hand through the aforementioned mane of sea-green hair. "It was just a thought, that's all."

         Andy moaned, rolling his eyes up to the artificial heavens of the planetarium. "I was just tired of standing out all the time," he half-mumbled, eyeing a stray lock of hair in the corner of his vision. "Back then, just a few months ago really, I just wanted to get through a day of school in one piece without being bothered. I thought that my green hair looked weird compared to a lot of the other guys, so I figured if I dyed it, I could stay off the radar."

         "Hey, you think THIS is weird, Champ?" Mari tossed her own green mane back over her shoulder in a gesture fitting for an amazonian queen. "I should be insulted!"

         "No no, you're fine!" Andy tried to explain himself, hoping he hadn't already lost the argument. "But you're the sports superstar at Starlight Jr. High, so you kind of carry it well."

         "And so do you, Andy," Mary rebutted, folding her arms. "Underneath everything, you're a lot stronger than you think you are. Wear your hair with pride, Champ!" She grinned, and gave him a wink and a thumbs-up. "Besides, us greenies gotta stick together!"

         Mari reached up and took off her cap, cradling it in her lap. "To tell the truth, you almost remind me a lot of this boy I used to know."

         "Huh?" Andy moved a bit closer. (An old boyfriend, maybe?)

         "Yeah, he had that whole shy-guy thing going on too, along with some pretty cool hair," she told him, and a softer smile was now melting the iron that fortified her. "We were just kids, really, but even then, he had a way of rising to the challenge whenever we were threatened. I think...I kind of liked him a bit." A rare blush overtook her features, and she turned to him with a wider smile. "You know what I mean, Andy?" she said, and actually looked a bit embarrassed at her confession.

         "Uh yeah, I think so." Andy was honestly stunned by this uncharacteristic emotional outpouring. It was just a feeling, but he sensed it was quite a compliment to be compared to this mystery boy Mari apparently held so dear. (Maybe she does see me that way after all...) He swore to himself that he would not let her high regard for him go to waste.

         "Well, that's enough mushy stuff for a while!" Mari straightened up and flexed her arms in a show of regaining her earlier attitude. She turned to him with a closed fist. "Ready to give the Vital Gun another try?"

         Andy smiled. "I think we can give it several more tries," he said, as he followed Mari to the center of the ring again.

*****

         Evening fell on Phoebe's Toy Mill, the lights of the storefront standing a silent vigil with only a few cars to observe it. It was still one day before the Shadow Men were purported to arrive, but the power was kept on as the proprietor continued to tend to the inventory as usual. The store itself was devoid of people, but deep underneath the floorboards, there were the muffled sounds of metal work, along with the whirl of machinery that brought to mind construction equipment rather than anything to do with toys and games. This was the toy shop's hidden storehouse, a maze of girders cloaked in darkness, and the lair of one teenage toymaker with a hidden hand yet to be revealed.

         Phoebe maneuvered the welding equipment towards the machine she was constructing, sweating under the hot lamps hanging overhead, Sparks flew from the fused metal and impacted her face shield as she worked deep into the night, the blowtorch like the tortured soul of the dearly departed. Minutes rolled by as she applied a few finishing touches to her invention, seeing nothing but white-hot flames licking the mottled metal. Finally, having finished up for the moment, she pulled back her mask and wiped her brow free of the choppy brown strands that were clinging to it.

         The toy-maker sighed, looking down at her craft with a certain sadness. Mari and Andy meant well, she knew, and were both stalwart, green-haired individuals with courage past their young years. But there was still so much they didn't know about her history, the secrets she kept even from her closest friends. And they didn't know what the Bishop Corporation was capable of, not at all.

         A small clank sounded out from her right, and Phoebe took off her mask completely as she turned to face the hidden threat. "Who..who's there?!" she stammered into the darkness, reaching to the side for a hidden object lying underneath the tarp. "We're closed now."

         A low, staccato snickering emanated from the darkness. "Still playing the toy-maker, eh Mills?" it chuckled, its teenage tenor piercing the haze from the welding torch. "Cute, but useless. When are you going to face reality, and realize you're too weak to win? Weak, until you find strength within us."

         The girl grit her teeth, the spirit of rebellion making its first appearance within the meek teenager. "S-Stay back!" she cried, pulling out the object from the tarp: a cylindrical, bazooka-type weapon sized just right for a girl her age to use. Resting the barrel on her shoulder, she took aim at the darkened figure approaching from the door leading to the main shop area. She slammed her finger on the the trigger, releasing a spherical orb that broke apart into an explosion of ropes that wrapped up the intruder good and tight, knocking him to the ground in a heap below the overhead light.

         The silver-haired boy continued to laugh, even as the ropes constricted around his forearms. "As good as ever," Justin said, his violet eyes twinkling with a maleficent mirth. "You're too talented for this pet project of your parents."

         The comment caused Phoebe pause, and she put down her weapon, though she still kept a hand on it. "Why did you come, Justin?" she asked, genuine curiosity in her voice.

         "To remind you of the truth you hide from yourself," he informed her bluntly, wiggling under the bondage of the ropes. "Do you really think you were meant to make toys and games, with your background and your experience? You know as well as I do that this is not your fate; your work tonight proves it. War is what make drives humanity, not play."

         Mari looked down at the device she had welded together; a new type of cannon that could use several different types of ammunition. "It's just for self-defense," she argued, though she didn't know if she was trying to convince Justin, or herself. "Defense from your men."

         The boy smiled, as his hands fidgeted within the sleeves of his black-leather jacket. "Your parents understood what made the world go round, and that's why they taught you the tools of the trade." he continued, "They were weapon designers, Mills, the best in Starlight City! They passed away, and now we need you to carry on for the Bishop Corporation's artillery program. Phoebe Mills: Heir to Destruction!"

         Phoebe took a step forward, forgetting her fear for the moment. "I've left behind that life!" she screamed at him, tears forming at the corner of her eyes. "I'm just a toy maker now! The Toy Mill is the only thing of my parents that hasn't been stained by their real work!"

          "Do you really think Champion and Maru Mari can protect you?" he asked, the smile vanishing from his face as he tensed up. "The Bishop Corporation wipes away problem people with the napkin from their supper. Rest assured: they will lose, and we WILL take control of this shop, unless you surrender your talents and your blueprints. Unless you want your friends getting hurt in the process, which I personally do."

         With a guttural cry, he ripped free of his bonds, with help from a cybernetic shiv that Phoebe recognized as an early invention of her father and mother. "No matter what anybody says, the winners are always the strong, and the losers are always the weak," he told her, standing up as she tightened her grip on her bazooka again. "You can either join the side of victory, or suffer in obscurity." He grinned at her. "It's your choice, if there is such a thing as choice."

         Justin turned away from the girl, as if knowing she was too broken to fire on him again. "My father will be accepting your reply tomorrow," he said as he prepared to take his leave. "The wolf pack is waiting for you, Phoebe Mills." Then, he departed through the open door leading back to the toy shop, leaving a tear-wracked Phoebe in his wake.

         "What..." she sniffed, staring at the new weapon she had created. "What should I do...?"

*****

         The following night, there was an air of foreboding around Phoebe's Toy Mill, like it was a spookhouse instead of a playhouse. Though it was Saturday, no customers or window-shopping schoolkids showed up to peruse its wares, and the street lamps seemed dim and insufficient for the city block. It was as if the citizens somehow knew to clear out before the hammer dropped on this once peaceful street. This was an atmosphere more fitting for the downtown slums of Morvaria City than the more affluent part of Starlight City Westside.

         Andy and Mari loitered about the storefront, scanning the streets for any sign of misdeed. Mari had changed into her spandex fighting gear once again, her wrists now adorned by a pair of maroon combat bracers. Andy remained in his street clothes, but was wearing his white bandanna, a gift from Mari to commemorate his commitment to training with her. The cool air was bringing goosebumps to their skin, a compliment to the nervous chill they both felt on this evening of evildoing.

         "I kind of hope they don't show," Andy whispered to Mari, hugging his arms over his chest. "This is an awful lot of work just for some corporate takeover."

         "Yeah, well, B-Co doesn't exactly know the meaning of restraint.' Mari growled, letting out a puff of air. "Crony capitalism at its finest, or Corny Capitalism, actually."

         "Wonder where Phoebe is," he pondered, looking over his shoulder at the abandoned Toy Mill. "Shouldn't she be here with us?"

         "Probably just scared," she answered as she adjusted her combat bracers. "You saw how shaken up she was yesterday when those jerks showed up. Don't worry; we're here to fill in for her."

         They stopped talking for a moment as a large van passed them, the two coughing from the gray exhaust. The brief lull in the conversation was already making Andy stir crazy, and he had to start talking again just to get some peace of mind.

         "I don't know if I'm ready for this..." he confessed, rubbing his forehead as if wiping off invisible sweat, even though is was forty degrees outside. "I've only been in a few fights, really."

         "Shhh," Mari whispered, pointing out ahead of her. "Here they come!"

         Andy jerked at the interruption, but followed Mari's finger to the van that had previously driven by. It was a nondescript vehicle with a brown paint job, but its headlights were off, and the windows seemed to have a layer of tint darker than what was legally allowed in this city. The van had parked just a little ways from the Toy Mill, in front of an empty storefront that was awaiting a new owner. Andy and Mari kept their eyes trained on the vehicle, their muscles tensing up and their heart-rates rising.

         As if responding to some hidden signal, the doors of the van opened, revealing several figures cloaked in black shade. Clown car-style, the aptly named Shadow Men emerged in their standard single-file formation, this time dressed in dark sweaters and snow caps. Once the four thugs had lined up in front of the Toy Mill, the fifth occupant of the vehicle made his appearance, his silver hair and sliverly smile always recognizable. Justin smiled condescendingly at his friend-turned-enemy, and Andy felt a snarl rise in the back of his throat at the inferred disrespect.

         The two groups faced each other in the middle of the street, with Andy and Mari meeting them halfway as a show of strength. Justin walked in front of his team, straightening his black-leather jacket as if he was some sort of greaser instead of the richest boy in middle school. "So you're here to stop us?" he taunted, flicking a lock of slick, shining hair to one side. "You're already too late. Even if you've figured out this much, you can't stop the migration of the wolf pack."

          "Can it, doof!" Mari snapped, falling into her Double Helix fighting stance. "Let's do what we came for, so I can get back and wash my hair of you guys."

          With the slightest tilt of his head, Justin looked to Andy for his answer. "Champion?" he prodded, a lone canine peeking from his upper lip.

         And Andy shifted into his own version of the Double Helix stance. "We're going to stand and fight," he stated, gritting his teeth. "Take your best shot!"

         Justin shrugged, then stepped to the side. The Shadow Men moved forward, and then the two groups merged into controlled chaos.

         Mari was the first to rush her assailants, her hair trailing behind her like a verdant blaze. "Andy, I'll take these four!" she shouted, falling towards the first Shadow Man with an elbow thrust. "You go after Justin!"

         Andy's breath was taken away by the girl's fire of violence as she began throwing punches left and right at Justin's entourage. But quickly enough, he turned to face Justin, who beckoned him forth with a curling finger.

         Mari had no more time to tend to her student, as she was soon weaving though a torrent of blows from her well-trained opponents. The Shadow Men had adopted a rough but efficient style, and used their weight and range to strike at the young girl's head, leaving her to bat away their fists with quick motions of her forearms. She knocked away a face-punch, then spun on her heel to cut off a kick to her backside, as two more Shadows prepared another payload of punches. She was starting to get a feel for their fighting patterns and was transitioning to a style that balanced attack and defense, the cornerstone of the Double Helix philosophy.

         Beginning with a backhand that stung the Shadow Man with sharp pain, Mari augmented her blocks with a series of well-timed strikes, causing the others to back away and clearing a little room for herself. She had enough space now to try a spinning side kick, but this was caught by the formidable reflexes of her intended target. The Shadow Man sneered, and attempted to toss her down for a rendezvous with the cold, hard pavement. Mari was quick as a cat, though, and managed to land on her feet, just in time to throw up her guard against another wave of punches.

         Meanwhile, Andy was squaring off against Justin, who had adopted a wide battle stance with fingers curled like wolf claws. "This won't go like our last fight," he barked, bearing down on Andy with a crashing comet fist. "Feel my Blaster Rush style!!"

         Andy gasped, and brought up his arms to ward off the blow. He succeeded in dampening the impact, but was soon faced with two whirling backfists that ripped through the air. Owing to the fruits of his training, he was able to evade both these attacks, and edged out of the way of the high kick that Justin was following up with. He let out a growl, and aimed to take the fight to Justin before he achieved dominance.

         Andy whipped forward in a series of spin kicks, forcing Justin to step back to clear his opponent's heels. The silver-haired lad countered with an attempted uppercut, which Andy dodged and met with a right hook that nicked Justin's shoulder. The two continued to trade blows, ax kick versus body blow, face jab versus knee strike. Andy saw an opportunity after Justin's failed side kick, and broke the space between them with a titanic punch that caught Justin straight on the mouth, sending him stumbling back onto the sidewalk.

         The rich boy swore under his breath, spitting out a clot of blood from his torn lip. "Pretty good, Champion," he conceded begrudgingly, getting back into his Blaster Rush stance. "I forgot that you hit pretty hard for a newbie."

         Andy said nothing, but chanced a glance at the other battle, where Mari was finishing mopping up her opponents. Three of the four Shadow Men were down, leaving the last one backing away from the teenage terror that had dominated the fight pretty handily. Mari stared down her final foe, then fell back on one hand, having stored enough chi to push off in a spiraling, flying kick straight towards the man's stomach. "FALCON SLIDE!!!" she hollered, as her twisting foot made contact and sent the Shadow Man flying away, with Mari back-flipping off his check and into a crouch, hissing like a lioness defending her young.

         Andy let out a rough breath of air, awestruck with the hot-blooded beauty he had chosen as his personal trainer and personal crush. Even after watching her train at the planetarium all those times, it still struck him by surprise whenever he bore witness to what she was truly capable of.

         Justin was closing in again, and Andy refocused his attention on his rival. Mari's show of force had redoubled his conviction, and he gnashed his teeth in preparation for his next move. If Mari can do this much by herself, than I've gotta try it! he told himself, taking a step back to give himself a little space. Summoning up his chi in an instant, he found his technique was going much smoother than before, the now-familiar currents of energy coalescing around his knuckles.

         "...VITAL GUN!!!" Andy called out, and a coral-colored chi bullet blasted from his flung fists, shooting forward with a missile's sense of inevitability. Or perhaps not so inevitable. Justin stood against the fires, and took on the bolt with his forearms, the velocity of the projectile sending him sliding back in a straight line along the pavement. And when the sparks had dissipated, the silver-haired boy was still standing firm, grinning even as we winced from the sudden impact.

         "Nice trick," he crowed, huffing and puffing as he got back into his characteristic fighting stance. "Now, have a little taste of my own!"

         Andy gulped; this wasn't going off as planned, even though he had executed the move perfectly. He had mastered the Vital Gun after just one day, but it was not enough to compete with Justin's Blaster Rush style. The boy had apparently been waiting for the day they would fight again, and had put his time into training with the martial arts instructors hired by his father. Still, Andy prepared a defense, hoping he could counter whatever Justin threw at him.

         But before the two could resume fighting, a soft voice broke through the Starlight City night. "Stop!!" it cried, extinguishing the heat of battle like a cool glass of water over smoldering coals.

         Andy, Mari, and Justin turned towards the new arrival, dropping their fighting stances. Phoebe was running towards them, wearing a coat crookedly on her tiny frame like she had just put it on. "Mari, Andy, don't get into any more trouble on my account!" the toy-maker gasped, tired from her exertion. "It doesn't matter anymore!"

         "Huh?" Andy goggled at the girl, left without a clue as to what she was implying. "Phoebe, we're fighting for your shop! How can you say it doesn't matter?"

         "Because..." She lowered her head, her bangs overshadowing her face. "...I've signed away my shop to Bishop Corporation."

         "Phoebs...!" Mari gasped, putting a hand to her mouth. Phoebe said nothing in response to the obvious shame of this agreement.

         "It is just as the young lady claims," a lower voice broke in, a voice that was used to asserting itself in all manner of situations. From the other end of the street, next to the limo that had rode up while the fighters were still engrossed in combat, Cornelius Bishop waltzed onto the scene, his great girth and slurmy smile complimenting each other perfectly. "Dear Phoebe has seen the light, and has agreed to make her shop a part of our illustrious organization," he explained, motioning to the forlorn girl as if she were a special guest at one of his parties. "She'll be working for us from now on."

         "You're letting those B-Co jerks have their way?!" Mari exclaimed, turning to Phoebe with an anger that seemed to fly in all directions. "How could you do that, Phoebe?"

          "I just couldn't fight anymore," Phoebe confessed, not willing to meet Mari's eyes. "Bishop Corporation is powerful, too powerful for a small-time shop owner to oppose. I don't want to see this escalate anymore. And this way, I'll still have a way to make my old toys, like before."

         "When B-Co isn't working you to death making guns!" Mari slammed her fist on her thigh in anger. "Yeah, I know B-Co wants you to make weapons for them, and I know you don't like making them! Are you really going to be satisfied with this, Phoebs?"

         "It's a trade-off," she admitted sadly. "I'm not just a toy-maker, after all."

         Andy snarled at this outcome, and turned to face Cornelius. "Even back when Justin and I were friends, I thought there was something wrong about you." he spat out, feeling his entire body starting to shake. "My friend Tarah sensed it too. Now I know you're the scum we always thought you were. I feel sick."

         "I am the winner," Cornelius said evenly. "That is all that matters in the present, and in the future. You're young, and haven't realized it yet. But your values are only as good as your power, and you will learn that soon enough."

         Andy stared down the powerful man, not wanting to give him any satisfaction.

         "TWISTER WAVE!!!" and a thundering voice broke out from the left, along with twin, rotating swirls of violet energy. Andy was too late to respond, and took the missile attack head on, flying back to impact the pavement with a rough clunking sound. "G-Gah!" Gritting his teeth in pain, he looked up to find Justin looming over him, who was just finishing up the follow-through of his chi attack. Andy hazily noted that it was a dual-handed technique, with arms moving in opposite directions like some sort of vice.

         "You lose, Champion," Justin mocked, adding a sarcastic edge to the word "Champion."

         "Andy, are you okay?" Mari cried out at her fallen friend, rushing to his aid. As she cradled his head in her arms, she turned towards Cornelius and Justin with a look of pure wrath. "You jackasses!" she snarled, gnashing her teeth hard enough to strain her jaw. "I won't forget this!"

         But the Bishop father and son were already walking to the limo that was waiting for them down the road. The Shadow Men had recovered, and were following after them with varying degrees of limping (to Andy's slight satisfaction). Phoebe approached the two with a guilty look in her eyes, frowning at the boy's pain. Kneeling over Andy, she reached behind her for the bag she had slung over her shoulder and pulled out its contents; a novelty lightning globe and a green caterpillar plush.

         "Thanks for trying, Andy," she told him, placing the items in his arms with a weak attempt at a smile.

         "Phoebe!" Mari cried, a small tear coming unbidden to her eyes.

         Without another word, Phoebe stood up, and prepared to join Cornelius and Justin at to the limo. Together, the three of them entered the vehicle, with the limo driver rolling up the windows to hide them from view. The Shadow Men proceeded back into their own van, the one in the driver's seat starting up the engine and trying to hold the wheel so that it didn't hurt the hand Mari had fractured. Thirty seconds later, both the limo and the van had disappeared, leaving Andy and Mari to nurse battered bones and broken spirits, as the first rays of sunlight broke through the darkness of the horrible night.

*****

         The early morning's vibrant glow bathed Starlight City's skyscrapers in a wash of oranges, violets, and reds. The chrome framework and tinted windows of the building reflected both the Friday sky and the two teens that walked down the streets, who were moving slowly despite the lack of fellow pedestrians. Traffic was still down to a trickle, with even the early risers grabbing a few more Zs before punching the clock for another workday. It made for a lonely, quiet city, but perfect for those who needed to walk off a few injuries, both to the body and soul.

         Andy and Mari were silent as they traveled together, their heads lowered almost to the point where they couldn't see straight ahead. Mari was rubbing a small cut on the side of her cheek where one of the Shadow Men managed to nick her with a particularly hard right. Andy, for his part, was fuming, muttering to himself even as he winced from the chi blast Justin had laid upon him. Between the two of them, it was anyone's guess on who would bring up their loss first.

         Which Andy did, after a fashion, by slamming his fist into a parking meter.

         "Cheez, Andy!" Mari cried, taking a step back from the turbulent teen. "Mellow out a bit, 'kay!"

         "Dammit!" Andy bit out, ignoring the girl and the pain from the punch. "I can't believe this! We could've done it! Why...why did Phoebe have to fold like that?"

         "Well it's not like I'm feeling any better about it!" Mari snapped, as if tuned into the source of his anger. "She's my friend, you know. We just need to let it go and deal for now."

         "How can you say that, Mari?" Andy turned on her with a frown, surprised by this quitter attitude. "Deal with it? Phoebe's going to have to work for those guys now. Who knows what they'll make her do?"

         She sighed wearily. "It's out of our hands now." she told him. "We did the best we could. I wish Phoebe had more faith in us, but she made her own choice. We'll have to wait until next time to take on B-Co, and help Phoebe out when we have a chance."

         "But we lost..." Andy moaned, the fight inside him draining as he came to terms with cold, hard reality. "I...I hate losing."

         "Everyone loses from time to time." Mari managed to muster up a slight smile. "It doesn't mean you'll never get a chance to try again. I know you can't stand unfinished business, and I know you care about people in general. But sometimes, the lights of Starlight City need to align before you get a good opportunity." She rolled her eyes, her voice dropping a few octaves. "At least that's what I'm telling myself, anyway. Cornelius is a total jerk."

         Andy laughed bitterly, then tensed up as a pulse of pain shot through him. He pulled up his shirt and rubbed his stomach, which was now sporting a large red welt from where Justin's Twister Wave had crashed into it. "Man, he really nailed me," he groaned, half to himself. "Can't believe Justin and I used to be friends."

         "But that was a good Vital Gun you pulled off," Mari mentioned as an aside, smiling at him. "With that kind of on-the-job experience, you'll be able to pay him back three-fold when he shows up next time looking for trouble."

         "Besides..." Her eyes fell to the two objects Andy was carrying. "There's still one thing you can do."

         Andy looked down at the plasma globe and the stuffed caterpillar propped in the crook of his arm, spacing out for a moment. Upon realizing what Mari meant, a small smile came unbidden to his lips, and he gave the caterpillar a secure little squeeze, as if to remind himself that it was still there.

*****

         "It's great that you guys could visit me today," Tarah chimed, trying to keep the thermometer in her mouth as she talked. "But why are you so dirty, Andrew? Did you run into a tusk-boar on the Emerald Veldt, and get chased off its territory? Those are really tough, you know."

         Andy smiled at her, glad to see someone in good spirits today. "It's a long story, Tarah," he said, shaking his head.

         "We'll tell you later, when you're feeling better," Mari agreed from her place at the door to Tarah's room.

         "Oh, but I'm feeling much better now!" Tarah beamed, rising up in her bed. "Want to watch Unusual Affinities on the Animal Channel with me? It explains the animal behavior really well, so even Mari can understand it. I know she's kind of dumb at science, since I tutor her."

         "Oh, well thanks a lot!" Mari grumbled, snorting out her protests. "So glad I showed up..." Andy suppressed a laugh; Tarah always had a certain way of cutting to the chase.

         "Actually, we have something for you," the boy said, as he approached her bedside Revealing the object he had hidden behind his back, he handed it to her with a somewhat bashful grin. "I got this caterpillar toy that I thought you'd like. We...don't know if the store we got it from will open again, but I thought this would cheer you up a bit."

         Tarah's smile was like a thousand sunrises. "Oh neato!" she cheered, taking the doll from his hands and hugging it to her chest. "You really know me now! Thank you so much, Andrew!" With one hand she straightened her glasses to get a better look at it. "And it's green, like you!"

         "Huh?" Andy blinked, cocking his head at the remark.

         "Yeah!" Tarah nodded, leaning forward. "Your green hair's the best!"

         Propping herself up with her hands, she took the thermometer out of her mouth and burst forward to give Andy a quick kiss on the cheek. Andy started a bit at this, but found himself smiling even through his blush. He turned to Mari, who was leaning on the door frame giving him a thumbs-up. And he figured: if he could still be a hero in Tarah's eyes, and if he still hadn't failed her and Mari, he could stand up to a few low blows from Life.

                             END