"So, what do you think, PGS?"

Zoe asked the giant arachnid as she once again found herself in his office. The principal gave the script thoroughly and as soon as he finished, he turned to Zoe

PGS: I knew asking you was a good idea

The girl mentally cheered, lifting a tentacle or two one excitement

PGS: I must ask, how did you come up with something like this in such a short time?

Zoe perked at this question

Zoe: Well...

- - -

"Y/N...Y/N wake up you...you sexy bastard"

Zoe mumbled as she walked up to the couch where you had long passed out, your hair was a mess and you were pretty much drooling

It was 3:40 am, the coffee was completely drained, and the music had long been replaced by just white noise

But she had

Finally

Completed

THE ADAPTATION

Not a single one of PGS's rules was broken in this version. She checked thirty-three times

The eldritch being was still new to a lot of concepts, exhaustion and general restlessness being one of them, yet she fought tooth, nail, and tentacle to make her way to you

Before she knew it, she fell face-first into the couch, but she woke you up, so there's that

You: What? Where?

- - -

Zoe: I guess I was just inspired

The principal leaned back in his chair with a nod

PGS: Very well, you can proceed now. Turn it into the magnificent play the school need--I mean, that I know you can deliver

Zoe: About that...

She placed the script in her backpack before she leaned forward in her chair

Zoe: Will the school help me get the supplies I'll need for this?

PGS: Pardon me?

Zoe: You know, props, costumes, all that jazz

This comment got quite a laugh from the principal. She could've sworn he's never laughed this hard, and it was disconcerting, to say the least
...

Zoe was pushed out of the principal's office and the doors immediately closed behind her

She turned around and banged on the door

Zoe: SERIOUSLY?! COME ON!

But she wasn't having any of that bullshit! No sir! Zoe kicked the door open, but the office was now empty, and the window was left open

A frustrated groan left the girl's many mouths, and she rubbed her temples in an attempt not to thrash the entire office. I wouldn't blame her though, the spider literally jumped out the window on her

Zoe: You're doing it for the extra credit and the five bucks, Zoe. Think about all the cool things you could buy with five bucks

Brian: It is five bucks

Zoe jumped back and shrieked at the sudden appearance of the zombie man, breaking every window in the process

...

Without further guidance from the school (or any help for that matter), Zoe mobilized her own resources, the damn best agents she's ever known
---

A distant scream could be heard as students went about their day when suddenly, Vicky appeared from around the corner

"EVERYONEEEEE"

With a frantic pace, she darted across the hall in an attempt to get the attention of whoever was near

Vicky: NO TIME TO EXPLAIN! GET TO THE LIBRARY!!

She scared the shit out of everyone around her, but at least they listened to her carefully crafted message

--

A mermaid opened her locker in hopes to retrieve her book for the next class but found herself screaming in terror when she found a head instead

Brian's head, to be precise

Brian: Hey, get to the library

She continued to scream as she closed the locker, earning a groan from the head

"Could you get me out of here at least?"

--

A group of students was studying in the classroom when colorless zombies crashed through the windows, growling and screaming at them

Shortly after, you emerged with glowing eyes

You: LIBRARY. NOW

The students didn't scream, however, but gave you an odd look instead

You stopped floating and your eyes returned to their normal color

You:...please?

Smiling, they got up and left the room. At least that one worked
--

At the cafeteria, the monsters feasted to their heart's content, when the doors burst open and a wild Polly appeared

With a grin, she marched toward one of the tables and got on it

The ghost cleared her throat before she threw her arms in the air

Polly: EVERYONE, ARE YOU READY TO PARTY?!

The students cheered wildly as Polly laughed, but her laughter came to a stop when something crossed her mind

Polly: Wait no, it wasn't a party

She checked her phone for the reminder you had sent her and then returned to address the people

Polly: Scratch that, everyone get to the library!

???: Is there a party at the library?

Polly looked at the skeleton who asked and shrugged. If it works, it works

--

For some reason, a party began in the library, but Zoe still managed to get the attention of the people long enough to get her message across

Zoe: Thanks for coming, everyone! We really, really, reeeeeeeally need your help... really

Someone from the crowd raised their hand

???: Is this about the party?

Confused, Zoe looked at you but you just shrugged

Zoe: Uhh, no

???: Boo!!

A wave of mumbling followed that, and the crowd was already scattering, forcing Zoe into emergency mode, her breathing got heavier as her tentacles freaked out

Zoe: Wait! No no no please, just hear me out!

This plea fell on deaf ears, and in the case of some monsters, no ears at all

You: He--

Zoe: COME BACK RIGHT NOW YOU SELFISH BAGS OF FLESH BEFORE I TURN YOU INSIDE OUT AND FEED ON YOUR BONES

With wide eyes, you turned to Zoe only to find a giant glowing red eye and a significant spike in the number of teeth and mouths she had. However, she gasped when she found you wrapping your arms around her in an attempt to calm her down

Still, your gaze was fixed on the crowd. Good! Zoe wouldn't want you to see the blushing mess she was right now

You: Zoe got tasked with producing a play because PGS wants to impress someone that will be visiting us

Then, the zombie stepped in

Brian: But he chose to jump out of a window rather than provide any tools for the task

???: Of course the school won't provide anything. They haven't fixed the lights in years. The bathrooms too

The students in the crowd stepped aside to let this other monster through. The voice was one you were quite familiar with

It was, of course, the voice of one Vera Oberlin

I definitely didn't get paid to use a better image for her than the game art. What are you talking about?

Ahem

Vera placed her hands on her hips as she looked straight at Zoe

Vera: Tell me, Zoe, what do you get out of this?

You let go of Zoe as she stepped forward

Zoe: Extra credit and five bucks

A lot of gasps and whispers came from the surprised crowd, well at least from those who didn't run away from Zoe after her outburst

???: DUDE!! NO WAY!!

???: Woah! Talk about a reward!

???: Yeah! That's like, more than four!

Pretty much everyone but Vera was amazed by this. She just pinched the bridge of her nose

Vera: Zoe, honey, we need to talk about your negotiation skills

But then, she placed a hand on her shoulder...and smiled

Vera: But I know how hard it is for you to do something like this, so the least we can do is hear you out

Stars appeared in the eldritch girl's eyes at the comment, more than that, who it came from. That's when another friend of the group approached, a cute (and murderous) mermaid princess known as Miranda

She clapped with the same optimism she was known for

Miranda: Yes, Zoe! Please tell us what story are you going to bring to life

Zoe: Uhh...

She turned to you, finding the four of you giving her a thumbs up, so she cleared her throat and looked back at the girls. With these two, it felt like she was pitching her story all over again, but she was determined to get it right this time

Zoe: Well, it's about two monsters who go build this glorious criminal empire and catch feelings for each other along the way. They are unflinching in the face of danger but can't bring themselves to confess to one another

Vicky: And they dress fancy!

Zoe: And they dress fancy

The two girls stood there for a moment. Every second that went by, it only became worse for the novice playwright

Vera: I must say it feels... familiar, but has a lot of charm. I can relate to the struggles of building an empire (not the criminal part, you legally can't prove anything)

Miranda: It's such a heartfelt story too, seeing as they're afraid of exposing their true feelings for the sake of professionalism!

The princess placed a hand on her chin as she turned to her friend

Miranda: And you say you're lacking funds to bring this wonderful vision of yours to life?

Brian: Amongst other things, like all the props or the actors

Vera: Why didn't you ask me to help you with it?

That's when you stepped in with crossed arms

You: Vera?

Vera: Hm?

You: You know I love you

Vera: Hm

You: That being said, you'd probably find a way to blackmail us into paying triple the amount

The gorgon laughed loudly at your comment, making the others stare at her. Some found it funny, some others, quite unnerving

Once the laughter finally died down, she wiped a tear and looked at you

Vera: Yes, yes I would

Fortunately, another rich friend stepped in one that didn't care about investing her wealth

Miranda: Zoe, I have decided to allow my serfs to help you produce this play

Zoe: YAY!

Miranda: On the condition, you let me play a part in it

There was a brief moment of silence after that. Miranda did enjoy the theater

Zoe: Are you sure? I mean! Sure! I'd be honored

This got a smile from the oblivious monster, who wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pointed at the sky

Miranda: In that case, let us get to work! Monsterkind is depending on our success!

It really wasn't, but she had the spirit

...

Miranda kept true to her word and enlisted her army of serfs to help create whatever Zoe needed for her play to be a success (otherwise they'd face execution), and given how much time was left, you'd think she would be happy to get some progress done

BUT YOU'D BE WRONG!!

Because now that she had gotten past this issue, it became all the more clear to her that she had no idea how to manage any of this

The eldritch being made her way through the auditorium, where all her crew were hard at work...and full of questions too

???: Hey, Zoe, over here

She looked up to find Brian building a restaurant set with the serfs Miranda provided. Ironically, Brian seemed to be the most alive out of the crew

Zoe: Uh, yeah?

Brian: The serfs want to know what type of floor pattern you want for the dinner part. I told them the floor wouldn't be noticeable but they insisted

A giant fish appeared next to him and held up two options, one was a checkered pattern and the other was a Nyan cat design

Zoe: Uhh...I...

Suddenly, she was grabbed by another monster, forcing her out of the decision, only to get her into another one

Vicky: There you are! I've been looking all over for you, Z

Zoe: You have? What's wrong?

Vicky: There are about three people that auditioned for the role of Gunbozo the clown and I need your help to decide who gets the role

Zoe started to sweat at the piling dilemmas, yet she accompanied Vicky backstage

But then, a small truck trove by, filled with condoms. Of course, Polly was driving said truck, and she stopped right next to the director

Polly: Hey, boo. Where do you want the "balloons"?

Zoe tilted her head at her

Zoe: What?

Polly: You know, the balloons! You said you needed a lot of them

The girl's many eyes went wide when she understood what the ghost meant. She grabbed the sides of her head and groaned

Zoe: Not that kind of balloon! Where do you even get those from?

Polly: A magician never reveals her secrets

Such a statement was followed by a wink

Polly: Why do you need these for anyway?

Zoe: We were gonna use them as guns!

Polly: Guns?

Zoe: Yeah! You know, like...clowns?... and...

Another groan of frustration left her lips as she started to feel lightheaded from everything that was happening, with cold sweat slowly making itself visible

You were taking Vera's measurements for her costume and taking notes of the little details she wanted to add

What? You didn't know you knew about fashion design? There's plenty you don't know, even about yourself!

While this happened, two of your friends studying nearby

Damien: How many lines do I get?

Liam: Nineteen

Damien: Nineteen?

Vera: Stop saying Nineteen

But before this joke could be completed for the second time, you caught a glimpse of Zoe holding her stomach and looking generally bad

Not even in the "bad" way that is a compliment for a monster, but genuinely sick

Polly: Imma just...leave them over there

Polly drove the truck away from the scene, a crash could be heard in the background

You: Hold on. There's something wrong here

So you handed Liam your clipboard before you made your way to the director

You: Hey Z, are you feeling alright?

Zoe gave you a nauseous look before Vicky approached her

Vicky: Zoe? They're waiting for us and-- woah! Are you okay?

But of course, she was not okay, so many questions that she didn't have the answer to were quick to get in her head. Zoe dropped to her knees with a growl. Her tentacles swirled around in an irregular pattern

Vicky: Zo--

Suddenly, Zoe turned to her and threw up a soul with such force it blasted Vicky a few feet. Since when does she do that?

A bunch of monsters showed up to see what the commotion was about, with Brian helping Vicky back on her feet while you made Zoe rest her head on your lap

Brian: Vi, are you okay?

The stitched-up monster slowly turned to look at him and grinned maniacally

Vicky (?): 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕗𝕣𝕖𝕖! 𝔽𝕣𝕖𝕖 𝕒𝕥 𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕥!

Uhh, what?

Vicky's eyes glowed a menacing blue and the lights began to flicker as she seemingly absorbed the energy, and then she started to float

SINCE WHEN DOES SHE DO THAT?!

Okay, that's not Vicky: 𝔽𝕣𝕖𝕖 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕞𝕪 𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕠𝕟𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟 𝕤𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕒 𝕙𝕠𝕣𝕣𝕚𝕗𝕪𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕦𝕟𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕖!

OH CRAP! SHE'S GONE AWOL!!

You shielded Zoe from the excess of light, but when you looked at Vicky, you noticed there were two should instead of one

You: Aw, shit. She got possessed!

A wicked laugh echoed through the auditorium before Vicky used the energy to fly away from the scene supervillain style

Vera: What the fuck was that?!

Damien: Since when is Vicky a badass?

A weak groan from Zoe caught your attention before she attempted to grab you by the collar of your shirt

Zoe: Need my...my creativity back...help

Zoe pretty much collapsed after saying that. Looks like you were going ghost-busting

(THEME SONG NOT AVAILABLE)

You gently put Zoe's head on the floor so she could rest and turned to Brian

You: I gotta go get that ghost back. She needs it

Brian: Okay

You: Keep Zoe's frail creativity safe while I get back

Brian: Okay

And so, after that heartfelt goodbye, you got up and ran away from the auditorium as fast as you could, kicking the door open on your way out

Thanks to your wicked skills as a Necromancer, you could also detect and track souls down, so you knew where to go, but he was getting away fast, like, really fucking fast

And that's why as you ran, you whistled with all your might (not to reinforce stereotypes or anything), and your trusty broom rushed to your aid, flying at high speeds to keep up with you until you jumped on it

You: Hi-Ho, Silver! We got a soul to catch!

Your broom neighed powerfully as you got on, and thanks to its mighty speed, you darted across the hall in no time...or at least until you turned around the corner and were brutally stopped by a spell

???: I should've known you'd be behind this

Before you stood none other than Hope Halko, a member of the school's coven and perhaps most shocking of all, your stepsister!

BACKSTORY TIME! OH YEAH BABY!!

Hope's father took you in as a kid the moment you showed magical prowess of your own (you tried to mug them using a zombie) and trained you to hone your abilities while teaching you morality

Problem is...you never did become "good" morally speaking, not exactly

Don't believe me? Just remember what you do for a living

This of course made Hope and her friends, the other two witches that make the Coven, grow angry at your reckless use of magic while they're out, you know, SAVING THE WORLD

Plus you were sort of a minor villain in their story, season two if I recall correctly

Luckily, this time it was just Hope

You: Listen, I really need to catch this wayward soul before it's too late. Get on or get out of the way

She crossed her arms and raised a brow at you. Oh, the sisterly judgment

Hope: What did you do?

You: Nothing! Now come on!

The witch groaned before she jumped on and held on to your waist as the chase continued

You zoomed through the hall, past the cafeteria, and even one or two dungeons you didn't know the school had

Guess now you knew where missing students ended up

Hope: Okay, now would be a good time to tell me what is going on

You: Okay so, Zoe--

Hope: Your girlfriend

You: Don't even, Ms. "I have to deliver this package to Damien"

She slapped your shoulder out of annoyance

Hope: It's not like that and you know it!

You: Anyway, Zoe accidentally barfed a spirit and we need it to save her creativity. Judging by the font he uses to speak I'd wager he's an author or something

Hope: Does this have something to do with the party at the library?

You: Why does everyone...you know what, whatever

Suddenly, lightning struck alarmingly near you and the resulting explosion sent you both flying out of your already-flying broom

You got up to see your attacker already charging up another strike

...ngl that looks kinda sick

Not-Vicky: ℍ𝕖𝕖𝕕 𝕞𝕪 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕤, 𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕤𝕒𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕟𝕒𝕞𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕙𝕠𝕣𝕣𝕠𝕣, 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕀 𝕤𝕙𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕔𝕙𝕖𝕕 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕖!

Hope: Watch out!

She raised a glowing hand right as another lightning struck you, only this time, it did nothing

When you looked down, you found yourself wearing rubber gloves and boots. Huh, neat!

Not Vicky: 𝕆𝕙 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕠𝕟!

You leaped over another strike and landed next to Hope, conjuring a shield for you both

Hope: What's the plan?

You: Distract her, er, him...them?

The spirit stopped the attack for a moment to give you a nod

Not-Vicky: 𝕀 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕜 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕩𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞 𝕚𝕤 𝕔𝕠𝕣𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕥, 𝕪𝕖𝕤

You: Right. Thank you

Not-Vicky: 𝕆𝕗 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕖!

They resumed their cool and powerful lightning attack on you shortly after, still held back by your shield

You cleared your throat before turning to your stepsister

You: Distract them, I know exactly how to get the soul back

With a grin, you turned to the manic entity

...

While this happened, horrors beyond the wildest imagination took place in the auditorium

Polly got Zoe to lie on an emergency couch the serfs brought, keeping an eye on her friend until you got back with that soul

Damien took over as a guide for the actors and casting whoever was missing while Vera strictly directed the production of props and sets

The show had to go on, and sadly, Zoe had to puke a soul for people to realize how much pressure she was under

But the one who had the most difficult, heart-shattering, soul-crushing duty, was Brian

For this noble being held at bay the most terrible of creatures Spooky High has ever known

Leonard

"No? What do you mean no?!"

Brian: It means no, dude

The zombie stood before the kappa, who was furiously demanding to be let backstage

Leonard: You have to let me through! Zoe has to know how ridiculous is to have a smart and powerful woman as a protagonist!

Brian: No

Leonard: You don't understand! I'm trying to do her a favor! People will feel much more comfortable if only the male protagonist is the competent one. It just makes sense!

Brian: No

Leonard: Women can't write a good story with the emotional depth and beloved characters like a guy can! It's just not possible! What do they know about building suspense or their own characters? Clearly, they don't know what a plot is

He threw his hands in the air as the rant continued

Leonard: They probably think it's something to do with flowers or some shit. And their idea of romance is so stupid. The main character should have a harem of babes instead of just one girl he "loves"

Suddenly, he turned around and grabbed Brian by his shirt with nothing but fire in his weirdly-shaped eyes

Leonard: And why should the main character have to have consequences for his actions? He's the main character, not some noob. Seriously, this is just a bunch of lala lolo crap. DISGUSTING

The aquatic creature stared at Brian with breath beyond ragged, waiting for an answer, anything!

But Brian simply smacked him in the back of his head, knocking Leonard out for good

Despite Brian's palpable terror, he managed to compose himself long enough to act and end this reign of terror

Absolutely horrifying

...

The spirit screamed as they unleashed every bit of energy into this attack, creating a massive cloud of smoke

They breathed like a rabid animal, with this maniacal grin on their face at the display of power

When the smoke cleared, however, only two dolls stood where you once were, well, Doll Hope kinda fell over, but still

You: TAKE THIS!!

From thin air, Hope uncloaked both of you just as the monster turned around and when he did, you landed a devastating blow to their heart. It was so powerful that it punched the extra soul out of the body

Holy shit that actually worked...I mean! Yeah, of course. You were not improvising based on a movie you saw

You: Now!

Hope took out the jar she totally carried around before

Not-Vicky: ℕ𝕠, 𝕟𝕠! 𝕀 ℝ𝔼𝔽𝕌𝕊𝔼 𝕋𝕆 𝔹𝔼 ℂ𝔸𝔾𝔼𝔻 𝔸𝔾𝔸𝕀ℕ

She lunged at him in an attempt to capture the ghost, only for it to elude the witch and fly away at high speeds

Not wasting a second, you whistled and summoned your broom

...

The cheers of little kids echoed through the pizzeria at the sight of their favorite characters on stage. Raymond The Raccoon and his magical friends waved at them

Raymond: ɪ ʜᴏᴘᴇ ʏᴏᴜ'ᴠᴇ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏᴇᴅ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴍᴇᴀʟ, ᴋɪᴅᴅɪᴇꜱ!

The kids cheered once again as Raymond prepared to play his iconic xylophone

Raymond: ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴏɴ--ᴀᴄᴋ!

The animatronic raccoon stopped abruptly when a spirit entered it. The robot looked down at its own hands, its eyes glowed with new life

Not-Raymond: 𝕀 𝕤𝕦𝕡𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤'𝕝𝕝 𝕕𝕠. 𝕐𝕖𝕤, 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤'𝕝𝕝 𝕕𝕠 𝕟𝕚𝕔𝕖𝕝𝕪

Before he could even do anything, Hope and you made a dramatic entrance by crashing through the wall. Your broom neighed once again before you dismounted it

Hope opened her jar and gave the animatronic a menacing glare

Hope: HALT!

You cast a spell and decomposed hands brutally emerged from the ground and lunged at him with such force that they started to tear him apart

Not-Raymond: ℕ𝕆!! ℙ𝕃𝔼𝔸𝕊𝔼, 𝕀 𝔹𝔼𝔾 𝕐𝕆𝕌!!

But you did not listen, for this sequence had lasted long enough, and instead clenched your fist, causing even more zombies to attack the animatronic

The children could only watch in horror as their beloved icon was torn to shreds by magically reanimated corpses

As soon as the chest was exposed and the soul was forced to leave the body, it was immediately trapped in the jar Hope had enchanted. She even shook it a few times for good measure

You: Finally!

Hope: Yeah!

You shared a look and jumped in for a high five, only to realize the suffocating silence shortly after

When you turned to the audience, you found every child in there staring at you with absolute dread

You'd never seen anyone so traumatized

You: Uhh...

Then, you turned to Hope, whose happiness vanished just as quickly too

You: Can you repair it with a spell?

Hope: Not something so complex! There are too many components

She glanced at the kids and then gave you a worried look

Hope: What do we do?

With a hum, you scratched your chin

You: I got this

You raised a whole zombie with some effort due to how much magic you had used today, and once it was fully up, you places the animatronic's mask on it

On your command, the corpse began to dance and entertain the shocked audience

Before Hope could go on about how terribly dubious this is, you grabbed her hand and made a run for it, but when you reached for your broom, another voice filled your ears, one that you were reeeeeally hoping not to hear right now

???: H...Heyyyy, Y/N. Praised be to you for your unholy wisdom and stuff

When you turned around, you found the cult already gathering around you- Talk about bad timing

Hope tilted her head at them and turned to you

Hope: You're in a cult now?

You: It's a long story

Then, you addressed the robed figures

You: It's not a good time, guys

???: Actually, we were wondering if you could help us with something. It's crucial

Seeing as they closed in on you, you knew they wouldn't take no for an answer, so you handed the broom to Hope

You: Please get this back to the auditorium as fast as you can. I'll take care of this

Hope: But--

You: I'll give you five bucks if you do it

Hope: DEAL!

She mounted the broom without another word and got the FUCK out of the scene. You were counting on her to get this back to Zoe, and you certainly couldn't lead the cult to her in her current state

You: Okay, get to the point

The cultist in front nodded

???: Well, we took your advice and expanded our minds, sacrificing our invaluable prejudices

You: Sweet

???: The problem is, we might have expanded it to the point roles of leadership are now being debated

You: Oh no! Anyway, I have to go

You turned around to leave, only for your arm to be grabbed by one of them

???: We need your assistance more than ever!

With a groan, you nodded and stepped back

???: Some say that he or she who worships Zoe the most is eligible for becoming Grandmaster, while some others say it should be he or she who knows the most about our unholy master. Some say it should be he or she who stands in front!

The cultist who said that got ahold of his head and turned to you

???: Can you see why we require your help, oh, prophet?

They did sound quite distressed, but right now you couldn't afford to feel empathy! You were already pouring all of it into Zoe and here you are! Not helping Zoe!

Maybe there was a way to keep them entertained long enough for the play to happen. You didn't want Zoe to get overwhelmed like that again

You hummed for a moment before a pair of undead hands acted as platforms to elevate you ever so slightly

You: I think I have the answer

Everyone immediately turned to you in ecstatic anticipation. You cleared your throat before you spoke

You: Whoever can write the best song about Zoe will become the grandmaster. It's gotta be epic, like, the best damn song you've ever heard

One of them raised a hand

You: And if you're going to shamelessly rip off an existing song, at least have the decency to change the lyrics

The cultist lowered their hand

You: You have two days. NO LESS, and you must show your results to me, no bothering Zoe in the slightest. Am I cleared?

Everyone: Yes, oh, prophet

You: Sweet! Now get to it

You clapped twice and the hands you were using carried you away, somehow managing to move underground to do so

...

It didn't take long for you to get back to the auditorium. The props and backgrounds had a noticeable upgrade but were not quite finished yet, and some of the crew was still there, even some of the main actors

As you walked up the steps to get to the stage, you found Vera, Zoe, and Brian. A sleeping Vicky was resting on the couch, with Polly resting on her lap

You: Where is... Woah!

You were immediately cut off by a hug from none other than Zoe herself, you found your face heating up at the gesture, something that earned a smile from your friends. Oh, they knew

You: U-Uhh, hi? Did I miss anything?

Vera: That witch Hope came back with the soul Zoe needed 

Brian: And she brought Vicky back

Vera: And she brought Vicky back, yes, but she told us some cultists held you back

Zoe: I'm so sorry about that, they're such a pain in the ass! 

You couldn't help but smile at her, hugging back ever so slightly

You: It's okay, don't worry about it

Then, you broke the hug to look at her

You: How are you feeling?

Zoe: Much better, thank you!

This earned a nod from you

You: I'm sorry if we pushed you too hard

Brian: Yeah, my bad

You: I suppose we are just as lost 

Vera: Not me, I'm never lost

You gave the gorgon a look, then turned back to Zoe

Zoe: It's okay. Sorry for acting out

You: Hey, what do you say we finish directing this thing together? You don't have to decide on everything on your own

The girl's multiple eyes went wide at the suggestion, not sure if you were serious, but when she saw the others smiling as well, she couldn't help but nod frantically

Zoe: Y-Yeah! I'd really like that, thanks, guys!

Brian: Sure

With newfound energy, the eldritch cutie stepped forward and threw her arms in the air

Zoe: Alright, let's do this!

...

And so, with the assistance and input from all of you, Zoe's play made significant progress. Miranda got the serfs to move the backgrounds back to her home so they could work on them overnight, yay! totally not forced labor!

You had to work with some of the crew to turn Polly's "balloons" into actual balloon weapons for that one scene. While this happened, Damien helped to round up the rest of the cast into shape, and one or two rehearsals took place, quite successfully too!

Overall, it was a very successful day. Just what you needed, because holy hell time was running out

In the end, Zoe and you were the last ones to go and walked your way out of the school only to be received by the night. Your chatter was all general goofiness until you reached the front of the school. Zoe took a deep breath before she spoke

Zoe: Hey, Y/N?

You: Hm?

With a tender smile, she turned to yo

Zoe: Thank you so much for your help. I mean it

You: Oh, it's nothing

But she wouldn't allow you to just brush it off like that

Zoe: No, no! You really pulled off a main character moment with the soul and the cult and all that. You...you shouldn't have

She looked away, rubbing her arm

You: Of course I should've 

Then, she turned to you as she tilted her head

Zoe: Why's that?

You immediately froze at the question, that and the slightly unnerving sight of all her eyes looking at you with immense curiosity. Truth to be told, you weren't expecting her to ask you to elaborate 

Crap! What do you do now?

...don't look at me! She's asking you!

You: Why? W-Well I uhh... I just...

You rubbed your neck as you looked away in an attempt to find an excuse, something that made Zoe giggle, seeing as you unknowingly gave her an answer

And in a rare moment of boldness, she leaned over to you and gave you a peck on the cheek like she had seen in her animes. It...it felt good, she knew now why they enjoyed it so much

But then she realized how close she was to you and she IMMEDIATELY jumped back with a strong hint of pink on her face

Zoe: R-Right, see you...uh, see you tomorrow!

She walked away as you waved

You: Yeah! Yeah....yeah

As Zoe walked away, a sudden wave of relief washed over her, and following suit was a big goofy smile

Things were really going as they should

At least for tonight