Sloane's POV

I walk to the park quickly, taking a bus there to get there quicker. I walk up the path and find my friends gathered by the playground. I see my sister standing away from the group, hugging herself tightly while Kelvin stands by her and putting an arm up protectively. I march over to them.

"Sis, you called?"I ask

"Yeah...Erzano and Marcellus are getting into an argument."She replies

"Marcellus was getting crazier and impulsive again."Kelvin says

"Is that why you are blocking her?"I ask

"He was chasing Erzano around with a stick swinging like a lunatic. He nearly hit her so I think it's fair."He responds

I nod.

I swung my bat out, causing Marcellus to get hit in the chest rough enough to stop the chase as he made a sharp turn again.

"Thank you, Marilyn!"Erzano exclaims, clasping his hands together

He stood on shaky legs.

I walk over to him and have him carefully sit on a bench.

"What even started this mess?"I ask

"Kelvin and I came here to play Pokemon Go. Marcellus was running around but then he spoke with Erzano and then the chase began."Flora says

"I was just curious what strange behavior he was doing with the large stick and sphere. I've never seen it before. I asked to befriend him and he started chasing me."Erzano says

"He kept using weird words and when requesting it, his fingers were twitching and he gave me a weird gesture! Where the hell did he come from?"Marcellus snaps, holding his chest

I roll my eyes. Marcellus is such a drama king sometimes.

"Marcellus, you're in high school. You don't chase people with a stick recklessly for anything, no matter your misunderstanding. Apologize to Erzano."I say, shaking my head

"Fine...Sorry, Erzano."He says

"Umm...Just don't do it again, please."Erzano replies

I hear footsteps coming closer. Erzano smiles.

"Rose!"He exclaims, running past me

"Oof! Hey, Erzano! You called me about an issue?"I hear Rosaline say

I turn to see Erzano hugging her eagerly, nuzzling heads with her as she looks at him with concern.

"Marc scared me but Sloane made him sorry! She's nice just like you said!"He says

"Oh...I see. Well, it's good that it's settled then. I was worried. So uM, how do the clothes fit?"She says

"They fit great! It's so comfy too! You truly have a talent, Budikono!"Erzano says, hugging her arm with a bright smile

I took a moment to take in the sight of the outfit, then smiled. He is right. The careful seams and stitching in the clothes make it easy to switch into any outfit from what it seems and is very flexible. It looked like a normal sweater but with a few stitches, it could gain a hood or pockets and become a hoodie. It seemed adaptable to the activities or weather and great care was put into the dazzling pattern on it.

Rosy giggled shyly and thanked him.

I glance over to see Marc clench his fists and his face turn beet red as the two talk. Then I saw a spark behind his heels and quickly a fire grew.

"What the hell?"Kelvin snaps, noticing this as well

"Ooo! A Squirtle!"My sister coos, still playing her game

Kelvin grabs and quickly pulls her up the metal playground structure. Specifically to the steel parts at the highest slide. The fire starts to spread and quickly consumes Marcellus.

"Oh shit! Marcellus how did this even happen?!"I exclaim, taking my jacket off to cover him

"I'm calling Raiden!"Rose says, getting her phone out

Erzano was silent, frozen in place as he watched Marcellus burn.

"What's wrong guys?"Marcellus asks calmly

"What's wrong? What's wrong?! Get down and start rolling, Marc! How do you not feel your body burning?!"I snap at him, trying to pat out the fire with my coat

Marilyn's power would be really helpful right now with that extinguisher!

He looks down at himself engulfed in flames and blinks twice. Then his eyes widen and he jumps backward.

"Why isn't it hurting? How the-?"He shouts, sounding just as confused and panicking

The flames seemed to grow the more panicked he got.

"Okay, just calm down. Take deep breaths, panicking won't help anything. We're here."I say

"Go to the sand pit!"Flora says

I look at her and nod. Using the jacket to keep the fire from me, I pull Marc over to the sand pit. He gets down and starts rolling in the sand. Kelvin runs over and throws a jug of water onto the trail to keep the fire from spreading. I hear a sizzling sound and see that Marc's fire was getting extinguished. His body was covered in ash, sand and dirt now but otherwise, he looked fine. His clothes were intact too somehow. And whatever fire that spread along the ground from him extinguished itself.

"What the hell was that?"He asks aloud

Kelvin and I look at each other.

"Marc, are you sure you weren't hit by the chemicals?"I ask, referring to the school accident

"I mean...It was everywhere yeah....When it exploded, I mean. I dove behind a table and felt an impact but since I didn't show any instant signs like my brother or our friends, I didn't think so....But now I'm not sure."He says, sitting up

"Woah woah woah! Don't move! You could be hurt and not realize it!"Kelvin snaps

He kneels, holding Marc gently to keep him steady.

I ran back over to Rose who was already on the phone.

"Hey, Raiden...You may want to get over here fast. No, you d-definitely will. And your parents. Flora is already c-c-call-calling an ambulance...."She says, physically looking shaken up at what went down within a few minutes

"Oh my God, what did Marcellus do now? Are you guys okay? Does anyone need medical attention?"Raiden shouts through the phone

"That's the thing...Um, Marc didn't exactly do anything but a fire started-"She begins

"A fire? How the hell did he start a fire?"Raiden snaps

"No no! He didn't cause the fire! Well, he doesn't seem like he did! He wasn't looking for trouble! Well he kinda caused it but-"She stutters, trying to get the words out

"EXPLAIN!"He says, sounding even more worried

"Erzano was getting chased by Marc but then the conflict was settled. We were just talking when suddenly a fire started and consumed Marc. We put it and him out but I don't know how he-"She explains

"Say no more. I'm coming and calling my parents!"He says, hanging up

I look over at Erzano, who hadn't moved but looked physically shaken up. His body was trembling and he was gazing off into space, looking horrified. I carefully put a hand on his shoulder and he jolts. He blinks a few times, tears going down his cheeks.

"You okay, Erzano?"I ask

He nods.

"Yeah, just...bad memories...Is he ok?"He sighs

"We're going to find out but he's still conscious so that's good."I say

Sirens of an ambulance could be heard coming after a few minutes. My sister ran down from the structure that Kelvin pulled her to and charged ahead of the trail.

"I see you! He's over here!"She shouts

She guides the paramedics to the sand pit but from behind me, I could hear the bell of a bike ringing. Then the screech of wheels. I turn to see Raiden skirting his bike around a corner and coming to a stop beside me.

"Where's my brother?!"He asks sharply

I point to the paramedics tending to him. He gasps and runs over, ditching the bike and tossing his helmet.

"Marc!"He shouts, quickly beside his brother on his knees

He grabs Marc's hand as the paramedics lift him up onto a stretcher to be taken to the hospital for further check-ups. They could see the evidence of a fire all around so they took it seriously. He quickly followed them into the ambulance. The doors slam shut on us and it rumbles off with lights shining and sirens screaming for cars to move aside.

I look at my sister and those of us that remain. Erzano picks up the bike and puts the helmet on.

"Let's go after them."He says with stern certainty

We look at each other and nod. Flora grabs her bike for two and has me hop on with her. Rosaline and Kelvin hop on her double bike. We started pedaling after the ambulance. Easy to follow with the sound and all the cars parting.

Soon enough we were in a waiting room. It was busy and there were strangers around us with their medical needs. We sat in silence, just waiting to hear something about Marc. As impulsive or troublesome as he is, he's still a friend and Raiden's brother.

"What's going on, guys?"A voice asks

We look over to see Hugo quickly marching over to where we are sitting.

"Umm, we're waiting for Marc. What are you doing here?"Erzano asks

"I went to the park and found signs of a fire. The birds in the area told me that you guys were in trouble and went to the hospital. Is everything OK? What happened?"He asks

"Marc may have been affected by the chemical accident after all. A fire started and got him yet he said it didn't hurt. And when the fire on him went out, so did the rest of the fire without any connection to him."Kelvin explains

He sits down with us, seeming shaken up by the news.

"Oh no...."He says

"We're just waiting to hear the news. Raiden hasn't heard anything and he's outside the operating room that Marc is in."Flora says

He nods.

"I'll join you...Do you guys need anything? I could grab some food."He offers

Flora, Erzano, and Rose's stomachs each growl in response.

"I'll come with to help."Kelvin says

I nod, getting up as well.

"Sis, tell us if anything happens."I tell Flora

She nods.

"Anything specific you want us to find to eat?"Hugo asks

"Not picky. We'll have anything while waiting for answers."Rose says

We nod and start walking through the halls, trying to locate the cafeteria. Kelvin finds a map on the wall and runs over to it. He trails his finger along it, searching carefully.

"Hey! I found it! We're here and we just-"He says, getting cut off by a shove

"Get out of my way, kid."A man says, shoving him aside.

"Hey! I was reading that, Sir!"He says

"Don't talk back to me, you pain in the ass."The man snarls, leaning against the sign to go on his phone

Hugo and I look at each other, knowing that nothing provoked this guy and he's just being an asshole.

He's not even using it! He's being rude for no reason! Ugh if I could smack him I would! How pathetic does an adult have to be to pick on a kid that you don't even know?

"Can I please see the sign? I'm trying to-"Kelvin begins

"I don't care and if you bother me again I'm going to-"The man begins, swinging a fist

Hugo catches his fist and grips it tightly, glaring at the man.

"Don't you dare lay a hand on my friend!"He snaps

He physically towered over this man when he stepped closer. I could hear a growl rumble in his chest and slip out as a warning to this asshole.

"Woah! Okay, chill!"The man says, backing away

"We're in a hospital center, think twice before trying to hurt somebody."He says, snatching my hand and Kelvin's before rushing off

His grip was iron-tight, taking powerful steps and he was breathing heavily. I catch onto his behavior and smirk.

Mrs. Seamore, he may be fit for your daughter a little too well.

"You can let go now."I say

"Oh! Sorry.."He says, releasing our hands

"Thanks, Hugo..."Kelvin says

"No problem. I can smell the food court...Well, besides Sloane's new set, so let's just go."He says

Huh? My new set of what?

I shrug it off and keep walking with him.

"Ya know, I've only seen Marilyn get like that before. Flora and I joke that it's her Mama Mode unleashed. I didn't realize you had a mode like that."I chuckle

He glances at me, his dark eyes seeming to shine at the mention of Marilyn.

"You said you were going to check on Logan. How did that go? I'm assuming well given your new Astrania."He says

"My what?"I say

"You have a set of flowers in your hair. Daisies, daffodils, and astrantias. Daisies are related to knights, daffodils for chivalry and astrantias symbolize courage, strength, and protection."He replies

"Oh...Wait, how do you know all that?"I ask

"You're asking the nature guy how he knows about nature."He chuckles

"True."I say as we reach the food court

We buy various kinds of food and start heading back. We made it back to the waiting room where my sister waved to us while Erzano was reading a magazine and Rose was still glancing at the doors for some news to come. We sit down, pulling chairs into a circle around a table.

"Was it hard to find the food court?"Flora asks

"Not really but there was a jerk that sent Hugo into Dad Mode."I say, glancing at him

"It's not Dad Mode! That man had no right to mistreat Kelvin! I was protecting him!"Hugo insists

"Oo! So you're Maril's equal! I was wondering when you'd come along."Rose says

"Huh?"He says

"There is a natural law in life that with every force or being that exists, there will always be an equal one countering it. Marilyn has her motherly personality or is the mom friend of the group so I was curious who would become the dad friend."She replies

"That's a nerdy way to put it."Kelvin says

Rose shrugs.

"So Hugo, what do you have to say?"Erzano asks, munching on a fry

"Let's not focus on me when Sloane hasn't told us about Logan!"He says, seeming desperate to get the attention off of him

Their gaze shifted to me.

"Oh yeah! Sis, when did you get that flower crown?"Flora asks

How the heck do I explain this without sounding crazy?

"Umm, I got it when meeting Mrs. Seamore."I say

They each look at each other, catching onto what I meant. Well, except Erzano.

"Ooo! That's lovely! How is she? I hear that she's very sweet!"He says

Rose elbows him gently.

"She....Passed."She says

Erzano caught on.

"Oo...Sorry if that was insensitive..."He says

"It's okay, you didn't know. It's just not something talked about often. Makes Maril uneasy and Logan sad.."She says

"Well? Did you find Logan then? Is he okay?"Kelvin asks

"Well given what you said, Sis, I looked for posts on social media from that Diego guy he left with. Wasn't too hard to track him down with Diego's frequent posts. He's okay, he was just upset that the party landed at the same time of the week that he visits his mother for her birthday. It's a very sensitive time obviously and nobody is open about it at his home. He was better after the visit but then Marilyn took him away and we can only hope he survives her scolding. She was pissed."I explain

And they certainly have some things to discuss.

"What a relief! I can't wait to see him back at school! I'm going to hug him!"Erzano says

Kelvin nods.

"He can always talk about it with me...I'll message him."He says, taking out his phone

"Yea...He may not be coming back."I say

"What?"They all snap

"He was offered a different school to help him deal with the new...situation after the chemicals. You know, so he can hum or play guitar without worrying about something weird happening as a result like floating objects."I say with a shrug

"Aww! It does sound like a good choice for him but I'll miss him."Kelvin says

"He didn't make the choice yet so let's not assume."I say

We nod and sit there in silence, waiting for news about Marc. But I could tell that Hugo became unsettled when I mentioned the new school for some reason. I shrug it off. We're all very tense right now. It's probably just him being concerned for his friend.

TBC