Surprisingly, the summer for Mia and her friends was quiet. Although the threat of the One Humanity and the Normal hung over the town, the summer remained incident free. As August now came to a close, the people were beginning to relax and return to some sense of normalcy. This was how the town found themselves celebrating the towns summer festival within Circes Park.
The summer festival was an annual event, similar to many festivals that occurred throughout many New England towns during the summer. Officially known as the Lobster Festival, the town would have carnival rides, local artists and bands, and plenty of food. As Mia made her way through the festival with Fae and Annie, the teens laughed and talked. "So where's Lilith Annie?" Mia asked.
"She said she would meet up with us over by the merry go round," Annie stated. "She was just helping the band get set up." Mia and Fae nodded, surprised to hear that Death Riot was actually playing the festival this year. "I'm surprised Jack is letting them play," Fae said. "He has heard them before right? They can get a little raw on stage."
"Yeah my dad kinda warned them beforehand." Annie blushed. "They can dress and play but they need to keep it family friendly. They don't, he's strapping them to the merry go round and not letting them off until they're in preschool." Mia and Fae laughed, understanding what Annie meant. Most of the rides within Circes involved transformation, the merry go round being the most infamous. If the park wanted, the ride would progress or regress someone in age. Usually it was random, but Jack could set it to transform at anytime. The threat of the punk band being turned into a preschool pop artists was a threat that Death Riot took very seriously.
Making their way through the park, the three girls noticed how crowded it already was. It appeared the entire town, as well as some neighboring towns, were milling about. Circes was a popular local destination with crowds excited about the possibility of transformation. Already the trio could see groups of jovial people laughing as they exited rides. A teenage couple dressed in elderly clothing leaving a mirror maze, a group of teenage boys laughing at one of their friends who was now a woman, even a group of tween girls taking selfie of themselves as they resembled various anthropomorphic animals. "C'mon lets find the others." Mia said excitedly as they now raced further into the park.
In the nearby woods, Hinata and Choon Hee watched intently. The pair understood what they needed to do. While the Boss attacked the kitsune and Rick eliminated the remaining wizards, they were tasked with destroying those within the second timeline. The only issue was when to strike? That was quickly answered when the Normal discovered this festival. With the entire town present all that needed to be done was attack. "Is everyone in position?" Hinata asked.
"The Dark Garden is positioned in the rear of the park," Choon Hee stated. "and a platoon of troops are ready to attack the flanks. All that's left is for you to give the signal." Hinata nodded, gripping Moonslayer tightly. Today she would make the Normal and Captain Cassidy proud.
"Hey Mia wait up."
Mia turned, her heart skipping a beat as Zack sped towards her. After Winery dumped him, Zack fell into a funk, not wanting to see anyone. Only in the last month had he begun to get over the heartbreak. The only problem for Mia, he still saw her as his best friend. "Zack," Mia stammered, a nervous smile on her face. "Hey glad you could make it."
A goofy smile now rested on the teens face as he waved to Mia's friends. "Thanks for the invite," he said happily. "Drake here yet? He said he would meet up." The others shook their head no, the dragon still wasn't here. "He might be with Pryyha," Fae shrugged. "Or Winery," Lilith added. "I saw her floating around earlier. Minus her girlfriend of course."
Mia scowled at the mention of Winery. After school ended, the werewolf princess decided to keep a low profile. It also meant that the friend group was divided with Mia and Winery coming nowhere near each other. Although there were rumors that Winery and Felicity were dating, nothing was official. The pair were friends with the pretty blonde teen acting as a friend and confidant to the werewolf. "Pretty sure those two aren't dating." Annie said. "Whatever," Mia scoffed. "All I know is that if I see her I'm kicking her and her new BFF asses."
"Yeah let's not do that," Lilith sighed. A small chuckle now emanated amongst the friends as they made their way into the park. Today was going to be fun, a last hurrah before the start of school. Nothing could ruin today. Or so they thought.
An explosion and screams now echoed throughout the park. Quickly turning the group could see people running in every direction. At first confused, the teens eyes went wide as they noticed several soldiers emerge on their right and left. All it took was a glimpse of their uniforms to tell then exactly who they were: The Normal.
Mia groaned in annoyance, why did it seem the park was always everyone's favorite target? "Perfect," she grumbled, before turning to the others. "Come on we gotta help." The group understood, Zack quickly transforming into a werewolf, Fae shrinking down into fairy form with Annie and Mia preparing spells. As they looked to fight the soldiers, they paused as they heard something behind them.
Turning the group could see a girl dressed in a yellow and black Military outfit. Cackling like a mad woman, she unleashed torrents of black fire, setting anything in reach ablaze. "Perfect the Dark Garden is here too," Lilith sighed. Activating her powers, Lilith assumed the form of Solar Guardian Pluto, her staff at the ready. "You guys deal with the army," she said. "I've got the Dark Garden."
Mia and the others nodded, sprinting off to engage the Normal troops as Lilith glared at Void Dandelion. "Alright Dandelion," Lilith yelled. "You're about to learn a hard lesson." Dandelion turned, a maniacal laugh escaping her lips. Lilith shuddered, whoever this girl was had some serious mental issues. As she looked to strike, she yelled out in pain. Falling to the ground, she could see a thorn shaped blade sticking from her shoulder. Dandelion continued to laugh as another girl in a pink and black uniform came into view. "Nice shot Lotus."
"Lotus," Lilith asked, before cursing. "Ugh there's more of you?!"
Michelle pushed her glasses up her nose. Thankful her attack only struck Lilith in the shoulder, stunning her for a moment. She couldn't break cover and needed the Normal to think she was their unwitting pawn. "That's right Guardian Pluto," she stated. "I am Poison Lotus! Assassin of the Dark Garden. Your powers pale in comparison to mine! Prepare for your end." Despite how ridiculous it sounded to her ears, Michelle thought it wasn't a bad villain speech. Now she just needed to make sure Pluto and the rest of the people at the park survived.
Lilith grunted, getting to her feet slowly. Dandelion would be hard enough, but an unknown Dark Garden member made this even harder. "Could really use some backup," she thought. "Ugh where are the other Guardians when I need them."
"Neptune Tidal BLAST!!!!"
Lilith raised an eyebrow, watching as a torrent of water slammed into both Dandelion and Lotus like a fire hose. Bewildered, she turned her head as her face went into a familiar set of breasts, she immediately backed up, her jaw dropping as she beheld Guardian Neptune and Pokoyo. "Neptune, what are you doing here?!"
"Saving the day silly." Tess grinned. Lilith groaned. She appreciated Neptune coming to her aid, but the 10 year old girl viewed this as more of a comic book than real life. "Pokoyo where are the others," Lilith asked. "Guardian Neptune was the only one available kyu," the pink cat replied. "She insisted on coming to your aid in you time of need Pluto."
"Just try to keep her from getting killed, and stop getting your breasts in my face." Lilith grunted in frustration. "It's more your fault than mine." Neptune replied with a shrug. Standing next to the grown Neptune, Lilith furrowed her brow as they watched the two Dark Garden members stand. "Hey, they have a new member." Tess said excitedly. "Yeah and she's tough," Lilith replied. "Just be on guard and...thanks for showing up." Tess grinned, excited that Lilith seemed so happy to see her. Now they just needed to make it out in one piece.