Overworld: The generation of heroes Volume 1

3. The Mysterious Box

(Time skip to after school)

Oliver opened the door, took off his shoes and went upstairs. "Mum I'm home!" he called. He placed his schoolbag beside his bed, laid on his bed and sighed in happiness. Although he had a breakdown in the toilets about his dad at break and sat through lessons trying to hold it in, he had a good day with his friends, especially since Stacey comforted him the most. "Her brown eyes and dark hair with green streaks..." Oliver said to himself in a dreamy tone. "Her hugs are like being wrapped up in blankets, her hands are so warm, and her mother's cooking is delicious... Wait, why am I talking about Stacey's mum, that's weird." As he said that, he realised that he hadn't seen his mum yet, and that she hadn't replied to him when he got back from school. Puzzled and worried, he crept into his mum's bedroom and saw nobody there. "Odd," he said, going back downstairs. As he entered the kitchen, he saw a note on the table. Concerned, Oliver picked or up and read it. It said: 'Dear My darling Ollie, I have gone to the funeral directors to plan your father's funeral. If I'm not back, please make yourself at home, but no mess please. Love, mum xx.'

After, Oliver shrugged at went back into his mum's bedroom and decided to look at some of the boxes piling in her room, exploring as he was bored. As he rummaged through the boxes, he saw an octagonal black box covered in weird patterns and a picture of some god-looking character of the lid. Curious and amazed, Oliver took the box and placed in in his room and checked to see if nobody was around. The room was clear. "I wonder what this button does?" he said to himself, cautiously pressing it. Suddenly, the lid opened and a huge blast of light & colours shot out, Oliver covering his eyes and closing the box. "T-that was just a dream.." he panted. "j-just a dream..." "Oh really?" came a small voice from above. Oliver looked up and saw 19 small chibi-looking creatures floating in a circle above him. "Now do you believe us?" the same creature said, it was light grey with brown patterns, brown ears, and a brown tail with purple eyes. It looked very frustrated. "Ahhhh!!" screamed Oliver, diving under the bed. "Oh great, look what you've done now, Fluffy!" said a green one with red eyes and swirly pupils. "you've scared him!" "Shut up, Sadu," replied Fluffy. "Everybody calm down," chimed in one that looked like a caterpillar. "let's welcome him and make him feel comfortable. This is not how we treat guests."

With that, Sadu floated down to the duvet and said, "Excuse me, Mr blonde haired boy?" she said softly. "we're sorry for scaring you. You can come out, we won't hurt you I promise." With that, Oliver lifted up his duvet, his hand shaking. He looked at all the floating creatures staring at him in a gentle manner. "Ok," Oliver said, coming out and sitting on his bed, placing the box next to him. "I guess I overreacted a little. Let's introduce ourselves. My name is Oliver McRae and I am just an average teenage boy. What about you guys?" "We're called Airidans, but we all have a name each," replied fluffy. "I'm Fluffy, this is Sadu, this one here is Nibbles, Spookks, Stripes, Parrita..." (There were a lot of them, but let's just say that it didn't take long to name all the Airidans). "Wow, interesting names," Oliver said. "Well it's nice to meet you all, can I ask what is this box? And do you live in there?" "The box is a very special," explained Parrita. "There are 20 jewels in this box called Talismans. Each Talisman holds a power, for example, the parrot Talisman, aka my Talisman, is the Talisman of wisdom and grants the wearer the power of wisdom." "Wait, people can wear these???" Oliver interrupted.

"Correct," continued Parrita. "The Talismans' purposes are to be used for good and peace. Each transforms you into something that gives you the power of the Talisman. You get a weapon and a special power, and sometimes additional powers depending on what the super power is; some give you the ability to fly, run fast or make you jump higher, but again it depends on what the Talismans powers are. Go on, open the box, you'll see." With that, Oliver lifted the lid and pressing the button. Draws opened from the sides of it, filled with jewels. "Hang on," Oliver said, pointing at the top of the box, which was divided into 7 sections: 6 borders and a circle, each having a jewel, except the top left corner. "where's the Talisman for this??" "Well..." began Parrita. "You might want to look on the right table in your mother's bedroom..." "My dad's bedside table?!" cried Oliver in shock. "I-" "He's scared," Sadu whimpered. "Should I get it for him??" "Sure," replied Parrita. With that, Sadu phased through the wall and seconds later, brought out a shiny brooch coloured to look like a fire. "This is the one you're talking about," she said. "B-but that was my father's..." stuttered Oliver, in more shock. "H-his bravery badge was a Talisman the w-whole time??"...