The Object Realm

chapter 13 - merely laughing

      Orchid had left Crystal Ball without a crucial tool of magic. She had powers naturally, but as she put it, 'these powers are weak on their own.' Therefore, she amplified them using the magic crystals she found so long ago when she was human. Now, her powers had diminished. She lost all her crystals. . . but one. It turned out that when Orchid took the crystals, they missed one. Now, she just had to find the building and retrieve the rest. But now that her abilities were weaker, this was going to be hard. She was going to have to make do with what she had, and she was going to do everything she could.

      In the middle of the night, she snuck in to find her crystals. But while she was looking, Rose came in. "Huh? What is that- OH GREAT HEAVENS!" Rose also had powers but didn't know how to use them. "Hello there, old friend. Or should I say, family? It's been quite a while, eh?" Rose was frozen in shock. "W-what the heck are you doing here?!" "I'm here to retrieve what's mine. I know you weren't there yesterday, but let it be known that your sister stole my crystals and shattered them. If they tamper with the crystals further, this could become a disaster for our magic. Not just mine, but the magic within our bloodline. Those crystals may be the ones I use for my powers, but they're also the ones that gave us the power in the first place." "What about the ones we got last week?" "Those aren't the magic kind, those are the crystals I made specifically to show images. Anyway, we've ought to stop this. I've ought to stop this. If this doesn't stop now, our legacy could be in danger. I may end the world manually, but this realm's existence relies on me. If I lose the powers that granted me the ability to create this world, it may result in the world ending by itself." Oblivious to which side was in the right, Rose agreed to help her. "Now, you go find the crystals. I'm sure they already told you, so this won't be too hard." With some reluctance, Rose went and got her evil sister the crystals. "Here you go," she mumbled tiredly. It was still the middle of the night, so Rose was tired. "Alright, that's all. Go back to sleep or something, that's all I came for." Rose went back to sleep, fearing what would happen if the others found out about what she had done.

     "Where did all the crystals go?!" The team was confused at how their crystals had suddenly disappeared. Rose had some fear of what would happen to her, but she came clean. "I did it. I'm the one who gave the crystals back." Backpack was confused as to why she'd do that. "But why?!" "She told me something about the world ending if you guys mess with them," she admitted. Orchid stepped in, addressing the issue while also reassuring her younger sister. "I can tell that was a lie in an attempt to manipulate you, so thank goodness it didn't go any further. We can still go get the crystals back, so let's go. Keep in mind that woman's rarely ever trustworthy." Ace, Rose, Sign, Orchid, and Multicolor Pen got in the van and drove to Crystal Ball's cave. They got in, and Crystal Ball was there, so Orchid confronted her. "Why the hell would you try to manipulate your FELLOW FAMILY?! I understand that you want to win, but that's just going too far, lady. Too far. You and I both know that what you told her about the crystals was a lie, so admit it! You just want us to lose so you can end the world and 'get rid of the incompetent people.'" That's when Crystal Ball knew they had caught onto her plan. "Fine. I may have done that, but it still doesn't mean this fight is over yet! I'm a clever lady and have my tactics to ensure my victory." Crystal Ball wasn't giving up without a fight, and neither was the team. "Alright," Orchid leered, "but just know you aren't the only one with those magical powers. And just remember; don't underestimate me nor Rose. We may be less powerful, but two heads are better than one." Once again, Orchid took the crystals for the team, and went home. However, Crystal Ball merely laughed at what her sister had said, not knowing what would happen.