Hidden Mysteries

A Bright Light, Near the End of a Tunnel

Balloon was suddenly surrounded in a bright, blinding light, that was seeping from the salmon-colored crystal around his neck, wrapping around his body and creating some sort of sheild around him. Everyone close to him backed away slowly, while Merripen watched with wide eyes, staring in horror.

"What is this?" they gasped. "How is he...that's impossible!"

"What's going on?" Lifering cried, shielding his eyes with his arms, staring in confusion and wonder. "What's happening to Balloon?!"

"I-I don't know! M-Maybe it's part of the prophecy, or something!" Test Tube shouted, adjusting her glasses.

Balloon slowly stood up, his hair glowing brightly and floating through the air, fists tightly clenched at his sides, his eyes gleaming. Silver collapsed down next to Candle, the two of them staring up at the young boy in bewilderment.

"Candle, are you seeing this?" Silver whispered, grasping onto his wife's shoulders as she nodded shakily. "This wasn't...part of the prophecy, was it?"

"No, nothing like this has been heard of since the beginning of the Fellowship, this...should be impossible," Candle replied slowly, staring up at Balloon.

"Get away from her," Balloon growled lowly, tears streaming down his face. "Get away from my mom!" He stomped his foot hard on the ground, everything and everyone aside from Merripen and Tea Kettle flying up in the air and staying there, floating, almost as if they were weightless. Balloon pushed himself off towards the air, towards Merripen's face, kicking them as hard as he could, sending them flying back.

Everyone gasped in shock, staring at Balloon with wide eyes, Fan fumbling for his phone and beginning to record as much as he could.

Merripen grunted, regaining his composure and raising his hands to attack, only for Balloon to swing his arms forward roughly, causing them to slam against the wall of the cave, rocks and debris falling on top of them. With that done, Balloon quickly pushed Tea Kettle, who toppled onto the ground along with everyone else. Letting out a deep breath, Balloon descended back down to the ground again, his hair losing its magic glow, the light within the crystal dying.

"Balloon! How did you do that?!" Tea Kettle cried, rushing over to her son's side.

"I-I'm not sure," Balloon admitted slowly, stumbling slightly. "I just got so angry when Merripen was threatening to kill you, I...after that I kinda just blacked out."

"Balloon, what you did was..." Candle trailed off, staring up at him. "No member of the Fellowship has been able to do that, not since the founders..."

"Really?" Suitcase gasped. "No wonder Merripen got so spooked."

There was a low growling noise, and Merripen burst his way free from the debris, roaring in anger. Tea Kettle instantly stepped in front of everyone, giving the demigod a cold glare, clearly still bitter about being kidnapped and nearly getting murdered. They looked down at the group in front of them and sighed, dusting off their clothes.

"Y'know, I have to admit, I didn't think any of you would survive the sentries, or figure out how to get rid of 'em," he said slowly, staring at them. "You guys are tougher than you look. Especially those two nerds there." Merripen pointed a claw-like finger towards Fan and Test Tube. "You honestly don't have much going for yourself, but you..." They stare Test Tube down with an intrigued look. "You've got some real potential. If you could just let go of all your silly childhood friends, you'd be going places, girly."

"Hey, I don't—" Fan pointed an accusing finger at Merripen, about to go on a rant before Test Tube placed a hand on her best friend's shoulder, shaking her head slowly while shooting him a look that said, "Fan for the love of God please don't start shit with a literal demigod that controls death". Fan only sighed in reply, staring back up at the demigod.

"Where are you going with this?" Suitcase snapped, folding her arms and glaring at Merripen.

"I'm saying, I'm gonna go easy on everyone here today and let you all of the hook for now," they replied, giving the group a dark look. "But that doesn't mean I'm done with you all. Especially mommy's little girl here." He pointed right at Suitcase, but she didn't dare flinch or move a muscle; she only stared back at Merripen coldly. "Just because your mommy's not here for you doesn't mean I can't finish my business."

Finish their business? Suitcase thought. What do they mean by that...?

"But until then, keep an eye out!" Merripen grinned, beginning to dissipate into light once again. "I know I'll be keeping an eye on all of you!" He vanished once again, his giggles echoing through the entire cave, the chains around Candle's limbs disappearing, the yoga teacher gasping as she fell to her hands and knees.

"They're...gone?" Lifering looked around the cave, puzzled. "But...where did they go?"

"We never know where he disappears to. What matters is that they're not here now," Candle replied, Silver Spoon helping her to her feet. "Now, that—"

There was a loud click, a pedestal sliding up from the floor near the altar, revealing a blue journal. Suitcase rushed over, taking a quick glance at the 7 on the cover before she shoved it in her bag. "Journal grabbed!"

"Well, now that that's sorted out, we should make our departure," Silver Spoon sighed. "Though, I suppose that may be an issue, since we don't exactly know our whereabouts..."

Suitcase stared down at the rushing water in the hole below, then at the inflatable raft in her bag, an idea hitting her. "Hey, Lifering, you told me you're a lifeguard part-time?"

~~~

"Uh, Suitcase, are you sure that this is a good idea?" Fan asked timidly, grabbing onto the sides of the inflatable raft tightly.

"Well, it's not like we have any other options," Suitcase replied. "Is everyone ready?"

"Yeah, I think we're ready," Balloon nodded. "We're good to go when you are, Dad."

"Don't worry, guys! You're in good hands!" Lifering cried, cracking his knuckles, placing his hands on the raft and getting into a running stance. "On three! One, two, three—!"

He broke off into a run, pushing the raft as fast as he could, jumping in at the very last second as the raft fell through the hole, splashing in the rushing river and speeding through the water at top speed, everyone screaming as they clutched onto the sides of the raft.

"This is insane!" Test Tube shouted, her glasses sliding off her face as her hair flew through the rushing air. "This is actually insane!"

"Why did we let Suitcase talk us into this?" A frightened Silver Spoon cried, wrapping his arms around his wife and holding on to her for dear life. "Of course she would think of an idea like this, both of her parents are total adrenaline junkies, for God's sake!"

"Uhh, guys, do you see that?" Fan pointed to what appeared to be the end of the tunnel, where what appeared to be a waterfall awaited them. "That's not good, is it?"

"We're going to die!" Silver shrieked, squeezing Candle tighter.

"I say bring it on!" Suitcase screamed, scooting to the front of the waterfall and leaning forward, causing the raft to speed up. "Do your worst, waterfall!"

"Suitcase, are you crazy?!" Balloon yelled.

Everyone screamed at the top of their lungs as they flew off the waterfall, falling with a loud splash into a large lake below, their raft luckily still upright.

"Oh my God," Tea Kettle gasped, clutching her chest. "That was...I don't even know how I can put it into words!"

"How about amazing?" Suitcase cried. "I mean, yeah, we could have died, but the adrenaline!"

"Yep, Suitcase is definitely Handbag and Baseball's daughter," Silver sighed. "C'mon, let's get out of the middle of this lake. We should really start heading back to Hatchwood..."