MIRACULOUS MYSTERY

Chapter 8

Scarlet swung his yo-yo through the air with the precision of a pro, feeling the familiar tug as it latched onto the swirling dark butterfly—the akuma. His mind replayed Tikki's instructions: capture, purify, recreate. Simple, right? He spun the yo-yo in a smooth arc, trapping the akuma in a shimmering red glow.

"Come on, little buddy," Scarlet whispered under his breath, watching the transformation of the creature into something pure and innocent. "Back to normal."Nyx stood a few feet away, mouth slightly open as the city around them began to reconstruct itself. Buildings reassembled brick by brick, windows fixed, cars flipped back on their wheels, and the streets were no longer in shambles. The chaos they'd left behind turned into calm in seconds.

"Whoa, how did you even—?" Nyx asked, pointing at the miraculous yo-yo, clearly impressed."Eh, just a thing I do," Scarlet shrugged, trying to play it cool, though inside he was still marveling at how that worked himself. *Tikki really knows her stuff.*Nyx grinned, clearly impressed. "Okay, not gonna lie, that was... *kinda* awesome."Scarlet smirked. "Kinda? I just saved a whole city."

Nyx shot back, "We, buddy. We saved the city. You're not taking all the credit."Scarlet laughed before a sudden realization hit them both—time was ticking, and their civilian lives were waiting. He flicked his wrist, letting the yo-yo retract back to his hand. "Right. We should probably... go back to being normal now."

Nyx scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, uh, about that—what do we even say when people ask where we disappeared to?"Scarlet grimaced, the weight of the question sinking in. "Oh, I hadn't even thought that far yet."They awkwardly looked at each other before Nyx waved him off. "Well, anyway... guess this is goodbye for now."

Scarlet nodded, a little too stiffly. "Yeah. See you around, I guess."The two superheroes exchanged one last glance before they turned away from each other, disappearing into opposite directions.
Ishan landed behind the college building, checking if the coast was clear. Tikki appeared beside him with a faint smile."You did great, Ishan.""Thanks, but now I have to figure out how to explain to Mayank why I went missing in the middle of a disaster." Ishan ran a hand through his hair, frantically trying to come up with a believable story.

"I'm sure you'll figure something out," Tikki said with a chuckle, then disappeared back into his bag as he started walking towards the college building.*Okay, deep breath, Ishan,* he told himself as he rounded the corner to find Mayank standing by the entrance, looking frazzled. He rushed over as soon as he saw Ishan.

"Bro! Where the heck did you go?! I turned around and you were gone! I thought you were buried under a building or something!" Mayank grabbed Ishan by the shoulders, giving him a little shake.

Ishan forced a laugh. "Uh, yeah, about that—I had to, uh, go find a place to hide, you know? The crowd was getting too intense, and I panicked. Sorry, dude."Mayank narrowed his eyes, clearly not buying it. "That's the worst lie I've ever heard.""Hey! It's the truth, man, you know I'm a wimp in panic situations." Ishan grinned awkwardly, hoping Mayank would drop it.

Mayank stared at him for a moment longer before finally letting out a long sigh. "Alright, fine. But don't ever ditch me like that again. I thought we were goners."Ishan gave him a sheepish nod. "Yeah, yeah. Promise."

Shubman stumbled into his hotel room, trying to catch his breath. Plagg appeared, hovering around lazily as Shubman looked at himself in the mirror, sweat covering his face."That was too close," Shubman muttered, peeling off his jacket.Plagg yawned. "Eh, you handled it."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Rohit's voice echoed from the other side. "Shubman! Bro, open up! We've been looking for you for hours! Where did you disappear to?!"Shubman's heart raced as he opened the door to find Rohit, Virat, and Siraj staring at him like they'd just found a missing person.

"I, uh, went for a run," Shubman blurted out. "You know, stress relief!""At a time like that?" Virat asked, raising an eyebrow.Rohit crossed his arms. "In the middle of a city-wide emergency? Seriously, Shub?"Shubman gulped. "Yeah... weird timing, I know. But, hey, I didn't know about the rock monster until after, okay?"

Siraj shook his head, grinning. "Man, you're weird."Shubman let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah... guess I am."
SOMEWHERESass paced back and forth as he watched the broadcast of the two heroes on the television. "I still think this was a mistake," he muttered. "They don't even know what they're doing.""They'll learn," the master said calmly, sipping his tea.Wayzz nodded. "They've got potential. Besides, everyone's first time is always a little chaotic."Sass huffed. "Chaotic is putting it lightly."The master chuckled, watching as Scarlet and Nyx fumbled their way through the battle footage. "Give them time. They'll figure it out."