On the ship, Capricorn was stalking the pilot through a small crack in the door.
As expected, the pilot was oblivious of the sabotage she and Adam had done a few hours earlier…
She smiled and took a small water bottle in her brown handbag.
The bottle was filled with beer, beer that she started pouring on the ground.
The beer poured nearby the door. Close enough to frighten, but far enough to escape in time.
With a snap of her fingers, a spark landed on the beer, causing a fire to start forming.
The room started getting warmer, the air almost suffocating. The pilot turned around to glance at the door.
His breath stuttered at the sight of the fire.
He immediately pushed two buttons. The auto-pilot mode, and the alerting one. He stumbled his way out of the room and ran as fast as he could to find a fire extinguisher
Capricorn's smile sharpens when she comes out of her hiding spot.
She makes her way to the ship's control room and opens a trap in it.
She slowly blinks at the wires before facepalming.
Adam absolutely destroyed those wires… they were all demolished and cut into several pieces.
She drags a hand over her face… how was she supposed to fix that…?
'Adam,' she thought. 'I seriously advice you not to be near me when I got a knife in hand…'
While Capricorn was fixing the mess Adam created, Artemis and Matilda were hiding all the extinguishers they could find from the pilot.
But on the other side of the forest…
William stood up abruptly.
''WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'DARK MAGIC'?!!!???!?!'' He exclaimed.
Adam shrugged nonchalantly.
''I mean, just think about it…''
Adam's shadow unnaturally started extending… enveloping him and William in a dark space to keep Leyla away from this.
''Wouldn't you like to protect her? She needs a 'big bro' strong and brave…''
He starts circling him.
''One who she could rely on and lean on~…''
William grips his own hair and squeezes his eyes. A sharp breath escapes his lips.
''You liar…! I'm not going to let you mess with my head…!''
A sharp wind.
And Adam was already pressing his chest against William's back, his hands on his shoulders.
''Shhh… I feel the same way towards Moonlight as you feel towards Leyla…''
He whispers directly into his ear.
''Help me win her back… and I'll teach you how to become stronger… wait, scratch that… I won't even need to teach you. Dark magic is effortless~''
William's eyes lit up a little more at each word that left his mouth… could it be that easy..? Could he really become stronger… just like that…? Had Adam been the answer this whole time…?
But no! He couldn't believe a word from Adam…! Adam is manipulative, heartless and—!
…
And he's his last chance…
William took a shaky breath before gazing at Adam over his shoulder.
''When would you teach me dark magic…?''
Adam smirked and patted his head… almost comfortingly.
''The more you'll help me, the more I'll help you… If you want, I can teach you a little right now~…''
William nods and turns around.
''Please… teach me.''
Adam gently squeezed his cheek and nodded.
''Alright…''
Adam slowly knelt down in front of him.
''My dear…''
William was stunned…
He didn't why, but his throat was dry.
How could someone like Adam help someone like him…?
Was he sincere?
Those thoughts would've crossed his mind if he wasn't so desperate…
'So that's how it feels…' he thinks.
A slow smile forms on his lips.
'To be respected.'
———
As time passed by, Leyla started hitting the dark orb William and Adam were in with small punches.
''Get my brother out of there…!''
She pouts and blows a small wind at it with a hand.
It barely did anything.
She grunts softly and throws one last punch…
Suddenly, something caught her fist.
She slowly opened her eyes and stared at the thing… it was a pale hand. The orb had disappeared.
She rolled her eyes and looked up at Adam.
''Adam, you—'' she trails off.
That was NOT Adam.
It was actually William. But he had changed a little…
His skin was noticeably paler, his eyes and hair were darker and sharper…
She stepped back and lost her voice…
William smiled reassuringly at her and hugged her.
''Don't you worry… from now on, I'll protect you…''
She allowed herself to be hugged, but she didn't hug back.
She stared at him, her eyes almost out of their sockets…
''William, what did—?''
A pause.
''What are—?''
She searches for words.
''What happe—?
-Shhh… calm down and relax… for once, believe in me.''
He pulls back from the hug and pats her head reassuringly.
''Adam gave me his blessing. That's why I changed a little…''
He ruffles her hair.
''And now, I can use some of his powers! Isn't that great?''
Leyla couldn't believe what she was hearing… her brother sounded almost…
Crazy.
She looks deeply into his eyes.
Her parents taught her not to be scared of change…
'Change can be a good thing!' They said.
'Changing is evolving!' They cheered.
But at this very instant…
She was scared of change.
And every fibers in her being told her that she was right to feel that way…
She stepped back, absolutely horrified…
''And you're proud of it…?
-Hm?'' He raises an eyebrow.
''You're proud of what you've become?'' She frowns and steps in. ''You're proud… of becoming what you've been despising most all these years?! Proud of letting our powers die?!?!''
Silence fell upon them.
While William slowly started frowning…
''Our parents are not dead, Leyla…
-Well it sure sounds like it!'' She fights back, her hands clenching at her sides. ''You're acting like they never existed! Like all of their lessons were useles—
-They ARE USELESS!!!'' He barks.
He quickly backs her up to a tree and throws a punch next to her head.
''You want to know the truth, Leyla? All the things our parents taught us were useless. We are not special. No one is. 'Everyone could do what we do. Anyone could be whatever they want.' Those are lies, Leyla. So, yes, maybe you're right!''
A smile forms on his lips. One that doesn't quite reach his eyes.
''Maybe they are…''
He leans in.
''Maybe they are dead to me…''
He pulls away and stands straight again.
Leyla's eyes started watering…
The silence was intense…
Then, very carefully, she started sliding her back down the tree…
She buried her face in her hands and started crying.
Adam smiled and wrapped an arm around William's shoulders.
''I'm starting to like you, William~''
William smiles faintly and turns to him.
''At least, you do…''
Adam chuckled and started walking deeper into the forest.
''You're coming?'' He asked innocently.
William stared at him before gazing at Leyla one last time.
''If you want my forgiveness, follow me.'' He whispered.
Leyla stayed curled up to the tree, her hands hiding her face.
Her silence spoke volumes.
William sighed and started following Adam…
But not before shooting her one last glare for good measure.
The second that Adam and William left, something moved in the bushes next to her. But she was too miserable to care.
Coco came out of them and sat down next to her on the grass.
''Hey… you good…?''
Leyla raised her head and looked at him through red, and puffy eyes.
''I think I got my answer…'' he mumbled awkwardly.
Her lips trembled.
And now, she was apparently crying into his chest.
''Why did my brother leave me…?!'' she sobs.
Coco looks at her through narrowed eyes.
''Bitch, get your hands off me.''
She sniffles and raises her head… before crying again into his skivvies.
He stares at her blankly and sighs heavily.
He awkwardly pats her back and pinches the bridge of his nose with his free hand.
''Okay, I admit it. I saw everything.''
He lightly pushes her away. That was enough physical touching for tonight.
''You… uh… wanna talk about it?''
Leyla wipes her tears away with her sleeves and nods.
Coco stares at her silently while leaning his back against the tree.
''William changed a lot… and it has only been a week.'' She mutters.
She was dumbstruck at the thought.
William always had been so… sweet and gentle.
He always tried his hardest and forgave without a second thought.
So.. why did he change so fast? It didn't make sense…
Coco hums in thought, then shrugs again.
''People are weird, you know…''
He looks up at the sky.
''They look happy all the time, then you find out they're the ones who have been suffering this whole time.''
Coco stands up and stretches.
''The second I saw William, I immediately knew something was off. And he was too naïve and dumb.'' He pinches his chin in thought, his eyebrow twitching. ''That's why I've been so hard with him… I expected him to learn fighting and magic by himself.''
Leyla tilts her head to the side, a tear rolling down her cheek.
''Really…? But you've been bullying him every time you guys are together…''
He nods.
''Well… yeah— wait, bully?!'' His eyes lock on her. ''I've been slapping and pushing him as a form of respect! It was my way to encourage him!!!''
She blinks at him and raises an eyebrow.
''To 'encourage him'…?''
Coco huffs and blushes lightly while rubbing the back of his neck.
''Yes… it's by realizing how weak he is that he'll try to learn things by himself…'' he facepalms. ''But the idiot chose to beat himself for it and search for a mentor, when all he had to do was roll back his sleeves and fight again.''
He huffs out a laugh.
''But I guess he was already low… and I just pushed him further…''
He sighs.
Leyla thinks over his words carefully.
She allows a small silence to fall upon them before breaking it.
''I'm such a bad sister…''
She hides her face in her arms.
''Eh, you're still young…''
He shrugs.
''But you're right though.''
A tear rolls down her cheeks with a soft laugh.
''Well, thank you there, Coco…
-You're welcome.'' He says with a proud smile.
She sniffles out a laugh and wipes her tears.
''Come on… we should go search for William and Adam… I need to save my brother from them…''
Coco gazed at her blankly before nodding.
''But first…''
He stands up.
''We need to find Capricorn.''