SPRITES: Legacy of the Black Phoenix

Chapter 12 : Space Craze

Months had flown by since Natura Arbor appeared at the botanical gardens. The Midzay Police Department had conducted several investigations to find the cause of all the mayhem, but Lana and the rest of the group had shown up at every investigation to make sure no one found out what really had happened. In the end, Lana had manipulated enough of the detectives' memories so that their final report stated that the events were from a freak thunderstorm.

Ever since that day, not only did Vidaj make sure he attended all of Lana's softball games, but he also didn't miss a single inning, in hopes of running into LOX again. However, there was no sight of the fox-like creature as the school year came to a close.

With summer beginning, Pax had gotten the Vidaj and the group tickets to Space Craze. The first thing Vidaj saw was the Star Galaxy Rocket Ship Building, which stood in the middle of the park. The structure was based on an actual rocket ship prototype that hadn't been finished. Instead of scrapping the ship, the makers had saved the core and turned it into a building, with historical information and displays on various expeditions to outer space. Attached to the building was a three-hundred-foot-tall roller coaster, the Callisto Coaster, which Vidaj was dying to go on.

Pax pulled away from the group and approached a tall young slim curvy woman with blue eyes and long blonde hair. She was wearing shorts and a Space Craze T-shirt. "Hey, Pax!" she exclaimed as the two walked away.

"I don't know how he gets so many hot girls," Felix grumbled. "What's his secret, Vidaj?"

Vidaj maintained a blank expression as he shot back, "Hmm, maybe no shame, compulsive lying, an amazing sense of finding girls with low self-esteem who fall for every line of nonsense he throws at them? Take your pick."

"And the fact that he's always really well dressed, keeps himself in great shape and has a great sense of self confidence too," Lana said. Mallory and Jane nodded and high-fived her.

Vidaj turned red before gathering himself. "Whatever," he muttered. "Let's go on some rides."

The kids were walking around the amusement park when Lana exclaimed, "I'm going on the roller coaster first!" As she approached the turnstile, a ride attendant asked her to stand next to a sign that read, you must be this tall to ride. She stood next to it, barely eclipsing the line.

The boys all took out their phones and snapped pictures of her while laughing. "Are you sure she's tall enough?" Lance called out. "I think you should check again. Did you exclude the extra inch from her high ponytail?"

A red-faced Lana shouted back, "Shut up! I am so tall enough!" She ran to the front section of the roller coaster and took a seat. The group laughed for a few more moments as they all cleared the checkpoint.

Vidaj stood next to Lana's car. "Hey, don't sweat it. They're just messing with you."

She tapped her fingers together and stared at Vidaj while murmuring in a dark tone, "I'm not sweating anything. I can't guarantee the rest of them won't be, though!" She threw her head back and let out a murderous laugh.

Cringing, Vidaj laughed back nervously. "Whatever you say." He nudged Lana to the side. "I get the outside seat."

Lana folded her arms and pouted. "Haven't you learned anything from your brother? You're supposed to be nice to girls, not push us around."

"I'm nice to girls all the time," Vidaj said, giving her a cheeky grin. "Don't you see how much of a gentleman I am with Jane and Mallory?"

"Now aren't you funny?"

As the Callisto Coaster took off, the group grew rowdy, hollering and waving their hands in the air.

Blake whispered to Ian, who shouted, "Blake just told me there's an empty seat next to Vidaj. Anyone want to move up?"

Lana turned around, glaring back at Blake. He gulped before whispering to Ian, "I've never seen her so mad before. I think we're in trouble."

The roller coaster slowly made its way to its peak and its first drop. At the top, Vidaj and his friends saw the inside of the Star Galaxy Rocket Ship Building through the large dome window, where people were looking up at the ride. Then, just like that, the kids all screamed as the coaster shifted into a triple loop. The roller coaster shook and creaked as they approached the second part of the loop. Suddenly the tracks began to break apart right in front of the first car.

Knowing they had little time to react, they all screamed in horror. The roller coaster appeared ready to fall apart and send them plummeting three hundred feet down.

"What's happening to the track? We're all going to die!" Blake cried.

As the cars appeared ready to hit the ground, the track reappeared at the last second.

The ride then continued smoothly until its end. When the cars came to their final stop, the boys immediately jumped off, staring at each other with wide eyes.

Lana laughed hysterically. "What happened? Did you guys see something scary?"

Vidaj, who could see through all of Lana's illusions, was the last to get off the ride. He took in his friends' shocked expressions and smiled at their expense.

"Man, you've really gotta work on your evil cackle," he told Lana. "It's so creepy and weird. And it's definitely not scary."

Ian was the first to approach Lana. "You got us good!" he said, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "I guess we kind of deserved it, but now we have to get you back!"

Vidaj stepped in. "I think you're even. You guys were pretty savage with the jokes about her height."

"It must be easy to defend her when you're the only one who's never seen one of her illusions!" Briggs snapped.

The group all stared Vidaj down, waiting for his response, but he was speechless.

Lana, noticing his chagrined expression, quickly came to his defense. "I hope you're all happy with yourselves. That was the first time I ever rode that roller coaster. That's why Vidaj didn't make fun of me like you guys did. He knew how important it was to me. My parents used to take me to Space Craze every year, and every year I couldn't ride the Callisto Coaster because I was too short. Even my little brother got to ride last time, and he's two years younger than me. Do you know how depressing it is to watch everyone ride it year after year from the bench?"

Ian gave her an apologetic look. "I had no idea, Lana. Sorry for making fun of you." The rest of the boys followed suit and apologized one by one.

Vidaj pulled everyone to the side. "Wait, before we continue I think we need to have a talk."
Everyone moaned. Felix shouted "c'mon Vidaj not today."

Vidaj didn't budge. "No, this is serious."

They all met in a secluded area to talk. "Alright so I've been thinking about our powers. With all these corrupted sprites around I think we need to dial it back. We're drawing way too much attention."

Jane jumped in "I thought I was the only one. I agree. Let's tone it down a bit. That means you Lana and Felix," giving both her death stare.

Lana and Felix both held their head down "Alright," they both said at the same time.

The rest of the boys begrudgingly agreed.

Satisfied with the response Vidaj yelled out "Alright, let's go for the Alien Invader's Planet of Horror ride!"

Everyone ran ahead to the line except for Lana who walked with Vidaj. "You're really taking this seriously."

Vidaj shrugged off Lana's statement. "Of course. You saw what Natura Arbor did almost to us."

Lana leaned in and poked him on the chest playfully. "You're turning into quite the leader."

Vidaj pushed her off. "Hey, quit that."

Lana jabbed him playfully. "Not everyone gets compliments from me. You should feel honored."

Lana ran ahead to theothers in line leaving Vidaj alone with his thoughts to catch up. Vidajcouldn't help but smile. He could never admit it to her, but Lana's words hadleft a warm feeling in his heart.