It was just like Cosena remembered, but bigger. Practically the only thing she could hear over the turbulent roars of rides was the tumultuous screams of the people who rode them. The place was so full of families, groups of friends, and couples that all looked so happy, Cosena couldn't help but smile herself. A tinge of excitement crawled up her spine.
A stream of water her in the nape. "Gah!" she spun around to see Naito with a stupid grin on his face, pointing a water gun at her.
"Naito. Where did you get that?" Cosena asked, her voice low.
"There's a guy over there selling them!" Naito jerked his thumb over his shoulder before shooting her three more times.
"...Excuse me for a sec," Cosena brushed past the others.
"He's dead," she heard Zento mutter as she made her way over to the stand.
She came back with the largest water gun of them all, pointing it right at Naito's face.
Naito gulped. "...I should start running now, shouldn't I?" He took a few steps back, but it was too late; Cosena fired nonstop at him. When she finally stopped, he was soaked from head to toe. "...You're going to pay for that..." he whispered, glaring at her like a feral cat.
"Pfft, I'd love to see you try."
Alsen clapped and giggled. "A water gun battle! I want in!" she skipped her way over to the stand and got her own water gun. Not wasting any time, she fired at both Naito and Cosena.
"Come on, I'm wet enough already!" Naito whined like a sore loser.
"Alsen, you know that wasn't very smart," Cosena turned her gun to Alsen, who quickly ran off giggling. Naito and Cosena chased after her, and before they knew it, the three of them were firing off randomly at each other.
Kayla cracked a smile as she, Casele, Alile and Zento sat watching the siblings act like children. "I can't help but love these guys."
"Sheesh...I feel like we're here just to babysit them," Zento groaned.
Alile got up and started walking off.
"Hey, where are you going?" Zento asked.
"Don't worry about it," she replied.
"What's her problem?"
Casele sighed. "Who cares? We shouldn't have even brought her with us."
"Believe me, she annoys me just as much as you, but don't you think that's a little cold?" Zento asked, but he was now feeling something cold, and wet on his cheek. Kayla stood there whistling and looking the other way while holding a water gun behind her back. "Kid, you got a death wish or something?" Zento snarled at her.
"I-It was an accident, I swear..." Kayla pleaded, backing up slowly.
"Tell that to the judge!" Zento sprang up and got two water guns, tossing the other to Casele, who barely caught it. "Come on, we're taking her down!"
Kayla let out a scream and ran while Zento sprinted after her, not even waiting for Casele.
"Look who's acting like a kid now," Casele said with a smile before following them.
Next thing they knew, it had somehow become a three versus three war with Naito, Alsen, and Cosena teaming up against Zento, Casele, and Kayla. By the time it was over, they had all collapsed, each of them soaked from head to toe and breathing heavily. They had no idea who won, but it was so much fun that they couldn't stop laughing.
"You'd think we'd have been kicked out by now," Zento said.
"We did knock over, like, five people, and got who knows how many of them soaked," Cosena added.
"We're all going to be sick by the end of the day. Zento, let's see if we can find some towels," Casele said as she got up.
Once they came back with the towels and everyone was dried off, everybody discussed what to do next. Ultimately it was Cosena's decision. It was her birthday, after all. As she explained that she was fine with doing whatever everyone else wanted, her eyes came across a man cheering loudly. He won one of the games and got a huge stuffed panda for his daughter.
"You want to play that?" Alsen asked.
"We'd never win, those games are insanely hard, and you have to do really good to win any of the big prizes," Cosena explained.
"Then it's a good thing we're the bestest of them all!"
"...Bestest isn't a word."
"We'll catch you guys later, Casele and I are gonna ride the ferris wheel," Zento said as he and Casele walked off, his arm wrapped around her waist.
"Ferris wheel...I've always wanted to ride one," Naito gazed up at the vibrant ferris wheel that turned slowly in the distance. He looked over his shoulder when he felt a soft tap on his back. Kayla stood right behind him.
"I've always wanted to ride one too, but you can't ride alone..."
"Really? Let's ride together then!"
Kayla toyed with her fingers, her cheeks turning a light pink. "If you really want to..."
Naito took Kayla's hand. "I'll be back!" he exclaimed with a wave to Alsen and Cosena as he walked off with Kayla, leaving Cosena and Alsen alone together.
"Guess it's just you and me!" Alsen grabbed Cosena's wrist and skipped off towards the games. Her eyes danced around the dozens of games to choose from, until she spotted one with the giant panda as a prize. Ring toss. All they had to do was land forty rings around the bottle and they'd win the bear. With Cosena's freaky strength, Alsen figured it'd be a piece of cake. But, she wanted to be the one to win it for her sister.
"Can I have some rings, please?" she asked the lady behind the stand.
"How many?"
"As many as possible," she said and received two-hundred rings. It cost her a hundred tickets, but they could always get more if needed.
Her first ten rings weren't even close to the target. She clicked her tongue and furrowed her eyebrows, tossing the next five in a fury. Four of them hit the bottle cap but bounced off, while they fifth somehow flew backwards and hit her in the nose.
Cosena covered her mouth, repressing her laugh.
"Don't laugh, you meanie!"
Still trying not to laugh, Cosena stepped in front of Alsen. "Why don't we see who can score the most?" Two out of the first five rings she threw landed around the bottle's neck. "Your turn," she leaned against the stand with a smug smirk.
"Oh, this is a competition, is it?" Alsen licked her lips and rubbed her hands together. If Cosena wanted a competition, she would get one. Alsen threw her next five rings. Yet again, none landed. Cosena took her turn and landed one out of five. Three turns later, Alsen was down two to six. "Time to get serious," she told herself, and managed to score two in her next turn, but in her following three turns, failed to score at all. She was now down four to nine.
Both girls were sweating by the time they were down to ten rings left. They had gotten so competitive that a small group had formed around them, watching eagerly. The score was sixteen to nineteen. Just three points behind...Alsen could beat Cosena...she knew she could! She threw the next three rings one after the other. Much to her surprise, she landed three out of five.
"Yeah!!! That's what I'm talking about!!! Did you see that?!" she raised her fist in the air, grinning like she just won the lottery.
"Impressive one, little sis. Looks like we're tied. But if I score just one, I'll win," Cosena said before throwing the last five. Only one landed.
"Guess I lose then..." Alsen sighed. She hated to lose, but she had too much fun to complain. "At least we still win the panda! Come on stand lady, give us the biggest panda you've got!" Alsen reached her hands out greedily.
"Sorry miss, but you only scored thirty-nine. You need forty for the bear," the stand lady replied.
"Eh...wait, you're kidding, right?! B-but we were so close! Can't you still let us have it?"
"Rules are rules. You scored enough for anything else, though."
"Sheesh...that's so unfair!" Alsen crossed her arms and pouted like a child.
"Don't worry about it, Alsen," Cosena pat Alsen's head. "These games aren't designed to be won in the first place. They know it's very unlikely to score forty with only two-hundred rings."
"I guess..." Alsen sighed again as she took a random stuffed snake as their prize.
"Come on, let's play something else," Cosena took her sister's hand and they walked around, looking for another game to play. As they walked, they spotted Naito and Kayla at a game with a large scale and sledge hammer.
"They're back from the ferris wheel already?" Cosena checked the time. She and Alsen had been playing ring toss for over half an hour. She supposed the saying was true: time flies by when you're having fun.
"Aww that's too bad, little man!" said the gruff voice of the large man behind the stand for the hammer game. "Come back next year, when you have some more muscle on those bones! Maybe then you'll be able to win something nice for your girlfriend!"
"Uh, I told you, we're not..." Kayla started, but stopped when Cosena pushed past her and Naito."
"Give. Me. That. Hammer. Now," Cosena glared into the man's eyes in a way that would leave any grown man feeling like a child wanting his momma.
This man, however, must have been too stupid to feel the chills Cosena was sending through the air. He let out a haughty guffaw. "Miss, this game is a test of strength! You don't want to embarrass yourself like the little man over there!"
"So..." Alsen slid over the Naito's side after grabbing some cotton candy. "Does this guy not see how freaking buff Cosena is, or what?"
"I dunno, but I hope he has life insurance," Naito took a bite from Alsen's cotton candy.
Cosena shoved twenty-tickets at the man's chest with so much force, she knocked him to the ground. She picked up the hammer and raised it over her head. The man flinched in fear that she was going to bust his head open, but she swung the hammer down on the scale. The meter reached the very top of the scale. Once...twice...ten times! It just kept going.
"I-I think she broke it..." Kayla whispered.
"Yeah...Cosena is the last person you want to piss off," Naito said.
"I bet she could flip a monster truck!" Alsen said with a mouthful of cotton candy.
"Please, don't give her any ideas."
"My prize?" Cosena held her hand out, leering down at the man. His eyes trembled. It was clear to see that he now felt the same fear that any sane person would before a pissed off Cosena.
"R-right, yes, of course..." the man slowly stood and brushed himself off before handing Cosena a giant panda, just like the one Alsen had tried to win.
"Here," she tossed the bear at Naito, who just barely caught it.
"Uh...for you," he handed the bear to Kayla. She was too stunned by Cosena' freakish display of strength to respond.
"So, how was your ferris wheel ride?" Cosena asked.
"We decided to wait until the line gets smaller," Naito explained, "It would've been at least an hour wait."
"And then the hammer guy started bothering us." Kayla added.
"I don't think he'll be harassing anyone else any time soon," Cosena said.
The four of them continued to walk around, playing more games and getting on more rides together. Cosena couldn't believe how much fun she was having. She felt like a six year old again. This wasn't right, a maggot like her didn't deserve to enjoy herself like this. Yet, she couldn't stop herself from laughing. That was, at least, not until they got off the giant slide. Amongst the crowd she spotted something that made her freeze and her skin crawl, her smile slowly fading away.
"Cosena, are you okay?" Alsen asked.
"You're not going to puke, are you? Maybe we shouldn't have gotten on rides so soon after eating," Naito said.
"F-F..." Cosena pointed a shaky finger to the crowd. "Father...why is father here?"
"Huh?" They looked to where she pointed. "What are you talking about? Father isn't here."
"He's right there!" How didn't they see him? He was standing right there by the taco stand, having a chat with the man in front of him. He turned around, and was now coming their way. "He's coming...he's coming! I was bad, he's going to punish me!" Cosena pulled her sleeves up, and scratched frantically at her skin. Her nails cut through, and the maggots started to pour free.
"Cosena, stop!" Alsen grabbed her sister's hand and tried to pull it away from her skin.
"Ahh!!!" Cosena shrieked and shoved Alsen to the ground.
"Cosena...?" Naito took a cautious step towards her, but Cosena stepped back.
"I...I..." everywhere she looked, she saw her father. He was multiplying! His face was even on Naito's body now! She doubled over and puked.
"Cosena!" Naito placed a gentle hand on Cosena's shoulder, but it felt filthy and slimy.
"NO!!!" Cosena screamed and shoved him to the ground as well. "Don't touch me...don't touch me!" she could feel those cold hands creeping up all over her body. "Please, no! I'm sorry...I'm sorry! I'll be good!" she sat there on her knees, shaking and panting.
"Cosena..." Naito and Alsen were back up, cautiously making their way to their sister.
"No!!!" she screamed again, then got up and ran, still scratching at her arms.
"S-should I get somebody?" Kayla asked.
"Find the others! We need to get her back to the house!" Naito exclaimed as he and Alsen chased after Cosena.
Cosena continued to run, pushing past anyone that was in her way. She scratched so much that she was leaving a trail of maggots behind her. She heard Naito and Alsen calling after her. "Stop! Leave me alone!" she shouted back and flicked her wrist, causing a massive stone wall to slowly rise up from the ground.
"Acirila!", Naito chanted, creating a pillar of ice beneath his feet, which blasted him above the wall. He extended his fingers, creating a path of ice on the ground, which he landed on and used to glide his way over to Cosena, throwing his entire body weight at her, sending her toppling to the ground.
"Cosena!" he wrapped his arms around her torso and pressed his face into her chest, ignoring the panic of everyone around them. "It's okay, father isn't here! Alsen and I are here for you, so please, calm down!
"B-but, he's..." Cosena pointed, but she could no longer see Sartur anywhere. She looked at her arms. The maggots were gone, replaced with blood that continued to ooze out. It was only then that she realized how much pain she was in.
Naito ripped a piece of his shirt off, wrapping it around Cosena's wound. "Come on, l-"
"Attention, citizens," a familiar voice spoke from the pa system, "This is your prince calling for an emergency evacuation. Get as far away from here as you can. A threat has been identified, and we will be taking it down immediately. Again, Golden Land has been closed off due to an emergency. Please evacuate immediately."
Right after Silver's announcement, the stands erupted in bright purple flames. The citizens didn't need to be told twice. They got out of there as fast as they could.
"Purple flames..." Naito let go of Cosena and looked at the chaos around him. He knew what that meant: the girl in black was back, again. Was she the threat that Silver spoke of?
An ear splitting neigh came from behind him. There the prince was, sword in hand and clad in his armor, riding atop his great steed. Before Naito could say anything, Silver swung his sword, sending a cyclone of electricity spiraling his way.
Naito jumped to the side, letting the electricity crash into Cosena's wall. "Silver? What are you doing?!"
"We're not the ones who did this," Cosena added, motioning to the spreading flames.
"Be silent, you fiends!" Silver demanded with another swing of his sword, this one aimed at Cosena. She ducked just in time to avoid getting hit right in the face.
Naito pulled out his wand and chanted "Cieseroe!", transforming his wand into his ice riffle. He didn't know what was going on, but it was clear that Silver was no longer their ally.
"Xaerthe!" Cosena chanted, following Naito's lead and transforming her wand into the stone axe. They stood, ready for a fight, but Silver ascended, flying right over the wall.
"Cosena, Alsen's still over there!" Naito exclaimed with an expression of panic.
"I'm on i-" Cosena started, but her eyes went wide. "NAITO, BEHIND YOU!!!"
Naito spun around. Behind him there was a wave of purple flames, ravaging and consuming everything in its path, quickly making its way over to Naito and Cosena.
Cosena transformed her axe back to a wand wrapped herself around Naito. She gave a quick twirl of her wand, which created a small stone fortress around the two of them.
Naito felt an intense rush of heat, and knew that the wave had washed right over them. Sweat dripped down his forehead and he felt his vision getting blurry, but he shook his head. "Cosena, Alsen's in danger," he said.
"I know," Cosena replied. She poked holes in the fortress, just small enough to see through. They were surrounded by flames, but the stone wall still stood. "Naito, brace yourself. I'm going to launch us over the wall," She pressed her palm against the ground. Naito could hear it crack, then the ground where they stood, along with the stone fortress, was lifted from the ground, and shot right over the wall. The sound of them crashing down could have been heard from miles away.
"Ngh..." Cosena groaned as she made the fortress disappear. "Naito, are you okay?"
"Y-yeah..." he said, ignoring the aches reverberating through his body.
The two of them looked around, but there was no one in sight. They shared a knowing glance and nodded before running off in search of their sister.