It was a beautiful day at the Wartwood Farmers Market, Shadow and his two charges manning his meat stand, Anne's phone playing music from within a metal bucket on its side. Business had been going well for the trio and the townsfolk are loving the meat they provide, thanks to Shadow's hunting, as well as Anne and Kaemon's help, although the two did have to make sure the newt boy didn't get lost, like usual, but that didn't stop them from getting a good haul.
Anne gave Mrs. Croaker a packed case of meat. "Here you go, dearie." Mrs. Croaker said, giving her two copper coins.
"Catch ya later, Mrs. Croaker!" Anne said.
"Oh, they'll never catch me!" Sadie said, laughing as she walked away.
"I must say, Anne, your music is doing us wonders." Shadow said with a smile. "The townsfolk seem more interested than ever."
"Thanks, but I think your meat's doing most of the work." Anne giggled a bit. "After all, you know just the right seasoning to apply."
"Why thank you." Shadow said.
The two looked at each other, sporting blushes, before the music stopped.
"Hey, I didn't say stop the music!" Kaemon called from the grill, sporting a chef's hat and apron.
"Hang on, I'll play another." Anne said, grabbing her phone and scrolling through the selections, before gasping at the song she saw come up. "Oh, Baby by Justin Bieber!"
"Who-what-now?" Kaemon asked with confusion, Shadow looking her way with a raised brow.
"He's a popular singer in my world." Anne explained. "Then again, he's also pretty infamous too."
"How so?" Kaemon asked. "Was he a criminal?"
"No, not really." Anne said. "Although, he did run over a paparazzi with his car, vandalized a neighbor's house, and even threatened to kill his neighbor."
"Yeah, definitely not criminal behavior." Shadow rolled his eyes.
"Okay, but his music's pretty good!" Anne insisted. "Here, take a listen."
She then pressed play and placed her phone back in the bucket, the music starting. As the song went on, Anne started dancing a bit to the music, Kaemon stood and listened, although he didn't seem impressed.
Shadow, on the other hand? He looked like he was having a Vietnam flashback, his face having a look of heavily suppressed rage underneath. Although his face seemed blank, his left eye started twitching a bit and a vein seemed to pop on his forehead, his eyes filled with hidden murderous intent.
"Yeah-ah! This is my jam!" Anne declared. "What do you guys think?"
"It's…okay, I guess." Kaemon shrugged. "Not something I'd listen to every day."
"Bah, you're under selling it." Anne waved it off before turning to Shadow. "What about you, Teach?"
Rather than answering, Shadow dropped his utensils, Anne and Kaemon drawing confused looks before their eyes widened in horror as he pulled his katana from its sheath, raising it over his head before swinging downward, the two barely jumping out of the way in time before the weapon struck the ground.
Anne frantically grabbed her phone and paused the song. "What the heck, dude?!" Anne yelled in shock.
Shaking himself from his trance, Shadow looked at his friends. "My apologies, it seems that song was making me uncharacteristically angry and comfortable with homicide." He told them.
Both gave him bizarre looks. "HUH?" Both said in utter confusion.
"In other words, I really don't like that song." He said, sheathing his sword. "Please do not play it anymore."
"Aw come on!" Anne said, throwing her hands up in frustration. "This song isn't that bad!" She then paused before looking at the song currently paused on her phone. "Is it?"
"Yeah, it ain't nothing special either." Kaemon said, rubbing the back of his head. "Some things just don't age well."
Wanting to check for herself, and keep Shadow from going on a potential rampage, Anne plugged in her headphones and listened, stepping off to the side before bumping into someone.
It was none other than the jolliest frog in town, Barry. He was tall and plump, with blue skin and round eyes, two large buck teeth, pink cheeks, and a light blue underbelly. He had bright red bushy hair that was mostly covered by a dark brown top hat with a maroon band on it, along with a patch. He wore a plum purple dress-coat with a yellow bowtie, stripped pink pants and black dress shoes.
Barry was knocked to the ground, and his berries were dropped into a mud puddle.
"Gracious me!" He exclaimed with a funny voice.
"Oh! Are you okay, Barry?" Shadow quickly rushed to help Barry up to his feet.
"Oops. Sorry about that, Barry. I didn't see you there." Anne apologized.
Barry looked at his ruined berries, but it didn't seem to sour his mood. "Shucks, kids. Don't worry about it." He declared with a wink. "Nothing gets Barry down."
He then put his hands behind the humans before pulling back, revealing two lollipops in his hands, much to their amazement before taking the candy.
"You're always putting a smile on someone's face, Barry." Shadow said with a kind smile.
"Have a 'Barry' good day." Barry said with a chuckle before walking away, then appearing behind his stand, called 'Barry's Berries'. "Barry's here!" A crowd of kids cheered as they gathered at his stand.
"There goes Barry, sweetest frog in all of Wartwood." Shadow said with a smile.
"Nothing seems to get Barry down." Anne agreed. She then remembered the song was still playing through her earbuds. "Okay, this song sucks." She then proceeded to delete the song from her library. "Man, I guess some stuff doesn't hold up today."
"That's what I said!" Kaemon declared.
Shadow chuckled at their antics before looking over at the stall across from them. It was Flour Breads & Pastries, and the only person manning it seemed to be Maddie, the creepy frog girl stirring something inside a cauldron, likely making a potion.
"Hey, Maddie! Happy market day!" The boy greeted with a wave of his hand.
Maddie slowly twisted her head in a creepy manner at the boy, smiling eerily at him.
Noticing, Anne laughed. "Classic creepy Maddie."
"Who's the cute girl over there?" Kaemon asked, pointing at the frog girl.
"That would be Maddie." Shadow told him. "Everyone considers her the creepy weirdo of the town."
"I don't understand why." Kaemon said with his arms crossed. "She seems cute."
"Really?" Anne raised a brow. "You don't find anything she does strange?"
Looking over, Kaemon watched Maddie cutting up a loaf of bread, laughing manically.
"Nope, not a thing." Kaemon shrugged, saying that with a straight face. "If anything, I find it charming."
"You have weird taste." Anne frowned.
"If that's what he's into, I see no reason to discourage it." Shadow told her. "As long as their relationship is healthy, I don't see the harm."
"Thanks for your confidence, master." Kaemon said before looking as though he was going to go over to the creepy girl's stand.
"But she's already engaged to Sprig." Anne brought up. "Wouldn't it go against the bro code if Kaemon tried?"
"I'm sure he wouldn't mind, since he has feelings for Ivy." Shadow retorted.
"Yes, I've got a chance!" Kaemon said before opening the lid of a barrel where they keep all their meat.
"Here's another steak for the grill." Sprig's hand stuck out, holding a slab of steak.
"Thanks, Sprig." Kaemon said, taking the steak and putting it on the grill, seasoned it and watched it with a smile. Then realization hit him. "Wait a minute." He opened the barrel again, and sure enough, Sprig was in there, huddled inside the barrel. "Uh, what are you doing in the meat locker, getting your filth all over the meat?"
"Hiding. Ever since Maddie and I got engaged, things between us have been... awkward." Sprig told him.
"Dude, if you don't want to be engaged anymore, just go break it off." Anne suggested.
"Break up with her? To her face?!" Sprig asked incredulously, jumping out of the barrel before climbing on Anne and hiding in her hair. "She'll kill me!"
"Sprig, stop being dramatic." Shadow said with a roll of his eyes. "She wouldn't go that far."
Sprig only whimpered in fear, ducking back into Anne's hair before the Thai girl pulled him out and sat him behind the stand.
"Look, breakups are no big deal. I used to do it for my friends all the time." She told the frog boy. "They called me the Breakup Queen. Also, Angel of Death."
"So, you basically took the brunt of the anger and heartbreak of a breakup while your 'friends' got to hide behind you like cowards?" Shadow looked at her with a raised brow.
There was a moment of silence, Anne taking in what Shadow had said. "Well, when you put it like that…yeah, that does sound bad."
"Perfect!" Sprig said, pointing at Anne. "You go break up with her for me, and I'll go find a new hiding spot."
"Sprig, she is not gonna break up with Maddie for you." Shadow gave the young frog a firm stare. "You're gonna man up and do it yourself."
"But I don't wanna be a man!" Sprig whined out loud. "I'm only 10!"
"And Maddie deserves a proper breakup." Shadow countered not letting Sprig off the hook.
"Dude, it's cool." Anne said. "I'll do it."
"Anne, honestly?" Shadow gave her an incredulous look.
"Relax, I've done this a million times." Anne waved it off before making to approach the stand.
But she stopped halfway when she saw Maddie put a tray of cookies that, oddly enough, looked like herself, Sprig, Shadow and Kaemon, inside the oven. Looking through the window, the Thai girl could almost hear the figures letting out screams of agony from being burned and melted alive.
Anne then went nope, narrowing her eyes before backing up right back to the meat stand.
"What's plan B, Angel of Death?" Kaemon asked sarcastically.
"We'll try breaking up by text. That would be better." Anne said before grabbing a piece of paper and a pencil.
"Anne, that sounds even more cowardly." Shadow frowned, trying to talk sense into her.
"Yeah, I heard horror stories about people doing that with their lovers and it never ends well." Kaemon said, shuddering at the thought.
"It's not super cool, but, hey, everybody's done it at least once." Anne said with a roll of her eyes.
"Now we're all cowards." Sprig said with a laugh.
"Nope. Just you two." Shadow said before returning to the grill.
"Hey, hold up." Kaemon said before Anne could start writing the letter. "How about, instead of risking making things worse with a letter, I could just steal her from you?"
"Dude, seriously?" Anne looked at him with a raised brow. "You're still thinking about that?"
"Wait, I think he's on to something." Sprig said.
"Simple; I put the charm on her, make her fall for me, and she leaves you." Kaemon explained. "That way, you're free to pursue Ivy at your leisure!"
"Dude, don't say that out loud! She might hear!" Sprig said, nervously looking around to see if his crush was nearby. Luckily, she wasn't.
"It's a win-win, dude." Kaemon insisted with a shrug.
"Dude, by all means." Sprig said, gesturing to Maddie. "She's all yours."
Smiling, Kaemon cracked his neck, "Alright, time to make my move."
The newt boy removed his apron and chef's hat before walking over, the humans and frog boy watching. He approached the stand, propping an elbow on the counter and gave a confident smile.
"Hey there!"
Maddie looked towards him with a creepy wide-eyed look, "Hey."
"Lovely day out, huh?" Kaemon inquired. "Clear skies are perfect for the farmers market."
"They are." Maddie answered blandly.
Anne was cringing from the way it went. "I can already see this crashing and burning." She said.
"Give it a minute." Shadow insisted.
"Hey, watcha got cooking over there?" Kaemon asked, pointing at Maddie's cauldron.
Maddie looked at her cauldron before returning her gaze to the newt. "I'm brewing potions."
"Oh, a witch then?" Kaemon asked with interest. "That's something you don't see every day."
"Witchcraft is often times a misunderstood craft." Maddie said. "Sometimes, it can be used to help people in various ways."
"Kinda like the sword, in a way." Kaemon said. "Sure, it can be a weapon of war, but also a tool to help."
"That's an interesting way of putting it." Maddie smiled.
Anne, Shadow and Sprig watched the interaction, the two exchanging some things regarding swords and witchcraft, and Anne was surprised by how it seemed to be going well.
"I can't believe it's actually going well." She admitted.
"Told you Kaemon had this handled." Shadow smirked.
"Hey, do you feel like hanging out more?" Kaemon asked. "I'm interested if there's any potions that can enchant my swords."
"Are you asking me out?" Maddie raised a brow.
"Why not?" Kaemon inquired. "We're both weird, you like witchcraft and I like swords. I'd say we'd make quite the pair!"
Maddie seemed to consider it before smiling. "I sure wouldn't mind." She said.
The two then walked off, the trio watching from the stand, Anne and Sprig in surprise, while Shadow only smiled, happy for his friend.
"I can't believe that actually worked." Anne said in disbelief.
Suddenly, a paper airplane flew and hit Sprig's hat, the frog boy taking it and unfolding it, revealing a letter.
Dear Sprig,
It's over.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
-Maddie
The three looked up to see Maddie smiling as she waved before walking away, Kaemon looking over his shoulder at them, winking and holding up a thumbs up.
Everyone was quiet until Sprig spoke up. "I feel robbed yet relieved at the same time."
"Well, that worked out better than I thought." Anne said, leaning against the counter with the lollipop in her mouth. "Still, it went well and no one was hurt." She then high fived Sprig, Shadow rolling his eyes before turning his attention to the grill with his lollipop in his mouth.
But there was in fact a problem, and the kids weren't even aware. Someone was hurt and angry from their actions, and they would make sure they suffered for it.
The next morning, everything was normal for the most part. The trio woke up early as Shadow prepared breakfast; the usual seasoned snake steaks with a side of sliced potatoes. After making sure their meals were how each one preferred, Shadow sat the plates in front of his guests and the three ate in comfortable silence.
Until that silence was broken when Anne started to sing in between bites. "Baby, baby, baby, ooooh. Like, Baby, baby, baby, noooo."
"What are you doing?" Shadow asked with a raised brow.
"Huh?" Anne asked, oblivious to what she was doing.
"You're singing that song again." Kaemon said.
"I am?" Anne asked with surprise.
"Yes, now please cease it." Shadow said, slightly annoyed. "I find it very annoying."
"Sorry. I guess it's kinda catchy." Anne shrugged, still confused before she proceeded to eat her breakfast.
That wouldn't be the last time it happens, however.
It started when Anne was helping Shadow in the garden, pulling up corn, carrots and picking tomatoes, when Anne started singing again. "You know you love me, I know you care."
"Anne!" Shadow exclaimed.
Later, Kaemon and Anne were both chopping wood. "You are my love, you are my heart."
"Anne!" Kaemon snapped.
Later, Anne and Shadow were walking, returning to the hut from the market. The Thai girl was singing once again, but this time, Shadow had had enough. "I thought you'd always be mi-"
"Anne, cease this at once!" He snapped in annoyance, turning to face her and pointing at her.
"I'm sorry, I can't help it, it's stuck in my head, and I can't get it out." Anne said, genuinely sorry for annoying her caretaker, but can't understand why she keeps singing it.
"Well, for my sanity, and yours, we need to get it out of your head." He said.
Inside the hut, the two were sat down on the floor, Anne scrolling through her songs. "Okay, let's try playing another song. Hopefully, it'll cancel the other out." She found a song, called St. James by Avenged Sevenfold, the only song by the band she ever kept saved, before playing it. It started with what sounded like the cracking open of a glass before liquid was poured into what could be another glass before the song began. The two humans sat close together, slowly bobbing their heads to the song.
As the song went on, Anne enjoyed the song before she looked over at her caretaker, a smile on his face and his eyes closed. She couldn't help but admire how peaceful he looked, enjoying the music. Given his past, he deserved to be at peace. And she loved seeing that cute smile of his.
When she thought that, she blushed before blurting out, "BABY, BABY, BABY, OH!"
Shadow yelped before falling over, Anne covering her mouth in shock before pausing the song.
"Anne, are you feeling well?" He asked with concern.
"Yeah, I just…uhhhh…JUST NEED TO USE THE OUTHOUSE!" She then leaped up and darted outside, leaving Shadow confused.
Just then, Kaemon walked in, looking out through the threshold. "Everything alright?" The newt asked.
"We're trying to get that song out of Anne's head, with little success." Shadow told him.
Heading to the outhouse, they could hear that song playing from within, making Kaemon cringe and Shadow grind his teeth in anger.
"Anne, I asked you, kindly, to never play that song again." Shadow said through gritted teeth.
"Wait, didn't she delete that song?" Kaemon asked.
Both boys realized something was wrong before Shadow slowly pushed the door open. "Anne, is everything—WHAT IN THE WORLD?!" He gasped as both he and Kaemon looked at Anne's current state, the girl floating before them as though she was in some sort of trance. She had purple beams emitting from her mouth and her eyes dilated, that Justin Bieber song coming from her mouth.
The boys watched in shock before she suddenly returned to normal, standing on her feet and panted and the song stopped, a look of fear on her face.
"What the heck is going on?!" Kaemon asked.
"I don't-" Anne said before she started singing and floating again before going back to normal. "-know! I can't-" She did it again before going back to normal. "-control it."
"We need serious help here." Kaemon said.
Leaving the hut, the trio went to the Plantar, along the way, Anne kept floating and singing that song, Shadow looking as though he was about to explode with rage. Upon arriving, they explained what happened to the Plantars what was happening since the morning.
"…and that's the gist of it." Shadow finished. "I don't understand what's causing it, but it's like she's under some sort of spell."
"I don't know what's causing it! I thought it was just stuck in my head, but-" She was interrupted when she started singing and floating again until she was back to normal. "WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME?!"
Hop Pop brought a hand to his chin. "Since this morning, you say." He watched it happen again before it stopped. "I think I've seen all I need to. You…have been cursed!"
"Cursed?" Anne said incredulously before it happened again. "That's a thing here?!"
"This land of ours is home to many arts, Anne. Sculpture, mosaics, and of course..." Hop then suddenly used a sinister tone. "THE DARK ARTS!"
"Cursed?! But-but how? When?" Sprig said, freaking out, as he placed his hands on his head.
"Well, it takes about a night for a curse to kick in. Either of you upset anyone yesterday?" Hop Pop asked them.
The minute he mentioned that, Anne, Shadow, Sprig and Kaemon gasped. "Maddie!"
"Wait, hold on!" Kaemon then said, holding his hands up. "Why would Maddie curse us? She was the one who broke up with Sprig."
"Maybe to punish him for being a bad boyfriend?" Anne suggested, before her body floated and sang again before going back to normal.
"Anne, Maddie's not petty that way." Shadow frowned. "She'd never go out of her way to hurt someone like that."
"Either way, he should at least try to talk to her." Hop Pop insisted. "Only she could lift this."
"You're right." Sprig said with a sigh, before saying with a hopeful smile. "Or maybe we could try sleeping it off. Maybe it'll wear off in the morning."
Seeing that Sprig wasn't budging, Anne sighed. "Alright. I've got a really bad feeling about where this is headed."
That night, everyone went to sleep. Shadow was laid neatly in his bed, Kaemon was sprawled out snoring loudly, but Anne seemed to toss and turn in her sleep, muttering in her sleep, before her eyes shot open, and she found herself in a gray void. Standing up, she looked around.
"Hello?" She called, her call echoing, but saw nor heard anything else, besides her own echo. She soon started wondering aimlessly, until suddenly a giant speaker emerged from the ground in front of her, playing that Baby song on full blast. She turned and tried to run, but another speaker emerged from the ground, both speakers growing larger and blasting that terrible song.
Letting out a frustrated growled, Anne slapped her ears to make it stop. "Get out, get out!" She then let out an enraged scream before jamming a hand into her ear, before finally pulling out the song disc, covered in earwax. The music finally stopping, she threw the disc some distance away.
She laughed victoriously, but gasped when she saw a shadow emerge from where she had thrown the disc. The shadow then ran towards a terrified Anne.
"AAAAAHHHHH!" Ane shot up with a scream, panting heavily before realizing she was still in her room.
Letting out a groan, she rubbed her head, before noticing something. "The song! It's gone!" She got up and swung open the door, Shadow cooking breakfast while Kaemon sat at the table.
"Guys, guys!" She called, jogging up to them.
"Huh? Everything alright?" Shadow asked, both him and the newt looked at her in confusion.
"The song! It's not in my head anymore!" She told them with a grin.
"Oh, that's awesome, dude!" Kaemon said with a smile. "Now we won't have to listen to that stupid song anymore."
"And I'm sure Sprig will be glad." Shadow chuckled.
Suddenly, the moment was ruined when they heard that song again, turning and gasping at the sight of a disc-headed humanoid wearing what seemed like clothes of a boyband reject and a blonde bowl hair, presumably Justin Bieder's old haircut, dancing to the music.
The three looked on in shock before Kaemon asked, "What the heck is that?"
"I have no idea what I'm looking at." Shadow said, trying to keep himself from exploding with rage.
"I think the song must've left my head and somehow manifested into a physical form!" Anne gasped, the disc-headed figure still dancing.
"Well turn it off!" Shadow snapped, plugging his ears.
"Hey, dancing-song dude! Knock it off!" Anne yelled at the disc head, but it just kept dancing and blasting that song. Annoyed, Anne approached it. "Dude, come on, quit it! Seriously, man! I'm sick of this song!"
The curse started drumming on Anne's head. "Get off!" She yelled furiously before lunging at it, only to phase right through it and falling to the ground. "Oh my God, it's a ghost disc!"
"Please, Anne, it's no ghost." Kaemon scoffed. "It's just music. You can't touch music." He then made a haunting expression. "But music can touch you."
"Aw crud. So how do we get rid of it?" Anne asked, walking back to the table with her arms crossed.
"We need to find Sprig and get him to talk to Maddie." Kaemon said. "And quickly, before Shadow loses it."
As it seemed, Shadow looked like he was ready to explode, his face turning a bright red color and his eyes dangerously flickering to black.
The duo quickly dragged Shadow out of the hut and down the path towards town, the curse following them, before they arrived at the Plantar home, the three entering the home.
"Guys, I'm afraid the curse just got worse!" Anne exclaimed.
Before anyone could inquire more, the curse jumped and phased through the window, landing on its feet before resuming blasting that song and dancing.
Shadow looked like he was about to explode with rage, which Anne was quick to take notice of. "Quick, Kaemon! Earmuff Maneuver!"
Anne pulled out two small pillows before pressing them against the sides of her teacher's head, blocking his ears, while Kaemon tied a rope around the top of his head, holding the pillows in place.
Shadow calmed down, returning to normal before looking at his students. "Nice thinking, you two." He told them.
"Okay, this has gone too far!" Anne said. "We need to find Maddie and get her to undo this curse!"
"I don't know, why don't we just ignore it and maybe it'll go away?" Sprig suggested with a nervous smile.
"Sprig, enough is enough!" Kaemon yelled, picking the pink frog up by his shirt. "You are going to talk to Maddie and get her to lift this curse and that's that!"
Sprig groaned loudly, "Fine, fine. But it's gonna be sooo awkward."
"I don't care!" Anne yelled. "We're going to talk to Maddie, no ands, ifs, or buts about it!"
The trio made for the door, but when they opened it, an oddly happy looking Maddie stood there with a breadbasket with Anne, Sprig, Kaemon, and Shadow dough figures.
"Got Mr. Plantar's bread order here." She said before taking notice of the newt. "Hey there, Kaemon."
"Hey to you too, Maddie." Kaemon greeted with a finger gun hand gesture and a wink.
Before Sprig could panic, Anne pushed him forward. "Dude, be a man and speak up."
Sprig faced the frog girl with an awkward look. "Oh... Hey, Maddie."
"Sprig." Maddie said.
Anne nudged Sprig to Maddie with her hands. "Stop stalling, dude."
Sprig turned to Maddie, smiling nervously. "Uh..." He groaned, trying to build up courage to say what needed to be said and finally raised his voice. "Maddie, I'm sorry for things not working out between us! I should have said something sooner and I feel so bad for being such a coward!"
Maddie, mildly peeved, looked at him. "Well, it was bound to end up not working out either way. But as much as I would've preferred an actual conversation, I was fine with what went down." She then strode up to Kaemon. "Besides, I think I've found my match."
"Oh, thank goodness." Sprig sighed in relieve.
Anne nudged Shadow's arm. "Told ya. Breakup 'qua-ween'." Shadow didn't respond, only rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"So can you take this curse off?" Sprig begged, getting on his knees. "Please?"
Maddie raised an eyebrow before looking over at the disc-headed curse, still dancing and blasting the song. "Huh. I was wondering where that song was coming from." She said, seemingly unfazed by the curse.
"Please, make it stop!" Anne begged, getting to her knees and clasped her hands together.
Maddie stared at the curse as it continued to dancing and singing before looking at them. "Sorry, but I can't. Curses can only be lifted by the caster, and this isn't my curse."
"What?!" Anne gasped in shock.
"But if it wasn't you, then who?" Sprig asked, wondering what kind of monster would curse them like this.
Thinking for a moment, Maddie pulled out a mortar bowl full of soil, then grinded it with a pastle and sprinkled a pinch of minerals on it. She then threw a handful of soil onto the floor and a purple cloud of smoke engulfed Anne, Shadow, Kaemon and Sprig, making them cough. The smoke dissipated to reveal a glowing blue trail on the floor, leading outside.
"This trail will lead us to the caster." Maddie explained. "Quickly! Before it goes cold."
The five ran down the road, the curse still following behind.
"Why'd you think it was me who cursed you?" Maddie asked Sprig.
"He thought it was punishment for being such a weak boyfriend." Kaemon told her.
"Dude, don't tell her that!" Sprig said, before turning to the frog girl. "To be honest, you do give off a creepy vibe."
Slightly offended, Maddie looked back at him. "Just because I seem creepy to you doesn't mean I'm a bad person. I'll have you know, I learned magic to help people, not hurt them. Sheesh! Appearances aren't everything, Sprig." She chastised him before running ahead.
Sprig slowed to a halt, thinking about what she said. "Yeah, well that's... That's a really good point."
"Well, this will all end in tears." Shadow said. The kids gasping when they heard the song before running after Maddie.
They continued following the magic trail, jumping through a wall of underbrush when they came across an old storage shed, the magic leading them squeezing itself through the gap of the closed doors. Shadow glanced at his companions before stepping forward, one hand on his katana and the other pushing the doors. Peeking inside, the kids couldn't see anything due to how dark it was.
"What kind of evil person would live in a place like this?" Anne asked before the doors suddenly closed behind them, making them all gasp.
Then a mushroom light came on. They looked with confusion to see it attached to a shelf lined with various candies. Then another came on, then another, revealing more shelves stocked with candy. The last one came on, revealing the mastermind behind the curse leaning against the wall.
"Hello, children." Barry said with a wicked smile, lifting the brim of his hat to look at them, laughing at their shocked expressions. "Enjoying the curse I put on you?"
"Barry?" Shadow exclaimed, while Anne, Kaemon and Sprig put their hands to their cheeks. "It was you who cursed us?!"
Suddenly, the disc head kicked the door open while blasting its song, the kids screaming upon seeing it, while Shadow looked like he was about to explode, until Barry snapped his fingers. Suddenly, the curse stopped singing and dancing and simply stood in place, blocking the doorway.
"Goodness, that song is annoying. Why would you even listen to it in the first place?" Barry asked Anne with a cringed expression.
"Why, Barry? Why?" Sprig cried.
"Why?" Barry repeated, before dropping the façade, his face turning angry. "I'll tell you why! It's because of her!" He pointed his cane at Anne.
"Me? What'd I do?!" Anne asked, pointing at herself.
"Surely you remember barging into me at the market yesterday?" Barry said. "Spilling my entire stock of blue moon berries that only grow once every ten years. They were priceless! I played it cool and was sweet because my image is half my business. I may look nice, but I'm petty and vengeful on the inside." He let out a maniacal laughter.
Maddie glanced at the others before giving them a nudge, specifically Anne. She knew she did wrong. "Yeah, that was our bad. Looks can be deceiving. We get it." She said, rubbing the back of her head.
"Ah, right, right. The lesson thing." Sprig said, snapping his fingers.
"Not everyone is what they appear to be." Kaemon nodded.
"And now to resume your punishment." Barry said, making to snap his fingers.
"Barry, wait!" Shadow exclaimed, holding up a hand for Barry to stop. "You're angry, I understand, but this isn't the answer. What Anne did was a complete accident."
"He's right, I didn't mean for it to happen." Anne nodded, stepping in front of the group with an apologetic expression. "I swear, I didn't mean to knock over your berries, and I'm so sorry. Please lift this curse."
After hearing such a heartfelt apology, Barry took a moment to think. "Hmm, let me think- Never!" He shouted. "Not only am I petty, but I'm very unforgiving." Barry said, turning away with his arms crossed.
Then he snapped his fingers, the curse starting back up. "Noooooooooo!" Kaemon, Anne, and Sprig yelled as the disc head started singing and dancing.
Shadow, on the other hand, was livid. Not only from having deal with the annoying song that was driving him to the brink of committing mass murder, but also from someone as petty as this.
Finally reaching past his breaking point, the boy pulled his sword free from its scabbard. "If you will not cease this curse…" He said before his tone grew darker and his eyes turning black. "THEN I WILL CEASE YOUR LIFE!"
With a demonic roar, he charged forward, katana raised overhead to swing down, the frog man screaming in horror at the fury-driven boy before narrowly diving out of the way, the boy cutting a box in two. Shadow roared in fury as he kept chasing Barry around, the frog barely able to dodge each swing from Shadow's blade, anything in his path getting sliced up, the other kids watching from a safe distance.
"Shouldn't we do something?" Sprig asked.
"Nah, let him get it outta his system." Anne said, watching her teacher terrorize the frog. "I think he needs this, considering he's been dealing with this all day."
Barry fell to the floor, scrambling away from the madness driven boy, as he approached menacingly, before Barry reached inside a barrel and pulled out a small sack, and just as Shadow raised his sword to strike when Barry threw the sack at him, the sack exploding on contact and engulfing him in green smoke.
"Teach/Master/Shadow!" Anne, Kaemon, and Sprig all gasped, as the smoke dissipated, revealing Shadow to have turned to stone.
"Oh my God!" Anne said in shock, approaching the petrified Shadow. "He's been turned into solid…" She tapped her knuckle against Shadow's chest. "…rock."
"As a curse wielder myself, this abuse of magic offends me." Maddie said, glaring at the adult frog before pulling out two bags of curses.
Barry, still shaken from being chased, barely had time to duck out of the way of a thrown curse, which ended up hitting one of the mushroom lights behind him, cursing it with eyes. "Oh, goodness!"
"You should never curse someone unless they really deserve it." Maddie said before pulling out some more curses. "And, buddy, you deserve it!"
She then threw some more curses at Barry, the petty frog dodging a few more curses. "Ah! Two can play at that game." He said, pulling his own curses from a cauldron and threw them. Anne, Kaemon and Maddie were able to get out of the way, but Sprig wasn't fast enough when he got hit.
"Sprig!" Anne and Kaemon gasped.
When the smoke dissipated, Sprig was covered in orange hair, making him look like a giant furball. He pushed the hair out of his face before gasping at what he looked like. "What have you done to me?!"
Kaemon glared, but gasped when he saw a curse beign thrown at Anne. "Watch out!" He yelled, pushing Anne out of the way before being hit himself.
"Kaemon!" Both Anne and Maddie gasped, before the dust settled, Kaemon now covered with green fur and sporting an orange nose. Seeing his reflection, Kaemon was utterly confused.
"And what matter of animal am I supposed to be?" He asked, poking his nose.
Anne chuckled at her friend's curse. "Dude, you look like Elmo from Sesame Street."
Suddenly, a curse hit her as well, turning her into a big brown bird with a grey beak and bird legs while still wearing her school uniform.
Kaemon gasped in shock. "Anne, are you okay?"
Anne, however, was surprisingly calm. "You know, it's actually not that bad. Watch this!" She knelt down on a floorboard, put her beak into a hole. Kaemon watched with wide eyes as she pulled out a large yellow worm with her beak. "Ha!" Anne then tossed up the worm and gobbled it in her mouth. She smiled and hummed happily before immediately frowning. "I hate this curse."
Barry laughed villainously before turning his attention to Maddie, who still hadn't felt his wrath, before throwing a spell, Kaemon pulling her out of the way and sitting her on his shoulders before pulling out two swords. "Let's go, chuckle fuck." He snarled before charging in, dodging another curse thrown at him as Maddie threw another curse at the candy maker.
Kaemon yelled as he swung his swords downward, Barry jumping away before throwing another curse, the newt boy jumping to the side to dodge, all the while the disc head was sing and dancing, Anne and Sprig trying to avoid the crossfire, while Shadow was helpless to move at all, before one of Maddie's spells landed in front of Barry, knocking him off his feet. The same happened with Kaemon, one of Barry's spells landing in front of him and sending him flying, the boy pulling Maddie close to his chest as he tumbled.
Barry reached into a cauldron and pulled out one last sack. "Ah! My last curse!" He said, growling at the kids.
Maddie reached for another curse, but to her dismay, she was out of ammo. "I'm out!"
"What do we do?" Anne asked, hiding behind a shelf.
"Give me a hand."
"You mean literally? Or figuratively?" She asked before sticking her hand out to Maddie, who then grabbed a handful of her feathers before yanking them out. "Ow!"
She then pulled some fur from Kaemon, who didn't seem to mind, then did the same with Sprig's hair. "Ow. What the heck?" Sprig whined, rubbing his head.
Pulling another cloth, Maddie quickly prepared one last spell as Barry charged at her.
"Gotcha!" Barry exclaimed, before throwing his curse at her.
Maddie however, did the same, everyone watching as the curses collided.
"Oh, dear."
What followed was an explosion of purple and green, the disc head soon puffing away in a puff of smoke, ending the curse. When the dust settled, Barry coughed before looking down, gasping in horror at the sight of having turned into a giant chicken. "Oh, no! My beautiful body!"
Maddie smirked triumphantly as Anne, Kaemon, and Sprig-who for some reason was in his underwear- coughed before realizing their curses was lifted, including the Baby song curse.
"We're back to normal!" Sprig exclaimed happily.
"She turned the curses back on him!" Kaemon declared with a grin.
"Maddie, you did it!" Anne exclaimed with a big grin.
Their celebration was cut short, however, when an enraged Shadow let out a primal scream, as he ran in blindly, sword raised overhead, making everyone panic.
"Master, calm down!" Kaemon yelled. "The curses have been lifted!"
"Yeah, no need to commit a massacre!" Anne added.
Sure enough, the human boy did calm down, breathing heavily, as he looked around.
"So, it seems." He said before sheathing his sword. "My apologies for the scare."
"All right, you crazy kids bested me." Barry approached them with a scowl. "Now go on, turn me back."
"After what you put us through?" Shadow glared at him. "You're lucky I don't kill you for the madness you've caused us!"
"He's right. You're way too dangerous." Maddie said, turning away with her eyes closed and arms crossed.
"What!? You can't just leave me like this!" Barry cawed in shock.
"Who says we're leaving you like this?" Kaemon grinned wickedly. "We could always cook you up for dinner. I'm kinda in the mood for chicken stir fry."
Barry squawked in fear, scrambling away.
"Aw, come on, Maddie. We did him wrong." Sprig said with a frown. "Sure, he's a menace, but he could always have a second chance."
Maddie considered his words before relenting with a sigh. "Fine. I'll change him back." She looked over at the shelves of candy. "But for a price."
Upon returning to town, the five kids were each carrying a crate of candies and sweets. The deal was that Maddie would change Barry back and warning him what would happen if he ever tried something like this again.
"Any chance we could get some of this candy?" Sprig asked as they stopped at Maddie's house.
"No way." Maddie said.
Setting down her crate, Anne sighed happily. "You know, Teach, I think we've all learned something from this madness. That behind every curse, is a blessing."
Shadow gave her a blank stare. "Not a snowballs chance in Hell." He said.
"It was literally a curse, Anne." Kaemon frowned.
Sprig looked at Maddie, still feeling guilty for the way things ended. "Thanks for helping us, Maddie. And sorry the engagement had to end like this." He then extended a hand. "Friends?"
Maddie looked at the frog boy's hand before smiling. "Friends." She then shook his hand before suddenly pulling him closer. "I can't wait to hang out."
With the curse ordeal done and over with, the kids went back to Shadow's hut, Kaemon going hunting -with Sprig tagging along to make sure he didn't get lost- and Shadow was in his meat shack, preparing the meat for the market, like usual.
After finishing prepping the meat, Shadow walked back into the hut to see Anne putting something onto the wall.
"What's that?" He asked with curiosity.
"I'm glad you asked!" She says as steps aside and poses with her arms pointed toward the item on the wall. "This my friend is a dart board!"
Looking at it, the board was rounded and made of wood, with several bullseye's painted on it, held up by a nail.
"A little simple and rough around the edges, but not bad craftsmanship." Shadow admitted with a finger and thumb to his chin, as he observed it. "So, what do I do with it?"
"Oh, that's very simple!" Anne declared before walking over to a small table against the wall where the board was hung up and picking up a mosquito dart. "Every time you have rage building up inside, you just come to this bad boy and unleash it!" She then threw the dart towards the board, landing a bullseye. "Just try not to destroy the house."
Shadow frowned at this, "Anne, I'm not that violent."
"Yeah, the rage you showed towards Barry and the floor where you almost sliced me in half say otherwise." The Thai girl countered.
Shadow gave it some thought before shrugging, "Touché. So, how does it work?"
"It's simple! Watch!" Anne proceeded to demonstrate, and thankfully, the hut didn't end up with a new hole. Yet.