“Please to meet you all.” The demon repeated as he started emitting waves upon waves of corrupted energy into the crowd.

 

Alarms blared as the principal jolted from his paperwork in surprise. The man quickly sent out signals to the three Masked Reformers, reporting to them the location of the abnormal energy readings. The security officer, who was already present during the pep rally to maintain order, quickly hid behind the bleachers upon encountering the first instance of chaotic energy. Whipping out his handbook, he tapped it with his T-baton and transformed.

 

Meanwhile, Shawn and Rachel were also nearby when they received the locations. Quickly dropping what they were doing, they immediately headed to the gym. Sylvia and Joseph were also present during the pep rally since they were on chaperone duty. When Prince first showed his grotesque self and turned the cheerleaders into minions, they were already urging the students to escape through the main exit doors.

 

As more and more students began collapsing from the chaotic energy, some of them transformed into yellowish imps to add into the growing ranks of minions. Those who managed to escape from the waves of corruption were escorted out of the gym by teachers and faculty on chaperone duty, much to the annoyance of the new monster.

 

“Where do you think you’re going?” Prince sneered as he ordered his minions to cut off the students’ escape routes. “Boonsies, attack!”

 

A group of minions rushed towards the escaping students. But just before the Boonsies could beat them down, three rays of sharpened pencils pierced through the three frontmost minions, knocking them off their feet. Those behind skidded to a stop as they tried to find the source.

 

“The Masked Reformers are on the stage!” The Blue Reformer shouted as he appeared with weapons out and battlesuit worn, much to the cringe of the other two heroes.

 

“What’s this? Only three of you? Where are the other two?” Prince gazed down at the three Masked Reformers, a smirk crept up on his face.

 

“They…Even without them, we will kick your ass!” Teo snapped.

 

The three Masked Reformers charged towards the group of minions, dealing out quick hits here and there. The Blue Reformer dashed towards a Boonsie and slammed the butt of his T-baton into the minion’s stomach, bringing it to its knees. Then, with a staggering kick, he viciously sent the imp skidding towards the bleachers.

 

The Green Reformer whirled his metallic meter stick like a short staff and simultaneously smacked four Boonsies in the face with a fierce horizontal blow. He reached into his backpack and pulled out three sharpened pencils. With a snap of his wrist, he threw the pencils into the crowd of Boonsies, the writing utensils penetrating their targets like darts.

 

Meanwhile, the Red Reformer pulled their flogger taut as they strutted into the Boonsie midst with leisure and confidence. Any minion entering their bubble would receive a painful mark to the body or face. And whenever two minions flanked them, they would deal a fast whip to the one in the front while sending a sharp kick to the one in the back.

 

The three managed to hold off the ten or so minions by themselves, but even they couldn’t compete against the numbers. Like the monster they encountered previously, Prince also started overdosing corrupted students with chaotic energy, converting them into Boonsies. More and more minions joined the attack, pushing the three Masked Reformers into a corner.

 

Some even managed to slip past them and charge towards the evacuating students. Luckily, Joseph saw them coming as he pounced towards one and kneed it in the face. The minion flew back and crashed into another one behind it. While the man backed away with the others, he expertly protected the rear side by unleashing painful toe jabs at incoming Boonsies.

 

Once everyone was through the door, Joseph and some strong students slammed the door shut and barricaded it with some lockers that they tipped over. Most students already ran away, but some stayed behind. They cast panicked gazes towards each other as they chattered about.

 

“W-What was that?” A student stuttered. “Was t-that a monster?”

 

“I-I don’t kn-know.” Another student stammered. “All I saw was the cheerleaders tr-transforming into w-weird little creatures. And then I ran for m-my life.”

 

“Me too.”

 

“Same.”

 

As more and more students nodded in agreement, one young girl walked towards Sylvia with a questioning look. “Miss Pembroke…do you know what happened?”

 

“Uhm…uh….” Sylvia began but didn’t know how to continue. She glanced towards Joseph for help.

 

“That wasn’t a monster. It was just a group of delinquents stirring up trouble. I’ve already notified the police. They should be here soon.” Joseph decisively explained.

 

“Gangsters? But they don’t look like it. Who are you trying to fool? Look at that! Does that look human to you?” One rude kid snorted as he stared at the Boonsie outside the door window.

 

Joseph turned to see the Boonsie snarling and giggling in his direction and moved over to block its view. “I recall the one who called himself ‘Prince’ seem to release some kind of gaseous substance into the air. Do you guys remember seeing it?”

 

“Y-Yea…what about it?” The rude child acknowledged after a brief moment of hesitation.

 

“I think that was some sort of hallucinogen. The fact that we’re all seeing monsters meant that we are suffering from mass hallucinations.” The PE teacher reasoned. “But in actuality, they must be delinquents wearing grotesque masks.”

 

“He’s right.” Sylvia chipped in as she pointed at the Boonsie. “If you look at this ‘monster’ closely, doesn’t it look more like someone in a costume wearing a weird-looking mask?”

 

As the young audience murmured with agreement, one of the more skeptical students couldn’t help but ask about the three masked figures who came to help them. Joseph, in turn, nonchalantly denied ever seeing those figures.

 

“What do you mean you saw three masked figures?” The PE teacher asked. “I didn’t see any of them. What about you guys?”

 

A couple of students voiced their affirmations. However, the PE teacher dismissed it as their individual hallucinations. To further validate his denial, he asked the students to describe the figures. When they gave different descriptions, the smarter students confirmed that they might really be hallucinating everything that had happened so far.

 

Some students wanted to insist on what they saw, but Sylvia and a few other teachers ushered them away from the gym. Soon, except for Joseph, the hallway was empty. As the man looked through the door window, he nervously fidgeted whenever he saw the Masked Reformers fall under the pressure of numbers. Suddenly, he heard some footsteps from behind. Without turning around, he knew that it was Sylvia.

 

“H-How are they?” Sylvia asked as she stood by Joseph’s side, her hand reaching out to tug on his sleeve.

 

“Not good.” Joseph shook his head with a sigh. “I don’t think they’ll be able to win. Based on my estimation, that monster must be at least a level stronger than the one we faced previously.”

 

“T-Then!” Sylvia gasped as she covered her mouth. “Then wont’ that mean that they’ll lose?”

 

“Not just lose…they might die.” Joseph muttered, barely audible.

 

“This is bad! This is bad!” Sylvia frantically paced about. “What do we do? D-Do we – ?”

 

“We what?” Joseph snapped back, bringing the young woman to a timid stop. “What do you mean by ‘what do we do’? Or have you forgotten we handed in our handbooks because we didn’t want to be in this mess? At least that’s the reason for me. What about you?”

 

“I-I-I…I was s-scared.” Sylvia tried to object but simmered down to a whisper. “I was scared of getting hurt. I-I didn’t want to end up like Elia.”

 

“We all are.” Joseph retorted. “We all are.”

 

A sudden scream of pain drew the two people’s attention towards the door window. They saw the Blue Reformer collapse under the constant attacks of four giggling Boonsies. Joseph gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. However, Sylvia was unbelievably quiet.

 

Seeing Teo being beaten black and blue, Sylvia steadied herself with a deep breath. “I’m scared…but…but I want to help.”

 

“I want to help too.” Joseph glanced at Sylvia in surprise and nodded, his respect for her increased to a whole new level. The two glanced in each other’s eyes and, as if seeing something familiar in them, they wordlessly left.

 

A few minutes ago, in the gym….

 

HIEEE! HIEEE! HIIEEE!

 

The group of Boonsies started giggling in a chant-like sequence, their bodies glowing a golden hue. This was a buff ability specialized by the Boonsies. Each minion had the skill to boost one another’s physical attributes at random. Judging by the increase in upper body mass, one could confirm that their strength had surged significantly.

 

The three Masked Reformers noticed the change a little too late and had to experience it firsthand. While the Green Reformer was pushed back and the Red Reformer was pushed away, Teo, the Blue Reformer, was downright smacked into the ground. Four buffed Boonsies whaled at the man with no remorse. The obese man could do nothing but hold his head and curl into a ball.

 

TEO! YOUR BATTLESUIT IS SUSTAINING A LOT OF DAMAGE! WHAT’S HAPPENING?

 

“P-Principal Jones? The minions are too strong! I-I can’t hold on!” Teo stammered as he heard the principal speak to him telepathically.

 

ACTIVATE YOUR HUD! TOUCH YOUR VISOR!

 

“M-My HUD?” Teo subconsciously reached up to touch his visor.

 

Immediately, a message displayed before him. It gave a short summary containing some details about him. This was the legendary status window that he had read a lot about. The Blue Reformer bit back his excitement as he read his status.

 

 

Skills? I have skills? Teo looked on with shock.

 

He wanted to ask more about the skill – <Metal Skin> – when a heavy punch knocked the breath out of him, bringing him back to reality. Without further ado, Teo roared out the skill’s name, hoping to activate it. And activated it did.

 

As soon as the skill was called out, a metallic shimmer imbued itself onto the battlesuit, hardening the defenses and protecting the obese man from further harm. The skill enhanced defense and only lasted five minutes. However, that was enough for Teo to break free from the minions.

 

Surprised by the Blue Reformer’s sudden turn of events, Shawn couldn’t help but voice out. “Teo! H-How? How did you escape?”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean? Did you not want me to break free?” Teo snapped after taking a breather.

 

“No-no, I mean, I just wanted to know what you did and whether or not me and Rachel could do the same.” Shawn scratched his head with a bashful face.

 

“The principal told me we could look at our statuses by touching our visors.” Teo explained while pointing at his visor. “Apparently, we have a preset skill. Mine is Metal Skin. I don’t know if you have it as well or not.”

 

“Hold up, let me check.” Shawn backed away from a Boonsie and touched his visor. Similarly, Rachel also wordlessly touched their visor as well.

 

 

 

“What’s this?” Shawn gaped in shock. “I-I don’t have Metal Skin. My skill is Tornado Fang.”

 

“Tornado Fang? That sounds like an offensive move. What about you Red Reformer?” Teo called out excitedly as he bathed in harmless blows.

 

Rachel lowered their gaze and read. “Will-O-Wisp. A charged attack that has homing capabilities.”

 

“Hold up…how come only I don’t have an offensive skill?” Teo scratched his head with his T-baton.

 

“Maybe it’s because you’re chubby.” Rachel teased with a chuckle.

 

“Puh-lease! I’m thick skinned, not fat!” Teo refuted when sudden realization hit him. “Oh, is that why? Thick skinned equals metal skinned?”

 

“Enough chit-chatting! We’re getting surrounded!” Shawn interrupted, drawing their attention to the Boonsies.

 

Eyeing a group of buffed minions, Teo scrunched up his shoulder and barreled into them. His defenses were high enough to withstand any incoming damage during his charge attack. Boonsies within his attack range rebounded back harmlessly. Unfortunately, the Blue Reformer’s skill was defensive in nature and could not do much damage to his opponents.

 

Meanwhile, Shawn flicked out some sharpened pencils before retreating to a safe distance. Sheathing his protractor, he grabbed his meter stick with both hands and adopted a forward stance.

 

As soon as a Boonsie entered his attack range, the Green Reformer roared out his only skill. “Tornado Fang!”

 

Following a loud whoosh, the meter stick drew a sharp line upwards, sending the Boonsie flying. Before the minion could fall back down, Shawn appeared next to it with a jump and swung his weapon down.

 

The Boonsie crashed into the ground twitching, chaotic energy seeping out of the body and leaving behind an unconscious child.

 

Rachel pulled out their ranged weapon and started firing hot waxy bullets from a distance. The bullets didn’t do much damage to the minions, but they served to provide a knockback effect. Imagine being hit by a dodgeball but two or three times stronger.

 

While Teo taunted and tanked most of the attacks with his <Metal Skin>, Shawn would send a few of the Boonsies flying with <Tornado Fang>. To top it off, Rachel would then aim their gun at the minions floating in the air. Those that crashed back down reverted to their original states.

 

“Bloody curs, you lot!” Prince spat as he saw his diminishing army. “On me!”

 

HIEEE! HIEEE! HIIEEE!

 

The remaining Boonsies started giggling in a chant-like sequence again, their bodies glowing a golden hue. Aiming their hands toward the demon, the minions began buffing him up. The slender Prince suddenly bulged up, revealing toned muscles. His eyes flashed with clarity and his movements seemed smoother and more refined.

 

Prince was buffed multiple times. Not only was his strength increased by a fold, but his speed had also further improved. Spinning his big golden spoon along his fingertips, the monster dashed towards his first enemy – Teo.

 

“Tornado Fang!” Prince grinned as he swung his spoon upwards, smashing the Blue Reformer into the air.

 

Teo, dazed from the attack, couldn’t help but let out a curse. “What the fuck!? Tornado Fang? Can he copy skills like the Duplicator?”

 

“No! That’s not Tornado Fang!” Shawn reasoned. “He’s just hitting you with brute force! Must have been a strength buff earlier.”

 

“Fuck! Scared me for a minute there!” Teo tightened his guard and prepared for impact as he descended.

 

However, before he could notice what had happened, a sudden pulling force jerked him down to the ground. Caught off guard, the Blue Reformer groaned in discomfort. Though his skill had half a minute left, the drop still left him out of breath. But the ‘fun’ didn’t stop there.

 

Prince raised his hand up, his five fingers pointing towards Teo. “Attract!”

 

A sudden gravitational pull dragged Teo across the floor towards the demon and before he could even defend himself, the big spoon came crashing into his face once more. This time, Teo could feel his bones fracturing as blood spurted out of his mouth. His skill had just timed out so he was defenseless against the powerful blow.

 

“Teo!” Rachel aimed their hot wax gun at Prince. “Will-O-Wisp! Lock-on, charging, fire!”

 

A charged blast of heat and wax cannoned towards Prince, however, the monster raised his hand up and somehow deflected it. Through some unknown force similar to the <Attract> move he used earlier, Prince repelled the <Will-O-Wisp> back to the Red Reformer.

 

Bombarded with the full force of their own attack, Rachel sprawled backwards with ears ringing and eyes seeing stars. Pain drilled deep in the Red Reformer’s bones as they groaned for breath.

 

“Attract!” The demon raised his hand once more and dragged Rachel towards him.

 

Gripping the Red Reformer by their throat, Prince aimed his sights on the Blue Reformer who still laid motionless on the ground. The Green Reformer was kneeling by his side and checking on his condition.

 

Seeing that Teo was still alive and conscious, Shawn picked himself up and gripped his meter stick with both hands. With a loud warcry, the man charged towards Prince, aiming to strike him down or at least disable his arm so that he would drop Rachel.

 

“Since you were kneeling just a few seconds ago, you should continue to kneel. Kneel!” Prince pointed his giant spoon towards the Green Reformer as gravity increased around him, forcing him on one knee.

 

The mathematics teacher roared as he tried to stand back up. However, the pressure he felt made it seem like he was shouldering half a ton. Bit by bit, using his meter stick as support, Shawn slowly wobbled to his feet.

 

He looked to be in a sorry state, but at least he was still standing. Shawn refused to believe that the attack would last very long. All he needed to do was persist until the skill ends and he could unleash a counterattack.

 

However, his enemy did not fret. In fact, he was sneering. Prince looked at the struggling hero and giggled snidely. “A lowly peasant like you should learn some manners. That’s not how you bow to nobility. You must lay flat on the ground! TRUE KNEEL!”

 

The gravitational force surrounding Shawn increased by three-fold, sending the Green Reformer crashing into the ground. His whole body laid flat, creating a large indentation on the gym floor. The Green Reformer tried to move but the pressure was too great. Cracks began to appear on his battlesuit and it seemed like it could break any second.

 

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

 

Is this the end f-for us…for me? Will I end up comatose or dead like the previous team? Shawn gritted through the pain and blood flowing out of his nose and mouth

 

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

 

Flashes of memory sped through his mind as he reminisced the life he experienced so far. If only…if only I wasn’t so rash…wouldn’t I had walked a different path?

 

CRACK! CRACK!

 

“S-Silver K-Knight…I wonder h-how he’s doing?” Shawn stammered as he ran out of breath, his eyes glazed over and consciousness slowly crept away.

 

CRACK!

 

Right before darkness descended upon the Green Reformer, a slam interrupted Prince as the door to the gym flung open. Suddenly, a dark bulky shadow flew out through the doorway and flung itself towards Prince.

 

With his concentration disrupted, Prince had no choice but to cancel the <True Kneel> skill and sidestep out of the way. Once the pressure dissipated, the Green Reformer could breathe at last. Rich oxygen flooded his lungs as Shawn awoke from his weariness.

 

While gasping for air, the Green Reformer shifted his head towards the doorway, a smile appearing on his bloodied lips. “Y-You’re finally here.”

 

Two figures appeared from the doorway, one in black and the other in yellow. The yellow figure raised her hand up and seemingly commanded the dark bulky object with a flick of her wrist. The black figure rushed towards the Green Reformer and briefly checked Shawn’s condition. After confirming that the damage wasn’t life threatening, the black figure stood up and faced the demon.

 

“So the last two Reformers have decided to show up? Doesn’t matter. You two will suffer the same fate as these three!” Prince sneered as he aimed his giant spoon towards the black figure.

 

 However, before he could unleash his chaotic energy, the Yellow Reformer flung her hand down. “Ground Pound!”

 

The oversized book smashed into the ground, sending waves upon waves of vibrations throughout the gym floor. This skill of the Yellow Reformer couldn’t distinguish between friend or foe. Everyone in the vicinity was affected by the quaking ground…well, everyone except for the Black Reformer.

 

Joseph had already expected what would have happened and had leapt into the air just before the book smashed into the ground. Before the two Reformers arrived at the scene of the battle, they had already exchanged information about each other’s statuses.

 

 

 

While Prince stumbled and lost concentration, stunned by the aftereffects of the <Ground Pound>, the Black Reformer charged in with his sandal raised. Joseph swung his arm expertly, dealing blunt damage to the demon’s body and pushing him back.

 

As Prince dropped the Red Reformer in his hands and staggered back a couple of steps, Joseph didn’t stop his relentless attacks. With a powerful swing, he unleashed a <Furious Swipe> and knocked the demon even further back. Prince coughed out some blackened blood and barely dodged out of the way upon seeing the manifestation of another <Furious Swipe>.

 

“Repulse!” The bipedal demon roared in a desperate attempt to gain some distance between the Black Reformer and him.

 

“Hey Joseph, you alright? I thought these skills have cooldowns on them?” Sylvia walked up to the Black Reformer.

 

Joseph clenched his numbing fingers and nodded. “Yea, there’s a slight side effect with forcing another shot.”

 

“You bastards dare to touch my noble body! You’ll pay for this!” Prince spat out some more blood. “Boonsies, attack!”

 

The remaining Boonsies charged to the frontlines at the order of their superior.  But a well-timed <Ground Pound> destabilized the group, giving the Black Reformer enough time to knock down a couple with quick slaps of his sandal and utterly destroy a few others with <Furious Swipe>.

 

Rachel, who had recovered some of their energy, aimed her ranged weapon and fired a few shots before finishing off with a <Will-O-Wisp>, dealing damage to the remaining Boonsies and providing enough support for Joseph to charge in to deal the final blows.

 

As if by the power of plot armor, the arrival of the two last Reformers ultimately defeated the majority of the enemies. Prince, seeing that the Boonsies did not buy him enough time to recover, activated <Repulse> to push away his opponents.

 

“If the Boonsies didn’t use up most of their power buffing each other, I would have won!” Prince spat. “You haven’t seen the last of me, I’ll be back!”

 

Prince unleashed an overdose of chaotic energy to fog up the place before making his daring escape. Joseph tried rushing in but the chaotic energy messed with his senses. By the time the energy dispersed, Prince was nowhere in sight and the Boonsies had all reverted back their original states.

 

BEEP!

 

GOOD JOB DEFEATING THE MONSTER. REPORT BACK TO THE OFFICE. I WILL CLEAR THE AREA AND RECOVER THE SCENE.