When Mia had first stepped out of her apartment, the streets the sun had been shining very brightly and cheerfully. But now it seemed to be growing more and more dull with each step that Mia took. Maybe some of the tech wasn't working properly. Or maybe Mia hadn't gotten enough sleep, and she was starting to see things. But it did feel like the sunlight was growing paler.
"Is it just me or did it suddenly get really dark?" asked Ruby. So, Mia wasn't going crazy. The sky was slowly turning from a pale blue to a deep grey color.
"Welcome back to all of you!" Mary cried out. "Today we will be doing something a little bit different! Many of you have played in our midnight games before. But I understand how tedious it is to get everyone up and ready to play in the middle of the night. So, this time, we will have the midday games!"
"Midnight games? Oh, Lu told me about those," Ruby whispered to Mia. "I've never played them before. Are there any rules I should know before we play, Mia?"
Mia shook her head. "Not really. We just run hide and kill. The only thing that makes it special is that it happens at night," she explained.
"As you have probably already noticed, things are getting much darker. Why go through the trouble of waking everyone up at night when you could just make it midnight?" said Mary. It was almost pitch black now.
"Wow," Ruby whispered. "I didn't know that they could actually change the time of day like this. I guess there was that one time when the games ended early, so we headed home, and the sun began to set right away. I wonder if they can also change the weather."
"Maybe. They probably could if they wanted to. But I've never seen that happen before," Mia whispered. "We've never seen rain or snow. Most of the time it's either cloudy or sunny. I've seen pictures of snow and rain from the outside world, but that's it." Now Mia could see tiny little stars glistening in the sky above her. Scary as this was, Mia couldn't help but feel a little awe wash over her. It was amazingly terrifying.
To think that Mary could just make this happen. A sigh escaped Mia. The last thing that she needed right now was another reminder about how fragile her world was. It wasn't really her world at all. This city belonged to the humans.
Arg! Mia was just making herself feel even worse. She just needed to turn her brain off and focus on what was happening around her. Several soft gasps rose up from the crowd of dolls as a milky white light began to fill the sky. Mia watched breathlessly as the moon rose. The last rays of sunlight faded away. The glistening glass buildings faded from gold to a deep bronze and then to silver.
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Everything was shining with a blindingly beautiful light. The moon appeared to be shining ten times brighter than it normally did. It was beautiful. But it was also going to take some getting used to.
"Do you have your dagger, Mia?" asked Ruby. Right, she would need that.
"Yes! Do you have yours, Ruby?"
"Yup! Are you ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be." Ruby grabbed Mia's hand. Mia didn't need to ask. She already knew that the plan was going to be the same as it had been last time. They would run and they would hide. Simple as that.
"Hey!" Blossom spoke to suddenly that Mia flinched back. She hadn't heard Blossom come up to them. Ruby spun around to face Blossom. "I say that we three stick together for this round," Blossom said brightly. Of course, Blossom had the Lux spell. They could really use her help.
"You're a literal lifesaver," whispered Ruby. Mia could vaguely make out the smile on Blossom's face. The trio huddled close together and prepared to run. Mia gripped her dagger firmly with one hand and clung to Ruby with the other. She wasn't going to die today. None of them were going to die today. Mia was going to live, and she was going to become a messenger for the rebels.
"Is everyone ready?" asked Mary. There was no answer from the crowd. "Wonderful! Here we go!"
Before the word go had even left Mary's mouth, Mia was tugged back. Now she was running through the dark and crowded streets with Blossom and Ruby. Chaos seemed to fill the world behind them as they ran.
Shouts and the sounds of fighting could clearly be heard right behind them. Mia fought back her fear. She needed to focus on running. She needed to keep her eyes on the prize. The city whizzed past them as they ran. Where were they going? Did they know? Ruby was following Blossom.
Blossom was moving quickly and with purpose. She clearly had a plan. After all, Blossom had played these games many times before and had a lot of experience. It was too bad that Blossom lived in another apartment. She would have made a great leader for Mia's unit.
"Duck down," Blossom hissed suddenly. Ruby and Mia obeyed without a second of hesitation. A figure leaped out of the shadows. There was a bright flash from Blossom's hand and the attacker stumbled back, clutching at her face. The light faded as quickly as it had appeared. Blossom sped on through the streets, dragging Ruby and Mia with her. They all clung to each other as they ran. Everything around them was a blur and Mia felt as if she let go for a second the darkness would swallow her up. As they ran the streets became less and less crowded.
"Almost there," Blossom whispered. Mia had to grit her teeth to keep herself from asking where they were going. She knew how stupid and childish that question sounded. Besides, she would see very soon. A strange joy filled Mia's mind as they ran. She shouldn't feel this way. After all, she was in danger. But this happiness couldn't be coming from her powers. It was a very different kind of joy than they joy that her powered gave her. This was a joy that felt raw and real. It was a joy that she could choose to feel.
Mia was running for her life through dark streets filled with enemies. She was being watched from all sides by humans who wanted to hurt her. But despite this, there was nowhere that she would rather be. For a moment, everything was perfect. Then, Blossom screamed, and a bright light flooded the city. Mia was blinded.