Inside their spaceship, the tension of constant battles had settled-at least for now.
In the kitchen partition, Heidi was busy cooking, while Jim and Mike sat at the table there, waiting.
The aroma of sizzling food filled the air. Heidi placed two plates in front of them.
Heidi (smirking): "Alright, taste-testers, dig in. Let's see if my skills are as good as my people said they were!"
Jim (taking a bite): "Hmm... The texture is balanced, the seasoning is just right, and the flavors mix perfectly. This is amazing!"
Heidi beamed proudly.
Mike, on the other hand, took a bite cautiously.
His expression was... strange.
Heidi (raising an eyebrow): "What's with that face?"
Mike (swallowing slowly): "It's... okay."
Jim and Heidi stared at him.
Heidi (annoyed): "Just 'okay'? Seriously?!"
Mike (scratching his head): "I mean... I've never tasted something like this before."
He hesitated.
Mike (muttering): "After coming to the fairy universe, I only ate... whatever fruits or leftovers I could find in the planets we went and chips, chocolates and crackers that I already had with me. But still, even before coming to Fairy Universe, I never had meals this fresh...up until now."
Heidi and Jim fell silent.
That single sentence carried a weight neither of them had expected.
Jim cleared his throat to break the moment.
Jim (grinning): "Since Heidi cooked for us, let's return the favor!"
Mike suddenly snapped his fingers, summoning a floating orb of light.
The orb split into dazzling, colorful lights, weaving intricate patterns in the air before forming the shape of a phoenix that burst into golden flames.
Heidi's eyes widened.
Jim (amazed): "Whoa! That was incredible!"
Mike (grinning slightly): "Not bad, huh?"
Jim: "I didn't know you had such precision in your magic."
Mike: "Well, obviously! But it's not better than my other magic!"
Heidi (rolling eyes): "You showoff. But... I won't lie, that was cool."
Jim smiled.
For a moment, things felt normal.
Then, the tracker beeped.
Jim checked it and frowned.
Jim (serious): "The Vampire Family is already making their move again. Next target-Cinderella's story."
They descended onto a breathtaking kingdom-a grand castle illuminated by golden lanterns, and the entire city preparing for a grand ball.
Jim took one look and sighed.
Jim: "A fairy tale ball... this can't be good."
Their mission? Ensure the story plays out correctly.
But then came the shocking revelation.
Heidi (stunned): "Wait... what do you mean Cinderella and the Prince are DEAD?!"
A frightened castle servant nodded.
Servant: "The monsters struck early! They... they killed them before the ball even started!"
Mike and Heidi looked at each other in horror.
Jim (grimly): "If Cinderella and the Prince are dead, then the story falls apart."
Heidi: "So, what do we do now?"
Jim sighed, rubbing his temples.
Jim(after a long moment of thinking): "There's only one solution, I can think of... One of you has to take Cinderella's place. The other, the Prince."
Silence.
Then-
Mike: "HELL. NO."
Heidi: "I'd rather DIE."
Jim: "You'd rather let the entire story collapse and doom the planet?"
More silence.
Mike (gritting teeth): "Fine... But we NEVER speak of this again!"
As Heidi prepared for her role as Cinderella, a man in royal attire approached them overhearing their conversation somehow.
??? (bowing): "I would like to volunteer as the Prince."
The three glanced at each other.
Something felt off.
But... with no other choice, they agreed.
Heidi, now in Cinderella's gown, entered the grand ballroom.
The mysterious Prince extended a hand.
As they danced, Heidi felt uncomfortable.
There was something wrong with his touch, his movements...
From afar, Mike watched.
For some reason, something inside him twisted.
It was annoying seeing Heidi dancing with another guy.
Jim (noticing Mike's glare): "Why do you look like you're about to explode?"
Mike (coldly grumbling): "Shut up."
Jim raised an eyebrow.
Then, his aura sensor beeped.
Jim (eyes widening): "Wait-Heidi's dance partner is one of Carmilla's monsters!"
Mike's eyes flashed.
Without thinking, he moved.
He grabbed a spare prince outfit, threw it on, and leaped onto the dance floor.
In one swift motion-
He pushed the fake prince aside and took Heidi's hand.
Heidi (shocked): "M-Mike?!"
The fake prince growled in frustration.
The whole scene made the other participants in the ball-room stare at them curiously, halting their dance.
"Wait! Where did that guy come from?"
"Is he trying to steal her?"
"How dare he lay a hand on the prince! He cannot be forgiven."
Back to the scene...
Mike (calmly): "Yeah, yeah, I don't wanna be here either. But trust me-any guy touching you like that? Not happening."
Heidi was stunned by the way he said it.
Even she didn't understand why... but for some reason, she felt safer dancing with Mike.
And despite all their arguing, their movements were perfectly in sync.
That made the participants admire them even though Mike had an unwanted red card entry.
"Though, they suit each other pretty well."
"I somehow feel that guy is the real Prince."
Jim, watching from the side, sighed.
Jim: "Unbelievable. These two are actually pulling it off."
The fake prince roared in pure rage as his monstrous form was revealed, summoning dark creatures to attack!
That scared the participants as they instinctively tried to escape.
"No way, that thing was a monster all along!"
"No time to chatter, RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"
Jim threw smoke bombs to blind their vision for sometime, while Mike and Heidi charged into battle!
Heidi (smirking): "Ready, 'Prince Charming'?"
Mike (cooly): "Tch. Just don't slow me down, 'Cinderella'!"
They transformed and fought together, covering each other's blind spots, something they had never done before.
Jim (impressed): "They fight well together when they're not trying to kill each other..."
Mike used his nature magic to wrap around the creatures while Heidi used her gas lighter to spread fire among the vines burning the creatures.
After that, Mike tightened his grip on the creatures to take them down while Prince monster tried to attack Mike in that opening.
Heidi blocked the attack with her forks and launched him to the wall using her brute strength.
Then—
Mike used water magic to summon a huge wave of water almost drowning the monster and Heidi slid her forks against each other aggressively to generate electricity and touched the forks on the flood to zap the monster down burning him to ashes.
The story was saved and they resumed playing their parts.
_ _ _
As the final clock bell struck midnight,the story continued as intended.
After Cinderella's story fully ended, they both returned back to normal.
After an hour...
Back on the ship, Mike and Heidi sat in awkward silence.
Jim simply smirked.
Jim: "So, how did it feel, dancing so perfectly together?"
Mike and Heidi (simultaneously): "SHUT UP!"
Jim laughed.
They might have worked well together, but their usual bickering was back.
Still...
That brief moment of sync-
Neither of them forgot it.
Meanwhile in Noseferatu's Spaceship...
Carmilla was pacing back and forth in her room in frustration. "How COULD I...FAIL? There was no way those brats could have worked so well."
That's when Alucard rushed inside her room without knocking.
Alucard(smirking): "Sister, you seem to look gloomy, may I help?"
Carmilla stared at him in a bored tone, the frustration suddenly gone. "No thanks, brother I don't need sympathy from someone who failed more than once."
Alucard clenched his fists tight, a hint of humiliation on his face.
"Fine." he growled as he left.
Carmilla laid down on her unsettling bloody bed as she muttered. "If you brats try to ruin my plan again, you will not get away that easily."