As the ship continued its course, Naomi set down her tablet and sighed.
Naomi: "If there's even a small chance that their bond can keep them from turning... we have to strengthen it."
Jim nodded.
Jim: "Agreed. So, what's the plan?"
Naomi smirked slightly.
Naomi: "For now? Observation. But if they're too stubborn to realize their own feelings... we might have to push them a little."
Jim chuckled.
Jim: "Matchmaking, huh?"
Naomi rolled her eyes. "Not exactly! Our main objective is to make them realize they care about each other even if they don't say so."
As the ship moved forward, heading to the next fairy tale world, a new objective was forming-
Save Mike and Heidi from themselves.
Before it was too late.
_ _ _
The spaceship descended into a land bathed in a golden twilight.
Majestic castles stood tall, surrounded by lush green forests and mystical glowing roses blooming across the fields.
Mike (stretching): "Finally, a fairy tale I actually like! Castles, a cool beast, and probably some cute princesses too!"
Heidi (rolling her eyes): "Oh great, another place for you to show off."
Jim and Naomi exchanged glances.
This was the Beauty and the Beast world-a story centered on love, transformation, and redemption.
Naomi had one goal in mind-this was the perfect world to test whether Mike and Heidi could grow emotionally.
Naomi (thinking): "If there's any place where love and understanding are key, it's here."
But as they stepped out of the ship...
Something felt wrong.
The air was heavy, as if drenched in an invisible force.
The castle in the distance looked twisted, as though it had been consumed by dark energy.
Jim (serious): "Something's off. This world's been corrupted."
A mysterious voice echoed through the air-
"The curse will consume all... unless the rose is saved..."
Then, suddenly-
A loud roar shook the land.
From the castle gates, a massive, shadowy Beast charged forward-its eyes glowing an eerie red as they heard screams of people.
"Run...or....will get devoured."
"This thing is....trying to kill us."
It was the Beast from the story.
Unlike the fairy tale version, this one was twisted by darkness.
It had chains wrapped around its limbs, and dark energy oozed from its fur.
It wasn't just a cursed prince anymore-it was a monster under Duchess Lilith's control.
Mike (grinning): "A boss fight already? Interesting!"
Heidi (taking out her forks): "You never take anything seriously, do you?"
With that, Mike and Heidi charged in as they transformed, but the Beast was too fast.
With one swipe of its massive claws, it sent them both crashing into the castle walls.
Jim: "That thing's stronger than it looks!"
Naomi's eyes narrowed as she analyzed the situation.
She activated her tablet scanner, locking onto the Beast's aura.
Then-she saw it.
The Enchanted Rose, floating inside the castle, was wilting rapidly-the source of the corruption.
Naomi (realizing): "The Beast is being controlled because the rose is dying!"
Jim: "We need to split up!"
Naomi nodded.
Naomi: "Mike, Heidi-you handle the Beast! Jim and I will find the rose!"
They nodded as they dodged when the Beast lunged at them.
Heidi (panting): "This thing isn't giving us a break!"
Mike (grinning): "Good! I love a challenge!"
But Naomi watched them closely even while running.
Even though they worked together, their fighting style was still rough-they were strong, but something was missing.
She clenched her fists.
"They have to connect emotionally. That's the only way they'll truly fight as one."
Mike and Heidi found themselves cornered by the beast within few exchanges.
The Beast growled, dark energy surging around it.
Mike: "We need a plan!"
Heidi: "We hit it till it stops moving?"
Mike (frustrated): "THAT'S NOT A PLAN!"
The Beast roared, preparing its strongest attack-
But then-
Heidi pushed Mike out of the way, taking the hit herself.
She crashed against the ground, coughing as she detransformed.
Mike (shocked): "Heidi!"
He ran to her side, genuinely worried.
For the first time, he wasn't thinking about showing off-he was thinking about her.
Something inside him snapped.
His cool attitude vanished.
He detransformed right there.
Mike (serious): "Hey... don't do that again, you idiot."
He helped her up, his usual smirk gone.
Heidi blinked, slightly surprised.
Heidi: "You're actually worried?"
Mike looked away, flustered.
Mike: "Shut up and fight."
She then almost lost balance when Mike gripped her hand lifting her back up.
Mike: "Damn! You are so heavy."
Heidi (embarrassed): "I know you are intentionally saying this, cool guy?"
Mike (smirking): "But you are..."
As he said that, the beast almost lunged towards Mike, claws ready to pierce through him when—
Heidi tackled him hard enough making him crash away near a tree far from the beast as Heidi just barely made her way out of the claws reach.
Mike(from the distance):"Ouch! You didn't have to save me so hard. It hurts."
The beast roared as the attack hit the air.
Taking that little opening Heidi transformed and gripping her forks charged at the Beast but it was strong enough to endure and stared at her in rage.
Heidi trembled.
It charged, claws burning with darker aura as it came closer to her.
As it was inches away from her face, the beast stopped in place.
Heidi looked surprised.
Then—
A voice came near her. "You are seriously increasing my work, you know that. Your unplanned chaotic attacks will one day be the reason, the Vampire family dominates."
Heidi stared at him.
It was Mike (transformed).
He grumbled looking at the Beast whose movements were stopped. "If not for my Gravity magic, you would have been gone by now."
Heidi pouted. "Why do you even care about me? If I am reckless, you can just let the beast get rid of me."
Mike (muttering seriously): "Unfortunately...I have no other options. If I don't care about you, I can't repay you for saving my life right now. Plus, even if that weren't the case—"
Mike (even more seriously): "I have to make sure I don't lose my partner even if they get on my nerves."
She was shocked hearing that but somehow made up her mind to say something with a slight hesitation. "Well, if that's how you want to play, I guess I am in it."
Mike smirked in satisfaction.
That's when, the beast somehow able to break through Mike's gravity, lunged towards them when Mike and Heidi moved in opposite directions, making it miss.
Mike used nature magic using his wand to wrap around the beast while Heidi from the other side smacked her Knives hard on the ground to create a tremor making the Beast unable to move.
They gave each other a nod as Mike went with Boulder magic summoning boulders near him and Heidi shuffled her forks as she stabbed at the same time when Mike's boulders smacked the beast hard.
And just like that their attacks gradually mixed perfectly in sync.
Naomi, watching from afar, smiled slightly.
"That's more like it."
Jim muttered as he was already near the castle. "Naomi, we cannot waste time here, we have to head to the castle immediately!"
Naomi nodded as she ran towards him.
After a few minutes...
Inside the castle, Jim and Naomi rushed through the darkened halls, avoiding falling debris as the corruption spread.
Finally, they reached the grand ballroom-
Where the Enchanted Rose floated, encased in a dark crystal.
At its base, Duchess Lilith's dark energy pulsed ominously.
Jim: "That's it!"
Naomi scanned it quickly.
Naomi: "The crystal is feeding on the rose's life force. If we don't break it, the Beast stays cursed forever."
Jim took out his lance that he brought with him.
Jim: "Then let's smash it!"
But before they could move-
A shadowy figure emerged from the darkness.
A monstrous, female figure-twisted and regal, with piercing red eyes.
Duchess Lilith.
Lilith (grinning): "Oh, you poor children. Did you really think you could break my curse?"
Jim and Naomi braced themselves.
Meanwhile...
Mike and Heidi pushed their limits against the corrupted Beast, but the monster's raw power was overwhelming the more time passed.
Each attack they landed barely slowed it down, and its dark aura continued to grow.
Heidi (frustrated): "Why won't this thing go down?!"
Mike (grinning despite exhaustion): "Maybe it just likes me too much?"
But before he could react-
The Beast lunged forward, its claws piercing straight through Mike's chest.
A sickening sound echoed.
Mike's eyes widened in shock as blood splattered onto the ground.
He detransformed and stumbled backward, gasping.
Heidi (horrified): "MIKE!"
Her entire body froze for a moment-her usual irritation toward him replaced by sheer panic.
Mike coughed, falling to one knee.
The pain was unbearable, but what hurt more was seeing Heidi's face filled with fear.
The Beast prepared to strike again.
But before it could-
A burning aura erupted from Heidi.
Her eyes flared with rage, her grip on her forks tightening.
Her body was surrounded by intense golden aura.
She had never been this angry before.
Heidi: "YOU MONSTER!"
With a scream, she charged at full force, her flaming forks slamming into the Beast so hard that it crashed through the castle wall.
The ground shook.
The Beast roared in pain, finally showing signs of weakness.
But Heidi wasn't done.
She detransformed and rushed to Mike's side, her hands trembling as she checked his wound.
Her heart pounded.
Then-
The wound began to heal.
A soft, glowing energy flowed through Mike's body.
Regeneration magic.
It wasn't his own.
It was coming from the fairy tale world itself.
The world, still partially alive, was trying to restore balance.
Mike groaned, slowly opening his eyes.
Mike (weakly): "Did I die? Or is this heaven? 'Cause if it is, I didn't expect you to be the first thing I see."
Heidi's face turned red-out of both anger and relief.
Heidi: "Shut up, you idiot! You almost died!"
Without thinking, she pulled out ingredients from her bag and started cooking a quick healing meal.
Mike watched her, feeling something warm in his chest-something unfamiliar.
Mike (smirking): "Aww, you really care, don't you?"
Heidi (flustered): "I care about keeping my teammates alive, that's all!"
Despite her words, her hands were shaking slightly as she worked.
Mike just grinned.
But before they could say anything else-
The Beast stood back up.
It was shaking violently, its body distorting.
Something was changing.
_ _ _
Inside the castle's grand hall, Naomi had been scanning the area while Jim kept Duchess Lilith at bay using that lance just like how he used Solun Lance when he was the Grey Warrior.
The Enchanted Rose, the core of the curse, was almost completely withered.
Lilith grinned, her shadowy aura wrapping around the dying petals.
Lilith (mocking): "It's pointless. The rose is dying... and so is the last bit of love in this world!"
Naomi's mind raced.
"Why isn't the rose healing? What's missing?"
Then she looked at Mike and Heidi outside.
Despite all their fighting, despite their arguments-they had each other's backs.
Heidi's desperation to save Mike, her burning determination-
Mike's trust in her, his teasing but unwavering faith-
They were the key.
"They're the ones who can break the curse!"
Naomi (determined): "Jim! I need to take the rose to them!"
Jim hesitated for a second, then blocked Lilith's attack, giving Naomi an opening.
She rushed toward the battlefield, carrying the Enchanted Rose.
Lilith's shrieks echoed behind her.
Naomi arrived just as the Beast launched a brutal attack toward Heidi and Mike.
Naomi: "MIKE! HEIDI! YOU NEED TO TOUCH THIS!"
She threw the Enchanted Rose toward them.
The moment both of them touched it together-
A brilliant green light exploded outward.
The rose, which had been nearly dead, began to bloom.
The energy wrapped around Mike and Heidi, filling the battlefield with warmth.
The Beast froze, its body trembling.
Mike and Heidi looked at each other, the glowing rose between them.
In that moment, something unspoken passed between them.
A feeling neither of them fully understood yet.
But it was real.
It was trust.
It was care.
It was... maybe something more.
The light rushed toward the Beast, wrapping around it like a cocoon.
The darkness peeled away.
The Beast let out one final, pained roar-
And then-
A man stood in its place.
The curse had been lifted.
Everything was slowly returning to normal.
After a few minutes...
As the castle returned to normal, the Enchanted Rose shone brightly in Naomi's hands.
Jim walked up beside her, shaking his head with a small smirk.
Jim: "Looks like they did it."
Naomi smiled softly.
Naomi: "Yeah... but they're still clueless about their bond."
Jim chuckled.
Meanwhile, Mike stretched, feeling fully healed, then turned to Heidi.
Mike (acting cool): "So, uh... I guess we make a good team, huh?"
Heidi (huffing, arms crossed): "Don't get used to it."
Mike laughed, but something about the way she looked at him... it felt different.
Naomi watched them closely, nodding to herself.
"They're getting there... slowly."
With the fairy tale world restored, the team boarded their spaceship once more, ready for their next adventure.
But as they flew away-
Naomi couldn't help but smile softly.
"Maybe... just maybe... there's still hope for them after all."