“I can’t believe you know how to pick locks and you never told me!” Ashley said, pulling her backpack over her shoulder.

Standing behind her, Tabitha giggled. “I have to have some secrets, don’t I? Anyway, you never know when you’ll need to break in somewhere to get a good shot!” During lunch, Tabitha had been an unexpected savior, pulling two bobby pins from her pocket and breaking the trio out of the storage room. Thanks to her, they had plenty of time to eat before classes restarted for the afternoon.

“Please, never make me bail you out of jail for breaking and entering.” Ashley sighed.

“No promises!” Tabitha laughed. Ashley shut her locker, and the two walked down to the main lobby, where Edwin was waiting. Tabitha took a seat on one of the benches, and Ashley and Edwin left their belongings with her.

“I promise we’ll be right back once this is over with.” Edwin said.

“We really need to talk about Mateo.” Ashley added.

“No problem, guys! I’ll just do some of my English reading. I have your stuff hostage anyway.” Tabitha smiled, hugging Ashley’s bag closer. Ashley and Edwin waved to their friend before heading outside.

“Well, I think we need to find somewhere hidden to transform.” Edwin said as they walked briskly to the side of the school.

Ashley pointed to the bushes along the building. “How ‘bout here?” The pair checked to make sure no one was around, and ducked behind the landscaping. In an instant they transformed and began walking to the back of the school, staying along the wall.

The pair peeked around the corner of the building, spying Sarah ten yards away. She stood by the entrance to the gym, looking down at her phone. Ruby and Sapphire ducked back behind the wall to regroup.

“No sharing secrets this time, got it?” Ruby pointed at Sapphire.

“What? I never told Sarah any secrets.” Sapphire said.

“No, Tabitha! Remember that, because I sure do.”

“I said I’m sorry! It won’t happen again.”

“Just checking.” Ruby rolled her eyes. She took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. “Here goes nothing.”

Ruby turned around the corner, immediately coming face-to-face with Sarah. She almost ran into the amateur reporter, but quickly stepped back in surprise. It was weird being slightly taller than her for once. Sapphire was right behind Ruby, and stumbled back as she walked into him. “So you two were hiding back here.” Sarah said, tucking her phone into her skirt pocket. “It’s a pleasure to meet you again. Follow me, I’ll take you to our clubroom.”

Sarah led the pair into the gym entrance and up the stairs, arriving at the journalism teacher’s classroom. After school, the room became a flurry of activity, as it was shared between the Yearbook and Newspaper clubs. Desks were arranged into groups, and students used some of the school’s laptops to collaborate on documents and layouts. Notes were typed up, and photos were copied over to the school’s server from phones and digital cameras. Ruby was shocked by the organized-chaos taking place. Choir practices were never this frenzied, and always under the supervision of their director. Ruby looked to Sapphire, wondering how a no-club student would react. He looked out over the clubroom, with a solemn expression, before catching Ruby’s eye and shooting her a small smile.

Sarah ignored the action going on around her, instead leading Ruby and Sapphire to an attached office in the back of the room. She offered the two a seat, and shut the door behind them, blocking out a considerable amount of noise. Sarah took her seat at what they assumed to be the teacher’s desk, and picked up a clipboard that had been sitting on it.

“So, how did you two start this hero business?” Sarah asked, adjusting her scarf. Ruby and Sapphire looked to one another, unsure how much they were willing to share with the student reporter.

Biting the bullet, Ruby began. “It’s actually only been a week,” she chuckled, realizing how inexperienced they were. “Mateo, the fox you’ve been talking to, approached us after we fell off a bridge. There was a monster attacking, and apparently we could defend the town. He told us what to do, and we’ve been fighting the monsters that have appeared since then.”

“You fell off a bridge?” Sarah inquired.

“Yeah, the railing broke and…” Ruby pointed at Sapphire, taking a second to remember what to call him. “…Sapphire here fell off.”

“And-“ Sapphire tried to respond, but his voice came out with an awkward croak, causing him to cut himself short. He started again, quieter, “And the bridge was on fire, so Ruby had to jump in to escape.”

“Did the monster cause that?” Sarah asked.

Ruby and Sapphire suddenly looked at each other, realizing how strange the events on the bridge had been. The fight with the first monster had largely overshadowed the experience in their memory.

“No, it actually happened before we met Mateo or the monster.” Ruby replied.

“Interesting…” said Sarah. “What do you know about Mateo? Any idea why he chose you?”

“Mateo is the local god of Summers, so he protects the town.” Sapphire replied. “Monsters started appearing, which weakened his powers somehow and he couldn’t fight them off. We have like, magic spirit blood? Or something? But whatever it is, it gives us power to protect the town.”

“Does the magic also give you these outfits, or is this just what you normally wear?” Sarah asked.

“No way!” Ruby burst out, before stopping herself and becoming embarrassed. “These are 100% magic clothes. I wouldn’t be caught walking around like this otherwise.”

“Aww, that’s a shame. I think they’re cute.” Sarah replied. “Well, did Mateo mention any other people or monsters? Or are you two alone?”

“That’s a question we’d like to ask you. Mateo never mentioned any other Soul Warriors, but we think there might be others.” Ashley said.

“Hey! That isn’t how this interview is supposed to work.” Sarah laughed. “But I might have some info you’d want. Give me a day to collect my materials, and I’ll answer your question. Can we meet up at the same place tomorrow?”

Ruby and Sapphire looked at one another before nodding. “Just, please don’t tell Mateo about this extra information.” Edwin insisted.

“No problem! Okay, I’m almost done. Just one last question: Who are you two, really? Any hints for secret identities?” Ruby and Sapphire’s blood ran cold at the question. It was one thing to have the whole school know about Ruby Fire and Sapphire Sea. Having the entire school realize Ashley and Edwin were those heroes? It couldn’t happen.

Sarah set her clipboard back down on the desk. “Just kidding! But it was worth a shot. Thank you for taking some time to talk with me, and thank you again for everything you’ve done for Summers.” Sarah stood up, stretched, and opened the office door. As Ruby and Sapphire walked out of the classroom, they noticed the club members watching them, much quieter than before.

-----

Tabitha met back up with Ashley and Edwin, who had un-transformed once more in the bushes outside the school. After a short detour inside for Ashley to put on some sweatpants (a point she insisted on), the trio had started their walk home, happy to finally be free from the school.

“You were so precious when you tried to talk to Sarah for the first time.” Ashley joked, brushing Edwin with her elbow. “You were so nervous, you sounded like a little frog!”

Edwin started blushing profusely, stammering to defend himself. “I’d never talked to her before! Ever!”

“Don’t worry, Ashley wouldn’t understand anything about love.” Tabitha jeered, switching the target. “Though, I can’t really say you know anything either. I mean, Sarah, of all people?”

Edwin and Tabitha looked behind them, realizing they had lost Ashley. They were crossing the bridge home, and Ashley had walked over to the railing. “It was right here, wasn’t it?” She asked.

“What was here?” Tabitha asked.

“This is where we first transformed.” Edwin explained.

“I don’t understand,” Ashley said, pushing on the railing. “It doesn’t look like they had to repair any of this, and the railing is still sturdy. Shouldn’t there be some obvious lines where they attached the missing piece to the rest of the railing?”

The others walked closer, surveying the rail. The metal was still seamless, with no obvious points where a new piece would have been soldered on. The stone bridge was also in one piece, without chipping where the rail would have slammed against it. It seemed like nothing ever happened.

“And what exactly was on fire?” Ashley gestured around them. “It doesn’t make any sense. There’s so much we don’t know.” She pushed off the railing, retuning to the center of the bridge. The trio continued their walk home, but Ashley remained lost in thought.