Wisp Le Festival Fantomatique (Part IV)

The duo felt a cool feeling around their behinds, turning around to glance if there were anything behind them but saw that they were alone.

They glanced at each other and shrugged before heading towards the brewery.

It was now or never! That damn wisp will be caught if it is the last thing I do! William thought to himself as he steeled himself.

Mikhail glanced at William before turning towards the brewery door and readied himself. He too felt dissatisfied that he couldn't catch the wisp and it ended up causing such a disturbance.

"Bumpkin. As soon as we reach the corner, we'll charge in and you shut the door. Got it?" William whispered as he indicated Mikhail to lighten his footsteps.

Mikhail nodded fervently as he felt his heart beginning to race. The excitement was invigorating and he couldn't wait to spring into action.

"Okay... We're close... On the count of 3, we'll dash inside. You shut the door alright?"

"Right!"

"1..."

"2..."

"3!" William yelled as he dashed into the brewery.

Mikhail followed suit and shut the doors mere seconds before the wisp could escape.

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. You're cornered now!" William grinned as he bent and picked up the net he had tossed to the ground before the whole fiasco.

He tossed one net to Mikhail who was standing by the door as they both raised their nets. The wisp glow and emitted a faint hum as it stayed put, seemingly anticipating their movements.

They then lunged towards the wisp but missed. The wisp weaved through the duo, sending them toppling onto one another as they found themselves too dizzy to stand.

"Dammit... it got me... the room is spinning." William muttered as he tried to gain his bearings.

"M-me too... I see... four of you..." Mikhail said as he tripped over his foot and stumbled into the loose barrels that William had caused topple earlier.

"B-bumpkin... are you alright?"

"Ye-yeah... lemme just steady myself first..."

"M-me too..."

Mikhail laid atop the barrels as his head slowly stopped spinning. He then lifted his head and glanced at William who sat crossed leg and was pressing his hand to his head.

"You okay?" Mikhail asked as he tried standing up, only to slip and roll over the barrels, landing straight on his face.

"Seems like you still aren't." William replied with a deadpan look on his face as he stood up and patted down his pants.

"E-eh... What... Eeh?! My behind?! Eh?!" William gasped before it turned into a horrified shriek.

He patted his behind before his face flushed crimson red. He felt his bare rump and felt his last straw of humility snap.

"Oh my gosh! ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!!! I can't have possibly been running around buck naked earlier could I?!" William cried as he ruffled his hands through his hair frustratedly.

Mikhail pushed himself up and rubbed his nose as he turned to look towards William. Nothing seemed wrong with him, why was he making such a big deal?

"Wi-- Zach, is something the matter?"

"You... can't you see my pants isn't covering my royal behind?!" William exclaimed passionately as his cheeks till his ears were dyed red from embarrassment.

"N-no... your clothes... look fine to me?" Mikhail said as he touched his own behind after finding William making such a fuss.

This time, it was him who grew flustered.

"E-eh? My... my pants feels..."

"Exactly! It's like there's a hole there! But you said that nothing was wrong with my clothes!"

"Yeah! My clothes looks fine right?" Mikhail asked as he glanced nervously at William who peered behind him and nodded a reply.

The flashing of the wisp suddenly caught their attention as they focused back their gaze onto the golden wisp. It brighten and dimmed haphazardly as it floated about innocently.

"Okay... We're going to settle this before changing out of this pants... Ah... I mean... winning this contest..." William said as he quickly corrected his words. It seemed as if his inner voice was leaked by accident.

The duo then glanced at each other before running after the wisp. It easily dodged them again, but they were not having it.

William kicked his body off of a stack of barrels and lunged towards the wisp as he extended his net above it. He grinned as the wisp got trapped inside his net but lost his balance and fell.

The stack of barrels came loose as they rolled off one another and spewed out the contents, flooding the brewery with alcohol that was still fermenting.

William gasped as he swam up to the surface and breathed in the strong smell of alcohol. He felt as if he were getting drunk on the smell alone. He glanced at his hand and found it empty.

William cursed beneath his breath before noticing Mikhail missing. He felt a surge of panic wash over him before he dived back into the pool of alcoholic liquid.

He touched around but couldn't find Mikhail. Anxiety creeped into his heart as he felt his brain go on overdrive. He then sucked in a deep breath of air before sinking into the liquid and touched around. It was slightly hard to see as the lighting was dim because the golden wisp was nowhere to be found.

A few minutes after, William drew his head up from the liquid and found that the volume had decreased exponentially. It was only a matter of time that he could easily stand on the ground again. Yet... there was no time to spare as he still couldn't find Mikhail yet.

A bright glow emitted nearby the deeper end of the brewery. William held his breath and swam towards the light when he felt Mikhail's hand beneath his. He quickly tugged at me before pulling Mikhail above the alcohol.

"Bumpkin! Hey! Wake up!"

"..."

"H-hey! W-wake up..."

"..."

"Mikhail! Get up!" William cried as he slapped Mikhail's face harshly. His voice had started to break as he found himself worried about his half-brother.

Thoughts of Mikhail's fervent pestering flooded his mind as he swiped the tears that spilled from his eyes. Is this how Mikhail would end? Death by alcohol?!

"*cough* *cough*" Mikhail spewed the liquid out of his body as he held onto William's hand for dear life. He glanced hazily at William before wrapping his arms around him.

"Mikhail! You're alright!"

"Huh??? Zure I'm fine... hic... If I can zurvive sewajee I can... hic... zurvive... hic... anything..." Mikhail slurred his words as he grinned at William.

"Is that so?"

"Alzo.... you... called me by... name... hehe... hic... My gwood... hic... little brother..."

William furrowed his brows before letting go of Mikhail. He felt embarrassed to have assumed the worse. He forgot that Mikhail was as tough and annoying as a cockroach. Always popping up whenever you least expect them and pestering you even whenever you mow them down.

"How can you even be drunk on this mild thing... hic... oh... I think I'm..." William muttered before he passed out.

***

"William? Are you alright? Are you sober?" Mikhail's voice echoed in William's ears as he fluttered his eyelids for a spell.

"Huh...? Wait... Is the contest still on?! But before that! Call me Zach!"

"Ah, right... Guess you liked the nickname after all." Mikhail grinned as he tilted his head innocently.

"Th-that's not it! Anyways... if the contest is over or not doesn't matter! I don't feel satisfied unless I catch that wisp!" William yelled as he stood up on the barrels that they had initially lay on when they passed out.

"I feel the same way!" Mikhail exclaimed as he smiled confidently at William.

Mikhail then hopped off the barrels and landed on the floor littered with puddles before grabbing the nets. He tossed one at William before pulling his lips to a mischievous grin.

"Let's catch that darn golden wisp."

The duo then planned out an attack strategy as they peered at the wisp that hummed tauntingly in their direction. They then nodded and split up soon after.

William suddenly rushed in from the right as he swung at the wisp, making it whisk itself down low. Mikhail grinned as he anticipated its movement and swung his net just in time for it to dodge and swerve to the left.

They both grinned as they continued their planned tactic and managed to drive it to a corner. The wisp glowed threateningly but failed to get the duo to back off.

The duo then grinned as they swung their nets at the same time. Their eyes widened with glee as their nets overlapped. However, they were nothing short of overjoyed as the fact that remained, was that they had entrapped the golden wisp.

"Bumpkin! We did it!" William grinned as he turned towards Mikhail.

Mikhail beamed back at him before the wisp suddenly grew brighter. The duo covered their eyes to shield themselves from the blinding light when all of a sudden a man with long golden hair wearing a monocle emerged beneath their nets.

"Wha-?!" The duo exclaimed as they fell backwards.

"Courageous and sedulous duo. I commend you for your effort. It has been fun playing along with you lot for 300 years."

"Right, and who are you?" William replied as he patted off the dust from his behind and folded his arms.

"Hehe... I'm the one you call Golden Warlock. It was incredibly intriguing watching your display earlier." the Golden Warlock laughed heartily as he folded his arms.

"T-that..." William turned bright red as he thought back on how many times he had fallen off trees or broken a bone due to the man.

"Especially how you two chased after me and set the town on fire with your burning behinds! Hahahahaha! That was gold!"

Mikhail turned red as well as he instinctively covered his behind. He then glared at the man as he felt violated somehow.

"Enough joking around! Was the reason behind the whole contest real?!" William asked as he folded his arms and expressed his dominance.

"Ooh~ Straight to the point are we? Well... in all honesty. This was simply a game of tag me and the first king came up with. However... before I knew it... it has been going on for 300 years."

"A game?! You mean the blessing wasn't real?" Mikhail asked as he found himself shaken.

"Well, yes. However... The blessing is very much real. I found it invigorating and exciting watching the two of you. You worked together during desperate times and come up with all kinds of techniques. You've won fair and square. I admit my defeat."

"Well, obviously. We won flawlessly." William said as he ran his fingers through his hair with a smug grin on his face.

"I wouldn't say that..." Mikhail scratched his cheek as he nervously laughed before turning to gaze at the Golden Warlock again.

"Spirits and fatherly wisdom of old... bless these young souls with courage and wisdom as they shall lead their kingdom to prosperity and peace. May the will of the heavens align with their misguided ways and ultimately lead them back down the righteous path." The Golden Warlock said as a beam of light surrounded the two young men.

As soon as the blinding light appeared, it too disappeared. The duo were left with an array of questions they wanted to ask but led with one.

"Nothing has changed?"

"Ohh, you're wrong there young one. It may not be apparent now... but you will know it pretty soon."

"I see." Mikhail said as he glanced at the floor.

"W-wait. What will you do now? That you're free from the chains of this... so-called game of yours?" William asked as he tilted his head out of curiosity.

"Good question. Hehe... It's been 300 years since I've been out and about... I guess I could go out with a bang before exploring the nation. Oh! I'll also give you a nice little surprise."

With his last words, the Golden Warlock dissipated into a thin stream of light. William and Mikhail glanced at one another before exiting the brewery and instinctively pulled their shirt down to cover the hole in their pants.

Their fingers lightly touch their behinds and they broke out into grins as they sighed in relief. He had patched up their pants.

Blue lights suddenly lighted up their surroundings as they saw the wisps that they had caught float, surrounding the atmosphere.

The wisps danced in a beautiful and spectacular manner as they swirled and glowed with a certain rhythm. The wisps then dimmed out before a golden wisp took centre stage.

It twirled and pulsed as if waiting for something before it glowed brightly and exploded into gold coins.

The crowd rushed towards it before the gold coins transformed into the Golden Warlock. He then gave a hearty laugh at the crowds before ending the contest with a humongous spherical ball of fire made out of his wisps.

William and Mikhail grinned as they then walked back together. They weren't the best of siblings, nor were they that friendly. However, they felt a tad closer to one another due to the hellish and comedic events they went through today.

Susie who finally managed to escape from the grasps of a large crowd due to the wisps lighting up the sky saw Mikhail. She wanted to call out to them but stopped when she saw her magic overrided by another person.

She frowned as she folded her arms as the glowing words on the mended pants pissed her off. She felt annoyed and didn't want Mikhail to know so she whipped her face away and pretended that she had never seen him.

The words "You need more practice!!!" taunted her as it glowed in gold lettering before dissipating into the air, leaving Susie feeling frustrated and annoyed.

Whoever overrided her magic was stronger than her and easily mocking her with their superiority. She felt frustrated and scratched her head as she sighed.

The Festival Fantomatique was such a terrible day. Susie frowned in bemusement, only to find her shoulder being grabbed. She turned to tell off the person but came face to face with Mikhail and William.

"Susie! Where were you? Let's grab some hot pumpkin spice bazzoonka! Zach told me there was one store in particular down that road on the other side of town that sold the best hot bazzoonkas during this festival!" Mikhail exclaimed as he grinned excitedly at Susie.

"I'd usually head there alone but... I think you guys deserve a treat after helping out with the fire and stuff. It'll be my treat." William said as he ran his hand through his ashen silver hair with a slight tint on his cheeks.

"H-hmph... I suppose that's not such a bad idea! Lead the way prickly boy!" Susie exclaimed with a slightly flustered look on her face before grinning widely and locking arms with Mikhail.

Maybe the festival wasn't so bad after all.