Chapter five: Do it like Romelle

"Come on, Keith! Try again!"

"Here I come!"

Keith roared as he raised his dagger over his head, charging full speed at Romelle, who was wearing her suit while she held her combat staff.

The half-daemon swung down, but she avoided it, swinging her staff at Keith, who gasped before he ducked down to avoid the strike, her staff just managing to snip off a few little hairs and barely graze the tip of the top of his hair. With a growl, he quickly launches the dagger and tried to swing again, but Romelle quickly blocked with her staff.

"You're being too quick and decisive!" she shouted as she shoved the huge staff back, then charged at staff, who gasped as he jumped back, away from her sideways stroke. "If this were a real battle, Keith, you'd be impaled the moment you tried to lift your blade. That's your blind spot."

"Well, my dagger is a small weapon!" Keith complained.

"That may be true," Sango began, "but even so, small weapons, while powerful, also have its weaknesses. If you miss, the enemy is going to take advantage of that. Don't just swing wildly."

Keith grumbled under his breath.

"Come on, now," Romelle said. "Don't take it so harshly. I'm just pointing out a few openings."

"I know that," Keith muttered before he looked down at his dagger. "It's just...I'm not used to adapting my dagger when I'm in a battle, like emission of my body, like it knows to do".

"And that's fine," Romelle said. " You are a capable fighter, Combining both moves are easy to use like you're doing the breathing Techniques!"

"Wait, you know about those!" Keith repeated.

"Yes, Shiro told me!" Romelle replied as she walked past him, causing Keith to sigh as he sheathed his dagger. "He told me how you use the breathing techniques and you do them pretty well!"

"He did," Keith said. "They're not exactly as powerful as the samurai did before!"

Nearby, Shiro, Pidge, Hunk, Lance, Stats, and Kiaion slat on the back of the wall, watching them from a safe distance.

"Keith sure is taking this seriously, isn't he?" asked Lance. "He and Romelle have been having these little sparring matches every time we get a chance to have a break at Arus!"

"He wants to be able to become more adept at his dagger a bit," Shiro answered. "I guess I can't blame, especially what happened over two nights ago a with all those daemons."

"I still can't believe that he took out all those daemons in just a single stroke!" Pidge added. "It was amazing!"

"Yes, indeed," Lance began, "but can he do it, again? That's the question."

Shiro thought back to when Keith used the full power within himself for the very first time. On the one hand, he was amazed at the display of power...but on the other hand, he was also worried. How did he manage to do something like that if he couldn't do it before? And just as Lance...would he be able to do it again if such a dire situation occurred, once more?

All he could do was hope that Keith had some mastery over the sword, hopefully before the Galra would make their next move.

"Hey."

"Huh?" Kagome muttered as she looked up and saw Keith and Ronelle.

"How come you're just spacin' out like that, Shiro?" Keith asked.

"Uh...it's nothing," Shiro answered. "I was just thinking to myself, that's all."

"About what?" Keith asked.

"Don't worry about it," Shiro assured as he stood up. "Anyway, you did pretty well out there, Keith! That was really impressive!"

"You're not just saying that, are you?" Keith inquired as he gave him a questioning look. "Because there's a fine line between flattery and just bald-faced lying."

"Oh, just take the compliment..." Shiro muttered. "And Besides, you're probably hungry by now, aren't you, Keith?"

"He's got a point, Keith!" Romelle said.

"Grrrrrrwwll~!" Keith's face turned red as his stomach grumbled, then he groaned indignantly as he folded his arms in embarrassment while the others laughed.

During breakfast on the balcony, one day, Romelle gazed down at the archway that led from the shrine courtyard to the Aurs's town square.

She loved being home at Aurs. So much in fact that she wanted to protect it from enemies for those who wanted to do it harm.

"Let's paint the archway", he suggested to Coran. "Make it tough and hard! For our enemies!"

Coran loved her like a parent towards his daughter but he felt it his duty to her about the hard reality of the world.

"The archway is a major line of peace!" said Coran. "It must demonstrate unity and neutrality.

"If we want unity and neutrality?" Asked Romelle. "We should put in lion statues, better yet, turn the archery into a giant lion's mouth. Or-"

"Thank you, Romelle", said Coran. "I'll take those ideas under advisement".

"Of course". Romelle said. "That's what you always say about my ideas!"

Coran didn't see to notice and continued to his breakfast. Romelle didn't care. She wasn't pleased that Coran liked her ideas if he listened to her.

"Unity and neutrality my boot!" Romelle told Shiro and Keith later that morning. "Can he does except my ideas does this once! Like my idea for redoing the archway!"

They were in the shrine of Lions's lounge while listening to Romelle complaint about Coran.

"I'd wait on that, Romelle," Keith said. "Whenever Coran thinks an idea is dumb, he always says I'll take it under advisement!"

"Don't remind me!" She cried, "No matter how hard I tried to prove myself he always sees me as a defenseless maid girl".

Suddenly, a loud bell rang.

"The emergency alarm!" Keith shouted.

The Friends hurried to the shrine entrance. They raced across the courtyard and through the archway into the town square.

In the middle of the square was Coran, scowling up at the statue. Black rings had been painted its eyes and several teeth had been blacked out. A sign around the statue's neck read: Krell rules!

Shiro stared at the sign, confused. "Isn't Krell the land next door? What's it got to do with Coran and the status?"

Keith whispered to Shiro. "Kythylian Mu, the reigning head of the Mu Organization is Coran's lifelong rival. He likes to play pranks on him".

"By drawing a silly face on his status?" said Shiro. "I can't imagine any intelligent person finding that funny". He was surprised to Lance, Hunk, and Pidge trying not to laugh

"Kythylian Mu always managed to completely humiliate Coran" Keith continued.

"I am humiliated" Coran declared. "Humiliation for Kythylian Mu! The idea of a grown man engaged in such childish behavior".

Lance let out a snort of laughter. He couldn't help it! The eyes on the statue were pretty hilarious. Coran glared at him and Lance gulped back another laugh.

Shiro frowned. He was constantly surprised by how much he didn't know, having grown up in a Military structure for most of his life. "I still don't get it". He said.

"I'll explain later", Keith told him.

"Kythylian Mu has been trying to get me to partake in his shenanigans since our youth", said Coran. "Well, I won't partake". He raised his fist toward the statue of Priest Alfor. "Do you hear me, Kythylian Mu?" He shouted. "I. Won't. Partake!"

Back in the shrine, Coran slammed his fist on the arm of the table. "I must partake!" He cried. "I must show the people of Aurs that the sign is wrong! Krell does not rule!"

"I agree with you!" said Keith. "But how?"

"I need a prank", said Coran, smiling as an idea came to him. "I shall steal the things Kythylian Mu holds dearest: the Seal of Krell, the very symbol of his land!"

Keith stared at him in shock. "But Coran, the Karthulian System is impossible to break into. Who's gonna help you break-in through its defenses!"

Just then, Romelle strolled past the open doorway of the throne room, whistling. She paused, sensing the stares of Coran and Keith, who were looking at her way.

Romelle shook her head. "What is it? What did I do now?" In her experience, whenever she was involved with something it meant she was in trouble.

Romelle burst into the library. "Hey!" She said to Shiro, Lance, Hunk, and Pidge. "Guess what? Coran asked me to steal the Seal of Krell!"

Shiro looked up from the book he was reading, which happened to be about Krell. "That doesn't sound like a good idea, Romelle", he said. He held open the book for him to see. "Did you realize they have more than a thousand Thugs from everywhere at any time?"

Stats climbed from Shiro's shoulder to the top of the book. He turned the pages, pointing to illustrations of the guards and the Karthulian System's many dungeon cells.

"I know all that". Romelle took the book and closed it, for example, forcing Stats to leap onto a nearby table. "But this is the perfect way to prove to Coran that I'm more than just some worthless maid!"

Shiro gave Romelle a doubtful look. "You're going to prove you're not a worthless maid!"

"I know it sounds terrible!" Romelle explained. "But this is a prank, I'm not doing anything to hurt anybody, all I have to do is steal the seal and that it no harm no foul!"

"Ok, in any case, I'll come with you!" Shiro said as he was determined to learn more about this whole 'prank' thing.

Romelle shook her head. "Sorry, Shiro. This is a one-woman job". She grinned. "Luckily, I do the best work alone".

However, when Romelle stepped out of the shrine archway later that day, he found Coran waiting. He was dressed all in black and wore a satchel across his chest, exactly like the one Romelle was carrying.

"Let's go, partner!" Coran said.

Romelle stared at him. "You want to come with me?"

"Of course!" Replied Coran.

"But I thought you wanted me to do it", Romelle said. "Along".

"It's like you said before Romelle, - teamwork! How did you put it?" Coran asked.

"Well that's OK, Just as you follow my lead, my lead we will be fine!" Romelle said, but Coran had walked away. He clearly didn't understand her. Romelle sighed. It seemed he was stuck with a partner, whether she liked it or not.

From a nearby hilltop, Romelle peered through her telescope at the base of operations for Kythylian Mu!. there were hundreds of guards patrolling the courtyard, just as she remembered in Shiro's book.

She lowered the telescope and turned to Coran, who was standing next to him. I've come up with a plan that hopefully will work". Romelle showed Coran a map she'd sketched of the base. "First we'll need to steal a couple of uniforms from those guards down there, and then we'll go in through the front?"

Coran took the map from her. "We aren't going that".

"Why not?" Romelle asked.

"Don't worry, I received top training in my old days", Coran told Romelle. " What is required here is a stealthy ingress". Coran noticed Romelle staring at him, confused. "In other words, we need to sneak in a back way". He placed his fingers on the map. "And this is the perfect spot to do it".

"The northeast Tower?" Romelle asked, surprised. "That's the most heavily guarded part of the whole base!"

Coran smiled. "No one will expect it!" He said. But we'll need a disguise". He spotted a row of shrubs outside the base walls. "Shrubberies!" He declared "Perfect!"

While Romelle and Coran plotted their prank, Shiro was trying to figure out exactly what a prank was. He sat at his bedroom, gazing down at the distance, where guards were scrubbing the paint off the statue, "what's so fun about pranks anyway?" He asked Keith.

Keith glanced up from sharpening his dagger. "Most the look on the other person's face when they realize what's happened".

"Is a prank just a mean joke, then?" Shiro asked.

"A good prank isn't" Keith tried to come up with the best way to explain it. "It's like...You get somebody to expect one thing and then you do something unexpected instead".

"Unexpected..." Shiro brightened, an idea taking hold in his mind. He tiptoed to Stats, who was napping in his tiny bed on the nightstand. He gently set a sleeping mask over his eyes and covered him with a blanket.

Shiro whispered to Keith. "By the time Stats wakes up, he'll be so well-rested he won't know what hit him". He grinned. "I can't wait to see the look on his face!" Keith shook his head. "Unexpected, yes..." He snatched the sleeping mask off of Stats and his eyes popped open in shock. "But it has to be clever, too."

Outside the base of Krell, Coran and Romelle were cleverly disguised. At least, Coran thought so. "Follow my lead," he whispered. They were crouched inside a pair of large bushes that they'd pulled free from outside the base wall.

Coran moved his bush an inch to the right, waited a few seconds, then repeated the steps, inching his way through the courtyard toward the base. Romelle had no choice but to follow.

Unlike Coran, Romelle kept her eyes on the Krell guards. She knew that walking bushes, even if they moved very, very slowly, would look suspicious.

She was right. A nearby guard glanced their way and came over to investigate. Romelle quickly pulled the guard behind his bush, tied him up, and took his uniform.

Coran noticed Romelle wasn't next to him and soon spotted him in the guard's uniform, striding toward the base entrance.

"I thought I told you guard uniforms weren't necessary". He said sternly. Romelle wanted to scream. This was so frustrating! She was an experienced woman here! She knew the best and fastest way to break into a base. But even on this, Coran refused to take her advice!

Romelle couldn't disobey Coran, even now. But she really, really had to scream. Screaming out loud would surely get them caught, though, so she took off her helmet, ducked his face into it, and let out a yell. The helmet muffled the noise and she felt a little better.

"Ow!" Romelle yelled. "Agh! Ouch!"

"Quiet!" Hissed Coran.

Romelle couldn't help it. Slamming into a brick wall was painful! They'd reached the northeast tower without being caught and were now climbing to the top, using a rope Coran had packed in his satchel. Coran was above Romelle and with every step, he took the rope swung out and back smashing Romelle into the wall.

Romelle was battered and bruised by the time they climbed through the window at the top of the tower. Once they were inside, however, he was determined to take charge. She knew about bases better than Coran and she was certain Coran would listen to her now.

Romelle slipped ahead and peeked around the edge of a corridor. Two guards were at the far end, but they soon turned and disappeared into a room.

The coast was clear.

"Okay", Romelle whispered. "Follow my--". Before he could finish, Coran somersaulted across the hallway, granting as he tumbled. The guards immediately heard the commotion and looked back in their direction.

Romelle snatched some coins from his pocket and tossed them high over the guards' heads. The coins clattered on the stone floor at the opposite end of the hall. "This way!" One of the guards shouted. The guards dashed off, following the sound.

Romelle glanced ahead, expecting Coran to compliment her on his quick thinking. But Coran hadn't seen what he'd done.

"What are you doing back there?" Coran demand, waving a hand over his head. "Follow my lead!"

"Gahh!" Romelle gave up. It was only a matter of time before they were caught. She might as well do whatever Coran wanted until that happened...

Romelle wasn't the only one waiting to be caught. Shiro had spent all morning trying to come up with a prank. He thought about what the people in the shrine expected to happen during the day and tried to figure out how to make one of those things turn out the opposite way.

That was how he ended up inside a large cabinet.

"Let's do this fast, so we can get to lunch". A voice said.

Shiro recognized the voice. It was Claire one of the servants. A moment later, he heard another servant with her.

"You clean the spears", Claire said. "I'll work on the blasters".

Shiro smiled, ready for her prank. He banged a fist on the inside of the cabinet and squinted through a crack in the doors. He saw the guards point their spears at the cabinet and creep towards it.

Just before the guards reached the cabinet, Shiro swung open the door and leaped out, a sword in his hand.

"Gotcha!" He yelled. The guard screamed in fright. Shiro raised his sword, featuring to the inside of the cabinet. Rows of gleaming, polished sword and knives lined the cabinet walls.

"I cleaned all these weapons before you could! He told the shocked servants. "You should see the looks on your faces!" He let out a gleeful laugh. "You've just been pranked or as it will soon be called, Shiro-san".

It was obvious to Shiro that he was already so good at this prank thing, they'd have to change the world to name it after him.

The servant, overcome by excitement, fainted. As Claire leaned down to check on him, Keith appeared in the doorway.

Shiro wasn't sure whether fainting was the normal reaction to a prank. He looked at his friend eagerly, ready for congratulations on the prank.

Instead, Keith shrugged. "That was clever". He admitted, "And unexpected..." Shiro could sense a 'but' coming-and he was right.

"But a great prank has to be funny, too".

Meanwhile, in Krell, Romelle was not finding anything to laugh about. Coran tiptoed ahead of him down one hallway,  then another--twelve hallways so far.

Romelle was beginning to suspect that Coran was lost--even though he would wave and whisper. "Follow my lead". At the end of each corridor before turning yet another corner.

Romelle had gotten so used to tiptoeing and turning corners that when Coran suddenly stopped in front of a doorway,  Romelle nearly ran into him.

"The sealed room!" Coran said with a smile.

The door was locked, but Romelle still had twigs stuck in her hair from hiding in the bush. He plucked one out and picked the lock. Coran opened the door and Romelle followed him inside.

At the far end of the room was a raised platform covered by a velvet curtain.

"Behind that curtain lies the seal of Krell" Coran told Romelle, yanking the curtain aside.

Romelle stared. She was shocked, stunned, bewildered...and speechless.

Sitting atop the platform was a Mu, a tiny creature. Not the Silver or brass kind, with the image of the kingdom or land, stamped on it. This was a living being, a pink mammal-type armadillo. The kind that lived in the desert or should, anyway. "Hello," said the Mu.

"It's a Mu!" Romelle said, once her power of speech had returned.

"Indeed", Coran declared. "The seal!"

"It's a daemon seal", protested Romelle. "Not a seal".

"It's a daemon seal owned by a leader", Coran considered. "And thus a seal!"

Romelle bringing up how ridiculous it was for Kythylian Mu to have a daemon creature as a 'seal' but it wasn't worth the time. They needed to get out of the base with the daemon before they were caught. "Just grab one end and let's go", she told Coran.

Instead, Coran crossed the room to a portrait of Kythylian Mu on the wall. He took a paintbrush from his satchel. "What should I paint?" He asked Romelle. "An eye patch? Some stink lines? A tear representing Kythylian Mu's embarrassment when he realizes I've outranked him?"

"None of those things!" Cried Romelle "We've to go now!" She threw out her arms in frustration, accidentally slapping the daemon. The creature let out a loud "Ow!" In response.

A second later, footsteps sounded from the hallway.

Romelle looked around for an escape. She glanced at the ceiling and got an idea. "I'm going to need your rope", she told Coran.

When the guard stormed in a few seconds later, Romelle, Coran, and the Mu were gone. Or at least, they seemed to be gone. They were actually hiding in the chandelier, which dangled over the guards' heads.

As the guards searched the room, Coran whispered to Romelle, "What're we going to do?"

Romelle stared at Coran in disbelief. "Now you want my advice?"

"You're the expert", said Coran.

"That's what I tried to tell you from the start!" Romelle shouted. "But no, You insisted Doing things your way instead of My way like you always do!"

As they argued, the chandelier swayed. The bolts connecting it to the ceiling twisted loose and fell to the floor one by one. Suddenly, the chandelier broke free, crashing to the ground!

The guard surrounded Romelle and Coran, spears pointed at the two burglars.

"Wow, you guys are terrible!" said the daemon Mu.

"Really, you think!" said Romelle.

Coran slumped sadly next to Romelle inside a dark prison cell. Romelle felt sorry for her, Romelle herself had made lots of mistakes during her time as a warrior, and she knew how bad it felt. But she imagined it must feel much worse to be Coran and mess up.

"I'm sorry, but you never listen to me even when it was my one chance to get you to take me seriously for once".

Coran stared at Romelle, surprised. He hadn't thought much about Romelle's feelings during this whole adventure. He'd been too focused on embarrassing Kythylian Mu.

"I'm sorry about that but I do take you serious I even if I disagree on some things," Coran told her. "If there's one man or woman in the world I take seriously it's you".

Romelle was amazed. Coran didn't think she was just maid girl-he had respect for him!"

"Thanks, Coran!" She said. "May I ask then why you didn't listen to my ideas when we were breaking into the base?"

Coran sighed. "Sometimes I let good ideas slip through the cracks. I should have given your plan a chance".

"What you should have done was stayed put in your own land, Coran", a  deep voice called.

Romelle and Coran looked up to see a large deamon, blue and all. Kythylian Mu, standing in the prison hallway, with the tiny Mu on his shoulder. The Mu stared at Romelle and Coran with an annoyed expression on its face.

Kythylian Mu sneered at the prisoners. "Your effort to steal Karvallian was comical at best but No expect from Coran, the gambling man!".

Coran stood and faced Kythylian Mu through the bars of the cell. "All right, Kythylian Mu. You've had your laughs", he said, "Now release us".

"I'll let you go", replied Kythylian Mu. " But not until I parade you through town wearing nothing but a jester's hat-proving once again that Krell is superior to Aurs! Until then, I'm leaving you to have to stew in the stench of your own defeat!"

Kythylian Mu cackled as he carries the creature on his back.

Coran plopped onto the cot and sighed. "Kythylian Mu's right". He said.

"You don't smell that bad, Coran", Romelle assured him. "Besides, the stench in here from Kythylian Mu. He sinks really badly."

"I meant I deserve to wear nothing but a jester's hat", said Coran. "Once again, Kythylian Mu has proven he's the better prankster".

"Better?" Replied Romelle. "His prank with the statue wasn't even funny! I mean, I didn't laugh at it, I mean others did laugh, but still. On the whole? Not that funny".

Coran nodded. "True. His pranks are always more irksome than humorous".

"Irksome...," Romelle murmured to herself.  But that isn't a manner. They need to get out of here.

Romelle pointed to a grate in the floor of the cell. "The question is, are you willing to try it my way this time?"

"Coran! There's no way you'll escape that way!"

The two guards posted outside the Prison heard Romelle call out. They rushed into the prison and dashed to the cell to find Romelle alone.

"Coran escaped without me!" Romelle told the guards, pointing to the floor of the cell. The grate was gone.

The guards hurriedly unlocked the cell door to investigate. They leaned down and peered into the hole in the floor.

"Lose something?" Called a voice.

The guards glanced around, confused. The voice hadn't come from below. They looked up just as Coran, who had been hiding in the rafters, jumped on top them, knocking them to the ground.

Romelle helped Coran off the dazed guards. "Well played, Coran", she said with a smile. "Well played".

Back at the shrine, things were also looking up for Kiaion, a little cat that transforms a big lion. Kiaion was drinking from his trough when he spotted an apple on the ground nearby. It had appeared out of nowhere, as if by magic!

Apples were Kiaion's favorite food,  Other than Meat of course

He didn't notice the string attached to it and was about to bite down on the apple when it darted out of his reach. Kiaion followed the apple as it rolled toward the open doors of the barn.

Inside the barn, the apple came to a stop near a pile of hay. At last! Kiaion opened his mouth wide...and bit into the shadows.

The barn doors crashed closed behind him. Kiaion looked around nervously as footsteps thundered above him.

Suddenly, Shiro jumped from the rafters to the hay-strewn ground. "Gotcha!" He cried.

Kiaion watched, confused, as Shiro dashed around the barn, yanking down the curtains covering the walls. When he was done, Kiaion stared in shock.

Towers of apples lined the barn. In front of one wall stood a sculpture of a lion made entirely of apples. It was Kiaion come true!

Shiro laughed and pointed at him. "You should see the look on your face!"

Kiaion running straight into the sculpture and bit an apple. It was delicious!

Shiro left Kiaion in the barn to gobble up the apples. Outside, Keith leaned against a wall.

"Did you see the look on his face?" Shiro asked him. "He expected one apple, but he got a whole bunch!" He grinned. "He was totally Shiro-san!"

Keith nodded. "Unexpected, clever, and funny, but there's one more thing a great prank has to be..."

Shiro frowned. "A prank has to be mischievous, too", he said.

Romelle and Coran hadn't carried out a great prank, either. But that was about to change.

They had locked the two guards in the cell and taken their uniforms. The disguises had been Romelle's original plan to get them inside the base without being caught. Now she hopped the disguises would get them out.

Unfortunately, as Romelle and Coran headed toward the base entrance, Kythylian Mu appeared at the opposite end of the hall, Coran turned to go back the way they'd come, but Romelle grabbed his arm.

"Wait", he whispered, recognizing the hall from when they'd broken in before. "Follow my lead..."

Before Coran could answer, Romelle dashed to a door and rattled the handle. Coran followed. Romelle looked over at Coran and winked just as Kythylian Mu marched toward them, carrying his litter including Karvallian, on his back.

Coran was confused. Was it Romelle's plan to get caught? But Coran decided to trust her this time, and he hurried to Romelle's side.

Kythylian Mu arrived beside them. "It appears someone hasn't learned their lesson yet", he said.

Romelle threw his hands up in surrender, "you got us!"

Coran slowly raised his hands as well, although he wondered now if trusting Romelle had been a mistake. Playing along, he said. "We wanted to pull off some sort of prank so our trip wasn't completely in vain".

Romelle added, "I thought it'd be funny to break into the library and rearrange the newspapers. Historians hate that".

Kythylian Mu rolled his eyes. "That is the worst idea for a prank I've ever heard! And ones again, you'd have failed!" He pointed to the door across the hall. "That is the door to the library!"

Romelle shook his head. "No, I'm pretty sure this is the library!"

"You idiot! This is my base!" exclaimed Kythylian Mu. "I know where my own library is!" He pushed Romelle and Coran aside, threw open the door, and stepped inside-right onto a trapdoor.

The trapdoor snapped open and Kythylian Mu plummeted out of sight with a scream.

Romelle called down through the opening. "Forget about your own top-notch security, did you?"

Kythylian Mu yelled up inside the trap. "Let me out, Coran! There are spiders down here! Arch!  Why did I bring spiders here!"

Coran chuckled. He nodded to Romelle, impressed. "Well played, Romelle. Well played". Coran said.

"Thinks!" Romelle said. "Thanks for believing in me!" She smiled back at him.

Karvallian and her siblings clapped their hands.

"Karvallian, you and your siblings better not be clapping?" Kythylian Mu called. The Mu grinned and clapped harder.

Coran smiled at Romelle. "At last! I've finally humiliated you Kythylian Mu."

"Yes, you did!" Kythylian Mu said from the trapdoor.

"Oh, Coran", Romelle said with a grin. "We have not yet begun to humiliate that guy".

All the way home to Aurs, Romelle and Coran laughed, remember how they'd tied up Kythylian Mu to the leg of his own statue in the Krell town square. They'd left him wearing nothing but a jester's hat-and a sign covering his body that read Arus rules! For the first time, they prevailed working as a team. Romelle felt as if the wall that had grown between them was beginning to dissolve, just a bit.

Keith met Romelle and Coran outside the Aurs Shrine gates. "Did you do it, Coran?" Keith asked. "Did you get the seal?"

"We got her, Keith", Coran replied. "But we let her go". He explained how they'd traveled to the seaside after leaving Krall and set Karvallian and her siblings, free.

It's been an excellent day", Coran declared as they neared the shrine archway.

But then he saw it...

The arch's white metal layer had been painted black and blue, and the whole structure was covered with pictures of  Stars and galaxies.

"I guess we're not going with my theme", observed Romelle

"I might have preferred it", replied Coran.

Shiro popped out from behind the archway, a big grin on his face. "Gotcha,  Coran!" He laughed. "Oh man, you should see the look on your face!"

Coran chuckled. He was in a good mood from succeeding with his prank. It was only fair that he allows Shiro one of his own.

"I suppose it's fine", he told him. "As long as you and Keith repaint it-today". Shiro held up two cans of white paint. "Obviously, Coran", he said.

After Coran and Romelle went inside, Keith joined Shiro and picked up a paintbrush. "Well, Shiro", he said. " You finally figured out this whole prank thing".

Shiro grinned from ear to ear. Keith smiled. "It was unexpected, clever, funny, and mischievous. But you overlook the most important thing of any prank: you didn't think it through". He tossed a paintbrush to Shiro. "Now we have to repaint this whole thing by tonight".

Shiro handed the brush back to Keith. " Sorry, but I've got samurai stuff. Looks like you'll have to repaint it by yourself. Still believe I didn't think it through?" He snickered and walked off toward the   Shrine.

Keith stared at the paintbrush in his hand, then up at the huge metal archway-which would take hours to repaint by himself.

He groaned.

"Kidding!" A voice called from behind him. "I'm going to help you! It was Shiro. He pointed a finger at Keith. "I totally got you, Keith!" Shiro laughed as he picked up his paintbrush.

Keith shook his head. "I've been Shiro-san", he said. Shiro giggled.

Keith dipped his brush in the paint and went to work next to Shiro. "Well played, Shiro", he said with a sly smile. " Well played".