48 - Make My Noiz//Lea

"A dream?" he repeated derisively. "What a joke!"

"I've been dreaming since I was Navy's age, bright eyed and devious," Mr. Foley said. "Look what good it's done me. Don't allow yourself to be blinded by this path, young lady. Allow me to make you an elite in my new world. Your precious friends can come too."

"All you have to do is give me your song and I'll grant all of your wishes."

"That's the problem with wishes," Lea said. "They're instant, with no work."

"But with a dream, you have to put in your work, raise your Volume until you finally reach what you're aiming for," she explained. "That's how this song in my heart came to fruition."

"I finally understand what anti-wish magic is," Lea realized. "It's dreams."

"This is leading nowhere," Mr. Foley said. "You're too young to understand."

"If you won't give me your song, I'll just take it!"

The music started up again from where they had left off. Mr. Foley spun around in an elegant circle, the pink, silver and gold Noiz going with him. His outfit transformed in the blink of an eye.

He was now wearing a more modern outfit; a ripped up purple top that exposed one shoulder, decorated with pink circles, and a pair of golden leather pants. His afro was now held in place by a silver crown.

The bright crown lit up his face, making him look even younger, but it didn't stop the fierce look in his eyes as he started to sing.

"Can we create//A fallacy//In words and possibilities//Wish on my star//And gain reprieve//Release the dreams//You don't believe."

Lea knew these were the lyrics she was still holding on to in her heart, even as she touted the true magic behind working towards her dreams, deep down she wished she could take Mr. Foley's offer.

He smiled as he sang, his voice quick and melodic as he raced through the tricky lyrics. Despite his clear anger, there was a lightness to his voice that drew Lea in.

"Though light may be//Magnificent//The dark reveals//A sense of self"

But as she thought of the original Noiz holders, who gave everything to save their Kingdoms and bring them peace, she felt her heart burn with passion. Her father was in prison, and her mother could barely speak to them, but that didn't mean she didn't love them any more. Waco might have been hurt, but he was on his way to recovery. She'd even found Nora's parents.

All of this was in Paradox City, the first place Mr. Foley would enslave if he had his way.

"If they would merge//What will we see//As shadows touch...//"

"A spark that breathes!!"

Lea's eyes widened as her voice wrote the final line of the verse, taking the song wholesale from Mr. Foley. The blue, green and yellow Noiz flew out of the circle between them, stopping in front of Lea.

In a flash of light, her outfit was transformed; she looked down to see an off the shoulder red top with puffy sleeves and a pair of luminescent yellow palazzo pants. The cape floating behind her was now a glittery blue and green pattern.

She decided then that it was time to make her own dreams come true.

Starting with this one.

"(So you stop)," Mr. Foley protested.

"Breathe it into the moment," she fought back

"(In a daze)//Love your own emotions//(Can't concentrate)..."

"Show your brightest dreams//Weave it all into a theme!"

As she sang, the blue and purple cape behind her floated violently. It reminded her of Nora and Paxton's frozen faces, now covered in the dark ash. She stretched her hands out, repelling the ash around her, promising herself that she would make her friends smile again.

"Can I create a paradox//Bring truth upon this little world//Though I know I'm just a simple girl//Is that possible?"

The Mr. Foley looked shocked, but his focus remained on the dark Noiz between them. The light of the Noiz revealed dozens of people floating in stasis in the dark cloud above them, including a man and woman who were lying perfectly still, hand in hand.

Nora's parents!

If she survived this, she promised herself she would go visit her father. She would call her mother and have a frank discussion. She would support Waco with his physiotherapy...

She would finish this song.

Mr. Foley screamed angrily, flying towards the black Noiz. In an instant, the green and blue Noiz that formed her cape flew away from her, creating a light in front of the black Noiz that created a barrier. With a loud bang, he was pushed back.

The impact was so loud that it broke Lea's concentration, and Mr. Foley seized the opportunity to take back the song.

"Can a paradox shift entities//With it's own internal gravity//Putting insolence fully at ease//It's inescapable!!"

But Lea had steeled herself, ready for whatever the world would throw at her.

"Mr. Foley!" she shouted over the music. "I'm sorry!"

"Don't apologize!" he sneered. "I don't need your pity! I need the song! I need to live!"

"You don't need this," Lea told him. "Being focused on a wish, a way to get what you want without trying, blinds you to everything."

"Don't you dare lecture me!" Mr. Foley shouted.

"I kind of have to," Lea said more quietly than before. "Because you taught me that."

Lea reached out her hands, watching as the Noiz left Mr. Foley's body, turning him back into his familiar, angry self. As she touched the purple, pink, gold and silver Noiz, she felt the power of thousands of dreams reach her. Not just the dreams of the original Noiz holders, or those of her friends.

It was the dreams of everybody in Paradox City. Each dream enveloped her in a magnificent, multicolored light. The magic was overwhelming, much stronger than anything she'd experienced as a Phantom, but she had a guiding light of her own making. A song just for her.

Finally, the ninth Noiz, dark as charcoal, was within her reach. Mr. Foley was still shouting and pleading, but Lea couldn't allow herself to feel guilty about what was to come.

"These emotions strike with every chord//Feeble reasoning we can't afford//Limit ego in a bright accord//Reverse polarity.."

"Reverse polarity!" Lea shouted, spinning all eight Noiz into a frenzy. They surrounded the ninth Noiz, eating away at it's dark coloring and revealing what lay underneath, the wish.

Lea reached out and touched it, and then the whole world went white.