Owl-man

With a stiff chuckle, Meagan stood up abruptly and dusted her hands. With a smirk, she stared at Toby as she spoke: 

"Look here, frogman, I am not broken and will never be! You need to check that tone of yours, or we are going to have a problem." 

"My name is Toby… learn some manners, girl, and I will fix my attitude when you fix yours, because it has an awful stench, dear." Toby finished with a wave of his hands. 

Meagan couldn't believe—even as she saw it—Toby, a frog, no, man-frog, managed to add sass as he spoke. 

"Yeah? I show manners to those who deserve them, and the basic requirement is to be actually human, and no frogs allowed!" Meagan fired back, pissed at him. 

"Meagan honey, we don't have time for this. Really, we need to find answers, and those answers wouldn't stem from fighting with your wisdom guide!" Sister Emma berated quickly, making both parties stare angrily at her. 

"Toby, it's quite serious. We were attacked by Echopeks here—Krakov's minions. The girls used their powers, but they seemed to be after Meagan." 

Toby's eyes held a glint of mischief as he heard the last bit. "Well, she does seem to be a pain. It's no surprise that they would want to kill her." He directed a swollen finger at Meagan, and she tried to throw a retort when Ryan stepped in. 

"It's not time to point fingers now. Come on, we are not even enough to put up a decent fight at this point." 

The room became unbearably silent before Toby croaked with exaggerated painfulness. "Ryan, are you just concerned for your chosen bride, even if she is crazy about another plain, weak man?" 

"Bride? Look here, frog man thing, I am not his bride! I have a husband, and he is Mason." Meagan shot back through clenched teeth, anger making her forget her fear of Toby. She stalked towards him. 

"My, my… forgive my memory, darling, but if I remember correctly, he is.., what is the word? Deceased isn't he?" Toby taunted, giving a wide, toothy grin. 

"You have no right to mention his name! And I must tell you, I am one second away from ending you! Useless toad." Meagan's eyes were in slits, her flushed face mirrored her anger, and her chest rose and fell in a wild rhythm. 

Toby stared not at Meagan but behind her. His face fell, and his huge mouth flapped open. If his eyes went any wider, they'd swallow all of his face. Meagan wondered what left him in a daze. 

"Mom… look behind you!" Maren screamed. An angry Meagan turned abruptly and gasped in shock at what she saw. 

A round, surreal glow opened up, and she could swear she saw her bedroom on the other side of the hole. She wondered what or who had done that. 

"Okay, she might not be as bad as I thought. You need to shut it down now. I'm sure Krakov has sent his minions, and they could creep in here!" Toby directed an impressive look at Meagan, and oddly enough, it made her want to smile back. 

"Ummm, quick question: Do I say 'close sesame'? Or just say 'close'? I am really confused right now, guys…" 

"You are joking, right? The portal didn't magically open with your words, did it? Why do you keep taking this as a joke? The world's fate is…" 

Meagan cut Toby off with a disdainful laugh as he spoke. "I doubt that I need life lessons from a man frog. I mean, you couldn't even decide if you wanted to be a frog or a man!" 

Toby's face was turning purple, the vein in his head bulging an angry red. "Enough of your insults! You are just a depressed old woman. You shouldn't have been the portal. You couldn't even do the simplest thing and get married to your guardian, instead you got married to a weak…" 

Before Toby could continue his sentence, a furious Meagan charged at him, not minding how she looked attacking a man frog. When she was two feet away from him, she drew out her combat knife and lunged. 

Everyone in the room was tensed, made even worse when Ryan jumped in and defended the strike Meagan aimed at the already angry Toby. 

Immediately after the clanging sound was heard, Meagan looked at Ryan incredulously. "Step away. I won't let anyone insulting Mason live, not even the devil himself!" 

Ryan looked hurt at her words, his expression one of longing and pain. But he masked it in seconds. 

"Believe me, honey, this was done for your sake. I'd rather kill him than see you get hurt in a fight." 

"I appreciate your concern, but I can handle myself. And it seems as though you are taking his side!" Meagan wondered why that thought infuriated her more. 

"Mom… you need to really do something about the portal now!" Meagan turned at Mahalia's words and saw an owl-shaped man running towards the portal, directly at them. 

Sister Emma dove towards a wall, taking cover as she shouted for the others to do the same. 

"Do not stare at him straight in the eyes! You will get hypnotized!" Sister Emma's voice held a hint of fear as she motioned for the others to hide too. 

"Portal, anytime now!" Toby shouted as he backed up, his bulky frame looking worse to Meagan from behind. She couldn't hide the disgust on her face. 

"Meagan! Do something now!" Sister Emma screamed, her voice sharp as the urgency made it pitch higher. The owl man seemed to be closing in on the opening. 

Ryan held Meagan's hand as he saw the confusion written all over her face. Even when she tried to shake him off, he held on and drew her closer. 

Meagan could smell his manly aftershave. It'd been ages since she'd last smelled that scent, and she missed her Mason. 

But, she had to admit, she felt a strong pull towards Ryan. Everyone scrambled for cover, but he stayed with her. She instinctively knew he would die for her if she asked. 

Unfortunately, he wasn't Mason. Mason… Meagan focused on the name as she closed her eyes, trying to find her balance so she could close the portal she'd opened. 

She shut her eyes, practicing her breathing, trying to even it out. There was a loud scream from the girls as the owl man closed in on the opened hole. 

Meagan channeled her energy, hoping she wasn't too late…