That night, Jimmy sat cross-legged on his bed, the faint moonlight slipping through the window blinds. Luna was curled up near his feet, snoring lightly—her small blue body rising and falling with soft whimpers. For a moment, he just watched her. In a room so small it barely fit his folded blanket and her food bowl, she still looked like she wanted to run wild. Her paw twitched like she was chasing something in her dreams.
Jimmy reached out and gently patted her head. "Wait for morning," he whispered with a smile.
But his mind wasn't ready to rest yet. The battle with Raelson replayed in his head, not as a memory—but as a puzzle. What did I miss? he asked himself. Slowly, the pieces began to align.
Two key things.
One: Zigzag turns. Raelson's Whisp had mastered deceptive footwork—it didn't charge in a straight line but curved like a serpent.
Two: Shadow clone. Not real ones, but feints—creating visual confusion with movement and dust. Jimmy scribbled it down in his notebook. Improve Luna's reaction speed. Increase sharpness of Aqua Jet. Work on faint illusions.
But there was something else too— his calculation and ... Luna's hidden element.
He glanced at the corner of the room where she had once accidentally zapped the power socket. Electricity. She wasn't just a water-type. But for now, he'd have to keep that a secret. Still... maybe he could increase it quietly, strengthen it without revealing it yet.
Determined, Jimmy pulled out his tablet again and searched the academy's surroundings. His fingers flew across the screen, zooming in and out on various districts, scrolling past practice zones, restricted areas, abandoned spaces—
Then he found something.
"Kliken forest South part : Old Storage Quarter - Zone F3"
Status: Unused. Maintenance Closed.
No current faculty assigned.
Jimmy smiled. "Yes."
Excited, he nudged Luna awake. She stretched lazily, her ears flopping back as she yawned. "Training?" he asked, already reaching for their bag.
But Luna blinked once, then plopped back down with a pout. "Onnonnoon... no training. Want play."
Jimmy chuckled but leaned in, signing slowly with exaggerated movements. "Big fight in two days. We need to prepare."
Luna groaned and swiped a berry from the stash on the shelf. She crunched into it with defiance.
"No!" Jimmy said with mock sternness, taking the pouch from her paw. "No more. I don't have income."
She looked away, pretending not to hear.
Then, like a blur, she darted around the room in circles, bouncing on the bed and narrowly avoiding the lamp. Jimmy grabbed her and sent her back into the Mind's Garden with a sigh.
From inside his head, her voice echoed with a comical yell: "NOT FAIRRR!"
He couldn't help but grin. He brought her back out.
And immediately—splash! A stream of water hit him square in the face.
"Again?" Jimmy muttered, wiping his dripping hair. It was her classic move—she always did this when he didn't play with her or hadn't visited the garden for too long.
He sat back down, shaking his head with a smile. "Very little space to play, Luna."
Luna pointed toward the electric socket in the wall, her tail wagging like a mischievous spark. Her eyes glinted with anticipation.
She lifted her paw and tapped it twice beside the plug.
Jimmy raised an eyebrow. "You want to do that again?"
She nodded fiercely.
A grin crept across his face.
Jimmy rummaged under his bed and pulled out a small kit—rubber gloves, control unit, wires, clamps, and a tiny voltage regulator. It wasn't academy-approved tech. But it worked. He took a rubber mat and laid it on the ground, more for safety than comfort. Then, he connected two small metal claws and clipped them gently to Luna's leg fur—not piercing, but enough to channel.
He attached a side battery to store whatever electric discharge she couldn't use directly, then dialled the control knob slightly up.
The machine hummed to life.
Luna twitched with a spark, but instead of being uncomfortable, she bounced slightly, giggling. The faint buzzing of electricity traced through her fur—harmless but energizing. Her tiny paws crackled as she lifted them, and the tips of her ears glowed faintly.
Jimmy noted it all down. "We'll store excess energy and later convert it for short bursts. Mix it with your Aqua Jet."
This was their secret weapon.
The lights in the room flickered slightly. Luna shot him a look.
"Fine, fine. We stop now," he laughed, powering it down.
The night went on with them whispering, sparking, and scribbling notes. In this tiny room, with makeshift tools and borrowed time, a storm was quietly building.
..............................................
At exactly 10 PM, Jimmy switched off his device. The low electric hum died down. He could already hear footsteps creaking up the old staircase outside.
Someone was coming.
Without wasting a second, he unplugged every wire, shut down the control box, stashed the rubber pads, and pulled the cloth flap under the door tighter. In under a minute, the room looked like a normal, boring dorm again. Luna vanished into the Mind's Garden with a little huff—her playtime cut short.
Just as Jimmy threw himself into bed and pulled the blanket up to his chin, the power in the building suddenly went out. All lights blinked dead.
The hallway outside filled with murmurs and yawns. Room doors opened. Feet shuffled.
Jimmy, still pretending to sleep, opened one eye beneath his eyepatch. Then, slowly and sleepily, as if annoyed at being disturbed, he got out of bed, kept the blanket around his shoulders like a cloak, and stepped into the hallway.
Other students were already peeking out, a few in bunny slippers, a few holding phone flashlights like they were chasing ghosts. But the moment they turned and saw Jimmy—with the eyepatch now lifted, and that hollow black eye pit staring back blankly—a chill ran through the group.
"Ugh—what's with that kid?"
"Does he sleep with that eye open?!"
"Put the patch back on, man, you're scaring my Whisp!"
Even the two patrolling guards paused, shining a torch on him. One squinted and asked, "You heard anything strange from this room? Any humming or... sparks?"
Jimmy just stared, half-asleep, one eye sunken into shadow. The silence made the guard visibly uncomfortable. He stepped back.
"...A-alright. Nothing here. Let's move."
And just like that, they walked away.
Back inside, Jimmy chuckled under his breath, eyes gleaming with mischief.
As soon as the coast was clear, he whispered, "Come out."
Luna popped into the room with a soft sparkle. Her fur still held a faint charge from earlier training.
"You didn't get caught?" she asked in a pout.
Jimmy shook his head proudly. "Ninjas don't."
But Luna wasn't done. "Then why'd you stop our practice?"
Jimmy ruffled her fur and pulled out a bucket of water. "Because we're learning something new tonight."
She narrowed her eyes. "No baths. I know that's a bath bucket."
Jimmy smirked and pulled out a soggy paper with the letter 'A' scrawled on it.
"Alphabet?"
He nodded. "Shape the water into this."
Luna groaned. "Can't we just do lightning again?"
"Nope."
Grumbling but curious, she hovered over the bucket and raised a sphere of water. It wobbled like jelly in the air. Jimmy pointed at the paper, guiding her mentally through shapes.
She got the straight line.
She got the second slant.
But when she tried to make the curve—
SPLASH.
Water smacked Jimmy right in the face.
He blinked.
She burst out laughing. "On on"
Jimmy wiped his face with a towel, deadpan—but his lips twitched.
"revenge?"
Luna nodded proudly.
He chuckled. Then, without warning, splashed her back from the bucket.
Luna squealed and leapt to the shelf like a soaked kitten.
"NO FAIR!"
Their watery war paused, and Jimmy held up a second card: 'B'.
Luna sighed,
But she hovered again, more focused this time. Slowly, gracefully, the water curved into a 'B'. It wobbled, but held.
Jimmy clapped softly and handed her a fruit slice as a reward. "Nice."
She wagged her tail happily and munched. "Do I get extra if I make 'Z'?"
"Double fruit."
"Deal."
The practice continued—with fruit bribery, water art, and the occasional splash sneak attack—until both of them collapsed on the bed, soaked, tired, and quietly giggling.
The letters weren't perfect. The room was humid like a sauna. But for Jimmy and Luna, that cramped dorm had turned into a playground, a battlefield, and a classroom all at once.
And as they fell asleep, the last floating 'M' dissolved gently back into the bucket.