Nothing Could Go Wrong Here (Private, Event, Leona and Ruvel)

True to her word Leona followed behind Samira moments after the teal-haired mage made contact with the group of people The Recheeserator had captured. The moment the blonde approached the group she got a mix of awed looks for her creation and angry glares for creating the monstrosity that had captured them. Samira asked the people a question about how they had gotten here and got an angry response from one man.

"Not that it makes a difference! We're stuck here!" He replied to Samira's question concerning whether everyone in the group had come through The Recheeserator to get here. Seconds later he made another angry remark.

"All thanks to her! I knew I should have stayed home instead of going to some stupid festival. Now I'm going to die here. HERE!" The same man fumed, pointing his finger directly at Leona. There was no mistaking that he laid the blame for what had happened to him squarely on her. The Wizard Saint of Courage initially bristled at the accusation, but then she thought about it a little and realized that he had a small point.

It was true that Leona had created the grilled cheese sandwich that had formed the nucleus of The Recheeserator. She also could not deny by that by making the grilled cheese sandwich she had a part in the weird chain of events that had led up to this point. That much was true. However, the fact that it had come to life, formed The Recheeserator, and had went on to run around and capture people with a cheese lasso was NOT something Leona had anticipated happening nor had wanted to happen. The way the man talked he made it sound like Leona had created the beast and set it loose on the spectators for fun.

Leona was deeply insulted by the accusation that she was to blame for the man's troubles, but by sheer force of will she kept her mouth shut. Samira was starting to get the people to listen to her and Leona did not want to jeopardize that now that the hostile mood was starting to simmer down. However, there was always that one person in every group who had to throw gasoline on the fire and that one person in this group was none other than Chef Ramsey.

Chef Ramsey tore into Leona with all kinds of insults that pushed all the wrong buttons. He insulted her upbringing by calling her a desert bumpkin. He insulted her intelligence by stating that potted plants were smarter than her. He insulted her cooking skills by stating that she was so outclassed by him that she needed to resort to magic trickery to try and win the contest. Then he added another string of insults about her poor fashion sense and how her outfit was sorely outdated, but she tuned those out without really trying.

Leona bristled at the insults before realizing that the chef had a couple of small points buried beneath the numerous cheap shots. He was right about her being a "desert bumpkin" and he was right about her having very poor cooking skills. However, he was wrong about her intelligence and wrong about the accusation that she would resort to magic to try and win a cooking contest she had no stake in. She had tried multiple times to avoid participating and had even publicly claimed that she had no cooking skills to try and get out of participating in the contest, but he was being willfully ignorant of that fact.

Leona looked at Chef Ramsey for a moment. She was really getting tired of his nonsense and really wanted to shut him up with a Mach Straight to the mouth, but that would be exactly what he wanted. He wanted her to hit him so that he could play the victim and turn people against the Wizard Saint by painting her as an emotionally unstable person who solved any and all problems with violence. Leona was not going to play his game. As tempting as it was to punch him in that smug face of his, she would refrain from doing so.

Leona turned away from the chef and listened to Samira speak indirectly on her behalf to Chef Ramsey. Samira gave the chef an ultimatum of sorts... set aside his grudge and act like a decent human being or feel free to remain here in the crazy food city and the crazy cheese dimension. Leona could care less if the chef stayed here or went with them, but if he went with them she expected him to behave like a decent human being. A few moments later Leona heard Samira speak again, this time to the group as a whole.

Even thought Samira was not outright ordering the group to stop insulting Leona, the point was being made that no further insults and aggression would be tolerated. Leona was surprised that Samira would put her own reputation on the line to help a "desert bumpkin" like her. The Goddess of Humility was taking a big risk by doing that... if she insisted on defending the blonde she could get blame for this situation unfairly heaped on her like Leona had.

For some reason the group had already decided Leona was their scapegoat and she was going to get the blame for this mess whether it really was her fault or not. The extent of the blame Leona deserved was making the grilled cheese sandwich that had formed The Recheeserator and even that was arguable, but the angry people acted like Leona had personally captured each and every one of them and then hurled them into the jaws of The Recheeserator for the fun of it. She figured that the group wanted an easy punching bag to vent their frustration on and that she made the perfect target since Wizard Saints were supposed to put up with adversity without complaining about it. Leona would bear the group's animosity if it meant getting everyone to follow Samira to safety, but she was not happy about it.

Leona kept her mouth shut and followed the group while Samira led them towards the way out. The blonde was feeling slightly better now that they were actually moving towards getting out of here, but she was still miffed about being a scapegoat for the Recheeserator's victims. Moments later she had bigger concerns when she spotted Ida and the other costume-wearing people run towards them as fast as they could possibly go. Her good mood instantly evaporated and was replaced with concern.

What was going on that had made them run to the Wizard Saints?

Was it a cheese monster that had stomped out of the cheese lake to terrorize the town?

Or was it something far worse than yet another cheese monster?

[Post Word Count: 1,140]
[Leona's Word Count: 9,690]

Samira continued to ignore the comments going on behind her. She could hear it, but was not listening intently. The group was starting to grow anxious though upon seeing the costumed ship crew flail their way right on over as if they had stared straight into the face of their doom before speeding off. How curious. They weren't at the cheese lake anymore so surely it wasn't another monstrous wheel of cheese coming right at them for revenge. Then again, maybe that assumption was very incorrect. Samira knew nothing of that world or what to expect. Even if another cheese wheel was not what made the chip ship crew skedaddle towards the powerful Wizard Saints for safety the next creature as a guess was... unknown. Samira couldn't even try to accurately guess and prepare herself for it. Unless it was pumpkin related. Maybe it was a giant coconut. The food related things they had run into so far was about all she could come up with.

The woman continued to stand there still, staring silently as the chip ship crew got closer and closer. Eventually the answer as to why they were running became clear. They were being chased. The entities chasing them wasn't even something unfamiliar. In fact, it was an army that Samira had completely forgotten about. Mainly because she figured them to no longer be a threat, but apparently she was completely and utterly wrong to assume that. Chasing after the chip ship crew was none other than a large army of grilled cheese sandwiches. The exact same living grilled cheese sandwiches that had been created by the Recheeserator while both Samira and Leona were tracking it down within the castle maze. Thankfully, they no longer wielded their butter knives and tomato soup guns, but they would still be the enemy of patience and tolerance.

Once again for quite possibly the thousandth time that day Samira had to sigh. She should have expected them to show up. They too had been consumed by the Recheeserator so why wouldn't they end up in the same place as them? It was peculiar that they took so long to appear but perhaps they ended up floating to another section of land. The only reason she and Leona were even where they were was because of Ida and her crew. Saving a bunch of random killer sandwiches that worshipped a walking refrigerator was probably not on their agenda at the time. Random people falling from the sky and into the lake was likely the priority. Well, whatever kept them so long didn't change the fact that they were there now, nor was it considered a blessing. It was just another tally to the weird and horrible day that still wouldn't come to an end.

"I will pass on this encounter." Samira calmly stated, closing her eyes and turning away from the sight to walk in another direction. In other words, the esteemed summoner was saying hell no. She wasn't dealing with those things again. She was done. The line had been drawn and passed long ago. There would be no more! She didn't care if those things fused together to form a giant sandwich that was able to shoot laser beams from its eyes. Someone else could deal with it. Meshi was not her concern and chances were there were a lot more dangerous things about that world than that grilled cheese army. They just had to make sure the devil food in cheesy disguise didn't try to go through the escape portals.

"Leona, we should proceed with opening the way back. The harpy ladies you left behind to act as your tether back to Ishgar should make this a simple task. I will have my summons help with this as well." At least two portals should be able to open up with that plan. The one Leona could open with her Furies acting as a beacon back, and Samira having one as well. That'd make getting everyone out quicker. Preferably before the grilled cheese sandwiches caught up. Of course, there was a chance it could fail. Samira wasn't sure if Leona's tether back would work. She'd never really seen the other Wizard Saint make a portal that traveled through dimensions before. For Samira, it was so common that it was child's play at that point. Having the avatar of a god of portals did, of course, make that possible.

Samira stopped walking and took the key that belonged to Janus off from the keyring at her hip. He was pretty far considering he was back in Ishgar and she was in some random world but they were still tightly connected. The key just made it stronger and would allow her to open the way much easier than without. She held it up and stretched her arm forward. Silently she called on the spirit, heavily concentrating on the link, her own power, and the creation of the portal. At first nothing happened, but the key began to glow faintly and the start of a magic portal started to slowly form and swirl in the air.

As Samira did this Ida and her crew of food mascots finally made it to them. All of them were out of breath and worried about the weird little creatures that were not far behind. Samira tuned out their shouts and explanations. They needed to be if she was going to make an escape route. She couldn't even focus on if Leona was able to complete her part. The summoner had to remain calm and patient and not rush the process. The group would be fine and she had to believe that. If worse came to worse, she was sure Leona's summon Rafale would still be of use and could buy some time. Or maybe even Leona could if her portal making failed or was quicker. The ability to still be positive that day was amazing and even surprised her. Perhaps it was because they were so close to getting out of there now. As long as things didn't go completely wrong from there.

(Word Count: 1018
Samira Total: 10,724)

Leona knew that Samira had put her reputation on the line to protect the former, which was why the blonde was trying so hard to keep her mouth shut despite all the people still making snide remarks about her. Samira had made a "suggestion" not to talk like that and those idiots still thought it was a bright idea to antagonize a Wizard Saint. They were deliberately exploiting the fact that Leona was a Wizard Saint to get away with their cheap shots because she could not do anything about it without risking the loss of her title. They were very lucky that Samira had put her reputation on the line because now Leona could not act against the hecklers without dragging Samira down with her. As much as Leona detested the hecklers and wanted to shut them up, she was not going to drag Samira down with her for the sake of revenge.

Leona stared straight ahead at the costumed people and was curious as to what it was that made them run so fast towards the Wizard Saints and the people they had "rescued" from being trapped here. Leona stopped when Samira stopped and she soon spotted what had made the costumed people run for their lives. The blonde blinked and put her hands on her hips.

It was those annoying grilled cheese sandwiches from the hedge maze!

Leona sighed in obvious frustration. She thought she had seen the last of those annoying creatures in the hedge maze, but here was a large army of them charging towards the costumed people and their Wizard Saint protectors. At least the annoying little creatures did not have their weapons this time. That would make everyone's lives a little bit easier.

Samira then stated that she was not going to waste her time dealing with the pests. If Samira did not want to face them, Leona would gladly do so. She had a lot of frustration to vent and those walking reminders of her culinary mistake would make for very nice targets.

"I'll deal with these things. You get that portal open and get those people out of here, Samira. I'll find my own way out if I have to." Leona declared to Samira, breaking the silence that had persisted ever since Samira had made contact with the people captured by the Recheeserator. It was not like the sandwiches were harbingers of the apocalypse that could kill everyone in the group if they were allowed to reach them. They were only a distraction, but from what little the blonde knew about opening portals (which was almost nothing) opening a portal was a delicate process that worked best without distractions. Leona would buy Samira time to open the portal.

Leona walked past the group and walked past the costumed people as Rafale flew to her and righted himself in mid-air, then flew straight down before landing gracefully on his feet, joining Leona as the blonde continued to walk.

"I saw those odd costumed people running from something. What's going on, Leona?" Rafale asked her.

"A bunch of grilled cheese sandwiches are heading this way. They're hardly earth-shaking threats since they don't have any kind of weapons, but my friend's going to open a portal to get everyone out and she can't afford to be distracted." Leona told Rafale exactly what was going on. The Sky Champion blinked, then looked straight ahead of them at the charging sandwiches and his jaw dropped from incredulity. He then turned back to Leona.

"I see what you mean." Rafale said to her.

"Yeah." Leona replied laconically. This adventure had been a weird one ever since the Recheeserator had come to unholy life. It had also been a weird adventure that never seemed to end. Her patience had been pushed far past the vanishing point, but by a miracle she had kept her mouth shut despite the constant heckling from Chef Ramsey and the other ingrates in the group. Now she had been presented with a gift-wrapped opportunity to destroy some "enemies" and she was going to take it.

"What do you want me to do, Leona?" Rafale asked the blonde.

"I want you to help me kill them, Rafale." Leona answered in all seriousness. Rafale looked towards her for a moment.

"We don't have to kill every last one of them, Rafale. All we need to do is buy my friend some time to open a portal so that they can get everyone out of here. Then once everyone's clear we can get out of here ourselves." Leona told him the plan.

"OK. I can do that." He said before taking flight towards the enemies and zooming past Leona. The Wizard Saint followed close behind and began to hear the war cries of the animated sandwiches.

"Death to the humans!" One bellowed.

"We shall avenge our brothers!" Another called out.

Leona continued to walk towards them as Rafale zoomed in with violet energy swords extended and cut one in half on the first pass. She heard tiny screams of terror as Rafale zoomed away a few meters and banked right before and coming around for a second pass while Leona waited until the grilled cheese army moved closer before she used a Wind Blast to knock some of the sandwiches down. The others surged towards her with war cries on their lips while Leona stood her ground and destroyed another sandwich with a Wind Bullet.

Refale zoomed low to the ground and carved up another sandwich with his energy blades while its fellows scattered to avoid the same fate. Leona aimed and fired an Air Pressure spell at another sandwich, causing it to explode from the force of the spell. Leona was amused by the horrified reactions of its fellows who had been coated in melted cheese.

"KILL THE BARBARIAN WHO KILLED OUR BROTHERS!" A sandwich coated with the cheese of its fallen friend screamed. The others began to yell "KILL HER!" and charged towards Leona with vengeance in their hearts... if they even had hearts to begin with. Leona, undaunted by the angry sandwiches baying for her blood, stood her ground and waited for the sandwiches to come closer before showing them more spells from her Wind Strike Magic. Hopefully Samira could get that portal open and get the people out of here so that Leona could leave as well. Leona did not want to be here a minute longer than she had to.

[Post Word Count: 1,080]
[Leona's Word Count: 10,770]

The process of opening the gateway back made it feel like an eternity had passed on by. Not only for Samira, but also for the group that became more and more worried as the grilled cheese monsters got closer and closer. Honestly, some could have defended themselves and others easily. They were just sandwiches with the ability to move now that they wielded no weapons. Easily squashed or picked up and torn apart. Samira couldn't very well request that they aid in their own survival though. She was extremely busy and even if she weren't it was part of her duties to ensure no harm came to anyone that was relying on her for protection and support. There were limits, naturally. Everything came with it. The current scenario she'd excuse the cowardice of those too scared to stand up to those ridiculous sandwiches. It was, after all, partially the fault of Leona and herself. Technically Ruvel as well since he had been the one to throw the original living sandwich into the fridge, but seeing as he wasn't there to help clean up the mess the responsibility had to be taken by just the two Wizard Saints that were currently present.

'This is more difficult than I had planned for it to be.' Samira thought silently to herself as she continued to focus on the portal. More and more magic was poured into the process, making the gateway between the two worlds bigger and brighter. The celestial energy got more color and swirled even more rapidly. Still it was not completed though. It was significantly draining her of her magic power as well. There wouldn't be much left to fight with if she had to defend herself and the others. It was a good thing that Leona had taken the initiative to stall the little devilish sandwiches. Samira trusted her to succeed. She had to. There was no realistic alternative other than complete failure and them all being stuck there for a while longer. The Goddess did not want that at all.

More moments passed on by as Leona and her summon fought off the sandwiches. Admittedly, Samira was beginning to worry that the portal would not come to completion. She had even started to wonder if something had happened to Janus' powers or if he was even giving it his all on the other side. Technically they were all on their day off so it wouldn't surprise her at all if he chose not to work too hard. Or at all. Sweat began to form on her forehead, the trickles flowing down along her face as the process continued. It was so straining not only on her magic power now but also her mental state. A dull ache was now shooting through her brain. Opening portals between realms was absolutely challenging. Without Janus it probably would have been impossible for her to do so. A newfound respect was formed for the spirit who often ran away in the face of battle. His part in her summon collection was no less challenging or important than those that knew how to fight and defend. Perhaps when it was all over she'd call on him for some training and practice with opening portals between herself and unknown realms.

Just as Samira was reaching the lower limits of her magical power, the portal burst with life. The energy of the portal gave off a bright light that lasted only an instant. When the light faded what remained was a full portal that hummed loudly. The energies continued to swirl repeatedly, going inward to an abyss that was too far inside to be seen. The outline of the portal sparked and crackled during the formation, but it soon became calm and stable. It appeared to be safe. Samira trusted it to be so. Now hopefully everyone else did as well.

"The portal is done," Samira said aloud with a heavy pant. She was exhausted now. Too bad it was still no time for rest and leisure. "Everyone, make your way through now. It will not last long." And that was true enough. Janus could keep his portals up indefinitely, but Samira lacked the ability to use his power at that great of length. She couldn't even guess how long it would remain open. One by one the former Recheeserator victims ran through the open magical gateway. Samira helped them along, urging them to move swiftly and at times giving them a gentle push as they passed by her. Ida and her ship crew then went through. That just left Leona, Rafale, and herself. "Leona!" Samira shouted to get the blonde's attention again in case she had missed the original announcement. "The portal is open! Hurry!" The summoner waited a few seconds and then went through the portal herself. Leona wasn't too far and the area around the portal had been clear. Samira thought that nothing would keep her fellow Wizard Saint from making it to the portal and jumping right on in. She was wrong.

Stepping through the portal took Samira and the others on a very short hardly noticeable journey through the dimensions. Their exit point was back in the center of the maze that surrounded one of the sides of the castle. Good. They had made it back to the right place. Even Janus was standing there, although he didn't look at all tired. Not like his summoner, who had a very trying day and used up much of her power on a single portal. Thankfully, the Recheeserator was not there at that moment. It was probably stomping around somewhere in the maze though. She'd worry about that in just a second. Or, at least that had been the plan. Samira had dropped to her knees after stepping through the portal to take a bit of a breather, but the sounds of the portal beginning to vanish caused her to quickly rise and turn around to stare at it with wide worried eyes. "Oh no," Samira quietly said as she continued to stare at the portal that was flickering in and out of existence. Its power had waned and was continuing to do so at an alarming rate. That couldn't happen. Not yet! There were no signs of Leona. She still had to get through!

Then it happened. In an instant the portal was gone. The Wizard Saint of Courage was now stuck in Meshi without a portal to escape. Samira had to act quickly. Was she afraid that Leona and Rafale would be overrun? Well... no.... they were just sandwiches. But she couldn't leave her friend there with who knows what else was there! Her glaring gaze shifted towards the portal master. "Janus! Open the portal again now!"

"Oh, dear. I am getting too old for all of this excitement," Janus stated with a bit of a whine in his tone. Nonetheless he did as was demanded. Or tried to anyway. The spirit stepped up to stand in front of where the portal once stood and he waved his magic around to try and recreate it. The portal started to come back, its energies flickering in and out, but it was all for nothing. The portal zapped out of existence incomplete. It would not open. The look of disappointment on the spirit's face was fully sincere. "I am sorry, Samira, but I cannot get it to work. Something is preventing me from opening the way there directly. I am afraid it could only be done before because your presence acted as a guide that bypassed the barrier."

"Focus on Leona's presence then!"

Janus shook his head sadly. "I am not as connected with her as I am with you. It is impossible. If she were somewhere in this world it would be easy, but between worlds with one blocking the way in... only my original could do something so unheard of."

"I see..." And that was that. Samira had to accept it. If she couldn't pull it off, and Janus couldn't either then there was nothing else that could be done. Leona would have to stay true to her word and find her own way out of that cursed realm now that she had to.

(Word Count: 1374
Samira Total: 12,098)

Having committed to stopping the grilled cheese menace before it could reach the group, Leona was having an easy time of it since her opponents were ambulatory grilled cheese sandwiches. They were not exactly the toughest opponents she had ever faced. They were sandwiches, for Ishgar's sake. The only threat came from their numbers, which were rather large. With their large numbers they could storm right past her since even her most powerful crowd control spells could only handle so many at a time, but in their fury they focused on her and Rafale, which was good since their fixation on the blonde and her summon allowed Samira to focus on opening that portal in peace.

Leona and Rafale continued to hold them off with ease, but the blonde could not help but to wonder what was taking so long for Samira to open the portal. She kept her mouth shut and continued to stall the sandwich army not only for Samira but for the people they had come here to rescue. Including Chef Ramsey.

Leona hit one sandwich who had gotten ahead of his fellows with a Wind Bullet spell and destroyed him, eliciting more tiny screams of terror. Rafale flew close to the ground and carved up more sandwiches with his energy blades, sowing more terror among the grilled cheese army. Yet no matter how many of them Wizard Saint and summon killed more appeared to take the places of the fallen. Leona wondered just how long Samira needed to open the portal.

"Leona!" Samira shouted.

"The portal is open! Hurry!" Samira warned Leona to get a move on. That was music to her ears. Leona cast a Wind Blast to cover her retreat, then motioned for Rafale to follow her. They were about to leave this cheesy dimension to the grilled cheese army and that weird cart lady who had run off in the wrong direction. Leona hurried to the portal as fast as her legs could take her, but to her utter horror the portal closed just before she could reach it!

Leona was floored.

Escape from this place was right in front of her and she had still managed to move slowly enough miss her only way out of this place.

"Leona? What happened?" Rafale asked the Wizard Saint.

"The portal closed, Rafale. We're stuck here." Leona said dejectedly. She wanted to get out of this place and see Earthland again, but now she was stuck here in a cheesy Hell fighting grilled cheese sandwiches who wanted to kill her. Then she heard the sandwiches laughing at her in anticipation of their victory over the demon that had "killed" so many of their brothers. Or were they laughing at her because the portal had closed on her at the worst possible time, stranding her with them?

It did not matter what they were laughing at. Leona reacted to the laughter badly. Very badly.

Those weird costumed people had laughed at her on the boat ride.

The sandwiches were laughing at her now.

History would laugh at her as the Wizard Saint who got trapped in a cheesy dimension fighting grilled cheese sandwiches before she died from hunger/boredom/evil food monster/whatever.

Leona jumped right over "angry" and landed on "utterly pissed."

Leona was not going to go out like this. She was not going to die as a joke of a Wizard Saint. She had made numerous mistakes over her life, but she was not going to die like this. She was not going to die surrounded by grilled cheese sandwiches and trapped in a food city with coconut water fire hoses and that weird cart lady.

Leona was going to live through this. She was going to live through this just to spite her detractors in the crowd, those cowards who had continued to make snide remarks about her despite Samira's "suggestion" not to. Those same detractors who felt bold enough to antagonize a Wizard Saint with cheap shots could not go through the portal fast enough when Samira finally opened it. They had run away from grilled cheese sandwiches... grilled cheese sandwiches that were so weak that they could be stomped on and killed. Leona was not going to give those cowardly detractors the pleasure of laughing at her from safety.

"Leona, are you OK?" Rafale asked her.

"No, I'm not." Leona answered angrily. Her face was beet red not from embarrassment, but from sheer anger. Rafale recoiled.

"How are we going to get out of here?" Rafale asked Leona, who used an Air Pressure spell to blast another grilled cheese and coat the sandwiches close to it with melted cheese. Leona smiled a little at their shrill screams of terror. She then turned to Rafale.

"I'll get the Harpy Sisters to pry the door open. Since I'm not smart enough to use a fancy portal like my friend, I'll just use the brute force approach." Leona answered with some self-deprecation. She then turned back towards the grilled cheese sandwiches, who were shouting in delight at their cornered prey.

"You are trapped here, demon! Nothing can save you from our fury now!" One emboldened sandwich bellowed. Leona frowned. The implication that she was trapped with them was wrong.

They were trapped here with HER.

Leona was in no mood for games. She was angry, she wanted out of this place, and she wanted out now. She hated this cheesy dimension and never wanted to come back here. While Rafale went to fight the sandwiches Leona telepathically called out to her summons who were on the outside.

"Look alive, guys. I need a way out!" Leona telepathically told them.

"Like, what happened?" Daphne asked Leona.

"My way out shut on me and I'm still inside the Recheeserator! I want out and that's where you guys come in!" Leona told Daphne.

"Oh no! Do I, like, have to go inside of the refrigerator thing? SO GROSS!" Daphne asked Leona. Leona sighed.

"No, you don't. Just get you and your sisters to force the door open for me!" Leona answered before firing a Crescent Cutter spell and slicing a sandwich in half.

"Hey girl, I heard you're-" Sylvia started before Leona cut her off.

"Just open the door already!" Leona snapped. Rafale flew around for another attack run while Leona stomped on a fast-moving sandwich that had managed to close with her during the telepathic conversation with her Harpy Sisters. The sandwiches rushed towards Leona and she used a Storm Impact spell to scatter a few of them before pulling back a few meters. She was glad that Samira and the others were not here to see the sight of Leona running from sandwiches because the hecklers would never let her hear the end of it.

Leona stopped retreating after a ten-meter dash and turned around to face the oncoming enemies and watched Rafale slash at some of the sandwiches and split them down the middle. He zoomed past Leona and the blonde created a Fast Ball spell, then cast it at the nearest enemy. The ball of wind blew a hole right in the center of the sandwich and it fell down.

"What's taking you?" Leona impatiently asked Sylvia.

"It's a giant refrigerator, girl. The door's not going anywhere..." Sylvia replied. Leona clenched her teeth.

"Just pry it open! I need a way out of here!" Leona snapped. She and Rafale were still holding their ground, but the sandwiches just kept coming without regard for their losses. The pair continued to fight while Leona heard the Harpy Sisters bicker among themselves while frantically tugging at the door. Apparently Daphne was not trying hard enough... according to Sylvia, anyway.

The two began to argue strenuously while Leona knocked back six of the sandwiches with an Air Burst spell. Rafale zoomed in for an attack run and carved up three more sandwiches who were too slow to evade the Sky Champion. Leona was running out of time and was getting a headache from the telepathic bickering between Sylvia and Daphne.

"STOP ARGUING AND OPEN THE DOOR!" Leona shouted to them.

"But Sylvia's..." Daphne protested. Leona was so done with their annoying sibling rivalry nonsense.

"OH, FOR ISHGAR'S SAKE! JUST OPEN THE DAMN DOOR ALREADY! IT'S A REFRIGERATOR! A REFRIGERATOR! SYLVIA, USE DAPHNE AS A CROWBAR IF YOU HAVE TO!" Leona shouted at them. Daphne screamed at the suggestion and bargained with her mistress.

"OK, OK! Like, chill! Don't burst a blood vessel!" Daphne said like a rebellious teenager protesting against doing chores before finally relenting. The arguing stopped and after a few minutes of strenuous effort the sound of a door opening could be heard and a shimmering yellow portal to the outside world appeared four meters behind Leona.

"YEAH!" Leona cheered aloud. She was so happy that if she were not so hopped up on adrenaline she could cry. She turned to Rafale, who was busy flying towards her.

"Let's go!" Leona shouted and gestured to the portal. Rafale nodded and with sandwiches hot on her heels Leona ran for the portal, leaping through head-first. Rafale followed right behind her. The pair were pulled through a glowing yellow tunnel and back to the outside world.

-Outside the Recheeserator-

Leona and Rafale appeared in the outside world again. Leona somehow landed on her backside despite jumping through head-first while Rafale landed just to Leona's left, but the blonde did not care. The portal closed behind them, sealing those sandwiches in that cheesy dimension now and forever. They could stay there and make their own cheesy cult devoted to the cheese lake, go take a swim in the cheese lake, or whatever it was those sandwiches wanted to do. Leona was just glad to be out of there.

"Where am I? Where... are my brothers?" A tiny voice asked. Leona looked at her feet and saw a grilled cheese sandwich. The blonde's teeth clenched. One of them must have hitched a ride on her boot before she hopped through the portal. Leona was going to take care of that very soon.

"OH NO! IT'S THE DEMON! NO! LEAVE ME ALONE, YOU HEARTLESS BRUTE!" It screamed and started running in circles while waving its arms. Leona stood up and stomped her right foot right into its path, then planted her left foot and raised her right leg, bringing her right foot down on the sandwich. It screamed in pain and Leona repeated the process twelve more times, causing it to scream with each stomp until it went silent around the seventh.

Once she was certain it was dead Leona breathed a sigh of relief. She was glad to be out of that cheesy dimension and back in a place where things made a lot more sense.

[Post Word Count: 1,796]
[Leona's Word Count: 12,566]

What was she supposed to do now? That thought plagued Samira's mind for many moments as she silently stared at the empty air where the portal had once been. There was nothing she could do for Leona now. At least not on the side she was on. Another portal could not be opened by her or Janus. The only thought she could come up with was going back into that realm the same way she got there the first time, which was letting the Recheeserator pull her through the portal that was behind its door. If she made it back to Meshi she could try just opening another portal so both she and Leona could escape. Again. That would require a lot more time though so she could rest and regain the power she had already used with the first portal. It wasn't the best plan, but it was all she had that wasn't entirely letting Leona rot in that place. Unfortunately that would mean letting the Recheeserator roam around for much longer than it should. But then, wouldn't she have to do that anyway in case its portal and ties to Meshi were needed for Leona to get herself out? Due to its dangerous nature she really should destroy it as soon as possible. What a complicated mess it all turned out to be even at the end.

"Hmm, maybe you can keep it contained in this maze temporarily." Janus spoke up, the suggestion gaining his summoner's attention. "Seal it off from the rest of the world. No one should be coming back to this castle now that the festival is over."

"That we are aware of. You do remember the last time we were here, correct?" Of course he did. They all did. It was proof there would always be curious or greedy fools that thought a haunted castle was all superstitious nonsense. In a world of magic and supernatural beings being quite common it was very strange that people did not leave well enough alone and ignore the rightfully abandoned buildings and sights of old. Why there was even a festival there in the first place was still a mystery and one Samira had completely forgotten about until right then. "It is better than nothing, however. I will go find it and see what I can do. I think I still have enough magic power left to do something of that nature." Assuming she could pull it off without having to actually fight the thing first. Hopefully it had tired itself out by then... if refrigerator grilled cheese sandwich fusions ever tired out. "Janus, please use your portal magic to make a quick and safe exit from the maze. Lead these people out." No one was going to complain about that. The further away they were from the Recheeserator the better. Ramsey had been about to say something, but the chef was quick to shut his mouth the moment his eyes met the green glare of Samira. She might have been a bit low on magic power, but it wouldn't take more than a command to have her spirits toss him back through the Recheeserator. Many would gladly do so.

Janus did as he was requested to do. The portal master took the lead and began to make portals along the walls of the maze to make getting out faster and easier. Now the safety of those people was no longer an issue. The side objective had been completed. Samira left him, trusting him to not run into trouble or mess it up, and went on her own in search of the Recheeserator. Picking up its trail wasn't too difficult. The thing was loud, stomping and roaring for no real apparent reason that she could guess. No one else was in the maze as far as she knew. The roars picked up volume and frequency, as if the Recheeserator had encountered something and was struggling. Samira had no idea that the harpy sisters were busy trying to force open the Recheeserator door. It wasn't until she finally circled around and found the Recheeserator's location that she put the clues together. Fortunately, she saw Leona there. Safe and sound. Samira was greatly relieved and happy that was the case. She had even begun to step forward, intending to greet the Wizard Saint once more and apologize for the earlier error that had left her in that horrible world. Unfortunately that was also around the time that Leona had harshly and repeatedly stomped on the tiny grilled cheese sandwich that was panicking by running in circles and flailing its arms. The thing was hardly a threat but it had received such a cruel end that was completely overkill.

Oh my. Leona was very angry, wasn't she? Upon seeing that scene Samira stepped back and around the corner. Would she be stomped on next for having left Leona there by accident? That'd be messy, and probably hurt a whole lot. Samira had been through a lot as a mage but she couldn't exactly say that she knew what being stomped to death felt like. Or that she even wanted to know. Maybe she should come back later when Leona was a bit more calm. That sounded smart and reasonable. But then Leona would really think that she had been ditched and probably be even more angry. And the Recheeserator was still there too. Oh, dear. What a mess. If only she had a button that would allow her to skip over that point in time and avoid it altogether.

The idle Recheeserator started to move again. Its door slammed shut and it stood tall once more to look down on the new batch of victims. The strange kitchen appliance unleashed a mighty roar.... and then it exploded into a giant mess of flying breadcrumbs. Why and how did it explode? Well, everyone around would never know. At least not that day. The real reason was the one that had made the joke and started them off on that adventure was just tired of it now. The day of tricks was over. It was time to rest and move on. Maybe there'd be a round two in the future. The great trickster being departed the castle, silently cackling at the results of its antics.

Due to having gone around the corner, Samira had been unaware that the Recheeserator had exploded. She just heard the sounds of roaring and then that loud pop. Worried that something a lot more harmful had occurred, Samira rushed back around the corner only to be immediately covered in a massive amount of breadcrumbs. She blinked, wide eyed in surprise that the Recheeserator had been dealt with in such a way. Did Leona glare at it, causing it to spontaneously explode? There was something to be said about looks that could kill. The summoner coughed out some breadcrumbs that had managed to get in her mouth and then she cleared her throat. "Ahem, your method of returning here was quite effective." Perhaps a bit too effective. Now hopefully Leona wouldn't glare at her and make her explode as well. That would be even messier than stomping her to death!

(Word Count: 1202
Samira Total: 13,300)

Once Leona had stomped the evil grilled cheese sandwich into the dirt and wiped the melted cheese off the bottom of her right boot she looked around her to check for any more of the annoying little sandwiches but did not see any more of the obnoxious little creatures running about. Instead she saw the horrified reactions of the Harpy Sisters and Rafale as they looked at something with expressions of dread. Leona blinked for a moment and heard the sound of a door slamming shut, then heard a mighty roar. She turned around and saw the Recheeserator itself looming over them, ready to renew the struggle for supremacy with the newly escaped Wizard Saint.

"Oh great. JUST GREAT!" Leona said in obvious frustration when she became aware of the fact that she was well within cheese lasso range. If it lassoed her and she went back to the cheesy dimension she was going to be so furious that she might burst a blood vessel this time. She HATED that place and never wanted to go there again.

She had been so fixated on destroying the sandwich that she had forgotten about the big cheese... er, big appliance. She turned and performed a Zephyr Dash twenty meters forward to put some distance between her and it, then turned around to face it and tried to think of a good spell to lead off with. Leona was about to cast an Air Pressure spell with her right hand when the giant appliance exploded into a mess of flying breadcrumbs!

"Like, what just happened?" Daphne asked everyone present.

"I don't know, Daphne." Sylvia replied. Sandy just blinked.

"Did Leona cast a spell that killed it in one shot?" Rafale asked the Harpy Sisters.

"Like, she totally could have! Leona's so angry that she could probably kill something just by looking at it!" Daphne opined. Leona looked towards the black-haired Harpy and the young Harpy screamed and covered her eyes.

"I'M SORRY, LEONA! DON'T USE ME AS A CROWBAR TO PRY SOMETHING OPEN!" Daphne pleaded with her hands over her eyes. Leona's anger melted away.

"No, Daphne. I didn't get a chance to cast a spell before it just... exploded. Though I wish I had gotten a chance to cast a spell first." Leona replied to the questions in a calm voice. Her anger was replaced with complete and utter confusion. The giant beast had roared dramatically and was ready to challenge the Wizard Saint to battle when it suddenly exploded into giant breadcrumbs. It was an anticlimactic finish, to say the least.

"Uh, well then... since Leona didn't kill it, who did?" Sandy asked the group. Everyone present looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

"Like, who knows? I'm just glad that it's dead!" Daphne expressed exactly what Leona was thinking. Leona's confusion was now replaced with a sense of regret. She had telepathically shouted at the Harpy Sisters during the struggle against the grilled cheese sandwiches and now she felt bad about it. When they had met at Serene Cliff many months ago Leona had told them that she wanted a relationship with them that was not based on her screaming orders at them. Tonight must have seemed like a betrayal of that promise.

"Sylvia, Daphne, Sandy... I owe you an apology. I'm sorry about screaming at you earlier. I freaked out because I didn't want to be trapped in that cheesy dimension for the rest of my life. I'm sorry about that." Leona apologized for losing her temper with them earlier. She kept quiet about the part where she did not want to go down in history as a joke of a Wizard Saint because they did not need to know that. All they needed to know was that she regretted shouting at them.

Silence filled the air for a few moments as the Harpy Sisters looked at Leona. Leona could not blame them for being angry at her. She did not like being shouted at either. Leona had wanted a relationship where they were equals and worked together, not her shouting orders and them obeying out of fear. While it was necessary to shout in order to get Sylvia and Daphne to stop arguing and focus on opening the door of the Recheeserator, she did not want shouting to be the only way they communicated.

"It must have been a pretty bad situation if you shouted at us." Sylvia said to Leona.

"Yeah, it was. Imagine a lake filled with old nacho cheese. And being chased by those little grilled cheese sandwiches. And imagine being stuck there with no way out." Leona laid out her situation for everyone. While it was no excuse for what she did, she was going to make it clear that she had not screamed at them on a whim. Daphne looked briefly overwhelmed by the horror of the scene.

"Like, SO GROSS!" Daphne exclaimed. Leona nodded. She then left them to decide whether they wanted to forgive her or not. After a few more tense moments the winged trio approached Leona.

"It's OK, Leona. Things had to be bad for you to shout at us." Sylvia offered forgiveness.

"It's OK. Like, just don't make good on your threat to use me as a crowbar to pry something open. Please. I don't want to ruin my hair." Daphne offered forgiveness and made a request of Leona.

"It's fine, Leona. I don't think you'd do what you did except in emergencies. From what you told us, it was an emergency." Sandy calmly said to Leona. The winged trio then approached Leona and hugged her without prompting. Once that was done Leona turned around and saw Samira standing at the corner of the maze.

Leona heard Samira's compliment that Leona had found an effective way to escape her cheesy prison. Leona waved at Samira and laughed a little at the compliment.

"Heh heh, thanks. Who knew that opening the refrigerator door would actually work?" Leona asked Samira. Leona certainly did not know that it would work. It was an idea born of desperation. Then came time to give credit for her escape where it was due.

"I couldn't have gotten out of there without the help of my summons. Although my escape didn't go quite as smoothly as I wanted it to, my summons helped me out when I was in a really tight spot." Leona gave her faithful summons the credit they deserved for aiding her escape. Without them she would have been stuck in that awful dimension for a very long time. Thanks to them she was able to walk around Earthland again, bathe voluntarily in water that was not coconut water, and not have to put up with grilled cheese sandwiches that chased her while screaming for her blood. Leona thought about the sandwiches and frowned.

"I don't want to see a grilled cheese sandwich again for quite some time." Leona firmly told Samira. The blonde was absolutely serious about her statement.

"And if there's ever another cooking contest at an event, please remind me to not enter it." Leona requested of her esteemed companion. She did not want to create another food monstrosity and have to go through this kind of thing again. She also did not want to see Chef Ramsey or hear his voice again any time soon.

[Post Word Count: 1,228]
[Leona's Word Count: 13,794]

Samira was quite surprised that Leona's mood had shifted. No longer did her anger show. Instead, the blonde had laughed a little at the comment she had made. Apparently giving a compliment did wonders to brighten Leona's mood. That was good, and it was valuable knowledge that Samira would keep to her memory. If only to avoid having Leona's glare cast at her and causing her to spontaneously explode like the Recheeserator. It would be a long time before Samira realized that was not what had occurred and even longer before she realized causing heads to explode was not something Leona could do with an intense stare.

A small smile was forced onto Samira's face. She was happy that Leona knew the value of the harpy sisters, and the comments regarding grilled cheese sandwiches and future contests were funny in their own way. Samira was tired though. Maybe the next day when she wrote the details of their little adventure in her journal she'd laugh. There was nothing left in her to bother with that though. "I will make a point to do so." A nod was done as she spoke, acknowledging the importance of not letting such silly events happen again. After all, the summoner still believed that Leona was capable of making living food. She would be doing her part in making sure the Wizard Saint didn't cause such a troublesome scene again.

"Although for now I must take my leave of this place. I have to admit that I am exhausted and I would rather not overstay my welcome within the castle grounds in this state." Samira gave a wave of her hand as a goodbye and turned around to locate the portals Janus had left on the maze walls. "You should see that you get some rest as well," she added in as she began to walk away. "Until next time, Leona."

And so Samira made her exit from the castle and Leona's life until the next seasonal event at a different castle entirely.

(Word Count: 338
Samira Total: 13, 368)

Leona's Total: 13,794
Thread Total: 27,162
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