Like many mornings, Spliff woke up at Axel's house after a sleepover. The boys went through their morning routine together and eventually found themselves standing outside, looking down the street.
“Wanna try our old challenge again?” Spliff said with enthusiasm.
“Let’s do it!” Said Axel.
The boys hadn’t attempted their old challenge since they started training with Brace over a month ago. They noticed a difference as soon as the boys started walking down the street on their hands. Their strength had grown, and their bodies felt lighter. When the boys approached the hill, they called the behemoth; they felt they had wasted no energy getting there. Not only did their muscle strength improve, but their musical stamina did as well. The two boys started up the hill, believing today might be the day they finally completed their challenge. The boys moved much faster than before, up the hill and past the halfway point.
“I feel stronger,” said Spliff.
“Ya,” said Axel. “All that strength training we’ve been doing on our own must be paying off.”
As the boys reached the top of the hill, they couldn’t help but laugh. What they had attempted hundreds of times was now easy thanks to the strength training Brace had told them to do in their free time. The rest of the trip to their school was even easier. The boys' arms were strong enough to support their body weight for over a mile, and when they finally arrived at school, they sat down on the floor and laughed once more.
“So, should we go to class?” Asked Spliff.
“I can’t believe you, of all people, would ask that.” Said Axel.
“Well, with all our training these days, we don’t get to go to class all that much.”
“You just miss seeing girls, don’t you?” asked Axel with a straight face. “I’m not going. I don’t wanna get bored there, and I don’t want to show up and just walk out right away; It might make Mr. Lloyd sad.”
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“So what do you wanna do today?” Asked Spliff.
The boys tested their newfound strength for the rest of the day. They played their favorite physical games and sports and were amazed to discover their newfound speed and strength. They played one game for some time before questioning what it would be like to play another of their favorite games and seeing for themselves. When the boys were finally tired, they went to Axel's house for a meal prepared by Mrs. Asrock.
“How has your training been going?” Asked Mrs.Asrock.
“Good,” said Axel. “We’ve gotten a lot stronger. And Brace taught us to move in silence. He’s away now, but when he comes back, he’s gonna teach us something new!” Said Axel cheerfully.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
“Hello, Aimee,” said Mrs.Asrock, who opened the door and invited her in.
“Axel, it’s hatching!” Aimee walked into the dining room, where Axel and Spliff were eating with a moving egg in her hand. “Her take it,” she said.
Aimee handed the large egg to Axel, who carried it like a baby in his arms. The egg cracked all around until the nose of a small dinosaur-like creature popped out of its side. Soon, the egg hatched into a baby Chameliopus, which ran around the floor, jumping and exploring its surroundings.
“A healthy boy,” said Axel's mom, who had seen hundreds of Chameliopus eggs hatch.
“Woh!” said the children as they started investigating and playing with their new friend
“You’ll need to make sure he’s outside a large portion of the day, Axel, so he can eat bugs and plants and grow big and strong.” Said Mrs. Asrock.
“I see,” said Axel.
The young Chameliopus seemed naturally curious. Then, suddenly, it changed color in an instant, from dark red to match the background of a red rug on the floor.
“Wow,” the kids said.
“Metachrosis,” said Mrs. Asrock, “that’s a rare ability. It allows the user to change colors at will to blend into its background and appear invisible.”
“What are you gonna name him?” Asked Aimee.
“Well, since he can appear to turn invisible. How about I name him Phantom?”
