MAGE ; benny weir [1]

thirty

"Guys, check this out!"

Ethan motioned Benny, Ellie, and Sarah over to his bedroom desk, pointing to the screen and to a recent article from Whitechapel Weekly.

"The oldest tree in town just got cut down a few weeks ago."

"Wasn't it right next to the school?" Ellie asked.
"Yeah, Grandma said that tree used to be a sight for old Druid rituals," Benny added.

"So this tree sucks up magic over the years, gets knocked down and what? It wants revenge?" Sarah said. 

"Well, if someone cuts me off at the shins, you're gonna hear about it," Ethan joked to her.
"What does that mean for what's happening at school?" Sarah questioned.

"Well, it's like what Principal Hicks said. To kill out the weed, you have to cut out the root," Ethan said, turning to Benny and Ellie.

"Time to do some gardening. Let's wack some weeds—!"

"Really?" Ellie said to him. "Again?"

"It's all I got."

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"Do you really think a tree could hold a grudge?" Benny said.
The four stood staring at the lonely stump of a tree, whose stump was still absolutely massive.

"For what?" Ethan asked him.
"I carved 'B+E' into it in Grade 7," Benny admitted, ignoring Ellie's surprise.

"YOU DID THAT?!" she gawked. "You said that you watched that kid, Brayden, do it! You told the principal and everything!"
"I was a really good liar," Benny professed.

"Well, looks like the only way to stop this tree is through the root," Ethan said. "It leads all the way to the school."

They began to follow the root routes until it lead them to the school's wiring system. It was covered in weeds and vines from that same tree.
"The school's internet cables run through this control panel," Ellie explained.

Ethan tried to pry the wiring system open but the roots were holding it shut.
"Maybe there's some haunted venus flytrap who's trying to get a legal pay-per-view?" Benny asked, laughing at his own joke. He stopped once the rest of them didn't laugh with him.

"Cutting the roots should kill it, and we can still save vegetable girl," Ethan said.

"Alright, it's gardening time!" Benny exclaimed.

"Is that the best you can do now?"

"Pretty much."

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Ethan, Benny, Ellie, and Sarah entered the same hallway that they walked through earlier, but they didn't come unprepared.
 Sarah held a giant shovel, Ethan had weedkiller, and Ellie held a pair of giant pliers.

"Wait, where's Benny?" Ellie asked, looking around her, until Benny came into view with a giant axe in his hands. 

"Where did you possibly find that?"

"Janitor's closet. Always upgrade before boss level, El," he told her. "Let's go."

As they eventually fought their way into the computer lab, they found Rory engulfed by the computer system's roots. His eyes were jet black and his face was covered with veins of weed.

"Oh, god! It upgraded to Rory!" Ethan yelled. "This thing's mostly just computer and vampire now! We can't just spray it with weedkiller!"

"Well, smashing works with almost everything!" Sarah told them, trading Benny weapons.
"We agree with her!" Benny and Ellie yelled.

"Wait, if it's half-tree and half-computer, maybe a virus can hack its system!" Ethan suggested.

"Where can we just get a computer virus?" Ellie questioned, fighting off the evil weeds.

"Just cover me!" Ethan yelled.

"Cover you with what?!" Benny shrieked.

The tree began to laugh through Rory as it wrapped its vines around Benny's ankles, sending him to the ground.
"I've got you!" Ellie yelled as she hammered away at the weeds with her pliers. The root let go of him and he grabbed Ellie's arm. "That was hot!"

"Hey, tree boy!" Ethan yelled, gaining the sentient vampire tree's attention. "Prepare to get Rickrolled!"
All of the computers played the meme at the same time. The tree yelled in defeat and left Rory to fall to the ground.

"Guys...?" Rory asked. "I just had the weirdest dream. I was made out of carrots and I got Rickrolled."

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"I can't believe Hicks blames us for this mess," Benny groaned, holding the wheelbarrow beside of Ethan and Rory. "Maybe we should start clogging more toilets."

Visiting the boys in their punishment came Ellie, Sarah, and Erica. They assumed they needed the company, but they really loved laughing at their downfalls.

"Do you have my Single Tear DVD?" Erica asked Rory, holding her hand out.
Rory pulled the DVD out and held it in his hand. She went to grab it but he yanked it back.
"Not so fast!" he teased.

"When I was almost plant food, you took off to save yourself," he argued. "You and I are so done."

"Whatever, just give it to me."
Rory shook his head and told her, "No." 

The rest of them were actually surprised and proud of Rory, until Erica batted her eyelashes and twirled her hair. "Pretty please...?"

"Well, I can't say no to you," Rory said, handing her the DVD. "Now, can we go out?"

"Not a chance." 

As she and Sarah walked away, Ellie stayed with her best friends for a bit. She patted Rory's back out of sympathy.

"Well, you almost stood up to her this time," Ethan told him. 

"Baby steps, boys. Baby steps," Rory insisted.

"Dude, I've been taking baby steps for years," Benny said, wrapping his arm around Ellie. "Guess it paid off."

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A.N.

I know that this chapter was insanely short, but I didn't want the last one to be long so I split them. Also, I'm almost done with the first season and I feel like I'm sending my child off to kindergarten. Thanks for reading!