"I can't believe you guys missed everything," Mena moaned as she walked beside May and Janus. "Not only did you miss me somehow getting the role of Julianna...again, but I also saw the phantom with my own two eyes. It was truly as hideous as I imagined."

May's face flopped into a frown. "I'm sorry, Mena. I was using the bathroom and those Tessellations jammed me in the toilet seat."

Mena shook her head. "They must really be on the warpath after losing Ashlan. I forgive you, May, but what about you, Janus?"

Janus sighed. "I got something caught in my ribcage again. They had to bring in the de-ribulator as usual."

Mena glared at Janus. Her excuse was much harder to fathom. The skeleton gulped, which was very hard to do for someone without a throat, but at last, Mena's eyes softened. "You're lucky I got flesh privilege and know how tough it is to be a skeleton."

Janus held her bony fingers together, thanking the dream goddess. "I don't care about flesh privilege, but I appreciate what a good friend you are, Mena. Thanks a ton. A skelly-ton."

Mena rolled her eyes and put her hand forward. "Pshaw, where would we be without your rib ticklers, Janus?"

The pixie reaper giggled. "I truly am a funny bone, ain't I? Now tell us more about the phantom."

Mena shook her head. "Wowie zowie, it was awful. I don't normally swea, but it was like a demon straight outta heck itself."

Mena screwed up her face, formed two blades with her fingers and undid her hair. "It wore a mask like outta the legend, had this long, dark stringy hair and the scariest thing was it had two scythes for hands!"

May nodded faithfully, but Janus turned paler than her undead skin already was.

Seeing the fear in Janus' normally carefree face, made Mena inquire her friend. "Janus, what's wrong?"

Janus was silent for a split second before stating, "that's the kind of creature that lives in Lantern Valley. A helldritch abomination of some kind. No idea who let it in, but someone really wants this play to fail."

May put her finger to her forehead, she spoke proudly in her deep voice. "And you don't need to be a super sleuth to know there's only one culprit…"

The trio of girls all said the cursed name at once: "Anguish!"

***

That night Mena slumbered and though she had gotten used to sharing a brain with her evil sister in dreams, it never made things feel less repulsive.

Together, with her frost bitten mother, Anguish, Dark Mena walked around an enormous but empty amplitheather in the depths of the brain jungles.

The play, Mena thought. This is where we're having the play. But what are they doing here? Up to no good obviously.

They walked inside a side door on the edge of the stage. It took them to a hallway where the brainy leaves of the mind trees were painted on the walls. They entered a room with a gold plated plaque reading, 'staff room.'

When they entered it, there was a beast person standing there. His face was yellow with dark spots. A lions mane framed his face, similar to the O'Ryan family. He sported a dark blue security guard jumpsuit.

"Hey," he said in a deep, and thoroughly unintelligent voice. "What are you doing here? This is a nocturnal theater."

"It'll only be a second, dear," Anguish said with a voice as sweet as poisoned honey.

She extended a hand from her robe and the beast man flew up against the wall

As he struggled against Anguish's invisible grip, Dark Mena asked rather rudely, "Why do you have so many spots, lionbutt?"

The beast man winced. "I'm a lion cheetah."

"Oh you'll be more than a lyin' cheater when I'm finished with you. Now magic, brainwash this fool. Make him my completely loyal tool!"

Anguish held out her hand and the lion cheetah's eyes followed her fingers back and forth like a metronome

His catlike eyes turned until they focused completely on Anguish. "Ohh...Anguish the Blood siren...you are my leader, my mistress, my master...my…"

Anguish put a frozen pink hand forward. "oh you're too much."

"My mother…" the lion cheetah said and Anguish glared at him.

"Ok," the blood siren said. "You really are too much. Now this is getting creepy."

The lion cheetah immediately shut his mouth, but his eyes looked at her with complete adoration.

"I want you," Anguish began, "to sabotage the upcoming play in any way you can. Unscrew the spotlights so they fall on actors, poison their luncheon and knock the backdrop over so it squashes them flat."

Anguish looked at Dark Mena. "Any other ideas you want to add to this miserable menagerie, my dark daughter?"

"Ooh yeah," Dark Mena gushed. "Make sure to give them a negative one star review and call them a bunch of untalented poppy heads! "

"Perfect," Anguish said and she howled in laughter. "And if that doesn't work, there's always a surprise waiting for them at the very end."

Both witches burst into a round of evil giggles and cackles.

The lion cheetah began to laugh stupidly too. But Anguish glared at him and Dark Mena kneed him in the crotch.

"Ugh," he groaned. "Right in the lionheart!"

Mena's nightmare faded away, leaving her puffing and panting. "Miserable magicaps," she moaned. "They're really gonna ruin us good."