Roselle clicked on the link to message WiseOwl67, and a chat box appeared. She began to type her message.

  StarlightSeeker27: Hello, WiseOwl67. Naughtybunny99 suggested you might have some information about my friend Tina. I’ve been looking for her, and any help would be greatly appreciated.

  After sending the message, Roselle anxiously waited for a reply. A few moments ter, WiseOwl67 responded.

  WiseOwl67: Greetings, StarlightSeeker27. I have seen Tina fluttering about, though she’s been quite busy tely. I share what I know, but I’ll need something iurn.

  StarlightSeeker27: I’m willing to offer something iurn. What do you need?

  WiseOwl67: I’ve heard tales of a mystical item called the “Moonlit Tri.” It’s said to have unique properties. If you acquire it and provide me with its description, I will share what I know about Tina’s whereabouts.

  Roselle hesitated. This request sounded rather peculiar. heless, she decided to accept the challenge in her quest to find Tina.

  StarlightSeeker27: The Moonlit Tri is. I’ll do my best to find it and describe it for you, WiseOwl67.

  WiseOwl67: Excellent! To obtain the Moonlit Tri and discover Tina’s username, we shall embark on a jourhrough a virtual world. I challenge you to a Versus Exploration game. The prize will be the Moonlit Tri, but you must defeat me in this game to cim it. Are you ready, StarlightSeeker27?

  Roselle was intrigued by the proposal but was also puzzled by the cryptiature of this chatroom. She responded cautiously.

  StarlightSeeker27: I’m willing to accept the challenge, but you please expin more about this game and how it works?

  WiseOwl67: Of course, my dear friend. In this virtual world, we’ll navigate through a series of puzzles, riddles, and challehe first to reach the end and solve the final puzzle will obtain the Moonlit Tri. It won’t be an easy journey, but it’s a test of wits. Be prepared, and remember, Tina’s username is our ultimate prize.

  WiseOwl67: Oh, and I should also mention, you o be more discreet about using her real name in the main chat. An admin named HotBunny is quite sensitive about such matters. Fortunately for you, they are offline right now.

  With the expnation in mind, Roselle braced herself for the uping game. The challenge popped up infront of her, and she accepted it.

  In the digital world of the Versus Exploration game, Roselle and WiseOwl67 found themselves fag a challenge filled with colorful ndscapes and mysterious creatures. As they began their journey, a digital path opened before them, and they could hear the excited chatter of digital creatures around them.

  The race had begun, and they soon entered their first puzzle. It was a riddle dispyed on a massive digital s:

  “Start your journey, follow the path,

  A word that guides you, do the math.

  It’s where you want to be in the end,

  The answer’s clear, it’s your best friend.”

  WiseOwl67 guessed, “Home!” But the answer was not as simple as it seemed.

  Roselle, took a moment to think, and then said, “Destination?” With the riddle cracked, Roselle was now at 1-0.

  As Roselle solved the first riddle, she was rewarded with an image of a bunny which appeared to take a humanoid shape. Its body was sleek and curved in all the right pces. The bunny stood on its hind legs, arg its back slightly. It was inviting her closer for a better look.

  Roselle recoiled out of her chair with a flustered face. As a fan of buhis was certainly not the kind of image she was used to.

  She quickly gnced over her shoulder to see if Michigo and Sarah had noticed. They were busy trying to get to sleep, but the sudden noise from Roselle’s chair had caught their attention.

  Michigo turned over sleepily. “Roselle, what’s going ohere? You alright?”

  Sarah rubbed her eyes and added, “Yeah, you made quite a racket. Something wrong?”

  Roselle hesitated.“Oh, it’s nothing. Just got a little spooked by a... pop-up. You know how these online chats be.”

  Michigo raised an eyebrow, still half-asleep. “You sure? You look more than a little spooked...”

  Roselle nodded, doing her best to maintain her posure. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just ued graphics, I guess. Anyway, you two should get some rest. I’ve got this under trol.”

  Sarah yawned and y back down. “Alright, if you say so. Just don’t stay up too te, okay? You need your rest too.”

  Roselle took a deep breath and whispered to herself, “This is for Tina” She refocused her efforts on the game. Each puzzle brought new challenges, but with each victory, she earned more images, some more surprising than others. Despite the distras, Roselle endured, keeping her eye on the prize: finding Tina.

  Roselle mao stay oep ahead of WiseOwl67. With each victory, she grew more fident.

  Finally, the score stood at 9-9, with only one puzzle left to solve. It was a riddle dispyed in bold letters:

  “I am always hungry,

  I must always be fed.

  The finger I touch,

  Will soon turn red.

  What am I?”

  Roselle took a moment to think, knowing that this was her st ce to win the game. She ran through the possibilities in her mind, carefully sidering the riddle’s clues.

  Then, with a fsh of insight, she excimed, “Fire!”

  The s firmed her answer, and with that, Roselle cimed victory over WiseOwl67 with a final score of 10-9.

  Roselle was ed with a special digital trihe Moonlit Trihe creatures around them cheered, and WiseOwl67 graciously admitted defeat, saying, “Well doarlightSeeker27. You’ve proven to be a master of both wit and riddles. Now, the description of the Moonlit Tri.”

  Roselle’s username now had a Silver pendant on the side of it. A gratutory message appeared on the s:

  “gratutions, StarlightSeeker27! As a reward for your triumph, HotBunny has prepared a special video for you to watch. Would you like to view this ‘exclusive tent?’ ??”

  Roselle hesitated, reizing the suggestive emoji and knowing the nature of the chatroom she was in. Her intuition warned her about the potential tent of the video.

  Roselle muttered to herself, “I’d better not.”

  She decided to the video and clio’.

  WiseOwl67: You’ve show skill. Now, I’ll uphold my end of the bargain. Tina’s username is “SilentSongbird88.”

  Roselle felt a pang of disappoi as she checked the list and saw that SilentSongbird88 was offline.

  StarlightSeeker27: Tina is offline. I was too te.

  WiseOwl67: I’m sorry, StarlightSeeker27, but it seems Tina had her own pns. Keep a, though. She might return when you least expect it.

  Roselle signed off from the chatroom. She closed her ptop with a feeling of anticipation and curiosity about her friend Tina’s presence. She turned around to see Michigo, atg her.

  Roselle let out a small yelp. “I thought you guys were asleep by now,” Roselle said with her eyes raised slightly.

  Michigo grinned. “I got kind of curious. I mean, it sounded like you were having quite the adventure over there.”

  Roselle nodded. “Yeah, but no luck finding Tina. She’s offline, and I was too te.”

  Michigo chuckled and gave Roselle a knowing look. “Seems like you had your first real taste of the ‘adult’ side of life, huh? Bet you never saw that ing.”

  Roselle sighed. Her face slowly returo normal. “Yeah, I’ve been shielding myself from these things. It was... iing.”

  With a pyful grin, Michigo suddenly picked Roselle up and tossed her onto her own bed, making Roselle let out a surprised ugh. Michigo grinned and said,“Alright, now that your virtual escapades are over, it’s time to get some sleep!”

  Roselle fell asleep instantly.

  ...

  The m, Roselle stirred in her bed. She realized that she was in a rather unusual sleeping arra. Somehow, during the night, both Michigo and Sarah had found their way into her bed.

  Roselle was in the middle, sandwiched betweewo friends. Sarah was on one side with her arm ed possessively around Roselle. Michigo was oher side, having pulled Roselle over slightly, leaving her feeling trapped between them.

  Roselle attempted to extricate herself from the cozy but somewhat suffog embrace of her two friends. She felt Sarah’s arm tighten around her. It was then that she noticed a mischievous look Sarah’s eyes which were now open.

  “Sarah, stop pying around,” Roselle said with a ugh.

  Sarah giggled and released her grip slightly. “Good m, Roselle. You were so warm; I didn’t want to let go. We must have had quite the adventure in our sleep.”

  Michigo stirred oher side of Roselle. She yawned and mumbled, “M, Roselle. Guess we all got pretty cozy.”

  Roselle giggled. “Well, it was a bit snug, but it’s nice waking up with my best friends.”

  The trio prepared for another day at school. Roselle and Sarah chatted while keeping a watchful eye on Mi routine. Michigo was meticulously adjusting her headband in front of the mirror,

  Roselle asked, “Michigo, do you really o put on your red headband st every m?”

  Michigo replied, “Of course, it’s a battle accessotta make sure it’s perfectly in pce before I head into the daily school battlefield.”

  Sarah chuckled and added, “And don’t fet to sharpen your pencils, Michigo. You never know when you might hem as ons.”

  Michigo grinned. “Another day, another battle, right Sarah?”

  The girls were on their way out, ready for another day at school, when they noticed Roselle’s maged in a versation with a familiar face. It was Sadie, the sleuth of shadows. Her presence was never a casual occurrence.

  Roselle’s mother called out to them, “Girls, e down, please.”

  Roselle’s mestured for them to take a seat. Sadie addressed them and said,“It’s time.”

  Michigo, Sarah, and Roselle exged gnces before Michigo asked, “Time for what exactly, Sadie?”

  Sadie decred, “It’s time for the final battle against Shadowcroft.”

  The room fell silent for a moment. Sadie tinued, “Rosebelle was subjected to some... ‘Persuasive’ methods, and she eventually cracked. She revealed the location of Shadowcroft’s main base. You see, they’ve beeremely cautious and clever in hiding it, but they overestimated the resilience of someone like Rosebelle. She’s human like anyone else, so of course she’d crader pressure.”

  Roselle asked curiously, “Wait, does this mean we know where they are now?”

  Sadie nodded. “Yes, we have the coordinates of their main base. This is our ce to end it ond for all.”

  Sarah chimed in. “We ’t let this opportunity slip through our fingers. We’ve got to strike now, before they regroup or reinforce their defenses.”

  Sadie emphasized, “This is our best ce, right now. Shadowcroft’s defenses are at their weakest during this time of the day.”

  Roselle gave Sadie a look of . “But we have school, and we ’t just skip it.”

  Her mother, who had been silently listening, chimed in, “She’s right, Roselle. You all have school, and it’s important to maintain a sense of normal your lives.”

  Sadie tered. “If we wait until after school, Shadowcroft’s high-tech security system will be fully operational, and we won’t stand a ce. This is the only window of opportunity we’ll get, and it won’t st long.”

  The girls exged worried gnces.

  Just then, it appeared as if Sadie had a brief moment of stillness with her eyes seemingly rolling to the back of her head; however, only a few seds ter, their eyes returned ahe group. With a calm and posed yet different void tone of speech, she said, “I am Rune, and you think of me as Sadie’s mother. I’ve watched over her for a long time, and I’ve seen the pain she’s gohrough. But now, we face a crucial battle against Shadowcroft, and we believe it’s time to share our true story with those we trust.”