*THE FOLLOWING IS A TRANSCRIPTION OF "BAD LUCK JACK" BY VIVZIEPOP*

The next day, the "Big 5" (the collective term used to describe Zill, Kayla, Jack, Vanexa, and Spam) were rehearsing a song for Z.P.A.'s talent show. Wow—we sound really good! Jack thought as he drummed out the beat, listening to Zill and Kayla's duet.

Then the music stopped abruptly when the piano caught on fire.

As usual, Jack's first thought was, Was that me? But he quickly found there was no need to worry about that—because Damian proudly owned up to it by declaring, "Oops," his right hand blazing with black and red flames.

"Damian, what the heck?!" Jack cried angrily. "Again?"

"You got nothin' on me, man," Damian sneered, floating into the air. "Stuff just... happens sometimes!" He cackled wickedly and flew away as Zill quickly put out the fire with an extinguisher.

Kayla let out a long sigh and said, "Well, b'sides the inferno... I think that sounded pretty fiah!"

"Yeah, it did!" Zill agreed, laughing at the pun. He turned to their resident songwriter and flashed him a thumbs-up. "Thanks for the lyrics, Spam!"

Spam giggled as he bounced off the stage. "I made them up!"

Zill blinked. "...You... sure did, buddy!"

"Well, it looks like we wrapped up in good time!" Kayla announced. "Jackie's freshmen are comin' in any second, so we better bustle off to our next class in a tiff!"

"For real," Zill said, leaning against the piano. Then he turned as Jack let out a grunt, struggling to walk off the stage with the entire drum set on his back. "You got that okay, J-man?" Zill asked.

"Uh... yeah!" Jack managed to answer. "I got it, I think—"

Suddenly—as was common whenever Jack was around—something frighteningly unlucky happened: one of the piano's legs simply snapped off with no apparent cause. What was uncommon was the fact that it fell over without touching Jack at all.

Jack blinked in surprise. "Oh, wow!" he exclaimed. "I can't believe that missed—UNGH!"

Zill and Kayla jumped as a stage light dropped from the ceiling and smashed onto Jack's head, knocking him to the ground. Then the piano, eager to get in on the action, flipped on its side and landed on top of the jackal.

"Jack!" Zill cried. He unfurled his wings and pumped them, using their strength to help him heft the piano into the air, clear of his best friend's broken-but-reforming body.

"Ow," Jack moaned.

"You okay, dude?" Zill asked, quickly helping him stand.

"Okay as I ever am when that happens," Jack replied in a pained tone. He winced as another ripple of fresh pain ran through his arm. "Ow..."

Zill frowned, concerned. "Geez. The bad luck thing is really bad today, huh?"

"It's bad every day, honestly," Jack responded sullenly.

-

Outside the theatre, Jack rummaged through his locker as the bell rang throughout the academy. "With how it's acting up, I'm not feeling great about how today's gonna go," he admitted to Zill.

"So you're havin' an especially off-day. Big deal!" Zill scoffed. He grinned and leaned back against the lockers, hands behind his head. "Nothin' I can't help you fix."

"That's the thing, Zill," Jack explained, closing his locker. "This curse? It can't really be fixed. You know that!"

Zill sighed. "I know, but... it can be helped," he said in a hopeful tone.

"I don't think so," Jack muttered in a hopeless tone.

"Why not?" Zill asked with a reassuring grin.

Before Jack could reply, someone let out a mean chuckle and sneered, "'Cuz he's a freak, that's why!"

Both Zill and Jack turned to see (to their annoyance and dismay) Ruben/"Rusty" standing there, looking as smug as ever.

Zill crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, obviously not amused. "Y'know, you weren't a part of this conversation, Rust," he pointed out.

"I am now," Rusty shot back, sauntering over to the duo and pointing at Zill. "So deal with it, piñata boy." Then he turned to Jack and asked tauntingly, "So how's your day goin', huh? Been crushed by any falling pianos today?"

"I mean—I—well..." Jack trailed off and mumbled, "Just the one...?"

"Oh – my god! No way!" Rusty hooted, bursting out in laughter. "Aww! Did you forget your lucky rabbit's foot at home?" he crowed. "Don't worry; I think I saw a four-leafed clover on the way to school!" He barely got the last word out before letting out another series of mocking guffaws.

"Lay off, man!" Zill snapped, stepping in front of Jack.

"Or what, hotshot?" Rusty retorted, grinning. "What, is his bad luck contagious? Am I gonna spontaneously combust just by standing next to 'im?" Then he narrowed his eyes and added, "Or are you gonna cut the 'good guy' routine and actually throw a punch?"

Zill considered the tempting offer for exactly one second before whatever reply he would've given was interrupted by a new voice saying, "Give it a rest, Ruben. You're acting like a brute."

Rusty stiffened and spun around. Behind him stood Autumn, his longtime rival. "Hey! You stay outta this!" Rusty barked, pointing a claw at the deer-headed Cervidian. "And don't call me that!"

"What? Your name, Ruben?" Autumn asked, crossing his arms.

"Yes, that! I hate that name!"

"Well, it's your real name!"

"It sounds like an old person's name, and I'm very clearly not!"

Zill whistled as the two argued as usual, glad that Autumn had done them a solid and drawn Rusty away. "They've really got some tension there, huh?" he commented with a smirk.

"Rusty has a point," Jack said quietly.

"Hey! I am not a piñata boy!" Zill joked, elbowing Jack's arm in an attempt to lighten his mood.

Jack let out a weak chuckle, but his forced smile fell away as he went on, "No... I mean about me. Supernatural bad luck follows me everywhere. So... why bother getting in the way of that?"

"'Cuz you're my best friend!" Zill reminded him, throwing an arm around his shoulders. "I'd do anything for you, man." He poked Jack in the chest and added, "Tell ya what: I'll keep an eye out and combat any bad luck that comes at you for the rest of the day. I'll show you—I'll be a supernatural good luck charm!"

"Seriously?" Jack said dubiously, though his smile betrayed his hope and gratitude.

"Yeah, dude!" Zill replied, grinning. "What's the worst that can happen?"

"I mean... like, a LOT of stuff can happen," Jack pointed out. "It's a curse! Aren't you a Little worried about that?"

"Pssh! Curse, shmurse!" Zill waved his hand dismissively. "I got this!"

Unfortunately, the events of the day threatened to prove otherwise.

-

In the library, Zill caught a book that randomly started to fall toward Jack's head. Easy enough, he thought with a triumphant grin.

-

In chemistry class, he grabbed an overflowing vial out of Jack's hands and tossed it out the window, causing it to explode away from Jack (though it did accidentally singe another student named Calvin). Whoops, Zill thought as he gave Jack a sheepish grin and thumbs-up.

-

In the cafeteria, Jack slipped while carrying his food, but Zill caught him—and everything on his tray. Close one, he thought, mentally wiping his brow.

-

In P.E. (held later in the day due to an issue with the gym flooring), Zill protected Jack from every dodgeball thrown his way. Yeah! BEAST MODE! Zill thought as he pumped both fists. This is easier than I thought it'd be!

-

After school, as Jack stopped to smell some flowers, a beehive fell out of a tree behind him, but Zill quickly scooped it up and carried it away before Jack could be stung—although the same couldn't be said for Zill himself. Painful, but successful, he told himself as he trudged back to Jack.

-

On the walk home, one of Safe Haven's many sewer-dwelling creatures attempted to swallow Jack whole as he and Zill made their way down the sidewalk, but Zill wrestled the reptile back beneath its manhole and quickly repositioned the cover.

-

Later, Jack ironically combusted spontaneously (much to the delight of Rusty, who was passing by), but Zill was quick to retrieve some water and put out the fire. Jack gave him a thumbs-up, his mouth filled with water.

-

And finally, in the Animal District, as Jack peered through his new telescope, Zill caught a meteor that had come hurtling toward the unsuspecting jackal.

Jack turned in surprise. "Whoa!" he exclaimed. "This is actually from space!"

Zill hurled the meteor aside with a grunt and brushed his hands together, scowling.

"That's a new one," Jack remarked, plucking a stray pebble off Zill's chest.

Zill prepared to offer a comment of his own, but his eyes widened as he spotted a wrecking ball swinging toward Jack—with no apparent source. He lunged forward and pushed his friend out of the way, allowing the ball to instead slam into him and flatten him into the side of a building.

"Zill!" Jack cried. "Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh!" He pushed away the wrecking ball and watched in horror as Zill fell flat on his face. "Oh, no! I didn't think you would actually get hurt helping me!"

Zill coughed and stood up woozily. "No, no... no, dude! I'm fine!" he slurred. "I'm—YOW!" He yelped in pain as a shot of agony ran through his wrist. Grimacing, Zill tucked his wrist close to his body and finished in a strained voice, "I'm fine! Really!"

"No, you're not!" Jack snapped. "You're hurt, and it's because of me!" He winced and held up his hands in a shunning gesture. "Just... keep your distance from me! I don't want you to get hurt again—it's just gonna get way, way worse now!"

"I'm not gonna get hurt again!" Zill insisted, trying to reassure Jack. "Trust me!"

"Anyone who tries to help me gets hurt!" Jack shot back, tears filling his eyes. "I can't let that happen again!" He turned and ran away, blubbering, "I'm so sorry!"

"Jack, wait!" Zill called desperately. But Jack didn't look back—he just sprinted out of the park. "No, no, no...!" Zill struggled to his feet but winced again, rubbing his wrist.

-

Now alone, Jack trudged down the sidewalk unprotected, leaving himself vulnerable to a number of unfortunate incidents. As he tried to find a little peace, he had a crate of oranges spill over him and trash dumped on his head. He shot a look at the guilty party of the latter—a girl named Camilla Jimenez, who grinned meanly at him from her apartment window.

As Jack shook off the trash, his phone beeped, and he glanced down at it. As expected, it was a message from Zill reading, "Dude, I'm okay! Plz come back, J" (along with three sad face emojis). Jack smiled sadly and swiped his screen, staring at a picture of him and Zill when they were kids.

Unfortunately, his one moment of peace was interrupted when he was blasted by water from a fire hydrant.

Hurrying to get out of the way of the soakage, Jack trotted to a crosswalk and shook out his fur. The street looked clear as he began to cross, but as he reached the middle, cars appeared out of nowhere, forcing him to duck and dodge out of the way. Miraculously, he made it to the other side unscathed—then promptly slipped and fell before being hit in the head with a tin can.

Jack groaned and got up, heading back to the Animal District. He fared no better there than in the city, however: he was chased by a griffin, sprayed by a skunk, and last but certainly not least, ran into a massive shadowbeast. This one was particularly large, sporting thick black skin, cruel horns, and teeth the length of Jack's forearm.

Jack sighed as drool dripped from the creature's mouth. "Of course."

-

Meanwhile, Kayla was having a picnic with Vanexa and Spam on the outskirts of the Animal District. "...and then I told 'im, 'Mate, you really don't know who you're talkin' to!'" she babbled. "'I've spent enough time in the bush busy at hard yakka with my folks to believe some drongo tellin' a furby!'"

Vanexa and Spam stared at her blankly for a few seconds before the former muttered, "I didn't understand a word you just said."

"Kayla!"

The three members of the Big 5 looked up as Zill swooped down from the sky, landing next to his girlfriend. "Guys, you gotta help me!" he begged them.

Kayla gasped, seeing Zill's swollen wrist. "Oh my gosh! Sweetie, your hand!" she cried, pulling her first aid kid out of the picnic basket and quickly wrapping Zill's wrist with tape.

"Jack ran off and—" Zill tried to say.

"Uhp! Nonononono," Kayla interrupted, placing a finger on his mouth before returning to wrapping the bruise.

"—and I think after all the crazy bad luck I helped him avoid today," Zill continued, "it's... it's building up to something extremely bad!"

"Worse than what did this?" Kayla asked in shock, staring at Zill's hand. Then she whipped out her pocketknife and flipped it open. "Then let's find 'im fast!" she snarled. She leapt to her feet and hopped away, dragging Zill behind her.

"Ooh! I'm gonna write a new song about this!" Spam declared, running after the couple.

"Must you?" Vanexa grumbled as she followed him.

-

Jack whimpered as the shadowbeast pinned him to the ground and opened its maw wide, preparing to take a hearty chomp out of his face. NOT looking forward to working my way through this guy's digestive system... he thought, swallowing hard.

Suddenly, a blur of movement flew past the monster, drawing both it and Jack's attention. They both looked up and saw (Oh, thank GOD! Jack thought happily) Zill's familiar figure silhouetted against the setting sun. He landed next to Spam, who had begun to sing some song about fighting monsters (Jack wasn't sure; he was more concerned about the actual monster). Vanexa and Kayla flanked the two boys while the monster just stared in confusion, its mouth still open.

Then Zill unsheathed his claws, which glowed with green energy, and shot forward, slamming his fist into the shadowbeast's face and knocking it clear of Jack.

"Yeah!" Jack exulted as Zill fired blasts of green fire at the shadowbeast. Kayla followed up the attack with a kick to its face, knocking it even further away.

The monster recovered quickly, spotting Vanexa (who had apparently gone back to reading her book). It snorted and charged at her like a bull—

—but came to a screeching halt as she fixed her terror-inducing glare on it. The shadowbeast reversed direction almost immediately, opting to lunge at Spam instead. The singing fox dodged the attack, however, performing some excellent acrobatic moves before becoming distracted by a bumblebee.

In the meantime, the others whaled on the shadowbeast, eventually causing it to turn tail and sprint away, heading toward the district's outskirts.

Jack got to his feet and cried, "You guys! I can't thank you enough! That was amazing!" Then he added, "Spam, your songs are getting really good!"

"Why, thank you!" Spam replied with a bow.

Jack turned to Zill and sighed. "I'm sorry for running off, dude," he apologized. "I panicked."

"Don't sweat it, man," Zill reassured him, punching him lightly on the arm.

"You really didn't have to risk your lives for me," Jack went on, putting a hand on his chest. "Sure, it would've torn me apart and probably partially digested me painfully—"
Kayla gagged, holding back a wave of vomit.

"—but I would've been alive in the end!" Jack finished. "That's part of the deal."

"Yeah, well... nobody here really wants to see that," Zill pointed out.

"But it's inevitable," Jack protested, confused. "So... why help?"

"Aww! Because we love you, dummy!" Kayla told him, giving him a big hug.

"You're our friend!" Spam piped up. "Right, Vanexa?"

"You're the most tolerable," Vanexa stated bluntly.

"I told ya so," Zill said with a chuckle, putting his hands on his hips.

"Alright, point taken," Jack conceded. He looked around at the other members of the Big 5, beaming. "You're the greatest friends a guy could ask for! I'm sorry I didn't realize sooner." He scratched the cast on his left arm. "I just feel like my problems make me a burden to you all. But I promise from now on, I won't take for granted how much you guys care!" He spread out his arms, grinning and walking forward. "I really feel so much better now—"

A horn blared as a passing bus ran over the poor jackal, leaving him in pieces on the street.

Looking at each other knowingly, all of Jack's friends got to work picking up his limbs (and head) and reattaching them in the proper places. Then they clustered around him and gave him a group hug.

Jack smiled. It's great to have friends like these, he thought.

-

The next day at school, Zill and Jack were laughing at a joke Zill had told when they were approached by (who else?) resident bully Rusty. "Well, well, well. If it isn't 'Bad Luck Jack'!" he sneered.

"Hi, Rusty," Jack replied with an easygoing smile.

"Hey, uh, heard about how you got totally splattered yesterday," Rusty said, sniffing and rubbing his nose with a smirk. "Real nice."

"What's your problem, man?" Zill growled, holding up a fist covered in fire.

"Y'know," Jack said, pushing Zill aside before he could do something he wouldn't exactly regret but would get him in trouble, "you come at me for something I can't really change." He leaned toward Rusty and added, "But I can at least take solace in the fact that I actually have friends willing to still be there for me!" He smirked. "But you don't know what that's like—huh, Ruben?"

"OOOOOOOOH!" Zill crowed while Autumn snickered in the background.

"Oh—you—shut up!" Rusty sputtered.

Zill and Jack grinned and high-fived as the bully stormed away, laughing at their triumph as Kayla, Vanexa, and Spam joined them on their way toward the school's entrance. Wow, Jack thought, smiling as his friends walked alongside him. For once in my life, I actually feel...

...lucky.