Young Writers Society

Nolan Lehnsherr - Cafe - Tuesday, 2.57 PM (Level 2.7)

"Corda, I don't understand things anymore." Nolan remembered the "suicide" incident and a sick glee formed in the pit of his stomach.

The Academy would never know that Nolan told that kid to jump. It wasn't suicide; it was murder...or was it?

The problem with lying was that after a while, the line between the truth and the lies began to blur, and even the liar wouldn't know what the truth was anymore.

Corda quit poking at her lunch and gave Nolan the most curious stare he'd ever received before bursting out in chuckles. "What? Where did that come from?"

"I-I can't control -"

"Nolan. If you're talking about why you can't lie to me, it's because I'm telepathic. Well, a little. Of course you can't control me."

She didn't understand. It wasn't her that was the problem. It was everybody else. Every. Body. ELSE.

If he thought about it hard enough, he wasn't real in their eyes. What they saw was just a projection of himself, something false, something fake. An illusion. He wasn't real to anyone but Corda and Bart. And he wasn't even sure if Bart was affected by his powers. If not, then what Bart saw might as well be a projection too.

"I need some water. A-and I have to go see Dawno for the fight - " Nolan stood up, his head spinning. He walked away from the table, not feeling quite right.

"Nolan. Be careful around Alexis!"

Yes, because Alexis didn't know the real Nolan. She knew an illusion.

"Ah, I knew you would be here."

"Hey Nolan," the blue hedgehog said. He eyed Nolan warily, and Nolan was aware that the speed demon was tense enough to run off at any given moment. But why would he? He believed an illusion too.

"Zeke. It's good to see you. I heard you'd had a great day."

Zeke's face brightened. See? They all believed Nolan's lies. Liam tightened himself around Nolan's neck.

"Piss off, Nolan."

What a wonderful greeting from the ever-polite Bart. Nolan smiled and gave a sweeping bow to show Bart just how much he respected him.

"Gladly. I apologize for what I've done to you, Mr. Bishop. I do hope you recover soon."

Bart's face scrunched up in confusion.

Aaaaaahhh... Bart was not immune after all. Nolan wasn't real to Bart either.

Nolan turned his attention to a passing student. "I'm terribly sorry to have to ask, but your name is Corda, right?"

She nodded, even though she truly wasn't Corda.

"What the hell, dude?" Bart asked in disbelief.

Mother was right. He really did have an uncannily powerful way of convincing people to believe him. His power wasn't charm after all.

He'd been lying to everyone in his way, and when Mother told him to tell her boyfriends that they loved her...

He'd been lying his way through life, and had been used by his own Mother.

"Nolan! What the hell did you just do that for?!" Bart barked again.

Bart| 3:00 pm| Outside Dawno's office| Level 2.2

"Nolan! What the hell did you just do that for?!" I barked once more. I knew the guy was an ass hole, and a manipulator...but that was just weirdly cruel and strange.

"It was...its none of your business Bart," Nolan said. He looked at me intensively for a moment. I was about to say "Oh right, sorry. I shouldn't poke my nose where it doesn't belong." But...that was so un-me. Why the heck would I say that?

"I don't care if its my business. You just flat out made that girl change her name, that's...just...I don't know the right word."

Nolan was shot back by my retort...as if he just expected me to shut up and drop it. I don;t know...but he seemed a bit...not happy...I don't know. And I don't know the right words for the next few bits either. He just stood there for a bit, as if wanting me to go on. I waited for a solid minute.
"whatever man...let's not keep this pedo waiting."

"Wha...?" Zeke trailed off, following me in. Nolan slowly shuffling behind us.

There was no one in the room, even Dawno's furniture, which was little and few, was gone.I searched for something, Dawno must have left us something to go on. Even Nolan was looking around , where was his partner anyway? Hopefully no where...easier for me to focus on Nolan.

"Ah, there it is," Nolan whispered. I followed his gaze to a small crack. What was he getting at? "This way," he ushered, pushing at the wall. The wall gave way, and Nolan fell into an Abyss. Zeke sprinted to the hole, and sighed a great sigh. "Its a hall!"

Alexis Pyreta | 3:00pm | "Dawno's Chamber" | Level 1.2

"So do we have an agreement?"

He handed me the small purple gem and I nodded, keeping my eyes off of him.

"Look at me when I'm speaking to you."

Hesitantly, I turned my empty eyes up to his face, watching his sly grin expand across his teeth.

"I've taken the liberty of calling Silas to this very location, and he should be arriving any moment no-..."

There was a shifting in the stone across the room. We both turned to look as a rift opened between the classroom and the chamber, and in walked Nolan, then Zeke, then Bart taking the rear. Dawno hadn't lied. In his pocket was a ball-shaped bulge; no doubt a stolen Pokemon.

I stared up at Nolan as he entered, not making a move to him or away from him. I was still scared, honestly, that Ardea may return to hurt him somehow. But Dawno had sworn she was taken care of. And for the first time in my life, I felt alone.

It was bittersweet, honestly.

Dawno put a hand on the small of my back and pushed me forward gently, towards Nolan. "Now, now... Let's not let our nerves get the best of us."

Bart pointed a finger at Dawno and scowled. "Whatever you're up to, you...uhh..." He trailed off, no doubt feeling the psycho-pull of Nolan's contagious confusion. I slowly took five steps, standing in front of Nolan and looking at our feet. His shoes were flawlessly laced and they stood out against my black leather boots with heels sharp enough to pierce a skull.

Dawno was carrying on with Zeke and Bart, but I ignored him, trying to muster the courage it would take to speak to Nolan. It was indescribable, the distance I felt.

Slowly, I let my eyes follow his clothes up to his belt and his shirt, to his collarbone, and then to his vibrant, sad eyes. He didn't show it, but I was sure that, inside, he was gaping at how monstrous I looked. But there, focusing on the other's eyes, I almost felt that peace again that I got when I touched him for the first time. Subconsciously, I yearned to reach out and follow the action. Just for one minute of clasping our hands together... For peace. But that made Nolan my savior... And the devil had me crucifying him.

I kept my voice low, in a broken whisper, but I stood on my toes so he could hear, "Please forgive me." But being so close to him, close enough to take in his sweet, clean smell, and to hear his breath, it began to hurt in my chest, where Dawno had cast the spell. I leaned up, fighting against the burning, and came within an inch of his face, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I backed away a couple of steps and looked up to Dawno, Bart, and Zeke.

Instinctively, I held out my arm, staring Bart dead in the eyes as Silas flew through the abyss and into the chamber, resting on my shoulder.

"What the hell is that thing?" Bart gawked, his jaw nearly hitting the floor.

"He is Silas, my Wonder Bird. And he would like for me to tell you..." I waited, coming up with the freakiest thing to say. "He would like for me to tell you that you have his permission to burn eternally in hell, all expenses paid."

Silas gave out a low bird-like noise and stretched out his blue and red wings, almost showing off.

"Are there any last conditions to be met before your engagement begins?" Dawno grinned his smug Anti-Villain grin and clasped his hands together in front of him. "Well, then, I will be in my office, so please enjoy yourselves."

He reminded me of Severus Snape, that Dawno. He gave me one final, sly grin, and I looked away as his body phased into tainted rays of light, teleporting him out of the chamber.

The tension rose, and I continued looking at the ground, dubious to make any move. Without Ardea, I was relatively lost in my soul, lacking rage and hostility. But maybe it was that I lacked any emotion at all. I peered over at Nolan once more and tried my best to smile, but failed miserably. It was time to fight. The only remaining factor was:

Who would draw first blood?

Nolan Lehnsherr - Dawno's Chambers - Tuesday, 3.08 PM (Level 2.

Only a fool would fail to notice how close Alexis came to kissing Nolan.

"Please forgive me."

But close was never good enough. She backed away, leaving him dazed and more than a little confused. Forgive her? What she said didn't sit well with his stomach. Half his mind screamed for him to bow out of the competition.

Corda's voice whispered a warning in his ear again. "Don't trust her, Nolan."

And shut his eyes and wished he was back in his room, back in Manhattan, waiting for his mother to come home from one of her endless social functions. But when he came back to the world he was still in the dark chamber with three other students, two of whom were tense, wary of the upcoming battle.

The third, Bart, tossed a ball into the air. "So, how'd you want to do this?"

Nolan's eyes followed the red and white ball. He doubted Bart owned it. Up, down, up, down. Bart chuckled.

"Watch this, Ratboy." Bart threw the ball, cackling like a madman, but Nolan was ahead of him. The ball never hit the ground.

It floated midair, just an inch off the ground, hanging precariously by a thread of Nolan's waning concentration. What was it? A smoke bomb?

The room stilled for the briefest moment, and Nolan heard Dawno chuckling. The camera in the corner seemed to laugh with Dawno, shaking its head.

It was mocking him.

Wires snapped as Nolan yanked the camera off the wall with his mind. It fell to the floor with a pathetic clunk.

Bart grinned. "And then hell breaks loose." He made a wild grab for the ball, which Nolan held out of reach by throwing it high up in the air.

Yes, hell was breaking loose.

Bart|3:12| Secret Chamber

Dammit. Looked like I might have made Red a doggy treat for nothing. Zeke hovered behind me, I didn't think he really wanted to fight. As long as he didn't get in my way, fine. At least he might save my ass, if it came to that. Bolt scurried out of my pocket. He would do for now.

Bolt tensed when he saw Nolan, he rushed at him, growing to his full size. Nolan simply jumped in the air, and Bolt slid right under him. A loyal, but really dumb lizard. I took this chance to dive at the ball again. Nolan kept his focus, and pulled it like a Yo-Yo. I pulled out of the dive, and rolled to a stop. Nolan was running to me, his fists raised and crazy eyed. I waited till he was about to lunge, flipped into the air, and round housed him. If this was going to be a physical fight, it was obvious who would win.

Before Nolan could hit the ground, I was already kicking him from behind. I could have kept it up all day. Nolan Ball. While it was satisfying, it felt to brute, too empty. This dude hadn't just hit me, he messed with my mind. Alexis and Zeke stood at the he walls, un sure what to do. Fine by me.

After hitting Nolan for the fifth time, I let him skid to Alexis, before going to retrieve the Pokeball. I bent over to grab the now golf ball sized device, and felt my ass light on fire. I turned to see Alexis leaning over Nolan, who was groaning. Her hands were a flame. I quickly dove for the ball, and released it in my palm.

A small, yellow creature emerged. He was about the size of a teddy Bear, and looked like a mouse...but cute. Yellow, with black spiky patterns on him. He looked at me, surprised, startled by his "owner." I went to touch him,, trying to calm him down, and nearly had my arm turn to ash. Heat erupted around me, a small ball of flame singing the ground. The Pokemon, who was called Pichu, turned tail and ran. "Zeke, get your cousin!"

I rolled on my side, Alexis over me, ready to make me the next Burning Man. Fire and Electricity, which was better? Out of the corner of my eye I saw Bolt creeping toward Alexis. Perfect. "Nice Panties, Alex," I said. Alexis blushed for a moment, only to have it taken by pure red fire. She didn't get to use it though. Bolt leaped at her, in full size. Brilliant flashes of white-blue acted like a strobe light. The fight was on.

Alexis Pyreta | The Chamber | 3:18pm | Level 1.3

Without Dawno watching, without his camera, I felt as though I could breathe again. But then, to my dismay and horror, Nolan hit the floor, a toy for Bart to volley around as much as he wanted. Sharp teeth bit down on my lip and I wanted to move, to defend Nolan, but something was holding me back.

And then he was at my feet, groaning and clutching his stomach. I knelt over him, touching his bloody face and grimaced, fighting back the same raging emotion. Bart was bent over picking up the tiny ball, so I took my chance and wound-up a fireball straight into the raw tissue of his ass. He yelped and dropped the ball, releasing a cute little rat onto the floor. But I couldn't think was cute; I couldn't feel anything but hatred until Nolan was safe.

As much power as I could force into a single fireball, I did. And like I had seen Fedora throw his spirit bombs, I forced the tiny ball of red-hot hellfire into the face of the little mouse, forcing it to turn-tail and run. The heat exploded around Bart and knocked him to the ground, which gave me my chance for revenge.

So over him I stood, glaring down at him with my dragon-eyes. My hands were nothing but scorching-hot flame and my stomach was on fire as well.

"Nice panties, Alex."

Suddenly, I felt like a dragon crouched over its prey, just ready to pick it apart, ligament from muscle from sinew from bone. But before I could touch him, his lizard blind-sided me in a flash of brilliant light.

I let out a shriek, digging my hands, claws, whatever the hell my hands were then into the beast and fought back as he charged my blood with as many volts as he could. My shriek darkened, and I was sure I was almost growling, if not roaring, in return to the lizard.

Giving him a final burst of hellfire, I knocked the beast off me long enough to return my focus to Bart. He was standing then, and he was rearing back to make another wild dash at Nolan. He took off and before I could make a move, I heard Nolan's bones cracking under Bart's feet.

For a split second--barely long enough to register it as a real thought-- I wanted Ardea back in my soul to help me fight, to help me feel rage. But I was alone now, and without Dawno watching, I had to make a move.

Off the shelf beside me, I grabbed a vial of whatever chemicals Dawno was keeping in his office. With a strong chuck from my left arm, the vial burst over Bart's shoulder and then burst into flames once my heat ray hit it. And before he could run off, I gave a swift knee to his flaming groin just before Zeke round-house kicked me into the wall, knocking several chemicals off into the spreading fire.

Bart was spinning wildly, like a tiny flaming tornado, and Zeke stood in front of me, ready to block any counter I could come up with. But Nolan was back on his feet and staggering. No doubt, he had given Liam more damage than he had taken. I slowly rose to my feet, glaring Zeke in the eye, and spat flaming blood onto the floor. The room's temperature was rising considerably and I knew it would down Nolan if I didn't stop it.

But the burning, not around me, but inside me...

Our deal?

I closed my eyes, suddenly warranting my own death in my own twisted mind. Zeke was still guarding Bart, whatever he was doing, and Nolan was keeping away from the flames. At a far distance, I could still hear bones crunching and skin burning and I could smell the chemical hell around us all, but I had no choice. My right arm rose, pointer finger aimed at Nolan's neck, and I fired blindly into Dawno's will, breaking Nolan's skin and whatever trust I could've had with him.

Nolan Lehnsherr - Burning Hell Hole That Used to be Dawno's Secret Chamber - Tuesday, 3.08 PM (Level 2.9)

Liam lay on the floor, broken and barely moving. Still Nolan dragged himself off the ground.

Physical battles were never his forte. Bruises painted his skin an almost-beautifully horrifying array of purples and reds, and blood steadily dripped down his face. Everyone save Alexis shimmered with sweat, suffering from the heat in this little slice of hell.

Bart wiped his forehead with the back of his hand before making another wild dash towards Alexis. Zeke lunged for Nolan, who braced himself to sidestep at the last minute.

Then pain struck Nolan's neck at the worst moment. Nolan crashed to the floor with a pained yelp. Alexis fired another beam at Nolan, and he shut his eyes, unable to move fast enough to evade it and too tired to even try to deflect it.

"What the hell...?!" Bart yelled. Something crashed and Alexis grunted.

"Dude, you're on fire!"

He was? Oh, he was. But did it matter? No, of course not. Nolan laughed, harder and harder and harder, until his laughs reached a manic pitch. That was right. His sleeve was on fire. But it was okay. It. Was. O. K.

WHY?

Because it didn't matter. At least he knew now Alexis wasn't affected by him either. He knew now what people really thought of him. He knew they all wanted him dead. And he trusted her.

And he remembered the way Alexis looked at him, as if he was her own personal Jesus. He almost thought he could be her friend. But again, almost was never good enough.

And he wished Corda was here to try and straighten him out, because he really didn't know what he could do.

"Bart, help me out here!" Zeke yelled.

And Nolan, like the liar he was, was truly going to burn in hell. The flames danced in front of his face as he lay on the ground, lighting his features up. A single tear escaped.

He was a disaster. A mess.

He needed help.

"It doesn't hurt," he told himself.

And it didn't. He continued to chuckle to himself. Who knew? Even he wasn't immune to his own lies sometimes. The blue hedgehog ran around Nolan in dizzying circles and Nolan noticed just how beautiful everything was when they burned.

Zeke was probably counting on the flames needing oxygen...but he forgot Nolan needed it too. Fine. Nolan wasn't going to struggle. Wasn't going to gasp for air. He was going to let it all go.

(For the story's sake I have deleted this post, by the way, I am not posting for a while, I CAN'T KEEP UP!)

Bart|The Hell Hole-Formally Dawno's Secret Chamber| 3:10

Holy Hell, this was getting out of hand, and fast. I just wanted to hit Nolan a bit....not burn us all into ash. We had to get out of here....But the fire.

"Bart, help me out! Zeke screamed, I turned to see him running in circles, trying to suck the air away. Good idea. I sprinted off, parallel him, the flames slowly faded, but so was all the air. It was hard to breath, hard to stay conscious. I saw Zeke starting to sow down as well. This wasn't easy. Alexis and Nolan were laying, gasping for air, finally the last of the flames died, and we were able to stop.

One problem though, the place was basically air tight, we had to get out of here...but I doubted Nolan would just get up, shake my hand and walk away. "Aaaaaaaaah!" I turned to see a very frightening sight...Nolan...he looked so...un-Nolan. He looked mentally insane....he was messed, no F'ed up. He was running right for me, shattered glass surrounding him, shooting towards me.

I didn't have time to react, which was saying a lot for me. I was too tired, my lungs ached. I just let him attack. The glass shot at, I felt the pain before they could even hit me, I just new what would happen. Except I didn't, not at all.

"CHU!" A bright blast of lightning came between me and Nolan, vaporizing the shards into powder. Nolan stopped short, almost getting turned into French Nolan, or Nolan fry, whatever, he almost got fried. I turned to see Bolt and the Pichu I had "borrowed" standing next to each other, god I loved little electric devils.

The lightning didn't stop the fight though, far from it. Nolan lunged at me again, and pulled us to the floor. I was too tired to fight back, somehow Nolan had just... ignored all that had happened. Had he told himself he wasn't hurt? Had he turned off his pain? It was all I could think of.

Hit after hit, painful , warm eruptions of blood. My skin felt like sand paper, I felt like the fire was back. Why wasn't anyone helping, why didn't Zeke, or even Alexis try and stop it? Finally Nolan stopped, his own hands covered in my blood. I slowly rolled away, my body too numb to get up.

"Bart, are you okay?" I looked up, a feat of strength, to see Zeke.

"Do I look okay? I'm fine, its just a lot of blood, and possibly infected wounds." Zeke couldn't help but smile. "Get me Bolt and that Pichu." Soon the yellow devils were on top of me. "Now, this may sound crazy, but hit me with all you got." Bolt smiled, and started to discharge, Pichu gave me a look, but obeyed. I felt the energy come to me. I again felt the healing process jump start, my wounds scabbed over, and my pain started to fade enough for me to get up. I was far from alright, but I was farther from death.

Alex Pyreta | Dawno's Smoking Pit | 3:20 PM | Level 1.4

The fight rolled on over my head, my lungs gasping for air as the vacuum sucked it all away. I coughed, falling on the floor in a tiny mass of quenched fury. After ages, I opened my eyes, watching a streak of lightning blast between Nolan and Bart. I squeezed my eyes shut, drawing in the warmth of the jolt of electricity. It wasn't much, but it'd have to do. I heard punches rolling, small grunts coming from Bart, and then Zeke murmured something after the punches stopped.

I opened my eyes again and watched as Nolan glared a frozen, manic glare at Bart, his hands bloody. I pushed up slowly, regaining a bit of my strength as the time continued to pass. The flames may have died, but Silas' heat control was keeping the room well above 100 degrees.

Char them all.

Dawno whispered in my ear, his telepathic voice no doubt coming from the gem in my pocket. A wave of fury washed over my blood, cloaking my entire body in fire. So I stood, an embodied phoenix for Dawno's dirty work.

Finish it.

Zeke turned to look over his shoulder, his eyes wide as saucers. He backed up into the corner, not sure what to make of the new me. Then again, I didn't really know, either. Nolan glanced up, his face lit a raging burgundy by the color of my fire.

Now!

I held out my left hand, palm facing the ceiling, and let a dense ruby fireball manifest.

My dragon eyes scanned for a target, numb to any compassion. It was the killer inside me now, barley even a part of me... But more of...

Me.

I retched, grabbing my stomach as the sudden hellfire began to rage inside of me again. The burning spread through my veins, filling each muscle with the force of the red sun, and I stood straight, enlarging the fireball in my palm

Ardea grabbed my mouth, shoving her words through in a sinister tease. "For Bart, may you rest in peace with the grim reaper all your days."

And she swung my arm, releasing the condensed explosive in a bee-line to his gut. The star burst into a furious wildfire in the chemical spills, igniting the vials on the walls and sending licks of flame out and around his body. He screamed, but it was silenced once Ardea slid through my veins, moving my feet in a tiger-leap over Bart. Still in the air, a straight-shooting ray shot out of my pointer finger and through his shoulder.

She landed me over him and grasped him by the throat, lifting him above my own head. He struggled still, making muscle jerks faster than the human eye, but her grip held strong and tightened. I imagined how it felt to burn, to be surrounded by death and to stare her right in the green of her eyes.

Ardea lifted a hand to kill, but a sudden blast of broken glass swiped against my side, followed shortly by a tackle that sent the two of us into the wall, forcing Ardea's grasp off of Bart's throat. The poor boy went flying into the corner, limp and dying, and my head spun from the impact against stone and flesh.

I opened my eyes to see who had attacked, and saw Nolan's weak, breaking eyes. So deranged, so manic. So helpless and in dire need of escape.

Ardea swung to attack him, but I stopped her, taking the impact of her psyenergy to myself, mentally.

In the black chasm of my mind, she and I fought to the death over Nolan's soul, over his broken and manic eyes.

She swiped at me with fury, but I blasted her with powers I didn't know of.

As her body began to tear apart in my head, she laughed, taking her share of power to the grave along with her.

And that's when the flames suddenly froze; when everything froze in the room.

Time stood still; the burning stopped; the moaning and pain stopped.

And Nolan had his arms wrapped around me, his face buried in my neck.

And frozen in that moment, a fifth person entered the room, releasing Zeke from her hold.

After a whispered word, the two gathered Bart and pulled Nolan away from me. And then Zeke, with his large eyes and vividly colored skin, he reached down and pulled me from the frozen flames just before they resumed, consuming the remainder of the chamber.

...I learned later that night,
or whenever I woke up, that
Orelia Carmeline had saved us all...

Orelia| Dawno's Smoking Pit | 3:20 PM | Level 0.8-

I hadn't been able to resist- I had followed them into Dawno's office, into the chamber. I had kept to the shadows. I was pretty sure Dawno had seen me, but he didn't care. I sat and watched as the fighting commenced. The room kept getting hotter, until everything was in a haze. Smoke, blood, and screaming filled the room. I coughed, looking around. Suddenly, the haze cleared for a moment. They were all dying... all of them. I stopped time, and released it on the hedgehog.
"Get them out..." I whispered, trying not to break my grip. I could only hold it a little longer. He nodded. With difficulty, they were dragged out, and we got them to Dawno's office. He was nowhere to be seen. I dropped time, gasping for air. My vision was swimming.
"The infirmary..." I croaked. He nodded, dragging them out. Zeke came back, and looked at me.
"Are you okay?" he asked. I nodded, even though I wasn't. He nodded back, and left. I passed out on the floor, my vision swimming.

***

I woke up in the same spot, an indefinite amount of time later. I rubbed my eyes and sat up. Dawno was reclining at his desk, surveying me with a bored expression on his face.
"I dislike it when people meddle in my affairs, Miss Carmeline. Then again, I knew you wouldn't be able to resist anyway." He said.
"Why the hell did you do that to those others?" I spat. I hadn't had much against him before, but killing kids was over the top. He smiled wickedly. "I'm afraid that's not for you to know. But you have proven yourself quite worthy. A new student holding out time for four other people... almost unheard of." he said. "And jumping several hours for one other..."
"I just got lucky. I almost died. Passed out for a day, and I couldn't do much of anything for a while afterwards." I interrupted. "And I just passed out now." I added. I got the feeling he was ignoring me. "Many thoughts had to be erased, Miss Carmeline, because you ruined my little fight. I dislike having to step in myself. I suggest you stop arguing. I'm in a bad mood, and if you value your life, I suggest you do what I say."
I backed off. "Now. I have a mission for you. You will be awarded if it is completed successfully." he said. I nodded. "It's really quite simple: kill your principal." I smirked. That was child's play. "Alright." I said. I decided Dawno wasn't so bad, after all.

Corda - Infirmary - Tuesday - 5:37 PM

Corda sat by Nolan's bedside, watching him breathe; it was her only assurance that he was still alive. He looked terrible, vivid bruises marking every inch of skin not covered in bandages, nothing like his normal, immaculate self. She reached out to brush a piece of hair out of his closed, blackened eye and let her fingers linger over the unusually warm flesh. Hot was good, meant he was still alive and healing.

Corda looked up at the rustle of curtains as Zeke hesitantly peeked in. He looked ready to bolt at any moment, as if Corda would go manic on him, so she asked, letting the weariness and worry seeping into her voice, "How is Bart?"

"He's worse off than him--" The turquoise hedgehog jerked his head towards Nolan. "--but he'll live."

"That's good." Corda leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, running a hand over her face. The hedgehog had been the one to fetch her to the infirmary, she remembered now that she'd had time to calm down, and he'd seemed genuinely worried about Nolan. It seems she had misjudged Zeke, after all.

There was a rustling of cloth as the hedgehog began to move away.

"Wait, Zeke." Corda looked at him, and he paused. "What happened down there?"

He looked uncertain. "You really want to know?"

"Yes, if you're willing to tell me." Corda gestured to a second chair, and Zeke slowly sat down. He began reluctantly, but once he got started, it seemed he couldn't stop. By the end of it, Zeke was shaking, his fists clenched tightly on his lap, and his eyes downcast.

Corda buried her face in her hand and groaned, "You idiot. You stupid, stupid, idiot."

"I tried to stop them but--"

Corda shook her head sharply. "Not you. Him." She pointed at Nolan before, as almost an afterthought, she pointed in the direction Bart lay and added, "And him. But mostly him." She glared at the heavily bandaged telekinetic as he lay, completely helpless, in the bed. She considered paying Alexis a surprise visit with Sylvester, but thought the better of it (it would be mighty suspicious if the traitor were to perish of a snakebite when she had come in without one) and settled for crossing her arms over her chest and boring a hole in Nolan's head with her eyes.

Zeke shifted uncomfortably in his. "Well, I guess I'd better go, then."

"Wait." Corda looked up from Nolan and at the hedgehog. She took a bracing breath and said, "I misjudged you. I'm sorry. I thought you were just like Bart with how you kept messing up my papers and things, but I realize now that most of those were accidental. It's just... I don't like Bart for a number of reasons, and when you started hanging out with him, I..." Corda flushed and looked away, chewing on her lip.

She couldn't see Zeke's reaction, but he sounded surprised and equally flustered when he said, "Well, it wasn't just you. I also... um... yeah... Truce?"

Corda, if possible, was even more embarrassed, but she managed to choke out a "Truce. So what now?"

Zeke shrugged. "Keeping our friends from killing each other might be a good start."

Corda nodded. "So we'll do that. You keep Bart away from Nolan, and I'll keep Nolan away from Bart. Deal?"

"Deal." Zeke held out a hand, and they shook on it.

Corda felt a little better about the whole situation. Still, she wasn't going to take any chances. If this was going to work, she'd need Zeke's help. "Now," she began, sitting back in her chair and pulling out a planner, "we'll need to coordinate things..."

Zeke
Infirmary
5:40pm, Tuesday, Week 1

"So, does that settle everything?" Zeke asked wearily. He and Corda (who was still very intimidating, despite their truce) had gone over every class they had with Bart and Nolan, working out who would need to keep them divided during what lessons, and in between. It finally seemed that they were done.
"Yes... no." Corda's eyes widened. "You don't take Familiars, do you?"
"No, why? Don't you have a snake?"
"Shh..." Corda looked around. "The staff can't know about Sylvester. They'll make me keep him in the stables. No, I don't take Familiars and neither do you, but Nolan and Bart both do."

"Perfect," Zeke muttered. "So either we have to sign up for a late enrolment in Familiars - you having to hide your snake, and me being something that could be a familiar - or..."
Zeke's eyes suddenly shot open. "Be right back!"

Within a few minutes he had returned with a slip of paper.
"What's that?" Corda asked. Zeke handed it over.
"It's the Care of Familiars roll. I... borrowed it from James' office. The teacher," he replied to Corda's questioning look. "It's not like he'll miss it, I'll have it back on his desk in a split second."
"Right... so you're thinking we ask someone else to keep them apart during this class," Corda said. "Not a bad idea, if we can find someone who will put up with Bart."

She scanned the list. "Well, I don't even know who Dierdrie is, and I haven't spoken to Samantha much - we're roommates... and I have no intention to ask that traitor for a favour." She scowled in Alexis' direction.
"I can talk to Dierdrie, but I think she really gets into her studies," Zeke mused, "so she might not want to be distracted. Maybe Kumo could help. I'll ask her later."

"No rush," Corda sighed. "The class is tomorrow afternoon. I don't think either of them will be in any shape to go to school by then."
Zeke nodded. As he got up to leave, he noticed the little red-and-white ball on Bart's bedside table. Presumably the little yellow mouse was tucked inside.
"I better take this back to Red, too." he muttered as he pocketed it.


6:00pm

I hope Kumo hasn't been here already today, Zeke thought, very nervous. It was a pretty big favour he was about to ask of Kumo, considering Bart had taken important things from her, and been a fairly consistent nuisance to her (and a lot of people).

He'd just come back from Red's dorm, having returned the ball. Despite Red's suspicions, he'd insisted he'd found it under one of the tables at the cafeteria, and Red had finally accepted this explanation with gratitude.

"Hey, Zeke... I didn't think you had a familiar?"
Zeke sputtered as his attention returned to the real world. Kumo was standing next to him with a chicken leg in her hand; Pez was chewing on it.
"Uh, yeah. I mean no. I mean... right." Zeke stammered. "Uh, so yeah."
"... Right." Kumo looked askance at Zeke. "You feeling alright? I heard you were with Nolan and Bart during their fight."
"Yeah... actually, I need to talk to you about that."

Kumo Strife, 6:01pm

Kumo wiped her fingers on her pants and rasied an eyebrow, ignoring the crunching from behind her as Pez finished off the bone. "You wanted to talk to me? Should have guessed, you don't seem the animal type."
Zeke's mouth twitched slightly. "Animals on the whole are fine. These ones make me nervous." Kumo watched his eyes slide from her to the huge bird behind her, happily licking the marrow out of the bone. Kumo smiled and cleared her throat. "Right. So, about the explosion?"
Kumo couldn't help but be intrigued. The little hedgehog had always been polite to her, even if it was from nerves. For him to approach her, she decided it must be pretty important. And she hadn't forgotten how he helped her, for no other reason than he was there. She couldn't help feeling a little gratitude towards the turquoise hedgehog.
"Well... I know you don't like Bart much..."
Kumo's mouth tightened. "You've got that right. Top marks."
"but uhhh..." Zeke shifted nervously, "me and Corda kinda want to keep Bart and Nolan apart, so they don't kill each other."
Since when does Zeke hang with Corda? Kumo frowned. She wasn't sure if she liked the girl with the snake.
Zeke contined, "but they both have Familiars class together, and neither of us have it."
Kumo closed her eyes and sighed. Sensing her discomfort, Pez looked up and grumbled at the hedgehog, kicking up straw in her stall. Zeke took a step back.
"So, you want me to keep Nolan from handing Bart his skin on a platter?"
Zeke coughed. "Not how I would put it, but...essentially."
Kumo stared at the hedgehog, her face etched into a stern frown. Her shoulders were stiff and her glare caused him to step back again. "I'm sorry...forget it, I'll ask Dierdre..."
Kumo laughed. "She wouldn't look up from her books, and miss the whole fight."
Zeke shrugged. "She might try."
Kumo sighed. "Forget her. I'll do it."
"What?"
"I said, I'll do it. "

Nolan's leveled up again.

Nolan Lehnsherr - Dorm A2 - Friday, 8.31 AM

"I haven't seen him move, but I know he moves. He's still a neat freak."

"Thanks, Kiat."

"For what? You're the one who looks out for him. G'luck talking him out, Corda."

The room was quiet. Quiiieeet. So quiet he heard the tick, tick-tock, tick-tocking of his alarm clock. And the ceiling - it was so white. So clean. Not like the rest of the school.

White. Beautiful, beautiful white. Just like the scars of the burns she left on his left shoulder. Like the bandages he took care to change everyday, so the wounds wouldn't reopen. The wounds she inflicted on him.

She. She she she she she. He didn't think he'd ever mention her name again. She came by the room every once in a while though. He even heard her arguing with Corda once.

Haha. That was funny. Her argument with Corda was funny.


"Nolan you can't just shut yourself in like that forever. This is still a school."

Not that the teachers were going to mind Nolan missing classes. Because if he lied them they wouldn't remember anymore. Haha. Weaklings. So stupid. So gullible.

"Nolan your mom is worried."

Mom? Mom never worried about him. Or anyone, for that mattered. She'd married and divorced so many people Nolan couldn't really remember how many people he'd called Dad. Mom was a charming little New York socialite who never worried her head about anything because worrying caused wrinkles.

"She's called five times today."

So? That didn't mean she actually cared about Nolan. She cared about her reputation. Her son was involved in a brawl - of course she'd care. She'd probably ask him to behave himself, that was all.

"Look. If this is about Alexis you don't ever have to talk to her again. No need to be so mopey."

Mopey? He wasn't being mopey. Besides, she was right. He couldn't stay like this forever. There was a world to conquer. He could tell everyone he was their divine emperor and they'd all believe him.

Nolan smiled at this.

A creak by the window disturbed Nolan's perfect silence.

"Psst. Dude. Some teachers think you're dead, and they're blaming me. Wake up, you douche."

Thwack. Something hit the back of Nolan's head. Dear God. Couldn't Bart leave Nolan alone? Ever?

Nolan sat up, slightly irritated.

"I knew you weren't dead. You wouldn't die that easily, even if I wanted you to."

Nolan smiled at Bart, and he swore he saw the hair on Bart's arm stand.

"Uh yeah. So I'm going now bye."

And Bart disappeared out the window again.

They thought he was dead? How rude of them. If he died he would take the world down with him.

"Nolan, please. Come out."

This time he surprised Corda by actually opening the door and smiling politely, like he used to. Nolan sheepishly scratched the back of his neck.

To be a good liar, one had to be a good actor. And Nolan wasn't just a good liar, he was a brilliant liar. Which only meant one thing.

"Corda, it's nice to see you."

She stared at him, utterly speechless. He supposed it was normal for her to be shocked by his sudden reappearance.

Finally, she managed to squeak something out. "Dawno has something planned. Anti-Villainy yesterday was really weird. He's planning something huge."

What a wonderful topic. But he supposed she couldn't help it. He laughed and shut the door behind him. The first step out brought a blast of familiar smells and noises. Idiots running down the hall, the sweet smell of pancakes and syrup drifting from the general direction of the cafeteria, and, of course, the smell of burning candles from the dorm building opposite his.

He knew where it came from. Her room.

"Whatever Dawno's planning, he won't succeed."

"Why not? He's got the people -" Corda began.

Nolan smiled at a few people passing down the hall. Almost everyone stared at him. Go missing for a few days and everyone thought you were dead. "He won't as soon as I get a chance to talk with his minions," Nolan murmured to Corda.

Corda seemed flabbergasted at first, staring at him with wide eyes and an open mouth. Then she seemed to regain her composure.

"Welcome back?"