Young Writers Society

Alex | Friday, 8:30AM | B-Dorms | 1.5

How hot can mercury burn before it scalds my sins away?

In Prox, back when I was a girl, they would sing an old hymn at a funeral that the elders had written ages before. And, as they buried the body deep in dirt and snow, they would all sing in a ghastly chorus,

hail the ice of Mercury,
from whose beacon rivers flow,
and when all thy spir'ts d'part,
take hold to the light
for the light shall guide,
and may the beacon's glory lead us home...

I hummed the dark melody as I finished getting ready for spellcasting. I had tried earlier to straighten my hair again, but since the fight... Since the fire, I couldn't do anything about it. It was a brighter, more furious red than before. But why would I straighten it, anyway? There was no one to impress; there was no one to care about.

But here, back in my shell, there was no pain. There was no pain anymore.

So I left the bathroom just as Liz ran in, mumbling something about being horribly late. I reached beyond the candles lining my bookshelf and pulled my Spellcasting textbook out of the high shelf, holding it against my chest as I went for the door.

And lo, my pennance began.

"Welcome ba-..."

Corda, with the fury of Jupiter laden behind the hue of her eyes, she glared at me before returning her glance to Nolan. She took a step to the side to stand between the two of us and I couldn't even protest.

Whatever hatred Nolan had in his eyes would have to wait until I was finished burning myself. He'd get his turn, just like everyone else. But the wicked game didn't change what I saw on his face, between the hoary white burns and the bruises...

I demanded that my feet move, that they take me away to Spellcasting class. And so they moved, slowly, and got me away from the burning cross before another drop of his blood could spill at my face on the ground.

And the universe collided on me, Miss Singularity, and crushed me and my contrite heart.

Bart| 8:40 AM| Whatever his dorm is, I forgot.

I stared at my self in the mirror. I just couldn't stop obsessing over it. I know it was superficial, I know it wasn't that big of a deal, but. My hair. It was gone, and it would take forever to grow back. Where would Bolt nap? What would wander behind me as a ran? Ergh.Bright side, my speed also helped with hair. Which was bad and good. Bad, I had to shave way too much.

I dug around and found the Flash Helmet. It would do for a hat for now. I had never worn hats, never could get my hair to stay in them. "Strange fashion sense." I turned to see Zeke standing at my door. "They finally let you out?"

"Yeah, for good behavior," I said, joking of course. "So, how was speed training? It was bloody murder having to sit still that long.

"It was cool. Because it was the first class the Dean set up an awesome obstacle course for us, so much fun," Zeke tried to look sympathetic.

"You know," I said. "You;re supposed to say its was mind numbingly boring. Or we didn't even do any running."

"Next time," Zeke said with a laugh.

"Hopefully you won;t have too." My stomach suddenly exploded with a rumble. "Let's go eat!" I started to run, but felt my legs ache again, they caved in, making me do a face plant. "But let's do it slowly, with my crutches."

"Okay," Zeke said and went to help me up. "So where is Bolt staying with your head gone?"

"Shut up!"

Corda - Dorm B - Friday - 8:47 PM

"Welcome back."

The door behind her opened, and Corda whipped around to glare at the redhead who had just stepped into the hall. She glanced at Nolan to see find him staring at Alexis with an intensity that screamed "Dangerous!" so she stepped in between her friend and the traitor to block his line of sight. Nolan had only just come out of his rooms, and Corda was not going to let him get into another fight so soon.

"So, Nolan," she began, determined to ignore the girl behind her, "you have a free day today. Do you have anything planned?"

"Nothing in particular, Corda. I was thinking that it might be a good idea if I let the staff know I am still alive."

Corda crossed her arms in front of her and looked Nolan in the eye. "Would that include Dawno?"

"...Perhaps."

"I don't think so. He's too dangerous."

"I can handle myself."

"Like you did in those secret chambers of Dawno's?" Corda asked, skepticism bleeding into her tone and posture.

Nolan flinched, and a flash of something, Corda didn't know exactly what, passed over his face before it returned to its previous, politely-friendly expression.

"Those were... extreme circumstances."

"Circumstances that Dawno created. Zeke told me everything, Nolan. The only reason you or anyone else are still alive is because of Orelia. Dawno is too dangerous to confront alone."

Nolan looked offended. "I never said anything about confronting him."

"Regardless," Corda said, standing strong and hoping her worry was conveyed through her voice and posture, "you should avoid him whenever possible."

"She's right, you know," came a timid and most unwanted voice from behind Corda.

Corda turned her head to glare at Alexis and all-but snarled, "And what do you mean by that?"

The redhead refused to meet Corda's eyes and seemed to shrink beneath the blue-skinned woman's gaze. "I mean that Dawno... He told me... made me..."

Out of the corner of her eye, Corda saw Nolan walk around so that Alexis was within his view. Beneath his steady, watchful gaze, the girl shrunk even further into herself, and Corda almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

"Just spit it out!" Corda snapped, her already thin patience with the traitor long since worn through.

"He made me hurt you!" Alexis blurted out, finally looking up at Nolan with her tear-stained face coated in tracts of mascara. "I didn't want to, but he said it was the only way to keep from hurting you and--"

Corda snorted and placed herself between Nolan and Alexis once more. "Nice try, but you'll have to do better than that before either of us forgive you. Now, don't you have somewhere else to be? Like going to class?"

"I..." Alexis trailed off under the force of Corda's glare and slunk off towards the exit, shaking pathetically all the while. Once she was out the door and out of sight, Corda turned back to Nolan to find him regarding her curiously.

"Is there something wrong with my clothes?"

"No."

"Then what is it?" It came out more sharply than she'd intended, and Corda winced in apology. "I'm sorry. That came out wrong."

"She puts you on edge, doesn't she." It was more a statement than a question, and Nolan nodded his head in understanding.

"To put it mildly," Corda replied with a roll of her blue eyes.

Nolan smiled slightly at her antics. "In any case," he began, serious, "I think she may have been telling the truth."

"And what of it? It doesn't change anything."

"Except that she's as much a victim as a traitor," he replied, looking thoughtful. Hopefully he was thinking of using her for something dangerous and potentially deadly.

"But she's still a traitor," Corda countered before she glanced at the clock on a wall and gave a mental curse. "I have to go to class," she said, lifting up the front of her skirts in preparation for running. "Just promise me that you won't go and confront Dawno."

"And if I don't?" Nolan asked, looking far too innocent.

"Then I'll stay here until you do. You know I will."

Nolan sighed and, with the air of one greatly inconvenienced but too polite to say as much, said, "Very well. I promise I won't confront Dawno."

Corda nodded in response before dashing out the door and to her Spellcasting class. She only hoped she'd be able get there on time without being out of breath.

Arthur-8:55,Friday, Outside the Spellcasting room. As per usual, panicking.

Alright, I'm here early, so no chance of being late. Pen, definitly there, so that's good. Spellbook, check, notebook, check. Ok, so that's all good.
There's other people waiting with me, should I try to make conversation? I think I'll talk to the redhead, she seems nice enough.
"Er, hi", here we go, voice going squeaky. What next? Tripping over my own shoelace? Pronouncing a certain part of a volatile spell wrong, causing it to blow up the dorm again?
"Aren't you the kid who blew himself up?" she asks me. Emmbarressment going up.

"In all honesty, yes, it was", keep this up Arthur, you might just get slapped.

"What were you doing?"

"I was trying to make a spellclear potion act faster", why am I telling her this?! Embaressment still going up.

"Why?" That's a good question.

"I don't really know, I just felt like I should, you know?" Her eyebrow is raising. Ok, that isn't helping me at all. Maybe I should change the subject. "Oh, I haven't told you my name, have I?" Real inconspicous, Arthur.

"No, you haven't", eyebrow lowering.

"It's Arthur, Arthur Gravesend"

"Oh, mine's Jen", eyebrow lowered. Phew. What now? Shake her hand, idiot! Shift all the stuff from under one hand to the other-without dropping anything! That's right. Wow! I've made a friend! Me!

"So, why are you into spellcasting?", Jen asks.

"Well, I've always been into things like this, you know?"

"What, blowing up Dormatories?" she asks, grinning.

"No! Into this! Spells and whatnot!", why am I shouting? Have I blown it?

"You don't need to shout at me, it was only a joke!" she sounds annoyed. Oh great!

"I'm sorry, sometimes, annoyance gets the better of me", Are you patronising or regreting?

"That's alright", she says, "Oh, look the teachers here", here we go again.

Alexis Pyreta | Spellcasting | Friday, 9:08 AM | Level 1.6

Just as I reached for the knob, the locks clicked shut, sealing me off from the class inside. My heart sank and my head spun under the added pressure. It would all be too much before long and, given my track record, people were going to start testing my breaking point soon enough.

I rattled the knob and leaned against the door, listening to Professor Celeste lecturing everyone on general spellcasting. Sad, defeated, and lonely, I sank to the floor, sitting on top of my legs. I dropped my spellbook to the ground and turned until I found the page she mentioned inside. It was going to be a murderously long day.

Then again, Nolan did try to see me... But did that even matter anymore?

"There is a distinct difference between elemental spellcasting and the art of sorcery, both of which we shall cover this semester."

After all, I almost killed him.

"But, as is natural in the universes from which we all hail, we shall begin at the beginning."

But maybe his blood would boil with mercy. Maybe I had missed who Nolan was all along.

"And the beginning would be... Role call."

Though, that could lead to several conjectures... What if Nolan had no interest in me at all? What if he had been pulling strings like Dawno, like Ardea...?

"Ms. Pyreta? No? Ah, such a shame."

And there had to be some reason he chose me as his partner in the fight. Precognition? Was he such a masochist that he would bring himself to the verge of Sheol just to learn who I was?

"And Arthur... Nice to see you in one piece for once."

But I couldn't deny it; I had Nolan's blood on my hands and in my veins. And, if given one second more, just one more ounce of bravery, I would have known the feel of his supple, hypnotic lips.

Celeste droned on and on in her introduction and I kept letting my thoughts wander, but I made a firm note to myself to withhold my place in reality. Without supernatural anchors buckling me down to the ground, I was likely to float off into the abyss, a bloated little Alex balloon, soaring above the clouds until the pressure of the air inside me pushed out until I burst.

And tiny little pieces of Miss Alexis The Traitor Pyreta would come floating down so gracefully over the burning plains.

So it was logic that I had to anchor myself to.

I picked up my notebook that I had taken with my spellbook and a pen and began to write down exactly what had happened and why. Was it normal for students to have postal correspondence with one another?

Either way, it would have to do. Because I couldn't trust speaking to Nolan and he couldn't press a word beyond Corda's superbitch bubble. A letter would have to suffice.

So Dear Nolan, I wrote carefully on the lines in red ink. But it sounded awful in my head. So into a crumpled ball that paper fell and another line of red ink slid across the top of a second piece of paper.

Nolan,

Before anything took place in the dungeon--before the fires of hell licked at your wounds--I asked you to forgive me. So please understand that, while my actions were premeditated, they were utterly beyond my control. With that said, I want to speak with you personally and without your guard dog Corda around. So the window beside my room, it has a sliding latch. It may seem like a fall, but it's not; trust me. Follow the path out from the dorm buildings and meet me in the edge of the forest outside of the dorm row. Please, as my one true request, don't feel afraid. I swear I will not, can not hurt you.

I'd rather burn in hell,
Alexis Pyreta

And with the letter folded in my hands, I slid up the wall and to my feet, dusting off my clothes and walking somberly to an open window nearby in the hallway. I pressed two fingers to my lips and gave out a soprano whistle, signaling Silas down. After a moment, the wonderbird flew down to the windowsill and took the letter into his talons. "Please, burn the letter unless it is in Nolan's hands. And only Nolan." I leaned up and kissed the bird on his beak and smiled. "And give that to him for me as well."

And the bird flew off without a sound, with every hope I could muster to rebuild at least one bridge.

Corda - Spellcasting - Friday - 8:59AM

Corda was slightly out of breath when she arrived at the open door of the classroom, her skirts tangled and her hair mussed. She glanced up at the time -- 8:59AM. She had a minute left, then, to catch her breath. Plenty of time.

Once her skirts were smoothed, her hair restored to neatness, and her breathing easy again, Corda stepped inside the classroom -- and not a moment too late. The door shut behind her and sealed itself with an audible clinking of tumblers.

"Hello, hello!" said the fairy at the head of the classroom -- Celeste, Corda surmised. "You're lucky you made it in when you did, otherwise you'd be locked out and missing the class. Now, if you would just take a seat, we can begin."

Blushing, Corda quickly took the seat nearest to her, pulling her textbook, notebook, and a pen from the messenger bag slung crosswise over her torso. Opening the notebook to the first, blank page, Corda began taking notes as Celeste began summarizing all the topics she planned to cover in the class.

A few minutes into the class, a muted rattling came from the direction of the door. It stopped shortly after, but Corda took the opportunity to glance around at her classmates as the room filled with the rustle of turning pages. There was Kumo, sitting by herself in a corner. Near the front sat the boy who had blown himself up, and next to him sat a redhead. This girl's hair was too neat to be Alexis', so she must be Jen Preacher. The rest of the seats were empty.

Feeling a smile beginning to blossom on her face, Corda pulled out the class list. There, listed near the bottom, was the name "Alexis Pyreta". Corda's smile grew even wider as Celeste called roll. Nolan was out and about, the plans to keep Bart and Nolan separate were laid, and the traitor had missed class...

Today was shaping up to be a fine day.

Nolan Lehnsherr - Dorm A2 - Friday, 9 AM

Nolan drowned in sunshine and falling leaves, listening to the air around him breathe. The stone bench was cold against his palms. On days like these he wished he was a normal child who didn't have to worry about insane counselors and bad blood with other students so that he could enjoy the day as he truly should.

Just then, another bright star outshone the sun. Nolan sat up, squinting at the new star. And the sun used to be so confident about the sky being his and his alone during the morning.

Wait. That was no star. He recognized the bird as it descended towards him, spiraling downwards in a blaze of red and yellow. Nolan made a face. So much for having a wonderful day.

The phoenix settled on the bench beside Nolan, and Nolan raised an eyebrow. It returned his gaze with the same intensity.

Her.

What did she want?

Traitor.

The bird dropped a note onto the bench before staring at him again. Nolan was tempted to fling it away telepathically, but that would only result in more burns. Mother would be furious enough with the one scar he'd gotten from that fight. He didn't need her on his case.

Then, as suddenly as it appeared, it pecked him on the cheek and left. What the - Nolan slapped a hand on his cheek to stop the stinging pain. Sure enough, a trace amount of blood clung to his fingers.

He glared at the note and it crumpled itself into a ball. He ought to throw it.

But what if - what if something important was there?

With a sigh, he willed the note to open itself and present its message to him.

What?

...She wanted to meet him. Should he?

Corda would kill him if he tried.

That settled it then. The note crumpled and flung itself to the ground. The leaves crunched under his shoes and he walked towards the forest's edge. Did she know he was in the forest?

Possibly. Did it matter? She would fry him even if he didn't give her a chance to talk. And he would hurt her by twisting her insides until she couldn't take it anymore. But who would tap out first?

Elizabeth Phoenix|The Cafe|Friday-9:24am: (Level 0.7)

I frowned at the pen in my hand. She hadn't come back yet but I didn't trust this feeling to last. She'd be back, sooner or later. I dropped the pen and tried to catch it-not with my hand, but with my mind. The pen hit the table and rolled off onto the floor.

Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair and tugged the green lock out of my face, tucking it back behind my ear. "Well, I guess that power hasn't manifested yet," I muttered and glanced up.

The Cafeteria was still pretty much empty and I hadn't seen Nolan at all since breakfast. After their little fight in Dawno's dungeon, I wasn't surprised. Of course, I knew about the fight. I'd seen that Orelia girl coming out of Dawno's office covered in filth along with Nolan, Bart, Corda and Alexis. Bart and Nolan had been hurt pretty badly...

I bent to retrieve my pen and brushed the green lock of hair out of my face again. I really needed to tame it. Eventually. I winced. She was back. I hoped she wouldn't start something now of all times.

Go away, I hissed and she laughed.

No. You need to practice and so I'm here.

I frowned. She confused me. Practice? Since when was I practicing? Oh right. The pen thing. That wasn't even practice. It was just seeing if I could do anything yet or not.

I wasn't practicing, I thought sourly and she just laughed again....and then she was gone.

I let out a relieved sigh and lent on the table, my head on my arms. I had no classes today and nothing to do. Oh, isn't that wonderful? If she chose to 'help' me, she would have to crash a class to cause trouble--and I didn't want trouble.

"Great," I muttered. "I have nothing to do and I'm bored. Wonderful."

I sat up and shoved the pen in my pocket. Might as well take a walk or something. It'd be better than being stuck in the Cafeteria or in my Dorm all day.

So I stood up and started walking with no destination or direction in mind.

Zeke
Week 1, Friday, 9:45 AM
Edge of the forest

"Why are you even trying?" Bart chuckled as the duo raced across the grassy floor of the forest, jumping over low-hanging branches and swerving to avoid small creatures. "There's no way you'll catch up to me." Zeke was a metre or so behind Bart, struggling to shorten the gap. He grinned as he looking up at the less-spiky-haired-than-before kid.
"You're kidding, right? You saw me in Fedora's class!" Zeke called. Without waiting for a response, he made a small jump in the air, rolled into a ball, and without losing momentum shot forward, slowly but surely making a comeback.

He was only a short distance from Bart when - ZAP. The ground in front of him exploded as lightning struck. Zeke was thrown a small distance into the air, but at the speed he was going he plowed through several branches before a tree trunk finally broke his run.
"Ow," he said, rubbing his head where he'd hit it for the second time while Spin Dashing. He glared at Bart, muttering "That's so cheating."
"Hey, if you got it, flaunt it," Bart said with a smirk, clicking his finger. A spark leaped off his thumb as he did so.

It was only when he'd gotten up, brushed the dirt off his jacket and seen the look on Bart's face that he saw two all-too-familiar figures standing in front of them. Looked like Nolan and Alexis had been trying to get some privacy.
"Apparently the speed freaks can't keep their noses out of our business," Alexis said, not bothering to hide the venom dripping from her voice. Nolan held out a hand in front of her.
"Never mind them, Alex. A minor inconvenience, nothing more." He stepped towards them, Bart holding up a crackling hand in defense, and took a breath. Before he could say anything though, Alexis gave a shout.

"Aaagh! Get off me!"
All eyes turned to her. A tall black figure, two white eyes its only distinguishing features, had taken hold of both Alexis' wrists and was now holding them behind her. She kicked her legs and growled as she struggled to break its hold. Nolan stepped towards it.
"You will release her." he said. Like you expect it to obey, Zeke thought.
Without hesitation, a third appendage burst from the "shoulder" of the thing, as if it was made of jelly. It hit Nolan square across the face, knocking him to the floor. Zeke would have stooped to help him had he not been preoccupied with the realisation that they were surrounded by several identical things.

Bart began throwing electrical charges at the slimy creatures. It forked across their bodies but they continued to advance, making no sound save for the leaves rustling beneath their... bases? Zeke broke into a Spin Dash and cut through the arms of the one holding Alexis - even as they were severed, new ones began to grow, but it was enough for Alexis to yank herself free, the hands that had been holding her melting and dropping to the ground. Zeke's momentum carried him forward and he shot through - literally through - another of the things. For a second there was a gaping hole in the belly of the beast, revealing a glowing crimson ball, but even as they watched more goop formed to cover it. Zeke skidded to a halt and jumped back into the centre of the shrinking circle where the other three students were.

"What are these things!?" Alexis shouted as her hands engulfed themselves in flame.
"I don't know," Bart said, confidence in his voice, "but what I do know is that I've played enough video games to know a weak spot when I see one. Someone bust a hole in one of 'em and watch."
After a few seconds, Nolan held up a hand. Obviously reluctant to follow instructions from Bart, he finally concentrated his mind on the nearest blob and with a grunt separated its top half from its lower half, revealing the same red ball. Bart, already with an electrical charge ready, fired it straight at the core with a cry of "Riiidge Racerrr!"

A piercing shriek emanated from the now-sparking core. It exploded in a white flash, and the black blob that formerly surrounded it instantly melted and splattered onto the ground.
"So that's it, then," Zeke placed his hands on the ground, imitating a runner's stance before the marathon. "We just have to break the cores of all these things."
"Much easier said than done, rodent," Nolan muttered. "And I'm not saving either of you if you can't save yourselves."
"We know," Bart shot back as Zeke looked on apprehensively.

Arthur-Friday-9:57am-Spell casting Classroom, you guessed it, he's panicking

Ok, I'm sitting in the right place, next to the right person, on the front row of the class. So why is everyone staring at me?
"Jen, do I have something on my glasses, or something?", I hate it when I get stared at. It makes me feel uncomfortable.

"No, Arthur", she's looking past me, at something over my shoulder.

"So what is everyone looking at?" I' m getting annoyed now, "Why are they staring?"

"If you look behind you, y-you'll find out", why does she look so scared? Have I done something, or caused something to happen? No, that can't be it, nothing's exploding.

"Arthur", the teacher, even she's worried! What's going on?!, "You might want to turn around very, very slowly"

"Ok, then", turn slowly, what the hell?! What is that? It looks like a black jelly with two white bits on the top! "M-miss, what is that thing?"

"I have no idea", Run Arthur! To the other end of the room!
But that would mean leaving Jen!
Does that matter?!
Yes! She's the first person who would actually talk to me!
So?
She's a friend!
"Jen, when I say go, you run to the other end of the room", God! This is the bravest I've ever been!

"Ok", she's whispering. She must be really scared!

"Three, two, one...go!", so now everyone's running. Ok, this is going good.
BLAM!
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I hope this post actually makes sense!

So, because I'm sure hardly anyone reads the DT, I'm gonna quote Matt here.

chibibo wrote:EVENT

In a paper-thin attempt to keep this storybook running, I have decided to introduce an Event! An Event in the context of Academy is basically a plot twist that isn't too relevant to the story, but gives us something to do.
In this case the Event is an army of black slimy figures invading the Academy. They are mindless, soulless peons of QM that he has brought into the Academy grounds, not so much for the purposes of attack as much as to observe the abilities of not only his Anti-Villainy group, but the entire student body.

No one in the Academy knows where they came from, save for Dominic Kent (that is, he knows they are minions of QM, but he doesn't know that Isaac and QM are one and the same, nor does anyone else). They are immune to most attacks, which will simply bounce off or be absorbed by their jelly-like hide, unless their core, a red glowing ball, is struck with a moderately powerful attack, be it a spell, energy blast, fireball or even just a really strong punch. This is the only way to destroy one. They do not respond to mind control or telepathy, of course.

At the time of Zeke's post, 9:45 am, they have already spread across the entire campus. They will mindlessly wander until they see a living potential victim, at which point they will attack. They have no magical attacks: brute force is their only weapon.

This Event will last for a minimum of fifteen posts (not including Zeke's in which they first appear). After that, it can be ended by anyone who simply posts that they have destroyed the last invader. Enjoy!

Now, on to the post!

Nolan Lehnsherr - Edge of the Forest - Friday, 10:02 AM - Level 3.2

Silence was all they had, and those two morons and a bunch of damned blobs burst in on them, breaking it. Nolan was just about ready to shred everyone in sight.

He hated them because they refused to obey. Hated them because they were weak creatures incapable of any thought. Loathed them because they proved to Alexis that there was still this part of him that cared for her to some degree.

And he'd done such a good job at convincing her he didn't care if she jumped off a cliff.

A dozen rocks around them shook and flew up, and Nolan shoved them all deep into the jelly blobs. As expected, they absorbed the rocks.

"Oh yeah, great idea, Nolan," Bart said sarcastically.

Nolan waited patiently to the side, flicking away the bits of grass that had stuck to him when he'd been flung to the ground. He watched as the fight unfurled, with Zeke fending off the newer ones and Alexis burning off everything going near her and Bart. They worked so well together.

Did they agree to finish him off in that little slice of hell?

Finally, when Bart was surrounded by the blobs, Nolan chose to attack.

He focused, his mind singularly belonging to the rocks inside the blobs. The blobs wiggled, then quivered before finally exploding along with the rocks inside them. Black globs of paint splattered everywhere, smattering everyone with paint. Nolan couldn't suppress his disgust and outrage as a few drops splashed onto his clothes. And he'd chosen to wear white today.

On the bright side, Bart was completely covered in the paint and looking barely human. Nolan chucked a handful of rocks at Bart, who yelped in pain.

"OW!" Bart yelled. "You bastard! You knew it was me here!"

"No, I didn't," Nolan said.

"Well, fine, but be careful next time," Bart said, presumably scowling under that mess of black jelly.

"Where did these guys come from?" Zeke asked, kneeling down and touching the mess with his hands. He sniffed it and recoiled. "Gross. This stinks." He shook away the paint attached to his hand, but it stuck, refusing to let go. Zeke frowned and shook his hand (paw?) with inhuman speed, but it refused to let go. When he tried to pry it off with another hand it stuck to the other. Zeke groaned. "Great."

Alexis had gotten a few drops in her hair as well, and she was trying her best to get them all off but was unable to. Nolan had an easier time than the others, using his telekinetic powers to flick off the blobs. He made sure to flick them at Bart, whom, Nolan was glad to notice, couldn't throw any back at him.

"Who cares where they came from? How did they even get here?" Alexis asked in a quiet voice.

Nolan kept quiet, but he knew she was aware his gaze rested on her. She was gasoline and he was a lighted match. Putting both of them too close was asking for trouble. If she hadn't betrayed him, though...

He spoke through his eyes when their gazes met. We could have set the world on fire.

She dropped her gaze. She had wanted to say something to him earlier, but those two speed demons had interrupted them.

Then Bart froze. "Shhh! Do you hear that?"

Nolan was tempted to tell Bart there was no one talking, but he refrained and strained his ears as well. He couldn't hear anything, but he certainly could tell there was someone behind a tree.

Nolan didn't hesitate - he nodded towards the tree in the corner, alerting Bart and Zeke to the presence they couldn't feel there. Zeke and Bart dragged back a man, screaming and kicking and...glowing? That was a crap power. Nolan stood over the man.

"You know who sent these blobs and why," Nolan said matter-of-factly. "And you're going to tell us, aren't you?"

He nodded. "QM, sent them to invade the school and test the powers of the students."

The group exchanged confused glances. Alexis's hands were still holding fireballs, and these made the man very nervous.

What did he mean QM wanted to test the powers of the students? And why did QM take a sudden interest in the academy anwyay?

"They're trying to invade the school," Alexis echoed in disbelief.

The group stayed still for a moment before the man latched on to Bart's foot and accidentally zapped himself and knocked himself unconscious.

The birds usually chirping on the school grounds couldn't be heard.

Then, there was an explosion in a window above them, and glass came raining down and scratching them. Gorgeous balls of flame danced their way down to where the group was, and it was only then that it truly hit the four.

"An invasion," Alexis gasped. "They're going to destroy the place."

"Oh crap," Zeke said.

"They're crazy." Bart was already running towards the main entrance.

"Corda." Nolan brushed past Alexis in his hurry to get inside. His friend. His only damned friend was inside that burning building. He headed for the nearest fire exit, which would normally be locked from the inside, and wrenched the lock open with his mind. He burst out of the stairs and into the main hallways.

Fire, everywhere. Blobs suffocating people, throwing them around and screaming everywhere. Sonic shrieks combined with pure fright, blended into a mess of panic. Dozens of students fought ,but more surged towards Nolan and the fire exist in waves. Some of the students lay in a heap on the floor.

Nolan grabbed one loser from the crowd, adrenaline making him stronger than usual. "You will tell me where Corda is," Nolan demanded.

But it was no use. The student was too confused, too hysterical to actually get affected by Nolan. He blubbered unintelligible words, crying and shaking, snot dripping from his nose as he did so. Nolan let go of the boy with a cry of anger, shoving him back into the stampede.

Corda was somewhere in this mess. Nolan used his powers to forge a path between the panicked students.

Was she even still alive?

Bart| Kitchen, make shift HQ by Bart- 11:40am, Friday

A hallow knock. "Who is it?"

"Bart you know it's me, just let me in!"

"Aw, come on you're ruining the ominous cool vibe I was throwing out there!"

"Fine. It's the blue beast. The darkness is rising."

"What is the password?"

"...Do I need to?"

"Yes."

"Fine...Bart is the best, he puts all to rest. I bow my head to is awesome-ness."

"Yay," Bart walked out of the back room and flipped a switch. There was a light groan and a vent opened up. A few clumps crud fell out first followed by a dirty ball of fur.

"It's getting rough out there, man" Zeke said as he dropped in. "I tried to get into my dorm room, they have heavy blob counts."

"Here," Bart threw a plastic container to Zeke, and then slung a bag off his shoulder. "More bombs. We're running low on glasses." Bart was talking about his make shift "bombs" Which were drinking glasses he threw a bolt of lightning into, and the melted the top in. When a blob got one in it it blew the core.

"Thanks, but those things blew up on me before I could get it in side a blob," Zeke pushed the things away, carefully as he enjoyed his ham sandwich.

Another knock. "What?" Bart shouted.

"It's Nolan, let me in."

Zeke got up to flip the switch, but Bart stopped him. "Password."

"No way, just let me in. You don;t need the password."

"I know that. But I want you to say it!"

"Come on, no time, the blobs are coming!"

"Fine," Bart gave in and opened the vent. Nolan climbed in, followed by Codra. The two of them were cover in the glob's...globness. "Nice set up."

"Thanks, figured we needed a base of operations, this might take awhile to clear out," Bart said. He threw them some ham sandwiches as well. "There is a make shift shower in the back, Nolan. I know you were going to ask."

Alexis Pyreta | Admin Building | 11:50AM

The beasts had blasted out every light in the building. They had covered every window, sealed off every vent. That building, the Administration Wing, was eerily quiet, save for the murmur of blobs as they passed by. But by the time I had reached the building, I was nearly covered in their paint, so they paid little to no mind of me as long as they didn't see my fireballs.

So with fireball in hand, I crept down the hall, slithering between gooey pillars of murk to find a sign or anything that would point to the principal's office. My logic said that the raid leader would be there. As I trudged on, I kept telling myself to be brave, that it was the only way to survive a crisis with no friends and no allies. It was the only way to survive. Period. But I wasn't brave; I really wasn't.

So deception, naturally, was my only bet.

So I told myself time after time that Nolan would just slow me down, that Bart would get in the way; I sickened myself with images of Zeke burning alive after one misstep into my fire. And occasionally, I would laugh at the idea of accidentally killing Corda. And then the idea of a blob killing her. And it made my day because I was a sick, twisted freak with no friends or allies; a villain doing heroic things.

I stayed low to the floor, dousing my flames whenever I heard the hum of the blobs' cores. One came close, too close, and turned to me before I could quench the flame. It raised its miry hands and reached for me just before I seared through its center with a heat ray. The beast shrieked and detonated, covering my face (all but my eyes) in its black blood. I looked up from the mess and saw the hole in the outter wall where I had blasted through a window. A flood of daylight cascaded into the blackness and several other blobs came to attention from the ground around me. I had to do something. React. Defend. Panic?

But panicking, I had learned, did nothing.

So I imagined each blob--every single one--as being Corda. I was surrounded by Cordas that I wanted to kill; I wanted to destroy, but only by burning through her stomach. Like a gunslinger, I fired off my rays and fireballs, tearing through their outter skins with a primary assault and focusing on her exposed bellies whenever I could. And every time I killed her, she exploded. And the system worked until one grabbed my hand.

Without air, I couldn't make anything.

They saw a vulnerability and grabbed my other hand, smothering out the fires. I struggled and fought them, but they began to close in, sealing me in a cocoon of murk...

And to think, in that flood of daylight, I had seen the inside of Kent's office.

Arthur, the Library, yes he's scared to death. Level 1.

"What happened?" do you really want to know, Arthur? Really?, "Am I dead? Am I in Heaven? Jen, what are you doing here?"

"I dragged you here, Arthur, after the thing in the classroom knocked you out", Am I staring at a angel, or Jen?

"Am I in Heaven?"

"No, Arthur"

"Well, it can't be Hell, because it isn't the Orphanage", Arthur, you are a nit! This means that your in purgatory!

"Arthur, your alive!" Her eyebrow is raising again.

"Could you tell me where I am?"
Yes, that would be quite useful. You should know where to run if you know this.

"Your in the Library, everywhere else is swarming with those-those things! I don't know if anyone got out or not, but that action you did was good, you know"

I wonder if she got a good look at them. Perhaps if she got a good look at one, I could devise something. Why am I thinking like this?! I am Arthur Gravesend, expert in cowardice! I run from trouble! Maybe I've got some scientific reasoning behind it.

"Jen, did you get a good look at the creature?"

"Yes! It looked like a black jelly, with a glowering globe in the center!"

A gelatin like thing. Hmm, maybe some kind of acid could weaken them enough for the other students to have a chance against them! Or, if I re-make my experiment in the Dorm...

"We're going to the Potions room", why am I being so damn brave all of a sudden?!

"But Arthur! You can't make it on your own!"

Why is she so concerned about me?

"Listen, Jen! The sound of battle is all around us! We must stop these things before they kill us all! They are getting closer and closer all of this time! If we don't do something, we die! If we try to do something, we might die! I, for one, would rather go down fighting than hiding!"

Great, Arthur! What next? "This is Sparta"?

"OK, we'll go. But I don't understand why"

She looks so scared. Why am I the strong one? I'm the coward!

"Right then, when I say run, we run"

Boy, that sound familiar. Remember what happened last time, Arthur? You were nearly killed! You are so incompetent, Arthur Gravesend! Is that you, or Mrs. Clotcher talking?

"Run!"

So now we're running for our lives, towards a potions room that may or may not still exist! Oh my God! The stench of death is everywhere. Everywhere I'm looking, students are fighting a losing battle against the blobs. Even some of the teachers are losing their personal battles against them. It's like a scene only Lovecraft could write. Everywhere, screaming. The blobs are relentless! Pity seems to be non existent with themas they fight. A smell. A burning smell. A PAPER BURNING SMELL! THEY HAVE BURNED THE DAMN LIBRARY! NOW I'M ANGRY!

Corda - Outside the Shower - Makeshift Headquarters - Friday - 12:05 PM

Corda waited impatiently outside the shower. She fully understood Nolan's desire to get clean; it was a desire she passionately shared at the moment. What she didn't understand was why Nolan was hogging the shower. He could use his mind powers to flick off the goo -- she'd seen him do it -- so why was he taking so long to get clean?! Didn't he understand that she was also suffering from being coated in black goop? Didn't he care for her? No friend would hog a shower! No friend!

"Nolan?" Corda asked, trying to keep the impatience out of her voice as she stood, arms crossed, beside the curtains.

"Yes, Corda?"

"Could you please hurry up? I'd like to get clean, too."

"Of course, Corda. I will finish in a moment." Corda could hear him begin scrubbing more vigorously. "In the meantime, could you please find me a towel?"

"Alright." Corda looked around the makeshift shower area, but spied no towels. She looked again, but upon finding no towels still, she went out into the main kitchen to ask Zeke if he knew where any towels were. She ran into Bolt, instead. Oh well, it wouldn't hurt to ask him.

"Do you have any towels around?"

"Towels?" Bolt looked at her, perplexed and mid-bite of another sandwich. "What do you want towels for?"

"To dry off after the shower, of course."

"You mean you don't dry off on your own?"

Corda stared at him. "Eventually," she said after a minute's pause, "but it's pretty gross, especially when you're wearing clothes."

Bolt zipped around the building in a red blur before coming to a stop next to Corda, the old sandwich gone and a new one, yet un-bitten, in one hand, a pile of dirty rags in the other. "Nope. No towels. We've got dishrags, though."

Corda poked at a rag with disdain. It reeked of rotting food and had probably been used to wipe off the uneaten bits from the plates. "Urgh. I think not. Thank you for looking, anyway," she added out of habit as she turned and went back to the shower.

Nolan poked his head out of the curtains at her approach. "You were gone a while. Did you find a towel?"

"No. There aren't any towels. Bolt offered some dish rags but..." Corda wrinkled her nose in disgust.

Nolan looked equally disgusted. "No towels."

"No towels."

With a self-sacrificing sigh, Nolan said, "I suppose I can do without a towel for once. Would you hand me some clean clothes?"

Corda looked around. "What clean clothes?" She thought she saw Nolan's eye twitch.

"Don't tell me there are no clean clothes."

"If there are, I don't see them." Oh yes. His eye definitely twitched this time. "I don't see the problem. You could clean out the goo from your clothes and wear them."

"Yes, but they haven't been washed. I do not wear unwashed clothes."

Corda stared at Nolan. Nolan stared back. Corda crossed her arms again. Nolan clutched the shower curtains more tightly against him, as if sensing Corda's intent to physically dislodge him. They stood in a stalemate for a long moment before Corda finally gave a huff and said, exasperated, "Then wash them."

"I'm in the shower." A moment later, "You could wash them."

"No. I'm not your laundress."

"You are now."

Corda's mind went blank and fuzzy, and she bent down to pick up Nolan's clothes. She was half way to the sink in the main kitchen when she realized what was going on. Shaking with fury, she marched back to the makeshift shower and to an obviously guilty- and apologetic-looking Nolan. His contrition did not register through the haze of Corda's anger as she threw his dirty clothes into his face and tackled him, tearing down the curtains along with him.

Since she was taller and physically stronger than him, Corda had little trouble manhandling an indignantly flailing and tangled-in-curtains Nolan out of the makeshift shower room and dumping him in the main kitchen before going back for his clothes, dropping them on top of him as she took back the curtains. Before she retreated into the shower room, she looked down at a dripping and shocked Nolan and said, "Next time we have to share a shower, I am going first."

With a swish of her skirts and a drag of curtain, Corda marched off, back ramrod straight, to finally take a shower.