Young Writers Society

Written with Europa

Maji pressed flat against the pillar of the subway platform and tried to hold her jelly together. She was hyperventilating, expanding her flesh like a balloon. She forced herself to decompress; the smaller she was for this, the better.

Tetia was pressed against the pillar closest to the tracks. She was going to have to conjure the final trap without the goons noticing. Maji caught a signal, halfway between a salute and wave, and Tetia's accompanying wink. It was going to be fine after all, wasn't it? Maji carved a nervoussmile into the bottom of her face.

Holt stood in the center of the train platform. "I'm the most well-known," he reasoned without an ounce of pride. "If they're after someone in particular, it's going to be me."

"What makes you so sure that they're after you at all? What if they're after something else, or something on the train? What if they're better evokers than you?" Maji had learned to eat her questions in times like this, but they still floated inside her like deep sea mines. As the men piled off of the train, Maji glimpsed them crowding around the ones that Holt had shocked earlier. They may not have seemed to be strong, but they were looking out for one another.

Gradually, they parted, leaving way for a tall man to enter from the back. He wore a blue bandana that obscured his mouth and nose, and a long fur poncho with a few darkened spots on it. His left hand wore a single sleek, fingerless glove -- and this he waved at Holt.

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Written with Europa

"Captain Alimer Holt of the Library. It's a pleasure to meet you in the flesh." The tall man chuckled. "How would you feel about some group research?"

"You won't be able to bargain your way out," Holt stated bluntly. "I'm here to give you the courtesy of a surrender." Maji could his left hand twitching at his shock baton.

"Yes, well isn't that just it?" The tall man edged forward. "We must all submit eventually to higher power. I wonder, though -- what if the highest power was not actually the highest? What if there was a greater power to be sought? Would this power submit to the previous power? You yourself must know, Captain Holt, seniority does not demand respect."

Holt drew his baton in one fluid motion. The men holding the steel pipes lurched forward, threatening with their hands. Maji didn't know how many Holt could take down before he got hurt himself. It didn't seem like a risk worth taking; none of this did. What qualified her for a magical melee, anyway?

"I'm sure your speeches are impressive to your men," Holt said drolly, "but all I care is what it tells me about you. A new power, right? Then you're the School of Reaping."

"That's absolutely correct!" The tall man smiled, stepping forward even more. "We are the one and only School of Reaping."

As he stepped forward towards the center of the trap, Maji could see his subordinates edging behind him nervously. So far, so good, she thought.

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Written with Europa

"My name is Naro, and I am the leader of this school," the tall man explained. "Though we are of humble accomodation, we pay tribute to the Ancient of the Claw as best mortals can."

The School of Reaping shouted in unison and lifted their sleeves. It was hard to see in their mix of dark clothing, but they all bore the same three gashes in their clothes. It was most prominent on Naro, who flashed a smile through the wide cuts in his bandana.

"I neither know, nor care," Alimer said, backing up a pace. To the onlookers, it must have looked subconscious, but Maji realized that Naro was being encouraged to advance, little by little. At this time, Berkel must have been hiding in the stairwell, waiting for the strike that would seal the trap together.

"I see." Naro hung his head. "I suppose I shouldn't have tried to negotiate with a member of the Library."

"That's right," Holt replied, but Naro continued as if he hadn't heard.

"Such is the nature of the world we now inhabit," Naro continued, putting on a mournful face. "That is why we exist. That is why we are the School of Reaping. The bounty of the world has always belonged to those who harvest it; it is now our turn.

"School of Reaping," Naro finished his speech, staring dead ahead, "slaughter them all."

The men lunged forward, their faces of rage reflecting in the bronze shields attached to the pillars. Holt raised his baton and pointed at the nearest one. Behind the mob, Tetia conjured another bronze shield, tossing it at the feet of the assailants.

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Bluish-purple lightning flew from behind Holt, nearly singing the tips of his hair. Berkel was flying from the shadows, strafing with a bolt of lighting flying from her gauntlets. Tetia conjured bronze spheres and tossed them into the fray, knocking the assailants over and electrocuting them further.

As the School of Reaping struggled to pick themselves up, Maji stepped out of the shadows and clutched one of her eyeball talismans. In a manner of speaking, her job was the easiest; bludgeon the nearest enemy into unconsciousness.

One of the reapers looked up to see Maji with her arms raised high, bringing down a steel ball the size of a grapefruit onto his head. He saw stars and nothing more.

In a flash, Holt was beside her, methodically applying knockout shocks to the fallen. It was laughably easy to do this against people who had no magic to fight back. In a way it almost seemed...cruel. Maji returned her thoughts to her head and hammered her next defenseless victim.

Berkel's lightning was still flashing around them, threatening those who tried to run away. Berkel and Tetia mopped them up as they attempted to retreat to the train. Naro and his men found themselves in a cage of lightning, bouncing around the train platform to strike them down where they stood. But where was Naro? Maji swiveled her gaze three hundred-sixty degrees. On the backswing, she saw Naro closing in.

An arm wrapped around her body and pulled it taut. Maji felt a tube of cold metal press into her head, sinking in slightly.

"We have now returned to our hostage situation," Naro proclaimed. "Between this and fighting, I'd say this is the more peaceful option."

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Holt turned around and cursed. Tetia and Berkel stopped firing, their eyes wide. Maji felt the chill of the metal permeate her body. She wasn't sure what was going on, or what was on the other end of it.

"Ah, you might not recognize my archaic device," Naro continued. "It's a gun. A piece of old technology that was left behind by a magical age."

"All you're doing is digging yourself into a deeper grave," Holt insisted. However, his grip on the shock baton was loosening.

"I have been standing in a grave since the day I was born," Naro spat. "If I dig deep enough, I'll come out the other side, won't I? Won't I?" His hand crushed the gun further into Maji's head.

Maji felt her head scramble, her body addressing this foreign object with animalistic fear. "Ah," she said, unable to articulate words. "A-ah!"

"I'd now like to take my leave, Captain Holt," Naro said. "I'll be taking that train. Don't worry, you'll get your changeling back. Dashed against the wall of the tunnel, perhaps."

Maji's body recoiled. She had never wanted to be a part of combat. She was terrified of everything that was happening. She didn't want this. She'd never wanted any of this. Slowly, her arm was reaching up.

"You won't make it far," Holt continued, nervously trying to de-escalate. "Backup will be at the next station in minutes."

"Maybe I don't have the power to resist," Naro relented, smiling for what looked like a genuine grin. "But maybe that's what this is all about. To look directly in your face and tell you, with all due respect, up yours."

Maji's hand found the gun. It was cold to the touch, and Naro's finger was pulled to the trigger. Maji's finger joined his and squeezed hard.

What Maji saw next was scattered into pieces, as chunks of her head and neck flew away, dying in midair as they severed from her main body. She saw her steel eyeballs, spinning away in the air and clattering to the ground. Her body was toppling out of Naro's grasp, to the ground. Holt's shoes were charging across the train platform.

When Maji felt confident that her visions were once again her own, she was sitting up against one of the pillars, looking at Berkel with a tiny, regrowing head.

"How's the weather up there?" Maji asked woozily. It was a nonsensical question, but oh well.

Berkel sighed in relief. "We got everyone captured, no casualties. Here." Bluntly, she handed Maji her three eyeballs. "I washed them a little while you were out."

"Thanks," Maji said, popping them in like gumballs. "Thank you, Berkel." Suddenly, the feeling of combat overwhelmed her again, and her carefully growing head began sloughing away in huge gobs. Maji tried her hardest to shape it back up again, but all it did was create a cascade of her pink jelly flesh. Maji held her head in her hands, shivering. The feeling was a little like crying.

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She would be fine. Alimer repeated this to himself as he handcuffs the last pair of Reapers together and counted the long chain of heads sitting against the wall. Maji was fine. He’d been partnered with a changeling officer once as a young constable. It was supposed to be low risk, recon on a group suspected of creating and selling unlicensed runes, but their position had been given away and his partner had been caught on the wrong end of an axe. It had passed clean through him, Alimer could still clearly picture how his top half had slid away, his bottom dissolving into a pool. Alimer had panicked and discharged his lightning rune. When damage control had come through his partner already had a pair of stubby feet sticking out of his torso. They’d cleared away the bodies, and taken them both back for debriefing. He’d taken a break from the field for a while after that.

Alimer glanced over at Berkeley drew up beside him. “How’s she doing?”

Berkeley blew out a breath. “Rattled, to say the least.”

“But she’s regenerating?”

She frowned at him. “Yeah, she’s regenerating.”

“Good.” He was sure Berkeley caught the relieved sigh mixed into the word, but he allowed it. This time, it was better to let them see. “Vernathil!”

The tiefling jumped as he called her name. Even she looked shaken by all that had happened. Looking at the spatters of pink goop that used to be Maji’s head, he couldn’t say he blamed her. “Did you contact Belcanter’s precinct as I instructed?”

“Sure I did!” She grinned broadly, and Alimer could sense the nervous sweat from where he was standing. “On an unrelated note, I’m going to go do something.”

Alimer didn’t watch her as she hurried around the corner. He was already headed toward the wall where Maji had been propped up.
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Written with @Chaser

Maji was sitting straight up, taking one gloved hand and running it up her neck, around the top of her head, and down the other side. Alimer could see small ripples moving across the surface of her face as she molded a skeletal outline of her head. Gradually, the cavities were filling in.

"My bosses call this process a little unnerving," she said, not quite turning to face him. "But for having my head blown off, I'd say it's a good outcome." As she talked, one of her eyeballs slid down, carving into her cheek before she caught it and squished it back in.

"So that's a gun, huh?" Maji's eyeballs all swung to the pistol in Alimer's left hand. He'd taken it off Naro in their scuffle; there were still chunks of pink on the inside. "It looks pretty cool. I guess that's a good takeaway from today, isn't it? Even with all that's happened, I'm still learning. It's fun, I hope." There was a wave within her shoulders, her body trembling inside its own malleable shape. Maji's effervescent smile carved itself deep in her face.

"Library officers are provided psychological counseling," Alimer informed her. "If you require them, I can arrange it for you after we complete the mission."

"Oh?" Maji's smile didn't move. "That's good. Maybe passing the academy would have been worth it, then. What're we doing with those guys?" Her attention had already shifted to the Reapers along the wall, her words a slurred stream of consciousness.

"We'll be turning them over to Commander Belcanter for questioning, and their leader is likely to be incarcerated." Alimer was used to this tone of speech, of calculated reassurance and report of success. Against such a blunt statement of truth, people usually chose to trust him. Maji still wasn't reacting, though. It was easy to treat someone in her situation like a civilian, but a civilian would be able to walk away from this experience. For Maji, this might just be the beginning. Alimer searched for the words of a team leader.

"I'm sorry. You shouldn't have been put in a situation as delicate as this." The words were fumbling and unsure, but at least Maji was looking at him now. He took a deep breath in. "Takebackers Insurence isn't an agency that deals with perilous quests, but they still sent you on a mission so high risk the Library's command was called into the field for it." He crouched down to Maji's level and looked her in the eye. It didn't feel right to say this while looking down on her. "You're here, even though you understood that the stakes of the mission were incredibly high. Whatever your reasons for that may be, that is remarkably brave."

Maji's face gave another ripple, making it look like her lower lip was trembling. He cast a glance at the main platform. Berkeley had just tripped on one of Tetia's forgotten platforms, and Tetia was helping her up, chuckling a little.

"High risks," He repeated. "But that's exactly why the Library sent a team." Alimer looked back at Maji. Her head looked a little bit firmer now, closer to its normal size. "It was never anyone's intention to have you face a mission this dangerous alone. If there's nothing else we can be certain of, we can at least believe in that."

Maji nodded. As she did, her head seemed to retain its shape, a familiar horn forming. "We're made of the right stuff, aren't we?"

"Yes," Alimer replied, "we are." He held his arm out to Maji, and they gripped each other's wrists. He pulled her up, Maji's body stretching a little before rising like a tide to her feet. She stumbled forward a pace, then stood firm.

"Okay," she said. "I think I've got my head on straight."
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They stepped back onto the main platform, and their group gravitated toward each other to stand in its center. Alimer scanned them all for injuries. Berkeley had a cut on her arm from one of the Reaper’s makeshift spears, but other than that they were all mercifully unharmed.

“Well,” Tetia rocked back on her heels. “That went just swimmingly.”

Alimer gave her a sharp look, and she rolled her eyes. “My bad mate, I wasn’t aware you were the only one allowed to be sarcastic.”

Alimer crushed down the rustle of relief he felt at hearing her call him mate again. “When are Commander Belcanter’s men expected to arrive?”
“About half an hour.”

Alimer nodded. “Good, then we have time to collect ourselves. Is our luggage still on the-” He looked toward where the train had been stopped and was met by empty tracks.

“Don’t worry,” Berkeley said. “Tetia and I got our bags before it left.”

Alimer let out an invisible breath. Well, there was one small thing to be grateful for. “We’ll have to wait here until our backup arrives and go with them to meet the Commander. In the meantime Thuso, let me look at your arm.”

“Shouldn’t we make some kind of plan?” Berkeley asked as she followed him.

“Not now.” There would be time later to worry about what came next, but for now, they were standing on cracked glass, and not even he was eager to move.
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Berkeley was, understandably, completely shocked when Maji was shot in the head. Not just because it blew her brains off (though that was certainly a big part of the shock), but the fact that she pulled the trigger herself. In the back of her mind, Berkel knew Maji must be able to grow her head back, because why else would she possibly pull the trigger, but still... it was very alarming to witness.

She had just stood for a few seconds afterwards, her eyes wide, trying to process what had just happened. Maji slumped to the ground, then after a few minutes, turned to Berkel with a tiny head and spoke. In all honesty, Berkel wasn't sure how that was even possible. How did you speak when your head was the size of a water balloon? But she did. And then the conversation carried forward as if nothing had happened.

The others were just as panicked, Berkel was sure, as she had felt, but none of them showed it. The only sign Holt gave was a small sigh, and Tetia, for her part, acted mostly unaffected.

And now they were waiting on people they didn't know to come and clean up a problem they had, for the most part, already cleaned up and handled. Berkel didn't know why people weren't sent as soon as the train literally halted between stations, but it didn't give her a good feeling on how this particular branch would "handle" the current situation.

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"So..." Berkeley said, shifting a little on her feet as Holt examined her arm. It wasn't nearly as painful as some of the injuries she had gotten over the years-- lightning was obviously a dangerous business to play around in-- but it did sting a little. Making small talk had never been Berkel's strongsuit. Her mind moved too fast to stay focused on the trivial and boring things. Doing it with such a stoic person made it even harder.

"So what?" Holt said calmly, dabbing some sort of liquid on her arm. Berkel gave out a little hiss. He glanced up at her, then looked back down and continued when she shook her head to show she was fine.

"I don't know." Berkeley shrugged. What happens after they come and pick up these people?"

Holt's eyes narrowed and a small frown settled on his face. "They put them in jail. They take credit for stopping the attack and get praised as heroes. We move on."

Berkel tilted her head. "Correct me if I'm wrong-- I am a lot, and I'm not usually involved in matters like these-- but shouldn't the credit be going to us?"

"It's not how it works, love," Tetia chimed in from where she was sitting, leaning against a pillar next to Maji. "Annoyingly. That is definitely one part of the system I'd enjoy mixing up a little." The smirk on her face showed if she were in charge, it would not just be a little change. Berkel wondered what else she would change if she could.

"Not to complain or anything," Maji said thoughtfully, "but I did kind of shoot my own head off." There was an awkward pause before she continued, "And I kind of feel like I deserve credit for that."

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Berkeley definitely couldn't argue with that. It seemed unfair that local people would get the credit for something that nearly killed them. And this was just the beginning. It made her nervous to consider how likely it was that at least one of them would be dead before they finished this mission-- if they finished at all.

None of them seemed like the type of people to turn away at this point. Berkel wouldn't do it because she needed the thrill of something new. Holt wouldn't dare turn away for sheer duty. Maji was so eager to please she wouldn't even think of leaving, and Tetia's whole purpose of being there seemed to be to annoy Holt and for her sense of pride. She was confident in what she did and her skill levels in it.

In front of her, Holt calmly began to wrap the cut on Berkel's arm with some piece of cloth from one of his bags. Berkel didn't pay much attention, her eyes more focused on the station around them. She had seen plenty of empty stations on her travels, but one dead silent in the middle of the day was just unnerving.

"And after they... after they take all the credit and lock them up, what's the plan? Do we even have one?" Berkel was usually willing to wing it, seeing as it was what she did on a regular basis, but with a group, and on a mission? She didn't feel too great about not having at least a general outline of what was to come. She was fine with sleeping outside on the ground, with not knowing what food they were going to have the next day or where you would stay, but not knowing where you were going was a problem. You couldn't follow the lightning if you didn't know where the storm would be.

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Suddenly, instead of the silence, the space was filled with the sound of boots landing heavily on the ground. Holt stood warily, finishing off the tie to the cloth on her arm, his head turned towards one of the many entrances.

Library officers in distinct green uniforms tramped down the stairs two by two, shock batons and handcuffs dangling from their belts. They bore the distinct Raza branch seal on their hats, an olive branch extended like an open hand, the palm facing up. Behind them, a more imposing figure was closing in.

"Ah, pardon me. Excuse me. I'm terribly sorry. Hooves on stairs are far from ideal."

As the shape made its way down, it stumbled on the steps and awkwardly lurched forward, sending two officers sprawling to the concrete. Holt's eyes widened, and his arms snapped to his sides.

"Commander Belcanter," he said, bringing in the diplomatic tone he used with Korina, "I'm surprised to see you've come yourself."

Commander Belcanter banged his head on the side of the wall, and held it gingerly. "Well, I was in the area, and I believed that destiny would draw me here. Every seed falls with purpose, despite what the wind may tell you."

As he finished this statement, the other officers nodded, as if they had absorbed his words deeply. Maji seemed the same way, rubbing her chin as though enlightened by his words.

"I'm delighted now to see the results of your fine work, Captain Holt," Belcanter continued. "I remember the days of your field work quite well, though I had yet to meet you myself. You are as reliable as Korina commended to me."

"Thank you," Holt replied warily. "Now, if we could deal with these prisoners?"

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"Ah, of course," Belcanter said, and with a wave of his hand, the Library officers fanned out across the platform, wrapping up the barely-conscious Reapers in their official handcuffs. Tetia tipped her head at one of them, to no response. The prisoners were rounded up in neat and orderly fashion. Somehow, Berkel managed to feel like she was in the way of the Raza Library's perfect machine.

The leader of the School was half-awake as he was dragged to his feet, past Holt and Belcanter. His teeth were gritted, but as he looked towards the two officers, the cruelty in his features flashed a smile. Maji shuddered and looked away.

"He'll be questioned thoroughly for information on the School of Reaping," Belcanter assured Holt. "Up until now, the School was an urban legend. But as the forest grows, so too do its weeds. Now that they have reared their head, we have a chance to snuff them out." He reached his hand down to Holt. "Truly, well done."

Holt shook his hand, his gaze scattered to the Reapers with a look of unease. "Thank you."

"As for the rest of you," Belcanter said, turning to Berkel and Tetia in turn. "I extend personal gratitude as well. For a salmon will never make its journey before it learns to-"

"What's this guy on about?" Tetia whispered in Berkel's ear. Berkel, who had been watching the odd exchange with a curious fascination shrugged her shoulders, a small smile on her lips.

"I think he got a little too attached to some of the more... spirited leaves of nature," Berkel whispered back. Tetia smirked at the implication.

"I wonder which type though," Tetia murmured back. "Either you're right and he's definitely on something, or he has done way too much yoga." That did it for Berkel. She had to turn around and cough to cover up the sudden laugh that escaped her mouth.

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Holt, who seemed to have heard the conversation, ignored them. Maji, however, watched Berkel's sudden fit of 'coughing' with a bit of concern. "Are you okay?" She asked.

Berkel gave a wide smile. "I'm great. How are you? Your head grew back remarkably quickly," she noted.

Maji gave a small nod. "Yep." Her eyes whirred around a bit, the only indication that Maji was still shaken by what had happened, but Berkel dropped the subject.

She turned back to Belcanter, realizing she had probably missed one of his prophetic metaphors. She also realized she probably wouldn't have cared for it anyway. She had already begun to zone out.

"So after you take them back, what are you planning to do?" Berkel asked, not realizing she probably interrupted Holt and Belcanter's conversation until Holt sent her a discreet stern look. Belcanter turned to look at her.

"As I stated to Captain Holt, we intend to thoroughly question them all. We will, of course, keep all of you well informed, or as well informed as possible given your current... situation. Local enforcement is in place to protect the civilians, and allow me to again extend my thanks to all of you. Alone, the bee will fail. But with its hive of--"

Berkel cut him off. His metaphors, while amusing at first, were beginning to get a little annoying, and her brain was going to get off track if she allowed herself to be sucked into his undoubtedly high mind. "Yes, you already said you would question them. But what will you do after that?"

For a moment, he seemed a bit startled, as if he hadn't expected that question. Tetia, who seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Berkeley, clarified what Berkel meant. "Will you be releasing a public documentation of the situation? There were, as you already said, civilians on that train. Many of them could have been injured. We were looking at a potential hostage situation until Berkeley managed to restart the train."

"Yes, it was lucky you were there to stop them. Why, if you hadn't been on that train--"

"If we hadn't been on that train," Berkel put in, "there wouldn't have been a situation. They were there for us. And I don't mean to impose on any local authorities because you seem to run a tight ship around here, but why didn't you send out a team as soon as the train was stopped on the tracks? It seems unlikely the station managers didn't reach out to you as soon as it was recognized as an issue on their database. Was the station database malfunctioning? Because if so there may be a greater network issue that could affect your entire department and city if they were able to hack into the trains. You should have someone take a look at that if--"

Belcanter gave her a forcefully eerie and calm look, and Berkel's voice died in her throat. She swallowed, and it was now easily apparent to her why he was the leader of the Raza branch. He gave a tight-lipped smile, and said with an authoritative and forceful voice, one that left no room for discussion, "There is nothing for any of you to worry about. It's the overzealous forest that burns the fastest. I suggest you keep away from the flames."

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Tetia Lisrath Vernathil III

It took all of Tetia's energy not to scoff at the fire metaphor. Even half an hour later, she shakes her head. That man is from Raza. He knows nothing of fire and brimstone. A week in Eridus would teach him a lesson.

Admittedly, Tetia had no idea what Raza was like, but from what she had heard, it was forests. That was a thought. Other than the artificial forests of glass, the only forests Tetia had seen were in picture books and occasionally holographic simulations. The thought brings a smile to her face. It will certainly be interesting.

There were definitely things being said, Tetia could definitely hear the chattering as they were going through the final stretch of preparations to go to Raza, but her head just wasn't with it. She needed to re-fix her toes, which she really should have done before Commander Belcanter got there, but the changeling who shot their head off was the more pressing issue of the time, and also restraining the School of Reaping before they could pull anything else, so her sacrifice was worth something. Well, that's what Tetia had thought until her head grew back.

Honestly, changeling biology was just confusing to Tetia. Regardless of growing her head back - Tetia shivers at the thought - Maji probably needs a hug. Something she's pretty sure Holt didn't provide, though he's comforting in his own way. As much as it hurts her to think, Tetia can see why he's one of the superior officers. He had a way about him back there. Not that she'd ever tell him that.

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