Disclaimer: I don't own. There, you've been told.
Warning, this was something I tried, but I'm not totally happy with it.
Ripples.
:}
Tori knew she wasn't what you'd consider the most aware person ever, but this day, while mourning the loss of her friend, Tori was struck by the wrongness of the situation. 'Cat wasn't supposed to die like that, alone in the schools hidden electronic store room, up in the attic. She was supposed to live on, I just know it.' That thought brought the Latina back to that feeling, now even stronger, of the wrongness of her loss. The loss and the feeling that it just didn't make scene, that somehow this was wrong, circled in her mind, around and around, until it reached the point where she felt driven to seek some kind of answer. 'Someone has to know why, and why it just feels like this wasn't supposed to have happened.' Being a good girl, Tori started with the church. She'd been there anyways, visiting the grave.
Turned out that Church hadn't helped much, with all that spiel about Gods plan. The priest had tried, over and over, to explain things to the brown eyed girl, but it all came down to faith, that there had to be a reason for a girl to die from an animal attack, especially one that could have been avoided. "You just have to have faith, and be comforted knowing that God has a plan. She's with him now, in the comfort of his arms." The old man explained, and Tori almost lost her faith. It just felt so wrong to have Cat die like that, when she could have lived, and done who knows what else. Tori was certain God's plan involved something else, and had been altered somehow.
She thought about seeking comfort from Mark, her boyfriend, but somehow that just didn't feel right either. Mark had said he needed comfort, having lost such a good friend as sweet, innocent Cat, so he'd locked himself away in his room, with the curtains closed. Actually, he'd said he needed Tori to comfort him, but what he was hinting at, she still wasn't ready to do. Deep inside, almost to the point of certainty, she suspected that he was cheating on her, using Cat's death as an excuse. Tori hated that her not quite there inner voice, the one that warned her not to give anything away before she was ready, was telling her that this was Marks mode of operation. It was whispering, screaming, that he'd done something like this before. If he was cheating on her, then he probably cheated on that freak of an ex of his as well. 'Funny, she killed herself. Guess maybe he could have been partially responsible. But no one really liked her…'
It was the same inner voice that told her never to be alone with Mark when he was drunk, cause he was closer to the real bad boy then she'd dealt with up to that moment, and she didn't trust him. She had a whole set of rules when she was with him. Never be with him when he's drunk, or be drunk around him. Make sure her daddy, the cop, knew exactly where she was when she hung out with her boyfriend, and be in a group if possible. Not one of those rules said trust.
Tori remembered watching the gang as they mourned, lost in the pain of a life lost so young. The gang had been trying to be there for one another, but Tori just couldn't sit there and let the wrongness of everything get to her. She'd ducked out from her friends, unable to watch as Cynthia tried to comfort Beck, cause even that felt wrong. 'I can't explain it, but she just doesn't come across as his type. Maybe I'm being paranoid, cause she's so distant. But she's always supported us, never been jealous of anything we achieve. Like when I got the opening slot on the Platinum Music Awards, she's the one who helped Beck confront me, then turned around and told me to embrace the weird, and make it my own. That by working from within, I could shift things, change it, and be allowed to be me."
Cynthia, Becks long term girlfriend, had been as devastated as anyone when Cat died, but got over it a bit faster then everyone else. Her sometimes cold exterior only cracking for the briefest of times over he loss of the perky girl. And while Tori knew the blond had been a good friend, she still felt like something was wrong. 'Maybe she's just being strong for us, like she was for me when Mark tried to pressure me into a physical relationship before I was, am, ready.'
From the very beginning, the blond girl had accepted Tori into the group, never once showing any fear of losing her boy to the newcomer, even when she found Tori rubbing her boyfriend that first day. Throughout their many weird and madcap adventures, she'd been the constant, a little distant, cold, but still open to everyone. 'She makes Beck happy, so maybe I'm reading far too much into things. Cynthia's cold, distant, yet it's almost like she knows Beck isn't going anywhere. But how could that have effected Cat's death. The two things are not related. They can't be.' But for reasons the singer just couldn't put her finger on, it felt like they were, like somehow Cynthia's presence was what caused Cat to die in the schools attic.
In the days following the funeral, and burying Cat, the feeling Tori was having only grown stronger. Nothing, not the platitudes of the clergy, not the assurances of her friends, not even the broken look on Rex's face, had changed how wrong this whole thing was. But, as the feeling grew, Tori started to feel like she'd been feeling this wrongness a lot longer then just after Cat's death. 'Kinda like how I knew Mark was going to be yet another user, but still dated him.' The singer decided.
Tori had spoken to Lane about the tragedy, hoping he could make sense of things. But the counselor just sighed, and explained that Cat shouldn't have been there. "She had a place to live, family that cared for her. She should have been there, safe and away from the rabid animal that got her. If only we hadn't been too late..."
Tori wasn't ready to just accept that Cat brought this on herself. The petite girl was often simple, but had survived a crazy brother, so had to have had something that kept her safe from the users in this world. 'Then again, her brother was in Idaho, so maybe he'd been looking after her? I don't know, that just doesn't feel right either…' In her musings, she'd started reaching out for answers, taking suggestions from just about anyone, leading to her current destination.
The shop she was now standing outside of was recommended by one of the sound engineers that worked for Mason, who in turn claimed to have gotten this shops card from Stevie Nicks. Mason had agreed that in desperate times, she might find her answers in unusual places. With his blessings and encouragements, Tori had agreed to check the place out. 'And now I'm here, and what a place here is.' Not sure what else to do, Tori walked into the shop.
'I can't believe Mason got me out of school so I could do this.' She marveled at how the often selfish man had went out of his way to call the school and inform them she had a meeting she had to go to, and would miss most of her afternoon classes. She realized he knew how devastating losing a friend could be, so offered her what little support he could that only cost him about five minutes of his time.
The door creaked open, revealing a small, dark and uninviting shop filled to the rafters with various strange and intimidating objects. "Hello?" She called out.
"Can I help you?" An uncomfortably young woman asked. This girl looked to be about Tori's age, and to the mind of the singer, should have been in school. "I'm Glenda, and yes, thats my real name, fuck you very much. How can I help you?"
"I don't know, it's like somethings wrong." Tori started. The girl had far too much attitude for someone working in a shop. Besides, wasn't the rule that the customer was always right? 'I'd walk out of here, but maybe this is the place where I get an answer or two...'
"And you don't know what?" Glenda asked. "Okay, wait here." She walked into the back, coming forward with an older woman who looked to be her mother. "Mom, this girl is, I don't know, lost..."
"Come with me." The older woman said, leading Tori through the shop, past shelves full of old and new books, statues of various things, including dried herbs in jars, to what had to be a converted closet with a table in the middle. Tori sat near the door, while the older woman sat on the other side of the table, a wall to their one side, and the door to the other. "First, lets talk price. Depending on what your crises is, this could add up. Especially for a teenager like yourself."
"I have this expense account card from Neutronium." Tori held up the card. "Mason Thornsmith approved this shop, for whatever kind of counseling I'm supposed to get in a room like this."
The older woman looked over the card. "Mason sent me another one, huh? Lets see whats bothering you."
"I'm not sure." Tori started, but really didn't have much else. She decided to speak about Cat, when she was interrupted by the older woman putting up her hand.
The older woman then reached into a wooden box next to the table, and pulled out a cloth wrapped around something. Her fingers worked quickly, with practiced expertise, unfastening the strings that bound the bundle together. The dark purple cloth parted, folding out to reveal a deck of cards larger then the ones she used to play poker with her friends, maybe half again in each direction. Then, the old witch pushed the deck towards Tori. "Lets us start with the cards. Shuffle." She instructed. "Think about whats bothering you, focus on the feelings, and we'll see what the fates have to say."
Tori shuffled the cards, having trouble due to their size. But they shuffled, and she quickly mastered how to manipulate them. Then she followed instructions on cutting the cards, placing the pile in front of the old woman, who confidently drew three cards, looking at each before laying them down on the table in a row. "The cards won't do." The witch announced. Then she opened the door. "Glenda," She called, "This is serious. We may be a while."
"Okay, mom." The teen called back.
Tori, who was freaking out, asked "What did you see?"
"That you're fate had been changed, and the timeliness are still settling in." The seer replied. "No divination can help us." The old woman was busy re-bundling the cards and putting them away.
"We'll need a couple of the dragon's blood candles, and maybe some salt." The old witch yelled out the door again. What seemed like seconds later, Glenda showed up with a couple of reddish candles, a matchbook, and a small container of salt. The door closed, and the olde woman placed the candles in their holders and lit them. She then turned out the lights.
Next, the older woman got out a brazier, lit the coal, and put some strange smelling incense on it to burn, the smells mixing with the odd small of the candles, all of which made the room, and Tori's head, seem to crackle. "I'm going to open a path to whatever spirit is behind this, but I cannot ask the questions you will need answered. So I'm sending you." The seer explained
"Do I have to go…?" Tori mumbled, already regretting her decision to come to this shop.
"Only directly questioning the spirit who made the change can answer your questions, make things right again." The older woman clarified. "I'll put you in contact, open the doorway, and you can see what kind of influence you'll have over this spirit. But be warned, there is no telling what kind of ripples you're going to create trying to solve your dilemma. It is even possible the spirit is trying to minimize the ripples from the original change." The witch then started chanting, while using one hand to star the play of a CD, adding some kind of simple drum beat to the mix of sounds and smells. The strange words, the rhythmic drum beat, the smells of the various herbs and incenses, all started to slowly taking up more and more of Tori's awareness, until the Latina shot up, realizing she'd somehow drifted off to sleep.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" A voice asked. Tori's attention was drawn instantly to the figure, which looked like a demon, with scaly crimson hide, horns on it's head and bat like wings growing from it's back. It was huge, maybe ten feet tall, with a broad, solid build.
"A DEMON!" Tori screamed.
"Oh, right..." The demon looked almost embarrassed, shrinking and shifting it's form to that of a young man dressed like a stereotypical genie, in blood red pants and turban. His form had shrunk to maybe six foot tall, with a surprisingly average face. "Sorry, I forget that mortals tend to see us in a less then favorable way when they see us like that. I'm a genie, technically an Ifrit, but no biggie. I see your here about something to do with my last job." He seemed to be looking at something, for a second, before regarding Tori again.
"J-job?" Tori asked, trying to get control of herself.
"Yea." the Ifrit replied. "You see, I was called to grant a wish, and I did it, but there were consequences. There always are. So now I'm just sorting through the wreckage to see whats can be salvaged."
"Wreckage?" Tori asked.
"When you change one persons past, there are ripples. Then, as you try to correct those, that creates more. For instance, take that Cat girl. She was a friend of yours, right? Well, turns out, she wasn't supposed to die, and as a result, there are a lot of ripples to contend with." The spirit seemed very helpful.
"Why not find a way for her to live?" Tori asked.
"That would require someone taking actions." The spirit said. "First, they'd have to discover Cat's secretly living at school, then they'd have to make contact with her parents, or grandmother, or someone, to arrange a different living situation, since she clearly wasn't going back to her aunt and uncle. As is, Cat was eventually killed by a wild animal that had entered the school looking for rats. The janitor calls an exterminator for them, but needs to know someone is living in the rafter to avoid having that person exposed to poisons, or the crazed animal. If she'd been where she was supposed to have been, then the animal would have eaten some poison, like it did, and died before anyone got hurt. It would have had trouble getting down through the closed safety gates to get at people before it died, so no one would have been hurt, and it would have been business as usual. So, since she had no friend present to call her mother and make arrangements for her to live with her grandmother, thus getting her out of there, then Cat had to die. Just no other way I could have played it."
"So no biggie, just have one of her friends make that call." Tori tried.
"Thats how it happened in the original version." The genie said. "But by replacing that friend, your group lost the person willing to take that kind of initiative."
"Wait, who was replaced?' Tori demanded.
"This is getting tedious, and I have a lot left to do. Please, just go." The Ifrit said, looking annoyed.
"Who was replaced?" Tori demanded. "Look, you fulfilled a wish.."
"By someone else." The genie corrected her. "And the girl replaced, I was as nice to her as I could be, had her die out quietly so she wouldn't be alone and miserable for the rest of her life. Even if she did live, she was out of the group, and wouldn't have been able to save her friend."
"Jade..." Tori's eyes opened. "The girl who Mark dated before me, her name was Jade, but I also know, somehow, that Jade was my friend..."
"No!… Okay, yes, she was, but she didn't like to admit it. And you remember how dark she was?" The tired spirit asked. "Remember the differences. Jade was worn down by feeling like she had no value. She dated Mark cause she felt worthless, and after he raped her, you know, after getting her drunk first, well she couldn't take the pain and ended her own life."
"He raped her?" Tori asked, more shocked then angry.
"Trust me, it was, in it's own way, a mercy. Saved her fifteen years of growing despondence before she wound up eating a gun, alone in her appurtenant in new York." He explained. "Without Beck to temper her, she didn't grow her social skills enough to compromise, and that cost her, made her a lot of enemies that had long memories and longer reach. And while she was strong enough to take Mark in her original time line, she just didn't have it in her this one. She even felt like she deserved it, just a little."
"She's the one replaced..." Tori said, seeing both of the memories lines now. "And Cynthia…?"
"Nice enough girl, but in the original time line dated Mark and yea she avoided being raped by him, but only cause she believed one of his lines, and slept with him willingly. Anyways, after they broke up, she sought a way to get the perfect boyfriend, and to save that perfect boyfriend from his destructive harpy of a girlfriend." The Ifrit explained.
"So make it so Jade was Cat's friend anyways." Tori tried. "Or have someone notice and help..."
"First, none of you could, cause of your own dramas. Second, Jade was friends with the others by association." The spirit tried. "She was dating Beck, and that brought her into the group. Without him, she would never have been Andre or Robbie's friend. And she ceded Cat to them so her friend, Cat, could be near the influential boys. Without someone to drag her into the group, I'm afraid Jade kills herself some time during the year you start there. I'm sure you know the timeframe better then I do."
"So to save Cat, I need to have Jade in the group, and to do that, we need her dating Beck?" Tori asked. "Just do that."
"Again, it's not your wish. I do have, as part of a wish, a request to cause the group as little pain as possible, but thats just created scads of work. Jade was a beast, but she also helped out, and replacing her turns out to be harder then I thought." The spirit complained. "The influences she's had on your life alone has been almost impossible. Just think of how many times your sister has acted way out of character, even for her...
"Then find some way to make her part of the group." Tori demanded, ignoring the time her sister pushed her off that platform. "That would fix everything."
"Maybe, let me check.." The spirit said, looking through the air, not seeming to notice her. "No, it still creates work. I can't make that happen without a wish."
"Please, I'll do whatever I can to help her, just give us back out grunch." Tori tried begging.
"So your willing to pay a price?" He asked. Before she could answer, he then shot. "Fine, but you're paying the price."
"What, she's taking my place?" Tori asked, now worried. It had been far too easy in the end.
"No, she just needs someone to contain her." The Ifrit had an evil smile on his face. "Someone to invite her into the group. That, my friend, would be you. And with you agreeing, it makes my life easier. It even makes things better…." His voice faded, and she couldn't shake the shivers his voice still left in her spine. Her last memory was his demonic visage, an evil smile on his fanged face, as she felt her body falling.
Tori came out of her trance sitting in the shop, looking at the old witch. "Four hundred dollars, please. We'll put it on Masons charge, okay?"
It took Tori only a few moments to get the transaction completed. "So, what do you think happened?" She asked nervously.
The old woman looked at her, then at some crystal they had on display in the case, shielding it with her hands to keep out the light, before answering. "Things are on the right path now, I think. No idea what you spoke to the spirit about, so I have no idea what might have come from things. Just relax, and thanks the gods you didn't willingly take on any karma, cause that can cause all kinds of changes in your fate." The witch smiled, and Tori couldn't help but think how she's said almost nothing. It was deep.
Now having paid, and wanting to know what, if anything, had changes, she rushed back to school. Deep in the back of her mind, she knew only she and Mason would know anything was different, and him only cause he'd paid for it. 'And so did I, I think.' A part of her was still afraid that Cat would be dead, and she'd have spent four hundred dollars of Masons money for nothing. 'Or worse, I'd spent the money to wind up in a more screwed up situation.' It didn't even occur to her that she was still on masons account.
She got back in time to see Beck and Cynthia laughing about something. 'Their no longer mourning, so thats a plus, right?' She thought. Somewhere in her mind, she knew there would be even more memories, but until they were triggered, she'd be stuck in the old reality. Dread about nothing changing still clung to her.
"But Rooobiieeee." Came a whine she was sure she'd never hear again. Cat walked into the main hall, trailed by Robbie. "I don't waaaannaaa work with Rex!"
"But I need help, and Rex is a major part of that act." The nerdy boy protested. Still, it filled Tori's heart to know this Cat was very close to the one she'd originally known, living in Venus with a girl from Seattle. Andre was near by, trying not to laugh at the two quibbling. Tori had to admit, it was kinda funny.
'But what about Jade?' Her thoughts,. And the memories they brought, were cut off by a loud, boisterous voice.
"Yo, Tori, why not go out with me, let me show you how a real man treats a lady." Mark announced. "You'll find that it's wonderful, once you stop resisting."
Memories of how dangerous he was, just because he didn't respect her or any girls boundaries, raced through her mind, mixing with other memories of happy dating for the last, 'how long…' Tori wondered as she backed away from Marks looming presence. All she could see was him, closing in, cutting off her escape. It didn't matter that they were in school, that he wouldn't dare try anything there. Only his threading presence filled her awareness.
"And what did I tell you about propositioning my girlfriend?" That voice, from just behind the boy and around the corner, near where her locker should be, sent a new wave of shivers down Tori's spine. Only this time they were good shivers, full of hope and love and relief that things had changed for the better. Jade West, alive and once again part of the group, had arrived. "Maybe you didn't believe it when I warned you that I'd use a pair of hedge clippers to cut off your tiny dick, and then I'd sodomize you with it until you learned that girls aren't waiting to be taken by guys. Do I really need to prove it to you?"
Mark turned to stare down the dangerous goth, but as she approached, step by step, he lost his nerve. It was a battle he couldn't win. Even if he managed to beat her down, and that was risky, it didn't win him much. However, being ripped a new one by a girl he had on good authority hadn't lost a fight since her and Tori got into it on "The Woods," and that was a lovers spat, would not only physically hurt, it would confirm that he wasn't the toughest thing at school. Jade held that reputation for a while now. Mark knew she didn't keep it by anger and yelling alone. She was terrifying.
Jade smiled at the boy, and in a creepy stage whisper, said "Run!" He took off like the devil himself was after the would be rapist.
Tori was amazed to remember exactly what the goth could do. The day, in one set of memories, that Jade had threatened them with a roll of toilet paper, it turns out wasn't a hollow threat. With her confidence secured, Jade was able to learn things that amazed Tori, their friends, even her father, and he was a cop. Jade was a trained fighter, something she'd given up on in the other time line. 'Actually, in this time line, she's more dangerous then ever. What have I done?' Tori thought, but felt no horror. She knew this Jade was secure, and had nothing to worry about. Tori loved her girl.
Then it hit Tori, full glorious memories of how they'd met. Of Trina being assigned a vocal coach, and Jade having agreed to do it to get out of detention. How those days at the Vega residence not only solidified her friendship with Andre, it started both friendships for Jade. Tori remembered getting into the school, and Jade not being too thrilled about it. How Jade didn't react well to Tori being welcomed with open arms into the most exclusive group in their grade, while she was still mostly an outsider. That led to the stage-fighting indecent, and that to them coming together. Dating followed, then sex, and now, after almost three years together, it was so close to how things had been in the original time line. 'Holy chiz, I've been in a relationship for three frigging years!' Tori thought with a shock.
Jade had stepped into her, pulling the Latina into a kiss. Tori had deliberately shifted their bodies so her right side was facing the lockers. That allowed her right hand to slip up Jade's body and cup a breasts, all hidden by their kissing. 'She likes it when I take risks.' Tori reminded herself. As dominant as Jade was, she liked to be the lady, have her lover make the first move. Tori slipped her right hand off of the goths tit and around to her ass.
"And what have I told you about fornicating in the halls?" Dickers voice cut through the moment.
"Not until we're both eighteen, and not in front of anyone under eighteen." Jade said, and as sarcastic as it sounded, that seemed to be the answer the vice principal had wanted.
"Now, in private, and after school, thats up to the two of you." He added. "But no shows like that at this school."
As they broke apart, but walked together to their last class of the day, Tori couldn't help but think of how much better her life had turned out because of Jade. Yes, they had their fights, and the whole tiff around the Platinum Music Awards had been awful. But it led to the best night of sex Tori could have imagined, as well as Mason agreeing to try to arrange potential contracts for both girls.
'Cynthia, you can have Beck.' Tori decided. 'I'll pay the price, all the good and bad of being involved with my deranged goth, and enjoy the benefits. She cares, and if you let her show it, make sure she doesn't regret it, then she can be wonderful..'
:}
Thoughts, comments, ideas, go ahead and send them to me. I just wanna know what you think. I know it's not my best work, but I just needed to get it out.