"When the leaves turn orange, it means the seasons are changing and a great transaction is taking place, but take heed, not all transitions are peaceful." - Roy G. Biv
Laying on her bed, underneath a thin orange blanket, Jack was curled up around her dog, Goldie, who was laying on top of the blanket. Both of them were sound asleep. The dog was breathing softly, his chest rising and falling at a slow pace as warm air escaped his nose on every exhale. Every now and then his front right paw would twitch, bumping up against Jack's hand, her arm resting across his body.
She was curled up around him, hugging his body close as she could. Her breath came in and out gently, her mouth just slightly open as small noises came from it due to her breathing. She started to stir a bit, groaning softly as sunlight began to peer through her window and fall upon her face. "I... don't want to get up... and go to school..." She grumbled before hearing footsteps from the front of the house. Goldie's ears twitched as he slowly lifted up his head.
"Mom..." Jack muttered, quickly sitting up, her eyes wide. "Dad..." In an instant, her bare feet hit the wooden floor as she rushed towards her door while wearing an oversized orange shirt and a pair of black shorts. Goldie too jumped up, his ears flopping as he launched himself onto the floor with his nails clattering against it.
"Come on, boy." She tossed the door open, watching as her dog bolted out with scrambling feet. "Hold up! I didn't mean that fast!" She shouted, running behind him as she left her door open.
Her eyes quickly darted inside her parent's bedroom, seeing nothing but a messy bed and a few dirty clothes. There wasn't a single sign of life. She shook her head, pressing her feet harder and faster against the floor. "Mom! Dad!" She called out, skidding to a stop inside the kitchen as she heard the front door slam shut.
Jack blinked very slowly, softly breathing as she lowered her head. "Always here for a second then gone the next..." Her jaw tightened as her hands balled up into tight fist. She heard Goldie whine, scratching at the door to follow the other two people in his family that were never around. She sniffed, reaching up to rub her eyes a bit. "Stupid. Stupid thinking I could see them." She shook her head, slowly reaching into her pocket and pulling out her orange time stone.
She thought for a moment, contemplating on whether or not she should go backwards in time. She still had no clue how these magical rocks worked, or if there would be any side effects, but seeing her parents before she left for school...
She finally scoffed, shaking her head as she tossed her stone onto the table. "Not even worth it." She muttered, heading towards the cabinets. "Come here, Goldie! Food time!" She suddenly smiled, softly chuckling as she heard the pitter patter of canine footsteps. She flipped her orange hair, winking down at her dog who sat down beside her with his tongue hanging out and what seemed to be a smile on his face. "Oh! You are so silly!" She laughed, opening the cabinet and pulling out a metal bowl along with a small bag of dog food that was salmon flavor.
"Sure, sure, sure, sure, I am!" She said in a low voice, glancing down at Goldie who tilted his head. "Just give me food pleaaaaase!" His tail began to wag, rapidly beating against the floor.
"Okay, okay." Jack said in defence, placing the bowl down as she squated. She quickly began filling it with kibble. Before she even finished, the golden retriever was already shoving his snout into the bowl. She rolled her eyes, softly laughing as she stood back up and put the bag away. "Love ya too, boy." She smiled to herself as she began to look through the kitchen, trying to find something for her to eat.
Though, there wasn't really much for her to find, despite her heavy searches. And as time passed, she eventually had to give up on her scavenge and say goodbye to Goldie for the day. She honestly would have loved to stay home, it's not like her parents would care if she did or didn't, and spending the day with Goldie sounded so much better than the idiots at that academy, but something always made her go. She didn't know what it was exactly, but her best guess was that it was her friends who were there every second of the day with her.
Meanwhile, Rosa sat at a large dark brown wooden table made from oak with a napkin in her lap in the large dining hall of her mansion like home, already dressed and prepared for school. On a plate in front of her there was a large Belgian waffle with almond butter and all natural syrup. Next to it was a small scoop of scrambled eggs and a few small pieces of ham. To the upper left was a bowl of sliced strawberries, blueberries, sliced bananas, and apple slices. To the left of that was a much smaller bowl of yogurt. In the upper right, there was a cup of organic one percent milk, already half drank.
The redhead picked up her fork in her left hand, the knife in her right, as she began to carefully cut a piece of her waffle off. All while making sure her posture was straight and elbows were low and off the table. "Madame Baile even says that if I keep improving and working as hard as I do that she might give me the lead in the next performance." She smiled, looking up at her parents as she took a small bite of her food.
"Oh? Really?" Her mother paused as she went to scoop up some oats and berries from her bowl. There was alo a dash of almond milk in it, not too much though. "That's wonderful!" She was a beautiful woman, her silk like light red hair was pulled back into a short ponytail as her crimson eyes sparkled in the light. She was already in her emergency room uniform, proudly wearing the badge that said Nurse Buds across her heart. "Well I will definitely make sure I have time to come wath you if you do." She smiled with a nod, setting down her utensil before picking up her glass of orange juice.
"And I'll be there too, sweetie." Rosa's father gave a gentle nod. His hair was a dark blue, almost black color, and was combed over to his right. He also had a faint beard, it neatly trimmed and cut short. "You're my favorite dancing daughter." Like his wife, he too was wearing his hospital outfit. His badge reading Doctor Buds.
"I am your ONLY daughter, father." Rosa gave off a small laugh, cutting off another piece of her waffle. She quickly chewed it and swallowed before speaking again. "Though I wouldn't mind a sister. Or a brother." She softly laughed, a hand over her mouth.
"Your mother works in the emergency room, Rosa." Her father flashed a smile, cutting off a piece of his waffle which had several slices of strawberries on it and no syrup. "NOT neonatology."
"I mean, I wouldn't mind working there for a little." She eyed him back smiling.
"Uh... what?" The young redhead raised an eyebrow confused.
"Nothing, nothing." Her mother sighed, reassuring her. "Your father and I are just a little tired from work. With all the attacks happening lately and that Sephet Slayer, it has been exhausting."
Rosa blinked in the silence as she set her knife down and slowly began to eat her eggs. "I guess we should be a little grateful for those... oh what were they called, Rainbow Time Dancers, huh? I heard they got rid of that Grimm real quick." She smiled a little more.
"Grateful? I don't know about that..." Her father muttered quietly with a sigh. "They are inexperienced obviously and reckless. They may have done good, but they had also caused a lot of trouble. And here we are calling them heroes."
"Honey..." Her mother sighed, shaking her head as she placed her hands in her lap. "Listen, Rosa, what he is trying to say is that those girls looked young and they didn't know the first thing of combat. And even though they killed a Grimm that would have destroyed a fair amount of the town, they caused quite a bit of damage themselves. They don't deserve the title of heroes. Not yet at least." She grabbed her spoon, going back to her oats. "Understand?"
"Yeah, I do, mother." Rosa nodded in agreement, though with her question that she hoped she would get a little extra praise from her parents even if it wasn't direct, it ended up leaving her with more questions. Did she and her friends do the right thing? And also... if her parents saw a picture of these six girls, how did they not notice who they were?
She sighed softly, shaking her head as she glanced up at the large chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It sparkled light gold and diamonds, the class it was made out of completely crystal clear with the bronze polished to perfection.
Waking up from the sound of a glass bottle shattering on the ground followed by a rageful yelling fit, Ami groaned softly to herself with a sigh. She shifted around underneath a violet colored blanket that had a few holes, curling up while on her couch. She pulled the fabric over her face, clenching her eyes shut as she heard her father staggering around the place.
"Where's... where's that freakin' flask... of mine..." He belched, grunting as he walked into a chair and stumbled over it. Ami sighed, slowly peeking through one of the holes in the blanket to look at him. He had dark purple hair that was shaggy and a mess along with thick scruff on his chin. His face was darker than hers, wrinkled and oily from the years. He used to be a gorgeous man, classy suit and tie like, but that was years ago.
Before her mother had simply up and left them.
Ami had told herself she had moved past it, even told her friends the same thing, but deep down she knew. She still wasn't over that betrayal. Not even after all these years.
Her father slowly stumbled around for a while, swaying in every direction before he somehow miraculously made it to the bathroom. Without shutting the door, he hunched over, falling onto his knees over the toilet as he began to vomit.
The smell didn't even affect Ami anymore. She was extremely used to it by this point that sometimes she swore she couldn't even smell it. She tossed the blanket off her, throwing it onto the back of the couch as she walked towards the kitchen. As always, her hair was a messy side ponytail over her right shoulder as she wore her sweatshirt and sweatpants. Though her father's rags didn't look any better.
Hearing her father puke more, she heavily sighed and opened up a small cupboard. She pulled out a plastic cup and quickly filled it with water. She slowly started to walk out of the kitchen, rubbing her left eye a bit as she held the cup of water in her right hand. She stepped beside him, placing the cup by his right leg. "Here." She muttered, clearly half asleep. "You said to make sure you stay hydrated the next time-" She stopped herself, ducking down and stepping back to miss a swing of his arm.
"Stop talkin' so loud! For the love of Oum!" He slurred on his words, groaning deeply as he placed his hands on the seat of the toilet, pushing his head inside as he began to throw up again.
Ami scoffed a bit, crossing her arms as she turned away and walked off with yet another yawn. "Whatever." She mumbled to herself, eyeing a clock hanging on the wall. Even though it didn't say the correct time, she knew exactly what the real time was by looking at the broken clock.
"I have twenty minutes to get to school..." She sighed deeply, walking back into the kitchen as she stretched her arms. "Alright, let's see." She scratched her head, opening a cabinet which was overflowing with small snack sized bags of chips. "Um, salt and vinegar sounds good. Yeah." She nodded, grabbing the blue bag labeled so. She slipped on a pair of shoes, not even caring to comb her hair as she headed towards the door.
"Yay, seventh grade." She waved her hands around, speaking with exasperation before she grabbed a small black and purple backpack with one large pocket and a smaller one. She threw it over her left shoulder as she opened the door with her right hand which was also holding her bag of chips. "Later, papa!" She called out, shutting the door behind her just before he started to yell.
At the same time, at Eritque Arcus Academy, Jack swerved between several other students while riding her bicycle through the playground of the school. Still riding at lightning speed, she jumped off, her feet hitting the ground as she ran beside it with a soft grunt. She slowed the momentum of the bike, bringing it to a stop just in front of a bike rack. Picking up the front wheel, she placed it over the metals bars with a small huff of air.
"Still fast enough." She just barely smirked as she reached up, unclipping her helmet and hanging it from her handle bars on the straps. Unlike the other students, she didn't have a backpack. When it came to carrying her books, she would hold them in her hand. And much like Pi and Ami, she got notebooks from the lost and found. They weren't in perfect condition, but the did do their job.
She stepped up the stairs to the front doors of the academy, passing by a boy with brown hair. "Hey, Jack! What's up!" He held out his hand, high-fiving her.
She smiled back. Pulling her wavy hair over her left shoulder. "Just enjoying the fresh air before we get thrown into prison again." She joked with a wink. "Later, Marron!" She gave him a nod, pushing the doors forward as she stepped inside the school.
The sound of shoes scruffing against the floor quickly filled her ears. The echoes of lockers slamming shut filled the hallways and went in every direction. Student's voices erupted, multiple conversations going on at once. Though, there was one voice Jack wasn't particularly proud to hear.
"There! There she is!" Rose's voiced snapped, breaking the orange haired girl from her trance. As she turned her head to the side, she saw Rose and a well dressed man in a black suit and tie. His hair was the same color as his clothes, cut short with a neatly shaven face.
"Huh?" Jack raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms as she shifted her weight onto one foot. "What's this about?" She asked innocently.
"You KNOW!" The pink haired girl narrowed her eyes, pointing at the other. "She's the one who punched me in the face the other day, Professor Black." She pouted, crossing her arms as her pink curls pounced.
"I see." The man behind her nodded, his hands resting at his sides loosely. "Do you have anything to say to that accusation, Miss Lantern."
"I um..." Jack blinked a few times, her mind not thinking of a good comeback. She finally sighed, reaching into her pocket with a sigh. "Let's retry this." She sighed to which Black raised and eyebrow.
To her, the world went in reverse until she was on her bicycle once again. She jumped off it, quickly taking off her helmet. Quickly walking up the steps, she smiled with a wink at the brown haired boy as she fist bumped him. "Hey, Marron." He gave a soft chuckle in response, nodding his head at her.
"Okay, I got this." Jack smiled as she entered the building, waiting for the cue.
"There! There she is!" Rose's voice snapped once again as she walked up, stopping a few feet from her with Black standing behind her.
"Excuse me?" She raised an eyebrow, giving off a confused expression.
"You know!" Her eyes narrowed as she looked up at the headmaster of the school. "She's the one who punched me in the face the other day, Professor Black!"
"I see..." He gave a slow nod, staring at Jack with peculiar black eyes. "Is that true, Miss Lantern?" He raised a brown, his body shifting.
"Not in the slightest!" She protested, pushing her orange hair behind her ear. "Why would I come to school when I don't even need to? That's crazy!"
"That's because you were meeting with Rosalinda! You're nothing but a little group of bandits!" Rose snapped, eyes narrowing coldly as she glared into the orange pair before her.
"Well at least we can kick your butt, unlike your band of..." Sh trailed off, sighing at what she just said. "Shoot." She quickly reached into her pocket, Black narrowing his eyes.
Jack roughly rubbed her eyebrows as she jumped off her bike for the third time, landing with a soft grunt. She immediately bolted up the stairs, hitting her forearms up against someone else's. "S'up, Marron." She flashed a smile, glancing back.
"S'up, Jack." He gave her a two fingered salute, watching her rush inside.
"Okay, come on , come on." She tapped her foot rapidly, waiting waiting for that voice.
"There! There she is!" Rose's voiced shot through the air like a bullet. "She's the one who punched me in the face the other day, Professor Black." She let out a huff of air, her luscious locks bouncing.
"Are you sure it was her?" He raised an eyebrow, looking down at her as he moved his arms across his chest.
"Yes!" She tossed her arms down, stomping her foot. Her spoiled side showing. "I am!"
"If I may speak?" Jack raised a hand, slowly lowering it at the headmaster's nod. "I was here at the school two days ago, one of my friends takes summer classes and we all decided to meet up, but I didn't see Rose at all." She shook her head. "And the last time I saw her was months ago on the last day of school. I don't know what this is about. My friends would vouch for me."
Seeing Black nod with an approved look on his face, he slowly turned back to Rose. "I can't do much about this. It is her word against yours, Miss Jolie."
The small pink girl gave off a small yet high pitched scream, stomping her foot. "That's not fair! You work here to protect students and Jacklyne is a hazard to my health! My father could fire you!"
"Miss Jolie." He crossed his arms. "I work for the school board, not your father." He took a step back, nodding towards Jack. "Good day, Miss Lantern." He nodded towards Rose. "Miss Jolie." With that he turned on his heels, striding away.
Rose growled, glaring at the orange haired girl. "This isn't over." She muttered, her hands balling up into fist as she whipped her head away and walked off.
"Getting in trouble already?"
A voice came from behind her, making Jack turn around. She then smiled, seeing Sky walk up with a sports duffle bag colored blue and white over her right shoulder. "Pff." She reached up, rubbing the back of her head. "It never ends."
She rolled her eyes, shaking her head a little as she stepped up and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. She'll get what's coming to her one day." She reassured.
"I surely hope so." Rosa walked inside the school, shaking her hair a bit. Like usual, she had her school bag and lunch box firmly gripped in her hands. "I know I'm tired of that wicked attitude of hers."
"Dito." The orange haired girl rolled her eyes, eyeing Sky's bag. "Guessing practice is starting up right after school?"
"Yep." She sighed some. "But at least this means we will be ready for the season later on."
"It also means you can't hang out with us much after school anymore." Pi came up to her friends, walking down the hallway with a green and black hiking style day pack on her back, fully loaded with books. "Which means less time for magic." She waved her fingers around.
"Speaking of that..." Rosa started, trailing off, watching as Lem suddenly pounced her way into the group.
"Guys! Guys! Guys! Look!" She held up a pale brown messenger bag. "Mommy and daddy got me a new bag for school!"
Jack blinked once, smiling at the blonde before holding out her fist. "Nice, Lem."
"I know!" She squealed, punching her fist back before bouncing around again. "I'm so happy!"
"Well, we're all almost here. Anyone seen Ami?" Sky raised an eyebrow, looking around.
"I'm here! I'm here!" Said violet colored girl panted, bursting through the front doors as she stumbled inside. "I'm... here..." She let out a heavy huff of air, her hands on her knees. She then started to chuckle, hearing the school bell ring. "Nailed it..." She smiled.
Rosa shook her head with her own smile as she started to walk away from the group. "Come on, we have orientation to get to." She glanced back at her friends. "And I would like to not be late when we have a new headmaster. We don't need him thinking we are trouble makers like the last."
"That wasn't my fault!" Lwm complained as they started to follow. "Jack was the one-" She was cut off, a finger on her lips.
"We don't speak of that. Remember?" Jack narrowed her eyes before smiling as she reached up and ruffled the blonde's hair with a faint chuckle.
A couple minutes passed, the school bell ringing again. The halls completely empty aside from a few scattered papers, and dead silent. Professor Black slowly walked down these halls, his dress shoes tapping against the tile floor with each step he took. He stroked his chin with his left hand, his right hand holding up his elbow.
"No, no." He shook his head, lowering his arms with a sigh. "I can't say that to the students. They'll think I'm crazy." He finally sighed again, stopping in front a set of double doors. He took a deep breath, bracing his hands up against it. "Just, encourage them, Black." He shook his head, pushing the doors open as a rush of a crowd of students talking overcame the silence he was in moments ago.
As he stepped inside, the gymnasium grew quiet. Their voices turning into small murmurs before fading away and going silent. Black took a deep breath, moving his hands behind his back as he stood up straight with dignity and pride.
"Students," He began to shift his eyes across the children sitting on the bleachers as he spoke. "I am quite sure all of you have heard of your former headmaster's resignation, and I am also fairly certain all of you are already bored of this speech. But according to the school board, I sadly have to do this."
He smiled faintly, hearing a small laugh come up from the crowd before going silent again. "My name is Professor Black." He motioned to himself with his hand before giving a gentle bow with his head. "I know I am new here but I wish for you to treat me as well as you did your previous headmaster. I am a very fair man, I assure you this. If you are to mess up once or forget something one day, I will most likely let that slide."
His arms then crossed. "But with my leniency, I will also expect much more out of you. This is an academy. It is a place for learning and a place where all of you can further your minds. With that said, this is not a place for petty squabbles between opposing sides. This is a place for gaining knowledge, not instigating fights and goofing off."
He let his arms fall to his side, hanging there gently. "I hope we can come to terms with each other." He gave a small nod. "Now off to your first classes. All of you." He turned around, starting to walk off. As he did, he glanced back at the crowd, eyeing out that specific orange hair. "I can not wait to get to know all of you."
"Well," Sky blinked a few times, watching the new headmaster step out as she stood and pulled her duffle bag over her shoulder. "He seems pretty cool. I like him." She looked over at Rosa, smiling with a nod.
The redhead rolled her eyes, shaking her head a little as her fingers curled around her lunch box and school bag. "You're just happy this headmaster doesn't know how absolutely insane the six of us are." She smiled back as she stood.
"Yet." A wicked grin formed across her face as she held up her right index finger. "Can't forget to add yet to that statement." She started to walk down the steps of the bleachers, the other girls following.
"You know what would be cool, guys?" Lem looked around at her friends, her left pointer finger holding her chin up as her yellow eyes sparkled. "What if we didn't get into trouble at all this year?" Her smile grew as she let her arms hang down at her sides, softly swinging them. "Doesn't that sound fun?"
Sky glanced back at the young blonde before looking over her at the orange haired girl stepping behind her. Jack and her exchanged looks, blinking a few times The two then quickly burst into laughter, the blue haired girl rubbing her eyes. "Jack not get in trouble?! You're joking, right?! She ALREADY got called out today!"
"It's true! Can't lie!" Jack shook her head, rubbing her eyes as her laugh died down.
Lem gave a soft pout, crossing her arms as her hair gently swayed back and forth. "You're such a trouble maker, you know?" She glanced at her.
Chuckling, the orange brute wrapped her arm around the blonde's neck. "You know you love me. I make things entertaining! Besides... it wasn't my fault. Rose started it."
"Sounds like her." Pi muttered, pulling her sleeves over hr hands. "Someone really should put her in her place."
"I can second that..." Ami said quietly, yawning with her sleeves pushed up over her forearms slightly. She then stopped, looking down a hallway with a sign saying doors number 380-450. "Hey, my first class is down this way. Catch you guys at lunch or if we have the same classes?" She eyed the group.
"Forever and always." Rosa smiled back at her, giving a nod as she lifted up her arm holding her lunch box, waving it along with her hand. "Later!"
As the morning went on, so did the six young girls lives... and so did their quest for heroism.
"I actually heard a Beowolf roar, man." A boy in a red and black plaid shirt, jeans with holes, and mud encrusted boots. He leaned across his desk, shaggy black hair dangling over his eyes. He flashed a smile, showing a missing front tooth from the upper part of his mouth. "It was right outside my bedroom window too. Pa said ma would have screamed if she hadn't passed out in fear."
In the same classroom, Pi looked over from her notebook, eyeing Jack who was mindlessly staring out the window. "Hey." She gently kicked her, getting her attention. Though it shouldn't of been concern to her, she had far many other things to worry about, she couldn't help but worry about the close Grimm encounter her classmate had.
Maybe it was because she finally had the power to stop the creatures of the dark. With these weird magical time stones, all her friends had the power to help the town of Fabula. They were granted a gift by the gods, they should at least use it to help people instead of hoarding it. That wasn't what power was for. With great power there came a great responsibility, maybe protecting the city was it.
"Huh?" Jack blinked, looking over. She slid her arm down, her head previously resting on the palm of her hand. "Yeah, what's up?" She whispered, doing her best not to get caught by the teacher.
Pi gave a sigh, tapping her pencil against her notebook as she tilted her head back towards the student and his story about the Grimm. She quickly eyes him with her eyes, looking back at her friend quickly.
She raised an eyebrow, leaning back in her seat with her eyebrows raised. While there, she stretched her back, giving off a soft groan. She listened to his story for a bit before she laid her arms back out across her desk. Even though she didn't want to make it seem like she care, she nodded with a gulp. "I know what you're thinking. And I agree." She whispered in a hushed tone, glancing at the green haired girl before looking away.
Elsewhere, Sky sat with narrowed eyes as she listened to her current events teacher go on and on. With her right hand holding the side of her head up, her elbow pressing up against a stack of books, hr left was in her hoodie pocket, twirling her blue stone around in her fingers. Her right leg also bounced rapidly, her energy building up from sitting to long as her left leg was slightly pushed back.
"Those in power may be doing their very best to control this massive wave of Grimm attacking Fabula lately," The instructor went on, writing short handed notes across a chalk board. "The amount of warriors on hand seem to be dwindling. More and more men are wanting an education rather than picking up a sword and fighting for their people. They think others will fight for them." She sighed, pausing for a moment. "Though they couldn't be more wrong."
Taking that in, Sky slowly eyed her pocket, flipping the stone between her fingers a little more before she stopped. She let out a small and quiet exhale of air, shaking her head a bit as she looked back up at the chalk board. Maybe it wasn't a coincidence that her friends and she had found these stones. Maybe it was fate. Or maybe it was something far more powerful.
Freezing time still in the middle of a lecture, Rosa twirled a folded up piece of paper in her fingers, tossing it across the room onto Lem's desk before resuming time.
The blonde blinked a little at the sudden appearance of the paper. After a moment, she shook her head, reaching out and unfolding it across her notes which were actually drawings of animals. On the paper was one simple question. Do you think what we are doing is right?
She blinked, quickly picking up her pencil with a dog eraser cap on it, writing down her own message. When she finished, she folded it back up and glanced back at Rosa. With a nod, the redhead held out her hand below her desk. With that, Lem slowed time to a near stop, tossing the note back.
The second it touched the redheads hand, time resumed. She snatched it up with ease, bringing it to the top of her desk as she unfolded it. What do you mean? Shouldn't we help people? And help fight Grimm now that we can?
Sighing, she quickly wrote back, freezing time and throwing it over. As things ran normally, Lem unfolded the paper, eyeing Rosa's writing. That's not what I mean. Helping people is always good. But what if they don't want OUR specific help? Do any of us really know what we are doing?
She gave a sigh, looking back at Rosa. She then shrugged softly, folding the note back up and sticking it in her pocket. She was right, what did any of them know about being warriors? She shook her head, brushing off the thought as she picked up her pencil again and began to doodle across her notes.
An hour later, Ami was sitting in a silent classroom, staring at her math homework as she pretended to work. It was only until she saw Lem's head pop up from the window in the door did her head tilt in confusion though. She blinked rapidly, raising an eyebrow.
Outside of the room, while holding a restroom pass, Lem took a deep breath, slowing time down to a near stop again. She quickly ran inside the classroom, placing the note she and Rosa had written on Ami's desk before darting out. She gently shut the door, letting out a small gasp for air as time resumed normal speed. She peeked back in the window, pointing towards the note before running off.
Dazed and confused, the violet haired girl tilted her head in the other direction. "Uh..." She blinked rapidly before looking down at her desk. She blinked once, sitting up straight at the note sitting above her homework. She quickly read through it before she shoved it into her small backpack without even folding it.
She looked around, giving a small sigh. Sure, they were new at this whole superhero thing, but how hard could it be? It's wasn't like their was orientation or anything of the sorts. All they could do was get up and go for it. Maybe that was what they were suppose to do. Maybe the superhero world was dominated by those who learned from trial and error. Though... that seemed like a lot of work. Plus, superheroes weren't real. There was only warriors with auras and semblances and Dust. There was nothing special like magic about them,
Ami sighed, shaking the thoughts from her head as she tapped her pencil across her sheet of math problems. She let her head lower. Laying her head on the desk as she began to write.
Half of the day had come and gone, the group of six girls all getting antsy as they waited for the lunch bell to ring. Even Rosa, who had been going to school nearly year round couldn't wait for class to end. She wanted out more than ever. With hearing all the talk about Grimm attacks, the four walls felt like they were closing in on her, making the room smaller and smaller despite the amount of people inside. She wanted out and couldn't have been more excited when the bell rang.
Lem too couldn't have been more please as she heard the bell sound off. It was strange, but it felt like everything was going slower for her. Each second felt like a minute. She decided to assume it was some side effect of her powers. That, or she was just really, really bored while listening to a lecture on the development of science and Dust use.
So the second she the bell rang and ended that class period, the was out the door with her messenger bag draping over her left shoulder to her right side and speed walking down the halls. She dodged between several students, holding onto the strap of her bag extremely tight. Coming to a clearing of students, she let out a huff of air as she slowed her pace and walked up to a set of doors.
"I am starving." She let out, letting her hands fall before she reached up and pushed the doors open. She stepped inside the cafeteria, listening to the noise and bustling of students trying to get their lunch while talking to their friends. Her nose then crinkled as she gave off a small groan, the smell of school cooked food entering her nose. "That... I did not miss though." She sighed softly before yelping with wide yellow eyes as a pair of hands came out of nowhere and shoved her aside.
"Did the lil blondie lose her way?" A boy with shaggy and oily dark hair smirked, crossing his arms. He had on a black jean jacket with the sleeves torn off, a pair of black skinny jeans with holes, black studded points, and a temporary tattoo in the shape of a broken heart on his right arm. "Because I'm sure Blac and Claec and I would like to help out for a little payment." He eyed the two behind him.
The first was a boy with short hair spiked up. He was in a black shirt with a Nevermore Grimm mask on it along with a pair black fingerless gloves, a pair of black pants, side chain, and black tennis shoes. The second had long hair down to his shoulders. Unlike the other two, his hair was well taken care of and washed. He had on a leather zipper jacket, mascara surprisingly, a pair of black jean pants with a few stains from bleach, and old roughed up black sneakers.
"Akrsna..." Lem gulped, moving her hands to clutch the strap to her bag as she stepped back. Despite having fought and killed a Sephet Slayer, she was still fairly frightened of these three. A lot of people were honestly. They were eighth graders who were held back twice. Even teachers gave up on trying to get them to pass. None of them honestly cared about education. Which made them all that much more reckless.
"Yeah, blondie?" He stepped up, his cold dark eyes staring back at her as he let his arms fall to his sides.
She gulped, her knuckles turning white as she gripped her backpack strap tighter. "Go. Away." She demanded, lowering her head some with a few strands of hair falling in front of her face.
The boy took a single step back, blinking once before he scoffed with a smirk. "Looks like you've gain some backbone over the summer." He nodded. "Still doesn't change the fact I want whatever you got for lunch."
"And everyone in town knows hunting season started a week ago." Blac crossed his arms. "Which means the little adopted girl's daddy went out hunting." He shifted his hand, moving his wrist around as he pointed at her in a teasing motion.
Claec smirked himself, flipping his long hair back. "That also means you're gonna be having some jerky about this time. That or some really good roasted chunks of meat."
"So how about you stop messing around and hand it over so no one gets hurt?" Akrsna held up his arm, opening the palm of his hand as he motioned his fingers in a way to tell her to hand some over.
She took a very shaky breath, slowly looking down with a heavy gulp. She had super powers now. She did not need to be afraid of them. "And if I don't...?" She asked quietly, brushing her blonde hair behind her ear. She may not of needed to be afraid, but she was.
He let off a small scoff, stepping closer towards her. "Then I'll just take it." He spat out, lifting up his arm. rds her as he raised his arm. "Then I'll just have to take it." His eyes narrowed before he suddenly stopped, a hand reaching out and grabbing his wrist. "Huh?" He quickly looked up before grunting as he was pushed back into his two friends.
Standing beside Lem, a boy with neatly combed medium length hair retracted his arm and lowered it to his side before sliding it into his blue jeans pocket. He had on a tight fitting red shirt which was tucked into his pants while a yellow belt held up his jeans and a pair of red shoes that looked brand new.
"You alright?" He asked calmly, his hair swaying softly in front of his light blue eyes that locked with Lem's yellow eyes.
"U-Uh..." She gulped, blinking rapidly as she became flustered and blushed. Her face grew extremely red before she quickly lowered her head, her hair hiding her face. "I'm fine." She squeaked softly.
He rolled his eyes, faintly smiling as he stepped up in front of her and crossed his arms. "How about you leave her alone?"
Groaning, Akrsna stepped up towards him. It was more than simply a harassing situation now. Now it was a battle for who had the more guts and glory. "You should think about who you're talking too." His eyes narrowed.
"So should you." The blonde boy moved his hands behind his back, letting his shoulders square as his chest pushed out. "I'm sure you've heard of me. Captain of the football team. On student council for the eighth graders." His eyes narrowed as he stepped up face to face with the gothic boy. "Chad Republica."
Something seemed to flicker in Akrsna's eyes as he took a step back. He softly growled, reaching up and pointing at the girl behind him. "This isn't over-" He stopped himself, and hand grabbing his shoulder and flinging him back harshly.
"What do you think you're doing to Lem?!" Jack snapped, stepping towards him as he stumbled back, nearly falling onto the floor. "Huh?!" Her eyes burned with anger and rage.
Not even giving an answer, the dark haired boy snarled. He stepped back before turning on his heels and walking off with his two lackeys. "Come on, boys." He muttered, glaring back at the orange haired girl.
She snarled back at him before whipping her head around, her orange hair flying. "Now just who the heck are you?!" She stepped towards him, about to shove him as Chad remained completely cool.
"No! Jack! Stop!" Lem shouted, quickly stepping around the boy and placed her hands on her friend's chest. "It's fine! He's fine! He helped me!"
"Helped you what?" Rosa blinked, walking up with her lunchbox in hand. Her eyebrow then raised at the older male blonde who was staring at her. "Um, may I help you?"
He blinked once, quickly shaking his head before he lowered it. "My apologies." He shut his eyes, holding out his arm a bit before he stood up straight again. "My name is Chad. Chad Republica." He motioned back towards Lem. "She was in a situation with the Dark ABC Gang and I stepped in to assist her. I can promise you I didn't mean any harm by it, Rosalinda." He held up his hands in defence.
"You... know my name?" The redhead blinked rapidly, her eyes narrowing slightly as she tilted her head.
"Of course." He gave a slow nod. "Why wouldn't I know my classmates names?" He pointed back at the two behind him. "That's Lem and Jacklyne as well."
She felt the heat rise to her face as she quickly looked down, both her hands now gripping the handle to her lunchbox in front of her. "I... um, well then." She glanced up, taking a deep breath. "If that's the case, I'd prefer if you called me Rosa. And unless you want to be on the floor in pain," She pointed at the orange haired brute. "I advise you call her Jack."
"Duly noted." He nodded, looking back at said girl who simply glared back at him. "Well, it was nice talking to you three... er, two." He corrected himself, inching away from Jack as he gave a soft nod and a small wave towards Rosa. "Though it could have been under better conditions." He glanced at Lem, walking off with a smile and gentle chuckle. "Later."
Jack rolled her eyes, standing up straight as she shook her head and crossed her arms. "Stupid pretty boy." She grumbled before blinking as she saw both Lem and Rosa staring at him as he walked off. Their eyes glazed over softly with hints of red on their cheeks. "Oh you have got to be kidding me..." She sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of her nose.
With her duffel bag stuffed in her locker, Sky came down the lunch line with her tray, picking up two styrofoam cups filled with chicken noodle soup, one with a mixture of fruits, and then a bag of mini cookies and another one with almonds. The last thing she grabbed was an ice cream sandwich, hoping it wouldn't melt.
She stepped up to the cashier, leaning forward a bit. "ID number is 450495. Skyler Bird."
"Gotcha." The lunch lady gave a nod. She was slightly overweight with a pink top on and a white apron. Her gray colored hair held up tightly in a hair net. "White, chocolate, or strawberry?" She asked.
"Chocolate." The blue haired girl muttered. "And also my-" She was cut off by the older woman.
"I know, I know. Your coach already told me. Blue raspberry sports drink." She turned around, grabbing the carton of milk and the bottle before placing them on her tray. "Just got out there and win us another first place." She smiled with a nod.
"No problem." Sky nodded back, grabbing her tray as she moved out of the way for the next student waiting in line. Her eyes quickly scanned the lunchroom, and when she didn't see any of her friends, she shrugged and started walking towards the door. She turned around, pressing it open with her back as she stepped out.
As she began to walk down the hall, several of her classmates past her with a wave or either saying hello in some way before the blue haired girl would hear the cafeteria door open and close with a soft clank. She turned a corner, smiling as she saw her five friends sitting down at the end of it. "Guess we're still going to be loners and eat out here, huh?" She raised an eyebrow, sitting down before placing her tray into the tile floor.
"Forever and always." Pi gave off a soft chuckle, leaning in the corner against the walls.
"It has become our thing." Rosa muttered opening up her lunch box. She pulled out a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, tossing it to Pi. "Here. Mother used crunchy too. She knows how you like it."
"Thanks." The green haired girl gave a nod with a soft smile as she started to take off the plastic.
"You know," Jack held up a finger, waving it a bit. "I always thought it was cool how even though your mom has butlers and maids yet still decides to make your lunch herself."
Rosa shrugged, pulling out a ham and cheese sandwich of her own. "It's always been something she wished her mother would have done for her. She says she doesn't want to make the same mistake with me." She smiled, looking down at her sandwich as she unwrapped it. "It is really sweet though."
"Wish papa would at least give me some money to buy lunch..." Ami grumbled quietly before yawning as she leaned back against a set of lockers.
"Hey, that's why I'm here." Sky smiled, pointing at herself with her thumb. "I can be your papa!" She wiggled her eyebrows around beige grabbing one of the cups filled with chicken noodle soup, sliding it over towards the violet haired girl. "Here. Once you finish that I'll give you your cookies and milk. And once it's all gone I'll give you the ice cream."
Ami gave a soft chuckle, picking up the cup as well as the fork attached to it. "You know, that's cheating using snacks against me."
"Please." She waved her hand. "If I ever cheat at anything, someone better kick me off the soccer team. I could never live with that and coach would flip."
"You're such a nice soccer player." Lem mumbled, pulling out a back of deer jerky from her backpack. She tossed it to Jack along with an apple. As the orange haired girl nodded back as a way to say thank you, the blonde kept speaking. "A lot of them would do anything to cheat and be thought as of better."
"Well I don't need to do that." She leaned back, grabbing her cup of soup as she began to eat. "I'm good enough where I don't need to cheat to play good."
"And that is why you are such a role model player." Pi eyed her, swallowing a bite of her sandwich. "It's why you're so good too, probably."
The blue haired girl shook her head no. "I'm good because I practice." She smiled. "Not because I like to play fair."
"I mean, potato and potato." Lem shrugged, looking over at her as she used the two different ways to say the word. She then pulled out an orange along with a container that had scrambled eggs with pieces of sausage and bacon.
"That's not..." Jack sighed, shaking her head as she took a bite of jerky. "Nevermind."
"Speaking of things not being as they seem..." Rosa started, trailing off as she lowered her sandwich and set it down she then reached over, grabbing her juice box. "We need to talk about, you know, THAT thing." She winked.
Ami blinked a few times, lowering her half eaten cup of soup as a carton of chocolate milk and a bag of cookies were slid over towards her. She quickly picked the two up and began to indulge herself in them. "That note, right?" She yaned.
"Yeah..." Lem nodded, taking a metal spoon and eating the leftover breakfast she was eating for lunch. "That."
"Huh?" Pi raised an eyebrow, leaning forward a little.
"What are you guys talking about?" Sky raised an eyebrow, glancing between the tree who apparently knew what they were talking about.
"Well, my parents and I had a conversation about the new superheroes in town this morning." Rosa glanced around. "They're not..." She sighed and looked down. "They're not too fond of us. And I'm not sure if that's just them or if it's something a bunch of people feel."
"Oh." Jack blinked, looking down at her lap. "I mean, we helped people out. And saved a lot of lives. Why wouldn't they like us?"
"Because we're young and don't have the years of training like warriors do. Well I'm guessing." Pi muttered, staring down at her sandwich. "I mean you can't exactly blame the people."
"Help is help though." Sky added in. "They should at least be thankful for what we did."
"But think about that road we tore up the other day by destroying that Grimm." Lem muttered, taking another bite of her food.
"So what?" Ami raised an eyebrow as she went back to eating her cup of soup. "You want a damaged road or a bunch of civilian casualties?"
"I'm with Ami on this one." Jack pointed at herself with her thumb. "They should love us."
"Listen, listen." Rosa waves her hands around, trying to calm her friends. "I'm just saying, that maybe we shouldn't try anything super big for a bit. Yes the people are happy we saved them, but we are still new at this thing. We should just try to take it slow for a while. Alright?"
Pi gave a sigh, sinking back in the corner as she shut her eyes. "That doesn't sound that bad. We'd still help people and learn how to control this powers more."
"Oh! And before I forget." The redhead shifted around a bit. "Apparently when we, I guess, transform," She rubbed the back of her head. "Our faces don't seem to be recognizable by other people. I think it has to do with something in the magic. But people we known won't know it's us. I don't know how but I think that's the case."
Ami sighed before yawning as she placed the now empty cup on the floor. "You know, we should have stayed home that day." She held up her hands, catching an ice cream sandwich that was thrown at her.
"Better us than someone who would use these powers wrongly." Sky muttered, taking a deep breath as she picked up her cup of fruit. "I hope we can show these people we don't mean them harm. We just want to help them out."
"Yeah, same here, Sky. Same here..." Jack nodded, shaking her head a bit as she took a bite of her apple. She then blinked, eyes widening as she looked at Ami. "Holy cow! How are you already nearly done with that?!" Her eyebrows went high.
"Hm?" The violet haired girl looked up, holding only a tiny corner piece of the ice cream sandwich in her hand. "Oh. I don't know." She shrugged. "It just taste good." She then grinned, eyeing the frozen treat. She quickly stuck her hand in her pocket, grabbing her magical time stone. She then put that last piece in her mouth, the stone in her hand glowing.
"You you're kidding... right, Ami?" Lem blinked, watching as time looped for her friend and repeated her eating the last night over and over.
"Nope." Ami smiled, taking a bite and swallowing before the action looped itself over again. "It taste wonderful." She swallowed again.
Pi couldn't help but softly chuckle, shaking her head as Rosa rolled her eyes. Sky simply blinked a few times before shaking her head as she looked down and grabbed her bag of almonds. Though she didn't want to show it, the blue haired girl felt someone upset that others didn't see her and her friends actions as wonderful. Being the soccer star she was, she wasn't used to failure of any kind.
She sighed once more, tearing open her bag as she dumped a few nuts into her hands. "You're all crazy." She muttered, tossing the almonds into her mouth.
A few hours later, Jack was slouched over her desk with her left hand holding her face up as the elbow rested on the desk. She had a pencil in her right hand, between her thumb and index finger, shaking it back at forth as it tapped against her math homework.
"Come on... come on." She muttered, eyes glaring up at the clock as the seconds slowly ticked by. At her feet were a stack of three textbooks, her left foot placed on top of them as she bounced her leg up and down. Her eyes began to move back and forth with each tick of the second hand, knowing the bell was going to ring in a matter of seconds.
The inner excitement started to get the best of her as the seconds went on. She bit her lip, twirling her pencil around before snatching a hold of it in a firm grip. She leaned back, letting her left arm fall to the side and slowly reach for her books. She didn't need the teachers yelling at her for packing up early. Well, not yet at least.
The second the hands of the clock hit three o'clock, Jack was on her feet with her books in her arms, pieces of paper lying flat between pages as her pencil stuck out of her pocket. She quickly walk out, pushing the door open just as a few other students started to put their backpacks on.
Speeding walking down the near empty halls as students flooded into them, she slowed down,coming to a stop in front of her locker. She shifted her books around, holding them in her left hand while pushing them up against her thigh. With her right hand, she began to put her combination. "Fifty-eight, sixty-two, twenty." She muttered to herself, hearing the locker click open.
At Arcus Academy, students are given a locker and combination their first year. They would then use this same locker for the three years they would stay at the school. And luckily for the current seventh graders, when they were in sixth grade, the eighth graders left behind the best sets of lockers for them to use.
Jack gave a sigh, placing her books inside before closing the locker with a heavy sound of metal hitting metal. She let her palm rest on the cool metal for a moment before she turned around at the sound of footsteps approaching her. She blinked, letting her hand slide down and fall to her side. "What do you three want?" She snarled, eyes narrowing at the three boys who had been picking on Lem during the start of lunch.
Akrsna scoffed, his thumb nail pressing upward on his front teeth. He flicked his nail across his canine, letting his arm fall before placing his hands in his pockets. "You think you're tough. I can see it in your eyes." He stepped closer, a devilish grin forming. "But the next time you interrupt me, my boys and I aren't going to be very nice to you." He motioned to Blac and Claec behind him, the two nodded back in agreement.
Jack simply rolled her eyes, leaning up against the lockers as she stared at the three dark haired boys. "Okay." She took a deep breath and sighed. "Listen, at the moment, I really don't feel like kicking your butts and and I am somewhat trying not to get in trouble for a friend. So how about you guys back off and we forget this ever happened. Deal?" She half smiled, tilting her head as she stood up straight and held out her hands. She then grunted, suddenly being shoved back into the lockers.
"No, you listen here." Akrsna put a hand on her chest, holding the orange haired girl back as she calmly blinked. "I and my boys do what we want around here. You got a problem with that, too bad. Suck it up or get your head pounded in. So the next time you think about interfering with blondie and me, think again." His dark eyes narrowed coldly.
She had remained unfazed, barely even batting an eye at the boy, up until he had said blondie. For those who knew Jack, they knew she could deal with a lot of any kind of harsh treatment and not even care. But the second you bring her friends into it or mention something rude about them, she would snap.
The orange haired girl reached up, grabbing a hold of his wrist extremely tight with her right hand. "Don't say crap about my friends." She muttered, glaring up at him between strands of her orange hair.
"Huh?" He raised an eyebrow at her, a rush of confusion filling his face. "Hey!" He went to jerk his arm away, only to grunt at her strong grip. "Let go, you rat!" She snapped.
"With pleasure." She pulled her left arm back, fingers curling as her hand turned into a fist.
His eyes widened as she let go of his wrist and stepped back. Though it was too late as her fist came hurtling towards him, slamming into the side of his face. She had expected him to stumble backwards and onto the ground, but there was no way she could have saw what came next.
The second her fist made contact with his face, Akrsna was flung backwards through the air, slamming into a set of lockers. After a moment, he slid down them, indentations on the metal where his body had struck.
Jack blinked once, stepping back as she lowered her fist with wide eyes. Both Blac and Claec were frozen stiff in fear, their faces pale which gave off a stark contrast between their skin and what they wore.
She gulped heavily, her hands trembling a bit as she quickly looked around. She then eyed the two standing boys before looking at the third, her eyes widening more as she felt her breathing and heartbeat become rapid. "I-I..." She stuttered, unable to find her words to speak as she quickly took off, bolting down the halls.
From the side, Professor Black was blinking rapidly as he watched the scene play out. After a moment, he shook his head as his expression went back to neutral. He turned on his heels, walking off with his hand rubbing his chin. "Interesting... very interesting."
Panting softly, Sky had her fingers held loosely as her shoulders gently moved up and down. She was currently wearing short blue shorts, a white shirt, blue and black shin guards, and a pair of cleats. She took several short steps before taking off into a sprint, her foot making contact with a black and white soccer ball before flying through the air. She watched it, groaning softly as her hands moved to her face at the sight of the ball flying over the goal.
"Gosh darn..." She trailed off, silently beating herself up on the inside. She took several deep breaths, groaning more. She looked up, seeing Jack's unmistakable orange hair run past the fenced off green field she was in. She blinked a few times, tilting her head before flinching at the sound of her coach calling out her name.
"Bird!" A slightly overweight man snapped, walking over towards her. He had short brown hair with a red baseball cap on top. He crossed his arms, the thick light blue jacket he wore making noise as he did so.
As he stopped a foot from Sky, the blue haired girl lowered her head, her ponytail falling to her side. "I'm sorry, coach..." She muttered, shaking her head some. Her left hand grabbed her right arm, rubbing it gently as she looked up. "I'm just not... my heads not completely in game mode right now." She muttered. Even though it was just practice, she still felt awful for failing.
He blinked softly, pulling out the whistle from underneath his jacket, letting it hang down. "You thinking about your father again?" He asked quietly in a caring tone.
Glancing up at him, she quickly averted her her blue eyes. Sure, why not. Her father would be a better answer than the truth. She slowly nodded, rubbing her arm more. "Yes, coach."
He gave a sigh, slowly nodding back as he crossed his arms. "Your father was an amazing warrior. You of all people should know that." He reached over, putting a hand on her shoulder. "He wouldn't want you to keep dwelling on the past. I know it's been a hard two years for you and your family, but I'm your coach and that means two things." He pulled his hand back. "One, I need to make sure all of you are ready to kick some butt. And two," He softly smiled. "I am here to make sure all of you are safe and that if there is anything you need help with, I can help. Got it, Bird?" He asked.
"I know, I know, coach." She nodded back to him, grunting a little as his large hand patted her back.
"Now get out. We have games ahead that need winning." He smiled, turning around and jogging away. "So get back to working as hard as you normally do!" He called out, blowing his whistle.
Sky took a deep breath, slowly turning around to face the goalie and the net behind her. She couldn't exactly tell her coach what was bothering her. Now that would make an awkward conversation fore sure. She scoffed a bit, shaking her head. Like he would believe in magic and the ability to control time.
She exhaled heavily, sliding her right foot back. After a moment she took off, running forward as her foot made contact with the soccer ball once again. Her jaw quickly tightened though, seeing it go too far to the left. "Darn it, Sky!" She snapped. She then blinked a few times, slowly crouching down and reaching into her shoe. She pulled out her blue time stone, clutching it tight in her grip. She lifted up her head, eyes narrowing up at the goalie. "You're doing this until you get it right." She muttered, the blue stone glowing as time reset.
On the inner streets of Fabula, four of the six girls were walking down the sidewalk. Lem had her hands gently folded together in front of her as she looked around, eyeing several different stores and shops. "Maybe we could see if Jack went to that ice cream store she likes to hang out at." She quietly asked, lifting herself up onto the tips of her toes before lowering herself down.
"I doubt it." Rosa spoke up, glancing down side roads. "It's not like her to just not show up when we are going to meet up and hang out." She bit her lip a little, an uneasy feeling washing over her as she let her arms sway side to side.
"Maybe she already got in trouble at school?" Pi raised an eyebrow, glancing at her friends with her brows furrowed and hands in her pockets. "She nearly got into it with Rose this morning."
"Heard about that." Ami muttered, her arms hanging with her sleeves hanging over her hands. "That pink haired jerk deserves to be thrown into a ditch filled with rotten food and trash." She grumbled, slowly moving her arms and crossing them.
"Can't argue with that." The redhead shook her head as she glanced around a corner. "But right now we need to figure out where Jack is. She could be in trouble with someone or something."
"Try something else..." Jack suddenly appeared, panting as she stepped up in front of the group. This made Rosa flinch, causing the redhead to stumble back a bit into Lem.
"Jack!" The blonde side stepped, moving to the front of her friend group. What happened? Where were you?" Her yellow eyes sparkled with concern.
"Hey, you should know I can handle myself." She reached over, ruffling her smaller friends hair.
"So what happened?" Ami came closer, crossing her arms. "And where's your bike..." She trailed off, raising her eyebrows.
"Left that stupid thing at school..." The orange haired girl groaned, rubbing the back of her head. "Stupid Akrsna..." She muttered, shutting her eyes as she lowered her head.
"You mean the Dark ABC boys?" Pi slid her hands from her pockets as her head perked up more. "Did they try to fight you?"
"Was it because of what happened during lunch?" Lem asked, her voice low as she reached up and rubbed her arm.
"They didn't hurt you, did they?" Rosa asked, her eyes filled with concern.
"No. No, no. I'm fine but..." The orange haired girl sighed, trailing off. "I think these stones did more than just give us magical powers over time..." She looked up slowly.
"What do you mean?" Ami asked, her brows furrowing.
"I mean that..." Jack sighed again, shaking her head. "I punched Akrsna. And well... I know I punch hard but her..." She paused for a moment. "He flew across the hall and dented a couple lockers."
The four girls stepped back simultaneously, eyes wide. Rosa gulped a little, sighing as she let her shoulders fall. "Great. We have super strength now. That's wonderful to know." She shook her head, rubbing her forehead. "Well, we got to get going. Sky is meeting us at the park in a bit after her practice."
"Right." Ami nodded, looking around. "We should get going."
A while later, Sky walked through a park with her duffle bag over her shoulder. She seemed a little more tired than usual for reasons only she knew. Her ponytail was slightly messy, strands sticking out as sweat dripped down her face still. Panting as she came up to her friends, she smiled softly and set her bag down. "Hey, guys."
Rosa, Pi. and Lem were each sitting on a bench while Ami laid outstretched on the grassy ground and Jack was sitting up in a tree. "Bad news or worse news first?" The redhead asked.
Sighing as she shook her head, Sky's smile faded as she rubbed her face. She already had enough things running rapid inside her mind. There was enough there to have her reset the flow of time eleven times before she could make a single goal. "What now?"
Lem sighed, outstretching her legs. "Jack most likely got in trouble at school." She muttered as the orange haired girl jumped down from the tree.
"It wasn't completely my fault though." She said in defense.
"And we also have super strength, so who knows what else we can do." Pi quickly added. raising her hand before lowering.
Sky blinked softly, shaking her head. "Good thing I wasn't kicking the soccer ball as hard as I could." That would have made an awful conversation for sure.
Each girl then suddenly flinched, hearing sirens sound off. Ami quickly sat up, her eyes wide as she looked towards the inner part of the city. "Again?" She mumbled before slowly standing.
Jack blinked slowly, eyeing Rosa. "We have to help." Her jaw tightened a little. "If not us then who knows who will of if warriors will be able to stop it this time."
"I know." Rosa nodded, taking her red stone from her pocket with a sigh. "Come on." She smiled, glancing back at her friends as her fingers wrapped around the stone and it began to glow. "It's time to use what Oum gave us."
Walking down the main streets of the city on its eight legs, a large and heavily armored Carkinus looked around with its glowing red eyes looking in both directions at once. It blinked, the stems that held up its eyes moving around for a better view. Its legs were completely white, covered in near unbreakable platings as was its back and head. The claws were vicious, sharp enough and strong enough to cut away the metal sides of a building. With each step, the feet clicked against the ground, leaving deep hole imprints.
While it may have been impossible to cut at from the top, the excessive armor made it much slower than other Grimm. But what it lacked in speed, it definitely made up for in sheer strength and deadly force. If one was unlucky enough to get caught in his grasp, there was no way they would see the next day, or any day to follow.
Spikes were stretched across its back, lining up with the middle as red lines stretched across the plating. Like its back, its claws were also spiked at the front, mostly used for swinging and ramming into objects or... humans.
Hiding underneath a bench on the sidewalk, a man gulped as he curled up around a small girl who was quivering and crying. "Shh... shh." He muttered, brushing her hair softly as he slowly looked back at the approaching Grimm.
"D-Daddy..." The girl whimpered, looking up before her head was quickly pushed back down.
"Don't look." He cuppeed his large hand around her head, bringing her body close enough for him to feel her heartbeat and vice versa. "Everything is going to be fine... I promise." He gulped, glancing up as his eyes widened. Standing above him, the Carkinus staired, its eyes blinking as the stems moved around. Finally it began to lift up its right claws, it opening and snapping shut with loud pinching sounds. It gave off a near silent growl, bringing its pincher down.
The quickly shut his eyes, expecting to feel a nothingness washing over him. But instead there was nothing. A long and painful silence that overcame the city before the Creature of Grimm cried out in pain and stumbled away. He looked back, blinking slowly at what he saw.
With her glowing green energy katana in her hand and Rainbow Time Dancer uniform on, Pi was crouch down in a position that showed she had just finished a slashing attack. She stood up straight, twirling the katana in her right hand before gripping it with both hands. "Get out of here." She eyed the man and his child before looking at the severed eye from the Grimm evaporate into a black smoke.
He quickly nodded, sliding out from underneath the bench with his child in his arms as he took off running down the street. The green haired girl gave a sigh, looking back up at the Carkinus which stood three times her height. She winced a little, seeing the beast growl at her as smoke escaped from where its eye once was. "Guuuys!" She shouted, stepping back.
"Got ya!" Lem called out, narrowing her eyes as she lifted up hey yellow energy bow. She let out an easy breath of air, pulling back on the string. She quickly released it, striking a joint which had less armor for movement.
It hissed, quickly turning around with claws snapping shut. As it charged towards Lem, Rosa jumped down, grunting softly as her feet struck the ground. She twirled her broadsword, bringing it around to slash at the Carkinus' leg but instead was met by its pinchers being swung around and striking her. She was tossed back into a building, the structure crumbling and cracking on top of her.
"Rosa!" Jack called out, growling as she jumped into the air with her double bladed axe. She brought it down, hitting the armored back of the beast. Like the redhead, she too was thrown off, her eyes wide as she tumbled down the road with her energy weapon breaking up the road.
"Hey!" Sky teased, sending blast from her staff by swinging it towards the creature. Each blue ball exploding on contact. The action only seemed to irritate it as she clenched her teeth. "Back off of them!" She snapped, jumping away.
Groaning as she pulled herself from debris and rubble, Rosa groan before feeling a hand grip her bicep and pull her up.
"Come on." Ami muttered, both girls clearly struggling to get the redhead free.
"Th-Thanks..." Rosa panted, resting her hands on her knees as she was finally able to stand up. She looked up, blinking slowly at the battle going on in front of her. Despite how desperately hard her friends hit the Carkinus, their actions only seemed to anger the Grimm more and more.
"This isn't working." She muttered, picking up her energy while keeping her eyes up.
"Maybe we... should just hit it harder?" The violet haired girl asked, eyebrows raised. "Would that work?"
"I don't think so." The redhead shook her head, taking a deep breath. "What is that? A crab Grimm? That's a Carkinus then... they're extremely strong and durable but also really slow. And while the plating is on the top of it, it's not on the under part. Which means if we strike it hard enough there or get it on its back..." She trtailed off, smiling faintly. "I have a plan."
Ami smirked, shaking her head as she grunted and lifted her mace over her shoulder. "You always do, smartie pants."
"I'm taking that as a compliment since we're in a death battle." She smiled back with a nod before running ahead.
"This is pointless!" Jack shouted, bringing her axe down with a heavy grunt on the beast's head. Like all the times before, it stumbled back with a low growl before lifting its head back up and charging. The orange haired girl gave off an aggravated scream, swinging her battle axe around. "I am so tired of you!" She snapped.
"Same here!" Sky snapped in anger, twirling around her staff as she sent blast after blast at the Grimm. "I don't understand how I am supposed to destroy this thing!"
"I do!" Rosa shouted, skidding to a stop next to her friends as Ami caught up. She quickly looked around, taking several deep breaths. "Jack!" She looked at the orange haired girl. "Get its attention and get it running after you!"
"Bait, got it." She chuckled, saluting her friend with a wink.
"Pi." The redhead quickly looked over at said girl. "Speed the thing up in time. Make sure it is going fast. And then Lem," She looked over at the blonde. "Slow it down enough to make it lose its balance then set it free."
Both girls quickly nodded back before looking at each other with a smile.
"Ami." Their obvious leader looked back at the violet haired girl. "Strike the ground in front of it with your mace and send it flying into the air."
"Understood." She flashed a wicked smile, bringing her large weapon around.
"And Sky." Rosa looked back at her with a nod. "You know what to do if anything goes wrong.
"Reset everything. Got it." She held up a thumb.
"Alright then." The redhead took a deep breath, nodding. "Let's go! Scatter!" She shouted, jumping away as did everyone else.
"Come on! I've eaten your children for dinner probably!" Jack called out, striking the beast in the leg before she took off down the street, barely missing being struck by its spiked pincher. She took a deep breath, letting her weapon vanish as she ran as hard as she could. She glanced back, seeing the beast speed up. She gulped heavily, her heart skipping a beat before it slowed immensely. She skidded to a stop, panting as it stumbled in normal speed. She gave a soft sigh of relief, seeing Ami dropping down from the sky.
"Here I come!" The violet haired girl chuckled, her mace slamming into the ground and cracking it just in front of the beast as it was flung into the air and over the two girls' heads. It landed on its back, all of its eight legs and claws flailing as it began growling.
Rosa grunted, landing on its unprotected underbody with her sword in an reverse grip held in both hands. She gave off a war cry, stabbing the Carkinus as it screeched, its body tensing before it went limp and started evaporating.
The redhead smiled, pulling her blade free with a jerk. Before she could step down though, a figure shrouded in black jumped down on top of the disappearing Grimm. "Who are-" AShe started before being cut off. Her eyes widened as the man held up his right hand, a black blast sending her flying back and striking the ground with a grunt.
"Hey! What's your deal?!" Jack shouted, jumping up with her axe raised. He glanced back, raising an eyebrow underneath his hood. He quickly brought his foot up, sending it into stomach as her body bent around his leg.
She spat out, falling to the ground with heavy coughing and groaning. Lem quickly slid to her side, placing a hand on her back while wide eyes looked up at the man. He glared back, eyes locking at the orange hair before he turned away.
"Anyone else care to try?" He spoke, his voice low and menacing. "If not, I'd like to speak." When he heard nothing but silence from the six girls, he faintly smiled with his white teeth contrasting against his black clothes.
"My name is Doctor Darkness, for as much as you should be concerned. And I will ask this only once." He looked around at each girl. "The six of you have six little stones that I want. And I hope you give it to me."
"And if we don't?" Sky quietly asked, stepping back a little.
He quickly whipped his head over in her direction, black eyes piercing into her very soul. "Then I hope the six of you are willing to fight a war you won't win. Because those before you who had those time stones fell at my hands. And I am not afraid to kill worthless little brats." He spat the last words out, his body radiating in pure evil.
Pi gulped heavily, her hands holding onto her katana as tight as she could. "Well, then I hope you're ready to get your butt kicked by us." She smirked. Her eyes then quickly widened, seeing the dark colored man appear in front of her. Her eyes widened as she took a step back, dropping her weapon.
"That's what I thought." He muttered, glancing around at the group. "Next time I will not be ass nice." He smirked, jumping away and vanishing into the shadows of the city.
"Great, new bad guy that isn't Grimm." Rosa muttered, slowly standing back up.
"That guy really packs a punch..." Jack shook her head, groaning as she stood up with Lem's help. "Like for real." She grumbled, rubbing her head.
"At least we won-" Sky started before she was cut off, a group of people walking up to the group.
"Look what you've done!" A woman snapped, pointing at a building who had been destroyed. "That was my grandfather's shop years ago and you just destroyed it!"
Rosa glanced back at it, taking a deep breath as she let her weapon vanish. "We didn't mean to do that ma'am. We were trying to get rid of the Carkinus and-"
"And what?" She snapped, crossing her arms. "You didn't think about what would happen if you messed up and concern yourself with the surroundings."
"No, no." She shook her head, holding up her hands. "That's not it. We were trying to protect all of-" She was cut off again, grimacing as she looked over at a man.
"Protect us from what?!" A man shouted, pointing at the now ruined road. "Do you know how much lien the city will take from us in taxes in order to repair this?!"
"Yeah!" Another woman spoke up, stepping forward. "We have warriors to protect us from Grimm! But who is going to protect us from weirdos like you!"
The words echoed in the redheads mind as an uproar of complaints began to rise up in the crowed. Pi reached out, grabbing Rosa's hand. "Come on. We need to go before things get too crazy." She muttered, sighing softly as she and her friends ran off, leaving the crowd and decaying Grimm behind.
Inside The Tree House, each girl sighed softly as they sat in silence, wearing their normal clothing. "Guess superheroing is a lot harder than we thought..." Sky muttered, keeping her head low as she leaned up against one of the walls, all windows shut and securely closed.
"I told you guys that there were people who wouldn't like us..." Rosa muttered, holding her head up with her right hand.
Lem gave a sigh, shaking her head some as she leaned onto Jack for comfort. "I guess we did destroy a lot while fighting that thing..."
"Guess we still have a lot to learn about being heroes, huh...?" Ami muttered. "Guess it's not all about powers and fighting Grimm..."
"Plus now we have to deal with that guy... Doctor Darkness, he called himself..." Pi muttered, looking up. "Who was that, anyway?"
"Whoever he is..." Jack took a deep breath. "We can't let him get these time stones. If he does... and if he is behind those Grimm attacks... who knows what he would do with them. All that power." She gulped.
"We have a long way to go..." Rosa shook her head softly, resting her head in her hands. "A really long way to go and a whole lot more to learn about being super heroes."
The following day at school, Jack heavily gulped as she stood outside the new headmaster's office. Apparently, someone had told him about what had happened between her and Akrsna. And she was fairly nervous. What was she even suppose to tell this man? That she and her friends found magical stones so know she has the strength of a warrior and also the massive protection aura which they had. She'd be expelled for being completely crazy!
She flinch, her mind being jerked out of its train of thought as the door to the headmaster's room unlocked with a sharp click, the door swinging open.
"Miss Lantern." Professor Black stood, arms at his sides as he stared emotionless at the young girl before him.
"Yes, sir?" She muttered, keeping her head low.
He blinked a bit before stepping aside, motioning for her to enter. "Come on in."
"Yes, sir..." Her voice lowered more, gulping as she slowly stepped inside the room.
"Take a seat." His voice was filled with authority, taking his chair behind his desk. He watched, seeing the young girl in orange colors sit down slowly. "Do you know why you're here?" He asked.
"Yes, sir..." She muttered quietly, keeping her head down. "I... punched a boy." She gulped.
Professor Black slowly nodded, leaning forward across his desk, his hands clasped together as his eyes gently narrowed. "From what I heard, you punched him across the hall into a set of lockers. And you... dented the lockers when his body struck them?" His brows raised.
"I-I well..." She trailed off, taking a deep breath as she shut her eyes.
"Well," He leaned back, folding his hands. "I highly doubt that a young thirteen year old girl, despite how healthy she is, could manage to punch a boy into a row of lockers and dent them. So..." He let his arms fall, smiling a bit. "So I don't think you could have done such. Which means I can't exactly punish you for something you haven't done. So I guess I'll just let you off with a warning." He smiled.
At this, Jack lifted her head up and blinked a few times. "You're letting me off the hook?" She started to smile, her face perking up.
"Yes." He nodded, leaning forward across his desk. "Just make sure the next time you don't get caught the next time you punch someone into a set of lockers." He winked.
"Thank you so much!" She jumped to her feet, bowing with her hands held tightly together. "I can promise I'm not a trouble maker! I just..." She chuckled, rubbing the back of her head. "I have some anger issues when people make fun of my friends."
"I don't question that." He shook his head. "I am sure you are a wonderful and amazing person. Just be careful next time, alright?"
"Of course, sir." She nodded once more before quickly walking towards the door. "Thank you." She smiled, stepping out.
"Trust me, the pleasure is all mine." He smiled back, leaning up against the back of his chair with his arms crossed over his chest.
That day during lunch, the group of six girls were all sitting in their usual dead end hallway. Pi in the left corner, Jack in the right, and Ami in between with Rosa across from the green haired girl, Sky across from the girl in violet, and Lem sitting across from her orange haired friend. The were quiet for a bit, all of them still struggling with the transaction of becoming super heroes. Though, they were shifting over slowly.
Rosa glanced up at her friends, smiling a bit. "So, how are all you guys doing?"
"Wishing we knew how to use these powers better." Jack muttered.
Lem nodded, shaking her head. "So they won't be as mad next time. The people of Fabula, I mean."
"I guess we just keep trying harder?" Pi looked up slowly, taking a deep breath.
Sky gave a nod, taking a bite of an apple. "That's what coach does. If we fail he just has us try again."
"Guess that's what we will be doing then, huh?" Ami asked, letting her shoulders relax with a sigh.
Rosa took a deep breath, slowly nodding. "Suppose so. Things can't stay bad forever." Her head then perked up, blinking as she looked down the hall. In the distance, she and her friends could hear the sound of the Grimm sirens sounding.
Pi blinked, smiling a little as she looked at her friends with a challenging smile. "Think we could make it back before lunch ends?"
Jack grinned back, softly chuckling. "Might as well start getting better now." She shook her head, standing up.
Sky rolled her eyes, standing up along with her other friends. "All in?"
"Let's do this." Ami smiled, stretching her neck.
"Agreed." Lem smiled.
As the group ran down the halls, Professor Black blinked, leaning up against a wall as he rubbed his chin, watching the group of girls sneak out. "I'm not for sure, but it's a pretty accurate assumption. But nothing works unless I am for certain." He sighed, shaking his head as he turned around and started to walk back to his office. "I'll learn. One way or another I will learn." His black eyes narrowed, his heels clicking against the tile floor.
