4: Too Cutesy To Be For Cereal
"I'm bored," Jake groaned for the seventeenth time. Aerin glared, and returned to her typing. No doubt she was working on a program or something of the sort. Raze was lazily flipping through a magazine, waiting for her repainted toenails to dry. Phoenix was also lying on the floor, with her feet in the air. She was working on some Potionology homework, tapping her pencil against her lip. Tor breezed out of her room, dressed in her scarlet flying coat and tying off a tight French braid.
"Hey, Tor," Jake called, sitting up. "Where are you going?"
"Riding," she called, opening their dorm door. "A couple of rounds on Tyler's Phyrex mottled striker, since, you know, dragons are an investment and I'm looking for some good DNA contributors."
Jake whistled in appreciation. "That's one serious dragon. What, are you in for your own dragon?"
"Yeah," Tor confirmed, "I'll probably go for a hunter or a war-hunt cross- not as heavy as the straight battle dragons, you know?"
Jake nodded sagely.
Tor brandished a piece of lined paper, like something torn out of an exercise book. Cass snatched it off her.
"Wow," Cass said, "A hand written note, from Jehan Caitlis? That's pretty good for someone like Lutoria 'One Of The Boys' of Linphea."
"Especially from a total pretty-boy like Jehan," Phoenix said.
"Psh," Tor muttered, flapping a hand, "It's nothing, just a time and a place."
"No, this one's special- see, he asked you out to the Black Lagoon cafe," Phoenix argued, pouting.
"You know how hungry you get after racing? No? Well, you know now," Tor said, "and it's nothing special."
Cass grinned and shoved her gently. "Go on, Tori- you have a date to keep."
"See ya later," Jake called. Tor dashed back in, and lifted a long chain from around her neck. "Jakey, take care of this."
"What is it?"
"It's my, uh, Linphean mirror locket," she said, rubbing the back of her neck, "I lose stuff when I go riding, and I really do not want to lose this, okay? Thanks, Jake."
"Alright," Jake said doubtfully, hanging it around her neck and slipping it under her shirt.
"Hey, this looks good," Raze said, pointing at a recipe in the magazine. "Foolproof creamy mushroom omelettes- guaranteed to have only half as many calories as a regular omelettes."
"But we need to calories, with all the monster bashing we do," Phoenix complained.
"Aish!" Aerin swore, "Could you all please shut your traps? I'm trying to write a program here!"
"Gyah!" Jake shouted, rolling off her futon as Raze's alarm clock blared four loud blasts of evil laughter. Phoenix squeaked and Raze sat up at a leisurely pace, rubbing her eyes and stretching.
Jake groaned and clapped her hands over her ears.
"Did you hear when Tor got back? She must have been really getting serious with pretty-boy if she got back so late that we didn't hear her," Raze said.
"Oh, come on, Raze," Phoenix scoffed, "No matter how dirty she can be, Tor is a total nun. And besides, we're barely even legal. I doubt they even know each other that well."
They were interrupted by the sound of expensive ceramics coming to a shattered end. Then there was the sound of upended drawers, metal and pens hitting the ground; there was a furious scream, and another crash.
"Oh, damn," Jake said, "It takes a lot to push Tor like that."
"It mustn't have gone well," Phoenix muttered.
Raze opened the door. A flying vase adjusted its trajectory to aim at her face. Raze ducked and the offending article of pottery sailed through the air, coming to a loud and shattered halt on the floor.
"Tor!" Phoenix screamed, "What the hell-"
Phoenix was interrupted by a completely aggravated, not-letting-off-steam-but-holy-freaking-boiling-over scream. Phoenix clapped her hands over her ears, dropping to her knees. Aerin winced. Tor peered out of her and Jake's room. She still hadn't taken off her flying coat, even after a whole night.
"Maybe they really were doing the dirty," Raze said, flinching.
"Hey, Tor, how'd it go?" Cass asked.
"Uh, it went fine," she said.
"Aw, you're gonna have to give us more detail than that, Tori! What was Jehan like?"
"He was, um, sweet," she said.
"Was it romantic?" Phoenix asked, butting in.
"Yeah? And he was- gentlemanly, that's right, gentlemanly," Tor said quickly.
"Tor," Jake said quietly, "if it didn't go well, you don't have to lie to us."
"It went fine!" Tor insisted, slamming the door in their faces.
"Oh, dear," Phoenix said, wincing.
"Leave her," Aerin said, lip curling slightly, "She obviously wants to be alone."
"So Tor didn't even show up for class," Aerin muttered, outraged, "I can't believe it! Just because your love-life sucks, doesn't mean you should take it out on your education!"
Jake frowned at Aerin. "I dunno. Something doesn't really feel right about this whole bucket of shit. Since when does Tor say gentlemanly? She doesn't even know the word."
"Her behaviour was odd, to say the least. But now that you point it out, there's something distinctly worrying about the way she reacted toward us," Cass said, drumming her fingers against her binder.
"Cass, Aerin, I think I'm going to go check on Tor before next class," Jake said, "Something just seems off, like, really off about this whole she-zazzle."
Phoenix bit her lip and Raze seemed reluctant.
"Be careful, okay?" Raze called after her, "I have a bad feeling about this."
Jake ran up to their dorm, fumbling with her key. She blew a stray lock of red hair out of her eyes, before putting her key back in her pocket and closing the door behind her. Jake looked up, and swore.
The dorm's common area was trashed. The sofa was overturned, and the desks were upended. Clothes, books, stationery and shoes were scattered all over the place, and several lamps and vases were smashed against the walls and floor. Jake couldn't see any sign of Tor. She skirted around smashed porcelain and glass, and hastily opened the door to Aerin and Cass' room. It, too, looked like a tornado had wreaked havoc and destruction through it.
Jake only had to take one look before she was tearing through Phoenix and Raze's room. The room was even more trashed than Aerin and Cass'. She swore explosively before running to her own room.
The door slammed shut behind her. Jake whirled.
Tor grinned a wolf's grin at her, baring all her teeth. She casually twirled a lock of dark hair around her finger. She gave into a low laugh of malice.
"Ree-ree?" Jake gasped, reverting to her old child-hood nickname for Tor. "What are you doing, Tor?"
Tor smirked.
"Well, well," she purred, "look who's here."
"Tor, we were worried-"
Tor threw her head back, laughing unrestrainedly. There was no mirth or good feeling in that gesture- Jake took a step backward.
"Tor-"
"I'm looking for something, Jake," Tor hissed, "and I want you to tell me where it is."
"Honestly, Tor," Jake started, feeling uneasy, and greatly suspicious.
"Tell me where my mirror locket is!" she roared, throwing a dark purple pulse of energy at Jake. Jake yelped, dodging to the side. A chair soared through the air, and Jake dropped and rolled as it came crashing to the ground. From outside, there was the noise of people crashing into the outer room. There was shouting, and crashing; Tor screamed in frustration and ran straight at the window, crashing through it and leaping out into the open. There was a brief flash of shadow, then nothing out of the ordinary.
The rest of the girls tumbled into the room.
"Jake!" Raze shouted.
"What the hell is going on?"
"Where's Tor?" Cass said.
"Gone," Jake said flatly, jerking her thumb at the window.
"I told you, there was something honestly wrong," Aerin muttered.
Jake stood up. "I think it's about time we pay suspect numero uno a visit."
"Let's see what Jehan has to say about all this," Phoenix said.
Cass shivered. She couldn't shake the creeping feeling that they were being watched.
"Huh?" Jehan said completely baffled. "What?"
"Didn't you take her racing yesterday?" Jake accused.
"Well, not that I wouldn't, but..." he trailed off. Winter passed by with a crate in hand.
"Since the troll incident we haven't been let off campus," he snorted. Jehan laughed, rubbing the back of his neck and shrugging.
"That makes it a tiny bit awkward for social engagements," he said sheepishly. "Not that I don't want to, uh, take Tor out to cafes or for racing or stuff."
"Less flirting, more fighting!" someone roared from above. Winter and Jehan sighed. Raziel, who had a shovel in hand, jumped, yelping. The boys looked up and shouted back.
"Yes, Professor Riven, sir!"
"Raziel!" he shouted, "You better not be flirting with my daughter!"
"Aish, Dad!" Phoenix yelled, "would you stop that!"
"Yeah, Uncle Riven, sir!" Raze shouted.
"Phoenix..." Riven growled.
"Dad, really, shut it or I'll call Mom!" Phoenix hollered. Riven growled and stalked off.
"Geez, I really didn't peg your dad for the professor type," Cass told Phoenix.
Phoenix shook her head. "He's here temporarily, covering for one of the other guys- something 'bout getting dragon-bitten."
"Your dad is a terror," Winter grumbled.
"I know, right," Phoenix mumbled, rolling her eyes. "It kind of sparked off from my first boyfriend-"
"He had to stand on a phone book while he was kissing her," Raze snorted. "Let's just say that Phoenix's dad was not so impressed. She's, like, banned from boys under three inches taller than her."
Raziel looked alarmed.
"Hey, what's that?" Jehan asked, poking the piece of paper in Cass' hand. Cass looked startled.
"This? Didn't you give Tor this note?" she asked in an extremely puzzled fashion. Jehan pried the piece of paper from her grip, frowning as he scrutinised it.
"This is insulting. How could you mistake this, this," he sputtered, "this abomination for my handwriting?"
He fished a note from his pocket, hastily unfolding it and showing them the small, neat, regular and detached letters, with the tiniest left-ward slant. The letters on the supposed note were large and emphatic, with jagged angles and sharp edges.
"I worked on my handwriting for over a year to get it to this state," Jehan said, "I'm not going to relapse into something as appalling as this."
Jake looked pointedly at Cass, who was still frowning at the piece of grubby paper in astonishment.
"Let's go," Jake said. She waved at the boys. "Thanks anyway, boys."
Out of the corner of her eyes, Jake would have sworn to heaven, hell and every form of paradise inbetween that she saw a dark shape melting away from the shadows and disappearing into thin air.
"This is strange," Phoenix muttered, strolling down the broad, paved walkway out of the Red Fountain grounds. "Does anyone else vote for checking out this 'Black Lagoon' cafe? It seems awfully sus."
The girls murmured their agreement. Aerin flipped open her organiser and flipped a few screens.
"And we have a free, then classes finish," Aerin said, snapping the compact electronic device shut. "We're good to go."
"The shuttle!" Phoenix called, pointing at the rounded floating shuttle bus. The girls ran into the shuttle as the doors hissed, sliding shut with a release of gas.
Jake rested her forehead against the cool glass, watching as the blur of the scenery flashed by. Phoenix sat next to her. Jake to sense that the other girls was stiff with tension. Raze sat in the seat in front of them, next to Cass. They glanced at each other periodically, communicating silently through the hidden glances of lifelong friends. The shuttle came to a juddering halt, and they silently progressed out. Aerin tapped away at her electronic organiser.
"I can't find a Black Lagoon on my search engine," Aerin said, frowning. Jake bit her lip.
"Let's ask around," Phoenix suggested. She tapped a passerby on the shoulder. "Excuse me, have you heard of the Black Lagoon cafe?"
She was met with a blank look and a shake of the head. She shrugged. "Let's fan out. Meet back here in half an hour, 'kay?"
The half hour passed quickly, without a trace of the elusive Black Lagoon.
"It's hopeless!" Raze finally shouted, throwing her hands into the air and sitting down on the curb with a bump.
"Yeah," Phoenix muttered sullenly, "so we can kiss the world goodbye."
Jake glared at them. Her fists clenched and her eyes narrowed in irritation. "Oh, so you just want to give up on Tor?"
Raze's head snapped up, and Phoenix looked at Jake in astonishment.
"She obviously doesn't want to be found," Cass pointed out.
"She's still one of us," Jake said, forcing it out through gritted teeth. "A sister. We don't leave a girl behind, no matter what."
Aerin nodded soberly. "Girl's got a point."
"Hey, I heard you gals talking about the Black Lagoon cafe?" Cass jumped, turning to face the chubby young man on the corner. He was attired in non-descript clothes, and had glasses with rectangular lenses.
"Black Lagoon is, like, the coolest," he gushed. "It's only for the totally cool. You girls seem pretty rad to me, but..."
"We're cool. Completely cool," Raze protested. The guy smirked.
"Well, if that's the case," he said, "Just go through Westberk Street and over the bridge."
"Come on, guys!" Raze called. She turned to thank the guy, but he'd disappeared into thin air.
"Hmm," Cass said, "Odd."
She still couldn't shake that feeling prickling along the back of her neck. Someone was watching them.
"Wow," Phoenix said, eyebrows raised. "For something as underground as a 'Black Lagoon', this looks way too cutesy to be for cereal."
"This place doesn't feel real," Raze said, sniffing the air. "Like, I can feel the reality pressure is, like, wanked."
Jake concentrated. "There's no voice of nature. It feels-"
"-dead." Cass' expression was grim. She touched the red tree beside the path, and the tree's trunk hazed. The air around them swelled and rippled, building in pressure rapidly.
"Reality pressure," Raze muttered as the images around them shredded into smoky hazes.
"It was all illusion," Aerin snapped, propping her hands on her hips. She marched up to the cottage door, throwing it open with a bang. It hit the rotting weatherboard facade with a crash of splintering wood. Aerin gritted her teeth and stooped into the dirty, squalid interior. Phoenix squirmed and forced herself to step inside.
A shadow flickered in the corner, and another flashed up the stairs. Jake whirled as the girls instinctively turned to their backs faced each other.
"Took you long enough," a shadowy figure drawled. The door slammed shut and harsh light filled the dank, musty cottage. Tor leaned on the wall, smirking evilly.
"Tor-"
"Give it to me," she snapped.
"Give what?" Jake asked. Tor rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation.
"You stupid girl, you know what!" she hissed. "The Beast Talisman!"
"Tor," Jake said through gritted teeth, "I don't know what's gotten into you, but you have got to be on some serious shit-"
Tor growled and threw her hands into the air. "Give it to me, you stupid pixie!"
That what when she started throwing plasma balls.
"Transform!' Phoenix yelped, ducking behind a dilapidated support pillar as she glowed pearly white. Splinters and white plaster dust sprayed across the shimmering black cloth of her Winx, shed by the intensely magical material. Raze had rolled to a halt nearby ducking a purple light-ball and skinning her knees where her gold boots didn't cover them.
"Curse it," Raze muttered, "These boots-!"
Cass had already powered up with an energy ball, and Aerin looked ready to back her. Jake pushed them back, snarling something.
"You can't hurt her!" she shouted, "It's-"
A look of horror overcame her as Cass and Aerin traded glances.
"-not Tor," Jake finished, dead white. 'Tor' laughed, her form fading and shimmering before morphing into something else.
"You sure are dense," the brown-haired girl sneered. She threw her head back and laughed as two other forms shimmered into view beside her. Phoenix recoiled at the sight of the bluish-blonde girl and the girl with the frizzy maroon hair.
"It's them!" she hissed, "the ones from the night of the kappa crap!"
"So it's you assholes," Raze snarled. Cass grabbed Jake's wrist to stop her from lunging at the older witches.
"Frost," the bluish-haired one said.
"Spark," the frizzy one smirked. The brown-haired one sneered at them, narrowing muddy brown eyes.
"Shade, not at your service," she sneered. "Now give me the Talisman! The mirror locket!"
"What did you do to Tor?" Jake shouted, struggling against Cass and Aerin. Frost snapped her fingers. There was a grunt, and Tor appeared in the air, bound by a Mortal Coil. The Mortal Coil was bound with silver and gold strands, and it seemed to be shrinking by the moment. The razor wire touched bare skin, and Tor gasped. A line of red opened up across her arm, more following in its wake.
"Give me the mirror locket or your friend gets sliced to pieces," Frost snarled. Jake growled and wrested one arm free of Cass and Aerin, throwing a fireball at Frost, who blocked it with a shield of ice. Aerin flicked three rapid-fire balls of pure energy at the girls. They split off, dead on target-
Raze's light shield stopped them dead, and they slid down the smooth, golden surface. The energy balls fizzled out of life and Aerin stared at Raze, aghast.
"Jake," Raze said firmly. Jake stopped.
"Give it to them," Raze said. "Otherwise- Tor-"
Jake bit her lip and cast her eyes down. In a flash of light, she transformed back to her plain clothes. She dug in her pocket and produced the tarnished oval locket. Jake threw it across to Frost, who caught it by its long chain. Tor's eyes widened.
"No," she whispered.
The witches laughed, their bodies already half-in a swirling portal. Cass' uneasy feeling came back with a vengeance, and a a rush of air blasted past her, throwing her hair into her eyes. Just as the portal snapped shut, a vague, semi-transparent black shape flew through the air, squeezing into the vortex.
She was falling, hitting the ground with a thud and a sharp intake of breath. She rolled onto her back as Jake dragged her to her feet. Cass checked her over for injuries, broken bones- it was routine, second nature. They'd had rough childhoods. Aerin was already drawing the base patterns for healing spells over Tor's cuts.
"I'm sorry, Tor," Raze said gently. "It was the only way-"
Tor nodded, resigned. "Thanks."
Jake dusted off her pants, mouth pressed into a grim line.
"Why would they want Tor's mirror locket? And why did they keep saying they wanted, what was it, a Beast Talisman?" she asked, frowning. "It doesn't add up."
Cass shook her head. "You're right, it doesn't. But really, Jake, we're in a rotting cottage that's about to fall down about our ears. Can we just get out of this shit-hole?"
Aerin shivered and nodded emphatically. The girls evacuated the house as it creaked on its foundations, swaying slightly. They didn't stop until they were well over the bridge and on the fringes of Magix. Tor's favourite flying coat was ruined, its burgundy material smutched and shredded by razor wire. She looked glum.
"I'm sorry, guys," she said. "I was dumb to fall into their trap."
"It's okay, Tor," Raze said gently, taking off her jacket and handing it to the other girl. "We didn't know it wasn't, you know…"
A paper plane flew through the air, turning a lazy circle before breezing over their heads. Jake jumped for it, but it eluded her. Tor snatched it from the air with her superior height. She unfolded the lined paper, and a smile slowly overtook her.
"What?" Phoenix asked, grabbing the note. She read it, and grinned.
"Looks like Lutoria 'One Of The Boys' of Linphea really did get lucky after all," Raze commented, smirking as she read the note. Cass confirmed it.
Tor,
A muffin and a coffee at the Serenade on 7th Street? Saturday week, 8am.
Jehan.
"We have the locket," Frost said, smugness and derisiveness bleeding into her tone of voice. Spark snorted.
"Yeah, well, stealing from pixies is no big deal," she sniped back. Shade laughed.
"Yowled like a cat, the one we nabbed," Shade said nastily, "and she gave me this bruise. Bitch."
"You can't talk," Spark snapped, "Something scratched me well and good as we went through the portal. Must have been one of the fairies."
Frost pushed up the other girl's sleeves and revealed a long, thin cut along the inside of her arm. It was shallow, but her sleeve was slashed and stained. Frost snarled.
"Idiot, idiot, idiot! I told you to keep a low level shield at all times!" she shouted, "What if they got that bit of blood? Don't you know squat about Essence Theory?"
Spark flinched. Frost's eyes blazed.
"Idiot!"
In the darkness, a cloaked figure sniffed the dark red liquid staining the edge of her blade. The figure melted back into the shadows, walking the path of of the unperceived across the galaxy. She had much to think over, and much to do, most of it by herself. True, she was part of an organisation, but she wasn't like anything or anyone else. Mistress and Master could handle being uninformed for a few days, at least until she figured out what exactly was going on.
Mercy had much to think over, indeed.
Hai, this is COLD HARD FACTS, by Raze~
Nickname: Seeing as my real name is Arazelia Calasynth Celalune, it's pretty safe to say that my nickname is Raze, or Celly, or Synth, or Zeli, or a multitude of other variations. Mostly I go by Raze, though. I mean, what was my mom thinking, saddling me with such mouthful? My mom's a lunatic. I mean, compared to my dad and most normal people. My dad wanted to call me The Kid, or Hey You. See what I mean?
Favourite Food: I like food in general. But I'd have to say... LASAGNA OM NOM NOM.
Favourite Colour: Sunset orange, and royal purple.
Favourite Hobby: Paintball, laser-tag and first person shooting games. Give me a kill streak, I can beat it.
Favourite Pet: Wow, that's a tough one. I don't like rats, or mice, or ferrets, wait, I like ferrets! And guinea pigs. Fat guinea pigs.
Ideal Boyfriend: A rich, sarcastic butt-head. Nah, jokes jokes- definitely sarcastic, and probably a red-head too. You know they have their tempers~ Wouldn't it be fun to rile your bf up, just to see them blush? XD
Best Friends: Phoenix of Melody and Cass of Tides/Andros/general vicinity.
Favourite Movies: Action comedy- Rush Hour and the like. Anything with Jackie Chan :)
Loves: Hannari tofu plush, fleece fox hats, red-haired guys who blush and are easy to cuddle on cold days~ COD Black Ops, paintball and fluffy scarves, clockpunk.
Hates: Blushing, being flashed at, overcooked prawns bleurgh!
Favourite Music: Anti-folk, folk-punk, experimental rock.
Favourite Shoes: Flat espadrilles, wedges with ankle straps, colourful rubber flip-flops.
Favourite Subject: Study of Reality, Magical Theory II, Essence Theory.
Favourite Spell: The spell that results in localised reality pressure disturbance? That one.
Catchphrase: Serve me a big fat hunk of cow.