Chapter 12
The young boy was stumbling through the snow, but slipped on ice after he cleared the knee deep obstacle. He scrambled to his feet, discovering that he was on a frozen lake. Some of the ice had darker patches, indications of it melting. Spring was coming fast and this region was visibly warmer than it had been before.
He heard it coming now, he heard it laughing at him. It looked like a man, full grown with a messy short beard. "Keep running boy, or the game is over!"
That was the game, run or die. As long as he kept on running he would not be harmed. But if he stopped he would be slaughtered like the last victim, shown to him by a video recording. There were cameras in the trees right now, all set up along this trail, the one that led to the nearest town.
He took slow steps along the ice, trying to stay on thicker parts and shying away from parts that cracked. He whimpered and gasped, close to collapsing from sheer fright. Then he turned back and saw him stepping out onto the ice. The ice did not crack under his weight, as though he were light as a feather. He looked normal, like some average if not scruffy man who he would not have looked at twice.
But the grin on his face spoke volumes of his true nature. His teeth were long, needle thin, his mouth far too large; it seemed to distort his face like some demented cartoon. They were stained pink from a recent victim.
"Keep running...keep running..." He said in a sing-song voice. "Keep running or I'm gonna eat you right here."
The boy tried to get to the other side of the lake...
CR-CRACK!
His leg plummeted through the ice, up to the mid thigh. He cried out, trying to pull it up, but the man was already in front of him.
"Too slow...way too slow," The man shook his head, pulling back the sleeve of his coat.
The boy watched in horror as swarms of red mosquitoes came of his sleeves and surrounded the boy.
"Feeding time!" The man cackled.
The boy closed his eyes as the mosquitoes flew in to eat him alive...but he heard a shout of pain and opened his eyes. He saw a sword sticking out of the man's chest. Behind him was Gwen who pulled her sword out of his chest.
"Disgusting. Hunting kids like that and then killing them like that?" Gwen spoke, not hiding the anger and disgust she felt.
The man looked at her with a hate filled glare. "Avatar..."
"Yeah, yeah. That's what they all say when they..." Gwen watched as the man's wound healed. "That usually doesn't happen."
The man lunged at her but she slammed the hilt of her sword into his face and knocked him down.
The man held out a hand. "Swarm...Blood..."
Suddenly a red mist formed in his palm...and shot out at Gwen as fast as a bullet. She brought her sword up, but the mist bypassed it-something that a usual demon attack could not do. It surrounded her, and she felt tiny stinging pains...
It wasn't mist; it was a swarm of tiny flies! They all bit and stung at her as she swatted them away.
"What kind of Method is this?!"
"It's...oh god Gwen, I know what this is. Some of us call this category the Negative Contract."
"Negative Contract?" Gwen used a quick method to conjure gusts of wind that scattered the swarm of demonic flies.
"The Negative Contract was once used for the creation of what you could call Avatars...but in greater numbers," Andromeda growled. "It corrupted them; they had no spirit attachment, just the ability to use Methods. No spirit would give their powers away to humans willingly...except a Demon."
"I'm fighting a demon right now?" Gwen asked, gulping.
"No, we call it a Familiar, a human given the powers of a demon through a price." Andromeda replied. "They are bound for eternity to serve that demon and do what it says, commonly taking life energy for the demon."
The man grew claws and launched at her but Gwen was too quick and cut off its arm.
"This one's a little weaker than I thought." Gwen watched as the man screamed in pain.
"It's a newborn. A Familiar that hasn't had enough time to grow. Gwen, you must kill it now." Andromeda explained.
"No problem." Gwen smirked as the Familiar lunged at her.
She swung her sword and the Familiar screamed as the sword cut him in half. That was when his body started to burn and there was nothing left of it a second later.
"When a Familiar dies there is nothing left, its life energy is taken by the Demon he took a contract with." Andromeda said.
"Good riddance." Gwen said as her sword vanished and she turned to the paralyzed boy.
She smiled warmly at him as she slowly walked over to him. "It's all right; I'm not going to hurt you."
She helped him get his leg out of the ice picked him carefully.
"Wh-Who are you?" The boy asked.
"Someone who's taking you home." Gwen replied as she drew a symbol in front of the boy.
He fell asleep as his memories of that Familiar vanished from his mind. She then put a finger on the boy's forehead.
"Show me the path." Her mind flashed with images of the boy's home allowing her to find out where he lived.
She took off and found his house. She snuck into his bedroom and softly put him in his bed, pulling the covers over him. She then drew a circle and vanished into a portal.
Xxx
"Is it just me or are you and Carlos getting lazy?" Gwen asked as she walked into Kurt's shop.
"Where'd that come from?" Kurt asked, standing behind the register's table.
"You said there was a rogue spirit running around Eurasia, not a Familiar." Gwen tossed her coat onto the couch. "When are you wrong about something like that?"
"Familiars are unpredictable, Gwen. They have the same number of Methods an Avatar has, it's impossible to distinguish them from a rogue spirit all the time." Kurt replied.
"That and there hasn't been a Familiar in Eurasia for over a century," Carlos added, carrying a large box. "Ok, where do I set this?"
"Just drop it-"
THUD!
"OW! CARLOS!"
"What? You said drop it!"
"Not literally!..." Kurt sighed. "You are so ignorant sometimes that it's hard not to kill you."
"Right back at you buddy," Carlos nodded before pulling something out of his jacket. "Oh and Gwen I went through your mail box and this showed up for you."
"You go through my mail?!" Gwen demanded.
"Yeah, to make sure nobody sends you a constructed method in a post card designed to eat your face off," Carlos shrugged and opened it. "That happens a lot sometimes."
"Ever happen to you?" Gwen asked as she tried to snatch the envelope.
"...some times," Carlos said, holding it out of her reach and taking out a sheet of paper. He unfolded it as Gwen turned to Kurt.
"Kurt, has he had his face eaten before?"
"That's not the question to ask Gwen," Kurt said as he cleaned up Carlos' mess. "You should be asking if that's his real face."
"..." Gwen looked at Carlos, who waved innocently and began to read out loud...more like mumble it out loud.
After he was done he tossed it aside. "Congratulations Gwen...you've got a court summons!"
"What?!" She snatched the paper up. "I have to testify?! Against who?!"
"Looks like the delinquent's girlfriend and Cat Breath are trying to sue the producers for that mansion fiasco." Carlos snickered. "Oh man they have no proof that the producers were even in on it! They'll be thrown out and humiliated!"
"So what do they need me for?"
Kurt shrugged. "Well technically you are the only one with answers. You dragged them out, told them they were whacked out of their minds and that it was one big joke."
"...I should have just made portals back to their homes," Gwen groaned. "Court with Heather and Courtney equals big head ache for me!"
"And plenty of funny things for me to record," Carlos snickered. "I'll get the camera."
"Kurt, I think Carlos will be getting a new face soon." Gwen glared at him.
"Be sure to let his girl friend know about it." Kurt pulled out a book and read it, not looking at the two. "She'll have to change all the photos and wipe her parents' memory of his last face to cover up for it."
"You wouldn't do that to me...would you?" Carlos asked, looking at Gwen. "I drove you home for free!"
"And almost gave me 7 heart attacks."
"I said I was sorry!"
"No you didn't! You just said 'my bad!'"
"Oh...well I'm sorry! I can't be that bad."
"Carlos...I don't think you'll only need a 'new face'."
Gwen pulled out her sword and pointed it...between his legs.
"Eek!" Carlos ran out of the store.
Xxx
Gwen was dressed in a dark shirt under a buttoned up vest with dark pants and black shoes. These were the closest clothes that she had that could be considered appropriate for court. She walked up the stairs and towards the entrance. She still wore the Star Necklace that acted as her connection to Andromeda.
"There you are!"
Gwen sighed as Heather and Courtney walked towards her. Courtney was dressed in grey buttoned up blouse with a matching knee length skirt and high heels while Heather wore a similar outfit-though much more expensive and of a darker shade.
"Today's the day Gwen; we're going to put Chris away for the rest of his life!" Courtney said eagerly. "And you were sober when it all happened, this'll be no problem!"
"Wow, you must be in a good mood considering you asking the girl who's apparently been trying to steal your boyfriend." Gwen raised an eyebrow.
"It was your idea to sue them!" Heather pointed out. "I am making an effort to be nice here."
"I was being sarcastic when I said that!" Gwen replied. "And even if I was being genuine I didn't think you'd need me for this."
"Like I said, Gwen, you're the only one who knows what happened." Courtney replied and pointed at Gwen. "Do this right I might be nice enough to forget the whole thing with Duncan."
"And I might decide to actually stop pointing out how much an annoying weird goth girl you are."Heather said.
"Now come on! We have a case to win!" Courtney pulled Gwen into the building.
"Oh boy." Gwen groaned.
She could feel a sense of sympathy from Andromeda through the link they shared. She calmed down and simply followed them into the court. Chris sat next to his lawyer while Courtney and Heather sat down with their lawyers. Gwen noticed that the other contestants from Total Drama including her friends were in the audience. She also noticed that some of them had their parents with them.
The judge banged his gavel down. "Court is now in session!"
Courtney's lawyer stood up. "We are all gathered here today because a great injustice. Ever since my client first signed onto Total Drama she and her fellow contestants have been subjected to cruel and unusual torment as they competed and recently even though the show is over Chris Mclean decided to continue his torture. A note sent to each contestant led them to a mansion where they were led on a wild goose chase and ended up intoxicated and partaking in humiliating acts for the amusement of Mr Mclean and his colleagues."
Chris's lawyer stood up. "As usual Courtney and Heather are angry for their failure to win despite the efforts they put into winning such as deceiving, lying, and cheating their way through the competition. There was no secret contest to win a million dollars in a mansion and as usual they are looking for a scapegoat."
"Call your first witness." The judge said.
"The defence calls Gwen Rivers to the stand."
Gwen took a deep breath as she stood up and walked to the witness stand. Once she sat down Courtney's lawyer stood up and walked over to her, stopping in front of the witness stand.
"Gwen, like all other contestants you received a note about a contest about finding money in a hidden mansion, correct?" Courtney's lawyer asked.
"Yes." Gwen nodded.
"And like the others you decided to participate in it?"
"Yes." Gwen nodded again.
"Well, can you please tell us what happened during the night in question?"
"I followed the directions to the mansion that was written on the card. When I got there I didn't really see anyone at first but when I started exploring the rooms I found the others. They were... not normal."
"So, they had already been intoxicated when you arrived?" Courtney's lawyer asked.
"It looked like that."
"What were they doing?"
"I'm not sure I know exactly what they were all doing. Izzy was shouting something about a demon baby in a nursery room, Lindsay was playing hide and seek in a closet room with 'ghosties', and it just goes on." Gwen shrugged.
"Where did you find my client?" Courtney's lawyer gestured to Courtney.
"In a bathroom, scrubbing the air in the bath tub while saying 'I'm trying'. Sounded a lot like she thought someone was in the bath and she trying to scrub them." Gwen noticed that Courtney threw a sharp glare at Chris even though it wasn't his fault.
"So she was intoxicated as well?"
"It really looked like that. She was happy to see me and we're not exactly friends." Gwen pointed it out. "I convinced her to go down and wait at the entrance with a few of the other people while I looked around for the others. By the time I found everyone they fell asleep, leaving me to drag them out of the mansion and back to the cabin where the whole thing started which wasn't easy with a few of them."
"How did you come to believe that they had become intoxicated?"
"When I came into the kitchen there was a pile of Pepsi cans spilled all over the floor. DJ was in there cooking all sorts of food saying that the stuff made him feel...happy." Gwen threw an apologetic look at DJ and Geoff. "He said everyone waited around and heard Geoff mention that the house was a nice place to have a party and I guess that's where things went south."
"And when did you come along?"
"Three hours after everyone else did."
"Why were you late?"
"I have a part time job at a game store. I didn't get home until around dinner and left after I ate. I didn't trust Chris to have anything that was edible."
"Guilty on that one dudes," Chris nodded.
"SHH!" Chris' lawyer-used to working for idiots hushed his client.
"No more questions your honour." Courtney's lawyer sat down.
"Your turn, councillor." The judge looked to Heather's lawyer.
"No questions."
"Very well."
Chris's lawyer stood up and walked over to the witness stand.
"You pretty sure it was my client that did this. How can you be so sure?"
"Well for one, he does things like that, a lot. He makes empty promises and he sits back and watches as we get humiliated while he laughs." Gwen replied.
"But there were no cameras and no one at the mansion so how can you be so sure?"
Gwen saw this coming, he was trying to put holes in her story and unfortunately he might actually do it. But still, Gwen had to play the part.
"The card with his logo on it for one. Everything he owns has his face on it." Gwen replied.
"A card that could have been fabricated." The lawyer pointed out. "Did you even see anyone else in the mansion who might confirm your story?"
"...No. I looked all over the place but there were no cameras, no money, and the only person I met was that bus driver."Gwen said reluctantly.
"In other words your accusation of my client is prejudice." The lawyer said.
Gwen glared at him.
"And who was the bus driver?"
"I didn't ask for his name. He helped me drag the others out of the house and into the cabin so they could rest and wake up. I asked the bus driver about the contest but he shrugged and said he was just doing what he was paid to do." Gwen shrugged. "I waited for them to wake up and then we were taken home."
"So aside from you who claims to know what happened you admit that you never saw any proof that it was my client who was responsible for this." The lawyer asked. "The bus driver could have set the whole thing up or was just come lunatic paid to take you all home."
'You're not far off with the lunatic part.' Gwen thought.
Xxx
"ACHOO!" Carlos sneezed. "Aw man! Whoever talked about me is going to die for making me sneeze on my Klondike bar!"
"Sucks to be you," Kurt drawled, sprawled across his couch reading his book.
"Aw shut up I bet the same will happen to you soon too,"
"Yeah, that'll happen," Kurt scoffed.
Xxx
'And Kurt's not far behind him.'
Xxx
"ACHOO! My book!" Kurt whined.
"Karma, jerk," Carlos snickered...before Kurt tackled him, and they began to wrestle among the trash heaped in the shop. "GAH! Cheap shot! Punk move!"
Xxx
"Your honour it's obvious they don't have any proof other than the word on this one witness who admits that she never saw anything that can proof my client or the producers were responsible for what happened." Chris's lawyer sat down next to Chris.
"Well then, we will take a ten minute recess and allow the jury to decide." The judge banged his gavel.
Xxx
Gwen was relieved to be out of that courtroom when the judge declared a recess. She walked straight out of the courtroom and sat on a nearby bench.
"Well that was a bust!" Heather complained as she and Courtney walked over to her. "The one time we really need you and you screw up!"
A hand reached out and smacked Heather on the back of the head earning a yelp from her.
"Don't you talk bad young lady!" They looked and saw DJ's mother standing behind them with DJ wearing black pants, a shirt and tie. "This girl saved you all along with my little boy so show some appreciation!"
Heather and Courtney wisely backed off which made Gwen smile gratefully. "Thank you."
"And thank you for helping my boy. I was so worried when he went off into that dark forest." DJ's mother smiled at her. "Even if that host is not sued it doesn't matter to me. All that matters is that my boy is safe and sorry for these two," She glared at Heather and Courtney."For putting you through all this."
Gwen nodded as she and DJ walked off.
"You okay, Gwen?" Gwen looked and saw Bridgette in a light blue blouse and skirt.
"Yeah, considering Chris's lawyer called me a liar." Gwen shrugged. "Nothing new."
"There's no way you are lying about something like that." Bridgette replied while Geoff who was wearing a suit like DJ put an arm around her. "I may not remember but I know something crazy went on in that house and you got us out in one piece."
'You have no idea.'
"So...what was I doing?" Geoff asked. "You know when I was...partying?"
"You sure you want to know?" Gwen had a small smile.
"How weird could it have been?" Geoff shrugged.
"You were trying to play the piano and you sucked." Gwen smirked.
"...Oh." Geoff rubbed the back of his head. "I must have been really out of my mind."
"What was I doing?" Bridgette asked.
"Gardening."
"That doesn't sound so bad." Bridgette commented.
"Right next to a graveyard."
"...Oh." Bridgette paled a bit at the thought of being a gardener near graveyard.
"Looks like the recess is over." Gwen said as people started to fill the court again.
Xxx
"Has the jury reached a verdict?" The judge asked.
A woman stood up from the jury's bench. "We have your honor. We find the defendant not guilty."
"YES!" Chris stood up and pumped his fists. "In your face!" He pointed at Courtney and Heather.
"Order in the court!" The judge snapped. "Case dismissed. I thank the jury for their time."
Courtney and Heather glared as Chris danced his way out of the courtroom while the others simply watched from the audience. Gwen stood up and walked out of the courtroom before Courtney or Heather decided to complain about losing again.
Xxx
"Well that was about the worst day of my life in court." Gwen sighed as she walked into Kurt's shop an hour later after court.
She had changed into her hunting clothes as she prepared for her shift on spirit watching.
"Sorry, Gwen, you're not going out tonight." Kurt got up from his desk.
"What do you mean? This is my shift; I always go out at this time." Gwen replied, raising an eyebrow.
"Let's just say you got something else." Kurt held up a piece of paper.
"Another one?! Don't tell me Courtney and Heather are trying another crack in court!" Gwen snatched the paper.
"It's not a summons for that one. You've been invited to Celebrity Manhunt mostly because of how Heather's harassing you over the Internet." Kurt replied as Gwen looked over the paper.
"Yeah, right. Another chance to show up on TV with a million fans to ask annoying questions." Gwen tossed the paper into the garbage.
"You're not going?" Carlos asked.
"Nope, I'm not giving them the chance to see another fight between me and Heather." Gwen shrugged. "I don't care what the contract says, they say I should bury the hatchet with Heather but as long as Cat Breath keeps trying to make life for me miserable for whatever reason she had to hate me I am not interested."
"Good for you, getting into a fight with her on Live TV is not something good for an Avatar. It'd call your status as the Avatar of Andromeda into question." Carlos said. "I hate to see you brought up in front of everyone just because you couldn't keep your cool."
"We have a precedent for pretty much anything ranging from possession to Armageddon, and most recently to Carlos there," Kurt nodded to the third avatar.
"I said I was sorry!" Carlos whined.
"No you didn't!" Kurt snapped. "You just said 'my bad!'"
"...oh right," Carlos nodded. "Man I still don't know how I got out of that one."
"You had me to defend you, remember?"
"And I am eternally thankful," Carlos nodded before he turned and knocked over a shelf. The contents were scattered across the floor. Kurt sighed.
"Are you going to clean that up?"
"Huh? Uh...me sorry, me no work here...or speak English!" Carlos replied before he ran out.
Kurt growled. "CARLOS!" But the avatar was long gone. "...next time he buys here I'm charging triple...aw hell that won't matter to him, the guy pulls money out of his ass for all I know."
"I am sure you'll find some way to deal with him." Gwen said as she headed for the door.
"Hold on a second!" Kurt called out. "You've got something else!"
"What now?" Gwen sighed.
"An invitation but this is an Avatar Invitation." Kurt held out a letter.
"An Avatar invitation?" Gwen walked back to the counter with a confused look.
"Yes, you see Gwen most Avatars are scattered across the world hunting rogue Spirits, Familiar, and Demons who have breached the barriers between our worlds and acted against the laws. While Avatars usually travel alone it was decided that in case more than one Avatar was needed for a situation they could call in backup and a tradition was set up, once a year Spirit Avatars would come all the way across the world to gather and socialize in a Sanctuary set up." Kurt explained.
"Wow. I didn't know we did that." Gwen looked over the letter.
"Gwen, it's important to socialize or at least meet with other Avatars, because you never know who you might run into. You may have done well but it's not uncommon for Rogue Spirits to gather together and form their own groups to stand against the Avatars. Here's one example." Kurt held up a globe. "Back in the days of the old British Empire, there was a rogue organization of spirits in the days when pirates roamed the oceans. The Nine Great Sharks, nine powerful spirits with humans and spirits under their command that each ruled a sea of their own...okay some were just really big inland lakes but you get what I mean. Of course many rogue spirits, people, and pirates were wiped out in that day by a famous avatar...and I'll give you a hint of who he was: a historical figure who sailed all of those seas...and to save time I'll just come out and say it: Davy Jones!"
"...I thought you would have said Black Beard," Gwen shrugged.
"Nah, the guy was an ass." Kurt replied. "Don't get me started on Sir Francis Drake either. Now moving on...Davy Jones roamed under the title of a pirate in order to travel all over the world, destroying rogue spirits and demons with the help of his crew and spirit: Calypso."
"...did the guy who wrote the script for Pirates of the Caribbean base the movie off this guy?"
"...somewhat." Kurt nodded. "But the information was partially misguided. Calypso is a spirit who favors the oceans, water...all that jazz. She preferred to take on Avatars who would stick close to the seas; hence a man like Davy Jones became the perfect choice! And man, a lot of us are glad since some really nasty spirits like to hide in the ocean...and some of them would create bodies for themselves. The Kraken for one...the Loch Ness monster-"
"That's real?"
"Whoa man I shouldn't have told you that! Er...never mind that. But anyways...Jones had to do a lot of the hard work since humanity relied on the ocean for travel and resources so much, more so than now since we now have that handy invention called the air plane." Kurt explained. "The problem is that since he was officially a pirate, Jones was hunted by pretty much every power on the seas. And while Avatars usually have deep pockets and lots of contacts, you couldn't persuade every major empire out there to step down. This made looking for the Nine Sharks really hard when you have British frigates chasing you around all the time."
"I guess so." Gwen nodded. "I guess it wouldn't be so bad to attend. It might be interesting."
"I got a Hexagon Circle drawn out in the back just for you." Kurt pointed to back.
"What about you and Carlos?" Gwen started walking to the back.
"Nah, parties aren't my thing and everyone would have their weapons out when Carlos showed up. The guy seriously can't handle a joke." Kurt shook his head
