5th Revolution: Loneliness, the Self-Loathing Fledgling?
In a state of the art university at the top of a grassy green hill, a lone female student with pale skin and long black pin straight hair sat in the art room with her sketch book opened to a blank page on a desk in front of her. With her pencil gripped in her hand, she held it to her page as her hand gradually trembled more and more with each passing moment. She was dressed in an oversized plain white sweater, and a long black skirt that went past her knees with simple pale blue flats adorning her feet.
On the table beside her sketchbook was her phone which was open to the photo of a girl about her age. Her hair was short, wavey and chestnut brown. She had a heavy tan, and from the angel of the photo her hot pink t-shirt was the only bit of clothing that could be seen. Not like that was a major detail in comparison to the beaming grin she had on her face which was pointed towards her photographer in addition to her hands which were pointed like a pair of guns at the camera.
The artist, with her eyes shifting between her page and her phone, eventually let out a heavy sigh and placed down her pencil.
"Why?" she huffed, ringing her hand through her hair, "why must you be so-"
"SAMMY!" a chiper and excited voice suddenly cried out from behind the artist, causing her to jump. The artist, named Samantha, turned in her chair to see the subject of her photograph run towards her before throwing her arms around her. "There you are," the girl gave Samantha a quick kiss on the top of her lip, "I was looking all over for ya."
Samantha blushed, "Amy…" she cupped the girl's hand with her own, locking her phone and closing her book with her free hand before dodging the other girl's gaze, "you knew I'd be here working late."
"Ya I did," Amy frowned playfully before blowing a raspberry on Samantha's cheek, "but now you're done." Amy grinned, taking a step away from Samantha and taking her by her hands, "Now come on, we're going for dinner."
Samantha groaned, falling limp to fight being pulled up from her seat, "Amy… why?"
"Because, I'm hungry and you're gorgeous," Amy pulled Samantha up harder before hugging tightly, patting the pale girl in her arms on the top of her head. "Now let me take my gorgeous girlfriend out to dinner, okay?"
Samantha let out a sigh of defeat, then looked up to Amy, "Okay…" she blinked, "but let me get back to work after? Please Amy?"
Amy giggled, placing a gentle kiss on Samantha's lips. "Okay," she cooed in a voice softer than silk, taking hold of Samantha's hands before leading her to the door of the classroom, "now let's get going."
{Insert Opening Theme: "Rinbu Revolution" by Chihara Minori}
Rain poured down from a clear night sky, a laughing crescent moon hanging among the stars shaped light dolls in lolita style dresses as the Maestro of the Macabre wondered the desolate soaked streets of a dilapidated replica of the city of london in the victorian era. With the rain evaporating before it so much as touched his cloak, the Maestro approached the ruins of what appeared to be a theatre where two doll-like creatures stood in wait for him.
They both wore dresses in the same style as the stars in the sky, their hair tied back and faces covered with smiling masks with the likeness of a bunny rabbit. The only difference between the two were the colors of dress and mask they wore. The one to the Maestro's right was in black, while his left was in white.
"Welcome back, my spyre of loneliness," the two dolls said in unison as they bowed before the maestro. "We were beginning to worry for your well being."
"Clover," cooed the Maestro as he cupped the white doll's mask, he then looked to the black doll's and cupped her mask as well, "Poppy…" A gentle grin came to his face and he pulled the two of them into a warm compassionate hug, "what sort of spyre would I be if I abandoned you all here?"
As he spoke, many more doll-like creatures skipped across the rainy streets, laughing as they played in an endless game of tag. One, a blond doll in a pink dress without arms and a cloth covering her eyes, stopped and stared at Maestro. Despite the fabric covering her eyes, her face lit up into a grin then continued to run after the other doll-like creatures, "HEY! THE MAESTRO'S RETURNED!" she cried out as she ran.
Watching this, the Maestro grinned as he patted Poppy and Clover on the head, "Seems as though I was missed more than I knew."
"Of course you were," Poppy said in a neutral tone as Clover hugged the Maestro, "us mimics would be lost without you guiding our strings."
With a sniffle into the Maestro's sleeve, Clover nodded, "It's your melody that guides us, my spyre." She looked up to him, "It's what gives us purpose."
"And the two of you should not forget that fact," Maestro told them, maintaining his grin as he patted them both on the head. "Now then," he rose to his feet, "have either of you two seen Megora around? I am in need of her."
Clover and Poppy nodded, gesturing to the theatre before them, "She's practicing, same as she always does."
"Perfect, thank you my flowers," he bowed to them before proceeding up the theatre steps with a purpose filled stride, making it to the front door within moments.
As he entered the door into a long twisting hallway, he was greeted to a sad, a haunting yet somehow comforting melody echoed from the depths of the hallway itself. The Maestro continued his walk down that very passageway. Along the way, he passed my paintings that were hung on the wall, each one of a beautiful girl or woman facing some form of despair or torment. That was until he passed by each painting, which resulted in the girl it depicted to transform into a mimic grinning ear to ear.
The Maestro continued down the hall until he came to a painting that had been taken off the wall, it's canvas torn and defaced with it's frame broken into pieces. Upon seeing this, the Maestro's grin faded as he knelt down and picked up a fragment of the picture's frame.
"I know it's hard my flower," he said in a calm voice, his eye looking to the other side of the hall opposite the desecrated painting to find the Jester of the Court curled up into the feedle position with her back to the ruined portrait, "but you cannot go destroying your history every time you do not get your way."
The jester growled, turning only her head to face the Maestro and glare at him.
"I know you wish to play with the network rider my flower," the Maestro told her as the pieces of the painting that still littered the ground picked themselves up and towards the frame fragment that the spyre held, "and believe me, you will."
As the pieces came together, Jester turned around fully and looked at it. The mimic stared at the girl in the painting who stood behind an open doorway in shadows with tears in her eyes while another girl with red hair stood just beyond the open doorway basked in the light. With a heavy huff, the Jester averted their gaze and looked away from it.
"Jester," Maestro glared at his servant, taking hold of her chin as he released the painting and it retook its place on the wall. "I need you watch this, and remember it," he guided her gaze to the painting, the picture shifting as the girl in shadows transformed into the Jester of the Court, the present day Jester snarling as the version of her in the portrait tor through the doorway and drove its claws into the red haired girls chest, "it's remembering this pain that will make you strong my flower."
The jester shuttered, watching as the painting hung itself on the wall and froze on the image of her in a profile view holding the red haired girl high above her head. Pictured upon the Jester's mask in the portrait, a smirk which suggested pride while the limp red haired girl simply cupped the jester's face with a look on her face which only suggested sadness and regret.
"Yes… my spyre," the Jester spoke, "I will."
Maestro's eyes widened in shock, looking upon the Jester as a smirk appeared on her face. "You've finally managed the strength to speak?"
Jester looked to the Maestro and nodded. "Forgive me," she bowed, "it took me sometime to… how do I put this?"
Maestro pinched her cheek, "Adjust?" Jester nodded once again. "As do all of mimics once I have rescued them from their torment. However, your adjustment couldn't have come at a better time my flower."
Jester tilted their head to the side, "How so my spyre?"
"Selias has passed dealing with the network rider onto us," he told her, "is that not wonderful?"
Jester froze for a moment, then she laughed, "Only if I get to fight her."
"You play time with her will come," Maestro's gaze sharpened upon the Jester, "but it is not now…" he gently placed his hands on both her shoulders, "I could not forgive myself if I threw you at her before you were ready."
The jester snarled, "BUT I'M READY NOW!" she barked, slamming her foot down on the floor, "I'VE BEEN READY SINCE SHE DROVE ME TO BECOMING THIS!"
Suddenly, Maestro delivered a quick but hard back handed slap across Jester's face which sent her slamming into the wall. "No you're not Jester," he spoke as Jester fell to the floor, "were you not listening to me?"
The Jester shuttered, staring up at the Maestro as her whole body began to shake under her master's shadow, "But I just-"
Maestro snapped his fingers, causing a curved sword with the handle of a bat to form in his closed fist. "But you just what?" he glared at her as he aimed his blade at the mimic by his feet, "Asking to die?"
The Jester shook her head, "N-No my spyre…"
"Good," he pulled back his sword, dispersing the moment he released his hold on it, "now on your feet." He continued down the hall, his now narrowed gaze fixed firmly on the pair of double doors at the end of it.
Jester, without a word, climbed back to her feet and followed behind the Maestro. The pair reached the doors in moments, the doors opening up without the Maestro so much as needing to touch them. They walked through and into an auditorium that had its seats filled with shadows all with faces that resembled the theatre mask for comedy. The sad comforting melody was now all around them as the duo walked down through the fully seated pues towards a circular stage in the center of it.
Upon the stage was a pale white marionette like woman in a two piece black leotard, the bottoms of which were covered by a mesh skirt that went down to her knees in an almost web like pattern. The mimic danced to the melody, her back currently to the Maestro and the Jester as they approached, allowing Jester to see only one other defining feature of the mimic before her, the fact that while her right arm was fully in tact, her left arm from the elbow down was nothing more than an incomplete stump.
"Megora," Maestro announced as he reached the stage, the dancing mimic freezing in place the moment her name was called, "I am in need of you."
Megora lowered her limbs to her side, then turned only her head to reveal she wore a mask similar to the audience that was watching her; only this one bore the expression which was used to represent the genre of tragedy.
"For what purpose…" she spoke in a strained, almost exhausted voice, "my spyre?"
In the human realm, Trey and Syd sat at a table at a somewhat ritzy cafe. Trey had a sandwich and soda in front of him while Syd munched down on a bowl of ice cream in front of her that had already been topped with jaydite. Trey, having taken a decent bite out of his sandwich, now sat looking out the window to the university at the top of the rolling green hill.
"One of these days, I'm gonna stop looking at every new place we go as some new wonder of the world," Trey said with a tear in his eye, "but.. This place is just beautiful."
As Syd ate, Eli's voice came out from the gem on her bracetlet, "You mean that university, or the town as a whole?"
Trey thought for a moment, then shrugged a bit, "A bit of column a and a bit of column b?" he returned. He then looked back to the building at the top of the hill, "Wait, that's a university?"
"Jewel's University for Exceptional Women," Eli told him, "one of three campus' across France, and one of the few all girl's universities left in the area it would seem."
"Jewel…" Trey muttered, looking over to Eli, "Wait, that's my mother's name. You mean she set up that university?"
"If she lived five hundred years ago when it was founded," Syd shrugged, "it's possible."
"Five hundred years ago…" Trey gasped, then leaned into Eli and Syd. "There's no way my mother is that old."
Syd blinked, "I'll be turning one hundred and six in a couple of months," she told him, eyeing the gemstone on her wrist, "isn't that right Eli?"
"Indeed it is," Eli confirmed, Trey's eyes shooting open as a result. "Fledgling Trey," Eli continued, noticing the young man's distress, "I believe it's time we explain something. Once a soul becomes a Network Rider, their time is halted."
"You mean…" Trey spoke slowly, "they'll live forever? Never aging?"
"Pretty much," Syd nodded, she then pointed to the university on the top of the hill, "in fact, that very spot used to be where mortal humans would train to become network riders."
"And it isn't anymore?" Trey asked, "Home come?"
"Three hundreds years ago," Eli spoke as Syd took another bite of her ice cream, "a network rider by the name of Artemis killed one of the Gate Keepers commanders, a spyre as they called them. After that, the Gate Keepers simply vanished from this world, and the training of new network riders simply wasn't needed."
"Until about eight years ago," Syd threw in, "when they suddenly returned."
"Eight years ago?" Trey questioned, "is that why my mother disappeared?"
"More than likely Fledgling Trey," Eli told him softly, "I'm sure your mother's decision to leave was not an easy one."
"Neither was killing that spyre," Trey let out a sigh, hoping to change the subject. "How did he do it? Did he have help?"
"According to the report, only his navigator aided him," Eli said, letting out a heavy breath, "but she sadly perished in the fight."
Upon hearing those words, Trey's heart sank to the bottom of his stomach, "Navigators," he muttered under his breath, "can die?"
Silence hung in the air, until fate swung in Syd and Eli's favor and Amy and Samantha walked by while heading towards the door.
"See, now don't you feel better?" Amy asked with a smile on her face as she pulled Samantha along by her hand.
Samantha shrugged, "I guess," she glanced towards Amy, "can we go back to our dorm now? I need to get back to my project."
"Geez," Amy laughed as they walked out the front door, "you sure are a work-a-holic aren't you my sweet heart?"
Syd glanced at the gem on her wrist, "Eli?"
"No doubt about it," Eli said, "one of those two young women is a fledgling."
"Couldn't pick up which one when they walked by us?" Syd questioned.
"Unfortunately not," Eli told her, "we'll need to figure that out ourselves."
Syd smirked, then looked to Trey, "Then it looks like we'll be heading up the mountain tomorrow. Won't we Trey?"
"I'm all for it," Trey told her, "but what if they don't allow visitors? We aren't exactly locals, Syd."
"Then we'll just pose as students," Syd told him with a shrug, "we won't run into any trouble so long as no one figures it out right?"
Trey laughed, "Okay, I like how you're thinking but it's a girls only university and…" he motioned to himself, "I'm a boy."
Syd's smirk widened, "Not for long."
Later that night, Samantha sat at a drafting table in her dimly lit dorm room, her unsteady hand resting over her still blank page under the small desk lamp that acted as her only source of light. Holding her head, she gritted her teeth in frustration as her foot began to tap rapidly.
"Sweety," Amy yawned as she came out of the bedroom in a white t-shirt and black shorts, "are you coming to bed soon? We have class in the morning you know."
"Yeah," she nodded, not taking her eyes off the page, "I just.. Just a bit longer okay?"
Amy let out a heavy sigh, "Okay," she said as she walked up to Samantha and kissed her on the top of her head, "don't stay up too late."
Samantha nodded, "I won't… love you."
Amy managed a small grin, "Love you too," she said as she headed back to her bedroom. As she climbed into bed, her phone began to ring, Amy opening her bedside table and pulling out her phone with the name 'Kaitlyn" on the caller ID. Amy blinked, then answered it. "Kait? What are you still doing up?"
"Yeah, I know it's late but I need a favor," a female voice came out, followed by a slight nervous laugh, "think you can meet me in the music hall before class tomorrow? I need a bit of help getting my pitch down."
"The music hall?" Amy questioned, then grinned, "sure, what time you wanna meet up?"
"How does seven thirty work?" Kaitlyn asked.
Despite not being in the same room, Amy gave a small thumbs up regardless, "Sounds perfect, I'll see ya then."
{End of Part A}
{Start of Part B}
The next morning at seven twenty-five, Syd stood at the front gates of the university at the top of the hill, now wearing a recently purchased uniform for the university they were about to enter which consisted of a sharp midnight blue blazer with the school's crest on the left breast pocket, matching knee length skirt and a cleanly pressed white button up shirt with a simple under the collar. She also wore a pair of knee high socks and polished black dress shoes to bring the whole outfit together.
In a wide stance and her fists on her hips, Syd took in a deep breath then let it out as students began coming onto the campus ground from around her, "Smells like the pursuit of knowledge, don't you think Trey?"
"Yeah… sure…" Trey's voice echoed out from a bush beside the gate, "can I just wait in the annex until this is over?"
Syd stared at the bush, then let out a heavy sigh before reaching into the bush. "We have two targets Fledgling Trey," Eli said as Trey managed to pull out Trey's arm, "if we split up, we'll have a better chance at finding them. Especially on the off chance they're in different places."
"Yeah I know but…" Trey groaned as he was pulled out from the bush, revealing that he was currently dressed in the same uniform as Syd, "do I have to wear this?"
"Unfortunately, yes," Syd told him before holding out a thick brown book with gold lettering on it, "student handbook says all students are required to wear uniforms during school hours."
Trey looked at the handbook and blinked, "And where by chance did you get that?"
"Lady at the bottom of the hill gave it to me," Syd told him.
Trey stared at her, "You stole it from her, didn't you?"
"Gave, stole, whichever word we use it doesn't excuse the fact we're gonna need something like this in our mission today," Syd told him, pointing to the book before turning to face the sea of uniformed young women that were flowing into the campus, "so we should just-"
Suddenly, Syd froze her eyes shooting open as one student in particular caught her eye. A dark skinned young woman with her naturally curly hair down up in pigtails and cut to be about shoulder length. This student however, despite Syd's obvious staring, didn't notice her or Trey and kept walking towards the school with her shoulder bag gripped tightly and its strap slung over her left side.
"No way…" Syd muttered under her breath, "it can't be…"
"Syd?" Trey called out to her, placing his hand on her shoulder. Suddenly, and without warning, Syd bolted passed the front gate and into the university campus. "HEY!" Trey called out to her, "WHERE ARE YOU GOING!"
"DON'T MIND ME!" Syd called back to him, "LOOK FOR THE FLEDGLING!"
Trey paused, his eyes blinking in confusion before he called out to her again, "WAIT! BUT HOW DO I KNOW WHICH ONE OF THEM IT IS!"
"LOOK FOR SIGNS OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS!" Syd called out one final time, her voice sounding farther away with each passing second, "AND ERRATIC, UNUSUAL BEHAVIOR!"
"ISN'T THAT WHAT YOU'RE DOING RIGHT NOW!" Trey shouted, pausing for a moment only to get not a word of a response as Syd had by that point vanished into the ocean of students in front of him. With a frustrated huff, Trey dug his hands into the pockets of his blazer then kicked the dirt with his shoe, "Guess I'm on my own then… in a town I don't know, chasing a pair of girls I don't know, at a school I don't go to," he looked up at the school then groaned some more, "my attire to be honest, is the least of my worries." He then shuffled into the school gates, keeping his head down, "Let's just get this day over with."
Moments later, Syd found herself just on the cliff's edge at the back of the university which overlooked the town below. Panting heavily, Syd looked from her left to her right before reaching out to grab hold of a nearby bench to catch her breath.
"Damn it…" she muttered under her breath, "I lost her…"
"Syd," Eli called out to her, "who was it you were chasing after?"
"That girl," Syd said, recalling the image of the girl she had just been chasing after and the dark skinned girl from her memory, "I think she was-" Suddenly, something in Syd's mind snapped causing all of her functions to freeze up.
"Syd?" Eli called to her, Syd's body loosening up as she reached for her now throbbing head, "Syd! Are you alright?!"
"Yeah… I'm fine.." she winced from the pounding in her head, "sorry Eli… what we were talking about?"
"You don't remember?" Eli asked.
"No…" Syd said, lowering her hand as her head stopped throbbing, "I don't, sorry."
"We spotted one of the two fledgling suspects," Eli told her, "and you ran after her leaving Trey to locate the other one."
"Alright," Syd punched her fist into her open palm, donning an eager smirk before turning on her heel to the building behind her, "then let's not let this little set back get in the way of our lead."
"SYD!" Eli called out in a sudden voice of panic, "Watch out! To the right!"
Turning in the direction Eli had told her, Syd gasped as from the shadow of the building lunged Megora. Cocking her head to the side, the mimic swung her head causing her braid to hurl itself at Syd with the hook tied into the top of it whistling through the air. Syd raised her arm to block it, but the hook carved through her sleeve and forearm like butter.
"Hey there," Syd gritted her teeth, "you got a name, or should I just call you legs for days?" she snickered, grabbing the mimic's braid to hold Megora in place despite the constant pull back from the doll-like creature's neck, waist and very defined legs.
The mimic glared at Syd, "Megora…" she said in an almost whisper of a voice, her one hand pointing to a sword with the pattern of a heart on its hilt that was ran through her chest and out her back, "the Impaled."
"Charmed," Syd smirked, "shame I'm going to need to send you back to your maker in pieces!" She released her hold on the mimic's braid before raising her foot to kick the mimic in the gut and sending her hurling backwards, landing limp on the ground just inches away from the cliff. Syd held her arm, the smallest amount of green fluid running out of her wound in place of red blood, "Eli.. when did we pass into the Gate Keeper's domain?"
"We didn't," Eli told her, "look at the sky."
Syd looked up and gasped, to her horror nothing had changed. "You mean… this thing managed to slip into the human realm?"
Within the auditorium inside his domain, Maestro sat staring at Syd in the reflection of his blood red wine. "Hate to break it to you my darling little network rider," he smirked as he swirled his drink, "but my flowers don't need to hide in the same way my sister's horrid beasts do." As he swirled his wine, the scene reflected in them changed to show the Jester of the Court who was staring back at him, "not since adding her to my collection and, fiddling, with her make up."
Back with Syd, the network rider pulled out her buckle and slapped it onto her waste, "GAME START!" it cried out as she pulled from her belt, her green Striker die.
"Eli! My jacket!" she commanded, her blazer reverting back into her long coat as she pulled up her hood and spun the dial on her driver.
"STRIKER!" roared her buckle as she transformed into Jayd Striker Form, her improved curved swords appearing on her back, "Piercing sabers! Carve the path!"
As Jayd finished transformed, Megora leapt back onto her feet then whipped her braid back at her. Jayd, not missing a beat, quickly drew her blades and deflected the braid with one of her swords then closed the distance between her and Megora before swinging her blade at her. The sword was about to hit its mark, but before it could Megora contorted her back backwards causing Jayd's sword to clash with the one embedded in the mimic's chest instead.
Jayd gasped, drawing her sword back only for Megora to grab hold of the sword within her chest. "Come, network rider," Megora whispered, drawing the sword out from her chest as her back straight along with it, the mimic fully drawing the sword before connecting it to the stump on her missing arm to complete her limb, "come, dance with me."
"Sorry hunny," Jayd popped her green striker die from her buckle before replacing it with her violet stalker die, "but I dance alone."
She re-spun her buckle, her sword dissolving as her coat changed from green to purple, "STALKER!" cried her buckle as her twin daggers appeared in her hands, "Deadly daggers! Strike the night!"
Megora swung her own sword at Jayd, only for Jayd to leap backwards before vanishing into thin air. Megora paused, then stepped forward and swung her sword only to her nothing. Moments later, one of Jayd's unseen daggers slashed its way across Megora's back causing the mimic to wince and it's limbs retract from the pain.
From within Maestro's theatre, the spyre of loneliness sucked his teeth then shook his head as he watched the above scene from his cup. "Now now, that's hardly fair isn't it?" he held out his hand and one of the smiling shadows around him placed in his open hand a miniature plush version of Megora. "Let's level the difficulty."
Pinching the cheeks of his plush Megora with one hand to open its mouth, he held his wine glass high as the fluid within it turned a deep oily black color. His grin widening, the Maestro proceeded to pour the now viscous fluid into his plush Megora's mouth. Close the plush doll's mouth up again, he shook the doll up as his drink returned to red wine and he once again looked into it to watch the battle unfold.
"That should handicap her enough," Maestro laughed.
Back with Jayd, Megora halted all her movements as her belly began to loudly rumble. Her mouth hanging open, she vomited up the same black oil Maestro had fed the doll but at a much greater volume. With the oil spewing from her mouth, Megora spun on her heel to cover the ground around her before finally covering her invisible opponent in it after only turning seventy-five degrees to the right of her.
Jayd, now visible, gawked at the fluid which reeked of death, rain and rotting flesh. "Guh!" she gagged, "what the heck is this stuff?!" She nearly hurled, trying to shake the substance off of her body.
"SYD!" Eli called out, "WATCH IT!"
Jayd looked up just as Megora slashed her sword down upon her, giving Jayd just enough time to step back to dodge the swipe. But the moment she did, her foot slipped ever so slightly off the cliff's edge. Jayd gasped, quickly pulling her foot back onto the ledge as the now loose earth that was beneath her feet fell to the town a few miles below in her stead.
Just as Jayd got both her feet on the ground, Megora whipped her braid towards Jayd and ensnared it around the network rider's throat before using that leverage to pull Jayd to up and over the mimic with a single backwards thrust of her neck, waist and legs. Slamming on the ground behind Megora, Jayd's transformation shattered and she reverted to Syd, the oil breaking off of her along with her rider form.
"Now…" whispered Megora as she raised her sword to Syd, pressing her foot down on the network rider's chest, "you die."
Just as Megora pulled her sword back to stab Syd, a blur leapt down from above and punched Megora off of her.
"Back off her, she's mine!" snarled the blur which, as Syd's gaze was able to focus upon it, was revealed to be the Jester of the Court. "Go and find the fledgling!"
"But the Maestro said-'' winced Megora as she stumbled towards Syd, only to be struck down to the ground by another powerful slash from the Jester's claws.
"The Maestro said I would play with her in time!" the Jester snarled, "and I can't do that if you kill her, understand?" Megora nodded and, while holding the side of her head that the Jester had hit, returned to her feet. "Good, it's a pale girl with pin straight black hair," the Jester told Megora, "she hasn't woken up yet, now get on it!"
Megora looked to Syd one final time, then stepped back into the shadows and vanished from sight just as quickly as she had appeared.
Climbing to her feet, Syd stared at the Jester with a shaken unsteady gaze. "Why would you help me?" she muttered, "Who are you?"
The Jester turned to Syd and smirked, "Don't you have a fledgling to save?"
Inside the university, Trey crept along the now empty halls, sticking as close to the walls as he could and remaining low to the ground. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he inched down to the corner of one wall then poked his head down the connecting hallway.
"Okay.. no one done there either," he whispered quietly, "good, good."
"Who are we hiding from?" he heard a voice whisper just as quietly into his ear.
"AHH!" he screamed, jumping up and slamming into the wall behind him. Breathing rapidly, he looked down to see Amy kneeling below him and laughing her ass off.
"Holy shit girl!" she howled as she climbed up onto her feet, "are you on the run or some-" she paused, her eyes shooting open as she got a good look at Trey. She instantly covered her mouth, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry…"
Trey looked to her and blinked, "Sorry for what?" he asked her.
"Okay, okay, okay!" Amy held her hands up, then pointed her fingers at Trey, "before I go and make an arse of myself, preferred pronouns?"
This only made Trey more confused, "Um.." He let out a heavy sigh in defeat, "okay, you got me, I'm a boy." He presented his wrists to Amy, "Take me to your warden officer."
"Dude, if you're a trans guy that's all cool," Amy grinned, snickering a little bit, "we don't throw folks out just cause they figure themselves out while they're here." She looked at the skirt Trey was wearing, "But um…" she then pointed to it, "doesn't that sorta fuck with you alittle?"
Trey looked down at the skirt. In that moment, he weighed two options that each seemed just as horrible. Get thrown out when the potential fledgling was right in front of him, or pose as a trans guy.
Taking in the hardest swallow of his life, Trey looked back to Amy and screamed in the back of his mind, "OKAY! I GUESS WE'RE DOING THIS!"
"Well um.." he muttered, tugging on his skirt a bit, "Isn't this regulation?"
Amy froze, unsure of how to proceed until thankfully someone walked by. "Dude, turn around," she pointed down the hall, Trey looking over his shoulder to see a very handsome man with short combed back hair. He wore the same uniform that Trey was, but with pants of the same color instead of a skirt. Trey blushed, his heart skipping a beat when he saw this man, "W-Who is that?" he muttered.
"Raymond, a senior. Of course he went by Rachel until his last few years of high school.. AFTER he was already awarded a scholarship here," Amy told him, a grin on her face as she crossed her arms. "Now, wouldn't he look awful funny in a skirt just like you?"
"Yeah…" Trey nodded, "I guess he would."
"Come with me to the office," Amy nudged his shoulder, "we'll get you some pants mister...?"
"Trey," he told her, extending his hand to her, "and you?"
"Amy," she shook his hand before leading him down the hall, "say, you doing anything later?"
"This morning? No, i don't have class until the afternoon," he told her, only to then think that maybe she was asking him out, "also I'm gay."
Amy looked at him, then laughed. "No shit," she gave him a quick jab in the shoulder, "so am I."
In the woods between the university and the dorms, Samantha ran as fast as her feet would carry her with her bag clutched in one fist and her phone in the other.
"Dammit Amy!" she huffed as she began to run out of breath, crossing an old yet presteen wooden bridge that was built over a ravine that ran through her path, "Why the heck didn't you wake me up?!"
Checking time on her phone, she then locked it before turning her gaze forward to the path ahead of her only to gasp when she saw Syd charging towards her. With the full force of a linebacker, Syd lunged forward and knocked Samantha to the ground before pinning the girls arms to the wooden bridge beneath her with her own hands.
"STOP!" Syd pleaded, "If you go any further your life will be in danger!"
"Are you nuts!" Samantha shoved Syd off of her, clawing her way back to her feet before taking off again down the road, "If I don't get there five minutes ago my life will be over!"
"WAIT!" Syd reached out to her, only for her hand to retract when Samantha shot a glare towards her.
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Samantha barked at her as she continued on down the road, "Whoever you are!"
"Syd.." Eli's voice called out quietly to his contractor, "you aren't actually going to do what she says, are you?"
"Of course not," she said as she rose to her feet. "If she's the fledgling, then it's our job to protect her whether she likes it or not."
Back at the school, the dark skinned girl that had caught Syd's attention stood against a grand piano in a vacant music room. She stared at a silver watch on her wrist, taping her foot as the second ticked away.
"Where is she?" she huffed as she looked to her watch which read five minutes to eight. She looked to the door, "I said seven thirty, didn't I?" On cue, the door swung open.
"KAITLYN!" Amy cried out as she came into the room, followed by Trey who now were pants instead of a skirt. "Sorry I'm late!" hunching over to catch her breath, she gestured to Trey, "I was helping a handsome gentleman who didn't know the schools trans policies."
"Oh, okay…" Kaitlyn grinned at Amy, only to stare at Trey with a raised brow, "but, what is he doing here now?"
"I uh, don't have class until the afternoon?" he told Kaitlyn.
"Ah, I see," Kaitlyn smirked, looking to Amy before approaching her, "and here I thought this was going to be a-" she brushed a bit of dust off of Amy's cheek, "one on one session with my favorite pianist."
Amy laughed a bit, "Well, now you have two sets of ears to help you hit the notes," she said as she stepped away from Kaitlyn and sat at the grand piano, opening it up before looking back to Kaitlyn. "The more the merrier, am I right?"
"Amy, darling," Kaitlyn cooed to her, "so long as you're behind the keys, the whole school could be in this room for all I care."
Amy raised a brow at this statement, rolling her eyes with a grin before just laughing it off, "If you say so." She turned to the piano and began playing.
After the first few notes, Kaitlyn opened her mouth and began to sing possibly the most beautiful voice he had ever heard. "Promise that we'll stay for the sunset, and when the moon shines through the darkness…" as Kaitlyn sang, Trey felt an odd sense of comfort, as if his own mother was somehow singing to him, "we can find the path that leads us home, and on the way you'll…" with a smirk, Kaitlyn cupped Amy's head and guided the other girl's gaze towards her, "maybe…" Amy grinned back at Kaitlyn but shook her head, "sing me a song."
"Promise that you always will be there," Kaitlyn closed her eyes and stepped away from Amy and unwittingly approached Trey, the boy being unable to help that the image of his mother placed itself overtop of Kaitlyn in his mind, "Hold my hand if ever I'm real scared. Help me stand up tall if I fall down, make me laugh away all my bluest days!" Kaitlyn's pich rose as did her tempo as she continued to the next verse, "How could you promise you always would be there? Why'd you have to go away somewhere?" As Kaitlyn sang that verse, the image of Trey's mother that was over her in his mind faded, a tear running down the boy's eye as she continued, "Every morning into every night Do you watch over me like the sun in the sky? Am I all alone, or standing in your light? I wish that I could...maybe...sing you a song…" Kaitlyn took breath, as Amy slowly but surely finished playing before Kaitlyn finally breathed, "tonight."
The room hung in silence for a moment before Trey finally broke with a sudden applause.
Kaitlyn opened her eyes, looking in surprise to the boy in front of her, "Y-You think it was that good?" she managed a slight nervous laugh, "I still thought I needed work."
Amy turned around and looked at Trey. "Dude," she laughed, "are you crying?"
"Kaitlyn, was it?" Trey finally spoke, wiping her eyes, "where did you learn that song?"
"I… I don't know," Kaitlyn grinned, then shrugged, "I've just sort of, always known it. Why?"
"My mother used to sing me that song when I was little," he told her, grinning after a final sniffle, "but she disappeared a few years ago so I haven't heard it song so beautifully in a very long time."
"Oh…" Kaitlyn muttered, her grin fading, "I'm sorry."
"No, no," Trey held up his open hand, "don't be sorry, it was nice having that memory back."
"If you say so," Kaitlyn bowed her head, regaining her grin as she looked to Amy, "speaking of disappearing… where's that girlfriend of yours Amy?"
At the front of the school, Samantha bolted through the front doors and bolted down the halls. "Okay," she allowed herself to breath, "I gotta find Amy, give her a piece of my mind before heading to class which I'm currently-" she checked her phone, "thirty-five minutes late for!"
Charging down the halls, she passed by Raymond who watched at her, "Morning Samantha!" he called out to her.
"HEY RAY!" she said as she ran by him, "SORRY! NO TIME TO TALK!" Ray was about to call out to her until he saw Samanth running backwards towards him again, "Hello again… have you seen Amy? I need to find her like, now!"
"I saw her heading towards the music room," he told her, "she's probably still there."
"Thank you!" Samantha waved to him before running off down the hall again.
Back in the music room, Amy looked to Kaitlyn with her usual grin, "Probably arriving at school now," she said as she closed the piano. "She was working late again last night, so I let her sleep in a bit. You know how important her art is to her."
"That I do," Kaitlyn's gaze narrowed upon Amy, "this would have anything to do with the creative block she's been having, would it?"
"Can't get anything past you, can I Kait?" Amy let out a somewhat sad sigh as she stood up from the piano stool. "Sure, I can tell her just to take a break until it blows over… but as her partner, it's my job to stand by her no matter what."
"Oh?" Kaitlyn raised a brow, her grin fading into a look of heartache, "Even if you end up suffering because of it?"
Amy blinked, trying to process what Kaitlyn just said, "What does that even-"
"Amy," Kaitlyn cut her off, taking a few steps towards the other girl, "sure, I haven't been here very long… but I know how she treats you is bullshit." She stopped just in front of Amy, taking hold of her hands and looking into her eyes with a sad and empathetic expression, "You know that too.. Right?"
Trey read the air of the room, then eyed the door, "I'll just.. See myself out," he whispered quietly as he stepped out of the room, silently closing the door behind him.
"That's not-" Amy shook her head, "You don't know her the way I do! She isn't normally-"
"Shh…" Kaitlyn calmly shushed her, placing a single finger against Amy's lips. "Stop making excuses for her, it only allows this to continue."
Amy stared blankly at Kaitlyn, "Kait…" she muttered, "what are you doing?"
"Amy, I like you…" Kaitlyn confessed as she delicately held both of Amy's hands, "and I have for a while." She shook her head, "I refuse to let Sam go on treating the ways she has, and I refuse to hold myself back any longer."
Amy's eyes shot open, "Kaitlyn!" she pulled back, "Wait just a-"
"Please Amy," Kaitlyn pulled Amy closer, "just let this happen, don't fight it."
Kaitlyn brought her lips to Amys, and just as their lips met the door to the room swung open and Samantha walked in. Kaitlyn pulled away from Amy, then shot a glare at Samantha.
"Oh look," she sucked her teeth, pulling Amy into a hug over both her shoulders, "you're as timely as always."
Samantha and Amy stared at each other, their entire bodies shaking as their emotions began to overwhelm them.
"Sammy…" Amy whispered, choking on her words.
"Amy…" Samantha swallowed, "what's going on?"
To be continued
{Insert Ending Theme: "Again" by Beverly}
