6th Revolution: Inspiration! That Will Be Enough?
Amy and Samantha stood opposite one another in the music room, Kaitlyn still glaring at Samantha as she held her arm over Amy's shoulder.
"Amy…" Samantha swallowed, "what's going on?"
"Samantha, it isn't what it looks like!" Samantha pleaded, shoving Kaitlyn off of her. "She forced herself on me!"
"Did she also force you to forget to wake me up this morning?!" Samantha suddenly yelled at her, balling her hands into a pair of tight fists. "I had classes today in case you had forgotten!"
"And there it is Samantha!" Kaitlyn cut in, stepping forward, "It's always about you.. Did you ever consider Amy for a second?"
"I.. of course I did," Samantha muttered, her lip beginning to quiver as she looked to Amy, "didn't I?... Amy?"
"Well…" Amy hung her head, shrinking a little, "you had become focused exclusively on your work for the past little while… despite not really getting anything done."
Samantha's jaw hit the floor upon hearing those words. "Oh?! Is that what you really think?!" she snapped. "Great to know you're so considerate when I have a creative block!"
"Sammy please!" Amy reached her hand forward, only for Samantha to smack it away.
"No Amy! Just don't even bother!" she huffed, marching towards the door to the room, "you wanted to be alone with Kaitlyn so bad? Fine! Don't let me stand in your way!"
Samantha stepped out of the room, then slammed the door behind her. Amy let out a sigh of defeat, collapsing on the piano stool behind her before burying her face in her hands.
"Kaitlyn…" she huffed, "why would you go and do that?"
She waited for a response, but heard nothing. Save the haunting melody of a quiet music box that began to fill the room until it sounded like it was on top of her. Amy gasped, looking up to find that she was no longer in the music room but instead on a brightly lit circular stage with female dolls hung by their necks above her.
"What the hell?" she shuddered in fear, her gaze darting from corner to corner of her new environment, "Where am I?" She questioned until she looked directly ahead of her to see Megora facing her. "W-What are you?!"
"Dance…" Megora whispered, taking a step forward while extending her single hand to Amy, "with me?"
{Insert Opening theme: "Rinbu Revolution" by Chihara Minori}
Samantha sat curled up in a ball on the school's front steps, sobbing into her own lap as Trey came up to her.
"Hey.. it's Samantha right?" he asked quietly, placing his hand on her shoulder, "are you.. Gonna be alright?"
She looked up to him, her eyes red from crying, "Do I look alright to you?" she said, wiping her eyes, "God.. I'm such an idiot," she held her head, then sobbed some more, "Why would I even think of saying any of that too here?" She slapped herself in the forehead, "I'm just stupid, so stupid."
Quietly, Trey came up to her and sat down beside her. "No.. you're not stupid," he said placing his arm around her, then patting her shoulder with his free hand. "Look, I uh.. I heard the whole thing behind the door. You wanna tell me where this all started?"
"About a month ago… when that stupid Kaitlyn girl transferred in," Samantha sniffled. "Then I got an assignment, to draw what I believed was beauty in its purest form."
"You picked Amy," Trey said, "didn't you?"
Samantha nodded, "I wanted to capture her perfectly… so much so that it took away my ability to draw anything at all."
"So you began obsessing over it," Trey asked, "didn't you?"
"Yeah…" Samantha said under her breath, resting her chin on the palm of her hand as she stared out past the gates, "I guess I did…"
"You know, nothing needs to be perfect," Trey told her with another firm pat on her shoulder, "sometimes, simply getting the idea down is enough."
Samantha blinked, her eyes widening some as the calming song of many birds echoed in the distance. "Simply getting the idea down…" she repeated under her breath, "is enough?"
Just as a bit of comfort began to hang in the air, it was interrupted by a small bomb hurling its way out from the treeline around the campus and landing by Tree and Samantha's feet. Samantha and Trey gasped as they stared at the smiling face that was printed on the bomb.
"GET DOWN!" Trey yelled, covering Samantha's face with his blazer before rolling onto the ground with her.
The bomb went off, exploding into a huge cloud of purple smoke as laughter filled the air.
"Simply getting the idea down is enough?" cackled the Jester of the Court as she emerged from the smoke, approaching Trey and Samantha as the smoke cleared. She stared down the pair on the ground, her smirk widening as she pulled a pair of bombs from her belt, these ones baring an angry face, "Then was my display enough to get the idea of you dying across?"
Before the bombs could even be thrown, they were suddenly sliced in half from within the Jester's claws. The Jester snarled, thrusting her elbow backward which resulted in a loud, "OUF!" from Jayd as she became visible behind the Jester in her Stalker form.
"You again?" The Jester sneered, spinning around to deliver a hard roundhouse kick to Jayd's face, "Just give it up!" she shouted, throwing another roundhouse kick at Jayd, "It's over-"
Before the second kick could land, Jayd caught the Jester's foot with one hand then slashed the back of the Jester's thigh in an upward motion causing the gate keeper to writhe in agony. "As long as I'm breathing," Jayd grabbed the Jester by her ankle with both her hands then tossed the mimic over her shoulder, "it's not over."
The Jester snarled, holding her leg as the wound began to close while shooting a narrow rage filled gaze upon Jayd.
"Fledgling Trey!" Eli called out from Jayd's gem, "is the fledgling beside you alright?"
Trey gave Samantha a look, Samantha looking back to him and nodding. "Yeah!" He called out to Eli.
"Good," Eli spoke as Jayd assumed a battle ready stance before Jester, "then get her to safety, we'll handle this one."
"Right!" Trey nodded, climbing to his feet before extending a hand to help up Samantha. Once the both of them were on their feet, they ran into the school as Jayd adjusted her placement to be directly between the building behind her and the Jester in front of her.
The Jester's snarl stopped once Samantha and Trey had left, it became replaced with a fit of laughter as she clawed her way to her feet and stared down Jayd. "You really are a bigger fool than I ever imagined," she smirked, "did I ever tell you that?"
"Don't listen to her Syd," Eli compelled his contractor, "she's just trying to psych you out."
"Listen to me or not," the Jester shook her head, "it won't change the fact that in a matter of moments, a new gate keeper will be born upon these grounds."
"The girl is safe," Jayd declared, aiming her daggers at the Jester, "and I will not allow you or that friend of yours through!"
"Ah but you see, you've got the wrong girl Network Rider" the Jester smirked, "my 'friend-" she said making air quotes with her fingers "-has the real fledgling already."
Jayd rushed up to the Jester, raising both her daggers to the gate keeper's throat, "You liar!" Jayd sucked her teeth at the Jester, "you said the fledgling was a pale girl with black hair, that matches our suspects appearance to the letter."
The Jester stared at her unphased by the blades at her throat, then giggled in her usual fashion. "And you believed what I, an enemy, said without question?"
A small gasp escaped Jayd's lips under her mask. The network rider then gritted her teeth together as the hands she held her blades with began to tremble.
"Syd! Don't listen to her!" Eli called out to his contractor. "She's only trying to throw you off!"
"I know that!" Jayd snarled, lowering her daggers from the Jester's throat, "But… even so…"
The Jester smirked, leaping away from Jayd in a backwards flip before landing on her feet with one behind the other and her gaze falling once again on Jayd "Tick tock, for as you stay," she sang with her usual giggle, "the fledgling's life fades away."
Inside the university's main building, Samantha and Trey came to halt from running. Samantha rested hunched over, her arm clinging to the wall as Trey stood up right and looked from side to side.
"Don't get too comfy," Trey told her as he kept on the lookout, "we aren't out of the woods just yet."
"I was just catching my breath for a second!" Samantha told him with a glare, the situation was beginning to wear on her. "And just what the hell is that thing out there anyway!"
"Its a gate keeper Samantha," Trey told her, giving her a stern look, "and its after you."
Samantha's eyes shot open, her whole body beginning to tremble, "That.. thing is after me?" She gestured to herself, "Why?!"
"It isn't," Jayd's stern voice echoed from behind Samantha, her and Trey looking over to her as she approached.
Trey breathed a sigh of relief, "You took care of the gate keeper?!"
Jayd shook her head, then looked Samantha in the eye, "You there, Samantha was it?"
Sam nodded.
"Where's that friend of yours?" Jayd demanded.
Samantha froze, then with an audible huff she crossed her arms and looked away from Jayd. "How would I know where she was? More importantly, why should I care?"
"BECAUSE THERE ARE TWO OF THOSE THINGS HERE!" Jayd barked at Samantha, grabbing her by the collar and pulling her towards herself. "We had it wrong, your friend is the one they're after! Do you want her to die?!"
Samantha gasped, trembling once again as Jayd's words entered her ear, "Amy.." she muttered under her breath, "will die..?"
Trey's heart began to sink, the boy turning to Samantha unsure of what to say. It was then that under his shirt, he felt a sudden warmth emanating from around his neck.
Trey gasped, reaching under his shirt and pulling out his mother's necklace which was now glowing in a golden light. "What the.." he muttered, the necklace glowing brighter as he held it closer to Samantha, the letters engraved upon its rim becoming illuminated in red. "When two hearts become one," Trey recited the necklace's engraving, "evil will be undone."
Back on the stage surrounded by hanging dolls, Amy stepped away from Megora with her arms coiled up to her chest. "D-dance with you?" she muttered in fear, "Are you insane! I've read enough fairy tales to know exactly what will happen if I do!"
"Do… you?" Megora whispered, tilting her head to the side, "Then what will happen.. If you dance with me?"
"You'll eat my soul, or something!" she shook her head, "I don't know! Just- Please, just let me go…" her knees began to tremble, "Whatever you are… I probably wouldn't taste very good anyway. I'm nothing special."
"Nothing special?" Maestro's voice echoed through the stage, "and what, my lost flower, makes you believe such a thing?"
"I can't draw like Samantha… I can't sing like Kaitlyn…" Amy's knees collapsed, the defenseless girl falling to the floor as tears ran down her face, "I can't even dance-" she gasped for air between sobs as she looked up to the mimic before her, "like that thing that's trying to kill me."
"Kill you?" Maestro questioned as Megora stepped forward, extending a hand to Amy, "No… we, my Flower, intend to free you."
"Free me?" Amy questioned, her eyes beginning to go blank, "You'd really… do that for me?"
"Of course my flower," Maestro's voice called out once more, this time from deep within her head. "It is my purpose in my existence, to ease the pain of girls and women cast aside by society and forced to rot in agony and loneliness."
Amy stared at Megora's hand, her gaze shifting up to the mask that acted as the mimic's face, "Is that what… happened to her?"
"Something to that degree, but even Megora would agree," the Maestro spoke as a pair of spotlights lit up the darkness to reveal a pair of dolls. One resembled Megora as she was, but with two complete arms and without the mask on her face or sword through her chest. Overall, it appeared far more human that she was now. The other doll was clearly male, suited and faceless, "what happened to her was both a tragedy and a comedy."
"Yes…" Megora whispered, a ted tear running out from under her mask and down her neck, "it was my spyre."
"With the crace of a dove, and a man she could love," Maestro said, as the human-like doll that resembled Megora began to dance. "The dancer gave him her all, as her heart was enthralled. But as she would soon discover," a third spotlight shawn down between the man and the woman, revealing a faceless doll in a red dress, "her flame already had another." As the human Megora continued to dance, she started to cry as the man cuddled up against the woman in red, their faces coming together soon after. "In talent she won, but in love she had failed," the spotlights around the suited man and the woman red went out and only the doll that resembled Megora remained, her dancing coming to a halt as a knife appeared in her hand, "and so it was done," the light around the doll that resembled Megora went out and the sound of a blade ripping through flesh erupted from the darkness, "she became Megora the Impaled."
Amy stared at Megora, tears running down her face as she stared at the mimic, "I'm sorry you had to go through that… it must have been awful for you…"
"Worry not… I feel nothing but peace now… at the Maestro's side..." Megora held her hand out to Amy, "do you wish to feel it?... The peace that I do?"
Amy took in a big gulp, then placed her hand into Megora's. The moment she did, Megora tightened her grasp around Amy's hand, thousands of red threads beginning to crawl up from the joints in the mimics hand and coiling around Amy's.
"Sammy…" Amy muttered weakly under her breath, a tear falling down her cheek as the threads began coiling up her arm, "I'm sorry…"
{End of Part A}
{Start of Part B}
Outside in the hall, Amy ran up to the doors to the music room with Trey and Jayd close behind her. Reaching her destination, she took a moment to catch her breath before grabbing hold of the handles to the door.
"You're sure she'd still be in here?" Trey asked as he and Eli reached the door shortly after Samantha.
Samantha took in a deep breath as she gripped the door, then exhaled, "If she isn't… I don't know where else to look."
"Well we won't know until you open the door," Jayd looked to Samantha, placing a firm hand on her shoulder, "will we?"
Samantha looked to Jayd, then nodded. Turning back to the door, she shoved it open with everything she had. Upon opening it however, her eyes shot open as she let out a small gasp while the eyes of Trey and Jayd simply sharpened in determination as the trio was greeted to a pitch black void on the other side of the door.
Samantha, without thinking, reached her hand out into the void only for Jayd to suddenly grab her hand and force it back.
"You'll lose it like that," Jayd told Samantha, the girl stepping back as Jayd drew her daggers and took a swing at the void only to cut nothing. Jayd paused, swinging her daggers again only to again cut nothing.
"Syd, stop," Eli said with a heavy sigh. "It is clear that this is a rift to the gate keeper domain, but one of a far different make than any I've seen before."
"Well duh," Syd huffed, crossing her arms, "I can't cut the damn thing."
"Probably cause it isn't meant to deflect outsiders?" Trey questioned.
Jayd looked to him, raising a brow. "How do you mean, Fledgling Trey?" Eli asked.
Trey reached into his hair and pulled out a silver hair clip, raising it to the void in front of him. "Well… this is just a hunch but," he released the clip and it fell directly into the void. However it didn't fall down as Trey expected, no instead it fell forward in a straight line from where Trey had released it as if it has been thrown. Within moments, the clip completely disappeared.
"As I thought," Trey grinned, "its meant to disorient, not repel. Sort of a 'up is down' 'right is left' type deal."
"Trey! You're a genius!" Jayd cheered, grabbing at his cheek with her free hand while still staring into the void, "I owe ya big time!"
"Isn't it a bit early to be celebrating?" Samantha pointed out as she stared into the black void, "we still don't have any idea where Amy is in all of…" she motioned her hand around the black void beyond the door, "that!"
Jayd and Trey both looked to Samantha, falling silent enough to hear a pin drop as they contemplated what to say. It was then that Trey's necklace began to glow again, the boy fishing it out and giving it a look.
"Ah!" Jayd blocked her eyes, "Trey! Mind putting that away!"
"Wait just a moment Syd… he might be onto something," Eli spoke up, "thats your mother's, correct Fledgling Trey?"
Trey nodded, "it seems to glow brighter the closer it gets to Samantha."
"Then give it to her," Eli told him. Trey then nodded, taking the necklace off his neck and placing it around Samantha's.
Reaching out to hold the charm on the necklace, Samantha stared at it for a moment then gasped when the light suddenly went out. After a single moment, the necklace then rumbled and fired out a beam of light into the void which revealed a stone slab just beyond the reaches of the doorway.
"Whoa," Jayd and Trey both said in unison, "so I guess that's-"
Neither of them could finish their thought as Samantha ran forward and leapt towards the slab. In mid air, she rotated ninety degrees forward so her feet landed on the vertical slab as if it was a normal floor.
Once she had her feet firmly planted on the slab, Samantha looked to the necklace again to see it was pointing behind her.
"Come on!" She called out to both Jayd and Trey, "Its this way!"
Jayd smirked under her mask, "Oh, I like this one." She said before grabbing Trey by the wrist and leaping into the void after Samantha.
Back within the spectral stage, Amy now hung above by the threads which covered up to her shoulders. With her arms bound behind her back, Amy fell as limp as a deboned fish as Megora glared up at her from below.
"Something the matter my flower?" The Maestro's voice echoed in the back of her mind.
As Megora glared upon Amy, the image of the woman in red appeared over her for a moment in the Mimic's gaze. "Nothing worth noting," she bowed, placing her single hand over her heart, "I assure you my spyre."
"I should hope not," The Maestro smirked as his ghostly hand appeared around the stump that once was Megora's right arm. "I worried for a moment, I would need to remind you of the last time you let your past life… interfere with my wishes."
Megora winced for a moment as the Maestro's hand faded off her person. "Don't worry, my spyre," the mimic sharpened her gaze upon Amy, "my past is where it belongs. Behind me."
As Megora stared down Amy, a golden light erupted from the center of Amy's chest and aimed itself skyward past the opening in the canopy of hanging dolls. With a gasp, Megora quickly looked up on to be greeted by Jayd who dropped down upon her and carved her daggers into the mimic's shoulder and single arm.
"AHHH!" writhed Megora in pain, the mimic's sad gaze locking upon Jayd as she held her shoulder with her now injured arm. "You…" she hissed, "shall not interfere with my mission…" she drew the sword from her chest and attached it into her stump arm, "ANYMORE!"
Jayd sucked her teeth, "Sorry, but I'm afraid that's my job."
She popped her violet stalker die from her buckle, "Re:roll!" The buckle cried as she replaced her violet die with her green one, giving the dial a hard spin. "STRIKER!" her buckle cried out as her coat changed from violet to green, her daggers becoming her curved swords, "Piercing sabers! Carve the path!"
Megora charged at Jayd, slashing at the network rider only for her sword to be blocked with only one of Jayd's twin swords. Jayd smirked under her mask, then slashed upward at Megora's single arm, removing it cleanly in one hard stroke.
Megora roared out in pain, "What even are you?!" the mimic demanded, holding her arm as she fell backwards a few steps.
Jayd raised her swords in an x formation at Megora, "I'm just a wondering network rider," she said as Samantha and Trey landed on the stage behind her, "that's all you need to know."
Samantha instantly noticed Amy, the pale girl shuddering in terror as the threads coiled themselves further and further around her girlfriend's limp almost lifeless body.
"Is she…" Samantha muttered under her breath, her voice cracking as she reached out her arms to the tethered girl in front of her, "dead?"
"If she was, her body would not still be intact," Eli informed her, "so despite her appearance she is not yet lost."
"Then what do I do!" Samantha pleaded to Jayd with tears in her eyes, "Tell me!"
Jayd stared at Samantha for a moment, then smirked at her under her mask. "You care about her don't you?" She asked, raising her one sword to have it rest on her shoulder, "Save her."
As Jayd said those words, Megora recovered from the hit and the Jester of the Court emerged from the shadows behind her.
"Um… Syd?" Trey pointed a finger to the two mimics, "What about them?"
Jayd narrowed her gaze upon the mimics, "Don't you worry," she assured him in a stern tone of voice as she gripped both of her blades, "they won't get past us."
Megora cried out in anguish, cracking her neck to one side before whipping her whole body forward and sending her hooked braid hurling towards Jayd. With her newly found sense of determination, Jayd was able to quickly sheath both her swords then catch the hook with one hand and grip the braid it was connected to with the other.
"Get over her!" Jayd demanded, using the braid she held to pull Megora towards her and punch her square in the jaw.
The Jester watched, reaching for a pair of angry bombs on her belt as Jayd released her hold on Megora and her supposed ally fell like a rag doll to the floor. Sucking her teeth at Jayd, the Jester pulled the bombs off her belt and hurled them at the network rider. Jayd, with a quick gasp, whipped her head around with just enough time to see the bombs heading towards her.
In the seconds before they hit their mark, Jayd redrew her swords and knocked them away, one flying only a few feet away from her while the other struck Megora directly in the chest from where say lay limp on the stage floor. Once the bombs hit their mark, they erupted into a fiery gold explosive blast which shot out to just where the Jester stood without touching Trey, Samantha and the tethered Amy.
The trio on the sidelines simply stared at the flames as Megora's head now severed head flew out from the flames and landed at Trey and Samantha's feet.
"Ah!" Sam's footing retracted at the sight of it.
Trey meanwhile looked out to the flames. "Come guys," he said to himself, gritting his teeth as his foot began to tap rapidly, "make it outta there okay."
"RE:ROLL!" the sound of Jayd's buckle announced from the cloud as it began to clear up. "HUNTER! Burning arrow! Fly free!"
A barrage of arrows fired out from the smoke cloud at the Jester, and with them came Jayd who smacked the Jester across her face with the flat side of her crossbow.
Jayd went to strike her again with the same move, but the Jester caught it with her bare hand this time. "You survived that?" The Jester chuckled, shoving Jayd back with a hard push of her one arm, "I don't if I should be annoyed or impressed."
"Blame it on my coat in this form honey," Jayd chuckled, aiming her bow at the Jester, "and the feeling is mutual!" Jayd pulled back on the trigger, firing off another barrage of arrows at the Jester.
Trey, watching Jayd's battle with the Jester from the side lines, looked to Samanatha from over his shoulder. "Okay, Syd has her pinned for now," he told Sam, "so whatever you gotta do, do it now!"
Samantha nodded, turning to face Amy as her lower lip began to quiver. Holding her aching chest, she sharply swallowed before taking a step towards her tethered girlfriend.
"Amy…" she muttered as she reached out her hands and cupped the other girl's cheek, "I don't know exactly what's happening with you… but I…" choking on her words, Samantha threw her arms around Amy. "I'm sorry," she sobbed, "you're in this mess, cause of me."
Suddenly, Amy's eyes shot open. Trey gasped, the boy from where he stood being able to see they were glowing a bright demonic red, and four doll like arms tore themselves out from Amy's sides
"SAM!" Trey yelled, reaching his out to Samantha as Amy's new arms formed into razor sharp edges and drove themselves into Samantha's back.
"AGHH!" Samantha cried out in pain, still holding on to Amy for dear life.
"Hang on!" Trey looked to Jayd, then back to Amy and Samantha with quickly shifting and unsteady feet. He took one step forward, "I'll-"
"NO! STAY BACK!" Samantha barked at Trey, her grasp around Amy only getting tighter. "Amy…" she whimpered, "I know why you're doing this, it's because I made it seem like you don't matter, that you aren't important… isn't it?" As Samantha spoke, Amy stopped moving. "Well, that isn't true…" Samantha continued, the red in Amy's eyes faded, "you do matter, more than anything." Samanatha slowly loosened her hold on Amy, stepping back ever so slightly before cupping both of her girlfriend's cheeks. "I love you… Amy."
Samantha weakly moved herself forward, and placed a gentle kiss upon Amy's lips. As she did so, a massive surge of golden energy washed over them and returned the girls back to how the were before the stage had appeared. The threads cut, Samantha's wounds healed and Amy's corruption purified.
Jayd and the Jester continued to clash, the two warriors looking to the light as it washed over them. Jayd was unaffected, however as the Jester starred into it a small tear came into her eye as a familiar sense of warmth filled her very being. "What…" she muttered under her breath, "is this?"
This sensation was not one she would experience for long however, as the Maestro's hand rose out from her shadow and pulled her down into it.
Soon after the Jester was pulled away, the spectral stage became unable to withstand the force of the golden radiance. It quickly crumbled and the music room took its place. With the room returning to normal, Jayd reverted to Syd and she came up to Trey.
"Good job kid," she whispered quietly as the pair looked to Samantha, who sat holding a sleeping Amy in her arms, "I'm proud of you."
Not soon after the room was restored, Amy's eyes slowly began to open and she looked up to Samantha whose eyes were still filled with tears.
"Sammy?" Amy muttered weakly, reaching her hand up to wipe Samantha's eyes. "Why are you crying?"
Samantha threw her arms around Amy, hugging her tight. "I'm sorry Amy!" She sobbed some more, "I'll make time for you, I promise."
Amy blinked at Samantha, then donned a small grin before quietly wrapping her arms around her girlfriend. She remained there, until she caught something in the corner of her eye.
"Hey.." she turned her head to see the severed head of Megora on the floor with the sad expression on the mimic's mask staring back at her. "Megora… right?"
"Who…" the mimic's head whispering softly, "me?"
Amy nodded, "I meant what I said in there," she smiled at the mimic, reaching out her hand to gently pat her on the head, "I wish I could dance like you."
Megora gasped, the frown on her mask flipping to a smile as her head began to turn to ash, "Thank… you…"
Within Maestro's theatre, the spyre of loneliness sat staring into his goblet of wine. The rabbit twins Clover and Poppy stood behind him holding lit candles in their hands while standing in line with many other mimics who also held burning candles.
"You will be missed Megora," Maestro said as he downed the rest of his drink, "but you did well in service of your siblings." He glanced over towards the Jester who sat beside him, pouting with her arms crossed. "As did you, my flower," he grinned, gently caressing one of the dog like ears on the Jester's mask.
The Jester let out a huff, shooting up from her seat and leaving the auditorium out the front doors. Once on the other side of them, she loudly slammed the doors she had left from.
Clover and Poppy winced as a result of the violent slamming. "Sire…" the two dolls said in unison as they looked to the doors, "shall we go after her? Ensure she is alright?"
"No, leave her be," the Maestro grinned, not looking towards the door as he relaxed into his seat, "I'll collect her later."
Later that evening as the setting sun danced across the surfaces in their shared dorm room, Samantha lay on the couch atop of a sleeping Amy. The girl beneath her had a smile on her face, as did Samantha. It was then, as Samantha starred at Amy, that a light went off in her head.
Quietly and carefully, Samantha climbed off of Amy, being as sure as she could to not disturb her. Samantha tiptoed over to her drafting table on the other side of the room, grabbed a pencil then opened her sketchbook to a fresh page and sat down. Taking in a deep breath, she looked to Amy in the corner of her eye, then started to draw.
At around the same time, Syd walked out from the front gates with Trey close behind her.
"Ah man," she sighed, staring at a vile with a tiny amount of jaydite inside it which she held with her thumb and index finger parallel to her eye line, "all that effort for only a few drops? What a rip."
"Syd," Trey called out to her, patting the network rider on the shoulder with a small grin on his face, "in this case, wasn't the needs of others a bit more important?"
Syd looked to Trey, then managed a grin of her own, "Yeah, I guess your right." She slipped the vial onto her belt, turning it as it clicked securely into place with the rest. "I'm just a bit salty I wasn't able to end things with that Jester."
"You and me both," Trey said quietly, looking from side to side before leaning over to Syd and whispering. "She's the one who attacked me while you were dealing with my own gate keeper. And, I believe I saw her again during Will's tryouts."
Syd blinked, then raised a brow, "So, she's following us?"
Trey nodded, "Looks like it, but I don't know how, or even why."
"Well then, that leaves us with only one option," Eli spoke, "we'll just have to remain at the ready for her inevitable return, won't we?"
Syd and Trey both nodded, Syd covering her mouth as she let out a yawn. "Can we worry about that later though? I gotta recharge my batteries."
Trey laughed a bit, "Yeah, I'm beat too."
As the trio walked off from the university campus, Kaitlyn watched them vanish over the horizon from the roof of the main building.
Crossing her arms, she let out a heavy sigh before looking out to the setting sun. "You promise we'd stay for the sunset…" she sang in a melancholic tone under her breath. In a sudden shift of her mood, a smirk appeared on Kaitlyn's face as a gust of red thread like energy swirled around her as she transformed into the Jester of the Court. "Enjoy this victory network rider, for the day will come when I take back what's mine."
To be continued
{Insert ending theme: "Again" by Beverly}
