Jan Term is almost over for me, so I'll have to take a break from writing for fun after February 3, since that's when Spring Term starts. I hope you liked what I've come up with so far. There's more to come, so please follow, favorite, or review. Oh, and two things I don't own: Splatoon and weighted blankets. Enjoy.
Chapter 3: Being Emotional
…
Everyone blinked at Mochi America. Mochi America blinked back. "I remember Estonia saying something about mochi creatures once…" Ivan said quietly.
"Why does it look like me? Alfred asked.
"I wonder what it tastes like?" Casey wondered aloud.
"Casey, please, think with your head and not your stomach," Brittany said as she pinched her brow. After a second, she returned her gaze to the creature. "…Hello," she said quietly.
"YO!" Mochi America cheered.
"Um, yes, quite… How did you get here?"
Mochi America bounced up to Brittany, and she flinched. It was almost up to her knee in height. "I wanna help, dudes!" It said happily.
"That doesn't answer my question," Brittany muttered.
"Aw, come on, love, it's cute, it is!" Casey reached down and patted Mochi America on the "head". It bounced in place excitedly.
"…Uh-huh."
Vet cleared her throat. "Can we please cast the spell that stops time or whatever and get to the mansion, please? I don't care why or how this thing got here… sort of… but I just want to find my sister and be done with this."
"All in due time, Vet," Brittany said, leaning forward and looking the Mochi America up and down. "Fascinating… in the game, it got stuck in a wall, so I assume that was the case during our fight… yet it didn't implode when we dropped ten bombs on the mansion. I wonder why?"
"Can you just stop? For one second?" Vet snapped. "Stop trying to analyze everything that's not important and just help me find my sister!"
Brittany turned and glared at The Vet. "First of all, you are a college graduate looking to get into a graduate school; you should be analyzing strange things as part of your education. Second of all, this sort of stuff is important! Why did a presumably living thing survive a bomb to the face? What significance does someone with magic like The Author's have in the grand scheme of things?"
"Oh, here we go."
"What does that mean?"
The Vet and Brittany were starting to make their way to each other, only being held back by The Artist and Casey respectively.
"Come on, Vet, now is not the time," The Artist said.
"Love, please, you know I 'ate seein' you this way," Casey said quietly.
"That's enough." Everyone turned to Feliciano, who had his hands on his hips and was looking between the two girls. Everyone who had been trying to take bets quickly put their money and Pokémon cards away. "I don't entirely understand what got you two to act this way towards each other, and I have a feeling you two don't, either," Feliciano continued. He turned to The Vet. "Vet, I understand you're worried about your sister, but you have to be willing to not get answers immediately. And Brittany," he looked at Brittany, "I understand that you're looking for answers of your own, but there are priorities to keep in mind." The two girls looked at the asphalt in shame. "I want you two to shake hands and apologize."
The Artist let Vet go, and Casey gingerly did the same with Brittany. Vet and Brittany looked at each other for a moment, then shook hands. "I'm sorry I snapped at you," Vet said tightly.
Brittany sighed. "And I'm sorry for not being straight with you. As soon as we find The Author, I'll bring you two together and tell you what I know."
Feli smiled. "This is why you're the leader, Brittany: you're willing to make a compromise."
Brittany suddenly tensed. "A-actually, about that—"
"HEY YA'LL!" Mochi America shouted, making everyone jump.
"Yes? What is it, cutie?" Casey cooed at the blob.
"Let's go~!" It cheered, bouncing in place again.
Casey smiled brightly, then pointed at it while looking at Brittany. "I want one, love."
"C-Casey…!" Brittany blushed again, trying not to look at the slightly confused countries and the shipping members of the cult. "Anyway, Mochi America has a point; we should go as soon as we can. I'm sure the neighbors are slightly confused about why there's a party going on at the bottom of the cul-de-sac."
Vet glanced at one of the houses across the street. The blinds were shut, but had they been that way since they got outside, or had the neighbors seen the commotion and shut the blinds to hide from the crowd? She shook her head as Brittany reached into her pocket and pulled out her small black book and flipped through the pages. "Alright, I can combine two spells so that we can temporarily freeze time and get to the location of the mansion at once, though I'll need everyone who can cast spells to help. Mr. Kirkland, would you be willing to help?"
Arthur brightened. "Of course, Brittany. I'm always eager to share my expertise on magic."
"Show off," Francis muttered. Arthur shot him a look before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a long stick of white chalk.
"Vet, will it rain at some point today?" He asked.
"I think so, yeah. Why?"
"I know we'll be freezing time, but I'm not sure how your parents and neighbors would feel about having a giant magic circle in front of their houses. If it rains before anyone notices, good. If not…"
"My parents would probably think it was some cool drawing made by the kids a few houses up. They're pretty openminded. Not too sure about the neighbors, though."
"Then let's hope it rains," Brittany said. "Now, could everyone whose favorite characters include England, Norway, and Romania step forward to help with the spell casting? I'll give you a brief refresher. Everyone else, onto the drive way."
Everyone did as they were told: the magic casters lined up on the outer edge of the cul-de-sac while Arthur and Brittany gave a brief recap on their magic circle lessons, and everyone else gathered into the driveway area.
Casey came up to The Vet. "'Ey… you alright, Vet?" she asked gingerly.
"Yeah, I'm fine. We were both at fault; Feliciano was right."
"Well, that too, but I also meant… in general. With your sister missin' and all…"
Vet sighed and rubbed her temples. "It's… not great, but it could be worse. I guess it was kind of lucky, if you can call it that, that she disappeared a few days before she was supposed to go back to college. The Artist and I managed to make up a story about how The Author went back early with The Artist, but Mom's getting really worried. If I didn't know what happened, I'd be worried, too. She's not the most stable person, you know? I don't think even she knows what could set her anxiety off. I just… miss her…" Vet's voice cracked, and Casey hugged her tightly, like she was a weighted blanket that had been tossed unceremoniously over The Vet's body.
"It'll be alright, dear," she said gently. "Who knows? Maybe The Author is wipin' the floor with the 'eads of the baddies that took 'er."
Vet laughed and let go, wiping at her eyes. "Thanks, Casey."
Casey smiled and made a motion as if she were curtseying. "See, Mum? Even goths like me can care about people!" She called to the sky. Vet laughed again.
"We're ready!" Brittany called. A few people cheered and clapped as the group made their way to the magic circle. "Alright, lads and lassies, just like we practiced."
The members with magic abilities nodded and raised their hands, chanting a spell in what sounded like a mix of Inklish and Latin. Vet closed her eyes as she felt the magic surround her, like a prickly rain. Maybe Casey would be right, and The Author wasn't in as much danger as Vet was worried she was. Little did she know…
Elsewhere…
The floor was cold and dark. Everything felt heavy. But one thought rose above all else: This is… unawesome. Then I became unconscious again.
I came up with the ending last minute. Ah yes, I thought to myself, what a cliffhanger that will be! Mwahaha.
Anyway, we didn't get to the mansion like I hoped we would, but that just means that's what the next chapter will be about. Hooray! So, what did you think? Leave a review and tell me, please? I'll try to see if I can write one more chapter before the next semester starts. Until then!
