Marie groaned, "Urgh, why can't we be in Roblox High School 2?"
Talia lamented, "Why can't we be in RoBeats?"
"Or Kingdom Life?" Candi groaned.
"Still sweet though," Raine answered, glimpsing Candi's dazzling, candy-shaped jewels.
They entered the most dreary classroom of all time. "Okay, not sweet," Raine gulped. The classroom was in a wretched state; it was a janitor's nightmare. The entire floor was dug into a huge, dark hole with a bottom so far down, that they couldn't see it's end. Filled in this enormous, filthy hole was green slime that bubbled, hissed, and spurted fire every few moments. Somehow, black desks and stools managed to stay afloat on top of small, circular platforms, but a few were not so fortunate. Fumes soared about the room as stains drooled off the wall.
"Yeh," whimpered Joy, "The difference here is that you don't use stuff like Potassium or Magnesium, you use these mysterious, colored liquids to create stuff magical, yes, magical solutions. These solutions include stuff like Fire-Breathing Potions, Growth Potions, Love Potions, etc. And if you fail…"
"SILENCE!" snapped the professor, pounding his grimy desk so hard that slime flew off from it and onto the walls. Blaze, who was watching from outside, even retreated a bit. He murmured, "Reckless enough to convince others to ditch class. Thinking because you're royals, you can't get into trouble. Thinking that you won't get detention in the dungeons for being utter fools and making earthquakes out in the hallways. Instead, you shall all be punished by me. Everyone take a seat now. And if you're lucky enough, your desk won't sink."
"Ugh, in these dresses?" complained Talia, tiptoeing to a seat in the corner. Eve got burned by a floating ball of expanding gas, before she reached a seat against the wall. Fern nearly fell into the ooze if Cyndi hadn't grabbed her. Raine took the nearest seat behind Devin's as Melody tried to avoid sitting right across from RAine, but all the other seats were taken.
Raine mumbled, "Wish I wasn't in this gown right now." As if on cue, the gown immediately vanished in sparkles and was replaced by her usual, purple tank top and short, cotton jeans.
Talia gasped, "How did you do that?"
"I don't…"
The professor had snapped for silence once more before he sneered and said, "Well, well, you little rats. Today, you're going to be put into a trial. Eve raised her hand, but the professor did not call on her, but pointed and said, "No, not a court case, but a test." He clapped his hands and recipes appeared on their desks. "You've been given five recipes," he said, "Fail to make each within its time limit, and you'll be dropped (he pointed at the green goo) into the Potion of Unknown Effects."
Candi blurted out, "But why are the effects unknown?"
"Because" said the professor smiling evilly, "It is made out of all the potions my students've ever failed to make. Oh yes, and if three of you fail, you all get dropped. You have two minutes to study your recipes. Afterward...ahem, it's game time."
Raine scrambled to pick up her five recipes. "Ugh," she thought with one look at the tarnished pages, "Joy wasn't joking. The recipes included some revolting reactions. There was a potion that could make one spurt out eight legs, another that'll make one's hair grow faster, and another one that could enlargen your eyes. The last two's effects weren't that bad. One could give you fairy wings, while the other one was a simple, sleeping draught. Pictures of the order of colored chemicals they needed, lined the bottom of the pages. No measurements were needed, one just had to dump the amount already given in the small, glass vials and they'd magically refill. Raine knew this because when Cyndi saved Fern, she knocked a few over, to the professor's annoyance, and they magically began refilling and spilling until they were put back into place.
"Time's up!" shouted the professor, "Now let's see what you got." With a snap of his fingers, to everyone's relief, the recipes remained, but time began. Raine whispered to herself, "Red, blue, orange, yellow…" She was starting on the hard ones first, so she wouldn't have to bother later. She tried very hard to concentrate, but with the tinkling of glass and an occasional explosion from the green goo beneath them, it was difficult. Marie was grumbling in the corner, "Dang, wish I was an animal now; that way, I can stay outside just like that pegasus."
Within another minute, the professor clapped, the noise making them jump by saying, "30 seconds left for your first potion, and oh… Did I forget to mention that your potions have side effects as you mix?" Ferns' potion let out a spurt of green gas promptly as they freaked out. The professor continued, hands behind his back as if he was enjoying the spectacle, and said, "Did I also forget to mention that the slightest touch of your potion can cause some of its effects to take place instantaneously?" Shrieks of terror broke out as he snapped and gloves appeared on their desks. They continued as someone coughed in the corner just as the professor collected their first potions and laughed, "Oh, and I forgot; breathing in the fumes of your potions can also affect you if you're unlucky."
Raine growled and thought, "No wonder why some people were starting to nod off to sleep." Those who had decided to do the Sleeping Draught first were rubbing their eyes vigorously to try and stay awake. Marie's head was bobbling as she wished that she could sleep, but their lives depended on this.
The next session for their next potion had begun, before they were even halfway through, Tai got up and stretched, before picking up four vials and placing it on the professor's desk. The professor nodded in approval as the others gaped in amazement. He had finished the rest within their second session! Talia, seeing that Tai had finished up so quickly, sped up her pace. The second potions was now due. Everyone had finished in time and were either swinging their legs anxiously or awaiting their reluctant approval at the professor's desk. Melody was behind though, she swung her head around again and again, hoping that they could stall more time for her. Raine was back in her seat now, and watched as Melody frantically swung back to staring at her recipe, rather than the colored chemicals in front or her. She negligently grabbed the wrong colored chemical before Raine could stop her, she dumped it in. Melody was still looking down at the recipe, and did not notice her mistake— until the solution's container was now rattling quickly as bubbles formed at an increasing rate.
Cyndi questioned agitatedly, "Melody, what did you do?"
Everyone, except the professor's, eyes were wide opened at the unusual reaction. Melody clambered to the edge of her circle platform as the professor watched intently. Just as the bubbles reached the brim of the glass cylinder— boom! An explosion occurred, sending Melody plunging into the green goo headfirst. She was evident that Melody had just been their first contestant eliminated. Raine was negligent to that though, and shrieked for Melody. When no response came, she was ready to dive in and after her.
Devin saw Raine prepared to forfeit herself, blocked intercepted her dive in her frenzy. When Raine struggled and screeched that it was her cousin and therefore her responsibility, he to swung her back onto her stool and told her, "No. You stay here and I'll go after her."
"Don't be stupid, Devin."
"I could say the same for you," he chuckled, "Now stay and finish your work. We can't afford having one more member dropping in and getting us all dropped in there."
"Wait, one more? We still…" Instead of Raine diving in herself, she found that Devin had dived in for her, leaving her stricken as she watched the closest people to her face the possibility of drowning. She told herself, "No, you told yourself you wouldn't learn to love anymore." She did not need to remember the reason why. She brushed her tears away, and huffed out a breath before she sat down, frustrated, but ready to finish the rest of the potions. It was a relief to the others that she put all of their needs in all and followed instructions, rather than sacrifice them all in an attempt to save a person or two.
Raine soon became finished with her potions— and was also finished with her patience. They still hadn't appeared yet and she lost hold of her fury. She pointed accusingly at the professor who still held a menacing smile. "You!" she screeched, "You monster! If it weren't for you, none of us would be here right now. How could you do this to us?"
The professor opened his mouth to tell her to remain silent, but Raine ended up getting louder.
She yelled, "You shut up! Shut up and talk to me when you have a heart that is worthy enough."
In an instant, it was quite a sight to see. An eruption of panic occurred as Candi was stunning everyone after she swallowed a cloud of pink fumes. Her speech suddenly became jumbled up, and she yelled, "What in the comets could make ribbons fall to the parchment grounds." Surprised to hear herself say something like that, Candi clapped a hand to her mouth.
"What are you saying, Candi?" questioned Marie as Raine turned from the professor to Candi.
Raine wondered, "I wonder, could those fumes have done something with her speech?" The word, 'wonder,' sparked something in her mind, and she blurted apprehensively, "Wonder… Wonderland… She's speaking Riddlish!"
"Riddlish?" Marie answered, "Don't be…"
Candi shushed Marie and pointed to Raine and nodded before saying, "Fancy gowns and caretakers are not needed in a muddy pond. Mud can bring health."
"Oh, I get it," nodded Tai, "CAndi is speaking in riddles. She first said, 'What could've caused treachery to spill like blood on the dry battleground.' Then, she is saying that Marie, in her fancy riding outfit and having her care for Melody is incorrect in apprehending her speech situation, and that Raine, with the mud-colored hair and blue eyes like water has absorbed the situation correctly."
Candi clapped her hands and jumped with thrill and approval, before saying, "Raven-haired twilight glimmers like an owl and is such a good dove to understand sweets."
Tai blushed furiously and quickly looked at Candi with a 'don't-do-that' expression before stating, "Tai with the dark hair holds knowledge that is bright like the stars in the twilight sky and is great at understanding Candi." Tai really understood fully what Candi meant, but he had cropped out the 'dove' part that Candi had said, because it really meant, 'Tai is such a smart guy and a good lover-boy to understand her.'
Raine turned to the professor and snarled, "Enough talk, we've got a bone to break."
"You better step outside and cool down or I'll put a frost potion on you," replied the professor menacingly.
"Ya, I'll chill out when I'm done getting my revenge on you. You took everyone who I've known the longest in a second and now you- you, monster, don't even have the right to talk right now, you murderer. We wouldn't be stuck cluelessly in this situation if it weren't for you!"
"Guess I'll have to do it the hard way then," hissed the man as he reached in a drawer for a light blue potion.
Raine shook her head furiously, "Oh no you don't. Never on my watch." With that, Raine used her full amount of rage and before she could hesitate, she tossed her own, completed potions at the professor, screaming chaotically at the merciless man, "I'll never love a beast like you!" What she did not know was that Devin heard that, and shuddered, for she had no idea of what the goo had done to him as he rescued Melody, who was currently unconscious.
Such a mellow girl was now hurdling over boundaries as the goo bubbled below her. She hurled her potions as if it was a dodgeball game. The first and it nearly missed the professor who ducked, but the contents splashed onto him. Before he could receive the time to dodge the next few, Raine hurled them at lightning speed, and this time, her aim sailed truly right at its target. Raine huffed and attempted to maintain calm now. She fell to her knees before the gruesome effects happened.
"You, idiot!" the professor screeched, "Do you know what could happen if you mix too many po…" but his words were lost when the effects took place. First, he sprouted extra limbs in front of all that was watching; this caused a Fern to throw up into the goo. Then, hair began sprouting and extending at a frightening rate all over his body. Finally, his eyes enlarged as he sprout six more, causing Talia to scream and throw herself against the wall before she could stop herself. The professor had turned into an enormous spider!
He clicked his pincers together, before his red eyes turned to face the button that would drop them all into the goo! Raine didn't see the professor mutate, but she looked up from clutching her head in her hands just in time to see him crawl towards the button with his legs as large as a yardstick!
She yelled, "Uh-uh, Nope, not today." With that, Raine jumped onto her desk, took two steps back and leapt across the room with one bound, fearlessly tackling the giant spider. The spider picked her off and threw her against the wall, but Raine managed to struggle away before he could pound her. He was lighter than she thought, but beneath the array of eight legs, it was difficult to tell where she was now. She raised her black shoe up into the air and batted the spider's pincers that attempted to clamp down against her head. She swung her shoe frantically as the class' reaction was obscured from her view. Raine shoved each hairy leg aside that attempted to cut through her chest. Suddenly, instead of trying to stab her, one arm ambushed her from behind and wrapped around her throat, slowly constricting her windpipe. The ginormous spider held her up in the air as Raine dangled and kicked breathlessly, her face turning blue from lack of air. Triumphantly, it strode towards the button that would drop them all into the goo— until Talia advanced and quickly sliced up one of its arms. The spider reared up and screamed in pain, dropping Raine immediately. Raine fell to the floor, stomach first, before giving Talia a thumbs up and gasping for air. She was fine, and talia did well. Talia returned a sheepish smile before the spider stopped clutching its devastated limb, and picked up Talia before swinging her around the room and slamming her against another wall.
Without thinking, Raine leapt upon the spider's back and yelled, "Giddyup!" She grabbed hold of the spider by the neck and the next thing she knew, she was in a freaky, rodeo show. It was quite a sight, seeing a girl on top of a giant, hairy spider as it thrashed about. Potions of all colors toppled off of shelves and shattered about them. One bounced off of Raine's shoe before soaring through the air and smashing on the wall, its contents setting Cyndi's cinder-black hair on fire as Fern attempted to put out the flames with her dress! Some attempted to make sense of Candi's Riddlish as Tai had gone to help with the spreading fire.
As they did so, Raine was clinging to life on a crippled spider. Talia tried to cut off another leg, but screamed and turned white as a ghost when the spider used one of its hairy legs to keep pinning her against the wall and sliding her to and fro against it. The spider wrapped another arm around Talia as he bucked Raine off of his head. He swung Talia around like a hammer, before swinging her towards the red button.
Raine shrieked in denial, as she stared into a pair of the spider's TV-sized eyes. A roar suddenly shook the classroom, causing more potions to fall. Raine teetered and almost fell into the goo herself as the classroom shook. What she did not see was that a brown beast had now appeared from the goo, set down an unconscious Melody, and leapt right at one of the spider's gigantic eyes. The spider reared up and let Talia go as it clicked its pincers rapidly and blinked from the tears falling from its hurt eye. In the midst of its pain, its legs floundered everywhere and almost killed Raine as it toppled blindly over the teacher's desk and sploshed right into the green goo with a devastating finish. 'Glob glob, pop!' went the goo as the spider sunk into it.
Raine coughed from the soot in the air. Tai was pouring a vial of blue, refillable chemicals onto the remaining flames as Marie laughed at Cyndi's mishap and ruin of hair, saying, "Never been more hot-headed, eh?"
There were light chuckles, before Eve mumbled, "I miss summer."
Fern fretted, "I miss spring."
Talia stated as she shivered in the corner, "I miss home." This wrenched everyone's hearts at that mention.
No one congratulated them for their triumph over the spider. As Talia shivered in the corner with the memory of the spider still, Raine hopped onto the spider's back and crossed back to her table. She stared down at the ground as the spider shrank to the size of her thumbnail now. She looked for Devin's warming eyes and light, chocolate-brown hair, but all she could find was Melody awaking on the table. She finally looked up, and found a creepy, maniac mask so close to her face that she screamed, and Devin, who was now a hairy beast that was a foot taller than his usual height, threw his arms in front of Raine to defend her. Raine threw her arms around Devin and gasped with fear. Seeing a threat being posed in front of Raine by this new maniac, Devin shielded her away from harm in his beast form as the others winced and thought, "Did she even notice that Devin had been transformed into a grotesque monster?!"