Amity awoke with a gasp, her blurry vision focusing on her surroundings. She was still in the exam room, though she found herself leaning against one of the benches that faced the stage. Principal Bump was kneeling a short distance away, struggling to breathe as wisps of bright blue energy swirled about the room. They passed through walls and doors and settled in the chests of other students in the room that regained consciousness as they did. Amity worked her fingers, seeing faint sparks of her magic return.
She couldn't help but wish she'd had just a moment more in her dream, as terrible as most of it had been. The identity of the figure on the beach was tugging on her mind as the details of the dream already began to fade. She stood, offering her shoulder to Principal Bump and he leaned on her to climb to his feet. "Thank you, Ms. Blight. I'm glad to see you've survived our encounter." he said, patting her shoulder. "Now let's see what this is all about, shall we?"
Principal Bump approached the stage where a number of students had collected, including Luz, who rushed to wrap her arms around a pale skinned, brown haired girl with small thorns adorning her hair and cowl. All of them were dressed in the grey uniforms of the Detention Track, and the husk of the monster inspector lay flattened a short distance away, pummelled by weighted bags that appeared to have dropped from the ceiling on a severed rope. "Ah!" Luz shouted, squeezing the girl tightly in her arms before turning to the other two students. "You did it! You were amazing! You guys…"
"Are in so much trouble." Principal Bump interrupted as he ascended the steps onto the stage. "Leaving your homeroom? Mixing magic?" he accused, then looked up at a trap door on the ceiling above where the husk lie deflated. "And is that a secret hideout?!"
Amity followed his gaze upward to see Augustus and Willow duck out of view. "What did I miss?" she whispered to herself. She watched as Luz stepped forward from the other Detention students to face Principal Bump, then turned away to keep her reddening face from everyone's view. She wasn't sure exactly what she had been expecting, or even what she was currently feeling, but it was making her chest ache, and she slowly and quietly backed away and out through the stage exit as Luz continued to defend her new friends.
Out in the hall, students and teachers alike were all beginning to climb to their feet. There was significant damage to the walls and lockers, undoubtedly from the large monster slamming into them, and a pillar of melting ice stood in the center of one of the halls, a growing pool of water surrounding it that the janitorial staff; an old one eyed and blue skinned demon with a thick moustache that was a constant in the school's background, was busy mopping up. Amity stood staring at it for a moment, noticing small orbs of light floating around that students were poking in curiosity that were lingering about, and she realized that Luz's odd paper magic were the only signs of magic that seemed to not have been stolen by the creature, other than the odd juvenile griffin feather that was fluttering about.
Making her way through the carnage that the creature had caused on her way to her locker, Amity couldn't help but be distracted by what memory she had of her nightmare. A sense of anxiety washed over her at the thought of becoming an abomination that was so easily controlled. The idea that she was anything less than her own person; simply an accessory to her parents or friends made her cross her arms protectively over her chest. Not long ago, she was at least a leader of her small clique, but lately her actions had begun to put her at odds with every group of people that she had once belonged to.
There had been other feelings associated with the dream though that she was simply having difficulty processing; strange ones that she had felt in her dream that morning that were pleasantly uncomfortable. She remembered dreaming about Azura, which was certainly nothing new, but the sense that there was someone else was nagging at her mind enough that she nearly bumped into Boscha, who was speaking with Mrs. Herschbach, the Potions track professor. The tall and lanky teacher wore her customary yellow robe and cap over a black suit that betrayed her Potions specialty; with shoulder length pale green hair, a long face, and beak-like nose, Amity knew her to be friendly for the most part. As she ducked back around the corner she had come from to remain out of sight though, she noticed that the professor had an angry expression as she spoke.
"Boscha, if you don't want to have to take my Beginners class for Potions again next year, I highly advise you to start paying attention. You utterly failed your exam last semester!"
"Ugh, like it matters. Potions aren't going to help me go Pro in Grudgeby." Boscha retorted with a roll of her eyes.
"It will matter if you are barred from playing in the new season for having low grades." Mrs. Herschbach said, standing up to her full height and crossing her arms, glaring at Boscha down her hooked nose.
"What?!" the student shouted. "That's not fair!"
"Perhaps you should take after your friend Amity, and try earning extra credit like she does in her classes. Maybe you should try tutoring the new student we have this semester."
"The human? Ew! No, thank you." Boscha replied defensively. "What's the point of tutoring someone that can't do real magic anyway? It's just, ugh, wrong!"
Amity frowned and turned away. She had an inkling of hope that Luz could be accepted into her old group of friends, if only so that she wouldn't have to choose again. She continued on toward her locker, passing Principal Bump as he was writing in his log book about the day's attack. "Excuse me, sir." she said before he could pass. "May I ask what happened? What was that thing?"
Principal Bump paused, looking down at her with a question clearly on his mind. "I've contacted the Emperor's Coven to get to the bottom of this. Officially, they have no idea, but…" he trailed off, perhaps trying to determine if Amity Blight, Emperor's Coven hopeful could be trusted. "I have reason to believe that the creature was a basilisk."
Amity's eyes widened in surprise. "We learned about them last year. But aren't they supposed to be…"
"Extinct? So we were told." Principal Bump replied, turning back to his log book and carrying on. "The Emperor's Coven denies knowing about the basilisk, but that won't stop me from writing a very stern letter. You'd best get home, Ms. Blight. If there are extinct monsters roaming about, it would be best to get home before dark." he suggested, then stopped at a classroom where students were exiting and dodging around a trash can that had been dumped outside the door. "What's going on here, then?"
Amity hesitated a moment, curious if she should bother the Principal any more than she already had in an effort to find out more about what all happened, and watched him chase Luz's tiny demon cat friend out of the classroom with a broom. "I'm just going to ignore that." she said to herself, turning away. She continued on to her locker, pulling her Abomination Nation text from it and tucking it under her arm. "I doubt mom will be impressed that half of the day was a waste." she said distractedly. "And there's no way she's going to believe some extinct monster drained everyone's magic." she sighed, walking toward the front door of the school with everyone else.
"Ms. Blight? A moment, please?" Professor Orobas asked as she passed the Oracle professor's classroom.
Amity paused, moving her homework up to hug it to her chest. "Uhm, yes?" she replied, moving out of the way of the torrent of pedestrians. Nearly everyone was talking about the events of the day, complaining of headaches and stiff joints; likely a by product of having one's magic siphoned out of their body. "I don't suppose this could wait? Principal Bump…"
"I simply wanted to offer my time as a dream interpreter, considering today's traumatic events, as well as your stature as a Emperor's Coven hopeful."
Amity felt her heart skip for a moment, still unclear of her chances of one day joining the Emperor's Coven, as well as her desire for the prestigious position. "Uhm… I'll think about it, if that's alright?" she said, looking away. "I really don't think it'll be a problem any more." she lied, feeling her cheeks flush again. She wasn't sure she wanted her visions of her mother, abominations, or Luz to become knowledge to anyone else, most especially the Emperor's Coven. "If you don't mind, I should really be getting home." she added, holding up the textbook in her arms. "I like to, uh, read ahead."
Professor Orobas nodded. "Of course, Ms. Blight. Just keep in mind that my door is open… to you." they insisted, watching Amity suspiciously as she turned away to follow the now dwindling crowd of students out of the door.
Amity arrived at Blight Manor just as the sun was beginning to set. She quietly opened the front door, peeking in to check if anyone was in the foyer before sneaking in and latching the door behind her. The loud thumping of the abomibutler's footsteps approaching to greet whomever was at the door echoed through the house, and Amity began quickly and quietly climbing the stairs until she heard her mother's voice. "Mittens?" Odalia called. "Are you home finally?"
Amity winced and froze halfway up the staircase, now in sight of the abomibutler that was carrying a platter with a tea pot and cups. It groaned at her in greeting, and Amity opened her eyes to look down at it as her mother joined them. "Uh, yeah, mom. It was a hard day. I was just going to go to my room to get ahead on my new classes."
Odalia smiled approvingly. "Yes, I heard about the attacks on St. Epiderm and Glandus as well. Are you alright?"
"I… yeah, I'm okay. Are Ed and Em okay?" she asked, having not seen her brother and sister since that morning.
"Yes. They are already in their rooms as well. I can assure you that I'll be speaking with the Parent Creature Association about purchasing some abomiton soldiers for added security once they are unveiled at our Annual Sale. How Principal Bump allowed such a creature into the school…"
'Purchase. Of course. Never miss an opportunity to make money on your children's safety', Amity thought carefully, eyeing her mother's oracle pendant to make certain it wasn't glowing. "I'm not sure that'll help. That… basilisk thing… ate my abomination with no effort at all."
"I was wondering, since Principal Bump was sparse on the details, if you knew how the creature was defeated." Odalia said. There was a tone in her voice that Amity didn't recognize. Was she actually concerned for her children's health? Or maybe she was looking for a new feature to add to her husband's abomiton creations in order to market it as a basilisk deterrent for their home security line.
Amity looked at her mother for a long moment, before choosing which way to answer. "I think a group of students stopped it. I'm… not sure who." It wasn't exactly a lie, though she had her assumptions. But it was more believable than telling her a human and a couple of detention track students managed to stop it when she, or even Principal Bump, couldn't.
"Ah." Odalia said, clearly unsatisfied. "Well it certainly sounds like someone worthy of taking to Grom?" she asked. "If you should happen to find out who it was, maybe keep them in mind."
Amity couldn't help but smile at the idea of asking Luz to Grom, and what her mother would say about it. "That's… a really good idea. I'll try and do that. Thanks, mom." she said, pausing long enough for the silence to become awkward before continuing. "I'm pretty tired after today. I'm going to get into my homework and go to bed, if that's alright."
"Of course, Mittens. I'll have the abomibutler bring you something for dinner."
"Yeah. Okay. Thanks." Amity said, climbing the rest of the stairs and entering her room and closing the door behind her.
After trying to read her Abomination Nation text for nearly an hour, and continuing to lose her place, Amity rubbed her eyes and put the book down. Having been drained of magic seemed to have tired all the students and teachers, as the next day had already been reported as a day off throughout the various schools. Ed and Em hadn't even woken for dinner, and hadn't made a peep since Amity had gotten home. She was certainly tired as well, though she couldn't help but think that she was staving off sleep due to anxiety about having another dream. While bits of memory had been invading her imagination since she started to relax, she found that it wasn't so much the basilisk that had been bothering her, but it was more being trapped as an abomination, under the control of whomever desired it. A thing. A possession. Alone with no one that understood her or even cared about what happened to her.
It was well known that abominations were made from the same primordial mud that all life on the Boiling Isles were, and if left to their own devices, could even develop sentience, but what happened when they did? Warden Wrath, who controlled the Conformatorium and watched over its inmates was someone Amity had long had suspicions about, as his son Braxas had once confessed that his father could do many of the things her abomination could, but she assumed these shapeshifting abilities were a closely guarded secret. If he was a descendant of some kind of abomination magic, did that mean that abominations could, in fact, propagate?
Amity yawned, the implications of an entire community of abominations making her head throb. She remembered her abomination servant that she had learned to command instinctively to mimic her movements getting swallowed whole by the basilisk that morning and let out a sigh. Her father had told her to never get attached to her creations, as they were mindless and unfeeling, but how long would that last if she kept one summoned?
She pushed herself away from her desk and got up out of her chair, preparing for a warm shower before climbing into bed. The hot water felt nice in her loosened hair, and she let her thoughts run rampant while she washed. Should she ask Luz to Grom? But the way she treated Luz earlier, would she even want to go with her? Were they even friends? Was that what the high five meant? But she's friends with Willow, and her and Willow could never be friends again, could they? Willow had grown in magical power since transferring to the Plant Track; maybe her mom wouldn't mind if they were friends now. Where did that basilisk come from if they were extinct? Was it from some long lost tribe or did someone create it? Maybe it time travelled? No, that was stupid. Could abominations reproduce? How would that work? How would it work with humans?
Gasping and sucking in a gush of water at the thought, Amity surprised herself and wondeed how her line of thinking got there. "Okay Amity, you are officially way too tired." she chuckled at herself through a coughing fit, shaking her head. She turned the water off, dried, and pulled on her pyjamas before brushing her fangs. The heat from the shower had certainly tired her out even more, but she couldn't help but continue to laugh at herself in confusion as she pulled her sheets away and climbed into bed. "Luz is a good person that has tried…" she said to herself through a yawn. "To be your friend. Don't be… weird."
Amity shielded her eyes against the setting sun of a beautiful beach view where the figure from her dream stood, looking back at her with an outstretched hand. "Aquí, tenga la oportunidad de hacer una tarea de amor para la escuela." she said, causing Amity to smile and reach out.
She took the figure's hand, and pulled herself close to the figure, her brown skin becoming near golden in the light of the sunset. "I'm not sure what you're saying, but I like it." Amity replied, fluttering her lashes as Luz pulled her closer.
Amity forced herself awake despite her growing exhaustion, her eyes wide and burning. It was now midnight, hours after she had last looked at the time, and she wondered what all she had dreamed that she couldn't remember before the scene that had woke her up. "Oh no." she said in disbelief.