Swords & Axes: A Cheerless Interlude
by The Jessica X

Libby, Sabrina, et al. are © Archie Comics / Hartbreak / Paramount / Whatever.
Adymm and the members of In Absinthia are © me, so there.
This work of fiction is © myself.

Chapter 2: Freak Out And Touch Faith

My pulse started racing. What was my mental trauma?! "S-Sabrina?"

"Zelda, actually," the voice said. "Who may I ask is calling?"

Well, I wasn't dead, yet... "I-it's Libby - Libby Chessler? You probably don't rememb-"

"Of course I do," she laughed. "It's nice to hear from you, dear!"

"Um, you too, ma'am!"

"Sabrina tells us you've been going to an exclusive academy up North. It sounds exciting!"

"Yeah, it's really something, alright..." I felt so bad about trying to rush this conversation along, but there were more important things to say, here. "So, is she home?"

"Well, we're actually having something of a Christmas soirée here so it may take me a moment to find her... can you hold?"

"Yes, of course!"

It seemed like I stood there for years holding that phone, listening to laughter and... possibly reggae music in the background. What kind of party were they having? Just when I was about to hang up and try again...

"Yeah?"

"Sabrina!" I shouted, my heart pounding through my chest; there was no mistaking it this time, that was her voice! "Sabrina, is it really you?"

"What?" she shouted. "Hang on, let me find a quieter room!"

"Okay!"

A few seconds later, the background noise died away. "There. Sorry about that. Who is this?"

"It's me, Libby!"

A pause. "...oh!" Then she laughed, "Libby! I thought Aunt Zelda was saying a turkey baster was on the phone - they really need to turn it down!"

I laughed harder than I should have at that. "Oh, Sabrina, I missed you!"

"I missed you, too! Hey, did you get the letters?"

"Yeah," I said, leaning against the side of the phone booth-like thing. "They totally saved me from perpetual boredom up here, and I mean it."

"Aww... is it really that horrible?"

"You have no idea; it's like being in detention forever, but without all the merryment."

"Sounds delightful. So anyway, how'd you get away from the warden for your one phone call?"

"Let's just say it's a long story," I said truthfully. "Listen, I don't have a lot of time, and there's something I have to-"

"AAAGHH!!!"

"What, what happened?!"

"I dunno, I just heard something break... or explode? Oh well, I'm sure my aunts can handle it. Anyway, what were you saying?"

"Well..." I glanced around again. "While I know I have time, I wanted to tell you some stuff that I would've written you about if I could have, but... well, y'know."

"Yeah, it's okay, Libby," she said softly. "You don't have to apologise for crap that's not even your fault."

"Okay... I just wanted to thank you for everything you did for me."

"What did I-?"

"Please, let me finish this while I've got the chance."

I picked up on the confusion. "Oh... okay, go ahead."

"The thing is, you got me through a really rough time, y'know, with my parents. Twice, even, from my mom yelling at me to them trying to kick me out. Sure, they ended up sending me to this snake pit, but I... I might not have made it this far if you weren't there for me. I've had a lot of time to think in here, and it hit me that I never really thanked you for that. So... thank you."

"Hey," her embarrassed voice mumbled, "it's what anybody would do."

"But you did it; your compassion was unflappable, despite how rotten I treated you. And you didn't stop there; you turned my life around, made me see what I was doing wrong. I mean, I was on track academically and stuff, but inside I was... well, I was like an expensive mansion with a broken furnace; with nothing to keep you warm, who'd wanna live there? And then you woke me up, you... lit my pilot light or whatever." This wasn't coming out right; what was I saying? Was it the below-zero air freezing my brain? "Listen, I just felt bad about never saying goodbye, and I wanted you to know that... I miss you."

There was a little pause before she quietly said, "I miss you, too, Libby."

"No, I mean... I miss the summer we didn't get, I miss how much fun we could've been having together in school this year. I... kinda need you."

When she spoke again, I could hear a slight waiver in her voice. "You do?"

"Yeah." Maybe this was too weird; I had to back it off. "I mean, well, as much as I can need a freak like you."

It worked; she laughed. "Right." Then coughed. "Yeah, it's kinda sucked here without you and Val; I am in dire need of... of replacement buddies or something. Hey, what are you doing for the rest of break?"

It was almost too painful to think about. "Studying and hanging around; I won't be coming home until after I graduate."

"Oh... well, maybe I could come up and see you?"

"Not an option," I half-croaked. "We can't have visitors other than our parents."

"Man, that place really puts the bite on everything, don't they?"

"Their motto is pretty much 'If you have fun, we'll eat our hats'."

She laughed. "Well, at least your trademark sense of painful humour hasn't been squashed."

"They can take my nail polish and they can take my Cosmo, but-"

"They took your Cosmo?!"

"Oh, I know! Aren't they such prudes?"

Just then, I heard a cough behind me; it was Adymm with my bottle and cup. He bought himself a chai lattИ and a warm pretzel. "Thanks."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing; Adymm just handed me a Frappuccino."

"Adymm, huh?" Her voice was suddenly dripping with innuendo. "Sounds like it's not all bad up here."

"Don't jump to conclusions," I muttered, trying not to make it too obvious I was talking about him while he was right behind me.

"Suuuuuure. Oh, shoot!"

"What?"

"Now I know I heard an explosion! I really should find out what's going on down there-"

"No!" I shouted, then tried to calm down. "But, it's so soon, and I-"

"I know, believe me..." The pain in her voice was very real. "I'm so sorry, Libby, I mean it... can you call me back sometime soon?"

"Maybe, but probably not... it's really hard to set up something like this around here."

"Criminy, can't you bust out of that concentration camp?"

"Oh, I've tried, believe me." When I heard something else shatter in the background, my words became rushed and sloppy... and yeah, they gained a certain amount of cheese factor. Don't judge me! "Listen, before you get back to all the excitement, I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas, and tell you that... well, even though I was only non-evil for about a month there, it was enough to tell me that you're an awesome person, and... and you're kinda my bes-"

"WHOA! I'm really really sorry, I gotta go, Libby; I'll write you!"

"Wait! Sabrina, just lemme say g-"

"Please deposit thirty-five cents."

I blinked. "Huh?"

"Please deposit thirty-five cents." So that was it; I was out of change, and I probably couldn't get her back even if I had the money. The dead receiver slipped from my hand as I whispered into the wind.

"I just wanted to say... goodbye."

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END Chapter Two