DM 1988: (SIGHS) It's taken me a while to get this up. I ran into server problems with this site. It wouldn't allow me to upload this chapter this past week. Although that doesn't mean I myself didn't ran into problems, because I'm still in college racking in sleepless nights cramming essays for the upcoming finals week.
Well, enough of that crap. Here's the first chapter of "A Dormant Past." Sorry if the updates are slow.
Disclaimer: I am simply a fan of this series, that's all.
In the morning that is March 20, 2006, spring had officially come…well almost. The sun's rays of light shone on the eyes of a young teenaged girl with red hair. Normally, her room would be filled with a touch of rock music from Incubus. Her pet dormouse "Mr. Huggles" would be skittering around the room, causing mischief and destruction to his master's belongings.
"….Will….wake up…Will…Will….WILL….!"
However, this morning is one the alarm clock in the room wished would not come. While the alarm clock right beside her kept ringing for her to get up (or rather yelling at her) for some time, the redhead didn't mind her alarm clock scorning her for not waking up. For she is still enjoying her rest after her latest mission with her comrades W.I.T.C.H involving the realm of Meridian.
"…Will, GET UP! …..I'll have you know that the time is 7:35. 25 minutes 'til your class begins…"
"WHAT?!?" Will yelped as her eyes popped open like a skeleton fell on her. She frantically looked around the room, wondering if her mom ever came into her room. Nevertheless, she threw the blankets off her body and jumped onto the floor in frenzy. She frantically searched for what she's going to wear for today. She didn't care if her hair is messed up.
"Damn, why did it have to be Monday today?" thought the redhead as she pulled out baggy pants and a red long-sleeved shirt. She quickly put it on and rushed downstairs to grab a quick breakfast.
When she arrived, she finds that the kitchen was bare and quiet as the Mojave Desert. She gazed at the empty site for a good three minutes.
"sighs Typical of you, mom; you just ignore your daughter like always… James, do you know what's in there to eat?"
Ever since Will received her power to talk to appliances, she would sometimes give them names. James, the refrigerator, would always help her decide on what to eat. For a few minutes, there's no response from James.
"…James…?"
"I'm sorry, Miss Rosenburg, but there's nothing quick to eat…"
"Are you serious? Oh, and can you please not call me that name?"
Will's day, she thought, could not get any worse. First, she's almost late to class; next, there's nothing to eat for breakfast. Oh, how can it get any worse for her?
As she stomped out towards the door in King Kong fashion, she notices on the dining table a note.
"Huh? What's this?"
She grabbed the note and began reading on the way to school.
Will,
I went to work early today. Won't be back 'til six.
Love,
Mom
"Heh, no kidding…"
At school, Will's friends, Irma Lair, Taranee Cook, Cornelia Hale, and Hay Lin noticed her grumbling and muttering as they walked to class. They knew that their friend Will is in a very lethargic mood by the pace of her walking.
"Hey Will, get going already!" yelled Cornelia as she pushed Will forward to get her to walk faster. "Will, are you even awake?!?"
Even with Cornelia's constant yelling, Will continues to ignore her. Corny repeatedly pushed Will to make her walk faster. However, a few seconds into this, Will unexpectedly slapped Cornelia across the face. Furious with Will's ignorance and recent action, Cornelia shoved her to the ground.
"Will, just what the hell is wrong with you today?!?"
Irma and Taranee grabbed her shoulders and helped her up to the ground. Will's eyes, from Hay Lin's view, looked as though she hadn't any sleep for a couple of days. Hay Lin waved her hands in front of Will to see if she's even awake.
"Helloooo, earth to Will?"
While Hay Lin is tending to the redhead, Irma and Taranee glanced at Cornelia with scorn.
"Cornelia, just what made you push Will down to the ground. Will; no, all of us had a rough night yesterday." Taranee questions Cornelia with her hands on her hips. The stern look in her eyes gave Corny the impression that she should apologize to Will on her action, even if she didn't want to.
However, the principal of Sheffield High, Mrs. Knickerbocker, spoke in back of the girls. The tone of her voice isn't exactly serene. "What happened here, ladies?" demanded the principal as the girls turned around to see the person they didn't want to see, especially on a Monday. "Well?"
Cornelia glanced down the hallway bitterly at Will, saying, "Well, ask her. She's the one who started it."
Will looked from her shoulder and continued walking towards her class. However, Mrs. Knickerbocker demanded her to report herself to the office, immediately. Will refused as she continued down towards the classroom.
"Will? WILL! You get yourself into the principal's office, right now!"
--Simultech Industries--
Across town, at approximately 8:30, the sounds of keyboards clicking echoed the offices of the Simultech Industries building. Every person in every cubicle is hard at work to meet the expected deadlines set by their superiors. Levin Bishop, one of these superiors, walked around the offices to make sure everyone was on task on their job.
"Good day, sir. How are we doing today?" asked the spectacled employee, pushing up his glasses.
"We're almost complete with the application software. We just need Susan's input on this." responded a nameless employee.
As the two were talking at one end of the building, the many cubicles aroused the typical day of the workplace. Many were chatting along with each other while others were downloading various emulators, causing their computers to be infected with viruses and bugs. In the midst in all this commotion, there is one cubicle that seems to be quiet and stale.
"So are you girls ready to confess?"
A man's voice echoed inside the mind of Susan Vandom. Just what really happened in my dreams last night, Susan kept asking herself as she worked on her latest project. "Burn them to damnation!"
"…Y-you lying bitch! Why did you lie to me about being friends?"
However, more voices kept appearing as she began to lose focus on her job. While she left her house at an early time, she arrived at her workplace around the normal time she usually arrives. Her eyes looked tired and lifeless as she reached for her third cup of coffee of the morning set right beside her arm.
"Ughn, just can't seem to concentrate today." Susan whispered as each growing minute, her eyelids grew heavy from the strain-inducing computer. But something else was straining her mind. But what was it?
Feeling tired, Susan got up from her desk to walk around the office. Suddenly, the phone rings an ear piercing sound that could wake anyone up. The raven haired woman picked up the phone.
"Hello?"
"This is the principal at Sheffield High. I am here, calling you, to tell you about your daughter. Apparently, she got into a fight with one of her classmates. Right now, she's in my office, thinking about what she has done. I'll put her on the line."
Her mind filled with concern, anger, and disappointment, she waited for her daughter to talk on the phone. There was no response at the other side of the line. For a few minutes, there is nothing but silence. Finally Susan spoke, "Will, please tell me what happened to you today. I need to know about this so we can discuss this at home."
The line clicked, implying that Will has hung up on her. For Susan, this is nothing new. She just wanted to find about her daughter, that's all.
A few hours have passed and Susan still couldn't concentrate on her work. She didn't know what to do, given that her daughter got into a fight just not too long ago. Into the next few minutes, she let out a small yawn and rested herself on her desk.
"Susanna, my friend, you seem a bit flushed. My, I thought you were more capable than that that could catch me."
"I'll never forgive after what you did to your friends and me. You fooled everyone into believing that you had nothing to do with us being witches."
"Heh heh, so what are you going to do about it? Every man and woman is searching for you. They want to see you to be turned into a pile of ashes and dust."
"If that's the case, than I'm taking you with me!"
Susan woke herself up abruptly, escaping from the 'voices' that plagued her mind during slumber. She found out that the time is 1:20 PM on her computer. Had she been sleeping this long, she asked herself as she decided to head home early for today.
--The Vandom Residence—
Around 3:30, Susan arrived at her residence in the apartments. As she made her way to the front door, she heard birds chirping and singing in harmony. If only her and Will's relationship with each other was like this.
The door creaked open with a slight breeze coming from the ceiling fan. The clock in the dining room ticked away as Susan laid her suitcase on the dining table. She sat down, awaiting her daughter's arrival.
A few minutes later, Susan heard the door open. She saw the dormouse Mr. Huggles squeaking and running towards the voice that came from the entrance. Though the dining room was quiet, Susan could tell that this wasn't going to go smoothly, like usual. Susan gathered up whatever courage she could muster up.
"Will, come in here."
Oh crap, here it comes, thought Will after she threw her backpack into her room. She is surprised that her mother came home early, but why? She didn't care as she took her time on the staircase. She plopped herself down the stairs, one step at a time. By the time she entered the dining room, Susan stood in the center of the room with her arms crossed, signifying a stance of interrogation.
"sigh Will, what happened today?"
Will stayed silent when Susan asked her the question. She gave off the 'I just don't give a shit' look as she ignored her mother. All she had to say is "Nothing, mom. Nothing happened, today."
"Will, your principal called. She said you got in a fight with Cornelia today. I just don't get it; why would you hurt your friend?" Susan sternly asked the redhead.
At this point, Will didn't care if she gets punished. Right from her mouth, she said "Gee, mom. You never do get it, do you? All the things you really get are how hot my teacher is to you. You just push aside your daughter like the piece of shit she is!"
Susan slapped Will in what she heard. She had it with Will's constant complaining just as much as Will's contempt with her mother's absence. Will stormed out of the room to her bedroom in frustration with tears flowing from her.
Susan could hear the door being slammed as she made her way towards Will's room.
Inside the room, Will hid her face in the pillow. She hears Susan's footsteps approaching the door.
"Will, I'm sorry for…what I did. But sweetie, you can't continue like this, fighting your classmates." Susan apologized, but Will did not buy it. Desperate, Susan jiggled the knob of Will's bedroom door.
However, another voice caught the raven-haired woman's attention; this time, it wasn't the same voice she heard earlier. It was an entirely different voice. And it was nearby.
"Heh, do you think your apology can back up your own faults? You keep apologizing and apologizing, but once that's over you go off to become the whore you are!"
Hearing this inside her mind blew and enraged Susan's mind as if that was actually her daughter speaking to her. Shaking her head to dismiss the said comment, Susan quickly opened the door to see her daughter asleep on her bed.
Could she have really said that, Susan kept asking herself as she looked at her daughter with concern.
"How could I hear Will in my mind? Am I going crazy with these voices today? Should I be the one to be blamed for neglecting Will?"
Some minutes passed and Susan walked around the room, picking up trash stashed in Will's room while she was sleeping. As Susan continued, an amulet chimed can be heard from Will's desk.
"Huh?"
The amulet attracted Susan's attention as Will woke up from her catnap. Seeing her was the last thing she wanted to see as she quickly grabbed the Heart and clasped it in her hands.
"What…are...you…doing here? I don't want you in here." Will whispered with poison in her mouth.
"Will, can you explain this to me?!? First, you get in trouble for fighting…now you're hiding things from me?!?"
Already angered that Susan is inside Will's room, her only sanctuary, Will retaliated, "I am not hiding anything! Someone gave me this!"
"Since when?!?"
"I don't know, but why should I tell you? I am really sick of this shitty relationship between us!" Will tearfully yelled at her mother.
"W-Will…"
BZZT!
A spark of electricity fired from Will's fingertips. Using this to keep her mother at bay Will walked backwards towards the window. There, she climbed down to level ground, where she ran to the nearest alley.
Shocked to see her daughter acting like this and the mini magic show she put on her, Susan remained standing idle like a statue. "…Will…?"
Some minutes later, Susan finally snapped out of her daze and headed downstairs to call her friends.
"Hello, this is Will's mother. I'm calling to see if any of you or your parents seen Will around. Give me a call back." is what she said every time she called Will's friends' home phones. All of them aren't home as they had other plans at the moment.
Susan fears that Will might be gone for good; first, her falling out with her husband, Thomas, now her daughter rebels against her. She begins to lose hope with her.
Susan decides to close her eyes to get rid of the stress of being a single mother with a smart-ass of a daughter. Into the first few minutes of light slumber, she heard yet another voice. A voice that is indirectly crying for help. A voice yet to be corrupted by something of one's darkest corner.
"Hello, mother…"
"…N-No…is that really you…?"
"So glad you could join us…"
"Please stop this…" muttered a stressed out Susan as she rolled to her side on the couch she was sleeping on. But as she did this, something flashed across Susan's mind. A redhead is seen opening some sort of portal near the back alley of the Silver Dragon. Could this be Will?
Waking up quickly, Susan realized that Will could not have gotten too far from the apartment. Grabbing the car keys, Susan headed out to her car and drives over to the Silver Dragon.
A few minutes later, Susan arrives at the Silver Dragon. As she got out of the car, Susan is unaware that one of Will's friends is eyeing the actions taking place.
"Huh? What's Will's mom doing here?" a pigtailed girl with goggles asked herself. Glancing around to find out what's going on, she immediately called her friends about what's taking place right around her home. "Guys, we have a problem. There's a portal open…No, I don't know how it got there…I see Will's mom near the portal…I think Will may have spilled the beans for us…"
Susan walked up to the portal, very unaware of Hay Lin's actions.
"I'm sure I saw Will go through this. But, what if something happens to me…no, something happens to Will…What will I have to live for…if my daughter is stuck in there. But there's something else I need to know…maybe this will provide me answers for all of this."
Wanting answers, Susan heads inside the portal. Nothing can prepare for what she's going to endure inside the realm of Meridian…
DM 1988: Well, Susan is about to discover the realm of Meridian for the first time...but is it really the first time? Well, the next chapter is going to be a while after the finals are out of the way. Anyway, please READ and REVIEW.