A/N: Hello again! I had actually written this out some time ago but did not have time to revise it until recently. I apologize for the wait. Please read and I hope you enjoy!

I do not own MaTC.

Mina stood at the entrance to the High School and groaned audibly.

And here I was, thinking I'd have the day off…

Martha appeared to her left, leaning forward to take in her friend's dismayed expression. Though still weak, the redhead woke up well enough to attend classes. She tried to sound sickly this morning, but Lucy would not buy it. 'If you're well enough to try and convince me, you're well enough to go' her sister said, but couldn't sound very stern through the intense relief radiating off of her in waves. Mina grumbled, pushing the thought away.

Since when does she care?

The brunette on her left shrugged and continued forward, walking her bike she used to come to school. Mina had already inquired why Martha would ride her bike to school considering the Bus was by far the most convenient method of transportation. Her friend did not seem bothered by the inconvenience of how far she lived from her destination, and preferred to ride her bike rather than spend the better part of her morning trapped on a bus with Nick. That was all Mina needed to be satisfied; she'd rather walk to school barefoot in the snow than be stuck in a vehicle with the bully any day.

Speaking of the intense pain-in-the-rear…

"Hello ladies," he sneered, already waiting by the bike rack where Martha had intended to leave her contraption. Nick currently leaned against the only open spot left, arms crossed over his chest as if to portray that he'd been waiting for quite some time.

He's wearing a hoodie…

Why was that so weird?

Actually…Martha had a jacket on, too.

So did the group standing by the door, and the herd of students walking by.

Everyone had some form of warm clothing on; Hoodies, coats, jackets, sweaters. She suddenly felt very awkward in the red short-sleeve shirt and her favorite maroon skirt she sported. But that was it—awkward—was the only feeing she felt right now. Not cold, or chilly, or even the slightest bit cool. In fact she felt rather warmed by the air around her, if not from the embarrassment boiling underneath her skin and causing the pale surface to become a light shade of pink.

She was suddenly snapped—or shoved—back into reality from her moment of realization. If she didn't have three textbooks in her backpack she probably would have regained her balance. However this was not the case, and so Mina landed on her rear, skidding backwards a small distance before stopping to stare back up at an extremely irritated Nick.

Martha was too stunned by the movement to react.

"Don't ignore me!" Nick spat, towering over her.

The ground that morning was rather slippery, she noted, struggling to stand back up to her feet. Mina abandoned her heavy book bag on the ground, regaining balance quickly without it.

"What is your problem?!" she yelled, dusting the dirt off of her skirt.

"This," Nick was quick to retort while holding up a sheet of paper, "I found this on my locker this morning after everyone else noticed it."

Wow, he is actually kinda mad, Mina thought before taking a moment to regard the paper he held up.

Oh my god…

The girl let out the most un-lady-like of snorts when she tried to stifle her laughter. Martha's face was also contorted in hidden mirth, the brunette's fair features reddened as she held her breath. Nick's face reddened as well but for a different reason entirely.

It was a picture from when they were in elementary school. More specifically from the day that Mina had brought a dead frog to life. On top of the whole vampire fiasco, it was one of the key moments of their history that formulated Nick's need to make fun of her. Never mind the fact that her father still gives her grief now and then about 'raising the dead.'

"How did someone get a picture of that?" Mina choked, still trying and failing to breathe normally and not laugh. Martha still hadn't said anything, glancing to the side and away from the situation at hand but also unable to hide the grin she wore.

The picture presented a seven-year-old Nick sitting stock-still while the zombie frog had its tongue wrapped tightly around his head. But the image wasn't this hilarious by itself.

'Nick's first kiss,' with hearts pasted around the image completed the picture as a whole.

This is too good!

"I know it has to be one of you two," he said venomously, "And it doesn't matter who, because you're both going to pay."

The flame haired boy left them without any time to respond, grabbing for Mina's backpack before she could defend it. She let out cries of protest as he opened her bag, keeping the smaller girl at bay with just his right elbow as he fished through her things.

"First I'll start with this," he said, pulling her notebook free from the confines of her bag.

Mina paled.

She was suddenly very cold.

Nick didn't pull out just any notebook. He knew her well enough by now to know that that notebook was sacred. The girl's heart nearly stopped at the thought of what he was about to do to it.

"Oh what's the matter, Vampire Girl?" he spat, dropping her bag and stepping well away. He held the notebook above her head and out of her reach, keeping the precious object hostage while he tormented her, "Don't want everyone to see what's inside?"

She almost resorted to begging; almost resorted to killing him-

What? Wait…killing?!

However, of all the things she almost resorted to, Mina couldn't do a thing but watch in horror.

Her entire life was in that notebook.

Mina had kept a record of her and the counts adventures and weird things she'd find. She would even add illustrations for emphasis. A list of some of the monsters in the swamp was also included in some of the entries so that she could keep track (there was so many!). More importantly, her feelings were written in a few pages of that book as well. Boys in school that she'd have faint crushes on… things people did that were nothing but to her meant everything.

And if Nick went through that right now and saw every thing she's written about him, that'd be the end of it. No, she didn't like him…at least not anymore. Before he bullied her incessantly after she told everyone about Vlad, Mina may or may not have like him. She wouldn't have called it that back then, since that was in kindergarten and she had no idea what liking a boy meant or even entailed. However it was no doubt to her that she's had, over time, a whole spectrum of thoughts and emotions attached to the boy.

If he knew that, it'd be the end for sure.

"Now," the bully in question resumed, "What should I post around the school first?" he thought aloud while flipping through the notebook. Mina attempted to stop him through word; a threat, a plea, anything. However her voice would die in her throat, coming out as a small squeak instead. She could see it now, the endless humiliation and torture he'd put her through at finding out at some point she'd liked him. It wouldn't have been a huge deal if he weren't the way that he is. Given the current circumstances, and that soon the whole school would know once he finds out, she'd rather that no one knew at all.

"Oh this is perfect," he grinned, gripping a page in hand. She couldn't tell which one it was. As if everything were happening in slow motion, the girl watched in horror and dismay as paper ripped from the first few rings of the notebook.

And then she was suddenly simmering, burning, boiling with white-hot rage.

Everything happened very quickly after that.

Before he knew it, Nick's feet were no longer touching the ground. There was a sharp yelp of surprise before he realized that he couldn't breathe. He kicked in shock before noticing why, staring at Mina with newfound fear. The smaller girl, despite her size and frame, held the boy in question up by his neck. She let out a deep, unrecognizable sound when he looked her in the eyes, which held no indication that she would spare him his life. Her teeth were bared in an ugly snarl that threatened to bite into him and eat his flesh if he wasn't careful.

Needless to say, he was very scared.

Nick gripped at her arms and attempted to pry her fingers away to no avail. Mina held him there for maybe three breaths, panting with rage. The tension in the air was so thick Martha felt she could hardly move. As she sometimes tended to, the taller girl kept quiet and faded into the background of the moment.

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!

The school bell's ring pierced the air and suddenly Mina lost her strength. Emerald eyes constricted and then dilated before filling with fear. The smaller girl dropped Nick and recoiled as if she noticed he had spiders crawling on him. He landed hard on his rump, choking and sputtering now that he could finally breathe again. His couldn't quite see straight as he tried to regain himself; still registering that the small girl he picked on just physically lifted him up. Said girl took this opportunity to snatch her notebook back and stuffed it back into her book bag (not without noting with relief that he almost ripped out a doodle of herself as a vampire). Martha, in record time, had locked her bike into place at the bike rack the second she heard the bell. Both girls began walking side by side towards the school building at a pace that rivaled a marathon runner.

"What was that all about?!" Martha all but shouted, barely able to keep up with Mina's speed.

"I don't know," the Harper girl replied as her face flushed with embarrassment, "And I don't think I want to."

She wanted to kill him.

And not just figuratively speaking.

Mina had actually thought of all the ways she could actually kill Nick, and didn't feel an ounce of regret while planning to do so. Thinking about it again made her head hurt. School hadn't even officially started yet and already she just wanted to go back home and sleep. The redhead sighed, already dreading the idea of bulldozing her way though the next nine hours.

"Hey, Martha," she broke the silence, suddenly remembering why Nick was so cross with them to begin with, "Who do you suppose posted that on his locker, anyway?"

The shy brunette's face flushed a deep crimson, which the girl in question promptly tried to hide with a hand as she adjusted her glasses. It was a good minute before she responded with a reluctant 'I don't know.'

Mina couldn't help the wide grin that spread across her face.

Martha was never a good liar.

"A-anyway," she stammered, doing anything to tear Mina's playful glare away from her, "H-hoow was your weekend? Were you able to finish all of our assignments?"

Oh no…

She'd been sick the whole weekend.

Of course she totally forgot about all of her homework.

"Martha," she started, "If I gave you a stake would you just…shove it right into my chest please."

Her friend was very confused.

After visiting with Mina at the beginning of the night, The Count had left to meet with his 'search party.'

In the beginning, every ghoul and monster living in the swamp had participated in the lookout. As the nights went on, those involved in the search began to decrease in numbers. Mummy was one of the first to go home, not being a huge fan of doing anything someone else told him. Vlad had tried to get him to stay, but becoming friends with Mina had put a strain on their friendship. Mummy made it very clear that he didn't believe the whole werewolf story, and to this day still gives the vampire grief for staying friends with her. So as a result, any attempt by The Count to keep his friend included in the search party was a waste of effort.

The rest of his group had consisted of Frankenstein (Frankie), Mrs. Frankenstein (Misses), and The Creature From The Black Lagoon (Creature). On occasion, the witch would come in to check on them, as she did with most of the other search groups, but she never stayed for long.

Early on the swamp started out with five parties. Over the course of three nights enough monsters had decided against searching and only left about three. Mona was not happy at all about this, but tried to make the best of the situation and work with what she had. The remaining groups were then listed as A, B and C so as not to cause confusion. The Count and his friends had been dubbed group B.

When Vlad had found his search party, however, Mona had already joined them. The Count had changed from his bat form in mid air, landing just a few feet away from the group as a whole so as not to bump into anyone. He normally would have gone out of his way to make an entrance of some sort, as he often did for appearances, but the air around everyone tonight seemed quite grim.

"Vhat is the problem?" he asked right away, skipping the greetings entirely.

"There you are!" Mrs. Frankenstein said, ignoring his question entirely. Her husband's broad shoulders sagged with relief, as did Creature's and Mona's once they all noticed him. Mona looked to be in the worst shape of the four, as she was probably worried about much more than just the vampire.

"Did something happen?" he decided to ask a different question since no one answered the first one.

There was a heavy silence among the group as they all regarded each other carefully. Vlad grit his fangs in anticipation, trying to feign patience as he waited for their answer. Eventually all eyes settled on Mona for an explanation. The orange-haired sorceress sighed heavily before wringing her hands together.

"Group C never returned from their search last night," she started, still fidgeting with her hands, "At the beginning of tonight's search, Group A had found…" she swallowed, a pained expression crossed her features as she searched for words, "…their remains."

Their remains…

"The whole group?" Vlad asked, not fully grasping the gravity of the situation.

"Only half of the group's remains were found. There's no sign of the other, we have no idea if they survived or if they…"

She didn't finish.

Normally gruesome deaths weren't a problem for monsters that resided in the swamps. Mona, however, was clearly human at some point before becoming a witch. Some of her might still be, if her reaction were any indication.

"Vhere?" The Count asked, a shaky breath threatening to deflate his long dead lungs.

"That's the part we don't understand," Mrs. Frankenstein said, giving Mona a break, "They were several miles into the woods outside of the swamp."

"Which means that whatever is here isn't just staying around the swamp," Creature concluded with a worried frown.

"So vhat about group A?" the vampire inquired, hoping this was the last question he'd have to ask tonight.

"Gone," Frankenstein simply said. He wasn't much of a talker.

"After finding the remains of group C they no longer wish to participate," Mona explained, "And I understand if you guys don't either, but…"

She broke down.

Everyone was quiet for a moment while the orange haired sorceress hid behind her hands and bawled. Heart wrenching sobs that were not small or light filled the forest and seemed to bounce off the trees around them. No one was sure which was more shocking: the fact that she was this emotional at all or the drastic difference between her current state and the powerful presence she normally had. It was like watching a beautiful flower wilt and die, petals and leaves crumpling and falling apart.

Vlad was probably the only other monster that could relate since he, too, was human at some point. But he didn't choose his friends just because of their ghoulish nature; even though they've never been human it doesn't mean they wouldn't try to understand. That being said, the other monsters present stayed silent with dismayed expressions. Misses stood awkwardly with her arms half raised, unsure if she should embrace the witch in a sympathetic hug or give her space.

It took some time for Mona to control herself, but even then she wasn't completely together. She wiped her face off with the sleeve of her tunic, sniffling and doing what she could to breathe.

"I understand this was a lot more dangerous than I initially had thought," she said solemnly, "But I still need your help. If you do not wish to search anymore I completely understand. I can't stop looking though, not while Jack is locked up."

Jack? Who on earth is…

'And I know you all think lowly of the wolves but one of them is a dear friend of mine.'

Oh…

Mona sniffed once more, shook her head, and regained the powerful impression she wore so well. Her gaze hardened as she took in each of the monsters—but not in the same way it hardened when she looked at anyone else. Not after this group had seen her so vulnerable.

"I can't leave the werewolves hanging," she said and squared her shoulders, "I'd like to know now if you will continue to help." At the end of her speech she softened, adding a small please at the end.

Mona didn't have much of a reputation around the swamp; otherwise Vlad was sure he would have heard of her before. However she had a major point when making her statement the night she spoke in front of the Tribunal: Whatever is out there doesn't only pose a threat to the swamp.

As long as this thing was around, Mina was in danger too.

"Of course I'll help," The count was the first to reply. The others seemed somewhat shocked at his response, let alone how quick he was to make the decision.

"You said so yourself," he regarded Mona, but then turned his attention to everyone else, "Mina is in trouble as well. If finding and putting a stop to it protects her, then I'll be more than happy to."

Bringing up the small girl brought realization to their eyes, and soon Frankenstein, his wife and Creature were all nodding in agreement.

"We'll all still help," Creature spoke.

It was very hard for the violet-eyed witch to contain her relief and excitement. "Very well then," she said, still attempting to maintain her authority, "We should stick together. Group C was mostly imps, but I think we will fare well if we run into trouble considering each of our abilities."

"Agreed," The Count said, "I wouldn't have suggested anything else."

"Where should we start?" Mrs. Frankenstein asked. Creature mulled over the thought.

"Well," the Lagoon monster mused, "The way we've been searching around the swamps, we haven't been able to find any clues. Maybe we should start making perimeters around the woods and see if we can find anything? Vlad has the best nose out of anyone I know, if anything maybe he'll pick up a scent."

Mona nodded in agreement.

"Count, does that mean you'll be scouting ahead?"

"With pleasure," the vampire smiled. Before being asked to, he leaned forward into a leap.

Rather than The Count's normal form, what landed several paces before the group was a large wolf-like creature with blue fur and a black stripe running from nose to tail tip. Silver hairs lined its underbelly and the beginnings of the underside of the tail.

"I didn't know he could do that," Mrs. Frankenstein whispered, to which both her husband and Creature shrugged in response. The Count, in wolf form, looked back at the group before leading ahead, sniffing the ground as he went.

"While he is doing that," Mona said, "I'll trail behind a bit and keep an eye on our backs. If I notice anything following or flanking us, I'll let you know."

And before anyone knew it, an orange cat was left in her wake, allowing the group to get ahead of her before walking behind.

Her 'I was sick so I didn't do any homework' sob story only gained so much pity from the staff in High School. By the end of the day, she still got zero points for not having any of the completed assignments. However, most of them (besides her history teacher, of course) hinted at the possibility of at least half credit if she were to turn in the assignment late on the next day.

So by the time Mina was walking towards her bus, she still had roughly 2 tons of reading material and shame stuffed into her backpack to take home. Martha was long gone by the time she had finished getting her things together. In order to completely avoid Nick, her friend had feigned illness and left during last period. Thanks to Mina claiming to have been sick the whole weekend, the seventh hour teacher they shared assumed that the redhead had roughly been the cause.

Which left her alone to fend for herself at the end of the day.

When the final bell rang it was like the floodgates had opened. All the doors along the hallways were simultaneously wrenched back as teenagers eagerly filled the halls. Groups formed clumps off to the sides, still somewhat in the way for those trying to get by. A few of said groups attempted to move as well, but tended to walk much slower than those traveling by themselves. It was all so…messy.

This was by far her least favorite part of the day, no matter how happy she was that it was over.

Considering that she was one of the smaller varieties, Mina had a lot of trouble leaving school. It was difficult enough just to navigate her way out of the chaos—let alone doing so undetected by certain individuals. She often found herself pushed and shoved to the outer rims of it all, but when avoiding a particular someone it was a much better idea to stay in the middle of it much to her chagrin.

Currently trapped on all sides by other students, Mina was quite sure she blended in well. On either side of her were two very tall boys, probably unaware of her presence between them due to their height as they conversed. Directly in front of her walked a large group of girls going at a pace that rivaled an aging tortoise, which made the group behind her groan out loud about their speed. It seemed like a secure position, nobody moving quite as aggressively as they had at the start. Now all she had to do was be careful that her backpack didn't knock anyone loose and hope Nick doesn't spot her.

He was definitely waiting for her though. Mina somehow spotted him through a slight gap in the crowd, waiting by the exit he knew she always took. The bully currently scanned the crowd as he leaned against the wall just by the door, knowing full well she'd be coming along soon. Her teeth grit together so hard it hurt, but there was no other way to cope with the tension at the possible meeting. She'd been able to avoid him throughout the day so far; if she couldn't make it out now she was done for. Mina kept her head low, attempting to visibly shrink as much as possible when squeezing out of the school's large doors. After a few steps the redhead dared to take a peak at him through her bangs to see if he'd seen her.

He did.

Upon meeting his, Nick's green irises constricted, effectively shrinking his pupils drastically as he sneered angrily at her hunched form.

She was so dead.

Mina avoided his gaze and began to panic, looking rapidly between the cluster of students around her and the exit.

Escape route, escape route, escape route…

The mantra did little to help her think a way out of this one. Basically trapped with nowhere to go left her with a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach. Was there really no way out of this one?

Four feet left to go before she crossed the threshold.

His eyes practically burned her skin.

The two guys on either side of her practically squeezed her in place as the entire group tried to fit through the door all at once.

Mina felt like she was going to hyperventilate. The crowd, Nick's waiting fury and the anticipation of getting out of this mess and going home all began to stress her to a point of no return. She had to think of something or else-

"O-oops!"

Someone had made contact with her book-bag, bumping into the large object rather forcefully on accident while trying to maneuver through the crowd. Mina lurched forward, ignoring the apology from the other person as she tried to regain control of her surroundings. She was losing her position in the crowd, one of the taller boys inching in front of her while the other started sliding behind. Through all of this, however, Mina wasn't the slightest bit unnerved by this change. It was more eye opening than it was horrifying due to the impact giving her a sudden idea.

She quickened her pace and did what she could to keep the boy on her right slightly behind her. He tried to keep up with his friend and in turn almost trampled her a couple of times. Nick stopped leaning against the wall, hands at his sides and ready to snatch her out of the crowd. The group in front of her all but stopped as they tried to shimmy through the door all at once.

And with a newfound force Mina swung all of her body weight to the right, hitting the tall stranger like a baseball with the intent of knocking it out of the park. As she had hoped, the random student crashed into Nick like a car without brakes, knocking the two over into a cluster of limbs.

She didn't stick around to marvel at the results of her plan.

Using the same gigantic backpack to knock herself a path out of the group, Mina forced the girls in front of her through the door the rest of the way and finally broke free. Of course there were screams of protest and now everyone was looking at her with the same malice that Nick had. However she would much rather have that than any form of contact with Nick.

He's going to be busy for a little bit, she thought while taking this chance to run as far away as she could. She wasn't really one for sports but Mina didn't easily run out of breath. After her daring escape, she made it home in a matter of minutes thanks to her ability to sprint long distances without much complaint. If it weren't for her midnight adventures through the swamp she surely wouldn't have been able to pull that off.

Lucy didn't verbally question the fact that her younger sibling was panting heavily once she returned. Mina ignored the odd look she received from the blonde woman. They exchanged a short hello followed by Lucy's prediction of dinner in about an hour. Homework awaited the younger girl and so she went straight to her room to try and catch up on all of her schoolwork. Everything after that was relatively uneventful.

Her older sister had made Spaghetti for dinner with a side of garlic cheese bread. The meal had come and gone right in the middle of Mina's progress. On her way back upstairs her sister had passed her a box of 'girl stuff' without much notice from their father, who quietly read the sports section of the paper after eating. The redhead thanked her silently and returned to her work.

The last subject she touched was Math. Mina started with current assignments and worked her way backwards, only skipping problems she'd need to redo after reviewing previous lessons. It didn't take her very long, and before she knew it she found herself staring down at the chapter she had long forgotten about.

It then reoccurred to her that she had finished the assignment for this chapter without realizing it. Or…did she realize it but then forget it entirely?

When did all of this happen again?

…Friday night…

Mina's eyes started to widen in realization. What was the last thing she remembered that evening? The fourteen-year-old abandoned her math homework and began searching her book bag. She pulled out her note book/diary and flipped it open to the most recent page.

The last record she made had come from Friday night. It was less of an entry and more of a note to ask Vlad what had happened at the Council meeting. She hasn't added any new information considering she didn't spend any time with her best friend since. She remembered writing this. Mina frowned at the contents of her notebook for a moment before sighing and staring at the mostly blank page before her. It was quite bothersome that she didn't quite remember at what point of the night she wrote it. In face she hardly knew the last thing she remembered.

She left Vlad's castle because he had to go to that meeting. That was obvious, since it still bothered her over the weekend. Never mind the clear evidence before her now.

Where did she go afterwards, though?

Think…

Think…

Think…

Mina groaned out loud and flopped backwards onto her bed. Her head hurt now from trying so hard to remember. It felt like the information was there, just barely out of reach. What was it that she was missing?

The shirt…

She shifted her gaze to the closet. It had to still be there…

She was in luck; it was still exactly where Mina had left it, completely forgotten and out of the way. The girl had intended to toss the shirt but never got around to doing so. It was now a good piece of evidence; tossing it was no longer an option.

Mina held the red clothing in her hands as if it were an ancient piece of paper that threatened to fall apart at the slightest touch. For a moment she was distracted by the holes on the right shoulder, mesmerized by the pattern. She shook her head and tried to focus. What else is on the shirt?

Is that dirt?

So she was outside at least. Good to have something confirmed. It wasn't enough, though. What else could she find out about it?

Wait…

Why was she...?

Mina stopped partway through her investigation and realized that her face was buried inthe shirt. She paused while inhaling the scent, staring at the far wall of her closet while trying to think. On the one hand it was very odd for Mina to be sniffing her clothes for any clues. On the other hand she felt like she could figure something out by doing this. Eventually it was decided to wonder about this action later, and so Mina resumed inhaling the scent of the ruined fabric.

The lingering smell of something…familiar ticked her nose.

Trees…bushes…grass…

The park.

She was at the park.

There was suddenly a sharp pain at her temples, coming in waves that made her drop the shirt and hold her head in agony. Mina dug her nails into her skin, falling backwards onto the floor and cringing. She wanted to scream but the sudden discomfort had completely shocked her. And then…it was gone.

Just as quickly as it appeared, the pain had subsided. Mina still didn't move an inch after it disappeared, breathing deeply for a moment. It may be in her best interest to call it a night, she decided.

Mina made a brief entry into her notebook about the short investigation. With much less enthusiasm than before, she resumed her math homework and finished before bed. She toyed with the idea of continuing to solve the mystery of her ripped shirt, though she quickly became discouraged. Simply looking at the evidence threatened to make the pain return. A few more tries at recalling any forgotten events also warned her that the headache was far from over.

She wasn't expecting Vlad to stop by this evening. Regardless, she had to be up early tomorrow morning and sleep might help her headache if she got enough of it. Mina reluctantly got ready for bed, remembering again what it was like to sniff her shirt for clues.

Since when had that been a thing? She shuddered at the thought of the pain accompanying the action every time she did so.

Mina didn't get very much sleep that night.