Not four shots. There had to be at least nine all told, and judging by how close together they all were, many of them came from Max slicing time and telling Chloe to try again. The sound of bullets ricocheting, of explosions, of Chloe dying – again – and eventually what she might possibly call the "real actual" sound of the crash. But by then her attention was diverted elsewhere. The butterfly had actually left her side for once, and was traveling over to a bare patch of ground. Well, it would have been a bare patch of ground, but there was some serious magic going on around that spot, and the butterfly was right at the center of it. And just before the darkness engulfed her, a voice. Rachel... Amber... No doubt that she was the only one that heard it, and she had no clue that she'd repeated it out loud.
The voice continued in her dreams, but upon waking Kate couldn't remember a word of it, only that she had been spoken to. She came to, laying on a less-than-comfortable seat with her head in Victoria's lap. She was in a sort of shed, an unassuming and slightly gross location, and it seemed that Max had passed out the same time she had – or more likely, the other way around. "Ah, thank fuck, you're back in the land of the living~"
"D'd I die...?"
"No, silly, it's just an expression~" She could hear the love and relief dripping from Victoria's voice as she was pulled up to a seated position and given a light kiss. "It happened again, didn't it?" she asked as she ran her fingers through Kate's brown locks.
"Mmm, I'm assuming. Max?" She finally seemed to be finding her footing again, mentally speaking. "Let's see... The first time was when you were in the bathroom saving Chloe. The second time you were..."
"T-The lighthouse."
"Right. The lighthouse. Just after we found the butterfly. And now this." Kate knew she was speaking evenly, perhaps a bit overly so. Sometimes it freaked people out, and particularly now as she did so about something so supernatural. "Sorry Max, I'm sure you didn't ask for it, but it looks like you've got yourself an anchor..."
Max's face fell and her eyes widened a little bit. "What? N-No, if anything it's the other way around. I'm messing around with all this time stuff a-and you're... Oh Kate~"
Of course she just smiled and shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh shut up. You've been given literally phenomenal chronal power. I'm a little overly-sensitive to weird shit, so it hits me hard. You couldn't have known! You just have to be a little more careful from here on out. We can work together, see if we can cut down on those nosebleeds and blackouts."
"Well well..." The four girls looked up to see local asshole Frank Bowers standing there looking somehow both amused and pissed. "We've got the weirdo, the princess, the criminal, and the brain. We just need the coach from Mighty Ducks in a letterman jacket and you guys can do a recreation of The Breakfast Club..."
Chloe sneered and leapt to her feet, causing Max to jump slightly to avoid getting hurt in the process. "That'd leave you to play the washed up fuckhead principal, dumbass."
"Fuck you, degenerate. I heard gunfire and figured I should probably come check it out. I don't like guns being fired on my turf without my say-so."
"Your turf?" Chloe barked a snarky laugh in Frank's face, and while Kate liked seeing the spine on the blue-haired chick, she was fairly certain this wouldn't end well if they kept this confrontational pattern. "Please, just because you peddle to half of Blackwell doesn't mean you run the town or anything? Shit, where was that protective streak yesterday when Prince Prescott pulled a gun on me?"
"Far, far away, because I'm not a goddamn idiot. I don't care if a Prescott walks into someone's house and kills every person in there, I'm not getting in their way. You, on the other hand, you I will fuck with. And you owe me money, so you better wise up." He grabbed for Chloe's wrist, and her reflexes weren't their best after the beer she'd nursed earlier. Somewhere in the process she got a few scratches on her arm that were in danger of pushing her anger much, much further.
Kate was tempted to jump in, but surprisingly of all people, Victoria beat her to the punch. "Frank, dear, there's no reason to be like that. Nathan and I are loyal customers, no? Surely we've earned enough good faith we can pass a piece of it off to Chloe here?" She rested a hand on her shoulder, and it looked as though Chloe was harnessing every ounce of untapped energy to keep from freaking out.
"Yes, Frank dear. I'm not asking for much here, just a teeny tiny extension on the... um, presently unnamed amount that I owe you?"
"Wait, what kind of debt are we talking about here?" Victoria suddenly appeared less helpful and was starting to pull away.
Frank chuckled as the hand was drawn away from Chloe's shoulder. "Pffft, you might wanna wait until you find out before you jump to your friend's defense there. If my calculations are correct, our wanna-be anime heroine here has racked up three-kay."
She held up her arm which was now reddened and even bloody in a few places. "Yeah, well, I'm ignoring 100 of that due to damage to my..." She looked at the others for help when finally Max seemed to catch on to what she was saying and piped up.
"Your physical person?"
"Damage to my physical person!"
At this, Frank just laughed and started sauntering away. "I'm in an otherwise good mood and your attempt at being scary got a good laugh out of me. But you better have something for me the next time we run into one another or I'm gonna come calling with more than a swagger and a John Hughes reference."
When Frank was finally gone, Chloe roared and slammed her fist into the wall next to her. The heavy cement block wasn't exactly yielding, but if she felt any pain from the stupid decision, it didn't show. "I need to get some dust under my boots. Come on..." No one seemed particularly certain just how many of them the missive was directed at, and they didn't want to find out the hard way. Not when Chloe was brick-punchingly angry. So they all left together and headed off down the train tracks.
Although they were technically walking as a group, Chloe was mostly focused on hanging out with Max, and Kate stuck beside her girlfriend. She watched as they held hands and balanced their way along the beams. She couldn't help but give Victoria's shoulder a nudge with a wink and a grin. "Her best friend since they were little~ Am I the only one seeing sparks?"
"Sweetie, you think everyone is gay. You tried to convince me Taylor and Courtney were fucking..."
"No! No, I tried to convince you that if they were, it would be normal and reasonable. I'm just sayin'~"
"You... can't just say 'I'm just sayin' and not expound! Just because you finally got me into bed, it doesn't mean that those two-"
The other two looked back over their shoulders, Chloe smirking while Max blushed like a maniac. "We can hear you, assholes!" Though they said nothing more, Kate could see quite clearly that Chloe was squeezing Max's hand.
Kate finally had the grace to lower her voice as she looked in Victoria's direction again. "Y'know, we've already seen, thanks to Max, some pretty intense evidence of quantum, multiple universe madness. So... theoretically, in roughly half of all worlds, we barely know one another. In half of those, we're enemies. And until something happens, we'll never know what universe we don't live in. Until things change, there's always a chance, y'know?"
There was a very long pause as they walked along and Victoria stared off into the middle distance. Finally a weary smile graced her lips and she looked back at her girlfriend. "Yes dear..." That was Victoria's way of telling her a very complex set of premises. It said I love you, you're very smart, I absolutely agree with you, but I'm super tired; you're allowed to keep talking, but I may drown you out.
Max and Chloe looked like they wanted to come to a stop, and for a moment Kate was happy to let them. But then she saw it. It was far, far more distant than the bathroom mess. Unfortunate timing, considering she had just been talking about other universes. A second, if that, of pure, unbelievable gore with a flash of blue. The witch felt like she might vomit if she had to look at it any longer, and if they continued to hang around, there was a danger that she might. "N-Not here. Um, bad... bad vibes. Bad... bad vibes..."
Victoria was the first to understand, and Max a close second. Only Chloe was hesitant to follow her whims just because she looked a little green in the face. But with Victoria and Max looking at her seriously, there wasn't much chance to fight back. Once they got away from the place, Kate felt steadier, and they returned to their vehicles without further incident.
When they got back to Blackwell, Kate motioned to Chloe with an embarrassed smile. "Look, I know today was kinda supposed to be just a 'you and your best friend' thing, and I feel bad about forcing my way into it. I figured I might offer you a tea reading?"
Max hopped out of the truck and walked with Victoria toward the educational building for their photography class with Mister... Whatsisface. Whoever it was, they both seemed to be nerding out about him hardcore. Chloe pulled the hat from her head and ruffled her hair slightly with a jovial smile. It was impressive, how expressive she was, so angry one moment, so carefree the next. "So long as you don't use it as a way to get in my pants, sure."
Kate actually got a pretty good laugh at that and stood by while she parked the truck a little more appropriately before joining her in a stroll toward the dorms. Chloe wasn't exactly her type, but she wasn't exactly not her type either. It was confusing, sometimes. The bluenette pulled up short suddenly and fiddled in her pockets. "Shit, all this activity today, I need some nicotine. I'll come bug you in a second?"
The little witch shrugged and lowered herself to sit on the stairs next to her. "Hell, I could go for a cigarette about now. The shit I keep seeing..." There was a moment of surprise before Chloe settled in next to her and passed her a cigarette and gave her a light. She breathed deep, feeling the immediate snap of calm come over her as she breathed out, coughing only slightly as she did so. "You understand though, yeah? Max is your best friend, and she saved you. But I feel like my head is caving in and Max is obviously at the center of things. I was talking big earlier, but you obviously mean a lot to each other. Seeing as you're probably about ready to kill for her, I'd prefer approval over disapproval."
"Is that why you're smoking with me and offering to tell my fortune?" Chloe wasn't dumb, even if she was known as a drop-out who continued to search for Rachel Amber despite all signs that...
Oh fuck. Just before I fainted...
"Mmm, yes and no..." Kate took another drag, finding it easier this time. "Back when I was more rebellious than honestly different, I had a good year or so of wearing all black and smoking way too much. But mostly, it's because you're connected to stuff, and I think this could help us feel more prepared."
"You understand I'm dubious because you're shacking up with the head bi-" Chloe caught herself, only barely, and attempted to stop from digging any deeper. "I was never exactly fond of her, but she's definitely warmed up since the last time we crossed paths. When you and Max were passed out, she started getting all... weepy, and I had to calm her down." Although that was mostly meant as a comfort to Kate, Chloe seemed to take some pleasure in seeing Victoria cry.
Kate knew enough of what Victoria was like before they started dating. She'd heard stories and seen some videos. It wasn't pretty, but she could kind of understand it, even if she couldn't exactly sympathize. "She used to be a total bitch. I get it. But there's an entire dorky side to her that no one ever gets to see. I didn't tell you this, but" she paused for dramatic effect and got another dose of nicotine before continuing, "her favorite movies are basically the entire catalog of Studio Ghibli films. Quality stuff, but there's no denying she's a total nerd at heart."
There was a chuckle from the girl next to her, and while she honestly still expected Chloe to take that information and run with it, that did seem to soften her somewhat. "My lips are sealed." A pleasant moment of silence passed between the two, and there seemed to be a kind of genuine appreciation for shutting the hell up for the both of them.
The happy moment was shattered by another horror. It was getting to the point that Kate actually had a name for it, and that was troubling in its own right. Quantum gore, a moment of impossibility and awful bloodshed. The problem, this time, was that it was her, or at least some version of her, hitting the concrete with a sickening sound followed by flashes of people crying, then some cheering, then more crying, and then it happened a second time. She had trouble sorting out which particular fragment was the most upsetting – seeing herself die, hearing the noise as it happened, wondering why she looked so different, or noticing the student body gathered to watch it like some kind of show.
"It should be raining..." was all she managed to mutter.
"Did you say something?"
Showing a surprising degree of nonchalance, Kate tossed her cigarette on the ground and stubbed it out before getting to her feet and starting for the door. "More hinky bullshit. I'd feel safer in my room." She knew her answer was deceptively vague, but Chloe seemed okay with that. She really didn't expect to be getting along with her, but she was pretty okay when she wasn't freaking out about something.
Like everyone else, Chloe took a good look around her room as she entered. But unlike Victoria or Max, the first thing she found herself drawn to was a solid oak baseball bat. "Woah, Kate Marsh, what the fuck is this voodoo nonsense?" She held the bat aloft and admired all the carvings and drawings all over it. Various sigils and signs and runes, granting strength, speed, courage, protection, and more. But none of those were important.
Kate just sauntered over and grabbed the bat from Chloe's hand. "Do you know how long you spent looking at the bat? Easily a good five seconds or more. When someone is so distracted by what they think is going to be something magical, I've already had time to knock their nose so far into their skull it's resting in the reptilian hind-brain. Above all else, a witch is sensible and practical..." She set the bat back where it belonged near the corner of her bed with a satisfied smile.
"That's fucked up. I dig it." Chloe watched as Kate got everything into place and gave a little snicker. "Hey, you know how to make weed tea?"
"Yeah, of course, but it's not really great for tea readings because you've gotta add some kind of cohesive element and that ruins the..." Kate's answer probably came as a shock considering Chloe was just making a joke. "Oh, heh, sorry, I mean. Um. Oh? You can make tea out of weed? I am shocked and appalled that-"
"Are you fucking with me Sabrina the Teenage Witch? Or is this one of those things where Max wants you on my good side so you're supposed to pretend you're all cool and shit so I let my guard down?" It sounded crazy, and Kate couldn't help but laugh at the entire thing. The two didn't have nearly enough time to set up such an elaborate plot.
"Of course I'm serious, Chloe. I'm a pagan witch who was raised in a conservative Christian household. Do you honestly look at me and think I don't know how to unwind sometimes? Tea and cookies, those were always my favorite methods. Tastier, for one thing. Unfortunately..." she set the water boiling and seated herself on a cushion, "I'm gonna have to brew you something a little bit easier to read. Next time though, you bring the leaves and I'll make some killer tea for us. I promise."
In the end, she made her guest an earthy, herbal tea blend, something befitting Chloe's rough and tumble style. It was bound to taste bitter as hell, but she drank it anyway, and Kate was thoroughly impressed.
Finally she was given back her mug and she began to inspect it. "Butterfly. That's a popular one around here. Can't say I'm surprised..." she said, and as if it had been summoned, her little blue friend lighted on her shoulder. "Um, major change, but it sorta looks like... It's muddy, different from Max's, different from Victoria's... Sorry, I guess it's like... I-I don't know, something more literal maybe? That's my best interpretation..." Chloe didn't seem too rattled, since she was likely skeptical even with all the weird stuff they'd been seeing. "It looks like you're going to get a pet. A dog? Maybe?" It was so close to the butterfly, perhaps they were linked. "Shit, you drank some fucked up tea."
"As long as I'm not literally screwing the pooch, I think I can handle it." Chloe was trying to still be jovial, but Kate knew her demeanor at this point was making that difficult. Her dedication was admirable.
"I'm sorry, Chloe, it's uh... unh..." Kate's vision went a little blurry, and for a moment she was certain she was going to pass out again. But instead, she just heard the voice from before, that clear strong voice that was undoubtedly only resounding in her mind.
Stella... You have to find Stella... His 'perfect creation' is almost complete...