Chapter 14
Gwen opened her eyes and found herself standing in front of a monastery that stood on a cliff overlooking a lake surrounded by a forest. It was a beautiful place and she would have loved to draw it in her sketchbook.
"Excuse me?" Gwen turned around to see someone was standing behind her.
It was a girl who looked to be a few years younger than her with pale skin, light blond hair that reached down to her waist, grayish blue eyes. She was shorter than Gwen, her full height only reached up to Gwen's chin and she didn't appear to wear any makeup. She wore a green sweater over a light blue dress shirt, a black skirt over purple tights and her feet were covered by small black shoes.
"Would you happen to be Gwen Rivers Avatar of Andromeda, Heaven's Star?" The girl asked politely.
Gwen raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I'm Gwen and I'm Andromeda's Avatar."
The girl bowed slightly. "I am Dawn, Avatar of Luna, The Heavenly Light."
"Nice to meet you, I guess," Gwen admitted. "Sorry, I'm not a big fan of social gatherings.
"I understand Gwen; it can be a little intimidating." Dawn nodded. "But the gathering will not happen for half an hour from now. They are still gathering any available top ranking avatars to come here."
"Great, I came out here early." Gwen sighed as she walked down the steps. "As long as I am here I might as well take a look around."
"Yes, it is a very nice place. I recommended this place for the social gathering." Dawn walked with Gwen.
"You chose this place?" Gwen asked, looking at Dawn with a curious look.
"I come to places like this to meditate and try and communicate with Mother Earth." Dawn smiled. "It is so peaceful and quiet; it can make you feel like you are in heaven."
"I admit it is nice place to come to relax." Gwen smiled as she looked around. "You come to this place often?"
"I travel to all sorts of temples and monasteries to explore and see what wildlife they have." Dawn held up a hand and bird landed on her index finger.
Gwen's Star Necklace glowed as Andromeda's specter form manifested itself and floated next to Gwen's head. "You certainly have the qualities to attract a spirit like Luna."
"Andromeda." Dawn bowed. "I have heard many stories of you as one of the most powerful spirits in the realms and Luna has told me much about you."
"Did she now?" Andromeda asked as Dawn pulled up her right sleeve to reveal a bracelet that was made entirely of silver and seemed to radiate a pale light of sorts almost like...
"Moon light?" Gwen raised an eyebrow. "Oh right...Luna, now I get it."
"I know, it contradicts my name but..." Dawn shrugged. "I believe the simplest explanation I can offer you is that opposites attract."
"Oddly enough that makes sense," Gwen said, thinking back to how Kurt and Carlos could stand to be within ten feet of one another without killing themselves.
A mist that gave off the same light came out of Dawn's bracelet and coiled around Dawn like Andromeda did Gwen. "With us, nothing requires sense, but only acceptance. That was the foundation of the Avatars, Gwen Rivers."
"Luna, it has been centuries," Andromeda said pleasantly.
"Far too long, Andromeda," Luna replied.
"You two know each other?" Gwen asked.
"Luna and I met a long time ago, both of us wishing to keep this world safe from spirits that worked against our laws. Luna is a nature type spirit so she a pacifist, more so than anyone I have ever met, usually attempting a non violent solution and generally relies on methods that subdue instead of killing." Andromeda replied. "As a nature type spirit Luna is capable of communicating with animals, reading the souls of any human, and can sense the future through the emotions of anyone she reads much like a seer. I am curious though Luna, how did you come to have an avatar?"
"I found someone who had the same interests I did." Luna replied making Dawn smiled. "This girl had an unnatural high spiritual connection to nature, even for a nature type spirit like myself. She was able to see my specter form even though no human should be able to see us in this form unless they are an avatar. We communicated for a while and she wished to become my avatar for having a strong connection with nature. It took some time but I gave her my blessings and offered the contract."
"Sounds like you don't often bond with an avatar." Gwen commented.
"She doesn't, avatars are meant to protect the realms and it means we have to fight the rogue spirits and demons who go against the laws. An avatar who takes the contract with a spirit like Luna is more of a healer than a fighter." Andromeda explained. "From what I remember Luna is one of the spirits who have bonded with a human less times than even I have."
"It's probably hard to find a pacifist and a naturalist all rolled into one these days," Gwen muttered. "Especially one who already has a high sensitivity to spirits."
"True, but those are how I choose an avatar at all," Luna replied with what looked like a shrug of her smoke like shoulders. "Just like how Andromeda has often chosen avatars based off of courage, awareness and their will to fight." She added in a sweet tone. "And I always find myself liking her choices."
"Thanks, considering how much training I put in to use her power I guess that not many other people meet her standards." Gwen smiled.
"So you already know how to call on her power too?"
"When she lets me," Gwen nodded. "Ten percent of her power I can handle and I've been training to handle more of it."
"This is good." Dawn smiled. "This why we're here, at least to be able establish a positive relation with other Avatars."
"Sounds like group therapy." Gwen commented.
"It is, in a way." Dawn nodded. "I heard you don't socialize well but if you can give it to try than it'll make things easier for me if we end up working together in the future."
"I guess I got no choice." Gwen sighed. "What exactly should you know?"
"Let's find a spot to talk first." Dawn said as they continued walking.
She led Gwen down the stairs until they stopped on a balcony overlooking the large lake with a tree in the center.
"This is my favourite spot in the whole place." Dawn smiled as she put a hand on the tree. "So calm and beautiful."
"It is something to look at." Gwen admitted.
"I know. Come and sit here with me." Dawn gestured to a spot under the tree that gave plenty of shade from the sun.
She sat down with her legs crossed and her hands on her knees. Gwen sat down next to her and crossed her legs, watching as Dawn closed her eyes.
"Your aura is midnight blue which is also your favourite color." Dawn said serenely. "It matches your personality, keeping yourself mysterious around everyone you know, except maybe your family to keep them from knowing what you are and because you are cautious about you let into your life."
"My aura?" Gwen raised an eyebrow.
"Each soul, human or spirit has an aura that shows what kind of person they are. I can see the auras in each person." Dawn opened her eyes. "Your aura is midnight blue and I can see a streak of silver that is the sign of your connection with Andromeda."
"So, you can tell what kind of a person is just by seeing what kind of color their...aura has?" Gwen asked, trying to understand it.
"I know it's hard to understand, many people are put off when I do things like that, including my parents." Dawn nodded.
"Just how exactly does a human become sensitive to spirits?" Gwen asked.
"It's actually not hard to believe, Aboriginals along with many other tribes centuries ago had high spiritual sense due to the fact that their homes were close to rifts between our dimension and the spirit world. Eventually they became able to see and hear spirits because of their close proximity, hearing spirits as they came into our world." Dawn explained. "This heightened their senses to levels that some would say they..."
"Used magic." Gwen finished. "I'm little familiar with spirits interacting with humans like that, just not developing the kind of sense you are describing. Where exactly do you live?"
"Ottawa, close to a sanctuary were nature type spirits gather. I saw them all the time as a child, hearing them whisper." Dawn sighed. "Of course my parents were afraid I might have been hallucinating."
"I can see that happening." Gwen nodded.
"I heard you are often in contact with another avatar."
"Oh, Kurt, the Arcane Technician, Avatar of Merlin."
"Really? The Merlin?" Dawn asked, looking very surprised. "I thought it was just a rumour that he was now a spirit."
"Nope, he and Kurt started supplying me with hunting gear after Kurt retired from active hunting. Something about a personal life." Gwen shrugged. "And there was the other, Carlos the Inferno Hunter, Avatar of Warhawk."
"The Flaming King of the Inferno!" Luna exclaimed.
"Very same and I fought him while he was pursuing the Dealer." Gwen nodded. "Have you two met?"
"Unfortunately," Luna replied. "And Carlos is a perfect match for an equally violent being like Warhawk, even if he has his heart set in the right direction."
"We met a year ago during one of Carlos'...'rogue hunting trips'," Dawn explained. "He was tracking down a demon that acted as an informant in return for safety from execution. We tried to persuade him to turn his eyes away from the demon, but he could not be swayed. He burnt the poor soul alive."
"Yeah...sounds like Carlos," Despite seeing the man on one of his hunts, it was hard for Gwen to remember him being anything but the goof he acted like now. "He isn't going to be here, is he?"
"No...Despite being one of reputation among avatars he prefers not to socialize." Dawn shook her head. "And I am not ashamed to admit that I am glad for that fact."
"I don't blame you," Gwen nodded. "Carlos has been training me along with Kurt and I got to say his methods are a little extreme."
"That's an understatement." Luna commented.
"But necessary." Andromeda replied. "I told you before Gwen that all this training was to make sure that what happened to you would not happen again or suffering the same fate as Sarah."
"I get it," Gwen sighed. "I know you don't want me to end up like Sarah, especially getting killed by a paranoid bastard and I'm grateful for all that help, you can trust me when I say this Andromeda, it won't happen."
"It's good to see you are doing a good job keeping your partner safe, Andromeda." Luna praised. "As expected from the Star of Heaven."
"Thank you, Luna. This one though is more headstrong than the ones I am used to." Andromeda said, chuckling as Gwen's eye twitched.
"Very funny." Gwen shook her head. "So then, Luna, I was wondering how you and Andromeda gained these titles. It can't just be because of your powers, I know Andromeda is a naturally born spirit but she likes be mysterious to drive me nuts."
"Oh, Andromeda, must you play games with her?" Luna smiled.
"It's one of my perks, but if you really want to know Gwen is that like most other spirits that were born from emotions and thoughts I was born the same way." Andromeda explained. "You know how sometimes people make a wish to stars or comets believing that they grant wishes?"
"You're kidding me!" Gwen exclaimed.
"I kid you not, Gwen. People believed that stars were alive and from their beliefs and emotions I was born. Of course I can't just grant wishes like a genie despite how powerful I am. Most people these days don't make a whole lot of wishes to stars anymore but there are times when children or people who just do it out of some form of hope make wishes on a shooting star." Andromeda explained. "The problem is that I cannot simply grant a person's wish on a whim, there is a special Method involved and even then it's something I prefer not to use unless absolutely necessary."
"Hey, that reminds me of some theory...it was where if enough people think about something happening, then it will come true." Gwen said.
"That was perhaps the closest science has gotten to me as of yet," Andromeda admitted. "But in order for me to grant any significant wishes, I would need many people to make the wish at once. And there would be a toll required."
"Toll?"
"It's like the Ceremony of Summoning. I need a Spirit Avatar to gather the wishes within them," Andromeda explained. "Being a spirit born from the belief that stars can grant wishes each wish bears an unbelievable amount of energy that can increase my powers to levels only a handful of spirits can attain, and the only way that it can be of use is to be focused through the Avatar...and it is not likely that they would survive the process. That's why it's been done less than a handful of times and when there was absolutely no choice...one example would be back when Merlin was still alive actually. Do you recall the Island of Avalon?"
"Yeah...I've heard of that in Arthurian Legend."
"Merlin had persuaded an entire kingdom to pray for one wish: to hide Avalon from the world." Andromeda said. "It was my very first Avatar who did this. There were many Kings and Emperors looking to acquire Avalon for themselves...others sought to destroy it. Merlin sought me out to perform the Omni-Ceremony...the Ceremony of All, meaning those involved in the wish. It requires all present to make the wish, hence the name."
"You literally hid Avalon?" Gwen asked.
"Not exactly. The wish was for Avalon to be hidden from the entire world and Merlin came before the person who was my very first avatar at the time. I was reluctant at first but as war threatened to break out I realized there was almost no choice left. So we preformed the Omni-Ceremony, my Avatar gathered the energy sent out by the prayers and wishes of the kingdom. As a spirit born from people wishing upon a star my powers grow stronger when I hear their thoughts wishing and praying." Andromeda said. "My Avatar gathered these wishes which increased my power to levels that only a few spirits can reach."
"It is true. Spirits gain strength from the same certain thoughts and emotions that created them and with large amounts of people projecting these emotions the spirit becomes much stronger. Andromeda would ascend to levels beyond even the oldest of spirits." Luna agreed.
"To hide Avalon from the world I used this power to create a pocket dimension that to this day keeps Avalon separated from this world." Andromeda finished. "Regrettably my Avatar was unable to survive the Ceremony.
"...wow, no wonder you're so powerful. A wish granting spirit born from wishes..." Gwen pondered the idea. "That's amazing. Wait...if you were born from wishes...does that mean other Spirits are born in similar ways?"
"Correct, and one example would be Warhawk." Andromeda admitted. "He was born from many millennia of bloodshed between empires and tribes...that has left him among one of the older spirits. But it has done little to let him mature since his birth except for acquiring battle cries and opponents."
Before they could continue a blast of light came out of the temple.
"We should move. That light signals anyone early that the others will be gathering in the temple." Dawn smiled, enjoying the time of interacting with Andromeda and Gwen.
Xxx
Gwen and Dawn entered the temple and stood in a large chamber with a large window allowing sunlight to shine down in the center. They stepped into the center of the light and five hexagon symbols appeared around the circle. In a flash of light five figures appeared and stood up as the symbols vanished.
The first to appear was a young man perhaps a few years older than Gwen. He had brown hair and a bit of stubble, and wore a black baseball cap over his bird's nest of a hair style. He wore what looked like...a janitor's uniform, and even held a mop in one hand. In the other he held a coffee cup.
"Okay let's make it quick, I gotta get back for another Blood Mop Session," He sighed.
"Welcome, Jimmy," Dawn said.
"Whatever." He looked at Gwen. "Soooo you're new girl?"
"Guess so, sorry if you didn't-"
"I ain't complaining now, babe." He shrugged. "Name's Jimmy, no surnames here, and I'm the Avatar of Dionysus, Spreader of Drunken Madness...or so he likes to call himself. I call him Spreader of Booze and Grapes."
"You mean-"
"He takes the whole Greek God thing pretty seriously," He nodded. "Bit of a pain in the ass sometimes, but the dude knows some kick ass alcoholic drink mixes."
The second avatar to appear was an older man perhaps in his mid 30s. His skin was tanned and his hair was short except for a single line that stuck up at the center. He was well built, wearing a pair of cargo pants and a muscle shirt. He crossed his arms, showing off tattoos of flames. "Hola. The name's Alonso, Alonso Carter. Avatar of Chimera, the Endless Faces."
He offered Gwen a hand, and she took it. Though he looked like he could crush her hand in his grip he was surprisingly easy with the hand shake. "Heard some good things about you, nice to finally meet you."
"Did you hear about me from Total Drama or the job?"
"The job," Alonso replied.
"Figures." Gwen shook her head.
The third avatar was a woman wearing a black coat over a white blouse, and a purple skirt. Her hair was dark and pulled back in a loose pony tail that hung low. She wore a pair of spectacles of green eyes, and was pocketing a cell phone. This woman had to be a lawyer.
"Alessa Morgan," She said. "Avatar of Nike, Scales of Justice and Victory."
Yep, definitely a lawyer.
The fourth avatar was the oldest one in the room. He had to be in his late forties or early fifties, and was bald. He had a bit of a beer belly, but that did little to distract from his muscular arms. He had a thin beard beginning to form on his lower face, and was wearing sun glasses, a grey t shirt and jeans. He let out a belch and looked around. "Oh, we're doing this now? Give me a heads up next time, I was about to win it big on a game."
He sighed. "Well better now than later anyways...name's Bobby, Bobby Collins, Avatar of Hawke, Immortal Sharp Shooter."
"Sharp Shooter?"
He snapped one hand up faster than she could have believed, and a watch on his wrist glowed. It turned into a revolver, then into a semi-automatic, then a submachine gun...then a large shotgun. He fired a dozen times and Gwen yelped...only to see that he had targeted around her and left a perfect outline of her in the wall behind her.
"Sharp Shooter," He nodded. "Comes in handy when your primary weapons are any projectile weapon made in history and your spirit happens to be the spirit of one famous gunman."
"...eep," Gwen managed to say as he dismissed the gun.
The final avatar was a girl who was the shortest person in the room, an inch or so shorter than even Dawn. She had blonde hair that was pulled back into pig tails and wore jean shorts and a red t shirt. She waved one hand. "Hi. I'm Elliot Matthews, call me Ellie. I'm the Avatar of Sir Lancelot."
"...literally?"
"No joke!" She nodded. "Or as others call him: Right Hand of the Light."
"I guess it's my turn. My name is..." Gwen started but she was interrupted by Alessa.
"Gwen Rivers, Avatar of Andromeda, Heaven's Star." Alessa nodded. "Welcome."
"And you all know me, Dawn Adams, Avatar of Luna, the Heavenly Light."
"Well, some of the most known Avatars in North America have arrived." Jimmy looked around. "I thought a lot less people would show up."
"Less?" Gwen asked.
"Some Avatars decide to skip out on these gatherings for various reasons. Some saying they are busy in their daily lives or Avatar missions, some Avatars just don't socialize." Alonso explained. "I usually come to see if any of the new Avatars are shouldering their missions well, especially the ones handed out by Marcus."
"You know him?" Gwen asked, taking a seat along with everyone else.
"Indeed, he and I have been together in a few missions and he specializes in gathering information from human and spirit informants." Alonso nodded.
"Me, I'm just here because Dawn says it's good to meet new people." Jimmy said.
"We go to the same school and Jimmy works as a janitor for getting the previous one injured." Dawn explained.
"I said I was sorry." Jimmy shrugged. "I just can't believe he got his hands on that bottle."
"...is he always this..." Gwen wanted to say 'weird' but then again that would be the pot calling the kettle black.
"Casually surreal?" Dawn suggested.
"That might cover some of what I meant."
"Well what are we waitin' for?" Bobby asked. "Jimmy, you always make the drinks...which we all voted against this year so we need a new bar keep."
"I said I was sorry!" Jimmy insisted with an exasperated groan. "I can't help it if Kurt and Carlos couldn't hold their damn liquor!"
"...you know Kurt and Carlos?"
"Why, do you?"
"Kurt supplies me with my gear...and Carlos is one of my trainers."
Jimmy blinked. "Oh...sucks to be you then. Had that guy trainin' me once...the only good thing he taught me was how to make one mean molotov."
Gwen could imagine an entire building exploding when he mentioned this...
"...I said I was SORRY!" Jimmy repeated when all of the Avatars present besides Gwen and Dawn sent glares his way.
"Don't mind him," Alessa sighed. "Jimmy has an infamous reputation...second to Carlos after the only time he ever attended with Kurt."
"Kurt did mention something about that visit," Gwen admitted.
"I'd rather not go into details about it, but I'll just say that it is why two thirds of those who usually attend were too afraid to come this year." Alessa said. "But if we're done with the shenanigans, shall we begin?"
"Amen to that!" Alonso grinned.
"Just how do we start?" Gwen asked.
"Well, we usually explain why we became Avatars in the first place to get a better understanding of them." Dawn pointed out. "And I'm curious as to how you became Andromeda's Avatar."
"I must admit I am curious as well. Andromeda is well known spirit and I heard she hadn't taken an Avatar since the 17th century." Alessa nodded. "How did she choose you?"
"Well...she didn't choose me as much as I chose her." Gwen rubbed the back of her head.
"Hm?" Dawn raised an eyebrow. "How is it that a human could choose a spirit, especially one like Andromeda?"
"You don't know?" Gwen now looked confused. "I thought Kurt or Carlos would tell you how I became Andromeda's avatar. It was kind of important for them to know why she would have an avatar now when she didn't have one since the 17th century."
"I heard of Sarah's incident but I was told to ask you how it happened." Dawn shrugged.
"It was an accident," Gwen sighed. "I got caught up in an attack and the Star Necklace happened to be on one of the victims."
"But why would the Star Necklace be worn by a human who was not an avatar?" Elliot tilted her head.
"I'm afraid I neglected to remove it from this dimension after Sarah was killed." Andromeda spoke up, her voice now sounding a little sad. "After her death her family moved into Canada and the necklace was sold, believing it to be bad luck. I was mourning Sarah's death and refused to look for a new avatar because of the trauma I had put her and her family through. However, ten years ago the family who had the necklace was attacked by a rogue spirit who stole the life energy of everyone nearby except for one person..."
"Oh my!" Dawn covered her mouth with her hands. "Gwen, you were wearing the necklace?"
"No." Gwen shook her head as she closed her eyes, remembering what happened. "A friend of mine was wearing the necklace at the time, a gift from her father. We ran for our lives but she ended up losing her life energy. When the spirit cornered me I screamed and Andromeda heard it through the necklace."
"I then looked through the necklace, something I had not done in a long time to see what was happening. Even though I had refused to take another avatar I couldn't bear to see another child die in front of me. Unfortunately, the only way to save her would mean I would to give her the contract." Andromeda continued. "Even though both human and spirit have to agree to take the contract I convinced Gwen to accept it while she was being attacked, not knowing what it meant. The contract was made and when the spirit tried to devour her life energy I released my powers to protect her while the spirit absorbed my energy instead. The spirit was destroyed from inside because of my powers and Gwen was left unharmed, but traumatized from what happened, something that can be said for most people who become avatars."
"Great Mother Earth!" Dawn gasped. "That's so...sad."
"It was." Gwen nodded solemnly. "The bodies were moved so it looked like they all died separately so no one would think something happened in the park where we were. As for me, well, Andromeda helped me keep my sanity intact and decided...I wanted in."
"Even though I wanted her to dissolve the contract." Andromeda pointed out.
"Dissolve?" Dawn asked.
"Just as the contract can be made it can be dissolved since either spirit or its avatar has the option of retiring from protecting the realms. I didn't want to put this child through any more pain than what she had already experienced but she was so...stubborn."
"I wasn't going to just sit back and say 'let somebody else take care of this problem' like most people would," Gwen nodded. "It took me a while, but I finally managed to convince her to let me train. And boy was she a sadist about it."
"Well I didn't want to her to be hurt so for the last ten years I drilled her into studying our world, laws, and how to fight. I had to force what should have been two decades of training for a full grown adult into just ten years of training a child," Andromeda chuckled. "I would have made it an even five but then I had the bad luck of a spirit trying to attack her while her family was off in the countryside. After that everything just came naturally to her. I didn't let her officially become an active avatar until only after she was able to learn the basics of hunting and dispatching hostile spirits and demons which was about a year ago."
"I heard of her first major assignment: that Japanese spirit found in Baltimore," Alessa nodded. "I was impressed. I have not heard of many as young as you or I facing an Onryo and surviving, much less winning."
"Well a little luck, a little adrenaline and a dash of Andromeda's power helped me a lot," Gwen admitted.
"Well, that's a pretty intense story." Alonso nodded. "Surviving all of this and as well as fighting someone who had the Deck of Beasts and the Beast Tamer and then the Mansion with Diary of Alphaeus. Pretty impressive for someone who is the newest Avatar aside from Dawn and Elliot."
"Thanks." Gwen nodded, considering it good that other Avatars had a slight amount of respect for her.
She might not be good at socializing but earning their respect was a good start.
"Gwen, I know you don't do well at talking in groups so I'll step up and explain how I became an Avatar." Dawn stood up. "I live in Ottawa, I'm an only child and ever since I was young I was able to...the best way to say is seeing how the people around could me feel. I saw yellow when they were happy, red when they angry, green when they were grumpy, bright blue when they were sad, and so many other auras around them with different colors. Animals like cats, dogs, squirrels, and even birds just liked being around me but because of this ability people were often put off by me, staring at me like I was...strange and usually avoided contact with me. I preferred walking through the forests and parks than interacting with people my age; they didn't share the same interests as me and I couldn't be around them because I heard them whispering behind my back."
'Brats.' Gwen thought, annoyed at how Dawn described how most people treated her.
"I often heard voices during my walks and on night, when I was out late even though my parents told me to never go out after dark I saw a bright light in the trees. It looked like the moon, but it was a cloudy night and the moon was covered. I called out, thinking it was someone with a flash light...and a few seconds later a voice asked 'You can see me?' Now you can imagine that I was startled, but most others would have been frightened." Dawn continued. "I was more...curious, and I wanted to know more, so I responded. It was Luna who I was talking to and she was intrigued by my ability to sense her. We talked a lot that night, and I kept going back when Luna promised that she would meet me there again. I went there for nearly a month, learning about her, the Spirit World, and how spirits often came here for different reasons. All the things I learned...when I learned about the Avatar Contract I asked her if I could become her Avatar, wanting to see the Spirit World. After a while Luna agreed and offered the contract which I took and I've been her Avatar for the last seven years."
"A lot more peaceful compared to how most people become Avatars." Luna said.
For the rest of the meeting Gwen listened to each of the Avatars giving their own story of their origins and a bit of how they lived their daily lives when they were not dealing with rogue spirits and demons. Oddly enough she felt herself relaxing since they were not too different form her, Dawn was calm and kind even though she acted even more mysterious than she did, Elliot was nice and a little hyper but she was used to it from her brother, Izzy, Katie, and Sadie. Alessa acted like a lawyer even as an Avatar, explaining her spirit had the power to strike guilty spirits and demons by turning their sins against them. Jimmy was weird but honest about it and seemed to have a bit of bad luck attached to him, given how Dawn explained a few of his well known exploits; Alonso was similar if less eccentric and had fewer weird tendencies...and he smiled a lot more. Bobby was a smart ass and liked to brag about being the best shooter in the club; even offering to teach them how properly use a pistol, an offer that everyone politely refused. Bobby just scoffed and said it was their loss.
It wasn't so bad, at least they knew how to make the conversations interesting and Gwen could see she had a few similarities with them. She shared Dawn's passion for Mother Earth and cleaning the environment, she and Jimmy both had the same love for horror movies but she told him that she had sworn to never touch alcohol in her entire life. Jimmy shrugged, saying that it was fine and that at least she wasn't afraid of any drinks he might give her. She and Alessa had low tolerance for snobs and people who thought themselves above the messes they made from her experience with Heather and Courtney.
She and Elliot shared some laughs as they exchanged stories of how they played a few good natured pranks Elliot or Gwen and her brother had done. She and Bobby were both smart asses sometimes and the two enjoyed a little battle of wits and she even got the old man to laugh a bit. They only spent a half hour together but the group had shared some good laughs, even though Alessa and Bobby only made a few small chuckles throughout the conversation. When times was up the Hexagon symbols glowed, letting everyone know that time was up and they had to return before someone noticed they were missing.
"Oh man I'd better split," Alonso hurried over to his symbol. "See you around guys! Welcome to the group, Gwen!"
"I look forward to seeing you in action in the future, Ms Rivers." Alessa shook her hand and then stepped onto her own hexagon.
"And I'm definitely showing you a few tricks with guns," Bobby added as he stepped onto his own hexagon. "You'd be surprised how ghosts react to a good shotgun shell or two."
"Bye Gwen!" Elliot gave her a hug. "Talk to you later! I can't wait for the next meeting!" She practically sprinted to her hexagon.
"I think we might end up seeing more of one another anyways," Dawn added to the conversation.
"What do you mean?"
Dawn giggled softly. "Ohhh...you'll see." She walked back to her hexagon, whistling innocently.
"..." Jimmy looked around. "...aw hell I ain't heading back home yet. The people back there keep bringin' all these problems to me. Oh Jimmy we've got mutant zombie seniors tearing apart tech hall! Oh Jimmy we have a giant demon baby hugging people to death!" He mimicked these surreal exclamations and groaned in annoyance. "Don't even know how those a-holes don't know I'm an avatar yet...can I please just go with one of you and lay low for a bit?"
"No." Alessa said abruptly and vanished.
"Sorry man, got a woman back home I gotta take care of," Alonso said quickly before he too left.
"I would, but daddy says no friends over past four o'clock!" Elliot too vanished.
"I remember the last time I let you over and I gotta say: get a better job you free loader! You cleaned me out of house and home last time I let you stay!" Bobby spat on the floor and was gone before the drop even struck the stone.
"I apologize Jimmy, but your vulgar attitude would contaminate the aura of my home. And also my dad doesn't allow stoners in." Dawn added the last part quickly before returning home.
"...stoner?" Gwen raised an eyebrow at Jimmy. "Is this a precedent?"
"...I've said it before, I'll say it again: I SAID I WAS SORRY!" Jimmy shouted. "...can I stay with you for a bit? Just a few hours until school's over at my town?"
"My mom doesn't allow stoners and alcoholics in the house." Gwen walked to her hexagon circle. "Plus, I have enough with Kurt and Carlos. See ya, Jimmy, might have some fun over a horror movie or a video game."
"Wait wait wait!" Jimmy said desperately and reached under his uniform's top section...to reveal a DVD case. "See this?"
Gwen paused. "...is that...?"
"Pirated version of the latest Resident Evil animated film," Jimmy nodded.
"...your offer intrigues me." Gwen said. "Here, can't stay at my house but I know somebody who wouldn't mind having you for a bit." She drew another Hexagon on the floor, setting a destination for it... "Nobody will be able to tell that's pirated, right?"
"No way," Jimmy handed her the case. "I even have fake papers to show that you simply purchased it through...special means."
"Well thanks, see yah." Gwen said, hugging the case as she vanished.
"Oh Gwen you are awesome!" Jimmy grinned as he stepped onto the Hexagon...
And appeared in Kurt's shop.
...
...
...
"Huh?" Kurt looked up from the couch where he was reading.
"Hello?" Carlos looked up from where he was polishing a war axe...stained with blood.
"Jimmy?"
"Kurt?" Jimmy blinked.
"Jimmy!" Carlos leaped to his feet with a grin and ran towards him, arms spread for a hug...and carrying the axe.
"CARLOS?!" Jimmy backpedalled. "Wait! Wait! You can only hold safety scissors only when you run towards me! Safety scissors onl-EEEE!" Jimmy's shriek was heard through Toronto.
Xxx
A few minutes later...
"So I'm guessin' that you went to the meeting, and Gwen sent you here when you tried to dodge going home again," Kurt nodded.
"Y-yeah." Jimmy nodded, looking pale and having recently been healed through a method...of having his arm chopped off in the process of being hugged.
"Well I'm a nice guy," Kurt decided. "So here's a deal: you clean up my whole shop, and you get a separate room from Carlos...but bear in mind, if you touch those Klondike bars in the fridge, you'll pay for any fire damages to this place. So see yah!" He ran off.
"Wait, Kurt! Don't leave me!" Jimmy pleaded...
"Jimmy old buddy! We'll have some fun," Carlos patted Jimmy on the shoulder. "Just like the good old days!...want a refresher course on how to make high explosive molotovs? I found a brand new formula involving rocket fuel!"
"AHHH!"
Xxx
Gwen felt that she had been a little cruel in leaving Jimmy at Kurt's shop with Carlos for company but based on what everyone said things wouldn't have gone well if he had stayed in her house. If Jimmy couldn't handle Kurt and Carlos he could just portal back to his hometown and deal with whatever bad luck he had there. Gwen had hoped for things to cool down after the trial and thankfully they did, spirit activity was low and she was getting through school just fine. She just made it home after staying an extra hour at school to finish an art project when her brother called her from the living room.
"Hey Gwen! You should see this!" Alex's voice rang out.
Gwen didn't bother to take her boots off as she walked into the living room.
"What is it?"
"Take a look!" Alex pointed at the TV.
Looking at the TV Gwen saw a report on Total Drama to her dismay.
"It's true Total Drama fans, it seems Courtney and Duncan or as fans have labelled them 'Duncney' have broken up following a dinner at a restaurant that resulted in an all out food fight that forced the owners to close early with food hitting the customers closest to their table. Both of them left when the owners kicked them out and people could see and hear them shouting before separating and leaving. This was a week ago and they attended a press conference to discuss their relationship."
The scene now showed Courtney and Duncan standing on a stage with a microphone and none looking too happy.
"I have nothing to say about that guy except he's a complete THUG and I wish I'd never met him!" Courtney shouted.
"No comment." Duncan said simply with his arms crossed.
"And that he has the table manners of a chimp!"
"No comment."
"And he always chews with his mouth open. And he's constantly interrupting me. And-"
"I SAID NO COMMENT!" Duncan shoved the camera and it switched back to the News Center.
"Many take this as the sign that 'Duncney' is over since they have refused all contact with each other and Courtney is suing Duncan for custody of their pet raccoon Brittany."
"We all saw that coming!" Alex laughed. "You think they'll keep sending you letters about getting together with the Three Days Grace Reject?"
"Shut up!" Gwen tossed one of the pillows on the couch at Alex's head. "You know I don't like thinking about that."
"Sorry, you know how fun it is to tease you sometimes." Alex shrugged. "If it makes you feel better I don't think you'd go good with that guy either."
"Really?" Gwen raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, yeah. That Criminal is hardly the match for you, you may have a few things in common but even you'd get tired of his antics eventually." Alex rested his head on the couch. "He won the second season and he doesn't seem to be doing much with the money he won. That Crazy Guitar Guy would be a better match, when he's not insane...but I still think you'd be better off dying alone in a house full of cats over both these guys."
Gwen softly whacked Alex on the back of his head. "You're such a loving brother."
"You're welcome." Alex smiled. "I got to point out though; you've been pretty distant from this whole thing."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean aside from the concert at the CN Tower and the Mansion you don't talk about the show much and you avoided going to the Celebrity Manhunt thing when they asked you and never sent a reply explaining why."
"I guess unlike the others I don't care whether or not the popularity sticks with me. All I used it for was to promote my blog on cleaning the environment and aside from that I don't care much about that stupid show."
"Oh hang on! There's more!"
"Speaking of couples, Bridgette and Geoff, Total Drama's most popular and surviving couple has hit a few bumps of its own as Geoffrey's popularity has sky rocketed with the high level of stalkers Geoff has been receiving. So much that an angry Bridgette left the beach after Geoff was caught apparently looking at another girl. "
"Oh no." Gwen sighed.
An image of Bridgette whacking Geoff in the face with her surfboard was shown and knocking him unconscious.
"Fortunately the two was able to patch things up at a press conference but everyone keep your fingers crossed. You never know when the boyfriend unintentionally looks away." The reporter laughed. "And the third important news of Total Drama is the apparent breakup of the Drama Brothers. Our sources confirmed the band broke up following performing at a birthday party where they jumped into the pool naked."
"Oh God." Gwen smacked herself in the head as they showed a picture of the party.
"And you used to go out with that guy!" Alex laughed at Trent.
Thankfully the image blurred their private parts but it was embarrassing for Gwen all the same, knowing her friends did something so stupid.
"They were sentenced to Community Service and broke up when only one person showed up for their new album and was only looking for a case. Don't feel too bad guys, boy bands have been known to fall apart faster." The reporter chuckled. "On a few more notes there is still no word on the whereabouts of Noah who only appeared during the fake contest in the mansion and has since fallen off the grid."
"Smart move." Gwen nodded.
"On a lighter note contestants Lindsay and Beth were finally able to make bail when Beth's parents sold their car to get enough money. The two were then asked to leave France, never allowed to set foot in Paris again." The reporter continued. "And finally, on Celebrity Manhunt former contestants Heather and Gwen were invited to sort out their differences but however Gwen never showed up or replied to the invitation. Heather commented on how 'the loser goth girl was probably sleeping in a graveyard.' However many commented on how Heather came home dressed like a maid after the fake contest, pictures were taken of her as she made it home and made it onto the Internet."
"Thank you Carlos." Gwen smirked.
"Popularity for Heather went down when these pictures went out and how she along with Courtney tried and failed to sue Chris McLean and took it out on the only witness Gwen Rivers."
"She never knew how to say thanks." Gwen commented.
"Coming up, Celebrity Manhunt invites the original twenty one contestants onto the Red Carpet for an award ceremony, celebrating the one year anniversary of Total Drama's debut. Who will be the most recognized of the show? Find out on Celebrity Manhunt, this summer!"
"Hey, Gwen, you should totally go there. See if you'll get a reward." Alex looked at his sister.
"Forget it, I'm done with Total Drama and not to mention it's unlikely I'll win anything." Gwen scoffed. "I didn't win the last two seasons so it would be a whole waste of time to just sit in the audience and wait for an award you know you're not going to get."
"Don't be like that! Come on, so what if you didn't win?" Alex shook his head. "Your popularity went up when you got everyone out of that fake contest and just because the blog didn't work doesn't mean that it didn't reach some people."
"I just don't want to get involved in anymore of the Total Drama crap, plus I think there might be some issues between me, Trent, Duncan, and Courtney still left." Gwen shrugged. "I didn't leave a good impression last time."
"Oh please, that music guy went nuts on you and it was whole big misunderstanding. Plus the Criminal is a play boy dealing with a now ex-micro managing girlfriend." Alex shrugged. "Besides what about the others?"
"Well...Geoff turned on me with the Aftermath thing." Gwen started, remembering how crazy Geoff was and had not totally forgiven him for that even he returned to normal. "Bridgette and LeShawna seemed to have forgiven me, Harold doesn't seem to hold a grudge for the whole shovel thing...In fact a few people mentioned he started to like me which leads me to believe he is a masochist, Katie and Sadie got over their grudge on me for what happened with Trent and helped me with the blog before I stopped, as for the others..."
"Fine, don't show up if you don't want to but I got to tell you they might just have an award for you somewhere." Alex shrugged.
"Really?"
"Yeah, a reward for the being the gloomiest, the first to end her relationship on the show, the first one to sabotage her te-OW!" Alex rubbed his head when Gwen smacked him on the back of the head.
"Jerk." Gwen smirked as she stood up. "I'll consider it."
She left the living room and headed back up to her room. Once she closed the door she sighed and leaned her back against the door.
"What do you think?" She looked down at her Star Necklace.
"It's not a bad idea," Andromeda manifested her specter form. "Despite your hesitation I can sense you liking the ability of seeing your closest friends again."
"Yeah, I just really am not sure about this." Gwen shook her head. "Maybe I'm paranoid that I'm going to end up in a whole other stupid season or ending in some awkward situation."
"Given what happened the last two seasons I don't believe you're wrong about that but there is more to live than just hunting rogue spirits and demons. You do need to interact with some people at some point, especially one day when you suddenly decide you need to settle down and..." Andromeda sounded very smug.
"WHOA! WHOA!" Gwen shouted, her facing turning red. "You aren't about to talk about 'that', are you?!"
"Maybe." Andromeda chuckled.
"Okay, if I say yes will you shut up?"
"Was that so hard?" Andromeda laughed.
"If you ever get a date in your world I will enjoy my sweet revenge no matter what you to try and stop me." Gwen grumbled.
"You can try, Gwen. You can try."