Story Arc: Welcome to a Nevermore
Episode 2: The First Day of School (IV)
Chapter 9: The four cliques of the Nevermore
Plot: Wednesday, Bruce and Luz, get their tour from Enid.
They have a little chat in front of the trophy room, discovering that Wednesday isn't happy being at Nevermore Academy.
Then, Enid takes her new friends to the cube to meet some specimens of the school's four main cliques.
Here, they discover two Nevermore players, "Head Cheerleader" Bianca Barclay, and Empress Mitsuru Kirijo.
Finally, Bruce doing a little trick, manages to meet the woman who taught him the secrets of the runes and the spear.
XXX
POV Narrator
Enid, Luz, Wednesday and Bruce left the Orphéus dormitory, entered the school, starting the tour, much to the joy of the lycan girl.
"Nevermore was founded in 1791 to educate people like us. Outcasts, freaks, monsters, fill in your favorite marginalized group here." Enid recounts, starting at the bottom of Nevermore Academy.
Enid's small introduction elicited three types of responses: positive, neutral, and negative.
"I wish I'd found out about this school a long time ago, it was basically built for people like me." Luz declares, feeling as if she's returned to the Boiling Isles, only that all the inhabitants are more human in appearance and the concept of the supernatural must be kept a secret.
Positive response from Luz.
"I prefer the term supernatural group or paranormal or strange. The word marginalized, it seems to me a synonym of victim." Bruce said, not appreciating the outcast label, especially when he's in a completely different category than the others.
After all, according to the words of higher entities, he himself is a multiversal singularity.
"I find the project of bringing together teenagers of so many different species interesting. So far I have seen purebred specimens, various hybrids, descendants of several generations." Bruce said, using his good eye to identify the species of each student passing through the halls.
Bruce as a descendant of the Morgans, a renowned line of English witches; and of the House of Belmont, a legendary dynasty of hunters; cataloging and categorizing all forms of the supernatural is second nature to him.
Neutral response from Bruce.
"You can save the sanitized sales pitch. I'm not staying here long." Wednesday said, not wanting to hear the story of this school.
The dark girl decided to proceed slowly with her plan. But that doesn't mean Wednesday will act like she's a doll.
Wednesday has no problem talking about his escape, wanting to give the impression of a predator that doesn't bite. So when the time comes to escape, everyone will be taken by surprise.
"Why not?" Enid asks, not understanding why Wednesday wants to leave Nevermore Academy.
For the lycan girl there is no better school than Nevermore Academy, filled with friendly people and far from her noisy family.
Bruce and Luz turned their attention to the dark girl, wanting to hear her answer.
"This was my parents' idea." Wednesday said, in an apathetic tone that hides a thin line of anger.
"Oh look, there's my mother smiling at me with pleasure." Wednesday said, pointing in the direction of a display case full of trophies.
In the forefront is a photograph of the fencing team, led and led to victory by Wednesday's mother.
"Look, Bruce, there are photographs of Eda from when she was a teenager." Luz said, pressing her face against the window, noticing several photographs of a 16-year-old Eda Clawthorne, dressed in different uniforms, holding several awards.
"For being a troubled student she won several magical and sports competitions." Bruce comments, having seen something similar before at Eda's old school on the Boiling Isles.
If Eda had had a little more self-control she would have been remembered as one of the best students in the history of two schools. But Mrs. Owl prefers the freedom and infamy over the prestige and restrictions imposed by such a position.
"They've been looking for any excuse to send me here. It's all part of their nefarious plan, but completely obvious." Wednesday said, continuing his little monologue full of contempt for her parents.
"What floor?" Enid asks, quite curious about this "big plan" of Wednesday's parents.
"To transform into a version of themselves." Answers Wednesday, fully convinced of the "malignant will" of her parents.
"Who knew you're such a melodramatic girl." Bruce comments, rolling his eyes, not believing that such a smart girl could pull off such a ridiculous plan.
" Repeat your sentence, if you dare." Wednesday said, giving Bruce a fearful look.
The young investigator prepares to repeat the previous sentence. But Luz was quicker, managing to cover Bruce's mouth, wanting to prevent a fight near the trophy case.
"I understand, what it's like to have a difference of opinion or two with your mother." Luz said, vividly remembering how difficult it was to explain to her mother the existence of magic and that all of her new friends are one or the other magical.
"So Bruce and I won't open this box of worms." Luz said, glaring at Bruce so as not to spark a nasty argument with Wednesday.
"You've proven yourself smarter than expected." Wednesday said, having to give Luz's survival instinct a point.
Luz dropped her hand from her best friend's face, allowing Bruce to speak again.
"First point." Bruce said, pointing a finger at his friend.
"Luz, next time you do something like this, I'll let Carmen remind you of your manners." Bruce said, giving his last warning to his best friend, he sure as hell isn't happy about being censored.
Luz has suddenly turned pale, knowing how protective Carmen can be towards Bruce, repaying any dishonor to her master in blood.
Luz not wanting to face the fury of a Divine Beast in crow form, made a note to no longer censor Bruce.
"Second point." Bruce said, turning to the dark girl who stares at him impassively.
"Wednesday, I'm not afraid of you. I'm pretty sure you're overreacting. But I'm curious, once you escape Nevermore Academy, where will you go?" Bruce asks, sincerely wanting to know what the dark girl has planned.
Wednesday was silent for a second. The dark girl doesn't know how to answer.
'They're about to fight, better prepare a construct of light or a glyph of ice to separate them, if they become physical again.' Think Luz, pulling a piece of paper covered with rather complex geometric singles out of her pockets.
"You're so adorable when you can't answer." Bruce comments, amused by the awkward silence of the dark girl.
"Let me guess, your grand escape plan, consisting of a backpack full of cash and some canned food, a commandeered vehicle to the train station, and then… improvisation on the way." Bruce said, seeming able to read Wednesday's mind.
"No, once I get on the train, I'm going to my cousins' vacation home in Mexico." Wednesday said, having randomly picked a place she knows as a travel destination.
The gloomy girl is too proud to admit that she hasn't given much thought to her moves.
"Wednesday, you're a smart girl. So you should know that among the first places they'll look for you will be at your distant relatives." Bruce comments, sounding almost disappointed at Wednesday's response.
Everyone knows that the first places that fugitives look for are the houses of friends or properties belonging to the family.
"My escape plan is in the works. I'm waiting for my parents to leave so I can plan without distraction." Wednesday said, preferring to work in a quiet, peaceful, gloomy environment like a crypt or cemetery.
"Enid is your roommate, Luz is in the next room, and I'm downstairs. Peace and quiet are things you won't part with for a long time." Bruce declares, not needing his Sherlock Scan or superhuman intellect to understand that the Orphéus dormitory will not be a place.
"I'm sorry, Wednesday. But being quiet is not a Clawthorne-Noceda family trait." Luz said, with an awkward smile, apologizing in advance for the noise to come in the future.
"During my hour of writing, I want absolute silence or I will kill you one by one while you sleep." Wednesday said, ready to resort to murder to have her recreational hour intact.
"Your writing time?" Enid asks, raising an eyebrow, wanting the details of this activity.
"I dedicate an hour a day to my novel." Wednesday said, not wanting to give details about the novel she's writing.
"Commendable, I too have tried to set aside an hour of my time for writing.
But learning magic, helping Bruce with his mysteries, taking Amity to nice places, and looking after my sisters and brothers.
It doesn't leave me much time to write my own fanfiction or try to write an original work." Luz said, admiring Wednesday's dedication to her novel, wishing she could do the same.
Unfortunately, having a life full of fantastic adventures and an equally fantastic girlfriend doesn't allow you to have time to invent adventures to write.
"Tell me when you start your writing hour so I can watch a movie with headphones on or find another distraction." Enid said, wanting to get her cohabitation with Wednesday off on the right foot.
Giving a little help to Wednesday's creative process is the first step to forming a beautiful friendship.
"I suffer from insomnia, so strangling myself in my sleep is not an option." Bruce said, informing the dark girl that she'll have to be more creative with her threats than hers.
" Speaking artist to artist, I'll try not to disturb your writing time if you return the favor." Bruce said, willing to lend a helping hand to someone who shares his interest in fine art.
Wednesday was pleasantly surprised, not expecting to get the consent of her new ... acquaintances.
If the dark girl had been more polite and kind, she would have responded with a simple thank you.
But Wednesday is Wednesday, so he does things his way.
"It's a good thing we've come to a mutual non-aggression pact." Wednesday said, treating the courtesy of his acquaintances as if it were a military agreement between nations.
"Luz, I'm beginning to understand what you meant by Tsundere language." Enid said, managing to translate the dark girl's words as a rather extravagant thank you.
" I expected to interrupt an argument. But I see we're making friends!" Luz said, with a big smile, feeling joy for every new friend she manages to make.
Before Enid and Luz could have a group hug, destined to end in disaster, Bruce spoke.
" If we're done with the small talk, we can continue this tour. The architecture of this building is quite interesting." Bruce said, wanting to see the rest of the school and meet his old teacher.
" I will take you to the social heart of Nevermore Academy!" Enid said, planning to take her roommate and her neighbors to one of the best places in Nevermore Academy.
XXX
A few minutes later, Enid led Wednesday, Bruce and Luz into a large open space surrounded by walls and walkways.
In the center is a fountain with a large dead tree.
"Welcome to the quads." She declares Enid with open arms, happy to show one of the cutest places in Nevermore Academy.
"It's a pentagon." Comments Wednesday, in a condescending tone.
"Whoever nominated this place failed geometry." Luz jokes, amused that someone can be so big wrong in elementary geometry.
Bruce remained silent, less interested in the name of the place, more focused on the dead tree in the center of the square.
' That tree hides a secret, I can feel a thin layer of fairy magic on it. I'll have to investigate later.' Bruce thinks, managing to sense something from the seemingly dead tree.
"Want to hear the wiki about the Nevermore social scene?" Enid asks, hoping to share the latest gossip with newcomers.
Maybe later they can answer some innocent little questions.
"I would love to." Luz replies, genuinely interested in the Nevermore Academy social wiki.
Luz being a big nerd, wishes to know how many of her tropes can be applied to school.
"I'm not interested in participating in tribal teenage clichés." Wednesday said, not wanting to hear anything about Nevermore Academy's social hierarchy.
"Speak for yourself, Wednesday. I'm always open to new information, even if it will probably be useless in the long run." Bruce said, willing to hear the latest news from Enid, to get an idea of how the school works.
"There are many types of outcasts here, but the four main cliques are: Bloodsuckers, Metamorphs, Charmers, Magiks." Enid listed the four major groups in the school.
Enid continued to pace across the picture, pointing to some specimens of the cliques.
"Bloodsuckers are made up of all those who must feed on blood to survive or use their abilities." Enid said, pointing to a group of pale teenagers wearing eyes alone.
"You mean vampires?" Bruce asks, in a cold tone, putting his hands in his pockets, ready to whip out something sharp just in case.
' Are there vampires in this school!? What did Eda think about sending Bruce BELMONT to a school populated by vampires !' Luz thinks, starting to worry about Bruce and the integrity of the school.
XXX
The cause of Luz's concern is easy to understand.
The young investigator's full name is Bruce Bahamut Belmont, technically it should be longer, but he doesn't want to spoil his perfect B line, with surnames like Morgan, Merlin, Samaelson etc.
In short, Bruce is heir to several pretty ancient bloodlines, not to mention other things that have messed up his family tree.
The most important bloodlines of Bruce are: Morgan, Bahamut and Belmont.
The blood of the Morgans, coming from the maternal grandmother. The Moegan descendants of Morgan Le Fay and Merlin.
Making Bruce one of the bigwigs of the Clock Tower and the Wizards Association, not to mention the right to sit on the throne of the United Kingdom.
The blood of the Bahamut, coming from the paternal grandmother.
The Bahamut are the largest dukedom in the Boiling Isles and one of the seven great families of the Demon World, descendants of the Crimson King who ruled the world before the fall of the Titans.
Belmont blood, from his maternal grandfather. The Belmonts are the lineage of the greatest vampire hunters in history, the most sworn enemies of Dracula and his allies.
Among these three great legacies, Bruce focused most on carrying on the work of the Belmonts.
Making Bruce an enemy of all vampires who have evil intentions for mankind.
In short, with exceptions such as Adrian Ţepeş, Rachel Alucard, Shinobu Oshino. Thomas Raith.
Bruce and the vampires hate each other's guts, ending up most of their encounters with Bruce surrounded by a pile of ashes.
XXX
"No, vampires haven't been admitted to Nevermore since 1999. But we have quite a few half-breeds, like my friend Yoko, who fell out of her fangs a few days ago." Enid said, not knowing how much relief this information brings to Bruce and Luz.
' Not full vampires, they're hybrids and lesser races. The chances of them trying to kill me are less. But for precautions I must always have a blessed weapon on me.' Bruce thinks, mentally making a list of equipment to prepare to face possible threats with fangs.
'I'd better keep an eye on Bruce when he gets close to one of these Bloodsuckers, his paranoia can become a problem.' Think Luz, still worried that Bruce and the Bloodsuckers could start a massacre inside the school.
'Bruce and Luz have a problem with vampires?' Thinks Wednesday, managing to notice the tense behavior of his new acquaintances.
"That group of knuckleheads are the Metamorphs, made up of any student capable of shapeshifting or transforming into something large and frightening. A good number of Metamorphs are werecreatures or werewolves." Enid said, pointing to a diverse group of students who have numerous beastly traits like claws, fur, scales, horns, etc.
Wednesday remained apathetic to the information provided by Enid, even Bruce and Luz seeming rather calm in the presence of the Metamorphs.
Surely the two of them haven't had as much trouble with werewolves as they have with vampires and demons.
"Full moons get pretty loud around here. I suggest getting some noise canceling headphones." Enid said, making a joke/suggestion about her compatriots.
"Charmers, they are mainly girls who can easily charm or influence people's wishes." Enid said, with a brief blush on her cheeks, rather demure on certain subjects.
The members of this clique who are found in the cube are quite attractive and well-endowed girls.
Basically, a large group of supernatural school cheerleaders, arranged at a large table to talk to each other about the latest rumors.
"I assume these Charmers are mermaids?" Wednesday said, noting that one of the girls' hand became covered in fish scales when she spilled a glass of water.
" Not only mermaids, but also kitsune, fairies and other types of beings who have the urge to find men and feed on their energy or procreate." Bruce said, easily identifying the species of each of these girls, especially the fairies.
Luz hearing the word fairies, smiled mischievously.
"Wyldfae, someone will be very lucky to get their attention." Luz said, nudging Bruce amicably, wanting to be even for all the brotherly banter she's got.
"Do you have trouble with fairies?" Wednesday asks, speculating that Bruce might also have a feud with the faeries.
"It's actually the opposite, I'm quite popular with fairies, especially the fairies who are part of the Winter Court." Bruce said, wincing a little, not finding being a living magnet for "bad" fairies so helpful.
"So you mean popular?" Enid asks, wanting Bruce to be more specific. I mean do the fairies find him funny or are we talking about unleashed fangirls?
" Let's say that if I set foot again in Nevernever, the world of spirits, I seriously risk ending up in the middle of a fierce quarrel between Summerfae and Winterfae." Bruce said, standing behind a marble column so as not to be seen by the girls with fairy blood.
Enid not knowing fairy society very well, imagines that Bruce is a kind of famous idol among the fairies who act like wild fangirls.
"It must be hard to be popular." Enid said, not knowing how wrong he is with his idea of wild fangirls.
"It's a bittersweet feeling to see how the great detective is cornered by a flock of six-inch tall fairies." Luz said, with a mischievous smile, pulling off one of the funniest moments she's seen between Bruce and Wyldfae.
Wednesday remained silent. The Addams Family for better or for worse is a lineage filled with all sorts of colorful characters.
One of the Gloomy Girl's great-great-great grandparents devoted much of her life to studying the Faeries, leaving behind books quite detailed about Nevernever and its inhabitants.
Wednesday in his youth, he read the books of his ancestors, learning many things about the faeries.
For example, many of the faeries belong to one of the two Faerie Courts of the Nevernever, the Summer Court and the Winter Court.
Those that do not belong to either are the Wyldfae.
Faeries are often insane, mischievous, and very dangerous, but they are also good to their word.
'A sinister-eyed sorcerer, fond of solving homicides, with an aversion to vampires and mixed up in fairy politics.' Thinks Wednesday, mentally recapping the most important facts about Bruce.
'Bruce Belmont you are turning out to be a person full of secrets.' Think Wednesday, having found a pastime for the duration of his stay at Nevermore Academy, uncovering the secrets of the eccentric detective.
"Can we talk about something else?" Bruce asks, keeping a smirk on his face, not wanting to keep talking about fairy tales.
"That girl among the Charmers, her name is Bianca Barclay, she's the closest thing Nevermore has to the Head Cheerleader, even if she's only the vice-captain of the fencing team." Enid started telling some jokes about one of the most popular girls in school.
Bianca is a relatively tall, dark-skinned female with greenish-blue eyes. She often wears greenish-blue earrings, somewhat similar to the color of her eyes. She has dark hair and a buzzed head.
"Even as his position of power is slipping with our resident tortured artist, Xavier Thorpe." Endi said, pointing to a teenager who is painting a wall.
Xavier is a handsome Caucasian teen, and his eyes are a light olive color with brown surrounding his pupil. He has golden brown shoulder length hair that he ties up.
His school uniform is worn correctly and neatly, the only alteration being his school-colored hoodie that he wears underneath his blazer.
"But they broke up a few days ago. Reason unknown." Enid said, obviously he wants to find out the cause of this breakup, it being the top gossip of the week.
"Fascinating." comments Wednesday, having found a possible target for her anger.
The dark girl has never been a fan of the Alpha Bitch present in every school.
"I know right?" Declares Enid, misinterpreting Wednesday's intention.
"My blog is, like, the number one source for Nevermore gossip. Most students check it out to keep up to date." Enid said, proudly, having put a lot of energy into creating his blog.
Somehow Enid sounds like she's trying to impress Wednesday and Bruce with her blog.
" You have a blog, nice, when I have time, I will definitely pay a visit to your site." Luz said, with a friendly smile, wanting to see Enid's blog and put in a kudos.
" So far I'm not too impressed with this Bianca. You only need to look at her to understand that she will make an insufferable classmate.
Plus she's not even pretty, Alpha Bitch have to at least be pretty to make up for the bad personality." Bruce said, least impressed by Bianca's aura or physical appearance.
"Many kids at Nevermore Academy don't think the same." Enid said, in a surprised tone, I've never heard a guy so far criticize Bianca's looks in a negative way.
"It means that our peers are either blind or have bad taste in women." Bruce said, having no problem expressing his personal opinion.
"This is Bruce, a person with high standards and no problem telling people what he thinks." Luz said, the least bit surprised by her best friend's words.
Bruce has always been hard to impress whether it's grades, magic, science, or beauty.
There are few people in the world capable of leaving it speechless.
" I don't have high tastes, it's the others who are satisfied with little." Bruce replies, not appreciating when he's called squeamish for his high standards of him.
"If you don't have crazy standards, tell me if you've seen a pretty girl in the corridors of Nevermore Academy." Luz asks, knowing that whether it's intelligence or beauty, Bruce's standards can reach absurd levels.
If you want to be considered an intellectual equal, you have to be on the level of Tony Stark, Reed Richards or Victor Von Doom.
"Actually, I've seen two cute girls, Wednesday and Enid. So far, the rest of the students have been proving mediocre in terms of…everything." Bruce declares, with ease, temporarily putting the label of mediocre on all students.
'You just proved my point. According to you, the whole school is full of mediocre students, a polite way of saying idiots.' Luz thinks, sighing slightly, sure she won't be able to change Bruce's mind.
"Do you think I'm prettier than Bianca?" Enid asks, blushing at the young investigator's comment.
"It's pretty clear to me that in terms of aesthetics and personality, you and Wednesday are superior to the fish-lipped mermaid." Bruce said, making observations that sound like compliments.
Enid's face is particularly red at the moment, unaccustomed to hearing compliments from cute boys.
"Do you try to seduce every new girl you meet?" She asks Wednesday, monotonously, assuming Bruce is paying compliments on purpose.
"Seduce?" Bruce asks in a low voice, tilting his head slightly, looking like a dog confused by the commands received.
" You asked me questions and I answered as I thought best, where is the part of the seduction ?" Bruce said, not seeing where and when he tried to seduce a girl.
" Is it serious ?' Wednesday asks, turning to Luz for a straight answer.
"Bruce is a unique case, a genius in so many fields. But in other matters he is quite ... inexperienced." Luz said, having a hard time finding the right word.
"No one is perfect." Bruce comments, with an annoyed frown, not appreciating being called inexperienced at something.
"Okay, let's move on to the last clique, the Magiks. Made up of witches, sorcerers, shamans, magus, espers or any student capable of doing tricks unexplained by science." Enid said, giving a brief introduction to the Magiks.
"In some ways they're the smartest in school, but they're also quite mischievous and proud." Enid whispers, not knowing that Bruce and Luz are technically part of this group.
"Who is the redhead?" Question Wednesday, they glimpse a redheaded student walking with the grace and strength of a queen.
" This is Mitsuru Kirijo, a third-year student, student council president, fencing team captain, and leader of the Magik clique.
Rich, beautiful, intelligent, talented and respected by all, the best student the school has ever had.
In short, she is the ice empress of Nevermore Academy." Enid said, providing all the information needed to understand Mitsuru Kirijo's position in this school.
Mitsuru Kirijo is a 17-year-old of Japanese descent, 166cm tall.
Mitsuru has waist-length red hair that has bangs that cover the left side of her face with a mid-back strand of curly hair resting on her left shoulder and her eyes are brown.
She wears the Nevermore Academy uniform with belongings: no jacket, a long-sleeved white blouse, a black skirt that reaches above her knees, and knee-high heeled black boots.
" I rephrase my words, in this school there are three pretty girls with enormous potential: Wednesday, Enid and Mitsuru." Bruce said, in a serious tone, watching as Mitsuru Kirijo steps away from the picture.
"I'm pretty sure you have a soft spot for redheads." Luz said, in a joking tone.
"My change of opinion is not due to Mitsuru Kirijo's hair colors. I can see a huge talent in the arts of sword and magic." Bruce said, putting the redhead's name on his list of people of interest in Nevermore Academy.
" An Alpha Bitch and an Empress on the fencing team, maybe I should join the fencing club." murmurs Wednesday, having an eye trained enough to distinguish between competent and incompetent people.
The gloomy girl wants to measure her skills and defeat the best of the Nevermore Academy.
"Wednesday, do you want to join the fencing club?
Can I see your initiation ?
I could write a first-rate article, I promise not to bother you." Enid said, yearning to see how Wednesday in his fencing uniform and confronts Bianca and Mitsuru Kirijo.
Before Wednesday could give an answer, a useless second character came to disturb our four protagonists.
This person is Ajax Petropolus, a gorgon boy of average height and slim build.
Ajax wears the standard Nevermore uniform, with a hoodie of the same color layered underneath his blazer. His shirt is untucked, his blazer is unbuttoned, and his beanie matches the colors of his uniform.
"Hey, Enid! You won't believe what I've heard about your new roommate.
Eat human flesh.
He ate that boy he killed.
You better watch your back." Ajax tries to warn Enid, via obviously exaggerated voice.
The gorgon boy is completely unaware that Wednesday is within three feet of him.
Enid gave an awkward smile, not knowing how to save her (stupid) friend from what's to come.
The Lycan girl stepped to the side, showing Wednesday Addams in all her gothic glory/infamy.
"I actually fillet the bodies of my victims, then feed them to my menagerie of pets." Wednesday said, correcting Ajax's erroneous assumptions.
"Very nice of you, Wednesday." Luz said, finding it nice that Wednesday was taking care of her pets.
" I prefer to let my hunting pets catch their own food. Every now and then, I take my animals to the forest for a ferocious hunting trip.
Nothing is nicer to watch as dogs make a simultaneous attack on a bear's throat while the rest of the pack provides support.
My little ones have fun and eat, what remains of the prey, I use it for my experiments." Bruce said, with a terribly sweet and sincere smile, loving to take his pets hunting.
"Ajax, this is my new flatmate, Wednesday. It's my new dorm mates, Bruce and Luz." Enid said, making the necessary introductions.
"Whoa. You're black and a living Instagram filter." Ajax said, in a surprised tone, failing to process Wenclair's unique look.
Ending with Wednesday, the gorgon boy looks at Bruce, with a confused expression.
"Why a pretty girl in a boy's name?
Why are you dressed like you're out of an old film noir?
Was there a costume party by any chance?" Ajax asks, misgendering Bruce due to his androgynous face, slim build, and ambiguous tone of voice.
Luz has to hold back some laughs, always finding it funny when Bruce is confused for a girl.
As if Ajax couldn't do any more damage, he decided to turn his attention to Luz.
"Finally, a pretty normal new student, without a weird costume from the old movies." Said Ajax, stopping his death sentence.
Bruce moved lightning fast and precise as a surgeon.
One moment he was next to Luz, then the next second, he pushes Ajax against a wall, grabs him by the collar of his shirt and lifts him into the air, with a single hand.
'He moved fast, faster than when we dueled, so it's true that he adjusts his level according to the opponent.' Thinks Wednesday, feeling a mix of anger and interest in his chest.
Bruce, defeat without giving his all, is a great insult to the girl's pride.
'But, Bruce, how skilled is he at his best?
Maybe I could use the fencing team to get a closer look at his true level?' He thinks the interested side of the dark girl, wanting to study his opponent to find a strategy to defeat him in their next duel.
"We have to set the record straight, first of all, it's not nice to hear and promote absurd rumors without evidence." Bruce said, easily keeping Ajax pressed and suspended against the wall.
"Understood, sister." He quickly replies Ajax, quite scared of Bruce and still thinking she was a girl.
"Second, I'm a guy, I appreciate the compliment, but you're not my type, I much prefer fierce women or powerful witches." Bruce said, wanting to correct his gender information to avoid problems in the long run.
"Sorry, brother." Ajax replies, sounding more embarrassed than scared for confusing Bruce with a girl.
"Now, let's move on to the third and final point. Try it one more time with Luz, I'll kill you. I'm sure my crow, Carmen, will like to eat your eyes." Bruce said, in a menacing tone, making his good eye shine.
If that wasn't enough to scare Ajax.
At the very moment Bruce uttered the name Carmen, a blue-eyed female crow descended from the clouds, landing on Bruce's shoulder.
The female crow has an ugly and hungry look at Ajax. The gorgon boy is very close to ruin his pants.
"Shouldn't Carmen be in Boston keeping an eye on the city?" Luz asks, looking slightly concerned by the female crow's presence.
"Luz, don't be ridiculous. Carmen never gets too far from me, when we left Boston, Carmen chased us in flight." Bruce said, reminding Liz, that Carmen will never leave her side.
" I didn't want to hit on your girlfriend, I spoke without thinking, I often do." Ajax said, using his brain for once to come up with a sensible excuse, not wanting to take his eyes off her.
Luz turned slightly red in the face, followed by a series of aura shivers.
The good witch is slightly embarrassed to be confused as Bruce's fiancée, but equally scared of being given this title by mistake, for two reasons.
Number one, Amity could get very angry and fight with Bruce.
Conflicts between them always cause a lot of damage to public and private property.
That's the price you pay when your best friend is one of the best magic users in the entire world, and your amazing girlfriend is the best witch in the Boiling Isles.
Number two, girls interested in Bruce in a romantic sense can become particularly violent between their rivals. Luz doesn't want to accidentally end up in a fight between magical yanderes.
"Luz, she's not my girlfriend, she's my sister and she's in a relationship with a rather powerful and jealous witch." Bruce said, shaking Ajax, making his relationship with Luz clear.
"If Amity catches a gorgon boy hitting on her Luz, you're going to be a pretty expensive leather bag." Bruce said, informing Ajax that there are people worse than him.
"Got it, never disturb your sister or the overprotective big brother with a scary crow and witch girlfriend comes after me." Ajax replies, in a scared tone, he probably won't approach Luz for the next semester.
"Well, you can run away and never be seen again." Bruce said, with a smile, loosening his grip on Ajax, letting him fall to the floor.
Once the gorgon boy hits the ground, he starts running full throttle, without looking back.
Wednesday having savored the entire skit, I rewarded Bruce with a slow round of applause.
" An acceptable show, I would have preferred that there were more bruises and broken bones, maybe some blood spilled. But for the first day it's okay." Wednesday said, sounding like an art critic giving an 8 out of 10 grade.
"You know, it's not nice for you two to get friendly, only when you scare people." Luz said, crossing her arms, not too happy with Bruce's behavior and Wednesday's moral support.
"Couldn't you have just ignored it? Gorgons spend way too much time getting stoned." Enid said, acting exactly like Luz, not happy with this scene.
Carmen the crow gave Endi a fearful look, making her reflexively hide behind di Luz.
"I like your crow." Wednesday said, saying something nice for once.
"Carmen, calamati, Wednesday and Enid are on my list of nice people. You can joke with them, but don't hurt them without good reason." Bruce said, informing his Prima Familiar to do well with the gloomy girl and the lycan girl.
Carmen begrudgingly stops staring at Enid, limiting herself to standing on Bruce's left shoulder and looking at the landscape.
"You have trained your crow well." comments Wednesday, having to appreciate how obedient Bruce's pet is.
"Wednesday, you have no idea what Carmen is capable of." Bruce said, with an amused smile as he stroked his First Familiar.
"CRA CRA CRA! (The Shadow Queen is nearby!)" Carmen said, speaking in a language only Bruce could understand, being one of her many gifts.
Bruce's smile grew even bigger and the clouds in the sky disappeared, leaving a clear sky and a sudden rise in temperature.
"What did Carmen say?" Luz asks, managing to see signs of Bruce's extreme happiness.
" Our parents are leaving the Orphéus dormitory, they are about to leave in a short time." Bruce said, informing Wednesday and Luz that he was close to losing parental surveillance.
"It means that in less than an hour I can redecorate my room and set up my portable lab!
Maybe today I will be able to complete my revolutionary project in the computer field!" Bruce said, with a big crazy smile, clapping his hands in excitement.
Bruce is bringing out his mad scientist side, creating a believable excuse for the sunny mood as he makes a move to pursue his goal without Luz's interference.
"Finally, here's some good news." Wednesday said, almost smiling at the thought of not seeing her parents for several months.
" We will continue our tour later, now we have to reach your parents." Enid said, leading the way to the Orphéus dormitory.
Did Bruce, Carmen, Wednesday, Enid and Luz leave the cube or not?
XXX
If someone were an expert in illusions, they would have noticed that when Bruce clapped his hands, I applied a rather complicated illusion spell.
First it superimposed on itself with an illusory construct completely identical to itself.
Then he became completely invisible to all mere mortals, perhaps one of the fairies could see him or a telepathic-type Esper.
In short, Bruce copied Loki.
The illusory construct escaped with the girls while the True and Invisible Bruce stood still, looking around for his master.
'I see one of the Animusphere Familiars and a mysterious redhead spying on me from a window.' Bruce thinks, already managing to identify two agents who want to keep an eye on him.
' Probably Olga-Marie Asmleit Animusphere is in this school, that's not a problem, it's easy for me to handle Olga-Marie.
I'll look for the new red later. Now, I have to find my teacher at any cost!' Bruce thinks, starting to run through the corridors of the school, using his and Carmen's abilities to locate his dear teacher.
XXX
In less than five minutes.
The invisible Bruce has arrived at the school library to find it completely empty of people, save for one beautiful woman.
This woman is a fierce warrior, a goddess of death, an immortal god-slayer, and most importantly… the first teacher Bruce Bahamut Belmont ever respected and loved.
Scathach, the Queen of the Shadowlands.
"Hello, Master Scathach." Bruce said, making his illusory spell disappear, becoming visible again.
Bruce's salute was rewarded with a demonic spear, thrown towards his heart.
Continues ...