Kat jerked awake.
At first, she wasn't sure if her eyes were even open-- it was pitch-black, like a tomb or something.
She blinked hard a few times, fumbling at her face-- okay, her eyes WERE open, and she was even wearing her glasses.
She could move now, at least-- and she was definitely fully awake. She could actually keep a thought in her head until it was finished, not just watch them slip away like fish in a pond.
Wherever this was, it definitely wasn't her room, or her bed. She was lying down, but propped up in a semi-standing position, with her back and feet against what felt like some kind of varnished wood.
She also didn't recognize these clothes-- they felt like... Some kind of kimono? No-- maybe robes, like a... A cult's robes, or a priest or a wizard's or something? They were heavy, and felt expensive-- like silk. As she rubbed the hem of one of the sleeves between her fingers, she could feel intricate embroidery.
Reaching out, her fingertips brushed against something in front of her-- some kind of door or lid.
Ohhh-kay... Was she in, like, a wardrobe or something? A big box?
...A coffin?
No way-- seriously?!
The panic was really rising now-- okay, calm down, calm down.
Kat was just trying to remember that Tumblr post she saw once about what to do if you got buried alive when there was a thump from the outside of the box.
She stiffened, heart racing. ...What the hell was that noise?
There was another thump, and a scrabbling noise-- like some kind of small creature with claws, clambering around on the outside of her prison. Okay, so she wasn't buried, at least...
There was some kind of noise, like grumbling or muttering-- somebody was talking to themselves under their breath. The-- door? Lid?- rattled, and she pushed herself against the back wall, but whatever was trying to get in didn't have any luck.
"Aw, crap," whoever was out there muttered, in a high-pitched but oddly gravelly tone, like a cartoon character who smoked six packs a day. "I better hurry up and get my paws on that uniform before someone spots me..."
The lid rattled again, and the speaker grunted with effort, then gave a frustrated growl. "Urgggggh... This lid weighs a TON! If that's the way it's gonna be... How'dya like THIS, huh?! FGNYAH--!!"
Kat flinched back, throwing her arms up to shield her face. The box rocked violently, a searing burst of heat and light blowing the lid off and releasing her into the world. This wasn't much of an improvement, though, since this world seemed to consist mainly of a lot of blue fire.
She shrieked, squirming sideways and burying her face in her elbow to avoid the shower of splintered wood. Luckily, none of the debris hit her face, and the clothes she wore were too thick for any of the shards to pierce her skin.
"Now THAT'S more like it!" The mystery speaker enthused, a mischievous giggle at the edge of their voice. "Now, all I gotta do is swipe that uniform, and--"
Shaking some wood bits out of her hair, Kat looked around, then down. By her feet, standing on its hind legs with its front paws planted on what could theoretically be called its hips, was a... Cat.
Well, it looked a lot like a cat. Maybe a British shorthair, with that deep gray fur that was called 'blue', except for a white, fluffy chest. The head and face, big triangle ears, even the body shape, legs, and tail were all right for a cat...
Except for a few things.
For one, cats' front legs weren't supposed to move like that. No cat she'd ever seen could have put its paws on its hips like an exasperated PTA mom.
Also, the tail-- it started off pretty normal, but split into a trident or pitchfork at the ends, all three tips twitching independently of each other.
Finally-- and possibly most importantly-- cats weren't normally on fire. Especially not smokeless, bright blue fire-- spilling out of its ears like thick fur, flickering slightly in the shadows of the room.
She and the cat looked at each other for a second, faces blank. Then the cat spluttered, throwing up its paws as its pupils contracted and the fur all over its body stood on end.
"Wh--What the--?! What gives-- you ain't s'posed to be awake!" It shrieked, voice cracking slightly.
Kat continued staring at it.
...Oh. It talked.
Filing that away under 'things to compartmentalize and process later', she looked around, eyes widening.
"Whoa," she muttered. The room was high, dark and vaulted like a cathedral, illuminated in an eerie green light by wall sconces and the circular panes of glass embedded in the lids of the hundreds of lacquered coffins floating in the air. Tinkling garlands of crystals hung from the ceiling, the room was ringed by ornate wrought-iron gates, and a large, oblong mirror stood in pride of place in the center of the room, hovering above the faintly luminous waters of the tiered fountain below it.
It was gorgeous, in a very gothic, mysterious, macabre kind of way... And familiar.
She couldn't remember much before she woke up, but she was pretty sure she was having a dream a lot like this...
"Where the hell am I?" She muttered under her breath, taking the small jump down from her own coffin onto the floor and stepping carefully around the cat. The scenery was breathtaking, sure-- but she was definitely not where she was supposed to be. Had she been kidnapped...?
The obvious thing, dancing around her mind waving its hands and screaming, was the fact that none of this was normal. The talking, fiery cat, the floating coffins and mirror-- unless this was a serial killer with the budget and resources of D--
There was a space in her mind where the first example that, well, came to mind, should have been.
She frowned, puzzling over the mental gap. It felt like when her baby teeth fell out when she was a kid, leaving a weird empty space that she couldn't stop poking with her tongue... Except it was a thought in her head, and not a tooth.
Shaking her head rapidly, she tried it again from the top. Unless this was some kind of Jigsaw-type deal, but with the budget and resources of Universal Studios, then...
"O-HO... So THAT'S how you wanna be, huh?" The cat piped up from behind her, and she turned, looking back down at it with a frown. She hadn't noticed before, but it had a ribbon around its neck-- a black-and-white-pinstriped one, tied in a puffy bow in the back. It was actually pretty cute... Even if the ends of the ribbon were more than a little ragged and moth-eaten.
It was giving her a saucy grin now, the kind that didn't look particularly friendly. That was another check on the list for 'definitely not a cat'- real cats couldn't make many facial expressions, especially not an actual smile. "You sure got a lotta nerve, human-- ignorin' ME, of all things? Hah!"
It scoffed, crossing its front legs over its chest.
"I'll only tell you this once-- you may refer to me as Grim-sama.. And don't you forget it!"
Kat blinked.
'Sama'? Had she heard that right?
Before she could decide what to do with that information, the cat-- Grim?-- took a couple steps towards her, lashing its tail.
"Now, take off those clothes already and hand 'em over-- and be snappy about it! Or else..." Dropping onto all fours, it slunk towards her like it was stalking a mouse. "...You're gonna regret it! HYAH!"
It arched its back, bristling, and a plume of fire erupted from its mouth.
If she hadn't fallen backwards in an involuntary escape attempt, the flames would have hit her right in the face-- as it was, the heat stung her eyes and skin, and she swore she could feel her bangs and the tips of her eyelashes crisping.
Falling hard onto her butt, she scrambled back as the creature approached. Using the smooth, polished marble floor to her advantage, she slid backwards as far as she could go, using one of the nearby coffins to scramble to her feet.
"Shit," she hissed as the catlike creature broke into a quick trot, then a run. Whirling around, she bolted blindly in the direction of what she hoped was an exit.
"HELP!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, not even sure if there was anyone to hear her. "Somebody help me-- AAH--!!" Ducking her head, she held both arms in front of her face and sprinted forward, just barely managing to avoid an even bigger stream of fire.
"Hey, get BACK HERE!" The cat yelled, but she was already colliding head-on with the huge double doors, sending them barreling open and running down a stone corridor.
Aaaaaaaaaa fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck-- Screaming silently, she sucked in mouthfuls of night air, running through archways and flinging open doors at random.
Scrambling into what looked like a classroom, she hit the back wall hard, knocking a fair amount of breath out of her. Staying there for a second, she gasped, trying to get air back into her deflated lungs. She didn't get much of a respite, though-- the reflection of blue light appeared faintly on the wall next to her, and she groaned.
Pushing herself back off the wall, she wobbled to one of the leaded-glass windows, fumbled with the shutters and flung it open. Half-climbing, half-falling out, her feet hit the ground again, long legs almost getting tangled in the loose robes-- good thing this was still the ground floor. Then she was sprinting across a wide open space, footfalls changing from the crunch of a manicured lawn to the thud of a pavemented path.
Trees whizzed past in her peripherals, then she was ducking through an ancient wooden door left standing open, running down winding corridors until her legs finally gave out.
Dropping into an ungraceful sitting position, Kat gasped, heaving so hard she thought she might throw up. When she'd recovered enough, she got carefully to her feet, taking off her glasses and wiping the sweat from under her bangs.
Glasses back on, she squinted around the new room-- it was still dark, lit again with those same green lights, but it looked like a library. A huge, spooky library, with book-lined aisles spiderwebbing out in front of her, black iron chandeliers with green lights hanging in rows and fading off into the distance. Shivering slightly, she rubbed her upper arms, walking slowly forward and glancing around.
This whole thing was-- well, it was kinda familiar... Where had she...
That was it! A stone castle, classrooms, a spooky library-- this was just like Hogwarts...!
It wasn't Hogwarts, though, or at least not the one in the movies or at Universal Studios...
God, she hoped this place, wherever it was, wasn't full of TERFs-- if there even WAS anybody else here, besides her and that damn cat.
There were even floating books, bobbing idly in the air, as if frozen in the act of tumbling from the shelves. Cautiously, she extended a finger and tapped one-- it bobbed a little, but otherwise remained still.
She waved a hand over it-- no strings or anything, or any wires on the bottom or any of the sides. Maybe air pressure, like those indoor skydiving places?
No, she didn't feel any wind, or hear any noise... It couldn't be electrostatic whatever, either, since she wasn't getting zapped.
Reaching out, she tugged at it, almost dropping it in shock when it meekly obeyed, falling into her hands like any other book would if she'd pulled it off a shelf.
Flipping through the pages and verifying that it was really just a normal book, she tried to put it down on a nearby end table, not sure what else to do with it.
It bobbed up out of her hands and back into its place like a pool toy rising to the surface after being held underwater, and she jumped back with a small squeal, flinging up her hands.
"...Where am I?" She wondered aloud again, taking a few aimless steps in a random direction.
Raising her voice, she spoke to the silent air in general, hearing it echo faintly off the ceiling. "Seriously-- I don't think I'm dreaming, but on the off-chance that I'm wrong, I think I'd like to wake up now. Either that, or get to the part where I get to do something instead of run from a demon-possessed plushie--"
A jet of blue flame shot right past her head, colliding with a bookshelf and setting it ablaze. She fell back onto her butt, wincing as she skinned the palms of her hands on the rough carpet that seemed to be a universal constant in all libraries.
"Who are YOU callin' a demon-possessed plushie, huh?!" The creature-- Grim, it had called itself-- demanded, paws on its hips as it scowled down at her. "Did you really think you could escape ME?! I'm the guy who's gonna become a Master Sorcerer one day-- an' who are you?! Just another foolish human!"
It-- or possibly he- took another step forward. "Now-- unless you really DO wanna get burned to a crisp, take off that--"
Something whistled through the air and cracked against his body, sending him hurtling backwards like a kicked football. "GYAH!" He shrieked, flailing on his back as shining black ropes materialized out of nowhere, winding around his body like a bunch of snakes. "That HURT! What the heck--"
"Think of it as lashings of love," a voice interrupted from above.
A mysterious figure stood on the railings of the upper level's balcony, only a dramatic silhouette from where she was.
Kat had a sudden, intense flashback to the first episode of Sailor Moon. There's no fucking way this is happening...
Whoever it was, they actually WERE wearing a top hat and cape-- wait, no, that was a coat, draped over the shoulders LIKE a cape. Jumping down, they landed lightly with their back turned to her, a black bullwhip coiled in one gloved hand. At the same moment, a sparkling gust of wind blew out of nowhere, dousing the blazing bookshelf before it could spread.
Turning sharply on its heel, the figure looked at her-- at least, she was pretty sure it was looking at her.
It was a man, tall and skinny, with a pale, sharp-chinned face. He was well-dressed, in suit trousers, a blindingly white shirt, short black tie, and a vest with a shimmering, midnight-blue applique pattern. The coat was a little much, though, even before the huge black feather epaulets on his shoulders.
Combined with the top hat and the stylized ring of golden keys hanging at his waist, it took the look from 'slightly eccentric office manager' to 'extremely devoted Ren Faire-goer'.
His shiny black hair was neatly kept, though she was pretty sure she'd seen that exact hairstyle on an aristocrat goth she'd bumped into in a Hot Topic. It even looked like he was wearing some kind of dark lip color.
The upper half of his face was covered by a black mask with a long, sharp beak, like half of a crow's skull. The eyes were black and empty-looking, and instead of pupils and irises, two pinpricks of amber light looked down at her with a stern, disapproving expression. The very next moment, however, he beamed.
"Ah! I've found you at last," he exclaimed, stepping forward smartly and extending a hand for her to take. "Splendid!"
Kat looked dumbly at the hand for a moment, then back up at the man's face, then back at the still-smoking bookshelf. After a few more seconds, she reached up and took it-- he had pointed gold ornaments on the tips of each of his fingers, like claws. He pulled her upright with surprising force, setting her back on her feet like she weighed almost nothing.
A burst of sparkles surrounded her-- instantly, the pain in her hands faded away, and her robes and hair shifted back into place, like she was caught in a very fashion-conscious wind.
"There we are," the man said cheerfully, dropping her hand. "Much better... You're one of this year's new students, I trust?"
Before she could respond, he continued, crossing his arms, the lights in the mask's eyes actually narrowing to emulate an angry lowering of the eyebrows. "My, but were you ever eager to make your debut... Not to mention bringing a poorly trained familiar with you as well? That is a clear violation of the school's rules."
"H--H--HEY!!" Grim protested, thrashing around in his restraints on the floor. "As if I'd EVER stoop so low as to listen to what some lowly human has to say-- especially THIS wimp! Lemme go right this instant, or I'll- I'll--"
The lights in the mask's eyes rolled, and the man gave a theatrical sigh. "Yes, yes-- that's exactly what ALL unruly familiars say," he sighed exasperatedly. "Do be quiet for a bit, won't you?"
The ropes shifted, growing more coils to wrap around Grim's mouth and making a leathery squeezing sound as they tightened. Grim gave a muffled shriek of indignance and pain, and Kat couldn't help but grimace in sympathy, her arms close to her body.
Sighing again, the man shook his head, glowing eyes going from circular to crescents like a caricature of closed eyelids. "Good heavens," he said, resolutely ignoring Grim's continued squirms and muffled complaints- at least he wasn't getting squeezed any tighter at the moment. "Of all the students I've dealt with, you are the first with temerity enough to actually open your own gate and step out of it... Does the very notion of patience elude you?"
Kat just looked back at him blankly. She still couldn't get herself to speak-- well, no wonder, what with all the shit that just happened. Honestly, she should be glad she wasn't balls-deep in a full-on sensory overload-slash-panic attack... A nonverbal episode was probably the best-case scenario for her right now.
"Well-- no matter," the man said brightly. He tossed the whip into the air, where it transformed into a part-walking stick, part-oversized key, with an antique gold raven's head handle. Catching it deftly in his hand, he clicked his fingers.
Grim floated over, still struggling and making angry mewling sounds, and was tucked under his arm like the world's angriest package. "Your orientation has already begun! Come-- let us return to the Mirror Chamber."
"Uh--"
She didn't realize it was her speaking until a second after she'd started. Blinking, he looked at her owlishly-- or was it crow-lishly?-- apparently just as surprised as she was.
Well, there was no point backing out now... Taking a deep breath, she plunged on. "I'm sorry; g-gates? I don't really--"
"You awakened in a room full of gates, did you not?" He interrupted. "All of the students here arrived by passing through such gates... Although typically, the students have restraint enough to wait until I open them before waking up." He gave her another stern look.
Kat blinked hard, rubbing the spot between her eyebrows. Her head was starting to hurt... "S-So those coffins are like... Portals?"
"Precisely!" He beamed, spreading the arm with the cane while keeping Grim tucked against his body with the other one. "The design is intended to symbolize a parting with one's former world, as well as a rebirth into a new one. Quite poetic, don't you agree? Ah-- but now is not the time for such prattle. You've a student orientation to attend! Come now-- let us make haste." He made as if to put an arm around her shoulders.
"Eeeeeeee-"
It was an involuntary response; she skittered out of the way and backed up, grimacing. She couldn't think she could stand being touched right now-- especially not by a stranger.
"Nonononono, p-please don't touch me, I.." Shuddering slightly, she took a deep breath, opening and closing her hands as she forced herself to calm down.
"Sorry, I... Please just tell me one thing, okay? Or-- two things, actually... Where am I? A-And who are you? I... I have no idea what's going on, I just..."
She trailed off awkwardly, and the man tilted his head at her in a very birdlike manner.
"Oh, dear... Have you not fully regained consciousness yet? Hmm..." He tapped his chin with the handle of his cane. "The timespace teleportation must have addled your memories a bit... Well, no matter-- these things happen, I suppose."
Shrugging, he moved forward, indicating she should walk next to him.
"In that case, I shall explain it to you while we walk! Ah..." He gave a self-satisfied sigh, spreading his arm. "I am such a kind man, am I not?"
If there was anyone else there, Kat would have glanced awkwardly at them out of the corner of her eye. Instead, she settled on looking at a random spot like it was the camera on The Office. This guy was a little more than a weirdo...
It looked like she didn't have any other choice, though. Trailing a little bit behind him, they exited the library and back up the corridor. Walking by a glass-fronted cabinet by the library door, something caught her eye, and she stopped, looking at her own reflection in shock.
It was definitely her, all right-- mousey brown bob with bangs, fair skin, and an averagely pretty face, with a pair of thin glasses with a burgundy frame. These clothes, though...
She hadn't gotten a chance to look at them before, but they were definitely robes. Heavy black silk, embroidered intricately with gold designs and accented with rich purple, belted at the waist by an ornate buckle. There was even a hood, lying across her shoulders. But not only that...
"Oh, damn," she muttered, bringing her face closer to the glass. Black-and-purple eyeshadow outlined her eyes heavily, giving them an almost catlike cast, and there was even a hint of gold glimmering in the dark colors. It didn't look or feel like she was wearing any other makeup, but the effect was still impressive-- and way better than she could ever do herself.
Wait, how had she gotten into these robes in the first place?
"H-Hey, how did--" she began, turning.
The man, seeing the mildly panicked look on her face, just laughed, shaking his head. "Oh, no need to worry-- all students who pass through the gates, regardless of what they entered wearing, arrive in their own set of ceremonial robes. Switching one set of clothing for another, as long as you know where the clothes in question are, is really quite a simple spell-- much easier than transforming the clothes entirely, and not temporary, as such spells usually are!"
He cleared his throat. "Ah-- the cosmetics ARE only temporary, though. At your next ceremony, you'll have to apply them yourself, I'm afraid."
"Oh... Y-Yeah, okay." She nodded, giving herself one last look in the cabinet.
So it was like-- a magical-girl transformation thing? Kind of? Though she didn't get to do it herself, and she wasn't even AWAKE when it happened...
Dammit! She just HAD to be asleep during her own goddamn henshin sequence... Complaining mentally to herself, she actually had to jog a little to catch up with him-- the guy was built like a scarecrow. Her legs were pretty long, but he was a better speedwalker than her dad!
They stepped out of the corridor and into the open space she'd run through earlier, which turned out to be a courtyard. There was an apple tree, laden with gleaming red fruit, and an old-fashioned well in the center of the yard, surrounded by cone-shaped topiaries. The night sky glittered with stars over the spires of a sprawling castle. Not the kind where princesses lived, more like the kind with an undead skeleton army in the basement.
Well-- maybe a vampire princess...
Probably still with the undead skeletons, though.
"Ahem!" The man cleared his throat, standing up straight and puffing out his chest. "This--" He gestured with the walking stick-- "is Night Raven College- a prestigious institution where students the world over, who show a rare aptitude for magic, gather to hone their skills. In fact, it is the MOST prestigious magical educational facility in all of Twisted Wonderland!"
He turned back to face her.
"And I--" here he clicked his heels together, touching the brim of his hat and nodding- "am Dire Crowley. The chairman has seen fit to entrust me with this venerable academy's care. Thus, I have the great honor to serve as its Headmaster."
He smiled again.
"Magic," she repeated flatly.
Whoop-- there it was. It wasn't like she didn't already know at this point, but hearing it said out loud was-- it just made it more real, somehow...
The man-- Headmaster- Crowley?-- nodded emphatically. "Only those whom the Dark Mirror perceives as having a talent for magic are admitted here," he confirmed. "Those lucky enough to be selected are summoned to the campus through those 'gates', which can appear anywhere in the world. In fact, a black carriage bearing one such gate should have come to meet you, correct?"
"Um..." Kat shifted awkwardly, rubbing her arm. "I don't know-- I think..."
Hazy memories drifted through her mind. A blurry forest, the sound of wheels... A jet-black horse with an unsettling face, the kind that would belong to one of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse in a movie.
"I-- I think... There was a forest-- and a horse? Yeah-- low-key kind of a scary-looking horse, actually..."
Grim made a few more muffled sounds.
Ignoring him, Crowley nodded again, extending an arm to indicate that she should keep following him. "That black carriage serves to receive a student chosen by the Dark Mirror," he informed her as they walked down one of the paths. "It too bears a gate connected to this very campus. And as you know.."
He gave her another smile, this time wide enough to show a pair of sharp incisors. "Sending a carriage to meet someone on a special day is a time-honored tradition!"
Kat looked at him blankly.
Okay. He had fangs. He wasn't lisping or anything, so they probably weren't fake...
"Uh-- a tradition WHERE, exactly?" She queried, then shook her head. "Wait, waitwaitwait-- so basically this carriage straight-up abducted me?? I don't remember getting INTO it by myself--"
"Mmmff!" Grim interjected, thrashing around under Crowley's arm. "Mmmmmgghhmmf! MMM!"
Crowley quickened his pace slightly, shoes clacking on the pavement. "Come now-- let us attend to your orientation," he said loudly, like he didn't want to answer her. "Come on, hurry up, chop chop!"
"Wh-- H-Hey!" Kat protested, speeding up in turn to keep up with him. "Hey, seriously-- Headmaster? Crowley? Mister-- HEY...!"