Chapter 5: Everyone
Hey, there. So, sorry I haven't updated in a month (or is it two? I'm unsure). Either way, motivation has been ever scarcer than before. It was also because this chapter is longer than normal. I've basically decided that, for the time being, I'm mostly going to write when I want to, and that might make things a bit sporadic. Either way, I hope you're enjoying the story so far. On with the show!
—
The morning after…
Luz, in addition to a terrible night, a terrible friend, and her terrible mood, was having a terrible sleep. She was plagued with nightmares of what happened eight years ago. The house had caught fire and she was trapped inside. Flames rise from everywhere without pause. She could feel the burning, arid heat emanating from the orange blaze. Smoke was rising in the room, collecting together into a large cloud of unbreathable fumes. She felt it enter her lungs, her small throat unable to take it in. She was coughing her little lungs out, falling to her knees and hands on the floor. She was looking for a way out, but the doors to the hallway outside were on fire. She could hear her father shouting as loud as he could for her to run out, but how could she? She had almost passed out from the smoke when she felt something wrapping around her. Something cold and metallic. She looked up and in her blurry vision could make out two large red eyes with horizontal slits on a skinny grey body. It lifted her up from the ground and brought her through a hole in the ceiling into the attic. It gently held one of its arms as it smashed another hole in the ceiling, this one leading to the main hall. It hit ready to lower her, but before it did, it spoke in a garbled electronic voice.
"It won't be long, Light. Just came in to warn you. You'll be seeing me in a short while. Until then." The metallic creature gently lowered her down just as the door came down. The arm dropped her off and sped back up through the ceiling. Her father was on the other side of the door frame and ran through the fire over to her, wincing at the pain. He picked her up in his arms, hugging her tightly to his chest, and ran back through where he came from. A large explosion came from behind them, engulfing her father's back. The explosion was large enough to curve onto her father's face. He jumped as far as he could, turning around so that Luz wouldn't hit the concrete road outside. The impact was worsened by the fact he already had burns on his back, and his shirt had been burnt off. The paramedics ran over to him, picking out the small ember in Luz's hair. The blue and red lights of the ambulances and police cars blinded the young girl. She started hearing a sound coming from somewhere else, a chiptune-like piece of music. It was enough to snap her out of her dream.
She slowly sat up in bed, her eyes bleary from the night before. She turned to her alarm clock, the theme of Monster Slayer Academia still ringing out. She didn't know why, but an anger like no other started rising inside her. Without thinking, she grabbed her baseball bat from the side of the bed and started smashing the alarm clock at full strength. She was completely blinded by fury and didn't even notice what she was doing until it had been reduced to nothing more than a few pieces of useless metal. She had a crazed look in her eye as she held the bat above her head. Her anger quickly dissipated, letting her drop the bat from her grip. She started hyperventilating, breath going in, breath going out in quick succession. Her mind was being filled with rapid thoughts, some that she couldn't even understand. She then heard a knock on her door and a voice from behind it.
"Mija? Are you okay? I heard some noises coming from your room." All Luz's mind could think of was letting out her anger, anger that she had been keeping in for years, now overflowing in her mind. She marched to the door and yanked it open.
"No. I'm not. But why would you worry about that? You're barely ever there for me in the first place. I've had to raise myself every step of the way while you were gone. Why did we even move here in the first place if the apartment is so expensive? We could have just found somewhere else in Connecticut, but nooooo. We had to move to one of the most pricey places in the world to spend time with some aging old lady I barely knew who died a month after we came here." Camila stood in place, absorbing everything her daughter had said. Her eyes wrinkled in annoyance.
"Luz, you do not insult your Abuela in this household, may she rest in peace. Or your mother. What is wrong with you today?" Luz's hands shook in anger. She went back inside and packed a bag full of stuff. She grabbed her bat and pushed past Camila.
"I don't care about your rules. Also, this isn't my house anymore. I'm leaving." She walked over to the door and smashed it behind her. This was also when she realized she was still in her pyjamas, long purple pants and a sleeveless grey shirt. She decided not to go back since she'd stuffed a sweater or two in there. She could hear her mother running after her, so she hid behind one of the nearby columns. Camila called out to her with worry in her voice.
"Luz! Please, just come back. We can sit down and talk this over calmly." Luz resisted the urge to go back and ran down the stairs. Maybe when she got back from what she was going to do, she'd try to talk to her mom. For now, she quickly unshackled her bicycle and started pedalling as fast as she could. One place in mind stood out in her already frazzled brain, so she changed course and started gunning it there. She hated Sasha more than anything else in the world, but she knew her better than anyone, and she knew where she would find her today.
—
Marcy had been quite sure that the night couldn't go any worse. From the fight that she'd just seen, Luz no longer wanted to be near Sasha, or even talk to her. As she walked home, her mind was racing with thoughts. What if the group was going to split? What if it ended with everyone hating each other? She'd lose her friends. These thoughts plagued her mind as she biked home from school. It took only a few minutes and she approached the door, chaining her bike outside beforehand. The scene that met her was a confusing one. Both her mother and her father were sitting down on the couch, looking at an envelope with frowns on their faces. Her mother was a short Asian woman with slightly graying black hair and brown eyes. Her father was a slightly taller American man with a fair skin tone and brown eyes as well. Her mother turned to her as she closed the door, while her father continued looking dismally at the open envelope.
"Hello, Fēngmì. How was the dance?" Marcy shrugged, shambling over to the stairs.
"It was alright. Could've gone better. I kinda want to sleep now. Good night." She was about to start walking up to her room when she heard her father talk.
"Marcy, come over here. We need to tell you something." She raised her eyebrow, but followed his order. She sat down across from them on a wooden stool. She crossed her legs and put her hands together, already nervous.
"Yes, Dad?" He fidgeted with the paper for a bit longer before turning to her with a stony face and speaking.
"You remember how I asked my boss for a promotion? I told you about it over dinner last week." Marcy vaguely remembered that conversation. It was overshadowed by Marcy trying to convince them to allow her to go to the dance. She nodded, still slightly confused. "Well, Mr. Carlile looked over my application and accepted it. I'm a senior finance manager now." Marcy smiled.
"That's amazing, Dad! Why do you look so sad, then? This is good news." He looked over at her, then turned to his wife, who picked up where he left off.
"The position is in Oregon. Your father will not be able to work from here. We will need to move there." Marcy froze in place, unsure with what she just heard.
"Um…what?" Her father looked at her with the same stony face.
"We're going to have to move. By the end of the month." Marcy started shaking her head.
"No, no, no, no, no, no. Why are you doing this now? You're…you're asking me to leave my friends behind?" Her mother shook her head.
"No, Fēngmì. We're asking you to make a fresh start. It'll be best for all of us. I'm leaving some friends of mine as well-"
"You've only known your 'friends' for a year or two. I've known Anne, Sasha, and Luz my whole life! I'm not going to just leave them behind!" Her father stood up, putting the envelope on the coffee table.
"I don't like your tone, Marcy. We're moving in two weeks. I'm sorry, but it's necessary. You can say goodbye to your friends over the coming weeks." Marcy was hyperventilating. She couldn't believe what was happening. She grabbed her bag by the top and ran back out the door, tears streaming from her eyes.
"You two are ruining my life!" She didn't see her parents stand up, but she heard them shout at her.
"Marcy!"
"Get back here, young lady!"
Marcy ignored them and kept running. She didn't stop. She wouldn't stop. She couldn't stop. It took quite a while for her to stop running. She looked around, her eyes bleary from the liquid in her eyes. She wiped it away. She was in the park where she met with Anne after school. Where she first met Luz. Where she first met Sasha. She looked around the place and came to some swings, memories coursing through her brain. Crickets were chirping next to her, the moon shining down. Fatigue riddled her brain, and she wanted to rest somewhere for the night that wasn't with her parents. She sat down on one of the swings and let her head hang. The crickets suddenly stopped chirping as soon as she fell asleep.
Marcy came to consciousness with a bit of a jump, causing her swing to go back and forth. She was unsure as to why she woke up so suddenly, but immediately felt someone nearby. She looked to the swing next to her and saw someone dressed in a black trench coat with a very wide black hat. Underneath, she could see them wearing a purple bandana and amber colored goggles. He was reading a large, brown, leather-bound book with gold writing on the outside.
Dr P's Extraordinary Guide To Magic And Mystery
Marcy was unsure who this person was, or why they were sitting next to her, but didn't press as she started to stand up. He then spoke in a deepish, garbled tone.
"Hello, Ms. Wu. How are you doing this fine morning?" Marcy stopped in her tracks, a chill going down her spine. She turned to the person, who hadn't taken his focus off the book.
"Um…hello, sir. Or ma'am. I'm unsure what you are below that. How do you know my name?" The person simply turned a page before responding.
"That does not matter at the moment. You are having trouble with your friends, are you not?" Marcy was also confused at how they knew about her troubles, but at this point she could surmise that they wouldn't answer, so she just decided to sit back down and look toward the ground. Maybe spilling her guts to this stranger would make her feel better.
"Yeah. Two of them had a big fight earlier. I want to find a way to bring us all together again, but I don't know how." This time, the stranger did not answer. She turned his head to them, but he had vanished, and the book he was reading had been turned to a specific page. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see them walking into an alleyway. She ran over to the alley and looked around the corner, but there was nothing there, only a dead end. She raised her eyebrow at this and assumed it was just a sleep-deprived hallucination. She had never heard of it happening in this sort of way, but lots of things that had never happened before were happening before her eyes, so she couldn't dismiss this. She did question it, however, when she saw the book still lying on the swing. She reached for it and picked it up, scanning the page. Her mouth slowly curved into a smile as she kept reading, eventually grinning happily from ear to ear. This was how she could help her friends! This box held the answer to her problems. The only problem was that she had no idea if it was even real. This caused her to slump over, letting despair take her over again. She closed the book and went and sat down again. How could some random fantasy book be real? She glumly leaned on the arm rest and looked off at a shop. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see something glimmer through the dirty window. Her eyes widened, quickly darting back to the book. She opened it back to the page she saw before comparing what she saw with the picture. It was the exact same! Her smile immediately grew back. She brought out her phone and walked over to it. She took a quick picture and started texting Sasha. After sending her, she quickly texted Anne as well. Hopefully, her idea could work.
—
Sasha was pacing back and forth in her room. She was still dressed in her pyjamas, a pink undershirt and boxer shorts. She walked back and forth between the ends of the bedroom, her mind lost in thought. Last night's events continued playing in her mind, over and over. She'd barely been able to sleep because of it. She was glad when she heard her phone buzz. At least she'd have a distraction. She had hoped that the sender was Luz, looking to make up, but Sasha was surprised when she saw it was Marcy.
CynthLoverM: Hey.
… … …
RckerGrrl1: What do you want
…
CynthLoverM: I was thinking that maybe we could get something for Luz.
CynthLoverM has shared a photo with you.
CynthLoverM: To help mend our friendship.
… …
Rckergrrl1: Why
…
CynthLoverM: I don't want our group to break apart.
CynthLoverM: I want us to go back to being friends.
… … … … …
Rckergrrl1: How will it fix our freindship
Rckergrrl1: *frondship
Rckergrrl1: *FRIENDSHIP
…
CynthLoverM: Trust me, it's perfect.
CynthLoverM: Meet me and Anne at our old park in 30 min. You remember the one?
… … … … … … … … … …
Rckergrrl1: OK.
Rckergrrl1: Meet u there
Sasha put down the phone and started changing. If Marcy was looking to make up, it meant she still had a semblance of control. She needed to find a way to get Luz there as well. She tried thinking of something as she pulled on the only clean shirt she had, her uniform. She'd probably be back before dinner, so she didn't care what she wore. She finished up, packed her bag with munchies in case she got hungry on the metro, and left the house.
—
About fifteen minutes later…
Anne didn't have a complete understanding of why as he was here. All she knew was that Marcy was getting a present for Luz that they were all going to buy. Apparently, Luz and Sasha had a big fight over something during the dance. She was too busy playing games on her phone in the corner to notice. She decided not to ask, since friends didn't need to know all the details to help someone. Currently, she was standing in front of a thrift store with Marcy, waiting for Sasha to arrive. As they waited, an awkward silence permeated between them. Anne tapped her finger on the glass behind her, unsure if she should say anything.
"So…uh…how are you?" Marcy didn't notice the question for a moment and was startled when she did.
"Oh! Um…it's…it's going good. Just…breezing by." Anne tried to nod coolly.
"Mhm, the breeze is best." More awkward silence filled the noticeable gap between them. The silence finally stopped when they saw Sasha biking over at full speed. She quickly dismounted and left the bicycle leaning against a nearby wall.
"Hey guys! Mar-Mar, Anne." She ran up to them and stopped. "I texted Luz to come over here and meet us. She said yes, and she'll probably be here in a moment. Let's get the box thing, quick, before she comes!" She seemed very excited for someone that went through what happened the previous night, but Anne didn't press her.
"So, did you bring money? I'm flat broke." Marcy nodded.
"Yeah, me too. I spent most of it buying another copy of Azura five." Sasha grinned devilishly.
"Who said anything about buying it?"
—
Marcy could see the discomfort on Anne's face as she went inside the store. She could see the nervousness in her brow and the slight bit of sweat falling down her cheek. Either way, Marcy walked inside as well to do her part of the plan. She strolled up to the old lady running the thrift store, making sure to look around and take a stop or two on the way so as to not seem suspicious. She eventually reached the desk and started talking.
"Hello." The lady didn't seem to notice her as all her attention was focused on the crossword puzzle in her hands. She was tapping her pencil on the rim of her oval shaped glasses with a face of pure determination. She had a black tank top on and greying black hair. Marcy looked around nervously and cleared her throat to get her attention. "Ahem." The lady still didn't answer. "…a-HEM." The lady looked at her for a moment before looking back at the crossword.
"Are you buying somethin'?" Marcy grinned sheepishly.
"Well, I wanted to, um, ask you if, uh, if there's anything you recommend, Ms…?" She looks behind her as she sees Anne reaching for the box. The woman still doesn't look up at her.
"Call me Toby. Whatever's more expensive, I guess. I have this nice-looking gold music box by the higher shelves if you wanna check it out." She pointed over to where Anne was slowly taking it off, her eyes still on the crossword. Anne froze as she held the box in the air with one hand, silently telling Marcy to hurry. Marcy turned back to Toby and tried to think of a conversation topic.
"So…um…I…uh…you…uh…like…you know…like…um…uh…" Toby ignored this travesty as Marcy managed to keep on going. "Um…ah…do you like anime?" At that, Toby stopped and placed her crossword to the side, along with the pencil. She focused on Marcy's eyes with such intensity that Marcy started to feel more nervous. Then, Toby reached under the desk and pulled out an Evangelion poster the size of a baby elephant with both hands. Marcy couldn't help herself from putting her hands on her cheeks and gasping, her eyes twinkling.
—
"Seriously, Marce? I sent you in to distract her, not become anime buddies!" Sasha was frustrated to no end. Marcy looked back with an apologetic face.
"…We didn't talk for that long…"
"You talked for literally thirty minutes about teenagers in giant robots! Which would normally be a great topic for conversation when we AREN'T TRYING TO SHOPLIFT."
"She wanted to talk about it. Should I have just exited the conversation and made it look more suspicious?"
"Maybe you could've found a way to bring it down to LESS THAN HALF AN HOUR." Anne watched their back and forth from the side with an uncomfortable face. Hopefully they didn't get her invol-
"Ugh, Anne! Tell her I'm right!"
"Anne? Please help me…"
She looked between the two, unsure who's side to take. She probably would've exploded from the stress if not for the sound of a bike bell from nearby.
"Sa-SHA!"
—
Luz felt nothing in her mind other than pure unbridled rage as she pedaled from her house all the way to the park. It took nearly an hour to do so, and yet she was not sweating a single drop. She actively jumped off her bicycle and threw it to the side, reaching an impressive twenty meters. She reached into her backpack and pulled out her red baseball bat, pointing it straight at Sasha with a scowl unlike any she had ever had. It was menacing enough that even Sasha started to nervously sweat. Anne stood to the side with the box, seeming to keep herself from opening it. Luz couldn't be quite sure since she wasn't really focusing on that. The burning fury in her mind could have been distracting her as well.
"…Luuuuuz…how ya doi-?"
"Shut the hell up. I'm done listening to you. I'm not letting you worm your way into my head again." She looked to the cowering Marcy and the confused looking Anne. "Terrorizing our friends? I shouldn't even be surprised at this point." Sasha looked to the left nervously before replying.
"It's a bit rude to show up like that and threaten me, Luz. Right after we got you a present and everything." Luz raised an eyebrow, keeping her glare on Sasha.
"A present? And what would that be?" Sasha motioned her head to Anne.
"Give it to her." Anne nodded and passed it to Luz. She held it in her left hand, bringing the bat in her right down to her side. Her scowl softened.
"…Wow. This…must have cost a lot. And you'd get it for me after…after last night?" Sasha's eyes quickly darted from side to side.
"Yes and yes." Anne and Marcy nodded along with her. Luz simply looked at the box with a complicated expression. She was completely willing to beat Sasha over the head with her bat a moment ago, but now she felt as if it was a misunderstanding on her part. She didn't feel much anger at Sasha anymore, and dropped her bat.
"…Huh. I…sorry." Sasha breathed a sigh of relief.
"Just glad you weren't going to hit me with that bat. I've seen your swings." Luz grinned with a slight blush on her cheeks.
"Thanks…" She still felt slightly uneasy about Sasha, but at least she was trying to fix the problem. If she wasn't so focused on the box, she would have seen Anne and Marcy's squeamish expressions as they looked at each other. Sasha turned her head to them while Luz looked away and glared. Luz finished looking at the box and passed it back to Anne. "Sorry I was worked up. I was a bit stressed this morning." She walked over to the nearest bench and sat down. "Come on, Anne! Bring the box over." They all grouped around the bench, with Luz sitting to the right of Anne, and Sasha and Marcy standing behind them. "Open it. I wanna see what's inside." Anne looked very uncomfortable.
"I…I'm not sure. Shouldn't we just bring it back to the store?" Luz raised an eyebrow.
"Why would you need to bring it back? You already bought it." Luz's eyes grew wider as she slowly came to realize. "Wait…you did buy it, right?"
—
Marcy noticed this and quickly grabbed Anne's and opened the box with it. A bright flash of light enveloped the four girls, blinding them for a second. One moment, Marcy felt herself falling. The next, she could swear she heard disembodied voices whispering gibberish around her. And the next, she felt ground beneath her face. Solid, smooth ground, that smelled like…perfume? But not any that she had known of before. She slowly opened her eyes, sunlight filling her eyes. She slowly stood up, turned around, and in front of her was a kingdom like none she had ever seen.
—
Anne felt herself falling, her stomach twisting the closer she got to whatever was the ground. Her eyes were wide open, but it felt as if they were shut and bombarded by light. She thought she heard people talking next to her, but she couldn't make out the words. She finally felt the ground below her, as if she had just appeared on it. She felt mud and dirt on her cheek, and quickly stood up to try to get it off. After wiping away at her shirt for a few seconds, she focused on where she was. It seemed to be a swampish place with low hanging trees. She looked around, trying to find where she left her backpack until she found it in some vines. She was about to continue exploiting when she heard footsteps. She turned around, thinking that a rabid animal of sorts had found her, but it was the complete opposite.
"Sasha?"
—
All previous thoughts from Luz's mind disappeared as soon as she started falling into the white abyss. Her mind screamed at the thought of falling further, getting louder and louder the farther she fell. Just when she thought she couldn't take it anymore, the screaming stopped, and she felt herself on solid ground. She lay there for a few minutes, unsure what just happened, before she decided to get up. But just as she was about to stand fully, she heard a deep voice bellow at her.
"Freeze!"
"Don't move or you get stabbed!"
"By spears!"
"I'm pretty sure she understood from context!"
"What if she didn't?"
"Are we supposed to care?"
"…You have a point."
She brought her head up and immediately thought she was hallucinating when she saw six, large, frog-like creatures with armor. She laughed for a moment and thought they would disappear. They did not, so she blacked out from the shock.
—
Thank you for being patient, if you're still reading my series. This was the end of the introduction to this AU crossover, and the beginning to a saga. I hope you're ready for this story, because I'm very excited to tell it. Have a good day. Later.