Blaze a New Path
Sometimes, all it takes to change ones fate is to make a single choice. Taking ones fate into their own hands can be the hardest thing to do, so some help is always nice, even if it does come from superpowers. All you need to do is make sure you make the choice you won't regret.
And we are back. Nothing much to say here, other than enjoy!
Chapter 6
Monday morning dawned bright and early with a genuinely bizarre event.
Taylor Hebert was in a good mood.
She had spent most of the weekend with Jing Yuan, training with the General and, later, the Generals other student, Yanqing. The kid was nice, but didn't seem to understand the concept of holding back. On the up side, it forced Taylor to improve at an almost inhuman rate, on the other, getting the snot kicked out of her with infinite flying swords hurt, even in a dream. Fortunately, Jing Yuan was smart enough that he knew when to get the two children to stop and, after calling up one of his lower ranked Cloud Knights to act as a guide, sent Taylor out to explore the Laofu between sparring bouts, something which her new friend, a girl named Sushang, seemed quite jealous of.
So yes, after three days of things going well for her and at least one new friend (Taylor wasn't sure if Yanqing counted yet), Taylor was definitely in an uncommonly good mood, enough that the Trio and their hanger ons usual crap simply slipped off her like water off a ducks back. After all, knowing that she had at least two genuine friends in March and Dan Heng she could call on for backup if needed, not to mention the other members of the Astral Express and possibly even the natives of the Laofu, assuming her connection to the Xianzhou was the same as the Express, it was really hard to consider a bunch of school girls to be that intimidating.
Unfortunately, her good mood and newfound immunity to the Trios bullshit didn't come without its consequences, consequences that came home to roost just after her first period class.
She was making her way towards her next class on the floor below and had just reached the top of the stairwell when a foot hooked around the ankle and pulled. She stumbled dangerously close to the edge of the stairs, before a foot slammed into the small of her back.
Time seemed to slow down as Taylor tipped forwards, giving her just enough time to see Sophia's cruel smirk, before she fell head first down the stairs.
It was only thanks to the hours of practice over the weekend that Taylor was able to control her fall well enough to keep from being seriously injured, although she still hit the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of her. She lay still for a moment, absorbing the actual murder attempt from her bully, before pushing herself up to her knees. As she did, she became aware of someone standing over her. She looked up and met Mr Gladlys eyes.
For a moment, the teacher stared down at her, a strange expression on his face, before he glanced up at Sophia. For a brief moment, Taylor thought that he might do something useful, only for that tiny little expectation to be shattered as the 'teacher' turned around and walked away.
Taylor got to her feet, watching Gladly go and ignoring the sound of Sophia stomping down the steps behind her. In that moment, something Jing Yuan had said to her came to mind.
"Facing down impossible odds is an admirable thing to do, assuming you have a good reason to do so. However, if you don't have a reason to fight, its better to retreat. You gain nothing by dying in a worthless battle. Never sacrifice yourself if you can find any other way to achieve your goals."
What was she getting from remaining at Winslow? What could she possibly gain from remaining in a place that had made it quite clear that she was unwelcome and actively pushing her down? The answer was simple. Absolutely nothing. At best, she gained the satisfaction that the Trio wasn't beating her, but was that really worth putting up with their bullshit? The answer was pretty obvious and Taylor found that she honestly couldn't give one single shit if the Trio drew some sick satisfaction from her 'loss'. She was done with this bullshit.
"You should…"
"Nope, I'm done," said Taylor, cutting off Sophia's barb.
She dropped her ratty old backpack on the floor with a thump and walked out of the school, completely ignoring Sophia's look of utter shock as she watched her 'pray' simply walk away.
Taylor barely noticed the walk home. Her thoughts were spinning far too quickly for her to be able to focus on anything else. Sophia's assault wasn't truly unexpected, she'd done similar things in the past, albeit not quite as dangerous as kicking Taylor down the stairs, and Gladly being useless was pretty much expected at this point.
However, the fact that Gladly had seen Hess' assault and done nothing was beyond the pale.
It was one thing when the faculty could plead ignorance, even if it was wilful, but for an assault that could have easily landed Taylor in the hospital, if not dead was a step too far. There was a part of her that baulked at the idea of backing down, but the rest of her wasn't willing to stay in a place that had made it blatantly obvious that everyone in it would happily stand aside and do nothing in the face of attempted murder.
Then again, this was Winslow, so she probably shouldn't be that surprised.
Taylor entered her house and flopped down on the sofa, ignoring the spiking pain from the bruises and scrapes from her fall. She lay still, ignoring the sound of a door opening and heels on the hall floor. A few moments later, the footsteps came back and the sofa dipped slightly.
"Sit up," said Himeko.
Taylor mumbled a protest and hugged the throw pillow tighter. Himeko sighed and, after some coaxing, managed to get Taylor to sit up so she could tend to the teenager's injuries.
For the next few minutes, the room was silent but for the ticking of the clock and the occasional hiss from Taylor as Himeko probed her bruises. Finally, the Navigator was done and shut the first aid kit with a snap.
"Alright, you're done," she said, "Now, call your Father and sort this mess out."
Taylor flinched.
"Nah, it can wait," she said, "Dads too busy with work, so…"
She was cut off as Himeko gently flicked her on the forehead.
"No, none of that now," she said, "I've heard you talking with March about how much better things have been going between the two of you lately, don't ruin it now. Besides, you probably want to sort it before your school calls him."
Taylor twitched, then sighed and nodded. Himeko smiled and gave the younger girl a hug.
"Don't forget, I'm here if you need anything," she said, "You're a part of the Astral Express and we look after each other."
Taylor smiled and returned the hug.
"Thanks Miss Himeko," she said, "And thanks for patching me up."
Himeko nodded and stood, disappearing back into the Express. Taylor's smile faded and she sat back with a sigh. For a moment, she toyed with the idea of just ignoring Himeko's suggestion, before shaking her head and getting to her feet. It wasn't worth the lecture when Himeko found out. She reached for the phone and dialled her Fathers number. To her mild surprise, he picked up quickly.
"Hi Dad," she said, "We need to talk."
It took every bit of self control Danny had to make it home without speeding. Fortunately, the traffic was light as the work day had only just got started or he might have done something foolish. Once he got home, he ran inside and immediately relaxed when he saw Taylor sat on the couch, clearly bruised and with a bandage on her cheek, but mostly unharmed.
Taylor looked up as Danny entered the living room. He crossed the room and pulled Taylor to her feet, ignoring her protests as he looked her over for injuries, then hugged her tight.
"I'm fine Dad," said Taylor, gently pushing her Father away, "Just a few scrapes and bruises."
Danny reluctantly let Taylor go and sat down beside his daughter.
"What happened?" he asked, "You said you were attacked and, knowing Winslow, I thought…"
Taylor winced.
"Yeah, I can see why you'd think that, but it wasn't anything like that," she said, "One of my bullies decided to push me down the stairs."
Danny felt his heart skip a beat. That was…significantly less bad than he was expecting, but still serious. Taylor was lucky she hadn't been seriously injured!
"You mean the school hasn't done anything?" he asked, "I thought they were going to be more vigilant after what happened in January."
While the school had managed to worm out of any kind of actual repercussions over that as it had happened outside of school hours and (barely) off of school grounds, they had still promised to make sure that they would keep an eye out to prevent any follow ups.
Taylor snorted in response to the question.
"Not in the slightest," said Taylor, "But today was especially bad. Gladly saw the whole thing and just did…nothing."
Danny ruthlessly shoved down the urge to animate some of his pawns and hunt down the worthless teacher.
"And thats why you came home?" he asked.
Taylor nodded.
"I knew they were pretty much useless, but to see it that blatantly…I can't go back Dad," she said, "Sophia could have killed me with that stunt and a teacher did NOTHING, despite seeing the whole thing. If this keeps up, they are going to do something that will seriously hurt me."
Danny took a deep breath, strangling both his rage and the dark feeling of self loathing rising in his stomach. Now was not the time for either. Now was the time to help his child and be a Father.
"Alright, I'll get you pulled out," he said, "What do you want to do? Try for a transfer or go home school? I'm sure I can get you put on the list for Arcadia if you want."
Taylor bit her lip.
"I think…I think I'd prefer to be homeschooled for now," she said, "Thanks to those bitches, my grades are in the toilet, so I doubt I'll be able to get into any other school. Besides, the last thing I want to deal with is more teenagers."
Danny nodded. He wanted to push for Arcadia, but now wasn't the time. He'd approach the issue later if needed, but Taylors wants came first now.
"What about Winslow?" he asked, "Do you want to do anything with that?"
Taylor shrugged.
"I guess, but I don't know what can really be done," she said, "I mean, theres not really that much evidence. I have my journal, but other than that…"
"Well, I can at least show it to Alan," said Danny, "He'd probably know better than me. Do you mind if I have a look at it?"
Taylor shrugged and pointed at the thick binder that was on the coffee table.
"Sure, I thought you'd want to," she said, "I brought it down after I called you."
Danny stared at the massive binder, stuffed with even more loose notes and felt his heart sink further. Just how much had he missed before the Trio woke him up? He swallowed, opened the binder and began to read.
As it turned out, he'd missed quite a bit. His heart broke when he read that Emma was one of the ringleaders and he made a mental note to have a strongly worded conversation with Alan later. He also felt a surge of horror and rage when he realised that another of the three, and likely the one who had pushed Taylor down the stairs if the other actions she had taken were anything to go by, was Shadow Stalker.
Finally, after what felt like forever, he was done and shut the binder. For a moment, he stared down at it, before he turned and looked at Taylor.
"Taylor…" he started, "Taylor, I'm so sorry. I missed so much, I should have…"
Taylor cut him off with a hug.
"Don't worry about it Dad," she mumbled into his shirt, "Neither of us were in a good place and I was the one who hid it from you."
Danny smiled, despite his tears and hugged Taylor back. For a moment, they both stayed like that, relishing in the warmth of their family bond. At the back of Dannys mind, the soft song of his power shifted to a more upbeat rhythm. Eventually, Danny reluctantly broke the hug.
"Alright, I have work to do," he said, "Don't worry, I'll handle all this."
Taylor nodded and yawned.
"OK, I think I'll go have a nap," she said.
Danny nodded and watched Taylor vanish upstairs. For a moment, he considered the amount of time Taylor was spending sleeping lately and wondering if he should get her a checkup, before deciding that he could deal with that later. Instead, he pulled out his work phone and dialled his boss.
"Armsmaster, what do you need Game Master?" said Colins voice down the line, "I thought you had clocked out to deal with a family matter?"
"I have and this is related to it," said Danny, "My daughter was pushed down the stairs at school and, according to her, it was Sophia Hess who did it. Not only that, but I have a huge folder full of documented bullying targeting my daughter, of which Hess was one of the main perpetrators."
There was a moment of silence from the other end of the line.
"I see," said Colin, "Thank you for informing me of this. I shall investigate immediately."
The Tinker hung up in his usual brusque manner after being given an important task, leaving Danny to drop his phone and take a deep breath. Right, that was the easy stuff dealt with, now for the more difficult job. He reached for the phone and dialled Alans mobile.
You know what? I'm going to leave this one here. The next chapter really needs to be all in one go and this is a good place to end it.
The basic gist of Taylors power is that the more people from an area she meets and interacts with, the more she has access to. So, she basically has access to the whole of the Express and, with three Xianzhou natives on her roster, she can access a number of places there as well. The people she meets is also determined by what she needs or wants at that time. She needed training, so she met Jing Yuan, who introduce her to a training partner and, since she always needs more friends, her power provided another one in the form of Sushang. We'll see more examples of that next chapter.
So yeah, theres the attack. Not as bad as it could have been, but still really not good. And with Gladly just standing there and doing fuck all, it was basically the last straw.
Himeko drops by for some patching up and good advice. I did nearly use Welt for this, but figured Himeko was a better choice.
I do like a Danny who puts in the effort. Of course, this one has an incentive to want to tighten his bonds with others. I wonder if people can guess whats going on with him? Hehe, I might need to expand my armoury soon…
And with that, I'm done. Don't forget to leave a review on the way out!