The Kethencian College of Magic RP (Part 3)

[Tsubasa & Wen Tien]

Marvelous Miscreant wrote

"That...is what you'll have discover if you wish to reach your full potential as a Fire Mage. The trial ahead of you will bring you to understand if you let it."

"Aaargh, alright, what's the trial? What do Piper and I need to do?"

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

"That I can accept, yes."

[Philote]

"Alright Eric, come follow me so that we can get through this test" Zauber says as they move away from the headmaster and into the maze "And Would you stop trying to set traps everywhere? We are the only ones in this maze as far as I know!"

"What kind of trickster would I be if I wasn't prepared?" Eric responds "Years from now somebody will take this test again and be caught in a web of my traps. I'll be legendary once people hear of it."

Zauber sighs, there was no getting through to Eric once he got his mind on something. "At least try not to slow us down. We have bigger things to worry about that involve us successfully completing this test."

"Now, I'm going to leave some motes at the intersections of these hallways and test the attributes of this maze we seem to be stuck in."

[Zaleramancer]

A shuddering, clanging twitch traveled up Tiberius's body. He glanced desperately around.

"D-Do you have a preferred method of organization?"

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

A thousand chuckles filled the graveyard, the dead cackling in unison. "Reluctant to exert control, yet so eager to accept a burden. You are unlike many of your kin, Bishop boy. Do the deeds of your family weigh so heavily on your mind?"

The bottom of Billy's stomach fell out, and he stared with weariness at the assembled before affixing a bright smile. "I-i'm sure I have no idea what you are implying. The Bishops are a family of proud diplomats-"

Raucous laughter flitted between the gravestones. "Yes, that is the truth for a certain value of diplomacy."

Billy stood there, surrounded by laughing skulls, helplessly looking about. "How could you possibly know?"

"Come now, child. You must know better than anyone that the dead talk. Many, many of them speak about your family..."

"No, shades talk!" He shouted. "Beings of nothing but memory, left behind in the world when the soul have traveled forward. The dead do not speak, not in any way that is natural. If you claim to speak for the dead, then you are nothing that can be here!"

More laughter, all around him, louder and more piercing than ever before. Billy stared into it. "If you are some sort of monster or japester, then what you have done here is a grave insult. I DEMAND to see you at once, pardon my bold language."

The dead ceased their giggling, and stepped back to form a circle. Footsteps can be heard, coming from a very long way away, always coming, never tiring. Steady pace. The very sound of patience, of inevitability. The temperature seems to drop 100 degrees, Gob shivering as he clings to Billy's back. The light dims.

The Footsteps stop. A figure stands in the circle. Long, tall, and emaciated. He may once have been a very built man, but now he was shriveled like an old, dried out prune. He had no hair, his spectacles the only thing donning his crooked nose, so milky that you wouldn't see his eyes even if you were staring right through them.He was dressed nicely, in a fine black suit and top hat, creased from his bent posture. He had a cane in his hands to support both himself and the large coffin carried on his back, a cheap wooden box that looked bigger than him. He was grinning at Billy, with a set of absolutely perfect teethe.

In a voice full of cruel mirth, so dry you could absorb a seas worth of moisture into it, he said. "Now child, you should know better. There are some in a position to here the true dead speak, if you'll pardon my italicized language."

Realization hit Billy like a ton of brick, both of who this man must be and what he had just done. A feeling came over him, a great shame. He had committed several blasphemes since he had come to this school. He had feared for his own life, he hadn't observed proper etiquette when speaking to someone older than himself, but compared to what he had just done they were mere worms. He instantly fell to his knees and pressed his head against the floor so quickly it stung, Gob Falling off of his shoulders and rolling in front of him.

The old man let out a old, dry, nasally laugh. "Oh, my apologies. How rude of me to just show up without announcing myself. Hello, boy. Hickory Nix, Knight in service of the Lord of the Black Manor."

[Marvelous Miscreant]

"No, Tiberius. But you may try if you want. However, that is not the reason I brought you here. This room, unlike you, is chaotic and scattered. Your direct opposite. Both of these extreme's are faulty in their own ways."

The headmaster knocks over a precarious stack of old book for emphasis.

"But, if you can find a way to balance the two. Something wonderful can be born from the harmony. Tiberius, you're here to try and understand that harmony and reflect it within yourself."

Suddenly the headmaster vanished. Leaving nothing behind but an echo.

"If you can find it amongst the debris, your journey will be complete...."

[Marvelous Miscreant]

As the duo traveled the maze of corridors and hallways the walls began to hum with almost magical harmony. The further they went the more the walls began to twist and bend. They warped to unreasonable angles and planes, causing the whole passage to seem impassable, yet the two never had any difficulty traversing them, often in a fashion that seemed to defy gravity or logic of any kind.

Yet, they found no indication of an exit.

[Philote]

Zauber's sense of direction was getting more distorted with every step and the distractions coming from Eric's shenanigans were starting to grind on his nerves.  

The duo make their way into a hall adorned with rows of picture frames and Eric runs back and forth inspecting each. With a sigh, Zauber stops to inspect one of the paintings as he tries to regain Eric's attention.

"Eric could you focus please" Zauber says with a hint of irritation. "This training is more important than I think you realize and we have to continue to push ahead."

Zauber does not receive an answer though. "Hey, are you listening?" he asks as he turns back from the painting to find himself in the room he was just staring at through the painting. An empty frame marks the spot he was looking at just moments before. Eric was nowhere in sight as it seems that Zauber was the only one teleported.

"Well, at least I can focus on getting to the end now" he says to himself.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

The steps come, sure as the march of time, as the dead make way for the knight. Then a snarl. Then a sound like a nail going through a piece of paper. Billy cautions a look up.

The Knight, Nix, stands lot a stride of his long legs from the boy's nose, Gob latched firmly onto his arm. The mans expression had not changed from his cracked smile. If anything, it had gotten wider. "Now, now, son, I believe you've bitten off more than you can chew...."

A solid *KLONK* echos throughout the cavern. It takes a moment for Billy to find himself after the sudden shock. He finds Gob on the floor. He finds himself standing. He finds an Encyclopedia of the Zoologically Dubious in his hands. He finds himself applying the book to the side of the face of one of his gods. He finds that said gods grin has only intensified, lips stretched in a way that no human could possibly manage. Billy realized all of this, but had no recollection of actually doing it.

"His teethe are immaculate, how does he get them so white?" was the strange thought that flashed through Billy's head as he waited for the other shoe to drop, presumably right on him.

But the wrath didn't come. Instead the old man, glasses askew so Billy could see the pure, milky white of his eyes, said. "I can't believe they still use 3.5. 4th addition is much better."

"What?" Billt asked, before quickly adding, "Sir."

"The Encyclopedia of the Zoologically Dubious. I can't believe this place still uses 3.5. I thought the head was better than to allow his books to go out of date."

"Oh, no sir. 4th is the official addition used. But there were a lot of copies of these, sir, in the library storage room, in case I ended up breaking one."

"Ahhh, well that explains that."

The silence that followed wasn't the silence of the grave. If the silence of the grave met this silence, it would offer to be it's live in slave simply in the vague hope that it could pick up a few pointers. It was a silence that went all the way around the scale and somehow became a type of noise.

At least, that's how Billy rationalizes not hearing the Knight until the 4th or 5th "Boy?"

"Boy, as amusing as the countenance of C'taxus'sughya is, would you mind terribly-"

Billy ripped the boor away, clutching it to himself like some sort of teddy bear. "S-s-sir, I'm, I'm, i'mi'mi'm, I'm so sorry. I have no idea what I was-"

"Thinking?" He says, chuckling. "Well, why don't I tell you then? What you were thinking was, a Knight is forbidden from touching anyone that get's in his way, unless of course they touch him first." He put's his stick under his arm and readjusts his glasses. "You were thinking your little buddy here," he points a finger at Gob, who's licking the floor in a attempt to get the taste out of his mouth, "didn't know that little rule and so opened himself up to whatever I might want to do to him, to protect you." He walks over to his hat, which had fallen off, dusts it on his coat, and places it smartly back on his head. "You were thinking that if I had a more convenient target, he might have time to get up the stairs where the headmaster could protects him." He finishes, strolling up to Billy. Gob, giving up on his futile endeavor, joined Billy at his side.

The old man looked at him sideways, always smiling. "You seem to be in love with the idea of a heroic sacrifice. You throw yourself against things far out of your league, do things that are just downright stupid because it might spare someone you really barely know."

Billy started to respond, but Nix raised his hand for silence and continued. "No, that is not a flaw. In fact, is part of the reason that the Lord chose you for this mission. You would have to be practically suicidal."

This hit Billy like a lead weight. "A, a, mission?"

"That's right son, a mission. A Holy Crusade against an abomination." Nix said, thoughtfully. "An few, actually. Abominations that have no death, and so do not respect it. You know."

The laughing face of Kyrse flashes in Billy's mind. "The Red Eye Apostles."

"There's the ticket. Parts of that thing under this school, living pseudolives of their own. You have been chosen by My lord to aid in the upcoming battle and lead these fragments to final death. But for that, son, you're going to need a lot of spit and polish. Hence, myself." He says, whipping off his hat and bowing.

Billy Bows back, reflexively. "Thank you, sir." He says, breathlessly. "It is a great honor. I'll proudly be your pupil."

"Good." he says, still bowing. "By the way, it's real convenient that you boys touched me."

"Wha-"

Billy can't even get the question out before the Knights walking stick had scythed his feet out from under him, throwing him to the cold ground, and the point of it jammed into his neck. Beside him he see's the knights shoe planted of a struggling and snarling Gob, who looks much more determined than the meekly choking Billy.

"Because it means both your asses are mine! This is going to make things go much faster."

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

Gob once again rode as Billy trudged along behind Nix, every few seconds glancing nervously at his feet. More specifically, the road under them.

They were still in the graveyard, but when Nix had helped them up and jerked his head for them to follow him it had gotten all muggy and indistinct. Now it looked more like the shadows cast by firelight, the general shapes of tombstones flickering dancing before. But the path was solid. In fact, the path was the single most solid thing Billy had ever seen. He gulped, and decided to ask.

"Si-"
"You ain't dead."
"Oh. Well, good. Yes."
"You're just having a near death experience. You'll wake up back where you were right as rain once everything's been squared away."
"I see. May I ask a different question?"

He grunted his reply. Billy continued. "You said that being 'borderline suicidal' was one of the reasons I was picked for this. What about the others. Surely there are those better quali-"

"Can't talk to them about it. It's against the rules. You know about The Black Manor already, from your king. We got lucky this year."

Billy sighed happily. A coincidence, nothing more. That was something he could acc-

"But we would have picked you anyway."

All the thought in Billy's head came to a crashing halt. "Ex-ex-excuse me?" he stammered.

Nix stopped on the path. He turned, somehow, without moving his feet. That horrible crooked grin was back. He lifted up his right hand off his stick and help up four fingers. "I'll tell you now, our reasons for choosing you, out of every other person in this school, are quaterfold. The First was mentality." he said, lowering his index finger. "The Second, convenience," he lowered his middle finger. "The Third is potential." he lowered his ring finger and, pinky extended, slipped the Coffin off of his back. He lowered it to the ground, laid it flat, and opened it up.

Inside was light and heat, so much that each was almost solid. Billy reflexively went to shield his eyes, but found he did not have to. Despite feeling as though he were staring into the sun, and a heat he was sure should have burned him away in an instant, both were almost gentle. Caring. Pure. He felt sure, from the bottom of his heart, that whatever was putting off this light would never be able to hurt him, or anyone. Despite it, he thought he saw the Knight plunge both hands into the box and bring them out clenched into fists. He went around to the front of the coffin and kicked the lid shut, sliding whatever he had taken into his pockets. Billy was sad to see the light go.

The old man stood before them, hands in his pockets. "Let me show you something. I think then it'll be easier for you to accept." He held out one of his fists and opened it up. In the middle of his palm, giving off the same light in lower quantities, was a miniature ball of red flame, almost like a sun. "This here, boys, is life. Specifically, your life." he nodded at Gob.

Billy rubbed his chin, fascinated, leaning forward so that the both of them could better see.. "I expected it was hour glasses."

Nix scoffed. "Bahhhhh, an hour glass is what people imagine to feel better. 'Oh, the poor dear, I guess it was her time.' 'Oh, our poor Davey, I guess his time just ran out.' 'Nothing we could do, it was just his time.' It's comforting, in a way, to think that each and every death is unavoidable, that there's a grand plan behind it all, that every only gets a certain amount of sand that's constantly ticking down. But there ain't no fate, just choices and their consequences."

"But sir," Billy said quickly. "some deaths are unavoidable. People really do just run out of time."

"Yes, they sure do." Nix said, nodding, "But the date isn't set. When a fire goes out, it depends on the condition of the fire. Look at this fire." he said, holding Gobs sun underneath Billy's nose. He broke out into a cold sweat, but only at the sight of a flame this close to his face. This fire, he told himself, couldn't hurt his if he used it as a pillow. "Not that bright, not that fantastic, but steady. Barring accidents, your little friend will live for centuries more before it goes out. But we've gone off topic a little bit." he said, tucking the flame back into his pocket. "Now, where were you always taught that magic springs from?"

"Life," Billy answered quickly. That was elementary. "Magic springs from Life."

"Mostly correct." Nix nodded. "There's ambient Magic, free floating in some worlds, but the vast majority originates within living things. Nobody should understand this better than a Necromancer, because they lend the stuff out. That's how you make minions. Now bearing that in mind," he said, removing his other hand from his other pocket. "have a look at this."

"This is your life."

He opened his hand.

Light and Heat.

[Philote]

Zauber found himself staring down the same white bridge that he had been trying to cross for the last couple hours. Across it lied a door clearly marked exit. The fact that no matter what winding path he took through these halls he ended back on the wrong side of this bridge led him to believe that this door was something that he must absolutely reach. Below the bridge was an impressive shear drop that was the fate of those that failed to make it across.

Zauber backed up into the hallway that led him back to this bridge, preparing to exert his powers charge his way across. Once he had enough room to get up to full speed, Zauber dashed off to where the bridge and the chasm below it waited. As he neared, several motes began flowing around his chest as he prepared his magic. He took his first step down the bridge and leaped, gaining as much distance as he could before he would have to touch down again. As with every other attempt before, the bridge began to dissolve as soon as he crossed its boundary, leaving him to be stranded above the chasm below.

This was not the first time Zauber had attempted to cross this path though, and with each attempt he was becoming more prepared. His motes flowed, linking between the edge of the pathways into an improvised bridge created from his shield walls. Zauber landed down and took off running for the exit as the same force that dissolved the bridge began eating into his shield walls. With every couple steps, Zauber had to replace the platforms beneath his feat, losing height as he did so.

Eventually the force overcame Zauber's output. His platforms dissolved faster than he could place them and he dropped down into the expanse below. Several minutes of free falling awaited him before he would seemingly touch down without the slightest hint of momentum and be left to travel through the same puzzles to the bridge again.

[Tsubasa & Wen Tien]

What was going on? A few minutes ago, Asoka had been looking around the "Court" as the Headmaster had called it and the now she was in an amusement park! The second she'd asked what she and Piper needed to do, the girl had run off to explore the area to discover what they needed to do. Asoka'd run after her and been confronted by someone she didn't know in a frilly dress. She'd started to turn around when the girl had said, "Stop."

Confused, Asoka had looked back only to see a katana in the girl's hand and had started to pull out Murasaki, but hadn't gotten that far when the girl had said, "Mirror, Kokoro."

Next she knew, she was in this amusement park that was running with nobody else in it. It had to be some kind of mind-based magic, but what and how could she get out?

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

"AHHHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Billy screamed, and screamed, and screamed some more. He babbled. He gibbered. He made strangled, highly emasculating noises. He sputtered and cried big, gooey fear tears. He did not wet himself, as he was an astral projection at the time, but he did make the effort.

It had been 10 minutes since Nix had placed the flame of Billy's life back in the coffin, and now he was reclined on it, watching. He turned to the big mouthed little monster sitting beside him. "He doesn't do this often, does he?"

Gob had to think for a moment, before concluding, "Billy....can be....strange."

They tuned back. His eyes had rolled up into the back of his head, and he was drooling while gargling out the longest wail ever. A wail that could wake the dead if Nix ever heard one. The boy seemed to have finally cottoned to the fact that he didn't have lungs right now and, as such, could go continuously.

Nix sighed. He had all the time in creation, and even he didn't have time for this. He pulled himself up, walked over to Billy a slapped him across the face. And again. And again. This went on for a while.

Billy, still wet around the eyes and rubbing his now red cheek, sniffed and said. "You didn't have to hold it so close, sir. That was just cruel of you." Even now the memory of it was burned (ha!) into his memory. An blue inferno, towering over him like some great burning tree.

"Just making sure you got the point, son." He said. "You honestly never wondered? You, who can run longer in a dead sprint than most you're age can go at a jog? You, who eat so much and yet never seem to put on weight? You, who only sleeps for 6 hours a night?

"I thought I was just an early riser..."

"Noooooooooo."

"How did this happen!? Don't tell me I'm some sort of chosen one or something!"

The old man laughed. "Actually, it's fairly common. You ever meet someone who seems to have more energy than they have any right having? The obsessive workaholic, the artist who doesn't sleep until he get's his piece just right, the writer who pens a whole book and doesn't even remember it because he was so buzzed writing it, or even just the person who never seems tired no matter how early or late you see them? We get a handful like them every generation, people with a excess of life. Most of them I've seen have had more than you." he gets a wistful little grin on his face. "I've seen them that shine like starts."

"But you," he continuous, all business again, "you're a necromancer. You, with your life so great the magic literally bubbles off of you, can rent it out."

Billy thought, for a long time. "But, I haven't been." he said. "I mean, I don't feel like I can. It's hard enough keeping one Guard upright."

Nix shoved his stick up between Billy's ribs. "Of course not. It's life. You can't get at it, not with how twisted up you are. Not with such a disconnect between your actions and ideals."

"What do you mean?" Billy said.

"Clarity. Clarity of purpose. Inner peace. Throwing out all of that mental baggage you have piled up, blocking your tubes." He went to his Coffin and slid it back onto his back, Gob now perched on the top like a gargoyle. "That's what we mostly have to do. You have to choose, one way or the other. You family, or your ideal. Come on boy," he said, starting back down the path. "I've got some people lined up to help you with that. They've been waiting a long time for a Bishop."

Billy faltered, then followed. There, in the fogging distance, he could barely make out a shape.

A great black house.

[Ericus Europaeus (Bug)]

CONTENTS DELETED

The author has deleted this message.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

As the big, wrought Iron gate opened, releasing a expertly tuned squeal, Billy thought of Mr. Nix's words. Actions? How had he been acting? This was what he was puzzling over, because he was sure of his ideal. It was the same as he had told Yamata what seemed like a eternity ago.

We need allies. Gross oversimplification though it was, it couldn't be called a total lie. But she could never have understood what he really meant by it. She didn't have the context.

For the first time since his arrival at the school, he thought, really thought, of his mother....

****
It was been a dark and storm night, and Billy Bishop (age 8) was alone and worried. Well, not really alone. Nanna, some long distant great^12 grandmother was bustling about the kitchen like a drone and more than a few of his honored ancestors stood silent vigil at the entrance to the penthouse suite the Bishops made their home.

It was livable, but not as lavish as you suspect a penthouse to be. Kitchen, sitting room, bathroom, and a pair of bedrooms. No elaborate expensive frivolities hung anywhere in the house. The furniture was comfortable, and reliable. The home was meticulously clean. Part of that was Nanna, but most of it was the result of one bishop being a neat person and the other not being present most of the time.

Billy sat on the couch, kicking his legs, twiddling his fingers, every once in a while glancing at the door, and giving off the sort of nervous energy common in those found in a hospital waiting room. He had heard that she was home, tonight. Usually it only took a hour for her to report in and then run straight home, where he would leap into her arms and everything wouldn't seem so sharp anymore. That was what he had thought would happen 4 hours ago.

Billy was trying not to think about that night 2 years ago, when it had taken this long. Mother had come back with these scars all over her face. Father-

Lightning crashed outside the window, illuminating the whole room for a moment and cutting off Billy from the thought. He looked back at the door and jumped, because there was a figure standing there, drenched hood pulled down low over their head. He hadn't even heard them come in. Billy shrieked and through himself over the arm of the couch, away from the dark figure and towards the dying fireplace.

Nanna was out of the kitchen in an instant, slamming though the door. A bleach white skeleton, a golden ribbon about is brow it's only garment. The ribbon fluttered as it flew through the room, clearing the distance from the kitchen door to the couch in half a second and leaping over it without a sound. In the moment it started to leap on the intruder, Billy popped up from his hiding spot ans tossed the red hot fireplace poker to her. She caught it with the grace of something held together not by clumsy muscles and meat but pure magic, mid leap. She brought it down where the figure had been a moment earlier, driving it down into the hardwood floor as the figure sidestepped. Underrated, the skeleton moved with the speed it's kind were feared for, switching the handle of the poker from one boney hand to the other and swinging it in a horizontal arc toward the intruder.

They jumped. For a moment, it looked a though the figure was standing on the poker itself before whipping out a right leg and kicking Nanna's head clear off. The intruder and the head landed touched down at the same time, on opposite ends of the room. The skeleton's body just stood there, like a toy waiting to be wound. Over by the potted sunflower by the window, Billy could see Nanna trying to draw herself across the floor on jaw strength alone. The figure strutted to the head and lifted it up off the floor, careful to keep it's fingers out of biting distance. They then strolled back over to the body, plopped it back on, and as the Skeleton started it's back-swing said in a sharp, clear voice, "Thank you, Nanna. That will be all."

The Skeleton stopped it's attack at once, and dropped the poker to the floor. It bowed it's head respectfully, a gesture that the figure repeated, and walked out of the room into the kitchen, the smell of roasting chicken wafting through the sitting room for a moment before the door swung shut.

The stranger, for she may well have been a stranger for how little she lived in this house, removed her heavy rain cloak and tossed it absentmindedly on the couch, paying no heed to the water now soaking what was technically her furniture. She was a young woman, not a day older than 25, who's long blond hair cured up desperately at it's tips. She was dressed in a practical leather jumpsuit which had been dyed a dark shard of blue. Her face was covered in scars, and a eye patch obscuring the epicenter of what must have been a horribly painful burn, but these only seemed to give her face a sort of roguish beauty. The kind you think of when you hear the words "Pirate Queen."

Elizibeth Bishop smiled a radiant smile as a small black and yellow blur crawled over the couch and launched itself at her like rhesus monkey. She caught the boy as he landed with practice grace, as if she had been greeted this way hundreds of times. She wrapped an arm around him and squeezed like her peace of mind depended on it. Billy did the same.

The sharp edges vanished from the world, and everything went soft.

[Tsubasa & Wen Tien]

Ok, so she'd started to look around and what had she found? A haunted house with a theme of Hayao Miyazaki's films, a merry-go-round with books instead of horses, a concert stage where there was an illusion playing "To Be Continued?" from Maondaijitachi, a Mickey Mouse themed rollercoaster, a D&D-themed Ferris Wheel, and a mirror house. Plus, the games that would normally be spread out throughout the park kept popping up randomly in front of her and they were everything from Mahjong mixed with baseball to chess mixed with basketball! Who in the world was in control of this magic!?! It made no sense whatsoever!

[Philote]

This maze had beaten him. Zauber had employed every trick his intellect could imagine and had strained his Core to the limits of his mana to no avail. He was drenched in sweat as he entered the chamber, a state his Correnian physiology should of made difficult to reach. Stumbling forward, he reached the boundary of the bridge again. The maze's exit taunted him from the other side of the gap. Zauber takes a step forward and tumbles helplessly into the chasm again as the bridge fades, not having the strength to pull off anything clever but not having the state of mind to stop pushing forward.

[Tsubasa & Wen Tien]

Alright, so she'd finally found what was most likely the exit from the world but in order to get out, she had to play first mahjong, then checkers, then chess. Playing was the easy part, the hard part was that you had to win five rounds of mahjong with only Rinshan Kaihou, another five wiith only Haitei Raoyue and the yet another five with one hand rubbing your stomach the whole time while taking only straights the whole time.

The chess games weren't much better as she had to win five games, the first one had to start with a pawn to either g4 or h3, the second had to start with a knight, the third had to start with a pawn to c3 or d4, and the fourth and fifth could start in any way.

For the checkers games, there were five and Asoka had to win each of them without losing even a single piece. Now how in the world was she going to beat all these games?

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

As Billy came back from throwing his mothers traveling cloak into the wash he couldn't help noticing something about the woman. It was something in the way she was pouring her drink. He started to speak-

"Billy," she said, plopping down on the couch and swirling some clear brownish liquid around in a glass. He shut his mouth. "Very good plan, with the poker. But I must fay I'm slightly disappointed. While I and Nanna are fighting, what should you have been doing."

"I should have gone out the window and shimmied down the storm drain." he replied, mouth on automatic. She did these little drills with him, and had been since he had been able to walk. Constant vigilance, that was what she preached. Preparedness. A calm, rational mind in desperate situations. She expected for her son to hide and sneak, and on desperate occasions launch sneak attacks at her, whenever she came home. Said it kept both of them on their toes. "But, mother, I need to ask y-"

"Didn't because it was raining, I expect." She continued.

"Yes, and I knew it was you besides. But I really have to know-"

"You assumed, angel. Assumptions make an ass out of-"

Where's your arm?"

Elizabeth, relaxing on the couch, stopped mid sip. Her eyes slid slowly to the stump where her forearm had once been. Brandy spilled on the floor and Elizabeth covered her mouth in shock. "Oh my... Pale lords, what has happened to me. Ah. ahhh. AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Billy hadn't realized he'd started screaming with her under another thundercrack silenced him. His mother kept going for a few more moments, then abruptly switched to a boisterous belly laugh.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHahahahahah. Hahah. I was just playing with you, darling." She giggled all the way to the dining room.

Billy burst in a few moments later, looking stricken. "That was horrible. That was just awful what you just did. I'm scared for life."

"Oh, come now Billy." She said, seating herself at the little table. "You looked so torn up about it.It's best to let those feelings out while you can, before they become unbearable." She leaned her head on her remaining hand, looking all the world like she didn't notice the others absence. "Doesn't it feel better, letting out all that nasty stress with a good scream?" She grinned at her son.

Billy had to admit, he did feel better. Like it was a more casually topic now that he had embarrassed himself. And if she was willing to joke about it, it couldn't be that bad. "How did it happen?" he asked, sitting opposite.

"I cut it off myself. Right now it's in Turring, strangling a man." She joked.

"That's a lie."

"Yes it is. But you'll sleep better at night not knowing what happened."

"Why do you have to go out there?"

She sighed, knowing that this was coming. She had given some variation on little speech every time she had come home since his father had died. "To inspire fear. To beget terror. To make the rest of this world think twice before it starts making plans regarding this city. That's why Grandfather sends me out there. It's what assassins are for."

[Celadon's Penultimate]

After having slept much longer than usual, Wulf woke from his bed all of a sudden, with a great start. A shout that may have been his own, the confused ruffling of covers, a loud thud as he hit the unrelenting floor chin-first, and his powers were at the ready, even from on the floor, under his covers.

"Wh-what? Who's there?" He shouted in a mix of fear and wrath, as he looked side to side from under the covers. Only when those covers fell from his face, did his powers turn off. There stood only his roommates, staring, aghast. Yet, Wulf couldn't muster up the strength to care. A new impetus had been laid on him since last meeting with his friends, and something in his heart told him that his preparedness was more urgent than could properly be put into words.

He looked to the adeptly-clueless Zap Storms with unbefitting condescension, "What time is it?"

Zap replied smugly, "You missed breakfast and lunch today. I doubt they'll have anything left for you before dinner."

Wulf's glance shot over to his clock. Indeed, it was nearly three in the afternoon. He cursed to himself. He was even worse off schedule than he'd thought. Now, no time could be spared for more than washing up, throwing on clothes and hurrying to make himself some toast and jam. His window wouldn't last forever.

"What in the name of Zeus' underpants are you up to, Wulfgang?" cried Nona-Nephele, watching Wulf hurry about his room from one task to the next, "You're acting like a madman! It's not like we even have classes to go to today! There's no need to get into a panic! At least, that's what the professors said, when we asked what was going on."

Wulf rushed on shirt and pants, picked up shoes, tidied covers, brushed past Zap and Nona-Nephele, returned from the kitchen with a broom, started furiously sweeping, "I don't care about stupid class work right now. And I'm not panicking, I'm rushing! But there's no time to explain much more than the basics. The storm...it waits for no man."

Zap's frowned, "And why should it wait for you? You took the good room, the day you got here. You should have a perfect view of the storm from here!"

Wulf scoffed, shaking his head. Casting his gaze from side to side, he finally realized that he was already holding his Electric Eel Belt, and so put it on. As he looped it through the last loop, Nona-Nephele gasped, and turned Wulf around to face her.

"Wait a second." she said, perhaps trying to sound stern, "You...you don't plan on just watching it, do you?"

A sigh, and Wulf shrugs Nona-Nephele's hands off of his shoulders, before bending down to put on his shoes.

"Nobody I know has ever made much of a difference by simply watching."