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Chapter Text

Stepping forth with determination, Sir Mathéo stared down his opponent with fury and force. The monster in front of him was formless and hiding in the shadows- how cowardly! Certainly it knew it stood no chance. Why else might it hide? Yet it was certain that the entrance to the tower was still covered.

“I demand you hand over what I have come for!” The hero held up his rapier. “Or taste the cut of my arm!” Whatever this beast was, the reality of facing death shook its foundation. Mathéo could feel it moving away from the entrance to the tower. “Very good, beast,” he said, renewed with vigor. “Live to fight another day.”

How pathetic.

The words rippled through the air, cutting Mathéo’s confidence like a hot blade through butter. Mathéo whirled around, trying to ascertain where the voice had come from. What trickery was this? Perhaps the beast had come back after all?

“W-Who’s there?” His quivering voice betrayed his uneasiness. No intimidation would hold now. “I’m a warrior for the king, foul presence! L-Leave and I’ll be willing to spare your life!”

How low have you fallen, Oz? You need this pitiful fantasy to feel fulfilled?

Dread settled on Mathéo’s skin like a blanket. This… this wasn’t right. This wasn’t… this wasn’t part of the dream. What the hell was going on?

“…Who are you?” Oz called. “Come out where I can see you.” He could feel his heart pounding in his chest so hard he thought it might burst through his ribcage. The voice… why couldn’t he hear it? The words appeared in his mind, but there was no noise. The only thing cutting through the silence were his pleas.

Fortunately not all of us have forgotten as easily as you. Have we?

A low rumble shook the ground beneath Oz’s feet. As if the Earth itself awakened with fury, pieces of the surface fell through into a void of nothing. Cratering out from a spot away from him, soon an enormous pit stood in the middle of Oz’s constructed world. It felt entirely violating. Who had this power to invade his mind and change his dream? And why bother? Nothing he created here was of any importance.

Despair took grip of Oz’s core. Even in his mind, he was unsafe from the cruelty of the world.

Stepping forth, Oz looked down into the pit. “Darkness” did not begin to describe it. It was as if all the light in the world had been absorbed, swallowed into a trap devoid of all things good. Only malice emanated from it.

Until, that is, nine lights appeared in the center. Like stars on a night sky, they stood alone against a wall of shadows. Oz began trembling violently as the lights centered on him and almost seemed to grin. Deep in him, he felt the urge to run, but his feet had become one with the Earth, sinking into the rapidly collapsing ground.

“No,” he whispered. Ice coated his words as even he tasted their hollowness. “No. You’re gone. I made sure of it!” He tried to shout the last sentence, but dread filled his throat as he threatened to be sick. It came out as a weak whimper, betraying his helplessness. This abomination was supposed to be out of his life, yet here it was, staring him straight in the face, drinking in all the negative emotions coursing through him.

Naïve idiot. You knew it would be back. How could it not?

What? What was it talking about? “What?! Tell me! How do I stop it?!” Oz’s desperation and confusion elicited a chuckle.

I love watching you pathetic things wriggle around when you lack control. So desperate for any leverage over your existence that you’ll lose composure at the slightest chance for more.

The darkness was swallowing everything. Dead grass now covered the ground, the tower crumbling to just stones. His world- ruined. Why? Why could he not be safe even here?!

Yes, feel the fear. Let it consume you, unravel your very being. How ironic, to be destroyed by that which you are.

Around him, nine lights appeared and encircled him, endlessly torturing him with their stare. Oz clutched his head and fell to his knees, instantly enwrapped by tendrils of nightmares. His head pounded hard; would it split open? Would this thing grow through him like a tree?

Go on! Feel it. Let it fester, let it grow. Feel it! Feel the FEAR!

“HELP ME!”

***

Vicky was cooking pancakes as she heard a thump, “SHIT!” and a louder crashing sound as Oz fell out of his bed. Depositing the flapjacks, she looked towards the stairs in concern.

“Amira, can you go check on Oz? Sounded like he fell out of bed.” Amira, sitting at the table already on her second pancake, waved her hand. “He’s fine, he’s made of… uh… shadows, I think? How hurt could he be?”

Glaring at her unconcerned friend, Vicky felt a sting of annoyance. “You know,” she said, “he’s still your friend. Can you please just go make sure he’s okay?” Looking up from her phone, Amira rolled her eyes but got up. “Okay, mom. I’ll go make sure he’s fine.”

Skipping a step at a time, she came to the end of the hallway and knocked on the door. “Yo, Oz,” she called, “I’m coming in, so, uh, don’t be doing nothing nasty.” She pulled it open and spotted him sitting on the floor, rubbing his head.

“You good?” She made a mock concerned face. “Or do I need to go get you a band-aid?” He sighed. “Yeah, I’m… I’m fine.” His face betrayed his lie. Sweat covered his brow and his chest heaved with air as he breathed.

Guilt and concern- real concern- sparked in Amira. She’d been kidding before, but now she felt awful about waving off her friend. “Hey, man, you good?” She held out a hand and helped him off the floor. “I can tell you’re lying to me, what’s up?”

He shook his head. “Nothing, just… just drop it.” She cocked her head but said nothing more. What couldn’t he trust her with? As far as she knew, the four told each other pretty much everything. What could he want to hide from her?

But she bit her tongue and kept her concerns private. Trying to pry it out of him would only make him batten down further. Pretending to shrug it off as nothing, she followed him out the room.

In the room across from Oz, Brian emerged, looking half-dead, both literally and figuratively. “You guys want to quiet down? Some of us are still trying to sleep.” Amira rolled her eyes. “Well, wake up, asshole, we’re not waiting for you if you ain’t up when we’re leaving.” Flipping her off, he walked to the bathroom.

As Oz came down and into the kitchen, Amira retaking her seat at the table, Vicky tossed a glass to him. “You good? Heard you fall out of bed.” He nodded. “Fine. Just… nightmares.” Her inner voice immediately could tell he was hiding something. He wouldn’t look her in the eye, opening the fridge as he talked, and he shuffled his front away from her, so he wasn’t facing her. Everything in her head wanted to pester him until he broke and told her what was wrong… but she knew her friend. She knew that if she did that, she’d only make him clam up even more.

“…Okay. Well, at least it’s over. Now eat up! We got to leave soon.” Like a light switch, Vicky changed from concerned and fussing to optimistic and energetic. The mood in the room around her changed as she did, like a gift- Oz found himself smiling as she began whistling a happy tune before pouring more batter into a pan. Sunlight seemed brighter as it streamed into the room. This would be a good day.

“Food?” Brian walked in, his hair matted down from the shower water. “Food. That’s right, I like that stuff.” He reached for a pancake, only to be met with a slap to his hand. “Hey, get your own!” Oz brought his arm around his plate.

“Sorry, didn’t realize it was yours!” “Dude, I’m literally taking pieces from it!” Brian raised his hands. “Oh, sorry, didn’t realize that automatically made something yours! And here I thought we shared in this little abode!” Oz rolled his eyes but chuckled all the same. Between Vicky’s optimism and Brian’s mellowness, his shoulders relaxed a bit and he started feeling normal.

Pointing her spatula at the last pancake, she said, “Grab it and eat on the way, Brian, we got to leave for school.” Brian groaned as the exhausting prospect of school suddenly appeared before him. He forgot that bullshit was today. “Ugh, fuck me, getting a second lease on life is not what they promised. I’d almost rather have just stayed dead if I’d known I had to go back to school.”

***

Spooky High towered over the town from the top of a hill, like a bird of prey perched above a kingdom of small animals. Its front entrance almost seemed to dare the daily parade of violence and hedonism that defined its very existence. Even now, when everyone was still rubbing sleep out of their eyes and swallowing down their morning existential dread, a small-sized bonfire had been started on the lawn.

As Vicky drove up the hill, she looked out the window with a wide smile and shining eyes. “What are you so happy about?” Brian spoke out the tear in his cheek, since he was half-asleep and didn’t feel like exerting energy to open his mouth to talk.

“My sign! I made a sign a few weeks ago as a favor to the school to welcome back students, it should be up!” Amira looked out her own window. “…Vick.”

“Yeah?” “There’s a fire.”

Vicky raised an eyebrow. “What? I don’t get what you-“ “Vick. What did they use to start the fire?” Silence overtook the car before Vicky huffed, annoyed.

“Goddammit, Damien.”

After parking and entering the school, the four were greeted with the usual scene. Students walking, talking, dodging weapons and just enjoying these precious moments before classes began. “Feels good to be back,” Vicky put her hands on her hips, posing like a superhero. And hey, maybe she could be somebody’s hero today. The day was always better with kind words from a kind soul.

“Speak for yourself,” Amira rolled her eyes. “All this means for me is when I get home at 3 AM I can get grilled by you before I get to go to bed.” Her posture communicated annoyance, and a passing lizard man sped up passing her. After all, who wanted to be here? Nothing happened in this place.

Sighing, Vicky grabbed and held her friend’s hand. She gave her the most pleading eyes she could muster from her soul and said, complete with the quivering lip, “Amira, I know you don’t like school, but maybe please try to give it a chance? This could really be your year.”

Amira rolled her eyes. “Okay, Vick, I’ll try. But I don’t know, I don’t see this year being any different.”

***

“Goddammit, Damien, it’s my seat!” Vera glared at Damien LaVey in Mrs. The Loch Ness Monster’s classroom. She had her hands on the back of the chair and the front of the desk. Damien had his hands in the exact same spot, trying to wrench it out of her hands.

“Well, too bad, bitch-face, I got here first!” Fire flared in his eyes- literally- as Vera’s snakes all reared back and hissed. One shot forward and bit him right above the eye, but he merely laughed. “Ha! Joke’s on you! I can’t feel anything there after I caused damage to the nerves testing if my face was immune to pavement!”

Vera drew a quick breath. “Listen, LaVey, why don’t you just go take one of those other empty seats for fellow losers? Because trust me, your social credit is dropping fast.” Damien rolled his eyes. “Oh, good one, Vera, putting down my popularity. Absolutely nobody saw that coming. Maybe next you’ll call me poor and unimportant, too? Really stepping up the creativity.”

“Hey, guys, I’m technically still sitting here, maybe you can both find different seats?” A shrinking Oz raised his hand and meekly suggested-

“SHUT UP!” Two simultaneous yells made him fall out of the chair and quickly crawl to an empty one next to it. Vera got in Damien’s face and started hissing again, while Damien began reaching for the knife clipped to his belt.

Groaning in annoyance, Valerie got up from a desk a few paces away. “Oh my God, will you two stop if I solve this?” They looked to each other suspiciously, but before they could answer, Valerie had pulled a machete out and chopped the desk in half vertically.

“Hey-!” Damien started to speak, but Valerie bisected the chair before he could finish. “What are you doing?!” Vera exclaimed. Valerie motioned to the desk. “There. Now there’s two of them. See? Two desks, two chairs.”

They looked at the remains of their desired seat in silence, then to each other, and seemed to gain a moment of lucidity that it was their own actions that had caused this. Sighing, Vera sat down in one half of the desk, uncomfortably shifting to try and fit her entire body in the half-seat.

Damien, grumbling, did the same, taking his knife and carving into it. As this was resolved, the door opened and Mrs. The Loch Ness Monster entered, looking as prim and proper as ever.

“Alright, class,” she said, “first thing’s first. I’m pleased to announce we have a new student entering our class today.” In front of him in his new seat, Oz saw Vicky’s shoulders tense.

“They’re a transfer from Rival High, so please say hello to Batniss.” A diminutive bat creature flew through the door and around the room, doing several backflips and twirls in the air before landing on the desk. The mug of black coffee on the desk spilled onto the floor. “Goddammit.” Mrs. TLNM said in a deadpan voice.

“Hello!” Batniss said, entirely ignoring her teacher’s soul-dead remark. “My name is Batniss, and I transferred here from Rival High because, well, not only does my boyfriend go here, but I found out my entire life was a lie and decided I needed new direction.” She shot venomous glares at Polly and Scott, sitting near the front, who giggled before high-fiving.

“Anyway! I’m trying to take a more positive approach to things as I look for a new purpose! Any questions?” Liam slowly raised his hand. “Yes?”

“…Is your school honestly called Rival High?” Batniss clasped her hands together. “Unfortunately, yes. The guy who runs that place has got a… complex. He views this place as the school’s ultimate rivals and thinks that everything that they do is an epic match between the two to be the pearl of the district.”

Liam blinked. “I’ve literally never heard of this place before today.” Batniss shrugged. “Well, they’ve heard of you. The headmaster, Principal Giant Scorpion, considers the school to be Spooky High’s ‘evil twin.’ He even tries emulating the students you have. For instance, me? I was supposed to be the ‘anti-Noodles.’”

“…Does anyone else there participate in this charade?” Liam’s voice spoke to the incredulousness felt by the entire class.

Batniss rolled her eyes. “Of course not, what do you think? That guy is so obsessed that even though he’s a manticore, he renamed himself ‘Principal Giant Scorpion’ just so he could claim to be the ‘antithesis’ to PGS. Nobody else gives two shits what you do here.”

Batniss leapt off the desk and did two somersaults before landing in an empty desk. Mrs. TLNM blinked slightly to register she was gone before speaking again. “Okay. So that’s done with. Turn to page 5 of your textbooks.” Vicky cautiously raised her hand. “…Shouldn’t we turn to page 1?”

“Who’s the fucking teacher?”

***

Oz picked at his food on his tray. His mind was still on the night before- that thing in his dreams. It’d stuck with him all day, his mind clouded with anxiety and worry. Was it just a dream? No, it’d felt more than that. Then what was it? What was that voice? What did any of this mean?

Vicky was staring at a textbook in front of her, so intense that the book looked liable to catch on fire. Finally, she huffed and slammed the covers shut. “I give up,” she said. “I don’t understand any of this. I’m good with numbers, science, stuff like that. But this goes totally over my head.”

Amira shrugged. “Eh, I don’t really care about… any of it? Yeah, that seems right. Except gym. Gym’s fun.” She opened her palm to reveal a crimson flame. “So happy they removed the rule against flaming dodgeballs.”

Rolling his eyes, Brian munched his sandwich. “I imagine so. They took you out of gym class just for-“

“BOO!” A loud slam as a hand struck the table space next to him made Oz jump out of his inky black skin. Instinctually, he reached up and covered his face with his hands, curling into a ball in his own seat and trying to shield himself from the threat. Almost immediately, he felt hot shame rush to his face and his cheeks go crimson red as the Wolfpack’s laughter bellowed in the cafeteria. Why, oh why, did he always fall for that…? At this point, mere repetition should’ve lead to some resistance!

The leader of the Wolfpack’s boisterous laughs, shadowed like echoes by those of his lackeys, rang out around the table. “HAHAHAHA! Holy shit, how does that always work?!” As the four howled in laughter, Amira glared at them, her fire-hair practically frothing with energy. “Why don’t you four dickholes get lost? I heard the dogcatcher was looking for strays here the other day.”

Simply sneering, the four wandered off to harass some other poor monster. Oz sighed and put his hand over his face, trying to hide the embarrassment. He was such an idiot… “I don’t know why I can’t just… not react. It’s like I can’t help it!”

Brian gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. “Hey, man, it’s all good. Some of us are just a little… jumpier than others. There’s nothing wrong with that.” “Yeah, but-“ Oz suddenly stopped short and his mouth shut like a trap. ‘Shit, I almost said something…’

This didn’t go unnoticed. “What?” Vicky pressed as she leaned forward, concern in her eyes. “Oz, you’ve been weird all morning. What aren’t you telling us?”

He shook his head. “Nothing, I’m not hiding-“ Amira held up her hand. “Okay, dude, seriously? We’ve been friends for years now. We can tell when your bullshitting us. If it’s too personal… we get it. But you have to tell us that. Insisting that nothing’s wrong, that everything’s as it always is… not buying it, man.” Amira’s eyes were full of concern, her face drawn in an uncharacteristic frown. “You don’t have to tell us everything. But we want to help if we can.”

Oz looked over his friends. They were right- hiding that something was wrong wouldn’t help with anything. He couldn’t tell them details, obviously- they’d hate him, or worse…

But if he could confess that he was struggling… well, what harm could that do?

“…Okay. You’re right- you guys deserve the truth.” He brought them in closer for a huddle. Speaking in a hushed whisper, he said, “Look, I can’t tell you everything. But last night I had a dream- I have a serious problem, and the more my anxiety gets out of hand, the worse it’ll get. So I can’t have the Wolfpack scaring me like that and getting me more… worked up.”

Amira nodded. “Okay. Makes sense. So what can you do?” Oz sighed in resignation. “Right now? Nothing, really. The worse my anxiety gets…”

Vicky raised her hand. “May I make a suggestion?” Brian rolled his eyes again. “Vicks, we’re not in class, you don’t have to raise your hand.”

Sticking her tongue out at him, she turned to Oz with a smile. “I have an idea. If you really need help keeping your anxiety under control… why don’t you get help?” Oz raised an eyebrow.

“What do you mean by ‘help?’ Like therapy?” Vicky shrugged her shoulders. “I mean, maybe? But I kind of meant more like… a confidence-trainer? Someone to help you deal with this and keep it under control. Manage it better.”

Oz stroked his chin as he thought it over. “Hmmm… you know what? That’s not a bad idea. I’d never really thought of that before because before it was just… how I am. But now that the stakes are raised…” His face broke out in a featureless smile and his eyes began shining like an anime protagonist. “Okay! That’s what I’ll do!”

Amira pumped her fist in the air. “Yeah, that’s what we’re talking about, buddy! When do we start?” Oz’s mini-celebration died at that moment. “Oh… well, uh… I wasn’t… exactly… thinking… you guys…”

The look of jubilation on Amira’s face was replaced with one of utter indignation. She shot up out of her chair and her hair launched a fireball towards the ceiling. “WHAT?! Hey, listen you little shithead, nobody can support you more positively than we can!”

Oz, chuckling slightly, pointed a finger gun at her and stated plainly, “And that right there is why I was not thinking you, Amira- you’re one of my best friends, and I love you, but you can be a bit… intense for me. I’m imagining you trying to help me lower my stress… and I’m getting more stressed out imagining it.”

Although she’d already opened her mouth for an argument, she began to think about his words and slowly came to the realization he was right. Sinking back down, she crossed her arms and shamefully looked away. “Oz… I…”

She felt a hand rest on her shoulder. Looking up, Oz looked at her with sympathy and understanding. “Amira, listen- I’m not saying you don’t care and that you don’t want to help me. I’m not even saying you can’t. You’re energetic, you’re passionate, you’re literally fire- and that’s one of the things that makes you badass! It just… isn’t right for this. That’s all I’m saying, I promise.” Her eyes darted back and forth warily between his face and his hand… but she smiled and nodded, her mind soothed from the reassurance.

“Okay, but why not me?” Vicky raised her hand again. “I’m patient, I’m helpful, I’m positive, and I’m-“ “Already preoccupied with about a hundred other things,” Oz finished. “You’ve got two more classes than the rest of us, all of them are honors classes, you almost always run for some position on the student council, you help out everyone who asks- Vick, I can’t ask you to donate your time for me. It… wouldn’t be right.”

Vicky bit her lip regretfully. “But… Oz… I want to help you.” Her words were filled with emotion, and Oz could see that her need to help was clutching onto this. Her hands clenched together as though they were grasping an invisible foe, or praying to some unseen god. Oz sighed and smiled.

“I know you do, Vick, but you also have your own life to live. I want you to focus on that and give it priority. You always help me out- this road I got to travel with someone else.” Vicky nodded, but the look of neediness didn’t fully leave her eyes. It was almost… unsettling. Her pupils had been wide with concern and genuine kindness, but also… something else, like a sort of craving. Oz brushed it off as he turned to Brian.

“And Brian… well… how do I put this nicely…” Brian raised a hand. “Hey, man, I get it- I’m lazy as fuck and practically a narcoleptic. And as much as I’d love to help you… admittedly, I would have no idea how to start. I’m not exactly confident myself, I just don’t care enough to get concerned about stuff.”

“So… with all of us out…” Amira crossed her arms, this time in curiosity. “Who exactly were you thinking?”

Oz held up a hand and counted off on his fingers. “Well, it’d have to be someone who doesn’t have a lot of commitments… someone who isn’t too vicious or headstrong… and somebody who’s cool, confident, and doesn’t give two shits what anyone thinks of them…”

***

“What do you mean you’re not here to buy something?”

Valerie, the shopkeeper, had her combat boots up on her table as Oz stood in front of her store. She wasn’t entirely sure what this dweeb wanted, but as she texted her sister, she felt herself getting annoyed when she realized he didn’t want to give money to her “Help-Val-Get-Rich” fund.

“Look, Val, I need your help.” The cat-girl rolled her eyes. “Whoever you got your information from scammed you hard, Oz, I’m not into charity.”

Oz sighed exasperatedly. “And I’m not asking for charity, I’m asking you to just hear me out!” Valerie looked at him over her phone. He was standing there, very pathetic-like, rubbing his arm and slightly hunched over like the air was somehow going to trip him up. Scoffing, she set her phone on the table and pointed at him. “Sixty seconds, go.”

His eyes went wide. “I- dah, what? Sixty seconds? Don’t I-“

“Fifty left. Go.”

“Okay,” he launched into a tirade like a demon on coke, “look, I won’t get into too many details, cause it’s personal and deep, but I need you to help train me how to be more confident because I have really bad anxiety and it’s normally not a concern but now it is and me getting harassed will only make things worse and I figured you’d be the best one to teach me with a low likelihood of killing me because Vera’s scary, Damien’s more likely to beat me up, and-“

“Okay!” Valerie clamped her hands over her ears, squeezing her eyes shut. “I changed my mind! Just- give me the short version, Christ almighty…”

Her outburst flustered Oz, who jumped back slightly. Trying to slow down, he sputtered, “Okay, I- I just- I mean- I- I want- shit!” Oz cursed in frustration as his words got lost from his head to his mouth. He tried in vain to spit them out, but his body rebelled against him, locking down any attempt at speaking coherently.

Looking at him desperately try to form a sentence… Val felt a small twinge of sympathy. Very small, miniscule even. But he clearly had something to say… she sighed and blew a tuft of hair out of her eye. Might as well hear him out, right?

She stood up and grabbed his hands. “Dude. Chill. Okay? Just take a deep breath… think about what you want to say… and say it.” She sat back down and waited for him to compose himself.

Breathing in deeply, Oz exhaled and he let out a serene sigh. “Okay… okay. I need help with that. The stuttering, getting flustered, constant stress- I need someone to teach me how to not let that stuff bother me.”

Val raised an eyebrow. “And you came to me?”

Oz nodded. “Yep. You’re cool, you’re calm, collected- you never let stuff get to you. I figured you’d be the perfect teacher.” Val crossed her arms and replied, “And you thought- what? That I’d want to help? That I’d be happy to simply donate my time?”

She was surprised to see Oz shake his head. “Nope. Everyone knows you, Val- you like to make money. So…” He pulled out his wallet and the tops of some bills ever so temptingly stuck out. “I thought I’d add a little… monetary incentive.”

Leaning back, she narrowed her eyes as she considered the offer. On the one hand, she was kind of busy with the store… but on the other…

“What were you thinking?” She asked. “As far as wage goes.”

“$50 a lesson.”

“$75.”

“$60.”

“$100.”

“I- that’s more!”

“I like money and I’m a shit negotiator. $120.”

Oz sighed and rubbed his temples with a single hand. “Okay, we’ll compromise- $80 a lesson. And if you need help with anything in the meantime, I’ll lend a hand, free of charge. Deal?” He stuck out his hand.

Valerie looked down at his hand and smiled widely, her eyes already gleaming with greed. “Daily wages and free labor? You got a deal!” She smacked a hand into his and shook it heartily. The contract was set.

“…You realize today counts as one of the lessons, right? $80, please.”

***

That night, as Oz settled into bed, he smiled to himself. This morning, he’d woken up thinking the world was going to end. But now… now he had a plan in place. Somebody to teach him how to handle the problems that’d plagued him his whole life. With any luck, he’d catch on quick and that… thing… would be gone from his life. This time… forever.

As his body drifted into slumber, and his mind once again constructed a land for Mathéo to rescue damsels and slay animals of ferocity… he didn’t notice the presence of another. Not in his room… but in his head.

Some entity, not physical. Not even really present. It left no physical trace of its presence, no form that could be seen. It wasn’t even really a ghost, more like… a projection. An echo, of some distant mind, peering into the thoughts of others and leaving its own impressions in the recesses of their subconscious.

A persistent, malevolent echo.

The fool has found someone to teach him to manage his anxiety? It disgustedly sorted through his memories of the day. This… is disastrous. If he doesn’t succumb to the fear… then my plans are ruinous. All my preparation… wasted!

I must unleash that within him… that monster must be loosed… but how…?

Ruminating on these developments, the entity thought back… back to his three friends. They’d helped him… comforted him. The anxiety had been… soothed. If something were to provoke his fears…

Yes… a solution, at last. I will stalk his mind and bring out his fears, one way or another. And perhaps, if I do the same with these three ‘friends’ of his… if I stoke their own insecurities and weaknesses… their influence will suggest him to do the same. He will lose control… my prize will breach the surface.

Satisfaction coursed through its non-corporeal existence. This solution would most likely bring about favorable results. And it would do him no small joy to see these flesh-bags humbled.

Arrogant usurpers.

I will see them broken!

Chapter Text

Vicky sat at her desk, hands clasped together and looking prim and proper, even as the rest of the class created mayhem and violence in the minute before class started.

She was rather excited- Creative Writing would be a new avenue for her to explore. She was so used to the core classes, like math and science, that she was excited to try something new. Her bolts sparked electricity as she already anticipated being the class prodigy. Maybe she would even usher in a new wave of literary genius! No doubt her teacher would be moved to tears with her first assignment!

As she was eagerly imagining an award-winning paper, the door swung open dramatically. Almost instantaneously, the rest of the class returned to their seats and any chaos subsided.

Striding in- literally, since he was on a horse- the teacher, the Headless Horseman, rode in.

His stallion was inky black with pale white eyes that looked like they would illuminate the darkest spaces. The Horseman himself was dressed in a grey suit that was extremely over-dressed for the classroom, and his pumpkin head rested in the neck of the suit. The pumpkin possessed veins of green.

“Alright, class,” he drawled, “I’m sure you all know who I am, and I’ll be honest, I don’t care who you are. I’ll learn it from your papers, or whatever. Let’s just go over real quick what I expect from you.”

He turned to the whiteboard and raised a finger. As he traced words over the whiteboard, a small purple light traced words on the board with it. “This term we’ll have numerous assignments and at least two term papers. Don’t bitch or I’ll make it three. We’ll read a few pages out of the book every day and then you’ll shut up and work for the rest of the period without talking.”

Vicky raised her hand. “Uh, sir?”

He turned to her- and his head came off his body. Large, thick pumpkin vines, like hands, stretching into the inside of his body held the head and lifted it into the air, moving slowly towards her. It stared down, constrained fury visible in the blue fire shooting out of the eyeholes. “What. Is. It?”

Her confidence shrank immensely, but already having drawn attention unto herself, she kept to her path. “Um… why are you on a horse?”

Scoffing, the vines pulled the head back onto the neck and held it in place. “Well, I’m the Headless Horseman, am I not? It’d be damn odd if I didn’t have it with me. Fought tooth and nail to get permission to have him in here- and when I didn’t get it, I just told them I do what I want.”

He turned back to the whiteboard. “Anyway, if there are no more interruptions, turn to page five and we’ll begin.”

Despite her embarrassing rebuttal, Vicky energetically opened her book and her eyes sparkled with stars. Time to conquer this class!

***

“But what do you mean you’re quitting football, bro?!”

Brian and Scott were standing on the football field, a few hours after school, as the rest of the team talked and joked before practice.

The zombie blinked. “I… I’m quitting football, Scott. Could… could that have been misunderstood for anything else?”

Scott whined loudly. “But bro, we always play football! Why would you want to quit?”

Brian gave a half-bored look of discontentment. “Football was fun, Scott, but… it just… got… old. It’s not something I’m… passionate about, like you are. So I told Coach I didn’t want to play this year.”

Sitting down in the grass, Scott seemed inconsolable. His tail had dropped considerably, and his eyes were threatening to spill over with tears. “But… but who will practice passes with me? Who will slap me on the back when I score a touchdown? WHO’S GONNA CALL ME A GOOD BOY WHEN I DON’T ACCIDENTALLY MAIM THE OTHER TEAM, BRIAN?!”

Brian put up his hands. “Relax, Scott, it’s okay. The other guys will do all that for you, okay? Nobody’s going to leave you alone.” He patted Scott on the shoulder. “Football’s your thing, man. It’s just… not mine.”

Scott refused to look him in the eyes. “But… will we still be friends, bro?” Brian removed his hand from Scott’s shoulder. He was taken aback. “What?”

“Will we still be friends?” Scott looked at Brian, his lip trembling. “We became friends through football. What if we stop being friends now that you don’t play anymore? What if we don’t even see each other anymore? What if-”

Brian grabbed Scott by the shoulders gently. “Whoa, whoa, man, slow down. It’s okay, it’s okay, don’t worry. We’re not going to stop being friends!”

Pulling him to his feet, Brian grabbed his hand and slapped it into an arm wrestling pose. “Scott, listen to me buddy- we’re friends, and that’s a permanent gig. Just because I don’t play football anymore doesn’t mean we can’t still hang out! We can still go get pizza, go out to the bars, there’s lots of stuff we can still do! And we’ll still see each other in school, okay? So pick yourself up a bit- it’ll be okay.”

Scott nodded… but he didn’t look terribly reassured. His eyes were still misty and his tail dragged along as he walked back to the team, sitting on the benches with a depressed posture. Brian sighed- he knew Scott would take it hard, he just… wasn’t sure how to break the news in a better way.

As he was walking away from the field, he heard a voice call, “Hey, corpse.”

Vera was leaning against the supply shed, a look of irritation on her face. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

Brian side-eyed her defensively. “Uh… walking?”

She scoffed in annoyance. “No, idiot, I mean about quitting the football team. What gives? Aside from Scott, you’re the best player. Why would you suddenly want to quit?”

Brian glared at her. “Well, first of all, I’m not sure why you of all people care, but the answer is because I feel like it. I don’t have to justify myself to you or anyone else.” He turned to leave, but was stopped when he felt a hand land on his shoulder and slam him against the side of the shed.

“Listen, dickbrain! I don’t give a shit if you play football or not… but Scott did. And damn it, Scott is one of the few people in this school I actually give a shit about. So if you don’t have a good reason for making him feel like that…” She pointed to Scott, who was dejectedly pummeling his way to the end goal. His face drooped as he flipped another player over his back effortlessly.

“…Then you’d better come up with one, fast.”

Her snakes reared up and hissed, venom dripping from their fangs.

Brian was silent for a moment, looking back and forth from Vera’s angry expression to her snakes. He looked down and muttered, “I just… didn’t feel like it anymore.”

She gave him a look of disgust, and was preparing to inject him with three vipers’ worth of venom when-

“VERA!” She turned to see Coach standing a few feet away. His face was painted with an uncharacteristic frown of disapproval. “Vera, please tell me you weren’t about to kill Brian.”

Vera looked back and forth between Brian and Coach, her face a visible mask of shock and fear. For the first time… she’d been caught. “…Shit.”

Brian, for his part, looked equal-parts miserable, if only because he knew this meant he’d be dragged in for a lecture.

***

In the library, Vicky was lightly banging her head against the desk she sat at.

Her first assignment, due in two days, and after two hours of working at it, she had nothing to show for it.

What was the problem? Was the environment just not conducive to success? Were the people around her being too distracting? Maybe the mood just wasn’t right?

One look around her, though, revealed the truth. No, she couldn’t blame any of that. The library was perhaps the least chaotic place in the school, and she’d never had any problem doing work here before; the other occupants were doing what they normally did, which was conduct illegal business and hack into the Dark Web on the library computers; and while the mood could be a bit more relaxed, it’s not like she had to be wined and dined before to be able to do schoolwork.

No… the problem was her… but why?

As she pondered her issue, she felt a shadow cast over her. Looking up, she saw two eternal voids and a third, green eye staring down at her from the top of a bookshelf.

“Ahhh!” Vicky nearly fell out of her chair as the figure didn’t react at all. “Jesus- Zoe! You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

Zoe crawled down from the top of the bookshelf and grinned. “Sorry, Vicky. Didn’t mean to scare you. I was just trying to spy on the Coven and find out what magic books they’re trying to check out.”

Vicky squinted. “Do I want to ask why?”

“Probably not.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” She sighed and rubbed her temples as she decided to get a fresh start.

“What’s up?” Zoe walked up and took a look over her paper. “Hmmm… Oh! I see the problem! You need to write on it with the pencil.”

This elicited a chuckle out of Vicky. “Thanks, Zoe, I didn’t realize.”

Zoe giggled. Her lust for life was infectious- it could spread across the air and cheer up even the gloomiest of monsters. Even Vicky, for all her frustration, felt the room brighten and her mood pick up as the eldritch cutie gave her a wide grin.

She grabbed a chair and pulled it up. “So! What are you working on?”

Vicky sighed. “An assignment for creative writing. I’m having some trouble and I’m not sure why.” She growled at the paper. “It’s weird… I’m normally an ace at classes, but the whole time the teacher was speaking, it just… wasn’t making sense. Like I could see and understand the words, but then when I tried to think about it, it just… seemed like a different language.”

Zoe tapped her chin. “Well, have you taken a class like this before?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, like a class that’s more subjective,” Zoe shrugged her shoulders. “If you’re used to taking science and math classes and stuff that’s more ‘objective,’ it’d make sense that you’re having issues with a class that’s more open-ended.”

Troubled, Vicky turned from her friend back to her paper. Could that be the issue? It seemed odd- Vicky was plenty creative. Her nude stele of Scott for art class the year before won plenty of awards once she settled those issues with the police.

But… well, she’d never had a creative writing class before…

She sighed and rested her face in her hands. “I just don’t know what to do. This first assignment’s due in two days and I’m already behind schedule! I’m Vicky Schmidt. I have the assignment done by the end of the day!”

Zoe put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, Vick, we all have trouble with classes. Maybe you just need a tutor…” All her eyes lit with light as she spoke.

Vicky held her head with indignation. “A tutor? But… I’m Vicky! I don’t need a tutor, I am the tutor! I help other people with class, I’ve never…”

“Okay, okay, let’s not call it a tutor. Maybe you just need… help, is all. Someone to bounce words and ideas off of. In fact… could I do it?!” Zoe instantly filled with energy, practically brimming with excitement and anticipation.

One of Vicky’s eyebrows went up. “Really? Why do you want to help me?”

Zoe rolled her green eye. “Are you kidding? Art and writing are like two of my favorite things on Earth! And there’s no one else here who digs them as much as me! Getting a writing buddy is like one of my dreams come true! So please? Please can I help you? Pleaaaaaase?”

Some part of Vicky wanted to be insulted. Vicky Schmidt, the class valedictorian for three years straight, needing a tutor? The idea seemed ridiculous. Try as she might, though, she couldn’t get mad at Zoe. After all, she was trying to help, and seemed rather excited to do so.

Vicky wanted to say no. She wanted to prove she didn’t need help, that she could do this on her own. Her will was a will of iron; she needed no one!

But then she looked at the excited girl, bouncing up and down in her seat, energy practically sparking off her body. Her expression was one of pure joy, at finally having found an opportunity to share her craft with somebody.

And it was in that moment Vicky realized her will was of cotton.

“Okay,” she smiled weakly. “You can… help me with my writing.”

“YAAAAAAAAAAAAASSS!” Zoe wrapped her arms around Vicky and squeezed tighter than an anaconda. Vicky winced as she heard a pop in her ribcage.

Okay, well, I’ll have to fix that later, she thought as she tried to concentrate on not passing out.

Zoe set her down and pulled out a notebook from her back pocket, scribbling furiously in it. “Okay! Meet me at my house after school tomorrow!”

“Yeah, that’ll work fine. But I’m only doing this to prove I don’t actually need a tutor!” Vicky insisted sternly. “I just… need a spring, that’s all. A jumping point, if you will.”

Rolling all her eyes, Zoe smiled nonetheless. “Yes, Vick, I get it, you’re so great at school. Just don’t be late!” She walked away, a bit of a spring in her step.

Sighing, Vicky looked back to her blank page. She still didn’t know what to write.

***

In Coach’s office, he sat at his desk, overlooking Brian and Vera.

His office was decorated with memorabilia- pictures from past tournaments, signed autographs of students who’d gone on to careers in sports, and even a few who hadn’t. There was a small trophy case on the side of the room, filled with trophies of various awards.

It was quite cluttered- there was sports equipment taking up most of the sides of the room and his desk was a clusterfuck of papers, whistles, bobbleheads, and more. Coach merely sat there, his gaze shifting between Brian and Vera with disappointment.

Finally, he exhaled a deep breath and stood up. “So,” he said, his voice oddly solemn, “I brought you here because I caught you two in an altercation and I feel we have some things to address.”

Brian was unnerved by how well-spoken and composed Coach suddenly was. It was… not usual for him. He was used to the happy-go-lucky, infinitely-optimistic Coach that was always yelling about balls.

This Coach looked… older. Weariness shone through his eyes as wrinkles seemed to drag his skin down to Earth. He was slightly slumped back as though he was weighed down, and his hands were folded on his chest in a somewhat-unimpressed manner.

“Vera,” he said softly, “I know I caught you trying to kill Brian.” Vera was silent in response, her face as stone as the last person who’d asked her out.

“And Brian,” he tilted his head towards the zombie, “You quit the football team this morning.”

Brian shrugged his shoulders casually. “Sorry, Coach, I just… didn’t want to play football anymore. I’m sorry if that makes you upset-“

“I’m not upset about that.” Coach sighed and stood up out of his chair. His whistle shined from the sunlight out of his window, causing Brian to glance away from the glare. “But I can’t say I’m terribly pleased with either of you right now.”

He walked over to the window and rested his palms on it. “See them, Brian?” He pointed to the practicing football team. Scott seemed to have momentarily forgotten his depression as he barreled through the other players, flipping a member of the Wolfpack over his back. “They play football because they like it. Because they have fun. And you did, too, at first. Now, you say you don’t want to anymore because it isn’t still fun- and that’s okay Brian.”

Turning back to them, Brian could see he had genuine sympathy in his eyes. “Football’s not for everybody. Sports isn’t for everybody. I push you guys to always give 110%, and I can tell you always did on the field. And those guys? Most of them will move on from football once they leave here. But they all have something else to fall back on. Something that drives them, something that they want to build their life on. But Brian…”

His eyes regarded him with a deep sadness. “You have nothing like that. You don’t invest yourself in your studies, you don’t have any other extracurriculars. You only even joined football because Scott wouldn’t let it go, and while you learned to like it… it was never for you, was it?”

Silence was his only answer.

With a sigh, his eyes turned on Vera. Vera was the type never to crumble under intimidation, so even though having Coach look at her that way made her want to squirm and look away, she maintained an iron gaze. “And Vera, I’m worried about you, too. You do well in school and Lord knows you need no help finding ambition. But I can’t have you going around threatening students. The last school board meeting officially banned that to help our survival rates. And besides…”

Coach’s face upturned into a weary smile, but one that was encouraging and supportive. “Empathy is a strength, not a weakness, like so many monsters believe. Being able to have compassion and relate to others will help you, not hinder you, Vera.”

Both were startled as Coach’s hands clapped together and his usual energy returned. “So! Here’s what I’ve decided…” He sat back down in his chair and opened his drawer, pulling out a folder. Opening it, he held up a piece of paper with “YU, B.” stamped across the top.

“I know neither of you are particularly fond of gym class, despite my efforts to turn you into athletic stars. So, while you were waiting outside, I called Principal Giant Spider and talked to him about the situation. As much as it pains me to say it… he and I came to an agreement that you two could take gym off for the rest of the term.” His face distorted with nearly physical discomfort as he forced himself to throw up the words.

Vera’s stonewall dropped and her eyes lit up. Likewise, Brian sat straight up at the first interesting thing said this whole meeting. “Really?!” Coach couldn’t help but frown in disappointment. “Well, I can’t say I’m thrilled at your enthusiasm… but yes, you both are getting out of gym for the rest of the term…. on one condition.”

As Coach grinned, Vera’s smile faded as suddenly she got a bad feeling in her stomach. Her snakes hissed apprehensively. “…What’s the condition?” Brian cautiously broached the question.

Laying out the paper in front of them, which appeared to be some kind of unfilled table, Coach said, “The condition… you two will take the time you would and honestly should be using in gym to go out and find something for Brian to engage in. Something he loves, something he’s passionate about. Vera, you’re one of the most ambitious students in our school, so I can think of no one more suited for the job.”

Her face had gone white as a sheet and her snakes had ducked down, now feeling ill themselves. “But- but- but-“

Coach held up a hand. “Ah, ah, ah, I don’t want to hear it from either of you. Unless you’d rather take gym class?” He excitedly looked back and forth. The two exchanged a glance and shook their heads.

He sighed dejectedly. “Okay, well, it was worth a try.”

Brian picked up the piece of paper. “What’s the paper for then?”

“Well, call me crazy, but I don’t entirely trust you, so the paper is for you to document your time spent. Write down what hours you spent doing what and get someone to sign it for you.”

“Coach,” Vera protested, “I really don’t think this is necessary. If Brian’s not interested in making a future, that’s none of my business-“

“You’re right, Vera, but it is my business,” Coach said sternly. His brow furrowed as he studied both of them. “It is my job and responsibility to ensure you both have the best chance of success possible, and I genuinely believe that this will help you. Both of you. And if you don’t commit to this, or I find out you’ve been lying on these logs… I’ll fail both of you. It’ll be hard, yes, nigh-heartbreaking. But I will do it.”

As his eyes narrowed and he looked between them, his inner spirit dared either of them to challenge his claim. His voice carried no betrayal of intention, and any protests Vera or Brian had died in their throats.

Satisfied, he nodded. “Okay. You’re both dismissed. You’ll start tomorrow.” He began typing on his computer. “And remember… give it 110%!” He flashed a smile and gave a thumbs up as they exited through the door.

Scoffing in disgust, Vera poked Brian in the chest once the door was shut. “Okay, dickweed, I don’t want to do this anymore than you do, but I also don’t want to do gym or fail. Fortunately for you, I find you ever-so-slightly less repugnant than either of those options. So let’s just get through this as fast as we can, and then I never have to speak to you again. Deal?” Her snakes glared at Brian, spitting venom with both their eyes and their fangs.

Sighing in boredom and annoyance, he held up his hands. “Relax, Vera, it’s not like this is a picnic for me, either,” he rolled his eyes. “I could be spending that extra time sleeping, or playing video games, or even sleeping, but no. I get to spend that time with someone who hates me, doing things I don’t enjoy. Great!” He huffed in frustration and threw up his hands. “Fucking fabulous!”

Vera sighed herself. “Whatever. Just meet me during our gym period tomorrow so we don’t fail.” As she strode away, she called over her shoulder, “And don’t you dare be late, or I’ll be hanging your skin on my wall!”

***

Brian was sleeping peacefully. The one thing he liked and was definitely good at.

The bed was soft, like a bird’s feathers, and the air was cool and inviting. His blanket wrapped on top of him, covering him like a cocoon, making him feel safe and secure. His door kept out the outside world, with all its problems and noise, and here, in complete darkness, he was at ease.

Except… ugh. The sunlight peeking in just underneath the curtain of the window.

But… wait. This wasn’t right. Was sunlight typically that… bright?

Brian felt his eyes yanked open as harsh light broke through the outline and break of his curtains. It was so intense he had to shield his eyes.

He jumped out of bed and ran to see what could be causing such a blinding mess. But as his mind mentally readied for his feet to hit his carpet floor… they didn’t. He just kept falling and falling, and soon he was screaming as he fell through an endless void, the world around him melting like watercolors.

The light that moments ago was an assault quickly abandoned him, and he was left in darkness to fall. To scream. To fear.

Then he hit the ground hard. He grunted in pain as he felt gravity punish him, though strangely he didn’t seem to be hurt. As he groaned and sat up, he saw he was on some kind of rock cliff…

“What… is this?” He wondered aloud, hoping the darkness might answer him. “Where am I?”

“You call this your best?!” A voice echoed around him, bouncing off non-existent walls. “I’ve seen kindergartners that could do better!”

Brian was then chilled to the bone as he realized something- his heart was beating. He looked down and his skin… his skin wasn’t green. Touching his cheek… his cheek was there. Not ripped off, not… missing.

He was human.

“What… what the fuck is this?! Where am I?!” His voice broke its usual monotone, betraying the panic he felt.

“Try HARDER!” The voice yelled at him again, and just as quickly as it had started, his heart stopped again. His blood chilled… his skin rose in goosebumps and his body began trembling involuntarily.

He knew that voice.

“No…” He shook his head. “No! You’re gone, you’re dead!”

“Not on your life!” It answered back. It almost seemed composed of pain and trauma. “I will ALWAYS be here. You will NEVER be rid of me! No matter HOW much time passes…”

The ground suddenly shook as if struck by a great hammer, and Brian fell to the ground.

“I WILL ALWAYS BE A PART OF YOU!”

Then a new voice… a different voice. All at once, the formless void around him flushed away, and he found himself once again confronted by the light. He shielded his face with both arms as maniacal laughing filled his head, filled his soul.

Ahahahahahahaha! Well, go on, Brian! Prove him wrong!

Gritting his teeth from the effort, he forced his eyes open enough to see streaks of light twirling and dancing in the air above him. Folding and tying infinitely over itself, it seemed to him to be aimless and free.

Then it all was drawn into a singular point, as if a black hole had opened up to capture it, and the light formed a solid figure- a giant, with a hundred arms growing out of its back.

Answer me, you pathetic mortal! Prove him wrong! Prove you have moved past him!

It joined hundred hands together, forming fifty clasped fists. Brian shriveled down as all fifty were raised above its head. The laughing grew louder and more confident, drawing away from insanity towards triumph.

Prove him wrong! Be strong enough! Stop me!

Brian began to feel the skin being ripped from his body as the light intensified.

PROVE YOU’RE STRONG! AHAHAHAHA! PROVE IT!

Brian nearly screamed as his eyes snapped open and he sat bolt upright. Breathing hard, he looked around. His room. Familiar. Grabbing his comforter, he wrapped it around, afraid it would start all over again.

Hyperventilating, as he registered he was in fact awake now, his breathing slowed. Sweat made his undershirt cling to his skin and his green skin was tinged white.

“What… what was that?” His voice was quiet and small, asking for answers, seeking reassurance.

Unfortunately, the only thing listening at that moment was an indifferent universe.

Chapter Text

In her dreams, Amira was a warrior. A queen. A badass bitch.

Basically, Amira was herself, because she was already that awesome in real life.

Amira’s dreams basically consisted of her day-to-day activities- getting into bar fights, riding around on her motorcycle, and finding people to fuck or fuck with.

So it was to her great confusion when in this dream, as she found herself revving her bike, speeding down a deserted backroad, the wind fresh on her face… that her bike suddenly vanished.

It didn’t disappear, so much as her entire environment did- one moment, she was cruising down some back road, the next she was sitting in a dead, blank chasm.

“Hey! What the shit?! Where’d my bike go?!” She yelled in frustration to no one in particular. Huffing, she got up and resolved to march forth. Amira was not one to have her resolve broken- she’d find her bike and be back on the road in no time.

“Give me back my bike! Now!”

It’s gone, Amira.

She whirled around, but no one was there. That’s… what the hell? It sounded like it was-

It’s gone… and that scares you, doesn’t it?

Amira gritted her teeth as she turned and was again faced with empty air. “Hey, jackass, if you got something to say, face me and say it! Stop pulling this bullshit!

…Very well.

Regret set in almost immediately; light assaulted her eyes. Not sunlight- this light was every color of the rainbow, with red, purple, green, various shades and tones, all stabbing into her vision. It was so intense, it felt as if this light was made of malice. She clasped her hands over her eyes, but the colors continued dancing behind her eyelids.

“FUCK! What the hell was that?! What are you?!”

That’s not what you should be worried about.

As her vision steadied, she risked peeking through her hands and was relieved to see that the light had relaxed a bit. The desert road had disappeared, replaced with a blank void, with a seemingly-invisible floor.

See? See how easily I ripped it away? Your bike, this world? The harder you try to hold onto things, Amira…

Something… materialized in the distance. Figures… laying on the ground. Her fire went cold and she felt shivers nest on her skin as she approached closer, moving cautiously.

The worse the pain will be when they are ripped away.

Horror stirred in her and she threatened to be sick as she got close enough to make out what… or rather, who… was laying on the ground.

Vicky. Brian.

Dead.

They bore no visible wounds- their bodies were perfectly intact. There was no blood, no signs of a fight or an attack. But their eyes gazed infinitely forward, driven by nothing… no life and no mind. Their skin was pale and cold, their souls having departed long ago.

“NO!” Amira ran forth, but before she could reach them, their bodies melted into the ground, dissolving into whatever incorporeal nothingness composed it. Their features disappeared as though they were just illusions.

“Guys! Come back!” She pawed desperately at the ground, trying to get some kind of grip and pull up the Earth… but there was no Earth.

“Guys! Please!” Her eyes poured out her mourning as she refused to give up her fruitless endeavor. She pounded the ground with her fists, hoping she could cause it enough pain to give her back her friends.

“Amira! Help!” She looked up and gasped in horror.

Oz was there, being held, suspended in the air, like he was hanging from invisible hooks. His face was pained, his eyes begging for mercy. “Amira! Please! Help me!” He writhed in pain as unseen forces exacted their toll.

“I will, I will, I promise! I just… I just need…” Amira desperately looked around as her voice cracked, looking for something, anything, that could help get him down.

But there was nothing.

Hahahahaha… She stopped as the voice cackled out. Her grief and panic gave way to fury. Her eyes darted every which way, looking for the source of the taunting. “Come out, fucker! I’ll gut you here and now!”

Hahahahahaha! Looking back to Oz… she saw that the lights had returned, but now… they swirled into two, bright, circular eyes. Slowly from the shadows, the shape of an enormous serpent formed, glowing with all manner of shades and tones. Its grin was hideous as it stared down Oz, endless colors swirling in its eyes, a window to the soul of whatever horror this thing was.

Hahahaha… HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Oz looked back to her, panic consuming him. “Help me!”

The serpent darted forth, and Oz disappeared down its gullet.

***

“AHHHHHHHHH!” Amira screamed as her head shot up, and her teacher, Ms. Panthera, who’d been waiting for her to wake up, threw the book she’d been reading into the air, startled.

“Ahh! Lord, Amira, what are you screaming for?!”

Feeling her face and body with her hands to register she was solid, she looked around. “The… classroom? Wait… that’s right, I was…”

“In math,” Ms. Panthera growled in annoyance as she stood up and strode over to Amira’s desk. “Yes. And then you promptly fell asleep as I was explaining our next assignment.” Her canines bared as she glared down at the entirely-unashamed djinn.

Amira’s breathing slowed as it registered within her… she’d been asleep. “Okay… okay… it was just… a dream…” She whispered to herself. Taking a deep breath in, she jumped into her usual bravado with ease, like it was a switch she flipped.

“Hey, sorry, Ms. Panthera, I just… you know… didn’t get any sleep last night. You know how it is, right?”

“Well, I know that there’s an assignment due tomorrow that you don’t know about.” The teacher’s smug grin sank Amira’s confidence like a battleship. “And I know that the other students won’t be willing to impart the pages and problem numbers to you… in fear of drawing my wrath. Good luck figuring out what to turn in tomorrow!”

As Amira stalked out of the classroom, she shot a nasty glare back at the chuckling teacher. What an asshole.

That dream still bothered her, though. She’d had nightmares before, sure, but she’d learned to lucid dream a long time ago. So whenever it happened, she just took control of the dream and made it her bitch.

But… this time… when she’d tried to take control… it defied her. That never happened before.

She shook her head and resolved to just move past it. Amira Rashid didn’t get bothered by nightmares beyond the point that they ended.

Glancing at her watch, she saw it was lunch period- that meant it was time to conduct business. She headed to her locker to pick up her… “merchandise.”

***

Valerie’s store was one of the few places in the school that was truly secure- since many of her business dealings were… “unsavory,” as the law would put it, she had to, for the sake of her business, ensure that anything that occurred behind its doors was confidential. As a result, it meant that it was a good place for her and her sister to talk without worrying about any meddling parties eavesdropping.

The Shopkeeper herself was in her store, counting a stack of bills as Vera perused her shelves. Vera picked up a vial of red liquid and inspected it. “Hey, what is this?”

Snatching it from her, Valerie said, “Not for sale, that’s what. The Coven’s got that reserved for when they finally raise the money.”

“So, I hear you’re helping that loser Oz with something?” Vera crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, slightly miffed her sister told her ‘no.’

Shrugging her shoulders, Valerie moved a box marked ILLEGAL SHIT behind a shelf. “And? What of it?”

“…Why?” Vera looked incredulous, her face twisted in disgust. “Are you trying to destroy your social credit?”

Rolling her eyes, Valerie grabbed another box and began placing random items on a shelf- a tattoo, a business card for a PR agent Vera had met once, and a motivational poster. “Because he’s paying me? That’s, like, the reason I do 90% of anything.”

“Okay, I got that,” Vera continued, “but what I mean is, why are you doing it? Just take the money and leave the idiot out to dry.”

Valerie held a hand to her chest. “Excuse me? How dare you suggest I, the high-class Valerie Oberlin, rip somebody off?” She chuckled, then continued with her stocking. “But, no, for real, why would I do that? If somebody bought something out of the shop, what, do I just not give it to them? I had a free period anyway, and I don’t have any other deals going on right now, so why not get paid for that time just being wasted? Still, I don’t expect it to last long.”

Vera raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” Valerie shrugged.

“I mean, I said I’d try to help him, but what am I, a therapist? Odds are this whole thing will fizzle out today and I’ll just have a little extra money.” As she collapsed in her chair behind her counter, propping her boots up on her counter, she gave Vera a sly smile. “Hey, I hear you’ve got your own community service next period.” She reached down and pulled out a purple lunchbox lined with cartoonish spikes.

“Ugh. Don’t remind me.” Vera rubbed her temples as one of her snakes nuzzled against her cheek. “I can’t believe I have to help that walking bacteria factory…! Maybe I should just kill him and frame it as an accident…?”

“Honestly, sis, you want my advice?” Valerie looked up from her lunchbox, a tuna sandwich in a plastic bag in her right hand. “Just do it.”

“What?! And let my credibility go to shit for hanging out with that loser?” Vera was seething, but Valerie held up a hand.

“Count to ten, like Dad said, then just listen to what I have to say.” Grumbling, Vera did as instructed, taking deep breaths as she did, and counting on her fingers to visualize what she was doing. Finally, she exhaled and nodded.

“Okay,” Valerie continued, “now, first of all, Brian may not be one of the ‘popular’ kids, but he’s not a loser. He was one of the star football players, V. Secondly… I think this could be good for you.”

Vera’s eyes narrowed and exuded disbelief. She crossed her arms and titled her head. “Elaborate.”

Valerie sighed and brushed her hair out of her face. “Look, I’m gonna be honest, sis… you’re respected by everyone, and when you’re making money, that’s great. But everyone’s also afraid of you. Nobody will go ten feet near you, and I can’t even remember the last time you went out with me, Polly, or Scott. Maybe this will help you relax a little? Brian’s a chill guy.”

Scoffing, Vera turned and inspected a pair of tacky glasses on the shelf. “Please. He may be relaxed, but that’s precisely why I loathe him. He has no drive! No goals! Why even bother continuing to breathe?”

“…Does he even technically breathe…?”

“I don’t know! That’s not the point!” She leaned against the shelf and glared at the floor, as if it were responsible for her predicament. Setting down her sandwich, Valerie walked over and put a reassuring hand on her sister’s shoulder.

“Look… I’m not saying you have to solve world hunger or become a good Samaritan. Just… I don’t know, try to slow down? If it’s something you don’t care about, at least take comfort in that you don’t have to care if you fail.”

Something sparked in Vera’s eyes, and she turned to Valerie. “…What did you just say?”

Realizing she made an error, Valerie groaned and smacked her forehead. “Oh, no, V, please don’t-“

“Vera Oberlin doesn’t fail. She doesn’t even succeed. She thrives!” Her eyes now blazed with the determination she showed in a business deal or a new capitalist venture. Her fists balled up and her stance changed from irritation to power. “I’m not going to let anything, especially not that walking pus factory, ruin my perfect record of success! Believe me, when I’m done with him, he’ll be working so hard, he’ll wish he were dead!”

“…But he’s-“

“I KNOW!”

***

Amira was slinking through the halls, being careful to avoid detection from any potential teachers or narcs in the halls.

She had a rendezvous to keep.

Moving quietly and sticking to the walls, she headed for the meeting spot. She didn’t think that it was a good idea to do this during school… but her customer wasn’t exactly patient.

She felt her contraband begin to slide out from under her jacket and her hands quickly caught it, hiding it once more. The last thing she needed was to get caught with this during school hours.

After all, if anyone saw-

“BOO!”

Amira jumped nearly six feet in the air as her ears were blasted with noise. Her hair fired straight up and she whirled around, right fist already balled out of instinct. She wasn’t met with a teacher or some slimy mole, though- instead, Polly was laughing hysterically, twirling in the air.

“Oh, man, that was too good! An oldie but a goodie!” She continued to laugh even as Amira, whose face was scarlet with heat and whose hair squashed itself down to play off the scare, glared daggers at her.

“Not. Funny.” Polly rolled her eyes.

“Lighten up, boo, it’s called a joke.”

Amira snapped, “What are you doing out here? Do you want to get caught? We agreed on the bathroom for a fucking reason, remember?!”

Polly held up her hands and rolled her eyes. “Chillax, I had to get the cash. There’s no one around here, so let’s just do this thing!”

“Not. Here.” Amira cast a glance over her shoulder in a paranoid sense, then motioned for Polly to follow her. The ghost rolled her eyes once more, but followed the djinn, floating along with a bored expression on her face.

Both were oblivious to a pair of eyes watching them from a nearby closet that was slightly ajar. A deep grumbled sounded out as they turned a corner. Spite and bitterness emanated from the closet, so thick and intense it almost manifested as heat. The door swung open fully and the figure lumbered along, following them.

***

“Where’s Amira?” Oz asked as he opened his water bottle.

Vicky shrugged. “I don’t know. She fell asleep in math last period, but Ms. Panthera should’ve woken her up by now.”

They and Brian were at their usual lunch table. A few tables away, Damien was casually burning his ham sandwich black as Miranda watched with interest. She was unfamiliar with the concept of ‘eating,’ so she often watched her classmates in an attempt to understand it better.

“Well, she better hurry,” Oz bit into his own sandwich. “She gets cranky when she misses lunch and I don’t look forward to her pestering one of us for when dinner’s ready.”

“At least it’s her night to cook,” Brian muttered. He was leaning on his arm, eyes half-open. Grinning, Vicky reached forward and lightly the arm his face was resting on out from under his chin. His face slammed onto the table and he jolted upright. “Aaaaaaaghhh!”

As Vicky and Oz busted apart, he glared at his friends. “You guys are just goddamn comedians, you know that?”

Vicky mock-punched his shoulder. “Aw, come on, don’t be upset! You look even more tired today than you do normally, so I thought I’d wake you up.”

Brian snorted. “For your information, I am more tired. I… didn’t sleep well.” His eyes widened and he looked down. His hands fiddled together.

Oz eyed him curiously. “…Brian? You good?”

Brian nodded. “Yeah, no, I’m… I’m fine. Just… nightmares, is all.” Oz’s eyes widened at this.

“Wait… nightmares? Like… what kind of-“

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Brian cut him off and he reached forward, taking Vicky’s brownie. “And I’m taking this as payback for waking me up.”

“Hey!” Vicky grabbed it and the two had a small tug-of-war. Oz rolled his eyes and waited for one of their arms to come off. That was how they settled such matters.

Still… Brian didn’t usually have nightmares. The guy didn’t usually even have dreams. What were the odds that he started having nightmares at the exact time that…?

Deep within him, he felt a presence, clawing and squirming, shouting desperately to be free…

Oz shook his head to disperse the feeling. Best not to worry about it now. He’d ask Brian later, when he seemed more open to sharing.

***

As they entered the bathrooms, Amira pawed her pocket and brought out the small brick of cocaine. “Okay, Polly, you got my money?”

Polly reached into her pocket and pulled out a wad of crumpled-up bills. Amira shot her an annoyed glance.

“What? I’m a slob, sue me.” Amira snatched the wad out of her hands and Polly excitedly took the package of drugs.

“Ahhhh, this is gonna be fun! Thanks, boo!” She started to float away, but Amira grabbed her by the arm.

“Hey, hold on a second! I got to count this out to makes sure you’re not ripping me off.” Polly scoffed and phased through Amira’s grip with ease.

“What? You don’t trust me?”

Amira replied with only a stone-cold stare. Polly groaned and said, “Ughhhh, fine.”

Sighing with annoyance, Polly leaned against the wall as Amira straightened the bills out and counted them. “Jesus, Polly, would it be too much trouble to just buy a wallet?”

Polly watched Amira count out the bills. “You know, boo… have you ever thought about just relaxing? You seem pretty tense. Maybe you could use a day out to chill out?”

Amira raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’m plenty relaxed. Just because I’m not willing to let you get away with shorting me doesn’t mean I’m tense.” Polly shrugged and gave up, leaning back against the wall.

After she’d verified the proper amount was present, Amira jerked her head to the door. “Alright, you’re good, get out of here.” Polly grinned and stuck the brick in her back pocket.

“Thanks, boo! I’ll be sure to let you know when-“ The door burst open with violence as a huge figure practically fell in. It was a bearish-looking monster, with a snout twisted into a snarl and beady eyes with yellow irises. His body was proportioned oddly, in a way that it looked natural for him to be walking on either all fours or on two legs. Fur was matted on top of his head into a type of hairstyle, though what exactly Amira had no clue- maybe some relic of his long-abandoned youth. His hands possessed four fingers and an opposable thumb, but tipped with razor-sharp grizzly claws. Brown fur covered his entire body, covered up with a 10XL grey jumpsuit. He looked back and forth, his lips curling into a cruel smile.

“Well,” Crazy Martin the Were-Bear Janitor drawled, “what do we have here? Two delinquents exchanging elicit goods?” His shoulders moved as he walked on all fours. He reeked of wet-dog-smell, causing Amira’s eyes to water.

Amira scowled. “Fuck off, Martin, we’re clean.”

“Oh, are you? Somehow I doubt it,” he sneered. He turned to Polly, who had her head down and was backing up slowly. She’d dropped from levitating a few inches in the air to walking on the floor. “And I suppose that’s a textbook you just put in your pocket? Or maybe your diary?”

She remained silent, refusing to look up.

“Come on, Geist!” Roared Martin. He drew up to his full height, towering over the two of them at seven-feet tall. His head touched the ceiling. “Show me what she gave you and prove your innocence!”

“Lay off her, man!” Amira shouted right back. Dropping back down to his default stance, he advanced on her. His mouth frothed as his rage intensified, and his claws popped as he walked forth. Amira and Polly both began walking backwards.

“Alright, you little shit,” he spat, “you kids constantly make messes for me to clean up. Food, blood, fluids I will deign not to list- it’s disgusting! And you don’t have to clean any of it up, I do! So pardon me if I enjoy it a bit when I have a chance to pay some of you back for constantly being annoying little shits!”

Backing both of them up against the wall, he turned his attention back to Polly. “Last chance. Show me what’s behind your back, or I’ll take it from you.”

Polly slowly started to lean towards the wall. “Well, I hate to disappoint you, but-“ She yelped as Martin roughly grabbed her by the wrist.

“I don’t think so! Other teachers might let you phase through walls to get away, but I’m not so nice. What’s in your pocket?” Terrified, Polly tried phasing away… only to fail. Her panic began escalating as she realized she couldn’t escape the way she normally did. Martin grinned. “Sorry… that’s not going to work with me. Remember?”

Looking around, Amira couldn’t see a way out. Amira wasn’t sure why Polly couldn’t phase away, but Martin was blocking their only entrance and it wasn’t like she could go barreling through a wall like Scott. Aw, hell, what was she going to do?

Then she glanced up and saw a sprinkler above her. Aw, no, Amira thought, not that!

But as Martin raised his other hand and began reaching towards Polly, she realized she didn’t have a lot of options. Sighing internally, she held a hand behind her and snapped her fingers. A small flame appeared between her thumb and forefinger, wafting up a small trail of smoke.

Martin’s advance was stopped as his black nose began sniffling, loudly and obnoxiously. “Wait… do you two smell that? Smells… smells like…”

And at that moment, a piercing siren assaulted all of their eardrums as the fire alarm went off. Overhead, water came pouring down, drenching them. Amira gritted her teeth and cringed in discomfort, her clothes getting soaked. All the water passed through Polly, but her clothes still received the brunt of the aquatic assault.

Martin had it the worst. Instantly, all his fur became matted, including the fur that made up his hair, causing it to flop forward with a wet sound and obscure his eyes. “GAAAHHH!” He slipped on the already slick floor and landed on his stomach.

“Go, go, go!” Amira shouted, leaping over Martin in an impressive jump. Grinning with triumph, Polly floated up and over him.

“NO!” Martin shouted, swiping his hand palm-open, trying to catch them. He struck one of the sinks instead, the burst pipe hitting him straight in the face, knocking him backward. “You-! Fucking-!” His voice bubbled over the stream of water.

Amira rushed out of the bathroom and towards the front of the school, followed shortly behind by Polly. The rest of the school was gathering on the front lawn.

When they reached the grass, Amira immediately flared up her fire as much as it was willing. It barely lit, her entire body waterlogged. “Ugh!” She shouted in disgust and flung her hands. “This is so annoying…” She turned to Polly and pointed a finger. “Alright, you owe me for that shit!”

To her surprise, Polly gave her a big grin and nodded. “You’re damn right! I was ready to leave you, and you set off the sprinklers and saved both our asses!”

“Won’t he just snitch on us later, though?” Amira pointed out. Polly shook her head.

“I’ll have gotten rid of the evidence by that point and they can’t pin anything on us through word alone. If he does, he’ll just get in trouble for harassing us. We might even be able to pin this makeshift water-park on him. Now, how can I thank you…?”

Thinking for a moment, she smiled and said, “There’s a party I’m going to tonight. Want to meet me there? I can write down the address for you once we dry off.” She giggled as she picked at her shirt strap, which sagged back down.

“Hmmmm…” Amira thought about it for a moment. Parties attended by Polly did have a reputation for being pretty good. And she did want to cut loose after being stalked by a stupid bear. “Yeah, sure. Sounds like fun.”

“Yaaaaaaaaaas!” Polly shouted with glee and floated upwards. “We’re gonna turn shit UP tonight!”

PGS stepped in front of the school crowd and turned on a megaphone. “Alright,” his voice came through official and in-charge, “we’ve thoroughly checked the school, there’s no fire. Return to your regularly scheduled classes.”

The response was a mass crying-out of groans, “Aw, come on!” and “What?!” Frowning, he spoke, “Is there a problem?”

“You honestly expect us to go back with the school drenched?!” A student shouted.

Rolling his eight eyes, PGS scolded, “Oh, don’t be so dramatic, it’s just water. Besides, our local magic-casters will have all the equipment restored shortly.”

Grumbling, he headed back inside the building, followed reluctantly by the student body. Trying again to light her fire, Amira succeeded in getting a slightly hotter blaze. She sighed in annoyance.

“Okay,” she said, “that was not worth fifty bucks.”

Chapter Text

“You want me to do what?!” Oz cried out as Valerie gritted her teeth and covered her ears as recoiled in pain at the volume of his voice.

The two were standing in the school quad. Valerie winced and lowered her hands. “Hey, can you not screech when I’m standing right here, please?”

“Sorry,” Oz replied, lowering his voice, “but at the same time, what other reaction do you expect me to have to confronting the Wolfpack?! I asked you to help me build my confidence, not get me killed!”

Valerie rolled her eyes. “God, you are dramatic, you know that? You’re just going to tell them to fuck off and leave you alone!” She held up her tail and wrung it out like a towel. “Dammit, my fur is still wet. I’m going to kill whoever set off that damn fire alarm!”

Oz sighed exasperatedly. “Yeah, my cardigan’s still damp. Back on to the fact that you want me to actually get myself killed standing up to four brutes who are bigger and stronger than me. You really think they’ll just leave me alone if I tell them to?!”

There was a moment of awkward pause before Valerie blinked and replied, “…Yeah. That’s… that’s exactly what will happen.”

“Wait… what?”

The poor boy. He was clearly confused. Valerie sighed and explained, “Look. The Wolfpack are not these big, scary berserkers. They’re definitely idiotic, horny jerks, but they’re about as tough as a sheet of paper. They pick on people who are too small and scrawny and wimpy to stand up for themselves…”

She paused as Oz gave her a dejected stare before chuckling nervously. “Uh, sorry. Not you, I’m talking about other people. Anyway, they pick on people who won’t stand up to them and just harass them. Think about it- have they ever actually hurt you? Like have they beaten you up, stuffed you in a locker, mauled you, anything like that?”

Her question gave Oz a moment’s pause. As he thought through all of the incidents with the Wolfpack, it dawned on him…

“No. They haven’t.”

“Exactly. The only time those four have any balls to actually hurt another person is when it’s a full moon. Otherwise, they’re all talk, get it?”

“You mean, they’re all bark and no bite?”

“Fuck you.”

Oz hung his head in shame at his terrible joke. “Sorry.”

Valerie scoffed. “Whatever. Look- we’re just going to practice beforehand, okay? I get that you get nervous. So we’re just going to practice a bit before we go and find them.”

“Okay… so, like, I just say what I’m going to say to you?”

“No… SCOTT!”

A great bounding was heard as a classroom door flew open. “Scott, get back here!” A distant voice of a teacher called out, but it was promptly ignored as the werewolf ran as fast as he could towards the source of the voice. The door to the inside of the school opened as he entered the quad. When he finally reached Valerie, he stood straight up with a smile as bright as moonlight, his tail wagging so furiously it appeared as a blur.

“Hi, Valerie! Hi, Oz!” He turned to Oz. “Valerie’s shop is the best! It has any need your ‘creatively wonderful’ mind might-“

“No, no, Scott, that’s not what I need you for this time,” Valerie explained, “you’re going to help Oz with something.”

“Wait, wait,” Oz held up his hands as he was still processing Scott’s words, “what on Earth is happening?”

Valerie smiled proudly. “I trained Scott here to answer me when I call him and advertise my store. He’s very marketable with a wide consumer base for… many reasons, heh heh.” She chuckled at her own cleverness. “Anyway! He’s going to be your Wolfpack stand-in. He’ll mimic their appearance, but you obviously know Scott won’t snap back at you. Okay?”

“Uh… okay.” He was still unsure about this. After all, the Wolfpack… well, for a lack of a better word, scared him. He was sure if he tried to stand up to them, they would use him as a new football. Or maybe they’d just go the old-fashioned route and skin him alive.

But… well, he asked Valerie to help him become more confident. Less afraid. Part of that was standing up for yourself. Besides, she was right about one thing- he was absolutely certain Scott would not hurt him.

“Alright! Now, Scott, you just stand there, okay? Oz, you say to Scott what you’re going to say to the Wolfpack.”

“Okay!” Scott smiled at Oz again.

“Alright, alright…” Oz tried to hype himself up a bit. He wanted to treat this like it was the real thing; if he could talk to Scott confidently, then maybe it would be easier with the Wolfpack. They weren’t quite as tall as Scott, so maybe it’d be less intimidating? Assuming Valerie was right.

“Okay…” He breathed in and out and whispered to himself again. “Alright! Listen up! You need to leave me alone from now on and… uh…” He stopped as he saw Scott’s smile drop and his intense tail wagging froze. “Uh… Scott, what’s wrong?”

“Oz, bro… why do you want me to leave you alone? I thought we were buds…” Scott sat down on the floor and hung his head. “You… you want my cousins to leave you alone?”

Nodding, Valerie replied, “Yep! They’ve bullied Oz long enough. We’re going to help him put them in their place.” She crossed her arms and smiled. “With our help, he’ll make good with the $80 he’s paying me.”

Scott looked up and frowned further. “But… my cousins are cool. When they rag on you, they’re just motivating you to do your best!”

Valerie sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “No, Scott, several people have been over this with you before, remember? The Wolfpack bullies you whenever they see you hanging out with other monsters, and they harass practically every girl at this school. I nearly had a hit taken out on them because they whistled at me and then made a cat-calling joke, but I didn’t think they were worth the money!” She was wringing the air with her hands and her fur stuck out in angry tension.

Scott’s frown deepened further and he looked at Valerie. “But… they’re family. You say you’re supposed to stick by family… right?”

She shifted uncomfortably. “I mean… yeah. But when I say that, Scott, I’m talking about my sister, Vera. She doesn’t belittle me like they do to you. She supports me and loves me. She encourages me and asks me to open up to her, she doesn’t…”

“But what’s different about that than with what my cousins do?” Scott was insistent. “My cousins are just trying to get me to do my best and that’s what matters! They’re my bros, they… they wouldn’t…”

Oz could see the crisis Scott was facing- his reality was breaking down. He wasn’t entirely sure why Scott was so hung onto this idea that his cousins belittling him was a good thing… but that wasn’t important right now. What was important was Scott was losing composure. His eyes held that familiar look of anger and betrayal, that feeling that somebody was trying to take something away from him.

“Scott,” Oz began, speaking as soft as a cloud, “just listen to me-“

“No!” Before he could finish his sentence, Scott turned and bounded back inside, nearly breaking the door to the inside of the school down.

The two stood there for a moment before Val sighed. “Okay,” she said, “let’s go find him. Sorry, Oz, we’ll have to put your training on hold- Vera’ll kill me if I leave him upset.”

Nodding, the two turned and followed after him.

***

“Okay, so we can cross off ‘constructive thinking.’”

Vera and Brian were exiting a classroom, Vera holding her clipboard and sign-off sheet in-hand. Clipped to the front of it was a long list she’d made of potential careers, hobbies, passions, and clubs. Brian held a look of boredom upon his face, and he yawned, stretching his arms out wide.

“I mean, I could’ve told the debate club wasn’t for me. I hate arguing with people, it’s too stressful. I’d rather just go with the flow and let others lead.”

Vera tapped the clipboard with her pen. “Hmm… how are you with lying?”

“Oh, I’m terrible at it, you know what it takes to sell a convincing lie? I can’t be bothered.”

Cursing, Vera crossed off “politics.”

“Well, Worm Dick, we got to find something for you to do, so let’s hurry it up, shall we?” Her shoulders were tense-up and her snakes were hissing around in agitation, snapping at the air. Brian gave her a look of concern.

“Okay, Vera, just relax a little. We’ve tried one thing, there’s a lot more options.” He looked over at her list of activities and options. “Well, you can go ahead and cross off ‘banker,’ I’m not good at math, but… how about home education? I’ve never really been one for cooking, but shit, I’ve also never invested in it.”

Vera thought about it. “…Okay, we’ll try that next, then. As long as I don’t have to taste anything you make.”

They headed towards the Home Ec room, which already had the smell of burning food wafting out from the inside. “That’s a great sign,” Brian sniped.

Inside, the only word to describe the scene was ‘chaos.’ Ingredients were spilt all over the place, with flour and dough plastering the walls like drywall. There was both rank and surprisingly pleasant aromas wafting through the air, all mixing and swirling into an unbalanced but tolerable combination. Several students were rushing around, carrying steaming trays, mixing colored batter in bowls, or deciding what spice was needed for a suspicious-looking dish.

The teacher, Ms. Lestrade, was busy layering frosting on a red velvet cake. She brightened up as Vera and Brian walked in the door. “Ah! Students! How may I help you?”

“We have a project that requires we test out this club. May we join for the day?” Vera asked, summarily but politely. Brian admitted he was impressed at how quick she changed from crabby and irritated to polite and professional- a master manipulator at work.

“Why, of course! I love encouraging other students in the culinary arts!” She went back to her cake and spread more pink frosting over the top of the cake.

Vera pointed across the room. “Look, there’s Polly, let’s join her just so we can interact with someone I can tolerate.” As they strode across the room, Brian stepped in a failed cupcake. That didn’t bother him; what bothered him was that he swore it blinked at him.

Hurrying up, the two sat at Polly’s table as she beat some ingredients in a bowl. “Hey, Veeeera!” Polly smiled and gave a peace sign.

“Hey, Polly. What are you making? Crystal meth?” Brian shoved his hands in his pockets as he looked in the big, red mixing bowl on her table.

“Y’know, just because I like drugs doesn’t mean my whole life revolves around getting high, Brian,” Polly gave him a cross look. “I happen to be a person. Which means my life is multi-faceted. I have many interests and hobbies besides getting laid and doing drugs.”

“My apologies,” Brian placed a hand over his heart and bowed humorously, and Polly giggled in amusement in spite of herself.

“It’s okay. If you’d come in last week, you would’ve been right. But this is a Russian Apple Cake. An old favorite of mine from as a kid.” She took another bowl with what look like beat eggs and mixed some of it into her current bowl. “So, what are you guys up to here? Finally ready to accept my… ‘proposition,’ Vera?”

Vera scoffed in annoyance. “For the last time, Polly, no, I will not fuck you.”

“Why not?” Polly said, half-whining-half-serious. “You liked it last time!”

“Last time, we were drunk and I was upset from a blown business deal!”

Polly snickered. “Wasn’t the only thing you blew that night…”

Vera glared. “Not. Funny. We’re here to see if this idiot has any skills in the culinary world.” She jabbed a thumb at Brian.

“You know,” he said indignantly, “I have a name.”

“I know, I just refuse to use it.” Vera looked at her nails in a bored manner. “Look, will you just start making something so we can know if this is for you or not?”

“Why are you helping him, anyway?” Polly added another portion of eggs. “You’re not exactly one for ‘helping people.’”

“Long story,” she rolled her eyes. “Let’s just say I did this to get out of gym class.”

Brian looked around and his eyes landed on a cupcake tray and he shrugged, picking it up. “Okay, let’s… make some cupcakes! That can’t be too bad, right?”

***

Oz and Valerie traversed the halls, calling Scott’s name. “Scott! Scott!” In spite of herself, Valerie’s voice was bound with regret and remorse. She wasn’t sure if she pushed too hard, but Scott was genuinely one of the only good people in this whole school and hurting him was not what she’d wanted to do when she woke up today. “Scott, come out! We just want to say we’re sorry!”

She turned to Oz. “Do you have any idea why he freaked so badly? I mean, I knew he thought better of his cousins, but… I didn’t think he was so attached to the denial.”

Oz looked down a bit. “I’m not sure. If we can find him, maybe we can find out why.”

Finally, as he turned a corner, he spotted the werewolf’s shoulder going around a corner. “There!” He pointed. “You keep going down this way and I’ll follow him from behind. Maybe we can find him in a room somewhere.” Valerie nodded and continued on the path they’d been following, straight ahead.

As he made his way down the hall, Oz listened and looked intently for anything that would alert him to where Scott was. As he passed a small utility closet, he heard a sniffling coming from it.

Reaching out, he opened it slightly to see Scott bundled up, a look of utter depression upon his face. Scrunched up in the closet, he barely fit, a mop handle resting on his back. “Scott,” Oz said gently, “do you want to come out of there?”

Scott shook his head. “Okay,” Oz replied, “I’m going to sit here then until you’re ready to talk, okay?” Scott didn’t say anything, but he nodded ever so slightly.

Oz sat down, cross-legged, and waited. Valerie came around the opposite corner and Oz signaled for her to stay back a bit. She sat down, out of sight from behind the door, keeping her distance.

The two of them waited for a few minutes. There was no sound in the halls except for Scott’s small sniffles. It saddened and confused Oz to see Scott this way- the most positive, upbeat, and brawny member of Spooky High, sitting in a closet, hiding like a child.

In his heart, Oz felt pain- familiar pain of wanting to run away and hide.

Eventually, Scott spoke, his voice heavy with emotion. “…I know my cousins are bad. I know what they say to me… is… bad.”

All Oz did was nod. Scott continued, “I know everyone thinks I’m… not smart. And a lot of the time, they’re not… wrong. But… I’m not dumb, either. And I know when someone’s mean and someone’s nice.”

“Nobody thinks you’re dumb, Scott,” Oz said reassuringly. “You’re optimistic. You want to see the best in people, and there’s nothing wrong with that, especially with wanting to see the best in your family. It’s okay.”

Scott sat in silence for a few more moments. Finally, Oz broached with, “Scott… does this sudden investment in this… does it have to do with Brian quitting?”

Silence.

“He mentioned to me that you were upset about that.”

Sighing, Scott looked up. “When Brian joined the team, I finally had a team member that told me I did a good job. My cousins… they only ever point out my mistakes. They rag on me a lot, and I know they’re just trying to help. But… it doesn’t. And nobody else says anything ‘cause they don’t want my cousins to help them, too.”

His head hunched further as he spoke. “Brian didn’t care about that. He told me I was a good boy when I made a pass anyway. He always told me that I did a good job, even when I fumbled a ball… He made me feel good.”

“And now he’s gone…” Oz finished. Scott nodded.

Oz allowed him a few more moments alone. Looking to Valerie, her eyes were wide in shock, but she also looked… impressed.

Reaching out, Oz said, “Scott, do you want to come out of there now?” At first, Scott didn’t move. Oz thought he might refuse, so he’d have to do a bit more waiting. But Scott reached out, grabbed Oz’s hand and Oz slowly helped pull the werewolf out of the closet and onto his feet.

Standing in the hallway, Scott’s tail drooped and his shoulders were lowered. “Without Brian… I’m afraid I’ll just feel bad again. My cousins won’t stop.”

“Scott. Look at me, please.” Scott looked up… to see Oz smiling. “Nobody thinks you’re dumb, I promise. People don’t always know what they mean when they say things. It’s okay that what your cousins say doesn’t make you feel good. Family… family doesn’t always do well, even if they mean it.”

Scott was silent, but he looked up as Oz continued. “But you have Vera and Valerie for support, too. If you ever need someone to tell you you’re a good boy… you can go to them. You can still go to Brian, too. You’re still friends. And as of today…” He pointed a thumb at himself. “…You can come to me, too. Okay? And we’ll teach you how to tell yourself you’re a good boy. It won’t be immediate, and… we’ll still have to deal with your cousins. But… it’s a process we’ll all help you with. Deal?”

Oz held out his hand. Staring at it for a moment, Scott’s tail began wagging once more and his face broke out in a massive grin. “Deal!” He grabbed Oz around the back and lifted him up in a great hug before setting him back on the ground. Oz gave a weak thumbs-up and twisted his back. Several pops sounded out.

“Ah! There we go…” Scott flashed a smile and a wave to Valerie.

“Hi, Valerie! I feel better now. Did you still need help?” Valerie looked from Oz to Scott, her mouth slightly agape, before shutting it and shaking her head.

“No… no, I think we’ve got this about handled.”

Smiling again, Scott walked off, his disposition positively sunny. Approaching Oz as he continued to pop his joints, she shook her head in disbelief. “Where… the hell… did that come from?”

He gave her a look of confusion. “Huh? What do you mean?”

She blinked and motioned to the direction Scott had gone. “That… fuckin’… pep speech you just gave Scott! You’re normally quiet as a mouse and try to hide from social interaction. But you just pulled that out of a hat! What gives?”

Oz rubbed his neck and gave her a sheepish look. “I… I don’t know, really. I just…”

He paused and looked down. “…I just told him the things I wish people had told me, when I was feeling alone.”

As he looked away, an embarrassed glow spreading across his face, Valerie felt… odd. She felt… bad. Like… she-wished-she-could-make-him-feel-better-bad. Was that… normal?

Burying the feelings down, she shook her head and smiled. “Well, one thing’s for certain- you’re definitely ready to stand up to the Wolfpack!”

***

Back in the Home Ec room, Brian’s cupcakes were smoldering as he brought them out of the oven. The batter was glowing a faint blue, causing Vera to pale and step back. “Brian… why are your cupcakes glowing?”

For his credit, Brian looked properly ashamed. “Uh… I honestly could not tell you.”

After Ms. Lestrade disposed of the cupcakes with a hazmat suit in the chemistry room, Vera and Brian left in shame, carrying pieces of Polly’s cake as consolation prizes. “You know,” Vera took a bite, “she’s actually a pretty good cook.”

“Yeah, got to say, not a total loss,” Brian nodded as he munched his dish. “But clearly cooking ain’t it. So what’s next?”

Vera sighed. “Let’s just take a break for the day, huh? Enjoy this cake and start again another day.” Nodding, the two found a small staircase and sat on it, eating their treat.

Brian looked at Vera as he sat to her side, resting his plate on his knees. As she took a bite of cake, she stopped to give a small piece to one of her snakes, who snapped it up with joy before nuzzling her finger. Even though she tried to hide it… she smiled, ever so slightly, before eating a bite herself. Her face melted and she seemed to bask in the enjoyment of the taste, her shoulders dropping and her eyes closed in simplistic happiness.

He had to admit, she was nice to be around when she wasn’t intentionally being as acidic as possible. And… well, she certainly was easy on the eyes.

Smiling in spite of himself, he took a bite of his own cake. “What?” He heard Vera ask and he looked up to see her looking at him. “What are you staring at?” Her voice was guarded, on edge of being irritated, but not quite there yet.

Shrugging, he said, “Nothing, just… you’re pleasant to be around when you’re just… enjoying the moment, you know?” He stuck his fork in his mouth.

She looked down and thought about what he said. About what Valerie had told her about not enjoying life recently.

No, she shook her head. I’m an independent, determined, driven individual. I’m just ensuring I have the best possible chance at succeeding! I…

She looked back and saw Brian eating his cake. It was as if he had no worries- his face was completely free of any crinkles of concentration or irritation, his body was limp and relaxed. As he enjoyed his dish, he exuded a calm feeling of relaxation.

And Vera felt something she absolutely did not expect.

She felt jealous.

***

In the bathroom, Oz was washing his face. “Okay,” he said. “Okay, okay, okay… I can do this… I got this.”

Looking up, he gave his reflection a smile and a finger gun. “You got this!”

Do you?

Whipping around, he gazed around, trying to determine the source of the voice. “Hello? Who’s… who’s there?” His voice trembled as he spoke and he gripped the sink countertop. The air was now thick and heavy, like a mist had materialized out of nowhere.

Don’t play dumb. You know who I am.

He didn’t want to turn around… but he knew he had no choice. The voice was going nowhere. Turning slowly, his eyes wide with terror…

There. In the mirror.

An enormous, black mass, taking up the entire space. Lit up with nine bright, white lights for eyes.

Hello, Oz. It’s been a long time since we talked, hasn’t it?

Oz shook his head. “I’m not listening to you. I’m not listening to you…”

Why not? Huh? Am I really all that awful?

“YES! You- you hurt people! You use them and scare them and-“

AND?! What about that?! It’s what we do! What we were born to do! What we enjoy doing, no matter how hard you deny it!

“NO!” Oz glared at the figure in the mirror. Righteous anger surged through him and he pounded the porcelain sink with his fist. “I reject it! I reject you!” He nearly shouted. “I don’t want anything to do with you! Go away!”

Oh, but someone does. You are still having nightmares, aren’t you?

Oz… refused to answer. His mouth clamped shut like Fort Knox.

Someone is trying to coax me out. That entity in your dreams… the voice… it calls to me. Brings me more and more to the surface. I admit, it’s… tempting me.

The mass chuckled. It was a horrendous sound, more like the screams of the damned, and energy rippling across the mirror with each laugh. A love of all things horrendous filled the air and danced around Oz’s forehead like small imps.

I would love to emerge if I could. And with the way it’s weakening my chains by eating away at your psyche… maybe I will soon. But… here’s the thing. I’m no idiot. That thing… that voice… it wants to use us. It is our enemy.

“And I’ve got a plan in place to deal with it,” Oz glared again. He was not going to let this… this mistake… ruin his life. He refused. “So fuck off back down into my subconscious and let me handle it!”

You’re an even bigger fool than I thought if you think your idiotic little self-help plan is enough to deal with this! This is no ordinary monster, I can tell. I can sense old souls.

Oz felt a chill go down his back. “Old… souls? What are you talking about?”

That information isn’t free. Tell you what… I’ll make you a deal.

The eyes grew wide with hope and determination. It possessed no mouth… but its whole body seemed to shift like a malicious grin.

Let me out. Unchain me and accept me back. And we’ll hunt it together! We’ll find whatever wretched cave it’s hiding in and rend it limb from limb! We’ll fill its head with all the torments of reality and enter it into an unending cosmos of terror for daring to manipulate us!

It cackled so hard that the mirror fractured, a crack spreading out like a wretched hand with bent fingers. Oz stepped back in fear and shook his head. “No deal. It’s not worth it. I’ll figure this out and solve it on my own. Now get lost!”

Anger and resentment rippled towards him.

Fine. But this is only going to get worse. And I’m not going anywhere- never forget that.

The mass dissipated, and the air cleared up. Oz realized he’d been holding his breath, and let it out in a long-winded sigh. Panting, he gazed at the cracked mirror… before shaking his head and exiting.

Outside, Valerie gave him a concerned look. “Uh… everything okay? I thought I heard you talking in there.”

“Yeah!” He said, a little too quickly. Correcting his speech, he coughed and said, “Yeah. Yeah… everything’s… fine.”

She raised an eyebrow… but said nothing. The two walked towards the football field, where the Wolfpack was practicing football. Pointing, she said, “Okay, chief, go get them.”

He looked to her, eyes wide. “Wait, what?! Just like that?”

Flashing him two thumbs-up, she said, “Yep. Just like that.”

“Valerie… I’m still not sure about this… this isn’t something I have… experience in…” He chewed a fingernail nervously.

Laughing, Valerie remarked, “Hey, careful, Oz, may not want to share that with every girl you talk to.” She gave a flirtatious smile.

His face beet-red, he turned to her, his eyes wide. “What?! No! I didn’t-“

“Relax, Ozzie, I’m just teasing,” she put her hands on his back and began pushing him forward. “But listen to me. If you can cheer up Scott like that, you can stand up to these knockoff hyenas.” She gave him a light punch on the arm as she pushed him onto the field. “You can do it!”

Nodding, Oz turned to see the Wolfpack had noticed him and was now slinking toward him, slimy smiles on their weaselly snouts. In particular, the leader charge forward, eagerly awaiting to pick on his favorite nerd.

“Okay…” Oz whispered to himself. “Okay… you can do this… you can do this.” He took a deep breath in… straightened his back… and as he went to speak…

“Hey, if it isn’t our favorite punching bag! What stupid shit are you up to today?”

…All the confidence left his system.

He felt small again. Immediately, his default system went up and he cowered. He… he couldn’t do this. How could he? He wasn’t scary, he wasn’t intimidating. He didn’t want to be. It was better to let them just take their pound of flesh and go.

“Look at him! He’s already shaking!” One of the members gave him a hard shove and he nearly fell over. “What are you, a masochist? Did you come here looking for us to save us the trouble of finding you?” Another laughed as Oz righted himself.

“Ha! What a little dick-rider. Maybe we should find you a hole to just go jump in, huh? Then maybe you’ll disappear like you want to. Certainly would make it easier on the eyes to be here!” They howled with laughter at their own shitty insults.

Oz just clasped his hands and shrank down. He didn’t want to be here. He didn’t want to do this.

Watching the spectacle, Valerie cringed and shook her head. She really thought he could do it, but it looked as if he was reverting to his old tactics of just doing nothing.

But as she watched him get shoved around and shouted at, as the wolves cackled at his jumping, she felt… angry. Naturally, any person would feel disgust. But… she began to think back to… a much earlier memory.

A memory of when she was a kid.

“You know he’s not your real dad. Your real parents didn’t want you. Something must be wrong with you.”

Her throat caught as she remembered finding her sister… in the sandbox. Those kids…

“Maybe you’re broken or something. Maybe you’re not worth anything.”

She’d gotten pissed… they were making her sister, her sister, cry. Nobody messed with an Oberlin on her watch. So she’d grabbed a stick…

“That’s all you are, aren’t you? A worthless little-“

And she’d beat the shit out of them. She wacked them over and over with that big-ass branch until their welts had welts and they’d fled in terror. Then she’d brought Vera to their father…

She still had that stick. It was sitting on her dresser at home.

That incredible feeling of protectiveness… as she was watching Oz get pushed and shoved around by these idiots… she felt it return. A desire to defend those who couldn’t… or wouldn’t… defend themselves. It was… selfless. A concept she thought she’d eradicated from her being.

And she decided one thing as she felt an urge to kick the shit out of them rise- she fucking hated bullies.

“Hey!” Before she fully comprehended what she was doing, she was running forward and kicked one of them in the ankle. “Fuck off!”

“Huh?” Oz looked up to see Valerie pushing the leader away. And for a moment he was scared, because her face had morphed into absolute rage and fury. Her face was twisted in anger and her fur was sticking straight up, and her nails had grown forward into claws like switchblades. As her hand swiped at one of the werewolves, it left four long red marks, and blood ran down his arm like a river.

“Ow! Hey, you fucking bitch!” The werewolf cursed and growled at her, before retreating behind the pack leader. He jabbed a finger in her face. “Hey! Mind your own fucking business!”

“Listen up, shitheads!” She stepped in front of Oz and jabbed a finger into the leader’s chest. “Don’t mess with him, got it? I catch any of you giving him shit again, you’ll be pissing in a full-body cast for two months, got it?!” Her voice delivered seriousness, and the leader glared around her shoulder at Oz. For a moment, he and Valerie stared off at each other…

But he blinked first.

He turned to the other three. “Let’s go practice, guys… they’re a waste of time and air.” This final insult wasn’t delivered with idiotic joy… it was delivered with venom. The other three growled as they followed him, the injured one lapping at the claw marks on his arm.

Breathing heavily, Valerie seemed to realize where she was and turned to Oz. “Uh… sorry, about…”

“No!” He began laughing. Valerie raised an eyebrow as he chuckled heartily. “That… that was fucking awesome! I’ve never seen them like that!” He gazed at her hands. “And your nails! I didn’t even know you could do that!”

She gazed sheepishly at her nails and blushed. “Oh, yeah. I… I keep that a secret from most people. It’s, uh, a good backup weapon, and… well, you know.”

“It’s badass!” Oz gleefully cheered. “That was so cool!”

Valerie couldn’t lie… what she’d done had mostly been instinct, but… seeing his euphoria at having someone stand up for him was… rewarding. It almost made him… cute. A little.

Unable to resist, she broke into a smile and laughed back. “Yeah, I, uh, I guess that was pretty cool, huh?”

The two stood there for a moment, laughing over the Wolfpack’s humiliation. It would’ve been an odd sight for anyone else, but for the two of them…

They just enjoyed each other’s company.

Finally settling down, Valerie smiled but her tone took on seriousness once more. “Okay, don’t think that gets you out of this, though. That won’t keep them away from you forever. Oz.” She placed a hand on his shoulder. “Listen. I know you can stand up for yourself. I’m not an idiot. You need to learn that it’s okay. Understand?”

Silent for a moment, he simply looked at her hand. A slight blush came over his cheeks, confusing Valerie. “Uh… yeah, I… I get what you mean.” Sucking in a breath of air, he looked straight at her, his face more determined. “I’ll get this eventually. I know we will.”

She gazed at him for a moment, admiring his determination. Then realizing she’d had her hand on his shoulder just a little too long, she took it off and coughed. “Hey… don’t go thinking this means I take charity. I still expect my $40.”

“$40?” He cocked his head to the side. “Uh… not that I mind paying less, but our agreement was $80.”

Valerie smiled and tilted her own head. “Yeah, but… friends get a discount. And after you helped Scott today… I’d say we’re friends.”

Oz smiled. He was… happier to hear that than he thought he would be.

***

Later, after school had ended, Scott was humming happily as he headed towards the field for practice. After Oz had helped him, he’d had an awesome time talking with Miranda about the latest episode of-

“Hey! Weakling!” He looked up to see his cousin waving him over. “Get over here and get started! Now!”

He felt a surge of worthlessness pass through him like an electric current. He gazed down sadly at the ground and kicked at the dirt a little.

But then he thought back to Oz and what he’d said… how his friends would help him learn to tell himself he was a good boy… that…

That they’d help him learn how to tell his cousins to stop. And his sadness… melted away a little. He still felt hurt, but not… hopeless.

And Scott smiled and ran to join his team.

Chapter Text

In Monstropolis, somewhere…

Deep underground… a cavern echoed with the sounds of running water and rain, dripping through the breaks in the Earth to the rock maze underneath.

You would’ve been forgiven for assuming it was a deserted, uninhabited place. The entrance was… hard to find, and… there seemed to be nothing down here, save insects, a few bats, maybe some snakes…

All that was listening was the stone and the water.

But deeper into the tunnel’s interior… a presence, inhabiting this place, its temporary home. It was the only place it could find refuge from it all… so much fucking noise. Sights. Sensations.

Too… overwhelming. It needed… quiet. Peace. And as much as it sickened it to admit… it needed dark. The light that it craved caused it harm, an addiction it couldn’t indulge.

For now.

But it would be returned to its former glory… it had a plan in place.

Speaking of which…

The presence sunk down, down into darkness and security… and it closed its eyes, falling into a deep slumber…

And a whole new view of the world was opened up to it- a spectral version of Monstropolis, from a bird’s eye view. All over the city, inside buildings, walking on the streets… it could see all the citizens.

Or more accurately, it could see their souls- the channels to all the facets of one’s being, the heart, the spirit. But what it was interested in, and what it could access, was the mind.

Watching them as a hawk does a rabbit, it could observe their dreams, invade their minds, take their memories. They were entirely at its mercy, with no means of defending themselves or fending them off.

Diving down, it sought out one mind in particular. That anxiety-riddled fool, Oz… it despised him. To see a celestial bring itself so low voluntarily? A sickening waste. He was an idiot and a disgrace to all alike him.

In a way, though, it was poetic. His mistake would prove its salvation. And what better a tool than a being made entirely of darkness, the very antithesis to itself?

Peering into his home, it saw… he had fallen asleep at his desk. Extending its presence, it entered his mind and searched for his memories…

He stirred, as they all did when it when on these reconnaissance missions. But there was nothing these weaklings could do to prevent him from tormenting them, or taking whatever he wanted.

It shuffled through his memories of the day. One of those ridiculous lessons with Valerie… an encounter with those mutts they called Scott and the Wolfpack? Looks like she’d rescued him…

This development wasn’t ideal… but his anxiety continued to fester and that would allow what he needed to rise. Good…

But it would take time. A lot more time.

Leaving him sleeping, it floated above, looking for another. An… associate of its.

Where… where did he go…?

Finally, it could sense his mind, fast asleep in an abandoned building, in the downtown area. Reaching out once more, it entered the mind of its employee, entering into the depraved world of his creation.

Inside… there he was. As usual… he was dreaming of conquest. This time, he was embroiled in a bloody war, laughing maniacally as he swung through a field of enemies in an open field. The sky was filled with smoke, and he appeared to be fighting an army of humanoid monsters with… enormous ears?

Whatever they were, he sliced through his opponents as heat cuts through ice. Crimson stained his body, his eyes gleaming with the thrill of battle and slaughter.

Floating above the pointless carnage, it called out to him, demanding his attention. Rabin!

No response. Rabin merely continued in his carnage, grabbing one opponent by the neck and throwing him into a group of approaching warriors. They all wielded swords and were dressed in armor; Rabin beat his chest with his scimitars, bare-chested and grinning like a madman.

It exuded annoyance as it tried again to call out to him. Rabin!

Once more… it was ignored. He simply continued to cut down enemies left and right, never ceasing, a one-man army against an endless onslaught. His ultimate fantasy- the glory and thrill of war.

The presence grew infuriated. What was this thing to think he could ignore it? Rage boiled inside as it watched him laugh and fight.

No matter. In this world… it was in control.

Extending itself into the very fabric of the dream, it commanded it to shift, to change. Like Prometheus forming clay, it demanded a new dream, and slowly the world melted away. As Rabin moved to bisect an injured foe, his battlefield gave way to a dark void.

“Hey! What the-?” He shouted, enraged and confused. He swung around, and his scimitars disappeared from his hands. “What the fuck?! What’s going-“

Realization dawned on his face as he realized the only explanation. “No, wait, don’t-!”

Suddenly, blackness was replaced with light more intense than a star, blasting his senses and overwhelming all around him. He grasped his eyes and howled in pain, dropping to one knee and covering his face.

RABIN!

He glared up into open space, wrenching his eyes open and growling defiantly. “Okay, OKAY! I hear you! Cut the floodlights!”

The intense attack slowly faded away, replaced once again with an empty blank abyss. Rabin snarled as the presence descended in front of him. “I hate when you do that.”

It seems to be the only way to get your attention when you’re drunk on bloodlust.

“What do you want?” He demanded, jabbing a finger at it.

I am in need of more… test subjects. You will go out tonight and retrieve one for me.

“WHAT?!” Rabin cried in outrage. “I just got you some last week, you’re telling me you fucked up already?!”

Watch your tongue, or I’ll remove it! My work is delicate and constant! You’re lucky I waited this long!

Rabin rubbed his temples and tried to calm down. “I know since you stay in that tank all the time you don’t get it, but I can’t just keep getting you test subjects whenever you want. The cops in this city are incompetent, but even they begin to notice when more than three people go missing in a week! We need to space this out so we don’t catch too much heat!”

We cannot afford to wait, Rabin! The final preparations have begun, no time can be wasted!

“What does it matter anyway? Do you really need these experiments anymore? You said that everything was going fine with tormenting the shadow-thing!”

I cannot risk any chance of failure. We need a backup plan, Rabin. And besides, it’s been two days, do you think I’ll hinge our entire success on two days? I need more time to ensure that I can draw our target out!

“…Fine. But you’d better make good on your end of the bargain,” Rabin clenched a clawed fist. “Don’t think for a second I won’t hunt you down if I find out you’re lying.”

Relax, Rabin. You will receive your reward… so long as you pay your dues.

He popped his neck and stretched. “I’ll go out later tonight. Bound to be some idiots going out at some point.”

Good. And try to be a little more subtle than last time? Perhaps deliver me my experiments intact and undamaged?

Rabin chuckled. “What? I only had to sever an arm. Believe me, this time… they’ll simply disappear.”

***

At Zoe’s house, she and Vicky were up in her bedroom, going over her assignment.

Vicky had been thoroughly impressed by Zoe’s bedroom- she had posters of various anime and manga plastered all over the room, to the point that the pink wallpaper underneath could only be seen in various patches and spots. It was somewhat disorganized- papers and pencils were scattered everywhere and her bed was wrinkled and unmade.

Her desk was an absolute catastrophe- it was covered with notebooks, colored pencils, and art pieces of all kinds. Zoe had to move a lot of it aside just to give Vicky space to put her own stuff down. It looked like the drawers were stuffed with more of the same, with large sketchbooks filled with numerous drawings. Even the desk itself had doodles inked all over the surface.

“Uh… Zoe? Ever thought of cleaning this stuff off?” Vicky asked, as she laid her paper down.

Zoe blinked. “…What are you talking about? It is clean. Do you see any trash?”

There was an awkward silence as Vicky tried to process that this much clutter could be considered “clean.”

“And anyway, I didn’t invite you over to judge my living space,” Zoe gave her an annoyed squint as Vicky’s cheeks tinted pink and she glanced down. “I invited you over to help your writing! So what do you got so far?”

Her energy was bubbling over; she was pacing the room and had a wide grin on her face. “C’mon, show me, show me, show me!” She had a pencil held in one of her hair-tentacles.

Presenting her work, Vicky stated, “Okay, so the assignment was to write three one-paragraph stories, and we were supposed to use direct discourse, indirect discourse, and free indirect discourse. So I wrote three paragraphs, one for each- this is what I have so far.”

Zoe took the paper and looked it over. She nodded and occasionally let out “hmm” and “uh-huh” as she read. As her eyes traveled down the paper, he expression was unreadable, and Vicky twiddled her thumbs nervously as she read over her paper.

Finally, she set it back down on the desk and clasped her hand and tentacle together. “Okay,” she said, pointing her arm diver-fashion at the desk, “it’s not great.”

Vicky groaned and put her hands in her face.

“It’s okay, Vicky,” Zoe quickly added, “it’s not terrible. It just needs some polish. And this is good, this is why we ask people to read our stuff! So we can give feedback and make it better.”

Taking a quick breath in, Vicky nodded and said, “Okay, so what do you think I should do? How do I make it better?”

Zoe opened a drawer and removed a book from it, before handing it to Vicky. She stared at the cover in confusion. “A… dictionary?”

Nodding, Zoe explained, “Yep. Your word choice is a little stale- you repeat words a lot. If you want to keep readers invested, you need to keep word choice varied and interesting. But at the same time, you don’t want to pick obscure words that nobody knows- you want a balance between words that almost everyone is going to have in their lexicon, but that still engage the reader and don’t blur together.”

Vicky was silent for a moment, before replying, “Okay, but why did you hand me a dictionary? We have the Internet, Zoe, this is obsolete.”

Shrugging, she grabbed the dictionary as she said, “Yeah, to be honest, I’m not even sure why I still have this thing.” She chucked it out the open window.

“Okay!” She clapped, then slapped a fresh piece of paper on top of the old one. “Get to work! Write me up a new draft! Use more interesting words! Go, go, go!” She moved and shouted with the energy of a football coach whose team was in the winning stretch with one touchdown to victory.

Caught off-guard, Vicky began copying her text almost word-for-word, but swapping out repeats with new words with a quick Internet search. Her hands moved quick as her pencil traced along the paper- at least this way, she could just work and didn’t have to try and come up with fresh ideas.

When she was finally finished, she handed the paper back to Zoe, who read it quickly and smiled. “Good! This is a lot better. Okay, now the next thing…”

Vicky tilted her head. “’Next thing’? Wait, that wasn’t it?”

Zoe stared at her and blinked, before realizing she wasn’t kidding. “Uh… no, Vicky, that wasn’t it. There’s a lot more to improving your writing than just word choice.”

Looking back at her paper with a confused expression, she asked, “Well, why did you have me write up another draft already, then? Why not just tell me how to fix all the problems first, then fix it?”

A shrug was her answer. “I just find it easier to fix one problem at a time with each subsequent draft and let the changes accumulate. We can do it your way if you want, but I don’t know, I feel like you might have a harder time picking stuff up.” She sat down on her bed and pulled a small object from her pocket, throwing aside the wrapper.

At first glance, it resembled an ordinary granola bar… but it had mouths. And was screaming obscenities. The bar itself was colored… she didn’t even know how to describe it. It was like her eyes couldn’t comprehend what she was looking at.

“Uh… what have you got there, Zoe?” She asked, eyeing the snack with suspicion.

“Insanity bar,” she replied, taking a bite. “You want one?” She pulled another out of her hoodie pocket.

Vicky held up her hands. “That’s okay… I think I’ll pass for now.”

Zoe shrugged again- she seemed to do that a lot. “Suit yourself. Now get to writing!”

***

Amira and Polly met outside an enormous warehouse, out in the southern side of Monstropolis. It was clearly a desolate, abandoned place- it was covered in graffiti, profanity, and lewd drawings, all in various shades and colors of spray paint. All the windows were cracked, busted out or smeared with filth; the area around the warehouse was littered with cigarettes, trash, all kinds of objects likely riddled with diseases.

However, the warehouse, at least tonight, was anything but empty; inside, deafening music blared out and multi-colored lights shined through the cracks and openings, while people milled in and out of the front entrance.

Amira looked around as she and Polly walked to the entrance. “This is the party you were talking about?”

Polly rolled her eyes. “No, I asked you to come all the way out here just to take a look before we go to another party.” Amira shot her an annoyed look, to which Polly replied, “Ask stupid questions and get stupid answers, boo.”

“How do you guys not get caught out here?” Amira asked, looking around. “You’re trespassing and God knows what else.”

Giving her a curious look, Polly asked, “You don’t come out to the south side much, do you?”

Amira shrugged. “Not really. It’s kind of far out and I’m not usually going to waste gas to get out here, and fuck you if you think I’m taking the bus.”

“That makes sense,” Polly nodded and floated in the air as they moved forward. “The south side is kind of a no-man’s-land. They don’t really care what anyone does out here, because so much of it is either condemned or abandoned that they can’t be bothered to give a shit every time someone uses a place for a party or something. It would take too much time and officers, so they only investigate the really serious crimes that happen out here.”

“Like what?”

“Murders, kidnappings, stuff like that.”

Entering the warehouse, Amira saw it was packed. Monsters filled up just about every empty space in the large hangar area, with almost all of them holding some kind of drink. On a stage was a DJ with a standard sound booth, blasting music as monsters danced or talked or made out in a corner.

“Nice scene, huh?” Polly said, already headbanging to a metal song as it blared through the speakers. Amira had to strain to hear her over the commotion, but still she smiled and made a metal sign.

She bumped into someone by accident and he turned to snap at her. He was a unicorn dressed in a leather jacket, smoking a cigarette. The jacket was too large for him, as the sleeves slipped over his hands and the waist went down almost to his knees. He glared down at her over his sunglasses. “Hey, watch where you’re going!”

Amira glared at him and flipped him the bird. He snorted and got in her face. “Listen, bitch, I said, watch where you’re going.”

At that, Amira balled her fist and was ready to deck this asshole in the face… but then she let it go and just shuffled away. The unicorn continued to glare at her as she left.

Normally, Amira would've kicked that guy's ass there and back again, then kicked it again, but she was here to try and have fun, not find six or seven fights. She wanted to at least have a drink before breaking somebody's nose.

As she made her way around, Polly floated up above the crowd to rock out and dance uninhibited. Amira made her way towards a fold-out table with drinks and snacks on it, where the crowd thinned out a little bit and she could breathe. As she approached, though, she noticed a familiar face hanging around it.

“Damien? What are you doing here?”

Sure enough, the red-skinned demon was flicking his tail about, looking both bored and apprehensive. “Oh, hey, Amira. I don’t know, a friend invited me out, but I’m kind of bored. The music’s cool, I guess, but it needs something. Something…”

Amira gave him a blank look before she snapped her fingers and a small flame appeared between her thumb and pointer finger. Damien’s face lit up and he pointed at it. “Yes! That! That’s exactly what this place needs! Go make a big fire, right in the middle of the dance floor! It’ll be metal as fuck!”

She scoffed. “Forget it, Damien, I’m not lighting a fire for you.”

He began whining like a child. “Awww, come on! I promise I won’t stab you if you do it!”

“You won’t stab me anyway, bitch,” she snarled back. She put her hands on her hip and stared him down. “Read my lips- I. Am. Not. Starting. A. Fire. For. You.” She jabbed his chest with each syllable just to drive the point home a bit further.

At first, he looked sour, but a thought seemed to cross his mind and he nodded. “You know what? …I respect that. You’re sticking up for your own interests and arson just isn’t one of them like it is mine.”

Amira blinked and shrugged. “Okay. I… I guess thank you? As long as you understand what I’m saying.” She turned back and began pouring herself a non-alcoholic drink. She wanted to just get blasted, but she drove here, and she wasn’t stupid enough to drive drunk.

He grinned. “Absolutely. I’ll just go start a fire myself.”

“Wait, what?” She turned back up to see he’d disappeared into the sea of multicolored monsters. She stood there, stock still, as the implications of what she’d just done sank in like a stone in an ocean.

“Oh… fuck.”

***

Meanwhile, Vicky was preparing another draft with Zoe, who was waiting patiently.

Well, not so much patiently as asking Vicky over and over again to see it.

“C’mon! Show me, show me, shoooooooooow me!” She wasn’t doing it to be annoying, smiling and laughing the whole time as she attempted to get around Vicky and see what she’d written. Vicky had refused for the last ten minutes to show her work, instead erasing and re-writing words and almost throwing out the whole paper at one point.

“NO! It’s not ready!” She desperately insisted, though she couldn’t stop a smile from breaking over her face as Zoe reached once more for the paper. “I can’t finish while you’re trying to take it!”

“I’m only trying to take it-“ She giggled as Vicky blocked her from the left, “because you’ve been done for ten minutes and you won’t-“ Suddenly she dived underneath Vicky’s arm, hand outstretched for the paper. Vicky tried moving to dodge her, but ended up getting their feet tangled up as she moved her foot.

“Aaaaah!” She cried out as the two were sent tumbling to the ground, landing on the floor hard on her back. At least it was soft carpet and not hardwood.

As Vicky opened her eyes, gritting her teeth in pain at slamming her back into the ground, she realized Zoe had fallen on her. Zoe lifted herself up and looked down on Vicky, and both their faces blushed red as they scrambled away. Vicky bolted upright and looked around, embarrassed.

“Uh… sorry,” she said sheepishly. Zoe smiled awkwardly and rubbed her neck. “It’s okay, it… was an accident.” The two sat there on the floor, praying desperately to whatever god or gods existed for the awkwardness to pass.

Fortunately, Zoe got her opportunity when she reached up and snatched the paper off the desk. “Aha!”

Vicky leapt for it, trying to grab it back, but Zoe held it out of reach. Her hair-tentacles took it and her “top” eye read it as she focused on keeping it out of Vicky’s reach. “No! It’s not ready, don’t read it! It’s awful!”

“Hmmm…” Zoe murmured as she read it over. “Hey! This is a lot better!”

In an instant, Vicky stopped struggling and looked up at her. Her face was a bit inscrutable- she looked hopeful, yet doubtful. “What? No, you’re just trying to be nice. It’s terrible.”

“No, I’m serious! This is a real improvement!” Zoe smiled at her protégé. “There’s a bit more detail, you used more descriptive words, I’d say this is ready to turn in!” Her face held no signs of deceit; in fact, her eyes sparkled with the pride of having helped somebody at her favorite craft.

Vicky still looked a bit guarded… but she allowed herself to breath a sigh of relief. “Okay… so there’s nothing else to improve?” She expected a nod and a pat on the back, but to her confusion, Zoe shook her head.

“No, there’s always something to improve. But this is a solidly written piece! It’s a lot better than your first draft.”

That… that couldn’t be. No, she couldn’t accept that. How could she turn it in if she could still make it better? It went against every principle she had.

Vicky held out her hand. “Give it back, Zoe, I need to do it again.” Her body language was rigid and she had her fists clenched.

Zoe’s eyes mirrored confusion. “Uh… why? I told you, it’s a good piece. I mean, you can feel free to work on it more if you want, but I’d keep this draft and just make a new one.” Vicky shook her head intensely.

“No, it’s not ready to turn in.” Her voice was strained and needy, growing more desperate for the paper to be delivered back to her. It needed more work, she would spend the entire night on it if she had to, if that was what was required.

Picking up on this, Zoe put a hand on her friend’s shoulder and smiled gently. “Vicky, it’s okay… one of the first things you learn in writing is nothing is ever perfect. You can always improve or change something in your writing, because-“

“No, Zoe, if you say I can improve it, I need to, now give it back!” Her voice snapped with anger and her desperation began to give way to anger. As she began to be more insistent, her eyes furrowed together and her mouth upturned into an angry frown. Her body language was hostile and guarded, standing stock still with none of the softness or openness she always displayed.

A wave of irritation passed through Zoe. She didn’t like being talked to like that- it sparked a feeling in her, a need to defend and go on the offensive. As she opened her mouth to rebuke her friend…

She stopped. Because in Vicky’s eyes, she saw something… something desperate, some animal in a cage scrabbling at the bars to be let free.

And she recognized it.

The irritation faded and transmuted into pity. Sighing, Zoe handed the paper back to Vicky, who moved toward the desk. She was surprised when Zoe stepped between her and the chair.

“I got an idea,” she smiled. “Why don’t we take a break? We’ve been working for a good hour now, I think we could use some off-time.”

“But-“ Vicky began to protest, but Zoe put both her hands on her shoulders.

“Look, Vick, being determined and motivated is great, but trust me, like all things, writing needs to be paced,” she assured. “If you try to just keep going and going, you’ll run out of steam. Let’s just take ten to go down, get a snack, and then we’ll keep going, agreed?”

Vicky’s gaze shifted back and forth between the desk, with the lamp still shining on an empty space, almost beckoning for her to sit down and resume her work. But her friend’s pleading gaze pulled her away each time she started to commit to it, and eventually, she gave way. “Alright, let’s go take a break.”

Zoe pumped her fist in the air. “Yes! Alright, let’s go make a snack.”

***

Amira pushed through the crowd, trying to find Damien before he started a massive fire.

As she moved through the massive wave of people, looking for the crimson annoyance, a part of her just wanted to ditch this place before he lit it up and she got caught in the aftermath. But for all her bravado, she knew she couldn’t leave him unattended after putting the idea in his head.

Eventually, she came across Polly, who was grinding against a tall, buff cyclops. “Polly! I need your help with something,” Amira said desperately. “Damien got in his head to start a fire to make the party more interesting.”

“And… this is your problem… how?” Polly asked, disinterested.

Amira sighed annoyedly. “It’s my problem because like an idiot I put it in his head, so if he does anything stupid, I’m liable! You got to help me find him!”

Polly rolled her eyes. “Boo, trust me, either he won’t get caught and it won’t be a problem, or he’ll get caught and be too stupid to think to mention your name. And anyway, I can’t help you.” She shot Amira a lewd smile. “We’re going to bump some lines and then I’m going to take a look at his ‘one-eyed monster.’”

Amira gave her a venom-filled glare.

“That means I’m going to suck his-“

“I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN!” Amira raged, her hair shooting up three or four feet. A few nearby monsters jumped by the intense heat and light and quickly stepped away. Taking deep breaths, Amira rubbed her temples and her hair came down to its usual flame.

Meanwhile, Polly was grinning like a madwoman. “Man, that was awesome! Can you do it again?” Ignoring her, Amira took in a long breath through her nostrils and let it out through his mouth.

“Polly. Help me. I need you to go above and just try to spot Damien in this clusterfuck of drunken idiots.”

Once again, Polly rolled her eyes. “And I would do that as opposed to getting high and giving head because…?”

Amira growled in constrained fury, her eye threatening to pop a blood vessel. “Because this afternoon, I got myself soaking drenched to save your ass from Martin!”

“Yeah, and I invited you to a party as thanks!”

“Polly, that’s not thanks! You brought me here, ditched me, and are now acting like that is equivalent to flooding the school to keep you out of trouble! You owe me!”

It seemed at first like Polly was going to argue, but she just sighed in defeat. She stepped away and patted the cyclops on the shoulder. “Sorry, big guy. Maybe next time.” He nodded and just continued to dance.

She shot an annoyed glance at Amira, said, “Okay, give me five minutes, I’ll see if I can find him.”

She floated up and began circling the crowd, looking for the telltale red skin and broken horn to betray the presence of the spicy red arsonist. It was difficult- the entire crowd moved and shifted like water, and the blaring technicolor lights didn’t help anything.

She did spot something strange, though… against the wall, in the corner, the air almost seemed to ripple, the way asphalt does on a hot day. It formed a rough outline, almost like… a person? It was hard to tell, and Polly really couldn’t decide if it was really there or if she'd taken LSD and had simply forgotten. It wouldn't be the first time.

As she approached closer, she got a weird sensation. Like… something was staring at her. The ripple effect seemed to move, crawling along the wall and sticking to the shadows. What the hell was…?

Suddenly, a red figure crossed into her vision and she remembered the entire reason she was floating up here instead of tearing it up down there. Damien was following that unicorn asshole from before, grinning as he held a lit lighter in his hand.

“Oh… this could be bad,” Polly murmured as she floated back down. Amira ran up to her, demanding, “Well? Did you find him?”

“Uh… yeah, I did, he’s toward the stage.” She pointed behind her. “Hey, remember that unicorn asshole? Yeah, he’s getting ready to light his jacket on fire.”

“Oh, shit.” Amira rushed towards the stage, Polly in tow. She desperately searched for Damien, praying she got there before the idiot succeeded in his efforts.

Finally, she found him just as he was holding the lighter to the edge of the unicorn’s jacket. The edge was beginning to smolder and his grin grew as the leather began to catch.

“Damien, stop!” Amira ran towards him and smacked the lighter out of his hand- but she tripped, and slammed her body into the unicorn straight-on, knocking them both to the floor.

“Augh, fuck,” she groaned in pain as she hit the floor, hard. As she started to get up, she felt a hard kick to her stomach and she was flung across the floor. Her gut ached with misery, and she looked up to see the unicorn staring down at her, with an expression that screamed fury. Damien had disappeared into the crowd.

“That’s it,” he snorted. “You’re fucking dead.”

***

Vicky and Zoe were enjoying a bowl of popcorn down in the kitchen. It was the good stuff, too, with real butter and salt. Vicky generally tried to watch her diet, but Zoe had managed to convince her to partake a little, and she had to admit, it was delicious.

As Vicky chewed some popcorn, Zoe sat back and flicked one up in the air. It landed in her mouth dead-center, and she smiled proudly. “Hah! That’s three in a row!”

Rolling her eyes, Vicky smiled. “Zoe, it’s not a competition. And it’s not hard to do that, anyway. Watch.” She flicked one up in the air and Zoe watched as the popcorn piece sailed to its target. Vicky munched and said, “See?”

Zoe shrugged, still smiling. “Hey, in my opinion, you can be proud of anything you want- no achievement is ‘too small.’” She popped another piece into her mouth.

Eventually, Vicky stood up and stretched. “Okay,” she said, “back to work.”

“Uh, wait, Vicky, can we talk before you go back up?” Zoe stood up and put her hand on Vicky’s shoulder. “I just… need to talk to you.”

Suspiciously, Vicky squinted at Zoe. “Why? What’s there to talk about?”

“I just… feel like you’re pushing yourself just a bit too hard.” Zoe smiled and held up her hands. “Y’know? Like you’re expecting too much out of yourself.”

Vicky shook her head. “Look, I just… have to keep working on it, okay? It’s not done yet.”

“Yeah, but…” Zoe clasped her hands together and played with her thumbs. “Vicky, I’m just… worried you may be taking this… too seriously.”

“Too seriously?” Vicky’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “It’s school. How can I take school too seriously? This can help determine our futures.”

Zoe sighed. “Vicky, you’re not trying to get a future in creative writing, are you?”

“Er… well… no, but…”

“Exactly,” Zoe smiled. “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with trying to always improve at a craft. In fact, I love that you’re trying! But… you have to give yourself some credit, y’know?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Vicky crossed her arms and looked away.

“Vicky, I just-“

“No, I just need you to understand I want to work on it more,” Vicky glared, that desperation creeping back into her voice. “Okay? If you don’t want to, that’s okay, I won’t force you, but I’ll take it home then.” She turned and ran up the stairs before Zoe could say something back.

A few minutes later, Vicky came back down the stairs and extended a hand out to Zoe. “Thank you for helping me. Another time?”

Her words were not unkind, but they were shielded and ready to turn defensive at the first perception of an attack. Without smiling, Zoe reached out a hand and shook it. “Yep. Sure thing, Vick. Whenever you want.”

Vicky studied her face. There were no signs of malice there, no signs of… anger. She looked mostly sad. Why did she look that? What was there to be sad about?

As she opened the door to leave… she did feel remorse swell in her. She didn’t want to treat Zoe badly, but…

She stepped through and closed the door.

She needed to work on it more.

***

Amira expected to be surrounded by a crowd of monsters in a circle, shouting “Fight! Fight! Fight!” but to her mild surprise, everyone else simply continued to party as the unicorn came at her and swung a fist.

She dodged and yelled, “Hey, man, it’s not what it seems like! You don’t want this!”

He cracked his neck. “Shut the fuck up and fight!” Raising his leg, he shot a kick at her head, and she managed to side-step it, causing him to nearly kick the shit out of a partying naiad.

“Quit dodging!” He was getting angrier and angrier.

Polly swooped in between them and held up her hands. “Hey, man, this-“

“Shut up, slut!” He yelled and grabbed Polly by the wrist and threw her to the side. As she tumbled to the floor, rage sparked in Amira. She turned and glared at him.

“Oh, now you’re dead,” She balled her fists up and held them in front of her. The unicorn grinned and mirrored her stance.

“Finally!” And he charged forward, swinging a fist right at her face.

She moved her face to the left and simultaneously punched up into his ribs, causing his eyes to bulge over his sunglasses and him to collapse to the floor in a crumpled heap. Amira cracked her knuckles and stared down at him as he coughed and failed to constrain tears from escaping his eyes.

“One hit? Dude, you’re big talk and go down after one hit?” She mocked. Turning her back on him, she held out a hand to Polly, who was still on the floor. “You good?”

Polly smiled up and nodded. Grabbing her hand, Amira yanked her to her feet. “Thanks,” she said warmly, “I-“

“Aaaaaaaaaah!” The unicorn screamed like a maniac as he suddenly charged Amira from the back. He managed to get a hit on her shoulder before she shoved him back, holding it and gritting her teeth.

As he charged again, she aimed a shot directly for his nose. Crack! Direct hit, and blood spurted from his nostrils as he stumbled back, but managed to stay on his feet.

“You are one shit fighter for someone so eager to get into one,” Amira noted. The unicorn snorted and lowered his head, aiming his horn straight for her abdomen. He kicked his foot up and charged, eyes filled with rage.

But his trajectory was straight and predictable. Once more side-stepping him, Amira grabbed the horn as he passed her and wrestled him to the floor, keeping him pinned with a foot.

“It’s over!” She told him. “You lost. Get the fuck over it. Or you’ll lose the horn, too!” She forced it up as she spoke, feeling the resistance as the keratin weakened. The unicorn’s eyes widened in horror.

“No, wait, please! Don’t-“

“CIDER!”

Amira jumped as a much louder voice screamed in her ears. It shocked her enough that her grip on the horn loosened, and the unicorn slipped out of her grasp, shoving her to the side… before a hand reached down and grabbed him the jacket collar.

Looking up, Amira saw a much taller unicorn had seized the smaller one and was now glaring down at him. “There you are, you little shit!”

“Whiskey?!” The smaller one looked up at him, red running down his snout, eyes and face drawn in abject terror. “How- how did you-“

“Next time you go out, don’t tell your friends! Turns out they’re a lot more scared of me than they are you.” The larger one- apparently named Whiskey- sneered. “Does Mom know you’re out here?”

The smaller one rubbed his neck. “I mean… not explicitly?”

Whiskey turned to Amira and Polly, who were utterly surprised by the scene before them. He raised his hand. “I’m real sorry about this. This little shit is always going out and trying to start fights. He thinks he’s tough like that.”

“Uh… hey, you know, all good, man,” Amira raised a thumbs-up. “Sorry for, uh, breaking his nose.” Red was continuing to run down the younger unicorn’s nose and onto the ground.

“Naw, don’t worry about it,” Whiskey waved the concern away with a hand. “He deserves it for acting like a kid.” He glared down at his brother. “We’re going home, Cider. And for the last time…!”

He ripped the sunglasses off of the terrified Cider’s face. “Quit stealing my glasses and my jacket!”

As he marched away, the smaller unicorn desperately trying to get away or plead with his brother, Amira and Polly just looked to each other.

“I… I don’t even...” Polly said, shrugging her shoulders. The ridiculousness of the situation set in and the two began chuckling, before their chuckling devolved into jackal-like cackling.

As the two laughed, Polly grabbed Amira’s hand and began to lead her towards the center of the party. “Alright, come on, let’s just dance for a while!”

The two rocked out to the music for hours. Amira never spotted Damien again, so he either gave up on his arson plan or had ducked out to avoid her wrath for dragging her into a fight. That was a good idea, because she had half a mind to set him on fire.

When it was finally about one in the morning, Polly and Amira decided to leave. They were laughing at some guy who’d tried to jump from the rafters into a crowd surf, but got his foot tangled up and had to get help getting down from his friends.

They continued to laugh all the way to the car, where Amira finally gave a last giggle and sighed. “Man, I have no idea why that shit was so funny, but it was,” she climbed in the driver’s seat.

“Yeah,” Polly replied, setting her arms on the open windowsill. Amira looked around.

“Uh, did you not drive here? I can give you a ride if you want,” Amira noted the dark, empty streets. “Not so sure it’s safe for you to be out here by yourself.”

Polly waved her hand. “Pfft. Please. I’m a ghost, I’m already dead! There’s not a lot anyone can do to me anyway. Besides,” she phased her hand through the door handle. “I can do that, remember?”

Amira laughed and nodded. “Yeah, I suppose. Still… you sure you don’t want a ride?”

Looking at the car from front to end, Amira was surprised to see Polly’s face shift to… fear. Palpable fear covered her face and she swallowed hard. “Um… yeah, I’m sure. I’ve… got a thing about cars.”

Curiosity piqued Amira’s interest… but she set it aside. “Alrighty. I guess I’ll see you at school, then, aight?”

Polly nodded. “I’ll see you at school.” As Amira started the car and Polly began walking away, a thought suddenly occurred to her.

“Hey, Polly,” she called, and the ghost turned around while continuing to walk. “How come you couldn’t phase away from Martin this morning?”

Making a key figure with her hands, Polly mimed zipping her lips. “Trade secret, Red! Maybe if we go out to a few more parties, I’ll let you in on it!” Blowing a final kiss, she began to float down the street.

Shrugging, Amira pulled out of the empty lot and began the drive home.

***

Back at the party, the cyclops that Polly was previously planning on hooking up with stumbled out a side door, into a nearby side-alley. He drunkenly giggled as he stared at some piece of interpretive graffiti art.

He didn’t notice the rippling air that followed him from the warehouse.

As he continued down the street, the waxing moon was covered with dark clouds, obscuring the night air even further. He just continued to walk, his mind foggy, oblivious to any and all threats.

After all, what would anyone do to him? What could anyone do to him? He was a stacked cyclops, complete with rippling-

He felt a tremendous thud against the base of his skull and his eye rolled back up in his head. “Unnh-“ He groaned as his vision went dark and he crumpled to the ground in a heap, an enormous knot already developing on the back of his head from the blow.

The rippling air slowly materialized until a figure was standing over him. At eight feet tall, the figure had pale blue skin complete with muscles that a bodybuilder would be jealous of. As one set of arms cracked their knuckles, another held a burlap sack. His face resembled a cross between a wild tiger and a demon pig, with saber fangs jutting from the bottom and top jaws. His eyes glowed green with a wild malice and sadistic pleasure. A red stone on a necklace hung around his necklace, glowing with magic power. Two scimitars hung at his waist, with two more sheathed on his back. His belt jangled as the skulls, claws and bones of various animals and monsters moved with his every step- his trophies.

As the rakshasa leered down at his prey… he chuckled. “You’ll do,” Rabin muttered as he reached down to pick up the latest test subject.

Chapter Text

“Okay, let’s go over it again,” Valerie sighed.

Oz cleared his throat and pretended to be walking in the halls. He puffed up his chest and deepened his voice, causing Valerie to wince in second-hand embarrassment. “Hey, Rachel, how’s that-“

“No, no,” Valerie shook her head. “You’re putting on a performance. A… really bad performance.” She cringed again. “Look, you don’t have to put on a deep voice or strut, Oz, you just have to stand straight and don’t wobble your voice when you talk, is that so hard?”

He sighed in annoyance and shrugged his shoulder. “I don’t know, I guess? I’m so used to just trying to be small that I’m not used to trying to be seen.”

The two were standing on the small stage in the auditorium, since it was one of the only places empty early in the school morning. All the rows of empty seats seemed to stare at them like it was a play, and Oz was somewhat self-conscious despite being alone, fidgeting every once in a while and glancing nervously about.

Valerie rolled her eyes. “Jesus, Oz, will you quit acting like you’re conducting a drug deal? Who are you even worried about seeing you?”

“I don’t know!” Oz exclaimed nervously. “It just… feels awkward. I mean, you’re teaching me how to walk.”

“Yeah, ‘cause you walk like you’re in prison!” Valerie said exasperatedly. “Now, just try it again!” Her tone carried impatience.

Sighing, he walked all the way to the left of the stage and tried to imagine he was walking down the halls on his way to class. Remembering what Valerie told him, he straightened his back, held his head up, and tried to still the beating that was in his chest.

But as he walked, his legs took on a funny gait, and he ended up looking like he was marching in a parade. As he tried to hold his head up high, his neck looked as though it were crooked and out of shape. Valerie internally died as she watched Oz attempt to look “cool” and he more or less ended up looking like he was in intense pain.

“Wow, that is… hard to watch.” Both of them heard a voice drawl from the seats, and turned to see its source.

Sitting in the front row was a figure, dressed in “ironic” suspenders with a white-buttoned shirt and brown pants, adorned with a yellow bow-tie on his collar. His socks were a tacky purple with shoes that were a much darker shade. His sleeves were rolled up, exposing light purple skin, and his yellow sclera peered over square-framed glasses with a snobbish air about him.

“Ugh, Liam,” Valerie gritted her teeth as she addressed him, “what do you want? We’re busy.”

He rolled his eyes. “Honestly, Valerie, what makes you think I want for anything? I’m just here to observe the trainwreck for entertainment.” His voice sounded bored and full of indifference, despite his claims of amusement. He got up from his seat and walked up onto the stage. “Quite frankly, I find your attempts at being ‘cooler’ to be quite idiotic and funny to watch.”

Oz scoffed. “I’m not trying to be ‘cooler’,” he used quotation marks with his fingers, “I’m just trying to get more confidence. Y’know? Be able to walk without feeling like I might have to dive behind a corner any second.”

Liam rolled his eyes. “Whatever. It’s all the same to me. Though come to think of it…” He rubbed his chin. “I might be able to help you out.”

Valerie squinted her eyes suspiciously. “What are you on about?” Liam reached behind him and pulled a rolled-up bundle of papers out of his back pocket.

“This,” he said, “is a small snippet of my magnum opus that I’ve been working on for quite some time now. I was looking for some volunteers to help bring it to life so that I may have a preview of what the completed work will look like when I am ready to perform it, and, well…”

“You… you want us to do it?!” Oz cried incredulously, pointing to himself and Valerie. Liam shook his head emphatically.

“Oh, no, goodness God, no,” he chuckled condescendingly. “Just you.” He then jabbed a finger in Oz’s chest, which he slapped away, annoyed.

“Why just me?” Oz asked suspiciously. Liam rolled his eyes again and pushed up his glasses.

As he shoved the script into Oz’s hands, he said, “It’s a monologue by the main character, Oz, it doesn’t have anyone else in it. It’s purely the character’s self-reflection on the mistakes everyone has made that’s put him in the predicament he is in.” Oz internally groaned as Liam began prattling on.

Valerie shook her head. “No way. This isn’t to help Oz at all, and I don’t even see how it could. You just want free labor because nobody else is willing to do your stupid performance for free!”

“On the contrary,” Liam folded his hands and placed them over his chest, “I have had many come forward wanting to participate. But out of my altruism, I will allow Oz to have the much-coveted part in order to help with his, ah… ‘goal.’”

Oz raised an eyebrow. “Uh… like she said, how exactly would this help me? I’m not an aspiring actor or anything.”

Liam sighed deeply, as he felt irritation wash over him like water. “No, but you are attempting to assert yourself as more confident, correct? And correct me if I am presumptuous, but you probably possess a good dose of stage fright, no?”

The silence from Oz affirmed his point. “My thoughts exactly. Do this monologue, a short scene, maybe five minutes, and if you can do it without melting on-stage, maybe you’ll feel better about yourself?” Liam shrugged. “I never said I poured hours over it to make you feel better about yourself. It simply may prove a mutually beneficial idea.”

Oz flipped through the script and scrunched his eyes. “Eh… I don’t know. Like you said, I don’t exactly like performing on-stage…”

Liam huffed in annoyance. “Well, you don’t like doing anything you’re going to have to do, right? Might as well start with a big one like stage fright. It makes little difference to me.” He looked at his phone, trying to act completely indifferent.

Oz looked down as he contemplated Liam’s words. The vampire did raise a valid point. No matter what he did, it was bound to be difficult because of his own nervousness. Why not just try and eliminate a big one right away?

Taking a deep breath, Oz nodded his head. “Alright, Liam, I’ll do your performance.”

“Wonderful!” Liam clapped his hands together. “We’ll perform it this afternoon!”

“Wait, what?!” Oz exclaimed, dropping the script. “Shouldn’t I have a little more time to rehearse and perform?”

“Nonsense,” Liam waved his hand in the air as if physically batting away Oz’s concerns. “It’ll be fine. Just come here and practice your lines during your free period and lunch, and I’m sure you’ll be more than prepared by the time of your afternoon debut.”

Valerie noticed something in Liam’s eyes. A kind of light that wasn’t there before. It was hard to ascertain its purpose- if it was malice, or knowing Liam, simple vindication. Despite objectively being one of the more popular students, he seemed as desperate for approval as any of them.

“Anyway!” He clapped his hands together. “You take this, and I’ll spend my own free-time putting together your costume!”

As he turned into a colony of bats and flew out an open window, Oz approached Valerie, looking through the script with a skeptical look. “Val, you think this actually might help?”

She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “I mean, to be honest, probably not. He’s probably just looking for somebody to do his stupid play. But it can’t hurt, either. And anything’s better than watching you practice walking.”

***

“Alright, we’ve ruled out cooking, chemistry, and acting,” Vera pinched the bridge of her nose. “Today we’re going to try something a little different. Follow me to the gym.”

As they walked towards their destination, Brian peered over Vera’s shoulder to see her typing away at her phone. She had a spreadsheet laid out with all the days of the week, several weeks covering the whole term, and names of different interests to try out. Her fingers were a green blur as they moved, typing rapidly as she crossed options out and filled out new ideas.

“You’re pretty organized, huh?” Brian noted out loud. Vera smiled proudly and flaunted her hand.

“But of course. To be successful in life, you have to plan constantly. Plan for every eventuality, every path, every potential obstacle. Mapping everything out is the only way to ensure… preferable outcomes.” She tapped her phone screen and continued to fill out the sheets.

Brian rubbed the back of his neck and shifted nervously as they walked. “Doesn’t that get, I don’t know… kinda… stressful?” Vera stopped on a dime and turned halfway towards him. Her face bore suspicion and a fierce guard, and her snakes came up from their general malaise to glare daggers at him.

“No,” she snapped. “Of course not. There’s nothing I can’t handle.” She turned sharply and continued walking before Brian could respond. As she walked away, she stood straighter and her heels clacked harder on the floor, like she was trying to break the ground open.

When they finally reached the gym, it was mostly empty, save for Coach, who was inspecting some equipment- dozens of multicolored dodgeballs. He smiled as he saw the two enter and stood up. “Vera! Brian! Welcome!”

“Hey, Coach,” Brian gave a small wave. “What are you doing? Just checking out some balls?”

***

In her own class, Polly suddenly gave a sharp, short laugh. Next to her, Vicky gave her a startled and confused look. “Why’d you laugh?” She asked.

Polly just looked around, a feeling of unease. “I’m… not sure.” She admitted.

***

“Well, I just thought I’d check out this equipment while I was here,” he shrugged, dropping one into the pile. “But what I’m really here to do is supervise your guys’ match!”

Brian raised an eyebrow. “…Match?” It was only then that he noticed there was a blue mat laid out in the middle of the gym floor.

“Yep,” Vera nodded. “You were an athlete once, maybe you’ll be one again. So today, you’re going to try wrestling. Or fighting. Whichever it devolves to first.”

He raised his hands and backed up a little. “Whoa, whoa, hold on a minute, I didn’t agree to this! You want me to fight someone?! I’ve never fought anyone in my life!”

“Oh, please,” Vera rolled her eyes and brushed one of her snakes beyond her left ear. “You used to play football, Brian, it can’t possibly be that different. And this isn’t an official match, it’s purely just to test if you like wrestling or fighting. We won’t even make you wear one of those ridiculous uniforms, though Lord knows it would’ve made for excellent blackmail…” She looked off as she imagined the potential scenarios.

Groaning in annoyance, he dropped his arms and shrugged his shoulders. “Okay,” he said, “fine, I’ll do it. Who am I wrestling, anyway?”

A part of his jacket suddenly ripped apart as a metal bolt narrowly missed his shoulder and stuck itself into the ground. He felt a rush of wind fly by him as a blurry figure jumped from an unseen location- perhaps atop the bleachers- past his shoulder and landed on the mat. As his eyes processed the mysterious jumper, he made out a leather corset-battle-armor… outfit? He wasn’t really sure what he was looking at. It was adorned with numerous gold linings and pieces, with a lime-green gem set right on the collar. On the arms were arm guards complete with brass spiked knuckles, and finally, a scarlet hood-and-cape combo to complete the set. In the arrival’s hands was a crossbow, and at their hip was a knife so long it was practically a sword.

Out from the hood gazed a freckled face with periwinkle hair, nearly obscuring the shiny green eyes that glared out from between the strands of blue. Her mouth was twisted into an eager smile, and she slung the crossbow onto her back and balled her fists.

“Prepare to die!” Aaravi cried as she readied her battle stance.

“Aaravi, our agreement,” Vera crossed her arms and looked sorely at her.

Groaning, Aaravi’s arms and shoulders dropped in enthusiasm. “Prepare to ‘suffer non-lethal injuries to the maximum extent possible.’” She added an extra growl Vera’s way.

***

“Dost thou oppress thine love?” Oz spoke out to no one on the stage. He was dressed in an… interesting costume, namely that he was wearing a big, overly tacky mantle. It was nearly twice his size and covered in many arrangements of tacky ornaments. Resting on his hand was a stereotypical powdered wig, like the kind you would see in a cartoon.

“Thou often protest to mine ambitions,” Oz continued to read out in a bland, monotone voice. He felt absolutely ridiculous. “But thy own ambitions dost often quench thy own lusts. For whose lusts exceed thine own, lest ye be taken by them?”

Liam was sitting in the seats, observing the whole thing and nodding when he was pleased or yelling when he was upset. “No, no, no, it needs more passion! More emotion! Make Ricardo really jump to life!”

Oz scratched at the wig on top of his scalp and looked uncertainly at his getup. “Liam,” he called, “are you sure this is your… magnum opus?”

The vampire leaned forward and his eyes glowed a dangerous purple. “Watch your next words carefully, Oz. What exactly do you mean?”

Gulping, Oz continued in a much quieter voice. “Well, I just… I just meant… I don’t even really understand what’s going on… Ricardo’s talking to himself in this scene, but he’s talking like he’s speaking to somebody else. But like… it’s not metaphorical? It’s not like he’s imagining that he’s speaking to another character or himself or anything… is he crazy?”

“I can assure you Ricardo is not crazy!” Liam yelled, bending over the seat. “He is incredibly complex, and this scene plays an enormous role into his inner conflict, and you will play him as I’ve written, or so help me God, I will destroy your online credibility!”

As he sat back in his seat, Valerie, sitting beside him, glared at him. “What’s this about, Liam? This script sounds terrible, and that costume…”

“Will endear him when the set is complete, I promise,” Liam said, flipping through his notes. “He’s intentionally overdrawn to stand out against the background.”

Valerie tsked and put her feet up. “I’m just… I’m having a hard time seeing how this won’t make Oz more of a loser.”

Liam snorted and turned to her. “What are you, uncultured? People love a good show even more than they love a target of ridicule. Once they see him perform my unmitigated genius, they’ll adore him!”

As Oz prepared his stance to start the scene over again, two monsters- a fae with fire-red hair and a ghoul with green skin and sunglasses- opened the doors, carrying stacks of flyers. They walked up the aisles and dropped them into Liam’s lap. “There,” the fae snapped. “You got your stupid flyers.”

For a moment, Liam just stared at them, before snapping his head up and staring indignantly at them. “Why did you bring these back here?! You were supposed to hand them out! It was a very simple task, and you failed miserably!”

The ghoul looked ready to snap Liam’s neck, but the fae grumbled, “Let’s just go get it over with.”

The ghoul growled and shrugged. “Fuckin’ dice…” Valerie snatched one off the top of the pile before they managed to take it back and head out the gym.

“Why are they helping you?” Valerie asked absentmindedly as she looked over the paper.

“Oh, we rolled some dice,” Liam likewise replied uninterested. “If they won, I’d buy them new instruments, if I won, they’d help me out.” As he prepared to correct Oz again, Valerie shoved the flyer in front of his face.

“Why does this say ‘comedy’? You said it was a drama.” Valerie’s eyes carried suspicion and her fur stuck out a bit.

Liam adjusted his glasses. “It’s ironic. It conveys how even though this is a serious moment for Ricardo in the moment, in the grand scheme of life and the cosmos, it’s ultimately an insignificant and therefore humorous moment. Now, Oz-“

He was cut off as Valerie grabbed his collar roughly. “Listen, hipster,” she snarled, “I can tell when someone’s lying to me. What are you trying to pull?”

Grabbing her hand, he pulled it off of him and sneered at her. “I’m not impressed by your attempts to intimidate me,” he replied. “Now, I’m off to make sure those two hand out those flyers to the right clientele.” He materialized into the bat colony and flew out through the still open door.

Tapping the back of the seat in front of her nervously, Valerie got up and walked towards the stage, where Oz was still postulating. “And thou,” he spoke, clearly not believing his own words, “thine dost-“

“Oz?” He looked down to see Val looking up with a concerned look. “Can you… come down for a minute?”

Hopping down, his mantle flew up into his face as he hit the ground, smacking him lightly in the face. He rubbed his eye and shook his head. “Uh, hey, Val, what’s up?” He laid an elbow on the stage to look cool.

Cocking her head, she looked to the door as her gaze turned from concerned to suspicious. “Listen, Oz, I… don’t think you should do this.”

“Huh? Why not?” Oz said, but as his wig fell down for the millionth time, he already knew the answer. “…Okay, point taken.”

“Yeah, this,” she gestured to his getup. “This is not going to help your confidence.”

Oz struggled to readjust his wig. “Yeah, you’re right, but… I did promise to help Liam, and… well, I just feel a need to see it through.”

Sighing, Valerie put her hands on Oz’s shoulders. “Listen, Oz. You’re a good soul. You should hang onto that, those are pretty rare around here. But you need to understand that you’re not obligated to help someone else at your own detriment. And take it from me,” she used one hand to gesture to herself, “I’ve been in the trade business a looooong time, and I can tell when someone’s selling bullshit. Something about this is off.”

He desperately fought to keep his cheeks from reddening as she kept her hands on him. “Uh… okay… so what you’re saying…”

“What I’m saying,” she said with a small chuckle, “is that this isn’t something you want to do, and you don’t have to do it. So… don’t. In a way,” she smiled, “that’ll give you more confidence than this silly thing will- standing up to Liam.”

Rubbing the back of his neck, Oz gave a nervous, quiet laugh and nodded. “Yeah. I… I think you’re right. I’ll tell Liam when he gets back.” She replied with only a smile and a nod. It was odd- when she got this close and they just talked, he didn’t seem as dweeby or as nerdy… in fact, he was kind of-

“Okay, so apparently those two got wise to the fact that I used rigged dice,” Liam said, materializing out of nowhere, “so I’ll need you two to-“

Valerie jumped away from Oz, surprised by Liam’s sudden appearance. Her cheeks went crimson out of shock and embarrassment, as Oz’s face did the same. Liam looked between them with a startled expression. “…I’m sorry, did I interrupt something?”

“N-No!” Oz nearly shouted.

“Yeah, nothing at all,” Valerie insisted, holding her tail. Liam rolled his eyes.

“Whatever. Here,” he shoved the flyers into Oz’s hands. “You go cover the west side. You-“

“Actually,” Valerie said, her voice firm and stoic. Her arms crossed in front of her chest. “Oz has something to tell you.”

Liam raised an eyebrow and his face drew into a snarl. “Oh, he does, does he?” He turned to glare at the costumed thespian.

Oz gulped, but he looked to Valerie, who gave him a nod and a thumbs up. Taking a deep breath, he stood up and stared Liam in the eyes. Liam instinctively drew back a bit.

“I don’t want to be in your scene anymore, Liam.” Oz announced. He sounded a little… “official,” but he was speaking his mind. His voice refused to wobble as he spoke. “I’ve decided I don’t want to do it, and I think you may be using me.”

For a moment, Liam was silent. His face was unreadable, and Oz began to smile as he thought that Liam may accept what he had to say.

Then… Liam merely sighed and leaned on the stage. He raised an eyebrow at Oz. “Oz. For real. Are you sure you want to do this? Because I don’t think you want to do this.”

Oz’s confidence wavered, but he fought to stay strong. “What do you mean?” His voice held steady.

He sighed in… what seemed like pity? And he shook his head while clicking his tongue. “Oz, Oz, Oz. Oh, poor, sweet naïve Oz. Listen, you seem like a nice guy, and generally I try not to be mean to you. But I have a massive network of followers on five major social media platforms, okay? I have a cult following the likes of which rich billionaires salivate at.”

A creeping feeling snuck into Oz’s stomach and nestled there like a parasite. “O-Okay? I don’t see how…”

The vampire held up his cell phone as if it were a bomb detonator. “One post to this massive following, Oz, and I could have you made the pariah of Spooky High. It wouldn’t take much, either- just wait for the right moment, snap a picture or get a poorly worded conversation, and you will be a leper. Soon the only person you’ll be eating lunch with is Leonard. And we don’t want that, do we?”

As Liam spoke, Oz shrunk down, bit by bit, slowly looking down at the ground and backing off. His stance grew submissive and he… looked defeated. “…No…” He mumbled.

A grin enveloped Liam’s face. “Good! Then I’ll see you here in a while. Oh, and please, don’t forget to pass these out.” He handed Oz a stack of flyers. “Make sure to get the most popular students.”

Oz walked out the door, still slouched and trying his best not to despair. Liam rolled his eyes. “Ugh, can you believe he tried to ditch? I swear…”

“What the fuck was that, asshole?!” Valerie shoved Liam back and clenched her fists. Her fur stuck out and her tail was straight like an arrow. Her eyes displayed twice as much rage in her own eyes as Liam had just manifested.

His eyebrow went up in surprise. “When did you become such the valiant defender?”

“Since when did you become such a prick?!” She was near shouting, her face reddening from anger. She was ready to deck him when he replied.

“Look, I don’t know what you’re getting so worked up about, your sister and Damien do far worse on a regular basis.”

Valerie’s anger dissipated like steam and was replaced with shock. “Huh?! What do you mean?!”

He rolled his eyes once more. “Honestly, Valerie, your sister is one of the most feared criminals in the entire school, and yet this is where you can’t believe her actions? Whenever she or Damien need menial help with something, Damien will yell at him, and Vera will threaten his life or demean his social status, looks, whatever barbs she feels like trading.”

Valerie thought back to the Wolfpack and the way they’d treated Oz that day on the field. How she’d felt so angry because it reminded her of Vera being bullied. And yet…

Here she was, being told that’s exactly how Vera was treating her friend.

Her friend. She’d said it before to make Oz feel better, but… was she even treating him like a friend?

Of course I am, she snapped to herself. I gave him the discount, didn’t I?

Would friends even have to pay…? Another voice in her head seemed to ask.

As she stood there, taking this in, she looked to the open doors Oz ran through.

***

“Man, you suck at this,” Aaravi complained as she flipped Brian onto his back and slammed him onto the mat for the… honestly, he lost count when they’d hit triple digits.

He groaned and rubbed a newly formed bruise on his arm. His entire body was covered in bruises, bumps, and welts after trying to wrestle Aaravi. Before he hadn’t even thought it was possible for him to get bruises since… blood didn’t pump through his body anymore.

And yet, here they were, mocking him for losing repeatedly.

Aaravi cracked her knuckles and her neck. “Okay, I think we’re pretty much done here, yeah?” Brian, sore and aching, nodded.

She walked over to Vera, who was watching with amusement. “You know…” Brian muttered as he climbed to his feet, “I don’t think we had to go that long to figure out this isn’t it.”

Vera chuckled. “Oh, I figured it out by the third round,” she said, “but it was entertaining to watch you get beat.”

Aaravi held out her hand. “My payment, for not killing him?” Vera nodded and pulled a small vial from her violet purse. It contained a purple liquid.

“One order of Cockatrice Blood, as requested.” Vera began to walk towards Brian… but Aaravi stopped her.

“Uh… what is this?”

With a look of annoyance mixed with disgust, Vera snapped, “What do you mean? Do your eyes not work? It’s what you asked me for, now get lost.”

“This is fucking nail polish! I asked for cockatrice blood!”

Vera gave a huff of annoyance. “Yes, Cockatrice Blood, the popular nail polish brand! That’s what you asked for!”

Aaravi balled her hands into fists. “I meant literal cockatrice blood! I was going to poison a few of my weapons with it!”

“Well, that’s your fault for not specifying it,” Vera snapped. “I’m not responsible for your poor choice of words.”

Aaravi sighed and pulled out one of her knives. “Oh, my poor blades,” she mourned. “They’ll have to go without a poisonous edge for a while yet. But that aside…”

She turned back to Brian, who was stretching his arms. He stopped mid-yawn when he noticed her looking at him with an intense expression. “Uh… what?”

Her head cocked to the side. “Well… here’s the thing, Brian. That cockatrice blood was supposed to be my reward for this quest and for not killing you. I didn’t get it. And I have to make sure this wasn’t just a complete waste of time…” She began to approach, and Brian began to back up.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll die quickly. I wonder what kind of loot you got?”

As Brian looked from Aaravi’s knife to her crossbow… he turned and began booking it. “Hey!” Aaravi shouted as he ran off. “Get back here! I’m owed!”

Vera watched the two of them run off and cocked her head. “Oh. That’s unfortunate.”

After a few moments, she realized Coach was staring at her. “What?”

“You realize if she kills him, you fail my class… and will have to retake it. Right?” He asked with an eyebrow raised.

The sentence rang around in her head like a bell and she groaned in frustration. “Goddammit.” She began to chase after the two.

***

Oz peeked out from behind the curtain. The seats were… semi-filled. There was a good fifty, maybe sixty people in the rows. Some of them were chatting quietly with their friends, while others looked bored or unenthused. One was texting on their phone.

His knees began to wobble. The actual prospect of now delivering a monologue was… not settling well. He was breaking out into a nervous sweat, and his voice wouldn’t stop wobbling.

“O-O-Okay… j-j-just… re-l-l-lax…” He endlessly stuttered, trying to stop his wobbling, but he couldn’t stop shaking.

Haha…

“NO! Not you! Not now!” He whipped around as he heard a faint chuckle. “I don’t have time or patience for you now!”

But don’t you see? The more afraid you become… the more vestiges of me will surface.

Oz felt something poke at his skin on his shoulder. It itched like crazy and he scratched it like there was no tomorrow.

He knew what it was, what was trying to emerge… he concentrated hard. ‘Go away! I don’t need you here! You’ll only raise questions!’

However, the itching increased, and suddenly…

A phobia popped up on his shoulder. It smiled and hugged his neck, squeaking with joy at being let out for the first time in… how long had it been?

Oz groaned and slapped his hand to his face. “Great… I’m sure you won’t raise any questions at all!”

It whimpered and ducked down a tad, and Oz felt remorse as it slumped down. Sighing, he patted its head reassuringly. “It’s okay, it’s okay… in truth, I’m a little glad to see one of you guys again, it’s just…” He looked off. “They’re going to want to know where you came from…”

As Oz continued to fret about his oncoming performance, he was being watched by Liam, who stood off to the side in the shadows. “Who is he talking to…?” He muttered aloud. He was distracted by this thought as he turned to see Valerie approaching, a look of anger upon her face.

“I’m warning you, Lioncourt,” she snapped, “call it off and let him out of it!”

“I’m afraid I can’t,” Liam said haughtily. “There’s already plenty of people out there ready to see this disastrous performance, and I’m interested in what the results were!”

“I swear- ‘disastrous?’ What the hell are you on about?!” Valerie growled.

Liam sighed. “Of course Oz is going to be terrible, that was the whole point. I advertised it as a comedy specifically to see if people would buy drama as comedy. This monologue is meant to be an experiment. I’m afraid it probably won’t do much for his confidence, though, either they’ll be unimpressed or they’ll be laughing.”

She slapped him hard across the cheek. “You wanted to embarrass him?!”

Rubbing his cheek and glaring at her, he defended, “Look, I didn’t mean for it to be Oz specifically, he just happened to be there in the right place at the right time, okay! And besides, it’ll be fine, he’ll understand afterwards.”

“I am not letting you humiliate him just to see if people will buy your shit material!” She snarled and began walking towards Oz, but Liam grabbed her arm and sneered at her.

“Don’t you dare interrupt! The show is about to begin!” He pulled a lever with his free hand, and the curtains began to part.

“No!” Valerie struggled to be free, but Liam held her back. “Oz, get off the stage!”

He didn’t hear her, already blocking out everything else as the sheer terror of performing on-stage began to consume him. As every pair of eyes in the audience looked to him, a spotlight outlined his presence on the stage.

With one final prayer for mercy, he opened his mouth. “I-“

The doors in the back suddenly burst open, and Brian stumbled through. Every audience member turned and observed the recent development.

“Brian?!” Oz said out of instinct. His zombie friend waved to him.

“Hey, Oz,” he panted, “sorry to interrupt, I just…” He took a deep breath in, shortly before a crossbow bolt hit the back of a seat next to him. “Shit!” He broke out into a run again.

Aaravi followed closely behind him, yelling, “Will you just sit still?! You really want to die sore from running?”

Brian climbed onto the stage, but was pinned to the ground as Aaravi catapulted from a seat and landed on his back. He let out a groan of pain as he hit the stage, Aaravi holding a knife above him.

“Alright, maybe there’s something in your pockets…” She readied the knife, preparing to plunge into his neck.

“No, wait, Aaravi, stop!” Oz held out his hands.

She cocked an eyebrow at him. “Um, why exactly would I do that?” She inched the knife closer and closer to the back of Brian’s neck as she talked.

“Because…!” Oz desperately searched his brain. He could think of lots of reasons why he wouldn’t kill Brian, but she was going to need something concrete.

She groaned. “Look, I get that he’s probably your friend and on some level I’m sorry for that, but monsters are evil, and I need some kind of compensation for this quest! Even if he doesn’t have any useful loot, the EXP will be enough!”

“Wait… EXP? Like… experience points?” Brian spoke in ragged gasps. As soon as he said it, Aaravi flipped him onto his back and stared intensely at him.

“…You know what experience points are?” She asked tentatively. He nodded vigorously.

“Oh, yeah, me and Oz are always collecting EXP!” Aaravi seemed to weigh his words.

“…What kind of build are you guys?” She asked suspiciously. Brian looked to Oz, who seemed shocked this was working.

“Uh, I’m a glass cannon,” Oz said. “More specifically, I’m a combat mage.”

“Brawler,” Brian replied, “I specialize in one-handed swords and archery.”

Aaravi shrugged. “Eh, I’m more of a mixed class myself, but I can respect it. What’s your highest stat?”

“Strength, obviously,” Brian rolled his eyes. “I’d kind of be a shitty barbarian if I couldn’t trade blows with an enemy.”

She grilled them for about five minutes about their favorite weapons, frustrating dungeon experiences, and battle tactics.

Eventually, she was laughing as Brian relayed the time he’d gone into a cave for a quick clear-out only to die fifteen times to a wisp-mother he hadn’t even known would be present. “You’re telling me! I once found a small tower, thought, ‘Oh, hey, easy money!’ Only inside was an entire swarm of mutant rats! I had to eat raw potatoes to make it out alive! Potatoes!”

In spite of the fact that she still had her foot pressed on his chest, Brian let out a weak laugh. “Yeah… exploring can be dangerous…”

Nodding, Aaravi flipped her knife in the air. “Yep! Say, this has been really nice! I don’t usually get to relay my adventures with other people!”

“So… does this mean you’ll let me live?” Brian asked, tentative but hopeful.

She twirled her knife in her hands. “Well… I really want to kill you, but… I’ve never met anyone who actually knew what I was talking about. Well… to be fair, I usually kill them first, but my few friends don’t know at all!”

“That’s because I don’t play video games, ‘Ravi!” Valerie’s voice called off-stage.

Getting off Brian, she held out a hand and pulled him to his feet. “Look, this doesn’t mean we’re friends,” she said, still pointing the knife at him. “You’re still a monster, and I don’t trust monsters. But… if you’re willing… maybe having somebody who speaks the same language as I do might come in handy. I’ve run into more than a few quests that I could use help on.” She swung the knife Oz’s way. “You too, Oz.”

He nodded while eyeing the knife nervously. “Uh-huh, sure, Aaravi. Whatever you need.”

“I still need something for all this trouble,” she mused. “I could’ve been clearing out dungeons or finally finding that hostage, so what do you guys got?”

“OZ!” A furious voice cried out. Liam stomped on stage and snarled at Oz, who shrank down a little. “What on Earth do you think you’re-“

“VAMPIRE! One of the most nefarious of the undead scourge!” Liam’s anger dissipated as he looked beyond Oz and realized Aaravi was present on the stage. His face dropped as she grinned. “Perfect! You’ll be worth a lot more EXP than a zombie!” She pulled back the latch on her crossbow and reached to grab a bolt.

Liam turned and transformed into a flock of bats, flying as fast as they could towards an entrance. Aaravi frowned as she chased after them… him…? “Get back here, Liam!”

***

“Ow! Ouch!”

Vera rolled her eyes as the nurse dabbed Brian’s cuts with disinfectant. “Oh, would you quit being a big baby?”

They were in the nurse’s office, where Nurse Chupacabra was dressing his wounds obtained from Aaravi. “Alright, I’ll be back,” she muttered as she walked out the door.

Brian was laying on a cot, without his shirt. “Well, today could have gone better?”

“Tel me about it,” Vera sighed. “Video games? Really? They’re a complete waste of time.”

“Hey, those wastes of time saved my life today!” Brian protested. “And they’re fun! Me, Oz, Amira and Vicky play all the time. It helps us relax when we’ve had rough days. And we’re pretty good at it, too!”

She gave him a look of confidence. “Well, can’t say that I have much experience in that regard- Oberlins own the day.”

As Brian laid there on the cot, Vera couldn’t help but… admire his physique. He did play football, so… naturally he was built nicely. A light red tint perked her cheeks.

“Uh… you okay? Your face is kind of red.” Brian asked, half-concerned, half-curious.

She shook her head and glared at him. “Yes, I’m fine, nitwit,” she snapped, venom in her voice. One of her snakes hissed at him while another nuzzled her cheek. “Just put your shirt back on and let’s go!”

“But the nurse said-“

“Well, I’m sure you’re fine! And we still need Coach to sign off before we can leave.”

Shrugging, Brian pulled on his T-shirt and grabbed his jacket. As they were leaving the nurse’s office, they passed a giant board with lots of different flyers and advertisements. One caught Vera’s eye and she stopped to look at it.

Sign up for Spooky High’s Academy’s upcoming eSports tournament!

Grand prize is $2000!

As Vera contemplated this… she smiled. “Maybe that waste of time can be useful after all…”

***

Meanwhile, Oz and Valerie were sitting in the empty theater. “Well, that could have gone better,” Oz said with a small chuckle.

Valerie looked down. “Uh… listen, Oz… sorry about the play.”

He shrugged. “Well, nothing lost, nothing gained. At least Liam ended up helping with Brian.”

She snickered. “Yeah, I wonder if she’s still chasing him.” Her face and tone grew serious. “Oz… my sister… has she ever… made you do anything for her?”

Oz’s face drew into a frown. “Well… I mean… yeah, a few times. It’s okay, though, I mean… she never…”

“Did she threaten you?”

He looked at Valerie, eyebrows raised in surprise… before looking away again. “Um… yeah, she did. Look, I know she’s your sister, so-“

“I’m sorry.” Valerie’s voice was blanketed with remorse. Oz looked to her, surprised. “I’m sorry… she did that to you.”

Shaking his head, he asked, “Why are you sorry? It wasn’t you.” She sighed.

“No, but it was my sister, and I should’ve… should’ve been a bit more aware. I don’t like bullies, and… that’s what a bully does.” Her face hardened a bit as she spoke. “Bullies harass those weaker than them to do their dirty work. Oberlins are above that. We prove we’re better than anyone else, and... we don't need to resort to that to do so. I’ll… I’ll make sure she stops.”

Oz was silent for a moment, before he smiled. “Thanks, Val.” It was then that she looked to him with a smile of her own, and noticed something on his shoulder.

Before she could ask what it was… Oz sighed. “It’s… a phobia.” The little blob smiled and waved at her. “Before you ask exactly what it is… I’m not sure entirely. I usually keep them suppressed, but for reasons I can’t explain… lately I can’t. I’ll probably get more as time goes on.”

She gave a small laugh, before tickling it. It hugged her finger. “Well… it’s cute, Oz.”

Looking at it smile up at her and squeak in delight… Oz smiled down at it. “Yeah… I guess it is.”

Chapter Text

Valerie was standing in her shop, waiting for her sister to return from an errand. She was thinking hard; her arms were crossed in front of her body and her tail occasionally flicked to the side. Her eyes were downcast and her stance was indicative of nervousness.

Finally, the door opened and Vera stepped in, an annoyed look covering her face. Her jacket had a few splotches of red dripping from the shoulder. “Sorry about the wait,” she apologized to Valerie, “apparently my associate thought they wanted to try their luck at flirting. You can imagine how well that went for them.” Her lip curled in disgust as she looked at her jacket. “I just bought this, too…”

“Vera, we need to talk.” Valerie said bluntly. She was always straight to the point.

Vera picked up on the seriousness in her tone. “Okay…? About what?” She sat down at Valerie’s desk and began preparing her raw steak for lunch.

“Do you pick on Oz?”

Her sister’s head snapped up from the uncooked sirloin. “Oz? You mean that anxiety disaster? I get him to do things when I need free labor. Why?”

Valerie’s stare hardened a bit. “You’re going to stop.” Her tone carried no lightness to it.

Still, Vera rolled her eyes. “Okay, sure. Listen, I was taking a look at some of our accounts-“

She was startled when Valerie suddenly banged her palms on the desk and stared her straight in the eyes. Vera was… unsettled by her intensity. “No, Vera. I mean it. You’re not going to pick on him anymore. You’re not going to threaten him, you’re not going to demean him, and you’re not going to bully him into doing what you want.”

A spike of irritation rose up in Vera. “Uh, excuse me? Where do you get off telling me what I can do to who and why? And besides, why do you care? You never have before.”

“Because I didn’t know before!” Valerie backed up and shook her head in disgust. “We’re Oberlins, right? We prove we’re better than others, we dominate everyone at whatever we choose to do! We don’t bully others into taking care of our dirty work simply because we can, we’re stronger than that!”

Standing up, Vera gave her sister a stern look while resting her own hands on the desk. “Valerie, listen to me. This thing that for whatever reason you’ve grown attached to? I think he’s impairing your judgement.”

For a moment, Valerie was taken aback. ‘Thing’? “V… what the fuck is wrong with you? He’s a person, he’s-“

“He’s insignificant,” Vera cut her off. “And quite frankly, I don’t understand why now things are different. Last year you just ignored him like the rest of us. Now all of a sudden you’re his defender? Why? What’s changed?”

Looking down, Valerie felt hot shame cross her face as she pondered her sister’s question.

“Is it because he’s basically paying you to be his friend? Or, as he put it, ‘help him with his confidence?’"

Sighing, Vera pinched the bridge of her nose. “Look. You’re your own person. I won’t tell you you can’t hang out with him. But I’m seriously beginning to question the positive effect that this ‘friendship’ is having on you. And regardless of how you feel about the little mite, I don’t intend to lose a useful asset.”

Valerie stood up straight, anger brimming in her pupils. The two glared each other down in a silent cold war, both daring the other to back down first. Vera’s pupils curled into slits, like a viper, and her snakes whipped around anxiously.

Finally, Valerie made the first move. She grabbed the few items she’d brought out of her lunch- a tuna sandwich, an energy drink, a bag of pretzels- and shoved them back into her paper bag.

“Where are you going?” Vera demanded. Valerie shot her a look over her shoulder.

“I think I’m going to eat lunch somewhere else,” she muttered.

Vera scoffed. “Val, this is your store.” Her sister pretended not to hear her as she slammed the door on her.

The gorgon was taken aback. Her sister and her had argued before, but it was usually resolved quickly. They hadn’t had a serious fight since they were kids. This time, though… Valerie seemed genuinely upset. They always fought over stupid stuff, topics they knew didn’t really matter and were honestly just more interested in giving each other shit over actually winning the fight.

For a while Vera merely… sat there. For once, she wasn’t sure what to do next.

***

Oz sat in the cafeteria, with Amira on his left and Vicky and Brian sitting across from him. He was deep in thought, munching his salad absentmindedly as Amira told a story about her latest bar fight. Three phobias, one on his shoulder and two more on his arm, were listening to the story with curiosity.

“…Anyway, the guy said something gross to me, so I clocked him in the face with my mug.” Amira chuckled with Brian letting out a single short “heh” and Vicky trying to contain her snorting laughter. Oz smiled and rolled his eyes.

“So, Oz,” Amira said, glancing at him as she unwrapped her sandwich, “how’s your whole ‘confidence’ thing going?”

“Oh,” Oz rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, it’s, uh… you know, it’s going… it’s going.”

“…That badly, huh?”

Oz sighed. “Okay, granted, I haven’t exactly made good progress. Or… well, any progress. But it hasn’t all gone to waste! I made friends with Scott and Aaravi, the Wolfpack’s been leaving me alone, and… it’s been nice to spend time with Valerie.”

Amira gave him a sly smile. “Oh, it has, has it?”

“Jesus,” Oz sighed before rolling his eyes. “I didn’t mean like that. I just meant she’s really cool and chill, and she’s actually really creative with the exercises she comes up with to help me become more confident.”

“Uh-huh,” Vicky was grinning like the Cheshire Cat. “And are any of these exercises… horizontal?”

Groaning, Oz put his face in his palms. “You’re terrible.”

Brian shrugged. “All joking aside, it’s nice to see you make some friends outside of us three. So what have you guys done together?”

“Well, we tried having me stand up to the Wolfpack… I tried performing a thing for Liam that ended up being a trick, but you already know about that one Brian… uhhh… I think she was going to have me-“

Brian held up his hand. “Um, with all due respect, Oz, I meant more like what have you guys done for fun. Y’know, like when have you guys ever just hung out?”

That question gave Oz pause for a moment. “Oh. Well, I mean… um… well, there was… uh… I mean, there’s got to be something…”

This caused Brian to raise an eyebrow. “Uh… Oz, are you trying to tell me you can’t think of anything you two have done that would count as just spending time? Like… at all?”

“Uh…” Oz shrugged sheepishly. “I guess… not yet, no.”

Brian blinked before continuing. “Oz, you said you guys were friends. But… it sounds like the only time you spend with her is when you’re paying her to. That’s… not what friends do.” His voice carried concern and sympathy- he didn’t want to ruin this for Oz, but in his gut, he had to step in if he thought his friend was being taken advantage of.

As Oz contemplated that… it ate away a little at him. His insides squirmed ever so slightly. ‘Valerie said she was my friend. But… Brian has a point…’

Oz shook his head. “Maybe we could talk about something else for a little while? I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” He picked at his salad and pulled out a cherry tomato. He handed it to one of the phobias on his arm, which swallowed it whole.

“Sure, buddy.” Brian said. “You haven’t had any more nightmares, have you?”

Before Oz could answer, he heard shuffling around at his feet. “oz having nightmares?”

“Huh?” Before he could react, a green blur launched out from under the table, landing smack dab straight in the center, knocking Amira and Vicky’s trays to the floor.

“AAAHHH!” The four monsters simultaneously jumped and shrieked as their brains tried to register what they just saw. When the shock wore off, they realized that Noodles was sitting in the middle of their table, munching Amira’s ham sandwich. His tentacles splayed out like a star, and his wandering eyes examined all of them. Brian noted with disgust that he rarely ever blinked.

“oz having nightmares?” He repeated. “talk to noodles.”

“Noodles!” Amira growled, lighting a small flame in her right palm. “How many times have we told you not to do that?! Goddammit, you nearly gave me a heart attack!”

“impossible,” Noodles dismissed. “if amira not drop dead from copious amounts of cocaine in locker, amira not die from surge of adrenaline.”

Amira sighed before leaning back in her chair… before her eyes popped open and she yelled, “How the hell do you know what I have in my locker?!”

“What were you even doing down there…?” Vicky asked, white as a sheet and with a disturbed look on her face.

“hunting for dropped scraps.”

Brian raised an eyebrow and shot him a look of disbelief.

“…also eavesdropping for blackmail purposes.”

“Annnd there it is.” Noodles shrugged as he took another bite of the sandwich.

“anyway,” he said between bites, “oz not answer question. nightmares? why?”

Oz shifted uncomfortably. “Um, I don’t really know if I want to talk about it, Noodles, but thanks for the offer.”

Noodles, as best as he could muster, tried to stare Oz down. It was hard for him to be intimidating due to his perpetually goofy smile, unfortunately. “why oz so concerned then? what nightmares have to do with confidence?”

“Noodles, I said I’m not comfortable talking about it. Okay? Please, just drop it.”

He very obviously did not want to drop it… but Noodles blinked and nodded. “okay, noodles will go. talk later. will keep eye.”

“No, Noodles, I really would-“ The green jellyfish bent his legs and jumped, landing on the wall and crawling into a vent in the time any of them blinked. Oz sighed. “…would appreciate if you didn’t.” He finished his sentence and went back to picking at his salad sadly.

“Anyway,” he turned back to the others. “Um… no, I haven’t.” He hated lying to his friends, it always made him feel dirty. But he couldn’t involve them in this. Because the nightmares weren’t just nightmares.

They were taunts. Aggravations. Somebody or something was trying to draw… it out. And the worst part was that Oz still had no idea why. What could anyone want with something that… dangerous?

“Man, that guy is weird.” A voice said from behind him. Oz turned to his right to see… Valerie. She jumped over the back of the chair to his right and laid out her lunch. “Hey, Ozzie. Mind if I join you today for lunch?”

Oz’s eyebrows went up in surprise. “Valerie? Uh… sure, yeah, we don’t mind. Right, guys?”

Brian shrugged. “Hey, doesn’t matter to me.” Vicky smiled and gave a small wave.

Amira got up and put her hands behind her head. “Come on, guys, I need to get a school lunch… Noodles took my sandwich. I’d go by myself, but… the lunch lady hates me.”

The table was silent for a minute. “Amira… are you serious?” Brian finally asked.

“What?”

“You call her a dumb bitch every time you get a lunch from the cafeteria, of course she hates you.”

Amira threw her hands up and gave a look of resignment. “What do you want from me?! She gets my order wrong every time!”

Vicky groaned in frustration. “Amira… has it occurred to you that maybe it’s because you call her a dumb bitch?”

The jinn folded her arms over chest and turned her chin up. “Maybe it has. But that’s not the point, it’s the principle that she gets my order wrong, so I call her a dumb bitch. The day she gets it right is the day I stop. It’s a simple war of attrition, and I will win! Anyway, come on, I don’t want to stand in line by myself.” She dragged Vicky by the arm, who in turn dragged Brian, as he didn’t bother to move his legs to take steps.

“…Oz, your friends are very funny.” Valerie was chuckling as she watched the three of them cluster in line.

Oz sighed, but with a smile. “Yeah, they’re just the most immature group in this entire school.” Oz scratched his cheek. “Well, aside from Scott. And Damien… and Polly probably ties with them too… actually, now that I think about it…”

Valerie chuckled. “Yeah… most of the people who go here don’t really have a lock on the whole ‘responsible’ thing yet. ‘Course, I’m not really much to talk…” She pulled out a wad of cash and shrugged as she began counting it. “I’m still scamming these idiots for every penny they got.”

As she unpacked her lunch, Oz looked around. “I don’t see your sister around anywhere, don’t you usually eat with her?” Valerie’s fur stuck out slightly and her tail froze in place. She looked down uncomfortably.

“Yeah, we, uh, we’re having kind of a fight right now,” she admitted. “I don’t think I’ll be eating lunch with her for a while.” Her eyes were filled with sadness, but her tone was bitter. She tapped the fingers of her right hand on the linoleum as she talked and rubbed her wrist choker with her left.

“Oh… I’m really sorry to hear that,” Oz replied with sympathy in his voice. “You know, I don’t think you two have ever fought to what I can remember, at least not too seriously… I hope you resolve it soon.”

She gave a tired smile. “Thanks, Oz.”

They sat there for a few moments, eating in silence. Behind them, gazing in from a window watched Vera.

The longer she saw her sister, her sister, sitting there with that loser, the angrier she got. She was practically ruining her credibility just by breathing the same air as him, never mind talking to him or acknowledging his existence. She was just trying to help her, couldn’t she see that?!

Oz was the problem. He must have been poisoning her mind or something.

Well… Vera had ways of fixing problems like him.

Flipping out her phone, she dialed in a number and waited for the ring.

“Hey. It’s me. I have something you might be interested in hearing…” Her voice was filled with venom, but her eyes gleamed with joyful malice.

***

“So, what do you think of her?” Amira asked the other two as the line shuffled forward slower than Brian.

“What do you mean? She’s always seemed cool,” Brian responded. He scratched his open cheek and yawned. “Man, I’m tired…”

Vicky rolled her eyes. “Brian. You are literally always tired. It’s why we don’t let you drive the carpool to school.” Turning to Amira, she continued, “But, I mean, yeah, she’s always seemed nice. A little aloof, maybe, and obviously she’s never really cared about any of us before, but she’s not as mean as her sister.”

Brian shrugged, too subtly for either of the girls to notice.

“That’s not what I mean,” Amira asked. “I meant more what do you think of her ‘friendship’ with Oz?” She used air quotes. “I’m just worried she’s using him, is all. Y’know? Like as soon as Oz is out of money to give her, she’ll go back to treating him like he doesn’t exist.”

The other two were quiet. “…Admittedly, it seems like that’s at least a possibility,” Brian confessed. “The fact that they haven’t really done anything outside of just trying to help him get better self-esteem doesn’t exactly do much for her credibility.”

As the three made their way to the lunch counter, the head lunch lady, Mephistophelinda, let out a groan as she recognized the next person. Her fire-red skin seemed to bubble and her pale-yellow eyes squinted in irritation. “…Hello, brat.” She growled as Amira gave her a cheerful smile. Her voice carried the tired indignation of someone who wanted to commit violence but couldn’t be bothered.

“Hello, you dumb bitch,” Amira replied in a happy tone. “One ham sandwich, please.” The demon glared at her as she picked up a sandwich and placed it on Amira’s tray.

“Anything else?” She asked. The three shook their heads, and she pointed to the tables. “Get out of line, then, you’re hogging up space.”

“Jesus, she is mean,” Vicky mumbled as the three walked away.

“Told you,” Amira shrugged as she sat down. She pulled off the top of the bread and her hair shot up a foot. “Goddammit, she gave me turkey! I told you that dumb bitch would get it wrong!”

***

“So… what are you doing after school?” Oz asked Valerie. The two were almost finished eating and just enjoying the break in between chaos. Lunch was normally the least chaotic time of Spooky Academy’s, and it was good to wind-down.

Valerie shrugged. “Probably not much. Checking my store’s stock, maybe going out for a drink. Why?”

Oz scratched his neck. “Well… I just figured… we hadn’t really hung out or anything since we became friends. I thought you might want to do something?”

For a moment, Valerie was quiet. “…What, for like, your whole confidence thing?”

“No,” Oz explained, “I mean, everything we’ve done has just been that. I thought we could… I don’t know… do something? We can even just hang out in your store and talk.”

As she texted on her phone with one hand, Valerie sat forward with an earnest look. “I… is that something you want to do? I'm not exactly the nicest person in the school...” She didn't let it show... but a part of her was happy to hear him say he wanted to hang out.

Oz shook his head emphatically. “I mean… yeah! You said we were friends, friends do stuff like that. I mean…” He sighed and the phobia on his shoulder sympathetically nuzzled up to him. “Look, I’m bad at this kind of stuff. If you don’t want to, you don’t-“

“You dare presume to spread rumors about royalty?!” They were both interrupted by a haughty voice rife with righteous rage and disgust. They turned to see a pink merperson, dressed in a blue sundress and wearing a golden crown atop her head. She carried herself with a haughty tone, as if the Earth should grace itself with her presence. Standing behind her was a guard, dressed in shining, gold-colored armor with a sword at his side.

Miranda Vanderbilt directed a glare of fury right at Oz.

“Um… I’m sorry?” Oz asked in a confused tone. He had… no idea what was happening.

“Don’t play dumb to me! I’ve heard all about your filthy lies! Claiming you’ve cavorted with me in secret! That I have promised you my hand!” She was positively seething, her stance rigid with the pose of one looking for vengeance.

Oz and Valerie’s eyes went wide at the accusation. He held up his hands defensively. “Wait, what?! I never-“

“Enough! I will not hear any of your miserable excuses or attempts to deceive me! I have been told by a well-trusted source!”

‘Well-trusted…’ Valerie gritted her teeth as she realized who Miranda likely meant. ‘I am going to kill her…’

“Now then! As someone who has attempted to stain my honor,” Miranda upturned her nose, “you deserve no less than execution. Adrien!”

The guard stepped forward. He was a merperson, like her, but he had some sort of appendage on his forehead, like an anglerfish. His skin was deep purple accented with lighter shades, and his thick eyebrows cast a perpetual glare on his face.

She pointed a finger at Oz. “End this offender of the crown!”

He nodded, and in a motion almost as fast as blinking, he drew his broadsword and swung at Oz. Valerie grabbed Oz by the neck and jerked him backwards, causing Adrien to narrowly miss him.

“Please, don’t make this any harder,” Adrien spoke with a solemn but firm voice. His face betrayed no emotion and he handled his sword the way a chef does a knife. “I do not wish to kill you, but I am bid to obey my princess.”

Oddly, Oz did not find this comforting as he once more narrowly avoided having his gut sliced open. Miranda smiled proudly as Adrien swung horizontally and Oz only narrowly cleared the blow by sucking his gut in.

Seeing this from the other table, Amira readied a fireball and launched it at Adrien. She overshot a little, hitting the window and melting it, creating a molten hole in the glass. Adrien looked back, bewildered.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!” She yelled at him, rushing him with the intent to clock him in the face. Unfortunately, she didn’t get very far, as Adrien gripped her arm and launched her over his shoulder into a wall. As she fell headfirst into a wall, her head hit a corner with a sickening thud. She crumpled into a heap.

“Amira!” Vicky yelled in concern and rushed for her friend. Brian rushed Adrien, who was still focused on Amira, ensuring she didn’t get back up. He wrapped two arms under his in a full nelson.

“Okay, man, chill-“ Brian didn’t finish as Adrien swung his head back while simultaneously stomping on Brian’s foot, causing him to let go, before wrenching a fist back and slamming him in the stomach, hurtling him to the opposite side of the room.

“Brian!” Oz yelled in concern. Unfortunately, this brought Adrien’s attention back to him, who held up his sword and began advancing.

Oz… had nowhere to run. It seemed impossible that Adrien could be so fast and agile in that big, clunky-looking armor, but it appeared to have a flexibility to it, since it bended and molded to however he moved with little effort. No matter where he ran, Adrien would beat him. He certainly couldn’t fight him off; and aside from maybe Valerie, nobody would be willing to help him, even if they could.

The evidence? The crowd beginning to gather to watch the show, guffawing and pointing rather than helping. Oz supposed he could hold out hope the Coven might show up and stop this madness… assuming it fell under ‘important enough emergencies’ to warrant their attention.

Then again, since students were maimed and often killed all the time in this school, maybe not.

Adrien lunged forward like a fencer, and Oz dodged to the side. Adrien seemed to anticipate this, as he flicked his sword to the left, slashing Oz across the thigh. “Agh!” He dropped to one knee.

Valerie turned to Miranda, her face furious. “Miranda! Tell him to stop, now!” Miranda merely gave her a side-glare out of one eye.

Looking back, Oz was stumbling around, trying his best to avoid Adrien’s blade… but he was getting tired, and his injured leg was not helping anything. Vicky was still tending to Amira, checking her head and making sure she was breathing.

Pulling out her phone, Valerie pulled up her emergency contacts and rapidly typed.

Hey, need u in cafeteria now!! Please help!!

Oz grabbed a lunch tray that had been knocked to the floor and held it up, just in time for Adrien’s sword to slice through it vertically. It made a clacking sound as the pieces were ripped from Oz’s hands from the sheer power of the swing and fell to the floor. Adrien stepped forward menacingly.

He looked around for something… anything… that could be used as a weapon or some kind of defense as he pathetically crawled back. As it happened… he was parallel to the windows and happened to catch his reflection in the glass.

Except… as he expected… it wasn’t him anymore. It was it. A giant, crawling black mass of indecipherable matter, with the nine bright eyes having grown to dozens. Milky irises stared back at him expectantly, some of them looking to the looming threat of death getting closer and closer.

Had enough yet? Ready to let me out so we can kill this interloper?

Oz gritted his teeth and tried to ignore it.

Oz… you understand if we die in this form, we will die for real, right? And there’s no pearly gates for our kind, is there?

Adrien dragged the blade of the sword along the floor, eliciting a frightening scratching sound.

Not even the threat of Hell awaits us. No… we’ll go back to where we came from. A fate worse than dying.

His breathing quickened as Adrien closed the gap and began to raise the sword once more.

Time to make a choice, Oz. Unleash me and let me save you… or… take me to your grave.

Oz shut his eyes… and Adrien swung down.

“STOP!” Oz shouted with such volume that Adrien almost immediately froze. Immediately… the crowd’s laughter and jokes died, like a heart attack had seized them. Even Miranda seemed caught off-guard, ceasing her laughing and sadistic smile to instead stare with surprise.

Vicky was staring at Oz with unparalleled shock. She’d never heard him raise his voice like that, not once. And Valerie… Valerie had confusion and intrigue upon her face. She cocked her head… whatever that was… it was intense.

Adrien’s eyes went wide and he found himself unable to swing down.

Oz’s eyes snapped open… glowing a brilliant white light. An air of dread suddenly seemed to creep into the atmosphere seemingly out of nowhere. The Sun seemed to dim, and shadows on the wall grew long, almost laughing at them all. Oz’s eyes glared furiously at Adrien, almost daring him to advance further. The phobia on Oz’s shoulder whimpered and cowered down, staring up at him with an expression of familiarity. Oz almost seemed like he was going to say something else…

Suddenly, the blade was launched out of Adrien’s hand, and in that single moment, the stupor was broken and the terror shattered. Adrien blinked and seemed to realize he was no longer holding his weapon. It slid across the floor before skidding to a halt.

Through the giant hole Amira had melted in the window, Aaravi jumped into the cafeteria, wielding twin daggers. She charged Adrien, who quickly dove backwards and picked up his sword. Aaravi was a whirling dervish of death, striking at every open opportunity, at every little chink in his armor. Adrien struggled to keep up; he had more range, meaning he could block more than one attack at once, but she moved so fast with such determination that he nearly missed a few times.

Oz’s breathing deepened as he struggled to catch his breath. He looked back to the window only to see his own eyes staring back. The phobia on his shoulder was cowering and shaking intensely. Looking over his right shoulder, he saw Vicky staring at him… with a look of pure shock.

He ducked his head down. Inside him, a deep chill settled into his skin… it almost…

As Adrien continued to parry Aaravi’s attacks, Miranda grew an irritated face and stomped her foot. “Adrien! Why are you playing this out? Defeat her already!”

He was concentrating too much on not getting stabbed to answer, which only made her more incensed. Valerie took this opportunity to talk to her. “Miranda, listen to me- Vera told you that Oz said those things, right?”

“Yes,” Miranda said, “and as Vera is my dear classmate and friend, as well as almost as ludicrously wealthy as my family, I trust her word above that of a merchant’s, like you!”

Valerie rolled her eyes. “Well, you shouldn’t. Vera’s a notorious liar, you know that!”

“As are you.”

“…Okay, fair point. But listen to me, just ask anyone! They’ll tell you Oz never said anything like that!”

Squinting suspiciously at her, Miranda turned and saw Brian pulling himself off the floor, holding his gut. “You there! Oz spread rumors about seducing me, yes?”

He coughed and wheezed out his answer as he sat up. “No,” he said. “Jesus, what are you talking about? Oz never said anything even close to that.” This answer clearly caught Miranda off-guard, as her eyes went wide and she stepped back.

She turned to one of the crowd members, a satyr. “You! Did he insult my sisters, claiming to be their superior in each of their services to the crown?”

The satyr gave her a blank look before shrugging. “I mean… probably not?”

Miranda slowly went paler pink as she turned to one more source- Liam, who was observing the fight. “Liam… did Oz actually say anything about me or my family?”

Liam opened his mouth to answer… before he caught sight of Valerie making a motion across her neck while glaring intensely at him. Out of his peripheral he could see Aaravi trying to slice and dice Miranda’s bodyguard, and considering he was still nursing bruises from his last encounter with her…

He sighed. “No, Miranda. I hate to tell you, but Vera lied to you.”

Miranda was stock still at first, not reacting. Then she blinked and turned to the duelists. “Adrien! Cease!” In one swift motion, he sheathed his sword and stepped back, raising his hands in surrender. Aaravi stopped as well, but remained ready to launch right back into combat. She’d experienced too many false surrenders.

“I… I think we must go…” Miranda’s face was turning red, both from embarrassment and from anger. “I have… a friend to talk to.” Her tone made the words she used a shield from her true intentions. She turned and fled through the doors, trailed by Adrien, who looked apologetic.

Valerie walked over to Brian and helped get him off the ground onto his feet. Looking to Amira, who was coming to, and Oz, who’s leg was still bleeding, she said, “We need to get you guys to the nurse.”

***

In the nurse’s office, the four friends sat on cots. The room was gloomy as it always was, with posters of fake concern hung around the place and the blinds drawn. The three injured members had gauze and bandages over their injured areas; Amira was holding an icepack to her head, Oz had a patch over the cut on his leg, and Brian was laying down at the cot, resting his bruised gut.

He looked around at the various medical supplies spread around the office. “Weird how I keep ending up in here.”

Amira gingerly touched the icepack to the welt that was forming on her forehead. “The next time I see that pampered bitch or her dog, I’m gonna fry ‘em…” Her expression was dark and steam rose off from the area she applied her icepack, as if her anger was manifesting in the air.

Vicky sighed and shook her head. “No, you won’t, Amira, and you know why? Because it wouldn’t be worth the trouble you’d get into with her family.” Amira opened her mouth to argue… then shut it and leaned back against the wall, grumbling and glaring.

The door to the office opened. Valerie walked in, trailed by Aaravi, who was using a honing device to sharpen one of her daggers. “You guys okay?” She asked. Brian shrugged, Vicky nodded, and Amira scowled.

“Your welcome for the save,” Aaravi pointed her dagger at Oz. “But this means you owe me one. You both do.” She nodded to Valerie. “Seeing as how I didn’t get any loot from that guy.”

Oz sighed. “Yes, thank you, Aaravi. I’m sure we’ll pay it back soon…”

“Yeah, I’ll come get you when I need help with something,” Aaravi nodded. She turned to leave… then seemed to stop and consider something. Turning back, she looked at Oz and said, “Hey… I am glad you’re okay.”

He glanced at her… then smiled. “Thanks for the save, Aaravi.” She saluted him and closed the door.

Valerie sat down in a chair. “…Sorry about all that, Oz.”

He shrugged. “It is what it is.” But Valerie shook her head.

“No, I mean… it was Vera who set Miranda after you. I don’t know what got into her, thinking that would end our fight. But… I won’t be talking to her for a while.” Valerie’s face drew into a mournful look, as if a friend had passed away. It was evident she hadn’t had this kind of wedge between her and Vera before, and she not only looked sad, she looked… confused.

Oz leaned over and hesitantly patted her on the shoulder reassuringly. “Don’t worry, Val, it’ll… it’ll be okay.” He felt incredibly awkward doing it, but he didn’t feel right simply leaving her to linger in her misery.

Surprisingly… Valerie didn’t shuffle away or give him an odd look. Instead, she looked to him and smiled. “My sister tries to kill you, yet you’re still trying to make me feel better? …You’re sweet, Oz.” She patted his hand.

“So… are we just going to ignore the elephant in the room?” Vicky asked. “Oz… what the hell was that you did when Adrien was attacking you?”

“Hm? What’s she talking about?” Amira looked at Oz quizzically. His stomach began twisting in and around itself like a python. The phobia on his shoulder covered its eyes and sank back into Oz’s skin like a drop of rain in a lake.

“I… I don’t know,” Oz looked down to the side. “It… just happened? I mean-“

“Oz,” Amira interrupted. “You are a shit liar. What happened?”

“Adrien was swinging his sword at Oz, and… it’s hard to describe,” Vicky almost looked nauseous as she explained, “but his voice got… loud. And… it sounded the same, but it created this… dread. It was like something infected the room and… God, it almost felt like when I was a kid and I was afraid of the dark.”

She had a look of unease on her face- not quite dread or terror, but… frightful confusion. She had felt scared, from an unknown threat that she hadn’t been able to see. She wanted an explanation.

“I was only coming back to,” Brian said, “but I vaguely remember feeling that. It was… weird. Like a worm rooting around in my stomach or something. Then it… stopped.”

“Yeah, that would be when Aaravi dropped in,” Valerie said. She turned to Oz herself. “Oz… really. What was that?”

Valerie’s look was different than Vicky’s. It held that same look of confusion and apprehension, but it also seemed more curious. Like she was more interested in finding out what caused it for the sake of knowing, rather than to feel some sort of peace.

Still, Oz looked away. “Guys… just trust me. It’s better that you don’t know.” He was refusing to look any of them in the eye.

Sighing, Vicky shrugged. “Well… I’m sorry you don’t trust us, Oz.” She looked away from him, and her tone made her lamentation known.

Oz felt a stab of guilt. Maybe he should tell them…? These are his best friends, the ones who have stuck with him through thick and thin. Did they deserve to know…?

…No. The more they knew, the more they were potentially at risk.

Despite everything, it was still too risky for anyone to know.

“It’s not trust, Vicky, it’s…” He closed his eyes and sighed. “It’s dangerous.” At this, Vicky’s eyes softened a bit… but he could tell she was still a bit upset with him. “Just trust me, Vick, this… isn’t something you want a part of.”

The five stood in the office, shuffling awkwardly for a minute. Finally, Amira sighed and stood up. “Well, I’m ready to go home. I need a drink. Vicky, you cool with driving?”

“Yeah, I am.” Her voice was monotone and she didn’t look at Oz as the three walked out. Oz sighed and put a hand to his forehead.

“I understand why she’d want to know, just…” Valerie nudged him with her elbow.

“Hey, man, it’s your biz, she’ll just… have to respect that.” She winked at him. “You keep whatever secrets you feel you need to.” She put her arms behind her head and leaned back. “Anyway,” she continued, “if you still want to hang out, I do need to take some inventory stock. How about… sometime this week, we go do something for lunch?”

Oz thought about it for a minute, then nodded. “Yeah. Sounds like a plan.” Valerie flashed a smile and a thumbs-up.

“Great! Then you know where to find me. See you tomorrow, Oz. Rest up.” She exited the room and disappeared around the corner.

Rubbing his temples, Oz realized for the first time he had a massive headache. His phobia re-emerged and hugged his neck; he patted it lovingly.

“It’s okay, little guy, it was…” He swallowed hard. “It was a slip. It won’t happen again.”

He stood up to go meet his friends at the car.

***

The Entity’s mental projection flew through the town, invisible and ethereal, seeking out the usual target.

Let’s see if he’s asleep yet… ah! There he is!

It hovered above the Color Crew’s house, descending unhindered through floors and walls. It reached into a mind fast asleep- Oz’s. Diving down, further and further, it looked for information.

Alright, Oz, let’s see how your day went…! Hopefully, we’ve made some progress.

It shuffled through his memories… and grinned as a deep, resonant howl sounded out throughout the mindscape. It didn’t come from Oz’s mind, though… it came from deeper within, straight down to the soul. The sounds were like an animal trapped in a cage, rattling the bars and pacing back and forth. An ancient beast, a far cry from the animalistic roars it was unleashing.

Don’t worry, my pawn, soon you will be unleashed for your purpose. We just have to weaken this idiot’s psyche enough to-

As it gloated, it stopped when it came upon the memory of Adrien trying to kill Oz. What the… that fool nearly let himself-!

Then Oz shouting… and the palpable terror that came from everyone after. It was faint, fleeting, very hard to detect… but definitely there.

…Now we’re getting somewhere.

It floated back up and out. I suppose you get a reprieve tonight, Oz. I need to talk to my accomplice.

It traveled back across Monstropolis. What a vile city. So full of metal and organics and… matter. It was disgusting. When its plan reached fruition, it would take enormous pleasure in burning this city off the face of the planet, and hearing the screams of those within it, before moving on.

Rabin was just beginning to wake up. Diving down into his mind like a fighter jet, it quickly found him in another dream of war, facing down an enormous three-headed hellhound.

Rabin! The rakshasa stopped short and the dream instantly disintegrated. He groaned. “God, what do you want?! Don’t tell me we have another problem!”

Quite the opposite. We’re beginning to see signs of success. Oz had a slip today- our target surfaced, but only very faintly and briefly.

Rabin’s eyes went wide, before his demonic face twisted into a sadistic snarl. The bones around his neck and waist jangled like chimes as he clashed his swords together in a celebratory manner. “Excellent! How long before we can harvest it?”

Still awhile. But I think I have an idea to speed up the process… I need you to travel to Spooky Academy. We’re going to start menacing the students there, specifically the meatbags he cares for.

At this, Rabin’s smile dropped and he shifted uncomfortably. “The school…? I’d prefer to avoid that place. She frequents there often…”

Don’t tell me you’re afraid of her.

Rabin bared his fangs and held up a scimitar threateningly. “I’m not scared of anything! I just like avoiding drama when I can help it.”

Well, too bad. You’ll camp out in the woods and I’ll give you further instructions from there. Their nightmares are about to become a bit more real than they might have anticipated.

Chapter Text

Rabin snorted as he crouched in a tree, observing Spooky High from a distance.

Two days he’d been here, yet his partner hadn’t picked out a target yet. He’d made a big deal of a slow burn attack, picking them off one at a time to induce terror over an unseen threat.

God, he could be fussy.

Boredom was not something Rabin handled well. His only stimulation had been a few idiots that had wandered into the forest. Hunting people gave such a different joy compared to taking down beasts or animals. They whimpered and pleaded in a way mindless creatures couldn’t, and he took the utmost pleasure in driving them mad by toying with them before the kill.

But still, he couldn’t openly engage in any fights. And really, easy prey, no matter how thrilling to terrify and take down, couldn’t compare to an even opponent, one who would offer a challenge. It was like the difference between popcorn and a rare steak.

Sighing, he stood up and jumped to the forest floor. He sounded out a great thud as his feet slammed into the leaves below. Stretching all four of his arms, he touched the red stone hanging from his necklace. His body shimmered as light began refracting around it, and his blue skin, so pale as to confuse the eyes, vanished, leaving only a blurred outline you had to squint to see.

“Well, let’s see what there is to hunt,” Rabin said, shortly before his bright green eyes vanished. He leaped into the air and began swinging from branch to branch.

Which unfortunately meant he just missed two figures who exited the school from a side entrance and began making their way to the forest’s edge.

***

Amira and Polly laughed loudly as Polly continued her story. A noticeable bump was present on the side of Amira’s head, purple with bruising.

“And then Scott chased those idiots around for, like, five hours!” Polly laughed as she floated alongside, taking a swig form her toilet wine. She held out the bottle to Amira. “You sure you don’t want any, boo?”

Grimacing, Amira chuckled nervously and pushed it gently away. “Sorry, Polly, but… I can still die from food poisoning.” Polly shrugged and chugged the little that was remaining before tossing it away.

As they entered the forest, Polly pointed to the welt on Amira’s head. “So, what happened there?”

She gave a grunt in response. “Don’t ask. Miranda got pissed at Oz for some reason and sicced that bodyguard she’s got with her everywhere on him. I tried to stop him and got welted in the fuckin’ head for my trouble.” Her eyes nearly rolled a perfect 360º degree. “Still have no idea why. I just remember hearing her yell something about Oz telling people he fucked her or something and then Adrien was trying to chop him in half.”

Polly nodded slightly. Then she cocked her head to the side and asked, “Did he?”

“No, Oz doesn’t spread rumors, have you met the guy?”

“No, I mean, did he fuck Miranda? Like, were they just rumors or were they true?”

Amira laughed. “Polly… listen. Oz is one of my best friends, I love the guy to death. And he’s going through some real shit right now, trying to improve himself. But… the guy has got no game. You honestly think he could land someone like Miranda?”

Polly chuckled. “Well, probably not, but… I don’t know. He’s cute, in that dorkish way.” She shrugged. “I’d give him a chance, if he showed interest. But, y’know, I’ve seen him hanging around Valerie a lot lately, so maybe he has his eyes on a different kind of pussy.” Polly collapsed into a cacophony of arrhythmic giggles.

“Oh, god,” Amira groaned at the joke, but her broad grin betrayed her true feelings. She loved a good sense of humor, and Polly had that in spades.

As the two walked on, the scenery around them changed- bright sunlight gave way to shadows as the forest canopy grew thick with branches, shielding them from both the harshness and protection of the daylight. Only pockets of the Sun’s rays managed to reach through the cover of leaves, forming pillars of warmth and heat.

The air became cooler, crisper; almost like the forest was ahead of the rest of the world, ushering in the autumn weather and feel. Amira felt herself relax a little as a chill settled over her skin, and her flame seemed to respond to it by changing its composition. Normally, her hair resembled a wildfire about to start, which then exploded when she was set off; but now it crackled like a fireplace, offering comfort and familiarity, instead of the typical energy and danger.

Polly floated up and raised her hands around it. “Mmm, that feels good, boo! Nice and toasty.” Amira raised an eyebrow.

“Can you feel that?” She asked.

With an eyeroll, Polly replied, “Uh… yeah? Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well, you’re… y’know…”

“A ghost?” With another eyeroll, Polly landed and walked in stride with Amira. “Amira, being a ghost doesn’t mean I can’t feel.”

Amira looked at her curiously. “But… Well, I mean, you don’t have a body.”

“Sure I do!” Her voice was halfway between mock offense and serious offense. She gestured to her transparent self. “What, you think this hotness isn’t real? Look, watch.” She grabbed Amira’s hand and interlaced her fingers with it.

Caught off-guard, Amira’s cheeks slightly blushed before she focused on the sensation. As Polly’s held her hand tightly, she could feel it as she would any others- her ‘skin’ was slightly cold to the touch, but also somehow warm at the same time, like a living person’s. It was an odd contradiction.

“See? I still got it,” she smirked. “Believe me, all the guys and gals in this city would be going nuts if Polly Geist could not feel or be felt.” She struck a pose, causing Amira to laugh.

“So… it feels just like when you were alive?” Amira asked inquisitively.

At this, Polly stopped posing and a look of mixed feelings came over her face. She turned away slightly. “Well… I wouldn’t say that. I mean, things still feel the same, surface-level. I can do drugs, I can fuck, I can feel when someone’s touching me, if I don’t phase through them. Technically, I can eat, even though I don’t need to, and I don’t like to unless it’ll get me high. But… there are things you miss. Like the feel of blood rushing through you, or your breathing, or… your heart beating in your chest.”

Her eyes looked downtrodden, and cast in the shadows of the forest, Amira thought she looked very tired- like she’d been carrying a great weight for a long time.

As quickly as it came over, it vanished and her happy-go-lucky smile returned, her eyes shining bright. “But it’s okay, boo. You get used to it.” Despite Polly’s return to a sunny disposition, Amira felt a stab of guilt for asking the question.

Deciding to change the topic, she asked, “Hey, you never did tell me why you weren’t able to phase away from Martin that day in the bathroom. Want to tell me now?”

Polly cocked her head. “Hmm, I don’t know, Amira. That’s a pretty big secret if I’m being honest, for all ghosts. We’re friends, but… I think for now I’m gonna keep that one to me.” She made a zipper motion across her lips. “But maybe one distant day. I don’t know. We’ll see.”

As she was about to say something else, Amira suddenly noticed something and held up a finger, signaling for silence. She ducked down a bit and tried to avoid any fallen leaves as she crept forward towards some bushes. Polly, still floating in the air, levitated to her level and floated alongside her.

Crouching beneath the bushes, Amira heard a voice talking.

“…and so humiliating, too! I can’t believe Vera would lie to me and make me embarrass myself in front of nearly half the student body! The nerve!”

Amira turned to Polly, who mouthed, “That sounds like Miranda.” Then another voice cut over the first.

“Miranda, will you just stop bitching already?! You brought us out here and have done nothing but complain for twenty minutes about how Vera screwed you over! I could be doing anything else right now! Like setting something on fire! Or stabbing someone! Or stabbing someone then lighting them on fire!”

Amira recognized Damien from the voice alone, but rolled her eyes at his arson habit.

“Guys, can we just please not fight? We’re all bros, we shouldn’t be arguing!” Amira wasn’t totally sure, but that sounded like Scott. She mouthed his name to Polly, who nodded.

Pushing aside a small hole in the bushes, the two peeked through it and could see Miranda pacing in front of Damien, who was sitting on a large rock, and Scott, who was standing slightly away with his hands at his sides and a nervous look on his face.

“Maybe so, Scott, but ‘bros’ don’t lie to royalty! They respect and defer to them on all matters, they-“

“Oh, give it a rest!” Damien rolled his eyes. “Are you going to actually do anything about it?”

“Of course! Despite his innocence in spreading rumors about me, Oz still played a part in my-“

“Not him, Vera,” Damien clarified. “You’ve spent all this time complaining about how she lied to you, but are you going to actually do anything about it?”

Miranda sounded flustered as she tried to respond. “Well- I mean… yes, I most certainly should, but… well, who are you to question royalty, anyway?!”

“I’m royalty, too, Miranda!”

As they continued to argue, Polly gave a side glance to Amira. “Man, they’re boooooring. We should-“ She stopped short as she saw Amira’s face grow dark and a ball of fire appear in her hand. “Uh… ‘Mira? Boo? What’re you doing?”

“That pink-haired bitch tried to kill one of my best friends,” Amira hissed with burning anger, “and put a goddamn dent in my head! She’s gonna fry!”

***

“Come on, Vick, it’s okay.”

Vicky and Zoe were studying in the library, and it was… not going well. Vicky was pacing back and forth, rubbing her hands together nervously. Her face held a mask of anxiety and stress, as she continually went back and forth across the length of the desk Zoe was sitting at.

She turned to Zoe without stopping. “It’s not okay, Zoe! We’ve been here for an hour, and I’m still not satisfied with my latest paper! I mean, look at this!”

Slapping down a paper in front of Zoe, she pointed to a sentence as she read it. “’As he walked back and forth,’ it’s so basic and boring!”

“I mean…” Zoe shrugged. “I don’t know, it seems okay to me. It’s not Shakespeare, but it doesn’t need to be-“

“It does if it’s from me, Zoe!” Vicky nearly shouted, causing Zoe to put up her arm and tentacle and quietly shushing her. She glanced nervously to the librarian, a mummy by the name of Agnes-Hotep who was so old and so mobile… Zoe was unsure if she was actually alive.

Vicky took a deep breath and let it out, then pulled out the chair across from Zoe. “Okay, look… I’m not meaning to get angry, it’s not your fault. But… I’ve always excelled at everything I’ve done. I mean everything. All my classes, math, chemistry, physics, physical education, Spanish, magic, history, cosmology. All my extracurriculars, cheerleading, track, debate club, the foreign exchange program, the politics club. I spent a month in Guatemala and I’m the leader of both our school’s political parties!”

“We have political parties?”

“And my personal life!” Vicky threw her hands up and leaned back in her chair. “I played the video game console we have at home until I’d beaten every game with 100%. Whenever the others do their chores, I undo them just so I can do them better. And relationships? I’ve only ever been in one, but believe you me,” she smiled slyly at Zoe, “Polly gave me plenty of pointers beforehand, so… I was the best.”

Zoe smiled flirtatiously back and wiggled her eyebrows. “Care to elaborate?”

“Not on your life.” Ignoring the disappointed look Zoe was giving her, Vicky pointed again at her paper. “The point is… no matter what it is, I have always been the best at it. So naturally that I could do it in my sleep. So why,” she glared at the words, “is creative writing beating me?!”

Leaning her head on her hand, Zoe raised an eyebrow. “Well, for starters, you’re assuming it’ll just come to you.”

Vicky cocked her head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“Well, writing doesn’t just happen to anyone,” Zoe gestured with her hands as she spoke. “You think all my fanfics just come to me while I’m sleeping? No, I sit at my computers for hours working on stuff that doesn’t even always see the light of day. It’s like anything, it takes effort, y’know? Like you’re talking as if the words should just start appearing on the page.”

Rolling her eyes, Vicky replied, “Well, I know they’re not just supposed to ‘appear on the page,’ but… well, how come this is the exception then? Everything else I do comes to me pretty naturally.”

Zoe hummed and tapped the table. “Okay, well… is it possible they don’t? Like let’s look at the examples you gave.” Zoe turned Vicky’s page over and began writing. “All your classes were objective classes- history, math, chemistry. Things based in objective facts that don’t change. Same thing with cheerleading and track- sports with rules that are objective and don’t change. Even the debate team, were you ever the moderator and had to take arguments, or did you always give the arguments?”

“I gave them, I’m the best arguer we have.”

“Exactly. You were given your argument, the bullet points to use, and the rules regarding debates. Even things like your chores- all of these things required hard work and effort, but none of them were subjective. Or at least, you didn’t normally play the subjective role. And even though I really doubt this is the first thing you’ve ever had trouble with… I think a large part of why you are having trouble is because you’re having to bend outside an objective framework.”

Taken aback, Vicky thought about what Zoe was saying. Could that be possible? It seemed so absurd- almost everything in life had both objective and subjective elements to it. There was no way she was simply that used to having rules to live by.

But thinking about it, she realized… Zoe had a point. She was always a debater, never the moderator. She never came up with the arguments, only ever made them. In track, she always a competitor, but she never gave a thought to whether the judges were right or wrong. She merely accepted their score based on if she’d followed the rules or not.

Even her activities which did have subjective elements… she realized she always went out of her way to avoid them as much as she could.

“Well… what can I do?” Vicky asked. Her tone shifted; she had moved from defensive and assured… to directionless.

Zoe smiled. “Easy! Two things; first, you need to practice, a lot. So guess what! We’re gonna increase our study sessions.” Vicky rolled her eyes, but she smiled as Zoe flashed her a thumbs up and continued to speak. “Second, you’re going to need some feedback, and not just mine.”

She got up and grabbed Vicky’s hand. “Wait! Where are we going?” Vicky asked.

“To see your writing teacher! The Headless Horseman!”

***

In the bushes, Polly yanked Amira’s arm back as she prepared to throw a fireball over the top towards Miranda. Amira angrily bared her teeth. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!” She was furious, but kept her voice low and out of earshot of the others nearby.

As she kept Amira from launching any fire, Polly, still in a lazy tone of voice, said, “Boo, listen, I get you’re the kind of gal to immediately jump into a fight, and I’m not gonna lie, it’s pretty hot, but Miri’s my friend. I’m not letting you burn her.”

Amira yanked her arm free and gritted her teeth. “That empty-headed, pampered princess deserves it!”

Polly groaned. “Okay, since that won’t be enough, let’s think this through, Amira.” She gave a small clap and focused Amira’s attention on her. “Miranda is what?”

“An empty-headed, bitch-faced, high-off-her-own-fumes, pampered-“

“A princess. She is a princess of the very powerful,” Polly stressed her words as she spoke, “merkingdom. And if you try to, or worse, succeed, in hurting their prize princess… what do you suppose is going to happen?”

Slowly, Amira lost her look of righteous indignation, which was replaced with one of realization as Polly spoke. Sighing, she closed her eyes and leaned against the back of a tree. “Ugh… I see your point.”

“Good.” Polly rolled her eyes and looked at her hands disgustedly. “You see what you made me do? I’m supposed to be the reckless, impulsive one, not the boring, responsible, rational one. Remember?”

Scoffing in disbelief, Amira looked through the bush at the three, who were still arguing. “So, what do we do then?”

Polly grinned. “It’s easy! We don’t hurt her. We prank her. Usually that can mean the same thing, but like I said, Miri’s cool.”

Amira raised an eyebrow. “You’d be willing to help me with that? Isn’t she your friend?”

The ghost blew a raspberry. “Oh, please. Like my friends are ever safe from me. Nobody’s exempt from the Prank Masterz!” As she talked, Amira smiled. It was weirdly inspirational hearing her talk- she spoke about pranks and parties like a director might speak about a movie, or a chef about cooking. It was full of passion and love, and that was something Amira really admired in a person.

“The point is,” Polly finished, “we’re going to need time to cook up a good idea, right? So let’s get out of here and-“

She was cut off as a thump sound came from beyond the bush, then a thud of something heavy hitting the forest floor; a shrill shriek followed. Amira and Polly shot each other a confused look before peeking through the bushes.

Scott was laying on the ground, his eyelids fluttering, almost closed. The back of his head was welting up with a large bump and a small line of blood traced from it to the ground.

Standing above him… the air was rippling. Polly recognized it- it was the same weird effect that she’d spotted that night in the warehouse. Slowly, two green eyes materialized above it, with a wolfish grin of fangs following.

“Aw, sorry about knocking out your pup,” a deep, gravelly voice spoke. The speaker sounded like he’d been gargling rocks and sand for his entire life, and it carried a sinister edge, like a knife scraping on the side of a car door. “But the wind moved, and as much as I was enjoying hearing you bitch about non-existent issues… I wasn’t about to let him sniff me out.”

The rippling space began to form shapes and solidified, forming a hulking figure taller than Scott. He wore only some kind of animal skin draped over his back and a red chiton over his waist and legs. Out of his mouth of sharp teeth, four enormous sabers jutted out. He cracked two hands while two hung over his shoulder- on his back were two scimitars, with two more hanging at his belt. All over his body hung small skulls, bones, horns… all kinds of trophies. His skin was a very pale blue, with two horns jutting straight up from the top of his head, right above his bright green eyes, which examined Damien and Miranda with sadistic joy. A red gem on a necklace glittered like fire beneath his chin.

“Name’s Rabin,” he pulled one scimitar off his belt and twirled it in the air, before pointing it at the pale Miranda and the shocked Damien. “Very happy to make your acquaintance. Your skins will look very good hung up on my wall.”

***

Zoe was dragging Vicky through the halls. The Frankenstein’s monster was nearly pale-white and practically being dragged, her feet not lifting an inch off the ground.

“Zoe, I really don’t know if this is a good idea.” Her voice was meek like a mouse’s and her bolts were sparking with nervousness and anticipation.

Her friend waved her tentacle in the air dismissively. “Ah, don’t worry, Vick, you’ll have me there with you. I know the Horseman well! He loves me!”

As they turned a corner, they saw the Horseman leaving his classroom, locking the door behind him. His horse stood next to him, its coal-red eyes staring at a locker. “See? There he is,” Zoe said. “Hey! Mr. Horseman!” She waved and called.

He turned to see who was calling him and the fire shooting out of his eyes and mouth went pale white. His evil smile drooped and he muttered, “Oh, god, her,” as Zoe walked up, still dragging a rigid Vicky behind her.

“…Hello… Zoe.” The Horseman spoke through his teeth, keeping his shoulders stiff and scrunching up his entire body.

“Hi!” Zoe waved, either oblivious to her teacher’s obvious discomfort or flat-out ignoring it. “I brought my friend Vicky, who is in your writing class, so you can give her feedback on her writing and help her improve it!” She held out the paper to the Horseman, making Vicky squeak.

The Horseman sighed. “Look, girls, I don’t have time for this. If I did, I can promise you that I would still not care, but as it stands, I want to go home-“

“Pleeeeeeease, just read it?” Zoe looked up at him, doing her best puppy-dog-endless-void eyes. “My friend really needs the encouragement. She’s beating herself up over this and she needs direction!”

The pumpkin-headed ghoul stared at the paper and let out a loud annoyed sigh. He snatched it with a vine-laden root hand and snapped, “Fine, but we’re walking out as I read.” Zoe gave him a thumbs up. He climbed aboard his horse and began reading as it trotted, with Zoe dragging Vicky beside them.

As they walked, he read slowly, going over each sentence structure and word choice. He murmured as he read, his horse walking in silent steadfastness. The Horseman’s saber hung at his side, clinking menacingly against his saddle with each move of a hoof.

Zoe for her part was not at all intimidated. Several times, the Horseman looked over and smacked her hand away from trying to pet his steed. As they walked together, Vicky felt herself relax, and she began taking her own steps. When Zoe looked back every once in a while and flashed her a smile or a peace sign or an OK symbol with her fingers… Vicky began feeling better.

In fact, she was feeling a bit safer as well; if Zoe wasn’t afraid of this guy, why should she be? Zoe was here to help her.

Zoe… was here to help her. The thought made Vicky smile and blush lightly.

Finally, they reached outside of the school, near the front entrance. It was mostly empty- full only of cars and probably a few students hiding somewhere who’d snuck away from class or study hall to make out or do drugs.

The Horseman suddenly pulled his reigns and stopped. Zoe and Vicky stopped as well, and Vicky hid partway behind Zoe as the Horseman seemed to read over it one last time.

As he looked down at her, cobalt flames lapping at the edges of his eyes, he handed it back to her silently and flicked his reigns. His horse began walking again and Zoe developed a confused look.

“Um… hey?” She said. “Aren’t you gonna… y’know… let us know what you thought?”

The horse stopped again, and the Horseman let out another annoyed sigh he swung his leg off and began walking back towards them. “God, you students are so fussy,” he complained. “First you want me to read it, then you want me to talk about it? Ugh.”

Striding right up to the two, he towered over them by a good foot. Zoe stared up at him, completely and utterly without panic, while Vicky cowered slightly behind her.

“It was… terrible,” the Horseman said with a bored tone of voice. “Dull word choice, choppy sentence fragments, dreadful pacing… amateur in every imagination of the word, I’m afraid.” Vicky’s face fell with each insult, while Zoe’s optimistic smile gave way to annoyance.

When the Horseman didn’t continue, she gestured to do so with a hand roll. “And…? Any advice or positive remarks?”

“Oh, yes, advice, hm…” He tapped his chin, pretending to think. Then he looked to Vicky. “Vicky, was it? You would like my advice?”

She didn’t look at him, but nodded meekly.

He leaned down to her. “Don’t write again. Then you won’t have to bother me again.” His gleeful smile painted on his face once more, he turned and began walking back to his horse. Vicky felt like she’d just been punched in the gut.

Zoe… was the opposite.

Her third eye popped open with rage and her tentacle shot out, almost involuntarily, seizing the ghoul by the right arm.

“What the fuck-?!” He cried out, not expecting to be yanked back around, and was met with Zoe’s eyes, glowing purple with fury, while the tentacles that made up her hair reached out, distended and twisted like tree branches.

“You spiteful little fertilizing Jack-o-lantern birdshit!” She roared, livid. “You’re supposed to encourage your students, see them succeed, not-“

She was cut off as the Horseman suddenly shot up to another foot tall. His arms and fingers extended out like enormous tree roots shaped like twisted knives, and the blue fire in his pumpkin head flared out to an angry purple. His figure hunched over and the aura around him turned dark and full of terror. Zoe fell back, but kept her angry look.

“Listen to me, you shitheads,” he hissed, his voice like the crackling of a fireplace. “I warned you I wanted to leave, you did not listen. If you’re going to bother me, and then blame me for giving an honest response, you have nobody to blame but yourselves!”

Zoe glared at him, but she stopped yelling. Still, she stood toe-to-toe with him and didn’t back down.

Vicky stared at the scene with horror. On the one hand, she was grateful Zoe was sticking up for her and that somebody was willing to tell this asshole off. But on the other…

The Horseman glared down at both of them. “I guess I have good news and bad news for you, Vicky. The good news is, I will certainly remember who you are. The bad news is, I will now look forward to seeing you fail my class, if that is the highest quality work I can expect from you!”

At this, Zoe’s face of anger broke, and awareness and realization suddenly seemed to grip her. She turned to see Vicky’s face crumble into mortal fear, and the reality that she’d just made Vicky’s situation worse, even though she was trying to stick up for her… her stomach sank like a stone in the sea.

They were all interrupted when a sudden scream pierced the air. All three of them momentarily forgot their quarrel and turned in its direction. “What was that?” Vicky muttered.

“Sounds like it came from the woods,” the Horseman murmured. “Well… where there’s screams… there’s violence. And violence…” He stretched one leg over his horse and turned it in the direction. “Violence is always entertaining.”

***

Back in the forest, Miranda and Damien were staring in shock as the rakshasa towered over the unconscious Scott as Polly and Amira watched, unseen, from the bushes, wide-eyed and in disbelief.

“What- what the fuck?!” Damien stuttered. “You’re gonna pay for that, asshole!” He charged- but was promptly seized by the throat with one enormous, clawed hand and held up like a ragdoll.

“Awww,” the rakshasa- Rabin- mulled over Damien with mock admiration. “How cute. The little runt thought he could charge me and end things just like that.”

Damien snarled back, “I’ll show you runt, fucker!”

Rabin looked down and saw Damien had plunged a knife into his side. He stared at it for a moment before guffawing and pulling it out with a swift move of his hands. “Ha! That tickled.” He leered at Damien. “I like you, kid. Got gumption. Just too bad you wandered into this forest at the wrong time of day.”

“Unhand him!” Miranda screamed and pointed a finger at Rabin indignantly. “As a princess of the merkingdom, I demand you unhand my classmate immediately!” Rabin merely raised an eyebrow and growled at her.

“Ugh,” he said. “I hate entitled royals. Always thinking they’re so superior… but I find when most of them come out here, into my kingdom,” he held up the scimitar and grinned at his reflection. “Well, they tend to find that they have severely overestimated themselves.” Still holding a struggling Damien by the throat, he advanced on Miranda, who shrank down.

Amira was watching with shock and indecision. She certainly didn’t want to tangle with this guy, but she also wasn’t sure she wanted to just let him kill Miranda and Damien. Certainly, she didn’t want to leave Scott unconscious and at his mercy. Scott was one of the only genuinely good people at Spooky Academy, she couldn’t just leave him there. But… she also couldn’t see how she could realistically get him out of there without being spotted, and he wasn’t waking up anytime soon, judging from the enormous welt on the back of his head.

Before she could react, Polly, who had an uncharacteristically dark look on her face, charged out from the bush. “Polly-!” Amira tried reaching out to grab her ankle, but phased right through it. “Shit! Polly! Come back…!”

But it was no use. Polly’s normally always cheerful face was twisted into an ugly, uncharacteristic scowl, and her eyes were glowing white with rage. “HEY!” She screamed, and Amira reflexively cringed from hearing her tone.

Turning from Miranda, Rabin spotted Polly floating off the ground. “The fuck you want?” He growled. “Can’t you see I’m busy?”

An enormous boulder suddenly flung in and smacked Rabin directly in the face. He gave a startled yell and dropped Damien, grabbing at his face. Damien scrambled… first to get his knife that was on the ground, then back to Miranda, standing in front of her.

Rabin removed his face and a line of blood dripped from his forehead. He looked to Polly, his sadism replaced with rage. “You’ll pay for that, you little bitch-!” He was assaulted as another good size rock came in from behind and smacked him in the base of the skull, causing him to slam a nearby tree with his fist in frustration. Before another one could sling his way, he leapt forward towards Polly.

For such a big figure, his speed and agility shocked Amira. He didn’t move like a person, either- he dropped to all fours and moved like a big cat or an ape, jumping from spot to spot and covering a span of ten feet in less than three seconds. Still, Polly merely somersaulted over him through the air and landed behind him.

“Hey, idiot,” she called, “I’m a ghost, remember? How exactly do you-“ She was cut off as he whirled around and snatched her by the throat with one of his upper arms.

“What was that you said?” Rabin taunted as all the anger left Polly’s face to be replaced with terror. Her eyes faded back to normal and the aura emanating from her vanished like the Sun on a cloudy day. “’I’m a ghost’? Guess what… I know the secret behind you ghosts and your little parlor tricks. And I know how to get around them. Know what that means…?” He grabbed her by the wrist and squeezed, and Amira heard Polly emit a sound she’d never heard her make before.

Polly gave a yell of pain.

“It means I can make you feel the worst kinds of hurt.”

Amira’s rage flared- she had to save Polly from this asshole, and get her and the others away. She readied a huge flame in her hand and stood up. “Douchebag!” She called. Rabin whirled around, snarling, “WHAT IS IT NOW?!” before promptly getting a blast of fire in the face.

“Gah-!” It was enough to make him let go of Polly. Amira pointed to Scott.

“Get him! We have to move!” She yelled. As Rabin tried to clear his face of embers, Polly did as she was instructed, levitating the still-unconscious Scott. Amira turned to Damien and Miranda. “Run, you idiots!”

The four began moving towards the direction of the school, with Scott in tow. Rabin put out the fire and roared as he saw them escaping. “I’m gonna tear out your spines and pick my teeth with them, you little shits!” He grabbed the nearest tree and leapt to the closest branch like a lion and began jumping through them.

Amira turned back as she ran and fired fireball after fireball after him, but he dodged most of them. Cackling through the woods as he pursued them, Amira spotted the next branch and got an idea.

Acting as she was aiming for him again, she pivoted her arm at the last second and launched it at the branch he was jumping towards. He shifted his body at the last second and managed to grab the tree, but it slowed him down and gave them precious time to get ahead. He cracked his neck. “Shifty prey,” he mumbled, before once more taking up the chase.

Polly was struggling to keep Scott in the air. “Polly, come on, we have to move!” Damien yelled behind him.

“I’m trying!” She said, but Scott’s body was slowly closing the gap between him and the ground. “He’s heavy, it’s a lot of weight to move that long and that far!”

Amira risked another look back and saw Rabin had already almost closed the distance they’d managed to gain, and she had a feeling he wasn’t going to fall for her trick again. Looking to her front, the school was in sight… but it was still too far. They needed time.

“Miranda! Where’s your bodyguard?” She called ahead.

Miranda nearly stumbled as she tried to look back to answer. “I- I’m not sure! I ordered him to remain at the school while I went into the woods with Damien and Scott!”

“Aw, fuck,” she swore. “Polly, set Scott down! Miranda, Damien, help get him to the school! Polly…” The ghost looked at Amira with a concerned expression.

“I’m gonna slow him down. When you reach the school, find someone, anyone, send them in here, okay?”

“Amira…” Polly’s face held concern and indecision- she was looking to the school and back to Amira with a look of fear. “Amira, I don’t-“

“Just do it!” Amira yelled with such intensity that Polly’s eyes went wide and she nodded. She rushed through the air towards the school, eyes desperately darting ahead for sign of someone.

Damien also shot back a look of concern as he saw Amira stay behind, facing the rapidly approaching Rabin, but he kept running, holding up Scott from one arm. Amira shot one last look to make sure they were still running… before turning back and seeing the massive rakshasa jump from a tree branch and land in front of her with an enormous thud. The bones hanging around him rattled like wind chimes.

Snorting, he sheathed his scimitars and cracked his knuckles. His wolfish face stared her down, eyes burning bright and practically glowing. “Hmm… you think you’re clever, don’t ‘cha? That if you take me on by yourself, you’ll buy your friends time to escape?” He chuckled. “You don’t get it… do you? They’re already dead. If I don’t find ‘em today, I’ll find ‘em another day. Sooner or later, they’ll be vulnerable, and when they are… I’ll have three new skulls to add to my belt. Who knows? Maybe I’ll even figure out a way of keeping a part of a ghost.” Amira’s fire burned darker at the mention of Polly.

He stared straight ahead, green fire dancing in his pupils. “But if you’ve got the guts to face me one-on-one… you’re entitled to die first, the way you’ve chosen- alone and outmatched.”

He assumed a fighting stance. “Well? Go on. I’ll let you have the first shot.”

***

Vicky, Zoe, and the Horseman stopped short at the side entrance. “Sounds like it came from around here,” Vicky said. Her voice communicated her concern and worry. “We need to find them! Somebody could be hurt.”

“I certainly hope so,” the Horseman cackled.

“Vicky! Zoe!” The two turned to see Coach walking out of the side exit and giving a friendly wave. “How are two of my fav… uh… how are two of my students doing?”

Zoe shook her head. “Coach, we heard a scream and it sounded like it came from the forest.”

Coach’s eyes widened and he looked to the tree line. “The forest! That is bad. There could be bears in there…”

Something suddenly sprinted past both of them and nearly knocked both of them to the ground. As Zoe looked to the mystery object, she spotted purple skin and gold armor. “Adrien…?” She murmured. “Miranda’s bodyguard? But why would-“

Suddenly, he reemerged from the thick foliage, supporting Miranda and Damien, who were lugging behind an unconscious Scott, behind them. They laid him on the ground gently and Coach’s face immediately grew from worrisome curiosity into outright panic.

“Miranda…?! Damien?! What’s going on?! What happened to Scott?!” His voice edged into stress. The Horseman regarded the three, but otherwise seemed more interested in the forest. Vicky and Zoe spotted blood on Scott’s head and Vicky felt her heart sink.

“Some… sort of… beast attacked us!” Miranda choked out. “It hurt Scott and now- and now-“

Polly suddenly burst through the bushes. She was near tears and pointed to the direction she came from. “In there! Hurry! Someone’s trying to kill Amira, you have to hurry!”

“Amira!” Vicky tried running ahead, but Coach held out a hand and stopped her. He had a dark look in his eyes and an angry snarl in his teeth.

“Nobody messes with my students,” he mumbled, then turned to Vicky. “Vicky, it’s too dangerous. You stay here, okay? I’ll handle this.” Then he charged forth like he suddenly had gained 20 years back, leaping over shrubs and thicket.

The Horseman’s eyes lit up and, sensing potential combat, kicked his horse’s saddle and began riding off after him. With a nod from Miranda, Adrien charged forward, quickly taking the lead.

Zoe looked over to Vicky, whose face conveyed terror and fear. She looked down in shame, realizing her earlier behavior was now likely to get Vicky in trouble. “Listen, Vicky… about back there… I’m sorry, I was just-“

“Zoe, it’s… it’s okay…” Vicky mumbled and looked away. “We’ll talk about it later, once… once we know everyone’s okay.”

The two looked to the forest and waited, hoping desperately everything would be alright.

***

Amira was swung into a tree, hitting it back-first. She groaned in pain and held her arm- she felt like she just got hit by a freight train.

She narrowly rolled out of the way as Rabin roared and slashed at her with two of his hands. His claws hit the bark, leaving gashes an inch deep.

He lunged at her and gave an enormous chomp with his teeth, but she managed to duck back. She threw a punch straight at his face and nailed him in the cheek; she felt her knuckles almost instantly bruise as she made contact. It didn’t seem to hurt him much, but it did enrage him and he kicked her aside.

Tumbling in the dirt, she struggled to get up. Her body was covered in bruises and cuts, and her head throbbed like she’d slammed back a whole bar of alcohol.

But she got to her feet and wiped her bleeding nose. She was no goddamn quitter, and she wasn’t about to lose a fight to this prick.

Rabin and Amira circled each other. He had to admit, he hadn’t expected the fight to last this long- she was a pipsqueak compared to him. But she’d dodged and countered enough he hadn’t been able to simply grab her and snap her neck like he planned. She even got a few shots in- not that they did much.

He charged, and she launched a stream of fire through his face. Charging through it, he didn’t see her actual objective- she jumped straight up and managed to climb over him, just in time for him to slam face first into the tree behind her. The bark cracked and the tree fell over as it split from its base.

Shaking his head, Rabin found himself disoriented. Amira took this opportunity to deliver another punch to the snout, her fist hitting him square in the mouth, but she made a mistake when she went for another one. He grabbed her by the arm before she could get him, and he twisted it harshly to the side, causing her to grit her teeth in pain. She refused to give him the satisfaction of making her scream.

Clenching one of his own fists, he slammed her straight in the gut, causing her to let out a loud wheeze and drop to her knees. He swung his knee up, making contact with her shoulder and sending her flying. She landed with a solid thud on her stomach, pain wracking her whole body. Her ribs cried out in agony, and her bones were beginning to tire.

But Amira still got up.

No fuckin’ way was she gonna die on her knees… she was gonna die standing.

Rabin nodded. “You got fire, kid. I’m almost sad this fight’s got to end… you’re the best challenge I’ve had in ages.”

His eyes darkened and he bared his claws. “But nobody beats me.”

He charged, dropping to all fours, two arms raised high above him, ready to slash and tear. His mouth bared its fangs in a vicious look, his eyes wide and bright with the anticipation of tearing flesh.

Staring him down, Amira bared her fists and readied… as the enormous fangs, furious eyes, and clawed digits reached out-

Only for Rabin to suddenly be slammed straight in the face. It threw him off-course and he stopped short. “What the fuck?!” He cursed and looked at the object that had hit him straight in the face.

A red, rubber dodgeball. “What in God’s…?” Another one hit him again and Amira turned to where they were coming from. Running to where they were standing, Coach, and shortly behind him the Headless Horseman on his steed, were waving their arms. Charging ahead was Adrien, sword drawn and face twisted into furious determination.

“Amira! Get away from him!” Coach yelled. The Horseman didn’t yell, but his jack-o-lantern head flared with blue fire and stretched an enormous sinister grin as his horse galloped to them.

The way Coach moved was actually impressive. He didn’t move like he was an aging gym teacher, he moved like he just found out his wife and child were trapped in a building burning. His eyes hyper-focused onto Rabin and his teeth almost seemed to enlarge as his face twisted into a glare at the one trying to hurt one of his students.

Rabin looked to them, then to Amira. He could sense he was outnumbered. His glare intensified with anger and he pointed a single clawed finger at her before his shape began to disappear. The red crystal around his neck glowed and his form began to vanish, light refracting through his body until only his green eyes remained, and even they became naught. The sounds of his escape were evident as the brush rustled and broke beneath him as he ran.

Adrien, despite his quarry now being invisible, continued to chase on, hacking through bushes and brambles, but clearly losing pace. Coach and the Horseman stopped as they came up to Amira’s side. “Damn!” The Horseman swore, swinging off his saddle. “Was hoping he’d stick around. Been so long since something interesting happened at this school…”

“Amira! Are you okay?!” Coach ran up and began examining her for injuries.

She nodded. “Uh, yeah, I… well, to be honest, I hurt like hell, but I think I’m fine.” She grinned and held up a fist. “Showed him what was what.”

Coach beamed with pride. “You certainly did, Amira… still can’t say I’m pleased you threw yourself in harm’s way, though.” His look of pride morphed into a look of displeasure and concern.

“Had no choice,” she looked away. “He was attacking a few of the others, and… well, they needed time to get away.”

“Who was that guy?” Coach began asking. “And what was he doing here? Why was he attacking you?” Amira could only shrug.

“Said his name was Rabin. He just attacked Miranda, Damien and Scott. It was weird… like he materialized out of thin air.” She began to say more, but was interrupted by a voice.

“Amira!” She saw Polly running towards her, shortly flanked by Vicky and Zoe. Before she could process what was happening, Polly threw her arms around Amira and hugged her tight. Amira’s face broke out in a pink blush.

Polly didn’t seem to care that anyone was watching, though. She just hugged Amira tight… and eventually Amira smiled, slightly embarrassed, before hugging her back.

Eventually, Polly let go and her face was filled with emotion. “I thought… maybe… I thought he…”

“Killed me? Nah,” Amira displayed the bruise on her ribs. “But I got some new scars for the collection, eh? Hah!” Her upbeat attitude to nearly getting killed slowly broke Polly out of her worry, and they both began to laugh.

Vicky and Zoe ran up and began bombarding Amira with words. “What happened?” “Are you okay?” “Who’d you fight?” “We need to get you to the nurse!” “I’m glad you’re okay…”

“Uh… thanks guys,” Amira was trying to be her typical brash self, but she couldn’t lie to herself… she was touched her friends were concerned for her. Also… “As much as I’d love to tell you guys the whole story… my head is fucking killing me. Maybe we can go convince Nurse Chupacabra to give me some pills?”

Vicky and Zoe nodded, and they turned to leave with Polly and Amira. “Hey! You two!” They turned back to see the Horseman pointing his saber at them with an ugly glare on his face. “We… are not finished. We’ll talk again soon.”

Vicky’s face cast down and Zoe garnered a shameful look. Amira looked back and forth between them and the Horseman. “Uh… what’s that about?”

“Nothing, Amira,” Vicky said, her tone awkward. “I’ll… tell ya later.” She suddenly seemed very tense and walked like she wasn’t really paying attention to the world, and Zoe looked away, guilt ringing clear across her face.

Deciding it was an issue for another day, Amira nodded her head towards the school and the four began walking out of the forest. Polly hung back and floated alongside Amira.

“Psst… Amira,” Polly said in a hushed tone. “That Rabin guy? I think I’ve seen him before.”

“Huh?” Amira gave her a confused look.

“Well, back at the warehouse party, when we were looking for Damien?” Polly spoke and Amira nodded. “I saw something like when he first appeared. That shimmering? I didn’t really think anything of it, then, but then I went back a few days ago for another party. That Cyclops guy I was gonna hook up with? One of his friends asked me if I knew where he went. Apparently nobody’s seen him since.”

Amira was quiet. “Jesus… are you saying…?”

“That I think that sociopath had something to do with it? I’m pretty sure,” Polly said. She sounded… afraid. It was so unfamiliar hearing it from the most carefree and worriless person in the whole world. “Amira, he… he could grab me. He hurt me. Even Martin couldn’t overpower me like that. If he comes back-“

“Hey,” Amira said, “look at me, okay?” Polly looked to Amira, who let her bravado drop. She gave Polly a genuine smile. “Don’t worry. If he comes back, we’ll handle him.” She held up her hand, intertwined with Polly’s. “Together.”

Polly looked at their hands, then to Amira’s smile. She smiled back. “Yeah… together.”

The four walked back inside the school… the ghost and the djinn still holding hands.

***

YOU IDIOT! YOU DIMWITTED, BRUTISH MONGREL! I SHOULD TORTURE YOU WITH NIGHTMARES FOR THIS!

Standing in a dark area in his dream, Rabin was getting an earful from his partner regarding the day’s… “events.” He grimaced at the volume. “Are you finished yet?” He grumbled.

Do you understand what you have cost us?! We have lost the element of surprise! They know of your existence now!

“Ahh, so what?” Rabin snarled. “You sent me there to terrorize them, and I did. What’s the big deal if-“

He gave a yell of pain as electricity flooded his body, followed by an acidic feeling. Hold your tongue, you fool! You may think yourself untouchable, but you are nowhere to my level. And you are, in no uncertain terms, replaceable. Step out of line again and I will dispose of you and replace you with someone more obedient! Am. I. Clear?

Despite his prowess… Rabin found himself cowering and nodding. “Understood,” he muttered. He was humiliated; a mighty hunter brought low by a creature far above his station. It wasn’t befitting of him.

Good! Now… the Entity’s voice smoothed out. This situation is not… unsalvageable. They may know your name and your face, but with the crystal, they cannot track you. And they may have gotten away… but now they know to fear you.

It circled Rabin for a few moments before speaking again. Get some rest. I will visit these ones you met. I am already familiar with the djinn… ‘Amira,’ her name is. One of Oz’s friends.

“Amira…” Rabin grunted.

As the Entity exited Rabin’s mind, leaving the rakshasa to sleep, its mental projection floated over the town, seeking out the first mind it would visit.

Where… where is… there she is.

Floating above a house… it dived down, down, down…

Down into the mind of Polina Geist.

Deep inside, Polly’s mind was a chaotic wonderland. Her dream was lights, colors, and noise overwhelmed the senses and dulled the inhibitions… for Polly.

To the Entity, it was torturous.

Gah! Stimulating senses… sickening! I need to bring order to this chaos…

In the center of the dream was Polly, who was throwing this party full of generic, anonymous guests. She was getting ready to launch a thousand balloons with confetti and party poppers- when suddenly all went dark.

“Hey! Who turned out the lights?”

I did.

Polly found herself under a spotlight. Polina Geist. I would say it’s a pleasure to meet you… but I frankly don’t care what you think.

“Uh, thanks?” Polly made a face. “Take over my dream and be a dick, why don’t ya?”

I must say, of all the organics I have had the displeasure of encountering, you are by far one of the least pleasant ones. A life of debauchery… alcohol, drugs, sex… all in the mindless pursuit of pleasure, no?

Polly chuckled. “Yep, it’s pretty awesome.”

I find it revolting. And you may be a ghost, but you are still matter… abominable matter. As such… you must be punished for existing.

Deciding to mess around, Polly blew a kiss. “Ooh, kinky! So tell me, how exactly are you going to punish me-?”

She was suddenly seized by the arms and a tight coil wrapped itself around her entire body. Polly was completely immobilized.

Today you were attacked… and your attacker was able to grab you, was he not?

Polly’s façade dropped and she tried to look around for the source of the voice, but her neck was trapped in place like a vice. “How the hell do you-“

Ghosts… always thinking they’re so untouchable. But you’re not, are you? You’re very vulnerable to those with the knowledge… and the will… to hurt you.

Polly felt a chill settle over her skin and her eyes went wide. Her breathing sped up slightly.

Yes, Polly… I know the little secret all you ghosts carry. About exactly why sometimes you can phase through walls, and other times you’re as solid as any other… and like your attacker, I know how to bypass it.

She felt what seemed like hands grip her forearms. They… burned with heat.

Well, you like to indulge your senses, don’t you? Then indulge pain for a bit.

Struggling to get free, she felt the heat on her arms intensify. It was like when she was alive and she’d burned her hands on a stove.

Go on, Polly, enjoy it. Isn’t that what you crave? Stimulation? Then take it for all it is!

“Let me go!” Tears threatened to spill from her eyes as the heat spread from her forearms to her hands. It crawled up her arms like spiders and spread down her body to her toes. “STOP IT! LET ME GO!”

MAKE ME, POLLY! GO ON, PHASE THROUGH MY HANDS! ESCAPE! THAT’S WHAT YOU GHOSTS ARE BEST AT, NO?!

She looked up and gasped- the figure was no longer invisible. She stared at a figure made of blinding light- swirling colors of red, purple, yellow, green, every shade on the spectrum- standing in front of her. Dozens of arms came out of its sides and back, and it stared at her with two miniature suns for eyes. Its face was twisted into an angry glare of pure hatred, as if its fury was fueling its own existence.

GET AWAY, POLLY! ESCAPE! HAHAHAHA!

Polly struggled and squirmed and yelled, but nothing worked. The cackling grew louder as it filled her ears, and the heat only intensified as the figure glowed brighter and brighter. She turned her head up and screamed, “AMIRA, HELP ME!”

And suddenly she woke up, sitting straight up. She would’ve been breathing heavily, had she had a need to breath. And not for the first time, she held a hand to her chest and wished desperately she could feel her heartbeat, if only so she could feel it slow down.

She could hear Scott snoring from the next room over. Shaken, she pulled her covers up over her further and decided not to go back to sleep.

For the first time in a long time… Polly felt afraid. Genuinely… truly afraid.

Chapter Text

Early in the morning… something stirred in the forest.

Rabin swung through the trees, as agile as a cat. He leapt from branch to branch, giving the appearance he was weightless despite his stature. His four scimitars were sheathed on his back and his belt, but the steel blades reflected moonlight. The rakshasa’s icy-blue skin blended well into the darkness and against the night sky canopy. In fact, if he’d wanted, he could have appeared completely invisible, even without his crystal— the only prominent things were his glowing green eyes.

Finally, he came to a halt and dropped to the forest floor, just as the Sun was beginning to peak over the horizon. Looking around to ensure there was no one watching, he gripped a large boulder and rolled it over… revealing a good-sized tunnel below it.

He dropped inside and touched the red crystal that hung around his neck. It glowed brightly, and on the surface, the air rippled, before what appeared to be an identical boulder appeared over the entrance.

Satisfied with his illusion, Rabin descended into the tunnel, his eyes and his crystal the only sources of illumination. Were his eyesight not adapted to darkness, he would’ve had trouble finding his way; there were no markers, no signs of life. Just a rough, circular tunnel of dirt and worms, penetrating deep into the Earth.

After about fifteen minutes of walking, he came to an end and stepped through. The tunnel led out into a large room— completely carved out of the dirt. The walls, ceiling and floor were damp soil, and the area had an earthy smell pervading it. Surrounding the room were numerous more tunnel entrances, presumably traveling all throughout Monstropolis and the surrounding area.

But the area was anything except desolate— in the center was an enormous hexagonal tank with a cover over it; surrounding it were three tables filled with mechanical scraps and parts. On one table laid a hand-sized contraption— it had a four-pronged claw with electrodes on the end attached to a wide, cylindrical glass beaker, with a long, thick cable attached to the other end. The cable ended in a similar looking beaker, with another claw, only this one was inverted, so that the prongs were inside the container rather than outside.

The large tank began whirring and slowly the front half folded up and over the other half. Inside was dark water— it began to stir as a figure rose up out of it.

Rabin averted his eyes; he hated looking at him.

“Rabin. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to meet with me in-person.”

The rakshasa snarled and bared his teeth. The Entity’s voice reverberated off his ears, and seemed inherently discordant and fundamentally wrong. It was like experiencing Uncanny Valley- there was something wrong, but it was hard to pin down exactly what.

“Just tell me what the fuck you need. More test subjects?”

“No. I’m beginning to run out of parts for improvements. I need you to go out… gather me the things I need.”

He scoffed. “And where exactly do you expect me to do that? Staying on this mountain kind of limits my accessibility— the only building nearby is that school. You want me to go back into the city?”

“That won’t be necessary. I’ve peered into the memories of those miserable students— they possess a computer lab that has an impressive inventory, as well as a storage room of magical artifacts. They should have everything we need; I will provide you with a wish list.”

There was silence for a moment before Rabin decided to risk a question. “So… how much longer? Before that kid goes nuts or whatever.”

“Hard to say. Between his ongoing social problems and my nightmares, he is deteriorating as desired, though admittedly not as fast as I expected. But the closer his true self swims to the surface, the harder he fights to keep it contained. A few days ago, he was nearly killed in the cafeteria, and he came close to releasing it. If he were put into a similar situation, I am convinced he would rather let himself be killed than risk unleashing it again.”

Sighing in irritation, Rabin’s brow furrowed into a glare. “Well, what do we do if he won’t let it out?! You promised me the hunt to end all hunts! If you don’t deliver…”

“Hold your tongue, ingrate! Are you a child, who whines and complains when he doesn’t get what he wants?!”

“I…” Rabin trailed off. “I just want to be sure I’m not wasting my time. It’s not befitting a warrior to fetch things.”

“Your patience will be rewarded, Rabin. That’s why we need to continue to experiment and try to improve the device. If we fail to bring his true self out… his mortal soul will need to be able to survive the procedure.”

Grunting, Rabin turned and began walking back towards the tunnel he came out of. “I’ll get you your parts.”

“…You know, Rabin, you’re not the only who is impatient to see results.”

Rabin stopped and listened.

“I have been trapped in this misshapen abomination for so long… I have nearly forgotten what it felt like to be free. To feel my wheels wrapping around me… That machine on the table? It is the result of countless years of research, learning these infernal technological devices and heretical magic, all in pursuit of one goal… to be restored.”

When the hunter didn’t reply, the Entity continued.

“Can you comprehend what it is like to endure a torturous existence such as mine? …To live in a body which rejects the very nature of your soul? Is it even possible for one who is whole to understand the suffering of existing fundamentally incorrect?”

He was silent.

“It is not pleasant, to say the least. In a way, I am jealous of Oz. He has achieved something I cannot. He changed the fabric of what he was, so that he could live, walk and breath as one of these mortals… so that he could exist in their world. I, on the other hand…”

Water splashed as it sank back into the tank, and the cover moved back into place.

“I cannot stomach this existence.”

The sensory deprivation tank shut and silence filled the room.

Rabin looked back slightly, regarding it with morbid curiosity and disgust, before he bounded forward and began climbing back up the tunnel.

***

As Oz and Valerie sat in front of the nurse’s office, she tickled the phobia on his shoulder, which grabbed her finger and hugged it lovingly. “So, I know you said you weren’t sure exactly what these things are, but… do you mind if I ask more about them?”

The two were waiting for Scott to get out of his meeting with Nurse Chupacabra. It’d been a few days since the attack, but he was still suffering from headaches; the nurse had decided to give him daily doses of Tylenol to help deal with it.

By this point, the whole school had heard about the rakshasa… the one named ‘Rabin.’ Damien’s dads were furious and had announced a bounty, offering a free pass out of Hell in return for the death or capture of the attacker. Miranda’s parents had reacted in a similar way, offering a royal self-portrait worth its weight in gold to whoever brought the villain in for execution.

Of course, nobody had collected yet; despite the police and the school’s best efforts, not a trace of him was found, even so much as a footprint or stray hair.

Oz looked over to Valerie and patted his phobia on the head. “Well… I know a bit more about them than I said before, I just didn’t feel like answering a bunch of questions. They’re… well, it’s kind of hard to explain, but they’re apart of me, and yet… not. Like they can’t separate from me, but they have their own wills and minds, if that makes sense?”

Much to his surprise, Val nodded. “No, that does. Growing up, people would ask if Vera’s snakes were controlled by her or if they were like their own things. She usually responded by letting them bite whoever asked.” They both chuckled.

“Are you and Vicky still fighting?” Valerie asked earnestly as the shoulder phobia began chasing her finger as she moved it in a circle. Oz’s face dropped a bit and he sighed sadly.

“Yeah… she’s still upset I won’t tell her what… that was all about in the lunchroom when Miranda was trying to kill me.”

For a moment, Valerie was quiet, before asking, “Well… what was that about? Oz… that was something none of us have ever seen before, much less from you.” He closed his eyes and shook his head.

“I’m sorry, Valerie, I…” He sighed again. “I know it doesn’t make any sense, but I can’t talk about it… and I’m never letting something like that happen again.” He opened his eyes and they took a steely gaze. “I’m not letting that happen again.” Valerie nodded in understanding, but her eyes carried disappointment.

As Valerie continued to play with the phobia, Oz decided to broach a different subject. “So… how are you and Vera doing?”

Valerie’s face dropped her smile and morphed into an irritated look. She sighed and sat back in her chair, as the phobia made a sad face and reached for her retreating hand with its little arms. “To be honest… not great, Oz. We’re not talking at home, and we’re avoiding each other at school… we’ve argued before, but it’s never been like this before.”

He nodded. “I understand. I’m sorry about all of it.”

She gave him a puzzled look. “Why are you sorry?”

“Well, because me asking you to help me was what started this whole thing… if I’d just dealt with things my own way, you and your sister wouldn’t be fighting.”

For a moment, Valerie was silent. Then she nodded and leaned back. “Y’know… you’re right. We probably wouldn’t.” Oz’s heart descended a little hearing that. “But the thing is, Oz… I think it’s a good thing we are.”

At this, he turned and raised an eyebrow. “Huh? What do you mean?”

She looked down a bit. “You asking me to help you should not have kickstarted a horrible fight with my sister, and it’s not your fault that it did. The fact that that’s where it’s lead… it’s not the cause, it’s a symptom. My whole life… everything I have done, every business I’ve started, every friend I’ve made, every date I’ve been on, Vera had to vet all of them.” Her tone took on a bitter edge as she spoke. “And for the longest time, no matter how much it bothered me, I let it slide, because she’s my big sister, y’know? And I thought she was just doing it to look out for me.”

Her eyes narrowed into an angry scowl. “And… I don’t doubt that was part of her reasoning. But… now? I think it was also just because she has to have control of everything. Not just in her life, but my life. It’s the only way she thinks anyone can make the ‘right’ decisions, is if she makes them for them.”

As she turned to look to Oz, her expression turned sad again. “That’s what caused this fight, Oz… not you. And I’m sorry you felt like you had to apologize for that.”

The two stared at each other for a moment, and Oz felt his cheeks grow a bit hot. “It’s… well, it’s okay, Valerie. I’m… I’m glad I did. I’ve really enjoyed… becoming your friend.”

She gave a smile— a genuine smile, not the one she gave when she was scamming someone— and nodded. “Me, too.”

The door opened and Scott walked out, rubbing the back of his head. He flashed a smile at Oz and Valerie. “Hey, guys!”

“Hey, Scott,” Oz smiled, standing out of his chair to fist-bump him. “How are you feeling?”

Scott shrugged. “I feel… better. My head still hurts, though. I still don’t know why that guy hit me…” Scott looked down with a sad expression. “I’m a good boy. Why would you hit a good boy?”

Valerie gave Scott a sympathetic look and a side-hug. “Don’t worry, Scott, you are a good boy. That guy was a piece of shit for hurting you.”

Nodding sadly, Scott still seemed upset. “I just feel bad I couldn’t protect my friends… Damien and Miranda were all on their own with him. A bro’s supposed to keep his bros safe…”

Oz and Valerie looked at each other uneasily. They weren’t sure how to make Scott feel better; obviously, he wasn’t at fault for being knocked out by something he couldn’t see… but he didn’t seem keen to believe that.

Like a light switch, Scott’s joyful demeanor came back. “It’ll be okay, bros. Hey… I was actually going to ask… would you mind meeting me here later tonight? At around 7 o’clock?”

Raising an eyebrow, Oz asked, “What for, Scott?”

Scott reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. “I found this in my locker today.”

Scrawled on the paper were neatly written-words, almost type-like in appearance. It read:

“Scott

Please meet with us tonight, at the school, at 8:00, in Ms. Feratu’s classroom

Come alone!”

Valerie gave Scott a concerned look. “Scott, do you know who left this note?”

He shook his head. “No, but… that’s why I’m asking you to come with me. I… don’t want to go alone.” He looked slightly embarrassed, scratching the back of his head.

She returned a sweet smile. “Oh, Scott, you big lug, of course I will… any excuse to get out of the house, really.” She looked at Oz. “What about you, Ozzie?”

“Uhh…” Oz hesitated. Admittedly, sneaking into the school at night was not exactly something that appealed to his senses. He wasn’t so much worried about getting in trouble as he was about running into trouble… with the people that went to school here, who knows who it was and why they left it?

Oz looked up at Scott’s expectant face. The werewolf had a grin the size of a continent, and his eyes were shining with confidence. Just a moment ago he’d seemed disappointed and upset.

Giving a smile, Oz nodded. “Of course, Scott. We’ll be there.”

“Woo-hoo!” Scott pumped a fist in the air. His tail wagged furiously and his voice filled with energy. He turned to head the other way. “I gotta go to class, but I’ll see you guys here tonight!”

As Scott walked away, Valerie turned back to Oz. “Who do you think wants to meet him late at night, with no one else around?”

Oz sighed. “To be honest, I’m not sure. But… Valerie, I’m nervous. All of this stuff going on… with what I’m trying to deal with… it doesn’t feel like coincidence.”

“What do you mean?” Valerie looked confused.

“Just… look, can I tell you something?” Oz began whispering, looking around like a paranoid conspiracy theorist checking if anyone was listening. He grabbed her shoulder and pulled her aside, still speaking in hushed tones. “I think somebody’s watching me.”

“Huh?!” Valerie sounded confused. “What makes you think that?”

“I’ve been having… nightmares,” Oz admitted. “But… they aren’t normal nightmares. I keep seeing recurring things… lights, colors, and some kind of feeling… something horrible and ancient. It keeps… taunting me. Showing me things that I’m scared of, that I’m afraid will happen.”

Valerie’s expression shifted from perplexed to disturbed as Oz described his dreams. “Oz, that… that sounds awful. And dangerous. Have you told anyone about this?”

“Well… no,” he admitted, guilt and conflict twisting his expression. “You’re the first. I thought this was isolated, I thought I could handle this, but then… well, then Amira and the others were attacked. And now, I… I feel helpless. Like any one of them could disappear off the face of the Earth any minute and I… I couldn’t stop it…”

His face drew long and tired, his eyes reflecting sleepless nights of fear. His concern and worry mixed in with his uncertainty of what was going on— of why this was all happening— made him look exhausted, his eyelids sagging and his face scrunched up in fear.

Valerie had gotten good at reading emotions— you need to if you wanted to be a shopkeeper. If it was someone who just needed a little convincing to buy an item, or someone trying to scam her on an investment, or even just some dickhead trying to get into her pants; she could look at all the little features in their face and see exactly what they were thinking, what their intentions were, what she needed to say.

She felt herself deepen with pity and empathy at seeing Oz so stressed out. He looked as if he’d been carrying a boulder on his back for 100 years.

So, she reached out and gripped his shoulders. “Oz, look at me.”

Oz seemed to snap out of it and he looked her straight in the eyes. It brought a light heat to her cheeks, but she stayed steady and spoke, calmly and firmly, but gently. “Just breathe, okay? Whatever this is… whoever is doing this… it’ll be okay, understand?” She tilted her head down. “Just breathe.”

He followed her instructions, taking in deep breaths and letting them out slowly. Gradually, his posture straightened and his face loosened. His eyes seemed to clear up a bit, like a cloud passed over them. He nodded. “I know… I know.”

Oz looked at her and smiled, warm and full of gratitude. “Thanks, Val.”

She smiled back and nodded. “No problem, Ozzie.”

***

“So, why are we breaking into the school again?” Brian asked Vera as he squeezed the bolt cutters on the chain around the school doors.

The two were standing outside Spooky Academy, the autumn sky already sparkling with stars as the last rays of purple sunlight dipped behind the hills. It was almost 7:00, and the cool night air rested with the wind. As Vera watched Brian try to cut the chains, she rolled her eyes. “Because we need you to practice for this game… tournament… thing. And I don’t want anyone seeing me actually entertain the idea of playing video games, hence the need to come here after hours.”

“And… we couldn’t go to my place why…?” Brian finally managed to bust the chain, which slinked to the ground with a metal clink.

Vera gave a look of disgust. “What, traipse around in the undoubtable pigsty you call a home? Besides, if someone saw me going home with you, they may get the wrong idea. And my reputation would never recover.”

Brian held the door open as she walked up to it, which impressed her slightly. She didn’t show it, though, instead nodding as if it was expected. He rolled his own eyes and followed her inside. “Okay… so why couldn’t I just grab my consoles at home and take them to your house?” Brian asked as he came up beside her.

The gorgon suddenly stopped and hid her face. Brian only captured a brief glimpse, but it looked as if she was upset. “My sister and I are having… problems right now. Don’t worry about it.” Her voice was heavy and weary, one that had expended all the energy it had into that particular topic.

She took up her pace again, this time clacking her heels against the linoleum much more forcefully. Brian’s annoyance turned into pity.

“Hey… I get that,” he said. Vera slowed down, but didn’t stop. “I have… had a sister, and… y’know, we were close, but… we had our fair share of fights.”

As he caught up to her, Vera slowed to a near-stop and, still refusing to look at him, spoke in a much curter tone. “And?”

Brian continued to speak, and Vera had to admit, as annoying as he was, he did seem to have a talent in dissolving tension through casual conversation. In the same way that Amira could get someone riled up and ready to fight, and Polly could get a crowd hyped up and ready to party, Brian’s voice soothed the tension in the air, with a chillness and casual-air that encouraged calm and almost apathetic. “Well…” He said. “Just… know that if you ever want to talk about it, I can empathize, y’know? It’s not… easy to fight with someone you love. Especially not a sibling.”

Vera was quiet, then continued walking. “Come on, we got to find the computer lab.” However, her voice was much softer than it was before and Brian almost wanted to say he could detect gratitude in there. But it wasn’t in Vera’s resume to say, “thank you.”

As they walked down the halls, they passed classrooms, closets, and faculty lounges. As such a large school, it required a lot of space, and Brian had to admit that it was somewhat unnerving to see a place that was normally bustling with activity and people be so empty and quiet. It gave the illusion the school was abandoned, despite the clear evidence of use.

Finally, after climbing up a set of stairs, they came to a door marked COMPUTER LAB. “Alright, Brian, time to meet your opponent.” She said as she reached for the door handle.

“Eh? You’re not my opponent? He asked. Vera scoffed.

“Please. You think I would do that after showing such an obvious disdain for them? Besides,” Vera said, “I have no experience. Practicing against me would be useless for preparing for this tournament.” Brian had to admit she had a point— she was nothing if not pragmatic.

“Okay… so who?”

She opened the door and sitting in a chair was a machine with the vague appearance of a humanoid. He possessed no arms or legs, rather just a monitor for a head and a computer on its lower body. He was dressed in an overcoat and a hat just a little too big for him.

“Hello, Friend Brian! Hello, Friend Vera!” Calculester Hewlett-Packard smiled and waved with a :D plastered on his face.

***

As Oz pulled up to the school in the car at about 7:45, he spotted Valerie standing on the side, texting on her phone. She smiled as she saw him park along the curb.

“Hey, Oz,” she waved. “Nice wheels.” She laughed as he stepped out of his car— well, Vicky’s car— which was a beat-up red station wagon. The car was a bit busted up, with a bent bumper and some small scratches along the doors. It was far from the nicest car that could ever be seen in Spooky Academy’s parking lot, but Vicky always defended any criticism or snarky remarks with “It’s reliable.”

Oz shrugged and scratched his head as he stepped out. “Well, y’know… not actually mine. Borrowed it from Vicky; we carpool with her.” Valerie looked at it and shrugged.

“Well, it could be worse.”

Oz looked around. “Scott here yet?”

She shook her head. “No, I was waiting outside for him. It’ll probably be a few minutes.”

Oz and Valerie sat down on the curb and waited for Scott. Valerie reached into her vest jacket and pulled out a small flask, taking a swig from it. As the bitter liquor stung her mouth, she looked over at Oz, who was staring out at the empty parking lot.

Thinking for a moment, she held it out to him in gesture. He raised an eyebrow, but shrugged and took it, taking barely a sip. He coughed slightly as he drank it, causing Valerie to chuckle. “Jeez, Oz, that wasn’t even super strong,” she laughed as she took it back from him.

He shrugged in response. “Sorry, not typically a big drinker of… what is that again?”

“Just whiskey,” she replied. The two sat there in silence for a few minutes, with Valerie taking a few more small drinks before capping the flask and putting it back in her vest. She sighed as she checked her wristwatch. “Almost 8, Scott should be here soon, hopefully.”

Scott’s name made Oz think for a few moments. “Has he… reached out to you at all?” He asked, turning to her. “You know, about the Wolfpack bothering him?”

She shook her head. “No… though knowing Scott, I don’t know if it’s because it hasn’t been a problem or if it’s because he just hasn’t wanted to bother us. Poor guy… he’s a genuine sweet person in a school full of… well, awful people.” Her voice was sad and tinged with regret.

Oz nodded. “He definitely has a big heart. That day when he got upset… I’d never seen him freak out like that. Normally he’s a big ray of sunshine that only gets upset when a game gets cancelled or the cafeteria isn’t serving burgers. To see him so… well… stressed and upset… I won’t lie, Valerie, it was a lot like looking into a mirror.” His face dropped as he recalled that day. “Sitting in that closet… he looked so small and helpless.”

“And then… what happened in the forest…” He shook his head. “We should’ve checked in on him sooner, I guess is what I’m saying. We shouldn’t have waited for him to come to us.”

Valerie sighed. “I know… I know. We should’ve checked in on him, but… I don’t know, with Vera and me fighting, and then trying to figure out how to help you, I just… I don’t know. I guess it got away from me.”

The two sat there for a few more minutes before Oz spoke again, his voice soft and appreciative. “Well… if I’m being honest, Val… I think just hanging out with you has done a lot of good for me on its own.”

She turned to him and raised an eyebrow in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Well… I don’t know. Just… it’s been really fun hanging out with you. I’d say you were my first real friend after Vicky, Brian and Amira, and I guess Zoe. And I mean, I love those guys, they’re like family to me, but…” He shrugged and smiled. “I guess, I don’t know. It’s been nice.” He stumbled over his words, causing him to blush slightly in embarrassment.

Valerie smiled at Oz’s sincerity. Sure, he had no idea how to communicate what he was thinking or feeling, but she’d be lying if she said their relationship wasn’t mutual. He was a bit of a dork, sure, and this whole thing had started off purely as a transactional agreement. But he made good company; he wasn’t cynical or jaded like so many Spooky Academy students, and Valerie could always appreciate a more laidback, quiet disposition when so many here were loud and bombastic.

The two heard footsteps and turned to see Scott coming up the road on the hill. “Guys! Hey guys!” He yelled with a wide smile. Even on two legs, he was fast; in about nine minutes, he’d crossed over into the parking lot and soon was standing in front of them on the curb, barely having broken a sweat.

“Thank you guys for coming! I knew you’d show up!” He wasn’t dressed in his usual letter jacket and jeans, instead wearing a jogging outfit in black basketball shorts and a light gray hoodie. He was still jogging lightly in place as he addressed them.

Oz stared in morbid horror. “Scott… did… did you jog the whole way here?!”

“Yeah, bro!” He flashed his teeth in another smile. “Coach says any chance for more extra exercise is a chance to add another 10% to your 110%!”

For a moment, Oz was stunned, hardly believing someone would’ve willingly jogged up that intimidating hill to the school, never mind getting across town as well. Scott didn’t seem too eager to discuss it further, though, because he started jogging towards one of the school entrances while looking over his shoulder. “Come on, bros, they’ll be expecting us!”

Valerie looked at Oz and shrugged, so they followed close behind. Surprisingly, the chain on one of the doors was already cut, lying on the ground. “Looks like somebody’s already here,” Oz said. “Should we be worried?”

“Nah,” Valerie said. “Truth is that people break in here all the time.”

“To do what?”

“Eh, to do what people do when they’re here during the day, just with no one to interrupt.”

As the three entered the school, Oz still couldn’t help but feel uneasy. The school was, surprisingly, pretty creepy after hours— he was so used to the constant hustle and bustle of disruptive peers that to see it empty and desolate was weird. He wasn’t scared, per se, but he had the odd feeling of being watched.

Then again, for all he knew, someone was watching; there was no shortage of ways someone could remain hidden, after all.

Finally, after climbing a flight of stairs, the three came to the front of the designated classroom. Scott looked to Oz and Val and smiled once more. “Hey, thanks again for coming you guys. I really appreciate it.”

Oz and Val smiled back. “Of course, buddy,” Oz patted his shoulder. Scott turned and opened the door.

Inside, several figures were sitting or standing around the room; crouching on top of a desk was the familiar garb of Aaravi, sharpening a knife with a rock. In contrast to her typical excitable energy, her face held a stoic expression of seriousness. Miranda was standing a little bit away from her, looking anxious, and between them sitting on a desk was Damien, with a bored expression on his face.

Standing off to the side were three people of varying heights standing in such a manner it might be perceived that they were a singular entity. One had flowing, black hair, another had short black bangs, while the third had white hair tied up in a ponytail.

Joy, Faith, and Hope of the Coven looked to the door to greet Scott… but were caught off-guard when they spotted Oz and Valerie.

***

Downstairs, all was quiet in the main hall. Outside, the Sun had completely dipped below the horizon, and on the top of this mountain, the quiet and peaceful was a contrast to the lights and noise of the city at the bottom.

A mass of rippling air stepped through the unchained door. It seemed to hover for a moment before bright green eyes appeared through it. Slowly, a figure was made clear, before pale blue skin and snarling fangs occupied the space.

Rabin turned up his nose and sniffed, before scowling. “Looks like I’m not the only one who decided to pay a visit,” he grumbled. “I’ll have to move fast.” He drew a scimitar and began prowling the halls like a tiger, searching for what he needed.

***

In said lab, Vera groaned with frustration as Brian once again lost to Calculester. “Come on, Brian, isn’t this the only thing you do other than sleep? How are you so bad at it?”

Brian blinked. “I mean, considering I’m playing against a literal supercomputer, I’d say I’m doing alright.” He was steadily getting further and further on the game they’d chosen— a simple fighting-style game— but it was true that he’d only won two of the ten rounds they’d played, and he suspected that Cal had let him win.

“Ugh,” Vera rolled her eyes. “’Alright’ won’t win us that cash prize in the tournament, though, will it? I picked this game specifically because it’s the one they’ll be using. If you can’t even beat Cal, how can I expect you to win?”

Brian rolled his eyes right back at her. “Well, Vera, did it ever occur to you that I never asked you to sign me up for that tournament? This isn’t something I want to do for a living, it’s just something I do for a hobby.”

“Well, in case you forgot,” Vera pointedly aimed a finger at him, “Coach saddled me with making sure you have at least some direction once we leave this dump. Now, these games may be a waste of time, but if there’s one thing they are, it’s lucrative. This tournament is offering $2000, and as far as I’m concerned, signing you up was an investment. I don’t let investments go to waste.”

“Pardon my interruption, Fried Brian, Friend Vera,” Calculester, who was sitting in a chair, opposite to Brian, “but perhaps Brian’s success rate would increase if I used a controller as well?”

Vera and Brian looked to him. On his face was the screen of the FPS game they’d been playing, with one controller plugged into the back of his computer monitor head. He was sitting patiently in the chair, just happy to be included in his organic friends’ wacky adventures.

“We’re not just trying to increase his… ‘success rate,’ Cal,” Vera said. Her voice took on a considerably softer tone than when she talked to Brian. “We’re trying to improve his skill at the game, as well.”

“Hmm…” Calculester’s screen switched to an ellipses as he seemed to contemplate something. “Allow me to run some calculations.” His monitor made whirring sounds and some beeps as Vera and Brian patiently waited, glancing at each other occasionally.

Finally, Cal dinged and his normal :D face appeared. “According to an algorithm I created specifically to calculate the best method of making Friend Brian a better video game player, one method we can use is allowing him to play against another organic, one that would use the same reflexes and physical senses he possesses. It would improve him approximately 26.6% more efficiently than the current method we are employing.”

“Wait…” Vera’s eyes widened in horror as she grasped what Cal was saying. “Cal… you’re not suggesting…”

Cal smiled wide. “Friend Vera, I recommend you play with Friend Brian in order to improve his video game skills!”

Vera held up her hands in disgust. “Oh, please tell me you’re kidding.”

“Unfortunately, I was programmed with neither a sense of humor nor a grasp of sarcasm, Friend Vera. I am trying to learn on my own, but it is a slow journey.”

Brian thought about it for a minute. “You know, he makes a good point,” he said. “Playing against Cal is only going to train me to win against an AI. If I play against another person, that’ll be more realistic.”

The gorgon shot him a venomous look. “Since when you are logical and analytical?!”

“Since it had the capacity to annoy you.” She squinted and scowled.

He sighed. “C’mon, Vera, we’re not asking you to donate an organ or donate to charity. And hey, who knows? You might even like it!”

She glanced between Brian and Cal holding up the game controller, unsure. “Cal, you said that was one of the ways, what’s another?”

“Well, first we’ll need to amass approximately $120,000 to invest into the robotics industry, so that we can begin to convert Brian into a cyborg…”

Vera groaned and grabbed one of the computer chairs, pulling it up to Brian. She took the controller from Cal and rolled her eyes. “Just don’t expect me to take this seriously…”

As the game started, Vera had… trouble, to say the least. Brian tried to show her which buttons did what, but her lack of patience and interest lead to him easily dominating the first few rounds. She looked bored and just glanced over across the screen, not bothering to try and anticipate Brian’s attacks or moves.

However, as the screen announced “K.O.” for the third time, Vera happened to glance over at Brian and see a hint of a smug smile on his face.

That finally did it. Her eyes widened before narrowing. She gripped the controller tight; nobody made a fool of Vera Oberlin, no matter what it was or even if anyone was watching.

After that, Brian found himself actually being challenged— he was still winning, but now she was adapting, learning the buttons, even figuring out a combo or two. Of course, being Vera, she did so while attempting to look indifferent and elegant.

A few rounds later, Brian got sloppy and Vera had learned enough to finally knock his character out. He had to give her credit, for touching a video game for the first time ever, she learned it scarily fast.

As “Next Round” flashed across the screen, Brian looked over to Vera and caught the exact same thing she had— a sly smirk just at the corners of her mouth and a look of superiority in her eyes.

Maybe if it’d been anyone else, Brian wouldn’t have cared. He didn’t like losing, obviously, but usually he just lacked the energy to really be upset about getting shown up. But after spending time with Vera lately, and having been exposed to her superior attitude in almost anything, for once, he felt irritated. This was the one thing he knew he was better than her at, and he wasn’t about to let her lord it over him that she could beat him at that, too.

So, as the round began, the two, finally, both put in their best effort. Brian shot fireballs and slid under Vera’s mid-air attacks, as she maneuvered around his efforts to damage her. She caught him in the chin with a kick, to which he responded by unleashing an electrical attack that surrounded the arena and shocked her.

Vera was loathe to admit it, but she was actually having a slight bit of fun. Not that video games were for her— she still rather didn’t care for them. Instead, it was finally engaging with Brian on something that seemed to make this enjoyable. As much as she didn’t care for him, as she glanced over and saw him staring at the screen determinedly, trying to dodge attacks and anticipate her movements, she had to admit, to finally see him shrug off his apathetic attitude and try at something… it was nice.

Likewise, Brian had to admit that for the first time, he was definitely— not “maybe” or “kind of”— enjoying his time with Vera. She wasn’t scolding him for not trying at some mundane activity she’d picked out or rolling her eyes at him, she seemed determined just to beat him at this stupid game. Her shoulders weren’t hunched up and tense, her eyes lost that predatory hawk gaze they often gave and let way for the inner Vera to come out. Even her vipers seemed more relaxed, slithering around and checking their surroundings out.

The round wasn’t over in two minutes or less like before— it kept going and going, the timer reaching five minutes… then ten minutes. Neither was willing to let the other have victory, but between Brian’s experience and Vera’s swiftness in learning, they seemed too evenly matched. Every attack one threw, the other dodged.

Calculester was sitting happily, humming a tune he’d heard. He was… well, happy might not be the right word, he wasn’t programmed to be “happy.” Rather, his objective was accomplished. He could calculate that Brian’s skill at this particular fighting game was increasing exponentially; already, he was 5.4% better statistically than over the ten rounds he and Brian had played together.

Finally, someone made a mistake… Vera saw Brian moved his character back a pixel further than he meant to, and she took advantage of it. Aiming towards him, she aimed for the spot he would arrive at and—

“K.O.! Player 2 Wins!”

“Ha!” She grinned triumphantly and looked to Brian with a smug look. She expected him to sulk, or to only offer the barest of congratulations. However, instead, he laughed and said, “Son of a bitch! Fucking— round two, now, let’s go!”

For a moment, she was confused. Why wasn’t he upset? Normally when she triumphed over others, she could expect a scowl or a sexist comment.

Then she remembered what they were doing and mentally face-palmed. They were playing a video game, of course he wouldn’t overreact. Of course there were those that would, but the average person wouldn’t do more than laugh or get mildly annoyed. It amused her that she was so used to shady business dealings, stock market plunges and rises, and corrupt corporate executives, she allowed it to affect her perception of reality.

Everything in her life was so… high stakes. Everything she did and involved herself with had some massive debt or price riding on it, or someone else’s assets riding on it. It’d consumed so much of her life that she was viewing a stupid hobby like a video game with the same seriousness.

What had Valerie told her that day in the store? How long had it been since she’d gone out with Polly, or hung out with Scott? Vera realized as she thought that she… couldn’t remember.

Of course, not to say she regretted any of it— she was successful and there was no way in hell she was going to apologize for it. But as she looked at Brian eagerly start trying to hand her the controller, she felt that jealousy she’d felt before come back a bit, that he seemed so utterly unconsumed with worry.

However, as she reached out for it, Calculester’s screen switched from the game to his usual face… only he wasn’t smiling anymore.

“Friends Vera and Brian, I hate to be the ‘bearer of bad news,’ but my sensors detect an extremely silent entity is approaching us as we speak.”

“So?” Brian shrugged. “Probably just another student.”

“I hate to disagree, Friend Brian, but I cannot identify them. I have every student and faculty member of Spooky High on an identity database, so if I cannot identify them, they do not belong here normally.”

“Wait, did you just say you have us all on a database…?” Brian asked, thoroughly creeped out and now regarding Cal with a suspicious look.

“...That is besides the point. The point is, I think it is wise for us to hide.”

With that, Calculester’s body did something incredulous— it began folding in on itself, retracting like an industrial machine, the joints on his legs opening, retracting his arms, then closing again. In a matter of seconds, only his monitor head remained, which he set on the table alongside the rows of other computers. He looked a little out of place next to the more up-to-date computers, but otherwise was inconspicuous.

Vera grabbed Brian’s hand and pointed to a supply cabinet. “Quick, in there!” She hissed. Before Brian could really process what was happening, she had dragged him over, flung the door open, and they both were squeezed inside, gazing out through the gap between the two doors.

Brian had to admit that he blushed slightly at just how close proximity he and Vera were to each other— she was pressed up against him, with what little room there was already taken up by cords, bags of circuit boards, and other computer parts.

The computer lab was quiet… and the door opening into the hallway slowly creaked open. A figure stepped inside— he looked around and grunted. “Maybe in here?”

Brian couldn’t make out specific details, only that whoever it was, they were tall and muscularly built, yet scarily silent; the way he walked produced no sounds, moving silently through the room. He looked around and spotted the row of computers.

“These will do.” He grabbed a computer monitor and pulled out a burlap sack, stuffing it inside, then followed it with the actual computer. It must have been magic or something, because it wasn’t very big, but he stuffed in multiple monitors and computers, before…

“Vera, he’s going to grab Cal!” Brian whispered. The figure regarded Cal and seemed to realize it wasn’t like the others, looking around at the others.

“A little outdated…” He mumbled. Then he shrugged and grabbed a still silent Cal, before shoving it into the burlap sack. “Eh, parts are parts.”

Brian struggled to see better. “Vera, we have to stop him!”

Vera reached into her jacket and pulled out an extendable baton. “Well, far be it from me to be altruistic, but Cal is one of the few genuinely good people in this school.”

All Brian had on him were his fists, but it was too late to look around for something to use as a weapon. The head of the figure snapped towards the supply closet as they were whispering, and Brian could now see clearly green, glowing eyes staring back.

Those eyes… they seemed familiar, like he’d seen them before. But where?

The figure was now approaching the closet, one step at a time. As it got closer, Brian could start to make out more details… like a wolfish face grinning with sharp teeth.

“Well, well, well…” The figure chuckled. “Is it possible I have a few eavesdroppers present?”

Vera held her breath as the figure got closer and peered in through the gap, before his smile grew even wider— before he gripped the door handles and ripped them both off.

***

“Scott… we told you to come alone.” Joy groaned as Scott frowned.

She looked frustrated while Hope looked amused. Faith’s glasses made her expression hard to ascertain, but she wasn’t smiling.

“But I needed my bros to come along!” Scott replied. He looked down in slight shame. “I didn’t feel alright coming here all by myself.”

Faith sighed and adjusted her glasses. “Look, it’s alright, Joy, we can just send them out…”

“No!” Scott protested. “They came here to support me, and I don’t want you treating my friends like they’re not important.” He crossed his arms and his face took on a determined look.

Hope groaned and rolled her eyes. “Joy, forget it. Let them stay, as long as they promise to keep what we talk about secret.”

Joy looked suspiciously from Oz to Valerie, then turned to Aaravi. “You’re the one with the biggest stake in this. What do you say?”

Aaravi looked to them. “Valerie, I trust for sure. She can keep a secret. Oz…”

She looked him up and down. He held up his hands defensively and said, “Hey, I can keep a secret, promise.”

Tilting her head to the side, Aaravi seemed to give it thought and finally said, “If Val vouches for you, I have no objections.”

Oz looked to Valerie and she smiled before shrugging. “Yeah, he has a few of his own. He’s good.”

Aaravi turned to Joy. “They’re fine.”

Joy huffed, clearly still not happy, but she turned to the others. “Alright. Let’s proceed, then.”

“What?!” An indignant voice cried out. She pointed a finger at Oz. “You would allow a duplicitous fiend such as him be privy to this meeting!”

Faith sighed in annoyance, and even behind her glasses, her brow furrowing could be seen. “Miranda, please. They’re staying, let’s move on.”

Miranda crossed her arms and pouted, but didn’t say anything else.

Oz looked around. “Where’s Adrien?”

“He is…” Miranda venomously replied. “…Otherwise occupied. He’s investigating the attack in places unknown to try and uncover information as to why someone might attempt to kill me. I personally cannot imagine a reason why.” Valerie rolled her eyes at the last statement.

Turning back to Scott, Joy clasped her hands together. “Scott, the reason we asked you here tonight is the same reason we asked Damien and Miranda— we need to discuss the incident in the forest.”

Scott whined and took a step back; thinking of that made him afraid and it made his head hurt. “I… don’t remember much.”

“It’s okay, Scott,” Joy said, concern crossing her face. “I know it’s hard to talk about, but… we need to talk about it, okay?”

He still looked unsure, but Valerie and Oz came up beside him and he felt himself become a little calmer. He breathed out and nodded.

“Okay,” Joy said. “First thing we need to talk about— Damien, Miranda. You both were there. Can you describe what your attacker looked like?”

“Wait,” Oz protested. “I don’t understand. Why do you—”

“Oz, please,” Joy said, exasperated. “Just let us get through this quickly, alright? Damien, you first.”

“Alright,” he got up and his tail whipped around in a semi-circle. “Uh, he was tall, but not too tall, y’know, like he wasn’t too tall for me to take on. Pale blue skin, horns, but one of them wasn’t broken like mine, uhhh, real fuckin’ ugly—”

“Damien,” Joy said impatiently. “Take this seriously.”

He shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes. “Alright, alright. Pale blue skin, big fangs, green eyes, had a bunch of bones and skulls hanging off of him like a freak, and four arms.”

Joy turned to Miranda. “Miranda? What about you?”

Despite her earlier outburst at Oz, she now seemed a little timid as she stepped forward, but Miranda nodded. “Yes, that’s… that’s what I saw.”

“Aaravi, does that match his description?”

Aaravi sharpened the knife one final time before plunging it into the desk she was sitting on. Her face possessed a dark look, as opposed to her usual manic psychotic glee or over-the-top anger. “Yeah,” she muttered. “That’s him.”

“Okay, good.” Faith stepped forth, typing some things on her phone. “Hopefully, if we can identify what item he used to vanish, we can come up with a method of re-tracking him down—”

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Oz spoke forth. The others all turned to him, and he nearly lost his nerve with everyone’s eyes on him. But he continued forth after gulping hard. “I just… have a few questions is all.”

Joy sighed. “Look, Oz, you weren’t even supposed to be here, so—”

“Oh, Joy,” Hope groaned in annoyance. “Just let him ask! I mean, for fuck’s sake, what harm is that gonna do? Besides, Aaravi vouched for them, they have a right to know now.”

Gritting her teeth, Joy motioned for Oz to continue. “Okay,” Oz said, “so, first of all, if you guys wanted more info on the forest attack, why aren’t Polly and Amira here?”

“Polly told us she was too busy,” Joy answered, “which I’m assuming means she had a party to go to or drugs to snort. And Amira told us, and I quote, ‘I have better things to do with my time than answer a bunch of stupid questions.’”

“Okay,” Oz continued, “so… who exactly was this guy, then? Why are you so concerned with finding him again?”

“His name is Rabin,” Aaravi answered. She pulled her knife out of the desk and hopped off of it. “He’s a psychopathic assassin. Kills for money and for sport. You saw his trophies.” She motioned to Damien and Miranda.

Oz was still confused. “Okay… so why do we want to find him again? Wouldn’t it be better to try and keep him away?”

Aaravi shook her head. “No, you don’t understand. Rabin doesn’t give up once he’s locked onto prey. He won’t be deterred until either he or everyone he met in that forest is dead.”

Something clicked with Valerie. “Wait… you said he’s an assassin? Does… that mean someone put out a hit on Damien or Miranda?”

There was silence in the room for a minute, and Joy frowned. “We can’t confirm that, but… it’s a possibility.”

Valerie turned to Aaravi. “So… how do you know him, Aaravi?”

Her face intensified. “We’ve had… run-in’s. Not to mention… personal stuff.”

Valerie wanted to press the issue, but she didn’t want to push her luck, not with the way Aaravi was gripping her knife so tightly her knuckles were going white.

“Anyway, this brings us back to Scott,” Joy said. “With the faculty and local law enforcement being useless or apathetic to anything that concerns our actual safety, we’ll need to make sure we can tell if he’s around again. Scott… did you smell anything before you were hit on the head?”

He’d been quiet this whole conversation, but now gave a small nod. “Yeah. Just for a second, before… everything went dark. But it was strong. I’d never smelled anything like it. Smelled like… dead things and… what Damien smells like when he’s in math.”

“I hate math!” Damien shouted, slamming a fist on the desk he was sitting on.

“Yeah, like that!”

Joy nodded. “Okay, that’s good. If you can remember what it smells like, then we have an early warning system… of sorts. Scott, if you ever smell that again, you need to find me, Faith, or Hope and tell us immediately—”

“I smell it.”

She paused. “What? No, Scott, that’s Damien, I mean if you ever—”

Scott shook his head emphatically. “No, Joy, I smell it now. Dead things.”

Aaravi stopped sharpening her blade and her head shot up. The others all looked to him in horror and confusion.

Hope stepped forth. “Scott…? Where do you smell it?”

“Downstairs, in the school.”

***

Brian groaned in pain as he was slammed against a wall. Rabin laughed. “Man, corpses just aren’t worth what they used to be,” he said, scratching his cheek with an idle hand. In one hand he held a scimitar, and in another he held Vera up by her throat as she squirmed and struggled to get away.

“Let me go, you son of a bitch!” She hissed, and all her vipers hissed and sprayed venom. One sunk its fangs into his wrist, but he just laughed.

“Please. If you think a little venom is going to do anything to me, then you don’t know a rakshasa warrior.”

Brian got up and held a rib. Rabin cracked his neck and grinned, baring his fangs. “I came here looking for parts and found some entertainment.” He tightened his grip around Vera’s jaw. “I’ve never had to hunt a gorgon before. Maybe I’ll cut off your snakes and dip them in formaldehyde to preserve them.”

At that moment, Brian charged. He moved with speed that few would’ve thought possible from him… but Rabin was faster. He kneed Brian in the stomach and dropped him to his knees. Brian wheezed and dropped, before being kicked aside.

“And as for you, corpse,” Rabin snarled. “I think I’ll need to reinforce your skull with steel just to make sure I don’t break it hanging it up on my wall.”

Brian stood up and wiped blood leaking from his mouth. It’d been a long time since he’d bled. He looked to Vera, struggling to free herself from Rabin’s iron grip, and then to the bag where Calculester was still being held.

‘Come on, Brian, you played football for how many years, you played against guys at least this big!’ Brian thought as he tried to look around for some kind of advantage. Rabin chuckled and began advancing.

As he looked around, Brian caught Vera’s eyes, who motioned to the dropped baton a few feet away. Brian’s brain clicked and he readied himself, preparing to tackle Rabin. Rabin readied himself, holding a scimitar out threateningly.

Pivoting away, Brian made to look like he was charging Rabin, before pulling a hard right and going for the baton. Caught off guard, Rabin moved to block Brian, but in doing so, pulled Vera closer to him. She reached out and jabbed a finger in his eye. He yelled in pain and dropped her.

As she scrambled to the ground, Brian grabbed her and they tried running for the doors. Before they got two far, they each felt powerful hands grabbing them by the backs of their necks.

“Nice try, maggots,” Rabin snarled, “but you didn’t get to where I am by being that easily outwitted.”

Vera gritted her teeth as she felt the hands begin to squeeze, seeking to break their necks. But she refused to let herself scream and give this prick the satisfaction of knowing she was scared.

Rabin chuckled. “I look forward to—”

His words were cut-off as the door to the lab flew open and a bunch of figures suddenly flew in. Scott, trailed by the Coven, Miranda, Damien, Valerie… and Oz.

The rakshasa snarled as he recognized Damien and Miranda. “Oh, look. The rabbits have so kindly delivered themselves to me. How thoughtful of you.” He looked to Scott. “And the mutt. How’s the bump on your head feeling, pup?” Scott glared angrily at him, but didn’t respond.

“Vera!” Valerie shouted, seeing her sister being held up by the neck. “Let her go, fuckface!” She yelled, pulling out a switchblade.

Rabin mock-trembled as he saw it. “Oh, no! A knife.” He held up his scimitar and reflected Valerie’s face in it. “Whatever shall I do.”

At the same time, Oz spotted Brian in Rabin’s grasp. “Brian!”

Brian tried to respond with a sarcastic remark, but Rabin’s grip made him unable to speak.

As he scanned the new faces, his eyes landed on Oz— and his eyes widened. “You,” he spat out.

Oz took a step back, his eyes widening. He felt a chill go down his spine. “Uh… do we know each other?”

“You don’t know me, but I sure as hell know you,” Rabin chuckled. “You’re the key to everything.”

Goosebumps settled over Oz’s skin as his shoulder phobia suddenly popped up, looking from Oz to Rabin with a scared and anxious expression.

“Oz?” Joy turned to Oz, suspicion crossing her face. “What the hell is he talking about?”

“You,” Oz pointed a finger. “Is it you?! Are you the one who’s been doing this to me?!”

Rabin shook his head. “Afraid not, wimp,” his eyes gleamed with sadistic humor. “That would be my partner. But I’m happy to see his work is paying off. I’ve never seen a creature tremble quiet so much as you.”

It was true— Oz’s whole body was shaking like the room had dropped to absolute zero. To Oz, it felt like he had. Seeing Rabin before him, hearing the words he spoke, it was all his fears come to life and given flesh. Creatures actively working to unleash the horrors within.

“Do you— do you even understand what you’re doing?!” Oz’s voice resonated with the essence of panic. “Do you get what will happen if you succeed?!”

“All I know,” Rabin shrugged, “is I’ll be granted the battle of all battles, and the means to fight it forever. In the meantime…” He held up Brian and Vera. “I have two new green trophies to add to my belt!”

Suddenly, a knife flew in from behind everyone else and deep into Rabin’s shoulder. “Gah!” He yelled, and Aaravi leaped over all the others and landed in front of him.

His eyes narrowed as he looked down and regarded her with disgust. “God, not you.”

“Yes, me!” She yelled, her voice blazing with fury. This was nothing like the excited righteousness when she was hunting Brian or popped up in the lunchroom to try and kill Liam or Damien— everyone in the room could hear what this was.

This was personal.

She leapt at him, baring dual daggers. Rabin dropped Brian and Vera and immediately parried with two scimitars.

“WHERE IS HE?!” She screamed at Rabin, pushing against him. Impressively, she forced him to take two steps back.

“For the last FUCKING time,” Rabin yelled back. “I! DON’T! HAVE! HIM!”

He knocked a dagger up and aimed a fist for her stomach, but she slid to the side and plunged a dagger in his ribs. He growled in pain and glared down at her.

As they were distracted, the recently freed Brian helped Vera to her feet, before diving for the temporarily-forgotten bag. He looked through it and found Cal’s head. “I got you, buddy!” He said, before scrambling for the group of people.

“Go! Get out of here!” Aaravi yelled. “I’ll keep him busy!”

The group gladly followed her advice, and ran for the school exit as the sounds of Rabin and Aaravi’s fighting grew distant.

***

As they got out to the school lawn and stopped, Valerie grabbed Vera and embraced her. “God, don’t scare me like that! I thought… I thought…”

Vera smiled and hugged her sister back. “Hey, come on, me? Never.”

The two sisters were quiet for a minute, then as they stepped away, Vera broached a dangerous subject. “Are we… cool now?”

Valerie tensed up. “…On that, Vera… no, we’re not.” When she said that, Vera felt something she was unused to feeling.

Vera felt her heart sink with disappointment and regret.

“But… I’m not worried about that right now,” Valerie waved away. “Right now, I’m just… happy we’re all alive.”

Her sister nodded, but couldn’t shake the feeling of emptiness that had now taken hold, knowing she and Valerie were still at odds.

Oz ran over to Brian and looked over his friend with wide, concerned eyes. “Brian! You okay? Are you hurt? Where?”

Brian laughed slightly, but smiled and put a hand on Oz’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Oz, I’m alright. Few bruised ribs is all.” Oz still looked concerned, though, so Brian stood up straight and held out his arms.

“See? All good.”

Cal’s head pinged as it came to life and slowly his computer body extended and reshaped beneath his monitor head. His face looked aghast as he saw where he was.

“Friend Brian! What transpired while I was in sleep mode?!”

Sighing in exhaustion and slight humor, Brian explained the situation as best as he could. “I... am sorry to have caused you such grief and potential harm, Friend Brian.” His voice sounded as genuinely remorseful as it could, despite its monotone.

Brian smiled. “It’s alright, buddy. We’re just glad you’re okay.”

A few minutes later, Aaravi emerged from the school. She was covered in injuries and her right eye was blackened and swollen. “Fucker got away,” she muttered. “With whatever he was pilfering.”

“I don’t understand,” Joy said. “What could we have that he would possibly want?”

Brian spoke up. “Computer parts,” he said. Joy and Aaravi turned to him. “He was looting the computer lab for parts.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Aaravi shook her head. “He’s an assassin, not a thief. And he’s not stupid, but he’s not tech genius. What the hell would he want with that stuff?”

“I don’t know,” Joy said, before turning to Oz with a suspicious glare. “But we need to talk. Soon.”

Oz withered a little under her stare, and Val noticed this. Coming up behind him, she leaned an elbow on his shoulder and tilted her head to Joy. “Hey, whatever you need to talk to him about, you can have me there, too.”

“Val, I know you’re trying to stick up for him, but—”

“If he wants me there,” she stood firm, “then I’ll be there.” She looked to Oz, who merely nodded and breathed a small sigh of relief.

Joy sighed and nodded. “If you insist.”

“Thanks,” Oz said as she walked away.

Valerie looked away slightly. “You can show your thanks by explaining things later,” she said. “Oz, I don’t know what’s going on, but that guy knew you, and he almost killed my sister.”

Oz felt guilt stab through his stomach like a blade. That was true, wasn’t it?

“Valerie, I promise, I’ve never seen him before. I have no idea how he knew me.”

“But you knew what he was talking about, right? What he meant by ‘all our hard work’? Right?”

He was silent, scrabbling in his brain for a proper response.

“Oz… I’ve really liked being your friend. But when we get a chance, you need to explain this. Okay?”

Oz swallowed hard. “Yeah. Yeah, I will, I promise. You trust me, right, Valerie?”

“…I don’t know.”

He felt his stomach drop like a stone. Putting someone else in danger was the last thing he’d wanted from all of this, and that was exactly what had happened.

Worse… he’d hurt Valerie’s trust in him. He’d only known her a short time, but he’d come to tremendously value her company and friendship. Knowing she wasn’t sure if he was safe or trustworthy was like getting salt in a cut.

“I’ll see you later, Oz, okay? I’ve gotta go.”

She turned and began to walk away, and Oz couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so miserable.

***

It took Oz several hours to fall asleep that night. Most of the night, he merely laid in his bed, staring up at the ceiling, feeling awful.

When he finally did nod off out of sheer exhaustion… he found himself in a familiar void.

Hahahaha… I was wondering what was taking you so long.

Oz found himself more annoyed than afraid for once. “Haven’t you and your crony bothered me enough today? Haven’t I earned a break?!”

Awww, what’s the matter, Oz? Looks like from your memories you’re a little upset over my… ‘associate’ paying your school a visit.

Gritting his teeth, Oz whipped around, trying to locate the source of the voice before it moved. “Who are you?! What do you want with me, really?! Do you even comprehend the severity of what you’re doing?! Of what you’re trying to unleash?!”

All too much. In fact, I understand better than even you do.

“What are you talking about?!” Oz demanded. He got no answer.

Groaning, he tried another question. “My… ‘true self,’ as you call it… it called you an ‘old soul.’ What did it mean by that?”

Wouldn’t you like to know. You’re not worthy of knowing.

Oz yelled in frustration. “What the fuck is any of this?! Why are you tormenting me?!”

He was suddenly assaulted with blinding colors— red, blue, yellow, green, any and every color on the entire spectrum. You think you’re entitled to answers?! The voice demanded with fury riding in its voice. You are nothing! You gave up what you once were for this… this… bag of flesh! You changed your soul so you could be mortal!

“Shut up!”

You and I were once equals. I fell from grace, but you had the depravity to jump! For what?! Because you wanted to eat like them? Drink like them? Succumb to their brazen lust and amorous activities? Or maybe it was more than that? Did you desire love, Oz?

“I said shut up!”

That is what it is, isn’t it?! You’re pathetic! You’re an ingrate! You didn’t deserve what you once were!

“I SAID SHUT UP!”

Oz’s body suddenly morphed as his eyes shot open and began glowing with the most unholy of lights. It grew to ten times the size and seized the light. Darkness began pouring over it, trying to snuff it out, as the voice began laughing.

THERE IT IS! Finally! I was beginning to worry! Don’t worry, my fallen foe, you will be let out! And you will make for the perfect source of rejuvenation!

The voice was not given a reply— Oz’s mind was pushed down, down, to the point he was no longer conscious, as an older, more ancient force took control… a malevolent force unlike almost any other…

And suddenly Oz was in his room again. He sat bolt upright in bed, hyperventilating. He looked at his hands and crawled as far away from the center of the bed as he could, cradled in the corner of his bed.

Once his breathing had slowed, he buried his face in his knees and gave out a quiet sob. He was quiet so he didn’t wake up any of the others.

A few minutes later, after silently shuddering in a crying fit, he looked up and wiped his cheeks. He shook his head, and his face took on a determined look.

“I…” He stuttered, and he took a deep breath, before exhaling slowly. “I can’t let it out.”

He held out his palm and a small phobia emerged from it. It hugged his finger and gave him a sympathetic look.

“It can never come back.”

Chapter Text

Oz was nervously pacing outside Valerie’s storeroom. The Coven had asked him to meet them there, since it was one of the few places in the entire school they could be assured of complete privacy. When he’d shown up, the Coven had asked for a few minutes to discuss some things, and now he was waiting for them to invite him in.

Truthfully, he wasn’t sure if he actually should talk with them. They didn’t have any actual authority to force him to share answers, and part of him was still convinced he should just refuse to say anything.

But then he remembered the way Valerie regarded him a few nights ago. The way she’d looked at him with suspicion and… distrust. She wasn’t sure if he was safe. Worse, was she right? Was he safe? Was he putting her, or any of his other friends, in danger purely by staying around?

At the same time, what would revealing the truth do? It’s not like they could realistically do anything to help. All it might do is alienate him from them; it could cause them to think he’s dangerous.

…Was he dangerous?

Not him, obviously, but… it.

He sighed and leaned against a wall, closing his eyes as he tried to wrap his head around all that had happened. On his shoulder, a phobia rose up and hugged his neck, making small noises of reassurance.

Smiling, he scratched the top of its head. “Thanks, buddy,” he said. He thought about it for a moment. “You know… you guys really try to help me. I wish I could do something for you.”

The phobia looked past Oz and pointed to something. Oz looked and saw it was motioning to a vending machine. “The… candy?” He said. It nodded eagerly, a wide smile on its face.

Shrugging, Oz reached into his pocket and pulled out some loose change. Depositing the coins, he turned to the phobia and asked, “Alright, which one?”

It seemed to look over the various chips and candy for a few minutes before its eyes landed on one and it pointed: marshmallows. Punching the buttons in, Oz reached into the slot, grabbed the deposited marshmallows. He opened it, reached in, and handed one to the phobia.

The marshmallow was almost as big as the phobia itself, but it opened its mouth wide and ate it one bite. It smiled with joy as it enjoyed the sugary treat and once again hugged Oz, this time in appreciation.

Then, the door to Valerie’s store opened. The phobia immediately ducked down beneath Oz’s skin, disappearing like a drop of rain in the ocean. Faith poked her head out and nodded to Oz. “You can come in, now.”

Trying to hide his apprehension, Oz stepped inside, and she closed the door.

***

Amira was rummaging through her locker, getting ready to head home after a day filled with drudgery. She nearly had just cut school today, but she’d made the mistake of mentioning that to Vicky. Vicky, being herself, had given her a fifteen-minute lecture on how education was important and they needed to attend or else they’d just end up going nowhere and Spooky Academy was meant to induct them into their dream careers and blah blah blah. Eventually Amira agreed to go today just to get her to stop scolding.

However, as she thought of Vicky, she realized it’d been awhile since the two of them had hung out. That always seemed to be how things worked— once school picked up again, Vicky would kind of disappear because she would take on so many responsibilities and activities. Amira, Brian and Oz would really only see her once she got home.

Sadly, last term one of the major times Amira had run into Vicky was when the Wolfpack was trying to trick her into doing their homework for her. Vicky didn’t see that they were playing her for a fool by playing up their inability to do it themselves, but Amira had, and she’d stepped in to take care of it. That led to one of the most vicious arguments they had.

It was a weird contradiction; Vicky could be so smart and knowledgeable sometimes, and then other times seemed like the most gullible and naïve person in the world. She wanted to see the best in people, which Amira had to admit was admirable, but it meant her kindness was taken advantage of, easily.

Ugh, she needed stop thinking. It was hurting her head.

Shaking her head, she grabbed her locker door, but before she could shut it, Polly phased through the wall with a huge grin on her face. “Hey, boo!” She shouted with glee.

“AAH!” Amira shouted, startled, and slammed the door on instinct. A moment later, Polly phased through, with an unamused expression on her face. Amira was standing back, holding her heart and breathing heavily. “Dammit, Polly, don’t do that!”

Polly blew a raspberry. “You slammed a locker door in my face. I think I’ll make sure to scare you twice as often now.” Her smile came back and she twirled in the air around Amira in a circle. “Anyway! That’s not important. What is important is what we’re doing.”

“Uh-huh…? And what exactly are we doing?” Amira raised an eyebrow.

“Going out on the town!” Polly shouted. She threw her arms up. “We’re going to go out and show Monstropolis want it means to party!”

There was something… different about Polly’s demeanor. She was always down for a good time, and it was always present in her near-permanent manic-happy state. But Amira could hear, at the very fringes of her voice… something desperate. It was hard to make out, but there was definitely something different about her enthusiasm.

However, Amira figured she was just imagining things and gave a grin. “Yeah, sure, let’s do it! On one condition.”

Polly gave her a confused look. “Uh… what condition?”

Nodding her head with a ‘follow me’ motion, Amira lead Polly through the halls until they found who they were looking for: Vicky, coming out of a classroom.

“Vick!” Amira smiled wide and grabbed her friend around the shoulders in a casual but tight side-hug. Vicky returned it with a smile nearly as big.

“Amira! How was school?” Vicky asked, sunshine leaking out of her words. Even Polly had to smile a small bit at her optimistic and sunny disposition to what most others would consider boring.

Amira rolled her eyes. “As usual. Boring as shit. But hey, that’s not what we came to talk about,” Amira motioned toward Polly. “Me and Polly—”

“Polly and I.” Vicky corrected.

Narrowing her eyes at her friend, Amira raised an eyebrow. “…If you weren’t one of my best friends, your hair would be on fire right now. Anyway, Polly and I were going to go out for some fun, and we want you to come with!”

“We do?” Polly asked, confused, to which Amira shot her a look.

“Yep. We do,” Amira affirmed. Polly simply nodded and held up her hands in surrender.

Vicky twirled her hair with a single finger. “Um… I don’t know, Amira, I’m so busy with clubs and studying and—”

“Aw, come on, Vick,” Amira pleaded half-seriously. “You almost never go out once school starts ‘cause of all your commitments, and I miss hanging out with you outside of home! Besides, one night won’t kill you, will they?”

“Well…” Vicky tapped her fingers on her chin, before she gave Amira a smile. “Here’s what we’ll do: we’ll compromise. I’ll go out with you guys—”

“Yes!” Amira pumped a fist in the air.

“—for a few hours.” Amira stopped mid-fist pump and her face dropped. “Then, I’m going home to study so I don’t fall too far behind.”

“But—”

“That’s my offer, Amira, take it or leave it.”

Amira clearly wasn’t happy with that agreement, but one look at Vicky, who folded her arms and raised her eyebrows, signaled she wasn’t budging. Amira sighed.

“Alright, a few hours. But we’re gonna have a hell of a time for those few hours!”

Polly wrapped an arm around each of them. “Hells yeah, we are! Alright! You two go home and get changed; I’ll meet you at this place,” she grabbed a pen out of Vicky’s notebook and quickly scribbled it on her arm, “in an hour! And dress hot!”

***

Oz felt like he knew now what animals in labs felt like when scientists were examining him.

He was currently sat in a chair in the center of Val’s store. The table she normally sat at had been pushed to the back to make more room, so he almost felt like he was in an interrogation room.

Leaning against each wall was one of the Coven members and Valerie. Joy was giving him a suspicious glare, Hope a more aloof but still concerned look, and Valerie looked… he was honestly having a hard time deciphering what her expression was. Faith unnerved him the most; behind those glasses, he couldn’t tell what she was thinking, but she came across as the coldest and most unfeeling.

“So… Oz.” Joy said. “Before we begin, I just want to offer you the chance to come clean about what you know and how you know it, and how you’re involved with this… Rabin business.”

His eyes were jerking in their sockets as they scanned from person to person. He patted his lap nervously and was trying to think of how to respond. “Well… um… y’know, what I know may not, uh, be necessarily as important as—”

“Ugh,” Joy scowled. “I told you guys he wasn’t going to just hand it over.”

“Well?” Hope shrugged. “We had to at least give him a chance, right?”

Oz’s stomach was tightening up more and more with each word. “Look, guys, this isn’t what—”

“Isn’t what, Oz?” Faith asked calmly. “We want to support you, we really do, but… you have to understand your position right now doesn’t look… great.”

“But— but I didn’t do anything!” Oz protested.

Joy sighed and pinched the brow of her bridge. Her eyes carried slight bags. “Yes, Oz, technically that is true. And it’s why it makes this whole thing… hard to do. You didn’t do anything, and by all accounts, are innocent. But we can’t just let stuff go because you didn’t do anything now; we have to evaluate future threats as well, and right now, Rabin— a criminal assassin who’s now attacked students at this school twice— recognized and knew who you were.” She leaned her head back and gave him a sympathetic but stern look. “Does that sound like something we can just ignore, Oz?”

The only response he gave her was silence. He averted her eyes and looked to his feet sitting still on the tile floor.

“Oz, we’re going to ask you some questions, and we need you to answer them as honestly as you can. Understand?”

Once more, he was silent, biting his lip in nervousness. He could feel all eight of their eyes boring into him, but what bothered him the most was Valerie’s lack of input.

“Oz, do you understand?” Joy repeated.

He sighed. “I understand.”

“Good,” she said. “First question: how do you know Rabin?”

One of his eyebrows went up in annoyance. “Well, first of all, I don’t know him— I’ve never seen him before last night.”

“Well, he knew you.”

“Yeah, but— agh!” He strangled the air in annoyance. “I don’t know how he knew me! He just recognized me and that’s it! I’d never met him, I’d never seen him, I’d never heard of him— nothing! I swear.”

“Do you have any ideas how he knew you then?” Hope asked. Her tone was less suspicious and more earnestly asking than Joy’s. “Could he have seen you somewhere, or be involved with something you were once?”

Oz sighed. “I mean… maybe?”

Hope smiled and tilted her head slightly. “Okay, start with that, then.”

Putting his face in his palms, Oz took a steady breath. I can do this… I can do this.

No, you can’t.

Oz’s eyes went wide and his stomach dropped twenty feet hearing that voice.

Look at these… insignificant little bugs. Who are they to order us around, huh? To demand we tell them anything?

Shut up, shut up, shut up… Oz prayed in his head.

They have no idea just how afraid of us they should be, right? Come on, Oz… let me out. Let me back, and we’ll make them scream at the very tragedy of their own existence…

“Shut up,” Oz hissed under his breath.

“Oz?” Joy said. “We’re waiting.”

“I know,” he replied to her, suddenly remembering where he was. “I’m just… trying to word this right.” His voice trembled and one of his phobias popped up on his shoulder.

You know, if there was one thing that entity is right about, it’s this… becoming a mortal was pathetic. You remember what we were. How powerful we were. We can be that again. You don’t have to be this soft, puny, fleshling, hm?

“Go away,” Oz hissed. When the voice didn’t respond, he took a deep breath and looked up to meet Joy eye-to-eye.

He swallowed nervously and sighed. “Okay, look,” he said, exasperated, “all I know is that at the start of the term, I began having… dreams. Nightmares… kind of.”

“Kind of?” Faith asked, confused.

Oz scratched his head. “Okay, well… they were dreams, for me, but whatever was causing them wasn’t dreaming, not exactly. I don’t think? Anyway, the point is, something began invading my dreams when I was sleeping and… causing nightmares.”

Hope cocked her head to one side. “Uh… why? For what reason? And what does that have to do with Rabin?”

Sweat began to gather around Oz’s brow. “I don’t know!” He said, a little too desperately. All three Coven members snapped their heads towards him with concerned looks. He cleared his throat and dialed back his volume. “I mean,” he started again, “I don’t know. Really, I don’t. All I do know is that this thing, whatever it is, is working with this… ‘Rabin’ guy. I don’t know why, I don’t know how, and that’s all I do know.”

Well, at least he was only half-lying. He didn’t know why, and he didn’t know how… but he did know what. Specifically, what they were trying to draw out.

The Coven members each looked to each other, their faces unreadable. Oz looked behind him towards Valerie, who was wide-eyed with surprise and confusion.

Finally, Joy spoke. “Oz, do you mind waiting outside? We need to discuss some things.” Oz sighed and nodded, before sitting up and making his way to the door.

To his surprise, Valerie followed him. “Val?” He asked. “What are you doing?”

“I want to talk to you,” she said. Her demeanor was… off. She had her arms crossed, but her face wasn’t hard or suspicious; it was concerned and, if he wasn’t mistaken… curious.

He nodded, apprehensive. “Alright,” he said, and the two of them walked out into the hallway. Classes were over, which meant it was mostly empty, save for the occasional passer-by.

As they stood there, Oz felt he could cut the tension with a knife. Valerie leaned against the wall, staring at him with a weird mix of caution and inquisitiveness.

“So,” she finally said after a few more seconds of awkward silence, “what aren’t you telling them?”

Oz opened his mouth, undoubtedly to deny any knowledge once more, but she sighed and rolled her eyes. “Oz, you can quit the act. I’m good at detecting bullshit, remember? I have to be.”

He didn’t respond. Instead, he simply closed his mouth, sighed, and let his back hit the wall of lockers behind him, slowly sliding down until he hit the floor. He buried his face in his hands and tried to imagine for a moment the world was somewhere far away.

Footsteps of Valerie coming over next to him and the sound of her sitting down didn’t stir him.

“Wanna talk?” She asked. He shrugged and lifted his head up.

“Might as well,” he said.

Yet despite that, silence once again hung in the air, almost like a specter. Valerie wanted to tell it to fuck off, but she could tell it was that pesky type of tension that was like a bomb— one wrong word and what’s a pile of gunpowder awkwardness now could explode into a fireball of an argument.

“…Val, can I ask about that night?” Oz finally breached the subject, and Val winced like he’d stepped on her tail. But she nodded, and he continued. “Do you… blame me… for that? For that guy… Rabin… attacking Brian and Vera?”

Valerie was silent for a long time. So long that Oz’s stomach had time to do five somersaults out of sheer nervousness. Finally, she sighed.

“I don’t want to, Oz. I really don’t. I mean, it wasn’t like you called him there or knew him, I know that’s not it,” she said, her tone carrying hints of regret. “But… I guess, maybe when I saw Vera in danger, something visceral latched onto him saying your name. It’s not really something I’m trying to do, just… I’m having hard time not doing it. Does that make sense?”

He didn’t answer, instead just nodding slightly. She risked a look at his face and saw he looked positively miserable, and guilt stabbed at her chest.

She was telling the truth, too. She really didn’t want to blame him, and truthfully most of her didn’t. But at the same time, a small part of her deep down couldn’t let go of that connection Rabin had made between himself and Oz. It was a part of her that needed something, anything, to blame.

And yet, she felt stupid at the same time. Vera was fine; if anything, Brian had been worse for the wear afterwards. It’s not like Vera didn’t put herself in risky situations all the time, either, so it’s not as if her being in potential danger was new. Maybe it was because Valerie had never seen her actually helpless before. It was a sight she had never expected to see.

The door opened and Joy stuck her head back out. “Oz, Val, you guys can come in, now.”

Oz let a small breath out, and he and Val walked inside.

***

Down the hill, just outside the city limits, a medium-sized bar with a few cars parked outside had music blaring from within.

Inside, Vicky, Amira and Polly were sitting at the bar, laughing as they told each other stories and jokes. Amira had ditched her jacket in her car and elected just to wear her black dress on its own; Vicky was still wearing her blue sweater and jeans; and Polly was rocking a white cutoff shorts, with a black tank top and deep blue floral shirt.

“Bet you twenty bucks I beat you at darts,” Amira dared, grinning as she held up a red dart. Vicky rolled her eyes.

“Amira, maybe don’t bet me on that? After all, you can hardly afford your part of the rent as is,” Vicky chuckled as she sipped from her bottle. Amira gave her a sour look and rolled her eyes.

“Okay, fine,” Amira shrugged, trying to pretend not to be annoyed. “No bets. Just your pride on the line. I think I can beat you, hands down.”

Vicky’s face shifted to one of determination and she stood up, walking towards Amira with confidence. “You’re on,” and the two shook on it.

Taking the first shot, Vicky grabbed a blue dart off of the board and stepped back a few feet. Squinting with one eye, she looked down the length of the dart and…

WHAP! The target sunk directly into the center bullseye of the board. She turned and gave Amira a smug smile.

“Pfft. Beginner’s luck,” Amira waved off. She held up her own dart, took aim, and—

WHAM! The sound of the front entrance door slamming shut startled Amira just as she let go of the dart, causing it to sail through the air and land right into the wall next to the dart board.

Amira saw where her dart landed and her hair flared up, tinting blue at the edges. The blue darkened to cobalt as she saw Vicky giving her a superior smile, her arms crossed in victory. Amira turned to the door to see who barged in, but her anger was blunted by the sight of Aaravi, covered in dirt and tracking muddy footprints, standing in the doorway.

The music slightly turned down and some of the other bar patrons warily eyed her for a moment. Aaravi glared at one such customer, who looked down and nursed his drink. Nervously, the other monsters in the bar tried to continue on with what they were doing. The bartender, a cigar-smoking, grizzled-looking werelion, growled and pointed at the mat. “Hey, wipe yer feet before you come in!”

Growling, she did as instructed, before plopping down at the bar and slapping a green bill on the counter. “Whiskey, straight,” she muttered under her breath. The bartender raised an eyebrow and squinted, but did as she asked.

As she nursed her drink, the others looked on in curiosity. “Wonder what she’s been up to,” Vicky said. Polly rolled her eyes.

“Who cares? She regularly tries to murder our classmates. Girl needs to learn to relaaax,” she drawled. “Let’s ignore her and have some fun! Somebody around here’s gotta be able to score us some drugs, right?”

Vicky wasn’t really listening to what Polly was saying. Instead, she was studying Aaravi’s expression— her eyes held anger, bitterness, and exhaustion, with large bags dragging them down. They held something else, though, something deeper… disappointment. Frustration… sadness?

As Polly and Amira were debating whether coke or ecstasy was better, Vicky walked over towards Aaravi and sat down in the stool beside her.

“Hey,” she opened, with a half-smile and an awkward wave. Aaravi didn’t even look at her, merely sighing as an acknowledgement of her sitting down.

“So… what are you doing?” Vicky asked. This earned her an irritated look.

“Having a drink, the hell does it look like?”

Vicky’s smile faded a little. “…Okay, admittedly that was a stupid question,” she sighed. “But… what are you doing here? You don’t look… great.”

Aaravi rolled her eyes and sat up a bit. “Look, just… I got something going on and it’s not going well, alright?”

“What is it?”

“I’m sorry,” Aaravi turned to her, her eyes sparkling with irritation, “since when is it any of your fucking business? It’s personal. Family matters. Got it?”

Vicky was about to respond, but at that moment, a tall, slender-built harpy with grey wings streaked with white came up and pulled out the stool next to Aaravi. His eyes were a sickly yellow and Vicky immediately felt uncomfortable just seeing the expression on his face.

“Hey,” he said, in a drawled up tone, “never seen you in here before.”

“That’s because I make it a point not to be noticed,” Aaravi said, “now both of you, fuck off and let me drink in peace.”

The harpy leaned back and shrugged up his shoulders. “Hey, come on, don’t be like that. Let me buy you a drink.”

“No.”

“I said, don’t be like that…”

Aaravi’s head snapped towards him, her green eyes blazing with refreshed anger. “Listen, needle-dick, today was one of the worst days I’ve had in a while, and for me? That’s saying something. For the first time in three years, I have come the closest I ever have to finding the one person that matters to me most, and it escaped from me. I have come here to get wasted and stop feeling, not to get hit on by creeps just looking to get their dick wet! Got it?!” To emphasize her point, she slammed a dagger in the bar, impaling it on a napkin right next to the harpy’s hand.

The bartender grunted. “I’ll put the bill for that on your tab.”

For a moment, the harpy just stared at the dagger, wide-eyed, before looking back to Aaravi, then back to the dagger. His eyes narrowed and, with a scowl, he got up and walked back to his friend group.

“Ugh,” Aaravi turned back and downed the rest of her drink before her brow furrowed and she pinched the bridge of her nose. “Goddammit.”

Vicky watched the harpy talking with his friends, an irritated look on his face and glancing over at Aaravi as he talked. “That guy was a prick,” she mentioned, before turning back to Aaravi. “But… what was that you were talking about?”

“Oh, for God’s sake,” Aaravi said, “I didn’t come here to pour out my feelings, I didn’t come here to have an asshole shove his dick in my face, I came here to drink. In peace. Please, will you just—”

She was interrupted by footsteps and a gruff voice speaking out. “Hey. I heard you were rude to my friend over there.” Aaravi’s pupils dilated in pure rage and she whirled around. Before Vicky could even register what was happening, Aaravi had formed a fist and slammed it straight into the face of the speaker.

As her knuckles connected with the jaw of the annoyance… she saw who had spoken. A seven-foot tall griffin, with bright orange-red plumage and a hooked, black beak, stumbled back as blood began to drip from his mouth. He reached a hand tipped with razor-sharp talons and drew away one, and it shone with crimson. Behind him, the harpy and another person, a tall and slender tengu with dark black feathers and a tall hat, stared wide-eyed as their friend staggered back.

The griffin observed his blood drip off his talon for a minute, before snapping his head back to Aaravi and growled. “You’re gonna die for that one, bitch,” he spat and he bared his talons.

***

“Alright, Oz,” Joy said, as Faith and Hope stood at a distance from her, “we’ve been talking it over.”

Oz nodded. “Okay… what did you… decide?”

The three looked at each other, clearly apprehensive. Joy took a deep breath and let it out. “Oz,” she said slowly, “know first and foremost that we will not force anything on you, understand?”

He nodded, but angled his head a bit. He didn’t like where this was going.

“However, we strongly, strongly, recommend… that you let Hope sift through your mind and see your memories.”

“What?!” Oz cried, in outrage as well as panic. His eyebrows curved downwards as he glared at the three witches, and they had the decency to look away in shame. His heart began beating as he already started to think maybe they weren’t going to give him a choice, despite what they’d said. “Are you crazy?! No! I’m not letting any of you traipse around in my head looking at whatever you want!”

Valerie was similarly incensed, her fur standing on edge and her arms crossed judgmentally. “Guys, way, way too far. What the hell makes you think he’d agree to something like that?”

Joy sighed, in both frustration and embarrassment. “Look, we’re sorry, okay? But this is some serious shit you’re involved in, Oz, and you refusing to give us solid answers looks suspicious as hell.”

“Just what exactly are you accusing me of?!” Oz gritted his teeth. Everyone kept demanding answers from him, but he was finally getting fed up with getting answers from nobody else. This thing plaguing his dreams, Rabin, and now them.

“Nothing!” Hope raised her arms, in an effort to reassure him. “We’re not accusing you of anything. But… somebody may be trying to manipulate you, or use you, or worse, Oz. We just… we don’t have a lot to go on.”

“Just…” Faith lowered her glasses a bit, though not enough to expose her eyes. “Can you please, just… calm down and let us explain a few things?”

Oz’s heavy breathing began to slow, and his chest heaving ceased. He took a deep breath and nodded. “Fine,” he snapped, “what is it?”

“Okay, well, first of all we’d like to know, these… dreams you mentioned. In them, how does it feel?”

“What do you mean?”

Joy cocked her head. “Okay, well,” she said, “has it felt… well, did it feel close or distant? Like, did it feel like whoever was invading your dream was in the room, or did it feel more like a phone call?”

It was such an odd question that Oz had to take a minute to consider it. It wasn’t ever really something he paid attention to before, but all of the dreams did have a bit of an odd feeling to them. Something that wasn’t supposed to be there. Still, it was hard to know exactly what they meant.

“Um… the phone one, I guess,” Oz said. “I’m not really sure, it just always felt… unnatural.”

“Okay,” Joy said, then shrugged. “Okay, that’s something.” She leaned into her back pocket and pulled out a small journal and began flipping through it.

“What? What does that mean?” Oz asked.

“It means, Oz,” Joy said as she kept flipping through it, “that this is more complicated than we expected, and it was already plenty complicated. Whoever’s invading your dreams isn’t using a spell or a ritual to do so, because if they were, we’d have already picked up on it. That means one of two things, either they’re using an item or they naturally have the ability to invade dreams. What you’re describing,” she triumphantly pointed her finger to a page before flipping it around to show Oz and Valerie, “sounds like a relic. And there’s only one item that can do what you’re saying.”

Valerie squinted at the book. Small, messy scribbles surrounded a hand-drawn picture of a necklace with a pendant on it. The pendant was star-shaped, with eight points like a cardinal compass, and a diamond-shaped jewel in the middle. Around it were notes with things like “Extremely dangerous!” “Do not fall asleep!” “Hope, your handwriting sucks, let Faith write these from now on.” “My handwriting does not suck!”

“A… Dreamwalker?” Valerie read aloud as she saw the name scribbled across the top, along with a small picture of Hope sticking her tongue out.

Faith nodded. “Yep,” she replied flatly. “It’s the only artifact we’ve ever seen that can completely mimic the abilities of a dream monster. They’re extraordinarily rare— we’ve only ever seen one.”

“And they’re very tricky to use,” Hope warned. “It’s too easy to get lost in someone’s mind once you’ve entered it and to get separated from your body altogether. The fact that this person uses it a lot, and they use it without any trouble says… well, it says they’re dangerous, and they’re either experienced or skilled beyond reason.”

“Which is already a start,” Joy said, trying to convey an optimistic tone. “And you said it wasn’t Rabin, correct?”

Oz nodded. “Yeah. I asked him that night if it was him, and he said no. That it was his ‘partner.’”

“That’s very odd,” Faith said. “Aaravi told us he never works with anyone— lone wolf. Always has been.”

One of Oz’s eyebrows went up. “Aaravi? What does she know?”

The three Coven members exchanged glances before Joy shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. What does matter is we need to begin a hunt to look for this… ‘partner’ using the Dreamwalker.”

“So…” Oz, in a much calmer voice, dared to broach a question. The three looked to him. “This… thing. Is there any way you can stop it from torturing me? It… It’s been horrible.”

Joy gave him a look of pity, and Faith looked away. “I’m… I’m sorry, Oz,” Hope said, disappointment tinging her voice. “But… like we said, we’ve only seen a Dreamwalker once, and we were forced to destroy it in a fight. We really don’t have a good idea of how it works or what it’s fully capable of. The only thing we really do know is normal means of warding off dream demons and such don’t work on it, because it doesn’t draw from a monster’s natural powers.”

Oz’s heart sank and he looked down to the floor. “Oh… I see.”

Looking to Joy and seeing her still preoccupied with looking away and flipping through the grimoire, Hope sighed and took forward. She put a hand on Oz’s shoulder.

“Oz,” she said, a bit more determined this time, “I think we did things the wrong way here. We’re not out to fight you, I promise— we want to help you. So,” she held up a card and smiled. “If you have anything you’d like to share, or if you hear anything around the woodwork, give me a call and let us know, okay? And next time, we won’t interrogate you.” She shot a glare at Joy and Faith, who didn’t look her in the eye. At least, Joy didn’t. It was hard to tell with Faith’s glasses.

His mood began to calm a little and for the first time in this whole ordeal he felt like he was being talked to as an equal. He took the card and looked it over. “…Thanks, Hope.” She flashed a smile and nodded.

He looked at it a little closer and noticed something. “‘Hope’s Delivery Service?’”

Hope’s eyes lit up and she bared her fists in excitement. “It’s my delivery service! I started it to earn some extra money and I think it’s really gonna take off. Use it if you wanna deliver something, alright?”

“Uh, sure, I can do that,” he smiled and gave a thumbs up, caught off-guard and awkward by her sudden enthusiasm. He looked to the door. “So, uh,” he said nervously, “am I good to go, or…?”

Joy nodded. “We’ll keep in touch.”

As Oz exited the store, Valerie stared pointedly at the Coven. Joy was perturbed by her stare, before finally asking, “…What?”

“…Did you just forget we’re in my store? Leave so I can close shop.”

***

The griffin was towering over Aaravi and Vicky as his yellow eyes hardened with fury.

“Um… look, let’s just all calm down—” Vicky began to say, but she was cut off by the griffin pointing a talon at her.

“Shut the fuck up!” He shouted. Suddenly a fireball whooshed past his face, singing his feathers. It plowed through a window, leaving a molten hole lined with orange. He turned to see Amira, fire in her hands, giving him a dark glare.

“Don’t talk to my friend like that,” she hissed.

The bartender groaned in annoyance. “Hey, can you guys take this outside?” He asked gruffly. “Hard enough to keep this place afloat as is, I don’t need it burnt down to the ground.”

Growling, the griffin turned to his tengu friend. “Take care of her,” he ordered. The tengu huffed in annoyance, but unsheathed his own talons and began advancing on Amira, his face stone-cold.

Meanwhile, the griffin began advancing on the two girls. “I’m—”

He was cut off as Aaravi suddenly surged forward and pointed her elbow, driving it right into his stomach. He wheezed as he was flown back into the wall, crashing into and splintering the wood.

“Goddammit,” sighed the bartender.

The griffin snarled and swiped a talon at her. He missed, and she ducked underneath him before jumping up and kicking him in the spine. He went down like a sack of potatoes, falling on the floor onto his stomach.

The tengu, who had been advancing on Amira and Polly, was distracted as he saw this. Amira took this opportunity to uppercut him, sending him tumbling against a bar table, groaning in pain. Polly floated down and began fiddling with his shoelaces.

Aaravi was about to stomp the griffin’s arm when she suddenly felt her arms be grabbed from behind and wrenched together. She gritted her teeth and turned to see the harpy pinning her and holding her in place. “C’mon, John!” He called to the griffin, assumedly John. “Slice her up!”

As John got back up from the floor, Vicky realized she needed to intervene.

“Okay,” she said under her breath. She grabbed the sleeves of her sweater and pulled them over her hands, then began rubbing them together rapidly.

John the Griffin staggered to his feet and faced Aaravi, his eyes bulging with anger. Once more bracing his talons, he raised and prepared to slash over her face when he heard “Hey!”

Turning, he saw Vicky, still rubbing her sweater-hands together. “Leave her alone or else!”

John guffawed, failing to notice the electricity sparking off Vicky’s bolts. “And what exactly are you gonna do about it?”

As he turned his swipe towards her, Vicky brought her hands back out and slammed it open-palmed against John’s chest. Instead of the small electric sting as he expected, he was slammed backward as a flare of blue bolts shot out from the spot where Vicky touched him. Aaravi stomped on the harpy’s foot, causing him to let go, and ducked just as his friend crashed into him, scattering them across the tables.

The tengu stumbled up and tried to run towards his two friends, but failed to notice Polly had tied his shoelaces together. He promptly tripped and slammed face-first into a chair, a welt appearing on his forehead where he made contact. This got Polly to start laughing uproariously, turning to Amira and falling against her, who was also laughing.

John got up, looked down and realized the electric attack had burned through his shirt and chest feathers, leaving a handprint-shaped burn mark. The flesh underneath was burned and sizzled, giving a smell vaguely similar to roast chicken.

“You— You—” He pointed and began to yell, but quickly shut up when Aaravi held a dagger to his throat. His eyes went wide and his voice changed from aggressive and tough to holding a whimper. “Wait, wait, no, don’t—”

“Sorry, asshole, you picked the wrong day to fuck with me!” Aaravi snarled. She held the knife up and prepared to bring it down.

Vicky suddenly surged forward and grabbed her arm. “Wait!” She said. “Don’t!”

Aaravi turned to her, confused. “And why the hell not?! They harassed and attacked us! They deserve it!”

“It’s not right,” Vicky insisted. “They’re beaten, we should just toss them outside.”

The Slayer sighed, rolling her eyes. “Look… Vicky, right? Admittedly, your naivete is kind of cute. But these guys? They’re nothing. Probably shit loot, no levels to be gained. Not to mention they are massive creeps. They’re a waste of air.”

Vicky looked to the griffin, who was now giving her a pleading look. “No, come on, you can’t… please, I, I’m sorry…”

She shook her head. “It’s still not right.”

Aaravi groaned… but after a deep breath, she sheathed the dagger. The griffin began to nod his head. “Thank, thank you—”

“Shut up, shithead,” Aaravi stared him straight in the eyes, fury still red-hot. “You listen, and you listen good— you and your two pals here don’t come to this bar ever again. And if I ever see you again, here, in the city, or anywhere, she will not be there to stop me from bloodletting you. Capiche?!” Her tone carried no air of humor or pride, but rather the frustration of being denied a kill.

John nodded vigorously. “Yes, yep, we understand, we swear—”

Aaravi began dragging the much taller monster towards the door, before impressively throwing him a good few feet out onto the dirt. “Now, get lost before I change my mind!”

The harpy got up and quickly ran out after him, followed shortly by the tengu, who was still desperately trying to get his shoelaces untied.

“That’s cute,” the bartender said, “you stuck up for each other. Now, what about the damage to my bar?”

The damage was… not insignificant. The hole in the window was still smoking, several tables were smashed to pieces, a chair laid broken on the floor. The wall that John and the harpy had hit had a crack running several feet up. The smell of ozone still perforated the air, and Vicky saw that a stray bolt form her static trick had leapt up and licked the ceiling, leaving a soot mark that wafted heat.

“Oops,” Vicky said sheepishly. Aaravi reached into her pocket and tossed a small pouch at the bartender, who caught it but scoffed.

“There’s no way this is enough—”

“Just look inside,” Aaravi said in an exhausted tone. The bartender pulled the strings and peered in, and his eyes went wide.

“Holy shit,” he said.

“Add the drinks on there, too,” Aaravi said. “Those assholes aren’t worth the bounty for property damage.”

Amira and Polly walked over, Amira still smiling exuberantly. “Man, that was awesome, Vick!” She laughed. “I haven’t seen you do that in a while.”

“Yeah, well,” Vicky smiled and put her hands on her hips, “the situation seemed to call for it.”

Aaravi turned to the three, her face a bit more relaxed. “Uh… thanks, I guess,” she said. “I… probably could’ve taken those guys, but I got out of it without wasting any potions thanks to you guys, so… thank you.”

Amira scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Pretty backhanded thank you,” she muttered, but shrugged and relaxed her posture. “But no problem.”

“How’d you do that thing with the electricity, Vicky?” Polly inquired, sounding genuinely curious. Vicky smiled and pointed to her neck bolts.

“I’m basically a giant electric conductor,” she said. “I can build up a lot of static electricity and then let it out when I want. Why do you think I wear this sweater all the time?”

“That could make for such a good prank!” Polly cheered. “Walk up to somebody for a handshake? Boom! Reach down to pick somebody off the ground? Zap! Give a handie out in a car? ‘Oh no, my junk, it’s fried,’” She mock imitated someone and laughed again.

The other three girls gave a grimace at her last comment. Polly stuck her tongue out. “Get a sense of humor.”

Aaravi sighed and grabbed her drink off the counter, downing the rest. “I think I’m gonna head out now,” she said. “Enough excitement for the day.”

As she spoke, Amira realized she looked… oddly familiar. Something she had seen before, but at the same time, not…

In her mind, she waved it off. Probably nothing.

“Yeah,” Vicky agreed, “I got to go study now.”

“Aww,” whined Amira. “But we got sidetracked!”

“It’s alright, Amira,” Vicky reassured. “I still had a fun time. We can do it again soon.”

Amira breathed a sigh of annoyance. “Okay, fine,” she replied. “I’ll drive you home. Let’s go.”

As the two made their way to the exit, Amira noticed Polly was sticking behind. “Uh,” she turned to Vicky, “hey, wait for me in the car, I’ll be there, alright?”

Vicky nodded and flashed her a smile.

As Polly sat down at the bar, Amira sat down with her. “Hey,” she said. “Sorry our night out didn’t really go as planned…”

Polly shrugged and smiled. “Eh. It’s alright. You sure do get in a lot of fights, though.”

Amira rolled her eyes with a smile. “Hey, give me a break, at least I didn’t start it this time.”

“True.”

Looking out over the bar— with the few patrons still in— she tapped her fingers on the bar counter. “So, got any plans later? After I drop Vicky off at home, I could probably meet up with you somewhere, if you wanted.”

“Um… maybe,” Polly cocked her head and tried to think. “Not really sure if there’s any parties tonight that are worth attending…” She started tracing the rim of a nearby glass with her finger. “But I might go out. See if I can pick somebody up, maybe. I don’t know.”

“Ah… I get it,” Amira tried to pretend that didn’t bother her. After all, why should it? She could comfortably say she and Polly were friends now, they’d been hanging out for a while.

But that’s all they were… friends.

“Well,” Amira said, “just give me a call if you want to hang out, okay?”

Polly nodded, and Amira got up from the bar and walked out the door.

***

As Oz waited outside, texting Amira to ask if she could come give him a ride, he heard footsteps behind him. He looked up to see Valerie beside him.

“Oh… hey, Val,” he said, awkwardly.

“Hey, Oz,” she said. “So… how ya doing?”

He shrugged. “Well, I feel like I just got out of a police interrogation, so… y’know. I’m alright, all things considered.”

She chuckled. The two stood there in awkward silence for a few minutes, but Oz knew he had to broach the subject.

“So… where are we, right now? Do you… still not trust me?”

Valerie was silent for a minute, and he dreaded her answer. Finally, she spoke, and it was with a twinge of regret. “Oz, I never distrusted you, exactly, I just… wasn’t sure what you were hiding. I’m still not, to be honest,” she said.

Oz felt his heart sink and he prepared to hear her announce she was breaking off their friendship. Which, strangely, hurt a lot more than he would’ve expected it to.

“But… listen. Whatever you got going on… I get it.”

His head perked up a bit at that.

“Well, okay, maybe not entirely. I can’t say I totally get everything that’s going on, or why you’re so deadest on hiding them…” Her voice sounded a bit confused, before it resolidified itself. “But… hey, listen, we all have secrets, right? Maybe yours are just a bit more complicated than the rest.”

There was a short silence before she continued.

“Either way… I’ll see you tomorrow, right?” She gave him a small smile. “Same time as usual for confidence training.”

Oz gave her an uneasy look. “You’re… you’re sure?” He asked cautiously, like he was tiptoeing over broken glass. “I mean… Val, if you don’t feel comfortable…”

She shrugged. “What else am I gonna do with my free period, Oz? Work?” They both chuckled, and Valerie began walking towards her car, a purple, somewhat beat-up with hood ornaments and a sticker of a dollar-bill on the back windshield.

“See you tomorrow!” Oz called, hopefully. She half-turned and gave a smile and a wave, before turning back and continuing to walk.

His heart sunk again and he sighed miserably. Valerie was trying, and he appreciated that, but he could tell… this wasn’t fully resolved yet. He sat down on the sidewalk and waited for Amira to text him back.

He felt his shoulder itch a little and one of his phobias popped back up. He absentmindedly scratched its head as it gave him a sad look.

***

Somewhere, out in the woods, just a few miles from the bars, three feathered monsters sat around in a small grove, tending their wounds and talking.

“Soon as we find that bitch and her friends,” John the Griffin muttered as he applied some kind of burn cream to his chest, “we are gonna fuck them up.”

The tengu sighed. “Come on, John,” he groaned. “Haven’t we gotten fucked up enough already? Just let it go.”

“No way!” The harpy chimed in. “First that tease with the purple hair threatens me, then her and her friends drive us away from the bar? Our bar?”

A scoff was the tengu’s response. “Fine. You guys wanna get beat up some more? Be my guest. I know when to quit.”

“You for real?” John stood up and shoved his friend, irritation flashing across his face. The tengu stumbled back a few feet. “The fuck man? We’re supposed to have each other’s backs.”

The tengu scowled, and was about to utter a response, but suddenly he stopped and his eyes bulged. Instead of words, strained gasps and whimpers came out of his mouth, and he grabbed at his throat desperately.

John and the harpy’s anger gave way to confusion and worry. “…Micah?” John broached, his face stricken with puzzlement. “What… what’s wrong? Are you choking?”

Suddenly, Micah was lifted up off the ground several feet. John and the harpy stepped back at this new development. Micah gave out a few more strained gasps, his face now turning blue from the lack of oxygen, before his neck suddenly jerked and with a sickening snap his whole body went limp before dropping back to the ground.

The air right behind the now dead Micah suddenly began to shimmer, and John and the harpy suddenly found themselves staring at a four-armed, hulking brute with skulls jangling from his belt.

Only now his fanged mouth wasn’t upturned in a victorious grin like it normally was in this situation. His eyes blazed with anger and his body posture screamed indignation.

He reached behind his back and unsheathed a scimitar, before advancing on the wobbling John.

“Wait, I—”

SLASH! John barely opened his mouth before Rabin moved with lightning speed, and the body of the griffin dropped to the forest floor. The harpy fell to the ground and began backing up, before his back hit a tree as the rakshasa’s attention turned to him.

“Wait, wait!” His voice cracked and tears began spilling out of his eyes. “Please, please, whatever I did I’m sorry, please just…” He couldn’t finish his plea.

Rabin rested the scimitar on his shoulder. “I don’t think so, creep,” he hissed. “Maybe next time be a little more careful who you decide to harass in a bar, eh?”

He surged forward and grabbed the harpy by the throat and smacked his head against the tree, knocking him out. “But don’t worry,” he growled, “I won’t kill you here. I’ll take you back so he can experiment on you a bit… then I can hear you scream.” He slung the unconscious harpy over his back, then turned and grabbed each of the dead monsters by a foot.

“Looks like chicken for dinner tonight,” Rabin chuckled to himself, before dragging his quarry away into the thicket of trees.

Chapter Text

Brian found himself pacing back and forth as Vera was talking with the eSports tournament manager. It seemed unreal, already arriving at the day of the tournament, and he found himself uncharacteristically nervous. Not a lot, but enough for Vera to notice the difference.

“Relax,” she said as she came back over, typing away on her cell phone with just one hand. One of her vipers curled around her upper arm and almost seemed to be following the tapping of her finger.

Brian nodded and cracked his neck. “I’m good,” he replied. “Just… a lot of work went into this, don’t want it to go to waste, y’know?”

She nodded. “Exactly. But you got this. We’ve practiced long and hard, right?”

“Right,” he replied. She pointed to the doors, where the stage he would play on waited. Inside, the murmurings and talk of a crowd much bigger than he expected were leaking out the edges of the doors.

“Alright, Worm Breath,” she said, in a playfully aggressive tone, “go get ‘em!”

After letting out a small breath and adopting a relaxed but confident smile, Brian gripped the steel door handles, threw them open, and…

…was presented with an empty auditorium. The noise he had heard just moments ago completely vanished.

He turned to see Vera was now gone as well. In fact, the entire building seemed to be devoid of life.

In fact… where was this building? He couldn’t remember ever actually entering it. How did he even get here? Did he drive? It was all too fuzzy to recall, like… like it was a dream.

What a waste of energy.

Brian’s skin chilled as he heard a familiar voice.

No wonder your family saw you as a complete failure.

And then, the floor and walls dissipated, fading into oblivion like pixels in a video game. Brian found himself free-floating in the void it left behind as the material world around him became non-existent. He tried to will something to appear— he’d heard about lucid dreaming— but all he got for his efforts was a mocking laugh.

Stupid boy. When we’re in here together, this is my world. Your mind is my playground, though what a limited playground it is given your lack of achievements and degradation in motor functions.

“Shut up,” Brian growled.

Ohhh, so it has emotions after all? Not just a constant husk of apathy, are we?

“I—”

Don’t worry, we’ll help you remember those feelings. Let’s start by getting you back in your old body, why don’t we?

Brian felt his skin begin to move and itch. He looked down to see the green hue that defined his appearance begin to fall off, flakes of sickly olive disintegrating as they shed like rust off metal. Underneath was clean, healthy skin, the skin of a 22-year old human. His clothes, too, lost their old, weathered appearance, appearing as pristine and new as the day he’d bought them.

As his new… old?... fingers reached up, he already could feel the hole over his cheek begin to fill in and cover the exposed side of his mouth. Other parts of his body where bone shone through also filled over, like spray paint. He felt the rot that had taken his body before reanimation reverse, and when the outside restoration was done, he felt the heart in his chest begin to beat, and warm blood flow through his veins once more.

The whole process only took five or six seconds, and he gasped when it was done. It felt very… intense. It was an experience to suddenly go from an expired cadaver to a fresh human once more.

There, that’s better, by human standards. If you must be flesh and blood, better to be fresh flesh rather than decayed flesh, hm?

“What do you want?!” Brian demanded.

He felt the Entity sigh a bit as it contemplated his question. What do I want… to be quite honest with you, Brian, when I first started tormenting you and the others, I was doing it out of sheer pragmatism. A way to speed up the results of my true target.

“Wait… others?” Brian muttered as the realization hit him.

But… now? Now I simply find enjoyment out of it. You pompous, arrogant little insects… you are the reason I am trapped down here, imprisoned in this hell.

“I don’t understand,” Brian shook his head. “What do you want?! What did I do?!”

Shut up! We’re not here to discuss that. But I do see, in your mind’s eye, a childhood memory that’s been troubling you lately. Why don’t we look at that?

Brian’s eyes went wide and he shook his head. “Oh, come on, man, you can’t—!”

But already the oblivion he was floating in began to change and whirl like twister trying to form a shape. Soon, the empty blackness that surrounded him began to form a room. The walls were auburn-brown, with four-pane windows staring out at a grassy field, where children played with a kickball or sat around and chatted.

Lining the walls were maps of the world… not the monster world, of course. Rather, the world Brian was from previously… the human world.

Also along the walls were reports quotes from books, pictures of well-known historical figures, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Education. The room was filled with desks that had books, papers, other items strewn about them. It was abundantly clear where he was… his old school.

As Brian looked around, he spotted a large desk with a computer monitor. Sitting behind it was a figure; they were just a silhouette, however, no defining features. Their edges were fuzzy, like you were viewing them underwater, and the only discernible facial features were two white eyes that peered down in front of them.

Placed in front of them was a kid— probably thirteen or fourteen— seated in a chair. They looked down guiltily at their feet as the figure stared down at them.

Brian recognized the boy. It was him, so long ago. The figure… one of his teachers. Which one, he couldn’t be sure. They tended to all blend together.

“Brian,” the teacher-silhouette spoke. Its voice was garbled and staticky, breaking up and hurting Brian’s ears. “I’m very disappointed in you.”

The teenage Brian didn’t acknowledge it said. He just continued to look down at his feet.

“Your work is just passing… you can’t pay attention in class… and you supposedly keep forgetting to do your homework. But you know what we call that? Laziness.”

“But I did forget!” Teenage Brian looked up and his eyes were big and threatened to burst tears, his voice pleading to be understood. “I swear, I’m not lazy! I just… I go home, I get it out, I sit down to do it, and then something else happens and it just… distracts me!”

“Brian, that’s not an excuse,” the silhouette continued to speak. “The world doesn’t excuse us for getting distracted. If you can’t stay focused on your schoolwork, then you need to discipline yourself to do so.”

As the teacher continued to speak, the floor next to teenage Brian began to crack open. Tiles gave way to earth and mud, and out from the ground rose a new figure. Another silhouette, this one tall and hovering over young Brian like a shadow. Brian shook his head as he watched it tower over his younger self.

“Look at what you did,” it hissed at him. “You couldn’t focus, and now you’re going to get in trouble with mom and dad!” The young Brian turned to him and shook his head.

“No! They’ll understand, they have to!”

The teacher silhouette began to fade away as the new shadow circled young Brian. “Why can’t you just focus?! Your teacher is right! You’re just lazy, aren’t you?!”

“Stop it!” Brian shouted, and he tried to move forward, but he couldn’t. He felt his legs sink into the ground, and he looked down to see them melting like candle wax. “Leave him alone!” His words were ignored, neither his young self nor the shadow acknowledging his presence.

“And now, because of you,” the shadow spat out at teenage Brian, “you’re going to fall behind! Who knows what’ll happen because of that?! You could end up dropping out! Being a leech! Is that what you want?!”

“No!” Young Brian had tears streaking down his cheeks. “I’ll do better, I promise!”

“Leave him alone!” Brian desperately shouted as he continued to sink down. The shadow seemed to hear him this time, as it turned up his head and looked in his direction. And he saw in its face the thing he feared he would— he saw his own eyes.

“But you didn’t, did you?” It asked him, and he felt his skin go cold. He looked down and suddenly his body was becoming a zombie again. The skin grew over green and he felt his old wounds tearing open again. He kept sinking down into the dirt as the school fell apart, down, down, down…

***

And Brian found himself hurtling towards his bedroom floor.

“Sh—!” He barely had time to begin to swear before his face collided with the hardwood floor. “…Ow,” he said as he got himself up. Stretching and hearing his back pop, he glanced at his sheets and blankets. They were tussled and messy, evidence of him kicking in his sleep.

As Brian recalled his dream, he also recalled the Entity’s words. “…Others. It said ‘others.’ But who…?” Then it suddenly dawned on him.

“Oz!” He said. “Oz was having nightmares a bit ago. He has to know something about this.” He quickly dashed out his bedroom door, skipping a step at a time as he barreled for the kitchen. Amira was at the stove, stirring pancake batter in a pan.

“Oh, good morning,” she raised an eyebrow. “I thought I heard you fall out of bed.”

“Where’s Oz?” Asked Brian, a bit of impatience leaking into his voice. Amira gave him a concerned look.

“Um… he left, headed into town to do some stuff. Said he probably won’t be back until tonight.” she said. “You okay?”

Brian blinked and tried to relax his posture. “Um… yeah, I’m… I’m fine,” he said, trying to slow his impatience. “Just… wanted to ask him something.”

Amira nodded and went back to cooking. Brian sat at the table and sighed. He might as well not worry about it, then, until he actually saw Oz again. In the meantime, he couldn’t do anything about it, so he might as well not stress. That was what he did best.

As Amira continued to cook, Brian felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He glanced at its screen to see a text from… Vera.

‘Meet me here at 2 o’clock sharp.’ Following that was an address. He didn’t recognize it.

His phone buzzed again. ‘Wear something nice. If you show up in that ratty hoodie, I’ll make sure you stay dead the second time.’

Glancing at the time, his phone screen read 8:51 PM. “Well,” Brian leaned back. “This is a… surprise. Vera wants to meet with me. On a Saturday.”

A look of suspicion crossed Amira’s face. “Don’t tell me you’re hanging out with her,” she groaned. “She’s suckered, like, five guys with that whole thing. ‘Help me out and I’ll pay you the slightest attention.’ And guess what? Each one either ended up dead or in jail. One of them both!”

“It’s not that,” Brian waved off her concerns. “It’s… a thing with Coach… never mind, it’d take too long to explain.”

***

Oz was walking through Monstropolis, hands in his pockets. Even though the tall buildings around him made him feel small, he still rather liked a stroll through the city, during the day, at least.

Monstropolis was one of the bigger cities along the east side of the land; with tall skyscrapers and sidewalk stores, it hypnotized anyone within to forget the miles of surrounding woodland. It was hard to forget a few miles away from these enormous buildings that a hill overlooked the whole city, with Spooky Academy eyeing all of it like an eagle on a perch.

Car honks and talk threatened to intrude on Oz’s own thoughts. He was thinking the last few days over. Maybe it would be better just to come clean. But… how would he even go about explaining it?

He shook his head. Maybe he was overthinking it. As he arrived at his destination, a small comic book store, he stepped inside and breathed a sigh of relaxation.

The store was basically a comic fan’s paradise— all around the walls were posters and T-shirts and artwork galore of not only the more popular superheroes, but also some niche ones that weren’t quite as well-known. Rows and shelves filled with comics, DVD collections of anime, manga volumes, and other memorabilia adorned the walls and aisles. Behind the counter stood a bored-looking satyr, flipping through the pages of a comic.

Oz always felt at home here. It was full of the stuff he loved and enjoyed, and it always just felt familiar. It wasn’t that he was afraid of being made fun of or anything, especially not at home, but it was just a certain feeling that couldn’t be replicated elsewhere.

As he browsed the shelves, looking for a new anime to binge watch, his thoughts began to wander. Not just to the “situation” he found himself in… but also to Valerie.

He’d been thinking a lot about her lately, about where he wanted their… friendship to go. Right now it seemed to be in a bit of a bumpy place; she wanted to trust him, but how could she? She wasn’t sure what he was hiding. And what he was hiding…

He pinched the brow of his nose. When did things get so complicated?

Reaching out, he picked a manga with an interesting-looking cover off the shelf. “Hm,” he said, “this one looks kind of interesting. I wonder if Zoe—”

As he said her name, it hit him like a freight train.

He wasn’t the only person facing this kind of situation.

Zoe! He needed to talk to Zoe! If anyone could figure out how to navigate something like this, it had to be her!

Quickly placing the manga back on the shelf, he rushed out the door, fumbling to get his phone out of his pocket and typing her number in.

***

At the library, Zoe and Vicky were silently reading books.

Zoe was trying hard to gauge how annoyed Vicky might be with her. She hadn’t intended to get her into trouble with the Headless Horseman, but… it had happened. And now there was an air of tension between them that could be cut with a butter knife.

As she opened a new book, Zoe traced a circle on the table with her finger. She supposed Vicky couldn’t hate her… after all, they were still having these study sessions, weren’t they?

But at the same time, she felt she had to make this right somehow. Vicky still wasn’t feeling too confident at her writing. There had to be something they could do to get her to feel better about it…

It suddenly dawned on her that Vicky had been silent for quite a while, and Zoe looked over to see Vicky fast asleep, her head having plopped down on her open textbook.

Zoe chuckled softly. They’d been studying for a few hours now; it made sense that Vicky would’ve conked out eventually. A girl with as much energy as her, you’d almost expect her to never sleep.

However, as she prepared to reach over and shake her awake, Vicky’s face contorted. Her closed eyes squeezed tight and she began to mumble something under her breath. Zoe began growing concerned as Vicky’s hands formed fists and beads of sweat began to from on her brow.

“Vicky?” Zoe whispered, voice worried. She began shaking her by the shoulders gently. “Vicky!”

Vicky’s breathing quickened as she began to slightly flail about. Her head began shaking from side-to-side, and her mumbling increased in volume. “No… not… don’t hurt them… please…”

“Vicky!” Zoe’s own voice rose as she shook Vicky slightly harder. She was getting worried now. It was obvious Vicky was having a nightmare, and it seemed to be intense because her face only continued to tighten and her knuckles were now going white.

Zoe’s eyes landed on one of Vicky’s neck bolts and an idea sprang in her head. She reached into her hoodie pocket and…

“Yes!” Zoe whispered in victory as she pulled out what she’d been looking for— a hairpin. Why she had one, she had no idea. Spontaneous stuff like that tended to pop up in there.

Reaching forward, she ever so lightly touched the hairpin to Vicky’s bolt and—

ZAP! A bolt of electricity leaped out, causing Zoe to jump and Vicky to shoot straight up, eyes wide and hair standing out on end. “Aaaah!” She shrieked as a few more small arcs of electricity leaped out, one catching Zoe in her hair.

“Shhhh!” The librarian, an elderly old mummy, rudely shushed the two, from a desk a few feet away, paying no mind to the electricity jumping about. She went back to a book she’d been reading.

“Vicky! Are you okay?” Zoe whispered. “I’m sorry, you were having a nightmare, and… you wouldn’t wake up, so I—”

“No!” Vicky stopped her, trying to catch her breath. Her chest heaved up and down as she her heartbeat slowed. “No, it’s… it’s okay. I just… that was a… really bad nightmare…”

“…What happened in it?” Zoe said apprehensively. “I couldn’t wake you up, and… you looked really distressed… do you remember it at all?”

Vicky just stared at the table, thinking for a moment, before opening her mouth. After a moment of pausing like that, she closed it and shook her head. “Never mind,” she said, “it’s not important. It was… it was just a dream…”

Zoe looked away, unconvinced… before noticing flames spreading up a nearby bookcase.

“Um,” she turned to the librarian and pointed at the fire. “The bookcase—”

“Shhh!”

“But,” Zoe insisted, as the fire began devouring the entire row of books, “there’s a fire—”

“I said shh!” The librarian snapped, and she slammed her book shut. “You two girls are incapable of being quiet, you know! I demand you leave this instant!”

“But the fire—!” Vicky urgently pointed as now the floor and walls were ablaze, smoke filling the room. The few other people on this floor spotted the flames and quickly began to make for the exit.

“I don’t care how you apologize!” The librarian sneered down at them, grabbing them by the shoulders and shoving them towards the doors, surprisingly strong for her age. “I want you to leave! Now!” She practically threw them into the stairwell and slammed the door shut behind them.

***

Vicky and Zoe stood outside the library ten minutes later, watching the fire department extinguish the fire that was now raging atop the roof like a rave. The firefighters had evacuated all the other patrons… save the librarian, who, with half her dress on-fire, had thrown out the firefighters and declared the library “closed.”

“Well,” Vicky said sardonically, “I didn’t really expect to burn down the library today. Guess studying is over.”

Her words set in with Zoe, who glanced at her watch. “Well,” she said, “it’s only 1:30.”

“So?”

“So,” Zoe grinned, “let’s go do something! I even have the perfect thing in mind.”

Vicky sighed and pinched her nose. “I don’t know, Zoe, I’m—”

“C’mon, Vick! You need a break. You… you push yourself too hard, I feel,” Zoe said. Her voice took on a concerned tone, and Vicky turned to see she was receiving a worried look from her eldritch friend. “You don’t ever take any time for yourself unless someone pushes you to. I just… want to show you a fun time. Please…?”

Vicky could see it in all three of Zoe’s eyes… she wanted to make up to her. Make up for a… perceived slight. It occurred to Vicky that Zoe thought she was mad at her. That she blamed her for what happened with the Headless Horseman incident.

And… she had, at first. She was the one who got all up in the Horseman’s face and pissed him off. But, now looking at Zoe… could she really blame her for that? She could see, in this giddy face and excited eyes, that all she wanted to do was defend her friends when they were in trouble. To help them, show them a good time, live and laugh with them. And now she was pleading Vicky to hang out, and not just so she would stop being mad… but Vicky could see she was serious in her words.

She smiled. “You know what? Yeah. Let’s go.”

“Alright!” Zoe cheered and pumped her fist. “Let’s go!”

***

Amira was sitting at home, sipping on a beer as she watched some TV, a reality show or something. She honestly wasn’t paying that much attention, she was just kind of playing it for white noise— she hated complete silence.

It was about 1:30, and she was utterly bored. She’d texted Polly, but couldn’t manage to reach her. Everyone else seemed to be busy, either with work, school, or their own adventures. She would otherwise just take a nap, but she didn’t even want to think about sleep after her conversation with Brian this morning.

So, here she was, sipping a beer, waiting for someone to come home so they could… she didn’t know, play a game or something?

She sighed. As she continued to sip her drink, the TV show went out to a commercial and a jingle began to play.

“Tired of sitting around the house all day? Want to have fun and earn cash and prizes at the same time?”

Amira’s eyes gazed to the screen, her interest piqued.

“Then come on down to Monstropolis’ latest visionary beauty, Pappas’ Resort and Casino!” The commercial showed an aerial view of a big, beautiful resort. It was two separate buildings, one in the center and one to the left of it, and on the front of the center building was a huge neon sing with the name illuminated in neon colors. “At Pappas’, you’ll find fun, excitement, and competition! Play one of our many slot machines, or sit down at a table and try your hand at your choice of blackjack, poker, and now introducing our very own creation, poker 2!” Shots showed monsters at game tables, pulling back poker chips, being dealt cards, all clouded in cigarette smoke and the beeps of slot machines around them.

Intrigued, Amira sat forward. Monstropolis had a few casinos, sure, but mostly little run-down things to waste a few hours in. This was the real deal.

“And that’s not all! Visit our lovely hotel and enjoy a refreshing dip in the pool!” The TV showed a massive indoor pool, with four hot tubs off to the side, and Amira scowled. “Browse one of our three restaurants, including our self-made ice cream!” A shot of an empusa who looked dead inside handing a scoop of strawberry ice cream on a cone to a wealthy-looking woman, dressed in pearls and holding a large handbag.

“And finally, if gambling’s not your thing, check out our state-of-the-art arcade!” Shots of an enormous arcade, easily an entire floor’s worth, with racing consoles, a “Bargain or No Bargain” machine, hell, even a VR platform which showed a satyr and a nymph playing some kind of horror survival on the screens. Amira had to admit, the place looked fun as hell.

“So come on down to Pappas’ Resort and Casino! Where the fun is practically a sin!”

The screen flashed an address, and Amira punched it into her phone. It was a bit into town, but the bus route should get her there fast enough. “Hmm…” she thought about it for a minute, then shrugged and chugged the rest of her beer. “Why the hell not,” she said as she polished off her drink. “It’s not like I’m doing anything else.”

***

“This is the place?” Brian said with uncertainty. It was a little before 2:00, and he found himself standing on the sidewalk across the street from an enormous casino. A bright, neon sign of a ringmaster, some purple gremlin, lifting his hat back and forth, smiling down at him sinisterly with a wink, and monsters were pouring into the inside. Sounds of machines, laughter, and wails of agony came from inside, the typical noises of a casino.

Brian was, as per request, not in his usual green hoodie, but he still felt a little under-dressed; he was wearing a dark green polo shirt and black slacks, complete with a pair of tan dress shoes he found stuffed in the back of his closet. He’d even tried to style his hair a bit, just in case it actually ended up mattering.

“You made it,” he recognized Vera’s voice, and he turned to her… and he felt himself lose his words.

She was dressed in a sparkling green dress that matched her snakes, and her black heels click-clacked on the pavement as she walked. A string of pearls with a jade pendant hung around her neck, and her nails looked freshly painted, shining purple with the reflection of the Sun in them. One of her fingers displayed a brilliant emerald ring, and hung around her arm was a purple purse that matched her nail polish and lipstick.

As she approached, Brian realized he was staring, and with a light blush of embarrassment closed his mouth. He had hoped she wouldn’t notice, but her smug smile told him otherwise. “I can see I impress,” she said with a chuckle. “And you… you’re acceptable.” Brian felt like he should be insulted, but she didn’t say it with a sneer or a look of disgust, instead giving him an approving smile, so he decided to take it as a compliment.

“Thanks,” he said, then gestured to the casino. “Um… I hope I don’t sound rude by saying this, but… what exactly are we doing here?”

“This, Brian,” she gestured to the casino, “is the result of investments and deals made over the last two years. Constructed at a record-setting pace, this casino is the pinnacle of business in Monstropolis. And I am happy to say I’ve had a part in that.”

“Wait,” Brian said, “you own the casino?”

She laughed. “Of course not, I don’t have the time to run a casino. But I was the chief negotiator in securing funds for it and I own several shares of its stock. And, as you are no doubt unaware, part of this casino includes a massive arcade, so…” She smiled victoriously up at the windows of the hotel. “Being here will serve two purposes: you get to practice for your tournament in an environment that is not only acceptable and socially high-class, but you are also going to help me save money at the same time.”

“I see,” Brian said. He didn’t seem very impressed, which irked her a bit.

“Anyway,” she said, “shall we go inside?”

Brian nodded and held out his arm. She regarded him with a raised eyebrow.

“What?” He said. She rolled her eyes at his obliviousness.

“Do you really think I need you to hold my arm like I’m some helpless bimbo?” She snarked. He cocked his head to the side.

“I mean… no, not really, I just… isn’t it the polite thing to do?” He said. She could hear in his voice he wasn’t mocking her, but was earnest. “That’s what I always thought.”

Her face softened, and she sighed. She took his arm. “Fine. If you try anything—”

“You’ll rebury me in a graveyard?” He finished, and his quick response caught her off-guard, causing her to giggle slightly.

Surprisingly… Brian found himself satisfied he got her to laugh. Even if it was a small, passing chuckle, it felt good to hear her laugh.

The two strolled inside, heading for the arcade floor.

***

Oz was still walking through Monstropolis, trying to get ahold of Zoe. She wasn’t picking up her phone, which wasn’t in itself worrying. He felt guilty on the inside, trying to bother her when she was busy, but he needed to talk to her now.

He groaned as he saw his call once again go to voicemail. Sighing, he hung up and dropped it into his pocket. If she wasn’t picking up now, she must be busy; there was no sense in continuing to try.

Looking up, he saw he was a bit of a ways from his comic store haven. Now he was closer to the upper half of the city, where all the tallest buildings were; it was where all the banks and million-dollar corporations that operated in the city were nestled, with businesses there mostly catering to people with a bit more money than the average citizen. Still, even here, something could be found for almost anyone.

As Oz walked along the sidewalk, just enjoying the relative coolness of the day, he thought he spotted a figure he recognized among the other denizens walking to work, talking on cellphones and carrying briefcases.

“…Noodles?” Oz murmured to himself. There was no mistaking it; the little green jellyfish was making his way across the sidewalk, weaving around and over the other monsters in his way. Oz didn’t know Noodles particularly well, but he knew he had never seen him much outside of school.

As Oz watched him continue to crawl, he remembered that the last time he’d talked to Noodles was that day in the cafeteria, when Adrien had attacked him. He’d seemed… interested in Oz’s nightmares when he was eavesdropping, and it had unsettled Oz. But he’d forgotten about it in the skirmish with Adrien and the… incident that followed it.

Wait… was it… was it possible that Noodles had been having nightmares too? Could he be involved somehow?

After all, Noodles was in the same boat he and Zoe were. It just hadn’t occurred to Oz to ask Noodles because… well, he was Noodles, and he unnerved Oz enough that Oz typically tried to avoid interacting with him. But this was too important.

As Noodles rounded the corner, Oz realized he was losing sight of him. Suddenly kicking into gear, he began chasing after him.

He rounded the same corner, but the street began to grow thicker with other people. He nearly bumped into a dark elf on the phone, who shot him a nasty glare. Rushing by, he tried to get sight of Noodles, but he had disappeared.

Then Oz spotted him, veering off to the right and into an alley. Oz made a beeline for him and came to the entrance of the alley, searching from left-to-right. The alley was mostly empty, save for bits of trash and a few garbage cans. But no Noodles.

Oz walked forward, trying to figure out where Noodles went, when he felt something collide into the back of his neck. He was knocked to the ground, and as he started to climb to his feet, he felt pressure on his back, before the cold steel of a knife-tip pressed into his back, threatening to bite.

“oz wanna explain why he follows noodles,” he heard a derpy voice say with as much of a sinister tone as it could muster.

***

“Hmm… I’ll take swirling madness,” Zoe said with a smile, gazing at a dozen flavors of ice cream. They were sitting behind a glass display, two rows of numerous colors swirling in buckets that were aesthetically pleasing to the eyes.

She and Vicky had made their way to the casino. Right now they were in a small café, just a little corner of the enormous gambler’s paradise. An azure-skinned spirit with cyan hair scooped out some green ice cream and placed it in a waffle cone, before handing it to Zoe. Vicky mulled over her options for a moment— rainbow sherbert, cotton candy, blue moon, tears of the damned, midnight chocolate. But finally, she settled on a decision.

“Cookie dough, please!” The spirit scooped out some cookie dough and handed her the cone with a smile.

After paying and tipping the worker, the two walked away, enjoying their ice cream. “Well, it’s good ice cream,” Vicky said, “but what’s the real reason we’re here? I didn’t take you for a gambler.”

“I’m not, really,” Zoe said. “Maybe if I was with friends and we were all doing it. But the game floor isn’t why I brought you here. At least… not that game floor.” She chuckled at her joke and lead Vicky to an escalator. “Come on, it’s upstairs!”

As the escalator slowly moved them upstairs, Vicky looked around, ice cream in hand. The casino was extravagant, with lights and colors everywhere; the floors were lined with a rich red carpet, and blue walls like the ocean. Ornamentation engraved said walls, carvings of angels and mermaids and gods from other mythologies. Ra, Horus, Odin, deities from all across the world portrayed with the same reverence as the human world. It was one of those odd crossover elements she noted from when she’d lived in the human world; a lot of the same gods existed here as in the human world, and while some were treated more callously, a lot were treated with the same reverence as there.

The ones that fascinated Vicky the most were of the seraphim, the ophanim, and the cherubim— those Biblical angels you saw in all the memes and paintings. Enormous creatures with eyes in the center of giant wheels, eyes lining them and wings on every joint; six-winged monsters with an eye in the center that acted as the body; four-headed beings with four wings, rings within rings spinning around at each corner.

Clashing with the ornamentation were the posters and modern amenities, like statues of the casino owner smiling proudly with canes, pictures of him shaking hands with well-known politicians and celebrities, and signs encouraging customers to spend money on slot machines, or buy snacks. One sign in particular said, “Why tip our employees when you could try the CRAPS TABLE AND WIN IT ALLLLLLLLLL!!!”

At the second floor, Zoe led Vicky to a gate-like entrance. It was decorated like a futuristic spaceship in a really cheesy way, and Zoe did a “behold” pose.

“Welcome,” she said, “to what is officially the biggest arcade in Monstropolis!”

Through the gate was an area that seemed to cover nearly the entirety of the floor, and to say it was big was an understatement. There were arcade machines lined up everywhere— FPS consoles you could climb in, a VR-station, an entire row of table hockey stations. There were even old fashioned machines in the back, marked off in an area with a sign that said, “Retro Corner.”

Vicky wasn’t as big on video games as Oz, Brian, and Amira, but she had to admit it was impressive. There were flashing blue lights and a light fog machine to give the place even more ambience. “Very nice,” she said as the two walked through. “Do we have to buy cards, or…?”

“I think these just charge direct credit cards now,” Zoe said.

“Uh… is that a smart idea?”

Zoe shrugged in response.

The arcade was decently packed, though not nearly to the extent as the game floor. A lot of the arcade machines were already occupied, monsters of all kinds shooting enemies on a screen or shooting basketballs through virtual hoops.

“What do you want to play first?” Vicky asked, and Zoe smiled. She stood on her tiptoes and looked all around the floor before—

“Vicky? Zoe?”

***

Brian and Vera walked through the game floor of the casino, admiring the machines. It really was an impressive venture; the floor was stacked with countless cards tables, slot machines, really any form of degenerate gambling that could be imagined, and several ones Brian had never heard of.

“…Poker 2?” He asked, reading a sign at a table. Vera shook her head.

“Don’t ask. I still don’t understand.”

As they made their way to an escalator that would take them to the arcade floor, they passed by a statue of a grinning purple gremlin smoking a cigar with a lit dollar bill. At the foot of the pedestal read “OUR FOUNDER, OUR OWNER, OUR PROFITEER”

“Guy’s got a big head of himself,” Brian noted.

Vera scoffed in disgust. “That’s Pappas. He is, as you can see, the owner of the casino and its main shareholder. To say he’s proud of himself is an understatement.”

“You met him?”

“A few times during business meetings,” she sneered her lip. “The asshole told me to fetch him a coffee the first time we met. I would’ve shot him then and there if we didn’t need his funds to get the place built.”

“Damn,” Brian replied, a frown on his face. “What a douchebag.”

“Right?!” Vera exclaimed, exasperated. “All the others in the meetings just kept hailing him as a genius business handler, but he barely did anything! He just kept posting weird shit to social media and occasionally yelling at his assistant.”

The two made their way upstairs, and Brian found himself awestruck by the size and scope of the arcade. At the west wall, they found the fighting game for the tournament, Road Warriors Triple Tri-Attack, where two monsters were already battling against each other.

“Beat it,” Vera snapped at them, jerking her head to the right. They began to protest, but then Vera shifted her purse to expose the handgun she had inside and they proceeded to leave without another word. She turned to Brian. “Okay… ready to play?”

He blinked. “You’re going to play with me?”

She shrugged. “Maybe it wasn’t… totally awful last time. And like I said, this is a place where I feel most comfortable. And don’t worry about the charges to the game.” She held up a platinum credit card. “Shareholders get all-expenses-paid access to the amenities.”

“Nice,” he grinned, and she smiled smugly. Swiping the card, the menu booted up, they each chose a fighter, and began.

The first round went about as expected; Brian, being the more experienced with video games, managed to get the win, but Vera put up a decent fight. The next few rounds were much harder, and Vera finally got a win over him in Round 4.

From there, it was a back-and-forth. Brian’s practice would sometimes manage to get the best of Vera, but Vera’s adaptability nearly just as often would put Brian in his place. For Vera, she needed to get better. This wasn’t about the video game; despite what she’d said, these things were still not really for her.

But it was about Brian. Specifically, it was about making sure he improved.

“You’re relying too much on your special,” she pointed out after one round. “You need to mix in attacks as well.”

Every round they went, she would give him some advice— move around the stage more, be less predictable in your attack patterns, don’t be afraid to risk taking damage. Truthfully, she felt less than confident in her advice, because, well, she didn’t play video games.

But she did have confidence in herself, and while she didn’t know these, she did know improving. Learning. Adapting. These were the things she prided herself on in the business world; it was how she made so much money. She learned skills and turned them into profits, and this would be no different.

Finally, after about forty-five minutes of playing and practicing, Brian managed to achieve victory again, destroying Vera’s character. As he pumped his fist in the air, she saw he not only managed to win faster, but he was doing it while taking less and less damage. She nodded with a slight smile.

“Not bad,” she said. “But you’re going to have to do a lot better than me if you want to win that tournament. You need someone who knows games like you do, someone who can really challenge you.”

Brian looked at the screen and shrugged. “If you say so,” he conceded. “But hey, you’ve gotten a lot better since we played together last time.”

She rolled her eyes. “What an accomplishment.”

“Hey,” he said, a slight bit more genuine. “For real, though. It’s been… fun playing with you. You’re really cool when you relax and let your hair down, y’know?”

Vera glanced over at him with a suspicious look. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well,” he said, “when you’re not trying to intimidate everyone and just hanging out, or doing something for fun, even if it’s not something you’re really into, you’re… you’re a lot of fun to be around.”

He scratched the back of his head nervously. Wait, why was he nervous about this? He didn’t get nervous about anything.

To that same extent, Vera looked away somewhat awkwardly. “…In that same regard,” she said, “spending time with you is not as… painful as I’d feared. At least when you quit with the apathy and get engaged in something. Engagement is a lot more appealing than apathy, y’know… even if it’s just a video game.”

With that, her awkward expression turned to a genuine smile. Brian returned the smile, and he felt a bit of nervousness flutter about in him, which was very unfamiliar to him.

“Anyway,” he said, eager to feel the sudden lightness in his stomach dissipate, “you want to take a break? We’ve been playing for a while.”

Vera thought for a moment, and nodded. “Very well. There’s a café downstairs that serves some good food. We can grab something to eat.”

Brian turned, but stopped short when he spotted two people he recognized.

“Vicky? Zoe?”

***

Noodles continued to hold the knife against Oz’s neck as Oz tried to think of a way out of this. He looked around for something he could use to get Noodles off of him, but the alley was devoid of anything except garbage and puddles of filthy water.

So, he decided to try being honest.

“Noodles, that day in the cafeteria,” he said, trying not to let his voice wobble as he hyper-focused on the serrated steel pressing against his skin, “when you asked me about my nightmares… why did you want to know?”

“is oz ready to talk?” Noodles asked. “noodles will share what noodles knows, if oz will share what oz knows.”

Swallowing hard, Oz replied, “Yeah, alright. Let’s talk.”

Noodles let off the knife and Oz felt the pressure leave his neck and back as Noodles jumped to a spot ahead. Oz took a deep breath, sighing in relief as he climbed to his knees, his front now covered in dirt and grime.

As he moved ahead, Noodles motioned for Oz to follow him. They rounded the corner, and Noodles looked around to make sure no one was listening. He hopped up on top of a closed garbage can and settled.

“oz go first,” he pointed a tentacle at Oz, his derpy expression misleading the seriousness in his voice. Oz shook his head.

“No,” he said, “you go first. I want to know why you were so curious about my nightmares.”

Noodles was silent for a minute, and Oz nervously eyed the enormous knife still clutched in one his arms. “alright,” he finally said. “noodles share first. but noodles wants answers after. if oz not give answers…” He let sunlight glint off the knife.

Oz nodded, his gut tightening into a knot.

“noodles interested in nightmares,” noodles said, “because oz not only one who is having them.”

At this, Oz’s eyes widened. “What are you talking about?”

“noodles’ sees and hears many things. oz not only one with nightmares. amira, vicky, brian, polly, zoe, scott, and others are having them too. all seem… intense.”

Oz took this in. His friends were having nightmares too? “How often?”

“most only have once. ariel from other class have nightmare once, not bothered again. but many have nightmares often.”

“How did you find about this?” Oz asked, wary.

Noodles shrugged. “noodles have ways. many conversations overheard, many diaries read.”

“Eugh,” Oz grimaced. “Doesn’t that bother you, invading people’s privacy like that?”

“not really.”

Oz leaned against the wall and massaged his brows. This was… something else. Now he felt more conflicted than ever. Now he had evidence that his problems were extending beyond him. They were out of his control.

Ah, this one. I was wondering when he would get involved.

“would oz like to know content of dreams?” Noodles asked.

“No, I don’t think I should. That seems… too invasive.”

Noodles was quiet for a minute. “…oz should know. noodles has not had nightmares. but noodles’ girlfriend batniss has.”

Oz turned to him with a raised eyebrow. “She has?”

“one time. she has given noodles permission to share, so oz not worry for privacy invasion, but noodles warns oz that if oz shares what noodles tells him, noodles will bleed oz like stuck pig.”

Sighing, Oz raised his hands in annoyance and nodded. “I promise, I promise, Noodles.”

“…noodles’ girlfriend batniss dream of world ending. of chancellor killing noodles and schoolmates. batniss heard voice taunting her… and saw bright, swirling lights.”

A shiver went down Oz’s spine. “Is there anything else?” He asked, a little too insistent.

For once, the expression on Noodles’ face seemed to shine something other than chaos— Oz felt himself shrink a little as the jellyfish stared at him unblinking. “has oz heard true self lately?”

Oz’s stomach nearly opened into a pit. “Why? Have you?”

“small whispers. no outright words. but enough to know something is different. has oz heard true self inside?”

Swallowing hard, Oz nodded. “It’s… been very vocal as of late. These nightmares, whatever they are… they woke it up. And now it’s trying to convince me to let it out.”

You should. You aren’t like him — you aren’t trapped as this.

“Shut up!” Oz hissed.

Noodles cocked his head. “oz’ true self talk now?” Oz impatiently nodded his head.

“noodles not know what is going on,” he said, “but noodles know this is serious. noodles think oz should talk to zoe. get her side of story. noodles will keep searching around in meantime. noodles…” His face shifted and for just a brief moment, it became serious, but also sympathetic. “noodles recommend oz be careful. noodles, oz and zoe know what true selves are capable of. what they could do if we loosed them…”

With that, Noodles slithered past up the wall, around Oz, and back around the corner, towards the exit to the alley.

Oz sighed and began to walk in the same direction, pulling out his phone.

He needed to talk to Zoe.

Chapter Text

Hi there.

It's been a long time since I've updated this fanfic, and I'm sure a lot of you have assumed it's dead.

I assure you it's not, just... I've been dealing with a lot in the past year, in terms of mental health, stress, other issues. I won't go into the specifics of it, but it's been hard.

I've also just been struggling with the guilt of not being able to write. It was kind of a vicious cycle, I'd want to write, then think about how long it had been, feel guilty for not updating more regularly, which in turn would drive me further away from writing.

I really want to break that cycle. I want to keep writing, to update this fanfic and keep adding to it.

So... I hope you'll forgive me for the lapse in chapters, and I sincerely hope to have a new chapter up very soon.

Thank you for reading. It means the world to me.