>Hey Maxwell, you there?
>….
>Maxwell?
Cold glanced at the clock on the library wall. Lunch was almost over, and still nothing from Maxwell. His friend hadn’t been online very much the past few days. The last time they talked, Maxwell had just said that he “was going to be very busy,” but that he’d get in touch whenever he could. That had been a week ago, and still no word.
Lunch was starting to feel like it had on the first day of school for Cold. Just another empty period, filling in the space of an empty day. Theater club was probably the only time he ever talked to anyone at this school. Would anyone even notice if he just grabbed his backpack and went home right now? His teachers already tended to miss him during roll and mark him absent anyways, so there was no reason not to really be absent for once. Maybe he’d just not show up to school again….
“Hey Cold Boy!” The unmistakable buzzing of the Intrusion’s voice cut through the library’s silence. “You in here?” Intrusion and Dying were at the doors of the library, peering in as if gazing into a strange and foreign land. Cold rushed over to them, if only to stop them from making any more noise.
“I’m here.” Cold said. “Did you need something?”
“Intrusion wants players for his dumb game.” Dying grumpily muttered.
“Yeah, I’m trying to set up a gaming group!” Intrusion said. “I’m going to be running World of Darkness, and wanted to know if you’d be interested in joining us.”
“Yes!” Cold’s face lit up. “Of course! I’d love to! Um… what’s World of Darkness?”
Monday, March 7, 2016
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Ominous Council of Vagueness
Envision the scene. A plain, wooden door. A door so boring that anyone who saw it in the mayor’s office wouldn’t have given it even the smallest of thought. Anyone who did think on it would, at most, assume it to be the door for a broom closet. And yet, were they to open the door, beyond it they would find something that seemed to come out of their dreams.
It’s hard to say which aspect of the dark room beyond that door would be noticed first. Perhaps it would be its size. In the deep shadows that filled the room, it was near impossible to guess how large it was. Or perhaps the observer would be too stunned by sight of stars, nebulas, and galaxies floating in the darkness above them. Once they overcame their awe at the celestial scenery, this observer’s eyes would undoubtedly next be drawn to the sole source of illumination in the room. At the center of the room, resting atop a pedestal, was a glass orb which glowed with a faint blue light. Looking closer into the orb, they would see it was filled gears and pendulums which turned and moved with the rhythm of an alien metronome.
That blue light was just enough to show the silhouettes of the two figures in the room, but not reveal their identities. One, a massive hunched figure, spoke. His voice sounded like the rasping of chains being dragged across bone. It was the sound of mountains eroding, the soft sobs of tortured slaves, the final gasps of broken corpses. It was a voice which echoed silent whispers of dread in your ears long after the speaker had finished.
“Gosh it’s dark in here.” He said. “Can’t we install some more lights or something?”
“NO.” The second figure said. This was a voice filled with power and authority. The stars above them shifted as its sound washed over them. This was a voice which would make the proudest kings bend knee, and which could command thousands of men to throw themselves into fire. “CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW EXPENSIVE IT WOULD BE TO HIRE ENOUGH CONTRACTORS TO LIGHT UP THIS WHOLE PLACE?”
The first speaker shrugged. Money matters weren’t his problem.
“ENOUGH ABOUT LIGHTS. WHAT HAVE YOU OBSERVED?” The second speaker commanded.
“The rumors of the Glitch fragments returning were true. Their presence has been sensed throughout the city. However….” The speaker shuffled his feet, clearly uncomfortable with what he was about to say. “There seems to have been a… complication.”
“WHAT KIND OF… COMPLICATION?”
“It appears a new mahou shoujo has been chosen. She has destroyed one of our Pawns, and already has three pieces of the Glitch in her possession.”
The second figure laughed at that statement, as the stars danced above him. “IS THAT ALL? WE HAVE LONG BEEN PREPARED TO FACE SUCH AN OBSTACLE.” He waved his hand at the door to the room. “ENTER, MY CHILD.”
A third figure appeared in the room. They were shorter than the other two, and spoke with a quieter, feminine voice. But hidden in that softness was an unquenchable hunger; a hunger to control and consume. “Yes, my lord?”
“THE TIME HAS COME FOR OUR FATED BATTLE WITH THE MAHOU SHOJOU. OUR PAWNS WILL NOT BE ENOUGH TO COLLECT THE GLITCH PIECES ANYMORE. WE REQUIRE YOUR EXPERTISE.”
The figure bowed. “I look forward for the chance to test my powers.”
“GOOD. SOON, OUR DREAM WILL FINALLY BE ACHIEVED. I, THE ARCHITECT, COMMAND YOU: FIND THE SHARDS OF THE GLITCH, AND DESTROY ANYONE WHO STANDS IN YOUR WAY.”
It’s hard to say which aspect of the dark room beyond that door would be noticed first. Perhaps it would be its size. In the deep shadows that filled the room, it was near impossible to guess how large it was. Or perhaps the observer would be too stunned by sight of stars, nebulas, and galaxies floating in the darkness above them. Once they overcame their awe at the celestial scenery, this observer’s eyes would undoubtedly next be drawn to the sole source of illumination in the room. At the center of the room, resting atop a pedestal, was a glass orb which glowed with a faint blue light. Looking closer into the orb, they would see it was filled gears and pendulums which turned and moved with the rhythm of an alien metronome.
That blue light was just enough to show the silhouettes of the two figures in the room, but not reveal their identities. One, a massive hunched figure, spoke. His voice sounded like the rasping of chains being dragged across bone. It was the sound of mountains eroding, the soft sobs of tortured slaves, the final gasps of broken corpses. It was a voice which echoed silent whispers of dread in your ears long after the speaker had finished.
“Gosh it’s dark in here.” He said. “Can’t we install some more lights or something?”
“NO.” The second figure said. This was a voice filled with power and authority. The stars above them shifted as its sound washed over them. This was a voice which would make the proudest kings bend knee, and which could command thousands of men to throw themselves into fire. “CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW EXPENSIVE IT WOULD BE TO HIRE ENOUGH CONTRACTORS TO LIGHT UP THIS WHOLE PLACE?”
The first speaker shrugged. Money matters weren’t his problem.
“ENOUGH ABOUT LIGHTS. WHAT HAVE YOU OBSERVED?” The second speaker commanded.
“The rumors of the Glitch fragments returning were true. Their presence has been sensed throughout the city. However….” The speaker shuffled his feet, clearly uncomfortable with what he was about to say. “There seems to have been a… complication.”
“WHAT KIND OF… COMPLICATION?”
“It appears a new mahou shoujo has been chosen. She has destroyed one of our Pawns, and already has three pieces of the Glitch in her possession.”
The second figure laughed at that statement, as the stars danced above him. “IS THAT ALL? WE HAVE LONG BEEN PREPARED TO FACE SUCH AN OBSTACLE.” He waved his hand at the door to the room. “ENTER, MY CHILD.”
A third figure appeared in the room. They were shorter than the other two, and spoke with a quieter, feminine voice. But hidden in that softness was an unquenchable hunger; a hunger to control and consume. “Yes, my lord?”
“THE TIME HAS COME FOR OUR FATED BATTLE WITH THE MAHOU SHOJOU. OUR PAWNS WILL NOT BE ENOUGH TO COLLECT THE GLITCH PIECES ANYMORE. WE REQUIRE YOUR EXPERTISE.”
The figure bowed. “I look forward for the chance to test my powers.”
“GOOD. SOON, OUR DREAM WILL FINALLY BE ACHIEVED. I, THE ARCHITECT, COMMAND YOU: FIND THE SHARDS OF THE GLITCH, AND DESTROY ANYONE WHO STANDS IN YOUR WAY.”
Saturday, February 20, 2016
Whatever Happened to Secret Identities?
“Alright, good job everyone, let’s wrap things up!” Mr. Steward said to the Theater Club. The cast and crew broke apart to put away equipment and head out. Wooden caught Salmacis before she could leave to say, “Great job with the music! Good thing you went back to get your flute, right?”
“Yeah…” Salmacis smiled nervously. She appreciated the compliment, but…. “Getting it was… interesting.”
Wooden laughed, not quite understanding the comment. “Well, I’m going to stay here and get some more stuff cleaned up. See you tomorrow!”
“See you!” Salmacis left Wooden to her work. If she ignored the craziness in the morning, this had been a good day. Maybe things would turn out alright. Maybe Jaja-chan would find someone else to be a “mahout shojou.” Someone who actually wanted the job. By the time Salmacis was walking down the halls, she had almost entirely convinced herself that, without any doubt, when she next saw Jaja-chan he would tell her that picking her was a terrible mistake and that he was sorry for all the stress he had caused. Ah, there he was right now, running to her. Soon this whole mess would all be in the past.
“There you are!” Jaja-chan shouted. “You need to come with me right now! I sense a fragment of the Glitch nearby!”
Well so much for getting out of this. Salmacis quietly sighed, and asked, “Where is it?”
“In the theater room! Hurry!”
“But I was just in the….” Jaja-chan had already run past her. Internally Salmacis debated whether following him was the right thing, but her feet started following after Jaja-chan immediately.
Salmacis had been preparing to find the theater room in chaos. Instead, it looked the same as she’d left it. Maybe a little emptier, since everyone else had gone home. Certainly no Pawns or hints of anything magical. Jaja-chan scurried around the room, peeking into every corner. “It’s around here somewhere… I can feel it….” He muttered.
Salmacis was content to let him search. Honestly she wasn’t entirely clear on why she needed to be here. If Jaja-chan could sense the pieces of the Glitch, why couldn’t he just run around and find them all? Recruiting a young girl to wave a magical staff around and shoot laser beams didn’t seem that necessary, all things considered. Surely he’d realize that as well. This was going to be when he decided to let her stop being a mahout shojou. Any second now. Bound to happen.
The footsteps behind her nearly made Salmacis scream. She swung around, wielding her backpack like a mighty shield to defend herself from the Pawn attack which was surely coming for her. But instead of a Pawn, the Wooden Girl was behind her. Right! Wooden had stayed behind! Salmacis laughed at her overreaction. “Sorry, you startled me.”
Wooden didn’t respond. Or at least, she didn’t respond with words. Her mouth opened. And then it opened more. And then even more, like an expanding black hole in her face. The noise she made could have been called a scream, but it sounded more like the noise a giant robot bear battling hundreds of ostriches would make. Wooden’s eyes turned into red flowers, from which small flying spiders emerged.
Amidst the terrible noise coming from Wooden, Salmacis couldn’t hear her own screams. When she saw Wooden growing a third, elongated and spindly arm out of her back, she turned and ran for the door. Wooden leapt impossibly high over her, and landed in her path. Wooden’s arms turned into violet striped claws, which she used to slash at Salmacis.
“What’s going on?” Salmacis sobbed as she fell back from the attack.
“She’s been possessed by the Glitch!” Jaja-chan said. “Quickly! You must transform to save her!”
“I don’t know how!” She shouted as she stumbled from another of Wooden’s attacks. “It just happened on its own last time!”
“You must hold aloft your staff and recite the magical chant!”
“I have to WHAT?”
“Grab your flute and say ‘Magical Transformation-desu!’”
“Why does the chant sound so lame?”
“Look are you going to argue with the magical talking cat or are you going to do it?”
With terror and embarrassment fighting for emotional dominance, Salmacis pulled out the Glitch-infected flute and whispered, “Magical transformation-desu….” There was a bright flash of blue light, and she had once again become a magical girl!
Wooden attacked again, firing exploding bees out of her palms, but Salmacis flew over them. When Wooden tried leaping up to attack her, Salmcis blasted her away with an energy beam. “Sorry! I’m so sorry!” She yelled at her fallen friend. Wooden didn’t seem to care, and tried launching more bees at Salmacis. As she dodged the exploding insects, Salmacis said to Jaja-chan, “How do I fix her?”
“You must use your special finishing move!”
“And how do I do that?”
“Point your staff at her and say something magical sounding?”
“Something… magical sounding?”
“Well since you so clearly didn’t like my transformation chant, let’s see if you can come up with something better!”
Salmacis aimed her magical staff at Wooden and stuttered, “Magical… um… magical….”
“Not so easy, is it?”
“Quiet, I’m thinking! Magical… um…. Magical Heart Laser Beam!” A blue heart shaped beam of energy fired from her staff, striking Wooden. When the energy beam dissipated, Wooden was lying on the ground, her body back to normal. When she didn’t open her eyes, Salmacis flew down and started shaking her. “Wooden! Are you okay? Come on Wooden, wake up!”
Wooden sleepily opened her eyes. “Salmacis…?”
Salmacis hugged her friend. “Oh thank god, I thought I’d hurt you! I’m so sorry about this!”
“Salmacis… “Wooden struggled to speak. “That was…. The coolest thing ever!” Wooden broke out of Salmacis’ embrace so she could leap to her feet. “You were flying around and shooting laser beams and look at that outfit it’s so cute why didn’t you tell me you could do magic that’s so awesome!!!”
“Um….” Salmacis was completely unprepared to deal with this enthusiasm. She looked to Jaja-chan for some kind of assistance as he sauntered over. A second shining glass ball had appeared on his collar.
“Very good job, Salmacis.” He said with a smugness that only a cat can pull off. “I told you that you could do it.”
“And you have a talking cat!” Wooden nearly squealed with delight. “That’s amazing!”
“Why yes, I am amazing.” Jaja-chan purred at the compliment.
“Come on Salmacis, you have to tell me about all your magical adventures!” Wooden said as she grabbed Salmacis’ hand. Whether she liked it or not, Salmacis was getting the feeling she was going to be stuck with this job for longer than she’d hoped….
“Yeah…” Salmacis smiled nervously. She appreciated the compliment, but…. “Getting it was… interesting.”
Wooden laughed, not quite understanding the comment. “Well, I’m going to stay here and get some more stuff cleaned up. See you tomorrow!”
“See you!” Salmacis left Wooden to her work. If she ignored the craziness in the morning, this had been a good day. Maybe things would turn out alright. Maybe Jaja-chan would find someone else to be a “mahout shojou.” Someone who actually wanted the job. By the time Salmacis was walking down the halls, she had almost entirely convinced herself that, without any doubt, when she next saw Jaja-chan he would tell her that picking her was a terrible mistake and that he was sorry for all the stress he had caused. Ah, there he was right now, running to her. Soon this whole mess would all be in the past.
“There you are!” Jaja-chan shouted. “You need to come with me right now! I sense a fragment of the Glitch nearby!”
Well so much for getting out of this. Salmacis quietly sighed, and asked, “Where is it?”
“In the theater room! Hurry!”
“But I was just in the….” Jaja-chan had already run past her. Internally Salmacis debated whether following him was the right thing, but her feet started following after Jaja-chan immediately.
Salmacis had been preparing to find the theater room in chaos. Instead, it looked the same as she’d left it. Maybe a little emptier, since everyone else had gone home. Certainly no Pawns or hints of anything magical. Jaja-chan scurried around the room, peeking into every corner. “It’s around here somewhere… I can feel it….” He muttered.
Salmacis was content to let him search. Honestly she wasn’t entirely clear on why she needed to be here. If Jaja-chan could sense the pieces of the Glitch, why couldn’t he just run around and find them all? Recruiting a young girl to wave a magical staff around and shoot laser beams didn’t seem that necessary, all things considered. Surely he’d realize that as well. This was going to be when he decided to let her stop being a mahout shojou. Any second now. Bound to happen.
The footsteps behind her nearly made Salmacis scream. She swung around, wielding her backpack like a mighty shield to defend herself from the Pawn attack which was surely coming for her. But instead of a Pawn, the Wooden Girl was behind her. Right! Wooden had stayed behind! Salmacis laughed at her overreaction. “Sorry, you startled me.”
Wooden didn’t respond. Or at least, she didn’t respond with words. Her mouth opened. And then it opened more. And then even more, like an expanding black hole in her face. The noise she made could have been called a scream, but it sounded more like the noise a giant robot bear battling hundreds of ostriches would make. Wooden’s eyes turned into red flowers, from which small flying spiders emerged.
Amidst the terrible noise coming from Wooden, Salmacis couldn’t hear her own screams. When she saw Wooden growing a third, elongated and spindly arm out of her back, she turned and ran for the door. Wooden leapt impossibly high over her, and landed in her path. Wooden’s arms turned into violet striped claws, which she used to slash at Salmacis.
“What’s going on?” Salmacis sobbed as she fell back from the attack.
“She’s been possessed by the Glitch!” Jaja-chan said. “Quickly! You must transform to save her!”
“I don’t know how!” She shouted as she stumbled from another of Wooden’s attacks. “It just happened on its own last time!”
“You must hold aloft your staff and recite the magical chant!”
“I have to WHAT?”
“Grab your flute and say ‘Magical Transformation-desu!’”
“Why does the chant sound so lame?”
“Look are you going to argue with the magical talking cat or are you going to do it?”
With terror and embarrassment fighting for emotional dominance, Salmacis pulled out the Glitch-infected flute and whispered, “Magical transformation-desu….” There was a bright flash of blue light, and she had once again become a magical girl!
Wooden attacked again, firing exploding bees out of her palms, but Salmacis flew over them. When Wooden tried leaping up to attack her, Salmcis blasted her away with an energy beam. “Sorry! I’m so sorry!” She yelled at her fallen friend. Wooden didn’t seem to care, and tried launching more bees at Salmacis. As she dodged the exploding insects, Salmacis said to Jaja-chan, “How do I fix her?”
“You must use your special finishing move!”
“And how do I do that?”
“Point your staff at her and say something magical sounding?”
“Something… magical sounding?”
“Well since you so clearly didn’t like my transformation chant, let’s see if you can come up with something better!”
Salmacis aimed her magical staff at Wooden and stuttered, “Magical… um… magical….”
“Not so easy, is it?”
“Quiet, I’m thinking! Magical… um…. Magical Heart Laser Beam!” A blue heart shaped beam of energy fired from her staff, striking Wooden. When the energy beam dissipated, Wooden was lying on the ground, her body back to normal. When she didn’t open her eyes, Salmacis flew down and started shaking her. “Wooden! Are you okay? Come on Wooden, wake up!”
Wooden sleepily opened her eyes. “Salmacis…?”
Salmacis hugged her friend. “Oh thank god, I thought I’d hurt you! I’m so sorry about this!”
“Salmacis… “Wooden struggled to speak. “That was…. The coolest thing ever!” Wooden broke out of Salmacis’ embrace so she could leap to her feet. “You were flying around and shooting laser beams and look at that outfit it’s so cute why didn’t you tell me you could do magic that’s so awesome!!!”
“Um….” Salmacis was completely unprepared to deal with this enthusiasm. She looked to Jaja-chan for some kind of assistance as he sauntered over. A second shining glass ball had appeared on his collar.
“Very good job, Salmacis.” He said with a smugness that only a cat can pull off. “I told you that you could do it.”
“And you have a talking cat!” Wooden nearly squealed with delight. “That’s amazing!”
“Why yes, I am amazing.” Jaja-chan purred at the compliment.
“Come on Salmacis, you have to tell me about all your magical adventures!” Wooden said as she grabbed Salmacis’ hand. Whether she liked it or not, Salmacis was getting the feeling she was going to be stuck with this job for longer than she’d hoped….
Friday, February 19, 2016
Broadcast #1
A television placed at the front of the classroom flipped on, showing the Mother of Snakes sitting behind a desk, face holding the most enthusiastic of phony smiles. “Good morning ladies and gentlemen! I’m Mother of Snakes, and welcome to the first Empty City High School broadcast!” She paused, as if waiting for cheers to die down. In not one classroom did a single student cheer. “We owe this program to a very generous donation from our mayor, the Architect, who provided our Media department with the equipment needed to run a televised broadcast!”
Once again, Snakes waited for an applause that never came. Unaware of this lack of enthusiasm, she went on in the same scriptedly enthusiastic tone. “For our first broadcast, we have a very special guest! Principal Jack himself!” A drumroll played and the camera panned right, pulling an empty chair into the shot. Snakes’ eyes looked between the chair and the camera, her smile becoming increasingly nervous. “Principal… Jack!” She said again. Jack remained absent. “It looks like the Principal’s a little tardy, haha!” Flashes of anger were trying to break out from Snake’s cheerful mask. “We’ll just move onto the rest of the program then!”
“Wait!” Jack ran into the shot, still trying to put on his tie with one hand and his white coat with the other. “Sorry for the delay. There was an issue with… an animal on school grounds. All resolved now, though.”
“Well then Mr. Jack, you said you had a short announcement for the school?” Snakes said.
“Of course. Thank you, Mother of Snakes.” The camera turned so that Jack was at the center of the shot. “I know it’s only been two months since the school year began, but this year has felt like an eventful one so far. And I expect that even more exciting adventures lay in store for our students.” Jack steepled his fingers and smirked. “Yes, it feels like change is coming. And I am looking forward to seeing what fun comes out of it all.”
Once again, Snakes waited for an applause that never came. Unaware of this lack of enthusiasm, she went on in the same scriptedly enthusiastic tone. “For our first broadcast, we have a very special guest! Principal Jack himself!” A drumroll played and the camera panned right, pulling an empty chair into the shot. Snakes’ eyes looked between the chair and the camera, her smile becoming increasingly nervous. “Principal… Jack!” She said again. Jack remained absent. “It looks like the Principal’s a little tardy, haha!” Flashes of anger were trying to break out from Snake’s cheerful mask. “We’ll just move onto the rest of the program then!”
“Wait!” Jack ran into the shot, still trying to put on his tie with one hand and his white coat with the other. “Sorry for the delay. There was an issue with… an animal on school grounds. All resolved now, though.”
“Well then Mr. Jack, you said you had a short announcement for the school?” Snakes said.
“Of course. Thank you, Mother of Snakes.” The camera turned so that Jack was at the center of the shot. “I know it’s only been two months since the school year began, but this year has felt like an eventful one so far. And I expect that even more exciting adventures lay in store for our students.” Jack steepled his fingers and smirked. “Yes, it feels like change is coming. And I am looking forward to seeing what fun comes out of it all.”
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