I'm not the author of Magic and Popcorn. I don't deserve credit for anything but this post. However, PopTart asked me to create an update thread here on BT in hopes of garnering some feedback/discussion! It would blow Tart's mind to get some responses, but she's kinda shy about interacting on forums. Writing's just a hobby of theirs; they do what they do for the sake of audience appreciation. I'll be sure to forward Tart's thanks to you guys, too!
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Magic and Popcorn: Synopsis
There is nothing special about 15 year old Lin Ambros.
She's never really excelled at anything; she's never won an award, nor has she ever joined a school club.
Now, just because she's gained magical powers, don't expect this to be one of those stories where she steps up and saves the day repeatedly.
...OK, maybe it'll be sort of like that. But just once in a while.
General Info
Genre: Mahou Shoujo, Action
Secondary Genre: Dramedy, School Life
Update Schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays
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Table of Contents (thread)
Chapter One: The First Day
PROLOGUE: THE NIGHT THAT NEVER WAS
Spoiler! :
How was anyone to describe the beast rising before them?
Even in the black of night, the hundreds of eyes that covered the length of its body glowed a pale green light. It’s towering form engulfed even the tallest of skyscrapers as its numerous tails lashed and bit at the moon above.
With a sound reminiscent of crackling thunder its gaping maw opened to reveal rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth. Then as if calling to the gods, it roared into the starless sky. A roar that could shake the very heavens themselves as buildings crumbled under its power onto the cars and people fleeing helplessly below.
As the world literally fell apart around her, all Lin Ambros could do was stand amidst the chaos and watch; Watch as the beast moved closer, and with a swoop of one of its monstrous arms her feet were sent off the ground and her consciousness into darkness.
Spoiler! :
Brown eyes shot open abruptly as Lin found herself laying in bed. The sound of singing birds filled the air of her room, complimented by the the warmth of the sun peeking through the curtains of her window.
"Geez…" she groaned, sitting up as she recalled the nightmare from the night before. "That was too messed up.”
Flinging her feet to the side she forcibly kicked herself out of bed and groggily made her way to the bathroom down the hall. From the bathroom mirror stared back the reflection of a 15-year old girl with tired hazelnut eyes, her ratty brown hair falling down just past her shoulders. She had not slept well and it definitely showed.
Fifteen minutes later she had somewhat freshened up, having showered and her teeth brushed. Now wearing her favourite purple hoodie and blue jeans, she was ready to take on whatever the day had to bring.
"Mom?" She called out, expecting a reply from the kitchen downstairs. When there was no response she looked at the clock, 7 a.m. Of course there would be no response. After all it wasn’t too long ago when her mother had started to leave early for work at five in the morning.
Soft footsteps echoed through and off the walls as the teen walked into the eerily empty kitchen. On the table sat a note next to a plate of scrambled eggs and toast, the burnt smell and dark colouring around their edges suggesting a rushed job.
"Won’t be back till later than the usual.
-Love Mom <3”
With a sigh Lin tossed the note to the side and began to rummage the cupboards for some salt and pepper to help with the eggs. Her mom being out late would mean that she would have to make her own dinner again, and a quick look through the fridge suggested that it would probably be another night of Kraft dinner.
Breakfast now done it was then time for school. On her bike she pedalled casually down the streets, her attention dangerously fixed on the skies above instead of the road ahead of her. While it may have been another droll and boring day, at least the sky was nice enough to enjoy its blue surreal tranquility.
This tranquility was however unfortunately short-lived. With only a couple blocks left until she would have reached the school yard, a shout from outside the nearby convenience store caught her ear.
At the corner of the store away from prying eyes was a group of stereotypically dressed delinquents, counting their heads she surmised there to be no more than eight of them. In the middle of their crude circle was a middle-school girl with stunning blonde hair and piercing blue eyes.
"You can’t be serious…" Slowing her bike till it came to a stop, Lin stared with troubled eyes at the situation unfolding before her. While it may have been the smart thing to simply continue pedalling and pretend like she had seen nothing at all, Lin Ambros was not the type of girl to simply leave those in trouble alone. And while she may not have had any merit or strength to back up her gusto, she at least had the mind to try.
With a harsh creak her feet pushed readily against the plastic of her pedals, her hands wrapped firmly around the cool of her handlebars. And with a deep breath in, she was off like a bullet.
But even with her incredibly quickening speed, the crowd in front of her was already making its move, closing in quickly on the convenience store girl.
Was she going to make it in time?!
Her legs pedalled harder then they had ever pedalled before to the point that her muscles were screaming at her to stop. Wind whistled past her ears at her speed and in seconds she was soon only inches away from the back of the nearest gang member. In the next instant she would collide… into nothing.
Her brakes screeched violently as she sharply turned to a stop in front of the store. Where the gang of delinquents once stood was now nothing but empty space, the only other person left being the blonde girl that was at the centre.
"Damn…" Lin cursed, painfully clutching her break as she knew that she was too late.
She was too late to save the delinquents from their grave error.
She was too late to save them from the blonde witch.
Spoiler! :
"Where are they?" Lin glared at the blonde witch, a strange anger in her usual tired eyes. "Where did you send them, Morgan?"
"Who knows?" Morgan shrugged, turning her back to the girl.
"Bring them back."
"Why should I?"
“Morgan!"
With a reluctant sigh the witch looked over her shoulder, and with a wave of her finger the thugs that had vanished quickly returned—in the middle of the air.
Several harsh thuds echoed against each other as one large body landed after the other. The state of the gang, to say the least, was one of disrepair. Though having only been gone for less than a minute, their tattered clothes and terror-stricken eyes suggested that they wouldn’t soon forget what they experienced while away.
Their strangled whimpers turned into screams of panic, and as if just remembering how to use their legs they scrambled to their feet before bolting around the corner and out of sight.
Space-Time Magic. It had been almost a year now since Lin last saw it being used.
—-
About one year ago Arawn City was met with a catastrophe known as The Fall. During that time monsters of all shapes and sizes descended down onto the streets spreading mayhem and destruction on an unspeakable scale. In the centre of it all stood one especially large and terrifying, its stature so immense and terrible that even a year later it still continued to haunt Lin in her nightmares.
During that time, a small band of magical girls made themselves known to the public, calling themselves heroes of justice as they fought and struggled against the beasts.
After much effort they emerged triumphant, and a day later the disaster was officially documented as an unprecedented natural disaster. Strangely only a few individuals remembered what actually happened the day before, these individuals including the witch Morgan, and for some strange reason, Lin.
—-
"Give me a ride."
"Wha-?" Lin gave the blonde girl an odd look, baffled by the sudden request.
"You deaf? Give me a ride to school on that stupid contraption of yours!" Morgan stomped her feet, for whatever reason appearing agitated. "…I’m tired."
Despite the two of them being in the same grade, in terms of size Morgan was a good head smaller than Lin. With the combination of having to look down at the smaller girl as well as that puppy-dog pout, despite knowing the magical power that hid behind those large blue eyes, Lin couldn’t muster the energy or effort to argue.
"Fine," sighed the taller girl, standing forward so that the seat of her bike was somewhat vacant. "Get on."
________________________________________________________
The school day passed quickly with little to note, and rolling her bike out the school gates, Lin contemplated whether or not she was to be appreciative of such peaceful times.
It seemed that picking up Morgan this morning was going to be the most interesting thing to happen for a long while, and letting out her usual tired sigh Lin looked to the sky in thought. Just another ordinary day… right?
Students like her were walking by, eager to head home. While others more ambitious in their school-life, like Morgan, had stayed behind to attend their respective after-school activities.
Several blocks away from school, while biking she then noticed that something appeared to be following her. From what she could tell, it looked like a small animal with black fur— a fox?
Biking faster her suspicions were soon confirmed as the beast continued to follow, picking up speed as its little legs scurried to keep up with the two-wheeled vehicle.
After several blocks more it still continued to somehow persist in following, and filled with a mix of fear and frustration, the teen then pushed her pedals to the limit. Soon her world was lost in a blur of speed, and before long she wasn’t even sure of where she was going anymore. All that she knew was that she wanted to be as far away from that thing as possible.
At last when her muscles would pedal no more and her lungs insisted that they could go no further, her bike came to a stop as she panted and wheezed out of exhaustion. There was no way that that small rodent with its puny little feet could keep up with that. There was no way… that it was… There it was, right behind her.
Her frustration now overcoming fear, Lin jumped from her bike and with a growl marched back towards it. Upon closer look the beast was more akin to a black ferret with red eyes, akin to and not being a ferret as Lin was sure that an actual ferret did not have six legs, yellow bands running down its body, and a green gem stuck in the middle of its forehead.
"WHAT?" she screamed, ready for any excuse to punt the darn thing. "WHAT DO YOU WANT?"
"Why hello," it replied, its voice strangely childish as it wagged its tail. "My name is Avalon. Will you play with me?"
Spoiler! :
"Will you play with me?"
When Lin had yelled at the creature, she hadn’t actually expected a reply. So she stared at it dumbfounded, mouth agape as she tried to process just how to take the situation.
"Hello? Can you understand me? Aren’t you a friend of Morgan’s?"
The mentioning of the witch’s name snapped the teen back to reality, this whole surreal suddenly making much more sense than it had only moments ago. Of course this thing was related to Morgan, why wouldn’t it be?
The creature calling itself Avalon stared up at her, its jewel-like eyes patiently waiting for a response.
"Did she send you?" Lin asked at last. "Morgan I mean."
Avalon tilted its head at the question, almost appearing as if it was actually considering what was being asked. “Would you play with me if I said yes?”
"What?"
"She sent me. Morgan sent me. Come with me to see Morgan!"
"Wait, what?!"
Without explaining itself the six-legged ferret then scurried off, only stopping at the edge of the horizon as it looked back and waited for Lin to follow.
"What… what the heck?" Lin scratched her head, the situation obviously beyond her grasp. On the one hand it was certainly crazy if not idiotic for her to suddenly go following some magical creature to who knows where it wanted to take her. But on the other, if Morgan had really sent this thing to come find her, something must have been wrong.
"Haaaaah!" she screamed to no one. "Whatever!" Hopping back onto her bike, with renewed gusto she followed after the mustelid. So much for an ordinary day.
Avalon as it had already proven, moved faster than what its stubby legs would have led to believe. As if by magic (in fact it probably was magic decided Lin), it kept its distance ahead of her, only stopping to look back every so often to make sure that she was still following. "Hurry," it would say. "This way."
It had to have been about 15 minutes of this pattern, during which Lin noted that there was strangely no one else around as they passed numerous streets and buildings. Had Avalon chosen a route where it knew no one would see them? Or was there something else to blame?
Before she could wonder just how much further they had to go, the air suddenly thinned as they seemed to pass through an invisible membrane. Looking up, the shape and colour of the sky distorted under the influence of a heavy cloud of miasma. For better or worse, they seem to have entered a magical barrier of some kind.
"Are you sure Morgan’s here?" Lin asked, disliking the situation more and more as they ventured deeper into the fog. It was getting hard to breathe and she could swear it was getting colder. This was not a place for humans to be.
"Over there! She’s in there!" Avalon stopped at last at the edge of a hill, eagerly wagging its tail as its destination was finally in sight.
Catching up to it, Lin then felt her stomach drop at what she saw below them. There was supposed to be a daycare there, wasn’t there? But now instead a giant white dome, large enough to cover an entire square block stood in its place.
As she got closer, she noted that the dome seemed to be made of thin strands of fine thread. And closer still, her suspicions and fears were realized as little black spots skittered across and hid themselves deep within the glossy structure.
As impossible as it was the dome was made from web, and as such— it was a nest of spiders.
Spoiler! :
Gross, gross, gross gross!
Lin hovered a hand over the wall of the webbed dome, pausing for a moment before pushing against it. To her surprise it wasn’t sticky in the slightest, instead strangely smooth like polished marble. “Is Morgan really here?” she asked.
"She is," Avalon looked up by her feet. "Morgan is waiting inside."
"Great…" Lin carefully scanned the structure for any doors or windows. "Now how am I supposed to get in?"
"Like this." The ferret’s eyes glowed along with the gem on its forehead. A golden light twirled around its body, and as it walked forward, the wall of webbing parted so that the creature could pass. The passage expanded until finally it was large enough for Lin to enter. “Follow me!”
"S- Seriously?"
Now that Lin could see the wall’s interior, she realized how thick it actually was. The webs built inwards into endless darkness, from which poured out a mass of miasma that threatened to choke the girl if she moved even a step further. “I… I can’t go in there. It’s impossible!” She fell to her knees and her vision blurred as the world around her faded to black…
Then, from the darkness, came a voice:
"Don’t go to sleep! Weren’t you going to play with me?"
Lin opened her eyes to see Avalon pawing at her hand. The light encircling its body wrapped its way up her arm and around the rest of her like a protective cloak. In an instant the world became clear and the air suddenly breathable.
"What did you do?" she asked, inhaling sharply. She stood back up, and looking at her hands she realized that the light around her was actually dancing about like fireflies. Beautiful.
"I made you better," Avalon answered. Wagging its tail, it climbed up the leg of her pants and made its way to her shoulder. "Hurry!" it insisted. "Inside!"
There was no turning back now. Putting on a determined face, Lin walked into the unknown.
Though pitch black from the outside, as Lin proceeded into the structure she noticed that the inner walls emanated dim, red light. Strands of webbing dangled above, alongside signs and banners that once belonged to the outside world. In the near horizon, she spotted the daycare she had come to recognize after biking past several times.
The building itself was strangely untouched, its walls and ceilings clean compared to what was outside. It would have seemed ordinary if not for the occasional skittering of legs behind the walls, plus the miasma seeping from its depths.
Following the path of toxic air, it wasn’t long before she met with two large doors. From what she could tell, the source of this magic and miasma hid behind their protection.
"She’s in there," said Avalon. "Morgan’s in there."
Miasma burst from the doors as Lin forced them open, momentarily blinding the girl in a fog of black and purple. As the mist settled her eyes went wide at the sight before her.
Behind the doors was a cafeteria large enough to hold an entire school’s student body. Chairs and tables lay scattered across the room, half-eaten trays on some of them suggesting they had been recently used. What caught her attention however were the mass of cocoons hanging from the ceiling. Each one pulsed with an eery thump, almost as if alive.Were they alive? Was something alive inside?
Her eyes followed the eggs to the centre of the room, in which was stationed the largest cocoon of them all. Looking closer she saw a face peeking out of it; a face that she somewhat expected yet still couldn’t help but call out in surprise.
"Morgan!"
Spoiler! :
Whether or not Morgan remained alive within that cocoon was not a question Lin was ready to ask.
She rushed over to the centrepiece. Upon her approach, she realized that it not only hung from the ceiling, but was also strung to the floor as well by abnormally thick strands of webbing.
"Morgan!" she called, hoping for any sort of response. "Wake up, Morgan!" She climbed up to the pod and started knocking on its hard shell. "What are you doing… MORGAN?!"
Lin fell forward, panting.
"Hey… you… thing… Avalon! What is this?!"
She looked up, only to feel her stomach drop at the realization that the six-legged ferret was no longer with her. In fact, aside from the pods dangling from the ceiling above and Morgan wrapped up below her, there was no one else to be seen.
"Hey… this isn’t funny… Hey!"
With a hard thud she dropped back down onto the cafeteria floor. The exit was right behind her and every bit of reason in her head screamed at her to high tail it out of there. But she couldn’t leave without Morgan, especially in the current situation.
From the corner of her eye she noticed a flicker of light. Staring down at her hands, she realized that, in her panic, she had completely forgotten about the gift Avalon left her.
The trail of glowing gold swirled around her and with it an idea came to mind. Climbing back up to the top of Morgan’s cocoon, she thought back to when Avalon split the dome back outside with the same light. As if following her thought, the light around her focused brightly around her hands.
"Open."
Like ice the web quickly melted away from her hand, and before long with nothing left to hold her, Morgan’s unconscious form fell forward.
"Woah there!" With one arm she caught the girl while the other held onto the strand from the ceiling. She grimaced at the extra weight, and with a heave and a ho she carefully brought the two of them back to the ground.
Now that she had some time to breathe, she saw to her relief that the blonde was still breathing. At least she was alive. Despite the tense air around them, the sleeping girl seemed unbelievably peaceful.
"Geez…"
Lin inwardly sighed, and lifted Morgan onto her back with care.
"When we get out of here, you and I are going to have a long talk.”
"Oh that won’t do."
Lin froze. The silhouette of a tall woman stood in front of her, blocking the exit.
"I leave for only a moment, and somehow some little flies have found their way into my nest."
As the woman stepped out of the shadows, Lin saw now that she was actually quite beautiful. She wore a long black dress that fell to the floor, accompanied by matching opera gloves that wrapped elegantly around her thin arms. Lin assumed her dark hair would reach down to her waist if it wasn’t tied back in a neat bun behind her head. What caught her attention most of all, however, was her eyes; they flickered dimly like a dying flame in the darkness, emanating an unnatural purple light.
"Must I truly explain what’s about to happen?"
Spoiler! :
This wasn’t good. Whether the woman before them was a Witch like Morgan or some other magical being, She was clearly dangerous. The miasma in the room seemed to circulate around her, and despite the calm cold of her voice there was an obvious blade of malice hidden within.
But before Lin could even move or say a word, webs suddenly shot up from the ground around her and Morgan.
"Uwa-!?"
Like coiling snakes the threads wrapped around them, binding Lin’s arms and legs before pulling her down to her knees. She opened her mouth to object, only to have it silenced by even more web.
"Don’t talk, listen," said the Purple-Eyed Witch, gliding across the floor towards them. "I don’t know why that rodent brought you here, nor do I care. What I do care about however is that girl on your back whom you’re trying to steal away from me."
A flick of her hand created in her palm a purple flame, that which she then hovered over Lin’s face. “I’m going to remove my web from your mouth. And when I do, I want you to choose your words very carefully.” The fire in her hand roared as it increased slightly in size, its heat pressing dangerously against Lin’s skin.
"Leave the girl behind, and in exchange I will let you go. Simple enough, no?"
The light of the fire reflected against the dark of Lin’s eyes, clashing against the fire that shone through her own glare. Even as the webbing over her mouth fell, she already knew what she was going to say long before the demand was made.
"Open!"
Once again the light around her focused brightly at her command, and in response to the golden aura the bindings ebbed away into the darkness. With no time to waste she bolted to her feet, and with Morgan still hoisted behind her she bull rushed forward both past the witch and her fire.
"Fool." With a simple wave of her hand, the fire from the Witch’s hand gained life, and like a serpent flew at its escaping prey.
"Aaah!" Lin fell to the ground, dropping Morgan as pain ripped through her shoulder.
"Did I not make myself clear?" The tall woman towered closer. "Your life for hers," a finger pointed at Morgan’s unconscious form."I’ll give you one more chance to turn away and leave. Or are you actually foolish enough to believe there’s something you can actually do?"
"I’m not foolish enough to believe the impossible…" Lin gritted her teeth, staggering to her feet as a hand clutched the sizzling hole in her now torn sleeve. "But whether it’s possible or not…" The light around her pulsed rhythmically. "There’s no way that I’m leaving my friend behind!"
"A fool to the end then." Fire pooled into her open palm, and with an explosion of power it shot forward at Lin with a thunderous roar.
There was no time to dodge, no time regret. Instinctively Lin closed her eyes and stuck out her hands in defense. But instead of pain like before, there was in its place a comforting warmth.
She opened her eyes and found the light around her had pooled over her outstretched hands. As if being purified, the dragon of purple fire’s flames turned white, twirling up around her in a cloak of magical fire.
"What-!" The calm in the Witch’s purple eyes now showed signs of panic. "Is this that rodent’s… Is this Avalon’s magic?!"
From the pillars of dancing fire whispered voices of old and lore. Picking out their words, Lin repeated their incantation aloud:
"Resound, Resound, the Bells of Fate.
Forsaken by Destiny, My Heart! My SOUL!”
The room shook as the world itself seemed to tilter. The fire once surrounding Lin now smoked from her in a mystical aura. Her clothes had, for a lack of a better word, transformed, and her attire now imitated that of the Witch’s down to the dress and gloves. In fact, the only difference in their fashion was Lin’s stark white dress, contrasting her black.
It didn’t take long for Lin to assess the situation, and with a now confident smirk a ball of white fire formed in her raised hand.
“Well, then… I think it’s time we do things my way.”
Spoiler! :
"HORYAH!"
Streams of white fire surged forward from Lin’s hands aimed at the Purple-Eyed Witch. They roared through the air, and with a smile Lin watched as they wrapped around their prey.
Her triumph was however short-lived as white fire was consumed by purple.
"This is certainly my magic," said the witch, snaking her own flames around her, "But in your hands it is only a second… no, a third rate copy. Nothing more."
Her flames flew at Lin from an outstretched arm, twice as large and much more ferocious than any other attack she’d seen before. twice as large and many times more ferocious than any attack that had been seen before.
Even before it left the witch’s hand, Lin knew even in her current form that she wouldn’t walk away with just a minor burn if she let that fire hit—
And so she jumped.
With every ounce of strength in her legs she leapt, higher than she ever thought possible as the wave of fire passed far below.
But before she could even breathe a sigh of relief, the dark fire then suddenly snaked back and up towards her.
"This is how you use a witch’s magic."
Unable to maneuver in midair, Lin had no choice but to face the serpent head-on. A wall of white fire flew from her hands, roaring furiously as it clashed with purple. The difference in power was apparent, however, and in seconds her white flames were overtaken. If nothing else, they served as a buffer as the collision’s force knocked her out of harm’s way.
Still the beast persisted. Its prey had only prevented the inevitable, and winding its way through the air it lunged with flaming fangs towards her once more.
She couldn’t possibly make another wall in time. She was still winded from the sudden impact, and the surrounding heat was taking its toll on both her mind and body.
But in that final second before she was consumed — that brief moment just as the dark fire began to overtake her — her eyes caught the unconscious Morgan still on the ground below.
What had that been about not leaving her behind? If she lost now, all that bravado would have meant nothing.
She couldn’t lose now. She wouldn’t!
"Not yet!"
As if responding to her will, the light that had been absent since her transformation reappeared around her, and from her dress extended an equally bright thread. It flew to the ceiling and, just as quickly, pulled her away from peril.
"Tch." The witch glared, igniting another fireball in her hand. "Just how much of my magic do you intend to copy?"
Another serpent flew upwards, joining its kin as they pursue the mouse scampering through their lair.
Left and right, back and forth, zig and zag. Lin didn’t have the luxury to care whether she was commanding the threads that continually shot and retracted from her dress or the threads acting of their own volition, as with each swing and pull she found herself barely avoiding a fate similar to that of this morning’s breakfast.
"How long can you run, little fly?" came the witch’s voice from below. It was clear that with each passing flame that they were steadily inching closer. "You only delay the inevitable with your antics."
As much as Lin hated to admit it, the witch had a point. She couldn’t run forever, nor did she stand a chance facing the witch directly.
But then again, winning this fight was never the intention in the first place.
Circling through the air, Lin swung back towards the witch now with a plan in mind. It was reckless, but if it wasn’t it wouldn’t be hers. With the two flaming serpents still behind her, she released the threads supporting her and dove. Her falling body aimed straight for the witch.
"Do you intend to burn me with my own fire? You are indeed foolish."
A third egg of fire grew in her hand, and just as it formed it morphed into yet another snake that lunged to meet its brethren with Lin at their centre.
"HORYAH!"
Whirling, Lin threw forward the largest wall she could muster. Although this barrier was impressive both in brilliance and size, even it could not stand firm as it shattered under the three dragons’ combined force.
The inner walls flickered eerily as the purple serpents ate at each other, their roars filling the air as the fire they bled scattered throughout the room. Eventually their light and cries faded, and at point the witch realized that something was amiss.
She glanced back and found that Morgan, who was on the ground mere moments ago, had disappeared. Instead the girl was in the arms of the one in the white dress, who swung away as quickly as she could towards the exposed exit.
It became clear then that the wall of white fire was not intended to defend. Rather, she had used its size to create a blind spot which she had abused to circle behind her.
She was angry. She was furious. How did she get fooled by that foolishly foolish fool?! Gritting her teeth so hard that one would think that something would snap, fire erupted around her as she let out a scream so chilling that Lin who was now miles ahead could swear that her blood had momentarily froze.
"YOU FOOOOOOOL!!!"
Despite knowing that it was probably a bad idea to look back, Lin couldn’t resist but to sneak a peek at what was behind her. The threads from her dress still pulling her forward, she turned around, only to have her jaw drop into her stomach. “Oh cra-!”
The entire hallway had disappeared, overtaken by a torrent of fire that was barreling towards her. Sweat trickled from her forehead down her neck as the immense heat crossed the shortening distance between them .
With Morgan still in arm, she faced forwards once more, and with all her power focused on her threads to pull them to safety. Literally flying past countless lockers and doors with danger close behind, her back screaming as it burned from the air itself. And soon before long, the exit was in sight.
"Go, go, go, go, go, go - YES!"
One final push, and they were outside at last! At least somewhat, as they still had yet to escape the webbed dome that covering the area.They tumbled forward and then up to the sky as Lin’s threads caught the dome’s ceiling, and with a thundering cry the wave of fire escaped the building and dissipated harmlessly below.
Despite escaping immediate peril, Lin continued to swing. Even when they were outside the dome she kept moving, not daring to stop until she was sure she had escaped the Purple-Eyed Witch’s pursuit.
AN INTERLUDE
Spoiler! :
A dark room, lit only by a single candle at its centre. There, sat a beautiful woman in a red leather chair. Her fingers graced the pages of her book, the rest of the world secondary to her attention. That is, until a lone figure emerged from the shadows. An elderly gentleman, dressed quite dapper to fit his role as the woman’s servant.
"Mistress, pardon the intrusion, but I bring news." With grace, he bowed his head to the ground.
"Any good news this time?" she asked, wearily setting her book aside.
The man shook his head. “The city of Torydora has fallen.”
The woman sighed, the flame next to her flickering its dim light. ”And Aisa?”
"Her webs have been unwound I fear."
Another sigh. “I suppose that means the wizard is making his move? Such a troublesome man…”
The bells of fate were ringing.
"Call back Aisa," she decided. "If things have progressed this far, it’s time we prepare for the Second Stage.”
"Yes mistress," the servant bowed again, then turned to make his leave.
"Oh, and Obero?"
"Yes mistress?"
"Fix the lights when you can," she reached for the red skin of her book, opening it once more. "Reading by candlelight is much too straining."
Spoiler! :
Normally when the sky lost its blue robe, it would find instead a black robe of stars in its place. However tonight there were no stars. Instead the sky above bent and twisted with a deep violet, the miasma extending endlessly into the horizon. There was no barrier, nothing to contain it like before around that monstrosity of a dome. What had released it? What was she supposed to do? Even now, Lin didn’t know.
Her street clothes had returned, the powers from before apparently having faded back to a faint aura for whatever reason. She had left the unconscious Morgan on a lone park bench, deciding that it’d be best to find some proper help before anything else. But there was no one to be found. Every street lay barren. Every house lay empty without light. Of course, no one was answering their phones as well. After all, that did involve someone else to be on the other end.
"For the love of Bacon," she swore. "Where is everyone?"
Now was the time to freak. Now was the time to panic. In fact, she would have done just that if there wasn’t still Morgan to tend to back at the park.
"The stars remember all that is,
The stars remember all that has been,
They remember all that ever will be.
I remember the light of the stars,
But the stars,
They don’t remember me.”
Morgan sat still as her melody hovered hauntingly through the air. The distorted sky itself seemed to calm with her voice, and Lin herself had to confess that it was a relief to return to something so beautiful.
"You saved me, didn’t you?" the blonde asked, holding out Lin’s hoodie that had been used as a blanket. "Thanks."
"I didn’t know you could sing," Lin replied.
"It makes me feel better when I’m scared."
So even Morgan the Witch could be scared. Lin held back a grimace at the thought. Morgan may had been the one with the powers, but she herself was still the older of the two. After all their time together, she still had an image to keep.
"Any idea what’s going on?" Lin asked, slipping on her sweater.
Morgan shook her head. “This is the first time I’ve seen a miasma like this. The last thing I remember was going to pick up Arthur…” She bit her lip, hands shaking. “Oh gods Arthur…”
The older girl blinked, then slapped her forehead in realization. Of course! That’s why Morgan was at the daycare in the first place.
"Lin, tell me what happened."
She nodded, then began to recount all that had happened, from her encounter with Avalon to her approach to the giant dome. She mentioned her encounter and escape from the Purple-Eyed Witch, and finally the apparent disappearance of everyone in town. All the while, Morgan listened intently. Despite having just been thrown into this mess, her eyes remained focused with every detail, perhaps a testament to her experience with such surreal encounters.
"Thank you, Lin, I think I have a grasp of what’s happening now." The witch hopped to her feet, and with a blaze of blinding blue light, her clothes had transformed into a just as brilliant blue dress. "What are you going to do now?"
"Huh?"
"I’m going back to save Arthur. How about you?"
"But wha—"
"You said that this miasma was from that witch’s barrier, right? If that’s the case, then all we have to do is go back and beat her up. Simple, no?"
Lin couldn’t help but smile at the simplicity of such logic. Of course she didn’t know how miasma worked herself, but Morgan’s confidence was more than enough for the both of them.
With nothing else holding her back, she nodded with certainty. “I’m going with you. I may not be able to do much, but I’d rather do something than nothing at all.”
She thought she saw Morgan smile, but a blink later, and all that could be seen was a face ready for battle.
"There are two things you should know before we go," said the witch. "One: I won’t be able to protect you once the fight begins. And two: I have never met or heard of a creature called Avalon."
Well, that was comforting.
With only more questions and no answers to lead them, the two turned towards the horizon. With Morgan at the front, Lin placed a hand over her petite shoulder.
"Let’s go."
A gust of wind swirled through the park. And then, they were gone. All that remained in the empty park was an open field of billowing grass.
Spoiler! :
In an instant, Lin was once again standing before the familiar sight of the daycare, this time with Morgan conscious by her side. The brunette stumbled forward, clutching her mouth in an attempt to keep down this morning’s breakfast. Teleportation always did leave some sense of nausea.
A layer of webbing continued to cover the area, their threads now pulsing an eery deep blue.
She looked over to Morgan, and to her surprise caught the blonde finding it somewhat difficult to breathe. Had her magic always been so tiring? Come to think of it, she had mentioned being tired from this morning as well.
"I figured you would come back eventually," echoed the voice of the lair’s queen. "Have you come to your senses at last?"
"The witch?" asked Morgan.
"The witch." Lin replied.
"I do have a name you know?" the woman appeared, her figure standing atop of the roof. "Aisa the Spider Dragon. Your pleasure, I’m sure."
The space around her bent in a swirl of distortion. Then, like a rubber band, it snapped back into place. There she stood, unharmed. Morgan meanwhile stood dumbfounded with arms outstretched, her magic failed.
"Didn’t you hear a word I just said?" Aisa crossed her arms, amused. "A fool though you may be, you should at least know that a dragon’s scales are impervious to magic."
"Dragon, witch, hag, whatever!" Morgan threw a snide grin. "Just reverse whatever it is you did to our town!"
"Oh?" The dragon woman stood confused. Then, she began to laugh. "Oh! Oh Oh Oh OH! You don’t have the faintest idea of what’s going on, do you?" Black wings sprouted from her back, and like night she descended.
"Why don’t I show you?"
Purple fire coursed through her being as teeth quickly became fangs and fingers were replaced with claws. As her shadow grew to envelope the two girls below, soon she was nearly half the size of the building standing behind her.
Instinctively stepping backwards, Lin wasn’t sure if she could believe what was standing between them and the daycare. Where was once the witch called Aisa, now stood instead a six-legged dragon, its dark scales shimmering from the lights cast by the inner dome, and its four purple eyes like sapphire staring down with overwhelming presence. And from its deep maw, came a roar that shook the very earth.
"BUWOOAAAARR!!!"
This… This was a dragon.
"Lin."
The voice snapped the teen back to her senses. She looked over and saw Morgan, though visibly shaking, still had on her a face of unwavering resolve.
"I’ll hold her off here. In the meanwhile, you go inside and find Arthur."
What was she doing? Here she was freaking out, while Morgan her junior was ready to fight to the last.
"Y..yeah," Lin took a breath, doing her best to calm down. She had to calm down! "Kick her butt, alright?"
That said, she then broke into a sprint towards the building. Her feet beat furiously against the pavement as she ran under the dragon’s shadow, under the dragon’s belly, and then the approaching swing of the dragon’s tree-sized tail…
CLANG!
The tail recoiled as it was hit with the metal of a teleported playground slide.
"GO!" Shouted Morgan.
Not needing the encouragement, she ducked away from the battle and disappeared behind the building’s doors.
The dragon smiled. “I suppose Avalon’s pet will have to wait.”
Her attention then focused on Morgan, with surprising speed her claws struck out, strong enough to tear iron apart.
But the claws tore into nothing but air, as Morgan had of course warped away. Above the dragon’s head she stretched opened a portal with both hands, and tearing away the nearby jungle gym, she cast its entirety downwards in a rain of plastic and steel.
No effect.
The equipment, heavy as it was, only dented in itself when faced with the hardness of the dragon’s hide.
On and on the game of tag continued. Each time Aisa would spit fire or swing her body like a wrecking ball, only to hit nothing as Morgan would warp away. Just the same, Morgan would then retaliate with dropping and flinging more playground equipment and debris, only to have her projectiles harmlessly bounce away. Soon enough, the field in front of the daycare was nothing but a scrap-collector’s dream.
"Arthur’s going to be SO mad when he sees this," Morgan panted, skidding backwards through the sand. Using this amount of magic in itself was a chore, but there was something else that also seemed to be sapping her strength.
Her eyes widened in horror as she realized the cause.
"No… That… That’s impossible!"
"You’ve realized, have you?" Aisa laughed. In contrast, she appeared not only unscathed, but was just as rested as she had been since the fight began.
"No.. No no… NO!"
Opening one portal into the ground, and a connecting portal high in the air, Morgan threw the remains of the slide between them. Caught in the infinite loop, the metallic spear could only continue to fall as it quickly built momentum. In seconds all that could be made of it was a dangerous blur, screaming to be released.
The top portal then titled, its barrel aimed at the mouth of the dragon.
"No."
Like a cannon, Morgan’s spear aimed true, and with its fire sent Aisa the Dragon crashing into the building behind in a cloud of dirt and debris.
Spoiler! :
Spoiler! :
Dark halls and empty corridors echoed softly with every beating footstep.
Running, running, running….
She was doing a lot of that today wasn’t she?
Lin clutched her heaving chest, taking a reprise as her body at last begun to realize the strain it had been put through.
"Just… a little… further… Oh gods.”
With nothing but adrenaline and perseverance pushing her forward, she soon found herself again in the quarters of the haunted cafeteria. From the ceiling still hung rows of countless cocoons, which if her suspicions were right, were what she was here for.
DOOM DOOM!
It seemed the battle outside was growing fierce. The teen ran to the nearest web-ladened wall, eyeing the weave in hopes that its thick strands could support a climb. It was a stupid idea. Dangerous even. Stupidly dangerous.
DOOM DOOM!
With caution to the wind, her right shoe stepped onto the lowest bar of web she could find. It certainly seemed sturdy enough, like rock or cement. Thinking back to those rock-climbing walls at the playground, she began to slowly work her way up to the nearest hanging cocoon.
Fortunately with the way the webs were arrayed, it was easy to find footing, and the way that they protruded from the wall made it difficult to slip. Several times she froze, eyes wide at the sensation of something crawling across her skin. In the end, however, she only climbed faster, whispering curses under her breath as she prayed for this exhaustingly long day to end.
Soon she was high enough to look down at a couple of the hanging eggs, something she quickly came to regret as she realized just how high it was she had climbed.
“Oh why… why, why, why….”
She had to jump. It was the only way to reach one of those cocoons from the wall. It wouldn’t be a difficult task, after all the nearest one couldn’t have been more than a foot away.
But her legs refused to move. Her fingers refused to let go.
This was ridiculous! Crazy! Granted, there was a lot of crazy going on already, but there were limits to crazy, and jumping from so high up was drawing the line.
DOOM!
Another tremor, more fierce than any of the ones before. The walls shook, the ceiling groaned, and Lin strangely found herself moving away from them both.
“Oh bad. BAD, BAD!”
Her limbs flailed in panic at her sudden weightlessness, screaming as she was sure that this was the end. She would fall to the ground below, never to solve today’s mysteries, never to save Morgan’s brother, never again to hear Morgan ask for a piece of her lunch…
“Oof!”
Whether by sheer luck or just the way she fell, Lin was now hugging the top of the nearby cocoon. Her heart beat furiously as it continued to try to escape from her chest, and she was certain that she had just lost several years of her life.
Still, luck was luck, and being alive she wasn’t going to take it for granted. Her hands pawed at the material, searching until she found… a face! Bingo! Though smaller than the one that had held Morgan, it seemed that they still served as some sort of human chamber. Though she didn’t recognize the child inside, she let out a breath of relief regardless as he was still breathing, still alive.
But then, where was Arthur?
There were much too many cocoons in the room, and accidentally falling onto each and every one of them was definitely out of the question.
Her attention then fell back to the glow around her hand. It had worked before in freeing Morgan, so why not the others? She focused for the light to gather and placed her palm against the egg.
“Rele–”
“Don’t!”
The light from her hand retracted, her breath held at the familiarity of that child-like voice. On top of a neighboring cocoon, stood Avalon.
“Don’t do that,” spoke the black creature. “The webs are the only things protecting them from the miasma.” Its tail wagged playfully, contrasting with the tone of its words.
“You!!” Lin threw a finger forward. “LIAR!”
She was sure something important was said just now, but her mind at the moment was too preoccupied with trying to figure out how to strangle the furball without falling off her already precarious perch.
“Liar?” Avalon repeated back. It tilted its head, seemingly confused.
“Morgan sent you? She doesn’t even know you!”
“Oh.” It replied bluntly. “Is that all?”
“Is that – “ Lin’s mouth hung open appalled. As much as she hated to admit it, outside of that one lie, everything else this creature had done actually helped in this whole affair. She tried to come up with something, anything to use against the ferret, only managing to strangle out an odd sound from the pit of her throat.
At last her finger dropped, conceding defeat to the madness before her. “Fine, whatever. What am I supposed to do now?”
Avalon had known what to do before, so why not now?
From its mouth came three familiar words.
“Play with me.”
Spoiler! :
Three obscure words that had started it all. While she was sure that they held some charm, Lin was sick of being kept in the dark.
“No,” she said shaking her head. “No more of these games. What’s with this weird aura? How did I transform earlier? Why is there a DRAGON outside trying to kill my friend?! What…” she paused, trying to sum all of her thoughts into a single phrase. “What is it that you want?”
Avalon tilted its head in the other direction, staring in silence in an apparent attempt to assemble an answer that would satisfy the wary girl. Then, its neck snapped straight with an audible click. Its red eyes blinked like the headlights of a car, and after another click, shone a bright gold.
“Accessing Central Library Archive…”
Its mouth no longer moved, yet it was clear that the creature continued to speak.
“Opening file: Project AVALON.
Unit 003:
Magic Containment Field.
Error.
Systems damaged.
In order to suppress the excess miasma that is polluting the air, a medium is required to serve as a link to the container.”
The light from its eyes faded, and again it spoke with its innocent demeanor.
“You are the link, Lin. You – are the one to channel my power!”
Lin again looked to her hand. She had figured that the light around it was some form of Avalon’s magic, but to have it explained at last lifted a weight off her shoulders.
“So what?” she asked, not yet willing to completely trust its words. Whatever that was just now was way too creepy! “I just do to the miasma what I’ve been doing to the webs?”
“No,” replied the ferret, shaking its mane. “The light you have right now isn’t enough – You’ll need all of my magic before you can seal the source.”
“The source?” Lin didn’t like the sound of that.
“The source,” Avalon repeated. “The source of the miasma – Morgan.”
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Outside, the sky had become an ocean of deep violet whirlpools, each swirling mass like an endless abyss attempting to swallow the sky. The wind groaned as blue lightning crackled with thunder. In the centre of it all roared a cyclone, a purple pillar of toxic miasma that anchored the heavens to earth. And in the centre of that – was Morgan.
“What… What is this?” She screamed, falling to her knees. Her hands went to her sides, holding them dear as every bit of heat in her body seemed to vanish by the second. “What’s happening to me?!”
Aisa, having reverted to her human form emerged from a cloud of debris. Her black dress remained unscathed, not a perfectly placed strand of her long hair suggesting that she had been in battle only moments before.
“Do I have to explain everything?” she looked down at the shivering girl. “One year ago, you and your merry little band had thought you had saved the world. Maybe you did – at least at the time. But that beast you destroyed wasn’t the end – On the brink of its destruction it hid itself away inside you, like a parasite it fed off of and corrupted your magic. And ever since then it continued to grow. Ever since that day one year ago, you became something that should not exist in this world.”
“No…” Morgan shook her head. She wanted to deny the truth being told, but she also knew that there was no denying that the distortion raging with her at its epicentre was real.
“I tried being merciful, you know?” Aisa continued. “All you had to do was let my webs seal you away. But then that foolish friend of yours had to interfere… If you must blame anyone for your fate, blame her. As things have progressed this far, there’s only one thing left that I can do.“
From her hands erupted two balls of purple fire, each growing with the chant of her spell.
“In my left hand burns the flame of the goddess.
In my right, the flame of the forgotten dragons.”
Together they burn.
Burn to cinders all within my sight.”
On command her fire exploded into the air. Roaring, it came down in an arc over Morgan, who was too overcome by the miasma eating her from within to realize anything else.
But it never reached.
At the same time that Aisa’s fire had reached its peak, another voice rang out.
“Resound: AVALON!”
The six-legged ferret flew from the building in a streak of golden light, transforming into a sceptre that twirled into a waiting Lin’s hand.
Fire sputtered and sprayed as it was propelled away. Between them stood Lin, garbed in her previous white dress – only now complemented with the addition of a black vest and gloves.
“It’s been a really long day,” she said, flipping the staff under her arm. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to wrap things up here and go home.”
Chapter One: The First Day