Chapter Six
(September 29th Monday)
Monday; the first day of school each week. For many people it is a difficult day. Granted it can start out well enough. Two and a half days of working on school projects and homework is very helpful for being prepared for when returning work, but then the new work comes in. The procrastination of two free days without school adds to laziness of the mind for most, and thusly one’s mind is not prepared for such a task as algebra, geometry, biology, etc.
Unfortunately the school itself had possibly more stress during the break. Due to the school’s recent attack, and the frailty of its defenses, the school’s head directors had a meeting to determine its continuation. Because of this, all of the students were either sent back home, which involved a great deal of packing and unpacking, those who had no homes stayed at their dorms until other plans could be made, but no one that stayed was allowed to leave, and those who were gone were not allowed back for quite some time. In result a great deal of the schoolwork was not given, causing even more stress for when they did return. The meeting was to be brief to avoid any further damage.
The Members were…
Zensin, an officer of the Zone Police Corp,
The Principal, Miss I.C.L.E., a previous officer of the Zone Police Corp placed at the school,
Dar Ox, an overlander from Moebius, and the main architect of Mobius Academy’s design and evolution,
Diane Pri, another overlander, acting as a moderator,
and Christopher Morgan, a second moderator.
They met in the main office, around a large table to discuss the damage. All were quite stressed; some were angered, some were neutral, and some were simply saddened, with good reason.
Dar Ox, a man with dark brown straight hair, a slightly long face, and a fair figure, who wore a black suit, as did everyone else aside from Zensin, rose to call the meeting to order. “This meeting is now called to order. What is the problem?”
“Problems is more like it.” Diane corrected with an angered tone, though it was not directed at Dar. She was a short woman, with long brown hair, a fair figure also, and slightly large hands. “A common villain known in a Mobius Zone as ‘Roxan’ infiltrated the school, assaulted many students, did large damage to the school, and a student apparently summoned what was assumed to be an identity.”
“Are you sure?” Chris asked.
“I would not be saying so if I did not know, Chris.”
“The damages were repaired, were they not?” Dar asked. “Isn’t that what matters? No one was injured permanently, and the school is almost repaired completely.”
“That is not the point.” Diane said as she placed her hands firmly on the table. “The defenses in this school were meant to be able to not only neutralize all threats, but more importantly make it impossible for anyone to teleport here without clearance, or hack into it in this case. I assumed there were no loop-holes.” Diane’s glance turned to Zensin who sighed largely and took the floor.
“It appears that this ‘Roxan’ used a special type of energy, possibly chaos energy, which sadly we have not been able to disable in the field. The school was built multi-dimensionaly to make sure no one could simply walk in, but someone has. I have to admit that we did not expect this type of attack so soon, though we did expect it to happen eventually. The fact is that the school’s outer defenses cannot be altered due to the instability it could face, is a key problem, and so we should work on making its defenders more potent against threats.”
“And how do we do that?” Diane questioned. “This Roxan, and the identity were showing signs of extreme energy. The Roxan girl switched student’s bodies for Pete’s sake!”
“What would you suggest?” Chris questioned.
“Unless we can defend the school more potently, I fear we will have to close it.” Diane waited for the reactions of her comrades before continuing. They were silent so she continued. “Believe me when I say I find no gain in this. I would love to keep this school running, but the school year has only started, and if the school’s dimensional generators were to be damaged it is most-likely that this school will either implode, or be lost in dimensional-space forever.”
“… Zensin, is there any way we can increase the outer defenses?” said Dar.
“We could add another layer of field-generators.” He replied. “It would double the field’s protection and encryption, but it would be quite costly. The fact that we allow children to come here without pay alone is hard to cope with.”
“I thought that the school was given its resources from special mining of various materials.” Said Diane. “And that the school’s kinetic energy was able to generate free energy for different uses on other worlds.”
“It does, and is, but the equipment used to make the tools for all of this are not able to be made from simple stone and metal. The same applies for the food, supplies, and other items. Not to mention the calibrations that have to be done manually to simply program where to put bathroom waste after it used, let alone any other portals. The amount would usually round from one-million currencies, to seven-billion for a month’s time, which is rather cheap if you think about it.”
“Well how much will it set us back if we were to place the new generators?”
“If we used the emergency money, it would be possible without limiting the school, but if it fails, it will leave us back where we are without money to aid us.”
“I cannot just let this school go.” Dar insisted. “This was meant to be a place for the supernaturals and naturals to coexist. Where they can have all the knowledge possible, and the best experiences. Many children are growing up knowing about the different dimensions with no idea how to react to any of them, or their own. I suggest that we wait. If a threat arrives that is not able to be neutralized by natural means, we will place the fields.”
“And if those fail?” Inquired Diane.
“If they fail… we bring in a capital protector; someone who can handle himself and keep the students from harm. He would have to be fast and strong; agile, and able to prove his ability to protect every student.”
“You’re not suggesting a certain hedgehog by any chance, are you?”
“No… well perhaps him, but until we learn enough about our options, we will wait.”
“I am willing to go with this plan, but if any of the students are killed, we pull the plug.” Everyone turned to I.C.L.E. who was quite this entire time.
“What are your thoughts, ICLE?” Zensin inquired. “Why not tell us if the school is doing its job. Are the students learning?”
ICLE sighed. “The students are quite tiresome, but they are well here. They learn quite a bit, but some may possibly turn on us.”
“That is why they are here, I would think.” Noted Chris. “To become better, and to learn. Do you think they are doing that?”
“Yes.”
“Alright then. Let us have a vote.” Chris arose. “All for the school to continue with Dar Ox’s plan in motion say aye.”
The vote was unanimous, but despite the return to eventual form, there would be great stress and fear in the halls of the school’s board, awaiting the next threat.
The next last day, the students were called back. Sadly around twenty percent of them chose to not come back, which caused the other eighty to feel slight grief for whatever friends they would no longer see, but it could not be helped. By Monday things were almost back to normal. Sadly the school was not able to rewrite its classes and assignments in time, so Monday became a third day off, while come Tuesday the students would go back to the many teachings of wars, inventions, languages, ect.
“YES!!!!!!” The extensive exclamation is used as much due to the fact that the student who said this had sound-based powers, and was screaming at the top of her lungs. She later had her mouth taped shut.
“AHK!” Rynk squealed as she clutched her ears tightly, bending them forward to block out the scream. She was sitting next to Grace in the Cafeteria, eating pancakes.
“Exactly.” Grace groaned. “You okay? You look more affected than most people.”
“Most people don’t have ears twice the size of a rabbit’s.” Rynk informed with her ears flopping over her face. “Ow…”
“Oh… right. Sorry. Well at least we’re back and all.”
“True that!” Rynk concured. “I can’t believe they’d want to close the school!”
“Well there was kind of a psycho-killer destroying everything… which reminds me, could you maybe give me some more info about that Rin person?”
“I don’t know what else there is to give.” Rynk shrugged. “She’s got chaos powers, she morphs, her name’s Rin, she… likes being random? I only met her one other time, and it was pretty brief.”
“Huh… well I guess we could just summon her again or something.”
“Uh… no… they found my suitcase. Apparently you can’t bring stuff like that in the school. I hid it while I was gone from the school.”
“You… didn’t stay?”
“No I did.”
Grace got quite confused at this point. “But no one’s allowed to come back… or wasn’t.”
“Well I did… strangely enough.” Rynk continued to munch on her whipped-cream covered meal. With a mouth full of food she asked “So you gonna let Craiger talk to you any time soon? It’s not like he’s been a jerk or anything.”
Grace sighed deeply. “I know… I just… don’t like guys that much.”
“Because of Dante?”
“Y-… yeah… because of Dante… how did you figure out about us, anyway?”
“I told you. I just guessed.” Rynk chuckled. “What, you think I hacked a police record or something?”
“Maybe…”
Rynk could tell that Grace was serious. It offended her slightly that Grace would think that she would resort to something like that, but Rynk put on a strong face. “Grace, I didn’t mean to blab anything. I really did just guess. I’ve met a lot of people like that… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have blurted it.”
“Hey,” Grace nudged Rynk, “don’t apologize. It’s not your fault. You were just being smart. Anyway, you got any plans for today?”
Rynk grinned. “Actually yeah. I saw a poster about this inventor-dude who’s gonna come by the school with some new contraption. I don’t know what it’s about but they’re setting up today, and starting tomorrow. You wanna sneak in a get a quick peak?”
It was tempting. Very tempting. Normally Grace would be fine with such a suggestion, but it seemed strange coming from Rynk, seeing how Rynk was the one all hyped up about the rules and regulations. “Isn’t there some rule against it?” She asked in concern and curiosity.
“Probably… but it’ll be fun.” Rynk urged.
Grace thought up why Rynk was saying, and came up with a question. “Are you saying that because it’s something I would do?”
The question was a bit strange and could be found offensive, but Grace found no way around it. When Rynk heard it she was completely surprised. “Uh…” She lowered her head slightly. “… y-…. Y- yes…”
“Why?” Grace asked sternly.
“Because… I’ve been living all street and roughish to just get a place to sleep… when I came here, it felt so nice to actually do things right… That and there was a chance for getting some friends. We met and when things started to get… better I didn’t want it to turn out…”
“… Like the cigarette?” Grace cringed.
“What? Oh…” Rynk said nervously, “… I guess that too. B-but that wasn’t um… y-you didn’t know me. And I was stalking you and all, so-“
“You… wanted to fit in with me?”
“… Yeah.”
The vixen was now presented with a band new situation… someone wanting to be like her, act like her… as if she was a popular person. Flattery may have been part of her reaction, but it was mixed in with the urge to correct this. Whether or not Rynk’s personality bothered Grace in the beginning, she did not want her large-eared… she did not want Rynk to change.
“Rynk,” Grace turned to face her directly, then very maturely she said “if anyone gets on your case for doing something right, don’t let that stop you. Ever. That’s their problem, not yours. Take it from someone who knows; taking the popular route isn’t going to matter in the end. I’m your friend, and your mine a-and you don’t need to try to act like me for my approval… What other people think about being a goodie-two-shoes doesn’t matter… I… I know that I was pushy-”
“Y-you weren’t-“
“I pushed you away though, and you were persistent.” Grace wondered what Rynk saw in her. She wanted to know. “Why did you want to be friends with me?”
“Well…” The lynx’s posture straightened slightly as she prepared her reply. “At first I was actually oblivious to your personality when we first met, I thought you were just like all the other perky happy-day people so I went with that. After I discovered the actual part I just knew how to adapt to it. I haven’t known too many stubborn or hurt people that act like you, but I knew about them, I’ve been them, so I thought I could sympathize with that.”
“… Alright… what are you like then?”
The lynx sighed raising a single hand in a shrug. “Same as you… I guess the difference is that I’ve had so many close-people-out scenarios, and rebel-this-and-that. I just liked the idea of being a place where the rules were good and things were nice. I just… adjusted, relaxed.”
“… Well…” Grace brushed a curl away from her own face, “I-I, we’re going to have to both adjust then.”
Rynk rose her head a bit with a smile. “Alright. Thanks, Grace.”
Grace returned the smile, and the two of them finished their meal. It was at this moment that Grace realized that she and Rynk were actual friends now. She expected it to be a hard process due to past experiences, but it took them less than a month to be official friends. It was a good feeling, to have someone that cared about your well-being, and Grace seriously doubted that Rynk would be the deserting type.
Meanwhile in Craiger and Dante’s dorm…
Dante was laying on the couch of the dorm, flipping through the channels. Craiger walked by without a shirt, searching for where it went. Dante glanced up at the fox and said with an annoyed tone “You’re going to make the TV static if you walk around like that. Seriously, there are no girls around. PUT A SHIRT ON!”
Craiger snapped his face at Dante’s direction with a stern stare. “The only reason I’m not dressed already is ‘cause I can’t find my clothes in this mess!”
“Hey it’s not me! I didn’t even unpack all the way.” Dante defended with a shrug.
“Yeah, whatever.” Criager grumbled as he kept looking.
Dante tried to go back to the television, but couldn’t concentrate with how Craiger was acting. This was not the calm and cool cute-boy that he saw girls stalk each day. “Dude, are you alright? It’s just a shirt.”
Craiger leaned over a wall, sighing. “It’s not the shirt…” He got up and faced Dante again, “The school got attacked, ‘n now it’s gonna be closed any day now!”
“Didn’t they say the school wasn’t closing?”
“They said it was for now, but what about the next time there’s an attack? I know about i- All these attacks-“
“There was just one.” Dante corrected.
“The point is that there’s gonna be another one any day, and were not gonna be able to stop the Dean ‘n all from closing the school afterword’s.”
“Could you talk anymore strangely?” Dante quipped.
“IT’S MY NORMAL VOICE!” Craiger snapped.
“Whatever. All I know is that the school’s still here for now, so enjoy it. Besides, it’s not that bad. You just transfer to a new school.”
“… It’s not a- oh forget it…” Craiger took a deep sigh to calm down, then continued to look for his shirt. He eventually found it above the toilet for some reason, and sniffed it a bit to make sure it was safe to wear before putting it on.
When he came out, Dante was still watching TV. “Y’know you could exercise.”
“Like you? No offense but I doubt I need it.” Dante replied. “I’m more fit than the average person, and that’s good enough for me. Besides, it’s not like I’d be doing it for a girl or anything.”
“You know… being fit and having an accent, or manners for that matter, doesn’t make som-“
“Du-… Cr-… you. Forget about it, you liking girls is fine I’m just not focused on that right now.”
The fox seemed irritated by this reply but felt no urge to continue. It did however bring to mind something that also bothered him. “Actually, speaking of girls, can you give me any info ‘bout Grace maybe?”
“Aside from she doesn’t like you?”
“I was thinking more of why she doesn’t like me. You were her childhood friend ‘n all.”
“So? Grace is a different person now. She doesn’t have to like you. She’s been through a lot, just leave her be.”
“You seriously think I’m stalking her or something? ‘Dude’, I’m barely around that gal, and when I am she gets ticked. If there’s something that she needs to work out with, or if it’s her past ‘n all, then I’m fine with that, but I’d just like to know why I’m a disease to her.”
“Actually there is a guy named Slice she hates.” Dante smirked.
“Hilarious.” Craiger said sarcastically as he exited the dorm.
Grace and Rynk had determined that it was not wrong exactly to check out the new invention as long as they weren’t hiding. But then again, “hiding” is a matter of perspective.
By asking a large amount of students the two mobians determined that the inventor was going to arrive at 1:00 P.M. in the gym’s backdoor. Seeing how the current time was 11:00 now, and they would be eating soon, the wait was a bit stressful.
During that time, Rynk suggested that they climb up the school. Grace herself was a thick-and-through daredevil, but even she knew that the only reason Rynk could get up so high was because she could stick to the sides. Unless Grace had picks to stick in the sides, she wasn’t going to get very high.
Lunch was pasta. The sauce was thin enough to cover the noodles, but not overdue it’s amount of the plates. It dyed the noodles its color, and had chunks of meat in it. Rynk was practically dying over the scent alone, and she almost passed out from the taste. It wasn’t amazing, but for both of them it had been a while since they had had a quality meal. Grace did not have trash-food, as she lived with her uncle for a good while before the academy, but she had to admit that this pasta was quite nice. Still, she had to ask why Rynk loved it so much.
“I LOVE pasta!!” Rynk fawned with her mouth stuffed with the food.
“No other reason?” Grace asked.
“Well the fact that I only had it two other times might have something to do with it.”
“… You’re fifteen, right?” Grace inquired as she tried to put things together.
“Yeah. Why?”
“In fifteen years you’ve only had pasta twice aside from now?”
“Yep.”
“Why?”
“I didn’t get the opportunity. Lived on the streets, remember? I thought you did too… n-no offense.”
“Well… kind of… but I didn’t… live like that. So then you were alone that whole time?”
“No… I met people… but, oh not again. We’re having one of those awkward pause moments again!”
Grace surprisingly knew what Rynk was talking about. They’d start a conversation, then when it got personal for either of them, both of them became rather vague. Why? Because they both had secrets that they did not wish to share.
“Sorry about that.” Grace apologized unconsciously.
“It’s alright. It’s not your fault or anything.” Rynk took another large bite to avoid being brought into another question.
“So you hear about the school options?” Grace asked to move things along.
“Options? What do you mean?”
“Well apparently there’s gonna be a superhero or something if the school gets attacked again.”
“Hm… sweet. Well I guess we’ll just have to wait for someone to attack the school again. Which reminds me, did you ever ask Sara what was up with her and the Roxan person?”
“Uh… no… did you?”
“Well kind of. I tried to say it all humor-like to make it less awkward but she stayed really quiet about it. Maybe she’ll open up later.” The rest of the meal was in silence.
Quickly after lunch was over, the two teenagers rushed to the gym five minutes before 1 o-clock. The inventor was coming inside at that exact moment. He dragged a large case, which turned out to be four large cases, and a very large crate which was a story high.
The inventor himself was not mobian, but not overlander. A mix of both. He had the torso and legs of a non-mobian lion, but the upper part of him was that of what we would call a fawn, though neither Rynk or Grace recognized this species, aside from the fact that he was a centaur.
The gym was already dark, so the inventor had not seen them. Grace and Rynk leaned on the opposite wall, while observing. This proved to be a bad observation point as it was right next to the doors, which opened and smacked them in the faces. Miss ICLE and three of the school’s Zone cop guards walked up quickly and nervously. It appeared that the device was fragile, but then why was it in a school.
“Dean.” He bowed with a grumble as the inventor was still pulling the crate and cases. The guards walked up and helped him unload.
“I need to make sure first-hand that this contraption is safe, Mr. Calto.” The way that Miss ICLE pronounced the inventor’s name was “Col’ toe” while it was actually pronounced “Cae tah’ ”. The spelling on paper did not explain pronunciation however, so errors were bound to happen.
The Inventor, Mr. Calto, took offense to this mis-pronunciation. “It is pronounced ‘Cae tah’ ’. Could you please remember that?”
“… My apologies. Now what is in the crates?”
Mr. Calto unhooked a hinge on the side one crate to reveal a golden doorway-looking device. It had two fan-shaped generators attached to its side, a meter on its top, and seemed to have no back. The inventor opened a second case. Inside was a long piece of which was supposedly a hallway piece. The other two followed suit, with the third being the end. The fourth concealed a long metal rectangle; very solid, and very shiny. It had four black holes in the side of it, which seemed to match four metal points at the back end of the hallway pieces.
“This,” Mr. Calto announced while giving the invention a good knock, “is the D-NA-mazer. It randomizes the species of various mobians, and even non-mobians.”
“And it is safe?” The Principal asked with caution.
“Extremely.” The inventor answered with an air of pride. “Not only can the changes be made permanent or temporary, but it doesn’t even store DNA vials. It uses a special program that can actually duplicate DNA without needing anything short from a quick scan. And because of that, it stores every DNA it gets, and can restore you to your original form even if you were meant to be permanently something else!”
“I can see that.” This sarcastic remark was hinting to the inventor being a hybrid. Grace and Rynk got in for a closer look.
“From what I can see here, you’ve had trouble with its performance when changing DNA’s.” The Principal said.
“Quite the contrary.” Retorted the inventor with a huff. “My DNA-hybrid form was made purposely. I made detailed modifications to make it look just right, and made no mistakes. Granted I do know where you are getting at. Originally I did have problems, but even then that was months ago on the prototype. This machine has never failed me, and while I have gotten complaints from people, it was only because they wanted to change back, and I was happy to oblige.”
“Why haven’t you given it to the government or something?” Grace asked as she and Rynk came into view.
The Principal scowled slightly, but the inventor grinned at the two strangers. “Smart girl.” He complimented, pointing to Grace. “Originally I did attempt for this to be military-used, but sadly no form of money can buy you enough protection from the enemy. So I stopped whomever I could from spreading the news of my device, and chose to put it to less noticeable use. Hence me coming to this school. Not that I plan on being here permanently, but when I do leave, I plan to leave behind some devices that may entertain the students, such as yourself and your friend… uh…”
Grace was so lost in the man’s story that she almost forgot who he was talking to. “… hu- G- Rynk! A-and I’m Grace.”
“… Rynk? Really?” The Inventor questioned as he peered a little closer at the slightly unnerved lynx.
“Uh…” is all Rynk said as she bent backwards a bit from Mr. Calto’s observation.
“Well… Anyway,” Mr. Calto cleared his throat as she pulled back, “I am assuming that you have a teacher’s room or something for me to ‘bunk’ in as they say?”
“You’re going to be a teacher here?” Grace asked.
“Oh yes. I will be teaching a science class I do believe. Partly why I brought the D-NA-mazer. It will suffice quite well as an example for both computer science and biology.”
Miss ICLE was reading through the qualification papers and profiling for Mr. Calto and came across something. “Mr. Calto, you did not fill out your past employment.” She held the clipboard so the man could see.
Mr. Calto peered at the paper, apparently he required glasses, though he probably was too prideful to admit it. His eyes widened, “So I did!” and he quickly took the board and filled out the space. “So sorry. Been very busy planning my lessons. Don’t worry. I won’t be boring you for too long.” He grinned humorously at Grace and Rynk. They grinned back. This seemed to be a cool teacher.
“There we are.” The centaur announced as he handed the clipboard back to Miss ICLE, clicking the pen along the way. “Funny thing how people love the sound of a clicking pen.”
“Where did you used to work?” Rynk inquired.
“Oh quite around the place. Like I said, I tried to aid the military once, but my main employment before then was in a special lab in… oh I forgot. This school isn’t in a dimension is it? Let’s see…” The centaur rubbed his fuzzy chin a bit then lifted up a finger and said “Ah! That is right! The dimension was Mobocan I do believe. I would have remembered it sooner but I haven’t been there in years. My home dimension was Mobius Seven I do believe.”
“Hey Rynk’s from Mobocan! Maybe that’s how you recognized her name!” Grace noted with a smile. She nudged Rynk only to see that Rynk wasn’t smiling. She was almost trembling.
“W-what… was the name of the lab? W-what country?” Rynk continued with a stutter.
“Country?” Calto repeated. “Well usually it was… er… Nix… something. Nikiita or some such nonsense.”
Rynk sighed in relief to this answer. But then the inventor said “The lab was branched off there. Melcro Labs. Great place. My first job actually. It’s what got me interested in science and what-not.”
Grace turned back to Rynk to say something else. Rynk wasn’t next to her. She was running away. She was running out of the gym. “Rynk?” Grace questioned.
The inventor looked shocked as well. “…Hmm… let’s see first I… with… an-“
“What are you doing?” Miss ICLE questioned very impatiently.
“Well the Rynk girl ran off after I talked, so it stands to reason that I said something that upset her… but what was it? Hmmm… “ The inventor shrugged, “Maybe she was from Niki… whatever the country was called. Poor girl. Not the best place to grow up in.”
Grace recalled Rynk mentioning living in Supreta to Craiger, and was about to correct the man, but stopped herself in suspicion of what this Nix or Nik country was like. “What do you mean?” She inquired.
“Well Ni… Nekai! That’s the name. Nekai! Well to answer your question, Grace, Nekai is a dictated country, very um… I suppose your dimension would call it… herm… Your Mobius, does it follow E-Rules?”
“… E-Rules?” Grace echoed.
“Some Zones are still greatly influenced by Earth-Origins, such as history, languages and such. For instants do you have any familiarity with the word ‘nazi’?”
“I… know the term… like an oppressor with prejudice?”
“Exactly. Nekai was very Nazi-like… and the language would be… R… Russian. Not the worst lifestyle surprisingly though. I think the Supretan country was the one like that.”
“Supretan…” Grace recalled Rynk telling the name of her country a second time and remembered that Craiger was from the same Mobius. It pained her slightly to have to do this, but she would have to go have a chat with the Ausey fox. But first she would find Rynk… then if Rynk would not tell her she would go to Craiger.
Meanwhile, Dante was dragging his feet as he roamed the halls, going nowhere in particular. Instead of wandering aimlessly, he would actually still be stuck against the couch with his eyes glued to the screen, being a lazy teenager like always. His mind had changed though, and not because of his roommate, but the fact that TV can be boring after a long period of time.
For this reason, Dante was walking toward any area with crowded students, hoping to at least see something new. Usually, the thought of overreacted teenage drama was something that he would avoid at all cost, but he had other things to worry about. Such as the brief conversation he had with Craiger.
Dante didn’t mind talking about his used-to-be friend Grace, as long as too much of their past wasn’t revealed. Although the whole story behind it was clearly a mistake, the consequences that followed afterwards is what lost Grace’s trust. It was something he regretted, and something the brown fox would never let slip her mind, despite her short-term memory.
Even if their rough history was embedded in their heads, Grace wasn’t as distant as she used to be, even acknowledging him once in a while. It was true that she still seemed to loathe his guts, but Dante didn’t mind her hatred. He was just lucky enough that she was willing to look or say a few words to him.
As these thoughts swarmed within Dante’s mind, an echo of whispers was heard around the corner, which was just a few feet away. He slowed his pace down as his trance was broken, then skid to a stop before being heard or seen by the unknown voices. From where he was standing, the words that were spoken were mumbled and unclear, but he could tell a private conversation was going on.
“Keeping walking or stay and listen?“ he wondered to himself, but the decision was decided after a few seconds. Dante wasn’t much of an eavesdropper, but his curiosity got the best of him.
His feet began to shuffled lightly over the tile floor, making its way towards the muffled sounds. The silver-eyed aardwolf heard a low giggle as he neared the wall, and while keeping his ears out of view, he listened closely.
“Perhaps we will get to know each other more?” a seductive voice purred, and Dante cringed at the tone.
There was a nervous chuckle, which was possibly forced out. “W-Well…I suppose.”
“A bit uneasy, hm?”
Dante wasn’t satisfied with only hearing a talk between two people, and made a risky attempt to get a quick peek. He lowered his ears and kept his body stuck against the wall, and in a devious manner, he leaned over the corner slightly to get a good view.
His eyes widen intensely.
Standing before him, a somewhat attractive brown bat was batting her eyes to a dazed teenage wolf, even leaning her figure to the side for an alluring look. Their side was facing Dante, tilted enough so they didn’t spot him, so the sneaky fellow got a good look of their appearance without being seen. The shy wolf in front of the girl obviously looked uncomfortable with being spoken to, often glancing away to avoid eye contact. Other than that, he wasn’t much interest.
On the other hand, the vivacious girl was rather intriguing, and it wasn’t just because of what she was saying to the boy at that moment. Dante kept his nonchalant behavior as he tried to study her, hoping to get enough just by her looks.
The female was wearing a feminine outfit that Dante chose not to stare at too long, and her curled, black hair was being flipped and fixed by her manicured hands in a flirtatious manner. Giggling and swaying her hips, the bat continued with her cunning behavior, enjoying her “hobby” of having a delightful moment with the poor guy. She was obviously flirting, and her body language was a huge hint.
“L-Look…um, I better get going. My, uh, friends are p-probably looking for me,” the hesitant boy stuttered, taking a few steps back.
Her blood red eyes narrowed as a sly smirk grew across her muzzle. “Well, I will see you soon, then?”
Instead of answering with words, the wolf nodded uncontrollably and abruptly spun his heels to turn away, walking off in an unnatural, edgy manner. The bat only giggled at this and turned around herself to walk off in another direction.
“Inexperienced…” Dante chuckled to himself, and pulled away from his hiding spot, purposely getting spotted. “You find that entertaining?”
He noticed the girl’s ears twitching as she stopped, obviously stunned by the sudden voice, but she calmly turned around to face him. He met her eyes, which were widened slightly at his presence, and the fact that he had witnessed everything. No other movements were made as tension filled the silent air between them, but both were completely calm, especially her.
Dante was becoming confused. At his company, her flirty personality seemed…nonexistent, as if the whole scene he had spied on was a complete act.
“Being sneaky I see,” she managed to utter, crossing her arms loosely.
“And avoiding my question I see,” Dante replied coolly.
A small smile curved upon her lips, but it quickly disappeared, knowing this conversation wouldn’t be so enjoyable. “Perhaps I only do it to kill time. I also find their reactions amusing.”
“You don’t go too far, right?” he slowly questioned. He appeared serious, but he honestly didn’t care for other people’s juvenile behavior…especially in an academy full of teenagers.
“Just enough to make them nervous, and the boy you just saw is a great example.”
Dante shook his head in disbelief, leaning against the wall he stood behind. "Flirting for entertainment seems pointless."
"Pointless?"
"Isn't it obvious? Attempting the hair flip motion doesn't even look like it would help achieve anything. And what's with the constant giggling and batting your eyes?"
She appeared speechless for a moment by his words, but kept her cool by keeping her relaxed posture. “May I ask why you were stalking me in the first place?" The bat's brows lowered in annoyance, and her crossed arms tightened significantly.
Dante merely shrugged, his gaze averting to avoid her piercing glare. "Your hobby of alluring guys you're not familiar with fascinates me. It's like watching a reality show...except it's truly reality."
In the corner of his eye, he observed her stance becoming stiff, and brows merging together in fury. The fact that he irritated an absolute stranger was somewhat humorous to him, but he had a feeling that he shouldn't go too far...but it was just a feeling. Dante isn't a cruel person when it comes to people's sensitivity, and he knows he doesn't lack empathy. He was just honest--maybe too honest, and his habit of not being afraid to meet the consequences of his actions and words didn't help.
"Do you want me to say sorry?" the words managed to slip out, yet there was no hint of regret.
Her angered expression loosened. “…I would appreciate that.”
Shrugging, Dante pushed himself off the wall and took a step forward. “I apologize for comparing your flirtatious personality to a reality TV star…even if you can actually fit quite well with the role.”
In a swift movement, he dodged her swung arm.
Looking stunned and out of breath, he stood straight back up. “I just was kidding!”
“You looked serious.”
“I guess I‘ll pass as a good actor then…”
“Does it look like I find your comments funny?” she snapped back, taking a threatening step towards him.
“Well, uh…no?” He took a step back. “Didn’t think you were so violent.”
Her glare sharpened. “I’m not. I usually just walk away from situations like this.”
Dante was tempted to blurt out “Oh really?” at the moment, but seeing how he ticked her off enough, he held back his tongue.
“Why didn’t you walk away just then?” he questioned instead, trying to speak calmly.
“I don’t take multiple insults lightly, especially coming from guys like you. But…I guess I will now.” With that, she sneered slightly and spun around to walk away.
Dante twitched, knowing he shouldn’t let things escalate that quickly. “Wh- crud…WAIT!”
She didn’t stop, but slowed her pace and glanced over her shoulder. “What is it now?”
“I was thinking that I should probably apologize again,” he declared, rushing up and sliding to a halt in front of the ticked off bat, blocking her way.
Her brows lowered. “Are you going to throw another insult at me?”
“N-No! Of course not. I told you, it was a joke,” he objected, scratching his head. “Do you really think I would say something like that to a complete stranger?”
“You look like that type of person.”
Offended slightly, his ears lowered. “Judgmental, huh?
“Same to you,” she responded, and brushed passed him.
Groaning, he followed. “I didn't judge you! I just assumed that you were-”
“Feisty?”
“More like frisky.”
He avoided her arm once again, but jut barely.
Dante would have posed in triumph for having fast reflexes, but unfortunately, she attempted to smack him again…and succeeded. Ignoring his throbbing head and her lethal glare, he winced slightly and straightened up. “I believe you were thinking of another definition…”
“Either way, don’t start with me.”
He held up his hands in defense. “Alright, I’ll keep my irrelevant comments to myself. Happy?”
“No.”
“…Is this the right moment to apologize?”
“The moment has passed.”
Dante flinched, stunned by her words. “What?! Come on! I just-….I don’t want you to walk away while you’re furious by me.”
“Well that’s your fault, isn't it?” she grunted.
“I-…uh, I’m sorry?”
Rolling her eyes, the girl scoffed. “I told you, it’s too late.”
“I can still say sorry, right?” he winced.
“Sure. But…your apology is not accepted,” the bat retorted, twirling away from him to walk off before a reply was uttered.
The aardwolf didn't take a step forward, dumbfounded by her attitude. “What just-…?” he paused before completing his sentence, putting things together and trying to figure out what the heck just happened.
It took him a moment to realize that he ruined his reputation in a few minutes.
Frustrated, he proceeded to smack his forehead while mumbling “smooth” under his breath.
Being thoroughly embarrassed, and knowing that he had pushed her limits, Dante chose not to go after the fuming girl. He also believed that he should give her some space to cool off. For one, getting hit once was enough, and two, he already damaged his ego.
Things hadn't gone as he had planned, which was to somehow maneuver around her anger, and now some random person thinks he’s a disrespectful jerk. This wasn't the first time he had made a terrible first impression, but it still got to him. As he mentally tormented himself over the multiple mistakes in those few minutes, he remembered something that truly irked him.
He never got her name.
Unable to suppress his anger towards himself in thoughts or words, he carried out an aggravated headwall on the wall beside him.
Unfortunately Grace could not find Rynk. “Probably climbing on flagpoles… no pun intended… heh heh… flag-poles… wow…” Grace’s thoughts began to wander, but she slapped herself back to reality and went to the serious matter. “Right. Gotta find Rynk… can’t find her… that leaves… Craiger.”
Grace growled at the thought of actually looking for Craiger. Now doubt he would flirt, or tease about her name again, but maybe he would be serious enough to answer some questions… or not take Grace seriously, and joke some more. Still, she wanted answers.
Grace attempted to give the fox some credit by checking normal places instead of the work-out area, but eventually ended up there anyway… he was not there. She did her best to keep direct in her search and not distracted by the various masculine boys in the room and exited soon after.
Grace finally found Craiger on the lifeguard post at the school’s second swimming pool area. He was leaning back with his hands behind his head, relaxed and yawning a bit. Grace could not give up this opportunity. She cupped her hands to her mouth and screamed at the top of her lungs “FIRE!!!!”
Up went the fur of the previously dry Australian fox, and sploosh went the sound of his dignity as he face-high-fived the water below. Grace was nearly dying of laughter. She was on the floor with her hands on her stomach laughing her heart out; so much so in fact that she did not notice Craiger getting out of the water until she felt someone grab her feet and pull her into the pool.
“ACK!!” Grace sputtered as she kicked at Craiger who let her back up and got out himself. “YOU COULD HAVE DROWNED ME!!”
Craiger smirked. “The way I see it, you probably would’ve died of laughter had I not gotten some revenge.”
Grace looked at him with a glare, but Craiger was chuckling. Strangely enough she found herself chuckling too. “Did you need something?”
“Yeah.” Grace replied as she got serious again. “What do you know about Supreta, and Melcro Labs?” Grace checked for any forms of a surprised reaction in the male fox, but found no sign. Strangely though he did not answer the question.
“You should probably dry off. I could get you a towel.”
“Criager, this i-“
“You know what they say about bleach-water and clothing.”
“No one says that! I just needed to-“
“Not to mention the stuff it does to your fur and al-“
“WILL YOU JUST SHUT IT AND LISTEN!?” Grace smacked Craiger upside the head. He looked hurt, but Grace didn’t care.
Craiger took a deep sigh and answered, “Supreta is a country, Melcro Labs is a … science… thing. That good enough?”
“No.” Grace replied sternly. “You care to clue me in as to why Rynk, who is from Supreta, would suddenly run off after hearing about it”
“Well what time is it?”
“… What does that have to do wi-“
“Thirty minutes ago the special abilities class started. Rynk probably had to run off because she was late.”
“There is no way that-“
“Grace…” Craiger tried to calm himself, “It’s your choice whether or not you steer clear of this but it’s better you stay away from anything that has to do with the name ‘Melcro’.”
“Care to tell me why?” Grace glared.
“No.” Craiger answered. He walked back to his post and climbed back to the tower top of it.
“HEY!” Grace yelled, but Craiger did not reply. “UGH!!!” Grace screamed. In her fury, Grace kicked the side of the tower and stormed out of the room.
Grace eventually gave up on the search for Rynk. By the time she had found the Class-room for Power Placement, it was over, and by the time she had gotten to Rynk’s dorm, Rynk was not there. So she walked around and around until it was time for bed. She went back to Rynk’s dorm one last time, but it was lights out.
The school looked quite creepy when it was dark, but almost a good creepy. Like that moment when you begin to get jumpy because it’s dark and no one sees you. Grace almost felt the urge to stalk around the hallways, or put on a strange outfit and freak people out, but then she remembered that in the morning classes were back to normal, and this new teacher was not someone she wanted to miss out on, especially if she could mess around with her fur color or something.
(September 29th Monday)
Monday; the first day of school each week. For many people it is a difficult day. Granted it can start out well enough. Two and a half days of working on school projects and homework is very helpful for being prepared for when returning work, but then the new work comes in. The procrastination of two free days without school adds to laziness of the mind for most, and thusly one’s mind is not prepared for such a task as algebra, geometry, biology, etc.
Unfortunately the school itself had possibly more stress during the break. Due to the school’s recent attack, and the frailty of its defenses, the school’s head directors had a meeting to determine its continuation. Because of this, all of the students were either sent back home, which involved a great deal of packing and unpacking, those who had no homes stayed at their dorms until other plans could be made, but no one that stayed was allowed to leave, and those who were gone were not allowed back for quite some time. In result a great deal of the schoolwork was not given, causing even more stress for when they did return. The meeting was to be brief to avoid any further damage.
The Members were…
Zensin, an officer of the Zone Police Corp,
The Principal, Miss I.C.L.E., a previous officer of the Zone Police Corp placed at the school,
Dar Ox, an overlander from Moebius, and the main architect of Mobius Academy’s design and evolution,
Diane Pri, another overlander, acting as a moderator,
and Christopher Morgan, a second moderator.
They met in the main office, around a large table to discuss the damage. All were quite stressed; some were angered, some were neutral, and some were simply saddened, with good reason.
Dar Ox, a man with dark brown straight hair, a slightly long face, and a fair figure, who wore a black suit, as did everyone else aside from Zensin, rose to call the meeting to order. “This meeting is now called to order. What is the problem?”
“Problems is more like it.” Diane corrected with an angered tone, though it was not directed at Dar. She was a short woman, with long brown hair, a fair figure also, and slightly large hands. “A common villain known in a Mobius Zone as ‘Roxan’ infiltrated the school, assaulted many students, did large damage to the school, and a student apparently summoned what was assumed to be an identity.”
“Are you sure?” Chris asked.
“I would not be saying so if I did not know, Chris.”
“The damages were repaired, were they not?” Dar asked. “Isn’t that what matters? No one was injured permanently, and the school is almost repaired completely.”
“That is not the point.” Diane said as she placed her hands firmly on the table. “The defenses in this school were meant to be able to not only neutralize all threats, but more importantly make it impossible for anyone to teleport here without clearance, or hack into it in this case. I assumed there were no loop-holes.” Diane’s glance turned to Zensin who sighed largely and took the floor.
“It appears that this ‘Roxan’ used a special type of energy, possibly chaos energy, which sadly we have not been able to disable in the field. The school was built multi-dimensionaly to make sure no one could simply walk in, but someone has. I have to admit that we did not expect this type of attack so soon, though we did expect it to happen eventually. The fact is that the school’s outer defenses cannot be altered due to the instability it could face, is a key problem, and so we should work on making its defenders more potent against threats.”
“And how do we do that?” Diane questioned. “This Roxan, and the identity were showing signs of extreme energy. The Roxan girl switched student’s bodies for Pete’s sake!”
“What would you suggest?” Chris questioned.
“Unless we can defend the school more potently, I fear we will have to close it.” Diane waited for the reactions of her comrades before continuing. They were silent so she continued. “Believe me when I say I find no gain in this. I would love to keep this school running, but the school year has only started, and if the school’s dimensional generators were to be damaged it is most-likely that this school will either implode, or be lost in dimensional-space forever.”
“… Zensin, is there any way we can increase the outer defenses?” said Dar.
“We could add another layer of field-generators.” He replied. “It would double the field’s protection and encryption, but it would be quite costly. The fact that we allow children to come here without pay alone is hard to cope with.”
“I thought that the school was given its resources from special mining of various materials.” Said Diane. “And that the school’s kinetic energy was able to generate free energy for different uses on other worlds.”
“It does, and is, but the equipment used to make the tools for all of this are not able to be made from simple stone and metal. The same applies for the food, supplies, and other items. Not to mention the calibrations that have to be done manually to simply program where to put bathroom waste after it used, let alone any other portals. The amount would usually round from one-million currencies, to seven-billion for a month’s time, which is rather cheap if you think about it.”
“Well how much will it set us back if we were to place the new generators?”
“If we used the emergency money, it would be possible without limiting the school, but if it fails, it will leave us back where we are without money to aid us.”
“I cannot just let this school go.” Dar insisted. “This was meant to be a place for the supernaturals and naturals to coexist. Where they can have all the knowledge possible, and the best experiences. Many children are growing up knowing about the different dimensions with no idea how to react to any of them, or their own. I suggest that we wait. If a threat arrives that is not able to be neutralized by natural means, we will place the fields.”
“And if those fail?” Inquired Diane.
“If they fail… we bring in a capital protector; someone who can handle himself and keep the students from harm. He would have to be fast and strong; agile, and able to prove his ability to protect every student.”
“You’re not suggesting a certain hedgehog by any chance, are you?”
“No… well perhaps him, but until we learn enough about our options, we will wait.”
“I am willing to go with this plan, but if any of the students are killed, we pull the plug.” Everyone turned to I.C.L.E. who was quite this entire time.
“What are your thoughts, ICLE?” Zensin inquired. “Why not tell us if the school is doing its job. Are the students learning?”
ICLE sighed. “The students are quite tiresome, but they are well here. They learn quite a bit, but some may possibly turn on us.”
“That is why they are here, I would think.” Noted Chris. “To become better, and to learn. Do you think they are doing that?”
“Yes.”
“Alright then. Let us have a vote.” Chris arose. “All for the school to continue with Dar Ox’s plan in motion say aye.”
The vote was unanimous, but despite the return to eventual form, there would be great stress and fear in the halls of the school’s board, awaiting the next threat.
The next last day, the students were called back. Sadly around twenty percent of them chose to not come back, which caused the other eighty to feel slight grief for whatever friends they would no longer see, but it could not be helped. By Monday things were almost back to normal. Sadly the school was not able to rewrite its classes and assignments in time, so Monday became a third day off, while come Tuesday the students would go back to the many teachings of wars, inventions, languages, ect.
“YES!!!!!!” The extensive exclamation is used as much due to the fact that the student who said this had sound-based powers, and was screaming at the top of her lungs. She later had her mouth taped shut.
“AHK!” Rynk squealed as she clutched her ears tightly, bending them forward to block out the scream. She was sitting next to Grace in the Cafeteria, eating pancakes.
“Exactly.” Grace groaned. “You okay? You look more affected than most people.”
“Most people don’t have ears twice the size of a rabbit’s.” Rynk informed with her ears flopping over her face. “Ow…”
“Oh… right. Sorry. Well at least we’re back and all.”
“True that!” Rynk concured. “I can’t believe they’d want to close the school!”
“Well there was kind of a psycho-killer destroying everything… which reminds me, could you maybe give me some more info about that Rin person?”
“I don’t know what else there is to give.” Rynk shrugged. “She’s got chaos powers, she morphs, her name’s Rin, she… likes being random? I only met her one other time, and it was pretty brief.”
“Huh… well I guess we could just summon her again or something.”
“Uh… no… they found my suitcase. Apparently you can’t bring stuff like that in the school. I hid it while I was gone from the school.”
“You… didn’t stay?”
“No I did.”
Grace got quite confused at this point. “But no one’s allowed to come back… or wasn’t.”
“Well I did… strangely enough.” Rynk continued to munch on her whipped-cream covered meal. With a mouth full of food she asked “So you gonna let Craiger talk to you any time soon? It’s not like he’s been a jerk or anything.”
Grace sighed deeply. “I know… I just… don’t like guys that much.”
“Because of Dante?”
“Y-… yeah… because of Dante… how did you figure out about us, anyway?”
“I told you. I just guessed.” Rynk chuckled. “What, you think I hacked a police record or something?”
“Maybe…”
Rynk could tell that Grace was serious. It offended her slightly that Grace would think that she would resort to something like that, but Rynk put on a strong face. “Grace, I didn’t mean to blab anything. I really did just guess. I’ve met a lot of people like that… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have blurted it.”
“Hey,” Grace nudged Rynk, “don’t apologize. It’s not your fault. You were just being smart. Anyway, you got any plans for today?”
Rynk grinned. “Actually yeah. I saw a poster about this inventor-dude who’s gonna come by the school with some new contraption. I don’t know what it’s about but they’re setting up today, and starting tomorrow. You wanna sneak in a get a quick peak?”
It was tempting. Very tempting. Normally Grace would be fine with such a suggestion, but it seemed strange coming from Rynk, seeing how Rynk was the one all hyped up about the rules and regulations. “Isn’t there some rule against it?” She asked in concern and curiosity.
“Probably… but it’ll be fun.” Rynk urged.
Grace thought up why Rynk was saying, and came up with a question. “Are you saying that because it’s something I would do?”
The question was a bit strange and could be found offensive, but Grace found no way around it. When Rynk heard it she was completely surprised. “Uh…” She lowered her head slightly. “… y-…. Y- yes…”
“Why?” Grace asked sternly.
“Because… I’ve been living all street and roughish to just get a place to sleep… when I came here, it felt so nice to actually do things right… That and there was a chance for getting some friends. We met and when things started to get… better I didn’t want it to turn out…”
“… Like the cigarette?” Grace cringed.
“What? Oh…” Rynk said nervously, “… I guess that too. B-but that wasn’t um… y-you didn’t know me. And I was stalking you and all, so-“
“You… wanted to fit in with me?”
“… Yeah.”
The vixen was now presented with a band new situation… someone wanting to be like her, act like her… as if she was a popular person. Flattery may have been part of her reaction, but it was mixed in with the urge to correct this. Whether or not Rynk’s personality bothered Grace in the beginning, she did not want her large-eared… she did not want Rynk to change.
“Rynk,” Grace turned to face her directly, then very maturely she said “if anyone gets on your case for doing something right, don’t let that stop you. Ever. That’s their problem, not yours. Take it from someone who knows; taking the popular route isn’t going to matter in the end. I’m your friend, and your mine a-and you don’t need to try to act like me for my approval… What other people think about being a goodie-two-shoes doesn’t matter… I… I know that I was pushy-”
“Y-you weren’t-“
“I pushed you away though, and you were persistent.” Grace wondered what Rynk saw in her. She wanted to know. “Why did you want to be friends with me?”
“Well…” The lynx’s posture straightened slightly as she prepared her reply. “At first I was actually oblivious to your personality when we first met, I thought you were just like all the other perky happy-day people so I went with that. After I discovered the actual part I just knew how to adapt to it. I haven’t known too many stubborn or hurt people that act like you, but I knew about them, I’ve been them, so I thought I could sympathize with that.”
“… Alright… what are you like then?”
The lynx sighed raising a single hand in a shrug. “Same as you… I guess the difference is that I’ve had so many close-people-out scenarios, and rebel-this-and-that. I just liked the idea of being a place where the rules were good and things were nice. I just… adjusted, relaxed.”
“… Well…” Grace brushed a curl away from her own face, “I-I, we’re going to have to both adjust then.”
Rynk rose her head a bit with a smile. “Alright. Thanks, Grace.”
Grace returned the smile, and the two of them finished their meal. It was at this moment that Grace realized that she and Rynk were actual friends now. She expected it to be a hard process due to past experiences, but it took them less than a month to be official friends. It was a good feeling, to have someone that cared about your well-being, and Grace seriously doubted that Rynk would be the deserting type.
Meanwhile in Craiger and Dante’s dorm…
Dante was laying on the couch of the dorm, flipping through the channels. Craiger walked by without a shirt, searching for where it went. Dante glanced up at the fox and said with an annoyed tone “You’re going to make the TV static if you walk around like that. Seriously, there are no girls around. PUT A SHIRT ON!”
Craiger snapped his face at Dante’s direction with a stern stare. “The only reason I’m not dressed already is ‘cause I can’t find my clothes in this mess!”
“Hey it’s not me! I didn’t even unpack all the way.” Dante defended with a shrug.
“Yeah, whatever.” Criager grumbled as he kept looking.
Dante tried to go back to the television, but couldn’t concentrate with how Craiger was acting. This was not the calm and cool cute-boy that he saw girls stalk each day. “Dude, are you alright? It’s just a shirt.”
Craiger leaned over a wall, sighing. “It’s not the shirt…” He got up and faced Dante again, “The school got attacked, ‘n now it’s gonna be closed any day now!”
“Didn’t they say the school wasn’t closing?”
“They said it was for now, but what about the next time there’s an attack? I know about i- All these attacks-“
“There was just one.” Dante corrected.
“The point is that there’s gonna be another one any day, and were not gonna be able to stop the Dean ‘n all from closing the school afterword’s.”
“Could you talk anymore strangely?” Dante quipped.
“IT’S MY NORMAL VOICE!” Craiger snapped.
“Whatever. All I know is that the school’s still here for now, so enjoy it. Besides, it’s not that bad. You just transfer to a new school.”
“… It’s not a- oh forget it…” Craiger took a deep sigh to calm down, then continued to look for his shirt. He eventually found it above the toilet for some reason, and sniffed it a bit to make sure it was safe to wear before putting it on.
When he came out, Dante was still watching TV. “Y’know you could exercise.”
“Like you? No offense but I doubt I need it.” Dante replied. “I’m more fit than the average person, and that’s good enough for me. Besides, it’s not like I’d be doing it for a girl or anything.”
“You know… being fit and having an accent, or manners for that matter, doesn’t make som-“
“Du-… Cr-… you. Forget about it, you liking girls is fine I’m just not focused on that right now.”
The fox seemed irritated by this reply but felt no urge to continue. It did however bring to mind something that also bothered him. “Actually, speaking of girls, can you give me any info ‘bout Grace maybe?”
“Aside from she doesn’t like you?”
“I was thinking more of why she doesn’t like me. You were her childhood friend ‘n all.”
“So? Grace is a different person now. She doesn’t have to like you. She’s been through a lot, just leave her be.”
“You seriously think I’m stalking her or something? ‘Dude’, I’m barely around that gal, and when I am she gets ticked. If there’s something that she needs to work out with, or if it’s her past ‘n all, then I’m fine with that, but I’d just like to know why I’m a disease to her.”
“Actually there is a guy named Slice she hates.” Dante smirked.
“Hilarious.” Craiger said sarcastically as he exited the dorm.
Grace and Rynk had determined that it was not wrong exactly to check out the new invention as long as they weren’t hiding. But then again, “hiding” is a matter of perspective.
By asking a large amount of students the two mobians determined that the inventor was going to arrive at 1:00 P.M. in the gym’s backdoor. Seeing how the current time was 11:00 now, and they would be eating soon, the wait was a bit stressful.
During that time, Rynk suggested that they climb up the school. Grace herself was a thick-and-through daredevil, but even she knew that the only reason Rynk could get up so high was because she could stick to the sides. Unless Grace had picks to stick in the sides, she wasn’t going to get very high.
Lunch was pasta. The sauce was thin enough to cover the noodles, but not overdue it’s amount of the plates. It dyed the noodles its color, and had chunks of meat in it. Rynk was practically dying over the scent alone, and she almost passed out from the taste. It wasn’t amazing, but for both of them it had been a while since they had had a quality meal. Grace did not have trash-food, as she lived with her uncle for a good while before the academy, but she had to admit that this pasta was quite nice. Still, she had to ask why Rynk loved it so much.
“I LOVE pasta!!” Rynk fawned with her mouth stuffed with the food.
“No other reason?” Grace asked.
“Well the fact that I only had it two other times might have something to do with it.”
“… You’re fifteen, right?” Grace inquired as she tried to put things together.
“Yeah. Why?”
“In fifteen years you’ve only had pasta twice aside from now?”
“Yep.”
“Why?”
“I didn’t get the opportunity. Lived on the streets, remember? I thought you did too… n-no offense.”
“Well… kind of… but I didn’t… live like that. So then you were alone that whole time?”
“No… I met people… but, oh not again. We’re having one of those awkward pause moments again!”
Grace surprisingly knew what Rynk was talking about. They’d start a conversation, then when it got personal for either of them, both of them became rather vague. Why? Because they both had secrets that they did not wish to share.
“Sorry about that.” Grace apologized unconsciously.
“It’s alright. It’s not your fault or anything.” Rynk took another large bite to avoid being brought into another question.
“So you hear about the school options?” Grace asked to move things along.
“Options? What do you mean?”
“Well apparently there’s gonna be a superhero or something if the school gets attacked again.”
“Hm… sweet. Well I guess we’ll just have to wait for someone to attack the school again. Which reminds me, did you ever ask Sara what was up with her and the Roxan person?”
“Uh… no… did you?”
“Well kind of. I tried to say it all humor-like to make it less awkward but she stayed really quiet about it. Maybe she’ll open up later.” The rest of the meal was in silence.
Quickly after lunch was over, the two teenagers rushed to the gym five minutes before 1 o-clock. The inventor was coming inside at that exact moment. He dragged a large case, which turned out to be four large cases, and a very large crate which was a story high.
The inventor himself was not mobian, but not overlander. A mix of both. He had the torso and legs of a non-mobian lion, but the upper part of him was that of what we would call a fawn, though neither Rynk or Grace recognized this species, aside from the fact that he was a centaur.
The gym was already dark, so the inventor had not seen them. Grace and Rynk leaned on the opposite wall, while observing. This proved to be a bad observation point as it was right next to the doors, which opened and smacked them in the faces. Miss ICLE and three of the school’s Zone cop guards walked up quickly and nervously. It appeared that the device was fragile, but then why was it in a school.
“Dean.” He bowed with a grumble as the inventor was still pulling the crate and cases. The guards walked up and helped him unload.
“I need to make sure first-hand that this contraption is safe, Mr. Calto.” The way that Miss ICLE pronounced the inventor’s name was “Col’ toe” while it was actually pronounced “Cae tah’ ”. The spelling on paper did not explain pronunciation however, so errors were bound to happen.
The Inventor, Mr. Calto, took offense to this mis-pronunciation. “It is pronounced ‘Cae tah’ ’. Could you please remember that?”
“… My apologies. Now what is in the crates?”
Mr. Calto unhooked a hinge on the side one crate to reveal a golden doorway-looking device. It had two fan-shaped generators attached to its side, a meter on its top, and seemed to have no back. The inventor opened a second case. Inside was a long piece of which was supposedly a hallway piece. The other two followed suit, with the third being the end. The fourth concealed a long metal rectangle; very solid, and very shiny. It had four black holes in the side of it, which seemed to match four metal points at the back end of the hallway pieces.
“This,” Mr. Calto announced while giving the invention a good knock, “is the D-NA-mazer. It randomizes the species of various mobians, and even non-mobians.”
“And it is safe?” The Principal asked with caution.
“Extremely.” The inventor answered with an air of pride. “Not only can the changes be made permanent or temporary, but it doesn’t even store DNA vials. It uses a special program that can actually duplicate DNA without needing anything short from a quick scan. And because of that, it stores every DNA it gets, and can restore you to your original form even if you were meant to be permanently something else!”
“I can see that.” This sarcastic remark was hinting to the inventor being a hybrid. Grace and Rynk got in for a closer look.
“From what I can see here, you’ve had trouble with its performance when changing DNA’s.” The Principal said.
“Quite the contrary.” Retorted the inventor with a huff. “My DNA-hybrid form was made purposely. I made detailed modifications to make it look just right, and made no mistakes. Granted I do know where you are getting at. Originally I did have problems, but even then that was months ago on the prototype. This machine has never failed me, and while I have gotten complaints from people, it was only because they wanted to change back, and I was happy to oblige.”
“Why haven’t you given it to the government or something?” Grace asked as she and Rynk came into view.
The Principal scowled slightly, but the inventor grinned at the two strangers. “Smart girl.” He complimented, pointing to Grace. “Originally I did attempt for this to be military-used, but sadly no form of money can buy you enough protection from the enemy. So I stopped whomever I could from spreading the news of my device, and chose to put it to less noticeable use. Hence me coming to this school. Not that I plan on being here permanently, but when I do leave, I plan to leave behind some devices that may entertain the students, such as yourself and your friend… uh…”
Grace was so lost in the man’s story that she almost forgot who he was talking to. “… hu- G- Rynk! A-and I’m Grace.”
“… Rynk? Really?” The Inventor questioned as he peered a little closer at the slightly unnerved lynx.
“Uh…” is all Rynk said as she bent backwards a bit from Mr. Calto’s observation.
“Well… Anyway,” Mr. Calto cleared his throat as she pulled back, “I am assuming that you have a teacher’s room or something for me to ‘bunk’ in as they say?”
“You’re going to be a teacher here?” Grace asked.
“Oh yes. I will be teaching a science class I do believe. Partly why I brought the D-NA-mazer. It will suffice quite well as an example for both computer science and biology.”
Miss ICLE was reading through the qualification papers and profiling for Mr. Calto and came across something. “Mr. Calto, you did not fill out your past employment.” She held the clipboard so the man could see.
Mr. Calto peered at the paper, apparently he required glasses, though he probably was too prideful to admit it. His eyes widened, “So I did!” and he quickly took the board and filled out the space. “So sorry. Been very busy planning my lessons. Don’t worry. I won’t be boring you for too long.” He grinned humorously at Grace and Rynk. They grinned back. This seemed to be a cool teacher.
“There we are.” The centaur announced as he handed the clipboard back to Miss ICLE, clicking the pen along the way. “Funny thing how people love the sound of a clicking pen.”
“Where did you used to work?” Rynk inquired.
“Oh quite around the place. Like I said, I tried to aid the military once, but my main employment before then was in a special lab in… oh I forgot. This school isn’t in a dimension is it? Let’s see…” The centaur rubbed his fuzzy chin a bit then lifted up a finger and said “Ah! That is right! The dimension was Mobocan I do believe. I would have remembered it sooner but I haven’t been there in years. My home dimension was Mobius Seven I do believe.”
“Hey Rynk’s from Mobocan! Maybe that’s how you recognized her name!” Grace noted with a smile. She nudged Rynk only to see that Rynk wasn’t smiling. She was almost trembling.
“W-what… was the name of the lab? W-what country?” Rynk continued with a stutter.
“Country?” Calto repeated. “Well usually it was… er… Nix… something. Nikiita or some such nonsense.”
Rynk sighed in relief to this answer. But then the inventor said “The lab was branched off there. Melcro Labs. Great place. My first job actually. It’s what got me interested in science and what-not.”
Grace turned back to Rynk to say something else. Rynk wasn’t next to her. She was running away. She was running out of the gym. “Rynk?” Grace questioned.
The inventor looked shocked as well. “…Hmm… let’s see first I… with… an-“
“What are you doing?” Miss ICLE questioned very impatiently.
“Well the Rynk girl ran off after I talked, so it stands to reason that I said something that upset her… but what was it? Hmmm… “ The inventor shrugged, “Maybe she was from Niki… whatever the country was called. Poor girl. Not the best place to grow up in.”
Grace recalled Rynk mentioning living in Supreta to Craiger, and was about to correct the man, but stopped herself in suspicion of what this Nix or Nik country was like. “What do you mean?” She inquired.
“Well Ni… Nekai! That’s the name. Nekai! Well to answer your question, Grace, Nekai is a dictated country, very um… I suppose your dimension would call it… herm… Your Mobius, does it follow E-Rules?”
“… E-Rules?” Grace echoed.
“Some Zones are still greatly influenced by Earth-Origins, such as history, languages and such. For instants do you have any familiarity with the word ‘nazi’?”
“I… know the term… like an oppressor with prejudice?”
“Exactly. Nekai was very Nazi-like… and the language would be… R… Russian. Not the worst lifestyle surprisingly though. I think the Supretan country was the one like that.”
“Supretan…” Grace recalled Rynk telling the name of her country a second time and remembered that Craiger was from the same Mobius. It pained her slightly to have to do this, but she would have to go have a chat with the Ausey fox. But first she would find Rynk… then if Rynk would not tell her she would go to Craiger.
Meanwhile, Dante was dragging his feet as he roamed the halls, going nowhere in particular. Instead of wandering aimlessly, he would actually still be stuck against the couch with his eyes glued to the screen, being a lazy teenager like always. His mind had changed though, and not because of his roommate, but the fact that TV can be boring after a long period of time.
For this reason, Dante was walking toward any area with crowded students, hoping to at least see something new. Usually, the thought of overreacted teenage drama was something that he would avoid at all cost, but he had other things to worry about. Such as the brief conversation he had with Craiger.
Dante didn’t mind talking about his used-to-be friend Grace, as long as too much of their past wasn’t revealed. Although the whole story behind it was clearly a mistake, the consequences that followed afterwards is what lost Grace’s trust. It was something he regretted, and something the brown fox would never let slip her mind, despite her short-term memory.
Even if their rough history was embedded in their heads, Grace wasn’t as distant as she used to be, even acknowledging him once in a while. It was true that she still seemed to loathe his guts, but Dante didn’t mind her hatred. He was just lucky enough that she was willing to look or say a few words to him.
As these thoughts swarmed within Dante’s mind, an echo of whispers was heard around the corner, which was just a few feet away. He slowed his pace down as his trance was broken, then skid to a stop before being heard or seen by the unknown voices. From where he was standing, the words that were spoken were mumbled and unclear, but he could tell a private conversation was going on.
“Keeping walking or stay and listen?“ he wondered to himself, but the decision was decided after a few seconds. Dante wasn’t much of an eavesdropper, but his curiosity got the best of him.
His feet began to shuffled lightly over the tile floor, making its way towards the muffled sounds. The silver-eyed aardwolf heard a low giggle as he neared the wall, and while keeping his ears out of view, he listened closely.
“Perhaps we will get to know each other more?” a seductive voice purred, and Dante cringed at the tone.
There was a nervous chuckle, which was possibly forced out. “W-Well…I suppose.”
“A bit uneasy, hm?”
Dante wasn’t satisfied with only hearing a talk between two people, and made a risky attempt to get a quick peek. He lowered his ears and kept his body stuck against the wall, and in a devious manner, he leaned over the corner slightly to get a good view.
His eyes widen intensely.
Standing before him, a somewhat attractive brown bat was batting her eyes to a dazed teenage wolf, even leaning her figure to the side for an alluring look. Their side was facing Dante, tilted enough so they didn’t spot him, so the sneaky fellow got a good look of their appearance without being seen. The shy wolf in front of the girl obviously looked uncomfortable with being spoken to, often glancing away to avoid eye contact. Other than that, he wasn’t much interest.
On the other hand, the vivacious girl was rather intriguing, and it wasn’t just because of what she was saying to the boy at that moment. Dante kept his nonchalant behavior as he tried to study her, hoping to get enough just by her looks.
The female was wearing a feminine outfit that Dante chose not to stare at too long, and her curled, black hair was being flipped and fixed by her manicured hands in a flirtatious manner. Giggling and swaying her hips, the bat continued with her cunning behavior, enjoying her “hobby” of having a delightful moment with the poor guy. She was obviously flirting, and her body language was a huge hint.
“L-Look…um, I better get going. My, uh, friends are p-probably looking for me,” the hesitant boy stuttered, taking a few steps back.
Her blood red eyes narrowed as a sly smirk grew across her muzzle. “Well, I will see you soon, then?”
Instead of answering with words, the wolf nodded uncontrollably and abruptly spun his heels to turn away, walking off in an unnatural, edgy manner. The bat only giggled at this and turned around herself to walk off in another direction.
“Inexperienced…” Dante chuckled to himself, and pulled away from his hiding spot, purposely getting spotted. “You find that entertaining?”
He noticed the girl’s ears twitching as she stopped, obviously stunned by the sudden voice, but she calmly turned around to face him. He met her eyes, which were widened slightly at his presence, and the fact that he had witnessed everything. No other movements were made as tension filled the silent air between them, but both were completely calm, especially her.
Dante was becoming confused. At his company, her flirty personality seemed…nonexistent, as if the whole scene he had spied on was a complete act.
“Being sneaky I see,” she managed to utter, crossing her arms loosely.
“And avoiding my question I see,” Dante replied coolly.
A small smile curved upon her lips, but it quickly disappeared, knowing this conversation wouldn’t be so enjoyable. “Perhaps I only do it to kill time. I also find their reactions amusing.”
“You don’t go too far, right?” he slowly questioned. He appeared serious, but he honestly didn’t care for other people’s juvenile behavior…especially in an academy full of teenagers.
“Just enough to make them nervous, and the boy you just saw is a great example.”
Dante shook his head in disbelief, leaning against the wall he stood behind. "Flirting for entertainment seems pointless."
"Pointless?"
"Isn't it obvious? Attempting the hair flip motion doesn't even look like it would help achieve anything. And what's with the constant giggling and batting your eyes?"
She appeared speechless for a moment by his words, but kept her cool by keeping her relaxed posture. “May I ask why you were stalking me in the first place?" The bat's brows lowered in annoyance, and her crossed arms tightened significantly.
Dante merely shrugged, his gaze averting to avoid her piercing glare. "Your hobby of alluring guys you're not familiar with fascinates me. It's like watching a reality show...except it's truly reality."
In the corner of his eye, he observed her stance becoming stiff, and brows merging together in fury. The fact that he irritated an absolute stranger was somewhat humorous to him, but he had a feeling that he shouldn't go too far...but it was just a feeling. Dante isn't a cruel person when it comes to people's sensitivity, and he knows he doesn't lack empathy. He was just honest--maybe too honest, and his habit of not being afraid to meet the consequences of his actions and words didn't help.
"Do you want me to say sorry?" the words managed to slip out, yet there was no hint of regret.
Her angered expression loosened. “…I would appreciate that.”
Shrugging, Dante pushed himself off the wall and took a step forward. “I apologize for comparing your flirtatious personality to a reality TV star…even if you can actually fit quite well with the role.”
In a swift movement, he dodged her swung arm.
Looking stunned and out of breath, he stood straight back up. “I just was kidding!”
“You looked serious.”
“I guess I‘ll pass as a good actor then…”
“Does it look like I find your comments funny?” she snapped back, taking a threatening step towards him.
“Well, uh…no?” He took a step back. “Didn’t think you were so violent.”
Her glare sharpened. “I’m not. I usually just walk away from situations like this.”
Dante was tempted to blurt out “Oh really?” at the moment, but seeing how he ticked her off enough, he held back his tongue.
“Why didn’t you walk away just then?” he questioned instead, trying to speak calmly.
“I don’t take multiple insults lightly, especially coming from guys like you. But…I guess I will now.” With that, she sneered slightly and spun around to walk away.
Dante twitched, knowing he shouldn’t let things escalate that quickly. “Wh- crud…WAIT!”
She didn’t stop, but slowed her pace and glanced over her shoulder. “What is it now?”
“I was thinking that I should probably apologize again,” he declared, rushing up and sliding to a halt in front of the ticked off bat, blocking her way.
Her brows lowered. “Are you going to throw another insult at me?”
“N-No! Of course not. I told you, it was a joke,” he objected, scratching his head. “Do you really think I would say something like that to a complete stranger?”
“You look like that type of person.”
Offended slightly, his ears lowered. “Judgmental, huh?
“Same to you,” she responded, and brushed passed him.
Groaning, he followed. “I didn't judge you! I just assumed that you were-”
“Feisty?”
“More like frisky.”
He avoided her arm once again, but jut barely.
Dante would have posed in triumph for having fast reflexes, but unfortunately, she attempted to smack him again…and succeeded. Ignoring his throbbing head and her lethal glare, he winced slightly and straightened up. “I believe you were thinking of another definition…”
“Either way, don’t start with me.”
He held up his hands in defense. “Alright, I’ll keep my irrelevant comments to myself. Happy?”
“No.”
“…Is this the right moment to apologize?”
“The moment has passed.”
Dante flinched, stunned by her words. “What?! Come on! I just-….I don’t want you to walk away while you’re furious by me.”
“Well that’s your fault, isn't it?” she grunted.
“I-…uh, I’m sorry?”
Rolling her eyes, the girl scoffed. “I told you, it’s too late.”
“I can still say sorry, right?” he winced.
“Sure. But…your apology is not accepted,” the bat retorted, twirling away from him to walk off before a reply was uttered.
The aardwolf didn't take a step forward, dumbfounded by her attitude. “What just-…?” he paused before completing his sentence, putting things together and trying to figure out what the heck just happened.
It took him a moment to realize that he ruined his reputation in a few minutes.
Frustrated, he proceeded to smack his forehead while mumbling “smooth” under his breath.
Being thoroughly embarrassed, and knowing that he had pushed her limits, Dante chose not to go after the fuming girl. He also believed that he should give her some space to cool off. For one, getting hit once was enough, and two, he already damaged his ego.
Things hadn't gone as he had planned, which was to somehow maneuver around her anger, and now some random person thinks he’s a disrespectful jerk. This wasn't the first time he had made a terrible first impression, but it still got to him. As he mentally tormented himself over the multiple mistakes in those few minutes, he remembered something that truly irked him.
He never got her name.
Unable to suppress his anger towards himself in thoughts or words, he carried out an aggravated headwall on the wall beside him.
Unfortunately Grace could not find Rynk. “Probably climbing on flagpoles… no pun intended… heh heh… flag-poles… wow…” Grace’s thoughts began to wander, but she slapped herself back to reality and went to the serious matter. “Right. Gotta find Rynk… can’t find her… that leaves… Craiger.”
Grace growled at the thought of actually looking for Craiger. Now doubt he would flirt, or tease about her name again, but maybe he would be serious enough to answer some questions… or not take Grace seriously, and joke some more. Still, she wanted answers.
Grace attempted to give the fox some credit by checking normal places instead of the work-out area, but eventually ended up there anyway… he was not there. She did her best to keep direct in her search and not distracted by the various masculine boys in the room and exited soon after.
Grace finally found Craiger on the lifeguard post at the school’s second swimming pool area. He was leaning back with his hands behind his head, relaxed and yawning a bit. Grace could not give up this opportunity. She cupped her hands to her mouth and screamed at the top of her lungs “FIRE!!!!”
Up went the fur of the previously dry Australian fox, and sploosh went the sound of his dignity as he face-high-fived the water below. Grace was nearly dying of laughter. She was on the floor with her hands on her stomach laughing her heart out; so much so in fact that she did not notice Craiger getting out of the water until she felt someone grab her feet and pull her into the pool.
“ACK!!” Grace sputtered as she kicked at Craiger who let her back up and got out himself. “YOU COULD HAVE DROWNED ME!!”
Craiger smirked. “The way I see it, you probably would’ve died of laughter had I not gotten some revenge.”
Grace looked at him with a glare, but Craiger was chuckling. Strangely enough she found herself chuckling too. “Did you need something?”
“Yeah.” Grace replied as she got serious again. “What do you know about Supreta, and Melcro Labs?” Grace checked for any forms of a surprised reaction in the male fox, but found no sign. Strangely though he did not answer the question.
“You should probably dry off. I could get you a towel.”
“Criager, this i-“
“You know what they say about bleach-water and clothing.”
“No one says that! I just needed to-“
“Not to mention the stuff it does to your fur and al-“
“WILL YOU JUST SHUT IT AND LISTEN!?” Grace smacked Craiger upside the head. He looked hurt, but Grace didn’t care.
Craiger took a deep sigh and answered, “Supreta is a country, Melcro Labs is a … science… thing. That good enough?”
“No.” Grace replied sternly. “You care to clue me in as to why Rynk, who is from Supreta, would suddenly run off after hearing about it”
“Well what time is it?”
“… What does that have to do wi-“
“Thirty minutes ago the special abilities class started. Rynk probably had to run off because she was late.”
“There is no way that-“
“Grace…” Craiger tried to calm himself, “It’s your choice whether or not you steer clear of this but it’s better you stay away from anything that has to do with the name ‘Melcro’.”
“Care to tell me why?” Grace glared.
“No.” Craiger answered. He walked back to his post and climbed back to the tower top of it.
“HEY!” Grace yelled, but Craiger did not reply. “UGH!!!” Grace screamed. In her fury, Grace kicked the side of the tower and stormed out of the room.
Grace eventually gave up on the search for Rynk. By the time she had found the Class-room for Power Placement, it was over, and by the time she had gotten to Rynk’s dorm, Rynk was not there. So she walked around and around until it was time for bed. She went back to Rynk’s dorm one last time, but it was lights out.
The school looked quite creepy when it was dark, but almost a good creepy. Like that moment when you begin to get jumpy because it’s dark and no one sees you. Grace almost felt the urge to stalk around the hallways, or put on a strange outfit and freak people out, but then she remembered that in the morning classes were back to normal, and this new teacher was not someone she wanted to miss out on, especially if she could mess around with her fur color or something.
