October 5, 2009
The world snapped back into focus, and Amu blinked. She was still standing, somehow, and her classmates were slowly getting to their feet, looking around in confusion. There was a crash as a desk fell over, and the sound of several people throwing up, but Amu barely heard it.
Saaya had fallen on her butt, and was staring up at her, her eyes wide, her face pale.
"You," Saaya breathed, and then, her voice rising, "You did this! You did this, didn't you? You must have!"
She didn't sound like she believed it.
"No," Amu replied, her voice quiet. "I didn't."
She looked away from Saaya, who was starting to cry, and turned to the class, her hands clenching at her sides. Saaya was the last thing on her mind right now. Amu was more worried about the tear in reality. She could feel it, like a wound, a gash in the air that was steadily leaking—something. She couldn't tell. But it felt like the air was thinning, and she didn't know how to stop it.
She didn't even know where to start.
"We have to get out of here," Amu called, and the class turned towards her, their eyes wide. "It's not safe."
"You think?" a boy muttered. "That thing is getting bigger!"
"I know," Amu snapped. "Just- everyone out. Get away from the rift. Makoto-" She racked her brain to recall the name of the boy, then gave up and pulled it from his mind. He was the one who seemed clairvoyant. "And, uh, Takuya. Go find Tsukasa, or anyone else who might be able to help. Everyone else, form groups. Someone, go to the A and C class and get them out of here..."
She was feeling her lack of familiarity. Someone had to evacuate the neighbouring classes, and she didn't know who! She was starting to feel a little frantic. She should have known, shouldn't have let herself drift, but she had, and now she was-
"It's okay," a girl said, her voice firm. "I'll take care of it."
Amu nodded, not bothering to check who it was. The rift was still growing, and she didn't have time.
"Everyone else, stay back!"
Amu glanced at the class. Some were already making a run for the door, but others were still standing, frozen, their eyes fixed on the crack—which had now spread to cover most of the back of the classroom. She gave them a mental jolt. That unfroze them.
"Good. And, um, the rest of you. Just split up and find the headmaster, or the guardians, or anyone who can help. And get away from here!"
Makoto and Takuya nodded, and dashed out the door, their expressions grim. The rest of the class was following, and Amu glanced over her shoulder, her eyes flicking between the crack and Saaya, who was still sitting on the floor, her head in her hands. She hesitated, and then started to turn away, her thoughts racing.
But, in the end, she couldn't.
Amu took a deep breath, head full of thoughts of her own stupidity, and stepped towards Saaya. She knelt down while keeping one eye on the rift, which was now starting to spill an actinic, painfully bright light. A few of her classmates who hadn't run yet, and hadn't seen it earlier, were starting to freak out, and Amu couldn't blame them. She gave them another jolt. They ran.
"Saaya," Amu murmured, and reached out a hand.
"No," said Saaya, her voice low and fierce.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Am I okay?" Saaya repeated, her voice hollow. "You're asking me if I'm okay? After you did... after you did whatever you did, and-"
This wasn't the time, Amu knew, but she couldn't help it. Saaya wasn't nice. Saaya wasn't a good person, Amu had always known that, but she couldn't ignore her, either. They'd been classmates for years, and she'd never seen her happy, not once. Gloating, yes. Vindictive. Jealous. But never happy. And lately, she hadn't spotted even those.
She couldn't ignore her.
"I'm sorry," Amu murmured.
"Sorry? Sorry? You're sorry?" Saaya laughed, and it sounded a little hysterical. "What good does that do? You did this, didn't you? This is your fault. Everything is always your fault!"
She shook her head. This wasn't working. She reached out for Saaya's mind, but it was still a tangled, thorny mess, and Amu flinched back.
"What was that?" Saaya asked, her voice soft.
"What was what?"
"You did something, just then. I don't know what, but..." She glared up at Amu, her eyes wet with tears. "Stop
doing that! Whatever it is, stop doing it!"
Amu froze.
"I'm sorry," she repeated.
She couldn't think of anything else to say. She nervously glanced at the rift, which was definitely growing. Carefully, a little worriedly, she reached out mentally in hope that maybe she could telekinetically pull it closed or something, and-
The world rang, like a gong, and the Humpty Lock hanging around her neck got painfully hot for a moment, then went as cold as ice. Amu flinched away, her head suddenly tight and painful.
"You're not, and you shouldn't be," Saaya told her, distantly. "I wish you'd just leave me alone. Leave me here. I'm a monster as well, so it's only fair, right? You're the only one who's not- not- not-"
Her voice caught, and she choked off a sob. Amu looked up, her gaze flickering back towards the crack, which had started producing a low-pitched hum. The air around it was vibrating, and a faint breeze was starting to blow. Amu shivered, and a sense of foreboding settled over her, as if she was watching a storm cloud. Same as that morning, except in the morning it had been like storm clouds in the distance, and now they were straight overhead, and she could feel the electricity crackling in the air.
She had to focus. She couldn't let herself be distracted by Saaya. This was bigger than her.
"Just... go away, Amu." Saaya sniffled, and wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve. "Just- just go away, and don't come back. I'm not- I'm not-"
Her words trailed off, and her head dipped forward, her shoulders starting to shake. And Amu, cursing herself, settled in for another attempt at making the damn fool girl just
leave. They couldn't stay here! At the rate that was growing, they'd be cut off soon.
"Saaya, come on," Amu said. "We need to go."
"Go fuck yourself," Saaya mumbled.
"Saaya, we don't have a choice! We have to get out of here, now!"
This time Saaya didn't even respond. Amu got to her feet, standing between Saaya and the now-towering crack, and looked up. The air around it was starting to shimmer, like a heat haze. The wind was getting stronger, and she could feel the rift itself starting to tug, as though it was drawing her towards it. The air in the classroom was being pulled in. The back of the classroom looked like it had shattered, or someone had made a stained glass painting in the shape of a classroom. And the hum was growing louder.
She shook her head, subconsciously leaning back against the pull. Staying was a terrible idea,
terrible idea. So, of course-
She physically took hold of Saaya and dragged her away from the rift. Or at least she tried—she got the other girl a couple of metres, then Saaya
bit her. As Amu jumped away, cursing, Saaya curled up into a ball and wept.
She should leave her.
-the classroom would be destroyed if she didn't do something. The school, possibly. Distantly, beyond the roaring air, she heard the sound of a fire alarm and running feet. Someone must have used some common sense, and hopefully the school would be empty soon. That was good. She could leave. Probably this thing would stop soon, right? She-
Memories of talking with the Guardians, or playing with Yaya in the flower garden, or… Amu took a deep breath, cursing herself for her sheer insanity, and pulled out her cellphone. Lulu had said to call her if anything weird happened. This definitely counted. She dialled the number, and waited.
Come to think of it, was time was it in France? Would Lulu even-
"Hello?" a voice said, sounding a little sleepy.
"Lulu?" Amu said. She had to speak up a little, to be heard over the sound of the wind. A stray pencil rolled past her foot, and disappeared into the rift. "Are you free? Something weird is happening, and I don't know how to fix it."
The walls seemed to be bending. The floor was rippling, and the desks and chairs were starting to shake, as if they were caught in an earthquake.
"Yes," said Lulu, sounding much more awake. "Of course. Is it your sister? Or is it-"
"Not Ami. Something else."
"What's going on? Explain," Lulu said, her voice clipped. She'd caught on to the tone in Amu's voice.
Amu gave a brief explanation, her voice a little shaky. As she did, she watched as the walls were pushed backwards, the ceiling starting to bow, and the crack—still growing—spread out, pushing aside everything in its way. Including the back of the classroom, which was starting to look swizz cheese. She hoped, very much, that her classmates had gotten everyone else out, and were safely evacuating everyone in 1-C.
"I see," said Lulu, and then, more sharply, "Where are you?"
"School! My classroom!"
"And the crack is spreading?"
"It's starting to look like a portal of some kind." Not that she'd ever seen one. Amu backed away further, until she was nudging Saaya with a foot. The other girl didn't respond, not even to pull out of the way. "Um. I'm not sure what to do."
"I am," Lulu snapped. "Get out of there, now! It's too dangerous."
"I- I'm not sure I can."
"Why not?"
"Because the wind's picking up, and the pull's getting stronger, and- um." She looked to the side, where the rift—the corruption—had grown enough to encompass the classroom door and windows. Most of it didn't have that stained-glass look, but the desks were being… crushed, slowly breaking down as it touched them, as though they were sculpted from paper that someone was crumpling.
It seemed to be avoiding the half-circle in front of them. She didn't know why, or how long it'd last.
"I think it ate the exit?"
"Then use the window," Lulu said, her voice strained.
"There aren't any windows. There's just the crack, and I don't- I don't want to get close to it."
"Break the wall! Amu, I'm going to hang up so I can make some phone calls. Do not, repeat, do
not stay there, or try to stop it." Amu, who had been about to try just that, guiltily pulled back. Mentally, it felt like nothing. Just... nothing. She still felt numb from earlier. "I'll send specialists there to help, so just run. You can't do anything on your own. Is anyone else there with you?"
"There was, but they ran."
"Good," said Lulu. "Run too. Please. Stay safe."
The call was cut off.
"Lulu?"
Oh. And then there was Saaya. Right. She was there too.
Amu glanced down, and her mouth set in a frown. She'd nearly forgotten. Saaya was still curled up on the floor, her hands pressed against her ears, her eyes closed. Her mind was a muddy tangle of emotions, full of cracks, and menacing with thorns of fear. Saaya, it must be said, was why she was still there at all—and Saaya, dammit- Amu didn't swear, but this time she would—Saaya seemed to have a death wish, all of a sudden.
"Saaya," Amu said.
The girl didn't react.
"Saaya!" she shouted.
Nothing.
Amu tried again, reaching out with her thoughts, at the same time she reached down and physically grabbed her shoulder.
'Saaya!'
Still no reaction, and something was happening to the rift. A faint pinprick of light appeared in the middle, accompanied by a tinkling laugh. It didn't sound merry in the slightest.
= = =
Saaya is one of those people. If you've never met anyone like her, count yourself lucky. However, despite what it might look like, Amu is in no way trapped. You have two basic options: You can take Lulu's advice, or you might not.
[ ] Escape
- Feel free to define how, but no dice roll is required for this. (Punch the wall.)
[ ] Escape, with Saaya
- She doesn't seem willing to leave. A dice roll may be required, depending on what method you go with… on a failure, it won't be harmless to Saaya. (Punch Saaya then punch the wall.)
- This roll is difficulty 1.
[ ] Make another attempt at convincing Saaya to leave
- Write-in how. There's at least one option that guarantees success; some will be contested rolls. Regardless of what you choose, this will take long enough that something else will happen.
- (Punch Saaya in the brain?)
- You're trying to do therapy in combat time. This is difficulty 2.
- If you end up in a fight, it may or may not be harder. Depends on whether or not Saaya is helping.
[ ] Spend that time preparing to fight
- Amu has some experience with things flying up to shoot emotional bullets at her, and the only difference she expects in this scenario is that the things might not be shooting bullets, emotional or otherwise. She's creeped out already.
- (Punch a fairy in the mouth.)
- The overall fight will be difficulty 1
Which set of attribute+ability scores (+ psionic / willpower if applicable) get used will depend on the approach you suggest, and yes, I realise how that will bias your thinking. Not every combination is actually usable, in any given situation. Creativity can overcome that.
